Elsie Whelan (circa 1916)

Elizabeth Mary “Elsie” Whelan was born in Hospital Co. Limerick.  Elsie believed her birth date to be June 1st, 1907 as the Irish records show.  However, there is good reason to believe she may have been born earlier than that – maybe as much as 3 years earlier.  She was the eldest child of Jack and Mae Whelan.  She had five sisters – Moira, Kathleen, Agnes, Alice and Carmel, and two brothers – Jack and Paddy.  Elsie was the first of the family to come to America.  She emigrated in Oct. 1926 aboard the S.S. Caledonia and lived with her Aunt Delia (Whelan) Dempsey at 27 Albany St. in Albany, NY.  She reunited with her family when they came to America 6 months later, living at 32 Albany St. in Albany, NY.

Elsie had many adventures growing up in Ireland including traveling to Galway City to play the organ in St. Nicholas church and visiting with relatives in Dublin.  When the rest of the family emigrated to Scotland, Elsie stayed in Dublin to complete her studies at Skerries Business School.  Elsie joined the family in Renfrew, Scotland around 1925.

Elsie met fellow passenger Andrew Black “Andy” Hood on her voyage to America.  Andy was emigrating from Scotland to work in San Francisco.  Elsie must have made quite an impression on him however because he wrote to her frequently and they married a year and half later.  Elsie married Andy in Sacred Heart Church in North Albany on June 9th, 1928 and they settled in Brooklyn, NY.

Elsie worked in midtown Manhattan for 10 years until their first child, Andrew Allan “Al” Hood came along in 1938.  Four years later they welcomed Maureen Patrice Hood into the world.  Elsie and Maureen relocated to Albany following Andy’s death in 1952, with Al following the next year after completing the school year.

In Albany, Elsie worked for “the State” and loved playing the stock market.  In retirement, Elsie found a true passion in travel, visiting 12 European countries, Canada, Mexico and the Virgin Islands, in addition to NYC, Florida and many other US locations.

Elsie died on March 29th, 1997 in Albany and is buried in St. Agnes Cemetery in nearby Menands.