The Empty Boat

What the records say Documented

• Born December 17, 1921, in Havana (Habana), Cuba, daughter of Alfredo Abreu and Emelina Enriquez (Social Security claims index).
• 1950 census (April 3, 1950, Tampa, enumeration district 72-61, house no. 2734): living with her widowed mother Emelina Abreu (58, born Cuba, cigar maker) and brother Armando (30, restaurant proprietor). Margarita is 28, married, born Cuba. Her husband John Ostrosky (27, born Pennsylvania, truck driver for a retail store; parents born in Russia; high school graduate) and their daughter Sandra Lee (1, born Florida) are in the same household.
• 1930, 1940 and 1945 censuses (Tampa): Margaret at 8, 18 and 23, born Cuba, in her parents' household at the address that is 2734 Main by 1945. In 1940 the household said they had lived in the same place since 1935. In 1945 she is a housewife and a high-school graduate, and John is in the Army in the same house.
• Married John Ostrosky June 30, 1944, Hillsborough County, Florida (county marriage record, p. 301).
• 2734 is the same house number the 1956 clippings give for the Ostrosky home on Main St.
• 1956: "Mrs. John Ostrosky" waited with Mrs. Harrell after the boat was found. She was "still waiting" at 2734 Main St. with Sandra Lee weeks later (clippings).
• Never remarried, as far as the records show. She was still Margaret A. Ostrosky when she died June 26, 2000, living in ZIP code 33607 (West Tampa).
• Named as a surviving sister, "Margaret A. Ostrosky… of Tampa," in her brother Reinaldo's 1994 obituary.
• Listed as "Margaret Ostrosky" among Nina's siblings in Nina's 2008 obituary. That list includes brothers who had died earlier, so it names siblings rather than survivors.

What the records say Documented

• Obituary (Tampa Bay Times / TBO.com, Mar. 12, 2008): "HARRELL, Emelina Abreu 'Nina,' 95, of Tampa, died March 5, 2008. She was the daughter of Emelina Enriquez Abreu and Alfrado Abreu." It names a daughter, Christine, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and the siblings Al Abreu, Ray Abreu, Armondo Abreu, and Margaret Ostrosky. A memorial service was held March 15, 2008, at Rocky Creek Village Chapel, Waters Ave., Tampa.
• Her name. Her brother's 1994 obituary prints Enelina A. Harrell. Her own 2008 obituary spells it "Emelina Abreu 'Nina' Harrell," and the 1950 census enumerator wrote "Emilina." Her mother's name is spelled Emelina in most records (and "Ernelina" in one index). These are spellings of one woman's name. This site uses Enelina.
• Named as a surviving sister, "Enelina A. Harrell… of Tampa," in her brother Reinaldo's 1994 obituary.
• 1950 census (April 1, 1950, Tampa, ED 72-60, house 2010 on a street that looks like "Howard"): Ray Harrell, head, 34, born "Missouri" (his draft card says Arkansas), soap maker at a soap and cleaning company (sample-line answers: parents born in the U.S.). Living with him are Emilina [Enelina], wife, 37, born Florida, and Christena, child, 3, born Missouri.
• 1930, 1940 and 1945 censuses (Tampa): listed as Emelina, 17, 27 and 33, born Florida. In 1945 she is a housewife at 2734 Main, and the schooling column reads 6.
• Married Rupert Ray Harrell in 1944. A South Carolina marriage license dated January 10, 1944, Florence, S.C., names Rupert Ray Harrell, 27, and "Emeline Abreu," 29.
• By 1956 the Harrells lived at 2735 Leroy St., across from the McFerrens, and Ray was a mechanic at Holtsinger Motor Co. (clippings).
• Never remarried, as far as the records show. Her 2008 obituary still gives her name as Harrell, 52 years later.

Sandra Lee Ostrosky

Documented One year old in the April 1950 census (born Florida, about 1948–49). Seven in February 1956, "still waiting" with her mother at 2734 Main St.

