The Year of the McDermotts (Part 2)

The Visit 

I had emailed Tom, looking for a B & B in his area, and he insisted that Mary and I stay with him.  Checking FaceBook just before we left, I saw a post from Tom that he had moved!  He assured me he was still in Churchtown, but at a larger place.

We arrived bright and early in the morning on Sunday, and picked up our rental car.  We received a free "upgrade" vehicle which we really appreciated until we found out it was a delivery van with no back seat.  We set off to meet Tom for the 9 am Mass at St Nicholas in Churchtown.  We found Churchtown earlier than expected so we parked and walked around a bit to get some fresh air and stretch after the long night flight.  We were just wondering how we would find Tom, when we rounded a corner and saw a man standing in the middle of the road, talking on a cell phone.  He was saying "They just drove by, I don't know where they went."  I would have recognized Tom anywhere, since we look just alike.  Well, other than the fact that he is 18 years younger, a foot taller, and has much less hair!

We joined Tom for Mass and then went back to his house to freshen up and take a nap before joining the rest of the family for Sunday lunch at .Springfort Hall.  We had a lovely meal and I had the good fortune to sit next to Uncle Michael for dinner.  He told me about how the family look for my grandfather after losing touch with him.  They had hired a detective at one point to search for him in New York City, but were never able to locate him.  I explained to him how after my grandmother's death the children were separated and eventually abandoned by their father.



Above: U. S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, side 1; Image courtesy of Ancestry.com

Above: U. S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, side 2; Image courtesy of Ancestry.com



The last know residence I had found for him was 200 E 30th Street, New York City.  This was from his U. S. World War II Draft Registration card for what is called the old man's draft.  He was 55 years old and working for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.  None of us could find any further evidence of what became of him.

After Sunday lunch, Mary and I returned to Tom's house to chat and adjust to the time difference.  We really enjoyed Tom's new coffee machine!  In the early evening, the phone rang, and Tom answered in.  There was a quiet conversation, Tom hung up and turned to us.

"You've passed the test.  You have been invited to the house tomorrow evening!"




Back row: Michael McDermott, Claire McDermott, Tom McDermott
Front row: Bridie McDermott, Mary McDermott, Kathy Sullivan at Spring fort Hall

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