Look Alike, Transcribe Alike

Here's another one about finding the original record and not relying on an index.

The surnames DWYER and DURYEA look very similar in script.

Some years of New Jersey deaths, 1878-1892, are indexed online at the website of the State Archives.  (The web address keeps changing.  The current site for indexed records, which is free, is http://www.nj.gov/state/archives/searchdatabases.html)  (You can also find indexes for New Jersey's births, marriages, and deaths at FamilySearch.org for free.)

In the search box I entered "Durye" to bring up both spellings- Duryea and Duryee.  An entry for the death of Mary Duryer, age 50, appeared for Jersey City in Hudson County, one of my geographic target areas.

Deaths for July 31, 1889 through June 30, 1890 are on one microfilm.  47 is the place code for Jersey City.  Records for Jersey City are separate from the rest of Hudson County.  The certificate is D87; D for Duryea.

The death certificate was for Mary Dwyer, not Duryer or Duryea.

My family tree contains a Duryea-Dwyer marriage.  You can imagine the transcription errors.  So always seek the original record and do not stop with the index.

Birth certificate for Agnes Duryea, born July 4, 1907 in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey.
This baby lived just a few months and died on October 29, 1907.
Daughter of John Duryea and Katharine Dwyer.
Number 11- but not the last child born to this couple.

Also note that the birth certificate for Agnes Duryea was created March 31, 1908--- five months after her death.  I wonder why.

Runaway Groom Returned

I stumbled upon an interesting little newspaper article from 1887 in the Jersey Journal (online at GenealogyBank.com- subscription required).  This paper, still being published, covers Jersey City and Hudson County.  The article was about a "missing bridegroom" named Philip Duryea.

Philip was the son of Abraham Wilson Duryee (1821-1898) and Caroline Couwenhoven (1824-1919).  Philip must have returned soon after the article appeared on November 19th.  He married Mary Amelia Brown on November 23, 1887 in the Town of Union, Hudson County, New Jersey.  Her parents were listed as James Nathan Brown and Charlotte Amelia Gardner.

Philip and Mary were still together for the 1900 federal census.  I am not sure how all the members of this household are related.  We have Philip Duryee and wife Mary; that is okay.
Then we have a daughter named Lulla, born October 1885- two years before Philip and Mary married.  Then we have another daughter named Mary Hazard, age 12 and single- born the same month that Philip and Mary married.  Why is her last name not Duryee?

Two boarders were in this household.
Anna Jacob, born December 1882 in New York.
Clifford Morton, born June 1875 in Pennsylvania.

Always note the "boarders" in the census because they could actually be relatives.

In the 1910 census, Lula Duryee is described as "adopted daughter."  Mary G Hassard is not listed as a daughter, but rather a cousin.

This branch will require more research to explain all of these records.

Actual Record versus Index

I was reviewing a New Jersey (second) marriage with someone from Jersey City in 1888.  We don't have the original record, only the entry (no image) at FamilySearch in the collection, New Jersey Marriages, 1678-1985.

The question was:  As this is a remarriage, is the bride's name in the index her name at birth or her first husband's name?

The answer:  We don't know unless we look at the record.  (The record is on microfilm in Trenton, so we aren't going to see it from our computers at home.)

I looked at some marriage returns in my possession to compare to the online index.  From Jersey City in 1886, I have the marriage return for the second marriage of bride, Anna, to James Livingstone Miller.  She was the daughter of Louman Heiser (Hyser) and Catherine Eckler.  She first married William H Cummings in 1877 in Catskill, Greene County, New York.

Marriage Return, 1886, Jersey City, New Jersey
James Livingstone Miller, son of Christopher Miller and Agnes M Barton
Anna Bell Hyser, daughter of Luman Hyser and Catherine Eckler

"Cumming" was listed as Anna's "maiden name," then crossed out and "Hyson" (Hyser) written in.  "Last name, if a widow," was Hysen Cumming.

Next I turned to the index at FamilySearch to see which name appears.

In the index, Anna is listed by her name at birth, Hyser, or at least a construed version of the name, Hyren.  The married name, Cumming, is not mentioned at all.  The middle names of the parties are omitted from the index, but are available on the actual record.  Marital status is single and does not change if the record is for James or Anna, yet the actual marriage record is clear that this was Anna's second marriage.

