New Year's Eve Tragedy

     the smoke...     the flames...     the nightmare.....

                         Trapped !!!

     December 31, 1955 started out as any other day for the Duper family.  They had plans to move to another apartment the next month because the building they were living in was scheduled to be razed and replaced by a housing project.  They never made the move and they never saw 1956.

     434 Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, NY went up in flames.  Teresa Duper, my 2nd great-grandmother, a widow, was being helped out of the apartment by her eldest son, Steven.  She would have made it out alive but she turned back.  She went back for her youngest son, Gerald whose bedroom was in the back of the apartment.  Teresa and Gerald were both found in the bathroom.  I might not be writing this if my mother who was spending the school recess with her great-grandmother hadn't gone home the day before because she wasn't feeling well.

     Teresa Devine was born November 4, 1875 in Stuyvesant Falls, NY (Columbia county) to Patrick Devine and Emily Sheldon both of Ireland.  She married Stephen Duper, an Austrian man and had five children.  Her youngest child, Gerald never married and her oldest son, Stephen was separated from his wife, Mary which is probably why he was living with his mother.

♥ R.I.P. ♥
Teresa Devine Duper   November 4,1875 - December 31,1955
Gerald Duper   September 22,1910 - December 31,1955

R.I.P. Charles

     On this day in 1851, my 4th great0grandfather, Charles L.Davis died.  He left behind his widow, Susan and eight children (that I've found so far).  His so, William was my 3rd great-grandfather.
     According to a cemetery survey, my 4th great-grandfather was buried in Anning Smith ground which is located in Milton,NY in Ulster county and the stone has his date of birth as April 7, 1800.  The 1850 U.S. Census has him born in New York but I don't know where.
     I don't know anything else about Charles L. Davis so R.I.P.

Who Was This Man?

     Who was this Native American Man?

     Is he one of my great-grandfathers?  My maternal grandmother (MaMa) always said that she had an Indian grandfather (I don't know how many greats or how far back this grandfather is).  MaMa never told me which grandfather this was but she had shown me the photo many times when we used to sit together looking at old photos.  MaMa also never told me if this mystery grandfather was on her mother or her father's side of the family.  My beautiful grandmother died when I was only 14 years old, long before I became interested in genealogy so I never asked questions.
     Since starting my genealogical journey to find my roots I have discovered that this Native American grandfather, if he was an ancestor would be on MaMa's father's side.
     MaMa's mother, Josephine was born in Rosendale, NY which is in Ulster county.  Josie's mother Teresa was born further northeast in Columbia county but Josie's father was from Austria.  Teresa's parents (my 3rd great-grandparents) were from Ireland.  Well, there you have it...  MaMa's maternal ancestors wee from Ireland and Austria so there was no Native American grandfather on her mother's side.
     MaMa's father, Samuel was born in Ohio but his father and the fathers before him were all from Ulster county, NY.  Samuel's mother, Flora was born in Ohio but her mother was from Vermont and her father was from New York.
     MaMa's maiden name was Davis.  My mother told me years ago that MaMa had told her that we were part Welsh but she never mentioned which ancestor.  I read somewhere that the Davis people came from Wales so I guess that would mean that this Native American man is not one of my Davis ancestors.  Who was he?  Was he the father or grandfather of one of the Davis wives?

MaMa's paternal line:
  MaMa (Eleanor Davis) > Samuel (married Josephine) > Daniel (married Flora) > William (married Emily) > Charles (married Susan)


Now let's look at the Davis wives:

Josephine (Josie) - my maternal great-grandmother.  Josie's maiden name was Duper.  Her father was from Austria and her maternal grandparents were from Ireland.

Flora - my 2nd great-grandmother.  Flora was born in Ohio and her maiden name was Braught.  Her father, Samuel was born in New York and her mother, Eleanor Clark was born in Vermont.  I don't know anything about Samuel or Eleanor's parents.

Emily - -my 3rd great-grandmother.  Emily's maiden name was Martin and she was born in Lloyd, NY which is in Ulster county and about 9 miles north of where her husband William Davis was born.  I have no other information about Emily Martin or her parents.

Susan - my 4th great-grandmother.  Susan's maiden name was Lounsbury.  I don't know where Susan was born but she lived in Milton, NY which is in Ulster county and also where she is buried.


     Will I ever find out who the Native American ancestor was?  Was he an ancestor or is this just Native American nonsense?