52 Ancestors Challenge Week 36: "Exploration" - Or not so much

Hmm...exploration. I am not sure how to interpret this theme in the context of my family history. I don't feel like I have explorers in my family history. In fact I feel the very opposite. I feel like my family got off the boat and was like, "Heck with that, we're staying right here!"

I have cousins everywhere but when there are stories of brothers, the one who went off and made his fortunes and the other who stayed at home and held down the homestead, I am always descended from the latter.

When I was in the 3rd grade we had to do a report on where one of our grandparents came from. Some of my classmates did reports on Ireland, Israel, Greece, etc., etc., etc. or about other states like Georgia, Maryland, Oregon, etc., etc., etc. I could practically walk to where each of my grandparents were born.  I was really jealous.

According to Google Maps it would take me just over an hour to drive from where Grandpa Earle was born in Bellmore, NY to the far off location of Astoria, Queens, NY where Grandpa Gardner was born, while passing both my grandmothers' birth locations. I guess Google hasn't driving the Cross Island Parkway recently though because that is going to take way more than an hour.

In any case, I did my 3rd grade report on the Town of Hempstead, Long Island, New York. Boring (Sorry, Hempstead).

As genealogist I have come to value the fact I live in close proximity to where my family has lived for hundreds of years. All my documentation is right here! Well, not all of it but quite a bit. And New York is pretty good about holding on to all their records. They aren't great about freely sharing their records but they got 'em. Pay up!

I don't have a European immigrant in my family tree until my great-great grandparents and even then, only 2 of the 16 were born across the pond. I've got many ancestors who emigrated from Canada but from Europe there are only these two:

1. My great-great grandfather on my mother's maternal line, Johann Nepom Prinz (May 2, 1853 - April 21, 1929), was from Mladá Vožice, in the Bohemia region of what is now the Czech Republic. He arrived with his family in New York on November 28, 1866 when he was just 13 years-old.

AND

2. My great-great grandmother on my father's maternal line, Annette Hinch-Henry (February 22, 1868 - March 2, 1952), was born in Barnamelia, by Knockanna, in Co. Wicklow, Ireland. She came to New York sometime between 1886 and 1890 when she was in her late teens or early 20s.

That makes Annette my most recent European immigrant. Again, not big on explorers in this tree o' mine. 

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 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 4: "Curious" - Grandma Gardner's Side

I am struggling with this week's theme of Curious. I'm not sure how to interpret it. I am curious about all sorts of things, especially history. Not just my own personal family history but history in general. How did things get to be the way they are today? is always a question on my mind. I think I do genealogy research because I am curious. 

So I have been staring at my family tree pondering which one of my direct ancestors I am most curious about. They all make me curious. I'd have to say I'm probably most curious about my mother's maternal side. My grandmother, Marilyn Irene Fay-Gardner (29 August 1931 - 5 June 1972), passed away before I was born. In June it will be 50 years since she died, which, on a positive note, means I can order her New York State Death Certificate. I already have the form filled out. (These are things genealogist say.) She was so young; only a few months shy of 41. I'm definitely older than her now. 

Her youthful passing creates a void in many ways. It leaves me with little connection to her family history. I don't have any of her family stories really, not from her mouth at least. I have researched her side of my tree extensively though. Connected with a few researching cousins. Yet still, there is an absence felt there; an absence filled with curiosity I suppose.

Grandma Gardner's ancestry presents my most exotic ethnicity. I am American but ethnically speaking, well, I'm White American. Kind of a mutt. My ancestors were mostly waspy white Early Americans, Irish Catholics, and Canadians (French, Scottish, and English). Pale people. Kind of bland really. I mean no disrespect to those ethnicities or lines of my family tree but I learned something about all those regions in grade school. 

Grandma Gardner was 1/2 Irish (on her paternal side, the Fays and the Joyces), 1/4 German (the Krantzels), and 1/4 Czech. Yeah - Czech. Exciting right? 

I was always told by my mother that the Prince Family was Polish but all documentation shows my great-great grandfather, John Prince Jr., was born Jan Prinz on May 2, 1853 in Jungwozic, Bohemia which was part of Austria, then it was Czechoslovakia for a while, and now it is known as Mladé Vožici in the Czech Republic. 