Later life No later public record under the name Ostrosky was confirmed for this site, and none is pursued here.

Christina Harrell

Documented Three in April 1950 (born Missouri, about 1946–47). Nine in February 1956. Her mother's 2008 obituary names a daughter, Christine.

John Ostrosky (1922–1956)

Documented A U.S. Veterans Affairs burial index (as transcribed by SortedByName) lists John Ostrosky, S/Sgt., U.S. Army Air Forces, World War II, born June 12, 1922, died January 29, 1956, at St. Mary Russian Orthodox Cemetery, Summit Hill, Pennsylvania.

Inference, high confidence This is the lost patrolman. The death date is the day the boat was found, the birth year matches his ages in 1950 and 1956, the 1950 census gives Pennsylvania as his birthplace and Russia as his parents', and the cemetery is Russian Orthodox. His body was never recovered, so the Summit Hill grave is almost certainly a memorial marker (cenotaph), in his home area: his WWII draft card gives his birthplace as Coaldale, Pa., a few miles from Summit Hill, and names his father Roman. A Find a Grave index entry records the same Summit Hill burial and death date.

Documented Family: son of Roman Ostrosky (b. Russia) and Anna (b. Poland), with siblings Alex, Olga, Peter, Anna, George, Helen and Catherine (1930 and 1940 censuses, Coaldale). Married Margarita Abreu June 30, 1944, in Hillsborough County, Fla., and is in the 1945 Florida state census.

WWII He registered for the draft (card gives birth June 12, 1922, Coaldale), and the VA index shows he served as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, something the clippings never mention. The 1945 census still lists his occupation as Army, in his in-laws' house on Main Street. Unit and dates are not in the records found.

Rupert Ray Harrell (1916–1956)

Documented Full name Rupert Ray Harrell; the newspapers called him "Ray R. Harrell." Born March 17, 1916, in Casey, Arkansas (WWII draft card; the index also reads "Cass"), son of Lawson Fielder Harrell and Bessie. In the 1920 census the family is in Pope County, Ark., and in 1930 in Wilson, Yell County, Ark. His draft card lists him living in White Oak, Dunklin County, Missouri. The 1945 census writes his birthplace "Mo." and the 1950 census does the same, which also fits Christina's Missouri birth. He married "Emeline Abreu" on a license issued January 10, 1944, in Florence, South Carolina.

WWII He registered for the draft, and FamilySearch indexes a U.S. military separation record for him. The 1945 census lists his occupation as Army, at 2734 Main. Branch, unit and dates are not in the records reviewed here.

Death The Social Security Death Index gives his death as January 1956, consistent with the disappearance. No grave or memorial marker has been found.

Documented Born September 6, 1916, in Tampa, to Alfredo Abreu and Emelina Enriquez. Died July 22, 1994 (Social Security claims index). In April 1950 he was listed as 33, married, a detective with the city police, living in ED 72-57 with his wife Joan (23, born Ohio). The parent names in the index match Nina's obituary, which settles that this Reinaldo is the detective from the clippings.

His obituary (St. Petersburg Times, "Hillsborough Obituaries," July 26, 1994): "ABREU, REINALDO, 77, of Tampa, died Friday (July 22, 1994) in Tampa. He was born in Tampa and was a detective for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. He was a member of the West Tampa Optimist Club and St. John Presbyterian Church." Survivors included his wife, Joan, and his sisters Enelina A. Harrell and Margaret A. Ostrosky, both of Tampa. Hillsboro Memorial Funeral Home, Brandon.

The notice also names two daughters and three grandchildren. Those names are not repeated here. It does not name his parents or his brothers. Armando had died in 1983, and Al is not mentioned, which fits a death in 1986. "Enelina" is the 1994 spelling; the 2008 obituary has "Emelina." "Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office" is his later career. The 1945 census, the 1956 clippings and the 1950 census call him a Tampa city policeman and then a detective. By 1945 he was already listed as Police, in the same house as Ostrosky and Harrell.