Understanding Our Family History

This section is dedicated to our deeper roots — the branches of the family that trace back through Ireland Prussia, Germany, France, and other parts of Europe, outlining the path that eventually led to our family as we know it today.

Founding Branches

• Parental Line
• Geleng Family – Germany, France and other Central European origins, 1700s–present.
• – During the turn of the 17th century, the Geleng family owned and operated a successful textile factory in Prussia, Germany, an area now known as Berlin. Prussia lost its independence in 1947 after the dissolution of WWII. The familys success afforded them the means to send two of their five sons to college in the early 1800s.
• The first son, Otto Friedrich Wilhelm (1843-1939), graduated from the Royal Accademia of Fine Arts and went on to become a well-known painter. He eventually relocated to Italy, married, and founded the 325 BC Roman village of Taormina, Italy.
• The second son, Carl Gustave. (1852-1938), also studied the arts. He briefly resided in England in 1883, where he married and had four children before emigrating to Canada. While in Canada, Gustave had three more children. He eventually emigrated to the United States in 1886, having eight more children. Gustave had a successful career as a photographer after settling in Chicago, Illinois, setting up his own studio and becoming a prominent figure in the city.
• Dillon Family - Ireland, County Galway, County Roscommon.
• – It's important to share the Dillon family story, which is one of survival during some of the most tumultuous times in Ireland's history.
• The family history took them to Williamstown, Co. Galway area in the early to mid-1700s with a modest tenant farm run by John and Mary Dillon (b.1724). Multiple generations either kept and maintained the farm or married and started a farm of their own.
• • The Dillons survived the famine of 1782-1784 and "The Great Famine" of 1845-1852. Michael Dillon (b.1856) made a decision after losing his wife, Elizabeth Daly, due to complications of childbirth, to give his children a better chance in the new world. He began selling off parts of the family farm and slowly paid passage for ten of his children to come to America. His youngest son, Patrick, stayed until after his father's death, then joined his brothers and sisters in the New Jersey and Connecticut area in 1913.
  • Maternal Line
  • McGettigan Family - these families are pure Irish
  • – Here you'll find some fascinating historical information I found regarding the McGettigan family in County Donegal, Ireland. It highlights how many families, including the McGettigans, have remained in regional areas for generations, tracing their lineage back to the original Irish Clans and Lords.
  • This information details the family line starting with John McGettigan SR. (1836-1907) and Ellen, who farmed in the Binbane, Meentanakill area.
  • Their son, John Jr. (1871-1949), and his wife Mary Anne Gavigan (1879-1953) secured their own farm in Meenapeekey, Glengesh, and raised ten children. Their second oldest son, Rodger (1905-1971), and his wife Bridget Conaghan (1913-1992) had six children and maintained the family farm throughout their lives, which their grandchildren Rodger and Michael continue to maintain today.
  • Gallagher Family - Originally O'Gallchobhair, one of the original clans of eastern County Donegal.
  • – We don't have much information about this sect of Gallagher family but historically Gallaghers werent usually the kings, but they were top-tier noblesa major hereditary military family.
  • The surname tradition in Ireland crystallizes around the 10th11th centuries for many major families; the Gallagher line is generally placed in that early-medieval window. From roughly the 14th century into the early 1600s, Gallagher chiefs are repeatedly described as hereditary Marshals.
  • Parks Family – Irish family that escaped the "Great Famine" to live & thrive in New York City.

  Historical Records

  Over time, this page will link to scanned documents, transcriptions, and external research sites (for example, Ancestry and other genealogy tools), to provide an in-depth look at the historical documents that piece together the journey of our ancestors.

  • Birth, marriage, and death records.
  • Passenger lists and immigration documents.
  • Military, census, and local registry records.

  Stories & Oral History

  Beyond dates and places, our family history is made of stories. This section can hold written recollections, recorded interviews, and favorite family anecdotes.