THE 97TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY OF CHARLES AND THERESA

Earlier this week (Monday, to be exact) marked the 97th anniversary of my grandparents' (Charles Sherlock and Theresa Nebgen) wedding.  I am not sure if they crossed state lines (from Illinois to Indiana) to get married because the laws were more lenient (my grandfather was 17 years old at the time) or because of the proximity.  Crownpoint, Indiana  What I have found from cursory research is that marriages in Crown Point were not publicly announced in Chicago.  Something else interesting -- marriage certificates from Indiana were not recognized in Illinois,  Why is it "the more I find out, the more questions that I have?"

I do know that their parents were not very happy when they found out about the marriage.  In fact, they made each of them live with their own parents for a few years (and that is where they were found in the 1920 US Census -- living separately with their own parents. ) I don't know when they actually started living together or if they had some type of church ceremony later.

50 years later (in 1968) they did have a church ceremony (renewal of vows) and a big party with their  family and friends.  The celebration included a cake, which I am sure was missing from that trip over the state lines in 1918.

Charles and Theresa celebrated 65 years of marriage before Charlie's death in 1983.  Happy Anniversary, Charlie and Theresa!

SOME MUSINGS ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Of course, on St. Patrick's Day, I think about my Irish ancestors.  The above photo is my Dad, his eldest brother Chuck, his mother Theresa (she was 100% German), his older brother Edmund and his father Charles Sherlock (whose both parents were born in Ireland).  The photo was taken in 1945 or 1946.

While I don't have a photo of my Irish great grandmother Bridget Elizabeth Chambers, I do have a few of my Irish great grandfather Edward Sherlock. The one below is probably my favorite one of him. It is very sad that my Grandpa Charlie never got to know his father Edward since Edward died from tuberculosis when Charlie was just 1 years old.

Every St. Patrick's Day since my trip to Ireland in 2012, I think about seeing Croagh Patrick from Islandeady (the childhood town of my great grandmother Bridget).  While I loved seeing the remains of the old church in Islandeady, it was not the church that Bridget attended since it was in ruins in the 1600's.  She probably attended St. Patrick's Catholic Church, which is the current parish in Islandeady.  St. Patrick's is on my list of places to visit on my next trip to Ireland.

Well, enough musing for now, I think it is time to go eat some Guinness Stew, which is my family's St. Patrick's Day dinner tradition.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!

Today would have been my Dad's 86th birthday -- Donald Joseph Sherlock was born on March 2, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois.  He is the baby in this photo.  It reminds me of how I looked in my baby photos. His brother Eddie is also in the photo and I am not sure who the woman was.  My Dad and his family moved to Southern California when he was 6 months old so I am assuming this photo was taken in Southern California.

The above photo is my Dad and his date to some high school dance.  Don attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles.  After all of us kids graduated from high school, my Dad stopped attending our high school (St. Genevieve's) football games and went back to attending his high school (Loyola) football games with an old friend of his from his high school days.

My Dad and his oldest brother Chuck went on an annual fishing trip.  They did this for years after us kids were grown. Then they started inviting my oldest brother Danny.  Next thing you knew my husband was joining them on their trips.  In 1998 they rented a houseboat and fished the California Delta.  The above photo shows my Dad on the boat with his Notre Dame shirt.  My Dad was a true Notre Dame fan -- even though we lived in California, he would receive a copy of the South Bend Tribune newspaper every day during football season and spring football.  Our mailman was not a happy person carrying all those newspapers, especially the very large Sunday paper.  We left a candy bar and soda for him in our mailbox while he walked his route.  Such fun memories!

Happy Birthday, Dad!  We love you and miss you!