Amanuensis Monday #2

Amanuensis: "one who is employed to take dictation or copy manuscripts." (The American Heritage High School Dictionary).

The Will of Daniel W. Losee

Transcription:

In the Name of God, Amen, I, Daniel W. Losee 

of the Town of Cortlandt, County of Westchester
and State of New York being of sound mind
and memory and considering the uncertainty
of this frail and transitory life do therefore make
ordain publish and declare this to be my last
Will and Testament, that is to say:

First, After all my lawful debts are paid and
discharged I give and bequeath to my niece
Mariah Outhouse daughter of Jacob
Outhouse Five hundred Dollars ($500). One
Kane bottom Rocking chair and eight Kane
Chairs and one lot of china dishes.
Second. I give and bequeath to my nephew Jacob
L. Outhouse the sum [sic] of  Jacob Outhouse one
hundred dollars ($100) and my gold watch and
chain.
Third. I give and bequeath to my nephew War-
ren Outhouse the son of Jacob Outhouse One
hundred dollars ($100).
Fourth. I give and bequeath to my nephew Alonzo
C. Outhouse the son of Jacob Outhouse One
hundred dollars ($100)
Fifth. I give and bequeath to my niece Emily
Ann Lamb the wife of Jacob Lamb One hun-
drd dollars ($100).
Sixth. I give and bequeath to my niece Harriet
E. Ward the wife of Albert Ward One hundred
Dollars ($100).
Seventh. I give and bequeath to my niece Hetta
Outhouse wife of Joseph Outhouse One hun-
dred Dollars ($100).
Eighth. I give and bequeath to my niece Mary
Vrendenburg the wife of Clarence Vrendenburgh
One hundred Dollars ($100).
Ninth. I give and bequeath to my niece's daughter
Mabel Outhouse the daughter of Joseph and
Hetta Outhouse, one feather bed and bedding
and fifty-dollars ($50).
Tenth. I give and bequeath to my niece's daughter
Gracie Jordan the daughter of Clarence and Bell
Jordan my family bible and fifty-dollars ($50).
Likewise I make constitute and appoint Jacob
L. Outhouse and Joseph Outhouse to be my
executors of this my last Will and Testament hereby
revoking all former Wills by me made.
In Witness thereof I have hereunto subscribed
my name and affixed my seal the Twenty-first
day of August in the year of our Lord one
thousand and eight hundred and eighty-eight.
                [signed] Daniel W. Losee  {L.S.}
The above written instrument was subscribed by
the said Daniel W. losee in our presence and ac
knowledged by him to each of us and he at
the same time declared the above instrument so
subscribed to be his last Will and Testament and
we at his request have signed our names as
witnesses hereto in his presence and in the pres-
ence of each other and written opposite our names
our respective places of residence.
Reside in}  the Town of Cortlandt   [signed] E.W. Lounsbury
                   Town of Cortlandt         [signed] J. H. Jordan

Citation:

Westchester, New York, Wills, Will book 119, p. 27, Daniel W. Losee, 21 Aug 1888 (proved 27 May 1893); digital images, "New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971," FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 June 2013).  Search "Westchester" > "Wills 1893-1894 vol 119-120" > image 33. Image is a composite from pages 27-29 for the purpose of this blog.

Daniel W. Losee, 1880 U.S. Census

Census Sunday

1880 U.S. census, Westchester County, New York, population schedule, Yorktown, enumeration district (ED) 133, p. 7 (penned), p. 429-C (stamped), dwelling 69, family 73, Daniel Losee household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 Sep 2014); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 947. 

This is the household of the brother of my 3rd great-grandmother, Elizabeth (Losee) Outhouse. Daniel W. Losee died 13 years after this census. In 1880, he was living with his cousin, Phebe E. Losee, who was also his sister-in-law. Daniel's wife, Sarah, had died in January 1880, and I suspect Phebe, who was Sarah's sister and the executrix of her estate, was helping out.

Daniel W. Losee is a great example for why I love researching collateral relatives and not just my direct line ancestors. Daniel's will, which I will share in another blog post, names his siblings, their spouses, and his nieces and nephews, even listing the married names of the women. Had I not been researching Daniel, I may not have found the evidence I needed to firmly establish the family groups. And the Losee family is confusing. Both Sarah's and Phebe's maiden names were Losee and they both married Losee men. Several family members also married into the Outhouse family. The Losee-Outhouse family lines crossed many times. But more about that in a later post...

