Maurice Patrick Foley

MAURICE PATRICK FOLEY was born in Camden, New Jersey on May 23, 1880 to Irish-born parents, William and Rose Foley. He was their first child. The 1880 census shows them living at 7 Park Place in Camden. The 1900 Census shows him living at 12 Park Place, working as a teamster.

Maurice P. Foley married Martha I. Baird around 1905. The 1906 City Directory lists him as “Morris P. Foley, horseshoer, 26 North 5th Street,” with a residence at 517 Main Street. He would remain on this block through at least January of 1920.

The 1910 Census, his draft registration card from September of 1918, and the 1919 Camden City Directory show him living at 517 Main Street. These documents indicate that he worked in or around a stable, a teamster and as a blacksmith. Sadly, his wife Martha passed away on April 27, 1918 at the age of 37. Maurice Foley’s sister-in-law, Mrs. Elizabeth Day, lived with them from the late 1900s on, and Maurice Foley and Mrs. Day lived together as late as 1942.

By January of 1920 he had made the transition to automobiles. He was then living at 519 Main Street, and managing the garage located at 507 Main Street.

Not long after the 1920 Census was taken, Maurice P. Foley was appointed to the Camden Fire Department. The 1924 City Directory shows him working as a firefighter and living at 420 North 6th Street. The 1927 and 1929 editions both list him at 419 Trenton Avenue. He was still at that address in April of 1930 when the census was enumerated. By 1931 he and his sister-in-law had moved to 411 South Seventh Street. Maurice P. Foley was still employed by the Camden Fire Department as late as 1939. By the spring of 1942 he had retired.

Maurice P. Foley is not listed in the 1943 or 1947 Camden City Directories, however, Mrs. Day is listed in the 1947 edition at 411 South Seventh Street. This would seem to indicate that Maurice P. Foley passed away in 1942, at some point after his sixty-second birthday and after having registered for the draft.