Youngest child and only son of James Russell Sr and Florence Alberta [Chambers] Alger. His father had been married 3 times, divorced twice. He was born of his father's second marriage. His mother was only married once.
Familial Relation: Father
- Luana Dawn Alger, 14 Jan 2019
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
14 Jan 2019 UPDATE:
Since my father's passing I have continued my research into his ancestry and made a few remarkable discoveries. I obviously knew of the existence of his two sisters, my aunts Gayle and Shirley. However, I was not aware of any others at the time of his passing. Since then, I have found that his father had 4 children born of his first wife, Elsie Anna [Godfrey] Algers (married 14 Feb 1923 in Donora, Washington, PA) and a daughter born of an affair his father had with Margaret Louise [Harrison] Mullen while he was married to Elsie. For the record, his father's third wife was Martha Nell [Slaughter] Alger (married 7 Mar 1963 in Rockford, Coosa, AL).
My father's half-siblings, born of Elsie:
i. Virginia May [Algers] Dean (1923-1990)
ii. James Russell Algers (1925-1928)
iii. Florence Elaine [Algers] Blades (1927-2005)
iv. Arlene E. [Algers] Puskarich (b. 7 Feb 1934, Scenery Hill, Washington, PA)
My father's half-sister, born of Margaret:
v. Lois E. [Mullen] Podesta (1928-2012)
NOTE: Lois has been VERIFIED to be biologically related to me by an Ancestry DNA match CONFIRMED between myself and one of her sons. The notification of this match prompted me to contact him to inquire about it and determine how we were related. He responded by advising me that his mother revealed the identity of her biological father as my paternal grandfather not long before her death. This surprised him and his siblings because they were raised believing that their maternal grandfather was Charles Francis Mullen, but it also prompted him to try to find his biological maternal grandfather. We'd have found each other long ago had he not been looking for Russell Alger, instead of James Russell Alger, but Russell was the name he went by while he lived in Pennsylvania, so neither his mother nor his maternal grandmother knew any differently. Lois was identified in the 1930 Census as Lois Harrison, by her mother's maiden surname. She turned 3-years-old just 6 days after her mother and Charles were married. The shared DNA between myself and this 1st cousin is 348 centimorgans across 19 segments, with a confidence level of extremely high.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
My siblings and I had continuous contact with our father from 1993 all the way up until about 2 weeks before his death. Prior to that, we had not seen nor heard from him in about 20 years. The story as to why is long and irrelevant. We were children and had little control of the circumstances surrounding us... and our parents were very young trying to do the right thing and trusting in others that, hindsight being 20-20, should never have been trusted. The end result was what it was and there's nothing more to say. We had put all of that behind us and reconnected after years of diligent searching, as all strong families do. It has not been an easy road to travel. There is much multi-generational dysfunction still in our family... but we do try.
At the time of our father's passing we didn't even know he was in the hospital. He simply did not tell us. As we later found out, he somehow lost his cell phone and that explains the reason why we could not get him to answer it during the last 2 weeks of his life.
Years earlier, while residing with our half-sister in his home, a fall down the stairs had rendered him comatose for 6 months and he awoke as a paraplegic. Dad made it perfectly clear that he did not want to leave Miami on many occasions and none of us were in a position to uproot and move our families there. He also had our half-sister close by and, as far as we knew, she kept a pretty good check on him. Yes, he was stubborn but he was also in his right mind and would get very agitated if we even spoke of moving him away. He did have an aide who came to look after him, an arrangement that he had long been comfortable with, so there was not much else any of us could do. After his passing his aide did inform me on a phone conversation I had with him that dad was lonely and wished he had more of his family around him... All he ever had to do was tell us, but that was not something he ever did and we had all long given up offering, asking or begging him to leave.
The day dad passed away he was an inpatient in telemetry at Baptist Hospital, which means that he was evaluated to be at risk for life-threatening dysrhythmias and sudden death. He needed to be monitored very closely. As much as we wish it were not true, there really was nothing anyone could have done to save him. He had long-term health problems. Not only was he a paraplegic, but he had pretty much gone blind. He also had a history of open heart surgeries (one of which was a quadruple bypass), angioplasty, gallbladder removal, suffered from type II diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and was on dialysis several times weekly. In short, just about all of dad's vital organs were failing him. When it came to eating right, he was his own worst enemy... but he lived his life according to his terms and no one was going to tell him to do it any differently. He just would not stand for it and no one expected him to. So, in his last days, he was in the best place to handle the massive coronary that would ultimately claim his life... I love him so much and miss him even more... And nothing anyone says or does will ever take that away!
