You Never Know What You're Gonna Find

I know it has been a few weeks, but I was waiting for today to blog because I thought that I would have some new material on Thomas J Bergen, the Deputy Fire Chief at Snake Hill.  I had a Hudson County Genealogy Meeting today in Secaucus (same as last post), but this time I was on a mission.  I had e mailed the author of the article on Snake Hill in the Secaucus newspaper.  He e mailed me back, saying that the library had the Secaucus Home News - all of the old issues.  So I originally went to the library to research them, only to discover that they only go back to 1969 - Major Bummer!  So I read some stuff in the research room to kill some time before my meeting.

Then the Meeting began and soon the speaker for the meeting was introduced and gave her presentation on "Research Problems that Made My eyes Cross".  Her name is Toni McKeen and she was very good.  She gave some research tips that I had not thought of, and could not wait to get home and try them.  The one tip she gave was for searching Ancestry.  She said that if you can't find a family in the census, it may be because the spelling is so wrong or the handwriting of the enumerator was so bad that it could not be read and indexed properly.  So search for the family without a last name.  Yes, you read it right.  Search for your person with all the information you know, but do not put a last name.  If that doesn't work - try searching for the children in the same way.  You are not required to search for the head of household.

I got home and tried this out on my elusive Keaveneys.  I recently did two posts on the wandering Keaveneys - well this is the same group.  If you remember - and I would not believe you if you said that you do - my great great grandmother Bridget Cremmins-Sullivan was widowed in 1867 and had a child, Johanna Sullivan.  I later discovered that she remarried to a man named Thomas Keaveney and had seven more children before she died in 1884.  Here is my problem - I cannot find Bridget or Johanna in the 1870 or 1880 census records, although I know that they are both alive and probably living in Jersey City.  By 1880 Bridget has married Thomas Keaveney.  I think that she had married him by 1870 because they have a daughter Mary in 1871.  So according to Toni McKeen I should search the 1880 census first for Bridget and Thomas no last names with dates and places of birth, as well as Johanna (I searched for Annie because that is the only name of record that I have seen for her - her death certificate and headstone say Annie).  I also put in Mary, Edward, John, and Thomas, who were all born to Bridget and Thomas before 1880  The first result I see for for Bridget and Thomas Kearny.  When I checked the copy of the original record, I can see how the spelling was confused.  There are all of the children, but Annie is listed as Hannah - which is what my mom always said.  There is also an additional child named Kate, born in 1873.  This is a sad reminder because I know from previous research that Kate will die in 1884 at age 11 - the same year as her mother.

Here is the record, Thomas is 38, laborer, born in Ireland and Bridget is 34, housekeeper, born in Ireland all of the children are born in New Jersey.

Then I tried the same method for 1870 and found this one:

This record is also from Jersey City, and gives Thomas Kearman as age 28 and occupation is glass blower, Bridget Kearman is 24 and a daughter is listed as Mary J. age 2.  The "J" could stand for Johanna like my mom always said, but I am not sure.  There is also a Jane Kearman age 70 - probably Thomas' mother.  So I also wonder if the "J" in Mary J stands for Jane.

So the bottom line is that I am sure the 1880 census is for the Keaveneys, and the 1870 census in certainly close, and the ages fit, and the handwriting on the record could actually say Keaveney, but was transcribed as Kearman.  The 1870 census may need a little more research to determine that it is them, but I am inclined to believe it is.

1940 Census

If you are a genealogist, professional or as a hobby, and you don't know that the 1940 US Census was released to the public on April 2, 2012 - just turn in your membership card now.  Every past census that has been released, has been on microfilm and later digitized.  The 1940 Census will be  released in digitized format only and easy to find: Just Google 1940 US Census, and you will find several websites that offer the census free of charge.  The thing about this census is that it has not yet been indexed, in other words you cannot search it by name yet.  You can, however, search by place or by ED (Enumeration District not the other ED).

So I did some searching, I found my wife Katrina's mother in Red Bank at 5 years old, Katrina's father in Shrewsbury at 6 years old, my mother Claire in Jersey City at 14 years old, but man are those Bradys elusive.  The first three, Katrina's parents and my mother, were easy because I knew where they lived.  Dad - well I just don't know,  I have ideas, but have not been successful yet.  In all fairness,  Jersey City is a big city to search if you don't have an idea where your people live in Jersey City - at least a street, hopefully a house number.  If you don't know an approximate address, you have to scroll through probably thousands of pages of census to find your people.

