Wandering Around The Family Tree

 One John and Mary Geiser or Two? by Patty Hankins John Geiser, a paint maker, and his wife, Mary, lived in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York in 1910. John Geiser, a chicken rancher, and his wife, Mary, lived in Novato, Marin County, California in 1910. Could these be the same couple? My great-great-grandparents, John and Mary Geiser, lived in the New York City area for most of their lives after immigrating to the United States from Germany. I found them in vital records, census records, city directories and deeds. But I never could find them in the 1910 census. For years, I just figured that somehow they had missed being enumerated.      Then I started getting hints an Ancestry for a couple with the right names, and seemingly correct other information, in Novato, Marin County, California running a chicken ranch in the 1910 census. I ignored the hints for as long as I could. Family stories never even hinted that anyone left New York, much less went as far as Cal...

  On November 5, 1926, my great great grandmother Marie (Hess) Geiser, widow of John Geiser, married Charles Albert Boppert, a widower, at St. Paul ’s Lutheran Church in East Northport, Suffolk County, New York. At the time of their marriage, the groom was 76 years old, and his bride was 72. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Herman Reincke. After their honeymoon, the Bopperts planned to settle in East Northport. [1] On April 1, 1927, the Bopperts moved into their new home in the Northport Manor section of East Northport. [2]   Their home was “a 3-room cottage, tiny but comfortable, and with modern conveniences. ” [3] In late May, twenty-five members of the Ladies ’ Aid of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church organized a housewarming party for the Bopperts, at which Marie served a luncheon. [4] Unfortunately, the Bopperts only had a few short weeks together in their new home. In early June, Marie suffered a paralytic stroke. [5] By late June, Marie had moved to her daughter Mary (...