Son of Thomas Monroe and Molly Victoria [Elkins] Alger, who were married 29 Dec 1897 in Cedarville, Warren County, Virginia.
Familial Relationship: Paternal Grandfather
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Husband of:
1. Elsie Anna [Godfrey] Algers
2. Florence Alberta [Chambers] Alger
3. Ethel Mary [Cobb] Algiers
4. Martha Nell [Slaughter] Alger
* He married Ethel while he was already married to Florence *
Father of:
i. Virginia May [Algers] Dean
ii. James Russell Algers
iii. Florence Elaine [Algers] Blades
iv. Lois E. [Mullen] Podesta
v. Arlene E. [Algers] Puskarich
vi. Eileen Algiers
vii. Naomi Gayle [Alger] Fitzpatrick
viii. Shirley Maxine [Alger] Brogan
ix. Carolyn R. Algiers
x. James Russell Alger Jr
* Lois was born of an extramarital affair while married to his first wife *
* His last five children were all born of his second and third wives, whom he was married to simultaneously. *
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Childhood:
Russell's father, Thomas, was an iron moulder who primarily raised his family in Carroll Township/Donora Municipal Authority, Washington Co, PA. When Russell was 11 years of age, his 35 year old mother, Molly, who was under treatment for bright's disease and dropsy (edema), died instantly from heart failure as she was walking uphill. His father next married a widowed mother of four, Edna May [Behanna] Connelly, just four months later.
Over the course of ten years following his mother's 1914 death, Russell would watch as all three of his siblings and two of his step-siblings systematically died. What's eerie is that the children's deaths appear to be marked also by the births of new children born of Thomas and Edna's marriage. The pattern is remarkable...
b. 04 Oct 1915: Edna May Alger
d. 21 Nov 1916: William Alger, 16, TB
-------------------------------------
d. 10 Mar 1917: Hollis Alger, 18, TB
b. 16 Sep 1917: Ella Elsie Alger
-------------------------------------
d. 12 Jun 1918: Helen Connelly, 7, TB
b. 16 Oct 1919: Frances Shirley Alger
-------------------------------------
d. 26 May 1921: James Connelly, 12, Flu
b. 16 Feb 1922: Thomas Monroe Jr Alger
-------------------------------------
d. 24 Oct 1024: Virginia Alger, 18, TB
b. 24 Oct 1024: Catherine Roberta Alger
It's as if the six person plot that held Molly's remains was calling for each of the five remaining sites within it to be filled... and then the death's of the children in the household simply stopped! All in all, Russell's father buried three children and his stepmother buried two, leaving Russell and two step-siblings, Marie and Bartley Connelly, as the only survivors of each of their parent's first marriage. None of the six burial sites are marked with a proper stone, but the cemetery does have a typed record that they sent to me, listing all those buried within that plot at Monongahela Cemetery.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Adult Life:
Russell married Elsie on 14 Feb 1923 in Donora, Washington Co, PA, naming his stepmother as his mother on the marriage record. Although they had four children together, Russell also had a daughter, Lois, who was born of an extra marital affair he had with Margaret Louise [Harrison] Mullen while he and Elsie were still married. Lois was born just one month before Russell and Elsie's daughter, Arlene, was born (see 12 Apr 2018 update below for details).
I suspect he abandoned his first family in or around 1928. Their only son, James Russell, died from pulmonary edema at age 3 on 1 May 1928. Little James' surname appeared as "Alger" on his death certificate but was etched as "Algers" on his burial marker. It appears that Elsie added the consonant "s" to the end of all of their surnames following the split.
My grandfather next married my grandmother, Florence, somewhere between 1934-1936. I'm not sure if they were married in PA or NY, but I do know that they lived in NY at the time that my aunts and my father were born. There are family rumors that he was nick named "Gentleman Jim" because he often donned a top hat and tails, and walked around with a fancy cane wooing the ladies. My grandmother eventually tired of his skirt chasing and put him out of their home. Once again he abandoned this family somewhere around 1955. My father said he was about 10 when his father left New York, crash landing in Alabama.
Another family rumor stipulates that my grandparents were never actually divorced. If this is true, it explains why my grandfather said he had only been previously married once on his marriage record to Martha, since one previous divorce was all he could prove. However, since I am unable to locate a marriage record for my grandparents, it is also entirely possible that they never were actually married... It's certainly something to be pondered, though I'd think my grandmother would have a difficult time proving her maiden to married surname change with the Social Security Administration if she and my grandfather had not, indeed, been legally wed.
