Sunday, December 22, 2013

Sunday's Obituary: Hannah Gorry, June 4, 1930

From the Brooklyn Standard Union, June 4, 1930:

Hannah Gorry was the aunt of my great-grandfather, Elmer Gorry Sr. After Elmer's father and siblings all died, his mother continued to live and work in Manhattan and Elmer went to go live with his bachelor uncle, Michael, and his spinster aunts, Mamie and Hannah, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Hannah is a bit of an interesting character. She didn't want anyone to know how old she was, so anything we have of hers that used to have a date, the date has been scratched out. She's listed in several census records so we can approximate her age, but even there, she's a different age in every one - meaning, even though each census is 10 years apart, she does not age 10 years in subsequent records. She's listed as 9 years old in the 1870 census and there's a family legend that she was alive when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. As an adult, she worked as a seamstress, and she lived with her brother and sister her entire life.

1 comment:

  1. Hannah died at 53 Franklin St, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and according to his birth certificate, Hannah's brother James was born at 51 Franklin St., January 1, 1869. Since Hannah was older than James, she lived in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn For at least 61 years, and maybe longer. Just sayin'.

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