Mystery Adeline

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. New Orleans, 29 Oct 2023.

Wandering around the St. Vincent de Paul Cemetery #1 in New Orleans, while looking for a crypt or headstone for the Halter family, my eye caught this marker for Adeline Baker, who died at the age of 21 in New Orleans. There's little to go on connecting her back to New York, but she should appear in the either the 1850 or 1860 US Census.

Perhaps she made the journey from New York to New Orleans by ship, either with her parents or a sibling. She's not connected to my wife's family or my own. When I saw the marker, I was intrigued and thought I might be able to find out more about her. There's no obituary or reference to Adeline Baker in the New Orleans newspapers from October 1862.

Allison's 3rd-great-grandfather, Joseph Francois Halter, was also born in 1841, essentially the same age as Adeline. Perhaps they lived in the same neighborhood, or may have crossed paths at the French Market. I looked at all the Bakers in the New Orleans City Directory of 1861, in the hopes that might point me to a potential connection. There's a Helena Baker, born in New York in 1841, living in the 9th Ward of New Orleans in the 1860 US Census, but that isn't a perfect match.

1860 US Census. New Orleans.

Unfortunately, I do not have much more to go on. For now, I'll post this here and return to stories on our related branches.