Colleen’s Ancestors – Page 13 – Colleen & Jeff's Roots

Baptism Record And Church For Michael John Flanagan (1927)

While cleaning out my email inbox this weekend, I came across a photo one of my cousins snapped of my orphaned grandfather Michael John Flanagan’s (1927-1997) baptism record. He shot this quickly a couple years ago with his iPhone. I’ve been holding off posting it until I could get a good scanned copy of the document, but I haven’t been able to get my hands on the original yet, so I’m just going with the iPhone version.

According to the baptism record, Michael was baptized at just under one month old on June 19, 1927 at St. Mary of Sorrows Church in Buffalo, New York. His parents Patrick Thomas Flanagan and Sarah (Kennedy) Flanagan are listed on the certificate, but I cannot read the surnames of his sponsors. [10/22/14 Update: My cousin Linda Flanagan confirmed that the sponsors were Patrick’s sister Mary Bridget FLANAGAN and her husband Charles John “John” McGOUGH, who also lived in Buffalo.]

I imagine that Patrick and Sarah, at this moment in history, expected to get to spend at least several more decades with their youngest son. But Patrick would die in December of the following year, and Sarah died in June 1930, orphaning Michael and his four older brothers.

St. Mary of Sorrows Church. Creative Commons image (2011) courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

According to Wikipedia, the church was built in 1891 and was shut down as a church in 1985. It currently houses a charter school and community center. The building is located at 938 Genesee Street, Buffalo, New York.

Sources Cited

Saint Mary of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church. (2013, September 30). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:07, November 4, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saint_Mary_of_Sorrows_Roman_Catholic_Church&oldid=575075817

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Dead End: No Further Information In Sarah Kennedy Ward Flanagan’s Burial Records

Kennedy Sarah Cemetery Record — Courtesy of Mount Calvary Cemetery Group.

I mentioned yesterday that I suddenly stumbled upon the burial place and a headstone photo for my great-grandmother Sarah Kennedy Flanagan, and that I contacted the cemetery for any further information. The cemetery was kind enough to promptly respond, but I was very disappointed to learn that their records contain no further information about my great-grandmother or any family that might have been in charge of her funeral or burial.

New information: burial date, burial plot, funeral director.

I just can’t seem to catch a break on this brickwall. I absolutely have to get ahold of her death record from the county or state. And even then, since the information on her death record was most likely provided by her daughter Catherine, it may not provide Sarah’s accurate birth information.

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Found: Sarah Kennedy Ward Flanagan’s Burial Place

Today I somehow stumbled upon a burial entry memorial and headstone photo for my great-grandmother Sarah Kennedy Flanagan, on Find A Grave. Thank you so much to Find A Grave volunteer Phyllis Meyer for taking the time to record a virtual memorial for Sarah!

Kennedy Sarah Headstone — Photo courtesy of Find A Grave volunteer Phyllis Meyer.

Sarah is buried in Buffalo Cemetery in Cheektowaga, New York. I don’t find any other Flanagans listed here in the Find A Grave database, including Sarah’s last husband (my great-grandfather) Patrick. I did send off a genealogy request to the cemetery today, so I am hoping they have funeral and burial records that can help me uncover more clues about Sarah.Sarah is one of my brickwall ancestors, due to my grandfather, her son, Michael John Flanagan, being orphaned by both parents by the time he was a toddler. We are pretty sure that Sarah’s maiden name is Kennedy, and that she was married to Frank J. Ward prior to marrying my great-grandfather Patrick Thomas Flanagan, Jr. in 1925. I don’t yet have a death or birth record for Sarah.

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Michael John Flanagan’s Missing WWII Navy Years

My grandfather, Michael John Flanagan (1927 – 1997) served in the US Navy from June 15, 1944 to March 18, 1948.

Grandpa never talked about the war, or his military service, in general with us grandkids. I only remember hearing him lecture us against tattoos anytime, as little kids, we would ask about the blue ink he got on his arms while in the Navy. Not interviewing my grandfather about his Navy memories is one of the many regrets I have.

In 2003, I received a copy of Grandpa’s separation form from the National Archives. I was so excited when I saw the NARA addressed manila envelope show up in my mailbox. But I remember being disappointed when I opened it…aside from his years of service and his service member ID number, the NARA documents gave me very little information about his actual service. Not even any mention of the ships or bases on which he served. Or any indication if he received any medals or commendations.

I would have to try to discover and reconstruct this information for myself; a venture I am still pursuing a decade later.

I recently wrote about the ship on which my grandfather served between October 14, 1945 and February 20, 1948, and also the ship on which he served during his final month in the Navy when discharge in March 1948. The US Navy Muster Rolls helped me plot that timeline.

But I cannot find any records identifying where my grandfather served between joining the Navy on June 15, 1944 (at the age of 17), and when he joined the USS Mervine on October 14, 1945. That is a sixteen month gap in history! Since he joined the Mervine in Okinawa, at some point during the first sixteen months of service the Navy transported him from Buffalo, New York (where he enlisted) to Okinawa (where he joined the Mervine).

The only photos I have from Grandpa’s service days. I have no idea which ship/s these are….the Mervine, the Thompson, or an earlier duty assignment.

If you have suggestions on where I might find records of those missing years, I greatly appreciate it.

Michael John Flanagan’s Final US Navy Duty Assignment, The USS Thompson

USS Thompson refuels from USS Arkansas, April 1944. Department of Defense photo.

When my grandfather, Ship’s Cook 3rd Class Michael John Flanagan (1927 – 1997) left the USS Mervine on February 20, 1948, he transferred to the USS Thompson for his final month of service in the Navy.

