RETRACING THEIR FOOTSTEPS - BRUSSELS AND AMSTERDAM

Part 5 of the Series on Retracing Their Footsteps

On 28 May 1961, Charles and Theresa flew to Brussels and had lunch in Brussels.  They traveled by bus to Amsterdam, arriving at their Hotel Suisse at 7pm. They took a walk with another couple. The next day they went sightseeing – on a boat trip on the Rhine River. They visited the old St. Nicholas Church in Amsterdam.  On their visit to Amsterdam, they bought a ceramic windmill that played music for each of their sons' family.  As a child, I remember ours sat on our TV in the living room.  

In 2015, my husband, brother and sister-in-law visited the city of Amsterdam. We walked to the flower market and then back to our hotel, the Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel.  Our hotel was 2 streets west and a few blocks north of their hotel – Hotel Suisse.  We enjoyed a canal dinner cruise on our first night in Amsterdam.

The following day my husband and I took a tour that included the towns of Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Marken [which are all north of Amsterdam].

So, one of my objectives when I visited Amsterdam was to find and purchase a ceramic windmill to display in our home.  I found the perfect one at Delft Blue.  Now, every time, I look at it in our entertainment center, I think about my Grandparents and about our 2015 trip to Amsterdam. Such great memories!

RETRACING THEIR FOOTSTEPS - LONDON, ENGLAND

Part 4 of the Series on Retracing their Footsteps

Theresa and Charlie arrived at the Regent Palace Hotel in London, England at 10:30pm on 26 May 1961. The next day they hired a cab for three hours and saw Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria’s statue, House of Commons, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.  They also saw in London the following sites – House of Parliament, Tower of London, London Bridge, Thames River, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Piccadilly Square.

So far, my experience of being London, consists of spending a few hours in the London Airport with my daughter on our way to Milan in July 2019.  Hoping to someday spend some time in London and see the sites.

RETRACING THEIR FOOTSTEPS - COUNTY MEATH, IRELAND

Part 3 of the Series on Retracing Their Footsteps

May 26, 1961 – “Pat Sherlock picked us up.  What a ride in the country we had. We visited more Sherlocks, Christian and his wife, then to Dad’s father’s old homestead.  It was lovely. The people who live there did some changes [Charlie’s father Edward lived there in the 1870’s and 1880’s] but the lady let us take pictures and look around.  There was over 60 acres and all the land was green”.

Pat Sherlock, their driver, is the son of Patrick Joseph Sherlock.  So therefore, a sister to Agnes Sherlock and 1^st cousin to Charlie. Edward Sherlock’s old homestead [probably the house he grew up in] was in Demailestown [in Wilkinstown] but at some time they also lived in a house in Ladyrath [in Wilkinstown].  That seems like a place they were at for a shorter time.

“We went to Pat Sherlock’s for lunch. We saw his land and cattle then took another trip around to the Carey’s. Also saw the Ladyrath home.  We sure covered a lot of ground, beautiful roads and farms”.

Demailestown and Ladyrath are very close to one another. Actually, both of them are included in the bigger town of Wilkinstown.  While they are listed as townlands, they are more like housing developments.  So, think of a housing development in a rural setting with a few houses. Demailestown and Ladyrath are west of Drogheda, east of Kells, and north of Navan and Kilmessan.  I looked at both Demailestown and Lady Rath on Google Earth and couldn’t find a house like the one in the above photo.  Of course, this photo is from over 50 years ago and the house very likely could have been torn down and a new one built.

While we were in County Meath in 2015, I tried to find these townlands in person, but it is much harder than trying to locate places on Google Earth.  Oh, if it could be just that easy! Of course, it didn’t help that we didn’t have GPS, so it was rather like looking for a needle in a haystack!  The roads were tiny rural roads and there were not many signs. We drove past Lobinstown, Wilkinstown, Slane Castle and Navan.  Lady Rath and Demailestown is to the east of the main part of Wilkinstown.  So, alas, I did not actually get to see Lady Rath or Demailestown despite our efforts. But since Ladyrath and Demailestown is in Wilkinstown we came very close to it.  It really helped Charlie and Teresa that they had a driver who was very familiar with the area to take them to these townlands in 1961.

The Carey’s are the children/descendants of Elizabeth Sherlock [sister of Edward] and her husband Nicholas Carey.  I am not sure which Carey’s, Theresa and Charlie met with on their trip.

“We picked up Pat’s wife of 4 years and went to see Agnes who has 9 children.  Her husband was 50 years old [when they married] and she was 20.  He is now 70 and she is 40 years old.  After visiting Agnes, they visited Mary Glacken in Navan, who had dinner ready for everyone.”

Even though Charles and Theresa only spent two days in Ireland, they met a lot of relatives and visited several their homes.  Charles and Theresa also visited the old homestead of Bryan Sherlock and Margaret Caffrey Sherlock in Demailestown, where Charlie’s father Edward Sherlock was raised.  Edward died when Charlie was just a baby, so I am sure that their visit to the old homestead was rather emotional for Charlie.