James Livingstone Miller in the 1887-1888 Jersey City (Hudson County, New Jersey) directory

By 1900, Anna Hyser had married again, this time to Nicholas Brower.  My grandmother told me she married four times.  Still looking for another husband.

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.

Legible Writing, a Rare and Wonderful Find

The marriage record for Carl Robert Bossert and Pauline Mathilda Maier is the clearest and most detailed I have found.  It's as if the writer wanted to convey legible information to future viewers.

We have full names of both parties.  The bride's birthdate is given, which was not directly asked.  Full names of both sets of parents are given:  Johannes Bossert, Johanna Kukle; Friedrich Maier and Mathilda Heiss.  We also get the hometowns in Germany:  Remsheim and Oberenzingen, both in Württemberg.  The marriage date is clarified:  "July fourth (4) 1897."  You don't find this often.

JewishGen helps you locate places in Europe, even if the name or borders have changed

I attempted to find these locations on a map.  My current theory is that the bride is from Oberensingen, which is now in Nürtingen in the district of Esslingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg.

The groom's location is trickier.  I don't find Remsheim.  On a subsequent marriage record, Robert Carl listed his birthplace as Wimsheim.  This I can find, about 30 miles northwest of Oberensingen.  Wimsheim is in the district of Enz in the state of Baden-Württemberg.

Wimsheim and Oberensingen are in southwest Germany near Pforzheim and Stuttgart.

Cause of Death Family Tree

Happy Halloween!

Inspired by other researchers, I created a family tree for my father listing causes of death and ages, when known.  Going back through the great great grandparents, his ancestors died from a variety of causes, such as heart problems, cancer, diabetes, and cystitis.  As the records go back in time, the names for the diseases become more archaic, such as "phthisis," which means tuberculosis.

Most of these ancestors lived into their 60s and 70s.  The youngest to die was William Cummings, who was around 24 years old when he died in 1882.  Two ancestors died in their 40s- maternal grandmother, Rene Marion Duryea, and a great grandmother, Minnie Caroline Bishop.

Cause of Death Family Tree
Halloween special

I could not decipher one cause of death.  Mary Evensherer, died 1916, age 74.  Looks like "chronic endocarditis" or "chronic enterocolitis."  The secondary cause looks like "cystitis," but I cannot make out the next word.

Any ideas?  Leave your comment below.

Still missing close relatives at FamilyTreeDNA

Following up on the DNA files uploaded to FamilyTreeDNA ("FTDNA") with their free promotion.  I uploaded several kits originally processed at 23andMe (and one from AncestryDNA, but we'll deal with that at a later date).

The uploaded kits received twenty matches (except for the person with half African ancestry) as promised, with limited viewing.  My concern when the the results were first released was that the top twenty matches in the entire database were not shown, but rather the matches were gathered from the existing pool of paid clientele.  The uploaded kits needed a few days to fully process, so I waited.

Some of the paid kits received email from FTDNA that new relatives were found.

Family Finder at FamilyTreeDNA for Jody's father

My father's list of relatives, called Family Finder, contains the top three people that he has been seeing, Me, his daughter; his third cousin, and his fourth cousin.  Now on the list is his paternal first cousin, once removed.  This cousin is one of two kits whose results I completely "unlocked," which is a part of the transfer promotion.  You can unlock more matches by paying $39 or by getting four people to upload their DNA files from 23andMe or AncestryDNA.

My father's other close relations, including another daughter and three siblings, are not shown in his list of relatives.  But their information is at FTDNA.

Family Finder at FamilyTreeDNA for Jody's sister

My sister's uploaded information remains locked.  She has twenty matches.  Although she is not displayed in our parent's lists of relatives, they are displayed to her.  She can see me, as well as our mother's brother, which are all previously uploaded and paid accounts.  She cannot see any of the newly uploaded, free accounts for our father's siblings or the cousins of our grandparents, including the one that is now "unlocked" via four referrals.

(People have been posting their unique links to unlock their relatives.  So here's one for an uncle's account.  If you have tested at 23andMe or AncestryDNA, please try to use someone's link to upload your file to FTDNA.)

At this point, I don't know if the site has not finished processing all of the newly uploaded accounts and matching them with everyone else already computed.  The uploaded accounts are not getting a full view of the close relations at FTNDA, and neither are the existing, paid accounts.  This situation does not allow someone to do a complete check for close relatives at FTDNA.

