William John Oldham, Jr., 1915-1994
WILLIAM JOHN OLDHAM, JR. was
born on 24 September 1915, in Darby Borough, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, to
parents William John Oldham Sr. and Miriam Clara (Paul) Oldham,[1]
and died on 22 December 1994.[2] He married Laura Anna Wylie on 3 October 1936
at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church[3];
their license was approved on 24 September 1936 in Delaware County,
Pennsylvania.[4]
William John Oldham, Jr. (called
“Bill” by friends and family), my grandfather, was a calm, hard-working,
family-loving man. He was a butcher who
initially worked for Martel Brothers and Penn Beef Co., then co-owned his own
store, Suburban Food Center, in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania.[5] He used to stop by our house every Friday
night on his way home from work with a box full of meats for our family –
everything except lamb, even though my mother asked for it, because HE didn’t
like it. I never saw him get upset or
riled up, and, although I loved my grandmother dearly, she was a tough woman to
live with. According to their oldest
daughter Laura, “My mother was the BOSS!
My dad worked all the time as a butcher.
I think I learned that you had to work hard to get ahead in life.”[6] I only saw their loving relationship – they
were married for 58 years.
William grew up in the suburbs of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with his parents, two brothers and one sister. In 1920, when he was very young (4 ½ years
old), he, his brother and their parents lived in Darby, Pennsylvania, with his
maternal grandparents in a house of 11 total people and 3 generations.[7] By 1930, his parents and siblings had moved
in to their own house in Collingdale, Pennsylvania, two more children were
born, and his paternal grandfather had moved in with them.[8] It would have been shortly after the 1930
census was taken that he dropped out of school and started on his career. His daughter said “My dad was a butcher,
although he really wanted to be an undertaker.
But his parents had no money for education so he started at the bottom
in a grocery store at 14. He drove a
delivery truck and learned to cut meat.”[9] According to the 1940 census, William only
completed two years of his high school education.[10]
Bill met his future wife in 1931,
when he was just 16. He was working as a
delivery boy for the local grocery store, delivering food orders to neighbors
of Laura. Their dating life consisted of the drive-in movie theater, local
hamburger stands, and roller skating.
They were engaged within three years. [11]
He registered for the Civil Service
in 1940, where he was described as 5’ 11” tall, 145 pounds (a skinny guy!),
with black hair, gray eyes and a light complexion.[12] He wasn’t called up for duty until February
1945, where he served in the Army’s 660th Replacement Company, APO #711, with a
rank of Tech. 4th Grade. Per Wikipedia,
“Technician Fourth
Grade (abbreviated as T/4, TEC4 or TEC-4) was one of
three United States Army technician ranks established on January 8,
1942, during World War II. Those who held this rank were often addressed
as Sergeant. Technicians possessed specialized skills that were rewarded with a
higher pay grade. These skills could be directly related to combat, such as
those skills possessed by a tank driver or combat engineer, or skills possessed
by those in support functions such as cooks or mechanics.”[13]
I believe his skills as a butcher
enabled him to be ranked as a T/4 (he didn’t cook – I don’t believe I ever saw
him working in his kitchen at home). He
served for about 8 months, primarily in the Philippines.[14] According to his daughter, when he was called
up, “my mother took a job at Beck's drugstore in Clifton - the women in the
family kept us going while the men were away (all my uncles were in the
service).” In August 1946, he cabled his
wife Laura to tell her he was coming home soon – a cable worth celebrating![15] Laura was living with her young daughter and
her mother during the time of William’s deployment, and I’m sure she looked
forward to being with him again.
After his time in the Army, William
continued his service activity by becoming a volunteer firefighter at the
Primos-Secane Westbrook Park Fire Company, which was organized in 1955.[16] He served in various positions during his
tenure, including Ladder Captain and Vice President, at the Fire Company.[17] After he sold his supermarket share, he
started working part-time at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital as a film developer in
the x-ray department, alongside his wife who worked as a receptionist in the
same department.[18]
William died on 22 December 1994 at
79 years old in Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital in Darby, Pennsylvania, from
gallbladder carcinoma that took him a few short months after diagnosis. He had lived in Primos, Delaware County,
Pennsylvania, prior to his hospitalization.[19] He is interred in the mausoleum at Fernwood
Cemetery, Yeadon, Pennsylvania.[20]
He left a legacy of four children
and nine grandchildren (all still living) with his wife Laura – I’m the oldest
of those grandchildren. I remember
Grandpop as a traditional male in many aspects – he was very uncomfortable when
I needed to breastfeed my infant daughter while he was in the room - but also
non-traditional in that both he and his wife helped with earning their living,
and his wife handled many of the decisions of the household. He was quiet, and always sat in “his chair”
during family events (Thanksgiving dinners were always held at their house) and
watched TV. He was very loved by all in
his family.
