With Grandpa moving to Maryland, I’m starting to get another look at some of the more interesting things in his collection. The funny thing is, my treasure is his self-professed junk. What I’m about to show almost got sold for scrap metal. Luckily my Dad saved it because he knows I’m hungry for these kinds of cool things.

North Caldwell Public Safety Center Plaque

The police chief that took over after Grandpa retired thought Grandpa might like this. I think it’s pretty cool, but boy does it weigh a lot. I have no idea how to hang something like this on the wall without it breaking whatever mount you put it on.

Here’s a note for you guys, if you have an antique seller in the family, make them aware of your interest in these things! Next time I show you some of his stuff, I’ll show you his baby blanket that his grandmother (Jennie Love-Thorward) made for him when he was born!

The genealogy community is buzzing. There’s only 1 year left before we’ll have access to the 1940 United States Federal Census. Like everyone else, I’m already trying to think about where my ancestors were at the time the census was taken.

MOORE SIDE

William L Moore & Llewellyn Thorward-Moore: These two should be at their house on Park Avenue in Caldwell NJ. This census year will be the first that my Grandpa shows up on.

Robert J Moore Jr: I expect him to be at the Moore household on Myrtle Avenue in Caldwell NJ. I don’t know if his aunt, Mary J Moore is still alive at the time of the census. According to the notes I have, she died in 1940. He was living with her on Myrtle Avenue in 1930. This census will also be crucial for me because I’m unaware of the year Robert J Moore Jr married his wife. It will be interesting to see if I can find a marriage record when I’m in New Jersey, or if I’ll finally fill that blank spot when the census is released.

Marion S Moore: Robert and William’s sister was still living in Brooklyn in 1930. According to the SSDI, her last known residence was in Suffolk County, New York. Without an index, this one might be waiting for a long, holiday weekend! There is no doubt in my mind Marion’s family was living on Long Island.

William H Moore Jr: William was last living in Essex County, NJ with his wife and three daughters. The daughters are of marriagable age by 1940, so I’m going to guess I’ll be looking for marriage records for them before I find them on the census.

John R Moore: John was living in Brooklyn in 1930 with his wife and daughter. So I’ll be looking for them on the same long weekend as Marion Moore-Schroeder.

Note: William H Moore Jr and John R Moore are the siblings of Mary J Moore and Robert James Moore Sr. Mary died in 1940 and Robert in 1925. I don’t have death dates for either brother. It’s possible they had already passed away. I just don’t know yet.

THORWARD SIDE

Lewis and Jennie Thorward: Lewis and Jennie Thorward will be living at 75 Westville Avenue in Caldwell NJ. I know his because that was their home for their whole marriage. Lewis didn’t die until 1946, after which Jennie lived above the meat market before living with her daughter Llewellyn. ¹ In 1949 she is in the city directory and listed as living at the same address as the business.

George W Thorward: Llewellyn’s brother will be in Caldwell somewhere. I do know he lived on Overlook Rd from Grandpa and the 1949 city directory. So I’ll try there first.

Frank Thorward: Frank will be found living on Washburn Place. He is listed at the same address in 1949 that I found him at in 1930.

Robert M Thorward: The great grandfather of my distant cousin Brent! He married his wife in 1939, so I will find him with his new wife Laura Alice Whitehorne.

Raymond Thorward: I don’t have much information on Raymond. I know he married from his tombstone, but I don’t know the year. It will be interesting to see where he turns up in 1940.

Note: Neither Robert or Raymond are found in the 1949 Caldwell city directory. I’ll have to check for them in a surrounding city.

Dora Thorward-Plume: Most likely I will find Dora and her husband, Leslie, living on Slocum Avenue in Englewood NJ. They are living at the same address since the 1910 Census. Leslie was a plumber by trade. They ran their business out of their home from what I can tell.

Vivian Plume-Westervelt: Vivian is the daughter of Dora and Leslie. She had been married for close to 10 years already in 1930, so I don’t know if much will change for her and her husband. They were living near her parents in Bergen County, NJ. Charles VanBuskirk Westervelt was the owner of a Garage and she was the secretary.

George and Josephine Thorward: Sadly this is the last census for both George and his wife. Actually, 1930 might have been the last one for George. I only have death years for this couple, which bothers me! Their death records are #1 on my to do list when I am in New Jersey. I know George died in 1940 and Josephine in 1942.

This was great fun and stay tuned for the rest as the time ticks down!

I’ve been so disorganized in the last few weeks. I recognize now that’s why I don’t feel like I’ve gotten anything accomplished. However, I have many hours of television on my DVR to catch up on and a few hours to spare. So I’m taking that time to sit down and look over some of my current mysteries. I’m on a Mays family hiatus, in case you were wondering. That two death certificates thing just through me completely off my game.

