Ancestry of Mildred Pauline Meta Graf
Generation One: Karl Joseph Graf:1835 - ?
Karl Joseph Graf was born 31 March 1835. There is supposedly a picture of him in military uniform and he is said to have been in the Prussian Army. I have doubts about this, however, because the picture is of a middle-aged man with a white beard and Karl Joseph emigrated to the
U.S. when he was about 24 years old.
There exists a page of family records, in Old German. Copies of the original and the translation are in the notebook. The extracted information is as follows:
Hausvatter (unreadable) Karl Joseph Graf Geboren 1835, 31 Merz
List of My Children
Emil Johan Graf geb. 13 November 1860
Wilhelm Graf geb. 14 December 1867
Peter Graf geb. 16 November 1876
Karl Joseph Graf geb. 28 August 1878
Sebastian Graf geb. 16 November 1883
My second wife is born 28 August 1855, married 18 December 1875.
Oddly enough Karl Joseph Graf appears to have had two wives named Philipina although he names neither his first nor his second wife in the information extracted above. The search for this family occupied me at various times from my very earliest genealogical explorations in 1992 until the 29th of November 2006, when I finally found relevant census records that had eluded me for all of those years.
Karl Graf says that he married his second wife in December of 1875. A 1900 census record found for the couple says they have been married for 24 years which is consistent with a date late in 1875. “Carl” is reported to be a tailor, which is consistent with family knowledge that he made uniforms for police and firemen in Jersey City (and perhaps other cities in New Jersey). Philipina reports being born in August of 1844, however, not August of 1855 as is recorded in the notes made by Karl Joseph. Her age in 1910 is consistent with the 1855 birth date.
I have also found census records for Karl in 1860, 1870 and 1880, as well as his name on a ship passenger list in 1859, the year he reports have immigrated, and in all of these documents his wife is named Philipina. It is useful to compare these records:
1859 Ship List
Carl Graf 24
Philippine Graf 26
1860 Census
Charles Graf 25
Phillipina Graf 27
Charles Graf 01
1870 Census
Charles Graff 35
Philipina Graff 37
Emil Graff 09
William Graff 02
1880 Census
Charles Gray 45
Phillipiene Gray 34
Emil Gray 19
William Gray 12
Peter Gray 03
William Gray 02
Charles Gray 3 months
1900 Census
Carl Graff 65
Philippina Graff 55
Peter Graff 23
Charles Graff 21
Sebastian Graff 17
1910 Census
Christian Graef 27
Whilemina Josef 64
Looking at these records we can finally see that the Philipina of 1870 is about 13 years older than the Philipina of 1880 and thereafter. Thus I conclude that the first Philipina died after 1870 when she appears in the census and before 1875 when Karl married his second wife. There is a nine year gap between the William born in December 1867 and Peter born in November of 1876.
Analysis of the children is also interesting. Karl Graf records the birthdates for five sons; Emil, Wilhelm, Peter Charles and Sebastian. We know by census, however, that he had others. This leads me to believe that he made the list late in life when the possibility of having additional children had passed.
1860 Census
Charles 01 (not in list, disappeared by 1870)
1870 Census
Emil 09 b. 13 Nov 1860
William 02 b. 14 Dec 1867
1880 Census
Emil 19 b. 13 Nov 1860
William 12 b. 14 Dec 1867
Peter 03 b. 15 Nov 1876
William 02 (not in list, disappeared by 1900)
Charles 3 months
1900 Census
Peter 23
Charles 21 not listed in family record
Sebastian 17 b. 16 Nov 1883
1910 Census
Peter 33 In Irvington with family
Christian (Sebastian) 28 Ramapo Ave., Jersey City with family
There remains an inconsistency in the children, however, because Karl Joseph lists five sons (Emil and Wilhelm from his first marriage, and Peter, Charles and Sebastian from his second marriage), and Philipina, in two census returns, reports that she has four living children. But who was her fourth living child? The best possibility is the second William (note that in 1880 the family had two sons named William, one from the first marriage and one from the second) who could easily have been living separately from the family by 1900. But why isn’t he in Karl Joseph’s list? One explanation is simply that the list is flawed, perhaps having been made by Karl when his memory is failing. We know that he neglected to name either wife and reported his second wife’s birthday inaccurately by ten years. In addition, we know that he was off on the birthday of the second Charles by a full year and he was off on the birthday of Christian Sebastian by two years. So it is possible that he simply neglected to list the second William. That the list was made by someone else is less of a possibility because it refers to “meine kinder” and “meine zweite frau”.
