Edward Callender Andrews, Jr., 1852-1927

 

EDWARD CALLENDER ANDREWS, JR. was born on 12 September 1852 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to parents Edward Callender Andrews, Sr, and Mary Ann (Stones) Andrews.[1]  Note that all documents found align with a birth year of 1852 except Edward’s 2nd marriage license dated 13 June 1900, as well as the 1900 U.S. census, which both give a birth year of 1856.  Evidence that this is an error includes:

• The 1860 census shows his age as 7; if he was born in 1856, he would be only 4 in 1860, which is a big difference at that young age
• Berta Chase, his second wife, also shows a birth year of 1856 in the marriage license; it is possible that Edward wanted to appear to be closer in age to his new wife and changed his birth year to be the same as hers in both documents
• Four censuses (1860, 1870, 1880 and 1910), his mother’s pension application and his 1st marriage license all align with a birth year of 1852.

His middle name had been passed down three generations, from his own great-great-grandfather Robert Callender, who served in the Army and was appointed as a Colonel just before the Revolutionary War.[2] 

Edward lived with his parents in the 15th ward in Philadelphia, not far from the Schuykill River, while he was growing up.[3]  His father died of consumption (tuberculosis) while serving in the Army during the Civil War, when Edward was only 11.[4]  He grew up as an only child.[5]  When he was 18, he was a shoemaker’s apprentice, and lived with his mother and step-father in the 18th ward.[6]  

“One of Philadelphia’s oldest occupations, shoemaking grew in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to become one of the city’s leading industries. During that period shoemakers in Philadelphia also became some of the leading figures in the city’s, and the nation’s, burgeoning labor movement.”[7]

 

On 22 May 1875, when Edward was 23, he married Annie J. Porter, a 20 year-old local Philadelphia girl, at the Methodist church. At that time, he moved on from the shoemaker’s apprentice position to a salesman, and they lived together at 1413 Reed Street. [8]

Edward and Annie had three children.  The first, Edward Callender 3rd, was born on 8 June 1875.[9]  Charles Hughes was their second son, born about 1876,[10] and their third son was William Arthur, born on 22 May 1879.[11]

In 1880, Edward lived at 819 ½ Filbert Street with a large number of family members – 16 total.  These included:  his wife and 3 sons, his father- and mother-in-law, 3 brothers-in-law, 2 sisters-in-law, a niece, a nephew and 2 boarders.  This was a crowded house, no matter how many rooms there might have been (this building no longer exists, so we can’t tell).

On the 1880 census, Edward’s occupation is listed as “actor”, and his name is “Andrew Andrews” – is this a stage name?  A nickname?  Unfortunately, this will remain a mystery.[12] 

Tragically, Edward and Annie lost their son Charles in April 1881, when he was just 4 years old, of scarlet fever[13].  More loss for Edward followed - Annie died in 1888, when she was in her mid-30s, leaving Edward with two boys aged 9 and 13 to raise on his own.[14]  As was normal in that time, he re-married pretty quickly - about two years after Annie’s death, on June 16, 1900, to Berta Louise Chase.[15]

In 1910, Edward and Berta lived with Edward’s son Arthur and his family (wife, 2 girls and a boy) at 4940 Paschall Avenue in Philadelphia.[16] 

Edward outlived his 2nd wife Berta, who passed on 11 June 1911 of uterine cancer,[17] as well as his son Arthur, who passed on 23 November 1917 of pneumonia.[18]  He spent the end of his life at the Sacre Coeur Home for the Aged at 54th Street & Chestnut Avenue, which was run by the Little Sisters of the Poor.[19]

Although we might be sad to think that Edward was left alone at the end of his life, the Sacre Coeur Home provided a good environment.  According to their website:  “Many students of the Most Blessed Sacrament parochial school were early ‘volunteers’ at the home, assisting the Sisters in all the tasks needed to provide a loving home to the Residents.”[20]

He died on 11 December 1927, at the age of 75, from myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and chronic prostatitis, which he had suffered with for about 10 months.[21]  He is buried at Fernwood Cemetery, Yeadon, Pennsylvania in section 34, lot 60, but does not have a headstone to mark the location.[22]

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[1] For birth date, see Claim for Increase of Widow’s Pension, 9 August 1867, Mary A. Andrews, pension application no. 39772, for service of Edward C. Andrews (Private Co. A, 23rd Penna. Vols.); Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of Civil War Veterans, ca. 1861 - ca. 1910; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Roll WC39772; National Archives, Washington, D.C.  For place of birth, see Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 110537 (1927), Edward Andrews; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  For names of parents, see Affidavit of marriage, Mary Ann Stones and Edward Callender Andrews, 29 December 1864, pension application no. 39772, for service of Edward C. Andrews (Private Co. A, 23rd Penna. Vols.); Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of Civil War Veterans, ca. 1861 - ca. 1910; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Roll WC39772; National Archives, Washington, D.C. 

[2] See write-up on Robert Callender.

[3] 1860 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 15, p. 412, dwelling 2617, family 2660, E. C. Andrews household; NARA microfilm M653, roll 1165.

[4] Officer’s certificate of death, Edward C. Andrews (Private, Co. A, 23rd Penna. Volunteers), 28 November 1864; Mary A. (Stones) Andres pension application no. 39772; Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of Civil War Veterans, ca. 1861 - ca. 1910; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Roll WC39772; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[5] Edward is the only child of Edward C Andrews Sr. and Mary Ann (Stones) Andrews as listed in his mother’s pension application as well as the 1860 and 1870 censuses.

[6] 1870 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 18, district 55, p. 205, dwelling 1981, family 1718, William Jones household; NARA microfilm M593, roll 1403.

[7] Patrick Grubbs, “Shoemakers and Shoemaking,” The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia (https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/shoemakers-and-shoemaking/ : viewed 30 August 2021).

[8] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, "Return of Marriages in the City of Philadelphia, 1 Apr 1875 to 1 Jul 1875," for Edward C. Andrews and Annie J. Porter (1875); Family History Library microfilm 1769061.

[9] "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917," image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6482/images/005270449_05655 : viewed 30 August 20210), image 131, card for Edward Callender Andrews, serial no. 2013, Local Board for Division No. 48, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[10] 1880 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 9, district 1, enumeration district (ED) 155, p. 11, dwelling 80, family 93, Andrew Andrews household; NARA microfilm T9, roll 1171.

[11] Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, affidavit of applicant for marriage license, file no. 144538 (1902), for Arthur Andrews and Elizabeth Spielman; Family History Library microfilm 004280831; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-XC7W-J68 : viewed 27 Nov 2020), images 474-476. 

[12] 1880 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Andrew Andrews household.

[13] City of Philadelphia, return of a death, 1881, Charles H. Andrews; Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6Q79-1DN : viewed 30 August 2021), image 180.

[14] City of Philadelphia, return of a death, 1888, Anna J. Andrews; Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-695Q-VTQ : viewed 24 Nov 2020), image 420.

[15] Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, affidavit of applicant for marriage license, file no. 125368 (1900), for Edward C. Andrews and Berta L. Chase; Family History Library microfilm 004280796; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-68G7-5HK : viewed 29 Nov 2020), images 536-538.

[16] 1910 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40, Philadelphia, enumeration district (ED) 1030, sheet 2A, dwelling 30, family 30, Edward C. Andrews Sr. household; NARA microfilm T624, roll 1410.

[17] Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 71133 (1911), Bertha L. Andrews; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

[18] Pennsylvania, Department of Health, death certficate no. 123456 (1917), William Arthur Andrews;  Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/41381_2321306652_0612-02578 : viewed 24 Nov 2020), image 2578.

[19] Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certficate no. 110537 (1927), Edward Andrews; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/42342_645856_0561-02742 : viewed 24 Nov 2020), image 2742.

[20] See “Sacre Coeur Home,” https://littlesistersofthepoorphiladelphia.org/history/ : viewed 30 August 2021.

[21] Pennsylvania death certificate, Edward Andrews 1927.

[22] Chapel of the Prince of Peace (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), "Parrish Register, 1914-1947," Burials, 1927, page 110, Edward C. Andrews Sr.; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2451/images/40162_264322-00330 : viewed 25 Nov 2020), image 331.