Today I was home and on the computer, and I started checking  our first address on Evergreen Ave in Neptune City and I'll tell you why.  I have been thinking alot lately about how a young family in Jersey City in the 1950's would find a house to move to in a small borough like Neptune City, which is about an hour and change south along the Jersey Shore.  I got my answer by talking to my sisters Pat and Joan and asking them if they knew how it happened.  Both of them said that my father's best friend had moved down the Neptune City, and my mom and dad had visited with the kids a couple of times.  One time when they visited, Jack told me dad that the woman across the street had her house for sale.  Mom and Dad went across the street and saw the house, fell in love with it and the rest is history.

So, I am on the computer and I decided to  through Neptune City in 1940.  It turned out to be almost a stroll through the town that I would live in eighteen years later.  The first person I came across was Darwin "Bucky' Glover on Laird Ave.  He was 12 years old at the time and lived with his  siblings and his parents, the records list his father as a boatman  The reason that his name jumped out at me is that he would later become a Police Sergeant in Neptune City and worked with my brother Paul, when Paul was a Policeman in Neptune City.  He was still working when I worked as a Policeman in Neptune Township (the town next door) so I actually worked many a night shift with "Bucky" Glover before her retired.

Another person I strolled past on my way to my old address, was a man named Forest Cottrell.   He was 39 years old and lived on South Wall St. with his wife Carol, and three children Gloria age 11, Catherine age 10, andRichard age 9.  He jumped out at me because his occupation is listed as Policeman.  I happen to know, from living in the town for about 30 years, that he was the Chief of Police, 9 year old Richard would later become the Chief of Police (when my brother worked there) and I went to grammar school and high school with his (Richard's) son Richard (who would also become a Policeman in Neptune City).

I also came across five year old James Dugan living with his family on Sylvania Ave.  He would also become a Police Sergeant in Neptune City who worked with my brother (I also worked many a shift in Neptune when he was still working).

I finally found my way to the area Evergreen Ave and Steiner Ave where I lived in 1958.  The first person that looking familiar was Richard Ruppel, living with his wife Dorothy and daughters Dorothy, Lorraine, and Barbara.  His occupation was listed as Banker, my memory tells me that he was an accountant.  He and  my dad became friendly later, and his daughter Mary was friends with us growing up.  The other thing about Mr. Ruppel is that I remember his wife as being Isabel, because she was friendly with my mom.  Maybe there was a second marriage but I don't know.  I kinda think that he had something to do with the Board of Education, but I could be wrong.

The other day I was talking to my sisters and Joan remembered a woman named Carrie who was a nurse and lived a few houses down on Steiner Ave and Third Ave.  Well I found her - Carrie Clayton living with her widowed mother, her sister, and an aunt.

I found the Trimbles living next door at 20 Evergreen Ave, Robert and Nettie and their four children: Annette, June, Lois and Robert Jr.  There was also Mr and Mrs Merkel across the street at 25 Evergreen.  They were both born in Germany, he was a painter and she was a presser, I can remember both of them from my time living there.

Last, but not least, I found our house - but it is listed as 24 Evergreen.  Fred and Margaret Slater.  Fred's occupation is listed as Gas Station Attendant.

We had many a memorable moment in that house, but looking back the thing that I remember most about the house was that there was a basement.  In the basement under the stairs was a large safe - I don't think it was locked, but it looked like something out of a bank.   I remember it as being very large, but that may be due to my small stature and large imagination.  There was one other thing that my sister Joan pointed out. When we moved from Jersey City, we lived at 422 Bergen Ave.  We moved to Neptune City and lived at 22 Evergreen Ave.  Joan said that she remembers the house number being painted on the house as 22, but there was an 8 in front of it that was not painted over.  She asked mom about it, and my mother said that it was because we lived on the eighth block from the ocean (the first seven of which are in Bradley Beach).  This could be true because I seem to remember that Bradley Beach and Neptune City were part of the same  town at one point in time.  So my stroll through the 1940 census turned into a history lesson of Small Town USA, and the great town that I grew up in.