Editor’s Note: The paternal grandmother of Cathy Parish Skura was, Catherine Canavan Parish, was the 9th of the 13 children born to Anthony Canavan (1822-1890) and Ann Hughes (1818-1899). My paternal grandmother, Ellen Canavan Bowe was their 12th born. The Lynch and Casey kin derive from the last to be born of the 13 Canavan children, Margaret Elizabeth Canavan.
With families strung out this way over more than two centuries, it’s a wonder any of us still know one another, let alone remain on speaking terms. I’m sure one of the reasons they have remained so appreciative of family ties is that they most of them were brought up to believe families were important enough to put some work into sustaining.
Just as Cathy remembers her trips to visit her city cousins the Bowes in Chicago, so I remember visiting the Parishes in Momence, Illinois. I don’t think either Cathy or I are surprised that our own children similarly think of themselves as part of an interesting and broader group than their immediate loved ones.
