New Twins

John and Liz added two more to their family yesterday, December 9. Eric Henry was born at 1:26 pm, weighing in at 6 lbs, 7 oz. John Richard, Jr. (Jack)was born at 2:27 pm, and weighed 6 lbs, 15 oz. All went well. Here are some pictures.




Here is Jack
And here is Eric.


Eric is names after Liz's grandfather. We can tell them apart because Eric has more hair. Liz will be home Thursday afternoon.

Honora Falvey

A couple of weeks ago, Kathleen asked Mimi to tell her again some of the story of her grandmother, Honora Falvey -- Will had to do a report for school. Mom had a written report from 1979,which she rewrote for Will, and Kathleen was kind enough to type them up. Kathleen also suggested that the rest of the family might be interested, so here are the notes.

Notes on Honora Falvey

By Mary Ellen Fahy

Written in 2008

Honora Falvey was born on 3/12/1870 on Valentia Island, County Kerry, Ireland to Martin and Honora Falvey who were tenant farmers. Honora is a common name on Valentia. She was baptized at one day old on March 13, 1870. So many babies died as infants.

Her parents brought Honora and her eight brothers and sisters over to the US in two stages. They left Ireland because they and just about everyone else was poor. Failing crops made it difficult to feed everyone. At this time, Ireland was not an independent country. The Falveys were British subjects. In 1883, the British government began to subsidize sending the Irish to the US. It was at this time that the Falveys departed Ireland.

Mary, the oldest, was a widow. She had one son and was expecting a second son. Honora stayed behind to help her sister. She was probably no older than 13 or 14. She may have been only 11. (dates are often difficult to pin down). Her family must have considered her very responsible. Mary and Honora and the two baby boys followed the family to the US shortly after.

They settled in Bridgeport, Conn. They may have had relatives there but also work was easily found there.

Honora was a baby nurse for the family of a doctor (or nanny), again showing her competence. She purposely lost her Irish brogue (her Irish accent) saying that is what you do in America to get ahead. She looked down on her relatives who did not make the effort.

She married John Steele when she was in her early 20’s. He was a toolmaker. They had 9 children – 4 girls and 5 boys. My mother Florence was the youngest.

In 1918, her son John, a pharmacist, died in the Influenza epidemic.

Her husband died very suddenly in 1919. My mother was 8 years old when her father died. Honora took the insurance money she received and bought a two-family house in Howard Ave. in Bridgeport, CT. She raised her children there. In later years she was active in her parish church. She died suddenly in September 1959.

The records in the presbytery are only legible from 1867 on and only the birth and baptism have been recorded – there are no marriage or death records.

Written in 1979

Honora Falvey Steele was born March 12, 1870 and baptized one day later by Rev. J Kearney. Her Mother’s name was Honora Sullivan and her Father was Martin Falvey. Her godparents were Thomas and Mary Shea. The Falvey family lived in West Cooil Craheg. This is just west of the present bridge to Port Magee and south of the main road. It is rough and bog-like earth and there are few houses there now.

Honora’s sister Joanna had been born and baptized in September of 1867. Her brothers were Patrick Falvey, who was baptized in the 21st of February 1872, Michael who was baptized on Feb 16 1874, and Denis Falvey who was born and baptized on Feb 17, 1877. (Perhaps he died as a baby or young child). Martin and Honora Falvey’s last child was born in August of 1881. The child had no name listed nor any further dating – only the parents’ names were listed. Presumably the child was stillborn. Honora’s other siblings were Mary, Ellen, Kathleen, Julia, and Bridget. The baptismal records are not legible for these children.

Mary Falvey Connell and Philip Connell (Honora’s oldest sister) had a son Timothy born the 10^th of April 1879 and baptized the 12^th of April. Their second son John was born sometime after August 1881 (the date of Honora and Martin’s stillborn child). The priest had checked the records from 1867 until that date. I did not press him to go further.

