My Grandfather , Joseph Craig , The Great Sock Bandit of the East

So much for assasinating  a British officier.....

The Brooklyn Eagle--1918

The three men arrested by Patrolman Dunn as they were mailing a case from which they had removed a pile of socks and in which they had placed bricks , old iron and other junk at 500 Coney Island Ave. were held yesterday by Magistrate Steers on a charge of grand larceny. Thes socks were the property of The Block Forwarding Company of Manhattan and were on their way to Pier C Jersey Cityto be shipped to Buenos Aires.

The men are Joseph Craig 111 East Fifth St., Fredrick Hartmaan 45 East Fourth St. and Adam Kurlandt 624 20th St.

Michael John Curtin

Michael John Curtin was born 17 January 1914 in New York. His parents were Denis Curtin and Maragret Kane Curtin. He had six brothers and sisters. there names were Cornelius, Margaret ,Patrick , William, Anna and James. He had an artistic nature. He walked with a limp because he was hit by a car. He married Lillian Craig on 1 October 1939 at the Good Shepherd Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn , New York. They had two children Kevin Barry ,named for the young freedom fighter ,and Bruce Richard. Michael died on 6 September 1967 from a heart attack. Michael John was my grandfather.

Killeen Schmilleen

It has been a busy week. Not only have I not had time for my poor lonely blog but I havent even done and research this week. Easter was a good time. We went to my husband's aunt's house. Not only is she is fabulous cook but ganze mishpocheh < thats yiddish because I have no idea how to say it in Portuguese>  was there.

My has-really-great-pictures-cousin told me that Maragret Kane's mother's maiden name was Killeen. In 1930 there is a Killeen family living on Sackett Street where the Curtins lived. This is definately gonig to require some more investigation.

I Got Nothing

I grew up with very little family. Genealogy has changed that for me in more ways than one. I have found cousins. Cousins have found me. And there is my growing "genealogy family". Plus  there are all these dead folk who never ever disagree with me! Could I get any luckier?

When I first started , I had closed my business and was looking for a cheap hobby to keep me busy for a little while.  I know some of you seasoned genealogists are laughing when you hear cheap, but the truth is Ive spent very little money. Ok  , Ancestry.com is an expensive , but other than that , I only spend what I can afford to spend. There is something strangely delicous about having to wait a month to send away for a birth certifcate. I confess I haven't gone across the pond though. My expenses might wrack up then.

I have , however, spent an inordinate amount of time posting on different message boards ,etc. First there is Ancestry.com. Buckets full of last names to post to.  Then , Cousinconnect.com..I havent found any relatives there yet but I know I will. Curtin .org and Ancestry.com on Facebook.

In addition to all of these there are websites to read ..that will lead me somewhere else.  I could never forget Cyndislist.com. That would be like forgetting to eat the chocolate pudding in my fridge.

What has genealogy done for you and what are your favorite sites?

Joseph Craig ..The End

Joseph Craig was born in February 1895 in Broolyn ,  N.Y. He lived on Elliot Place and had three brothers , Edward , Charles and William and a sister Anna. He work first as a truck driver . Then as a motorman for BMT. He married Violet Flynn in about 1916. they had three daughters , Lillian , Anna and Violet. On December 4  , 1938 he passed away from visceral congestion.

He never shot a British officer. However , there is a possibility that the story is somewhat true. Joseph's mother was Mary Cameron. Her father was Joseph Cameron. Cameron's lived only an hour and half from Belfast . I was told Joseph <Craig> was from Belfast. It very well could have been him. There is always fighting going on in Belfast. On an interesting note , Cameron is not at all Irish.. it's Scottish. So , Joseph Craig mystery is solved only to open a Cameron can of worms.

I want to thank my new found cousin for providing me with most of the this information.

Joseph Craig .. oy vey!

Joseph Craig is my personal brick wall. At least until about 10pm tonight when I got an unexpected email.

What family lore tells me:
He was born in Northern Ireland, shot a British officer, fled to Scotland and then to the US. Once in the us he got a plum of a job as a trolley car driver. A hard job to come by. He married Violet Flynn and they had three daughters.

What I know:

He doesn't appear in the census until 1920. However , if one is to believe the census he was born in NY. On the 1920 census he is listed as a truck driver. It's on the 1930 census he is a trolley car driver. After , 1930 he disapears again.

The email:

Edward Craig's , Joseph's brother , grandson's wife emailed me .  She did not give me a lot of information just yet. The letter was more of an introduction. I'm hoping she writes back tomorrow. I am beside myself.

How oh how am I going to sleep tonight?

Who Do You Think You Are

I look forward to Fridays. Sure , it being the start of the weekend has something to do with it but, mostly it is because of  Who Do You Think You Are?. I started pursuing genealogy before this show came to the U.S. but it really pushed me over edge. For me it's about how they trace their families journies. Celebrities are interesting and which one of has hasn't wished for Brooke Sheilds heritage every once in a while but, the truth is I find Kim Catrall's and Gwenyth Paltrow's familes just as fascinating. I find my own family just as fascinating. Immigrants that came here due to the blight and due to pogroms. A family that started out near abouts Harlem , moved to Brooklyn , and finally Rockaway Beach. A Rough Rider and a tiny tailor from Russia/Poland/Ukraine or whatever that part of Europe is being called today. As my great grandma would say the ganze mishpocheh. Today is the season finale for Who Do You Think You Are? For me it feels like the begining .