Catherine Kenney: Solving the Mystery of a Runaway Bride (and Mother-to-Be)

September 14, 2025.Reading time 10 minutes.

I’ve been chasing my husband’s great-grandmother, Catherine Kenney, since 2015. She left behind a trail of contradictions that made her one of those maddening ancestors who seemed determined to hide in plain sight. But after years of digging, thanks to Scripty (my AI pal) I’ve finally cracked the case: where she was born, who her […]

Surprises! Who is The Little Girl in the Photo – and Whose Bed Am I Sleeping In?

February 13, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

The prompt for the #52Ancestors challenge this week was “Surprise.” I planned on writing about why Scott and I were at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC last week, but as usual, another opportunity presented itself which is an even better match for the topic this week. A Seeley Surprise If you have been […]

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #15 – Kathryn Winchester Holman

April 16, 2014.Reading time 6 minutes.

418 Oakdale Avenue Chicago, Illinois(google maps) <!–[if supportFields]>xe “HOLMAN:Kathryn Winchester (b. 1902) ” \f A<![endif]–><!–[if supportFields]><![endif]–><!–[if supportFields]>xe “Illinois:418 Oakdale Avenue Chicago ” \f B<![endif]–><!–[if supportFields]><![endif]–>Kathryn Winchester Holman was born on April17, 1902 at 418 Oakdale Avenue Chicago, Illinois.<!–[if supportFields]>xe “United States:Illinois:Chicago:418 Oakdale Avenue ” \f B<![endif]–><!–[if supportFields]><![endif]–> Kathryn was the eldest of three children born […]

John Winchester Holman, Jr. – December 6, 1904

December 10, 2013.Reading time 11 minutes.

Having just had a lovely chat with my sister-in-law, I am making some edits to this post 🙂 <!–[if supportFields]>xe “HOLMAN:John Winchester Jr. (b. 1904) ” \f A<![endif]–><!–[if supportFields]><![endif]–><!–[if supportFields]>xe “Illinois:418 Oakdale Avenue Chicago ” \f B<![endif]–><!–[if supportFields]><![endif]–>John Winchester Holman Jr. was born on December 6, 1904 in the family home at 418 Oakdale Avenue […]

Katherine Pearl Seeley Holman

October 6, 2013.Reading time 8 minutes.

<!–[if supportFields]>xe “SEELEY:Katherine Pearl (b. 1869) ” \f A<![endif]–><!–[if supportFields]><![endif]–><!–[if supportFields]>xe “CT:New Caanan ” \f B<![endif]–><!–[if supportFields]><![endif]–>Katherine Pearl Seeley was born on October 4 in Albany New York. Her birth year is in question. The 1880 census lists her as “Kitty”, born in 1871 and the Illinois Death Certificate states her year of birth as […]