Sunday's Obituary - Mary Swank

This article was on the front page of The Monessen Daily Independent on September 20, 1927.[1]  Mary Swank was my second great grandmother and had died three days earlier while visiting her daughter in Cape May, NJ. She was born Marian Burd, but also went by "Mary" and "Mary Ann". She married Charles Schwenk in 1871 and they had four children before he died in 1893. The surname Schwenk evolved over time to Schwank and finally to Swank. Mary has been a difficult person to research at times due to the variations of both her first and last names! As of now, I still cannot find a death record for her in either New Jersey or Pennsylvania.

Mary was visiting her daughter Margaret Speedy, who was living in Cape May at the time. Margaret's husband, William Arthur Speedy, had died at sea just over a year earlier (you can read about him here). I can't imagine how difficult it was for Margaret to be alone after losing both her husband and her mother in Cape May, while the rest of her family was in Pittsburgh and Monessen. Margaret eventually moved back to Monessen and lived with her sister Maine Cubbage and her family.

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SOURCE:

[1] "Mother Dead," The Monessen Daily Independent (Monessen, PA), 20 September 1927, p. 1, col. 1; digital images Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 August 2013).  

 

Maritime Monday - Captain Speedy Lost at Sea

William Arthur Speedy was the husband of my great grand aunt, Margaret Schwenk Speedy. William was born on 24 January 1874 in Pittsburgh [1] and married Maggie Schwenk on 12 April 1899 in Braddock, PA.[2] They lived in Swissvale, PA for most of the next 15 years where William worked as a laborer (millworker and wireman) at Carrie Furnace.

Between 1914 and 1921, William and Maggie traveled to and/or lived in St. Augustine and Daytona, Florida. The details on his time in Florida are fuzzy and still need further research. I found William and Maggie in a city directory in St. Augustine in 1914 [3], as well as a statement from her sister-in-law Della Groves Swank about them living in Florida. Della's divorce testimony states that her husband Charles was visiting his sister (Maggie) in St. Augustine, FL in 1914.[4] 

In September of 1918, William and Maggie were back in Swissvale. William's World War I Draft Registration Card states that they were living on Schley Avenue, at the same address as Maggie's brother George. Under "Description of Registrant" it states "left index entirely gone, also 1st & second joint of second finger left hand." I don't know how or when his hand was injured.[5] 

 

Neither William nor Maggie can be located in the 1920 Census in either Pennsylvania or Florida (or anywhere else). In July of 1920, Maggie is visiting in Braddock, PA when her niece Leah dies, and the obituary states that she is from St. Augustine, FL.[6]  I also have a photocopy of a picture from an unknown family member of William's boat "Marian C" in Daytona in 1921. Marian was the name of both Maggie's mother and niece.

Sometime around 1925, William and Maggie moved to Cape May, New Jersey. The Monessen Daily Independent mentions Marian Cubbage (Maggie's niece) visiting them in Cape May in July of 1925.[7]

According to newspaper reports in the Cape May Star and Wave, William Speedy, age 52, went out alone on Saturday morning, 7 August 1926 to fish and did not return that evening. He only had some lunch and water with him. It is believed that his boat "Merion" sank and he died when an electrical storm swept through the area. About 3 weeks later on August 28th, the Cape May Star and Wave reported that a piece of the wreckage, with "Merion" painted on it, was found by the Coast Guard.[8, 9] Click on either article to enlarge for reading.

My grandfather, William Arthur Cubbage, was named after his uncle, William Arthur Speedy. He was 13 years old when his uncle died. Maggie, also know as "Aunt Mag", moved in the with Cubbage family in Monessen, PA a few years after Captain Speedy's death.[10] As far as I know, his body was never found (there was no death certificate issued). There is a tombstone for William A. Speedy in Russell Cemetery in Braddock, PA.

The image of the Speedy's boat (above) was found in a photocopy from an unknown family photo album (my father believes it was from Marian or Babe Cubbage, both nieces of Maggie). This page also had a photo of Captain Speedy, some articles that appear to be from Pittsburgh newspapers, "Behold the Fisherman" poem, a handwritten poem "Dead at Sea," and another newspaper article about waiting for fishermen who were lost at sea. A family member must have complied these into the album and I wonder if the pieces were at one time Maggie's. I wish that we had the originals of these photos and articles!

