McGinnis – Many Branches, One Tree

Friday’s Faces from the Past: Pictures of a Golden Day

Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Phillip Columbus McCormick (1892 – 1981) One balmy Sunday afternoon in October of 1971 on the San Francisco Peninsula, some 2,149 miles and 18,262 sunrises from where they first pledged their love for each other as husband and wife, Phil and Benita McCormick strode confidently into church, arms linked … 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

Sentimental Sunday: A Token of Their Love

Thomas Eugene McGinnis (1855 – 1927) Mary Jane (Gaffney) McGinnis (1858 – 1940) Face of Mary Jane McGinnis’ love token. What did the “M” stand for? Reverse side of love token shows it is a Seated Liberty quarter dated 1854. Good things come in small packages. Some years ago, my second cousin, Benita Jane … Continue reading

Those Places Thursday: Gaffney House, Conneaut, Ohio

John Patrick “Jeff” Gaffney (1826 – 1892) Bridget “Bridey” (Quinn) Gaffney (1843 – 1914) Thomas Eugene McGinnis (1855 – 1927) Mary Jane (Gaffney) McGinnis (1858 – 1940) Benita Elizabeth (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984) Page from Benita (McGinnis) McCormick’s scrapbook When my great-aunt, Benita … Continue reading

Sentimental Sunday: To the Mothers in Our Lives

Happy Mother’s Day Feliz Día de las Madres Bonne Fête des Mères Buona Festa della Mamma Hyvää äitienpäivää Lá na Máthar Shona ar No matter what your language, “Mother” is the sweetest word of all. Margaret McCoy Born Ireland (abt. 1823 – abt. 1857) Catherine O’Grady Born Waterford, Ireland (abt. 1835 … Continue reading

Sentimental Sunday: Popping the Question

Gilbert Cayetano Huesca (1915 – 2009) Joan Joyce (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) A postcard of the Ivanhoe, a popular medieval-style Chicago restaurant, where my parents feted my mother’s 26th birthday and their engagement on July 3, 1954. My father, Gilbert Huesca, could hardly contain the love he felt for my mother, Joan Schiavon. … Continue reading

Ralph Schiavon – Part Three: Halcyon Days

Ralph Schiavon Halcyon Days (Third of a four-part series about my maternal great-grandfather) A self-made man, my grandfather, Ralph Schiavon, was not afraid of anyone. Not even “Scarface” Al Capone. In the late 1920s, Ralph was working as a supervisor for the Internal Revenue Service and lived on the South Side of Chicago with his … Continue reading