WEDDING WEDNESDAY~Marion Long & Delphine Fink–My husband’s Aunt & Uncle

Today’s post is about my husband’s maternal Aunt & Uncle.  While Marion & Delphine may have been their given names, to everyone who knew them, they were Aunt Honey & Uncle Bud.

“Bud” was born 2 Nov 1914 in Cumby, Hopkins, Texas to parents Francis Marion Long and Lillian Gertrude Taylor.  By the time of the 1940 census he can be found living with his mother and his sister, Buna, in San Diego, California.

“Honey” was born in Buffalo, Erie, New York 26 Sep 1919 to parents Heinrich August Fink and Freada Emma Doller.  Her family moved to San Diego, California in 1935.

Bud had enlisted in the Navy as an Apprentice Seaman on 4 Jan 1934.  Is that what brought he and his mother and sister to California?  Bud reenlisted 13 Jan 1942.  That was just a little over a month after the bombing at Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II.

According to their daughter, Tammy, this couple met in 1938. On 14 Nov 1943 this engagement announcement appeared in the San Diego Union newspaper.

The couple was married at Rolando Methodist Church in San Diego by Methodist Minister, James F. Robert.  Witnesses listed on the marriage certificate are Honey’s sister Dorothy and her brother Elwood Fink. Their daughter, Tammy, was married in the same church 26 years later.

Their first child, a son, Kenneth Joy Long was born 27 Aug 1945 (died 2 Jan 2006). A daughter, Tamara Gail was born in 1947 and a son, Robert Dale in 1951.

This marriage lasted for 61 years, until Bud’s death in 2005.

Both of these people were a lot of fun.  Honey had a great sense of humor and could always be found with a smile on her face.  Uncle Bud was a great cook and enjoyed gardening.  They were both very big personalities.  Time spent with them was always memorable.

I honor them here today.  And want them to know they are missed by so many.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2021   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CHURCH RECORD SUNDAY ~ The confirmation of Elwood, Dorothy & Delphine Fink–1926 & 1933 in Buffalo, Yew York

Front of confirmation program - Elwood Fink & Dorothy B. Fink

Church confirmations.  We don’t hear as much about this subject today as we did when I was young.  Of course it depends on the denomination or religious group your family was associated with.  Different groups, different traditions.

The confirmation record I have featured today is for my husband’s mother, Dorothy B. Fink and her oldest brother, Elwood “Al” Fink.  The two names were already circled when we located this record among Dorothy's belongings, after her death. 

The two siblings, who were one year apart in age, Al being the oldest, were confirmed on 28 March 1926.  That would have made them 13 and 12 at the time of their confirmation.  The confirmation program states that Rev. Paul Langhorst was the Pastor of the church.

I have a lovely picture Al & Dorothy on the day of their confirmation.

 

I don’t have any record of the confirmation of the two younger Fink siblings, Willard & Delphine.  I should ask cousins Tammy or Tracy if they have those records.

UPDATE - After I had already finished this post, I did hear from cousins Tracy and Tammy.  Tracy was able to provide the confirmation program and certificate for Dorothy & Al's little sister, Delphine "Honey" Fink.  She was confirmed at the same church, by the same Pastor on Palm Sunday, 9 Apr 1933. 

Of note: There are two other family names on the list of children being confirmed on the same day as Delphine.  Elmer Ernst & Robert Henry Doller.  These boys were 1st cousins to Al, Dorothy & Delphine.

Here is the program front & list of names

And, here is the certificate for Delphine

I do know that Uncle Al, whom I met in his later years, was a Christian man, who followed his faith.  Dorothy and her husband, Gordon, joined a Methodist church in San Diego in 1956.  I have Dorothy’s Bible here at our house.  Delphine's Bible resides with her family.

 

A little bit about Rev. Paul H. Langhorst.  He was born 27 Jul 1881 in Ohio.  His parents are both stated to be born in Germany (several census records give that place).  According to his World War I draft registration card he was tall, with a slender build, brown hair and eyes.  He married a woman named Emma before 1910 and they had several children.  He was President of the New York District of the Evangelical Synod of North America.  He was installed as the Pastor of the Bethlehem United Evangelical Church in Buffalo, New York on 22 Jun 1925.  He died, according to a death notice published in The Newark Advocate, on 22 Feb 1945.

