Showing posts with label marriage certificate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage certificate. Show all posts

Friday, May 30, 2025

What became of Sarah Scherer?

Sarah Scherer, her first husband, William Schoenberg, and their seven children were all together in the 1925 New York State Census in Brooklyn. Sarah was 44 years old, or born about 1881. William was 43 years old, or born about 1882. The children ranged in age from twelve to 22.

1925 New York State Census
178 Throop Avenue, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York

By 1930, Sarah was a "widow," though the disposition of William has not been determined as of this writing. What became of her after the 1930 census was a mystery until the estate papers of Regina Phillips popped up on FamilySearch thanks to their full text search.

The names of Sarah's children appeared in accountings. Sarah's name was misspelled.

Estate of Regina Phillips, 1932, late of Queens County, New York

Sarah was described as Regina's niece. I guess that the connection is through Sarah's mother, Rosa Rubenstein (1853-1924), but the specific relationship is not clear as of this writing.

Parents and spouse of Regina Rubinsons (1870-1932)



Parents and maternal grandparents of Sarah Scherer (1881-19xx)


In 1890 in Manhattan, New York, Regina Rubinsons married Samuel Phillips (1870-1929). Her parents were Elias Rubinsons and Fany Goldberger.

Marriage certificate of Samuel Phillips and Regina Rubinsons
July 8, 1890 in Manhattan, New York.
Groom's parents- Israel Phillips and Amali Hönig.
Bride's parents- Elias Rubinsons and Fany Goldberger.

Samuel Phillips predeceased his wife in 1929. They had no surviving issue when Regina died in 1932.

Death certificate of Regina Phillips
died May 27, 1932 in Manhattan, New York.
Father- Edward Robinson. Mother- Dora Chonowksy.

The names of Regina's parents had morphed from Elias Rubinsons to Edward Robinson and from Fany Goldberger to Dora Chonowsky.

Regina's estate documents mention a change in Sarah's surname from Schoenberg to Koppel, along with the address 518 Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. Koppel was the married name of Sarah's youngest daughter, Beatrice.

No marriage record for Sarah Scherer or Schoenberg to Mr Koppel was found in New York City, New York State, or New Jersey.

Using FamilySearch's search text function, Sarah's application for naturalization popped up. She filed twice- once under the name Sarah Koppel in 1942 and again under the name Sarah Mendlinger in 1946.

Declaration of Intention of Sarah Koppel
signed February 4, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York.


Declaration of Intention of Sarah Mendlinger
signed November 21, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York.

These documents are great because she provides a birthdate and place (April 15, 1881 in Sobolj, Megye, Hungary), date of immigration, marriages, and children. These are not necessarily accurate.

Plus we get a picture of Sarah!

Picture of Sarah Scherer attached to her 1942 Declaration of Intention

On the 1942 petition, she wrote that she married Jacob Koppel on June 15, 1931 in Brooklyn. I don't see this in the index of marriages.

On October 10, 1931, Sarah's youngest daughter, Bertha (called Beatrice in the naturalization document), married Bernard E Koppel, the son of Jacob Koppel and Lizzie Friedman.

Marriage certificate of Bernard E Koppel and Bertha Schoenberg
October 10, 1931 in Brooklyn, New York.
Groom's parents- Jacob Koppel and Lizzie Friedman.
Bride's parents- W [Aaron?] and Sarah Scherer.

Bertha, later called Beatrice, was born August 25, 1913 in Jersey City. The surname was misspelled "Schomberg" on the birth certificate.

Birth certificate of Bertha Schomberg
August 25, 1913 in West New York, Hudson County, New Jersey.
Father- William Schomberg. Mother- Sara Scherer.

On October 28, 1931, a correction was submitted to change the surname from Schomberg to Schoenberg. Four months earlier, mother Sarah had supposedly married Jacob Koppel. Yet she signed "Sarah Schoenberg" and not "Sarah Koppel" on the request for the correction.

Correction to birth certificate of Bertha Schomberg to Schoenberg
signed October 28, 1931.

A record does exist for Sarah's marriage in 1943 to Kopel Mendlinger. (Not the same person as Jacob Koppel.)

Marriage license of Kopel Mendlinger and Sarah Koppel
married January 10, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York.


Although marriages for Brooklyn in 1943 are supposedly all scanned and available online, this one was not. I ordered it through the mail. Cost was $18 and turn-around time was two months.

Available marriage records supposedly online at
New York City Department of Records and Information Services



Sarah's place of birth was Tisa Dop, Hungary. This is Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary.

Map of Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary on map of Europe 2025.


