Tombstone Tuesday: The Solomon & Adolph Roth Social Society

Yesterday's visit to Riverside Cemetery in New Jersey yielded more names and relationships to check out in my quest to uncover how the Roth family is related to my Farkas or Kunstler or Schwartz families.

Like many cemeteries, Riverside used to have a grave locator function on its website, with an easy e-mail request for more info.

Sadly for family history researchers like me, Riverside removed the online function earlier this year, because it was generating too many inquiries. But luckily, I had already located enough of my Roth cousins to know it was worth a visit.

I did see the burial places of my Roth cousins and check on their next of kin. Just as interesting as the graves were the gates to the Solomon & Adolph Roth Social Society plot, located at the corner of Jesse Walk and Israel Avenue in the cemetery's upper-left quadrant. Among the donors to the cemetery gates were Mr. & Mrs. Bela Roth (my family) and Mr. & Mrs. Peter Roth (son of the other Joseph Roth, not directly related to my Bela Roth).

Thanks to another Roth researcher, who kindly posted the incorporation papers for the Sol & Roth Social Society, I know who founded it (see below), when (incorporated in 1935), and where (NYC). The interim directors appointed until the first annual meeting were: Joseph Roth (not my Joseph Roth); George Rehberger; and Max Roth (possibly Joseph's brother). The officials who signed the certificate of incorporation were: Leon D. Miller, Joseph Roth, Margaret Stern Festinger, Louis Weiss, Louis Spielberger, and Abe Kramer. Leon D. Miller was the attorney who filed the incorporation papers, by the way, on 20 Sept 1935.

The society purchased the plot in Riverside Cemetery for its members and offered other benefits, including access to doctors. My newfound Cousin L (whose grandfather was in this society) says that especially during the Depression, it was a plum position to be the "official" doctor of such organizations.

And who are Sol & Adolph Roth, for whom the society is named? They must be related to the Joseph (not my family) Roth who is on the incorporation papers. Maybe relatives back in the hometown of Püspökladány, Hajdu-Bihar, Hungary?

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #14: Lt. Theodore W. McClure

One of hubby's great-grand uncles on his mother's side was Lieut. Theodore W. McClure, a son of Benjamin McClure (aka Uncle Benny) and Sarah Denning. He got his rank of Second Lieutenant while serving with the 11th Indiana Regiment Reserve. His name is the last on this page from the June, 1863 sign-up sheet.

McClure (1835-1927), a farmer, married Louisa Jane Donaldson (1837-1924) in 1858. By the time he listed himself with the 11th Indiana, he was a father. Louisa and Ted had six children in all: Ida (who died in infancy), Charles, Anna (died as a teenager), Albert, Clara, and (of course) Theodore.

Lt. McClure's family is also listed on an informative Find a Grave site, kindly researched and posted by the Friends of Falls Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Wabash, Indiana. Thank you to all the volunteers who preserve the memories of our ancestors in this way!

Workday Wednesday: The Woods Worked in Wood

Hubby's great-granddaddy, Thomas Haskell Wood (1809-1890), was a railroad carpenter, a joiner, and a coach builder during his long career working in wood.

Most of his children also worked in wood. The above excerpt from the Toledo, Ohio directory shows his children Frank E., Charles A., and Marion E. in businesses as the Wood Bros, carpenters. Also listed in the excerpt is James E. Wood, apprentice--that's hubby's granddaddy.

Jane A. Wood (1846-1936), the oldest daughter of Thomas Haskell Wood and Mary Amanda Demarest, is shown as "bds 414 South," the same address where her mother Mary A. Wood resides, the widow of Thomas Haskell Wood. Jane married George Black around 1898, just about a year after her mother Mary Amanda died.

The Wood brothers continued in business together for a while. James E. Wood went on to build homes in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where a street (Wood Road) is named for him. Not one of James's four sons worked in wood, although one of his great-grandsons works in wood.

Sibling Saturday: Big Brother and Little Brother in Cleveland Heights

Big brother and little brother, side by side in the living room of their home in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Thanks to their sis for sending this nostalgic photo from the Wood branch of the family tree!

'Tis a Wee Mystery: The Short, Work, and Larimer Families in Ireland

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My hubby has a number of Irish ancestors:

·    William Smith and his wife, Jean, from Limerick - 5th great-grandparents

·    Rober Larimer and his wife, Mary O’Gallagher, both from the North of Ireland - 5th great-grandparents

·    John Shehen and his wife, Mary, from somewhere in Ireland - 2d great-grandparents

·    Halbert McClure and his wife, Agnes, were born in County Donegal and moved to Virginia in the late 1700s (although the McClure family is originally from Isle of Skye) - 5th great-grandparents

Now, just in time for St. Patty's Day, a wee mystery: According to the Goshen (Ind.) Midweek News of September 1, 1903, which reported on a reunion of the Larimer-Short-Work families, these folks were cousins and all were originally of Scotch-Irish descent. That's the mystery.

