Tracking the Addresses of Charles Stark in Pittsburgh and Allegheny City, Pennsylvania

     My maternal great grandfather, Charles Stark lived in Lawrenceville, a neighborhood of Pittsburgh, downtown Pittsburgh and Allegheny City between the date of his arrival in the United States on September 15, 1860 and his death on April 26 1895.  All of the Pittsburgh City Directories for his time period are available on Ancestry, although I looked these up years ago on microfilm.  Charles is missing from some of the directories, although there are other documents that show he was still living in the area. I was also able to locate a 1879 street map of Pittsburgh and Allegheny City to track his and the Stark family's movement.  

     When Charles arrived in the United States, it is unknown what drew him to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Little to nothing is known about his family.  Did some members also immigrate from Germany to the United States? To Pittsburgh?  

     Six months after his arrival, Charles enlisted in the 2nd Regiment of the Virginia Infantry.  It was not unusual for the military to enlist newly immigrated males during the Civil War.  Charles served from May 15, 1861 and mustered out on May 22, 1866.  When West Virginia became a state, he fought with a now northern Infantry and Calvary unit.  When the war ended, he saw action in the New Company H, 6th West Virginia Calvary out in the Dakotas and Colorado.  

1879 Map of Pittsburgh and Allegheny City,
Pennsylvania

     The 1879 map above has the various areas marked in the red where Charles and his growing family lived in Pittsburgh, the Lawrenceville neighborhood and in Allegheny City following his service.  

Lawrenceville Neighborhood
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Penn Avenue, 16th Ward, Lawrenceville
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1869 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 415

     Charles is not listed in any Pittsburgh City Directories from the time he mustered out of service in the Civil War.  He may have been living with relatives and not listed individually.  I was told that Wilhelmine Catherine Schwarz, who married Charles Stark, had relations in Lawrenceville.  Did they meet in Lawrenceville? Or were memories incorrect, and it was actually Charles who had relatives there?
     

Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

     Charles Stark lived on Fifth Avenue in Ward 3 for a number of years.  This area is near the "point" of Pittsburgh where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers join to form the Ohio River.  

1870 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 443

1871 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 476

1873 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 516

1875 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 572

1876 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 582

     
     I should mention that I have been told that Charles was a shoe salesman.  I work in a retail clothing store that also sells shoes and I have a chuckle when I am selling shoes.  It must be a genetic thing ;-)  Charles is not listed in the 1872 directory; however, he became a naturalized citizen in Pittsburgh in 1872. 

     He is also not listed in the 1877, 1878, 1879 and 1800 directories.  Charles married Wilhelmine Catherine Schwarz on February 6, 1878 in St. Louis, Missouri.  Charles is listed as Carl, the same as on the immigration document.  Of interest, the minister is Ch F. Stark.  I have blogged about this Stark and his family, trying to find a Stark family link.  I was unsuccessful.  Questions remain, why get married in St. Louis?  Supposedly it was an arranged marriage with Wilhelmine traveling from Europe.  Was she already in St. Louis or did Charles and she travel from Pittsburgh?  

Allegheny City, Pennsylvania
Streets where the Stark Family lived

Taylor Avenue, Allegheny City, Pennsylvania

     Charles and Wilhelmine were living in Allegheny City across the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh in 1880.  Although there is no city directory listing, there is a June 14, 1880 census report that lists 58 Taylor Avenue, Allegheny City, as their residence.  Also my maternal grand father, Charles Edward Stark was born on September 23, 1880 on Taylor, Ward 2, according to a birth record.  

     I do want to note here that a 1 year old son, Charles Stark is listed in the 1880 census.  I have heard that the Stark's did have a son who died as a child, born before my grandfather.  I had always been told the child's name was Theodore.  To date there has been no information found for him. In 1880 he was listed as Charles.

