Where E.G. and His Family Lived: A Chronology

And Who Lived With Them

The earliest evidence of the Alberques in the United States are entries in the Buffalo City Directories for the years of 1874-1879. These entries, below, are for Jacques Ernest, who went by the name of Ernest.

1874:   Alberque, Ernest, gardener, h 15 Carroll

1875:   Alberque, Ernest, gardener, h 18 Rose

Also the NY Census of June, 1875 shows Ernest as a cook, Augustine, and Ernestine in the household.  Ernest (fils) was born 4 months later. 

1876:   Alberque, Ernest, cook, h 114 Sycamore

1877:   Alberque, Ernest, cook, h 26 Batavia

1878:   Alberque, Ernest, cook, Erie Co. Almshouse, 3400 Main

1879:   Alberque, Ernest, cook, h Main n. Ely road

The "h" means "home address".  We can see that Ernest moved every year to a different address and in 1878 was probably working at the Erie Co. Almshouse.  

The 1880 Federal Census, taken on June 4, 1880, shows Ernest Alberque and family still living on Main Street.  (In a subsequent census, he states he immigrated in 1873.)  Living with him in 1880 were his wife, Augustine (age 42), a son, Ernest (age 4), and a daughter, Gabrielle (age 2).  Both children are listed as being born in New York.  Ernestine is no longer listed as part of this household. She appears as a servant, age 19, in the household of Leo Bon, Buffalo, Erie County, NY. The only other knowledge we have of her at this point is that she was in the US in 1892 when her mother died.  At some point she returned to France and is buried in Coudry-au-Perche, France.  She was living with her brother Abbe Victor Jules Alberque, and her sister Helene at the time.  Neither woman married.)

These records confirm that Ernest George Alberque was born in Buffalo on October 12, 1875. His younger sister, Gabrielle was  born in early1878 and that the parents, along with Ernestine, immigrated in 1873. Note that the only mention we have found whatsoever of Helene ever being in the United States is when she visited her father in 1910 or 1911, just before his death. This seems to be the case even though  her mother immigrated to the United States sometime before her 8th birthday, apparently leaving her behind in France.) 

From Buffalo, it is believed that the family moved to Ossining where Ernest George's father had a job as a caretaker on an estate.  By the late 1880's, as the story goes, E.G. had to leave school at the age of 12 or 13 to help take care of his sister and mother when his father "deserted"  them (or more likely was around but not supporting the family, for reasons unknown. We do know he liked his wine). This would have been about 1888 when the family name begins to appear  in New York City. Alternatively, Ernest may have "deserted" his family as a result of the trauma of his wife's death in 1892.  In this case, E.G. would have left school at the age of 16, rather than 13, to begin work with Charavay and Bodvin.  Notice below that the 1892-93 entry is the first time that E.G. is listed as a wage earner in the directory, lending credibility to the theory that the Ernest (pere) left when his wife died and Ernest George (fils) had to support his sister, Gabrielle. 

 In old  New York directories from 1888-1897 there are the following listings:

1888-89, Ernest Alberque, gardener, 139 W. 19^th Street, NYC.

1889-90, Ernest Alberque, gardener, 139 W. 19^th Street, NYC.

1890-91, Ernest Alberque, laborer, 675 3rd Ave.

1891-92, Ernest Alberque, florist, 675 3rd Ave.

(Ernest Alberque's wife, Augustine, died around New Year's, 1892. She was buried on Jan. 2, 1892.)

1892-93, Ernest Alberque, florist, 675 3rd Ave.

1893-94, Directory refers to his son, see below, and has no reference to Ernest, pere.

1894-95, Ernest Alberque, gardener, 204 E 47th St.

1895-96, Directory does not have any entry for Alberque

1896-97, Ernest Alberque, gardener, 315 E 44th St. 

1900 Census shows the father, Ernest, married to Catherine W., living in North Hempstead, Nassau County. They had been married 4 years.

