Another Great Scanfest!

Well it didn't get as wild and crazy as the last session, but I always have a good time when Miriam over at AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors hosts Scanfest.

Usually held on the last Saturday of each month, it offers an opportunity to converse and kibbitz with like minded family historians using an instant messaging program like MSN Messenger. While some might think we have too much fun and don't get any scanning done, truth be told I got quite a bit done. Not so much scanning but I finally was able to tag and add comments to many photos I scanned over the past few Scanfests.

If you've not attended, think about joining the gang next time. Also, Miriam will be hosting some mini-sessions this Tuesday and Thursday while she is on Spring Break. Get more info here.

I won't be able to make it next month (it is Greek Orthodox Easter on April 27th) but here is why I try to attend: I always learn something new, even after working on my family's genealogy for over ten years. With all the new technology available, I'm not able to keep up with it on my own - it really helps to hear what others are up to. We discussed indexing for Family Search, proper scanning techniques, how to scan text documents vs. photos, as well as silly subjects such as snow, what was for lunch and bathing suits. A big round of applause to Miriam and everyone else who attended today!

Website, Weblog, Blog, Blogsite

Over at Janet the researcher, in her post Blog, Website or Both?, Janet ponders whether or not to create a website for the business portion of her genealogy and historical research. Many of us, whether or not we have a business related to our passion of family history, will eventually find ourselves in a similar situation: we stop, look at what we've created so far (be it blog or website) and decide, "Is this the best way to proceed?"

Which Came First, the Blog or the Website?

From a technology progression, this an easy question to answer: the Website. We all know that blog is shorthand for "web log" and came about in the late 1990s during what I call the "Internet Renaissance" - the period after the initial explosive growth of the modern post-1990 Internet but before the advent of the Internet as used for social networking and leisure activities. As blogs started out more as a means of communicating news (in fact Wikipedia places the definition of blog in the journalism section), they are now used just as much to communicate personal journeys as well as knowledge.

But when trying to answer Janet's question or to solve your own puzzle of how to proceed, which came first for you? I'd venture to say that for most genea-bloggers, the blog was their first entry point in communicating their knowledge, research and journey of their family history. This makes sense since the concept of a blog really took off once interfaces such as Live Journal, Word Press and Blogger were developed.

Blogs Are Easier - Right?

Blogging applications made it much easier for us to basically create something akin to a website and allowed us to make it as customized and as personal as we wanted. Prior to the appearance of these programs, users either had to create a website by coding HTML or using complex programs such as Dreamweaver or they were left to use what I call "insta-websites" such as a free homepage on AOL or Yahoo which, while free, had many advertisements and were not as customizable.

Websites Are More Professional - Right?

But if you came to blogging from the other side of the journey like I did, having first created my own website, then it is easy to think that blogs are simply "fluff" or dumbed-down versions of websites. After almost a year of blogging, I've come to the conclusion that blogs can readily stand on their own next to websites and should be taken just as seriously. The problem is: will viewers of my blog see the format as "professional" if I were using it as part of my business?

Are We There Yet?

The answer is - we just aren't there yet. I think it will take time for users to realize that blogs are more than just personal diaries or soapboxes for people who need a platform to communicate their ideas and knowledge. Many still hold the view that a website communicates better in the business world and a business is seen as more legitimate if the web address takes them to a website instead of a blog. But as they say, the times they are a changin'!

Nowadays I often encounter websites that also have a blog attached - Ancestry Press is a great example. These business blogs offer a way to casually communicate to the visitor latest developments in a product, testimonials from clients, etc. On a website, this information would often be lumped under the FAQ or News sections.

Blogs: More Is Better - Right?

Another point in the journey that many of us reach, is the desire to create more blogs. In my case, my blog began as a means of documenting research on my mother's family, the Austins. However, over the past year, I've found just as much, if not more, information about my father's family, the MacEntees/McEntees. Would it be easier just to have two blogs?

Not necessarily - it would mean a duplication of many tasks such as customizations, modifying comments, posting etc. I've decided for now, that proper use of tags and labels can help my viewers find the information they need. I could also create a "quick link" at the top of my blog to go directly to posts about each family branch.

Realize that over time, your blog will evolve as it is guided by your needs. It may become much more narrow in focus such as on a certain period of time or a certain topic. Or it may become a catch-all site that is visited by many types of users. Either way, they key is clarity: make sure each person can easily find what they want through the use of those customizations that come with each blogging application.

The Two Roads - Considerations

Finally, what will it be for you? Here are some considerations to keep in mind:

Blog Pros
- inexpensive
- more personal
- easy to use and maintain
- informal communication
- easy organization of topics and knowledge
- possible revenue stream through advertisements
- community-oriented (easy to meet up with other bloggers who have the same interests)

Website Pros
- more business oriented
- formal communication
- more storage space for knowledge and information
- possible revenue stream (subscription fees, membership fees, product purchase)

Blog Cons
- not taken as seriously by some as compared to websites
- has limitations in terms of customizations
- has limitations in terms of data storage (amount and format)
- easy to become cluttered and disorganized

Website Cons
- expensive (domain name, hosting, storage)
- requires technical knowledge to maintain (often hiring third-party to design and maintain)
- can appear cold and impersonal and sterile

In my next post, I'll talk about how I've decided to combine both the blog and website concepts together and what my next steps are in my Internet progression of my family history journey.

What American Accent Do You Have?

I have always been intrigued by accents, especially those found in American English. I found a great quiz (see below) which helps determine which form of American English pronunciation you tend to use. Mine, is Inland English aka American Inland English which is not unusual, and I'll explain why later.

For those of you that are unaware of the intricacies of American English pronunciation, commonly called accents, see this great article on Wikipedia.

I grew up but 90 miles from New York City but somehow managed to escape having a typical New York accent. My mother was born in New York City and grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey with quite a heavy accent. When describing it to friends I tell them to imagine Judge Judy - seriously. I grew up hearing words like "cawfee" (coffee), "buttah" (butter) and "sistah" (sister). Every now and then I can be caught using that pronunciation, usually if I've been on an extended visit back home.

But living in the Catskill region of New York put me more in line with the pronunciation used in upstate cities such as Syracuse and Buffalo. It is closer to what most would call a "Midwest Accent" better known as American Inland English. However, I don't use all the lexicon - I still say "soda" instead of "pop" for carbonated beverages. I still say "stand on line" instead of "stand in line" at the grocery store.

I also tend to use quite a few Yiddish words in my speech, even today. This is due to the fact that my part of New York served as a resort region for many of the Jews living in New York. These vacationers were often either immigrants from Germany, Poland or other parts of Eastern Europe or first generation Americans who grew up speaking Yiddish. I still say things like meshuge, cockamammie, and bashert.

As I got older and went to college and then lived out West, I became adept at picking out various accents. Two accents that seem similar to most but are very destinct to me are the accents of Philadelphia and Baltimore. The easy test: ask the person to pronounce the word "water" - if the "a" sounds more like "oo" in wood, then that person mostly likely has a Philadelphia Accent. Baltimorese not only is an accent, but also includes a unique lexicon and a habit of dropping middle portions of words: "geen" instead of "going."

I imagine that when my Dutch ancestors arrived here in 1661, they had a difficult time adapting to English when that became the standard in the New York colony in 1670. And, I still remember some of the Irish brogue that my great-grandmother Therese McGinnis Austin had inherited from her mother Bridget Farren McGinnis.

Take the quiz below to see how your pronunciation is described - I was surprised that mine was not more Middle Atlantic English. Perhaps my four years in Chicago are starting to affect my pronunciation - who knows?

Let me know what type of accent you have, and if your ancestors had unique accents, either in their native tongue or in English - and what challenges they had to overcome with learning English. The funniest example of mixed up compound English words I ever had: a friend's father from Poland would say "Oh, you have overhang," instead of "Oh, you have a hangover!"

