Mary age 11 (14)
Patrick aged
9 (17)
Michael aged
7 (16)
Catherine aged
5 (I don't have a Catherine)
Arti aged 4 (maybe my Anne or
Annie??? would have been
11 though)
Mark aged 2 (3 or 4)
James aged 1 (1 or 2)
Missing from this
list would be Timothy, age 6 and John, age 9
The timing is
perfect, as from old letters from
descendants now gone,
my Cryan's left
crossing to
been another
mother with 8 children, same names, arriving at the same
time! I haven't seen evidence of that in my
research here in the
Maybe the original
will help sort it out!
I heard from
Kathleen from this list and we think we found her John and
Owen Crean! I would be glad to check for anyone else.
Pam
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2000 06:43:51 -0800 From:
Pamela Burleson <pburleson@skyenet.net> |
Subject:
[CRYAN] Parish Records To:
CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
Thought Eve could
help me on this, too!
My film came in
yesterday at the
hard to read some
pages and handwriting! Unfortunatly, the printer is
not working and I
wasn't able to get copies. I need to go
back with my
digital
camera. Here's where I need help:
The Baptimal
record for my Patrick Cryan reads:
Patr. John Cryan & Atty McDonough, Michael
Cryan & Atty Walsh
Are Michael Cryan
and Atty Walsh Godparents? (I am not Catholic)
Atty McDonough's
mother was Atty Walsh. Could Michael
Cryan be John's Father or Brother?
Just don't know
what it all means!Thanks,Pam
From: ljstandak@webtv.net (Lyle
Staehnke) | Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2000 18:48:56 -0800 (PST)
Subject:
[CRYAN] RE: ST. Patrick
To: CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
I hope all you
Irish have a grand St. Patricks day and especially the
Cryan Clan. I my
self am going to have a drop of good Irish whiskey in
honor of St.
Patrick.
Lots of
Lyle
Reply-to: <ariley@ltp.org> From: "A. Riley"
<ariley@ltp.org> | Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2000 10:34:43 -0600 Subject: [CRYAN] [CRYAN-L] Happy St. Patrick's
Day! To: CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
Happy St.
Patrick's Day to all!
It's said that the
parish where all of Atty Cryan's kids were baptized,
Taunaugh, was
founded by the saint himself! I lift up a prayer of
blessingon all the
Cryan clan, near and far, present, past and future, and
afterwork tonight,
I'll lift up a pint of Harp as well.
A. Rileyglad to be
a Cryan descendant ariley@ltp.org
Reply-to: "FamSpack" < > From: "FamSpack" < > |
Subject: Re: [CRYAN]
Parish Records Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 00:10:56 -0000 To:
CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
Yes both,
sometimes when the old records are in Latin the column where
thesenames are
written is headed Testes.
Some of the old
Latin records give a full explanation ie that I (the
priest)baptised a
child of (the parents) who had been married with the rites
of theChurch(or
not as the case maybe), and he/she is named..eg Patrick
..the witnesses to
this are.(first witness)....(name of the parish they
belong to)and
(second witness)......(name of their parish)
During the
baptism/christening ceremony epecially of an infant,
promises aremade
on behalf of the child and the godparents witness this and agree
tohelp carry out
the promises.
These witnesses take
on the role of godparents ie look after the
spiritualwellbeing
of the child especially if something happens to the parents.
Oftenthis role
then becomes foster parent especially if they are already
closefamily. In
the mid 1850s people were likely to die at a much younger
agethan they do
nowadays so frequently children were brought up by
grandparentsor
uncles or aunts.
It would seem most
probable that Atty Walsh is your Atty's mother and
Michael is either
John's father or brother. On the other hand they
could becousins
who had the same names. One will never be sure . It would help
if wehad their
ages but that is unlikely.........Do others agree ?
Until again
EveHappy St Patrick's Day to all
From: Jill Devito <devito@uta.edu> | Date:
Sat, 18 Mar 2000 11:58:02 -0600
Subject:
[CRYAN] Lt. Thomas Cryan biographical web page To:
CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
Dear
Cryan-listers,
I have completed
my most recent family history project, a web page
biographyin honor
of my grandfather's brother, Lt. Thomas Cryan of Lowell, MA,
whowas killed in
action on this date, March 18, 1944 while flying B-17
bomberswith the
Army Air Corps in WWII.
Please check out
the url:
http://omega.uta.edu/~jxd3644/tcryan.html
Thanks,Jill DeVito
The Promise of His Youth: a biography dedicated to the
memory of
Lt. Thomas Cryan,
1920-1944
By his
grand-niece, Jill DeVito
With
illustrations by Mary Beth Cryan
When I think of
the 100th's casualties ... I wonder what poets, what statesmen, what inventors,
what husbands, what fathers,
never were permitted to play their part in a contribution toward human
well-being.
-- Harry H. Crosby, A Wing and a Prayer
More than 16
million Americans served with the Allied Forces in World War II. Tom Cryan was one ofalmost 300,000 who
never came home. This is his story.
Thomas Cryan was
born June 10, 1920, the seventh of nine children of John P. and Anna G.
(O'Reilly)
Cryan. The family lived in a large white house at
59 Temple Street in Lowell, Massachussetts.
Both
John Cryan and
Anna O'Reilly were born in Lowell as children of Irish immigrants. John, a veteran
of the
Spanish-American War, worked as a traveling salesman and for many years was
involved with
local politics in
Lowell. Anna took care of several
boarders who rented rooms in the family home,
managed the
household finances meticulously, and was a devoted homemaker. Beyond the
constant challenge
of keeping Jim, Frank, Arthur, Jack, Catherine, Eileen, Tom, Paul and Gerry fed
and clothed,
Anna's highest priorities for her children were their education and their
Catholic faith.
Even among seven
boys and two girls, from an early age Tom stood out as the star of the
family.
Tom's sister
Catherine tells the story of his fifth birthday. "Well, I guess Tom was a budding
politician. He had told all the kids in the
neighborhood that they could
come to his
birthday. His birthday arrived, the
10th of June. Mama was
getting supper
ready and she looked out and here's every kid in the
neighborhood
sitting on the back piazza, all dressed up and carrying
wrapped
presents. She didn't know what they
were there for. They
were there for
Tom's birthday! So she took the
regular everyday supper
cake, and she put
fancy icing on it. And she gave me the
money to run
down to Steve's
and get a quart of ice cream. A quart
of ice cream from
Steve's was as
good as any half gallon nowadays. So
Tom had his
birthday
party."
As a six-year-old,
Tom traveled with his Aunt Katie and Uncle Gene to visit his oldest brother,
James,
in New York
City. In a letter dated August 17,
1926, his mother Anna writes:
Dear James:-- Very glad to receive your letter, also glad
to know that my company had arrived safe in N.Y. Wemiss Thomas very much, more than we would
any of the others. He stays around the
house more than the others. I am
pleased to know that he is enjoying himself, he is a good kid to do things for,
he appreciates anything. Iknow he was
delighted over the two suits Gene bought for him. Especially the belts. I can just see him admiringthem... I forgot to tell Katie that when Thomas has
nothing to do he used to practice writing, she could try himwith all his
letters and the heading he has to put on his papers at school. Thomas Cryan, St. Peter's School, Grade
1. Our Paul is fine and every little while he
says, "I wish Thomas did not go to N.Y."
By October of
1926, Tom had already begun to shine as a young scholar. By his father's account,
"Thomas is
going like a house afire at school and every night he has a paper home that is
the best in
his room and
everybody has to praise him and tell him how good he is. He knows it and admits it
himself." And his mother writes, "Thomas is very
proud of himself. He is doing so
well. He is
studying very hard
and gets a star every day. I am almost
run out of adjectives telling him how
good he is... He can read out loud until everyone is
asking him to stop. He is so
interested in
schoolwork that he
thinks of nothing else. I hope he
keeps it up when he gets into the higher
grades."
Tom's Sister Catherine
remembers that "In the 5th grade, Tom was Santa Claus
in the Christmas play at
the Lincoln School. The Lincoln School
was really a
neighborhood school in
those days. Everybody bought a ticket
to the
Christmas play. And I wonder if it was because Tom Cryan
was going to be
Santa Claus! After he broke his leg (during the summer
after third grade) he
was quite awkward. And when he did a dance with his reindeer
on the stage, it
was really something to
see!"
The Cryan children were a
close-knit group, and they led an adventurous,
independent lifestyle in
the industrial city of Lowell. Tom's
brother Paul
remembers a childhood
experience from the early 1930's:
"One spring, we had
gone over to watch
the circus come into town about 2:00 a.m.
After the circus had set up I was
jumping in a sand
pit by the railroad tracks and sprained my ankle. Someone found Tom for me and
he carried me
about a mile and then borrowed a wagon to get me home. I was about 9 and Tom was
11."
