It was the summer of 1979 (every good story starts out that way right? ;) when I left California with my grandmother to visit family in Virginia and Washington DC. My mom grew up knowing nothing about her grandfather Clinton Seitz. My grandfather, Drew, would never talk about him. Back then, records were not online. I had to write letters for every document I was looking for; church records, land, census, you name it.

Start with What you Know and Interview If Possible to Learn More

I was excited to meet my great aunt Irene Hunter Seitz (91 yrs old) for the first time as well as her son Augustus Crenshaw III (64 yrs. old) in Chevy Chase, MD. I wanted to get to know them learn more about their life and I hoped to understand what happened to my aunt’s and grandfather’s father. Clinton left the family sometime in 1898.

Gus and my aunt Rena could not tell me much. Aunt Rena was 10 years old and Drew 6 years when their father left. Clinton showed up later back in Washington DC in 1927 when Gus was twelve years old. My great grandmother, Mary Rosalie was living with my aunt Rena by then. Gus described Clinton as a stuffed shirt and knew that he visited from somewhere in Pennsylvania. At least that was one clue.

Organize What you Know

I pulled together what I knew about Clinton. He had primarily worked as a paper hanger. He was born 17 January 1861 in Washington DC. So, that told me his age in 1900. His parents were George Seitz who was born in Frankfurt am main and Mary Elizabeth Plant who was born in Maryland.

Before starting my search in PA, I looked at the 1900 census for his wife, my great grandmother Mary Rosalie in Washington DC. It showed she moved into the household of her father with her two young children and Clinton was living with her there, but that math didn’t work if he left the family in 1898. It was possible that Mary Rosalie may have claimed Clinton was still living with her out of embarrassment because I found him in PA in 1900.

A Good Place to Start - Census Records

I started looking at 1900 census records in PA. I found 3 men named Clinton Seitz with the following information:

In Philadelphia: Clinton A Seitz, born in West Virginia in Jan 1868, a paper hanger by trade, he married Mary E Seitz circa 1897, she was just 24 yrs old in 1900 and was born in New Jersey. In the household was a 1 yr. old son named Branson. Clinton stated that his father was born in Virginia and his mother in West Virginia.

In Shrewsbury Co. PA, there was Clinton H Seitz, born in PA in Oct of 1872, living in his father Edward’s household. He was single, a schoolteacher and it was stated that both of his parents were born in PA.

In Cumberland Co. PA there was Clinton Seitz born in PA in 1892. He was just 18 yrs. old and was living in his brother’s household. He worked for the steam railroad and was single. Both of his parents were born in PA.

Clearly, none of these men were an exact match. But the first one was intriguing. How many men were named Clinton Seitz with a profession as a Paper Hanger? This could be my great grandfather.

I focused on the first Clinton Seitz. I checked the 1910 census in PA which told a similar but also a different story. This census listed a man named Charles A P Seitz and a woman, Mary E, who were living together as boarders. A young son named Branson was shown in the household. Charles claimed he was born in 1868 but in VA and that his parents were also born in VA. The information for the woman living with him, Mary E, stayed consistent from the 1900 census and again this man is listed as a Paper Hanger.

Newspapers

At this point I turned to newspaper articles to help confirm that this 1910 couple were the same as those in the 1900 census. Within a newspaper database I set a search inquiry of Clinton between the years of 1895-1920.

I found a newspaper article dated 16 Dec1906 for the death of I. Branson Seitz who was just eight years old. He was the son of C A P Seitz and Edna H Seitz. There was no cause of death listed. That led me to look for a death certificate for I. Branson Seitz. The newspaper named the mother as Edna H, which didn’t correlate to what I had already gathered. I also didn’t have a maiden name for her yet.

In addition, I found a variety of newspaper advertisements for Clinton’s business as a paper hanger and decorator.

A Washington DC newspaper article dated 1917 listed several individuals with cases against them including, “Clinton A P Seitz for non-support.” Unfortunately, after combing a variety of court case files in Washington DC, I never found one for Clinton.

Death Certificates

Now with the date of death for of Branson, I proceeded to look for the death certificate for him hoping for more detail. The death certificate provided confirmation I needed. Irving Branson Seitz died of chronic endocarditis. His parents were Clinton A Seitz and Mary E Cox. It stated that both Clinton and Mary E were from New Jersey.

In correlating the two census records along with the death certificate of Irving Branson Seitz, I was sure I had the right couple, and more importantly my great grandfather Clinton. I kept digging.

FamilySearch – Full Text Search

In the last year or so I started using Full text search within the FamilySearch website. Full text search allows you to search for records that have not yet been indexed. By putting in a name, dates, and a place you may find records that you had not previously found.

It’s a good idea to start with doing a query of general information and then digging down deeper as needed. My query was “Clinton Andrew Seitz, 1900-1933, Pennsylvania.” Notice I didn’t put in Philadelphia where Clinton was living at the time. Since his partner Mary E Cox was from New Jersey, I wanted to stay more general. You can always go in and change the search criteria.

In my search on full text search, I found it! A 1917 Court records file. There was Clinton with all his alias’. In this document it was revealed that Clinton was being held in jail in Trenton, Mercer Co. NJ to be sent back to Washington DC to face charges. It read:

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TO THE MARSHAL OF THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY, GREETING:

WHEREAS Clinton A. P. Seitz, alias C. A. Preston Seitz, alias Clinton A. Seitz, has been committed to Mercer County upon a commitment made by a United States Commissioner in this district, for the purpose of obtaining a warrant for the removal of the Clinton A. P. Seitz, alias C. A. Preston Seitz, alias Clinton A. Seitz, to the District of Columbia, in which District the offense which aid prisoner has been so committed is to be tried, the copy which commitment returned by the Commissioner, as also all other proceedings returned by him are hereto annexed; he having admitted identity and having expressed his willingness to be removed to the district of Columbia, AND WHEREAS the United States District Attorney for the District of New Jersey has made application to me, under the provisions of the statutes of the United States in that behalf provided, for a warrant for the removal of the said prisoner.

Now it was time to go back to the newspaper database and change my search criteria. This time I searched Clinton’s name, the years between1910 to 1920, and I used New Jersey for the location. Two newspaper articles were revealed dated 1917, they told an interesting story. Clinton claimed that the charge was not based on fact but rather spite from his wife’s family due to his higher social standing.

Each of these documents, census records and newspapers all had a different spin on the facts. Clinton was born in 1861, not 1868. He was born in Washington DC, not West Virginia, VA, or NJ. Even the newspapers were wrong about the timing due to his being interviewed and telling the story he wanted. He left in 1898, not 1916. His immediate family wasn’t wealthy although his uncle on his mother’s side was well off. His own father was an immigrant from Frankfurt am main who took over a business as a baker.

Clinton and his wife Mary Rosalie Hunter Seitz never divorced. Clinton ultimately went back to Philadelphia. I found Clinton’s death certificate. He died indigent, buried in a charity grave paid for by his neighbor in 1933. Mary Rosalie lived out her life living with her daughter and her son nearby. She died in 1931.

I hope sharing one of my processes of research helps someone else.

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Lisa E Oakley

The Genealogy Hunt