Gravestone Weathering

In October I visited Sleepy Hollow Cemetery for a Walking Tour. This ninety acre burial ground is the final resting place of my paternal grandmother and many of her ancestors.

I noticed that the stones of the family have become increasingly difficult to read.

October 29, 2023
Stone of Rene Brewer and George Duryea

Pictured here is the shared stone of a couple. The stone now barely reads:

Rene Duryea
Born November 27, 1824
Died August 7, 1904

George W Duryea
Born February 12, 1823
Died May 16, 1864

In the 1960s, my paternal grandfather took pictures of stones.

1960s
Stone of Rene Brewer and George Duryea

I myself took pictures thirteen years ago. The stone was quite legible.

July 30, 2010
Stone of Rene Brewer and George Duryea

Rene Brewer married her first husband, John Evenshirer, in New York City in 1842. (I descend from this marriage.) In 1847, Rene remarried to George Duryea.

All four of Rene Brewer's grandparents are buried in the adjacent Old Dutch Burial Ground:

Solomon Brewer (1746-1824)

Rene Benton (1764-1841)

Abraham Lent (1772-1851)

Margaret Mann (1773-1844)

Return Time on Genealogical Requests

While a lot of records are online, a lot are not.

Below is a list of records I ordered and am still awaiting a response.

Works Progress Administration Personnel Records of Clifford Lutter, circa 1930s

Search requested of the National Archives. Form 14137 mailed October 13, 2023.

No fee at this time.

Probate records of Jonas Long, 1837, and William Owens, 1853

Requested of the Richmond County, New York Surrogate's Court. Email dated June 25, 2023.

No fee at this time.

Social Security Earning Information of Jeannette ODonnell, 1937 through 1993

Requested of the Social Security Administration. Form SSA-7050-FR mailed June 2, 2023.

$100 check cleared October 26, 2023.

Death certificate of Mollie Schwartz, 1925

Requested from City of Bridgeport and State of Connecticut. Forms VS-39DST mailed April 6, 2023. (Same form number on both town and state forms.)

$20 each via money orders.

Death certificate of Edward Sheeby [Edmond Sheehy], 1893

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed March 1, 2022.

$22 check cleared April 2, 2022.

Originally requested in 2015.

Town of Amenia provided an obscure ledger entry in 2023.

Towns of Origin in Hungary

Was Rose Roth (1907-1964), wife of Theodore Marmorstein, related to Theodore's mother, Emilia Roth?

Marriage certificate, New York City, May 4, 1929.
Theodore Marmorstein, son of Emilia Roth and Bernard Marmorstein,
married Rose Rother, daughter Helen (Annie) Bercholtz and William Roth.

Someone raised the question upon reading the article about the two marriage ceremonies of Theodore and Rose.

The answer is I do not know, but I don't think so.

Roth is not an unusual name. Just because people share a surname does not mean that they are related.

The Roths were from the country of Hungary. Identifying a hometown will tell us if a relation was geographically possible.

Emilia (mother of Theodore Marmorstein) filed a Petition for Naturalization in 1935. Her information included her birthplace of Abony, Hungary on July 16, 1877.

Petition for Naturalization
Emilie Marmorstein 1935
Collection at Ancestry

William Roth (father of the bride Rose) filed an application for a passport in 1922. His information included his birthplace of Gönc, Hungary on April 18, 1869.

Application for Passport
William Roth 1922
Collection at Ancestry

I visited Jewish Gen to locate these towns. Their Communities Database is vital for locating present-day towns or areas that may have undergone name changes over the generations.

Abony, Hungary
Communities Database of Jewish Gen

Gönc, Hungary
Communities Database of Jewish Gen

I mapped out these two towns. Using modern roads, these two towns are over 200 kilometers apart and about three hours away.

Distance between Abony and Gönc in Hungary
Google Maps

I think it is unlikely that these two Roth lines are related on their most recent lines.