Katherine ODonnell and Her Family

Seven years ago I asked for additional information on Kathryn ODonnell (1858-1939). She was a sister of my great great grandfather, Patrick Francis ODonnell (1856-1931).

Kathryn was born in Killybegs, County Donegal, Ireland. By her first husband, Charles Mason, she had two children, Margaret and John. She then remarried to Patrick Kennedy. She died in California in 1939. I had been able to track Margaret's moves, marriage, and child.

Finally fuller stories for Kathryn's son, John Mason, and her second husband, Patrick Kennedy, have come to light!

Spoiler alert: I have not found additional information on Charles Mason, the first husband. His first and only appearance is in the 1885 state census in New Jersey. 

New Jersey State Census, 1885. Bayonne, Hudson County.
Charles Mason, Irish male, age 20-60.
Kate Mason, Irish female, age 20-60.

In the 1900 census, Kathryn was in Brooklyn with her two children but no husband. A missing husband and widowhood either meant that he died or left the family.

1900 United States Federal Census
Brooklyn, Kings County, New York
Katie Mason and her two children, Margarite and John. She worked as a nurse.

Since writing the original article in 2018, indexes of deaths have come online for the State of New Jersey and Kings County, New York. I have not found a good match for Charles Mason. Indexes for deaths in the State of Connecticut do not start until 1897. If Charles died after Kathryn appeared as a widow in the 1900 census, this record could be anywhere.

Using the newspapers now available for searching online, I set out to discover when Kathryn acquired her second husband.

Newspaper article in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
November 27, 1914.
Widow of Patrick Kennedy to inherit his estate.

Patrick Kennedy was born about 1841 in Ireland. He married Ellen Callahan and they had one son, John, born around 1872. Patrick worked as a police officer in New York City. By 1900 he was retired and worked on his land in Connecticut as a farmer.

In 1911, Ellen died. In 1912, John shot his father, Patrick. John was unable to see or hear because of typhoid fever, an infection suffered when he was a child. Yet somehow he was able to purposely carry out this action.

Newspaper article. John Kennedy held in jail after shooting his father,
Patrick Kennedy, in Stratford, Connecticut. 1914.

Patrick was not expected to live. Enter Kathryn. She nursed him from the brink of death.

John Kennedy was sent to the Connecticut State Hospital for the Insane in Middletown, Middlesex County. He died there in 1930.

Patrick and Kathryn married in April of 1914. Patrick Kennedy died on November 22, 1914. Kathryn inherited one-third of his estate.

In 1920, Kathryn was still in Connecticut. She was living in Bridgeport with her son, John Mason. By 1930 she was living in California with her daughter and son-in-law, Margaret and James Joyce.

What became of John Daniel Mason, the son of Kathryn ODonnell and Charles Mason?

Searching newspapers led to the answers- probably. (The last death certificate I ordered from the State of Connecticut took one year to fulfill. Two years and counting for fulfillment by the City of Bridgeport.) John D Mason was buried in Saint Michael's Cemetery in Stratford - the same cemetery as Patrick Kennedy. He died July 31, 1932, age 43 years. "World War . . . Co. C. 319th Inf." is carved on the stone.

An obituary appeared in a few newspapers in Connecticut and Brooklyn. A mother and sister were mentioned but not by name.

Newspaper article 1932
Johnny Mason, dancer, died in alley in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Johnny Mason danced with Lew Dockstader (1856-1924) and George Primrose (1852-1919). Is this the same John Daniel Mason? Throughout his records he listed his occupation as a laborer.

Library of Congress
Primrose & Dockstader's Great American Minstrels

I also found advertisements for a boxer or fighter by the same name.

Ad in newspaper about a boxing fight.
Johnny Mason versus Eddie Mack.
October 30, 1922 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

I was hoping to find pictures of John Mason. He performed with some well-known personalities. Perhaps he was an unnamed background actor in the vaudeville acts.

I will order the death certificate to see if the names of the parents are Kathryn ODonnell and Charles Mason. This could take a year for Connecticut to do.

So that is the story of Kathryn ODonnell's son, John Mason, and her second husband, Patrick Kennedy. Still missing is what became of her first husband, Charles Mason.

You Missed

I found this article about my grandfather, Clifford Lutter (1915-1980), in the collection of online newspapers hosted by the Newark (New Jersey) Public Library. In October of 1948 Clifford was 33 years and lived on Chester Avenue in Newark with his wife, Beulah Cook (1921-2003), and two small sons. Their third son (my father) arrived the following month.

