Genealogy

How to… Get Organized with Researching My Family Tree

I’ve been away for a little while – been incredibly busy with a major work project, which included a lot of hours and travel.  Left me too exhausted and with too little time to spend on researching my family tree.  However, in May, I came across a blog post that inspired me to spend some time organizing.  Michele Simmons Lewis on her blog Ancestoring describes an Excel trick for working with the data in her Ancestry.com family tree.  At the end, it produces a spreadsheet with a list of all your ancestors, along with their birth and death dates/places.  Part of the beauty of the list is the list of names will contain a hyperlink to the individual profiles on Ancestry.com.  Here’s an example of what my list looks like:

 

My Family List in Excel

My Family List in Excel

 

Then I took the spreadsheet a few steps further – in part because I’m a complete Excel geek and because I like to use data to solve problems.  My next step, I added some extra columns:

Columns in My Spreadsheet

Columns in My Spreadsheet

 

  • Relationship (to me)
  • Side of the Family (Maternal, Paternal and N/A).  N/A is for my siblings, their spouses, children, etc. who don’t belong to actually one side of the family or the other.
  • Copies of Citations/Docs Downloaded.  (I’ll get more into this below.)
  • File location (for the MRIN/Marriage Record Identification Number, which I use for organizing my computer file folders)

In addition to the columns, I do a couple of other things to the data to make it easier to work with:

  1. Create a table for the range of data.  Excel behaves differently when working with data within a table that makes it easier to work with, especially when the data is very similar and when working with formulas.  To do this, highlight all the rows and columns of data in the spreadsheet.   On the Home tab, select Format as Table, then select the table format that you want/like.  I prefer a table that has alternating colors for the lines because I find that easier to read.
Formatting a Table

Formatting a Table

  1. Then I add a Filter to the column headers.  Highlight the row of headers, and select Filter on the Data tab.  Once the filter is set, you can click on any of the down arrows next to a column header to:
  • Sort by that column
  • Filter by certain data, such as a surname, and hide all the other rows of data.
Filters in Excel

Filters in Excel

Once I had the data formatted the way I wanted it, I was ready to get to work.  Using the hyperlinked name for each member of my family tree, I noted their relationship to me (concentrating only on direct ancestors and their siblings – I bypassed any cousins x times removed) and what side of the family they fell on.  This is easy in the Ancestry.com individual profile, as the relationship is noted in the header information.

Ancestry Profile Header

Ancestry Profile Header

But the main purpose of this list is to keep track of downloading copies of the records attached to my ancestors’ profiles to my computer to retain my own digital copy of all their records.  I’m still working my way through this, but I’ve got a good head start.  Once I’ve download the attached records of a particular profile, I mark the row as “Complete” under the column: Copies of Citations/Docs Downloaded.  I also save a .pdf of the citation page from Ancestry.com for each record, including any index citations, in the ancestor profile.  I then put the path for the file folder on my computer in the last column so that I know where to find these files later.

Download and File Location Columns

Download and File Location Columns

The next trick I use in Excel is Conditional Formatting.  Whenever I enter the word “Complete” in the Download column, it will highlight the row in green so I can easily see which ancestors I’ve completed downloading the documents for.  If the ancestor doesn’t have any source citations in their profile, I mark the column as “None”.  Any marked with “None” get highlighted in red.

Conditional Formatting

Conditional Formatting

To use Conditional Formatting to highlight a whole row, based on the contents of a single cell:

  • Highlight the row of data.
  • Select Conditional Formatting from the Home tab.
  • Select New Rule
  • In the New Formatting Rule dialog box, select “Use a formula to determine which cells to format”.
  • Enter the formula entering an equal sign, click on the cell that will contain the data you want to base the formatting on.  In this case, I select the cell F59 for the Download column for row 59.  This is where I will note “Complete” or “None”.  Enter another equal sign, then the text (in quotes) that you will base the formatting on, in this case, “Complete”.
  • Click on the Format… button to select the formatting you want applied to the row, such as fill, font color and border.
  • Click OK.
  • Repeat the process for “None”.
  • Click OK to exit out of the Conditional Formatting dialog box.
Conditional Formatting Rules

Conditional Formatting Rules

  • Select the Format Painter tool and copy the formatting to all rows in the spreadsheet.
Format Painter Tool

Format Painter Tool

Now that the spreadsheet is formatted the way I wanted, I worked my way through my family tree, surname by surname, noting the relationship and side of the family.

