Death Certificate for Theresa Williamson

The second item I received today was the death certificate for my natural great-grandmother, Theresa (Hambsch) Williamson. Theresa died on 12 February 1925 from complications after the birth of my grandmother. This certificate does not do more than document what I already knew, other than providing the cemetery where Theresa is buried (Holy Trinity Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY). After Theresa died, her older two daughters went to live at the St. Joseph's home for girls in Queens, NY, while my Grandmother was taken in by her Godparents.

Ida Siggins Birth Certificate

Ida Siggins is my grandfather's Aunt. Birth certificate provided confirmation of info I already knew, but interesting anyway.

Marie Antoinette Wrigley's Death Certificate

Marie Antoinette Wrigley was my grandmother's natural great-aunt. It turns out that my grandmother's natural father was living with her and her family when they were growing up (I've not yet discovered what happen to the parents -- my grandmother's natural grandparents). It's also a good lesson in why we should look at collateral lines: it is the only place so far that I have found the father's first name (John Williamson).


Note that Marie had a rough fight with cancer. Her death certificate states that "the cause of her death was...cancer, of some 5 years duration, first of the breast which was amputated by Dr. Mallard Wood. It broke out again on the left side of the neck."

Maria Williamson's Death Certificate

As part of my big breakthrough a few weeks ago, I've been able to trace my grandmother's natural ancestors back to the 1870 US census. One of the finds is my grandmother's natural great grandmother, Maria Goodale Williamson. I was able to locate her death certificate (below). This is another great find because I was stuck at the 1870 census for this line, but had noticed a similar family living in Sag Harbor, New York. According to this death certificate, that is where she was born, so that is probably the same family. Other new info: her maiden name is Goodale, her father's name is David Goodale and her mother's name is Elizabeth Paine and she was buried in Sag Harbor. Notice that Maria was born about 1820 and that both her parents are listed as being born in Sag Harbor. If this is true (and death certificates are known to have errors in this type of info), it means that this particular line of the family has been in the U.S. from at least the very early 1800s!

Oh yea, Maria died from Old Age (that's what the certificate says).

Death Certificate for Annie Siggins

The last of the LDS death certificates of interest is the one for Annie Siggins. Annie would be my grandfather's mother's sister and, in fact, died about 1 year before my grandfather's mother was born. Annie died in July 1898 from Cholera when she was about 1 year, 4 months old. If I hadn't requested this death certificate, it is likely I would've never known she existed.

John Siggins Death Certificate

Another Death Certificate that arrived from the LDS FHL yesterday is one for John Siggins, who died in 1931 at about 55 years old. I believe, but am not 100% sure, that John is the son of John C. Siggins and his first wife and is therefore my half-great-great-uncle (my paternal grandfather's uncle). I believe this is true primarily because I already knew he existed from census records, he is buried in the same cemetery as John C. Siggins and was buried by the same undertaker as John C. Siggins. If he is, in fact, the correct John Siggins, his mother, Mary Cavanagh, is John C. Siggins first wife, who's name I did not know.

William Aloysius Siggins Death Certificate

Another death certificate received today (see this post for background) was for William Aloysius Siggins. Although the film is damaged and causes a streak down the middle of the image, there is no doubt who he is. William is my Great-Great Uncle, my paternal grandfather's Uncle. He died in August 1911 when he was 21 years old from Tuberculosis. Even sadder: the 1910 U.S. Census lists him as being single while this death certificate indicates he is married. If both are correct, he died within about a year of getting married. Unfortunately, his wife's name is not given.

Ludwig Hampsch Death Certificate

I am trying to flesh out my Dad's ancestors from Brooklyn. Luckily, there are a lot of great resources. The Italian Genealogical Group has many of Brooklyn's Marriage and Death records indexed online and the Church of Latter Day Saints' Family History Library has the actual certificates on microfilm, which they'll send to you, eight at a time, for a nominal fee. By searching for all the surnames of interest in the various indices, I have a list of records I'd like to review. I hope that, in addition to identifying everyone in the families, they'll give me some other clues to help extend my understanding of my Family's History. The first batch came yesterday. Of those eight, four are of interest.

The first is Ludwig Hampsch, who died of Cholera in 1905 when he was 9 months old. Ludwig is my great-great Uncle (my paternal grandmother's uncle).

