It really seems appropriate to post a blog about those who have gone before us, on Memorial Day. The best part is that I have found a couple of things to write about. I am really loving this Ancestry App on my ipod, and all of those shaking leaves. Honestly, I never used them before, but I am now finding census records for distant relatives that I never really looked for before. The best part is that those clue/hints (shaking leaves) do not represent only records found on Ancestry.com. They will also find information of Family Search ( the Mormon Church site) and Find A Grave, just to name two.
So last week, I have my new Ipad with the Ancestry App, and I am doing the shaky leaf shuffle on random ancestors. So I go to Thomas F Keaveney, who was my great grandmother (Annie Bergen's) half brother, and there is a shaking leaf, when you touch it, it gives you about 6 hints for him. Most are census records that I had found on my own, and WWI Draft Registration. But at the bottom of the list, the last hint says Michigan Find A Grave Index 1805 - 2011, Birth 1877, Death 1936, Burial Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan, USA, with a picture of his headstone. It also tells me that he is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Lansing, so I can call them and see if they can give me the date of burial. The info was entered by a man in Lansing, MI who enters info from local cemeteries into this database. I intend to e mail him to see if we are related or if he is just a good deed doer. I almost spelled Deed as Dead, would have actually worked either way. Here is his headstone:
While on this site, I decided to check on Thomas' wife: Martha Flaherty Keaveney, and I found her too. Martha was buried in 1930, and there is a picture of her headstone also:
I had found their marriage record on Familysearch.org, which is the Mormon Church website. That is when I realized that his mother was also my great grandmother (Annie Sullivan Bergen)'s mother. Another thing that comes up with the Shaking Leaf is some City directory records. These are like phone books before the invention of the telephone. It was made up by a local business and listed residents of the city and their address and occupation. The City directory list Thos F Keaveney (Martha F)(Capital City cigar and Tobacco Co) h 216 Marshall Ave. Pretty good info.
Just about two days ago I was doing the shaky leaf shuffle with another of my mother's ancestors: Arthur E Riedinger, who is my mother's first cousin (makes him my first cousin one time removed). I hit the shaky leaf on him and found two hints: Social Security Death Index, which says he died in February 1970 and New Jersey Find A Grave Index, 1664 - 2011 (I guess NJ was inhabited and burying people before Michigan). He is buried in St Joseph's Catholic Cemetery in Toms River, NJ, which is probably about a thirty minute drive from me. Lucky for you there is no picture of his deadstone, (oops, did it again). There is a note with his memorial : Cpl Battery A, 478 AAA, AW WWII, I am assuming this was his unit in World War II. So I have to call St Joseph's and take the drive to take a picture.
The last thing I want to mention is a web site that my friend George found for me in a Genealogy Society of NJ Newsletter. This is a database for searching burials at several cemeteries in the Archdiocese of Newark. The database is not complete yet, but it does include burials at two Brady - Bergen favorites: Holy Name cemetery in Jersey City and Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington, as well as, Holy Sepulchre in East Orange. ( this is the huge one on the Garden State Parkway at about exit 145) There are other cemeteries included in the database, which can be searched by surname, forename and cemetery. Below is the website:
http://www.rcancem.org/deceased
I hope some of the info is helpful and helps you find those who came before you.
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