Family Tree

For years I had an account with Ancestry.com in my attempt to fill in the blanks with respect to my family tree. I even hired a genealogy detective in 2012 to assist in the effort. But recently I decided that since I now have a pretty good record of things, I will now let other family members pick up the ball and run with it, if they so choose. Below is a summary of my family trees, followed by two family tree charts, one with my biological parents (Bruce Poole and Camille Grande) and the other with my adoptive father, Irv Rusinow. 

Summary Report

Family History Detective hired in 2012 & Additional Research

At the beginning of the project, the family tree had a total of 264 people with 38 photos. There are currently 343 people on the tree and 56 photos. Many of the family lines were traced back such as the Bruck, Schoeller Daniels, and Vocio families.

POOLE FAMILY LINE

Pictures of the grave stones were located for Elliot Bruce Poole, Sr. and wife on the website findagrave.com. Those pictures were saved to the tree. The pictures are one source of information on the birth and death dates for those individuals.

Elliot Sr.’s father was Arthur Poole Sr., born August, 1864 in Sussex, England. His mother was Amelia Marion Daniels born July, 1863 in London, England. In addition to Elliot, Arthur and Amelia had 5 other children, Marion, Ethel Maude, Arthur Jr., Edith and Hobart. Arthur Poole Sr. was 1 of 10 children (George, William, James, Charles, Henry, Edward, Alfred, Walter and Fanny) 9 boys, 1 girl. His wife, Amelia had 6 half siblings.

Amelia’s father was John Daniels (named after his father) born in 1835 or 36 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Amelia’s mother was Sarah A. Wells, born November, 1843 in Chelmsford; Essex, England (died February 26, 1912 in Trenton) Sarah’s parents were William and Mary Wells, married sometime around 1840. William was born in 1819 in Norfolk, England.

Arthur Poole, Sr.’s father was James W. Poole, born in Sussex, England in 1818 (known to have lived past 1881), and his mother was Francis Poole born in Middlesex, England in 1822. Thought to have been married sometime around 1842 in Sussex.

Arthur Poole immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 17. He married Marion two years later, in 1883, soon after she arrived in the U.S. with her mother, Sarah A. Wells Daniels. In 1900, Sarah, 56 at the time, was living with them.The marriage for Arthur Poole Sr. was located on the website familysearch.org. This confirmed the information that was already present. What was located was a transcription of the record. It lists the microfilm roll that the marriage was located on. It is advisable to at some point view the microfilm in order to retrieve the actual marriage record.

The marriage of James Poole to Francis unknown was not located. The marriage should have taken place circa 1842 in Sussex England. The Sussex Marriage Index only covers marriages prior to 1837. There are some marriage records circa 1842 that are available through the Sussex Online Parish Clerks. They were searched through but the couple was not located. The oldest son was born in Fishersgate, Sussex. It is recommended to find the nearest Parish to that town and search through their church records to find the marriage.

A search was conducted for the Baptism of James W. Poole circa 1818 through the Online Parish Clerks. His baptism was not located. There was a James Poole born 1823 in Myra. The James Poole of this family was reportedly of Barnham, Sussex according to census records.

James’ death record was searched for but not located. We know that he lived past 1881. There were too many people by that name to distinguish which was him. Any of the death records from the index can be ordered from the GRO (General Registrar’s Office.) Then they can be examined to see which is the correct James.

We know that Amelia Daniel’s mother is Sarah Wells because Sarah immigrated and was living with Amelia at a later date. The index for Amelia’s birth was located. You can use this index to order the actual birth certificate from GRO. As the index states, she is located in Volume 1B, page 201. This will confirm her parent’s information.

The marriage for John Daniels and Sarah Wells stated the John’s father’s name was also John Daniels. It also stated that Sarah’s father was William Wells. This is the only document we have on the elder John Daniels. The birth of the son was not determined because of the common first and last name. There were too many John Daniel’s born at that time. None of them matched exactly regards to birth location in Portsmouth, Hampshire according to the census records.