1897 is the last year that Ernest, the father, appears in the New York Directory.  From 1897 (the year E.G. married Margaret McNally) on until at least 1902, all entries are for the son, Ernest G. 

When his father "deserted" them, E.G. went to work in the silk business at "Charavay and Bodvin" on Worth St.  in New York City.  He started working for them when he was young, sweeping floors, and worked his way up in the company to become a junior partner.  During this time, E.G. finished his  high schooling at night in seven years. He would have been around the age of 20 or 21.  Interestingly, he had learned to speak five languages: English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. He also had planned to attend Rutgers to study law but became involved in the silk industry instead--a decision that would lead to remarkable wealth. 

Ernest George, fils (son),  is listed in New York Directories as follows:

1893-94, Ernest J. (G?) Alberque, clerk, 675 3rd Ave.

      (This is E.G. in an early job at Charavay and Bodvin. Note that the address is the same as his father's the year before.)

1897-98, Alberger(que?), Ernest G., clerk, 215 E 84th St.

      (This is the year he married Margaret McNally. He was 22 years old.)

1898-99, Alberque, Ernest G., finisher, 218 E 73rd St.

      (This is likely the year he was admitted as a partner to Charavay and Bodvin.)

1899-1902, Alberque, Ernest G. finisher, 505 E. 88th St.

      (No more directories were available.)

     E.G. married his first wife, Margaret Agnes McNally, on November 24, 1897 at the Church of St. Agnes, 143 E.43 St., New York.  They had four children: Cecilia, Ernest George, Jr., Rose, and Paul.  The 1900 US Federal Census lists Ernest George, his wife Margaret, his daughter, Cecilia, and his sister Gabrielle as household members.  Ernest George, Jr. was born shortly after in New York. Within another year or so, Rose was born in 1903. 

The family then moved to New Jersey, probably West Hoboken or Union Hill (combined in 1926 to form Union City), where son Paul was born.

When Margaret became ill, E.G. moved his wife and four children to Lancaster, California, hoping that the climate would help her tuberculosis. There he worked as a butcher. This would have been in 1904.  His sister accompanied them (probably Gabrielle with her infant son, Ernest Patrick--she had been widowed when the baby was born), as did his sister-in-law, Nellie, Margaret's sister. We have no documents proving that Gabrielle went with them but it is believed that she did since Aunt Nellie later complained about them speaking French, which she could not understand!  Sometime that year the silk company "Charavay and Bodvin" called him back to New York. Since Margaret was not getting any better he returned with his family to New Jersey where his wife, Margaret, died in February, 1905.  Ernest George went back into the silk business.

At Christmas in 1905, E.G., now a widow, asked a young woman who worked in the ribbon department of the silk factory to help him buy a doll for his daughter, Cecilia.  He then took her to dinner.  Six months later in 1906 he married her, Antoinette Anna Grossjung. They lived in West Hoboken/Union Hill/Union City (different names for the same place).

In 1907, E.G. and Antoinette had a son of their own, Lester William, born in Union City.  (He was named this because it meant “last” in German.  Antoinette's father, William Grossjung, had suggested it because he thought that there were enough children by now already.)  The family likely moved to Ridgefield Park at this time. They lived on Euclid Ave. near Hobart St., next to Washington Irving School.  (The house was eventually torn down and became a school yard.)  It is reported that E.G.’s father (Ernest) and his second wife (Catherine) had come to live with the Alberque family, as did Antoinette’s father. (Her mother died in August of 1906). No census record has  been found to confirm this but his death certificate said William Grossjung had lived with the Alberques for 2 years, essentially since his wife died in August 1906.

But Lester was not to be the last. In 1908, Howard Joseph was born.  Also in that same year, Antoinette's father, William Grossjung, died. In 1911, E.G.'s father, (Jacques) Ernest, died.

