June 5, 2014
I like to look at every mention of each ancestor that I am researching—and that includes newspaper classified ads.
While looking through the Newark Daily Advertiser for 1835 I was surprised to see this unusual paid advertisement.
What is with this odd newspaper advertisement?
This is to certify, that the bearer, Julia Moore…[is] perfectly honest, never having had the slightest cause for suspicion.
Something must have been wrong if E. Allen felt compelled to take out an ad attesting to Julia Moore’s honesty.
Wait—here’s another one.
This old newspaper ad tells us that Julia lived with the Seguine household “for two months during the fall of 1834.” The subscriber went on to state:
I found her perfectly honest, and industrious: she had every opportunity of being dishonest, if she had been so inclined, but I never have had the least cause for suspicion.
OK. There must be more to this story if both subscribers took out ads testifying to the honesty of Julia Moore.
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Digging deeper into the newspaper archives I found the answer—in the classified ads.
Julia Moore, a young Irish girl of about 13 years old, was accused of stealing an elaborate woman’s hat from her employer when she left for a different job. The former employer bluntly attacks the honesty of the young girl, and also tries to push that suspicion onto her friends that “refuse to tell where she is.”
Now the situation is clearer. Not only was Julia’s reputation insulted in the June 27th ad, but so was the good name of “her friends”—the Allen and Seguine households—causing them both to take out ads six days later attesting to her honesty.
This discord gives us a lot of genealogical information:
- Her name, Julia Moore
- She had a sister
- She was born in Ireland, and in 1835 was about age 13
- She had lived in Newark at the Seguine home for two months in 1834
- In 1835 she lived with the Allen household where her sister also lived
- Her former employer wanted a missing cap back, or information about the cap and about the girl
Life in America was difficult for this young 13-year-old immigrant. There is no mention of her parents, only her sister. This must have been a terrifying time for her in the face of her former employer’s accusations, and hopefully her concerns were tempered by the kindness of these other two families.
Was Julia’s story passed down in the family?
Do her descendants understand the hard life their immigrant ancestor lived at age 13?
Imagine her fear, her lost childhood, and the realities of having to deal with an unjust employer. This is a gritty story that a 13-year-old would quickly understand today. I hope that Julia’s story was passed down, and that the family today tells and retells her story, honoring her grit in the face of this painful episode—and that they know about the great kindness shown her in her youth.
Genealogy Tip: Don’t let your family’s stories be lost. Track down every lead in the newspapers, looking through every page right down to the classified ads.
GenealogyBank’s deep newspaper archive is your best source to find and preserve your family’s stories.