52 Ancestors Challenge Week 35: "Free Space" - 3rd Great Grandma, Sabina "Lean" Krantzel-Prinz's Death

Hmm, I am interpreting this week's theme to mean I can write about anything I want.

I am always especially intrigued by pieces of the puzzle that don't quite fit together. What I mean by that is when you find documentation that you are sure is associated with one of your ancestors but it doesn't quite fit. For me, this often happens with my family members who Anglicized their surnames but sometimes, like in this case, there is some typos going on. Ah, human error. I love it.

My great-great grandmother, Sabina Krantzel-Prinz, was killed by an automobile on the streets of Manhattan on April 24, 1926. She died on April 25, but she was struck by a car the day before. I learned that from her New York City issued death certificate. 

This very sad discovery prompted me to look for a newspaper article. Newspaper articles are juicy bits. They add so much detail to ones family history. They tell the story.

So what the death certificate says is that Sabina died at 6:45 a.m. on April 25, 1926 at Flowers Hospital in Manhattan due to a "fractured skull, laceration of brain, struck by auto at 76th St. & First Ave. April 24, 1926."

Now I know my family lived at 1465 1st Ave from the 1920 census record which you can see below but you will note that she is listed as Lena Prince, living there with her husband John (or Johann) and grandchildren, Albert Kamm (age 10) and Margaret Kamm (age 9). I have other records in which she is recorded at Lena.

I am sure that the death certificate and 1920 census record are for the same woman.

I went off to look for newspaper articles that may have appeared in any New York City based newspaper on or shortly after April 24, 1926. I used Newspapers.com and all sorts of search terms but nothing came up for Sabina Prince or Sabina Prinz or Lena Prince/Prinz. Intent on finding something I did the Hail Mary search and just looked for articles that contained the word "car" and were published on a specific date. I did one day at a time starting with April 25. Crazy intense work but I was confident some newspaper would mention this fatal car accident.

And then I found this in the Daily News (New York) from Tuesday, April 27, 1926 page 6 under the title "Unlicensed Driver Speeds to 15-Day Sentence in Jail."

It reads, "John Lunnie, 35, of 348 East 118th st., a chauffeur, charged with having run down and killed Mrs. Lena Pringle, 65, of 1465 1st ave. when driving an automobile at 7th st. and 1st ave. on April 24; held in $2,500 for a hearing on May 4."

Pringle? At 7th street? I searched for New York City death records from the same date with the name Pringle and could not find one. I'm confident that this messed up little mention in the Daily News is about my 3rd great grandma, Sabina "Lena" Prinz/Prince. I'm sure of it.

With all the errors about Lena though, I can't say I am confident the man who killed her was really named John Lunnie. I can't find a John Lunnie in the 1920 or 1930 census in NYC. And I have tried looking for some mention of the hearing on May 4th but you know how the news is, you rarely hear about the aftermath. 

When you come across supportive evidence that seems really far off the mark though, hold on to it. Trust your gut a bit but also write yourself a solid justification for why the tidbit seems to make sense to you in your research. When something or someone comes along to prove otherwise, be willing to let your conviction be overturned. Until then, I think if he was unlicensed, I sure hope he got more than a 15-day sentence.

52 Ancestors Challenge Week 22: "Conflict" - 3rd great grandpa, Daniel Krantzel's elusive date of death.

For this theme of "Conflict" I'm writing about unresolved conflicting information for in records.

A lot of my genealogy students and clients get all bent about "misspelled" names. I try to explain spelling is a modern convention and that there are many reasons a name might not be spelled the way you expect it to be. You kind of have to let it go already and accept that spelling never counted.

Frequently I am then asked, "Well, how do you know it is the right person then if the name is not spelled correctly?" The answer to which is you corroborate the record with other details.

And then there are times when the records just leave you stumped. Welcome 3rd great grandpa, Heinrich Daniel Krantzel...or Daniel Heinrich...or is it just Daniel..oh, wait, occasionally you went by Henry. Oh but your birth registration says Johann Heinrich Daniel Kraenzel. Ah, were you a secret agent? Forget the spelling of the last name, when did you died exactly? I don't know. I'm not sure anyone knew. And burial location? Forget that. Look at this mess...

