FUNERAL CARD FRIDAY ~ Gordon Charles Hall (1917-1966)

 

This is the front of the funeral card for Gordon

As I continue to go through my office after our move to Montana, I keep running across ancestor items I haven’t seen before.  That’s a good thing because now I can save them and hopefully pass them down to descendants.

My recent finds were 2 funeral cards from Ron’s side of the family. 

Today I will share his father’s card.

I can never bring myself to share a funeral card or other death record without sharing something about the person who died.

Here is a short biography:

Gordon Charles Hall was born 29 Jul 1917 in San Diego, San Diego Co., California.  He was the youngest of 3 children born to Charles Schuyler Hall and Daisy Fern Bright.  He was also the only child born in California.  His older siblings, Dorothy Louise Hall, born 1905 and Robert Walton Hall, born 1907, were both born in Pennsylvania.  In 1913 Charles moved with his wife and 2 children to San Diego. Gordon came along four years later. 

Gordon attended San Diego High School and San Diego State College. As a young man Gordon worked at a gas station.  This would have been in the 1940’s when they still pumped our gas.

In May 1945 Gordon enlisted in the Army and was honorably discharged in Nov 1946. 

On 22 Aug 1948 he married Dorothy Beatrice Fink in Lynwood, Los Angeles, California.  By 1950, according to the census Gordon was working as a Field Representative for Pacific Finance Corp. and living at 4339 35^th St. in San Diego, with his wife and infant son.

Gordon was very proud of his son, an only child. He participated in his son’s school and extracurricular activities. 

Sadly, on 12 Jan 1966, Gordon died suddenly while at work.  The cause of death was listed as a massive heart attack. He was only 48 yrs. old.

This left his wife, Dorothy a widow with a 15 yr old son. They managed with the help of family and friends. Dorothy worked at the old Sears on Cleveland Ave. in San Diego, at the candy counter.

Gordon is fondly remembered by his son and many other family members.

Here are some other posts I’ve written about this family that may be of interest:

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ Gordon Hall & Dorothy Fink Brown

ANCESTORS IN THE NEWS ~ Gordon Charles Hall – my father-in-law, makes news in high school – San Diego, CA-1935

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2024   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

CORA’S SCRAPBOOK - A letter to Cora from her fiancé Thomas Hall – 30 Jan 1877

Please click on this image to enlarge it,
if you wish to see Thomas' letters close up

This is the story of my journey through Cora’s scrapbook.  Cora is my husband, Ron's, paternal great grandmother. I will give a link to all posts at the beginning of each new post.  Here’s that link My posts about Cora's Scrapbook

It’s such a pleasure to find letters written by our ancestors.  Not only do we get to see their handwriting, but we also get a glance into their feelings, perspective and life.

Today I’m sharing a letter written to Cora E. Brown from her soon to be husband, Thomas C. Hall.  The letter is dated 30 Jan 1877 and we know they were married just 6 days later, on 5 Feb 1877. 

I have transcribed the letter and share that here with you.  I don’t absolutely know what the word “Poksie” at the top of the first page means.  Since the couple were in New York, could it have meant Poughkeepsie?

A search on Google maps reveals Poughkeepsie to be 116 miles south of Saratoga Springs, New York, where the couple were married. 

Thomas’ occupation on many of the records I have is Baggage Handler or Baggage Agent for a railroad company.  I expect that job took him away from home on a regular basis.

If you’d like to read about Thomas & Cora’s marriage click here CORA’S SCRAPBOOK–Her wedding cake & marriage to Thomas C. Hall–1877, New York.

Thomas shares some very strong feelings for Cora in his words. At the end of the letter, he bids farewell to her (as a correspondent), knowing they will soon be living together as man and wife.

Without further ramblings from me, here is Thomas’ sweet letter to Cora.

Poksie

Jany 30^th 77

My own,

 Your dear and most welcome letter reached me yesterday morning, and again one today.  Now I am satisfied, but I was not when the postman came around Monday morn and left no letter for me.  I was exceeding worried, but it seems he knew I was expecting a letter and retained it for a while for the purpose of teasing me.  You may just bet your last sixpence I was pleased to get it and to receive the assurance I was soon to get another added feast to my enjoyment.