Lawrenceville Neighborhood

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Forty-Six Street and Butler, Lawrenceville 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

   

1881 Pittsburgh City Directory

page 717

1882 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 711

1883 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 748

1884 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 843

1885 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 842

     The Forty-sixth block and Butler Avenue, located in Lawrenceville is the small red square on the map above, near Allegheny Cemetery.  Birth records for the next two Stark births list the Butler and 46th Street, Ward 17 address--Amelia (Emily) Stark, 1882 and Alfred Walter Stark, 1884.

Allegheny City, Pennsylvania

East Street in light blue and Howard Street in yellow
Allegheny City, Pennsylvania

     

1889 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 995

     The Stark family moved across the Allegheny River to Allegheny City between 1885-1886.  Two daughters were born while the family was living at 357 East Street according to birth records--Lucy Wilma Stark, born 1886 and Dora Maria Stark, born 1888.

1890 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 760

     Between 1889-1890, the family moved a street away to 250 Howard Street.  It was from the Howard Street address that Charles was sent to the City Home perhaps in June 1889.  He died in the City Home on April 26, 1895. 

1891 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 844

1892 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 861

1893 Pittsburgh City Directory
page 857

     Wilhelmine was not able to stay at the 250 Howard address after Charles was sent to the City Home.  She moved her family back to East Street.  Perhaps in 1894 and definitely on May 2, 1895, she and her children were living in Avalon, Pennsylvania, which is located in Allegheny County.  Wilhelmine was making a living by sewing and her monthly rent was $12.00.  This information is part of the pension file.

Other Flipside blogs on Charles Stark: 

Charles Stark Tombstone Tuesday     

Charles Stark Masonic Book

Charles Stark:  Marriage and Death Information

Charles Stark:  Is this your great grandfather?

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2021, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Elizabeth Ferdinande Olesen Hughes Burial Information

My paternal great grandmother, Elizabeth Olesen Hughes as I remember her.
Circa early to mid 1950's

.

     Apparently, I never did a Tombstone Tuesday blog on my paternal great grandparents.  Or, if I did, I was not able to find it doing a search on Flipside.  

Page inside the prayer book with Elizabeth Ferdinande Olsen's
date of birth written by her mother

     My paternal great grandmother, Elizabeth Ferdinande Olesen Hughes was born in West Hartlepool, England on October 16, 1876.  Her parents were Christian Invart Olesen and Ferdinande (Ferdinanda) Weiss Olesen.  

     I knew my Great Grandmother Hughes.  She lived with my grandparents and spent a large portion of the day alone in her bedroom listening to the radio.  I do not remember her "hanging around" my grandparent's apartment during the day. In elementary school, during the summer, I often spent several days at my grandparents apartment when they lived in Bellevue, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.  Great Grandma would have lunch in her bedroom and dinner with us in the dining room.  It was customary to have evening tea and a baked good before bed.  Great Grandma was already in the living room watching the television and would join in for teatime.

     She was not an overly warm or friendly individual.  I think the three of us Hughes great grandchildren were somewhat fearful of her.  It was mandatory that we go in to her bedroom to greet and give her a kiss on the cheek or at a minimum, a hug.  I think I can speak for my two younger brothers, it was not a familial duty we looked forward to when visiting Grams and Pop Pop.   

     I might mention that Great Grandmother had a nickname--Noonie.  No one alive now knows who originated the nickname.  I do not remember my Grandmother or Grandfather calling her Noonie and assuredly, we great grandchildren did not use her nickname.  Oddly, when we (cousins, too) refer to her now, many of us do use the name Noonie.

     When my brothers and I visited Hartlepool, England in 2003 and met with Hughes adult cousins, one in particular, John George Marsh, referred to her as "Lil".

