COMING SOON...

Need to update soon!  I've found more info on the Spence and Anderson children via FamilySearch.  However the Spence & Gardiner origins are still a mystery.  On a brighter note, I did make contact with a descendant of Anna McKenney Mullen, and found her Will on Family Search!

THE MULLIN DAUGHTER WHO MARRIED, MOVED TO CANADA AND HAD 13 CHILDREN

That information came from Elizabeth [Anderson] Regan, daughter of Mary [McKenney] & William Anderson, niece of Anna [McKenney] & Patrick Mullin.  This was supposedly the Mullins' eldest daughter.

Looking at the federal censuses, the oldest Mullin daughter was "Marie".  She was only enumerated at home with her parents in the 1900 census, born about 1888. 

Her mother Anna Mullin's Will [probate dated Jan 1934] contained the following:

   "...I give and bequeath unto my... daughter CATHERINE MARIE HOLDEN...$150..."

On familysearch.org I found Border Crossings from Canada to the U.S. for Katherine Marie Holden and her husband Arthur Roy Holden, arrival date 11 Sep 1925, arrival port Niagara Falls, NY.

Also on 12 Sept 1925 she was listed at the Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings.  This record included the following details:

     Born Baltimore MD. Ever in US - Yes, from 1893-1920 Baltimore MD.
     Going to join father Patrick Mullin.  Time remaining in US: Permanent. 
     Intend to become citizen:  Yes.

Also on familysearch.org was:

• The record of death for Katharine and Roy Holden's daughter Dorothy Ann Holden, born 8 Oct 1925 in the U.S., died 05 June 1930 in Canada, age 4.
• The record of death for Arthur Roy Holden, 1957, in Canada, buried in Canada. 
• The WW I draft registration card for Arthur Roy Holden, born Canada, registered in Baltimore City June 1917, not a citizen, married with 1 child.
• and, the Pension Index for Roy Holden dated 24 July 1922, in the U.S., for his service in the Infantry.

So...at 1900 Catherine/Katherine Marie Mullin was single.

• Her immigration record stated she'd resided the US from 1893 to 1920...yet she was born 1888 - perhaps she was understating her age?  And this infers she moved to Canada about 1920.
• In 1917 Catherine and Roy Holden were already married and had a child; he registered for the draft in Baltimore.
• In Sept 1925 she and her husband returned to the U.S. from Canada, stating they intended to become permanent residents.  However ...
• In Oct 1925 their 4-yr old daughter died in Canada.  Did the child remain behind when her parents moved?
• In 1957 Roy Holden died and was buried in Canada.  Tidbits of info indicate that Catherine also died and was buried in Canada.  So they did not become permanent U.S. residents?
• In 1929 Catherine's father Patrick Mullin died in Baltimore, MD.  Her mother Anna died 1933.  Did the Holdens perhaps return to Canada after the deaths of  Catherine's parents?

I cannot locate the Holdens in the 1900-1920 federal censuses in MD.  Cannot locate their marriage record or the births of any children.  So where are the 13 children?

It was nice, however, to verify that the eldest daughter did marry, did move to Canada, and had children... even if only one has been found so far!

Took a look on Genealogy Bank and found obits for potentially 3 out of the 4 unknown children born to Patrick & Annie that died young.  Most of these obits however named the father Patrick "K."; all the recent info rec'd indicates that Patrick's middle name was Timothy.  The last born child, Leo Timothy Mullin, has his father's middle name.  The 3 children whose obits I found were named James Leo [I don't think Leo was that common and it was also the name of Patrick & Annie's last child]; Andrew P. [Annie's brother was named Andrew, and P could stand for Patrick]; and Joseph P. [middle name Patrick again].  

I studied the city directory entries I'd extracted for Patrick in Baltimore from 1882 through the early 1900s.  I was able to match 2 out of 3 addresses to the childrens' obits.  [The other obit did not specify whether or not the address shown for the funeral was the parents' home address, and it was not an address shown anywhere in the Patrick Mullin listings.]  Most of the city directories listed Patrick with no middle initial.  However the 1895 entry had him listed under both surnames Mullen and Mullin, same address as the 1895 obit for his son; the Mullin listing showed the middle initial "K".  The 1884 listing showed Patrick K; the following year he was listed at the same address, no middle initial.  The same for the 1898 and 1899 listings.  There were various Patrick Mullins listed in the Baltimore directories over the years, some of which were fairly easy to eliminate.  The above were the only listings for Patrick with the middle initial "K", and they matched the probable addresses for "my" Patrick.

Date-wise, the obits indicate birthdates for 3 children which fit in pretty well with the estimated birthdates of the Mullin children listed in the federal censuses.  There are one or two instances where a date does not fit, but the Keys family tree in those cases does show different birthdates for those siblings.  The federal censuses are not always accurate; not sure where the info came from for the Keys database though.

While still researching, I am going to tentatively add the 3 children who died young to my database.

MULLEN FAMILY

New breakthrough on this family!

My great-grandmother Mary "Minnie" McKenney Anderson had a sister Annie and a brother Andrew.  [No news on Andrew.]  Annie married Patrick Mullin, an Irish immigrant, and per federal censuses they had 11 children, half of whom died young [and are unnamed so far].  I was able to follow the boys in censuses and military records, but did not have the married names of the girls for the longest time.  I eventually found Annie, widowed, living with married daughter Ellen Bender - and that was it.