Since 4th grade at
the Lincoln School, Tom's best friend was John Casey. As Tom's sister
Catherine recalls,
"Casey was like another member of the family." And John Casey concurs, "That
was my second
house." He says that with seven
boys in the Cryan household, "Whoever went out
first on Saturday
night was the best dressed!"
Catherine
remembers that "When Tom and Johnny Casey finished the 6th grade, Johnny
had to go
to the Butler
School, because that's where his father was a Janitor. And Tom went to Morey, up in
the
highlands. They had planned in the 6th
grade that (after graduating from junior high) they were
going to go to
Keith Academy, and be in the same class again." In high school, "Tom and Casey
would come home
from school... and use the phone, to call up girls." As there was little privacy to
be found in the
Cryan household, they would pull the telephone into the closet before dialing.
Tom's high school
and college years were marked by the loss of both of his parents. Anna Cryan
suddenly became
ill and died before Tom's sixteenth birthday, and John Cryan died from a stroke
following an eye
operation, less than three years later.
The care of the family fell into the hands of
the older
brothers, and everyone pitched in to help run the household.
The Cryan boys
would spend many evenings outdoors playing football, but Tom's brother Arthur
remembers that one
of the boys would always have to return to the kitchen to "put water on
the
beans, so they
wouldn't burn." Arthur tells the
story of a joke played on Tom by a neighborhood
pal, Ray
Gendron. Ray spent a lot of time in
the house, as it was "an open house" with people
always coming and
going. One day while Ray was at the
house, Tom accidentally stepped on a cat.
The cat let out a yowl, and Tom felt
terrible. After Tom left the room, Ray
poured a bottle of
ketchup on the
floor where the cat had been. When Tom
came back to the kitchen "the cat was
quite well, but
Tommy wasn't!"
For one or two
weeks every year, the Cryan kids would vacation at the Hampton beach cottages
owned by Aunt
Bridget and Aunt Katie. Tom's best
friend John Casey remembers being invited
once to join the
Cryans during "the last week of the season, when they let the Cryan boys
take over."
For Casey, who was the only boy in his
household, supper with the Cryans was quite an
experience. "I had to move fast, or there was
nothing left!"
Tom's sister
Catherine tells the story of another trip to the beach houses. "Tom and I borrowed the
car and we started
down to Hampton. Neither of us had
even a nickel. (You could buy a hot
dog
for a nickel in those
days ... but we didn't have one). So
Tom says, 'Say a prayer that we meet some
old ladies with a
flat.' We were driving along, and sure
enough, there are a couple of old ladies with
a flat in answer
to our prayers. So Tom pulled over
behind them and got out and took the spare out,
and put it
on. So the ladies say 'Here, take
this.' 'Oh, no, thank you!' So the lady finally put it in
his pocket and he
said, 'Well, thank you very much.' And
it was paper, folding money, which we
didn't have any
of. So we went along to Hampton Beach
and were able to eat with all that money.
It was proably a
buck, but in those days that was a lot of money!"
Just as his mother
had hoped, Tom continued to excel in academics at St. Peter's School, the
Lincoln School,
Morey Jr. High, Keith Academy (class of 1938) and the Lowell Textile Institute
(class
of 1942). Tom's sister Catherine recalls that Tom
once took a special math class in the Keith
Academy
principal's office, with just one other student. She also remembers that their brother Jack
once said
"The way to drive Tom crazy would be to put him in a room with math
problems all over
the walls, and no
place to work them out."
Paul Cryan, who
attended Lowell High School while his
brother Tom was at
Keith Academy, says that "The
Headmaster at
Lowell High, Ray Sullivan, was the principal
at the Lincoln
School when Tom was there and he always
followed his
progress. If there was a project to be
done he
would call on
Tom. When they started the Columbian
Squires (youth
organization) in Lowell, he called on Tom to
lead it."
Tom became a
popular local athlete, playing varsity
basketball and
football at Keith Academy and Lowell Textile.
His brother Paul recalls, "Tom played
four sports (in high
school) and
received a varsity sweater with four stripes on the sleeve to indicate his
participation.
In 1939 I Went to
Jacquet River, New Brunswick, with Irene and Gordon Grant to visit her sister
Linda,they were my mother's first cousins... Tom let me take his high school
sweater -- a great thrill for a sophomore."
While a student at
Lowell Textile, Tom worked in the carbonizing department of Talbot Mills in
Tewksbury. As his brother Paul explains, this was only
one of many jobs that kept Tom busy as a
teenager. In a February 11, 2000 e-mail, Paul writes:
Thinking about Tom
brings back a lot of memories. He
always had a couple of jobs going. He
drove a truckdelivering candy and tobacco after school and on weekends he
cleaned the boilers at the greenhouse of theMerrimack Valley Nurseries in
Tyngsboro. It was a coal burner and a
dirty job. In the summer he worked
forKydd's ice cream parlor. One time
the state inspector came by and told him he couldn't work after 10:00 as he
wasn't 18. He told him he would have to close up and
send everyone home, as he was the manager.
In 1940 when they
started the draft, the first one (of the Cryan boys and their comrades) that
was called was LennyGendron. We all
knew it was just a matter of time and we would all be in so Tom set up a
testimonial dinner forLenny. When the
dinner started Tom was on one of his jobs so I ended up as the emcee. The next day after his
physical Lenny came home as he didn't pass. All the rest of
his brothers -- 6 of them -- did go in. Lenny joined the fire
department and was killed from a fire accident.
In the fall of 1940 Tom and
one of his buddies at Textile
School started dances on Friday nights at the Liberty Hall
and then moved over to the Rex Center.
There was a band
of
six or seven members from Nashua, NH, that played. I
sold the cold drinks. At the
end of the night we pooled all
the ticket money
and the soda money. We would just
about
have enough to pay each band member their three dollars
and five for the policeman.
When the Federal Government
said we had to pay an entertainment tax the dances ended.
Lowell Technical
Institute (now U Mass Lowell)photo courtesy Lowell National Historic Park
Four of the seven
Cryan brothers (Frank, Thomas, Paul, and Gerald) served with the US Armed
Forces in World
War II. Frank, Paul, and Gerry joined
the Navy. Tom left the Lowell Textile
Institutein his junior year and applied to enter the Army Air Corps. According to his sister Catherine,
Tom"was interested in airplanes -- he used to say that he'd been wanting
to fly an airplane since
Lindbergh had
flown over Lowell in the '20s."
As his brother
Paul recalls, "Tom applied for the Air Corps in
September, 1941,
in Massachussetts. He was finally
accepted
when he got his
weight below the maximum late in November,
while he was
living in Fairfield, Connecticut. He
went in the
service in January
of 1942."
Tom's sister
Catherine explains that "Tom was a big guy --
there was nothing
little about Tom!" and although he passed all
of the Air Corps
exams, he did not pass the physical.
"The
doctor put him on
an obesity diet, but he couldn't lose an
ounce." While Tom was working at Remington Arms, he
contracted a Strep
infection. "He had to go to the
hospital.
He came out of the
hospital, and he went to the Air Corps and
said 'Weigh me
in!' He weighed 184 pounds, and they
signed
him up right
then. (In less than two weeks, he was
back up to
205)." Paul Cryan points out that by the time his
brother
reached his normal
weight of 220 lbs, he may have been "the
heaviest pilot in
the air force!"
A few months after
entering the Air Corps, while Training at
Maxwell Field in
Alabama, Tom wrote to his oldest brother,
James:
March 17, 1942
Hi Jim: I've been going to write to you but haven't
found the time
till now. It's raining so hard that we
have had our
morning classes called off so I have some
spare time. This rain we are having may cool things off
down here, it has
been too hot this past week. It feels
like June or July
instead of March.
How's the family
and the business? I got a letter from
Catherine and she said that your daughter was quite a girl. How are you going to take care of your trade
when your tires wear out? I finish my
training at Maxwell Fieldthis week and where I go from here I don't know. The next step in my training will be flying
250 IP planes. I willbe taking up
cross country and acrobatic flying.
I've finished my ground school and if I go straight to my next
base I'll be
flying solo in two weeks. But all my
class is probably going on a furlough as there are no flying fieldsopen to send
us to. They are pushing so many pilots
through that everything is congested.
So I hope to be upNorth for the month of April. I guess I'll spend Easter Sunday at
Lowell. I'll drop over and tell you
all aboutArmy life. It's a great life,
at least in the Air Corps. Well I'll
close here as I have quite a few letters to write and
I won't have any
chance to, the rest of the week as I'll be busy getting ready to leave as I may
be moving thisweekend. Drop me a line
sometime.YoursTom
P.S. My address
is: A/c Thomas Cryan, A.C., RC., Squad C Group 1 Class 42, I, Maxwell Field,
Ala.
Jim's son, James
Cryan, Jr., remembers "a story that Dad told, about when Tom came home on
leave, once. Tom was driving down Merrimack Street, and
instead of using the brakes, he pulled
back on the
steering wheel. He pulled the steering
wheel right off the car!"
During another
furlough, Tom's sister Catherine says that the weather was cold enough for Tom
to
borrow long johns
that belonged to his brother Gerry, who was "always the skinny
one." "And my
modest little
brother, he said, 'You should see this!' and he came in dancing like a ballet
dancer.
They fit like
skin."
Catherine says
that Tom shared a special bond with his older brother Jack, even though
"there were
seven years
between them." As kids, Tom and
Jack had shared a room. One night they
"kept
each other awake
all night" reciting a tongue-twister until they got it right:
There was a
successful thistle sifter
who when sifting a
sieve full of unsifted thistles
thrust three
thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb.
See that thou when
sifting thy sieve full of unsifted thistles
thrust not three
thousand thistles through the thick of thy thumb.
Success to the
successful thistle sifter!
This post card
from Tom to his brother Jack was post marked Sumpter, SC July 15, 1942:
Tom's best best
friend John Casey remembers that "Tom was the first of our group to go
into the
service." While Tom was on leave from South Carolina
in 1942, John Casey accompanied Tom and
two other friends
on a trip to New York City. As Tom's
car was "an antique," Casey estimates that
they had four flat
tires by the time they drove the forty miles Southwest to Worcester. When they
"finally made
it" to New York, the "three civilians and Tom in his uniform"
went into the famous club
called Billy
Rose's Diamond Horseshoe. Upon viewing
the cover charge and the prices on the
menu, the three
civilians made jokes about Billy Rose: "This guy must be paying alimony to
three
wives!" Tom, who did not wish to be embarrassed in
uniform, kept telling them to "Keep quiet!"
On another
occasion when Tom was on leave and in uniform, he and his sister Catherine were
driving through
downtown Lowell, in a Model A Ford that their brother Paul had bought for a low
price and left in
Catherine's care. The car broke down; "Something
happened, and it wouldn't go
another
foot." This resulted in quite a
dilemma, as Catherine explains: "When you're an officer in
uniform, you don't
get your hands dirty." They
called the local Ford dealer, and he asked Catherine
how much she
wanted for the car. They settled on
"enough to buy a war bond -- $18.75."
From late 1942 to
early 1943, Paul Cryan remembers that his brother Tom was "flying B-25s**
and
teaching aerial
gunnery for six months" in Panama City, Florida. "During this time I believe he was
credited with a
submarine kill in the Gulf of Mexico.
He also flew some VIPs to Africa.
I don't knowwhat kind of plane he was flying, but it was not
armed." Tom's sister Catherine
says that there wasone thing he didn't like about Africa: "Little boys, 8
to 10 years old, would meet the soldiers comingin, and they would say, 'my
sister, 25 cents, my sister'... and Tom was shocked!"
** The B-25, a
medium range bomber used extensively in the Pacific theater, was also utilized
to
patrol North
American waters.
While stationed at
the Army Air Forces Gunnery School at Tyndall Field in Panama City, Florida,
Tom
wrote the
following letter (post marked March 10, 1943) to his brother, Gerald, who was
then
stationed at Camp
Allen in Norfolk, Virginia.
Hi Gerald,
I've been going to
write you for quite a while but am just getting around to it. How do you like the Navy? Arethey keeping you busy? Do you expect to ship out soon? If you are going to get a leave when you
finish trainingwrite and let me know as I will get one at the same time and we
can both go home at the same time. I
intend to getmy leave in April so if you are getting one we can probably
arrange to go north together. You see
I have a leave
coming up and I
can arrange to get in any time I please -- So write anyway and tell me when you
expect to finishyour training. I
certainly would like to see you in your navy uniform. Send me a picture of yourself at any
rate. I bet you're a killer in that
flashy navy blue outfit. Have you run
into any southern belles yet? Take a
tip froman old-timer don't get too friendly with any of these southern queens,
they are mostly a pain in the neck.
I have been hoping
to get a plane to fly up to Norfolk but so far
no-soap. I flew up to Atlanta this weekend but I
can't get permission
to go as far as
Va. I had quite a time in Atlanta
though. Here is
Frank's
address: F.D. Cryan CBNI USNR, US
Naval Construction
Battallion, 8th
Co. D, Dutch Harbor, Alaska
So long -- Write
Soon
Tom
While Tom was
still stationed in the U.S., he became engaged to his hometown sweetheart, Pat
Holmes. Tom's sister Catherine says that Pat was
"a lovely girl." "She
worked for the United
Service
Organization in Lowell during the war.
They were very much in love."
When Tom earned
his wings (at
Turner Field in Albany, Georgia), he gave them to Pat. While Tom was overseas, he
sent Catherine $50
a month, so that when he needed to have something done in the states, she
could do it for
him. When there was enough money put
away, Tom sent Catherine to the jewlery
store with Pat to
choose an engagement ring.
In a letter dated
March 16, 2000, Pat (Holmes) Regan writes:
Dear Miss DeVito,
Thank you for the
interest you've shown in the Cryan family history of which I was part of for a
time.
My time with Tom
was short. Servicemen didn't get much
time between training and leaving for duty.
The first time I
saw Tom, 1941, was at a dance at Immaculate Hall. He didn't know me then. To my surprise,mutual friends introduced us
in March 1943. I liked him
immediately -- we saw each other as much as we could. We rode the bus to movies and to dinner,
simple things. Tom was in training
during this time and was an officer. He
was neat in his "pinks". Tom
went back to Alabama and Georgia to his group to leave for England. InAugust 1943, he asked me to marry him.
His letters were
personal and funny and they were wonderful to receive. At the same time, he was writing yourgreat
Aunt Catherine and giving her instructions about taking me to get the
engagement ring, the cedar chest, andother information about how Catherine
should be taking care of me. Catherine
is a wonderful person and she andTom were very close.
I wish that I could
offer you some concrete information, but my life changed when Catherine was
notified of Tom'sdeath. One deals with
the knowledge that his brothers and sisters were strong because they had Paul,
Jerry, andFrank (who were also in the service) to be concerned about. That reason helped me hold and to
understand thatgrief is a part of the living process.
Tom was a smart,
witty, protective man. May God have a
special place for Tom and the Cryan family.In memory of March 1944....
Sincerely,
Patricia Holmes
Regan
This photo (courtesy Jane Cryan) was
taken in front of Jack Cryan's home, on
the last day Tom was in Lowell on
leave in 1943, before being sent overseas.
Overseas, 1st
Lieutenant Cryan (0-795631) served in the 350th Squadron of the 100th
Bombardment
(Group H) in the
8th Air force. He earned the Air
Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters and Stars for
combat service in
the European campaign.
The 100th Bomb
Group (known as "The Bloody Hundredth" for the heavy losses it
suffered) was
stationed in
Thorpe Abbots, England. Tom's brother
Paul describes the location of the base,
"halfway
between Norwich and Ipswich N by NE of London. The fields were identified by local
townships or
landmarks which have since disappeared."
Jack Eling, the
radio operator from Tom's original crew, describes Tom as a cherub-faced,
bubbling
guy. Sgt. Eling explains that the crew of pilot
Mark Cope and copilot Tom Cryan trained together in
the U.S., then
picked up a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber and flew it to Scotland. In a letter dated
February 4, 2000,
Dr. Eling writes:
Our crew was put
together... in early 1943. Our
training bases were at Walla Walla, and Moses Lake,
Washington. After our crew's training we were given a
furlough. We met at Scott Field,
Illinois. We ferried aB-17 bomber to
Presque Isle, Maine. 24 hours later we
flew from Presque Isle in a driving rain storm through thenight and I can't recall
if we landed in Labrador or not (at 77 years of age, the mind gets fuzzy sometimes). Anyway, the next day we landed at Prestwick,
Scotland. Pilot Mark Cope and copilot
Tom Cryan did a great jobgetting us to Scotland. We went to a base named Stone,
Scotland. From there we went by rail
to the 100th Bomb
Base at Thorpe Abbots. As I recall we were a replacement for one
of the bombers shot down on October 14, 1943on the Schweinfurt, Germany
ball-bearing raid.** Three weeks
later, November 3, 1943, we flew our firstmission.
** Owen Roane, who
flew as lead pilot on the Schweinfurt mission, says that no planes were lost on
October 13; he
believes that Lt. Cope's crew was probably a replacement for the October 10
mission
to Munster, when
13 crews from the 100th Bomb Group were sent out and only one returned.
Left waist gunner
James Morrison recalls that Tom had been trained as a fighter pilot, but was
assigned to Lt.
Cope's crew when the demand was greater for heavy bomber pilots. Sgt. Morrison
says that Tom was
"a big man, and strong. If he
hadn't been, we would have crashed in phase
training." He explains that during the landing of a
flight in Walla Walla, the flaps malfunctioned and
the B-17 started
to nose dive. Pilot Cope and copilot
Cryan "were stout enough to manhandle the
plane and level it
back up."
Upon arrival at
Thorpe Abbotts, the crew were assigned the
B-17 #231049
(known by the last three digits as "049"),
which they named
"Superstitious Aloysius." A
magician
was painted on the
nose of the aircraft, along with a
wishbone, a
four-leaf clover, and several other good luck
charms. Ethell and Simonsen's The History of
Aircraft
Nose Art explains:
"Some nose art
characters were painted on
many individual aircraft in
many areas across
the globe. Superstitious Aloysius was a
popular good luck elf who
carried just about every charm known to man, including a
wishbone, horseshoe,
four-leaf clover, tied string (on his nose), and rabbit's foot while
crossing his fingers. These examples in the Eighth Air Force show
crews wanted all the
luck they could get."
(Photos courtesy
J.C. Eling)
"All the luck
they could get" (along with discipline and teamwork) brought success to aircraft
049
and its
crews. Bud Frum, one of the four
ground crew members who took care of the plane, recalls:
"The
Superstitious Aloysius survived the war.
It flew over 100 missions, and we never lost a crew."
However, several crew members including Tom
Cryan were killed while flying on other planes. In
a March 8, 2000
letter, Bud Frum writes: "Remember freedom has a price and your
grandfather's
brother paid the
highest. I was proud to have been
associated with him."
Right waist gunner
Donald Walker joined Lt. Cope's crew during training in the U.S. in the late
summer of 1943,
and traveled with them to England in October of the same year. Sgt. Walker has
"fond
memories" of Tom, and describes him as jolly, youthful, energetic,
enthusiastic, and full of life.
Sgt. Walker recalls that during preparation
for a mission, Tom would borrow a motorcycle and ride
around the base,
fully outfitted in his heavy padded flight suit, steel vest, and helmet. As he drove
by on the
motorcycle, Tom's comrades would yell "Here comes Cryan!"
Navigator Festus
"Shorty" Bryant says that he and Tom were good friends. "We had a lot of fun
together. We would go pub crawling -- drink some
beer, and shoot some darts. Tom was
one of
the most
nonchalant guys I knew. He would never
get worked up about anything. We would
keep
about $5.00 in a
pot as spending money, and when someone would ask Tom, 'How much do you
have?' he would
answer, 'I don't know, ask Shorty!' (pronounced Shaw-ty, in Tom's Boston accent).
Tom was a super guy. He was one of two people that I really
looked forward to visiting in the
states after the
war." The other, an officer named
Becker, was also killed in action.
Pilot Mark Cope
estimates that Lt. Cryan flew with his crew for about 6 to 8 missions, after
which Tom
was promoted to
become the pilot of another aircraft.
Lt. Cope's cousin, George Cope, says that
Mark tells tales
of "barn storming" (recreational low-altitude flying) in a B-17
during training in
Washington State. Mark has also often spoken of Tom Cryan's
ability as a copilot, and of the sad
news of his death.
Ball turret gunner
Richard Donnelly remembers Tom as a robust fellow with a big laugh. He says
that during the
early missions while Tom was still flying with Cope's crew, "Everything
was new to
us. Our first mission was an easy one... They broke us in." Sgt. Donnelly remembers that
months later, Lt.
Cope's crew was on stand down between missions on the day that Tom's plane did
not return.
One of the early
missions flown by Lieutenants Cope, Cryan, and crew may have played a major
role
in preventing
Hitler from manufacturing the atomic bomb.
Pilot Owen "Cowboy" Roane, who led
the 100th Bomb
Group on the November 16, 1943 mission to Rjukan, Norway, explains that
although
they didn't know
it at the time, the 100th Bomb Group crews were participating in the
destruction of a
Heavy Water plant.
While Lt. Cryan
was overseas, his family often waited for months with no news of Tom. In early
1944, Tom's
brother Frank wrote to his brother Gerald, "Tommy should bounce up one of
these days
but I'm afraid we
won't hear for a while, probably until the end of the war."
As Tom's brother
Paul remembers, in March of 1944, Tom had completed his tour and was due to
return home. Tom's sister Catherine received a letter
from another soldier indicating that Tom
would soon be home
"without a scratch."
Instead, however, he was assigned to fly as fill-in for
another crew
because one of the pilots was ill. As
Paul recalls, "One of (Tom's sister) Eileen's
friends from the
Highlands off of School Street was in Tom's squadron and called her and said
Tom
would be home in a
day or so as he had taken the other mission."
The target of the
mission was an Augsburg wartime factory which manufactured ball-bearings.
Sergeant Richard
Faulkner, ball-turret gunner for the B-17 "Berlin Playboy," remembers
that
twenty-one B-17's
from the 100th Bombardment joined more than 600 aircraft involved in the March
18, 1944 mission
to Augsburg and Munich.
This was Sgt.
Faulkner's first mission. Although he
had only met Tom that morning, he remembered
that as an
experienced pilot, Lt. Cryan had been chosen to copilot the Berlin Playboy for
the
Augsburg mission.
On the morning of
Saturday, March 18, The 100th Bomb Group took off from Thorpe Abbots, England
after being
delayed by heavy fog. En route to
Germany, the formation came under heavy flak
(anti-aircraft
fire) from the Germans in Northern France.
The group leader pulled out, and when the
planes re-grouped,
the Berlin Playboy and another B-17 tried to occupy the same spot in the
formation.
A mid-air
collision resulted over the countryside near Neufchatel, and the Berlin Playboy
broke apart
at the wing. Sgt. Faulkner was the only member of the
crew who was able to clear the aircraft and
open his
parachute. He was rescued by the
French underground, and "spent 28 days behind
German Lines"
as he was moved from house to house in the French countryside. Sgt. Faulkner
communicated with
the French patriots by pointing to words in a French/English dictionary. When
he was finally
brought to the coast, he was picked up by British forces in rubber rafts from a
PT boat.
Upon returning to England, Sgt. Faulkner
asked where he should sleep. He was
shown a room
full of empty
bunks, and was told to take his choice.
None of the previous occupants had returned
from battle.
Century Bombers:
the Story of the Bloody Hundredth, by Richard LeStrange, details the fates of
the
three 100th Bomb
Group planes which failed to return from the Augsburg mission:
...It was noted
that, at 12.10 and 'over France,' B-17 42-39830, piloted by Paul Martin, had
collided with B-17 42-37913, piloted by
Donald Stuke... The man observed
bailing out (was) ball-turret gunner Richard Faulkner... The rest of Lieutenant Martin's crew,
including the co-pilot, Thomas Cryan, who originally flew with Mark Cope, were
killed.
Only two men
bailed out of Lieutenant Stuke's plane, the co-pilot Thomas Lemond, who
successfully evaded the Germans, and engineer Daniel Segrete, who was taken
prisoner of war. The rest were killed,
including replacement navigator George Owens, from the crew of Donald Rice.
A third plane,
'Bastard's Bungalow II' (42-3508), piloted by Robert Horn and co-piloted by
Bart Mahoney, also failed to return due to battle damage.
The bombardier
Charles Conner, recalls: 'We
crash-landed near Ulm, with Lieutenant Horn making a superb smooth dead-stick
wheels-up landing in the snow covered back yard of a farmer. As we climbed out of the airplane we were
"greeted" by the very irate farmer and his family armed with pitch
forks and pistols, and they held us captive for fifteen to thirty minutes until
a half-dozen German military men took control and moved us to the town jail.'
Within a few
months after the accident, word reached the Cryan family that the German
Government
had identified
Tom's body. Tom's fiancee, Pat Holmes,
had been widowed before she was married.
Josie (Ort)
O'Connor lost two nephews to the War.
As her daughter Ann O'Connor Raskopf
remembers,
"Tom was tall and very handsome.
A totally nice person. My
mother was devastated
when we heard of
his death. He was about the same age
as his (and my) cousin John O'Flahavan.
Both were pilots
in the Air Force... My mother received
the message of John's death at about the
same time and she
was wiped away by it all."
Josie was a
musician who played the piano and several stringed instruments. She owned a zither,
a classical
guitar, and a mandolin which she had treated with care since she was a
child. Upon
hearing that her
nephews had been killed, she donated all three of the stringed instruments to
the
United Service
Organization. She explained to Ann
"They're giving up their lives.
The least we can
do is give away
our instruments."
Tom's oldest
brother, James, articulated the depth of the loss experienced by the family in
a letter to
his youngest
brother, Gerald, who was stationed in Alaska when the family in Lowell received
the
telegram. The letter was written on Jim's 36th
birthday.
Dear Gerry:
I hope you didn't
take the bad news too hard... In case
other letters haven't come through yet and this is the first news you've had
about the last telegram from the war dept., the German Gov't reported through
the International Red Cross that Tom was killed in action over Germany on March
18th.
It's bad enough
for us here to take, but at least we are together and it certainly helps to
have the rest of the family around when a thing like this happens. Don't let it get you down, I always felt
that Tom was the one guy in this family that had everything it takes
physically, morally, and mentally to make a real success of life, I felt this
without any disparagement of the rest of us, because of all the other people I
have ever met or known, heard of, or
read about, no one
was more qualified to be a leader of men, the father of a family, a good
Catholic, and a real gentleman in every worthwhile meaning of that hackneyed word,
than Tom.
I think the
purpose for which God put us here on earth was to know him, love him, and serve
him, as the catechism says, and believing this and all the kindred teachings of
the church, I must admit that Tom was better prepared to meet him than I am now
or ever hope to be though I am here for another fifty years and strive to
better my character and understanding throughout every minute of that time.
It can always be a
source of pride to you that you belong to a family that can produce a person
like Tom. It is up to all of us to
lead good clean lives, to pick when we marry the finest and best woman we can
find, and then perhaps with the help of God in a generation or two there will
be another Tom, and this time perhaps the race of murderers will be subjugated,
and he can live to fulfill the promise of his youth.
Let's not feel too
bad about it, after all God is taking care of him no matter where he is and
grief is mostly for our own loss.
After reading this
letter I hesitate to send it but after all you are not a kid any longer and we
can speak as man to man, not as big brother to little brother, and there can be
no harm in you knowing how I feel...
That's enough for this letter; I'll write you again in a week or so and
let you know how the business is and everything. with love, Jim
Tom's brother Paul
remembers a bittersweet meeting that occurred a year after Tom's death. "In
1945, near the end
of the war, I was thumbing home to Bridgeport from New Jersey. and on the
parkway the car
that picked me up picked up an Army man.
In a few minutes he asked if I had a
brother in the Air
Corps. A pilot had given him a ride to
a spot in northern England when he couldn't
have gotten to his
base on time. He had only met Tom on
this one occasion but made the
connection. The man was home on leave as he just
escaped from a German prisoner of war camp."
On Saturday, June
14, 1949, the
expected arrival
of Thomas Cryan's
body in Lowell was
announced in the
Lowell Sun, with
the headline, "Body of
Local War Hero Due
Here Today." Lt.
Cryan's military
funeral and the
corresponding mass
at St. Peter's
Church were later
described in a Lowell
Sun funeral
notice. Tom's casket was
borne by his six
brothers.
Thomas Cryan's
final resting place is
beside his parents
in St. Patrick's
cemetery in
Lowell. A memorial to Lt.
Cryan's sacrifice
(erected by the
Tyngsboro
Veterans) is marked as
Thomas Cryan
Square, located on Westford Road, between Middle Road and Route 40, in
Tyngsboro,
Massachussetts.
From: JLedden49@aol.com | Date:
Mon, 20 Mar 2000 01:21:58 ESTSubject: [CRYAN] Re: Ship's list, Atty To:
CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
Hello Pam,For an
arrival of a passenger ship in Boston in 1848, there would be
two versions of the
passenger ship list, federal and state.
While they are
generally similar,
they are not always identical. The
federal version
is readily
available on microfilm. The state
version is harder to get. I
have looked at
microfilm at the Massachusetts States Archives.
It is easy
to tell which you
are viewing. The federal lists are on
separate sheets of
paper. The state lists are in bound reagister
books. The microfilm index to
Boston passenger
lists from 1848 to 1890 is based on the state lists.
Family Tree
Maker's index search indicates that the Irish to America CD
has entries for
Catherine Crean and Kate Crean. One of
them might be my
gggrandmother
Catherine Crean. I think that she
arrived in the U.S.
between the 1850
and 1860 censuses. There are also
entries with the names of
her husband's
parents, James Ivers and Rosanna Ivers.
They arrived before
1851. I would appreciate it very much if you would
look up the entries.
Thank you.Jack
Ledden
From: RoCryan@aol.com | Date:
Tue, 21 Mar 2000 20:00:46 EST Subject: [CRYAN] McMahon To:
CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
Hi Sara, Where are
your McMahons from? My Great Grandmother
was Sarah
McMahon (paternal)
[the following was written by my uncle Arthur- my
Father's brother who
still lives in Lowell}
GENEALOGY of the
CRYAN FAMILY
FRANK McMAHON-ANNA
GRIMES
Sarah McMahon,
daughter of Frank McMahon and Anna Grimes married James
Cryan. James
Cryan, I presume, was my grandfather on
that side of the family.
That provides a
starting point. He was born in Ballaghaderreen, County
Roscommon. Since
he married Sarah McMahon on October 6, 1859 he was probably born
before 1840. ...
Because she was
living in England, at Newcastle on Tyne the wedding was
probably in
England. That was a fruitful marriage. They had 11
children. We know,
or the record says, that James, Anne, Mary, Bridget, Frank,
Thomas were born
in England. I thought that Katy was born in England too, but the
list says she was
born in USA. Others born in USA were John P., Thomas,
Arthur, Alexander.
So, are your McMahon's from Massachusetts? and
are there Cryan's in
your past? Rosalie Cryan
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 11:20:48 -0800
(PST) From: Caoimhghin O Croidheain
<caoimhghin@yahoo.com> | Subject: croghan-boyle To:
ROSCOMMON-L@rootsweb.com
Hi I have just
joined and I was wondering if anyone had
info on Croghan.
My great great grandfather, John
Cryan, was the
national school teacher (aka Master
Cryan) from about
1860-1905. His wife was Margaret
Dolan and she went
to Carrick-on-shannon after he
died. His daughter
also taught at the school for a
while. Margaret
and John married in Boyle in 1858.
any help would be
appreciated caoimhghin o croidheain
(kevin cryan)
from: Kuzzinken@aol.com | Date:
Tue, 28 Mar 2000 16:14:15 EST Subject:
Re: [KER] croghan-boyle To:
caoimhghin@yahoo.com
Kevin,
You probably
already known this but in case you do not....the parish
priest in Valentia
is Father Shanahan. That should give you
in inside track
into the Shanahan
records at the parish. I understand that
they have births
and marriages back
to whenever and that he is trying to restore some
semblence of order
to the deaths since the cemetery next to the parish. He is,
however, only at
the parish on Wednesdays and for one half day on Sunday.
I have talked to
him by phone and he has very little time for genealogy
requests. In fact I have been trying for six months to
get a copy of
my 3rd g
grandfather's baptismal records.
Let me know if you
find a link with Father Shanahan.
Ken Sullivan Canyon Lake, Ca
From:
"John Sheerin" <jsheerin@erols.com> | Subject: Re: croghan-boyle
Date:
Tue, 28 Mar 2000 16:53:30 -0500
To: ROSCOMMON-L@rootsweb.com
Kevin:Don't know
if this will help but,
The RC church in
Boyle is now called St. Joseph's Catholic Church, and
atone time it was
called the RC Church of Boyle.
My Cryans lived in
the lower Deerpark area, outside of Boyle.
Do you know any of
John Cryan's parents or his siblings?
There is also a
Surname group that we "Cryan" researchers subscribe to
andit's CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
Let me know how
your research is going.Warm regards,Jake Sheerin,Annapolis MD
From: "Ray Marshall" <raymarsh@mninter.net> To: "Caoimhghin O Croidheain"
<caoimhghin@yahoo.com> Subject:
Re: [KER] croghan-boyle
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000
15:58:55 -0600
GreetingsCoincidentally,
I just finished typing this newspaper article which I
willbesending to
Mary. You no doubt will be quite interested in the Shanahan's mentioned.
Ray Marshall
Minneapolis
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 22:33:09 -0500 From:
William McGarry <billmcg@mediaone.net>
To:
Caoimhghin O Croidheain <caoimhghin@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: croghan-boyle
Hi Caoimhghin,What
kind of information on Croghan are you looking for. My family is
from there and I
have visited there myself. It is a very
small town.
Let me know if I
can help.Bill McGarry
From: "j.liddy"
<j.liddy@worldnet.att.net> |
To: "Kevin"
<caoimhghin@yahoo.com>
Subject:
Croghan Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 11:56:09 -0500
I don't have any
written information on it. As you may already know
it's in the
western end of the civil parish of Killukin and
Carrick-on-shannon
is at the eastern end. Because of that,
I'm
sending along some
birth info. that may be related to your family.
JACK
3841315
C701791
CREGAN,
Catharina Christening
Sex: Female
Birth Date: 8 Aug 1868
Christening Date: 8 Aug 1868 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Killucan And Killummond,
Roscommon, Ireland
Father: Joannes CREGAN
Mother: Margaretta DOLAN
Source: FHL Number 989741 Dates: 1864-1881
3821603
C701702
CRYAN,
Joannes Christening
Sex: Male
Christening Date: 11 May 1841 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Boyle, Roscommon, Ireland
Father: Petri CRYAN
Mother: Brigidae CARR
Source: FHL Number 989743 Dates: 1831-1849
3821648
C701702
CRYAN,
Joannes Christening
Sex: Male
Christening Date: 15 Aug 1841 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Boyle, Roscommon, Ireland
Father: Michaelis CRYAN
Mother: Margaritae DRURY
Source: FHL Number 989743 Dates: 1831-1849
3827789
C701752
CRYAN,
Joannem Christening
Sex: Male
Christening Date: 19 Jun 1844 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Ardcarn And Tuamna, Roscommon,
Ireland
Father: Michaelis CRYAN
Mother: Margarittae FLANAGAN
Source: FHL Number 989746 Dates: 1843-1881
3840128
C701781
CRYAN,
Joannem Christening
Sex: Male
Christening Date: 18 Jan 1846 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Killucan And Ballinameen,
Roscommon, Ireland
Father: Patritii CRYAN
Mother: Brigidae FLOOD
Source: FHL Number 989741 Dates: 1833-1850
3841094
C701791
CRYAN,
Jacobus Christening
Sex: Male
Birth Date: 19 May 1866
Christening Date: 19 May 1866 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Killucan And Killummond,
Roscommon, Ireland
Father: Joannes CRYAN
Mother: Margaretta DOLAN
Source: FHL Number 989741 Dates: 1864-1881
3841549
C701791
CRYAN,
Stephanus Christening
Sex: Male
Birth Date: 26 Dec 1870
Christening Date: 27 Dec 1870 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Killucan And Killummond,
Roscommon, Ireland
Father: Joannes CRYAN
Mother: Margaretta DOLAN
Source: FHL Number 989741 Dates: 1864-1881
3841315
C701791
CREGAN,
Catharina Christening
Sex: Female
Birth Date: 8 Aug 1868
Christening Date: 8 Aug 1868 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Killucan And Killummond,
Roscommon, Ireland
Father: Joannes CREGAN
Mother: Margaretta DOLAN
Source: FHL Number 989741 Dates: 1864-1881
3841094
C701791
CRYAN,
Jacobus Christening
Sex: Male
Birth Date: 19 May 1866
Christening Date: 19 May 1866 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Killucan And Killummond,
Roscommon, Ireland
Father: Joannes CRYAN
Mother: Margaretta DOLAN
Source: FHL Number 989741 Dates: 1864-1881
3841549
C701791
CRYAN,
Stephanus Christening
Sex: Male
Birth Date: 26 Dec 1870
Christening Date: 27 Dec 1870 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Killucan And Killummond,
Roscommon, Ireland
Father: Joannes CRYAN
Mother: Margaretta DOLAN
Source: FHL Number 989741 Dates: 1864-1881
3821826
C701702
DOLAN,
Margaritta Christening
Sex: Female
Christening Date: 7 Jan 1842 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Boyle, Roscommon, Ireland
Father: Patricii DOLAN
Mother: Catherinae BREHENY
Source: FHL Number 989743 Dates: 1831-1849
3839777
C701781
DOLAN,
Margarittam Christening
Sex: Female
Christening Date: 29 Jan 1845 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Killucan And Ballinameen,
Roscommon, Ireland
Father: Caroli DOLAN
Mother: Margarittae FORD
Source: FHL Number 989741 Dates: 1833-1850
3840159
C701781
DOLAN,
Margarettam Christening
Sex: Female
Christening Date: 13 Mar 1846 Recorded in: Roman Catholic, Killucan And Ballinameen,
Roscommon, Ireland
Father: Jacobi DOLAN
Mother: Mariae FIHELY
Source: FHL Number 989741 Dates: 1833-1850
From: "John Sheerin"
<jsheerin@erols.com Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 11:25:09 -0500
Subject:
[CRYAN] Curious! To:
CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
TO ALL:
I re-subscribed to
the the "Cryan List" on 19
Mar,
and got
confirmation that I was on the Cryan subscriber
list also on the
19th.However, my curiosity is, I haven't seen any Emails coming or going
concerning this
list!!Prior to "un-subscribing", was out of town for two weeks,
it appeared to me
that this "list' was very active and I had about 3/4
emails daily.Is
this just a lull, or what?Just a little concerned!!
My Cryans are from
the Boyle area and I grew up in Lowell, MA and now
livein Annapolis
MD.We are going back to Ireland on the 1st of June and will be doing some
Cryanresearch
there, and hopefully will catchup with Michael Tobin in the Galway area..
Warm regards,Jake
Sheerin
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 10:19:47 -0500 From:
Jim Dolan <jimdolan@clarityconnect.com> |
Subject:
[CRYAN] My Mayo Creans
To: CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
My Mayo CREANS
come from two directions; from my great great
grandfathersTHOMAS
CREAN and ANTHONY THORNTON. CREAN appears more frequently in theTHORNTON line
than the CREAN line.
I hope that
someone out there recognizes some names and we can make a
connection. I have
more data and I am willing to share. I also hope the
formatting
survives the cyber trip reasonably intact.
The data from
Ireland was obtained from the North Mayo Heritage Centre.
Jim DolanPS: And
yes I am aware of UNA's web page and have been in touch with
her.
Descendants of Thomas
Crean
1 Thomas Crean b: in Currower, Attymass Parish,
County Mayo, Ireland
..+Unknown
. 2 John Crane b:
Abt. 1841 in County Mayo, Ireland d:
May 31, 1908 in
Philadelphia, PA
.....+Maria
Thornton b: Abt. 1847 in Breaffy, County Mayo, Ireland d:
Bef.1900
..... 3 Mary A. Crane b: Oct 12, 1868 in County
Mayo, Ireland d: Abt.
1893
.........+Patrick
Nealon b: Abt. 1863 in Ireland d:
Apr 17, 1893
..... 3 Bridget Crane b: Jan 11, 1873 in
Scranton PA d: Nov 14, 1963
in Scranton PA
.........+Joseph
Youngblood b: May 21, 1868 d: Jul 19,
1938
..... 3 John Crane b: Dec 8, 1876 d: Sep 6, 1958 in Los Angeles CA
.........+Mollie
Wilmont
..... 3 Sarah E. Crane b: Feb 15, 1878 in Scranton, PA d: Jun
26, 1961
inScranton, PA
.........+William
J. Dolan b: Oct 27, 1877 in Minooka,
PA d: Oct 22,
1951in Scranton,
PA
..... 3 Anthony Crane b: Abt. Sep 1883 in
Scranton PA d: Apr 24, 1902
inScranton, PA
. 2 Mary Crean b: Abt. 1850 in Ireland d: May 30, 1932 in
Scranton PA
..... +Werner Flubacher d: Sep 26, 1935 in Scranton PA
. *2nd Husband of Mary Crean:
..... +Patt Murphy b: in Corrower, County Mayo, Ireland
Descendants of Anthony
Thornton
1 Anthony
Thornton b: in Ireland d: in Ireland
..+Mary
Durkan b: in Ireland d: in Ireland
. 2 Maria Thornton b: Abt. 1847 in
Breaffy, County Mayo, Ireland d:
Bef. 1900
..... +John Crane b: Abt. 1841 in County Mayo, Ireland d:
May 31, 1908
inPhil. PA
..... 3
Mary A. Crane b: Oct 12, 1868 in County Mayo, Ireland d: Abt.
1893
.........+Patrick
Nealon b: Abt. 1863 in Ireland d:
Apr 17, 1893
..... 3 Bridget Craneb: Jan 11, 1873 in
Scranton PA d: Nov 14, 1963 in
Scranton PA
.........+Joseph
Youngblood b: May 21, 1868 d: Jul 19,
1938
..... 3 John Crane b: Dec 8, 1876 d: Sep 6, 1958 in Los Angeles CA
.........+Mollie
Wilmont
..... 3 Sarah E. Crane b: Feb 15, 1878 in
Scranton, PA d: Jun 26, 1961
inScranton, PA
.........+William
J. Dolan b: Oct 27, 1877 in Minooka,
PA d: Oct 22,
1951in Scranton,
PA
..... 3 Anthony Crane b: Abt. Sep 1883 in
Scranton PA d: Apr 24, 1902
inScranton, PA
. 2 Sara Thornton b: Jun 7, 1853 in
Breaffy County Mayo, Ireland
..... +Anthony Crean b: in Lisnanagh, County
Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 Patrick Crean b: Feb 15, 1882 in
Lisnanagh, County Mayo,
Ireland
..... 3 Michael Crean b: Feb 28, 1883 in
Lisnanagh, County Mayo,
Ireland
.........+Ellen
Cullen b: in Ardnaree, County Mayo,
Ireland
..... 3
Anthony Crean b: Dec 15,
1884 in Lisnanagh, County Mayo,
Ireland
d: Bef. 1891 in
Lisnanagh, County Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 James Crean b: Aug 2, 1886 in Lisnanagh, County Mayo,
Ireland
..... 3 Bridget Crean b: May 6, 1888 in Lisnanagh,
County Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 Anthony Crean b: Aug 4, 1890 in Lisnanagh,
County Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 Margaret Crean b: Sep 18, 1892 in Lisnanagh, County
Mayo,
Ireland
..... 3 Thomas Crean b: Dec 19, 1894 in Lisnanagh, County Mayo,
Ireland
..... 3 William Crean b: Aug 13, 1896 in
Lisnanagh, County Mayo,
Ireland
. 2 Bridget Thornton b: Abt. 1854 in Breaffy County Mayo,
Ireland d:
Oct20, 1871 in
Breaffy County Mayo, Ireland
. 2 Anthony Thornton b: Oct 9, 1856 in Breaffy County Mayo,
Ireland
. 2 Patrick Thornton b: Feb 11, 1859 in Breaffy County Mayo,
Ireland
. 2 James Thornton b: Jul 6, 1863 in Breaffy County Mayo,
Ireland
. 2 Michael Thornton b: Aft. 1864 in Breaffy County Mayo,
Ireland d:
Aug17, 1923 in
County Mayo, Ireland
..... +Margaret Murphy d: Oct 15, 1922 in County Mayo,
Ireland
..... 3 Anthony Thornton b: Dec 28, 1880 in County Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 Patrick Thornton b: May 16, 1882 in County Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 John Thornton b: Aug 12, 1883 in County
Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 Edward Thornton b: 1884 in County Mayo, Ireland
.........+Honor
Durkan
..... 3 Mary Thornton b: May 31, 1885 in County
Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 Ellen Thornton b: May 25, 1886 in County Mayo, Ireland
.........+Owen
McLoughlin
..... 3 Margaret Thornton b: May 12, 1887 in County Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 Michael Thornton b: Jul 6, 1888 in County Mayo,
Ireland d: Sep
27,1890 in County
Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 James Thornton b: Jul 12, 1889 in County Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 Thomas Thornton b: Oct 12, 1890 in County Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 Michael ? Thornton b: Oct 19, 1891 in County Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 Ann Thornton b: May 9, 1893 in County Mayo, Ireland
..... 3 Martin Thornton b: Nov 12, 1894 in County Mayo, Ireland
.........+Helena
Connell
..... 3 Thady Thornton b: Feb 2, 1897 in County Mayo,
Ireland
.........+Mary
Gallagher
From: Voltene@aol.com | Date:
Sat, 1 Apr 2000 07:39:26 EST
Subject:
[CRYAN] MA Naturalizations -CRYAN CREAN CREHAN
To:
CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
Hello to the List,
Last time I was at
the National Archives in Waltham, MA, I transcribe
the information
from the Naturalization Indexes all CRYANs,
CREANs and I
think I got all
CREHANs listed in the index.
If anyone would
like me to lookup any of these
names, please e-mail
me
privately.Please, They are the Indexes
ONLY, I do not have the actual record.
I can get the
address for you to send for the record. To the following offer I made do
lookups, could you please let me know
the City or Town your relative lived in.
Karen Murphy
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 20:36:33 -0500 To:
ROSCOMMON-L@rootsweb.com
From:
Kevin Killion <kevin@shsmedia.com>
| Subject: Re: Croghan, schoolteacher
CC:
caoimhghin@yahoo.com, jsheerin@erols.com, jec255@home.com
"Caoimhghin
O Croidheain" <caoimhghin@yahoo.com> said:
>I
have just joined and I was wondering if anyone had
>info
on Croghan. My great great grandfather, John
>Cryan,
was the national school teacher (aka Master
>Cryan)
from about 1860-1905. His wife was Margaret
>Dolan
and she went to Carrick-on-shannon after he
>died.
His daughter also taught at the school for a
>while.>caoimhghin
o croidheain
>(kevin
cryan)
"John
Sheerin" <jsheerin@erols.com> said:
>My
Cryans lived in the lower Deerpark area, outside of Boyle.
>Do
you know any of John Cryan's parents or his siblings?
>There
is also a Surname group that we "Cryan" researchers subscribe to
and>it's CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
>Let
me know how your research is going.
>Warm
regards,>Jake Sheerin,>Annapolis MD
Kevin
and John --I don't know if it's relevant, but in the book "Roscommon
Before the
Famine"
by William Gacquin, there is this:
"[In 1826] in Kiltoom parish [Co.
Roscommon] there were five
schools. ... at the Berries (Barrybeg
townland) there was
[a school] in one room twelve feet
square. The teacher was
Luke Croghan who got 1s. 8d. to 2s. from the
pupils."
I
noted that because a friend of mine here in Chicago is a John
Croghan,and
when I mentioned this to him he said that his family is from this
area.I'm
sure he'd welcome any further news: his
address is
jec255@home.com.--
Kevin Killion
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 20:36:33 -0500 From:
Kevin Killion <kevin@shsmedia.com>
| Block address Subject:
Re: Croghan, schoolteacher
To:
ROSCOMMON-L@rootsweb.com
thanks
Karen, My Cryan's came to Boston in May
or June 1848. I would appreciate it
if
you could look them up. They are:Atty, Sarah, Wynifred, Patrick ,Michael Anne
Timothy James MarkThanks!Pam Burleson
Reply-to: "Christine O'Donnell"
<karri@i-o.net.au> From: "Christine O'Donnell"
<karri@i-o.net.au> | Subject: Birth Certificates Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2000 07:30:17 +1000
To: ROSCOMMON-L@rootsweb.com
Dear
List Members, I have details of births and christenings extracted from the
Vital Records Index and want to know how to go about ordering copies of the certificates.I have Christening Dates of
1855, 1859 and 1868 all recorded as "Roman Catholic, Killinvoy and
Killmain, Co. Roscommon, Ireland" and Birth dates of 1871 recorded in
"Civil Registration for Ireland" occuring in
Roscommon,
Roscommon, Ireland.All information gratefully received and much appreciated,
Regards,Christine
O'Donnell
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2000 11:42:41 -0700
(PDT) From: Caoimhghin O Croidheain
caoimhghin@yahoo.com> | Subject: [CRYAN] sites plus their info To:
CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
http://www.higginsonbooks.com/c.htm
CRANE
Family history, by Sarah S. Crane. 67p.
1911.
$13.50
CRANE. Henry Crane of Milton, Mass., 1654,
& some of
his
desc., by E. W.
Leavitt.
29p. 1893. $6.00
CRANE. Gen. of the Crane fam., desc. of Henry
Crane
of
Wethersfield &
Guilford,
Ct., by E. Crane. 2 vols. 839p. 1900.
$115.00
CRANE. A branch of the Crane family tree, by
Elinor
Lexington
et al. 21p.
1923. $5.50
CRANE. Extr. from Hist. of Wethersfield,
Ct. 7p.
1904.
$4.00
http://www.usgennet.org/~iljacksn/cemcrain.htm
Crain
Cemetery, Crain Baptist Church, Crain Rd. Route
3,
Jackson County, IL, Crain Baptist Church, Crain Rd.
Route
3, Jackson County, IL ,
off
Route 3 in Jackson Co., about three miles North of
Rt.
149.
Donated
by: Peggy Luthy
Row
I
Elizabeth
Crain Talbott b. June 7, 1820, d. Feb 2,
1891
spouse: W. E. Talbot
Norris
Crain b. Oct. 17, 1835, d. Nov. 11, 1873 aged
38
yr. 1 mo., 24 Ds
Infant
son of Norris & Isabella Crain b & d Sept. 13,
1872
Sylvester
son of Norris & Isabella Crain b. Jan. 8,
1872,
d. Aug. 1, 1872
Infant
son of William & b. Feb. 3, 1870, d. Feb 9,
1870
RowII
Locothy
Crain , infant son of Squire & Louisa Crain
Ellis
Crain, b. Dec. 10, 1818 d. Feb. 28, 1843 aged 24
yrs,
2 mo. 18 ds.
William
M. infant son of Squire & Louisa Crain ----no
dates
Margaret
Crain b. Feb 19, 1831, d. Jan 15, 1845 aged
13
yrs 11 mo, 5ds.
Gincy
Crain b. May 12, 1829 , d. Feb 16, 1848 aged 18
yrs
9 mo 4ds.
RowIII
Amanda
wife of Norris Crain born Nov. 1848 died Feb.
2,
1868 20th yr of her age
Joseph
Crain son of Norris & Amanda b & d Feb AD 1868
Lewis
J. Woodrick b. dec. 24, 1851, d. Aug. 4, 1874
aged
22 yrs 6mo 10d.included because his stone is in
the
middle of the Crain's
Dorcus
consort of Leonard Woolrick d. Dec 1851 27yrs,
10mo,
12ds.
Warren
Crain born Dec. 25, 1824, d. Feb. 10, 1845
20yrs
1mo 25 ds
Squire
Crain died Nov. 14, 1846 aged 61 yrs 3 mo 13
ds.
Louisa
(Mansker) Crain wife of Squire
Nancy
Crain daughter of Squire & Louisa died Dec. 11,
1855
aged 22 yrs 11 mo 17 Ds.
Infant
daughter of Willis & Mary A. Crain born Sept.
17,
1855, died Oct. 1, 1855
Ellie
Crain son of Willis & Mary A. Crain
b Jan 22,
1860
d Dec 21, 1860 10mo, 29ds.
Walker
Crain son of Willis & Mary A. Crain Mar. 9,
1868
aged 3 yrs 16ds.
Hubert
Crain son of Willis & Mary died Nov. 19, 1878
1yr
4mo 3 days
Hattie
Crain dau. of Willis & Mary Crain died Mar. 11,
1881
aged 5yrs 8mo 3ds.
In
heaven one angel more
On
earth one darling less,
Pass'd
away to the other shore,
Dear
little Hattie is gone to rest.
Mary
A. wife of Willis Crain died Mar 23, 1884 aged
48yrs
5mo 15ds
Milla,
daughter of H. & M. Crain, d. Oct. 2, 1884,
aged
7mo, 23ds.
Willis
Crain d. Sep 27, 1898 aged 70yrs 6mo 29ds
http://www.usgennet.org/~iljacksn/cemcrpaum.htm
Creekpaum
Cemetery, Jackson Co. IL
Donated
by Peggy Luthy
Phineas
Crain 1890-1921 Mollie his wife 1896-1972
Corydon
Crain & Wife Amanda C. Corydon Aug 26, 1853
Aug.
17, 1851 July 9, 1936 July 25, 1928
Solomon
Crain-- Brother Dec. 22, 1873--Sep. 16, 1895 (
located
beside Corydon Crain's stone, brother?)
Crain
Reuben 1871-1925 (son of George & Cathrine)
Ollie
Bean his wife, 1872--1925 (* both were killed in
the
Murphysboro tornado of March 1925) * information
from
Ralph Crain, son of Otis & Margaret.
Crain
Otis 1889--1962 (son of Friend & Rebecca)
Margaret
1890--1987 (his wife) ( daughter of Henry &
Julia
Ditzler)
Harry
Crain 1888-1920 (son of George & Cathrine)
Crain
George 1846--1924 (son of Friend & Elizabeth)
Cathrine
1846--1930 (Arndell/Arnold)
Crain
Friend 1867--1938 (son of George & Cathrine)
Rebecca
1865--1954 (daughter of John & Elizabeth
Henson)
Viva
Crain Daughter of F & R Crain born Sep. 26, 1891
died
April 19, 1911
Ruth
Crain Daughter of F & R Crain Born Sep. 4, 1896
Died
Apr. 13, 1910
Dewey
Crain 1898--1970 ( Joe-- son of Friend &
Rebecca)
Crain
Friend Crain 1808--1895 Elizabeth his wife
1815--1910
(House) "They were among the earliest
pioneers
of this communtiy"
Crain
Burl Floyd Oct. 16, 1900--Jan. 17, 1979 Jennie
Mae
June 7, 1900--Nov. 17, 1990 (his wife)
Crain
Riley L. 1871--1918 (son of George & Cathrine)
Ada
L. 1874--1971 (his wife)
Blanche
1893--1895 (daughter of Riley & Ada Crain)
Louise
1913--1974 (daughter of Riley & Ada Crain)
Huckaba--married
Nov. 18, 1939 Roy 1897--1979 Julia M.
1910--1977
(daughter of Riley & Ada Crain)
Violet
wife of A. C. Crain born Oct. 9, 1855 died Jan
9,
1897 (Johnson) Ashby C. Crain 1857--1915
Crain
Clain Crain 1870--1932 (son of George & Cathrine
Crain)
Janey his wife 1866-- 1925 (*killed in the
Murphysboro
tornado March 1925)
Omar
son of C. & Jane Crain Apr. 1899 aged 3 yrs. 1
mo.
6d.
Crain
Samuel 1856--1893 Louisa 1861--1915
Orlan
Crain died Feb. 6, 1889 aged 21? (B.F. Wolf on
same
stone)
Hannah
Crain daughter of (George & Cathrine?)
Ronnie
Loyd Crain son of T. &E. J. Crain
Halllie
son of Wm & H. Crain died Jun. 18, 188_
Catherine
wife of J. R. Crain died Jan. 30, 1893 aged
41
yrs. (wife of John Rice Crain)
John
W. & Elizabeth Henson, John b. 8 Dec, 1835, D. 28
Jan,
1920. Elizabeth, nee TOW, b. 28 July,
1838, d.
20
July, 1916
Henson
Cassandra J. Hadley (James Hadley, son of John
W.
& Elizabeth) Aug. 1, 1867 Feb. 20, 1862 Jan. 11,
1942
Jan. 20, 1942
Henson
Eva died Mar 10, 1892 aged 1yr 6mo 10Ds
(daughter
of J.H. & C. Henson)
Henson
Mamie died Feb 25, 1899 aged 4yr 11mo 25days
(daughter
of J. H. & C. Henson)
Smith
James M. Mary J. (daughter of John & Elizabeth
Henson)
1864--1946 1868--1935
Benjamin
Henson died Feb. 9, 1871 51yrs 2mo 19da
Elizabeth
Henson b. Oct. 11, 1829 d. Dec. 23, 1873
(these
two stones were side by side)
Susan
wife of Harmon Hann Apr. 18, 1883 aged 32y 8m 4d
Ollie
Schaeffer d. Jul. 16, 1911
David
H. and Carrie Jane Henson. Both were
born in
the
mid 1850s, died in the late 1930s.
Isabell
Henson, b. 1869, d. 1957.
Edward
and Noda Henson, b. 1884, d. mid 1950s.
Names
donated by Lauri Gray-Stowesand
Cripps
Samuel
1842-1916
Lavina
(his wife) 1845-1892
Crain,
Friend
1808-1895
Elizabeth
(his wife)
1815-1910
"They
were among the earliest
pioneers
of this community."
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2000 12:18:35 -0700
(PDT) From: Caoimhghin O Croidheain
<caoimhghin@yahoo.com> | Block
address Subject: [CRYAN] more To:
CRYAN-L@rootsweb.com
http://seeker.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/htsearch
Search
results for 'cryan'
ISTG
Vol 2 - City of Berlin
... Labr England Cornwall NYork Lower Deck No1
Port 1
Prot.soj.
6 Rd. Stevens 52 Male Labr England Plymouth
Penn
Lower Deck No1 Port 1 Prot.soj. 7 Ed Cryan 16
Male
Labr England Oldham Mass Lower Deck No1 Port 1
Prot.soj.
8 John McKinner 24 Male Engr. England Lpool
Boston
Lower Deck No1 Port 1 Prot.soj. ...
http://istg.rootsweb.com/v2/1800v2/berlinco18891019_205_408.html
,
31603 bytes
ISTG
- Passenger Surnames: C
... Ann CRUTT?N Barque Mahaica CRUTTAN Barque
Mahaica
CRUTTON
Barque Mahaica CRUZ ARARYO, CAPTAIN Brig Laura
CRUY
SS Canada CRY?LER Ship London Packet CRYAN City
of
Berlin CRYBILE Ship Friendship CRYEN Bark Abby Land
CRYFLER
Ship London Packet CRYPLER Ship London Packet
CRYSMEYER
Snow Two Sisters CRYSTAL ...
http://istg.rootsweb.com/v2/surnamesv2/splcr_v2.htm
,
66053
bytes
ISTG
Vol 2 - City of Berlin
... Labr England Cornwall NYork Lower Deck No1
Port 1
Prot.soj.
6 Rd. Stevens 52 Male Labr England Plymouth
Penn
Lower Deck No1 Port 1 Prot.soj. 7 Ed Cryan 16
Male
Labr England Oldham Mass Lower Deck No1 Port 1
Prot.soj.
8 John McKinner 24 Male Engr. England Lpool
Boston
Lower Deck No1 Port 1 Prot.soj. ...
http://istg.rootsweb.com/v2/1800v2/berlinco18891019_205_408.html
, 31603 bytes
ISTG - Passenger Surnames: C
... Ann CRUTT?N
Barque Mahaica CRUTTAN Barque Mahaica
CRUTTON
Barque Mahaica CRUZ ARARYO, CAPTAIN Brig Laura
CRUY
SS Canada CRY?LER Ship London Packet CRYAN City
of
Berlin CRYBILE Ship Friendship CRYEN Bark Abby Land
CRYFLER
Ship London Packet CRYPLER Ship London Packet
CRYSMEYER
Snow Two Sisters CRYSTAL ...
http://istg.rootsweb.com/v2/surnamesv2/splcr_v2.htm
,
66053
bytes