Have you tried the census data? I would check out the 1870 and 1880
censuses for NYC. Bet you can find Lawrence Carroll (b 1878) and
his mother Margaret. Since he was born about 1878, suppose he was
really born in 1876 (it is not always easy to distinguish between an
8 and a 6). It occured to me that he might be related to the
Margaret Carlton buried with Lawrence Carroll (d Sept 1876 in NYC).
Also, look for a marriage license between her and LC No. 1. Making
inferences does not prove the inference is correct, but it does give
you a possible linkage to check out. The 1870 and 1880 censuses
give the complete family: all family member names and ages are
listed, thus you can do complete family groups. Another source is
the 1876 or 1878 mail directory for the city. It lists businesses
and people living where, just as a telephone directory Yellow Pages
does today. By the way, death certificates are nortorously
inaccurate: the person providing the information often does not
know the correct information, or they are too upset over their
friend/relative's death to supply correct information. Treat death
certificates with a lot of skepticism.
Morgan Benson
I have a mystery on my hands. Several Carrolls are buried with my
family and my grandmother kept the grave receipts. But I don't know
who they are or what their connection is to my family. I have
obtained all the death certificates and gone as far as I can. Can
anyone help me? The information I have is as follows:
LAWRENCE CARROLL, b abt 1841 Ireland; d 4 Sep 1876 NYC. Buried with
Margaret Carlton.
JAMES CARROLL, b abt 1869 NYC; d 15 May 1930 NYC. His death
certificate shows he was a widower.
LAWRENCE CARROLL b abt 1878 USA; d 17 Jan 1914, Bronx NY. His death
certificate shows his mother as Margaret.
WILLIAM J. CARROLL b abt 1881 NYC; d 13 May 1936; his death
certificate gives his father as Lawrence Carroll and his mother as
Margaret Lawlor both born in Ireland. William is buried with the
Lawrence Carroll who died 1914 and James Carroll who died 1930.
HELP!