Photo of Grandpa's "Last Good Day"

Isaac Burk and family in Washington, D.C. on Oct 7, 1943,
one day before Isaac's fatal heart attack

OCTOBER 7, 1943

The handwritten date on the back of this photo has special significance. It was the "last good day" in the life of my paternal Grandpa.

The snapshot shows Isaac Burk (1882-1943) and his wife, paternal grandma Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954), strolling arm and arm (the couple on the left side).

Isaac and Henrietta had arrived a few days earlier to visit with Henrietta's beloved sister, Ida Mahler Volk (1892-1971). Ida is second from the right in the phioto. Her husband, Louis Volk (1890-1952), might have taken this photo, which also shows a Mahler cousin, Hylda Jacobs Wilner (1898-1990) at the far right. But at that time, photographers roamed big-city streets, taking candid photos of people for a reasonable price.

Alas, this particular Thursday was my grandpa's last good day.

Isaac sadly suffered a fatal heart attack on the very next day, Friday, October 8th.

He was buried on Sunday, October 10, 1943, in Riverside Cemetery, Saddle Brook, New Jersey.

When I look at this photo and the date written on the back, I feel comforted that my grandpa Isaac's last good day was spent enjoying the company of family members he knew and loved.

Looking for Grandpa Teddy in the NY Census

My maternal grandfather, Theodore Tivador "Teddy" Schwartz (1887-1965) left Ungvar, Hungary (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine) in early 1902. He arrived in New York City when he was only 14 years old.

Teddy's older brother Samuel (Simon) Schwartz (1883-1954) followed, arriving in New York in January of 1904. The manifest indicates that Sam was discharged to his brother Teodor Schwartz, who lived at 941 Second Avenue in Manhattan, near the corner of East 50th Street, according to Google Maps.

This intrigued me because most new immigrants from my family started out living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, an area packed with tenements.

On the Lower East Side: Brother Sam, No Teddy

Previously, I had easily found Teddy's brother Sam Schwartz, a printer, as a boarder with the Grossman family at 82 Avenue D, on the Lower East Side, in the 1905 NY Census.

Again looking at that 1905 NY Census page and the others before and after, no sign of Grandpa Teddy near his brother. Yet in 1911, Grandpa was living at 82 Avenue D, because it's listed on his marriage license.

Also, I looked but have not found Teddy in any Manhattan city directories for that period. Grandpa, you are being elusive!

During today's search, I thought I might find him as a boarder, lodger, or roomer in the household of some other family at 941 Second Avenue. It was the only lead I have to follow up as of right now. The process would be good to figure out for this and future searches of this time.*

First Step: Creative Search of 1905 NY Census

Navigating to the Family Search collection of 1905 New York State Census records, I tried searching for Theodore Schwartz, white, male, boarder, born 1886-1888 in Hungary. No relevant results. Sure, there were Schwartz people in Brooklyn and upstate New York, but nobody vaguely like my Grandpa Teddy in New York County.

So I tried Tivador, Teddy, Ted Schwartz. No relevant results. Tried Russia instead of Hungary. No relevant results. Then I edited the search to eliminate everything except his surname and range of birth years, but still got no relevant results from the transcribed Census. All my creative searches didn't turn up Grandpa Teddy.

Next Step: Steve Morse's AD/ED Finder 

Next, I decided to browse individual records to see who was living at 941 Second Avenue when the 1905 NY State Census was taken. To do that, I had to use Steve Morse's AD/ED Finder from SteveMorse.org. As shown at top, this address would be in one of two AD/ED combinations: AD 22/ED 19 or AD 22/ED 20.

Now I was ready to do what we used to when there were no indexed/transcribed Census results online. I did the equivalent of cranking the ole microfilm reader by hand. Actually, I went to the 1905 NY Census collection at Ancestry, where I can see all images. I clicked through each and every page of both AD/ED combinations, looking for 941 Second Avenue.

Clicking for Teddy, One Census Page After Another

The clicking went quickly because all I had to do was look at the left margin of every page to see the street or avenue covered on that page. I was looking for Second Avenue. There were only 23 double-pages in each AD/ED combination.

Naturally, 941 Second Avenue was not on 22/19. So I kept clicking into 22/20. Would I find Grandpa Teddy?

On p. 13 of 23 in the second AD/ED combo, I finally located 941 Second Avenue. It was a small walk-up apartment building. Every head of household was an immigrant.

Alas, no Grandpa Teddy, not as a boarder/lodger/roomer and not as any kind of relative or in-law. Not on the two pages before or after, either.

Grandpa Teddy, Born and Died in May

Today was not my lucky day to find Grandpa Teddy, but I'm thinking of him because May was an important month in his life: he was born on May 21, 1887 and died on May 12, 1965, just 9 days before his 78th birthday.

Rest in peace, Grandpa, you are remembered and I'm going to keep looking for where you were living in New York City in 1905.

*I followed the same process to try to find Grandpa Teddy in the 1910 US Census, starting with Steve Morse's US Census ED finder, then clicking through each page in the ED that includes the address "82 Avenue D near East 6th Street" on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in NYC. No luck finding Teddy in 1910, either.

Curating Faces for the Family Tree

Yesterday's post was about how personalizing family trees with photos of ancestors can be wonderful cousin bait.

Putting faces on the family tree also preserves those images for future generations to see.

It's a process of curation...and it puts a face to the name.

Which photo to post?

My goal is to have at least one clear face for each ancestor in my husband's direct line and my direct line. If possible, I want that main photo to be of the ancestor as an adult.

