After the untimely and unexpected death of our immigrant ancestor Morgan Meara at the end of June 1855 and the destruction of their apartment as part of the Walker Street widening project, it seems his family’s short time in New York City (about five years) had come to an end.
Somewhere between mid-1855 and mid-1860, the Mara’s – widow Honora and sons John, William and Morris – made their way across the Hudson River to Jersey City, such as it was in those days. In the July 1860 NJ census we see the Meara’s (now spelled Mara) settled in the downtown section:
Note: Our ancestor Morris is noted here as having been born in NJ but his 1922 obituary, written by his son, says he came to NJ from NYC as a school child. (Census forms are not always 100% accurate, depending on who was giving the information to the enumerator.) Morris’ NYC birth is backed up by this record, with only the mother listed as we would expect since his father recently died:
In 1862 we see a Honora Mara working as a washer woman, living at 364 S. 7th in Jersey City:
During the Civil War, it has been said by an extended, now-deceased family member (who was told the story by his father) that John Mara served as a bugle boy.
This 1866 illustration shows how Jersey City looked during this period:
The 1868 Jersey City directory lists lists Ann N. [Ann Nora sounds like “Honora”] Mara, widow of “Maury” (in written records Morgan was variously known as Maury, Maurice, Murray and Morris) and oldest son John I. who had begun his known career in iron as a moulder, living at 191 Warren downtown:
In the 1868-1869 Gopsill’s Jersey City Directory, Honora, widow of “Morris” this time, was living at S. 2nd and Provost with the same son, John I. the moulder. Of course, the location is unrecognizable as a former residential neighborhood now:
In September 1870 we see the Mara family still downtown, with oldest son John, now 22, continuing working as an Iron Moulder (his brothers would also adopt that trade):
In October 1870 we start seeing references to the “O’Mara Bros.” being paid for doing work for the city. We will see later that John and Morris worked together in their own foundry in the 1880s and regularly billed the city, so maybe this is them in the early days of their business, or perhaps William was the original partner:
The next month, November 1870, John I. Mara (23) was naturalized (he was born in Ireland in 1847):
The 1870 directory shows John living at 159 Bay St., a couple of blocks from the 2nd & Provost address shown above:
In September 1871 a William Mara was also naturalized. That year we also see Honora (now the widow of “Murray”), William and John all living at 355 S. 5th (Morris was still too young for his own listing):
In the next few years the family members were listed at 355 4th (which house number seems coincidental to the one on 5th, or maybe one of the street listings is a typo). In 1873 the “O’Mara Bros.” continue to bill the city.
John Mara married Ellen Patterson on February 14, 1874. Morgan and Honora Mara are listed as John’s parents:
On January 28, 1875, John and Ellen’s first child Lauretta was born.
She died only six months later of cholera infantum and was buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery in plot 89 South C.
John and Ellen’s son Maurice Stapleton Mara (named after a variation of John’s father’s given name and Honora’s maiden name) was born on September 21, 1876. The little guy got bronchitis and only lived until November 9. He too was buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery, same plot, 89 South C.
Locating the burial site of the children Lauretta and Maurice also revealed a known relative and a possible other relative buried there in this unmarked grave: John and Morris’ brother William Mara (born at sea during the Meara’s immigration in 1850, died 1907 of chronic nephritis and pneumonia), and a William Stapleton, age 20 (1845-1865), possibly a relative of John’s mother Honora (whose maiden name was Stapleton).
A Johanna Russell (age 36) was the first burial there in November 1863, followed by William Stapleton in 1865, then the Mara children in 1875 and 1876, a John McGee in 1897 and finally William Mara in 1907.
This plot was owned by a Wm. Russell (maybe Johanna was his wife?), but any connection to John Mara is so far unknown. (John did later sell some real estate to a James Russell, see during 1904 below). It makes a bit more sense that Honora might have known the Russell’s, as the William Stapleton burial in 1865 occured when John was about 18 and maybe less likely to have “connections”.
In 1878, 23-year old Morris Mara makes his first appearance in the city directory as a moulder, living at 341 4th. Honora and William also live at that address while John is now at 316 3rd with his father-in-law Humphrey Patterson:
In late April 1879 the tenement at 132 Railroad Ave. goes up for auction. John Mara buys it at the beginning of May and lives there through at least 1884.
In 1880 we see Morris and William, living with Honora, having followed older brother John (who has since moved out as we saw above) into the steel factory business. (In later years both Morris and William worked at the Crucible factory in Harrison NJ, so perhaps they were already there.) The mystery person “George” appears only here and not before or after in any family record. Maybe he was a boarder?
