Victor Henry's New Headstone

I am pleased to announce that the headstone of my 3rd great grandfather, Victor Henry, has been replaced. It was set on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at St. John Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens, New York on the 125th anniversary of Victor's death. It was a long expensive process that began on Saturday, April 24, 2021 and ended with a bill for $6,100.50 between cemetery fees and the cost of the stone, much of which was contributed by family members. I think it is worth every cent to see them all clearly marked.

Third Great Grandpa, John Joyce, Dayton National Cemetery

THWACK.

On Saturday, June 12, 2021, I went to the Dayton National Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio with my cousins Peter and Ashlee. The three of us were on a one-way road trip from New York to New Orleans and I insisted we stop to see the burial location of my third great grandfather, John A. Joyce, bringing me one location closer to reaching my 2021 goal of seeing the graves of each of my great grandparents, great-great grandparents, and great-great-great grandparents.

It blew my mind when I discovered that John Joyce was buried in a National Cemetery in, of all places, Dayton, Ohio. My people are New Yorkers, they didn't live in Ohio. And really John didn't live there either, not really. John was born somewhere in Ireland. Don't know where but all the records I find for him, he is residing in New York, New York. Yeah, right over there in Manhattan. So I did not expect to find him buried in Ohio. For years I poked at New York City death records thinking he just had to be in there. He wasn't.

He purchased a great big plot in Calvary Cemetery in Queens, NY when he had to bury his son, also named John, in February of 1896. The elder John though, was not in that plot; no matter how much money I paid Calvary. Nope. He is in Ohio.

I have written about the discovery of his death location before but in brief I received an Ancestry.com hint for military records for John. I thought, "No that can't be him." But there on the military hospital records was an address for his wife, Mary Ann Joyce. Now John and Mary Joyce are pretty common names but to have an address confirmed that this was indeed my John. The address matched that of their residence in the 1910 census.

I had no idea he was in the military but apparently he was. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Mexican-American war as a first class boy. He enlisted at about the age of 17 in Philadelphia, PA on January 24, 1846. He was discharged on August 6, 1847 in Norfolk, VA. He served on the U.S.S. Potomac. Now I have to look for records in Philly and Virginia.

John was shuffled from Soldiers' Home to Soldiers' Home; what we could call VA hospitals today. I count at least 11 hospital stays from September 29, 1892 until his death on September 30, 1910, when he died. He had all sorts of ailments and was in so many military hospital locations. His last stay was obviously at the Soldiers' Home in Dayton, Ohio. 

I'm puzzled why his body was not sent home to New York. They certainly had the space in the huge plot he owned. Why are you in Ohio, John? 

I also wonder if I am the first of his descendants to visit his grave. 

It's a large cemetery with a very active Veterans' Administration service still operating on the property.

I could see the image of John's headstone on FindAGrave.com but that just isn't the same as being there.

It took awhile to find the stone in section Q. Not every stone was numbered. 

I would not have minded wandering around the neatly ordered rows of nearly identical stones out in the warm clear day there in Ohio except for the thousands of giant cicadas swarming the cemetery. My God they were everywhere. Huge! One hit me in the head with a thud so loud both my cousins heard. THWACK. I bet people for miles around heard it. Another bugger chased Cousin Ashlee in a whirling rhythmic dance around the parking lot. Quite the seen.

They are not pretty little things at all. Check this sucker out:

I am that black figure in the distance getting the hell out of Dodge, or Dayton as it were.

But here is John's spot - - great great great grandpa, John A. Joyce (February 1829, Ireland - 30 September 1910, Dayton, Ohio).

I know very little about the Mexican-American War and thus I have ordered John's his pension file from the National Archives to learn more about his service but have yet to receive any documentation. I'm hoping the file might reveal where in Ireland he was born and when he immigrated to the U.S. We'll see. I'll keep you posted!

Ethel's Citizenship

There was a period in U.S. history that if a natural born U.S. woman married a foreign man, she lost her U.S. citizenship. 

It's true!

Starting on March 2, 1907, an American woman, by birth or naturalization, lost her citizenship when she married an alien. She thereby took on his nationality. She could regain her U.S. citizenship if and when her husband naturalized. His naturalization required a total of 5 years residency in the U.S. including 1 year of residency in the state of application and 2 years between his declaration of intent to naturalize and the submission of his naturalization petition.

On September 22, 1922 the Cable Act was passed. This Act made it so that women could no longer be naturalized through derivative citizenship; meaning that she herself had to apply for her own citizenship. She didn't just get it automatically when her alien husband naturalized. 

It also made it so women no longer lost their U.S. citizenship just because she married an alien. However, the women who had previously lost their citizenship due to marrying an alien were only made eligible to naturalized. They didn't just get it back. They had to go through the process of applying for citizenship.

On June 25, 1936, it changed again so that women who were native born U.S. citizens that lost their citizenship due to marriage an foreign man prior to September 22, 1922 could be considered a citizen again if she took the oath of allegiance AND her marriage was terminated by either death or divorce of her spouse. So in other words, she could be come a citizen on her own as long as that guy wasn't her husband anymore.

It wasn't until July 2, 1940 that those women who lost their citizenship through marriage between 1907 and 1922 could be considered a citizen again. She still had to take the oath of allegiance, but it didn't matter if her husband was dead or alive anymore, she could do it on her own. The one caveat being that she had to resided in U.S. for the duration of the marriage.

So that brings me to my great grandmother, Ethel Mae Losee-Earle. Ethel was born on St. Valentine's Day, 1896 in Freeport, Long Island, New York, where 8 previous generations had all been born after her 7th great grandfather, Edward Raynor settled the area in the mid 1600s.

By all accounts, Ethel never left Long Island. Maybe she ventured into Manhattan or up to New England for some excursion but she never traveled abroad. 

On June 5, 1915, she married Abram Thomas Earle in Freeport. Abram was born in Twillingate, Newfoundland which at the time of his birth was a British colony. Newfoundland only became a province of Canada on March 31, 1949. So when Ethel married Abe, she too became a British citizen. She had never been there. Never planned to even visit. Yet, she was no longer an American.

Now maybe in 1915 that didn't seem like a big deal but I wonder how she felt in 1920 when American women were finally able to vote and she couldn't.

Until very recently I had no reason to believe Abe had ever naturalized. I believed wholeheartedly that he had died a British citizen. Although, I don't know what becomes of your citizenship status when your place of birth changes its status like Newfoundland did by joining Canada in 1949. When Abe died in 1973 would he have been considered British or Canadian?

Ugh, well I don't have to answer that because, lookie here:

Abe naturalized on January 10, 1925, before my grandfather Ed was born in August of that year.

And guess what - - So did Ethel.

I was so happy to see her Certificate of Naturalization. I find the whole business of one loosing her citizenship so shameful. As if marrying someone outside of your national origin is a sign of disloyalty to your nation.

Love is love, people.

Last Stop: St. Monica's Cemetery, Jamaica, Queens - The Hinches

This is the last cemetery Cousin Peter and I visited on our cemetery marathon on Saturday April 23, 2021. St. Monica's Cemetery is located on the southwest corner of Liberty Avenue and 160th Street in Jamaica, Queens, New York.

The cemetery was once the burial yard for a Catholic parish of the same name. The church was built in the mid-1850s but was deconsecrated in 1973. It had been damaged by a series of fires. All that remains today is the facade and steeple which were incorporated into the construction of a child care center for York College in about 2005; just about the time that I got a job at nearby St. John's University. 

The church had once been the parish of Mario Cuomo who was the Governor of New York State from 1983 to 1994. He and I are both graduates of St. John's University. (Go Red Storm!) It was also once the parish of my Hinch ancestors who lived in Jamaica; ancestors Peter and I share.

Annette "Anne" Hinch-Henry is our great-great grandmother. Annette was born in Barnamelia, County Wicklow, Ireland on February 22,1868. I often reflect on her life in my blog. It was tough. Her mother died in Ireland, her paternal uncle brought the family over to America. Her husband, Victor Henry, committed a murder-suicide in 1908. He murdered Annette's cousin. Annette had three small children to raise on her own after she had already buried three infants. She took in foundlings, or orphans as we would call them. One of them died of appendicitis while in her care. Then she wound up burying two of her adult children; her youngest son Victor Henry drown in a boating accident at the age of 38 and her older son, my great grandfather Charles Henry, died of cancer at 54.

Her father, my 3rd great grandfather, James Hinch was born in about 1816 in Ireland. James died January 29, 1886 in Jamaica, Queens, NY. He is buried in St. Monica's Cemetery. As are Annette's three infant children: Mary "Annie" Henry (8 December 1897 - 6 April 1899), James Henry (24 June 1904 - 16 July 1905), and Robert Henry (7 February 1906 - 10 February 1906).

I also know that her uncle, Charles Hinch, is buried there as well. Charles was slightly younger than James and I get the sense Charles was a bit better financially. Charles died on January 24, 1895. It was his daughter who Victor Henry murdered; Mary Ann Hinch-Cassidy. She is buried in St. Monica's cemetery too.

I don't know what other Hinch relatives might be in that graveyard because I have not been able to track down who has St. Monica's records. I know these burials because their New York City death certificates state the cemetery.

We also could not get into the cemetery which was locked. We could only peer through the chain-link fence at the spot I know is marked for them. They are that cluster of stones framed by the fence.

The stones are no longer legible but I know it is the spot based on content listed on FindAGrave.com. FindAGrave lists 458 photographed headstones in this cemetery. That is about 84% of the stone in the cemetery, not to mention all the unmarked burials there may be. So its a tiny cemetery. Not the tiniest I've been to but still small. In the whole church yard, the Hinches' stones are the only ones that butt up against each other.

FindAGrave only shows the headstone for Charles Hinch. But from family I have heard that my 3rd great grandfather James is buried right next to his brother. 

On my call to the Catholic Cemeteries of Brooklyn, I was told they do not maintain that cemetery. Someone does. I think it's them but I have  also contacted York College to see if I they are able to let me into the cemetery but I have received no reply.