Now I can easily produce to do lists for research and downloading records for parts of my family tree by filtering the list based on surname, relationship type, side of the family, etc., depending on what part of my family tree I want to concentrate on.

And in the habit of playing with data, I also created some fun tables of summary information at the bottom of my spreadsheet, using some easy Countif formulas:

Counts by Side of the Family:

Count by Side of the Family

Count by Side of the Family

For example, to count the Maternal line, the formula is =countif(Range of Data, Cell with the word Maternal in it).  The formula will count all cells that contain the matching word from the data table.

Count by Side of Family Results

Count by Side of Family Results

 

Count by Complete Downloads

Count by Complete Download

Count by Complete Download

For example, to count the Complete Download, the formula is =countif(Range of Data, “Complete”).  The formula will count all cells that contain the word “Complete” from the data table.  Then count the total number of rows by with the CountA formula, written as: =counta(range of data).  In the last column, divide the Total Complete by the Total Count to get the percentage completed.

Count by Complete Downloads Results

Count by Complete Downloads Results

 

Count by Relationship Type

Count by Relationship Type

Count by Relationship Type

For example, to count the number of 2nd Great Uncles, the formula is =countif(Range of Data, Cell with the phrase “2nd Great Uncle” in it).  The formula will count all cells that contain the matching phrase from the data table.

Count by Relationship Type Results

Count by Relationship Type Results

A note about the “$” in some of the formulas: this hard codes the cell referenced in the formula, so that if you drag the formula down to copy it to additional cells, that part of the formula remains constant and only the non-$ numbers adjust.

So many thanks to Michele Simmons Lewis for the inspiration to riff off in order to get organized with my research.

Zion German Evangelical Lutheran Church

Zion German Evangelical Lutheran Church, Brooklyn Heights

Zion German Evangelical Lutheran Church, Brooklyn Heights
By Beyond My Ken (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The Zion German Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in 1856 and still operates today at 125 Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights, New York.  My 3rd great-grandparents Walter Noteboom and Beta Frederike Christiane Nullmeyer were married there on 11 November 1876.  They were married by the founding pastor, Friedrich W.T. Steimle.

The first church service was held on the first Sunday in Advent in 1855 (December 2nd), with twelve worshipers in attendance.  The service was held in a hall at Nassau and Fulton Streets.  The congregation was comprised of recent German immigrants, who wished to maintain their traditions as Lutheran Christians.  The services were conducted in German.  In the early days, the church was very small, with no more than four worshippers in atttendance.  However, the congregation grew quickly, welcoming the many recent Germans who immigrated to the New York area and necessitating the move to a new home at 189 Washington Street in May 1856. Before the end of the year, the church was incorporated and purchased its permanent home at 125 Henry Street for $14,500.  The Henry Street church was originally built as a Dutch Reform church in 1839, making it the oldest church in Brooklyn Heights that is still being used.1

Pastor Friedrich Wilhelm Tobias Steimle was born in 1827 in Wurttemberg, Germany, and earned his missionary education in Basel.  He arrived in New York in January 1851, and served as an assistant pastor to Dr. Stohlmann until 1855, when he began the Zion German Evangelical Lutheran Church.  He was licensed by the Ministry of New York, and helped found the German New York Synod for which he served as President for six years.  He passed away on 28 February 1880 at almost 53 years of age.2

Related articles
  1. “Church Marriages“, The German Genealogy Group, http://www.germangenealogygroup.com, Accessed: 2 Feb 2015.
    Nicum, John. Geschichte des Evangelisch – Lutherischen Ministeriums vom Staate New York und Angrenzenden Staaten und Ländern (History of the Evangelical – Lutheran Ministry of the State of New York and Adjacent States and countries), New York: Lutheran Church, New York Ministry, 1888, page 351, digital images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=eo0sAAAAYAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s, Accessed: 2 February 2015). ↩
  2. Nicum, 375. ↩

52 Ancestors # 4: Gerald Francis Thomas
Gerald Thomas and Anna Noteboom

Gerald Thomas and Anna Noteboom From the collection of Lawrence John Reilly Sr.