This is his German birth registration:

What? Can't read it? Yeah, me neither. Thus I am relying upon the index which states:

Name: Johann Daniel Heinrich Kraenzel
Event Type: Geburt (Birth)
Birth Date: 21. Mai 1825 (21 May 1825)
Birth Place: Worms, Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Deutschland (Germany)
Father: Heinrich Kraenzel
Mother: Anna Catharina Kraenzel

How do I know this is my guy? Well, I have multiple other documents that state he was born in Worms, Germany in 1825 including his U.S. Civil War Muster Roll Abstract which corroborates his place of birth and, with a little math, places his birth in 1825.

Other records, such as the one below, the U.S. Civil War Pension Index, led me to request his Civil War pension file.

Filed beginning in October 1889 by his widow, Elizabeth Goetz-Krantzel (February 12, 1833 - August 25, 1896), it tells me Ole Danny Boy - or whatever you want to call him - had died before October 1889. Can't have a widow without a dead husband, right? Maybe.

The pension file is thick. I see pages stamped by the government ranging in date from 1889 to 1897. Among them I see two potential dates of death for Daniel. On the Application for Widow's Pension form Elizabeth reports that she is "the widow of  Daniel Krantzel, who belonged to Company B, 8th Regiment, N.Y. Volunteers...died at Cincinnati, Ohio on the 8th day of April A.D. 1877..." "...of disease..."

Also among the documents is a death certificate from the City of New York prefaced by a letter written by E. Krantzel, son of Henry D. Krantzel. E. would have to be Ernest Krantzel (October 12, 1863 - October 7, 1921), the youngest son, #4 of the couple's 5 children.

Ernest writes:

Health Department,

Sanitary Bureau

No. 301 Mott Street

Division of Vital Statistics,

New York, ________189_

To the Hon. Board of Health:

I respectfully request that the accompanying "Corrected Certificate" of the death of Henry D. Krantzel, 59 years old, who died opposite 168 Front St., on Nov 2, 1884, be filed with the original Certificate of the death of an "Unknown Man", about 55 years old, who died opposite 168 Front St., on Nov 2, 1884, said unknown man being since identified as Henry D. Krantzel.

Yours respectfully,

E. Krantzel,

Son of Henry D. Krantzel

7 St. Mark's Place

Third Stop: All Faiths Cemetery, Middle Village - Elizabeth Goetz-Krantzel

On Saturday, April 24, 2021, my Cousin Pete accompanied me to several cemeteries in which our ancestors were buried but this one, All Faiths Cemetery, was specific to my mother's side of the family. In other words, Elizabeth Goetz-Krantzel (12 February 1833, Germany - 25 August 1898, NY) is my 3rd great grandmother, not Pete's. Pete is a good soul who indulges me and my wacky genealogy excursions. I love him.

I have written about my Krantzels recently and the sketchy details surrounding the death of Elizabeth's husband, my 3rd great grandfather, Heinrich Daniel Krantzel. Elizabeth, though, I knew was buried in Lutheran Cemetery. All Faiths Cemetery is Lutheran Cemetery. Well, it was first established in 1850 by a Lutheran pastor. Since its incorporation in 1852 though, members of all faiths were permitted burial in this cemetery. Thus, the name. Elizabeth's death certificate from August 25, 1896 clearly indicated she is buried in Lutheran Cemetery. This is the cemetery though, and they are very proud to boast on their entrance sign that are "For People of All Faiths." 

I am fairly certain Elizabeth was Lutheran, though. I am Catholic, as are both of my parents, and both of my grandmothers but neither of my grandfathers were raised Catholic. Grandpa Earle converted to Catholicism. Grandpa Gardner never did, yet, his father was raised Catholic and is interred in a Catholic Cemetery. Religion in my family history was pretty fluid and most reflective of what church the family lived closest to as opposed to a commitment to any specific denomination of Christianity. But I digress - -

It was my hope that this cemetery would reveal that Elizabeth's sketchy husband was buried with her, thereby removing the mystery surrounding his death. Unfortunately though, he's not buried in this cemetery. The clerk made a great effort to find the right plot location for Elizabeth so I trust Heinrich is not at All Faiths.

