searching for James McMenemy

born 1906 johnstone, renfrewshire, Scotland parents John and Mary McMenemy. He came to America about 1923 landed in Brooklyn and disapeared 1926 never to be heard from again

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Permalink Reply by GeneJ on September 7, 2009 at 4:19pm

(1) Are you able to access the Ancestry.com database, "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957"; images of the manifest are available there. Manifest reports a father, "High mcMenemy," res. 19 Ranking St., Johnstone, Scotland; he listed his (James') address as Renfrewshire. --GJ

Name: James McMenemy; Arrival Date: 1 Aug 1923
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1905 ; Age: 18
Port of Departure: Liverpool, England
Ethnicity/Race/Nationality: Scottish (Scotish)
Ship Name: Adriatic
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
NATIVITY: Scotland
Line: 27 ; Microfilm Serial: T715 ; Microfilm Roll: T715_3340 ; Page Number: 104
Birth Location: Scotland ; Birth Location Other: johnstone

(2) You wrote, "landed in Brooklyn and disapeared 1926."
Can you describe what was known about him in the period from and 1926? In other words, how do you know he immigrated about 1925 and that he didn disappear unitl 1926?

(3) Do you have a middle name for James? Did any of his siblings also immigrate?

Permalink Reply by Margaret stern on September 7, 2009 at 5:52pm

Thanks Gene. This is his arrival. I was not able to find it on Ancestry but you got it. James was the first of my mother's immediate family to come to Brooklyn. I believe an Aunt Mary was here first. Mary Hutcheson. James worked as for Brooklyn Rapid Transit...he was a conductor on a trolly car. I have a certificate given to him stating he was hired October 1, 1923. James did not have a good relationship with his father and the family story goes that when James heard his father was arriving in Brooklyn he disapeared. My grandmother tried searching all the armed forces to see if he had joined up but to no avail. Before she died she told me to keep looking for him.

Permalink Reply by GeneJ on September 7, 2009 at 6:25pm

Hi Margaret:
Thank you for the additional information, it really helps.

Here is a wiki for Brooklyn Rapid Transit. Reports BRT went BK in 1923, was restructured as Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation. According to the Wiki for the latter, it is now a division of the New York City Subway. Let's keep all those names in mind. Perhaps there is an archive of their payroll or pension records.

Disappearing in NYC could mean changing his name or removing to another place.

You wrote, "My grandmother tried searching all the armed forces ...."
I'm not sure how much longer we'll have to wait to learn about more of the WWII draft registrations. It surely will help with the research about many an immigrant!

Let's keep going with the facts we can gather. A few thoughts follow.
(1) Do you have a records of any addreess for him at Brooklyn. Perhaps there is an address on the certificate?
(2) Have you (or did your grandmother) look for a naturalization file for him?
(3) Did his father come over in 1926? (Is that the "1926" event?) Was his father visiting or immigrating? When did his father die?
(4) Please provide us with names and dates of death for others in the family who might have immigrated. We can check for their obituaries to rule out any notice of him.
(5) Has anyone check the NY court archives to see if a legal name change was filed.
(6) Have you looked for a further immigration record (US to CAN) about him?

Permalink Reply by Margaret stern on September 8, 2009 at 1:21pm

Thanks again for your help Gene. Well obviously he stopped working for the Transit company in 1926 when he left. His father,Mother and siblings all came to America permanently in 1926....his sister Margaret was my mother. That was before Social Security so he is not in the death index and I have no way of knowing if the James McMenemys in the death index are he. I only have my Grandmother's address in Brooklyn in 1930. He may have changed his name. My grandmother searched for him under her maiden name Jennings. Maybe he died in 1926 and his wallet was stolen so he had no ID. It is really a brick wall.

Maggie

Permalink Reply by GeneJ on September 8, 2009 at 2:12pm

Hi Maggie:

You wrote, "I have no way of knowing if the James McMenemys in the death index "

Do you have a record of his full birth date from either family or Scotish records? --GJ

Permalink Reply by Margaret stern on September 9, 2009 at 1:13pm

No, there is no record at scottish origins. His family did not register him until at his birth.

Permalink Reply by GeneJ on September 7, 2009 at 4:46pm

Hi again Margaret:

Do you have a full date of birth for James McMenemy? If we can identify your James in the SSDI, we might be able find an obituary. --GJ

SSDI reports that one James McMenemy, b. 22 Sep 1906, died Mar 1980, "of" Quincy, Norfolk, Massachusetts
SSDI reports that one James McMenemy b. 29 Jul 1903, died Nov 1967 "of" New York, New York, New York

Permalink Reply by GeneJ on September 9, 2009 at 1:28pm

See attached naturalization index card for James McMenemy, resides Massachusetts; born 22 Sept 1906; naturalized 13 May 1963. Cites petition no. 355907; registration no. 10212956.

I prefer to work from the known to the unknown, I typically only create logs for unknowns. Perhaps this is a file or data you'll want to further pursue. --GJ

P.S. I note this James McMenemy has corresponding entry in SSDI.

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