52 Ancestors - OOPS: The Virtual Red Pen

When I was a teacher, I refused to use a red pen to mark students’ papers. Too many negative connotations. Students always referred to teachers’ comments on their papers as “bleeding all over the page.” My pen of choice was green or purple and sometimes a pencil. In my view these were more friendly, more encouraging, at least I hoped so. After all, getting it right is good.

In genealogy research, getting it right is important. There are plenty of flawed family trees on Ancestry without me contributing to the confusion with more bad information. I pride myself on being a careful researcher, so discovering I’ve posted something in error distresses me. Here are some of my biggest and best blunders along with the new and improved version setting the story straight – unless I discover otherwise.

Segourney Shiflett Eppard

    Before: Genealogy Photo a Day: Week in Review

    After: Is She or Isn't She?

Velma Davis Woodring

    Before: Sport Center Saturday - Velma Davis Woodring

    After: A Doppelganger for Velma

Josie Sheehan

    Before: Pay Attention to the Woman in the Hat

    After: Hiding in Plain Sight

Robert Byrnes

    Before: Sadie's Family

    After: In Search of Nephews 

        and Favorite Photo - Helen and the Byrnes Cousins

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - UNFORGETTABLE: These Darn Children

I am obsessed with these children:

John Jr and "Bob" 1921

I write about them all the time.

 

John Jr, Cutey, and Bob
a beach in New York - maybe Rockaway

Why?

Because I can’t figure out how they are related to my father’s maternal grandmother’s side of the family. It is driving me crazy because I feel like I am THIS CLOSE to breaking through that wall. Those bricks mock me.

Here is what I do know:

My great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh and her eldest daughter Lillie Killeen thought enough of the family to travel from Portsmouth, Virginia to New York City in 1917 to greet the baby.

Lillie Killeen and John Jr 1917

My great-grandmother and the children’s family were close enough that an entire photo album was dedicated to pictures of the children and given to my great-grandmother.

The children were named John Jr (born 1917) and “Bob” (born probably 1919 or 1920).

This was captioned "Bob sucks her thumb."

Bob was a girl. I can’t tell by the handwriting on the back of the picture. Was she also called Bobie or Barbie?

They lived in Richmond Hill, a section of Queens

Lillie and John Jr. in Richmond Hill 1920

They once had the whooping cough.

On the back of the photo is written
"These were taken Mar 1922 while they had whooping cough."

Here is what I think:

Mary Theresa’s sisters were NOT the mothers or grandmothers of these children. None of them had children as late as 1917. The only sister old enough to have had a grandchild born in 1917 was Johanna Sheehan Hederman. Only 2 of her children survived. Catherine married a man named Charles Fraundorf making it improbable that they named a son John JR. Johanna’s son John was still single and living at home in 1920, so he is not likely the father either.

This photo of WOMEN with the children makes me think perhaps the young woman was daughter of Mary Theresa’s brother John Sheehan. If that is so, then she must have married a man named John.

 

In New York 1921
Poodle is named Cutey
The children are "Bob" and John Jr.
The Women are ???

I think this man is the father:

Maybe the father of John Jr and Bob
1920 Richmond Hill, Queens, NY

I think this man is John Sheehan, possibly the grandfather of the children.

Is this John Sheehan with baby John Jr and Cutey, the poodle?
1917

Is this John Sheehan?
1918 NY

My plan of attack:

I have researched every man named John Sheehan born about 1866 in Ireland who lived in New York between 1887 and 1940. And there were plenty of them! They either had no children or too many children. None had children that fit the John Jr and Bob profile.

Was John Sheehan the father or grandfather of the children?

I need to take a closer look at the daughters of these John Sheehans. Perhaps a marriage record will offer up a husband named John and census records will reveal a John Jr and “Bob.”

I should also consider that maybe John Sheehan did not stay in New York. Maybe he lived in some other part of New York, or maybe Boston, or even Canada.

Sometimes I want to just stop looking for an answer, but I can’t. These children are just unforgettable.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - LIKE TO MEET: Poodle Woman

This week’s 52 Ancestors challenge is just a cruel joke: someone we would like to meet. Seriously, Amy? Can I just say "the whole fam damily"?

While I certainly would like to meet my oldest known ancestors just to ask, “Who’s your daddy,” I have no way to expand on it. Instead I think I would like to meet this woman:

 

Sheehan sister 1915 and probably Cutey

The human mother of this poodle named Cutey and whoever that other poodle was.

 

One poodle was named Cutey; the other is unknown.
This photo dates at the time John Jr. was born in 1917.

The mother or grandmother of these two children, John Jr. and “Bob” who was definitely a girl.

 

John Jr and "Bob" with their grandmother (?) AND Cutey
at a beach in New York, possibly Rockaway Beach

Woman AND Cutey, "Bob," and John Jr.
Dated March 1922
Back of photo says "while they had whooping cough"

This little family constellation DRIVES. ME. CRAZY.

