Collum and Ann Marie Gallagher McCaffery

 Married at St John the Baptist Catholic Church in 1928.

Manayunk

Frederic Voigt 1815-1875

Name:
Frederic William T E Voigt

Birth Date:
abt 1815

Birth Place:
Peine, Hanover, Germany

Death Date:
14 Nov 1875

Death Place:
Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Age at Death:
60

Burial Date:
17 Nov 1875

Burial Place:
German Lutherin (Lutheran) E Church Y Roxborough
Bethany Lutheran

Gender:
Male

Race:
White

Occupation:
Dyer

Street address:
No 110 Grape St Manayunk Ward 21

Marital Status:
Married

FHL Film Number:
2027102

Charles Voigt 1820-1896 Family Baker

Name:
Charles Voigt

Birth Date:
abt 1820

Birth Place:
Germany

Death Date:
2 Feb 1896

Death Place:
Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Age at Death:
76

Burial Date:
6 Feb 1896

Gender:
Male

Race:
White

Occupation:
Baker

Street address:
4360 Cresson St Manayunk, 21st Ward

Residence:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Cemetery:
German Lutheran Church Ground

Marital Status:
Married

FHL Film Number:
1863481

William Voigt 1864-1909 Family Baker

Name:
William Voigt

Birth Date:
1864

Birth Place:
Germany

Death Date:
14 May 1909

Death Place:
Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Age at Death:
44 years 10 months 9 days

Burial Date:
18 May 1909

Burial Place:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Gender:
Male

Race:
White

Occupation:
Baker

Street address:
4362 Cresson St

Residence:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Cemetery:
Morris

Marital Status:
Married

Father:
Charles Voigt

Father's Birth Place:
Germany

Mother:
Dortherty Kroft

Mother's Birth Place:
Germany

FHL Film Number:
1405081


(Post note; I remember Grandmom (Gallagher) telling me about our family having a bakery on Cresson street.)

Mary Voigt 1871-1880

Name:
Mary Voigt

Birth Date:
abt 1871

Birth Place:
Philadelphia

Death Date:
28 Jun 1880

Death Place:
Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Age at Death:
9

Burial Date:
30 Jun 1880

Burial Place:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Gender:
Female

Race:
White

Street address:
No 168 Grape St -21st Ward

Residence:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Cemetery:
German So. E. Church Yard
Bethany Lutheran

Father:
Henry Voigt

Mother:
Dianna Voight

FHL Film Number:
2047203

August Voigt 1883-1885

Name:
August Voigt

Birth Date:
abt 1883

Birth Place:
Manayunk, Phil

Death Date:
23 Jun 1885

Death Place:
Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Age at Death:
2 years 1 month

Burial Date:
26 Jun 1885

Burial Place:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Gender:
Male

Race:
White

Street address:
Ward 21; Prospect St , Roxboro (Roxborough)

Cemetery:
German Lutheran Cemetery, Roxboro (Roxborough)
Bethany Lutheran.

Father:
Henry Voigt

Mother:
Senna

Letterkenney Donegal Ancestral Home of the McCaffertys/McCaffery Clans

Cathedral of St. Eunan and St Columba

St. Eunan south side was built in the 12th century. The entire church was rebuilt in 1890 and combined two churches.

Streets that remind me of Manayunk which is the place they lived in the USA.

John D and Mary Drexel Lankenau

Lankenau Hospital was founded in 1860 as the "German Hospital of Philadelphia" located on Morris Street in North Philadelphia. In 1917, many German institutions took new names with the entry of the United States intoWorld War I. The hospital renamed itself "Lankenau Hospital" after John D. Lankenau, a successful German-born Philadelphia businessman who was one of the first supporters and leaders of the Hospital.

After relocating to larger facilities at Girard and Corinthian Avenues in North Philadelphia, Lankenau moved to Wynnewood in the "Main Line" region of the suburbs in December 1953. Its new location was the former site of the Overbrook Country Club and golf course. Since then, the Hospital has continued to grow, along with its community. Today, Lankenau Medical Center serves southeastern Pennsylvania by offering a wide variety of primary and specialty clinical services, residency and fellowship programs, and research programs emphasizing cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Earlier I posted a picture of the Mary Drexel House. The founding of the Mary Drexel House was in honor of Mary Drexel, John Lankenau's wife. In its earlier days, it was known as the Home for Aged German Men and Women which is interesting since I located a mass burial plot in Westminster Cemetery a few years ago and wondered where that particular home was located.

