All Mixed Up: Three Joseph Roses ~ 52 Ancestors #35

My Rose ancestral line has three generations of men named Joseph Rose. Because they lived in New York City and northern New Jersey in the late 18th century and well into the 19th century, where records may not have been easily viewed and analyzed in the past, they have been conflated in various reports. They also tended to name their children the same names, generation after generation.

The immigrant Joseph Rose, believed to be born in England about 1735, lived in Manhattan, New York, and died February 28, 1807. He is buried in Trinity Churchyard, a historic graveyard now in the financial district of Manhattan. See his FindAGrave memorial. His wife, Barbara Egbertse (or Egburson) predeceased him on April 13, 1806. She is buried next to her husband and also has a FindAGrave memorial.

Joseph Rose headstone, courtesy BKGeni at FindAGrave

Barbara Rose headstone, courtesy BKGeni at FindAGrave

They had seven children, mentioned in their father's will: Mary, Joseph, William Lucius, Isaac, Ann, Samuel, and Elizabeth. 

Creativity: William Scott Pyle Jr ~ 52 Ancestors #22

Obituary, 17 February 1938, New York Times, p. 21, col. 6

W. Scott Pyle, Artist and Paint Originator
American Who Experimented With Plant Colors in Europe Is Dead at The Hague

   W. Scott Pyle, American artist, died in The Hague, The Netherlands, on Sunday [February 13, 1938] after an operation, according to word received here yesterday. He had gone abroad in June, taking some of his paintings with him for exhibitions in Switzerland and The Hague.
   Mr. Pyle left Princeton in his sophomore year to study painting, first under William Chase, then at the Academy of Munich and with Frank Brangwyn. He had exhibited at the academy shows in Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, Washington and also in the art museums of Detroit and Toledo.
   Until the last few years he was living in Europe, where he took a leading part in lengthy experiments with paints made from plant colors, which were finally manufactured by the Goetheanum in Switzerland.
   His clubs included the Princeton, University and Racquet and Tennis.
  Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Mietra [sic: should be Maria] Waller Pyle; a daughter, Joan; his mother, Mrs. William Scott Pyle, and a sister, Mrs. Albert Spalding.

William Scott Pyle, Jr. was born on June 22, 1888, in Monmouth, New Jersey, to William Scott Pyle (photo here) and Mary Ann Vanderhoef. He was their third child. The oldest, James Vanderhoef Pyle, died in 1887 of Diphtheria.

His older sister, Mary Vanderhoef Pyle, married famed violinist Albert Spalding. Because their father had died by the time they wed in July 1919, William Junior gave his sister away.

He was the first cousin of my grandfather, Charles McAlpin Pyle, making him my first cousin twice removed.

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Pyles and McAlpins

Last week, I shared photographs of Sara Carter (Pyle) McAlpin and an abbreviated family tree showing how a Pyle brother and sister were married to a McAlpin sister and brother. 

All four are all buried next to each other in Evergreen Cemetery in Morristown, New Jersey.

Sara's stone:

Sara Pyle McAlpin

February 9, 1863

May 14, 1949

"Gentle Unto All....

