Proof Reading

The Mark Family Story is in my hands, the proof copy, that is. A beautiful cover and 435 pages to check for format, spelling, grammar, accuracy and readability. Dozens of photos to check for correct captions. I can see that some of them will need to be adjusted. They are too dark or too light to be easily viewed as black and white photos. My daughter and Adobe Photoshop will improve those photos. Thanks Alyssa!

This is my last chance to make any adjustments to this project which I have been working on for years. I am excited about the look of the book and even more excited about how it will look when it is finally complete.

Be sure to watch my blog to discover when the book is done!

Funeral Cards

Mary Josephine Coyle

Funeral cards can give us new information: the full name of the deceased, the date of death and the name of the funeral home. Some even give the birth date and other details of the person’s life. 

My mother and grandmother kept these little cards and tucked them into prayer books, Bibles and other books. They kept the cards as a remembrance, a connection to someone they loved. Those same cards helped me to continue that connection. 

Mary Josephine (Mullane) Coyle was born in August 1867 in Ireland and died 17 December 1927 in New York City. Mary Jo was the mother of seven children. She died just four month before the birth of her only grandchild, Alberta Joy (Gardner) Brown.

Helen Frances (Coyle) Gardner was born 9 January 1897 in New York City and died 13 October 1965 in Germantown, New York. She had one daughter and four grandchildren. 

Be sure to look for and hang on to these small treasures.

October Birthdays, October 16 - 31

Is your birthday coming soon? Maybe you share your special day with someone in our family who came before. Look below and see. Happy Birthday!

16 October          

1836       Louisa Ollevia FORTENBERRY

1868       Margaret NEE

1888       Lucy Viola BROWN was born in Mississippi, daughter of Jasper Pascal & Rose Ella (Brumfield) Brown. She married Tate Edward Fortenberry in 1908. Their children: Kenneth, Shirley & Cecil.

17 October          

1871       Algedena GRUISSY was the second child of Augustus Ceaser & Esther Barbara (Wolf) Gruissy. She died in Ohio the year she was born. Of Esther & Augustus’ five children, three died as children.

1884       Mary C. SMITH

18 October          

1781       John George WOLF

1877       Milton Adolphus SMITH

19 October          

1917       Nathalee SMITH was the oldest child of Denny Herbert & Mavis Marie (Brown) Smith.  She married Jerry Sidney Comeaux in 1941.

20 October          

1794       Susan GREEN

1813       Margaretha RITTER

1860       Gabriella SANDERS

1866       Bartholomew Anthony BRADY was born in Ireland, son of Thomas & Catherine (Gibney) Brady. He married Mary Agnes Reddan in 1900 in New Jersey.  Bartholomew was a policeman for East Orange, New Jersey. He retired in 1931.

21 October          

1857       Anna Esther WOLF was born in Iowa. She was the daughter of William and Sarah Jane (Wilson) Wolf. She married Thomas Filmore Dickson. James Frederick Dickson was their son.

23 October          

1805       Maria RITTER

1863       Caroline Louise GRUISSY was born in Ohio, daughter of Augustus Ceaser & Mary Ann (Everett) Gruissy. In 1882 she married Peter Jonathan Moore. Their children: Emaline, Lillian Vera, Floyd, Frances Gertrude, Elizabeth & Ralph. She died in 1936.

1900       Donna Strom BROPHY

1900       Alva Edwin ELLZEY

24 October          

1824       Henry William Leander LEWIS

1852       Emma Abbline FLORY was the first wife of William Mark. They married in 1870, after he returned from the Civil War. They had two children: Cora Bell & Marian. She died in 1877, at the age of 24.

1863       Martha E. ALFORD

1887       Clarence WOLF

1899       George Washington CUTRER

25 October          

1790       Mary Magdelena RITTER

1853       Richard FORTENBERRY was born in Mississippi, son of Alfred & Aderine Mary (Faulk) Fortenberry. He was my first cousin, 4 times removed.

1869       Julius ALFORD

1908       Theodore Roosevelt MORRIS

1909       Delphin Delmus MORRIS

26 October          

1779       Nancy Ann DILLON was born in North Carolina, daughter of Richard & Anne (Lawrence) Dillon. She married John Stallings. Nancy died in 1869.

