Pittsburgh's Historic Oliver Bath House

Oliver Bath House,
From The American City, 1915

I mentioned the Oliver Bath House almost two years ago in my post "The Pittsburgh Buildings of Henry W. Oliver." On Friday, a newspaper article showed the efforts underway to designate the bath house as a historic landmark:

"The idea for the bath house was born in the early 1900s, when industrialist Henry W. Oliver saw the need to provide mill workers a place where they could clean and refresh themselves after their shifts. Indoor plumbing was rare, particularly in working-class neighborhoods. (Pittsburgh did not require bathrooms in homes or apartments until the 1950s.) Many workers simply rinsed off in the Monongahela River on their way home."

Many members of my family tree lived on the South Side of Pittsburgh. Who knows? Maybe they used the bath house or at least walked past it.

Read the entire Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article at "Preservation Pittsburgh pushes for historic designation for Oliver Bath House."

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!

Surname Spellings May Require Creative Searches

Are your ancestors hidden in the shadows because their names are misspelled in records? All of us have probably faced this issue at some point in our research.

Before Louise Binkert married her second husband, my 2nd great-uncle, her life in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, seemed to be a mystery. Her 1925 death certificate and obituary indicate that her maiden name was Binkert, but I couldn't find her in the census records. Binkert doesn't seem to be a difficult name, right? But I was surprised by the spelling variations that I eventually found.

My uncle's military pension file contained a copy of their 1905 marriage certificate, which shows that Louise's name was Ofhouse, the surname of her first husband. That clue led to her 1883 marriage record from the West End United Church of Christ. Louise's surname was handwritten as "Bankart." Thinking that this earlier record might have the correct spelling, I searched for "Bankart" and "B*nk*rt" but still couldn't find her in the 1870 and 1880 censuses.

Louise's death certificate shows that her father was "Hanson Binkert." I couldn't find that name in any of the censuses either. In fact, the only match was a Pennsylvania death certificate for a Mary Binkert Geartner which shows her father was Hanson. I searched for other Binkert deaths in Pennsylvania and found that their fathers were recorded as "Ansom" and "Anson." Both of these spellings also appear in several Pittsburgh city directories next to his widow's listing. But there is one that says she was the widow of "Anslem." Finally a breakthrough!

I found the Binkert family in 1880 after several different searches using wildcards. Louise was listed as "Louis Benket" and her father was "Anslen Benket." Below is the list of various spellings of Binkert that I found in records for Louise's parents and siblings:

• Bankart
• Bankerd
• Bankert
• Beankart
• Benkert
• Benket
• Bunkert
• Renhert

At the risk of making this post way too long, I must share that Louise had one sister whose married name was completely botched as well. I'm still not sure at this point what the correct spelling is! The marriage record for Maggie Binkert shows that she married John Thuering. The 1900 census recorded it as Thuring. Her death certificate shows her surname as Tiering. Since Maggie's cause of death was tragic (her clothes caught on fire), I searched Pittsburgh newspapers for those surnames but couldn't find the story.

I tried searching newspapers for her address that's listed on her death certificate but had no luck. Then I searched for "Allegheny General," which was the hospital where she died, the word "fire," and the year 1909. There were four news stories about Maggie's accident, and her surname was spelled as "Theeny," "Theney," "Therry, and "Theery." I never would have found those spellings!

Whether looking at all family members for clues, using wildcards, or searching for addresses and key words other than surname, it's often necessary to think creatively in order to discover your hidden relatives.

Holiday Skating Tragedy, 1920

The holiday season is a time of joy but can also be difficult if you've lost a loved one. One particular loss had to be extremely tough for my Steimer branch to overcome and, since it happened so close to Christmas, most likely affected their holidays for many, many years.

Photograph from The Gazette Times (Pittsburgh, Pa.),
December 27, 1920

Vincent Steimer was probably a typical 10-year-old. His Christmas in 1920 had to have been full of excitement, presents, and family. Once the big day was over, my 2nd cousin three times removed decided to spend time outdoors with his friends. The day was cloudy and cold with the temperature in the 20s, but I'm sure the group of boys thought it was perfect for having fun.

According to this 1920 newspaper story published in The Pittsburgh Post on December 27th, two boys died that day:

     "Two boys were drowned, and two others, apparently dead, were resuscitated by prompt medical aid after being rescued by a man who risked his own life when a portion of the ice on Chartiers creek, near the plant of the Superior Steel Corporation, Carnegie, gave way yesterday afternoon.
     In trying to rescue the boys, Thomas Hall, 10 years old, of Logan and Cubbage streets, Carnegie, also fell into the water, but managed to get to shore safely.
   
     THE DROWNED
Vincent Steimer, 9 years old [actual age was 10], of 711 Logan street, Carnegie.
Richard Joyce, 9 years old, of Logan and Cubbage streets, Carnegie.
     RESCUED
John Walnosky, 10 years old, of 28 Bank street, Carnegie.
Leo Walnosky, 7 years old, brother of John Walnosky.

     The five boys went to the creek to skate shortly after noon and at 12:30 o'clock all were struggling in the water. According to the police, the ice gave way when the boys were about 10 feet from the shore. Young Hall was able to scramble from the water and ran to summon aid.
     H.C. Dodds, a druggist, of Oakdale, and Homer Moore, also of Oakdale, were riding in the Noblestown road when Dodds discovered the boys struggling in the water and crying for help. Operating his machine at fast speed he drove as near the creek as he could, and, leaping from the automobile, dashed across the Panhandle railroad tracks and jumped into the water.
     Moore followed, but remained on the shore. Dodds lifted the Walnosky brothers from the water and placed them on the ice. Assisted by Moore, both boys were carried to the automobile and rushed to the office of Dr. James A. Hamma, 408 Chartiers avenue, Carnegie, one-half mile away.
     Dodds stated that he believed both boys were dead, but hurried them to the office of Hamma.
     Although he believed each boy was dead, Dr. Hamma sent a call for aid to Dr. F. E. Herriott, of 412 Chartiers avenue, Carnegie, and also for the pulmotor at the power house of the Duquesne Light Company, in Railroad street, Carnegie.
     Assisted by Harry Schaffer, of Carnegie, the Shafter method of resuscitation was used until the pulmotor arrived.
     Dr. Herriott was on the scene in a short time and while one physician worked with the pulmotor on one boy, the other used the Shafter method. Previous to the using of the pulmotor, Rev. L. McCrory, pastor of St. Luke's Catholic Church of Carnegie, administered the last rites of the church to the boys.
     After working with the boys more than 30 minutes, the physicians restored them to consciousness. An hour later both were able to go to their homes.
     Dr. Hamma said that Joyce and Steimer probably disappeared below the ice after falling into the creek while the two Walnosky boys reappeared on the surface and were rescued.
     The bodies of Joyce and Steimer were recovered about one hour after the accident by Carnegie police, Watchman John Keil of the Superior Steel Corporation plant; James McCaffery, George Ebner and Orrin Baux, all of Carnegie who went to the creek after learning of the accident.
     Dodds said he did not see the Steimer or Joyce boys."

Discovering a family story like this one reminds us to cherish those in our lives today. You never know how much time you have with them.

Pittsburgh Nurse & War Veteran

Ester LeMans, from
The Gazette Times, 1922

In honor of Veterans Day, here's a story that appeared in The Gazette Times (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) on August 13, 1922:

"Hearing Affected by War, Nurse Will Help Disabled

    With the better part of her life already devoted to making others happy, Mrs. Ester LeMans, aged 39, registered nurse and World War nurse, is starting anew and along entirely different lines to radiate sunshine and spread cheer and contentment to the unfortunate.
    Handicapped by the loss of hearing, one of the woman's sacrifices for her country, and realizing she could no longer minister the wants of the sick, Mrs. LeMans decided she would devote her time brightening the lives of crippled and disabled soldiers. She confided her plans to the War Department and was informed that to pursue this work she must have training and a college degree.
    Undaunted by this obstacle, she appealed to the Army Vocational Bureau, after she learned she was entitled to war compensation and asked to be sent to school. This all happened in May, 1920, and now, after two years of intensive study, Mrs. LeMans has completed half of the arts and crafts course at Carnegie Institute of Technology.
    Mrs. LeMans is a native Pittsburgher. She joined the Red Cross in April, 1918, and after a period of training was sent overseas with Base Hospital Unit No. 115. The unit later became known as the President Wilson Unit and was stationed at Vichy, France. She was afterwards reassigned to Base Hospital No. 38, stationed at Nantes.
    In September, 1918, Mrs. LeMans was stricken with influenza and after hovering between life and death for several months recovered and again joined her unit. She was again stricken in January, 1919, and invalided home in April. She was confined in Staten Island Hospital for eight months, having three operations in that time in an attempt to restore her hearing. She is a graduate of Emergency Hospital, Washington."

The Veteran's Compensation Application for Ester Dolores LeMans, which can be found on Ancestry, shows that she was born in Pittsburgh on April 7, 1883. When she submitted the form in 1934, Ester was living in Phoenix, Arizona.

Thank you to all veterans, past and present, for your service and the sacrifices you've made for our country.

A Lot Can Happen to Your Ancestor in a Decade

Population Record, 1890-92,
Western State Penitentiary

Murder, trial, and prison. If you looked at the life of Stewart Cherry based on census records alone, you'd never know that his life was turned upside down when he was 38. Stewart was born in Pennsylvania in 1853, and in the 1880s married Mary Jane Phillips and started a family. He would eventually become the father-in-law of my first cousin 3 times removed, when his daughter Rachel married Harry Monroe Dietz.

The census records seem to show that Stewart maintained a rather normal, routine life:

• 1900 - oil well driller living in McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania
• 1910 - oil driller living in McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania
• 1920 - driller for an oil well company in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania

Decade after decade, it looks like Stewart's life didn't change. And if the 1890 census had survived, it most likely would have showed again that Stewart was a well driller. I base this assumption on a different type of census record: the one shown at the right that was created by the Western State Penitentiary. It provides many details, including his occupation and his crime of murder. Yes, Stewart Cherry's life shows that a lot can happen in between censuses.

Newspapers from 1891 show that Stewart was arrested for murder, found guilty, and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He claimed self-defense. Stewart was released at the end of May 1900 after serving almost 9 years of his sentence (just a few days before the 1900 census was taken). His normal-looking life from census records turned out to be far from ordinary.

The Pittsburg Press, May 11, 1900
[CLICK TO VIEW LARGER]

You never know what interesting events and facts you may find about your ancestors.

Related Post:  In Pursuit of Pennsylvania Prisoners

Anniversary of a WWI Death

The Pittsburgh Catholic, February 28, 1924

Last week was the anniversary of my great-uncle's death in France during World War I. George J. Stenglein was born to German parents just 1 week after they arrived in New York in 1891. The family soon settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. George served in the Army from September 21, 1917, until his death on September 26, 1918. My grandmother was only 10 years old when her oldest brother was killed in action.

Several years after George's death, The Pittsburgh Catholic listed him among the names of the city's Catholic soldiers who were buried in the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery. Here's part of the newspaper article:

     "Many Catholic graves in the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery, located at Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, (Meuse), France, have been recently blessed. The graves of American heroes from the Diocese of Pittsburgh are listed below.
     The location of this cemetery is within the area of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the greatest engagement in which American troops ever participated. During the forty-seven days' struggle 1,200,000 Americans were engaged, suffering 120,000 casualties.
     Upon completion of concentrations there will be 13,969 interments in the American cemetery. The data on the Catholic heroes has been assembled through cooperation of the pastors, the Catholic press, and the Bureau of Records, N.C.W.C. [National Catholic Welfare Conference]
     The following are grave records of young men of the Pittsburgh diocese who, serving in the World War, made the supreme sacrifice and whose bodies are buried in the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery..."

Each man's military unit, date of death, and grave location in the cemetery were also provided by the newspaper.

• Paul Adamski, Braddock
• Joseph Battaglia, Sharpsburg
• Anthony Broestel, Pittsburgh
• John F. Coakley, Washington
• Dominico Colaizzi, Pittsburgh
• Patrick Paul Collins, McKeesport
• James Connolly, Pittsburgh
• Edward R. Connors, Pittsburgh
• John Patrick Corrigan, McKeesport
• Patrick J. Cronin, Pittsburgh
• Domenico Dimasi, Greensburg
• Andrew Early, Pittsburgh
• Barton W. Elliott, Springdale
• George W. Fleischer, Butler
• Oscar John Gallas, Pittsburgh
• Stephen Gasper, St. Vincent
• Lorenzo Gentile, Jeannette
• Paul Grabowski, Braddock
• Albert Jacob Hohman, Pittsburgh
• John Hutchinson, New Salem
• John P. Jene, Pittsburgh
• Alex Johnston, Turtle Creek
• Walter R. Johnston, Pittsburgh
• William B. Kamer, Ford City
• James M. Keady, Pittsburgh
• Daniel R. Kelley, Mt. Pleasant
• John P. Kirby, Pittsburgh
• Andrew H. Klein, Pittsburgh
• Karl Kleinert, McKees Rocks
• Joseph Kohuth, Glencampbell
• Louis F. Krezanosky, Avella
• Walter Kudzman, Vandergrift
• Andrew Leap, Pittsburgh
• Ellsworth J. Lew, Carrick
• Donato Maesano, Sharpsburg
• Fiore Marchegioni, Bradenville
• Samuel Martello, Braddock
• Marco Mercurio, Greensburg
• Peter J. Och, Pittsburgh
• Vincenzo Piccirillo, Butler
• John Plehta, Uniontown
• Stanley Price, Glassport
• Michael Puskat, Burgettstown
• William A. Reinhardt, Pittsburgh
• Frank J. Rieble, Pittsburgh
• Ludwig Rigotti, Sutterville
• Sylvester Rombach, Pittsburgh
• Anthony Ryder, Braddock
• George A. Schafer, Millvale
• William E. Schaffer, Duquesne
• Alphonse A. Schmidt, Pittsburgh
• George Schmidt, Pittsburgh
• George Joseph Schmitt, Pittsburgh
• Nicola Serago, Jeannette
• Michael Snee, Kittanning
• Christopher A. Steighner, Coylesville
• John Steininger, Blairsville
• George J. Stenglein, Pittsburgh
• John H. Theuret, Freeport
• Bernard W. Travers, Castle Shannon
• Emanuel G. Tschippert, Pittsburgh
• George J. Wintz, Pittsburgh
• Steve Wolf, Connellsville
• William H. Zewe, Duquesne
• Mike Joseph Zoldak, Coral

You can search issues of The Pittsburgh Catholic (1844-2001) in Duquesne University's Gumberg Library Digital Collections. 

Related Post:  Consider Catholic Newspaper Archives

FamilySearch Find: Adoption of Walter in 1911

Orphanage from The Pittsburgh Catholic,
April 17, 1924

With the help of a digitized collection of adoptions on FamilySearch, I was able to find additional facts to support my thinking that one of my Pittsburgh cousins was adopted. This file doesn't appear on the site's list of published collections and can only be browsed, but "Index to adoption and change of name, Allegheny County (Pennsylvania), 1865-1917" was a key piece of my research.

Walter J. Klein first appeared with his parents in the 1920 census at age 16. Since Andrew & Magdalena were childless in 1910 (when Walter was 6 years old), I suspected that he had been adopted between 1910 and 1920. But how could I know for sure?

When I was scanning FamilySearch's catalog of records for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, I came across the adoption collection. While it's just an index of the court records, I did find an Andrew Klein who had adopted a child. The date was November 23, 1911, but no name for the child was provided in the index. Since Andrew Klein isn't an uncommon name, I couldn't assume he was my Andrew. And in order to find Walter in the index, I would need his surname prior to being adopted by the Kleins.

I used the 1910 census to provide me with a list of possible candidates. In Ancestry, I searched for everyone with the first name of Walter who also:

• was born in Pennsylvania between 1903 and 1905, 
• was living in Allegheny or nearby counties in 1910, and 
• was shown as an "inmate," which was often used on census records to describe an orphan's relationship to the head of household. 

There were 7 matches.

I then went back to the adoption index at FamilySearch and searched for each orphan. When I got to Walter Miller, I found that name in the index. Walter John Miller was the name of the adopted child, and the decree was dated November 23, 1911, exactly like Andrew Klein. Bingo! I still need to verify that they are my Andrew and Walter, but it looks very promising.

All I know at this point is that Walter J. Miller was a Pittsburgh orphan in 1910 and lived at St. Michael's Orphan Asylum, which was an orphanage established to take care of the orphans of St. Michael's parish on the South Side. When he was about 7 years old, he was adopted by Andrew & Magdalena Klein and became Walter J. Klein. (Again, I need to verify this last statement.)

I would love to know Walter's story. Who were his biological parents, what happened to them, and did he have any siblings?  Pittsburgh births are also browseable on FamilySearch and provide parent names, but I haven't found Walter's birth record yet. The Diocese of Pittsburgh may have records for his orphanage, so that's another place that might provide the identities of his parents. The search continues...

Related Posts:

• Where Did the Child Come From?
• FamilySearch Find: Deaths in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania

Letterhead Used by My Uncle, 1890s

When my great-grandmother, Alice Laubersheimer, arrived in New York in 1899, she named Frederick Waldschmidt as her uncle and indicated that he had paid for the trip that would take her to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While browsing the FamilySearch collection of "Registrations of deaths in the city of Allegheny, 1876-1907," I found a copy of the letterhead that Fred used as an alderman at that time:

(CLICK TO VIEW LARGER)

You never know what you might find by browsing!

For more information about Fred's life and to see his image, click on the link below. If you have any Waldschmidts in your family tree who lived in Pittsburgh or France, I'd love to hear from you to see if we have a connection.

Related Posts:

• Is Frederick Waldschmidt My Uncle?
• Record Browsing Has Benefits

Pittsburgh and the World War, 1914-1918

The souvenir publication, Pittsburgh and the World War 1914-1918, can be viewed in the HathiTrust Digital Library and contains many photographs of Pittsburgh soldiers. Here are a couple of paragraphs from the booklet:

"From the high up places of Pittsburgh's loftiest skyscrapers a ton or more of confetti, small bits of paper and streamers of paper floated and fluttered to the streets below. A snowstorm of the white and red and blue fragments filled the air. The streets began to fill with merrymakers as the news was flashed about the city and its environs by newspapers, by word of mouth, by telephone and all other means of communication. Like wildfire the word spread that the armistice had been signed and the Huns had, in effect, laid down down their arms in ignominious recognition that to struggle further world be useless.

Parades formed as offices, stores, shops and mills were abandoned. Bells clanged loudly and to the din, which almost drowned the shouts of the populace were added the sound of many bands playing, the measured tolling of the bell on old City Hall, pounded in turns by men with a sledgehammer; the shrieking of sirens and mill whistles, the deep screeching of steamboat whistles and the booming and cracking of guns and other weapons in the air."

My great-uncle, George Stenglein, is one Pittsburgh soldier who didn't return, didn't see the parade, and didn't hear the cheers. As I looked at some of the photos in this book, I wondered if my grandmother and her parents cried when they heard others celebrating, since their hearts had to be breaking that George  wasn't coming home.

Female Writers in Pittsburgh, 1897

A search in the Digital Public Library of America led me to Book of the Writers, published by the Writers Club of Pittsburg (Pennsylvania) in 1897. Among the men, you can find nine women profiled in the book, including Mrs. Ida L. Easton:

Ida L. Easton

     "Of much more than local literary note is Mrs. Ida L. Easton, or to use her social name, Mrs. Andrew Easton. Although she is comparatively a new comer into the world of the newspaper scribe, to the readers of the Pittsburg Dispatch, the Florida Times-Union, the Saturday Review, and a number of other publications her name is a familiar one and her pen is as versatile as it is tireless.

     In wide spread charities, moral reform movements, philanthropic ventures she has always been a leader. With a true heart in close touch with the joys and sorrows of humanity, she possesses a courage that never recognizes failure and many an abuse has been brought to light and ended by her daring struggle in behalf of justice and kindness.
  
     To a large number of friends among the younger newspaper workers she is a genial, sympathizing mentor, and not infrequently terms herself the grandmother in the Womans' Press Club, of which organization she is treasurer. Mrs. Easton is an active member of the Writer's Club."

The other female writers included in Book of the Writers are Mrs. Dallas Albert, Jeannette Barbour, Roberta Bradshaw, Janey M. Coard, Marie D. Coyle, Sarah H. Killikelly, Dorothy Richardson, and Miss A.R. Stratton.

Note:  Ida Lois Reed Easton died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the age of 61 on August 24, 1916. Her newspaper obituary indicated that she married Dr. Andrew Easton in 1871 and left two children, Dr. John S. Easton of Pittsburgh and Mrs. C.L. Martin of Philadelphia.

Was Boy Missing in 1911 Ever Found?

I'm currently reading a fictional story by Kate Morton that involves the disappearance of a toddler in 1933. (If you love suspense, family secrets, and a touch of history, I highly recommend all of Kate's books. They're fabulous.)

The Pittsburgh Gazette Times,
November 5, 1911

The book got me thinking about real cases of missing children and how devastating that would be for a family. After searching historic newspapers, I found the following article from a 1911 Pittsburgh newspaper with the headline "Butler Boy Missing":

"Raymond, the 13-year-old son of William C. Cooper, a merchant tailor living at 519 West Clay Street, Butler, Pa., has been missing from his home since October 27. On that morning his father had taken him to school and at the morning recess Raymond disappeared from the institution. He left a note on his desk saying he was going to Pittsburgh to look for work.
...
As a result of Raymond's disappearance, his mother has become ill. Mr. Cooper has conducted a thorough search for the boy and the police of Pittsburgh and neighboring cities have been asked to keep a lookout for him. Mr. Cooper has appealed to The Gazette Times to assist in the search for the missing boy. If the lad sees this article he is requested to communicate with his father at once. The latter will extend his forgiveness, as Raymond's mother wants her son badly."

I couldn't find any news updates to see if he had been found, and I just had to know what happened to him or if his family was left guessing for decades. My son will be turning 13 soon, so the story touched a nerve.

Fortunately, a WWI Compensation Application on Ancestry provided the answer. I don't know how long Raymond was gone or when he returned, but it looks like he came back to his family...before leaving them again. The document says that he enlisted in the Army in 1914 (when he was 16 but apparently claimed to be 19), and he served until 1920.

FamilySearch Find: Deaths in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania

Are you overlooking some online records at FamilySearch? Here's one example of a digitized non-indexed collection that isn't on the site's list of published collections.

Image from end of death register book,
Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, 1891

Allegheny City in Pennsylvania wasn't annexed by Pittsburgh until 1907, so deaths for both cities were recorded separately prior to that time. That means if you look at the FamilySearch collection "Pittsburgh City Deaths, 1870-1905," you won't find my Uncle Emil's 1903 death record. While there doesn't appear to be a similar death record collection for Allegheny City, it is in fact on the site and available for online viewing.

My French 3rd great-uncle, Emile Wey, arrived in the United States in 1871. Known as Emil in America, he would marry, have 6 children, and build a life in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. Emil died in Allegheny City on May 4, 1903, which was provided by his newspaper obituary. Knowing exactly when he died is fantastic, but I wanted to know why he died at the young age of 54.

If you click on "Browse all published collections" on the FamilySearch site, you won't see a record set for Allegheny City deaths. But FamilySearch actually does have these records digitized and available to browse in its collection called "Registrations of deaths in the city of Allegheny, 1876-1907." Each listed record group with a picture of a camera under "Format" means it can be viewed online. (A reel means you have to order the microfilm for viewing at your local Family History Center.)

Glancing at the thumbnail images will give you a sense of where the handwritten surname index starts for each volume; it's usually somewhere in the middle and not at the beginning or end due to the way the book scans were saved. And sometimes there's a second index further down in the same file where the next book of death records begins. You can use these indexes to locate the page number of the death record.

My Uncle Emil did indeed die on May 4, 1903, due to "abcess [sic] of liver." The record also states that he had resided at 707 Middle Street in the 3rd Ward for 30 years and that he was buried in St. Peter's Cemetery on May 7th (although a photo of his headstone on FindAGrave indicates that he's in Highwood Cemetery).

By browsing for other relatives, I found cousin August Huber who died in 1882 at 7 weeks of age due to eclampsia, as well as another cousin's father-in-law who died in 1903 of "mania a potu" or madness from drinking. I had their dates of death from other sources (church record for the first and a newspaper obituary for the second), but now I have more details, including where they are buried.

Be sure to search the FamilySearch Catalog for your ancestors' towns to see if digitized images are available. As this example shows, some online records don't appear on the published collections list.

Note: "Registration of births in the city of Allegheny, 1878-1907" is also available on FamilySearch, although five years are missing.

Arrests of My "One-Armed" Uncle

James Baker, c. 1915

James Baker, the brother of my 2nd-great grandmother, seems to have struggled during his lifetime. It appears that he had problems with anger or alcohol, or both. James appears in several newspaper articles about fights, arrests, and marital problems.

James was born in Canada and moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his parents around 1866 at the age of 5. He married Carrie Betler when he was 22 and had two children: Clara and Harry James.

His death certificate indicates that his right arm was amputated due to an accident four decades before his death, but I haven't found any information about this incident. But newspapers provide many other sad details about his life, such as:

• 1884 - "Jacob Betler was badly beaten by his son-in-law, James Baker, the other night, and has been laid up ever since. Betler keeps a saloon on Picnic street, South Side. No arrests were made. The trouble was about a domestic misunderstanding." (Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, 24 Jul 1884)
• 1900 - "James Baker, a one-armed man, was picked up by the police at the corner of Carson and South Twenty-fifth street, last evening, under the influence of liquor. After he was taken to the police station it was found that he was suffering from a compound fracture of the right ankle..." (The Pittsburg Press, 30 Jan 1900)
• 1905 - "Baker's wife alleges he came home drunk Monday night and set fire to the feather bed in which she was sleeping. Failing to burn her alive, she says he demolished all the furniture in the house and threatened to murder her and their two children. On a former occasion she says he threw oil over her for the purpose of setting fire to her clothes, and also threatened to burn her mother's house." (The Pittsburgh Gazette, 25 Oct 1905)
• 1907 - "The master's report in the divorce case of Carrie Baker against James Baker was filed in common pleas court No. 3 and a decree recommended. Desertion was charged." (The Pittsburgh Post, 1 Nov 1907)
• 1915 - "James Baker has but one arm and while drunk last night used it in a most effective manner. He deemed it his province to be the sole occupant of the sidewalk and those who disputed his right he promptly landed on them with his fist. Naturally James landed in the bastile and he was sentenced to pay a fine of $2 or serve five days in the county jail." (The Pittsburg Press, 10 Feb 1915)
• 1925 - "James Baker, aged 60, was dubbed 'the one-armed terror' by police of the Allegheny station yesterday as a result of an altercation he had with two prisoners placed in the same cell with him. One of them...was taken to the Presbyterian Hospital with a severe cut in his cheek, and the other...suffered facial and body bruises. Baker, who has only one arm, was placed in a solitary cell after the fight. The three were originally arrested on charges of drunkenness." (Pittsburgh Gazette Times, 27 Feb 1925)

James Baker died in 1944 at the age of 82 and was buried in Pittsburgh's Oakland Cemetery. (Oakland Cemetery was moved after the land was purchased by the University of Pittsburgh. The graves are now in the Oakland Section of Mount Royal Cemetery in Glenshaw, a suburb of Pittsburgh.)

Related Post:

• Photograph: Genealogy Mystery

Hockey Night in Pittsburgh

As lots of Pittsburgh hockey fans hope for a huge win tonight, it appears that the love of this sport has been around for a while. Here's an excerpt from an article that was published in The Pittsburg Press on March 15, 1903 (from Newspapers.com):

The Pittsburg Press, March 15, 1903

"Pittsburgers are great admirers of hockey. Ever since the game has been played here it has been popular, and its popularity is not decreasing nor the interest dying out. It is only recently, however, that local athletes have taken great interest in the game. Formerly the people depended on imported skaters to entertain them, but of late years young men and boys of this city and county have organized teams, and are on the ice almost daily. Duquesne Garden is practically the only available place in the county where the game can be played to any great advantage, and it is, therefore, the headquarters of the sport. Of course, the chief teams are those belonging to the Western Pennsylvania Hockey league, made up of the Bankers, Pittsburg Athletic club, the Victorias and the Keystones. But other teams are coming to the front, and it will not be long until Pittsburg will boast of a championship team made up of purely local talent."

Inventory of Pittsburgh's War Monuments

Civil War Monument,
Pittsburgh's Calvary Cemetery

I'm late posting this but, for those of you with Pittsburgh roots, I wanted to share a link that appeared in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article over the Memorial Day weekend. The article itself is worth reading and gives the background story on the effort to itemize all of the city's memorials: "War memorials, monuments abound in Pittsburgh, but some in danger of being forgotten."

Of particular interest is one of the links at the end of the article that takes you to the "City of Pittsburgh Preliminary War Monument Inventory", which provides a look at over 100 photographs of memorials, many with the date and artist. They are grouped by neighborhood.

The name of my great-uncle, George J. Stenglein, appears on a World War I memorial on the South Side of Pittsburgh. He died in France at the age of 27, when my grandmother was only 10. This memorial in St. Michael's Cemetery on 18th Street doesn't appear in the City's inventory, but perhaps that's because it was placed there by the parish. Or maybe it was just missed.

The list isn't complete, but it's interesting to peruse those that have been included. I highly recommend it!

Related Post:  WWI Death: Remembering George J. Stenglein

Pittsburgh's Duquesne Theater, 1890-1924

Last week, I wrote about an autograph book previously owned by Susie Jane Lowery Richardson. Inside that book was a loose piece of paper with a note written by Susie's daughter, Lilia, when she was very young. (Words weren't separated by spaces, so she must have been at an age when she was learning to write.) The paper was actually letterhead from the Duquesne Theater in Pittsburgh.

Susie must have been a fan of the Duquesne Theater, based on having its letterhead as well as this mention in The Pittsburgh Press in January 1900:  "Mrs. David J. Richardson gave a box party at the Duquesne theater yesterday afternoon in honor of her small daughters and their friends. There were about a dozen children in the party."

According to an 1890 article in The Pittsburg Dispatch, the building of the Duquesne Theater was initially a livery stable and renovated for its grand opening as a theater on December 1, 1890. After more than three decades of providing entertainment, the structure on Penn Avenue (between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Street) was torn down in 1924 to construct a nine-story building for the Standard Furniture Co.

Note: Lilia Richardson's message on the Duquesne Theater's letterhead was written to either Susie's mother or mother-in-law. This is what she said (punctuation and spacing has been added by me): "Dear Grandma, Mama has gone to church and I had to stay home and be mama. I am going to see Dela Fox. I am going to get my dress made. I'm going to have it trimmed with green velvet. Marguerite [her sister] cannot go. Lilia"

Autograph Book Signed in Pittsburgh and Fredericksburg

The first page is signed "Susie Jane Lowery, Pittsburgh Penn." She owned this autograph book as a teenager, before her Manhattan marriage to a Pittsburgh-born banker, before her two daughters were born, and before her husband spent time in prison.

Susie was the daughter of John T. and Martha Lowery and was born in 1862 in Charlottesville, Virginia. In 1887, she married David J. Richardson in Manhattan, New York. By 1900, they were living in Allegheny City (now the North Side of Pittsburgh) with their two daughters Lilia and Marguerite. In 1909, husband David was convicted for his role in the 1908 collapse of the Cosmopolitan National Bank in Pittsburgh. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison and released early in 1912.

I found Susie's autograph book with signatures from 1879 through 1883 in a Pittsburgh antique store. It's slightly warped from apparent water damage and some of the pages are faded, but it contains many signatures and printed calling cards. Here are two of the signatures:

From Susie Jane Lowery's autograph book dated 1879:  Arthur von Senden
in Pittsburgh, Pa. and George A. Walker in Fredericksburg, Va.

Some of the other people who signed the book include:

     Flora A. Baker - Morgantown, West Virginia     

     Charles Black - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

     Isabel D. Boyce

     Mamie Brye

     Albert Cline - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

     John M. Griffin - Fredericksburg, Virginia

     Charles Haley

     John B. Hughes

     Kate Mandis - Fredericksburg, Virginia

     Sadie McCrum - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

     A.L. Minnemeyer

     Florence Oliver - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

     Paul Pry

     D.F. Sawhill - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

     A.E. Sprague

     Linda Word - Richmond, Virginia

I'd like to return the book to a descendant of Susie Jane Lowery Richardson, so let me know if she's in your family tree.

Doctor Who Buried His Teenage Son

Harold W. Thomas was a physician for 53 years in Arnold, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. He was married to my husband's 3rd cousin 2 times removed, Agnes May Cowden.

Harold was born April 10, 1902, to parents Abraham & Clara Thomas. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh's medical school in 1928, he opened his own practice in his hometown of Arnold. He also served as the school doctor for the New Kensington-Arnold School District, a position he held for 40 years while running his medical practice.

His first child, Harold Thomas Jr., was born on March 13, 1932. But at the age of 16, his son died in Pittsburgh's Mercy Hospital from acute respiratory failure caused by virus encephalitis. It must have been difficult to help so many people during his career but be unable to save someone he loved so much. Harold Sr. had this to say about his son's death in an article published by The Pittsburgh Press about his retirement in 1982:

    "'You accept older people dying,' he said, 'but the deaths of younger people are the hardest things for a doctor to absorb. They cause many sleepless nights. But you learn to accept death as an act of God if you've done your best.'

    Thomas hails the new drugs and technology, which might have saved his own son, Harold Jr., who died from polio at age 16 in 1948. 'I gave him all the remedies, but neither the Salk nor the Sabin vaccines were available,' he said. 'It was only a few years after he died that they were developed.'"

Harold W. Thomas Sr. died 35 years after his son on May 17, 1983, in Pittsburgh's Allegheny General Hospital. Father and son are buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania. Of all of his accomplishments, it's likely that Harold Sr. was most proud of his children. It's sad that he lost one so young.

Mother of 17 Children, Mary DeTemple

Frank DeTemple, the husband of my great-aunt, was one of 17 children. At first I thought it might be a typo, but both the 1900 and 1910 censuses point out this fact.

Frank's mother, Mary Schmidt, married George DeTemple in Germany at the age of 18. That year of 1868 most likely was full of hope and plans to start a family. At some point over the next decade, George and Mary talked about moving their family to the U.S. and eventually made the journey. By 1882, they were living in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh).

By the age of 50 in 1900, Mary had given birth to 17 children. Sadly, 10 were no longer living by then. Unfortunately, it wasn't a typo on the 1900 census. The 1910 census says the same thing: 17 children, 7 still living. I haven't found any children deaths in Pittsburgh, so perhaps they all died in Germany.

Mary passed away at the age of 70 on June 4, 1920, and was buried in Pittsburgh's North Side Catholic Cemetery (now called Christ Our Redeemer). After spending decades without them, she finally was reunited with her children.