Family Recipe Friday: Friendship Cake

My grandmother is always telling me about this pound cake she bakes. She bakes it for parties, holidays, and friends. I vaguely remember eating this cake as a kid, and recently I asked my grandmother if she would share her recipe with me. She was really excited that I asked, and told me she would write it out for me and send it.

Since I live in California and my family lives in Pennsylvania, I had to wait for the info to come in the mail. A few weeks later I received a giant box from her. She sent me the recipe, the pan I had to make it in, some of the ingredients, measuring spoons, and some other little gifts. I had planned to make the cake over the holidays when I was off from work, but unfortunately I was under the weather.

This past weekend, I decided to make the cake. My girlfriend had a good time laughing at my total lack of knowledge about baking (sugar is supposed to go in the wet ingredients? Why??).

Probably the first time I've ever used this mixer.

I think it turned out pretty well.

A little powdered sugar and the cake looks quite pretty.

We wrapped up the cake so we could each take half to work to share with our coworkers.

I am cheating a little bit in this post because... I'm not going to share the recipe. My grandmother asked me not to share it with anyone, and I promised. This pound cake is a family secret!

Weekly Goals

Well, I said if I didn't finish last week's goals, I would know I had put too much on my list. I guess I bit off more than I could chew because the following goals were left unfinished:

1. Call Grandmother, discuss blanks I need filled in.

2. Compose list of questions I need to ask cousin Helen.

3. Review entries for grandparents' siblings and ensure proper citations.

Rather than biting off more than I can chew again, I think I'll focus on #1 and #3. At this point I can't call my cousin and pick her brain as it's getting too close to the holidays. But I can eliminate the other two. And I'll make one additional:

4. Complete two entries for the blog.

I have a post I began about my great grandmother, Mary Brennan. So I need to finish that one. It's going to be a busy week, finishing up for the holidays, but I hope I can get a bit of work done!

Goals for the upcoming week!

I have a friend who loves to make lists. She has so many lists that she has a master list of her lists. I'm going to take a page out of her book and start some lists of my own this week. I'm floundering a bit lately, looking at my tree and picking a person, searching for information, occasionally adding citations... I need to get organized. So, with this in mind, this will be my 'To Do' list for the upcoming week:

1. Review maternal grandfather's information in FTM, create list of blanks I need him to fill in.

2. Review Great Grandmom Sellers's entry, add/reformat citations for all facts.

3. Send a follow-up email regarding the records from the Church Home for Children, where my great grandmother was raised.

4. Call the Radisson, formerly the Warwick Hotel, to inquire about the existence of employment records (Frederick Gledhill, second great grandfather).

5. Review Great Grandfather Gledhill's entry, add/reformat citations for all facts.

6. Review maternal grandmother's information in FTM, create list of blanks I need her to fill in.

7. Call maternal grandfather on Friday to discuss questions.

8. Make list of records to be ordered, prioritized.

9. Research cemeteries in my area, find one to adopt.

10. Add sources to completed blog entries.

This should keep me relatively busy! Good thing I'm off from work on Friday.

Wordless Wednesday: Great Grandpa Hannigan, 1902

Funeral Card Friday: Mary Hannigan

I found this funeral card in my mom's boxes of assorted photos and memorabilia. Mary E. (Brennan) Hannigan was my mother's grandmother. This card was of particular interest to me, as I didn't know her date of death, and neither my mom or grandmother were able to tell me for sure. No one could remember where my great grandmother was buried either. Forunately, the funeral home that is listed on this card is still in business, and they responded very quickly to my message. My grandmother is buried in Saint Mary's cemetery in Salem, New Jersey¹.
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¹Robert Laughrey , "Re: laughreyfuneralhome.com: contact form message,"email to Stacy McConnell, 24 Oct 2012.

Some good luck in the graveyard

I took a trip home to Pennsylvania last month (and got trapped by Hurricane Sandy!). My extended stay was the perfect opportunity for my mom and I to go on the hunt for some family graves.

Earlier in the month, my mom had gifted to me a genealogy treasure--a battered metal box containing the Mass cards, flower list, and guest book from my great grandfather's funeral. Finding any information about this particular branch of the family tree is rare. The oldest living person is my maternal grandmother, who seems neither interested in, nor particularly knowledgeable about, our family history. This funeral box was from her father, Martin Hannigan's, funeral. It also contained the deed to the burial plot, and dates of interment for both of Martin's parents¹. Jackpot.

Armed with the knowledge that these three family members were buried together at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham, PA, I told Mom we were going visiting. (Sidebar--how the hell do you say Sepulchre? I have no idea, so I'm going with Holy Sep, as the cemetery staff referred to it). This cemetery is still in use, and the woman working in the office was kind enough to copy the information on our family for us.

This is the headstone for my second great grandmother, Mary Gilbride Hannigan. Her husband, John, and son, Martin, are buried in this plot along with her. Martin evidently chose not to have his father's name added to the tombstone. My grandmother did not add Martin's name either, for reasons unknown to me. She speaks very highly of her father, and he died unfortunately young. Graves without headstones are incredibly sad to me. We have quite a few in our family. I am thinking perhaps I will add Martin's name to the stone. I would like him to be properly remembered.
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¹Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham, PA, Burial record (1961), Martin Hannigan.