It's back to Ireland

Michael Brown in Ireland is the equivalent of John Smith in the USA. Tons of them.

Getting the name of a relative is always exciting to me. Getting a name of a living relative is a big YEAH!

I talked to my Aunt Grace yesterday and she called to tell me that she found the deed to the grave where my grandparents are buried which means she can grant me authority to lay my mom's ashes to rest there. It was a weight that was lifted off of my shoulders.

The previous day, I had sent an email to my Aunt Tressa about visiting the area for the funeral.

So it's on. It's on. I need to pick a date and time and get with the mortuary about the stone marker and pay the fee. I'm thinking Wednesday,October 19th.

I told my boss at work that I'm taking two entire weeks off.I haven't had a real vacation since 2001 when I went to see my Uncle Arthur on my dad's side of the family and then drove down from Atlanta, GA area to see my Aunt Grace and Uncle Bob.

So, while I was drinking my hot black tea this morning trying to wake up because I'm got a shit load of things to do and the desire to do them, I started to poke at my family tree on Ancestry. Yesterday, they sent me another 'thank you' for correcting bad transcription. and I was trying to fill in the missing people for Joan Staub, but could not because she's a living relative in New York and that state is strict with it's privacy laws and genealogy. So I was looking a little farther back and  thought, "Hmmm I have a photo of Michael J. Brown, my 2nd great grandfather by marriage to Mary Florence Killmer who was the sister of Julia Ann Killmer, my maternal 2nd great grandmother". And looked at his parents info and decided they were both immigrants from Irish Free State somewhere between 1867 (when he was around age 20) and 1872 (a year before the birth of his first child in the US). They should be on the Ellis Island registry.