Without digitization, this gem would have never been found. I was looking for an obituary for a different person and stumbled upon this mention.

Research tip: When searching digital collections, be mindful that the collections themselves are usually not complete and some damage has afflicted individual pages. Also, letters can be read as other letters, such as r and n, b and h, e and o.

Clifford Lutter presented with a certificate, purpose unknown.
The other two men are not identified on this physical photograph.

Clifford worked many jobs during his lifetime. His professional photos are displayed at this link. Most are not labeled, so maybe a family member can discover a picture of a loved one from long ago.

Clifford Lutter is seated on the far right of this photo.

Note the 48 stars on the flag in the background.
This picture was taken prior to 1960.

Joseph Alexander McGrail registered for the draft for World War II in 1940 in Newark. The notations on this document illustrate the trouble he often found himself. "Caldwell Pen 40 days 2/15/45" and "15 days County Jail. He had addresses in Newark: 289 Sherman Avenue, 12 Court Street, 70 Green (or Queen?) Street, and a rural delivery address in Underhill, Pennsylvania.

Note: the county jail no longer has facilities in Caldwell- only in Newark. See this link for some photographs of the penitentiary in Caldwell.

What became of Joseph has not been discovered as of this writing.

Text of above article:

‘FBI Man’ Misses
Uppercut Smashes Window as Policeman Ducks

A man who insisted he was an FBI agent smashed a plate glass window of Cowburn’s Store at 255 Market street last night with a right-hand uppercut which he had aimed at a special policeman.
Special Officer Lutter said he saw the blow coming and stepped aside. The man’s fist then went through the store window.
Lutter identified his assailant as Joseph McGrail, 38, homeless. McGrail had been refused drinks in a nearby bar, according to Lutter. The special officer escorted him from the bar, with McGrail warning that “J. Edgar Hoover won't like this.”
After the wild swing McGrail was led off to City Hospital to have stitches taken in his right hand. He still insisted he was an FBI agent. Patrolman Mandall aided Lutter.

The Newark Evening News
October 10, 1948
Page 18

Life after Divorce

In 1936, Rose Winterfeld filed for divorce from her husband, George Schoenberg, in Hudson County, New Jersey. The reason for the divorce was abandonment after only three months of marriage. She wrote that she had no knowledge of his whereabouts.

Ninety years later, could we find out what became of George, using records that may not have been available to Rose? Yes!

George Schoenberg and Rose Winterfeld married in Hoboken on December 7, 1926. He was 21 years old and resided at 175 Coles Street in Jersey City. She was 20 years old and resided at 212 Seventh Street in Hoboken.

Marriage record 1926
George Schoenberg and Rose Winterfeld

In the 1930 federal census records, Rose and George were not living together as a married couple.

Rose was enumerated in Hoboken with her mother and siblings. She was working as a stenographer for an insurance agent. Her marital status was single.

1930 federal census
Rosie Winterfeld, single, age 23
living in Hoboken with her mother, Fannie, and siblings

Like Rose, George returned to his family of origin. In 1930, he was listed in Jersey City in the household of his father, Simon Schoenberg, and step-mother, Clara Blumenfeld. Also residing here was his brother, Samuel. George's occupation was a salesman; Samuel's was "display art."

1930 federal census
George Sc[h]oenberg, age 23, single

In 1936, Rose filed for divorce from George. She wrote that George left her after only a few months of marriage and that she did not know where he was.

Divorce complaint 1936

"She was lawfully married to George Schoenberg, the defendant in this cause, on the 7th day of December, 1926, by Adolph Carsten, recorder of the City of Hoboken, at Hoboken, New Jersey."

"Defendant deserted her on or about February 1st, 1927, ever since which time and for more than two years last past, the said defendant has wilfully, continuedly and obstinately deserted her."

After being granted a divorce in February of 1937, Rose remarried to William Kaub in May.

1937 marriage record
William Kaub and Rose Winterfeld
Hoboken, New Jersey

Rose died in Florida in 1987. William Kaub died in 1961 in New Jersey.

Where was George Schoenberg, the estranged and missing first husband of Rose, when Rose sought a divorce in 1936?

George was 350 miles west in Pittsburgh with a new family.