On Tue, 23 Feb 1937, my grandfather, then aged 34, married 18-year-old Ethel Mary COBB in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He altered his surname to Algier, I assume to avoid detection since he was also married to my grandmother. However, he gave the correct birth information and correctly named his parents on that marriage record. He then proceeded to simultaneously maintain two separate households in two neighboring boroughs of New York, Manhattan and Brooklyn, at least through 1940. As a result, he appeared twice on that year's census, altering his birth information in the household he maintained with Ethel, but his employment as an orderly/attendant at New York Hospital was noted on both census records. I also discovered that he had 2 daughters with Ethel while simultaneously having two daughters and a son (my father) also with my grandmother. I don't know if either woman ever found out about the other.
On 7 Mar 1963 in Rockford, Coosa County, AL, my grandfather married his third, and final, wife. At age 37, she was 23 years younger than he was at age 60. She had been married twice before and, as far as I know, she had no children born of either marriage. It is unknown if my grandfather fathered more children with Martha.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
11 May 2019 UPDATE
On Mon, 6 May 2019, I received an email with information regarding my grandfather. Verifying the information I received reveals that, while married to Florence, he married another woman. I incorporated that information into his adult life bio above.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
12 April 2018 UPDATE:
I inadvertently discovered that my grandfather had an extramarital affair on his first wife, Elsie, with an 18 year old local girl named Margaret Louise Harrison. Of that affair, their daughter, Lois, was born almost exactly one month before Elsie also gave birth to their youngest daughter, Arlene.
This discovery derived out of an Ancestry DNA test I took in late 2017/early 2018. On 11 Apr 2018, I checked it for potential matches and found that a match was made to a 1st cousin with a DNA analysis showing that we shared 348.2 centimorgans across 19 DNA segments. Since the surname of Podesta was not familiar to me in my ancestral research thus far, I was naturally curious. I decided to send a message to find out more information and received a response the following day.
This cousin advised me that Lois professed a few years before her death that she was born out of an affair her mother had with a "Russell" Alger, but was stumped in the search for him because this cousin was not searching for him by his true name, James Russell Alger. Between the story I was told, my grandfather's well known history of promiscuity and the impressive DNA match, I was both surprised and not so surprised, and also convinced this is an accurate accounting of a portion of my grandfather's past. Only those who knew my grandfather also knew that he went by his middle name while in Pennsylvania, probably because he had a step-brother who was also named James.
My grandfather's reputation with the ladies was a topic of discussion that transcended his own death, as tales of his philandering were passed down through two generations of the side of the family that he left behind when he left Pennsylvania, never to be heard from again. I had already discovered this years ago when I made telephone contact with another cousin, who was born of one of the children of my great-grandfather and his 2nd wife, Edna. It was really quite a remarkable experience hearing affirmations of things I had been told about him from both of my parents.
In a census enumerated on 9 Apr 1930, 2 year old Lois Harrison was shown living in Donora, PA with her maternal grandparents, James Bernard and Estella [Trout] Harrison. Her 21 year old mother, their eldest daughter, Margaret Harrison, was also living in the home, along with seven of Lois' maternal aunts and uncles.
On 2 Jan 1931, just a few days before Lois' third birthday, Lois' mother married Charles Frances Mullen in Wellsburg, Brooke Co, West Virginia. Their marriage record can be viewed at the bottom portion of page 59 here: Marriage of Charles Mullen and Margaret L. Harrison
In another census, enumerated on 22 Apr 1940, she is named as Lois Mullen, age 12, living in Donora, PA with her stepfather and mother, Charles and Margaret Mullen, along with her younger half-siblings, Margaret and Charles Mullen.
Lois E. Mullen, married Raymond Philip Podesta in the mid-1950's. Together they had four sons and one daughter! According to this cousin I had made contact with, all of Lois' children were raised thinking that their maternal grandfather was Charles Mullen, until their mother told them differently. Whether Charles legally adopted Lois or simply allowed her to use his surname, I really don't know.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
23 Dec 2016 UPDATE:
In my research, I found three death records for my grandfather (two are sourced with links below). All three confirm his date of birth, but there are discrepancies that I believe represent his actual date of death of 15 Aug 1972 and his date of burial of 23 Aug 1972.
I called the VA Administration regarding this VA Death Record that I obtained via Ancestry.com. All I could find out was that he enlisted in the U.S. Army and that he was likely buried privately, as they had no record of him being buried in any of their National Veteran's Cemeteries. I called the National Personnel Records Center for instructions on how to request as many records relating to him as possible, including a headstone application request, should one have been submitted. Once I have made this request and received what records they have, I will update that information to this memorial.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010
Name: James Alger
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 22 Mar 1902
Death Date: 23 Aug 1972
SSN: 137220133
Enlistment Date 1: 21 Aug 1919
Release Date 1: 30 Aug 1922
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Disclaimer:
All pertinent information I have included here can be verified by U.S. Federal Census Records for the family in conjunction with various public records, including any documents I may upload to this memorial.
