Cannold loose ends

From various U.S. census records from 1880 through 1930, I now have a better picture of the Cannold family. Most of this is only marginally of interest to us, since the only Cannolds that had any relation to us were Lester, who was married and divorced from our great aunt Meta, and their two children, Thad, who committed suicide in 1946, and Harrison, who appears to have lived until at least 1965 and could have had children. Should that be the case, those children would be our second cousins.

Lester was the second of five children of Samuel and Sarah Cannold, who were both born in Poland but met and married in New York. By 1910, Lester is 23 and working as a public school teacher. Three years later, he marries Meta Rabinowitz and they start a family.

We know the outlines of the sad story after that. Lester rises in his career as a administrator in the Newark school system, but emotional problems begin to have an impact. By the time of the 1930 census, he and Meta have divorced. In 1942, we have him registering for the WWII draft from his mailing address at a Connecticut sanitarium.

On his registration card, he lists his sister Harriet Klein as "Name of person who will always know your address." And his home is given at an address on Seabreeze Ave. in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

So to tie up loose ends I went back and looked at Lester's siblings. At some point the family had moved from Manhattan to Coney Island, the same address Lester would later use. Of the daughters, one stayed single and continued to live with her mother, and two others married. One of those was Harriet Klein, who did not appear to have children. The other was Pearl Gerst, who had two or three children.

So that's all on the Cannolds, a family we are related to only by marriage but one with some tragic twists that seem to echo events in our family. Only Harrison and Thaddeus Cannold are of direct interest to us, so the hunt for Harrison goes on.

Revisiting Cannold 1930 census record

In an earlier post I wondered about Harrison Cannold birth date and decided to take a new look at the 1930 census record I had previously found for our great aunt Meta Cannold nee Rabinowitz.

First, it was hard to locate the record on Ancestry.com because they have the name listed as Connold, not Cannold. But I persisted and found the right census document. On the age question, it shows that Harrison was 14 and Thaddeus 13 in April 1930. So on the earlier question, if living, Harrison would be 92 plus or minus.

There are some other interesting facts from the census record, which I will list here:

The family consisted of Meta (head of household) and her two sons. They lived in an apartment building at 236 Renner Ave. in Newark NJ. At the time 43 years old, Meta is indicated as having been married at age 26 but her "Marriage Condition" is listed a "D" for divorced. Under "Occupation" she is listed as "Teacher," and under "Industry" it says "Public School." Both boys are noted as having been born in New Jersey to parents born in New York. Meta is shown as born in New York to parents born in Russia.

Harrison Cannold's letter to the editor

Well, here's good news, a letter to the editor of the New York Times written by Harrison Cannold in November 1965. This is our first sighting of Harrison after WWII, and it opens up likely avenues for learning more about his life and possible descendents. It is even remotely possible that he is still living. I don't have his birth date handy, but will look for it on the 1920 or 1930 census record that we have.

That Harrison was interested in the political situation in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, is not surprising for a member of our politically attuned family. Here is the clipping:

Thad Cannold's obituary

Still following up the Cannold family, I decided to look in the NY Times article archive. Here are the two items I turned up for Thaddeus Cannold--his February 1939 graduation notice and his December 1946 obit notice.

Lester Cannold registered for WWII draft

Lester Cannold was 55 and residing in a Connecticut sanitarium in 1942, but he still had to register for the draft in WW2. Here is his draft registration record. Click to enlarge.

Cannold family confirmed

Searching NY vital records for Rabinowitz events at http://www.italiangen.org/ ...

Meta Rabinowitz married Lester Cannold June 29, 1913 in Queens NY.

Cannold was my best guess of Meta's married name based on the 1930 census handwriting, so this is a definite match. Lester was the unhappy schools superintendent. Meta was Walter Ruby's sister.

Then I did an Ancestry.com search on Meta's son's Thaddeus and Harrison Cannold (Stan's first cousins) and found both their U.S. Army enlistment records. The data follows. Check out their occupations.

Name: Harrison S Cannold
Birth Year: 1915
Race: White, citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country: New Jersey
State: District of Columbia
County or City: District of Columbia

Enlistment Date: 21 Jan 1943
Enlistment State: Virginia
Enlistment City: Fort Myer
Branch: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Branch Code: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Grade Code: Private
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Component: Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life

Education: 2 years of college
Civil Occupation: Bandsman, Oboe or Parts Clerk, Automobile
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 64
Weight: 132


Name: Thaddeus Cannold
Birth Year: 1916
Race: White, citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country: New Jersey
State: Pennsylvania
County or City: Philadelphia

Enlistment Date: 25 Sep 1941
Enlistment State: New York
Enlistment City: New York City
Branch: Air Corps
Branch Code: Air Corps
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Component: Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life

Education: 4 years of college
Civil Occupation: Actor (Motion picture actor. ) or Director, Motion Picture (Motion picture director.) or Entertainer
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 69
Weight: 140