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Snippets for Aunt Sharon: James Maher, Cleveland Tailor

This tailor shop vignette shows young workers seated on the table in the “tailor’s pose.” They sewed by the natural light afforded by windows. James Maher may have done work like this early in his career. (Image: rawpixel.com)   The first evidence of James Maher, one of my Aunt Sharon's great-grandfathers, is in an 1861 Cleveland city directory—the telephone books of their day. 1   James Maher's entry in the 1861 Cleveland city directory.   James was a tailor in the days when Cleveland was on the verge of rivaling New York as a capital of the garment industry in the United States. 2 Earlier in the 19th century, before the spread of industrialization, clothing was still handmade, usually by women in the family. The wealthy might have their garments made by a tailor or seamstress. As the 19th century progressed, the need for ready-made clothing became more important for occupations like mining, for sailors, and for slaves. 3   Bird’s eye view of Cleveland, 1877. P...
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IN PERICULO MORTIS



By Nancy Gilbride Casey


On 7 October 1961, I nearly died.

Just five days old, I was nursing in my mother Ann's arms. Exhausted, she likely dozed off and did not realize that I was choking. My father, Joe, passing by the bedroom, noticed I was turning blue, snatched me from her, resuscitated me, and saved my life. The story goes that I was rushed to the hospital by police car and miraculously survived.

Somewhere in the midst of the chaos which spanned mere minutes another thing happened: My mother baptized me.

When I reflect on the shock and panic, fear, and dread that must have been present in those few moments between Mom, Dad, and me, I am stunned that my mother had the presence of mind to act.

What water was nearby? What words did she say? Was my brother Tim there? The details are lost to me now.

Knowing that her mind flew to that act in those scant minutes tells me so much about her faith. That while she cared for my mortal body, she also cared deeply enough about my immortal soul that she took that power into her own hands. Baptizing me was a given.

While I occasionally heard this story growing up, I also have a written record of it. My baptismal certificate states I was baptized on 7 Oct. 1961, "In periculo mortis."1 It's a Latin phrase meaning" in danger of death." It wasn't until I read and understood the words as an adult that I realized how close I came to dying that day.



My baptismal record, extracted from the original record at St. Charles Borremeo, Parma, Ohio, in 1967.


In later years, as Mom would tell this story, she would chuckle about going to the priest shortly afterward to make sure that her baptism of me, in her words, "stuck." It was her way of making light of that dangerous day. The priest assured her it had.

On 12 November 1961 my maternal uncle Thomas Kozlina and my paternal aunt Margaret Gilbride were named my godparents in a ceremony at St. Charles Borremeo in Parma, Ohio. I wore a beautiful little white gown and cap. My brother, grandparents, aunts and uncles were there, I'm sure. And the family likely celebrated afterward, as always, gathering for food and drink at a nearby home.

But my only baptism—the one that counted—happened in the bedroom of a little house in Parma, a gift of love from my mother.

Until next time...



NOTES


1 Nancy Gilbride baptism certificate (1961); issued 1967, St. Charles Borremeo Church, Parma, Ohio; privately held by N Gilbride Casey, [address for private use,], Tioga, Texas, 2026.












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