 

 

I also wonder if Maggie or another family member wrote the poem "Dead at Sea." Below is a quote from the article in the center above, and sums up what it must have been like for his wife Maggie.

"Of all the agonies that rack the human heart, such waiting is the cruelest. The uncertainty of

hope deferred plunges the heart into a constancy of the bitterest grief. Better far to know the

worst than to hope on and on, without even the poignant consolation of knowledge of the

dear one's fate."

My family talks about Captain Speedy whenever we visit Cape May, especially when we stop at the Fishermen's Memorial. Family lore is that Captain Speedy and Maggie lived on Washington Street. I think it's time to plan another trip to this beautiful beach town and do some local research to see if I can find out more about them!

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SOURCES:

[1] "Pennsylvania, Births and Christenings, 1709-1950," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 05 Aug 2013), William Arthur Speady, 24 Jan 1874.

[2] "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 05 Aug 2013), William A. Speedy and Maggie A. Schwenk, 1899.

[3] "St Augustine, Florida, City Directory, 1914," Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 (https://ancestry.com : accessed 05 August 2013), William Arthur Speedy.

[4] Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas, Case No. 700 April Term 1916, Della E. Swank vs. Charles W. Swank, Transcript of Official Notes of Testimony, 17 May 1916, Department of Court Records, Pittsburgh.

[5] "United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 05 Aug 2013), William Arthur Speedy, 1917-1918.

[6] Undated clipping, ca. 1920, from unidentified newspaper; photocopy privately held [address for private use] NJ, 2011.

[7] "Out of the Files, Twenty Years Ago, Monday July 13, 1925," The Monessen Daily Independent (Monessen, PA), 13 July 1945, p. 7, col. 3; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 August 2013).  

[8] "Fisherman Still Missing," Cape May Star and Wave (Cape May, NJ), 14 August 1926, p.1; photocopy of clipping, privately held [address for private use] NJ, 2011.

[9] "Searching for Speedy's Body," Cape May Star and Wave (Cape May, NJ), 28 August 1926; photocopy of clipping, privately held [address for private use] NJ, 2011.

[10] 1930 U.S. census, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Monessen, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 65-98. sheet 5-A, p. 106 (stamped), dwelling 119, family 163, Charles A Cubbage; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 August 2013) citing National Archives publication T626; imaged from FHL microfilm 2341891.

 

Wordless Wednesday - Captain Speedy

William Arthur Speedy, circa 1920

On this date 87 years ago, Captain William Arthur Speedy was lost at sea off the coast of Cape May, NJ.  Check back on Monday for more about Speedy's life and tragic death.

A Genealogy Workshop Leads to a Find!

A few weeks ago I attended a genealogy workshop sponsored by the Monmouth County Genealogy Society titled, "Energize Your Research". My research needed some energizing and this workshop was great! The session included vital records, internet research, tools to handle brick walls, and the Genealogical Proof Standard.

So I came home energized, educated and motivated! The Pennsylvania State Archives was mentioned at the workshop and I though that I had checked it out before, but I wasn't sure for which relatives (and yes, one of the things I did learn was that I need to keep better track of which sources I have checked for each person!), so I went back for another look.

The archives has a wealth of resources, including indices for births (1906 only) and deaths (1906-1961). Since most years are listed alphabetically and a few years are listed using the Russell Index, I was able to look for a few long lost ancestors and easily find the State File Number and request a non-certified copy of the record. My big find was the death date on my great grand aunt, Margaret Swank Speedy!

I knew that "Aunt Mag" (as my Dad remembers her) was alive in the late 1940's because my father remembers visiting her when she lived with her niece Marian Cubbage in Bell Vernon, PA. So after a quick search of a couple of years, I found that she had died on July 3, 1953. I then went to Google News Archives and checked the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and found her death notice.

I have sent away for a copy of the death record and now know that she is buried at Braddock (Russell) Cemetery in Braddock, PA. There is no tombstone for her, but her husband has a stone. William Arthur Speedy died at sea, so maybe she was buried in his plot. Answers seem to lead to more questions! More to come on the Speedys!