However I know now that it is an important date. It would establish more definitely the date of the family’s emigration. The story that had been told to me by my mother was that the whole family came over together except Mary who was expecting her second child (John?) and Honora who stayed behind to assist her sister – Phillip Connell having died. If this story is true it assumes that Martin and Honora Falvey had a great deal of trust in their young daughter Honora’s abilities. They must have indeed sensed that she had a great sense of responsibility. At the minimum she could have been eleven years. I wonder if she were a year or two older. In any case it would seem that John Connell’s birth date is important.

Following are excerpts of my notes from an article in the 1972 edition of An-T-Oileãnac. I have also read about the period in several Histories of Ireland. However, this article (which had excerpts from the newspaper of that time) gives the flavor of the times.

The question of Free Immigration puzzled me. It could have affected the Falveys or they may have left earlier. Prior to the British government paying passage for the immigrants the Quakers and local landlords had provided money for transportation. (The landlords did not provide passage out of kindness. They were taxed by the British Government for each person who lived within their estate who took government aid such as it was – i.e. those in the poorhouse – It was cheaper to ship them out of the country.) The Quakers however were not active in County Kerry but confined themselves to Galway – where conditions were reportedly worse – if that is possible.

“It was not until 1883 that the British Government decided on subsidizing the trans-Atlantic movement on a national scale. The government granted 5 pounds per head for adults, half that for teenagers, and 1 pound for infants. Under the scheme, which was administered by the Board of Guardians, it was not permitted that any member of a family be left behind. After a number of families had been sent out through the usual ports of Derry, Galway, and Cabh, it was found that money could be saved and more emigrated by arranging for ships to call at selected ports on the coast apart from normal ports.”

“All passengers traveled steerage. Every effort has been made for the health and comfort of the passengers especially in ventilation.” (This is after the passage of the Passenger Acts).

“On June 1, 1883 the ship Belgravia, 5000 tons, 500 feet long of the Anchor Line with Captain Hutchinson in command on way from Liverpool stopped at Valentia. There were 800 immigrants to the USA boarded, of whom a large proportion were from Valentia. Since the Belgravia was a large ship, it anchored of Glenleam. Many of the passengers were taken to the ship on local boats. Later HM Gunboat Redwings conveyed the remainder from Ringard Point.”

“Each batch of passengers passed on board under the supervision of the Guardian of the Division Captain Canton, local government inspector Major Spaight, Mr James Butler Chairman of Cahersiveen Board of Guardians, and clerk of the Union, Mr. J. O’Driscoll. All Immigrants were tidily dressed and presented a healthy appearance.”

“On the urging of the priest from Cahersiveen many immigrants took the pledge.”

Also – the Belgravia was a steam screw-propelled vessel and the voyage took nine days. Two weeks after the Belgravia sailed the Furnessia left in the same manner – June 16 1883. The Cork Examiner reported that whereas there had been dockside scenes during the departure of the Belgravia, no such scenes occurred upon the sailing of the Furnesia. Gloom had settled over the area.

Patty Lynch, a 12 year old in 1883, reported that there were 220 people on the rolls of his school before the Furnessia sailed. Afterwards there were but 56 pupils left.

I have a 1910 census copy that states that Honora emigrated to the United States in 1883. But it states that her age was 42 (in 1910), which would mean that she was born in 1868. However, since I have seen her baptism record, I think 1870 is correct. William emigrated in 1878 at the age of 44 according to this document. Both were naturalized citizens of the United States.

I think the 1883 date for immigration is most likely correct. So many people left Valentia island that year on those two ships, and their passage was paid for by the British government. The problem is the story of Honora staying behind to help her sister Mary with the birth of John Connell. The dates and details could have been altered in the telling of the story. It is difficult to be actually served in a mini dates (except those written in the baptism records).

When we visited Valentia Island, relatives did say that Honora Falvey's family and many other residents left for the U.S. in 1883 when the British government paid the passage.

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving this year was a bit secondary to the impending arrival of John and Liz's twins. Mary Ellen has been staying overnight at there house for a week now in case they have to rush to the hospital in the middle of the night. I went over there Thursday for Thanksgiving dinner, which Liz cooked despite her advanced pregnancy. Mary Ellen did sweet potatoes and we brought enough wine to adequately lubricate the meal.

Before dinner John took the kids to the playground at the neighboring school.




