Purcell Family of America

An association to help those trace the Purcell family line

Past Messages

Paying Respects

Posted: 20 February 2010 at 11:45 a.m.

“Paying Respects….”

When you sit down to write a President’s Letter, you often have many thoughts and how to collect them into a theme. After two weeks of this process, “Paying Respects” came to me while staying overnight at my Aunt Ce and Uncle Jack’s Apartment/Home in Atlantic Beach, FL.

Normally the term of “Paying Respects” is considered as part of the results of someone’s dying, which is certainly true. However, as I planned this trip, I got to thinking that this simple phrase can be applied much more broadly to “the living.”

Specifically, this ‘business’ trip to Orlando included a visit with my grand nephew Tate Purcell, who is the son of my nephew Mitch, who lives in Billings. Tate lives with his Mom Deanna Fox in the Orlando area. I had dinner with them and Deanna’s significant other Mark, who lives in Montana. Aside from seeing Tate last summer in Billings, it is usually two+ years between visits. So it was wonderful to catch up learn of his desire to become an Architect. Of course this could change, as he is just 12. But he’s smart and he values his family relationships. He has visited his Dad, step Mom, Grandma and Grandpa in Billings at least once per year. He’s travelled more than many adults. By investing in this relationship now, it will hopefully result in warm, positive relationship as Tate becomes an adult.

It is difficult to build friendships as adults. Wouldn’t you agree? So, on Friday evening I visited with a couple who are friends with one of my best friends: Stephen and Ola Medvec of Philadelphia. Their friends Val and Bob Raisch are originally from Helena, MT, and now live in Ocala, FL. They welcomed me to their home, treated me to dinner at a wonderful fish restaurant and made a delicious scrambled egg and bacon breakfast. Since we both live on the East Coast, we agreed that western visitors to us on the East Coast rarely happens. Why is that? We have travelled countless times to Montana and Western Relatives, yet few have travelled East. The bottomline here is that you build friendships by visiting and ‘paying respects.’

My last visit on this trip was with my Aunt Ce and Uncle Jack who live in a progressive care retirement community called Fleet Landing in Atlantic Beach, Florida, which is about half an hour east-southeast of Jacksonville. They’ve been there about 15 years, and have gone from living in a duplex home to a two-bedroom apartment. They’ve gone from being thoroughly active and volunteering in all types of activities in their late 70s to being immobile and need of nursing and hospice care. Despite this change-of-life, their relationship has lovingly matured and I could see this in their smiles, touches and embraces. And, even though my Uncle Jack is mostly bedridden, and gaunt from weight loss (200 to 150), his ‘smile’ is contagious. I’m fortunate to have taken natural path walks and shared sail boating with my Uncle Jack, and still be able to solicit stories of his growing up.

‘Paying Respects’ also pertains to attentive children who don’t forget their parents when they get old and feeble. I’ve seen Jack and Ce’s daughter Sherry put together scrapbooks for her Mom and Dad that their wedding in the early 60s, capture Dad’s Retirement and 90^th Birthday, plus Mom’s 90^th Birthday and her family’s favorite receipes in a custom cookbook. (See photo and notes below.) Son Brad has, like his sister, made countless trips to visit their parents to help in all aspects of downsizing, re-organizing and in making necessary healthcare decisions.

From the 90^th Birthday album, I’ve jotted down what I wrote several years ago: “Jack and Ce….Thank you so much for your generosity over the years…from Grosse Pointe, MI; Billings to Red Lodge, MT; and, Hilton Head, SC to Atlantic Beach…you’ve lived in some amazing places; but, it’s you that made them all ‘special!’

At the beginning of one of the albums is the following inscription: ‘ A collection of wit, reflections, inspirations and prayerful reflections.’ Why not take time to put together a treasured album for one of you loved ones?

I encourage all members of the Purcell Family of America to ‘Pay their Respects’ to friends and family while they are alive, and to keep up gravesites after they’ve passed. (My next President’s column will most likely be about the unique aspects of Graveyards, etc al.)

You can bolster your Purcell Family relationships by planning now to attend our Purcell Family of America Reunion in Salt Lake City this coming June. (Please see info in this eNewsletter.) Board member Aloa Dereta and daughter Sheri have invested time and efforts to make this a fun event. Please join us in Salt Lake City, the gateway for genealogy research and for seeing some of the most spectacular scenery in the West. (I’ve done a Powerpoint presentation for the Reunion, which can be accessed on our website: www.pfaroots.org)

You gain what you sew…which is true for the grains of wheat and of relationships.

JF Purcell

President, Purcell Family of America
Passion

Posted: 1 October 2009 at 8:51 p.m.

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT

“Passion”

When I sat down to write this quarter’s President’s Message, I realized that the word ‘Passion’ has been bouncing around my head, so I thought, “Why not use it for the my theme?” I remember my father Thomas A. indicating that what I did for a living was less important than “being happy at what you do” and “having a passion for what you do.” I have been fortunate to enjoy my career in advertising sales.

