Shorts in January, What a Concept

For those of us from the good old North where January is cold and snowy, to wear shorts this time of year is a treat.

Flight Adventures

Here we are on our descend over the Gulf of Mexcio ready to land at St. Peterburg's airport when all of a sudden the plane gains speed and pulls back up into the sky while making a sudden sharp turn to the right....

What happen was the question on everyone's lips?

The pilot soon came on to announce we would be landing in Tampa instead of St. Peterburg's. Fog rolled in over St. Peterburg's airport and the runway could not be seen..

Shaun Patrick being a seasoned traveler at four years of age (he has flown eight times) barely blink an eye at the event unfolding on the plane. He just thought the entire ordeal was an exciting adventure. So much so that when he spoke to his parents the morning after our arrival in Florida, he told her this and I quote, "Mommy, we could not land in St. Peterburg's. We had to land in Tampa because the Air Pilot could not see because of the snow."

A Short Vacation Getaway

I will be taking my grandson Shaun Patrick on a mini vacation to the sunshine state of Florida this weekend so stay tune to more historical and fun family facts upon my return on January 16th.........................................

John and Agnes (Bridget) (Boland) McCaffery

3809 Cresson Street Philadelphia PA 19127

When Agnes (known as Bridget) died in 1915 from acute appendicitis, she and her husband John and daughter Anna lived in this house.

In 1915, the railroad went right down Cresson Street. It was not until later that a wall was built and the railroad elevated to protect the neighborhood from the numerous accidents that occurred because of its original location.

John and Ella (Ellen) (Doherty) Boland

John and Ella (Doherty) Boland lived at 11 S. Osborne Street Philadelphia PA. 19127 which was once located in the spot where this wall was built to separate the railroad from the neighborhood.

My grandmother Anna Marie McCaffery was born in this house on July 5th, 1912 and when her mother died in 1915, Anna returned to live in this house with her maternal grandparents until the age of seven when her grandmother Ella died.

Arthur and Mary (Gallagher) Maier

My sister and I shared this house's back third floor bedroom

35th & Commissioner Streets Philadelphia, PA. 19132

When I was five years old, my family moved into this house thus produced some of the best childhood years of my life. The house had four bedrooms. The front third floor bedroom was shared by my brothers Michael and Arthur while my sister Maryanne and I shared the back third floor bedroom. My youngest brother Frankie was born only a few months before we moved out of this house.

Though my parents divorced when I was a baby, my mother remarried in 1963 and later had my sister and two younger brothers.

Today the house once loved is now in disarray as are many of the houses in this old East Falls neighborhood.

John and Marie (Schroeder) Weleski

3427 Commissioner Street Philadelphia PA 19132

John and Marie (Schroeder) Weleski are my paternal grandparents. This is the East Falls home they lived in at the time of Marie's death on February 19th, 1945 after suffering a stroke after the birth of her third child John on February 17th, 1945. My father, Ronald was 11yrs old at the time of his mother's death.

William and Mary (Keller) Gallagher's 1st House

According to the 1910 census records in Philadelphia, when my grandfather William Joseph Gallagher was 4yrs old and his sister Anna was 2yrs old, they lived in this house on 143 Seville Street in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia, PA. Their parents were William and Mary (Keller) Gallagher.

After Patrick Gallagher died in 1913, his wife (William Senior's mother) Hannah came to live with William and Mary and their two small children in this house before they moved ten years later into the 3902 Terrace Street house.

Please note that in 1910, Patrick and Hannah (Dougherty) Gallagher lived down the street at 127 Seville Street.

In Case You Were Wondering

This is 2722 Croskey Street. It is the house with the little porch.

John G. and Elisabeth Keller

126 & 128 Walnut (now Mallory) Phila. PA. 19127

John Keller (126) and Gotlieb Keller (128)

John G. Keller Civil War Discharge Paper

Script From "A Journey into the Past"

Dear Readers,
Below is a script from the original text of "A Journey into the Past".

According to the 1860 Philadelphia Census, there was a family of Kellers with the mother, Susannah age 59yrs old as head of household. The census also listed three sons, Jacob age 23yrs, Gotlieb age 22yrs and Frederick age 16yrs. Though I cannot verify for sure that this Keller family is any relation it was recorded in the German Lutheran Archives that John Keller was also known as Jak which could be the shorter form of the name Jacob. In addition, John Keller would have been about 23yrs old in 1860 and he did later name one of his daughters the name Susannah which he could have named after his mother. This of course is all speculation. Besides John Keller, the Naturalization Records of 1794 to 1880 also listed an Adam Keller and a Patrick Keller as arriving through the Port of Philadelphia in 1858. (Publication Code 9300) Again, whether or not these two Kellers are in any way related to John Keller is purely speculation.

According to the 1890 Philadelphia directories, John resided at 126 Walnut while Gotlieb Keller resided at 128 Walnut in Manayunk. Again, whether or not these other Kellers are related is all speculation.
John died later that summer in 1890 leaving a wife and several young children ranges in ages 1yr to 14yrs.


