The following table shows the vital statistics for Edwin and Maria Garsia and their descendants. (The numbers on the left are generation numbers with Edwin and Maria number one.):-
1 Edwin C.B. (Ted) Garsia b. circa 1835 d. 13 Mar. 1901 m. 20 Nov. 1867 Maria BACHEM b. Sep.1851 d. 10 Oct. 1939
2 Edwin Rudolph Christopher (Teddy) GARSIA b. circa dec.1869 d. 3 October 1943, m. circa 1903 Mary Williams (Polly) SANDERS b. circa 1869
2 Maria (Minm?i) Garsia b. circa 1848 d. 10 Oct. 1939 m. circa 1898 Alfred H. PLATT b. Jan. 1870 d. 1 Oct. 1920
3 Maria Garsia PLATT b. circa 1872 d. 15 Jan. 1941
3 Clare G.PLATT b. circa 1901
Time line for Edwin C.B. Garsia and his descendants.
- Edwin born to parents Aaron and Sarah Garsia in Kingston, Jamaica.
- His future wife Maria Bachem born in Cuba.
1860 Edwin with brother Willoughby M. arrives in New York from Aspinwall.
1861 Edwin arrives in New York from England.
1862-66 Edwin included on US IRS Tax Assessment List.
1866 Edwin living at 57 Exchange Place, New York as a Uruguay Consul
1867 Edwin and Maria married.
1869 Edwin and Maria living at 307 W51st Street, New York.
1869 Edwin Jun. born in New York.
1869 Mary Williams Sanders Edwin Jun.’s future wife born.
1870 Edwin returned from a visit to the Dominican Republic.
1872 Edwin Senr. returned from a visit to England.
1880 The family living at 342 46th Street, New York. First official record of Edwin Jun.
1891 The family still at the same address.
1900 The family has moved to 251 N88th Street, New York.
1901 Edwin Senr. died on 13 March aged 66 years.
1903 Edwin Jun. and Maria Bachem married.
1904 Edwin Jun. and Maria living in Salem Massachusetts. (N. Boston)
1908 Edwin Jun. and Maria return from a visit to England.
1909 Edwin Jun. and Maria living in Newton Massachusetts. (Boston)
1910 Maria, Edwin’s widow living at 158 W88th Street, New York.
1913 Edwin Jun. and Maria sail for England and stay till 1920. They show their permanent address as Bournemouth, England. Joy and I failed to find any record of them there for the period 1913 to 1935.
1920 Edwin Jun. and Maria arrive in New York from England two months later returning to the UK.
1920 Edwin Senr.’s widow Maria still living at 158 W88th Street, New York.
1923 Edwin Jun. and Maria arrive back in Boston from England.
1935 Edwin Jun. and Maria listed in the electoral role for Bournemouth.
1939 Maria (Senr.) died on October 10 aged 88 years.
1940 Edwin Jun. and Maria return to the US.
1943 Edwin died on 3 October.
1947 Maria still living in Boston aged 78 years.
Edwin C.B. Garsia.
Edwin was the fourth child and second son of Aaron and Sarah Garsia of Kingston, Jamaica. We have been unable to find a record of his birth but the evidence presented below leads us to believe that his birth date was in the first few months of 1835. Neither have we discovered what his initials ‘C.B.’ stand for and we have no information about his childhood but assume that he grew up with his parents in Kingston till 1848 when his father died and he was thirteen or fourteen years old. A few years later the family seems to have left Jamaica for the UK and South America. Edwin turns up later in New York as the Consul General for Uruguay so we may presume that at some stage between the death of his father (1848) and his appearance in the US (1866) he spent time in Uruguay and maybe also in the Dominican Republic and Cuba (see later). By that time he was over thirty and had become a well established businessman. This was the time when Uruguay was developing economically, and when the economy of Jamaica was collapsing as the slaves were freed and the price of sugar fell, and it is also the time when his older brother Willoughby Marston was practicing medicine in Uruguay and making a lot of money. That the two brothers were together at this time is confirmed by a passenger list showing them sailing from Aspinwall to New York in 1860[1] possibly on their way to the UK. Edwin appears to have returned to the US the following year as he is recorded[2] in the passenger list for a ship arriving in New York from the UK. From 1862 to 1866 he is shown on the US IRS Tax Assessment List[3]. The next record we have of him is from the New York City Directory for 1866[4] where he is recorded as a Consul presumably of Uruguay (see later). A year later he married[5] Maria Gertrude Bachem who was born in Havana, Cuba where they may have married. He is listed in the New York Directory for 1869[6]. Within a year he