Elsa Ollry and Charles Heath

Charles Heath was born in Brooklyn in 17 Oct 1886, the second son of Mary Connors and Patrick Heath. His middle initial is given sometimes as E but more commonly as J.

Charles grew up in Brooklyn, mostly at various addresses on 16th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues. By 1905, however, the family had moved northwards to 180 Prospect Street. Charles, now done with school, was working as a horseshoer.

By 1910 the family had made what was by their standards an epic move of 8.0 km south to 618 East 3rd Street, a far different landscape that featured detached houses instead of blocks of apartments. The house that now stands at 618 East 3rd was built in 1910. It may well have been built by or for Charles' parents Patrick and Mary. As of 1910, Charles was working as a iron worker for a railroad.

Some time between 1910 and 1915 - the 1940 US Census suggests that it was in 1912 - Charles married Elsa Ollry. By 1915, the young couple living in Brooklyn, but separately from Patrick and Mary. As of 08 Jun 1917, when Charles registered for the WWI draft, he and Elsa were living at 88 Parkville Avenue in Brooklyn. He was working for the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co as a service station superintendent.

By 09 Aug 1918, Charles had either been drafted or had enlisted in the US Navy, where he served as a machinist's mate, first class. The Kingston Daily Freeman reports in its news for Rosendale village on that date that, "Charles Heath, who is employed in the navy, is spending a short furlough with his wife, who is stopping with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Ollry, of this village."

The Ollrys

John Ollry was born in October 1864 in Hagenbach in the Rheinpfalz. At the time of his birth, it was part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. His parents were Ludwig or Louis Ollry born February 1835 and Barbara Kuntz born February 1834. They were married in 1860-1862 and had four or five children, one of whom had died as of 1900. Louis immigrated to the States in 1869-1871. Barbara, John (Johann) and John's older brother Louis (Ludwig) followed in 1874.

On 13 Mar 1886, John married Auguste Vogel in Manhattan. Auguste (or Augusta) had been born in March 1864 in Hannover, in Lower Saxony, the daughter of George Vogel and Meta Muller. She immigrated to the States in 1875-1878.

John and Augusta had five children, all born in Manhattan. John Marcus Ollry was born in or about 1887 but died on 17 Oct 1889. Louise L was born on 01 Apr 1888. The next arrival were twins, a girl and a boy, on 13 Feb 1890. Their birth records give their names as Elizabeth R and William R J. However, in all other records Elizabeth is referred to as Elsie or Elsa. William is referred to as Emil as a child and Robert as an adult. The Ollrys' youngest child was Augusta Barbara, born 02 May 1893.

I'm not sure when the Ollrys moved to Brooklyn. The Brooklyn City Directories for 1896 and 1897 list a John Ollry who's running a bakery at 1026 or 1027 Broadway, but there's only a business address given, with no home address. Certainly by 1900 the Ollry family was living at 1032 Broadway in Brooklyn: John and Augusta, their four children, John's parents, two boarders (both bakers) and a servant. They were still at the same address in 1905, although with two different boarders (again, both bakers) and no servant. Louisa was working as a clerk in a store.

By 1910, there had been some changes at 1032 Broadway. One of the boarding bakers from 1905 had moved out, although the other remained. More importantly, Louise had also moved out. Emil was working as a mechanic in a garage.

Some time between 1910 and 1915, John and Augusta moved from Brooklyn to Rosendale, near Kingston in Ulster County, NY. This brought the family's activities within the range of the Kingston Daily Freeman, one of those small-town newspapers beloved by genealogists that reports when someone is getting over a bad cold. The Freeman reported frequent visits received by John and Augusta from their children and also from John's younger sister, Barbara Ollry Mohr, her husband John and her daughter Katherine. John and Barbara's older brother Louis and his children were less frequent visitors.

As of 1915, John and Augusta were the only Ollrys living in Rosendale. Their youngest daughter, Augusta, was boarding in Brooklyn. On 26 Sep 1919, she married a Rosendale fellow named Harry V Ten Hagen. Their son Donald C Ten Hagen was born 10 May 1922.

Some time between 1915 and 1920, John's father Louis came to live with John and Augusta. John's mother Barbara had died some time between 1910 and 1920. The older Ollry died on 25 Feb 1922, and was buried in Brooklyn, presumably with his wife.