• Do you have church records for your ancestors?  What do they tell you about their lives? 
• I wonder, did the whole Fink family go to church every Sunday? 
• As members of a church, would their be baptismal records available for all of the Fink children?  I need to follow up on this.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

CHURCH RECORDS - How they can help you with your research

Treasure Chest Thursday - The 1748 church record for the marriage of Jeremiah Hall & Elizabeth Bailey

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOROTHY FINK HALL ~ My husband’s mother–born this day in 1913

Dorothy Beatrice Fink was born on this day in 1913 in Buffalo, Erie, New York.  She was the second child born to Heinrich “Henry” August Fink and Freada Emma Meta Doller.  Dorothy had an older brother, Elwood and two younger siblings, Willard & Delphine “Honey.”

She and her family moved to San Diego, California in 1935.  At age 23 she met and married Floyd O. “Ted” Brown in 1937.  There were no children born to that marriage and they divorced in 1944.

On 22 Jul 1945 Dorothy was 31 years old and she enlisted in the U.S. Navy.  This was just months prior to the end of World War II.  She was honorably discharged from military service 5 Apr 1946. 

On 22 Aug 1948 at age 34, Dorothy married Gordon Charles Hall in Lynwood, Los Angeles, California with her sister Honey and brother-in-law Marion Nelson Long as witnesses.

Gordon and Dorothy had one child, a son, Ronald. 

Dorothy and Gordon enjoyed a comfortable life with their young son, until Gordon’s sudden death of a heart attack, on 12 Jan 1966.  He was only 48 years old.

Dorothy provided a loving and stable home to her son.  She eventually became the grandmother to two young boys.

 

I knew Dorothy for only four short years prior to her death in 1993.  She is remembered by her family as a loving mother and grandmother.

Happy birthday Dorothy.  We all still miss you, especially your son.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

SURNAME SATURDAY – FINK

CHURCH RECORD SUNDAY - Baptismal Record for Dorothy Fink

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017 Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SUNDAY’S OBITUARY ~ Mary, wife of Andrew BOSKAT (about 1861–14 Dec 1927) Week #1

I have decided to share, on each Sunday, an obituary for those in our family file.  I’m not going to worry if they are direct line or collateral.  I’m going to go down the list I created in my Legacy 9 file (people who have obituaries) and post them in order.  At this time, I have a list of 230 individuals in my file who have obituaries attached to them.

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings has done similar things within his file and I like the idea.  I’m certain it will open up new leads and encourage me to continue research on various branches of the family.

Here’s a screenshot of a part of the list I created.  You can see the number, 230, at the top.  You can also see that Mary is the first person listed.  Because I don't have a maiden name for Mary, she showed up alphabetically, first.  Legacy 9 assigns numbers to each individual in our database, they are called RIN's (Renewable Identification Number).  It's an easy way to distinguish people in your file.
 

Mary is my husband’s granduncle’s wife’s mother.  Here is how she is connected to his family.

Mary (maiden name not known) married Andrew BOSKAT

Lena M. Boskat married Irven J. Doller, my husband’s maternal granduncle

Freada Emma Meta Doller was Irven’s sister and she married Henry Fink (they are my husband’s maternal grandparents)

Here is a transcription of the obituary.

BOSKAT – In Derby, N.Y., Dec. 14, 1927.  Mary H., wife of Andrew Boskat, mother of Jackson A., Paul, Mrs. I. Doller, John, William, August, Mrs. C. Barfelt and Fred Boskat.  Funeral from the family residence, Saturday at 2:30 p.m.  Friends invited to attend.

According to the 1910 census, Mary was born about 1861 in Germany and immigrated to the U.S. in 1891.

I have done very little research on this part of my husband’s family.  For right now I’ll have to come back to them.

