52 Ancestors 52 Weeks

OOPS!

Years ago I found my husband’s grandparents in the Ship’s Passenger List.  They arrived in New York harbor 16 June 1899 on the Ship H.H. Meier out of the Port of Bremen in Germany. They came from Moscow to Bremen.  I originally read it as  Jwan and Alexandra Glasow.  Jwan used John when he was living in New Jersey until his death in 1910.

The oops, comes when I spoke to someone who was Russian and he read the name.  He said it was Ivan.  The w has a v sound. Also, when I look at the script on the passenger list, it definitely looks like an I not a J.   The last name Glasow eventually ended being spelt Glassoff/Glessoff.

All these years I have been writing Jwan when he should have been Ivan, and Ivan make more sense for a Russian first name.

                                

52 ANCESTORS 52 WEEKS

                                                                             EDUCATION    

I have not found any special occupations that required additional education in my family tree.  Most had some schooling.  Not until the 20th century did I find people finishing high school.

My mother, Ruth Moore Mathews, born in 1919 lived in Brooklyn, NY and went to Catholic school from 1st to 12th grade.  This was very common for Catholics during the 1920’s up to 1960’s.  Brooklyn had a school connected with every parish church.   Ruth went to St. Edmunds for elementary school and graduated the 8th grade in 1933.  Above is the graduation photo.  Ruth is 4th from the right in the front row.

At the time Ruth was going to school, a lot of the High Schools were for just girls or just boys.  Ruth went to St. Brendans all girls High School until she graduated in 1937.  Ruth decided not to go to college and went right into the work force.  Her father, John N. Moore, worked at the Paine Webber Brokerage Firm on Wall Street and probably was instrumental in getting Ruth to work there as a Clerk and later on in communications as a telephone operator.

I am sure all the skills she learned during high school prepared her for working with the public.  They were taught all the regular subjects, English, Math and Sciences but they were also taught manners, deportment, ethics and religion.

 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks

Favorite Photo

One of my very favorite photos is of my paternal Grandmother, Mary Ann (Mamie) McGuigan.  She was born in the parish of Tynan in Armagh, Ireland on the border of County Monaghan in 1875.  Her parents were Thomas McGuigan and Ann Mallon.

Mamie came to NYC with her sister Alice in 1892 and they both worked as maids in a New York City Hotel. There she met her future husband, William Joseph Mathers/Mathews.  They married in 1909.

I believe this photo was taken around 1900.  I particularly love the lace dress and puffy sleeves.  The hairstyle is fantastic too.

#52Ancestors52Weeks

 52 Ancestors 52 weeks. Jan 13, 2023

Out of Place

I researched a brother of my Grandfather.  His name was William Joseph Mathers/Mathews.  Everything I knew about him had him in New York City or Queens New York, particularly Richmond Hill.  He was a dancer on Broadway and several census records said he was a prop man in Broadway plays.  I found him in the 1940 census living with his Aunt Katie.  After that I couldn’t find him. No one I talked to in the family remembered when he died.  I then got a hint on Ancestry that I almost didn’t look at.  It said Lake Placid, NY.  I checked it out and sure enough it was him.  He was in a sanatorium because of TB.  I never would have looked upstate for him.  It was all because the hints on Ancestry.  I did find when he died and where he was buried.  Thank you Ancestry.

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.  Who would want to talk to   January 1, 2023

The person I would love to talk to would be my Grandfather, John Nelson Moore.  I knew him very well but never asked about his family. I knew he was born in Savanah, Georgia and came to New York in his 20’s.  I would like to ask why he came to New York.  He brought his mother, aunt, sister and nephew.  What prompted the whole family to move?