Donna has been hugely generous in making memorials and photographing the stones of many of my family interred at Leverington. Before I write bios on any of these pages, she needs to be thanked for her hard work and generosity.
The first census in which John appears is the 1900 one, where he is 16 and his Kimpel siblings (Francis N. age 13, Rosena K. age 12, and Mary E. age 10) are in a household headed by their stepfather, Aaron Fullerton, a boilermaker. Their own father, Valentine had died, leaving their mother Mary a widow. Also in the home are Gerorge R. (age 5) and Lawrence Fullerton, their new half siblings. Mother Mary reports having had 8 children in her life, of whom 6 are alive, obviously the six mentioned on this census. Mary had had a daughter, Valentina, who was born and died after Valentine's death. Clearly there is one more Kimpel child I have not yet found.
John would marry Laura Carr and have a child Pearl, who died in 1913.
John is not readily findable on the 1910 census, so moving on to 1920, we find him (age 36) with his wife Laura Kimpel (age 30) and their children George (age 10) and Frank (age 8). Also in the home are William S Fair (age 28) and Ada Fair (age 24) who are listed as his brother in law and sister in law respectively (presumably his wife laura's sister and sister's husband, yet to be confirmed). John is employed as a trolley motorman. The family lives at 469 Ripka St. in Philadelphia. This all clicks for my family - the 300 block of Ripka is where some Turveys lived in 1940, his half siblings. It is beyond coincidence that my great grandpa Storkey who married John Kimpel's sister Rose was also a motorman. When I look at great grandpa's life, many of his connections were to trolleymen - his first wife Sara Alice was the daughter of one, and after he left her, she lived with some as a housekeeper. Other family were in the industry
The 1930 census mis-indexes the family as Kemble, but we can recognize John (age 45) and Laura (also listed as 45, an error perhaps on this or the previous census), as well as their children George (19) and Frank (17).
By 1940 John and Laura are at the same Ripka Avenue address, he age 56 and she age 51. They own the home which is valued at $2100. He is employed as a conductor with P.R.T. (aka Pennsylvania Rapid Transit which would change name this very year). Two houses away at 465 Ripka are William Fair (age 47, a city policeman) and wife Ada (age 45) Fair.
John's month and year of birth are taken from the census where he was age 16 in 1900. This was confirmed, and his exact birthdate was learned, from his World War II draft card when he was age 58 . The card also gives us his full middle name. His address on the card, filled out in 1942 was 469 Ripka Street in Philadelphia, placing him firmly in Manayunk/Roxborough. He was described thereon as a white male, 5 foot 8 inches, with blue eyes, black hair and a dark complexion, and born in Philadelphia. His employer was the Philadelphia Transportation Company, address Mitten Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His "person who will always know where you are" is his wife Laura B. Kimpel at the same address.
His employment at Philadelphia Transportation Co. is notable in that it aligns with family knowledge. PTC began as the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company in 1902 by the merger of a group of several independent transit companies within the city and was renamed PTC in 1940. SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) subsequently acquired PTC in 1968. That acquisition gained them bus, trolley, and trackless trolley routes, as well as the Market–Frankford Line and Broad Street Line in the city. The man John's sister Rose would marry, William Storkey, was a trolleyman, and it seems he was so before Rose married him.
From a descendant, I was told that one or two of Mary Merkert's children were tapped to attend Girard College (which was then a school for orphaned or half-orphaned boys). John was one apparently, judging from the clipping, having lost his father Valentine.
The first census in which John appears is the 1900 one, where he is 16 and his Kimpel siblings (Francis N. age 13, Rosena K. age 12, and Mary E. age 10) are in a household headed by their stepfather, Aaron Fullerton, a boilermaker. Their own father, Valentine had died, leaving their mother Mary a widow. Also in the home are Gerorge R. (age 5) and Lawrence Fullerton, their new half siblings. Mother Mary reports having had 8 children in her life, of whom 6 are alive, obviously the six mentioned on this census. Mary had had a daughter, Valentina, who was born and died after Valentine's death. Clearly there is one more Kimpel child I have not yet found.
John would marry Laura Carr and have a child Pearl, who died in 1913.