On Friday, I drove to Austin to visit the Pasquarette family. I got there in time to help put up the Christmas tree (or at least watch). Ellie and Will were very thorough in getting this job done.

On Saturday morning, Will, Ellie and I went for a long walk from their neighborhood park down a path that was paved for a hald mile and then went down a steep rocky slope to a dirt path. In the afternoon we saw a Disney movie, Bolt, about a show business dog, and then went to dinner at Serrano's.


Sunday, I drove back to Grand Prairie so I could take Mimi to the Fort Worth Symphony Christmas Concert, and later took her back to John's house for the night.

Erin's Birthday

Mimi and Pop Pop went to Virginia this past weekend to visit Sarah and Andrew and family. We went to book club Friday and celebrated Erin's fourth birthday Saturday. She had a party with five friends. Here are some pictures:

Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day! Anna and Mary Margaret have been playing t-ball and riding their cars. We wanted to share these photos of our sweeties.

Eric's visit

Eric came to town on Sunday with his band. The Pasquarettes were up from Austin. Eric came by the house and then all went to see the show. The show was loud, energetic, and great fun. Will eventually fell asleep, but Ellen trooped through to the end. Here is the review from the Star-Telegram.

And thanks Mom for taking care of Anna!

John

Mary Lou Murray, 1925-2008, R.I.P.

My cousin, Mary Lou Murray, died on May 30. She was 12 years older than me, but very close to our entire family for her whole life. Until 1945, we all lived in a family compound in Bridgeport at the corner of North Avenue and James Street. There were three or four houses that contain my parents, my grandparents (on the Bown side), Mary Lou and her parents, Frossie, my mother's sister, and John Cull. My mother's aunt, Agnes Riley, live behind us in a house facing James Street. There were no fences between the houses, so we had a large open area as a backyard.

Mary Lou was very close to my mother, and acted as a babysitter for me. She was very glamorous, and went to the Yale Drama School for a while before marrying Tom Murray. She remained close to my mother and father all their lives, particularly in the last 30 years after her parents passed away. She and Tom have a large house in Weston, Connecticut, which was always the center of activities on holidays and for any family party.

Unfortunately, Mary Lou suffered a stroke or a heart attack a half dozen years ago that left her brain-damaged. It has been a very difficult time for both Mary Lou and Tom, as well as from her family. Tom has had live-in nursing assistance for her for several years.

I flew to Connecticut on June 3 for the funeral on June 4, which was a lovely event honoring her memory. Unfortunately, Mary Ellen had a severe allergic reaction, and could not make the trip. My condolences go to Tommy, and to their children, Josh, Mariliz, and Kate.

Berlin - Report 2

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

We took the S-Bahn to Potsdam today, and then a bus to the palace grounds. We first went to the Sans Souci Palace, which was created by Frederick the Great, starting in 1744. It was supposed to be a summer retreat, and was therefore only one story -- a lovely late Baroque palace.

We had to go back outside the gate at lunchtime to get a bratwurst from a vendor.

We then walked down the terraces to a fountain in the park below the palace, and then walked about a kilometer through the park to the Neue Palace, which was built in the 1760s. It was a very large and not particularly attractive building. We then returned to our hotel in Berlin via two buses and the S-Bahn.

We went out looking for a German restaurant for dinner, but couldn't find one that wasn't a smoky bar. We finally found a café on a side street that had Turkish and Italian food. We both had Italian -- Mary Ellen scampi and me lasagna -- and the food was outstanding.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

We didn't have a whole lot that we had to see today. In the morning, we went to the Gemäldegalerie, which is a very new building that now houses the entire collection of old masters from both West and East Berlin -- it was almost too much. We had lunch -- quiche Lorraine -- at the cafeteria in the museum. After lunch, we walked to the Potsdammer Platz and took the S-Bahn to the Charlottenburg Palace -- on the west side of Berlin. It was built around 1700. We toured the ground floor, which had the King’s and Queen’s apartments and formal rooms, but didn't bother with the first floor. We took two buses to get back to the hotel and are now packing to leave very early in the morning for our flight home.

