This and That

I am going to miss the mornings here at the shore. We are closing the house this weekend . We do not plan to be back until we return from a wedding in Florida next April.

I am responsible for planning the desserts for the baby shower next month. I have a coworker who makes delicious cupcakes creatively decorated so I asked her if she would be interested in making 48 for the shower. In addition to the cake & cupcakes, I am unsure what else I plan to have. All I know is excitement is in the air as the time approaches. The pregnancy has been going well thus far. Lynee has been visiting the doctor weekly since she discovered she was pregnant. Despite being high risk, she has been doing well. Josh & Lynee decided not to name the baby Isabella. As of the other day, the baby's name was Aubree Clare Marie. Aubree because they like the name. Clare for Lynee's mother and Marie for me. A few years ago, they lost a baby in utero whom was to be named Isabella Marie. We have all been cautiously optimistic since this new baby's announcement and now that Lynee has passed 28 weeks we can plan a shower. The hall has been reserved and each of us is responsible for a part in the shower as Lynee has sisters who are supportive as well as a 19 year old daughter .

As a genealogist I am thrilled ancestry updated Pennsylvania's death certificates up to 1963 which means I now have access to my paternal grandparents certificates in 1945 & 1956 respectively. I now know for sure that Marie Schroeder Weleski died of a stroke. I heard stories referring to that fact however what I did not know was she had  a  left Subarachnoid Hemorrhage which is bleeding in the area between the brain and thin tissues that cover the brain. I knew she died two days after giving birth however I now know she died exactly 36 hours after the birth of my Uncle John. Subarachnoid Hemorrhages are very rare and only comprise between 1% to 7% of all strokes. Subarachnoid Hemorrhages are the result of a head trauma or cerebral aneurysm. The aneurysm could be congenital therefore it could have been present in Marie's brain since birth and perhaps pregnancy combined with possible high blood pressure could have been the catalyst. Marie gave birth and died at Lankenau Hospital. Once I get all the certificates organized I will be posting them to this site.

My paternal grandfather John Joseph Weleski appears to have been one shady fellow as the death certificate lists three possible names; John Wisloski, John Weleski and John Fleming. I had heard stories about him too. Wisloski was the birth name. Weleski is the name he changed it to between the births of my father and uncle. Fleming was his boxing name. (Buck Fleming) Whereas my paternal grandmother Marie was sweet, quiet and very compassionate, my paternal grandfather John was a bully. Marie was well liked in the community. John was loathed  in the community.  John had a severe alcohol problem which probably along with hypertension lead to a Cerebral Hemorrhage shortly before his 52nd birthday in 1956. The certificate provided another piece of information I was not aware of. He was in the Navy from March 1919 to July 1919 and he was just 15 years old. I wonder if his discharge from the Navy was the result of his age being discovered. Lots of young men lied about their ages when joining the service during the earlier wars before we had proper proof of Identification. To be fair, John did not have an easy life. He grew up without his father in a home where his mother never spoke English and died in 1932 followed by the sudden deaths of his brothers in 1938. John died in the home of his daughter Lillian.

I also found my maternal great grandmother's death certificate. Mary Keller Gallagher died at Roxborough Memorial Hospital in 1959 from heart failure as the result of breast cancer. Mary had a breast removed four years prior to her death.

My grandmother's maternal aunt Kate died at Roxborough Memorial in 1958. My paternal great grandfather Charles Schroeder died of Kidney Disease in 1945. More details to follow all several of my ancestors. Folklore travels down the generations so it is amazing to find proof.