Though I can not prove with 100% certainty that this family's composition and relation status is as I display it to be, I can say that the circumstantial evidence weighs very heavily in favor of the accuracy of these stated familial connections.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Familial Relationship: Paternal Grandfather
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Husband of:
1. Elsie Anna [Godfrey] Algers
2. Florence Alberta [Chambers] Alger
3. Ethel Mary [Cobb] Algiers
4. Martha Nell [Slaughter] Alger
* He married Ethel while he was already married to Florence *
Father of:
i. Virginia May [Algers] Dean
ii. James Russell Algers
iii. Florence Elaine [Algers] Blades
iv. Lois E. [Mullen] Podesta
v. Arlene E. [Algers] Puskarich
vi. Eileen Algiers
vii. Naomi Gayle [Alger] Fitzpatrick
viii. Shirley Maxine [Alger] Brogan
ix. Carolyn R. Algiers
x. James Russell Alger Jr
* Lois was born of an extramarital affair while married to his first wife *
* His last five children were all born of his second and third wives, whom he was married to simultaneously. *
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Childhood:
Russell's father, Thomas, was an iron moulder who primarily raised his family in Carroll Township/Donora Municipal Authority, Washington Co, PA. When Russell was 11 years of age, his 35 year old mother, Molly, who was under treatment for bright's disease and dropsy (edema), died instantly from heart failure as she was walking uphill. His father next married a widowed mother of four, Edna May [Behanna] Connelly, just four months later.
Over the course of ten years following his mother's 1914 death, Russell would watch as all three of his siblings and two of his step-siblings systematically died. What's eerie is that the children's deaths appear to be marked also by the births of new children born of Thomas and Edna's marriage. The pattern is remarkable...
b. 04 Oct 1915: Edna May Alger
d. 21 Nov 1916: William Alger, 16, TB
-------------------------------------
d. 10 Mar 1917: Hollis Alger, 18, TB
b. 16 Sep 1917: Ella Elsie Alger
-------------------------------------
d. 12 Jun 1918: Helen Connelly, 7, TB
b. 16 Oct 1919: Frances Shirley Alger
-------------------------------------
d. 26 May 1921: James Connelly, 12, Flu
b. 16 Feb 1922: Thomas Monroe Jr Alger
-------------------------------------
d. 24 Oct 1024: Virginia Alger, 18, TB
b. 24 Oct 1024: Catherine Roberta Alger
It's as if the six person plot that held Molly's remains was calling for each of the five remaining sites within it to be filled... and then the death's of the children in the household simply stopped! All in all, Russell's father buried three children and his stepmother buried two, leaving Russell and two step-siblings, Marie and Bartley Connelly, as the only survivors of each of their parent's first marriage. None of the six burial sites are marked with a proper stone, but the cemetery does have a typed record that they sent to me, listing all those buried within that plot at Monongahela Cemetery.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Adult Life:
Russell married Elsie on 14 Feb 1923 in Donora, Washington Co, PA, naming his stepmother as his mother on the marriage record. Although they had four children together, Russell also had a daughter, Lois, who was born of an extra marital affair he had with Margaret Louise [Harrison] Mullen while he and Elsie were still married. Lois was born just one month before Russell and Elsie's daughter, Arlene, was born (see 12 Apr 2018 update below for details).
I suspect he abandoned his first family in or around 1928. Their only son, James Russell, died from pulmonary edema at age 3 on 1 May 1928. Little James' surname appeared as "Alger" on his death certificate but was etched as "Algers" on his burial marker. It appears that Elsie added the consonant "s" to the end of all of their surnames following the split.
My grandfather next married my grandmother, Florence, somewhere between 1934-1936. I'm not sure if they were married in PA or NY, but I do know that they lived in NY at the time that my aunts and my father were born. There are family rumors that he was nick named "Gentleman Jim" because he often donned a top hat and tails, and walked around with a fancy cane wooing the ladies. My grandmother eventually tired of his skirt chasing and put him out of their home. Once again he abandoned this family somewhere around 1955. My father said he was about 10 when his father left New York, crash landing in Alabama.
Another family rumor stipulates that my grandparents were never actually divorced. If this is true, it explains why my grandfather said he had only been previously married once on his marriage record to Martha, since one previous divorce was all he could prove. However, since I am unable to locate a marriage record for my grandparents, it is also entirely possible that they never were actually married... It's certainly something to be pondered, though I'd think my grandmother would have a difficult time proving her maiden to married surname change with the Social Security Administration if she and my grandfather had not, indeed, been legally wed.
On Tue, 23 Feb 1937, my grandfather, then aged 34, married 18-year-old Ethel Mary COBB in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He altered his surname to Algier, I assume to avoid detection since he was also married to my grandmother. However, he gave the correct birth information and correctly named his parents on that marriage record. He then proceeded to simultaneously maintain two separate households in two neighboring boroughs of New York, Manhattan and Brooklyn, at least through 1940. As a result, he appeared twice on that year's census, altering his birth information in the household he maintained with Ethel, but his employment as an orderly/attendant at New York Hospital was noted on both census records. I also discovered that he had 2 daughters with Ethel while simultaneously having two daughters and a son (my father) also with my grandmother. I don't know if either woman ever found out about the other.
