Surname: Walcoff

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Celia Neckameyer Walcoff found, but without her sister Anna

My great grandmother, Anna Neckameyer Berman, is lost to time. After her husband, my great grandfather, passed away she remarried twice, and I haven’t found anyone who has been able to point me in the right direction.

Her sister, Celia, has been easier to locate. Two years ago, I found a marriage certificate for Celia Neckameyer and George Walcoff, and that was prior to knowing anything about the Neckameyer family. But since then, I’ve been in touch with Walcoff descendants, and they’ve been able to fill in many details about the Neckameyers and their relatives.

Celia Neckameyer Walcoff footstone
Celia Neckameyer Walcoff footstone

This weekend, I traveled to Beth El Cemetery in Paramus, New Jersey to visit Celia and to see if she was surrounded by family members. She is located in the Haas/Walcoff plot along with her husband George, her son Irwin Walcoff, and her daughter-in-law Helen Pollack Walcoff.

The footstones provided specific birth dates and other information that helped me complete information in the family tree. Although the probability was low, I didn’t find my great grandmother near her sister. There has been some thought that Anna is buried in Wood-Ridge or Woodbridge, New Jersey, but without her latest married name or date of death, she’s been impossible to find thus far.

I’ve visited many cemeteries over the last few years in my search for ancestors and relatives, and the staff at Beth El were probably the most friendly and helpful I’ve encountered thus far.

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Celia Neckameyer and George Walcoff

Marriage certificate for Celia Neckameyer and George Walcoff [NYC Department of Records]
Two years ago, I didn’t know the name of my mother’s paternal grandmother. When I began asking my parents about their family, I learned about Anna N. None of my close relatives could remember her maiden name, however. It wasn’t too long ago that I discovered I had Anna’s name in front of me for quite some time. It was listed on Seymour Berman’s certificate of death, a copy of which I had obtained from my mother. Seymour Berman was Anna’s son. I knew Anna had a sister Lena, so I was able to find census records that likely pertained to the Neckameyers in my family.

I answered many of these questions about the Neckameyers recently. Through Anna’s own marriage certificate, I was able to piece together a history that confirms that Anna and Lena have other siblings. One of these siblings is Celia Neckameyer, and the information I found points to her marrying a man named George Walcoff who lived nearby. I ordered their marriage certificate to confirm.

The facts on the certificate seem to support the conclusion that Celia is the sister of my great grandmother, Anna Neckameyer.

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