Chicago: Bergers, Ollrys and Heaths

Remember Louise, last seen in Brooklyn in 1905? In 1910 she was living in a lodging house in Los Angeles and working as a saleslady in a bakery. Also lodging in the same house was Elkan Berger. Elkan had been born in Manhattan on 18 Mar 1883 or 1884, the youngest son of Morris Berger and Cecelia Rosenthal. Like Louise, he'd been raised in Manhattan and Brooklyn. As of 1905, he and his brother Charles had been living in Brooklyn with their older brother Max and Max's family.

It's a good question as to whether Elkan and Louise met in Brooklyn and moved west together or whether they met in LA. Certainly on 28 Aug 1911, they were in Chicago, getting married. As of 12 Sep 1918, they were living at 1154 East 54th Place in Chicago. Elkan was working as an adjuster while he attended the Chicago-Kent College of Law. He graduated in 1919.

Louise and Elsa's brother Robert Emil also moved out to Chicago. By 05 Jun 1917 he was employed there as an automobile driver for the Chicago Bureau of Parks. By 1920 he had married Marie Carroll, born 28 Nov 1899 in Waseca, Minnesota. Robert was by then working as a chauffeur for a private family. He and Marie had two sons, Robert William John born 20 Sep 1920 and Gordon E born 22 Dec 1922.

The Kingston Daily Freeman reported on 07 Sep 1918 that Elkan and Louise, having spent the month of August with Louise's parents in Rosendale, were returning to their home in Chicago and that Augusta Vogel Ollry and Elsa Ollry Heath would be accompanying them. On 05 Oct 1918 the Freeman reported that Mrs Ollry and Mrs Heath had returned and were "very much taken in [sic] with life in the west." Elsa seems to have been particularly persuasive, because she and Charles moved to Chicago within the next 15 months.

By 1920, the household at 1154 East 54th Place had grown to include Elkan's brother Charles, Louise's sister Elsa Ollry Heath and Charles Heath. Charles Heath was selling auto tires, Elkan was a lawyer and Charles Berger is listed as a "disabled solider." He'd also been married and widowed since the last time we saw him in 1905. His disability appears to have been psychological. In a 1927 legal kerfuffle over some land in Queens left to the Bergers on the death of their father in 1924, Charles is described as "an Incompetent" whose interests are being represented by his "Committee," his maternal uncles Louis and Herman Rosenthal. They're the Plaintiffs. Their attorney is Samuel W Lowenberg, the son of Louis and Herman's sister Pauline. The Defendants are Elkan Berger, Louise Berger "and others." Quite the family affair, eh?

Despite the distance between Chicago and Rosendale, Elsa and Louise visited their parents frequently. On one such visit, reported by the Kingston Daily Freeman on 26 Jan 1927, Elsa was accompanied by her nephew Robert, i.e., her twin brother's older son. On another visit reported by the Freeman on 09 Oct 1928, Elsa brought along "Mr. and Mrs. G. Christo of Brooklyn." This would be Charles' first cousin on his mother's side, Mary Corkhill Christo, and her husband Guy.

By 1930, Charles and Elsa had moved out of Elkan and Louise's home and were living at 8010 Maryland Avenue. Charles was working as a salesman of wholesale fruit products. Their daughter Mary Elizabeth was born sometime between April 1930 and March 1931. Interestingly she's not listed in the Cook County birth records, which are generally fairly complete.

1931: Return to New York

On 24 Jan 1931 the Kingston Daily Freeman reported that "Charles J. Heath of Chicago" had spent the night with his parents-in-law while driving to New York City, "where he expects to spend some time with relatives." However, a couple of months later, Charles was apparently no longer "of Chicago." On 14 Mar 1931 the Freeman reported that "Charles Heath and mother of Brooklyn" had driven up to Rosendale. The next day, "Mr. Heath and mother and Mr. and Mrs. Ollry motored to Albany and met Mr. Heath's wife and daughter, who had come from Chicago." Elsa and the infant Mary spent the summer in Rosendale, with frequent visits from Charles. Finally on 25 Aug 1931, the Freeman reported that Charles, Elsa and their daughter were "leaving Rosendale to reside permanently in Brooklyn."

The 1940 US Census found the Heaths living at 373 96th Street in Brooklyn. Charles was working as a bottler in the wine industry. In fact, his WWII draft registration includes the information that he was working for Garrett & Company, makers of the Virgina Dare wines.