Sarah listed one prior marriage to Jacob Koppel. She omitted her first marriage to William Schoenberg. How did that marriage end? Did William die? Disappear? Divorce?

Sarah's marriage history as reported on her license to marry 1943



What became of Sarah Scherer? I do not know. I did not find a death record for her in New York City. 



Notes about the birth records of the children as listed on Sarah's petitions for naturalization:

Sarah had seven children that I discovered. The first, Dora (1903-1934), was deceased by the time of Sarah's petitions, which only asked about living children.

The second child was born February 2, 1905 in Manhattan. "Lena" was originally the name, but "Sadie" was written in read above the crossed out Lena. This is probably for Sadie, but where is Lena's birth certificate? Lena was child number 3.

Birth certificate of Lena [crossed out] Sadie Schönberg
born February 2, 1905 in Manhattan, New York.
Father- William Schönberg. Mother- Sarah Scherer.

I did not find a birth record for Abraham, child number 4. He could not not have been born on January 16, 1909 because the fifth child, Sam, was born July 29, 1909.

Birth certificate of Sam Schomberg born July 29, 1909
in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey.
Father- William Schomberg. Mother- Sarra Scherer.



Catherine, child number 6, was born February 21, 1911 in Jersey City, not February 2, 1912.




Thursday, February 6, 2025

New York Proposes Rate Hikes to Thwart Genealogical Research

Over the years I’ve written about the difficulties in obtaining copies of vital records from the State of New York. The only way to receive a copy is to print out and physically mail a request, remit $22, then wait a few years for Albany to send a copy.

My latest orders have not been fulfilled. One year for the Cummings and Grant orders; three years for the Sheehy order.

New York claims a backlog of over 10,000 orders and that fulfilling them is almost impossible.

New York was able to figure out how to open the envelopes and cash the checks within weeks.

I suggested making the records digitally available online, which is what is happening with New York City records.

New York has responded. Their solution is to raise fees.

Memorandum in Support of these changes to pertinent New York laws

It is puzzling why Part U- the genealogical section of the Memorandum in Support of the proposed changed is called "Digitize Genealogical Records." Why called digitize? What is being digitized?

Raising the fee from $30 to $45 is their solution to ending the backlog. This is the fee under Section 4174 of the Public Health Law. Is this for only certified copies, of which genealogical copies are not? The current fee is $22, not $30, according to the website of the New York State Department of Health. Is this wrong?

Genealogical copies of births, marriages, and deaths are $22 from New York State Department of Health.
The website should have a disclaimer that you will not receive anything.

Raising fees would do nothing to end the existing backlog; however, it would lessen the rate of growth of the backlog by discouraging people from requesting more records. What would really decrease the growth of the backlog would be printing a disclaimer, such as “Our staff will not fill your order, but they will cash your check. Donate $45 to the State of New York now.” The backlog will remain because the orders were not fulfilled.

Also proposed is a research fee of $50 per hour. I'm not clear on when this would be invoked. At present, no research is performed, as no orders are processed. How long could this research endure? For example, minimum research on the part of the New York State Department of Health would have clarified that the request for the death certificate of Edmond Sheehy (died 1893 in Amenia) was incorrectly transcribed in their index as Edward Sheeby. Ten years later and I am still waiting for the death certificate. That is a lot of time.

In comparison, I can retrieve over one hundred certificates from microfilm in an all-day session at the New Jersey State Archives.

Also nervy is changing the statute to dispense with the requirement to maintain indexes to save themselves money after fighting against the request of Reclaim the Records to release those indexes.


In contrast, New York City is digitizing and publishing online for free its vital record collection.

New Jersey began state-wide collection of births, marriages, and deaths in 1848. For thirty years, the information was entered into ledger books and is available on microfilm at the New Jersey State Archives, online at a Family History Center for free, or online at home but behind a paywall at Ancestry. Certificates from 1878 forward are obtainable in person at the Archives in Trenton with cut-offs of 1924 for births and later for marriages and deaths. Mail orders are $10 per certificate with a return time of a few weeks.

Florida costs $10 per certificate with a return time of two weeks- the last time I ordered. More recent years are available than in New Jersey.

If New York cannot copy these records and cannot do it for $10, something is wrong. Very wrong.

Please share this information online to let New York know that its war on genealogy and history is not acceptable.


PS- While we are on the topic, what is the processing time of Connecticut? $20 for a death certificate. Waiting 22 months and counting.


Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Related Stepmother on Marriage Record

A marriage record is an excellent way of discovering the names of the parents of the bride and groom. The parties helped create the document and could ensure completeness and accuracy, as opposed to birth and death records in which the subject of the document is of no assistance in providing information.

