Heinrich Kempen & Annie Dertinger: The great-great grandparents (Fanning side)

My great-great grandfather Heinrich "Henry" Kempen was born in Germany on July 25, 1869. He was the third child of Gerdes & Vendalina and immigrated with the family to the US on December 5, 1882 at the age of 13 years old on the ship Neckar, which set sail from Bremen.

He first appears in written records on the naturalization card I located online that states he became a citizen of the US on October 20, 1892 as granted by the Common Please Court of NY County.  I have also found another mention on a passenger manifest for a Heinrich Kempen in 1895 arriving in NY which lists him as a laborer. Possible that Heinrich returned to Germany for a bit.

On April 19, 1896 Henry married my great great grandmother Anne Dertinger (1876-?) in Manhattan. They both appear in the 1900 census with the rest of the Kempen family at 1669 Third Ave, NYC. Like I mentioned in a previous blog post, the 1890 census was lost to fire in Washington DC. Henry is listed as a conductor for the NYC surface railway and Henry & Annie already had their first of four children, Henry, on May 6, 1897. The next year they had a daughter Helen (1898-?), then in 1898 Catherine (1899-?) and finally Edna (1906-1993).

Annie Dertinger was born in 1876 to Leo Dertinger (1844-1880) and Catherine "Kate" Lyons (1843-?). Kate, and her sisters Gussie (1871-?) and Mary Catherine (1881-?), were born in Ireland to Patrick & Catherine Lyons. I have been unable to locate any reliable info on them. Actually, the census info is conflicting on Kate's birthday, as well. One says 1841 & another says 1843. Immigration dates conflict also, with 1855 & 1862. By 1880, Kate was a widow. According to the 1880 mortality schedule, Leo, whose occupation was noted as a "driver", drowned at the "foot of Jay St".

 

Mortality Schedule listing Leo Dertinger

If my research is correct... and I have been in contact with a few German genealogists who believe I am, Leo Dertinger was born in Reicholzheim, Germany, to Antan Georg Dertinger (1812-1877) & Elisabeth Maria Muhlig (1803-1848). Antan's family has been tracked back by other genealogists all the way to 1613 (Worlfgang Amend) and Elisabeth's to the late 1600's (Hans Adam Muhlig). Our lineage includes family names such as Kern, Brandenstein, Schind, Spaier, Hafner, Kuhn, Matzer, Winker, Wurz, and Neidermaier. The families are just about all from Reicholzheim and one researcher mentioned that Tobias Amend (1642-1719), my 10X-great grandfather, was a mayor and/or bishop.

 

Reicholzheim, Wertheim, Germany

Getting back to Henry & Annie Kempen, the 1910 census has them still at 1669 Third Ave. Also, at this building were Henry's brother Folkert & his family and Annie's mother, Catherine Lyons Dertinger, who lived with Annie's sister Mary Catherine (1881-?) and her husband, Charles Gaukel (1875-1942). Henry's occupation is listed as an "oiler" at a brewery.

The January 1920 census shows the family moved next door to 1667 Third Ave and lists Henry's occupation still at the brewery. Anne was working as a "janitoress". And we discover that by the 1930 census most of the family had moved to 28-17 23 Street in Astoria, Queens. Henry's occupation had changed, as well, to hotel engineer. We will have to wait for the 1940 census to be released to see who survived into the next decade. I would imagine that there is a family cemetery plot or at least, most of the Kempens were buried at the same cemetery. If anyone knows where please let me know. I would love to visit & document the dates & locations.

Annie's sister, Mary Catherine, who seems to have gone by Catherine, was married to Charles Gaukel and they had  2 children. Charles & Catherine were married on December 4, 1898 in Manhattan. According to the 1905-1920 censuses, they resided at various building on the 1300 block of Fifth Ave (near 112 St) which is now the Taft Public Housing Complex. Charles was a butcher by trade. By 1930 they had moved to 1669 Grand Ave, Bronx and Charles died September 20, 1942. His funeral was at St Nicholas Tolentine church.

The only thing I found about their daughter, Helen b. 1903 (my first cousin three times removed), was that in 1930 she was a secretary at a hosiery shop in the Bronx. She most likely married & without her new name I hit a dead end. Their son, Charles L. (1905-1985) was a mechanic at a radio shop in 1930 and later married Cecelia M. Redmond (1905-1986). At some point they moved to Florence, Kentucky, where they both died within a year of each other.

