Olde Ulster History

I love these kind of finds! This evening I was doing some research on my SLATTERY and LEEHIVE lines and reviewing my research log. Many of these ancestors including my great-grandfather John Vincent SLATTERY lived in Kingston, New York and worked for the local railroad.

I knew there was more than one railroad line and I wanted to find out more in general about the railroads so into The Google I entered "kingston new york history railroads" and behold, what do I find?

Someone has uploaded a complete year of Olde Ulster Magazine from 1910 on Scribd!  According to Hope Farm Press, the magazine was published from 1905 to 1914 by Benjamin Meyer Brink and had a limited run of 400 copies printed.

There are some digital copies on Google Books but below are the links to the complete year of 1910 on Scribd. If you have any Hudson Valley ancestors, please make sure you check this resource!

• Olde Ulster History - January 1910
• Olde Ulster History - February 1910
• Olde Ulster History - March 1910
• Olde Ulster History - April 1910
• Olde Ulster History - May 1910
• Olde Ulster History - June 1910
• Olde Ulster History - July 1910
• Olde Ulster History - August 1910
• Olde Ulster History - September 1910
• Olde Ulster History - October 1910
• Olde Ulster History - November 1910
• Olde Ulster History - December 1910

© 2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee

SUCCESS! Slattery - Leehive Hypotheses Proved

I am on my way out the door to the Utah Genealogical Association's membership banquet with Mark Lowe as guest speaker, but I had to share a success this afternoon at the Family History Library here in Salt Lake City.

For several years now I suspected that both of my 2nd great-grandparents on my father's side - Martin Slattery and Margaret Leehive - died prior to 1900. The evidence which I had gathered as part of my proof:

• The Slattery family is seen in the 1880 US Federal Census in Rosendale, Ulster County, New York although most of the children were not yet born.

• Martin and Margaret could not be located in the 1900 US Federal Census; however, their children with the surname Slattery were living with a Dennis Leehive, assumed to be Margaret's brother.

• A 1903 newspaper account from Kingston, New York mentions Dennis Leehive as guardian of the Slattery children but no real details.

So one of my first projects at FHL was to find either Probate or Guardian records for the Slattery Children.  The Guardian Records 1823-1920 for Ulster County have an index on one of the microfilm reels. In Section 4, I found the following information:

Margaret Slattery appointed guardian 8 April 1895 for:
James Slattery - 3 yrs
John Slattery - 6 yrs
Julia Slattery - 8 mos
Martin Slattery - 4 yrs
Mary Slattery - 10 yrs
Thomas Slattery - 7 yrs

And then Margaret died and Dennis Leehive appointed guardian in her place 17 October 1898.

Not only does the index show where all the decrees, letters and bonds are filed, but it also shows that Dennis Leehive filed Guardian Reports on the following dates: 29 May 1899, 23 January 1900, 2 January 1901, 17 January 1902, 12 January 1903, 8 January 1904, 20 January 1905, 9 January 1906, 4 January 1907, and 6 January 1909. A release of guardianship was filed 21 Feb 1916.

So guess what records I'll be after tomorrow morning over at FHL?

© 2010, copyright Thomas MacEntee

My Sweet Sixteen - My 16 Great-Grandparents

It is time again for Saturday Night Fun - and thanks to Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings we have a nice challenge tonite:

1) List your 16 great-grandparents in pedigree chart order. List their birth and death years and places.

2) Figure out the dominant ethnicity or nationality of each of them.

3) Calculate your ancestral ethnicity or nationality by adding them up for the 16 - 6.25% for each (obviously, this is approximate).

4) If you don't know all 16 of your great-grandparents, then do it for the last full generation you have.

5) Write your own blog post, or make a comment on Facebook or in this post.

Thanks to a recent brick wall coming down, I can now complete these tasks!

My 16 great-great grandparents

1. John W. McEntee is the son of Edward McEntee and Ann E. Freer. He was born on Jan 21, 1840 in Gardiner, Ulster, New York, USA. He died on Jan 21, 1918 in Gardiner, Ulster, New York, USA.

