Funerals and Geneology
The running extended family joke is "we only see each other at weddings and funerals."
Well, the crop of first cousins once removed are mainly married, so it's mainly the latter events now. At this point it's my aunts that are going, all elder sisters of my father.
One of the four died just after Easter at the age of 80. I got out to Johnstown (PA) from Philly by renting a car and taking a day off. My brother came down from western NY that same night and got in about 2am. Funeral the next morning, internment at the cemetary there, and a group meal nearby. [This is the same aunt whose birthday party I referred to earlier in this LJ.]
Relatives out of the woodwork. Cousins I hadn't seen from that branch of the family for years, new children, and seeing all three of my other aunts for the first time in a while. Gets me realizing how big the greater clan is. Plus the funeral mass being done by a 2nd cousin who is a priest.
Soon after that funeral another of my aunts who had been ailing recently was diagnosed as having advanced liver cancer. Essentially a terminal with a live expectancy under three months. Not a lot of time, but enough for her children to visit, make arrangements, and then it was hospice care at the house of one of her daughters. And, to keep everyone updated there was a LJ kept on how things were progressing. Things took their course and she died just over a week ago at the age of 86.
So... my brother and I met again in Johnstown for another funeral this past Sunday. A larger turnout since this aunt had had 10 children, had 40+ grandchildren, and so forth. Funeral mass at the same church, internment in the family plot elsewhere (same cemetary and adjacent to my parents' resting place), and then a meal. (Food seems to be a uniting thing in my family.) Another opportunity to meet first cousins I hadn't seen in 20-30 years, plus meeting various cousins (once removed and/or second cousins) for the first time since this is a different branch of the family than the first funeral.
On to the geneology part. Running about repeatedly in rural western Pennsylvania got me curious about tracking down whether the gravesites of my direct ancestors were known. Checking in the cemetary my parents are in led to me finding the grave of one of my great-grandfathers (paternal side). Some more poking around on-line got me a location for the other paternal great-grandfather, and the great-great-grandfather as well (born 1822). Haven't visited there yet, but some map work indicated the probable location. As expected, quite close (~8 miles) to the town my father grew up in.
Time for some exploration.
Well, the crop of first cousins once removed are mainly married, so it's mainly the latter events now. At this point it's my aunts that are going, all elder sisters of my father.
One of the four died just after Easter at the age of 80. I got out to Johnstown (PA) from Philly by renting a car and taking a day off. My brother came down from western NY that same night and got in about 2am. Funeral the next morning, internment at the cemetary there, and a group meal nearby. [This is the same aunt whose birthday party I referred to earlier in this LJ.]
Relatives out of the woodwork. Cousins I hadn't seen from that branch of the family for years, new children, and seeing all three of my other aunts for the first time in a while. Gets me realizing how big the greater clan is. Plus the funeral mass being done by a 2nd cousin who is a priest.
Soon after that funeral another of my aunts who had been ailing recently was diagnosed as having advanced liver cancer. Essentially a terminal with a live expectancy under three months. Not a lot of time, but enough for her children to visit, make arrangements, and then it was hospice care at the house of one of her daughters. And, to keep everyone updated there was a LJ kept on how things were progressing. Things took their course and she died just over a week ago at the age of 86.
So... my brother and I met again in Johnstown for another funeral this past Sunday. A larger turnout since this aunt had had 10 children, had 40+ grandchildren, and so forth. Funeral mass at the same church, internment in the family plot elsewhere (same cemetary and adjacent to my parents' resting place), and then a meal. (Food seems to be a uniting thing in my family.) Another opportunity to meet first cousins I hadn't seen in 20-30 years, plus meeting various cousins (once removed and/or second cousins) for the first time since this is a different branch of the family than the first funeral.
On to the geneology part. Running about repeatedly in rural western Pennsylvania got me curious about tracking down whether the gravesites of my direct ancestors were known. Checking in the cemetary my parents are in led to me finding the grave of one of my great-grandfathers (paternal side). Some more poking around on-line got me a location for the other paternal great-grandfather, and the great-great-grandfather as well (born 1822). Haven't visited there yet, but some map work indicated the probable location. As expected, quite close (~8 miles) to the town my father grew up in.
Time for some exploration.