As I noted above, Henry and Annie had four children and I will discuss their lives in the next Kempen post.

The Fincks continued...

Alderman Frederick Finck & his wife, Marie Antoinette, had seven children. The middle child was Emily (1864-1924). I have found Emily listed in the 1880 census residing with her family at 196 Eldridge Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. On November 16, 1887 she married Richard William Elliott (1858-?). This branch of the family has been one of the most interesting to research. There is a lot of history here and some confusion, so pay attention! *wink wink*

Richard Elliott comes from a well-to-do family from Detroit, Michigan. There is a cemetery there that is full of their family. Richard's father, Robert. T. Elliott (1795 -1864), came to Detroit as one of the area's first formally educated architects. He was a Major in the US Army (Michigan 16th Infantry Regiment) & a Civil War hero who died in battle in 1864 at Topoptomy Creek, VA. Robert had a brother, William, who was a US Army Captain who died at the Battle of Gettysburg. Another of Robert's brothers, Walter Hackett Elliott (1842-1928), also served during the Civil War with the Fifth Ohio Voluteers. He was a promising attorney in Cincinatti when he followed a calling into the priesthood.  He became a well known Paulist missionary and was a faculty member of Catholic University in Washington DC.
(http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mcnamarasblog/2011/05/father-walter-elliott-c-s-p-1842-1928-union-army-veteran.html)

If I have this all correct.... Robert Elliott also had a daughter, Elizabeth Ann (1828-1916), Richard's older sister by many years. She married into another prominent Detroit family when she married James Edwin Eagle. The Eagle's have a long family history dating back into pre-Revolutionary War time. James & Elizabeth had a daughter, Margaret Alice (1864-1948). That name might sound familiar since she was the wife of Henry Ulrich Finck (married 5 years after Emily & Richard's wedding), who I wrote about in the previous Finck family post. Can we assume that they met at the wedding?

Emily and Richard's wedding was noted in several society pages of the day. It took place at St Augustine's Chapel at East Houston St & 2 Avenue and was officiated by Rev. Arthur Kimber. Best man was Harry Eagle and George & Henry Finck were ushers. Reception was held at the Finck residence on Eldridge St.

Richard was a very successful real estate broker. He & Emily resided on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, including West End Ave, until Emily died. They had 2 daughters, Marie Antoinette (1889-1984) and Emily Maude (1893- ?). Marie, high society debutante, married William Greville Birkett (1880-1963) of Derbyshire, England in 1933 at 43 years old. Marie was a graduate of the Convent of the Sacred Heart & Institute of Musical Art. The family owned an estate called Gray Rocks in Clinton, CT., where she apparently met William, who is listed as a "motor engineer" on his WW1 registration card. He died in Clinton, CT in 1963. She passed away in 1984 in Huntington Station, NY. Possibly living with her niece.

Emily Maude is also a high society girl listed in several newspapers when she has a "surprise marriage" to Joseph Bradford Carr (1893-1915) of Troy, NY, in December 1913. Carr also comes from a prominent family. His grandfather, Joseph Bradford Carr (1828-1895), was a Major General in the US Army & served during the Civil War. He later became the Secretary of State of NY. Married at the Methodist Episcopal Church in North Troy, they lived in upstate NY. They later had a reception at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan. In July 1914, their daughter Natalie Elliott Carr (1914-1999) was born. Unfortunately, the next year Joseph died at the young age of 22, two months before Natalie's first birthday.

Joseph Bradford Carr

Emily and Natalie moved back to NYC and lived with Emily's parents till at least 1930, as listed on the census at 64 East 86 St. In 1933, Natalie makes headlines in the national news as a student at Vassar College. She vanished from the school for a week until she notified her family that she had entered a convent in Canada. She stayed at the convent for about a year before returning to Vassar, where she graduated. In 1936, she married Walter Burke Coll (1906-1981) but was divorced a few years later. Walter died in 1981 in Clinton, Ct. (Remember Gray Rocks?) Natalie remarried to Theodore Roosevelt Hoisington (1912-1997) of Rye, NY.