I didn't know anything about that region of the world except it's landlocked. I have so many sea captains and sailor is my family history but I suffer terrible motion sickness. So part of me thinks my landlubbering is derived from my Czech ancestors. Although, they made it here by ship so maybe not.

I also know that WWI and WWII impacted the area tremendously, shifted all their borders around. That made for a good puzzle in my search for Czech records for my Prince ancestors. 

I recall the first time I saw the name of the town of John's birth. It was on his New York City Marriage Certificate from 1881, a relatively early vital record for NYC's vital records. At the time I had a colleague who loved to visit the Czech Republic and I asked him if he could figure out with me where the town was on a map. And sure enough, through all the boarder changes and city name changes, he found it.

It was not much longer after that when I found a cousin on Ancestry researching John's parents, Jan Prinz (14 May 1826 - 22 May1888) & Franciska Preis-Prinz (17 November 1830 - 29 November 1902). Cousin Carol is my 3rd cousin once removed, meaning we share that couple, my 3rd great-grandparents, in common.

In 2013, Cousin Carol made the trip to our common ancestors' home town in the Czech Republic. Although Cousin Carol shared a great deal about her trip, including photos and genealogical finds, I think I am most curious to see the place for myself and walk the road my ancestors traveled. 

So yeah, I guess I am just curious about it all.

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.

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.

Researching the Prinz / Prince Family Line by Cousin Carol

I met Cousin Carol online while researching my mother's side of the family through Ancestry.com. Carol and I share our most maternal lines. Hmm, Carol, does that mean we have the same mitochondrial DNA?

Thank you so much for sharing your research story on my blog AND specifically, for sharing your research with me.

Researching the Prinz / Prince Family Line by Cousin Carol

After years of family research, the desire to visit the villages of our ancestors has gone from dream to reality.  Summer 2013 seemed the perfect time for our family - my husband and I were celebrating our 40^th wedding anniversary, the kids were able to clear their schedules and we found ourselves on a plane heading to Prague. (Anyone who has undertaken such a trip with four adults understands the many conversations, e-mails, texts, & phone calls it takes to pull this all together, over the course of many months.)

While the trip was still in the “someday” stage, I began gathering information on Czech and German villages, possible routes, hotels, train schedules, plane schedules and guides.  As luck would have it, the guides I located were the best possible for our plans.  If anyone needs guide services in Central Europe, Tom and Marie Zahn are the best!  http://www.pathfinders.cz/index.htm Tom is an American and Marie is Czech.  Marie is incomparable when it comes to communicating, setting schedules, making suggestions and confirming everything, so all goes smoothly before and during the trip.  Tom does the actual driving with many interesting stories along the way.  They provide genealogical research and ancestral tours, and arrange for local day guides as well.  They thoroughly prepare in advance, arranging meetings with village historians, mayors and church historians.

The days in the Czech Republic were like a trip back in time.  It was delightful to see the beautiful countryside that my ancestors lived, driving the same roads they would have traveled, leaving their villages to eventually arrive in New York.  A particularly memorable day found us unexpectedly climbing the bell tower of my grandmother’s church in Mlady Smolivec, Bohemia, Czech Republic where I had the privilege of ringing the church bell which had been cast in 1491.

Another day found us sampling a Czech pastry, called buchty, which I had not tasted since childhood.  I’ve since found the recipe and made these, similar to cheese Danish, but in a round roll shape.  They will become a new/old family tradition for us.
 

Leaving the countryside of the Czech Republic, we were driven to Bremen to meet our tour guide for Germany, Dr. Wolfgang Grams who is the German counterpart to the Zahns.  http://www.routes.de/private.html 

Dr. Grams was one of the co-founders of the German Emigration Museum 

http://www.dah-bremerhaven.de/english.php

Since many of our Czech and German ancestors traveled to Bremerhaven to board a ship to go to America, this was a must-see Museum.  It is the largest theme museum for emigration and immigration in Europe.  It truly allows you a glimpse into the hardships faced traveling to the new world. We had been to Ellis Island and Bremerhaven was the completion of the circle for us.

Dr. Grams was also a font of information on German villages, connecting us with church elders, finding farm lands where ancestors lived and arranging unique experiences.  Our travels ended in the town of my husband’s ancestors.  As it turns out, the former mayor is a distant cousin several times removed, as well as being the village historian and a vintner.  The village of Framersheim is surrounded by vineyards, and we spent a lovely afternoon sampling some delightful German wines. 

