Friday's Photo: Camp B Natural

These photos were in my grandmother's album. My grandmother, Edith Giddens, is in the back row and is second from the left in the bottom photo. This might have been in or near Phillipsburg, New Jersy as that's where she lived until the 1920s. No others in the photo are labeled. The photos are dated 1916; however, this date may be approximate as I know these labels were added in the late 1960s or early 1970s.  


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Diana

© 2019

Sources

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

Friday's Photo: Charles Giddens Had a House on Irvington Avenue in South Orange, New Jersey

Another photo found in my grandmother's album. This was her brother's home in South Orange, New Jersey. In 1930, Charles W. Giddens reported that he owned the house and its value was $12,000.  From Zillow.com, I learned that this, 1,672 square foot home at 263 Irvington Avenue, was built in 1923 and was last sold in 1987. 

Charles and his wife, Louise moved from Newark, New Jersey into the house sometime after 1925. By 1927, they were living in the house at Irvington Avenue along with my grandmother, Edith Giddens, and Louise's mother, Louise Uhde. My grandmother moved to Newark in 1928. Charles and Louise remained in the house for more than 10 years often taking in boarders and family. 

Charles entered the Navy during WWII and they moved to Florida sometime during the war. It is unknown as to when they sold the house. 

263 Irvington Ave, South Orange, New Jersey at Google Maps

I wondered about the welding sign seen in the front yard. Did Charles have a  
welding business? A search at Ancestry.com indicated that Charles worked for the Public Service Electric and Gas Company while living in South Orange. And, a Google Map search for the house revealed that it still looks very much the same and welding sign was not in the yard, but on the side of a shop next to the house. 

This photo, labeled Charlie & Louise's Trailer - 1930s,
was on the same page as the house photo on Irvington Avenue. 

Diana

© 2015








Resources

Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

"Google Maps." Google Maps. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.

"South Orange Home." 263 Irvington Ave, South Orange, NJ 07079 Is Off Market. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.

Year: 1930; Census Place: South Orange, Essex, New Jersey; Roll: 1343; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 0611; FHL microfilm: 2341078

Year: 1940; Census Place: South Orange, Essex, New Jersey; Roll: T627_2340; Page: 61B; Enumeration District: 7-352

Monday's News: National Aviation Day

Louise Giddens, wife of Charles Allen Giddens (my grandmother's brother), a cardboard version of  Charles A. Lindbergh and my grandmother, Edith Giddens.      

Yesterday was National Aviation Day - it comes every August 19th. And, yesterday, my mother sent me this picture of my grandmother and her sister-in-law with a cardboard cut-out of Charles Lindbergh.  Lindbergh became famous for making the first transatlantic airplane flight in 1927. 

This was probably taken in New Jersey before 1930. I assume that it was taken soon after the flight. 

Diana

© 2012, copyright Diana Quinn

Monday's News: Dynamite

On July 2, 1909, Charles Giddens and Ellsworth Davis, both 16 years of age, loaded a cannon with dynamite and when ramming the charge with an iron bar, it exploded, injuring both boys. I don't know if the boys realized it, but it made national news and a few of the many articles* that I found are included in this blog.

The boys were injured, but not as seriously as sensationalized in the newspapers. Charles, my great-uncle, was lucky, he only lost part of a finger. He went on to serve in the Army during WWI and in the Navy during WWII.  Look carefully at the picture on the left. Part of Charles' right pointer finger is missing.

Research at Ancestry.com and Find-a-Grave, indicated that Ellsworth Wood Davis lived until 1941.  He married, had one child, and worked as a draftsman for at least two companies in or near Warren County, New Jersey.  Ellsworth's draft registration card indicated that he had a mangled hand and an enlarged ankle.

*I used my subscription for GenealogyBank.com to obtain these and other articles about this event.

Diana

© 2012, copyright Diana Quinn