Monday, December 30, 2013

Regan Family News Volume 1 #1

Here is the link to Regan Family News Volume 1#1

In February of 1962, my uncle, Roswell Regan, began publishing this family newsletter. Ross was one of six children of Peter F and Nellie Regan and this was his way of keeping the family together and communicating once Mom and Pop Regan had passed and the siblings and their children had scattered. You can read the inaugural document by clicking on the link above and I will be posting succeeding editions regularly.

Now that I am retired, I find I  have the time to satisfy a long standing inclination to learn about my family heritage. As the youngest member of my generation in both parents families, my parents in turn, each being the youngest in their families; and as an adult with no siblings, I haven't much to go on as far as research is concerned.  I have found this periodical, which as far as I know was published through 1965, to be invaluable. Ross did his family a tremendous service in compiling, writing, typing, printing and distributing this newsletter and I wish I could have the opportunity to thank him for the outstanding work he did. His writing is clear and direct and the organization is terrific. This is no seat of the pants operation;  this is a fine document and I'm privileged to read it and thankful for Ross' efforts and the efforts of those who contributed.

Most of the information I've been able to learn about the Regans comes from the RFN. I've been searching records and have been able to flesh out some interesting facts but I've only found documentation to back up what I already learned in Ross' newsletter. I hope to continue my personal research and look forward to gathering further information. Along the way, perhaps I'll get to communicate with family members, and isn't that what Ross intended all along?

A word about this publication. These pages were saved in a binder by my mother, Margaret Leddy nee Regan, and were found to be in fair condition. It took many hours, weeks, and months, as I tackled this project off and on, to scan all 180+ pages. The original document looks better than the resulting scans and some of the pages are of poor quality. I am frustrated by the lack of consistency in the final product but my novice scanning skills were a handicap and at some point you go with what you've got. Meanwhile, the result is legible and I hope that it brings joy and information to those who read it.