Angelina Bongiovi's Death Certificate

Today's mail brought a death certificate I ordered at the end of January, the death certificate for my Great-Great Grandmother Angelina (Gaurdino) Bongiovi, who died in 1950. It does extend my known family history one generation by giving the names of her parents: Albert Gaudino and Frances Crafanzano. I also now knowwhere she is buried: Calvary Cemetery in Queens. Angelina is one of my "at the shore" ancestors -- she immigrated to the United States with her husband Guiseppe Bongiovi in 1890.

John C. Siggins' Death Certificate

Well, I ordered all these death certificates (and a marriage certificate) in a group, so they are arriving in a little flurry from the NYC archives. Today, I received John C. Siggins' Death Certificate. John C. Siggins is Sam and Gabby's great-great-great Grandfather. Once again, a lot of new information that I didn't know:

• He died on 6 September 1913 at St. Mary's Hospital in Brooklyn, NY.


• He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery on 9 September 1913. (By the way, I googled Holy Cross Cemetery -- seems to be the main Catholic cemetery in Brooklyn. According to the description at internment.com, there are over 725,000 people buried there.)


• Most importantly, it lists his mother and father: John Siggins and Mary Code. These are Sam and Gabby's 4Great Grandparents and, until today, I did not know their names. (Because this is a death certificate, this is not rock solid info, but it is enough to go on to start researching the next generation.)

John C. Siggins Death Certificate (2 Pages):

Entrance to Holy Cross Cemetery:

Martin Hambsch Death Certificate

In the same envelope as Walburga Hambsch's death certificate was Martin Hambsch's death certificate. He was Walburga's husband and my natural great-great Grandfather. He died on 16 July 1918 in Brooklyn. Significant new items from his death certificate include:

• His death date (16 July 1918) and likely birthdate (2 Oct 1865 in Germany)


• Where he is buried (Holy Trinity Cemetery -- See the Walburga Hambsch entry for more on it)


• His father's name (Jenophin Hambsch)

Again, another disappointment: instead of his mother's name, his wife's maiden name (Walburga Algeier or Allgaier) is listed. It is common for mistakes on a death certificate because the person who is giving the information is usually distraught. This may be one of those cases (or a big coincidence).

Walburga (Allgaier) Hambsch Death Certificate

Another item from the New York City Archives showed up today: Walburga Hambsch's death certificate (she died on 2 October 1924). Walburga is my grandmother's natural maternal grandmother. It's a great source that provided me some significant new data on our family:

1. Walburga's death date (2 Oct 1924) and her likely birthdate (22 Feb 1866 in Germany).


2. Walburga's likely maiden name (Allgaier)


3. Walburga's likely father's name (John Allgaier, born in Germany)


4. Where Walburga is buried (Holy Trinity Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY -- don't rush to visit, supposedly this is a very bad part of Brooklyn these days).

There is one big disappointment: the word "Unknown" is written where Walburga's mother's name would be listed.

Walburga (Allgaier) Hambsch Death Certificate (2 October 1924)

Entrance to Most Holy Trinity Cemetery circa 1921

Albert Bongiovi and Loretta Siggins Marriage Records

Today's mail brought Albert Bongiovi and Loretta Siggins' marriage records. Albert and Loretta are my great-grandparents (or Gabby and Sam's great-great-grandparents). I had a certificate transcribed by the church they were married in, but the transcription was done in 1964, 42 years after the marriage, which cannot be considered a reliable source for documenting the marriage. Today, New York City sent me three items:

1. An affidavit, filled out and signed by Albert and Loretta, which was required for them to obtain a marriage license. They signed this on 2 June 1922. It contains great info such as their birthplaces, occupations, residences, and parents name (including their mother's maiden names). Again, although almost none of this is new information, almost all of it can be considered well documented in my research files.








2. Their Marriage License, issued on 27 June 1922. This mostly repeats what they filled out on the affidavit.






3. Their Marriage Certificate, filed by the Priest and dated 12 July 1922, their marriage date. Not only does this document their marriage, but it gives the marriage witnesses (probably the best man and maid of honor) and the priest's name.

(Don't forget to click on the images to see the full size record).