Paulus and Williams: A Match Made in Scranton

Frederick (Friedrich) Paulus
Born: June 30, 1886, Pennsylvania
Died: March, 12, 1934, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Great Grandfather

Margaret (Margarite) Williams
Born: November 4, 1887, Neath(?), Pennsylvania
Died: March 4, 1972, Succasunna, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Great Grandmother

My great grandfather, Frederick Paulus, was the son of German immigrants. My great grandmother, Margaret Williams, was the daughter of Welsh immigrants. Frederick and Margaret married in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where both families lived.

Since starting this project, I've wondered where in Scranton the two families lived and how Margaret and Frederick met. Census records tell us which wards in Scranton the families lived in and the map at bottom shows us where this was.

The Paulus family (father Christian Paulus, mother Charlotte Paulus and 5 children) lived in ward 19 (bottom left - purple-ish color) in 1900 and 1910. The Williams family (father Robert Williams, mother Elizabeth Williams <nee Thomas>, and 4 children) lived in ward 2 (upper right - same purple-ish color) in 1910.

I don't know where the Williams lived prior to 1910. So I have no idea when the family moved to Scranton and whether they were in a different ward prior to 1910. If they lived in ward 2 prior to 1910, it makes you wonder who two people, with different family histories and living in different neighborhoods (and probably not of the same religion) would have met, fell in love, and married. 

We do know that Margaret and Frederick married on May 31, 1910 (almost 102 years ago) in Scranton, Pennsylvania. They were married by R.J. Rees - Minister of the Gospel - and witnessed by August Engel and Louise Schneider.

The notes I have on the marriage say that Frederick was living in Wharton, New Jersey at the time and Margaret was still living in Scranton, Pennsylvania (1910 census records confirm this). So apparently Frederick had gone ahead to New Jersey looking for work.

By 1920, Frederick and Margaret had moved from Wharton to Roxbury / Kenvil, NJ and they had four children - Edna, Frederick, Alvin, and Elizabeth. 

Missed My Chance - A Generation Gone

As I embark on the second year of this project, I need to tell you that I have a serious regret: I started my genealogy research and this blog too late to include the voice of my grandparents' generation. And because of that, this blog will forever have a hole. 

Of my four grandparents, three have passed away and my grandfather is suffering from dementia. And none of their siblings are alive. In fact, what is truly sad is how close I was on at least one side of the family as my Nana - Elizabeth Cheney (nee Paulus) - passed away only two years ago (one year before starting this project).

I have many questions for my grandparents and their generation, and their answers would have contributed some great stories and information. I wish I could have asked Grandma (Helen Keenan) about life on the farm, teaching, and what she knew about her ancestors and Ireland. And I wish I could have asked Nana (Elizabeth Cheney) what she knew about her families from Germany and Wales as well as when and why her parents moved from Scranton to Wharton. I would have also asked her what it was like working at Picatinny. And these are just a few examples.

To be clear, it is more than just about the research. If I had asked these questions, it would have provided some great memories and great bonding with my grandparents. Now in some cases, my grandparents told us stories without us asking. I will try to include those, with the major caveat that the stories were told a long time ago and my memory might not be perfectly accurate.

The bottom line though is that a lot of oral history from my family is lost. But hopefully other families can learn from my mistake. Start genealogy soon and make oral history a big part of it. Ask your oldest living relatives to tell you about their lives and take good notes. You'll thank me later.

DNA: The Cheney Line

Last year I wrote about the genographic project at National Geographic. Well I am happy to announce that Genealogy Torch received a generous grant to participate and learn about my paternal (Cheney) line's migration paths from thousands of years ago.

If this goes well, I might also pay to learn about my maternal line (ie Mary Enright's mother's line). By looking at my paternal and maternal lines, we'll probably be seeing English and Irish decent. I am also curious about the German (Paulus) line as well as my wife's side, particularly the Ukrainian and Italian lines. But much of that would require other people to submit DNA, which in some cases might not be realistic.

