2017 Midyear Update

08 Aug 2017 Midyear Update

MIDYEAR UPDATE  2017

Welcome to the 2017 Midyear Update of the CFHS Website. We have two new posts, an unknown photograph, and an item of interest – a DNA analysis to check out.

ANCESTORS

Richard  Creaghe, DL and his wife, Matilda Parsons, were interesting people who led full lives in tumultuous times in Irish history. A significant amount of material exists to document, with some extrapolation, what their lives must have been like. Of course, there remain many unanswered questions. For instance, who painted the above portrait of Richard as a child? Where was it done? Was there an itinerant portrait painter roaming the West Indies in the late 17^th Century immortalizing children of the well to do, or did the family make a trip to Ireland or America when he was a young boy? Is this actually him? This sort of thing is what makes the process interesting.

HISTORIC SITES

The First National Bank in Lamar, Colorado was the site of a notorious bank robbery in 1928 which drew a great deal of national attention. It was a big deal, and our family was involved to significant extent. It is an interesting story.

UNKNOWN PHOTOGRAPH

Lucy Corning Brackett found this unlabeled image in her collection of family photos and, naturally, wondered who was captured in the photo and where it was taken. Michael Gordon Moore checked it out and came up with the following conclusions.

Good morning Lucy,

This what I know so far:

1. The picture was probably taken after 1905-1910 but before the end of WWI.
2. I have made a reasonable topographical match of the hills profile to the west side of Springnerville, Arizona. The shadows in the picture indicate being taken to the west. My guesses and Google maps provided the match.
3. The Lamar (Prowers county) area is as flat as far as the eye can see, the Creahge’s moved there in 1898.
4. One of Great Grandmother Sara Bazan’s older brothers moved to the Arizona territory before she married St. George in 1877. She settled in Springerville from Santa Fe as St. George resided in the area as the county sheriff and a rancher.
5. George was in 46 when the family moved to Lamar, I have several pictures of him working the ranch on the Oklahoma/Colorado boarder (Little Cimarron Area) and he is not a physical match. His son are too young and thin to be that man.
6. The picture contains  a new USA flag which would be displayed in the new state of Arizona (1912).
7. I have an article from a local Spanish newspaper describing a visit to the area by Sara Bazan Creaghe and her beautiful daughter Lolita (my Grandmother Lola), to visit relatives, before she got married in 1916
8. So, I think the picture was taken between late 1912 and 1915, it is not a Creaghe but most likely a Bazan, one of Sara’s older brothers. I have never seen a picture of the Bazan men, only Sara and her sister.

So this is circumstantial stuff, I will continue looking and let you know if I come across anything more than a guess on my part.

I have a lot of family history that my Mom collected over a 20 year period for her Creaghe family history books but do not know where she got most of it from as she kept no record of sources. As I work my way through her very large archive I would welcome interaction with any relatives such as yourself as I have not known how to make contact. Steve Creaghe is the only one I know how to contact currently.

Michael

In my experience, if you take a photo, and do not label it; you may as well not save it in the first place. It will be much easier for your future biographer if you indicate who, where, when, and even why the photo the was taken.

DNA ANALYSIS

         Yours truly submitted his DNA to the Ancestry.com project. In some ways, it was a little disappointing in that there were no big surprises.

52% Europe West

38% Ireland

10% Other

The “Other” 10% was broken down as    3% Native American

7% Trace: 4% Iberian Peninsula

1% Italy-Greece

Less than 1% Great Britain

Less than 1% European Jewish

Well, actually it was surprising that there so little Iberian Peninsula – 4%. Any thoughts? The DNA matches done by Ancestry showed a match with a second cousin who I have met and many, many 3^rd – 5^th cousins. I have reached out to some, but no responses thus far.

FAMILY TREE

          A family tree in the classic sense may not be practical. The cost of a custom platform is prohibitive, and I don’t want to get a subscription thing. I am still working it though.

Again, my usual plea for additional input: articles, information, comments, or corrections.

Enjoy the new posts.

Stephen B. Creaghe, July 9, 2017