On the personal side, I’ve always loved history. I’ve always wondered why something happened the way it did and who was responsible. And I, like you, wondered about my family history. This interest in family history did not come early in life. I believe this ‘timing’ is similar for most of us. When ?rst married in 1976, I had done some research on Purcell Family history at the NY Public Library, but the initial research in the 1970s sort of went fallow with the needs of a growing family, my demanding career, plus an avocational interest in photography.

I must admit that my interest grew in the early 1990s as the ‘next generation’ thoughts really came into my head when our sons were about nine and thirteen years old. Little by little my interest in genealogy increased when I received a copy of the Purcell Family of America Journal from my Aunt Ce and Uncle Jack. Things took off when in 1992 I read the “Murder of the Thousand Clues” submitted by a then unknown cousin James Purcell now of Lake Geneva, WI. Following up on that story, I found a resource at the Newberry Library in Chicago but, aside from a several-hour visit while attending a trade show there in the early 90s, I didn’t have the opportunity to return. It was after the befriending by James Purcell and a tour of the northwest Illinois graveyard where my great grandfather Purcell was buried that I realized my passion for family history. My membership in the Purcell Family of America in the early 90s lead to my becoming secretary in 1998, secretary/treasurer in 2000, vice president in 2003 and President in 2006. The rest as they say is history.

Passion for Purcell Family History by Todd & June Purcell

What was it that led Todd Purcell and his wife June to found the Purcell Family of America in 1972? What led them to contact hundreds of ‘Purcells, Persells, etc.’ via letter and even personal visits? Passion for family history had to be an inspiration
for both of them. One of the reasons we selected Salt Lake City for this coming year’s PFofA Family Reunion June 19th-22nd, 2010, was the hope to have the opportunity to meet PFofA Founders Todd and June Purcell. (See Reunion information in this issue.) I have contacted Todd’s grandson, our webmaster Daniel Purcell, to see if we can begin a video-recording of the history of the PFofA prior to our Reunion, beginning with his grandparents. Then we will hopefully have a video set-up at our Reunion to capture other members and their remembrances of the PFofA and their individual families as well.

We must also be grateful for the nearly two decades that Tony Marostica served the Association as President. He too shared their passion!

Ken Burns is the Video Storyteller of our Time

Many of you may have seen Ken Burns’ and Dayton Duncan’s series “The National Parks”. Other Burns’ historical ?lms include “Baseball”, “Jazz”, “Ellis Island” and “The American West”. He and Duncan share a ‘passion for and the preservation of our nation’s history.’ Their efforts have undoubtedly helped further our nation’s consciousness of history and preservation of nature and heritage and probably many family histories along the way. During an interview on his PBS show, Charlie Rose complimented Burns, saying: “Burns is a remarkable archivist for who we are, and what we are to be.”

Did you know that Theodore Roosevelt, the leader of the Roughriders and President of the United States, was a naturalist and one of our ?rst preservationists? He was instrumental in creating our National Park System, doubling the number of national parks during his administration and creating the Antiquities Act, which allows historic sites to be preserved as national monuments. Today we see the NPS as belonging to all Americans and as a legacy to the world. Theodore Roosevelt is the seventh cousin of Diane Fox Purcell, wife of James Purcell, who is mentioned above.

Whatever your passion in life, celebrate it in your career and more importantly in your daily life. Hopefully, part of that passion will be for research and enjoyment of family history. With that in mind, take out your 2010 calendar and plan on joining
the extended Purcell Family of America Reunion in Salt Lake City next June. There at the Family History Library you will have the opportunity to explore your own family history with the resources of the world’s largest genealogical library. Circle June
19th-22nd on your calendar now and watch for the form coming soon in your membership dues reminder and by separate email to request your informational packet.

Many thanks are in order to long-time member Aloa Dereta and her daughter Cherie for their diligence and patience in planning the 2010 Reunion in Salt Lake City.
J.F. Purcell, President
The Perseverance Of Patten

Posted: 10 July 2009 at 9:05 p.m.

The idea for this issue’s PFofA Newsletter President’s Message came to me after reading a small autobiographicial book sent to me by our past editor Robert Purcell. It is entitled: “Peddler Comes to Bucks County” (PA)– Autobiography by Alfred B. Patton. Copyright: 1971. It is one of a handful of books having some tie-in to Purcells, Pursells, etc. I have received and this is the first one.

Preface

“Over the years, many pictures and relics have come into my possession. Having only one of each, it would be impossible to give them to my 50 descendants: 10 children, 29 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. That is why I decided to put pictures in this book because they will all receive a copy which can be used for reference by future generations.”

The Early Years

“Just before the turn of the century, on Dec. 20, 1897, I was born at 19 Lower Mulberry Street, Danville, PA.” He goes on to detail his mother’s family being in the U.S. for a “long, long time.” Her lineage descends from the Boehms of Palatinate, Germany in 1683.

He mentions that his grandfather, Alfred B. Patton, was born in Eyers Grove, PA and was the son of a Scotch immigrant. He was married to Mary G. Pursell. After serving as a lieutenant in the Civil War, he lived in Danville. “His son, John Pursell Patton, was my father.” Author Alfred B. Patton was born in 1897.

