Johann Gottfried Hauer (John Godfrey Howard) Family Line
Theron Dodson Howard (1886-1943)
A Union Carpenter Who Moved Around A LOT!
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by Carolyn Ann Howard
Theron Dodson Howard was born 09 May 1886 to Merritt M. Howard and Emma Dodson in Wyoming County, New York. The first census record we have for Theron is the 1892 New York State census. In this census, its just Theron and his parents. His father was listed as a carpenter.
In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Theron and his parents were at 35 Bank Street in Batavia. This address is now a parking lot. Amazingly, since pregnancy rates were high at that time, it is still just 14-year-old Theron with his parents. One might think that Emma had had several pregnancies that ended with a death, but, according to this census, she has had only one child, and that child was living. Theron's father, Merritt, was listed as a "day laborer." Theron was listed "at school." He was in the 9th grade.
In the 1905 New York Census, Theron was already 19! He was listed as a day laborer and his father as a builder. Emma was also on the census with them, listed as "housework."
By the 1910 U.S. Federal Census, the family was all still together and in a respectable neighborhood at 44 Tracy Avenue in Batavia. I doubt the house was purple back then, but it looks really nice. The parents Merritt and Emma were there and so was Theron and his new wife, Ethel Lizabeth Forbes. The patriarch, Merritt, was listed as a "contractor" of "house." Theron's occupation was the same. Theron's new wife, Ethel, was listed as a "seamstress at home." Sweet! Also sweet was that Theron and Ethel had a new son, 2-year-old Edward Merritt Howard.
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| Present Day - 44 Tracy Avenue Batavia, New York Google Maps, Proper Attribution Given |
The 1915 census is interesting in that Theron, Ethel, and Edward, aged 7, and new son Lawrence, aged 2, were living without Theron's parents. They were at West Main Street in Batavia. The parents were on Miller's Hill in Middlebury, New York. What happened? I'm wondering if it had anything to do with Merritt's parents - Theron's grandparents - landing themselves in the poor house in nearby Bethany, New York. But no, they died in 1908 and 1909, so that couldn't be it, could it? Was there a beef between the parents and the son? I looked through all 11 pages of the Middlebury 1915 New York census, and it shows a lot of Dodsons and Howards there at the time. Middlebury was, after all, Merritt's hometown. On closer inspection, Batavia was just a stone's throw from Middlebury, so it wasn't all that outlandish. What is strange, though, is that Merritt's obit never mentions them living in Middlebury once they had moved away. Perhaps they were there visiting with friends when the census enumerator went by? Was he working as a contractor on some long-term project there and so just moved there temporarily?
On 12 Sep 1918, Theron did what all young men were required to do in the United States, and that was to fill out a draft card for the war. The young couple now lived in Leroy, New York, at 1 Elm Street. Theron stated that he was a carpenter working for John Adams. He was of medium height and build with blue eyes and brown hair. He was never drafted for World War I.
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| Present Day 1 Elm Street (on the left) Leroy, New York Google Maps, Proper Attribution Given |
The father, Merritt - poor chap - died 01 Nov 1918 at the age of 57. Apparently, he had fallen off his bike and injured his head. Six weeks later, he was dead. According to his obit, he was working in Buffalo, New York, as a carpenter and died the next day after he had returned home. What a blow this must have been to the family.
Going back to Merritt's obit, though, it stated that he had lived in Leroy, New York "on Elm Street for some time." Wait a minute. In 1910, the family was together in Batavia. In 1915, Theron was in Batavia, and his father was in Middlebury. So the family moved together to LeRoy between the time of the census in June 1915 and May 1918. That is not "some time," is it?
In 1920, Theron hurt himself when he stepped on a needle that had become embedded in one of the family's rugs. Ouch! The needle still had thread in it, so the doc came over and tried to pull the needle out by the thread. That didn't work, because the thread broke. That needle must have been pretty deep. Poor Theron! He had to be taken to Batavia Hospital to have the needle located by x-ray and surgically removed.
In the 1920 census, Theron was with his wife and two sons at 1 Elm Street. His mother, Emma, also lived with them. Theron was listed as a carpenter and his wife, Ethel, was listed as a dressmaker! The two boys were in school. Then, in 1921, he fell off a roof. He was working with another fellow, William Brown, when the ladder they were using gave way, and they fell 18 feet to the ground. Neither man had any broken bones or serious injuries. This occurred in Buffalo, New York.
In the 1925 New York State Census, everyone is still together at 1 Elm Street in Leroy. However, by 1930, they had moved to nearby Caledonia, New York. But then in 1935, they were back in Leroy! The census record states they lived at 54 Clay Street in Leroy, in a rented house. Theron was still listed as a carpenter and Ethel as a seamstress.
Theron and Ethel's youngest son, Lawrence, got married in 1935 to a woman who was from Caledonia, Cecelia McLaughlin. The wedding announcement was short, so not much information there. It said that Theron and Ethel now lived on Lake Street in Leroy. That's so much moving around! Can you imagine moving that much? Their eldest son, Edward, was married in 1936.
Theron's mother, Emma, died in 1938. I could not find an obit. But this means that by the 1940 census, it is just Theron and his wife together.
In 1942, Theron once again filled out a draft card, this time for the Second World War. On this document, he listed his address as 522 24th Street, Niagara Falls, New York. Whew!! He listed his occupation as working for an Ordnance Plant in Model City, New York. If I understand correctly, this was an ammunition manufacturer for the U.S. Army. I'm pretty sure that he was a civilian working there. He has no military records associated with him on Ancestry, and they're pretty good about having at least some of those available.
But that's the end of the story for Theron, for he died 30 Apr 1943. The short obit doesn't state how or why, just that he died at St. Jerome's Hospital in Batavia, New York. His address, according to the obit, was 596 E. Main Street in Batavia. It also stated that he was a member of the AFL Carpenters and Joiners Union of Niagara Falls, New York. A union man! This might explain all the moving around.
Theron's wife, Ethel, died in 1964, but her story falls off Ancestry after the 1940 census. Her 1940 census record is the last document I was able to come up with at this time, save for an entry in the 1944 Batavia, New York City Directory. According to the directory, she was living at 12 Jackson Street and was employed at P. W. Minor & Son, a manufacturer of orthopedic shoes that is still in existence today. She died in 1964 and is buried with her husband in Grandview Cemetery in Batavia.
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