I went into the office with nothing but Elizabeth's name and dates of birth and death. The clerk looked and looked for any Krantzel on record and their were none. There were, however, a few Crantzels. That's right, they are misspelled in the official plot books. That surname is spelled a dozen different ways on their records; Krantzel, Crantzel, Cransel, Crausel, etc., etc., etc.

First the clerk found an Ernest Crantzel. "Yes!! That is her son!," I exclaimed.

"He died of epilepsy," the clerk stated.

"What?!" My niece just recently had what they think might have been a seizure and the doctors asked if there was a family history of epilepsy. I know of one great-great uncle who lived in a hospital for epileptics back in the early 1900s, no relation to Ernest but also on my mother's side. I called my sister that evening as this perhaps might be of interest to her doctors.

In any case, based on the other details provided to me the plot was purchased by Francis "Frank" Krantzel, another son, to bury their mother, Elizabeth, in August 1896. Elizabeth was 63 years old, 6 months, and 13 days when she died on August 25, 1896 placing her birth at February 12, 1833 in Germany.

She is interred with her son Ernest Krantzel (12 Oct 1863 - 7 Oct 1921) and his wife, Kate Stadleberger-Krantzel ( abt. 1865 - 6 Aug 1917) in Public Lot 2, Map 5, Row 46, Grave 21. 

The grave is unmarked as are so many around them as you can tell by the nearly empty field. The cemetery, although quite beautiful in many ways, was in desperate need of a mow and the main office informed us of this before heading out to the plot. It's early spring and I suppose the landscaping crews have not begun their work their yet. It was so overgrown. Even what they call the Family Lots, owned by families in better financial circumstances than my people. Families like that of, oh say, Donald Trump who's parents, Fred and Mary Trump are interred. They don't have the fancy headstone one might expect/ Their section looks downright abandoned and unkempt as well. 

First Stop: St. Michael's Cemetery, East Elmhurst - Johan and Sabina Prinz

We did it! Cousin Pete and I did my cemetery marathon this past Saturday, April 24, 2021. We hit 6 cemeteries, and ate a lengthy lunch, in a total of 6 hours 17 minutes. A bit wacky but we did it.

Our first stop was St. Michael's Cemetery in East Elmhurst, Queens which is just a hop, skip, and a jump from where Peter lives. Cousin Pete actually lives in walking distance of where my grandma grew up - my grandma on my mom's side, not Pete's grandma. Pete and I are related through our father's lineage. Anyway, Pete was kind enough to accompany to graves of my mother's side as well.

I have a history with St. Michael's. Many years ago when I first went looking for the burial location of my great-great grandparents, Johan Nepom Prinz (2 May 1854 - 21 April 1929) and Sabina "Lena" Krantzel-Prinz (17 June 1860 - 25 April 1926), I was told I had to pay them for that information. Outraged, I wandered that cemetery looking for a potential burial location; unsuccessfully of course. It is a big cemetery!

This time around when I called for a plot location, they kindly gave me that information over the phone. However, I didn't know my way around the cemetery  despite all the time I spent walking around in there in the past. When we entered the cemetery, we didn't see a sign with a map on it, so we went to the cemetery's office. We were helped by a very nice woman who provided us with a paper map and showed the route to take to get to Grave 11 - Range 85 - Plot 6.

Johan and Lena are interred in this grave with their daughter Margaret Prinz-Kamm (5 October 1886 - 14 December 1915) who died in childbirth when she was just 29 years old.

When Peter and I were wandering around Plot 6, a cemetery worker driving an excavator noticed us and asked if we needed help. He came down from his machine and measured out where the actually plot would be, stating that their graves are 30" wide.