Ezra Dunn's Obituary

Newspapers for Matawan (New Jersey) are online!  Searchable!  For free!  Here's the link through the Matawan Aberdeen Public Library.  The covered years are 1869-1973.

I happened upon the papers in a search for Ezra A. Dunn (1821-1898).

I found a detailed article about Ezra from 1898, when he died.

According to this article, Ezra Dunn was from Mercer County (New Jersey) and came to Matawan (Monmouth County, New Jersey) in 1845.  This could be why I cannot connect Ezra to older Dunn families in the Matawan area.  Mercer County is west of Monmouth County.  West of Mercer is another state, Pennsylvania, so records may also be across the Delaware River as I go back a few more generations.

Ezra's marriage date (to Hermoine Dunlop) is given as 1849.  The first child I can find for them, Margaret, was born in early 1850.

The article describes Ezra as "methodical in his business relations."  His pottery business records are now housed at the Monmouth County Historical Association.  They are copious and detailed.  "He also kept a record of the death of any of his acquaintances."  Sounds like me- but 150 years ago.  It is great to read a description of the habits of an ancestor.  Their personalities can often only be inferred from sparse facts about their lives- dates of birth, marriage, death, and locations lived.

I wonder what happened to Ezra's records of people's deaths.  It could be so insightful and helpful.

Combing through Details

While looking for the ancestors of Ezra A. Dunn (1821-1898), I found a few people who worked at his pottery business.  Of special note was a little biographical sketch about William A. Dunlop (1833-1910).  William became an owner of the pottery business.  He was also the brother of Ezra's wife, Hermoine.

You can find a lot of these biographical books online now, as they are usually over 100 years old.  Use them to point you in the direction of actual records.  They were written about men in a designated geographical location with the intent to make them look good.

Short biography about William A Dunlop, his ancestors, and his children

I had already uncovered Joseph Dunlop and Margaret Little as parents of William and Hermoine and their siblings.  This is the second mention that Joseph Dunlop was born in Pennsylvania; the other mention is his enumeration in the 1850 census in Raritan Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey.

My focus shifted to Margaret, "daughter of James Combs, and widow of Robert Little."  This is important.  I have the record of Margaret Little's marriage to Joseph Dunlop in 1824.  Her last name is given as "Little."  There is no mention that she is a widow, but there is also no mention that she is young and unmarried, which is sometimes specified in the marriage record.  This record provides only the names of the parties; no ages, marital status, or parents.

I thought of Joseph Dunlop's grave, which I visited last month.  He is buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Matawan, Monmouth County, New Jersey.  Close to his stone are three other stones:

Robert Little (1784-1821) of Billis, County Cavan, Ireland.
Frances Little (1809-1830), daughter of Robert Little and Margaret
William Johnston Dunlop (1829-1832), son of Joseph W Dunlop and Margaret

I theorized that Joseph Dunlop and Robert Little were connected through Joseph's wife, Margaret, though I was not sure of the relation of Robert to Margaret.  I was excited to finally find an Irish ancestor in my father's tree, complete with the hometown in Ireland and year of immigration to the United States.  With a new last name for Margaret, it looks like I have to relinquish the Littles as Irish ancestors.

Robert Little's will, signed October 20, 1821, is viewable at FamilySearch.  He died nine days after signing the will.  Some good information is given.

Monmouth County, New Jersey Wills
Volume B, page 271

Monmouth County, New Jersey Wills
Volume B, page 272

Robert Little named his beloved wife as Margeret Little.  I usually see that a wife's share is contingent upon her not remarrying, but that language is not in this will.  ("So long as she remains my widow.")

Robert Little named two daughters, Sarah Jane and Fanny.  Sarah Jane was described as the eldest and would turn 21 years old in 1837.  That gives us a birthdate around 1816 for Sarah Jane, while providing that Fanny was born between 1817-1821.  Robert also mentioned that Joseph Combs was occupying his farm.  Robert appointed his brother, William Little, and his friend, Henry Arrowsmith, as guardians of his daughters.  (At this time in history, a child's mother was often not named as the guardian because of financial interests and the tendency for a young widow to remarry.)

Robert mentioned his brothers, Thomas Little and William Little, and his sister, Margeret Little.  Friends were Asbury Fountain and Henry Arrowsmith.  Witnesses were Eli T Cooley, John Frost, and Asbury Fountain.

