Happiness is a puzzle piece found!

I'm jumping a bit ahead but I've found a piece of a puzzle!  My dad's side of the family has been more difficult to research.  Part of the problem was old Grandma...she was spoiled and wasn't really sure where she wanted to live.  It wasn't that she didn't want to live in New York then changed her mind to Wyoming and back again.  She had them move from the Old World to the New to the Old and back to the New World.  And my husband thinks moving two miles away is a hardship!

I knew from stories my grandmother told me, she had a sister; she had died very young.  She never knew more than that.  I've visited Mary's grave almost all my life.  The headstone is in German; shaped in a heart.  It gave me her date of birth and her date of death.  My next trip was to the library.  Back in 1905 the newspapers did not have an obituary section like they do today.  Buffalo had three newspapers at the time so I had to search them all.  Tucked away with the bankruptcies and Supreme Court settlements, I found found five notices.  Three adults, an infant and my aunt; no cause of death listed.  Now it was time to find a death certificate.

For the most part, other than the person in question, immediate family members are only allowed birth, marriage and death certificates.    However, there is an exception to that rule.  A researcher may also get this information.  The document is stamped in red "For Genealogical Purposes Only".  Ten dollars for the certificate and eight dollars and fifty cents for shipping and handling (outrageous, definitely) later, I have in my hot little hands the answer I've been looking for!  The cause of death was Acute Nephritis.  In layman's terms (no need to Google off this site) is kidney failure.  This was and is very common in children, usually in boys.  This could occur after a streptococcal disease such as sore throat, tonsillitis, or ear infection.  We have weak tonsils  my bet is on tonsillitis.

Now, let's see what else I've learned from this death certificate.  Mary's last name is spelled incorrectly as Barran.  The certificate and record of death was the 79th issued in the City of Buffalo in 1905. Her physician was Euial Lustig.  His residence is listed.  He attended to Mary from the 1st of February to the 14th. He last saw her alive on the 10th of February. She died at two o'clock pm on the 15th of February 1905.  She was 5 years, 10 months and 22 days old.  Mary was not born here in America but was born in Austria.  She was only in America for four years.  This explains her absences on the 1900 and 1910 Federal census.  It's also very likely she would not appear on the 1905 State/County Census since her death was so early in the year.

The certificate also indicates her parents names and places of birth.  Both born in Austria.  Surprisingly, her mother's name is listed as "Marie" not Mary and her married is used instead of her maiden name.  Place of death is 778 Carroll Street, Buffalo New York.  Her home.  I searched the address on Google Earth.  The house stood on the corner of Carroll and Griffin Street.  It's a parking lot now.

Lastly, I have the undertaker's name and his residence along with the name of the cemetery.  She was buried on 17 February 1905.  Her stone is still there, a bit crooked from from earthquakes and age. I find it sad the only proof of her existence is a news blurb, a death certificate and a grave marker.  But rest assured, she is visited often, her grave and stone tended to regularly.  Aunt Mary may be gone for 111 years but she sure isn't forgotten!