172 Miller Avenue, Brooklyn Image capture: Oct 2014, © Google

172 Miller Avenue, Brooklyn
Image capture: Oct 2014, © Google

Gerald Francis Thomas was born on March 10, 1902 in Queens, New York to Anna Henrietta Noteboom and Francis Theodore Thomas.1  By the age of 3, the family was living at 172 Miller Avenue in Brooklyn, along with three other families.  His father was working as a shirt ironer, and his mother was at home with him and his baby sister Mae, who had been born two years earlier.2  By 1910, his dad had left the family and his mother was raising him and his two siblings on her own.  (Baby brother Frank had been born in 1908. The family had moved to 465 Belmont Avenue in Brooklyn, which was a duplex shared with one other family.3

Anna Noteboom Thomas, with her children, Gerald, Mae and Frank Thomas. Year unknown. From the collection of cousin Paul.

Anna Noteboom Thomas, with Gerald, Mae and Frank Thomas. circa 1915. courtesy of cousin Paul.

Frank, Mae and Gerald Thomas circa 1915 courtesy of cousin Paul

Frank, Mae and Gerald Thomas
circa 1915
courtesy of cousin Paul

Mae, Gerald, Frank and Anna Thomas circa 1909 courtesy of cousin Paul

Mae, Gerald, Frank and Anna Thomas
circa 1909
courtesy of cousin Paul

 

 

 

As a young teenager, Gerald was helping his mother make ends meet with a series of odd jobs around the neighborhood.4  The family was now living at 2762 Atlantic Avenue, and had taken on a boarder named Alice Cokely.  Gerald, Mae and Frank, ranging in ages from 13 down to 7, were all in school.5  In 1918, Gerald registered for the draft for World War I, stating his birth date at 10 March 1900.  He was working as a chauffeur for V. Henning & Sons on Belmont Avenue in Brooklyn.  He is described on the draft card as medium height and medium build, with brown eyes and black hair.6 By 1920, Gerald was 18 years old, and was no longer attending school.  He still lived at home with his mother and two siblings at their home on Atlantic Avenue.7

147 Schenck Avenue, Brooklyn Image capture: Oct 2014 ©2015 Google

147 Schenck Avenue, Brooklyn
Image capture: Oct 2014 ©2015 Google


In March 1923, Gerald married the love of his live, Louise Schillinger.  They were married at Louise’s parents’ house at 169 Van Siclen Avenue in Brooklyn.  Their brothers got in an argument at the reception, and her brother Louie chased Frank from the house, catching his foot on the fence, breaking his leg, and bringing the reception to an abrupt end.8  In 1925, the young family found themselves living at 147 Schenck Avenue with their baby daughter, Ethel.  Two other families lived in the house, including Gerald’s Aunt Honey and her family (the Weymers).  Gerald was working as a letter carrier. 9  Five years later, they were still at the Schenck house, along with another daughter, Marion (my grandmother), and Gerald’s mother, Anna Thomas.10

By 1940, Gerald and Louise had moved their family to Queens, renting one half of a duplex that they shared with the Almon family at 110-21 107th Street.  Gerald was a printer, working for an insurance company and earning $2200 a year.  The rent for the home was $35 per month.11

Gerald and Louise were married for 55 years.  Louise passed away on July 9, 1978.  Gerald passed away just under a year later on June 24, 1979.12

 

