Written in Stone

Find A Grave is a wonderful and free site of burials.  You can look up a person of interest and you can create and contribute death and burial information and pictures to a person's memorial page.  Contributing information and pictures on the go is easy with the Find A Grave app for the phone introduced last year.

I have been creating memorials for over eleven years.  Most memorials I create are not for my family; instead, they are random selections from a cemetery I was in, with the hope that someone could use the information.

A few times each week, I am contacted by someone regarding a memorial I created.  The correspondence centers around a few themes:

• The inquirer is unable to visit the grave of a loved one in person.  By creating an online memorial, especially with a picture of the grave, the inquirer is able to virtually visit the grave.
• The memorial provided the missing link in someone's family history research.
• The inquirer requests that the memorial be amended with different and/or additional information.

I take issue with requests to amend information in the memorial.  I'm a stickler for proof and crediting the correct source.  Find A Grave serves a dual purpose:  providing an online memorial for deceased loved ones AND recording gravestones.

If you personally knew someone, you have knowledge of many facts that will not appear on the gravestone but can appear on the memorial page.  For example, the memorial for my grandmother, Beulah Cook Lutter (1921-2003), created by my aunt, contains many details that are personally known to her, but will not appear on the gravestone.  She doesn't even have a gravestone yet.

An online memorial page of someone's life serves a beautiful purpose and will naturally include sentiments and goes beyond a simple recording of the stone.

This is different from the other purpose of Find A Grave:  recording information found on gravestones.  If you are documenting a cemetery, you don't personally know the people for whom you are creating memorial pages.  You are limited to the information contained on the stone.

If you research the person who has a memorial on Find A Grave, differentiate between the information that is and isn't on the stone.  The stone itself is a tertiary source.  Think of the gravestone as a stepping stone to help you locate additional records, such as full dates of birth and death, locations, other names used.  This information may contradict or enhance the information on the stone.

A gravestone is the only source I have for the death of Mary Neal (1830-1898), widow of Calvin Cook.  I have not found a death certificate, obituary, or will for her.  She appeared in the 1895 New Jersey census, but not in the 1900 federal census.  Finding the gravestone was great, but we need to question its reliability when we don't find supporting documentation.

When viewing a memorial page, you need to compare the information entered by the contributor to the information on the stone.  Additional or different information must have arisen from a source other than the gravestone.  The contributor should be able to tell you, either in a note on the memorial page or in correspondence, the source of the information not on the stone.

Sourcing is why I handle requests to edit in three ways:

• I check the stone and any notes I may have to ascertain if I made a transcription error and then edit if indicated.
• I offer to transfer the memorial to the inquirer and they may add whatever they wish because their name will appear as the person managing the page.  But don't edit the page and then transfer it back to me.  We will have a problem with the source of your additional information that I cannot explain to future inquirers.
• I add a note to the page with the additional information and the source, like a disclaimer.

Find A Grave allows you to link parents and spouses, if you are the manager of the page.  The links enable people to easily visit the pages of multiple family members and are great for researchers- if the links are accurate.

Someone attached an incorrect spouse to a page I created for a marker at Woodland Cemetery in Newark, New Jersey.  The stone is indecipherable except for a first name- Elizabeth.  I became aware of this problem when someone questioned why I did not provide a surname for Elizabeth when her spouse and child were known.

The asterisks next to the linked spouse and child indicate that the connection was not made through this memorial page.

I requested a search of records at Woodland Cemetery to determine whose stone this is.  The stone is likely for Elizabeth Guenther, widow of Charles Vill.  She died in 1894 at the age of 24.

Let's hope the contributor who linked the wrong spouse and child to Elizabeth heeds my request to unlink them.

When you use Find A Grave, be mindful of what information is on the stone and what information appeared from nowhere.

Secondary Sources

I finally tracked down the death certificate of Charles Cook, my great great grandfather.  He was a resident of Newark, Essex County, New Jersey when he died December 6, 1937.  I looked at the death certificates year after year until I found the correct one.  This is sometimes what has to be done if the date cannot be obtained from another record.

Unlike the death certificate of his father, Charles' death record provided the name of the cemetery where he was buried, Locust Hill in Dover, Morris County, New Jersey.  His father's record provided only the town of burial.  I made several trips, inquiries, and searches until I found the relevant Cook grave in Dover.

