Bride & groom with their parents.

October 24, 1959, Pitman, NJ (from left to right: Orville & Naomi Garrison, Carol & Charles Conrad, Susan & Edward Conrad)

Susan Todd Conrad SS-5

U.S. Social Security Act
Application for Account Number

Name: Susan Lippencott Todd Conrad
Address: 2069 E. Clarence St., Phila., PA.

Present Employer: Klearspun Hosiery Co., “I” + Ontario Sts. Phila. PA.
Age at Last Birthday: 31
Date of Birth: Dec 27, 1904
Place of Birth: Phila. PA.
Father’s Full Name: John Alexander Todd
Mother’s Full Maiden Name: Olivia Rush Moore
Sex: Female
Color: White
Date Signed: Dec 3, 1936
Signed By: Susan Conrad

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Original Source Citation:
Susan Todd Conrad, 165-05-8985, 3 December 1936, Application for Account Numbers (Form SS-5), Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland.

Susan Lippencott Todd (27 December 1904 – 1 August 1998)

Susan Lippencott Todd
1904-1998

Born:

27 December 1904 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States¹

Married:

1926 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States to Edward Charles Conrad²

Died:

1 August 1998 in Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States³

Parents:

John Alexander Todd (6 Aug 1870 – 13 Nov 1953)¹
Olivia Rush Moore (8 Oct 1869 – )¹

Spouse:

Edward Charles Conrad (5 August 1905 – 14 July 1981)

Children:

Living, Charles Edward Conrad

Ancestors
Susan is a descendant of James Todd & Elizabeth Martin, Thomas T. Moore & Susan L. Flenard, and Benjamin N. Ogle & Clara A. Matthews.

Biography
Susan Lippencott Todd was born on 27 Dec 1904 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.¹ She lived at 2423 Almond Street in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 15 Apr 1910.⁴ On 1 Jan 1920 she was a Knitter in a Hosiery in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.⁵ Susan lived at 2075 E Tioga Street in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 1 Jan 1920.⁵ She lived at 1642 Hunting Park Ave. in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 1 Apr 1930.⁶ She lived at 2069 E Clarence in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 1 Apr 1940.⁷ Susan died on 1 Aug 1998 at the age of 93 in Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States.³ She was buried at the Northwood Cemetery in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.⁸

Last updated: 10 October 2013

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Citations

1. Susan Todd Conrad, 165-05-8985, 3 December 1936, Application for Account Numbers (Form SS-5), Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland.
2. “Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Marriage Indexes, 1885-1951,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1388247 : accessed 26 July 2013), Edward C. Conrad, License# 529993, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JVWK-44M.
3. “Susan L. Conrad obituary,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 August 1998, p. 4B.
4. 1910 U.S. Census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Ward 31, Philadelphia, enumeration district (ED) 732, sheet 2B-3A, line 93, dwelling 45, family 45, John A. Todd; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1727033 : accessed 25 June 2013).
5. 1920 U.S. Census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Ward 45, Philadelphia, enumeration district (ED) 1707, sheet 4B, line 63, dwelling 61, family 61, John A. Todd; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1488411 : accessed 25 June 2013).
6. 1930 U.S. Census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Ward 33, Philadelphia, enumeration district (ED) 51-1183, sheet 29A, dwelling 406, family 418, Edward Conrad; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1810731 : accessed 26 July 2013).
7. 1940 U.S. Census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Ward 45, Philadelphia, enumeration district (ED) 51-1884, sheet 4A-B, household 68, Edward Conrad; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2000219 : accessed 2013 Jun 2013).
8. Personal knowledge.

This is part 2. See part 1.

Todds on Tioga Street in 1940

With enumeration district 51-1884 in hand, I went searching the 1940 census for my Todds. They were easy to find, showing up on the fourth image. Living with John and Olivia Todd were their son, John A. Todd, Jr. and their daughter Elizabeth Campbell, as well as Elizabeth’s daughter, Honor. I still don’t know who Mr. Campbell was. I had guessed she had been married to a Campbell from her SS-5, but have yet to find him. Great Aunt Bessie later married a Mr. Tilsner.

Emboldened by my success, I sat down to figure out where my Conrads might be in 1940. At first I was not sure, but then I remembered I had two documents that could help: my grandfather’s SS-5 from 1937 and his father’s death certificate from 1942. I knew from my father, born in 1937, that he had lived with his grandfather as a young child. I was in luck. Both listed the address of 2069 Clarence Street.

Off to Google maps, where I found something interesting. The Conrads lived right around the corner from the Todds:


View 1940 Census in a larger map

Now this isn’t unusual by any means, but it was interesting that I had not stumbled across this fact until now.

Conrads around the corner on Clarence

Conrads around the corner on Clarence continued

Another family found and I did not even need to figure out the enumeration district. Three images beyond the Todds, were the Conrads: Edward and Susan Conrad (John A. Todd’s son-in-law and daughter), their children Doris and Charles, and Edward’s father, Nicholas.

There are two improvements in my mind in 1940 for the census. One is the legibility factor. While I have still come across some poor handwriting, for the most part the letters are crafted in ways that are decipherable to me. We have finally reached modern style handwriting in full. The second is the x with a circle around it to indicate who answered the questions. This is a big help in determining how much credence we should put in those answers. Neighbor Bob might not be as reliable a source on the Smiths as Mrs. Smith would be.

Still, misinformation appears. My great-grandfather was born in Scotland. This is a well-known fact in the family. I was told this as a young child. Every census prior to this one listed his birthplace as Scotland. Certainly his daughter, who answered the questions according to the notation beside her name, knew this. And yet, this is what was recorded by the census taker:

John A. Todd, born in Pennsylvania?

The census provides loads of information and clues, but is by no means a stopping point in research. Reliability is not its strong suit.

Lucy H. Ogle Moore was my great-great-grandmother. In 1911, her family had a picnic at the local park, commemorating it with a group photo that made it into the local newspaper.

Moore Reunion, Philadelphia, 1911. Philadelphia Inquirer 8/13/1911.

Somewhere in that photograph is my grandmother, Susan L. Todd, age 6.

Mrs. Moore’s twenty-three other grandchildren at the time include:

1. Frank A. Todd, age 18
2. John A. Todd, age 16
3. Clayton M. Todd, age 14
4. Honour Todd, age 9
5. James Todd, age 8
6. Elizabeth M. Todd, age 4
7. Olivia R. Todd, age 2
8. Margaret A. Todd, age 1
9. Benjamin M. Moore, age 11
10. Elsie Knabb, age 12
11. Flenard Knabb, age 4
12. William Knabb, age 3
13. Margaret Knabb, age 0 (born Dec 1910)
14. Clara Moore, age 14
15. Frederick Moore, age 7
16. George Tazel, age 7
17. Martha Tazel, age 5
18. Anna Wood, age 5
19. Isadore Wood, age 2
20. Clara Ulery, age 4
21. Dorothy M. Coulter, age 5
22. Robert I. Coulter, age 3
23. Edna E. Coulter, age 1

Ages are approximate for most of those listed. I am missing at least three names. Except for the Todds whom I have a good handle on, there may be some listed who passed before 1911, so I may be missing more than three. (edited 16 Jul 2013. I found Lucy’s other three grandchildren (the Coulters) and have added them to the bottom of the list.)

I only count twenty-one children in the photo. I’m not sure that I see any older teens, so Frank and John Todd may be two of the ones missing from the photograph. Or maybe the headline is wrong and there were only twenty-one present.

Perhaps there are some Moore cousins out there who can fill in the blanks.