Florence V. (Pierce) Budnick, 1887-1973

 

FLORENCE V. (PIERCE) BUDNICK was born in Rising Sun, Cecil County, Maryland, to parents Charles H. Pierce and Amanda V. (Funk) Pierce on 28 March 1887.[1]  She grew up in Cecil County, Maryland, until sometime between 1902 and 1905, when she moved with the family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2]  This is where she met her husband, Charles Henry Budnick; they were married on 27 March 1917.[3]  Florence died on 3 August 1973.[4]

Florence was born prior to the time that Maryland counties recorded births, which started in 1898 in all counties (excluding Baltimore City, which started in 1875).[5]  However, her birth date is provided in both her marriage license as well as a family Bible record.  This Bible record of births is written in the same hand, and appears to be written at the same time, and includes all eight of Florence’s siblings – it was probably compiled by Florence’s mother Amanda.  This is in contrast to the Bible record of deaths, which is in multiple pens and handwriting, specifically changing at the time of Amanda’s death.  See below photos of these two pages.

              

Florence’s father passed in 1902; it was probably this event that triggered the move to Philadelphia for the family.[6]  She was received into membership of the Eighteenth Street Methodist Episcopal Church located at 18th Street & Wharton in Philadelphia, by certificate on 14 May 1905.  At the time, she was living at 2233 Oakford Street.[7]  By 1910, the family had moved to 6055 Upland Street in Philadelphia, with head of household Amanda, four of Florence’s sisters (two of whom were already widowed), Florence’s brother and nephew.  At that time Florence worked in the lingerie industry.[8]

By 1912, Charles Henry Budnick was divorced from his first wife, and at some point soon thereafter moved to 6052 Upland Street, just a couple doors down from Florence.[9]  I imagine that they met there in the neighborhood.  They were married on 27 March 1917 by the Rev. Warren R. Ward of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.[10]  Two children were soon added to the familly – Helen Evelyn Budnick on 20 December 1919,[11] and Mildred Elizabeth Budnick on 31 May 1921.[12]  The family lived at the 6055 Upland Street through 1964, possibly later.[13]

Florence’s grandson Charles Warren Andrews remembers his grandmother:

“They [Florence and Charles] were very active in their church. They went every Sunday. Sometimes they would take me with them.  My Grandmother did a lot of canning. It was more of a necessity in those days. They had a garden at my aunt’s house in Sharon Hill, PA. They grew a lot of their own vegetables.  Dad was drafted into the Army in July 1945 ... We moved in with the Budnicks, my grandparents. They lived at 6055 Upland Street. My brother and I shared the same bedroom, same bed. My grandparents actually had a telephone. We lived there for a few years so Mom & Dad could save up enough money for a down payment on a house.”[14]

Florence’s husband died in 1964, but Florence lived another nine years on her own.  She died on 3 August 1973 of cancer of the large bowel, and was buried on 8 August 1973 in Brookview Cemetery in Rising Sun, Cecil County, Maryland.[15]

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[1] Pierce Bible Records, 1876 - 1980, loose "Births" page from unknown bible; copy in author's records, Winter Springs, Florida.  Also, 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.

[2] In 1902 when Florence’s father Charles Pierce died, he was still living in Maryland; see Pierce Bible Records, 1876 - 1980, loose "Deaths" page from unknown bible; copy in author's records, Winter Springs, Florida.  By 1905, Florence was joining a church in Philadelphia; see Eighteenth Street Methodist Episcopal Church (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Alphabetical Record of Members in Full Connection, no page number, for Florence V. Pierce (1905); image; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2451/images/40355_267329-00266 : viewed 29 Nov 2020), image 121.

[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] Pierce Bible Records, “Deaths.”

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

[6] Pierce Bible Records, “Deaths.”

[7] Eighteenth Street Methodist Episcopal Church (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Alphabetical Record of Members in Full Connection, no page number, for Florence V. Pierce (1905); image; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2451/images/40355_267329-00266 : viewed 29 Nov 2020), image 121.

[8] 1910 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40, enumeration district (ED) 1035, sheet 13A, dwelling 212, family 219, Amanda V. Pierce household; NARA microfilm T624, roll 1410; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4449776_00743 : viewed 23 Nov 2020), images 25-26.

[9] For divorce, see "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).  For address, see Marriage License, Budnick-Pierce, 1917.

[10] Marriage License, Budnick-Pierce, 1917.

[11] Westminster Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Certificate of Baptism, dated 4 April 1920, for Helen Evelyn Budnick, copy provided to author by son of Helen.

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

[13] 1920 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40, enumeration district (ED) 1495, sheet 14B, dwelling 264, family 278, Charles H. Budnick household; NARA microfilm T625, roll 1641; image, Ancestry  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4384804_00941 : viewed 20 Nov 2020), image 28.  Also, 1930 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40, enumeration district (ED) 0223, sheet 16B, dwelling 303, family 315, Charles H. Budnick household; NARA microfilm T626, roll 2130; image, Ancestry  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4639467_00123 : viewed 20 Nov 2020), image 31.  Also, 1940 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40, enumeration district (ED) 51-1582, sheet 6A, dwelling 110, Charles H. Budnick household; NARA microfilm T627, roll 3736; image, Ancestry  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/M-T0627-03736-00359 : viewed 20 Nov 2020), image 11. Finally, Charles Henry Budnick’s death certificate shows his final address of 6055 Upland Street in 1964; see 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.

[14] Charles Warren Andrews, "Family History Questionnaire," written interview, 27 December 2020, copy in author's file, Winter Springs, Florida.

[15] Pennsylvania, Certificate of Death no. 77806 73 (1973), Florence V. Budnick; Department of Health, Vital Statistics, New Castle.