Oh my poor patient long suffering darling.  I can scarcely realize you are so soon to be mine. 

This in all probability is my last letter to Cora Brown and I would again assure you of the depth and devotion of my love for you.

It seems impossible for one to love more, and I would have you to fully realize and understand that my whole life shall be devoted to the pleasant task of adding to your happiness.

I find it will be impossible for me to come on the early train Sat night but if I were you I would not wait for me.  You had better go to bed, don’t you think so?  I will get white gloves and wear white neck tie – I like you wish the affair was over but it will soon be, and then you may love and be gay to your hearts content, and to love and obey I think is your intent.

When I woke this morning my first thought was only one week from today and then I shall have the task of rousing Cora from her slumbers by my side and I was happy in the thought.    

And now as a correspondent of Miss Cora Brown I would say farewell farewell forever.

Remember me with love to all

Your own affect

(almost husband)

Tom

Do you have letters to or from any of your ancestors?  If so, I’d love to hear about them. 

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

CORA’S SCRAPBOOK ~ Episode 2 – Thomas C. Hall & Cora E. Brown marriage announcement, 1877

FRIDAY FINDS~Obituary of my husband's great grandfather Thomas C. Hall, Civil War veteran (1845-1897)

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

JEREMIAH HALL house built 1727 in Wrentham, Colonial Massachusetts

Jeremiah Hall home built in 1727
Located at 588 Franklin St. in Wrentham, Massachusetts

I’m always happy when I am contacted by someone who has read my blog posts and either wants to share information or has questions.  Afterall, it’s really why we write our blogs. 

In this case a woman named Jody contacted me and said she lived in a house built by my husband’s 5^th great grandfather, Capt. Jeremiah Hall (1697 – 1789)

Here is what she said and she attached a photo of the house.

 “Hi Diane - I stumbled across your ancestry blog and wanted to reach out. My family recently moved into the house Jeremiah Hall built in Wrentham, MA and it is such a stunning home with lots of rich history. I would love to connect and share info”.

Of course I emailed her right away and said I’d love to have anything she is willing to share, and would be willing to share whatever I have that would be helpful to her. How do I even thank her for this kind gesture?

BACKGROUND

This house was built in 1727.  The new owner, Jody, doesn’t know the family history, but has some documents that might tell us more about the origin of this home.

Jody sent me this information: “According to deeds pertaining to 588 Franklin St., Wrentham, Massachusetts, Benjamin Hall was a husbandman (Farmer) and one of the first selectmen of Wrentham in 1713. Benjamin married Sarah, and their son Jeremiah was born May 23, 1697. He was a Miller. Benjamin deeded land to Jeremiah in 1721. Benjamin died in Aug 1726.  The house was built in 1727.”

Here is the plaque that hangs by the front door of the house

That information matches the family history I have as to Jeremiah Hall being the son of Benjamin Hall and Sarah Fisher.

I have 5 Benjamin Halls in my database, all from Massachusetts and all from the 17^th & 18^th century.  I believe I have them sorted out as to who is connected to whom.

Additionally, I have 7 Jeremiah Halls in my database.  Again,  all from Massachusetts in the 17^th & 18^th century.

When I first began researching my husband, Ron’s family, I had quite a time figuring out who was who.

Here is the descendancy from the original Hall immigrant, Edward (7^th great grandfather) down to my husband.

 Edward HALL (abt 1611-1670) m Esther THAYER (abt 1619-abt 1674)

Benjamin Hall, Sr. (1668-1726) m Sarah FISHER (1668-1751)

Capt. Jeremiah Hall (1697-1789) m Dorothy HILL (1698-1753)

Jesse Hall (1734-1808) m Achsah CLARK (1735-1808)

Cornelius Clark Hall (1776-1815) m Elizabeth CONICK (1783-1859)

Rev. George Hall (1804-1878) m Almira ROSETTE (1806-1858)

Thomas C. Hall (1845-1897) m Cora BROWN (1854-1933)

Charles Schuyler Hall (1878-1953) m Daisy BRIGHT (1882-1953)

Gordon C. Hall (1917-1966) m Dorothy FINK (1913-1993)

My husband Ron

Next week I will share photos of the inside of this lovely colonial home.

