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Research in Other Countries => United States of America => Topic started by: bevbee on Saturday 02 September 06 14:57 BST (UK)
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Hello everyone,
I am looking for information on the marriage(s) of Ambrose Lewis Grindley who was a lawyer in Washington DC born in 1886 in New Orleans and died in 1970 in Washington DC.
I think he married twice; once in 1918, but I have no name for his wife and no idea what happened to her, and then he also married some time after 1942 a Florence E. Stake who was the widow of Frank Stake.
I would also like any information on Ambrose's father George Grindley who served in the Civil war, born 1841 in Wales, emigrated to the US (to Ohio, I believe) in 1850, moved to New Orleans on his marriage in 1866 and later to Washington DC. I know he was still alive in 1920 and cannot find a death record for him.
I have tried everything I can think of to fill in these gaps so any help would be gratefully received.
Many thanks,
Bev.
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Hi Bev
From the info you have provided, it seems you have all the US census.
With George birthdate given as Mar 1841 on the 1900 census, I found:
GRINDLEY, George
Registered 1st Qtr 1841, Volume 26, page 539.
Carmarthenshire, Llandiflawr, Llandilo.
On the 1841 Wales Census, George is living with his parents George and Eliza.
I'm not sure just what you have on this.
Unfortunately, I am unable to track down the deaths/marriages requested.
BUT, Ambrose was listed as single on his WW1 draft registration 1917/1918 and also as single on the 1920 US census.
Regards
Grub
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Thanks for that Grub,
I have all of that but the problem is that I have seen the minutes of a meeting from 1918 attended by Ambrose where he was congratulated on his "recent marriage", but then in the 1920 census as you say he is shown as single again, so I have no idea what happened there.
I have his draft registration from 1917, and also from 1942 where he gives a Mrs Irene Spiltoir in New York as his contact so he can't have been married to Florence by then.
I have Ambrose's death notice from 1970 when he died of a heart attack in a bank in Washington DC and also Florence's death notice which states that her first husband died in 1923.
George is in the 1920 census at the age of 79 so he must have died soon after that I suppose, but I just can't find it!
Thanks for looking,
Bev.
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Hi Bev
Found the following on passenger information that I believe is a close match:
Arrival in NY: March 9 1852, Port of Departure: Liverpool
Ship: Constellation
Manifest #90028 (same for each family member)
GRINDLEY
George, 45, farmer
Eliza, 35, wife
Charles (age illegible and I dont see on 1851 census)
William, 13
George, 11
Henry, 6,
Maria 8
Final destination USA, no state given.
Travelled steerage.
Fingers crossed
Valerie
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Thanks Valerie,
I have this already and I think Charles must have been born at sea, but there is no further trace of him.
Their final destination as we understand it was Ohio, but there again I draw a blank as there is no trace of them after their arrival. I have a letter from George jnr. written in 1892 home to his family in Wales and from that I know he moved to New Orleans when he married Mary Miller from Ireland in 1866.
The death notices for Washington DC seem to be very difficult to find, or maybe it's just me!
Thanks again,
Bev.
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I now know that Ambrose Lewis Grindley married Catherine M Harbison in 1918, but she died suddenly on Christmas Eve the same year, aged 25.
Still searching for his second marriage, to Florence, and searching hard for his father, George Grindley's death, which must have been between 1920 and 1930.
I have tried searching the Washington post for a death notice, but am drawing a blank which I find surprising as both George and Ambrose are mentioned in the paper quite a few times.
I'll keep trying, but I am becoming quite frustrated!
Thanks,
Bev.