Death certificate of Elizabeth Ferdinande Olesen Hughes

      Great grandmother died in her bed at 71 North Bryant Avenue, Bellevue, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania on October 11, 1961 at age eighty-four, just five days shy of her eighty-fifth birthday.   It is my understanding that Grams' niece, Catherine Wallace Billik (Kae), was attending her when she died.  George Henry Hughes, my grandfather and Elizabeth's only child, supplied the information for the death certificate.  Pop Pop did get his Olesen grandfather's name wrong.  To be fair, Pop Pop never knew him since, Christian Invart Olesen, died before Pop Pop was born.  Wm C. Olesen was the name given and it was the name of Pop Pop's uncle.

     My Dad, George VanGilder Hughes, was the attending physician who signed his grandmother's death certificate.  There was a story Dad loved to tell about this day.  Apparently, Pop Pop was extremely annoyed that it took Dad until evening to drive to Bellevue and sign the death certificate as his mother's dead body had been there all day.  My Dad's response to his Dad, "Well, I had live patients to attend to in the office all day."

     When Elizabeth's husband, John George Hughes, died on May 20, 1921, Elizabeth purchased five cemetery plots in Section A, Lot 53 at Woodlawn Cemetery, Aliquippa, Beaver County, Pennsylvania.  When the cemetery was built, the area was called Woodlawn and housed the workers and administrators of the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company.  

     Elizabeth is buried next to her husband in plot #3.  John George Hughes is buried in plot #2, Elizabeth's mother, Ferdinande Weiss Olesen, is in plot #1 and Elizabeth's brother, William Christian Olesen, is in plot #2.  There is one plot unused.  Perhaps Elizabeth though her son, George Henry Hughes, would be buried with his parents.  That did not happen.

     I was fourteen when my great grandmother died.  I was not told of her death until after the fact.  Consequently, I did not attend the viewing at the funeral home, the church service or burial.  I have no obituary or burial card.  I do not know if any exist.  I do know that my grandmother had no love of her mother-in-law and may have simply thrown out all reminders.  Family members always thought that Pop Pop would mourn the death of his mother.  The story told is that he threw a rose on her casket and never looked back.  I may have mentioned in another blog, that Elizabeth was not very nice to her daughter-in-law (my grandmother, Grams), in fact, I have been told by many that she was downright nasty.  Sad to say my Great Grandmother Hughes was not mourned or missed.

 

 

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2021, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Adolph Herman W. Weiss and Mary Elizabeth Middlemass Weiss

     Adolph Herman W. Weiss, son of Frederick Heindrich Adolph Weiss and Ferdinande Lehman Weiss, was born circa 1853 in Hamburg, Germany.  He is my paternal great great granduncle.  I have also seen his name written Adolphe Hermann W. Weiss and Adolphus.  To date I do not know what the "W" in his name stands for.

     I have had a difficult time researching Adolph and his family, not finding any information past a directory in 1883.  Did they leave the UK?  There is an Adolph Weiss who immigrated to the United States and lived in Massachusetts during the time frame; however, the information does not match my granduncle.

     

1861 United Kingdom Census

      The 1861 census is the first document I have found in the UK for the Weiss family.

Town of West Hartlepool, Parish of Stranton,  Ecclesiastical District of Christ Church.

John Street, perhaps Number 3 John Street.

Frederick H. A. Weiss, head of household, married, male age 35,  dock laborer, born in Mecklenburg, Germany.  Living in a house.

Ferdinand Weiss, wife, married, female age 31, dock laborer--wife, born in Hanover, Germany.

Adolph H. W. Weiss, son, male age 8 1/2, dock laborer--son, born in Hamburg, Germany.

Ferdinand Weiss, daughter crossed out and replaced by son, age 1 1/2, dock laborer--son, born in Hamburg, Germany.  This is a daughter and my paternal great great grandmother.

     Curious as to whether Adolph, age 8 1/2 was actually working on the docks.  Children, at that time, were not to work under age ten; however the laws seem to be for textile, mining, various factory workers.  I suppose Adolph could have been doing errands and helping with easier jobs on the docks at age eight.  Or, for some reason the enumerator just dittoed the employment of his father down the family list.  Certainly, young Ferdinande, Adolph's sister was not working at age 1 1/2.

     The Weiss Family lived a street away from the main business street (Church Street) in West Hartlepool in 1861.  This area was also within walking distance to the Hartlepool docks.

     On November 27, 1870, Adolph's father, Frederick Heindrich Adolph Weiss, died at their home on Victoria Terrace.  Frederick Weis was only forty-two years old when he died from bronchopneumonia.  Adolph became "the man of the family" at age eighteen.

     

1871 United Kingdom Census

Primary Borough The Hartlepools, Town of West Hartlepool, Township of Stranton, Ecclesiastical District of Christ Church.

Victoria Terrace

The Weiss enumeration was at the bottom of one page and the top of the next.  I did a cut and paste of page one.

Ferdinande Weiss, head of family, widow, female age 49  not employed, born in Hanover (Germany).  Living in a house.  Reading between the lines, Ferdinande was indeed employed.  She was running a boarding house.  Perhaps her daughter was assisting her mother with some of the daily chores as well as employment as a dressmaker.

Adolph Weiss, son, unmarried, male age 18, employed as an apprentice to an outfitter, born in Hamburg (Germany).

     The people enumerated on the next page of the 1871 census are three boarders and Adolph's sister, Ferdinande Weiss.  Of interest to me, one of the boarders, Christian Olesen married Adolph's sister, Ferdinande Weiss and they are my paternal great great grandparents.

     The Weiss family continued to live on Victoria Terrace following Frederick's death.  Victoria Terrace is an extension of Church Street.  One side of the street would have had a view of water. Today, there are not many houses on Victoria Terrace and the water side is mostly open.  

     Adolph was apprenticed out to an outfitter by 1871.  I google searched that particular apprenticeship and found nothing; however, what I did find was that an outfitter made clothes for hunting.  I was thinking that he was apprenticed to learn to make clothes for the general public. 

     A very precious piece of my family history that has been saved for almost 149 years.  Little did Ferdinande and Adolph know the remnants of this birthday gift would have been saved and in the hands of a descendant in 2021.  The birth date given for Ferdinande Weiss on the 1861 UK census is incorrect  according to other records, as well as that she was a son.  Her birth was November  14, 1855.  This gift was given by her brother to commemorate her seventeenth birthday.

     Adolph Weiss, age twenty-five married Mary Elizabeth Middlemass, age twenty-two at All Saints Church, located in Stranton, West Hartlepool on September 19, 1876.  Adolph had moved from West Hartlepool and was living in Sunderland, north of West Hartlepool and employed as a drapers assistant. Mary Elizabeth was living with her parents, George and Jane Ridsdale Middlemass in West Hartlepool. The witnesses were Adolph's brother-in-law, Christian Olesen and Mary Elizabeth's father, George Middlemass.

Map showing the location of Hartlepool
in relation to Sunderland

     On May 22, 1888, Adolph's mother, Ferdinande Lehman Weiss, died at age sixty-two at her home in West Hartlepool.   

1881 United Kingdom Census

Town of Sunderland, City of Municipal Borough of Sunderland, Civil Parish of Bishopwearmouth, County of Durham, Ecclesiastical Parish of Saint Thomas.

1 Coronation Street

Adolphus H. Weiss, head of family, married, male age 28, occupation:  tailor, clothier, born in Hamburg, Germany

Mary Eliz Weiss, wife, married, female age 26, born Tundale, Yorkshire, England.

William E. Weiss, son, male 3 months, born Sunderland, Durham, England.

Durham Records Online

     Adolph and Mary Elizabeth's son, William Ernest Weiss died in 1882.  Was William their only child.  The baptism records on the Durham website only show one Weiss baptized and the date is too early for Adolph and Mary Elizabeth.  There are two possibilities with question marks on the list.  I have not thrown a credit card on this website, so I cannot say whether these two babies were born to this family.  Unfortunately, both died as as infants.

