PODCAST · history
Hand Me Down
by Gerald O'Connor
Hand Me Down is my podcast of history and family stories. The goal of this series is to tell some of the stories of my family in the context of the history in which those stories occurred. It’s part genealogy and part history that I hope you’ll enjoy. Visit the website at http://oconnor.home.blog
Episodes
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S5E28 - Reinvention
Everett Ward Gardiner's life began in scandal, wandered through shame and reinvention, and ended in dignity. http://oconnor.home.blog
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S5E27 - Stockton State
A finish to the story of my great‑grandfather, Thomas O’Connor — a man whose life began hopefully in Ireland, endured immigration, hard work, three marriages, and ended during the Great Depression in a place few families ever talk about openly: Stockton State Hospital, one of California’s largest...
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S5E26 - A Baseball Life
This episode centers on the baseball life of my grandfather Gerald Desmond and the baseball scrapbook he kept as a child from 1906 to about 1914. http://oconnor.home.blog
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S4E25 - Marble and Stained Glass
A statue and windows in our parish church in Sacramento make a connection to ancestors on both sides of my family. Episode link
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S4E24 - Ghosted
My great-grandfather migrates from Nebraska to Colorado and on to California during the 1920s, leaving a great deal behind in his wake. Episode Link
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S3E23 - On This Christmas Day
I thought it would be worth remembering my great-grandfather on this 100th anniversary of his passing. Episode Link
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S3E22 - The Victim
In 1898, my 2X great-grandfather Baldwin Gardiner was shot and killed after a botched robbery and a daring chase over San Francisco rooftops. Episode Link
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S2E21 - Working on the Railroad
In this episode, I take a look at my family’s relationship to one of the major industries that employed several of my ancestors – the railroads. Episode link
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S1E20 - The Cure
With COVID raging and the current occupant of the White House suggesting wild cures, I look back into my family tree where a not-so-reliable treatment scam figured into the life of one of my third great-grandfathers in 1830s Jacksonian America. Episode link
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S1E19 - Pandemic
In this episode, as I shelter-in-place under the coronavirus epidemic, I look into how some of my ancestors endured the Influenza Epidemic of 1918. Episode link
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S1E18 - The Worst Season
In this episode, a great-uncle endures drought and hardship on a Dakota farm once part of the territory of the Lakota Sioux that was broken up and sold under the Dawes Act of 1887. Episode link
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S1E17 - The Absconder
In this post, I continue the story of Baldwin Gardiner, who over the course of his life appears to have been a name borrower, a home-wrecker, and a financial absconder in 19th-century San Francisco. Episode link
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S1E16 - Thomas and Rose
In this episode, I pick up the saga of the O’Connor family after settling in Nebraska, particularly the story of my great-grandparents Thomas O’Connor and Rose Burry. Episode link
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S1E15 - Prisoner of Rock Island
In this episode, I introduce a 2x great-grandfather on my mother’s side who, among other things, was a Confederate POW during the Civil War and an early settler of the town of Fresno. Episode link
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S1E14 - Homestead
In this episode, we continue Michael O'Connor's journey from Ireland in 1884 to a homestead outside of Grand Island, Nebraska. Episode link
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S1E13 - Clerk Stories
In this episode, I take a look at the long public service career of my great-grandfather, Michael Desmond, who held municipal offices during the Progressive Era of the early 20th century. Episode link
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S1E12 - Their Guilty Union
In this episode, my second great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Ward, gets divorced, then marries, and dies – all on the same day. Episode link
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S1E11 - Push and Pull
In this episode, we visit a non-Irish branch of my family tree and explore what brought them from a little village in Switzerland into the heartland of America. Episode link
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S1E10 - Pretty Houses
This episode started out as an attempt to find out more about a duplex that I own in East Sacramento, but I ended up learning more about the people who built it. Episode link
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S1E9 - Off to California 1851
In this episode, we take a closer look at the first Baldwin Gardiner from New York and his journey to California during the Gold Rush. Episode link
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S1E8 - The First Boycott
In this episode, my great-great grandfather Michael O'Connor participates in the very first boycott, and in a way, initiates his own. Episode link
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S1E7 - Words Fail
In this episode, my great-grandmother Mary Morley Desmond writes some words during the worst of the Great Depression. More at oconnor.home.blog
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S1E6 - They Did Some Punching
In this episode, my great-grandfather and his brother go looking for trouble, and hope to prove the truth of that old adage “it’s not who starts the fight that matters, it’s who finishes it.” More at oconnor.home.blog
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S1E5 - Over There
In this episode, I look into members of the family who were of age 100 years ago during The Great War – World War I – and tell the story of my great-uncle James Flanagan who served in World War I. More at oconnor.home.blog
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S1E4 - Who is B.G. Cooke?
In this episode, I begin the story of my great-great grandfather Baldwin Gardiner of San Francisco. It will take multiple posts to tell his story. Trust me. I think. More at oconnor.home.blog
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S1E3 - Carried Away
At first it appeared to be just an innocuous lapel pin on an image of my great-grandfather, Thomas O'Connor. But wait... is that a hatchet? More at oconnor.home.blog
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S1E2 - Full of Feeling
In this episode, we’ll look at my 2nd great uncle, John Desmond. I don’t know why I chose to feature him first. Maybe it’s because I recently found an image of him – a drawing that appeared in the Sacramento Bee in 1892. Something about an image that draws me to its story. More at oconnor.home.blog
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S1E1 - Meet the Families
In this episode, I’ll be setting up the background to this series and introduce the four branches of my family tree that serve as the structure for the program. More at oconnor.home.blog
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Hand Me Down is my podcast of history and family stories. The goal of this series is to tell some of the stories of my family in the context of the history in which those stories occurred. It’s part genealogy and part history that I hope you’ll enjoy. Visit the website at http://oconnor.home.blog
HOSTED BY
Gerald O'Connor
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Hand Me Down have?
Hand Me Down currently has 28 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Hand Me Down about?
Hand Me Down is my podcast of history and family stories. The goal of this series is to tell some of the stories of my family in the context of the history in which those stories occurred. It’s part genealogy and part history that I hope you’ll enjoy. Visit the website at http://oconnor.home.blog
How often does Hand Me Down release new episodes?
Hand Me Down has 28 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Hand Me Down?
You can listen to Hand Me Down on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Hand Me Down?
Hand Me Down is created and hosted by Gerald O'Connor.
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