Occupations Part 1: Conrads

It being Labor Day, I thought I would write a post about the occupations of my direct ancestors. I quickly realized it would become very long, and so have broken it down into my four main lines which I will post during this week. First, the Conrads.

Here is the line, starting with my grandfather and working back.

  • Edward Charles Conrad (1905-1981): hosiery worker, merchant
  • Nicholas Conrad (1867-1942): warper
  • Nicholas Conrad (c1824-1874): box maker, barrel dealer, cooper
Hosiery Mill workers at their machines. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Hosiery Mill Workers, Philadelphia, c.1937-1938. Wikimedia Commons.

My grandfather, Edward Conrad, like many of his neighbors in Kensington, worked in the hosiery mills after leaving school. In the 1930 census, he was listed as a knitter and in his 1940 World War II draft card he indicated his employer was International Hosiery at 1200 E. Venango Street in Philadelphia. He later owned his own business at the  corner of H & Ontario Streets. He closed the business before I can remember, but I know he sold ice cream among other things.

 

 

Illustrative photo of a warper at his machine.
Warper at his machine, Newton, NC, 1908. Wikimedia Commons.

My great-grandfather, Nicholas Conrad (1867-1942) was a warper at the hosiery mills. This is the only occupation I ever saw listed for him.

He worked in the mills at least from age thirteen in 1880 to his death in 1942 at the age of 75.

My father told me he was very thrifty, and would walk to work rather than pay a nickel to ride the streetcar.

 

 

Illustrative photo of a barrel maker.
Barrel Maker in the 1850’s-1860’s. Wikimedia Commons.

My great-great grandfather, Nicholas Conrad (c1824-1874), likely immigrated in the early 1850’s. I have not found him in the 1850 census, and he was married in Philadelphia in 1853. This means I only have 2 census records for him. In 1860 he was listed as a box maker and in 1870 as a barrel dealer. His 1874 death certificate records his occupation as cooper, which is someone who makes barrels and similar containers.

Connecting the Elons

I have several Elon Carmans in my family tree.

Elon (1792)
Elon Joseph (1840)
Joseph Elon (1872)
Joseph Elon (1891)
Joseph Elon (1901)
Joseph Elon (1914)

There is also an Elon Carman who lived in and around Philadelphia that I knew must be related, but I couldn’t find any definitive evidence of the relationship beyond DNA matches with some of his descendants.

Yesterday, I found his baptismal record. He was baptized at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in North Wales, Montgomery County, PA on 13 May 1833 and his birth date was listed as 14 Aug 1828. While the last name was spelled in the Ancestry index as Cormon, his parents were listed as Elon & Martha, so I am confident now that he is the brother of my great-great-great grandfather Charles R. Carman.

I’ve now identified four children of Elon Carman and Martha Johnson, although I only have Elizabeth’s name and no other information about her:

Elizabeth
Charles R. Carman (1818-1879)
Mary Ann Carman (1821-1898)
Elon Carman (1828-  )

I haven’t found Elon Jr.’s death information yet. He is often listed under different names in documents (Elwood, Leon, Eleon, Titus, Kite/Kitus) and his descendants used the Carmen spelling of the last name.  I’ve done a lot of searching of a lot of different combinations of names & spellings, but so far no luck.

 

MyHeritage photo colorizer

MyHeritage has a photo colorizer. It is free through 4/22 (tomorrow- hurry!), according to the FAQ. You do have to create an account on their site to use it. Normally non-subscribers can colorize up to 10 photos for free.

I decided to try it out and below are the results. A lot of the photos I tried were too small. I think they have to be at least 200×200, although it doesn’t say in the FAQ.

Comparison of original phot & colorized version of Anna Funston
Anna Funston (pre-1928), original (left), colorized (right)
Comparison or original & colorized photo of John Garrison
John Garrison (1899), original (left), colorized (right)
Comparison of original & colorized photo
Carol Garrison Conrad & Charles Conrad “Yoked Together” (1959), original (top), colorized (bottom)
Comparison of original & colorized photo
Charles & Carol Conrad (r-l) honeymoon night out (1959), original (top), colorized (bottom)