Showing posts with label city directory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label city directory. Show all posts

Friday, July 11, 2025

Picture of Clarence E Winterton, Produce Merchant

I snagged a great picture from eBay. It's a sepia tone photograph of eleven men standing in front of a structure labeled "Clarence E Winterton" with a sign "Philadelphia Poultry." "Papa" and an arrow are drawn underneath one of the men. The number "95" is on two of the posts. This was probably 95 Park Place in New York City.

The picture (not including mat) measures 4 1/4 " by 5 1/2 "

On the reverse is written, "First place he worked" and the photographer's information, J Watson.

"First place he worked"
J Watson, photographer. ?05 Bowery, NY

Clarence E Winterton (1860-1921) was was an older brother of my great great grandfather, William Walling Winterton (1863-1932). They were raised in Matawan and Keyport in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

I inherited many photos from this branch of my family, though most of the people in these photos remain unidentified. I'm not sure which of the photos, if any, that I have in my possession feature Clarence E Winterton. I tentatively identified William Winterton in some of these photos. 

Probably William Walling Winterton (1863-1932)
Brother of Clarence E Winterton

At MyHeritage, the picture was sharpened.

Image sharpened by MyHeritage

MyHeritage also colorized the photo. This is amazing. Life is breathed into sepia when colorized. The numbers on the pillars are more prominent. Light from above is visible within the structure on the right behind the men.

Image colorized by MyHeritage

MyHeritage can also recognize faces and enhance them. This picture was not crisp to begin with. Only one figure was recognized as a face, the man labeled "Papa."

Face of "Papa" reimagined by MyHeritage


The colorized picture of William Winterton revealed lush greens and a stored firewood.
 
Colorized photograph of William Walling Winterton



The New York City city directories list Clarence and his helpers at 95 Park Place.

City directory for the City of New York
1889-1890
William Winterton, trucks, was my great great grandfather.


In 1881 Clarence Winterton married Elizabeth R Lufburrow (1862-1940). They had three children:

-Clyde Ellsworth Winterton (1883-1936), married Blanche Johnson (1883-1966) and Marilena Drake (1887-1966).

-Vera Adele Winterton (1886-1964), married Frank Pierson Sproul (1884-1936).

-Roy Lufburrow Winterton (1889-1960), married Lillie Pedee (1894-1965).

 

Clarence relocated to New York City in the late 1880s- the youngest child was born there in 1889. (Though his name at birth was Orlie Vincent and not Roy.) By 1900, Clarence had relocated to Brooklyn.

1900 federal census 594 Monroe Street, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York.
Clarence Winterton, produce merchant.
Lizzie R, wife.
(Children on next page.)
   

 

By 1910, Clarence had relocated back to Keyport.

How did Clarence commute? By boat or train, I would imagine. 

Current map of showing locations of Keyport, New Jersey
and 95 Park Place, New York City
 

I visited Keyport Harbor for July 4th. You can see Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan from the water in Keyport. This building stands a few hundred feet from 95 Park Place.  

Me at Keyport on July 4, 2025.
The buildings of lower Manhattan can be seen by the rim of my hat.
This is where Clarence and William Winterton commuted
in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Who is the business partner, Frank Wardell?

I have not seen him in any records so far related to Wintertons. He might be the Franklin Wardell buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1945. In 1886 in Clintondale, Ulster County, New York Frank married Evva Carpenter (1865-1955). He must have commuted south to the produce store.


Saturday, May 31, 2025

Parents of Mollie Schoenberger and Louis Schwartz

Where were Louis Schwartz and Mollie Schoenberger from in Europe? Who were their parents?

The couple's second child, Hannah, was born in New York City in 1883. The mother was Minnie, not Mollie, age 23, or born about 1860, in Hungary. The father, Lewis, was age 26, or born about 1857, in Hungary. His occupation was baker.

Hannah Schwartz born March 24, 1883
20 Clinton Street, New York, New York.
Midwife Rosa Rosenberg of 174 Suffolk Street.
Images online New York City Department of Records and Information Services

Their third child, William, was born in New York City in 1884. The surname was spelled Swartz, not Schwartz, but this could be because the midwife's name was Anna Swartz. Anna may not have been too good at spelling English; she wrote "mail" instead of "male." The mother was Bertha, not Mollie or Minnie, age 25, or born about 1859, in Hungary. The father, Louis, was age 33 years, or born about 1851, in Hungary. He was a baker.

