Ella

For completeness, I'm posting two obituaries for Ella Garner Taylor, mother of Luella Taylor Waddell. She died on 29 August 1930 in Keansburg, New Jersey, at the home of her daughter. The first obituary states that she was born in New York, but based on my other research I know she was born in Harrison County, Indiana.

Red Bank Daily Register, 3 Sep 1930

The obituary above also notes that Ella had considerable property in New York, and an estate and orange grove in Sharpes, Florida.

The second obituary states that Ella was one of the first beach property owners in Granville Park, New Jersey.

Keyport Enterprise, 4 Sep 1930

News of Ella's passing made it into the newspaper in Cocoa Beach, Florida, where she lived for many years during the winter in Sharpes, Florida.

Florida Today, 18 Sep 1930.

In 1932, Luella conveyed the property owned by her mother to the Borough of Keansburg, and it became incorporated into Keansburg Beach Park.

Luella's Grandmother

Stepping backward into the family of Luella Taylor Waddell, I return to her grandmother, Mary A. Garner, who was living in the Taylor household in Orange, New Jersey in 1900. Mary was born on 16 March 1830 in Corydon, Harrison County, Indiana. She was the daughter of John Bence and Elizabeth Miller, and her middle initial A stood for Adeline.

Ancestry. 1850 US Census, Harrison County, Indiana.

Mary Adeline wed river merchant Powhattan M. Garner on 3 October 1850 in Harrison County, Indiana. He regularly traveled on river boats along the Ohio River, between Indiana, Illinois and St. Louis. Powhatten was struck by cholera while in St. Louis, and died there on 10 August 1866. Following the death of her husband, Mary supported herself and her four children as a seamstress in Corydon, Harrison County, Indiana.

Ancestry. 1870 US Census, Corydon, Indiana.

Powhatten and Mary had the following children:

- William M. Garner, 1851-1897

- Charles E. Garner, 1853-1915

- Ella Garner Taylor, 1857-1930

- Cora Garner, 1858-1891

By 1880, Mary had relocated the family to New York. The family appears in the 1880 US Census at 19 East 12th Street in Manhattan. I don't know yet what prompted her move from Indiana to New York, if she was following other family or work opportunities.

Ancestry. 1880 US Census, Manhattan, NY.

Mary appears in several entries of the US City Directory for New York City between 1882-1894. Her children prospered in New York. Daughter Ella married Thomas J. Taylor in 1880. 

Mary died on 17 March 1907 in New York, and is buried next to her husband in New Albany, Indiana.

End of the Story for Luella

After following Luella Taylor Waddell and her husband William through the records, I'll bring her story to a close with her obituary from 1964.

Red Bank (NJ) Daily Register, 8 Jul 1964

Luella left behind $155,000 in securities to the Board of Trustees of the Old Tennent Presbyterian Church. Income from the securities was to be used for the Luella T. Waddell trust "for the relief and assistance of the aged, the poor, the sick, the crippled or afflicted." In the clipping below, Anna McCluer is listed as her aunt. I believe she was a sister of her father, Thomas J. Taylor.

Asbury Park Press, 23 July 1964.

Appearing Twice in the Same Census

William and Luella Waddell appear twice in the 1940 Census. They first appear on 8 April 1940 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

FamilySearch. 1940 US Census, West Palm Beach, FL.

In the second entry, they appear on 25 April 1940 in Keansburg, New Jersey.

William died on 20 May 1954 at their home in Keansburg.

Long Branch (NJ) Daily Record, 21 May 1954.

A longer obituary the following week references William's work with Thomas Edison and Lee DeForest on motion pictures. It also indicates that William and Luella lived in Mexico during the winter months in the late 1940s/early 1950s.

Red Bank (NJ) Daily Register, 27 May 1954.

William's Passport

After showing Luella Taylor Waddell's passport application from 1921, I turn now to the passport applications for her husband William. The application also includes a photo of William.

Ancestry, US Passport Applications.

William applied for another passport in 1925. This application shows that he and Luella went to the following countries between March and September 1921: France, Italy, Romania, Turkey, Greece, Germany, England, Austria and Czechoslovakia. The second application shows that he had moved on from his role at the American Red Cross, and was making motion pictures for DeForest Phonofilm Inc. The 1925 trip would take him to France and Italy.

Source: Ancestry. William E. Waddell.

In 1933, William returned from another voyage, this time arriving into New York from Latakia, Syria on 21 March 1933.

William and Luella traveled together to Havana, Cuba in 1938, returning on the SS Cuba into Key West on 25 February 1938.