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Snippets for Aunt Sharon: The Kellings and the Founding of St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church

St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church, Sheffield, Lorain Co., Ohio.   Last fall I wrote about a discovery I made while doing some research for my Aunt Sharon: her great-great-grandfather Bruno Albaugh was one of Lincoln's bodyguards ! I had several other great discoveries about her family that I've been anxious to share. This week's post profiles her Kelling ancestors' connection to a church founding in Ohio. St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church was organized in 1845 by German settlers to Sheffield, Lorain County, Ohio. Among the founding families of the church were my aunt's second great-grandparents, Johan Kelling , and his wife, Katharina Schuber . The book,  History of Lorain County, Ohio , published in 1879, includes these notes on the church founding: “St. Theresa Church (Catholic), organized in 1845 by Rev. Peter Griesh, with the following membership (other member names)… John Kelling and his wife Catharine . At the organization of the church, each member paid o...

GENEALOGY CHALLENGE 2021 - Military Photo


GENEALOGY CHALLENGE 2021

Military - January 15th entry of a 31-day challenge to post a document, photo or artifact on social media every day in January.  

by Nancy Gilbride Casey

 

My Dad, Joseph John Gilbride, Jr. (1937-2018), was incredibly proud of his time in the Air Force. He had not been successful in high school and decided to drop out after the 10th grade. He joined the military in August 1954, when he was just 17 years old. Eventually he earned his GED while in the military.

From 1955-1957 his specialty was AC&W Operator (aircraft control and warning squadrons), first with the 646th AC&W based at Highlands AFS, New Jersey; with the 913th AC&W, based at Pagwa Air Station in Ontario, Canada, and finally with the 662nd AC&W, based closer to his Ohio home, at Brookfield AFS.

The oldest son of his family, he desperately wanted to make his own way in the world, and joining the military was one way to break with his blue-collar neighborhood in the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland's East Side. And it allowed him to see a bit of the world as well, which for a time, satisfied the romantic in him. He was the arms-crossed, confident 18-year-old in the photo above.

In the end, Dad moved between several branches of the military, including the Air Force Reserves and the Air National Guard and served nearly 10 years all together. Though it was not to be his career, it was an important part of his identity throughout his life.


NEXT UP: Newspaper Clipping

 


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