Moore Views from the Family Tree: January 2026

This is the story of your great grandmother, Elizabeth M. McLaughlin Baker. She was born in January 1886 in Delaware. It may have been in Wilmington as this was where her father was born but it’s not known for sure. Her parents were William James and Mary Elizabeth (McFadden) McLaughlin. No surprise there since William seems to be the most common name in your dad’s family tree. Her siblings were Leo, Mary, Francis, Julie, Virginia, Regina, William and Cecilia. All were born in Pennsylvania except Virginia who was born in Delaware.

The Northeast US was starting to boom when she was born, the population

was increasing and the NE saw many factories being built. Electric lights were starting to be used. National railroads were starting to cross the country as most railroad companies adopted a standard. Coca Cola was invented that year as medicine (it had cocaine in the formulas at that time). Grover Cleveland became the first and only US President to get married in the White House. A large earthquake struck Charleston, South Carolina. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated that year.

According to the 1900 US Census Elizabeth was attending school. She was 14 at the time so her family must have valued education since many children quit school to work before that age. In that year the family lived at 4 Falls Place in Philadelphia. Except for Regina all the other children were living at home. It’s not known what happened to her although the census says that Mary gave birth to 11 children and only nine were living. Elizabeth’s father, William, was a barber. The 1900 Census also says that both of Elizabeth’s grandparents were born in Ireland.

Elizabeth married William W. Pullen in Philadelphia on 2 August 1904 when she was 18 years old. Of course she married a man named William. She had children named William, born in 1906 and Bertha born in 1909. Her son John W. Pullen was born in 1911 and Catherine in 1914. It’s possible that Elizabeth and William were living in New York as both John and Bertha were born in New York. William died in infancy and Bertha may have died before 1915 as she is not listed in the NJ Census that year. Sometime between 1914 and 1915 her husband William died.

Life would have been difficult after William’s death. A single woman raising two young children would have been a challenge. Poverty was widespread at this time. War broke out in Europe in 1914. Wealthy people vacationed in Europe. Some were aboard the Titanic when it sank in 1912.

But Elizabeth then met William Walter Baker, and they were married in 1915. In the 1915 NJ Census the couple were living at 1114 Cooper St. in Camden, NJ. Elizabeth was 28. Living with them in the house were John 4yrs-old and Catherine 1. The house may have been an apartments since another couple, George and Emma Sisson and their daughter, Dorothy are listed as living at that address. Then on May 25, 1916, shortly after 5PM their son, William, was born in Philadelphia at 2137 N. College Ave. in Philadelphia, PA at the residence of a doctor. Life in 1915 Camden, NJ, was defined by booming industry (New York Ship, RCA Victor, Campbell Soup), massive immigrant influx (Italians, Eastern Europeans), rapid growth, and distinct ethnic neighborhoods, all centered around factory jobs, but also facing segregation and the growing urban challenges of a rapidly growing industrial city, with communities building social structures like churches and schools among the industrial landscape near Philly. These groups formed ethnic neighborhoods (Italian in Bergen Lanning, Polish around St. Joseph's), centered around their own churches, synagogues, and social clubs. The growth fueled new residential areas like Parkside, which grew with the trolley lines, offering new amenities like indoor plumbing. William was working as a varnisher and Elzabeth was keeping house.

Five years later the family was living at 1133 Penn St. in Camden. Joining the other children was their son Leo age 2. William is working as an “erector” in a shipyard as reported in the 1920 US Census. The shipyard may have been the New York Shipyard in South Camden although there was another one in Camden at that time.

Many things happened in Camden during the 1920s. It was a major city in NJ at that time. The slogan "On Camden's supplies, the world relies" reflected on the manufacturing occurring in Camden at that time. The Delaware River Bridge (later renamed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge) was under construction. Its completion in 1926, linking Camden to Philadelphia, symbolized unlimited potential, envisioned to make Camden a "second Brooklyn," according to the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. (Joe Baker later told us about shoveling snow on this bridge a few years later. He also said he would show up in the morning, then disappear only to show back up to collect pay.) Improved trolley lines connected Camden to South Jersey, facilitating movement within the growing city. (Arlene’s grandfather Charles Moore was an engineer constructing some of the trolly bridges going south from Camden). The city was also home to Walt Whitman (who lived across from the current Camden County jail) in his final years, where he wrote about its vigorous growth.

The family was still living in Camden in 1930 but now at 1019 Cooper St. The only children listed in the home in the Census were John, Catherine and William. I don’t know where sons Leo, Thomas (later taking the name Chris) and Joseph were living, all of whom were younger than 14-year-old William. Catherine and William were attending school. William Sr. was a “ground man” at an electric company. This census confirmed that he was never in the military. John was working in the printing industry. The fact that both William Sr. and John were working was significant since this was the beginning of the Great Depression and were able to provide for their families.

In the year before the start of WWII the family now lives at 2308 Carman St., in Camden. The 1940 US Census reports that the highest grade Elizabeth completed was 8^th, better than most people her age. She is now 54-yrs-old, William is 53, William Jr. is 23, Leo 22, Thomas (Chris) 19 and Joseph 18. I’m sure she had hopes for her children to gain higher education than she and two did. William Jr. and Leo completed 11^th grade. Thomas (Chris) and Joseph stopped after 8^th grade. William Jr., Leo and Joseph are all unemployed seeking work. William Sr. is a lineman with Public Service and Thomas (Chris) works in a printing factory. WWII will soon draw in the USA and some of her sons will go into the service.

After WWII Camden was an industrial giant, a center for industry, shopping and vibrant neighborhoods like Cramer Hill. Life gathered around Catholic parishes. By the end of the 1950s Camden would see a decline in all of these areas.

In 1950 the family is a blended unit. According to the 1950 US Census William Jr., his wife Miriam and children William age 8 and daughter Miriam 4 live with Elizabeth and William Sr. They still live in the Carman St. house. William Sr. is a ground man in a transportation company (probably Public Service). Miriam is an operator in a leather factory. William Jr. is out of work but previously worked as a carpenter in construction. Other information in the census revealed that William Sr. attended 8^th grade but did not finish that grade. He earned $2600 in 1949, and Miriam earned $900 in 1949.

Elizabeth died in January 1954 at the age of 67 in Camden, NJ and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Cherry Hill, NJ.

I wish I could share personal memories of Elizabeth, but I don’t remember any that your father told me. He said one of his grandmothers made good pies. I think it may have been Elizabeth. Also, he said his grandmother had her hands full with very active sons.

A couple of women standing next to each other

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