Also in the 1880 census, John and Ellen Mara are seen living with her parents at John’s house at 132 Railroad Ave.:
From the 1880 directory (Honora and John):
On November 17, 1880, Morris Mara married Katherine (sometimes spelled Catherine or Kate) Morris, daughter of local saloon owner Michael Morris (his saloon was located on Pacific Ave.) and his wife Winifred Sweeney, both from Ireland. The Morrises had also lived in New York City and had their children prior to moving to Jersey City. Morris’ brother William and Katherine’s sister Sara were witnesses. Morgan and Honora were listed as Morris’ parents in a separate record:
These photos of Morris and Katherine were probably taken around this time:
An enhanced and animated version of Morris:
On August 12, 1881, John Mara of Railroad Ave. seems to have made the papers:
On November 3, 1881, Morris and Katherine had their first child, son John Morris Mara.
In April 1882, Morris’ older brother John Mara somehow finds his way into the legal profession as a candidate for Justice Of The Peace! While he is listed as “J.J. Mara”, other records from June of the same year get his middle initial (“I”) correct – the problem is the handwritten letter “I” appears very similar to “J” in documents of the time and is often wrongly transcribed, as you’ll see in the various images.
On December 4, 1882, several years after losing their first two children, John and Ellen Mara have daughter Alice:
Fast-forward into Alice’s life (more in another post): She lives to adulthood and in 1908 marries John F. Ryan of Woodbridge, moves there for the rest of her life and has 11 of her own children! One of them marries into the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical family. I only discovered this large branch of our Mara family because Alice’s father John Mara was buried in the Ryan family plot in Woodbridge.
Jersey City waterfront and downtown, 1883
On June 3, 1883, Honora (Stapleton) Mara, widow of Morgan, dies at age 65, with her funeral held at her son Morris’ house at 295 Grand Ave. (the home of Morris Mara’s father-in-law Michael Morris, where they also lived). Honora’s place of burial is unknown. At this time her middle son William was a steel moulder still living at 341 4th.
In 1883, John Mara is named among the Justices Of The Peace for Jersey City (2/3 down the list):
Also by 1883, John Mara and his youngest brother Morris are found in business together at an iron foundry on Grand Ave. where the Jersey City Medical Center is now located. The already-working foundry had been offered for sale back in July 1882, and the Mara’s seem to be the ones who bought it:
Here is their business ad and residential listings in the 1884-85 city directory (brother William is also listed as a molder at a different address):
While trying to pin down the original location of the foundry, I found the following maps, aerial views and contemporary descriptions:
A fun souvenir are John and Morris’ signatures from February 1884, from Morris’ father-in-law Michael Morris’ probate papers (compare John’s signature to the one on his naturalization document above):
In February and March 1884, Katherine Mara (Morris’ wife, here spelled with a “C”) become guardian for her younger sisters Winifred and Susan after their father Michael’s death, as their mother had previously died as well. These sisters were to live with the Mara’s for years to come. Winifred would later become known as “Aunt Winnie” and would live until age 98 (1965).
During this same period, in May 1884, Morris and Katherine Mara lost their second child, their first and only daughter Winifred (probably named after Katherine’s mother) shortly after birth:
On August 28, 1884, John Mara’s wife Ellen is vacationing with her cousin in the Woodbridge area. it seems to be through this connection that their daughter Alice eventually met John Ryan.
Throughout 1883-1886 John and Morris were very busy doing various paid jobs for the city (sewer covers and such). A few examples of the many reimbursements:
The 1885 census shows Morris Mara, his wife (and son, more accurately John Morris Mara) and Katherine’s sisters Sarah, Winifred and Susan (plus some mystery toddler named William Morris):
The same census shows John Mara with wife Ellen, daughter Alice and (servant?) Mary Fleming:
In June 1886, Katherine Mara’s sister Sarah Morris married James Denehy (I’ll save the details for a separate post on the Morris family):
In July 1886 we see the first of many, many examples of Morris Mara taking part in local organizations, which he would do for the rest of his life (Jersey City Council, Knights Of Columbus, Holy Name Society and especially BPOE [Elks]). This clipping seems to be him at age 31, listed as Recording Secretary for the Thomas Reynold Coaching Club:
In August 1886, a (the same? another?) John [O’]Mara of Railroad Ave. makes the paper in a bad way. Whether or not this was “our” John, the Mara Brothers kept doing work and billing the city uninterrupted for the rest of the year and into 1887:
On April 15, 1887, Morris and Katherine had their second son Francis DeSales Mara (the particular ancestor of most of those reading this). I am not sure if the James Morris (sponsor) was related to Francis’ mother:
An early photo of John and Francis, and another of John a bit older:
Only a few days after Francis’ birth, it seems that John Mara’s wife Ellen died on April 18:
In November 1887 happier times returned as Morris and Katherine celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in their Grand Avenue home:
This is the second of four known photos of Katherine:
1888 was pretty quiet as far as found records go, except for this mention of a “J I Mara” of Jersey City visiting the American Exchange Hotel in San Francisco:
But in 1889, large and long-term changes were coming to the Morris Mara family: Morris (technically Katherine, it seems) bought a house at 23 Ocean Ave. (later designated #824) and both Katherine and Morris lived there until their deaths (1906 and 1922 respectively). Their son Francis would spend the rest of his life there as well (until 1949) while raising his own family, and the house was finally sold in 1951.
An overview of the property
This modern view shows the property in relation to New York City (the house is behind the tall apartment building which replaced the original properties across from the house in the 1960s):
An 1873 map shows the property as #43 (without the house) and its proximity to St. Patrick’s Church (where the Mara’s later attended):
An 1896 map shows the house in final form (#824):
This 1876 deed to the property shows the Flemings (see the name on map above; he was supposedly a Scottish sailor who built the house) selling to Janet Lightbody. Note that Janet lived at 135 Railroad Ave. – Morris’ brother John lived at 132 a few years later!
Then in April 1889 Katherine Mara (her middle name noted as “T” instead of the accurate “F”) seems to be buying the property from the estate of Janet Lightbody:
The property is also listed as part of a sale of delinquent lands as of March 1890. John J. Wanner seems to have had something to do with a hotel and restaurant in town, as well as being a firefighter:
Once the Mara’s settled in, Katherine posed outside with young son Francis (Frank) about 1890, showing off the new residence (more about Francis raising his own family there will come in the next generations’ post). Katherine’s granddaughter (and Francis’ daughter) Paula Mara made the handwritten notes on the photo:
The house is still there today, as seen in these before-and-afters!
November 2020
824 now belongs to St. John’s Baptist Church
From this point forward, 23/824 Ocean Ave. became the center of the Mara’s lives, with many births and deaths, funerals and celebrations taking place there for several decades. Their church and related schools for the next couple of generations was St. Patrick’s, literally half a block’s walk from 824 (shown here about the same time period and at present, with 824 at upper right):
Now we continue our chronology.
The 1889 city directory begins to reflect Morris’ new address (the street numbers were flipped after 1900 when 23 became 824):
The same year we also see Morris becoming very involved in bowling! Here is an example:
Kate Mara seems to have had her hand in real estate transactions, as this example from June 3, 1889 shows:
By this time it seems the Mara Brothers were no longer running their own foundry over on Grand St., because by late October, while Morris was off living his life, working elsewhere, bowling and socializing, the abandoned building had been taken over by characters of ill-repute!
The problem was that some outsiders (they remind me of carnies) had come along with “scups”, which seem to be large swings, and used them as an excuse to attract young men and women to the dark, secluded premises for after-hours activities that were a bit shocking for the times…
Read through these example articles (published daily over the course of several days until the offenders were finally driven away to Hoboken by the beginning of November) to get the story:
By the time spring 1890 rolled around, the old Mara foundry was being vandalized by local boys who broke windows, and by October pieces of the building were being carted off by even more local boys:
By late November the foundry was entirely gone.
