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From: arnold roepken <>
Subject: [NJHUDSON-L] An open letter on "Never say die"
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2002 16:59:30 -0300

I know that I recently shouted out that I had found my GG-GM
on my Mother's side of my family,on the 1855 Census of Brooklyn,
NY. I somehow live by my motto "Never say die". This to me means
don't give up hope of finding that elusive ancester. I knew that my
Father was born in Brooklyn in 1895, but thanks to the SSDI, I found
out that two of his siblings were born in Jersey City, NJ.
We often think that our forebearers were rather stationary, but
the opposite is true. They moved more often than they changed
their underwear. My family moved back and forth accross the
Hudson River, as though it were a street in New York.
I've found my Father's family on both sides of the Hudson, from
1874 to 1949. My paternal Grandmother lived in Jersey City from
1872 until 1879. She shows up in the Manhattan Directories in 1882.
She married, and had her first child at 88 Hester St. in what is now
Little Italy. That was in 1884. Her next two children were born in
Jersey City,(1887 & 1891-SSDI), thank God for longevity.
On Friday, I traveled to the Trenton Archives of NJ. There I found
the Registry record of my maternal G-GM's demise on my Father's side
in 1876. I was saddened by the fact that she was only 42, but the
death record clearly showed that she was born in Hexham, Northumbria,
England. This gives me the impetus to go back one more generation in
Hexham. Another small brick wall for me, but my message really is,
"Never say die". Good luck to all.

Arnold W. Roepken in Bellmore, NY
Genealogy means "Never say die".

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• [NJHUDSON-L] An open letter on "Never say die" by arnold roepken <>