Scattered Stones: The Son Who Searched
The Son Who Searched
Where Two Brooklyn Families Meet
"In February 1910, Joseph Robertson traveled to Georgia searching for his missing father. He never found answers. Fourteen years later, he died of the same stroke that had killed his mother. Twelve days after that, his wife followed him to the grave. Their three children—ages 18, 16, and 4—were orphaned within two weeks."
Two Brooklyn Families
This is a story of two immigrant families whose paths crossed in Brooklyn at the turn of the twentieth century—and whose union connects two of our case studies.
The Robertsons came from Scotland. David Paterson Robertson, stone cutter, arrived in Brooklyn around 1869 with his wife Elizabeth Gray. They raised six children who survived to adulthood, lost five who didn't, and built a life cutting stone for the growing city. David's story—his mysterious move to Georgia as a game trapper, his disappearance in February 1910, the swamped boat, the body never found—is told in Episode 6.
The Kennys were first-generation Americans. John Kenny was born in Brooklyn around 1848, the son of Irish immigrants Richard Kenny and Eliza, who had married at St. Paul's Church in Brooklyn on June 23, 1843. John followed an occupational path from "Mat Weaver" to "Matmaker" to "Hatter"—a progression that became the key to tracking him through decades of records. His story is told in our Brooklyn Mat Maker Case Study.
Sometime around 1903, the tenth child of the stone cutter married the daughter of the mat maker. Their union would be brief—just twenty years—but it connects these two immigrant stories and brings us to my own family line.
c. 1905
M.W. Carberry Studio, 179 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn
The Tenth Child
Joseph Robertson was born on September 7, 1884, in Brooklyn—the tenth of eleven children born to David and Elizabeth Robertson. His birth certificate notes this stark fact: "No. of Child of Mother: 10." By the time Joseph arrived, his parents had already buried several children. Only six would survive to adulthood.
Joseph grew up in a household shaped by the stone trade. His father David was a stone cutter, as were his older brothers George and Alexander. But Joseph chose a different path. By 1905, at age twenty, he was working as a shipping clerk. He would build his career in the marine industry—by 1918 he was Manager of the Marine Department at Frank Baldwin & Son on South Street in Manhattan, and by the early 1920s he was a salesman and manager "well known in steamship circles."
The 1905 New York State Census captures Joseph still living in his father's household at DeKalb Avenue: David Robertson (63), widowed mason; his daughter Margaret Johnson; and Joseph (17). His mother Elizabeth had died three years earlier, on Independence Day 1902.
The Mat Maker's Daughter
Mary Agnes Kenny was born on February 8, 1882, in Brooklyn—the daughter of John Kenny and Margaret McKenny. Four days later, on February 12, she was baptized at St. Patrick's Church on Kent and Willoughby Avenues, with James Kenny and Mary A. Dunne serving as sponsors.
Her father John Kenny was the son of Irish immigrants whose occupational journey we traced in the Brooklyn Mat Maker case study—from mat weaver to matmaker to hatter, a progression that allowed us to track him through decades of Brooklyn records despite sharing a common name with dozens of other John Kennys.
The Connection: When Mary Agnes Kenny married Joseph Robertson, she united the family of the Brooklyn mat maker with the family of the Scottish stone cutter. Two immigrant trades, two Brooklyn stories, one marriage.
A Brooklyn Marriage
Joseph Robertson and Mary Agnes Kenny married around 1903—the 1910 census records them as married for seven years. He was about nineteen, she about twenty-one. Both were born in Brooklyn: he to Scottish immigrant parents, she to the American-born son of Irish immigrants.
They began their married life at 125 Ryerson Street in Brooklyn, where their first child was born on July 9, 1905:
Lillian Josephine Robertson
Born July 9, 1905
125 Ryerson Street, Brooklyn
My grandmother
Two years later, on August 29, 1907, their second daughter Helen Gladys was born at 808 Marcy Avenue. Joseph was now twenty-seven, working as a clerk; Mary Agnes was twenty-three.
The young family moved frequently in those early years—Ryerson Street, then Marcy Avenue, addresses shifting as Joseph's career progressed from shipping clerk to salesman. The 1910 census finds them in Queens, Ward 29: Joseph (27), salesman in the hardware trade; Mary (26); Lillian (4); Helen (2).
The Search for His Father
In February 1910, Joseph's world shattered. His father David, who had moved to Georgia around 1906 to work as a game trapper, disappeared. His boat was found swamped in the waterways near Ways Station, Savannah. His body was never recovered.
Joseph traveled to Georgia to search for his father. For months he investigated, questioned locals, searched the swamps and waterways. He exhausted his resources and his leads. In desperation, he turned to the newspapers.
IS DAVID ROBERTSON IN OR AROUND MACON?
