52 Ancestors Challenge Week 12: "Joined Together" - Meeting Cousins

I suppose this week's theme of "Joined Together" is supposed to cause me to reflect on marriages in my family history but the cynic in me only makes me think of the many divorces I see in my family history. In effort to be uplifting in my posts, I'd rather write about something that makes me happy; meeting cousins.

I have many known cousins to begin. I am one of 9 first cousins on my mother's side and one of 10 first cousins on my dad's side; subtracting siblings from the mix, I have 12 first cousins in all. However, I have acquired so many distant cousins since doing online genealogy research and especially since doing an AncestryDNA test back in November of 2013. Some of them I communicate with for only a brief time, exchanging information to enhance our respective family trees. Others I have communicated with sporadically for years and years.

There are so many that I can't possibly list them all. I'll highlight a couple of them though. These are ones I have acquired strictly through genealogy research...

The One Who Has Been Around the Longest: Cousin Mary

Cousin Mary is my father's 6th cousins and thus my 6th cousin once removed. We have my 6th great grandparents in common; the elusive Jacob Raynor (unknown - March 1829) & Rebecca Raynor-Raynor (June 10, 1769 - February 14, 1855). That's right. You read that correctly, Rebecca Raynor-Raynor.

We have deep Long Island roots that reach back to the settlement of Freeport, New York which at one time was known as Raynortown. One might think Raynor is not a common surname but at that time, in that place, there were SO many Raynors. I am sure Jacob and Rebecca were cousins of some ilk but both Mary and I struggle to confirm Jacob's parents.

I honestly can't remember how long ago Cousin Mary and I met, maybe since 2005-ish, but we have "joined together" on many occasions. We have done a few research trips, attended a conference, and did a genealogy presentation together. We met back when Ancestry showed you other users who had connected to the same records.

I recall being quite dismayed when we did not match on AncestryDNA though. I thought for sure I had made some research error and that Mary was not my cousin after all. Oh, I was so sad but I was quite relieved when it turned out that, although my father and I do not match Mary, my 2 uncles do. It proved that it is possible to have no genetic match with distant cousins.

It is about 2 years ago now that another researching cousin on our line passed away. Recently, Cousin Mary and I accepted the generous honor of inheriting that cousin's boxes of resources. We also recently planned to attend another conference together in June. Can't wait!

Thus, Cousin Mary and I have "joined together" in many research endeavors. She is one of  my best genealogical finds.

The Non-Genealogist Genealogy Acquired Cousin: Cousin Chris

Cousin Chris is not a genealogist. He and I are 3rd cousins on my mother side. This is the side of the family that I really don't have many strong bonds with so it is nice to have cousins on that side turn up. 

Cousin Chris and I have our great-great grandparents in common; Damas Desjardin, also known as Thomas Gardner (October 9, 1850 - October 2, 1911) and Malvina Ethier-Desjardins (February 2, 1864 - January 6, 1944). I met Chris by way of his brother, Cousin Robert, who is the genealogist. However, I have never met Cousin Robert. He posted a question to a message board a long time ago, around 2009, and then put me in touch with his siblings via FaceBook.

At the time Chris kindly extended an invitation stating, "If you're ever in Minnesota..." Well guess what, my constant road companion Cousin Pete and I were off to Minnesota in the summer of 2015. Cousin Chris (who is no relation to Cousin Pete, by the way) put us up in his home for 4 days, no questions asked. His beautiful wife and fabulous kids were so welcoming. The little cousins, gave up their beds for us. By the end of our stay Cousin Chris inquired, "Um, how are we related?" Needless to say Pete and I have been back to visit Cousin Chris and his family several times. In fact, this past summer we met up with them in Philly and stayed in the worst AirBnB I've ever stayed in in my life. Cousins made it tolerable.

