UPDATED!! - Cursing a clerk who did not write clearly in 1895
This is the marriage certificate for my great great grandmother and her husband (who was not my great great grandfather). It has given me a lot of information including, on the 2nd page (which I did not scan), her signature. That finally proved her true name was Maria Filak. As her first and last names are spelled differently in all sorts of census records, it was nice to have that proven. (Even here they screwed up though--as you can see the clerk wrote in "Mary Filak".)
My problem is Maria's address. It is listed under her name and the number, "59", is clear but the street name gets unclear. Starts with an "M", has an "h", maybe a "c". It looks like a "St" at the end--a capital cursive "S" is pretty clear. But what street is this? Marchallow St? Hmmm - doesn't show up I'm afraid.
I just don't know.
The groom's address is 2913 8th Ave and the clergyman who married them was from 405 W. 125th St in Harlem, which I found out online is St Joseph of the Holy Family. (The oldest church in Harlem as it turns out.) But Maria's place of residence is a mystery to me and she is the one who matters most. Her whereabouts between 1886, when she arrived in NYC and 1895, when she married Rudolph, are unknown. In that period she gave birth to my great grandmother, whose father is also unknown. So pinning down any hint as to where Maria was is a very valuable clue in my family history search.
If any of you recognize the street, give me a shout. I'd appreciate any help I can get.
UPDATE: And it looks like we have a winner! We are thinking it is "Manhanttan St." which makes sense as, according to Wikipedia, "West of Convent Avenue, 125th Street was re-routed onto what was formerly called Manhattan Street prior to 1940." That puts us right in the neighborhood of the church! So now I find out what was there in 1895 and try to piece together more of Maria's mysterious life....
Big thanks to Melissa Posten for helping me out on this the second I posted to facebook & everyone else who sent emails. You guys rock!!
