Preview: New York State Family History Conference

The New York State Family History Conference has begun--but I won't be joining the festivities until the final day.

The Saturday schedule of #NYSFHC is jam-packed with excellent speakers and topics. I'm thinking of attending these sessions, depending on crowd size and last-minute decisions...

• 9:15 am - Cherie Bush will explain dozens of free databases and resources in FamilySearch's New York State collection. Given the number of New York City and State ancestors in my tree (and a few in hubby's tree), this is a top pick for me.
• 11 am - Carmen Nigro of the NY Public Library will discuss "Genealogy in Context: Using History to Find (more than just) Family Facts." The library has so many resources for putting family history into historical context! Gotta learn more.
• Lunch and exhibit time - So many interesting exhibitors, so little time.
• 1:45 pm - Hoping to squeeze into the room to see Thomas Jones, the guru of documentation and narration. Need I say more?
• 2:45 - Photo meet with friendly fellow members of the Virtual Genealogical Association.
• 3:15 - Judith Herbert will show some resourceful ways to research "Ancestors of Meager Means and even Less Fame in 19th Century NYC." My immigrant ancestors who arrived toward the end of the 1800s had little money and little fame. This should be a good session for me.

See you there?! [Updated to reflect new speaker for NYPL]

Father and Son Share a Birthday

My Facebook genealogy persona, Benjamin McClure, is my husband's great-great-grandfather.

Benjamin was born on April 30, 1812, only 6 weeks before the start of the War of 1812. He died on February 21, 1896.

Benjamin married Sarah Denning (1811-1888) on July 30, 1831. Both were 19 years old.

Who else in this family tree was born or married in April? Getting an answer was a cinch, using my RootsMagic 7 software.

On the "reports" part of the menu, I selected "calendar" and entered April, as shown in the screen shot at top. I requested both birthdays and anniversaries.

Turns out that Sarah and Benjamin's son, Theodore Wilson McClure (1834-1927) was born on his father's 22nd birthday, which was April 30, 1834.

Theodore was baptized in June of 1835, in West Union, Ohio, I learned from the Presbyterian Church records on Ancestry (snippet above).

And, thanks to the calendar function on my RM7 software, I could see at a glance that Theodore Wilson McClure got married on April 15, 1858, to Louisa Jane Austin (1837-1924). He was 23, she was 21. I imagine his parents both attended the ceremony, which was in Wabash, Indiana, where Benjamin was a well-respected landowner, farmer, and civic leader.

Following the prompts for Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors series has encouraged me to use more functions of my software and to consider so many different aspects of my ancestors' lives. Thank you!

Family History: Mayflower Sails from Plymouth

Because hubby has four Mayflower ancestors, world history is closely intertwined with family history in his family tree.

On this day, 398 years ago, the Mayflower sailed away from Plymouth, England.

Among the passengers were my husband's ancestors . . .

• Degory Priest
• Isaac Allerton
• Mary Norris Allerton
• Mary Allerton

Mary Allerton would grow up and marry Thomas Cushman (who arrived on the Fortune). Generations later, their descendant Lydia Cushman became my hubby's 3d great-grandmom by marrying Elihu Wood, Sr., on March 2, 1784 in Dartmouth, MA (snippet of record shown above).

Lydia and Elihu's son Isaac Wood, Sr., married Harriet Taber on May 18, 1806. They were my husband's 2d great-grandparents.

One of Harriet and Isaac's sons was Thomas Haskell Wood (1809-1890), who married Mary Amanda Demarest (1831-1897) on May 14, 1845 in Lafayette, Louisiana. These were my husband's great-grandparents. 

Telling these stories over and over reminds descendants how events that occur in the wider world can profoundly influence the course of many individual families' histories--including our own. Looking ahead to Mayflower 2020, which is only two years away!

How Our Grandparents Made a Living (or Not)

For this week's #52Ancestors prompt, "Work," I'm taking a look at how my grandparents and hubby's grandparents made a living. Both of us had one grandfather who worked with wood. That's where the similarities end. And this is another case of "don't believe everything in the census."

