Dear Reader,

As a young girl, Christine Cochran had a lot of unanswered questions about her childhood. Her mom had two children, divorced, and then had Christine through a relationship with a married man. Christine always knew she had a sister. She thought they both had the same father. One day, Christine was asking her mom questions about the man who was “dad” to her sister. Christine’s mother was evasive and just said “He’s not your father.”

This was, as Christine said, “traumatic” and she was very confused and stunned. “What she was saying, is that I had a different father from my sister,” Christine said. She was 12 years old when she first heard this information and she said it made her feel “untethered”. Then several years later, Christine’s sister was the one to tell her she also had a half-brother. 

Christine’s story isn’t an anomaly. I often meet folks who do not have the traditional family tree. It leaves a lot of questions, and many times, a deep desire to know their ancestry. Most often, in these situations, the information is not passed down through the generations because of shame, guilt and a desire to keep the family secrets. For a child, it often leaves emptiness and a sense of shame or confusion about who they are. It was years later until Christine was able to begin her search of understanding her family’s path. Reader, did your family have secrets? If so, how did that impact you?

Another event in Christine’s childhood that left a deep impression on her was the Hurricane of 1970. She was living in Texas, and when Hurricane Celia blew through their county, they lost their home. “We were temporarily homeless for a while,” Christine said. Have you experienced a natural disaster, Reader?

Her childhood memories stuck with her and added to her curiosity about her family’s background. When she was 21-years-old Christine was given more information that added to her list of questions. She had traveled to Long Island, New York for the funeral of her grandfather. While there, she visited her Uncle Bob who gave her several items belonging to her grandpa. She received three books. One was a journal with reflections about her grandfather’s life. One was a story about Jerimiah Muldoon who was a leprechaun. Thirdly, there was a small notebook that told about the family background of her great-great grandfather.  It told about Patrick William Briscoe who was a fresco artist. Reader, do you have treasured documents from your ancestors?

 

A fresco artist paints on a wall or ceiling of a thin layer of wet plaster. (The Italian translation is “fresh”.) This was quite popular in the Renaissance age of Michelangelo. Supposedly and unbeknownst to the family, Christine’s great-grandfather had completed his fresco paintings in the Parliament Building in Toronto, Canada, at the St. Patrick’s cathedral in New York and in the Treasury building in Washington, D.C.

Christine found all of this fascinating. It sparked an interest in her to know more about her genealogy. However, she had to put her curiosity on hold while she went to college. She also worked at the Chateau de Gordon in the South of France as an au pair for a summer. Christine received her Bachelor of Science degree in Geological Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. For those of us, like me, who need to understand this in layman’s terms, Christine worked on environmental science projects. She spent the next five years in California working on assignments related to ground soil and groundwater.

Christine was only able to work on her genealogy as a hobby. In her full time career, she worked on an earthquake engineering project near Littleton, Colorado. In addition, Christine completed her Master’s degree from Regis University in Denver with a Master in Computer Information Systems. Her emphasis was in database administration. She began working as an Oracle Database administrator. This means she was a software engineer who manages large databases. 

Finally, Christine was at a stage in her life when she could delve more deeply into her family’s history. She was curious to research her great-great grandpa, the Fresco painter. Remember, she had a journal that said this ancestor had completed paintings in Toronto, New York City, and Washington, D.C.

To corroborate her relative’s notes, Christine started with Canada’s Parliament Building. She discovered that the building had been demolished in a fire. Next on her list, was the New York City cathedral. She was told they did not have any records of who painted the fresco painting. Last on her list, was Washington, D.C.’s Treasury building. 

Was this fresco painting completed by her great-great grandpa?  In 2000, she began corresponding with people who might be able to help her track down more information. By 2003, part of her detective work included conversations with the preservation specialist, John Canning, from Washington D.C. He was the expert who restored ceiling murals. In 2007, she ventured for her first visit to the Treasury building. Reader, how far have you traveled to discover your family’s heritage?

Through her research, Christine discovered that a painting had been uncovered during a building renovation. When she saw it, Christine said the picture was “the spitting image of my mother.” The painting was in the Salmon P. Chase suite in the Treasury Building. Chase had been the treasurer during Lincoln’s presidency at the time of the Civil War. The curator of the building became interested in Christine’s information and wanted to do more checking. What the curator determined is that the fresco painting was credited to be the work of another artist. However, this artist used the services of another artist to complete his commissions. So, while it cannot be definitively proven, there is a general consensus that Christine’s great-great grandfather was the artist.