2. Elmira Wood is the daughter of William Wood and Elizabeth C. Unknown. She was born on Dec 10, 1851 in New York, New York, New York, USA. She died on Dec 10, 1882 in Gardiner, Ulster, New York, USA.

3. Jacob L. DeGroodt is the son of Charles C. DeGroodt and Elisabeth Mariah Finehout. He was born on Sep 22, 1860 in New York, New York, New York, USA. He died on Jan 09, 1933.

4. Georgiana Simpson is the daughter of Elijah Simpson and Rachel Unknown. She was born Feb 1862 in New York, New York, New York, USA. She died on Nov 10, 1938 in Walkill, Ulster, New York, USA.

5. Martin Slattery. He was born in Ireland.

6. Margaret Leehive is the daughter of John Leehive and Unknown. She was born Abt. 1867 in Greenwich, London, England. She died Bef. 1900.

7. William R. Krom is the son of Jacob Markle Krom and Jane F. Roosa. He was born on Jun 25, 1847 in Marbletown, Ulster, New York, USA. He died on Nov 19, 1891 in Olive, Ulster, New York, USA.

8. Sarah Ann Christiana is the daughter of Jacob L. Christiana and Mary M. Smith. She was born Abt. 1851 in Olive, Ulster, New York, USA. She died on Feb 26, 1926 in Gardiner, Ulster, New York, USA.

9. William Dence Austin is the son of Ira H. Austin and Hannah Dence. His birth on May 24, 1863 (Boonville, Oneida, New York). He died on Mar 26, 1932 in Bronx, Bronx, New York, USA.

10. Catherine M. O'Keefe is the daughter of David O'Keefe and Catherine Sullivan. She was born on Sep 30, 1862 in Lowville, Lewis, New York, USA. She died on Nov 08, 1946 in Bronx, Bronx, New York, USA.

11. Matthew McGinnis. He was born Abt. 1851 in Ireland. He died on Feb 15, 1899 in New York, New York, New York, USA.

12. Bridget Farren is the daughter of John Farren and Ellen Doherty. She was born Oct 1861 in Belfast, Antrim, Ireland. She died Aft. 1930 in New York, New York, New York, USA.

13. Gustavus Henneberg is the son of Gustave Henneberg and Magdalena Schmidt. He was born on Jul 06, 1864 in Germany. His death on Aug 15, 1942 in Queens, Queens, New York, USA.

14. Magdalena Zwicker. She was born on Jun 12, 1864 in Germany. Her death on Feb 10, 1937 in Queens, Queens, New York, USA.

15. Robert F. Pressner is the son of Johann Pressner and Franziska Unknown. He was born on Jun 11, 1858 in Pogwitz, Austria. His death on Feb 07, 1897 in Manhattan, New York, New York, USA.

16. Anna Herring is the daughter of Franz Xaver Herring and Anna Manch. She was born on Nov 13, 1860 in Aixheim, Tuttlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Ethnicity

The dominant ethnicity is European - Y-DNA haplogroup is R.

Nationalities

5 Irish (31%), 4 English (25%), 4 German (25%), 3 Dutch (19%).

Madness Monday: Martin Slattery

(Thanks to footnoteMaven for this great poster!)

This is my first Madness Monday post - and I think it is a great idea dreamed up by Amy Crooks of Untangled Family Roots.

I spent much of yesterday working on my Slattery line and am pulling what little hair I have left out trying to locate Martin Slattery, my 2nd great-grandfather.

Here is the problem: I have an obituary for my great-grandfather, John Vincent Slattery, from the Kingston Daily Freeman published on July 11, 1939. The obituary lists his parents as Martin Slattery and Margaret Leehive. However it is the unavailable 1890 US Federal Census and the fact that Martin Slattery and Margaret Leehive most likely died prior to the 1900 census which cause my madness.

In the 1900 US Federal Census, the children of Martin Slattery are living with their uncle - Margaret's brother - Michael Leehive. This continues over the next few census reports (1910 and 1920) with no trace of either Martin Slattery or Margaret Leehive.

Given the fact that Slattery is a rather common surname among the Irish, I will work on Leehive information. What I know so far is that Leehive (and its variants Lehive and Leahive) is an English surname which I hope will give me more information on my Slattery line.

