Journey Beyond the Narrows: A Family History

By Jeremiah James Lewis

Journey Beyond the Narrows explores the history of an American family whose origin is traced to eleven immigrants who arrived in America in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. These individuals came through the Narrows into upper New York Harbor to begin their American journey. They were escaping famine in Ireland, poverty, political oppression, or lack of opportunity—or all three combined in Finland, Germany, and Scotland. Journey Beyond the Narrows does not provide just names and facts about these individuals but puts their lives in the context of the times in which they lived in their home countries and in America. It is the story of how two of their descendants reared six children in the Bronx, New York.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 10, 2008
• ISBN: 9781463464813

Jeremiah James Lewis

Jeremiah James Lewis was born and reared in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, New York. He graduated from Fordham University and became a certified public accountant. He went on to become a senior financial officer at J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated in Manhattan and at Midland Bank plc in the City of London. He received an honorary life membership in Financial Executives International in recognition of his work at Financial Executives Research Foundation, Inc., where he also served as a member of the board of trustees.

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© 2008 Jeremiah James Lewis. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/09/2022

ISBN: 978-1-4343-6645-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4343-6646-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-6481-3 (e)

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. Marriage

2. Growing up in the Bronx

Mott Haven

Neighborhood and Economic Environment

East 138th Street

An Unwelcome Companion

3. The Challenging Years

4. Dad’s Heritage

Mother

Stepfather

Father

Maternal Grandparents

Finland

Paternal Grandparents

Kleindeutschland

Germany

Dad’s Ancestral Chart

5. Mother’s Heritage

Mother

Father

Maternal Grandparents

Paternal Grandparents

Living in Manhattan

Ireland

Scotland

Mother’s Ancestral Chart

6. Visitors from Germany

Afterword

Sources of Primary and Secondary Documents

Notes

Notes to Chapter 2

Notes to Chapter 3

Notes to Chapter 4

Notes to Chapter 5

Notes to Chapter 6

Bibliography

Books

Newspapers

Periodicals

References

Family Addresses in New York City

In memory of my mother and father

Acknowledgements

This family history would not have been possible without the encouragement, support, and wisdom of my brothers Robert Michael Lewis and Walter Joseph Lewis, my sisters Ellen Lewis Finan and Ruth Marie Lewis Lucas, and my wife Ruth Hartjen Lewis. They provided valuable insights and wording suggestions on the various drafts of the manuscript, which enabled me to better convey the history of our parents, grandparents, and ancestors and the times in which they lived. Florence Magdits, who was my mother’s first cousin and close friend, and my godmother, was kind enough to let me have the letter, quoted from in this book, describing Mother and Dad’s marriage. Florence also was most helpful in providing insights about living in the Bronx.

Thank you all for your kindness and support.

Introduction

The idea of this history of my family, with its diverse lineage, arose from a conversation that I had with my father, Walter Lewis, in 1972, when I was living in Seaford, Long Island, New York, with my wife Ruth and our three sons. Dad knew that I had a keen interest in history, and he suggested that it would be a good project for me to begin to learn about the family and its origins and write down my findings. My mother, Ruth Lewis, and my wife, were present during this conversation.

As so many others who struggled economically just to get by, my parents had no time to pursue a genealogical study. As it developed, neither did I, but I did begin gathering family information, in fits and starts, after my conversation with Dad, with the expectation that I would someday put it all together, which happily I have now done. The family history is still incomplete and always will be a work in progress, but it is my hope that I or other family members will update these findings in future years.

In writing this history, I did not want to provide just names and facts about individual family members, but I wanted to put their lives in the context of the times in which they lived. To understand the way individuals behaved, the decisions they made, and their motivations, one needs to learn about the social and economical environments in which they lived, which greatly affected educational opportunities and their health and general well-being. For example, sections of Manhattan in New York at one time were terrible disease- and crime-ridden slums and the most densely populated areas on the face of the earth. As we shall see, at various times Dad and Mother’s parents and grandparents, and several of Mother’s great-grandparents lived in these areas and had to cope with fear and economic stress on a continuing basis and somehow make important decisions affecting their lives and those of their children.

All of Dad’s grandparents and Mother’s paternal grandmother, and at least six of her great-grandparents, immigrated to America. Why did they come here, knowing it would be an arduous and hazardous journey over three thousand miles across the Atlantic Ocean and that most likely they would never see their families and homelands again? And why did they stay? The answer is simple: Living conditions were far worse in the countries they left behind. They were escaping famine in Ireland and political oppression, poverty, or lack of opportunity—or all three combined—in Finland, Germany, and Scotland.

Chapter one describes Dad and Mother’s marriage in Saint Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, while chapters two and three tell of their living in the Bronx, New York and rearing their six children there. This was the pivotal place and time that set the direction of the lives of their children in their journey beyond the Narrows and moved them across the line of poverty to better lives. Chapters four and five cover what we know at this date about Dad and Mother’s parents, grandparents, and ancestors. Chapter six tells about two visitors from Germany, one of whom remained in America.

Dad and Mother’s ancestral charts (pages 62 and 77) will be helpful in following the text. The section Sources of Primary and Secondary Documents (pages 93 to 96) provides information about the methodology employed, and the limitations thereof, in obtaining genealogical information.

Maps and satellite images of the various addresses and locations referred to in this book can be viewed by going to the Web site: www.Google.com.

One

Marriage

It was 1934 and America was in the clutches of the Great Depression, which began in 1929. The effects of the Great Depression were felt throughout the 1930s, with high unemployment remaining until World War II was underway. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was in his first term of office in the White House, and although few Americans recognized it at the time, the world was inexorably heading toward a global war, which would result in millions of casualties and untold human suffering throughout the world.

In the same year, not far from the White House, Walter Joseph Lewis and Ruth Marie Dunning were married in Saint Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, which is located near the United States Senate and within sight of the Capitol. Walter was called Sonny, not because of his disposition but rather because of his unusually blond hair. Ruth was truly beautiful, with her fine features, black hair, and hazel eyes. She wrote in 1934,