Russell Adair was the son of Silas Adair and Olive M. Adair. He was my (maternal) grandpa's cousin. Russell was raised in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Most likely he was named for his father's brother Russell, a gent who served with gallantry in WWI and who did drafting and engineering work.
Conshohocken is just down the road from Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and a record for a Russell N. Adair had been found there, indicating this was perhaps his last residence. Once I found Russell's sister's place of rest, and confirmed he was in the same cemetery grouping, and had died the same year that I had earlier found, it made me sure I had found the right gent.
It had not been known if he married or had children, though other Adairs do indeed show up as having lived in Plymouth Meeting. Then the 1940 census was made public and we see Russell and his wife Hannah living on Spring Mill Road in Conshohocken. Just like Russell's mom, his wife is a school teacher, at a grade school. Russell himself owns a plumbing business. The 1930 census shows Russell single and still at home so he must have married in this interval.
His sister Yulia's good friend and "adopted" daughter (that is, not formally adopted, but a younger person who looked after her in her later years) says she believes she recalls being told that Russell died of a heart attack. She did not think Russell had had children, was unsure if he had ever married.
August 17, 1943 he entered the service from Allentown, Pennsylvania, where his civilian occupation was noted as "Skilled painters, construction and maintenance."
In November of 2013 I got access to archives of the Conshohocken Recorder, and it seems like (at least for a time) Russell took over his father's painting contracting business - the ads feature his name but the same old 512 Harry Street location. He served a long period at the front in WWII and was hospitalized for combat exhaustion. In 1940 he bought (and at least as of 1952 he lived at) Butler Pike in Cold Point, Pennsylvania. His wife's name prior to marriage is given as Hannah Betteridge or Belteridge. She appears to have been from Norristown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of John J and Alice C. By 1920 John J is living solo in Philadelphia and reporting as divorced. 1930 shows Alice reporting as widowed and raising a son Frank, age 19, no Hannah in sight. Born 1909, Hannah would be old enough to marry so it's hard to say where she is.
A John Joseph Betteridge had also registered for the WWI draft from Philadelphia, reporting as single with no dependents, a telegrapher born December 26, 1886 in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. There's another man of a similar name, John Thomas Betteridge who also registered, a bricklayer from Philadelphia.
I found a 100 year anniversary history of the Fritz Lodge, the Masons in Conshohocken (1868-1968), and therein Russell N. Adair was noted as a past master, 1935 (no picture). I also found a (very out of focus) page from the 1958 yearbook for Plymouth Whitemarsh High School and Russell is pictured as a member of the Board of Education - so it would seem he left the plumbing and painting trades and went into education as the women of the family certainly did as well.
More info is being sought presently. It's hoped once I get to the cemetery I can firm up his death data and find an obituary to tell his life story.
In the meantime, his probable wife may be here.
Conshohocken is just down the road from Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and a record for a Russell N. Adair had been found there, indicating this was perhaps his last residence. Once I found Russell's sister's place of rest, and confirmed he was in the same cemetery grouping, and had died the same year that I had earlier found, it made me sure I had found the right gent.
It had not been known if he married or had children, though other Adairs do indeed show up as having lived in Plymouth Meeting. Then the 1940 census was made public and we see Russell and his wife Hannah living on Spring Mill Road in Conshohocken. Just like Russell's mom, his wife is a school teacher, at a grade school. Russell himself owns a plumbing business. The 1930 census shows Russell single and still at home so he must have married in this interval.
His sister Yulia's good friend and "adopted" daughter (that is, not formally adopted, but a younger person who looked after her in her later years) says she believes she recalls being told that Russell died of a heart attack. She did not think Russell had had children, was unsure if he had ever married.
August 17, 1943 he entered the service from Allentown, Pennsylvania, where his civilian occupation was noted as "Skilled painters, construction and maintenance."
In November of 2013 I got access to archives of the Conshohocken Recorder, and it seems like (at least for a time) Russell took over his father's painting contracting business - the ads feature his name but the same old 512 Harry Street location. He served a long period at the front in WWII and was hospitalized for combat exhaustion. In 1940 he bought (and at least as of 1952 he lived at) Butler Pike in Cold Point, Pennsylvania. His wife's name prior to marriage is given as Hannah Betteridge or Belteridge. She appears to have been from Norristown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of John J and Alice C. By 1920 John J is living solo in Philadelphia and reporting as divorced. 1930 shows Alice reporting as widowed and raising a son Frank, age 19, no Hannah in sight. Born 1909, Hannah would be old enough to marry so it's hard to say where she is.
A John Joseph Betteridge had also registered for the WWI draft from Philadelphia, reporting as single with no dependents, a telegrapher born December 26, 1886 in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. There's another man of a similar name, John Thomas Betteridge who also registered, a bricklayer from Philadelphia.
I found a 100 year anniversary history of the Fritz Lodge, the Masons in Conshohocken (1868-1968), and therein Russell N. Adair was noted as a past master, 1935 (no picture). I also found a (very out of focus) page from the 1958 yearbook for Plymouth Whitemarsh High School and Russell is pictured as a member of the Board of Education - so it would seem he left the plumbing and painting trades and went into education as the women of the family certainly did as well.