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Hi Bev: I don't know if you have this information on Ambrose and possibly his second wife from the U.S. Social Security Death Index (the closest thing to a national death index):
Name born died last residence
AMBROSE GRINDLEY 15 Sep 1886 Jan 1970 Washington, District Of Columbia, DC 20008
issued
District of Columbia
Name born died last residence
FLORENCE GRINDLEY 11 Sep 1888 Nov 1984 Alexandria, Alexandria City, VA 22313
issued
Maryland
You can order a copy of a person's application for the Social Security number from the U.S. Social Security Administration. It costs $27 per application, which is one reason not to order one. The second reason may be that it only gives information that was current at the time application was made. Because of Ambrose and Florence's age, their applications probably date to 1936 or 1937. Social Security began in 1935, and back then a person applied when he or she became employed or opened a bank account.
To order an application, you have to have a person's Social Security Number. I can supply them, but I don't post them online.
Incidentally, Alexandria, Virginia is a near suburb of Washington, DC (a few miles south)
Also, there was another Washington newspaper, the Washington Star, which might have a death notice. The Star has been defunct since 1981.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
John
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Hi John,
Many thanks for that.
I wondered exactly where Alexandria was and how far from Washington DC, so that's a great help.
Also, I didn't know about the Washington Star, so that gives me another area to search.
Thanks for such a quick response!
Best wishes,
Bev.
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Hi Bev: I realized that in my earlier post I hadn't really given you any help in locating the marriages of Ambrose. If you're still looking for information on his first marriage: His World War I draft registration might give you some hint on where his marriage took place. Incidentally, if Catherine Harbison Grindley died suddenly on Christmas Eve 1918, she might have been a victim of the flu pandemic. Apparently you know where she died? That too may give you infomation on the marriage.
For Ambrose's second marriage, looking in Washington, D.C. and Maryland are probably the best bets. Ambrose was living in D.C. at the time and Florence's social security number was issued in Maryland, indicating that she might have been born in that state. D.C. borders Maryland on the northeast and northwest.
Below I've included the Social Security Death Index information for Irene Spiltoir. Bridge port, her place of death, is about 65 milres north east of New York City.
Name born died last residence
IRENE SPILTOIR 13 Jun 1885 Nov 1976 Bridgeport, Fairfield, CT 06604
issued
New York
About George Grindley, Civil War hero: I googled his name and came up with a link to an e-mail you had written about him! Small world. If he died in D.C., then some city office must have records. I know nothing about D.C.'s government, so let me sniff around.
In the meantime, based on the post code in Ambrose Grindley's SSDI entry, the following linking will take you to a map of D.C.: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&zipcode=20008&submit.x=41&submit.y=7
The Red star is the approx. neighborhood of Ambrose's last address. If you zoom out one or two clicks, you'll see a black star. That is the U.S. Capitol Building. Straight below the word "Washington," at the bottom of the map, you'll see the first letters of Alexandria. The squarish blue border in the upper portion of the map is the border of Maryland and D.C.
Cheers,
John
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http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/la/orleans/vitals/births/index/nobigogr.txt
- have you seen the births listed here, to George Grindley and Mary Meller or Miller?
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/guides/no3.html
- Grindley, George. Letter: Washington, D.C. to LeGardeur, New Orleans, La., 1891 January 26. 1 item (4 pages). Location: Misc:G. Letter mentions a bill relating to business interests which Grindley and LeGardeur wish to have passed by Congress; dealings with Cusimano and Co.; problems with the Post Office; Grindley's wife and children in New Orleans; and his work in Washington. For further information see online catalog. Mss. 4607.
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Thanks to John and Jorose for the further info.
I have never seen the letter before, so will try to get the full draft of that.
I have all the births of George and Mary's children and also some of their marriages, but lose track of them soon after.
I'm pretty sure that Ambrose married in Washington both times, and his first wife died there also. The funeral went from her parents home 2809 Eleventh Street, Northwest, and she was buried in Mount Olivet cemetery.
I actually have no idea who Irene Spiltoir is except that she is named as first contact on Ambrose's draft card; maybe she was a friend, or work associate.
I'm really grateful for all the helpful comments and suggestions, so thank you all once again.
Bev.
