Regarding Thomas W. Gordon m. Manhattan 30 May 1908 Cert # 9845, his spouse was Ann Mulroy. (You can get the bride's name from the brides index using the certificate number and county)Not the Thomas Gordon you seek, apparently. -----Original Message----- From: irish-new-york-city-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:irish-new-york-city-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of irish-new-york-city-request@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 3:22 AM To: irish-new-york-city@rootsweb.com Subject: IRISH-NEW-YORK-CITY Digest, Vol 2, Issue 86 Today's Topics: 1. Lost marriage (Boyd Gray) 2. Re: Lost marriage (JBurden@aol.com) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 15:52:43 +0100 From: "Boyd Gray" <boydgray26@utvinternet.com> Subject: [IRISH-NYC] Lost marriage To: <IRISH-NEW-YORK-CITY@rootsweb.com> Cc: Barbara <barb_braswell20@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <00dc01c8043a$ca32cbc0$0e01a8c0@ie.irishbroadband.ie> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Hi Listers, This is the first time I have stepped outside Ireland to try to do any genealogy so please excuse any silly errors. I am looking for the marriage of my maternal grandparents. My grandfather, Thomas Gordon, arrived in Ellis Island on 12th June 1905. He said he was on his way to join a friend, William Carmichael, at 1748 Blair Street, Philadelphia. However, he was living at 315 East 33rd Street in Manhattan in the 1910 census and I have no reason to believe he ever left New York to go to Philly. My grandmother, Margaret Anne Bellingham, arrived in Ellis Island on 16th May 1908, on her way to stay with her sister, Mrs M Peden at 64 W 98th Street, Manhattan. Thomas and Margaret must have married sometime before the birth of their oldest child, Adeline. Adeline's birth date is given as 21st April (year unsure) by herself, she was described as aged 1 on her last birthday in the 1910 census (which would make her born in April 1909) but her mother gave her birthday as 21st September 1910 when she arrived yet again at Ellis Island in 1913! One wonders why these people can not get things rig! ht! In theory, the marriage should have been recorded in Civil Marriages in 1908 or maybe even 1909 or at a push 1910. These are NOT the sort of folks to have children out of wedlock! A good friend in Colorado had a search of these three years done by the New York City Department of Records and Information Services Municipal Archives and they came back with a zilcho result last week. The New York City Grooms Index does show a Thomas W Gordon getting married in May 1908 but this must NOT have been a Thomas Gordon marrying a Maggie Bellingham or the Archives folks would have found it. My own mother was born on 20th January 1917 and the address given was 517 East 85th Street, Manhattan. The family only returned to Northern Ireland in 1920. Is it possible they did not register the marriage? This would be common in Ireland in 1870 but by 1908, almosy all marriages would be registered. If they did register it, would there be any reason whatsoever for registering it anywhere o! utside Manhattan? I am now wondering how I might go about searching church records in Manhattan. These people were Presbyterian. Does anyone know what Presbyterian churches might be near any of the Manhattan addresses given above. And how might I organise a search of these? Here in Ulster, I would either go to the Public Records Office in Belfast, or visit the local church itself. I have become quite obsessed by finding this record even though it will not tell me anything new about my grandparents. But then again, I believe that the stories of my ancestors are more important than collecting names and I want to know the end of this story! If anyone needs any help researching Irish ancestors in Donegal or Derry in Ulster, let me know. Regards, Boyd ------------------------------