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North   You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

John McEntee and Charlie Wright

[This post was written for the 3rd edition of the "Where Were You?" Carnival]

The efforts of the newly-formed Bureau of Military Intelligence (BMI) ensured the Union Army its victory at Gettysburg during the Civil War. But much of the credit goes to a young African-American boy named Charlie Wright who was able to convey highly detailed information as to Confederate troop activities to my ancestor, Lt. Col. John McEntee who is my 1st cousin 4 times removed. (John McEntee is pictured on the far right in the photo above taken April, 1863 near Brandy Station, Virginia)

John McEntee was born on June 23, 1835 in Rondout, New York, the son of Charles McEntee and Christina Tremper(1). At the age of 26, he enlisted at Kingston, New York as a Quartermaster Sergeant on September 24, 1861 and was part of Company S, 80th Infantry Regiment New York. On February 18, 1862 we was promoted to Full 2nd Lieutenant with Company K. On September 22, 1862 he was promoted to Full 1st Lieutenant. On October 5, 1862 he was promoted to Full Captain with Company A.(2)

In the days prior to June 12, 1863, the Union’s Army of the Potomac was trying to determine whether Gen. Robert E. Lee’s troops were on the move north from Culpeper or planning an attack either to the east or northeast. At midday, Gen. Joseph Hooker sent a summary to Gen. John Dix that Lee’s army was stationed along the banks of the Rappahannock near Culpeper and below Fredericksburg, and that Lee’s forces, along with those of Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell, Gen. James Longstreet and Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, had been there for several days.(3)

But Hooker was unable to determine what Lee’s next move would be: stay put, move northward or move eastward. And Lee’s actions to the north or east could have been as a general advance with all his troops, or split into several groups heading out to different routes. On June 12th, John McEntee “. . .found two Negroes who had witnessed the march – one of them a boy, but old enough to carry the organization of the Army of Northern Virginia in his head.”(4)

The boy with the intimate knowledge of Lee’s troops would turn out to be Charlie Wright. It was not until John McEntee had a chance to question Wright in the mid-afternoon of June 12th, that he was able to gather vital information from the boy who had been living in Culpeper for some time: "[he] saw Ewells (Jacksons) corps pass through that place destined for the Valley & Maryland. That Ewells corps had passed the day previous to the fight & that Longstreet was then coming up.”(5)

Now it could be seen that Lee’s forces were actually on the move northward and not stalled at Culpeper or planning an attack to the immediate east.

As was common with these types of interrogations, Wright and another young man were turned over to a different intelligence officer to see if the story could be corroborated. In this second session, not only was the information confirmed, but Wright gave exacting details such as how many days’ rations were cooked, what days the troops marched, etc. In fact, Wright’s knowledge has so good and committed to memory, that some have called him a “walking ‘order of battle’ chart.”(6)

With this information, Hooker determined that Lee’s forces were either going to turn east up through Manassas Gap and threaten Washington or go further north to Philadelphia. In any case, on June 13, Hooker’s forces were on the march in a parallel route to that of Lee who was looking to have his troops shielded by the Blue Ridge Mountains so that he could proceed on course uninterrupted.

Without this valuable information based on Wright’s knowledge, “. . . the pursuit of Lee probably would have been delayed until the force that captured Winchester [in the Second Battle of Winchester] was firmly identified as a major element of Lee’s Army. That could scarcely have been done before the 17th and a pursuit that began that late might not have been able to prevent the enemy from coming through the gaps leaning to Manassas and Washington . . . departure from the Rappahannock was in time to save the army from being off balance for the rest of the campaign and that Lee therefore had a much less free hand than he was striving for.”(7)

Through McEntee’s efforts, and his ability to recognize the value of Wright’s information, the battle at Gettysburg was not just an “accidental collision” of both sides. The Union Army could protect Washington from Lee’s forces and force the Confederates to group at or near Gettysburg.

On December 19, 1864 John McEntee was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was discharged from Company S on April 16, 1866.(8) He died in Kingston on December 19, 1903(9) at the age of seventy-eight. He is buried in Montrepose Cemetery, Kingston, New York next to his wife, Ann Eliza Dibblee.(10)


Photo taken March 10, 2008 at Montrepose Cemetery, Kingston, New York by Thomas MacEntee.

Notes:

(1) 1850 US Census, <http://www.ancestry.com>, accessed March 1, 2008, citing Census Place: Kingston, Ulster, New York; Roll: M432_607; Page: 40; Image: 82.

(2) Fishel, Edwin C., The Secret War for the Union – The Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War, Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996, p. 293.

(3) Id., p. 437.

(4) Id., p. 535.

(5) Id., p. 438.

(6) Id., p. 444.

(7) Id., p. 535.

(8) Id., p. 293.

(9) "The New York Times," New York, New York, Obituaries, December 21, 1903.

(10) Personal inventory of New Paltz Rural Cemetery on March 10, 2008.

I Don't Drive, I'm Driven

[This post was created for the 45th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy]

Well folks, this may very well be the shortest and oddest entry in this edition of the COG since I don't drive. That's correct. In this country obssessed with cars, there is at least one 45 year old man who doesn't drive, and not due to some court order or parole violation. I just never got into cars and never really saw the need for one.

I left home at a fairly early age, having just turned 17, and then for the next 28 years lived in large cities including Washington, DC, San Francisco and Chicago. I was so wrapped up in going to college and then securing employment, combined with living in areas with great transportation systems that a car was basically unnecessary.

In Washington I had the Metro system map and its blue, red, green, yellow and orange lines memorized so that I could easily tell tourists how to get from the Smithsonian to the White House. In San Francisco, I knew all the bus lines including names and numbers, their routes and how often they ran. In Chicago, since I work at home my knowledge is less encompassing but I do know the basic bus routes in my neighborhood and where the Red Line stops are close to my home.

Many of my friends and acquaintances find this lack of a car to be a novel concept. They wonder if I am doing this as a "green" thing. I never saw it as that but I guess the answer would be a qualified yes. I know that I have saved a ton of money which was not spent on car payments, repairs, fuel and insurance. And I have not used up precious resources such as oil, plastic, metal, etc.

Others ask why I just don't have a license so I can rent a car when I want to. Then the other confession comes out: I don't know how to drive and I really don't want to. It isn't a phobia - I just never "got it." Meaning, I took the driving test three times (and failed) and after that I figured, why bother? And how can I miss something that I've never done?

I do remember our first car and we were a bit of an odd family in the early 1960s: our first car was a SAAB. Foreign cars, unless they were those bulky Citroens or snappy Carmen Ghia's, were unheard of where I grew up. And good luck getting them serviced or repaired.

After my parents divorced, my mother kept with the foreign car concept and purchased a used small blue Datsun (what Nissan was called before it was Nissan). I think she paid about $50 for it in 1970 and it was truly a "beater" car - basically one that was on death's doorstep but could limp by for another year as long as a St. Christopher statue and prayers were involved. The bottom had rusted out so much that you didn't dare place your feet too firmly on the floor for fear of looking like Fred Flintstone.

The next car was another used Datsun, yellow in color, but a much better one. Then Mom started buying Ford cars (Ford stands for "Found On Road, Dead") such as a Pinto (yes, with the exploding rear gas tank - we called it the "Chariot of Fire") and the first Escort model.

As Mom got older and my brother and I left the house, Mom found that the slightly larger Buicks such as the Regal were more to her liking. She was traveling 40 miles each way to work until she retired from the phone company to work for a local police department. Comfort was a big consideration for her when buying a car.

Being a very independent woman, one of the most difficult steps of dealing with my mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis was taking away her car - basically her lifeline to the world as she saw it. After too many unexplained dents and dings, and sitting in the passenger seat as she suddenly decided to make a U-turn on a major eight lane highway (while I grabbed the "Hail Mary bar" up to the right of my head), I not only had to think of Mom's safety but of the safety of others as well. I secured a letter from her gerontologist to give to the DMV, had her license revoked and sold the car to one of her brothers. Of course, every time she asked how her car was, I would have to make up some story.

Finally, my partner and I do own a car but I don't drive, I am driven. Personally, I find our owning a car a bit silly since in the past four years we've put only 23,000 miles on our Honda Civic. We use it for trips to Costco, the grocery store, haircuts and general errand running. But we really bought it in case there was an emergency involving our respective families who live either in the suburbs or a few hundred miles away. Having a car allows us to take care of emergencies as well as errands for them as they get older.

Holy Days

Here is another great blogging/journaling prompt from Miriam over at AnceStories 2!

How did your family traditionally celebrate its holy day? Did you attend worship services? Which kind (Good Friday service, Sunrise service, etc.) did you traditionally attend? Did you family approach this holy day with a lot of reverence, or was it secularized?

Our celebrations of Easter were a mix of reverent and secular. Being raised as a Roman Catholic, there was no service on Good Friday, but we had the opportunity to attend the Stations of the Cross at 3pm that afternoon. There were no bells to be rung between the end of the mass on Holy Thursday until the end of Easter Vigil on Saturday/Sunday, usually about 1am.

At our church, the altar guild ladies would clear the altar of all items after the Holy Thursday service and place a single red rose on it. The church would hold no baptisms or funerals during all of Holy Week.

There was no school on Good Friday and there was very little activity especially between the hours of 12pm and 3pm. We could not listen to music, we could not watch television or even go out and play. Basically we sat and read and stayed quiet.

After 3pm there was no going out for a dance or movies or having people over. We were allowed to watch television but not something like a comedy. Usually we could find some station showing The Ten Commandments or The King of Kings (the 1927 silent version or the updated 1961 version). I remember that in New York on WABC, the 4:30 Movie would show all Holy Week related movies such Barabbas, or The Robe.

What foods did your family eat during the meals celebrating your holy day? What special preparations were involved? As a child, did you help prepare any of the meals or dishes?

We had the ubiquitous ham which I always and still equate more with New Year's Day than Easter. Even today, my mother-in-law insists on ham at every holiday (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter etc.). Our current celebration, which is on April 27th being the Orthodox Easter, will include ham but I will also make my famous Marinated Boneless Leg of Lamb out on the grill. It takes only about 20 minutes per side for a five pound leg and even those who swear they don't like lamb seem to gobble it up.