had visited the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean as he appears in the passenger list[7] for a ship arriving in New York from there on 19 February 1870. Another passenger list[8] shows him returning to N.Y. from England on 14 March 1872. The next year a newspaper reports that he was arrested and charged for the misappropriation of $11000. There is no mention of his being the Consul General for Uruguay after that and we may assume he no longer held that position as a result of the court ruling. We have a copy of a letter[9] dated 29 November 1873 referring to a loan of £100,000 and his brother or broker (the record uses the contraction ‘bro’) in London. In another legal battle he was reported in a newspaper story (13 February 1878)[10] about a law suit brought by Edwin relating to a contract to build a railway valued at $1,200,000. He clearly dealt in large sums of money in both London and the US. He appears in the US census for 1880[11] thus: Address: 342, 46th Street, New York., Stock Broker, Maria Garsia his wife, Edwin Garsia their son aged 11, daughter Maria aged 9, and members of the Bachem family. Censuses and Directories for 1881, 1891, and 1900[12] all show that Edwin and Maria continued to live in New York. Latterly his occupation is shown as ‘wines’ and ‘tobacco’. The 1990 census shows that their daughter (recorded as Maria Platt) is now married (in 1898) with one daughter Maria (9 mo) and living with her parents at the same address. This census also shows that they were able to afford three domestic servants. The New York Times[13] reported that Edwin suffered a Heart attack on 13 March 1901 as a result of running for a train and died. He was sixty five years old. In his obituary he is described as being wealthy and well known in financial circles and the foreign representative of the Havana Commercial Company capitalised for $30,000,000. It goes on to say that, ‘Mr. Garsia lived with his wife, son, and daughter in a handsome house, which was filled with rare curios and works of art gathered from all over the world. He was born in England of Spanish parents and early in life drifted into South America and South American politics. He managed to escape assassination and grew wealthy.’
Edwin’s parents and his date of birth.
- There are a number of records that establish that Edwin is the son of Aaron and Sarah Ann Garsia.
- a. In 1923 when their son Edwin R.C. and his wife Maria return from England to Boston their nearest relative in England is shown as:
“Cousin, Harry Garsia, New Crt., Lincoln Inn, London”
- b. In 1910, Edwin R.C. and Maria sailed from Glasgow, via Canada to the US their nearest relative in England is shown as:
“Uncle, Capt. C. Garsia, Weston-Super-Mare, England”.
- The only period long enough for the conception and birth of another child to Sarah Ann in the period from her marriage to Aaron in 1830, the birth of her first child Adelaide Sarah in 1831 to the birth of Alicia Eliza in 1845 is between the births of Willoughby Marston in 1834 and of Christopher in 1837. This leaves the period November 1834 to May 1836 for Edwin’s birth.
- It turns out that the Kingston church records for the relevant period are badly damaged by water and that the Copy Register for the period August 1825 to January 1837 is missing.
- His age is recorded in various documents of uncertain reliability and these lead to birth dates thus:
- A passenger list for 1870 – birth date April, 1839
- Another passenger list for 1872 – birth year 1827.
- N.Y. Census for 1880 – birth year 1835
- N.Y. Census for 1900 – birth January 1837.
- Death – birth year 1836.
We may accept the month of April as what he probably remembered since he may have celebrated his birthday each year but unsure of his age. If we accept that, the most acceptable year is – 1835 although 1836 is just possible.
The final conclusion is that he was most probably born in the early months of 1835.
After Edwin’s death his wife Maria continued to live in New York with her daughter, son-in-law and two grand children. On the 1910 census return[14] she is marked as the ‘head’ of the household. There is a record[15] of her continuing to live in New York in 1917. By the 1920 census[16] she is living with her daughter and son-in-law and their children but her son-in-law is marked as ‘head’ of the household. Through to 1930 she is still recorded[17] as living in New York. Finally Maria is recorded[18] as having died on 12 October 1939.
