Pappy sailed on the USS Niagara in 1920

Looking at US Census data for 1920, I believe my great-uncle "Pappy" Markell (the nickname used by some of my cousins) served on the USS Niagara, anchored in Mexico during the Census period of Feb. 1920. The Niagara was a yacht purchased by the Navy from Howard Gould of NYC. 

Following WWI, the Niagara stayed in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean waters during early 1920s . . . when Pappy was on board. More about the USS Niagara here. Pappy was on back on shore for good, it seems, by 1921 when he married his wife, known in the family as Sweetie. (updated 2022 with image and new link).

Great-Grandma Tillie

Great-Grandma Tillie Mahler died in June, 1952 at 99 yrs old, if her death cert can be believed (informant was her son Morris, but still...). Morris says Tillie's father was Julius Yaina and I know her maiden name was Jacobs. 

Cuz Ira had this full-length photo of her. She lived to see many grandchildren married--I know because her face is in their wedding photos. Wish I could hear her stories. 2022 update: This post is linked to the Jacobs ancestral landing page at top of my blog.

Great-Aunt Anna

My cousin had always told me that her aunt Anna Gelbman Schwartz (my great-aunt) died in 1940, but I had no exact date and didn't follow up--until last month, when I used the excellent Italian Genealogical Group web site's databases to find her among the NYC records the volunteers have painstakingly cross-indexed and made available. I sent for the death cert, thinking it would be months before it arrived. NYC surprised me and processed the request in less than 2 weeks. Now I have Anna's parents' full names and birth countries! And using that, I've already found them in, of all places, Connecticut. More research ahead. 

2022 Update: This post is now linked to my Schwartz ancestor landing page.