Megan

Family Names

Leave a Comment / Carra, Cavanagh, General, Jennings, Jurek | Magdziarz / Megan / July 19, 2024 / Family Names

With many cousins on both sides of my family having babies, I thought it it would be fun and helpful to share some family names from our tree! While some are quite common, so many of them are wonderful and unique and I would LOVE to see them passed down to future generations!

Starting with my maternal side, the following two sets of names belong to the family line of my grandfather, Dexter Jennings.

Jennings & Zerbe

Grandfathers

Dexter

Arthur

Cecil

William

Gilbert

Thomas

James

Jacob

Issac

Henry

Uncles

Dennis Dion

Myron

Miles

Ralph

Fletcher

Oliver

Benjamin

Albert

Robert

Grandmothers

Leona

Lillian “Lillie”

Sarah

Lydia

Deborah

Ann

Elenor

Hettie

Mariah

Keturah

Aunts

Ruth Ann

Sherla

Eva

Cleona Belle

Eveline

Elenora “Ella”

Mary Etta

Henrietta

Martha

Cavanagh & Hughes

(Grandma Bergman)

Grandfathers

Howard

Daniel

Andrew

Oliver

Alfred

Enoch

Nathanial

Theobold

George

Elias

Uncles

Asbury

Alexander

Floyd

Ivan

Clifford

Samuel

Harrison

Walton

Rupert

Grandmothers

Margaret Elizabeth

Edna

Minnie Etta

Charlotte

Agnes

Jane

Nancy

Hannah

Catherine

Eva

Aunts

Marian

Emma

Harriet

Minerva

Amanda

Maria

Letitia

Eliza

Rebecca

The next set of names belong to the Polish family line of my grandmother Janice AKA “Mimi” in our family.

Jurek & Magdziarz

Grandfathers

Bernard “Benny”

Leon

Adalbert

Matthew

Michael

Jan (John)

Martin

Andreas

Jozef (Joseph)

Laurentius (Lawrence)

Uncles

Jerome

Gordon

Josephus (Joseph)

Adam

Stanislaw (Stanley)

Frank

Simon

Peter

Sabastian

Grandmothers

Janice Ann

Violet

Anna

Marianna

Victoria

Magdalena

Catherina

Agnes

Sophia

Thecla

Aunts

Lorraine

Eva

Alvina

Irene

Antonia

Catherine

Yadviga

Josepha

Mary

For the paternal line of my family tree, below are the family names from both my Italian grandfather Philip Carra and grandmother Bernice Schroeder.

Carra & Tiberino

Grandfathers

Philip

Samuel

Uncles

Stanley

Paul

Gregory

Donald

Joseph

Pietro (Pete)

Natale (Nick)

Angelo

Anthony

Carmelo

Grandmothers

Violetta (Viola)

Santa

Barbara

Aunts

Esther Lena

Angela

Joan

Theresa

Marie (by marriage)

Anna (by marriage)

Rose (by marriage)

Schroeder & Vanocker

Grandfathers

James

John

Henry

Hugh

George

Frederick

Lester

Daniel

William

Alexander

Uncles

Joel

Hosea

Owen

Julius

Charles

Arthur

Harry

Clyde

Rudolph

Herman

Grandmothers

Bernice Eileen

Alma

Zenanah Rose

Patience

Charlotte

Juliette

Sarah

Julia

Elizabeth

Saloma

Aunts

Carole

Helen

Cleona Belle

Rose

Edith

Enda

Emma

Florence

Mary

Thankful

I’m a sucker for anything vintage and names are no exception!

Below are my favorite 5 of each:

Boys

Cecil
Oliver
Fletcher
Dexter
Gilbert (Gil for short)

Girls

Rose
Leona
Violet
Minnie Etta
Emma

Please leave a comment with your favorites or let me know which ones surprised you the most!

If you are curious to learn more about any specific ancestors or relatives I’ve included on these lists, please let me know and I would be happy to share!

Family Names Read More »

3 Generation Trip to Ireland

Leave a Comment / Cavanagh, Irish Family History, Trip / Megan / March 18, 2024

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I thought it would be a perfect time to share some highlights of the bucket list Irish Family History trip I took with my mom and great-aunt, Sherla in October 2018.

Sherla’s mother, Margaret (my great-grandma Bergman) was a Cavanagh. After working on our Cavanagh Family line that originated in Longford, County, Ireland, the two of them had always dreamed of visiting the Emerald Isle to see our ancestral homeland. After the passing of my great-uncle Raphael the year prior, Sherla didn’t think she would ever get the chance to go. I visited Dublin and the area surrounding the city in 2015 and couldn’t wait to return and spend more time exploring the Island so I decided it would be an incredible opportunity to take them and make it a 3-generation family history trip too!

