Dutch, Irish, Austrian? POLISH! roots; the McBride Matriarch and Progress through a Collateral Relative

OCTOBER 1 TO 7 · PREPARED 5 SEPTEMBER 2026

Dutch, Irish, Austrian? POLISH! roots; the McBride Matriarch and Progress through a Collateral Relative

A mother in the family album, a signed citizenship paper, an Irish-born mother reconstructed through her children, and a sister whose certificate supplied a surname. Two stories from Charlie’s family and two from Kathi’s begin October, with Evelyn clearly identified as a collateral relative.

Original archival portrait of Sarah Hoover Hollobaugh — Sarah Hoover Hollobaugh, undated. Original archival scan at left; AI-colorized interpretation at right. Colors are interpretive. Select either portrait to view it at full size.

AI-colorized interpretation of Sarah Hoover Hollobaugh’s portrait — Sarah Hoover Hollobaugh, undated. Original archival scan at left; AI-colorized interpretation at right. Colors are interpretive. Select either portrait to view it at full size.

Charlie's ancestry

2 October 1852, reported174th birthday anniversary, probable date

Sarah Hoover Hollobaugh

Lived 82 yearsMarried about 39 years9 children attached to the familyConfidence - 8

RelationshipSarah is Charlie’s second-great-grandmother.

Mimi’s mother, in the family album

Photographs bring Mimi’s mother into view. A death certificate gives her an October birthday, while household records connect the woman in the album to the family Charlie remembers.

Direct lineage

Sarah Hoover Hollobaugh
Stella “Mimi” Hollobaugh
Ruth Alma Cunningham
Renay Charles Heckman
Charles Rene Heckman

Before Stella Hollobaugh became “Mimi” to later generations, she was Sarah’s daughter. Stella’s original 1905 marriage record names her parents as Abraham Hollobaugh and Sarah Hoover. That small entry joins a familiar family name to the woman whose photographs have now been filed in the archive.

Sarah Hoover Hollobaugh was born on 2 October 1852, according to her death certificate; the 1900 census also records October 1852.

The census trail follows Sarah from her parental household into life with Abraham and, eventually, into the Cunningham household. In 1930 she appears with George and Stella in Kittanning. The 1900 census points to a marriage around 1872, but that estimate is not an original wedding record.

Two photographs give this outline a more personal presence. The portrait shows Sarah in a formal studio setting. The larger family photograph, dated 1902, brings her together with her father Anthony Hoover, her husband Abraham Hollobaugh, and the surrounding family. Abraham, Anthony and Sarah are third, fourth and fifth from the left in the seated row, with Stella “Mimi” at the extreme right.

Sarah died in Kittanning on 2 February 1935. Her death certificate gives her residence as 1405 Johnson Avenue and records burial in Kittanning Cemetery. Between the formal portrait, the 1902 family photograph, and the records linking her to Stella, “Mimi’s mother” begins to emerge as a person with her own place in the family album.

Family Research Note

For the longest time, our tree ended with Sarah's father Anthony Hoover. I discovered that Anthony was married twice, first to a Mary Ann, later to a Mariah. The two wives with similar first names were merged into one hybrid person for many years. Discovering that Sarah's mother Mary Ann passed in 1877, the year reported in our tree, was the revelation that opened the door to 200 years of additional family history in North America reaching all the way back to Dutch settlers in the mid-1600s. Work continues: though his wife's ancestry tracks back 200 years, Anthony Hoover's father remains a mystery. In an unusual twist for this time period, we have found his mother, but not his father. His surname is consistent with Dutch roots as is his marriage into a well established Dutch-American ancestry line. His earliest records establish that he has significant real estate holdings at a young age, but all attempts (so far) to trace his ancestry or how he obtained those holdings have failed. That is part of the fascination of family history: one married couple can lead to very different research results.

