Oh Boy! It's Hot!

My new all consuming hobby is freezer cooking. I don't cook the actual freezer, mind you. I cook the food that will fill it.  And , truth be told , it's more of a need than a hobby. Seriously . what normal human being turns on the stove when it's 90 degrees, anyway.

So anyway , while I was covered in flour and dripping in sweat I started thinking maybe I might be a little bit crazy. Correction : it was really just an affirmation. My relatives , however , and yours too did not have air conditioning. If they were lucky they had some body of water to swim in , but you cant do that when you cook. Can you imagine it being th emiddle of summer and stoking the fire. Ok , I'm pretty sure a lot of the time the fire place wasn't used in the summer but there must have been exceptions.

What about visiting family at the holidays? If you moved far away , you probably didn't. None of my relatives , who came here , ever went back to the old country. Some of them came alone. No family here. I don't think I could have done it.

It's very romantic to consider long beautiful gowns and travel by horse and carriage. The reality is it must have made things very difficult. Especially , no ac. I hate the heat. I really do.

For Grams

My grandmother was born Mildred Annette Fink on 4 January 1926. She was born in Baltimore though  she lived much of her life first in Brooklyn and then Long Island . Her parents were Zelde ( Sadie) Teichberg and Saul Fink(elstein) both from differnt parts of the Ukraine though at the time it was called Austria and Russia(laterPoland). She couldnt cook very well but she made the best soup ever. One day I hope to get the recipes from my Auntie. She also had a couple of crooked fingers due to arthitis. She point straight but would really be pointing to her right. She was , also , one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen.

She died from Alzheimer's a little more than a year ago.

Annie Craig

Annie Craig was born in Ireland in about 1871. She came to New York in 1884 on a ship called the Anchoria. Along with her came her siblings Charles , Maria and Jane. Neither her parents nor her younger sister Susie accompanied them . She became a teacher for the Brooklyn public schools . She never married. Eventaully , she lived with her sisters Maria and Susie and Maria's husband. She passed away in May 1941 at the age of 69.

What I find really amazing is this woman is my aunt and up until a few days ago I didnt even know she existed. She lived 10 or 20 miles away from me . There are more Craigs even closer to where I live. I am today taking a personal vow to find them.

My Grandfather , Joseph Craig , The Great Sock Bandit of the East

So much for assasinating  a British officier.....

The Brooklyn Eagle--1918

The three men arrested by Patrolman Dunn as they were mailing a case from which they had removed a pile of socks and in which they had placed bricks , old iron and other junk at 500 Coney Island Ave. were held yesterday by Magistrate Steers on a charge of grand larceny. Thes socks were the property of The Block Forwarding Company of Manhattan and were on their way to Pier C Jersey Cityto be shipped to Buenos Aires.

The men are Joseph Craig 111 East Fifth St., Fredrick Hartmaan 45 East Fourth St. and Adam Kurlandt 624 20th St.

Michael John Curtin

Michael John Curtin was born 17 January 1914 in New York. His parents were Denis Curtin and Maragret Kane Curtin. He had six brothers and sisters. there names were Cornelius, Margaret ,Patrick , William, Anna and James. He had an artistic nature. He walked with a limp because he was hit by a car. He married Lillian Craig on 1 October 1939 at the Good Shepherd Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn , New York. They had two children Kevin Barry ,named for the young freedom fighter ,and Bruce Richard. Michael died on 6 September 1967 from a heart attack. Michael John was my grandfather.

Killeen Schmilleen

It has been a busy week. Not only have I not had time for my poor lonely blog but I havent even done and research this week. Easter was a good time. We went to my husband's aunt's house. Not only is she is fabulous cook but ganze mishpocheh < thats yiddish because I have no idea how to say it in Portuguese>  was there.

My has-really-great-pictures-cousin told me that Maragret Kane's mother's maiden name was Killeen. In 1930 there is a Killeen family living on Sackett Street where the Curtins lived. This is definately gonig to require some more investigation.

I Got Nothing

I grew up with very little family. Genealogy has changed that for me in more ways than one. I have found cousins. Cousins have found me. And there is my growing "genealogy family". Plus  there are all these dead folk who never ever disagree with me! Could I get any luckier?

When I first started , I had closed my business and was looking for a cheap hobby to keep me busy for a little while.  I know some of you seasoned genealogists are laughing when you hear cheap, but the truth is Ive spent very little money. Ok  , Ancestry.com is an expensive , but other than that , I only spend what I can afford to spend. There is something strangely delicous about having to wait a month to send away for a birth certifcate. I confess I haven't gone across the pond though. My expenses might wrack up then.

I have , however, spent an inordinate amount of time posting on different message boards ,etc. First there is Ancestry.com. Buckets full of last names to post to.  Then , Cousinconnect.com..I havent found any relatives there yet but I know I will. Curtin .org and Ancestry.com on Facebook.

In addition to all of these there are websites to read ..that will lead me somewhere else.  I could never forget Cyndislist.com. That would be like forgetting to eat the chocolate pudding in my fridge.

What has genealogy done for you and what are your favorite sites?