The article says the Larimers originally settled in Maryland and then went to Pennsylvania. Actually, the first to set foot in America was Robert Larimer, who was shipwrecked on his way from Ireland and then spent years as an indentured servant to repay his rescuer. Maybe this Larimer ancestor was serving his master in Maryland, maybe not, but he then got to Pennsylvania on foot to continue his saga.

According to Sons of the American Revolution documents, Samuel Work--the original Work ancestor to arrive in America--was born in County Antrim, Ireland and died in Fairfield county, Ohio. 

As for the Short family, the patriarch was James Short and matriarch was Francis Gilbert. Both were born in Ireland (where?) and came to Ohio, according to a biography of their grandsons, Dr. W.H. Short and Dr. J.L. Short. 

The Short and Work families intermarried with the Larimer family over the years. So were they cousins in Ireland? All were Presbyterian, one clue to a possible Scots-Irish connection.

'Tis a wee mystery! Happy St. Patty's Day.
 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #13: The Bentley Family, Oswego to Elkhart

My challenge is to discover the origins of the Bentley family in Oswego county, New York.

William Tyler Bentley (1795?-1873) and his equally elusive wife, Olivia Morgan Bentley (1790s?-1838), are hubby's 3d great-grandparents. They were born in New York state, married there, and had seven children there. They might be the family shown in the 1830 Sandy Creek, NY census records under William T. Bentley's name.

In 1835, the Bentley family moved from Oswego to Elkhart, Indiana, where William bought a farm. With William and Olivia were their seven children:

Elizabeth E. Bentley (1821-1898)
Elisha Morgan Bentley (1824-1884)
Lucinda Helen Bentley (1825-1903), see left
Lucy E. Bentley (1826-1900)
Simon Bentley (1828-1894)
Jane L. Bentley (1831 - ??)
Abbie Eliza Bentley (1832-1893)


In 1848, ten years after Olivia died, widower William took off for California, perhaps for the Gold Rush. Three years later, five of his seven children followed him to California.

Elizabeth Bentley married Emanuel Light; Elisha Morgan Bentley married Charlotte Raymond; Lucinda Bentley married Jonas Shank; Lucy Bentley married Brice Larimer (they were hubby's 2d great-gradparents); Simon Bentley married but was widowed by 1880 and drowned in 1894; Jane Bentley--well, she probably went to California; and Abbie Bentley definitely went to California, with her husband, Leonard L. Curtis.

PS: A small mystery: In the Goshen Democrat of May 4, 1898, the above obit appeared for William Tyler Bentley, who did indeed die at South Tule River, California. And he was the father of Lucy E. Bentley Larimer. But he died in 1873. So who died in 1898??

Military Monday: Training Ships Exmouth and Goliath--for Poor Boys

Why did the three London-born Slatter brothers (John, Albert, and Henry) serve together on the Training Ship Goliath, and then the Training Ship Exmouth, starting as preteens? 

The answer, after a bit of research, seems to be that the Slatter family was poor. They lived in London's Whitechapel area, which is part of the Forest Gate School District. According to the Poor Law Act, boys from Forest Gate could be sent to the Goliath (and her successor, the Exmouth) to be prepared for military careers. In addition to learning to swim, tie knots, and shoot rifles, the boys were involved in band activities.

In the late 1800s, the Royal Navy had an "ever-increasing demand for seamen," according to Poor Law Conferences, 1903-4, and--no small consideration--boys who were trained on these ships and joined any branch of the military would eventually earn pensions. Later in life, they would not become financial burdens for the authorities to support. Meanwhile, as they matured, the boys graduated from the training ships and added to the ranks of the Royal Navy, or the British Army, or the Mercantile Marine.

The Goliath, the first training ship where the Slatter brothers served, was anchored in the Thames near Essex. It suffered a terrible fire on December 22, 1875, with more than a dozen boys losing their lives. All three Slatter brothers were subsequently moved to the Exmouth, another training ship. A lengthy article in the Strand magazine from 1899 describes life on board the Exmouth and includes the above photo of a musical drill. A slightly different perspective, from Workhouses.org, suggests the boys' lives on Exmouth and Goliath could be quite harsh.

The Slatter brothers must have had some latent musical talent, since all became accomplished musicians and later emigrated to Canada and served as military bandmasters.