That said, the information is not always accurate.

This was the case with the marriage record of William Hanford Ocoboc (1872-1941) and Anna Holander (1874-1948). They married December 15, 1894 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. William was raised in Rockaway, Morris County, New Jersey, but relocated to Essex County after the marriage. (Hanford is also spelled "Handford." Ocoboc has spelling variants, such as "Ockobock.")

William's parents were Hanford Ocoboc (1844-1918) and Ann Elizabeth Cook (1854-1885); however, on the marriage record, his mother was listed as Clara Lee (1861-1913).

Marriage record.
William Ocoboc and Anna Holander married December 15, 1894
in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.


Names of William Ocoboc's parents as reported on his 1894 marriage record.
His mother was actually Ann Cook, not Clara Lee.

Clara was William's father's second wife. Clara and Ann were first cousins. Their grandparents were Stephen Cook (1798-1853) and Elizabeth Vanderhoof (1799-1878).

Family tree showing relationship of the two wives of Hanford Ocoboc (1844-1918).
William's marriage record listed Clara, not Ann, as his mother.


William was about thirteen years old when his mother died in 1885. The following year, his father remarried, resulting in another child born into the family. William was old enough to remember these events and know that his mother was Ann, not Clara. Perhaps he named Clara as his mother out of respect to her. Perhaps someone else supplied the information and William did not notice the discrepancy. We may never know. We must verify all information with other records whenever possible.

Hanford was related to both his wives. Through Hanford's paternal side, he was their second cousin, once removed. They shared ancestors Conrad Hopler (1730-1816) and Elizabeth Demuth (1735-1814). Handford's mother was Elizabeth Vanderhoff (1812-1889). Presumably she and the other Elizabeth Vanderhoof (1799-1878) were related.


Relationship of Hanford Ocoboc (1844-1918)
and his two wives

The resulting children of these unions were their own cousins.


Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Error on Marriage Certificate

Samuel Schwartz and Hani "Annie" Perlstein settled in Jersey City, New Jersey after their arrival from Hungary in the 1880s. I wanted to know the names of their parents and their hometown. A marriage record is a great place to possibly find this information.

No match was found in the indexes of New Jersey, New York state, and New York City. However- there was an entry for Samuel Schwartz and Amelia Friedman in 1889 in New York City. Samuel and Annie's first child, Edward, was born in 1890 in Jersey City. In general, to find a marriage record, begin with the birth of the first child and work backwards.

Index of New York City marriages at Ancestry


New York City vital records are being digitized and are available for free on the website of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services.

The Certificate of Marriage is two pages. The first page lists the groom as Samuel Schwartz and the bride as Amalia Friedman. This is consistent with the index at Ancestry.

Certificate of Marriage, New York City
Samuel Schwartz and Hani Perstein married January 20, 1889.
In error was written "Amalia Friedman" as the bride's name.


The second page reveals that there is an error on the first page. The bride was Hani Perlstein, not Amalia Friedman. The author wrote the name of the groom's mother instead of the name of the bride. The document is written with two different colors of ink- blue and black. This could reveal that the document was completed at a later time, resulting in confusion.

Certificate of Marriage, New York City
Samuel Schwartz and Hani Perstein married January 20, 1889.
Groom's parents- Pincus Schwartz and Amalia Friedman.
Bride's parents- Adolph Perlstein and Lina Perlstein.

I will also note that the difference in the color of the ink would not have been known if this document was not digitized in color!

To solidify that we have the correct couple, the death certificates were obtained from the New Jersey State Archives. Samuel Schwartz died in 1958 in Jersey City at the Hebrew Home for Aged. On this document his father was Pincus Schwartz and his mother was Miriam Friedman. This is a good match for the marriage record from 1889.

Death Certificate, New Jersey
Samuel Schwartz died April 17, 1958 in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey


Annie Schwartz died in Atlantic City in 1940 from a stroke. Her residence was in Jersey City. Atlantic City is a popular vacation spot in New Jersey, so perhaps she was on a trip when suddenly struck. Her parents were listed as Abraham Perlstein and Unknown. (My least favorite name.)

Death Certificate, New Jersey
Annie Schwartz died January 23, 1940 in Atlantic City, Atlantic County, New Jersey


After collecting the death certificates to confirm that the entry in the index was for this target couple, I submitted a correction to the erroneous entry for Amelia Friedman in the index at Ancestry. The correct name of the bride, Hani Perlstein, was added. Amelia is not really wrong- it is the bride's name on the first page. Now, if someone searches for Hani, she can be found.


