New Beginnings

One of the empty spaces in my family tree was great-grandpa Harry Herrick. The son of Henry Herrick and Rebecca Molden/Moulden, he was their eldest child, and for some reason lived with his paternal grandmother, Jane (nee Wood) Herrick. Was it because Jane was widowed and needed help with chores? Was there a situation at home that caused Harry or his parents some grief? We'll never know.

I knew he grew up in Washington PA and married Maggie Donley there 26 October 1893; their son Charles (my paternal grandfather) was born the following April. I don't know much about Harry before he married, nor after, because Maggie and Charles moved to Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa sometime between Charles's birth and 1900. Harry does not appear in the 1897 Washington, Pa. City Directory. What do I know about Harry? 

1. He is listed among more than 100 students who were absent one day or less, for the period of December 1873. He is shown as attending School No. 2. His sister Daisy is listed as a pupil at School No. 1.

2. "Master Harry Herrick, while digging in his father's yard, Washington borough, on Tuesday, unearthed a Spanish "levy," 12½ cents, dated 1780. It was in a good state of preservation."

3. 24 Dec 1884: Harry Herrick, a lad of 16 or 17 years, acting as a trainman, had his feet badly frozen, while flagging, near Finleyville, during the recent cold snap. He is now at his grandmother's, in this borough.

4. He was employed by the B & O and had a bad fall from an engine in November 1886. He seemed to be off for about 1 month.

5. He was one of those who took advantage of the B & O's low rates to go to Chicago in June 1888.

6. In 1889, Sarah Wood (his probable great-grandmother) died at his home. She was in her 91st year.

7. In March 1893, he was "now of Texas" but visiting relatives in Washington, PA. Perhaps he was called back due to the illness of his grandmother, Jane, with whom he lived while growing up. Jane died in May 1893. Harry and Maggie knew each other by at least mid-July of 1893 (determined by working backward from Charles's date of birth).

• How long did Harry live in Texas?
• How long did Maggie live in PA?
• Might he and Maggie have met before he left for Texas?
• How long did they know each other before (ahem) *knowing* each other?

8. He was a "railroader" according to Charles's delayed birth certificate. His father Henry also worked on the railroad, among several other jobs. A Dec. 1893 news article mentions a Harry Herrick, engineer on the Lehigh Valley railroad. He was reported to have caused a wreck, but says that his engine was run into by the train at the crossing. The article mentioned several engineers who blamed strikers for causing accidents. There is no proof that the Harry who worked for Lehigh Valley was "my" Harry.

An article in the Wellsboro Gazette, dated 13 Sept. 1911, mentions a wreck of Pennsylvania passenger train No. 277, on the Buffalo and Allegheny division. The engineer died, and fireman Harry Herrick was seriously hurt. Again, there is no proof that this was "my" Harry.

9. There are strong hints that he may have died 10 May 1908 in Brooklyn, New York, where he had been living for several years:

• A death certificate for Harry Herrick states that he was born in 1865. The FamilySearch transcription states that his father's name was Harry; a closer look at the image of the document appears to say Henry. As those in itself are not enough proof that the certificate definitively refers to Harry, further proof would be required.
• A news item in the Brooklyn Standard Union of 11 May 1908 indicates that the deceased formerly lived at "Little Washington, Pa" and had arrived in Brooklyn approximately nine years ago. The location fits, as does the time period (Maggie and Charles are in Iowa by 1900). 

He was a watchman at a warehouse owned by the Bush Company. Newspaper articles describe the Bush Terminal Company as one of the "big three" companies owning several warehouses on the Brooklyn waterfront. 

His death certificate states that he was married. Did he and Maggie legally divorce? Did he marry again?

He is listed as having been buried at Cypres Hill [sic].