Did you receive or give any gifts or treats as part of the celebration?

Well as a child we always had a large Easter basket filled with goodies. Since Easter candy will be 1/2 price before our Orthodox Easter, I will stock up and then put together some big Easter baskets for the niece and nephew this year.

Did you wear special or new clothes?

We didn't have new clothes. Being in upstate New York there would often still be snow on the ground, even in mid-April. So you didn't really see too many springtime fashions until May.

What kinds of decorations were created or put out for this holy day?

We decorated Easter eggs and got quite elaborate with them. Some were hollow (we did the trick of poking pins at each end and blowing them out) and then dyed and decorated with glitter or rhinestones or ribbons. We also made some large ones out of crochet string and spray starch using a balloon (you basically begin by blowing up a balloon, preferably into an egg shape if possible, wrapping string around it in every direction, spray with spray starch every few wraps, let it dry, then pop the balloon and remove it).

What year stands out in your mind when you think back through your life of all the Easter/Passover/other spring holy day celebrations you participated in? Why? What was special/unique/different about that particular one?

I seem to have enjoyed Easter more as an adult as I became involved with singing in a church chorus and doing some solo work. I was often asked to sing "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord" which is often done in the negro spiritual tradition. Having a bass/baritone voice it was one that fit my range but I still felt odd singing on Good Friday (see above). My favorite version however is by Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash and the Carter Family. Click here to listen.

Did you participate in any community events surrounding this holy day (egg hunts, etc.)?

No - Easter was mostly a family day. No activities besides going to church and then coming home to a big dinner and visits from family.

Do you have any favorite hymns, religious or secular songs, or other music?

Well besides "Were You There" mentioned above, I especially like O Sacred Head Now Wounded.

How do you celebrate this holy day now in comparison to when you were a child?

I now celebrate Orthodox Easter with my Greek in-laws. My mother-in-law was born in Greece and there is a very large Greek population here in Chicago (it is said to have the most Greeks in one city outside of Athens). We have a big meal and it begins with the red dyed eggs which represent the blood of Christ and rebirth. We all play the game tsougrisma which involves taking your egg, and tapping it on the end of the egg belonging to the person seated next to you. The goal is to crack the end of their egg without cracking yours. It is a process of elimination until there is only one person at the table who has an egg with no cracks.

And besides eating lamb, spanikopita, tyropita, rice pilaf and greek salad we also each tsoureki which is an egg bread with one or more of the red dyed eggs baked with it.

A Woman's Place Is In . . . The Carnival of Genealogy!

It's back and this time it's big, brassy and bold - the 44th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene. Stop by and take a look at all the great posts about women ancestors and their influence on their families.

What? Another Vacation?

Yes, lucky me, another vacation. In case you haven't noticed I love to travel, and am off once again. I knew that last weekend's visit to see Mom would take quite a bit out of me, so I was smart and scheduled some "me time" last month. And since I'm sitting on over 300 hours of vacation, I figured I better start enjoying it.

I will be in The Biggest Little City in the World (aka Reno, NV) beginning tomorrow through the day of my people, St. Patrick's Day. I intend to relax, go to the Nevada State Art Museum, eat some great meals, meet up with friends, and perhaps head outside to the St. Patrick's Day street festival. After all, someone has to drink that green beer - it is not going to drink itself.

The photo above is from last month's vacation in Reno when I got the chance to go backstage and meet Wanda Sykes. She was just as funny offstage as she is onstage, and I also got to see her playing blackjack that weekend out on the casino floor.

I'll be back on Monday and look forward to some great posts to read!

Will the Circle Be Unbroken?

This post was composed for the 44th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.

This is a video slide show created using Adobe Photo Elements 6.0 with an accompanying sound track. So turn up your volume and enjoy!

Two Roads: Do McEntee and MacEntee Converge or Fork? Part 3

The Not So Famous MacEntees of Ulster County, New York

This part of our MacEntee/McEntee journey outlines the “other” McEntee family from the Ulster County region of New York: the MacEntee family. This is the family that, while it doesn’t have a street in Kingston named after it or have famous offspring, it is a large and rather far-flung group of individuals. And what they do have in common with the more well-known McEntee clan is a common ancestor that can be traced back to Ireland.

1st Generation

Edward McEntee (1795 - 1875)

Edward McEntee was born on January 14, 1795 in Ireland, probably County Monaghan[1]. He arrived here in the United States with the rest of his family between 1795 and 1800. While the exact port of entry has not yet been determined, it is most likely New York.

Edward married Annetje (Anna) E. Freer from New Paltz, Ulster, New York on June 29, 1833[2]. Anna was born in New Paltz on October 8, 1804, the daughter of Christian Freer and Annatje Freer and was a descendant of the original patentee of New Paltz, Hugo Freer[3]. Edward and Anna had the following children, all born in Gardiner, Ulster, New York[4]:

• James McEntee, born March 23, 1834
• Matthew McEntee, born September 23, 1838
• John W. McEntee, born January 21, 1840
• George W. McEntee, born August, 1844
• Charles W. McEntee, born August 16, 1848

2nd Generation

James McEntee (1834 - 1910)

James McEntee was born on March 23, 1834 in Gardiner[5] and was a blacksmith by trade[6]. Sometime before 1860, he married Mary Elizabeth Coe of New Paltz[7]. Mary was born on January 29, 1833, the daughter of Alexander S. Coe and Mary Johnston[8]. James and Mary had the following children, all born in Gardiner:

• Charles McEntee, born Abt. 1862[9]
• John J. McEntee, born December 17,.1869[10]
• Lottie J. McEntee, born November 28, 1871[11]

Nothing is known about the children of James McEntee – most died young.

Matthew McEntee (1838 - 1905)

Matthew McEntee was born on September 23, 1838 in Gardiner[12] and was also a blacksmith by trade[13]. Sometime before 1883, he married Elnora D. Deyo of Gardiner. Elnora was born on March 5, 1864[14]. Matthew and Elnora had the following children[15]:

• Geoanna McEntee, born April 13, 1883
• Charles McEntee, born May 13, 1884

John W. McEntee (1840 - 1918)

John W. McEntee was born on January 21, 1840 in Gardiner[16] and was a farmer and carpenter by trade[17]. On March 11, 1874 in Guilford, Chenango, New York, he married Elmira Wood. Elmira (or Almira) was born on December 10, 1851, the daughter of William Wood and Elizabeth C. ________[18]. John and Elmira had the following children:

• Elmer A. McEntee, born November 27, 1881[19]

Elmira McEntee died at the young age of 31 on December 10, 1882[20], about a year after giving birth to her only child Elmer. John W. McEntee never remarried and he died on January 21, 1918[21].

George W. McEntee (1844 - 1915)

George W. McEntee was born in August 1844 in Gardiner[22] and was a wagon maker by trade[23]. In 1862 he married Phebe Ann Drake. Phebe (or Phoebe) was born in May 1844 in New York, the daughter of William Drake and Maria Van Kleeck Freer
[24].

Charles W. McEntee (1848 - 1873)

Charles W. McEntee was born on August 16, 1848 in Gardiner[25] and was a farmer by trade[26]. He died on December 4, 1873 in Gardiner.[27]

For the remaining portion of this post, I will focus solely on Elmer A. McEntee, my great-grandfather since I have more information about this branch of my ancestors and it is here where the MacEntee names appears to become muddled.

3rd Generation

Elmer A. MacEntee (1881 - 1948)

Elmer A. MacEntee was born on November 27, 1881 in Gardiner[28] and was a carpenter by trade[29]. About 1900 he married Margaret DeGroodt. Margaret was the daughter of Jacob L. DeGroodt and Georgiana Simpson and was born in March 1883 in New York
[30]. Elmer and Margaret had the following children all born in New York:

• John W. MacEntee, born January 7, 1902[31]
• Elmira MacEntee, born abt. 1904[32]
• Harold F. MacEntee, born January 25, 1906[33]
• Myron MacEntee, born November 19, 1907[34]
• George MacEntee, born August 6, 1909[35]
• Elmer J. MacEntee, born June 20, 1911[36]
• Abraham C. MacEntee, born April 11, 1913[37]
• Florence MacEntee, born March 21, 1915[38]
• Margaret MacEntee, born abt. 1918[39]
• Edith R. MacEntee, born July 30, 1922[40]
• William Edward MacEntee, born July 22, 1925[41]

Margaret DeGroodt died in January 1970[42] and Elmer died on November 8, 1948[43].

The beginning of the MacEntee vs. McEntee surname appears to begin with Elmer A. MacEntee. While the 1920[44] and 1930[45] US Census sheets for Elmer display the last name as MacEntee, the 1910[46] US Census displays the last name, erroneously, as McEnton. It is clear that the “Enton” was transcribed in correctly by the census taker but such an error also leaves in doubt the “Mc” portion of the name. Was it really “Mc” or perhaps it was “Mac” and misunderstood and also transcribed incorrectly.