Recently I was contacted by Nancy, granddaughter of son Leo Mullin.  So exciting! She sent me a picture of his mother Annie - here she is, side by side with a picture of her sister [my g-grandmother] Mary:

Then the other day I did a quick search on familysearch.org and found Annie Mullin's Will online - naming her surviving children, including married daughters!  I haven't had a lot of luck finding the married daughters in the censuses, but followed up with a lookup on Ancestry and found a public tree for the Keys family - one of the married daughters.  Family history says Annie Mullin's oldest daughter married, moved to Canada and had many children.  The Keys family tree did show a date of death, in Ontario Canada, for that daughter - yahoo!

Naturally with all this new info came new questions - such as, Annie's 1933 Will stating she wanted her home to be rented to the daughter who later died in Canada.  Had she not moved to Canada yet?  Her date of death is shown as 1977, and she married [or at least left home] between 1900-1910 [per federal census]. She may have returned to Maryland temporarily at her mother's death, then returned and later died in Canada - but then why the rental in Maryland?  Oops--it was not the Canadian daughter who was named to rent mother's house...

There was another Mullin family in Baltimore during the same time as Annie's husband Patrick - in fact I think the Bernard Mullin with whom Patrick appeared to live and work as a recent immigrant, may have been his brother or another close relative.  Patrick's first [known] child was named John Bernard Mullin.  But, research on Patrick Mullin's antecedents comes second to that of his and Annie's children.

Onward...!

Spence kids baptisms

Found the baptism of two [known] Spence children at familysearch.org today.  Using the batch number of the records, I checked to see if there were any more children listed by the same parents [John Spence and wife Teresa shown as "Tracy"]: none found.  Meandered over to ancestry.com and found the baptism record for another Spence child, one I'd previously found in historic newspapers unnamed as an infant who died young.  Ancestry however had the child's name [William Henry Spence] and referred to the same batch number as the first two!  I tried various searches but was unable to locate the record in that batch. 

The two daughters whose baptism records I found are assumed to have been twins, as their ages were the same in the 1850 census.  The baptism records show they were baptised on the same date at 4 or 5 years of age [May 1830].  Elizabeth Jane Spence still lived at home at 1850; her [supposed] twin Mary Catharine was listed last in the household, which I took to mean she had lived at home within the census reporting period but was no longer there.  Have not found a marriage or death record for her yet.

William Henry Spence died July 1833, age 3 months.  He was baptised June 1833, perhaps because he was not expected to live very long.

There was one [known] older son and perhaps two more unknown Spence children that would fit in the family structure. 

These Maryland families are tough to locate!

Portrait photo of my grandmother, Gwendolyn Veronica Anderson Danielsen, probably about age 17.

Tidbits

In the interest of recording the little tidbits of information told to me over the years about the Anderson / McKenney side of the family:

• Mary [McKenney] Anderson was a seamstress; she took in sewing from Philadelphia while she lived in New York City.
• William Anderson, father of my grandmother Gwen & great-aunt Elizabeth, is said to have carried Gwen around on a pillow because she was so small when she was born.  [She was a tiny woman as an adult, as well - wore a shoe size so small she had to special-order them from Gimbels department store, where she worked after being widowed.]
• Lillian Anderson, sister of Gwen and Elizabeth, died from pneumonia at age 27 in New York City; she was engaged to be married.
• Margaret [Anderson] Butcher, daughter of Margaret & Frank Anderson, granddaughter of William & Mary [McKenney] Anderson, is said to perhaps have whatever "family papers" remain of her grandparents; her brother Frank, I believe, at one time asked his sister about them with no response. I hope no family history is being discarded!

McKenney - surname spelling?

I found the following church marriage record to be interesting.  Mary "Minnie" McKenney's surname is spelled McKenny, and her mother's surname is spelled McKenna.  Her father is not named, although I suspect both parents were deceased by 1888.  Family lore has the surname spelled McKenny, McKenney, and Kenny or Kinney.  This record did make me wonder, though - did a McKenna really marry a McKenn(e)y, or is this just another case of multiple spellings of the same name within the same document??

Minnie's father was not named in this marriage record; I believe he died in the 1860's, as the 1870 census shows only Minnie, her 2 siblings and her mother in the household.  However it's possible her mother was also deceased prior to the 1888 marriage.   Both girls [Minnie and her sister Annie] were living as servants in two different households at the 1880 census; brother Andrew has not been found. Alternately, it is possible that their mother remarried and kept only her youngest child, Andrew with her, thus being enumerated at 1880 under the new husband's surname.



I have Mary "Minnie" McKenn(e)y Anderson's death certificate, which lists her father's name as William McKenna, mother Mary McKinney, both born Ireland.  If Minnie's mother's married name was used on the marriage record, Mary McKenna would have been correct [if William's surname was indeed spelled McKenna].  However, Minnie's name was shown as McKenny!   The death certificate is the only document I've found so far that names Minnie's father.  Her husband, William Anderson was still living, thus would have been the person to provide the info for the death certificate, so I assume it is basically accurate.  It does indicate that Minnie's parents had very similar surnames.

This is certainly one of my brick-wall families!

Aunt Elizabeth

Elizabeth Jane [Anderson] Regan died at the age of 97 in 1995.  She was my great-aunt, sister of my grandmother Gwendolyn [Anderson] Danielsen.  And she was quite a lady.