His grandparents (one immigrant, three grandparents with families long established in America)

• Maternal grandpa Brice Larimer McClure (1878-1970) was a master machinist. When he married maternal grandma Floyda Steiner in June of 1903, Brice was working for the "big four" railway shops in Wabash, Indiana (see newspaper clipping). His skills were in demand--especially during World War II, when he lied about his age to seem young enough to work in a Cleveland, Ohio machine shop vital to the war effort. 
• Maternal grandma Floyda Mabel Steiner (1878-1948) was a full-time mother, but also supplemented her husband's income during the Depression by working in a Cleveland-area store and stretching the family's income as far as possible. 
• Paternal grandpa James Edgar Wood (1871-1939) was a carpenter and builder in Toledo, Ohio and, after his marriage, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Alas, this grandpa was a good builder but not as good a businessman, according to his oldest son. In fact, most of the homes he constructed are still standing and solid after more than a century. James was the last of this line of the Wood family to be a carpenter. None of his four sons worked in carpentry or wood, nor his grandsons.
• Immigrant paternal grandma Mary Slatter (1869-1925) was, according to the London workhouse admission register, a servant at age 19 in 1888. My guess was it was more of a low-level maid's position. She lived in Whitechapel and came from extreme poverty. Her mother had been confined to an insane asylum for years at that point. How Mary supported herself after arriving in America in 1895 and before marrying grandpa Wood in 1898, is a mystery.

My grandparents (all four were immigrants from Eastern Europe)

• Maternal grandpa Tivador Schwartz (1887-1965) was a "clerk" in 1909-10, working as a runner for the steamship lines and working with immigrants like himself (according to census and his naturalization papers). By 1915, he listed his occupation on the NY census as "steamship agent," technically a correct interpretation of what I suspect was commission-based sales of tickets or insurance or both to immigrants. By 1917, he owned his own grocery store in the Bronx, work he continued until he finally retired in the late 1940s/early 1950s. His grandchildren have exhibited some of his entrepreneurial drive!
• Maternal grandma Hermina "Minnie" Farkas (1886-1964) used her sewing skills to help support her family after arriving as a teenage immigrant in late 1901. A Roth cousin "did her a favor" (according to my Mom) and found her paid work as a necktie finisher (census backs this up). She continued to work on "gents' neckwear" until she married grandpa in 1911. Once her husband owned his own grocery store, she worked alongside him--long hours on their feet, which hurt their health in later years. Minnie passed her love of needlework, as a hobby, to a daughter and granddaughters.
• Paternal grandpa Isaac Burk (1882-1943) left his hometown of Gargzdai, Lithuania with training as a cabinet maker. He and his older brother, Abraham, made their living through carpentry. The UK census of 1901 shows them both living with family in Manchester, England, occ: cabinetmakers, true because I've seen Isaac's work. The 1910 US census lists Isaac as a "storekeeper, candy" but I'm not sure how true or long-lasting that was--maybe a quick stopgap in between his carpentry work. Isaac's 1942 WWII "old man's draft" card says he was a manufacturer of dress forms, but again, I'm not sure this is strictly accurate. One of Isaac's brothers-in-law had a dress-forms business. Isaac might have worked there part-time, especially to qualify for what was then a fairly new Social Security program.
• Paternal grandma Henrietta Mahler (1881-1954) is shown as being employed as a "stenographer," according to the 1900 census. Mind you, she was in the country for 14 years. She was 19 at the time of that census and, I gather, a quick study, but I'm not sure she really took dictation. Probably she worked at some office-type clerical job (typing) to help support the family. Very likely she did some work in the garment trade, because her younger sisters worked in lace, millinery, and garment factories, cousins tell me. After she married grandpa, Henrietta took care of their growing family and transported the kids back and forth between New York City, where her widowed mother and siblings lived, and Montreal, where Isaac sometimes worked with his brother Abraham.

Honor Roll Project: WWI Service in Pleasantville, NY

As part of Heather Wilkinson Rojo's Honor Roll Project, I photographed and transcribed the World War I memorial plaque in Pleasantville, New York.

Heather will be updating her project in time for Veteran's Day.

Getting ready in advance, I'm posting this to honor the service and sacrifice of 1917-1919 veterans from Pleasantville, a town in Westchester county, New York, not too far from New York City.

Transcribed below is the text on this plaque, which is adjacent to the Metro North train station in Memorial Plaza.
--

In honor of those who served in the World War from the village of Pleasantville and vicinity, 1917-1919

“Made the supreme sacrifice”

Angelicchio, John
Goldstein, Nathan
Nicoll, Fancher
O’Reilly, William
Rose, Frank J.
Teller, Edward W.