George Yohn / George Thorward

Okay, he’s my biggest mystery. I’ve discussed him with myself and others many times since I had my latest breakthrough. Here are the facts about George Thorward.

1. He is most definitely George Thorward through my Great-Great Grandfather’s life. I don’t have Lewis’ birth or death records but as our family is most notably Thorward, I’ve got to assume we’re Thorwards.
2. In the 1900 and 1910 censuses they ask for year of Immigration. George answered 1865¹ and 1867².
3. There was no George Thorward in 1870 Caldwell, New Jersey.
4. There was a George Yohn living next door to Josephine Doremus in 1870. George Thorward’s wife, whom he married in 1871.
5. I found a marriage record for George Yohn and Josephine Doremus on the New Jersey Archives website.
6. George Thorward was in the tobacco business his whole life. George Yohn is listed as a cigar maker’s apprentice in 1870.³

The things I’m doing to resolve this problem:

1. I sent away for the marriage record between George Yohn and Josephine Doremus to see what it says.
2. I’m making a list of the dates of all these Caldwell/Essex County events so that if I get a chance in July, I’ll be ready to go to the local library in New Jersey.

William H Moore

William Moore runs a very close second to George Thorward when it comes to mysteries. Here’s what I know about him:

1. He first shows up in 1870 census in Chicago with his wife and oldest three children⁴. My Great-Great Grandfather isn’t born until 1871.
2. Through city directories I know that William lived in Chicago from 1866 to 1870. This might explain why Cook County didn’t have a record of Robert’s birth in 1871.
3. He immigrated to the United States in either 1858 or 1859^{5 6}
4. In 1920, William and his daughter Mary are living at 7 Myrtle Ave in Caldwell, New Jersey.⁷
5. I found dates of death penciled onto the back of the Brooklyn Cemetery deed. William’s is given as July 28, 1928.
6. Caldwell, New Jersey, July 28, 1928 did not return a record when I sent away for it.
7. I don’t know if his wife immigrated at the same time as him or if they married after. She died in 1896, before the immigration question on the census.

What I need to do to solve his mysteries?

1. I need to fill the gaps between his estimated birth of 1836 and 1870. His daughter Mary was born in 1865 in New York. His next child was born in 1868 in Chicago.
2. When I go to look up things in New Jersey, I have to check myself to see if he did in fact die in Caldwell or some other part of Essex County.
3. I want to find an obituary for him to see if it mentions anything about his early life.
4. I should look in New York and see if there is a marriage record for him and his wife, Mary.
5. I should also look and see if there is a naturalization record for him. In 1910, he says he is a naturalized citizen. There should be a record of it somewhere. I just don’t know if his very generic name will be a road block.

Sources

Ever since I started this journey into genealogy, I’ve learned something new everyday. It’s wonderful to learn so many different things. Whether it be a technique to searching the census or what exactly a Sawyer is. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in genealogy is to verify, verify, verify. I’m still learning all the different types of sources you can use to learn millions of different facts.

Awhile back, I found my William H Moore in a Chicago city directory. In fact, I found him in Chicago directories for the years 1866 through 1870.

Above is William‘s household in the 1870 US Census ¹ It wasn’t until today that I had the idea to use the city directory on Footnote.com to verify that the William in this census is the same William in the city directory. Without some kind of verification, how would I ever be sure that my William was in fact living at 56 Foster all those years ago.

I’m happy to report that he is!² I checked the neighbor right above, and the neighbor right below. In fact, the neighbor right below is also listed at 56 Foster. A little strange since the dwelling number goes up between their households. Maybe this was an apartment or duplex? I tried going for more neighbors but their surnames are a little harder to interpret then the Atzel and Pullver families were. I’ll try again later though!

Now I wonder what I can figure out now that I know his address!

I hope everyone reading this had a very, merry Christmas! I’ve been enjoying a few new gadgets. The first gadget I got was a slide viewer that I mentioned earlier this month. I found a few slides that I really wish I could get prints of. They were of my Aunt Diane and some of their family photos. The problem was, I didn’t know what to do. So I went to Google and it brought me up a few options. One of them didn’t cost me a penny!

It turned out that my mother’s scanner has a slide scanner template built into the top. All I had to do was slide the placeholder off and slide my slides in. Then hit the button for film scan. This method will also work for negatives! So if you have a scanner, take a second to study the inside of it’s lid. You might have this feature too! Pressing the film scan button brought up the software that came with the scanner where I could choose between a negative or positive/slide.

Now I can share these photos with my family on Facebook, and I can print them out and frame them for individuals!

I really can’t wait to dig in and see what other treasures I find. It’s really difficult to find pictures of my aunts and dad when they were younger. It’s even more difficult to find pictures of their brother Stevie, who is no longer with us.

By the way, for my regular readers, the house Dad’s family is posing in is in fact the Park Avenue house. There are a bunch of inside shots among the slides!