Aunt Elizabeth was more a grandmother to me than Gwen, who visited infrequently and died when I was about 15.  I don't recall what instigated our correspondence and close relationship, but Aunt Elizabeth and I wrote back and forth for years.  I also drove from Long Island to Connecticut to visit her several times after I got my first car, and before I moved across the country.  She was such a loving, resilient woman. 

Long before I really got to know her, Aunt Elizabeth's husband left her due to, as I understand it, discouragement over one too many business failures.  He left Aunt Elizabeth to raise 4 boys on her own [and they in turn became successful husbands and fathers].  He then returned to his wife when he grew older and learned he was dying.  Aunt Elizabeth was a better woman than I would have been; she took him in, nursed him, and eventually buried him.  We never spoke of this.  Aunt Elizabeth referred to him only twice in our letters, once mentioning having to travel to take him for medical treatment; once years later, after my own divorce, as an example of the difficulties encountered in marriage.

Always upbeat and willing to listen, Aunt Elizabeth definitely had her own point of view but was always tolerant of others' opinions.  For visitors she would put out her best china, set the antique table crowded into her tiny apartment, cook a roast and serve a hot lunch or dinner.  In all her letters over the years, she never failed to say she loved me; encouraged me to move back east, preferably to her little town; and passed on news of her sons and their families, most of whom I never met.

I did meet the wife and children of one Regan son who unfortunately died young; his family lived nearby to Aunt Elizabeth and enjoyed a very close relationship with her.  I have been unsuccessful in tracking this family down, although I think I have located one married daughter online...should I try to re-establish contact?  It's been about 40 years since we met!

Due to Aunt Elizabeth's ideas of what was proper and right, her descriptions of family life and genealogical data was somewhat limited and sometimes skewed...her father was a "loving but strict" father who believed children should be "seen but not heard" at the dinner table.  Her parents were "happily married".  Her sister, my grandmother married my grandfather the "proper" amount of time before their first child was born, etc.  Turns out her parents had many disagreements over religion [she was Irish Catholic, he Protestant or Presbyterian; the children were raised Catholic]; my grandparents married 5 months before my father was born; and if photos are anything to go by, my great-grandfather possessed a rather dour personality.  As I recall hearing, both of William Anderson's sons were estranged from him until shortly before he died.

Toward the end of her life when she became ill, one of Aunt Elizabeth's sons moved her down south to live nearby to his family; that is where she died.  She passed away just before receiving my letter telling her I'd just realized my dream of owning horse property.  Her daughter-in-law was kind enough to reply and let me know of Aunt Elizabeth's passing.  I still miss her.

And I wonder - what became of the portrait Aunt Elizabeth had of her mother as a young woman?  I have only one photo of my great-grandmother, as she died young, at the age of 50.  I would love to have even a photo of that portrait.

Aunt Elizabeth & nephew Edward Danielsen, circa 1980

Aunt Elizabeth [center]  with sisters
Lillian [left] and Gwen [right] ca. 1920

Regans, Danielsens, Marie Anderson, William Anderson
circa 1935

FOLLOWUP TO 9/16/09 POST

I have found the 3 single Anderson siblings in the 1900 census:  Mary, Leticia [Lillian] and John lived at 717 Eutaw Street, presumably the family residence.  Their mother, Elizabeth Jane [Spence] Anderson had died several months earlier [March 1900].  It appears they were renting, if I read the census correctly.  If so, the Andersons rented their house for years - the 1890 Baltimore City Directory shows the same address as their residence.

In 1910 John lived with a married sister [Teresa McCormick]; Lillie died in 1905; Mary has not yet been found in the censuses.  However, if that is she buried in 1939 in the family plot, she had quite a few  years in which to have married a Frank Barker - though she would have been 44 years or older when she married.  Then of course she would have had to divorce him [or perhaps be widowed] before being interred as an Anderson...

A Mullin Photo

This photo was taken in New York; evidently the Mullens came to visit their Anderson cousins.

From left to right: Frank Anderson [brother of my grandmother Gwen]; their uncle, Patrick Mullin, husband of Anna "Annie"  McKenney; their brother-in-law Marty Regan [husband of Frank and Gwen's sister Elizabeth Anderson]; and cousin Leo Mullin, son of Patrick and Annie.  Whatever became of Leo Mullin?  For that matter, what became of all his siblings?  I only know of 6 by name; according to the federal census 11 children were born but only 6 lived.  [Aunt Elizabeth's version of the family history just states the Mullins had 6 children.]   The eldest Mullin daughter ["Marie?] is said to have married and moved to Canada.  Unfortunately I never knew her husband's name...

MULLINS - a bit of info...

[Regarding Mary [McKenney] Anderson's sister Anna "Annie" who married Patrick Mullin]

...recently found thanks to the various online genealogy services like Footnote [City Directories], Heritage Quest [census], and familysearch.org [vital records]!

Patrick Mullen first appeared in Baltimore City Directories about 1882 [which approximates the immigration dates shown in his later census entries].  He resided Glover Street in Baltimore from the late 1890s [matches street address per Aunt Elizabeth].  I finally found his wife Anna [McKenney] as a widow in the 1930 census, living with her married daughter Ellen Bender, so Patrick died sometime between the 1920 and 1930 censuses. [Note:  do census research on this daughter...]

I also found some military records [WW I and WW II enlistment cards] for 2 Mullen sons, John Bernard Mullen [named after the Bernard Mullin who boarded with Patrick per the earlier City Directories?] and Edward Andrew Mullen [named after Anna's brother Andrew McKenney?].   So far no sign of any other Mullin sons.  Still no idea who the oldest Mullen daughter married and moved to Canada with... but we're at least taking some baby steps forward on this family!

