One Source of Error Rectified

Find A Grave is a great resource for genealogical information, but be cautious about the linked relations.

Yesterday I highlighted the memorial page for Emaline B Cook (1836-1891), wife of Joseph S Prosser (1832-1910). They were buried at Saint John's United Methodist Church Cemetery in Turnersville, Gloucester County, New Jersey.

Emaline was incorrectly linked as a daughter of my fourth great grandparents, Stephen H Cook (1797-1853) and Elizabeth Vanderhoof (1799-1878), who lived in Morris County, New Jersey. One of their sons, Henry or William Henry (1828-1902), married Emeline Young (1834-1906), likely the source of this mix-up.

I requested that this connection be removed. Overnight the memorial manager did just that.

Updated memorial page
Emeline B Cook
without parents

Ancestry links memorials of Find A Grave in its search results. Multiple trees incorrectly attribute Emeline as a daughter of Stephen Cook and Elizabeth Vanderhoof. The initial evidence would be the (incorrect) link on Find A Grave and 16-year old Emeline Cook in Stephen's household in 1850 in Rockaway Township.

Sampling of trees at Ancestry
that incorrectly attribute Emeline Cook, wife of Joseph Prosser,
as a daughter of Stephen Cook and Elizabeth Vanderhoof

Please use caution when copying from Find A Grave and Ancestry.

I will copy Emeline's death certificate from 1891 on my next trip to the New Jersey State Archives.

Shirley Hofacker Missed in 1920

Who were the children of Florence Lutter (1892-1983) and Adam Hofacker (1893-1974)? A mistake in the 1920 federal census might lead someone astray in this inquiry.

Florence and Adam were married in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey in 1915.

Marriage certificate of Adam Hofacker and Florence Lutter,
October 16, 1915 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.
Groom's parents- William Hofacker and Minnie Christophe.
Bride's parents- Charles Lutter and Annie Lau.

The couple appeared in the 1920 federal census in Newark with two children. Their daughter, Mildred, was age 3 and 5/12. Her calculated birthday would be around the middle of 1916. Their son, Charles, was age 1 and 2/12. His birthday would be in October or November of 1917.

1920 United States federal census
62 Madison Avenue, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey
Adam Hofacker, head; age 27.
Florence, wife, age 27.
Mildred, daughter; age 3 years and 5 months.
Charles, son, son; age 1 year and 2 months.

In the 1930 census, the family was still in Newark. Their children were Mildred, age 13, and Shirley, age 11. Charles was not listed.

1930 United States federal census
93 Nineteenth Avenue, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey
Adam Hofacker, head; age 37.
Florence, wife; age 37.
Mildred, daughter; age 13.
Shirley, daughter; age 11.

Charles would have been eleven years old at the time of the 1930 census. The absence of a child in the enumeration of a family could be in error, but usually indicates that the child died. The index of deaths exists for 1920 through 1929. No good match was identified for this child.

The index of births in New Jersey has an entry for Charles W Hofacker, born in Union County on April 23, 1918. This is near Newark. This person was the son of Charles Hofacker and Anna Kurz. The parents were with Baby Charles in the 1920 census, along with Dorothy, their older child.

1920 United States federal census
Burnett Avenue, Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
Charles Hofacker, head; age 30.
Anna M, wife; age 27.
Dorothy L, daughter; age 4 years and 6 months.
Charles Jr, son; age 1 year and 9 months.

The birth certificates of these children are housed at the Archives in Trenton.

Birth certificate of Charles William Hofacker,
second child born to Charles Hofacker and Anna Kurz.
April 23, 1918 in Union, Union County, New Jersey.

Birth certificate of Mildred Hofacker,
first child born to Adam Hofacker and Florence Lutter.
July 27, 1916 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.

Birth certificate of Shirley Adelle Hofacker,
second child born to Adam Hofacker and Florence Lutter.
October 12, 1918 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.

Florence's obituary from 1983 mentions two daughters, but no son.

Obituary of Florence Hofacker, 1983

In 1939 Shirley Hofacker married William John Geerke in Irvington (city next to Newark). She died in 2013. I found a notice of her death in Florida, but that is all so far.

Marriage certificate of William Geerke and Shirley Hofacker,
June 24, 1939 in Irvington, Essex County, New Jersey.
Groom's parents- Thomas Geerke and Margaret McGlynn.
Bride's parents- Adam Hofacker and Florence Lutter.

In 1940 Mildred Hofacker married John Pisar in Newark. She died in 1987. 

Marriage certificate of John Pisar and Mildred Anna Hofacker,
December 25, 1940 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.
Groom's parents- John Pisar and Agnes Sikora.
Bride's parents- Adam Hofacker and Florence Lutter.

Charles W Hofacker married Alice J McConnell in 1943 in Newark. He died in 2009 in Pennsylvania.

Marriage certificate of Charles W Hofacker and Alice J McConnell,
September 18, 1943 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.
Groom's parents- Charles Hofacker and Anna Kurz.
Bride's parents- John McConnell and Margaret Donohue.

It would appear that the entry of Charles as a son of Adam Hofacker in the 1920 census was in error. I submitted a request to update to this entry on Ancestry.

Additional version of life events: Midwife's Records

Family Search digitized microfilm containing the records of Anna Weyel, a midwife in Bayonne, New Jersey.  (Thanks to the JC Geney blog for bringing attention to this latest addition.)

The records are a log of births for the years 1884 through 1917.

This midwife signed her name as the attendant on the birth certificates of my great grandfather, Frank ODonnel (1888-1959) and his six siblings.  (Or maybe just five of them.)  Frank was the oldest, born in 1888.  Katharine was the youngest, born in 1904.  Parents were Patrick ODonnell (1856-1931) and Delia Joyce (1862-1929).

The records of the midwife coincide with the information on the birth certificates except for James, born in 1892.  James' birth certificate gives a date of June 3, while the midwifery records list him as June 14.  James wrote June 3 as his birthdate on his World War I draft registration.

The main person of interest was the fourth child of Patrick ODonnell and Delia Joyce, Marguerite, born in October of 1894.  I found a birth certificate for Maggie ODonnell, born 18 October 1894 in Bayonne, but her parents were listed as James ODonnell and Ellen Gallagher.  Back at the New Jersey State Archives, I carefully searched for a birth certificate in the indexes for a child of Patrick and Delia, born in  between James born in 1892 and Joseph ("William" in birth records) born in 1897.  I found no such record.  I also searched the births filed under "O" in Bayonne for this time period.

The midwife's records are consistent with the birth certificate for Maggie ODonnell:  born 18 October 1894 to James ODonnell and Ellen Gallagher at 16 RR Av [Railroad Avenue].  Two years earlier, James ODonnell, son of Patrick and Delia, was born at 14 Railroad Avenue.

Was Maggie the biological daughter of a relative, given to Patrick and Delia to raise as Marguerite?  I doubt it.  Marguerite's children tested their DNA.  They share the anticipated amount of identical DNA for first cousins, once removed, with my mother and her brother, including a long segment on their X chromosomes.

Maybe the midwife mixed up the records.  She had been busy.  Two days earlier, she delivered a set of twins and a single.  She delivered another baby the same day Maggie was born.