Hi all,
I'm looking to find out what I can about my great-great uncle Jack, who disappeared in America in the 1920's, and was hoping the forum might be able to help.
A sailor originally from the UK, living family members can recall being told different things about Jack's fate, mainly that he "ran away". However, my eldest living relative recounts that he went missing, that his father travelled to New York to try and find him, and that he was told by the police they suspected Jack had been murdered, probably for his paycheck.
I have been unable to verify the US side of the story, but have tracked his life as far as June 1922, when he was living at 285 South Broadway, Yonkers. At this point he drops out of the records. His nationalisation papers arrived that month, so it may simply that there are fewer records. However, he does not seem to appear in any records at all from that point on, including the 1930 US census, except for one rather obscure reference.
In the Correspondence and Case Files of the Immigration and Naturalization Service,
Bureau of Navigation – Department of Commerce and the British Consulate and Consuls, there is a reference to a request for information on the citizenship status of "Jack Pollecoff" recorded on the 17th January 1933. Unfortunately it seems unlikely that the actual files relating to the request were retained.
It may be that it's only at this point he actually went missing, and his family attempted to search for him, although that would not explain the long absence from the records.
Any tips of where to look greatly appreciated! In particular I have struggled to find any contemporary news coverage, although I have very limited access to US records.
A short bio below.
Name: Jacob "Jack" Pollecoff
Description: 5ft 6, brown hair, brown eyes, 130lbs.
Bio:
Born in Wales, in 1900, at 17 he took a job as steward on the trans-Atlantic liners doing the Liverpool to New York route. This career was cut short by the American entry into WW1, and through 1918 he serves on the transports shipping the American Expeditionary Force from New York to the French Atlantic ports. He applies for American citizenship, and at this point in life is living in the Bronx.
Following the end of the war, he seems to have headed south for work, serving on several voyages in the Gulf of Mexico. In Feb 1921, he serves on the Golden State from Baltimore to San Pedro, California, transferring to the SS Katerina Luckenback, from Anacortes to Washington. By June he appears to be back in NY, living in Yonkers. He received his naturalisation papers on June 26 1922, which list his last ship as the Luckenback.
At this point he drops out of the records. It's important to note that as a citizen, he would no longer be registered as an "alien" on crew shipping logs, which makes him easy to track to this point. At the same time, however, a disappearance in April, having received his paycheck from a long West coast to East coast voyage, would align with the old family story..
I'm looking to find out what I can about my great-great uncle Jack, who disappeared in America in the 1920's, and was hoping the forum might be able to help.
A sailor originally from the UK, living family members can recall being told different things about Jack's fate, mainly that he "ran away". However, my eldest living relative recounts that he went missing, that his father travelled to New York to try and find him, and that he was told by the police they suspected Jack had been murdered, probably for his paycheck.
I have been unable to verify the US side of the story, but have tracked his life as far as June 1922, when he was living at 285 South Broadway, Yonkers. At this point he drops out of the records. His nationalisation papers arrived that month, so it may simply that there are fewer records. However, he does not seem to appear in any records at all from that point on, including the 1930 US census, except for one rather obscure reference.
In the Correspondence and Case Files of the Immigration and Naturalization Service,
Bureau of Navigation – Department of Commerce and the British Consulate and Consuls, there is a reference to a request for information on the citizenship status of "Jack Pollecoff" recorded on the 17th January 1933. Unfortunately it seems unlikely that the actual files relating to the request were retained.
It may be that it's only at this point he actually went missing, and his family attempted to search for him, although that would not explain the long absence from the records.
Any tips of where to look greatly appreciated! In particular I have struggled to find any contemporary news coverage, although I have very limited access to US records.
A short bio below.
Name: Jacob "Jack" Pollecoff
Description: 5ft 6, brown hair, brown eyes, 130lbs.
Bio:
Born in Wales, in 1900, at 17 he took a job as steward on the trans-Atlantic liners doing the Liverpool to New York route. This career was cut short by the American entry into WW1, and through 1918 he serves on the transports shipping the American Expeditionary Force from New York to the French Atlantic ports. He applies for American citizenship, and at this point in life is living in the Bronx.
Following the end of the war, he seems to have headed south for work, serving on several voyages in the Gulf of Mexico. In Feb 1921, he serves on the Golden State from Baltimore to San Pedro, California, transferring to the SS Katerina Luckenback, from Anacortes to Washington. By June he appears to be back in NY, living in Yonkers. He received his naturalisation papers on June 26 1922, which list his last ship as the Luckenback.
At this point he drops out of the records. It's important to note that as a citizen, he would no longer be registered as an "alien" on crew shipping logs, which makes him easy to track to this point. At the same time, however, a disappearance in April, having received his paycheck from a long West coast to East coast voyage, would align with the old family story..