Photographs of the Unknowns

Sometimes you never know where something as simple as a photograph will lead you. Among old photographs given to me by my father is the one pictured above. There are no markings on the back, which is solidly tannish-brown in color. The photo itself is actually a thin piece of paper adhered to a thick sturdy gray frame. I have no idea who these people are; there is no one still living in my family who knows who they are. The only clue may lie in the provenance of the photos. They belonged to my father's only sister, his half-sister, who was twenty-two years older than he was.

During birthdays and holidays, my aunts and uncles and cousins would often gather together to celebrate. These celebrations would often wind down with a slide presentation of family photos and even some of the old photographs would make a showing. I suspect the photographs of the unkowns may have been from Aunt Edna's family because everytime I asked about who they were, she would quickly respond that they were "old family friends" and change the subject.  For some reason, no one in our family was supposed to know that my Aunt Edna was only our half-aunt; it was very hush-hush. Even later when I learned my grandmother had been a young widow and was remarried to my grandfather, it didn't make sense why it was never talked about. Even my father learned that his sister was his half-sister accidentally. He was about 8 years old and snooping through his parents' things looking for something when he found his sister's birth certificate hidden away. He had noticed there was a different last name—Outhouse, not Pastoor— but he didn't think much about it, and it was never discussed. It wasn't until I was about twelve or thirteen and became interested in learning about family history that the family "secret" was revealed, but only to me. I don't recall thinking it was much of a bombshell. Aunt Edna was my favorite relative and learning she was only "half" related didn't change anything.

Well, I guess almost anything. That revelation opened up a door to learning about her family history. I learned that there had been extensive research done on the Outhouse family, and that her family—and mine, since we shared a relative on her mother's side—could be traced back to The Netherlands, into the 1600s. But the real bombshell was learning that my grandmother, Edna (Baisley) Pastoor,  was not only my Aunt Edna's mother, but that they were also third cousins! Aunt Edna's 2nd great-grandparents were James Outhouse and Esther "Hetty" Tompins through her father, Lester Outhouse. But Aunt Edna was also related to them through her mother whose 2nd great-grandparents were also James Outhouse and Hetty Tompkins.

Learning this, it doesn't take much imagining to think that these old photographs may have something to do with the Outhouse family and were probably taken around Peekskill, Westchester county, New York. So I'm posting them here just in case some long-lost cousins recognize them. Please, if you know any of these people, contact me or post a comment below! I'd love to finally put a name to the faces and learn more about their lives. If nothing else, these photos have taught me the importance of sharing our photos and passing along our family stories to the next generation. Otherwise, how long before our faces become the faces of the unknown?

Happy Mother's Day 1914-2014

The first Mother's Day was celebrated in 1908 when Ann Jarvis organized the celebration to honor her mother's death and the "sacrifices mothers made for their children." It didn't become an official U.S. holiday until 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson officially signed a proclamation declaring "the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day 'as a public expression of love and reverence for the mothers of our country.'"
In honor of Mother's Day, I decided to search my family tree for all the women who might have been alive to celebrate that first official Mother's Day. There were 10 mothers between the ages of 18 and 80 in my family tree who were alive in 1914, four of whom were grandmothers as well.
Only four of those 10 mothers were in my ancestral line, and only one of them was a grandmother. My great-great-grandmother, Emily (Outhouse) Lamb, would have been a 74-year-old widow. She had four children who survived to adulthood to give her 13 grandchildren. She likely would have celebrated Mother's Day with her only daughter, my great-grandmother, Nettie (Lamb) Baisley, who gave birth to 7 of those grandchildren and would have been pregnant with her eighth child at age 41.
My great-grandmother, Anna (Kolb) Passtoor, was a German immigrant and would have been a widow at 41-years old. It was probably a bittersweet holiday for her since only two of her four children survived childhood. It would have been the only Mother's Day she would have celebrated; Anna died seven months later.
My great-grandmother, Stanislawa (Makowska) Chrzanowski, a Polish immigrant, would have been 26 years old and six months pregnant with her third child on that first Mother's Day.

So, on this 100th anniversary of Mother's Day, I honor those women of my past for the sacrifices they made for their children.