The best part of the trip was that they had a couple of things they for sure wanted to do and see but they wanted the actual itinerary to be a surprise. This made the planning and execution SO MUCH FUN for me! I had the opportunity to choose all the places we stayed, sites we saw and routes we took. I spent months looking through books, reading various blog posts and Airbnb reviews until I crafted an incredibly customized two week itinerary full of adventures that we would all enjoy. I knew how much my mom loved castles, afternoon tea parties, gardens, cottages with open fires, riding horses, beaches, and rocks! I was interested in seeing the ancient sites such as Boyne Valley and New Grange, as well as cemeteries, ruins of old abbeys and the renowned natural beauties of the Cliffs of Mohr, Dark Hedges, and the Giants Causeway. Sherla was most interested in spending time in Longford where she could see the church our ancestors likely attended and places that would have been familiar to them that were still standing and visiting the local Longford Country Library. If you can believe it, we did all the above and MORE on our amazing adventure in Ireland.

Below is the itinerary by day along with select photos of our various adventures.

Day 1

After an overnight flight that began in Chicago, we arrived in Dublin at 8am. We then rented a car and ventured 180 miles to the other side of the island to the small coastal village of Doolin in County Clare. Roughly halfway across, we stopped and toured the stunning Charleville Castle located just outside of Tullamore.

As we neared our Airbnb, the roads became narrower and more treacherous and when we were just miles away from our cottage, we ended up in the ditch when trying to avoid a collision with a van. Thankfully, the driver of the van had a tow rope and pulled us right out so we could be back on our
way. We arrived at our lovely “Yellow Cottage” by the sea at 7pm. Just in time for a beautiful sunset. After a long day of traveling, we were starving and ready to take the edge off with a pint of Guinness at a local pub, so we did just that at McDermott’s Pub in Doolin. The place was packed with locals and tourists alike and had wonderful live musicians who played a variety of Irish ballads and Celtic songs with their fiddle, flute, guitar and accordion. A perfect way to wrap up our first full day in Ireland!

Day 2

After a lovely stay in our cozy cottage, we ventured out for a delicious breakfast at the Doolin Café. Sherla spent the day exploring the village while I took my mom to the Mountain View Horse Riding Center in Lisdoonvarna for the first big surprise excursion of our trip. A three-hour trail ride where we trekked into the heart of the Burren where we saw ruins of forts and homes left behind by the plight of the Irish Potato Famine back in the 1840s and panoramic views of the Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands and Connemara Mountains.

We wrapped up our riding adventure in the early afternoon, picked up Sherla and headed to the famous Cliffs of Mohr. It was chilly and incredibly windy but absolutely STUNNING!

After an entire day of being outdoors, we were chilled to the bone and ready for some warming up! We had some warm drinks and dinner at a local restaurant and headed back to our cottage where my mom made a cozy fire in our woodstove.

Day 3

Our stay in Doolin had come to an end but on our way out, we did a little shopping in their adorable shops in town that included a village craft store and incredible sweater shop where I picked up a wool sweater for my husband. We had a traditional Irish breakfast in a local pub and then ventured out for a jam-packed day of site seeing and experiences on our way to Galway. We made a quick stop at the Hazel Mountain Chocolate Factory and then explored the Dunguaire Castle. This 16^th century Tower House had a medieval banquet hall and little hat shop at the top of the tower.

We arrived in Galway around 4pm in time for another special surprise for my mom, afternoon tea at an original Irish Tea room, Cupán Tae. There was a beautiful display of tea cups hanging from the large front window providing a touch of whimsy to the experience. The tea sandwiches and variety of scones and cakes atop the vintage floral china was just like having tea at my mom’s former tea shop, Sophies Tea Room in Plainwell, MI.

After tea, we walked around Galway and the piers with their attached fishing boats for views of the city’s colorful houses from the water.

We would have spent the entire evening in the city, but I was dying to get to my next surprise before dark! In Athenry, about 20 minutes out of Galway, is Brookeen Hall, a 200-year-old restored Church of Ireland Chapel built as part of the Dunsandle estate and where we were going to stay!

After meeting the owners of our unique Airb&b and their dogs, we had a tour of the place, our living quarters and tower room.

We only had one short night in Galway and wanted to make the most of it, so we headed back into the city for a mini pub crawl where we started at the Salt House Brewery and ended at Monroe’s for some Guinness and live music. Thankfully, all three of us were night owls so ending the night at 11:30pm wasn’t too out of the ordinary for our crew.

