Mary Smith Beck

Thanks for visiting the ancestry page of Mary Smith Beck, my great grandmother. This is my best guess based on research. She is my father's mother's mother (Kevin --> Bruce Aptowicz --> Sophie Beck --> Mary Smith Beck). If you are curious about me, here is some information. If you have anything to correct or add (photos, newspaper clippings, stories, anecdotes, affiliations, etc.) please reach out here!

Ancestor: Mary Beck (maiden name: Smith)

Born: June 1887 (best guess) in Galicia

Died: October 17th, 1932 in Yonkers, NY

Parents: Anna Smith and Joseph Smith (Stepfather). Last name of biological father might have been Yashik.

Siblings: John, Joseph, Andrew, and George (all half-brothers) and perhaps Michael

Spouse: Anthony Beck

Children: Annie, Michael, Helen, Sophie, and Andrew

Profile of Life (this is a best guess based on research)

Mary Smith was born in June 1887 in Galicia. Her family likely left because of terrible living conditions. At least 2 million people left Galicia from mid-1890s to the first World War (1914). She arrived in the US around 1899 at the age of 11 with her mother Anna Smith. Her step-father, Joseph Smith, likely arrived a year earlier. He was from Slovakia and married Anna back in Eastern Europe. The only information I have about Anna's first husband and Mary's biological father is a possible last name: Yashik, based on Sophie Beck's birth certificate. When arriving in the U.S., Anna and Mary moved to Cortlandt, NY. Joseph got work there building the New Croton Dam. The Smith surname was adopted in the U.S. when a foreman at the dam asked Joseph for his name and converted his hard to pronounce Slovakian name to Smit. Later it was converted to Smith.[1] Mary Smith married Antonio Beck in 1903 at age 15. The marriage likely happened in Yonkers, NY, where they would live. Antonio (Anthony) was about 20 years old. A child named Annie was born a year later but died sometime between 9 months old and 5 years old. Her first child who lived into adulthood, Michael, was born in 1908 when Mary was 20. Helen was born ~1910. Sophie was born in ~1913. Finally, the youngest child Andrew was born in ~1914.

Mary and Anthony moved around Yonkers early in their married life. Joseph worked at the Alexander Smith Carpet Mills in Yonkers for a majority of his time in the U.S. (perhaps all of his time). By 1921, they were living at 52 Vark St. They might have owned it. Anthony Beck died in 1922. He tragically drowned in the Hudson River teaching his son to swim. By 1925, Mary stated she owned 52 Vark St. The family lived on the first floor of 52 Vark St and rented out the other apartments. This home would remain in the family for many decades to come. On October 17^th, 1932, Mary Smith Beck passed away. In her obituary, it mentions she was active at St. Michael's Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Yonkers.

Mary Smith's mother and step-father continued to live near Cortlandt, NY, in the town of Peekskill. They raised four sons there: John, Joseph, Andrew, and George. Joseph Smith Sr. worked as a yeast maker at Fleischmann for most of his life. There was a fifth son, Michael, who also lived with them. He was likely either Anna’s child from the previous marriage or adopted, perhaps from a relative back in Galicia. Surprisingly, in Mary Beck obituary, it mentions only having 4 brothers. This suggests the Mary didn’t consider Michael a brother. More details about Michael Smith are in Anna Smith’s write-up.

[1] Story told to Mary Ellen Smith-Bedrossian (Daughter of George E. Smith Sr and niece of Mary Beck). She heard it from her Aunt Anna (Andrew Smith's wife).

Analysis

Birth Year: Going from the oldest to the most recent census data, Mary Beck birth year was June 1888, 1885, 1888, 1887, 1888, 1888, and 1884. Based on the 1910 census, she was married in 1903. Based on the 1930 census, her marriage occurred at age 16. This suggests a birthday year of 1887, which matches well with other census data. Her obituary suggests she was born in 1892. If that were true, she would have been married at 11 years old and had Annie when she was 12 years old. This seems unlikely.

Address: Mary and Antonio Beck moved multiple times while living in Yonkers. Their addresses were:

1905 - 46 Clinton St
1910 - 24 Rear Washington St
1915 - 3R Jefferson St
1920 - 3R Jefferson St
1921 – 52 Vark St. (based on Yonkers City directory)
1922 – Antonio drowns in the Hudson River.
1925 - 52 Vark St (Antonio no longer alive, 33 people live there.)
1930 - 52 Vark St (Mary is the owner, estimated price $26,000, 10 family units at 52 Vark)

Death: According to a NYT obituary on Oct 18^th, 1932, she died on Oct 17^th, 1932 in her 40^th year. Her age doesn’t match the census data.

Arrival to US: The dates given for her arrival to the US are 1899, 1900, and 1896 from the census data. A NYT obituary states that she came to the US with her parents Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Smith. It is likely Mary arrived in 1900 with her mother (Anna) after her stepfather already arrived 1899.

Nationality: She listed her nationality as: Russia, Austri-Russia (polish), Austria, Galicia (language Russian), Austria, Poland (language Ukrainian). Knowing that Anna Smith is Mary's mother, we can compare Anna’s records to Mary's records. A likely scenario is that Mary is from Galicia where they spoke Ukrainian and is now part of Poland.