“The 19^th century had been one of the greatest centuries that people had ever seen, but it was nothing compared to the one that was coming up. In the 20^th century I have lived to see the automobile, the airplane, the submarine, and many other things come into being. When I was a boy, I read about many of the wonders to come in the Tom Swift books. Everybody thought they were a bunch of rubbish. Even my father couldn’t understand why I enjoyed reading about Tom Swift and his automobile, Tom Swift and his airplane, Tom Swift and his submarine.

Many interesting things have happened to me; I would like to describe some of them. One of the first things that I remember happened in 1902 when we had a flood on the Susquehanna River. My mother and father sat me on a high chair before a window at the front of our house. Our house was built on a slope so the water would come up to the front room before it would get into the kitchen in the back. My job was to tell them when the water came up over the front step in the front of the house. Meanwhile they were busily taking the linens and other things out of the back door and up on the hill.

Music has been part of my life. Mother played the piano taught me what little I know about music. Memories of 1905 stick out when we lived near a family by the name of Fields a half block away. Their daughter Catherine invited me many times to listen to their Edison Gramaphone. This machine was equipped with a big horn and cylinder records such as Sousa’s Band, the Banjo players and many others. These machines were very expensive according to the standards of this era and few people could afford to buy them.

Patton’s working career began in 1909 as a ‘property boy’ gathering props for the old Danville, PA Opera House. One night in March 1909, Alfred indicates: “I caught a terrible cold with complications”, which led to cerebral spinal meningitis and typhoid fever, which would affect his health in early adulthood. In 1910, “the year after my crippling experience, I sold Larkin Products which included soaps, toilet lotions, etc. For every dollar’s worth sold, you received credit towards a prize of your choice.” With enough sales, Alfred won jig saw with a foot pedal for power. It was here he would develop his interest in puzzle and eventually toy making that would provide both a hobby and income the rest of his life.

“I was 14 in 1912, the year the Titanic sunk. Back then we didn’t have radios, so we depended on newspapers and telegraphy for information. (See page 16.)

“One of my first selling jobs that I had was in 1913 selling the Delineator Magazine. The magazine sold for 50 cents a year, or one dollar for three years and I got half the money.” He also sold household products door-to-door.

“I graduated from grammar school in 1914. I was 16 and half years old and of course, I was supposed to get a job. I wanted to go to high school but my father wouldn’t send me because he said he couldn’t afford to send me to college. He said the only thing to do was to learn a trade.

I took a job at the old Reading Iron Works in Danville working in the hot foundry from six at night till six the next morning. That was enough for me; I couldn’t even go back because I was just exhausted.

Over the next 10 years, Alfred would take many jobs in many different cities, including being an electrical apprentice in Reading in 1914, and then working in the family electrical business in 1917. In 1917 he met and married Sara Alice Harter. He would continue in his own electrical business from 1919-1923.

The Twenties

In the fall of 1920 I voted for the first time for president of the United States and this was one time I did not lose my vote as Warren G. Harding became President of the United States in March 1921. My father was a staunch Republican and in the hot campaign of 1915 Wilson promised that he would keep us out of World War One. My father did not like any war as he had seen so much misery in his life time that he decided to vote Democratic for the first time. Wilson took office in 1916 and in 1917 declared war on Germany. As long as my father lived, he talked about the blunder he had made, trusting a man who said he would keep us out of war.” (This is kind of like the opposite of what transpired in the last administration.)

Professionally, Alfred worked ‘on the road’ selling electrical and plumbing supplies form 1924-1930.

The Thirties

“We sat down to Christmas dinner in 1930 and I was asked to say grace. My six children and my first wife were at the table during the grace I said: “God forgive me, but this will be the last time we will ever all be together.” Believe it or not, we have never all been together since. I have seen them all, over the years, and talked to them but never been together as we were on that Christmas in 1930.”

In 1931 he would give up his traveling distribution business. Realizing that divorce was in his future, Alfred Patton met Edna Wagner, who would later become his second wife. Alfred and Edna were married on March 24^th, 1935 at the Old Bucks County Courthouse.

During the Depression life would prove difficult for Patton, working in many cases door-to-door selling magazine subscriptions. What really impressed me about this man was his perseverance to succeed where others had given up or failed. He did this time and time again. Perhaps the personal will is captured below.

“One day in March of 1932, I couldn’t take it any more. I had 42 cents in my pocket, so I decided to thumb my way to Harrisburg. All my mother had was a dollar which she gave me and I started out. A man picked me up along the way and after hearing my circumstances, gave me a dollar to get a room for a night. The next morning, a Saturday, I had to find a place to stay. I could get a room at a boarding house for five dollars a week. In the Depression, anyone making $25 a week was making a lot of money. The landlady wanted me to pay in advance but I told her: “I don’t get paid until next Friday: I’ll pay you then.”

Patton indicates: “Coming to Doylestown (PA) I only had one suit of clothes and coat that was ripped. At Christmas, he received a $20 gold piece from his second wife Edna, “with the understanding that I would buy a suit of clothes. Cashing the gold piece for two $10 bills, I put $5.00 more to them, making $25. Off we went to the clothing store in Frankford to look at suits and overcoats. After picking out what I wanted, I was told they came to $30. Answering “this is all I have. I must have a suit and overcoat. If you can’t do it for this amount, I will go someplace else.” The clerk hesitated for two minutes and then said, “If that’s all you have to spend, take them.” Patton knew what he had to do and didn’t hesitate to present his case.

