One of the most exciting finds in the metal box was a baptism certificate for my husband Bill's grandfather, Patrick Hickey.

Patrick was born 20 January 1865 near St Paul, Minnesota, and baptized 5 Feb1865 at the Cathedral in St Paul. The baptism certificate was actually prepared in October 1937 - probably at Patrick's request - from records appearing in the Cathedral baptismal register. 

The current Cathedral of St Paul was completed in 1915 and is the fourth cathedral of the Diocese of St Paul and Minneapolis to bear this name. Patrick's baptism would have taken place in the third cathedral, built between 1854 and 1858 at the corner of Wabasha and Sixth Streets in what is now downtown St Paul.  

The certificate confirms Patrick's parents as Patrick Hickey and Julia Ryan. Julia's Ryan ancestry has stymied me for years, Ryan being a relatively common surname and occurring often on the Hickey side of the family as well. The potentially precious genealogical clues provided by Patrick's baptism certificate are the names of his baptism sponsors: Michael Power and Anna Ryan. I don't know (yet) who Anna Ryan is, and I've never encountered the name "Power" on either side of the family. I did find an "M. P. Ryan" (Michael Power Ryan?)  in St Paul in the 1860 census. I suspect the sponsor name on the 1937 baptism certificate may be incorrect or incomplete.

In any case, the newly-found certificate made me realize the possibility that I'd overlooked an important source of information. I've opted to take advantage of one of the benefits of IGSI membership.  I've asked an IGSI researcher to look at Catholic church baptism records on microfilm. IGSI members pay only $15/hour for research. Non-members pay $30/hour. If you'd like help with your research, you might want to consider membership. Click on Research at left for details about IGSI's research policy.

Wouldn't it be exciting if names of baptism sponsors of Patrick and his siblings lead me to a break-through in the Ryan brick wall? I'll let you know what I find.