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.

Pierce Landy's Deposition

This is one of my favorite documents from the Mary J. Whalin pension file. (Click on the labels related to Patrick Whelan for additional information about this pension file.) This deposition gives several clues for me to follow up on. It also provides details of what life was like in those days and some of the challenges faced by my relatives.

Misspellings and other mistakes are transcribed as they appear in the document.

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

On this 19th day of May, 1903, at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Ill, before me, J. H. Stibbs, a special examiner of the Bureau of Pensions, personally appeared Pierce Landy, who, being by me first duly sworn to answer truly all interrogatories propounded to him during this special examination of aforesaid claim for pension, deposes and says: I am about 70 years old. I do not know my age. I reside at 181 Milton Ave Chicago Ill.

I knew this claimant before she married Pat Whalin. When I first knew her, she was a young unmarried girl. I do not believe I was at their wedding, because I was on night watch at the time, but I knew all about it, & my wife attended the wedding & saw them married.

I know they lived together from that time until he died, except for the time he was in the soldier’s House, but they were never divorced or legally separated, & she has not remarried since he died.

I knew Pat Whalin long before he went a soldiering, several years before the war, and he was then a young unmarried man. His first marriage was to this woman Mary. My first wife was his sister. When I first knew him he was a drayman here, & several years before the war he bought a lot on Siegel Street, & built a house on it, and lived there with his mother & sister, and he was living there with his mother at the time he married claimant and he afterwards lost the place on a mortgage. The first house was burned In the big fire (1871) & then[?] he borrowed money to build a two story house & that he lost. I think he was some older than me but not much.

The only property he left was the house where he lived, & I don’t know as that belonged to him. Claimant has been very poor since, and has to work as a scrub woman.

The affidavit [?] [?] B. J. [?], was signed by me.
I am not interested in this claim. The above has been read to me & is correct.
P. Landy
Deponent.

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 19 day of May 1903, and I certify that the contents were fully made known to deponent before signing.
[?]
Special Examiner.

*********
Interesting points from this deposition:
1. Pierce Landy's first wife was the sister of Patrick Whelan and my ancestor, Timothy Whelan. Unfortuntely her first name is not given. I hope to find her in censuses and other records, but I'll need to be sure I find the first wife, and not a later one.

2. The mother of Patrick and Timothy Whelan lived in Chicago before Patrick went a soldiering! This is great news, since Timothy was one of my "space alien" ancestors who seemed to materialize in Chicago without any relatives. I will be trying to find out more about the mother (such as her first name) through censuses, cemetery records and other sources.

3. Patrick worked as a drayman (wagon driver) and lived on Siegel Street before the Civil War. This informtion will help me idenify him in city directories.

4. Patrick lived in a soldiers' home for a time. I will try to find out which one, and see if any records are available that might relate to Patrick.

5. Patrick owned property in Chicago. I'll want to look at any deeds, mortgages, or other records about the property.

6. Pierce Landy believes Patrick was older than him, but not by very much. Pierce wasn't sure of his own age, but believed he was about 70 years old in 1903. Therefore Patrick was probably born before 1833, at least according to Pierce.

I wll continue to post additional depositions and discoveries as I find them.

Ann and Florence in Montana

This is a photo of Florence Yedinak and my mom, Ann Skrobul, visiting my mom's relatives in Montana. I believe the photo was taken in the early 1940s.



Here are Florence and Ann waiting at the Miles City station for the train that would take them back to Chicago. They packed light! I had more luggage than both of them put together when I visited Montana in 1975.