Apt to Teach, Patient, in

Meekness Instructing."

~~~~~~~~~~~

My Grandparents' 1931 Wedding ~ 52 Ancestors #40

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Ten.

I have published 446 blog posts since April 2011 and I decided to go back to see what my tenth blog post was.

It turns out that this was one of my favorites, so I am repeating it here, slightly edited:

A Small 1931 Family Wedding

My mother's parents were married on September 5, 1931, in Princeton, New Jersey. I have a few items from this wedding. The announcement:

Helen and Toby (Lowell's nickname) had originally planned to marry in October 1931, but my grandfather's mother was ill and not expected to live long, so they moved the wedding back to September 5. The groom's mother, my great-grandmother Ethel May (Greeley) Copeland, died on October 3, 1931, in Princeton.

Deaf Ancestor Mary Emma Rose ~ 52 Ancestors #38

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Unusual Source. In fact, Amy introduced the idea of this source in another blog post from last week: Researching Deaf Ancestors.

I didn't think I had any deaf ancestors; I'm still pretty sure that none of my direct ancestors were deaf. However, I explored the Ancestry database she mentioned, U.S. Special Census on Deaf Family Marriages and Hearing Relatives, 1888-1895, and I found a fourth great aunt. All I knew of this 4th great aunt was from her gravestone: Mary Rose Mitchell Totten, 1808-1897, which I photographed when visiting Rose Hill Cemetery in Matawan, New Jersey, in 2013.

Mary Emma Rose was the daughter of Joseph Rose and Frances Stanton. From the few records that I previously had on this family, I only knew of six children of Joseph Rose and Frances Stanton and I had complete birth and death dates for only my direct ancestor, Joseph Stanton Rose, whose detailed obituary I transcribed at Joseph Rose (1809-1877). He is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Matawan, New Jersey, and was the reason I visited the cemetery. Finding GGGG Aunt Mary's gravestone was by chance.

This survey of deaf individuals collected a lot of family information and WOW: I now know that Joseph and Frances had ten children with four dying very young. This is a wonderful example of researching collateral relatives to obtain more information. Not only does the survey include all of Mary's siblings, but their full names and birth dates. No specific death dates are listed, but several siblings died young and those are mentioned. Mary Emma signed the last page.

Divorce in the Family ~ 52 Ancestors #26

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Black Sheep.

Not that divorce makes a person a black sheep of the family (if that were so, this branch might have a dozen or more black sheep), but this great uncle of mine married and divorced twice and it made the papers.

James McAlpin Pyle was born in 1884 in New York as the oldest of six children of James Tolman Pyle and Frances Adelaide McAlpin. (They gave all six of their children the middle name McAlpin.) He married Miss Anita Merle-Smith on April 29, 1912.

The following wedding announcement was in the April 30, 1912, issue of The New York Times:

(Mourning in the bridegroom's family referred to the death of his father, James Tolman Pyle less than two months prior.)

James and Anita lived in New Jersey and were enumerated in the 1915 New Jersey State Census and the 1920 U.S. Federal Census with their two daughters, Sara, born September 10, 1913 (in 1915 and 1920), and Anne, born September 28, 1915 (in 1920).

~~~~~~~~~

However, the November 23, 1929, Central New Jersey Home News reported that Mrs. Anita Merle-Smith Pyle had requested a divorce from her husband, James McAlpin Pyle of Norodon [sic: Noroton], Connecticut, on the grounds of desertion. He had apparently deserted his family on September 6, 1927.

(Interestingly, James was found twice in the 1930 U.S. census, once listed with his wife and daughters in Bedminster, New Jersey, and also listed with his sister and brother-in-law in Noroton, Connecticut.)

Lightning's Freaks in New Jersey ~ 52 Ancestors #16

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Storms.

This prompt just begs for newspaper research. I subscribe to Newspapers.com and GenealogyBank, both of which have a variety of old newspapers. The Library of Congress's Chronicling America is a free newspaper resource, as is Old Fulton Postcards.

I searched for different surnames and the word "storm" to see what results I got. One story I found in the New York Tribune at GenealogyBank (entitled "Lightning's Freaks in Jersey") and then found in The Madison Eagle at Newspapers.com was from July 1897 when there had been a series of fierce thunderstorms to hit northern New Jersey. (While searching for the word "storm," I found several other mentions of storms during that week.)

The Madison [NJ] Eagle, 23 July 1897, page 5, column 2; online image,
Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 19 April 2018).

A heavy electrical storm did much havoc at Morristown on Wednesday. Three houses in various parts of the city were struck and considerably damaged. The grandstand at the Driving Park was struck by a bolt and a large portion of it shattered. The large barns of David H. McAlpin, about two miles from the city, were set on fire by the lightning and totally consumed, together with about twenty tons of hay. The loss is about $7,500.

David Hunter McAlpin was my second great-grandfather. His property, Glen Alpin, was the subject of one of my first blog posts at Glen Alpin, Harding Township, New Jersey. Although he was wealthy, I'm sure he was not pleased at losing his barns and that much hay.

More than thirty years later, another lightning storm in that same neighborhood burned down a barn with my dad's pet goat in it. I shared that story at My Dad's Pet Goat.

