Baseball and Softball Collection

While on my bicycle each morning I am amazed by the assorted junk that is found in the street. Small things that I find such as coins, keys, broken cell phones, etc I save in an empty coffee can. One of these days I will lay it out and take a picture of that collection.  Because I ride through a couple of parks and schools I find quite a few baseballs and softballs. Here is my baseball/softball collection laid out in my garage.

This collection consists of thirty-four softballs, fifty-one baseballs, and one soccer ball. The soccer ball I found in the bushes beside the bike trail next to Lynn University. The most I have ever collected in a single morning was sixteen baseballs across the street from Parch Reef Park in Boca Raton. Because I had them stuffed in my shorts I had to go home to drop them off before continuing my ride. If I didn't, my shorts probably would have fallen off.

Bridget Hanley at Ellis Island

For the last couple of months the Ellis Island web site have had problems displaying the actual ships' manifests but today I noticed that it was working again. To get a copy of the manifest you have to purchase a copy for $29 or find a way to download it. The normal way to download a page is to right click and "Save page as ..." unless that function has been disabled. It is possible to just ignore the 'disabled' message and continue to download it. I have been able to do it using an Epiphany, a Linux web browser. Here is a copy of the manifest:

Bridget is passenger number 396. The manifest is from the SS Campania (a Cunard ship) that arrived in Ellis Island on June 22, 1895 from Queenstown, Ireland. Today Queenstown in Co. Cork is called Cobh.

Griffith's Valuation and the Hanleys

Griffith's Valuation was a survey of Ireland completed in 1868 by Richard Griffith, British Commissioner of Valuation. Because there are no true Irish census prior to 1901, Griffith's Valuation is the closest we have to a census for Ireland in the 19th century. In County Limerick the survey was completed at the end of June in 1853.

In Griffith's Valuation the townland of Glensharrold in Co. Limerick lists twenty-nine households and among them was a household whose head was Mary Hanley. Without a doubt this Mary Hanley was a relative of mine and probably a direct ancestor. If I had to guess I would probably guess that this Mary Hanley was the mother or grandmother of Thomas Hanley, my great-grandfather.

In the description of the tenement, some included just a house, others house and land, and others house and bog. The tenement held by Mary Hanley was described as just a house. The immediate lessor, that is the actual owner of the land upon Mary's house sat was Thomas Carroll. Most of the land in Glensharrold was owned by Richard M. Yielding. Mary's house was valued at nine shillings.

Among Mary's neighbors in Glensharrold were a few Aherns that we have seen in the census for both 1901 and 1911. In addition, one of her neighbors was an Egan - Bryan Egan.  (Another one that misspelled their name!)

A copy of the original sheet from the valuation may be found here.

International Burn the Koran Day

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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Sixty-five Years Ago Today

Sixty-five years ago today I was at a cottage near Braddock Bay with my family and my Aunt May and Uncle Eddie O'Brien. Sometime during the day the sirens at the fire house went off, cars driving down the street (probably Edgemere Drive) blowing their horns. The war was over!

I was probably not totally aware of what was going on as I was only six years old but I knew that it was big. Later that evening my father, aunt and uncle went downtown to see what was happening on Main Street. I'm sure that there were goings on there.

It is hard to believe that has been sixty-five years since World War II ended.

Rochester's Military Companies

We have looked a number of times at the New York National Guard unit - the 54th Regiment - but there were other military companies prior to the 54th.  William Peck in his History of Rochester and Monroe County describes these companies.

Military Companies

This brings us to a mention of the military companies of that period, before the organization of the Fifty-fourth regiment of New York state militia, most of which occupied the different rooms of the basement of the city market for their respective armories, the two brass bands of that day, Adams's and Holloway's, having their quarters there also. The earliest organization in this region was a company of riflemen that was formed in Penfield as far back as 1818, which attracted enlistments from Rochester as our little community increased in number. Ashbel W. Riley, mentioned elsewhere in this volume for his heroic exertions at the time of the cholera, was early connected with this company, which under his command as captain, at the time of Lafayette's visit here in 1825, escorted the distinguished Frenchman from Rochester to Canandaigua; other formations of a similar character afterward associated themselves with this one and all were united together as the Twenty-second regiment of riflemen; Colonel Riley, who had then risen to the command of it, offered its services, with the consent of the whole body, to President Jackson in 1832 to quell the nullification disturbance in South Carolina, but the tender was not accepted, as the assistance of state militia was not required; the next year Colonel Riley became brigadier-general of riflemen, and then major-general, a position which he held till the dissolution of the brigade a few years later. The Irish Volunteers came into existence in November, 1828, a very creditable organization whose commandant for some time was Captain P. J. McNamara; it was attached to the One Hundred and Seventy-eighth regiment of infantry, with headquarters at Buffalo. Then came Van Rensselaer's cavalry, in 1834, named after the landlord of the Eagle Hotel and commanded by him, and the next year the Rochester Pioneer Rifles, under George Dawson, the "fighting editor," which was a part of General Riley's regiment.