1902 Hollobaugh family group with Sarah and Anthony Hoover — Original archival scan: Hollobaugh family, 1902. Seated row, from left: Abraham Hollobaugh is third, Anthony Hoover fourth, and Sarah Hoover Hollobaugh fifth. Stella “Mimi” Hollobaugh is at the extreme right.

Modern colorized version of the 1902 Hollobaugh family group photograph — Colorized version of the 1902 Hollobaugh family photograph, supplied by Charlie Heckman. The colors are a modern interpretation. The original archival scan appears above. Select the image to view it at full size.

Edward McBride’s 1935 death certificate, not Catherine’s. It names his mother as Katherine Meenan, born in Ireland. This is one of the records used to reconstruct her family.

Kathi's ancestry

6 October 1902, probable identification124th death anniversary, if identity is confirmed

Catherine Meenan McBride

Matriarch of the McBrides

Lived about 85 years, provisional; return reports 64Marriage duration unknown10 children in the inherited reconstructionConfidence - 7

RelationshipCatherine is Kathi’s second-great-grandmother.

Finding Catherine through her children

Her children’s records preserve Catherine’s maiden surname. A newly found death notice strengthens the October 6 lead, but a conflicting age keeps the final identification open.

Direct lineage

Catherine Meenan McBride
Edward McBride
James Francis McBride
Mary C. McBride
Kathleen Cynthia Frick

Catherine’s story reaches us through the people who called her mother. When her son Edward died in Philadelphia in 1935, his daughter Katherine Simpson supplied the names of his parents: Edward McBride and Katherine Meenan, both born in Ireland. The certificate preserves a maiden surname that can easily disappear when a woman is recorded only under her married name.

McBride's and Their Names:

Catherine's husband, son, grandson and great grandson were all named Edward. Her grandson and great grandson were both named James Francis. She had a daughter Mary and at least three great granddaughters (in the same family) named: Mary Catherine, Catherine Mary (Mickey), and Mary Catherine (our Mary). It can be a real challenge to keep track of which McBride we are tracing as we go through the family records. Even the Irish newspapers got our oldest Edward's confused... but you'll read about that later in this article. I'll refer to Catherine's husband as Edward Senior and Catherine's son as Edward Junior. The Third Edward was Mary McBride Frick's Uncle and the Fourth Edward was Mary McBride Frick's twin, who died as an infant. There is no evidence they referred to themselves in that fashion, it's just for me to keep them straight. I'd love to know how Catherine kept them all straight!

The 1850 census offers a glimpse of the family’s journey from Ireland through Canada to Pennsylvania. In Richmond District, Philadelphia, Edward and Catherine McBride were both listed as thirty-five and born in Ireland. Daughter Mary, seventeen, was also born in Ireland; Twin daughters Margaret and Sarah, both ten, were born in Canada; and daughter Ann, seven, was born in Pennsylvania, as were the younger children. These reported ages and birthplaces suggest that the family was in Ireland around 1833, had reached Canada by about 1840, and was in Pennsylvania by about 1843. With a child born in Ireland, we can assume that Edward McBride and Catherine Meenan were married in Ireland and emigrated from the same County. The dates remain approximate, but the census points to a migration in stages rather than a direct journey from Ireland to Philadelphia. The 1860 Census tells us that Edward Junior was born about 1858 and that Edward Senior died before 1860.

Catherine's October death is supported by a notice in The Philadelphia Inquirer of 8 October 1902, which reports that Catharine, widow of the late Edward McBride (Senior), died on October 6. It gives her residence as 2529 Salmon Street and announces a funeral mass and burial at St. Anne’s. A city death return agrees on the address, death date and cemetery, and records burial on October 10. There is some confusion, as Catherine, estimated by the family to have been about 85, is listed in the city death return as being 64 years old when she died. The newspapers in both Philadelphia and Ireland have a pattern of confusion when it comes to this McBride family!

