An Air Of Excitement

For the past two weeks I have had this air of excitement around me that I can't quite understand where it's coming from. I wrote Ronnie that it's like staring at a Christmas present, you don't know what's inside the box, you just know it's gonna be good. And that's how it's been for me these two weeks since I made contact with a geological site out on the east coast that has everything to do with Uncle Jerome. Things took a turn for the better, emails have been flying in stating photos are being sent to us, letters are being scanned for me, and even city council meeting minutes are being pulled from the year of 1973 just to find a connection to Jerome. I made a really lovely contact with the wife of a now deceased author, unfortunately she couldn't help by giving more info, but speaking with her confirmed that I can move on to other new leads. I thanked her as the book her husband wrote has given me great insite into a part of Uncle Jerome's life that our family didn't know about until recently, and that I think was something she was grateful to hear, knowing their book helped someone on a significant level.

Ronnie stated he sent a request to a local paper in Cork asking to find relatives in hopes they might have more info about the Collins family in Cork, Ireland. I'm crossing my fingers and toes the paper will print the request, and praying someone will step forth to lay claim to my family. It would be great to meet long-lost relatives, and to learn more about them.

The research is easy when there is a goal, this is one thing I am learning along the way. It's something I'm passionate about. The support I am getting all over the world from different contacts have made all the difference too, they are all like personal cheerleaders urging me and pushing me on to write this book with Ronnie. It's humbling to know there are people out there who have a great interest in Uncle Jerome's life, and it's with honor and a sense of pride that I go forth.
With that said, part II of our story on Uncle Jerome just came out in Western Australia, and this is the cover of the latest Irish Scene Magazine that Fred Rea, the editor, sent on to me. I took a look inside and they organized our story so nicely with a beautiful layout, with a few surprising photos that Fred included as well. That guy has a good eye, and I'm still grateful for him letting us tell Jerome's story.

Between this new article coming out, and my new discoveries about Jerome on the east coast, you'd think that would be the icing on the cake. But it's not. Last Friday I wrote to some very important people in Cork, including the Lord Mayor of Cork City, the Heritage Officer, the County Archaeologist (Catryn Power), and the Divisional Manager of South Cork, Declan Daly and Mary O'Halloran. Here is a copy of my letter:

Dear Mr. Daly, (CC: The Lord Mayor, Cllr. Donal Counihan; Catryn Power, Cork County Archaeologist; Cork City Heritage Offier Niamh Twomey)

I understand you've held correspondence with my colleague Ronnie H. regarding the work that needs to be done to my family's Celtic Cross monument at Curraghkippane cemetery, as you know not only the Collins' family is buried there but the Irish Nationalist Jerome J. Collins who holds many achievements under his belt. Jerome's Celtic Cross at Curraghkippane is now in a dire straight, it poses a threat to all who visit the cemetery should it fall on anyone due to the severity of the tilt. It also poses a threat to other monuments at the cemetery should it fall and shatter on them should a gale arise. Not only is my GG GrandUncle Jerome buried at that site, but also my GGG GrandFather, GGG GrandMother, Jerome's brother, and possibly his uncle or grandfather. As I stated, Jerome was an Irish Nationalist, true to his country and homeland of Ireland. It is a downright pity that his grave is not decorated every year by the City Council and the County Council for his and his father's services to the City and County of Cork, not to mention Jerome's outstanding achievements as an individual towards Meteorology, Engineering, the founder of the Clan na Gael, and is a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal in America. I have pleaded with the County Council to re-erect his monument for almost 2 years now, through the aid of Catryn Power and Ronnie H.'s requests, but appropriate funds are not made for a mason. Let me assure you, the Celtic Cross has blown down once before, it can happen again. I insist that Jerome's Celtic Cross not be left in this dishonourable state of which it is now in. Letting it remain in this poor state gives the impression that the City of Cork and the County of Cork will forever let Jerome J. Collins be forgotten. Letting the Celtic Cross remain in this poor state also reflects poorly on the City of Cork and the County of Cork in that they do not care about their heroes, that they'd rather forget their Irish heroes than pay the proper honour and respect due. Is is my wish that the Celtic Cross be re-erected, and properly decorated every year to honour Jerome Collins. I will also be addressing Cork City Heritage Offier Niamh Twomey about the preservation of the family home as a historical marker as it's the birthplace of Jerome Collins.
I am more than willing to contribute proof of Jerome's outstanding achievements. I have attached articles I co-authored with Ronnie H. of Cork City and of the South Parish Historical Society last year. There is also an article about myself and my fight to clear Jerome's name through the US Navy in America which appeared in the Cork Evening Echo last November. Both Ronnie and I have on separate occasions been interviewed by Tom MacSweeney on RTE Radio 1 Seascapes programme about Jerome. We also ran Jerome's story in The Holly Bough of 2006, with our most recent article coming out down in Western Australia this past month. We are co-authoring Jerome's biography, most of our research has been accomplished and writing has begun. I hope my blog may provide some insight into the work I am doing on behalf of my ancestor:

It is my hope that the Cork County Council and the Cork City Council will step up to the plate and aid my family to properly restore honour to Jerome Collins and that of the Collins family from Cork. The death of Jerome at the young age of 40 in Siberia was a tragedy; the fact that he has been forgotten by his country of Ireland is an even greater tragedy. I trust you will all do what is right and expedite this matter appropriately. I initially made my first request through Catryn Power, Cork County Archaeologist, to re-erect the monument in the fall of 2005. She did all she could on my behalf, which I am ever so grateful for. It is very hard to accept that a prestigious government such as Cork County is taking this long to act upon my request as a living family member, it is even harder to accept that my ancestor's grave is forgotten by a country he held close to his heart and always put first in every aspect of his life up until his death on the frozen tundra in Siberia in 1881. John Devoy would have been appalled, he was a great friend to Jerome and his brother Dr. Daniel F. Collins (who is my GG Grandfather). In fact, Devoy wrote that a statue commemorating Jerome should be placed at the North Gate Bridge in Jerome's honour, which you all know was previously engineered by Jerome and made from cast iron. Devoy also saved my GG Grandfather's life, testimony to the strong ties my family had to the freedom of Ireland.

I would like to view the engineer's report of the Celtic Cross, someone made a visit there this spring and cleared away all the debris and greenery to inspect the base of the monument. I await to hear from you, and thank you for your time Mr. Daly. Kind Regards,~Amy J.

Before I go on any further, I should add that Ronnie wrote his own letter a few months ago pretty much stating the same concerns as I expressed. His letter was the catalyst that sought the initial funding in the spring, and it seems my letter would be the straw that broke the camel's back. Last night Ronnie skyped me and asked if I received the email from Catryn. I said, "no, I've been running errands for the day and just put my son in the bath". So he proceeded to read her email to us:

Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 10:14 PM
Subject: you won at lasthi amy and roger well done, you have got 10,000 euros for the repair of the memorial; one of the engineers is getting tenders for its repair. ronnie should have a letter by now. catryn
I hooted and hollered and waved my hands in the air when he read this. I celebrated last night over a bottle of wine, and this morning I called Catryn, Mary, and Declan in Cork to thank them personally for approving the funding. Mary's claim is that the site is just flat out unsafe, and provides a danger to anyone who visit's the Celtic Cross, therefore justifying the need for repair.

The first person I called last night was Cousin Louise, she was so overjoyed and feels Jerome and the family had a hand in all this coming about. I couldn't agree more.

That Christmas present I mentioned at the beginning arrived last night, the feeling of something good about to happen, and this was it, the moment was here. I am so happy that Jerome's Celtic Cross will finally be put in a presentable, safe, and honourable state. He and his parents and brothers deserved nothing less.

Two down, two to go. Meaning we found the diary, we got Jerome's cross fixed. All's left to do is find his Congressional Gold Medal or seek a replacement, and keep on the Navy to remove the charges on Jerome's record which will finally set him free from arrest and suspension.

Oh... and continue writing a book about all this............ ;)

A Trip Around The World

I keep apologizing every time I post for the long delays inbetween my posts. But since this blog isn't the most popular one out there, well, I think I can be forgiven.

I am still enjoying contact with Jack from the AOH on the east coast. He's such a great man, always willing to inform me and educate me in regard to Ireland and her history. Same with Fred and Ronnie. Mike has been such a Godsend to us, actually told me that he feels like he's watching the birth of a baby as he's witness to Ronnie and I writing Jerome's bio. And he's right. But for me I think this has been in the making since I was 12 years old and just didn't know it until I started piecing the puzzle together and accepted the ironies of the contacts I had made.