_________________
History.com staff. "Mother's Day," online article, History.com, (http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/mothers-day : 10 May 2014), First Mother's Day.
President Woodrow Wilson's Mother's Day Proclamation of May 9, 1914 (Presidential Proclamation 1268)., 9 May 1914; General Records of the United States Goverment, 1778-1992, Record Group 11; [Online version, www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/?dod-date=509, National Archives and Records Administration, 10 May 2014.]
ArLynn Leiber Presser, "The Pre-forgotten Mother's Day," Arlynnpresser, 16 Apr 2012 (arlynnpresser.com/tag/mothers : accessed 10 May 2014).
Christopher Fox Graham, "May 11 Marks the 100th Anniversay of Mother's Day," Journalaz.com, 7 May 2014 (www.journalaz.co/Opinion/may-11-marks-the-100th-anniversary-of-mothers-day.html : accessed 10 May 2014).

Posted with Blogsy

Nettie (Lamb) Baisley [52 Ancestors in 52 Wks]

Nettie (Lamb) Baisley c. 1940

My great-grandmother, Jennette Lamb was born about 6 Oct 1873 in Montrose, Westchester, New York. She was the third child and only daughter of Jacob and Emily (Outhouse) Lamb. Along with her parents, two older brothers, Winfield and Alonzo, and a younger brother, Stewart, in 1880, she was living in Cortlandt, Westchester County, New York [1], where the Lamb family had deep roots.  Jennette’s great-grandfather, also named Jacob Lamb, was a veteran of the American Revolution.

Not much is known about the early years of Jennette Lamb. By 1900 “Nettie” was married to Jacob Baisley, a man almost 10 years older than she, the son of James and Caroline (Scoutin) Baisley, and four children were living with them [2]. Although I have been unable to locate any marriage record, they were apparently married around 1889-1891.  A child “Fannie” was enumerated with them in 1900 having a birth of July 1889; but no birth record for Fannie (or other name variation) has been located, neither has any death record for a person of that name been located. I did find a birth record for a son, Alonzo Van R. Baisley, born 3 Jun 1891 to them [3]. He was known by the nickname of Van Allen or “Vannie.” One theory is that this “Vannie” is the “Fannie” enumerated on the 1900 census, even though the sex of the child was incorrect. On that census, Nettie is the mother of 4 children all of whom are living, and all four are accounted for.

1. Fannie/Alonzo Van R.  “Vannie,” born 3 Jun 1891 in Oscawana, New York;

2. Edna, born 26 Dec 1892 in Crugers, New York [4];

3. Florence, born 21 May 1895 in Montrose, New York [5];

4. Franklin, born 25 May 1897 in Montrose, New York [6].

I cannot find the family on the 1905 New York state census, but in 1906, Jacob and Nettie Baisley are named on a Westchester County deed [7] for the distribution of the estate of Nettie’s father-in-law. Also in 1906, Nettie’s brother, Alonzo, married Jacob’s sister, Carrie Baisley, which may have caused some family tension considering that the deed is the last document where Jacob and Nettie are named as husband and wife. Sometime between 1906, where they are named on the deed, and 1909, when another son, Raymond, is born, Jacob and Nettie split up.

In Ossining, New York, on 27 Oct 1910, Nettie married James Baisley[8], the son of Jacob’s brother, George. On this marriage certificate, Nettie states this is her first marriage; yet she has four children from her previous marriage living with her and her new husband on the 1910 census[9], as well as two additional children:

5. Bessie, born about 1901 in New York;

6. Raymond, born 9 May 1909 in Peekskill, New York [10].

The census also states that Nettie was the mother of 7 children, 6 of whom were living. This again brings up the question of a missing child. Is this missing child the Fannie named on the 1900 census? (If so, where was Van Allen, who was born in 1891, and not enumerated with them?) Or was there a child born between the births of Bessie and Raymond who didn’t survive? According to family tradition, there is no “Fannie” and Bessie is the daughter of Jacob Baisley and Raymond was the son of James Baisley, but I have no documentation for any of them. It is clear that Raymond was born before Nettie and James were married so my next step would be to obtain both his birth certificate and Bessie’s to confirm their father.

Nettie’s second marriage must have strained family relations and caused a family scandal. At any rate, it seems this second marriage of Nettie’s caused a rift in the Baisley family that resulted in estrangement lasting even to present time. My father knew nothing of his grandfather, Jacob Baisley, and it appears that even Jacob’s own daughters never visited him or attended his funeral when he died in 1943.

