Extra, Extra Read All About It!

Last summer I attended for the first time the Genealogy Research Institute of Pittsburg (GRIP). It was a fun, inspiring, exhausting week that was filled with many new things to learn and new friends to make. One such friend was Dana Leeds. She came from Houston, TX and this was her first time as well. We both had signed up to take Intermediate Genealogy: Tools for Digging Deeper. Paula Stuart-Warren, Josh Taylor and Debra Mieszala were the presenters for the week. Needless to say, these three kept us entertained and busy all week long.

Despite our age differences, Dana and I became friends which just proves that genealogy has no age boundaries. Her enthusiasm and eagerness to learn was quite contagious. Her devotion and passion shows in her research and her blog, The Enthusiastic Genealogist (theenthusiasticgenealogist.blogspot.com). I have truly enjoyed following her blog. Dana is a strong believer of using newspapers as all genealogists should be. However, I feel that she has developed a true knack for finding that perfect article whether it’s about one of her relatives or just an interesting tidbit about the area where a relative may have lived.

She recently shared on her blog that one of her relatives, Michael Quigley had a chance meeting with Lappowingo and Tis-Cohan the deposed chiefs who had agreed to the infamous Walking Purchase of 1737. How cool is that! In another post, she finds this article in an 1890 paper about Potato Day. What the heck is Potato Day? It turns out it was a day sponsored by the school in Arkansas City, that’s pronounced R-Kansas by the way, in Kansas. The school children were encouraged to bring any extra vegetables to school. These veggies were then sold to the public. The proceeds were used to buy shoes for children in need. And we all thought that bake sales were a modern idea! These are just the most recent finds that she talks about on her blog. There are many more articles and tidbits that she has found that make her family very interesting.

Reading her blog and all the fun things she has found, has inspired me to hunt further and deeper into the newspapers for my family. Don’t get me wrong, I have used newspaper before, I’m just not as lucky as she has been. But I do have one article that has always puzzled me that I found on Fultonhistory.com. This is a website dedicated solely to newspapers from New York State. It is a real treasure for those of us with New York ancestors.

Reported in the Albany Journal on April 12, 1870 the article headline states:

COLLISION ON THE CENTRAL

Fireman Beheaded!-A Engineer and Brakeman Reported to be Fatality Injured-

A Warning to Railroad Men

 

That fireman was John Sauerborn, my 2x Great-Grandfather and he was only 24 years old. The article goes on to say that he left a wife and three children. Is that correct? Ok so at this point my ADHD kicks in and I stop writing and stop searching, AGAIN!

I remember that I have copies of the church record books from St Joseph’s Church, Schenectady, New York. There on page 317 it shows that John Sauerborn, son of William and Elizabeth married Helen Schmitt, daughter of John and Margaret Benz on 08 Jan 1867. Witnessesses were Franz Schaefer and Ana Deckelmaier. Plus John is in the death records for church as well on page 224. It states that he died on 11 Apr 1870 and was buried on 12 Apr 1870. The cause of death: Complications from an accident! Yeah! I guess having your head severed would be considered a complication. Years ago on Findagrave.com, I found John’s headstone. He is buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Schenectady, New York.

And then I had one of those wonderful AHAHA moments. I went back to my copies of the record books and there on page 317 I find Helen Sauerborn, daughter of John and Margaret Benz married James Zingsheim, son of John and Elisabeth Roehrig on 01 July 1972. It has also recorded that the bride 23 was a widow, and was born in Lachen Rheno-Bavaria. Another match! I now know that she remarried.

Remembering that New York was one of those states that did their own census every five years I went to Familysearch.org to search the 1875 census. BINGO! There in Albany, Ward 09, E.D. Western, image 21 of 53 is the family.

 

 James is Jacob and Helen is Ellen and Zingsheim has become Singseim. What is even more important is that Nicholas is 7 years old and his sister Elizabeth is 5 years old. The next sibling, Matthew is only 2+ years old. With James and Helen being married in 1872, James is NOT the father of Nicholas and Elizabeth; thus John Sauerborn is NOT the father of Matthew.

I then went back to fultonhistory.com to see what I could find for the name Singsheim or variation thereof. Again lady luck was with me for using the spelling of Singsine I found this obituary in the Geneva Daily Times, June 3, 1915 page 12:

Mrs. Helen Singsine

Mrs. Helen Singsine, widow of Jacob Singsine died at her home 415 Lake Street, this morning at 2 o’clock, after an illness of two years of diabetes. She has been a resident of this city for the past thirty years. Mrs. Singsine leaves three daughters Mrs. Elizabeth Brophy and Mrs. Henry Beatty of Geneva and Mrs. Fred Baroth of Williamsport, Pa; five sons Nicholas SAUERBORN, Matthew and Frank Singsine of Geneva; Jacob Singsine of Albany, John Singsine of Troy, two brothers Matthew and Jacob Smith of Schenectady and nine grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Saturday morning at 9 o’clock from her late home and 9:30 from St. Frances De Sales church. Interment will be at Glenwood cemetery.

Wow what a find! This simple obituary verifies that Nicholas was the son of John Sauerborn. But it also gives me the married name for Elizabeth. Was she her name changed like it was for the baby Annie Laurie in the movie A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? Remember Officer McShane, when he proposes to Francie’s mother, he asks to change the baby’s name to his since she will never know her father? Did Elizabeth’s name get changed from Sauerborn to Singsine?

So much to do, so much to research, so much to uncover! Thanks Dana for reminding me that as frustrating as it may be newspapers are a genealogist’s friend.