The Not Quite Sure How We Are Related Cousin: Cousin Tim

A little over a year ago I received an Ancestry Message from Cousin Tim stating that he had been looking at his cousin's DNA matches and discovered I managed a few of the test with whom he matched, my father's and one of my uncles. They are distant DNA matches and originally we thought perhaps it was a connection to the Hinch family of Hacketstown, Ireland but then again, it could be through the Hughes family of Liscolman, Ireland. Either way both are in Wicklow Co. and on Grandma Earle's line. We're related somehow. I hope some day we can figure it out. Either way though, we're still cousins.

The Cousin Who Made Me Jealous by Getting to Visit Our Ancestral Homeland: Cousin Carol

Those of you who know me in real-life, you likely know that I am a ferocious road-tripper. I have been to all 50 states and all the provinces of Canada with the exception of Nunavut. Aside from Canada though, I haven't done much travel outside of the U.S. Cousin Carol has been to the most "exotic" of all my ancestral homelands though, the Czech Republic. My ethnicity pie chart reflects 99% European, most of which is from the British Isles and Ireland, thus Central European seems exotic to me.

Cousin Carol and I are 3rd cousins once removed, meaning she and my mother have my 3rd great grandparents in common; Jan Prinz (May 14, 1826 - May 22, 1888) and Franzisca Preuss-Prinz (November 17, 1830 - November 29, 1902) who were from Mladá Vožice, in Southern Bohemia, which is now the Czech Republic.

After years of researching our shared ancestral line, in the summer of 2013 she had the opportunity to visit the Czech Republic with her husband to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. They hired personal, professional tour guides who arranged ancestral tour and provided genealogical research which included meetings with village and church historians. Not only did they get to travel the roads our ancestors would have traveled, they got to visit the church where my great-great grandfather was baptized and had the privilege to ring the church bell which had been cast in 1491.

Even though we did not "join together" for that trip [JEALOUS], I did live vicariously through her and asked her to guest blog about her travels for me.

The Fancy Meeting You Here Cousin: Cousin Sylvain

In June of 2018, I had a second opportunity to visit Twillingate, Newfoundland, my Earle family's ancestral homeland. I had a truly astonishing genealogical discover then. I have written about the experience before but it still overwhelms me when I think about it. 

In brief, Twillingate is where my great grandfather, Abram Thomas Earle, was born in January 1891 on Farmers Arm which is on the Durrell side of Twillingate. On my second visit I went with my Uncle Tom. We stayed in a magnificent AirBnB called The Pumpkin House located right on Farmers Arm Road. One of the homeowners, Charlie, had recently purchased another house just a few doors down from Pumpkin House on the same road. 

One day he invited us down to his new house to show us his deed. It clearly shows a survey conducted by Thomas Peyton who was once the local magistrate and was the father of Edgar Peyton; the brother-in-law of my great grandfather and thus my uncle's great uncle. 

It turns out that Charlie's property was once owned by John Earle. Yup an Earle! The deed also indicated the land was once owned by the Late William Earle who, one would assume is the father of John, the aforementioned land owner. William Earle was my great grandfather's uncle. My gut tells me that my great grandfather was born on Charlie's land.

But it gets crazier. While Uncle Tom and Charlie poked around in one of the old structures on the property, I chatted with Charlie's friend, Sylvain. Our conversation went a little like this.

April: "So do you live here year round?"

Sylvain: "No, I live in Montreal."

April: "Oh, that's where my mom's side is from. My father's side is from here in Twillingate but my mom's side has deep roots in Montreal."

Sylvain: "I have ancestors who were early settlers in Montreal. What's the family name?"

April: "It would have been Desjardins." 

And Sylvain froze. This very blank expression came across his face and he slowly said, "My mother's maiden name is Desjardins."

Turns out Sylvain is Cousin Sylvain. He and I have my 9th great grandfather in common; Claude Jourdain Desjardins Charbonnier (1636 - about 1704-1711).

