This year I have a new favorite photo.
This photo is from a distant cousin of my husband’s family in Norway. She reached out to me on Ancestry and was able to solve a huge mystery about his 2X great grandfather Neils Osborne.
I am not sure who the people in the photo are but I can see a resemblance to my husband and his brothers. The picture was taken in Brooklyn, NY.
I can’t wait to discover who is all in the photo and it will be a great mystery to solve.
Today was a big day in genealogy research. New York City Records & Information Services released their brand new Historical Vital Records website.
Well I immediately went down a little rabbit hole and had the most success with Gerard’s family. I was able to get his family back another generation on one line which is fabulous. The other thing is the files are so crisp so it will be fun to go through the records I have to see if I can find better copies.
Here are the records I found and was able to get death dates for both of his 2nd Great Grandparents on his paternal side.
The first one I found was Martin Lynch who died in 1931.
Best part is that it had his parents names so I hope to be able to find them in Ireland. Also states he was a resident of NYC for 50 years. I will try to see if I can find his grave in Holy Cross Cemetery also.
Next I was able to find Martin’s wife Bridget Larkin Lynch. She died a few years after her husband in 1935.
I can definitely see this leading me down lots of rabbit holes and working on NYC lines. I am excited to see what I can find for more of Gerard’s family and what I can find anything new on my Dad’s family. Between this and the upcoming 1950 census I am super excited.
Long time no post. I have missed writing to you all. 2020 was an eventful year to say the least. Besides living through a pandemic, our family re-located from New York to Arkansas. We lived in a rental from October 2020 until May 2021 when we moved into our forever home. So Genealogy was on the back-burner, I did a little bit of research but not much.
Well it is now time to get back to the things I love and genealogy is one of them. Yesterday and today I have been responding to messages and e-mails and the passion is re-ignited. Since I am not doing 52 Ancestors this year I am going to have to discover new things to write about but I do have a couple of ideas planned.
One thing I did find while I was going through some papers was the elusive marriage certificate for Robert B. Bass and Patricia Moran, who are the parents of Barbara Ann Bass. So Gerard’s Grandparents. This was a breakthrough I needed as the wrong parents are listed on Barbara’s Death Certificate.
The importance of this document means I can complete a supplemental DAR application for my daughter and she will have patriots who fought in the American Revolution on both sides of her family. This would of made her Nana laugh and proud.
Check back for more posts soon
The prompt for week 14 is Water. I am going to follow the trend and continue with Gerard’s family as they are who I have been focussing on during this period of social distancing.
Gerard’s family is primarily recent Irish immigrants, as in post 1840 or 1850s except for a couple of his lines on his Mom’s paternal side which are German and English (I would say, haven’t gotten to the gateway ancestors on the Bass line). Those Irish immigrants then settled in NYC primarily Brooklyn.
His paternal great-grandfather James McMahon was born 12 November 1875 in County Limerick, Ireland. He arrived from Ireland 3 August 1893 aboard a ship named the Germanic. On the Census records and his naturalization papers he lists his occupation as a Longshoreman.
(1910 US Census & 1915 NY State Census)
A longshoreman is a dock worker who is a laborer involved with the loading and unloading of ships.
James McMahon died in early January 1956 and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY.
Funnily enough Gerard’s 2X Great-grandfather on his maternal side also worked in a water based business. He owned a dredging company. Peter J. Moran was born April 1880 in New York. He died 23 October 1945 in Brooklyn, NY.
One of my future projects is too read about the William Beard & Co Dredging Company and seeing what it was.
I am still playing catch-up and I am determined to finish all 52 weeks of this project. Though I am thinking for next year I want to do some ancestor profiles here on the blog. I have found this to be a rewarding experience.
This prompt was very hard for me. Poor Man. Most of the people in the tree were simple farmers in upstate NY or immigrants to the United states from places like Ireland, Germany or Italy. They came here for the promise of a better life.
If I was going to pick one person out of the whole tree who I think was Poor. I might choose my husbands 2X great-grandparents Neils Osborne and his wife Bergetti Netlander Osborne.
I have vital statistics for them but no real stories to share. One thing that leads me to believe they were poor as on the census records they are listed as living in a tenement. Bergetti and Neils never lived in a house and Neils worked as a grocery clerk and then as a longshoreman. They had one son who lived to adulthood though the census records show that she had 2 children and only 1 lived to adulthood. To me their existence just has such a tragic cast to it.
I am a big proponent of family names and being named after someone. I myself am named after my 2 grandmothers. My first name is after my paternal grandmother and my middle name is after my maternal grandmother.
My daughter is named after myself, my paternal grandmother and her middle name is after my dad. My son is named after his 2 grandfathers. Samantha on the other hand is named after an American Girl doll and has my Mom’s middle name.
As I look back on the different branches of my family I can sometimes see different naming patterns. my 2X Great Grandfather’s name was Leslie Winchester Beardsley. In turn my great grandmother named her son Leslie Winchester Witherwax. My grandparents then named their son Earl Leslie Witherwax. The Earl for my Grandpa and Leslie for his oldest brother. Though for the most part my grandma did her own thing with naming her kids hence the reason all the girls had the same initials.
My husband isn’t named after anyone except his middle name is supposed to be his great grandmother’s surname but I keep coming up with slightly different variations of it. His brothers though do have family names, I love the history a name gives someone. I think it gives the strength of your ancestors to you.
I have been mulling the topic of this post for a few days. Trying to figure out where to go with it and trying to figure out if there was a big A-Ha moment in my research and I really couldn’t come up with anything.
Looking back I would have to say the biggest surprises would have to be in my husband’s family. Researching his family has been fun and interesting as everything I learn is new to me.
The first surprise, I would have to say is when we did his DNA test in early 2018. 
I was surprised by the amount of Norwegian ancestry he had, though he wasn’t as his grandmother had always told him he had it but he hadn’t paid attention. The 16% is in line with having 2 Great Great grandparents who were born there. I am still trying to learn more about Neils Osborne and Bergetti Netland Osborne and their life before the United States.
The other surprise on his DNA is the European Jewish. I am thinking that has to do with his maternal Great Grandmother’s line Marguerite Brucks Bass, as her parents were from Germany.
As I said previously his entire tree is a surprise to me. 
As you can see there is a lot of Irish in there. I will admit as there is so much Irish it is super slow going for me. I am honestly thinking the next time there is an institute or conference I need to get my feet wet with Irish Genealogy.
I did find his Butler and Hurley lines came from Canada and spent several years their before coming to the United States. I haven’t found them entering Canada from Ireland as of yet but I am sure I will.
I am excited to see what the next surprise I can find on his tree. It is an ongoing process and I am sure I will fill in more and more blanks as we go.
Well, let’s hope I complete more of 2019 than I did for 2018. So the goal is more than 13. Wish me luck.
Here we go Week 1 – the prompt FIRST…For this I decided to concentrate on my husband’s family and his Norwegian Great-Great Grandfather Neils Osborne. I always thought the Osborne was Irish but guess not.
Neils Osborne was borne in December 1855 in Norway. We have no parental information and have not been able to find a passenger record for him yet. Sadly his death certificate lists no parents either.
Neils first appears in New York in the NYS Census for 1892 in Brooklyn and is a laborer along with his wife Bergetti and son John.
We can trace Neils through Censuses, City Directories and sadly his death certificate. He lived on Furman Street in Brooklyn almost all of his time in the United States and held the occupations of laborer, Grocer, Day Laborer, Longshoreman. He never became a citizen, though in the 1900 Census he is listed as PA meaning a petition was filed though I have not found it.
We have a range of immigration dates from 1880 – 1886 according to census records. We also have a range of marriage dates of 1870-1880.
We last find Neils in the 1930 Census living with his son John, on Wyckoff Street in Brooklyn. He is listed as Elmer and let me say that led me on a wild goose chase. Sadly Bergetti is not listed.
He and his wife only had one child who survived to adulthood John Osborne. Neils and Bergetti died within 6 months of each other in 1930 and are buried in Canarsie Cemetery in Brooklyn.
Before finding Neils, my husband had heard rumors of Norwegian ancestry and Neils and Bergetti are them. We are beginning to do research on where the Osborne name came from along with hopefully finding the parents of Neils at some juncture.
Yesterday was day 1 of my 30 x 30 challenge and let’s just say it raised more questions.
I decided to start with my husband’s 2X Great-Grandmother, Bergetti Netland Osborne. Gerard’s Norwegian Great-Great Grandparents call me and when they are speaking you need to listen to those voices. You need to tell the story.
I went with the paper trail, I did have, from the first record, I found the 1892 NYS Census, (if only the 1890 US Census was available).
As you can see there is some conflicting information, from her age to the year, the immigration year. I did stumble upon some more records I will need to look at but have also learned I need to find some webinars on Norwegian Ancestry and naming patterns. I also need to go to Brooklyn and check out the will file I found mentioned on Ancestry. I also am curious as to what religion the Osborne’s were as they are buried in Canarsie Cemetery and their son is at Holy Cross Cemetery.
So questions raised, what year did Bergetti actually come to America in. Her son, John Osborne was born in 1884. Are Jens Olsen Netland and Birthe Oldsdatter really her parents? So thankful that her husband was the informant on her death certificate.
One thing that I found that corresponds with Gerard’s DNA results is the mention of Stavanger, Rogaland, Norway, that is one of the regions mentioned on his test.
Overall it was a productive day, 30 minutes is no time and I am off to create a timeline for Neils or Nels or Neil Osborne to see if it reveals anything different.
The timeline was indeed beneficial and there is something about putting it down with pen and paper that helps me.
If you have any tips on researching Norwegian Ancestors, I would love to hear them as this is new territory for me.
Decoding the Family Tree 