In 1838 two crack companies were formed— Williams's Light Infantry, under Major John Williams, afterward mayor, and the Rochester Union Grays, whose first captain was Lansing B Swan, afterward general, who, with General Burroughs, codified the military laws of the state; it was originally infantry but later became an artillery company. Eight of the members were still surviving at the beginning of this year, with the average age of eighty-six. The next year the Rochester City Cadets came into existence, with James El wood as captain; a few years later, sometime before 1849, it was reorganized as the Rochester Light Guards, with H. S. Fairchild as captain; it was this company that furnished sixtyfive men to company A of the Old Thirteenth on the very day after President Lincoln's first call for troops, and many of its remaining members afterward joined others of our fighting regiments. The German Grenadiers, the first of our Teutonic companies, and the Rochester Artillery were organized in 1840, the Rochester City Guards in 1844, the German Union Guards in 1847 and the Rochester City Dragoons in 1850. The Fifty-fourth regiment of New York state militia, organized in 1849, was at first confined to the western half of the county, but in 1855 it embraced the whole of it at which time H. S. Fairchild became its colonel; although it did not go to the front during the Civil war it performed excellent service by doing guard duty over the Confederate prisoners at Elmira in 1864; it was disbanded in December, 1880, in accordance with a sweeping change in the militia system of the state, only one company, known as the Eighth Separate, being retained. The First Separate company and its military services are described elsewhere. While not connected with the period of time over which we have been going, it is as well to mention in this place the Rochester Union Blues, a fine volunteer company of patriotic citizens, formed in 1863, with Charles B. Hill as captain, for the express purpose of doing duty as a home guard during the war, though it continued its organization for some years after the conflict was over.

Suspicious?

The following appears in today's Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:

Police investigating discovery of body in city backyard

August 13, 2010 

Rochester police are investigating the discovery of a man's body found in the backyard of a house on Lexington Street in Rochester.

The body of a man in his 30s was found just before 1 p.m. by a resident of 381 Lexington Street, according to Executive Deputy Chief George Markert. The body was located at the rear of the backyard, and there appeared to be trauma to the upper part of the body.

The death is being investigated as suspicious. Police are on the scene and have a portion of Lexington closed off at Dewey Avenue.
No identification has been made. Markert said the body appeared to have been in the yard for about a day.

Let's see if I have it correct. The body of a dead man is found in a back yard. The unidentified man has been there about a day. The "death is being investigated as suspicious." Of course it's suspicious, you jackasses!

Rochester's Immaculate Conception Parish

Recently I scanned the properties in Rochester listed in the National Register of Historical Places. Currently there are 87 properties listed. In addition, there are 74 properties listed in Monroe County but outside the City of Rochester.  The list includes individual properties and also areas within the city such as the Third Ward Historic District. 

One I was particularly interested in was the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church Complex. This was the Roman Catholic Parish of my parents in their youth and also my grandparents. My mother and father both went to grammar school in the parish school and were married there. Both  my Maloney and Eagan grandparents were buried from the church.  The thirty page registration form used when the Immaculate Conception complex was nominated for inclusion in the National Register is available at the National Parks Service site.

The complex that comprises the site has five contributing buildings. These are (1) the Immaculate Conception Church - built in 1864, (2) the former rectory - built in 1871, (3) the former parochial school - built in 1826, (4) the current rectory - built circa 1900, and (5) a garage - built circa 1926.

I was curious about the school - built in 1826 - and wondered what had preceded it as I know that my Mother and Father went to school there prior to 1926. The Parish History describes both the church and the school. The history notes that a school was established in 1864 but does not specify where. The Immaculate Conception Parochial School known as the Plymouth Avenue School for many years, was opened in 1870.  The school was built on the Edinburgh side of the church and faced Plymouth Avenue. A new school and hall was built and dedicated in 1894, accommodating 250 pupils. The new school, that is the current school building, was built in 1926. Therefore I assume that Mother and Father (and their siblings) attended the school built in 1894.