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Marriage 1: Rebecca Ann Hackler
Date: 24 Aug 1963
Location: Crossville, Cumberland Co., TN
Outcome: Divorced
4 Children:
i. Luana Dawn
ii. Crystal René
iii. Wendy Ann
iv. James Russell III
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Marriage 2: Margarita Mann Laboy
Date: 1977
Location: Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Outcome: Widower
1 Child:
v. Stephanie Michelle
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Military: U.S. Army Reserves
Term: 10 Jan 1962-20 Dec 1963
Military: U.S. Army
Term: 21 Dec 1963-23 Dec 1969
Rank: SP5
Duty Stations:
- Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York
- Fort Knox, Hardin, Kentucky
- Schweinfurt (Conn Barracks), Germany
- Fort Lewis, Pierce, Washington
- Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, New York
Civilian Occupation(s):
- Wells Fargo, Security Officer
- N.Y. Hospital, Security Officer
- U.S. Deputy Marshall, New York City
- U.S. DoJ, Dept. of INS, Customs Officer,
John F. Kennedy Airport
- U.S. DoJ, Dept. of INS, Asst Port Director,
Miami International Airport
(Retired, 1998)
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Death/Burial Details
Age: 63 years, 4 months, 21 days
Cause: Cardiac Arrest
Location: Baptist Hospital, Miami, Miami-Dade, FL
Interment Date: 15 May 2007
Interment Location: Arlington National Cemetery
SS#: 095-34-1834 (New York, 1958-1960)
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
ALGER, JR., JAMES RUSSELL, 63, (b. Nov. 7, 1943 d. Mar. 28, 2007) of Miami, is survived by 5 children, Luana Alger, SC; Crystal Alger Freeman, OH; Wendy Alger Lee, GA; James Alger III, CA; and Stephanie Alger White, of FL; 13 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Mr. Alger was a disabled US Army Vet and retired as Asst. Port Director of M.I.A., INS- US Dept. of Justice in 1998. Mr. Alger's remains will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on May 15, 2007. Please send all condolences to: Luana D. Alger 100 Rhonda Dr., Lot 1, Summerville, SC, 29483.
The Miami Herald
Friday, April 13, 2007
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
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 Relation: Father
- Luana Dawn Alger, 14 Jan 2019
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
14 Jan 2019 UPDATE:
Since my father's passing I have continued my research into his ancestry and made a few remarkable discoveries. I obviously knew of the existence of his two sisters, my aunts Gayle and Shirley. However, I was not aware of any others at the time of his passing. Since then, I have found that his father had 4 children born of his first wife, Elsie Anna [Godfrey] Algers (married 14 Feb 1923 in Donora, Washington, PA) and a daughter born of an affair his father had with Margaret Louise [Harrison] Mullen while he was married to Elsie. For the record, his father's third wife was Martha Nell [Slaughter] Alger (married 7 Mar 1963 in Rockford, Coosa, AL).
My father's half-siblings, born of Elsie:
i. Virginia May [Algers] Dean (1923-1990)
ii. James Russell Algers (1925-1928)
iii. Florence Elaine [Algers] Blades (1927-2005)
iv. Arlene E. [Algers] Puskarich (b. 7 Feb 1934, Scenery Hill, Washington, PA)
My father's half-sister, born of Margaret:
v. Lois E. [Mullen] Podesta (1928-2012)
NOTE: Lois has been VERIFIED to be biologically related to me by an Ancestry DNA match CONFIRMED between myself and one of her sons. The notification of this match prompted me to contact him to inquire about it and determine how we were related. He responded by advising me that his mother revealed the identity of her biological father as my paternal grandfather not long before her death. This surprised him and his siblings because they were raised believing that their maternal grandfather was Charles Francis Mullen, but it also prompted him to try to find his biological maternal grandfather. We'd have found each other long ago had he not been looking for Russell Alger, instead of James Russell Alger, but Russell was the name he went by while he lived in Pennsylvania, so neither his mother nor his maternal grandmother knew any differently. Lois was identified in the 1930 Census as Lois Harrison, by her mother's maiden surname. She turned 3-years-old just 6 days after her mother and Charles were married. The shared DNA between myself and this 1st cousin is 348 centimorgans across 19 segments, with a confidence level of extremely high.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
My siblings and I had continuous contact with our father from 1993 all the way up until about 2 weeks before his death. Prior to that, we had not seen nor heard from him in about 20 years. The story as to why is long and irrelevant. We were children and had little control of the circumstances surrounding us... and our parents were very young trying to do the right thing and trusting in others that, hindsight being 20-20, should never have been trusted. The end result was what it was and there's nothing more to say. We had put all of that behind us and reconnected after years of diligent searching, as all strong families do. It has not been an easy road to travel. There is much multi-generational dysfunction still in our family... but we do try.
