Mary Elizabeth (O'Brien) Schaff (abt. 1901 - 1979)

Born about 22 Sep 1901 in Port Byron, Cayuga, New York, United States

Wife of Irving Marcus Schaff Sr. — married 12 Jan 1929 in DeWitt, Onondaga, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 10 Sep 1979 at about age 77 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, United States

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Biography

Mary Elizabeth O"Brien was born on September 21 or 22 probably in 1901 ^[1][2](Her birthdate is recorded inconsistently. My grandmother told me that she never told anyone her age, and that the family had to guess on her death records.)

She married Irving Schaff on January 12, 1929 in Onondaga County, NY. She was a Catholic and a cook at a Syracuse area hospital.^[3]

Mary died on September 10, 1979 at St. Joseph's Hospital (Syracuse). She is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery (Dewitt, NY).^[4]

Date of Birth

Her marriage license gives her date of birth as Sep 21, 1904. However, her no matching entry occurs for a Mary O'brien in New York State's 1904 Birth Index. The earliest available sources of her age are the 1905 and 1910 censuses which record her age as 3 and 8 respectively. This places her birth as late 1901 or 1902. The best match in 1901 and 1902's Birth Indexes is a Mary O'Brien born Sep 22, 1901, in Mentz, a birthplace consistent with her marriage licenses (Port Byron is a village within Mentz). The Birth Certificate should be ordered to confirm the identity of Mary O'brien.

Sources

1. ↑ "New York State Census, 1905"
2. ↑ New York State Birth Index, 1901
3. ↑ Oral History
4. ↑ "Mrs. Mary Schaff"

• "New York State Census, 1905," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MK9C-RLM : 8 March 2021), Nora Obrien in household of John Obrien, Montezuma, A.D. 01, E.D. 01, Cayuga, New York; citing p. 17, line 37, various county clerk offices, New York; FHL microfilm 1,435,220.
• “Mrs. Mary E. Schaff.” Syracuse Post Standard, September 12, 1979.

• "New York, County Marriages, 1847-1848; 1908-1936," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKNB-5DCX : 9 March 2021), Irving Schaff, 12 Jan 1929, Onondaga, New York, United States; citing ref. ID 709, county clerk offices from various counties, New York; FHL microfilm 1,014,367

• “New York State Birth Index - 1901 : Reclaim the Records.” Internet Archive. Reclaim the Records, September 5, 2018. https://archive.org/details/New_York_State_Birth_Index_1901/page/n580/mode/1up.