In addition to her career schedule, Christine also started a new path when she married fellow Oracle Database Administrator, Mark David Cochran. It was the weekend following the infamous 2013-hundred-year flood in Colorado. Because of the road damage and high waters, they didn’t know if their wedding venue would still be available. This was disconcerting news because Mark and Christine had guests flying in from throughout the States and from overseas. However, all turned out well. Two days before the wedding, the water receded and the road was opened. The couple received word that guests would be able to reach the wedding destination.  Christine and Mark married at Evergreen Lake Home.  “It was a beautiful wedding,” Christine said. 

For nine years, the Cochrans lived on Lookout Mountain, Colorado in the home they titled “Chalet Woohoo”. Christine said, “my husband is a very reserved man.” She said that if she questioned him about an activity or event he did during the day and asks, ‘was it exciting?’, he answers in a monotone ‘woohoo’. It is one of those tender moments of a couple’s humor with each other. Reader, does your family have a unique humor connecting your love?

In 2016, Christine made a huge change in her life. She had been working 50 to 60 hours a week with databases. She decided to take off for a summer and determine if she could establish herself as a fulltime genealogist. She had access to online information. Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.com and other such sites were becoming popular as genealogy research tools.  She said, “I rolled up my sleeves and started doing real genealogy.” Another large change for the Cochrans was a move to Akron, Ohio two months ago. They wanted to live closer to Mark’s aging parents and some of his siblings. Currently, they haven’t given the new house a name. Christine is in the process of doing the residential genealogy on the house. What she knows so far is that mostly physicians had owned the house and “we will be the first family who is not German, Hungarian, and Jewish,” she said. 

Now for the past four years, Christine has built her company – Our Provenance. I was not familiar with the word ‘provenance’ and here is the definition for those of you who also may not know: /ˈprävənəns/ noun – the place of origin or earliest known history of something. As a writer, I am often on a word search for different ways to say something without writing the same word repeatedly in a paragraph. I liked the word ‘provenance’. It aptly describes Christine’s work. If you created your own company, Reader, what would you title your business?

Now, age 57, she is a leader in her field. Christine has received a significant amount of training and certifications. She previously held the title of president of the Colorado Chapter of Association of Professional Genealogists (CAPG). Also, she had been a delegate for the Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies (CCGS) and previously, held the title of president of Colorado Genealogy Society (CGS). At present, she is a member of the Welsch, Irish, Scottish, ad English Genealogy Society (WISE), Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), Colorado Genealogical Society (CGS), Foothills Genealogy Society (FGS) and the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS). In addition, she is currently serving a 2-year term as registrar of the Mountain Rendezvous Chapter of the National Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). Additionally, prior to the pandemic, she was the “genealogist on the desk” at the Central branch of Denver Public Library and volunteered in the manuscripts collection.

Christine told me that is it important that genealogists get compensated for the work they do. She explained there is a lot of research and costs. She wants folks to “understand the value of genealogy and pay accordingly”, she said. Genealogy research requires hundreds of hours and many times fees/costs to access the information needed for her clients. Christine prefers to keep her client list to 12 to 16 projects in a year so that she is able to devote significant time to each one. In trying to understand it in my mind, I would compare it to the writing of a mystery novel or extensive detective work. Christine goes down the trail, confirming or developing assumptions, finding and verifying facts until she gets to the heart of the story. With all of this research, if the information is available, Christine gives her clients answers to their ancestry tree. She prepares reports and works closely with the family throughout the process. 

Christine said that in her earlier career, she would often seek the next promotion or the next raise. However, when she started working in the genealogy field, that drive changed for her. She said now, “It’s about the stories – helping people connect to their past and their ancestors”. Readers, is there a burning question left unanswered in your family tree?

Last month we featured Euvaldo Valdez and his commitment and legacy to our community. Reader Pam said, “Great job Debbie. Wonderful couple and the story did need to be told.  Thanks for doing this story.” Hazel said, “I enjoyed your monthly blog about this accomplished and courageous man. Thanks for telling this story of Mr. Valdez and his family.” Sheble said, “I love your passion in your writing.” Vernie said, “keep up the good work!” Finally, Liz said, “Your blog about Euvaldo Valdez was the most interesting I’ve read. Thanks for telling us about him.”

 

Until next month, may peace be at your side,

Debbie Noel

We have several ways to interact with Debbie!

• Email her at DroppingInWithDebbie@gmail.com

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Debbie Noel
C/o Longmont Senior Center
910 Longs Peak Avenue
Longmont, Colorado 80501

 

For more information about Christine and her company Our Provenance, you can call her at 720.480.0927 or visit her website at https://www.ourprovenance.com/