The Ancestors of Julia Cecelia Doran

Ancestors of Julia Cecelia Doran

My Grandmother

First Generation

1.       Julia Cecelia Doran, daughter of Thomas F. Doran and Mary Ann Kelly, was born on 1 Mar 1891 in New Boston, Lee County, Iowa, died on 10 May 1968 in Fort Madison, Lee County, Iowa at age 77, and was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Fort Madison, Lee County, Iowa.

Julia was one of thirteen children born to Thomas Doran and Mary Ann Kelly. She was one of six that survived all the serious childhood epidemics of the time. They moved from New Boston to Fort Madison, Iowa and lived at 1543 Division Street (now Avenue L). She attended Sacred Heart Catholic School and later found a job as a telephone operator. She worked for Northwestern Bell Telephone Company advancing to supervisor and was made chief operator in 1923. During WWII the "new" Bell Telephone Company called Julia back to work part-time until the war was over, which she did feeling rather proud and patriotic. She was a member of the Daughters of Isabella, past president of the Catholic Ladies Auxiliary of St. Mary's and a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers Auxiliary. Of their home life, their daughter Cecelia wrote:

"Our lives at home were mostly happy times, always busy with school work, music lessons and playing neighborhood ball. Dad was always busy going to work at the Santa Fe. Our train rides, though not excessive, were fun when we were growing up, as that was a Santa Fe privilege to travel with a pass."

 

Leo Miller and Julia Doran on their Wedding Day

Too Many Distractions

I have many family history projects going on and many connections to new information recently. Here's a quick rundown:

1. I'm continuing to research and document the ancestors of Ludwig Doll in Moesbach, Baden, Germany. I've got most of the branches documented back to around the 1720s-1740s. I would expect I have another 70 or so years of ancestors yet to find. I continue to do a little research each day. I hope to have this complete in the next month or so.

2. Finally (hopefully) found Elizabeth Duzinger's connection in New York and Wemding, Bavaria, Germany. I expect the first of the microfilm rolls about New York city vital statistics to arrive in the next week or so. With any luck, these will confirm the connection so I can dive into whatever there is to find in Wemding. In the meantime, I have someone in Eichstatt that will do the research for me for a fee. Hopefully I'll be able to find a way to do the research myself.

3. I got an email from a second-cousin on my Kelly line who still lives in Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois. Her mother has an old family bible that has a photo and a funeral card from the Kelly family line. First is a photo of my great-great-grandfather, Hugh Kelly when he was likely in his late 30s. It was taken in Clarksville,  Missouri by Otis Norman Baldwin. She also sent me a scan of Catherine Murphy Kelly's funeral card. It shows her birth date, which was uncertain to me before this, and her birth location. She was born June 1, 1823 near Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland. This gives me another location to do original research.



 



Hugh Kelly

 

4. I will be going to southeast Iowa next weekend to meet with the second cousin whose mother has the family bible and these documents. I will get a photo of my great-great-great-grandfather's headstone in St. Paul, Iowa and enjoy a couple of relaxing days away with my wife.

5. A distant cousin on my Bixenman line already passed through on her cross-country trip and might be able to stop and visit on her way back.

6. I got an email from a distant Panther cousin. His mother passed away recently and they found some family history information that led them to my Panther research. I see that we had some very basic information about this branch but nothing more. Apparently we lost contact with them many years ago. I'll hopefully be able to document the branch of the Panther family descended from Maurice and Donna (Punke) Panther.

To me, all of this is good news. I'm happy to be able to pick and choose what to work on when it comes to family history rather than having all kinds of brick walls.

In other matters, not good news. For those of you who are religious, and even if you aren't, I ask you to please pray for my brother. He had a terrible accident and needs your prayers for a full recovery.

Thank you!

--Matt