Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts – for a day!

At an early age of seventeen years old, I had the opportunity as the Chief Squire of Readville Massachusetts Circle 525, a junior order of the Knights of Columbus, to be appointed as the Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts for one day under the authority of Boston’s Mayor John B. Hynes. Mayor Hynes instituted the Mayor … [Read more…]

She would have been 85 today!

The tragedy of losing your mother can never be explained. The hurt and loss at a young age of a child can remain for years. And understanding why it happened is still another alien emotion that any youngster can suffer. Such a tragedy happened in December 1963 to an Army husband and four young children … [Read more…]

A new blog

This blog will be the product of the writings of John D Hannigan as he reminises on his years growing up in Readville, leaving Readville for the US Army, various military assignments and duty around the World and stories about his family life.

Where did all this paper come from?

You have to admit that when you have been doing research on your family tree for a long time, well, you gather a lot of paper. When my dad started his research in the mid-1950s, there was no internet.  As he traveled, the telephone book in the nightstand next to the bed was really the … [Read more…]

How big is the tree?

Let’s face it! We all start with two parents and four grandparents – except in blended types of families that is. And the number doubles as you move further back in generations.

John Hannigan from Ballinvana, County Limerick, Ireland

In the group of Ireland Catholic Parish Registers released the National Library of Ireland in 2016, was found an entry for Patrick Hannigan being baptized on March 6, 1838. He was the son of Cornelius Hannigan and Mary Riordan of County Limerick in the parish of Bulgaden. Parish baptismal records also provided information showing at … [Read more…]