Arthur Edmond Oldham, 1864-1947
ARTHUR EDMOND OLDHAM, SR. was born on 28 April 1864
in Ovenden, Halifax, Yorkshire, England to parents Richard Oldham and Eliza
(Parry) Oldham. This information was
arrived at via two proof summaries as shown below.
Supporting Conclusion #1: Arthur Edmond Oldham’s birth date was 28
April 1864
Table 1
Table 1 above shows all information known about Arthur from United
States records – some of which also tie him to his children, especially William
John Oldham, Sr., whom I’ve already proved previously is Arthur Edmond Oldham’s
son.[1]
For the month and day of Arthur’s birth, there are only two documents that state this information clearly:
- marriage license application shows April 28 - informant was likely Arthur himself, as he also signed the application
- death certficate shows April 23 – informant is blank, and the information was probably provided by someone in the hospital that Arthur lived in for his last three years
- Conclusion - April 28 is most likely the correct date.
For the year of birth, there are two documents that it would have been most important to give accurate information, and the same two that were most probably provided directly by Arthur – his marriage license application and the Declaration of Intent (naturalization). These two documents both align with a birth year of 1864, as does the 1930 census when he lived with his son. The passenger record also supports an 1864 birth year assuming he rounded up his age by just two months. Finally, to explain differences in the remaining documents in Table 1:
- The 1900 census was clearly an error of 10 years – probably by the census taker
- It was unlikely that Arthur was the informant in the 1910 and 1920 censuses, as he was a lodger with the Grimes family; it would be easy for an age error to occur when the informant was not related
- The 1940 census informant was Arthur’s landlord, unrelated to him, and therefore easy to mis-state his age
- Arthur’s death certificate informant was blank, but was probably someone from the hospital he had been in for the last three years of his life; again, not a relative or someone who had primary knowledge of Arthur’s birth date
Supporting Conclusion #2: Arthur Edmond Oldham’s birth location was
Ovenden, Halifax, York County, England
Known information on Arthur’s birth location:
- Passenger list says his “last town” was Huddersfield [England]
- 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 U.S. censuses state that he was born in England; note that 1940 says Pennsylvania was place of birth, but his landlord (not related to him) gave the information for that census, and much of his information was incorrect (last name spelling, age) in that census
- Birth date is 28 April 1864 per supporting conclusion #1
Between 1863 and 1865, there were 15 Arthur Oldham’s born in England, but only one was born in the Apr/May/Jun quarter.[2] This record shows Arthur Oldham, son of Richard Oldham and Eliza (Parry) Oldham, born in Ovenden, Halifax Registration District, York County, England on 28 April 1864.[3] Evidence this this is the correct Arthur Oldham include:
- Birth date of 28 April 1864 matches exactly to Conclusion #1 above
- Ovenden is about three hours walk/horse ride from Huddersfield, the last location Arthur had identified on his passenger record – close enough to be reasonable in that time period
- Richard Oldham (Arthur’s father) was listed on Arthur’s birth registration as a ‘carpet powerloom weaver,’ while Arthur was listed as a weaver on his passenger record – during this time period, trades were often passed down through families.
In Ovenden, “A large portion of the inhabitants are employed
in the woollen, worsted, and cotton mills, which are numerous and extensive,
and a few in the weaving of damasks and lastings.”[4] It is logical that Richard and Arthur were
both weavers in a town of mills.
Arthur grew up in Ovenden until some time before 1881. In the 1871 England census, he lived with his
parents Richard and Eliza, as well as sisters Mary Ann and Sarah Ann, and
brother Willie in the Shroggs village.
Richard was a carpet weaver and Eliza was a dressmaker. Arthur was 7 years old, and attended school.[5]
Arthur Edmond Oldham’s place of birth; per 1871 census, family lived in Shroggs, Ovenden, Halifax, Yorkshire. Note all the mills in the area. Source: Digital image, ARCHIUK.COM maps (http://www.archiuk.com/ : viewed 10 March 2021); search site for old maps of Halifax
By 1881, the Oldham family moved from Ovenden to Ashton-under-Lyne in Lancashire, a trip that would have taken them a good part of a day with a horse-drawn carriage. The 1881 census no longer lists Eliza, and shows Richard as widowed. Eliza passed in 1879, and Richard likely moved the family to be closer to other family members – he was born in Dukinfield, less than 1 mile from Ashton-under-Lyne. Of note, there was also another brother for Arthur – Tom, who was listed as 10 years old. At this time, Arthur was now 17 years old, and working as a cotton piecer.[6]
Per John Clynes, British MP, speaking of his childhood job
as a piecer: “Often the threads on the
spindles broke as they were stretched and twisted and spun. These broken ends
had to be instantly repaired; the piecer ran forward and joined them swiftly,
with a deft touch that is an art of its own."[7]
Cotton piecers were primarily children aged 8 to 15, who were able to do this
work because their small fingers could tie those broken ends more easily than
adults.
Men, women, and young children worked in the cotton mills in Lancashire, England. Source: https://londonspulse.org/textile-workers/
When Arthur was 24 years old, he sailed from Liverpool, on the SS Etruria, arriving at the port of New York, NY on 13 February 1888. He didn’t come with any other family members. It was noted on the passenger record that Arthur was a weaver (a promotion from cotton piecer), and that he had last been in Huddersfield.[8] Huddersfield is just six hours from Ashton-under-Lyne, his home in 1881.
Steamship that carried Arthur Oldham from England to the United States. Source: http://maritimequest.com/liners/etruria_1884/rms_etruria_1884.htm
Arthur and Mary started their family in 1893, giving birth
to William John Oldham, Sr, then Richard John Oldham in 1895. In 1897, they had their third son, and named
him Arthur E. Oldham. Sadly, this Arthur
died at 10 months old, in July 1898, of “convulsions.”[11] Mary had another boy in 1899, and they
re-used the name Arthur E. Oldham, as was common at the time. The family continued to live in Philadelphia,
and Arthur [Sr] became a machinist, eventually working for Baldwin Locomotive,
a large employer in the area.[12] Unfortunately, in 1909 tragedy struck the
family again, when Mary Joanna passed of tuberculosis at the young age of
40. This left the family of Arthur and
his three boys, aged 10 to 16, without a wife and mother. Arthur and the boys became lodgers with the
Grimes family, and stayed with them (even through a move of their own) for more
than ten years.[13]
Once Arthur’s children were grown, he lived for a time with
his oldest son (12) William John Oldham Sr.’s family in Collingdale, Delaware
County, Pennsylvania.[14] By 1940, Arthur had moved back into the City
of Philadelphia, residing at a lodging house, while he also started working for
the Works Progress Administration. The
W.P.A. was created in 1935 as part of the New Deal to aid in job development
after the Depression, especially in urban areas like Philadelphia. Per The Encyclopedia of Greater
Philadelphia, the W.P.A. “sought to find useful jobs for the able-bodied
unemployed as an alternative to the demeaning, psychologically and physically
debilitating ‘dole’ (public welfare).” Typical W.P.A. work in Philadelphia
included building and repairing roads, renovations to the Frankford Arsenal and
the Navy Yard, and building a rail line on the Ben Franklin Bridge. [15]
Sometime around 1944, when Arthur was 80 years old, he was
admitted to The Philadelphia State Hospital, also known as Byberry, a hospital
to care for the mentally ill. It is
unknown what mental illness Arthur was treated for, but it could be as simple
as dementia at his advanced age. He was
at Byberry for three years when he passed on 30 August 1947 of arteriosclerotic
cardiovascular disease at age 83. He was
buried on 3 September 1947 at Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon, Pennsylvania,
Section 13, Range 7, Lot 70 with wife Mary Joanna and son Arthur (d.
1898). There is no headstone to mark
their final resting place.
[1] City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
Registration of Births, 1893, p. 151, Wm J. Oldham; Family History Library
microfilm 1289333; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-L1RJ-YK7 : viewed 22 April 2021), image 294. See also, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania,
Affidavit of Applicant for Marriage, file no 324222 (1915) for William J.
Oldham and Miriam C. Paul; certified copy of marriage application and
certificate no. 324222 for Paul-Oldham (in possession of Dawn Vanderwolf). Also, Pennsylvania
Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no.
047667-65 (1965), William J. Oldham; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/47549_2421401755_0007-01349 : viewed 24 November 2020),
image 1349.
[3] England,
birth certificate (certified copy) for Arthur Oldham, born 28 April 1864;
registered April quarter 1864, Halifax District 9A/148, Ovenden Sub-district,
York; General Registry Office, Southport. (copy of original held by Dawn
Vanderwolf).
[4] Colin Hinson, transcriber,
“HALIFAX: Geographical and Historical information from the year 1868,” The
National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland”; text, GENUKI.ORG.UK (https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Halifax/Halifax68 : viewed 10 March 2021).
[5] 1871 census of England, Wales &
Scotland, Yorkshire, England, population schedule, Halifax borough, Ovenden
township, St. Mary's Church district, page 32, dwelling 156, Richard Oldham;
image, FindMyPast (https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=GBC%2F1871%2F4418%2F0171&parentid=GBC%2F1871%2F0008165043 : viewed 17 December 2020).
[6] 1881 census of England, Wales & Scotland, Lancashire,
England, population schedule, Ashton-under-Lyne borough, Saint Peter's
district, page 36, dwelling 189, Richard Oldham; image, FindMyPast (https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=GBC%2F1881%2F4361607%2F00183&parentid=GBC%2F1881%2F0018683173 : viewed 17 December 2020).
[7] John Simkin, “Piecers
in the Textile Industry,” Spartacus Educational website (https://spartacus-educational.com/IRpiecers.htm : viewed 11 March 2021).
[8] New York Passenger and Crew Lists
(including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957, microfilm publication M237 (Washington,
D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), Steamship Etruria,
13 February 1888, for Arthur Oldham, no. 93; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYM237_515-0771 : viewed 21 November 2020), image 3.
[11] City of Philadelphia, return
of a death, death certificate no. 495 (1898), Arthur E. Oldham; Philadelphia
City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; image, FamilySearch
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-XXX9-PFT : viewed 11 March 2021).
[12] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1902 City
Directory, p. 1883, col. 2, for Arthur E. Oldham; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/2878053 : viewed 13 December 2020), image 974.
1900 U.S. census, Arthur Oldham
[15] John F. Bauman,
“Works Progress Administration (WPA),” The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia,
website (https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/works-progress-administration-wpa/ : viewed 11 March 2021).
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