Alfred William Hawkins, Jr., 1864-1944
ALFRED WILLIAM HAWKINS, JR. was born on 9 July 1864,
in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to parents Alfred Hawkins and Mary (Clark)
Hawkins. He was baptized “Alfred
Barrett” at the Anglican St. James the Apostle Church in Montreal, Canada, on
25 June 1865, Barrett likely being his baptismal name.[1] He married Ellen “Ella” Virginia Smith on 14
December 1886 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2] He died on 3 June 1944, at the age of 79, in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3]
Alfred was born in Montreal, Canada, after his parents had
immigrated from England, and their religion was noted as Church of England. He lived with his family in the Quebec
province, in the St. Antoine ward, from the time of his birth until they moved
to Philadelphia in August 1875, when he was 11 years old.[4]
Multiple documents provide a year that Alfred Hawkins
immigrated to the United States, stated as early as 1875, and as late as
1880. Most of the information is from
census documents, with an unknown informant except for 1940, when Alfred’s
adult son was the informant. Therefore,
these census documents have a high potential for inaccuracy when it comes to
information provided about an immigration that could have occurred 25 to 65
years prior, and when Alfred was only 11 years old. His own naturalization petition says that he
arrived in July 1874.[6] However, the date that is most likely
accurate is that provided on Alfred’s father’s Declaration of Intent, which
states he arrived in Philadelphia on or about 15 August 1875.[7]
Philadelphia became the family’s final home. Alfred grew up there, and learned to work in
the stained glass industry just as his father did. He started as young as 16 (probably even
younger, since he only went to school through the 3rd grade[8]),
when in 1880 his occupation on the census was “with his father,” while his
father’s occupation was “glass stainer.”[9] When he applied for his marriage license on
16 October 1886, he named his occupation as “lead glazier.”[10] After Alfred and Ella were married, when he
was 22 years old, they started their family.
Joshua was the first born, on 6 May 1888, then followed by Edward
Raymond on 13 August 1891.[11] Tragically, both of these boys died
young. Joshua died at 4 ½ years old on 9
December 1892 of membranous croup, which is also known as diphtheria, “an acute
and often fatal infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract.”[12] Edward died at the age of 19 on 13 January
1910 of acute miliary tuberculosis.[13]
Alfred went through the naturalization process to become a
citizen of the United States, approved in the Court of Quarter Sessions on 1
October 1888. Joshua Smith, his
brother-in-law, was the person who vouched for him.[14]
Alfred and Ella’s third child, Mary Beatrice Hawkins, was
born on 28 October 1896, and their last child, Alfred William Hawkins III was
born nine years later on 27 December 1905.[15]
In 1900, the family lived in a 3-bedroom, 1-bath, 1,120
square foot row home at 1728 S. 17th Street in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.[16] They rented this home for a number of years,
then finally purchased it sometime between 1920 and 1930. Over the years, there was almost a revolving
door of people who lived with Alfred and Ella at that location:
·
1900 – son Edward, daughter Mary, Ella’s sister
Annie with her husband and son[17]
·
1910 – daughter Mary, son Alfred, Ella’s father
John[18]
·
1920 – son Alfred, nephew Francis (sister
Annie’s son)[19]
·
1930 – son Alfred, Alfred’s wife Vivian[20]
·
1940 – son Alfred, Alfred’s wife Vivian, their
three children (note that Ella had died before this time)[21]
So, between 4 to 7 people at any time living in the house
(with only 1 bathroom)!
In a 1923 city directory for Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania,
Alfred is listed as a glass cutter working for G. E. Paddock & Sons.[22] This company is described as:
"one of the largest manufacturers
and jobbers of glass in Northeastern Pennsylvania, specializing in stained
glass church windows, glazed in lead, zinc or copper; plate glass for
automobiles; wire and figured glass for building purposes and other varieties
in which they excel."[23]
Alfred lost his wife of 47 years on 1
October 1935.[24] He continued to live at the 1728 S. 17th
Street home until he passed on 3 June 1944 at 79 years old of chronic
myocarditis and myocardial degeneration.[25] He is buried at Mt. Moriah Cemetery,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in section 132, lot 127 with his wife and first two
sons Joshua and Edward.[26]
Headstones, Mt. Moriah Cemetery,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, section 132, lot 127; photos taken by Dawn
Vanderwolf, 2019.
[1]
Anglican St. James the Apostle (Montreal,
Quebec, Canada), "Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1865," Alfred
Barrett Hawkins; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1091/images/d13p_1165d0071 : viewed 25 Nov 2020), image 7. The birth date and parents for Alfred Barrett
in this baptism document agrees with numerous other documents for Alfred
William, confirming that this is the same person.
[2]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, marriage
application and certificate no. 7038 (1886), Alfred Wm. Hawkins and Ella Smith;
Orphans' Court, Philadelphia.
[3] Pennsylvania
Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 58637
(1944), Alfred William Hawkins, Sr.; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image; Ancestry
(https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/42342_2421406272_0819-01987 : viewed 24 Nov
2020), image 1987.
[4]
For
residence and religion, see 1871 census of Canada, Quebec Province, Montreal
West District, St Antoine Ward, page 85, dwelling 307, family 330, Alfred Hawkins; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1578/images/4395467_00660
: viewed 20 Nov 2020), image 1523. For
immigration date, see Naturalization Petitions for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania,
microfilm publication M1522 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records
Administration, n.d.), certificate of naturalization no. 115920 (1909) for
Alfred William Hawkins; images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2717/images/31311_137379-00714 : viewed 13 Dec 2020), images 715-716.
