The recent public release of 1950 census records provides an additional data point from the lives of great-grandparents James Louis Hynes and Bessie Gordon Hynes. In 1950 they lived at 107-29 134th street in Queens, New York. A search of today’s maps places this location in the industrial periphery of JFK airport, near the intersectionContinue reading “Records from the 1950 Census reveal one more chapter in the lives of James and Bessie Hynes”
Category Archives: Hynes
A Photo of Elizabeth
We have previously discussed our grand aunt Elizabeth Hynes, the older sister of our grandfather Gordon Hynes. Newly digitized newspaper records reveal a photograph of Elizabeth. This may have been about the happiest time in Elizabeth’s life, who spent much of her youth fending off improper advances from her father, spending some of her teenageContinue reading “A Photo of Elizabeth”
Linked Memories: Traces of George and Laura Sechler
Can we find anything in our present memories that links us back to the life of our great grandfather George Sechler, who died at age 33 in 1907 in the line of duty as a New York City police officer? This is no easy task–his wife, Laura, apparently spoke very little about her husband toContinue reading “Linked Memories: Traces of George and Laura Sechler”
Linked Memories: Two Generations, Two Double Lives
The combined evidence on the lives of our great grandfather James Louis Hynes and his son, our grandfather, James Gordon Hynes is abundant, decisive and powerful–they were astoundingly alike in their strengths and, sadly, their faults. We can learn much about each of them from the other. On the surface, both men were successful BaptistContinue reading “Linked Memories: Two Generations, Two Double Lives”
An Enigma Passes into Obscurity
In the fall of 1933, our great grandparents James and Bessie Hynes moved to Middleboro, Massachusetts, south of Boston, following the depression-driven decline of the Bushwick Avenue Baptist Church in Brooklyn. Recall that we previously examined James’ welcome as pastor of the Central Baptist Church in Middleboro, skipping ahead because of the important biographical informationContinue reading “An Enigma Passes into Obscurity”
The End of the Family Legacy in Brooklyn
By year-end 1930, our grandparents Gordon and Ruth Hynes were living in Freeport, Long Island, New York. Gordon was an ordained Baptist minister and the full time pastor of the Freeport Baptist Church. Their first child, daughter Magurerite, our mother, was born in Freeport in April 1932. The era of great grandfather James Louis Hynes’Continue reading “The End of the Family Legacy in Brooklyn”
The Sechler and Hynes Families Unite in Brooklyn
The Sechler and Hynes families came together in the 1920s in Bushwick, Brooklyn where they lived one block apart. Great grandmother Laura Sechler and daughter Ruth lived at 987 Hancock Street while Great grandparents James and Bessie Hynes lived at 1008 with their four children. The Bushwick Avenue Baptist Church, where James was preacher, wasContinue reading “The Sechler and Hynes Families Unite in Brooklyn”
A Double Life Perfected
By Jan 1919 great grandfather James Louis Hynes had been in the Baptist ministry for a decade, having worked his way up through churches in Cornwall and Freeport. The Bushwick Avenue Baptist Church was a thriving operation in the 1920s, part of a vibrant network of churches in the city. Newspaper articles and notices throughoutContinue reading “A Double Life Perfected”
The Extraordinary Life and Accomplishments of Second-Great-Aunt Addie
After the marriage of great grandparents James Louis Hynes and Bessie Gordon in 1905, the Gordon and Hynes branches of our family tree remained entangled in the 1910s and 1920s in surprising ways. These entanglements give us the opportunity to discover things about each of the branches that we would not otherwise have been ableContinue reading “The Extraordinary Life and Accomplishments of Second-Great-Aunt Addie”
The Reverend James Louis Hynes
Before continuing with the Hynes timeline, let’s briefly fast-forward to 1933. After living in Newburgh, Cornwall, Freeport and Brooklyn, New York, great grandparents James and Bessie Hynes moved to Middleborough, Massachusetts where, at age 49, James became the Pastor of the Central Baptist Church, a post he would hold for the next 15 years. MyContinue reading “The Reverend James Louis Hynes”
Bridging the Silences 