Week 7: The Losees, The Henrys, & The Earles, Oh My.

After a recent post, my cousin Tom asked how my great grandmother Ethel Mae Losee-Earle (February 14, 1896 - May 27, 1960) was connected to his grandpa. I frequently reference this photo when explain the connection between the Losee and the Earle families and the event that spurred my love of genealogy.

This is a photo from my grandma's brother Richie's wedding on April 12, 1953. It actually sits in my office. It shows Richie and his wife Jeannette surrounded by all of Richie's five siblings, their spouses, and his mother Anna Marie Sauer-Henry.

From Left to Right (seated): Regina Dorothy "Jean" Henry-Drew, Anna Marie "Anne" Henry-Cramer, Anna Marie Sauer-Henry, Clare Agnes Henry-Earle, Josephine Dolores Doerflinger-Henry. Standing: James Aloysius "Jimmy" Drew, William Charles "Bill" Cramer, Robert Victor "Bobby" Henry, Richard Joseph "Richie" Henry, Jeannette Alice Losee-Henry, Edwin Maynard "Ed" Earle, Charles Aloysius "Charlie" Henry, Jr. 

Uncle Bobby was not yet married to my beautiful great aunt Margaret at this point. Although 6 years older than Richie, Bobby didn't marry until 3 years later in 1956.

How I Got Started in Genealogy Research 

When I was very young, my paternal grandparents, Clare Agnes Henry-Earle and Edwin Maynard Earle, took me to a family reunion for my grandpa Earle’s mother’s side, the Losees. The Losee family has deep roots on Long Island going back to the 1630s. While at the reunion my grandmother’s baby brother, Richie, showed up with his family. I was puzzled. He wasn’t a Losee. He was a Henry. 

My grandmother explained that her brother married my grandfather’s cousin, Jeannette Losee. That only raised more questions. Who had introduced who? I assumed someone had to have made introductions of either my grandparents to each other or Richie to Jeannette. My grandmother laughed and said that, actually, it wasn’t until Richard and Jeannette’s engagement party that my grandpa realized Jeannette was his cousin. “What?” He asked Jeannette her last name. When she answered “Losee,” he was stunned. That was his mother’s maiden name. 

I was stunned. Richard had unknowingly married his brother-in-law’s second cousin. But at the time of the reunion, no one could explain exactly how the two were connected. So I ended up having to draw a family tree just to visualize it. And I have not stopped since.

Left to Right (seated): Anna Marie Sauer-Henry, Clare Agnes Henry-Earle. (Standing): Richard Joseph "Richie" Henry, Jeannette Alice Losee-Henry, Edwin Maynard Earle. 

Above, Anna is the mother of Clare and Richie. Richie's wife Jeannette is second cousins to Ed. Second cousins means that they have the same great grandparents, that their parents (Standford Losee and Ethel Losee-Earle) were first cousins. Stan's father, Oliver Losee was the older brother of Ethel's father John Losee Jr.

I am hoping the little diagram below can help my cousins to see how the Losees connect to the Henrys and the Earles. I have made my best effort to anonymize the living.

Now to make matters more complex John Losee Jr. and Oliver Losee married two Smith sisters, Flora Smith-Losee and Melinda Smith-Losee, respectively. But I won't add to the chaos today.

52 Ancestors Challenge Week 2: Favorite Photo: Charles Henry circa 1899.

I did the Ancestors Challenge before, back in 2022. At that time I wrote about this favorite photo. To me "favorite" means that absolute top. You only have one favorite. Right? Maybe not. I do have many many photos I love. My office bookshelves are dominated by pictures, rather than books. So to pick another "favorite" photo is challenging for me.

I am not sure if I have shared this photo in my blog before but I cherish it:

That is my great grandfather, Charles Henry (26 March 1896 - 14 June 1949). He was born on March 26, 1896 in Woodhaven, Queens County, New York to Victor Henry and Annette Hinch-Henry. 

The physical photo was given to me by my grandmother's sister, my Great Aunt Ann Henry-Cramer. I am not sure when exactly but Aunt Ann has since past. 

I was so excited to receive such a precious heirloom. Charles looks as though he's only 2, maybe 3, perhaps 4 at most. It is not a dated image so I can only assume it was taken circa 1899, around the turn of the century.

So excited, I immediately share the image via FaceBook so that family members could see it. My father's cousin, Cousin Timmy took it upon himself to lovely restore it digitally. I shared his rendition above. The image below shows the physical photo I received on the left. Look at the beautiful work Tim did.

Amazing. Right?

I never knew Charles, which is not uncommon. Most people don't know a great grandparent. Sadly, though, my father didn't get to know this grandfather of his. Charles died 6 months before my dad was born. He died from a rare form of stomach cancer on June 14, 1949.

My grandmother was convinced he developed that cancer as a result of the work he did for a paint manufacturer. I mean they were still making paint with lead back in those days.

But in this image, he's just a baby with a whole life ahead of him, no thought of marrying and having children, no less grandchildren or great grandchildren. This was also years before the scandal of his father's murder/suicide. His father, Victor Henry, committed a murder/suicide on June 23, 1908. I write about that extensively.

But Charles, that little boy there has no idea of all the life ahead of him, all the changes and challenges he will face. It's just so innocent. I love it. I hate that giant floofy bow under his chin. I would have torn that thing off instantly. How irritating. But I love it.

52 Ancestors Challenge Week 13: "Sisters" - Jean, Ann, and Clare Henry

My family is female-rich. I have 2 sisters. My father has 2 sisters. My mother has 3 sisters. Grandma Gardner had 3 sisters. Grandma Earle had 2 sisters. Grandpa Gardner had 1 sister. Grandpa Earle only had 1 brother, though, no sisters for him. Plus, I have 4 nieces, no nephews. If I expand my view outward, I also have 9 female first cousins, and only 3 male first cousins. I'm incredibly close to many of my 2nd cousins, many of which are, you guessed it, girls! So, lots of girls running around.

When my mind tries to recall images that depict "sisters" in my family history a few spring to mind but two in particular cry out.

First, this image comes from a newspaper article about my great grandparents, Charles Henry (March 26, 1896 - June 14, 1949) and Anna Sauer-Henry-Stoothoff (July 19, 1899 - May 8, 1986), and their commitment to healthy eating for their kids. (Get it, get it? They are all just kids there. Bwahahaha. Baby goats are called kids. Anyway...) 

It is an article I have reflected on in my blog in the past. "The Hunt for Health Food Started Goat Society," was published in The Eagle on July 30, year unknown. The Eagle must have been a local Long Island newspaper. I have never been able to find the full issue. I just love the image, though, of my grandmother, Clare and her sister Regina, more commonly referred to as Jean. Look at them wrangling in those baby goats. Grandma had to be about 6, Jean about 11. That would place the article in 1935, give or take.

The second image also comes from my shared Henry family photos. When I think about it, that really the only line I have images from. 

This is a photo of my grandmother's two sister, Jean again, the older taller sister on the right, and Ann on the left. 

Ann (age, 9) and Regina "Jean" (13)

This one clearly shows the year it was taken, 1937. Based on other photos obviously taken that same day, they were taken on June 26, 1937. Here are all 6 Henry siblings on the steps including Jean, Ann, my grandmother, and the 3 brothers: Charlie, Bobby, and Richard. The date is in the lower right corner.

These two photos show the other children. The one on the right was taken on that day. The one on the left of Charlie and Bobby looks to be from a different day. They have on different suits, and Charlie looks younger than 15 years old, as he is in the group photo.

Charlie and Bobby

Richie (5) and Clare (8)

All except my grandmother are now deceased.

My grandmother and Aunt Ann were closer in age but all 3 sisters were by all measures close. As married woman, grandma and Aunt Jean lived across the street from one another. All three sisters sent their combine 17 children to the same local Catholic school. There is a funny story about when my grandmother's mother, Anna Marie Sauer-Henry-Stoothoff, married her second husband, Frank Stoothoff (February 21, 1903 - September 17, 1993). They wed in October of 1963 It was long after Ann (the elder) had been widowed and became a grandmother. Her first husband, Charles Henry, died in June of 1949. By 1963 Ann had 35 grandchildren, 10-13 of whom attended Cure of Ars Roman Catholic School at the time. All 3 of Ann's daughters (Clare Earle, Jean Drew, and Ann Cramer) sent letters into school to account for their children's absences. It is not common for someone to take off to go to their grandma's wedding. It is certainly not common for so many kids to take off from the same school on the same day to go to their grandmother's wedding. That got the teacher-sisters (all nuns) talking and that is when they put together that all the Earles, Drews, and Cramers were cousins.