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

CORA'S SCRAPBOOK ~ Charles & Daisy Hall move their family to San Diego in 1913 - Cora also went with them

Today’s entry from Cora’s Scrapbook is a newspaper article about Charles, Daisy and their daughter and son moving from Tarentum, Pennsylvania to San Diego, California.  Cora, who is Charles’ mother, moved with them.

Here is the newspaper article.  You can see how yellowed that original page from the scrapbook is.  I cropped out the articles and display them below the original page.

(PLEASE CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

Transcription - St. Barnabas Church Parish hall on Fourth avenue was the scene of a very pleasant affair last evening, when the people of the parish gathered for a farewell reception to Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Hall and Mrs. Cora Hall.  The reception was very informal and everyone enjoyed the evening. Mr. Hall has been a lay-reader in the parish for the whole of his stay in this vicinity, a matter of _____effecient service in assisting the different rectors at the regular services and taking the full order of services during interims between rectors and vacation periods. Mr. Hall has also been the director of the Brotherhood of Saint Andrew for eight years. He was also church organist and secretary of the Sunday School. Impromptu speeches were made by T.N. Gummert, C.F. Colls, Mrs. C.L. Leydic and the Rev. H. G. Bulsch, all appreciative of the long and faithful service of Mr. Hall. In token of their love and good wishes the parish gave to Mr. Hall a sterling set of knives, forks and spoons, made by Gorham. The parish wishes him Godspeed and prays that he may be the recipient of God's blessing in whatsoever he may do.  St. Barnabas' loss is the gain of whatsoever parish in the city of San Diego, California Mr. Hall may connect himself.

I am always curious as to how two people meet.  I wish I had the story for my own grandparents and how they met.  In this case I wonder how Charles, from Saratoga Springs, New York met Daisy Bright, who was born and raised in Tarentum, Pennsylvania.  The distance between the two cities in 489.6 miles 

In 1900 Charles was a Bookkeeper for a railroad, still living in Saratoga Springs.  The couple married three years later, in Oct 1903. 

Their daughter, Dorothy Louise Hall was born 2 Jun 1905 in Pennsylvania.  Their son, Robert Walton Hall, Sr. was born 7 Jun 1907 in Tarentum, Allegheny, Pennsylvania. 

Charles worked as an Assistant Superintendent for a Steel Work company according to the 1910 census.  Daisy was a homemaker, and Charles’ mother, Cora (the author of our scrapbook) was living with the family.  She had been widowed in 1897.

What prompted Charles & Daisy to pick up their household and family and move all the way to the west coast?  I know that Cora’s brother Albert Walton Brown moved to San Diego from Saratoga Springs.  Did he precede them?

NOTE: My question prompted me to go and look for city directories from San Diego for the years 1913 onward.

I always love it when I am writing a blog post and a question I have prompts me to dig further.  In this case I was rewarded for my efforts.

As it turns out Cora’s brother, Albert W. Brown is listed in the San Diego city directory in 1912 and 1913 and forward.  So, he DID precede Charles & Daisy & family to San Diego.

In fact, in viewing the 1913 San Diego directory I see Charles working at the same company as Albert Brown.  And another interesting fact – they are working for a company called Hazard-Gould & Co.  Gould as you know, being my maiden name.  Charles is listed as a Dept. Mgr. and Albert is listed as an Elev Opr.

On the left is the directory listing for Albert W. Brown (Cora's brother) and on the right is Chas S. Hall - you can see they are working for the same company

By 1914 Charles, his family, his mother, Cora and his Uncle Albert (reminds me of a Beatles song) are all living together at 1813 Altura Place.

I have taught a couple of classes about blogging. I always tell people that blogging can make us better researchers.  Or, at the very least lead us to new information about our ancestors.  When we are preparing a blog post we want to present the most thorough information possible.  This is not the first time that a blog post has encouraged me to dig deeper.

