Blog 3: Origins

As the saying goes we can't live in the past, but the past lives and breathes in us.

A few years ago, I reconnected with a cousin from from mom's side of the family, Albert. As time would have it, we are friends on Facebook now. When Albert initially contacted me he had been working on a family tree. I wanted to do that too but it was a daunting task. I was also working full time. Still living in Ohio, Albert was able to go to the local library to gather and access records of mom's family. I had some bits and pieces of history too and we proceeded to put the various fragments of the past together.

I decided to have my DNA tested earlier this year. I knew some essential facts about mom and dad and the report confirmed it. Dad was predominantly from Eastern Europe and mom from England and Wales. I hesitated getting the DNA tested. I thought what if I discover something I would rather not know? There were a few additional regions of origin I didn't expect, but for the most part no surprises. Well there was just one. Now, Michael teases me about my possible connection to Russia.

I received an email from my cousin Tim, on my dad's side in 2013. It was shortly after his dad, and my last uncle passed away. I knew Grandpa Shamrock was born in Austria, but Tim shared additional details about his life. Like many families that came through Ellis Island, my grandfather changed his name from Semrac to Shamrock.*

"Semrac was correct with a accent over the e, pronounced sha. Rather popular in Austria Hungry. Granddad was a bricklayer by trade since 14. Came here when he was 17. The Russian government took control of his family business, a coal mine. They were very well off but during war the resource was needed. Oddly enough he was actually compensated after the war (WWI) with a sum of $8000. Big bucks back then. He immigrated to the US and resided in PA and met and married Mary Kendi. Frank had 3 brothers Mike, Albert and John one sister Mary. Albert lived in Cleveland married and had 3 children. John never married and was a longshoreman in NY. Dad does not have as much detail on Mike or Mary but they also resided in NYC."
Tim 

THE SHAMROCKS

FRANK & MARY (Grandparents)

                                                                   

Great Grandfather John Shamrock (1858-?) born Austria

Great Grandmother Annie Shamrock (1856-?) born Austria  

 

Children: 

John Shamrock

Albert Shamrock 

Frank Shamrock (Grandfather) (1889-1982)

Mike Shamrock

Mary Shamrock

 

Great Grandfather John Kendi   (?)   born in Austria

Great Grandmother Mary Kendi  (?)   born in Austria 

Frank Shamrock & Mary Kendi

 

Immigration 1906 & 1894

 

Married January 27, 1909 

 

Children: 

 

 Frank Shamrock           (1916-1975) 

Born Olyphant. Pennsylvania 

 John Shamrock           (1929-        ) 

Albert Shamrock         (1921-2005)

Mary Shamrock           (1919-1995) 

Esther Shamrock        (1924-1990)

        Ann Shamrock            (1917-        )        

 

There is more history on Frank Shamrock (1890-1982), my grandfather, than my grandmother Mary Kendi (1898-1974). The records I found indicate that like her parents, she was also born in Austria.     All of  Mary's children appear to have been  born in Pennsylvania before my grandparents moved to Ohio.  Although my grandfather was born in Austria, the Austro-Hungarian territory became Czechoslovakia in 1918, so the  records a bit more difficult to link and decipher.  

My grandfather, father, and brother were all named Frank. It was not so uncommon back then to pass on the surname and the first name. A mason/bricklayer, Grandpa Shamrock built his two story brick home in Warren, Ohio.  Grandma Shamrock was a stocky, solid 4'9" woman that ran the household. Everyone was expected to arrive after church, for Sunday dinner. Most of the time everyone made it. She was an excellent cook, always in the kitchen as I remember. I always thought it was interesting that she and my mom shared the same birthday. They say men marry their mothers.

Frank and Mary had 7 children: Frank (dad), Albert (Whitey), John, Tom, Ann, Mary, and Esther. They experienced tough times during the Depression. Being the oldest, my dad had a big responsibility to help support the family. My dad was able to finish high school, but never got to college. That never stopped him from being successful and a good provider for us. He always wanted his children to be able to get a college education, and we did.  

Next, mom's clan.  The couple below weren't actually in the same photo, but it seemed fitting to put them together so with a little help from Photoshop I merged the images. 

     THE WINYARDS, JONES, & THE BRIDGENS

 

Richard Jones (1859-1899)
Great Grandfather born Coventry, England

Sarah Ann Winyard (1863-?)
Great Grandmother born Victoria, Wales

Married November 18, 1881
Trumball County, Ohio

Children:

Sadie Jones  (grandmother) (1893-1962) 

Born in Birmingham, Alabama

Esther Jones

Bill Will Jones

Harriet Jones (adopted) (1895-1986)

Gertrude Birdwell 

Great Grandfather         FW Bridgens(1854-?) 

Born in Old Swinford, Worstershire, England

Great Grandmother    Elizabeth Bradley (1855-1911)

Born in Strattfordshire, England

Children:

 

Albert Bridgens (grandfather) (1888-1950)   

born Stourbridge, England

 

 Served both WWI & WWII

 

Albert Bridgens & Sadie Jones

 

Married April 17, 1907

 

Children: 

 

Dorothy Bridgens Thomas    (1913-1987)

Lillian Bridgens Ambrose     (1911-1984)

Willard Bridgens                    (1917-2006)

Paul Bridgens                        (1926-1986)

Pearl Bridgens Shamrock  (1919-2002)

 

Alfred(died as a baby) 

 

Sadie, Lillian, and Albert

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to my cousin Albert and the fact my mom survived my dad by 27 years, I know more about her grandparents.    All of my great grandparents, on both sides though, traveled across continents to get to America.  They were all immigrants.  If someone tells me to go back to where I came from, that could be difficult. The distaste for immigrants now soils our own past.  Most of us came from somewhere else.  I can imagine that coming across the Atlantic and being processed at Ellis Island was no picnic.  But people were willing to endure the difficulties of America because what they left was much worse.   Look what they built for us. Gratitude.

Mom (Left, Bowl Cut), Sadie (behind), Grandfather Albert (x on knees, right)

From what mom with me shared she had a pretty strict upbringing.  Where dad's family was deeply Catholic, mom had a Baptist upbringing.  Albert Bridgens, my grandfather, listed himself as a mill worker on his marriage record.  Although mom told us he was a minister, Albert, my cousin said he was a custodian at the church.  Either way the church is where he met his demise, when he fell off of the steeple in 1950. Only recently I discovered that he and Sadie divorced and he remarried a woman by the name of Georgia Perkins.  Mom, what else didn't you tell us? 

 

My grandmother Sadie, indicated she was a "housekeeper"  on their marriage record. But Grandma Sadie was also a matchmaker.  She introduced my mom and dad over a beer at a neighborhood bar.  Frank and Pearl were eventually married June 21, 1941.  Sadie often came to visit us  in California, especially when mom started working part time.   Sadie always brought a couple of my cousins with her. 

 

Mom used to like to share tidbits of information about the distant past. She told us that we were related to Daniel Webster.   I have a very tiny crocheted sweater that she said belonged to the Prince of Wales.  I never followed that trail, but it is fun to think it might be true.

 

 

Moving on for now. Next stop, a little closer to home.

*Mid 19th Century, cruises across the Atlantc could take up to 12 weeks. The invention of the steel hull at the turn of the century significantly reduced travel time but people traveling experienced crowding with 2400 passengers. Over time there were around 12,000,000 people that were willing to undergo the travel to get here. The mass immigration slowed down at the turn of the century, but people also enjoyed a much shorter voyage with an average of 10-15 days. The wait to be processed at Ellis Island also gradually improved.