Happy Anniversary Nana and PopPop

Bruce Cheney
Born: October 17, 1917, Morris County, New Jersey
Died: July 16, 2012; Dover, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grandfather (aka PopPop)

Elizabeth Charlotte Paulus (married name Cheney)
Born: November 23, 1919, New Jersey
December 16, 2009; Randolph, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grandmother (aka Nana)

Dear Nana and PopPop,

Happy 71st wedding anniversary. We all miss you very much. To remember you both, I am posting your wedding picture on your 70th anniversary. I am thankful and proud to have celebrated your 50th anniversary and 60th anniversary with you both. And now, on your 70th, know that we are thinking of you.

PS - I can't express how much I love this picture. You both look so happy. And glamorous!

The Paulus Kids

Edna Paulus (married name Shultz)
Born: March 24, 1911, New Jersey
Died: April 2, 1995, Wharton, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grand Aunt

Frederick Paulus
Born: March 14, 1913, Morris County, New Jersey
Died: August 1984, Wharton, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grand Uncle

Alvin Paulus
Born: September 17, 1915, Morris County, New Jersey
Died: October 6, 1995, Succasunna, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grand Uncle

Elizabeth (Betty) Charlotte Paulus (married name Cheney)
Born: November 23, 1919, New Jersey
Died: December 16, 2009, Randolph, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grandmother (aka Nana)

Here is a picture from roughly 1922 (since Elizabeth was born in 1919 and she looks to be about 3 years old) of the Paulus children. My grandmother - aka Nana - is at the bottom. I love this picture of her, holding a cat, with a squinty smile.

But Which Foundry?

Frederick Paulus
Born: June 30, 1886, Scranton, PA
Died: March 17, 1934, Dover, NJ
Relation to Author: Great Grandfather

I have reported on Frederick Paulus's relatively early death (age 47) and the likely cause of silicosis. And after reviewing his records some more, I realized we know where he worked.

Frederick's Certificate of Death lists "Boynton Foundry" and his World War I draft card lists "Richardson & Boynton Stove Works" as his places of employment. According to Dover: Images of America, Richardson & Boynton made stoves in downtown Dover. There is an image of Richardson & Boynton in the book (follow the link above) as well as a description:

The sprawling company manufactured heating furnaces and pioneered the four-legged cooking range, called the "Perfect Cooking Range." The firm was founded in Brooklyn in 1837 and moved to Dover in 1896*. At it's peak, the company employed 800 workers. During World War I, it manufactured specially designed furnaces for heating army barracks. It closed in 1938. 

Unfortunately, we don't know for sure exactly how long he worked there. We know he was working there when he died in 1934. And the 1930 Census says he was a stove moulder working at a stove shop, which is very likely Boynton. And his 1917 / 1918 World War I draft card says he is working at Boynton. So that means he was there at least 15 years. We can't say for sure whether it is longer than that because his 1910 Census merely says "moulder" as his occupation and the industry is "iron".

As a moulder at the stove works, Frederick would have been making the sand-based molds for the body of the stoves, since it seems that they were made of iron at that point.


*Frederick moved to Dover area sometime before 1910.

Works Referenced:
Dover: Images of America. Stanley Schoonmaker, George Laurie. Arcadia Publishing, 1999. Page 102.

Justus Enlists to Fight in the Civil War

Justus Cheney
Born: May, 11, 1835; Hopkinton, New York
Died: June 3, 1864; Cold Harbor, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

Although there is conflicting information on the exact date, the records agree that Justus Cheney enlisted and mustered into the army to fight in the Civil War around this time 150 years ago (December 1863 / January 1864). As you remember, Justus's service was short; he died at Cold Harbor in June of 1864.

The exact enlistment dates are unknown; one record says he enlisted on December 18, 1863 and mustered in on December 29, 1863. Another record says he enlisted on December 29 and mustered in on January 19, 1864. I think the former record is more accurate.

Justus Cheney mustered in and joined the 7th NY Heavy Artillery (and here). The regiment started as the 113 NY Infantry Regiment in August 1862. It was reorganized in December of 1863 into an artillery regiment and two additional companies were organized - one in August of 1863 and the other in January of 1864. I am assuming that Justus's Company G was the one organized in January, 1864. Since this is an Albany regiment, it is unclear how exactly Justus joined the regiment.

The regiment was assigned to garrison duty in defense of Washington, DC. So I assume that Justus traveled from Hopkinton to Albany to Washington, DC. In May of 1864 the regiment leaves garrison duty and joins the Army of the Potomac, and in so doing joins the horrible carnage of the summer of 1864 in Virginia.

Black Friday and the Depression

Bruce Judson Cheney
Born: October 28, 1917, Morris County, New Jersey
Died: July 16, 2012, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grandfather

Today marks the 84 year anniversary of Black Tuesday - the day the stock market lost the most value and signaling the beginning of the Great Depression. Half of my ancestors were in upstate New York working as dairy farmers. The other half were in New Jersey. My grandfather (aka PopPop aka Bruce Cheney) often talked about the depression. This quote from a Daily Record article in 2000 is similar to what I often remember him saying to us:

“We had a great generation,” Bruce Cheney said. “We went through the Depression. My mom and dad never had a car, but we didn’t know we were poor. We didn’t have much, but we had pride."

He often talked about how his parents never talked about the depression and often hid from him how hard those times were. Black Tuesday was the day after Bruce's 12th birthday, so he spent his teens in the great depression and his early adulthood was spend in World War II.

As you might guess from the quote, Bruce was a fan of Tom Brokaw's book The Greatest Generation (which had been a gift from my brother if I remember right).

Paulus and Williams: A Match Made in Scranton: Updated

Frederick (Friedrich) Paulus
Born: June 30, 1886, Pennsylvania
Died: March, 12, 1934, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Great Grandfather

Margaret (Margarite) Williams
Born: November 4, 1887, Neath(?), Pennsylvania
Died: March 4, 1972, Succasunna, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Great Grandmother

Updated with New Information!!!
I found the 1900 Census for the Williams family, which allows me to add some missing information. 

My great grandfather, Frederick Paulus, was the son of German immigrants. My great grandmother, Margaret Williams, was the daughter of Welsh immigrants. Frederick and Margaret married in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where both families lived.

Since starting this project, I've wondered where in Scranton the two families lived and how Margaret and Frederick met. Census records tell us which wards in Scranton the families lived in and the map at bottom shows us where this was.

The Paulus family - father Christian Paulus, mother Charlotte Paulus, and 5 children - lived in ward 19 (bottom left - purple-ish color) in 1900 and 1910.

The Williams family - father Robert Williams, mother Elizabeth Thomas (married name Williams) and 7 children* lived in ward 1 (right - green) in 1900 and ward 2 (upper right - same purple-ish color) in 1910.

With the Paulus family on the south of the city and the Williams family in the north, it makes you wonder how two people, with different family histories and living in different neighborhoods (and probably not of the same religion) would have met, fell in love, and married.

So we don't know why or how they met, but we do know when the married. Margaret and Frederick married on May 31, 1910 (now over 103 years ago) in Scranton, Pennsylvania. They were married by R.J. Rees - Minister of the Gospel - and witnessed by August Engel and Louise Schneider.

The notes I have on the marriage say that Frederick was living in Wharton, New Jersey at the time and Margaret was still living in Scranton, Pennsylvania (1910 census records confirm this). So apparently Frederick had gone ahead to New Jersey to work.

By 1920, Frederick and Margaret had moved from Wharton to Roxbury / Kenvil, NJ and they had four children - Edna, Frederick, Alvin, and Elizabeth.

* Among other changes, the previous post said the Williams family had 4 children. After finding the 1900 Williams family in the census, it turns out there were 7 children living with the family at the time. By 1910, three are only four listed in the census - and the three missing names would have been 19 or older in 1910 so I assume they moved away.

A Trip to Europe!

Helen Leary (married name Keenan)
Born: November 4, 1909, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: May 1, 2004, Brasher Falls, St. Lawrence County, New York
Relation to Author: Grandmother

Catherine Leary
Born: October 7, 1907, North Lawrence, St. Lawrence, New York
Died: February 29, 1988, Plattsburgh, Clinton, New York
Relation to Author: Grand Aunt

A ship record that I found on Ancestry.com says that Helen and Catherine Leary arrived back in New York on this day, August 7, 1933, (70 years ago today) on a boat from Havre, France. My very educated guess, and my mother has confirmed this, is that they were in Europe visiting with their brother Arthur, who was studying at the American College, Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. Arthur Leary was at Louvain from 1929 - 1934 (Louvain closed its doors in 2011).

Although I don't know their full itinerary, my mother (one of Helen's daughters) says they did travel around Europe, including Paris and Rome. If I get more information, I will update it. And if I find any pictures, I will definitely publish them.

I do find it remarkable that Helen and Catherine, from a small town in the North Country of New York, went so far away. I love traveling and I love that even back then they were able to travel.

By the way, the records say Helen and Catherine's address at the time was 15 Fairemount Blvd, Garden City, New York. Garden City is on Long Island, and so the two were at that point living together and teaching.