In getting the story out about Andrew Phalen being from Nova Scotia and Elisabeth’s surname being “Finkemeijer”, not Vinkheimer, I left out some important documents and part of the story. True, Andrew and Elisabeth married in St. Louis, Missouri. But they did not move East to West Virginia for several years. Again, I’ve no idea why Andrew Phalen came to St. Louis and it’s possible that’s one mystery I’ll never figure out. That’s for another blog post.
To begin, here are the marriage records of Andrew Phalen and Elisabeth Finkemeijer (whose surname is butchered in each of the following documents). Yes, there’s more than one: One for the church (St. Louis Cathedral) and one for the state. Note that in the church marriage record, Andrew’s parents are named as William Phalen and Margaret Long. I’m not saying Andrew’s father’s name wasn’t William: I am saying that William Phalen is not the name he used in government documents in Nova Scotia. Those documents bear the name Patrick. Note however that one of Andrew’s brothers was named William. I’ve no doubt that the author of the article published in Hardesty’s Encyclopedia of West Virginia Counties obtained the info from this document.
And, here are the children’s birth and/or baptismal records recorded at the St. Louis Cathedral now part of the Drouin Collection (Available through Ancestry and FamilySearch.org). If you want to view these yourself, there are a lot of images you’ll need to look through to find them.
Elizabeth Isabella Fell. Note that she was probably named for Isabella Lamb, her godmother (“Sponsor”).
William Phalen. This is the only record that probably exists for William. Whether he died en route to West Virginia or after arrival is unknown but he is not listed in the 1850 or 1860 Censuses for Putnam County (nor are several of the other children alleged to have been born to Andrew and Elizabeth in Hardesty’s Encyclopedia).
The citation for all of the above documents is:
Ancestry.com. U.S., French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954
To view Hardesty’s West Virginia Counties: Monroe, Putnam & Tyler, you’ll need a free account from familysearch.org.