However, if you are related to this family and would like to exchange information, please contact me.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FRIDAY FINDS ~ Baptismal record for Heinrich August Fink–1893–Buffalo, New York

Heinrich August Fink is my husband’s maternal grandfather.  He was known throughout his life as Henry August Fink.

This discovery came today when I did a search on Ancestry, from my tree, for Henry August Fink.  This is something I do on a regular basis.  I’ve made lots of great finds this way and today was no exception.

I discovered the record collection U.S. Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940.  This collection is new to me and I wonder if I’ll find other records contained in it?

What I found was this indexed record:

Name:    Heinrich August Fink
Event Type:    Baptism
Birth Date:    14 Jan 1893
Baptism Date:    24 Jun 1893
Baptism Place:    Buffalo, New York
Father:    Geo Fink
Mother:    Barbara Ludwig
Church Name:    Grace
Church Location: Buffalo, New York

I did a little genealogy happy dance and then proceeded to download the image, save it to my computer and then source & enter it into Legacy.

I had already located, some time ago, a birth record for “Baby Fink” born 14 Jan 1893 to George & Barbara Fink.  I was fairly certain this was our Henry, but not 100% sure.



If you look at the baptismal record you will see that the birth date is exactly the same, 14 Jan 1893, as that of the Baby Fink birth record.  The parents must have waited until the baptism to name the baby.  The baptism took place 6 months later.

Here is a close up of the entry on the baptismal record



Combining the birth record, baptismal record and death certificate (which lists Henry’s birthdate), I have the 3 records I always like to have to conclude that the date is correct.

Heinrich “Henry” August Fink was born in Buffalo, Erie, New York to George August Fink and Barbara Ludwig.  He grew up in Buffalo and I have him enumerated in the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 census records. Note to me:  find him in the 1940 census.

On 8 Oct 1911 Henry married Freada Emma Meta Doller in Fort Erie, Welland, Ontario, Canada.  To this couple were born two sons and two daughters: Elwood Reynolds (1912-1997), Dorothy Beatrice (1913-1993), Willard Henry A. (1916-2008 and Delphine Irene “Honey” (1919-2011.

Here are the four Fink siblings in 1936. 

Willard & Elwood are standing in the back and Dorothy and Delphine are kneeling

I had the pleasure of knowing all four of those children, as adults.  They were my husband’s mother and her siblings.
 
In 1935, Henry moved his wife and children to San Diego, California.  They all went to work at General Dynamics/Consolidated Aircraft, becoming the largest family group to work there.  An article was written in the San Diego Union about this family group.  A photo was included in the newspaper article.  I don’t have the article, but I do have the photo (below).

Left to right are: Floyd “Ted” Brown (first husband of Dorothy Fink), George Brown (brother of Floyd), Willard A. Fink, Elwood R. Fink, Dorothy Fink Brown, Delphine Fink Long and Henry Fink.



Henry Fink died on January 17, 1954, at the age of 61.  He left a loving family to grieve his loss.
 
Henry is buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in San Diego, California.  You may visit his memorial on findagrave #31820256.  (The FindAGrave website is down right now and I cannot create a link to his memorial).

If you think you might be related to anyone mentioned in this blog post, please contact me.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

SURNAME SATURDAY – FINK

VITAL RECORDS - How to Request Them and Keep Track of Those Requests

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FRIDAY FINDS–Death certificates for my husband’s grandparents

Henry & Freada Fink in the early 1950's

I have been going through my own “Do Over” and trying to make sure I have as many vital records as possible for each person in my tree.  No easy task to be sure.  But, slow and steady is the key and a little work each day will get the job done.

I was working on my husband’s side of the family and noticed that I didn’t have death certificates for his grandparents.  They both died right here in San Diego, where I live.  Several cousins also live here in the area.  Maybe one of them have the death certificates?

NOTE:  Sometimes it is the family closest to us for whom we don’t have complete records.  Like my siblings marriage records (still need to obtain those), these death records for Ron’s grandparents etc.  How about our own birth certificate or school records?  Have you recorded and scanned those?