Patton assembled a sales crew of as many as 26 men in 5 crews. He was making $75 per week, which he indicates: “was a lot of money at the time.” He even furthered his sales by accepting checks from customers who did not have money in the bank, but agreed to let him know when they did. (Not one check bounced!) This is persistence and perseverance!

“Visiting Herbert Hoover’s memorial reminded me of one of the last things he did as President of the United States. In March 1933 he closed the banks and when President Roosevelt took office, he kept them closed until they could be verified as stable.” (This was sort of prescient to today’s financial challenges.)

In 1937, Patton bought his first of many properties.

Taking a vacation in the late 30s, the Patton family stopped in New Mexico and went into a 10 cent store. “A man was there buying some rubber soles for his shoes. They had a 2% sales tax on anything you bought; the first time any state had a sales tax. When this man handed the clerk two dimes for the soles, she said she wanted 2 cents for tax.” The man said: ‘Lady, I don’t need any tacks, I’m going to glue them on.’

The Forties

Complimenting the family’s pub sales, and wife Edna’s Corset Shop, A.B Patton also created hand-made toys for The County Bazaar in Doylestown, PA. These were advertised in local newspapers in November 1943. Prices ranged from .49 for small games, to $5.75 for a four-wheel wagon (with seat.) Patton continued to make these toys through the early 1970s, which was a legacy for his family. (See photo on page 59.)

(I’m reminded of a man I met in Red Lodge, MT who, when he lost his engineering job in Louisiana, moved his family to Red Lodge to create a toy store. Today we have those toys for our ‘boys’ and Dad.)

The Fifties

“In 1954 bought my first organ.” Patton and his wife believed in music education and made sure all their four children played the organ, and eventually purchased one for each of their successive families. Alfred and Edna’s children included: Christine, Edward, Alfreda and Roberta.

Patton’s skill as a woodworker allowed him to create a custom-made display for Bucks County Realtor Magazine for the Pennsylvania Realtors’ Convention in 1952. His wife Edna meanwhile worked the booth.

“In 1957 we published the first Picturesque Bucks County Book sponsored by the Trevose Saving & Loan Association.. This would to a complete series of books statewide.

The Sixties

Patton created geographic maps, a first for the Real Estate industry.

December 7^th, 1969 – Alfred B. Patton retires from the Bucks County Board of Realtors and is given a color television. (This was still a novelty at the time.)

The Seventies

“Over the years, my friend Charles J. Happ had advanced money to me and helped me make good purchases of property. One day I said, ‘Charley, how can I ever repay you?’ He answered simply, ‘Al, pass it on to someone else when the time comes.’ And this I have tried to do throughout my life.”

Geneology of the Patton Family – Listed on pages 93-96.

Ida Mae Haas, D.A.R. #138767 married John Pursell Patton from Danville, PA. (See photo on page 15.)

They had two children, Alfred Basset Patton, born December 20, 1897. He was named after his grandfather Lt. Alfred B. Patton and Susan Nelson Patton, born July 1906. “She is now Mrs. Preston Kelchner, and resided in Dublin, PA.

What struck me in reading about Alfred’s life was his tireless ‘perseverance’ in taking one job after another to support himself, and later his families. He would take what meager savings he accrued, and would invest them when possible, including building a real estate publishing business that appears to be the forerunner of Realtor’s multiple-listing service. He also invested in both having a home, as well as several small but rewarding commercial pieces of property. Ultimately, it was his publishing experience, and desire to leave a legacy, that he published his fascinating autobiography, which will become part of the Purcell Section at the Balch Library in Winchester, VA.

Example of Past Perseverance: Who was this man?

This man failed in his first attempt to become a state legislator. This man had a failed business. He failed in his first attempt become a congressman. Later he failed in his first bid for Vice President. Who was this man? None other than… Abraham Lincoln.

Examples of Contemporary Perseverance….

From President Obama’s Commencement Speech at the Naval Academy in May:

“It’s the perseverance of Elvin Vasquez, a Marine supply chief in Iraq (applause), who finally got into the Naval Academy on his third try—(applause) – who never gave up trying because he says: “there’s just something about being a Marine.”

May this word “perseverance” become part of your genealogy dictionary or skill set. Certainly, now that we have DNA, there is the technological ability to reach out to generations and relatives we never knew we had. Take for example the discovery that two William Purcell’s who worked together for nearly 30 years in Sacrament, never knew they were related…until a DNA test revealed that William Purcell of Sacramento and William Purcell of Bozeman, MT were cousins. (For more details, see DNA highlight section.)
Looking Back

Posted: 29 June 2008 at 10:39 p.m.
Looking Back to Move Forward [January 2007]

As I sit down to write my January message to you, I’m reminded of a college journalism course I took at the University of Montana Journalism school in the early 70’s where my professor and Dean Nathan Blumberg asked us to read and review a book for the Senior Class. I elected to read and report on Edward Bellamy’s “Looking Backward”, written in 1897. As I recall, it was a visionary book whereby the author envisioned a world a hundred or so years in the future. The main thrust he felt would be a store and delivery system whereby shoppers would be able to shop at a store, and the goods would be delivered via pneumatic-like tubes to their homes. While that didn’t exactly happen as he envisioned, we just have to look at the newspaper reporting of Amazon.com receiving a record four million orders in one day, and then having them delivered all across our great land in a matter of days via FedEx (which a marketing professor said would never work.)

