1920 Census - Quinn Family and the Gillens

I believe the technical, genealogical term is "on a freakin' roll." I've had Quinns - and Gillens - coming out the ears. Just you wait, honey, just you wait. The obit I'm going to post tomorrow is the one of the coolest things I've ever seen. But for now, let's go with the prosaic - but oh-so-exciting, since I've finally found it - 1920 US census of the Quinn family.

They're living at 482 Tompkins Ave. More on that soon. The name is spelled "Quin," and - compounding my difficulty searching for it - was transcribed as something along the lines of "Ovia," which doesn't even begin to resemble "Quinn" in sound. Terrence, who I usually search for, as his name is less common than the rest, was transcribed as "Terrena." But to leave that aside - Mary is the head of household. (Hugh died about 6 years ago.) Her age could say either 50 or 60, but she should be about 52, so I'm going to assume the former was intended. She says she immigrated in 1888 and and was naturalized in 1894. All of her children are still living at home:

Agnes (not Nora!) is listed as 34 years old, when she should only be 24. She's a clerk in an office.

Mary (Grandma Molly) is 22, and appears to be a "Telephone Operator" for an industry that, best I can, is "Teleflodo." That's probably incorrect. Just a guess.

Helen is 20 years old, and her occupation is really hard to make out, but my best guess is "Stenographer Typist" at an office.

Martin is 18, and his occupation appears to read not much more than "Jewelry" in a "Jewel Store."

Terrence, at 15, has no job.

And then . . .

the last member of the household is Mary Gillen, listed as Mary (Gillen) Quinn's niece. She's 22, so she's about Grandma Molly's age, and was probably born around 1898. Her immigration date is listed as "Un," presumably for "Unknown," though, as her parents didn't immigrate with her, she must have come over as a (relative) adult, and should really remember the date, give or take. She's an "Alien," not a naturalized citizen. She and her parents are Irish-born and English-speaking, and she's a clerk in an office.

Want to see something else cool?

Here's the immigration record of 1 Celia Gillen, dated 17 July 1920.

Celia is 18, so she was born around 1902. She's a "Domestic" - that is, a servant. She's Irish, and her last permanent residence was in Castlebar. Her nearest relative in Ireland is her father, Michael Gillen, of Tawnykinaffe, Castlebar. (That's in County Mayo.) She's headed for Brooklyn, NY. Now check out the next page. What relative is she going to join? Her sister, Miss Mary A. Gillen, of. . .482 Tompkins Av., Brooklyn! In other words, she's going to join her sister Mary Gillen, and her aunt, Mary Gillen Quinn, and all her cousins, the Quinns!

She plans on staying 8 years. She has a fair complexion and hair, and blue eyes, and was born in Castlebar.

Grandma and Grandpa Lanzillotto Immigration Paper - 2 Aug 1920

This is the passenger manifest for US Citizens that lists Grandma and Grandpa Lanzillotto arriving in New York. As we saw in the last post, Grandpa Lanzillotto applied for a passport to return to Italy. When he returned to NY 10 months later, he had a wife! They're numbers 12 and 13 on the manifest, listed as Charlie and Anna Lansillotto, ages 29 and 20, respectively. (That's not quite accurate, Charlie should have only been 26 or so.) Charlie is listed as having been naturalized at the Supreme Ct NY Oct 20th 1919, and Anna is a citizen by marriage. Their address is given as 281 E 155th St. New York City.

The Rickert Family in 1910

Here's Joseph Rickert's family when he was growing up. They're living at 118 Third Place. His parents were Michael and Elizabeth C. Rickert, and his many siblings were Anna M., b. 1894; August A., b. 1895; Francis J., b. 1889; Clara A., 1892; Alphonse M., b. 1894; Mary E., b. 1895; and Julia E., b. 1899. They also live with two of their cousins, Michael's nephew William J. Rickert and Elizabeth's nephew William B. Baker. Both parents were born in Pennsylvania, of German descent, and, interestingly, all the children were born in NY except Joseph, who was born in NJ. Other records I've come across suggest that some of his siblings were born in Buffalo, NY not in NYC. Michael is a Boatman for "Harbor Boating," Anna seems to be listed a "Costumer" at a store, though I don't know what that means, August is a Wallpaper Salesman at a Wholesale Store, Joseph is a Clerk at a Bank, and Francis is a Canvasser for a Magazine. None of the others kids work, although William Rickert is a Porter for a Publishing Office and William Baker is Clerk at a Railroad Office. Michael is working on his "Own Account," and the rest are "Workers."