Favorite Photo of Percy and Marguerite ~ 52 Ancestors #2

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Favorite Photo.

I have shared many favorite photos on this blog (the tag Wordless Wednesday brings up those posts). Today's photo is of my great-grandparents, Percy Earle Hunter and his wife Marguerite Lysle.

Ya gotta love that hat! I wonder how heavy it was.

This was taken while they were vacationing in Atlantic City. (They lived in Pittsburgh with five daughters who were born between 1899 and 1907.)

The photographer was Myers-Cope Co., 1635 & 1521 Boardwalk, Atlantic City. By exploring the Atlantic City directories at Ancestry.com, I can narrow down the dates that this photograph was taken to between 1909 and 1913. (In 1908 and in 1914, Myers-Cope Co. was at only 1635 Boardwalk.)

However, since I know that they were in California in 1912, when they were listed in the California Voter Registrations for that year, why they were in California, and also that they were back in Pittsburgh by the fall of 1913, I believe this photo was taken between 1909 and 1911.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday ~ Dad's Pet Goat

I love this photo of my dad as a young boy in his wagon with his pet goat pulling the wagon.

This one is even better; it's always great to see such a happy smile!

And here is his mother, Libby, in a photograph dated 1929. My dad turned five years old that June.

~~~~~~~

My dad did not have the happiest of early childhoods. His parents were not very happy together and divorced in 1933 when Dad was nine years old. When I asked him about any memories of his early childhood, the only one he shared was that he had a pet goat that he adored.

When he was six years old, the family's barn was hit by lightning in a storm which caused a fire and the pet goat died in the fire. Dad was devastated.

Recently, I thought I would see if I could find any newspaper confirmation of this story. Thanks to Newspapers.com, I found it!

Joseph Rose, Gun Manufacturer - 52 Ancestors #34

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is Non-Population, which refers to special census schedules: have you found an ancestor on a non-population census — agriculture, industry, manufactures, or 1890 Union veterans? Tell us about him or her.

I have known about these special census schedules, but have not fully explored them. I found a few 19th century ancestors while trying to decide who to write about this week. The most interesting to me was what I found for third great-grandfather, Joseph Rose.

He was born on October 25, 1809, in New York City to Joseph Rose and Frances Stanton. He married Frances Stanton Willet on October 23, 1827, and fathered six children with her.

In the 1850 U.S. Census, the first census that lists all names of household members, I find 40-year-old Joseph Rose, Jr. in New York City's Ward 4, with occupation of Gun Smith.

The household includes his wife, his four youngest children, a servant, and the last name in the image is that of his son-in-law, David Hunter McAlpin, who likely lived next door.

U.S. Federal Census. Year: 1850; Census Place: New York Ward 4, New York, New York;
Roll: M432_536; Page: 264B; Lines: 35-41; Record for Joseph Rose family

So in the Ancestry.com's Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 for New York Ward 4, page 373, I find some more information about Joseph's business:

Frances Stanton Willet - 52 Ancestors #18

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, I am writing about my third great-grandmother, Frances Stanton Willet who was born on January 20, 1807, either in Connecticut or in Massachusetts (depending on the source).

The 1951 privately published Pyle, Smith and Allied Family Histories states that her parents are Jedidiah Willet and Mary Stanton. The frustrating thing is that I have found no primary source that confirms the birth place. (Her birth date is on her tombstone.) There is no record of a birth of Frances Willet in Ancestry.com's Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, nor in the Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection). I do find, in Norwich Vital Records, record of her father's first marriage to Frances Rogers, and the list of their children. This first wife died in 1805.

It appears that she grew up as the youngest sister of several half-siblings, some much older than her. I don't know if she had any full siblings, or if she was her mother's only child.

There is an 1806 newspaper wedding notice for her presumed parents, Jedediah Willet and Mary Stanton, which I shared here.

At not quite 21 years old, Frances (possibly named for her father's first wife?) married Joseph Rose, Jr. on October 23, 1827, most likely in New York City. (Joseph's obituary refers to their golden wedding anniversary celebration in 1877.)

Frances and Joseph had six children:
  Frances Adelaide Rose (1829-1870)
  Josephine Rose (1832-1920)
  Joseph Rose (1835-1905)
  George Lodowick Rose (1837-after 1920)
  William Rose (1840-????)
  Cordelia Maria Rose (1845-1927)

Grandfather Charles Pyle - Different - 52 Ancestors #13

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is Different.

After summarizing my paternal grandmother's life last week, I thought I'd share what I know about my paternal grandfather. (No wonder they divorced; from all accounts, they were very different!)

Charlie Pyle

Charles McAlpin Pyle was born on September 6, 1893, in Morristown, New Jersey. He was the fifth child and third son of James Tolman Pyle and Frances Adelaide McAlpin. Their sixth and last child, a younger brother, was born about eight years later.

Young Charlie lived a very comfortable childhood in the family home on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and at the family's country estate, Hurstmont, in Morristown, New Jersey.

His father's death in February 1912, hit him hard. In 1914, he enlisted in the National Guard (which I wrote about here) so that when the draft started for World War I, he was able to indicate that he had some military experience. He was part of the Calvary; he always loved horses.

On March 1, 1919, he married Elizabeth Adsit, of Chicago. They lived in New York City for several years (where they are found in the 1920 U.S. Census), at least until my father, Charles McAlpin Pyle, Jr. was born in 1924, then they moved to Morristown, New Jersey (where they are found in the 1930 U.S. Census).

Apparently he had a tough time figuring out what he wanted to do with his life. The 1917 WWI Draft Card shows an occupation of Manager at the Cyclops Steel Company in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The 1920 U.S. Census shows him living in Manhattan with an occupation of "Manager." In 1930, his occupation is listed as "Broker, Stocks." And by 1940, he is living in Ellicott City, Maryland, working as "Operator, Farm."

According to Padre Pio: The True Story, by C. Bernard Ruffin, a book about his sister, Adelia (Mary Pyle), he "tried to invent his own religion, which he called "Egoanalysis." He even wrote a book called Your Way to Happiness and made calls to the Vatican in an attempt to interest the pope in his new doctrine." However, it is doubtful his new religion brought him happiness.

His first marriage (to my grandmother, Libby) failed by 1933, and soon after his divorce, they both remarried. Charlie's second wife was Feroll Claire Moore, originally from Florida. It is believed that she married him for his money, and when she didn't get it, they soon divorced (by 1941).

The 1940 U.S. Census shows Feroll Pyle, married, living in Manhattan (with her 1935 residence as Ellicott City, Maryland). Charles Pyle, married, is living in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Lucy and Charlie, 1941

In 1941, Charlie married Lucy Buford Triplett in South Carolina. I have not found much information about her.

He was living at "Spring Hill Farm" in Ellicott City, Maryland, in April 1942, when he was required to register for the World War II draft.

By the 1960s, they were living in Washington, D.C.

Sadly, my father was estranged from his own father and was rarely in touch with him throughout his adulthood. Soon after my parents married, my mother encouraged my dad to contact his father, which he did in 1964 (during a summer heat wave, as my mother remembers it: As they drove from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C., they had to stop every so often so my pregnant mother could cool off in air-conditioned restaurants).

My grandfather, whom I never met, died at age 72 on August 17, 1966. He is buried in the Fairview Cemetery, Culpeper, Virginia.

Four years later, in December 1970, the wife he was married to the longest, Lucy, died, and was buried next to him. I still have a pearl necklace (and a note from her signed "Grandmother Lucy") that she gave me as a Christmas gift when I was very young.

I shared a death notice for my grandfather here.

See his FindAGrave memorial here.

Grandmother Elizabeth Adsit - Same - 52 Ancestors #12

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is "Same." Not only do I share the same first name as my paternal grandmother, we do have quite a bit in common.

This blog post is an opportunity for me to link to most of the posts I have made about my grandmother.

Elizabeth Adsit was born on June 18, 1897, in Chicago, Illinois, to Charles Chapin Adsit, a Chicago banker, and Mary Bowman Ashby. She had one older brother, Charles, Jr., who was five years old when she was born. (See a photo of the two of them here.)