So this is them. Look familiar? Yeah, my people almost never have a headstone. 

Looking at this patch of earth the worker commented that he had been working for the cemetery for 35 years. When he first started out some of the old time employees had told him that sometime in the 1970s, some of the headstones were buried. Occasionally, they still get requests to dig up the interred stones. Frequently those stones are broken in the process. 

Is this the first time you are hearing of this? 

I wish I could say I have never heard of this before but in fact, I have. There is a "park" in Hempstead, New York in which my 6th great grandparents are interred; Jacob and Rebecca Raynor. The Hempstead Old Town Burial Ground had fallen into such disrepair that the Town decided to level it. A few headstones stand in a far off corner of the Old Town "Park" but it is not at all a park, its a cemetery. The Town buried the old headstones over the graves and now it's a pretty lawn.

Lovely, just freakin' lovely.

Now I don't know if this is true of Johan and Lena's headstone. I suspect they never had a stone because that is just how it is in my family. Or maybe there are more stones out there then I think. Stay tuned for posts on my other 5 cemetery visits from Saturday.

Gearing Up for a Cemetery Stomping

I am gearing up for a full day of cemetery stomping on Saturday, April 24, 2021. At present my Cousin Pete is planning to go with me. A bunch of the graves I have yet to visit are for individuals from our shared line and the few that are from my mother's side of the family (not Pete's family) are located very close to where Cousin Pete lives in Queens, NY. There are lots of things that Queens is known for but two of the biggest are its airports (LaGuardia & JFK) and cemeteries (far too many to list). 

Of the 59 of my deceased direct ancestors (grandparents, great grandparents, great-great grandparents, and 3rd great grandparents), I have 23 yet to visit. Not too shabby. I know I am blessed to be able to name all of my 3rd great grandparents. Finding records of all their deaths though, is proving to be frustrating. But anyway, on this planned cemetery stomp, I'll be visiting 12.

In the past I posted a map of my planned route through 6 or 7 cemeteries I have to visit. I have since knocked one of them out. I have also come up with quite the visual inventory of who I plan to visit, though.

There is a key to the right of each image: 

The names in White boxes are those I have yet to visit. I have plot locations for these people and I will visit almost all of them on this day of cemetery visiting. Most of them are Grandma Earle's ancestors and, again, are interred in the cemetery belt that stretches through Brooklyn and Queens.

The names in Green boxes are ones I have visited, if not very recently then at some point in my lifetime. I have visited all of Grandpa Earle's ancestors back to my 3rd great grandparents. This is in part due to the fact so many of them are buried near where I live. Grandpa's mother comes from a long line of Long Islanders.

The names in Gray boxes are ones I am working on to finding burial locations. I realize I may never be able to locate some of them. Most of them are my Grandpa Gardner's ancestors, and thus are my French-Canadians. Not only is it a long trip up to Quebec, their records are proving impossible to find. I am grateful for the Drouin Collection but I just can't find them all in there. The Drouin Collection is a French-Canadian collection of over 15 million vital records entries. If you have French-Canadian ancestry and don't know about the Drouin Collection, you need to.

The name in the Blue box I have already posted about; Elizabeth Goetz-Krantzel's death certificate says she is interred in Lutheran Cemetery (a.k.a. All Faiths Cemetery) but they have no record. I plan to interrogate their cemetery office in-person, though.

Grandpa Earle's Ancestors:

Grandma Earle's Ancestors:

Grandpa Gardner's Ancestors:

Grandma Gardner's Ancestors:

Wish me luck!

My Krantzels: I Can't for the Life of Me Figure Out These Deaths

I've got a pair of 3rd great grandparents that are all sorts of sketchy. If I have any kind of shady characteristics, I suspect I inherited that DNA from them; Elizabeth Goetz-Krantzel (12 Feb 1833, Germany - 25 Aug 1896, New York) and Henrich Daniel Krantzel (21 May 1825, Worms, Germany - unknown). 

That's right. I have no clue when or where Henrich Daniel Krantzel died but it's sketchier than that. First off, Henrich Daniel Krantzel shows up in records as, Heinrich, Henry, Daniel, Daniel Heinrich, H. D., D. H., etc. That's not terribly disturbing although it would be divine to see some consistency. It's his death that bothers me the most.

When I obtained Elizabeth's death certificate from the New York City Municipal Archives many years ago, it indicated that she was a widow. Logically I set about to find a New York City based death certificate for Daniel or Henry or whatever he wanted to call himself, prior to August 1896. Keeping in mind that his name was so fluid and I had seen so many variant spellings of Krantzel. My search was unsuccessful.

So I called Lutheran Cemetery which is indicated on Elizabeth's death certificate as the cemetery in which she was interred, thinking that the couple is likely buried together. Lutheran Cemetery is now known as All-Faiths Cemetery. Well, they have no record of an interment for a Daniel or Henry or Henrich Krantzel. They also have no record of an interment for Elizabeth either. Whaaaaaat?

Now I have made that call a couple of times over the years, thinking that maybe I'd get a different clerk who would look in some magical book somewhere and find their spot. Still no luck.

Where are these people?

I thought perhaps the former Lutheran Cemetery's records are not up to snuff so I sort out as many records as I could for this couple, which is really what a genealogist always does.

I learned that apparently H.D. served in the Civil War and that his widow, Elizabeth, filed for his pension. Now this is where is gets really shady.

I obtained the full pension file. It was huge. Apparently, Elizabeth had filed multiple times, in 1889 and 1890. Each time her appeal was rejected for what appears to be lack of details. "Yeah, no kidding, Federal Government." 

In each of Elizabeth's applications she is consistent in stating that "Daniel" was a member of the New York 8th Regiment, Company B and that he died on 8th of April 1877 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati, Ohio??? What the hell was he doing there???

Until - - there is another appeal made in 1891. This claim was also denied but it included a letter that read as follows:

To the Hon. Board of Health:

I respectfully request that the accompanying "Corrected Certificate" of the death of Henry D. Krantzel, 59 years old, who died opposite 168 Front St., on Nov 2, 1884, be filed with the original Certficate of the death of an "Unknown Man", about 55 years old, who died opposite 168 Front St., on Nov 2, 1884, said unknown man being since identified as Henry D. Krantzel.

Yours respectfully,

E. Krantzel,

Son of Henry D. Krantzel

7 St. Mark's Place

Now what the heck is this? Henry D. died November 2, 1884 in New York City? What happened to him keeling over in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1877?

I can't for the life of me figure out the death of this grandpa or the burial location for grandma. Their deaths give me grief alright. I wonder what is really at the root of all this conflicting information. Hmm. I do intend to go to All-Faiths/Lutheran Cemetery and inquire in-person. Maybe when they see my sad face they go to great lengths to search for these two in their records.

Musically-Gifted Divorcee Died After Surgery

There is this writing exercise known as the Six word memoir in which the author provides a biography in 6 words. If I had to write one for Lillian Krantzel, the niece of my great-great grandmother, Sabina Krantzel-Prince, Musically-Gifted Divorcee Died After Surgery pretty much sums it up. However, to reduce someone's existence to a mere 6 words is really meant to just spark one's interest in the whole story.

Discovered Death Certificate Leads to Life

With genealogy research, if you're doing it right, you are moving back through time; documenting back one generation at a time from you to your parents to your grandparents, etc. That was certainly the case with Lillian. My discovery of her came while searching for the last name "Krantzel" in the NYC death index. First I found her death certificate. Then I looked into her life.

From her death certificate I learned that Lillian was born on August 22, 1888; the daughter of Frank Krantzel and Katherine Huth-Krantzel. I soon discovered she was their only child they had.

A Life Cut Way Too Short.  

Lillian died at the age of 32 on January 26, 1921 from complications after a surgery. The certificate was so illegible, though, that I couldn't tell if it specified the type of surgery.

Another detail which sparked my curiosity was the marital status listed on her death certificate; divorced. Divorce, of course occurred back then but it was not nearly as prevalent as it is today.

I then began to comb the NYC marriage index in the hope of finding out about her marriage. No luck. And so notes from Lillian's death certificate sat in my records for years.

Divorced Female Who Left No Heirs

It was through a random, broad search of the surname "Krantzel" in New England Historic Genealogical Society's online databases that I discovered Lillian's marriage. In 1912 at the age of 24 she married an actor in Boston by the name of Charles Docen. Lillian's occupation on that record is listed as actress.

However, in the 1915 NY State Census, Lillian is listed as single and living with her parents in New York City. There Lillian's occupation is listed as pianist. In the 1920 U.S. Federal Census, just months before her death, Lillian is again listed as single living with her parents in Manhattan. On that last census her occupation is listed as organist employed at a movie house.

It makes me wonder how long Lillian was married to Charles Docen and just what it was that lead to there divorce. I can only imagine that it must have been something profound for her to return to using her maiden name.

Many Musicians Share Beautiful Resting Place

Last year I was able to visit Kensico Cemetery where Lillian is buried with her parents. It is a lovely cemetery; the final resting place of many famous people; a bevy of musically talent surrounds her including jazz-great Tommy Dorsey, composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Florenz Ziegfeld of the famed Ziegfeld Follies. 

Sadly, though, like so many of my relatives, Lillian's grave is unmarked. In fact, a gravedigger had to take us to the grave because she is in one of the oldest sections of the cemetery and it is not laid out like the rest of the sections. He too seemed a little sad to find there was no headstone on the plot.

A Krantzel Cliff-Hanger: Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about researching into one of my great-great grandmother's line; the Krantzels.

My great-great-grandmother, Sabina Krantzel-Prince, was the daughter of Heinrich Daniel Krantzel (sometimes known as H.D. Krantzel or Daniel Krantzel) who served in the Civil War with the 8th NY Infantry. 

According to the New York Civil War Muster Rolls that I found on Ancestry.com, H.D. Krantzel enlisted on September 5, 1862 for a period of 3 years. This was after the June 8, 1862 Battle of Cross Keys, VA where nearly 1/3 of that regiment was slaughtered. 

So, no, he did not die in that battle that I mentioned in yesterday's post.

The Muster Roll also states, however, that he last appears on the rolls on April 11, 1863. Mch 27/91 see letter attached. I read that to mean "March 27, 1891 see letter attached" but there is no letter following the image on Ancestry.com.

This prompted me to order Daniel Krantzel's Civil War Pension File. On October 19, 1889, an application for his pension was filed by his widow; Elizabeth. On the first page of the file it states that he "Died at Cincinnati - Ohio. Apl. 8 1877." This sheet is marked "ABANDONED."

In June of 1890 a new act governing the distribution of pensions was passed. On July 8, 1890, Elizabeth resubmitted her application for her husband's pension. Once again, it is indicated that he died on Apr. 8 1877. This file too though is stamped "ABANDONED."

After sorting through the 30+ pages of the Civil War Pension File, I found a type written note from the War Department dated June 1, 1894 which reads:

The military records furnish nothing additional to the report of May 2, 1890, in the case of Daniel Kreutzler, private, Company B, 8th New York Infantry.

No Medical record has been found. His name was dropped from the rolls by reason of his leaving the service without proper authority.

No amendment of his record can be made upon any evidence now before this Department.

The most curious thing in the pension file though, is a death certificate provided by Daniel's son Ernest Krantzel at a much later date in 1893. The certificate is from the City of New York for an unknown male who died on November 2, 1884. The corrected NY death certificate lists his date of burial at Lutheran Cemetery as Feb 12, 1891.

1891????  Huh?

And to make matters even stranger, I have an 1880 census record showing Daniel "Krancle" alive and well and living with Elizabeth and their children in the City of New York.

So what is all this business with his widow claiming Daniel died in Cincinnati, OH in 1877?