The Heaths were still living at the same address in 1949 when, on 12 Aug 1949, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published the announcement of Mary Elizabeth's engagement to Peter Andrew Parks, son of Mary Parks of 8311 5th Avenue. Peter, born 11 Jan 1928, had served with the Navy. His father William was already deceased. Mary had attended St John's University and Pace College, and was associated with the Banker's Trust Company in Manhattan. Rather impressive, considering that she was only 18 or 19 years old!

Mary and Peter's wedding on 11 Jan 1950 was reported on by the Eagle on 25 Jan 1950. The newly married couple were planning to reside in the Bay Ridge neighbourhood of Brooklyn.

Unfortunately Peter died young. The Eagle reported on 10 Jul 1956 that he had died four days previously. At the time of his death, he and his family were living in Babylon, Long Island, and Peter was a representative for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. He was survived by his wife Mary, three children - Peter, Ellen and Timothy - and by his mother Mary, four brothers and two sisters.

Peter was buried in the Long Island National Cemetery in East Farmingdale, Suffolk County. According to his headstone, he was a hospital corpsman 3rd class (HM3) in the US Navy and served in Korea.

On 27 Jun 1963 Mary E Parks and William J Flynn either married or received a license to marry (I'm not clear which event the set of records refers to) in Hempstead, 27 km west of Babylon. William died 27 Feb 1995. Mary died 10 Jun 2006. Both are buried in the Long Island National Cemetery. The US Social Security Death Index gives Mary's date of birth as 27 Apr 1930, which would be consistent with the possible range for Mary E Heath Parks. Mary E Parks Flynn's obituary notes that she was predeceased by her husband and three children, including Peter and Timmy. She was survived by five children, including Ellen, and a sister, Eileen Hopkins. But Mary E Heath Parks was apparently an only child. What's going on?

Part of the mystery has to do with the absence of Mary E Heath Parks' birth records. According to research posted by Eileen Hopkins, Mary E Parks Flynn was her half-sister. Specifically, Mary was the daughter of Margaret Rita Gallagher and Leo Skahan, while Eileen was the daughter of Margaret Rita Gallagher and Margaret's second husband Henry John Graf. However, there's a catch. On 10 Apr 1930 - 17 days before Mary was born - Margaret Gallagher was enumerated as being single and living in Chicago with her parents and siblings at 5346 Morgan Street. She was still single and still living at the same address, now with her siblings, in 1940.

Note that Elsa Ollry and Charles Heath were also living in Chicago in 1930. Was Mary their daughter by adoption? That would explain why I haven't been able to find a birth record for Mary E Heath in Cook County. However, I also haven't been able to find births records for either Mary E Skahan or Mary E Gallagher born 27 Apr 1930 in Cook County.

Mary's father Charles Heath died in Brooklyn on 09 Nov 1968. Elsa Ollry Heath died on 15 Feb 1976. Because of Charles' service in the Navy, both of them are also buried in the Long Island National Cemetery in East Farmingdale.

The Ollrys Redux

As of 1930, Elkan, Louise and Charles Berger had moved to 5232 Greenwood Avenue. Interestingly, only Charles' age was supplied to the census taker.

Charles died in Chicago on 26 Apr 1936, and was buried in Bayside Cemetery in Queens, where his father Morris was also buried.

A bit more than a month before Charles' death, on 13 Mar 1936, Louise's parents celebrated their golden (50th) wedding anniversary in Rosendale. Both Louise and her brother Robert travelled from Chicago to attend. This is the last time I've been able to find mention of Louise visiting Rosendale in the Kingston Daily Freeman, although in previous years she had been a frequent visitor. Did Louise's health deteriorate? Had the Depression affected Louise and Elkan's finances to the point where they could no longer afford to travel? Or had the Freeman been requested not to mention Louise by name? As we'll see, Elkan seems to have been somewhat protective of his wife's privacy.

Elkan and Louise were not enumerated in the 1940 US Census. In fact, no one was enumerated at 5232 Greenwood Avenue at all, yet that's the home address Elkan gave in 1942 when he registered for the WWII draft. As his contact person, he listed not Louise but rather his maternal uncle Herman Rosenthal in NYC. (The legal kerfuffle of 1927 doesn't seem to have left a lasting rift.)

