The Davis School Boys

     My maternal grandmother, Eleanor Davis lived with her maternal grandmother in Brooklyn, NY when she was a 12 year old girl according to the 1930 U.S. Federal Census.  I don't know when she moved in with her grandmother but if I had to guess then I would say it was after the death of her 3 year old sister just three years earlier in 1927.  I did not find any of the Davis boys in the 1930 census and they weren't living with their sister in Brooklyn, so maybe they were in Poughkeepsie with their father.
     MaMa graduated St. Leonard's Catholic School in Brooklyn, NY in 8th grade and I'm still looking for her high school.  I think sh attended St Aloysius.  I ordered her St. Leonard's school records from the Diocese in Brooklyn because the school itself is no longer there.  St. Leonard's closed in the early 1970's and was demolished in 2001.
     I contacted the Poughkeepsie city school district which is basically the board of education.  I thought they would be able to tell me which school Uncle Danny and his brother Sammy attended. Was it Poughkeepsie High School?  Was this school in existence in the mid-late 1930's?  I thought so.  The woman I spoke to was unable to assist me and connected me to Poughkeepsie High School.  The woman I spoke to at the high school told me that this school was built in the 1960's and they only have records going back as early as those students who were born in the 1940's.  She said that if the student lived on S. Cherry St. back in the late 1930's and early 1940's then he might have attended a school called Morris.  When I looked up Poughkeepsie High School online it looked like it was much older.  Someone's information is wrong.  The woman at the high school suggested I call the public relations person at the admin building and she gave me the telephone number.  I called the admin building and connected back to the high school.  I spoke to Mary who is in charge of the 12th grade.  Mary told me that I can only get my own school records with photo identification.  Mary sounded like I was bothering her.  She did not want to hear anything abut genealogy research.  I asked her if this was her school's policy.  I am ordering school records for another person who attended school in Brooklyn.  Mary told me that this is the superintendent's rule and they don't give copies of records to anyone other than the actual student.  My grandmother's brothers are Dead so why would it matter?  I didn't let Mary ruffle my feathers.  I'll call the superintendent myself and ask.  So far, it's a dead end regarding school records for Uncle Danny and Uncle Sammy even thought those men are dead.  Well,  Daniel Davis is definitely dead and I'm sure that his brother Samuel is as well.  I have no idea whatever became of Uncle Sammy.  He's a brick wall and probably a dead brick wall.

School Days

     It's that time of year again when the young scholars return to school for more book learning.

     My son started kindergarten yesterday.  I would have posted this yesterday but we went out to dinner to celebrate.  Gregory was so excited and couldn't wait to go to school.  His school day starts at 8:30am and ends at 3:30pm but he can be dropped as early as 7:30am and picked up as late as 4:30pm.  Greg goes to a private school.  He attended this school last year when he was in pre-k and the year before as a pre-schooler.  Greg loves this school so I chose to keep him where he is rather than save my money and send him to public school.  Gregory had a great first day of school in a new classroom with new teachers and new friends.
     I wrote about the schools my ancestors attended in last September's blog post so I won't repeat my stories. This yer I think I will try to get school records.
     My 2nd great-grandmother Teresa's cousin, Anna graduated from a teachers college in New Paltz, NY in 1911 then started working in a one room schoolhouse in Rifton, NY.  Anna worked in this school, The Rock School, for close to 50 years until a new school was built and named in her honor.  The Anna Devine school has a large portrait of Miss Devine on the wall of the main hallway and it is the first thing you see when you walk through the front doors.  I tried getting Anna Devine's school records but had no luck.  Nobody seems to know where the records are located.  She graduated in 1911 so do these records no longer exist?  I'll try again.  I'll make some more phone calls.  Anna Devine was my 2nd great-grandmother's cousin on my maternal grandmother's side.  I had more luck with her father's side of the family.
     My maternal grandmother, Eleanor's father, Samuel Davis was born in OH.  The 1900 U.S. Federal Census shows 15 year old Samuel attending the Lancaster Reform School in Lancaster, OH.  I couldn't believe my eyes so I looked up this school on the internet and was directed to the Ohio Historical Society's website which had a listing of the students.  I ordered a copy of my great-grandfather's school record. This historical society is wonderful.  The record arrived fairly quickly and was accompanied by a history of the school.  I found out that my great-grandfather was admitted to this school for incorrigibility.
     My maternal grandmother attended St. Leonard's Catholic elementary school in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, NY.  I don't know what high school MaMa attended but she had written in her autograph book from 8th grade that she would be attending St. Aloysius.  I haven't confirmed that yet.  I tried getting my grandmother's school records a few years ago but was unsuccessful.  This was before I was really serious about genealogy and before I found out that MaMa was actually born in 1918 and not 1920.  St. Leonard's was closed in the 1970's.  I don't know where the records were sent if they still exist.  I never followed up on my inquiry but now that I'm serious about genealogy I will make phone calls and write letters if necessary. I will track down MaMa's school records if they're out there somewhere.
     I called St. Barbara's, the school that my mother attended for a year after graduating from St. Leonard's before going to Christ the King High School.  The woman who I spoke to at St. Barbara's was very nice and told me that the records for St. Leonard's had been transferred to St. Joseph's.  I called St. Joseph's and told that they only have sacramental records.  I was referred to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and given their telephone number.  Why didn't I think of calling the Diocese to begin with?  I had a major headache and wasn't thinking.  I spoke to Mark in the archives department at the Diocese who offered to email a form to fill out and return with a $10. money order or personal check.  My mother is away for a few days so I can't call her with questions about my grandmother's schooling.  Did MaMa go to St. Aloysius as she wrote in her autograph book?  I'll try to find out.
     MaMa's mother, Josephine attended the Institution for the Improved Instruction of Deaf Mutes on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, NY.  According to the 1900 and 1910 U.S. census records, Josie was a student from the age of 5 until she was a teenager of 16 or 17 years.  This school is no longer in operation in Manhattan.  It is now the Lexington School for the Deaf located in Queens, NY.  I called the school and spoke to a very helpful lady who advised me to email her my name, address, name and birth date of student and my relationship to student.  She told me that she'd look through the old records and mail me a copy.
     and now I wait.....