Michael and Elizabeth have been married 29 years, meaning they married around 1881. They've had 9 children, 8 of whom are still alive.

If you notice, William B. Baker's mother was born in NY and his father was born in Pennsylvania. Since he's Elizabeth's nephew, and Elizabeth was born in Pennsylvania, it's reasonable to think that he's Elizabeth's brother's son, and thus that Elizabeth's maiden name was Baker.

Not done with the Rickerts yet!

This is the 1920 Census of what I believe to be Loretta and Joseph Rickert's family. Why aren't I sure? Because of this oh-so-confusing Anna Rickert. Joseph had a sister named Anna Rickert, but she wasn't his wife, of course. This Anna L. Rickert is listed as his wife, and her age, 31, means she should have been born around 1889, which is pretty close to how old Loretta Rickert should have been. (I think she was born in 1888.) Joseph's sister was Anna M. Rickert, and she was his older sister, and should be closer to 40 than to 30. Now, Loretta Madigan Rickert is usually listed as Loretta A. Madigan and/or Rickert, while this Anna Rickert is listed as Anna L. Rickert. Could a Loretta Anna or an Anna Loretta have gone by Anna sometimes and Loretta other times? Maybe she's listed as Anna here because Joseph called her Anna, after her middle name.

After all, everyone knows that Almanzo Wilder called Laura "Beth" from her middle name, Elizabeth.

The thing is, I just don't know. Was Joseph living with his sister instead of his wife, and the lady of the household was accidentally listed as being his wife? Or did he call his wife Anna?

Anyway, the Rickert family, whoever they consisted of (gosh that's bad grammar), lived at 81 Union Street. Joseph is 38, and was born in NJ, with two parents both born in Pennsylvania. He's a salesman though I can't tell in what industry. He was a WWI veteran. Anna/Loretta is 31 and was born in NY. Her father was from Ireland and her mother from New York. (That sure sounds like Loretta's family, and not anything like what Anna M. Rickert the sister's family would have looked like.) Their son Joseph is 2 years and 11 months old, and Eugene is 2 months old. That means Joseph was born around the beginning of 1928 and Eugene was born in the vicinity of November of 1919. Both were born in New York, and, predictably, both of their mothers were born in NY and their fathers in New Jersey. Joseph is listed as being able to speak English, while Eugene is not.

If you skip down a few lines, you see another Rickert family listed at 81 Union Street. This is Joseph's brother August A., his wife Olga, and their two sons August Jr. and Thomas. August and Olga are 33 and should have been born around 1887. August Jr. is 7, born around 1913, and Thomas is 4 years and months old, born around 1915. Olga and August were both born in NY, which would seem to mean that the Rickert family moved from New Jersey to New York sometime between when Joseph was born and when August was born. August's parents, in keeping with Joseph's parents, were born in Pennsylvania, and Olga's parents were German-born. August is a salesman, and it looks like he sells newspapers. He, too, is a World War I veteran.

I've been thinking about the rest of the Madigans lately. . .

Finding the rest of Matthew and Johanna Madigan's family in the 1892 NYS Census got me thinking about that part of the family. I've ignored them a little bit; maybe I'm guilty of stereotyping the "ugly stepmother." I'd never found Johanna Madigan in 1920, though I'd found her, with daughter Loretta, in 1900 and 1910. I assumed that that was because I'd looked and never found her. I don't think I had, because as soon as I typed her name in Ancestry.com's search engine tonight, she popped up, first name on the list, living with her younger brother Michael Roach.

She's 59 and widowed; he's 57 and appears to be married, though his wife isn't in the household. They live at 271 Sackett St. (This appears to be 8 or 9 blocks from where her step-daugher Mary Madigan Mulcahy was living with her family at 85 Luqueer St.) Michael is a watchman at a dock.

I'd found a couple earlier census that I thought might have been Johanna living with her parents' family, but never had any corroborating evidence. (Can you tell I'm watching Law & Order as I type?) With this evidence that her brother was named Michael, I'm more encouraged to think that it's actually her, and I'll post that soon.

