Charles Henry Budnick, 1879/80-1964

 

CHARLES HENRY BUDNICK was born on 22 October 1879 or 1880 in Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland to parents Albert Budnick and Florentina Freitag.[1]  He married twice in his life, first to Charlotte (“Lottie”) Marie Neidlein in Swan Creek, Harford County, Maryland in June 1904[2], and second to Florence V. Pierce on 27 March 1917.[3]  Charles died on 20 May 1964 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[4]

His birth date was determined based on a review of a number of conflicting documents.  It’s clear from all documents shown in Table 1 that his birth date is 22 October, despite the one document that shows November 22.  The World War II Selective Service Registration has a birth date of 22 November, but this is not in Charles’ handwriting, and could easily be a transcribing error.

As for the birth year, the majority of documents show either 1879 or 1880.  Unfortunately, birth records are not available for Harford County, Maryland, prior to 1898.[5]  A search for church records in Harford County also was unproductive.  Therefore, his birth year can only be narrowed down to this two-year period.

Table 1

 

Charles grew up in Aberdeen, Maryland.  On 31 January 1889, he received second highest marks for “perfect lessons” for the 2^nd graders at the Bel Air Academy and Graded School.[6]  Although he seems to have been a smart child, he only attended school through the 6^th grade.[7]  He continued to live in Aberdeen with the family in 1900 when he worked as a railroad laborer.[8] `

In June 1904, Charles married Charlotte “Lottie” Neidlein, a neighbor who lived two doors down from the Budnick family.[9]  Lottie was only 18 years old at the time of their marriage; Charles was 24.[10]  A year later, on 2 June 1905, their first child was born, a son they named Charles Augustus.[11]  Shortly following was their second son Harvey Kenneth, born in Aberdeen, Maryland on 27 February 1907.[12]

By 1910, the family moved from Aberdeen, Maryland to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, living on Upland Street.  It is probable that they moved due to Charles’ job – in the 1910 census, he is now promoted to a railroad foreman.[13]  He worked at the B&O railroad for his entire career[14]; his grandson Charles shares this story:

“As a track foreman, Grandpop Budnick actually walked the tracks, I assume to inspect them as part of his job.  He used to find and pick up marbles, and would bring them to his grandchildren – a gift fondly remembered to this day.”[15]

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad station in Philadelphia was located at 24th & Chestnut Streets.  It was designed by Philadelphia-born architect Frank Furness, with Flemish architecture.  Furness was a prolific architect, designing over 600 buildings in his lifetime, including the gatehouses of the Philadelphia Zoo, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts building, and hundreds of railroad stations.

“The Philadelphia B & O station saw its last regularly scheduled passenger train on April 28, 1958, when the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad ended all passenger service north of Baltimore. The station suffered a fire in 1963, and was demolished.”[16]

Within two years of the 1910 census, on 16 December 1912, Charles and Lottie were divorced for “statutory cause” – this commonly indicated that there was some fault on one of the parties.[17]  It is unknown if anyone helped Charles with raising his young boys, or if Charlotte took care of them.

On 27 March 1917, Charles married for a second time, to Florence V. Pierce.[18]  The 1910 census shows that Florence lived across the street from Charles, which is probably how they met.[19]  In 1920, the Budnick household included both of the sons from Charles’ first marriage, Charles and Harvey, Florence’s brother Warren, and Charles and Florence’s child together, Helen Evelyn, who was born on 20 December 1919.[20]   On 31 May 1921, their second daughter, Mildred Elizabeth, was born.[21]

In April 1942, Charles registered for the WWII draft under the requirements of the “Old Man’s Draft.”  Charles was 62 years old at the time, at the upper limit of the draft requirement.[22]  Fortunately, he was not called up to serve.  On his registration, he was described as 5'6" tall, 140 pounds, with brown eyes, brown hair and a ruddy complexion (probably because he was outside frequently with his job); he was still working for the B&O Railroad.[23]

His grandson Charles Andrews describes Charles Budnick, whom he was named after, as follows:

“He was a gentle man, quiet, never heard him get angry. Seemed to know everyone. When we would go to visit them, Grand Pop would be sitting in his favorite chair trying to tune in his favorite radio station. All I can remember coming from the radio was static. When we would leave, we had to give him a “great big bear hug”.”[24]

The Budnicks continued to live in the same house at 6055 Upland Street until Charles’s death.[25]  On 20 May 1964, Charles died of myocardial insufficiency (he had been diagnosed with hypertensive heart disease for 5 years prior) at age 84.  He is interred at Brookview Cemetery, Rising Sun, Cecil County, Maryland. [26]

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[1] 1900 U.S. census, Harford County, Maryland, population schedule, Aberdeen, enumeration district (ED) 0142, sheet 16A,  dwelling 330, family 331, Albert W. Budnick household; NARA microfilm T623, roll 623; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4120208_00474 : viewed 23 Nov 2020), image 31.  For “Flora’s” maiden name, see St. Michael's and Zion Church (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), marriage record, Albert Wilh Budnick and Florentina Freitag ; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2451/images/42154_331456-00112 : viewed 6 June 2021), image 2683.

[2] "Marriage Licenses in June," The Aegis & Intelligencer (Bel Air, MD), 01 Jul 1904, p.3, col.3; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/466255411/ : viewed 28 Nov 2020).

