The DNA Surprise!

Photo from Google Photos

Just this week we got our family's DNA test 

results.  Last Summer my late sister Trishie 

and I went to a presentation at our local library

about DNA testing.  The lecturer said it would 

be best if our brother was the one to take the

test.  After consulting with Lynne, our family

geneologist, we decided to use the FamilyTree

DNA test.  Oh, how I wish Trishie were here to

see what we learned.

Well, we are obviously very European - 98% which was

not a surprise.  It was a bit of a surprise to see we are

mostly Scandinavian but not a total surprise.  We already

knew through a DNA test of a male cousin on our Irish

side that we had Viking blood.  I was quite surprised to 

see that we were more Scandinavian than anything else.

I have always been attracted to the folk art and culture

of Scandinavia but I thought that was from living with

my Norwegian roommate Heidi while in college.  I must

say, I fully embrace my Scandinavian roots and I'm ready

to join the Sons of Norway!

But here is the surprise that blew us away ~ we are 2%

Middle Eastern ~ whaaattt????

The results said some of our ancient ancestors would 

have come from the area of Turkey.  Turkey!  I was 

thrilled! It made me think back to my first trip to Turkey

which was 5 years ago this Spring.  I was flying to Istanbul

from Amsterdam and as I was walking to the boarding area

Mr. Wonderful was quite a ways behind me and it looked 

like I was traveling alone.  As I approached the line I noticed 

3 people at the end of the line that looked very Turkish and

I don't mean just physically, they were not in western dress. 

Now I don't mean they were in burkas and head scarves but 

they had clothing that was rather folk-like, almost with a

bit of a peasant look to it.  There was a man and two women

and when the man spotted me, he opened his arms in a 

gesture that would only be read as, "Come, welcome sister!"

The women turned to me and they all started talking to me

in Turkish!  I explained in English that I didn't speak Turkish

and three jaws dropped, they couldn't believe it.  But with 

typical Turkish hospitality, they welcomed me anyway.  Once

I got to Istanbul I realized, I fit right in here.  In fact as I was

spending the day in the park with the lawyer Ahmet, I said to

him, I could pass for Turkish, the dark hair, the dark eyes.

He agreed.

One night I was riding the funicular or as they call it the

Mountain Tram and an elderly woman and a man who 

was probably her son boarded.  Mr. Wonderful got up to 

give the lady his seat and since the man was older than me

I got up so he could sit.  He insisted I take the seat and the

woman and I smiled and giggled to each other and she held

my hand all the way up the mountain.  Again..."welcome

daughter".  It is a small world, embrace it!

And Heidi, notice on the map above, the Scandinavian area

that we are most likely from is in Norway!  Hei sister!

A Fun New Family Find

I heard from our family historian, my cousin

Lynne, recently and she told me she found

the wedding announcement for our 

Grandparents in the archives of their local paper.

The article says:

Miss O'Rourke Now Mrs. P. W. Taylor

A very pretty wedding was solemnized at

St. Peter's Church at 10 o'clock this morning

when Miss Nellie O'Rourke, daughter of Mr.

and Mrs. William O'Rourke, of 16 Central Ave,

became the bride of Patrick W. Taylor, son of 

Mrs. M. Taylor.  The ceremony was performed 

by Monsignor John A. O'Grady in the presence 

of a large number of friends,

The bride, who is an extremely attractive young

woman, was handsome in her traveling suit of tan

with large picture hat.  She carried a shower bouquet

of white roses.

Miss Bessie Lyons, of this city, was maid of honor and

was was stunning in a blue suit with picture hat and 

carrying an arm bouquet of pink roses.

Robert E. Taylor, brother of the groom, was best man.

The nuptial music was furnished by Miss Kate Phelan,

in her usual artistic manner.

Following the nuptials a reception was held at the home

of the bride, and later in the afternoon Mr. and Mrs.

Taylor left for their wedding trip, which will be  enjoyed

at Washington, D.C.