Second Generation: Peter Graf: 1876 – 1943
Peter Graf was born in New York City on 16 November 1876 and died in Newark on Tuesday 9 March 1943. His cause of death was noted as nephrosis and ulcerative colitis. He was the first son of Karl Joseph Graf and his second wife, Philipina. Philipina’s maiden name is not yet known but a death record from the State of New Jersey has been requested. The understanding of Peter’s children is that the family moved from New York City to Jersey City, shortly after Peter was born and we know that they were in New Jersey by the time of the 1880 census. Peter Graf married Anna Henkel in _____ and had four children:
Florence Graf b. 23 May 1905
George Graf b. 3 March 1907 d. 4 July 1994
Mildred Graf b. 18 April 1910
Walter Graf b. 24 Sept. 1916 d. 6 May 2001
All of the Graf children married but Mildred is the only one to have had children. Therefore there are no Graf descendants of Peter Graf.
Generation Two: Peter’s Siblings
Emil Graf: Emil Graf was a manufacturer of some kind—I cannot read the words on the census record. His wife was Elizabeth and they had at least Emma, Bernard, Madeline, Edith and George. He died before 1910 when she appears as a widow in the census for that year.
Wilhelm (William) Graf: William was a tailor and lived in Jersey City. Despite the fact that he is listed in the Jersey City Directories, first as a “cutter” and later as a tailor, I have been unable to find him in any census records.
Karl (Charles) Joseph Graf : Charles was a grocer and lived in Jersey City. His wife was Charlotte and they had two children, Charles and Doris. He was still alive in 1930.
Christian (Chris or Christ) Sebastian Graf: This man was a painter. His mother was living with him and his family in 1910. He married Johanna/Hannah and had at least William, Gertrude and Madeline. He was still alive in 1930.
Generation Three: Mildred Graf: 1910
Mildred Graf was born in Irvington, New Jersey and lived with her mother until she married Meier Langhans on 10 June 1944.
Draft 11/30/2006
Generation One: Karl Joseph Graf:1835 - ?
Karl Joseph Graf was born 31 March 1835. There is supposedly a picture of him in military uniform and he is said to have been in the Prussian Army. I have doubts about this, however, because the picture is of a middle-aged man with a white beard and Karl Joseph emigrated to the
U.S. when he was about 24 years old.There exists a page of family records, in Old German. Copies of the original and the translation are in the notebook. The extracted information is as follows:
Hausvatter (unreadable) Karl Joseph Graf Geboren 1835, 31 Merz
List of My Children
Emil Johan Graf geb. 13 November 1860
Wilhelm Graf geb. 14 December 1867
Peter Graf geb. 16 November 1876
Karl Joseph Graf geb. 28 August 1878
Sebastian Graf geb. 16 November 1883
My second wife is born 28 August 1855, married 18 December 1875.
Oddly enough Karl Joseph Graf appears to have had two wives named Philipina although he names neither his first nor his second wife in the information extracted above. The search for this family occupied me at various times from my very earliest genealogical explorations in 1992 until the 29th of November 2006, when I finally found relevant census records that had eluded me for all of those years.
Karl Graf says that he married his second wife in December of 1875. A 1900 census record found for the couple says they have been married for 24 years which is consistent with a date late in 1875. “Carl” is reported to be a tailor, which is consistent with family knowledge that he made uniforms for police and firemen in Jersey City (and perhaps other cities in New Jersey). Philipina reports being born in August of 1844, however, not August of 1855 as is recorded in the notes made by Karl Joseph. Her age in 1910 is consistent with the 1855 birth date.
I have also found census records for Karl in 1860, 1870 and 1880, as well as his name on a ship passenger list in 1859, the year he reports have immigrated, and in all of these documents his wife is named Philipina. It is useful to compare these records:
1859 Ship List
Carl Graf 24
Philippine Graf 26
1860 Census
Charles Graf 25
Phillipina Graf 27
Charles Graf 01
1870 Census
Charles Graff 35
Philipina Graff 37
Emil Graff 09
William Graff 02
1880 Census
Charles Gray 45
Phillipiene Gray 34
Emil Gray 19
William Gray 12
Peter Gray 03
William Gray 02
Charles Gray 3 months
1900 Census
Carl Graff 65
Philippina Graff 55
Peter Graff 23
Charles Graff 21
Sebastian Graff 17
1910 Census
Christian Graef 27
Whilemina Josef 64
Looking at these records we can finally see that the Philipina of 1870 is about 13 years older than the Philipina of 1880 and thereafter. Thus I conclude that the first Philipina died after 1870 when she appears in the census and before 1875 when Karl married his second wife. There is a nine year gap between the William born in December 1867 and Peter born in November of 1876.