Her family lived at 73 Bellevue Place in Chicago and then at 24 Ritchie Court. I couldn't find the family in the 1900 U.S. Census because they were traveling.

All of the official records that I have found show the name of Elizabeth, but she was known to friends and family (including her grandchildren) as Libby. (We never called her grandmother, or granny or gramma.) At left is one of the several photographs I have of Libby as a girl.

Libby was a talented tennis player in her youth. She is mentioned in a couple of newspaper articles in 1912 and 1916.

As befitted a young society lady, she attended what was known at the time as a finishing school: Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut, between 1913 and 1916. After World War II, the school changed its focus to become a well-respected college preparatory school, which I attended almost 70 years after she did. (Although she was not able to be there to see me graduate, she was thrilled that I attended and enjoyed talking with me about her fond memories and about the changes that had taken place over the decades.)

After completing her studies in the spring of 1916, that fall, Libby made her society debut. I shared a couple of photos here.

Frances A. McAlpin Pyle - A Strong Woman - 52 Ancestors: #3

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, I am using this week's optional theme of Tough Woman, which gives me a great opportunity to write about a great-grandmother of mine whom I know quite a bit about, but have not written about.

Frances Adelaide McAlpin was born on February 28, 1860, in New York City to David Hunter McAlpin and his first wife, Frances Adelaide Rose. Of their ten children, she was their seventh child and only daughter. I think that being the only girl helped to make her a strong woman. Her mother died when she was ten and a half, which probably resulted in her growing up faster than she otherwise might have.

In most records, I find she is referred to as Adelaide, perhaps to differentiate herself from her mother, who was likely known as Frances.

Adelaide is on the right in the picture below, which I believe was taken in about 1879.

Unknown woman on left
Frances Adelaide McAlpin on right

She married James Tolman Pyle, son of James Pyle, founder of Pyle's Pearline Soap, on February 12, 1884. The detailed description of their wedding, from the New York Daily Tribune, can be found here.

She gave birth to six children (some of whom I've written about previously):
James McAlpin Pyle (1884-1954)
David Hunter McAlpin Pyle (1886-1944)
Adelia McAlpin Pyle (1888-1968)
Sara McAlpin Pyle (1891-1978)
Charles McAlpin Pyle (1893-1966), my grandfather
Gordon McAlpin Pyle (1901-1943)

My first blog post was about the home that Adelaide and her husband, James, built in Morris County, New Jersey, called Hurstmont, which is where my grandfather grew up. See an aerial view of Hurstmont here. She came from a wealthy family and married into a wealthy family. She managed two households, one in New York City, and Hurstmont in New Jersey, raised six children, who each had their issues, and lost her husband when she was 51 years old.

Sunday's Obituary ~ Joseph Rose (1809-1877)

Thank you to the Matawan, New Jersey, historian who told me about the availability of The Matawan Journal at the website of the public library. The issue of December 8, 1877, has an extensive obituary of the recently deceased Joseph Rose, my 3rd great grandfather, on page 2 of this four page weekly newspaper. This obituary doesn't tell me much about his family, except that he and his wife were married for 50 years and had children, but it does tell me a lot about him: his integrity and honesty in politics and business dealings and how he treated all those in his life.

It is very hard to read and I have done my best to transcribe it below. If anyone can decipher the faded words in the last section, please let me know.  September 11, 2013 update: Thank you to Matawan local historian Al Savolaine for helping with deciphering some of these difficult-to-read words.

Obituary

Mr. Joseph Rose

Rose, one of the oldest residents of this township. For two or three days it had been reported that he was very ill; but so vigorous had he always seemed that few anticipated a fatal result. He had been complaining for two or three weeks, but was not confined to his bed until Friday last and from that time he seemed to fall into a frequent stupor and unconsciousness, and died on Tuesday morning, 4th inst., at 9 o’clock. The cause of his sudden death was Bright’s disease of the kidneys, and the rapid degeneration of these organs produced a condition of uremia which hastened his end.