Their son Edwin Rudolph Christopher
As with his father we don’t have any record of Edwin’s (jun.) birth but various sources indicate that he was born in the year 1869. The first official record we have of him is the 1880 New York census[19] where he is recorded living with his parents aged eleven. By 1900 he appears to have left home as he doesn’t appear in that census with his parents. Although we don’t have an official record of it, it appears that in 1902/3 he married Mary Williams SANDERS[20]. (It would seem maybe that Edwin was married to someone else prior to marrying Mary Sanders as he is shown attending a wedding in 1893 in New York with his parents – they are listed as follows: Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Garsia and Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Garsia, Jr.). The Massachusetts directory for 1904[21] lists him as a manager (Mgr) living in Salem. In 1908[22] he and Maria returned from a stay in England. We have a photocopy of a United States Certificate[23] granting a piece of land of 160 acres to Edwin Garcia on 16 Aug.1909 at Jackson, Mississippi. In the same year he and Maria are recorded[24] as living in Newton Massachusetts. In 1910 he is described[25] as a street lighting contractor living with Maria in Newton Massachusetts. In 1913 he and his wife Mary sailed for England[26]. It may have been at this time that they became naturalized British subjects. With the First World War about to start Edwin was too old at 47 to be conscripted into the British services (conscription for 28 to 41 year old men didn’t start until January 1916 and in any case if he retained his American citizenship he would not be liable). They appear to have remained in England till 21 Aug. 1920 when they arrived back in New York. At that time they showed their permanent address as Bournemouth, England and their nearest relative as Mrs Bradley Cooke, London. In Oct 1920 they returned to the UK, made a visit to France and then in 1923 back to the US for a couple of months[27]. In the local records for Bournemouth[28] they appear in the Register of Voters for 1935 and in others till 1940 when they are living at 12 Branksome Wood Road. At the same time the Willis-Fleming family was living at 7c Branscome Wood Road. In 1936 and in 1938 they made return visits to the US[29]. They returned to the US at the outbreak of war in 1939[30]. Finally we have a record[31] of Edwin’s death in 1943 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was seventy four years old.
Unlike his father it seems unlikely (going by his profession as recorded in the censuses) that Edwin Jun. made much money on his own account. Presumably he and Maria inherited the wealth accumulated by his father and possibly that of Maria’s father. They appear to have enjoyed a fairly well financed style of living, Edwin retiring in his mid forties, with many journeys across the Atlantic, apparently settling in England in the 1920s and before finally, on the outbreak of the Second World War, returning to the US where he died in 1943. They left no off-spring.
I have not included Edwin (Jun.)’s sister and her family in this record of the family. They may have living descendants.
Edwin’s wife Maria.
We have a little information about Maria as follows: She was born about the same year as Edwin[32]. After his death in 1943 she continued to live in Boston[33] at least until 1947 when she would have been 78.
An interesting piece of information about her family is the following: ‘In an excerpt from “The Story of Winnekinni,” by author Donald C. Freeman, Freeman relates how Alexander Graham Bell used the basement of Sander’s house on Kenoza Avenue for some of his experiments. “From this house (which is still standing) the telephone line was extended to City Hall in 1877 for Bell to give a public exhibition of his invention. In the uncertain days between 1874 and 1878 Sanders (a leather dealer) provided nine-tenths of the money to get the telephone company started and signed notes, mortgaging his property, for one hundred and ten thousand dollars. When the tide turned, munificently, for the Bell Telephone Company, Thomas Sanders, one of the three partners, may be said to have ‘splurged.’ In 1880 he built ‘Birchbrow,’ a forty-room home with an interior finished with mahogany and other costly woods – at a cost of three hundred eighty-five thousand period value dollars. The estate was plagued by fires; the huge and elaborately finished barn, costing eighty thousand, was burned in 1895 and again in 1929. The house had bad fires in 1886 and 1892. Some fifty thousand dollars-worth of vandalism was done in 1946!”
“Birchbrow”, an elegant mansion that once graced the hillside here (Haverhill, Mass.) in the 1800’s, was the home of Thomas Sanders, built in 1880 with profits realized from the recently invented telephone. Alexander Graham Bell’s association with Sanders, as the tutor of his deaf son (George) was one of benefit to both men.
Birchbrow was known for its warm hospitality. In the rubble you can still see the remains of the ornate brickwork from the chimneys and the front stairs of the grand, main entrance.