There are many more items in Cora’s scrapbook, so stay tuned.

To read all my previous posts from Cora – please click here Cora’s Scrapbook.

If you have any information to add to this post or are connected with any of those mentioned here, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

 

HAPPY DANCE WEDNESDAY ~ Church records for Thomas C. Hall, his wife Cora & their son Charles

 

What treasures can I share today?

 
How about church records recently received from a church in New York?
 
I called Bethesda Episcopal Church in Saratoga Springs, New York, last month.  I was interested to see if they still held any records from 1877-1900. 
 
I was specifically looking for records for my husband’s great grandfather and his wife, Thomas C. Hall, Cora E. Brown Hall and their son Charles S. Hall.

 
While we can find some records online, we all know, many are still not available.  Some are indexed, but even viewing an index or transcription is not the same as looking at the actual record.  There could be any number of errors on an index or transcription.
 
I did my happy dance this morning when I received an email from the church with 4 records attached!!!
 
Images of actual church record pages from church registers of Baptism, Marriage, Confirmation and Burial.
 
Here they are: Please click on any image to enlarge it.

MARRIAGE OF THOMAS C. HALL & CORA EMMA BROWN

on 5 Feb 1877

BAPTISM OF CHARLES SCHUYLER HALL 

16 Jun 1878

CONFIRMATION OF CHARLES SCHUYLER HALL 

28 Apr 1892

BURIAL OF THOMAS CORNELIUS HALL 

13 Jan 1897

I already had a marriage date & and the marriage certificate for Thomas & Cora.  You can read all about that find here:
CORA’S SCRAPBOOK–Her wedding cake & marriage to Thomas C. Hall–1877, New York
 
But, this image of the church record for their marriage was new to me and gives one more piece of evidence to this fact.
 
What I didn’t have was the other 3 documents – the Baptism and Confirmation for Charles S. Hall and the Burial record for Thomas. Those will now be added to my Legacy database and sourced and added to my Ancestry tree as well.
 
What records have you recently received that made you do a happy dance? I’d love to hear about them.
 
Have you considered calling or emailing a church, funeral home or cemetery to obtain records or information?  This is not my first time doing so and I have found it to be very rewarding.
 
TIP: Keep a record of any calls or emails.  Whether you use your genealogy program for this (I use Legacy), or a spreadsheet, notepad or some other method.  It’s important to keep the date and make note of what you said, who you spoke with, who you emailed etc.
 
When or if I receive information as I did in this case, I not only send an email of thanks, I write a thank you note and many times include a gift card.

 
If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FRIDAY FINDS~Obituary of my husband's great grandfather Thomas C. Hall, Civil War veteran (1845-1897)

How excited was I when I was looking on a website for one piece of information, and came across something else?

I was on the Fulton History website (over 51 million old newspapers are scanned and available on this free site) trying to locate information about my husband’s 2^nd great grandfather.  I came up empty on him.

Then I thought, why not see if there is anything for my husband’s great grandfather, Thomas C. Hall.

BINGO!!!!!

HIS OBITUARY!

This is a record I have looked for in the past, but never located.  Perhaps I never looked on this website or maybe it wasn’t yet available.  Either way, I have it now and here it is.

(Please click on any image to enlarge it)

Obituary published in the Albany Evening Journal, 20 Jan 1897, page 6

This particular obituary is a bonanza of genealogical information.

Here is my transcription.  The words I had difficulty reading are indicated with an underline.

Thomas Cornelius Hall whose sudden illness from apoplexy was reported yesterday, succumbed to the stroke ten hours later.  Mr. Hall never rallied. He was born in Elisabeth, N.J. and was 52 years of age. His father was the Rev. George Hall, a Congregational divine, whose parents were among the first settlers of Keene, N.H. Mr. Hall went to Saratoga in 1870 and has since resided there. He married Miss Cora E. Brown February 5, 1877, and is survived by her and one son, Charles S. Hall. He also leaves two sisters, Mrs. A. A. Smith of Irvington, Iowa and Miss Emma Griffing of Hampton, Miss. Mr. Hall was a veteran of the late war having served with Company C One Hundred and Second New York Volunteers. When he entered the service he was not old enough to enlist. Mr. Hall was employed by W.H. Granger as baggage express messenger. He was at the time connected with the _____Journal. He was a communicant of Bethesda Episcopal church and a member of it's choir.