Many beautiful gifts were showered upon the couple.
The bride, who was connected with Johnson and 

Johnson's is exceedingly popular with her co-workers,

and this has been demonstrated by the magnificent 

gifts in the form of showers of silver, cut glass and 

linen ahe has received during the past few weeks.

Mr. Taylor is an engineer for the Pennsylvania

Railroad and he and his bride will make their home

in Jersey City.

Lynne says she thinks the photo above is from 

their wedding day.

You can read more about my Grandmother

Nellie here.

Present Perfect: Family Cookbook

Recently I was having a conversation with a 

friend and fellow cookbook hoarder lover.  She

was getting new shelves for her new house so

she could store her vast cookbook collection. 

(At this point I must admit I have two large 

barrister's bookcases filled with cookbooks.)

I asked my friend if she actually looks in the

cookbooks anymore, she admitted she doesn't.

I asked because I don't either.  Even if I know

a perfect recipe is in a particular book, generally

I'll just find it online and pull it up on my kindle

in the kitchen.

That got me to thinking, what books would I

keep and what books would I let go of.  That is

when I spied a perfect present I received many

years ago.  When I was getting married, my aunts

and cousins made me a family cookbook.  It is filled

with their favorite recipes to help me in my new

married life.  I love to look through this little book

and remember those who wrote in it, it is especially

poignant as the years go by and some of the 

contributors are no longer with us, but their memory

lives on...

The funniest addition to the book came from

my Aunt Jane.  Aunt Jane always threw great

parties.  The photo above is of many of the

cousins at one of her parties.  We were always a 

theatrical family.  That's me, front row on the right.

Here is Aunt Jane's contribution:

These recipes all recorded are

to help you,

Mine is just a friendly word

or two,

Morton, Pepperidge Farm

or Sara Lee,

Put it all together and 

you have me!

Aunt Jane was ahead of her time.  Sandra

Lee of Semi Homemade Fame got a tv show

and book deals for what Aunt Jane had been

doing for years!  Put something on a pretty 

plate and serve it to happy people and who

cares if it was homemade!

This is one cookbook I will never get rid of.

A Grand Time in Grand Haven

Last weekend we packed the suitcases, packed the

cooler, packed the car and headed north to Michigan.

I think Michigan is one of the nicest places to 

spend the summer.  The days are hot but there

is a breeze from all those lakes and the nights

are cool and great for sleeping.  The landscape 

of western Michigan is filled with fruit orchards.

We stopped at Crane's Pie Pantry for lunch.

I love a business that has been around since 1916.

And if you are eating at the pie pantry ~ well,

you have to have pie!

Finally we made it up to Grand Haven and the 

new summer home of our relatives Pat and Jim.

Grand Haven is a quintessential American small

town.  The downtown is thriving with shops and

restaurants.  This Italian provision store has been

in business since 1907.

We had a great time walking around the neighborhood

looking at all of the beautiful homes.

The homes and gardens are so well kept,

this is an area of many Dutch immigrants

and you can see their roots in how nicely 

they keep their properties.

Of course we went to the Saturday morning

Farmer's Market.

In the morning we could run to the bakery

to get treats for breakfast, there was time

for picnicing, going to the beach, doing some

antiquing, finding some local history and most

importantly time to spend with those we love.

At the end of the day we headed to the beach.

It is so nice to watch the sunset in the 

western sky.

You have to stay to watch the lights come on

on the pier.  They are on a catwalk where the

keeper can walk when the lake gets very rough

and it is impossible to walk on the pier.

A grand time!

Thanks Pat & Jim.

Oh Happy Day!

Anyone who knows me, knows I love to 

travel the world.  But there is nothing better

than coming home.  The joy and comfort of 

sleeping in your own bed (I call mine The Cloud),

having your best doggie friend follow you around

to make sure you don't leave again, touring your

garden to see what has changed since you were

last at home, and just being surrounded by the

people and things you love...

Today we are all home at the same time, a thing

that doesn't happen all that often any more.  We

didn't expect Brennan until next week as he is 

working on a special project, but we got a news this 

morning that he is sick and there is no better place

to get better than at home.  The homemade chicken

 soup is on the stove, ready for when he wakes up.

Dinner for the rest of us (vegetarian of course) is

being prepped and then for dessert we will celebrate

the holidays we have missed as a family.

A Happy Day!

I hope you have one as well!

What Is A Hoosier Cabinet?

Yesterday I happened to mention my

Hoosier cabinet on a facebook post.

My friend, Olivia, in Germany, asked,

"What is a Hoosier cabinet?"

Oh, Olivia!  Not only do I have a

Hoosier cabinet but, it comes with

a great story.

First, let's address what a Hoosier

cabinet is.  The Hoosier Manufacturing

Company in New Castle, Indiana made

furniture for the kitchen.  Years ago,

kitchens did not have built-in cabinets

so you had furniture made specifically

for the kitchen.  Hoosier cabinets were

a one stop cabinet, they had storage, a flour

 sifter, a bread drawer, and a work surface.

So, now we'll get to MY Hoosier

cabinet.  Years ago when my Aunt

Jane & Uncle Bob bought an older home

on Grove Street in Rahway, NJ there was

a Hoosier cabinet in the kitchen.  I first

remember this cabinet as the dress-up

cabinet that was in the garage.  As you can

see in the above photo, we all loved to

dress-up!  Yeah, that's me, front row right.

So, years go by and I grow up and

my aunt and uncle were down-sizing

and having a garage sale.  Someone

came to the sale and happened to spot

the cabinet and made an offer to buy it.

My Aunt Jane called me and asked if

I knew what a Hoosier cabinet was?

I said, of course!  They are great old

cabinets, etc. etc....

To make a long story short, my aunt

gave me the cabinet.  Rob & I scraped

off all the paint and restored it and it

has been one of our prized possessions

ever since.  At that time we would never

have dreamed that one day we would

live in Indiana.  But now, we live a half

an hour away from where the cabinet

was made.  Aunt Jane said, we brought

it home.

I have seen other Hoosier cabinets

that are much more decked out than

ours but to me they can't compared.

And it just so happens that today is

my Aunt Jane's birthday.  So please

join me in wishing Aunt Jane

A Very Happy Birthday!

I also have a Sellers cabinet

but that's another story...

Me Time - April 5

Friendship is a Sheltering Tree

Today at Me Time I was

lucky to have my friends.

Irene caught up with

some of her Brackman

blocks.

She made alot of progress.

Susan is on Spring Break.

She finally got to do

some quilting.

Dawn was working on a binding.

I picked out some fabric,

and started a new project.

It is a sad day for the

Murphy Clan, Grandma

Murphy passed away today.

My Mother-in-Law, Mary

Ellen, always used to say,

in her Queens, NY accent,

"That Ellen, she's so clevah."

Who will call me clever now?

RIP Mary Ellen, May God Hold

You in the Hallow of His Hand.



The Widow O'Rourke

99 Years Young

This is my Great-Great-Grandmother,

Bridget O'Connor O'Rourke.

Our family is lucky to have our very

own genealogist Lynne Taylor Klemens.

This post would not have been possible

 without her and I'll turn this over to her

words and her research.

From the Donegan -O'Rourke Family History:

" Bridget O'Connor O'Rourke was born

in County Tipperary in 1817.  She and

her brother were the only children of

Edward O'Connor and Mary McDonald.

She married the handsome but sometimes

wild John O'Rourke and they had 3 children.

By the 1850's only two of the children

survived:  Ellen born in 1846 and William

born in 1849.  Father, John, was also gone

by then having been killed by a stone

thrower.  Both of Bridget's parents had

died as well by the early 1850's so this

fiesty widow left Ireland with her two

young children and headed to America.

She and her children arrived in New Brunswick,

New Jersey.  She later gained employment

as a servant to two noted New Brunswick

families.  These families were very kind

and helpful to her.  They helped her to

invest her money.  Daughter, Ellen was

able to go to work in the Hosiery factory

and son, William,  later worked on the

railroad as a fireman.  Bridget was able

to purchase her own home by 1870

at 22 Stone Street, not far from Rutgers

College and a very Irish neighborhood.

She remained in her home until her death

in 1916 at the age of 99 years.

From the New Bruswick Times

of February 2, 1916:

Mrs. John O'Rourke celebrated

yesterday her 99th birthday at

her home 22 Stone Street.  She was

showered with post cards and

gifts of all description.  Although

within a year of the century mark,

Mrs. O'Rourke retains her faculties,

has a remarkable memory and takes

a keen interest in the doings of New

Brunswick.  A few years ago Mrs.

O'Rourke fell and dislocated her hip

and since that time has been

compelled to lay on a cot.

Mrs. O'Rourke has two children,

William O'Rourke, Sr. and a daughter

Ellen O'Rourke.  Mrs. O'Rourke was

born in Tipperary, Ireland in 1817 and

came to this country with her children

when a young widow.  She was a faithful

servant in the household of Jacob Carpender

and also in the home of the parents of

Doowe D. Williamson.  These families

have looked after her comfort for years

and their decendants yesterday extended

their greetings and showered suitable

gifts upon the honored one.

In talking about her trip from Ireland,

Mrs. O'Rourke says,

" I had to leave Ireland because times

were so hard.  The young girls at

that time were paid only a sixpence

a day for their labor, which was hardly

enough to live on.  The landlords were

hard on the people and often put them

out of their homes.  When I came over

the young people were leaving Ireland

by the boatload."

"My father - his name was Edward O'Connor

- was a surveyor.  He did the engineering

work for the first railroad built in Ireland. 

He was the first one to put a spade in the soil

in the building of this railroad.  My mother's

name is Mary Mc Donald.  Before I left Ireland

both of my parents died."

"All my people lived to be old.  I had an aunt

in Ireland who lived until she was 104 and I

had a brother who lived to be eighty years

old.  My parents lived to a good old age. 

And twas 1817 I was born."

"When I came to this country I wasn't

going to stop at New Brunswick,  I was

going to Newburgh, NY.  But didn't have

much money so I had to stay here with

my daughter.  The steamer John Nelson

which went between New York and New

Brunswick brought me to this city.  I had

a friend with me but she did not remain

here, continuing to Newburgh."

"When I got here I was without friends

and had to take lodging in the hotel, which

was at the corner of Albany and Neilson

streets.  This hotel was at one time

Washington's headquarters.  Among the

other hotels in the city at that time was

one at the corner of Washington and George

streets.  Benjamon Still was the proprietor.

When I came to this city the people did

not burn kerosene oil and have gas and

electric lights but used candles.  My, but

the city and times have grown since."

"I am one of the oldest, if not the

oldest member of St. Peter's Catholic

Church.  I saw them lay the cornerstone

of the present church and attended the

first Catholic Church erected in the city.

This was built at the corner of George

and Bayard Streets.  At the time it was

called St. Patrick's Church.  Later the name

was changed to St. Peter and Paul and

then to St. Peter's Church.  I cannot

remember the name of the priest in

charge when I first went to the church,

but I do remember that Father Rogers

came after him and worked hard in

raising money for the present church. 

The old church was enlarged in the

year 1865 when the construction of

the present church was commenced."

Mrs. O'Rourke remembers when the

Sixth Ward in which she now lives

was a wilderness.  She is happy and

cheerful and likes to talk of the days

of her childhood and to tell of her

homeland.

I'm very proud of my spunky

Great-Great-Grandmother whose

life must have been so hard. 

I hope she looks down on

her descendants fondly.

Thanks, Lynne!