But Everyone's Tree Uses That Date!

Since I only rely on the various family trees on Ancestry and other sites as potential clues I often come across "challenges" where the information that I uncover in my research when reviewing the records conflicts with those trees. Such is the case for Theresa Schoenberger.

My own connection to the Schoenberger line is via a marriage to a 1st cousin once removed. I'm researching this branch for two reasons. The first is that my cousin asked me to look into the line of her father, and second, to expand my own research knowledge and skills. This means I really don't have any information on the family so I really need to rely on the records to guide me in my research. I also don't have a large budget (OK, any budget) to work from since it is my personal research. This means that I will have to depend on indexes¹ for information when I can't locate digitized records online.

This is an example of one of the more comprehensive tree hints from Ancestry for the family of Theresa Schoenberger.

Screen capture of an Ancestry.com tree hint for Theresa Schoenberger.

This hint looks OK. The use of "Bohemia, Czeckoslovakia" is not quite right since in 1850 there was no Czechoslovakia but instead Bohemia was a kingdom within the Austria-Hungarian empire.

However, as I started looking at this person and the family I came across some very interesting discrepancies all due to reviewing the digitized records from New York City that are available for viewing at your local Family History Center.

The first difference that threw me for a loop was found in the marriage registration for Nathan Weil and Theresa Schoenberger.

Manhatten, New York County, Manhattan (New York City) marriage records, 1866-1937; index to all boroughs, 1866-1937, Certificates no. 3607-4600 1872: 3630, extract from Nathan L. Weil-Theresia Schönberger marriage registration; FHL microfilm 1,561,851.

As you can see, Theresa didn't believe that her mother was Pauline Pessel but Kotreuya Schok. This is a very similar name to the one that her brother Emil stated on his marriage registration. Could this mean that Moshe's first wife died and he remarried? That is a mystery I'm currently working on.

As for her father's forename, I was able to find his Connecticut probate file on Ancestry and there he wrote his name as "Moshe" and witnesses state his name was "Moses". Plus in census and city directories I've seen it written as "Morris" and "Moritz" So this variation of his forename on the marriage registration for Nathan Weil and Theresa Schoenberger is not unexpected.

Of course, just to make things interesting, she doesn't appear to sign her name as "Theresa". But since my expertise is not great in deciphering handwriting I'm not quite sure what she wrote.

Manhatten, New York County, Manhattan (New York City) marriage records, 1866-1937; index to all boroughs, 1866-1937, Certificates no. 3607-4600 1872: 3630, extract from Nathan L. Weil-Theresia Schönberger marriage registration, signature of the bride; FHL microfilm 1,561,851.

The next bit of confusion is the date of death for Theresa. In all the trees shown as hints on Ancestry they all state 27 Aug 1931. If all the trees say that then they must be right, correct?

Well, no. And the clue can be found in the picture used for the profile image for Theresa. It is a grave marker for Theresa Weil and it states that she died "Dec. 9, 1927". So either everyone's tree is wrong or the grave marker used as a profile image is for the wrong person.

Ancestry.com, digital images (www.ancestry.com  : accessed 28 Mar 2019), image of grave marker for Theresa Weil, died 9 Dec 1927, originally shared by JeffB on 11 Nov 2018.

We need to dig a bit deeper into this mystery of the discrepancy between the death dates.

It seems that the trees given as hints on Ancestry all point to each other or they point to the "New York, New York, Extracted Death Index, 1862-1948" for a Theresa H Weil that died 27 Aug 1931.

"New York, New York, Extracted Death Index, 1862-1948," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Mar 2019), entry for Theresa H Weil, died 27 Aug 1931; citing the Index to New York City Deaths 1862-1948. Indices prepared by the Italian Genealogical Group and the German Genealogy Group.

However, if you search that same database on Ancestry for a death of a Theresa Weil that happened in 1927 you will come across this record.