I sent in my DNA a couple weeks ago and it is already in process. In case you are curious, here is what the Genographic Project says is happening to my DNA:

DNA ISOLATION

The cells are broken open by incubation with a protein-cutting enzyme overnight. Chemicals and the samples are transferred into deep well blocks for robotic DNA isolation. The blocks of chemicals and samples are placed on the extraction robot. The robotic DNA isolation uses silica-coated iron beads. In the presence of the appropriate chemicals DNA will bind to silica. The robot then uses magnetic probes to collect the beads (and DNA) and transfer them through several chemical washes and finally into a storage buffer, which allows the beads to release the DNA. At this point the beads are collected and discarded.

150 Years Ago: To Albany!

Judson Cheney
Born: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: September 29, 1864, Chaffin Farm, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

On (or about) this day 150 years ago Judson Cheney and the 98th NY Regiment were mustered and inspected, and left camp in Malone and headed for Albany. Kreutzer tells us:

About the middle of February the different companies arrived at Albany and went into barracks at camp Rathbone. The quarters had been occupied by thousands before; they were fearfully filthy and dirty...

To many it was a treat to visit the city, the large stores, the saloons, the Delavan [hotel], the capital, the legislature. Hundreds came to visit us daily. We saw a great many officers flitting about in gay uniforms, and were forcibly reminded that fine feathers make fine birds...

I try to picture Judson walking with his fellow troops through Albany. I assume it was the biggest city he had seen.

Kruetzer goes on to talk about the shopping they did, though he is likely talking about his fellow officers and not the enlisted soldiers like Judson who probably didn't have money to spend.  But for the next month, Judson and the 98th NY will be in Albany.

Wedding Picture!

(Left to right)
Mary Keenan (nee Leary)
Born: March 1, 1870, New York
Died: December 16, 1951, Lawrence, St. Lawrence, NY
Relation to Author: Great Grandmother

James J. Keenan
Born: March 21, 1865, Helena, St. Lawrence, NY
Died: September 28, 1955, North Lawrence, St. Lawrence, NY
Relation to Author: Great Grandfather

Helen Keenan (nee Leary)
Born: November 4, 1909, St. Lawrence, NY
Died: May 1, 2004, Brasher, St. Lawrence, NY
Relation to Author: Grandmother

Hubert Keenan
Born: March 20, 1907, St. Lawrence, NY
Died: November 14, 1984, North Lawrence, St. Lawrence NY
Relation to Author: Grandfather

Ida Leary (nee Barry)
Born: September 1, 1878, Brushton, Franklin, NY
Died: January 7, 1981, St. Lawrence, NY
Relation to Author: Great Grandmother

Walter Leary
Born: January 5, 1874, North Lawrence, St. Lawrence, NY
Died: July 19, 1960, Winthrop, St. Lawrence. NY
Relation to Author: Great Grandfather

This is a picture from Hubert and Helen's wedding day. They are surrounded by their parents.  The wedding was August 16, 1937, so the parents were 67, 72, 58, and 64 years old, respectively, at the time. Helen and Hubert were  27 and 30, respectively.

I have a few more pictures from the wedding, so look for more of these to go up on the blog in the future.

Railroad Bigwig

Ira Adelbert Place
Born: May 8, 1854, New York, NY
Died: January 24, 1928, New York, NY
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grandfather In-Law

This is a picture of Ira Place at Thendara Country Club (located in upstate New York in the Adirondack Mountains). The golf course was built in 1921 and Ira died in 1928, so we can assume the undated picture was taken sometime between those years. Ira Place was General Counsel and Vice President of New York Central Railroad (railroad empire run by the Vanderbilt family serving New York City to Chicago et al via upstate New York). More on that in a future post.

Note: Thendara was one of the stops on the New York Central Railroad's Adirondack Division, which helps explain why Ira was there of all places (290 miles from New York City). It also seems to be in the area where many of the gilded age bosses built Adirondack cabins.

Jackpot

I just hit the jackpot. Over the holidays I was given a large amount of family history information from my wife's side of the family (a great gift!). The collection includes a genealogical memoir, a very extensive family tree and a some other interesting things. Look for many more posts from the Eisenberg and Blake families in the future.