Consequences of Gay Marriage

The folks at National Organization for Marriage (NOM) have their panties in a knot following the judge's decision concerning Proposition 8 in California. This is the group that warns of all the evils that would come about if gay marriages were allowed. The following pie chart shows all the things that will happen if gay marriage were allowed.

Now Available - Rochester's 54th Infantry Regiment

Sometime last year I took the entries that I had captured from the Rochester, NY City Directory having to do with the 54th Regiment and posted this on Scriptd. Today I noticed that so far more than 1,000 persons had accessed it. I thought, why not charge for the document? As a result, it is now available on Lulu, the self-publishing site, for only $2.50. Such a deal!

Breweries in Rochester, NY

Recently one of my cousins sent a copy of photo of a birthday picnic held in her back yard in 1948. Here is the photo:

I was curious as to the brand of beer on the table so I enlarged it and saw that it was Tam O'Shanter beer, one of the many different beers brewed in Rochester at one time or another. I knew that as I grew up I can remember Genesee (I was weaned on Jenny!) and Standard Ale (my father's brand) and others but I wondered how many breweries were there in Rochester. The answer could be found in A Brief History of Brewing History in Rochester. There were a total of forty-nine breweries in Rochester at one time or another. prior to prohibition in 1920. Some of these different breweries were new names after consolidations of existing breweries but still forty-nine were a lot of breweries. This may reflect the large numbers of German families in Rochester at one time.

Following prohibition the following brewing companies resumed operations and the year that brewing ended.

American Brewing Company - 1950
Cataract Brewing Company - 1940
The Genesee Brewing Company - Still in business
Rochester Brewing Company - 1956
Standard Brewing Company - 1956
Standard Rochester Brewing Company - 1970

This list was compiled in 1976 and I know that there are newer brewing companies in Rochester today.

Amsterdam

Today we are in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. In fact, this moment we are in the Schipol Airport in Amsterdam waiting for a flight to Milan, Italy. From Milan we will the train to Florence where Julie/Bill will pick us up. This is the start of the second phase of our trip. This is about a week and a half in Tuscany with children and grandchildren. Look forward to that.

Update: It is now Wednesday and we are in Tuscany. Bill and Julie picked us up at the train station in Florence and it is beautiful here.

Dover and Canterbury

Yesterday we were in the port of Dover and spent a portion of the day in Canterbury. We wanted to see the Canterbury Cathedral and the exact spot where Thomas À Becket was murdered. That we did and, in addition, we were able to see the tombs of King Henry IV and his wife there. Spent a couple of hours checking all the nooks and crannies in the Cathedral. After the Cathedral and on the way back to the ship we stopped at Dover Castle. That is shown in the photo attached.

This morning we are in Amsterdam were we will end our cruise. After a tour of the city we will check in our hotel located near the airport. Tomorrow we will fly to Milan and then take the train to Florence. Then a week and a half with Julie, Bill and the kids. I expect it will be a
bit warmer in Italy. Today in Amsterdam it is in the 50s and damp.

La Havre, France

This morning it is 8:00 AM and we just arrived at the port of Dover. The outside temperature is listed on the ship's channel on the TV as 75 degrees. I just stepped out on the balcony and it ain't 75 but it is not that bad. The problem is the fog. Twenty minutes ago you could see the white cliffs but right now you can barely see the next pier. Hopefully it will burn off when the sun gets higher.

Yesterday we were in the port of La Havre, France but spent most of the   day in Honfleur on the other side of the Seine River. We had been there  a couple of years ago on another transatlantic crossing and wanted to see a particular church in Honfleur. The Church of Saint Catherine was built sometime in either the 15th or 16th century. The church along with its separate bell tower is all wood. I suspect that originally its walls were wood, daub and wattle (mud and straw). Now the mud and straw was been replaced with cement. The columns in the church are all huge wood beams. While we were there the main altar was set up for a wedding and the wedding party was outside the front of the church with the priest.

The church is just off the old basin (Honfleur used to be the port for the Seine) which is ringed by about what seems to be a hundred restaurants. There may not be a hundred but it is close. Being Saturday, the basin area was mobbed. On one end of the basin is the old excise office where duty was collected from ships. It was probably built in the 16th century. It has plaques on the wall dedicating the building to the Champlain that scouted portions of New York and Canada and for whom Lake Champlain which separates New York and Vermont is named.