Berlin - Report 1

Monday, May 19, 2008

We got a train at 11 o'clock from Dresden to Berlin (nonstop). We did not have a seat reservation because they had been useless from Prague to Dresden, and I ended up standing. The conductor finally came, and I pointed to the one empty seat where a woman told me it had been reserved. It wasn't reserved until the next light, so the conductor gave me the seat. It was a two hour train ride. Once you got a cab at the new Berlin railroad station, I made another mistake. I told the driver, who spoke excellent English, that the hotel was at 78 Kurferstendamstrasse, when it was really at 78 Kurfurstenstrasse -- about 4 km away. He was a nice guy and turned off the meter, which is already a $25. Our hotel, and Express Holiday Inn, was the cheapest we could find in Berlin -- we had an extremely small, but highly efficient, room.

We went for a walk in late afternoon to Potsdammer Platz, which was an enormous empty lot when we were here 12 years ago (it had not been developed because the Berlin Wall had run through it). Now it is full of modern buildings -- the Sony Center is a large enclosed space with restaurants etc. in a glass ceiling about 20 stories high. We walk through the nearby cultural District and saw the Neue Nationalgalerie, an Eero Sarineen building, on the way home. We had been at a reception there in 1981. We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant next to the hotel, where the food is actually quite good. We even went back to it on our last night.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

We bought a three-day bus pass and took the bus to Museum Island, which is in the heart of East Berlin. We went to the Pergamon Museum, which we had also visited in 1996, and saw the Pergamon Temple which had been moved here from Turkey, and the Babylonian Gates of Ishtar. We have visited Pergamon on our trip to Turkey in 2004, and had seen the site from which the temple had been taken.

We had lunch near the museum and then walked to the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag, which had been the home of the German Parliament. It had been burned in 1933, shortly after the Nazis took over, and badly damaged in 1945. In the 1990s, it was rebuilt with an enormous glass dome on top and is now the major tourist attraction in Berlin. We and all the other tourists walked around on the roof, with views all over the city. One unfortunate sight was a fire with much smoke in the Philharmonie -- the Philharmonic Hall -- right near the Potsdammer Platz. That night we went to an Argentine steakhouse for dinner, which was a nice change -- and only 100 yards from the hotel.

Dresden - Report 1

Sunday, May 18

On Sunday, we took a cab into town and went to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in the Zwinger Palace -- it has a wonderful collection of Ruebens, Vermeers, and other old masters, including the Sistine Madonna by Rafael. Mary Ellen wanted to go to the Albertinum, which had contained the modern art collection, but we found it was closed for two years for repairs.

She also wanted to go to the Frauenkirche, ("Church of Our Lady") (right) a high Baroque Lutheran church (which had been destroyed in the war and rebuilt), but it was closed for a concert. So we went to the concert, which consisted of organ music by Bach, an oratorio by Mozart, a symphony by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and another organ piece. It was actually a religious program with the sermon, but it was over in an hour.

The hotel restaurant was closed Sunday night, so we wandered around and found a nice restaurant a few blocks away. We sat in a glassed-in porch because it was pretty cold and gray outside.

Prague - Report 4

Friday, May 16, 2008

Today was free -- it was a scheduled tour of a suburb where Honza lived in the afternoon, but people were encouraged to finish up their shopping, sightseeing, etc.. We passed on the tour and instead shopped for toys for grandchildren and went to several places we have not had a chance to see -- the Cubist Museum, St. James Church, and the Tyn Church. We also went to the Bethlehem Chapel -- a reconstruction of the chapel where Jan Hus had preached in 1400. We had a light lunch under a tent in the middle of the Old Town Square, because we knew we were having a fancy closing dinner that evening.

It had been cloudy all day (for the first time on the tour) and when we left the Tyn Church, it poured. Fortunately we could wait under the arches of the square, and our hotel was only a block and a half from the church, so we struck out for the hotel when the rain lightened up, and did not get too wet.