Mr. Rose was a gentleman of intelligence, integrity of moral character, sociability and possessed of a very warm and benevolent nature. He began business in New York city in very early life, was married before he was nineteen, and growing up with the growth of the city he won to him very many friends by the close adherence to business, promptness in all his business engagements and strict honesty in all his dealings.

While a resident of New York, he represented the city in the Legislature for one term and refused a renomination. He was a Democrat in politics, and a warm partisan. He served for two terms as Collector of City Revenue under Comptroller Flagg, and his integrity was held so high that on the election of Comptroller Haws, though politically an opponent, he was urged to remain in his position, and he continued as Collector of the Revenue until compelled by vertigo to resign. He, in occupying the above place, has much to do with negotiating the purchase of Central Park.

He was an office in the old City Guards; and an intimate associate of Hon. John Kelly, Judge Chas. P. Daley and other prominent men of New York.

About 45 years ago he purchased a farm at Cliffwood, and has ever since been the owner of the same. He owned the site of Rose Hill Cemetery [see Tombstone Tuesday ~ Rose], and sold it to the cemetery corporation. That place is honored with his name, and in it is his family plot where his remains will be interred. For several years prior to his permanent removal to New Jersey his family spent their summers at Cliffwood. Shortly after the severe attack of vertigo that compelled him to give up a lucrative position and a profitable business besides, he removed in 1860 to his farm and has for the past 17 years resided among us, endearing himself to this community, and during the time represented the township for one term in the Board of Freeholders.

On the 23d of October last, only about six weeks ago, a merry company gathered at his delightful home to join with him and his wife in celebrating their golden wedding. We referred then to the miniature sheaf of wheat overhanging their heads as a symbol of the ripening years. In his case, it becomes also the symbol of his having been gathered in by the great harvester, Death.

Mr. Rose will be missed not alone by his widow and large family of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; but the whole community, and in his benevolence his loss will be keenly felt by many living in the immediate vicinity of his home.

The funeral will take place on Monday next, 10th inst., at 1.30, P. M., the long delay being occasioned that the youngest son, from Colorado, might be present at the funeral.

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Joseph Rose

According to a paragraph on page 53 of Matawan and Aberdeen: Of Town and Field, by Helen Henderson, of the Matawan Historical Association, found at Google Books, the Rose Hill Cemetery was established in 1858 on land previously owned by Joseph Rose, my third great-grandfather. The cemetery's highest point is where the Joseph Rose family plot is located and from there, you can see Raritan Bay and the skyline of New York City. My guess is that it has to be when the leaves are not on the trees (or before many of those trees were there), as we couldn't see those sites when we visited there a couple of weeks ago.

Having been told that the Rose family plot was at the highest point, we drove through the cemetery until we found it. While I took close up pictures with my iPhone and my son found half-buried, unreadable gravestones, my husband captured the plot from the side.

Rose Family obelisk

My third great-grandparents

Joseph Rose

Born

Oct. 25th, 1809,

Died

Dec. 4th, 1877

His Wife

Frances Stanton Willet

Born

Jan 20th, 1807,

Died

Oct. 26th, 1893

See Joseph Rose's Find A Grave memorial, which has links to the memorials for his wife Frances and a few of his children, as well as a link to a memorial for his father Joseph Rose (1770-1852) at this same cemetery.

Surname Saturday ~ Rose of New York and New Jersey

My immigrant Rose ancestor is Joseph Rose. It has been theorized that he was born about 1735 in England. I have been contacted a couple of times through my tree on ancestry.com asking me about his parentage but I don't have any information about where in England he was born or who his parents are.

NYC Directory for 1786, page 68
(NYC: H. J. Sachs & Company, 1905)

I also don't have information on when he immigrated to America, but he was in New York by 1786, when he is listed as a distiller in the NYC Directory for that year. (I don't know who "Rose, J. hair-dresser" is listed below "Rose, Joseph, distiller.")

It is said that he was a sea captain and a merchant.

His wife was Barbara Egburson / Egbertse, of Dutch ancestry. They were married in New York City on July 31, 1766.