I am not sure but I get this terrible suspicion that Great-great-great Grandma Elizabeth Krantzel was trying to perpetrate a fraud against the Federal Government; attempting to claim a pension for a soldier who abandoned his unit.

It may be that Elizabeth believed Daniel finished his service honorable but she most certainly knew he did not die in Ohio in 1877. Unless, of course, she was suffering some sort of dementia or someone forced her into this fraudulent claim.

If Daniel is the unknown male who died on the streets on NYC in November of 1884, I wish I could find something more about those circumstances or some meer mention of the incident in a newspaper. The cause of death is listed as a cerebral hemorrhage in front of 186 Front St. in Manhattan.

This all may remain a mystery to me forever but it is one I continue to chip away at as more and more records become available.

A Krantzel Cliff-Hanger

I guess it was about 4 years ago when I decided to make it my goal to fill in the names of all 32 of my great-great-great grandparents. Having started my genealogy research over 20 years ago, I had most of those individuals on the tree and well researched for some time. But there were just some branches dangling out there. Branches that needed just a little more attention.

One of the last limbs on the tree for me to really pour some research time into was that of my most maternal line. Women are generally more difficult to research because they almost always give up their maiden names when they marry. You'll notice that I always hyphenate the names of the married women I write about on this blog; but they did not hyphenate their names. I just do it to keep them attached to their maiden names.

My great-great grandmother was Sabina Krantzel-Prince. I knew this from having spoken to my Great-Aunt Anne before her passing. Anne was the daughter of Mary Prince-Fay; Mary was the daughter of Sabina Krantzel-Prince; but Sabina's parents eluded me. In fact that is the one word I would use to describe my Krantzels in general; elusive.

I'd search the U.S. census using Ancestry.com with little success. I'd used the big search engines to do broad-sweeping, Hail Mary searches of the internet for any morsel of information I could find on them; and there wasn't much.

Ultimately, it was Ancestry.com, though, that lead me to a researching cousin on that line. He shared with me a collection of documentation he had gained about the Krantzels or Kranzels or Krantzleins as the case may be. Spelling is a very modern day convention.

This researching cousin found me was because I saved a record from Ancestry.com to my Ancestry.com tree. It was a record that I only thought could possibly be Sabina's father. It turned out to most definitely be my 3rd great-grandfather, Heinrich Daniel Krantzel or Daniel Heinrich Krantzel.

The record was from the New York Civil War Muster Rolls which listed H.D. Krantzel as a member of the 8th NY Infantry, company B. The record contained an unusual note. It read as follows:

Born Worms Germany; occupation painter; eyes blue; hair dark comp. fair; height 5 ft. 5 in.

It was this record and this cousin's confirmation of the connection that lead me to request the Civil War Pension record of H.D. Krantzel. His file only made me curiouser and curiouser. Before I dive into the questions there, I researched the 8th NY Infantry a bit.

I came across a website about the Battle of Cross Keys, VA. There I learned that shortly after noon on June 8, 1862 the 548-man-strong 8th New York Infantry suffered more than 250 casualties in the short span of about 15 minutes. 

Was that the fate of Daniel Krantzel? When next I write I will share with you what I learned from Daniel's pension file.

Oooo, a cliff-hanger...

Crossing New York City Streets in the 1920s

I came across a funny little video on YouTube.com called Driving Around New York City - 1928. I love the music, the humor, the reality of the scene.

Sadly, though, it was an automobile that took the life of my great-great grandmother, Sabina Krantzel-Prinz in 1926 on the streets of Manhattan; specifically the intersection of 76th Street and First Avenue on April 24, 1926 at 6:45 a.m.

I learned this detail through obtaining Sabina's death certificate from the New York City Municipal Archives.

What could a 65 year old woman be doing walking across 1st Avenue that early in the morning? Was she on her way to church, perhaps? I never think of my mother's side as especially religious. Could she have been off to work?? I know my great grandfather, James Fay, this woman's son-in-law, owned a laundromat or dry-clearner's store in that general area of Manhattan but who knows.

Can you imagine trying to cross a street like this at a time when they had few if any traffic controls??