James and Nettie Baisley raised three more children, all born in Peekskill over the next few years, where they lived through most of the 1930s:

7. James, Jr. born 28 Mar 1911;

8. Elsie, born 2 May 1913;

9. Dorothy, born 31 Dec 1917 [11].

Baisley Farmhouse c. 1940

By 1940, the family had moved to Wappinger’s Falls, Dutchess County, New York [12] and established a farm. My father remembers visiting this farm many times throughout his early years. He remembers helping buck bales of hay and seeing all the farm equipment and the acres of crops. The family had a truck with the name “Baisley & Sons Produce” printed on the side in which they trucked their farm goods into town. I have several family photos of the big white farmhouse where all the Baisley clan gathered. Nettie was known to be quite strict, very old fashioned and very religious. She loved being surrounded by all of her children. Not only did she raise 9 children by two husbands, she also helped in raising her son Raymond’s children and her daughter Dorothy’s children [13].

The year 1943 was a year of loss for Nettie. In February, her ex-husband, Jacob Baisley, died, and in October, her husband, James Baisley, died. Nettie outlived them both by 11 years. She died on her 81^st birthday, on 6 Oct 1954 in Cold Spring, Putnam, New York. She is buried next to her husband, James Baisley, in Hillside Cemetery, Cortlandt Manor, New York. [14]

---

[1] 1880 U.S. census, Westchester, New York, population schedule, Town of Cortlandt, enumeration district (ED) 92, p. 37 (penned), 179-A (stamped), dwelling 317, family 394, Jacob Lamb household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 945. 

[2] 1900 U.S. census, Westchester, New York, population schedule, Town of Cortlandt, enumeration district (ED) 57, sheet 39-B (penned), dwelling 638, family 790, Jacob Baisley household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2012); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 1,174. 

[3] Town of Cortlandt, New York, birth certificate no. 3178 (1891), Alonzo Van R. Baisley; Town of Cortlandt, Town Clerk's Office, Cortlandt Manor.

[4] Town of Cortlandt, New York, local birth certificate no. 3634, (1892), Edna Baisley; Town of Cortlandt, Town Clerk's Office, Cortlandt Manor.

[5] Town of Cortlandt, New York, , local birth certificate no. 4056 (1895), Florence Baisley; Town of Cortlandt, Town Clerk’s Office, Cortlandt Manor.

[6] Town of Cortlandt, New York, local birth certificate no. 4475 (1897), Franklin Baisley; Town of Cortlandt, Town Clerk’s Office, Cortlandt Manor.

[7] Westchester, New York, Deeds, 1768: 409, Charles W. Baisley and others to Harriet B. Foster, 12 June 1906 (recorded 15 Aug 1906); digital images, Westchester County Clerk, "pre-1967 Deeds," Westchester County Records Online (http://wro.westchesterclerk.com/landsearch.aspx : accessed 6 Jun 2012). 

[8] "New York, Marriages, 1686-1980," digital image, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 Apr 2012), marriage record no. 5472, James Baisley and Jeanette Lamb, 1910; citing New York Department of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, Albany. Microfilm of original records at the Municipal Archives of New York, New York City. 

[9] 1910 U.S. census, Westchester, New York, population schedule, Peekskill, enumeration district (ED) 10, sheet 18-A (penned), dwelling 284, family 383, James Baisley household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Apr 2012); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 1090. 

[10] Elsie Mattingly (Whittier, North Carolina) to Karin Coppernoll, letter, 27 Apr 1993; privately held by Coppernoll; Mrs. Mattingly is the daughter of James and Nettie Baisley. She spoke from personal knowledge about her immediate family.

[11] Mattingly, Elsie, letter to Coppernoll, 1993, Coppernoll Family Papers, Baisley file, information for children of Nettie (Lamb) Baisley, Mrs. Mattingly's mother. 

[12] 1940 U.S. census, Dutchess, New York, population schedule, Wappingers Township, Hughsonville, enumeration district (ED) 14-108, sheet 1-B (penned), household 30, Raymond Baisley household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 Aug 2012); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T627, roll 2,525. 

[13] Mattingly, Elsie, letter to Coppernoll, 1993, Coppernoll Family Papers, Baisley file, information for description of Nettie (Lamb) Baisley, Mrs. Mattingly's mother.

[14] Doris Smith (1033 Oregon Road; Peekskill, New York) to Karin Coppernoll, letter, 19 Apr 1993; privately held by Coppernoll, [STREET ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE]; Doris Smith is the secretary of Hillside Cemetery and wrote the names and dates of burial of the Baisley's interred there.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #1 Emily Outhouse Lamb

Emily Outhouse was born on 26 Aug 1840 in Croton Lake, Westchester County, New York, the first of nine children born to Jacob Outhouse and Elizabeth Losee. Not much is known about her early years. She was born 57 years after the American Revolution ended. Barely a generation had passed since the United States was born. The new country was at war in Florida with the Native American Nation of Seminoles and, when Emily was 6 years old, the Mexican-American War began.

When Emily was 21, she married a farmer named Jacob Lamb, probably at the Reformed Dutch Church of Cortlandtown. They were just starting out in their married life together when the Civil War began. Her husband doesn't appear to have fought in the war. There are some indications that he was sickly or had a physical ailment which may have prevented his joining. Over the next 15 years, Emily would give birth to four children, three sons and one daughter. The country was undergoing enormous changes in its social and economic structure. During this time, the transcontinental railroad was completed, Susan B. Anthony was leading women's sufferage, and Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone while Thomas Edison invented the phonograph.

Emily was widowed in 1901 and briefly lived with her youngest son, Stewart. By 1910, when she was almost 70, Emily Lamb, began a career as a housekeeper for an immigrant German family. The head of the household was a widower, and she continued to work for this family well into her late 80s. It was then she apparently became ill and moved in with her son, Stewart and his family, for the remainder of her life.

Emily was a strong woman used to the hard demanding work common to housewives during the late 19th century. She had grown up on a farm and then raised four children. She helped work the farm they rented and kept house during a time when housework was harsh physical labor. Then, when most people are retiring, she continued to work as a housekeeper, and was a member of the Ladies Aid Society, often hostessing their meetings. One of the stories I grew up hearing was how Emily lost all the fingers of her left hand. As the story goes, Emily was in the home of the family for whom she kept house. One of the sons was cleaning his gun. Emily continually cautioned him about "taking care" with the loaded weapon. One day, after she had warned the son, his gun misfired and struck her in the palm of her left hand. She lost all the fingers on that hand. This accident apparently didn't prevent her from continuing to work as a housekeeper.

Emily was 92 years old when she died on 22 Oct 1932. She was survived by all four of her children, and left a legacy in 23 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. Emily rests beside her husband in the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Montrose. She lived her entire life within a few miles of Montrose, New York.

Jacob Lamb (b. 6 Oct 1840; d. 8 Mar 1901) and Emily Ann Outhouse (b. 26 Aug 1840; d. 22 Oct 1932) had the following children:

1. Winfield S. Lamb – born abt. 1863 and died bet. 1932-1940; married Alida Boyce;

2. Alonzo Lamb – born 30 Jun 1870 and died 12 Feb. 1943; married Caroline Baisley;

3. Jeanette Lamb – born 6 Oct 1873 and died 6 Oct 1954; married 1st Jacob Baisley and 2nd James Baisley;

4. Stewart Lamb – born 5 Nov 1880 and died 23 Jan 1968; married Kathleen Terhune.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mattingly, Elsie. Letter. 27 Apr 1993 to Karin Coppernoll. Privately held by Coppernoll, Sultan, Washington.

New York. Peekskill. The Evening Star.

New York. Westchester. 1850 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : 2009.

New York. Westchester. 1860 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : 2009.

New York. Westchester. 1870 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : 2009.

New York. Westchester. 1880 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : 2010.

New York. Westchester. 1900 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : 2004.

New York. Westchester. 1905 New York state census, population schedule. Digital images. FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : n.d.

New York. Westchester. 1910 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : 2006.

New York. Westchester. 1915 New York state census, population schedule. Digital images. FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : n.d.

New York. Westchester. 1920 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : 2010.

New York. Westchester. 1925 New York state census, population schedule. Digital images. FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : n.d.

New York. Westchester. 1930 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : 2002.

New York. Westchester. 1940 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : 2013.

