Baby Girl Cook, born 1906

Bessie Cook appears in the 1910 and 1920 censuses with her father, Charles.  I have no other records for her.  I don't know if she married, moved, died, nothing.  Using an estimated birth year of 1906 in New Jersey, I searched for her birth certificate.

I probably found it.  I say probably because the birth certificate that I found is for a baby girl with the last name of Cook, born 4 March 1906 at 231 North 4th Street in Newark, New Jersey.  At some point, she must have been named Bessie, or Elizabeth- we don't know.  For some of the other babies born without a first name, they have an amendment to their birth certificate, giving them a first name.  Not Bessie.

Plugging this exact date of birth into the online Social Security Death Index gives us several possible matches for Bessie or Elizabeth.  Those who died 1997 or earlier in California can be eliminated when the names of the parents are viewed.  Others can be eliminated based on their information as listed in the 1930 census.  That gives us a shorter, but not definite, list of possible Bessie Cooks to choose from.  Or she may still be alive and not listed in the death index yet.  She will be located eventually.

Add Another Branch

Still perplexed about the birthplace of Herman Lutter, I decided to give the online Red Bank Register another try.  Herman died in Wall in Monmouth County, New Jersey.  The Red Bank register carried a notice of his pending divorce in December of 1923, citing a Spring Lake residence.  Previous searches turned up results mostly for the word "latter" or for ads of farm-fresh butter.  Today I lucked out.

Red Bank Register (Monmouth County, New Jersey)
23 July 1924  page 1

His will was probably probated in Monmouth.  His name is absent from the probate index in Essex County.  I do not know at this time if he and Emma divorced.  The notice of their pending divorce appeared in December of 1923; according to the above article, Herman wrote his will in June of last year [1923], which would have been before the divorce action.

So now I know that Herman was not an only child.  He had a sister with three children in Germany, as well as a brother, Otto, here in New Jersey.  A preliminary search of my own records shows that Otto appeared once in the Newark city directories in 1893; occupation blacksmith; residing at 36 Beacon.  He died Sunday, 11 July 1909, aged 64 years; leaving behind a widow, Martha.  Their address was 513 Middlesex in Harrison.  The notice of death appeared in the Newark Evening News on 12 July 1909.  He was buried at Woodland Cemetery in Newark in section 69; no tombstone exists; the undertaker was Schott.  I have all of this information already because I collected whatever information I could find on any Lutters in Newark.

Otto and Martha seemed to have only one child who survived to adulthood:  Augusta or Gussie.  She married James Kittson.  I have found only one child of hers, a son named James Kittson, born around 1920.  I need to find out what happened to this Kittson family.

I also need to get copies of the actual will and related estate papers.  This is very exciting to finally find more family for Herman.  But the witness to his 1888 marriage to Clara Uhl still looks like Alex Lutter.  Who was he?

According to Herman's death certificate, he was buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Newark, but no records of such a burial have been located.  No gravestone, never mind one costing at least $600, has been located for Herman.

Brewer Fire Engine Company of Monsey, New York

Abraham Lent Brewer was born around 1826 and died in 1901.  He was a grandson of Solomon Brewer of Massachusetts, a supposed actor of the Boston Tea Party.  Abraham married Frances "Fannie" M. Duryea, born about 1830 and died just after Abraham in 1901.  Her estate papers helped clarify most of her siblings and their children, as she died intestate with no husband and no children.

The only blip about this couple was that the Abraham L. Brewer, Jr., living with them in 1860 and 1870, was not their son, but rather Abraham's nephew.  Other than that, the couple was straight forward, living by his and her families in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 federal census years.  Abraham worked as a watchman or a warden, according to the census as well as city directories for New York City.  This was a common occupation in both the Brewer and Duryea families.

By 1880, Abraham and Fannie had completely left New York City and were settled in Ramapo, Rockland County, New York.

1880 federal census for Ramapo, Rockland County, New York; ED 59; page 263B; enumerated 28 June 1880.

Nettie L. Duryea, and George W. Duryea are the nephew and niece of both Abraham and Fannie.  James Duryea is of no relation, but just happened to be living next door to this Brewer/Duryea family, perhaps to add intrigue for people looking at this 130 years later.

I do not find Abraham and Fannie in the 1900 census.

When I received Fannie's death certificate, I found out that she was buried at Brick Church Cemetery in Spring Valley, Rockland County, New York.  I took a trip to the cemetery and found the stone.  It's difficult to read.

Abraham L. Brewer, 1826-1901.
His wife, Fannie M. Duryea, 1830-1901.

Jeanette L. and Charles H. Quackenbush are buried by Fannie and Abraham.

I figured that was pretty much it.  I found out what became of Fannie Duryea and Abraham Brewer, as well as Jeanette Duryea and Charles Quackenbush.  I posted the graves at findagrave.com.

A while back, someone added a photo of Abraham Brewer- and I'm not talking about another gravesite picture.  It was his actual image.  Unknown to me, Abraham Brewer had established the Brewer Fire Engine Company in Monsey, New York, and his picture hung at the station.  I have no photos of this group, so this was a first.

Yesterday, I took a trip to Monsey to see what I could see.

I had the correct place.  The Brewer Fire Engine Company of Monsey, New York- named for Abraham Lent Brewer.  Go figure.

My original contact was inside and showed me the picture on the wall.

Abram L. Brewer 1826-1901
Who, in February 1877, organized the Fire Engine Company
that bears his name, and who was its constant benefactor.
This photograph presented by the children of Mr. Brewer's daughter,
Mrs. C. H. Quackenbush.

Everyone at the station was great, listening to what I knew about Abraham, filling me in on what they knew; speculating to try to fill in the blanks.  There is nothing in the family stories that mentions Abraham and his founding of a fire engine company.  More research to be done.  More about the fire department's history may be found on their website.

Thank you to the members of the Brewer Fire Engine Company for their help with uncovering more about the life of Abraham Lent Brewer, as well as their dedication to serving the community.