I am still researching this fascinating branch and making new family connections, but this is what I have discovered and believe to be true so far... Natalie & Walter Coll had four children: Joseph, Richard, I. Ashely, and Marjorie. Richard was a doctor who passed away in 2003 who was married to Joan Hannigan Coll Ph. D.,  a professor at Seton Hall University. Ashley is a talented artist & illustrator whose work can be seen here: http://www.ashleycoll.com . And Marjorie was married to orthopedic surgeon Michael Prepon, who passed away in 1993 at 49 years old. Marjorie & Michael had 4 children. You may have seen my third cousin Laura Prepon on television as Donna on "That 70's Show" and the modern day hit "Orange is the New Black". Who knew?

 

Laura Prepon

Natalie & Theodore also had a son, Samuel Hoisington, who is also an orthopedic surgeon practicing in Hawthorne, NY... still waiting to hear from him!

Kempen Kids Part 2 (Fanning side)

The second oldest son of Gerdes Kempen & Vedeline Viemeyer is Bernhard Herman Kempen, born December 4, 1866 in Germany. He traveled with his family and arrived on December 5, 1882 in NYC. In 1891, he married Mary Fredericka Rittel (1872-1947) and they resided at 231 East 89 St until they moved to Flatbush, Brooklyn before 1900. Bernhard was a butcher by trade and he and the family lived at 1437 Flatbush Avenue at Farrugut Rd from the late 1800's until he died on December 28, 1915.

Bernhard & Mary had three children:

• Pauline Louise Kempen (1891-1968)
• Alma Kempen (1896-1925)
• Bernhard Herman Kempen Jr. (1898-1981)

Daughter Pauline married William Frederick Seifert (1880 - 1944) on October 30, 1912. William was born in Erbach, Germany & was naturalized as a citizen in 1904. He was a grocer at 812 Grand Ave. in Brooklyn at the time but later is listed as a buyer at a supply company on Flatbush Avenue by 1918, according to his WW1 draft registration card. Pauline was a telephone operator. The 1920 census shows them living at 731 East 26 St, Brooklyn (around the corner from the previous address) and then residing at 2814 Newkirk Ave by 1944 when he had to register for the WW2 draft. Pauline's mother apparently resided with them, too. Pauline & William had a daughter Marie A. Seifert (1915-?)

Daughter Alma is listed in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 census as living with her mother. I have found a death record for her stating she died at 28 years of age. She was not listed in the 1920 census as being employed, so I wonder if she was ill for an extended period of time. She died July 28, 1925.

Son Bernhard Jr. is listed in the 1920 census as a clerk at an insurance agency. On June 2, 1929, he married Florence M. Schenk (1901-2002) in the Bronx. I cannot locate a 1930 census for either of them though, so I do not know if they had any children. In the spring, the 1940 census will be released & may shed more light on their situation. However, Bernhard & Florence did relocate to the Bronx and if my research is correct Florence died at 101 years old & lived at 2181 Starling Ave, Bronx, NY.

Next on the children's list of Kempen kids is Heinrich "Henry" Kempen & I will save our branch of the tree for the next Fanning side post.

The next child that was listed on the ship's manifest coming from Germany was Felix (b.1972-?). Unfortunately, Felix is not listed on any other documents that I have found. So, I must presume he had died prior to 1900. (Most of the 1890 census was destroyed by a fire in Washington DC).

The fifth child of Gerdes & Vendaline is Gerhard George Kempen (1875-?). Listed as a laborer on the 1910 census & residing at 101 W. 104 st in Manhattan. Then residing with the rest of the Kempen clan at 1669 Third Ave by 1918 when he registered for the WW1 draft. Apparently, Gerhard had some problems though. He is listed on the 1920 & 1930 census as a "prisoner" and "patient" at the Central Islip State Mental Hospital. This hospital was opened in 1889 with only 49 male patients who were admitted in 1889 for "O&O" (Occupation and Oxygen) and "R&R" (Rest and Relaxation) at a working farm. Patients cleared the land, constructed buildings, made the furniture and mattresses, sewed their clothing, grew crops and raised dairy cattle, pigs and chickens. It is now an abandoned structure but did house thousands of patients at one point. I have not found a record of Gerhard's death.

Some of the other Fincks (Wright side)

In my last Wright family post I wrote of Frederick Finck and wife Marie Antoinette. I haven't had much success with Antoinette, as variations of her last name have come up. I first came up with Maujer, as listed on a child's marriage license. Another researcher believes it is Meagher with her parents Antan Meagher (1800-?) & Katherine Vongurus of Darmstadt, Germany.