In the 1940 federal census, George was married to Lillian Levey. They lived in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, with their two daughters, Ronella, age 6, and Judith, age 1. The older daughter was born before George was divorced from Rose.

1940 United States Federal Census. Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
George Schoenberg was employed as an insurance agent.

A few months later, a legal notice in the Pittsburgh Press served to notify George that Lillian had filed for divorce.

Legal Notice

To George S Schoenberg Respondent:

Take notice that the case of Lillian

Schoenberg against you for divorce a

vinculo matrimonii, at No 2146, July

Term, 1940, Common Pleas Court, Allegheny

County, Pennsylvania, will be tried at the

City-County Building, Pittsburgh, Pa,

when called, or as soon as is convenient

to said Court. I, Edward Roth, Attorney

for Libellant, 508 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, Pa.

George returned to his father's home in Jersey City, which is where he registered for the World War II draft on October 16, 1940.

Draft registration card World War II for George Schoenberg
Resided at 175 Coles Street, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey
Born July 16, 1907 in New York.
Employed by A S Beck Shoe Company.

In 1945, Corporal George Schoenberg married Lelia Fritz in Atlantic City, Atlantic County, New Jersey. His occupation was salesman and he was divorced once.

1945 marriage record
Corporal George Schoenberg and Lelia Fritz, widow of Oliver Alder
Atlantic City, Atlantic County, New Jersey

Lelia and George moved to Florida. Lelia died in 1986. George Schoenberg died in 2006.

Here's the twist.

In the 1950 census in Pittsburgh, George's ex-wife and daughters were living with Sam Schoenberg- George's brother.

1950 federal census
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Sam Schoenberg, age 41. Lillian Shoenberg, wife, age 38.
Ronella, daughter, age 16. Judith, daughter, age 11.

In 1941, Allegheny County issued a license to marry to Samuel Schoenberg and Lillian Levey Schoenberg. Her previous husband is not named, but she clarified that she was divorced November 30, 1940. The decree was included in the images in this collection at Ancestry.

In 1951, Samuel Schoenberg and Lillian were divorced.

Divorce Proceedings

Divorces granted Thursday were:

SCHOENBERG, Lillian from Sam

In 1974 Lillian remarried to George Burkett. She died in 1979.

Samuel Schoenberg died in 1988.

George had a history of going missing. In 1910, when he was a toddler in Jersey City, he wandered off with his younger brother, Sam.

1910 newspaper article September 21, 1910 Jersey City
George, aged three, and Samuel, aged two
wandered away from the front of the grocery store-residence

Deadly Boating Accident 1909

John ODonnell was a paternal uncle of my grandmother. He resided in Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey.

From his gravestone, I had his date of death- September 3, 1909. He was nineteen when he died.

John O'Donnell
born July 9, 1890
Died September 3, 1909
Gravestone at Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City, New Jersey

I found no death certificate in the New Jersey State Archives and no obituary in newspapers from Jersey City. The Bayonne Times newspaper for this time period was destroyed.

I expanded the search to include newspapers from all over. Newspapers in New York City and even Alabama carried articles about John's death.

John was employed as a deckhand on the tug boat R B Little. He was sleeping after working the night shift when his boat collided with another, bursting steam pipes. John awoke and attempted to escape the room in which he was sleeping. John was crushed and scalded. Accounts differ as to the timing of his death in relation to these traumas. The other man in the room, John Lavin, lived. I have not determined when he died.

Newspaper article from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, describing John's death as instant

Newspaper article from The Sun detailing John's attempt at escape before being scalded to death

Vital records for New York City are online, but not all years are available yet. 1909 is among the ranges of unavailable years for death certificates. Online indexes list a death for John ODonnell for September 3, 1909.

New York City index of deaths
entry for John ODonnell, 1909.
Son of Patrick [ODonnell] and Delia [Joyce].

Personnel File for the Works Progress Administration

Certification of Eligibility
Works Progress Administration file of Clifford Lutter

From the National Archives and Records Administration ("NARA"), I received nineteen pages of the personnel file of my paternal grandfather, Clifford Lutter (1915-1980), for his work with the Works Progress Administration ("WPA"). I knew he worked for the WPA because he wrote them as his employer when he applied for a Social Security number in 1936. (You can request a copy of this application for a deceased person, no relation necessary.)

Form SS-5 "Application for account number"
Clifford Charles Lutter, dated December 1, 1936.