Day 4

We woke up to an incredible breakfast spread prepared by our hosts and then spent the morning exploring the nearby Irish woodlands and Dunsandle Castle our hosts recommended we see. The castle was built in 1460 and was by far the creepiest place I have ever been to. After we all got the heebie jeebies about the same time, we left quickly and headed to our next destination, our ancestral homeland of Longford!

Located in the heart of Ireland, Longford County was where my 5x great-grandfather Andrew Cavanagh and his wife Margaret Skelly lived and raised their 7 children. Our fist stop was St. John’s Church where we took some photos before heading to the Longford County Library where we met with a local historian. That evening, we got a private tour of the inside of the church and learned all about the local history of the Edgeworth Family. When we had finished the only place in town still open was a small pop up Polish grocery store. We picked up some pierogies and apples and enjoyed a dinner around the dining room table of our Airbnb in Granard.

Day 5

After a hearty breakfast at the Kitty Kiernan Restaurant in Granard, we headed to Tullynally Castle in Castlepollard. The Pakenhams, Earls of Longford, lived at this majestic castle for over 370 years. In 1844, Andrew’s son James (my 4x great-uncle) married Elizabeth Packenham and though we haven’t determined the exact relation, it’s possible that she was related to the family. We spent about an hour admiring the exterior of the castle, beautifully manicured grounds, and large trees but we didn’t tour the inside due to time.

As I mentioned earlier, I was keen to see the ancient Neolithic sites in Ireland and situated on the hilltops of County Meath, was our next stop, the Boyne Valley and the Loughcrew Passage Tombs. The hike up the lush green hills to the site provided breathtaking views of the Irish countryside giving true meaning to the name “Emerald Isle”. Seeing the ancient cairns (3200 BC) and hieroglyphs on the megalithic stones was an incredible thing to experience in person. After we headed down the hill, we stopped to tour Maggie Heaney’s Cottage to see what a traditional late 1700’s cottage would have been like.

Next stop was to see the ancient round tower and Kells High Crosses in Kells. I love an old cemetery and the headstones and monuments there were amazing!

We then strolled through town and had a fabulous dinner at the Vanilla Pod Restaurant inside the Headfort Arms Hotel in Kells and then headed back to Granard for our final night in Longford.

Day 6

We were now at the halfway point of our trip and the day started out a bit rough when my mom accidentally backed our rental car into the corner of one of the buildings in the driveway of our Airbnb causing a good bit of damage to the backend. We weren’t exactly sure what to do so we decided that the show must go on and we just pretended like it didn’t happen and went into town for a final visit to the Longford Library to meet with another local historian for a few hours. We could have spent a week there but there were more surprises in store!

By 4pm, we had arrived at yet another castle. But not just any castle, we were at Lough Rynn Castle Estate and Gardens, a luxury castle hotel located in Mohill, County Leitrim and to my mom and Sherla’s surprise, this time we weren’t just stopping for a tour and photos, we were there to stay! This was another of the surprises I was very excited to unveil. We had made it in time for afternoon tea in the parlor and spent the evening touring the ground and gardens where we were blessed with another beautiful sunset. While staying inside a castle was a once in a lifetime experience, my favorite memory of the night was listening to my aunt Sherla retell a scene from a video of the blue-footed booby bird mating ritual.

Day 7

After a 5-star breakfast, we continued our journey north. Our first stop was Shellin Lace, an Antique Irish Lace Museum & Shop. To say my mom was in heaven would be an understatement! What a unique and beautiful place off the beaten path. We then found a gas station that’s parking lot was next to a cow pasture and I made a friend.

That evening, we arrived to the Lavender Cottage, our Airb&b in Bushmills. With stunning views of the Antrim coastline, we couldn’t wait to go see the main attraction, Giants Causeway! We left the cottage and get to the causeway about 5pm which was a perfect time to go because most of the tour busses had left and there weren’t many tourists in our way for exploring and taking photos. Words cannot express how incredible this place was. The unique landscape of the basalt columns jutting out of the earth and water, were almost otherworldly.

After sunset, we had dinner at the Smugglers Inn and headed back to enjoy a fire in our cozy cottage.

Day 8

After a breakfast of leftovers, we drove about an hour to the Dark Hedges in County Antrim. Made famous from being filmed in the TV series, Game of Thrones, this avenue of beech trees was planted in 1775 and is SO spectacular to walk through.

By 1pm, we made it to Belfast where we went to the iconic landmark, St George Market and walked though the city until the next surprise destination, the Belfast Botanical Gardens. We spent a little over an hour touring the gardens and had dinner at the Crown Bar where we shared a very Irish meal of beef pie, fish & chips and a cherry tomato tarte tartin.

