Songs - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week #26

Week 26. Songs. What was the #1 song during the week of your birth? Enter your birth date at This Day in Music (http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/birthdayno1) and find out. This is a weekly challenge from GeneaBloggers called 52 weeks of personal genealogy history.

Venus by Frankie Avalon was the #1 song in the US when I was born. The song was written by Ed Marshall and Peter DeAngelis and was #1 for 5 weeks. In the UK, it was As I Love You by Shirley Bassey. I don't think I've ever heard that one, but I remember her for singing the theme from Goldfinger.

Wikipedia has the #1 songs in the US from 1940 to present arranged by year: List_of_number-one_hits. Looking at my birth year, some other great songs were Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Mack the Knife, and of course, one of my favorites as a child, The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't be Late)!

Sentimental Sunday - Father's Day

This old, faded photo used to sit on my Dad's desk and shows my first hiking trip with him in the Smoky Mountains.

There are so many experiences I've had thanks to him. We've been camping everywhere from the Florida Keys, up the east coast, out west to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Zion, the Rocky Mountains, the Smoky Mountains and many other places. He used to love boating and we've been deep sea fishing in the Atlantic, taken day trips to islands in the Indian River, gone sailing, and tried our hand at water skiing. He passed his love of photography on to me and my sister and got me started in genealogy. He passed away in 2008 and we miss him greatly, but cherish all the memories.

Hilda Kleinhenz Creeden - Sunday's Obituary

From the Dayton Daily News, January 28, 1990:

CREEDEN, Hilda B., 86, of Centerville, died Friday, January 26 at Kettering Medical Center. She was a member of the Women's Auxiliary of the Incarnation Church. Survivors include her husband of 52 years, Robert F., and a step-son, Tim Creeden of FL. Mass of Christian Burial 11 a.m. Monday at the Church of the Incarnation. Interment Calvary Cemetery. Friends may visit with family at the Routsong Funeral Home, 81 N. Main St., Centerville, Monday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, friends may make contributions to the Heart Fund.

Hilda was my step-grandmother. She was born in 1903 in Mercer County, Ohio and her maiden name was Kleinhenz. She contracted tuberculosis in her 20's and had a long recovery at a sanitorium in New Mexico. She was told that she wouldn't live to see 30, so did quite well to make it to 86 years old! She married my grandfather Robert Creeden on August 24, 1937 in Cleveland, OH and they made their home in Dayton, OH.

Neighbors - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week #25

Week #25 –  Neighbors. Who were your childhood neighbors? Have you kept in touch with any of them? Do you feel the concept of “neighbors” has changed since then? This is a weekly challenge from GeneaBloggers called 52 weeks of personal genealogy history.

I grew up in a small neighborhood where we knew all of the neighbors. One of my best friends lived across the street from us and the other one was a few houses down from our house. My mother was also good friends with my friends' mothers. We've all kept in touch over the years and try and meet for lunch. We are way overdue for our next lunch, so this is a good reminder that it's time to get back in touch!

I don't know that the concept of neighbors has really changed, but I find that people aren't as friendly and don't get to know each other as well in bigger neighborhoods. It's possibly since most of us are working during the day and we just don't see each other that much. I remember my mother and her friends having more time to socialize with neighbors during the day and I think that probably made a big difference.

Clothes - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week #24

Week #24. Clothes. What types of clothes did you wear as a child? What was “in fashion” and did your style compare? This is a weekly challenge from GeneaBloggers called 52 weeks of personal genealogy history.

I don't think I was ever on the cutting edge of fashion, but I did wear what was in style for the times. Growing up in the 70's, my wardrobe included jeans with bell bottoms, hairbands, shirts in hideous patterns, Keds sneakers and Earth shoes! I had the long straight hair parted down the middle that was popular at the time and later more of a Farrah Fawcett cut with layers.

At the end of my teenage years, I was in college and disco was at its height. We all had shirts with metallic threads for going out on the town, but still mainly wore jeans. By the time I started working in the early 80's, the power suits with the big shoulder pads were in style. The guys always wore dress shirts and ties back then, but the workplace has gotten much more casual since I started. Now it's common to see people wearing jeans any day of the week.  The other "in fashion" clothes I remember having in the 80's were leotards and leg warmers for working out.