1920 Census - Hennessys at 85 Luqueer St.

I had long assumed that there was no information on Margaret Mulcahy, Papa's oldest sister, in the 1920 Census, as she isn't listed with the family. As she would have been about 30, I assumed she was married, living elsewhere in the city, and we present-day Mulcahys would never hear from her again. I wasn't paying attention. John Griffin had already told me that Margaret had married Hugh Hennessy, and that they'd lived at 85 Luqueer St. for several years before moving away. I wasn't looking for that; I was looking to see whether any of Michael Mulcahy's siblings, whom we've heard had lived with him at 85 Luqueer at various points, were ever listed on the census there. Instead, in 1920, I found Margaret and Hugh Hennessy and their sons Hugh and Joseph. Hugh Sr. is 30 and Margaret is 29. Their boys are 2 1/2 (Hugh Jr.) and 10 months old (Joseph). According to John, they later had 3 more sons, John, Eugene, and Philip. Hugh Sr. is working as a mail clerk for a railway.

When I showed this census to John, he told me, "Hugh Hennessy, Sr. goes to work as an accountant at a bronze foundry and during the Depression bought KARBO Bronze Foundry in Red Hook, Brooklyn, fairly close to the Madigan-Mulcahy Home at 85 Luqueer. The foundry actually made a part of the missals of the US Space Program & I believe a part of "Landrover," that was used on the Moon."

Let this be a lesson to you on the importance of looking at not just your own family on a census record!

Update: See this post for an update on the KARBO Bronze Foundry and NASA.

1920 census - Mulcahy family

This faint and slightly difficult to read (as always, click on the image to enlarge, although this one will still be faint and slightly difficult to read) image is of the 1920 census. The Mulcahy family is living at 85 Luqueer St., and they're the first family on the page. Michael Mulcahy, father, isn't listed - he died in 1917. The head of the household is Mary, his wife, and all of her children are listed: James A., Matthew V., Joseph E., Michael F., Mary V., John A., Gerard E., and Vincent A. You can remember that in the 1930 census, James, Mary, Gerard, and Vincent were all still living in one apartment at 85 Luqueer St., none of them married or with children, as far as we can tell, while Matthew was living in the next apartment with his wife and kids, and Joseph (Papa) was living at 648 83rd St., recently married to Nana. Between 1920 and 1930, we've lost track of Michael and John. A Margaret appears on the 1910 census (which I'll post soon), but as she'd be 30 by 1920, I assume she'd left and gotten married, and as I have no idea to whom - though someone else might - she's untraceable, for me. John and Michael I could try to find.

In 1920, only Gerard and Vincent - who were 11 and 12 - had been in school within the previous year. John, at 16, and Mary, at 18, the two next youngest, had not. Mary Ann Madigan Mulcahy, the mother, lists no employment, but all of her kids work, apparently in only 2 industries between them. James, Matthew, and Papa all have occupations of either "mail clerk" or "clerk" (Matthew) for a "Railway" or "R.R. Off." (again, Matthew's is the one listed in different format. Perhaps he worked for a different company, or in a different capacity, or...?) Michael and John list their industry as "tool office" - John's occupation is "clerk," but I can't read the first part of the description, and I'm not sure what Michael's says: "[something]-maker."

Clearly, speculation and guesswork increases as you go back in time.

1920 Census - Mulvaneys at 270 Van Brunt St.

This is the 1920 census, showing the Mulvaney family at 270 Van Brunt St. Julia gives her age as 50 (yielding an approximate birth year of 1870), and says she's widowed. Only Veronica and Harold have attended school in the past year. James is a fireman for the city, Grace a salesgirl at a stationery store, Mary (this is Auntie Mae, right?) does clerical work at a drug store, William has no job, and Thomas is a helper at a shipyard. (This is interesting to me because Betty and John have said that Harold died because he was hit in the head on the pier while working at Todd Shipyards - it seems he eventually followed his older brother into a shipyard job.) Another thing I noticed is that William, at 18, has "no" listed for both whether able to read and whether able to write. Why would that be? Nana has no answer listed for either, but at 10, perhaps her reading and writing abilities were not quite so fluent as to warrant a "yes," but not quite so bad as to warrant a "no"? If you scroll through the page, most of the people who have no response in the reading and writing columns are school-aged children.