More later...

GREEN MOUNT CEMETERY - BALTIMORE, MD

I recently received copies of the Lot cards from Green Mount Cemetery. As is usually the case, the new information is mostly helpful but also presents new questions!

ANDERSONS
[my great-great grandparents]

Lot No. 4. Area: Rosemary

[interment date/Name ]

[typed on the card]
Oct. 11, 1858 Wm. Anderson child. S.B. [stillborn?]
May 20, 1861 E. J. Anderson 16 mo.*
Jan. 19, 1891 William Anderson [Sr.] 64*
Jan. 11, 1899 Thersa Maria McCormick 1 month**
Mar. 8, 1900 Elizabeth J. Anderson 67*
Aug. 23, 1905 Letitia S. Anderson 43*

[the last 2 lines handwritten on the card]
46946 Jan 26 - 1918 John Backus Anderson (Plan 10.00) 48-*
54691 May 8 - 1939 Minnie Anderson (Plan 20.00) [order?] 81*

• * these ages were handwritten at the end of each line. According to Green Mount, some researchers in the past wrote in pencil on the Lot cards, which resulted in the cemetery forbidding any further on-site research. [Instead, the cemetery will perform searches for a fee.]
  

• ** the age of "Thersa" Maria McCormick was provided via email from Green Mount

Review:

1. stillborn child - name unknown. This child fits within the time frame of William and Elizabeth Anderson's children; this would have been their 3rd child
2. E. J. Anderson was listed as Elizabeth in the 1860 census; evidently she died the following year at the age of 16 mos. She was probably named for her mother, Elizabeth Jane.
3. William Anderson, husband of Elizabeth Jane Spence, died in 1891. From every census he appeared in, his date of birth computed to 1824-1825. Thus his age at date of death should have been 66 or 67.
   
4. "Thersa" Maria McCormick, died Jan 1899 - this was the name of one of William and Elizabeth Anderson's married daughters [actually spelled Theresa!]. However, she was still living in Baltimore at 1918, when she was named in her brother John's obituary, then moved to California by the 1920 census, so she couldn't have been interred in 1899! Thankfully, the cemetery was willing to answer my email questions and told me this was a child who had died at the age of 1 month. Theresa [Anderson] McCormick had 2 sons, William b. 1877-78 and Charles b. 1883. Since Charles would only have been 16 yrs of age in 1899, I assume this was William's first child who died so very young.
5. Elizabeth J. Anderson was the wife of William Anderson. She died on her birthday, the 5th of March, 1900. Her age was understated throughout most of the federal censuses; her age at date of death should have been 75 rather than 67.
6. Letitia S. Anderson - this was a surprise. Aunt Elizabeth [actually my great-aunt, grandaughter of William Anderson listed above] had told me of her father's sister named either Letitia or Lillie [she used the names interchangeably]. In the censuses, only a sister named Lillie was listed. Letitia's age at date of interment [43] puts her date of birth at approximately 1862, which matches the calculated year of birth for the Lillie Anderson in the censuses. This year of death also matches the year Aunt Elizabeth recalled going with her father to visit his sister, who was ill and died not long afterwards. This sister lived in a large brick building not far from a corner pharmacy and a park [perhaps Druid Hill Park?]. Aunt E. recalls being sent to the pharmacy on the corner [at the approx. age of 5 to 7] to pick up medicine for her aunt.
   
   Evidently Letitia/Lillie never married. So far I cannot locate her in the 1900 federal census. I don't know if the Andersons owned their home on Eutaw Street or not, but they resided on that street for many years [per censuses and City Directories]. I don't know if Letitia/Lillie remained in the home after her mother's death [March 1900], if she perhaps inherited the house, or if she moved.
   
7. John Backus Anderson - this information matches his obituary and death certificate extracts.
8. Minnie Anderson - another surprise, and some supposition here. "Minnie" seems to have been a commonly used nickname for Mary in more than one generation of this family. I assume this is William and Elizabeth Anderson's 2nd child, Marianna/ Mary Anna Anderson, born 1854-1855. [If she was age 81 when she died in 1939, her approximate year of birth would have been 1858--but a 3 yr discrepancy was not uncommon in the stated age of females back then !]. I didn't know she'd never married. However, Aunt Elizabeth seemed to have no recollection of any paternal relatives, which now makes sense considering of the 7 Anderson children, 3 never married, 1 married and moved to California between 1918-1920, 2 died young, and 1 was her father, who moved his family to New York City between 1900-1910.
   

Here is one of my major "brickwalls": According to Aunt Elizabeth, her mother's only sister married a Patrick Mullen [Mullin], and one of her father's sisters married a Frank Barker. Aunt Elizabeth's father William Anderson [Jr.], however, had 5 sisters. Only one sister's marriage is known, Theresa's to Mr. McCormick. Of the two other sisters who lived to adulthood, both are listed on the Anderson Lot Card under their maiden names - which I take to mean they never married. So - WHO married Mr. Barker??

The other major puzzle with the Andersons is Aunt Elizabeth's recollection that both her parents' families consisted of 1 boy and 2 girls. This was true of the McKenneys, but not of the Andersons - unless she was speaking of her grandfather William [Sr.], listed on the above Lot card. And in his case, although I am not 100% positive I have found his family in the early censuses, I believe he had more than 2 siblings, although it is possible that only 3 survived to adulthood.