At the time of our father's passing we didn't even know he was in the hospital. He simply did not tell us. As we later found out, he somehow lost his cell phone and that explains the reason why we could not get him to answer it during the last 2 weeks of his life.
Years earlier, while residing with our half-sister in his home, a fall down the stairs had rendered him comatose for 6 months and he awoke as a paraplegic. Dad made it perfectly clear that he did not want to leave Miami on many occasions and none of us were in a position to uproot and move our families there. He also had our half-sister close by and, as far as we knew, she kept a pretty good check on him. Yes, he was stubborn but he was also in his right mind and would get very agitated if we even spoke of moving him away. He did have an aide who came to look after him, an arrangement that he had long been comfortable with, so there was not much else any of us could do. After his passing his aide did inform me on a phone conversation I had with him that dad was lonely and wished he had more of his family around him... All he ever had to do was tell us, but that was not something he ever did and we had all long given up offering, asking or begging him to leave.
The day dad passed away he was an inpatient in telemetry at Baptist Hospital, which means that he was evaluated to be at risk for life-threatening dysrhythmias and sudden death. He needed to be monitored very closely. As much as we wish it were not true, there really was nothing anyone could have done to save him. He had long-term health problems. Not only was he a paraplegic, but he had pretty much gone blind. He also had a history of open heart surgeries (one of which was a quadruple bypass), angioplasty, gallbladder removal, suffered from type II diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and was on dialysis several times weekly. In short, just about all of dad's vital organs were failing him. When it came to eating right, he was his own worst enemy... but he lived his life according to his terms and no one was going to tell him to do it any differently. He just would not stand for it and no one expected him to. So, in his last days, he was in the best place to handle the massive coronary that would ultimately claim his life... I love him so much and miss him even more... And nothing anyone says or does will ever take that away!
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Marriage 1: Rebecca Ann Hackler
Date: 24 Aug 1963
Location: Crossville, Cumberland Co., TN
Outcome: Divorced
4 Children:
i. Luana Dawn
ii. Crystal René
iii. Wendy Ann
iv. James Russell III
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Marriage 2: Margarita Mann Laboy
Date: 1977
Location: Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Outcome: Widower
1 Child:
v. Stephanie Michelle
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Military: U.S. Army Reserves
Term: 10 Jan 1962-20 Dec 1963
Military: U.S. Army
Term: 21 Dec 1963-23 Dec 1969
Rank: SP5
Duty Stations:
- Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York
- Fort Knox, Hardin, Kentucky
- Schweinfurt (Conn Barracks), Germany
- Fort Lewis, Pierce, Washington
- Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, New York
Civilian Occupation(s):
- Wells Fargo, Security Officer
- N.Y. Hospital, Security Officer
- U.S. Deputy Marshall, New York City
- U.S. DoJ, Dept. of INS, Customs Officer,
John F. Kennedy Airport
- U.S. DoJ, Dept. of INS, Asst Port Director,
Miami International Airport
(Retired, 1998)
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Death/Burial Details
Age: 63 years, 4 months, 21 days
Cause: Cardiac Arrest
Location: Baptist Hospital, Miami, Miami-Dade, FL
Interment Date: 15 May 2007
Interment Location: Arlington National Cemetery
SS#: 095-34-1834 (New York, 1958-1960)
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
ALGER, JR., JAMES RUSSELL, 63, (b. Nov. 7, 1943 d. Mar. 28, 2007) of Miami, is survived by 5 children, Luana Alger, SC; Crystal Alger Freeman, OH; Wendy Alger Lee, GA; James Alger III, CA; and Stephanie Alger White, of FL; 13 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Mr. Alger was a disabled US Army Vet and retired as Asst. Port Director of M.I.A., INS- US Dept. of Justice in 1998. Mr. Alger's remains will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on May 15, 2007. Please send all condolences to: Luana D. Alger 100 Rhonda Dr., Lot 1, Summerville, SC, 29483.