Analysis of the children is also interesting. Karl Graf records the birthdates for five sons; Emil, Wilhelm, Peter Charles and Sebastian. We know by census, however, that he had others. This leads me to believe that he made the list late in life when the possibility of having additional children had passed.
1860 Census
Charles 01 (not in list, disappeared by 1870)
1870 Census
Emil 09 b. 13 Nov 1860
William 02 b. 14 Dec 1867
1880 Census
Emil 19 b. 13 Nov 1860
William 12 b. 14 Dec 1867
Peter 03 b. 15 Nov 1876
William 02 (not in list, disappeared by 1900)
Charles 3 months
1900 Census
Peter 23
Charles 21 not listed in family record
Sebastian 17 b. 16 Nov 1883
1910 Census
Peter 33 In Irvington with family
Christian (Sebastian) 28 Ramapo Ave., Jersey City with family
There remains an inconsistency in the children, however, because Karl Joseph lists five sons (Emil and Wilhelm from his first marriage, and Peter, Charles and Sebastian from his second marriage), and Philipina, in two census returns, reports that she has four living children. But who was her fourth living child? The best possibility is the second William (note that in 1880 the family had two sons named William, one from the first marriage and one from the second) who could easily have been living separately from the family by 1900. But why isn’t he in Karl Joseph’s list? One explanation is simply that the list is flawed, perhaps having been made by Karl when his memory is failing. We know that he neglected to name either wife and reported his second wife’s birthday inaccurately by ten years. In addition, we know that he was off on the birthday of the second Charles by a full year and he was off on the birthday of Christian Sebastian by two years. So it is possible that he simply neglected to list the second William. That the list was made by someone else is less of a possibility because it refers to “meine kinder” and “meine zweite frau”.
Second Generation: Peter Graf: 1876 – 1943
Peter Graf was born in New York City on 16 November 1876 and died in Newark on Tuesday 9 March 1943. His cause of death was noted as nephrosis and ulcerative colitis. He was the first son of Karl Joseph Graf and his second wife, Philipina. Philipina’s maiden name is not yet known but a death record from the State of New Jersey has been requested. The understanding of Peter’s children is that the family moved from New York City to Jersey City, shortly after Peter was born and we know that they were in New Jersey by the time of the 1880 census. Peter Graf married Anna Henkel in _____ and had four children:
Florence Graf b. 23 May 1905
George Graf b. 3 March 1907 d. 4 July 1994
Mildred Graf b. 18 April 1910
Walter Graf b. 24 Sept. 1916 d. 6 May 2001
All of the Graf children married but Mildred is the only one to have had children. Therefore there are no Graf descendants of Peter Graf.
Generation Two: Peter’s Siblings
Emil Graf: Emil Graf was a manufacturer of some kind—I cannot read the words on the census record. His wife was Elizabeth and they had at least Emma, Bernard, Madeline, Edith and George. He died before 1910 when she appears as a widow in the census for that year.
Wilhelm (William) Graf: William was a tailor and lived in Jersey City. Despite the fact that he is listed in the Jersey City Directories, first as a “cutter” and later as a tailor, I have been unable to find him in any census records.
Karl (Charles) Joseph Graf : Charles was a grocer and lived in Jersey City. His wife was Charlotte and they had two children, Charles and Doris. He was still alive in 1930.
Christian (Chris or Christ) Sebastian Graf: This man was a painter. His mother was living with him and his family in 1910. He married Johanna/Hannah and had at least William, Gertrude and Madeline. He was still alive in 1930.
Generation Three: Mildred Graf: 1910
Mildred Graf was born in Irvington, New Jersey and lived with her mother until she married Meier Langhans on 10 June 1944.
Draft 11/30/2006
1 comment:
I have been looking for information on a Emil Graff who lived in Philadelphia. I had found some information on him on Footnote.com regarding the fact that he was a pharmacist. It just so happens that my great grandfather, who had been attending college at Temple U in 1910, was a clerk for Emil Graff. The whole thing ended up with both of them being arrested. My great-grandfather was given a $25 fine while Emil did a few years in prison. The offense was that they were selling cocaine without a script. This story was in 1910 and was in the papers daily.
Having done a quick search on Emil I knew that he was married and had a daughter who never married but was a Philadelphia teacher. I believe she married much later in life. I believe Emil was born around the 1860's and was wondering if this is possibly your Emil?
Bruni
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