When it was time to leave Europe, we felt like we were stepping out of a fairy tale.  Not only did we walk in the steps of our ancestors, but we sampled the food, drank in the culture (literally) and were delighted with our side trips to castles and historic sites.

Inherited Artistic Talent??

Both my sister and I are very artistic. While I studied to be an art teacher, my sister actually became one. 

A common discussion among many families is where one derives their talents from. I don't know if I put much stock in talents being inherited. Neither of my parents are artistic in a conventional sense; my father is a mechanic and talented at putting things together and thinking spatially where as my mother, who can not draw to save her life, does indeed have wonderful taste in terms of dress and decor. Maybe those characteristics contribute to my and my sister's talents - - maybe.

In digging around on my mother's side I discovered that her mother's grandfather, Johann Prinz (a.k.a. John Prince) was a wood carver. Now to me that sounds as though it requires artistic talents. He does not list himself as an artist or a sculptor or a carpenter; always as a wood carver. This leads me to believe he was more of an artisan. I don't know what he carved but I like to imagine religious icons, ornate wooden cabinet doors, and things of that nature. Again, though, I do not know for sure what works he created.

I would love to connect with other Prinz/Prince family researchers and find out how artistically talented their clan is.

My great-great grandfather, John Prinz Jr. married Sabina Krantzel on January 16, 1881 in New York City. They had 6 children that I know of: 

1. John Antonio (born on October 27, 1881 – died December 14, 1975, age 94) 
2. Frank (born on December 4, 1883 – date of death unknown)
3. Margaret (born on October 26, 1886 – died December 15, 1915, age 29)
4. Charles (born in about May of 1889 - died on July 16, 1890, age 91)
5. Mary - my great grandmother -  (born October 15, 1893 -  died July 17, 1983, age 89)
6. Edward (born in about 1892 – date of death unknown).

Great-great grandpa John died on April 21, 1929 at the age of 75 due to a heart attack. He is interned in St. Michael’s Cemetery in Queens, NY. 

Brief Lives

A few years ago I wrote a family history. Basically a series of very brief biographies on my direct ancestors. I've decided to update and expand on these biographies when at a loss for a blog topic. I hope this will be a way to connect with others researching the same family names.

Recently, my father's friend's infant son died. The loss of such a young life can cause irrecoverable damage to a family. It has become important to me to record the existence of these short lives in my family's history. Although they had no heirs, they are a member of the family all the same.

My great-great grandfather, John Prince Jr., was born Johann Prinz on May 2, 1853. I was always told by my mother that the Prince Family was Polish but from all accounts, Johann was born in in Jungwozic, Bohemia which was part of Austria and is now known as Mladé Vožici in the Czech Republic. 

I will now refer to him as John Jr. to distinguish him from his father, also named Johann Prinz. John Jr. was the oldest child of Johann Prinz and Franzisca “Frances” Preuss-Prinz. I believe it was Johann Prinz Senior who first anglicized the family name to Prince and used John rather than Johann. 

John Jr. was the oldest of 9 children. He outlived all but 2 of his siblings. For the longest time it was believed that there were 8 children until a researching cousin of mine, Cousin Carol, came across a database of Czech records: http://digi.ceskearchivy.cz/DA?doctree=10&menu=0&lang=en. There I discovered that John had a brother Joseph who was born on March 2, 1857 in Mladá Vožice and died there on April 9, 1858 at just 13 months old. So sad. Although I do not read Czech, the cause of death is listed in the register as angina. That, I know, is a defect of the heart.

Johann and Franzisca's children were as follows:

1. John Jr. - my great-great grandfather - (born May 2, 1853, in Bohemia -  died April 21, 1929, in New York City, age 75)
   
2. Charles (or Karel, or Carl) (born December 24, 1854, in Bohemia – died May 4, 1891, in New York City, age 36). 
3. Joseph (born March 2, 1857, in Bohemia - died April 9, 1858, in Bohemia, age 1).
4. Barbara (born February 28, 1858, in Bohemia – died September 7, 1946 age 88).
5. Anton (or Antonio or Anthoni) (born April 28, 1861, in Bohemia – died January 17, 1892, in New York City, age 30).
6. Frances “Fannie” (born July 28, 1863 in Bohemia - died February 21, 1950, in New York City, age 86).
7. August (born August 25, 1865, in Bohemia – died July 17, 1896, in New York City, age 30).
8. Annie (born July 19, 1868 in New York City – died before 1895).
9. Mary (born February 16, 1871 in New York – died April 6, 1881 in New York City, age 10).