 1852       Leah E. BRUMFIELD

 1878       Frank Samuel WEISSBERG

27 October          

1765       Cornelia KNIGHT

1845       Elias McDANIEL

1888       Frances Gertrude MOORE was born in Ohio, daughter of Peter Jonathan & Caroline Louise (Gruissy) Moore. She married William Clarence Brophy. Their children: Glen, Caroline & Donald. In 1920 William worked for the Gas & Fuel Company.

28 October          

1877       Jason Abraham ALFORD was born in Mississippi, son of Needham Edwin & Mary Louiza (Stafford) Alford. Jason lived to be 96 years old.

1896       James Everett MARK

1918       Woodrow Wilson SIMMONS

29 October          

1718       Maria Barbara WOLF

1808       Salome ROTH

1869       Frances Dora ALFORD

1874       Dewitt William ALFORD

1909       Shirley FORTENBERRY was born in Mississippi, so n of Tate Edward & Lucy Viola (Brown) Fortenberry. He married Thelma Ginn. They had three children: Charles, Dorothy & Shirlene.

1929       Barbara A. KOZLAK

30 October          

1875       Clarence Lee Guy WOLF was born in Iowa, son of Isaac Ezra & Mary Cathrina (Wireman) Wolf. He married Maude E. Collins in 1901 in Oklahoma. 

31 October          

1916       Kathleen Gloria COYLE was born in New York City, the youngest child of Michael & Mary Josephine (Mullane) Coyle. She never married, living with her sisters.  She died in Arizona in 2007.

1919       Selwyn Alex BRUMFIELD

1930       Seth O. DILLON Jr.

Family Treasure: 1915 School Notebook

Notebook cover

A genealogist must be part detective and part pack rat. It can be difficult to know which yellowed papers, brittle documents or old photos to wrap in acid free paper or place in archival safe boxes for future generations. I cannot part with anything that once belonged to my Nana, 

Helen Frances (Coyle) Gardner
1897 – 1965. 

Anything that was once in her hands is a treasure.

I have a notebook that Helen used about 1915. It was made by the National Blank Book Company of 52 Duane Street, New York City and Holyoke, MA, patented in 1892. The metal rings that hold the hard cover and lined pages together are ‘National School Rings’, “the best fastening device to use in connection with university covers.”

Inside the cover, my young, future maternal grandmother wrote:

“Helen F. Coyle, Morris High School, Domestic Science 114” 

The school was in New York City.

 

Inside are recipes for things like Cranberry Jelly, Biscuits, Black Pudding, Cherry Wine, Fudge, and Muffins in Helen’s handwriting. There are also notes on how to remove stains, how to make hair tonic and how to brew coffee.

Boiled Coffee

For one cup of coffee allow one rounded tabsp [sic] of coffee, 1 tabsp [sic] of cold water, a little uncooked egg and a cup of freshly boiled water. Scald the coffee pot, mix the coffee, egg and cold water thoroughly and add the boiling water. Put over fill and let boil then move off fire and keep warm.  Keep cover on. Coffee is a stimulant both to the heart and to the nerves.  Coffee also acts as a narcotic. Coffee with cream and sugar retains the actions on the liver and also makes one bilious.

Strong coffee aids digestion in the stomach and 

is used for that purpose after a heavy meal.  Coffee should not be used by young people.

Cherry Wine

2 lbs. wild cherries, fresh

2 lbs. Sugar

2 qts. Water

Boil water & sugar in pot there add cherries & Let stand 3 weeks. Then bottle.

100 Years Ago, 1 October 1911

Lillian Agnes Coyle, First Communion

Lillian Agnes Coyle

18 September 1911  NY - 

3 Jun 1987 AZ

Daughter of Michael Coyle & 

Mary Josephine Mullane

Lillian Agnes Coyle, born 18 September 1911 in New York City, was the daughter of Michael and Mary Josephine (Mullane) Coyle. She was baptized on 1 October 1911. The Baptismal Certificate does not list a specific Roman Catholic Church. It does show that her godparents were Daniel Mullane (her maternal uncle) and Helen Coyle (her oldest sister and my maternal grandmother). Lillian was my grand aunt but I had very little contact with her.

Lillian's mother died when Lillian was just 16 years old. Lillian lived in New York City most of her life, graduating from Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1929. In 1930 she lived with her sisters, Marguerite, Marion and Kathleen, on Walton Avenue in the Bronx. Lillian was a bookkeeper at the time. The sisters liked to travel, visiting their Mullane family in Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland, several times. She also took trips to Puerto Rico, South America and Japan.  Lillian worked for T.W.A. Airlines for many years. Later she worked for American Telephone and Telegraph Company. She worked for them for over twenty years.

In 1976 Lillian and her sisters moved to Sun City, Arizona. Lillian died in Arizona in 1987.

October Birthdays, October 1 - 15

Is your birthday coming soon? Maybe you share your special day with someone in our family. Look below and see. Happy Birthday!

1 October            

1894       Hubert Allen BROWN was born in Mississippi, son of Jasper Pascal & Rose Ella (Brumfield)  Brown. He married Freddie Smith in 1920. They had six children. Hubert was a veteran of World War II. He was a farmer. He died in 1971.

 1932       Robert M. BERISWELL

2 October            

1847       Jesse L. ALFORD was born in Louisiana, son of Reverend Warren Jackson & Celia Ann (Lewis) Alford. He died in 1911.

1850       William Jesse FORTENBERRY

1867       Harrison H. BURCH

3 October            

1880       Alice Leota HEACOCK was born in Ohio. She married William M. Mark, son of William & Elidia Rebecca (Ritter) Mark. They were married in 1899 and had seven children.

4 October            

1847       Ira Newton ALFORD was born in Louisiana, son of Ira Payne & Elizabeth Hope Alford.  He married Samantha Ott. They had seven children.

1907       Mirian M. MINTER

5 October            

1800       Susanna RITTER

1819       Joanna SMITH

1851       John Narvel FORETNBERRY was born in Mississippi, son of Burrell Taylor & Eliza Jane (Ellzey)   Fortenberry. He married Eliza Jane Smith. He died in 1920.

6 October            

1892       Elizabeth Lodema MOORE was born in Ohio, daughter of Peter Jonathan & Caroline Louise (Gruissy) Moore. She married Albert Edward Good. They had six children: Ethel, Catherine, Harold, Joel, Margaret & Helen.

7 October            

1745       Richard DILLON was born in Norfolk, Virginia, son of James Theopilous & Mary Dillon. They were married about 1776. They were my 5x great grandparents. They had eight children. Richard died in Mississippi in 1833.

8 October            

1932       Elvera Lucile WILSON was the daughter of Thomas Clarence & Euna Clarabelle (Fortenberry) Wilson. She’s my fourth cousin, once removed. 

9 October            

1805       Jane SMITH

1873       Isaac J. WOLF

 1917       Joel Moore GOOD was born in Ohio, son of Albert Edward & Elizabeth Lodema (Moore) Good. Joel married Helen Delores Janisky in 1942. They had five children. 

10 October          

1842       George Washington WOLF was the son of Frederick & Louisa C. (Goetz) Wolf. He married Margaret Ann Culp in 1864. Their son was Joseph William Wolf.

 1879       Elmer Howard WILSON

 1881       Elizabeth SHIFFERLY

11 October          

1807       John Seaborn ALFORD & Seaborn John ALFORD were twin brothers born in North Carolina, sons of Julius & Lucy (Newton) Alford.  Seaborn John died in 1884 in Mississippi. John Seaborn died in 1891 in Louisiana.

1872       Lynnie Blanche SMITH

12 October          

1848       Ruth Anna SCOTT married John William Ritter in 1871 in Ohio. He was the s on of Isaac and Isabell (Fisher) Ritter. They had eight children.  Ruth died in 1900.

1857       Joseph Millen NEE

1927       Gordon Eugene JOLLIFF

13 October          

1928       Margaret Louise GOOD was born in Ohio. She married Howard Wendal Hixon. Four children: Howard, Harold, Patricia & Kathleen.

1774       Maragaretha RITTER

15 October          

1845       Needham Edwin ALFORD was born in Mississippi, son of Rev. Warren Jackson & Celia Ann (Lewis) Alford. In 1869 he married Mary Luzina Stafford. They had twelve children.

1862       James Miles THORNHILL