William Swartz born October 8, 1884
235 Stanton Street, New York, New York.
Midwife Anna Swartz of 141 Attorney Street.
Images online New York City Department of Records and Information Services


Louis Schwartz appeared in the 1884 New York City city directory in 1884 at 235 Stanton. He was a baker. This matches the address and occupation on William's birth certificate.
Louis Schwartz, baker, 235 Stanton.
1884 Trow's New York City, New York city directory.
Database online at Ancestry


The Swartz family lived at 141 Attorney- the address used by midwife Anna Swartz. She must have inadvertently applied the spelling of her surname to the baby she delivered.
Swartz Henry, tailor. Swartz Ignatz, cloaks. Swartz Maurice, cloaks. 141 Attorney.
1884 Trow's New York City, New York city directory.
Database online at Ancestry


The next four children were not born in New York City. We will detail their records later.

The final child, a daughter, was born in 1900 in New York City. She was child number eight; six were still living. The mother was Mollie, age 40, or born about 1860, in Hungary. The father, Louis, was 45 years old, or born in 1855, in Hungary. He was a pedlar.

Tillie Schwartz born November 28, 1900
56 Cannon Street, New York, New York.
The recorder perhaps wrote the color "Brunette" for the hair instead of the skin.

The 1905 New York State census is the earliest census for this family that I discovered as of this writing.

Mollie and Louis resided in New York City with children Willie, Philip, Henry, Harry, Max, and Pauline (called Tillie at birth).

1905 New York State Census. 56 Cannon Street, Manhattan, New York

Louis and Mollie were born in Hungary. Their birth place of their first child, William, looks to originally have been Hungary with "United States" written over this entry. The next children were born in Hungary, except the final child, born in United States.

The places of birth of the children seem unusual to me. 

We do not know, as of this writing, the place of birth of the first child, likely around 1881. Hannah and William were born in New York City. Did Mollie and Louis return to Hungary and have the next four children there, from 1889 through 1894? Then they returned to the United States where they had Tillie, also known as Pauline or Pearl, in 1900.

A marriage record could provide the hometowns and names of parents, but so far, I have found no marriage record for Louis and Mollie.

The four sons born in Hungary list a town of birth on various records. The name looks like Gavitz, with or without "Nud" preceding this word. If anyone knows where this might be, please comment.

Draft card registration of Philip Schwartz
born February 23, 1889 in Nug Gavitz, Hungary
Database online Ancestry

Questionnaire of military service of Henry Schwartz
born October 20, 1890 in Nud Gavitz, Hungary
Database online Ancestry


Petition for Naturalization of Harry Joseph Schwartz
born December 23, 1892 in Nud Gavetz, Hunary.
Database online Ancestry

Draft card registration of Max Schwartz
born October 23, 1894 in Nudgavetz, Hungary.
Database online Ancestry

The death certificate is another avenue for uncovering a hometown and the name of parents. Ancestry offers two indexes for deaths in the State of Connecticut: 1897-1968 and 1917-2017. Another index 1897-2001 exists on Connecticut Open Data.

Mollie Schwartz died in Bridgeport, Fairfield County, Connecticut on March 9, 1925. Her death was recorded by the State of Connecticut and the City of Bridgeport. Both records are below. These are two separately created records. There is a chance that one has information not contained on the other. In the case of Mollie Schwartz, her parents and place of birth were no more detailed on one than the other.

Death certificate of Mollie Schwartz from the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut
March 9, 1925
Cost $20. Turn-around time was two years via postal mail.


Death certificate of Mollie Schwartz from the State of Connecticut
Side 1
March 9, 1925
Cost $20. Turn-around time was one year via postal mail.

Death certificate of Mollie Schwartz from the State of Connecticut
Side 2
March 9, 1925

Mollie's father was Wolf Schoenberger, according to her death certificates. Unfortunately her hometown and mother's name were not provided.

A descendant of Mollie and Louis has an online tree with pictures. This person does not know where Mollie or Louis was born or raised.