     The 1883 Kelly's Directory is the last piece of information I have on Adolph and Mary Elizabeth Middlemass Weiss.  They live at 2, 3 and 3 1/2 High Street East in Sunderland.  Adolph is employed as an outfitter.  It is very likely that the Weiss' lived at one of the addresses and his shop was one of the others.  Perhaps the 3 1/2 is an apartment above a shop at 3 High Street. 

Other Weiss blogs on Flipside:

The Weiss Family of West Hartlepool, England written in 2015

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2021, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Addendum to the Family of Frederick Heindrich Adolph Weiss and Ferdinande Lehman Weiss

     

     In 2015, I blogged about my paternal great great great grandparents, Frederick Heindrich Adolph Weiss and Ferdinande Lehman Weiss.  The blog was entitled Weiss Family of West Hartlepool, England.  In the past five years, more information has come to light.  Adding European search to my Ancestry account and a subscription to British newspapers has given me a new research outlet.  I apologize if some of the information in this blog is also located in the one written in 2015.  I am trying to toggle between the two to keep the information in 2021 new.

1861 United Kingdom Census

Town of West Hartlepool, Parish of Stranton,  Ecclesiastical District of Christ Church.

John Street, perhaps Number 3 John Street.

Frederick H. A. Weiss, head of household, married, male age 35,  dock laborer, born in Mecklenburg, Germany.  Living in a house.

Ferdinand Weiss, wife, married, female age 31, dock laborer--wife, born in Hanover, Germany.

Adolph H. W. Weiss, son, male age 8 1/2, dock laborer--son, born in Hamburg, Germany.

Ferdinand Weiss, daughter crossed out and replaced by son, age 1 1/2, dock laborer--son, born in Hamburg, Germany.  This is a daughter and my paternal great great grandmother.

John Street, Hartlepool today

     John Street in Hartlepool today is an alleyway where folks park their cars.  The side of the street with buildings appear to be the back end of the building not the entrance.  Perhaps the Weiss house was located on the side of the street where there is a fence.  The front side of the buildings are actually businesses and apartments located on Church Street many of which look to be in a state of rehabilitation.   After looking at the map at the end of the blog, back in 1861, John Street was a residential street between Lynn Street and George Street.  It appears that the street now called John was an alley between the the back of the buildings above and the fence.  John would have been the street behind the fencing.

Frederick Heindrich Adolph Weiss Death Certificate

     Between 1861 and Frederick's death on November 27, 1870 the Weiss family moved to a house on Victoria Terrace.  Reposting Frederick's death certificate.  Frederick died at age forty-two from broncho-pneumonia at his home.  His employment is listed as a brokers clerk.  The website, Hartlepool Then and Now, has an article regarding ship broking and that there was an agency in Hartlepool.  Another website lists the job description of a ship broker, "The main purpose of a ship broker is to act as specialist intermediaries/negotiators between ship owners and charters to arrange ocean transport of goods and commodities by sea, the employment of a vessel to buy/sell ships on behalf of his client."

     Relocated after it was hidden in the Weiss file.  In 2006 a very helpful Hartlepool researcher sent me this information.  Since I forgot about it, I do not know if I ever looked up the actual obituary when I had membership to the British newspaper website.  

1871 United Kingdom Census page 1

1871 United Kingdom Census page 1

Primary Borough The Hartlepools, Town of West Hartlepool, Township of Stranton, Ecclesiastical District of Christ Church.

Victoria Terrace

The Weiss enumeration was at the bottom of one page and the top of the next.  I did a cut and paste of page one.

Ferdinande Weiss, head of family, widow, female age 49  not employed, born in Hanover (Germany).  Living in a house.  Reading between the lines, Ferdinande was indeed employed.  She was running a boarding house.  Perhaps her daughter was assisting her mother with some of the daily chores as well as employment as a dressmaker.