The Miami Herald
Friday, April 13, 2007
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
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.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Youngest child and only son of James Russell Sr and Florence Alberta [Chambers] Alger. His father had been married 3 times, divorced twice. He was born of his father's second marriage. His mother was only married once.
Familial Relation: Father
- Luana Dawn Alger, 14 Jan 2019
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
14 Jan 2019 UPDATE:
Since my father's passing I have continued my research into his ancestry and made a few remarkable discoveries. I obviously knew of the existence of his two sisters, my aunts Gayle and Shirley. However, I was not aware of any others at the time of his passing. Since then, I have found that his father had 4 children born of his first wife, Elsie Anna [Godfrey] Algers (married 14 Feb 1923 in Donora, Washington, PA) and a daughter born of an affair his father had with Margaret Louise [Harrison] Mullen while he was married to Elsie. For the record, his father's third wife was Martha Nell [Slaughter] Alger (married 7 Mar 1963 in Rockford, Coosa, AL).
My father's half-siblings, born of Elsie:
i. Virginia May [Algers] Dean (1923-1990)
ii. James Russell Algers (1925-1928)
iii. Florence Elaine [Algers] Blades (1927-2005)
iv. Arlene E. [Algers] Puskarich (b. 7 Feb 1934, Scenery Hill, Washington, PA)
My father's half-sister, born of Margaret:
v. Lois E. [Mullen] Podesta (1928-2012)
NOTE: Lois has been VERIFIED to be biologically related to me by an Ancestry DNA match CONFIRMED between myself and one of her sons. The notification of this match prompted me to contact him to inquire about it and determine how we were related. He responded by advising me that his mother revealed the identity of her biological father as my paternal grandfather not long before her death. This surprised him and his siblings because they were raised believing that their maternal grandfather was Charles Francis Mullen, but it also prompted him to try to find his biological maternal grandfather. We'd have found each other long ago had he not been looking for Russell Alger, instead of James Russell Alger, but Russell was the name he went by while he lived in Pennsylvania, so neither his mother nor his maternal grandmother knew any differently. Lois was identified in the 1930 Census as Lois Harrison, by her mother's maiden surname. She turned 3-years-old just 6 days after her mother and Charles were married. The shared DNA between myself and this 1st cousin is 348 centimorgans across 19 segments, with a confidence level of extremely high.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
My siblings and I had continuous contact with our father from 1993 all the way up until about 2 weeks before his death. Prior to that, we had not seen nor heard from him in about 20 years. The story as to why is long and irrelevant. We were children and had little control of the circumstances surrounding us... and our parents were very young trying to do the right thing and trusting in others that, hindsight being 20-20, should never have been trusted. The end result was what it was and there's nothing more to say. We had put all of that behind us and reconnected after years of diligent searching, as all strong families do. It has not been an easy road to travel. There is much multi-generational dysfunction still in our family... but we do try.
At the time of our father's passing we didn't even know he was in the hospital. He simply did not tell us. As we later found out, he somehow lost his cell phone and that explains the reason why we could not get him to answer it during the last 2 weeks of his life.
Years earlier, while residing with our half-sister in his home, a fall down the stairs had rendered him comatose for 6 months and he awoke as a paraplegic. Dad made it perfectly clear that he did not want to leave Miami on many occasions and none of us were in a position to uproot and move our families there. He also had our half-sister close by and, as far as we knew, she kept a pretty good check on him. Yes, he was stubborn but he was also in his right mind and would get very agitated if we even spoke of moving him away. He did have an aide who came to look after him, an arrangement that he had long been comfortable with, so there was not much else any of us could do. After his passing his aide did inform me on a phone conversation I had with him that dad was lonely and wished he had more of his family around him... All he ever had to do was tell us, but that was not something he ever did and we had all long given up offering, asking or begging him to leave.
The day dad passed away he was an inpatient in telemetry at Baptist Hospital, which means that he was evaluated to be at risk for life-threatening dysrhythmias and sudden death. He needed to be monitored very closely. As much as we wish it were not true, there really was nothing anyone could have done to save him. He had long-term health problems. Not only was he a paraplegic, but he had pretty much gone blind. He also had a history of open heart surgeries (one of which was a quadruple bypass), angioplasty, gallbladder removal, suffered from type II diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and was on dialysis several times weekly. In short, just about all of dad's vital organs were failing him. When it came to eating right, he was his own worst enemy... but he lived his life according to his terms and no one was going to tell him to do it any differently. He just would not stand for it and no one expected him to. So, in his last days, he was in the best place to handle the massive coronary that would ultimately claim his life... I love him so much and miss him even more... And nothing anyone says or does will ever take that away!