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...

Writing Church Correspondence

Yesterday I posted about being leery of the information given on a headstone. My advice is to always seek documentation. Use the headstone as a hint and seek out death certificates, obituaries, and church records.

Today I want to address church records and the deep gratitude I have to religious institutions that share their records in whatever format. 

Yesterday I mentioned that as soon as I learned that my 3rd great grandparents, Lawrence and Bridget Fay were interned in the cemetery at St. Mary of the Snow in Saugerties, New York, I contacted the church. I found their phone number online and placed a call to their church office. The phone call allowed me to confirm the church's mailing address, obtain the name of a contact person, inquire as to if they had records, how far back their records dated, and if their was a required fee or recommended donation associated with making a search request.

In my experience, churches are often happy to share the information they have and more often then not they have information.  Sometimes you get a church that is unresponsive, usually due to a lack of staffing or an absence of records. Some churches will tell you outright that records do not exist; often because of fires in the past.  

Typically there is a fee required. Sometimes the fees are exorbitant as has been my experience with Catholic cemeteries but churches usually only suggest or request a nominal fee; say $10.

If there is not a fee, I strongly recommend you make a donation when you request that the church staff search their registers. Often institutions charge a fee because searching requires time and energy from an often limited staff. Just because one institution is not charging a fee does not mean they aren't in need of a little financial support to help them maintain their resources and staff.It is also very likely that you will have to deal with the same institution in the future as you discover more information about relatives who may have also been members of the same congregation. Make friends.

Usually a church will require the request be made in writing. Constructing the request letter is the hardest part. You want to be as specific as possible about what you know already know and what you want to find out. However, you also want to know every hint the church records might hold for you and your research if the church is willing to share extra info. State that! ...in a nice concise note.

If you have the name of a contact, use it formally or use "To Whom It May Concern:"

Dear Ms. Smith,

State your business in detail. Start by mentioning if you have had previous contact.

As per our conversation on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, I am writing to request a marriage record.

Include full names, exact dates or as best estimated dates.

I believe my great grandparents were married at St. Monica’s Church in June of 1918. Their names were James Aloysius Fay and Mary Prince.

Acknowledge any uncertainties that you may have regarding your information.

The exact day of their marriage was either June 2 or June 7 in 1918.

Because you are not looking at the registers yourself, kindly request a desire to know any additional information the researcher might find, and your willingness pay additional fees if necessary.

I believe my family was active members of your church from 1900 to about 1925. I would be very interested to know if you come across any other individuals with the last name Fay, Faye, Prinz, or Prince during the course of your research. I would be delighted to pay  additional fees for the extra information you find.

Sometimes the research will find something and let you know. 
Acknowledge any donation of fee you are including in the envelope.

 Enclosed you will find a check for $10 made payable to the Church of Saint Monica.

And close kindly.

 Thank you so much for your time and attention to my inquiry,

Within days of the request I made to The Church of St. Mary of the Snow in Saugerties, I received a two page letter back disclosing several family internments and baptisms. The secretary there, Sandra, shared with me information she found that she thought my be pertinent to my research. For example she wrote:

"There was a notation of the following: Elizabeth born July 10, 1852.

"Parents: Michael Fay and Fanny Butler.

"Sponsors: James Byrne and Bridget Fay.

"Perhaps this was a brother to Lawrence?"

This was not information I requested. It was not information she needed to share with me. I have, however, stumbled across other mentions of a Michael Fay in the area who I suspect may have been Lawrence's older brother. Here we see a Bridget Fay serving as a godmother to the daughter of a Michael Fay. Hmm. Sandra has put me on the case to learn more about the family of Michael Fay and Fanny Butler-Fay.

Thanks, Sandra!

Don't you hesitate to contact religious institutions for their assistance in your research. Regardless of your religious beliefs or affiliations such organizations hold records about your ancestors. Don't ignore these repositories, be grateful for what they are able to share.