[1] From Angela’s email of 18 Mar. 2009: :
I also found Dr.Garsia and Edwin C. Garsia sailing from Aspinwall to New York in 1860 as follows: (Note this is the same year that Dr. Garsia graduated from med. school):
Manifest of Passengers from Aspinwall to New York: Arriving New York 1860 – May 12. Ship: S.S. North Star
Dr. Garcia, age 30, Physician,
E.C. Garcia, age 26, Purser
The Country to which they severally belong: England
The Country of which they intend to become inhabitants: England
Possibly they were going, via New York, to England – I’ve not been able to find Edwin in the 1860 US census.
[2] Then in 1861: On March 27, 1861, Edwin C.B. Garsia is found as a passenger (from England) on board the S.S. Viga, arriving in New York. He gives his age as 25 years. (From Angela’s email of 18 Mar. 2009).
[3] Angela’s email of 18 March 2009.
[4] NY City Directory, 1866: Edwin C.B. Garsia, Consul, 57 Exchange Place, New York.
[5] An announcement in the marriages column of the New York Times states: ‘GARSIA – BACHEM. On Wednesday, November 20, at the residence of the bride’s parents, by the Rev. Dr. McGlynn, Edwin C.B. Garsia, Consul-General for the Republica Oriental del Uruguay, to Maria Gertrude, only daughter of Rudolph Bachem, Esq. of this City. No cards.’
[6] NY City Directory, 1869: Edwin C.B. Garsia, 19 Broad, home 307 W 51st, New York. (DOC273).
[7] N.Y. passenger list: Name: Edwin Garsia, arrival date: 19 Feb. 1870, Age 39 10/12 (making his d.o.b. December 1831). (DOC210).
[8] Irish and British Immigrants to America, 1870-1872, Passenger and immigrants list vol. 2. Edwin C.B. Garsia, age 45, merchant, Liverpool or Queenstown to New York. (DOC210).
[9] This is a letter from Edwin written from the office of Fred L. Fake & Co in NY to Fred L. Fake in Chicago. It refers to a letter/cable from his Bro (brother or broker?) in London from which he quotes a section relating to some bonds of the Chicago and Pacific Rly. and a possible loan of £100,000. (DOC179)
[10] This is a newspaper cutting dated 13 February 1878 relating to the funding of a railway company to the extent of $2,520,000. Reference is made to ‘the firm of Garsia and Co.’ and to dealings with the bankers Kinnaird and Co of London, (DOC209).
[11] 1880 CENSUS IMAGE:
City of New York, County: New York, ED 464
Enumerated: June 12, 1880
Address: 342 46th. Street, New York
Garsia, Edwin C.B., Head, Age 45, Born: England, Both Parents Born: England, Occupation: Stock Broker. (Note: Born ca 1835 – 12 yrs older than Maria)
Garsia, Maria, Wife, Age 33, Born: Havana, Both Parents Born: Havana, Occupation: Keeping House. (Note: Born ca 1847)
Garsia, Edwin, Son, Age 11, Born: New York, Father Born: England, Mother Born: Havana , Student. (Note: Born ca 1869)
Garsia, Maria, Daughter, Age 9, Born: New York, Father Born: England, Mother Born: Havana. (Note: Born ca 1871)
Bachem, Laura, Mother-in- Law, Age 52, Widow, Born: Italy, Both Parents Born: Italy, At Home
Bachem, Rudolph, Brother-in-Law, Age 32, Married, Born: Havana, Father Born: Havana, Mother Born: Italy, No Occupation
Bachem, Kate, (Wife of Rudolph?), Age 26, Married, Born: New York, Both Parents Born: New York. At Home
Bachem, Conrad, Age: 30, Single, Born: Havana, Father Born: Havana, Mother Born: Italy, Occupation: Banker
Note: There are three domestic servants from Ireland at the same dwelling
[12] 1881 NEW YORK DIRECTORY:
Garsia Edwin C. B. broker, 14 B’way, h 842 W. 46th., New York (note the house number differs from the 1880 census, i.e. 342 in 1880 and 842 in 1881)
1890 CENSUS IMAGES were destroyed by fired. However, Edwin is found in the 1890 New York City Directory as follows:
Garsia Edwin C. B., wines, 45 Beaver, house 342 W. 46th
1891 NEW YORK DIRECTORY:
Garsia Edwin C. B. wines, 45 Beaver, h 342 W. 46th
1894 – February 27. There is a Mr. and Mrs. Garsia shown in the Brooklyn Eagle attending the Celebration of the 10th. Wedding Anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. S. Tarmargo. This is possible Edwin C.B. and Maria.
1900 CENSUS IMAGE:
City of New York, County: Manhattan Borough, ED 484, Enumerated: June 10, 1900
Address: 251 N88th. Street, New York
Garsia, Edwin, Head, Age 63, Date of Birth: Jan. 1837, No of Years Married: 30, Born: England, Both Parents Born: England, Occupation: Tobacco, Year of Immigration to US: 1869, No. of years in US: 31.
Garsia, Maria, Wife, Age 49, Date of Birth: Sept. 1851, No. of Yrs. Married: 30, Mother of how many Children: 2, Born: Cuba, Father Born: Italy, Mother Born: Germany, Occupation: None, Year of Immigration to US: 1873, No. of Years in US: 27
Platt, Maria, Daughter, Age 24, Date of Birth: Feb. 1876, No. of Yrs. Married: 2, Mother of how many Children: 1, Born: New York, Father Born: England, Mother Born: Cuba, Occupation: None
Platt, Alfred, Son-in-Law, Age 29, Date of Birth: June 1870, No. of Yrs. Married: 2, Born: New York, Both Parents Born: New York, Occupation: None
Platt, Maria, Grand daughter, Age: 9/12 (mos.), Date of Birth: Aug. 1899, Born: New York, Both Parents Born: New York
Bachem, Laura, G.G. Mother, Age 69, Date of Birth: July 1830, Widow, Mother of how many Children: 4 – (2 living), Born: Italy, Both Parents Born: Italy, Occupation: None, Year of Immigration to US: 1860, No. of Years in US: 40
Note: I’m assuming that Laura Bachem is named as Great Grandmother of Maria Platt Jr., which would make more sense. Note how long Laura Bachem says she has been in the U.S. – from 1860.
There are also three domestic servants from Ireland.
[13] The following was forwarded to me from Angela.
From the New York Times – Thursday, March 14, 1901:
STRICKEN ON THE ELEVATED.
E.C.B. GARSIA HAS AN ATTACK OF HEART DISEASE AND DIES IN A WAITING ROOM.
Edwin C.B. Garsia, sixty-five years old, the foreign representative of the Havana Commercial Company, wealthy and widely known in financial circles, was seized with an attack of heart disease yesterday morning while riding down town on a Ninth Avenue elevated train, and died in a few moments. Mr. Garsia considered himself late for business, and almost ran from his home, at 255 West Eighty-eighth Street, to the Eighty-first Street station. He was gasping for breath when he sank into his seat in the car. The train had hardly started when he slipped from his seat to the floor of the car. There was instant commotion in the car. A half dozen women screamed, and one of the number fainted, while several of the male passengers went to the assistance of the prostrate passenger.
Among the passengers were Drs. Embury and Paterno. The two physicians instantly diagnosed the case as heart disease, and, all thought they had little hope, worked hard over the patient. They carried him off the train at Seventy-second Street and into the waiting room. Artificial respiration and other restoratives were applied in vain. The patient died in a few moments.
Mr. Garsia lived with his wife, son, and daughter in a handsome house, which was filled with rare curios and works of art gathered from all over the world. He was born in England of Spanish parents and early in life drifted into South America and South American politics. He managed to escape assassination and grew wealthy.
The Havana Commercial Company, of which he was foreign representative, has an office at 135 Broadway. It handles plantations and Cuban industries, is capitalized for $30,000,000, and is one of the biggest concerns of its kind in the world. Mr. Garsia was at one time the Consul General from Uruguay.
[14] 1910 CENSUS IMAGE:
City of New York, County: Manhattan Borough, ED 500 or 580 – Part of Ward 12, Enumerated: April 27. 1910
Address: 158 W88th. Street, New York
Garsia, (Mrs.) Edwin, Head, age 55, Widow, born Cuba, father born Italy, mother born Germany, occupation: None, year of immigration to the US – 1869 (Note – Born ca 1855)
Platt, Maria G., Daughter, age 34, No. or years married – 11, No. of Children – 2, born New York, father born New York, mother born Cuba, No occupation. (Note: Born ca 1876)
Platt, Alfred H., Son-in-Law, age 40, No. of years married – 11, born: New York as were born parents, Occupation: Salesman – Dry Goods (Note: Born ca 1870)
Platt, Maria G., Grand daughter, age 10, born New York. (Note: Born ca 1899)
Platt, Clare G., Grand daughter, age 9, born New York. (Note: Born ca 1900)
In the same dwelling are two lodgers and three domestic servants from Ireland.