  1. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database online].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006.  Original data: National Archives and Records Administration, Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910, Serial T624, Roll 977, Brooklyn Ward 26, Kings, New York, Page 3B, Enumeration District 0783, FHL microfilm 1374990.
    Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database online].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.  Original data: National Archives and Records Administration, Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920, Serial T625, Roll 1179, Brooklyn Assembly District 22, Kings, New York, Page 9A, Enumeration District 1409, Image 968.
    Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database online].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2002.  Original data: National Archives and Records Administration, Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Serial T626, Roll 1540, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, Page 13A, Enumeration District 0483, Image 563, FHL microfilm 2341275.
    Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database online].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.  Original data: National Archives and Records Administration, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, Serial T627, Roll 2747, New York, Queens, New York, Page 3A, Enumeration District 41-1401.
    Ancestry.com.  Florida Death Index, 1877-1998 [database online].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2004.  Original data: State of Florida. Florida Death Index, 1877-1998.  Florida: Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, 1998.
    Ancestry.com.  New York City, Births, 1891-1902 [database online].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2000.  Original data: New York Department of Health.  Births reported in the city of New York, 1891-1902.  New York, NY, USA: Department of Health, Certificate Number: 563.
    Ancestry.com.  New York, State Census, 1905 [database online].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.  Original data: New York State Archives, State Population Census Schedules, 1905, Election District 19, Assembly District 22, City Brooklyn, County Kings. New York State Archives, Albany, New York.
    Ancestry.com.  New York, State Census, 1915 [database online].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.  Original data: New York State Archives, State Population Census Schedules, 1915, Election District 44, Assembly District 22, City New York, County Kings, Page 43. New York State Archives, Albany, New York.
    Ancestry.com.  New York, State Census, 1925 [database online].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.  Original data: New York State Archives, State Population Census Schedules, 1925, Election District 24, Assembly District 22, City Brooklyn, County Kings, Page 9. New York State Archives, Albany, New York.
    Ancestry.com. U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File, Number 058-01-8448, Issue State New York, Issue Date before 1951. ↩
  2.  1905 New York State Census. ↩
  3.  1910 U.S. Federal Census. ↩
  4.  Letter from Gerald Thomas to his daughters, April 1979. Photocopy in collection of author. Original location unknown. ↩
  5.  1915 New York State Census. ↩
  6. FamilySearch.org.  United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, index and images (accessed 6 February 2015), Gerald Francis Thomas, 1917-1918; citing New York City no 79, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,754,612. ↩
  7. 1920 U.S. Federal Census. ↩
  8. Letter from Gerald Thomas. ↩
  9.  1925 New York State Census. ↩
  10.  1930 U.S. Federal Census. ↩
  11.  1940 U.S. Federal Census. ↩
  12. Letter from Gerald Thomas.
    Florida Death Index.
    Social Security Index.
    Ancestry.com. U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File, Number 098-14-2345, Issue State New York, Issue Date before 1951. ↩

52 Ancestors #3: Anna Henrietta Noteboom
Gerald Thomas and Anna Noteboom
Mae and Anna Thomas, circa 1935, probably in Hempstead NY
Mae and Anna Thomas, circa 1920, probably in Brooklyn
Anna Noteboom and Francis Thomas at Rockaway Beach

Anna Henrietta is my 2nd great-grandmother, on my father’s maternal line.  She was an incredibly tough woman, who experienced some very difficult times her in her life, having to raise three children on her own after her husband disappeared.

64 Van Siclen

64 Van Siclen
Image Capture: Nov 2007 © 2015 Google

Anna was born on Halloween, October 31, 1880 in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Walter and Christiane Noteboom.1 By 1892, she is living with her family in the 26th Ward in Brooklyn.2 The 26th Ward in Brooklyn encompassed the East New York/New Lots area of Brooklyn, and was mostly farmland. In his letter to his daughters, Gerald Thomas wrote about cows coming up to his mother’s kitchen windows.3 In 1900, Anna is a young woman, still living at home with her parents, and working as a dressmaker. Their home was located at 64 Van Siclen Avenue.4

In 1905, Anna was married to Francis Theodore Thomas and had two small children, Gerald and May.  Francis worked as a shirt ironer and Anna’s occupation was listed as housework.5  But, just a year later, Anna would be left alone, with three small children aged 5 and younger.  In August 1906, Francis left to pick up his paycheck and go for a swim at Rockaway Beach.  He was never seen again, and no sign of him was found.

Anna Noteboom Thomas, with her children, Gerald, Mae and Frank Thomas. Year unknown. From the collection of cousin Paul.

Anna Noteboom Thomas, with her children, Gerald, Mae and Frank Thomas. Year unknown. From the collection of cousin Paul.

Anna had been estranged from her family following her marriage to Francis.  Her father, Walter Noteboom, did not approve of him and disowned her.  Following Francis’s disappearance, Anna reconciled with her father.  Walter owned a saloon and gentleman’s hotel in Manhattan, along with at least two homes in Brooklyn.  While Anna worked as a housekeeper and laundress to earn a living, her father helped support her by paying for their winter coal and contributing to their rent.

