Brazil Grover

 In 1900, Brazil Grover and family lived in Shrewsbury. Brazil was born in Dec 1865; his wife, Hattie E. had been born in May 1870. They were married about 1890; Hattie had given birth four times by 1900. Grover was working as a day laborer at that time.

The children living with them were:
Georgianna, b. Mar 1891
Elsworth, b. Jul 1892
Harry, b. Feb 1895
Muriel, b. Jan 1900

In 1910, Gilmore Betzel and his wife, Georgeanna, were living in Lakewood, Ocean Co., with her family:
1910 Census:
Sampson Ave, Lakewood:

GroverBrazil42NJlaborer- odd jobs
GroverHattie39NJ
GroverElsworth17NJlaborer- odd jobs
GroverMuriel10NJ
BetzelGilmore21NJlaborer- odd jobsGilmore is Brazil's son-in-law
BetzelGeorganna19NJGeorganna is Brazil's daughter

By 1920, Gilmore was apparently dead. Georgianna was living with her aunt, Hannah Shomar (sp?) on Clinton Ave in Newark. Hannah was a widow, like Georgianna. Hannah was 65. Also in the home in Newark was Hannah's daughter, Viola (age 38, born in Kansas) and Viola's husband, William J. Walker. William was 43. He was born in New York, and worked as a plumber.
Viola and William had two teenage children, Ralph (19), and William H. Walker (17). Hannah had other nephews and nieces living with her as well: Olive Herbert, 26; Muriel Grover, 20 (who was Georgeanna' sister, as seen on the 1910 census), Bernard C. Brown, 35. There was also a grand daughter of Hannah's, Eudice Kerber, age 10 mos. As if that were not enough, they even took on a boarder, Henry J. Schroeder of Ohio, age 31.

Except there's a problem. While the ages are about right for Muriel and Georgianna, in that same year in Brazil Grover's family in Lakewood, there appears a 19 year old daughter named Georgie and 20 year old Muriel. Georgie also appears as widow here, but her last name is not given as Betzel. So what happened? Did the two girls spend part of the year with an aunt, and part with their parents, and get picked up by the enumerator at both homes? Or are the two in Newark just a complete coincidence with no relation to this family?

At any rate, Brazil Grover and his family are all buried in the cemetery at Whitesville..

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Biegenwald murders

Murder in Manahawkin, 2006

The Horrible Case of Lena Brown