Gaffney – Many Branches, One Tree

Thankful Thursday: A Stranger’s Kindness

John Terrence Cherry (1907 – 1956) …A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. – Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities John Cherry’s sketch and signature on one of the pages of his high school textbook of Charles Dickens’ … Continue reading

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Dear Uncle Pat

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Benita McGinnis painted this watercolor rendering of her Irish uncle sometime during her visit with relatives in Ireland in 1913. Unfortunately, we may never know more about “Dear Uncle Pat,” as she titled the painting, except that he was 93 years old at … Continue reading

Thankful Thursday: The End of the Breadcrumb Trail

Thomas Charles Gaffney (1874 – 1937) Cora Alice (Terrill) Gaffney (1879 – 1951) Agnes Evelyn (Gaffney) Johnson (1902 – 1977) Ernest F.W. Johnson (1900 – 1958) Last of a four part series Agnes Evelyn Gaffney Unlike her parents Thomas and Cora (Terrill) Gaffney, Agnes Evelyn (Gaffney) Johnson seems to have enjoyed a loving and stable marriage with … Continue reading

Sibling Saturday: The Gaffney Brothers

Edward Gaffney (1871 – 1871) John Patrick “Jack” Gaffney (1866 – 1911) Elizabeth (Kane) Gaffney (Btw.1874-78 – 1930-40) Nancy (Gaffney) Zoldak (1902 – 1990) John Patrick Gaffney If you have been following this blog for the past several weeks, you have met the six Gaffney sisters of Conneaut, Ohio: Janie, Maggie, Lyle, Di, Frank, … Continue reading

Treasure Chest Thursday: The Walk Home

John Terrence Cherry (1907 – 1956) The third of four children born to James W. and Frances (Gaffney) Cherry, John Terrence Cherry seems to have been named after his maternal grandfather (John Gaffney) and maternal great-grandfather (Terrence Quinn). John Terrence Cherry He was born between 1906 and 1907 in Conneaut, Ohio, and from family … Continue reading

Wishful Wednesday: Frances (Gaffney) Cherry

Frances (Gaffney) Cherry (1868 – 1953) I wish I knew more about my great-grand aunt Frances (Gaffney) Cherry. When I look at this picture of her, taken from a larger portrait with her five sisters, I see a dreamy young woman with faraway eyes and perfectly coiffed hair. I can’t tell whether she is happy … Continue reading

Workday Wednesday: Agnes Gaffney: Teacher and Model of Virtue

Agnes Catherine Gaffney (1872 – 1952) Part Three of Three Agnes Catherine Gaffney was one of four students in the graduating class of 1890 from Conneaut High School in 1890. According to the 1940 United States Federal Census, she went on to complete three years of college, making her the highest educated member of her immediate … Continue reading

Tuesday’s Tip: Share Those Stories!

For as many stories as my relatives told about “the (Gaffney) Aunts” of Conneaut, Ohio, it seemed that I could find only a fraction of information about them in books and historic resources. The Gaffney Sisters: Clockwise, beginning from the back row, left: Elizabeth, Delia, Margaret, Agnes, and Mary Jane. Taken in the back … Continue reading

Sibling Saturday: The Gaffney Sisters of Conneaut, Ohio

Mary Jane (Gaffney) McGinnis (1858 – 1940) Margaret “Maggie” Gaffney (1860 – 1949) Elizabeth “Lyle” Gaffney (1862 – 1934) Delia “Di” Gaffney (1864 – 1952) Frances “Frank” (Gaffney) Cherry (1870 – 1953) Agnes Gaffney (1872 – 1952) Clara Gaffney (1877 – … Continue reading

Thankful Thursday: A Daughter Remembers

Thomas Eugene McGinnis (1855 – 1927) Mary Jane (Gaffney) McGinnis (1858 – 1940) Benita Elizabeth (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Benita (McGinnis) McCormick, or “Aunt Detty,” as she was known to our family, kept a scrapbook of her life and memories. She began it in the early 1970s … Continue reading