Daughter Fanny Little is likely the Frances Little buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.  She died April 30, 1839 at the age of 20 years and 6 months.  That would be about 1818, which is within the range of possible birth years, based on the wording in her father's will.

We can develop a timeline for Margaret Combs.
1790s- born
About 1815- married Robert Little of Ireland
1816- gave birth to daughter Sarah Jane Little
1818- gave birth to daughter Frances/Fanny
1821- death of Robert Little, first husband
1824- married Joseph W Dunlop
1827- gave birth to daughter Hermoine Dunlop
1829- gave birth to son William Johnston Dunlop
1830- gave birth to son Alfred Dunlop
1832- son William Johnston Dunlop died
1833- gave birth to son William A Dunlop
1836- gave birth to son John Dunlop
1839- daughter Frances Little died
1852- death of Joseph Dunlop, second husband

Margaret died after the 1850 census.

Shifting from Margaret Little to Margaret Combs, daughter of James Combs, provides us with some more avenues to research.

Transcribed Record
Old Tennent Scotch Presbyterian Church
Monmouth County, New Jersey

This transcribed record (available for free from FamilySearch) looks like our Margaret Combs.  Her birthdate is 1795; her father is James Combs; and the location, Tennent (Manalapan) in Monmouth County is where we need this family to be.  The church records survived, so I should be able to track them down.  The Old Tennent Presbyterian Church still exists!  Its cemetery has over 15,000 burials at FindAGrave- 93 of them are Combs!

Ezra A. Dunn and his Pottery

Ezra A. Dunn (1821-1898) was one of my great great great (3X) grandfathers.  Last month I visited his grave at Rose Hill Cemetery in Matawan, Monmouth County, New Jersey.  Ezra is buried with his wife, Hermoine Dunlop, and some of their children.

From the 1850s until his death in 1898, Ezra owned and worked at his pottery business in Middletown Point (which became Matawan Township in 1857, but is now Aberdeen Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey).  The business was originally called Van Schoick and Dunn, but morphed into Dunn and Dunlop and then Dunlop and Lisk.  William A. Dunlop (1833-1910), one of the eventual owners, was the brother of Hermoine Dunlop, wife of Ezra A. Dunn.

An example of the pottery can be found at this online auctioneer or here.  Ezra painted the images on the pottery.

I found a picture of the Pottery workers, circa 1870, in the book, Images of America, Around Matawan and Aberdeen.  Ezra Dunn is supposedly one of the people in the picture, but I don't know which one.

1874 notice in local newspaper
Van Schoick and Dunn became Dunn and Dunlop

I don't know where Ezra Dunn came from.  On his death certificate from 1898, his parents are listed as Nathaniel H Dunn and Sarah.  I need to explore the business partner, Josiah van Schoick, as well as Ezra's wife, Hermoine Dunlop.

The Monmouth County Historical Association has the books from this pottery business.  I was able to go through them.

The books look and feel quite old.  Inside are manual ledgers of accounts receivable and payable.  The customers are listed with their addresses and dates of purchases and payments.  Someone could go through these and transcribe the people in these books- a great way to place someone at a location in a given month and year.

It is amazing and fortuitous that someone kept these records and then donated them instead of tossing them.

Finding a Close Cousin

Yesterday I uploaded a bunch of people's DNA results to FamilyTreeDNA with the free transfer offer.  All of the uploaded kits produced the advertised twenty matches, except one.

This person tested at 23andMe about three years ago with a free kit from the Roots into the Future program (no longer offering the free kits).  She has a name and state of origin for her mother, but her father is not known.  23andMe paints her ancestry as half European, half Western African.  She has 205 matches at 23andMe now.

FamilyTreeDNA found four matches for her.  In comparison, I have thousands.


But- the first match is a good one- maybe a child of a first cousin.  This unknown close cousin listed four ancestral surnames.  One is the same surname and location as what we know about the biological mother.

I do not know if this person is also at 23andMe, where close relatives are not displayed unless they have activated the "Show Close Relatives" option.

Great DNA Offer (Prior Testers Only!)

For those of you who tested your DNA at 23andMe or AncestryDNA, you can upload your results for free to the other major testing company, FamilyTreeDNA.  (If you have not tested your DNA, do it!)