Why? Because these photos are from a more recent time - 1917-1920ish. Surely I SHOULD be able to identify them.

But I can’t.

All I know is that they are related SOMEHOW to my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh and that they PROBABLY lived in New York City.

 

1921 New York
Two older women might be sisters of Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh.
Younger woman in the center is possibly mother to "Bob" and John Jr.

Poodle Woman, who are you?

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2019, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Mystery Monday: Have I Found the Fraundorfs?

Mystery Monday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that asks us to share mystery ancestors or mystery records – anything in our family history research which is currently unsolved.  With any luck fellow genealogy bloggers will lend their eyes to what has been found so far and possibly help solve the mystery.

Each March, I like to focus on my Irish ancestors. While I have been successful in identifying the names of my great-grandmother’s sisters in New York and their children, the photos taken during trips to New York go unidentified for the most part. Since the women in the photos bear some resemblance to each other, it is likely they are her sisters Johanna, Elizabeth, Margaret, and Delia, but I cannot determine which is which.

Last week, I presented a photo of one sister that I THINK I have identified as Johanna Sheehan Hederman. The most prominent clue in the photo was the wide gap between the ages of the two children.

Today’s photo just might be Johanna’s daughter Catherine all grown up, a married lady. What is the prominent clue? An only child.

 

Is this Catherine Hederman Fraundorf and Gertrude?

Catherine Hederman married Charles Fraundorf in 1908, and they made their home in the Bronx until shortly after 1930 when they moved to Long Beach in Nassau County. They were childless until 1916 when Catherine gave birth to little Gertrude. Gertrude remained an only child.

Is this Catherine Hederman?

Admittedly, this could be any woman and any child. If the woman were looking up instead of down and so proudly at the young girl, I might be able to compare her to this child to see if they were the same person.

The features of the young girl at the beach look similar to those of the girl that I think was her mother. Or am I imagining it? Is this just wishful thinking?

Wendy

© 2017, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Mystery Monday: Have I Found the Hedermans?

Mystery Monday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that asks us to share mystery ancestors or mystery records – anything in our family history research which is currently unsolved.  With any luck fellow genealogy bloggers will lend their eyes to what has been found so far and possibly help solve the mystery.

With St. Patrick’s Day just a few days away, my Irish family is more on my mind than usual. Last year with the help of Dara at Black Raven Genealogy, I was able to identify the names of my Irish aunties in New York and to track them and their children at least through the 1940 census.

As I was looking through old family photos the other day, I started paying attention to the unidentified people in photos passed down to me from my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh by way of my grandaunt Helen Killeen Parker. When I looked at this woman and two children

the family tree of Mary Theresa’s oldest sister Johanna Hederman suddenly popped into my head. Only two of Johanna’s seven children survived past 1900, a girl born in 1887 and a boy born nine years later in 1896.

The children look to be about 13 and 4, or 14 and 5. The woman has dark hair like the women in other photos of supposed sisters of Mary Theresa.

If my hunch is right, then I am looking at Johanna Hederman (1861 – before 1940), Catherine (1887 – 1967) and John (1896 – after 1930).

What date would you put on this photo?

  

Wendy

© 2017, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Genealogy Photo a Day 9: Brick Wall

Genealogy Photo a Day is a month-long challenge coordinated by Genealogy Girl Talks.

The sisters and brothers of my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh have constructed a brick wall that would make Donald Trump drool.

 

Is this John Sheehan in 1918?

Who is this man standing APPROPRIATELY in front of a BRICK WALL? The baby has been identified in other photos sometimes as “Bob” and sometimes as “Barbie.” Yes, it’s a girl. I THINK this man is the grandfather. But is he Mary Theresa’s brother John Sheehan? Or is he the husband of one of her sisters?

Since the man is dressed in some sort of uniform, I can easily rule out a couple of the husbands.

• Not Patrick Hederman, Johanna’s husband. He was a porter in a grocery store and a coffee roaster.
• Not William Christian, Delia’s husband. He ran a dry cleaners.
• Possibly Patrick Byrnes, Elizabeth’s husband. He was a chauffeur. Is this the uniform of a chauffeur?
• Possibly John Nagle, Margaret’s husband. He was a bank guard. This uniform bears some resemblance to a police uniform. 

Narrowing down the possibilities is further aided by another clue: Bob/Barbie’s brother John JR. Clearly there must be a John SR. I was excited to discover that Elizabeth and Patrick Byrnes had a son John. However, he was born in 1903, making him too young to be father of John Jr. in 1917. Margaret and John Nagle also had a son John, but he was born in 1911, again far too young to be John Jr’s father.

Perhaps John SR was husband to one of Mary Theresa’s nieces. 

New York City 1921
Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh with "Bob" and John Jr.
and probably their mother. Is this woman her niece?
Could she be the daughter of John Sheehan?

However, only Johanna had children old enough to be parents in 1917. Her son John never married. Her daughter Catherine married a man named Charles Fraundorf and they had only one daughter.

