Interesting Genealogical Findings...

One view in Ancestry of my immediate family tree

Since I received a subscription to Ancestry.com for Christmas, I've been re-energized in my never ending quest to learn more about my family heritage.  The branch that had proven most frustrating was my mother's father's branch.  My grandmother McLaughlin (maiden name Neddo) had told me that my Grandfather William McLaughlin was the son of a James McLaughlin and a woman named Mary Jane Duffy.  I was told that Ms. Duffy had come from Malone, New York, originally.  That was for many years the extent of my knowledge.

I have figured out that the best way to decode this family lineage is to concentrate on one individual and gather every bit of documentation I can locate that relates to that person.  In the case of "Grampa Will," I collected the U.S. Census information on him from 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940, the New York census from 1915 and 1925, several city directories, his U.S. World War II Draft Registration Card, and his Social Security application and claims.  From these documents alone you can gain insight into when a person was born, where and with whom they were living at various times, how they earned a living, home addresses, when children were born, marriage data, when and where they died.

A typical census entry -- this one from 1930

From these data sources, I determined that Grandfather William McLaughlin was born in Whitehall, New York, on the 10th of June, 1881.  He married my Grandmother, Eva Ann Neddo, on June 12, 1906, still in Whitehall.  By 1910, the newly-married couple had moved to Schenectady and now had a daughter, born on May 24, 1907, who was destined to become my mother.  I learned that my Grandfather was a machinist in the Refrigeration Department of the General Electric Company, Schenectady's largest employer.  Perhaps most important, I was able to identify his parents as James Louis McLaughlin and Mary Jane Duffy.

I learned some things that surprised me.  One fact is that there was a son born to William and Eva who died in infancy.  My mother never mentioned that she had had a brother.  But all this insight inspired me to chase down James Louis to see what I could learn from the archives.  I guessed that he would have been born in about 1850.  I began by searching for a James McLaughlin living in Whitehall, New York, in the 1860 Federal Census.  I found a young man by the correct name who was 10 years old.  The census indicated he was the only child in a household headed by John McLaughlin, an illiterate "Day Worker,"age 40, and his wife, Margarett, age 38.  Now I potentially had the confirmed, documented names of my great-grandfather and my great-great-grandfather.  Further searching revealed that James married Mary Jane Duffy in 1877.  What made this somewhat confusing was that Mary Jane was rather casual about the name she went by in various census interviews.  She might be Jennie or Mary or Mary Jennie or Mary Jane.  I began to believe that James had various spouses at different times.  But on the Federal census of 1900, the question was asked, "How long in the current marriage?"  Both James (now calling himself James Sr.) and Jennie M. (her moniker in 1900) indicate they have spent 23 years married to each other.  They have also produced 6 children.  One of those children was my great-uncle Jim (James Louis, Jr.) whom I remember quite vividly.  He became something of a surrogate grandfather to the Mead children after "Grampa Will" passed away in 1942.

The McLaughlin house
at 349 Summit Ave.

James, Sr. and Mary Jane moved to Schenectady sometime between 1900 and 1910.  James is a "Conductor on a Steam Railroad" according to the 1910 census.  This probably was the New York Central, which served Schenectady.  They are living with 5 children and a boarder named Cora Millett at 349 Summit Avenue, a fairly new neighborhood of attractive frame homes.  I was unable to determine when James, Sr, met his Maker, but he is no longer with us by 1930.  Mary Jane passed away in 1922.

The McLaughlin marker
at the Boardman Cemetery

In searching for a grave marker for James and Mary Jane, I discovered an enormous marker in the Boardman Cemetery of Whitehall, New York, that covers multiple generations of McLaughlins.  The marker not only confirmed that James was indeed the son of John McLaughlin, but led to much more.  In the site called "Find-A-Grave," there was actually a pair of images of this impressive grave marker.  Tantalizingly, it looked as if there might be more engraving on the other three sides of the marker.  

I posted several requests on the Internet hoping to find someone willing to trudge out to the marker and take additional pictures.  One of these paid off.  On a Facebook page called "Washington County, NY, Ancestors," a compassionate lady named Sara Clarkson posted the following: "Do you have the Whitehall Cemetery book - compiled by Charles Moore, 1998? If not, here's the McLaughlin page from the Boardman Cemetery section - you should be able to click on this image to make it larger."  Here's the relevant section:

I thanked Ms. Clarkson for her help and indicated that I'd never heard of the book.  She responded, 

"Charles Moore created a "cemetery records" book for each town in Washington County, NY - and the books are a treasure trove of info about basic names, dates, and family relationships. I first learned about the cemetery records books when I sent an inquiry to the Washington County Historical Society in Fort Edward, NY - another helpful group with lots of info to share."

With this one contribution, I learned that Margarett had never been John's wife, as indicated in the 1860 census.  (This was likely an incorrect entry by the census taker.)  She was his sister!  Later census records confirmed that.  More importantly, perhaps, was that I now had a second direct ancestor who had fought in the Civil War.  I of course started to do Google searches on New York 169th Infantry Regiment, the unit in which John McLaughlin had served.  As with so many genealogical quests, this one would take me down unanticipated paths.

I quickly encountered more source material than I could quickly digest.  There was a Website, part of the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, that was part of their "Unit History Project," dedicated to the 169th.    I also found a Facebook page dedicated to the unit.  I found a roster of all the men in the regiment, compiled by a gentleman named Steven Wiezbicki.  I learned that Mr. Wiezbicki had also published a newsletter dealing with the unit's history.  Naturally, I contacted Mr. Weizbicki!

Scene from the Battle of Cold Harbor

Mr. Steven Weizbicki is the great-great-grandson of 1st Serg't. Patrick J. Aylmer, Co. G of the 169th.  He is a passionate lover of history and is writing a detailed history of the regiment.  He has worked for years researching and documenting the unit and its people.  He offered to write a detailed historicam biography of my ancestor's involvement with the 169th and I have given him the go-ahead.  As he has been feeding me tidbits of his findings, I have learned that John McLaughlin participated in the battle of Cold Harbor (Remembered as one of American history's bloodiest, most lopsided battles. Thousands of Union soldiers were killed or wounded in a hopeless frontal assault against the fortified positions of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army.) and Fort Fisher.  He was decorated for valor after the Fort Fisher encounter.  Mr. Weizbicki even located Great-Great-Grandfather John's obituary in the National Tribune, the newspaper of the Union veterans: "McLOUGHLIN. At Whitehall, N. Y., March 18, John McLoughlin. Co. F, 169th N. Y.  The comrade enlisted in 1862, and served until the close of the war.  He was in 23 battles, and at Fort Fisher was the first to plant the flag on the works.  The comrade was severely wounded at Cold Harbor.  He was an honored member of A. H. Tanner Post, which attended his funeral in a body."

The next challenge is to figure out the mysterious whereabouts of "Mary A." listed on the grave marker as "wife of John" and "mother" (of James Louis?) who for some reason never lived with John when censuses were being tabulated.  What's that about?

What's not to love about doing this research?!?