John A. Ware

JOHN A. WARE was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in September of 1856 to James and Mary Ware. He was one of at least five children, coming after older brother James Ware Jr. and before William, George, and Isabella. The family came to Camden after the Civil War. James Ware Sr. worked as a “ship’s joiner,” that is to say, as a ship’s carpenter.

The 1878 City Directory show John Ware living on Kossuth street south of Ferry Avenue, and working as a riveter. He followed that trade into at least the mid-1880s. His brother James Ware Jr. lived on Ferry Avenue near Bem Street (since renamed South 7th Street). James Ware Jr. was then a laborer, but was destined for better things.

When the Census was taken in 1880 James and Mary Ware, sons John, William, George and daughter Isabella were all still residing on Kossuth Street. Through the 1880s John Ware and his family resided in the same vicinity. By the end of the decade James Ware Jr.’s political activity resulted in jobs for himself and his brother.

John Ware married Martha Houghton on April 11, 1882. A daughter, Mary Estella Ware, was born in Camden on December 4, 1882. The family was later blessed with another daughter, Margaret. He and his wife Martha had a third daughter, Lydia in April of 1888. Sadly, Lydia only lived until October of that year and Martha died in December. John Ware’s descendant, Valerie Andruss, wrote the following in September of 2020:

I cannot read Martha’s cause of death on her death certificate, but since Lydia was born in April 1888 and died in October 1888, and Martha’s death certificate gives a 6 month history of illness, my guess is that her death was pregnancy/childbirth related.

The 1887 Directory shows John Ware living at 749 Central Avenue and working at the municipal water works. His brother, the politically active James Ware Jr., was then the Superintendent of Camden Cemetery. He then lived at 1713 South 6th Street.

The 1890–1891 City Directory states that John Ware was a hoseman at Engine Company 3, whose firehouse was located at 1819 Broadway. The foreman of Engine 3 was Mortimer Wilson, engineer Samuel R. Lodge, driver William Deno, stoker John Helmbold, and the other hoseman Joseph Reed. The following year the crew was the same with the following exception, Reed had replaced Helmbold as stoker, and George Shields had come on as a hoseman. Directories from 1890–1891 through 1892–1893 indicate John Ware lived at 2012 Broadway.

The 1893–1895 and 1894–1895 City Directories gives an address for John Ware at 1716 Broadway. The crew at Engine Company 3 were as follows: Foreman William Deno, Engineer Samuel R. Lodge, Driver George B. Wade, Driver George Shields, Hosemen John Ware, and Lewis Buzine.

The 1895 State Census shows John Ware as unmarried, which was not the case, however the 1900 Federal Census indicates he was a widower, and that seems to have occurred prior to 1895. At some point after 1895 he and a Mrs. Mary Remde began a relationship, the two resided together for at least two years, 1899 and 1900.

The 1895–1896 City Directory gives a home address for John Ware of 1716 Broadway. The crew at Engine Company 3 were as follows: Foreman William Deno, Engineer Samuel R. Lodge, Stoker Lewis Buzine, Driver George Shields, Hosemen John Ware, and Augustus Dole (John Augustus Dold).

The 1896 Directory lists the crew at Engine Company 3 as follows: Foreman William Deno, Engineer Samuel R. Lodge, Stoker Lewis Buzine, Driver George Shields, Hosemen John Ware, Albert James, and John A. Dold. John Ware was living at 1805 South 4th Street.

The 1897 and 1898 Directories lists the crew at Engine Company 3 as follows: Foreman William Deno, Engineer Samuel R. Lodge, Driver Lewis Buzine, Stoker George Shields, Hosemen John Ware, Albert James, and Wright Cox. Cox would later transfer to the police department. John Ware was then living at 404 Jasper Street.

The 1899 Directory lists the crew at Engine Company 3 as follows: Foreman William Deno, Engineer Samuel R. Lodge, Driver Lewis Buzine, Stoker George Shields, Hosemen John Ware, Albert James, and John A. Dold. He was then living at 1823 South 4th Street, with Mary Remde and her son Joseph. Mary Remde and her then-husband Richard, a fresco painter, are listed in the 1898 and 1899 City Directories at 1823 South 4th Street. The 1900 Census shows Mary Remde as being divorced.

The 1900 Census shows John Ware living with Mary Remde and her son Joseph at 1748 South 6th Street. He retired from the fire department in November of 1904 and moved to Westville. He was not listed in the 1906 City Directory. He last lived with his daughter in Audubon, New Jersey.

John Ware’s daughter, Mary E. Ware married Samuel B. Zigenfus, and gave birth to a grandson, Samuel B. Zigenfus Jr. in 1914 and a granddaughter, Margaret Ware Zigenfus, in 1917. John Ware was living with his daughter Mary Ware Zigenfus and her family at 138 Virginia Avenue in Audubon, New Jersey when the Census was taken in 1920. John Ware died on January 3, 1921.

Located in what was then Camden’s Eighth Ward, Engine Company 3 was organized on June 1, 1890 and entered service on the same date at 1813 Broadway, just south of Ferry Avenue in South Camden. Approval for the purchase of land for this firehouse and for that of the new Engine Company 4 had been granted on September 4, 1889. When first organized, Engine Company 3 consisted of a Foreman, an Engineer, a Driver, and two hosemen.

The first members of Engine Company 3 are as follows:

Annual salaries for the members of the paid force in 1869 were $600 for the Engineer, $450 for the Driver and the Stoker and $50 for the extra men. All but the extra men were paid monthly. The Chief Marshall received $800, and the Assistant Marshall $200 per year as well.

Fireman and His Housekeeper Made It Hot for the Officer

Sixteen of the Men Will Not Go on Duty Until July Next

Two Others to Fill Vacancies