Correspondingly, when we look at the Purcell Family of America today, we must reflect on the early beginnings of the Association in the early 1970s by Todd & June Purcell of Utah. As husband-and-wife, this team traveled the country calling at random hundreds of unknown Purcell families asking them if they would consider becoming part of a family group. June supposedly typed up approximately 1500 letters in the initial developmental effort. Today we have approximately 200 family members. However, in order to reach the 5000+ Purcell-related families in America and grow our organization so that it is sustainable, and PROFITABLE, we needed to publish a membership-development brochure. The result is in your hands, though it was a long-time coming.

When I first became a member of the Association in the early 90’s, all we had for membership and information was a simple black/white, two-sided and third-folded brochure. (Bob, perhaps you can run a reduced copy front/back for readers to see?)

Clearly, a new brochure was needed. So, at the PFofA Board meeting in Glacier Park in June 2003, it was decided a new brochure should be created, and I volunteered to spearhead the project. While I conceptualized and drafted copy in late 2003, it was not ready to finalize until 2005 because we didn’t have funds to print it, the money to mail it, nor an appropriate mailing list to send it to. With the physical layout done, it was now time to ask for donations, which have flowed in over the last year or so. Contributions of $5 to $565 have come in, for which we are most grateful. This is good news, however a shortfall from the Reunion again set us back financially, so production was delayed six months until now.

As you can see, I’m pleased to present to you this wonderful 8-page, four-color brochure! We printed up 3000 copies, which have allowed us to include several copies for you and your immediate family. About 1500 will be used to mail to key state and local libraries plus historical organizations across the country. A balance of about 500-600 will be used over the next three years until our 2009 reunion.

Our new brochure was not done in a vacuum, but required input and assistance from various individuals and PFofA Board Members, whom I would like to acknowledge below:
New Talents Needed…

In the early 80’s, Forrest and Alice Purcell were contacted and agreed to lead the Association, and most especially as Editors of the PFofA Journal. Alice Purcell was our longest editor from the early ‘80s to 2000, when her health no longer allowed her to fulfill a role she truly enjoyed. That’s when Robert Purcell stepped in to be our current editor. However, now that Bob is in his early 80s, it is time to find a new Editor. We hope that one of you reading this message will be able to step up to the task of replacing Bob before our 2009 Reunion, or in some other capacity that will be helpful to the Association.

And speaking of tasks, did you fill in the Skill Assessments Survey created by our Vice President Doug Purcell, which was included with your October Journal? If not, please take a moment and do so now, perhaps with a donation as well. Thanks.

The future of the Purcell Family of America rests in your hands…literally with the PFofA Journal, and the new membership brochure. We need members to grow, so please distribute them to family members and perhaps your local library or genealogical associations.

In closing, three last thoughts. Firstly, I think Edward Bellamy, the 19^th-century author, would have been thrilled and amazed to see what he envisioned come true in the 21^st century via Amazon.com, the internet and FedEx. Secondly, we have the opportunity to pass along to future generations of Purcells, Pearsalls, etc. a legacy of the Purcell Family of America. Please do your part.

Finally, I would encourage you to re-read my column from October acknowledging the efforts of Helen Habermann, some of her work appears in this Journal.

Don’t be silent, let us hear from you!

Cheers for the new year!

Joe Frank ‘J.F.’ Purcell

President, PFofA
Helen Habermann

Posted: 29 June 2008 at 10:39 p.m.

In Memoriam of Helen (Endl) Habermann [October 2006]
What is the greatest gift one can give a spouse? In marriage it is the commitment to stick with one’s spouse through thick and thin, rich and poor, sickness and health. I was reminded of that as my wife Fran and I attended a wedding yesterday at a Beach Club on the North Shore of Long Island.

With the above in mind, consider being in a marriage for 30 or 40+ years and having your spouse contract a life-ending illness that extends over more than a decade. Such is the story of Helen Habermann, a wonderful 82-year-old woman who died in the last year, and who lost her husband Willard a decade earlier. What is unusual is that in addition to taking care of her husband as his physical condition declined; she took the initiative to construct her husband’s family history. What followed was to become a 212-page soft-cover book entitled: “Englebrechts from Brandenburg Province – Prussia

A Wisconsin Immigrant Family and Their Descendants: 1852-1991.”   In the author’s cover page, she passionately indicates the book is: “Dedicated to my husband, Willard, for his help and indulgence; also to the memory of Carl Friedrich Englebrecht, the ancestor who kept documents and records.”