And the Mara’s lives continued on. Around 1891, Francis (L) and John Morris Mara posed together for this brotherly portrait:
Some further examples of the Mara’s social life as 1892 rolled around:
In February 1893 the Orphan’s Court came calling and served papers for Catherine and Morris in regards to the affairs of Michael Morris’ estate, because they had not yet filed the necessary inventories and executor proceedings:
March 24, 1893 real estate transfers and mortgages among the Morris sisters (Katherine Mara, Sarah Denehey, Winifred Morris and Susie Morris):
Meanwhile, little Francis Mara was growing up:
An example of the Mara’s socializing with the Morris girls, April 1894:
That same month, Morris’ older brother John Mara kept busy with real estate:
In December 1894 we see Alice Mara (John’s daughter) spending time with her cousins in Woodbridge:
In 1895, Alice shows up in the Perth Amboy census with the Brazzells (cousins):
Some time between 1894 and 1897 when the Benjamin M. Gerardin photo studio was operating downtown at 52 Newark Ave. in Jersey City, Morris sat for this portrait. Two copies survive, one nearly rotted away, the other still in quite good shape:
If one were to hand color the second version, this is what it would look like:
Among the usual endless list of ongoing social activities, euchre gatherings, political union meetings and real estate transfers, we find little items of interest such as this bicycle being sold by the Mara’s in 1896 (perhaps Katherine did not enjoy riding as much as Morris did, as we will see below):
In August 1897 Morris and Catherine got away to Rockaway Beach (listed at bottom of clipping):
January 1898, yet another euchre game:
In April 1898 the taxman came looking for 1895 back taxes from the estate of Ellen Mara (John’s wife) for the Railroad Ave. property:
It seems John was now living back on 4th St., with his business office at 258 Washington:
Around this same time, Francis Mara sat for this portrait at AB Costello’s studio (colorized):
January 1899, Morris Mara gets ready for bicycle season:
Then more euchre, more real estate, more bowling…
This is the Jersey City Elks lodge Morris frequented during this time period:
June 1900 means a new census. Here are the Mara’s of Ocean Ave. with boarder Patrick Doyle, one of Morris’ sidekicks and perhaps an Elks brother:
In July 1900, John Mara performs his legal duties:
On November 16, 1900, Morris was an usher at the Drake Business College graduation, after which it was back to euchre and an apron and necktie party during the last months of the year. Spring 1901 brought more Elks activities such as their fair in April where Morris won a dinner set with winning number 231. In November and December Morris participated in the Olean Vield Club’s two annual balls as one of the floor managers.
From the 1901 Jersey City Directory: John I. is listed as John “T” and Morris is a machinist:
On January 31, 1902, Morris and Katherine’s younger son Francis graduated from grammar school:
On May 6 Morris and Katherine bought some property about a half-block from their Ocean Ave. home:
Then on May 31 they headed off to Niagra Falls:
1903 comes around, and on January 29, John Morris Mara, oldest son of Morris and Katherine, is married to Frances Donnelly:
On July 7, 1903, Frances DeSales Mara graduates from St. Patrick’s Sunday School:
John I. Mara’s only surviving child, daugher Alice, is now living down in Perth Amboy and was entertained on May 20, 1903 by a Mrs. W. V. Quin, wife of a Walter Quin (as we see in the next clip from December 22):
(The next summer Alice was visiting her cousin, Mrs. Parker, in PA. We’ll have to sort out the Woodbridge Mara/Patterson family in their own post!)
The 1903 Harrison NJ directory listed a William Mara, who seems to be John and Morris’ brother, working in the same industry:
On February 12, 1904 we get a glipse into the affairs of Morris’ wife Katherine’s family, the Morrises. I am not yet sure how these Morrises relate to Katherine’s father Michael Morris; maybe he had siblings with their own children. At any rate, a Mary Josephine Morris got married and Morris and Katherine Mara were there along with Katherine’s younger sisters Winifred and Susie Morris, as well as her sisters Sarah (Denehy) and Mary (Dodd):
A week later, Francis Mara and his cousins attend a birthday party:
On August 20, 1904 John Mara has a real estate transaction with a James Russell, perhaps related to the Russell family who owned the grave plot where John’s infant children were buried in 1875 and 1876 (see above):
And then on October 4 Kate and Morris Mara sell property back and forth with her sister Mary Dodd and Mary’s husband John (we’ll discuss them in a Morris post later on):
Not content with iron foundering, lawyering and real estating, in July 1904 (and reported below in December), John Mara now gets himself involved in the “Selective Telephone Company”. Even though his middle initial is listed as “J” in the news article (lower left), we’ve seen that before. And the 1904 city directory has our John I. listed at this same address:
On Dercember 19, 1904 John continues lawyering:
In March 1905, Morris and Katherine took a steamboat trip to Bermuda, sailing on the S.S. Bermudian (this was the first year of its operation). Their names are listed on the manifest, lines 18-19:
These are photos of the ship:
A photo in the family collection (shown here colorized) seems to be of Morris (peeking out from behind the driver) and Katherine and some unknown other woman in a horse drawn carriage. Maybe this was taken in Bermuda? A digitally enhanced crop of Katherine shows features similar to the other photos of her above:
That must have been some trip to Bermuda because only a couple of weeks later on April 8, 1905, Morris visits Grand View Sanatorium out in Pennsylvania!
“Most of the health resorts, known as sanatoriums were located in that segment of South Mountain which lies within what is now South Heidelberg Township, Berks County. Wernersville was then, as now, the nearest community that had the advantage of frequent passenger railway service and, in earlier days, rail transportation was the chief means of travel between distant points. From the first year of the opening of the Wernersville Station of the Lebanon Valley branch of the Reading Railroad (1857) until the automobile came into general use, all patients, guests and freight destined for the South Mountain resorts arrived at the Wernersville station. Several hundred guests, arriving or leaving on any train, was a common sight.”
Below are some postcards from the visit still in the family collection, as well as a map of the grounds:
Later that summer (July 29 and August 3, 1905), Katherine (who seems to be the owner of 824 Ocean) is called out to perform repairs on the sidewalk out front:
On October 4, Morris and Katherine are flip-flopping a property on Jewett Ave. with her sister Mary, who married John B. Dodd. This property was a block away from the Dodd’s home at 42 Fairview (more on that address later!). In the 1901 directory (and earlier), the Dodds were living at 60 Jewett:
On December 1, seventh grader Francis Mara makes the honor role at Cathedral (upper right):
1906 begins with a January 24 ad looking for “a girl for general housework” at the Mara’s residence at 824 Ocean:
In February, Francis makes the honor roll again, and John Mara is “Master In Chancery”:
Morris’ granddaughter Florence (Flori Mara) told me that many funerals were held at 824 Ocean, with musical band accompaniment. Perhaps the first of these was for Catherine Mara’s brother-in-law James Denehy (husband of her sister Sarah Morris) who died on May 29, 1906:
On May 31 James, who in 1900 was listed as superintendent of a tobacco factory in Baltimore, was buried at the Holy Name Cemetery in a plot seemingly purchased by Sarah (perhaps along with Morris). This plot (A-966) was to become the resting place of Mara family members for at least the next century:
Very sadly, not even a month after her brother-in-law’s death, on June 28, 1906 Katherine died after an illness and was also buried in the new Mara/Denehy plot on June 30. Perhaps it was at this time that the joint headstone was purchased:
An original newspaper clipping of her obituary from the family collection:
Morris became administrator of Catherine’s estate:
Katherine’s death came at a busy time for Morris and Francis. Only days later on July 1, 1906, Francis was named Treasurer of the St. Aloysius Sodality of the Cathedral:
Morris had been a member of the BPOE Elks organization in Hoboken and was one of the founding members of the Jersey City Lodge (#211) in 1891. He kept regularly busy with their various activities over the years. One of their major actives each year was the Elks Convention, which for 1906 was scheduled for Denver, CO in mid-July. Under the circumstances, Morris chose toproceed with the trip and bring Francis (who took his mother’s death hard) along for the journey.
Beginning in January, newspapers across the country were promoting this major event, one of the largest in Elks’ history thus far. By March it was reported that train cars to bring in the estimated up to 80 thousand members from all over the country were already in short supply. In June the cost to Denver to host the convention was said to be $100,000 in 1906 dollars. Preparations included building a welcome arch, electric light displays, fireworks, silver elks on pedestals on every block, wild west shows, mountain excursions and prizes.
By July 15, the party had begun!
Morris and Francis and the rest of the area’s Elks left Jersey City on a train with eight Pullman sleepers and a baggage car on Friday, July 13, 1906 (according to a Jersey Journal article) and traveled through Newark and South Plainfield NJ, Easton, Bethlehem and Mauch Chunk PA before pulling into Buffalo, NY two hours late. After passing through Rochester NY they reached St. Thomas, Canada the next morning and had to eat a very rushed breakfast at the station because the expected dining car missed its connection with them there.
The Canadian scenery along the way to Windsor included farms with farmers gathering their hay with whom the Elks exchanged greetings. The ferry Lansdowne (seen below two years earlier) brought the train across the St. Clair River and back into the US at Detroit where more dining cars were added:
The next stop was Chicago, where they arrived on the 14th, four hours behind schedule. The group took a carriage tour of the city and after dinner at the Auditorium, the train left for Denver.
Morris and his son made the list of Hudson County passengers aboard:
While I haven’t found any photos of the Jersey City group traveling to the convention, I did find one of the Camden NJ Elks seemingly on their way home from Denver that same year, which serves as an appropriate visual:
Before arriving in Denver on July 16, the Jersey City Elks witnessed a beautiful sunset behind the snow-capped Colorado mountains that generated several gushing descriptive paragraphs in the paper. On the 19th a huge Elks parade took place in downtown Denver, so big it took 2 1/2 hours to pass any given point. By the time the convention was over, it is estimated that the Elks spent $2 million (1906 dollars) in Denver.
A couple of photos in the family collection make sense only when you know about this convention and the sightseeing trip that occurred immediately after! We’ll start with the photos then tell the story.
These two photos of some strange goings-on are in the family collection (shown here colorized). A couple of our older relatives made notes on the back, identifying Francis, “Maurice’s father” (see below). This is a detail crop of Morris and Francis from the original print (you can also see Morris in the second image, standing at left rear):
Another clue on the back of the photo that helped solve the mystery of what exactly was going on here is the name of the photographer, Paul George & Son.
“During the 1890’s a youngster of fourteen named Curt Goerke began taking photographs of visitors to the rock for a quarter of a dollar each. Soon he was making so much money that his father Paul quit his job, learning photography, and bought Balanced Rock and nearby Mushroom Park for $400. By the first decade of the twentieth century, the pair were taking pictures of tourists – often seating them atop the four burros kept nearby. The wet plates were developed in the Goerke Photography Shop attached to nearby Steamboat Rock.”
Here you can see examples of others posing in the exact same place over the years (they still do: See a modern video here):
Based on this and other evidence, we now know this was a side excursion the Elks (that’s who these other guys are with Morris and Francis!) took after the Denver convention, described in this ad from the same month:
In this satellite view you can see the proximity of the listed Colorado locations to each other: Denver at the top, Garden Of The Gods (where Balanced Rock is), Pike’s Peak, Victor and Cripple Creek at the bottom:
On July 26, 1906 the Jersey City Evening Journal published a Special written during the Elks sightseeing excursion on July 22. It described 200 people leaving the lights and noise of Denver behind, meeting the local friendly cowboys and traveling by special train through Colorado Springs, Cripple Creek and Victor. The visit to the Garden Of The Gods was done via carriage, after which they lunched in Manitou (87 degrees) before ascending Pike’s Peak via cog wheel train (45 degrees!). The Camden group is shown on Pike’s Peak during that same trip:
The group brought some snow down from the mountain for a snowball fight in the 84-degree heat back in Manitou. That night they went to an open house at the Colorado Springs Elks lodge and the next day joined up with the Cripple Creek and Victor lodges (this area was known for its gold mining, and the group got a tour of Gold Coin Mine before heading back to Colorado Springs).
In Salida on Sunday they saw more snow-covered mountains, then on to Pueblo, Marshall Pass, the Royal Gorge (with cliffs rising 2620 feet above the railroad tracks, it was the most impressive thing the group had seen thus far) and the Grand Canyon Of The Arkansas. That night, Kansas City (they took a trolley tour there) and on to St. Louis by Tuesday, passing back through Detroit, crossing the St. Clair River into Canada and rolled into Buffalo four hours late. By this time the group was well worn our and ready to get back home.
The train rolled onward through Buffalo with plans to arrive back in NJ on Wednesday. Along for the ride were two burros members of the group had purchased at Cripple Creek and somehow gotten on the train. The Elks had fun with the animals, with Morris participating, before declaring them citizens of Jersey City:
On September 24, 1906, Francis was elected prefect of the junior division of the St. Aloysius Society of St. Mary’s Cathedral. A few days later he and Morris were listed among those at Bayonne’s Wheeler’s Shore House with those Elks that had made the memorable trip to Denver (now called the “Denver Club”):
As a side note, two years later, the old restaurant burned down:
December 1906 brought some notoriety to John I. Mara. He made the papers all over the country for getting mixed up with a crooked Chicago banker, WIlliam J. Atkinson. Atkinson was accused of embezzling bank funds to put into other ventures. Here is one of many articles where John Mara is also mentioned:
A photo of Atkinson:
As 1907 begins, the recent bad times for the Mara’s after such an exciting summer in the West continues on with what seems to be the death of middle brother William (from chronic nephritis and pneumonia) on January 12. This partial view of his obituary shows another funeral occurring at 824 Ocean, Morris’ home:
As described above when we covered the deaths of John I. Mara’s children in the 1870s, William was buried in the same plot, also without a headstone:
Shortly after William’s burial, on January 27 we see John Mara getting involved in a clay business with two other investors:
Morris keeps busy with bowling and on March 22 buys an apartment house nearby to Ocean Ave.:
In June, John (identified as both John “I” and John “J”) incorporates a real estate construction business:
On October 10, John Mara, age 56, returns from a trip to England (bottom of screenshot). One of his descendants told me he once saw a postcard John sent to his daughter Alice from this trip:
One of many examples of Morris bowling, from December 4:
In late January 1908, Morris was again advertising for a girl to help with housework. He ran the same ad again in April and July:
On February 8, high school student Francis Mara again made the honor roll at Cathedral.