"New York, New York, Extracted Death Index, 1862-1948," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Mar 2019), entry for Theresa Weil, died 9 Dec 1927; citing the Index to New York City Deaths 1862-1948. Indices prepared by the Italian Genealogical Group and the German Genealogy Group.

Do you think that this might be the right index record for our Theresa Weil?

A search on FamilySearch for a "Theresa Weil" that died in 1927 doesn't bring up anyone that seems to match the information but a search for "Theresa W??l"

"New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W1T-1FG : 10 February 2018), Theresa Woil, 09 Dec 1927; citing Death, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 2,056,150.

Hmmm, this mother's and father's names look kind of similar to that recorded on the marriage registration. Even better, the GS film number, 2056150, is provided. I can use that number to search the FamilySearch catalogue to determine if I can view the image from which this index entry was created.

Screen capture from FamilySearch,org for GS Film Number 2056150 in the catalogue.

We are fortunately that a number of the death records for New York City have been digitized and made available through FamilySearch. Unfortunately, as you can see from the screen capture above with the key above the camera icon, you can't access those images from home. However, if you have a Family History Center nearby like I do then you can see and download those images from there. Here is part of the death record for the Theresa Weil that died on 9 Dec 1927:

New York, New York County, New York,  "Death certificates (Manhattan, New York), 1919-1948," (Municipal Archives, New York), [Vol. 55-56], cert. no. 27001, Maria Cannon, Dec. 3, 1927 - cert. no. 28000, Anna Markowitz, Dec. 17, 1927, Theresa Weil, cert no. 27474; FHL microfilm 2,056,150.

But how do we know that this is our Theresa? Keep in mind that Theresa didn't provide the details but one of her children probably gave the information to the registrar. From my perspective the father's name looks right, same with the mother's name. Her age is wrong based on census and marriage records but that isn't too unusual. Without looking up my own mother's record in my database, I don't know how old she is! As for the address of 242 East 69th Street, her son Theodore was living there in the 1920 census so it is not unlikely that she might have been living with her son at that place in 1927 since her husband had died in 1893 and she was a widow.

I did check the other death registration for the Theresa H Weil that died in 1931 and that person didn't match the details I had for my Theresa (nee Schoenberger) Weil.

After all that here are today's lessons:

1. Don't ignore what is on an image of a grave marker since it may provide a valuable clue².
2. Always make an effort to view the document pointed to by an index.
3. Online trees are a source of clues but not gospel when it comes to accuracy. Always verify what is stated.

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1. I know, I know. Indexes are only pointers to records so I really should be purchasing the records or visiting the town record halls and archives but with no budget the index information gets added to an ever lengthening to-do list. When I can afford it, I can use the to-do list to determine which records I need to purchase to verify the details recorded in the indexes.
2. See my post "Zombies in the census?" for why you can't necessarily trust grave markers either.

Which Record is More Trustworthy?

Lately I've been researching the family line of Emil Schoenberger who settled in the town of New Haven, Connecticut, USA in the late 1800s. It has been a challenge since it seems that I'm finding information that conflicts with what everyone else on Ancestry has recorded. But that is for another post.

Here are six images taken from the hints provided by Ancestry for Emil's death. Each record contains the same information concerning his death. Some include more information than just his date of death. Are these actually six different sources or are they the same?

1	2
3	4
5	6

Numbers 1 and 2 both point to different Family History Library film numbers. That must mean that they are created from different sources, right?

To answer that question we need to pop over to FamilySearch and use the Catalog search function. Here is what we can learn:

• FHL 3197: Hale Collection - Surname index, Death and Inscriptions SAV - SCOC
• FHL 3337: Hale Collection - Cemetery inscriptions of Guilford, Haddam, Hamden, Hampton and Hartford

That's interesting. Record number 1 actually points to an index that, in all likelihood, was created from record number 2.

