Alice Kelly b 1879

[marlin1]

I am trying to find out what happened to my Great Grandmother Alice Kelly (nee Ferguson, nee Dowling) after she moved from the UK to the US in 1940.

Alice was born in Mountmellick Ireland on 18 Apr 1879.  She first married William Dowling and later (after William died) married my Great Grandfather Thomas Kelly.

She moved from the UK (Salford in Lancashire) to the US in 1940. She sailed from Southampton to New York on SS Penland in March 1940, with her sister Delia Rothwell.  While in the US, Alice & Delia intended to stay with their other sister Mary Begler at the following address: 702 Eagle Ave, New York City.

I have no records for Alice after her arrival in the US, but family legend indicates that she lived on Long Island and married a man with the surname Lubeck.  It is believed that they may have been involved in the dairy industry.

Any assistance or advice regarding my search for Alice would be greatly appreciated.

[shellyesq]

I had never heard of Eagle Avenue, but it looks like it's in the Bronx. 

I thought it might be helpful to look for the other family members.  Delia crossed the border to Canada in 1942 - https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q23C-M1YJ  It looks like this is Delia's death record - https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WLC-1SZ

[shellyesq]

Unfortunately, it looks like sister Mary Behler died shortly after their arrival.  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WR7-TJW

This was Mary's marriage record - https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24Z3-MQ7

Mary on the 1930 census - https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7DV-F8F

The 1940 census is supposed to cover who was there as of April 1, so Alice & Delia should be on it, but I haven't had any luck finding them yet.

[shellyesq]

In case nothing turns up on Alice, there is a group called Reclaim the Records that is currently trying to get an index of New York state marriage records.  If Alice & Mr. Lubeck married in Nassau or Suffolk county (the 2 counties that make up Long Island), they should turn up on that index.  Reclaim the Records has had success with this sort of thing in the past, so I'm hopeful they will be on this request also.  The NY state marriage up to (I believe) 1948 is available in a few libraries around the state, but unfortunately it's not readily accessible yet.

Mary's husband William was retired from the fire department as of the 1930 census.  It looks like this is probably him:

https://archive.org/stream/reportfiredepar04deptgoog/reportfiredepar04deptgoog_djvu.txt

His Honor, the Mayor, made the presentation as follows :

The Bennett medal for 1895 to Fireman 1st grade William H. Behler,
Engine Company No. 35, awarded to him for a rescue described as
follows in the report for that year :

"Fireman William H. Behler, of Engine Company No. 35, rescued Mrs. Carmela Amaro and child at the fire No. 409 East One Hundred and Twelfth street, Station 737, at 8.53 A. M., on the 13th of January, under the following circumstances : Mrs. Amaro appeared at the fourth-story window, front, shrieking wildly for help, as she clasped a three-months-old child to her breast. She could not reach the fire-escape from the window at which she stood, on account of the smoke and heat, and Hook and Ladder Company No. 14 had not yet arrived. The woman was about to jump to the street when Fireman Behler appeared at the fourth-story window of No. 407， which is next door. He leaned out of the window and, while some citizens held him by the legs, reached over
to where the woman stood. She passed her child to him and then swung herself into his arms, and Behler landed both safely on the floor of the adjoining flat. The Chief of Eleventh Battalion, in reporting the occurrence, says : ' I consider that the prompt action of Fireman Behler pre-
vented serious consequences and was a personal risk, for which I recommend that his name be placed on the Roll of Merit.'

[marlin1]

Thank you very much for your great feedback.

Unfortunately I am not signed up with FamilySearch, am I likely to be able to find the same records on Ancestry.com ?  I am unsure of the differences in the offerings from the two services. Is it useful to have membership with both providers?

I will also follow your suggestion regarding Reclaim the Records

Best regards

[shellyesq]

It is free to sign up with Family Search.  It does have some things that Ancestry doesn't, so it's definitely worth making the free account just for that.  Also, even with the census records, sometimes the transcriptions will be different and something will show up on a search on Family Search that doesn't on Ancestry.

There are some New York City vital records where the actual image can be viewed at an LDS Family History Centers, which are located all over the world.  I'm not sure exactly which records, but I have heard from others that they have done it.

[marlin1]

Hi Shelleyesq,
I have had a look at the online records at Reclaim the Records, but found have nothing yet (some of these records are very difficult to view).  There doesn't seem to be a section of the website that allows people to make search requests.

Regarding the Border Crossing document you found for Delia, it is dated 1942, but refers to a trip from Southampton England to New York in 1940 on SS Pennland.  Does this mean that she made two separate trips to the US one in 1940 and another in 1942 ?  Or is it just a 1942 document referring to a trip in 1940 ?  Thought you may be more familiar with these type of documents than myself and thus able to explain.

I notice the document indicates that her purpose for travel was to settle an estate so the actual travel date may be a lead to a family death.

Thanks for your help with this

[shellyesq]

Hi Shelleyesq,
I have had a look at the online records at Reclaim the Records, but found have nothing yet (some of these records are very difficult to view).  There doesn't seem to be a section of the website that allows people to make search requests.

Reclaim the Records is currently trying to get the index of New York state marriage records.  They don't have it yet, so there is no index or records to view on their website.  There are a few libraries around New York that have the marriage index (there is a list on the bottom of this page - http://www.archives.nysed.gov/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats.shtml), so you could try to find a volunteer to do a look-up.  There is a site with volunteers here - https://www.raogk.org/  I had previously had look-ups done through this library - http://www.onlib.org/research/special-collections/local-history-genealogy - but I heard that the librarian who was doing them passed away, so I don't know if they still have someone who is willing to do it.

Regarding the Border Crossing document you found for Delia, it is dated 1942, but refers to a trip from Southampton England to New York in 1940 on SS Pennland.  Does this mean that she made two separate trips to the US one in 1940 and another in 1942 ?  Or is it just a 1942 document referring to a trip in 1940 ?  Thought you may be more familiar with these type of documents than myself and thus able to explain.

This form mentions that she was previously in the US from 21 Mar. 1940 to 22 Jun. 1942 in New York City.  This form was regarding her going from Canada back to the US in Oct. 1942.  She was going to her residence 702 Eagle Ave., New York, NY.

The card said her niece and nephew were with her.  This is the card for niece Nancy Rothwell - https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-XZS2-43?i=505&cc=1876434  It looks like the bottom has the ship and arrival date from when she came to Montreal.