Visit to Ny and NJ, searching archives advice

[kate57]

I am going to the USA later this year and wish to search for a death certificate for my grandfather (Daniel Logan) he died sometime between 1924 and before census of 1930. I will need to search both NY and NJ has anyone any advice /hints as regards doing a personal search. I have no idea which counties to search as I have so little info. He worked on the building of the Holland tunnel.
In the various Depts is it easy to access records?, do I need to make an appointment/booking? As I have never attempted this before I don't know the correct questions to ask! Any advice would be greatly received

[shellyesq]

With such a common name, I think it will be important to know where he lived.  Were there any other relatives in the US? 

There's a death index for NY City at www.italiangen.org that you could check.  You can request NY state death look-ups as described here - http://ny-genes.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-york-state-vital-records-microfiche.html  However, I'm not sure if they'll be able to find him without knowing where he lived.

[kate57]

Thank you for responding and I will chase up the links that you have given. I unfortunately don't know where he lived. On arrival he went to a friend in Harrisson . He did have a meeting with  with 2 of his brothers-in-law and at that point he lived in a boarding house. No Address. My way of thinking was that he would live as near work as possible. I don't know if indexes  are as easy as being in name alphabetical order for each year or what Or I may have to accept that this is the final brick wall.
If there is anyone out there who has personally accessed death records for New York and/or New Jersey I would be interested in their experiences
Kind regards
Catherine

[shellyesq]

Was that Harrison, New York or Harrison, New Jersey?  I've been to the Westchester County archives (where Harrison, NY is).  They have indexes for wills in Westchester Co., but not death certificates.  You can see their information here - http://www.westchestergov.com/wcarchives/vital_records.htm  I've only ordered death certificates from New York state through the mail. 

Do you know what became of the brothers-in-law?  Maybe your grandfather would have been mentioned in their obituaries if he outlived them.

[kate57]

Thank you for that I didn't know that there were 2 Harrisons. I have now checked it out  He went to a friend T. Gamble 762 Harrison St Harrison New Jersey.
My grandfather was visited by his brothers-in-law because his money home to support 6 children and his wife had stopped. I have the marriage certificates of his daughters (of his 1st marriage) and they have him deceased from about time scale 1927/28. Telling the children that he had died in building the Holland Tunnel may have been a story.This could have been a way of their letting the children down gently especially the younger ones rather than being told that he had  abandoned them. All pure guessing.
The brothers-in-law lost everything in the Depression and moved to California. I am not aware of any more contact. Daniel may have married again and moved to anywhere in the USA.
I had hoped that my going for a few days to New york this year may be a chance to view death records for areas near the Holland Tunnel. I have checked out the sandhogs data (tunnelers) and he is not on that He would have been a laborer.
 Thank you once again for taking the time out to respond. I don't know NYC or New Jersey at all.

[johnnyboy]

Hi Catherine: An Internet search brought up a reference to a New York Times article from November 28, 1927 describing a memorial service for the thirteen men who died during the construction of the Holland Tunnel from Oct. 1919 to Dec. 1926.

Their names were

Philip Healey            Steve Rolzek               Christopher Kelly
John Hues                Joseph Richard             G. J. Slade
Dennis Sullivan          John Taggart               Sezoy Palischick
Feodor Tarashicp (sic)   August Nevola              Charles Svenson
James G. Godfrey

Two others also died during the construction: Clifford Holland, the tunnel's chief engineer (and the man for whom the the tunnel was named) and his replacement, Milton Freeman.

No mention of Daniel Logan.

If you send me a personal message with an e-mail address, I'll send you the article.

Harrison is in Hudson County, New Jersey, about fifteen minutes from New York City. It's fairly close to the New Jersey side of the Holland Tunnel, so perhaps Daniel Logan worked for a subcontractor, or something like that.

Regards,
John 

[patrexjax]

Hello, this may be a "back door" approach...if you know the names and approximate ages of the two Brothers-in-law..have you checked the Social security Index on line to see when and where they died in California?  You might be able to find one of their descendants who might know what happened to your Daniel Logan....    Pat

[kate57]

Thanks, I did try that and corresponded with a daughter of one of the brothers-in-law. She was the one who told me about the meeting but had no more details as she was a young child at the time.  Sadly she passed away a couple of years ago.

[kate57]

Thank you to everyone who has given their time in responding. The article on the Holland Tunnel was very interesting. I hadn't thought of Daniel being employed by a sub contractor.
Knowing now the proximity of New Jersey and the area that Daniel lived in I think the New Jersey records will be my first port of call I will be travelling from Mid Manhatten which shouldn't take too long.
Kind regards
Catherine