Most of the information in this obituary are things I already knew about Thomas’ family.  However, this can be added as yet another source.  And, there were things I didn’t know such as which company he worked for and his church affiliation and singing in the church choir. 

I have sent the church an email asking what records they might have pertaining to Thomas & Cora Hall.

Obituaries are such incredible sources of information for us as family historians.  I’m saddened to think of future genealogists, as the tradition of families having obituaries published is fading from our society.

What obituaries have you located that have given you treasures of information.  I’d love to hear about them.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

CIVIL WAR PENSION FILE ~ Cora E. Hall widow of Thomas C. Hall ~ What gems does it contain?

CORA’S SCRAPBOOK ~ Episode 2 – Thomas C. Hall & Cora E. Brown marriage announcement, 1877

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

CORA’S SCRAPBOOK ~ A letter from her husband Thomas to his son, Charles

This is the story of my journey through Cora’s scrapbook.  Cora is my husband, Ron's, paternal great grandmother. I will give a link to all posts at the beginning of each new post.  Here’s that link My posts about Cora's Scrapbook

Today I am presenting one of the letters I found when I went through Cora’s wonderful scrapbook.  I’m so very happy that she preserved these pieces of family history for us.

Cora & Thomas only had one child, their son Charles. There are, of course, many references to him in the scrapbook.  This one is particularly sweet, as it’s a letter from Thomas to his son Charles.

There is no date on it.  Thomas mentions Christmas, so we know what time of year it was. It has to be before Thomas died on 18 Jan 1897, age 52.  Charles was only 18 when his father died.

(Please click on this image to enlarge it)

Where was Charles when his father wrote to him?  From the sentence in the letter, “hoping he has a splendid time,” we must imagine he was on some sort of outing.  Perhaps attending an out of town event?  Maybe as I examine other documents in the scrapbook I will come to know the answer?

I do think it’s a sweet letter from father to son.  I wish I could have known Thomas. He sounds like a loving, caring father.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2021   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CORA’S SCRAPBOOK–Her wedding cake & marriage to Thomas C. Hall–1877, New York

In all of Cora’s Scrapbook, there were only a handful of images.  One of those was a cabinet card with the image of a cake.  I might always have wondered who’s cake it was and what the occasion might have been.  Thankfully, Cora wrote on the back of the card and identified it as her own wedding cake from 5 Feb 1877.  I was pretty excited when I turned that image over and found the writing.

 “My wedding cake Feby 5th 1877, Cora E. B.”

(Please click on any image to enlarge it)

The cabinet card from from L.V. Myers, Artist, No. 9 Grand Hotel Site, Opposite Congress Park, Saratoga Springs.  And that is the exact place you will find Thomas C. Hall and family during this time of their lives.  Saratoga Springs, New York.

I had found out the date and time of Thomas and Cora’s marriage a couple of years ago.  I make research notes as I’m working on my ancestors.  I have found these notes invaluable over the years. 

TIP:  I learned the hard way that I wasn’t going to remember what I’d done or what I’d located on a particular ancestor.  You think you will, but most of the time you won’t.  Sometimes we move on to some other family and may not revisit an ancestor for several years.  In this case for Cora & Thomas’ wedding here are the notes I’d made. 

Dates based on her being single and living with her parents in the 1875 NY state census.  And then being married to Thomas with a 2 yr. old son in 1880.

12/28/16 - I've located a NY State census with what I believe to be a record of Thomas C. Hall living in Saratoga Springs, NY as a boarder with the Granger family.  He is working as a Clerk.  His age is listed as 30 and born in New York.

2/10/17 - In reviewing Cora's CW widow's pension file, the date of her marriage to Thomas C. Hall was 5 Feb 1877.

There it was, the wedding date and how I had figured it out.  I did not, however, have a place for the wedding.  That was about to change thanks to another item I found in Cora’s scrapbook 

Her marriage certificate!!!