 

My Most Recently Departed at Calverton National Cemetery

In pursuit of visiting the burial location of my known direct ancestors it dawned on me that I had not visited a few of my more recently very dear departed family; all of which are buried at Calverton National Cemetery which is located in eastern Suffolk County on Long Island, NY. Until very recently it was the largest National Cemetery in the United States.

Other than my most recent visit on March 3, 2021, I have only been to Calverton on two other occasions; one time for the funeral of my Great Uncle Bobby and the other for the funeral of my Great Uncle Bill.

Like many National Cemeteries the funeral services are not done graveside. The services are held in a little covered pavilion area. So I had never been to Bobby's or Bill's gravesites, just to the service pavilion on the day of their respective funerals. In April 2020, both of their wives succumbed to COVID-19 while living in different nursing home facilities on Long Island. The extended family was unable to have any funeral services for Aunt Ann or Aunt Margaret. Along with these two sets of great-aunts & great-uncles, I have also really wanted to visit the grave of my father's Cousin Brian who lost his battle to lung cancer in December 2018. I had souls to see in Calverton.

Calverton is unusual in that they permit brief epitaphs on their headstones. Most National Cemeteries don't offer this option; or at least they haven't in the past as my Grandma Gardner doesn't have one not do the ones around her.

So this past Wednesday, March 3 was a beautiful day. I had the afternoon off and my Godmother, Aunt Jo, was able to make the trip out to Calverton with me. Calverton is a little over an hour away from me so it a trip but we trekked out there to locate the graves of these five beloved family members:

1. My Great Uncle Robert "Bobby" Henry, my grandma's older brother, who passed on 30 April 2011 at the age of 85. He was such a quiet soul; always so happy to see me. When prompted he would share great family stories rich in detail that helped my research so much. His epitaph reads: "Strong and Kind Loved by All"

2. My Great Uncle William "Bill" Cramer, my grandma's brother-in-law, who passed on 1 October 2012 at the age of 90. he had a wonderful sense of humor and will be forever remembered in my mind as a hard working Fuller Brush salesman. I think he worked until he was nearly 80. His epitaph made me laugh out loud in the cemetery. It reads: " Friendship Ceases in a Card Game"

3. The youngest of my father's first cousin and dad's godson, Brian Henry, who passed on 22 December 2018 at just 51 years-old. Like his dad, Uncle Bobby, Brian was such a quiet soul. I loved him so much. I loved them all but I really adored any time I spent with Brian. Our visits were few and far between but they always felt as though no time had passed at all. His epitaph reads: "Our Beloved Son and Brother. Rest in Peace."

4. My Great Aunt Anna Henry-Cramer, my grandma's sister, who passes on 6 April 2020 at the age of 92. An antique dealer for some time, she bequeathed to me my most prized family heirloom; a photo of my great grandfather, Charles Aloysius Henry, taken when he was about 2 or 3. Her epitaph reads: "Loving Wife Mother Grandma and Holy Roller"

and 5. My Great Aunt Margaret Joyce-Henry, my grandma's sister-in-law, who passed on 14 April 2020 at the age of 91. My Aunt Margaret had the gift of gab. While attending Nassau Community College in the early 1990s, I'd occasionally visit her and Uncle Bobby when I passed their street on my way home from school. She's chat and chat and chat while Uncle Bobby would quietly prepare to have me stay for dinner. Such a sweet woman. She was born in Montreal but grew up in Scotland. I can still hear the lilt of her voice. Her epitaph read: "Beloved Wife Mother Devoted To Faith Family"

When I say I had souls to see at Calverton, I know they are not there. I know they are undeniably with me and their other loved ones in ways we do not comprehend. The effort to make the trip and see their final resting places though, makes one cognizant of their physical absence and ever present meaning they hold in our lives.

Only at Weddings and Funerals

I am taking a pause from posting genealogy lessons. The last few days have been especially rough as associates and family members are reporting more and more cases of Covid-19.

A colleague at work lost her husband to coronavirus and on Monday, April 6, 2020, my great aunt, Anna Marie Henry-Cramer succumbed to it at the age of 92. Her passing is especially painful in that the family cannot gather. Her children, most of which live outside of NY, are cousins we rarely get to see.You know that terrible fact that some relatives only get to see each other at weddings and funerals; well, not this time.

REALLY Related to Aunt Jeannette

It is with heavy heart and teary eyes that I share with you the news that my great aunt, Jeannette, passed away on Friday, June 3, 2016 at the age of 83.

