Two sisters asked me to create a special birthday gift for their mother, Gladys, living in St Louis. It seems they always wanted to know how their Sullivan ancestors (all names changed) immigrated to America from Ireland – was it Ellis Island or from Canada?
At first, I thought most European immigrates traveled to ports near Ellis Island, until I later discovered these ancestors were dairy farmers living less than 100 miles from Niagara Falls – and then just another 100 miles north to Canadian border. Oh my – but I found the Ship’s Manifest from Ireland to Ellis Island.
Everything went along fine, until I met with Gladys and reviewed my genealogy search results with her. That’s when Gladys exclaimed, “Who is that person? and why do the records state she was born in Iowa? I never knew anyone in our family from Iowa.. and that would mean my father’s mother was someone else?” and I answered – according to your father’s birth record, this is your grandmother Hallie. She said, “How could that be? I visited my Grandpa and Grandma every Sunday and that is a different person !”
So now, my new assignment was to clarify the names of the two grandmothers and find out what happened to Grandma Hallie. Yesterday, I went to the Archives Department in St Louis City Hall and found some answers…
Apparently, in 1904 Hallie “ran away” from St Louis City to St Louis County to marry a traveling dry goods salesman from New York. Possibly he was in St Louis on business – selling his wares for the 1904 World’s Fair celebration. Later, Hallie and her second husband moved to an apartment in the Southwest Garden Neighborhood, on De Tonty. Amazing, but this is in Southwest St Louis city, where I live today, and just blocks from where Gladys attended Southwest High School.
For the final step, Gladys asked, “Now that you found my real grandmother, I want to know where she was from and more about her family.” It was difficult to find Hallie’s roots because none of our documents had her maiden name. My only documents were as a married woman to husband #1 and husband #2. Also, Hallie did not have any additional children with husband #2.
The census records of 1930 gave me more clues because I could search on her married name, and possibly find a death certificate. Luckily, I found a death certificate for Hallie and in Iowa, where she would return.
I found Hallie born in Iowa in 1880′s and her father’s occupation was school teacher. WOW !!!! because Gladys has been a school teacher for over 30 years.
“I lived my entire life without knowing any of this, yet now that I know, I feel that we came full circle. How few teachers were there in the 1880′s – when public education was limited, especially in Iowa’s rural and farming communities.” She said, “Maybe everything isn’t an accident and we already predestined somehow. Now my ancestors were brought to life and I am grateful to know their story.”