They had seven children who grew up at the Eldridge St. flat and each has an interesting story to tell. Last month I wrote about Frederick Finck Jr. (1858-1889) and his apparent suicide by jumping from a cruise ship. The next sibling is George D. Finck (1860-1917). A search of the NY Times archives shows that he was a very successful lawyer and real estate investor. Many of his notable deals were in the $250k-$500k range, which was a great amount of money in the late 1800's. One of his larger purchases involved several lots on East 19th Street and Fourth Ave. (later renamed as Park Avenue South). George and his partners developed the street, including the building where several of his family members would reside for several years, including where my grandfather George Wright, was born, 138 E. 19 St. (check out the cream colored building here on google street view). He also bought several buildings on West 86 & 87 St and Riverside Drive and was instrumental in developing them to an upscale area.

On June 23, 1892, George married a British woman named Louisa Adrianna Cameron (1860-?). Born in London, she was the daughter of land owners in British Guiana (now the independent nation Guyana) and resided there with her first husband. She is mentioned in the social pages numerous times. They had a daughter Gloria Finck (1899-1982) and they lived in different upper West Side apartments with servants over the years. Gloria married an interior designer named William Chauncey Sloan (1887-?) on July 26, 1937 and they lived in Manhattan until her death. I have not found any children for them.

Next of the siblings is Henry Ulrich Finck (1862-1898). The 1880 census lists Henry as a designer and he relocated to Chicago at some point. He met Margaret Alice Eagle (1864-1948) and they were married in September 1892. They moved to Pasadena, CA, that year and had their first child Frederick Eagle Finck (1893-1970). In 1895 Elizabeth Eagle Finck (1895-?) was born and in 1897, their last child, Margaret Finck (1897-1993) was born. The next year Henry died out in California and the family moved back east, living for a while on Staten Island. They are also listed on a couple of censuses at 189 Claremont Ave in upper Manhattan.

Their son Frederick worked for Westinghouse Electric prior to getting married in 1922 to Clara Aloysia Jones in Oyster Bay, LI. By 1930, they were living in the Los Angeles area where he died in 1970. Clara, originally from Lithonia, GA, died in Montrose, CA. in 1993. They had two daughters Clara Lousie Finck (1924-2010) and Elizabeth E. Finck (1926). Clara married Raymond Ramsower and I think they had two children, Steven (1953) and Michelle (1958) who are still living in California.

Henry and Margaret's other children: Elizabeth was a clerk at a publishing company in 1920 and was listed as living with her mother at Claremont Ave in the 1930 census. She married James Morrow in 1963 at 68 years of age. Her sister, Margaret, was listed in the 1920 census as a clerk at an advertising company. She married James Winslow McGovern (1891-?) in 1922 and they moved to Jackson Heights. She died in NY in 1993 at 96 years old. I don't know if they ever had any children.

Next post continues with the Finck descendants....

The rest of the Kempen Clan part 1 (Fanning Side)

In the last post I discussed the Kempens and their Yorkville upbringing. The Kempens immigrated from Germany in 1882. My great x3 grandfather, Gerdes "George" Kempen (1840 - ?), appears to come to the U.S. prior to the rest of the family. The 1910 census states that the whole family arrived in 1882, but generally the husband had to be in the country for a couple of years prior to bringing the rest of the family over. I have found the passenger manifest for the Kempen family minus Gerdes. On December 5, 1882, aboard the ship Neckar, Vendelina Helena Niemeyer Kempen and seven children arrived on the shores of the United States, but not at Ellis Island like we have been led to believe but at Castle Garden located at the Battery in NYC. Castle Garden was part of Fort Clinton and was the first immigrant debarkation in NY, in use from 1855-1890 when the federal government took over immigration affairs at Ellis Island.

 Passenger list for the steamship Neckar on Dec. 5, 1882. Kempens are 6 lines down.

Gerdes and Vendalina Kempen had seven children that I know of:

• Folkert George Kempen (1864 - ?)
• Bernhard H. Kempen (1866 - 1915)
• Heinrich Kempen (1869 - ?)
• Felix Kempen (1872 - ?)
• Gerhard Kempen (1875 - ?)
• Rinsie (?) (1876 - ?)
• Charles "Carl" Kempen (1880 - ?)

