Hinkles and Hanrahans

Per the recollections of Grace McDermott Hanrahan:

Joseph and his sister Grace lived with their aunts and uncle Pete McDermott after the death of their mother. Their dad was absent, whereabouts unknown. [Their grandfather Joseph McDermott had also abandoned his family.] Only one of the aunts married, Aunt Ella. The sisters and the uncle Pete all worked at a stationery company and lived on Bleecker St when they took in Joseph and Grace. Joseph's mom had cleaned houses for a living until her death sometime between 1920 and 1930. Joseph's daughter Grace Sara remembers her dad taking her to visit the old aunts and uncle when she was very young. They all lived together in one apartment and all worked at a nearby hospital.

Joseph went into training to become a Jesuit brother at one point in time so he probably left his aunts after high school. His daughter Grace remembers that her mom said he got malaria when he was sent overseas somewhere on a mission and then they didn't take him into the ministry because of the malaria. We assume at that point he started working at Kings Park Psychiatric Hospital in Kings Park, NY, where he met his future wife. The place was huge and had apartments for the employees since it was pretty far out of the city, and was surrounded mainly by farms on the eastern end (potatoes and ducks). His future wife Grace was working as head bookkeeper and Joseph was working in security.

He was stationed at Camp Shelby (MS) at the beginning of his enlistment in WW II. He married his wife Grace in MS before he was shipped out, and he returned from the war on Valentine's Day, Feb 14, 1945. Grace had traveled from Freeport, NY, by bus for her wedding. Joseph ended his service at the rank of Master Sgt, Army. According to his Enlistment Record Sep 16, 1942, Joseph had one year of college education, and had been employed as an attendant at a hospital. His term of enlistment was for "the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law."

Joseph later worked in the main US Post Office in Brooklyn, NY.

Calverton National Cemetery is located at 210 Princeton Blvd, Calverton, Suffolk Co, NY. GPS Coordinates: 40.92298, -72.81476