Fred showed me on Skype what Part II of our article looks like, said he'll post it from either Western Australia or Boston, he hasn't decided yet. He said he has a few 'round the world tickets and will be going to Cork to give a presentation to Ronnie's historical society this month, and then go to Boston and then California where ironically the AOH is rolling out the red carpet for him and then on to New Zealand and back home to Western Australia. Hope that man gets some sleep with all those time zone changes. Fred is a wonderful singer, and is so modest and humble about it. I hope Ronnie gets him to sing a few notes after he gives his presentation, after all, Ronnie is taping it for me (I've yet to afford the expense to go with my family over to Ireland!). Anyway, from what I could tell, the article looks great and my photo and Ronnie's appears in this 2nd 1/2 of Jerome's story.

I'm still trying to make waves with the Navy and have been calling them trying to get Jerome's record cleared of the trivial charges. No news yet. I'm being ignored. Things are going at a slow pace with all my requests I have out there. I'm waiting on documentation from quite a few sources, and everyone is taking their time. Frustrating. But every month is still bringing about new discoveries and this month brings me back out to the east coast before Jerome sailed on the Jeannette. The man touched so many lives and locations and left such a huge trail, it's amazing that an imprint of his life hasn't been rightfully preserved.

All in all, I've been busy doing research every spare moment I have. Well, ALMOST. Incase you are one of the few people out there that didn't notice, the 7th and final Harry Potter book was released, and I'm just about to the end. What can I say? I love Harry Potter... I'm 37 and I love Harry Potter. Meanwhile at 37 years of age Uncle Jerome was already busy memorizing the lines to HMS Pinafore, visiting Thomas Edison, exploring geological sites, learning photography, forecasting trans-atlantic storms, and oh, gearing up to sail to the North Pole. Now if that doesn't make me feel unaccomplished, I don't know what will. But back then, Jerome didn't have iPods and iPhones and Google, he didn't have Harry Potter books and TV, DVD's and VCR's, so it makes sense to say in the 1800's they led a very focused education without much distraction. Now, if I were writing Jerome's bio in his era, the book would have been written and published months ago. But I have to multi-task living in 2007, and on somedays I multi-multi-task! So on that note, I have to go let the dogs out, clean the kitchen and make some phone calls while I do some laundry and pick up toys while my computer is busy burning some music cd's, and maybe eat something inbetween all this .

Making Connections

Many apologies for the delay to update my blog. I've been busy, busy, busy.

Our new home is coming along quite well, we finally have grass!! Fences have been put up and stained, and a rock with a blast hole has been displayed in our front yard as a tribute to where my husband works at a mine. We are very happy with all the improvements and thankful for our friends' help when called upon.

I have been enjoying more phone calls and photos and packages from Jack out on the east coast with the AOH (Ancient Order of Hibernians). He has made a few visits already to a Navy Museum on my behalf, and has just recently finished reading "Icebound" by Leonard F. Guttridge which is about the tragic Jeannette Expedition of 1879 that Uncle Jerome sailed on. Now that Jack has read this book, he states he is more comfortable with the story and wants to attempt to look for more clues and items relative to my research. This is good news. He was sympathetic to the fact Jerome was not painted in a very good light in "Icebound", Mr. Guttridge obviously did not know the full scale of Jerome's life when he wrote the book; since he based most of his knowledge from the Inquiries which were held after 1882/1883, it's easy to understand that the US Navy did all they could to protect their own by allowing dishonour and fault to lay with Jerome since he was Irish and an (indirect) threat to Lt. De Long. The two men were obviously both recording every aspect of the Expedition to the North Pole in their diaries and logbooks, but the race was on as to who would be the first one published. Jerome's only want was to make for scientific headway, however it's only natural to assume that he would have had the greatest story of all time being an employee of the New York Herald with quite a few years of journalism under his belt by 1879. Lt. De Long took advantage of his power with the Navy, he forced Jerome's diaries to sink with the ship... all but one which was hidden on Jerome's person during the escape to the Lena Delta in Siberia.