The family lived at 231 East 89th St according to Trow's City Directory of 1888 & 1889. Vendalina died between this time and 1910 census. In 1910 Gerdes, 70 years old, is listed as living with his son, Bernhard, in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

The eldest son, Folkert, was married on January 29, 1893, to Emma Kuhne (1866 - ?) in Manhattan. Folkert was a cigar dealer and the family moved to Rockville Centre by 1920. Their children were Margret (1894 - 1975) who married Robert J. Wundsam (1895 - 1979) in 1919 in Manahattan. They lived in Woodside & Flushing. He died in Stormville, NY. They had a son Robert Jr. (1925 - 1944) apparently killed during WW 2. Although he died in 1944, his body was not returned to the U.S. until 1948 and is interred at the National Cemetery in Farmingdale.

Folkert's middle child was George F. Kempen (1896 - 1963). According to his WW 1 registration card, he was employed by the Harvard Co. as a mechanic and lived at the 1669 3rd Ave address. He served as an Army Corporal during 1918. 1920 census reports he worked for a dentist and lived on Driscoll Ave in Rockville Centre. On June 22, 1924, he married Mary E. Hilderbrand (1901 - 1953) in Manhattan and they moved to Woodside, Queens, where George worked for Ford Instrument Co. He died in 1963 and is buried at the National Cemetery in Farmingdale. I have not found any children for George and Mary.

The youngest child of Folkert and Emma is William Theodore Kempen (1900 - 1975). The 1920 census also shows him living at Driscoll Ave, Rockville Centre and he was married to Lucy "Lulu" (1905 - 1989) but I do not know when. William is listed in several local directories as a Nassau County Police Detective. They had two sons, William Jr. (1928 - 1998) and George Russell Kempen (1938 - 1976). I have not found too much about Willam, but in a previous post I did highlight the life and death of George, also a Nassau County Police Officer. He was killed in the line of duty while trying to apprehend a car thief. George was married to Bernice (1940) and they have a son George C. (1965).

I find much of this mildly ironic since so much of the Fanning family is connected to the areas where this family resided yet we never knew them. I have two uncles who married into the family who grew up in Woodside and my wife's family is from Astoria & Elmhurst. I lived in a neighboring town to the Kempens that lived in Rockville Centre. I will continue with the other Kempens in the next post.

The Finck Family (Wright Side)

To stay along the same vein as the previous Wright family post, I will share what I have learned of the Finck family. The Fincks are from my maternal grandfather's (George Godfrey Wright) branch of the tree. His mother was Marie Antionette Finck (1874-?). She was last recorded in the 1930 census living with her husband, Frederick Harriman Wright (1863-1933), and family at 344 West 72 St near Riverside Drive. She was born in NYC of parents Frederick Finck (1830-1899) and Marie Antionette Meujer or Meagher (1834-1915).

Frederick Finck was a businessman who immigrated around 1835 from Darmstadt, Germany according to a census report, however, his obituary says it was 1849. There are a few conflicting records from this era but one record states that they were married in 1850. They had seven children:

• Frederick Finck (1858-1889)
• George Finck (1860-1917)
• Henry Ulrich Finck (1862-1898)
• Emily Finck Elliott (1864-1924)
• Adam Finck (1867-1922)
• John Finck (1869-1951)
• Marie Antionette Finck Wright (1878-?)

The 1870 census reports that Frederick was a speculator, probably in livestock. I have found a few tax records with meat provisions listed as property. The family lived at 170 Eldridge St near Delancey St in the lower east side of Manhattan for many years. Around 1879 Frederick was elected as an alderman-at-large, modern day city councilman, affiliated with the Republican party. He then became the regular alderman for the 8th Election District of the 11th Ward, which had one of the the largest populations in NYC at that time.

Politics in NYC were wrought with corruption back then - think Tammany Hall - and the elder Finck was caught up in a bribery scandal involving the development of the Broadway Railroad. He, along with 17 other aldermen, were indicted and arrested in 1886. Luckily, Frederick had a son who was a fairly prominent attorney in NYC. George Finck (1860-1917), the eldest living son of Frederick, was able to get the indictment dismissed in 1890. Frederick passed away on March 2nd, 1899 and is buried at the Finck family plot in Woodlawn cemetery.

I will give the run down on the children in the next Wright post. Most seemed to have married into some prominent circles & have been interesting research.