On 7 Mar 1963 in Rockford, Coosa County, AL, my grandfather married his third, and final, wife. At age 37, she was 23 years younger than he was at age 60. She had been married twice before and, as far as I know, she had no children born of either marriage. It is unknown if my grandfather fathered more children with Martha.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
11 May 2019 UPDATE
On Mon, 6 May 2019, I received an email with information regarding my grandfather. Verifying the information I received reveals that, while married to Florence, he married another woman. I incorporated that information into his adult life bio above.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
12 April 2018 UPDATE:
I inadvertently discovered that my grandfather had an extramarital affair on his first wife, Elsie, with an 18 year old local girl named Margaret Louise Harrison. Of that affair, their daughter, Lois, was born almost exactly one month before Elsie also gave birth to their youngest daughter, Arlene.
This discovery derived out of an Ancestry DNA test I took in late 2017/early 2018. On 11 Apr 2018, I checked it for potential matches and found that a match was made to a 1st cousin with a DNA analysis showing that we shared 348.2 centimorgans across 19 DNA segments. Since the surname of Podesta was not familiar to me in my ancestral research thus far, I was naturally curious. I decided to send a message to find out more information and received a response the following day.
This cousin advised me that Lois professed a few years before her death that she was born out of an affair her mother had with a "Russell" Alger, but was stumped in the search for him because this cousin was not searching for him by his true name, James Russell Alger. Between the story I was told, my grandfather's well known history of promiscuity and the impressive DNA match, I was both surprised and not so surprised, and also convinced this is an accurate accounting of a portion of my grandfather's past. Only those who knew my grandfather also knew that he went by his middle name while in Pennsylvania, probably because he had a step-brother who was also named James.
My grandfather's reputation with the ladies was a topic of discussion that transcended his own death, as tales of his philandering were passed down through two generations of the side of the family that he left behind when he left Pennsylvania, never to be heard from again. I had already discovered this years ago when I made telephone contact with another cousin, who was born of one of the children of my great-grandfather and his 2nd wife, Edna. It was really quite a remarkable experience hearing affirmations of things I had been told about him from both of my parents.
In a census enumerated on 9 Apr 1930, 2 year old Lois Harrison was shown living in Donora, PA with her maternal grandparents, James Bernard and Estella [Trout] Harrison. Her 21 year old mother, their eldest daughter, Margaret Harrison, was also living in the home, along with seven of Lois' maternal aunts and uncles.
On 2 Jan 1931, just a few days before Lois' third birthday, Lois' mother married Charles Frances Mullen in Wellsburg, Brooke Co, West Virginia. Their marriage record can be viewed at the bottom portion of page 59 here: Marriage of Charles Mullen and Margaret L. Harrison
In another census, enumerated on 22 Apr 1940, she is named as Lois Mullen, age 12, living in Donora, PA with her stepfather and mother, Charles and Margaret Mullen, along with her younger half-siblings, Margaret and Charles Mullen.
Lois E. Mullen, married Raymond Philip Podesta in the mid-1950's. Together they had four sons and one daughter! According to this cousin I had made contact with, all of Lois' children were raised thinking that their maternal grandfather was Charles Mullen, until their mother told them differently. Whether Charles legally adopted Lois or simply allowed her to use his surname, I really don't know.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
23 Dec 2016 UPDATE:
In my research, I found three death records for my grandfather (two are sourced with links below). All three confirm his date of birth, but there are discrepancies that I believe represent his actual date of death of 15 Aug 1972 and his date of burial of 23 Aug 1972.
I called the VA Administration regarding this VA Death Record that I obtained via Ancestry.com. All I could find out was that he enlisted in the U.S. Army and that he was likely buried privately, as they had no record of him being buried in any of their National Veteran's Cemeteries. I called the National Personnel Records Center for instructions on how to request as many records relating to him as possible, including a headstone application request, should one have been submitted. Once I have made this request and received what records they have, I will update that information to this memorial.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010
Name: James Alger
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 22 Mar 1902
Death Date: 23 Aug 1972
SSN: 137220133
Enlistment Date 1: 21 Aug 1919
Release Date 1: 30 Aug 1922
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Disclaimer:
All pertinent information I have included here can be verified by U.S. Federal Census Records for the family in conjunction with various public records, including any documents I may upload to this memorial.
Though I can not prove with 100% certainty that this family's composition and relation status is as I display it to be, I can say that the circumstantial evidence weighs very heavily in favor of the accuracy of these stated familial connections.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Son of Thomas Monroe and Molly Victoria [Elkins] Alger, who were married 29 Dec 1897 in Cedarville, Warren County, Virginia.
Familial Relationship: Paternal Grandfather
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Husband of:
1. Elsie Anna [Godfrey] Algers
2. Florence Alberta [Chambers] Alger
3. Ethel Mary [Cobb] Algiers
4. Martha Nell [Slaughter] Alger
* He married Ethel while he was already married to Florence *
Father of:
i. Virginia May [Algers] Dean
ii. James Russell Algers
iii. Florence Elaine [Algers] Blades
iv. Lois E. [Mullen] Podesta
v. Arlene E. [Algers] Puskarich
vi. Eileen Algiers
vii. Naomi Gayle [Alger] Fitzpatrick
viii. Shirley Maxine [Alger] Brogan
ix. Carolyn R. Algiers
x. James Russell Alger Jr
* Lois was born of an extramarital affair while married to his first wife *
* His last five children were all born of his second and third wives, whom he was married to simultaneously. *
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Childhood:
Russell's father, Thomas, was an iron moulder who primarily raised his family in Carroll Township/Donora Municipal Authority, Washington Co, PA. When Russell was 11 years of age, his 35 year old mother, Molly, who was under treatment for bright's disease and dropsy (edema), died instantly from heart failure as she was walking uphill. His father next married a widowed mother of four, Edna May [Behanna] Connelly, just four months later.
Over the course of ten years following his mother's 1914 death, Russell would watch as all three of his siblings and two of his step-siblings systematically died. What's eerie is that the children's deaths appear to be marked also by the births of new children born of Thomas and Edna's marriage. The pattern is remarkable...
b. 04 Oct 1915: Edna May Alger
d. 21 Nov 1916: William Alger, 16, TB
-------------------------------------
d. 10 Mar 1917: Hollis Alger, 18, TB
b. 16 Sep 1917: Ella Elsie Alger
-------------------------------------
d. 12 Jun 1918: Helen Connelly, 7, TB
b. 16 Oct 1919: Frances Shirley Alger
-------------------------------------
d. 26 May 1921: James Connelly, 12, Flu
b. 16 Feb 1922: Thomas Monroe Jr Alger
-------------------------------------
d. 24 Oct 1024: Virginia Alger, 18, TB
b. 24 Oct 1024: Catherine Roberta Alger
It's as if the six person plot that held Molly's remains was calling for each of the five remaining sites within it to be filled... and then the death's of the children in the household simply stopped! All in all, Russell's father buried three children and his stepmother buried two, leaving Russell and two step-siblings, Marie and Bartley Connelly, as the only survivors of each of their parent's first marriage. None of the six burial sites are marked with a proper stone, but the cemetery does have a typed record that they sent to me, listing all those buried within that plot at Monongahela Cemetery.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Adult Life:
Russell married Elsie on 14 Feb 1923 in Donora, Washington Co, PA, naming his stepmother as his mother on the marriage record. Although they had four children together, Russell also had a daughter, Lois, who was born of an extra marital affair he had with Margaret Louise [Harrison] Mullen while he and Elsie were still married. Lois was born just one month before Russell and Elsie's daughter, Arlene, was born (see 12 Apr 2018 update below for details).
I suspect he abandoned his first family in or around 1928. Their only son, James Russell, died from pulmonary edema at age 3 on 1 May 1928. Little James' surname appeared as "Alger" on his death certificate but was etched as "Algers" on his burial marker. It appears that Elsie added the consonant "s" to the end of all of their surnames following the split.
My grandfather next married my grandmother, Florence, somewhere between 1934-1936. I'm not sure if they were married in PA or NY, but I do know that they lived in NY at the time that my aunts and my father were born. There are family rumors that he was nick named "Gentleman Jim" because he often donned a top hat and tails, and walked around with a fancy cane wooing the ladies. My grandmother eventually tired of his skirt chasing and put him out of their home. Once again he abandoned this family somewhere around 1955. My father said he was about 10 when his father left New York, crash landing in Alabama.
Another family rumor stipulates that my grandparents were never actually divorced. If this is true, it explains why my grandfather said he had only been previously married once on his marriage record to Martha, since one previous divorce was all he could prove. However, since I am unable to locate a marriage record for my grandparents, it is also entirely possible that they never were actually married... It's certainly something to be pondered, though I'd think my grandmother would have a difficult time proving her maiden to married surname change with the Social Security Administration if she and my grandfather had not, indeed, been legally wed.
On Tue, 23 Feb 1937, my grandfather, then aged 34, married 18-year-old Ethel Mary COBB in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He altered his surname to Algier, I assume to avoid detection since he was also married to my grandmother. However, he gave the correct birth information and correctly named his parents on that marriage record. He then proceeded to simultaneously maintain two separate households in two neighboring boroughs of New York, Manhattan and Brooklyn, at least through 1940. As a result, he appeared twice on that year's census, altering his birth information in the household he maintained with Ethel, but his employment as an orderly/attendant at New York Hospital was noted on both census records. I also discovered that he had 2 daughters with Ethel while simultaneously having two daughters and a son (my father) also with my grandmother. I don't know if either woman ever found out about the other.