I guess you know you're getting older when you start to recognize some of the current styles from your past. Bell bottoms and shoulder pads seem to come and go. The platform shoes that are popular today look a lot like the ones that were popular when I was a teenager.

Books - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week #23

Books. What was your favorite book, or who was your favorite author from your childhood? What do you like to read now? Books or other formats? This is a weekly challenge from GeneaBloggers called 52 weeks of personal genealogy history.

In elementary school, I was addicted to mysteries and my first favorites were the Nancy Drew series. Another favorite was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the rest of the Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. I continued to read mysteries and sci-fi/fantasy books throughout school and the standout books were The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien.

I do read a bit online, but my favorite format for reading is still a book. I'm tempted to buy a Kindle or other e-book reader, but haven't bought one yet.

An ongoing favorite is the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. The books are a mix of historical fiction, fantasy involving time travel, and romance. I discovered them after a trip to the UK in the early 90's and little did I know that the series would last this long. It was originally supposed to be a trilogy, but there are now seven books in the series with more to come. The series starts out going between post WWII and the 1700's in the Scottish Highlands and later moves to America. While I loved the first three books in the series, I found the later books to be overly long and not as interesting. Still, she has me hooked to find out the ending and the resolution to a mystery that was introduced in the first book.

Another series I've enjoyed are the Harry Dresden books by Jim Butcher. These are about a modern day wizard that solves unusual cases in Chicago.  My most recent book purchase is something completely different: Toward the Flame by Hervey Allen. It's a memoir of the author's experiences in WWI and involves the same division that my great-uncle served in.

Surname Saturday - Top 100 Irish Last Names Explained

Today's Irish Central has an article on the Top 100 Irish Last Names Explained. My Irish Creedon surname is not that common, so I wasn't surprised that it didn't make the list. The explanations are short, but might provide a bit of info when you run across a new name.

The MacCarthy name is associated with some of the same areas as the Creedon name. That name is much more common, so it did make the list:

"MacCarthy - Mac Ćarthaigh (cárthach, loving). The chief family of the Eoghanacht and one of the leading septs of Munster, prominent in the history of Ireland from the earliest times to the present. MacCarthy is the most numerous Mac name in Ireland."

The full article is here: The Top 100 Irish Last Names Explained. If you click on the Print button above the article text, you can bring the entire article up on one page.

Tombstone Tuesday - Timothy and Mary Ann Matson Creeden

This is the grave of my great-great-grandparents, Timothy and Mary Ann Matson Creeden in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Celina, OH. The grave is in the Northeast Section, Row 13 of the cemetery. Timothy was born in 1846 in County Cork, Ireland and Mary was born in Clinton County, OH. The inscriptions read:

Timothy
Creeden
Died
Dec 14, 1899
Aged
53Y 8M 19D

Mary A.
1851 - 1925

CREEDEN

We were quite surprised to find such a large monument for them. From probate records, it appears that Mary purchased the lot and monument after Timothy's death. This picture was taken by the Mercer County Genealogy Society. More pictures are at: Find a Grave

Daniel Matson - Sunday's Obituary

Mansfield Ohio News, Jan. 10, 1928

Daniel Matson was the son of Asa Matson and Dolly Clevenger. He was born on Feb. 13, 1842 in Clinton County, Ohio and was the brother of my gg-grandmother Mary Matson Creeden. The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) mentioned in the obituary was a fraternal organization of Civil War veterans who had served in the Union Army.

Secrets - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week #22

Week 22. Secrets. Describe something about yourself that won’t be found on any record 100 years from now.  This is a weekly challenge from GeneaBloggers called 52 weeks of personal genealogy history.

Vehicle Assembly Building

I worked at the Kennedy Space Center during the summers when I was home from college. My Dad spent most of his career there and we often met for lunch or sometimes went touring around some of the lesser known places.

One thing that won't be on our work records is that we went up to the top of the 525 foot high Vehicle Assembly Building and walked on the roof! The glass elevator going up was exciting in itself and gave a strange sensation of standing in place while the ground quickly moved away. It was a beautiful clear day and the view at the top was breathtaking. That's a lunch break I'll never forget!