Learning about Ancestors from Eulogies and Obituaries/And where to locate them

 

I first discovered the value of a eulogy for family history research when I received one for a great-great aunt, Bridget aka Sister Mary Kathleen Mullen, from an aunt. She was a Catholic nun. The eulogy states she was from Galway; my father thought our Mullen family was from Cork. He probably was told his grandmother, Helen Mullen-Mason, left the port at Cork and thought the family lived there. The eulogy also gave the names of her parents, Patrick Mullen and Mary Huvane. I had never heard anything about the surname Huvane until then. My grandmother, Dorothy Mason-Kapple, and her siblings knew the maiden name of their grandmother, Mary Huvane-Mullen, but I didn't. I guess I just never asked. I should have asked more questions. 

Relatives are a good source when looking for eulogies. The more relatives, including distant relatives, you collaborate with the more likely you can find something like a eulogy. I've also gotten prayer cards with information about the deceased from distant relatives. 

After learning the maiden name of my great-great grandmother I began researching the surname Huvane. To some family members the name seemed foreign. They thought it might be Spanish? Maybe the name came from Spanish Armada survivors? Once I had internet access in the 1990s I was able to find Huvanes living in the San Francisco area. I made contact with them and they shared the information they had about the family, and they shared some research done in Ireland by a researcher there. He stated the name Huvane, a variant of Huane, was likely a variant of Hoban. 

This Huvane family also attempted to help me learn more about my Mullen family. Our shared Huvane family relatives lived near the Mullens, in Pollaturick, Ireland, they of course were cousins of their family, and mine. My new cousins gave me contact information for a Mary Ellen Mullen-Thornton, they received from relatives in Pollaturick. She was the only Mullen closely related to me still alive, being that she was the first cousin of my grandmother Dorothy. The relative also stated that some of the Mullens lived in London. I wrote her a letter but never heard back. She was born in 1921 and was likely in poor health, or living in a care home when I wrote her. When I visited Ireland, and the townland of Pollaturick in 2019 a neighbor told me Mary Ellen was in a nursing home. The family hadn't lived on the land in decades because Mary Ellen's husband had land in another townland where she lived after her marriage. 

Asking questions on Facebook in 2021 I discovered Mary Ellen Mullen-Thornton was still alive, and 100 years old. Until then I had no idea she was that old! I was very surprised. Her aunt, Sister Mary Kathleen Mullen, was 103 when she died. This family has a longevity gene.

Fast forward to December 2023. I learned that Mary Ellen had died in November 2022. This month is a busy month in the United States with Thanksgiving, and Christmas coming, so I missed that funeral stream on YouTube. Googling her name and the places she lived I found an obituary. Internet obituaries are free and easy to post so they are very common. Often funeral homes put these on their websites. Commonly these obituaries include a photo of the deceased, and sometimes there is a slideshow with multiple photos that include family members. I've seen photos going back to the deceaseds childhood. I've also seen videos posted with these obituaries. 

A video produced by the family of my father Robert's first cousin can be viewed at this link . This video, with photos, helped me identify some unmarked photos. 

I've found many obituaries for relatives who died before the internet in old newspapers. Sites like newspapers.com or newspaperarchive.com are great, but you have to pay to view the obituaries. Chronicling America is a free newspaper site, but I haven't had any luck there myself. An Irish newspaper site with obituaries is Irish Newspaper Archives.

Mary Ellen Mullen-Thornton's obituary provided the names of her children, which I didn't have. It confirmed two of her children lived in England, and one in London. The letter proved to be correct, one of her children did live in London. Great to see a photo of my grandmother's first cousin too! 

I remembered that in Ireland funeral services are streamed on YouTube or the churches website. The Mullen family church St. Joseph's Milltown, Tuam, Galway, Ireland, streams funeral services live. Unfortunately, after a short period of time they make them private. You need the link to view them. Thankfully, I was able to get a link from the church to view her funeral mass from last year. Unfortunately her family didn't give the eulogy. The priest did and he provided some interesting information. He confirmed that she was born in Pollaturick, when times were hard and no one had any money. Her occupation was housewife. He said she could speak Irish. He didn't know Irish was spoken in the village during her lifetime. Her aunt, my great-grandmother, also spoke Irish. He stated one of her daughter's names was actually Bernadette, which wasn't in the obituary. Dette in the obituary is apparently a nickname for Bernadette. 

The name of the care home Mary Ellen lived in was named during the service. The neighbor I spoke to was correct; she was in a nursing home. 

Prayers were said for the Thornton and Mullen families. It was nice to hear the Mullens acknowledged. 

The priest also stated that some of her siblings died shortly after birth. He also said her brother Patrick died as a teenager, which doesn't seem to match some information I have? I know he was born in 1919. A Patrick Mullen sold land in Pollaturick in 1950 which I assumed was him. Maybe I'm wrong? Patrick Mullen isn't an uncommon name in Ireland. 

The reason I'm interested in information about her family is I would like to know if they have any old photos of my great-great grandparents? 

All of my great-grandmother's siblings, except for Michael Mullen, Mary Ellen's father, left the area. He inherited the family land. Mary Ellen was the only one of his children that lived long into adulthood. For this reason the Mullen family land was passed down to her. Her father's house, not lived in for decades, was falling apart when I visited there. I assume she was born there in 1921? My great-great grandmother was present at her birth according to her civil registration record. 

Interestingly Mary Ellen Mullen-Thornton was present when her grandmother, my great-great grandmother, Mary Huvane-Mullen died, according to her death record. 

I'm hoping to find a way to get in contact with Mary Ellen's descendant's in hopes they might have photos?

Obituaries and eulogies are great sources for family history. You can find obituaries online, and in newspapers, and sometimes in books. Family members might keep copies of eulogies, and some churches now live stream funerals on the internet. Also family members may have made videos of a funeral service. A relative may have presented a eulogy for a relative, friend. or neighbor, which may include information about themselves, and the area they lived in. Because of Covid restrictions many churches now stream their services. We now have more places to glean information from.