On 7 Mar 1963 in Rockford, Coosa County, AL, my grandfather married his third, and final, wife. At age 37, she was 23 years younger than he was at age 60. She had been married twice before and, as far as I know, she had no children born of either marriage. It is unknown if my grandfather fathered more children with Martha.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
11 May 2019 UPDATE
On Mon, 6 May 2019, I received an email with information regarding my grandfather. Verifying the information I received reveals that, while married to Florence, he married another woman. I incorporated that information into his adult life bio above.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
12 April 2018 UPDATE:
I inadvertently discovered that my grandfather had an extramarital affair on his first wife, Elsie, with an 18 year old local girl named Margaret Louise Harrison. Of that affair, their daughter, Lois, was born almost exactly one month before Elsie also gave birth to their youngest daughter, Arlene.
This discovery derived out of an Ancestry DNA test I took in late 2017/early 2018. On 11 Apr 2018, I checked it for potential matches and found that a match was made to a 1st cousin with a DNA analysis showing that we shared 348.2 centimorgans across 19 DNA segments. Since the surname of Podesta was not familiar to me in my ancestral research thus far, I was naturally curious. I decided to send a message to find out more information and received a response the following day.
This cousin advised me that Lois professed a few years before her death that she was born out of an affair her mother had with a "Russell" Alger, but was stumped in the search for him because this cousin was not searching for him by his true name, James Russell Alger. Between the story I was told, my grandfather's well known history of promiscuity and the impressive DNA match, I was both surprised and not so surprised, and also convinced this is an accurate accounting of a portion of my grandfather's past. Only those who knew my grandfather also knew that he went by his middle name while in Pennsylvania, probably because he had a step-brother who was also named James.
My grandfather's reputation with the ladies was a topic of discussion that transcended his own death, as tales of his philandering were passed down through two generations of the side of the family that he left behind when he left Pennsylvania, never to be heard from again. I had already discovered this years ago when I made telephone contact with another cousin, who was born of one of the children of my great-grandfather and his 2nd wife, Edna. It was really quite a remarkable experience hearing affirmations of things I had been told about him from both of my parents.
In a census enumerated on 9 Apr 1930, 2 year old Lois Harrison was shown living in Donora, PA with her maternal grandparents, James Bernard and Estella [Trout] Harrison. Her 21 year old mother, their eldest daughter, Margaret Harrison, was also living in the home, along with seven of Lois' maternal aunts and uncles.
On 2 Jan 1931, just a few days before Lois' third birthday, Lois' mother married Charles Frances Mullen in Wellsburg, Brooke Co, West Virginia. Their marriage record can be viewed at the bottom portion of page 59 here: Marriage of Charles Mullen and Margaret L. Harrison
In another census, enumerated on 22 Apr 1940, she is named as Lois Mullen, age 12, living in Donora, PA with her stepfather and mother, Charles and Margaret Mullen, along with her younger half-siblings, Margaret and Charles Mullen.
Lois E. Mullen, married Raymond Philip Podesta in the mid-1950's. Together they had four sons and one daughter! According to this cousin I had made contact with, all of Lois' children were raised thinking that their maternal grandfather was Charles Mullen, until their mother told them differently. Whether Charles legally adopted Lois or simply allowed her to use his surname, I really don't know.
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23 Dec 2016 UPDATE:
In my research, I found three death records for my grandfather (two are sourced with links below). All three confirm his date of birth, but there are discrepancies that I believe represent his actual date of death of 15 Aug 1972 and his date of burial of 23 Aug 1972.
I called the VA Administration regarding this VA Death Record that I obtained via Ancestry.com. All I could find out was that he enlisted in the U.S. Army and that he was likely buried privately, as they had no record of him being buried in any of their National Veteran's Cemeteries. I called the National Personnel Records Center for instructions on how to request as many records relating to him as possible, including a headstone application request, should one have been submitted. Once I have made this request and received what records they have, I will update that information to this memorial.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010
Name: James Alger
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 22 Mar 1902
Death Date: 23 Aug 1972
SSN: 137220133
Enlistment Date 1: 21 Aug 1919
Release Date 1: 30 Aug 1922
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Disclaimer:
All pertinent information I have included here can be verified by U.S. Federal Census Records for the family in conjunction with various public records, including any documents I may upload to this memorial.
Though I can not prove with 100% certainty that this family's composition and relation status is as I display it to be, I can say that the circumstantial evidence weighs very heavily in favor of the accuracy of these stated familial connections.