   

Woodmen of the World

I am finally getting around to sorting through, scanning and posting all of the info we found on our research trip to Pittsburgh in November. I know, it's February! We came home and got right into the holiday seasons and it never happened. So here we go ...


Our first stop was at Braddock Cemetery (also known as Russell Cemetery). We were here four years ago, but returned because I had found a few others who were buried there. It was my son's first trip to Pittsburgh (and first genealogy trip!), so we stopped to see the Cubbage plots first. Next to them is the tombstone of William Arthur Speedy, the husband of my great grand aunt Margaret Schwenk/Swank.

On the top of his tombstone is the Woodmen of the World Memorial:

Woodmen of the World is a fraternal benefit organization that was founded in 1890 in Omaha, Nebraska. They primarily provided insurance to it's members, in addition to fraternal and social benefits. William Arthur Speedy's tombstone has some of the symbols of the organization that are often found on headstones - the tree stump and olive branches. Other symbols include an ax, a felled tree or a dove. In the early years, many distinctive Woodmen of the World tombstones were created in the shape of a tree stump. This was discontinued in the late 1920's due the cost.

So we know a little more about William Arthur Speedy. Watch for more posts about him!

Wedding Wednesday - Marriage Certificates

So in this wonderful file of genealogy goodies that I got from my father last week, there are photo copies of two marriage certificates. The first one is for the marriage of Charles Swank and Marian Burd, my great-great grandparents. They are listed as Charles Schwenk and Mary Ann Burd. There is no county or location specified, but is probably Allegheny County and I will check with the Orphan's Court records.



The other certificate is for the marriage of William Arthur Speedy and Margaret Swank, who is my great grand aunt and the daughter of Charles and Marian Swank whose record is above. They are listed as William A. Speedy and Maggie A. Schwenk. It was filed in the Orphan's Court in Allegheny County and lists their marriage in Braddock.



It is interesting that both father and daughter are recorded as "Schwenk", but most other records after this time are as "Swank". I will need to do more searching for Schwenk in the Pittsburgh area to see if I can find any connections.

Amanuensis Monday - A Sad Letter

An Amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. Amanuensis Monday is a daily blogging theme which encourages the family historian to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin – some we never met – others we see a time in their life before we knew them. Amanuensis Monday is a popular ongoing series created by John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch.

Below is a letter from Maine (Swank) Cubbage to her sister Margaret (Swank) Speedy about the illness and death of her son George. I don't know who has the original letter, but my mother transcribed it many years ago.

George Cubbage was about two years old and died on Christmas day. He was buried on December 26, 1921 in Braddock Cemetery. Maine and Charles's daughter Leah had died a year and a half earlier in 1920. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for them. The letter mentions Charles (Charlie), some of their children (Lester, Marian, Minni, Artie) who were between ages 7 and 17. The letter also mentions Art (Margaret's husband) and Bill, who was Maine and Margaret's cousin who had lived with Charles and Maine for most of his life.

