• About

The Strawfoot

~ a New Yorker's American History blog

The Strawfoot

Category Archives: Genealogy

What a phone call can do

29 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by Keith Muchowski in Genealogy, Joseph Roswell Hawley

≈ 2 Comments

I had an extraordinary telephone conversation last night with a woman who I have never met before but, I learned late last week, is a distant relation. I began my genealogy in a casual way several years, beginning by sitting down with my father one summer evening to make sure that what he knew did not get lost to the sands of time. His health was in decline for several years and it was obvious his time was coming soon. With mom it has been more of a process. Let’s just say she is not the reflective type who enjoys putting the pieces together one by one. Getting details from my mother is done surreptitiously, usually a quick text or email to see if she can flesh out the outline of a life that to me is nothing more than a record on my computer. Done in this manner I have been able to get a fair amount of information. And at the risk of getting her mad I would dare say she enjoys it when kept to a minimum.

Some of you know that I am in the beginning stages of a biography of Union general Joseph Roswell Hawley. Hawley was a captain in the 1st Connecticut, a ninety day unit, and later a colonel and brigadier in the three-year 7th. Seeing where he fought at First Bull Run this pat Sunday was something special. He was something of a Zelig, always turning up where events were taking place. After the war he was the governor of Connecticut, and eventually a congressman and senator. The whole reason I found Hawley was because the urban legend in my family was that we were his direct descendants. If the legend had been true I would have been his great, great grandson. The short version of the story is that I am not.

That brings me back to the phone call last night. The reason for the family legend was that we indeed have Hawleys in our family tree, on my mother’s side of the family. We just never knew anything about them. As it turns out it was the other side of the Hawley family to which we are directly related. I had wondered how part of the family ended up in Nova Scotia way back when. From last night’s conversation I know that they were Loyalists during the Revolutionary War and that they fled shortly after the upstart colonists declared victory. I would label my own proficiency as a genealogist as high-beginner. I had put it aside for awhile, even letting my Ancestry account lapse early this month, because I had hit a wall. Sometimes when you least expect it the door opens again.

The biography is still very much in the early stages but is proceeding nicely. It is a story worth telling, and one that fell into my lap wrapped in a bow imploring me to tell it.

From Brooklyn to Harlem

15 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by Keith Muchowski in Film, Sound, & Photography, Genealogy

≈ Comments Off on From Brooklyn to Harlem

The transition from Brooklyn to Manhattan has been a subject of novelists, filmmakers, and essayists for well over a century. The culture shock that can overtake a person with such force was especially marked in the twentieth century, before gentrification came to our fair borough and rendered us bridge and tunnelers more like our cousins across the river. This is not to say that the shock does not exist even today; nothing will ever replace or equal Manhattan. Pete Hamill, Woody Allen, and Alfred Kazin are three artists who captured the confusion, joy, and wonder that inherently come with leaving behind the old neighborhood and everything you know to find your place in the Big City. Filmmaker Monique Velez is making  a documentary about the move from Brooklyn to Manhattan. In her case, however, the story begins in tiny Brooklyn, Alabama where her great-grandmother Lucille lived before coming to Harlem during the Great Migration. I have been following the evolution of this project for some time, and am happy to report that things are moving steadily. Velez was in Alabama filming earlier in the spring and is now getting ready to shoot in New York. Ironically, she is part of the reverse migration in which African Americans are moving back to the South; Velez was born in New York and now lives in North Carolina. Watch the trailer. This should be something special. I will be certain to announce when the film is released.

Why genealogy?

22 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by Keith Muchowski in Genealogy

≈ Comments Off on Why genealogy?

I think there’s a chance I was the only person in the room who knew it was Uncle Ben in the second row. There were probably a dozen who knew in general who the picture showed–ancestors on the mother’s side–but does the name or an idea of Uncle Ben linger on earth outside my own mind? When I die, what will remain of him?

Memory. It makes us human. It creates our ideas of family, history, love, friendship. Within all our minds is a narrative of our own lives and all the people who were important to us. Who were eyewitnesses to the same times and events. Who could describe us to a stranger.

 

The other day I posted about beginning my family tree. Since then I have been steady filling in the blanks. It is a propitious time to start. Now that I am in full blown middle age, I am starting to think of myself more and more as a hinge between generations of my family. There are already people in my extended family who are unknown to nieces and nephews not much younger than me. Life changes; we move on. In the piece I quoted above Roger Ebert explains the importance of remembering.

First branches

18 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by Keith Muchowski in Genealogy

≈ 5 Comments

Boston’s Copley Square and Trinity Church, June 1920

In July 1999, a few weeks before I made my annual August visit to my dad and step-mother in Arkansas, I asked the old man to write out as much of our family history as he could. I asked a few weeks in advance because I wanted him to think hard and reach back. He took the project seriously and sure enough when I showed up in August he had a legal pad full of notes. Over a period of nights (My first ever visit to Shiloh was squeezed in between.) we sat down and looked at what he came up with. When I returned to New York City I photocopied the results and mailed them to various extended family. My uncle–my father’s younger brother–told me that there were some mistakes and gaps, which is inevitable in a first go-around on something like this. My father’s health was already declining, and though he lived another ten years before dying in 2009 (three  weeks after I, his youngest, married), he had put a lot of his past behind him by that time in his life. It is amazing what he was able to come up with.

