Sometimes you feel like a nut...

...ah, minions... 

First Cousin - 3x Removed - Part Two

I had no luck in deciphering the names on Marshall Mousley's USS Ohio cap

I investigated the obvious, perhaps one of the ladies was to become his wife? That was not the case, for Marshall married an Elizabeth A. Miller (1910?-1994) in 1936.  Interestingly enough, Elizabeth's father, may have been Fredrick W Miller, who worked as a "hatter" in a "factory."  Could this be the Stetson Hat Factory?

Looking in another direction - I attempted to discover what 35 Ringold B, Trenton, NJ might tell me.  I found a map of the area dated 1908.

I see a house numbered 33 and the place next door labeled "A," but no #35.  Interestingly (to me anyway) is the P and R R.R. Freight House and nearby Philadelphia and Reading (P and R, commonly known as "the Reading") Rail Road Passenger Station.  Being familiar with this area, I was startled to see the railroad tracks - they are long, long LONG gone!!

Today, the scene is vastly different.

As you can see, there is no sign of any railroad facilities!  Also, there is no sign of #33 Ringold Street either.  The monument in the center far right is the Trenton battle monument commemorates the American victory at the first Battle of Trenton, NJ, which occurred on December 26, 1776.  It was completed in 1893.

It isn't clear if it is on the 1908 map - however, today, #35 Ringold Street is the building on the lower right and is home to the Trenton Police Department.  The building with the red A in a balloon is the Reading Senior Citizen Center.  The now vacant field above is where #35 B would have stood.  Stymied!  The Reading Railroad passenger station would have been located where the police department building stands today.

So, I looked into the US Census - picking 1920 as the closest year to 1917-1919, and found an entry for #35 Ringold Street.  It was occupied by a Edward Joseph Fay who was born in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey (born 1873/1877/1881 depending on which source you chose to believe - died 1942), the son of John and Rosa Fay.

Edward's wife was Elizabeth L Fay (1888-1960).  He worked as a brakeman for a "steam railroad."  I wouldn't be surprised if it was for the Reading Railroad.  If not, the Pennsylvania Railroad had a number of branch line tracks only a short stone throw away., including what is now the "Northeast Corridor" for Amtrak.  The census was just about illegible...

I checked the "nearby" neighbor's names - and found none that possibly match with any of the names on Marshall's hat, including Marshall's!

I then looked into the service record for the USS Ohio, and found that this battleship served as a "training classroom" for new recruits - to quote Wikipedia, "Soon after the United States entered World War I [the USS] Ohio [was] recommissioned on 24 April 1917. Throughout the war, she operated out of Norfolk, training crews for the expanding fleet, taking part in battleship maneuvers. She arrived at Philadelphia on 28 November 1918 and was placed in reserve there on 7 January 1919."  Coincidentally(?), Marshall's discharge date aligns with the date the battleship was placed in reserve.  I would conjecture that Marshall was never far from home (Philadelphia) during WWI and spent most of the War in Norfolk, Virginia or at "home" in the Philadelphia Naval Yard..

Stymied for the moment, I did come across something interesting.  The cousin of mine - the one that sent me the photos of Marshall and his brothers - that I posted (here) - when I told him of Marshall's cap, tells me that he has a photo of Marshall's brother Elmer wearing a similar cap!  I await seeing this photo!

First Cousin - 3x Removed

Recently, I came across an interesting item while "Googling" one of my grandfather's 1st cousins (and Franklin Mousley's brother), Marshall Mousley ( 10 June 1900 - September 1984).  His WWI sailor's hat was found in a flea market!  I don't know who the women are - the names are not clearly legible.

A "fellow" blogger, Jacqi prompted me to do this search "just for the heck of it"!  You never know what you might find! I goggled the address in Trenton - it is now the "Reading Senior Citizen's Center. I'm going to try to find out what was there in 1919.

Reminded of my grandfather

A not so recent article in the Washington Post (April 29, 2013) titled "Will Philly no longer be a place where residents drink wooder (water) and root for the Iggles (Eagles)?" recently caught my eye - it says:

Gid eowt!

A University of Pennsylvania linguistics professor says the Southern-inflected sound of the Philadelphia dialect is moving toward a more Northern accent. Some of Philly’s trademark twangy, elongated vowel sounds are becoming less so, though others are getting stronger.

“Certain changes have continued in the same direction over 100 years, and everybody’s doing it,” said Bill Labov, who has studied the Philadelphia accent since 1971 and has recorded hundreds of native city residents living in dozens of neighborhoods. “It doesn’t make a difference if you come from Port Richmond or Kensington or South Philadelphia.”

With apologies to comedian Jeff Foxworthy, you might be a Philadelphian if: you say beggle (bagel), wooder (water), tal (towel), beyoodeeful (beautiful), dennis (dentist) or Fit Shtreet (Fifth Street). Also, the name of your home town might sound like Philuffya, and you might call your football team the Iggles, you might pronounce “ferry” and “furry” the same way, and your rendering of “radiator” might rhyme with “gladiator.”

I admit to saying "furry," "wooder" and occasionally "cawfee,"  I do not, however, root for the Iggles, they make me "meeyad" (mad).  My grandfather - from the Kensington neighborhood used to say common words like Acme as "ax-ca-me" and Toyota as "Tie-yoh-da".  Mazda was "mangled" into "Meeee-az-ta."

Me and My Grandfather - Photo from 2005 - backyard of Quakertown PA Log Cabin home.