The obituary for Sarah (Wells) Daniels was located online at newspaperarchives.com. The marriage for William Wells and Mary unknown was not located. The event should have occurred circa 1840. The difficulty is the location. According to census records, Sarah was born in Essex County. The family was living in Surrey County when Sarah was 7. It’s unclear which County would contain the marriage at this point.

The England and Wales Christening records were searched for the birth of William Wells circa 1819 in Norfolk. There were no good matches.

THE VOIGHT/BRUCK FAMILY LINE

On February 15, 1788 Georg Adam Schaaf (son of Georg Adam Schaaf) married Friederike Regina Lutz (daughter of Andreas Lutz) in Germany. Their daughter, Johanna Schaaf, born on Dec. 27, 1802 in Baden Germany married Andreas (Andrew) Bruck on May 17, 1840 in Baden, Germany. On April 19, 1842 they had a son named Georg Bruck. 

At 27 Georg immigrated to N.Y. in 1869. He married Mary Schoeller on February 11, 1871 in New Jersey, and they had 4 children together: Amelia (1871), Georg (1876), Mary (1880) and Letitia (1891). Their parents, Mary, who was born February 22, 1853 in N.J. died June 13, 1935 and their father Georg died in 1919, both in Trenton New Jersey. Mary’s parents were from Germany and immigrated to the U.S. in 1848. Mary’s father’s name was Anton Schoeller , (son of Matthaei Schoeller & Margarethae Siglingin) born April 29, 1823; died June 13, 1894 in Trenton, New Jersey. Mary’s mother’s name was Ursula Weinheimer (daughter of Huberti Weinheimer & Franciscae Betzer), born May 1822; died April 7, 1903 in Trenton.

Amelia – daughter of Georg and Mary, married Karl Charles R. Voight “Walter” (born May 1864 in Germany). He is thought to have immigrated to the U.S. in 1889. They had 4 kids together; Agusta, Elsie “Elsa” Amelia, Georginia and Evelyn. Their father Charles died August 22, 1905 in Trenton, New Jersey and their mother, Amelia also died in Trenton in 1938.

Agusta, who was born on June 11, 1896 in New Jersey, married Elliot Bruce Poole in 1920. They had two kids, Ruth (1921-1928) and Elliot Bruce Poole, Jr. (born in 1930 in New Jersey.)

Karl ‘Charles’ R Walter Voight’s full name was discovered when his marriage was located. Then his grave stone picture was located which confirmed his name. Walter’s death and burial were located in a New jersey newspaper on newspaperarchives.com. We know from census records that Walter should have arrived circa 1889 but his passenger list could not be located. Because of his names which vary on each record it’s unclear exactly how he would have been listed.

His birth which is presumably under the name Karl Voight (or similar) was searched for in the German records. There were no exact matches. Karl was reportedly born in May 1864. The following record is a possibility:

Name: Karl Vogt

Gender: Male

Baptism/Christening Date: 25 Jun 1863

Baptism/Christening Place: Wieslet, Baden, Germany

Birth Date: 25 May 1863

Birthplace: Wiesleth, Baden, Germany 

Father’s Name: Johann Georg Vogt 

Mother’s Name: Anna Maria Uehlin 

Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C93572-2;System Origin: Germany-EASy;Source Film Number: 1189735

The records go back and forth on the spelling of the Surname Bruck / Bruch. The grave shows Bruck. However, the marriage record shows Bruch. The spelling in Germany appears to remain Bruck. The birth of Georg was located on familysearch.org. This confirmed his parent’s names.

The names Andreas Bruck and Johanna Schaaf were listed as Georg’s parents. From this information, the marriage between Andreas and Johanna was located in Germany. The birth of Andreas was not located. There were several siblings of Andreas whose birth records were located, but not Andreas himself.

Johanna Schaaf’s baptism was located. This confirmed what her parent’s names were. By looking at the birth dates of Andreas’ siblings, it would appear that Johanna is very likely to be much older than Andreas.

Through the German records it was possible to trace back several generations in the Bruck, Schaaf, and Lutz lines.

