Personal Blog

Finding Mary Head

In my post, The Two Minnies, I wrote about finding two girls in the Charles Head family named "Minnie", either of whom might be my grandmother, Mary Head. After some research, I settled on the younger of the two, born around 1875. But that left unresolved the more fundamental question of why there were two girls in the family with the same name (or at least nickname) and where that second girl came from.

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The Fourteenth Poole Child

As children, my sister and I had always been told that there were fourteen children in my father's family, but we only knew the names of thirteen of them. We both remember being told that there was another child who had died, but that was the limit of our knowledge.

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The Pooles of Richmond Hill

For me, "the Pooles" will always mean my father's family. Their quirks dominated much of my childhood and things about them still come back to haunt me today. My dad, Charles Thomas Poole, was one of 13 brothers and sisters, all shown in the picture.

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Poole Family Walking Tour

I was having difficulty visualizing the many places the Poole family lived from the time my grandfather William arrived from Ireland till they ended up on 115th Street in Richmond Hill. It occurred to me that I'd like to walk around those neighborhoods if I could. I may be able to do that some time, but for now only a virtual walk is possible.

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Photos of Baby Izabel

Photos of Izabel Poole shortly after she was born.

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Christmas Eve 1997

Charlie and Phyllis had been in Florida until the 22nd and were in no shape to be hosts this year. John and Kim volunteered to have us all over and did a really great job. We had a wonderful roast beef dinner and enjoyed opening presents around the tree.

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The Two Minnies

My paternal grandmother, Mary Head Poole died in 1944. I was born in 1942 so I don't actually remember her, but photos show that we did indeed meet. For a long time, I knew nothing very little about her. Thanks to US Census records, I learned about her life after marrying my grandfather in 1896, but I still knew nothing about her parents.

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