Monessen Jan 1 1922
Dear Sister
It has been a long time since I wrote to you. and what a lot has happened since then.
Just two weeks ago today I wrote you a long letter and told you all about my trip to Swissvale. George and I went on Friday and stay till monday. and Uncle George got our George a nice pair of tan shoes for his birthday. and he wore them home and that was the last he wore them he called them his pitty shoes. When I was writing that letter he was playing around here as well as he ever was. and him and Lester and Marian and I sat here until after eleven o'clock that night and him and Lester were carrying on high. you know how he was just at the age when he would try any thing or say any thing he saw the rest do. and he always was bright for his age. even the Dr. said he was a wonderful boy. Well we went to bed. and all went to sleep and about one o'clock he wakened me crying to get in my bed and coughed then just like the croup. he dedn't sleep much untill morning about six he fell a sleep and slept until dinner time. I brought him down and he ate dinner with us we had soup and he was always fond of that and he ate some. but I saw what I thought was a very bad cold he was feverish and horse but didn't seem to be sick. I dressed him and he played around a little while and then ask me to by O baby him. and I took him and he went to sleep. and when he woke up I saw he was getting worse. I greased him with campherated oil. but when Charlie got up at four o'clock he said if I were you I call the Dr. and tell him how he is and may be he want have to come so I did. But as soon as I told him he had a high fever and a croupie cough he said why that sounds like diptheria and I will be right over. he came over. he came and looked at him and at his throat and said that is what it is. and he said call up my wife and tell her I won't be home for supper for an hour. he said put him to bed and I will be right back and he went but was only gone half hour and he came with the anti toxine and put it on both of his legs. and watched him for a while and then went but he said before he went he would be back in two hours and he would have to put a tube in his throat for it was closing up fast. he told us to be ready. he said he would have to have three to hold him and he said we would have to do it because we could not call any one else in. so we called Charlie home and we had everything ready when he came back. he looked at George and shook his head and said there is no use waiting. He is changing color now. So I held him in my arms and Charlie held his head and Marian his feet. and he got the tube in all right. and it was wonderful the change that came into his face. when I went out of the room he said if it had been two hours later he would of been dead. Well the next day he put more anti toxine in him and all the rest of them. he said it was the very worst kind of diptheria. it was the black diptheria. he put anti toxine in him four different times and we had to tie his hands down to his sides to keep him from pulling the tube out. he did get it out one night about one o'clock and started to choke right away and Marian called the Dr. and he came so fast. I don't know how he got here - he just threw his over coat on over his pajamas and run. I thought that night he was gone for sure. I didn't think he could stand to have it put in again but he did. Marian and I held him and he went to sleep as soon as it was in again. after that Charlie didn't go to work no more he stayed home and we never left him night or day. he got over the diptheria all right. The Dr. took the tube out on the fourth day and he could breath all right but the next day we noticed he was worse and we called the Dr. to come right away and when he came and examined him he said phenonia had set in. he told us before that we would be lucky if we could get him through with out it. that was on Thursday that he said he had phenonia. well be both worked with him night and day and on Friday evening he turned over on his said and went to sleep and slept for over two hours. he was still sleeping when the Dr. came in at nine o'clock. he said how is he. neither one of use said a word for we didn't know whether that was good or not. we thought he might be in a stupor of some kind. but when the Dr. looked at him he was just tickled to pieces. he said why his pulse is normal and he is sleeping just as natural as can be. we you can guess how we felt. well all day Saturday he seemed to improve and the Dr. was come in about nine o'clock in the evening to see him for the night. he said he is no worse only he was flity. he just talked all the time. well that night we both sat there untill two o'clock and then I laid down across the bed and slept till five and got us and Charlie layed down. and George knew us both all the time. he talked to me. and just coaxed me to take him up. he reached his arms up around my neck. and said by sehlep mama but I told him he would frize if I took him up. and then he said he was freezing just to get me to take him and that is the way he talked on and I gave him watear as he called it at half past six. and then I noticed a change in him and I called Charlie and said this baby is worse or dying and Charlie jumped right up. but George just gasped three times and was gone. the Dr. got here in time to see him breath his last. he said he had phlurises of the heart is what made him go so quick. he heart got paralised. well I have told you the best I could all bout his sickness. but I can't attempt to tell you what a house this is. they all thought so much of him and he was always ready for mischief. I thought it was hard when I couldn't be with Leah when she died. but I found out that is not the hardest part of death. we could fix Leah just the way we wanted to and the kids could all kiss her good by. but as soon as George died, the undertaker came and I got the clothes ready that I wanted on him. but he said. I am very sorry but we are not allowed to dress him. I said well if I had known that I would have dressed him my self but he said he would of had to take them off again. It was the law. he just rapped and rapped him in white muslin and layed him on a stand that he had and left him in the room until the health officer came - and he sealed the room up and disinfected the room body and all and left it that way for two hours and then the undertaker came and put him in the casket with a glass top and all you could see was just his face not even his hair nor his ears nor his hands. it was supposed to be sealed but I found out it wasent. I found the catch on it and opened it. and kissed him. no one knows that but you now. I wish now that I had let the kids kiss him too. I don't think it would of hurt them. we were not allowed to have no funeral just the family and no one was allowed to come in all the time he was sick or we of been fined $50. They allowed the men to go to work but they were not allowed to go near his room. that is why Charlie quit work and stayed home and helped nurse him. We had two large cars. Charlie and I and Lester and Minni and the casket went in one and the rest of them and the minster went in the other one. that roads were awful rough too. Poor Bill is taking it awful hard. he dont cry he just groans and that is worse. They took the sign down yesterday and Charlie is going back to work to morrow and the kids to school. then is when I will miss him more than ever for he was always where I was. Lester and Bill have no work the mill shut down the day before Christmas. I don't think I will ever think the same of Christmas again. The kids were waiting on Christmas they had been saving their pennies to get trimmings for a tree. I had told them if they got enough trimmings I would get a tree. they wanted one so bad for George. Artie had got him a little tin??? as George called them. he was crazy about autos. Bill was planning to go to Pittsburg after Christmas and get him one that he could ride in. but he never saw any thing he got for Christmas. They are all wrapped up yet. I hadent got him anything yet, we had him down street the Saturday evening before he got sick and he saw santa claus. and shook hands with him. I intended to get him a kick a bobcle. we could hardly get him away from them but we didn't get down street again and when I called up the store where they was Friday evening they were all sold. they said they would have some in on Tuesday and Charlie said that would be alright for he would not be able to play Christmas any how. and sure enough he wasn't. I think I have told you all now. if there is any thing else that I have forgot to tell you, why you ask me and I will tell you. I took a wreath down for Leah's grave. I couldn't think of coming away and leaving flowers on one and nothing on that poor lone grave. George dident have as many flowers as Leah had but they looked nice. what he did have Bill got him a pillow that was a great deal bigger than the one Leah had and it said George across the center and Lester got him a big bunch of carnations. I tryed to get a bunch of sweet peas for Leah's grave but I couldn't get them. I am sending you a couple of little yellow flowers off George's pillow. He was always picking dandelions. he said there were a tame dandelion with another name. Well I will close now. we are all well at the present and hope this will find you both the same. Tell Art that we both thank him for his offer. and if we find we cannot squeeze through we will be glad to know we have a friend waiting to help us out.
Good by
Your Sister
Maine

