Black Friday

I know this is gonna sound nuts, but do you know what Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving) means to a genealogist?  Well, I'll tell you.  I am employed by the county and we traded having the day off on Lincoln's Birthday and working on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  So now we have a four day weekend for Thanksgiving, and I have to work on Lincoln's Birthday.  As a patriotic American, I would rather have traded a different holiday and celebrated Lincoln, but it is nice to have the four day weekend.  In New Jersey with the latest budget problems, State employees are now required to work on black Friday, in the past they got the day off as an extra perk from the state.   So this means that the State Archives is open on that day and I am off,  YAHOO.

So I spent Friday at the Archives in Trenton and looked into Mary and John Sterling and Maggie Keogh, their daughter.  I found Maggie's death certificate and found that she died of "Acute Miliary Tuberculosis" on 17 June 1900.  I don't know if that has anything to do with childbirth but I know it has nothing to do with the military.  I still don't know what happened to Thomas, but I still think he just allowed his in-laws to raise his daughter.

Now Mary and John had another daughter named Minnie, I think.  I find her listed as Minnie when she is Godmother to William Martin O'Dea (Big Mike and Mary O'Dea's son) and when I found Minnie's wedding to Michael Sheehan, who was a Jersey City Police Officer, retired as a Sergeant.  Minnie's death certificate lists her name as Mary Sheehan, born 10 Nov 1874, and she died 5 June 1936.  So her given name is Mary, but they call her Minnie.  Sounds like she was her mother's Mini Me (like Austin Powers).  Michael Sheehan was born 30 May 1868, his father is listed as Thomas Sheehan, mother is unknown.  He was born in Vermont, his father was born in the US and his mother was born in Ireland.  Michael was a Jersey City Police Officer, retired and died at  of 70 heart disease, contributory  condition was pulmonary edema.  Minnie died of carcinoma of the bladder, she suffered from this condition for six months and was 61 years old when she died.

I am still working on the other children, Katherine, who apparently never married.  I think that Katherine is the one that my cousin Linda says that they called Aunt Kit.  There was also a son, Augustus, however, I think  his name was John A(ugustus) Sterling and they called him Gus (so he is not confused with John, his father).

Now back to Mary O'Dea Sterling and John Sterling.  Mary O'Dea's death certificate says that she was born 23 Dec 1854 in New York State to James O'Dea and Honora McGuan O'Dea.  She died on 19 Jan 1942 of  generalized arterial sclerosis and she was diabetic.  John Sterling's death certificate says that he was born 6 Jun 1849 (this would make him considerably younger and closer in age to his wife than the census records say).  He was born in Ireland to John Sterling and Susan Cunningham.  He died of arterial sclerosis on 2 Apr 1931 at age 81.  His wife's name is listed as Margaret O'Dea.  At the bottom of the form there is a line for the informant's signature and it is sign Mrs. Margaret O'Dea, and they live at 162 Carteret Ave Jersey City, NJ. This is the same address listed on the death certificates for Michael and Mary Sheehan.  QUESTION:  Is Mrs. Margaret O'Dea the same person as Mary Sterling using her maiden name or is there another Margaret O'Dea - which would not surprise me.

One more thing: The informant on the death certificates for Michael and Mary Sheehan is listed as Mrs. L Pallander, who is also listed as living at 162 Carteret Ave. Jersey City, NJ.  Who is she?  It seems that the more I learn, the more I learn that I know very little.  Judging by names on census records and death certificates, I'm not real sure what anyone's real name is and which is a middle name or nickname that they are called by family.  I am slowly becoming more confused than when I started.

Be sure to tune into the next episode when I find out my real name.