The story of HOW Jerome's story is coming to light is amazing in itself. I may keep repeating myself by saying this, but there are forces at work greater than myself to make all this happen. Jack has a friend named John. I was introduced to John by Mike. I have been in contact with Mike in Tennessee for well over a year now, he's a so-called expert on the Clan na Gael and all things Fenian. Mike told me he had a friend with the AOH, that would be John. It wasn't until recently after speaking back and forth with John that we realized we had a connection, one that was 141 years old! Apparently Uncle Jerome was working at a prison in London in 1866 when a bunch of Fenians were thrown in jail, John's Great Grandfather included. Jerome tried to makes plans to free the prisoners, however the plan failed, and Jerome had to flee to America in 1866. Now, 141 years later, the tables have turned and John is trying to help ME free Jerome and bring his story to light. Amazing how two people with such a strong connection could find each other in this world, but as I said, greater forces are at work and I've no doubt our introduction to each other was no coincidence.

Ronnie is still plugging away in Cork doing all he can to find out bits and pieces of the Collins' family in Cork, Ireland. He's doing a great job as always, and will be paying a visit to the National Library of Ireland to try and solidify more facts about Jerome. I can't wait to find what discoveries he'll make, it's going to be very exciting next week.

Part 1 of our 3rd article together was just published down in Western Australia in the Irish Scene magazine: Volume 9/Number 4, May/June 2007 issue. Click here to go to the Irish Scene website to request a copy of the magazine, Fred Rea is the editor. Part two is coming out next month in July. Fred has been an incredible wealth of knowledge. He is hooked up to Skype and it's enjoyable speaking with him, not to mention the great singing talent he has but shhhhhh! don't say anything because I can see him blushing all the way from Minnesota to Western Australia! Every time I speak with Fred I told him it's like I'm going to college for free, the education and history he passes on to me about the Irish and how they came to Western Australia is heartbreaking. Just a few days ago he was telling me how ships filled with orphans were taken from Ireland and brought to Australia, most of the children would be elderly now and some have attempted to search for their relatives back home in Ireland after all this time. Amazing story.

Fred is very passionate about his Irish heritage. He is a writer and journalist in every sense of the word, but you can tell he wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to his native home of Cork, Ireland. It's been said that Ireland's greatest export is her people, and it's certainly true. Fred Rea is a prime example of that as he is dedicated, devoted, and loyal to his country of not only Ireland but Western Australia where many Irish rebels and prisoners were forced to live. Now the Irish in Australia are embracing their heritage, when once it was shamed upon to be born from a family with convict ties. Not anymore, says Fred. And Fred is doing all he can to promote the Irish in Australia to a proud heritage. For all the help he as offered to me, the advice and the stories, I would like to thank Fred Rea and encourage everyone to subscribe to his magazine which is a work of passion & honor; educational and entertaining to us all.

This next week I am sending out forms to obtain Jerome's Navy Records and also ask for a copy of his Congressional Gold Medal. I am expecting to be turned down for both requests, they will probably claim no records exist, and claim the Medal was only a 1 time issue and can't be reissued. While I don't expect much to come from my attempts, I do expect to be given leads to other areas which might help open doors so that I can accomplish the task of freeing Jerome. I have also been told by Congressman Oberstar's office in Minnesota to just go straight to the top and write to The President of The United States, Mr. George Bush, and ask for a pardon on Jerome's record. But it seems to me (and cousin Louise in PA) that asking for a pardon would be admitting that Jerome was indeed guilty of trivial offenses and deserved to be placed under arrest and suspension while forced to serve under Navy regulations during the Jeannette Arctic Expedition of 1879. Since 1884, the Collins' family has fought back by denying Jerome did any wrong, and that in fact the Navy was responsible for Jerome's death, being subjected to harsh treatment because he was Irish. Yet this blemish on his record still exists to this day, a record which I have yet to find, which I expect once I send out a request for his records this next week will come back unfounded. Without his record, I fear I can't free Jerome and ask that his record be wiped clean. How am I supposed to ask the Navy to reverse these charges against Jerome without his Navy record? There is only one alternative, to produce the actual Inquiry of 1884 in it's entirety and give it to the Navy as proof that Jerome served, which I have, but there is over 1000 pages and I seriously don't think someone at the Navy will make time to read through this voluminous document. Herein lies the catch.