Introduction
Taylor Avenue, known in earlier times as Taylor’s Avenue, was already laid out when Camden’s first City Directory was published in 1850. It ran from South Front Street to 8 Hudson Street, just south of Federal Street. There were a few businesses, most notable perhaps the ketchup factory of F.P. Lawson in the 1880s and 1890s, and the Kerby families’ bicycle factory, the Federal Manufacturing Company in the last century.
After World War I, Taylor Avenue acquired a “reputation,” as many ladies of the night were active there, especially in the 300 block. This went on for quite some time.
Around 1970 the City of Camden began acquiring much of the land on which Taylor Avenue lay, and the avenue has been for all intents and purposes off the map since the late 1970s. Most of the 300 block lies “underneath” the Camden County Jail and Hall of Justice. From South 4th Street to Hudson Street it is a parking lot. About the only evidence of Taylor Avenue in 2005 was the alley behind the Camden Free Public Library in the 300 block of Federal Street, which was originally the Public Service Gas & Electric Company building.
100 Block of Taylor Avenue — Occupants
City directory records, 1869–1898.
110 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887–1888 | Ellen Reed |
| 1887–1888 | William Reed |
| 1898 | James Guilford |
112 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1872–1873 | Henry Frost |
| 1878–1888 | John Fallan |
114 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887–1888 | Louis Bierle |
116 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887–1888 | Samuel L.J. Rodman |
| 1887–1888 | William S. Rodman |
117 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887–1888 | William Canning |
| — | William Canning |
| — | William H. Canning Jr. |
124 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887–1888 | John Bowers |
| 1887–1888 | Richard H. Bowers |
| 1889 | William McCann |
126 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887–1888 | William Bateman |
128 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1883–1888 | James McCann |
130 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1879–1882 | James McCann |
| 1887–1888 | George H. Hisler, laborer |
| 1887–1888 | George H. Hisler |
134 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1869 | Abram Lower |
James Guilford — Missing
Philadelphia Inquirer —
The police have been notified of the disappearance of James Guilford, of 110 Taylor avenue; an employe of Harper Brothers, of Tenth and Walnut streets, Philadelphia.
Attacked With a Butcher Knife
Philadelphia Inquirer —
William McCann, living at 124 Taylor avenue, came home intoxicated yesterday afternoon and immediately proceeded to drive the occupants of the house but into the street. All of the family obeyed his orders and retreated but his son Robert, who refused to go. This enraged the father so that he secured a butcher knife and made several slashes at his son without cutting him.
John Tweedy, a neighbor, heard the disturbance and rushed into the McCann domicile to quiet the melee. At the sight of Tweedy McCann ceased hostilities against his son and directed his attention to Tweedy. The result was that Tweedy was badly but not seriously cut on the forehead and cheek by the elder McCann.
Tweedy had his wounds dressed at the Cooper Hospital. Officer Harry Miller arrested McCann and locked him up in jail.
200 Block of Taylor Avenue — Occupants
City directory and census records, 1878–1954.
201 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887 | John Campbell |
205 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1880–1885 | Anson H. Kelly & Family |
| 1880–1885 | Anson H. & Katherine Mathews Kelley |
| 1880–1885 | Anson Kelley |
206 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
207 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
208 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
209 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1878 | William J. Maguire |
| 1902–1907 | Henry Whittington & Family (Henry & Cornelia, Harrison, Stanley, Charles, Mary, Laura) |
209½ Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
210 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1869 | John Durkin |
| 1910 | Mrs. Emma Thompson |
212 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
213 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
214 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1900s–1910s | Antonio Oliveto & Family |
| 1900s–1910s | Antonio & Maria Oliveto |
| 1900s–1910s | William Oliveto |
| 1900s–1910s | Felice Oliveto |
| 1900s–1910s | Anna Maria Oliveto |
| 1900s–1910s | Catherine Oliveto |
| 1900s–1910s | Dominick Oliveto |
| 1900s–1910s | Rose Oliveto |
| 1900s–1910s | Angelina Oliveto |
| 1900s–1910s | Lucy Oliveto |
| 1900s–1910s | Daniel Oliveto |
| 1956 | George Finney |
| 1956 | Rita Procacci |
215 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887–1888 | No listing in directory |
| 1888 | William Nefton |
216 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
218 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
222 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1949–1954 | Abraham Smalls (The Smalls Family) |
| 1949–1954 | Abraham Smalls |
226 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
227 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
228 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
229 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1894 | James McCann |
230 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1881–1884 | John Campbell |
| 1888–1889 | Ellen McLaughlin, laundry |
| 1888–1889 | John McLaughlin, laborer |
| 1928 | William Hill (alias William Dill) |
| 1928 | Henry Wilson |
231 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1890s–1910s | William P. Elberson |
233 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1930 | Raymond Campbell (Campbell's Tavern) |
| 1930 | Census |
Downtown Way
Camden Daily Courier —
A chimney flue fire in the dwelling at 208 Taylor avenue, caused slight damage and considerable commotion, late yesterday afternoon.
The funeral of Christopher Yeager, was held in the home in which he lived for many years, 1233 Jackson st., on Saturday afternoon. Interment was private in Evergreen. Yeager died Wednesday in his seventy-fifth year.
Many members of the parish enjoyed patronage of a homemade cake sale in the Guild House of St. John’s Episcopal church, Royden and Williams streets, on Saturday evening.
Detective Brothers Recovers Stolen Silverware
Philadelphia Inquirer —
Detective Brothers yesterday located in a Philadelphia pawnshop a quantity of silverware and other articles stolen from the home of Mrs. Emma Thompson, of 210 Taylor avenue.
Camden News
Philadelphia Inquirer —
Cooper Hospital Patients—Attachment of the Yacht Bonnie Doon.
The following persons were admitted to the Cooper Hospital yesterday: William Nefton, aged 32 years, living at No. 215 Taylor’s avenue, skull fractured while at work at the Camden Iron Works; James Whiteland, of No. 216 Channing Terrace, contused wound of the finger and hand; John Plum, aged 62 years, of No. 15 Fogarty street, contused wound of the wrist.
The talk around the Sheriff’s office and along the river front yesterday was the manner in which the “Bonnie Doon,” a yacht which was under attachment, issued by the Camden courts, against John Craig, at the instance of Joseph Campbell. Captain Stahr, who was watching the vessel, was taken suddenly ill on Monday night, and was compelled to get a young man to take his place. The watchman had not been off of the boat long before a tug steamed up along side of the Bonnie Doon, and after ordering the young man to go ashore in a small yawl, the seized craft was towed down the river. Telegrams have been sent out to all ports, asking that they look out for the runaway craft.
Hospital Cases
Camden Courier-Post —
Hospital Cases
COOPER
Clement DiGaetano, 39, of 216 Mt. Vernon st., cut left side of head. Anna Kropski, 68, 1737 S. 6th st., cut head. Rita Procacci, 40, of 1125 S. 3rd st., burns of right hand. George Finney, 41, of 214 Taylor ave., cut right side of chest. Willie Chestnut, 19, of 1210 S. 8th st., cut scalp. Betty Cohen, 15, of 428 State st., injured right hand. David Taylor, 47, of 743 Walnut st., injured left foot.