Saturday Night Fun - Y-DNA

Well I am home from a great night of Indian cuisine and ready to participate in Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Fun meme.  This week Randy asks:

* What was your father's mother's maiden name?

Slattery - my father's mother was Loretta Margaret Slattery (1920 - 1986)

* What was your father's mother's father's name?

John Vincent Slattery (1888 - 1939)

* What is your father's mother's father's patrilineal line? That is, his father's father's father's ... back to the most distant male ancestor in that line?

All I can trace back to is Martin Slattery for whom I have no birth or death date.

* Can you identify male sibling(s) of your father's mother, and any living male descendants from those male sibling(s)? If so, you have a candidate to do a Y-DNA test on that patrilineal line. If not, you may have to find male siblings, and their descendants, of the next generation back, or even further.

There were two brothers, John Vincent Slattery, Jr. (1914 - 1916) and Gerald Anthony Slattery (1917 - 1988) with no children - as far as my research shows. It looks like I have some more research to do here!

Names, Places & Most Wanted Faces

Craig Manson over at Geneablogie has started a new meme which I think is important since it gets the surnames in my genealogy research info out into the blogosphere.  As Craig put it:

"List the surnames you are researching and the general localities. Then tell the names of your “Most Wanted Ancestors,” that is, the ones you most want to find behind that brickwall."

Note: I have been particular with the formatting of the information below and use ________ Surname hoping this will allow more people using Google and other search engines to find my post. Also I am using _______ County for the same reasons.

AUSTIN Surname: New York (Jefferson County, Lewis County, St. Lawrence County); Rhode Island (Kent County, Washington County)

CHRISTIANA Surname: New York (Dutchess County, Ulster County)

CRANDALL Surname: Rhode Island (Kent County, Washington County)

DEGROODT Surname: New York (Dutchess County, Ulster County)

DENCE Surname: New York (Lewis County)

FARREN Surname: New York (Bronx County, Kings County); Ireland (Belfast)

FINEHOUT Surname: New York (Dutchess County, Ulster County)

HENNEBERG Surname: New York (Bronx County, Kings County, Queens County, Nassau County), New Jersey (Essex County, Hudson County)

KROM Surname: New York (Dutchess County, Ulster County)

LEEHIVE Surname: New York (Ulster County)

MACENTEE Surname or MCENTEE Surname: New York (Dutchess County, Orange County, Ulster County)

MCGINNIS Surname or MCGINNES Surname: New York (Bronx County, Kings County), Ireland (County Monaghan

PRESSNER Surname: New York (Bronx County, Kings County, Queens County)

PUTMAN Surname: New York (Albany County, Montgomery County, Schenectady County)

SLATTERY Surname: New York (Orange County, Ulster County)

MOST WANTED ANCESTOR: Frances Pressner, my Great Grandmother, born abt 1889 in Liepsig, Germany, died March 10, 1960, Bronx County, New York. Having her parents info would allow me to know all 16 of my great-great grandparents.

A Game of 21

As part of Randy Seaver's ongoing Saturday Night Fun series, tonight we seem to be playing a game of 21: run an Ahnentafel report from your genealogy database and select #21.  The person should be one of the eight 2nd great grandmothers you have in your family tree.

Well hit me, here's my #21:

Margaret Leehive, daughter of John Leehive and Unknown.  Born about 1867 in England and died before 1900.  She married Martin Slattery around 1884 in Ulster County, New York.

What I also know about Margaret Leehive based on family accounts and backed up by the 1910 Census is that after she died her children were taken care of by her brother Michael Leehive.

Names I Used for Grandparents

Randy at Genea-Musings brings up an interesting topic in the genea-blogsphere: What names did you use in addressing your grand-parents while growing up? What do or did your children use? Your grandchildren?

Abraham MacEntee (paternal grandfather)
I never had the privilege of meeting my grandfather on my father's side. I do know that he and my grandmother may have been separated since when I saw my grandmother, she was on her own.

Loretta Slattery MacEntee (paternal grandmother)
I only met her a few times, despite her living about 40 miles away. It probably had quite a bit to with the fact that my mother had divorced my father and we really didn't stay in touch with my father's side of the family except for a few of his brothers and sisters.

