An Artist in the Family

On our long ride to RootsTech, I was telling my friend about my great grandfather, Joseph Mossey (Massé). He was a carriage trimmer. My friend asked what a carriage trimmer was and while I thought I knew, I hesitated. I decided if I am going to get to know my ancestors, I should get to know what it is they did and be able to explain that to others.

Naturally, I began by googling “Carriage Trimmer”. I found a website that categorized professions. My Joseph was an artisan. That was a pleasant surprise. My mother and grandmother were excellent needleworkers in knitting, embroidery and sewing and my grandfather, George Mossey,  was, according to my mom, a great cook. And, now his father was an artisan in his own right.

How did I learn about my great grandfather’s abilities? I was doing some newspaper research. I found a site that has indexed the newspapers of northern New York. This ad I found in The Plattsburgh Sentinel caught my eye and gave me a smile. My great grandfather was “one of the best carriage trimmers”!¹ How thrilling that someone would actually print such nice words about one of their employees who also is my ancestor.

In my search, I also found a book that is a reprint of a book that was apparently the carriage trimmer’s Bible back in the 1880s and maybe was one my great grandfather referred to in his business.

According to the description on the website, “…the book describes the complexity of materials—leathers, silks, laces—and range of skills (upholstering, tufting, stitching and binding, cutting enameled leathers, making leather sockets, welting, fabric selection, etc.) required for this branch of the carriage trade.” The book also contains “recipes for cleaning, oiling and blacking leather, polishing metals and restoring ivory, among others.” It goes on to describe the tools used in the carriage trimmers arsenal, such as stuffing sticks, round knives and shears.²

Looks like I’ll be going back to Google to learn what many of those terms mean which will give me a better idea of what my great grandfather really did for a living.

(Can you hear the buttons popping off my shirt?)

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Sources

1. Unknown author, . "Merritt." Plattsburgh Sentinel [New York] 20 Apr 1883, Vol. 28, No. 47 1. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. http://news2.nnyln.net/plattsburgh-sentinel/serch.html.

2. "The Carriage Trimmers’ Manual Guide Book and Illustrated Technical Dictionary." Astragal Press. Astragal Press, An Imprint of Finney Company, 2012. Web. 12 Mar 2012. <http://astragalpress.com/carriage_trimmers_manual.htm>.

Newspaper Research Brings Surprise

Every once in a while, research reveals a surprise that sets you back on your heals. This happened to me this weekend as I was researching on GenealogyBank for data about my gg grandfather, Francis McCue or Frank McHugh as his name evolved before he died.

Let me back up a bit. I was privileged to attend RootsTech with my friend, Bev. We decided to get there a few days early so we could spend some time in the Family History Library. While there, I actually found some court records for Bridget McHugh which dealt with the estate of Frank McHugh. More on that in a later blog.

Then, at RootsTech, I attended a session by Drew Smith on using your blog as a research log. That was it. This is what I am going to try and do as I spend this year trying to find where in Ireland Frank McHugh came from.

Yesterday, I spent several hours researching in GenealogyBank for any news items on Frank McHugh but instead came across a small article about Bridget. Of course, every little bit of information causes many more questions that lead to more research. But, that is what makes researching our families so interesting.



Questions that now need to be answered are: Why was having some beer in the house against the law? Why did she have beer in her house? When was the trial and what was the result? (I searched GenealogyBank but found nothing on the trial).

Newspaper research is really fun because it helps bring our ancestors to life. My gg grandmother was a real person who got her name in the paper probably in a way she never expected. I sure was surprised!