Elmer’s father, John W., is also shown as living with Elmer and his family as of the 1910 US Census[47]. In 1900, according to the US Census, John W. was living by himself in Gardiner[48] and the name is ambiguously listed as “MacKintee.” But on the 1880 US Census[49], he is listed with his wife “Almira” as “McEntee.” And for all previous census reports (1850[50], 1860[51], and 1870[52]) John W. McEntee is listed as living with his parents Edward and Ann McEntee under the last name “McEntee.”

How To Solve The Name Game Puzzle

One of my next challenges is to resolve the naming controversy, if possible. The methods I intend to use will be examination of the marriage and birth certificates of both Elmer A. MacEntee and John W. McEntee, if they are available.

In addition, I need to return to the New Paltz Rural Cemetery which I visited on March 10, 2008. I was unable to locate the headstone for either Elmer or his wife Ann but doing so will allow me to see how the last name is displayed. I did locate the headstone for Elmer’s son, Elmer J. MacEntee (pictured above) while I was there but it was in a newer section of the cemetery with burials from the late 1960s to the present. My suspicion is that Elmer A. MacEntee is buried with his wife in her family’s plot, among literally hundreds of Freers, Deyos and Hasbroucks – all founding families of New Paltz.

Coming up: Part Four - The McEntees of Perry Center, Wyoming County, New York

[1] Poucher, Dr. J. Wilson and Byron J. Terwilliger, Inventory of New Paltz Rural Cemetery, (Online: Hope Farm Press, 2000), , examined for any reference to "McEntee," accessed February 13, 2008, p. 581.

[2] Heidgerd, Ruth P., The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz, New Paltz, New York: Huguenot Historical Society, 1968, p. 99.

[3] Id.

[4] 1850 US Census, , accessed February 22, 2008, citing Census Place: New Paltz, Ulster, New York; Roll: M432_608; Page: 329; Image: 662.

[5] Id.

[6] 1870 US Census, , accessed February 14, 2008, citing Census Place: New Paltz, Ulster, New York; Roll: M593_1107; Page: 15; Image: 32.

[7] 1860 US Census, , accessed February 22, 2008, citing Census Place: Gardiner, Ulster, New York; Roll: M653_871; Page: 0; Image: 177.

[8] Bartlett, Joseph Gardner, Robert Coe, Puritan - His Ancestors and Descendants, 1340 - 1910, (Boston, Massachusetts: 1911 (privately published)), pp 150-151.

[9] 1870 US Census, , accessed February 14, 2008, citing Census Place: New Paltz, Ulster, New York; Roll: M593_1107; Page: 15; Image: 32.

[10] Id.

[11] Heidgerd, Ruth P., New Paltz Rural Cemetery Records, New Paltz, New York: 1991, p. 41.

[12] The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz, p. 164.

[13] 1880 US Census, , accessed February 14, 2008, citing Census Place: New Paltz, Ulster, New York; Roll: T9_939; Family History Film: 1254939; Page: 416.1000; Enumeration District: 140.

[14] The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz, p. 164, 247.

[15] Id., p. 246.

[16] New Paltz Cemetery Records, p. 22.

[17] 1900 US Census, , accessed February 23, 2008, citing Census Place: Gardiner, Ulster, New York; Roll: T623 1169; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 93.

[18] The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz, p. 164.

[19] United States, Selective Service System, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007), , accessed January 31, 2008, citing Registration Location: Orange County, New York; Roll: 1818614; Draft Board: 3.

[20] New Paltz Cemetery Records, p. 22.

[21] Id.

[22] Poucher, Dr. J. Wilson and Byron J. Terwilliger, Old Gravestones of Ulster County, New York: twenty-two thousand inscriptions, (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1998), p. 66.

[23] 1910 US Census, , February 26, 2008, citing Census Place: Poughkeepsie Ward 4, Dutchess, New York; Roll: T624_936; Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 68; Image: 92.

[24] The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz, p. 189.

[25] New Paltz Cemetery Records, p. 22.

[26] 1870 US Census, , accessed February 13, 2008, citing Census Place: Gardiner, Ulster, New York; Roll: M593_1105; Page: 79; Image: 157.

[27] New Paltz Cemetery Records, p. 22.

[28] United States, Selective Service System, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007), , accessed January 31, 2008, citing Registration Location: Orange County, New York; Roll: 1818614; Draft Board: 3.

[29] 1930 US Census, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007), , accessed January 30, 2008, citing Census Place: Ellenville, Ulster, New York; Roll: 1656; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 65; Image: 182.0.

[30] 1900 US Census, , accessed January 31, 2008, citing Census Place: Marbletown, Ulster, New York; Roll: T623 1170; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 115.

[31] 1910 US Census, , accessed January 30, 2008, citing Census Place: Gardiner, Ulster, New York; Roll: T624_1084; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 120; Image: 729.

[32] Id.

[33] Id.

[34] Id.

[35] Id.

[36] 1920 US Census, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007), , accessed January 30, 2008, citing Census Place: Montgomery, Orange, New York; Roll: T625_1253; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 135; Image: 223.

[37] Id.

[38] Id.

[39] Id.

[40] 1930 US Census, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007), , accessed January 30, 2008, citing Census Place: Ellenville, Ulster, New York; Roll: 1656; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 65; Image: 182.0.

[41] Id.

[42] Social Security Administration, Social Security Death Index, Master File, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007), , examined for any reference to "Margaret MacEntee," accessed January 26, 2008, Number: 126-40-4150; Issue State: New York; Issue Date: 1965-1966.

[43] New Paltz Cemetery Records, p. 22.

[44] 1920 US Census, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007), , accessed January 30, 2008, citing Census Place: Montgomery, Orange, New York; Roll: T625_1253; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 135; Image: 223.

[45] 1930 US Census, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007), , accessed January 30, 2008, citing Census Place: Ellenville, Ulster, New York; Roll: 1656; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 65; Image: 182.0.

[46] 1910 US Census, , accessed January 30, 2008, citing Census Place: Gardiner, Ulster, New York; Roll: T624_1084; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 120; Image: 729.

[47] Id.

[48] 1850 US Census, , accessed February 22, 2008, citing Census Place: New Paltz, Ulster, New York; Roll: M432_608; Page: 329; Image: 662.

[49] 1880 US Census, , accessed February 13, 2003, citing Census Place: Gardiner, Ulster, New York; Roll: T9_939; Family History Film: 1254939; Page: 83.3000; Enumeration District: 119; Image: 0168.

[50] 1850 US Census, , accessed February 22, 2008, citing Census Place: New Paltz, Ulster, New York; Roll: M432_608; Page: 329; Image: 662.

[51] 1860 US Census, , accessed February 13, 2008, citing Census Place: Gardiner, Ulster, New York; Roll: M653_871; Page: 0; Image: 132.

[52] 1870 US Census, , accessed February 13, 2008, citing Census Place: Gardiner, Ulster, New York; Roll: M593_1105; Page: 79; Image: 157.

Make 'Em Laugh

The latest blogging/journaling prompt over at AnceStories 2: Stories of Me for My Descendants deals with the concept of laughter and humor. If you haven't checked out this great site maintained by Miriam, please do so!

When you laugh, who do you sound like? Your father, mother, a sibling, or other relative?

I sound more like my mother when I laugh and I was able to see that this past weekend. My mother has always been a gregarious, easy-going person and easily gives in to fun and laughter. Even now when she may not totally understand the conversation or the joke, she will see the rest of her family laugh and join right in.

Who in your family giggles? Belly laughs? Chuckles? Guffaws? Knee slaps or does some other large physical act while laughing?

I tend to be very reserved in appearance, bordering on gruff, but don't believe what you see. I am usually the instigator and can not only laugh myself but get others to join in. My laugh is much like the character Nelson on The Simpsons - a quick "ha ha" but very loud. If I get to really laughing I tend to be a snorter or make hissing sounds.

What other members of the family have similar laughs? Query the older generations and ask them "who in the family has your grandma's (or grandpa's) laugh?"

I don't really know who else had or has a similar laugh - I never really paid that much attention to the concept.

Who has the most unique laugh in your family, and why?

It would have to be me - see above!

What kinds of things did your family laugh or joke about?

As always we laugh about memories gone by such as "Remember the time grandma had that walking stick during Prohibition and it had a glass flask inside for her supply of hootch?" We did the same this weekend - reminiscing about my mother growing up with her brothers and sisters. I heard stories this weekend of one sister and brother trying to wake another sister up by starting a campfire under her bed. And then how one sister was always evading the truant officer!

What best describes the style of humor in your family (dry, wet, ironic, silly)?

In my currently family right now, we tend towards the very dry humor, puns, and sarcasm. Example: upon seeing the latest picture of a celebrity such as Amy Winehouse, one of us will say, "Well, she just needs to find a hairdresser that likes her." In that same vein I always appreciated something similar among my Southern friends but it was so much more gentle than my New York approach. Example: in college we were discussing the story of Oedipus Rex, an acquaintance actually said "Bless poor ol' Oedipus's heart. Marries his mama, pokes his eyes out. Just bless him!"

Did you ever have tickle fights?

We didn't and for a more serious reason (not to seem like Debbie Downer): since there have been past instances of child abuse and inappropriate behavior among some people, so along with the standard discussions to young children about "touching," we really don't permit tickle fights. But we have had those silly fights with padded suits and foam rubber swords - lots of fun!

Who were the practical jokers in the family?

Moi, of course. I was the brainy but incorrigible child who did it all - from the "bag of dog poop on fire" trick to making prank calls (to the grocery store . . ."Do you have pigs' feet? Well wear shoes and no one will notice") to disfiguring dolls. But it does run in the family - my one aunt is infamous for sneaking an unwrapped Baby Ruth bar into the public swimming pool and then feigning disgust, quite loudly, at one of her sisters. Good times.

What private jokes did you have as a family? What key phrases were giggle starters?

Most of them are movie quotes and movie lines. Understand that some of us can sit down and carry out the dialog of some movies in their entirety. Many are from Steel Magnolias (About the recipe Cupa Cupa - Truvy: It's a cup of flour, a cup of sugar, a cup of fruit cocktail with juice, and you mix and bake at 360 till gold-n-bubbly. Clairee: Sounds awful rich! Truvy: I know, that's why I serve it over ice cream to cut the sweetness.)

What books, magazine, or cartoon strips were favorite humorous reads in your family?

I am still partial to my own slant on comedy - as a child, and again resident instigator, I would make up my own words to television themes or other songs, often resulting in an admonition from Mom but then she'd run to the other room and stifle a laugh.

I do the same thing now - I rewrite the captions for cartoons like Family Circus and Garfield, or when I am on an airplane, I watch the movie but don't use a headset so I can make up my own storyline.

I also always LOVED the game Mad-Libs!

What comedy television shows or movies were favorites in your family?

We loved the Carol Burnett show - she was a goddess in our household. Some of my other faves growing up:

Maude ("And then there's Maude!")
All In The Family

and now:

Mama's Family
Frasier
The Simpsons
Family Guy

Movies are toooo numerous to count - see my profile for a full list.

Do you ever play games that get your family giggling up a storm? (Our family plays Balderdash with my brother-in-law's family every year while camping at the lake for a week...it's our favorite group activity, mainly because we get so darn silly while playing it!)

Usually Password - especially since half of us act illiterate after a few drinks at a big family gathering. I'll never forget when my one staid aunt had one Pink Lady too many - she thought the card said "massage" instead of "message" so then the words that came out of her mouth describing said word!

Do you have digital recordings, videotapes, audio tapes, or home movies with family members talking or laughing in them?

I was lucky enough to get an entire box of 50+ video tapes when I cleaned out my mother's house. Some of them are the 8mm cam corder type so I'll need to get an adapter. I want to review them all before I have Costco or some other store convert them to DVDs. But I know they are of family gatherings and that means laughter, jokes and hijinks!

Photo: an example of the kind of humor that makes me laugh!

I'm Back - But Not For Long

I was able to get through my visit back home to New York to check on my mother and I really appreciate everyone's support during this tough time. Since much of my information about Mom's condition and progression of Alzheimer's Disease is second and third hand, I figured I needed to make a quick trip and see for myself.

Things were as bad as I had heard and then again, not as bad and could be worse. I think what has really struck people is the sudden decline since October and another turn in December 2007. She is definitely entering the late stages where the effects are beginning to show physically: she won't eat (because she can't focus on the act of eating); and she walks but only if she can look down at her feet and even then she rocks side to side when doing so.

So, we gathered up her remaining sisters and made a great visit on Sunday. While her state was sad to see, and we all knew she wouldn't remember the visit an hour later, it was well worth it. Every so often, these "rays of recognition," as I called them peaked through: she would remember someone sitting at the table and then something that took place 30 years ago. But just as soon as that happened, she wouldn't know that same person or scenario five minutes later. While she knew me the minute I walked in, at the end of the visit when one of the nurses asked Mom, "Is that your son?" while pointing to me, she said, "No. That's not him."

As much as you prepare for that point of progression in the disease, nothing can take away the pain you feel. You are just glad that you have friends, family, and fellow colleagues like my genea-bloggers to get you through it. I appreciate all your thoughts and prayers - they really do work.

So, I will be here the next two days catching up on my blog reader, making comments on some great posts, fulfilling some carnival and meme deadlines, updating my McEntee information, and then taking off for a scheduled mini-vacation on Thursday.

Funeral Cards

[This post was written for the 5th Edition of the Cabinet of Curiosities.]

I have been working with a large group of funeral cards (also known as holy cards) that I discovered recently in The Box. I've scanned many of them (usually during Scanfest)and then labeled them properly. My next step is to figure out how to incorporate them with my genealogy and family history journey.

I grew up seeing these small (4 inches tall, 2 inches wide) cards printed in color, or black and white, at funeral homes or in the purses of my female relatives. They were distributed by funeral homes, especially those that specialized in services for Roman Catholics.

On one side, there would be a beautiful but sad scene of Jesus's crucifixion or some other Bible episode. On the reverse would be the name of the person who died, their birth date and death date, a prayer or novena, and then the name of the funeral home at the very bottom. They not only served as a way of remembering the person who had passed, but also as advertising for the undertaker.

My collection contains quite a variety of these cards, some with more information than others. When researching my family history, these cards have really helped me identify exact dates of birth and death, where they died, etc. and given me a jump start on the next step in acquiring source information such as obituaries or death certificates.

I have to say that some cards are better than others. I have a few that actually display the cemetery name and even the plot number! The example above includes a small snapshot of the person who died. Some, of course, contain errors which have led me on a wild goose chase.

I remember encountering these cards all over the house growing up: my mother would use them as bookmarks; one aunt would place one or two in the corner of a mirror or picture on the wall; and many of my aunts would pull them out of their purse in church when saying the rosary (since it was difficult to remember the text of all the Mysteries).

Now that I've culled most of the data from these cards, it only seems fitting to either place them in an album (which might ruin the effect of being able to see both sides) or better yet to use them in some digital scrapbooking project.

I'm curious as to how helpful these cards have been to other genea-bloggers and whether or not they exist as part of the funerary customs in other faiths.

The Irish Tradition of Tea

[This post was written for the 4th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture.]

I grew up drinking tea as well as coffee but much more tea. Not only was it due to the fact that tea was a much more acceptable beverage for a child than coffee, but more so due to the influence of my great-grandmother, Therese McGinnis Austin. To this day, some of my tea-related habits are difficult to break.

Spending mealtimes at Grandma's meant following certain habits, well actually traditions, that would now seem like rules:

1. Coffee is only served at breakfast
2. Tea is served with dinner and supper
3. Tea is meant to be strong
4. Use a tea cozy to keep the tea pot warm
5. Drink with milk and sugar
6. Always use a fancy teaspoon and pick the fanciest

And these are in fact the very rules I try to follow today. After many years in California, and returning to a cold Chicago, I've picked up the tea tradition once again.

1. Coffee is only served at breakfast

I think this is just a peculiarity of my upbringing but we never had coffee at any other meal besides breakfast. I don't know if this was a measure of frugality since coffee always seemed to be more expensive than tea or just practicality from a caffeine standpoint (you need the big jolt in the morning and less during the rest of the day).

2. Tea is served with dinner and supper

Also, in the days of living on a farm, the midday meal was always called dinner and the evening meal was called supper. Dinner was at 12pm and was a large meal such as roast chicken or another roast, potatoes etc. It was meant to replenish those working in the fields or the barn and keep them going until sunset. Supper was a lighter meal consisting of sandwiches made from the leftovers of the dinner meal. My great-grandparents kept this tradition later in life, despite not having a working farm. Since my great-grandfather worked as a timekeeper for many of the aqueduct construction projects (in the 1940s and 50s they were built to supply water to NYC), and he worked the swing-shift, this made sense. They had a big meal before he left for work, then those of us left at home would have supper later on.

3. Tea is meant to be strong

My favorite tea growing up was Lipton's basic blend. Grandma would use many tea bags so that the tea was strong.

Nowadays I am hooked on Twining's Irish Breakfast (pictured above). Irish Breakfast is different than English Breakfast in that it uses only black Assam tea and is not as much a blend as other breakfast teas. It is also known as "robust" meaning it is much stronger and has a more intense flavor. In Ireland, this is only called "tea" not "breakfast tea." Amazon is a great source for ordering this tea and many others.

4. Use a tea cozy to keep the tea pot warm

Grandma had a number of "weird pillows" in the kitchen. They were weird because I just thought that she never got around to sewing them all the way and one side was always open. But I later learned that it was mean to be slipped over the tea pot to retain the heat while it steeped for the regulatory 5 minutes. I don't have a tea cozy but I think I might either make one or buy one. For now, I throw a kitchen towel over the tea put while it is brewing.

5. Drink with milk and sugar

We never had lemon or honey or even cream available, just milk and sugar. Cream wasn't meant for tea since it could do with a touch of milk. And a "wee bit of sugar" always helped.

