John ODonnell was a paternal uncle of my grandmother. He resided in Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey. From his gravestone, I had his date of death- September 3, 1909. He was nineteen when he died. John O'Donnell born July 9, 1890 Died September 3, 1909 Gravestone at Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City, New Jersey I found no death certificate in the New Jersey State Archives and no obituary in newspapers from Jersey City. The Bayonne Times newspaper for this time period was destroyed. I expanded the search to include newspapers from all over. Newspapers in New York City and even Alaba ..read more

 April 1st is the birthday of my paternal grandfather's sister, Beryl. Beryl as a toddler Picture of Beryl with her mother and maternal grandparents circa 1930. Beryl was born "Baby" Lutter in 1918 at Newark Beth Israel Hospital in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. She was the second and final child of Howard Lutter (1889-1959) and Ethel Laurel "Laura" Winterton (1891-1962). In 1935, a correction was filed amending the baby's name to Beryl Enid and the father's name from Harry to Howard. Beryl married Harry Samuel Nanejian (1901-1986) in 1937 in Suffern, Rockland C ..read more

March 18 is the birthday of my paternal grandfather, Clifford Lutter (1915-1980). Birth certificate of Clifford Lutter. March 18, 1915 in Philadelphia. Father- Howard Lutter. Mother- Laura Ethel Winterton. Clifford was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1915. The story surrounding his birth was that his father, musician Howard Lutter (1889-1959), was performing in Philadelphia. Otherwise, the family resided in Newark, New Jersey. On the anniversary of his birth, I am posting some newly discovered photographs of him. I had these photos for years from various sources, but I did n ..read more

The family of origin is a mystery for Catherine Donnelly, born around 1833 in Ireland. DNA connections may provide leads. By 1860 Catherine was married to Michael Preston (1813-1904), also of Ireland, and lived in Pine Plains, Dutchess County, New York. Catherine Donnelly and Michael Preston had at least six children: - John (1857-1928) (my great great grandfather) married Bridget Sheehy - Anna (1858-1892) married Charles Ultcht - Bartholemew (born 1864) only seen in the 1865 New York state census in North East - Mary Elizabeth (1866-1890) married Jeremiah Welch - Hannah (1870-1947) -&nbs ..read more

The Itemized Statement of Earnings for my grandmother, Jeannette ODonnell (1920-1993), arrived from the Social Security Administration. This information was requested in June of 2023 for a fee of $100. Proof of death and direct descent was required. (Form SSA-7050-F4.) The point of requesting this information was to see when and where she worked and possibly ascertain when important life events happened. The Social Security Act of 1935 created federal old age benefits. Not all workers and employers were required to participate. One of many newspaper articles explaining the new Social Sec ..read more

Below is the list of records not available online that were ordered and not yet fulfilled. More items were ordered since the last published list on January 21, 2024. Service Record and Application for Bounty Land of Jonas Long, War of 1812 Requested from CivilWarRecords.com on February 12, 2024. $55 via credit card online. Death certificate of James Cummings, 1912 Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed February 9, 2024. $22 check. Death certificate of Jane Cummings, 1899 Requested of the New York State Department of Health.&nb ..read more

 While a lot of records are online, many are not. Below is a list of records I ordered and am still awaiting a response. One item was received since my last published list on December 6, 2023. Death certificate of Beryl Nanejian, 1989 Requested from the State of California. Form VS 112 mailed January 19, 2024. $24 check. Probate records of Jonas Long, 1837, and William Owens, 1853 Requested of the Richmond County, New York Surrogate's Court. Email dated June 25, 2023. No fee at this time. Social Security Earning Information of Jeannette ODonnell, 1937 through 1993 Requested of the ..read more

Another envelope addressed to the Duryee family of Newark, New Jersey appeared on eBay. The prior one was for George S Duryee. This one was for his sister, Anna Brower Duryee, care of their father, Peter Sharpe Duryee. Envelope addressed to Miss Anna B Duryee, care of P S Duryee Esq, Newark, New Jersey. "For plate 2L6" "1858" written under reddish stamp, three cents U.S. Postage, of George Washington Anna Brower Duryee was born around 1841. She died in 1922. I found no marriage record for her. She was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Newark with her parents and siblings. D ..read more

Judith Haas Lutter (1950-2013) December 29th is the anniversary of my mother's death. 2023 marks ten years. She died before I unraveled the mysteries of her origins and discovered three siblings she was unaware of ..read more

On eBay is an envelope for sale. The attraction would be to the stamp, I suppose. According to the additional writing on the envelope, the year was 1885. Preprinted as the sender is "United States Senate." The postmark is Washington, D.C. on April 15. Envelope addressed to "Hon Geo. S. Duryea Newark New Jersey" I noticed the listing because of the recipient: Hon Geo. S. Duryea of Newark, New Jersey. This is probably George Sharpe Duryee. He was a lawyer who lived and worked in Newark. He was born around 1850 to Peter Sharpe Duryee (1807-1877) and Susan Rankin (1816-1886 ..read more