The USS Thompson (DD-627) was a Navy destroyer commissioned July 10, 1943. Prior to Michael’s assignment on the ship, the Thompson had seen action in the East Coast, North Africa, Europe (including the 1944 Invasion of Normandy), and the Pacific. The Thompson became based out of San Diego, California on October 2, 1947, operating first as a destroyer, and then conducting west coast training operations through the rest of 1948. The Thompson continued to see Pacific activity throughout the Korean War, and was eventually decommissioned on May 18, 1954.

February 20, 1948 muster roll showing Mike’s transfer from the Mervine to Thompson.
Click on the image for a larger view.

Although the Mervine had been stationed out of San Francisco for two years, and the Thompson out of San Diego, both ships must have ended up in the same port sometime during February 1948 when when my grandfather transferred duty between ships. I assume San Diego was the mutual port since it was the official home base of both ships, and since Michael and Elsie’s first child was born in San Diego in 1947 (which would mean Elsie had already moved from the Bay Area to San Diego after they married).

March 15, 1948 muster roll showing Mike’s transfer off the USS Thompson for discharge from the Navy.
Click on the image for a larger view.

Michael’s last appearance on the US Navy muster rolls is dated March 15 1948, when he transferred to the Naval Receiving Station “for processing and separation from the Naval service”. SC3 Michael John Flanagan received an honorable discharge on March 18, 1948, in San Diego, California, at 20 years of age.

Sources

Ancestry.com. U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.

Department of Defense. (n.d.). USS Thompson, DD-627. Retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Thompson_(DD-627).jpg

United States of America. (2003, October 16). Certification of Military Service: Michael J. Flanagan.

United States Navy. (n.d.). Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Thompson. Naval History & Heritage Command. Web. Retrieved May 19, 2013, from http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/t5/thompson-ii.htm

USS Thompson (DD-627). (2013, May 10). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=USS_Thompson_(DD-627)&oldid=543687617

Michael John Flanagan And The USS Mervine

USS Mervine (DD-489) off New York Navy Yard, 23 January 1943.
Photo courtesy of the US National Archives.

As Memorial Day approaches, I am honoring a World War II veteran who thankfully made it back home — my grandfather Michael John Flanagan (1927 – 1997). Grandpa claimed to have served on multiple Naval ships while in the war including one that sank. But Grandpa was a huge tall-taler (true to his Irish roots), so his children and grandchildren really never know what to believe.

One ship name that his children remembered Grandpa mentioning is the Mervine. The USS Mervine was a US Navy Destroyer originally launched on May 3, 1942 as DD-489, then reclassified on May 30, 1945 as DMS-31. She saw duty during the Second World War in North Africa, Mediterranean Europe, the North Atlantic, and the Pacific. Decommissioned on May 27, 1949, the Mervine was sold for scrap in 1969.

According to the US Navy Muster Rolls, Michael served on the USS Mervine from October 14, 1945 to February 20, 1948. He joined the crew of the Mervine 16 months into his Naval service (I have not yet identified where he was previously assigned). The Mervine arrived at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on September 28, 1945, after being reclassified, and shortly after the September 2nd Japanese surrender. On October 16, 1945, Ship’s Cook 2nd Class Michael J. Flanagan and his shipmates sailed out of Buckner Bay.

Muster Roll listing dated October 16, 1945. Click image for a larger view.

October 16, 1945 Muster Roll header. Click image for a larger view.

The Mervine and its crew reported to San Francisco, California on March 31, 1946 (confirmed on the April 1, 1946 muster rolls), where she spent two years engaged in west coast operations.

Just shy of two months after arriving in San Francisco, Michael (now a Ship’s Cook 3rd Class) met his future wife Elsie Charlotte Hayes for the very first time on May 23, 1946, while out with a bunch of his shipmates on Michael’s 19th birthday. Mike and Elsie married less than one month later, on June 22, 1946. The marriage license shows Michael living at the Alameda Naval Station at the time of their wedding, however muster rolls show him still assigned to the Mervine. Michael served with the Mervine during the birth of his first child (muster rolls do show he was granted a leave of absence for her actual birth), and when their second child was conceived.

SC3 Michael J. Flangan transferred off of the USS Mervine on February 20, 1948, right before the Mervine returned to Pacific operations in Japan, China, and Pearl Harbor. I would assume this was so that he could remain closer to his young growing family.

Where he transferred to is the subject of another blog post.

Sources

Ancestry.com. U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.

File:489mervine 01.jpg. (2005, December 17). Wikimedia Commons. Wiki. Retrieved May 19, 2013, from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:489mervine_01.jpg

United States navy. (n.d.). Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Mervine. Naval History & Heritage Command. Webpage. Retrieved May 19, 2013, from http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m9/mervine-ii.htm

USS Mervine (DD-489). (2013, May 10). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=USS_Mervine_(DD-489)&oldid=544081252

Anniversaries: My Parents’ Wedding Anniversary Is Today!


Kathleen and Ben Robledo.

Since my parents are both still alive, I won’t share their marriage year or Mom’s maiden name, but many decades ago today, my folks got hitched. And they are still madly in love. Their marriage is an example to us all, and set a very high bar for us kids to follow.

Most kids jokingly celebrate their parents’ anniversary by thanking them, since many wouldn’t be here today if their parents had not married. Not so with me…I was adopted. So, I would have been born anyway, even if Kathleen and Ben had not married. But, my life would have been completely different — I can’t even even imagine in what ways. Because I have the best parents in the world, and I had the best childhood in the world.

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad. I love you! And I love how you love each other.