The Legend of "Baby Jack"

This is about as big a mystery that I have tried to solve in my capacity of "Family Detective".  The Legend of "Baby Jack" is a mysterious story, and some people believe that he never existed - or at least have their doubts.  Legend has it that my dad had a brother named Jack, who was born in Jersey City on December first, but no one seems to know the year.  Some say that he was born sometime between my Uncle Frank and Uncle Paul.  That would put his birth between May 1924 and June 1929.  The story goes that at the time the family lived in a cold water flat in Jersey City.  According to Wikipedia, a cold water flat is an apartment without hot running water, apparently they were fairly common through the mid twentieth century in large cities. Typically they did not have built in showers or heat.  Water for bathing would have to be warmed in a pot on the stove and put in a tub.  They typically did not have central heating either, so people would have to use space heaters, hot water bottles or electric blankets for warmth.

So much for the history lesson.  Apparently Jack was sickly and in the cold apartment he became sicker and died within a couple of months.  He was supposedly buried in a potters field somewhere in an unmarked grave.  Most of this information was passed on to me by my cousin Linda, who heard the story from her mom - who is my father's sister and my Aunt Margie.  Linda says that every year on December first, her mother would tell her to say a prayer for "Baby Jack" because it was his birthday.

I have been to the NJ State Archives looking for a birth certificate - but they only have birth until the end of 1923.  I have checked 1921 to 1923 with no luck.  Today I checked 1921 to 1930 for a death certificate, with the same result.  I have also called all of the cemeteries in Jersey City that have sections set aside for a Potters Field - but none have a John Brady buried there.

I saw an article about Hart's Island in New York, which is an island used as a Potter's field in New York. The cemetery is actually cared for by inmates from New York City Corrections - Riker's Island specifically. The Mormons have a microfilm list of burials there, and I ordered it through the local Family History Center.  "Baby Jack" was nowhere to be found.

I also saw a presentation about Snake Hill in Secaucus (the same place that Thomas Bergen was the Deputy Fire Chief) and I found a website that had a list of the burials there.  This is probably as close as I will get to a complete list, and still no "Baby Jack".  I have a feeling that a lot of infant burials may not have been recorded - especially in a potters field, but I will keep looking.

When I recently attended Ancestry Day in Philadelphia and heard about the New York City indices for births, deaths, and marriages - as I wrote in my last post - I had a great idea.  I would check their databases for "Baby Jack".  Brilliant!!! Except for one detail - it is only an index.  Care to guess how many John Bradys died in New York City in the 1920s.  At 15 bucks a pop to figure out which one is mine - if he was born or died in New York City - this would not be a cost effective method.

But I'm not through yet.  I tend to believe that "Baby Jack" did exist and that he was born and died in Jersey City.  Even if I cannot find a birth or death certificate for him, I would be willing to bet that he was baptized.  So my next move is Seton Hall University, which is my alma mater - I spent, what was then, the best 6 years of my life.  They have an archive for the the Arch Diocese of Newark and it should have all of the baptismal certificates for that time frame.  I may need to narrow down my search to the Parish where I think he would have been baptized.  I think it would have been All Saints Church - same place as my dad.  So with any luck, the myth of "Baby Jack" will soon be a fact.