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Familial Relationship: Paternal Grandfather
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Husband of:
1. Elsie Anna [Godfrey] Algers
2. Florence Alberta [Chambers] Alger
3. Ethel Mary [Cobb] Algiers
4. Martha Nell [Slaughter] Alger
* He married Ethel while he was already married to Florence *
Father of:
i. Virginia May [Algers] Dean
ii. James Russell Algers
iii. Florence Elaine [Algers] Blades
iv. Lois E. [Mullen] Podesta
v. Arlene E. [Algers] Puskarich
vi. Eileen Algiers
vii. Naomi Gayle [Alger] Fitzpatrick
viii. Shirley Maxine [Alger] Brogan
ix. Carolyn R. Algiers
x. James Russell Alger Jr
* Lois was born of an extramarital affair while married to his first wife *
* His last five children were all born of his second and third wives, whom he was married to simultaneously. *
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Childhood:
Russell's father, Thomas, was an iron moulder who primarily raised his family in Carroll Township/Donora Municipal Authority, Washington Co, PA. When Russell was 11 years of age, his 35 year old mother, Molly, who was under treatment for bright's disease and dropsy (edema), died instantly from heart failure as she was walking uphill. His father next married a widowed mother of four, Edna May [Behanna] Connelly, just four months later.
Over the course of ten years following his mother's 1914 death, Russell would watch as all three of his siblings and two of his step-siblings systematically died. What's eerie is that the children's deaths appear to be marked also by the births of new children born of Thomas and Edna's marriage. The pattern is remarkable...
b. 04 Oct 1915: Edna May Alger
d. 21 Nov 1916: William Alger, 16, TB
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d. 10 Mar 1917: Hollis Alger, 18, TB
b. 16 Sep 1917: Ella Elsie Alger
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d. 12 Jun 1918: Helen Connelly, 7, TB
b. 16 Oct 1919: Frances Shirley Alger
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d. 26 May 1921: James Connelly, 12, Flu
b. 16 Feb 1922: Thomas Monroe Jr Alger
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d. 24 Oct 1024: Virginia Alger, 18, TB
b. 24 Oct 1024: Catherine Roberta Alger
It's as if the six person plot that held Molly's remains was calling for each of the five remaining sites within it to be filled... and then the death's of the children in the household simply stopped! All in all, Russell's father buried three children and his stepmother buried two, leaving Russell and two step-siblings, Marie and Bartley Connelly, as the only survivors of each of their parent's first marriage. None of the six burial sites are marked with a proper stone, but the cemetery does have a typed record that they sent to me, listing all those buried within that plot at Monongahela Cemetery.
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Adult Life:
Russell married Elsie on 14 Feb 1923 in Donora, Washington Co, PA, naming his stepmother as his mother on the marriage record. Although they had four children together, Russell also had a daughter, Lois, who was born of an extra marital affair he had with Margaret Louise [Harrison] Mullen while he and Elsie were still married. Lois was born just one month before Russell and Elsie's daughter, Arlene, was born (see 12 Apr 2018 update below for details).
I suspect he abandoned his first family in or around 1928. Their only son, James Russell, died from pulmonary edema at age 3 on 1 May 1928. Little James' surname appeared as "Alger" on his death certificate but was etched as "Algers" on his burial marker. It appears that Elsie added the consonant "s" to the end of all of their surnames following the split.
My grandfather next married my grandmother, Florence, somewhere between 1934-1936. I'm not sure if they were married in PA or NY, but I do know that they lived in NY at the time that my aunts and my father were born. There are family rumors that he was nick named "Gentleman Jim" because he often donned a top hat and tails, and walked around with a fancy cane wooing the ladies. My grandmother eventually tired of his skirt chasing and put him out of their home. Once again he abandoned this family somewhere around 1955. My father said he was about 10 when his father left New York, crash landing in Alabama.
Another family rumor stipulates that my grandparents were never actually divorced. If this is true, it explains why my grandfather said he had only been previously married once on his marriage record to Martha, since one previous divorce was all he could prove. However, since I am unable to locate a marriage record for my grandparents, it is also entirely possible that they never were actually married... It's certainly something to be pondered, though I'd think my grandmother would have a difficult time proving her maiden to married surname change with the Social Security Administration if she and my grandfather had not, indeed, been legally wed.
On Tue, 23 Feb 1937, my grandfather, then aged 34, married 18-year-old Ethel Mary COBB in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He altered his surname to Algier, I assume to avoid detection since he was also married to my grandmother. However, he gave the correct birth information and correctly named his parents on that marriage record. He then proceeded to simultaneously maintain two separate households in two neighboring boroughs of New York, Manhattan and Brooklyn, at least through 1940. As a result, he appeared twice on that year's census, altering his birth information in the household he maintained with Ethel, but his employment as an orderly/attendant at New York Hospital was noted on both census records. I also discovered that he had 2 daughters with Ethel while simultaneously having two daughters and a son (my father) also with my grandmother. I don't know if either woman ever found out about the other.
