The Skrobul Sisters

This is a photograph of the Skrobul Sisters: Veronica (on lap), Juliana (in rocking chair), Estelle (sitting on the ground), Josephine (standing, the oldest) and Ann (my mom, standing, with the big bow in her hair).

The picture was taken around 1921, probably near their home in Beckemeyer, Clinton County, Illinois. Not pictured are the younger siblings, Stanley, Anthony and Maria, who were born after 1921. Their parents, Antanas Skrabulis and Antanina Norvaisaite, were Lithuanian immigrants who married in Gary, Indiana in 1910. Antanas worked as a coal miner for many years.


This picture was unidentified until I brought it with me to a family get-together. Now I treasure it as a rare picture of my mom and her sisters as children.

Blog Comments Challenge

Kathryn at Looking4ancestors challenged other genealogy bloggers to visit and leave comments on at least 10 blogs this week. Well, I did it. I found alot of genealogy blogs that I hadn't visited before, and became a follower of some of them. Here is the list of blogs that I commented on:

1. Looking4Ancestors

2. Kimberley’s Genealogy Blog

3. 24-7 Family History Circle

4. GenBlog

5. The Educated Genealogist

6.Think Genealogy

7. The Ballycastle Blog

8. Genea-Musings

9. Photo Detective

10. Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter

Thanks for the challenge, Kathryn.

Cook County Vital Records—Another Update

Yesterday, at the Illinois State Genealogical Society’s 40th Anniversary Conference, a representative of the Cook County Clerk’s office provided an update on the status of their vital records digitization project.

The Clerk’s website currently provides access to 8 million records. Additional records are being added to the website regularly. These include: 1) records which become newly available under Illinois state law (births-after 75 years; marriages-after 50 years; deaths-after 20 years) and 2) older records which have been newly indexed and digitized. When I asked the representative for a rough estimate of when the digitization of the older records would be complete, she estimated it would be finished in 1-2 years.

The representative indicated that anyone who has a problem with a record that they download should contact the Clerk’s office by email. The office has retained the records in book and microfilm form, so if a download is unreadable, or does not match the index, they are able to help you get the record that you need.

The Cook County Clerk’s website can be found at: http://www.cookcountygenealogy.com/

Margaret Whelan Considine

This is a photo of my great-aunt Margaret. She was born in Chicago in about 1866, to Timothy Whelan and Catherine Markey. Margaret married William Considine, a Chicago policeman, on 11 July 1889 at Holy Name Cathedral. Her sister Frances and a friend named John Devony were witnesses. Margaret died on 8 December 1943 and is buried at Mt. Carmel Cemetery.

One story I’ve heard is that Margaret’s brother John would sometimes visit her in the evenings, while William was working. John came in the evening in order to avoid William, who wasn’t fond of him. But apparently, Margaret had some nosy neighbors, who began to gossip about her having a gentleman visitor when her husband wasn’t home. Seeing Margaret’s photo, I have a feeling that she had no trouble setting them straight pretty quickly.

I love the car in this photograph, and Margaret’s hat. I’d like to find out what the occasion was and where the photo was taken.

Whelan Surname--Alternate Spellings

I have seen the surname Whelan spelled in many different ways. Occasionally, it is spelled 2 or more ways in a single document.

Here are 21 alternate spellings of the name Whelan that I have found in my research. I'll add more as I come across them. If you have found one that I've missed, let me know and I will add it to the list.

Wallen, Whalan, Whaland, Whalen, Whalin, Whaling, Whallan,
Whallin, Whallon, Whalon, Whealan, Whealin, Whealon, Wheelan,
Wheelin, Wheeling, Whehlen, Whelan, Whellen, Whelon, Whilan

Sources: Chicago city directories through 1864

Blog Tag

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings started a game of tag. I was tagged by Sheri Fenley, The Educated Genealogist. So, here goes:

***10 Years Ago I........
Was working at a day job in Human Resources
Was going on vacation to Yellowstone
Was meeting some cousins from Lithuania for the first time
Was attending a family reunion with my mom


***5 Things on Today's To-Do List......

1. Write on my blog.
2. Finish a client report (not quite done yet.)
3. Scan some more photos.
4. Go to my daughter’s concert at school.
5. Pay some bills.


***5 Snacks I Enjoy........

1. Hershey’s chocolate kisses
2. Fannie May Mint Meltaways
3. Frangos- chocolate raspberry
4. homemade chocolate chip cookies
5. French Silk Pie

***5 Places I Have Lived......

1. Chicago, Illinois
2. San Diego, California
3. Greenwood, Indiana
4. Mundelein, Illinois
5. Libertyville, Illinois


***5 Jobs I Have Had.....

1. Sales Clerk in the Christmas Court at Marshall Fields
2. Compensation Analyst
3. Compensation and Benefits Manager
4. Library Page
5. Mommy

***5 Blogs I tag to play.....


1. Myrt at Dear Myrtle
2. Donna at Donna’s Genealogy Blog
3. Paula at Paula’s Genealogical Eclectica
4. Julie at GenBlog
5. Robert at The Baca/Douglas Genealogy and Family History Blog

Jennie Whelan Brady, 1876-1922

This is a photo of my grandmother, Jennie (Whelan) Brady. Her parents, Timothy Whelan and Catherine Markey, were survivors of the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s. Jennie, a widow with three children, died in Chicago on 14 March 1922 of bronchial pneumonia with malnutrition as a contributing factor.