Crazy stuff; to not only find my father's family homeland but to meet a maternal cousin on that land - kind of crazy! By the way, my mother and father grew up next door to each other.

Since meeting, Cousin Sylvian has helped me with finding some information about our Montreal roots. Lovely man.

The Most Recently Acquired: Cousin Kristen

Just before Christmas 2021, I got in touch with a new DNA match, Cousin Kristen. She too is a cousin on my mother's side. Again, I have so few strong connection of that side that I am always excited by the potential for new relationships there.

Just recently we met in-person for the first time. We talked as though we were old friends catching up. I hope that such visits will become common place for us.

At this first visit, Cousin Kristen gave me a ring her and her mother chose for me a limited number of family heirlooms. She joked about proposing to me with it. I haven't taken it off.

52 Ancestors Challenge Week 2: "Favorite Find" - 3rd great grandpa, Damas Desjardins

I have a hard time with the word favorite. I can't ever seem to choose just one of anything out of all the things I love. My favorite book? Can't do it. Favorite movie? Too many good ones to choose from. Favorite food? Yes. Favorite color? Oh that one is easy - green. But ask me to chose a specific shade of green, forget it. So my favorite genealogical find - - can't do it. I can't just pick one.

In all honesty, my favorite finds are cousins. Living breathing people who not only share some DNA with me but who also have a common interest, like family history perhaps. Even better though is if I enjoy their company and if they have a nice comfy spot I can crash on for a few days. I've met so many in the course of my family history research; I can't just pick one.

Trying to focus this on an ancestor of mine though. I have to say I really, really LOVE when a piece of documentation solidifies an answer without doubt. For example... (I've blogged about this one before)

One of my favorite finds is the obituary of my 3rd great grandfather, Damas Desjardins. He was the grandfather of my maternal grandfather, Clarence Gardner.

Grandpa Gardner was pretty quiet about family history. I only really started researching his family tree after his death in December 2004. There is a whole lot of estrangement in his tree.

The one time I was able to get family information out of Grandpa, he mentioned that his family name had changed "from something really French." Eventually I found the name Gardner had been Anglicized from Desjardins which in French means from the garden. 

I found tons of documentation about my great grandfather, Albert Gardner listing him as Almond Desjardins, as well as Albert Desjardins and Almond Gardner with a variety of spellings. I knew it was him for sure though because of other corroborating facts like known addresses, his date of birth, parents names, etc. 

However, I can not tell you how many people have him misattributed as their relative as my great grandpa in their family trees on Ancestry. I often message them say, "Um, no. I'm sorry that can't be your Albert Gardner. My Albert Gardner was Almond Desjardins." They have all ignored me so I don't bother trying to correct them anymore.

I did not have one definitive document, though, that stated the family name had been changed formally or informally. I just had my grandfather's statement, until I found this obituary for Damas Desjardins in the Patchogue Advance from October 13, 1911. Transcription below image.

 

Damas Desjardins died at his home on Avery avenue early Monday morning in his sixtieth year of his age, after suffering for eight months with a complication from diseases. The funeral was held on Wednesday, with service in St. Francis de Sales' Roman Catholic church at 9:30 a. m. The Rev. Fr. Cronin officiating and internment was made in St. Francis cemetery. Mr. Desjardins was born in Montreal, Canada. He was a carpenter by trade and was employed for a long time in New York. He had lived with his family in Patchogue for nearly five years. Mr. Desjardins was known to his friends here by the name of Gardiner, and Anglicization of his French family name. He leaves a widow and ten children some of whom live in the city. 

You see that sentence? 

Mr. Desjardins was known to his friends here by the name of Gardiner, and Anglicization of his French family name.

What a gem. Satisfied with that, I don't need any more evidence of the family surname change.  

I did, however, want to find his burial location. This here is the Desjardins family plot in St. Francis de Sales Cemetery in Patchogue, NY.

