This picture comes to us from the estate of Virginia Tierney Bishop, my Mom’s first cousin. She died in April of 2008 and left us quite a bit to investigate. This picture is a scan of the original that I found in a little protective picture frame, stashed away in her desk. A little note inside states that the picture and or frame was fixed of damage in 1996. It goes on to state that this picture is circa 1860 of a Tierney (or Beattie) ancestor.
Click to enlarge it.
Many people have been asking what I have been doing to obtain so much information about my family in such short of a time. I am sure that there are many strategies that could be employed, but here is mine.
I cannot stress this point enough. Regrettably, I waited just a bit too long to start this venture. Several family members who had a great grip of the family history in their heads, have recently passed away. I recommend using a camcorder to document a casual and informal conversation with your living relatives. Trust me, you will forget most of what the tell you because of information overload. And notes don’t work too well either. I often question what I wrote down as being an accurate representation of what was said.
I’ve been wanting to do this for some time, and now I have no excuse. With DNA testing you can find undiscovered genetic cousins who may know even more about your family roots. DNA can help you expand your Family Tree beyond the limits of historical records.
If you are a paid Ancestry.com Member, you’ll save 50% on testing now through September 30th, 2008. To learn more, click here.
I ordered two test kits. The first is the Advanced Paternal Lineage Test. The Paternal Lineage Test can help me connect with living relatives and possibly add them to my family tree. The second is the Maternal Lineage Test where I can learn about my mother’s ancient ancestors as they migrated across the world thousands of years ago. The maternal test can also help me disprove family links if they exist.You can learn more about the DNA testing process by going to:
To learn more about DNA testing:
The other day, when I visited Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn to check out the Tierney and Beattie grave sites, I discovered something VERY odd. First, our family does not seem to be into entering subsequent family members deaths onto tombstones. We seem to just add them to the graves. Only the first to die seem to get listed.
I found the same thing over at Green-Wood Cemetery. Only Henry and Anna Lewis are listed on the headstone there. BUT THERE ARE 8 OTHER LEWIS FAMILY MEMBERS BURIED THERE! Read the rest of this entry »
Below is the found Marriage License of William B Yerks & Myrtie Gant, brother of James L. Yerks I. This is the link to our new found relatives in New Jersey. Click on the image below to see a larger copy.
There are multiple records indicating several relatives of the Yerk’s family are buried here, at St. Georges Cemetery in Mount Kisco. The headstones are heavily worn, but still read with the name “Cutler”.
In 1761, a mission church, then called Saint George’s (now St. Mark’s), was established on a plot of ground across the street from the current Friendly’s Restaurant on East Main Street, just south of the Northern Westchester Hospital complex. (The area was then referred to as North Castle, explaining early references to “Saint Mark’s North Castle” as opposed to “Saint Mark’s Mount Kisco.”) Read the rest of this entry »
The Green-Wood Cemetery has long been considered one of the world’s most beautiful cemeteries and is the final resting place of nearly 600,000 persons, including some of history’s most memorable figures. Since its establishment in 1838, The Green-Wood Cemetery has offered a dignified selection of burial options including an urn garden, columbarium, community and private family mausoleums, as well as traditional, in-ground burials, all in a historic, non-sectarian setting. With 478 acres filled with thousands of trees, flowering shrubs and four lakes, The Green-Wood Cemetery offers eternal tranquility among timeless beauty.
After my first experience at the New York City Records Archives, I took a short trip on the subway to Brooklyn where the Green-Wood Cemetery is.
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Well, I made my first trip to the New York City Archives today, located in downtown Manhattan, next to City Hall. I took the train in from Springdale, CT to Grand Central and then jump the 4,5,6 subway from Grand Central to Centre Street (City Hall area). It was quick and easy trip without any trouble. In fact, I got there 20 minutes early.
Once I got in, I quickly found myself lost in “oodles” of microfilm data. It took me about 45 minutes to learn the process, but once I got going, it was really quite easy to find the data I was looking for.
Since the place closes at 1 PM on Fridays, I restricted my search to just a few records I knew I could find. The first one, which I was excited about, was the father of James Yerks I. Since nobody living knew anything beyond James, the first, it would be a real eye opener. On an earlier expedition to the Westchester County Archives, we found his wife’s Will and Probate papers; which allowed us to pull her Death Certificate from the Village of Port Chester; which led us to her burial place in Rye, New York. She, Annie Cutler Yerks, was buried with her husband George Oakley Yerks, but there was no birth or death year information on the headstone. The Cemetery office staff pulled his info card and advised me that he had died in Brooklyn! I would never have guessed that. So armed with the death year and location, I looked him up in the Index of Brooklyn Deaths in the year 1939. He was the only Yerks listed there. So I wrote down the certificate number and looked up the actual Death Certificate in another roll of microfilm. Once I had it, I submitted a slip summarizing the info found and the microfilm to the office staff, who printed the Death Certificate for me. Lo and behold, George Yerks’ father was…. George Yerks. He was married to an Elsie Donlap.
So the records I obtained on this trip include:
Welcome to the Hayes Family website. This site is dedicated to the relatives who made it possible for us to be here today. Documenting our EXTENDED family, we will post stories of the past, stories of the living, genealogy findings and much more. All are welcome and we encourage those who may know someone in our family to write us!
Enjoy!
Phil Hayes
Monroe, CT