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Albert
Cline was born in New Jersey in October of 1852 to John A. and Rebecca
Cline.
He was the oldest child. The family had lived in Medford, New Jersey in
1850, by 1860 they had moved to
Camden's Middle Ward. John A. Cline worked as a bartender. It
appears that John A. Cline enlisted as a Private on August 17, 1861 in
Company
I, 4th Infantry Regiment New Jersey and was killed in action while
serving with this unit on May 12, 1864 at Spotsylvania Court House,
Virginia.
The
1870 Census shows Albert Cline, 17, living at
524 Bridge
Avenue, Camden, with his widowed mother Rebecca Cline. Siblings
Emma,
Albert, Anna, and Joseph were also at home, as was older brother
Elwood
Cline and his wife Sarah Cline and daughter Eva, 1. All three
of the Cline brothers worked for the railroad, and
Elwood
Cline was also working for the Camden Fire Department as an
extra man, as stated above.
Elwood
Cline served with the Camden Fire Department until late in 1873. He
was
still living at 524
Bridge
Avenue when he left the Department. Albert Cline was
still making 524
Bridge
Avenue his home when he was appointed to serve with
the Hook & Ladder Company (later known as Ladder Company 1) on April
8, 1876. He remained a member of the Camden Fire Department for one
year. He was replaced on April 8, 1877 by Josiah Davis. Elwood Cline
returned to work as a driller for the railroad.
The 1880
Census shows Albert Cline and his wife Elizabeth living at 524
Bridge
Avenue with their children Viola, Harry, Howell, and
Alberta, who ranged in age from 6 to 10 months. The family had moved to
446 Bridge
Avenue by the latter half of 1881. Albert Cline began
working as a deck hand aboard one of the Pennsylvania Railroad's ships
(they operated tugboats, ferries, and barges on the Delaware River) in
the early 1880s. Still living at 446
Bridge
Avenue, by 1887 he was piloting one of the railroad's
ships. The 1892-1893 Directory has the Cline family still living at 446
Bridge
Avenue. The 1894-1895 City Directory states that he
was the Captain of the Pennsylvania Railroad tugboat Verona, and was
living at 425
Clinton
Street. By 1896 Albert Cline and family had moved to 440
West
Street. He remained in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad
in
other positions than tugboat captain, as a floatman in 1896, then as a
switch tender. The 1900 Census shows Albert and Elizabeth Cline at 439
Stevens
Street, with children Harry, Howell, Alberta, and Clarence, who
was
born in 1882. The family was still at 439
Stevens
Street when the 1906 City Directory was compiled.
56
years old at the time of his death, Albert
Cline passed away on December 26, 1908 and was buried at Evergreen
Cemetery. When the Census was taken in
1910 his widow
Elizabeth was living at 567
Clinton
Street with sons Harry and Howell, and Harry's daughter Grace.
Harry
Cline was also a widower at that time. Both sons were still working for
the railroad.
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