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I plan on finding out where in New York I can request marriage records for Mildred. Was hoping to hear from the NY Medical Examiners Records Department before doing that. If they take too long I may go ahead anyway and request marriage records. Costs to all of these State and Local agencies are starting to add up. My birth certificate did not mention if I had a Silver Spoon in my mouth.
Since you have been twice told your mother was last seen heading for NYC, I'd start there.
Ancestry.com has the NYC marriage records in their database now, but since nothing shows up there, you might ask the NYC City Clerk's office to double check for you. They'll do that for a small fee. Since you know she wasn't married in 1959, you might have them check records for say 1960-1970. You can request a copy of any marriage license that is older than 50 years. Here is the link you'll need to contact the City Clerk:
I did a search of the Ancestry.com marriage records databases. I searched year by year from 1960 until 1973.
I used the name Mildred Galvin and left it open to any state. I eliminated any Mildred Galvins who had a different middle name than your birth mother, but kept the Mildred Galvins with no middle name.
Surprisingly, that narrowed things down to just two records:
Mildred Galvin m. James Witt, Worcester, MA 1967
Mildred Galvin m. Robert Parrotta, Quincy MA 1967
I'll try to see what I can find on these two Mildreds after the holiday.
Since you have been twice told your mother was last seen heading for NYC, I'd start there.
Ancestry.com has the NYC marriage records in their database now, but since nothing shows up there, you might ask the NYC City Clerk's office to double check for you. They'll do that for a small fee. Since you know she wasn't married in 1959, you might have them check records for say 1960-1970. You can request a copy of any marriage license that is older than 50 years. Here is the link you'll need to contact the City Clerk:
A marriage license from NYC will usually tell you if there were prior marriages.
Thanks. Hoping to see something from the Medical Examiners records. If they don't come up with anything, then I will proceed to the city clerk. I realize we are looking for a marriage license or certificate that may or may not exist. I am requesting info on my Dad's and Mildred's marriage for two reasons. One it would prove they were married and I am legit. And two that there has to be a Divorce decree somewhere to allow my Dad to marry someone else in 1954 or 1955. I have also emailed the Parish Secretary at St. Anne's to check the Sacramental Register to see if they were married there. I gave him a date to work with, which is the date my Dad's sister had in her records. If Mildred was already settled in NY when the divorce occurred , there may be an address associated with it. What do you think?
Just received an email from Ancestry DNA Lab. They received the DNA sample and it is in the queue waiting to be processed. By the way this is a Christmas present that my Wife got me.
Just received an email from Ancestry DNA Lab. They received the DNA sample and it is in the queue waiting to be processed. By the way this is a Christmas present that my Wife got me.
Awesome! In 4 to 6 weeks I can help you upload the results to my heritage, FTDNA and GEDmatch
Here is the request quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roselvr
Been replying on my cell otherwise I would have linked. Here is the web form. The reply was pretty quick when doing it this way. He can say he is her son then go from there. He should be able to fax documents to support it
Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests should be submitted through New York City's OpenRecords Portal by pressing the "Request a Record" button, catagory all, agency MYC office of the chief med examiner
Thanks. Hoping to see something from the Medical Examiners records. If they don't come up with anything, then I will proceed to the city clerk. I realize we are looking for a marriage license or certificate that may or may not exist. I am requesting info on my Dad's and Mildred's marriage for two reasons. One it would prove they were married and I am legit. And two that there has to be a Divorce decree somewhere to allow my Dad to marry someone else in 1954 or 1955. I have also emailed the Parish Secretary at St. Anne's to check the Sacramental Register to see if they were married there. I gave him a date to work with, which is the date my Dad's sister had in her records. If Mildred was already settled in NY when the divorce occurred , there may be an address associated with it. What do you think?
One other route you could try is to get a copy of your Dad's second marriage license application. It probably asked about previous marriages as well. If it says he'd been married before, you'll know you are legit.
This information won't be on the marriage certificate; you'll have to find out where they were married, and ask the city or county clerk there for a copy of the marriage license.
It certainly is worth trying to find a copy of the divorce decree too, but since your Dad remarried five or so years BEFORE Mildred went to work for the Heckers in Windham, NY, any address on the decree will be older than the last "known" address in 1959. Still, it might provide a clue of some sort.
I did a little research on Walter Hecker, just to see what turned up. I discovered that he worked in the restaurant business for many years in Manhattan. Which makes me wonder if your Mother could have also worked in that business, and that is how she met the Heckers in NYC.
Awesome! In 4 to 6 weeks I can help you upload the results to my heritage, FTDNA and GEDmatch
Here is the request quote
You're a gem of information, Roselvr. Even though I have a pretty good idea of my own family history, after reading your posts, I've decided to do the Ancestry DNA test too. There is one particular side of my father's family that sort of disappears into the mist after my great-grandfather, so perhaps it will lead to answers.
One other route you could try is to get a copy of your Dad's second marriage license application. It probably asked about previous marriages as well. If it says he'd been married before, you'll know you are legit.
This information won't be on the marriage certificate; you'll have to find out where they were married, and ask the city or county clerk there for a copy of the marriage license.
It certainly is worth trying to find a copy of the divorce decree too, but since your Dad remarried five or so years BEFORE Mildred went to work for the Heckers in Windham, NY, any address on the decree will be older than the last "known" address in 1959. Still, it might provide a clue of some sort.
I did a little research on Walter Hecker, just to see what turned up. I discovered that he worked in the restaurant business for many years in Manhattan. Which makes me wonder if your Mother could have also worked in that business, and that is how she met the Heckers in NYC.
Nannette told me that her dad was out of the marriage with Esperanza before Mildred came into the picture. Also that her dad never knew Mildred, making it unlikely that she worked for him at any time.
You're a gem of information, Roselvr. Even though I have a pretty good idea of my own family history, after reading your posts, I've decided to do the Ancestry DNA test too. There is one particular side of my father's family that sort of disappears into the mist after my great-grandfather, so perhaps it will lead to answers.
Happy thanksgiving to everyone!
Hope you had a good Thanksgiving
As you know, I understand your search due to my hubs mother, also my brother was taken for adoption in 1960 so I've advocated for adoptees and birth families since I've been online. Whatever I can do to help, just let me know.
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