6. Always use a fancy teaspoon and pick the fanciest

This last rule has special meaning to me. Grandma always kept a cut glass container on the kitchen table which held about 20 different teaspoons. There was no lid, and the spoons were inserted with the handles pointing up. I am not sure if these were from various sets of silverware she owned over the years, or if they were picked up at rummage sales or flea markets. But the kids would always have a skirmish over picking their favorite spoon. To me, it didn't seem like tea time if someone wasn't sulking at the table due to their inability to grab their favorite stirrer. The remainder of tea time was spent plotting revenge or devising some scheme to wrest that spoon from the other child. Good times.

I See Dead Peeps

I needed a laugh today and I got it courtesy of The Chicago Tribune - it is their annual Eastertime tribute to Peeps. One prime example is in the atttached photo entitled "Chickney Spears Flees from the Peeparazzi."

My hatred for Peeps is very strong and for many it is either a love it or hate it relationship. Check out the link below for the gallery of over 144 peep dioramas. These include We The Peeps, American Peep Idol, and more!

Peep Show

Some people are very creative or have too much time on their hands.

A Trip Home

Just a quick note - I will be flying home to upstate New York this weekend to see my mother who is not well. The Alzheimer's disease has progressed to the point where she is not eating (only because she can't focus long enough to understand the act of eating) and wandering the hallways. Now that the warmer weather has come upon us (!), I can safely travel up to Walton Mountain where I grew up (that's what I call it).

Wish me luck as I deal with some end-of-life issues such as nixing the idea of a feeding tube or resuscitation, making funeral arrangements, etc.

I will however, take sometime for myself on the way back Monday: I plan to stop in at the Montrepose Cemetery in Kingston, New York (where the McEntees are buried) or at the Rural Cemetery in New Paltz, New York (where the MacEntees are buried) and take some photos.

I will probably take care of all my upcoming carnival posts later today/tonite and also post the next chapter on the MacEntee/McEntee story.

Books: Hard Copy vs. Digital Access

In my recent, ongoing series of posts concerning the MacEntee and McEntee families, I've decided to invoke the muse of footnoteMaven and document my research with many endnotes. Not only have I learned (from the best) that this is good form and the basis of credible research, but since I am dealing with a disputed topic, it many serve to finally settle the matter once and for all.

But I'll have to admit it hasn't been easy to do all the research from the comfort of my own home office. We try to run a "green" home here in Chicago, as much as possible so that we aren't living like a hippie commune with a dirt floor. One aspect is to cut down on our use of paper.

I am totally paperless - well 99% paperless. I have an all-in-one printer that I use more for scanning than anything. So when someone says, "Print it and send it to me," my mind automatically thinks of PDF creation. All our banking is done on-line with paperless statements which I download each month. Same for all credit accounts, utilities, phone bills, etc. When I shop online (which I will be doing more frequently now that Chicago's sales tax is 10.25%) I use coupon codes, and try to bundle as much in one shipment as possible, plus look for free shipping. Instead of writing checks for Ebay purchaes, I use Paypal. For donations to charities and the walks and runs in which friends particiapte, I go online to donate. It took some doing to break the habit, but I tell you I was able to get rid of my large filing cabinet!

In genealogy research, there will always be paper records that you will want, such as copies of birth certificates, death certificates, etc. But for census records, I save imaged copies and include them in my database. The problem for me has always been this: do I go and buy a book that I only need to use once? Or do I go over to the local Family History Center or library? What if I could find the book on-line? Here's my approach:

Google Books

First, I look in Google Books to see if the book has been digitized and is available in Full View Mode. This means, I can even download the book in PDF format and save it for future use. For the most part, only books that are out-of-print or those for which the copyright has lapsed making it part of the public domain are available in Full View.

Second, some books are available in Preview Mode. This means there is limited access and some pages or sections are deliberately blocked. Also, it means that after a certain number of views (during one Internet connection session), you will be blocked from viewing any more of the book. I've found that the Title Page is often blocked but the About This Book section has all the information (title, date, author, publisher) you need. Preview Mode, like some free MP3 files, has actually encouraged me to go over to Amazon and purchase the book itself.

Third, some books are available only in Snippet Mode. This means you can get the same About This Book information, but you will only see sections, without page numbers, and with data partially obliterated (usually what you need). This mode is not of much use to me and I find it is used for books that have recently been re-printed or for which the copyright is still enforced and the author or publisher has not consented to Preview Mode (which is their right).

Family History Archives

I've discovered the existence of the Family History Archives at the Harold B. Lee Library of the Brigham Young University and their on-line digitized collection. They have a robust search engine that allows me to find books that I can't find or can't access on Google Books. I will often do this for books that I only need to reference one or two times.

There is a large collection of privately published family history books, notes, and family stories. You can also do a full-text as well as a surname search. You cannot download PDF copies but this resource has been a life saver for me.

Internet Archive

For a short period of time, I was using the Project Guttenberg site to find books that I could not find using my other options above. But then I discovered Internet Archive.

Basically, Internet Archive is a "catch all" site of digitized collections from American Libraries, Canadian Libraries, Project Guttenberg and more. Most of the books are available for download in PDF format as well as in other formats and even versions that can be printed. Very often I can find what I need using their search engine and then search for terms within a selected text.

Ancestry

Some of the books for which I don't have full access, can be located under Ancestry's Stories and Publications section. With a paid subscription, you can search the Ancestry Database Card Catalog for the title or author needed and then have full access to the book. You cannot download the book, but you can often save images of the book page needed.

Citing On-Line Books

This was a challenge when I first started using on-line versions of books, but now I've gotten into a routine.

I cite the book as one normally would (author, title, publisher (location: name), date, etc. Then when it comes down to citing the page, I insert the link to the on-line source and mention the access date prior to the page notation. Example:

Leonard, John William, Who's Who in America, 1903-1905, Chicago, Illinois: A.N. Marquis & Company, 1905, <http://books.google.com/books?id=4nfOl6a6QSkC>, accessed February 28, 2008, p. 32.

If you haven't pursued the option of on-line books I urge you to do so. Just remember that if a book is copyrighted and you find an on-line version that violates the copyright of the author and/or publisher, you should make sure that not only the author/publisher know about this, but also inform the website posting the book. And then either go to a library or Family History Center or purchase the book. I know that if my work were published, I would not want the rights to the intellectual property that I created to be violated.

Two Roads: Do McEntee and MacEntee Converge or Fork? Part 2

[Editor's note: I appreciate all the support from my fellow genea-bloggers on this series of posts. This has taken about 40 hours of research and writing over the past week - that is why I haven't been posting very much!]

The Famed McEntees of Ulster County, New York

Besides resolving the confusion over the last name being McEntee or MacEntee, which has raged for about 120 years now, there is another motivation: aligning the MacEntees with the famous and well-regarded McEntee clan in Kingston. This group of men and women include a famous Hudson River School landscape painter, by marriage the co-designer of Central Park in New York City, a woman famous for her still life paintings, a writer of children’s stories, a famous civil engineer instrumental in the cement used to create the base for the Statue of Liberty, and many Civil War soldiers of high rank - including one man responsible for provisinf vital tactical information allowing the Union to stop Lee's army at the Battle of Gettysburg.

James S. McEntee (1800 – 1887)

James S. McEntee, the patriarch of the McEntee family was born on March 21, 1800 in the town of Westernville in Oneida County, New York.[1]

He married Mary Susan Swan (Abt. 1805 - 1826) of Westernville about 1825 and around that same time they moved to Kingston, Ulster, New York. On February 1, 1826, Mary Swan McEntee died while giving birth to an unnamed infant who died as well. Both are buried in the same coffin at the Westernville Presbyterian Cemetery in Westernville, Oneida, New York[2].

On July 29, 1827, James remarried, this time to Sarah Jane Goetschius[3] of New Paltz, Ulster, New York. She was born in New Paltz on January 23, 1808 and died on November 2, 1893 in Kingston, Ulster, New York. James and Sarah had the following children, all born in Rondout (now part of Kingston), Ulster, New York[4]:

• Jervis McEntee, born July 14, 1828
• Jane McEntee, born 1829
• Mary Swan McEntee, born 1830
• Augusta McEntee, born 1833
• Maurice Wurts McEntee, born January 30, 1836
• Sarah McEntee, born 1837
• Lucy McEntee, born 1840
• Girard Lindsley McEntee, born June 8, 1847

James S. McEntee was a civil engineer by trade and he helped lay out the Erie Canal as well as the Union Canal of Pennsylvania. In addition, he helped survey the Delaware and Hudson canal which would later serve to ship coal from Honesdale, Pennsylvania down to New York City. Other projects with which he was involved: his company mined the first coal from the Lackawanna Valley in 1830; he built the Tarrytown to Irvington section of the Hudson River Railroad in 1847; and he surveyed the Ulster and Delaware Railroad.[5]

Although somewhat in dispute, it has been stated that James S. McEntee was responsible for the discovery of “natural cement” in Ulster County. While blasting rock for the D&H Canal, laborers noticed a type of rock similar to limestone which was used to balance the pH in soil. One test to see if it was indeed limestone, was to burn the rock in a blacksmith’s forge, then apply water. If the rock, which was at that point a soft chalky material crumbled it was truly limestone. However, with a great deal of disappointment, the material instead “seized up” and after a few hours became harder than the rock found in its original form. What was one man’s disappointment was McEntee’s surprise: he realized through his earlier work on the Erie Canal that the laborers had in fact discovered natural cement and not agricultural limestone. In the ensuing years, many cement plants would be established in the Rosendale area and the product would be included in the construction of the base of the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan Bridge as well as many reservoir projects in the Hudson Valley.[6]

James S. McEntee died on June 30, 1887 in Rondout with only his wife Sarah, Jervis and Girard surviving him.