John is not readily findable on the 1910 census, so moving on to 1920, we find him (age 36) with his wife Laura Kimpel (age 30) and their children George (age 10) and Frank (age 8). Also in the home are William S Fair (age 28) and Ada Fair (age 24) who are listed as his brother in law and sister in law respectively (presumably his wife laura's sister and sister's husband, yet to be confirmed). John is employed as a trolley motorman. The family lives at 469 Ripka St. in Philadelphia. This all clicks for my family - the 300 block of Ripka is where some Turveys lived in 1940, his half siblings. It is beyond coincidence that my great grandpa Storkey who married John Kimpel's sister Rose was also a motorman. When I look at great grandpa's life, many of his connections were to trolleymen - his first wife Sara Alice was the daughter of one, and after he left her, she lived with some as a housekeeper. Other family were in the industry
The 1930 census mis-indexes the family as Kemble, but we can recognize John (age 45) and Laura (also listed as 45, an error perhaps on this or the previous census), as well as their children George (19) and Frank (17).
By 1940 John and Laura are at the same Ripka Avenue address, he age 56 and she age 51. They own the home which is valued at $2100. He is employed as a conductor with P.R.T. (aka Pennsylvania Rapid Transit which would change name this very year). Two houses away at 465 Ripka are William Fair (age 47, a city policeman) and wife Ada (age 45) Fair.
John's month and year of birth are taken from the census where he was age 16 in 1900. This was confirmed, and his exact birthdate was learned, from his World War II draft card when he was age 58 . The card also gives us his full middle name. His address on the card, filled out in 1942 was 469 Ripka Street in Philadelphia, placing him firmly in Manayunk/Roxborough. He was described thereon as a white male, 5 foot 8 inches, with blue eyes, black hair and a dark complexion, and born in Philadelphia. His employer was the Philadelphia Transportation Company, address Mitten Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His "person who will always know where you are" is his wife Laura B. Kimpel at the same address.
His employment at Philadelphia Transportation Co. is notable in that it aligns with family knowledge. PTC began as the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company in 1902 by the merger of a group of several independent transit companies within the city and was renamed PTC in 1940. SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) subsequently acquired PTC in 1968. That acquisition gained them bus, trolley, and trackless trolley routes, as well as the Market–Frankford Line and Broad Street Line in the city. The man John's sister Rose would marry, William Storkey, was a trolleyman, and it seems he was so before Rose married him.
From a descendant, I was told that one or two of Mary Merkert's children were tapped to attend Girard College (which was then a school for orphaned or half-orphaned boys). John was one apparently, judging from the clipping, having lost his father Valentine.
Donna has been hugely generous in making memorials and photographing the stones of many of my family interred at Leverington. Before I write bios on any of these pages, she needs to be thanked for her hard work and generosity.
The first census in which John appears is the 1900 one, where he is 16 and his Kimpel siblings (Francis N. age 13, Rosena K. age 12, and Mary E. age 10) are in a household headed by their stepfather, Aaron Fullerton, a boilermaker. Their own father, Valentine had died, leaving their mother Mary a widow. Also in the home are Gerorge R. (age 5) and Lawrence Fullerton, their new half siblings. Mother Mary reports having had 8 children in her life, of whom 6 are alive, obviously the six mentioned on this census. Mary had had a daughter, Valentina, who was born and died after Valentine's death. Clearly there is one more Kimpel child I have not yet found.
John would marry Laura Carr and have a child Pearl, who died in 1913.
John is not readily findable on the 1910 census, so moving on to 1920, we find him (age 36) with his wife Laura Kimpel (age 30) and their children George (age 10) and Frank (age 8). Also in the home are William S Fair (age 28) and Ada Fair (age 24) who are listed as his brother in law and sister in law respectively (presumably his wife laura's sister and sister's husband, yet to be confirmed). John is employed as a trolley motorman. The family lives at 469 Ripka St. in Philadelphia. This all clicks for my family - the 300 block of Ripka is where some Turveys lived in 1940, his half siblings. It is beyond coincidence that my great grandpa Storkey who married John Kimpel's sister Rose was also a motorman. When I look at great grandpa's life, many of his connections were to trolleymen - his first wife Sara Alice was the daughter of one, and after he left her, she lived with some as a housekeeper. Other family were in the industry
The 1930 census mis-indexes the family as Kemble, but we can recognize John (age 45) and Laura (also listed as 45, an error perhaps on this or the previous census), as well as their children George (19) and Frank (17).
By 1940 John and Laura are at the same Ripka Avenue address, he age 56 and she age 51. They own the home which is valued at $2100. He is employed as a conductor with P.R.T. (aka Pennsylvania Rapid Transit which would change name this very year). Two houses away at 465 Ripka are William Fair (age 47, a city policeman) and wife Ada (age 45) Fair.