The notes sat in a drawer for years, as I started a new job, went back to graduate school, met my wife, went to ballgames, and just went on with living. Last year I signed up for Ancestry, but didn’t do a whole lot with it. The main reason I did not was because I had started this blog and, well, there are only so many hours in the day. With a week to go in my subscription I finally pulled out the notes and began the process. Like many Americans, I really only knew my family heritage back through my grandparents, all of whom were born in Boston in the early twentieth century and have now been gone for decades. I now have solid, incontrovetible record of all eight of my great-parents and two gr-, gr-grandparents. None of this would have been possible without the input my father gave me all those years ago. It was the information he provided about the extended family that allowed my to add or eliminate potential candidates. When your dad gives you the names of all seven of the children borne by his grandmother and you then look at the 1920 census record with said names right there on the card, including his mother’s, you know you have the right clan. Yesterday, April 17, would have been my grandparent’s 75th wedding anniversary.

I have been doing my mother’s side as well, and spent a good deal of my time off last week texting her with information about the family that she never knew. At the same time, she filled in some blanks that made the people real, not just names on a sheet of paper. I laughed out loud more than once listening to mother’s acid comments about this or that mother-in-law who was universally disliked, and the family skeletons that are now buried forever with the people who lived lives very much like ours today. There is a family legend on my mother’s side of the family that we are the descendants of a particular Civil War general. I crunched the data a dozen ways and have not been able to corroborate this. I even emailed a particular historical society in Connecticut and received a response from a librarian who had conscientiously searched, but with no result. As much as I would love this one to be true, it may not. So it goes. I know from my time at Ellis Island, and working at a small history museum in Texas, that what people believe about their family history is often incorrect.

Things get a little trickier from here because all my ancestors from this point on are from overseas, primarily Sweden, Italy, and Poland. The art of cooking galumpkis made its way down to my dad, who prepared them for us when we were little. My mom knows all the Italian dirty words. Needless to say, I renewed my subscription to Ancestry and have been spending a fair amount of time online. My only regret is that I did not begin sooner. If you have not asked your family where they came from and how they got here, trust me, begin now before it is too late.

(image/Leon H. Abdalian)

Newer posts →

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 239 other followers

Categories

Archives

  • June 2022 (1)
  • May 2022 (1)
  • April 2022 (13)
  • January 2022 (1)
  • December 2021 (2)
  • November 2021 (1)
  • October 2021 (3)
  • September 2021 (3)
  • August 2021 (5)
  • July 2021 (1)
  • June 2021 (1)
  • May 2021 (4)
  • April 2021 (3)
  • March 2021 (4)
  • February 2021 (7)
  • January 2021 (4)
  • December 2020 (4)
  • November 2020 (3)
  • October 2020 (4)
  • September 2020 (7)
  • August 2020 (5)
  • July 2020 (7)
  • June 2020 (11)
  • May 2020 (7)
  • April 2020 (9)
  • March 2020 (9)
  • February 2020 (7)
  • January 2020 (6)
  • December 2019 (7)
  • November 2019 (9)
  • October 2019 (4)
  • September 2019 (6)
  • August 2019 (10)
  • July 2019 (8)
  • June 2019 (6)
  • May 2019 (9)
  • April 2019 (8)
  • March 2019 (6)
  • February 2019 (8)
  • January 2019 (5)
  • December 2018 (10)
  • November 2018 (6)
  • October 2018 (9)
  • September 2018 (11)
  • August 2018 (11)
  • July 2018 (17)
  • June 2018 (10)
  • May 2018 (8)
  • April 2018 (9)
  • March 2018 (8)
  • February 2018 (5)
  • January 2018 (7)
  • December 2017 (11)
  • November 2017 (8)
  • October 2017 (9)
  • September 2017 (11)
  • August 2017 (12)
  • July 2017 (14)
  • June 2017 (18)
  • May 2017 (11)
  • April 2017 (10)
  • March 2017 (9)
  • February 2017 (11)
  • January 2017 (14)
  • December 2016 (7)
  • November 2016 (8)
  • October 2016 (8)
  • September 2016 (9)
  • August 2016 (6)
  • July 2016 (12)
  • June 2016 (8)
  • May 2016 (9)
  • April 2016 (6)
  • March 2016 (12)
  • February 2016 (10)
  • January 2016 (9)
  • December 2015 (9)
  • November 2015 (11)
  • October 2015 (8)
  • September 2015 (9)
  • August 2015 (13)
  • July 2015 (14)
  • June 2015 (11)
  • May 2015 (11)
  • April 2015 (18)
  • March 2015 (10)
  • February 2015 (8)
  • January 2015 (8)
  • December 2014 (12)
  • November 2014 (13)
  • October 2014 (16)
  • September 2014 (11)
  • August 2014 (16)
  • July 2014 (12)
  • June 2014 (13)
  • May 2014 (10)
  • April 2014 (10)
  • March 2014 (11)
  • February 2014 (12)
  • January 2014 (10)
  • December 2013 (11)
  • November 2013 (14)
  • October 2013 (14)
  • September 2013 (14)
  • August 2013 (13)
  • July 2013 (17)
  • June 2013 (9)
  • May 2013 (13)
  • April 2013 (13)
  • March 2013 (16)
  • February 2013 (15)
  • January 2013 (15)
  • December 2012 (18)
  • November 2012 (18)
  • October 2012 (21)
  • September 2012 (14)
  • August 2012 (16)
  • July 2012 (21)
  • June 2012 (22)
  • May 2012 (24)
  • April 2012 (20)
  • March 2012 (23)
  • February 2012 (22)
  • January 2012 (15)
  • December 2011 (23)
  • November 2011 (22)
  • October 2011 (23)
  • September 2011 (18)
  • August 2011 (19)
  • July 2011 (20)
  • June 2011 (29)
  • May 2011 (25)
  • April 2011 (18)
  • March 2011 (21)
  • February 2011 (11)