My Aunt Jeannette is the reason I got started in genealogy research. Not that she was into family history, she really wasn't. It was her connection to me piqued my interest. Aunt Jeannette was both my great aunt AND my second cousin twice removed.

Oh you know when that removed word get thrown out there that things are complicated. Stay with me...

When I was about 16 I went to a family reunion for my paternal grandfather's mother's side of the family; the Losee Family. My father's side has always been very close. I know most of my father's first cousins (who would be my first cousins once removed because we are one generation apart thus, once removed. Follow?). My father grew up across the street from his mother's sister and her 8 children. He attended grade school with them as well as with other cousins from his mother's side; the Cramers. The Henry sisters, Clare Henry-Earle (my grandma), Great Aunt Jean Henry-Drew, and Aunt Ann Henry-Cramer, were tight.

But if you asked my Grandpa Earle about his family, he would've told you he didn't have any. None. His parents were both dead and his older brother, Allen, died of a heart attack at age 40 and left no children. We were it. His wife, five kids, and 10 grandchildren were Poppy Earle's whole family.

So here we are at the Losee Family Reunion and in walks Grandma Earle's brother Uncle Richie and his wife, Aunt Jeannette. I didn't think it odd at first to see grandma's side of the family at grandpa's family reunion. Earles are pretty infamous for extending the family to friends and distant relations. Every census record I find for this branch of the family has someone else living with them; a cousin, a friend, an in-law, a boarder, what have you.

So in walk Uncle Richie and Aunt Jeannette. At some point I utter something to my grandmother like, "It's nice that your side of the family made it to this."

"Oh no," grandma said. "Aunt Jeannette is grandpa's cousin."

"WHAT!!?!?! I thought she is married to your brother. And hey, grandpa doesn't have any family!" Yet, here we are with close to 100 people gathered around from Poppy's side and yet, he has no family? Confusion and the recognition of misinformation starts to set in. "WAIT, Poppy sure as heck has family. Who are these people? And how is Aunt Jeannette his cousin?"

Grandma tried her best to explain. "Jeannette is his second cousin." At this point I had no idea what the hell a second cousin was. I just had cousins, period.

After a few minutes of coming to terms with the fact that I didn't know what the heck was going on around me, I made the assumption that Grandpa must have introduced his brother-in-law, Richie, to Jeannette.

"Oh no," grandma said, "They didn't figure out that they were related until after Richie and Jeanette were engaged." This was getting more and more confusing by the minute. Grandpa didn't know Jeannette was his cousin. It was then that I had then decided I needed to figure out for myself how Aunt Jeannette was related to my grandpa.

I also learned at this reunion that the Losee Family had long standing roots in Freeport, NY, and so this gathering was followed by a trip to the Freeport Memorial Library with grandma. This was a time before the Internet existed and so the library was the only "go-to." 

Freeport Memorial Library is a public library that was built as a memorial to the 13 men from Freeport, Long Island, NY who died in the Civil War. The original library building is still part of the current, greatly expanded FML. The Memorial Room, as the original library has come to be known is a small yet impressive room covered in plaques commemorating the individuals who have served the community through military and public service. 

Standing beneath one particular plaque, my tiny little grandma pointed upward saying, "Would you look at that!" Among those 13 Civil War soldiers names was a Benjamin F. Losee. And from that point on it has all been one long mission to unpuzzle my family's history. 

Thanks, Aunt Jeannette. 
Although, I did not get to see her much, I already miss her.

By the way, I did ultimately figure out how Jeannette and my grandpa were related. And they were actually double second cousins. :) They had more than one set of great-grandparents in common. Two Losee brothers married two Smith sisters. Grandpa was the grandson of John Losee and Flora Smith-Losee. Jeannette was the granddaughter of Oliver Combs Losee and Melinda Smith-Losee. Their great grandparents were [John Losee (Sr.) and Susan Amelia Combs-Losee] AND [Gersham Smith and Sarah Garvey-Smith].

Plus, she married my grandma's brother.

We were REALLY related, Aunt Jeannette, REALLY related.

A Sad Way to Start Family History Month, Again

Two years ago on October 1, we lost my great uncle, William Cramer, Sr. This past Wednesday, October 1, we lost my Uncle (who was great), Walter E. Seidel Jr.

At the age of 64, Walter succumbed to brain cancer after a year long, arduous battle. He was a good uncle, a good father, a good husband, a good friend, a good man. He was the devoted husband of my father's sister, Jane. He raised two very strong women, my cousins; Joan Campbell and Therese Reese. He will remain deeply loved by his grandchildren.

