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.

Who were Rebecca (Gould) Durkee’s parents?

William Durkee & Rebecca Gould - marriage [int]

    Rebecca Gould, who married William Durkee in Ipswich (Essex) MA circa 13 January 1704 [int],¹ is said to be the daughter of Henry Gould and Sarah Ward/Warr.  Henry and Sarah were married in Ipswich in 1675 or 1676, and their son Henry was born there in 1686.  Rebecca’s birth was not recorded in Ipswich.
    Unfortunately, Benjamin Apthorp Gould does not include Rebecca as one of Henry and Sarah’s children in the “Henry Gould of Ipswich” chapter of The Family of Zaccheus Gould of Topsfield .² Also, there are no estate records for Henry or Sarah.
    To make matters worse, at least one person posted online a genealogy that states that the Goulds' daughter Rebecca was born in Danvers, Essex County, on 25 August 1678 and married Ezekiel Marsh there on 1 July 1702.  The source of this information is given as “OneWorldTreeSM,”
    OneWorldTree (OWT) was a service first offered at Ancestry.com in April 2004.  According to an article by Beau Sharbrough in the July-August 2004 issue of Ancestry magazine, OWT was basically a search engine that collected genealogical information, but did not evaluate it for accuracy.  The original source of the Gould information is unknown.

Sources:
    1. Massachusetts, Essex County Town Clerk, Ipswich, births, marriages, deaths, 1663-1739, Publishments, p. 138; online  FamilySearch (accessed 21 October 2014), image 100/352.  Also on FHL microfilm 777,636.
    2.  Benjamin Apthorp Gould, “Henry Gould of Ipswich,” in The Family of Zaccheus Gould of Topsfield (Lynn, Mass.: Thos. P. Nichols, 1895), p. 317.

Certification of Death vs Death Certificate

    Instead of photocopying a death record or certificate, some municipalities issue a Certification of Death. This is usually a form onto which is copied.the data from the original record. Can you believe everything in such a document? 
    Below is the image of a certified document with raised seal (the surname of the signer has been hidden to protect her identity). Notice the year of death—1986.

    John Maybach (or Mayback as he was frequently known), a resident of Buffalo, New York, was struck by a train as he was trying to cross double tracks.  He crossed the nearer track after a train had passed and walked right in front of an oncoming train on the further track.  An account of the grisly tragedy, “Killed by an Engine: Old Man Run Down Last Evening in Tonawanda,” appeared in the Buffalo Courier on 8 January 1896.

    According to the Certification of Death, “the person named on this certificate died on the date and at the place shown.”  Not so in this case. 

First Settlers of Amesbury, Massachusetts

    In 1903 the Amesbury Improvement Association erected a memorial to the first settlers of Amesbury in the Golgotha Burial Ground (next to 52 Macy Street).  Eighteen men are credited with being the original settlers of the area that became Amesbury.
    Salisbury (Essex County) was incorporated in 1640.  In 1654 it was divided into Old Town and New Town, separated by the Pow-wow River.  In 1666 New Town was proclaimed a township called New Salisbury, the name of which was changed to Amesbury the following year. 
    Nine of the eighteen first settlers are my ancestors, several of them through more than one child.  They are Thomas Barnard, William Barnes, Henry Blaisdell, Philip Challis, Richard Currier, Jarrett Haddon, George Martin, Valentine Rowell, and William Sargent.
  

 
    Thomas Barnard, a planter and husbandman, was a resident of Salisbury in 1640.  He was killed by Indians on 7 July 1677.  His wife and mother of his ten children was Eleanor (Morse) Little.  His son, Thomas Barnard (Sarah Peasley), and daughter, Abigail Barnard (Samuel Fellows) are my ancestors.

    William Barnes received land in Salisbury in the “first division” in 1640 and again in 1641.  He was made “freeman” in 1641.  A  house carpenter, he was born in England in 1613 and died in Amesbury on 14 March 1697/98.  His wife was Rachel Lord, the mother of his eight children.  Two daughters, Sarah (Thomas Rowell Jr.)  and Rachel (Lt. Thomas Sargent), are my ancestors.
    Henry Blaisdell was born circa 1632.  His first wife was Mary Haddon, with whom he had nine children; his second was Elizabeth.  Henry, a planter and tailor, died between 1705 and 1707.  His son, Lt. John Baisdell (Elizabeth Challis) is my ancestor.
    Philip Challis, a planter, and his wife Mary Sargent had eleven children.  He died in Amesbury in 1681.  Daughter Elizabeth (John Hoyt) and son John (Sarah Frame) are my ancestors.    
    Richard Currier was born in England on 3 May 1616, and he was a resident of Salisbury in 1640.  By trade he was a millwright and planter.  His first wife was Anne, the mother of his two children.  His second was Joanne Pindor, widow of Valentine Rowell and William Sargent.  Richard died in Amesbury on 22 February 1787.   His son, Deacon Thomas (Mary Osgood) is my ancestor.
    Jarrett Haddon was born circa 1608.  His wife was Margaret, with whom he had three children.  He died before 20 March 1690, when his will was probated.  Daughter Mary (Henry Blaisell) is my ancestor.
    George Martin, a blacksmith, was first married to Hannah, by whom he had a daughter.  Susanna North, hanged as a witch at Salem in 1692, was his second wife, with whom he had eight children.  George died in 1686.  Daughter Hester (John Jameson) is my ancestor, and daughter Jane (Samuel Hadley) is my son-in-law’s ancestor.
    Valentine Rowell was born in England on 22 June 1622.  A carpenter, he married Joanna Pindor in 1643, and the couple had nine children.  Valentine died in Amesbury in May 1662.  Three of his children are my ancestors.   They are Thomas (Sarah Barnes), Philip (Sarah Morrill), and Mary (Thomas Frame).
    William Sargent was born in Bath (Somerset) England in 1598 and immigrated to American in 1632.   A seaman, he  married first Elizabeth Perkins.  The couple had nine children.  He married second Joanne Pindor, widow of Valentine Rowell.  William died in Amesbury in March 1675.  Daughter Mary (Philip Challis) and son Lt. Thomas (Rachel Barnes) are my ancestors.

Photographs by Buffalogen, August 2014

Historic New York - Upper Cattaraugus Valley

On the east side of Route 16, south of Yorkshire Corners

    This sign was erected in 1963 and, for more than fifty years, Buffalogen drove past it, probably at least fifty times a year, and never stopped.  Early in July 2014, she stopped to read it.  It is interesting, but doesn't say much more than what she already knew.
    What the sign doesn't mention is the ice industry on Lime Lake, six miles south of where the sign is located.  In 1880 a Buffalo ice company erected an ice house on the lake and began harvesting ice to ship to Buffalo.  For the next forty years, several companies employed hundreds of men, who harvested the ice with huge saws and used horse-drawn sledges to transport the blocks off the frozen lake.  The blocks, isulated with straw, were stored in ice houses along the east shore of the lake before being shipped to Buffalo on cars of the Buffalo, New York & Philadephia Railroad Company, which ran along that side of the lake.  The ice industry fell victim to the advent of refrigeration and ceased to exist in the 1920s.  There is still train traffic on the rail line, which was completed in 1872.

Photo by Buffalogen, 2014