We left the city and ventured to the small village of Greyabby where we stayed in other charming cottage called the “Lilac Tree Cottage”

Day 9

We started the day with a visit to the incredible Titanic Museum in Belfast and then we took a Black Cab Tour to learn first hand about the Northern Ireland “Troubles.” We saw the painted murals, visited the wall and memorial plaque of those who lost their lives during the conflict.

After such a heavy experience, we headed back to the peaceful town of Greyabby where we quickly learned where the name came from. Just across the street from our cottage, were the ruins of Grey Abby, a Cistercian monastery what was founded in 1193.

We had dinner at the Wildflower Inn in Greyabbey and turned in early.

Day 10

On our way out of town, we were intrigued by the pink color of the beach and decided to park and explore. Upon inspection, the color was due to the pinkish-purple color of the kelp. The tide had gone out and l enjoyed photographing all the items left on the shore while my mom enjoyed finding rocks.

We stopped in Hillsbourough and had lunch at the Owl & Pussycat Café and did some sightseeing and shopping.

We arrived to Connell’s Barn, our amazing Airb&b in Duleek just before 5pm and discovered that once again, there was another incredible abbey ruin just across the street!

Day 11

We spent the day in Boyne Valley where I got to see the more well-known neolithic structure, Newgrange. Unlike the previous Cairn we saw, Newgrange was much larger, and I was able to go inside the site. Standing inside something older than the pyramids in Egypt was mind-blowing and an experience I will never forget!

Day 12

We left Duleek and headed south to Dublin for our last full day of the trip. We spent the afternoon at Trinity College where we got to see the Book of Kells and experience their incredible library. Such an amazing place!

We then spent the evening sightseeing around the city and ended the night with a final pint of Guinness in a pub.

Of all the trips I have taken, this one was by far my favorite. Ireland is a stunning place with friendly and kind people who welcomed us and made our experience one to remember forever!

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“Iza Bogza”

Leave a Comment / Carra, Memories / Megan / March 12, 2024 / Anthony Carra

Anthony Carra, or as I called him “Uncle Tony,” was quite possibly the most colorful character on my dad’s side of the family–at least that I had the opportunity to know. He led the life of an Italian bachelor and passed his time decorating, gardening and his favorite, gambling! In a future post, I’ll share more about his life but for now, I want to share my personal memories of him.

The year was 1995 and my brother and I were homeschooled. My mom would take us into town for groceries on Wednesdays and we would stop by to visit him at his apartment on the west side of Kalamazoo. My mom has always had a soft spot for old men and since he had no spouse or children, she made it a point to check in on him. As we walked through the door, we were immediately hit by a STRONG aroma of garlic and vinegar and our ears were assaulted by the volume of his television. To say he was obsessed with watching the news (CNN) would be an understatement! I can remember him watching coverage of the OJ Simpson trial and the Oklahoma City Bombing. At every visit, he would be sitting in his lazy-boy chair with his leg up in a footrest. He had gout so his mobility was limited. His arms were always crossed above his belly and when he would get all worked up (which was OFTEN), the Italian would come out as he flapped is arms all about. His false teeth would shift around, and he would often jut out his jaw as he spoke. At every visit, he would say to me and my brother, “there is juice in the Iza Bogza”. Regardless of modern advancements, he still called his refrigerator an ice box. The juice was always cranberry. Not the sweet cran-mix kind but the strong tart kind that made an unpleasant tingling sensation in your cheeks. We didn’t have cable at home, and we rarely had juice in the house, so the experience made a lasting impact in my memory.

I also remember his beautiful white chenille bedspread and credenza in the living room that contained cigar boxes with various treasures inside. I still have a cigar box that he let me have. I thought it was so cool and I kept it in my room with mementos in it, showing it to my friends when they would come over.

Later that year, he moved to an apartment in Battle Creek and passed away shortly after.

From what I can remember, he was passionate, vocal, cranky with a dash of paranoid tossed in! He was the stereotypical elderly Italian uncle and the only great uncle I ever knew from my dad’s side of the family. Though I wasn’t always thrilled to visit at the time, I’m grateful now that I had the opportunity to get to know him before he was gone.

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Grandma Violet Jurek’s “Babcia” Sugar Cookie Recipe

Leave a Comment / Family Recipes, Family Traditions, Jurek | Magdziarz / Megan / February 28, 2024 / Family Recipe, Sugar Cookies, Violet Jurek

These delightful crispy treats have been a holiday staple in our family for generations and are my absolute favorite sugar cookie!

Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook Time: 10 mins | Total Time: 30 mins

Servings: 36-48 Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) softened margarine
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt
5 cups all-purpose flour (loose not packed)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment or wax paper to prevent sticking.
Mix baking soda, salt, cream of tartar and flour together in a bowl and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat powdered sugar, white sugar and softened margarine together until smooth.
Add in oil, eggs and vanilla and beat with mixer until combined. Slowly add flour mixture, mixing with a strong spoon until cookie dough forms.
Roll the dough into 2-inch balls (or larger for larger cookies) and then roll the top ½ of the cookie ball in a separate bowl of granulated sugar (it’s fun to use colored sugar) then place on cookie sheet.
Space the cookies about 3 inches apart and then use a decorative cookie stamp (like the set below) to smash down the sugar covered cookie ball (the more you smash the thinner and crispier the cookie will be). If you don’t have a fancy cookie stamp, the bottom of a decretive glass or sugar bowl will work just fine!
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 min or until the bottom of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. It’s better to pull them out a little bit early if you’re not sure they’re done…however, the smell should tell you.
Transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
Store cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Below is a 4 Generations Photo of Violet Jurek “Babcia”, Daughter Jan, Granddaughter Jodi and Great-Granddaughter Megan (me) taken in Violet’s home in Duluth, Minnesota in October of 1990. We were visiting to celebrate her 80th birthday!

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Intro to My Journey as a Genealogist

Leave a Comment / General / Megan / January 31, 2024

Where it all started

It all began in the mid-1990’s when my mom, Jodi joined her aunt Sherla on an lifelong adventure of researching our family history. Though they were curious to discover as much as they could about our Cavanagh, Jennings, Hughes, and Zerbe lines, their mission during this time was to find proof of our rumored Native American ancestry. Together and separately, they would travel to courthouses, libraries, hometowns and cemeteries all over Indiana and Michigan looking for records, photos and stories they could glean by interviewing living relatives.

The Dreaded Archives

Throughout the 90’s, my mom’s favorite place to “hunt dead relatives” was the Kalamazoo Archives located on Western Michigan University’s East Campus. At the time, my brother and I were homeschooled and we often dreaded going because, similar to a library, we had to be quiet and we would get so bored! To pass the time, we would play hide and seek in the dated hallways and restrooms and would eventually get in trouble for doing so. This was before the days of record digitization where most records were only available on microfilm. She would spend countless hours scrolling through each image until she found a name (that may or may not be our ancestor). It was such a thrill to her! At the time, we couldn’t understand why our hell was clearly her heaven.

They say DNA Doesn’t lie

Fast forward about 20 years and I caught the genealogy bug! At the time, Ancestry.com launched their autosomal DNA testing kits and my mom and aunt jumped at the opportunity to see what our DNA would reveal. My Aunt had her mother, Margaret (my great-grandmother) take a test and then my mom and I followed suit. The results revealed the truth and dismantled the family lore.

The majority of ethnicities and percentages were what we expected to see. However, instead of any Native American, we all had a varying percentage of African DNA! My grandmother Margaret having 6%, comprised of Benin & Togo, Cameroon, Congo & Western Banu Peoples, Senegal and Mali.

In our research, we had seen the letters “B” and “M” written under the “Race” column of various census records on Margaret’s material line but now there was DNA evidence to support the suspicions and rule out the rumored Native American and Portuguese ancestry. As recent as the 1920 US Federal Census in Missaukee County, Michigan, my great-grandmother Margaret along with her mother Edna and sister Marian were listed as mulatto. For those not familiar with the term, it was used to describe the race of mixed African and European blood.

Whether my great-grandmother, Margaret, knew the truth or tried to keep it buried, she did an excellent job as none of her children or grandchildren had any idea of their African roots until our research illuminated the truth.

While the skin color of my family is white, and this discovery is not going to change the fact that we identify as Caucasian, it doesn’t erase the fact that we are the descendants of many incredible people of many shades of color that all have important stories that we can learn from.

This discovery, along with many others on both my maternal and paternal line, have fueled my passion for constantly wanting to find out more about not just where I come from, but who I come from.

Where I am now

Here we are in 2024, with access to an incredible amount of digital information and records. I have amassed 2 large online family trees and multiple binders full of a variety of documents, photos, records and stories. It would be a shame if all the information we have collaboratively collected thus far stayed in our own personal files. Instead, I want to share my passion of discovering our ancestorial story with the world!

Below is a photo of my beautiful great-grandmother, Margaret Cavanagh (Bergman) who passed away in 2016 at the age of 98. She was a colorful lady and it’s her family tree that has provided the inspiration for my site name: Our Colorful Roots.

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