I was fortunate to meet Helen on the heels of a business trip to Watertown, Wisconsin in 2003. She had contacted, through her research, my Aunt Dorothy Simon Olmstead of Great Falls, MT, who had provided family history of my mother Marion Simon’s family who, through marriage, had descended from Carl Friedrich Englebrecht and his wife: Sofie Schroeder (married 1854). He was a young man from Hamburg, Germany, who ventured forth to the new America via Quebec on 15 May, 1852 aboard the ship Medea Preuss. What is amazing is that while this contact was made in 1990s, I did not know about it until Helen took the initiative to send me a letter in 2002, advising of her research and a book she had written. On our visit she welcomed this stranger to her house for milk and cookies, and offered me photos from her family album, plus took me on a tour to local cemeteries where my forefathers are buried, plus an old family homestead, that will likely fall to ruin before the beginning of the next decade.

Among her acknowledgments she mentions the many people who helped provide family background, as well as the many new friends she made. “Pictures, she said, help to make the story, and for those I am indebted. Special appreciation to the late Kathryn Kreppel Heiser, born 1890, for identifying those old pictures. My appreciation to Dorothy Simon Omstead of Great Falls, MT for all the help she gave me with the Simon family. Without that help there would have been a void in this history. My thanks to Rev. Robert and Joan Englebrecht for the many copies of documents, and their letters of encouragement. Thanks also to my son, Harley Habermann, and his friends Erv and Fritz for the help with the translations of German script.   Last, but not least, my husband’s help and support. To everybody who helped by word and deed, my everylasting gratitude and thanks.” Signed: Helen E. Habermann

Genealogical research is often a solitary function, but requires many individuals, and lots of luck for it to be passed down to further generations. Sometimes, we don’t see the ‘forest through the trees’, but perhaps someone else can. I encourage you and and your family members to take notes (while older relatives are alive), caption photos (for future generations) and realize the passing of family history is a selfless act.

Joe Frank ‘J.F.’ Purcell

President, PF of A

P.S. Copies of Helen’s book are available by contacting Helen’s son: William Habermann, 720 Harvard Street, Oconomowoc, WI 53055-2950   His email is: whabermann@netzero.net

Purcell Family of America Members Area of Expertise Survey

At this year’s PFofA Reunion in Bristol, VA your board members decided that in order for the Association to thrive, we needed to access the talents of members to ascertain where we could tap into an unknown talent pool who could potentially volunteer their services.   I would like to recognize our new Vice President, Douglas C. Purcell, for the timely work he has done to format the enclosed Survey. Please take the time to review and indicate where your talents might be helpful to the Association. As many of you know our current editor, Robert Purcell, is soon to be an octogenarian, and will need to be replaced as Editor before our next Convention in 2009. So, whether writing and editing is your forte, balancing books is your accounting expertise, photography or public speaking is your command, or designing websites or brochures is your artistic talent, we would like to hear from you. Thanks.

JF Purcell
What's in a name?

Posted: 29 June 2008 at 10:39 p.m.
What’s in a Name (Anyway)? [April 2008 Message]

Like many of our members, I’ve been asking that question of myself since I was a youngster? Christened Joseph Frank Purcell in June, 1950 I was raised ‘Joe’ for most of my young adult life. My older brother Tom, 15 years my senior, whom I nicknamed ‘Tombo’ growing up, said that before I was born my Dad Thomas, in discussions with my Mom Marion were trying to decide what to name me? My middle name was easy, I was named after my Great Uncle Frank Purcell, who ran a candy store in a small town southwest of Billings called Fromberg. My middle brother is Richard or ‘Dick’, who is 12 years my senior. So, my Dad, probably to goad my Mom, suggested Harry… so that he could say he had three sons: “Tom, Dick and Harry.”   Fortunately she would have none of that and I was named after the Father of Jesus, Joseph.

So ‘Joe’ it was through Catholic middle and high school, but for some reason by the time I was a junior at the University of Montana in the early 70’s, I was ready for a change, but to what? Perhaps an Ad Manager at The Missoulian newspaper where I worked during college, who used to use “Joe Cool” for a sample name, expedited this change. When I went to a NW College Programming Conference in 1971 the time was right to shift from “Joe” to: “Joe Frank”. Why, you might ask? Well there was a rock band called: Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds who did a song: “Don’t pull your love out on me baby”. The story goes that the middle member of this group had a long Italian last name and he went by Joe Frank. It stuck…for both him, and for me. So I adapted Joe Frank in part because I wanted to impress a young co-ed, and Joe, in my mind, just didn’t cut it.

Fast forward to New York 20 years later and ‘Joe Frank’ in advertising sales was rather Southern, but not accurate for my boss’ determination of what to call me in the NY world of advertising. So, he suggested ‘J.F.’, and I said with shrugging shoulders….’Okay’. Clients have asked me what I prefer to be called, and I say, just ‘don’t call me late for dinner.’

Now if you are a genealogist, how would research my name? Joseph, Joe, Joe Frank or J.F.? All in all, a researcher would probably not have too difficult a time, wouldn’t you agree? But what if your Dutch last name is Von Weggelum, as my Great 15x Grandmother was called in the mid-1600s? In research that Aloa Dereta, one of our Board members, did in her research on the early Purcells and Von Weggelums, she discovered there were probably a dozen or so variations of Von Weggelums, which is not surprising especially if you’ve ever studied Dutch names. Too, there was probably not a significant literacy rate in 1665. Here are some of the variations for that one last name:

      (Bob, it’s up to you if you want to insert some of the Von Weggelum names here.)