I would not only have loved to visit the townlands of Demailestown and Lady Rath, but also meet any remaining Sherlock/Caffrey/Carey relatives still living in the area

RETRACING THEIR FOOTSTEPS - IRELAND

Charlie and Theresa started off their trip in Ireland after stopping briefly in London.

Charles and Theresa arrived about 5pm [25 May 1961] in Dublin and took a taxi to the Shelbourne Hotel [which was not too far from St. Stephen's Green (a huge luscious green park-like area in the middle of Dublin)]. They first saw two of Charlie's relatives when they spotted two women at the hotel -- a Mary Glacken and an Agnes Sherlock.

According to my research, Mary Glacken is the daughter of Patrick Glacken and Mary Ann Sherlock.  She would have been a first cousin of Charlie [Charles’ father Edward and Mary’s mother Mary Ann were siblings.] I have not figured out how Agnes Sherlock was related to Charlie.  However, I am now thinking perhaps that Agnes is the daughter of Patrick Joseph Sherlock and Mary McCullagh [who are also the parents of Patrick Sherlock, who is mentioned later.] Agnes would be a 1^st cousin of Charlie too. There is a mention of a Margaret Sherlock. 

In 2012, while visiting Ireland for the Notre Dame vs. Naval Academy football game at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, my husband and I walked past St. Stephen’s Green to go shopping. St. Stephen’s Green is so gorgeous and very green!

Grandma Theresa doesn’t write much about visiting spots in Dublin itself. From her diary, it seems like they spent most of their time in the smaller villages, even though they stayed the two nights at a hotel in Dublin.

                                          [St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin in 2012]

In 2015, we did spend a short time in Dublin.  My son flew in after we had already gone to visit the Ring of Kerry and Killarney National Park.  We picked up my son from the Dublin Airport and stayed overnight at the Ashling Hotel in Dublin. We visited the Guinness Warehouse and the Jameson Distillery in Dublin. So, I guess both my grandparents and us used Dublin more as a place to arrive and leave, rather than a destination to explore. 

                                        [The River Liffey in Dublin]

RETRACING THEIR FOOTSTEPS - INTRODUCTION

Fifty-eight years ago, my paternal grandparents Charlie and Theresa Sherlock went on this incredible European trip.  I have since dubbed it "Their Grand European Adventure". They left Burbank, California on 22 May 1961 and arrived back home a month later.  Of course, since I was only six years old at the time, I don't really remember much about it.  It started with a "Send Off " picnic at North Hollywood Park with family and extended family members.  However, after my Dad's death in 2001, I inherited the travel slides and Grandma's travel diary from that trip.  I have looked at the slides numerous times, throwing out the ones with scenery but no people, which was a huge mistake!  I also have read Grandma's travel diary too many times to count trying to piece together the photos with where they were taken.  I have tried to figure out who were the relatives (ones I have never met) in the photos.  I have used Wikipedia and Google Maps, but things have changed a lot in the past 58 years.

Ever since I saw the slides and read the travel diary, I have had this burning desire to re-trace as many of their European Adventure steps as possible. I know that I won't get it all done in one trip but that it may take a number of trips across the Pond, which will give me great joy!

Not only am I trying to continue my quest of re-tracing their footsteps, but I also want to write about it - comparing my visit with theirs (what they saw, activities they participated in and people they met). I will use the itinerary order of their trip.  Sections directly from Theresa's travel diary will be in italics.

Let me end this introduction with a travel quote that sums up my view of travel from an unknown source --

"Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer".

HAPPY 120TH BIRTHDAY, GRANDMA THERESA

Today, my paternal grandmother Theresa Barbara Ann Nebgen Sherlock would be celebrating her 120th birthday.  Theresa was born on 13 November 1899 in Chicago, Illinois to Peter Joseph Nebgen and Theresa Homrich Nebgen.  She had two older sisters, Helen and Anna, and an older brother Emil. As the baby of the family, she out lived her parents and her siblings, as probably expected.  However, she lived 10 years past the death of her remaining sibling.

Theresa got married when she was 18 years old and her spouse was only 17 years old. Even back then, her parents were not amused by their elopement and made each of them live with their own parents for a few years. If they still felt that way later, they could be together.  Well, they did feel that way and they stayed together for a very long time.  We celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1968 with a weekend long celebration.  Ten years later, we celebrated their 60th anniversary with the same enthusiasm but less partying!  Two months after their 65th anniversary, my Grandpa Charlie died.

My Grandpa Charlie seemed to be larger than life so he tended to get all of the attention. Theresa, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy going along for the ride. Theresa and Charlie did have some great adventures, including their month long trip to Europe in 1961, which I like to call "Their Grand European Adventure".  They also took shorter trips to Hawaii and Mexico.

 Theresa did have a long life, living to the age of  93, dying in June of 1993.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDMA THERESA!!