Burial at St. Anne's is significant as several members of Catherine’s family were buried at St. Anne’s: her son James on 1 April 1916, daughter Grace in September 1923, and son Edward (Junior) on 9 November 1935. Edward’s wife, Mary Walsh McBride, was buried there on 23 February 1933, and their son the Third Edward on 3 June 1916.

For this issue, October 6 is an occasion to remember an Irish-born Philadelphia mother whose children left a trail back to her. The search continues to confirm a household record connecting her known children with Salmon Street. She was not listed in the 1900 households of her sons Edward Junior and James, or in the household probably belonging to her daughter Annie McCafferty. We have not traced the households of all of her daughters yet. A directory entry or a cemetery lot record would also be helpful to boost the Confidence level for Catherine Meenan's date of death. However, we have strong support and the search continues.

Edward Junior McBride’s death notice in “Our Kith and Kin: Irish Deaths Abroad,” Irish Weekly Independent, 23 November 1935, page 8. Select the image to view the full archival page.

Irish Famine

Ireland’s history of hunger began long before the Great Famine. Crop failures and food shortages in 1816–1817, followed by widespread fever, and another serious famine in 1822 exposed the insecurity of rural life. Poverty, pressure on small farms, and recurring hunger helped drive emigration to Britain, Canada, and the United States well before the 1840s. The Great Famine of 1845–1852, triggered by potato blight, transformed that movement into a catastrophe: roughly one million people died from hunger and disease, and more than a million emigrated during 1845–1851.

This history of hardship and migration is a common thread in both Charlie’s and Kathi’s Irish roots. Kathi’s McBride family appears to have traveled through Canada by about 1840 and reached Pennsylvania by about 1843, before the Great Famine. The decision to emigrate to Canada or the US was not one taken lightly, particularly with a child. Catherine and Edward Senior made the trip with daughter Mary about 7-10 years old. The voyages to North America were sometimes described as coffin ships. Some studies estimate that 1.5% (about 1 in 65) immigrants did not survive the 44 day journey, while more died during in quarantine after arrival in Canada. Quarantine could range from 10-20 days or more, depending on a doctor's opinion of the sickness of those aboard ship. In the worst recorded year of 1847, for emigration from Ireland to Canada, about 6% (1 in 17) died during the voyage, that rate rising to about 16% (1 in 6) died during the voyage or in quarantine after arrival in North America. The wider history helps explain the pressures surrounding them, even where their individual reasons for leaving remain unknown.

John Szerszen’s petition, James Barrett’s witness statement, and John’s oath in the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County. The witness statement and oath are dated 6 October 1892. Select the image to read the full paper.

Charlie's ancestry

6 October 1892134th anniversary of his naturalization petition and oath

John Szerszen / Shershen

Lived about 91 yearsMarried about 13 years to Mary5 children attached to John and Mary’s familyConfidence - 8

RelationshipJohn is Charlie’s great-grandfather.

His name, his oath, his place in America

A family-held court paper preserves John’s signature, his account of arriving in New York, and the oath he swore in Luzerne County on October 6, 1892.

Direct lineage

John Szerszen / Shershen
Anna Shershen
Janet Riefski
Charles Rene Heckman

Unchanged archival portrait of John Shershen, inscribed Grandpop — John Shershen, in an undated family portrait inscribed “Grandpop.” Identified by the family. Unchanged archival scan at left; AI-restored and colorized interpretation at right. Colors and reconstructed details are interpretive. Select either portrait to view it at full size.

AI-restored and colorized interpretation of John Shershen’s portrait — John Shershen, in an undated family portrait inscribed “Grandpop.” Identified by the family. Unchanged archival scan at left; AI-restored and colorized interpretation at right. Colors and reconstructed details are interpretive. Select either portrait to view it at full size.

John Szerszen’s name appears more than once on this paper, but the signature beneath his oath brings the story closest to him. On 6 October 1892, in the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County, he swore to the contents of his petition and pledged support for the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Pennsylvania.