The Kempens - 1669 Third Ave (Fanning Side)

I hope to alternate every week with entries from opposing sides of the family tree. This week I am back to the Fanning side and will continue along the Kempen branch.

Henry "Henny" Kempen (1897- 1969) was my great-great grandfather. He was married to Marion Scully Kempen (1898-1971). I haven't been able to find the date they were married but I reason that it was either late 1920 or early 1921. Marion is not listed with Henny on the 1920 census. My grandmother, Veronica Kempen (1921-1989), was born in November 1921 and they are all listed in the 1930 census residing at 1667 Third Ave, East 93 to 94 St.

Born May 6, 1897, the first reference I have found for Henny was in the 1900 census. He lived at the 1669 Third Ave address as the oldest child with his parents Heinrich "Henry" Kempen (1869 - ?) and Anne Dertinger Kempen (1876 - ?) along with sister Catherine Kempen (1899 - ?). Heinrich was employed as a conductor with the surface railroad (subways had not been completed yet).

Also living in this building was Heinrich's brother, Folkert (1864-?), and his family: wife, Emma Kuhne (1866-?), daughter Margaret Kempen (1894-1975), and son, George Kempen (1896-1963). Their son William hadn't been born yet, who was the father of George R. Kempen (1938-1976). George was the Nassau Co. Police officer who was killed. Also listed in this census was 15 year-old Minnie Kuhne (1885-?) who may have been the cousin or sister of Emma.

The family affair at 1669 3rd Ave continues with Anne Dertinger Kempen's sister, Mary Catherine Dertinger Gaukel (1881-?) residing there, too. She was married to Charles Gaukel (1875-1942). They did not have children at this point but they did live with Catherine "Kate" Lyons Dertinger (1843-?), mother of Annie & Mary Catherine. Annie & Mary Catherine were both born in New York City. Momma Kate was born in Ireland and immigrated to the US somewhere around 1860. The various census dates are conflicting. Charles Gaukel was a butcher and immigrated to the US in 1890 from Germany with his parents. I know it gets confusing... a view of the family tree while reading this will help you follow along.

Henry Kempen lived at this building for many years. The 1930 census shows he was living here with Marion & Veronica. They were paying $29.00 a month rent and was employed at a brewery as an electrician. The rest of the extended family had moved to Astoria, Queens by 1930.

I had heard some stories about Henny over the years, none of which were favorable. He had abandoned his wife and daughter at some point and moved out to Suffolk County. Social Security death records show he died January 20, 1969 in Hampton Bays and is buried at National Cemetery in Farmingdale, LI. I have not found any evidence that he ever remarried but family lore is that he spent his later years with a women named Consuela. He has always been rumored to have been a bit of a con artist.

I did not know that he served in the US Army as a "wagoneer" during the end of WW 1 in France. Dennis Fanning provided me with a photo of him when he was overseas. He is the one holding the wine bottle!

I have not been able to find much about Marion Scully's family. She was born August 29, 1898 in New Jersey to Michael H. Scully (1866-1908) and Annie O'Neill Scully (1873-?). Census reports show he was born in NJ and Annie immigrated from Northern Ireland 1893. They married 1897 in NJ I presume, since Marion was born in NJ. In 1900 they lived at 109 West 46 St, NYC and Michael was employed as a masseuse. After Michael died in 1908, Annie & Marion had moved to 340 East 49 St and was employed as a restaurant cook by 1910. She also had her nephew, John O'Neill, living with them at the time. The 1920 census lists Annie as a 'laundry ironer' and they lived at 223 East 53 St. I have not discovered when she died.

My first noteable discovery on the Wright side

When I first began researching the Wright family tree, I had a basic tree that my mother had received from Grandma Madeleine. It listed Marie Antoinette Finck (conflicting DOB either 1878 or 1874 depending which census & unknown death date) married to Frederick Harriman Wright (1863-1933). I found Marie, the youngest of seven, listed in the 1880 census and it listed her siblings names. They resided at 170 Eldridge Street between Delancy St. & Rivington St. in Manhattan's Lower East Side.

The NY Times has a good digital archive and I started popping names into the search engine. One of the first to get a result was my great-great-uncle Frederick Finck (1858-1889). The article I found tells of a sickly man who suffered from "consumption" (tuberculosis) and dyspepsia (impaired digestion). He was a trader on the produce exchange and was also employed by George Fowley & Co., which was a large provisions house based in Kansas City.

