Just how small were the Gentrys?

As many family members may know, I have been trying to discover and document all the descendants of my great-great-grandparents. I chose that generation as a start point because I already had names and at least estimated dates for all 16 of them. Also, most of this generation were born in Europe and were the ones who emigrated to America. The data that I have tried to collect include full names, birth / marriage / death dates, relationships and burial sites.

Today I had an “Oh wow!” moment involving the next older generation.

Previously I had used the New Cathedral Cemetery’s (NCC) website to determine that the following family members were in plot T 285:

• Edward T. Levelle - my great-great-grandfather (it should be “Edward F.” but I quote NCC’s data)
• Haden Gentry - my great-grandfather and husband of Mary Ellen (Levelle) Gentry
• Mary Ellen (Levelle) Gentry - my great-grandmother, 2^nd wife of Haden and daughter of Edward “T.”
• Mary Gentry - Haden & Mary Ellen's third child who died in infancy
• Alfred St. John Gentry - Haden's son from his 1^st wife and husband of Rose (Levelle) Gentry
• Rose (Levelle) Gentry – Alfred’s wife AND Mary Ellen's SISTER / Edward T.'s daughter (it's complicated!)
• Edward F. Levelle Jr. - Edward's third child

I could not seem to find Edward T. Levelle's wife, Mary Jane Loughran in the database because I needed to have the exact spelling that NCC used and the NCC staff don't always spell so well. When in Baltimore earlier this month, I went to the cemetery to look for Mary Jane’s and the other gravestones. It actually took me four trips over there to find the location and I’ll tell you why in a moment. First, for posterity’s sake, here is the GPS coordinates: 39.291559 -76.683921

When I finally found the plot, the reason for my previous difficulties became obvious. With at least seven, and probably eight, people in the plot, I was looking for a large grave and a grand marker like there is at the family plots of the Galvins, Cummings and O’Conors. At the first viewing, the Levelle / Gentry plot was actually very small and unmarked. In this photo, it is the area between the Kilmer/Smith and Stack gravestones.

I assumed the plot contained the cremated remains as seven or eight coffins would not fit. Looking more closely though, I realized that those two older looking gravestones in the center of the photo were for Michael and James Loughran. Wasn’t Michael Loughran the father of Mary Jane? I had seen that in Corrine’s work although I haven’t personally looked for or found any supporting documents. Unfortunately, the gravestones are very hard to read so I promised myself to return in December to get a better look.

In the meantime, I wrote to the researcher at NCC and asked for a printout of everyone who was buried in T 285. This morning, I opened my e-mail and found her reply. Oh wow.

In addition to the seven people I knew about, the other five are:

• Mary Levell (Levelle) – Edward’s wife, Mary Jane Loughran Levelle.  I expected this. 
• James Laughran (Loughran) – I assume Michael’s older brother.  James is the plot owner 
• Michael Laughran (Loughran) – my assumed great-great-great-grandfather 
• Bridget Russalott (definitely misspelled) – my great-great-great-grandmother! (see below) 
• Alice McAllister – Bridget’s daughter with her 2^nd husband, Charles Rousselot 

Oh wow. I had never seen anything documenting who Mary Jane’s father was but I had seen the 1860 Baltimore census where Mary Jane Loughran and her younger brother Henry were living in the boardinghome of Charles A. and Bridget Rousselet [sic] along with younger half-siblings Frank & Alice C. Rousselet and nine boarders. It appeared to me as if Bridget married a second time after either Michael died or they divorced. Also, in the 1880 census, Bridget was listed as the mother-in-law and living in the house of Edward & Mary Jane.

Regarding Alice, I could not find anything about her after the 1880 census when she was incorrectly recorded as the 18 year old sister-in-law of Edward. By that time, she would have been two months shy of her 21^st birthday. Also, I guess it was too hard to say step-sister-in-law. Now I have a married name for her to look for.

As a bonus, the NCC researcher sent me a copy a page in the book “Burials in Pro-Cathedral and Cathedral Cemeteries, Baltimore, Maryland 1791-1874” compiled by Hans Grogaard and Mary Warfield, which covers the burials that were originally made in the Pro-Cathedral or Cathedral cemeteries. Many of the people buried in those cemeteries before the opening of NCC in 1871 were moved to NCC when those places closed. Guess who was buried in the old Cathedral Cemetery?

Based on the burial dates noted in the NCC system, I am betting that the remains of James & Michael from OCC were re-buried in NCC the same day that they buried Mary Jane (the 31/10/1885 is probably a typo and should also be 13/10/1885). That gives us the birth and death years of our great-great-great grandfather as well as our great-great-great-great-uncle. It also tells us that Uncle James probably drank too much. :p With Michael dying in 1853, it helps explain why Bridget married again, probably between 1853 & 1856.

This is fun.

The next steps: 

1. Go to the New Cathedral Cemetery and check the hand-written burial dates for James, Michael and Mary Jane.
2. Use paper and charcoal to get a rubbing of the two gravestones.
3. Set up a lemonade stand to raise money for a proper gravestone for the dozen family members including six direct ancestors.