Pittsburgh – LCD Genealogy Services

Wedding Wednesday – Frank Speck & Elizabeth Linneman

Published on January 15, 2020July 24, 2020 by lauracubbagedraper

1915 Speck-Linneman Marriage_0002

Frank Speck and Elizabeth Linneman, my great grandparents, were married on 18 January 1915 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I found this marriage certificate for Frank and “Lizzie Lineman” in a file of old family pictures and memorabilia.

1915 Speck-Linneman Marriage

Marriage records for this time are available at the Allegheny County Courthouse and I was able to get a copy of their application for a marriage license at the Orphans’ Court.[1] This record provides some details about Frank and Elizabeth:

- Frank reported that he was born in Germany to Peter, deceased, and Agnes, who resided in Germany.
- He lived in Monessen and worked as a hotel clerk.
- He was 28 years old (born about 1887).
- “Lizzie” reported that she was born in Germany to Albert, a miner, and Elizabeth, who resided in West Virginia.
- She lived in Sprigg, West Virginia.
- She was 22 years old (born about 1893).

The above information confirms much of what I know about Frank and Elizabeth, yet there are still come conflicting details. Elizabeth reported that her father’s name was Albert, yet all other records name him as Gerhard Linneman. It is unclear at this time if it was a nickname for him or an error (maybe Frank provided the information to the Clerk).

Elizabeth also reported that she as 22 years old, conflicting with the June 1897 birth date found in her German birth record.[2] This means that Elizabeth was actually 17 years old when she married Frank.

Frank & Elizabeth Speck — Frank and Elizabeth Speck in 1915.

This marriage application also leaves a big question – how Frank and Elizabeth met each other if he lived in Monessen and she lived in Sprigg, which are about 300 miles apart! My current theory is that Frank knew her brother Christian. Around the time of their marriage, Frank worked as a bartender and a hotel clerk, and Christian also worked as a bartender, both in the Monessen/Greensburg area.[3]

1915 Speck-Linneman Marriage_0001

The Orphans’ Court record also included the marriage return, which stated that Frank and Elizabeth were married at St. Peter’s Church in Pittsburgh, signed by the Rector, Edward H. Ward.

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I looked up St. Peter’s, which was an Episcopal Church in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Sadly, this beautiful church was torn down in 1986.[4] Since neither Frank and Elizabeth lived in Pittsburgh, it’s not likely that they were church members, but it still may be worth it to see if the Episcopal diocese has a marriage record as well.

cubbage heritage 4x6 - page 031_0001

This newspaper clipping was also found in the family memorabilia and I was able to locate it in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette edition from 19 January 1915.[5]

Frank and Elizabeth settled in Monessen after they married and my grandmother Agnes was born just over nine months later on 26 September 1915.

Happy Anniversary Frank and Elizabeth!

SOURCES:

[1] Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Application for Marriage License and return no. 6374, 18 January 1915, Speck-Lineman; Office of Orphans’ Court Clerk, Pittsburgh.

[2] Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Geburtsregister [Births], no. 644, Elisabeth Maria Linnemann (1897); Institut für Stadtgeschichte, Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

[3] Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas, no. 3682, Christ Linneman, declaration of intention; Prothonotary’s Office, Greensburg.

[4] “St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (Pittsburgh),” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Episcopal_Church_(Pittsburgh) : accessed 6 January 2020).

[5] “Marriage Licenses,” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA), 19 January 1915, p. 18, col. 7; digital image, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 6 January 2020).

Military Monday – Art’s Discharge from the Navy

Published on October 28, 2019October 2, 2019 by lauracubbagedraper

This is the final post in a recent series about my grandfather’s Naval service during World War II. Art Cubbage received his Honorable Discharge from the US Navy on 9 April 1946, just short of two years from when he was inducted. At the time of his discharge, Art was a Yeoman Second Class.

2eaed-19462bhonorable2bdischarge2bnavy

Art’s Naval Separation papers had a wealth of information about him at the time, including his address and occupation, both before and after his service, schooling, and Naval insurance and pay.[1]

6c251-19462bnaval2bseparation2bpapers

During Art’s time in the Norfolk, Camp Shelton and the other 3 bases in the area were partially “inactivated at the end of hostilities of WWII” and were later consolidated into one installation named the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek.[2] This base was commissioned on 10 August 1945. This was during Art’s time of service and I wonder if he attended the commissioning. Little Creek was designated a permanent base in 1946.

Military Monday - Art's Discharge from the Navy

Art’s wife Agnes went to Norfolk at the time of his discharge. Above are pictures of Art’s Naval housing and a picture of Agnes in front of his home during his service.