 Above: The Desjardins Family plot

 

Above: This footstone indicates Damas Desjardins's dates of birth and death. The date of death is absolutely incorrect though. He died in 1911 for sure. I think it would have been Monday, October 2, 1911. I'm not sure how much stock to put in the correctness of the other dates engraved here.

 

 

 Above: This is the headstone for Damas

 

Above: This is the headstone for the baby Anna who also died in 1911.

 

 Above: I believe this is the headstone for Damas and Malvina Desjardins's son, Hector Desjardins, whose date of death I do not know but I know he was an epileptic who resided at the Craig Colony for Epileptics in Sonyea, New York.

I also believe Damas's wife, Malvina Ethier-Desjardins, my 3rd great grandmother, is interred in this plot but I have no confirmation of that. There is an obvious space next to Damas where Malvina's remains may be but no "M.D." for her headstone. I was unsuccessful in obtaining records from this cemetery which is located in the middle of an apartment complex. Weird.

But if I have to pick just one favorite find, that obituary will be...for today at least. If you ask me tomorrow, it might be a different find.

Summer Family Reunion of Sorts

Every summer I go away for my birthday on a road trip. I insist that if one is not home for his/her birthday than it doesn't count. I will be 28 again...for the 13th time. I'm getting really good at being 28. Anyway...

This summer I was invited to stay with cousins in Minnesota. Cousins I met through genealogy research.

Many years ago I found a message board post regarding my great grandfather's sister; Florence V. Desjardins which lead me to Cousin Robert who in turn connected me to his brother, my Cousin Chris. We did not meet in person. All of our communication had been online. Then two years ago Cousin Chris's wife, Cousin Barb, came to New York for a business trip and she and I met. Now they have invited me to come visit.

I am excited!

Cousin Chris isn't much into genealogy but I plan to bring with me all the documents I have accumulated regarding our common ancestors; Great-Great Grandpa Damas Desjardins (a.k.a. Thomas Gardner) and Great-Great Grandma Malvina Ethier-Desjardins. I have neat things about them: Malvina's naturalization papers with a photo of her, Damas's obituary, etc.

I also have some documents regarding Cousin Chris's great grandparents: Their marriage record showing Florence needed her mother's consent to marry at age 16.

But my most favorite things: Newspaper articles!! Yeah apparently Chris's great grandpa and another of the Desjardins siblings got themselves into a lot of trouble in their youth. Breaking and entering, drunk driving, etc. Yeah - - that sounds like family.

The most important thing I want to share with Cousin Chris is that although our own immediate families are not what one would consider tight, there was a time when they were. After my Great Grandfather Albert died his wife went to live with Chris's great grandma Florence. And after Florence passed, my great grandma, Mamie, continued to live with her husband's brother-in-law who was Chris's great grandfather, Elbert. By the way, Elbert was my Grandpa Clarence's favorite uncle.

I have letters written by Great Grandma Mamie that tell a great deal about Chris's great grandparents. So although there has been quite a bit of distance and estrangement down the diverging lines for all sorts of reasons, there was a time when our family was close - - and there can be again. Although I have yet to even stand near, no less hug, my Cousin Chris, I feel like this is a bit of a family reunion. And I am deeply looking forward to it.

My Top 5 Favorite Dead People

It may seem strange to say this but I really have bonded with some of my dead people. I never knew them and yet I feel them close to me; not in a spooky, I-see-dead-people kind of way but close to me. While researching some of their lives, they have lead me to some amazing discoveries; while others have plagued me with a lack of documentation.

Today I share with you my top 5 fav dead people, in no particular order. Most of them I have written about before in this blog. I will link to more detailed stories about them when possible. In this post, though, I will, to the best of my ability, explain how they came to be my favorite:

5. Jacob Raynor (born ??? - died 1829. Long Island, NY)

I grouse about this guy extensively. He is not just my genealogical nemesis, he is also my 6th great-grandfather; the stonewall of my Raynor line. My inability to find anything definitive about his parentage drives me nuts. I am constantly trying to chip away at this Teflon-Don to no avail. BUT, he is how I met so many of my researching cousins include the often mentioned, Cousin Mary whom I just adore. I talk shit about Jacob but secretly, shhhhhh, I love him.

