James Edward Sullivan was born about 1866, apparently at or near Potsdam, St. Lawrence County, New York. He died in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 7 February 1931. His Ontario civil death record records his birthplace as Potsdam, NY, and lists…
Aside
Currently reading (and greatly enjoying) Peter Behrens’ The O’Briens. Probably the only novel I’ve ever read that begins with the Famine Irish of Pontiac County, Québec. Up the Pontiac!
Housekeeping
Things will look a little strange around here…
by M.C. Moran • • 0 Comments
…as I remodel the blog.
Local History, Photographs
John Vallely (1861-1935)
by M.C. Moran • • 0 Comments
John Vallely was a son of Michael Vallely and Mary Ryan. He was born in Lanark Co., Ontario in 1861, and emigrated to Grand Forks, North Dakota about 1882. In 1889 he married another Canadian emigrant to North Dakota: Anna…
Translation
Surname Confusion: Lavallee, Lavelle, Vallely
by M.C. Moran • • 0 Comments
Returning to the French-Irish theme (see Strange Surname Spellings: Hohanlan for O’Hanlon) with respect to surname spellings, here are three surnames which sound somewhat similar, and which are often misspelled in the 19th-century records in ways that make them look…
Military Records
A Claim for Exemption from the Draft
by M.C. Moran • • 0 Comments
“Do you claim exemption from draft (specify grounds)?” “Yes Claim Murder” Berkeley, California, 1965? Nope. East Grand Forks, Minnesota, 1917.