On June 11, another funeral takes place at Morris’ house, this time for oldest brother John, who died of heart disease two days earlier:
As seen on his death certificate, John’s place of burial was in St. James Cemetery, Woodbridge NJ. What seems to be his headstone is located near the burials of his daughter Alice and her in-laws, the Ryans:
A month after her father’s death, Alice Mara, now living in Woodbridge, visited friends over in Perth Amboy in July:
On September 24, Morris got together with his Denver Club Elks for their second annual dinner meeting. He may have also attended the Dallas convention this year, according to the article:
On October 21, 1908, Alice Mara married John F. Ryan of Woodbridge, thus founding the very large branch of the family in that city that I call the “Lost Mara’s” (did any of you know about them? We’ll meet them in more detail in another post):
Closing out the year, on December 19th Morris is listed among the guests at a surprise birthday party:
In early 1909, Morris begins the year with more bowling, even traveling to neighboring towns to compete with other Elks.
On March 20, widow Sarah Denehy (younger sister of the late Katherine Mara) visits the Grand View Sanitorium and writes a post card to their sister Winifred Morris, living at 824 Ocean:
In May, Morris was on the athletic committee for the new bowling alley at St. Patrick’s Parish House near his home. He may have traveled to the annual Elks convention, this year held in Los Angeles, as in September he was at a reunion dinner for the participants held at the Bergen Point Casino.
1910 was another census year, on April 20th we get a snapshot of the Morris Mara family: Morris, his sons John Morris (who was married 7 years before but is still at home?) and Francis, the Morris women Winifred and Susan (younger sisters of Katherine Mara), and servant Susan McNulty. Morris and John Morris were rollers in the steel mill; Francis was a tobacco salesman for Lorrilard):
This is a special census for our family – look who enumerated it!
Since he chose to do this task, we have 25 pages full of Francis’ handwriting (another sample below is from his neighborhood):
Census enumerators that year were given a 69-page book to study and carry with them as they made their rounds:
Another quiet year went by until July 6, 1911 when Francis shows up in a newspaper article as best man for his cousin Ethel Dodd’s wedding (she was the daughter of his mother’s sister Mary):
This story had a sad ending, as two weeks later the bride was dead from diabetes (I’ll include the story in a post about the Morrises).
On December 26, Morris was part of the Elks Christmas party at Elks Hall where 2000 children received gifts.
We skip to 1913 where Morris, age 54, took a late-January cruise from New York to Limon, Colon and Kingston (bottom of screenshot). Note that he lists his birthplace as New York City (which we know is accurate), not NJ:
Most of that year was filled up with multiple reports of “F. Mara” and “J. Mara” (Francis and his brother?) bowling:
On December 26, the Jersey City Elks once again hosted 2000 children for Christmas festivities. Morris is mentioned at the end of the article as a member of the committee:
On January 8, 1914, Morris (nicknamed “Morris Morris”, probably because of his wife’s maiden name) did his bit to add “more cowbell” as cheer leader at an Elks bowling event:
On February 9 Morris and a colleague are singled out to help their team:
On October 24 (and again in early November) we see Winnie and Susan Morris (Catherine Mara’s younger sisters) continuing their bowling activities on different teams:
On the very last day of the year, December 31, 1914, Francis gets a license to marry Margaret Reilly. Margaret is the daughter of Daniel Reilly (the former WI farmer) and his wife Mary Murphy, daughter of Hugh Murphy and Mary O’Brien. The notice is published in the Poughkeepsie NY Evening Enterprise for some reason:
Earlier that month, Margaret, a schoolteacher, had gotten a raise (first paragraph):
The new year begins with the marriage of Francis and Margaret on January 3, 1915, probably at St. Peter’s Church right near his home. In an alternate record, Poughkeepsie is mentioned again:
Throughout the year there was a lot of bowling by “J” and “F” Mara. This report from February 26 is but one example:
Summertime meant another census (Francis seems to have known better than to do that again) and on June 3 we get a new snapshot of the Mara family with some weird statements: Morris is a steelworker (that we knew), John Morris is called “Morris John” and even though he was married in 1903 and was “M” (while living with Morris) in 1910, here he is “Single”. Same with Francis, who was married six months before (?). Catherine’s sisters Winifred and Susie are still living at 824, with Susie “retired” at age 30 – perhaps due to their success in the stock market (which we will see in the Morris story), and Maid Susie McNulty is still with them:
Meanwhile, over in the Daniel Reilly household, Margaret the schoolteacher is still listed as living with her parents on 177 Fairview:
In August, Francis poses for a photo somewhere in nature:
Francis and Margaret finally seem to go on their honeymoon in September, traveling up to Laurel Cottage in Lake Tennanah, NY. A few photos of them at the lake with some mystery friends from the 18th are in the family collection (colorized here):
Here they are on the same day at the Summer House at Sunset Hill, Lake Wood, NY:
Descriptions from the backs of the photos, seemingly in Margaret’s handwriting:
On May 20, 1916, Francis and Margaret had a baby boy, Frank Jr. This seems to be the earliest photo of Frank from the Reilly family collection, taken in the back yard of 824 Ocean:
This and the following photos of him and other members of the family were taken on January 7, 1917, at grandparents Reilly’s house at 177 Fairview Ave.:
Margaret (at right) poses with Frank and her mother Mary in the back yard. She is already two months pregnant with second son Joseph:
Then Grandpa Daniel Reilly (left) and Margaret’s brother Walter pose with the baby in the same place:
Back indoors, Grandma Reilly holds the jittery baby:
World War I was raging during this time. This article from February 19 describes the armaments manufacturing going on at the Crucible Steel plant in Harrison, where Morris worked:
In March we have a couple more reports of “F” Mara bowling, then on April 23, 1917, Francis and Margaret had baby Joseph:
Unfortunately, he was born prematurely at 6 1/2 months and only lived two days, dying on April 25:
Joseph was buried at Holy Name in the particular plot occupied by his grandparents Morris and Catherine.
Joseph’s name might be a reference to Morris J. Mara’s otherwise unknown middle name.
Less than two months later on June 5, 1917, at age 30, Francis filled out his World War I draft registration card. He was listed as working as a clerk for the P. Lorrilard (tobacco) Company in New York City:
A studio photo of little Frank taken later in the year:
On March 13, 1918, Francis and Margaret had their third son, Maurice Daniel:
Maurice had his photo taken at about 12 days old:
On April 9, a month after Maurice’s birth, his father Francis has some interaction with the draft exemption board. I haven’t seen any record of him having been drafted:
On September 12, Francis’ brother John Morris Mara has his turn with draft registration. Like his father Morris he is a steel roller at the Crucible plant in Harrison. Note his “complicated” marriage arrangment (which we suspected), where it is noted he does not live with his wife, who resides nearby on Union St.:
On March 5, 1919, the war being over for some months, Morris is back to bowling with the Elks. Speaking of the JC Elks, on October 27, the Jersey Journal ran a 2-page spread to celebrate the opening of the Elks’ new lodge on Hudson Blvd.:
Our own Morris Mara was named on the first page (in the 4th column just under the “BP”) as one of the Jersey City club’s charter members (from 1891):
Just over 100 years later, you can rent an apartment in the old lodge!
On January 8, 1920 the census taker came around to 824 Ocean and again recorded the status of the Mara family: Morris is a labor foreman at the steel plant while his son John ran a machine there. Francis (who would continue living in this house for the rest of his life) was a clerk in the Lorillard tobacco company office. The Morris sisters had already moved out and had been living nearby on Claremont Ave. before moving to Reynold Terrace in Orange during this year, while Francis and Margaret had begun the process of filling the home with their own children (Frank and Maurice so far, with many more to come!). Susan McNulty was still there as the housekeeper:
On June 8 Francis is seen carrying on the family Elks bowling legacy:
The end of the First Generations chapter comes on July 24, 1922 when Morris Mara dies after a long battle with mouth cancer. He had retired not too long ago from the steel plant and helped watch his grandchildren at home.
His obituary gives a few more details about his life:
On July 27, yet another funeral is held at the Mara’s Ocean Ave. home:
Morris’ death certificate, with Katherine’s birthday listed (Morris was born in September 1855, making him about 66). This document links him back to Morgan Mara and Honora Stapleton, the Irish immigrants of 1850:
On July 26 (the date conflicts with the 27th date of the funeral above), Morris joined the growing number of familiy members in the Holy Name cemetery plot:
Various legalities had to be taken care of by Francis:
At this point, Morris’ children Frank and John Morris take over the household (Morris has a listing one last time):
With Morris’ death I’ll close out the first chapter of the Mara’s life in Jersey City, a story which would continue as his grandchildren fanned out across the city, state, and beyond.