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Below are some photographs and information on specific locations that have historical significance in the family. Churches, schools, childhood homes, etc. I photographed them on my trip to Pennsylvania, and while I can’t verify all locations as completely accurate, I have good reason to believe each one matches up with records I found and first-hand testimony from family members.
Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania
This is the church where my great-grandmother (Mary Agnes Gallagher) and great-grandfather (Peter Robert McElwee) were baptized as infants. It is the church that owns and manages a small cemetery called “St. Mary’s Cemetery” where I figured some of my family members were buried. We spoke to the lady who worked in the office, who was polite but refused to let me confirm the location (or existence of) any burial locations. Her only suggestion was to go there and walk around and view the headstones, which we did.
St. Mary’s Cemetery
Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania
The place where several family members are buried. It is owned by the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
St. Mary’s Cemetery
Kulpmont, Pennsylvania
This cemetery, very confusingly, has the exact same name as the first St. Mary’s Cemetery, it’s on the same road, and it’s just a few miles away. We were told that “all the Irish people” were buried at the other one (which was mostly true), but I did find one McElwee family buried here. Most of the names on the headstones here were Italian or Polish, and I surmise the reason why I found a McElwee here is because he was married to a Polish woman.
510 N. Paxon Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This is my grandmother’s (Grammy’s) childhood home.
Our Mother of Sorrows Church
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This is where my grandmother went to church, and to school. It’s just a short walk from the house on Paxon Street. It is also where Bridge Dunn/Callahan was interred after she passed away.
304 N. 40th Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
At one point in time, this is the address listed for my great-grandfather’s (Pop Pop Pete) mother.
1801 Cayuga St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This is another address listed at one point for my great-grandfather’s mother.
4918 Kershaw Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This is the address given as the home for my great-grandmother (Brenny) on her birth certificate. The house itself is gone: most of the buildings on this street are newer than the ones that Brenny grew up in. At some point, they were all apparently razed and rebuilt, but it’s unclear why 4918 was not rebuilt.
304 N. Vine Street
Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania
This is the address given as the birth home for my great-grandfather. 304 is the home in the middle.
304 Water Street
Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania
Funny enough, the middle house here—which has the exact same street number and looks nearly identical to the home above and is just one block away—is listed as the place where Peter and Mary Grady lived, who were my great-grandfather’s grandparents. So it would seem that Pop Pop Pete grew up with his grandparents a few dozen feet away, in an identical house in the same town. According to the local newspaper, Peter “owned considerable propery on Vine Street,” so perhaps Peter owned the home that Pop Pop Pete grew up in.
Ellis Island National Museum
Ellis Island, New Jersey
While some of my family members may have come to America via Ellis Island, I can’t confirm this. I can confirm, however, that my wife’s great-grandfather Salvatore Menditto walked these very halls when he came to America. He must have been extremely appreciative, or have had a great sense of humor: he named his son “Ellis,” likely after this island.
Statue of Liberty
Liberty Island, New York
Similar to Ellis Island, I can’t confirm if any of my family members would have seen the Statue of Liberty, since it opened in 1886 and I don’t have any firm dates on when my family came here. I’m almost completely certain, though, that Salvatore would have seen it since he came on a ship into New York Harbor in 1903.