That evening, we had the closing dinner of the tour at a restaurant called David, which was across the river, next to the American Embassy. We took trams to get over there, both walked across the Charles Bridge on the way back. The dinner was very pleasant -- Honza brought in some Czech musicians to entertain us before the meal. We sat with two retired flight attendants, so it was hard to make conversation. Mary Ellen had Nona, a Jewish woman from Philadelphia, next to her, and they worked hard trying to get the table involved in conversation. Nona and her husband, John, were very nice, and interested particularly in the tour of the Jewish synagogues. I ran into them when I was walking to the station to buy the train tickets for Germany, and they had been out searching for a synagogue that was not on the main part of the tour.

Saturday, May 17

The tour officially ended after breakfast, and we then took a cab to the Holovice Station and the train to Dresden. When we checked into our hotel, the Hotel Bayerishe Hof, we found that I had incorrectly made the reservation for May 15 -- 17, rather than May 17 -- 19. They had already sent me an e-mail asking why I had no-showed. Fortunately, they had a room available and did not charge us the cancellation fee.

Dresden did not have the beautiful weather that we had in Prague. We walked into the center of town (about three quarters of a mile) and grabbed seats at the first sidewalk restaurant we could find because it was threatening to rain (the restaurant was underneath a roof that extended over the sidewalk). We did not see much of the city Saturday night and took a cab back to the hotel, where we had a glass of wine in the lobby.

The picture at left is a part of the Zwinger Palace, which we walked through after dinner.

Prague - Report 3

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

On Wednesday we had a tour of the Jewish ghetto, which is very close to the Old Town Square. We visited several synagogues and the Jewish cemetery. We finished at noon, had a nice lunch, and took it easy in the afternoon.

In the evening, the group went to the National Theater to see a ballet, Eugene Onegin, performed by the Czech National Ballet. It was choreographed by John Cranko in 1973, and was an outstanding work. We had never heard of it being performed in the United States.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

We took a day trip to Kutna Hora, a town about 60 kilometers (one and a half hours) from Prague. Kutna Hora had silver mines in medieval time, and was wealthy enough to build the Cathedral -- St. Barbara's, which we toured. After a guided walk through town, we were on our own for lunch, and went to a wonderful restaurant, Dacicky (the name has Czech accents which I cannot reproduce) that the guide had pointed out, again with the MacKays from Seattle. We set a picnic tables in a shady courtyard, and I had wild game meatloaf.

In the afternoon, we went down in a silver mine -- down about 15 flights of stairs and then threw very narrow tunnels dripping with water. Fortunately, it came out on the side of a hill, so we did not have to climb back. It was not our favorite event of the tour. We had an equally disfavored stop on the way back -- a church near Kutna Hora with thousands of human skeletons and intricate displays of human skulls. This was designed to illustrate that "dust thou art, and to dust thou shall return". After the bus ride back to Prague, we just had dinner in the hotel.

Prague - Report 2

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

This was by far the most strenuous walking day of the tour. In the morning we started with the Powder Tower and the Black Madonna Cubist building we then walk through Old Town and took a tram across the river to the Lesser Town -- lesser because it is located below the Palace. We went to the Wallenstein Gardens, where we had been on Sunday, but it was more interesting with Honza as the guide. When we stopped for a break, he took water, soda, and a Czech liquor out of his backpack and serve the whole group; we then played the Rick Steve's team of standing around in a circle and repeating everybody's name. By the time the last person goes through the list of 24 names, you do remember at least 12 of them. Someone said this was an old Girl Scout game.

We then walked up towards the Palace through the lesser town. We went by St. Nicholas Church, but did not go into it. Rather than going directly onto the Charles Bridge to go home, we went around towards the side of into a neighborhood which had the Lennon Wall -- a wall of graffiti in honor of John Lennon. This was painted over by the Communists, and then re-created numerous times. We then walked across the Charles Bridge (which we had done on Sunday morning), and ended up at the Havelska Market -- a fairly wide street, with many booths selling food, toys, etc. in the middle. We had lunch with Dave and Mary Lou McKay from Seattle.