He had served our country in the Army during Vietnam. He worked hard and rose through the ranks of his carpenters' union. But more than any other accomplishment, my uncle was a level-headed, wise and learned adviser to many. He was a supportive relative and friend who sincerely had your best interest at heart. I will miss him as will the entire extended family. We will miss him dearly.

SEIDEL - Walter E. Jr. on October 1, 2014. Walter served in the US Army and was a Vietnam Veteran. Devoted husband of Jane. Beloved father of Joan Campbell (Robert), and Therese Reese (Patrick). Loving brother of Barbara Seidel, Jerry, Daniel, Matthew, Stephen, and Maria Ashmore. Cherished grandfather of 4. Reposing Wednesday 2-4 & 7-9:30pm at C.S.Bartholomew & Son Funeral Home, 302 S. Bedford Ave, Bellmore, NY. www.csbartholomewandson.com. Funeral Mass Thursday 10AM at Cure of Ars R C Church, Merrick, NY. Private Cremation. In lieu of flowers, donations in Walter's name to

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

would be appreciated. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsday/obituary.aspx?n=walter-seidel&pid=172681341&fhid=27296#sthash.PQd1DerN.dpuf

SEIDEL - Walter E. Jr. on October 1, 2014. Walter served in the US Army and was a Vietnam Veteran. Devoted husband of Jane. Beloved father of Joan Campbell (Robert), and Therese Reese (Patrick). Loving brother of Barbara Seidel, Jerry, Daniel, Matthew, Stephen, and Maria Ashmore. Cherished grandfather of 4. Reposing Wednesday 2-4 & 7-9:30pm at C.S.Bartholomew & Son Funeral Home, 302 S. Bedford Ave, Bellmore, NY. www.csbartholomewandson.com. Funeral Mass Thursday 10AM at Cure of Ars R C Church, Merrick, NY. Private Cremation. In lieu of flowers, donations in Walter's name to

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

would be appreciated. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsday/obituary.aspx?n=walter-seidel&pid=172681341&fhid=27296#sthash.PQd1DerN.dpuf

Memorial Cards

I swore to myself that I would write for every day of October; Family History Month. Although I have already broken my promise to myself, on the days I have not written, I have spent them with family.

As I posted days ago, my great-uncle, Bill Cramer, Sr., passed away on October 1 at the age of 90. Thursday was the wakes and Friday, yesterday, was the funeral. As services go, these were very nice in that I got to see lots of relatives and meet some cousins I had never met before. Three of Bill's children live out of state and so it is a rare occasion that they come back to NY where they grew up. When they do visit, they just don't have the time it takes to see all of our extended family and so there are some Bill's grandchildren, my 2nd cousins, whom I had never met before.

After the funeral and post-funeral lunch yesterday, I came home to place my prayer card in my bible. You know what prayer cards are. Some people call them memorial cards, holy cards, funeral cards, mass cards, and even saint cards. They are the small, credit card sized, often laminated, cards that are available at wakes. On one side there is an image and on the reverse is a short prayer along with the deceased's name and dates of birth and death.

Typically genealogical resources contain the names of two or more people. After all, genealogy research is really about documenting relationships. A piece of paper that only manes one person does not really present a relationship. However, these memorial cards make for a fascinating addition to a genealogists collection. These little cards express something of the individuals character, the family's beliefs, and of course the life span dates of the individual.

At Uncle Bill's wake they funeral parlor offered many, many, many different images on the reserve of the same text. I chose two to bring home; one to place in my bible and the other to give to a friend who's parents were customers of Uncle Bill's Fuller Brush business for many many years.

I chose to keep the one of the Holy Family; a depiction of Mary to the left, Joseph to the right and a small Christ child in the center framed by flowers at the base. When I opened my bible, I looked for the memorial card I had for Bill's son Richard who passed away 18 years ago. To my surprise, I chose a very similar depiction of the Holy Family when I selected Richard's card from the ones available at his memorial service back in 1994.

A sad way to start family history month...

Yesterday afternoon I learned that my great uncle, William Cramer, Sr., passed away in his sleep at the age of 90; He was the brother-in-law of my paternal grandmother. All-in-all, it's not a bad way to go. He lived a good long life with a loving wife by his side, successful children and grandchildren who adored him, and a large loving extended family. He worked hard all his life, loved his job, worked for himself as a door-to-door salesman well into his 80's. I will remember him always for his warm smile and quick wit.