Pennsylvania/New Jersey - General & esp. Deaths

[Ninian]

Shellyesq

I thought you might like to know that with the help of the US censuses etc on family search that you directed me to the last piece of the jigsaw has fallen into place. I have found the missing brother Humphrey.

It appears that the parents of Catherine/Kate died before 1900 which accounts for Kate living with an uncle in 1901.  In 1900 Kate's elder brother Moses and his wife and 2 children emigrated to the USA taking with them Moses' young brother HUMPHREY aged 7.  The reason I could find no reference to Humphrey at the Wales end was that he was born after the 1891 census and had emigrated before the 1901 census.  Although there are many Humphrey Robertses on the Wales birth indexes a likely contender for my Humphrey is  'Humphrey Roberts, registered in Quarter 4 1892 in Festiniog District'.  So all sorted. Brilliant.  MANY THANKS

[shellyesq]

Great!  Looks like the brother Humphrey is with Moses in the 1910 Census in Slatingon, PA.  There's a likely match for Humphrey's WWI Draft Registration Card that gives his date of birth as 27 Sep. 1892 and his middle name as John.  It's hard to read the town of birth - something like Lyn Cafen, Wales?  He's listed as a theatrical performer with Tom Powell's Minstrel Show.

[Ninian]

Many thanks for that.  I've now found Humphrey with Moses in 1910 and when I was hunting for that I found one of his (many) marriages where he calls himself Humphrey John.  However I just can't locate the WW2 Draft Reg Card you found - I was hoping to see if I could make out his birthplace - I wondered if it was Tyn Cefn or Tyn y Cefn - that's a group of only about 3 houses about a kilometer from Blaenau Ffestiniog.  If it is Tyn y Cefn it has to be the right Humphrey as his family did live there in the late 19C.  You couldn't send me the link could you please?

Just to confuse things when I was looking for the Draft Reg Card for Humphrey John born 27 Sept 1892, I came across one for another Humphrey John Roberts born 23 Aug 1892 but the image wouldn't open so I can't see if that might have been him - there is also a death record for a Humphrey Roberts born 23 Aug 1892 died Pa 1964 which sounds about right but the image for that isn't available.  It would be really good to find out which of the Draft Reg cards is the right one - a theatrical performer in the family would be rather nice!

[shellyesq]

It looks like the Humphrey born 23 Aug. 1892 is the right one, as this WWII draft registration card mentions Mrs. John L. Jones of West Orange.  https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11076-104697-15?cc=1861144

He appears to be on www.findagrave.com as J. Humphrey Roberts with the 1964 death date.  I found a veteran's burial record that indicates he was in WWI and died in Middletown, Pennsylvania.  The informant's name was Ella Roberts of Middletown, who appears to be buried in the same spot as him, so perhaps a wife.  Humphrey is on the Social Security death index here - https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JRC9-Q4X

If he volunteered for WWI, he might not have had a draft registration card.  I don't see one that matches that August birth date. 

[Ninian]

Yes, the draft registration with birth date of 23 Aug is right - I have that address on the back of a photo of Auntie Kate and Humphrey's signature is exactly the same as the one on his Application for Marriage License to Martha Louise Armstrong. 

I was rather disappointed that the other one wasn't the right one - so sadly I have no theatrical performers in the family.  However Humphrey's card is very interesting - he must have been quite badly injured in WW1 if his injuries caused his leg to be shortened by 3 inches.  Pity he didn't have a draft reg card for WW1.  I wondered if he might have signed up in the British army (he might have still been a British citizen then) but I couldn't find a match.  You can't think of anywhere else I could look for his WW1 record? - where he served or record of discharge - I imagine he would probably have been discharged following his leg injury.

The grave is amazing - quite readable.  Yes, Ella M Roberts is Ella Mae - Humphrey's 3rd (or maybe 4th) wife and her dates on the grave were exactly right as were Humphrey's.     

[shellyesq]

Humphrey's veterans burial card has a serial number listed, which was 1071168.  I'm assuming that means he was in the US military.  There's information here about ordering military records - http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard-form-180.html  Unfortunately, a lot were destroyed in a fire, as described on that page.

[Ninian]

I might try to see if there are any records for Humphrey.  The site does stress next of kin but elsewhere on the site it suggests that records are available for family history research - so it's certainly worth a try. 

I'm still uncovering bits and pieces about Kate, the 2 Jacks, Humphrey and Moses through links from the links you've sent me.  I'm very impressed with the on-line info for the US, it beats the UK hands down.  MANY THANKS.

[johnnyboy]

Hi Ninian and Shelly: Shelly has done her usual exceptionally thorough job with your Aunt Kate and Humphrey.

About Kate and and her move to Pennsylvania. Marcus Hook is several miles south of Philadelphia. It's a little worse than industrial. It's the site of a large oil refinery, and her neighbors would have been large storage tanks.

Better news about Humphrey. I'm certain that he came through World War I with both of his legs as long as they were when he entered the U.S. Army.

My grandfather's World War II draft registration card--from a county near Pittsburgh in the western part of Pennsylvania--had the wrong second page attached to it. Seems there was a mix up when the draft records were being microfilmed and the second page of an individual's draft record is actually the second page of the preceding individual's draft record. That happened in a few Pennsylvania counties.

If you look at the upper right hand corner of the first of Humphrey's registration card, there is the written notation "L.B. #1, Hollidaysburg." That's a town in Blair County, Pennsylvania, about 75 miles east of Pittsburgh.

If you look at the second page of the record (you can rotate the image to see it better), you see that it is stamped at the bottom: "Local Board # 1, Tioga County." That's a county 75 or so miles northeast of Hollidaysburg.

To see the correct second page, go to the Image box and change 25 to 26 and click the Go button. You'll see that that the stamp at the bottom of this second page is "Local Board #1, Blair County, County Courthouse, Hollidaysburg, Penna."

The second page of Humphrey John Roberts' record actually belongs with Image 24, a Humphrey Curry Roberts, from Tioga County.

Incidentally, his employer--C.B. Dolge Co.--makes embalming chemicals. Maybe the compoany had an office or manufacturing facility in Hollidaysburg. I hope not, since Hollidaysburg is where the Slinky was invented and is still manufactured.

Better news: The record from your Humphrey's first marriage--on Jan. 25, 1919 to Martha Louise Armstrong in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania--is on FamilySearch.org, in the "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885 - 1950" database.

Humphrey's occupation was soldier and his home was Slatington. Harrisburg is the capital city of Pennsylvania and is about five miles north of Middletown, where Humphrey is buried. 

Go here: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-21943-11098-84?cc=1589502&wc=MMY5-SLB:166272033

Added: This link is identical to the one posted by Shelly. Didn't see hers.

Regards,
John 

[Ninian]

Many thanks, John - I'd never have noticed that the 2nd page didn't belong to my Humphrey.  It was very comforting to find out he didn't have a leg injury - us Welsh are short enough without losing 3 inches of leg.  I had come across Humphrey Curry Roberts when I was looking unsuccessfully for my Humphrey on the US censuses - I could only find my Humphrey on the 1910 census but Humphrey (Curry) Roberts kept popping up on the later censuses but at least I didn't confuse his census records with my Humphrey.

Very interesting what you say about Marcus Hook - it seems from Auntie Kate's letters that she made a mistake moving to Marcus Hook.  She moved there to be nearer to relatives but thought the place to be dirty and industrial and clearly wished that she had stayed in West Orange.

Regards Ninian