In 1910,  they were living at 465 Belmont Avenue and shared the home with Edwin and Frances Hardcastle.  The census that year confirms that she was working as a housekeeper for others and she still claims to be married for 9 years. After her father’s death in 1913, she inherited approximately $4000.  Her brother, who was the executor of the estate, took the rent and coal money out of her share of the inheritance.6

While raising her children, Anna did what she could to make ends meet, taking in laundry, cleaning houses, and on some occasions borrowing money.  Fortunately, members of the community were willing to help out the family.  Her best friend, Bertha Happ, was a school teacher, and help Anna keep her children from being placed in a home, which was connected with a church on Wyona Street.  Schmidt, the butcher, loaned her money, and Mrs. Henning employed her to clean her home.  Gerald and May would help her by delivering laundry around the neighborhood.  When Gerald was 12, Mr. Henning offered him his first job, pumping the organ at church on Sundays.  He was paid $2.50 per month, of which he gave his mother $2 and kept $.50 for himself.  By 14, he went to work for Barrett & Nephews, a local dry cleaners.  He made $5.00 a week.  He would quit that job to work for Schmidt, the butcher, who paid him $5.oo a week to take care of his horse, but he didn’t have to pay for carfare or lunch.  Then, he went to work for Mr. Henning, at V. Henning & Sons, earning $7.00 per week.  He earned a large raise at his next job for Meyer & Lange wholesale grocers, who paid him $18 per week.  Later, Anna would meet a veteran of the Spanish American War named George Reilly, who wanted to marry her.  However, he did not get along with her oldest son, so she turned him down.7

2762 Atlantic Avenue Image Capture: June 2012 © 2015 Google

2762 Atlantic Avenue
Image Capture: June 2012 © 2015 Google

In 1915, the family had moved to 2762 Atlantic Avenue, and they had taken on a boarder.  Anna was 34 years old and working as a housekeeper.  All three children were in school.  The boarder, Alice Cokely, worked as a seamstress.  Also living in the house are Rose Sparks and her daughter Mildred. 8 Five years later, they are still living at the Atlantic Avenue home, along with Herbert Sparks and his children, Charles and Mildred, and Frank and Margaret Walsh. Anna was still a housekeeper, but now both of her older children were also working.  Gerald was a “Helper” in the Chauffeur industry, and Mae worked as a typist in the Insurance industry.  Frank was age 12 years, and still in school.  Anna was listed as a widow by this time.9

By 1925, Anna and her son, Frank, have moved to 172 Miller Avenue.  A number of families lived in the building, including the Schmidts, Burcke, Atkins, Hurleys, and two separate Speth families.  Anna was still doing housework, and Frank was then working as a printer.10

Mae and Anna Thomas, circa 1935, probably in Hempstead NY

Mae and Anna Thomas, circa 1935, probably in Hempstead NY

In 1930, Anna moved in with her oldest son and his family.  By that time, he had married Louise Schillinger, and they had two daughters, Ethel and my grandmother Marion.  In the census that year, she is listed as Elizabeth, which is strange, because her name was Anna Henrietta, and this is the only record that records her by this name.  Her occupation by then is that of a cook for a convent.11

Later, Anna would move in with her daughter Mae and her husband John F. Stamm.  In 1940, they are living at 14 Plymouth Street, Hempstead, Nassau County on Long Island. She was no longer working at that time, and was supported by her daughter and son-in-law.  John Stamm was working as a printer and earning $5000 a year.12

She lived with Mae and John for the rest of her life, dying in January 1967 at the age of 85.13

Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database].  Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2006.  Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census.  Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1910.  Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 26, Kings, New York; Serial: T624, Roll: 977, page 3B, Enumeration District: 0783, FHL microfilm: 1374990.

Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database].  Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.  Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census.  Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1920.  Census Place: Brooklyn Assembly District 22, Kings, New York; Serial: T625, Roll: 1179, page 9a, Enumeration District: 1409, Image: 968.

Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database].  Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2002.  Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census.  Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930.  Census Place: Brooklyn, Kings, New York; Serial: T626, Roll: 1540, Page: 13A, Enumeration District: 0483, Image: 563, FHL microfilm: 2341275.

Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database].  Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2012.  Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census.  Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940.  Census Place: Hempstead, Nassau, New York; Serial: T627, Roll: 2689, Page: 11a, Enumeration District: 30-178.

Ancestry.com. New York State Census, 1892 [database]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: New York State Education Department, Office of Cultural Education. 1892 New York State Census. Albany, NY: New York State Library.

Ancestry.com. New York State Census, 1905 [database]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original Data: New York State Census, 1905. Population Schedules. New York State Archives, Albany, New York. Election District: A.D. 21, E.D. 19, City: Brooklyn, County: Kings.