1910 – Trow’s General Directory of the Boroughs of Manhattan & Bronx City of New York, New York:
Garsia Maria G wid Edwin h158 W88th, New York.
[15] 1917 – R.L.Polk & Co.’s Trow General & Business Directory of the Boroughs of Manhattan & Bronx City of New York, New York for 1917:
Garsia, Maria G. (Widow Edwin) H. 158 W88th., New York
[16] 1920 CENSUS:
City of New York, County: Manhattan Borough, ED 580 – Part of Ward: there is a 4/5 and a 7?D Enumerated: January 13, 1920
Address: Renting at 158 W88th. Street, New York
Platt, Alfred H., Head, Age 50, born: New York, both parents born New York, Occupation: Salesman – Wholesale
Platt, Maria G, Wife, Age 48, born New York, father born England, mother born Havana, Cuba, Occupation: None
Platt, Maria, Daughter, age 20, Single, born New York, Occupation: None
Platt, Clare, Daughter, age 19, Single, born New York, Occupation: None
Garsia, Maria, Mother-in-Law, age 68, Widow, born: Havana, Cuba, father born: Bla—?, Germany, mother born: Italy, Occupation: None – Speaks German
Note: Maria Garsia’s entry into the US is shown as “prior to 1900”.
There is one domestic servant and three lodgers living with them.
[17] 1925 – New York City Directory:
Garsia, M.G. (Widow Edwin), h – 201 W 78th.
In 1930, the census for District 501-750, Manhattan, New York, New York, Enumerated on April 12, 1930:
Address: Renting at 610 West 111 Street, New York
Garsia, Maria, Head, age 78, widow, married at age 20, born Havana, Cuba, Both Parents born Italy, speaks Spanish, came to the US in 1870, not a citizen of the US, can speak English, no occupation.
With her is her daughter Maria G. Platt (shown as Maria Garsia Platt), age 50, widow, born New York City, father born England, mother born Havana Cuba, no occupation.
Note: Charles C. East is boarding with Maria Garsia – he later marries her granddaughter.
[18] New York Times – October 12, 1939
DEATHS
GARSIA – On October 10, Maria Garsia (Dearest), widow of Edwin C., beloved mother of Mrs. Alfred Platt and Edwin C.R. Garsia, devoted grandmother of Mrs. Charles East and Mrs. Andrew Snowden, Jr. Mass at Church of Notre Dame, Morningside Drive and 114th. St., Friday, October 13, 10 A.M. Interment private.
NEW YORK DEATH INDEX RESULTS: Surname: Garsia; Given Name: Maria G.; Age: 91 years
Date of Death: October 10, 1939; Certificate Number: 20903; County: Manhattan
[19] 1880 – Census date: JUNE 10TH: Edwin appears in the 1880 New York Census living with his parents Edwin C.B. and mother Maria (nee Bachem) in Greater New York City at Address: 342 46th. Street, New York. He is 11 years old – therefore born circa 1869 in New York and attends school.
[20] see the Ellis Island records which show this name for a brother presumably hers
[21] 1904: Massachusetts Directory has him living in Salem, 245 or ?345 Essex (Harbor). Describer as a Mgr. at 6 Beacon, Rm. 814.
Edwin is listed in the Salem, Massachusetts Directory for 1904 as follows: Garsia, Edwin. Mgr. (6 Beacon. Rm. 814, B.), h 345 Essex St. (Harbor). (B. at the end of the first address is for business – h. for home or house.)
[22] We have a photocopy of the ships manifest for alien passengers on the Winifredian arriving in Boston on 30 April 1908. The full manifest runs over two pages of which we have only the left hand one. Even this is not completely filled in. What it does show is the following: Edwin and Mary Garsia aged 36 and 35 respectively, married and ‘United States Citizens’. (DOC342).
[23] Certificate granting a piece of land of 160 acres to Edwin Garcia on 16 Aug.1909 at Jackson, Mississippi. from Angela by e-mail of 3 Mar. 2004. Filed as DOC208.
[24] 1909 Newton, Massachusetts Directory – page 157: Old England Road (Chestnut Hill) from 57 Woodman Road westerly ward 6 – Right side: 9 Garsia, Edwin Mr. & Mrs. and on page 367: Garsia, Edwin – Manager (6 Beacon B), house 9 Old England Road, Chestnut Hill.
