New Images Online: Smithsonian Frazee papers

I previously wrote about discovering a connection between John Frazee to the Duryea line.  The actual link is John Frazee's second wife, Lydia Place.  John Frazee lived about 1790 to 1852 and was a sculptor and architect.  His papers were donated to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.  Descriptions of the papers included genealogical information, which is exactly what I was looking for.  Copies were available through microfilm, but I had not gotten around to ordering them yet.  Yesterday was the day to order the microfilm.  I visited the website for the microfilm call numbers and poof!  The papers are now scanned and online.

As hoped, the papers provide some great genealogical information.

This information is of great help to my research on the Place/Frazee line.  I now have additional documentation that Lydia Place was the daughter of Thomas Place and Lydia Rogers- and she was their only daughter.  We have birthdates for both Lydia and John, plus their marriage date.  The diagram provides us with names and spouses of John Frazee's children.  Not only are these papers a wonderful resource, but their ready availability online makes them that much better.

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.

Funeral Card

A bundle of papers kept by an older relative could be a treasure chest.  I have a few items from past generations.  One is a funeral card for Katherine Powers, died 22 September 1952.  The funeral home was M. J. Corrigan of Jersey City.

Who is Katherine Powers?  I do not know.  I have asked living family members (usually a good place to start).  Nobody knows.  "Maybe a neighbor," was one reply.  On my next trip to Jersey City, I will have to look for an obituary.  I don't know if Powers was her married name.  None of the Katherine Powers in the 1930 census stand out as a good match.  Why was this funeral card kept, while other important documents did not survive?  I will eventually find out.