[3] Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Affidavit of Applicant for Marriage License, file no. 360510 (1917), for Charles H. Budnick and Florence V. Pierce; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-D1SS-RHJ : viewed 28 Nov 2020), images 22-23.

[4] Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certficate no. 048967-64 (1964), Charles Henry Budnick; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/46628_520306900_0024-03397 : viewed 24 Nov 2020), image 3397.

[5] Patricia O’Brien Shawker, NGS Research in the States Series: Maryland (Arlington, Va.: National Genealogical Society, 2008), p.39.

[6] "No. 1, Second District," The Aegis & Intelligencer (Bel Air, Maryland), 15 Feb 1889, p.2, col.4; image, Newspapers.com, (https://www.newspapers.com/image/466206446/ : viewed 28 Nov 2020).

[7] 1940 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40, enumeration district (ED) 51-1582, sheet 6A, dwelling 110, Charles H. Budnick; image, Ancestry  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/M-T0627-03736-00359 : viewed 20 Nov 2020), image 11.

[8] 1900 U.S. census, Harford County, Maryland, population schedule, Aberdeen, enumeration district (ED) 0142, sheet 16A,  dwelling 330, family 331, Albert W. Budnick; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4120208_00474 : viewed 23 Nov 2020), image 31.

[9] For marriage, see “Marriage Licenses in June,” The Aegis & Intelligencer, 01 July 1904.  In the 1900 census, the Neidlein family were listed on the same page as the Budnick family, in dwelling 328, family 329, just two dwellings away.

[10] 1910 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40, enumeration district (ED) 1035, sheet 14B, dwelling 239, family 246, Charles H. Budnick; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4449776_00746 : viewed 23 Nov 2020), image 28.

[11] Harford County, Maryland, birth indexes 1898-1909, reel SR 5173, Maryland State Archives, SM199-1, p.222; image, msa.maryland.gov (https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagserm/sm100/sm199/000000/000001/pdf/msa_sm199_000001.pdf : viewed 13 June 2021), image 284.

[12] For birth date, see "United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940," image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2238/images/44033_05_00062-00362 : viewed 13 June 2021), images 33-364, card for Harvey Kenneth Budnick, serial no. 2508, Local Draft Board 59, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For parents, see 1910 U.S. census, Charles H. Budnick household.

[13] 1910 U.S. census, Charles H. Budnick household.

[14] His WWI draft registration provides his employer’s name:  "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1918," image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6482/images/005270443_05898 : viewed 13 Dec 2020), image 652, card for Charles Henry Budnick, serial no. 2556, Local Draft Board 42, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[15] Oral story told by Charles Warren Andrews to author, 2019.

[16] Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_%26_Ohio_Railroad_station_(Philadelphia) : viewed 22 July 2020.

[17] "Common Pleas Suits Begun," The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA), 19 Jul 1912, p.9, col.8.; image, newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/169049211 : viewed 28 Nov 2020).

[18] Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, affidavit of applicant for marriage license, file no. 360510 (1917), for Charles H. Budnick and Florence V. Pierce; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-D1SS-RHJ : viewed 28 Nov 2020), images 22-23.

[19] Charles lived at 6058 Upland Street, Philadelphia, per 1910 U.S. census, Charles H. Budnick household.  Florence lived at 6055 Upland Street, Philadelphia, per 1910 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40, enumeration district (ED) 1035, sheet 13A, dwelling 212, family 219, Amanda V. Pierce; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4449776_00743 : viewed 23 Nov 2020), images 25-26.

[20] 1920 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40, enumeration district (ED) 1495, sheet 14B, dwelling 264, family 278, Charles H. Budnick; image, Ancestry  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4384804_00941 : viewed 20 Nov 2020), image 28.  For Helen’s birth information, see Westminster Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), certificate of baptism, dated 4 April 1920, for Helen Evelyn Budnick (copy of original held by Robert E Andrews Jr).

[21] U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2, database, Ancestry, search for Mildred Elizabeth Budnick.

[22] Per Fold3, the Old Man’s Draft was for men between the ages of 45 and 64; the draft was performed on 27 April 1947; see https://www.fold3.com/title/765/wwii-old-mans-draft-registration-cards/description : viewed 13 June 2021.

[23] "United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942," image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1002/images/PA-2243806-2016 : viewed 13 Dec 2020), image 2016, card for Charles Henry Budnick, serial no. U1187, Local Draft Board 19, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[24] Charles Warren Andrews, "Family History Questionnaire," 27 December 2020, copy in author's file.

[25] Multiple sources showing the same address:  (1) 1930 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40, enumeration district (ED) 0223, sheet 16B, dwelling 303, family 315, Charles H. Budnick; image, Ancestry  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4639467_00123 : viewed 20 Nov 2020), image 31.  (2) 1940 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40, enumeration district (ED) 51-1582, sheet 6A, dwelling 110, Charles H. Budnick; image, Ancestry  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/M-T0627-03736-00359 : viewed 20 Nov 2020), image 11.  (3) "U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989."  Database.  www.ancestry.com  Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1950, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1950; Image 140.

[26] Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certficate no. 048967-64 (1964), Charles Henry Budnick; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/46628_520306900_0024-03397 : viewed 24 Nov 2020), image 3397.