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Marriage 1: Rebecca Ann Hackler
Date: 24 Aug 1963
Location: Crossville, Cumberland Co., TN
Outcome: Divorced
4 Children:
i. Luana Dawn
ii. Crystal René
iii. Wendy Ann
iv. James Russell III
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Marriage 2: Margarita Mann Laboy
Date: 1977
Location: Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Outcome: Widower
1 Child:
v. Stephanie Michelle
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Military: U.S. Army Reserves
Term: 10 Jan 1962-20 Dec 1963
Military: U.S. Army
Term: 21 Dec 1963-23 Dec 1969
Rank: SP5
Duty Stations:
- Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York
- Fort Knox, Hardin, Kentucky
- Schweinfurt (Conn Barracks), Germany
- Fort Lewis, Pierce, Washington
- Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, New York
Civilian Occupation(s):
- Wells Fargo, Security Officer
- N.Y. Hospital, Security Officer
- U.S. Deputy Marshall, New York City
- U.S. DoJ, Dept. of INS, Customs Officer,
John F. Kennedy Airport
- U.S. DoJ, Dept. of INS, Asst Port Director,
Miami International Airport
(Retired, 1998)
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
Death/Burial Details
Age: 63 years, 4 months, 21 days
Cause: Cardiac Arrest
Location: Baptist Hospital, Miami, Miami-Dade, FL
Interment Date: 15 May 2007
Interment Location: Arlington National Cemetery
SS#: 095-34-1834 (New York, 1958-1960)
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
ALGER, JR., JAMES RUSSELL, 63, (b. Nov. 7, 1943 d. Mar. 28, 2007) of Miami, is survived by 5 children, Luana Alger, SC; Crystal Alger Freeman, OH; Wendy Alger Lee, GA; James Alger III, CA; and Stephanie Alger White, of FL; 13 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Mr. Alger was a disabled US Army Vet and retired as Asst. Port Director of M.I.A., INS- US Dept. of Justice in 1998. Mr. Alger's remains will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on May 15, 2007. Please send all condolences to: Luana D. Alger 100 Rhonda Dr., Lot 1, Summerville, SC, 29483.
The Miami Herald
Friday, April 13, 2007
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
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 Relation: Father
- Luana Dawn Alger, 14 Jan 2019
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
14 Jan 2019 UPDATE:
Since my father's passing I have continued my research into his ancestry and made a few remarkable discoveries. I obviously knew of the existence of his two sisters, my aunts Gayle and Shirley. However, I was not aware of any others at the time of his passing. Since then, I have found that his father had 4 children born of his first wife, Elsie Anna [Godfrey] Algers (married 14 Feb 1923 in Donora, Washington, PA) and a daughter born of an affair his father had with Margaret Louise [Harrison] Mullen while he was married to Elsie. For the record, his father's third wife was Martha Nell [Slaughter] Alger (married 7 Mar 1963 in Rockford, Coosa, AL).
My father's half-siblings, born of Elsie:
i. Virginia May [Algers] Dean (1923-1990)
ii. James Russell Algers (1925-1928)
iii. Florence Elaine [Algers] Blades (1927-2005)
iv. Arlene E. [Algers] Puskarich (b. 7 Feb 1934, Scenery Hill, Washington, PA)
My father's half-sister, born of Margaret:
v. Lois E. [Mullen] Podesta (1928-2012)
NOTE: Lois has been VERIFIED to be biologically related to me by an Ancestry DNA match CONFIRMED between myself and one of her sons. The notification of this match prompted me to contact him to inquire about it and determine how we were related. He responded by advising me that his mother revealed the identity of her biological father as my paternal grandfather not long before her death. This surprised him and his siblings because they were raised believing that their maternal grandfather was Charles Francis Mullen, but it also prompted him to try to find his biological maternal grandfather. We'd have found each other long ago had he not been looking for Russell Alger, instead of James Russell Alger, but Russell was the name he went by while he lived in Pennsylvania, so neither his mother nor his maternal grandmother knew any differently. Lois was identified in the 1930 Census as Lois Harrison, by her mother's maiden surname. She turned 3-years-old just 6 days after her mother and Charles were married. The shared DNA between myself and this 1st cousin is 348 centimorgans across 19 segments, with a confidence level of extremely high.