So I think the man must be Mary Theresa’s brother John Sheehan. Do you know how many John Sheehans lived in New York City in the early 1900s? Attempts to pinpoint the correct John Sheehan have been frustrating with nothing to show for my efforts.  

The Brick Wall stands.

Look for me on Instagram (@Wendymath27) and Twitter (@Wendymath).

Wendy

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Mystery Monday: Hiding in Plain Sight

Mystery Monday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that encourages bloggers to write about mystery ancestors or mystery records – anything in their genealogy and family history research which is currently unsolved.

During the month of March, I am remembering my Irish ancestors by writing about my recent discoveries. The stories still qualify for “Mystery Monday” as there are so many questions yet unanswered.

Making my way through the sisters and brothers of my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh, I took a deep breath and launched into the search for brother John Sheehan. It did not take long for frustration to set in. Every John Sheehan born in the mid-1860s and living in New York seemed like a likely prospect.

Temporarily abandoning all hope of finding John Sheehan, I shifted my attention to Johanna Sheehan, the oldest daughter of Daniel Sheehan and Bridget Gorman.

At FamilySearch, I entered the barebones of information: a name, an exact year of birth in Ireland, residence New York, and parents’ names. In seconds, there she was. It was a birth record for someone I had never heard of naming the mother “Johanna Shehan Hederman.” It was 1897 and Johanna was 36 years old.

Realizing this Johanna was born in 1861 just like MY Johanna, I then searched for Johanna Hederman. Was I shocked to see the census for 1900! Of all things, she was living in the same apartment building as who else but my great-grandmother. I must have looked at the Hederman family dozens of times while compiling information about Mary Theresa, but the name meant nothing.

1900 Census Bronx, New York

So why didn’t I think to apply the FAN theory to begin with? Delving into Family/Friends, Associates, and Neighbors is indeed a crucial step in learning about our ancestors. However, I learned of Johanna only weeks ago, thanks to Dara of Black Raven Genealogy.

Johanna had been hiding in plain sight all along. It is time to bring her out in the open.

She was baptized on March 10, 1861 in the Ballingarry Diocese of Limerick, Ireland, so likely she was born about March 3 in the Castletown district of Croom, like the other Sheehan children.

Baptism record for Johanna Sheehan, daughter of Daniel Sheehan and Bridget Gorman
sponsors Thomas Gorman and Ellen Grady
from Catholic Parish Registers at NLI.ie

According to the 1900 census in Bronx, New York, Johanna arrived in the United States in 1883. Patrick Hederman came from Ireland as well and had been in the states for twenty-three years. The two had been married fifteen years (1885). While Patrick worked as a porter, Johanna kept house and cared for their two children Catherine (born 1887) and John (born 1896). They were the only two survivors of seven children born to the Hedermans.

By 1910, the Hedermans had moved from their apartment at 4024 Third Avenue in the Bronx to nearby 374 159^th Street.

1910 Census Bronx, New York

Patrick took a job as a coffee roaster for a coffee company. John at age 14 was a “new boy” at what has been transcribed as “El Railroad.” A Mexican restaurant in a train car? Electric Rail? Misreading of something else? And maybe John was not a “NEW boy” but a “NEWS boy” selling newspapers. As for Catherine, she was gone, likely married.

In 1920, the family had moved yet again, this time to 3334 Ft. Independence Street in Bronx, still renting. Patrick was earning a living as a porter for a grocery store; John was a laborer in the building trade.

1920 Census Bronx, New York

Patrick was back to roasting coffee in the 1925 census and living with his family at 2333 Webster Avenue.

One more move – of record anyway – found the Hedermans at an apartment around the corner from Webster Avenue at 461 East 187^th Street in the Bronx. At age 72, Patrick was retired. John no doubt contributed his pay as a brick handler to the family’s rent of $40.

1930 Census Bronx, New York

Patrick died July 12, 1932. Johanna probably died between 1930 and 1931 as she did not appear in the 1931 city directory, but Patrick and John both did.

Finding Johanna is bittersweet. I found her, yes, but I still have not solved the mystery of the family with the poodle and the children John Jr. and “Bob.” My hopes that son John Hederman was the father of the mystery children were dashed when I found him still single living at home in 1920. 

As for Catherine, a Christmas card sent to Mary Theresa and signed “Catherine Donnelly” lifted my spirits as I started imagining her with a husband named John Donnelly. She was certainly old enough to be mother to someone born in 1916. 

However, none of the three John and Catherine Donnelly couples matched the facts. Catherine married, for sure, but her husband was Charles Fraundorf. They married in 1908 and had one daughter named Gertrude.

1930 Census New York
note that the enumerator added "Limerick" to her parents' birthplace

Christmas card from Catherine Fraundorf and family
in the scrapbook of Mary Theresa Sheehan Walsh

If I am to identify those adorable mystery children and the woman with the poodle, I need to find John Sheehan. It will not be easy. Why should I expect otherwise?

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.