His will can be found at FamilySearch.org under New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971. (Liber 46 p. 513 fol. old numbers, or p. 473 fol. new numbers.) (Thank you to fellow geneablogger and distant cousin, Leah, of Leah's Family Tree, for letting me know about this will.) The will was signed on March 20, 1805. He mentions his "beloved wife" Barbara and children, Mary (widow of Francis Lynch), Joseph, William, Isaac, Elizabeth, Ann, and youngest child, Samuel (who appeared to be the only one not yet 21 years old). His will also mentions that he has "certain claims against the British and French Governments" which he hopes will become part of his estate for his heirs.

Joseph Rose died February 28, 1807, less than a year after his wife, who died on April 13, 1806. They are buried together in New York City's Trinity Churchyard. See the Find A Grave memorial for Joseph and Barbara.

I descend from their son Joseph, believed to be his eldest son.

Generation 2: Joseph Rose was born about 1770 in New York and died on November 21, 1852, in Matawan, Monmouth County, New Jersey. He married Frances Stanton (daughter of Lodowick Stanton and Thankful Stanton) and they had six children. His wife died in November 1815. Her death is noted in the November 18, 1815, issue of the Weekly Museum, a New York newspaper (1788-1817) found at GenealogyBank.

Matawan is in red; Monmouth County
is gray and its location in NJ is at right.
Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

This Joseph was a merchant in New York, but by 1850, he was in Monmouth County, New Jersey, where I found him, 80 years old, living alone in Raritan in the U.S. Federal Census for that year.

It appears that he and his wife had six children who were all baptized at St. Mark's in New York City on April 4, 1816: Frances Maria, Joseph, William (or Willet?), Cordelia, Mary, and Lodowick.

Joseph died in 1852 and has a memorial at Rose Hill Cemetery in Matawan, New Jersey.

I descend from their son Joseph.

Hurstmont ~ An Update

I started this blog with a post that included information about Hurstmont, the estate of my paternal great-grandparents, James Tolman Pyle and his wife, Frances Adelaide (McAlpin) Pyle.

I later shared some photos of the estate in its heyday, as well as some photos we took when we visited. This post includes a link to the June 1907 issue of American Homes and Gardens in Google Books which had an extensive article about Hurstmont, photos of which are included in the first video below.

I also found that I have an aerial photo of the estate.

Click here to read more about James Pyle and Sons successful Pyle's Pearline soap business.

Thank you to my cousin, who shared the link to a July 19, 2013, article in the Observer-Tribune (a New Jersey Hills Media Group newspaper) entitled "Three new homes OK’d for Hurstmont property in Harding". I'm glad that the current owner, an architect, was able to come to an agreement with the local Board of Adjustment that saves at least part of the mansion.

In addition, my cousin also suggested that I search on YouTube for Hurstmont and check out some videos that have been posted there. I found the following videos (really slideshows) which are from the local realtor's YouTube page. These give you a wonderful sense of the beauty of the landscape, the former grandness of the estate, and the wonderful potential of these four new and renovated properties.

Update: Because the property has been sold, the realtor's videos are no longer available to view, so I have removed the links from this post.

The former mansion will be renovated and diminished in size.


The former carriage house, which is behind and to the right of the mansion, will be renovated.


This will be a new home called the Tennis Cottage, which looks like it will be built to the right of the current driveway just after you turn off Mount Kemble Avenue.


And this will be the Garden Cottage, which looks like it will be built where the former gardens were.

Matrilineal Monday ~ Aunt Lukie, Part 1

My great-grandfather, Lowell Copeland was married twice. He married Ethel May Greeley (see her photo here) on January 1, 1900, in Winnetka, Illinois. I shared their marriage record on one of my very early blog posts. My grandfather, Lowell Townsend Copeland, was born on December 21, 1900. Two sisters followed: Elizabeth (Betty) in 1903 and Ruth in 1907.

My grandparents married on September 5, 1931. His mother, Ethel, died on October 3, 1931, at the age of 55.

Ethel's younger sister, Ruth Lyman Greeley, was born July 14, 1878, in Chicago, Illinois. She was known in the family as Aunt Lukie. Not only is she my 2nd great aunt, but she is my step-great-grandmother. (So for those in my mother's generation, she is great aunt and step-grandmother.)

