{"id":12301,"date":"2016-01-22T11:56:09","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T16:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=12301"},"modified":"2017-02-21T11:52:19","modified_gmt":"2017-02-21T16:52:19","slug":"genealogy-research-newspapers-round-out-the-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/genealogy-research-newspapers-round-out-the-story.html","title":{"rendered":"Genealogy Research: Newspapers Round Out the Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was looking at the 1919 marriage certificate of my cousin George Henry Kemp and his wife Augusta Betty Ehlers.<\/p>\n

\"marriage<\/a>
Source: Kemp family papers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From earlier research, I already had the basic genealogical information about them \u2013 their birth, marriage and death information.
\nWhat more could I learn about them from their marriage certificate?<\/p>\n

Looking at the information for George, I saw that he was living at 1581 Mayflower Avenue in the Bronx at the time of their marriage. I wondered if that home is still standing? That would be interesting to know. So, I looked at Google Street View, typing in that address \u2013 it brought me right to it.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: 1581 Mayflower Avenue, Bronx, New York. Source: Google Street View.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Zillow.com<\/a> that home was built about 1920.
\nSo this was probably their home.<\/p>\n

The online List of Enrolled Voters: Borough of the Bronx<\/a> for 1918 shows that George was enrolled as a Democrat and living at that address. His father John Kemp and step-mother Emily (Mulholland) Kemp are also listed as enrolled voters living at that address \u2013 but with no party affiliation designated.<\/p>\n

George and August\u2019s marriage certificate says that the wedding was performed in New York by \u201cH. C. Stemp, Clergyman.\u201d
\nStemp. You don\u2019t hear that surname very often.<\/p>\n

Since he was a minister in New York City, I decided to search for any mention of him in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>.
\nSo I searched for H.C. Stemp \u2013 and generated zero search results.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s odd.
\nHe was a minister \u2013 but there were no references to him in the old newspapers?<\/p>\n

So \u2013 I Googled him.
\nLooking for: Rv. H.C. Stemp church New York City, I found only one or two references for him there \u2013 but one of the Google search results linked him to St. John\u2019s Lutheran Church in New York City.<\/p>\n

OK \u2013 let\u2019s see if that works.
\nHmm.
\nA few more searches in GenealogyBank\u2019s old newspapers<\/a> \u2013 but still nothing.<\/p>\n

There must be something wrong with the spelling of that surname.<\/p>\n

So I searched GenealogyBank again using only his initials and the reference to the Lutheran Church in New York.<\/p>\n

I limited my search to 1919, the year he performed the wedding of my cousin. Since I was searching on the initials \u201cH. C.\u201d I also limited the search results to just New York and the immediate bordering states Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut.<\/p>\n

\"screenshot<\/a>
Source: GenealogyBank<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That generated a reasonable four search results \u2013 including this one.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Springfield Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts), 13 September 1919, page 6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bingo \u2013 that\u2019s him \u2013 and look at that, his surname is spelled Steup not Stemp. Searching again with the correct spelling, I found this newspaper article about him. It turns out that the Steups were a tribe of pastors.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Springfield Daily News (Springfield, Massachusetts), 2 March 1918, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That article included this photo of the Steup ministers.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Springfield Daily News (Springfield, Massachusetts), 2 March 1918, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I then searched the Internet for more information about St. John\u2019s Lutheran Church.<\/p>\n

I quickly found these photographs of the church.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: St. John\u2019s Lutheran Church, New York, New York. Source: New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
http:\/\/www.nycago.org\/Organs\/NYC\/html\/StJohnEvLuth.html<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: the altar in St. John\u2019s Lutheran Church, New York, New York. Source: New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
http:\/\/www.nycago.org\/Organs\/NYC\/html\/StJohnEvLuth.html<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to this website:<\/p>\n

The Federal-style building with a domed cupola, built in 1821-22 for the Eighth Presbyterian Church, is one of the oldest religious buildings in Greenwich Village. In 1842, the property was sold to St. Matthew\u2019s Episcopal Church, who worshiped here until 1858 when it was purchased for $13,000 by the German Lutherans. Victorian features were added in 1886 by Berg & Clark, and the pediment was inscribed, “Deutsche Evangelish-Lutherische St. Johannes Kirche.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These contemporary photos of the church, showing the altar area, are likely very similar to the way the church would have looked in 1919 when their wedding was performed.<\/p>\n

A German Lutheran Church. That makes sense \u2013 Augusta\u2019s family had lived in the Bronx but moved to Stamford, Connecticut, in 1890 when her father bought a butcher shop on the corner of East Main Street and Maple Avenue there.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Stamford Advocate (Stamford, Connecticut), 19 September 1890, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Looking at Google Street View, I found the building.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: the corner of East Main Street and Maple Avenue, Stamford, Connecticut. Source: Google Street View.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Their home and butcher shop was right next door to George\u2019s uncle, William Kemp!<\/p>\n

I also found this article, showing that George\u2019s father John Kemp, \u201ca New York [City] policeman\u201d was \u201chaving a fine dwelling house erected on the corner of Main street and Myrtle avenue.\u201d That is just to the right of the red \u201cService and Parts\u201d awning pictured above.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Stamford Advocate (Stamford, Connecticut), 4 December 1885, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This week when I started this research, I already had George and Augusta\u2019s wedding certificate and their basic genealogical facts.<\/p>\n

Armed with the insights from GenealogyBank\u2019s newspapers<\/a> and the Internet, I really got the rest of their story.<\/p>\n

He lived at home with his parents in the Bronx and she lived with her family above their butcher shop in Stamford, Connecticut. By identifying the correct spelling of the minister\u2019s name, I was able to find the church where they were married \u2013 and that is likely the church her family attended when they lived in New York City before they moved to Stamford.<\/p>\n

With these essential online tools and a little elbow grease you can build your family history from home. It\u2019s amazing what you can find in newspapers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a Great Day for Genealogy!<\/p>\n

Are you attending the RootsTech Genealogy Conference?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GenealogyBank is helping to sponsor the upcoming RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, 3-6 February, 2016. If you\u2019re attending, come visit us at booth #523<\/strong> to discuss genealogy in general, or any specific questions you have about your own family history research.<\/p>\n

For more information about RootsTech, visit the website at: http:\/\/www.rootstech.org\/?lang=eng<\/a><\/p>\n

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