Joined together in Holy Matrimony - Mr. Thomas C. Hall & Miss Cora Emma Brown - 5 Feb 1877

I notice another item of interest on the marriage certificate.  The names of the witnesses to their marriage.  Mrs. Charles Brown (that would be Cora’s mother) and Mrs. F. Schuyler.  I immediately recognize the name Schuyler, but have no one with that surname in my family database.  I do however, know that Cora & Thomas named their only son, Charles Schuyler Hall.  I’ve always wondered if that was a family name?  Now I can try to find out who Mrs. F. Schuyler was and perhaps connect those dots.  OH boy!  I love finding new clues.

That’s all for today’s post. I’ll keep on writing about Cora’s scrapbook.  There’s a LOT more!

Remember, if you are connected to anyone I write about, I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2021   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CORA’S SCRAPBOOK ~ Episode 2 – Thomas C. Hall & Cora E. Brown marriage announcement, 1877

This is the story of my journey through Cora’s scrapbook.  I will give a link to all posts at the beginning of each new post.  Here’s that link My posts about Cora's Scrapbook

The very first piece of family history I find in this scrapbook is the wedding announcement of Cora to Thomas C. Hall.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I knew they had married 5 Feb 1877, based on information in his Civil War Pension file.  But, what other evidence did I have.  None! 

Thomas was 32 at the time of the marriage and Cora was 22.  Their only child, Charles Schuyler Hall was born 13 months after the marriage, on 5 Mar 1878, in Saratoga Springs, New York. I have no record of any other children born to this couple.

Here are the newspaper clippings from the scrapbook.  It doesn’t say what newspaper they are from, so I’m going to try and find that information.  It also looks like a portion of the article is missing.

(Please click on any image to enlarge it) 

TRANSCRIPTION:

HYMENEAL – Mr. Thos. C. Hall, a former resident of Saratoga, now a citizen of Poughkeepsie, came back to Saratoga yesterday and carried away with him one of those most attractive features of our village – a charming young lady, Miss Cora E. Brown.  Mr. Hall always had good sense and fine taste when he dwelt here, and we are glad that they cling to him.  Our best wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Thos. C. Hall

A nice package of wedding cake comes to our table accompanied by a notice of the marriage, on the 5th inst., at the residence of the bride’s father on Church street; by the Rev. Mr. Carey, of Miss Cora E. Brown, of Saratoga, to Thomas C. Hall, of Poughkeepsie.  The wedded pair, on return from their wedding tour, will make their home in Poughkeepsie.  The marriage service was attended by a large number of relatives and friends who manifested their regards for the wedded couple by a liberal bestowment of presents. Among these was a piano by father and……

Another of Saratoga’s fair daughters has left to make a house elsewhere.  Miss Cora E. Brown, daughter of Charles Brown the tobacconist, changed her name preparatory to making her home in Poughkeepsie, on Monday.  The best wishes of many friends attend her………..

Even with the missing portions of this article, we can learn something about our couple. 

• Their wedding was well attended
• There was a wedding cake
• The marriage location was Cora’s father’s residence on Church St.
• Cora was the daughter of Charles Brown, a tobacconist
• The officiant was Rev. Mr. Carey (this can help us figure out which religion the couple may have been and lead to church records)
• The couple was going on some kind of “tour” or trip after the wedding
• They were going to make their home in Poughkeepsie

That’s quite a lot of genealogical leads to follow. Admittedly in my case, some of the items are facts I already know about.

Update: I cannot help but research as I write.  I have located a portion of the articles transcribed above, plus another small wedding announcement. The first place I go for any east coast newspapers is to Fulton History Postcards website where Tom Trynski has been scanning newspapers for years.  He’s a one man show and a blessing to us all.

Here is a cropped portion of the page from The Daily Saratogian from 6 Feb 1877. 

Cora & Thomas had moved from Poughkeepsie to Halfmoon, New York by the time of the 1880 census.  He was working as a baggage handler for the railroad.  I can’t wait to share more about this couple’s life.

If, while you are reading this post, you find you are connected to any family mentioned, I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION