Daniel Dean on the map

Daniel Dean tracks in the census records from 1850-1880 very well. Each time, though, he is in a different juristriction.

There are internet sites that catalog what areas were in what districts.

We thought for a good while he was in New Rochelle before moving to Morrisania, but what we have discovered is that in 1850 and 1860 he is in the 18 Ward which is just off center of downtown Manhattan in an area called Loisaida.

It is just east of Greenwich Village and just north of Little Italy (see the map at right)

Further, in 1890, we found a directory that lists his business address as 97 Columbia. This is right in the middle of this area of Loisaida. Apparently, despite moving between 1860-1870, he retained his business connections.

Here's how he tracks:

1848: Married Mary Elizabeth Smart (announced in the "Long Island Star")

1850: 18 Ward, 2 District (Loisaida) living next door to his Father-in-law: John Milton Smart.

1860: 18 Ward, 3 District (Loisaida)

1870: Morrisania

1880: 24 Assembly District, 23 Ward of New York. Morrisania was annexed with other portions of Westchester county in 1876.

1890: 833 E. 169th (home address); 97 Columbia (business) superintendent. Further in this same year, there is an article published in the New York Times. Members of Tammany Hall in the area had a meeting, but 24 or so members of the 24 assembly district resigned, of which included a Daniel D. Valentine. The address of the Hall's meeting place for the 23 and 24 Wards (according to the article) was right around the corner from where we know Daniel Dean is living during this time.

His death certificate (1897) has his address listed as 833 E. 169 St. that is Morrisania as well.

So, we know that from 1870-1897, Daniel Dean is living in Morrisania, most likely in the same house throughout the period. It would appear that he moved away from the area with the passing of his wife, Mary Elizabeth.

Daniel Dean: Birth to 1850

We know Daniel Dean's birth date because of his death certificate. However, that only tells us that he was born in New York.
What do we know and where can we look for more clues?

Birth: 31 October 1823 (Possibly in Yonkers--unconfirmed)


We pick up Daniel Dean Valentine married, yet childless, living next door to his parents-in-law, the Smarts in New York City Ward 18 district 2.

I am still determining exactly where that is.

She is 20 and he is 28. Because of her age, I can't imagine them being married very long at this point.

So we can probably estimate their marriage about 1850 ( or somewhere between 1847-1850).

Did he own the property he was living on? He was a book keeper. From Daniel L. (via Robert Daniel) we know he was a cigar maker. Was he a bookkeeper for a cigar making firm?


Possible childhood, early adulthood documents:
Christening
School records
Tax records (owned a horse? land? etc.)

Daniel Dean Valentine's Death Certificate

This is where it all began for me.

It was August of 2005, and I was visiting with some family friends in Payson, Utah. They were having a family meeting and so I resorted to entertaining myself on the internet. Maybe it is a reflection of how bored I was that I resorted to family history, but I am glad that I did.

As I was googling names of ancestors that I knew, I found a Web site with a database of death certificates for New York City, starting in about the 1870s. Intrigued, I explored it and was able to find the death certificate of Daniel Dean Valentine.

This was important because it gave us a specific birth and death date, where, up until now, we only had rough estimate of years. It gave us his residence, information on his cause of death and where he was buried.

Notably, under the spot for his parents, it is unlisted, "unknown". I passed over that a few times, but then realized that elsewhere on the document his wife was involved in filling out the certificate. Wouldn't she know who his parents were? It could be possible it was an omission on the part of the doctor--but, the fact that his parents birthplace was noted but not their names suggests to me that it maybe wasn't just the doctor passing over it.

At any rate, this does give us some clues to explore.