Cook family plot at Locust Hill Cemetery in Dover, Morris County, New Jersey.
Charles Cook (1859-1937) does not have a marker.

When you look at a record, it is important to keep in mind which pieces of information are primary versus secondary.  The date of death and location are primary, as the facts were recorded at the time of the event.  The date and place of birth and names of spouse and parents are secondary sources.

Charles' date of birth is quite specific on his death record:  October 22, 1857.  Unlike most people born in the 1850s, Charles' birth in Denville, Morris County, New Jersey was recorded at the state level.  Charles was born June 11, 1859.  The birth record is a primary source for Charles' birthdate.

The 1860 federal census gives Charles Cook's age as 1 year.  This is consistent with a birth in 1859.  Ages skew in later census years.

The names of Charles Cook's parents are not consistent with other records.  His father was Calvin Cook (1826-1889), not William.  His mother was Mary Neil (1830-1898) or O'Neil, not Caroline.  Charles' wife was Minnie Caroline Bishop (1866-1910).

As you gather documents, evaluate if you are looking at primary or secondary sources.  Remember, though, that primary is not synonymous with absolute truth.

Killed by Death

Abraham Lent Brewer was born in 1826 in Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, to James Brewer and Mary Lent.  His sister, Rene Brewer, was my 4X great grandmother.  Abraham married Fannie Duryea.  She was a sister of Stephen Duryea, my 3X great grandfather.  (We'll save that story for another day.)

Because Abraham predeceased his wife, Fannie, their entire estate passed to her family, which helped me immensely in identifying her siblings and their children.  [This is why you need to follow siblings and not just your direct line!]  In researching this couple, I discovered that Abraham Brewer was the source of the naming of the Brewer Fire Engine Company of the Monsey Fire Department.

Yet the exact dates of death for Abraham and Fannie eluded me.

They died within hours of each other in April of 1901, according to newspaper articles.

Their gravestone at Brick Church Cemetery in Spring Valley, Rockland County, New York, listed the year of death, 1901, without a month and day.  Only the International Genealogical Index ("IGI") gave a month and day:  April 28.  Below are copies of the actual paper submissions that the IGI is based upon.  Sources are not provided!

Family Group Sheet submitted for IGI
Abraham Lent Brewer- "died 28 Apr 1901"

Family Group Record for Abraham Lent Brewer, his parents, and some siblings

Today's online version of the IGI
FamilySearch.org

I ordered the death certificate for Abraham Brewer from the New York State Department of Health.  In return I received the death certificate for Fannie Brewer, his wife, with a date of death April 28, 1901 at 3 am.  This is the same date in the IGI for Abraham's death.  If the date in the IGI were correct, Abraham would have died between midnight and 3 am on April 28th in order for Fannie to have survived him, enabling her family to collect the entire estate.

New York State death certificate for Fanny M Brewer, died April 28, 1901 in Ramapo, Rockland County.

When I was in Albany, New York last year, I checked the index of deaths myself and took another shot at ordering Abraham Brewer's death certificate.  (Unlike neighboring New Jersey records, you cannot search yourself for the certificates.)  After several months, the death certificate arrived.  His date of death as per the death certificate is April 27, 1901 at 3 pm.

New York State death certificate for Abram L Brewer, died April 27, 1901 in Ramapo, Rockland County.

Now that we have Abraham Brewer's death certificate, we can form a picture of what happened, using the newspaper articles.  Abraham died in the afternoon of April 27th.  After caring for him for at least a week, his wife, Fanny, retired to her bed and died.  Her 3 am time of death is probably an estimate after neighbors checked on her the following morning and found her dead, but reflects that the deaths were within hours of each other.  Their deaths were not on the same day/date, but rather within the same 24 hour timeframe.

The date in the IGI is incorrect by one day and further illustrates why you should be leery of certain databases as well as all unsourced information.

Missing Marriage Returns

If you cannot find a marriage return filed with the State, this article from 1897 could explain why.  It seems that Father O'Connor of Hudson County, New Jersey, was remiss in completing and filing marriage returns for several years.  When prompted, he filed seven years of marriage returns.  If you come across one of these returns, you need to keep in mind that they may not have been made at the time of the event and some were made on behalf of other priests.

