My Genealogy

The Missing Thomas

My 2nd great grandfather, Francis Theodore Thomas, went missing around 1902 or 1903.  He went swimming at Rockaway Beach in Brooklyn and never came home.  His clothing was found at the beach, but no sign of him ever turned up.  For years. I didn’t know anything about him really, other than his name.  Last year, when I went to Syracuse for my grandmother’s funeral, I found an entry for him in the family bible.  In that entry, I found the name of a brother and two sisters.

In the box my dad just brought home from his visit with my grandfather, I found a picture of my gg-grandfather – the only one I’ve ever seen.  In the photo, he is seated on Rockaway Beach in the year or so before his disappearance. Seated next to him is my gg-grandmother Anna Noteboom.  Pictured below is the photo as is and a cleaned up version.

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Francis Thomas and Anna Noteboom at Rockaway Beach, circa 1900

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Francis Thomas and Anna Noteboom at Rockaway Beach, circa 1900

My 3rd Great Grandfather Walter Noteboom
Walter Noteboom, c. 1905, probably in Brooklyn, NY

Walter Noteboom, c. 1905, probably in Brooklyn, NY

I don’t know much about my ggg-grandfather Walter Noteboom.  He was born in Holland in 1845.  At some point he immigrated to the United States and married my ggg-grandmother Kate Dulk.  I know much more about her – in later years, she and her twin brother survived the Morro Castle disaster.

However, my father came home from a visit with my grandfather with a big box of family photos and documents.  Hidden away in the box was this photo of Walter Noteboom.  It was taken in 1905 – I presume in Brooklyn based on where the family was living at the time.

 

St. Vincent de Paul, Brooklyn, NY – Another source for information on the Donnelly/Reilly Family
St. Vincent de Paul, Brooklyn, NY

St. Vincent de Paul, Brooklyn, NY

This is the church were my 2nd great-grandmother Sadie Donnelly married my 2nd great-grandfather John Reilly on April 30, 1893 in Williamsburg (Brooklyn), NY.

I have been unsuccessful in finding a lot of information about this part of my family.  Vital records searches in Brooklyn have turned up with nothing.  Now I found a reference to the church where they got married in some old records.  So I thought, if the City of New York doesn’t have any information, maybe the church as the information.

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Elizabeth Leary – Census Records

The 1850 Federal Census is one of the few places I’ve found a reference to my 4th great-grandmother Elizabeth Ambrose nee Leary. She is married to David Ambrose and they have three young daughters: Mary Ann, Ellen and Catherine. They lived in the Western District of the 1st Ward of New York, which is the tip of Manhattan in the area now part of the Wall Street/Financial District. Elizabeth and David were listed as the same age in 1850: 26 years old, which would put their dates of birth circa 1824. Both of their birthplaces are listed as Ireland, while their daughters’ are all listed as New York, which means they immigrated sometime between 1824 and 1847 when Mary Ann was born. Mary Ann is listed as 3 years old, Ellen as 1 year old, and Catherine as 2 months old. David is listed as working as a laborer.

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1850 Federal Census

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Baldwin Family Mystery Update…. Disappointment

I recently ordered a vital records search from the New York City Vital Records office.  I ask them for several birth, marriage and death records associated with Sadie Donnelly, John Reilly and both Nelson Baldwins.  I just received the first response that is in response to the two marriage records I requested.  The first record I request was a search for Sadie’s marriage to John Reilly on April 30, 1893 in Brooklyn.  They were unable to find the record of the marriage.

I also requested a search for a marriage to Nelson Baldwin in Brooklyn, but I requested a three year search based on the information I found in the 1910 Federal Census.  I requested the search be conducted for 1908, 1909 and 1910.  They were unable to find the record of the marriage.

So my next thought is to look in Queens for vital records and to start tracking down potential Catholic churches for record of a church wedding.  They were living in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, so I plan to start there for possible neighborhood churches.  I also plan on contacting the cemetery where Sadie is buried for any potential information that they may have.