Mary Elizabeth (Dunn) Blankenship (1914 - abt. 1991)

Born 28 Nov 1914 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Thomas George Pendergast — married 7 Jun 1941 (to after 1950) in Queens, New York City, New York, United States

Died about 26 Mar 1991 at about age 76 in Suffolk, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Vicky Majewski [send private message]

Biography

Mary Elizabeth "Marie" Dunn was born on 28 November 1914 in Manhattan, New York. Her parents were Christopher Patrick Dunn Jr and Anna C. McGovern. She was baptised at her family's church, the Church of St. Michael on 34th Street.^[1]

The 1915 New York Census shows 4-month-old Mary Dunn living with her parents and older sister (Dorothy, age 2) at 434 West 35th Street, Manhattan.^[2] Her father is listed as a Driver.

The 1925 New York Census shows Marie Dunn (age 10) living on Lawn Avenue in Hamilton Beach, New York.^[3] Also in the household are her parents, Christopher and Anna (ages 36 and 31 respectively), and three sisters: Dorothy (age 12), Anna (age 7), and Grace (age 3).

The 1930 U.S. Census shows the Dunn family living at 155-28 Lawn Avenue, Howard Beach, New York.^[4] Marie is listed as 15 years old. Also in the household are her parents and four siblings: Dorothy (age 17), Anna (age 12), Grace (age 8), and Christopher (age 4).

The 1940 U.S. Census shows Marie Dunn (age 23) living with her family at 44-27 Ithaca Street in Elmhurst, Queens, New York.^[5] She is listed as a Secretary for a magazine. Also in the household are her parents and four younger siblings.

Marie Dunn married Thomas George Pendergast on 7 June 1941.^[6] They had two sons:

• Thomas Joseph Pendergast - (1944-2020)
• Christopher K. Pendergast - (1949-2020)^[7]

The marriage was later annulled. Later, she married her longtime friend, Sam Blankenship.^[8]

Marie Dunn Blankenship died about 26 May 1991 in New York City. She is buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram, New York.^[9]

She is mentioned several times in her son's book: Blink Spoken Here: Tales From A Journey To Within

Research Notes

Her grave stone erroneously lists her birth year as 1921, but all other details are correct. - Freeth-52 18:38, 6 November 2020 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ "New York Roman Catholic Baptisms", database, FindMyPast.com (http://www.findmypast.com : accessed 14 May 2020), Mary Elizabeth Dunn, b. 28 Nov 1914, baptised 14 Dec 1914, St. Michael, Manhattan. Parents: Christopher Dunn, Anna McGovern. Transcript in possession of V. Majewski
2. ↑ "New York, State Census, 1915", database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 Nov 2020), Mary Dunn, age 4 mos, residence: 434 W. 35th St, Manhattan, New York. Relationship: Daughter. New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1915; Election District: 04; Assembly District: 09; City: New York; County: New York; Page: 08
3. ↑ "New York State Census, 1925," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9T7-5Q9 : 8 November 2014), Marie Dunn, New York, A.D. 05, E.D. 51, Queens, New York, United States; records extracted by Ancestry and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing p. 75, line 21, New York State Archives, Albany.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X45D-ZBJ : accessed 4 October 2015), Marie Dunn in household of Christopher Dunn, Queens (Districts 1251-1500), Queens, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 1499, sheet 4A, family 53, line 40, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1606; FHL microfilm 2,341,340.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3BK-J7V : accessed 4 October 2015), Marie Dunn in household of Christopher Dunn, Assembly District 3, Queens, New York City, Queens, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 41-679A, sheet 7B, family 168, NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), roll 2734.
6. ↑ "New York, New York, Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018", database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 Nov 2020), Mary C Dunn and Thomas G Pendergast, 7 Jun 1941, Queens, New York City, New York. Cert. no. 4830. New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Queens
7. ↑ "Chris Pendergast, Who Fought ALS Mile after Mile, Dies at 71", The New York Times, 29 Oct 2020. Accessed on 30 Oct 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/chris-pendergast-died.html?fbclid=IwAR29odrJSCo9c74S5x0iHo2MioU-sbErv6kZaQGfQID7wLNJm5DUB4hhC-Y
8. ↑ Related by L. Gregorek on 30 Dec 2015.
9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 07 November 2020), memorial page for Marie Elizabeth Blankenship (unknown–26 Mar 1991), Find A Grave: Memorial #167955845, citing Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Coram, Suffolk County, New York, USA ; Maintained by James Bailey Conklin, Jr. (contributor 47018040) .

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Marie's niece L. Gregorek for providing lots of information about this branch of the family.