I am still searching in the Trenton Archives for a marriage from 1887 performed in Bayonne, Hudson County by Reverend Egan.  The marriage turns up in the index at familysearch.org.  (Remember to use any index as a guide for where to locate the actual record.)

Familysearch.org
This marriage record should contain names of parents, which would be wonderful, if I could locate the record.

St. Mary's Church is still active in Bayonne and has a record of this marriage.  They kindly sent me a transcription of their record.

Record of 1887 marriage of Patrick ODonnell to Delia Joyce in Bayonne.
Courtesy St. Mary Star of the Sea Church

The next important step is to locate the actual marriage return.  Marriages in New Jersey in 1887 are indexed by the name of the groom.  But there is no listing in the index for a marriage between Patrick ODonnell and Delia Joyce.

Index of Marriages in New Jersey
June 1, 1878 to December 31, 1900
Surname ODonnell
(No listing for Patrick ODonnell to Delia Joyce)

There are possible explanations for the marriage not appearing in the index:  it was misspelled, it was left out of the index, or the return was never filed with the State.  For now, the above church record is what I use for a source of the marriage date and place, but with a notation that the record cannot be located in the State's records.

You may ask, "Why does this matter?"  For this particular couple, we are dealing with some common surnames.  We would like to pluck this Patrick ODonnell out of the vast sea of ODonnells inhabiting Hudson County in the late 1800s.  This particular Patrick ODonnell was born in Ireland, but we know that he was in the United States by 1887 because he married in New Jersey.  This 1887 marriage record is actually the earliest definitive record that I have found on this man.  The 1880 United States Federal Census does not provide us with a good match for an Irish couple named Peter and Margaret ODonnell with a son named Patrick.  The 1890 census was destroyed.  In 1900, Patrick is living with his wife and children, but not his parents.  We need to link Patrick ODonnell to a set of parents, and the marriage return is a great way of doing this.  The luck of the Irish was with me when someone filled out Patrick's death certificate in 1931.  His parents are listed as Peter ODonnell and Margaret Gallagher, which bolsters the information supplied at familysearch.org.

We want to next establish the identity of the parents of the bride, Delia Joyce.  She died in Bayonne in 1929.  Her death certificate lists her father, but not her mother.

I previously wrote of the death of Delia Joyce's mother in 1870 in Pawling, Dutchess County, New York.  The record of this death is provided by the 1870 mortality schedule, a companion to the census.  In this record, Mary Joyce was killed by a train in 1870; she matches up to family 21 in the census, which is Patrick Joyce, age 40, with a bunch of small children, but no wife.

1870 morality schedule for Pawling, Dutchess County, New York
Viewed at Ancestry.com

While we can say with confidence that the father of Delia Joyce was Patrick Joyce, we need additional documentation to establish that her mother was Mary or Margaret and that her last name was Campbell.  We can use the name Campbell to help us perhaps find a marriage record for Delia's parents.  Having a copy of Delia's marriage return, rather than an online index entry, would lend more credence to a claim that Delia Joyce's mother was Ms. Campbell.  There are still other paths to try, such as marriage and death records for Delia's siblings.

Original immigrants, documents, and place names

Patrick Frances O'Donnell was born around 1856 in Ireland.  In the 1900 United States federal census, he is living with his wife, Delia Joyce, and six children in Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey, with an immigration date of 1880.  I was working under the theory that he was the original immigrant- the first in that family to come to the United States.

While playing around at the website familysearch.org, I came across the following record.

pilot.familysearch.org

According to the death certificate for Patrick O'Donnell, his parents were Peter O'Donnell and Margaret Gallagher.

This was a great find.  Rose O'Donnell could be the sister of Patrick O'Donnell, indicating that Patrick came over with family.  I neeeded to find the original marriage document, so I went to the archives in Trenton.

Rose O'Donnell married James Kenny in Bergen Point, New Jersey in 1883.  She was the daughter of Peter O'Donnell and Margaret Gallagher.  But, Patrick and his family lived in Bayonne.  What of the Bergen Point location?  I immediately thought of Bergen County, New Jersey.  I did some searching online and came up with an answer:  Bergen Point is a southern location within Bayonne.  Now it looks as if I have found a sister for the original O'Donnell immigrant.