Questions for Susan

     I would love to ask my brick wall ancestors a few questions to get those walls crumbling but for now I'll focus on Susan Lounsbury, my 4th great-grandmother who was married to Charles.
     I had written about Charles earlier this year in a post entitled 'Chasing Charles' dated January 9, 2012.  I also wrote a bit about Susan on March 13, 2012.  Since writing those posts I think I found Susan's final resting place.  I was checking Ancestry.com and saw that someone had posted a picture of a headstone for Susan.  This stone which is located in the cemetery of the Milton Marlborough United Methodist Church in Milton,NY reads Susan, wife of Charles L. Davis followed by the birth and death dates.  I had connected with a distant cousin a while back who told me that Susan had remarried a man named John Mackey after the death of her husband Charles.  If this is true and this headstone is for my 4th great-grandmother then why is she listed as the wife of Charles?  Why is she not listed as john's wife?  Why is she not buried with Charles?  Is it because there was no more room where Charles is located?  Where is John buried?  Is he buried in the same cemetery as Susan?  I called the church a few times but there was no answer.
     Is this my Susan?  Let's see what I've got so far....

1850  U.S. Federal Census has Charles L. Davis and Susan Davis living in       Marlborough, NY with their children
1851  Charles L. Davis died - buried in Anning Smith burial ground in Milton, NY
1860  U.S. Census shows Susan Mackey listed as wife of John S. Mackey.  Along with John and Susan, there is Ferris and Janette Davis
1865  NY State Census has John and Susan Mackey living with Susan's children Ferris and Janette
1875  NY State Census has John and Susan Mackey living with Ferris Davis and his wife and children
1876  Susan died - buried in Milton Marlborough United Methodist Church cemetery in Milton, NY

     It certainly looks like this is my Susan because two of the children that appeared with her in the 1850 census when she was married to Charles are still with her in the 1860, 1865, and 1875 censuses when she was married to John.
     Susan,  Is this you?  Are you my great, great, great, great-grandmother?

Steffano ?