Fifth Stop: Evergreens Cemetery, Brooklyn - The Prinzes

Cemetery of the Evergreens, more commonly referred to as Evergreens Cemetery, is a beautiful cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. It is the resting place of my great-great-great grandparents, Johan Prinz (14 May 1826 - 22 May 1888, New York) and Franciscka "Frances" Pruess-Prinz (17 November 1830 - 29 November 1902); and it is stop number 5 on my marathon through cemeteries with Cousin Peter. 

The Prinzes are interred in the section called North Mead in grave # 4534. Almost every cemetery is laid out differently. They might call certain areas plots or lots or sections. You might get a combination of numbers and letters designating rows and graves. In Evergreens the sections are huge and the North Mead section has thousands of burials with simple grave numbers; for example # 4534. We had no idea what row that was in. Typically rows line up left to right, like we read. In this case though, numbering ran in aisles from the front of the section to the back. When the line hit the back of the section, numbering picked up in the next aisle at the front. I've never seen it quite like that. I wish we figure that out before we found my people. We wandered through this cemetery for a long time.

See these numbered stones in the retaining wall at the front of the section? They indicate the grave # at the front of that aisle. So strange to me.

In any case, that puts my people in the Bullwinkle aisle. There's a name that's hard to forget.

Peter and I hadn't figure that out though when we started looking. We wandered back and forth looking for any grave numbers etched into headstones. There were so few. 

But I found it!! 

It is so worn that it is practically impossible to make out the surname but it is there. Can you see it? P R I N Z

The Z is pretty clear.

Here it is from another angle.

What really should have given it away was this nearby footstone.

I am not sure that Grandpa sign is for my 3rd great grandpa, Johan Prinz, but it is very close by so maybe it's his. Nonetheless, I found them! I know the name engraved on the stone says Jan and not Johan but this spot makes sense to be grave # 4534. I'm sure it's them.

The stone includes some sort of lettering in a foreign language. It is too worn for me to identify. However, I know this couple was born in what is now the Czech Republic. I wish I knew what it said. But we have no time - on to the next. Last stop: St. Monica's Cemetery in Jamaica, Queens.

Fourth Stop: Most Holy Trinity Cemetery, Brooklyn - Some Sauers

After three and half hours of cemetery visits through 3 other cemeteries, on Saturday, April 24, 2021, Cousin Peter and I stopped for a leisurely lunch. It was really only the waiter who seemed to want it to be leisurely lunch though. Pete and I really didn't have much more time to get to the 3 other cemeteries on my list. One of the cemeteries left on the list closes at 4 p.m. and it was already 3:20 when we finished lunch. We thus entered the sprint phase of our journey that day. Next stop: Most Holy Trinity Cemetery.

Our destination was that of our great-great-great grandparents, George Sauer (11 June 1827 - 22 August 1891) and Anna Maria Schmitt-Sauer (6 August 1835 - 6 February1899).

This cemetery is unique in that all the markers are made of metal. Yes, metal. I have never seen anything like it before and couldn't resist knocking on a few just to confirm that, yes, they are mostly boxes constructed from some thin metal; tin, steel, zinc, perhaps. Even the large crosses were wood wrapped in metal.

Newer markers look perfectly square and uniform in color but most are in some state of rusting. George and Anna Maria are interred in Lott 66, Row 8, Grave 7 &/or 8. They themselves do not have a marker but their daughter, Barbara, married into the Neorgra family and they have a marker on the lot.

 

The Neogra family plot was purchased for the burial of George Sauer in 1891; Charles Neogra's father-in-law. His burial was followed by that of his wife Anna Maria in 1899. Then there are the following individuals:

• Ethel Redmann, (20 December 1905 - 11 January 1906)
• Infant daughter of Elizabeth Neogra-Redman who was just 23 days old when she died

• Cecilia Sauer, (14 July 1906 - 9 August 1907)
• Daughter of William Sauer and Agnes Gray-Sauer, my great-great grandparents who are buried in St. John Cemetery and who we visited earlier this day.

• James Leonard (25 December 1911 - 5 January 1912)
• Infant son of Josephine Neogra-Leonard and Michael Leonard. Grandson of Barbara Sauer-Neorgra and Charles Neogra.

• Barbara Sauer-Neogra (17 September 1861 - 11 January 1915)
• Daughter of William Sauer and Agnes Gray-Sauer

• William Neogra (29 October 1925 - 14 August 1926)
• Son of William Neogra and Mary Geopfert-Neogra. Grandson of Barbara Sauer-Neorgra and Charles Neogra.

• Charles Neogra (30 May 1857 - 20 May 1939)
• Husband of Barbara Sauer-Neogra. Son-in-law of William Sauer and Agnes Gray-Sauer.

We did not have much time to linger at this cemetery. It was actually our shortest cemetery visit, clocking in at just 11 minutes. I wish I had taken some more photos of the markers in various states of decay. I'm especially sad I didn't take a photo of the one that looked like a tree or something crashed into it. It was mangled like it had been in a car wreck. Sad. But, the next cemetery we had to get to was Evergreens, right next door, and it closes at 4 p.m. It was already after 3:30. So hurry, hurry, hurry.

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.