Part 894bd – Brunhammer Doherty Genealogy – GG-Grandfather Jacques (Jacob) Brunhammer – Death May 8, 1903

Good Day,

And who says patience does pay off? Thank you Diane in Pennsylvania, once again. It has been 13 years since we have been looking for great-great-grandfather Jacques (aka Jacob) Brunhammer’s final resting place.

Great-great grandfather Jacques (aka Jacob) passed away May 8, 1903 in Ware, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. He is buried at the Old St. Williams Cemetery on West Street in Ware.

He was 65 1/2 years, 17 days old. The record of his birth date, which we have on file, is October 22, 1837 in Dornach, Haut Rhin, Alsace, France. The death register is incorrect as it indicates that his birthplace is “Paris, France.”

I wrote about and presented his 1837 birth registration in Part 133b – Brunhammer Doherty Genealogy – 1837 Birth Jacques (Jacob) Brunhammer of A Genealogy Hunt.

According to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Return of A Death gg-grandfather Jacob (aka Jacques) passed way from “Lagrippe” (translated: Influenza) and “Heart Failure”.

Citation: FHL 2069137 Image 1135 of 1880

Death registers, 1901-1905
Taunton [Aug. 18 - Dec. 31], v. 52 1903 (begins with the name Reilly, Hugh H.) Templeton to Uxbridge [May 01>], v. 53 1903 Wakefield to Warren [May 01>], v. 54 1903 Warwick to West Tisbury [May 01>], v. 55 1903 Westborough [May 01 - Aug. 24], v. 56 1903 (ends with the name Lyons, Mary)

"Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11848-179980-3?cc=1463156 : accessed 9 March 2016), 2069137 (004292283) > image 1135 of 1880; State Archives, Boston.

GG-Grandfather Jacob/Jacques’ wife and our gg-grandmother Marie/Mary (née Katz) Brunhammer were the original Brunhammers, and family who landed at Philadelphia in 1875 and 1876 Part 92b – Brunhammer Genealogy – A New Start. All-things-being-equal all Brunhammers and Brunhamers today in the United States can and should be able to trace their ancestry to Jacques and Marie. Yes we at A Genealogy Hunt do dig and present roots further back in time, but this is the real connection.

GG-Grandfather Jacques/Jacob is buried in St. Williams Cemetery in Ware, Massachusetts and gg-grandmother Marie/Mary is buried at Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. Part 558b – Brunhammer Genealogy – GG-Grandmother Mary Brunhammer’s Final Resting Place Found! Based on this information their resting places are 277 miles apart.

If you have and comment, question, thought, idea please feel free to contact me via email at A Genealogy Hunt.

Regards,

Jim

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Part 837hg – Brunhammer Doherty Genealogy – Search for the Marriage of Great-Grandparents John Eugene and Hannah (née Gallagher) Holmes – Pennsylvania?

Good Day,

Sometimes in the work of my search and research of genealogy I have a number of pokers in the fire. In this case it is the search of the vital records of the actual marriage of great-grandparents John Eugene and Hannah (née Gallagher) Holmes.

According to the 1880 US Census taken in Rahn Township in the County of Schuylkill, Pennsylvania they were husband and wife as of 18 June 1880. Of their three children listed on the same Census, their eldest, granduncle John Herbert Holmes was 4 years old. (See Part 751h.) Further according to the Calvary Episcopal Church Baptism Register he was baptized 2 November 1876 and his parents are listed as Jno. Eugene & Hanora Boyd Holmes. This Church was located at Tamaqua in Schuylkill County. (See Part 768h.)

Following the two document leads and searching for great-grandparents John Eugene and Hannah (aka Honora)’s marriage I began a search for a registration in the Tamaqua area.

Today I received notice from The Historical Society of Schuylkill County that

The information that you are requesting would need to come from church records. It wasn’t until 1885 that Schuylkill County began keeping marriage records and it was 1893 when they started to keep birth records. We do have an index of marriages that appeared in the Pottsville Miners Journal newspaper for the timeframe that John & Hannah would have been married but they are not listed in the index. We don’t have any Episcopal Church records for the Tamaqua area.

Back to the drawing board. Where were great-grandparents John and Hannah married? I will searching.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 768h – Brunhammer Doherty Genealogy – When Is a Date the Correct Birth Date? – Granduncle John Herbert Holmes

Good Day,

In my genealogy search and research, and in response to a number of my past Postings, I was asked the question “How can there be a number of different dates concerning a specific event?” My response based on what I have been taught and learned is that a date for a specific event may change dependent upon who is giving the date and who is taking the response. Other factors for differences may be the recording and transcription errors over time, and information copied without a measure of source or documentation.

In some incidences, information relaying regarding details and dates may be compared to the children’s party game “Pass the message” or “Telephone”. Per Wikipedia, the game “is often invoked as a metaphor for cumulative error, especially the inaccuracies as rumours or gossip spread, or, more generally, for the unreliability of human recollection."

But now I have encountered a strange issue concerning a date; the birth date of granduncle John Herbert Holmes. According to the Parish Register of the Calvary Episcopal Church in Tamaqua, in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, and per the 2 November 1876 Baptism Registration of granduncle John Herbert, his Birth Date is entered as 10 June 1876. All-things-being-equal and based on the two dates, the registered birth and the baptism, there would have been 145 days. The following are the actual Pages from the Calvary Episcopal Church Parish Register.

A normal and plausible rule-of-thumb accepted in genealogy is “the document closest to the event is considered the most likely to be accurate”. In this case, the Baptism Registration, I would venture to say, which is 145 days after granduncle John Herbert’s birth date could be, at least the most probable.

But here comes the monkey wrench, sort-of. On the 10 September 1918 World War I Draft Registration Card, and signed by granduncle John H(erbert) Holmes, his date of birth is entered as “June 9th, 1876”. Say what? Check it out. Below are the images of the two pages of the Registration Card, as provided by The National Archives and the United States, Selective Service System, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

My questions are:

Even though there is only a ONE DAY difference reporting granduncle John Herbert’s birth date, between the Baptism Registration and the WWI Draft Registration, would I be safe in assuming that granduncle John Herbert may have made a mistake providing his birth date, when he was only 42 years old?

Did granduncle John Herbert’s parents, great-grandparents John and Hanora (aka Hannah) Holmes provide the incorrect birth date at granduncle John Herbert’s baptism?

Okay I know that this is not a big deal, it is only ONE DAY, but does this mean that it is extremely important to check and review all documents for credible information?

And can a general rule of thumb sometimes be allowed some flexibility?

Oh and by the way the name of the game "Pass the message" in Italian is: "Telefono senza fili". Translated: Cordless Phone... How apropos!

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 766gh – Brunhammer Doherty Genealogy – The Search For Great-Grandmother Hannah (née Gallagher) Holmes – Episode IX

Good Day,

In my search for the vital events and genealogy of great-grandmother Hannah (née Gallagher) Holmes I decided that I would summarize some of the ages that I have found on certain possibly-related documents. The following is a Table presenting ages as presented on some of the Documents that I have on file that relate to all possible Hannah Gallagher and Hannah, Hanora, Honora, Hanna, and Anna Holmes.

Census	Date	Recorded Age	Recorded/Possible Birth Date
Hannah Gallagher
1860	03 Jun 1860	4/12	Feb 1860
1870	29 Aug 1870	12	1858
Hannah Holmes
1880	18 Jun 1880	25	1855
1890	-	-	-
1900	12 Jun 1900	45	Aug 1854
1910	28 Apr 1910	54	1856
1920	08 Jan 1920	55	1865
1930	14 Apr 1930	74	1856

I have not been able to confirm, as yet, that the Hannah Gallagher of the 1860 and 1870 Census and of the two Documents filed in 1878 with the Orphans’ Court of Schuylkill County is the same person as great-grandmother Hannah, aka Hanora, Honora and Anna as found in the 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 Censuses and the various Baptism Registrations from the Calvary Episcopal Church Register.

As previously discussed in my earlier Postings, and based on Family History, and on the various Family Trees that I have been able to find entered to Ancestry.com, there are a number of coincidences that could indicate that great-grandmother Hannah Holmes may indeed have been the referenced Hannah Gallagher.

I am still waiting for responses from the authors of the public Family Trees entered on Ancestry.com. I have also sent an inquiry and research request to the Historical Society of Schuylkill County in the hopes that there may be a slim chance of finding a marriage record of great-grandparents John and Hannah Holmes. I would tender a guess that their marriage, if there was one, may have occurred at some time before the 10 June 1876 birth of their first son, granduncle John Herbert Holmes.

The next image is my Clooz 3.0 Hannah Gallagher report summarizing 17 of the documents that I have on file.

Please note that four Birth Event documents of great-grandmother Hannah Holmes children are not included in the Hannah Gallagher report. I have not been able to find the Birth/Baptism Registrations for granduncle Richard Boyd Holmes, nor of the twins, granduncles Oliver and Oscar Holmes. Also, even though I have discovered the actual 1898 Baptism Registration for grandmother Hannah Myrtle (née Holmes) Doherty there is no indication of the names of her parents on the registration.

I would certainly appreciate questions, thoughts, ideas, facts, and sources regarding the life and times of great-grandmother Hannah (née Gallagher) Holmes. Please feel to contact me via email.

And I am recuperating from my Olympic try-outs.

Enjoy,

Jim

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