WEST JERSEY
Marie Stone, 15, of 316 Kaighns ave., swallowed a coin. Charlott Schmitz, 16, of 520 Vine st., possible fractured shoulder. Suzanne Schulman, 5, of Maple ave., Haddon Heights, cut forehead. Daniel Cook, 27, of 530 Front st., bruise of hand.
2 Camden Men Held for Chicken Stealing
Camden Courier-Post —
Charged with the theft of many chickens from Delaware township farmers, two Camden men were committed to the county jail last night in default of $2,000 bail each.
The men, William Hill, alias Dill, and Henry Wilson, both of 230 Taylor avenue, Camden, were apprehended by Delaware township police and arranged before Recorder Ashton D. Berry, in Ellisburg last night. They will be held awaiting action of the Grand Jury.
False Alarm Leads to Arrest of Three
Camden Courier-Post —
Girl Accused of Vagrancy When Found in Closet of House With Smoking Stove
A passerby who thought he saw a house afire on Taylor Avenue near Third street, turned in an alarm that brought four fire companies on a monkey run yesterday. It required more than five minutes to find the house reported a fire when the apparatus pulled up at the alarm box at Third and Federal streets.
Two policemen, Sergeant Nathan Petit and Marshall Thompson, who followed firemen to the scene were quicker than that for they found the house and a young woman hiding in the closet on the second floor. She was arrested along with a woman and a man.
Taken to police headquarters the young woman, who identified herself as Margaret Pone, 17, of Park Avenue, Maple Shade, was held on a charge of vagrancy.
Margaret Johns, and Louis Archer, 39, both Negroes, who were also found in the three-story dwelling at 230 Taylor Avenue, were also held as material witnesses.
The reported fire turned out to be the smoking stove.
William P. Elberson
William P. Elberson, 231 Taylor Avenue, 1890s–1910s.
300 Block of Taylor Avenue in 1885
300 Block of Taylor Avenue, 1885 map.
300 Block of Taylor Avenue — Occupants
City directory records, 1885–1947.
302 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887–1891 | William W. Thoman, hat manufacturer |
303 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1893–1907 | Mary Sines & Family |
304 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1933 | Jesse Brown |
| 1933 | John Hobbs |
| — | Jennie Worona |
306 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1898–1903 | Mary Sines |
| 1898–1903 | Harry Sines |
| 1899–1901 | John Milton Sines |
| 1928 | Camden Rescue Mission |
| 1898–1903 | ary Sines & Family |
307 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
309 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
311 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
313–315 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1947 | Federal Manufacturing Company, bicycles |
314 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1931 | Armstead Saunders |
316 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887–1888 | Jesse Sweeten |
317–324 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1885–1891 | F.P. Lawson, ketchup factory |
326 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887–1891 | Howard H. Currie & Family |
| 1887–1891 | Howard L. Currie |
326–328 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1914 | B.F. Schroeder & Sons warehouse |
327 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1889 | Louisa Rudolph |
| 1889 | Mrs. Louisa Rudolph |
328 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
329 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
| 1888–1889 | James F. Farnon |
Camden Man Stabbed, Assailant Is Caught
Camden Courier-Post —
Stabbed during a quarrel last night, Jesse Brown, 27, colored, of 304 Taylor avenue, is in a serious condition in Cooper Hospital suffering from cuts of the neck, left arm, forehead and face.
His alleged assailant, John Hobbs, 23, colored, of 1603 North Randolph street, Philadelphia, was arrested on Camden bridge a few minutes later.
Brown was cut outside his home and staggered into the First District police station. Bridge police were notified to seek his assailant. A moment before Jennie Worona of 208 Burns street had told bridge police a man had thrown a knife away on the Fifth street pedestrian underpass. Hobbs was arrested on the bridge by Bridge Policemen John Curry and Thomas Keely.
Sines
Public Ledger —
SINES.—Suddenly, on May 1, 1898, Harry Sines, son of the late Harry and Elizabeth Sines, nee Werner, aged 22 years, 4 months and 28 days. The relatives and friends of the family, also the employes of Baldwin Locomotive Works, are respectfully invited to attend the funeral services, on Wednesday afternoon, May 4, 1898, at 2 o’clock, from the residence of his grandmother, Mrs. Mary Sines, 306 Taylor avenue, Camden, N. J. Interment at Bethel Cemetery. Remains can be viewed on Tuesday evening.
Sines
Public Ledger —
SINES.—March 23, 1903. Mrs. Mary Sines nee Wasburn. Relatives and friends of family are invited to attend funeral services. Thursday afternoon, March 26, 2 o’clock, at family residence, 306 Taylor ave., Camden, N J. Interment private. Bethel Cemetery.
Hotel Holdup Denied By 3 On Witness Stand
Camden Evening Courier —
Alleged Bandits Tell Jury They Were Gambling at Time of Robbery
Waterhouse in Clash With State’s Attorney
Defendant Says Money Found in Taxi Had Been Won in Gloucester
Three Camden men on trial on charges of holding up the night clerk and elevator operator of the Hotel Camden November 21, and robbing them of $67.43, went on the stand in their own defense today and made a complete denial.
They are Rollie Waterhouse, 19, of 422 Mechanic street; Joseph McKenna, 29, of 550 Lansdowne avenue; and Ralph Endt, 23, of 1161 Van Hook street. Under direct examination by their counsel, Samuel P. Orlando, and in cross examination by Prosecutor Baldwin, they presented an alibi in which they said they had been gambling in Gloucester at or about the time of the holdup.
Waterhouse and the prosecutor clashed while the former took the stand as the first defense witness. It was after Waterhouse had retraced his movements of the morning of the holdup that Prosecutor Baldwin started to delve further into Waterhouse’s affairs.
Under cross examination, Waterhouse admitted that he hasn’t worked for a year. He stated he lived with a sister.
“Where do you get the money with which to gamble?” asked Baldwin.
“From my brother.”
Then, after Waterhouse averred he had left Gloucester for Camden between 5 and 5.30 a.m., “just at dawn,” Baldwin asked him if he knew that on that particular morning the sun rose at 6.51 a.m.
“I don’t know anything about the sun rising,” replied Waterhouse. “It was just beginning to become daylight.”
Then Baldwin questioned him closely about a gambling den which Waterhouse said he had visited with McKenna and Endt early that morning.
He averred he did not know the name of the proprietor nor its exact address, except that it was on Jersey avenue between Seventh and Eighth streets, Gloucester. He didn’t know the names of any of the other men there, except there was an “Ed,” “Quirt” and “John.”
“Would you be willing to point out this house to the prosecutor if he went down there with you this afternoon?” asked Orlando.
“Yes.”
Refuses to Make Complaint
“If you showed it to me, would you be willing to sign a complaint against the proprietor?” pressed Baldwin.
“No. Why should I?” asked Waterhouse.
Waterhouse, in direct examination, testified that he and his two companions had gone to the private house in Gloucester and played dice. He said he won some money, and the three walked to Broadway at about 5.30 a.m., where they got a “hop” to Camden with a motorist whom they did not know. They alighted at Broadway and Federal streets, and decided to go to a Turkish bathhouse at Twelfth and Federal streets in Philadelphia. They went to Broadway and Cooper street, where they called a cab.