     My 2nd great-grandfather arrived in the United States in the late 1800's.  Where did he come from?  I thought I knew...  What year did he arrive?  I do not know.
     The U.S. Federal Censuses from 1910 and 1920, as well as the 1915 and 1925 NY State Censuses show Stephen Duper's country of birth as Austria.  I thought he came from Croatia.  I'll have to re-read that letter from my grandmother's cousin.  I remember reading that he was from Dalmatia and had a thick accent.
     I have conflicting information as far as the year of arrival.  The 1910 U.S. census has questions regarding citizenship.  It asked for the yer of immigration and whether naturalized or alien.  The enumerator who covered the area left those questions blank.  The 1910 and 1920 censuses has year of birth as abt. 1873.  The 1915 and 1925 NY State Censuses just have his age which was listed as 43 (1915) and 51 (1925).  The 1915 census states that he was in this country for 25 years.  The 1925 census has him in this country for 35 years.  According to both of those censuses the arrival year would have been 1890 yet the 1920 census has an arrival year of 1888.  Stephen's death certificate from 1931 states that he was in this country for 44 years which would make the year of arrival 1887.  I have three different years of arrival for this man.  When did he arrive?  I have two different years for naturalization - 1894 according to the 1920 U.S. census and 1892 according to the 1925 NY state census.
     I had not found Stephen Duper's name on any ship passenger list until just recently.  Well, that is I think I found him.  There were quite a few Dupers who came from Austria but none of them were Stephen Duper with a year of birth as 1873 which was the yer I really thought he was born.
     The ship passenger list has Steffano Dupper born in 1872 and arriving in New York on 21 March 1889.  Could this be my great-great grandfather?

The Davises Divided

1930 ~ a new year, a new president, and the beginning of a new decade.

     Eleanor Davis was a 12 year old girl living with her grandmother in Brooklyn,NY according to the 1930 U.S. Federal Census.  Where were her parents?  I do not know.  I have not found Samuel or Josephine Davis with their sons in the 1930 census.  Why was my grandmother separated from her parents and younger brothers?
     Samuel Davis, along with his wife and children, was living at his parents address in 1925 and was at the same address though the 1930's.  I found Samuel in every Poughkeepsie city directory except the year 1930.  His sons Daniel and Samuel were in two of those directories and even his daughter Eleanor appeared in the 1936 city directory.
     I cannot believe that my grandmother was listed in the city directory with her father and brothers.  I spoke to MaMa's cousin a few years ago and she told me that my grandmother didn't live in Poughkeepsie but sometimes visited on the weekends.  I can believe this to be true because she was living with her grandmother in 1930 (according to the census) and was attending St. Leonard's elementary school in Brooklyn.  I have MaMa's autograph book from her 8th grade graduation and always thought that the dates didn't make sense.  That was before I found out that she was actually born in 1918 and not 1920.
     MaMa lived in Brooklyn during the 1930's while the rest of her family lived up in Poughkeepsie.  She was still with her grandmother when the 1940 census was taken.
     The Davises were divided for over a decade.

The 1920's in Brooklyn & Beyond

     I always thought my maternal grandmother Eleanor was born in 1920.  MaMa's death certificate shows 1920 and that's what the family thought but the 1930 census has her listed as 12 years old and living with her grandmother in Brooklyn.  At first I thought MaMa's grandmother wasn't sure of her own granddaughter's age but then I checked the 1920 U.S. Federal Census.  In 1920, my grandmother was a 2 1/2 year old girl living with her parents, Samuel and Josephine Davis and five month old brother, Daniel in Brooklyn, NY.  So, my 2nd great-grandmother was correct and my grandmother was actually born in 1918.
     Welcome to the Roaring Twenties.  World War I ended two years ago, the year of my grandmother's birth and the times are changing...  you are not partaking of any alcoholic beverages unless you know where a speakeasy is located.  it is the prohibition era and the ban on brewing and selling alcohol officially began January 16, 14920 when the 18th amendment went into effect.  The music these days is jazzy and the women are modern.  With their short hair and short dresses, cigarettes and sassiness; the flapper is born.
     In 1920, Warren G. Harding was elected president of the United States.  A loaf of bread cost 12 cents and a bottle of milk was 33 cents and was delivered by the milkman.  A train ride to Coney Island was only a nickel where you could buy a Nathan's Famous hot dog for just 5 cents.  Samuel George Davis was a chauffeur for a gas engine factory.
     Within the next few years, Calvin Coolidge took over as president following the death of Warren G. Harding in August of 1923 and he served until the end of the decade.  Meanwhile, the Davis family moved from their apartment in Brooklyn to Poughkeepsie which in up in Dutchess county, NY.  The city directories for 1923, 1924, and 1925 show Samuel living at his parents' address on South Cherry Street and his occupation is listed as auto mechanic.
     The 1925 New York State Census has Samuel Davis living with his wife Josephine and four children: my maternal grandmother Eleanor, Daniel, Samuel, and Dorothy.  Samuel is head of household yet this home was actually owned by his parents Daniel J. and Flora and their names are last on the list.
     Josephine Davis, who was listed with her husband Samuel and living in Poughkeepsie according to the 1925 NY State Census is also listed with her parents and younger siblings in Brooklyn.  Why?  Was she visiting her parents at the time the census was taken and therefore was included on that household?  Was she included with her husband because she was his wife and Poughkeepsie was the primary residence?  I had heard that she and her husband had a troubled marriage so was she staying with her parents?  I can't imagine her leaving her children behind.
     In 1927, Josie was back in Brooklyn.  I don't know if she was visiting again or still there but that's where she was when her youngest child, Dorothy died from severe burns caused by the kerosene heater.  Dorothy died at the age of 3 in Kingston Avenue Hospital in Brooklyn on the 28th of January and her baby brother, William was born the very next day.
     The Davis family was divided by the end of the decade.

