Anna McLean was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 30, 1916 and went by the following names: Anna Therese Eigenbrodt, Anna Therese Spitznesser, Anna Smith, Ann Taylor and Anna McLean. She was the only child of New York born Ellen Hans and Anton Spitznesser.
In 1930, Anna's mother was recorded as an inmate on Welfare Island (now known as Roosevelt Island) where she was housed in the New York City Home for Aged and Infirm. The 1930 census recorded her as married with no formal education, although she stated that she was able to read and write. Ellen died on April 2, 1934 at the age of 49. The cause of her death was not recorded.
The whereabouts of Anna's father are unknown, and it appears as though she was adopted by German born Regina Eigenbrodt in the 1920s. In 1930, she was living with Regina (89), her children: Frank (66), Elizabeth (53) and Johanna (50) and sister Anna (92) at 101st Avenue, Queens and was attending school.
Anna married a young New York born man named Charles Ramsden Smith Jr at some time after 1930. Charles' family had immigrated to America from Sweden in 1892. Anna's surname was changed to McLean in her social security record in 1957, suggesting the marriage had ended. It was later changed to Taylor, although she went by the name McLean at the time of her death, on 14 May 2007. Anna is buried on Hart Island.
Sources:
Swedish Emigration Records, 1783-1951
Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011
United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.
1930; Census Place: Queens, Queens, New York; Roll: 1609; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 0551; Image: 282.0; FHL microfilm: 2341343
New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 35; Assembly District: 05; City: New York; County: Queens; Page: 16
U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
New York, New York, Death Index, 1862-1948 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.