Husband Henry

Children Thomas, Henry and Albert

Daughter Miss Mary Noel Mehlhouse

Sister Mrs Ella Vecsey of Florida

6 grandchildren

Park Ave.

Died Friday in St Vincents Hospital

Age 55

∼Mary was the widow of Henry Keiler Mehlhouse. She passed away in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She was the mother of Albert Peter Mehlhouse, Henry Mehlhouse and Thomas Mehlhouse.

She was born in Connecticut, USA and her parents were born in Scottland.

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MARY JANE WILSON MEHLHOUSE

Mary Jane's parents are Thomas Wilson (b Sep 1862 at Scotland & Jessy Wilson (b Mar 1864), at Scotland. Mary Janes's siblings are: Thomas (b Jan 1882), James (b Mar 1884), Jessy (b Dec 1892) & Lizzy (b Jan 1892).

On April 22, 1915, at Bridgeport, Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mary Jane Wilson and Henry Keiler Mehlhouse welcomed their first child together, Albert Peter Mehlhouse. Mary and Henry, who was known as "Karl" to many, were married on November 10, 1916 at Bridgeport, Connecticut, where Mary Jane would remain to raise their children while he traveled afar during his employment with the circus.

The city directory of 1918 has them living at 137 Standard Ave, Bridgeport, CT, with Karl working as a clerk. In 1932, they were living at 1917 Seaview Ave., Bridgeport, CT and Karl was working as a laborer. The physical description on his WWI draft card indicates he was of tall height and medium build, with blue eyes and light brown hair. According to his military draft registration in 1917-1918, his occupation was "Fulminate Mixer" with U.M.C. and living at the 137 Standard Ave, Bridgeport, CT address.

Mary and Karl had another baby boy, Henry Mehlhouse, on 26 January 1917 at Bridgeport, CT. Karl's dad, Oliver James Mihlhouse died on October 11, 1918 in Berwyn, Cook County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The Bridgeport Times and Evening Farmer announced on February 1, 1919, "The police commissioners at their meeting last night elected five special policemen. . . one of which is Henry K. Mehlhouse, 439 Brooks Street".

On the 1920 census, Henry and Mary Jane are living at 200 Coleman Street in Bridgeport, a multi-family house. This is also the address given as the location of the funeral service in the obituary of Henry's first wife (and mother of his first child) Elizabeth Ballog. There were also a Steven Ballog and wife Bessie living in one of the other four units at 200 Coleman St in the 1920 U.S. Census. Also in the 1920 U.S. Census, Henry (Karl) is a Fulminate mixer for UMC. It lists Henry as being born about 1881. Then, in 1924, the Bridgeport Directory listed Henry as a special policeman, and that they lived at 306 Bond St. On March 19, 1927 their third son and last child, Thomas Joseph Mehlhouse, was born. On November 1, 1929 his mother, Ida Dorothea Keiler, died and was buried at Pottstown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Henry was employed by the Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus according to the Census taken on April 9, 1930 at Butler, Miami County, Indiana. Henry claimed to be 56 yrs old and was working as a canvasman. On April 14, he was somehow also the Superintendent of Props in Peru, Miami, Indiana. In 1935, they were living at 606 Warren St, Bridgeport, CT.

There is an old adage, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." Oftentimes, that is true. In some instances, however, absence is.... well, just plain absence, possibly defined better as "GONE", which makes the heart grow lonelier. On March 22, 1936, Mary Jane Mehlhouse gave birth to Mary Jane Noel. The "Noel" surname was a gift from the baby's father, Ernest Domenic Noel. Ernest was a steeplejack by trade and the sole proprietor of a company that provided such services. He was also Mary's neighbor (two houses down) in 1930, when he was 29 and she was 34. By 1940, Ernest and 4-year-old Mary Jane Noel were "lodgers" in the home of Mary J Mehlhouse, according to the United States Census of the same year. A decade later, the household consists of Thomas Mehlhouse, 22, Mary J Mehlhouse, 54, and Mary Jane Noel, 13. Ernest Noel is not mentioned in the 1950 U.S. Census, at least not anywhere in Bridgeport, CT. In fact, any further records of him remain elusive at this writing. Maybe he decided to join the circus. We may never know.

In 1949, Mary and Thomas lived at 345 Court N, Marina Village in Bridgeport and in 1953 the directory tells us Mary J. Mehlhouse was the widow of Henry (Karl). Although puzzling at first, we learned from a letter handwritten by Henry in 1939 and a subsequent letter by his sister, Sallie (Sarah May) in 1941, both to Henry's daughter, Elizabeth (whose mother and namesake had died when Elizabeth was an infant), indicating that he had been living in Yazoo City, Yazoo County, Mississippi for a time, and that he had died of a massive heart attack in the home where he was a paid lodger. The lady of the house stated that Henry had weighed somewhere in excess of 500 lbs at his death. We are currently searching for a record of his final resting place. On May 14, 1954, at the age of 58, Mary died and was buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport. Cause of death was Cerebro-vascular Thrombosis (stroke) with contributory conditions of Diabetes Mellitus (diabetes) and Arteriosclerotic Hypertensive Disease (high blood pressure) At the time of her death she was living at 436 Park Ave, Bridgeport, CT.

History by Bill Mehlhouse/Rhonda

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