Ancestry.com. New York State Census, 1915 [database]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: State Population Census Schedules, 1915. Albany, New York: New York State Archives. Election District: 44, Assembly District: 22, City: New York, County: Kings, Page: 43.

“Anna Noteboom”, Stamboom Dusseljee, Geneaologieonline, http://www.genealogieonline.nl/en/stamboom-dusseljee/I1423.php, accessed 7 January 2015.

  1. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database].  Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2004.  Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census.  Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900.  Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 26, Kings, New York; Serial: T623, Roll: 1064, page 2A, Enumeration District: 0467, FHL microfilm: 1241064. ↩
  2. Ancestry.com. New York State Census, 1892. ↩
  3. Letter from Gerald Thomas to his daughters, April 1979. Photocopy in collection of author. Original location unknown. ↩
  4. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census. ↩
  5. Ancestry.com. New York State Census, 1905. ↩
  6. Letter from Gerald Thomas.
    Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census. ↩
  7. Letter from Gerald Thomas. ↩
  8. Ancestry.com. New York State Census, 1915. ↩
  9. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census. ↩
  10. Ancestry.com. New York State Census, 1925. ↩
  11. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census. ↩
  12. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census. ↩
  13. Letter from Gerald Thomas. ↩

52 Ancestors #2: Francis Theodore Thomas
Francis and Anna Thomas

Francis and Anna Thomas, from the collection of 2nd cousin 1x removed Paul, posted to Ancestry.com

I’ve written about Francis Theodore Thomas in the past – see “The Missing Thomas” -but I have chosen him again because I’ve learned more about him since the last post, largely in part because I connected with my 2nd cousin, 1x removed, Paul.  He had some photos and a letter from my great-grandfather, Gerald Thomas, that filled in some of the details about Francis Theodore Thomas.

Francis was born in circa 18811, the son of William Thomas and Emma J. Fredericks.  He had four older siblings: Kate, William, May and Maud.2

 

172 Miller Avenue, Brooklyn Image capture: Oct 2014, © Google

172 Miller Avenue, Brooklyn
Image capture: Oct 2014, © Google

In 1905, he was living at 172 Miller Avenue with his wife Anna and his oldest two children, Gerald [age 3] and May [age 2].  There were six other families living in the building, which stands the block of Miller Avenue between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue.  He was working as a shirt ironer, and at 24 years old, was supporting his family of four.3

According to the letter my great-grandfather wrote to my grandmother and her sister, Francis met my 2nd great-grandmother through her brother, Walter Noteboom, Jr.  He was an orphan by the time they met, and “she felt sorry for him”.  They were married in 1901 against her father’s wishes, and she became estranged from her family for several years as a result.4

Snippet from letter - Anna and Frank marry

Snippet from letter – Anna and Frank marry

When things happened…

Anna Noteboom and Francis Thomas at Rockaway Beach

Anna Noteboom and Francis Thomas at Rockaway Beach

My 2nd great-grandmother Anna always referred to 1906 as the time when things happened.  In August 1906, Francis went to Rockaway Beach for a swim and never came home.  No body was every found, nor were any of his belongings.  He went to get his paycheck, and then to the beach.  After things happened, the family didn’t talk about it much and Anna was left to raise three children, ages 5 and under, on her own.  She borrowed money from the local butcher, and took to cleaning houses and washing clothes to make ends meet.  It was only after Francis disappeared did she reconcile with her father.5

Not much is known about Francis’s family.  Gerald writes in the letter that he had a brother William, who was murdered on the Brooklyn waterfront.  His sister Kate married Thomas Bouse, and Mae married Jack Gardner.  His mother’s maiden name was Fredericks, and she had a sister who married a Captain Hall, who served during the U.S. Civil War.  He is buried at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn.  His father is said to have ancestors who were Pennsylvania Quakers.6

  1. Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1905 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.  Original data: New York, State Census, 1905. Population Schedules . New York State Archives, Albany, New York.  State Population Census Schedules, 1905; Election District: A.D. 21 E.D. 19; City: Brooklyn; County: Kings, Page 48. ↩
  2. Ancestry.com.  Devine-Thomas Family Tree. Posted by pxdbrewer. ↩
  3.  Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1905. ↩
  4. Letter from Gerald Thomas to Marion Reilly and Ethel Furia, photocopy in my collection, original unknown, April-May 1979. ↩
  5. ibid. ↩
  6. ibid. ↩