In the cab, Waterhouse said, he took out his winnings and started to count them in order to split with his companions. He referred to his friends as “Mr. Endt” and “Mr. McKenna.” He had the money in his hands when the cab was stopped by bridge police. He placed it on the seat. Under cross-examination, he said he did not know how the money came to be found under the seat. He said he might have had a P.R.T. token, as he sometimes used the tokens in Philadelphia. A token was in the loot stolen from the hotel.
He then told how the night clerk could not identify him or McKenna, and hesitated before identifying Endt, finally saying to the latter that “if it wasn’t you, it was your twin brother.” When questioned how he had happened to have a paper roll of five-cent pieces, Waterhouse said some of the money he had won was paid to him in that form. His winnings, he said, comprised one-dollar bills and change, and he had counted up to $50 when the bridge cops appeared.
Waterhouse was a state’s witness at the trial of Albert Saunders, who was acquitted of the murder of Angelo Solury, U.S. sailor slain in the Little Club, a Mount Vernon street speakeasy, last June. At that time it was not the state but the defense which brought out that Waterhouse to all appearances was a “man about town,” in that he did not work for a living.
At Saunders’ trial, Saunders and two other defense witnesses flatly accused Waterhouse of the Solury murder. When the jury exonerated Waterhouse, Prosecutor Baldwin was asked if Waterhouse would be arrested. The prosecutor averred that the “case is closed.” A short time later Waterhouse was arrested in the hotel holdup and was also identified as the “gunman” in a Paulsboro gas station holdup. McKenna and Endt had also been held as material witnesses in the Solury murder, but were not called upon to testify by the state.
Defense Motions Denied
The state rested at 10.37 a.m., and then Judge Shay denied two motions by Orlando for a directed verdict of acquittal. Orlando first moved for acquittal of McKenna and Waterhouse.
Orlando held that the state had failed to identify Waterhouse and McKenna with the holdup, and that the fact they were arrested less than an hour after the holdup with Endt in a taxicab in which $67.83 was found under the seat, was purely circumstantial evidence occurring after the holdup. Defense counsel also pointed out that while Harry A. Auman, the clerk, had identified Endt as one of three bandits, he failed to identify Waterhouse and McKenna, and had even refused to sign a complaint against them in police court.
Second Motion Denied
When Judge Shay dismissed the motion on the ground that there was enough evidence to permit the case to go to the jury, Orlando then moved for a verdict of acquittal for all three defendants. He said the joint indictment against them charges “robbery by force and putting in fear,” and that the state had failed to prove the elements of robbery, that any violence was used or that Auman was put in fear.
Judge Shay denied the second motion, averring that the hotel lobby was dark, and one of the bandits placed something, a finger or a weapon, against Auman.
“If I were in his position, I would be frightened under those circumstances regardless of whether it was a gun or not, especially since it was too dark to determine this,” stated Judge Shay.
The state today moved to spike what had appeared to be the foundation of a defense alibi. Yesterday, Edward Schreyer, 124 North Tenth street, driver of the taxicab in which the three were arrested, testified that at 5.25 p.m., he had picked up three fares at the Pennsauken police station and taken them to Camden. A short time later, he picked up Waterhouse, McKenna and Endt at Broadway and Cooper street.
This was brought out under cross-examination by Orlando, and it indicated the defense might contend that the money might have been placed under the seat by the previous fares.
Three Fares Called
Today the state called the three fares, James McGinnis, 1115 Federal street; Joseph Dent, 318 Taylor avenue, and his brother, Walter Dent. They averred they had been playing cards at a friend’s house the preceding night and were speeding on Crescent boulevard when their car overturned near Central Airport. They were either at Cooper Hospital or at the Pennsauken police headquarters between 1.30 a.m. and 5.25 a.m. They said they had not been playing for money and had little cash.
Two Pennsauken policemen, Fred Weyman and James Hoff, corroborated their testimony insofar as their whereabouts at the time of the holdup. Sergeant Michael Bachmayer, of the Camden Bridge police, the last state’s witness, described how two bridge cops chased Schreyer’s cab on the bridge and overtook it to arrest the three suspects.
Warrant Sought Over $150 Taken From Camden Woman
Philadelphia Inquirer —
Mrs. Louisa Rudolph, of 327 Taylor avenue, Camden, applied to Justice Cassady yesterday for a warrant for the arrest of Lewis Rively, who she claims robbed her of her hard earnings, amounting to $150. Mr. Rudolph is frequently away from home. During his absence Rively has been paying marked attention to her. He gained her confidence and then skipped off with nearly all she possessed in this world.
Intersection of South 4th Street & Taylor Avenue — 1885
Intersection of South 4th Street & Taylor Avenue, and 400 Block of Taylor Avenue, 1885 maps. Eighteen houses in the 400 block were destroyed by fire on May 13, 1900.
400 Block of Taylor Avenue — Occupants
City directory records, 1871–1952.
401 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
402 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
403 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1876–1899 | James Read & Family |
| 1876–1899 | James & Emily Read |
| 1876–1899 | Walter F. Read |
| 1876–1899 | Frank F. Read |
404 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
406 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1888–1891 | Dressmakers |
| 1906–1922 | John Kleinfelder & Family |
| 1906–1922 | John & Julia Kleinfelder |
| 1906–1922 | Harry Kleinfelder |
408 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1920s–1950 | Michael F. Kelly |
410 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1907 | Michael Kelly (killed by falling steel girder) |
| 1907 | Michael Kelly |
412 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1952 | Mrs. Lillian Simons |
414 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887–1890 | George W. Priest, riggers |
| 1894 | John A. Horne |
416 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | Staff Sergeant Robert C. Redding (World War II) |
418 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
420 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1888 | John Carrigan Family |
| 1938 | Thomas J. Owens |
| — | Martin B. Carrigan |
421 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | No information available |
422 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1899–1910 | John H. Lutts |
424 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1871–1874 | William H. Osler |
| 1871–1874 | William H. & Rebecca Osler |
| 1890–1894 | Frederick Himmelein Jr. & Family |
| 1890–1894 | Frederick & Minnie Himmelein |
| 1890–1894 | Minnie Himmelein |
| 1890–1894 | Frederick Elwood Himmelein |
| 1890–1894 | Lillian Himmelein |
425 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | Gone by 1947 |
426 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | Gone by 1947 |
427 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | Gone by 1947 |
428 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | Gone by 1947 |
Funerals of Anderson and Kelly
Philadelphia Inquirer —
The funerals of Albert Anderson of Rosedale, Atlantic county, and Michael Kelly of 410 Taylor avenue, Camden, who were killed by the falling of a steel girder Wednesday, took place yesterday. The body of the former was interred in Calvary Cemetery, Philadelphia, and the latter in Evergreen Cemetery, of Camden.
John A. Horne — Sympathy Notice
Camden Daily Courier —
Mr. and Mrs. John A. Horne have the sympathy of their friends in the loss of their eight months’ old son, John W. A., who died yesterday. The funeral will take place from his parents’ residence, 414 Taylor avenue, to-morrow.
Robert C. Redding
Staff Sergeant Robert C. Redding, World War II, 416 Taylor Avenue.