Readers,
I wrote the above text when I did original research on John Keller. Today, the speculation has become reality and we now know John Keller had at least two brothers named Gotlieb and Frederick and that his mother was named Susannah. I will research these names further in the future and keep you posted. In the near future you can also expect other text inserts as well as the house photos at 126 and 128 Walnut.

John G. Keller House Update

I looked at a 1875 map of the Manayunk/Roxborough area and to my surprise I saw John Keller and a brother Gottlieb Keller listed as living next door to each other on 126 and 128 Walnut Streets. What I also discovered is that Walnut Street is now called Mallory Street and not Shurs Lane as I originally believed so I made a trip out there after work today and I discovered both houses still stand today and are in good condition. John G. Keller is my grandfather William Gallagher's grandfather. He is also the relative who came over here in 1858 from Baden, Germany and served in the Civil War most notably in the Battle of Gettysburg. More Information to follow shortly.....Stay tuned.

William and Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher #6

3907 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, PA.19132 (red brick with black door, left of white house)

In 1953, William and Anna bought 3907 Ridge Avenue from the Schroeder Family located just a few doors up the street. It was a five bedroom, one bath, three story house very much like the one they rented at 3919 Ridge Avenue. This was the first and only home William and Anna owned. It was the house where William and Anna spent most of their married lives together. It was the house where their children "left the nest" and where some "returned", "stayed" and "left again".

It was the house we called haunted. It was the house where my paternal grandparents lived before they sold it in 1953 to my maternal grandparents even though their children did not meet and marry until years later.

It was the house where I was born and lived the first three years of my life. It was the house where I would return again and again and again throughout my life. It was the house where I have the most cherished memories.

In 1969, William and Anna moved away from the area and resided in various houses and apartments in the NorthEast section of Philadelphia the remainer of their lives. With the exception of 1975 to 1976 when they lived in Costa Mesa, California which was a short distance from their son John and his family who lived in Newport, California.

William and Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher #5

3919 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, PA. 19132 (white house) (cira2005)


When World War II ended and the soldiers returned home from battle, many areas of Philadelphia experienced a severe housing shortage. This shortage affected the home where William and Anna rented on 2722 Croskey Street when a soldier returned from battle and purchased the Croskey Street house from its original owner.

With five children and no houses in the area available for rent, William and Anna rented a shack of a house located on 3919 Ridge Avenue in 1946 located in the East Falls section of Philadelphia. This house was not fit for man nor beast and certainly was not a place for young children. The youngest children were divided up among relatives while William worked to restore the house. He installed windows, indoor plumbing and repaired a large hole in the center of the parlor which looked right into the dirt basement.

Sadly, this house has once again found itself in disrepair.

William and Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher #4

Map of 2722 Croskey Street Philadelphia, PA.19125 (click image to enlarge map)

When William got a job at Midville Steel in Nicetown, he relocated his family from the Manayunk section of Philadelphia to North Philadelphia to be closer to his employer. Though I do not have a picture of the house on 2722 Croskey Street, I have a map with its location. In this house, William and Anna welcomed their fifth and final child AnnMarie.

William and Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher #3

4137 Terrace Street Philadelphia, PA.19127 (house with awning) (cira2005)

It was not long before William and Anna moved yet again and this time they moved to the house on 4137 Terrace Street right next door to the house where their first two children William and John were born. Here at 4137 Terrace Street they welcomed their fourth child and first daughter Mary in 1938.

William and Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher #2

219 Jamestown Road Philadelphia, PA.19127 (cira 2005)


William and Anna rented many houses during the early years of their marriage and the second home in which they lived was on 219 Jamestown Road. Here their third child Collum (Uncle Gene) was born in 1935.

William and Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher # 1

4135 Terrace Street Philadelphia, PA. 19127 (house without awning)


Before the birth of their first child William in 1931, William and Anna (McCaffery) Gallagher moved into 4135 Terrace Street. In 1933 their second child John was born.

William and Mary (Keller) Gallagher

3902 Terrace Street Philadelphia, PA. 19127 (cira2005)
House is now divided into two apartments........


According to the 1910 census records, William and Mary (Keller) Gallagher lived with their two small children William (age 4) and Anna (age 2) in the rear of the house on 143 Seville Street just a few houses down from William's parents' house on 127 Seville Street. In the 1920 census records, they still resided at this location but now William's mother Hannah was listed as living there too. Hannah moved in with her son and his family after her husband Patrick died in 1913.

Sometime between 1920 and 1926, William and Mary (Keller) Gallagher, their children and mother moved to 3902 Terrace Street. A lot occurred at the residence on 3902. Hannah died in 1926. Anna married Coll McCaffery. Coll's cousin Anna Marie McCaffery was taken in under the protection of Mary Gallagher in 1928 and married her son William shortly thereafter. Then in 1929 the house at 3902 Terrace caught fire and the Gallagher family was forced to move in with the McCaffery's.