The Irish Ancestral Research Association 121 Boston Post Road Sudbury, MA 01776 Spring 2018 Volume 35, Number 1 STILL GOING STRONG TIARA members have shared stories and research tips and expanded their family genealogies into the past and outward into 35 the present. YEARS Members have been involved with other ge- nealogical groups, contributed to local history, OF IRISH RESEARCH and maintained active participation in TIARA. (SEE PAGE 3 FOR MORE DETAILS) Histo ry + Research nferences Trips + Co Lectur es + Stories INSIDE THIS ISSUE The Presidents Message 2 TIARA’s Achievements-35 Years 3 BY THE NUMBERS If the Bellhop Uniform Fits… 4 A Dream That Sustained Them 7 Our “Aunties” 10 Celtic Connection Conference 13 Nearly Starved to Death 15 A Mysterious Death 17 3865 33 9,000 Blog Watch 18 Members States with Forester Digging Deeper for Databases 18 Since 1983 Members Records Theme for Next Issue 18 Indexed Upcoming Events Back Cover TIARA NEWSLETTER Volume 35 Number 1 Spring 2018 TIARA The President’s Message On a recent trip to visit family on the west coast, my flight was delayed while we waited for a truck to arrive to de-ice the plane. While I did not wish for this necessary procedure to be omitted, sitting in a middle seat on the plane at the gate The Irish Ancestral Research Association for an hour seemed interminably long. I have a different per- 121 Boston Post Road spective of time as we celebrate a TIARA anniversary. Thirty Sudbury, MA 01776 www.tiara.ie -five years ago, the first TIARA meeting was held on January OFFICERS 14, 1983. Co-Presidents Susan Steele Virginia Wright What? Is it really ten years since TIARA’s 25th anniversary Vice President Pam Holland Co-recording Secretaries Joanne Delaney gala one-day conference and five years since TIARA presi- Anne Patriquin dent Mary Choppa proposed organizing a national Celtic Corresponding Secretary Pat Deal Connections Conference? Yes and this biennial event has be- Financial Director Gary Sutherland come a national landmark for Irish and Celtic family history COMMITTEE CHAIRS education. Partnering with IGSI, successful conferences have Membership Julie Rizzello Webmaster Pat Landry been held in 2014 and 2016. This year’s two-day conference, Foresters Susan Steele “Pathways to Our Past”, features many international experts Library Barbara Brooker as well as nationally known speakers. Topics will cover Irish, Volunteers Allison Doane Scots-Irish, Scottish, and Welsh genealogy, culture and DUES: Calendar year membership is DNA. For information on the conference program, confer- (U.S.) $25 per individual & $35 per family for Newsletters sent as a PDF ence registration or lodging see Page 13 or visit http://celtic- file via email. An additional $5/yr is connections.org/ charged to mail paper copies of the newsletters. Canadian and overseas memberships are charged an additional Over the last five years, TIARA has also been active in other (US) $10/yr for paper copies of the areas. In collaboration with the UMass Boston Healey Li- newsletter. brary, faithful Forester volunteers have continued to meet MEETINGS: TIARA meets monthly twice a month at the TIARA office to index the post 1935 except July & August at locations MCOF mortuary records. Having indexed about 9000 re- throughout the New England area. cords, they will soon have an index up through 1945. TIARA THE TIARA NEWSLETTER volunteers have also been assisting UMass Boston with a The TIARA newsletter is published quarterly and distributed to members in project whose goal is to document and preserve the stories of good standing. over 1100 police officers who took part in the 1919 Boston Editor Mary Coyne Police strike. Background information on each police officer Assistant Editors Ann Patriquin Marie Ahearn is found by locating census records, vital records, obituaries, Layout Editor Don Ahearn etc. Unlike the Forester project, volunteers do not need to be Submit all correspondence to the above local so if you want to get involved, visit http:// address or email to [email protected]. blogs.umb.edu/bpstrike1919/. COPYRIGHT All material in this publication is protected by copyright. Cover Photos: 2011 TIARA trip to Belfast: Mary Choppa Permission must be obtained for use of National Library of Ireland: http://www.docbrown.info/docspics/dublinscenes/ any material and credit given, including dspage02d.htm Title, Author, Volume, and Issue Hill of Tara, 2008 TIARA trip: Marie Ahearn number. Cover Design: Kim Downey 2 TIARA NEWSLETTER Volume 35 Number 1 Spring 2018 TIARA Recent TIARA events have TIARA Achievements—35th Anniversary included a writer’s work- shop and a writer’s group. This past year TIARA began Milestones for TIARA since founding 1983 Fàilte Fridays opening the 3865 members since 1983 office a few hours before members in 33 states, 3 countries the monthly meetings held ~350 programs for