Hospital Cases
Camden Courier-Post —
Hospital Cases
COOPER
Lewis Raupp, 53, 833 North 6th Street, dog bite of right index finger. Anna Veroline, 34, 318 Walnut Street, sprained ankle. Albert Passarella, 15, 433 Spruce Street, sprained ankle. Thomas J. Owens, 35, 420 Taylor Ave., bruised wrist and knee. Joseph Manfredi, 14, 335 Chestnut Street, infected palm. Margaret Cramer, 9, 323 Erie Street, infected finger. Laurence Wiggle, 5, 505 South 6th Street, cut hand. Joseph Carbone, 18, 336 Walnut Street, cut chin. Thomas DiRenzo, 13, 522 Clinton St., splinter in left foot. Cecelia Homan, 32, 511 Ray Avenue, foreign body in eye. Mary DiVincenzo, 10, 311 Beckett St., foreign body in eye.
WEST JERSEY
Theresa Marolda, 59, 1713 South 4th Street, cut finger. Benjamin Druasowictz, 34, 1282 Van Hook St., cut finger. Charles Mangold, 52, 3 North 4th Street, cut finger. Stanley Kaminski, 25, 1119 Liberty Street, cut hand. Marie Birsch, 15, 697 Van Hook St., foreign particle in eye. Willard Dickson, 3, 1739 Railroad Ave., puncture wound of thigh.
John H. Lutts
John H. Lutts, 422 Taylor Avenue, 1899–1910.
Murphy and Pedigree To End Long Service With Camden Police
Camden Courier-Post —
Veterans at City Hall, Lauded by Superiors, Will Be Among 13 Cops and Firemen to Go on Pension Before First of Year
By William A. Gaffney
Sergeant Thomas J. Murphy, one of Camden’s best known and most efficient policemen, and Joseph “Si” Pedigree, police switchboard operator, are among the 13 members of the police and fire departments who have already retired from active duty on pension, or are to accept half-salary on retirement before the first of the year.
Nine men have turned in their “tools” within the past month and four other applications have been approved and will become effective in the next two months. Two other vacancies left by the deaths of Deputy Chief William W. Patterson and Policeman Fred Schaar, will make the entire number of the two departments 15 men less on January 1, 1933. None of the vacancies will be filled, according to Mayor Roy R. Stewart.
Although the actual reasons for the large number of men retiring is not known, it is reported through the police and fire departments that the men are anxious to have their applications approved before a rumored 5 percent pay cut is ordered.
Murphy Praised
Sergeant Murphy’s pension will become effective December 30. Both Acting Chief of Police John W. Golden and Captain Arthur Colsey, chief clerk of the police department, expressed regret at the veteran officer’s decision.
“Sergeant Murphy is one of the most efficient officers we have ever had in the police department,” the two officials said. “He is well-versed in the law and for many years has handled his position as desk sergeant at police headquarters with unerring judgment.”
He is 65 years old and resides at 545 Vine street. He was appointed on August 13, 1902. His son, Thomas J. Murphy, Jr., is also a policeman and is now covering the “beat” his father “worked” years ago.
Pedigree entered the city service as a fireman in 1900 and served in that department. He is also 65 and lives at 49 South Twenty-seventh street. He has worked on Sergeant Murphy’s shift as operator for the past 10 years.
Chief Pensioned
The pensioners’ list is headed by Thomas J. Nichols, chief of the fire department, whose application to retire will become effective on Dec. 1. He was appointed a fireman on Dec. 1, 1900, and will receive $163.30 each month.
Capt. Daniel W. Leach, also of the fire department, was pensioned on Sept. 15 at a monthly salary of $93.10. He is 68 and lives at 624 Bailey street. He was appointed Jan. 1, 1908.
Enginemen Harry V. Hankins and James McDermott also recently accepted pensions and will receive $83.30 each month. Hankins is 56 and lives at 424 Taylor avenue. He was appointed Jan. 1, 1908. McDermott is 64 and lives at 23 North Twenty-eighth street. He was appointed in 1906. Both men left the fire department Oct. 1.
Fireman Joseph T. Johnson, 60, of 1433 South Tenth street, who was appointed March 1, 1900, will retire on Dec. 1 at $83.30 a month.
Horner to Retire
Sergeant William C. Horner, of the police department, a member for 33 years, tops the list of veterans to bid adieu to the trials and troubles of a policeman. He will receive $90.65 a month.
Horner is well known in East Camden. He has worked nearly all of his 33 years as an officer in the third district and commanded that section for several years. He recently was made desk-sergeant at police headquarters and decided to “take the pension” after spending several months “booking” prisoners. He is 6[?] and lives at 2129 Forty-third street. His pension was granted and made effective Sept. 15.
Policeman Harry Bakely, 60, of 918 State street, a policeman for 24 years; Irving Varley, 56, of 1703 South Fourth street, a policeman for 25 years, and James M. Ellis, 52, of 776 Walnut street, a fireman for four years and a policeman for 17, all have accepted pensions effective Oct. 1.
Policemen William Bryant, 51, of 228 Cedar avenue, Woodlynne, and Samuel Hibbert, 55, of 730 Market street, will cease their official duties on Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, respectively. Bryant was appointed Jan. 1, 1908, and Hibbert July 10, 1911. All of the policemen retiring will receive $83.30 a month.
May Not Be Replaced
When asked if the men leaving the service would be replaced, Mayor Stewart said they would not.
“I don’t know what I will do later on,” the mayor said, “but as far as I know now, these men’s places in the police and fire departments will not be filled.
“I feel that under present conditions, the men now policing the city can do it almost as efficiently as with the added number, that is if we do not have any outbreaks of crime.
“Chief Nicholas will be replaced by an acting chief whose salary will not be advanced.”
500 Block of Taylor Avenue in 1885
500 Block of Taylor Avenue, 1885 maps. Numbers 509 to 523 Taylor Avenue were destroyed by fire on May 13, 1900.
500 Block of Taylor Avenue — Occupants
City directory records, 1870–1952.