MaMa's Kitchen

     I just returned from a week long visit with my parents down in South Carolina.  My parents are retired and had moved from New York three years ago.  Frank and I dropped our son off to spend the summer with his grandparents.  Gregory loves my parents but he's not too fond of the heat.  It was very hot last week with temperatures reaching 105.

"If you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen"  (I know, this doesn't make sense but I like quotes, and I'm talking about heat then Kitchens.....)

     Last week, while sitting on the back deck with my father, Aunt Carol (my mother's sister) and frank, the conversation turned to kitchens;  my maternal grandmother's kitchen in particular.  I don't remember what started the talk about kitchens but I told Frank that my grandmother's kitchen was the same shade of orange as his parents' kitchen.  Remember the funky (ugly) colors of the 1970's?  Aunt Carol said "it was not!"  "MaMa's kitchen was yellow"  "she always had yellow kitchens because yellow was her favorite color."
     So, the big discussion of MaMa's kitchen had started.  I insisted it was orange.  I was always at her house,  sat at the kitchen table and ate more delicious meals than I can count (when I wasn't being too finicky).  I was only 14 when MaMa died.  She died six days after my birthday and that was thirty years ago.  I'm sure that my aunt remembers her mother's kitchen better than I but I still debated this.  My father had nothing to offer.  He's color blind so either he didn't know or didn't remember.  Then again, he probably just didn't care and was waiting for the conversation to end.  Frank never met my grandmother and my mother wasn't home so it was just me and Aunt Carol each talking about the kitchen we last saw so many years ago.  I insisted that the kitchen was orange.  Aunt Carol said that it was yellow.  The walls were yellow with wallpaper going halfway up the wall and the curtains were a yellow/white gingham pattern.  I admitted that I didn't remember the curtains.  Frank asked what 'gingham' was.  Aunt Carol was headed home but before she left head told me to ask my mother what color the kitchen was.  She told me again that I was wrong then she went home.
     While I was waiting for my mother to return from her book club at the library,  I sent a text message on my cellphone to my best friend.  My father had gone back inside and it was just Frank and me sitting there.  I told Frank that Lillian would know because she lived across the street from my grandparents and was often there for lunch and sometimes dinner.  Lillian's reply to my text:  "wasn't it like yellow?"
     My mother returned and agreed with my aunt.  She said that MaMa's kitchen was yellow because that was her favorite color.  I told Frank that Lillian's answer doesn't count because she's younger than I am (only 9 months but Still younger) and she really didn't have that many meals there.
     I told my mother and Frank that I think I have a picture of a birthday party with me standing on the chair at one end of my grandmother's kitchen table.  I think I was 3 years old, maybe 4.  I have to look for that photo.  I think it's in the album with my baby pictures.  I told Frank that a picture is worth a thousand words and I'll show him the orange kitchen.  Well now I hope I have a picture.
     I write my blog on paper.  This is my draft copy then I edit, edit, edit before finally posting to the computer.  This morning I sent Lillian another text telling her that I mentioned her in my blog which would be posted later.  She replied: "Good stuff I hope."  I told her that she, my mother, and my aunt all agree that my grandmother's kitchen was yellow but I thought it was orange.  Lillian wrote back "well it was yellow."  I asked "how the hell do you remember this? do you remember the curtains? Carol described the curtains, let's see if you agree."  Lillian wrote: "Green, yellow and white."  Well, people do take their curtains down for washing so MaMa might have had both sets of curtains as described by my aunt and my friend.
     Have I gotten desperate for tales to tell that I had to resort to writing about the color of my grandmother's kitchen?  So, was it orange or yellow?  Does anyone care?  Probably not, but now I need to find a picture.  I'm curious.  I want to revisit her kitchen.  I wish I could go back for another meal.  I wish I could smell and taste the yumminess that is MaMa's cooking.  I miss MaMa and I miss her kitchen.