Louise's father John Ollry of Rosendale died 26 Dec 1944. His widow Augusta apparently moved to New York City the following April. A series of ads in the Kingston Daily Freeman that ran April 11-14 advised the reader of a bargain on a house being sold "on account of death," complete with garage, chicken house, large grounds and fruit trees. The owner was to be on the premises until April 16. Interested parties were to contact Elkan Berger, attorney.

Augusta died in Brooklyn 04 Jan 1948. She was buried with her husband in the Rosendale Plains Cemetery. Her obituary indicates that she was survived by all four of her children - Louise, Elsa, Robert and Augusta - and also by four grandchildren. The four grandchildren would be Mary E Heath, Robert William John Ollry, Gordon E Ollry and Donald C Ten Hagen.

Elkan Berger died in Chicago 10 Mar 1952. At the time he was living at 5129 South Harper Avenue. Like his brother Charles, he was buried in Bayside Cemetery in Queens. Louise survived him by almost two decades and died in Chicago 11 Oct 1970.

Louise and Elsa's brother Robert appears in neither the 1930 nor the 1940 US Census records. I know he attended his parents' golden wedding anniversary in 1936 and survived his mother's death in 1948, but that's all I know. His younger son Gordon was enumerated in 1930 while boarding with George Bennett, George's daughter Mattie Cavanaugh and Mattie's two childen in Burlington, Illinois. Like Marie's family, the Carrolls, the Bennetts came from Waseca, Minnesota. It's not unlikely that the two families knew each other. Mattie Bennett Cavanaugh was ten years older than Marie, but her children were about Gordon's age. It doesn't seem that Gordon was abandoned, but rather placed carefully.

Marie reappears in the 1940 US Census, when she and Gordon were living in Chicago. Her marital status was listed as divorced. She died in Chicago 25 Mar 1960. Gordon is listed as the "informant" on her death record. The only other thing I've been able to find out about Gordon is that he was president of the village of Vernon Hills, Illinois, from 1961 to 1965. In this he followed in the footsteps of his grandfather John Ollry, who had been president of the village of Rosendale.

The only information I have for Gordon's older brother, Robert William John Ollry, is his death record. He died in Berwyn, Cook County, Illinois, 01 Mar 1988. He was survived by his wife, Catherine O'Halloran Ollry. During his life, he worked as a graphic artist.

Louise and Elsa's youngest sister Augusta Ollry Ten Hagen was still living in Rosendale with her husband Harry and her son Donald during the 1930 and 1940 US censuses. Donald served in the US Army Air Corp in WWII. He met his future wife Ruth Jones while serving as flight instructor at Turner Air Force Base in Albany, Georgia. They were married 14 Jul 1945. The Kingston Daily Freeman reported on 03 Jun 1953 that Donald, Ruth and two of their children, Donald Charles Jr and Barbara Hall, were returning to Albany, Georgia, after a two-week visit with Donald's parents, Harry and Augusta. Donald and Ruth later had a third daughter, Deborah.

At some point Harry and Augusta moved down to Georgia as well. Augusta Barbara Ollry Ten Hagen died 31 Dec 1972 and was buried in the Crown Hill Cemetery in Albany, Georgia, under the name of "Barbara A Ten Hagen." Harry died almost a decade later, on 31 Mar 1982, and is also buried there, as were Donald and Ruth. Donald died in Americus, Georgia, on 23 Feb 2006. Ruth died 20 Sep 2009. She was survived by her and Donald's three children - Donald C Ten Hagen Jr, Barbara Horton and Deborah Sutton - as well as by four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

John Ollry's younger sister, Barbara Ollry Mohr, died 08 Feb 1935 in Queens. She was survived by her husband John Mohr and their daughter Katherine.

John Ollry's older brother Louis Ollry died 15 Mar 1932 in Weirton, West Virginia, where he was living with his daugher and son-in-law. He had already lost his wife, Justine (or Christine) Lonkowsky Ollry, who died 02 Jan 1927 in Queens. Louis was survived by his sons John and Fred and by his daughter, Emma Ollry Cameron, as well as by five grandchildren: John's son Robert, Fred's daughter Caroline and Emma's three sons, Thomas, John and James Cameron.

Louis was predeceased by his oldest son, Charles, who died 27 Jan 1929 in Oakland, California. Charles was survived by his wife, Alice Kobin Ollry, who continued to visit Charles' aunt and uncle in Rosendale after his death. He's buried with the Kobins at the Saint John of Jerusalem Cemetery in Wantaugh, Nassau County, New York.