William Arthur Andrews, 1879-1917

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WILLIAM ARTHUR ANDREWS was born on 22 May 1879 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to parents Edward Callender Andrews and Annie J (Porter) Andrews.[1]  He went by the name of Arthur his whole life, as evidenced by his signature on his marriage license and the listing on multiple census documents.  He married Elizabeth Emma Spielmann on 20 January 1902, and died on 23 November 1917, at just 38 years old.[2]

Arthur grew up in the city of Philadelphia, living his entire life there.  In the 1880 census, he is shown living with his parents and two older brothers, Edward Callender and Charles Hughes.[3]  These are the only siblings he would have.  His mother Annie died at 33 years old, when Arthur was just under a year old.  His father remarried within a couple of years, so it is assumed that Arthur was raised by his stepmother.[4]

On 20 January 1902, Arthur married Elizabeth Spielmann, when he was 22 years old.  On the marriage license, he stated his occupation as a cooper – ”a person trained to make wooden casks, barrels, vats, buckets, tubs, troughs and other similar containers from timber staves that were usually heated or steamed to make them pliable."[5]  It was the first marriage for both of them.

A little over a year later, Arthur and Elizabeth started to grow their large family.  They had seven children between 1903 and 1917, with only one child that passed young.  Lillian Esther, born 4 March 1916, died just a month later on 5 April 1916 due to a hole in the upper chambers of her heart.[6]  All of the other six children lived into adulthood, all marrying and having children of their own.

According to Arthur’s obituary, he was a member of both the Washington Camp No. 764 of the “P.O.S. of A.” and the Atlantic Refinery Co.’s (ARCO) Stonemen’s Fellowship Group, both social clubs.[7]  The Patriotic Order Sons of America was founded in 1847 in Philadelphia, had sub-groups called “camps,” and was primarily a white male, anti-immigration, anti-Catholic society, that believed in preserving patriotism and free public schools.  This organization still exists today (albeit with changes to their goals and membership requirements), and is headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.[8]

The Stonemen’s Fellowship, founded by Rev. H. C. Stone in 1910 in Philadelphia, wanted to unify the Protestant churches, under one “Church of God”; there were three degrees of membership that a man would move through via weekly or twice-weekly meetings, and there were no dues (belief is that it was funded by a number of wealthy Philadelphians).  There was a lot of controversy about this organization, with many religious leaders in the city calling for abolishment.  By the 1940s it no longer existed. [9]

In 1910, Arthur lived with his wife, son, and two daughters, as well as his father and stepmother, on Paschall Avenue in Philadelphia.  His occupation was listed as a “gas maker” in the gas works industry.[10]  It is probable that he worked at the Atlantic Refinery Co., since he was a member of the Stonemen’s group there.  A gas maker works with coal or coke and adjusts the air, steam, oil and gases in the generator to ensure that the gas is produced properly.[11]

His 1917 death certificate identified his occupation as a “treater, oil works,” again probably at ARCO.  He died on 23 November 1917 of lobar pneumonia, possibly complicated by his exposure to caustic materials at his job.[12]  He is buried at Fernwood Cemetery, in Section 34, Lot 60, without a headstone to mark his final resting place.[13]

 


    [1].  For birth date and place, see City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Registration of Births in 1879, p. 141, Arthur Andrews; Family History Library microfilm 1289319, image 352; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBRR-N43 : accessed 6 July 2021), and 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.  For mother’s maiden name, see 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.

    [3].  1880 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 9, district 1, enumeration district (ED) 155, page 11, dwelling 80, family 93, Andrew Andrews; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6742/images/4244457-00534 : viewed 23 Nov 2020), image 11.

     [4].  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.

    [5].  Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper_(profession) : viewed 11 June 2021.

    [6].  Pennsylvania, Department of Health, death certificate no. 47320 (1916), Lillian Esther Andrews; Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission, Harrisburg; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/41381_2421401696_0889-03153 : viewed 11 June 2021), image 3153.  Cause of death is stated as “patulous foramen ovale;” the Mayo Clinic website at https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/patent-foramen-ovale/symptoms-causes/syc-20353487 provides the definition.

     [7].  "Died," The Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) Inquirer,  25 November 1917, p.18, col.5; image, newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/168567739 : viewed 11 June 2021).

     [8].  Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriotic_Order_Sons_of_America : viewed 11 June 2021.  See also NYTimesMachine, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1875/12/16/79964042.pdf : viewed 11 June 2021 and nationalpsofa.org http://www.nationalposofa.org/Platform-of-Principals.html : viewed 11 June 2021.

     [9].  Young Churchman Co., The Living Church, Vol. LIV, No. 17, 26 February 1916, p.598; image, GoogleBooks (https://books.google.com/books?id=jhu57wwfu8YC&lpg=PA598&dq=STONEMEN'S%20FELLOWSHIP&pg=PA598#v=onepage&q=STONEMEN'S%20FELLOWSHIP&f=false : viewed 11 June 2021).  See also, “Stonemen Fellowship,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 5 September 1960, p.8, col.5; image, newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/178292771/ : viewed 11 June 2021).

     [10].  1910 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40, Philadelphia, enumeration district (ED) 1030, sheet 2A, dwelling 30, family 31, Arthur Andrews; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4449776_00605: viewed 23 Nov 2020), image 3.

     [11].  United States Labor Statistics Bureau, Industry Wage Studies - Appendix R: Job Descriptions for Wage Studies, Gas Utilities (Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Labor, 1947), p.3; image, GoogleBooks (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Industry_Wage_Studies/qOuxPpKs7s8C : viewed 11 June 2021).

    [12].  Pennsylvania, death certficate no. 123456 (1917), William Arthur Andrews.

     [13].  Fernwood Cemetery (Yeadon, Pennsylvania), "1915-1922," page 8, William A. Andrews (1917); image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2451/images/42154_329965-00536 : viewed 25 Nov 2020), image 537.

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