New York. Death Certificates. Town of Cortlandt, Town Clerk's Office, Cortlandt Manor.

"Find A Grave." Database and images. http://findagrave.com.

Wikipedia:The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Rabbit Trails

You know the story. You've got your research plan open, your research log ready, and your good intentions; you're ready to begin the internet hunt for the parents of your ancestor. You begin searching one database and then another. You find some information that leads you to a possible relative. You search another database for new information on that relative, hoping to find a link to your ancestor, and maybe you find another clue to a child. Pretty soon, you are doing research for a completely different ancestral line and you are no closer to the answer to your original question.
Sound familiar? This year, I've decided to stop chasing rabbit trails and become more focused and begin to consistently use research plans. Rather than collecting data on the descendents of the nieces, nephews, and in-laws of my ancestors, I've decided to limit research to my direct-line ancestors and their immediate family. I like to include siblings and their spouses, if only for additional clues to dates and locations. If I actually start using a research plan, it may help me to keep that focus. At the least, it will force me to pre-plan what records to search, where I might find them, and write down the results of my research. Janine Adams of Organize Your Family History had a great idea to focus researching one ancestral line each quarter of the year. I like that. It would keep me from switching ancestral lines in mid-quest if I knew I would be getting to that line later in the year.
While getting derailed is not helpful, researching collateral lines is. A few months ago, I was looking for the parents of Elizabeth (Losee) Outhouse, the mother of my great-great-grandmother, Emily (Outhouse) Lamb. I couldn't determine which Samuel Losee might be Elizabeth's father; however, a search of probate records led me to the file for who turned out to be her brother, Daniel, and gave me a gold mine of information. In the file was a transcription of a deposition by his niece, Sarah Outhouse, daughter of Elizabeth (Losee) Outhouse. In Daniel's senior years, he lived with his widowed brother-in-law, James Outhouse, and his niece, Sarah. Sarah nursed Daniel for several years until his death and had to file a lawsuit afterward in order to collect payment for her nursing services. The deposition makes interesting reading. Daniel's probate records also contained a detailed list of his heirs, including naming his sister, Elizabeth and her husband, James Outhouse, and all of their children, including who they married. From this one file, I was able to confirm not only the names of all of Daniel's siblings, I was also able to find the married names of all of his sisters, as well as the names of whom they married, whether or not they were deceased, where the families were living and the names of their children.
While I didn't answer my original research question of who were Elizabeth Losee's parents, I did flesh out a family group and gather information that will help me answer that. So I guess some rabbit trails may be worth following. I think I will limit them to the siblings of my direct ancestors for now; otherwise, I may get lost in a maze of endless rabbit trails and never reach my goal.

Posted with Blogsy

Edna Marie (Outhouse) Schwarz (1915-1992)

It’s Thanksgiving Day and I can’t help but think back to those family holiday dinners of the past. It isn’t the preparations, the decorations or even the turkey that I remember the most. I'm thinking about my Aunt Edna.

 I can hear her cheerful greeting, her laughter, and her asking me to get her a cup of tea; I remember the walks into town and feel her arms giving me a hug. She was ever-present in my childhood. When I was a baby, she lived upstairs; then later, she lived with our family for a few years until I was a young teen; then she got an apartment nearby. She was always there.

Holidays were special because of all the preparations for visiting relatives and the big dinners. Aunt Edna made the best coleslaw I’ve ever tasted. I would stand on a chair next to her at the kitchen sink and watch

Thanksgiving   c. 1977     Edna (front far right) at kid's table   

her chop the cabbage. I didn’t really help; I think I just wanted to be near her to listen to her talk. Our dining room table wasn’t large enough for everyone, so additions were made to make a big L-shaped table. All of us children sat together at the far end away from the adults. Aunt Edna always sat at the kids’ table with us. After dinner, she and I would help clear the tables and then we would wash all the dishes, chatting, sharing news, and telling stories. Even on New Year’s Eve, all the kids were at her apartment, playing games and listening to music, while the adults went to their parties. She taught me how to play pinochle, let me taste her blackberry brandy, and listened to my childish woes.

Aunt Edna always had gray hair for as long as I’ve known her. She was more like a grandma than an aunt—she had hard candies in her pockets, Melba toast in her cupboard, and talcum powder in her bathroom. She had a caregiver’s heart, and an infectious laugh. She rarely got angry, and when she did, it wasn’t for long. One time, my brother and I crawled up beside her in bed when she was sleeping. Aunt Edna snored very loudly. We found a downy feather from the pillow and tried to float it over her mouth, just like in the cartoons. When she inhaled it, we laughed hysterically, waking her up. She didn’t even get mad; she saw the humor in it and laughed right along with us.

Another time, we were getting ready to go somewhere, and I remember her franticly looking all over for her glasses only to discover they were on her head. We laughed about that for a long time. When my brother and I asked her to take our shortcut “over the river and through the woods” to her apartment complex, she hesitated, but only a little. She followed us on that crazy shortcut, brushing brambles aside, crossing over a log, and laughing all the way. We spent many hours going for walks to the store, to the library and around the neighborhood. Aunt Edna had never learned to drive; she never learned to ride a bicycle; and she never learned to swim. But she had a big heart and a great capacity for love.

My memories of her are mostly the memories of a child. Having moved away as a teen, I never really got to know her as an adult. It’s only when I look back, seeing her life through a genealogist’s eyes that I can appreciate what she’s been through. It’s then that I realize just what a remarkable person she was.

Edna Marie Outhouse was born in Peekskill, New York, on 27 January 1915, the only child of Lester [i]

Edna (Baisley) Outhouse with daughter, Edna Marie c. 1918

Outhouse and Edna Baisley. Woodrow Wilson was president of the United States and Congress had just rejected an amendment to give women the right to vote.

In September 1918, when she was almost 4 years old, the Spanish Influenza hit Peekskill. Between the months of September and November, there were over 3000 cases. The local newspapers reported over 30 deaths each week. [ii]  My Aunt Edna lost both her father and her uncle, Franklin Baisley, in the same week—both just young men in their early twenties.

A widow with a young daughter, Edna’s mother moved in with her in-laws, Ralph and Annie Outhouse.[iii] She lived with them until the early 1920s, when she met and married a young sailor, Albert Pastoor, with whom she made a home in Peekskill.[iv] In the years that followed, three more children, all sons, were born. The family managed to make a living during the depression. Edna, being the oldest and the only daughter, had many household chores and helped raise her young brothers. She told me of a time she killed a neighbor’s rooster because it attacked her every day as she walked to school. One day she got tired of being harassed by it and killed it with an ax. She got in trouble for killing the neighbor’s prize rooster and had to work to pay off its cost.

In 1949, Edna again lost a father, and in another six years, her mother was gone as well. By that time, Edna was married and pregnant with her only child. Five years later, she was a single mother trying to raise a daughter in Jersey City, New Jersey, the handsome US Marine she married having deserted them. She never remarried.

I never once thought about the hardships she had faced in her life. Maybe it was just because we never saw

Aunt Edna   c. 1978

that side of her. She was never bitter but always happy. She never had much money, but she was a generous person, especially with her time. She devoted her life to her family, to being a foster grandparent, and to volunteering for 15 years at a Home for Battered Women. She never knew a stranger and would talk to everyone.

She’s been gone 21 years now, and I miss her dearly. I think about her often and wish she could see her family now. She would love watching her grown grandchildren, nieces and nephews with their own children. I know if she were here this Thanksgiving, she’d be sitting with the kids, playing games, teaching them how to play cards, handing out hard candies from her pockets, and asking me to get her a cup of tea.

---

[i] The New York Times, "Jan. 12, 1915 - Congress Votes Against Women's Suffrage Amendment," The Learning Network, 12 Jan 2012 (http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/jan-12-1915-congress-votes-against-womens-suffrage-amendment/?_r=0 : accessed 23 Nov 2013).

[ii] "Influenza on the Wane," The Highland Democrat, 2 Nov 1918, p. 2, col. 4; digital images, Old Fulton NY Post Cards (http://www.fultonhistory.com : accessed 22 Nov 2013).

[iii] 1920 U.S. census, Westchester, New York, population schedule, Peekskill, enumeration district (ED) 18, sheet 6-B (penned), p. 220-B (stamped), dwelling 106, family 151, Edna Outhouse in Ralph Outhouse household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll 1,275.

[iv] "U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989," database and images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Apr 2013), entry for "Pasteur, Albert (Edna)"; citing Richmond's Peekskill New York Directory, 1927, p. 160; Ancestry.com image 86.