4. Damase Desjardins (born October 1850, Montreal, Quebec, Canada - died October 9, 1911, Patchoque, Long Island, NY)

Oh Damase, you excessive procreator you! Damase is my great-great grandfather on my mother's paternal line. He fathered 11 children; 1 with his first wife Victorine Desjardins-Desjardins and 10 with his second wife, Malvina Ethier-Desjardins.

I love Malvina too. She lived through such trying circumstances; losing her husband, a child, and a grandchild all in the same year. It was her naturalization papers which startled me by providing me a photograph of her; my grandpa looked so much like her.

But it was researching Damase's life that first required me to learn a little French, encouraged me to visit Montreal and the outlying town of Mascouche, Quebec, and helped me to understand the persistent experience of estrangement that remains within this family line. Damase also had a great obituary that explained the family name change from Desjardins to Gardner.

3. Isabelle Nancy McLean-Williams-Evans (born 1871 - died May 24, 1922, Lowell, Massachusetts)

Aunt Belle. It was a medium who told me I'd research this woman which is probably the strangest of all my genealogy research stories. Aunt Belle was my great-great grandmother's younger sister. She moved from Canada to Lowell, Massachusetts prior to WWI. When her niece, my great grandmother Mary Elizabeth "Mayme" Sharp-Gardner, moved to the U.S. with her brother Daniel Sharp, it was Aunt Belle whom they went to live with.

As I tell many a researching-cousin, some relatives want to be found and other do not. Unlike Jacob Raynor above I believe Aunt Belle just wanted to be found and so I celebrate her.

2. Ambrose Weeks (born June, 1819 - died May 3, 1900, Hempstead, Long Island, NY)

I just recently wrote about Ambrose. First off I just love his name, Ambrose. He was the brother-in-law of my 4th great-grandmother, Lydia Smith-Losee. He was married to Lydia's sister, Elizabeth Smith-Weeks. Lydia and Elizabeth were daughters of Jacob Raynor mentioned above. Ambrose is a distant relationship to me but still one of great interest. He is a sad, tragic figure who breaks my heart every time I read about him in the various newspaper articles I have found about his life. 

1. Benjamin Franklin Losee (about 1844, Freeport, Long Island, NY - died Fall or Winter, 1865, Point of Rocks, VA)

My beloved Civil War soldier, Ben. Oh how I cherish this man. His story is one so steeped in American history; just a poor, young boy who went off to fight for his country but really to financially support his family. He died in the hospital tents of typhus at much too young an age.

He was one of the very first names I stumbled across and his existence is what really pushed me into research my family history. I have used his story and pension file to speak to classrooms of children about the Civil War, family history, and primary resources. At times I have felt his spirit soldiering me on (pardon the pun) to continue my research. And for this, the greatest genealogical kindness I have ever given to my ancestors was to Ben; I had his military issued tombstone replaced with one bearing a correct spelling of his last name.

Follow-up: Olivine's Death Certificate

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the New York City Municipal Archives at 31 Chambers St. in Manhattan. I went there after having received a death certificate number from a gentleman named Donald at the German Genealogy Group (GGG); a member of the organization that helped to index the New York City vital records. 

Donald had thorough access to the GGG's database allowing him to search by date for the death certificate of my 3rd great-grandmother, Olivine Ethier. I had a date of death for her from a plot record I purchased from Calvary Cemetery; the largest and oldest cemetery in New York City. I knew her date of burial to be December 14, 1906 but for the life of me could not find her in the New York City Death Index. I knew it had to be a spelling issue; I knew her last name must have been incorrectly spelled on the certificate or in the index. Donald sent me the following information:

Olevene Eltrier,  Age 70y,  Died 11-Dec-1906, Queens County, Certificate # 3434.