Genealogy is putting the pieces together of a world/life that has gone before us and when one finds another piece of the puzzle, it makes so much sense. My grandmother Marie Schroeder Weleski gave birth to her last child, John on February 17th, 1945 at Lankenau Hospital. I always thought it was at the present location on the Main Line. However, according to the history, Lankenau was located at Girard & Corinthian Avenues until 1953. That makes sense to me. I often wondered why my grandmother traveled from her East Falls home to the Main Line to give birth. At the time, it made sense that she would chose a German hospital as she was born German Lutheran. I often wondered why she did not give birth at Roxborough Memorial. The Weleski family were from the Manayunk/Roxborough area. Of course the story has a sad ending. My grandmother suffered a stroke immediately after John's birth and went into a coma. She died February 19th, 1945 and is interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery where her father, John Schroeder was a "grave digger". I wonder if my grandmother had preeclamysia, a condition where a woman has increased blood pressure in the later stages of pregnancy. My grandmother was 38 years old at the time of her death. Again, preeclamysia is common in women who are older. Left untreated. the mother most certainly dies from a stroke and/or seizures.

Back to the Mary Drexel Home......The home still stands today. I do not know if the residents are still interred in that mass grave in Westminster Cemetery, but I believe they are not. Lankenau Hospital still stands today on the Main Line and has recently began a kidney transplant program. In its day, it was run by German speaking physicians and nurses and provided treatment to the poor.

As a post note, Katherine Drexel (saint) was Mary Drexel's cousin.

Fall in Philadelphia

Living in Roxborough the NorthWest Section of Philadelphia represents not only a place with a history of post-civil industry, but a place of hidden beauty called the Wissahichon Park, which in of itself is a part of Fairmount Park. I no longer live in the city. but I work in the city and I have an office in a third floor 19th century house with three windows that allow me to grace my eyes upon the beauty of the park. When I was a little girl, my grandpop taught me to fish in the creek. We would go before dawn, and while he set up to fish, I would wrap a blanket tightly around me for the air was cool, before the sun shone their the tall trees, and I would often times sleep as my grandpop would fish for catfish. He never ate them, but threw them back into the creek. It was these days that he taught me to bate a line and toss it into the creek. My grandpop loved to fish, and took every opportunity to do so.

Now I have grandchildren of my own whom I did not teach to fish, but taught to explore the surrounding woods of the park. The ducks love to hang around Valley Green and today, one can stop for an ice cream or an entire meal while sitting outdoors. Valley Green is a perfect place to have a party or a meal in their quaint dining area indoors. I cannot count how many times, I have taken the grandchildren down there to feed the ducks, walk the trials, and eat that special treat.

This area means alot to me as I was taken there as a child, then brought my own sons and now take my own children. Great memories have been made in this place of beauty. Memories I hold dear to my heart and hope my children and their children will hold close to their hearts.

 

Oldies but Goodies

View from the Gettysburg House in 2010

Water Works

What you can expect for Christmas when your mom is recovering from surgery and shopping online. My sister and I had the greatest laugh over my gift.

Shaun and Nikolas's Art Work.

Famous Roxborough/Manayunk steps.

Valley Green

Nikolas

Manayunk

Westminster Cemetery

Hiking Along The Towpath In Fairmount Park Between Shawmont Street And Flat Rock Dam

The lone fisherman at the bottom of Flat Rock Dam.
Spotting beauty along the trail.
The end of the Manayunk canal where it meets the Schuylkill river.

The wall out in the middle of the water divides the river and the canal.
Flat Rock Dam and the Manayunk Canal were completed in 1819.

Walking the towpath from Shawmont Avenue towards Main Street.
Flat Rock Dam from a distance.

Believe it or not, you can take the bike path in Manayunk/Roxborough all the way up to the towns listed above.

What a great place to live. Where else can you live surrounded by nature, history and still live in the city? This is my ancestral town dating back to the early 19th century. I would not want to live anywhere else. This is definitely my happy place.