Edwin J Beard, our second cousin twice removed, left for the new world in 1904
Edwin Beard was born in 1861 in Newington in London and became a commercial traveler (aka salesman) but in his 40s, as a single man, he took the momentous decision of emigrating to America. He arrived in New York aboard the SS Philadelphia. The Philadephia was one of many ships bringing migrants to New York.
In the previous thirty years or so, the population of New York had grown enormously: In 1875, the New York City population was a small 1 million people compared to the 3.5 million it held at the turn of the century in 1900, 1.3 million of whom were foreign born. New York City was home to Ellis Island, the location in which immigrants were to be processed for clearance to enter the country. Living in New York City provided work as well as a new home. It is believed that over 100 million Americans can trace their ancestry to the millions once processed at Ellis Island.
Ellis Island was seen as the beginning of a new life to many, yet to a small percentage it claimed the names, “Island of Tears” and “Heartbreak Island”. Each of the names emerged from the small percentage of people turned away from the United States. The ships which carried the immigrants were very crowed and separated by class with the poorest immigrants at the lower levels of the ship. Once the shipped reached the New York harbor second and third class passengers were each inspected first for physical illnesses and second for mental illness. If one was considered to be detrimental to American society, they were sent back to their country on the vessel in which they arrived, free of charge. 3,000 people died while being held at Ellis Island, thus claiming its name. But Edwin was admitted and started his new life in New York.
By the time the 1910 census was taken, Edwin had found a wife, Marian (born Schulz) and had moved in with his new in-laws, Howard and Martha, originally from Pennsylvania. They ran a poultry farm at the time. Edwin took up his old profession as a ‘travelling salesman’ – this time with a pharmaceutical company. By the time the next census was taken, in 1920, Edwin had moved into his own home, and had gained three daughters.
The early twentieth century in New York was an exciting time. The consolidation of the five boroughs into one vast city, the development of the city’s infrastructure, and the incredible construction boom of the next thirty years all contributed to the city’s prominence.
In many of the New York films of the time there is a sense of pride, or perhaps a celebration of the emergence of the great metropolis. The best of these films convey the sense that the already sprawling city was in the process of becoming something much more than a squalid, chaotic urban center; there are skyscrapers going up — the tallest in the world; a great suspension bridge being opened — the largest in the world; and a new subway system — the longest in the world. We see a proud police force marching in front of a large crowd, orderly columns of street sweepers parading in clean white suits, and the most powerful fireboat in the world blasting jets of water from all of its nozzles simultaneously.
It would have been an exciting city to be in – and the start of a new branch of the Beard family – the New York Beards.