Mom and Her Siblings

My mom, Ann Skrobul, was one of 8 children. And from what I saw of them, they all got along well. I know my mom loved them all, and felt loved by them. The photo above shows my mom goofing around with her 2 brothers, Stan and Putt (aka Tony).

I have alot of photos of my mom with 1 or more of her siblings. In the photo below are Stella and my mom standing, with their oldest sister Josephine seated. The photo was taken in April, 1957. My mom is standing behind Aunt Jo because she was a little bit pregnant at the time.



The next picture shows Veronica, Ann and Jule Skrobul standing in front of the family home in Beckemeyer, Illinois.


Here is one more photo of my mom and some of her siblings. From left to right, Stella, Veronica and Ann are shown spending a quiet evening together knitting.



I only have one photo of my mom with her siblings when they were children. It is a picture of the 5 sisters that I have posted here. I have no picures of the sixth sister, Maria, who died as an infant.

My mom was very lucky to have grown up with so many great brothers and sisters, and to have stayed close to them as adults.

To see more photos and comments about brothers and sisters, look at the 11th edition of Smile For the Camera, posted by the footnoteMaven.

Dad and Friends

Here is another photo of my dad and some friends from his young adult years. From left to right are Wayne Swonk, Ed Brady and Jim Collins. This picture is mounted to a cardboard frame, taped to it with very yellowed cellophane tape. It was then wrapped in tissue paper, which is also looking a bit yellowed. The names of the 3 men in the photo are written on the top layer of tissue paper in the handwriting of my aunt Rita Brady (Ed's sister.) The photo is a bit blurry, but it is the only one I have found so far of Wayne. I do not know where or when it was taken. Since dad was born in 1907, I think the photo was probably taken after 1927.

Ed Brady and Richard Spencer

Here they are: my dad, Ed Brady, and his friend, Richard Spencer. I do not know when or where this photo was taken. The guys appear to be in their 20s to me. Since Dad was born in 1907, the picture was probably taken between 1927 and 1937, probably towards the earlier end of that range.

Catherine Whelan's Deposition

This deposition was given by my great-grandmother, Catherine (Markey) Whelan. It was given in support of the claim for a widow's pension by Catherine's sister-in-law, Mary J. Whelan.

For the sake of consistency, I use the spelling "Whelan" when writing about this family. This was the spelling I have found most often in Irish records. However, Patrick's family used the spelling "Whalin" consistently in these pension documents, although not in other documents I have found. The transcription below reflects the spelling of words as given in the original documents.

Deposition D
Case of Mary J. Whalin, No. 773265

On this 18 day of May, 1903, at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, before me, J. H. Stibbs[?], a special examiner of the Bureau of Pensions, personally appeared Catherine Whalin, who, being by me first duly sworn to answer truly all interrogatories propounded to her during this special examination of aforesaid claim for pension, deposes and says: I am 65 years of age, am the widow of Timothy Whalin and reside at 166 Chestnut in Chicago Ill.

I first knew this claimant ever since after she was married. About 5 months before she was married. She was then a young unmarried girl. I was not present at the church when they were married, but I was at the house that evening where the wedding festivities were held. My husband stood up with her when she was married. She was married in December, 35 or 36 years ago. The first I knew her husband, Patrick Whalin, was when he came from the war. He was then a single man, & had never been married, & I am sure his first marriage was to claimant. They lived together as man & wife until he died, & she has not remarried since. I know they were living together on Columbia St. at the time of his death.

She has been very poor since her husband died, has had no property & no income aside from her own labor.

I am not interested in her claim, above has been read to me & is correct.

Attest her X mark
Fannie Reardon Catherine Whalin
[?] Kenny

Deming Place Then and Now

The photo above is dated December 1944. On the back, it is labeled "We lived here Ann, Estelle & Stella" in the handwriting of my mom, Ann Skrobul.



This photo is labeled "1981, 632 Deming Pl. previous residence of Ann Skrobul Brady" in my handwriting. It looks like I found the correct building when I went looking for it in 1981. I just loved the look of these old stone houses.

Recently, I looked for this address on the Cook County Assessor's website, and I found this image labeled 2006:



This didn't look like a good development for the old house. I hoped it was just a major remodeling and not a tear down. I decided to look on Google Earth and see if it showed a more recent image. Google Earth showed this image:



The house appears to be still standing and seems to be looking better again. But now I want to satisfy my curiosity. I'll just have to drive by and see the house in person on my next trip to the north side of Chicago. And I'll probably take a few pictures of the building while I'm there, to add to my collection.

The McGoldricks and The Bradys

This is a picture of my parents and another couple. On the left are John and Dorothy McGoldrick. On the right, my parents, Ann (Skrobul) and Edwin F. Brady. The photo was most likely taken in Chicago in the early 1950s.

The Yedinak Sisters?

This is a picture of Florence Yedinak, a friend of my mom, Ann Skrobul. Other photos of Florence can be seen here.



This photo is labeled Helen Yedinak. I don't know if Florence and Helen were sisters, but it seems to me that there is a family resemblance.

I believe these photos were taken in Chicago in the 1940s. If you recognize Florence or Helen Yedinak, I'd be happy to hear from you and share photos.