Skip to main content

Featured

Kilbride and McAndrew Clues From Ireland

I'm still riding high from a two-week trip to Ireland the Hubs and I just took! We took one morning off from our drive along the Wild Atlantic Way to conduct what the Hubs calls the "Nancy's dead relatives" portion of the trip. We visited County Mayo, the reputed place of origin for many of my Irish ancestors who made their way to the United States after the Famine and settled in Pennsylvania. We had a wonderful guide there, got some valuable clues, and set eyes on places that my ancestors probably saw in their time.    The family background My immigrant Kilbride (the name became Gilbride over time) ancestors were my 4th great-grandparents James Kilbride and Mary Hart . James and many of the couple's children immigrated to America in April 1850. They followed their two eldest sons, Martin, who immigrated in 1846 and Michael, who arrived in 1847. 1 Another of my Irish immigrant couples were my great-great-grandparents Patrick McAndrew and Ann Kelly , wh...
Post a Comment
Read more
Labels

Don't Wait to Reach Out

Image by rawpixel.com

I re-learned a tough lesson today, one that I should know by heart by now:

Don't wait to reach out to someone.

I discovered today that the author of a family history book, which included members of our common Gilbride family, passed away last year. I found her obituary instead of an address that I was seeking when I googled her.

I got excerpts of her book from a library in California, but didn't think to write to her until recently. Her address was in the book, but it is 30 years old. But I wrote the letter anyway, and was just going to send it to that address I have. (I've had luck doing that—I once got an answer to a letter sent to an address I found in a probate notice in a newspaper from the 80s—and the person was still living there!) I was hoping to connect, as I run across so few Gilbride researchers. I wanted to share with her some of my recent discoveries. And I had hoped to get a copy of her book.

Now I'm sending that letter, with sympathies, to her husband. At least he will know that her research was appreciated.

"Don't wait to reach out to someone," of course, also goes for those friends we keep meaning to catch up with, the relatives we keep putting off contacting, etc. 

For those of who do genealogical research, sharing those precious bits of family history learned is vital to continuing and expanding our research. What knowledge did the author learn since she wrote her book 30 years ago? What bits didn't make it into her book but were stored in her memory only? I'll never know. As they say, when a person dies it's like a library burning down.

So, reach out to those fellow family researchers. And friends. And relatives. Take it from me, time may be shorter than you think.

Until next time...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin 

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2024. All rights reserved.

 


 





 


Labels:

Comments

  1. Marian B. WoodSeptember 25, 2024 at 1:04 PM

    Such sound advice, and your idea of sending a note with sympathy is a good one. I'm sure the family will be glad to know that her years of research were valued by others!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nancy Gilbride CaseySeptember 26, 2024 at 10:01 AM

      I hope so. The fact that her book is in several libraries in the country is also a good reminder that we need to perhaps send our own research to repositories, like she did, to guarantee that it is available to future researchers.

      Delete
  2. Lisa S. GorrellSeptember 25, 2024 at 7:21 PM

    Great advice. We should also thank the people who leave information on trees or in books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nancy Gilbride CaseySeptember 26, 2024 at 10:02 AM

      That's a great point! Thanks for reading and for suggesting that.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2024 at 7:51 PM

    Yes, an important a reminder. I certainly wish I had done a better job staying connected to some of the people I've met through my research.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nancy Gilbride CaseySeptember 26, 2024 at 10:02 AM

      Yes, we can always begin now though. Thanks for reading.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2024 at 6:14 AM

    Hello Nancy. « When a person dies it's like a library burning down. » This is so true ! Every ‘family columnist’ has the duty to make the stories out he/she heard from elderly people (with the agreement of those concerned of course). Finding out how our ancestors lived and making it a story for younger generations. Thank you for your last post. Greetings from Belgium. Daniel

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nancy Gilbride CaseySeptember 28, 2024 at 10:41 AM

      Hello Daniel! Always wonderful to hear from you. Thank you so much for reading my posts. I have an idea for you, but I'll email you. It's related to this topic. Cheers!

      Delete

Post a Comment