[5]
The church opened in May 1864, just about a year
before Alfred’s baptism. “ St Jax
Montreal,” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Jax_Montr%C3%A9al : viewed 4 June 2022).
[6]
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, Court of Quarter Sessions, naturalization petition, Alfred
Hawkins, 1 October 1888; FHL microfilm 7775013, image 535. FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSMJ-Z96Q-Y
: viewed 18 June 2022).
[7]
Naturalization Petitions for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania, certificate of naturalization
no. 115920 (1909) for Alfred William Hawkins.
[8]
1940 U.S. census, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 26, enumeration district
(ED) 51-776, sheet 5A-5B, dwelling 82, Alfred Hawkins household; NARA microfilm
T627, roll 3711; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/M-T0627-03711-00175 : viewed 20 Nov 2020), image 10.
[9]
1880 U.S.
census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia,
enumeration district (ED) 559, p. 40,
dwelling 341, family 365, Alfred Hawkins household; NARA microfilm T9,
roll 1185;
image,
Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6742/images/4244550-00582 : viewed 20 Nov
2020), image 39.
[10]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, marriage application
no. 7038 (1886), Hawkins-Ella Smith.
[11]
For birth dates, see Headstone, Mt. Moriah
Cemetery (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), section 132, lot 127; photo taken by
Dawn Vanderwolf, 2019.
[12]
For death date and cause, see City of
Philadelphia, return of a death, death certificate no. 12393 (1892), Joshua W.
Hawkins; Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania;
image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-64VF-XN : viewed 4 June 2022).
For definition of membranous croup, see “Glossary of Medical Terms Used
in the 18th and 19th Centuries,” Craig Thornber
website (https://www.thornber.net/medicine/html/medgloss.html : viewed 4 June 2022).
[13]
Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of
Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 9140 (1910), Edward R. Hawkins;
Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission, Harrisburg; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/41381_2421401696_0854-03371 : viewed 4 June 2022), image 3371.
[14]
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, Court of Quarter Sessions, naturalization petition, Alfred
Hawkins, 1 October 1888; FHL microfilm 7775013, image 535. FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSMJ-Z96Q-Y
: viewed 18 June 2022).
[15]
For Mary’s birth date, see City of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania)
Department of Records, Vital Statistics, Affidavit to Amend Birth Record, Mary
Beatrice Hawkins, no. 99264, changing birth date to 28 October 1896. For Alfred’s birth date, see "United States World War II Draft Registration
Cards, 1942," image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2238/images/44033_10_00160-01666 : viewed 20 May 2022), images 1667-1668, card for
Alfred William Hawkins Jr., serial no. 1652, Local Draft Board 28,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
[16]
For
residence, see 1900 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population
schedule, Philadelphia, ward 26, enumeration district (ED) 641, sheet 10B,
dwelling 208, family 213, Alfred Hawkins household; NARA microfilm T623, roll
1468; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4115212_00693
: viewed 8 November 2020), image 20. For
information on house, see Zillow (https://www.zillow.com/homes/1728-S-17th-St-Philadelphia,-PA-19145_rb/10372268_zpid/
: viewed 4 June 2022).
[17]
1900 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ED
641, Alfred Hawkins household.
[18] 1910 U.S. census,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 26,
enumeration district (ED) 0596, sheet 9B, dwelling 192, family 194, Alfred W.
Hawkins household; NARA microfilm T624, roll 1401; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4449315_00375 : viewed 16 October
2020), images 18-19.
[19] 1920 U.S. census,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 26,
enumeration district (ED) 0822, sheet 4B, dwelling 63, family 64, Alfred W
Hawkins household; NARA microfilm T625, roll 1629; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4383803_00593 : viewed 16 October
2020), image 8.
[20] 1930 U.S. census,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 26,
enumeration district (ED) 0077, sheet 23B, dwelling 259, family 388, Alfred
Hawkins household; NARA microfilm T626, roll 2111; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4639448_00089 : viewed 20 Nov
2020), image 43. Prior to this census,
the house was identified as “rented;” this is the first census denoting it as
“owned.”
[21]
1940 U.S.
census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ED 51-776, Alfred Hawkins household.
[22]
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1923 City
Directory, p. 212, col. 2, for Alfred W. Hawkins; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/2903218 : viewed 13 Dec 2020), image 157.
[23]
Oscar Jewell Harvey, A History of
Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Vol. VI (Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania: Raeder Press, 1930), p. 567; images, InternetArchive (https://archive.org/details/historyofwilkesb06harv : viewed 20 May 2022).
[24]
Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics,
death certificate no. 93626 (1935), Mrs. Ella Virginia Hawkins; Pennsylvania
Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/42342_646933_0739-02611
: viewed 24 Nov 2020), image 2611.
[25]
Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certificate no. 58637 (1944), Alfred
William Hawkins, Sr.
[26]
Mt. Moriah Cemetery (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), "Register of
Interments," Book 1928-1962, page 232, no. 119395 for Alfred W. Hawkins
Sr. (1944); image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2451/images/42154_331318-00790
: viewed 25 Nov 2020), image 2659.
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