Picture of Mollie Schoenberg, wife of Louis Schoenberg,
as offered by the creator of this tree

Louis died after Mollie. In the 1930 census, he was living with his daughter, Pearl, and her family in Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut.

I do not see a match for Louis Schwartz in the death index for 1930 or later in Stamford. There are people with this name who died 1930 or later.

The issue with obtaining death certificates from the State of Connecticut is that they are $20 each. You cannot view them online or in person, as I found out. I had to make many phone calls and emails to the City of Bridgeport. Connecticut allows members of certain genealogical associations to view death certificates, but a copy still costs $20.

"Sec. 7-51a. Copies of vital records. Access to vital records by members of genealogical societies. Marriage and civil union licenses. Death certificates. Issuance of certified copies of electronically filed certificates. (a) Any person eighteen years of age or older may purchase certified copies of marriage and death records, and certified copies of records of births or fetal deaths which are at least one hundred years old, in the custody of any registrar of vital statistics. The department may issue uncertified copies of death certificates for deaths occurring less than one hundred years ago, and uncertified copies of birth, marriage, death and fetal death certificates for births, marriages, deaths and fetal deaths that occurred at least one hundred years ago, to researchers approved by the department pursuant to section 19a-25, and to state and federal agencies approved by the department. During all normal business hours, members of genealogical societies incorporated or authorized by the Secretary of the State to do business or conduct affairs in this state shall (1) have full access to all vital records in the custody of any registrar of vital statistics, including certificates, ledgers, record books, card files, indexes and database printouts, except for those records containing Social Security numbers protected pursuant to 42 USC 405 (c)(2)(C), and confidential files on adoptions, gender change, surrogacy agreements and parentage, (2) be permitted to make notes from such records, (3) be permitted to purchase certified copies of such records, and (4) be permitted to incorporate statistics derived from such records in the publications of such genealogical societies. For all vital records containing Social Security numbers that are protected from disclosure pursuant to federal law, the Social Security numbers contained on such records shall be redacted from any certified copy of such records issued to a genealogist by a registrar of vital statistics.

Researchers in Connecticut, can you elaborate on the hoops one must go through to get records- legitimate or invented by clerks to thwart genealogical pursuits.





Friday, January 24, 2025

The Schneider Children plus a Bonus Baby

Joseph Schneider (1892-1945) and Mary Fila (1895-1938) lived in Newark, New Jersey from the 1910's until their deaths. They were buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in East Orange.

I did not find a marriage record for this couple. The strategy is to start with the first child and work backwards. Locating birth certificates for all the children was difficult because the surname was spelled a different way for each of the five children: Snajder, Snaider, Shnyder, Schneider, and Snyder.


All five birth certificates were located by sifting through the geographic birth index. In New Jersey, birth certificates for the years in which these children were born are filed alphabetically by year on microfilm in the Archives in Trenton. Instead of spending hours looking at the microfilm, I used the index at home. This index is indexed at Ancestry; however, not all names on the page were transcribed into Ancestry's index. This is a very important consideration when a name cannot be found in an electronic database. Death records helped narrow down the date of birth. All were born in Newark, which also helped immensely.

You can view the New Jersey Geographic Birth Index at The Internet Archive or Family Search.

The couple's first child was Josephine Madlin, born on Leap Day, February 29, 1916. The midwife was K Zamlynska. The birthplace of Joseph and Mary was Austria. He worked as a button maker.
Birth certificate of Josephine Madlin Snajder.
Born February 29, 1916 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.
87 Richmond Street.

The midwife signed her name "K Zamlynska." In the 1920 census in Newark, the birthplace of Caroline Zamlysnki was Austria and she spoke Polish. This could be indicative of the origins of the parents of the baby. Her profession in the census was "none," which is why the city directories are so helpful for finding midwives.

City directory entry for Karolina Zamlynski, midwife.
115 South Orange Avenue in Newark, New Jersey.

Baby Josephine died September 12, 1916 from acute gastro enteritis. She was six and a half months old. She was buried at Holy Sepulchre in a plot where her parents would later join her. Already in this plot was another baby, discussed at the end of this article.
Death certificate of Jozefa Schneider.
Died September 12, 1916 in Newark. 87 Richmond Street.
Cause of death acute gastro enteritis.


The birthdate on the death certificate is February 29, 1916. This is how her entry was located in the birth index, leading to her birth certificate, even though the surname was spelled differently on the death certificate versus the birth certificate.

New Jersey Geographic Birth Index
Josephine M Snajder born February 29, 1916 in Newark.



The couple's second child, Stanislau, was born April 2, 1917. He was child number two, one alive. He was the living child; Josephine had died over six months earlier.
Birth certificate of Stanislau Snaider.
Born April 2, 1917 in Newark.
87 Richmond Street.

The midwife signed her name "Antonia Wakova." This was a feminization of her husband's surname, Wak. In the 1910 census, she was from Bohemia. In 1920 and 1930, she was from Czechoslovakia. No profession was given in the census entries, again making the city directories invaluable for finding this midwife.

City directory entry for Mrs Antonio Wak, midwife.
82-17th Avenue in Newark, New Jersey.

Stanislau became Stanley John. He married and has living descendants. He died October 30, 1988.

The couple's third child, Edward Shnyder was born July 21, 1918. He was incorrectly listed as the second child on his birth certificate.

Birth certificate of Edward Shnyder.
Born July 21, 1918 in Newark.
30 Lones? Street.


In 1936 Edward's surname was modified from Shnyder to Schneider via an official correction to the  birth certificate. These are filed with the birth certificates.

Corrected birth certificate of Edward Schneider, born Edward Shnyder.


Correction to birth certificate of Edward Shnyder,
changing surname from Shnyder to Schneider.

Edward Jacob married and has living descendants. He died October 2, 2001.

The couple's fourth child, Sofie Anna, was born September 26, 1920. This was the only birth certificate to use the Schneider spelling. The first name became Sophie and she married Alphonse Peter Anthony Ulinski in 1939. She died in 1995 in Florida.

Birth certificate of Sofie Anna Schneider.
Born September 26. 1920.
119 Broome Street.


The couple's fifth and final child was Joseph Snyder, born December 11, 1921. He married and has living descendants. He died in 1974 in Alabama.
Birth certificate of Joseph Snyder.
Born December 11, 1921 in Newark.
Beth Israel Hospital.



Baby Josephine, born and died in 1916, appears to be the first child of this couple. They probably married in 1916 or 1915. I found no record in New York or New Jersey. This could be because the names were butchered in the index, or they married in a different state or country.


Another mystery about this couple arises because of a baby buried with them.

In the same plot as Joseph Schneider and Mary Fila is a two-month old baby name Katie Fila. I don't know who this is, but based on the surname Fila and the address- 85 Richmond Street- she is related. Baby Katie died October 17, 1914 at the Babies' Hospital in Newark. The cause of death was enteritis and malnutrition.
Death certificate of Katie Fila.
Died October 17, 1914 in Newark at The Babies' Hospital.
"C. H. S." is Cemetery of the Holy Sepulchre.

The image is of very poor quality. "O.W." is written after Katie's name. This stands for Out of Wedlock. The names of her parents appear to be Stanislaw Floczyiski and Mary Fila, both of Poland. Katie's birthdate is given as August 19, 1914 and her age 2 months, 27 days. Perhaps the month of birth would be more accurate as July. Either way, I did not identify a listing for Katie in the birth index in Newark for this time.

Could Baby Katie have been a child of Marie Fila, wife of Joseph Schneider?


Friday, July 12, 2024

New York City Jury Census 1816

My fourth great grandfather, Garrett Smith Duryea (1777-1834), was a cartman and grocer in New York City. (The name is spelled with variations throughout records.)

In between the federal decennial census, individual locales ran their own enumerations of inhabitants.

In 1816, New York City created a Jury Census- people who were possibly qualified to serve on a jury.

A search tool for this collection is at Ancestry while images are on the website of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services



The address of a person in the jury census is provided by the index at Ancestry. To find this entry in the images, you need to look page by page, or find the possible ward by using a map from this time. Garrit S Duryee was living at 168 Maiden Lane, according to the index. On a map from 1817, Maiden Lane was in Ward 2. (Some streets lie in more than one ward.)