ST. RAYMONDS CEMETERY - BRONX, NY

Some time ago I contacted St. Raymonds Cemetery in the Bronx, NY, as Aunt Elizabeth [actually my great-aunt Elizabeth] told me her parents were buried there.

The info I rec'd from St. Raymond's was that William Anderson age 86 had been buried 1951, had purchased 2 graves although 1 was empty, and his grave was also occupied by a couple with the surname of Parcelli. Mrs. Parcelli, I speculated, might be William's married sister, as the d.o.b. was very close as was the first name. But - I'd never heard of the Parcelli's before. And where was Mary McKenney Anderson, William's wife, buried?

Last month [August 2009] I again contacted St. Raymonds, this time by email, and the mystery was solved. Turns out there are two Wm. Andersons buried at St. Raymond's with the same approximate ages and burial dates. And, the plot coordinates were almost exactly the same ! My great-grandparents William Anderson, Mary ("Minnie") McKenney Anderson, and their daughters Mary ("Marie") and Lillie are all buried together in the same plot.

I was so happy to get this straightened out, since I wasn't getting anywhere trying to connect the Parcelli's to our family through other avenues of research!

Stay tuned:
...cemetery listing
......family obits found on genealogybank.com
.........and anything else that has come to light recently!

GARTNERS - FOUND IN GERMANY?

I believe I have found the Gartner [Gaertner] family in Germany, thanks to familysearch.org. My search returned only 2 Theresa Gaertners born in the same time frame - both found in Batch #C949951, Film #0890644: Katholisch, Kirchhausen, Neckarkreis, Wuettemberg, Parish Register of Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths and Family Registers for Kirchhausen, Wurtembeerg, Germany, including Hipfelhof, 1693-1815. The Theresa I believe is correct has a later date of birth than I thought based on census records, but matches her death certificate. The earlier Theresa's parents were Sebastian and Elisabeth; their children's names were Barbara, Margaretha Theresa, Elisabeth, Maria Anna, and Ignatius. These are not as good a match for the names of Theresa and John Spence's children.

The family I believe contains our Theresa [Gaertner] Spence is as follows:

Georgii Joseph Gaertner, christened Oct 1773.
Married 21 October 1800
Maria Eva Muth, christened 10 Oct 1772.

Children:

1. Maria Josepha born & christened 25 Jul 1801
2. Theresia b/chr 10 Oct 1802, prob married 1823 in Baltimore, John Spence
   
3. Joannes b/chr 24 Feb 1804
4. Wallburga b/chr 24 Apr 1805
5. Joannes Jorg b/chr 9 Jan 1807
6. Frantz Joseph b/chr 3 Dec 1808
7. Aemilianus chr. 6 Oct 1811

Per her death certificate, Theresa had lived in Baltimore 63 years when she died in 1875, or since 1812. Thus she was 10 years of age when she arrived in Baltimore, making it likely she emigrated with her family. [Currently have a friend checking Ancestry for immigration records.]

Her father's family:

Jorg [Georgii] Gartner, married 03 Jun 1763, Clarae Schraudolff

Children:

1. Maria Eva, b/chr 29 Feb 1764, died young
2. Georgius Valentinus, chr 14 Feb 1765 [maybe d. young?]
   
3. Joannes Georgus, b. 15 Dec 1765, chr 16 Dec 1765, d. 1812
4. Eva Walburgis b/chr 01 May 1771
5. Jorg Joseph chr Oct 1773 married Maria Eva Muth
   
6. Jacob b/chr 23 May 1776
   
7. Mathaeus b/chr 31 Dec 1781
   

The only slightly strange thing is the 2 children born 1765 - but they were born 10 months apart, so it is obviously possible. With both child #2 and #5 containing the name Georgius, perhaps the older child died young.

Could not locate any info on mother Clara's family.

Theresa's mother's family:

Joannes Muth married Johannae Heckler.

Children:

1. Helen Thecla chr 24 Sept 1771
2. Maria Eva chr 10 Oct 1772 m. Georgii Joseph Gaertner
3. Anna Catharina chr 27 Sept 1774
4. Laurentius chr 03 Feb 1776
5. Eva Theresia chr 18 Mar 1778
6. Wallburga chr 19 Aug 1779 [maybe d. young?]
   
7. Joannes chr 28 Dec 1781
8. Maria Wallburga chr 25 Mar 1783
   

I could not find the marriage info for this set of parents; nor could I go back another generation on the Gartners. Perhaps they moved into the area in the mid-1700s from elsewhere.

Known children of Theresa [Gartner] and John Spence , all born Maryland, probably Baltimore:

1. George William b. 1823/24
2. Elizabeth Jane b. 1825/26, chr 9 May 1830*, married Wm Anderson
   
3. Mary Catherine [same chr date* as Elizabeth - twins?]
4. Francis b. 1835/36 [daughter]
   
5. Thomas B. b. 1837/38
6. John b. 1842/43
   

* familysearch.org - Batch #C535621 1768 - 1878 Source Call #0013699 IT 5 - Church Records - First Presbyterian Church (Baltimore Maryland)

The name of their first child was another factor in eliminating the "other" Theresa's parents. It would be very common for the first child to be named after Theresa's father Georgii Gartner. Additionally, daughter Mary could be named for Theresa's mother; dau. Francis for brother Frantz; and son John for either his father John Spence or any of the Joannes Gaertners.