With this information I went to the New York City Municipal Archives. There I retrieved on my own the appropriate roll of microfilm from the cabinet and set myself up on a microfilm reader. 

I found certificate #3434 and sure enough the name was spelled wrong on the certificate; Olevene Eltrier. I am sure, however, that this is indeed the death certificate for my 3rd great-grandmother, Olivine Ethier, based on a few facts on the certificate.

1. Place of Death: 92 Lanford St. L.I.City. I know this line of my family was living in the Long Island City and Astoria area of Queens County based on other documents I have collected including census records.
2. Place of Birth: Canada. Yes, I know Olivine as well as her children were all born in Quebec Canada based on church records and, again, census records.
3. Place and Date of Burial: Calvary Cemetery, December 14, 1906. This is exactly the same information I have on the plot record I obtained from Calvary Cemetery. This woman is buried in the same plot as my great grandfather, Albert Gardner. This is his maternal grandmother!

Additionally, this document confirmed for me that Olivine's maiden name was Page. This is confirmed by the information provided on the form in the section "Father's name." The data supplied there is the name Palo Page. Based on a baptismal record I found for who I believe to be my Olivine, I think her father's name was Pierre Page and that her mother was Disange Brunet. This death certificate, though, does not confirm those details, in fact, it does not even state Olivine's mother's name. A death certificate is not a primary resource for those details. The document is a primary resources for the date and cause of death. I learned that Olivine died of bronchial pneumonia and pulmonary edema on December 11, 1906 at 7:30 p.m. The names of her parents, though, is information reported second-hand by an informant who may or may not have ever known such facts. 

Thus, my research on Olivine will continue. Each newly found document is like a drug; just a small fix to push me on to search for more records.

In Praise of the German Genealogy Group

On Sunday, January 27, I posted about my favorite family name; my great-great-great grandmother's name, Olivine Page-Ethier. In that post I mentioned how I have been unable to find her death certificate probably due to a misspelling of her name or an indexing issue. After writing that I thought, "Hell, why don't I just email the organization that put together that online New York City Death Records Database and see if they can help me." And so, that is exactly what I did.

By Monday at noon I had a response from a gentleman named Donald at the German Genealogy Group. He found an entry in the index that is most likely my Olivine:

Olevene Eltrier,  Age 70y,  Died 11-Dec-1906, Queens County, Certificate # 3434.

The German Genealogy Group and the Italian Genealogical Group have worked together to make very important New York City based indexes available online to all members of the genealogy community. One of the many databases they created is the New York City Death Records, 1891-1948 database which is available for free online. For anyone who has New York City residents in their family tree these databases are a godsend. They facilitate the ordering of records from the New York City Municipal Archives. Just the index alone is helpful in determining dates of death for your ancestors. However, whenever possible a genealogy researcher will want a copy of that document to examine the details and support their data.

The Death Record database was the one I was complaining about in my earlier post, though. To search it you need to have at least 2 letters of the person's last name. If the name is spelled wrong that can pose a challenge. However, the organizations have access to the full database and were obviously able to search the index in a different way to provide me with the information that I needed.

With the information Donald gave me, I can now order Olivine's death certificate online with enough information to make the process move quickly and more efficiently. I could have provided the Municipal Archives with what information I already knew but now I have a specific certificate number and an exact date of death.

I could also go to the New York City Municipal Archives and view the document on microfilm for free and make whatever notes I would like. While at the Municipal Archives if I choose to purchase a copy of the death certificate there is a fee for the copy; $11. If I order the document online it costs $17.50 with shipping and handling.

And it just so happens that I am going to have about two hours to kill in Manhattan before a class which is being given just a half mile from 31 Chambers Street where the Municipal Archives is located. Given that the two hours will be prior to when the Archives closes at 4:30...  YAY! I will see you then, Olivine!!