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I love this picture of Agnes and Art (except that his eyes are closed!). I found it in a folder from The Windsor House, a restaurant in Norfolk. The date written on the back of the photo is 9 April 1946 – the same date as Art’s discharge. I can imagine my grandparents enjoying a nice dinner together after being apart for two years.

1947 Cubbage Address

After his discharge, Art went to Pittsburgh and then back to Akron with his family. They lived at Hillwood Homes, which was housing for Veterans, and Art worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad again.

SOURCES:

[1] Notice of Separation from U.S. Naval Service, William Arthur Cubbage, 2C USN-I(SA), 9 April 1945, USN PSC Shelton, Virginia; privately held by the author’s father, original scanned by Laura Cubbage-Draper, 2011.

[2] “Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia,” Military Installations, (http://www.militaryinstallations.dod.mil/MOS/f?p=MI:CONTENT:0::::P4_INST_ID,P4_CONTENT_TITLE,P4_CONTENT_EKMT_ID,P4_CONTENT_DIRECTORY:4960,Installation%20Overview,30.90.30.30.30.0.0.0.0,1 : accessed 6 October 2017).

© 2019 LAURA CUBBAGE-DRAPER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Military Monday – Yeoman Art Cubbage

Published on October 21, 2019October 2, 2019 by lauracubbagedraper2 Comments

Military Monday - US Navy Yeoman Art Cubbage

This is the second post about my grandfather Art Cubbage’s service in the US Navy. After completing Service School Command in 1944, Art was stationed, and spent the remainder of his time in the Navy, at the Personnel Separation Center at Camp Shelton near Norfolk, Virginia.

Camp Shelton was an armed guard training center, but at the end of World War II it served as a separation center.[1] Art was a Yeoman and most likely worked in the offices at the PSC. I am pretty sure that Art is at the far right on the phone in the picture below.

Military Monday - US Navy Yeoman Art Cubbage

As a Yeoman, Art performed secretarial and clerical work. Yeomen would “deal with visitors, telephone calls and incoming mail. YNs organize files and … order and distribute supplies.”[2] As a Yeoman, Art most likely wrote or typed letters, directives, forms and reports, as well as maintained files and service records.

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The insignia the uniform of a Yeoman is crossed quills with the nibs down.

Military Monday - US Navy Yeoman Art Cubbage

In this picture of Art, you can see the insignia under the Navy eagle. There are a handful of pictures of Art and his friends and fellow Yeomen during his time in the Navy. Only a couple are marked, so we can only guess which are from Training at Great Lakes and when he was a Yeoman in Virginia. One picture is of the Fifth Naval District building, which was at the Norfolk Navy Yard. There are others that are most likely of the Norfolk area.

Art is on the left in both pictures. The woman in the picture to the left and the man in the picture to the right show up in several of Art’s Navy pictures. I am guessing that they served together, as they both have Yeoman insignia on their uniforms.

These were probably taken at the Norfolk Navy Yard, which was about eight miles west of Camp Shelton.

While Art was stationed in Norfolk, his wife, Agnes, and sons, Corky and Jeff, moved from Ohio to Pittsburgh’s North Side to live with Agnes’ parents, Elizabeth and Charles Merz. These are a few pictures of Agnes and the boys during that time. I wonder if she sent them to Art in Norfolk?

Agnes, Cork, Jeff, summer 1945crop

Agnes, Cork, Jeff, winter 1945crop

Next week is Art’s discharge from the Navy.

SOURCES:

[1] “Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia,” Military Installations, (http://www.militaryinstallations.dod.mil/MOS/f?p=MI:CONTENT:0::::P4_INST_ID,P4_CONTENT_TITLE,P4_CONTENT_EKMT_ID,P4_CONTENT_DIRECTORY:4960,Installation%20Overview,30.90.30.30.30.0.0.0.0,1 : accessed 6 October 2017).

[2] “US Navy Enlisted Ratings,” Archive.org, (https://web.archive.org/web/20061211231100/http://navyrotc.berkeley.edu/resources/gouge/Ratings.pdf : accessed 6 October 2017).

Military Monday – US Naval Training

Published on October 14, 2019October 2, 2019 by lauracubbagedraper

Military Monday - US Naval Training The United States Navy was founded on 13 October 1775 and “Navy Day” will be celebrated on 27 October this year, so it’s a good time to share a series of stories about my only (known) ancestor who served in the US Navy.

My grandfather, William Arthur “Art” Cubbage, served in the US Navy during the end of World War II from 1944-1946. At the start of the war, Art was living Ohio (first Akron and then Cleveland) with his wife, Agnes (Speck), and young sons Corky and Jeff. He worked as a passenger representative for the Pennsylvania Railroad.[1] Art was inducted into the US Navy on 17 April 1944 in Akron. Corky was not yet 3, and Jeff was only 3 weeks old.

Art attended boot camp at the US Naval Training Center Great Lakes in North Chicago, Illinois. All recruits began their Naval careers at the USNTC for orientation and training. The Training Center at Great Lakes had grown substantially since World War I. Over four million sailors served in the US Navy during World War II, and about 1\one million were trained at Great Lakes.[2] Below is a picture of Art’s Company on 11 May 1944.

Military Monday - US Naval Training

Art went on to complete additional training in Service School Command at Great Lakes on 22 September 1944. This school was organized to provide additional intensive courses of study in various specialized areas (signal, coxswain, armed guard, quartermaster, etc.). Art was in Section Y6-1, Yeoman School. The yeoman branch of the Navy executed the clerical work of the navy, and required some clerical experience.[3] Art had worked in accounting before working for the Pennsylvania Railroad, and likely had the clerical background needed. In the Yeoman School at Great Lakes, four months of courses included “practical work in all branches of clerical duty ashore and afloat”.[4]

Military Monday - US Naval Training

Art is in the second row, second from the left. It is interesting that in most of these pictures, he was not wearing his glasses. In almost every other picture of him since high school, he wore his glasses. During this time, Agnes, Corky and Jeff moved to Pittsburgh to live with Agnes’ mother and step-father, Elizabeth and Charles Merz.

The story continues next week when Art was stationed in Virginia.

SOURCES:

[2] “About Naval Station Great Lakes – History,” Naval Station Great Lakes, (https://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrma/installations/ns_great_lakes/about/history.html : accessed 2 October 2017).

[3] Yates Stirling, Fundamentals of Naval Service, (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1917), 71; digital images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=SRTV_4GAx6UC&pg=PR3&lpg=PR3&dq=Yates+Stirling,+Fundamentals+of+Naval+Service&source=bl&ots=hF05mLKEqM&sig=PJI-mGpK9V0K_F3h4EDAskTkqmE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiK4Y2IlNfWAhWB5iYKHbk_DZIQ6AEISTAJ#v=onepage&q=yeoman&f=false : accessed 4 October 2017).

[4] Francis Buzzell, The Great Lakes Naval Training Station: A History (Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1918), 118; digital images, Archive.org (https://archive.org/stream/greatlakesnavalt00buzziala#page/118/mode/2up : accessed 3 October 2017).

Sunday’s Obituary – Mary Swank

Published on September 22, 2019September 20, 2019 by lauracubbagedraper

1927 Mary Swank obit

This article was on the front page of The Monessen Daily Independent on 20 September 1927.[1] Mary Swank was my second great grandmother and had died three days earlier while visiting her daughter in Cape May, New Jersey. She was born in 1855 in Connecticut as Marian Burd, but also went by “Mary” and “Mary Ann”.

She married Charles Schwenk in 1871 and they had four children before Charles died in 1893. The surname Schwenk evolved over time to Schwank and finally to Swank. Mary has been a difficult person to research at times due to the variations of both her first and last names! As of now, I still cannot locate a death record for her in either New Jersey or Pennsylvania. It appears that her daughters did not file one after she died.

Mary was visiting her daughter Margaret Speedy, who was living in Cape May at the time. Margaret’s husband, William Arthur Speedy, had died at sea just over a year earlier. I can’t imagine how difficult it was for Margaret to be alone after losing both her husband and her mother in Cape May, while the rest of her family was in Pittsburgh and Monessen. Margaret eventually moved back to Monessen and lived with her sister Maine Cubbage and her family.

pit post-g sept 20,1927 p26 col 6

A death notice also appeared in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.[2] Marian “Mary Ann” Burd Schwenk was likely buried with or near her husband at Braddock Cemetery (also know as Russell Cemetery) in North Braddock, Pennsylvania. There is no tombstone for Mary but there are plots and headstones for her husband, sister, and other family members at Braddock.

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SOURCES:

[1] “Mother Dead,” The Monessen Daily Independent (Monessen, PA), 20 September 1927, p. 1, col. 1; digital images Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 August 2013).

[2] “Swank, Mrs. Mary,” death notice, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA), 20 September 1927, p. 26, col. 6; digital images, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 September 2019).