"David Robertson, aged 68, height five foot 8 inches, grey hair, last heard from at Ways Station Savannah. Was a game trapper. Disappeared last February. Boat was found swamped. Any information will be thankfully received by his son, Joseph Robertson."
— Macon Telegraph, October 1, 1910
No information came. David Robertson was never found.
The tragedy compounded: while Joseph searched in Georgia, his youngest brother Alexander died in Brooklyn on March 29, 1910—just one month after their father vanished. Alexander was twenty-three, a stone cutter like their father, dead of a perforated stomach ulcer. He left behind a young widow and an infant daughter.
Joseph returned to Brooklyn with no answers about his father and a brother freshly buried. He was twenty-five years old, with a wife and two small daughters. He threw himself into his work and his lodge memberships—Brooklyn Elks, Cosmopolitan Lodge of the Freemasons, Long Island Grotto, Kismet Temple, Scowa Social Club. Perhaps in these fraternal organizations he found the brotherhood and structure that his fractured family could no longer provide.
The Growing Family
The 1915 New York State Census shows the family back in Brooklyn, Ward 19. Joseph, now thirty, was established in his sales career. Lillian was ten, Helen eight. The household was stable, prosperous enough.
By 1920, the family had moved to 68 East 5th Street. On January 9 of that year, Mary Agnes gave birth to their third child—a son, fifteen years after their last. They named him Joseph Jay Robertson.
The 1920 census, taken just weeks after baby Joseph's birth, captures this moment: Joseph Sr. (36), salesman; Mary (37); Lillian (14); Helen (12); and the new baby. The notation "Naturalized Citizen" appears next to Joseph's name—the son of Scottish immigrants had formalized his American identity.
The Children of Joseph & Mary Agnes
| Name | Born | Birthplace | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lillian Josephine | July 9, 1905 | 125 Ryerson St, Brooklyn | First child; my grandmother |
| Helen Gladys | Aug 29, 1907 | 808 Marcy Ave, Brooklyn | Second child |
| Joseph Jay | Jan 9, 1920 | 68 East 5th St, Brooklyn | Third child; born 15 years after Helen |
The Move to New Jersey
Sometime in the early 1920s, the Robertson family left Brooklyn for North Caldwell, New Jersey, settling at 12 Elm Road. Joseph continued his work as a salesman, commuting to Manhattan where he managed the block department at the Coston Supply Company.
Was the move for Mary Agnes's health? Tuberculosis—the disease that would claim her life—was already taking hold. The country air of North Caldwell might have seemed a respite from Brooklyn's density. Or perhaps it was simply the aspiration of a successful salesman moving his family to the suburbs.
Whatever the reason, it was at 12 Elm Road that everything would end.
January 1924
On Monday, January 14, 1924, Joseph Robertson died at Mountainside Hospital in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He was thirty-nine years old. The cause: cerebral hemorrhage—the same type of stroke that had killed his mother Elizabeth twenty-two years earlier.
The Brooklyn newspapers carried his obituary:
JOSEPH ROBERTSON DIES
"Joseph Robertson, a prominent Mason and a resident of Brooklyn until recently, died on Monday at his home in Caldwell, N.J., in his 45th year. He was born in Brooklyn and was a member of the Brooklyn Elks, Cosmopolitan Lodge, F. & A.M., Long I. Grotto, New York Consistory, Kismet Temple, Scowa Social Club and other organizations. He was salesman and manager of the block department of the Coston Supply Company of Manhattan and well known in steamship circles. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Mary Robertson, and three children, Lillian, Helen and Joseph Robertson Jr."
The Masonic lodges issued their notices. The Brooklyn Elks, Lodge No. 22, requested brothers attend the funeral. Cosmopolitan Lodge No. 585 called its brethren to Masonic services at Fairchild Funeral Parlors, 86 Lefferts Place, on Thursday evening, January 17.
Joseph was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn—the same cemetery where his mother Elizabeth and brother William lay. The son who had searched so desperately for his father in the Georgia swamps now rested beside his mother, while his father remained forever lost.
Twelve Days Later
On Saturday, January 26, 1924—just twelve days after Joseph's death—Mary Agnes Robertson died at the family home, 12 Elm Road, North Caldwell. She was forty years old. The cause: pulmonary tuberculosis.
ROBERTSON — At the family residence, 12 Elm rd., North Caldwell, N.J., on Saturday, Jan. 26th, 1924, Mary Agnes Robertson (nee Kenny), wife of the late Joseph Robertson. High mass of requiem for the repose of her soul will be offered at St. Aloysius Church, Caldwell ave., Tuesday, Jan. 29th, at 9 A.M. Interment Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Montclair, N.J.