The information was originally requested on October 14, 2023 via postal mail using NARA's form 14137 (found here on their website).

On January 9, 2024 NARA sent an email indicating that the file was located and the fee for copying was $70. I remitted payment the same day.

Email from NARA
"Please allow time for the scanning and uploading process to be completed. Our staff is minimal and all requested records need to be digitized and redacted prior to delivery, so we care currently looking at a much longer turnaround than is typical."

On January 11, 2024 the file was received via an email link.

Email from NARA
"We apologize for the quality of the documents. Our WPA records were microfilmed and the originals destroyed several decades ago. The images we provide are the best possible quality that we can produce."

The Works Progress Administration, later renamed the Work Projects Administration, was created in 1935 to ease the high unemployment rate in the United States during the Great Depression.

Clifford Lutter entered his adulthood during the Great Depression. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1915 to Howard Lutter (1889-1959) and Ethel Laurel "Laura" Winterton (1891-1962). They lived in Newark, New Jersey, but Howard was performing as a musician in Philadelphia, hence the out-of-state birth. His sister, Beryl, was born in 1918. His parents divorced in 1927. His father remarried in 1928. Clifford resided with his father's newly created blended family.

1930 federal census: 171 Ampere Parkway, Bloomfield, Essex County, New Jersey

Howard Lutter, head; owns a home worth $8,000; owns a radio; age 41; first married at age 23; born in New Jersey.

Fiorita Lutter, wife; age 40; first married at age 21; born in Germany.

Rita Lutter, daughter; age 16; born in New Jersey.

Clifford Lutter, son, age 15; born in Pennsylvania.

Beryl Lutter, daughter; age 12; born in New Jersey.

*Rita was Fiorita's daughter from her first marriage.*

The Great Depression was in full swing as Clifford finished high school and sought employment as a young man.

In 1935, he sought relief from his unemployment through the WPA. He resided in Newark, New Jersey at 8 Gouverneur Avenue with his mother. He began work in December of 1935 as a laborer in Newark at a rate of $55 per month.

Clifford Lutter with his mother, Laura Winterton

Clifford stopped working for the WPA on June 18, 1937 because he became privately employed. He was working as an observer at City Hall Annex in Newark.

A "Reassignment Slip" appears a few times in the file. This informed of a new job title, location, and rate of pay.

Clifford Lutter reassigned to work as a laborer at Port Newark on April 8, 1936
under the WPA.

On September 4, 1936, Clifford was laid-off from his position as a junior statistical field clerk.

At the end of September of 1936, Clifford was reinstated as a junior clerk on the Radio Survey project at the firehouse on Congress and Lafayette Streets in Newark. His salary was 55 cents per hour and 130 hours were allotted. This is the first time that a new home address was used- 55 Chester Avenue.

On November 2, 1936 Clifford signed a Review of Workers Status. He was unemployed for one and a half years. His household grew from two people to three with the addition of his maternal grandmother, Kate Winterton, age 72.

Clifford Lutter's grandmother and mother-
left: Catherine Butterfoss Dunn, wife of William Winterton, (1865-1944)
right: Ethel Laurel "Laura" Winterton, wife of Howard Lutter, (1891-1962)

The most informative page was the Questionnaire filled out on November 10, 1936. Clifford provided information on his background that I did not know. He attended schooling after high school. I cannot make out the name of the school's initials- looks like "N. I. A. (N.Y.C.) 9 months newspaper co." He also attended the American School of Graphology, where he studied handwriting classification for one year. (I'm not sure where this was located.) He worked as a police reporter for the Star Eagle newspaper in Newark for two years before leaving in 1934. His rate was $22 per week. His other occupation was hand writing expert.

In the 1940 census, Clifford was still living at 55 Chester Avenue in Newark with his grandmother and mother. I think that his employment line was misattributed to this mother. He was working as a photographer for the N.Y.A. Project and earned $360 for working 26 weeks in the previous year. This would average out around $13.85 per week, far less than the $22 per week he reported earning when he worked for the newspaper in the early 1930s. N.Y.A. probably stood for National Youth Administration, another program to ease unemployment.

Note: As of this writing, the newspaper Star Eagle is not online. At Newspapers.com is a collection with this title for the years 1907-1916, but is actually the predecessor, The Evening Star.

If your person of interest lived his or her working years in the 1930s in the United States, you may want to inquire of NARA for a WPA personnel file.