I did contact the cousin who has provided me with all of the records I have for Ron’s family and she directed me to her daughter.  I made the request yesterday and this morning there they were, in my email.



Genie happy dance for sure.  Now I have a cause of death, more evidence of parent’s names etc.




Now instead of a blank space under “death cause” on my family view in Legacy, I have this:



Another find today was a probate record for Ron’s great grandfather.  More on that in another post.

Suffice to say, it’s been a great morning here in the genealogy cave.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

SURNAME SATURDAY – Fink

MICHIGAN DEATH RECORDS ONLINE - Where can you find them?

Happy hunting,

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SURNAME SATURDAY - FINK

Henry A. Fink & his wife Freada Doller Fink - early 1950's

TODAY’S FEATURED SURNAME

FINK

The name Fink comes from my husband’s side of the family.  His mother’s maiden name was Fink.  I’ve been fortunate to have known many of the Fink family members during our marriage.  We’ve lost quite a few of them in recent years, but their memory lives on in children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

This has been a difficult family to trace.  A cousin (whom we recently lost) was also doing family research and had difficulty tracking down early Fink records.  I was able to interview my husband’s Aunt, Delphine Irene “Honey” Fink Long (1919-2011) and she did provide me with some information.   Here is what I know up to this point. 

 

George August Fink was born about 1863, possibly in New York, died between 1892 and 1900.  Married Barbara Ludwig 16 Nov 1892 in Buffalo, Erie, New York.  Barbara was born 13 Jan 1863 in Germany and died 5 Jul 1935 in Buffalo, Erie, New York.  George and Barbara had one child, their son, Henry August Fink, born 14 Jan 1893 in Buffalo, Erie, New York, died 17 Jan 1954 in San Diego, San Diego County, California.  Henry married Freada Emma Doller on 8 Oct 1911 in Fort Erie, Welland, Ontario, Canada.  Freada was born 24 Aug 1895 in Buffao, Erie, New York and died 1 Mar 1981 in San Diego, San Diego County, California.

 (Click on any image to enlarge it)

Birth record for baby Fink, later named Henry August Fink

Birth record for Meta Freda Doller (later known as Freada Emma Meta Doller Fink)

Marriage record for Henry Fink & Freada Doller 8 Oct 1911 in Fort Erie, Welland, Ontario, Canada

Henry & Freada grew up in Buffalo, New York.  In 1935 they moved their family (which included their four children), to San Diego, California.

Here is Freada as a young girl & with her grandson, Ron.

     

Their children were:

Elwood Reynolds Fink 1912-1997, married Esther May Shurgour 1915-2003
Dorothy Beatrice Fink 1913-1993, married first Floyd O. “Ted” Brown and second Gordon Charles Hall 1917-1966.  Dorothy & Gordon are my husband’s parents.
Willard Henry A. Fink 1916-2008, married Mary Charlotte Horn 1920-2003
Delphine Irene “Honey” Fink 1919-2011, married Marion Nelson “Bud” Long 1914-2005

This is the Fink home on Shannon Drive in San Diego, California.

Henry and his sons and daughters had worked at Consolidated back in Buffalo, New York and transferred to San Diego.  They were the largest family group to work at the General Dynamics Plant in San Diego. 
Their was an article, including a group photo, of them in the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper. 

Left to right in this photo are: Floyd “Ted” Brown (husband of Dorothy Fink), unknown male, Willard Fink, Elwood “Al” Fink, Dorothy Fink, Delphine “Honey” Fink and their Dad, Henry August Fink.



Henry & Freada Fink are buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery here in San Diego.  You can find their memorials here on FindAGrave #31820256 and #31820183.  Each of their children are linked to their memorials.

There is so much more that I want to learn about the Fink family.  I need to learn who George Fink and his wife, Barbara Ludwig’s parents were.  When did Barbara come over to the United States from Germany?  So many questions.  Maybe I’ll get some answers this spring when I make a trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City?

If you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog, please contact me!

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

Church Record Sunday - Dorothy Fink Baptismal Record

Surname Saturday - Who was Daisy Bright?

Happy hunting,

Copyright ©  2010-2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION