Laura Dowd and Charles Story

Laura or Loretta Dowd was born in Brooklyn in or about June 1881, the oldest child of Mary Heath and Frank Dowd.

As of 1892, Mary and Frank Dowd and their children were living at 85 16th Street in the 22nd Ward of Brooklyn, but by 1900 they'd moved to 96 15th Street. 19-year-old Laura was working as tea packer. In or about 1903, she married Charles D Story. (The middle initial comes from his headstone.)

Charles was born in 1874-1875 in Ogdensburg on the St Lawrence River in upstate New York, the son of "Captain" William and Zerena or Zarina Story. Ogdensburg was a river port, with ferries running between there and Prescott, Ontario. Captain William owed his title to his career aboard the ferries. The 1880 US Census record mentions that Zerena was away from home due to a hemorrhage of the bowels. By 1887 she'd passed away and Captain William had remarried, this time to a widowed Canadian named Jane McDonald Corrigan. By 1900, Charles was no longer living with his father and stepmother. He may very well be the Charles D Story born in September 1874 who was boarding at 352 Bleecker Street in Manhattan and working as a sanitary plumber, as this work would be consistent with his later career.

Laura and Charles' oldest son Charles Jr was born in Brooklyn 29 Aug 1904. As of 1905, the young family was living with Laura's parents and grandmother at 96 15th Street. Charles was working as a steam fitter.

The next few years brought many changes. Laura's grandmother Margaret Heath passed away 29 Mar 1907. She was quickly followed by Laura's only sibling, Francis Dowd Jr, who died 22 Apr 1907, at the age of 18. After the two deaths, there was some good news: a daughter was born to Charles and Laura on 12 Aug 1907 and named Mildred. But one more death was still to come. Laura's mother Mary Heath Dowd died on 31 Aug 1909.

By 1910, Laura's father Frank Dowd was living with her, Charles and their two children at 254-256 73rd Street. Also living with the family was Charles' half-sister Sarah Belle Story, the daughter of Captain William and Jane Story. Charles was working as an inspector for the city water department, a job he was to keep for the rest of his life.

Belle Story's stay in Brooklyn seems to have been a temporary one. Three separate upstate New York newspapers reported her as being hit by lightning in Ogdensburg on 18 May 1913. She recovered and married Joseph Lodge in Philadelphia in 1914.

Frank Dowd passed away on 10 Jun 1913. As his one remaining child, Laura applied for letters of administration, giving her address as 321 75th Street.

By 1915 Charles Sr, Laura, Charles Jr and Mildred were living on their own. When Charles Sr registered for the WWI draft in 1918, he gave their address as 313 76th Street, which is where they were enumerated in 1920. By 1930, however, they'd moved to 421 82nd Street. Charles Sr was still working for the city water department. Charles Jr was a bookkeeper for a steamship line, while Mildred was a stenographer for Lily Co.

Charles Jr's job may have paid off for Mildred. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle published 20 Jun 1934, reports that she and a friend, Gertrude Becker, were leaving on the 23rd for a 13-day Caribbean cruise, stopping at Cuba, Jamaica and Spanish Honduras. They sailed on the SS Atlantida, returning to NYC on 06 Jul 1934.

Charles Sr and Laura's daughter Mildred may be the "Mildres" Story who married Daniel R Monoghan in Brooklyn 18 Jan 1936. However, I couldn't find any further information about this couple.

On 04 Feb 1938, the Eagle reported that the Brooklyn City Inspectors Club had sponsored a turkey banquet for more than 3,000 Brooklyn employees of the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. Charles Story Sr is mentioned as president of the club and chief inspector of the central service station.

A couple named Charles D Story and Dorothy M Warren received licenses to marry in Brooklyn on 22 May 1939. I'm fairly certain that this is "our" Charles Jr, based on his middle initial (the same as his father's) and by the fact that the 1940 US census and the NY City death records both agree that Dorothy's M Warren Story's husband was born in or around 1905. Dorothy herself was born 02 Apr 1911.

At some point between 1935 and 1940 Charles Sr and Laura moved to 128 Marine Avenue, where they were enumerated in the 1940 US Census.

Charles Sr died and was buried on 27 Feb 1952. Laura died and was buried four years later, on 06 Apr 1956 (i.e. three months after the death of her son). Both were buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in row 19, plot 26, where Laura's maternal grandmother, father and brother were already buried. However, neither Charles nor Laura appear in the index for the NYC death records, suggesting that they died outside the five boroughs.

Charles Jr and Dorothy were enumerated in the 1940 US Census as living at 343 101st Street in Brooklyn. Charles was working as a real estate accountant and Dorothy, as a real estate stenographer.

Charles Jr died relatively young, on 09 Jan 1956, predeceasing his mother by three months. He was living in Brooklyn at the time of his death. His wife Dorothy survived him by 31 years, dying in Brooklyn on 13 Feb 1987. Both Charles Jr and Dorothy are buried in the Saint Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale, Suffolk County.