Even Purcell, as simple as it is, has 230+ variations.   So, when researching you have to have a sense whether the person you are looking for has his/her original name or a nickname.

Don’t Just Call Me Jane by Johnna Kaplan (Newsweek, March 3^rd, 2008)

“I’m so accustomed to people’s getting my name wrong that I will answer to almost anything. I have been called practically every name that begins with J, from Joanne, to Jana, to Juana, and even many names that do not, like Shauna and Yohanna. Sometimes, though I am most certainly not male, I am called men’s names, like Jonah or John.”

She continues…”When your name is even slightly out of the ordinary, people think they can talk down to you about it. I have been asked with a sneer, ‘What kind of name is that?’ She continued with examples of how Kaplan had been misinterpreted. In the end she says: “Despite all the hassle, though, I would not want an ordinary name! I would rather keep spelling my name and repeating that my parents did not really want a boy. Even if they’d had one, I doubt they’d have named him something normal.”

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak

A renowned genealogist, Megan always seems to weave in the history of her family name. Namely, that it is eastern European and that even though she and her husband have the same last name, she has not been able to definitely confirm they are related. So they got married.

Imagine being named Fanny Allbutt or Hades Fryher, that’s right read it again…These names come from a fascinating article from the March/April ’08 issue of Ancestry Magazine: “How a kooky name can help you find your family.”   It suggests that even ‘when good names go Bad’, this may actually be good for genealogical researchers. “Take for example, the surname Smith. A search through the historical records at Ancestry.com yields 9,895,391 results. That’s more than a little daunting. But once there was a man named Verb Smith. Be the lucky dog that is looking for him and your Ancestry.com search results are pared down to seven.”

Ancestry Magazine offer

Because the company I work for represents this magazine for ad sales, I have a limited number of copies that are available for sampling to our members. If you would like a copy, please drop me a line and I’ll be glad to send you a copy. If you send me a check for $5.00 to cover the cost of magazine and postage, I will donate the full amount to the Purcell Family of America. My email is: jfpurcell@hotmail.com

My address is: 2962 Moreland Ave., Oceanside, NY 11572

Request for unusual names…

Do you have an unusual name? Do you like it, or perhaps not? Are you named after a very distant relative with an 18^th century name? We’d like to hear your story. Please forward it to our editor Robert ‘Bob’ Purcell: Purcell@bossig.com

Reflections on the January 2008 Purcell Family of America Journal

In my President’s message I mentioned how I located childhood friends, the Lambrechts, who had moved from Billings, MT when I was ten years old to northeastern Connecticut. Shortly after that article was published, I received word from Cathy Lambrecht Racich that her mother had died about a year ago. I’d like to remember Bette Lambrecht at this time for the care she provided me when I was in single digits.

Thanks to contributors:
1. Cousin James Purcell of Lake Geneva, WI for the Bucks County Pennsylvania Family Stories.
2. Board member Aloa Dereta for her Family Stories, Origins of the Purcell Family
3. Three-dozen PFofA members who donated to the needs of our non-profit Family Association.
4. Vice President Doug Purcell for his work, and article on the PFofA support of *DNA Testing. He is also available via email: dpurcell@eufaula.rr.com
5. Former President Tony Marostica for his sleuthing the Internet for Purcell-related memorabilia.
6. Editor Robert Purcell for his assemblage of our quarterly Journal.
*DNA Testing Links First and Current PFofA Presidents

In the January issue of the PFofA Journal Doug Purcell outlined the DNA Program your Association is supporting. At that time I indicated that most of the PFofA Board would be taking the DNA test, with the goal in mind to determine how many ancestors might be able to be located from such an effort. I am pleased to report that the first President of the Purcell Family of America, Todd Yost Purcell and your current President, me, Joseph Frank ‘J.F.’ Purcell are directly related as distant cousins, dating back to approximately 1720.

Todd and I are 37-marker DNA-related, which is the highest level we tested at. In simple terms, this means there is a direct, blood/name-relationship to be found. When Todd and I discussed this, we went back in our family records to the early years of the Thomas Line: Thomas Pursell – Christiana Van Woggelum. Todd referred me to the October 1980 Journal where his family was profiled. There , Thomas Pursell (1)and Christiana Van Woggelum had five children:
1. Daniel Pursell
2. B. John Pursell
3. Elizabeth Pursell
4. Peter Pursell
5. Dennis Pursell
The second son, John Pursell (B) , md. Ca 1718-1719 , probably Hanna Hall? Their first son was Thomas Pursell (B1) , baptized at the Readington Dutch Church, Hunterdon Co., NJ, 9 April 1720, md Mary Van Hook. They had an unbelievable 13 children.
My line can be traced back to the third child, Thomas Pursell as follows:

B1.3 Thomas Pursell, Jr, d 1810 in Loudon Co., VA, md. Lydia Vernon. Portions of this line were covered in the July 1973 Journal.

So, DNA Testing allowed us to uncover we are cousins going back an amazing eight generations. I would encourage all members to be DNA Tested.