500–510 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887 | Samuel W. Davis, livery |
| 1888–1889 | John Seagraves, livery |
| 1890–1891 | William T. Stanton |
| — | Gone by 1947 |
511 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1893 | John Fitzgerald |
| 1923 | No listing in directory |
| 1947 | Gone |
| — | Gone by 1947 |
512 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | Gone by 1947 |
513 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1895–1952 | John A. Wilson & Family — Engineer, Pennsylvania Railroad (John A. & Katie Zechman Wilson; Paul, Esther, Mary, Andrew, John, William, Walter Wilson) |
| 1895–1952 | John A. & Katie Zechman Wilson |
| 1895–1952 | Paul Wilson |
| 1895–1952 | Esther Wilson |
| 1895–1952 | Mary Wilson |
| 1895–1952 | Andrew Wilson |
| 1895–1952 | John Wilson |
| 1895–1952 | William Wilson |
| 1895–1952 | Walter Wilson |
514 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | Gone by 1947 |
515 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1885–1888 | James Lennox & Family |
| 1885–1888 | James & Katherine Lennox |
| 1885–1888 | John H. Lennox |
| 1885–1888 | William Lennox |
| 1885–1888 | J. Edgar Lennox |
| 1885–1888 | Edward Lennox |
| 1885–1888 | Maggie Lennox |
| 1885–1888 | Samuel Lennox |
| 1885–1888 | Harry Lennox |
| 1885–1888 | Hugh Lennox |
| 1885–1888 | Mary Lennox |
| 1885–1888 | Robert Lennox |
| 1932 | Thomas Fleeyne & Margaret Fleeyne |
| 1932 | John Kershaw |
| — | Gone by 1947 |
516 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1885–1889 | James Dunn, saloon |
| 1890–1891 | Cecelia Dunn, saloon |
| 1904 | Mary Dunn, saloon |
| — | Gone by 1947 |
517 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1888–1889 | Mary Foley, grocery |
| — | Gone by 1947 |
519 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | Gone by 1947 |
521 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | Gone by 1947 |
523 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1887–1888 | Stephen Wallace, grocery |
| 1890–1891 | Ann Wallace, grocery (widow of Stephen) |
| — | Gone by 1947 |
525 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1870 | Mary Jane Cox |
| 1885–1888 | Peter Quinn, carpet weaver shop |
| — | Gone by 1947 |
526 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | Gone by 1947 |
527 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | Gone by 1947 |
528 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1910–1916 | Harry Maher & Family (Harry & Theresa, Margaret, Helen, Charles) |
529 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| — | Gone by 1947 |
531 Taylor Avenue
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1884 | Isaiah Collins |
| — | Gone by 1947 |
Camden News Condensed
Philadelphia Inquirer —
John Fitzgerald, 43 years old, has been missing from his home, 511 Taylor avenue, since last Thursday.
September 28 has been fixed as the date for the Republican Senatorial and Sheriff’s conventions. Delegates will be nominated on the 18th and elected on the 25th.
Edward Selab, a West Jersey Railroad brakeman, was seriously injured while coupling cars at Glassboro. He was brought to his home, 203 Pearl street.
Policy Sentencing
Camden Post —
Walter Garwood, Harriett Smith, William Parker and Washington Ketline, were then called up for sentence for policy writing.
Harry S. Scovel plead for leniency in the cases of Garwood, Parker and Mrs. Smith.
Garwood, he said, had never before been convicted. Neither had Parker. In the latter’s case the jury disagreed and Parker then plead guilty. In the case of Harriet Smith Mr. Scovel said that though she had previously been convicted she was a widow depending entirely on her own efforts for her support. She had plead non vult contendre [sic] and as Mr. Scovel thought a woman ought to go to State Prison only on serious crimes he plead for mercy for his client.
The Court was by no means inclined to be lenient, however.
Judge Vroom sentenced Garwood and Ketline to one year each at hard labor and $100 fine, while Mrs. Smith and Parker were each sentenced to one year in State Prison.
In sentencing the defendants, Judge Vroom said, the Court had decided to break up policy dealing in this city.
Lawyer J. J. Crandall, for Washington Ketline, then came before the court with a writ of error. Pending the writ the court decided to hold Ketline in $1000 bail.
Joseph Swing, who said he owned the house No. 509 Taylor avenue, valued at $1000 and upon which there is a $[?]00 mortgage, and John Cochran, who swore he owned property at 243 Pine street, appeared as bondsmen, but the court refused to accept them.
Lawyer Crandall said he had another in reserve, but he had not appeared with the other bondsman when court adjourned.
Police Raid House
Camden Courier-Post —
Taylor Avenue Man Sent to Jail for 50 Days When Unable to Pay $50 Fine
Thomas Fleeyne, 54, of 515 Taylor Avenue, who was arrested when police raided his home, was sent to jail for 50 days in default of a $50 fine Saturday by Police Judge Pancoast. Fleeyne entered a plea of guilty to permitting disorderly persons to congregate at his home. He said he had been without work since coming to Camden.
Fleeyne’s wife, Margaret, 42, was unable to appear in court on account of illness, and her $25 bond was returned; Josephine Lorento, 30, of 350 Tree Street, Philadelphia, also held as a material witness, was freed when she said she had visited the house to see Mrs. Fleeyne,
Michael Bratses, 49, of 210 Market street, and Thomas Kretekos, 48, of 529 South Broad street, Philadelphia, were fined $25 each as inmates. John Kershaw, 32, of 515 Taylor Avenue, forfeited $25 bail when he failed to appear. The raid was made by Lieutenant George Ward, commander of the First district police, and Patrolman John Trout, on complaint made by Dominick Madden, 46, of 455 Haddon Avenue.
Serious Charge
Philadelphia Inquirer —
SERIOUS CHARGE.—Yesterday afternoon, a man named Aaron Fowler, was arrested on complaint of Mary Jane Cox, who resides at No. 525 Taylor’s avenue, on a charge of having attempted to poison her children. He gave them something he said was molasses candy, of which two ate quite freely, and one a small quantity. They are all lying dangerously ill from the effects of it. Fowler was committed to await the result.
Cases Treated at the Homeopathic
Camden Daily Courier —
James Keenan, aged 48 years, of 426 Williams street, tripped and sprained a knee.
William Hornsy, aged 12 years, of 328 Mickle street, injury of chin.
Helene Mayor, aged 6 years, of 528 Taylor avenue, dog bite of right wrist.
Ella Matis, aged 27 years, of 199 Broadway, foreign body removed from right eye.
Rocco Giordani, aged 2 years, of 813 Clare street, lacarated [sic] scalp, from being hit by a bike.
Frank Jones, aged 3 years, of 607 Avon street, stone removed from left nostril.
Boys Playing With Matches Started a Big Fire
Philadelphia Inquirer —
FLAMES’ WILD LEAP
Three Blocks Were Burning, When Aid Was Summoned From Philadelphia
4 ENGINES RESPONDED
Quaker City Fire Fighters Mastered the Foe and Were Heartily Cheered
ESTIMATED LOSS $225,000
Children playing with matches started a conflagration in Camden yesterday afternoon that destroyed nearly half a hundred buildings, rendered about forty families homeless and caused the destruction of $225,000 worth of property. It was the biggest fire in the history of the city and for a time threatened the destruction of several blocks of buildings in the heart of the city. So rapidly did the fire spread that the local Fire Department was unable to cope with the flames and called on Philadelphia for aid. Chief Baxter sent four engine companies across the river and it was due to their valiant efforts that the fire was mastered, and the block bounded by Federal and Fifth streets and Broadway and Hudson street was saved from destruction.
The flames started about 3 o’clock in the rear of the Market House, the south side of Federal street, between Fourth and Fifth streets. Arthur Rose, 6 years old, of 325 Taylor avenue, and Thomas Pinkerton, 3 years old, of 408 Taylor avenue, were playing in the rear of the market house, which extended through to Taylor avenue. The Delaware and Atlantic Telegraph and Telephone Company used the rear half of the building as a storage house for valuable electrical appliances, telephones, batteries, etc. Just outside the building were piled up 300 wooden cross arms for electric poles.
Fun for the Boys
The lads had some matches and set fire to a string hanging out of a barrel filled with excelsior. Then they stepped back and clapped their hands in childish glee as they saw the fire creep slowly up the string. In a moment the excelsior had caught fire and the barrel burst into flame setting fire to the pile of cross arms and some equally inflammable material inside the market house.
