My Great Grandfather Lester Cornell had two brothers, Ira and Wright Cornell. Ira was the oldest, and he died young of tuberculosis, or so I’d been told, so he's been a bit of a mystery...
Then one day I was gifted with some old pictures. You know the kind, grey or sepia pictures of people on cardboard backing, usually they are faded and worn around the edges. Often there’s something somewhat familiar about their faces, but you’re not sure what.
The photographer is someone you never heard of in a place you’re not sure your relative ever went to; and to top it off, when you turn them over there’s no name on the back. Downright frustrating to be given a ton of great granny’s pictures… only to find out she was the only one who know who was in them.
This time it was different – I turned them over and there in spidery pencil was written names – some with question marks, but names all the same. I promptly started asking questions of anyone from that branch of the family and in that way I discovered many things from those few pictures.
Great Grandpa Lester was much younger than his brother - 15 years younger – and since Ira didn't have kids and died young not much was known about him. Other family members seem to recall his wife lived in CT in her later years after he died, but they’d lost track of her over the years. So, armed with a couple of old pictures and some sketchy data, I began the hunt.
First – the census. In 1880, I find Ira is 6, living with his brother Wright with his parents Joshua and Alice in Yorktown, Westchester Co, NY. In 1900, I find his family all in Yorktown, but Ira requires some more searching. There are 9 Ira Cornells in the census for that year, He is the one living with his wife Almira with her parents Henry and Jennie in Manhattan.
This time it was different – I turned them over and there in spidery pencil was written names – some with question marks, but names all the same. I promptly started asking questions of anyone from that branch of the family and in that way I discovered many things from those few pictures.
Great Grandpa Lester was much younger than his brother - 15 years younger – and since Ira didn't have kids and died young not much was known about him. Other family members seem to recall his wife lived in CT in her later years after he died, but they’d lost track of her over the years. So, armed with a couple of old pictures and some sketchy data, I began the hunt.
First – the census. In 1880, I find Ira is 6, living with his brother Wright with his parents Joshua and Alice in Yorktown, Westchester Co, NY. In 1900, I find his family all in Yorktown, but Ira requires some more searching. There are 9 Ira Cornells in the census for that year, He is the one living with his wife Almira with her parents Henry and Jennie in Manhattan.
This sort of goes with a family comment that he did “some photography down near the city” at one time. In 1910, I find lots of Iras, But not the one I’m looking for. In CT I find an Almira Cornell, the correct age, widowed, living with her mother – So by this I believe Ira has died. I find his mother, father and Lester living in Yorktown again. Alice is listed as having borne 3 children, 2 of which are living and this backs up my hunch that Ira has died. in 1920, I find no Ira that fits this family... so I move on to other records.
In some cemetery listings for Westchester county I do some more searches for the missing Ira.
I find a possible one in Mahopac and reach out to a cousin who might know if this is the correct one. Jeanette and her mom Lois (Lester’s daughter) going for a drive one weekend and find the stone I mentioned in Mahopac. They find a full death date and he is buried among the Fisher family – His Wife, Almira’s family. There’s a marking for the Masons on his stone, which adds a bit of information too.Online at the Mahopac Library I find copies of the Putnam county paper dating way back… and give it a few looks to see what I can find on Ira Cornell. Sure enough,. A few days after his death I find a column describing his death and where he’ll be buried. He was 30 years old and died of consumption.
Knowing Almira's full name and the fact Ira married by 1900, I began to look for marriage records. Nothing is found in Westchester county where Ira was born. However now knowing he was in NY city in 1900, I look at the NY city indexes and find success. Ira J Cornell married Almira Fisher in Manhattan, NY on February 21, 1899. I wonder if any of the family traveled to the city that day to celebrate with them.
So by looking in several places and some help from other family members I've been able to piece together a bit of information to fill in the mystery of Great-Grand-Uncle Ira. Ira didn't have any children, so my search doesn't go much further with his story. But finally we know a little more of one of Lester's brothers.
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