By the 1910 U.S. Census, Ruth L. Greeley was living in Boston, at 15 Pinckney Street, with her mother's youngest sister, Ruth Lyman Wells (1862 - 1943) and an Irish servant.

1910 U.S. Federal Census, Boston Ward 11, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_618; Page: 5A;
Enumeration District: 1413. Record for Ruth L. Wells and Ruth L. Greeley.

Ruth Lyman Wells was 48 years old and born in Massachusetts. Ruth Lyman Greeley was 32 years old and born in Illinois. Under occupation, both show "Own Income."

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In 1920, Aunt Ruth Wells and Niece Ruth Greeley were still living together on Beacon Hill, now at 5 Lime Street.

1920 U.S. Federal Census, Boston Ward 8, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_742; Page: 10A;
Enumeration District: 228. Record for Ruth Wells and Ruth Greely.

This time, Aunt Ruth Wells is recorded as 57 years old, but Niece Ruth Greeley is 49, where it should have been 41. I don't know who Dorothy Hill, age 17 is; there are several Dorothy Hills in Massachusetts birth records in 1902 and 1903.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun ~ Where Were They 100 Years Ago?

Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings Saturday Night Genealogy Fun asks us to do the following:

1)  Determine where your ancestral families were on 1 January 1913 - 100 years ago.

2)  List them, their family members, their birth years, and their residence location (as close as possible).  Do you have a photograph of their residence from about that time, and does the residence still exist?

3)  Tell us all about it.

My father's side:

My great-great-grandmother, Esther Abigail (Whitman) Pyle (born 1828), was living at 200 West 57th Street, New York City. She was a widow and lived with one servant (in the 1910 census). I don't have a photograph of this apartment building and I don't know if the building that still stands there is the one she was living in 100 years ago.

Aerial photo of Hurstmont

My great grandmother, Frances Adelaide (McAlpin) Pyle (born 1860), is not listed in the New York City Directory, but I know that when her husband, James Tolman Pyle, died less than a year before, they were living at 673 5th Avenue, New York City. In 1913, she was living at either New York City and / or Morristown, New Jersey (see my early Hurstmont post for current photo). See Review Old Photos for an aerial photo of Hurstmont from what I am guessing is the 1930's. I do have several other photos of the home in New Jersey.

My grandfather, Charles McAlpin Pyle (born 1893) would likely have been living with his mother in New York City or Morristown, New Jersey.

My great-grandparents, Charles Chapin Adsit (born 1853) and his wife, Mary Bowman (Ashby) Adsit (born 1863 or 1866) were living at Ritchie Court, Chicago, Illinois. The household included their son, Charles, Jr. (b. 1892) and my grandmother, Elizabeth (b. 1897). If I looked, I bet I have a few photos of this home, as I know I have photos of Charles, Jr. as a baby in a carriage outside the home. I don't know if this address still exists in Chicago; there is a North Ritchie Court that has older-looking homes on it (see Google Maps) but the numbers are different than in 1913.

My mother's side:

Calais, Maine - current photo

My great-great-grandmother, very recently widowed Sarah (Lowell) Copeland (born 1833), lived on Main Street, in Calais, Maine. I do have a couple of old photos of this home. This home still stands and a Find A Grave volunteer from the area shared a current photo of the home with me.

My great-grandparents, Lowell Copeland (born 1862) and Ethel May (Greeley) Copeland (born 1875), were living on Maple Street, New Trier Township, Illinois. Included in this household were my great-great-grandfather, Samuel Sewall Greeley (born 1824), as well as my grandfather, Lowell Townsend Copeland (b. 1900) and his two sisters. I do have some old photos that include this house.

My great-grandparents, Percy Earle Hunter (b. 1873) and Marguerite (Lysle) Hunter (b. 1876) were living at 3623 Perrysville Avenue in the 1910 census, but were living at 5629 Elgin Avenue in November 1913, when their eldest daughter died (per her death certificate). My grandmother, Helen Lysle Hunter (born 1907) would have lived there with her four older sisters. See a photograph of what I believe is the Perrysville home at Hunter Family Home. The home at Perrysville Avenue is no longer there, based on my search of Google Maps. Also using Google Maps, it looks like there is a home at 5629 Elgin Street, but I don't know if it's the same home.

Interestingly, 100 years ago, none of my ancestors lived in Massachusetts, yet this is where my immediate family has lived for over 50 years.

Thanks Randy for a fun Saturday Night!