I can not thank Donald enough for responding to my email. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Favorite Family Name: Olivine

One of my favorite family names is Olivine. It was my 3rd great-grandmother's first name; Olivine Page-Ethier. Being French Canadian, her maiden name, Page, would have been pronounced p-AH-j. And you pronounce Ethier with "air" at the end. OH-li-veen   P-AH-j   E-th-eee-air. Sounds so very....French.

The first time I came across her name was on a plot record I purchased from Calvary Cemetery in New York City. At the time I ordered the record all that I knew was that my great grandfather, Albert Gardner (also known as Almond Desjardins) was interned in the plot.

The cemetery, as I recall, told me he was interned with three other individuals but I had to pay an exorbitant amount of money for the to tell me the names and dated of burial for those people. I don't remember the exact amount of the fee but I remember thinking, "WOW" and I had to literally save up the money to order the record. I think it was $100. Now in their defense, their records are not fully digitized their clerks have to search through indexes and microfilm to provide the information. It is time consuming especially given the fact they have over 3 million internments and it is one of the oldest cemeteries in New York City.

In any case, when I received the plot record, this is the information I received:

Section: 36          Range: 10          Plot: G          Grave(s): 16
Recorded in the name of: Thomas Desjardins
Deed #: ___          Date of Purchase: June 4, 1903

Deceased Name, Date of Burial, Age at Death, Birth Place
Alinna Ethier, Dec. 14, 1906, 70, Canada
Edward Desjardins, Jun. 4, 1903, 1, NY
Clement Monno, Oct. 11, 1911, 3 ms., NY
Albert Cardner, Feb. 15, 1946, 54, US

There are several "errors" in the information I received from Calvary Cemetery. For example, Albert's last name was Gardner not Cardner, to my knowledge Monno was spelled Mono, and Thomas Desjardins was really Damas Desjardins. But such resources are primary sources for the date of burial, not necessarily for the other facts.

I believe the Alinna Ethier listed here is really Olivine Ethier, the mother-in-law of Damas (or Thomas) Desjardins. At first I thought her name was Alinna, just like the document states but giving up the notion of correct spelling I came to discover several records for Olivine; the 1900 U.S. census has her living with son Edward in Manhattan, she appears in the 1881 and 1871 census of Canada, and I found her marriage and birth records in the Drouin Collection of vital and church records from Quebec.

However, I have not been able to find her death certificate. Since she was living in the City of New York in 1900. I assume she died in the City of New York in 1906. The online index to the New York City death certificates can not be browsed by date though. At present you must provide at least two of the first letters of the last name to conduct a search. Ethier must have been misspelled or improperly indexed. Oh, indexes.

In any case, this beautiful name, Olivine, did not trickle very far down the family tree. She did give the name to one of her daughters but that is where it seemed to stop. Perhaps it was just too French to survive in the grit of New York but it is oh-so pretty.

Naturalization Papers Surprise!

For the last few days I have been writing about my mother's paternal line, the Desjardins/Gardner Family of Montreal, Quebec, Canada / Astoria, Queens County, New York / Patchogue, Long Island, New York.

On my father's line, a lot of my research was handed to me by various researching cousins. Oh, don't worry, I verify everything that is given to me with documentation and my own research. My mother's line, though, I have done almost all my discoveries on my own. No one has really taken me by the hand and pointed me in the right direction or handed me family trees until very recently. It is only within the last 3 years or so that I have found other researching cousins on my mother's side. Everything up until my 3rd great grandparents I found with very little help or guidance. I had just a few notes to work with from Grandpa Gardner and that was all. Unfortunately, Grandma Gardner passed away before I was born. To reach my 4th, 5th, 6th, and further generations of great grandparents, I did have to connect with researching cousins; they are the greatest resource I have! But at least in the case of Malvina Ethier-Desjardins, my great-great grandmother, everything I know I learned on my own.