Corrected entry for Hani Perlstein in the 
index of New York City marriages at Ancestry


No hometown in Hungary was given in any of these records.


Tuesday, December 17, 2024

New York Ignores Record Requests

The State of New York is years behind in fulfilling orders for genealogical copies of vital records.

Years.

This is a problem because the only way to obtain vital records is from the New York State Department of Health, Office of Vital Records in Albany.

According to their website, the wait is eight months or longer. "Longer" is more correct.


The records are not online. They cannot even be ordered online- you have to submit the fee and a paper form via postal mail, then wait. And wait. And wait. You cannot send someone to Albany and you cannot go yourself.

They are not free. The cost is $22 per record- if you know the year of the event.

CBS News of Albany, New York ran a short video about this issue on December 10, 2024. The current link is here. The site is slow with a lot of ads and pop ups.



Short video clip CBS6 Albany


The reporter interviewed New York State Assemblyman Scott Bendett (R,C-Sand Lake), who said he would look into the issue.

CBS News followed up with another video featuring a response from Health Commissioner Dr James McDonald. Dr McDonald explained that they have staffing issues and are looking at technological solutions. He added that local jurisdictions may have the same information.

In my opinion, if historical and genealogical requests are unimportant to the Department of Health, it is time to turn over custody of the records to the Archives. Even better, scan them and put them online for free, like New York City is doing. New York will have to change some laws and procedural rules, but it is time.

WHAT IS IN THE COLLECTIONS AND HOW TO SEARCH

Recording of births, marriages, and deaths in the modern individual certificate format began around 1881 at the state level. There is a short index of deaths for the year 1880. Compliance was not 100% in the early years.

The cities of Albany and Buffalo have separate record-keeping systems. The City of New York is also separate.

New York State Archives has indexes, but not the actual certificates. (For comparison, the New Jersey Department of Health has a schedule to turn over certificates to the Archives. Do they comply with this schedule? No. But there is access in New Jersey.) The indexes were available for in-person use at the Archives.

New York was so vehemently opposed to genealogical access to records that legal action was needed to make the indexes public. Thank you Reclaim the Records.

The indexes are available for free on Archive.org and New York Family History. Ancestry has its own search feature through a pay wall.

Again- these are the indexes, not the records.


CURRENT LINKS TO FREE INDEXES

Births

Marriages

Deaths


LINKS AT ANCESTRY.COM

These are searchable, but check the actual images for correct spelling, certificate numbers, dates.

If you do not see a particular name, check the images line by line.

New York Birth Index 1881-1942

New York Marriage Index 1881-1967

New York Death Index 1852-1956

New York Death Index 1957-1972

MY EXPERIENCES

Both sides of my family lived in New York in prior generations.

This year, I requested three death certificates for Cummings/Grant branch. The envelopes were mailed to Albany on February 9, 2024. Someone received these requests as evidenced by the checks being cashed on July 30, 2024.

In 2022, almost three years ago, I ordered the death certificate of Edmond Sheehy. The envelope was mailed to Albany on March 1, 2022. The check was cashed April 2, 2022. This record was originally requested in 2015, but the State did not locate the record because the name was misspelled in the index. When the index was published on the internet, I found the correct entry and resubmitted the request.

There are many more birth, marriage, and death certificates that would greatly aid genealogical pursuits. Under the current scheme, the price and process are prohibitive.

As Dr McDonald stated, a duplicate record may have been filed with the local registrar. Their fulfillment time may be shorter than the State. I did this for Edward Sheehy, who died in 1893 in Amenia, Dutchess County. The Town clerk sent me a copy of the obscured ledger book. Missing was the date and the names of his parents. The entire page is necessary for proper evaluation of the record. 

The localities will not provide copies of the certificates.

So no, Dr McDonald, identical information is not available from the local towns. The State will need to release the certificates.

MY OPINION

In light of the release of records by other states, in addition to technological advances beyond microfilm, plus New York's refusal to comply with its own practice of orders for a fee, New York should make its records available for digitization and public access.

New Jersey should also do this.


Saturday, August 24, 2024

Married Twice Eight Years Later

While figuring out the connection with a DNA match, I came across two marriage records for a couple.

On September 12, 1942, Joseph De Figlio (1920-1984) and Anita Whitley (1924-1998) were married in Irvington, Essex County, New Jersey. "Remarried 7-15-50 Newark" was written on this Certificate of Marriage. The officiant was William Lawrence Siebert (1876-1949), a German Evangelical Lutheran minister.

