Of My Flesh and Blood: Ancestors in 52 Weeks

This year's challenge is 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks and is run by Amy Johnson Crow.

The Topic:

Our ancestors' religious traditions can lead us to many discoveries. Have you used church/synagogue/meeting records? Do you have an ancestor who was in the clergy? Have you visited an ancestral church?

I've done past posts on religion in my family during another challenge I've taken a few years ago.

However, for this challenge, its asking different questions.

Church Records

Part of St. Patrick's Church (Credit Picture: FB Group)

I do have a few church records from Germany, Poland and Belgium, but I haven't really found too many in the US. I know one of the places, St Patrick's in Newburgh, NY, has records on myself and my siblings but I've been told their filing is so bad they can't find anything. I do know I've contacted them in the past asking for a copy of my own baptism, because I lost mine during a house fire, and never received a response.

However, I was able to get some items from Germany and Poland (thanks to a relatives and researchers who went there for me!) and in Belgium, I found these through sites like FamilySearch.

Faith or not
Earlier this year, I was asked by a cousin, if we had anyone in the family was Jewish. My response was "none that I've found - yet." Religious faiths, and if you have them or don't, don't bother me. You are the way you are by the decisions you make or the decisions of those around you before you can make your own or so that's my belief. If you believe in religion, that's fine. If not, that's fine too.

This came about on September 11, 2001. Yes, the Twin Towers. At this point, I was working with a

Image Credit

programmer at my job. We were talking about his fiance who's just arrived and how they were looking forward to their marriage and her settling in here in Australia. We've been working together for a few years, so we had a great relationship.

Then the towers were attacked. The next day, the programmer was supposed to be in, and he never came in. My mind was on the people there, due to us having first responders within the family and one of my nephews were down there in one of the World Tower Buildings. Once I found out my family was ok, although they had lost some close friends, I calmed down and was able to work my way around it.

The next day the programmer was back and I went to sit and talk to him about the program and how to maybe get past the bugs we had been working on. After about 10 minutes, I stopped because I could see he was upset. I asked him if he had someone within the Twin Towers or if he was getting treated differently. He admitted he had people who were treating him differently, but he was more upset about me. When I asked why, he said he feared I would blame HIM for what happened. I told him I knew the answer to this, but did he cause what happened to the Towers? His response was immediate and a no as I expected. I told him the answer was as expected and I held no blame but anyone who either directed or flew those airplanes into the buildings. He acknowledged that I didn't treat him any differently and thanked me. I told him it wasn't his fault. We all have bad eggs in different societies and he thanked me for being so great about it all. However, by the next morning, his manager called and talked to my manager and told her the programmer wasn't coping with the events and wouldn't be back. She wanted to make it clear we had done nothing wrong. As my manager knew of our conversation from the day before, she knew I had held no ill feelings for the programmer even though others were dealing with the Muslim faith in different ways and some weren't good.

Credit

There are bad people in all religions or non religions and in countries around the world. That's life and what we have to deal with. Not everyone is good and not everyone is bad.

Clergy
In the past, I've commented about how many people within my family are in the Clergy. It was
interesting to find these out. Some of these are below from a my cousin Jacqueline in Belgium (Thanks!).

Bertha Emma Barbara Verhaeghe known as Sister Maria Rufina

Jean Amand Verhaeghe in his office at church before his death

Picture of Oskar Verhaeghe as priest

Pic of Remi Eugene Verhaeghe as priest

Pic of Remi Leon Julien

These (above) are all gone way in the past. We do have some current clergy as well.

There are many on Vimo as well. This is one I have started to watch a few times.

Pastor Lon Ostrzycki - Bethlehem Baptist Church, Hazel Green, AL

Credit

There are others as well, but my mind has now gone blank. I do know of many of the family do teach Sunday school, play to piano/organ or helps around the church.

Church

I do know some of the churches my family has frequented in the US due to obituaries and where they are buried. I do have a few who are buried on church grounds and for that to happen, they must have a certain amount of years with the church I believe.

Some of the current churches are below.

This is where myself and my siblings were baptized. My Uncle John and paternal grandmother Jean held their funerals Credit

My mother's father's line (Gauquie's) have been members here since at least 1900. Credit St. Mary's Washingtonville

My great grandparents (and great aunts and uncles) can see this view when standing at their graves they are this close. I know some of my distance cousins were buried here too. We went to visit them in January 2019, and it had snowed out, but it was getting nippy, so we didn't stay long. We did take some pictures and visit. I know we missed headstones, but we will be back.

My grandparents (Gauquie) and great grandparents (Jagodzinski/a) attended here. St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. Picture credit GoogleEarth.

My grandfather Louis Gauquie, I believe, attended church at St Mary's until he left home at an early age and settled in Newburgh. Sometime later, he started to attend this church. I do know my great aunt Genevieve Jagodzinski/Barry and great grandparents Bernice and Appolonius Jagodzinski/Barry attended here as well. I know the funerals of Louis, Bernice and Appolonius were all held here. Bernice, Appolonius, and my grandmother, Janet, all are buried in the church cemetery.

In January 2019, I visited all the resting places of these ancestors. I never had any proof of where my grandmother was buried. However, during this visit, I found her headstone before I located her parents which were just in front of the headstone with her name on it.

I do have other churches throughout the US which holds other relatives, but I haven't visited for research - yet. One of these is Saint Columba Cemetery in Chester, New York.

The Saint Columba Church, Chester NY. Credit: GoogleEarth

What makes this so unbelievable, is one of my friends from high school, got married in this church. At this point, I wasn't doing genealogy or know any of my family history. However, I found many of the people who are my cousins (Van Rompaye's) and who married into other families (Palmer's & Fellner's) are all buried within the cemetery.

Me coming out after the church ceremony at my girlfriend's wedding at Saint Columba Church in 1995. Credit: B Fitzgerald

Part of the invitation of the wedding (picture above).

I'm wondering if my 2x great grandfather could be buried within the cemetery as well, but its something I'll have to research on my next trip over.

Visits to Cemeteries
One thing we do each time we go to the US, is visit the cemeteries of my relatives. I figure if they didn't make me, then I wouldn't be here, so why wouldn't I pay my respects?

Although, now I hold mental conversations with them while we visit telling them of what I've found and how the frustrate or how they make me proud. I'll leave you with the various pictures I took this past January/February 2019 visit below.