Last night was the last night for one of our dinner mates, Manny and Dotty. They are leaving the Connecticut and Florida. I hope that I'm in as good shape as Manny when I am his age. He is 84. If you looked at the range of passengers on the Prinsendam you would note that Nancy are among the young crowd!

Today at about noon we will take a bus to Canterbury and see the cathedral there. I want to see the particular spot in the cathedral where Thomas À Becket was slain. I would also like to see the tomb of King Henry IV and others. Should be an interesting tour.

Falmouth, England

Today we are in Falmouth on England's south coast near Lands End. Although we were warned of cold weather it was quite nice especially in the sun. The temperature is in the low seventies.

Last night was another time that we had to change our clocks by an hour  and will be changing every night for the next couple of nights. Portugal and the British Isles are in one time zone and the rest of western Europe is in another. As a result, going from Spain to England requires a change backward; tonight we turn the clocks forward as we approach La Havre, France; the next night we set the clocks back as we go to Dover, England; the last night we change the clocks forward again as we sail to Amsterdam, Netherlands. If a clock change is necessary on a day that we are at sea the change is made at noon, otherwise the
change is made at 2:00 AM. You would be surprised by the number of people find it confusing.

We are docked in Falmouth at Queen's Quay and we share the pier from the Royal Navy, the HMS Echo. Its difficult what type of ship it is but it is somewhat small and has no apparent armament on the decks. I suspect it is a maintenance ship or something.

UPDATE: HMS Echo is a multi-role hydrographic survey ship according to Wikipedia.

This is the second time we have been to Falmouth (or more if you add the Falmouth Harbour in Antigua) as we stopped here on a transatlantic cruise on the Royal Carribean's Brilliance of the Seas. Because the Brilliance was a much larger ship than the Prinsendam we had to anchor out then but the Prinsendam is able to get into the harbor. From the pier there were shuttle buses to the beginning of the high street. Our first stop there was the Church of King Charles the Martyr, dedicated to King Charles I, the second of England's Stuart monarchs. During the English Civil War, Charles was attained by the parliament and was beheaded in 1649. The photo is a copy of Charles's Death Warrant signed by members of parliament including Oliver Cromwell. I asked a volunteer
in the church why the folks were Royalists (as opposed to Parliamentarians) during the Civil War and she said that the major land owner in the area was a Royalist so the local people depending on him were naturally also Royalists.

We strolled down most of Market Street and Church Street and the small streets the cut off of them. One of the unique streets is called Jacob's Ladder which is about a hundred or so steps straight up! The walk up is a bear but going back down is a snap. We neglected to hit it the last time here so we had to do it this time.

Back to the ship it was a typical afternoon with Bingo. Only one more session of Bingo and that will be in Dover. This cruise winnings in Bingo has been scant. Who knows, maybe we'll win the big one in Dover. (Yeah, right!)

Bilbao, Spain

Today we are on our way to Falmouth on the southwest coast of England. Yesterday we were in Bilbao on Spain's northern coast on the Bay of Biscay. This area of northern Spain and southern France is Basque country. The Basque people have their own culture, language and even a unique DNA. Street and other signs are generally in both Spanish and Basque.

The port where the ship was just into the Bilbao River but the city of  Bilbao is about a quarter hour bus trip up river. Therefore we took the bus into the city. Unfortunately the bus dropped us off in the downtown shopping area (think Rochester's Main Street from the Four Corners to East Avenue) so to get any of the things we would have liked to see it was quite a hike. As a result we walked some of the picturesque side streets and some of the parks and squares. One of the squares (its name escapes me) is in the photo. After a while we took the bus back to the ship for a very enjoyable afternoon. It was in the 70's and sunny so it was nice out in our balcony.

In the afternoon we played Bingo and won again. Unfortunately there were not a lot of players so the prizes were small. The game we won we had to share the prize with another winner. Our winning portion was $19. We had paid $20 for our Bingo cards. So, is a minus $1 a win? I don't know.

Before martinis and dinner we did our daily stop in the casino. The Prinsendam does not have a very large casino as it has only about 700 passengers and most are not big gamblers. There is one craps table, one roulette table and three Black Jack tables. There are a quite a few slot machines but most of those used are the penny and two penny slots. Nancy and I always play the penny slots because a five dollar bill will take quite a bit of time. We are not big gamblers.