The children, trembling with fear when they saw the result of their playful deed, ran to their homes. Young Pinkerton rushed into his house, directly across the street, and told his father, William Pinkerton, that the market house was on fire. But a square away, at Fifth and Arch streets, is the headquarters of the Camden Fire Department. It took Pinkerton but a minute or two to run there and give the alarm. This was at 3:05 o’clock.
As quickly as possible the firemen responded. So rapidly did the flames spread that by the time the firemen reached the burning building the market house, with a frontage of about 100 feet on Federal street and extending through to Taylor avenue, was like a roaring furnace. The building had a high, oval roof. Fanned by a strong westerly breeze, the flames rushed through the shell like building and began to spread on both sides. The flames also leaped across Taylor avenue, a fifteen-foot thoroughfare, and began to gut a row of fifteen two-story brick and frame buildings on the south side.
As soon as Chief Elfreth arrived on the scene he saw that he had a desperate battle before him. Alarm after alarm was sent in quick succession, until every piece of fire apparatus and every fireman in the city was summoned to the scene. This force included four combined engine and hose companies, three additional hose companies from the East Side and South Camden, two chemical engine companies and two hook-and-ladder truck companies. Then the big extra engine kept at fire headquarters for emergency purposes was brought out and pressed into service. Scores of old volunteer firemen lent a hand with the hose, and the entire police force was called out.
Still the flames could not be gotten under control, and continued to spread. Within fifteen minutes after the firemen arrived on the scene the roof of the market house fell with a roar that could be heard for squares.
Now the fire took a great leap and assumed the proportions of a conflagration. The westerly breeze had carried a shower of sparks up Taylor avenue, and, jumping Fifth street and Samuel Davis’ livery stable, on the west side, they set fire to the roof of Joseph Swing’s house, at 509 Taylor avenue. The dwelling was soon in a fierce blaze and the flames extended to the rear of the wholesale drug and patent medicine store of William Cowgill, at 518 Federal street.
By this time it was seen that the entire block of business houses and dwellings on Federal street east of Fifth was in danger. The local firemen had all they could do to cope with the flames in the lower block, as the fire had leaped across Federal street to the roofs and fronts of several buildings on the north side. Aid was needed, and Chief of Police Foster, at 4:20 o’clock, telephoned to the Electrical Bureau in Philadelphia. Word was telegraphed to Chief Baxter, of the Fire Department, and although he had just subdued a big blaze in his own city and many of his men were still at work, the Chief promptly dispatched Engine Companies Nos. 6, 21, 22 and 43 to Camden, in charge of Assistant Chief Edward A. Waters.
Philadelphia to the Rescue
Too much credit cannot be given the Philadelphia firemen for the work they did, as it was due entirely to their efforts that the block above Fifth street was saved. As the Quaker City fire companies dashed up Federal street they were greeted with cheers from the crowd of spectators that drowned the roar of the flames. The engines were quickly put in service and streams were turned on the blazing Cowgill store, which was then nothing but a shell. The fire in the rear had destroyed the dwelling houses, Nos. 509-11-13-15-17-19-21-23 Taylor avenue, and Nos. 516 and 520-22 Federal street were gutted.
Foreman George Hood, of Engine Company No. 6, of Philadelphia, in trying to escape from a falling roof while fighting the flames in William Grosscup’s house, at 510 Federal street, ran outside and collided with a hitching post with such force as to break one of his ribs. Twelve members of the Camden Emergency Medical and Surgical Corps, with Doctor H. H. Davis at their head, were present. After examining Foreman Hood, they sent him to Cooper Hospital. The Emergency Corps also rendered aid to a man who went into convulsions over the excitement of seeing his house burning and to Mrs. James Morris, of No. 1 South Fifth street, who ran a nail through her foot.
Fire’s Wild Sweep
With the addition of the Philadelphia fire fighters to their force the Camden firemen tackled the fire with renewed energy and soon the streams from the nine engines got the mastery of the flames. Then it was merely a matter of drowning out the blazes in detail. The wide swath cut by the flames may be judged from the fact that 47 buildings were destroyed or badly damaged, and the fire’s ravages extended to four blocks.
The market house, on Federal street, above Fourth, was burned to the ground only the front wall being left standing. The old postoffice building on the east was gutted and M. S. Irvin’s grocery store and dwelling adjoining was badly damaged. On the west of the market house B. F. Sutton & Sons jewelry store and dwelling and Barber Charles Williams’ residence, at 412 and 410 Federal street, were damaged in the upper stories. The flames burned the fronts and roofs of Nos. 415 to 423 Federal street, on the north side. On Taylor avenue a row of thirteen brick and two frame houses on the south side and Nos. 403 and 427-29 on the north side were gutted. Houses Nos. 1 to 15, on the west side of South Fifth street, burned out in the rear and the roofs were destroyed. Cowgill’s drug store, at 518 Federal street, was burned to the ground, and Nos. 514, 516, 520 and 522 were gutted. On Taylor avenue, above Fifth street, Nos. 519-11-13 were destroyed, nothing but the brick chimneys being left standing. The fire gutted Nos. 515 to 523. The roof of the wholesale and retail drug store of George M. Beringer, northeast corner of Fifth and Arch streets, caught fire, but the flames were quickly extinguished. The building is filled with chemicals and valuable drugs.
The residents along Taylor avenue are of the poorer class and they made desperate efforts to save their possessions. Furniture was carried out and piled promiscuously in a heap on Fifth street. Much of it is so badly damaged that it is useless.
Plenty of Water
There was a scarcity of water when all the engines first started to work on the fire, but this was quickly remedied by Chief of the Water Department F. Walter Toms telephoning to the Pavonia Pumping Station and having the five-million gallon emergency pump put to work sucking water from the Delaware River and adding it to the artesian well supply. When the Philadelphia firemen found they had a pressure of from 100 to 139 pounds from a 10-inch main with five other engines taking a supply from the same source they declared they would like to have an equal force at some of the fires in their city.
The flames were gotten under control about 5:45 o’clock and shortly after 7 o’clock, after they had rendered all the service possible, the Philadelphia firemen returned across the river. They were greeted with rousing cheers as they drove back to the ferry. Camden Lodge of Elks, at Broadway and Federal streets, kept open house for the firemen and the restaurants of Edward Foster and S. B. Morris furnished food to the firemen without cost.
THIEVES AT WORK.
Sneak thieves took advantage of the flight of those whose homes were being burned out and began to pillage the houses of valuables under the guise of carrying furniture out to places of safety. Mrs. Robert Wible, of No. 3 South Fifth street, reported to the police that a gold watch and three gold rings were stolen from her house. Several articles of value were carried off from other houses, but the owners could not tell what was missing until they got their goods straighten out from the pile in which they were thrown.
Policeman Toy caught a man who is said to have taken a pocketbook out of Charles Foulon’s residence, at 524 Federal street. He was locked up and gave the name of Harry A. Miller, of 235 Berkley street.
When Chief of Police Foster telephoned to Philadelphia for assistance Superintendent Quirk generously offered to send a squad of policemen across the river to help the Camden blue coats protect property. While appreciating the offer Chief Foster thought the Camden policemen would be able to handle the situation.
