Successful Genealogy Is in the Details

This post began as a tribute to my 3rd great-uncle who lost both his wife and newborn son in the 1880s, but it has turned into a good lesson about the importance of slowing down and paying attention to details. If you read a lot of other blogs like I do, you've probably heard multiple times that you should understand every collection that you search. Yeah, yeah, an obvious tip meant for newbies. Not so. It's a mistake I made, even though I should have known better.

My uncle, Thomas Baker, was born in Canada on February 1, 1857. To be more specific, his baptismal record from St. Patrick in Caledonia, Ontario, states that he was born in "the township of Seneca of the Mission of Indiana." Sometime before the age of 10, Thomas crossed the border with his parents and siblings and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In his 20s, Thomas met Maggie Olive Barnett (sometimes recorded as Burnett), got married, and had son John Wesley Baker in 1885. But the couple's lives together ended tragically. In 1888, their second son Allen was born in April and died in November of gastroenteritis. Then Maggie died six months later in 1889 of phthisis pulmonalis (tuberculosis).

Thomas raised his son as a single dad in Pittsburgh until he married Virginia Irwin Wilson on February 9, 1894, in Jefferson County, Ohio. With this marriage, he became the stepfather of two teen girls. The family stayed in Pittsburgh for a while, but then left for Glendale, California. One of Virginia's daughters had moved there with her ill husband and, when he died in 1921, it appears that her parents and sister decided to join her.

Thomas and Virginia were together for more than 30 years, until her death in 1927. I assumed that both died in California since that's where they're buried, but I wanted to see their death certificates to be sure. FamilySearch has images of California death certificates in its collection called "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994." On the search page, I entered the names of both Thomas and Virginia but didn't find them in the list of results.

Then I read the description of the collection at the top of the page, which included this sentence at the very end: "The name index for death records covers Stockton, Lodi and Manteca cities and San Benito and San Joaquin counties." Clearly, I would have to browse the collection to find the Bakers' death certificates. It took a couple of steps, but I did find both of them.

California Death Certificate (partial), Thomas Baker, 1937
[CLICK TO VIEW LARGER]

It was definitely a good reminder for me to slow down and focus on the details. All of us should take time to understand exactly what records are provided in each collection. Even though I remember reading this tip more than once on other blogs, I skipped this important step. The bottom line: there is so much we can learn from each other. Thank you, fellow bloggers!

Immigrant Ancestors and the Elusive Town of Origin

I have 17 direct ancestors who were immigrants in the United States. The earliest arrival appears to be my Rüttger branch in 1846, which is very different from those of you whose families have been in the U.S. since colonial times! My immigrant ancestors include great-grandparents (4), 2nd great-grandparents (7), and 3rd great-grandparents (6). Most of my immigrant ancestors (12) came from Germany, three from Canada (though two were born in the U.K.), and two from France.

I have A LOT to learn about them, with the most important unknown being that often elusive town of origin. The only towns that I'm sure of are Artolshiem and Dambach-la-Ville in France, Pirmasens and Miesenheim in Germany, and Seneca Township in Ontario, Canada. That's not good. I have 10 direct ancestors where my research is stuck in the U.S. unless I determine the German towns where these ancestors used to live.

From the 1890 U.S. Passport Application for my 
2nd great-grandfather who arrived in the U.S. on 1 May 1854

Online trees from sites like Geneanet.org, index-only records on FamilySearch, and sibling church records have given me a place to start, but there's more work to do before concluding that these are definitely the towns. These places in Germany include Bettingen, Großkarlbach (2), Lambsheim, and Wiesbach (2). And then there are the 4 German ancestors who have given me zero clues pointing to where they came from. Sigh.

A recent birthday gift has given me renewed inspiration to continue the search for these towns. I've just read a few chapters of James Beidler's Trace Your German Roots Online, which was released at the end of April, but it's pushed me to revisit these immigrant ancestors. I'll definitely post any progress I make.

If you have any success stories about locating the towns of your German immigrant ancestors, please share them with me!

Ontario Baptismal Record of Thomas Baker

Thank you to Lorine of The Olive Tree Genealogy blog for writing about the FamilySearch record collection of "Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923."  It was a good reminder for me to take a look at these records for the only branch of my family tree that seems to have lived in Canada.

My Baker relatives lived in Seneca, Haldimand County, Ontario, from at least 1861 to 1866. The first child was born earlier than that, somewhere in Canada in 1853, but I haven't confirmed that it was in Seneca. I'm not sure why I never browsed these images before but, since the only towns listed under Haldimand are Caledonia, Cayuga, and Dunnville, I wasn't sure if I'd find anything.