[25] The 1910 Census for Newton City, Middlesex County, Massachusetts (Street name unreadable). Edwin R.C. is shown as follows: Garsia, Edwin R.C., Head, Age 38, Married, Married for 7 years, Born: New York, Father born England, Mother born: West Indies, Occupation: Contractor – Street Lighting.
With him is his wife: Mary W., Age 38, Married for 7 years, Born Massachusetts, both her parents born: New York, Not working. There are no children shown. (Married ca 1903).
There is an Ann M Tracy, servant (cook), also shown living with them.
[26] In the 1913 Newton, Massachusetts City Directory, Edwin is listed as follows: “Garsia, Edwin removed to Boston”.
1913: Ellis Island manifest (see below): Edwin and Mary went to England in 1913 and didn’t return to the US till 1920 for a two months stay before returning to England.
1920, AUGUST 14th: Edwin is shown arriving in New York (Ellis Island records) – with his wife Mary W. Edwin is 50 years 8 months old (born ca December 1869), and Maria W. 49 years, 4 months (born circa May 1870). They both show their last permanent address as Bournemouth, England. Name and address of nearest relative: Aunt, Mrs. Bradley Cooke, 61 Iverna Court, London, W. To the question “whether ever before in the U.S.” they answer “yes” in “1913”. From this it is possible that they lived in England from 1913 to 1920. They must have then returned to England (?) as they say they are only staying in the U.S. for 2 months. Nearest relative in the U.S. is “Brother, C.B. Sanders, Pawling, New York”. It could be that they stayed in England and missed the 1920 and 1930 census in the U.S. as they have not been found and the indication is that they left the U.S. in 1913, returned for two months in 1920, then back to England (?).
14 Aug. 1920, Cunard ship Aquitania departed Southampton for New York with Garsia, Edwin (Gentleman) and Mary (H’wife aged 49). (findmypast).
There is a record of Mr E.R.C. Garsia sailing from London to Toulon with his wife (not named), departing on 30 October 1920 age: 51, Married. (see DOC386o).
[27] We have a photocopy of the Manifest of Alien Passengers on the S.S. Scythia which arrived in Boston on 9 June 1923 from Liverpool. Although it extends over two pages we have only the left-hand one. This provides the following information: Edwin and Mary Garsia aged 45 and 43 resp. married, citizens of Gt Britain; Last permanent address London, England; Name and addeess of nearest relative whence the alien came: Cousin Harry Garsia, New Court, Lincoln Inn, London; Final destination: London, England. (DOC343, also DOC386s).
Boston Passenger Lists, 1891-1943; Name: Edwin Garsia – Retired; Arrival Date:18 Jun 1923; Age:45 yrs .
Estimated Birth Year: 1878; Gender: Male; Ethnic Background: English; Last Permanent Address: London, England; Port of Departure: Liverpool, England; Name & Address of nearest relative in England: Harry Garsia, New Crt., Lincoln Inn, London; Ship Name: Scythia; Port of Arrival: Boston, Massachusetts
Friend’s Name: J E Rogers; Last Residence: England; Birthplace: New york, United States of America
Microfilm Roll Number: 278 Name: Mary Garsia – H. Wife; Arrival Date: 18 Jun 1923; Age: 43 years
Estimated Birth Year: 1880; Gender: Female; Ethnic Background: English; Last Permanent Address: London, England; Otherwise as for Edwin above. Except: Birthplace: Salem, United States of America
[28] Email from Michael Stead dated 25 July 2003 reports finding Mary GARSIA in the elecroral role (to be confrimed) for 1934 at 12 Branksome Wood Road, Bournemouth. Joy remembers Branksome as the district where she and her parents lived before the war.
Felicity in an email dated July 26 confirms Joy’s memory that the Willis-Fleming family lived in Branksome Wood Road. (RWPMW, 26 Jul. 2003).
Joy and I went to the Public Library in Bournemouth on 5 Sept. 2003 to search the local directories and electoral role for Edwin and Mary. See 03Sep05 for a full report. In summary we were unable to find them in the period from 1913 to 1920 when the notes above indicate that they were in Bournemouth. Our first sighting of them was for 1935 in the Register of Electors and the last for 1940 in Kelly’s directory at 12 Branksome Wood Road. The Willis-Fleming family was also shown as living in at 7c Branksome Wood Road in 1939 for about a year. We also looked for these houses but found only number 7 which is a very large Victorian house. Number 12 has been demolished and replaced by a more modern structure. The Register of Electors gives their full names thus: Edwin Rudolph Christopher and Mary Williams.
Felicity has a postcard from ‘Teddy’ whom we have established is Edwin R.C. Garsia from Dax in France dated 9th May. No year is added but it must have been sent in 1938 or 39 most probably 39. This has been deduced from the content of the card. This establishes that he was called Teddy in the family and his wife Polly. From a note that accompanied photographs of his grand parents (Aaron and Sarah Garsia) it is also established that Teddy’s father was referred to as ‘Ted’. See a note on these identifications filed as GENEALOGY\BIOGS\tednmria.doc. We feel that the note and miniatures given to Felicity came from Edwin R.C.’s mother Maria Garsia (nee Bachem) to Edwin and his wife Mary – “Teddy and Polly”.
[29] New York Passenger List – Alien Passengers: Name: Edwin Garsia and Mary Garsia; Sailed: April 19, 1936; Arrival Date: 28 Apr 1936; Estimated Birth Year: Edwin – abt 1870, Mary – abt. 1869
Age: Edwin – 66, Mary 67; Calling: Edwin – Independent, Mary – None
Port of Departure: Southampton, England; Place of Origin: England; Nationality: British
Re-entry Permit: T.V. 201 – Issued in Southampton on March 25, 1936
Last Permanent Residence: Bournemouth, Hants., England; Ship Name: Pennland; Port of Arrival: New York, New York; Friend’s Name: Mrs C B Garsia (This is Edwin’s mother); Port Arrival State: New York
Port Arrival Country: United States; Birth Location: United States of America; New York Passenger List – Alien Passengers: Name: Edwin Garsia and Mary Garsia; Arrival Date: 16 Apr 1938; Estimated Birth Year: Edwin – abt 1870, Mary – abt. 1870; Age: Edwin – 68, Mary – 68; Calling: Edwin – Independent, Mary – Hs-wife; Port of Departure: Hamilton, Bermuda; Place of Origin: England; Nationality: Gr. Britain – English; Re-entry Permit: No. 218 Non-Imm., Sec. 3. (2) Act of 1924 – Issued: Southampton, February 10, 1938; Last Permanent Address: Bournemouth, England
Ship Name: Queen of Bermuda; Port of Arrival: New York, New York; Nativity: United States of America
Friend’s Name: Mr Shreve; Port Arrival State: New York; Port Arrival Country: United States
Birth Location: United States of America.
[30] New York Passenger List – Alien Passengers: Name: Edwin Rudolph G Garsia and Mary Williams Garsia; Arrival Date: 28 May 1940; Estimated Birth Year: Edwin – abt 1870, Mary – abt. 1869
Age: Edwin – 70, Mary – 71; Calling: Edwin – None, Mary – H’wife; Port of Departure: Liverpool, England
Place of Origin: English; Nationality: Britain – English; Re-entry Permit: Sec. 3. (2), RP 4341 – Edwin, RP4342 – Mary, Issued London on April 30, 1940; Last Permanent Address: Bournemouth, England
Ship Name: Scythia; Port of Arrival: New York, New York; Nativity: United States of America
Friend’s Name: Mrs. B D Shreve (Note: there is a Benjamin D. Shreve living in Salem, Mass. in 1930)
Birth Location: United States of America
[31] EDWIN RUDOLPH CHRISTOPHER4 GARSIA, b. ca 1869, New York City, New York, U.S.A.; d. October 03, 1943, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.6; m. MARY W. SANDERS, ca 1903; b. ca 1869, Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.A..
New York Times – October 5, 1943
DEATHS
GARSIA – In Boston, October 3. Edwin R.C., husband of Mary Sanders Garsia, of 97 Mount Vernon St., Boston. Funeral services at the Church of the Advent, Boston, Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 2:30 P.M.
[32] The 1880 Census Haverfield, Essex, Mass. shows Mary W., age 11, living with her parents. Her father’s (Thomas) occupation is shown as Leather Dealer. Her siblings are shown as George J., Nathaniel S.H., Charles B., and “Baby”
[33] On page 719 of the Boston, Mass. City Directory for 1947: Edwin R.C. Garsia’s wife Mary W. is listed as follows: Garsia, Mary W., widow Edwin R.C., house 97 Mt. Vernon.