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Hi Bev: I found a document that seems to indicate that George Grindley died in Washington, D.C. in late 1922. I believe it is a military pension record, and it lists Mary as widow and dependent. Another entry on the document seems to indicate that George and Mary may have been living in Washington by 1891.
I neglected to note the type of document >:( but will be able to do that early next week.
Cheers,
John
:o :o :o
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Bev -
A couple of other newspaper sources are the Washington Times, Alexandria Gazette (local paper of Alexandria) and Alexandria Packet. There have been several other newspapers over the years.
Alexandria, Virginia is located across the Potomac river from Washington DC.
Alexandria,VA was formed in 1749 by Scottish merchants. The city is not that large. The Alexandria City Library has 4 branches, one of which, the Barrett Branch at 717 Queen Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 has a tremendous amount of historical and genealogical information. The library web address is www.alexandria.lib.va.us.
yn9man
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Thanks to johnnyboy and yn9man for the info.
Do you think I'd be able to get a copy of the pensions document?
I'm happy that the family moved to Washington in 1891 as, in the letter we have, George seems very sad that he had lived in New Orleans for so long.
At least he had 31 years elsewhere, and in the summary of the letter that jorose told me about he seems very impressed with Washington DC; I have written for a copy of this letter, keeping my fingers crossed, as I think it will make interesting reading.
Thanks,
Bev.
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Hi Bev: Am sending you the pension information by PM. I've also found George Grindley and family in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 U.S. censuses, :o living in Washington, D.C. Ambrose is living at home the entire time. Couldn't find Ambrose or any other related Grindley in the 1930 census, using as many variant spellings as I could think of. :'(
If you PM me with an e-mail address, I'll get the census material to you.
Regards,
John
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Bev -
Glad to see someone was able to get you the census information you were seeking. I couldn't find Ambrose or Grindley either in the 1930 census.
yn9man
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Hi,
Irene Spies Spiltoir was the sister of Florance Spies Grindley. My husband is the grandson of Irene Spiltoir. We have a copy of the Spies family tree. I would, however, have to dig it out!! I am willing though! What information would you like - hopefully we can help out a little. My husband did visit with Aunt Flo in Alexandria a couple of times. Flo also traveled to Trumbull, CT, to stay with my husband's family.
Irene Spies Spiltoir spent her life in Washington Heights, NYC, NY; Howard Beach, Long Island, NY; Great Neck, Long Island, NY; and finally in Bridgeport, CT. We believe Irene was born in New York City - not positive.
I hope this helps a little. There may be cousins who would possibly have met and remember Ambrose. There are, however, only three cousins! My husband believes Ambrose may have owned rental property in Washington DC.
Not sure why Irene is listed as Ambrose's contact, could be Flo was with Irene and her husband in New York while Ambrose was away!? Also, it is believed that Ambrose and Flo gave birth to a still born child. Do not know what year. To our knowledge there were no other births.
ets
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Hello ets,
I'm delighted to hear from you!
What I've been looking for is the date of Ambrose's marriage to Florence. I know she was first married to Frank Stake, who died in 1923, and I also know that they had a baby boy on the 4th December 1921, who died 36 hours later. I have the newspaper entry for both birth and death - I will send you a PM with my e-mail address and if you would like these entries I can send them to you.
Ambrose was married in 1918 for just a few months, as his wife Catherine died.
I have quite a lot on the Grindleys including Ambrose and Florence's obits, if you would like them.
I would also like to know when Ambrose's parents died, and indeed his brothers and sisters, if you have any details on them.
I didn't know anything about Ambrose and Florence having a baby, I thought they had married late, so that's interesting.
Anything you have on any of this would be very much appreciated, thank you so much for posting this reply.
Bev, South Wales. ;D ;D
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Hi ets,
I never heard back from you so I'm trying again to see whether you are able to give me any more info on Ambrose - a photo would be brilliant!
Bev. ;)