After the flames were gotten under control Post 5, G. A. R. Hall, at Fifth street and Taylor avenue, and the old armory building, at West and Bridge avenue, were placed at the disposal of the homeless. Kind neighbors provided temporary quarters for the little ones.
During the services in North Baptist Church last evening a collection was taken for the fire sufferers that netted $110.89. John W. Cheney, C. W. Nichols and F. W. Potter were appointed a committee to distribute the money. Additional subscriptions will be received by the New Jersey Trust and Safe Deposit Company, at Third and Market streets, where Mr. Potter is paying teller.
The fire was so hot that the first line of hose run down Taylor street was burned up before a stream of water could be sent through it. The boys who started the fire were parolled by the police in the custody of their parents. Each lad accused the other of applying the match to the string.
Burglary Victims Recover $4360 In Stolen Goods
Camden Courier-Post —
Display at City Hall Rivals Oriental Bazaar In Variety Shown
Loot valued at $4360 by detectives was returned to its owners in detective headquarters in city hall Tuesday night.
Headquarters resembled an Oriental bazaar as the stolen articles were spread over seven tables, two large desks, and hung on clothing racks.
Detectives are holding George Wilmer, 30, of 521 Liberty street, a parolee, whom they suspect of being Camden’s daytime “phantom burglar” who has been plaguing the department for the last three months. To date police say they have charged Wilmer with 29 counts of breaking and entering and two counts of attempting to break and enter.
Captain of Detectives Thomas Murphy said that Tuesday night’s display was only a portion of the loot and that police believe Wilmer pawned a quantity of the goods in Philadelphia. They also suspect he sold some to secondhand and antique dealers, Murphy said.
The display that met the claimants when they went to headquarters looked like a mail order catalog come to life. There were women’s dresses, men’s suits and top coats, several types of radios, an oil space heater, binoculars, cameras; costume jewelry, empty wallets and even a clothes chest with the clothing still in it.
Missing from the collection were two parakeets which detectives returned to their owner Thursday because—unlike the other items—the birds had to be fed.
Assisting Capt. Murphy in the identification and return of the stolen items were: Detective Sergeants Earl Quinton, William Neal, William Kelly and Clifford Carr, and Detectives William O’Brien, John Huston, August Pfleiderer, George Ellis and Marshall Thompson.
Crowd Views Articles
According to Capt. Murphy the claimants, their addresses, the stolen objects and their estimated value are:
Mrs. Waid Young, 526 Washington street, electric sewing machine, woman’s jewelry, $358; Miss Catherine Sparks, 110 South Fourth street, table model radio, $19; Mrs. Ethel Kelly, 1068 Princess avenue, jewelry, $155; Mrs. Leo Jekel, 548 Haddon avenue, table model radio, portable typewriter, woman’s ring, $85; William Snyder, 1304 Park boulevard, table model radio, $55; Milfred Layser, 416 Chambers avenue, carpenter’s tools, a dress coat, $175; James Glennon, 802 Mt. Ephraim avenue, jewelry, $300; Mrs. Williams Cogswell, 914 Linden street, clothing and jewelry, $1242.50.
Mrs. Lena Bruns, 772 Line street, metal clothes chest with clothes, tool chest, jewelry, $125; Mrs. Anna Halliwell, 870 Haddon avenue, foreign money, no value given; Mrs. Martha Oehlert, 643 Mt. Vernon street, oil space heater, jewelry, $138; Mrs. William J. McCaffrey, 1030 Spruce street, antique clock, $400; Mrs. Lillian Simons, 412 Taylor avenue, clothing and jewelry, $20.
Veteran Boxers’ association, 868 Mt. Ephraim avenue, record player, amplifier and recorder, $100; John McNutt, 1620 Ferry avenue, jewelry and clothing, $300; Romeo Simonelli, 404 Haddon avenue, men’s and women’s clothing, $94; Mrs. Theresa Auletto, 929 South Third street, jewels, $405; Mrs. Vera Doughton, 1023 South Sixth street, table model radio, $16; Emidio Giorgi, 1353 Princess avenue, clarinet and man’s suit, $125.
Notes from Camden
Philadelphia Inquirer —
The dog catcher’s season ends in Camden to-day. Since June 500 dogs were corraled and executed by deadly prussic acid.
Hugh Morgan, an aged and well-known liquor dealer of the Eighth ward, died on Wednesday from a complication of diseases. Deceased was noted for his deeds of charity.
Camden base ball enthusiasts receive the score at Fifth and Taylor avenue by carrier pigeons liberated at the Philadelphia League grounds with the results by innings fastened under their wings.
The Ladies’ Base Ball Club was defeated by the Camden Club yesterday. After the game a mob of several hundred boys followed the girls to Haddon avenue station hooting and bombarding them with stones.
United States Commissioner Cassady yesterday held Thomas Jones, an ex-United States Army officer, in $5,000 bail on the charge of forging the name of Warran Bayman, an Ohio pensioner, to a pension draft. Jones claims that he had a power of attorney from Bayman to collect the draft.
Frank O’Neill, of Wrightsville, was held in $500 bail yesterday before Justice Plum for assault on his wife. Mrs. O’Neill keeps boarders. She testified her husband collected money from the boarders and squandered it for rum. When she entered a saloon where he was and forbid the proprietor selling him Mr. O’Neill assaulted her.
Suit was yesterday entered in the district court by Miss Carrie Jones and Messrs. Noaks and Jordan against Policemen Ben Thomas and Josiah Sage for false arrest. The officers raided Miss Jones’ house and found the men there. The raid was made on the ground that the woman kept a disorderly house, but the plaintiffs charge this is absolutely false.
A warrant has been issued by Justice Hope for the arrest of Harry Fish, of Wrightsville, on complaint of the father of Cæsar Sieber, of Pavonia, who was shot in the leg a few days ago by Fish. Young Sieber and several companions were playing on State street bridge. As Fish passed by in a boat one of the boys threw a stick which struck the boat. Fish fired off his gun, several of the shot hitting Sieber’s leg.
Over in Camden
Philadelphia Inquirer —
Theodore Shaw, of 434 Henry street, who was stabbed and beaten at Third street and Taylor avenue was sent home from Cooper Hospital yesterday morning. The police are looking for James Binero and Octavio Dulduca, who are supposed to have been implicated in the assault on Shaw.
While bathing at Cape May yesterday, Ella Elbert, colored, of Wilmington, Del., fell from the boardwalk and broke her leg. She was brought to Cooper Hospital.
William McCarty, of 603 Cresson street, and Samuel Burns, of 406 North Eighteenth street, Philadelphia, were arrested yesterday charged with scorching on a tandem bicycle on the Mt. Ephraim pike.
Harry Thornberg was locked up yesterday charged with stealing a bundle of clothing from John Kenny, of 408 Clinton street.
Policeman Paul yesterday arrested Joseph W. Evans, a lad charged with shooting crap, at Eighth and Pearl streets.
For the second time within a month fire caused by a gasoline stove slightly damaged. Albert K. Snyder’s restaurant, at 311 Kaighn avenue, yesterday.
When Gleason Wore Curls
Camden Courier —
Wright Cox, police stable sergeant, recollects “Kid” Gleason when he was a gentle little boy in skirts, wearing long curls, although it is a sure bet he never sang in a Sunday school class.