Jervis McEntee (1828 – 1891)

Jervis McEntee was born on July 14, 1828 in Rondout, the eldest son of James S. MacEntee and Sarah Jane Goetschius. In 1854 he married Anna Gertrude Sawyer[7] who was born on January 29, 1834 in New York, New York, the daughter of a well-known Universalist minister, Rev. Thomas Jefferson Sawyer and his wife Caroline Fisher[8]. In his later life, Jervis McEntee suffered periodically from Bright’s Disease, especially during the Winter of 1876-1877 during which time his wife, known as Gertrude, nursed him back to health. This put a strain on Gertrude’s own health and she died in October, 1878[9] in Rondout. Jervis would later die on January 27, 1891 also in Rondout[10].

While the name Jervis is not very common (with Jarvis being a bit more so), it is interesting to read about the colleagues of Jervis’ father, James S. McEntee:

Looking to the success of the Erie Canal, the Wurts brothers hired civil engineer Benjamin Wright and two surveyors, John Mills and Edward Sullivan to conduct a survey to determine the feasibility of a canal from Pennsylvania to the Hudson River. In December 1823, at the suggestion of Wright and his soon to be successor John B. Jervis, the survey team began plotting the course from the Hudson River near Kingston, New York to the present day town of Port Jervis, to the Delaware River, then up the river to the Lackawaxen Creek and onto Honesdale, Pennsylvania.[11]

One can easily deduce that Jervis was named after John B. Jervis while his brother Maurice’s middle name, Wurts, was after one of the Wurts brothers.

Jervis had become a well-known landscape painter and a member of the Hudson River School after studying with Frederic Church beginning in 1850. In 1885, Jervis decided to dedicate himself fully to his art work and opened a studio in New York City in 1858. Most of his time painting was spent in the Rondout and Catskill regions of upstate New York. During his career, Jervis’ painting style would change from the more traditional style of his colleagues to one incorporating the brushstroke techniques of the Impressionists.[12]

The paintings of Jervis McEntee often differed quite a bit from the other Hudson River School artists: they were small in size, depicted melancholy or dark scenes with dark cloudy skies, and when exhibited they often included passages of poetry that he had written. While others would paint landscape scenes of Spring and Summer, those of Jervis McEntee often depicted Autumn, and the season at its end before the cold and snow of Winter set in. In his diaries, he wrote, "Some people call my landscapes gloomy and disagreeable . . .They say I paint the sorrowful side of nature...But this is a mistake...Nature is not sad to me but quiet, pensive, restful."[13]

Photo credit: Seward R. Osborne Collection

Maurice Wurts McEntee (1836 – 1883)

Maurice Wurts McEntee was born on January 30, 1836 in Rondout[14]. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1855 and later served in the United States military during the Civil War. During the war, he attained the rank of 1st Sergeant, 1st. Lieutenant and Adjutant, 20th New York State Militia, April-August, 1861. He also served as Acting Master in United States Navy under Admiral David Farragut[15].

Maurice was honorably discharged on May 14, 1867 at which point he began to pursue a career in writing. He became a reporter for Kingston’s newspaper, The Daily Freeman and later served as its editor. In addition, he penned stories of the sea for youngsters, under the pen name, Uncle Blue Jacket (an obvious reference to the Union side of the War of the Rebellion). Tales such as “How Uncle Blue Jacket Captured the Picket-Boat[16]" and “Uncle Blue Jacket's Duck-Boat[17]” appeared as part of Harper’s Our Young Folks series (1865-1873).

A review of census records from 1850 to 1880, indicates that Maurice remained a bachelor all his life and lived with his parents up until his death[18]. Maurice McEntee died on June 14, 1883 in Kingston.[19]

Girard Lindsley McEntee (1847 – 1913)

Photo credit: Seward R. Osborne Collection

Girard Lindsley McEntee was born on June 8, 1847 in Rondout[20]. He enlisted in the United States Army at the young age of 14 as a drummer for Company F, 20th New York State Militia, from April to August of 1861.

He married Mary Nichols of New York who was born on March 20, 1851and died in Kingston on May 18, 1925[21]. He owned a successful insurance agency in Kingston for many years and also served several years on the Kingston Board of Supervisors.

Mary Swan McEntee (1830 – 1892)

Mary Swan McEntee was born in 1830 in Rondout[22]. In 1854 she married Calvert Vaux who was born December 20, 1824 in London, England. Vaux was an architect and was one of the founders of the American Institute of Architects in 1857. Vaux also became fast friends with his brother-in-law Jervis McEntee.

In 1858, Vaux collaborated with Frederick Law Olmsted on the design of Central Park, having won the commission based upon Vaux’s skills in landscape drawing as well as his “before and after” sketches of the proposed park. In the ensuing years, they would form Olmsted, Vaux and Company and go on to design Prospect Park in Brooklyn as well as Morningside Park in Manhattan.[23]

Sarah McEntee (1837 - abt 1902)

Sarah McEntee was born in 1837 in Rondout[24]. At this point in my research, not much has been discovered about Sarah but at age 37, she received her degree as a Doctor of Medicine from the Eclectic Medical College of the City of New York on February 4, 1874[25]. Her death date is unknown but like her brother Maurice, a review of census records from 1850 to 1880, indicates that she never married and lived with her parents their deaths.[26]

Lucy McEntee (1840 - aft 1880)

Lucy McEntee was born in 1840 in Rondout[27]. Again, like many of the McEntee daughters, not much is known about her including when she died. She married John Newman Andrews, born September 16, 1838 in Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, about 1860 after he had graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Andrews went on to serve in the Civil War and was made a Captain and a Major at Cedar Mountain and a Lieutenant Colonel at Franklin, Tennessee. He would later serve in the Indian Country[28] and in the Spanish-American war, finally retiring on April 1, 1899[29].

Charles McEntee (1806 – 1876)

Charles McEntee, the brother of James S. McEntee, was born in 1806 in Western, Oneida, New York and like his brother, produced some notable offspring. He married Christina Tremper of New York in . Charles and Christina had the following children, all born in Rondout:

• Julia McEntee, born 1834
• John McEntee, born June 23, 1835
• Charles H. McEntee, born January 21, 1842
• Anna McEntee, born 1848
• Lilly McEntee, born 1851

Charles McEntee was a flour merchant [30] in the Ulster County area and for a short period in his life, moved with his family to Brooklyn[31]. Charles McEntee died on December 12, 1876 but not before moving back to Ulster County[32]. Christina Tremper McEntee died on March 6, 1889 in Rondout[33].

Julia McEntee (1834 – 1919)



Julia McEntee was born on March 1, 1834 in Rondout[34]. She married John Dillon in 1866. John Dillon, co-owner of the McEntee & Dillon Ironworks company, was born in New York in 1831 and died at Kingston in 1873.

Julia studied art in Paris as a student of Georges Jeannin, a floral painter, and she would later focus solely on still life subjects, mostly floral arrangements. She also spent time working with her first cousin Jervis McEntee in his Rondout studio. Her technique and brushstroke show a great influence of the Impressionist movement.

After her husband’s death in 1873, despite having to manage her husband’s part of the family business, she still managed to pursue her painting. She lived in New York City during the 1870s and 1880s although the census reports for that period show her home as being in Ulster County. It was likely that, like her cousin Jervis, she spent her the winter months in the city and moved up to the “country” of the Rondout area in the warmer months.[35]

Julia McEntee Dillon attained a level of skill and a large following which allowed her to paint at the famous East 10th Street studio and exhibit her works in shows at the National Academy of Design (New York), the 1893 Columbia Exhibition (Chicago), the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, and the Brooklyn Art Association.

Julia returned to live full-time in Kingston and set up her studio on Pearl Street. When not painting, she was involved with raising monies for Kingston’s first hospital, other charitable endeavors and was seen as a “liberated woman.” Julia McEntee Dillon died in 1919 in Kingston and is buried along with many other McEntee family members in the Montrepose Cemetery.

Charles H. McEntee (1842 – 1862)

Photo credit: Seward R. Osborne Collection

Charles H. McEntee was born on January 21, 1842 in Rondout, the youngest son of Charles and Christina McEntee. In August of 1862 Charles was responsible for raising Company H of the 120th Regiment of the New York Volunteers[36] and served as Captain. He died on December 21, 1862 in Falmouth, Virginia, after being stricken with “brain fever” and leading his company for less than four months.[37]

Charles’ body was brought back to Rondout and his body was buried in Montrepose Cemetery in Kingston where his parents erected a broken column to mark his grave.