Bergen Point, Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey
mapquest.com

Typed Indexes, part two

Recent additions to the website of the Latter-Day Saints include an index to New Jersey marriages from 1678 through 1985.  The site is free, which is great in any field.  But:  use this resource with caution.  You still need to retrieve the original marriage record.

The marriage of Herman Lutter and Clara Uhl turns up in the index.

 Compare the index entry to the actual marriage return.

The year of the marriage differs.  The index has 1887; the actual return shows 1888.  The ages of the bride and groom are the same on both the index and the return; however, the index lists the years of birth for both parties.  The birth year is nowhere on the marriage return.  I don't know who decided that these were the correct years and added them to the typed index.  That is why you must exercise caution when relying upon such information, and always try to get as close to the original as possible.

Typed Indexes

In the 1860 census in Newark, Susan Bishop is residing with the Ward family.

Roll M653_689; page 326; lines 33-39; enumerated June 28, 1860

Julia Ward, age 19 in 1860, is probably Susan's daughter, who was Juliaette, age 9, in the 1850 census.  Now provided with a husband and a new baby, we can look for Julia's marriage in 1859 or earlier.  A potential match appears in the online index to New Jersey marriages 1848-1878.

Joseph Wood does not seem like a good match for George Ward, but Julietta Bishop and the date look promising.  So I went ahead and ordered the record.

In looking at this marriage record, the name appears to be Ward or Wood or Word, so you can see how someone could transcribe it as Wood.  That is why it is always best to get the most original record possible.  Why is he called Joseph in 1859 and George later?  I don't know.  He may be the Joseph G. Ward, age 12, or the Joseph A. Ward, age 14, both in the 1850 census in Newark.  Until I discover his parentage, I won't know for sure.

Findagrave.com

Findagrave.com is a great website for locating burial places of relatives and viewing their gravestones.  I have placed the burial information for most of the graves that I have visited.  This is a great way to organize the burials for my own personal review, and helps me to connect with other relatives when they find the listing and then contact me.

I like to see bare facts laid out on a findagrave listing, reflecting the information on the gravestone.  If you can support additional information, such as a place of death or maiden name, go for it.  The other purpose of findagrave.com is to create living memorials of deceased relatives.  This angle encourages adding in lots of information not found on the gravestone.  I think such an idea is great for people who can't get to the cemetery or can't provide a headstone.  I feel that creation of such a memorial is best suited for recent deaths- people who living people remember.

The problem arises when people try to add in all sorts of information that they attribute to a person long dead- information not found on the gravestone.  Findagrave.com now permits linking parents with children and husband with wife.  Great for tracing a family tree, but who decides if this is correct?  Again, you need to be very wary of the genealogical information contained on findagrave.com.  The name and dates on the gravestone are second-hand information at best.  When you find a listing that adds "facts" not on the gravestone, you need to contact the contributor to ascertain where he/she got the info.

I add names and photos that do not belong to my known relatives.  These graves are usually next to the graves that I am researching, or might just strike me as interesting.  When photographing graves, it's a good idea to photograph all of the graves around your focus grave.  They could also be relatives that you have not realized yet.  Knowing the area of the grave will also help you locate the grave later when trees have grown and bushes have overtaken the smaller stones.  Having pictures of other people's relatives has caused a few to contact me to add information to the listing- info not found on the tombstone.  This I cannot do because I have no documentation, nor do I want any.  I will usually transfer ownership of the grave listing to the requester so they can add any info they desire.  Some people collect other people's work, managing more graves than they contribute.  I do not transfer to such members.



Request to add additional information to a findagrave.com posting.  Identifying information deleted.



Name Hoarders

One of the things I do not understand are people who post bunches names, some with dates, some with locations, with absolutely no references or sources to back them up.  They glean or acquire the information from others and simply propagate the same info over and over.  Why?  What is the point of reproducing the research (or claims) of another person?  It obscures the original source and disseminates misinformation, which can multiply very quickly on the internet.  Older, paper-based undocumented claims existed; but now, it is so much easier and faster to get this undocumented info spread far and wide over the internet.

When I find something that may concern someone who I am researching, I attempt to contact the author to ascertain where they got their info.  Lately, the responses, if any, are an exercise in futility. 

This is such a response:

At least this person responded to me.  Most do not.  Please do not inflate your family tree by adding on people that you cannot properly document.  I call such assemblers "name hoarders."  They impede serious research.