Map of New York City 1817
The New York Public Library Digital Collections


This jury census is different from the federal census in that it provides the exact age of the subject. Garrit was 39 years old in 1816, which matches a year of birth of 1777. His occupation was grocer and he had no exemptions from jury service.




The second page provides details about the household. He was a freeholder of more than 100 pounds (not dollars). This could have been 134 Delancey Street, which he purchased in 1807. Four males and three females lived in this household in 1816. The males were probably Garrett and his three sons, Rulief, John, and Stephen. One of the females was likely my fourth great grandmother, Ann Cornell (1784-1871). The other females could have been servants, siblings, mothers, or daughters who died young and are not named in any records discovered yet.


New York City city directory
Images online at The New York Public Library Digital Collections

The 1816 New York City city directory provides Garrett's address as 168 Fly-market. His address changed often.



For comparison, in 1810 Garret Deryea lived in the tenth ward, probably on Broome or Grand, based on the city directories for this time period. He was the male between the ages of 26 and 44. The two young males were probably his sons John and Rulief. One of the females was probably his first wife, Charity Horton.


In the 1820 census, the household had grown.
Rulief was about 16 years old and the oldest living child. Next were John, Stephen, Garrett Junior, and Jacob. Because the rest of the household is not named, we cannot know if these were the children represented by these counts.
The rest of the household was probably a mixture of other relatives. Some of the young males might be undiscoverable children who died young.
Or the numbers might be wrong.


Note: this is not the same Garret Duryea (1750-1825) who lived in Orange County, New York.


Saturday, June 29, 2024

Businessman of Newark, New Jersey

Newark is New Jersey's largest city. Founded in 1666, it became a manufacturing hub by the late 1800s.

Herman Lutter (1860-1924) resided in Newark after his arrival from Germany in 1881. He was my second great grandfather.

He manufactured wagons - the kind that horses pulled to transport humans and products.

His business was mentioned in a book from 1894, Newark Handsomely Illustrated.





Newark Handsomely Illustrated 1894
(Newark, New Jersey: The Consolidated Illustrating Co, 1894), 229

Text of above article from the book:

HERMAN LUTTER

Among the wagon builders of note in this city, is Mr. Herman Lutter whose well equipped works are located at No. 148 Baldwin Street. He is a first class builder of wagons and trucks - brewery, feed, ice, grocery and butcher carts -  which are his specialty, and manufactures to order all kinds of carriages. Mr. Lutter started about two years ago. The shops are thoroughly equipped with all the latest any best machinery and appliances. He employs six skilled workmen and the demand for his excellent wagons and trucks is steady. He manufactures for the leading brewers, grocers, etc., of the city. Repairing is done in all branches. Mr. Lutter's vehicles are all hand made, and renowned for their light running qualities and great durability. They are made from the best timber, substantially ironed, neatly fashioned, well proportioned and have no superfluous weight. A select stock of these is kept on hand at surprisingly low figures. Mr. Lutter is a practical, experienced mechanic who thoroughly inspects all his work which is always up to the highest standard. Mr. Lutter was born in Germany and came here thirteen years ago. He is actively connected with the United Lodge, the Knights and Ladies of Honor.


In the 1894 city directory for Newark, Herman had two entries:

His business at 148 Baldwin

His residence at 48 Baldwin


1894 city directory for Newark, New Jersey
Herman Lutter, wagon manufacturer.
Resided at 48 Baldwin; business at 148 Baldwin.
His brother was Otto, blacksmith, residing at 36 Beacon.



The wherabouts of Herman in the 1895 New Jersey state census remain a mystery. Personally, he was separated from his wife, Clara Uhl (1865-1955).



Twenty-two years later, in 1916, a booklet about industry was published to commemorate Newark's 250th anniversary. Herman ran an advertisement.





Telephone Connection
Herman Lutter
Manufacturer of Wagons and Automobile Bodies
Expert Repairing and Painting
141-143 Frelinghuysen Avenue
Newark, N J


Herman's wagon business morphed with the times. He had to manufacture automobile bodies in addition to wagons. And he had a "telephone connection."

In Herman's personal life, he was newly married. His second wife was Emma Neubauer (1864-1946), widow of Louis Grieser (1860-1906).