John McEntee (1835 – 1903)



John McEntee, pictured above on the far right, was born on June 23, 1835 in Rondout and while at this time there is no much known about his personal life, his public life and service during the Civil War have been documented extensively. John McEntee’s pivotal role in gathering military intelligence for the Union is a subject that I intend to write about, in much greater depth, in future posts.

John enlisted at Kingston as a Quartermaster Sergeant on September 24, 1861 at the age of 26 and was part of Company S, 80th Infantry Regiment New York. On February 18, 1862 we was promoted to Full 2nd Lieutenant with Company K. On September 22, 1862 he was promoted to Full 1st Lieutenant. On October 5, 1862 he was promoted to Full Captain with Company A. On December 19, 1864 he was promoted to Full Lieutenant Colonel and was discharged from Company S on April 16, 1866.[38]

His rapid ascent from Sergeant to Lieutenant Colonel is due to his work during that period with the Bureau of Military Information and the Army of the Potomac. John McEntee’s skill was interrogating prisoners of war, reviewing captured documents, and determining the different between rumor or “camp gossip” and fact. One example when on June 11, 1863:

. . . he nailed down one elusive fact, the location of Albert Jenkins’ cavalry brigade, a part of Stuart’s command that was still west of the Blue Ridge. Some of the prisoners taken at Brandy Station were likely to know where Jenkins was, but these men, McEntee found, were very unlike infantry prisoners. They were gentlemen’s sons, well educated, veterans of the considerable scouting experience, and hence “familiar with all the different means of pumping.” But one of them, a lieutenant in the 12th Virginia Cavalry, was “wise beyond his own conceit.” The prisoner asked what the losses in the recent battle were; McEntee replied that Benjamin F. Davis, a well-known colonel in Pleasonton’s command, had been killed (true) and that General Jenkins was also killed (a fabrication). Falling for this ancient ruse, the Virginian replied that “that was a damned lie , that Jenkins was in the Valley in command of all the forces there, infantry and cavalry.”[39]

John McEntee was also heavily involved in the Dahlgren Affair (concerning partially-forged papers found on the body of a Union soldier indicating an assignation attempt on President Jefferson Davis) and more importantly, he played an important role in the Battle of Gettysburg. In brief, McEntee’s intelligence gathering and work with a young black man named Charlie Wright allowed General Hooker to realize that General Lee’s army was moving towards Maryland. Hooker’s army then shadowed Lee’s troops, undetected on the other side of the Blue Ridge Mountain. For this reason, the battle was not just an “accidental collision” of both sides – it allowed the Union Army to protect Washington from Lee’s forces and to foresee that the Confederates would group at or near Gettysburg.[40]

John McEntee died in Kingston on December 19, 1903 at the age of seventy-eight.

Coming up: Part Three - The Not So Famed MacEntees of Ulster County, New York

Notes:

[1] Heidgerd, William, The Goetschius Family in America, (New Paltz, New York: The Elting Memorial Library, 1984), p. 83.

[2] Last, Kathleen L., Inventory of Westernville Presbyterian Cemetery, October 1999 - February 2000, <http://www.interment.net/data/us/ny/oneida/western/western_lp.htm>, examined for any reference to "McEntee," accessed February 28, 2008.

[3] Heidgerd, William, The Goetschius Family in America, (New Paltz, New York: The Elting Memorial Library, 1984), p. 83.

[4] Id.

[5] “Obituary of James S. McEntee,” New York Times, July 1, 1887.

[6] The Century House Historical Society, Natural News, Rosendale, New York: online <http://www.centuryhouse.org/>, Spring 2002, "Living on Hollow Ground - The Natural Cement Industry of Rosendale, New York" by Brenda L. Wood.

[7] 1860 US Census, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed February 27, 2008, citing Census Place: Kingston, Ulster, New York; Roll: M653_870; Page: 0; Image: 347.

[8] Eddy, Richard, The Life of Thomas J. Sawyer . . . and Caroline M. Sawyer, Boston, Massachusetts: Universalist Publishing House, 1900, p. 288.

[9] Id., p. 290.

[10] MacEntee, Jervis, Jervis McEntee Diaries, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Archives of American Art, <http://www.aaa.si.edu/guides/site-jervis/>, accessed February 28, 2008 citing entry for November 1, 1890, upon which someone else had written the following, "Died January 27, 1891 at 11 a.m. of Bright's Disease. Was in bed sixteen days. (emphasis in original)"

[11] The Century House Historical Society, Natural News, Rosendale, New York: online <http://www.centuryhouse.org/>, Spring 2002, "Living on Hollow Ground - The Natural Cement Industry of Rosendale, New York" by Brenda L. Wood.

[12] Falk, Peter Hastings, ed., Who Was Who in American Art, (Madison, Connecticut: Sound View Press, 1999)

[13] MacEntee, Jervis, Jervis McEntee Diaries, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Archives of American Art, <http://www.aaa.si.edu/guides/site-jervis/>, accessed February 28, 2008.

[14] Heidgerd, William, The Goetschius Family in America, (New Paltz, New York: The Elting Memorial Library, 1984), p. 83.

[15] Naval Historical Center, Officers of Navy Yards, Shore Stations, and Vessels, 1 January 1865, Washington, D.C., <http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/cw/wgsquad1.htm> accessed on February 28, 2008. Listed as part of West Gulf Blockading Squadron, Octorara, (3d rate.), as an Acting Master.

[16] Trowbridge, J.T. and Lucy Larcom, eds., Our Young Folks: An Illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls, Boston, Massachusetts: Fields, Osgood & Co., 1870, Vol. VI, pp. 248-254.

[17] Id., Vol. IV, pp. 154-162.

[18] 1880 US Census, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed February 27, 2008, citing Census Place: Kingston, Ulster, New York; Roll: T9_939; Family History Film: 1254939; Page: 272.1000; Enumeration District: 132; Image: 0546.

[19] New York State Department of Health, Vital Records, (Albany, New York), <http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mwalters/NYVitalStatsDeaths.html>, accessed February 27, 2008, citing Death Certificate #9809 for Maurice W. McEntee, June 14, 1883.

[20] Heidgerd, William, The Goetschius Family in America, (New Paltz, New York: The Elting Memorial Library, 1984), p. 83.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Rosenzweig, Roy and Elizabeth Blackmar, The Park and the People: A History of Central Park, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1998.

[24] Heidgerd, William, The Goetschius Family in America, (New Paltz, New York: The Elting Memorial Library, 1984), p. 83.

[25] “Conferring Medical Degrees on Ladies,” New York Times, February 5, 1874.

[26] 1880 US Census, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed February 27, 2008, citing Census Place: Kingston, Ulster, New York; Roll: T9_939; Family History Film: 1254939; Page: 272.1000; Enumeration District: 132; Image: 0546.

[27] Heidgerd, William, The Goetschius Family in America, (New Paltz, New York: The Elting Memorial Library, 1984), p. 83.

[28] 1880 US Census, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed February 27, 2008, citing Census Place: Halleck, Elko, Nevada; Roll: T9_758; Family History Film: 1254758; Page: 82.2000; Enumeration District: 7; Image: 0168. The 1880 Census places them in Elko, Nevada which while not Indian Territory at that time but a state as of 1864, it probably served as a base for such operations.

[29] Leonard, John William, Who's Who in America, 1903-1905, Chicago, Illinois: A.N. Marquis & Company, 1905, <http://books.google.com/books?id=4nfOl6a6QSkC>, accessed February 28, 2008, p. 32.

[30] 1850 US Census, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed March 1, 2008, citing Census Place: Kingston, Ulster, New York; Roll: M432_607; Page: 40; Image: 82.

[31] 1870 US Census, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed March 1, 2008, citing Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 22, Kings, New York; Roll: M593_962; Page: 660; Image: 126.

[32] 1880 US Census, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed March 1, 2008, citing Census Place: Marbletown, Ulster, New York; Roll: T9_939; Family History Film: 1254939; Page: 361.3000; Enumeration District: 136; Image: 0724.

[33] “Obituary of Christina McEntee,” New York Times, March 7, 1889.

[34] General Records of the Department of State, U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007), <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed March 1, 2008, citing issue date July 24, 1872.

[35] 1880 US Census, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed March 1, 2008, citing Census Place: Marbletown, Ulster, New York; Roll: T9_939; Family History Film: 1254939; Page: 361.3000; Enumeration District: 136; Image: 0724.

[36] Van Santvoord, Cornelius, The One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment New York State Volunteers, (Rondout, New York: Kingston Freeman Press, 1894), <http://books.google.com/books?id=LA9CAAAAIAAJ>, accessed p. 297.

[37] Id. p. 298.

[38] Fishel, Edwin C., The Secret War for the Union: The Untold Story of Military Intelligence, New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Books, 1998, p. 293.

[39] Id. p. 423.

[40] Id. p. 1.