Note: Theresa's family belonged to the Catholic Church in Germany, yet she married [1823] into the Spence family who was [or would be] heavily involved in the 1st Presbyterian Church in Baltimore. Daughter Elizabeth married Wm Anderson, and they also attended the 1st Presbyterian Church. However, their son Wm [Jr.] married the Irish Catholic Mary McKenney in the Basilica of the Assumption cathedral, and it is said religious differences were a source of friction during their marriage.

JOHN SPENCE UPDATE

I've been researching online books through heritagequest [remote access through my local library], and Google Books, city directories [most extracted from Ancestry years ago] burial records found for the Spence's of the 1st Presbyterian Church [via Maryland GenWeb], and obituaries via genealogybank.com. I've found a few things, although still no answer to who John Spence's parents were.

I've found the following:

• John Spence and Teresa [or "Tracy"] Gartner were married in 1823, in Baltimore.
• John Spence was Sexton of the 1st Presbyterian Church in Baltimore for the period 1826 to 1844, followed by his son George W. Spence, Oct. 1844 through 1873, then George's son John B. Spence June 1873 through at least 1913 [publish date of the book]: "...a rare instance of the same position being filled in succession by father, son and grandson, for over eighty years."(1)
  

The Rev. John C. Backus of the 1st Presbyterian Church was evidently considered an important and respected figure by the Spence family. He was elected Pastor of the Church in 1836 and served in that capacity until his death 48 years later [approximately 1884].

• When John's daughter Elizabeth Jane Spence married William Anderson in 1851, Rev. Backus officiated at the marriage. [marriage record]
  
• When John's grandson John Spence [son of George] was born in 1853, he was given the middle name Backus. [1st Presbyterian Church Sexton records/online book]
  
• The youngest child of William and Elizabeth [Spence] Anderson was named John Backus Anderson [death certificate].

John Spence also had a son named John, b. about 1842. So far I've found no mention of his middle initial. However, son Thomas [b. 1837/38] did have the middle initial "B".

The obituary of Elizabeth [Spence] Anderson dated 1900 [found via genealogybank.com] stated that she had been a lifelong member of the church. I imagine the examination of parish records for 1st Presbyterian Church would solve a number of questions about these families.

Burial records of the 1st Presbyterian Church for the Spence family, that I was able to find, include the following:

• 1833 July 2 A child of Mr. John Spence, age 3 mos.

• 1844 Oct. 27 John Spence, Sexton 1st Ch.

• 1855 Dec. 13 Geo. Spence's child

• 1860 Sept. Mr. G. Spences child

• 1860 Nov. 3 Mrs. W.W. Spence (very suddenly)

• 1863 March 24 Mrs. Mary S. Winkley (Elder Spence's mother in law)

• 1864 Aug. 4 Miss Agnes Spence

I am fairly certain that only the dates through Sept 1860 pertain to my Spence family. Mrs. W.W. Spence was the wife of William Wallace Spence, who emigrated to the U.S. about 1834. His mother-in-law was Mary Winkley; and he did have a daughter named Agnes. William Wallace was also an Elder in the 1st Presbyterian Church from 1846.

The "child of Mr. John Spence" who d. in 1833 would easily fit within the range of John's children, most of whom are not known!

The 1844 burial record of John Spence, Sexton, was the first time I'd found a date of death for him, beside the estimate of 1842-1850 [his wife is widowed at the 1850 census]. [I've since applied to Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore for an interment list of his wife, Theresa Spence, who died 1875 and is, hopefully, buried with him - if Green Mount was in existence in 1844!]

The above dates of burial for 2 of George's children, 1855 and 1860, match the range of dates his children were born [1853-1872], and I've found an obituary for at least one online at genealogybank.com - George W. Spence, who died at the age of 16 months Sept. 1860.

...to be continued


(1) A Brief History of the First Presbyterian Church of Baltimore, William M. Reynolds, Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1913, pg. 64.

ANDREW MCKENNEY - FOUND ?

Andrew McKenney first appeared in the 1870 census living with his mother and 2 sisters:

1870 Federal Census - Maryland - Baltimore Ward 18, pg. 130:

McKenny, Mary 36 keeps house born Ireland
Anna 10 b. MD, at school
Mary 8 b. MD, at school
Andew 7 b. Maryland, at school

I've been unable to find the family in the 1860 census, and had no idea who Mary's husband was until I found daughter Mary "Minnie" McKenney Anderson's death certificate, which stated her father's name as William McKenna, born Ireland, and mother as Mary McKinney, also born Ireland.

Although I found daughters Anna "Annie McKenny", age 19 and Mary "Minnie" McKinny" age 17 in the 1880 census, working in separate Baltimore households as domestic servants, I was unable to find either their mother Mary or their brother Andrew at 1880.

Since father William McKenna was not part of the household in 1870, I assumed he died sometime between fathering youngest child Andrew [about 1862] and 1870. This being in the middle of the Civil War period, I checked CW indexes in case William died while serving in the military...no luck on that so far; nor in locating a death certificate in online indexes.

Since mother Mary was not found in 1880 and the 2 daughters were both out on their own, I assumed she also died, between 1870 - 1880. I've been unable to locate her death record either. Of course, an alternative to an early death would be that Mary McKenney remarried after the death of husband William, and son Andrew lived with them using the 2nd husband's surname at 1880.

