Ever since I could remember, I have always been intrigued by family trees and genealogical research. I remember standing on tip-toe to look in detail at the family tree that hung on the wall at my mother’s parents’ home in East Norwich, a village just outside of Oyster Bay, New York. I was fascinated that the names on that wall were people, with real lives. I had an ambitious dream starting when I was about ten—I wanted to be a professional genealogist. I wanted to know who those people were and be able to share their stories; not just for me, but for everyone. I felt a deep connection to this past, as I felt somehow it could help define me as a person.
This connection to the past has shaped so much of the professional I have become. No- I did not become a professional genealogist, but instead a musician, performer, and practical musicologist. I am interested in telling stories through music, but particularly those stories that help to identify and shape humanity. My research began to center on the idea of Nationalism and the use of traditional music within the Classical art medium at the end of my undergraduate degree. I have delved into the music of Romanian and British composers; I have recorded the music of the Czech, Mexican, Spanish, British/Irish, and Russian people. As I have continued to search for personal meaning in music, and a sense of “home”, I have simultaneously explored my own historical story and roots.
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| "Nana" Thelma Brewer Moffett |
When I was about eleven or twelve, I remember talking to my Nana, Thelma Brewer Moffett, who was my mother’s mother. She was very interested in learning more about her history, but as she did not have a very close-knit family, the history was not preserved. Her father had died when she was a young woman and she married early. She sat me down and wrote down the last names of her grandparents and asked that I try to do research for her. I promised her I would find out about her roots, and as an adult that is what I set out to do.
My father’s mother, my Granny, Ellen Therese Harrington Placilla, also wanted to know more about her background and asked me as an adult to do some research before she passed away. For some reason, the women in my family had not had the opportunity to save their history. My Granny was bit estranged from her mother and her father died when she was just a baby. At times I wonder if our society has set women up for this loss of self and history—for years, women sacrificed their familial identity to take on the name of their mates and thereby, their family history and stories.
Both of my grandmothers were very strong women with remarkable, yet ordinary, precious lives. Each woman was blessed with five pregnancies, but, unfortunately, my Granny had to suffer the loss of her fourth child, Ellen within 24 hours of Ellen's birth. They worked in a time when women did not work- my Nana worked at a department store in the men's department and was such a good saleswomen that they had to take her off commission simply because she was so good at her job. My Granny worked as a waitress and later as a secretary. They both tried very hard to be stylish, my Nana famous for her hats; Granny was a habitual Avon purchaser. Both were raised by women who were left with young children to care for when their husbands died before their time.
Both of my grandmothers, in essence, chose my grandfathers for love. Both were very capable young women, who through their intelligence and hard work could already provide for themselves. When Pops joined the military, and during his training, Nana followed Pops to North Carolina in order to get married when he enlisted to serve in the Army Air Corps during WWII. After the Thursday, December 24, 1942 wedding in Goldsboro, North Carolina (in a small church that still stands today just off base, across the street from the city offices), Nana returned to New York within days to continue working at her job, as Pops was set to deploy to England as an airplane mechanic for the Army Air Corps.
My Granny met my Gramps while she was working for her older brother, I believe. He moved to Long Island, New York from Lowell, Massachussetts; with Granny's devout Catholic upbringing, this was the only way she could have left home- under the watchful eye of her big brother. This is when she was charmed by my Gramps.
Both women were absolutely smitten with their husbands throughout their lives, even when they fought. Both of their husbands could tell a great story, were very engaged in civic participation and church participation, and had continued ties with family in Ireland. Both women spent a bulk of their life on the North Shore of Long Island, sent their kids to the same Catholic school- St. Dominics, and lived just outside of Oyster Bay.
As this journey continues, I feel obliged to protect my living relatives and their identities, so therefore, I will not be giving out too much detail on those that are currently living, and will instead begin my journey by looking at my grandparents parents. In deference to my Nana and the promise I made her so many years ago, we will start with her family and work through the direct lines of descent as I have been able to uncover them so far. I hope that by looking at documents and by talking with my family members, I can share a sense of who these folks were and make them real through story.
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| "Granny" Ellen Therese Harrington Placilla |
Both of my grandmothers were very strong women with remarkable, yet ordinary, precious lives. Each woman was blessed with five pregnancies, but, unfortunately, my Granny had to suffer the loss of her fourth child, Ellen within 24 hours of Ellen's birth. They worked in a time when women did not work- my Nana worked at a department store in the men's department and was such a good saleswomen that they had to take her off commission simply because she was so good at her job. My Granny worked as a waitress and later as a secretary. They both tried very hard to be stylish, my Nana famous for her hats; Granny was a habitual Avon purchaser. Both were raised by women who were left with young children to care for when their husbands died before their time.
Both of my grandmothers, in essence, chose my grandfathers for love. Both were very capable young women, who through their intelligence and hard work could already provide for themselves. When Pops joined the military, and during his training, Nana followed Pops to North Carolina in order to get married when he enlisted to serve in the Army Air Corps during WWII. After the Thursday, December 24, 1942 wedding in Goldsboro, North Carolina (in a small church that still stands today just off base, across the street from the city offices), Nana returned to New York within days to continue working at her job, as Pops was set to deploy to England as an airplane mechanic for the Army Air Corps.
My Granny met my Gramps while she was working for her older brother, I believe. He moved to Long Island, New York from Lowell, Massachussetts; with Granny's devout Catholic upbringing, this was the only way she could have left home- under the watchful eye of her big brother. This is when she was charmed by my Gramps.
Both women were absolutely smitten with their husbands throughout their lives, even when they fought. Both of their husbands could tell a great story, were very engaged in civic participation and church participation, and had continued ties with family in Ireland. Both women spent a bulk of their life on the North Shore of Long Island, sent their kids to the same Catholic school- St. Dominics, and lived just outside of Oyster Bay.
As this journey continues, I feel obliged to protect my living relatives and their identities, so therefore, I will not be giving out too much detail on those that are currently living, and will instead begin my journey by looking at my grandparents parents. In deference to my Nana and the promise I made her so many years ago, we will start with her family and work through the direct lines of descent as I have been able to uncover them so far. I hope that by looking at documents and by talking with my family members, I can share a sense of who these folks were and make them real through story.