The grave stone picture was located for Mary (Schoeller) Bruck. She was located in the 1870 Trenton, New Jersey census record living with her parents. The marriage of Anton Schoeller and Ursula Weinheimer was located in Germany. The parents on this document match the same as the birth records for both.

The couple apparently married right before they immigrated to the US. The passenger list could not be located. A further search using variations on the names found such as Antonius may find the passenger list.

THE GRANDE FAMILY LINE

The passenger list for Alfonso Grande revealed that he was from San Potito Ultra, Italy. Two brothers for Alfonso were located, Carmine and Thomas. Further investigation of these siblings may reveal more information regarding their origins and parents. 

Knowing the exact birth date and location for Alfonso will allow a researcher to trace his lineage back. He could either be found in a Civil Registration or a Parish record. These records are not available online. There are very few Births available online for a few selected areas. Alfonso was not found in those records. This birth must be ordered from Italy.

The passenger list for Carmela Zullo was not located. It is believed from census records that she arrived with her parent’s from Italy when she was about 2. The Italian Surname map was used to see where the name Zullo comes from in Italy. The highest concentration of the name by far is from the region of Campania.

The marriage of Antonio Zullo to Matelena must be searched for in Italy as well, presumably in Campania. The marriage should have occurred circa 1880.

Michael Vocio’s death index was located on the website italiangen.org. That revealed the death certificate number. From that information, his certificate was ordered and received from the State of New York. This revealed his parent’s names.

Michael stated that he arrived circa 1895. However his passenger list was not located. Carolina Baldo’s was not located either. Checking the Surname map of Italy, the name Baldo does appear in Campania which is where Naples is located and where she is reportedly from.

There is much confusion regarding whether Michael and Carolina were married in Italy or in the US. Their first son has conflicting information saying he was both born in Italy and New York. A death index for someone who may be the correct Alfonso was located. This death record could be ordered from New York to reveal more information on the parents.

Elliot married Camille Grande in May of 1952. They had 2 children together, Jeffrey Bruce, born May 7, 1954 in Norfolk, VA and Amy born May 7, 1958-where?. Elliot died on December 13, 1957 at the age of 27. Camille was born in New York September 6, 1930, and had one brother, Alfred born in 1936, named after their father Alfred Grande. Camille’s father, Alfred Grande, Sr. was born August 4, 1905 in New Jersey (died July, 1985 in New Jersey). Camille’s mother, Clara Vocio , was born on January 1, 1908 in New York (died July 28, 1992 in Alexandria, VA).

Clara had 2 siblings; Alfonso born 1900 and Francis born 1904, both in N.Y. Camille’s parents, Alfred and Clara, married September 15, 1929 in New York at Our Lady of Sorrows Church. 

Camille’s father, Alfred, Sr. had 5 siblings; Ida, Lena Mary, James Rocco, Joseph and Helen Lee. Their father was Alfonso James Grande born July 15, 1873 in San Potito, Italy and died sometime after 1930. Their mother was Carmela/Katie Zullo, born in 1887, also born in Italy and died sometime after 1941 in New Jersey. Carmela was one of 9 children (Joseph, Ann, Catherine, Rose, Michael, Carlo, William and Jennie) of Antonio and Matalena/Madeline Zullo. Antonio and Matalena married in 1880 and were believed to have immigrated to the U.S. in 1887. The 1900 Census shows them living in New Jersey.

Alfred’s father’s name was Alfonso James Grande and there is currently no other info. available beyond him. Alfred’s mother’s name was Carmella Zullo, her parents were Antonio and Matalena married in 1880.

Clara’s father was Michael Vocio born in 1864 in Naples/Campania, Italy. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1895 at approximately 30 years old, he died Jan. 31, 1921 in N.Y. Clara’s mother was Carolina or Clarina Baldo born in 1863 or 67 in Naples/Campania, Italy (died May 14, 1949 or 50 in Brooklyn). It is unclear if they were married in the U.S. or Italy. Michael’s parents were Nicola Vocio and Guisepinna Zambrelli, both from Italy mid 1800’s.

Poole/Grande Family Tree