Both record number 1 and 2 came from the Ancestry "Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650-1934" record collection. If you hadn't checked the Source Information box on Ancestry or verified for yourself by going to FamilySearch you might have assumed that the information was from different documents.

How about number 3? It looks like there is an image we can view. There it is written:

Schoenberger, Emil, Father, born Feb. 14, 1850, died June 24, 1902.

Guess what? That is actually the page of the Hale Collection that the "Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650-1934" source points to FHL 3337 in record number 2. Record number 3 is listed as "Connecticut, Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934" in the Ancestry catalogue.

So just what is this Hale Collection? Here is the description from the FamilySearch catalogue:

"Charles R. Hale Collection of vital records (newspaper notices and cemetery inscriptions) with surname index to cemetery inscriptions referring to places and newspapers; index to death notices from newspapers (not included above); index, marriages by newspapers; general index to marriage notices arranged alphabetically; cemeteries by localities; newspapers."

A good guess is that the information for Emil Schoenberger might have been transcribed from his grave marker.


Record 4 is interesting since it gives a burial plot and a few other bits of information about the cemetery. Record 4 is found in the Ancestry catalogue as "JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR)". This was created from the information in the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry hosted by JewishGen. Their description of this database is it:

"...is a database of names and other identifying information from Jewish cemeteries and burial records worldwide, from the earliest records to the present.  It is a compilation of two linked databases: a database of burial records, and a database of information about each particular cemetery."

So this information might have either been taken from the burial register of the B'Nai Shalom cemetery or transcribed from the grave marker by someone that recorded the burial plot number in additional to what is one the stone. We just don't know.

What about Record number 5? That comes from the "Web: Connecticut, Find A Grave Index, 1636-2013" collection on Ancestry. We can easily click on the URL or the "Go to website" button to visit the Find A Grave memorial for Emil Schoenberger.

But guess what? Record number 6 is from the generic "U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current" record collection on Ancestry. The exact same place that record number 5 points to. We are fortunate enough that for this Find A Grave memorial, someone has provided a picture for us to view.

But can we trust what is on that memorial. It is important to note that Find A Grave allows contributors to add additional information that isn't recorded on the stone. For me, I only use what is on the stone and use any additional details as possible clues to chase down.

Even though Ancestry has presented us with six difference records out of five different collections they all seem to point to one single source...the grave stone for Emil Schoenberger. And who provided the information for the stone? We just don't know!

What have we hopefully learned from this little exercise? It is important to know the original sources of where the various indexes and record collections come from so that we can make an informed decision as to the trustworthiness of the records presented to us online, in libraries (public and private), and archives. In Emil's case I would suggest checking for newspaper articles about his death⁷ and possible see if you can find a probate file that might shed additional information. If he took trips abroad could passport applications or passenger lists have his birth date mentioned?

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1. Ancestry.com, "Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650-1934," database on-line, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 28 Jun 2013), entry for Emil Schoenberger, died 24 Jun 1902, citing FHL Film 3197
2. Ancestry.com, "Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650-1934," database on-line, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 28 Jun 2013), entry for Emil Schoenberger, died 24 Jun 1902, citing FHL Film 3337
3. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. 
4. JewishGen, "JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR)," database on-line, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 27 Jun 2013), entry for Emil Schoenberger, died 24 Jun 1902
5. Ancestry.com. Web: Connecticut, Find A Grave Index, 1636-2013 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. 
6. Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com/  : accessed 11 Feb 2019), memorial page for Emil Schoenberger (14 Feb 1850–24 Jun 1902), Find A Grave Memorial no. 11330689, citing Temple Beth Sholom Cemetery, Hamden, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA; Maintained by Mona Rhone (contributor 46795703).
7. "Newspaper Archives," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com/ : accessed 22 Feb 2019), Death of Emil Schoenberger, Head of Schoenberger & Sons; citing the Morning Journal and Courier (New Haven, Connecticut), 25 Jun 1902, p 7, col 1.