In mid-August, 1889, Frederick booked himself on the steamship Norman of the Windsor Line and was last seen August 19 while the ship was off the coast of Atlantic City. It appears that the 31 year-old jumped to his death.

The article was not only important to me because it shed some light on my great-great uncle's life, but it also listed his father, Frederick Finck Sr. (1830-1899) and identified him as a NYC Alderman. I will get to that notable story in another post.

George Russell Kempen

I had sent out an email recently regarding the Kempen family and told of their arrival in 1882 on the ship Nekkar from Germany. As I listed some the descendants of Gerdes and Vendalina Kempen, I wrote of a William Kempen who was born in NY and subsequently moved to Delaware. He & his wife had 2 sons George and William who attended US Army Academy at West Point and the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, respectively. George was killed in action while serving in Korea. However, this family appears to be the wrong one that is related to us. Coincidentally, I have located another William Kempen (1900-1975) who had 2 sons, William and George, too. I have confirmed that this is the correct branch of the Kempen family.

William Theodore Kempen is the son of Folkert George Kempen (1864-?).  By 1920 Folkert and his wife, Emma Kuhne (1866-?), had moved to Rockville Centre, NY. Their son, William Theodore, is listed on the 1920 census residing with them. Folkert was a dealer of cigars. William became a Nassau County police officer and later is listed as a detective. William married Lucy "Lulu" (1905-1989) and they had sons William (1928-1998) and George Russell (1938-1976). Little did any of us know that George (my 2nd cousin twice removed) lived and died as a hero police officer. In 1960, he joined the Nassau County Police Department in his father's footsteps. He was also a member of the US Air Force and appears to have been a reservist through the 1960's.

On November 14, 1976, George was working not far from his home in North Merrick when a call for assistance came from a NYS Parkway Police Officer on the Southern State Parkway. The officer was wrestling with a suspect who had stolen a car when George arrived on the scene. While trying to restrain the suspect the officer's gun discharged striking George as he ran to his aid fatally wounding him. He was survived by his wife, Bernice (1940- ) and an eleven year old son, George (1965- ), who would be my third cousin.

 George R. Kempen

Officer Down Memorial Page - Kempen

Welcome to my family tree blog!

I have been working on my family tree for the past couple of years. What I thought would be a simple tree with mother & father listed and so forth has turned into quite an amazing journey through history with several discoveries. Rather than relay my discoveries through emails to family members, I have decided to share them here and you can read them at your leisure.

I began the research for a few different reasons. I had heard the stories that we, on my mother's side of the Wright family, were related to Commodore Isaac Hull (1773-1843), commander of the USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides. Originally, the story was that he was a great-great etc grandfather. However, quick research eliminated that rumor since the commodore did not have any children. I have not been able to make the connection to Isaac but I have found my 3rd great-grandfather is a Hull. John M. Hull (1810-?) to be precise. Born in New York and married to Sophia Kelley (1815-?). The 1850 census listed him as merchant who owned property valued at $8000. A decent sum in those days. The 1860 census narrows his business ventures down a bit and tells us he was an iron dealer to the railroads that were becoming the veins of this country as the industrial revolution took hold.


The second Wright family lore that I wanted to prove or disprove was a possible relation to William Averell Harriman, former governor of NYS, US Secretary of Commerce, and presidential hopeful in 1950's. The only connection I have found is that he shares his last name with the middle name of my maternal great-grandfather, Frederick Harriman Wright (1863-1933).


Lastly, I have always identified and enjoyed my Irish heritage being in the bagpipe band and the Emerald Society but knew little about where we came from. I have discovered names in my lineage such as Scully, Hurley, Kelley, Carroll, Hickey, and Duncan. Thanks to some research done by some other family members several years back, we know that my paternal great-grandfather, Joseph Patrick Fanning (1887-1948), was born in Dublin and traveled to New York at an early age with his parents. Irish records were not well maintained and I continue to search for more information for that side of the family.


Some of the things I have learned may not be news to you. There are factoids I have learned that are items some individuals already knew, while others had no idea. Like any other family, I suppose, we have heroes and scoundrels and I hope you enjoy the discoveries I have made as I relay them through my eyes and emotions.