John's month and year of birth are taken from the census where he was age 16 in 1900. This was confirmed, and his exact birthdate was learned, from his World War II draft card when he was age 58 . The card also gives us his full middle name. His address on the card, filled out in 1942 was 469 Ripka Street in Philadelphia, placing him firmly in Manayunk/Roxborough. He was described thereon as a white male, 5 foot 8 inches, with blue eyes, black hair and a dark complexion, and born in Philadelphia. His employer was the Philadelphia Transportation Company, address Mitten Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His "person who will always know where you are" is his wife Laura B. Kimpel at the same address.
His employment at Philadelphia Transportation Co. is notable in that it aligns with family knowledge. PTC began as the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company in 1902 by the merger of a group of several independent transit companies within the city and was renamed PTC in 1940. SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) subsequently acquired PTC in 1968. That acquisition gained them bus, trolley, and trackless trolley routes, as well as the Market–Frankford Line and Broad Street Line in the city. The man John's sister Rose would marry, William Storkey, was a trolleyman, and it seems he was so before Rose married him.
From a descendant, I was told that one or two of Mary Merkert's children were tapped to attend Girard College (which was then a school for orphaned or half-orphaned boys). John was one apparently, judging from the clipping, having lost his father Valentine.
The first census in which John appears is the 1900 one, where he is 16 and his Kimpel siblings (Francis N. age 13, Rosena K. age 12, and Mary E. age 10) are in a household headed by their stepfather, Aaron Fullerton, a boilermaker. Their own father, Valentine had died, leaving their mother Mary a widow. Also in the home are Gerorge R. (age 5) and Lawrence Fullerton, their new half siblings. Mother Mary reports having had 8 children in her life, of whom 6 are alive, obviously the six mentioned on this census. Mary had had a daughter, Valentina, who was born and died after Valentine's death. Clearly there is one more Kimpel child I have not yet found.
John would marry Laura Carr and have a child Pearl, who died in 1913.
John is not readily findable on the 1910 census, so moving on to 1920, we find him (age 36) with his wife Laura Kimpel (age 30) and their children George (age 10) and Frank (age 8). Also in the home are William S Fair (age 28) and Ada Fair (age 24) who are listed as his brother in law and sister in law respectively (presumably his wife laura's sister and sister's husband, yet to be confirmed). John is employed as a trolley motorman. The family lives at 469 Ripka St. in Philadelphia. This all clicks for my family - the 300 block of Ripka is where some Turveys lived in 1940, his half siblings. It is beyond coincidence that my great grandpa Storkey who married John Kimpel's sister Rose was also a motorman. When I look at great grandpa's life, many of his connections were to trolleymen - his first wife Sara Alice was the daughter of one, and after he left her, she lived with some as a housekeeper. Other family were in the industry
The 1930 census mis-indexes the family as Kemble, but we can recognize John (age 45) and Laura (also listed as 45, an error perhaps on this or the previous census), as well as their children George (19) and Frank (17).
By 1940 John and Laura are at the same Ripka Avenue address, he age 56 and she age 51. They own the home which is valued at $2100. He is employed as a conductor with P.R.T. (aka Pennsylvania Rapid Transit which would change name this very year). Two houses away at 465 Ripka are William Fair (age 47, a city policeman) and wife Ada (age 45) Fair.
John's month and year of birth are taken from the census where he was age 16 in 1900. This was confirmed, and his exact birthdate was learned, from his World War II draft card when he was age 58 . The card also gives us his full middle name. His address on the card, filled out in 1942 was 469 Ripka Street in Philadelphia, placing him firmly in Manayunk/Roxborough. He was described thereon as a white male, 5 foot 8 inches, with blue eyes, black hair and a dark complexion, and born in Philadelphia. His employer was the Philadelphia Transportation Company, address Mitten Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His "person who will always know where you are" is his wife Laura B. Kimpel at the same address.
His employment at Philadelphia Transportation Co. is notable in that it aligns with family knowledge. PTC began as the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company in 1902 by the merger of a group of several independent transit companies within the city and was renamed PTC in 1940. SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) subsequently acquired PTC in 1968. That acquisition gained them bus, trolley, and trackless trolley routes, as well as the Market–Frankford Line and Broad Street Line in the city. The man John's sister Rose would marry, William Storkey, was a trolleyman, and it seems he was so before Rose married him.
From a descendant, I was told that one or two of Mary Merkert's children were tapped to attend Girard College (which was then a school for orphaned or half-orphaned boys). John was one apparently, judging from the clipping, having lost his father Valentine.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