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 239 other followers

Categories

Archives

  • June 2022 (1)
  • May 2022 (1)
  • April 2022 (13)
  • January 2022 (1)
  • December 2021 (2)
  • November 2021 (1)
  • October 2021 (3)
  • September 2021 (3)
  • August 2021 (5)
  • July 2021 (1)
  • June 2021 (1)
  • May 2021 (4)
  • April 2021 (3)
  • March 2021 (4)
  • February 2021 (7)
  • January 2021 (4)
  • December 2020 (4)
  • November 2020 (3)
  • October 2020 (4)
  • September 2020 (7)
  • August 2020 (5)
  • July 2020 (7)
  • June 2020 (11)
  • May 2020 (7)
  • April 2020 (9)
  • March 2020 (9)
  • February 2020 (7)
  • January 2020 (6)
  • December 2019 (7)
  • November 2019 (9)
  • October 2019 (4)
  • September 2019 (6)
  • August 2019 (10)
  • July 2019 (8)
  • June 2019 (6)
  • May 2019 (9)
  • April 2019 (8)
  • March 2019 (6)
  • February 2019 (8)
  • January 2019 (5)
  • December 2018 (10)
  • November 2018 (6)
  • October 2018 (9)
  • September 2018 (11)
  • August 2018 (11)
  • July 2018 (17)
  • June 2018 (10)
  • May 2018 (8)
  • April 2018 (9)
  • March 2018 (8)
  • February 2018 (5)
  • January 2018 (7)
  • December 2017 (11)
  • November 2017 (8)
  • October 2017 (9)
  • September 2017 (11)
  • August 2017 (12)
  • July 2017 (14)
  • June 2017 (18)
  • May 2017 (11)
  • April 2017 (10)
  • March 2017 (9)
  • February 2017 (11)
  • January 2017 (14)
  • December 2016 (7)
  • November 2016 (8)
  • October 2016 (8)
  • September 2016 (9)
  • August 2016 (6)
  • July 2016 (12)
  • June 2016 (8)
  • May 2016 (9)
  • April 2016 (6)
  • March 2016 (12)
  • February 2016 (10)
  • January 2016 (9)
  • December 2015 (9)
  • November 2015 (11)
  • October 2015 (8)
  • September 2015 (9)
  • August 2015 (13)
  • July 2015 (14)
  • June 2015 (11)
  • May 2015 (11)
  • April 2015 (18)
  • March 2015 (10)
  • February 2015 (8)
  • January 2015 (8)
  • December 2014 (12)
  • November 2014 (13)
  • October 2014 (16)
  • September 2014 (11)
  • August 2014 (16)
  • July 2014 (12)
  • June 2014 (13)
  • May 2014 (10)
  • April 2014 (10)
  • March 2014 (11)
  • February 2014 (12)
  • January 2014 (10)
  • December 2013 (11)
  • November 2013 (14)
  • October 2013 (14)
  • September 2013 (14)
  • August 2013 (13)
  • July 2013 (17)
  • June 2013 (9)
  • May 2013 (13)
  • April 2013 (13)
  • March 2013 (16)
  • February 2013 (15)
  • January 2013 (15)
  • December 2012 (18)
  • November 2012 (18)
  • October 2012 (21)
  • September 2012 (14)
  • August 2012 (16)
  • July 2012 (21)
  • June 2012 (22)
  • May 2012 (24)
  • April 2012 (20)
  • March 2012 (23)
  • February 2012 (22)
  • January 2012 (15)
  • December 2011 (23)
  • November 2011 (22)
  • October 2011 (23)
  • September 2011 (18)
  • August 2011 (19)
  • July 2011 (20)
  • June 2011 (29)
  • May 2011 (25)
  • April 2011 (18)
  • March 2011 (21)
  • February 2011 (11)

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • The Strawfoot
    • Join 239 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Strawfoot
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...