The Shaws

Here is another mystery:  The Shaws.   Mary McGuire (1875-1928) married John Shaw (1875-1926) in New York.  They were native New Yorkers.  Sadly, this is my only picture of them.  It was taken at Coney Island.  John was a fruit peddler in Brooklyn.  Mary had been the widow of Frank Grimes, with whom she had two children.  She and John had six children together.

Mary's parents, Thomas McGuire and Ann Shanley, were Irish.  Ann's parents were Patrick Shanley and Catherine O' Rourke, of County Leitrim.  John's father, William Shaw, was from England and his mother Susan was born in New York.
These are very common Irish names, and this is all the information I have.

The Sprigades

I have so many questions about my ancestors.  I have been working on my family tree for over twenty years, but certain lines have led to dead ends.  

I have over five thousand relatives and ancestors documented on my tree.  I have hundreds of photos and documents dating from the 1830's to the present.  In many cases, I have photos but I cannot identify  the people in them.

Beyond discovering the basic birth-marriage-death dates,  addresses and occupations, I have been trying to figure out why, in so many instances,  my ancestors left their homelands and changed religions.

If you have landed here from google or anywhere else, really, please feel free to post or pm me. 

Here is one mystery:

The Sprigades- they described themselves as "high German" whatever that means.  

But so much evidence points to origins in Poznan, which was at times Poland and at times Germany. 



 Why was Poland never mentioned?

Why did the Sprigades leave Poznan for Berlin before the quick hop to Brooklyn?

Who are these young men, and are the girls in the portrait back in Germany?  I know there are Sprigade descendants in Ohio and Wisconsin, but I can't quite make the connection- yet.  Please contact me so we can work on these mysteries together!

Complete 1940 Census at Ancestry