Adolph Weiss, son, unmarried, male age 18, employed as an apprentice to an outfitter, born in Hamburg (Germany).

Christian Olesen, boarder, unmarried, male age 25, employed as a clerk for a ships broker, born in Denmark.  My paternal great great grandfather.

Ferdinande Weiss, daughter, unmarried, female age 16, employed as a dressmaker, born in Hamburg (Germany).   My paternal great great grandmother.

Johann Knutsson, boarder, unmarried, male age 21, employed as a clerk for a ships broker, born in Sweden.

Olaf Anderson, boarder, unmarried, male age 29, employed as a clerk for a ships broker, born in Sweden.

     The house on Victoria Terrace must have been large enough to hold the family and an additional three boarders.  I imagine it is the same residence that Ferdinande's husband died in months earlier. 

Victoria Terrace today

     I opened google map and searched Victoria Terrace.  It connects to Church Street, which is the main/business street in that portion of town.  Most of the housing units on Victoria Terrace have been destroyed.  There are a few; however, they look newer than 1871.  When my brothers and I visited Hartlepool in 2003, we wandered around this area.

     Of note, my single paternal great great grandparents, Christian Invart Olesen and Ferdinande Weiss, were living in the same household.  They married on August 30, 1874, probably in Christ Church.  My paternal great great grandmother, Ferdinande (also known as Ferdinanda, Ann and Annie) did not make a very wise choice in husbands as I found numerous articles in Hartlepool newspapers of Christian Olesen going bankrupt, stealing and making threats.

     One such threat was against his mother-in-law, Ferdinande Lehman Weiss.  Christian Olesen was brought up on charges for threatening language against Ferdinande, broke open the door to her house and threatened to kill her son, Adolph Weiss.  Christian did not appear at court.  He was at the Royal Hotel.  Perhaps his wife, Ferdinande's daughter had thrown him out.  

1881 United Kingdom Census

Primary Borough of Hartlepool, Town of West Hartlepool, Parish of Stranton, Ecclesiastical Parish of Saint James.

10 Lower Reed Street

F. Weiss, head of house, widow, female age 54, occupation running a lodging house, born in Germany.  Living in a house.

Harold Casper, lodger, unmarried, male age 24,  occupation shipping clerk, born in Denmark.

A. Samuelson, lodger, unmarried, male age 27, occupation shipping clerk, born in Norway.

W. Kurtzlisel ?, lodger, unmarried, male age 30, occupation shipping clerk, born in Germany.

Mary Costide ?, servant, unmarried, female age 18,  occupation general servant, born in West Hartlepool.

 

Reed Street, Hartlepool today

Reed and Lynn Streets today

     

     Google map searching, there are no houses remaining on Reed Street.  The houses standing today on Lynn Street were probably built after 1881.  No houses are left on Reed Street.  At the far end are a few factory buildings.

Ferdinande Lehman Weiss Death Certificate

     On May 22, 1888, Ferdinande Lehman Weiss, age sixty-two, died at her home, 20 Scarborough Street, West Hartlepool.  Cause of death was dropsy, today called edema, puffiness caused by excess fluid trapped in tissue.  Secondary cause was cardiac disease.  I do not know where Frederick and Ferdinande Weiss are buried in the Hartlepool area.

Obituary for Ferdinande Weiss
May 23, 1888

Corner of Church and Scarborough

     Wahoo, I found the house, located on a lovely street with a metal street sign above the street.  Indulge me as I walk you down Scarborough Street.  The metal sign is at the corner of Church and Scarborough Streets.

20 Scarborough Street, Hartlepool

     20 Scarborough painted, rehabbed and ready to sell.  In the 1898 "To Let" notice above, we know it is an eight roomed house.

Known streets where the Weiss Family lived

     

Adolph Herman W. Weiss--son

Ferdinande Weiss Olesen--daughter

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2021, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser