Jacob Schembs/James of Albany NY

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Finally! We have found Jacob Schembs (*1830 Laubenheim)!

For more than twenty years we believed Jacob Schembs (*15.10.1830 Laubenheim, +19.02.1895 Albany NY), the son of Anton and Elisabeth Spang Schembs, had emigrated and settled in Peoria, Illinois. In 2017 through DNA testing we discovered that Jacob from Laubenheim was not the Peoria settler. Reinhold Schembs ultimately tracked down Jacob in Albany, New York. It was obvious why he had been, in some ways, very hard to find. But first, his emigration from Deutschland.

The William Tell

Jacob's Emigration

Jacob arrived in New York City aboard the ship William Tell on 30 October 1850. He had departed Europe from the port of Havre in France, a port from which many millions of Europeans had sailed away from their European homes. On the passenger list he was entered as Jacob "Schenbs", age 20. Relative to other emigrants at the time, Jacob's voyage may have been more pleasant. The William Tell was a brand new 3-masted, square-rigged sailing ship. She had a capacity of over 600 passengers! This was perhaps only its second voyage, and at most its fifth. It was destroyed by fire in 1861 in the New York harbor.

So Much Information. And yet so Little.

Many records have now been found for Jacob and his family in Amerika. One reason they were not found sooner, however, was that Jacob changed his family name from Schembs to "James" almost immediately after immigrating into the United States. But he and his family almost lead a double life. All the "public" records, e.g. Census records and City Directories list the family as "James". None as "Schembs". Yet in their Church they were known mostly as the "Schembs" family. This should not have been a problem for genealogical research except that the church records were never captured by Ancestry.com or other genealogy websites.

See below about the German Evangelical Protestant Church and its key role in this saga.

But First, more about the Name Change to "James"

Not only was it surprising that Jacob changed his family name to James, but how soon he made the change. When we discovered Jacob James in the 1855 New York State Census, we were aware of three other descendants of Zacharias who had done so. The other three had all been "Schömbs" in Deutschland and did so much later than Jacob. Heinrich Schömbs (*1810 Hahnheim), who we estimate had emigrated in about 1840, did not change his name until 1880. He was still a "Schoembs" in the 1870 Census. The second emigrant, Joh. Wilhelm Schömbs (1810 Hahnheim), was William James when he wrote his will in 1862. This is the first record we have of his use of the name James. The third emigrant Heinrich Schömbs (*1813 Dorn Dürkheim) was a "Schoembs", "Schemps" and "Schombs" following his arrival in Baltimore, Maryland. The 1891 state census is the first record where we see his family name "James.

Until 2017 we had thought only some "Schömbs" emigrants had made this name change to "James". Now with Jacob we see that a "Schembs" did the same. It is likely that over time we will discover more cousins who turned into "Jameses". And perhaps some who did it earlier than Jacob. But one thing that is interesting is that they somehow were all in communication. Four somewhat distant cousins did not all select their same new surname by accident. Whether they were in contact with each other, or if it became known in Germany and then the information passed to others in Amerika is not known. And perhaps never will be.

The first record which has been located after his arrival was from the 1855 New York State census, on Line 13. He had been in the country for five years. He was living with his cousin Anthony Spang (*1817), the nephew of his mother Elisabeth Spang Schembs (*1798). The transcription of the Census is also helpful.

There are several church records from Albany where Jacob's hometown is recorded. One is his death record where it gives "Laubenheim Darmstadt", Darmstadt being the German "state".

Marriage

Sometime after the 1855 Census and before the U.S. Census of 1860, Jacob married a woman by the name of Elisabeth Oetzel (*about 1838 Bavaria, +26.09.1909 Albany NY), another German emigrant. Elisabeth's family name is seen in some of the Church records in Albany. For example, see the birth record for their first child, Mary (*1857). And the marriage record of Mary (*1857). In most of the census records she is enumerated as "Eliza". Her year of birth varies depending upon which record one views, but usually about 1834. In the 1900 Census, the one which asked for month and year of birth, rather than age, the information is November 1834. However her cemetery record clearly indicates 1838. This therefore is the preferred date.

The German Evangelical Protestant Church

Jacob had been baptised in the Catholic Church in Laubenheim. The Church in Albany attended by the Schembs/James, whose name was later shortened to the Evangelical Protestant Church, was located on the corner of Clinton and Alexander Streets. This is downtown and literally in the middle of the locations of their homes in the map below. The Church's Cemetery is located on Krumhill Road, five miles to the west of the Church. Lydia Scheeren, not a Schömbs relative but a contributor to Find-A-Grave.com, with a friend went to the Church and Cemetery several years ago. They took copies of the Church's records and photographs of the graves. A computer crash lost many of their digital records and they never appeared on Ancestry.com. Some photographs and brief notes are on Find-A-Grave. When I contacted Lydia she very generously made copies of the paper records and sent them to me. You see them in many of the Links with her hand-written mark-ups and translations. Without her assistance this chapter would be woefully incomplete and we would not know of the living descendants of Jacob and Elisabeth. Thank you very much, Lydia.

Initially those members of the Schembs/James family who passed away were buried in the Family Plot #250 at the Evangelical Protestant Church Cemetery. Later their family members were buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery, as noted below. This is perhaps due to Plot #250 becoming full as well as the entire Cemetery.

Jacob's Occupation

Jacob was a shoemaker by trade. Every census gives this information, as well as the City Directories.

	In Amerika Jacob changed the family name to "James"

The Civil War

Jacob was 30 years old when the U.S. Civil War broke out in April 1861. In June 1863 he was enumerated on Line 7 of a list of males "subject to do military duty". It is not known that he served. But his profession, that of a shoemaker, would have been a very important person making shoes for the Union Army.

Citizenship and Residences

Jacob is identified as a naturalized citizen of the United States in the 1865 Census.

Downtown Albany Click Map to enlarge

We only have snapshots of where the family lived. In 1861 they were at #4 Alexander in Albany, the balloon in the center of the map. In 1880 the home was at 342 S. Pearl Street, just across the street. In 1900, following the death of Jacob, Elizabeth and several of her children lived at 135 Broad Street, still only two blocks to the south. In 1909 both their mother Eliza and youngest son George (*1879) passed away. Libbie and John, who had been living with their mother and George on Broad Street, moved into separate living arrangements.

In 1910 Libbie moved to 63 Alexander.

The Various Census and Other Records

Most of the census records can be Linked to online for the complete and original pages. See "LiveLinks" at the bottom of this page.

Head of Household	Year	Tran- scription	Type
Anthony Spang	1855		NY State Census
Jacob James	1860	1860	U.S. Federal Census
Jacob James	1865	1865	NY State Census
	1865		.....2nd page
Jacob James	1870	1870	U.S. Federal Census
	1870		.....2nd page with Libbie
Jacob James	1875	1875	NY State Census
Jacob James	1880	1880	U.S. Federal Census
Jacob James	1892		NY State Census
	1892		.....2nd page
Eliza James	1900	1900	U.S. Federal Census
Eliza James	1905	1905	NY State Census

The Deaths of Jacob and Elizabeth James

Jacob passed away at the age of 64 on 19 February 1895 in Albany.The cause of death was given as heart problems, perhaps a heart attack. He was buried in the Evangelical Protestant Church Cemetery two days later. The death record indicates he left behind a wife and six chilren. The Cemetery Plot Book has his date of death as 20 February. This is highly unlikely, as this would indicate he was buried the day after his death. It also gives his last address as 149 Broad Street, Albany.

His wife Eliza followed him fourteen years later on 26 September 1909 and is buried with Jacob. It is not known what her families religion had been in Germany. The headstone for Eliza gives a birth year of 1838. Since all the census records while she was living make it earlier than 1838, it is not known exactly when she was born. But the 1900 Census, which said November 1834, was perhaps correct. The Cemetery Plot Book indicates she had been living at 404 South Pearl Street.

Four of their children were buried with Jacob and Elizabeth in the family plot: Lot 250. There is another Elizabeth James buried in the Evangelical Protestant Cemetery, the one born in 1844. She is buried in a different plot in the Cemetery and not a member of this our James family.

More Information About the Spang Family

Because Anton Spang, the cousin of Jacob Schembs James and with whose family Jacob was living in 1855, was not a descendant of Zacharias Schömbs, Anton does not have a chapter in this book. However much information about the Spangs was learned in our research, which might be of interest particularly to the descendants of Jacob Schembs James (*1830 Laubenheim).

There is an Outline in English or auf Deutsch of the next few generations of the Spang family, a Family Tree on FamilySearch.com and Links to various other documents available on the web.

Descendants of Jacob Schembs

The 1900 Census asked a question of how many children the female had borne and how many were still living. The data for Elisabeth James (*about 1838) shows eight children, four of whom were still living in 1900. Elisabeth died nine years later. We are only aware of seven children.

Children: (7)

7.1.....Mary J. "Marie" James (*1.02.1857 Albany NY, +15.03.1906 Albany)

When she was fourteen years old "Marie Schembs" was confirmed into the Evangelical Protestant Church, as shown in the Confirmation Book. In all there were more than thirty girls in her confirmation class. Marie is entered on Line 38 and her family name spelled as "Schemps".

Marie and Johann "John" Metz, Sr. (*19.11.1858 Albany, +13.04.1921 New York City) married on 26 February 1877 in the Evangelical Protestant Church. John was the son of Georg M and Elisabeth Sangmeister Metz. He was 21 years old and living at 3rd Avenue and Clinton Street at the time of the wedding. Marie was 19. The witnesses were Marie's parents.

By profession John was a carpenter. They lived at 106 Clinton Street in 1879.

In 1880 the family was living on Second Avenue in Albany. The record is a challenge to read. Perhaps it says he was a brakeman on the railroad.

In about 1912 John moved to Manhattan (New York City) where he lived with his daughter Lisette, or Zeta as she was enumerated in the 1920 Census. They lived at West 114th Street. John, age 64, worked as a "towerman" or guard for the Interboro Rapid Transit Company, or "IRT" as it was called in the early days of the New York City subway system. Zeta did not work at the time and died one year later. John passed away three months after Zeta, also in New York City. Both the NYC Death Certificate as well as the Albany Cemetery Association records document his death, although in some cases with conflicting information.

The second page of the Church death register shows John (*1858, +1921) was buried in Albany Rural Cemetery.

Children: (6)

6.1.....Jacob Johannes "John" Metz, Jr. (*25.03.1877 Albany NY, +13.11.1933)

Jacob Johannes was baptised at the age of two years with his younger sister Elisabeth in the German Evangelical Protestant Church. He married Bertha Klotz (*~1884 Minnesota, +after 1930) in about 1906. Bertha was the daughter of German immmigrants.

In the 1910 Census John and Bertha were living at 443 South Pearl Street which they rented. His occupation was given as a "constructor" on the "steam (rail) road". In fact, he was a conductor and brakeman, a transcription error in the Census. He followed in his father's footsteps.

John Metz, Jr. (circa 1911) Click Map to enlarge

Their first child is enumerated in the Census as "Caslin W. Metz (*1907)". Five years later in the 1915 New York State Census John is enumerated as a "Policeman". Their son has changed from Caslin to Harlan, again probably a recording error in the 1910 Census. Also living with them is a niece, Anna Pappalan, age two.

According to Marie Metz Smith, her mother Bertha, felt that the job of brakeman was too dangerous. She was afraid that John would slip on an icy winter evening while setting brakes on the freight cars and fall on the tracks and be crushed under a train. In the 1914 Albany City Directory John is listed as working for the police. He walked a beat and was also a mounted police man, according to the Albany City Directories from 1916 to 1920. While he was a mounted police man, he would patrol on Wolf Road, which was right on the Albany city line. In those years, Wolf Road was a rural area where there were farms and he would turn around at one of the farms on that road. My grandmother said he once dismounted his horse and put his foot through ice in a trough or bucket into freezing water. [1]

In 1920 they continued renting at 443 S. Pearl. John was a policeman, working for the N.Y. State Police. Anna (now spelled Popalau), now age six, was still living with them. Bertha is shown to have been born in Minnesota.

From 1921, John Metz, Sr. is listed as being a detective with the Albany City Police. Marie Metz Smith told her grandson, Mark Smith, that her father John Metz, Jr. was involved in the Legs Diamond case. She also mentioned that Danny O'Connell, the man who ran the Democrat Party machine in Albany, had graduated high school with John Metz, Jr. and had gotten him the job in the police. Based on Mark Smith's research, that cannot be correct. Danny O'Connell left school in the fifth grade and he was eight years younger than John, Jr. Danny O'Connell did not run the Democrat party machine at the time John began on the Albany Police force. At that time, the Republican party machine-controlled patronage in Albany. (The Republicans controlled Albany politics from 1900 to 1920.) This is pure speculation, but, assuming Marie Metz Smith was right about Danny O'Connell getting her father a job, it could be that Danny O'Connell had a role in John Metz, Jr.'s promotion to detective in 1921. If so, that would have been at the very beginning of Danny's O'Connell's ascendancy in Albany City politics, which ran into the 1970s.[1]

In 1925 John was listed as a "plain clothes man", perhaps a detective in police work. Anna, age twelve, is enumerated as a niece. The City Directory of 1925 lists both John J, detective at the Municipal Building, as well as their son Harlan W, toolmaker.

In 1930 he was a policeman. For ages at first marriage 30 for John and 23 for Bertha. They rented, with a monthly rent of $10 it appears. They also had a radio set. And Anna Popalau, now age 17, continued to live with them. They lived at 443 South Pearl Street in Albany, one of three families at the address.

During Prohibition (1920 to 1933) in the United States, when it was illegal to purchase or consume alcohol, John Metz, Sr. warned his daughter, Marie, that he did not want to break-down the door to a speak-easy, a place that sold bootleg liquor, in a raid and see her face on the other side of the door. Marie was so scared by his warning that from that time on she would only go to speak-easies outside of the Albany city limits. I remember her mentioning going to speak-easies on the side of Wolf Road that was in the town of Colonie, outside of his jurisdiction. [1]

John died in November 1933, possibly from a stroke. Marie Metz Smith told me that there were many mourners at his funeral. Among those showing up to pay their respects, were a number of prostitutes. They told John's family that he was known among them as Saint John because he treated them with kindness and never extorted money from them. [1]

Children: (2)

2.1.....Harlen Metz (*21.02.1907 Albany, +14.12.1981 Glenmont NY)

In the State Census of 1925 Harlen W., age eighteen, is an apprentice in a tool and die shop.

From the Albany City Directories of 1926 and 1928, we see Harlen was a "tool maker" living with his parents at 443 South Pearl Street. In the 1930 Census Harlen, age 23, was single, living at home and working as a machinist for a "car company".

By 1940 Harlan had married Harriet Barends (*1908). They had one child at the time of the Census. But perhaps the first of several. His profession was a tool maker in a "tin factory". Harlen had completed his sophomore year of high school (two years). In the prior year (1939) Harlen had worked 50 weeks, earning $1,820. They owned their home in Bethlehem, Albany County NY, valued at $5,000. The address appears to be Glenmont Hill #32. Living with them was Harriet's mother Mathilda Barends.

Harlen and Harriet lived in Glenmont, immediately on the south side of Albany.

Children: (1)

1.1.....Harlen William Metz, Jr. (*14.08.1938 Albany, +26.01.2007)

Harlen served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He and Patricia "Patty" Lilith Johnston (*19.03.1933 Seattle WA, +9.12.2014 Glenmont NY) married in 1963 in Litchfield CT. Patricia was the daughter of Peter and Gertrude Langlois Johnston.

Harlen was a contractor by profession as well as a forty-five year member of the Selkirk Fire Department. He enjoyed camping, fishing and Nascar racing. More of his life is written in his obituary. Patricia worked with Harlen in the family business and enjoyed many of the same interests and hobies. Much of the information about Patricia is confirmed in a family tree on ancestry.com.

The children of Harlen Jr., Pamela and John H., were raised by their mother and did not know their cousins the Smiths.

Children: (3)

Biological Children of Patricia Johnston:

3.1.....Henry Joseph "Duff" Wyatt III (*19.06.1958, +1975)

Duff was not the son of Harlen Metz. He died in an accident at the age of seventeen.

"Sadly, Duffer was killed in an automobile accident in the early to mid-1970s, he was about 18 years old and on his way with a friend to check out SUNY Cobleskill for college. He was a great person. He was always very nice to us kids and was mature beyond his years. He is buried in Memory Gardens Cemetery in Albany." [1]

Biological Children of Harlen Metz Jr.:

3.2.....Pamela Christine Metz (*25.01.1959)

Pam married a man by the name of Durfee, perhaps James Tracy Durfee. Or perhaps James Tracy is her son. They probably live in the town of Schoharie NY, about twenty-five miles west of Albany.

Children: (1) but perhaps more

1.1.....James Tracy Durfee (*about 1995)

James Durfee may also be living in Schoharie.

3.3.....John H. Metz (*1960, +15.11.2007 Glenmont NY)

John may have married a woman with the first name of Amber. They lived in Guilderland Center, about five miles south of Schenectady NY.

2.2.....Marie Elizabeth Metz (*4.02.1909 Albany, +9.09.1999 Albany)

In 1930 Marie was single, living at home and a stenographer for Bayer. About this time she developed a serious interest in her family history:

In the winter of 1933-34, when the Hudson River froze, Marie said she would walk across the river to go to Rensselaer to work at the Bayer Company. She lived in her parent's house in the south end of Albany, not too far from the river. Around the time of her father's death, a German scientist who had recently lost his wife, would see her on her way to work and give her a ride. I have an idea that he may have had a chauffeur. Regardless, the two rode together for a period, the company of the other a comfort in the face of their recent losses. [1]

Marie Metz Smith was interested in genealogy long before it was popular. She spent hours in the 1930s and 40s looking at records in the town hall and churches in the small Adirondack town where my grandfather was raised. The results of her research for both families, in her own words: "Nothing spectacular - farmers, sawyers, railroad men, postmen, policemen always doing a service." [1]

Marie met Paul Lester Smith (*4.02.1909, +13.04.1976 Albany) in the early 1930's when they were both working for the Bayer Company. They were both born the same day! They married on 17 October 1938.

They were dating by 1933, the first year Marie and Paul were both listed as clerks working at the Bayer Company, Inc. in the Rensselaer City Directory. In some years, the directory listed Marie as a stenographer and in other years a clerk. Marie is listed in the Rensselaer City Directory as working as a clerk at the Bayer Company, Inc. first in 1928. This was at least Marie's second job. She told her grandson, Mark, that her father, John J. Metz, Jr. had gotten her a job packing checkers into boxes through a woman he knew. After a trial run, the woman told John she had to let Marie go because she was so uncoordinated packing the boxes and could not master the technique they taught the packers to use. At the Bayer Company, based on the information Mark Smith was told years ago, Marie was a secretary and Paul worked in sales. Marie and Paul must have become serious about their relationship early on because Marie went with Paul to meet his family in the Adirondacks during the Memorial Day weekend in the early 1930s, perhaps as early as 1933. However, Paul and Marie did not marry for five years, until October 17, 1938. They delayed their marriage because of the depression. When Marie and Paul married, Marie would have to give up her job at The Bayer Company since the company had a policy against a married couple working there. In the 1939 Albany City Directory, Marie is listed as married. In the first years of their marriage, they lived with Marie's mother, Bertha, at 443 South Pearl Street. Bertha had been widowed in November 1933, when her husband, John Metz, Jr. died suddenly.

Paul Smith (*1909), circa 1930's click to enlarge	Marie Metz Smith (*1909), circa 1930's click to enlarge

In the 1930s, Paul became very sick. He had some infection that his body could not defeat. That infection put his life in jeopardy. Somebody at Bayer mentioned that the firm had a new drug that might be of help. Paul received this new drug, which I was told was penicillin and was restored to health. [1]

Marie and Paul were living in Clifton Park in 1999, a town about five miles north of Albany. Much of what we originally knew about Marie came from the summary of her 1999 obituary. This information allowed us to locate and make contact with Mark, Gary and Katie Brennan Smith, who are adding significantly to the content of the Albany story.

"According to Marie Metz Smith, Mary James Metz and John J. Metz are buried in Rural Cemetery at Troy, as are all of their children except John, who is buried in St. Matthew Cemetery. John J. Metz and Bertha Hoppe Klotz are buried in St. Matthew Cemetery, Glenmont at the foot of Cemetery Hill. At the time Marie wrote this, the plan was that Anne Pappolou Volk and George Volk (her husband) and Harlan Metz Sr. and Harriet Barends Metz would be also buried in St. Matthew Cemetery in the family plot.

Anne Pappalau was Bertha Klotz Metz's niece. Anne's mother was Clara Klotz Pappalau, born 1881 and died 1913. Anne's father was William Pappalau. Anne Pappalau married George Volk. They did not have children. (Source: Marie Metz Smith)

Anne was raised as a sister to Marie and Harlan. When Clara died, her father William was unable to be a single parent to an infant so Bertha and John took Anne.

Marie Metz Smith remembers the day that her mother, Harlan and she took the street car from Albany to Schenectady to pick up baby Anne and bring her home. The round trip took the better part of the day. After leaving the city of Albany, the street car rumbled through the countryside passing farms and cows in the fields before entering the city of Schenectady. "

In the 1943 Albany City Directory, Paul is listed as a purchasing agent. I was told by my father and grandmother that he was a buying agent for Bayer during the Second World War. Paul had responsibility for procuring the raw materials necessary for analgesics production for U.S. forces in the Pacific Theater. It was in a high-pressure position with great responsibility. [1]

Children: (1)

1.1.....Douglas Paul Smith (*19.9.1940 Albany, +17.04.2006 Albany)

Doug and Jane Kaufman (*1941) married in September 1962. They had two children, Mark and Gary, but divorced in 1973.

Soon after Doug's divorce he and Justine Durant (*27.01.1936 South Colton NY, +24.04.2008 Saratoga Springs NY) married. Justine was the daughter of Ernest and Rachel Haley Durant.

The obituaries of Doug and Justine show that both Doug and Justine had been married previously. And that they each had two children in those prior relationships. The children shown below are listed as such.

From Doug's obituary we also see that Doug and Justine were living in Clifton Park. Doug was a Real Estate Broker by profession.

Father's Day 2004: Doug, Mark, Gary and Connor click to enlarge	Doug Smith, circa 2005 click to enlarge

Children: (4)

Children of Doug Smith and Jane Kaufman:

4.1.....Mark D. Smith (*1963)

Mark was living in New Jersey.

4.2.....Gary S. Smith (*1966)

Mark married Katie Brennan (*1968). Their son Connor will be a junior in high school in 2019. In 2008 they were living in Greenwich NY about thirty miles north of Albany NY.

Children: (1)

1.1.....Connor Smith (*about 2003)

Connor, Gary, Katie and Snowflake click to enlarge	Holiday in Gordes, France 2019 click to enlarge

Biological Children of Justine Durant from her first marriage:

4.3.....Michele Miller (*1958)

Michele married Thomas H. Tierney. In 2019 they were living in Schenectady NY.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Erin Anne Tierney (*1986)

Erin and a Mr. Rielly married. His given name is either Matthew or Thomas. They live in Schenectady NY.

2.2.....Thomas "Tommy" Tierney

4.4.....Michael T. Miller

Michael married a woman by the name of Cynthia. In 2008 they were living in Salem, about thirty miles north of Albany.

6.2.....Elisabeth "Libbie" Metz (*01.02.1879 Albany NY, +04.10.1884 Albany)

Libbie was baptised on 13 April 1879 at the age of two months. Her brother Jacob Johannes, age two, was baptised at the same time. Libbie died at age five. We do not know the cause of death. Libbie was buried in the Evangelical Protestant Church Cemetery in Lot 76 with her paternal grandparents, Johan Georg and Elizabeth Metz.

6.3.....Mathilda Metz (*30.03.1882 Albany NY, +1899)

Mathilda Metz, named for her aunt Mathilda Schembs James (*1860), was baptised in the same service as two of her uncles, John and Georg Schembs James. Mathilda was one year old, John ten and Georg four years. She passed away at age seventeen of tuberculosis.[4]

6.4.....Georg Metz (*26.01.1885 Albany NY, +15.02.1891 Albany)

Georg died at the age of six. The Church Death Register gives the cause of death as croup. He was buried in the Evangelical Protestant Church Cemetery in the family plot.

6.5.....Lisette Metz (*11.03.1890 Albany NY, +06.01.1921 Albany)

Her godparents at her baptism were her aunt Elisabeth, for whom she was named, and her grandfather. She was confirmed in the Church at age thirteen.

Lisette did not marry, dying in 1921 as Lisette Metz at the age of thirty of tuberculosis.[3] She was buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery. She left behind her father and one brother.

6.6.....Edward James Metz (*25.02.1899 Albany NY, +9.03.1900 Albany)

Edward was born nine years after his sister Lisette. The second page of the Baptism Register shows his father Johann was a "railroader". Edward died two weeks after his first birthday and was buried in Albany Rural Cemetery.

Mary passed away in 1906. She was buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery in the town of Menands north of Albany. Per the Church Death Register she left behind her husband and two children, one son and one daughter.

John died in 1921. Per the Church Death Register he died in New York City. It is not known at this time whether he lived in NYC prior to his death or still living in Albany. But looking at Census information for New York City after 1900 might prove fruitful. He was buried in Albany. Also according to the Register, there was only one family member still living in 1921. By process of elimination, this would have been 6.1 Jacob Johannes.

7.2.....Matilda "Tillie" James (*26.02.1860 Albany, +18.05.1895 Albany)

In the various documents, particularly census documents, there is sometimes a daughter "Delia" listed. In other documents a "Mathilda" of about the same age. Initially we thought they might be separate daughters. But they never appeared together in a document. Now, with the extensive records from the Church, it appears that Mathilda was sometimes, particulary in her younger years, called "Delia".

In the 1880 Census Tillie is enumerated as being a in another home. She is twenty years old. Working with her also as a servant is a Lizzie Schindler, age nineteen.

On 24 February 1891 Tillie married John Wolford (*about 1863 Albany, +13.02.1931 Albany). The ceremony was in the Pfarrhaus (church rectory) at 72 Bassett Street. Witnesses were Charles Schindler and Lina Wolford. The following year Tillie and John were enumerated in the 1892 New York State Census living with Tillie's parents. John Wolford was listed as a "stovemason" or at least something to do with stoves, whereas in the wedding record from the prior year he was a "brakeman".

John Wolford was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Wolford, also residents of Albany. They appear in the 1865 N.Y. State Census. It appears to say John is 1 6/12 years old. Then in the 1870 U.S. Census and again in 1880 they are enumerated. John, age 17, was working in a paper factory.

Tillie died in May 1895 at the age of 35, six weeks after the birth of their third child Karl Wilhelm. The causes of death were given as consumption, tuberculosis and asthma. She left behind her husband and two small children: She was buried in the Family Plot #250 in the Evangelical Protestant Church Cemetery, three miles due west of downtown Albany. This is the Cemetery where Tillie's parents and many of their family were buried. The Cemetery Plot Book gives her address at the time of death as 52 Odell Street.

Children: (3)

3.1.....Elisabetha Wolford (*18.09.1891 Albany, +19.11.1892 Albany)

Elisabetha was baptised 7 October 1891 in the Evangelical Protestant Church. She was almost three weeks old. The death record at the Church is in conflict with the baptism record as to the year of birth. The baptism book ("Tauf") clearly shows 18 September 1891. The death book ("Sterbe") indicates 18 September 1892 as the birth date. It is assumed that the 1891 year is correct.

Elisabeth died the following year of scarlet fever and was buried in the Evangelical Protestant Church. The book then goes on to show her age as 2 years, 2 months and 2 days -- clearly wrong. And the family's home address as 149 Broad Street in Albany.

3.2.....Johann Karl "John Jr." Wolford, (*23.10.1893 Albany NY, +26.03.1911 Albany NY)

Johann Karl was baptised on 26 November, a month after his birth. The entry in the Tauf Book says his godparents (Taufzeugen) were his parents. This was the case with several of the Albany baptisms.

In the 1910 Census John Jr. was enumerated as single, living at home, seventeen years old and a plumber. A year later, at age seventeen, he died of consumption and was buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery. He was buried in the plot of Howard Stacy, Sec. 100 Lot 166. Howard was the first husband of Jr.'s step-mother Anna. John Jr. was one year old when both Howard and his mother died. He was not related to nor would he have known Howard.

3.3.....Karl Wilhelm Wolford (*06.04.1895 Albany)

Karl Wilhelm was baptised four weeks after his birth. The Register repeats that his father was a "railroader". His godparent was Lina Schindler.

But Karl Wilhelm does not appear in the 1900 U.S. Census with his father John and brother John Jr. This would suggest that Karl Wilhelm died prior to 1900. In 1900, were he alive, he would have been five years old.

John Sr. re-married. In 1898 John and Anna K. Stacy (*14.06.1857 Albany, +01.12.1945 Albany), a widow, were married. Anna was widowed from her prior marriage to a Howard Stacy (*1857 , +8.12.1895 Albany). Anna was about five years older than John.

In the 1900 Census John and his second wife Anna were renting at 269 South Pearl Street in Albany. The Census record was incorrectly transcribed as "Molford" rather than "Wolford". In looking at the original Census page it is easy to see how this could have been done. They had a blended family. Of the three children listed, the two older (Carrie (*about 1880) and Oliver (*about 1881)) were from Anna's first marriage to Howard Stacy. John "Molford" Jr. in 1900 was the sole surviving child from John Sr.'s marriage to Matilda James.

In the 1905 New York State Census John and Annie were enumerated with son John Jr. and a daughter Sadie (*27.11.1900 Albany, +15.08.1906) from their marriage together. Sadie then passed away in 1906 at the age of five years and was buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery. She was buried in the Howard B. Stacy Lot, Anna's first husband with no blood relationship to Sadie.

John and Annie were living at 158 South Pearl Street in 1905. He was a brakeman on the railroad. Then in 1910 they had moved down the street to 134 South Pearl.

In the 1910 Census John Jr. was seventeen. Sadie had died. John Jr. died a year later in 1911, leaving no surviving descendants from the marriage of Tillie James (*1860) and John Wolford.

John and Annie then appear in the 1930 Census. They were living at 89 Ash Grove Place in Albany. John died a year later and was buried in Graceland Cemetery which is about two miles southwest of Downtown Albany. Annie followed him fourteen years later in 1945 and was buried with John in Graceland.

7.3.....Gottlieb James (*11.12.1864 Albany NY, +12.08.1886 Albany)

The birth date for Gottlieb is from his confirmation record from the Church. It differs from his death record. Gottlieb is mentioned in the census records for 1870, 1875 and 1880. He passed away in 1886 apparently with no "people left behind". This would suggest he did not marry.

7.4.....Edward "Eddy" James (*10.12.1867 Albany, +25.07.1899 Albany)

Eddy died at the age of thirty-one and was buried in the Family Plot - #250 at Evangelical Protestant Church Cemetery. Per the Cemetery Plot Book his address had been 79 Fourth Avenue in Albany. The death record shows that he had married but apparently had no children.

7.5.....Elisabeth "Libbie" James (*01.05.1870 Albany, +2.02.1923 Albany)

Libbie was baptised on 11 June 1871. Her godmother was Elisabeth Spang. The baptismal record reconfirms the maiden name of Libbie's mother as Oetzel and shows she was born in Bayern (Bavaria, Germany). Her confirmation took place on 18 March 1883.

In 1892 Libbie was 22 years old and employed as a seamstress. She then followed her father in his profession, a shoemaker. We see this in the 1900 Census. She lived with her mother and brothers John and George at 135 Broad Street until her mother died in 1909. This is seen in the 1905 Census where her mother is enumerated as "Eliazer" James.

In 1910 she was "boarding" with her nephew and his wife, John and Bertha Metz in their home. Her occupation was then listed as "dressmaking". By 1915 through 1920 she was living at 63 Alexander Street, about four blocks from where the family was living in 1861. A Barbara Dorflinger was boarding with her. Barbara was 13 years older than Libbie and a widow. Libbie's profession was now listed as "canvasser of groceries", whatever that means.

Libbie did not marry and died in 1923 at the age of 52. She was buried in the Evangelical Protestant Church Cemetery with her other family members. At the time of her death she was still living at 63 Alexander Street.

7.6.....John James (*22.04.1873 Albany)

John was baptised at age ten with his younger brother Georg and his niece Mathilda Metz, age one year and three months.

John too lived at home on Broad Street with his mother and siblings. In 1905 he was 33 years old, single and a fireman by profession. We do not have any information for John after 1905.

7.7.....Georg James (*25.05.1879 Albany, +22.08.1909 Albany)

Georg was baptised with his brother John and his niece Mathilda Metz on 15 July 1883.

George lived with his mother Eliza and brother and sister in 1900 and 1905. He was an "ice handler" by profession in 1905. We have no further information about Georg except that he died in 1909, one month before his mother.

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