Business Card from 1920s of my Great Uncle from Sunderland UK when in NYC

[brynjon]

Hi, I wonder if anyone may be able to shed some light on a business card found in my late grandmother's papers.

It was a business card issued by her brother John Wood b1904 in Sunderand, England, United Kingdom. He migrated to New York in 1925 and became naturalized and a registered US Citizen signing his paperwork 15 December 1926 - sadly he died 25th January 1927 having penned a letter to his father in Sunderland on 22nd January 1927.

John issued a business card which was a simple affair with his name across the front, His address at time of death was 119 40th Street, Corona, Long Island. His body was returned to his hometown where he was interred alongside his mother on 11th February 1927. His corpse was returned on board the vessel Celtic with a pricely sum of £200 paid for by one of his aunts who was a nurse to wealthy clients in NYC.

Can anyone give me any information in relation to the proximity of the address given on the card, image attached, to his home address in Corona.

John's aunts, Sarah Jane Wood and Margaret Wood were regular travellers to NYC as they were nurses to wealthy clients such as Pulitzer and Strauss as well as others. They were recorded as visiting a John Grey reported as a cousin on one of their visits.

A little long in the introduction I am sure.

I have added a photo of John to make it more interesting

[maddys52]

According to google maps, it is about 9 miles between 40th Road, Corona and East 65th St.

[brynjon]

I had just been on google maps so a bit of a brainfreeze, so a couple of hours walk or around an hour by today' public transport.

I am curious as to why he would have a business card registered there. Also the Rhinelander code for the phone number. Perhaps an agency address. I do not have the foggiest. I live in Sunderland, England UK, so do not know the metropolis that is NYC.

I have John's probate record from NYC, a newspaper article of his body being repatriated to his hometown as well as his naturalisation documents along with the last letter he wrote to his father.

[RJ137]

DC: https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/5845669

[RJ137]

This is as close as I could find something for that address on the card, for the time period in question. That address appears to be for an apartment building. The second clipping for that address from Sept. 1925 has the same phone exchange.

New York Times
Thursday, November 11, 1926

New York Times
Sunday, September 27, 1925

[hanes teulu]

Checking phone no - unfortunately, none of the "hits" returned "x99"

https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html

Just click on "Search".

[brynjon]

DC: https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/5845669

Many thanks for this. In John's letter to his father dated 22, January 1927 he reports attending a boxing match at MSG and that the weather was pretty horrendous so I assumed he had died from an infection like pneumonia.

The certificate suggests I was very wrong, though I cannot decipher the handwriting I noted 'gas' and what I am thinking is poisoning. I would be grateful if anyone can shed light.

[Elwyn Soutter]

I read it as "accidental illuminating gas poisoning." So the property was gas lit, the flame went out and the gas kept flowing, leading to him being overcome?

[brynjon]

RJ137 - once again, thank you very much for this information. This appears to be an address used by many whilst looking for gainful employment.

His aunts Margaret and Sarah Jane WOOD were working as nurses and they would use some sort of Agency whilst they were travelling back and forth from Sunderlang to New York. I am sure the name Mrs C Egan appears on at least one ship's manifest.

The aunts had an interesting life travelling to and fro, especially due to their young age and daughters of  shipyard worker from the industrial North East of England.

I believe John followed the dream that his aunts had told him about. One suggestion within the family is that John's father and other family members were to join him in NY. If that had happened I would not have been writing this.