The greatest document I have about her life her naturalization papers. For years and years I scoured the various New York District Court Records - - found nothing! And then I learned that Suffolk County's Naturalization Index was available online: Suffolk County Naturalization through the Italian Genealogy Group. Suffolk County is Long Island, New York's eastern most county and the one in which Patchogue is situated. That is where Malvina lived for the latter part of her life. And sure enough, that is where I found her naturalization papers.

It resolved one big mystery; Malvina did not arrive through Ellis Island, like so many newcomers to New York, Malvina came from Montreal via RAILROAD! Her port of immigration was Grand Central Station! Not only does the document reveal this, it list her date of birth, her address, her date of arrival in the U.S., and all of her natural-born U.S. citizen children's dates of birth and residencies, the document includes a photo. A photo! I had never seen a photo of any of my grandfather's relatives - none. And here on these documents from 1938 was a picture of my great-great grandma. 
 

Doesn't she look a lot like my grandpa?
They are each about 75 years old in these photos.

 

 Malvina Ethier-Desjardins circa 1938

Her grandson, my grandfather, Clarence Albert Gardner, circa 2003

Desperate Times for the Desjardins - 1911

Yesterday I wrote about the passing of my great great grandfather, Damas Desjardins, in October of 1911. I shared his obituary from the newspaper, The Patchogue Advance, which was the local newspaper for Patchogue, Long Island, New York.

Another article ran in that same paper two months later on December 28, 1911. It read as follows:

Mrs. Desjardin who has started a little store at her home on Avery avenue finds her business has been injured by reports that her husband died of a contagious disease. This is not true and her friends who sympathize with her efforts protest against this unkind attitude which is severely damaging her. Mrs. Desjardin's stock is entirely new and she is endeavoring to support a family of six and keep them together. She has has three deaths in less than three months.

Great great grandma, Malvina Ethier-Desjardins, did not have it easy; certainly not in 1911.

I know that one of those three deaths mentioned at the end of the article was that of her husband, Damas Desjardins who died on October 9, 1911.

In the family plot at St. Francis de Sales Cemetery in Patchogue, I discover the second death to be that of Anna Desjardins who, according to the headstone, was born on July 30, 1911 and died on December 18, 1911. I suspect that Anna may have been a grandchild of Malvina and Damas; whose child Anna was though, I am not sure. In 1911, Malvina was about 47; I suppose Anna could have been the child of Malvina and Damas but I doubt it.

The third death to take place in the family in 1911 occured on October 10, 1911; just the day after Damas died. On the 10th, the family lost a newborn, Clement Mono, aged 3 months. I learned this by purchasing the plot records for a grave in Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, Queens County, NY. Clement was the son of  Emma Desjardins-Monno and Clement Monno, Sr.

In 2009, I was able through the use of the New York City Death Index provided by The German Genealogical Group's online, to track down the death certificate for my great grandfather, Albert Gardner.

I then purchased a copy of the certificate from the New York City Municipal Archives.

From that certificate I learned that Albert was interned in Calvary Cemetery.

Upon contacting Calvary Cemetery via phone, I learned Albert was interned with three others.

I visited the cemetery to learn there was no headstone which was not a surprise really, my relatives rarely have headstones.

The only way for me to know who was buried in cemetery 3, section 36, range 10, plot G, grave 16 was to order a plot record. I do not recall the exact price but in my opinion, it was steep; I remember that!

However, that plot record provided information about three relatives that I may have never otherwise discovered; Clement Mono, Edward Desjardins who the plot was purchased for in 1903 and who was the brother of my great grandfather Albert Gardner, and Alinna Ethier who I believe to really be Olivine Page-Ethier, my 3rd great grandmother who was born in Quebec, Canada and who was buried in Calvary Cemetery on December 14, 1906 at the age of about 70. I suspect Olivine died in the City of New York but I have never been able to locate a death certificate for her.