The petition reports that John arrived at New York on 18 March 1881 and was under eighteen when he entered the country.

We know John was proudly Polish, the Austrian designation in this citizenship paper does not challenge that nationality. I also note that John is referred to as being of "Russ" origin (Russian) in at least one census record. See the text below for more about this Austrian - Polish confusion.

The surname also changes across the archive. Here he is John Szerszen; later family records use Shershen, and some use Charles. Keeping the spelling on the document helps us follow him through records without silently rewriting the name he signed.

For Charlie’s family, the connection runs through John’s daughter Anna Shershen and granddaughter Janet Riefski. The court paper preserves a moment along that family’s passage into American life, with John’s own signature still visible at the foot of the oath.

Farmer, Miner, Custodian, Patriarch

John Shershen settled in a Polish coal mining enclave in Northeastern Pennsylvania but he was a man of many occupations and many names. The one constant role throughout his story is that of Patriarch. He was known not just in the family, but also in the community as Dziadek. Polish for Grandfather. The 1910 census identifies him as Charles Shershen, a coal miner. In the 1920 census, he is John Shershen and the census taker records that he has no professional occupation. This is consistent with several family members that have reminisced about visiting his farm and his gardens. The 1930 census and a local newspaper document his high school custodian occupation where he was known as Charlie. I have also found a newspaper article where our John's team took first place in a mining first aid and life saving contest scoring a 98 per cent and a prize of $5: "With thirteen teams competing, the annual first aid contests of the Susquehanna Colliers Company... was perhaps the most successful... in several years. The armory was crowded with spectators, many of them being physicians and trained nurses who were anxious to see the mine workers give first assistance to the injured."

John Szerszen’s signature beneath his oath, 6 October 1892. Select the signature to view the full record.

Historical Context: Why “Austria” appears on a Polish immigrant’s record

When John reported arriving in America in 1881, Poland did not exist as an independent country. In three partitions, in 1772, 1793 and 1795, Austria, Prussia and Russia divided the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth among themselves. By the final partition, Poland had disappeared from the political map. Much of the territory acquired by Austria became known as Galicia, or Austrian Poland. A person from that region could be Polish in language and family identity while legally a subject of Austria. That distinction explains the Austrian identifier in John’s naturalization paper and his renunciation of Austrian allegiance. It is also consistent with the family’s Zawada parish connection. “Austria” records the governing power, rather than requiring us to describe John as ethnically Austrian. Poland regained independence in 1918, long after his departure.

Leaving Galicia, 1880–1881

When John left for America, Galicia was an Austrian-ruled region of partitioned Poland where many rural families struggled with small farms, low agricultural productivity, and few industrial jobs. Crop failures and hunger in 1879–1880 added to these hardships, while emigration to America was increasing. By the late 1870s, Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal operators were actively recruiting workers from eastern Europe, including Polish and Lithuanian agricultural communities. Operators and their agents sought labor for the mines, and recruitment also served efforts to weaken established unions after the labor unrest of 1877. For people facing rural poverty, the prospect of paid work in Pennsylvania offered a powerful attraction. John’s naturalization paper reports that he reached New York on 18 March 1881, placing his departure close to this food crisis. These conditions help explain both the hardships he left behind and the opportunities drawing immigrants to Pennsylvania, but we have no statement from John identifying his personal reasons for emigrating or evidence that a recruiting agent arranged his journey.

Viewer capture of Evelyn Culbertson’s original Pennsylvania death certificate, no. 7204, dated 17 January 1956. The parent fields name William O’Connor and Ellen S. O’Brien.

Kathi's collateral family

2 October 1881, reported145th birthday anniversary, retrospectively reported

Evelyn O’Connor Culbertson

Lived 74 yearsMarriage duration unknown2 children in the inherited reconstructionConfidence - 7

RelationshipEvelyn is the sister of Kathi’s great-grandmother Kathryn O’Connor. This is a collateral feature, not a direct-ancestor story.

The sister whose record supplied a surname

Evelyn’s death certificate named her mother as Ellen S. O’Brien. Looking sideways to a sister helped recover a surname in Kathi’s direct family line.

Connection through her sister

Kathryn O’Connor, Evelyn’s sister
Marie Ralston
Albert Philip Frick
Kathleen Cynthia Frick

A sister’s record can answer a question left open in a direct ancestor’s papers. Evelyn O’Connor Culbertson, also found in the family research as Eva, was Kathryn O’Connor’s sister. Kathryn is Kathi’s great-grandmother. That makes Evelyn a collateral relative, whose records can still illuminate the family they shared.

Evelyn’s original Pennsylvania death certificate records her death in Philadelphia on 17 January 1956. It reports her birth there on 2 October 1881 and names her parents as William O’Connor and Ellen S. O’Brien. The maiden surname in that mother’s field supplied an important clue to Kathryn’s maternal family.

This is why sisters and brothers belong in a family-history search. Evelyn does not become a direct ancestor by appearing in this newsletter. Her record matters because it helps restore the identity of a mother shared with someone who was.

FROM THE FAMILY ARCHIVE

The photographs preserve faces; the records preserve names, dates and relationships. Reading them together brings the family closer while leaving unanswered questions visible.

EVIDENCE GUIDE

Confidence scale

The rating reflects confidence in the featured person or couple, event, and stated family connection. It can change as stronger records are found. It does not make every date or child count equally certain; individual dates and counts retain their stated qualifications.

1Pure guesswork
2Speculative possibility
3Weak circumstantial clues
4Plausible but poorly documented
5GEDCOM-supported starting point
6Some independent support
7Probable from independent records
8Strongly supported by multiple records
9Nearly conclusive documentary proof
10Proven with certainty

THIS WEEK IN THE DATE DATABASE

Family dates, October 1–7

Twelve calendar entries from our family date database, with the evidence qualifications retained.

Date	Person	Event	Family line	Evidence status
October 1, 1943	Albert Downing Frick	Shipfitter 3/c rating effective	Kathi, generation 2	Supported by local original-record transcription or assessment
October 1, 1945	Albert Downing Frick	USS Apollo report dated (report date, not an arrival or extension of active service)	Kathi, generation 2	Exact-service-number muster assessment; transaction limits retained
October 2, 1781	Heinrich Weierman	Letters testamentary granted	Kathi, generation 9	Supported by local original-record transcription or assessment
October 2, 1781	Heinrich Weierman	Will proved	Kathi, generation 9	Supported by local original-record transcription or assessment
October 2, 1852	Sarah Hoover	Birth	Charlie, generation 4	Probable
October 3, 1649	Pierre Charles Le Sueur	Birth	Charlie, generation 10	Imported tree claim; not independently verified
October 3, 1848	William Frazier Hooks	Death	Charlie, generation 8	Imported tree claim; not independently verified
October 3, 1875	Sarah Hoover	Dated residence record (not an established move or enumeration date)	Charlie, generation 4	Imported tree claim; source-stage and identity qualifications apply
October 6, 1816	Jeremiah Seitzinger	Birth	Kathi, generation 5	Imported tree claim; not independently verified
October 6, 1892	John / Charles Shershen (Szerszen)	Naturalization court paper and oath	Charlie, generation 3	Supported by family-held original court paper
October 6, 1902	Catherine Meenan	Death	Kathi, generation 4	Death date confirmed for record subject; ancestral identity probable
October 7, 1941	Renay Charles Heckman	Newspaper report: Elected eleventh-grade president (publication date)	Charlie, generation 1	Supported by reviewed original newspaper

Generation 0 is Charlie or Kathi; 1 is a parent, 2 a grandparent, 3 a great-grandparent, and so on. A family-line listing does not by itself establish a proven relationship.

No calendar entries are currently listed for October 4 or 5. Report and publication dates are distinguished from the events they describe.