We are talking about autosomal DNA, which is the only kind of testing done by 23andMe and AncestryDNA.  (FamilyTreeDNA offers other types of DNA testing, but you need to buy a testing kit and submit a specimen.)  Autosomal DNA testing captures the DNA you inherited from at least your last five generations of ancestors.

This same transfer service in the past has cost money.  I paid $50 per upload when the service was first offered in 2012.

What do you get for free?  You get to see your top twenty matches quickly- within a few hours of uploading.  Your are not able to contact them through FamilyTreeDNA, but you can see some of their information.  If you are a sleuth, which is a required skill to be a genealogist, you might be able to figure out who the person is.  This does not imply that this person will respond to you.

I am going to say, at this juncture, that I do not know if your matches can see you, and I don't know if you have full access to the database of matches.  I have kits that I uploaded "for free" today, as well as kits with fully-paid accounts.  The matches for both free kits and paid kits appear to be paid kits only; free kits are not visible in the matches (yet???).  I am reserving my decision on whether or not this is the final situation, as the newly uploaded kits are not finished processing.  Maybe their existence becomes known to other parties in a few days.  I will check.

If you wish to "unlock" your matches and be able to contact them, you have two options.
1-  Pay $39
2-  Recruit four other people to upload their files from 23andMe or AncestryDNA, using a unique link

My technique to take the most advantage of this unlocking through referrals was to upload the first file using someone else's link.  I am seeing a few people posting their links in online groups, requesting people to upload through their link.  (If you have tested your DNA, you will benefit from joining online groups that discuss how to use the information.)  I uploaded several more kits, using the unique referral links for the people whose full access would be most helpful.  I achieved full access for two kits so far.

Using a referral link, here is what the login screen at FamilyTreeDNA looks like.  (Note:  If you have more than one person's file to upload, you can use the same email address for each one.  Your login identification is a series of letters and/or numbers.)

Within a few hours of a successful upload, you can see two pages of twenty matches.

These are the top matches for my paternal grandfather's first cousin.  I successfully "unlocked" all of his matches through referrals, but I cannot see the rest of the matches yet.  Some of the differences I see between this free upload and a paid account are:
---The matching cousins' names are one initial and the last name, not the full name
---The Known Relationship function cannot be selected
---Family trees are not accessible
---Matches cannot be contacted
---Top matches from free uploads are not displayed

In comparison, these are my father's paid Family Finder matches at FamilyTreeDNA.

The free uploads for my father's siblings and his close cousins are not reflected in his matches.  His top match is me, followed by our known third cousin, known fourth cousin, and then distant cousins of unknown relation.  I will check in a few days, when the free uploads are finalized, who can see whom.

This free upload offer is a great way to check for close matches at FamilyTreeDNA without incurring costs.  But I need to see if everyone is eligible to be revealed to someone who uploads for free.  If not, you could have a very close relation in the database and miss him/her.

For years, you have been able to upload your DNA results to GedMatch.com for free.  So why bother (paying money) having results at the three major testing companies?  Because you never know where your important link is going to be solely residing.  Most of the DNA matches I encounter are not serious about genealogy, but rather purchased a DNA kit out of curiosity about their ethnic background or genetic risk of diseases.  All you need is one sibling, aunt, uncle, or first cousin to solve your adoption case or brick wall.  Chances are, this person sent a DNA kit to only one company with no idea that they could provide you with your missing parentage.  You need to seek that person out.  It's part of your sleuthing skills.

Proof in a Picture

After acquiring and reading the divorce papers of my great grandparents, Howard Lutter and Laura Winterton, I reviewed Laura's photographs.  This picture of her cooking is especially humorous because one of the causes of the divorce, as cited by her husband, was that she did not cook.  Indeed, Laura does not look happy in this photograph, standing over the stove.

What is in a Name?

Someone asked about the first name of my great grandmother, Laura Winterton (1891-1962).  She died before I was born; I was told that she went by the name "Laura."  As I found her records, I saw that she also used the name "Laurel" and "Ethel."  She is not named on her birth certificate.  I entered the varying names into a chart to notice any pattern.  I'm not sure that there is a pattern.

For some clarity, I turned to prior generations to see who Laura may have been named after.  The source of the name may be a paternal aunt, born around 1858, listed as "Laura E. Winterton" in the 1860 and 1870 census; and dead before the 1880 census.