Michael Smith: Who is Michael Smith? He doesn’t neatly fit into the story. Here are some of the inconsistencies that arise in the historical record:

In the 1900 US census, Anna states she has had two kids, but only one is living. At that time, Mary is living with Anna and Joseph. Suggesting Mary is the only living offspring of Anna in 1900. However, my best guess for Michael Smith’s birth year is 1892. Something is amiss.
Michael seems to have been born in the same hometown of Anna Smith … their entries always match. However, he did not come to the U.S. at the same time as her. It seems like she arrived around 1899 whereas Michael arrived in 1904.
When Michael lived with Mary Beck in Yonkers in 1920, he was listed as a boarder rather than the brother-in-law of Anthony Beck.
In the 1910 census, Anna states that she has six living children. This suggests that Michael was the offspring of Anna.
In the obituary of Mary Beck's step-brother, George Smith, it mentions George had four brothers and includes Michael as a brother.

Is it possible Michael was not the offspring of Anna but was sent from Galicia to the U.S. to live with Anna and Joseph as if he was one of their children? Times were tough back in Galicia.

Historical records for Mary Beck

1900 US Census from Cortlandt, NY

Line 16 - Joseph Smith (age 42)

Line 17 - Annie Smith (age 35)

Line 18 - Mary Smith (age 11)

Line 19 - John (age 2 - nephew)

NOTES: Birth Nation is Poland ; Joseph is a laborer; Joseph arrived in 1894; Joseph and Annie were married in 1894; Annie has had 2 kids but only 1 is living.

1903 Family Photo

Photo of Mary and Anthony Beck on their wedding day. Joseph Smith and Anna Smith (Mary Smith Beck's parents) are standing next to them.

1905 NY Census from Yonkers, NY

Line 18 - Tony Beck (age 23)

Line 19 - Mary Beck (age 20)

Line 20 - Annie Beck (age 9 months)

NOTES: Address is 46 Clinton St.; Birth Nation is Russia; Tony works at a carpet factory; Tony and Mary have been in the U.S. for six years.

1910 US Census from Yonkers, NY

Line 19 - Antonio Beck (age 27)

Line 20 - Mary Beck (age 22)

Line 21 - Michael Beck (age 2)

NOTES: Antonio works at a carpet factory; Antonio and Mary have been married for 7 years; for both of them, this is their first marriage; Mary has had 3 children but only one is still living; Mary and Antonio could not read nor write; Antonio arrived in U.S. in 1899 and Mary arrived in U.S. in 1900.

1912 Birth Certificate of Sophie Beck

States the parents of Sophie Beck were Anthony Beck and Mary Yashik. The last name of Yashik is the only information I have about Mary's biological father. Sophie was born in Yonkers, NY, on Sept. 24th 1912. Sophie was baptized and confirmed on Sept. 25th 1912 according to the Greek Rite of the Catholic Church. The document is from the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. Michael.

1915 NY Census from Yonkers, NY

Line 46 - Antonio Beck (age 30)

Line 47 - Mary Beck (age 28)

Line 48 - Michael Beck (age 7)

Line 49 - Helen Beck (age 5)

Line 50 - Sophie Beck (age 3)

Line 1 (next page) - Andrew Beck (age 1)

NOTES: Antonio works in carpet factory; Antonio and Mary have been in the U.S. for 15 years.

1919 Family Photo

Photo of Mary and Anthony Beck as well as their four children. The children are Michael, Helen, Sophie, and Andrew (going from tallest to shortest).

1920 US Census from Yonkers, NY

Line 89 - Antonio Beck (age 37)

Line 90 - Mary Beck (age 32)

Line 91 - Michael Beck (age 11)

Line 92 - Helen Beck (age 9)

Line 93 - Sophie Beck (age 7)

Line 94 - Andrew Beck (age 5)

NOTES: Antonio and Mary arrived in 1900; Mother tongue was polish; Antonio works at a carpet shop; Michael Smith is also listed as a boarder, but he has a deeper relationship to Mary. He might be her brother. Micheal's draft card from 1917 lists this address as his home address, but also states he has a mother and father in Peekskill, NY, where Mary’s parents live.

1921 City Directory for Yonkers, NY

This directory indicates that Antonio and Mary were living at 52 Vark St. in 1921 prior to Antonio's death.

1922 New York Times Obituary for Anthony Beck

Anthony Beck seized with cramps and drowned in the Hudson River while teaching his 10-year-old son, John, to swim off of Peene's Wharf on the afternoon of Sunday, July 30th, 1922. [Note some of this information is inconsistent with family history. For example, Anthony did not have a son named John. In addition, it is believed he died while saving the life of his son.]

1925 NY Census from Yonkers, NY

Line 40 - Mary Beck (age 37)

Line 41 - Michael Beck (age 17)

Line 42 - Helen Beck (age 15)

Line 43 - Sophie Beck (age 12)

Line 44 - Andrew Beck (age 10)

NOTES: Mary has been in the country for 25 years. She does housework. Michael’s profession is bookkeeper.

1930 US Census from Yonkers, NY

Line 95 - Mary Beck (age 46)

Line 96 - Michael Beck (age 22)

Line 97 - Helen Beck (age 18)

Line 98 - Sophie Beck (age17)

Line 99 - Andrew Beck (age 15)

NOTES: Mary is listed as widowed. Mary was 16 years old at the time of her first marriage. Stated she owned the building. It was worth $26,000. Mother tongue is Ukrainian. Mary stated she arrived in the US in 1896. Michael is a bookkeeper; Helen is an operator at a phone company; Sophie is a clerk at a chemical company; Andrew is at home. There is a boarder living with them named Peter Lercik.

1932 New York Times Obituary for Mary Beck

The obituary for Mary Beck. She came to the US with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Smith. She was educated in Yonkers. She died on Oct 17^th 1932. She was active in Saint Michael’s Catholic Church. She passed away in her fortieth year. She left behind four children, her parents, and four brothers (Joseph Jr. had already passed away). Published Oct. 18th, 1932 on page 19.

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