52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks -Week 32 “Sister”

My paternal grandmother Henrietta Hansen, nee Burbach, was one of six children but only had one sister, Katherine or Katie, as she was commonly called.

Katherine Burbach was born on 20 July 1877[i], in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was the oldest daughter of Hermann and Eva (nee Schmitz) Burbach.

Katie’s father, along with his brother John, owned a butcher shop in Milwaukee. Hermann and John (Johan) had immigrated to Milwaukee with their parents in 1856 from the village of Villmar, Hessen, Duchy of Nassau.

Katie went to St Josephat Catholic Church and most likely a German school for her education since both of her parents were German.

Katie’s suffered several tragedies in her short life. Her brother John sadly drowned on the day of his Confirmation when she was 15 years old and her father died just four years after that.  In the last year of her life her grandfather Georg also died.

After her father’s death Katie’s mother moved the family to 703 Grand Avenue, about three miles from the butcher shop now run by John Burbach.

It was at the Grand Avenue address that Katie died on 4 Dec 1897[ii], just over twenty years old.

Death Notice

Kathe Burbach - Friends and acquaintances, the sad news that our well-beloved daughter, sister, and sister-in-law, Kathe Burbach on Saturday morning at 10:30, after a long illness, at the age of 20 years, 8 months, and 16 days is resting in peace.

The burial will take place on Tuesday, the 7th of December at 9:30 in the morning, from the mourning house, No 703 Grand Avenue, from there to St Joseph's Church, corner of 11th and Cherry St.

Personal condolences are requested for the mourning bereaved: Widower Hermann Burbach (*); Georg, Peter, Charles H, Henrietta, siblings; Rosa Burbach, sister-in-law; Philipp and Sophie Schmitz, grandparents.[iii]

* typo in notice - should read Eva Burbach, mother and widow of Hermann.

NB:  Sophie is second wife of Philipp Schmitz and not Eva's mother.

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[i] Wisconsin Death Records 1867-1907 Wisconsin State Historical Society, FamilySearch.org, database (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XLCC-XS8 : online index 11 March 2016), Katie Burbach.

[ii] ibid

[iii] Herold, 05 Dec 1897  pg 5 col 7

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 26 “Legend”

It has long been a legend in the Connery family of Chicago that our patriarch Michael, commonly known as M J once lead the St Patrick’s Day Parade down State Street on a white horse.

M J Connery circa 1920?

In an effort to confirm this legend, I did some research on both the history of the parade and my grandfather M J.

What is now the parade in downtown Chicago began on in the Southtown area of Chicago as early as 1843 with seven hundred seventy five marchers who first marched to St Mary’s church for Mass and then marched on to the Saloon Building at Clark and Randolph. [i] According to the article the Saloon Building became the first City Hall in Chicago.

The parade was held in Southtown from it’s beginning in 1843 until 1901 with the exception of 1897 when it was cancelled due to the increase in both poverty and homelessness because of the severe weather.[ii] After 1901 there were no more parades until they were reinstated in 1956 by Mayor Richard J Daly.

In 1898 Grand Marshall Bob Monahan led the parade on a prancing horse.[iii]

Searching the Chicago newspapers for M J Connery in the years between 1890 and 1910, the time he lived in Southtown, shows that M J was active in the community and ran for election as alderman in the 13^th ward [iv]1893, 1894[v] and 1898[vi]. At this time, it is not known if M J was ever elected but being on the ballot three times, shows a strong commitment to his community.

About 1910 M J and his family moved to the West Town neighborhood of Chicago and his allegiance changed to the Garfield Park neighborhood.

My conclusion is that M J never did ride that white horse down State Street. I think the references to Bob Monahan on his horse were mixed into the stories of life in Southtown when my aunts and uncles were children. Unfortunately, it would seem that the legend is really a myth, however I am open to additional proof.

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[i] Lindberg, Richard, How Chicago Got It’s Green Back, Chicago Magazine a 22^nd Century Media Publication, 15 June 2016, online image, accessed 2 July 2019.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Chicago Eagle, 11 March 1893, page 1, image 1; Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.gov, imagea online, accessed 2 July 2019.

[v] Chicago Eagle, 0  March 1894, page 4, image 4; Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.gov, imagea online, accessed 2 July 2019.

[vi]   Chicago Eagle, 26 Feb 1898, page 4, image 4; Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.gov, imagea online, accessed 2 July 2019.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 25 “Earliest”

My earliest direct line ancestor to arrive in the United States was my great-great-grandfather, Georg Burbach.

St Anthony Church, Oberselters, Hessen Nassau, Germany
google images

Georg was the third child and first son born to Hubert Burbach and Catherine Schaaf on 3 August 1825 in the village of Oberselters, Hessen Nassau, Germany. He was baptized in St Anthony Catholic Church on 7 August 1825.[1]

Shortly after his father’s death in 1845[2], George left Oberselters, a village his ancestors had lived in since the 1700s. The village was a farming area and Georg had no land of his own. He traveled to the neighboring village of Villmar which was about 13 km north of Oberselters.[3] Villmar is larger than Oberselters and Georg hoped to find work there.

He did find work in the cereal fields of Villmar where he met and married Catherine Caspari on 29 April 1848 in Sts Peter and Paul Church.[4] The young couple settled in the village and began to raise a family. Their first child, Adam was born 5 Sep 1849,[5] followed by Hermann born 11 Mar 1852[6] and Johan born 15 Apr 1854.[7] As the family grew the economy declined due to several years of crop failures. Times looked bleak for the young family. And then Adam died 6 Dec 1854. After his burial at Sts Peter and Paul Church[8], Georg and Catherine decided to follow others from the area and travel to the United States. Catherine’s parents were dead as were Georg’s parents, but Catherine had an aunt and uncle who had traveled to the United States and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to farm the land.

In 1856 Georg Burbach left Villmar[9] with Catherine and their two sons, Hermann and Johan. They were going to join friends and family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

After arriving in Wisconsin in July of 1856, according to naturalization records, the family settled in the city of Milwaukee rather than looking for land to farm.

 The 1860 census shows Georg to be working as a laborer, in 1863 Georg is listed as a drover.[10] This was at the beginning of the Milwaukee meat processing era, during the time of Patrick Cudahy and Phillip Armor. Perhaps Georg knew and worked for one or the other.

Although there is reason to suspect that Georg and Catherine had other children, none survived to be recorded in the 1860 or 1870 census returns. There are Burbach babies buried in Calvary Cemetery but there is no indication of their parents and there was an unrelated Burbach family living in Milwaukee at the time.

As time marched on, Georg’s sons grew and learned the skills they would need to become successful butchers. The Burbach Bros Butcher shop was open on Walnut Street by the time of the 1880[11] census and was employed there as a butcher until his death 20 July 1897.[12] He is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[13]

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[1]: Kirchenbuchduplikat 1818 - 1874, Dupilcate Church Book Baptisms 1820-1840: 7 Aug 1825 George son of Huburtus Burbach and Catheruine Schaaf, St Anthony Catholic Church.

[2] Kirchenbuchduplikat 1818 - 1874, Dupilcate Church Book 1818-1874: 9 Aug 1845, St Anthony Catholic Church.

[3] Google maps

[4]  Villmar Catholic Church, "Kirchenbuch 1632 -1884," page 45.

[5]St s Peter and Paul Church Villmar, Hessen-Nassau, Prussia, Kirchenbuch 1632 - 1884, 1272247, Birth and death of Adam Burbach.

[6] Sts Peter and Paul Church Villmar, Hessen-Nassau, Prussia, Kirchenbuch 1632 - 1884, 1632-1884, Baptism of Hermann Burbach.

[7] Sts Peter and Paul Church Villmar, Hessen-Nassau, Prussia, Kirchenbuch 1632 - 1884, Birth and Baptism of Johan Burbach.

[8]  Sts Peter and Paul Church Villmar, Hessen-Nassau, Prussia, Kirchenbuch 1632 - 1884, Birth and death of Adam Burbach.

[9] : "Die Auswanderung aus dem Herzogtum Nassau 1806-1866," immigration of Georg Burbach and family page 141.

[10] Milwaukee City Directory, 1863 p 38, occupation of George Burbach

[11] 1880 US census, Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, population, Milwaukee, ED ED 130, Page 69 B, , Hermann Burbach.

[12] Wisconsin Death Records 1867-1907, FamilySearch.org, database p 465 death and occupation of George Burbach.

[13] ibid

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 24 “Dear Diary”

I have never kept a diary and I don’t believe I have any ancestors who did but I do have a copy of the desk diary that my mother kept in 1974. Mom was widowed in 1959 with nine children under 18. In 1971 she moved from Elmhurst, Illinois to Pompano Beach, Florida to be close to her sister Kathleen and brothers Tom and Jack who had retired to Ft Lauderdale. At the time there were three children still living with her, Peggy, Alice and Donald. Mom lived in Florida until her death in 1977 at the age of sixty. Shortly after moving to Florida, mom developed cancer and by 1974 was no longer able to teach full time.

These are the entries from her desk calendar for January 1974

Tuesday, January 1

            Alice’s bday – 19 years old

We are having dinner at Peg & Mike’s; SMC [her sister Sister Marie Camilla], A.K., Mary, Al, Don and me. Tris (Mike’s brother) of course. The apt is very nice they have beautiful bedroom furniture.

Saturday, January 5

            Budget for 2/75

            (other than checks)

            4.25       gas and milk

            100        gro.

            150        mail

            135        church

         1099        gro

[decimal points omitted but I believe these amounts represent dollars and cents]

Monday, January 14

            Rain fell all day today – 4” or so in vacant fields flooded and many streets

Didn’t drain off. So it was with Mc ab Rd when I tried to get to St Coleman’s for CCD. I had a terrible time and was lucky a good angel pulled me out.

Tuesday, January 15

Not feeling strong I hesitated about H.C.H. [Holy Cross Hospital] work but am  glad I tried it. It was not too tiring. Dr. George took me off Alkare for 2

more weeks.

Wednesday, January 16

            Alice joined the choir by her own request. It will be good for her, I think. She                is also thinking about Confirmation.                  

Thursday, January 17

Don took the car today so I am grounded. Hilda had us (Kay and I) for waffles. Tomorrow Don buys Mike Wilde’s car a “67 Cutlass for cash. Pretty good at saving!

Friday, January 18

Alice took me to Diane’s for lunch after grocery shopping. Sitting in front of T.V. at 11:00 when T.B.K. S. [my brother Tom, his wife Beate, their son Kurt, and Beate’s mother Susi]come! Don moves to liv fl [living room floor] to make room. He admires Tom and enjoys Beate. Alice makes banana bread which we forget to serve. Tom has no beard Kurt is v. friendly!

Saturday, January 19

M V [my sister Mary Virginia] and I shop at Fields but she doesn’t like what they have.

Sunday, January 20

Mass at 11:00 – Ir is a good experience to attend a “straight” Mass with choir. The kids went swimming at Boca bridge. Susi and Mary and I spent a quiet afternoon. The swimmers were back early.

Monday, January 21

CCD was a staff meeting. We are going to have 3 classes and 2 teachers for each class. Relaxed atmosphere, more free range rap[?]. In the AM Suzy & I went to the shore for shells We took Kurt.

Wednesday, January 23

T&R[my uncle Tom and his wife Ruth] took us T.B.K.S. to lunch at 2100 then we walked or sat on the beach till I left to do tutoring. The young ones went out to mini golf.

Thursday, January 24

Suzi and I took Kurt to the beach “shelling”. He is so sweet and trusting – his eyes say so much. At noon we went to HCH to have lunch with Ingabor and Mary. Susi and Beate enjoyed. At 3:00  we all drove up to WPB [West Palm Beach] for a Rst Bf [roast beef] dinner at St Raymond with SMC.

Friday, January 25

Tom and Beate left for Orlando We decided not to go – I am too tired and it’s quite expensive. So Susi and I went to Creighton’s . She liked v. much.

Saturday, January 26

The travelers get back form Orlando about 8:00. Had a grand time. We took things easy.

Sunday, January 27

Went to A.K.[her sister Kathy] for a nice dinner – she really can cook up a good meal.

Monday, January 28

Tom, Beate, Kurt, Susi Mary left and it was a lonely morning. Alice tried to cheer me up. We went to Inveraray for lunch with Isabel. The phone was ringing when we got in – a tutoring job 3^rd gr Louise. T.G. and Dorothy Hajjar.

Tuesday, January 29

Call from the Learning Tree – tutoring. Will look into it. I’m so thankful to have these jobs pop up. Hospital made me lonely for my sweet Mary. Peg came in the AM so cheerful – so is Alice.

Wednesday, January 30

Louise is a very sweet dark-eyed child. She is rather slow in reading but definitely able. We both have rapport.

                                   Thus, ends the month of January 1974.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 20 Two Cousins in the Civil War (reprinted from 2013)

My husband's Ferguson ancestors were a family of soldiers. They can be found in every war since the Revolution serving their country. This is one of the stories I have found.

Parson's Battery Position
photo - Wikipedia

On 12 April 1861, the day of the first battle of the Civil War,brothers William Fergason and Jeremiah Ferguson were farmers in the small community of Willow Hill in Jasper County in southern Illinois.  The crops typical of the area included buckwheat, Indian corn, oats, wheat, potatoes, and apples.  There were also a few cows, pigs, and chickens in addition to horses used for plowing and transportation.  Soon their concerns about the price of seed or too much or too little rain would turn to worries about the was as each man watched his oldest son go off to war.

Jeremiah was the first to wave good-bye to his son George W as he enlisted on 14 Aug 1862 in Granville, IL.  He was twenty years old and 5 ft 9 3/4 in tall.  He was assigned as a private to Company E of the 123 Il  US Infantry and mustered into the unit on 6 Sep 1862.  His unit was sent to Louisville, Ky then on to join the the 3 brigade of the 10th division of the Army of Ohio under the command of General Buell.  After chasing General Bragg's army into Kentucky they became involved in the Battle of Perryville.  This battle became known as the bloodiest battle of the Civil War with casualties in excess of 7,677 from both sides.

On the Union side 894 soldiers died.  George W Ferguson was killed in action on 8 Oct 1862 at Perryville, KY.  It had been less than two months since he had enlisted.

 

The Battle of Perryville
photo - Wikipedia

On a cold winter day William A Ferguson, son of William and nephew of Jeremiah joined the Union forces.  7 Feb 1865 Captain Scott enlisted William for 1 year at Olney, Illinois.  He was a Private assigned to Company B 155 IL US Infantry.  William joined the army with Oliver Allison another 18 year old farmer from Willow Hill.  They moved to Louisville, KY and then to their mission to guard the block houses of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad from Nashville to Duck River.  They were mustered out on 4 Sep 1865 at Murfreesboro, TN by Captain Wilson.  William returned to Willow Hill to marry and continue farming.

Cousins George and William Ferguson shared many things, but both did not return from war.  They shared grandparents, occupations, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  They even both had grey eyes.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 19 “Nurture”

google images

Nurturing is “the process of caring for and encouraging the growth or development of someone or something.”[i]

Nurturers not only provide food, clothing and shelter, they also instill the values that are important to them. Things like respect for themselves and others, willingness to serve the community, patriotism, love of knowledge and the love of God.

Among my ancestors, the women were the primary nurturers. This is probably true of most families, and I say primary because the men were also nurturers to a degree.

My grandparents and grandparents instilled the love of God in us by being role models in the practice of religion.

My maternal grandparents nurtured their children with a love and respect for education by sacrificing to provide a good education to all of their children. All of their children finished high school and most of them attended some college. This was in the early 1900s when it was not common to attend school for so long. In fact, I was very surprised to find in the 1940 US Federal Census that both of my grandparents had finished high school before leaving Ireland for the United States.[ii]

Volunteering was another quality that was modeled in our lives, again by showing and doing not by preaching. We quietly observed as our mother, a busy mother of nine, found time to serve as a youth leader, and later she volunteered to hand bead sweaters for a charitable group to raffle in a fund-raising project. As a result, most of my siblings have volunteered in their community as room parents, youth leaders, teachers, hospice workers, and community leaders. I feel that this is an important aspect of life and one that is easily passed down in a family. Children imitate what their parents do.

As time passes, I watch with pride as each generation passes these values down to the next generation. This, I believe is how our civilization will survive.

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[i] google

[ii] Year: 1940; Census Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Roll: T627_982; Page: 9B; lines 57 and 58, Enumeration District: 103-1927; ancestry.com, images online, accessed 11 May 2019,  https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2442/M-T0627-00982-00637/144292794?backurl=https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/112758812/person/3201042

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 17 “In Worship”

St Anthony Church, Oberselters, Hesse, Germany
photo credit Volker Thies (Asdrubal)

Our family has long and deep connections with the Roman Catholic Church. Three of my four grandparents come from generations of Catholics. The fourth, a Norwegian, came from a country with a state mandated religion. Most of these churches kept very detailed records of their parishioners. I use the word most because the Irish records record only minimal information.

Most of my family research has been done with Church Records since in many instances they pre-date state or town vital records.

My paternal grandfather, Adolph Hansen was born in Oslo, Norway. His father was a music instructor in the Norwegian Army, so Adolph and his siblings were christened in the military parish of the Akershus Garrison of the Akershus Fortress in Oslo, Using these records I have been able to trace this family’s roots back to 1800 in spite of the use of partonomic naming system. Norwegian church records for a christening include the name, age, and birthplace of the parents of the child in addition to the sponsors. Marriage records include name, age, and birthplace of both the bride and groom and their parents.  In Norway, Confirmation was required before marriage, thus adding another record of a person’s life. After he immigrated, it does not appear that my grandfather practiced his Lutheran faith since he married a Roman Catholic and his children were raised Catholic.

My paternal grandmother, Henrietta Burbach was raised in the Catholic religion by her German parents and grandparents. Her grandfather Georg Burbach had grown-up in Oberselters, Hesse Nassau, Prussia. His family had lived there since 1732 as recorded in the Church Records of St Anthony Parish in Oberselters. German church records included the names, ages, and birthplaces of all the individuals named in a record and also included the father’s occupation. As with other Catholic parish records, the sponsors of a child’s baptism were often a sibling or other relative of the parents. About 1848, Georg Burbach left Oberselters and journeyed to Villmar, a farming village about 15 kilometers from Oberselters. There he met and married Catharina Caspari. They were married in Sts. Peter and Paul Church, where they would bury their first-born son, Adam, just before they left for America with their two remaining sons, Hermann and Johann. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they settled, they became members of St Joseph Parish. That is where their children and grandchildren grew-up. St Joseph Church would see Burbach Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, and Burials from the 1860s through the 1930s and perhaps later.

Meanwhile in Limerick, Ireland Michael Connery and Alice Fleming would grow up in adjacent villages. Alice, the baby of her family, was baptized in Ballylanders but would need to travel to Michigan for her marriage. Alice received her sacraments at the Church of the Assumption in Ballylanders before traveling to America in 1892. Michael Connery attended St Andrew’s parish while he lived in Kilfinane, Limerick. Both Irish parish churches were established in the 1700s. Irish church records usually only tell the name of the child, parents, and sponsors. Only occasionally will they name the place people were from, What to include seemed to be at the discretion of the priest.

The Catholic Church has played an important role in my family history and is still practiced by many branches of the family both descendants of my German ancestors and Irish ancestors.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 12 "12" Who was Karen Dorthea?

52 Ancestors in 52 weeks – prompt is 12

For the prompt “12” I elected to use the 12^th person back in my Paternal line.

Karen Dorthea Cristiansen is today’s topic.

Karen was born 2 Jan1833 and christened on 24 March 1833 in Kristiana, Norway.[i] Her parents were Pedar Christiansen and Anne Margarethe Olsdatter. Two of her sponsors were Karen Dorthea Siversdatter and Ole Gregersen.

Karen married Daniel Danielsen on 8 Feb 1857[ii] in the same parish she was christened in. According to the church register Daniel’s father was Christen Danielsen. Other than on his marriage record Daniel used the last name of Christiansen.

Daniel and Karen began their family while still living in Oslo with the birth of their first child, daughter Dorette on 2 Nov 1856. She was christened on 27 Feb 1857 shortly after their marriage.[iii]

Looking at these dates and places, I believe Karen’s father and her husband were both in the military at the time of her birth and her marriage. This appears to be a common pattern of behavior for the soldiers of the time. After their military service they returned to their place of birth.

After Dorette’s birth, the family left Oslo and moved to the commune of Fet, where they lived and farmed. In the 1865 census they had added sons Olaf and Otto to the little family.

The 1875 census reveals that the family had added four additional children, Magne, Olga, Oscar, and Dagmar. Dorette would be the first to leave home when she married Johannes Adolf Hansen in Dec 1876. 

Karen Dorthea Christiansen died on 19 June 1884 at the age of 51. She was buried on 25 June at Trefold In Oslo Norway.[iv]

Oscar would be the first of Karen’s seven children to immigrate to the United States in 1885 at the age of 17. Several of Karen’s other children would also cross the seas to settle in America and four of Dorette’s oldest children would also travel to America after their mother’s death in 1887.

Unfortunately, Karen died before she would know the success her children would achieve in America.

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 [i] Church of Norway (Oslo, Oslo, Norway), Parish Register No 6, p 165, christening of Karen Dorthea Christiansen; digital image, Digitalarkivet (https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/5786/29 : online 24 March 2019).