[Others in service during World War I:]

Adair, Donald P.
Adrian, Francis M.
Adrian, Lawrence J.
Alexandre, Jerome
Anderson, Frank G.
Annand, William D.
Arzberger, Philip W.
Arzberger, Theodore A.
Baker, Graydon R.
Baker, Raymond F.
Banks, Sanford R.
Bard, Charles J.
Bard, Donald G.
Bard, James M.
Bard, M. Taylor
Barratt, Thomas P.
Bartsch, Leo A.
Bell, Arthur
Bell, Charles
Bell, Elwell
Bell, Wilmot E.
Bergmark, Axel B.
Bergmark, Gustave H.
Bergmark, Wilmer
Berte, Francesco
Berte, Nicola
Berte, Sarafino
Blouin, Earl
Borthwick, George H.
Boyce, Charles A.
Brundage, C. Ernest
Brundage, Franklin D.
Brunner, Chris H., Jr.
Burke, Edward F.
Burke, Thomas A.
Butler, G. Kenneth
Calderon, George
Camberari, Nicola
Campbell, C. Bartlett
Campbell, Harry E.
Carmer, Henry S.
Carruth, Gorton V.
Carruth, Oliver E.
Carruth, Paul H.
Chamberlain, Ernest F.
Chamberlain, Milton H.
Cimaglia, Frank P.
Clarke, Robert L.
Conschafter, William A.
Cornthwaite, Alfred A.
Cottrell, Henry H.
Cottrell, Robert
Crolly, H. Spencer
Cullen, Joseph
Davidson, John S.
De Bella, Antonio
De Leon, Genseric C.
Dixon, Clark E.
Durney, Lawrence J.
Durocher, James L.
Durocher, Joseph
Eberhardt, Edward
Erickson, Otto
Flink, C. Russell
Forth, Clarence R.
Foster, William H., Jr.
Fowler, H. Eugene
Franco, Giavonni
Gibbs, Harry W.
Gill, Horace E.
Gill, William D.
Goldstein, Samuel
Guarino, Lorenzo
Guion, Archer
Gundberg, Eric
Halliday, Edwin
Halliday, Herbert R.
Hays, Edwin D.
Heermans, Charles T.
Hogle, Herbert G.
Hogle, Horace, Jr.
Holske, Louis H.
Howell, Asher A.
Hufcut, Arthur J.
Hyler, Robert
Jacobson, Arvid W.
Johnson, Charles, Jr.
Johnson, Harry
Jones, H. Allen
Jones, Russell K.
Kemmerer, Joseph T.
Kinney, Albert S.
Laire, H. Townsend
Lane, C. Mortimer
Lava, Rocco
Le Grys, Thomas F.
Lilley, Ernest R.
Love, Samuel
Mac Curdy, John t.
Mack, George A., Jr.
Mangen, Michael
Marshall, Harrison W.
Mastick, Seabury C.
Mc Carthy, John M.
McClure, Robert H.
McClure, T. Harvey
McClure, James J.
Meyn, Frederick
Mikkelsen, Otto
Miller, Robert R.
Moore, Norris E.
Moroney, James J.
Mount, William
Murphy, Geo. R.
Murphy, James A.
Norton, Harold M.
Odell, Ambrose
Oettinger, John R.
Oliveri, Guiseppi
Olmsted, Harry C.
Olmsted, Leslie D.
Olson, J. Arthur
O’Reilly, Alphonse M.
O’Reilly, John R.
O’Reilly, Thomas F.
O’Reilly, Vincent P.
Orteig, Everiste
Orteig, Raymond, Jr.
Palmer, Stephen H.
Partelow, William
Particcinni, Vito
Pattison, Earle C.
Pagano, Santo
Purdy, Willard E.
Reale, Carmello
Reed, J. Howard
Regan, Patrick
Renson, Manny A.
Reynolds, Earle L.
Reymolds, G. Allen
Rizzo, Francesco
Robinson, Horace E.
Robinson, Wesley V.
Romaine, Edward E.
Romaine, Kenneth I.
Romaine, Leslie
Rood, Kingsland T.
Russo, Savatore
Ryan, James J.
Ryan, John J.
Saunders, James A.
Schlich, Theodore
Schmelke, Ferdinand W.
Schmidt, William M.
Scholerman, Carl H.
Scudderi, Rosario
See, Alexander
Slagle, Harry
Stafford, Benjamin
Storiale, Vincenzo
Strovopulos, Alex.
Sutton, Effingham E.
Swanson, Claus V.
Swesbin, Joseph
Teats, Elmer L.
Teats, Harold L.
Tucker, Walter H.
Tucker, William H.
Tynan, Michael J.
Vatet, Oscar V.
Wallace, Donald S.
Walsh, J. Le Roy
Walsh, Thomas F.
Weinschenk, Mills K.
Wilcox, Ernest N.
Wille, G.A., Jr.
Williams, Sylvester W.
Williams, V. Loyd
Wiltse, Ralph A.

"The record of their honorable service will be preserved in the hearts of our citizens"
--
Let me add my voice to those praising the service of those who served. Thank you!