[1]. Pennsylvania
Certificate of Birth no. 150492 (1915), Wm John Oldham Jr.; Pennsylvania
Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Also, "United States World War II Draft
Registration Cards, 1940," image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2238/images/44033_09_00286-00427 : viewed 27 November 2020), images
428-429, card for William John Oldham Jr., serial no. 1890, Local Draft Board
5, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
[2]. Pennsylvania
Certificate of Death no. 120528 (1994), William John Oldham, Jr.; Department of
Health, Division of Vital Records, New Castle.
[3]. Delaware Co.,
Penna., certificate of marriage, file no. 82116, William John Oldham Jr. and
Laura Anna Wylie, 3 October 1936; Clerk of the Orphan's Court, Media,
Pennsylvania.
[4]. Delaware
Co., Penna., application for license to marry no. 82116, Wm. John Oldham Jr.
and Laura Anna Wylie, 24 September 1936; Clerk of the Orphan's Court, Media,
Pennsylvania.
[5]. "W.J.
Oldham Jr., 79; ran food store," The Philadelphia Inquirer
(Pennsylvania), 27 December 1994, p. 66, col. 1.; image, Newspapers.com
(https://www.newspapers.com/image/178030352/ : viewed 24 November 2020).
[6]. Laura Eleanor
(Oldham) Andrews, “Family History Questionnaire,” written interview, 29 July
2020, document in author’s files, Winter Springs, Florida. Laura is the oldest child of William John
Oldham Jr and Laura Anna (Wylie) Oldham.
[7]. 1920 U.S.
census, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Darby, ward 1, enumeration district (ED) 157, sheet
3A, dwelling 42, family 43, Samuel B. D. Paul household; NARA microfilm T625,
roll 1560.
[8]. 1930 U.S.
census, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Collingdale,
enumeration district (ED) 0051, sheet 3A, dwelling 46, family 50, William J.
Oldham household; NARA microfilm T626, roll 2030.
[10]. 1940 U.S.
census, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Upper Darby,
enumeration district (ED) 23-227, page 4A, dwelling 62, Wm J. Oldham Jr.
household; NARA microfilm T627, roll 3498.
[11]. Karen L.
Hartley, "Life History Paper," based on interview of Laura Anna
(Wylie) Oldham, 24 June 2004, supplied by author to Dawn Vanderwolf on 4 March
2021, p. 5-6.
[13]. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technician_fourth_grade : viewed 26 February 2021
[14]. Pennsylvania,
World War II Veterans Compensation Applications, for William J. Oldham Jr.,
dated 30 March 1950, batch control no. 10787; Pennsylvania Historical and
Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/3147/images/43191_2421401759_0533-03091 : viewed 13 December 2020), images
3091-3092.
[15]. “Clifton
Heights,” Delaware County Daily Times (Delaware County, Pennsylvania),
24 August 1946, p. 4. col. 3; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/54081874/ : viewed 13 December 2020).
[16]. Upper Darby
Township (Delaware County, Pennsylvania) website, https://www.upperdarby.org/gov/fire : viewed 15 February 2021.
[17].
Multiple
newspaper articles, including: “Firemen Expect Delivery of New Truck,” Delaware
County Daily Times (Delaware County, Pennsylvania), 26 November 1963, p. 3,
col. 5; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/23134658/
: viewed 13 December 2020) and “Five Fire Companies Announce Officers,” Delaware
County Daily Times, 13 January 1969, p.17, col. 4; image, Newspapers.com
(https://www.newspapers.com/image/19025545/
: viewed 15 February 2021).
[18].
"Oldham," The Philadelphia
Inquirer (Pennsylvania), 24 December 1994, p. B4, col. 6; image, Newspapers.com
(https://www.newspapers.com/image/178015368/
: viewed 24 November 2020).
[19]. Death
certificate, William John Oldham.
William had been living at 715 Central Avenue, Primos, Delaware County,
Pennsylvania.
[20]. Death
certificate, William John Oldham. See
also, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Record of Burial Place of Veteran, William
John Oldham, Jr. (1994); Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau
of Archives and History, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1967/images/31501_B019062-00931 : viewed 25 November 2020), image 932. See photos section for picture of mausoleum marker.
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