members; open to the public at Brandeis. TIARA members 140 newsletters are welcome (fàilte) to stop by Forester records in database 35,000 the office to research in the 9000 indexed by TIARA volunteers since 2011 library, watch recordings of 3 Celtic Connections Conferences past lectures, and meet and Co-sponsored with Irish Genealogical Society network with other members. International (Minnesota) Projects Foresters What an eventful history! TI- 1919 Boston Policemen’s Strike Project ARA is more active and excit- ing than ever because of TI- American Cousins Project ARA volunteers. As we cele- Cemetery Projects brate TIARA’s 35th anniver- Membership in Related Organizations sary we also look to the future. Federation of Genealogical Societies Soon many of our meetings Massachusetts Genealogical Council will be available to all our New England Historic Genealogical Society members via on-line video. New England Regional Genealogical The trip committee has organ- Conference ized research trips to Ireland Involvement / participation in conferences / events in past years and plans are in with other genealogical groups the works for more. Thank Archives & Special Collections, Healey Library, you to our many, loyal mem- UMass Boston bers who make TIARA possi- Back to Our Past Conferences ble and who will lead us into Irish Cultural Centre of New England the future. Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, Inc. New York Family History Conference National Genealogical Society New TIARA Web Site 2018 (projected assets) Virginia Wright, Co-President Available to public [email protected] Easier to navigate Upcoming Events feature Members only section Videos of TIARA Lectures Link to past issues of the TIARA newsletter (Continued on Page 12) TIARA NEWSLETTER Volume 35 Number 1 Spring 2018 3 TIARA If the Bellhop Uniform Fits… Susan Steele #1025 “If the bellhop uniform fits, Bob had never been to New room and a ballroom. “The the job is yours.” In the spring England. Family trips took Ship” was an additional of 1941, Helen Steele Loughlin place in the west – Colorado wooden structure next to a salt wrote these words to her and Wyoming. Bob’s shoreline water pool. This nautical brother, Bob Steele, a student was Lake Michigan. Having themed building contained finishing his junior year at grown up just outside Chicago, dressing rooms, a bar and a Notre Dame Univer- Bob had seen his share of large theater. There was a bath sity. Helen urged Bob to make buildings and wealthy house on the shore for guests the trip from South Bend, Indi- neighborhoods. None of these who preferred a swim in the ana to seek summer employ- experiences would ocean, as well as a nine-hole ment at Wentworth-by-the-Sea, have prepared this midwestern golf course and tennis courts. a resort hotel in New Castle, boy for the grandeur of The Dormitory buildings for em- New Hampshire. Wentworth-by-the-Sea. ployees were set back from the main buildings. In contrast to Newly married, Helen had left When Bob arrived at his sis- the opulent furnishings of the Chicago to follow her husband ter’s house in Rye, New Hamp- hotel, employee dormitory back to his home state of New shire, he found a small seaside rooms were sparsely furnished Hampshire. Homesick for her community of modest homes. – a bed, dresser and chair. The own midwestern family, Helen The scenery changed when he slightly larger rooms were re- looked forward to the possibil- traveled over the bridge from served for professional staff. ity of having her brother Bob Rye to New Castle. A huge “Pros” were full time workers nearby for the summer. edifice dominated the skyline. who traveled the resort circuit: The four-floor hotel stretched Wentworth in the summer and Bob was ready for adventure 800-feet along a bluff overlook- Florida or North Carolina in and traveled a thousand miles ing the Atlantic. the winter. to find it. Bob was introduced to a summer job (the uniform The central buildings, capped The pros, along with some ex- fit), a new area of the country by towers, included facilities perienced local workers, and a girl. for 600 guests: bedrooms, din- guided the college students as ing rooms, parlors, a billiard they learned their new roles. Hampshire Historical Society 1941 1941 Historical Society Hampshire Bob Steele 1941 Wenthworth-by-the-Sea, 1941 Photoof courtesy New Castle, New 4 TIARA NEWSLETTER Volume 35 Number 1 Spring 2018 TIARA One of the pros would have The first black patron would Catherine Reardon and her sis- trained Bob in the Wentworth not enter the Wentworth din- ter Mary Elizabeth were stu- “code of conduct”. An em- ing room until the 1960s. It dents on break from Em- ployee manual written just af- was also during that time pe- manuel and Radcliffe Colleges. ter Bob’s period of employ- riod that a Catholic presence They were also experienced ment began this way.