Wednesday's Child - George Cubbage

Another blogging prompt used by genealogy bloggers is "Wednesday's Child" to post photos of gravestones of children. While sad, it can ensure they are remembered, and it can give life to the stories of these children (if they are known). Today's post is about George Cubbage.



George Cubbage was my grandfather's brother and the youngest of the eight children born to Charles and Maine (Swank) Cubbage. George was born in 1919 in Monessen, PA and died on December 25, 1921 at home in Monessen after having diphtheria and pneumonia. George's older sister, Leah Cubbage, had died just a year earlier in 1920. Next week I will post the heart-wrenching letter from his mother Maine to her sister about George's illness and death. George is buried in Braddock Cemetery in North Braddock, PA. It was also known as Old Braddock Cemetery and Russell Cemetery. He is buried alongside of his parents Charles and Maine, his sister Leah, his uncle William Arthur Speedy, and his first cousin once removed William H. Burd.

Wednesday's Child - Leah Cubbage

Another blogging prompt used by genealogy bloggers is "Wednesday's Child" to post photos of gravestones of children. While sad, it can ensure they are remembered, and it can give life to the stories of these children (if they are known). My first Wednesday's child is Leah Cubbage. Leah was my grandfather's older sister. She was the third child of Charles and Maine (Swank) Cubbage. Leah was born in 1906 in Swissvale, PA and died in 1920 in Monessen, PA. I don't have (yet) Leah's birth or death dates or cause of death. Family stories passed down are that she fell on the ice and hit her head and that her appendix ruptured. She was survived by her parents and seven siblings between ages 1 and 16. Leah is buried in Braddock Cemetery in North Braddock, PA. It was also known as Old Braddock Cemetery and Russell Cemetery. She is buried alongside of her parents Charles and Maine, her brother George, her uncle William Arthur Speedy, and her first cousin once removed William H. Burd.