Joseph DeFiglio and Anita Whitley married September 12, 1942 in Irvington, Essex County, New Jersey.
Groom's parents- Anthony De Figlio and Mary Cavateca.
Bride's parents- William Whitley and Mary Shalvoy.
Witnesses- Henry Bosset and Mrs R L Russomanno.
Officiant- William L Siebert.


Reverend William L Siebert in the 1942 Newark city directory, 42 South 12th.


Five children were born to this couple in the 1940s.

The remarriage was on July 15, 1950 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. They were both listed as single, never married before. The officiant this time was a Catholic priest, John D Kearney (1909-1989).

Joseph C De Figlio and Anita C Whitley married July 15, 1950 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.
Groom's parents- Anthony De Figlio and Mary Caropezza.
Bride's parents- William Whitley and Mary Shalvoy.
Witnesses- Wilbur Leicht and Mary Leicht [born Whitley].
Officiant- Dr John D Kearney, OP.



Why did they remarry? Did they need to have a ceremony in a Catholic church? Renewing vows?

Note the remark on the first record from 1942, that the couple remarried. Where was this document kept that someone was able to return to it and write a note about the second ceremony?

Also note the file number. It begins with the number 9. The index of marriages is available on Ancestry and Internet Archive (thanks to Reclaim the Records), but the certificates are not. It is helpful to know that remarriages are given file numbers that start with the number 9.

Index of Marriages, 1950 New Jersey.
File numbers beginning with 9 indicate a remarriage, though not necessarily to each other.
Place of marriage is not the zip code. See Bring Out Yer Dead for the legend.



Microfilm containing marriage records, 1950 New Jersey.
Remarriages were filmed together and begin with the number 9.
Available at the New Jersey State Archives for in-person viewing.



Monday, December 25, 2023

Envelope Addressed to George S Duryee

On eBay is an envelope for sale. The attraction would be to the stamp, I suppose. According to the additional writing on the envelope, the year was 1885. Preprinted as the sender is "United States Senate." The postmark is Washington, D.C. on April 15.

Envelope addressed to "Hon Geo. S. Duryea Newark New Jersey"



I noticed the listing because of the recipient: Hon Geo. S. Duryea of Newark, New Jersey. This is probably George Sharpe Duryee. He was a lawyer who lived and worked in Newark. He was born around 1850 to Peter Sharpe Duryee (1807-1877) and Susan Rankin (1816-1886).

Newark City Directory, 1890
George S Duryee, lawyer, 810 Broad, resided at 30 Washington place



This family cluster was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Newark. Two of George's brothers, Joseph and William, became pastors. You might see their names on baptismal, marriage, and funeral records for families throughout the New Jersey and New York areas in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Duryee family plot.
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Newark, New Jersey.
Section E.


George died in New York City in 1896. These records are being digitized and placed online for free; however, this year is not yet available as of this writing.

Marker at Mount Pleasant Cemetery for George Sharpe Duryee
and his wife, Virginia Teackle Beasley.



Because of the offices that George held, his death was reported in newspapers across the country. 

Article in the Newark Evening News announcing the death of George Sharpe Duryee.
"The State Commissioner of Banking and Insurance Succumbs to an Illness of Two Years' Standing."


George was married once in 1878 in Torresdale, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His wife was Virginia Teackle Beasley, born about 1856 to Reverend Frederick Williamson Beasley and Virginia Teackle Bancker.

Entry in the records of All Saints Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Record collection online at Ancestry.com



Ten months after the wedding, on August 16, 1879 in Newark, Virginia gave birth to their daughter, also named Virginia. The baby and mother were not named on the birth certificate.

Birth certificate of Virginia Teackle Beasley Duryee,
born August 16, 1879 in Newark, New Jersey.
Available through the New Jersey State Archives in person or via mail.



Virginia, the mother, died two days after giving birth from an infection. She was 23 years old.

Death certificate of Virginia T Duryee, died August 18, 1879 in Newark, New Jersey.
Cause of death- puerperal peritonitis.


Death notice for Virginia Teackle Beasley, wife of George S Duryee.
Note that her date of death is given as August 17th.
Her death certificate, which is a primary source, gives the date as the 18th.



Baby Virginia died a few months later on December 24, 1879 from bronchitis.

Death certificate of Virginia Teackle Beasley Duryee, died December 24, 1879 in Newark, New Jersey.
Cause of death- capillary bronchitis.



Both mother and baby appear in the Mortality Schedules for the 1880 census.

Virginia T Duryea [Duryee] in the mortality schedule for the 1880 census


Virginia T B Duryea [Duryee], age four months, in the mortality schedule for the 1880 census



Pictures and documents for Virginia and her family are featured in family trees at Ancestry.