Above are the photos I posted on MyHeritage of my father-in-law, Edgar James Wood (1903-1986), and mother-in-law, Marian Jane McClure Wood (1909-1983).

I chose good, clear photos of my in-laws in their mid-50s, recognizable to anyone who might have known them even in their later years.

Obviously there will be no photos when I get back beyond the mid-1800s, but occasionally I have something else suitable (such as the woodcut portrait of my husband's great-great-granddaddy Benjamin McClure from an 1880s newspaper).

I promise, no images of flags or ships or DNA! Update: Dara asked why no DNA image, since it's a quick way to see who's a match when we look at our own family trees. IMHO, a DNA image isn't good cousin bait and often there are too many DNA images that come up in "hints." I'm posting photos of deceased ancestors, using them specifically as cousin bait.

Captioning on the photo

I cropped each photo to focus on the face. Then I put a caption on the image. As shown above, the captions are:

Edgar James Wood, courtesy Wood family

Marian Jane McClure Wood, courtesy Wood family

No matter where these photos get copied, and no matter how many years have passed since being posted for the first time, the faces will always be identified (along with the source).

Once I have the photos cropped and captioned, I can upload to all of my trees (Ancestry, Family Search, MyHeritage, and Find My Past).

Thanks to the pandemic, I have the time to systematically climb each family tree, adding a photo to key ancestors on multiple genealogy websites.

Personalized Family Trees Are Great Cousin Bait

Family photos as cousin bait on FamilySearch.org

Ancestor photos are terrific cousin bait on family trees!

Recently, I contacted someone who had posted a photo of a descendant of my husband's great-great-granddaddy, Benjamin McClure. She immediately wrote back to confirm the relationship! We are excited about exchanging other photos and genealogical details. That's why I'm taking the time to personalize all my trees with photos on key ancestors. It's simple, it's easy, so I'm going for it.

Photos Catch the Eye

The handful of photos I've posted on my family trees on Family Search (above), Ancestry, and MyHeritage are designed to attract the eye of anyone researching these ancestors. Instead of a generic silhouette, these ancestors have a face!

I'm in the process of adding some photos to FindMyPast as well, since many of my husband's ancestors (Wood, McClure, Larimer, and more) were from England and Northern Ireland.

The faces personalize family trees and encourage cousins to get in touch. I'm including brief photo captions as well for a bit of added personalization. My photo caption for Marian Jane McClure simply provides her birth/death years and says she is the daughter of Brice Larimer McClure and Floyda Mabel Steiner McClure.

Of course, for privacy reasons, any photos and captions I post do not include faces or names of living people.
Watch Those Ancestors

Click the star to "watch" an ancestor on FamilySearch

On Family Search, I've clicked the star to "watch" key ancestors (see purple oval above). That means I'll get a message if and when anybody else makes any change to these ancestors. Usually I'm notified by email about a message.

But I can also log in and look for a dot above the "messages" link (see purple arrow). If a dot appears there, I'll know there's been a change to a "watched" ancestor OR a possible cousin is getting in touch!

Happy cousin hunting!

Ten Miles of Travel to the Gretna Green

White Pigeon, Michigan - where William Tyler Bentley Larimer
married Elizabeth Stauffer on March 7, 1872

My husband's 2d great uncle, William Tyler Bentley Larimer (1850-1921) lived in Middlebury, Elkhart county, Indiana, at the time of his marriage. His wife, Elizabeth Stauffer (1852-1936), also lived in Middlebury. He was 22, she was 19, both of age to be married without parental consent on the day they were wed.

Yet the couple crossed from Indiana into Michigan to marry. Their wedding day was Thursday, March 7, 1872. On the marriage ledger, he listed his occupation as "rail road," and she said she was an "employee" (no firm or industry indicated).

William and Elizabeth ("Lizzie") were married in White Pigeon, Indiana, by a Minister of the Gospel, whose wife and another local lady were witnesses to the marriage.

Why travel away from their home town to get married?

Sure looks to me like they eloped. Looking at the map and doing a bit of historical research showed me why White Pigeon was their travel destination.

Getting to a Gretna Green

In the Midwest, Crown Point, Indiana was a popular Gretna Green because couples could obtain a marriage license and marry the same day. But Crown Point is 100 miles from Middlebury, where William and Lizzie lived. If they couldn't get married without waiting in Middlebury or anywhere in Elkhart county, it made sense to find another Gretna Green closer to home.

As the map above shows, Middlebury, Indiana, is south of White Pigeon, Michigan but not very far away. In fact, it's only 10 miles. Even if the would-be bride and groom began from Elkhart itself (far left of map), the distance to White Pigeon is just 21 miles.

A rail road runs through it

How did William and Lizzie travel to their chosen Gretna Green? A little research into transportation of the time uncovered that Elkhart, IN was situated along a major railroad line that led to White Pigeon, MI. It would be easy and convenient to hop a train, get married, and take the train home again in one day.

Another clue is the groom's occupation. In the 1870 Census, William was a clerk at the "rail road depot." His father was a "rail road station agent." Obviously William knew the rail lines well.

So my conclusion is that William and Lizzie were planning on getting married when they boarded a train from Elkhart, Indiana to White Pigeon, Michigan. I can't guess whether the newlyweds remained in White Pigeon or returned home the same day. I do know they were married for 49 years, until William died of heart trouble in 1921. Lizzie survived another 15 years.

UPDATE: Interesting family history twist: William and Lizzie's oldest child, born 14 months after the elopement, decided to elope by train to a Gretna Green in Michigan when he married on July 4, 1899.

This is my #52Ancestors post for the prompt "Travel."