For a few years had hardly elapsed, when as Sergeant Cox recalls, he was the scrappiest “kid” in the Third Ward.
Cox remembers one occasion when Gleason was pitching for the Independents in the early 80’s. On the way home they stopped in a tavern kept by an Irishman at Second and Taylor avenue.
Gleason had a banana stalk in his strong right hand. There was a colored ragpicker devouring raw oysters at the free lunch bar, although the oysters weren’t free.
Creeping up behind the negro, he gave him a wallop on the neck with the banana stalk that must have made the poor “darky” actually imagine that the crack of doom had suddenly boomed.
Three Firemen Met Death in Camden Blaze
Philadelphia Inquirer —
Trapped in Fire at the Old Sixth Regiment Armory They Perished in Flames
NINE OTHER PERSONS RECEIVED INJURIES
Three firemen were killed and nine persons injured at a fire last night which destroyed the old armory building at Bridge avenue, West and Mickle streets, Camden, causing a loss estimated at $50,000.
The dead firemen are: GEORGE SHIELDS, 525 Kaighn avenue, member of the Kaighn avenue chemical company. WILLIAM HILLMAN, 229 Beckett street, of the Kaighn avenue chemical company. WILLIAM JOBES, 57[?] Line street, member of Engine Company No. 2.
The Injured
The injured, all of whom will recover, are: Josiah Sage, 917 South Eighth street, Kaighn avenue company, cut head and face; Seth Monnell, 744 Mt. Vernon street, Kaighn avenue company, scalp wounds; George Quinn, 516 Line street, Kaighn avenue company, cut face; Martin Carrigan, 516 Clinton street, Engine Company No. 1, lacerated face and hands; J. W. Simpson, 551 Cedar street, Engine Company No. 2, lacerations of scalp and face; James Elberson, 628 North Fourth street, Engine Company No. 4, contused wounds of the legs; William Elberson, 231 Taylor avenue, Engine Company No. 2, injured about the back; Charles Worthington, 1017 Penn street, Engine Company No. 3, internally injured; Harry Dease, a citizen, cut about the face.
The six o’clock whistles were blowing when smoke was seen issuing from the northeast corner of the building. A moment later two boys ran out of a door, one of whom notified Policeman Isaac Toy that the structure was on fire. The officers immediately turned in an alarm. In rapid succession other alarms were given, until the entire department was on the scene.
One of the first companies to arrive was the Kaighn avenue truck. As the men drove up to the scene great tongues of flame were fast eating their way through the yellow pine timbers of which the interior was constructed. The main doors at the entrance on Mickle street were burst open and the firemen entered amid a perfect shower of sparks and falling debris. In this party were the three ill-fated firemen, Dease, and Firemen Harry Haines, Joseph Ernest, George Quinn, Seth Mounell and Joseph Gail.
After great difficulty the men worked their way into the blazing building about twenty feet. Dense volumes of smoke almost suffocated them and several dropped to the floor.
Dash for the Doors
While the firemen were waiting for the water a false ceiling thirty feet above them and composed of floor boards began cracking and bending. A shout of warning was given by Dease, and he and his companions made a dash for the doors. It was impossible to see a foot before them, and all blindly groped their way to the open doors but Jobes, Shields and Hillman. That they did not come out of the building was not known for several minutes later. Then reports were circulated that they had been taken to nearby houses, but these were found to be false. Their companions then tried to work their way back to their assistance, but by this time the interior was a seething furnace.
Subsequently, when the blaze had been somewhat subdued, firemen and policemen instituted a search for the missing men. Where the latter had been there was a great pile of blackened timbers and twisted iron. After vigorous efforts this was removed.
Finding the Bodies
First there came to light Shield’s helmet, and a few feet distant his body and those of Hillman and Jobes, scorched and blackened almost beyond recognition, were found. It was then learned how they had met their deaths. Instead of going toward the open doorway they had evidently become bewildered and, turning, ran into a toilet room to which there was no outlet. There they were quickly cut off from their comrades and, becoming unconscious from the smoke, all three dropped to the floor, where death overtook them.
The bodies were carried out and taken to the Morgue.
In the meantime every portion of the structure became a mass of flames. Fed by the pine, great tongues of fire sprang into the air, across Mickle and West streets, where the dwellings were badly scorched. The families residing in these in several instances became panic-stricken and began removing their household effects. Men, women and children ran excitedly about. It is owing to the excellent work of the firemen that these structures were not destroyed.
Spectacular Blaze
Chief Elfieth quickly concluded there was no hope of saving the armory and he directed a dozen lines of hose toward the dwellings, many of which became so hot that the streams of water fairly sizzled.
The fire was a spectacular one, lighting up the heavens for miles around. Thousands of persons crowded the thoroughfares leading to the blaze, but excellent order was preserved under the direction of Acting Chief of Police Schregler, who quickly had the streets roped off and guarded by the officers.
There was considerable danger at first from falling electric wires, which spluttered among the firemen and ofttimes amidst the onlookers. These wires also fell across the Pennsylvania Railroad Company’s tracks on Bridge avenue and suburban trains were stalled for over an hour. At one time the flames approached so near the passenger coaches that they had to be taken back into the yard.
Stubborn Blaze
For three hours the firemen fought the flames before they got them under control and it was not until an early hour this morning that they left the smouldering ruins.
The building was occupied by several concerns, including the Camden Bowling Alleys Company; whose loss amounted to $6000; F. G. Hitchener, wall paper; loss $1000; Sperry & Hutchinson, household articles, loss $2000; William Morgenweck, lumber, loss $500, and M. W. Taylor, theatrical scenery, loss $500.
The houses badly scorched and their occupants follow; 102 West street, John Sharwood; 104, vacant; 106, John Ackerman; Lewis Certain; 110, Richard Carpenter; 112, and 114. Daniel Mehlin; 120, Mrs. Ida Paul; 122, Mrs. Farley; 124, John Campbell; 126, Harry Chase. 416 Mickle street, John Widden; 418, Nelson Hart; 420, H.-W. Wilson; 422, Jules Bosch; 424, Gardner Corson; 426, Mrs. Borquin.
The stable immediately adjoining on the west side of the armory, and belonging to C. M. Alcott, was flooded with water. At this place there were forty horses, all of which were rescued.
Formerly a Market
The destroyed building was erected in 1873, by a number of well-known Camden men, as the Farmers’ and Merchants’ Market. From the first it was not a success, and subsequently became known as the Camden Opera House. After a more or less successful season the promoters of this scheme closed the doors. In 1886 the building was purchased by the State as an armory for the old Sixth Regiment, N. G. N. J. For ten years Camden’s citizen soldiers drilled and gave balls and receptions in the building. When the regiment moved to the new armory on Haddon avenue the old structure was cut up into several rooms and had been used by many different concerns. Recently it was purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company to make way for the elevated railroad. All the tenants had been ordered to vacate.
The origin of the fire is unknown. Incendiarism is hinted at and Mayor Ellis declared he will detail the detectives on the case to-day to make a rigid investigation.
Speaking of the matter, he said it is very peculiar that most of Camden’s fires occur about the time the firemen are at their meals. This has been the case in most every blaze if [sic] any importance in the city. The Mayor also highly commended the excellent work of the men in preventing a spread of the flames.