George L. Boone

George L. Boone was born in Camden, New Jersey on October 17, 1904 to George C. Boone and his wife, the former Clara Clayton. He was the oldest of four children, all boys, born to the couple. His grandfather was James G. Boone, who had served as a sergeant in the Union Army during the Civil War.

The 1900 census shows that George C. Boone and his younger brother J. Frank Boone were living with their parents at 558 Line Street. Older brother Walter Boone had moved out on his own. Both of the younger Boone sons were then working for the Pennsylvania Railroad, George as a brakeman, J. Frank as a fireman. James G. Boone had died in 1902. George C. Boone married Clara Clayton, of 605 Mt. Vernon Street, around 1903. Her brother, George Clayton, was a well-known baseball player in Camden. By the time the 1906 Camden City Directory was compiled, he and his wife and oldest son George L. Boone were living at 630 Mt. Vernon Street. His widowed mother remained on Line Street with her youngest son, J. Frank Boone. Mrs. Achsahann “Annie” Boone died in 1923.

George C. Boone was still working as a railroad brakeman when the Census was taken on April 19, 1910. He and wife Clara Clayton Boone were living at 630 Mt. Vernon Street with their four sons, George L., 6; Harry, 4; Maurice, 3; and Charles Howard Boone, 1. Maurice Bric Boone was named after Reverend Maurice Bric, who served as pastor of the Roman Catholic Church of Sacred Heart at Broadway and Ferry Avenue from 1888 through 1913.

On July 1, 1910 George C. Boone was appointed to the Camden Fire Department and assigned to Engine Company 7 at 1115 Kaighn Avenue. Sadly, Clara Boone died during the 1910s, leaving her husband to care for the four young boys. George C. Boone had moved in with his wife’s family, the Claytons, at 605 Mt. Vernon Street by the time the 1914 City Directory was compiled, and was still living there in September of 1918 when he registered for the draft. 605 Mt. Vernon Street was the home of his widowed mother-in-law, Susan Clayton and two of her adult children, Angela and John. George C. Boone and his three older sons resided at that address when the census was taken in 1920. His sons spent time with different relatives, Harry and C. Howard Boone went to their Aunt Mary Boone Colgan’s home at 1017 South 5th Street while quite young, Maurice spent most of his years with his Aunt Angela, while George L. Boone spent time with relatives named Gallagher. By 1920, George C. Boone and his three older sons were under one roof, at 605 Mt. Vernon Street, while C. Howard remained with the Colgans on South 5th Street.

George C. Boone was serving with Engine Company 2 when he was injured while fighting a fire on January 19, 1922. Captain Martin Carrigan died in the line of duty of injuries sustained while fighting this fire. Not long afterwards, George C. Boone had remarried.

It turns out that George C. Boone married “the girl next door.” Next door, in this case being 1117 Kaighn Avenue, adjacent to Engine Company 7’s headquarters. There lived a widow, Laura Wasserman and her daughter Edna. By 1924 George C. Boone and Laura Wasserman had married and soon moved to Parkside, where by 1924 they bought a house at 1013 Princess Avenue. Laura’s daughter Edna lived with them, while the Boone sons — George L., Harry, and Maurice B. Boone remained with their aunt Angela and uncle John Clayton at 605 Mt. Vernon Street, and C. Howard Boone on South 5th Street.

Maurice Boone, after leaving school to enter the workforce, apprenticed as a plumber with his cousin, Francis Colgan, and remained in his employ until 1934. He quit after discovering that his uncle had failed to turn over to the Internal Revenue Service moneys deducted for Social Security. Maurice Boone then went to work for another plumber, Joseph Barnett. Maurice Boone stayed with Barnett for eight years before leaving to take a job with the Public Service Gas and Electric Company as a plumber.

George L. Boone was the tallest of the Boone brothers, and one of the best basketball players in Camden in the 1920s. He played for the semi-pro Camden Skeeters alongside of Neil Deighan during the 1925–1926 season, and again played with Deighan as part of the Immaculate Conception basketball team during the 1927–1928 season. Bart Sheehan was also a member of this team.

On December 22, 1930 George L. Boone was appointed to the Camden Fire Department, joining his father. He reported for duty on January 1, 1931 with Engine Company 2. He was then living at 605 Mt. Vernon Street. He married in the 1930s. His wife Marie bore at least one child, daughter Marianne, who came into this world on March 27, 1937. The Boones moved to 1489 Princess Avenue during the 1930s and were still there in 1943.

George C. Boone signed his pension papers on November 22, 1938. Unfortunately, within two weeks he had died, on December 4, 1938.

By 1947 George and Marie Boone and family had moved to 1449 Crestmont Avenue. On April 8, 1948 George L. Boone was promoted to Captain, and remained in that capacity with Engine Company 2. On December 1, 1965 he retired from the fire department on pension. He continued to reside on Crestmont Avenue as late as 1977. He later moved to Gloucester Township NJ.

The last survivor of the four Boone brothers, George L. Boone died on May 7, 1992.

George and Marie Boone’s daughter, Marianne Boone worked for the City of Camden as a Senior Clerk typist in the 1970s, first for the police department, then after a January 4, 1973 transfer, to the Division of Fire. She transferred out of the Fire Department in July of 1975.

David Boone, the nephew of George L. Boone and the grandson of George C. Boone, is a marine artist, known for his paintings of tugboats and waterfront scenes.

George Boone’s uncle, George Clayton, was appointed to the Camden Police Department in 1918. He served until his death in 1947, having reached the rank of Captain.