1930 James Lowery of Utica WIDOWED … or not ?

In researching the Watson family of Utica, NY I was tracing Alice Watson, the only child of  William L. Watson and Alice G. Parkinson, born in 1890. Alice married Utica native James Lincoln Lowery in 1911.

In the 1920 census Alice and James were living at 392 Genesee Street in Utica with 2 young children.  In the 1930 census I found James and the children living at 270 Genesee Street in the household of Lucy C. Watson (sister of Alice’s father William) and James is listed as WIDOWED.  So I searched for Alice’s death or burial record without success – Utica Newspapers, findagrave, familysearch, other trees – not found.

Analyze the Survivors on a Death Notice

While researching Ferris Wetmore of Greene County, NY, I found his 1925 death notice listing survivors as:  Widow plus a daughter, Mrs E.J. Parks “of this place” and a sister, Mrs A.E. Pine of Catskill.  I had not known that he had a daughter or a sister.

Ferris married in 1872, but I have been unable to find his 1880 census record.  By 1900 he and his wife had no children in their household but reported 2 were born and 1 survived.

I did not find a Parks family in the town where Ferris died, but did find a news clipping for Edward J Parks and son Ferris from another part of the county. This must be the right family with a son named Ferris!  And it was … Addie Wetmore was born in 1875 and married Edward in 1897. So, daughter found.

Checking for a Mrs. A.E. Pine in Catskill was a bit confusing. No likely male with initials of A.E. found in the 1920 census, but there was a widowed Annie E Pine. The interesting finding was that Anna E Wetmore was listed in the 1880 census as sister-in-law with John N. Pine and his wife Lucy.  Yes, Lucy was Anna’s older sister and after her death in 1890, Anna married her brother-in-law John.  After his death in 1902 it seems she used the name Mrs A.E. Pine.

So, mystery solved and 2 sisters of Ferris identified. A little snippet in the newspaper can lead you to lots of info.

A Small Marriage Announcement Can Hold Lots of Clues

While researching the Cole family of Catskill, NY, I found this small 1916 news item:

                              COLE – WEIDENFELD

            On Saturday, Sept 30, at the residence of the bride’s aunt, Mrs Howard McIntyre, in Hudson, NY by the Rev Thomas L. Cole, Helen Rosine, daughter of Mrs and the late Edward Weidenfeld, to Mr Thomas Cole, 2d.

Hudson is across the river from Catskill and many families transited the river.The clipping provided some good information and but also created a bit of confusion.

From I learned that:

-       Helen Rosine Weidenfeld married Thomas Cole

-       Her father Edward was deceased, but her mother was living

-       One of her aunts married Howard McIntyre and lived in Hudson NY

-       Rev Thomas L Cole married them

One of the confusing items was the designation of the groom as Thomas Cole, 2^nd.