After resting for a while in the afternoon, we walked almost a half an hour to the National Theatre, where Honza started his tour of the 1989 Velvet Revolution. We started on a street corner where a student demonstration had turned into the national street, leading from the theater to Wenceslaus Square. Unfortunately, the street corner was one of the busiest in Prague, with trams going by in all four directions -- I have difficulty hearing his lecture. We then walked up the national street and into Wenceslaus Square, with Honza stopping for several other brief lectures. It was very interesting and obviously covered a major event in the history of the Czech Republic. After we ended in the square, we walked around 15 minutes uphill to a restaurant for dinner, and then took the tram back towards the hotel.

Wencelaus Square

Happy Mother's Day

I just logged in.  Tried to add a comment, bu could not figure it out.  So, I am adding a posting, I guess.  I wanted to say "Happy Mother's Day" to Mom.  This mother's day was the first in a few years where my husband was in town, so it was a much more mellow day than I usually get.  We went to Macaroni Grill for dinner - I love Macaroni Grill, and the kids tried to be nice to me all day.  It was great.    Looking forward to your next posting from your trip.

Prague - Report 1

May 12, 2008

We left DFW on AA 78 on May 9, and had a good overnight flight, on which we both got at least four hours sleep. Our first flight connecting to Prague was supposed to be full, but we fortunately got on and were in Prague by 6:15 pm. Our hotel is only one block from the main tourist attraction, the Old Town Square, so after we checked in, we went over there and had a pizza in an outdoor cafe. We were in bed by 10 o'clock.

Sunday morning we walked around a great deal. We stopped in at two churches, for high Mass. The first, St. James, was enormous, and we left when the priest started giving the sermon in Czech. We then walked to the Tyn Church, which had a wonderful high Mass with great music - organ, trumpets, and professional singers. We stayed for half the Mass.

We then walked across the Charles Bridge (see picture) and a few blocks beyond, had a beer at a sidewalk restaurant and walked back over the river on another bridge to get back to the hotel for our 3:00 meeting of the tour group.

After the introductory meeting, the group took a tram and the Metro to Vishyrad, the original fortified position at Prague in about the tenth century. It is now a park. Our tour guide, Honza Vihan, gave a good introduction to early Czech history. We also visited the National Cemetery, which is only for leading intellectual figures. Dvorshak and Smetana are buried there. We then went to a tour group dinner at a nearby restaurant. We got back to the hotel late and very tired from all the walking. (I am in an internet cafe now, while Mary Ellen is sleeping).

Today, we got up early to beat the hordes to Prague Castle. We were there by 9 am, and saw St. Vitus Cathedral, the Royal Palace, and several other places on the Palace Hill. Our formal tour activities ended at noon. We had a light lunch at a sidewalk Cafe, and then went to the Lobowitz Palace, which opened to the public only last year. The family was a renowned feudal family that had several castles and other properties in what is now the Czech Republic. Its properties were confiscated by the Nazis, returned after the war, and then confiscated again by the Communists. The current government returned them and the Lobowitzs are now trying to make a tourist attraction out of it. Here is a picture of Prague Castle.

The weather has been perfect -- dry, mid 70s. and cloudless skies -- and is forecast to continue this way all week. We have been very lucky.

Pop Pop and Anna look alikes

Mimi sent me a picture of myself at age 2. She thought I had the same sad face that Anna shows on occasion.

We looked at the party pictures

We went to Gina Propp's house in north Fort Worth today to look at the proofs of the pictures from the party. You have seen them all on the slideshow, but they are very attractive as photographs. the proofs have a white border, but they are 5 x7, the same as a finished product. The only difference is that the press will not have the white border.

We picked 25 prints for the album, and another five that she will try to squeeze in. The album will be ready in three or four weeks, at which time we will get all of the approximately 75 proofs back. We don't plan to keep the proofs, but will divide them up among John, Kathleen, and Sarah, so you may want to wait to order prints until you see the proofs. With our $125 credit, we ordered one 8x12 of the whole family for us. We also ordered one 5"x7"print for each of you, but I can't remember now which pictures we chose. I don't think we chose the large family one, but mom thinks we did. We'll have to wait until we get them back

Introduction

This is the beginning of the Fahy family blog, which will be publicized only to members of our family. I am also creating this as a classroom exercise in an adult education class at TCU. When this gets going, I will also be able to add editors, so others in the family will be able to contribute. We will also be able to include pictures of family events.