A Coruna, Spain

Yesterday we were in the port of A Coruña at the northwest corner of Spain where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Bay of Biscay. We spent the better part of the day on a trip to Santiago de Compastela, where legend says the body of St. James the Apostle is buried. I somehow think we are on a religious pilgrimage rather than a cruise with visits to any number of churches, Fatima and Santiago de Compostela. When we reach Dover we are going to see Canterbury Cathedral and eventually see the many churches in Florence.

Santiago de Compostela is about an hour or so drive from Coruña and the town is completely devoted to the basilica and its component parts. Had we been there on a Sunday it probably been mobbed but it being Tuesday it wasn't bad although there were quite a number of tourists there. In addition to visiting the basilica and some of other buildings we had wine and hors d'ouvres plus music by a group shown in the photo.


Back at the ship we again had dinner in the Pinnacle Grill which, as is always the case, excellent. This morning we are in Bilbao, Spain and we will walk through town in a bit.

Lisbon

It is 11:05 AM and we are leaving the Tagus River and out into the
Atlantic after a stay in Lisbon since yesterday morning. I assume that
all cruise lines have the cabin stewards make towel animals while making
up the cabin in the evening. This was the one our steward make last
night - a towel animal doing the New York Times crossword puzzle.

Yesterday was a very full day. In the morning after breakfast we boarded
a bus at 8:30 AM and headed for the shrine at Fatima. Fatima is about an
hour and a half drive from Lisbon. Before we reached Fatima though we
stopped at the Basilica of Our Lady of Victory, a huge church in a very
small village. It was built about the 15th century to commemorate a
battle of the Portugese over the French. (Can you imagine St. Monica's
Church on Genesee Street being dedicated to some battle?) Mass was going
on in the basilica when we arrived there and there were probably a
thousand people attending mass as it was the Feast of the Holy Trinity
which apparently is big in Portugal. Along the right side aisle were
almost a hundred decorated carts filled with loaves of bread. Following
the mass was to be a procession through the village with the carts a
part of it. A portion of the basilica is the burial sites of a number
of Portugese kings and members of their families.

Leaving the basilica, we then drove to the Shrine at Fatima. As was the
case with the basilica, mass was also in process when we arrived. This
mass was celebrated outside with the huge altar in front of the basilica
and the crown in the square was probably close to a hundred thousand
people. The photos from there will be posted on Flickr when we get back
home.

Last evening we took a tour of the city and then ate at a Fado
restaurant. Fado is Portugese folk entertainment with music and singing.
We were there until probably 11:00 PM and it was a very enjoyable
evening. The only downside of the evening was the menu was a fixed
menu. The entree was duck and rice. I have had duck before and
absolutely hate it. It is probably the greasiest fowl known to man. I
absolutely did not eat it - stuck with the rice.

Right now (11:55 AM) it is very foggy on the ocean and the ship sounds
its horn ever couple of minutes. I hope that doesn't last. I had hoped
to read on the balcony this afternoon as the sun was out. We will have
to see.

Portimao, Portugal

Today we are in Portimao, Portugal, another small coastal village on the
Atlantic. After breakfast we took a shuttle bus into the center of the
town and spent about three hours touring. That includes any church we
come across! The photo enclosed is an old chimney/tower used as a nest
for storks. There were two towers along the river and both had stork
nests. I was on the impression that in the winter storks migrate to
Africa and come back in the summer. The natives say that the storks in
these two towers stay here year round.

Update: It is now Sunday morning as I write this. We are arriving in
Lisbon and we just passed under the bridge on the Tagus River. After
breakfast we are off on a excursion to Fatima.

Cadiz, Spain

Today we are in Cadiz on the south coast of Spain just west of
Gibraltar. This is the third time we have been in Cadiz the other two
times also part of a transatlantic cruise (once going to Europe and
another going home). After coffee and juice in our cabin (I am
reluctant to call it a suite even though Holland America calls it that)
we had breakfast on the Lido deck. Leaving the ship there was a "hop-on
hop-off" bus parked just outside the port gate. The "hop-on hop-off"
buses are very popular in European tourist towns and cities and a quick
way to see a lot of a city. As the name implies, you can hop off the
bus to see something in particular and later hop on to continue. As you
can see from the photo it is sometimes difficult to get a picture
without including a part of other bus riders. This photo is of the
gates of the old city (and the back of a guy's head). There is a
narration of what you are seeing as the bus proceeds.

Tomorrow we will be in Portimao, Portugal and then on to Lisbon where we
will stay overnight.