  Sometime around 1910 but after the 1910 census, the Alberque family moved into the “big house” on Hudson Ave, which EG had built.  As if the family weren’t big enough, E.G. and Antoinette had taken Antoinette’s niece, Sybilla (“Bella”) in, too,  by 1910 when Bella’s parents gave her to the orphanage/protectorate.  (Bella was the daughter of Antoinette’s brother Charles, "Uncle Charlie".  Bella also had a brother, Charles, who went into the “protectorate” as well. There were many more children.  See the page, "EG's Wives".)  

 E.G. and Antoinette’s third son, Edward, was born in this house on Hudson Ave. in the summer of 1917.  In addition, some time after E.G.’s sister Gabrielle died, E.G. took her son, Ernest Patrick, in to live with his family--sometime before 1920.  (Ernest’s father, Patrick Hartnett, had died before his son was born.)  Rose died in this house in 1912 and Paul died here in 1915.

This is likely a picture of the house when it was first built.  Standing in front of it is E.G. and what appears to be his brother, Abbé Jules Alberque from France and perhaps his sister, Helene.  If so, then this picture was taken in 1910 or 1911 when Helene came to the US shortly before her father died. 

 By 1920 the size and situation of the family had changed because the older children had moved out so E.G. decided to build a new house at 154 Mt. Vernon Street, Ridgefield Park, around the corner from the “big house on Hudson Ave.” on what had been the tennis courts.  Cecilia was living in New York at this time in training for nursing and Bella had married George Zimmer in 1917. On Sept. 20, 1920, it is recorded that E.G. exchanged his property at 85 Hudson Avenue for property on Bergen Avenue that had been owned by St. Francis R.C. Church.  85 Hudson Avenue became the convent for the church.  The Bergen Avenue property was donated to the Knights of Columbus, whose cornerstone reads "1921".   

The new house originally had four bedrooms: one for "Mama and Papa", one for George and Lester, one for Howard and Edward, and one for “little Mary” who was born in 1921, after a miscarriage. (It is not clear where Ernest Hartnett was living at this time.  He was attending St. Peter's Prep in Jersey City and after graduation in 1923 he joined the Jesuits.)   There was also a bedroom in the back, upstairs, for the maid.  The house had a foyer, kitchen, pantry, dining room, living room, sun porch, and one bathroom.  In the bathroom on the right wall as you walked in there was a small door which opened unto a chute to a basket in the basement for dirty linens and clothes. (State-of-the-art for its time.) There were gardens around the house, too.  However, it took the gardener a while to get plants to grow as the house had been built on what was formerly the clay tennis court for the “big house on Hudson Ave.”   

After George, Lester and Howard married and moved out, E.G. had the house remodeled. The entrance was changed.  Instead of walking straight through the foyer into the living room, you turned to the left and walked into the new living room, which was originally the boys’ two bedrooms.  A pretty fireplace was built on the outside wall.  The dining room remained the same.  The original living room became Mary’s bedroom that was entered through the sun parlor.  The pantry was made into a second bathroom and Papa and Mama’s and Mary’s old bedrooms became one large room for Papa and Mama.  A second bedroom was built on the second floor for Eddie. 

 E.G. bought the property next door (“the Bandow’s house”), had the house moved and expanded the yard at 154 Mt. Vernon St. with landscaping.  There was a fish pond with lilies, a gazebo where the children played games, beautiful paths and gardens, benches installed, a peony garden, a rose garden with an arbor, and a poppy garden, amid all the other plants and trees.  

 Finally, E.G. and Antoinette bought a summer house on Cupsaw Lake in Ringwood, NJ, in the summer of 1938 when Edward and Mary were growing up.  This is the lake at which the picture of E.G. and Antoinette was taken.

[NOTE: This is information that was put together from various recollections and bits of data contributed by family members, mostly "Aunt Mary" and "Cousin Cissy" and from some archive information.   If you know of additions or corrections please give them to me.  I will gladly update this narrative. Kathy.                   detrano 'at' alberque.com.