I started with Caledonia and saw that one of the record collections for St. Patrick Parish fit the time period for my Bakers: "Baptisms, marriages, burials 1857-1898." On the fourth image, I found a match. Fantastic! Thomas Baker was the brother of my 2nd great-grandmother, Mary Baker. It confirms their parents' names (although I have Arthur instead of Arthurs), and it points me to another possible relative, Mary Arthurs.

Baptismal Record for Thomas Baker, 1857
(CLICK TO VIEW LARGER)

If I'm reading the writing correctly, the record says: "This eight day of October one thousand eight hundred and fifty seven I the undersigned priest have baptised Thomas - born since the first day of February from the lawful marriage of John Baker and of Elisabeth Arthurs of the township of Seneca of the Mission of Indiana, Sponsors were John Goslinn and Mary Arthurs."

This is the only family member I could find in any of the towns listed under Haldimand, but I'll take it. Thank you, Lorine!

Record Browsing Has Benefits

We all may groan when we learn about a new record collection that hasn't been indexed yet. But wait, there are some benefits of having to browse record images:

• Learning an Interesting Detail - When you're forced to browse, you actually look at the image, instead of finding a match from a search and just attaching it to your family tree. This may lead you to see on the page an interesting detail about your ancestor that you may have missed. Even for indexed collections, it's good to get in the habit of opening the image and reviewing it thoroughly.

• Spotting a Different Relative - You might find a familiar name that you weren't looking for. When I searched for my 2nd great-grandfather in the 1890 Census of Union Veterans of the Civil War on FamilySearch and didn't get a match, I decided to browse the pages in case his name was botched. I still haven't found him even though he was alive at the time, but I did find two other distant relatives, including one who I didn't know had served in the Civil War.

• Finding Bonus Material - You never know what you might find attached to the record book. At the beginning of scanned burials records for St. Patrick Parish in Caledonia, Haldimand County, Ontario, the following clipping from 1862 had been pasted: 

Surnames of "the undersigned" at the bottom of this clipping (not included in the cropped image) are Brennan, Brown, Carroll, Collins, Conboy, Cullen, Cunningham, Dalton, Daugherty, Delaney, Donnelly, Downey, Doyle, Duffy, Evoy, Farrell, Hannan, Harris, Hayes, Higgins, Hogan, Hurly, Keating, Kelly, Kennedy, Lamond, Lennon, Madigan, Mangan, Mannix, McCarty, McGill, McGuill, McDonald, Meir, Murphy, Murray, O'Brien, O'Riley, Phillips, Reip, Ryan, Shea, Shehan, Smith, Sullivan, Sweeney, Walsh.

Browsing records is relaxing and fun for me (weird, I know!), and I enjoy reading interesting details about people even though they aren't in my family tree. So don't ignore collections that haven't been indexed or you may miss a great record for one of your ancestors.

A Female Entrepreneur Leaves for Canada

I found this great story in a trade journal on The Internet Archive:

Crockery & Glass Journal, November 6, 1913

I found Mary in the 1910 census of Pittsburgh living as a lodger with her sister Emma at 420 Tenth Street. She was employed by a department store as indicated in the article and was born about 1886 in Pennsylvania. So Mary would have been around 28 years old when she left for Canada in 1914.

I don't know if Mary ever made it to Canada or how long she stayed, but she eventually married Edward Francis Maloney and, by 1930, was living in Los Angeles County, California. It doesn't look like they ever had children, and Mary's sister Emma lived with them. Mary stayed in California for the rest of her life and died on March 11, 1976, in Los Angeles at the age of 90.

Canadian Connection: My Ancestors in Ontario

Most of my ancestors seem to be from Germany and France so, because it's so different than the rest, one of the family branches that stands out for me is my Baker line. John Baker was born in England and Elizabeth Arthur was Irish. They both made their way to Canada and settled in Seneca, Haldimand County, Ontario. (I still don't know if they were already married and arrived together, or met in Canada.)

Six of their nine children, including my 2nd great-grandmother Mary Baker, were born in Canada:

Sushannah Baker, b. 1853
Mary Baker, b. 1855
Thomas Baker, b. 1857
George Baker, b. 1859
James Baker, b. 1861
Elizabeth Baker, b. 1864

From the 1861 Census, I learned that John belonged to the Church of England and his wife Elizabeth and the children were Catholic. Seneca Township is missing from the 1851 Census, so I was unable to use that source to find out if the couple was living there before their children were born.

Around 1866, they arrived in the U.S. and made their way to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the other three children were born. I can't be sure why they left Canada, but I found a short blurb that said families began to move away after one of the largest employers in Seneca Township, Grand River Navigation Company, went bankrupt in the 1860s.

I must say that having Canadian-born relatives has made my U.S. research much easier. Baker is such a common name but, when you can specify that the person was born in Canada, it certainly helps you find the Baker you're searching for. I still have a lot of research to do on John & Elizabeth since I don't know their parents' names and need more specifics on where they lived in England and Ireland, but it's fun to know I have a connection to Canada!

Note: You can see a photograph of two of the Bakers in my post about the mystery that was solved with James Baker's death certificate.

Consider Catholic Newspaper Archives

We know how important newspaper research is for learning more about our ancestors' lives. For those of you with Catholic relatives, there's a list compiled by the Catholic Research Resources Alliance that you may find helpful. It includes various Catholic newspapers from both the U.S. and Canada.

The Pittsburgh Catholic, February 20, 1913: "The management earnestly solicit
your interest and assistance in the cause of the homeless boys sheltered at the
Protectory. If in need of an office or errand boy, apply at the Institution."

My great-uncle Peter LaFianza, whom I was lucky to have met, married my grandfather's sister and eventually lived in the Bloomfield area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While researching his life, I learned that Uncle Pete was an orphan by the age of 14. He is listed in the 1920 Census as a resident of St. Joseph's Protectory for Homeless Boys.

I was curious to learn more about what life might have been like at this institution, so I searched The Pittsburgh Catholic newspaper archive. Here are two paragraphs from an article I found in the September 2, 1920 issue, which would have been the same time my great-uncle lived there:

"Twenty-five years ago when the Diocese of Pittsburgh celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its establishment some project was sought which would give public and lasting evidence of the grateful appreciation of the blessings of heaven bestowed during the half century of Catholic activity then drawing to a close. Realizing the urgent need of an institution to care for the army of homeless destitute and unprotected boys of the city of Pittsburgh and towns of the diocese, the erection of a home to save them from the temptations and sufferings of poverty and from the evil associations and perils of the street was strongly advocated. The project met with the hearty response and generous support of the clergy and faithful alike, and in 1895 St. Joseph's Protectory for Homeless Boys opened its doors to its first inmate. 

At the institution the boys, who must be 12 years of age to be admitted, are clothed, sheltered and educated. A day school is maintained and when a boy has reached his fourteenth year and is sufficiently advanced in his education, employment is sought for him with the business firms of the city. Every endeavor is made to place him where he can acquire the knowledge of a trade and where advancement is possible. Although employed such boys continue to make the Protectory their home, depart each morning for their place of business and return when their day's work is done. During the winter months the working boys attend night school at the institution."

Duquesne University maintains the digital collection of The Pittsburgh Catholic for the years 1844-2001. If you have Catholic ancestors from the Pittsburgh area or need to learn more about the city's past, you should definitely search this archive.

Photograph: Genealogy Mystery

The Pennsylvania death certificates on Ancestry.com helped me solve a genealogy mystery. You see, the photograph below was in a box with other loose photos that were passed to my father after both of his parents died. But we had no idea who some of the people were. And if you look closely, you will notice something that I missed several times when I looked at this photograph. The man in the middle is missing his right arm. Who was he?

My grandfather and his sister are the children in the first row, and I know the photo was taken before 1918 because, as I wrote in an earlier post, that was the year their mother Albertina died of the Spanish Influenza. She's in the middle of the back row. The only other people I know in the photo are my 2nd great-grandparents: the woman seated in the front row is Mary Baker Klein and the man in the back is her husband Jacob. The other three are a mystery.

I felt the man had to be a close relative because the little girl (my great-aunt Mildred) was leaning against his leg, something I don't think a child would do to a stranger or someone she didn't see often. But I had no idea how to figure out his identity, so I put the photo back in the box where it stayed for several years.

When Ancestry.com added a batch of Pennsylvania death certificates up to the year 1944, I entered each family surname into the search box and found the death records for many of my relatives. When I looked at the image of James Baker's death certificate, I knew I had the answer to the mystery of the photograph.

James was a younger brother of Mary Baker Klein, was born in Canada in 1861, and died in Pittsburgh on June 29, 1944. The cause of death was listed as congestive heart failure due to hypertensive heart disease. And next to Other Conditions was written "old amputation of right arm from accident 40 years ago." It was a great genealogy moment.

Please post a comment if you have a similar story of how a death certificate helped you solve a family mystery.