52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 23

 Week 23:

The theme for Week 23 is "Wedding Bells." Do you have a favorite ancestral wedding photo? What about an ancestor who heard wedding bells multiple times?


I have some photographs of my grandmother Dominish's wedding. 

Yes. That's right. There have been two Dominishs in this world!!!

We just didn't live at the same time. 


Dominica "Dominish" "Donna" Mae Casini Clark

Born: 27 May 1922 Hershey, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA

Died: 8 September 1976 New Cumberland, Cumberland, Pennsylvania, USA

Paul Richard Miller 

Born: 3 Nov 1915 Enola, Cumberland, Pennsylvania, USA

Died: 17 Apr 1951 Linglestown, Pennsylvania, USA

Funnily enough, Dominish wasn't even her legal name. Her birth certificate lists her as Dominica*... somewhere along the way that got bastardized into Dominish... and then she ended up going by the nickname Donna. 

My mom tells the story that when she found out she was having a girl (me) my dad was excited to name me after his mom. My mom gently told him that she didn't like the name Donna for her daughter. He said good because her real name is Dominish! ... I bet my mom wishes she gave Donna the green light. 

According to the family members currently living, no one remembers ever hearing that Dominish's real name was Dominica. When I found her birth certificate with the proof everyone was surprised because they only knew her as Dominish or Donna. 

Her wedding license says Dominish, her obituary says Dominish, her headstone says Dominish, and I've even found her old Social Security card that says Dominish... even though she never legally changed her name from Dominica. 

It's a family mystery that she took to the grave. 

*Domenica is a name of Italian origin. It is derived from the Latin word dominus, meaning "belonging to the Lord." Domenica is also the Italian word for Sunday. 

But, I digress. 

I have some pictures from Grandma Dominish's first wedding. She married Paul Miller, my grandfather in 1941. Paul was 25 and Dominish was 18. They had three kids together, two boys and one girl. Paul died at 35 after contracting tuberculosis. 

Dominish married again in 1954 to Russell Clark. I do not have any of their wedding photographs. They had one daughter during their marriage. They remained married until my grandmother died in 1976. 

My Aunt Kathy (Dominish's youngest daughter) ended up wearing my grandmother's dress at her wedding. 



Dominish and Paul (left)


Apollonia, Giuseppe (Dominish's parents), Dominish, Paul, John Blanche (Paul's parents)







Paul and Dominish's wedding record





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