In the 1890 Baltimore Directory, Andrew McKenny was living at 750 N. Eutaw St., the same address as his then-married sister, Minnie Anderson. His occupation, printer, was the same as Minnie's husband William Anderson and his brother John [who lived next door with their parents at 717 N. Eutaw St.] Andrew and Minnie's sister Anna had, by then, married Patrick Mullin [in approximately 1885].  [Note:  both Andrew & his bro-in-law William were printers.]

By 1900, Minnie and William Anderson had moved to Washington D.C., probably an easier commute for William who worked for the International Typographers Union in Washington. Within about 5 years the family moved to Bronx, New York.

Anna and Patrick Mullin remained in Baltimore. But where was Andrew?

I finally found Andrew living in Ohio at the 1900 census. This is the only entry in the census indexes that comes close to matching the missing Andrew:

1900 Federal Census - Ohio, Hamilton County, 4th Ward Cincinnati, sheet 9A:

#1133-104-161 Belvedere St.McKenney, Andrew, head. b. May 1864, age 36. Married 5 yrs. b West Virginia
[crossed out, Maryland substituted]. Parents b Ireland. Printer. Rents.
Anna, wife. b. Oct 1865, age 34. Married 5 yrs. 2 children, 1 living. b WV, fb England, mb Virginia
Margaret. dau. b. Jun 1899, age 11/12. b Kentucky, fb Maryland, mb West Virginia

I could not find Andrew and his family in any later censuses. However, I did find a Margaret McKenney, "Niece", living in Lewis County, Freemans Creek, West Virginia at the 1910 and 1920 censuses, residing with the family of Thomas and Jeanette Wright. In 1910 Margaret's census entry shows her pob as WV, father's pob as MD, mother's pob as WV. She was 9 years old. In 1920, age 20, Margaret's pob was shown as Ohio, father's pob as "U.S." and mother's pob as WV. [It doesn't appear that much effort was spent in remembering her father, nor even her correct place of birth.]

Both the Wrights were b. in WV. It occurred to me that Margaret's mother's maiden name might be Anna Wright, sister of Thomas, whose parents were born England or Scotland [father] and WV [mother]. A quick check of census records shows that to be a good possibility. [census extracts to follow]

In an online search of WV marriage records, I also found the following:

West Virginia Marriage Records, 1863-1900:

W.A. McKeny married Ona White, 12 Jun 1895, Cabell County WV

This was very close to being possible...especially if Andrew McKenny was actually William Andrew McKenny, named after his father and called Andrew to differentiate between the two. [Note that the Coburns resided Cabell County through the 1930 census.]

In 1923, Margaret McKenney married Newton Wesley Coburn, in Lewis County, WV. An image of the certificate can be found at:  http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=10290649&Type=Marriage 

She was 23 years old, and apparently did not know the names of her parents; only a "dash" was shown in place of their names.

I found the Coburns still in WV at the 1930 census, no children shown. Both also appear in the SSDI, last residence being shown as Cabell County, WV. I do not know at this point if Margaret McKenney Coburn ever had children, or if she was Andrew McKenney's sole descendant.

Further Questions/ Research:

* birth/baptism of Andrew - was he actually a William Andrew?
* Did Andrew meet Anna Wright in Baltimore, then travel to WV to marry near her parents?
* Was dau. Margaret b. KY as indicated in the 1900 census, or WV?
* What took Andrew to Ohio? Work? Note, Wm. Anderson, Andrew's bro-in-law, left Baltimore at roughly the same time.
* birth record of Margaret McKenney, WV [or KY], 1899

* death certificates of Andrew & Anna Wright, probably Cincinnati Ohio, betwn 1900-1910

I am researching 4 families in Baltimore, Maryland: Anderson, Gardner/Gartner, McKenney [or McKinney, McKenna], and Spence.

• Theresa GARTNER, b. Germany about 1799-1800, married 1823 in Baltimore to John S. SPENCE
• Their daughter Elizabeth Jane SPENCE married 1851, Baltimore, to Wm ANDERSON(1)
• Their son William ANDERSON(2) married 1888, Baltimore to Mary ["Minnie"] McKENNEY

GARTNER

I have no information on the family of Theresa GARTNER. One federal census puts her pob as Hanover. I don't know if she arrived in Baltimore as a child with her family, or as an adult. None of the federal censuses in which she appears as an adult in Baltimore include any Gartners.

NOTE: new info found Aug 2009 at familysearch.org which may be her family! See separate post

SPENCE

I have no family information on John S. SPENCE either. There was a John Selby Spence in Baltimore around the same time who was a political [famous] figure, and about whom there is some biographical info to be found on the web. My John Spence died between 1841-1842 [dob last known child] and 1850, when Theresa was shown as the head of household for the family in the federal census. Their children were:

1. George W. Spence, b. 1823/24; was an undertaker in Baltimore
2. Elizabeth Jane Spence, b 1825/26 m. Wm. Anderson
3. ? possible child b abt 1828,
4. ?possible child b. abt 1830,
5. ?possible child b. abt 1832
6. Francis [daughter] b 1835-36
7. Thomas b b 1837-38
8. ?possible child b abt 1840
9. John b 1842/43
10. possible dau Mary C., b 1825-26 [appears in 1850 census, out of order - listed last in household; same age as her sister Elizabeth; twins? Perhaps recently married.

Note: christening records at familysearch.org indicate both Elizabeth Jane and Mary Catherine Spence were baptised on the same day in 1830.