2009 Reunion
- Salt Lake City, UT
  
  Portland, OR
  
  Coeur d’Alene, ID
  
  Long Beach, CA
(Bob, please pick up info from January Journal, thanks.)

Editor Needed…

In order to continue publication of our fine quarterly Purcell Family of America Journal, we need a new editor to take over the role that has been held by Robert Purcell since 2000. We need to get a new editor in place by the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition to 2009, otherwise the future of the Journal, and the Association, are in doubt.

Please, if you have the time and/or skills, contact Robert Purcell or me. Thank you.

Cheers,

J.F.

J.F. Purcell

President, PF of A

I have sent an email to Daniel Purcell for an update on our PFofA website. I’d like to move this along as quickly as possible.

Could we do an insert sheet with volunteering for committees, ala what Doug created, plus a Help Wanted ad for the Editor’s position? This could also include a survey form for the location of our next PFofA Reunion. Your thoughts? Thanks.

JFP

Twice Removed?

Posted: 5 April 2008 at 8:12 p.m.

If someone walked up to you and said "Howdy, I'm your third cousin,
twice removed," would you have any idea what they meant? Most people
have a good understanding of basic relationship words such
as "mother," "father," "aunt," "uncle," "brother," and "sister." But
what about the relationship terms that we don't use in everyday
speech? Terms like "second cousin" and "first cousin, once removed"?
We don't tend to speak about our relationships in such exact terms
("cousin" seems good enough when you are introducing one person to
another), so most of us aren't familiar with what these words mean.
Relationship Terms

Sometimes, especially when working on your family history, it's handy
to know how to describe your family relationships more exactly. The
definitions below should help you out.

Cousin (a.k.a "first cousin")

Your first cousins are the people in your family who have two of
the same grandparents as you. In other words, they are the children
of your aunts and uncles.
Second Cousin

Your second cousins are the people in your family who have the
same great-grandparents as you., but not the same grandparents.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Cousins

Your third cousins have the same great-great-grandparents, fourth
cousins have the same great-great-great-grandparents, and so on.
Removed

When the word "removed" is used to describe a relationship, it
indicates that the two people are from different generations. You and
your first cousins are in the same generation (two generations
younger than your grandparents), so the word "removed" is not used to
describe your relationship.

The words "once removed" mean that there is a difference of one
generation. For example, your mother's first cousin is your first
cousin, once removed. This is because your mother's first cousin is
one generation younger than your grandparents and you are two
generations younger than your grandparents. This one-generation
difference equals "once removed."

Twice removed means that there is a two-generation difference.
You are two generations younger than a first cousin of your
grandmother, so you and your grandmother's first cousin are first
cousins, twice removed.

Relationship Charts Simplify Everything

Now that you have an idea of what these different words mean, take a look at the chart below. It's called a relationship chart, and it can help you figure out how different people in your family are related. It's much simpler than it looks, just follow the instructions.

Instructions for Using a Relationship Chart

Pick two people in your family and figure out which ancestor they have in common. For example, if you chose yourself and a cousin, you would have a grandparent in common.
Look at the top row of the chart and find the first person's relationship to the common ancestor.
Look at the far left column of the chart and find the second person's relationship to the common ancestor.
Determine where the row and column containing those two relationships meet.

Common Ancestor	Child	Grandchild	G-grandchild	G-g-grandchild
Child	Sister or Brother	Nephew or Niece	Grand-nephew or niece	G-grand-nephew or niece
Grandchild	Nephew or Niece	First cousin	First cousin, once removed	First cousin, twice removed
G-grandchild	Grand-nephew or niece	First cousin, once removed	Second cousin	Second cousin, once removed
G-g-grandchild	G-grand-nephew or niece	First cousin, twice removed	Second cousin, once removed	Third cousin

(taken from http://www.genealogy.com/16_cousn.html)

Purcell's Cove

Posted: 5 April 2008 at 8:08 p.m.

A little history of Purcell's Cove in Halifax.

LOCATION:

The cove is located along Route #253, what today is known as Purcell's Cove Road, opposite the tip of Point Pleasant Park on the North West Arm.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

The community was named for Samuel Purcell, an early settler. Before the Purcell family arrived it was known as Mackerel Cove. The Purcell’s lived in the area for a number of years but did not buy any land until 1828.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS:

In 1853, a descendant, John Purcell, operated a ferry between the cove and Point Pleasant Park. The family used rowboats and sailboats to ferry passengers across the Arm for more than a century. There is still evidence of these once serviceable piers on both sides of the North West Arm.

Granite and ironstone were cut from the quarries near Purcell's Cove and were used to construct military forts in Halifax as well as many of the buildings on the Dalhousie University campus.

Purcell Family of America

An association to help those trace the Purcell family line

Welcome

The Purcell Name

Website Features

Past Messages

Paying Respects

Passion

Passion for Purcell Family History by Todd & June Purcell

Ken Burns is the Video Storyteller of our Time

The Perseverance Of Patten

Looking Back

Looking Back to Move Forward [January 2007]

New Talents Needed…

Helen Habermann

In Memoriam of Helen (Endl) Habermann [October 2006]

Joe Frank ‘J.F.’ Purcell