Mary Agnes was buried at Immaculate Conception Cemetery, a Catholic cemetery in Montclair—separate from her Protestant husband at Green-Wood. Even in death, the religious divide of their marriage persisted.
The death certificate lists her father as John Kenny—the Brooklyn mat maker—and her mother as Margaret McKenny. The informant was "L.M. Robertson"—likely her daughter Lillian, eighteen years old, suddenly the head of a household of orphans.
The Double Tragedy
Age 39 — Cerebral hemorrhage
Age 40 — Tuberculosis
Twelve days. Three orphans.
The Orphans
Within twelve days in January 1924, three children lost both parents:
- Lillian Josephine, eighteen years old
- Helen Gladys, sixteen years old
- Joseph Jay, four years old
What happened to them? The answer lies in the extraordinary network of Kenny women who stepped forward. Mary Agnes's aunts—Aunt Maime (Mary McKenny) and others—rallied to keep the family together. The full story is told in "Four Generations in Hats: A Brooklyn Story of Resilience" and "The Woman in the Portrait: Aunt Maime's Story."
What we know is that Lillian Josephine Robertson—my grandmother—survived. She married, had children, carried this story forward. And through her, the blood of the Scottish stone cutter and the Brooklyn mat maker's daughter flows to the present day.
The Full Circle
THE STONE CUTTER
David Paterson Robertson
Scotland → Brooklyn → Georgia
↓
Joseph Robertson
THE MAT MAKER
John Kenny
Brooklyn (Irish parents)
↓
Mary Agnes Kenny
Their Daughter
Lillian Josephine Robertson
My Grandmother
Timeline
Evidence Analysis
The Kenny-Robertson Connection
Mary Agnes Kenny's 1882 baptism certificate at St. Patrick's Church confirms her parents as John Kenny and Margaret McKenny. John Kenny was born in Brooklyn c. 1848, the son of Irish immigrants Richard Kenny and Eliza, who married at St. Paul's Church, Brooklyn, on June 23, 1843. His occupational journey from mat weaver to matmaker to hatter is documented in our Brooklyn Mat Maker case study.
The Cerebral Hemorrhage Pattern
Joseph Robertson died of cerebral hemorrhage at age 39—the same cause of death as his mother Elizabeth Gray Robertson, who died of "cerebral apoplexy" (stroke) in 1902 at age 56. This hereditary pattern of stroke may have claimed both mother and son.
The Twelve Days
Joseph died January 14, 1924; Mary Agnes died January 26, 1924—exactly twelve days later. Her death certificate indicates pulmonary tuberculosis with approximately 31 months duration, suggesting she had been ill for some time. Whether Joseph's death accelerated her decline or the timing was coincidental remains unknown.
Religious Division in Death
Joseph was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery (Protestant) in Brooklyn; Mary Agnes at Immaculate Conception Cemetery (Catholic) in Montclair, NJ. This reflects the religious divide of their marriage—he from a Scottish Presbyterian family, she Irish Catholic. Even in death, they rest apart.
Research Opportunities
Joseph and Mary Agnes marriage record; fate of the orphaned children (Lillian, Helen, Joseph Jay); guardianship records 1924; Lillian Josephine Robertson's subsequent life and marriage; connection to other Kenny family members.
Primary Source Documents
17 documents spanning 1882-1924, tracing the union of the Robertson and Kenny families.
Origins — 1882-1884
Family Life — 1905-1920
January 1924 — The Double Tragedy
Family Portraits
Sources
Census Records:
1900 United States Federal Census. Year: 1900; Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 21, Kings, New York; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 0322; FHL microfilm: 1241057. Ancestry.com Operations Inc.
1910 United States Federal Census. Year: 1910; Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 29, Kings, New York; Roll: T624_983; Page: 19B; Enumeration District: 1023; FHL microfilm: 1374996. Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
New York, State Census, 1915. New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1915; Election District: 57; Assembly District: 16; City: New York; County: Kings; Page: 23. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
1920 United States Federal Census. Year: 1920; Census Place: Brooklyn Assembly District 12, Kings, New York; Roll: T625_1163; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 705. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Vital Records:
New York, New York, Index to Birth Certificates, 1866-1909. New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Birth Certificates. Ancestry.com, 2020.
Military Records:
U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Registration State: New York; Registration County: Kings; Roll: 1754501; Draft Board: 61. Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
Social Security Records:
U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Newspapers:
The Standard Union (Brooklyn). Publication Date: 27 Jan 1924. Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current. Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2019.
Cemetery Records:
U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
The Story Continues: What happened to the three orphaned children after January 1924? The extraordinary network of Kenny women who stepped forward, the sacrifices they made, and how Lillian Josephine Robertson survived to carry this story forward—continues in Episode 8: The Orphan's Journey.
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