The Missing Child

     A baby was born and then that baby died.  I don't know where and I don't know when.

     My maternal grandmother, Eleanor never met one of her mother's sibling because he or she died as a baby or a very young child.
     MaMa's grandmother Teresa had five children that I know of who lived.  MaMa's mother, Josephine was born in 1894, followed by Steven in 1897, Theresa in 1902, Albert in 1908 and finally the youngest baby, Gerald born in 1910.  Gerald was born in September of 1910 and is not in that year's census.  The census for 1910 asked how many children born and how many living.  At the time of this census there were five children born and only four living.  Who was the fifth child?
     I cannot find the 1900 census for my 2nd great-grandparents, Teresa and Stephen so I don't know how many children Teresa already had as of that year.  I have the short form/short version of my great-grandmother Josephine's birth certificate which doesn't have much information but Josie's younger sister, Theresa's birth certificate shows 3  previous children born, 4 now living.  If Theresa was the fourth child born then when was her older brother or sister born?  When did he or she die?
     I will order another birth certificate for my great-grandmother, Josie as well as for her younger brother, Steven if needed.  They were both born in Rosendale,NY about two 1/2 years apart in 1894 and 1897.  Will the long form (if available) of Josie's birth certificate be as revealing as her younger sister's and tell me that there was a child born after her?
     The 1930 census states that my 2nd great-grandmother was 15 years old at first marriage.  Teresa Devine was born in 1875 and would have been 15 in 1890 when she married Stephen Duper.  Josie was born in 1894 when Teresa was 19.  Was the baby she lost born before Josie?  I hope to find out soon.

     R.I.P. to the missing child.

Emily's Sister

     I seriously have no business working on my genealogy at night when I am tired and should be sleeping.  Maybe I should dream about these ancestors so I can wake up refreshed and ready to resume sleuthing.  I also need to be more careful when reading records.
     My 2nd great-grandmother, Teresa was baptized in November of 1875.  I have three copies of this sacramental record.  Why three when one should be sufficient?  Well, I had a photocopy of the baptismal certificate that my grandmother's cousin sent me.  It had the name Emily Sheldon as one of the sponsors. That was Teresa's mother's name so I contacted the church myself for another copy.  The second copy had no sponsors listed.  I had put genealogy on hold for awhile then when I looked at these certificates I needed to find out who the sponsors really were.
     Teresa's parents were Patrick Devine and Emily Sheldon.  When I received baptismal information for the third time, it was not a certificate, it was a photocopy from the book with all the baptismal entries.
     The other day I took another look at Teresa's baptismal record while searching records for her mother, Emily.  How did I not notice this?  How could I have put the wrong name on my tree?
     The photocopy of the entry from the baptismal book is most accurate because the church just photocopied that page rather than filling out an actual certificate.  Teresa's godparents were Andrew Carswell and Mary Devine.  I listed Mary as a sister to Emily on my tree because I had gotten used to referring to Emily as Emily Devine and not Emily Sheldon.
     So I guess Mary was Patrick's sister or maybe his sister-in-law.  Patrick's brother, John was married to Mary Jane Corby.  Were they married at the time of Teresa's baptism?  Is Mary Jane Corby the Mary Devine who appears on the baptismal certificate?  I checked my tree again and saw that Mary Jane Corby didn't marry John until 1887.  So maybe the Mary on this certificate was Patrick's sister.
     Is Mary another mystery lady?

In Search of the Irish

     I had hoped to find my Irish ancestors by today which is St. Patrick's Day.

     Patrick Devine and Emily Sheldon were my 3rd great-grandparents on my maternal grandmother's mother's side.  They emigrated from Ireland in the early-mid 1850's.  I know absolutely nothing about Patrick and I think I located Emily in the 1900 census.  The Emily I found was a divorced woman living with her 17 year old son, William in Esopus, NY.  I didn't find any other Emily nearby who could possibly be my Emily.  Patrick's brother, John was married to Mary.  I found Mary and their daughter, Anna in censuses but no idea where John was.  It seems the Devine men had disappeared.  Mary and Anna lived in Rifton which is about 6 1/2 miles west of Esopus and are buried in St. Peter's Cemetery located about 5 miles west in Rosendale.  I had called the cemetery to inquire about Patrick and Emily because I knew that Mary and Anna were buried there and I thought well...  maybe...      The cemetery didn't have much information but they were able to tell me the plot number.
     I found a tall tombstone with the names Patrick Devine and wife Emily on one side and their son William's name was on the other.  William died at the age of 20 in 1903 so I guess his parents had their names engraved when they bought this at the time of their son's burial.  That doesn't make sense though because the Emily that I found in the 1900 census was divorced and her son didn't die until 1903.
     I called the cemetery again.  I found what I thought was their final resting place but they are not there.  William is there by himself.  I have no idea where his parents are.
     I've always wanted to visit Ireland but I don't want to take the trip without knowing what county my 3rd great-grandparents were from.
     One of these days I'll do it.  I'll kiss the Blarney Stone, visit a few pubs and look for four leaf clovers.  If I visit the birthplaces of Patrick Devine and Emily Sheldon maybe I'll meet a leprechaun along the way who will laugh at me if I search for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

                                            HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

                                



    

Women Marching Out

     March is Women's History Month so this month is dedicated to the mystery ladies in my family.
     Will I ever find Emily Sheldon, my 3rd great-grandmother on my maternal grandmother's mother's side?  She emigrated from Ireland and married Patrick Devine.
     There's another Emily I'd like to know more about and she was my 3rd great-grandmother as well.  Emily Martin was my maternal grandmother's great-grandmother on her father's side.
     The other ladies in hiding are Eleanor, Susan, and Sister Gaudentia who wasn't actually an ancestor but was an important part of my grandmother's life.

     Let the adventure begin...

Baptism or Confirmation

     Gaudentia is the name that my grandmother chose for her confirmation yet I found that name on MaMa's baptismal certificate.  Why he baptismal record?  She told me that Gaudentia was her confirmation name and the name of her favorite teacher.
     My grandmother was not baptized as a baby.  By 1930,  MaMa was living with her maternal grandmother, Teresa.  I think she moved in sometime after her younger sister died in 1927.  MaMa's grandmother who was her guardian now took care of her religious upbringing by enrolling her in catholic school and having her baptized.  MaMa was transferred from a public school to St. Leonard's in 1930 which was actually a few blocks further away from P.S. 145 that she had been attending.
     In May of 1931, at the age of 13, Eleanor Gaudentia was baptized at St. Leonard's Catholic Church.  I don't know if her parents were present at the baptism but her grandmother, Teresa and her uncle Gerald were the godparents.
     Did Eleanor make her confirmation?

Gaudentia

"There she is...  there's Gaudentia..."

     On the elementary school record from St Leonard's I saw that MaMa's first teacher when she enrolled in this school was Sister Gaudentia.  My maternal grandmother told me that she chose the name Gaudentia as her confirmation name because it was the name of her favorite teacher.  Maybe this teacher took my grandmother under her wing because MaMa was a new student?  She transferred from a public school to St Leonard's in 1930 at the age of 13.  She got a late start n this school but was lucky to have Sister Gaudentia.
     When it was time for my confirmation I chose the name Gaudentia because that was the name that my favorite grandmother chose. ♥

     I wish I knew more about Sister Gaudentia.