On 7 Mar 1963 in Rockford, Coosa County, AL, my grandfather married his third, and final, wife. At age 37, she was 23 years younger than he was at age 60. She had been married twice before and, as far as I know, she had no children born of either marriage. It is unknown if my grandfather fathered more children with Martha.
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11 May 2019 UPDATE
On Mon, 6 May 2019, I received an email with information regarding my grandfather. Verifying the information I received reveals that, while married to Florence, he married another woman. I incorporated that information into his adult life bio above.
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12 April 2018 UPDATE:
I inadvertently discovered that my grandfather had an extramarital affair on his first wife, Elsie, with an 18 year old local girl named Margaret Louise Harrison. Of that affair, their daughter, Lois, was born almost exactly one month before Elsie also gave birth to their youngest daughter, Arlene.
This discovery derived out of an Ancestry DNA test I took in late 2017/early 2018. On 11 Apr 2018, I checked it for potential matches and found that a match was made to a 1st cousin with a DNA analysis showing that we shared 348.2 centimorgans across 19 DNA segments. Since the surname of Podesta was not familiar to me in my ancestral research thus far, I was naturally curious. I decided to send a message to find out more information and received a response the following day.
This cousin advised me that Lois professed a few years before her death that she was born out of an affair her mother had with a "Russell" Alger, but was stumped in the search for him because this cousin was not searching for him by his true name, James Russell Alger. Between the story I was told, my grandfather's well known history of promiscuity and the impressive DNA match, I was both surprised and not so surprised, and also convinced this is an accurate accounting of a portion of my grandfather's past. Only those who knew my grandfather also knew that he went by his middle name while in Pennsylvania, probably because he had a step-brother who was also named James.
My grandfather's reputation with the ladies was a topic of discussion that transcended his own death, as tales of his philandering were passed down through two generations of the side of the family that he left behind when he left Pennsylvania, never to be heard from again. I had already discovered this years ago when I made telephone contact with another cousin, who was born of one of the children of my great-grandfather and his 2nd wife, Edna. It was really quite a remarkable experience hearing affirmations of things I had been told about him from both of my parents.
In a census enumerated on 9 Apr 1930, 2 year old Lois Harrison was shown living in Donora, PA with her maternal grandparents, James Bernard and Estella [Trout] Harrison. Her 21 year old mother, their eldest daughter, Margaret Harrison, was also living in the home, along with seven of Lois' maternal aunts and uncles.
On 2 Jan 1931, just a few days before Lois' third birthday, Lois' mother married Charles Frances Mullen in Wellsburg, Brooke Co, West Virginia. Their marriage record can be viewed at the bottom portion of page 59 here: Marriage of Charles Mullen and Margaret L. Harrison
In another census, enumerated on 22 Apr 1940, she is named as Lois Mullen, age 12, living in Donora, PA with her stepfather and mother, Charles and Margaret Mullen, along with her younger half-siblings, Margaret and Charles Mullen.
Lois E. Mullen, married Raymond Philip Podesta in the mid-1950's. Together they had four sons and one daughter! According to this cousin I had made contact with, all of Lois' children were raised thinking that their maternal grandfather was Charles Mullen, until their mother told them differently. Whether Charles legally adopted Lois or simply allowed her to use his surname, I really don't know.
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23 Dec 2016 UPDATE:
In my research, I found three death records for my grandfather (two are sourced with links below). All three confirm his date of birth, but there are discrepancies that I believe represent his actual date of death of 15 Aug 1972 and his date of burial of 23 Aug 1972.
I called the VA Administration regarding this VA Death Record that I obtained via Ancestry.com. All I could find out was that he enlisted in the U.S. Army and that he was likely buried privately, as they had no record of him being buried in any of their National Veteran's Cemeteries. I called the National Personnel Records Center for instructions on how to request as many records relating to him as possible, including a headstone application request, should one have been submitted. Once I have made this request and received what records they have, I will update that information to this memorial.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010
Name: James Alger
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 22 Mar 1902
Death Date: 23 Aug 1972
SSN: 137220133
Enlistment Date 1: 21 Aug 1919
Release Date 1: 30 Aug 1922
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Disclaimer:
All pertinent information I have included here can be verified by U.S. Federal Census Records for the family in conjunction with various public records, including any documents I may upload to this memorial.
Though I can not prove with 100% certainty that this family's composition and relation status is as I display it to be, I can say that the circumstantial evidence weighs very heavily in favor of the accuracy of these stated familial connections.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Gravesite Details
He was buried in a private plot on 23 Aug 1972 in Dadeville, Tallapoosa, AL. I have no way of finding out where since Alabama has an abundance of small private burial sites and does not keep those records publicly.
Family Members
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