NOTE: Aug 2009 update - John Selby Spence was born "near Snow Hill", Maryland, and appears [from online research] to have been associated with Worcester, Maryland rather than Baltimore. There was also a William Wallace Spence in Baltimore [born Scotland and emigrated circa 1834-36] who had 7 children with names were similar to my Spence family. Thankfully, the birthdates are off enough to differentiate between the families, and the presence of his mother-in-law in at least once census helps further. See separate post.

ANDERSON

I do have a little information on the ANDERSON family. It appears that William(2) was living with 2 younger sisters and perhaps a married older sister at the 1850 census:

1850 MD - Baltimore Co., 3W Baltimore, pg. 290, Dwelling #46, Family #56.
ANDERSON, William. 25. M. Dyer and Scourer. b. MD. [b. 1824-25]
Julia. 16. F. b. MD. [b. 1833-34]
Elizabeth. 14. F. b. MD. [b. 1835-36]
COLEMAN, Edwin S. 38. M. Sea Captain. b MD [b. 1811-12]
Mary A. 34. F. b. MD. [b. 1815-16]
Eugene D. 7. M. b. MD. Attended schl. [b. 1842-43]
Mary J. 2. F. b. MD. [b. 1847-48]
HAGINS, Mary. 23. F. b. Ireland. Cannot read/write.

A gentleman who descends from the Coleman family is currently doing a lookup on the marriage of Mary to Edwin S. Coleman; he believes Mary is not an Anderson, but is unrelated to the family. He provided the following info obtained from Familysearch.org:

IGI Individual Record FamilySearch™ International Genealogical Index v5.0
North America
EDWIN COLEMAN Pedigree
Marriages:
Spouse: MARY A. E. DORMAN
Marriage: 10 MAR 1840 Christ Church Parish Chase And St Paul Street-
Probaltimorepiscopal, Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland
Messages: Extracted marriage record for locality

Either Mary was not an Anderson, or her maiden name was Anderson and she was a widow when she married Edwin Coleman. Hopefully the marriage record will clarify this.

I have been curious as to why William would be living with 2 younger sisters at 1850; what happened to their parents?

I have assumed that the William Anderson who married Elizabeth J. Spence in 1851 is the same William Anderson extracted in the 1850 census, above. This 1850 census and the 1851 Baltimore Directory list William Anderson, "dyer/scourer" or "silk dyer". Later directories consistently show William as a "painter" or "house painter". The only other William Andersons listed had occupations of "brakesman", "hacker", "furniture dealer".

William and Elizabeth Anderson named 3 [of their 6] children Theresa, Mary Anna and Elizabeth. If Mary A. Coleman was an Anderson, William named 2 of his 3 daughters after his 2 sisters. Theresa, of course, was named after his wife Elizabeth's mother, Theresa Gartner Spence.

McKENNEY/McKINNEY/McKENNA

Mary ["Minnie"] McKenney Anderson was the mother of my paternal grandmother. My grandmother's sister, Elizabeth Jane Anderson Regan, outlived my grandmother by approx. 30 years and provided much of the family history for me, limited though it was. According to Aunt Elizabeth:

• Mary McKenney was one of 3 children - 2 girls, 1 boy; she was known as "Minnie"
• Her sister Anna married Patrick Mullen; their oldest daughter, named perhaps "Marie", married and moved to Canada
• Another Mullen child was a son named Leo
• Aunt Elizabeth also had Barker cousins - supposedly a sister of her father [William Anderson(2)] married a Barker, who had at least one son named Frank Barker.
• Her parents William and Mary were married in a cathedral.
• Her mother was a seamstress.

...Mary McKenney was called Mary in the 1870 census [Baltimore], where she lived with her mother Mary, sister Annie and brother Andrew. No father shown; presumed deceased. [Mother Mary does not appear in later censuses; presumed deceased betwn 1870-1880.]

...Mary was called "Minnie" in 1880; she and her sister Anna were living with 2 different families as domestic servants. Mary was listed as "Minnie" in all federal censuses through 1910 [except for the 1870 census as a child at home w/her mother].

...Minnie was called "Minnie McKenny" in the Latin record of her church marriage; her parent was listed as "Mariea McKenna". [And she married in the Basilica of the Assumption cathedral.]

...Minnie was listed [along w/ other family members] in the 1890 Baltimore City directory: "Minnie Anderson, Dressmkr". Listed at the same address was her brother: "Andrew McKenny, printer"

...Minnie was called "Minnie Anderson" on her death certificate. Father listed as "William McKenna".

NEXT DISCUSSION: Andrew McKenney, brother of Mary "Minnie" and Anna.

TO DO:

• Search for death certificates, Baltimore MD, for Minnie McKenney Anderson's parents: William McKenney/McKenna, probably between 1860-1865 [youngest child b. about 1862]; and Mary McKenney, probably between 1870-1880. [Both parents b. Ireland]
• Marriage record of Anna McKenney to Patrick Mullen [probably Catholic Church]
• Catholic Church records for McKenney and Mullen childrens' baptisms. [Assume both were Catholic]
• Emigration records - William & Mary McKenney - don't know if they were married here or in Ireland; all 3 children born in Maryland, probably Baltimore.
• Why, in dau. Minnie McKenney's marriage record to Wm Anderson, was her mother's surname written differently in the same record? [McKenney / McKenna]. Was McKenna her mother's maiden name?
• Gartner - emigration from Germany between 1799 and 1823 [dom to Spence]