52 Ancestors: Handed Down - Twin Mystery

This week's blog prompt, Handed Down, immediately brought to mind many of the items that have been handed down to me by my ancestors.  But since I've written about those so many times, I thought I'd focus on a story that was handed down to me over the years by my mom.  Mom often declared "twins run in the family because my grandmother had twins three times".  And then she would add that each time either neither or just one of the babies survived.  So down the rabbit hole I went to find something - anything - that pointed to that statement being true.  Mom really didn't seem to know much about her family, particularly on her father's side, so was this accurate?

First up, my mother's maternal grandmother, and the only great grandmother I knew, was Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald.

Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald, c. 1952

The 1910 census is a great place to start.  In fact, it may be the only document that shows the number of children born and the number living in 1910.  I can't be sure if the number "born" includes still births but my gut tells me it would.

1910 United States Census, Township 3, Fresno, California,
Roll: T624_76; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 33; Image: 485.

That's a little small (you think?) so I cropped it.

And it checks out.  All three children had been born by 1910 (that's my grandmother, Clara) and it shows that Mabel and Edward had been married for 8 years and she had 3 children, all of whom were living.  So, I don't think it was this grandmother.

Next up was Mom's paternal grandmother, Frances Maria (Brooks) Martin.

Frances Maria (Brooks) Martin, c. 1930

Frances was the daughter of William Brooks who was killed in the Civil War at Fredericksburg - I'm sure she had a lot of stories to tell.  But would she have said she had twins three times?

1910 United States Census, Township 3, Fresno, California
Roll: T624_76; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 33; Image: 475.

Too small again but before I move on, it surprised me to see that not only were they in the same Enumeration District as the Fitzgeralds, they were only five pages away - they were neighbors!

And it checks out.  8 children born and 8 children living.  That's my grandfather, Earl(e), at the bottom.  So based on this, I'd say it wasn't Frances that gave birth to twins three times.

I decided to go back another generation, although some of those women were not living at the 1910 census.

Mabel's mother was Rebecca Moriah (Waller) McAboy.

Rebecca (Waller) McAboy

Both Rebecca and her husband, William Warren McAboy, were still living in 1910.

1910 United States Census, Township 3, Fresno, California
Roll: T624_76; Page: 26B; Enumeration District: 29; Image: 362.

While not in the same Enumeration District, they WERE in Fresno!

Again, this checks out.  6 children born and 5 living in 1910 as their oldest son, William L. McAboy, died in 1881 at the age of 17.  So I don't think Rebecca had twins three times.

Edward Fitzgerald's mother was Julia Horgan.  While Julia had seven children, she died in 1885 so no chance to see anything about her in the 1910 census.  And I have been unable to learn much from the children's birth records, when they do exist.  So did Julia have twins three times?  I'm not sure I'll ever know.

Frances' mother was Sarah Jane (Miller) Brooks Anderson.

Sarah Jane (Miller) Brooks Anderson

While Sarah was alive in 1910, I can't find her anywhere in the census.  I'm fairly certain she was in Fresno and I've checked with each of her living children to see if she was living with them - no luck.

I can account for seven children - four with her first husband, William Brooks, and three with her second husband, John Hayward Anderson.  But I can't be sure if any of those were multiple births.  I need to find her in the 1910 census!

And last, but not least, was Earle's paternal grandmother, Millicent Emilene (Moore) Martin.  Since Millicent died in 1884, I have nothing to go on in 1910.  I know that she had eight children overall but nothing to confirm whether any of those were multiple births.

So where does that leave me?  Not much farther along than I was before.  But I'll keep working on it!

52 Ancestors: Reunion

This weeks' blog post, Reunion, conjures up visions of a very large family gathering, complete with plaid tablecloths, fried chicken, and potato salad.  Unfortunately, as part of a VERY small family, that vision is just one from books and something that never actually happened for me.

My mother was an only child and after her parent's divorce and second marriage for both, she did have two half siblings from her father and his new wife; however, I only remember meeting my grandfather once and to my knowledge, never met his new children.  And since my grandmother never had any more children, that left any cousins on that side essentially non-existent to me.

My dad had one brother who had two children so those were really my only cousins.  And since they lived in Kentucky and we lived in California, we didn't see each other much.  My uncle would make the trek out west on occasion and at one time or another he brought one of his daughters with him.  Sadly, there were very few times when all five cousins were together.

But as this picture proves, there was at least once!

Back, left to right:  Me, Sister, Cousin V
Front, left to right:  Brother, Cousin M
c.1963

Here we are - the Levy cousins!  This looks to be sometime about 1963 since my brother was born in November, 1961 and looks to be somewhere around 2 years old here.  I was notorious for closing my eyes when the camera snapped.

Several years ago I connected with a distant cousin on my mother's side - her grandfather was the younger brother of my great grandfather.  And just like that, she was GONE.  But she did share with me some information about our common ancestors and a reunion that occurred in 1979.  What a gift to have this newspaper article - unfortunately, I do not know the newspaper it was printed in.

The Horgan family, descendants of Jerry and Maggie Horgan of Ireland, who never immigrated to this country, held a family reunion at the Zamora town hall on June 2.  More than 100 descendants of the Horgan clan were present for the potluck dinner.  They came from Dinuba, Livermore, Redwood City, Sunol, Red Bluff, Sacramento, Salinas, Esparto, San Jose, Newark, Fresno, Arbuckle, Merced, Davis, Knight's Landing, Woodland and Zamora.  A few older friends of the family around Zamora were also invited.

The oldest member present was Irene Fitzgerald Johnson of Arbuckle.  Youngest members were Kelly Barnard of Livermore and Bonnie Hilleby of Woodland.  Traveling the farthest was Viola Fitzgerald Crawford of Fresno.

Father Elwood Geary said Mass for the family in St. Agnes Catholic Church in Zamora on Sunday morning.  The church was built by John, Cornelius and Andrew Horgan.

Planning the reunion were Betty Dall of Dinuba, Edith Heidrick, Mary Croll and Mable Hermle.  Mrs. Hermle is the second generation Horgan in this country and the only one in her generation that is living today.  The Ireland couple were her grandparents.

How cool is that?  Can you imagine finding 100 descendants 40 years ago and then planning a reunion and notifying them all to gather on a specific date????

And then there was a photo of the St. Agnes Catholic Church, built by my 2x great grandmother's brothers John, Cornelius, and Andrew.

What a great little church!  I'd sure love to see inside.

Look at this - a current photo!

St. Agnes Catholic Church, Zamora, California
from google maps

But best of all is this photo of some of the Horgan descendants who gathered that day - and labeled with the names!  Only problem is I can't be sure of who is who with one exception - my grandmother's sister, Viola Fitzgerald Crawford who is third from the right.  And I know this only because she looks EXACTLY like my grandmother!

Clifford E. Johnson, Irene Fitzgerald Johnson, Harry Johnson, Jack John E. Fitzgerald (Patti's grandfather), Elfie Johnson, Lorraine Follett (Viola's daughter), Clarence Follet (Lorraine's husband), Viola M. Crawford, Jane Fitzgerald Schneider, Carla Schneider.  Note - Irene Johnson died a few months after reunion

I enlarged it so I could see it better.

I'm guessing that Lorraine is to Viola's right with her husband, Clarence, standing behind her.  And if Irene Johnson was the eldest, I would guess her to be 2nd from the left.

Interesting to note that in all the times we visited my grandmother in Fresno, I don't remember ever meeting Viola.  And being that my grandmother was still living in 1979 (and quite active), I wonder why she didn't attend?  Could it be that there was some sort of rift between she and Viola?  Another question I will probably never have answered.

As my family grows and grows due to this journey I'm on, maybe one day I'll have a chance to attend my own family reunion.

52 Ancestors: Ten

This week’s blog prompt had me scratching my head.

“Let's change things up a bit with a theme that is especially ambiguous: "Ten." Ten what? Someone who had 10 children? Someone with 10 letters in their name? Someone who was in the 10th Infantry? Someone who was born in October? #10 on your ancestor chart? (That would be your paternal grandmother's father, if you number it the standard way.) “

Unfortunately, none of that spoke to me.  Hmmm. 

Wait, I’ve got an idea.  How about the 10th letter of the alphabet?  A, B, C…..J.  Okay, that’s it.  Let’s pick an ancestor with a name starting with J.  And that’s when I thought of my second great grandmother, Julia Horgan.

I don’t know much about Julia and after several hours of research, I’m no further along than I was before.  But I can share what I do know and hope that something along the way will spark a memory.

Several years ago I connected with a cousin, Patti, who also descended from Julia Horgan so we shared some notes and a photo or two and then the unthinkable happened and Patti was taken from us.  I wrote about it HERE.  How I wish Patti were here so we could talk again.  My hunch is that we still would be no further along but at least we sure would have had fun talking through it.

Julia was born in Derryleagh, Cork, Ireland in 1849 to Jeremiah Horgan and Margaret “Maggie” Callahan.  She was the 5th of 7 children of the couple – four older brothers (Michael, Cornelius, Andrew, John) and two younger sisters (Mary and Nora).

Julia married Matthew Fitzgerald in, I believe, June, 1869 in Black Station, Yolo County, California.  Julia and Matthew were living in Grafton, Yolo County, in 1870 where Julia was keeping house and Matthew was a Laborer.

By 1880, the family had grown – boy had it grown!



It’s hard to see but there with Matthew and Julia were the first of 7 children – John (b1871), Jeremiah (b1873), Nicholas (b1875), Mary Margaret (b1877), and Edward Francis (b 1879).  This is an especially meaningful census for me as Edward was my great-grandfather, a lovely man whom I remember well.  Two more children would join the family – Joseph (b1881) and Anna Teresa (b1883).  Those two children are also special as Joseph was Patti’s grandfather and I was always told that my middle name was in honor of Anna, my mother’s great aunt whom she lived with for several years.

But just a few years later, Julia was gone.  She died 4 Aug 1885 in Black, Yolo County.  I have no idea of any specifics but it’s not for lack of trying.  I just sealed the envelope requesting a copy of the death certificate which might give me more information.  Fingers crossed.

I did find an interesting article.



Julia is buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Woodland, Yolo County, California.  I think she is beside Matthew as both show in Row 26-S, although Matthew shows he is in Plot 3 and Julia shows in Section 3.  One day I need to walk the cemetery and see for myself.