*•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•**•.¸¸❤❤¸.•*
My siblings and I had continuous contact with our father from 1993 all the way up until about 2 weeks before his death. Prior to that, we had not seen nor heard from him in about 20 years. The story as to why is long and irrelevant. We were children and had little control of the circumstances surrounding us... and our parents were very young trying to do the right thing and trusting in others that, hindsight being 20-20, should never have been trusted. The end result was what it was and there's nothing more to say. We had put all of that behind us and reconnected after years of diligent searching, as all strong families do. It has not been an easy road to travel. There is much multi-generational dysfunction still in our family... but we do try.
At the time of our father's passing we didn't even know he was in the hospital. He simply did not tell us. As we later found out, he somehow lost his cell phone and that explains the reason why we could not get him to answer it during the last 2 weeks of his life.
Years earlier, while residing with our half-sister in his home, a fall down the stairs had rendered him comatose for 6 months and he awoke as a paraplegic. Dad made it perfectly clear that he did not want to leave Miami on many occasions and none of us were in a position to uproot and move our families there. He also had our half-sister close by and, as far as we knew, she kept a pretty good check on him. Yes, he was stubborn but he was also in his right mind and would get very agitated if we even spoke of moving him away. He did have an aide who came to look after him, an arrangement that he had long been comfortable with, so there was not much else any of us could do. After his passing his aide did inform me on a phone conversation I had with him that dad was lonely and wished he had more of his family around him... All he ever had to do was tell us, but that was not something he ever did and we had all long given up offering, asking or begging him to leave.
The day dad passed away he was an inpatient in telemetry at Baptist Hospital, which means that he was evaluated to be at risk for life-threatening dysrhythmias and sudden death. He needed to be monitored very closely. As much as we wish it were not true, there really was nothing anyone could have done to save him. He had long-term health problems. Not only was he a paraplegic, but he had pretty much gone blind. He also had a history of open heart surgeries (one of which was a quadruple bypass), angioplasty, gallbladder removal, suffered from type II diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and was on dialysis several times weekly. In short, just about all of dad's vital organs were failing him. When it came to eating right, he was his own worst enemy... but he lived his life according to his terms and no one was going to tell him to do it any differently. He just would not stand for it and no one expected him to. So, in his last days, he was in the best place to handle the massive coronary that would ultimately claim his life... I love him so much and miss him even more... And nothing anyone says or does will ever take that away!
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Marriage 1: Rebecca Ann Hackler
Date: 24 Aug 1963
Location: Crossville, Cumberland Co., TN
Outcome: Divorced
4 Children:
i. Luana Dawn
ii. Crystal René
iii. Wendy Ann
iv. James Russell III
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Marriage 2: Margarita Mann Laboy
Date: 1977
Location: Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Outcome: Widower
1 Child:
v. Stephanie Michelle
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Military: U.S. Army Reserves
Term: 10 Jan 1962-20 Dec 1963
Military: U.S. Army
Term: 21 Dec 1963-23 Dec 1969
Rank: SP5
Duty Stations:
- Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York
- Fort Knox, Hardin, Kentucky
- Schweinfurt (Conn Barracks), Germany
- Fort Lewis, Pierce, Washington
- Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, New York
Civilian Occupation(s):
- Wells Fargo, Security Officer
- N.Y. Hospital, Security Officer
- U.S. Deputy Marshall, New York City
- U.S. DoJ, Dept. of INS, Customs Officer,
John F. Kennedy Airport
- U.S. DoJ, Dept. of INS, Asst Port Director,
Miami International Airport
(Retired, 1998)
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Death/Burial Details
Age: 63 years, 4 months, 21 days
Cause: Cardiac Arrest
Location: Baptist Hospital, Miami, Miami-Dade, FL
Interment Date: 15 May 2007
Interment Location: Arlington National Cemetery
SS#: 095-34-1834 (New York, 1958-1960)
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ALGER, JR., JAMES RUSSELL, 63, (b. Nov. 7, 1943 d. Mar. 28, 2007) of Miami, is survived by 5 children, Luana Alger, SC; Crystal Alger Freeman, OH; Wendy Alger Lee, GA; James Alger III, CA; and Stephanie Alger White, of FL; 13 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Mr. Alger was a disabled US Army Vet and retired as Asst. Port Director of M.I.A., INS- US Dept. of Justice in 1998. Mr. Alger's remains will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on May 15, 2007. Please send all condolences to: Luana D. Alger 100 Rhonda Dr., Lot 1, Summerville, SC, 29483.
The Miami Herald
Friday, April 13, 2007
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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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Gravesite Details
SP5 US ARMY