[ii] Garnisonmenigheten Parish Register (Oslo County, Oslo), Parish Register, p203 - Marriages 1842-1859, Marriage of Karen Dorthea and Daniel; FHL microfilm .

[iii] Garnisonmenigheten Parish Register (Oslo County, Oslo), Parish Register, book 9 page 77, Birth and Baptism of Dorette Christensen; FHL microfilm .

[iv] Ancestry.com. Norway, Select Burials, 1666-1927 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. FHL Film Number:1282523 Reference ID:              item 3 b IV p 151

Original data: Norway Burials, 1666-1927. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 7 “Love”

All my Grandparents have a love story to remember and although there are differences in their stories, many things are the same: faith, loyalty and a commitment to each other. Their stories serve us well as examples of love.

Michael and Alice
photos probably taken at their respective commencements in Ireland.

In 1890, Alice was a young woman who had finished her education and was adrift to travel the meadows and glens of County Limerick with her cousin Molly. Her parents were aged since Alice was the youngest child and almost all her siblings had immigrated to the United States. Soon word was sent to the siblings in the States that something needed to be done about Alice, so her brother Michael returned to Ireland with the intent to take Alice back to Michigan with him where she would live with their married sister Mary Ann Walsh. Mary Ann was 26 years Alice’s senior and had children Alice’s age and older. There was friction in the family as Alice suffered the taunts and insults of her sister’s children for her old country clothes and manners. 

Alice frequently traveled between Michigan and Wisconsin to stay with her brothers Edmund or John as a way of escaping the teasing of her nieces and nephews. On one such trip she ran into Michael Connery, a young man she knew from her home in Ballylanders. Michael had immigrated to the United States several years before and when Alice first saw him and “set her cap for him”’, he was home visiting his parents and repaying them for the cost of the farm animal he had sold to pay for his ticket to the America. Michael had settled in Chicago, Illinois and done well for himself, so he was happy to show off his fine clothes and gold headed cane to the neighbors.

Alice was happy to meet Michael again and endeavored to find out about his traveling plans since he lived in Chicago and her brothers were based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Evidently Michael traveled to Wisconsin often, and Alice arranged her visits to coincide with his. And so their romance bloomed.

Michael and Alice 28 June 1893
Port Huron, Michigan

On 28 June 1893,  Alice Fleming married Michael Connery at the Port Huron, Michigan home of her sister Mary Ann Walsh. Fr Michael Fleming, brother of the bride was the officiant, while the witnesses were members of both the bride and groom’s families. The newlywed couple journeyed to Chicago where they would make their home.

Michael’s profession changed over the years from barkeeper to Saloon owner, then as he branched out into real estate, he also invested in property ownership himself. At Alice’s request he eventually gave up the liquor business and concentrated on the real estate.

Life was good for the young couple and they prospered as their children were born and the family grew as the west side of Chicago grew and prospered.  They eventually had eight children, six daughters and two sons, who survived to adulthood. Unfortunately suffering the loss of their first son, Leo, who died at the age of seven in 1905. As time passed Michael and Alice often returned to Ireland for family visits, often taking one of their children with them. This may have spawned the love of travel so many of the children exhibited later in life.

Strong supporters of education, all their children attended boarding school at some point. The girls going to St Joseph’s Academy in Adrian, Michigan and the boys to a Jesuit High School, Champion, in Prairie du Chine, Wisconsin.  It probably began when Alice’s brother Michael, then a Catholic priest, was assigned to serve at St Joseph’s Academy in Adrian. There the girls would grow close to their Uncle Michael.

As time passed Michael Connery’s business grew and expanded to include the travel and insurance industries in addition to real estate. He provided employment for his children when they finished school and two of his children would remain with the business until they retired, and the business closed in the 1960s.

Michael worked at his office into the 1950s when illness forced his retirement. He died in 1953 having raised his family to be outstanding citizens who worked hard, attended church and were raising the same strong families that their parents did.

Michael died in 1953 ending a sixty-year marriage that saw their love demonstrated to their family friends in their respect for each other and sharing of their faith. Faith got them through the loss of their son Leo and a stillborn infant, it helped them survive the depression years when Michael sold half of his real estate to pay off mortgages on other properties.

On the occasion of Michael’s funeral, the parish grade school was given the day off to attend the funeral. A sure sign of the respect Michael and Alice commanded in the parish they had belonged to for over fifty years.