Friday's Photo: Grandma Lived at The Webster in NYC

My grandmother - Edith Giddens, center, with friend Marge on the left and Cleo Hauser on the right.
This photo was taken on the rooftop patio at The Webster.
Cleo Hauser was the subject of a post last week. To see another rooftop photo
and to learn more about Cleo, click here. 

The Webster Apartments for Women
419 West 34th Street

My grandmother, Edith Giddens lived at The Webster Apartments for Women in New York City from 1929 to about 1931. She must have really enjoyed living there as I remember her talking about The Webster as if it were an exclusive club. 

Charles and Josiah Webster, brothers and partners in the Macy company, saw the need of affordable apartments for unmarried working women in New York City. Charles died in 1916 and left much of his fortune to establish the apartments. Josiah was the first president of The Webster and when he died, most of his estate was willed to The Webster. 

Click here to enlarge and read the complete article from 1916.

The Webster Apartments for Women opened on November 15, 1923. The estimated cost to build the apartments was $538,000. At the time of the opening, women paid between $8.50 and $12.00 weekly for a small room and two meals a day. Grandma told my mother that there was a radio room and rooms to take beaus. There were baths on each floor, laundry rooms, a library, sewing room, and the rooftop patio. 

Miss Lillian Randall was the manager of The Webster when Grandma was living there. Read the following article about Miss Randall and learn much about The Webster in the 1920s. 

Click here to enlarge and read the complete article from 1925.

The Webster Apartments for Women continues to provide rooms and meals for working women. Visit WebsterApartments.org to see photos and read about the current guidelines. The Webster Apartments Facebook Page posts weekly menus and more. 

Diana

© 2015

Sources

"$500,000 left for Women in Stores." 26 Mar 1916, Page 10 - The Sun at Newspapers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jul. 2015. <http://www.newspapers.com/image/?spot=2870367>.

"Ancestry.com - 1930 United States Federal Census." Ancestry.com - 1930 United States Federal Census. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jul. 2015. <http://interactive.ancestry.com/6224/4638835_00292/42241821>

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn.

"It Just Couldn't Be Done - But She Did It; Miss Randall Tells How Her Plan Worked." 6 Sep 1925, Page 83 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle at Newspapers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jul. 2015. <http://www.newspapers.com/image/?spot=2870338>. 

"Thirteen-Story Hotel to Cost $538,000 for Working Women." 13 Jan 1920, Page 21 - New-York Tribune at Newspapers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jul. 2015. <http://www.newspapers.com/image/?spot=2870380>.

Friday's Photo: Grandma's Friend, Cleo Hauser

My grandmother, Edith Giddens, and her friend, Cleo Hauser, on the roof of the Webster.

I found these photos of Cleo Hauser in my grandmother's album. She and my grandmother, Edith Giddens, lived  in the Webster Apartments for Women in New York City from about 1928 until 1930 or 1931. 

Cleo Hauser - about 1929

Cleo was in her late 20s when she met my grandmother. Born in Iowa on April 24, 1903, she was the daughter of the Rev. Thomas N. Hauser and Bess Meyers Hauser. Cleo left family behind when she moved to NYC. Her father passed away in 1918 and her mother and brothers remained in the Midwest. 

In 1930, Cleo was working as a bookkeeper for a company in the oil industry. My grandmother worked as a clerk for a telephone company. 

I suspect that Cleo married in 1931 as a marriage between a Cleo Hauser and Emile Decelles took place in Manhattan on February 2nd of that year.  

Cleo - in front of the nurses residence

In 1938, Cleo sent my grandmother a photo and on the back is written "This snap shot was taken here at ah-gwah-ching in front of the nurses residence." Ah Gwah Ching Sanatorium was located in Cass County, Minnesota. 

In 1940, Cleo was a nurse living in Cass County, Minnesota. Her marital status was divorced. From the census, it can be seen that she lived in Marshall, Iowa in 1935. 

Cleo's obituary stated that she was a graduate of Asker Hospital Nurses School and attended Drake University.  She was an Indian field nurse at Cass Lake Indian Hospital, the State Public Health Nurse at Walker, and a public school nurse in Walker. 

It is known that Cleo married twice after leaving NYC; to Sydney M. Dyer who died in 1956 and later to William P. Mealey. 

Cleo died on April 1, 1974 and is buried in the Hauser Cemetery in Hardin County, Iowa. 

Diana

© 2015

Sources

"Ancestry.com - 1930 United States Federal Census." Ancestry.com - 1930 United States Federal Census. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jul. 2015. <http://interactive.ancestry.com/6224/4638835_00292/42241821>. 

"Ancestry.com - 1940 United States Federal Census." Ancestry.com - 1940 United States Federal Census. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jul. 2015. <http://interactive.ancestry.com/2442/m-t0627-01912-00549/98096671>.

"Ancestry.com - Pioneer (Bemidji, Minnesota)." Ancestry.com - Pioneer (Bemidji, Minnesota). N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jul. 2015. <http://interactive.ancestry.com/51870/News-MI-PI.1974_04_06-0003/>.

"Cleo Hauser in the New York, New York, Marriage Index 1866-1937." Cleo Hauser in the New York, New York, Marriage Index 1866-1937. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jul. 2015. <http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?h=4910854&db=nycmarriageindexes&indiv=1>.

"Cleo Hauser Mealey in the Minnesota, Death Index, 1908-2002." Cleo Hauser Mealey in the Minnesota, Death Index, 1908-2002. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jul. 2015. <http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?h=1727008&db=MNDeaths&indiv=try>.

"Cleo Hauser - Overview - Ancestry.com." Cleo Hauser - Overview - Ancestry.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jul. 2015. <http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/40297422/person/19475269790?ssrc=>.

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn.

"Mrs. Bess Hauser," Freeport Journal-Standard (Freeport, Illinois), 21 December 1943, p. 14, digital images, Newspapers.com: accessed 14 July, 2015.  http://www.newspapers.com/image/4457950/?terms=%22cleo%2Bhauser%22

"Sydney M Dyer in the U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963." Sydney M Dyer in the U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jul. 2015. <http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?h=1222250&db=qgheadstoneapps&indiv=1>.