Alfred Austin (maternal grandfather)
I knew my grandfather somehwat and called him Grandpa. Other of my cousins used the word Poppy. Using Grandpa was confusing since that is what I called my great-grandfather, John Ralph Austin, with whom I was much closer.

My family has a very tortured (literally) past with my mother's father. It is difficult to go into and is almost never discussed by the family except for a brave few. My mother saw to it that there was little interaction between her father and my brother and I with good reason due to sexual and physical abuse issues in the past. I never understood the distance as a child but I now realize not only what my mother endured as a child, but also what she did to protect her children.

Anna Henneberg Austin (maternal grandfather)
My grandmother died when I was 2 1/2 years old but I do remember her being called Nana or Nanny. This was probably due to her German background. My grandmother had been abandoned by her husband, Alfred Austin, and died of a cerebral hemmoragh at age 53.

Jean Rose Austin (maternal grandfather's second wife)
Soon after my grandmother Anna Heneberg Austin died, my grandfather married Jean Rose, making her his second wife. I called her Aunt Jean and was told to do so by my mother. Because of the distance between me and my grandfather, naturally I didn't get to know Aunt Jean very well. Secretly, I liked her but sadly wasn't allowed to express that as a child. She was a spit-fire! Short, about 5 foot tall, smoked unflitered cigarettes like a chimney, and was not shy about sharing her opinion. My kinda gal!! Although I might not agree with her, she had spunk and was what we called "ballsy."

John Ralph Austin (maternal grandfather's father)
One of the biggest influences in my life and I called him Grandpa. I consider myself fortunate to have had him in my life before he passed in 1977. He and my great-grandmother would tell me stories of life in New York during the first half of the 20th century and I was always enchanted. Curiously, my mother (and her 11 siblings) called him Pa.

Therese McGinnis Austin (maternal grandfather's mother)
An even bigger influence on me than her husband and I called her Grandma while my mother called her Ma. She taught me how to behave, which fork to use, how to be excused from a table, how to greet adults, etc. Spending time with her - be it an overnight or two weeks in the summer - was like going to charm school and college all wrapped into one.

An imposing person at over six feet tall, she was like Julia Child but much funnier in my view. She always had an opinion on something and had great stories to tell. Her 1840s farmhouse was my second home and I miss both her and it. What I remember most is her smell - she wore Emeraude and you could always smell it, faintly like a light touch, when you went to hug her.

Nowadays if a woman walks past me wearing Emeraude, I go into a trance and am transported back to her dining room with its banjo clock, green floral wallpaper, blue ceiling and old dutch plank doors. I can almost hear myself saying, "Grandma tell me about the time . . ."

My Ancestors In 1908

Lisa over at 100 Years In America poses a "family history challenge" as it were: Where Was Your Family in 1908? Since Lisa has asked me to "thrown down," here's what I can relate about my ancestors and that year:

John Ralph Austin - my great-grandfather would start the year off turning 12 in late January downstate in the Bronx, New York. While he grew up in Lowville, Lewis County, New York, he and the rest of the family closed the butcher shop they owned off of State Street to resettle in New York City. The Lowville Journal-Republican has several articles mentioning Ralph visiting his grandmother, Catherine Sullivan O'Keefe during the summer of 1908. He probably arrived and departed via the New York Central & Hudson railroad which went on to Ottawa, Canada as its final destination.

Therese Rose McGinnes- my great-grandmother and wife of John Ralph was about to turn 14 years old in Manhattan, New York where she had lived all her life. Her father had already left their mother, Bridget Farren, and the six girls to fend for themselves.

My great-grandparents Richard Henneberg and Frances Pressner had met in Germany and were married right around 1908 in the Bronx, New York. Over the next 15 years they would welcome six children into the fold.

My great-grandparents Elmer A. MacEntee and Margaret DeGroodt were living about 90 miles north of New York City, in the Ulster County region, mostly Ellenvile and Shawangunk. By 1908 four of their 11 children would have been born.

My great-grandparents John Vincent Slattery and Loretta Margarete Dorothea Krom were located one county over, in Orange County, New York but had not yet even met. They would be married within the next five years.