My mother always wondered . . . about Annie Gardner

    My mother remembered her aunt speaking often about her cousin, Annie Gardner, but nothing was ever said about who Annie was. She had to be the daughter of one of my great-grandmother’s five sisters, but which one?  The most likely was Julia (Kiley) Martin, who had a daughter Anna.
    I thought I had narrowed the search down when I found a Julia Martin of the right age (mother) in the 1920 census living with a Gardner family in Brooklyn, but the head of the household was MARY Gardner. Nevertheless, this family was the only plausible one I found anywhere. The children in the household were Robert, James, Edward, Lily, and Harry, and I easily found the Gardner family in the 1910 census.  Robert and ANNIE were the parents!
    My search for Annie was put on hold until the 1930 census was released in 2002,  By then, Annie was a widow and her son Robert was head of the household.  Julia was not listed.  When the 1940 census was released ten years later, I discovered that Annie Gardner was no longer enumerated—in Robert’s household, or elsewhere.
    On the Italian Genealogy Group’s website, I found there was a death certificate for an Annie Gardner who died in Brooklyn on 14 February 1939.  Not wanting to waste time and money to obtain a document that might not be for the right person, I searched the Internet for "Annie Gardner" Brooklyn 1939. What luck! The Brooklyn Eagle had published a death notice and an obituary for Mrs. Annie Gardner on 15 February 1939.¹  The latter identified her as the daughter of James Martin and Julia Kiley  The obituary also stated that Annie had been buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn.
    Wouldn’t my mother have been interested to know who Annie Gardner was and what became of her?

    1. "Mrs. Annie Gardner," obituary, The Brooklyn (New York) Eagle, Wednesday, February 15, 1939, p. 11, col. 6.

From Buffalogen's photo collection - 11

Who was Ethel Pulton? 
 

Who was Ethel's husband?

What became of Apollonia Steuernagel?

    Apollonia Steuernagel, born in Hesse Darmstadt in 1849, daughter of Johannes Steuernagel and Anna Barbara Steig, was brought to America in 1851 by her parents.  Her father’s name appears on the ship’s manifest; however, he has not been found in any American records so, presumably, he died soon.

1860 U.S. census, Ward 10, Buffalo, Erie County, New York (Ancestry.com)

  
    Apollonia’s mother was found in the 1860 census of Buffalo, Erie County, New York, listed as Johanna Steinagel (57, midwife), with children Jacob (25, laborer), Conrad (19, varnisher’s apprentice), and Abby (10, attended school).¹  In 1865 her household consisted of Barbara Steinecker (62) and Conrad (25, laborer); Apollonia/Abby was not found in this census.²
    Barbara, widow of John Steuernagel, died shortly after the 1865 census was taken.  In August, her son Ludwig (also known as Louis) filed a petition for administration of her estate.  He listed her children as Louis, John, Jacob, Conrad, and Appelonia Steuernagel, all but the last of age.³  This is the last record of Apollonia found to date.

Sources:
    1.  1860 U.S. census, Erie County, New York, population schedule, Buffalo, Ward 10, p. 72, dwelling 523, family 516, Johanna Steinagel; digital image, Ancestry.com (accessed 8 November 2014); citing NA microfilm M653, roll 748.  Ancestry indexed the surname as Steinagel.
     2.  1865 New York state census, Erie County, population schedule, Buffalo, Ward 5, District 2, p. 2, family 13, Barbara Steinecker; Erie County Clerk's Office, Buffalo.  Records archived in 2000; only microfilm version presently available.
   3.  Erie County, New York, probate file 21711, Barbara Steuernagel, 1865; Surrogate's Record Room, Buffalo.