More info is being sought presently. It's hoped once I get to the cemetery I can firm up his death data and find an obituary to tell his life story.
In the meantime, his probable wife may be here.
Russell Adair was the son of Silas Adair and Olive M. Adair. He was my (maternal) grandpa's cousin. Russell was raised in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Most likely he was named for his father's brother Russell, a gent who served with gallantry in WWI and who did drafting and engineering work.
Conshohocken is just down the road from Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and a record for a Russell N. Adair had been found there, indicating this was perhaps his last residence. Once I found Russell's sister's place of rest, and confirmed he was in the same cemetery grouping, and had died the same year that I had earlier found, it made me sure I had found the right gent.
It had not been known if he married or had children, though other Adairs do indeed show up as having lived in Plymouth Meeting. Then the 1940 census was made public and we see Russell and his wife Hannah living on Spring Mill Road in Conshohocken. Just like Russell's mom, his wife is a school teacher, at a grade school. Russell himself owns a plumbing business. The 1930 census shows Russell single and still at home so he must have married in this interval.
His sister Yulia's good friend and "adopted" daughter (that is, not formally adopted, but a younger person who looked after her in her later years) says she believes she recalls being told that Russell died of a heart attack. She did not think Russell had had children, was unsure if he had ever married.
August 17, 1943 he entered the service from Allentown, Pennsylvania, where his civilian occupation was noted as "Skilled painters, construction and maintenance."
In November of 2013 I got access to archives of the Conshohocken Recorder, and it seems like (at least for a time) Russell took over his father's painting contracting business - the ads feature his name but the same old 512 Harry Street location. He served a long period at the front in WWII and was hospitalized for combat exhaustion. In 1940 he bought (and at least as of 1952 he lived at) Butler Pike in Cold Point, Pennsylvania. His wife's name prior to marriage is given as Hannah Betteridge or Belteridge. She appears to have been from Norristown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of John J and Alice C. By 1920 John J is living solo in Philadelphia and reporting as divorced. 1930 shows Alice reporting as widowed and raising a son Frank, age 19, no Hannah in sight. Born 1909, Hannah would be old enough to marry so it's hard to say where she is.
A John Joseph Betteridge had also registered for the WWI draft from Philadelphia, reporting as single with no dependents, a telegrapher born December 26, 1886 in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. There's another man of a similar name, John Thomas Betteridge who also registered, a bricklayer from Philadelphia.
I found a 100 year anniversary history of the Fritz Lodge, the Masons in Conshohocken (1868-1968), and therein Russell N. Adair was noted as a past master, 1935 (no picture). I also found a (very out of focus) page from the 1958 yearbook for Plymouth Whitemarsh High School and Russell is pictured as a member of the Board of Education - so it would seem he left the plumbing and painting trades and went into education as the women of the family certainly did as well.
More info is being sought presently. It's hoped once I get to the cemetery I can firm up his death data and find an obituary to tell his life story.
In the meantime, his probable wife may be here.
Conshohocken is just down the road from Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and a record for a Russell N. Adair had been found there, indicating this was perhaps his last residence. Once I found Russell's sister's place of rest, and confirmed he was in the same cemetery grouping, and had died the same year that I had earlier found, it made me sure I had found the right gent.
It had not been known if he married or had children, though other Adairs do indeed show up as having lived in Plymouth Meeting. Then the 1940 census was made public and we see Russell and his wife Hannah living on Spring Mill Road in Conshohocken. Just like Russell's mom, his wife is a school teacher, at a grade school. Russell himself owns a plumbing business. The 1930 census shows Russell single and still at home so he must have married in this interval.
His sister Yulia's good friend and "adopted" daughter (that is, not formally adopted, but a younger person who looked after her in her later years) says she believes she recalls being told that Russell died of a heart attack. She did not think Russell had had children, was unsure if he had ever married.
August 17, 1943 he entered the service from Allentown, Pennsylvania, where his civilian occupation was noted as "Skilled painters, construction and maintenance."
In November of 2013 I got access to archives of the Conshohocken Recorder, and it seems like (at least for a time) Russell took over his father's painting contracting business - the ads feature his name but the same old 512 Harry Street location. He served a long period at the front in WWII and was hospitalized for combat exhaustion. In 1940 he bought (and at least as of 1952 he lived at) Butler Pike in Cold Point, Pennsylvania. His wife's name prior to marriage is given as Hannah Betteridge or Belteridge. She appears to have been from Norristown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of John J and Alice C. By 1920 John J is living solo in Philadelphia and reporting as divorced. 1930 shows Alice reporting as widowed and raising a son Frank, age 19, no Hannah in sight. Born 1909, Hannah would be old enough to marry so it's hard to say where she is.
A John Joseph Betteridge had also registered for the WWI draft from Philadelphia, reporting as single with no dependents, a telegrapher born December 26, 1886 in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. There's another man of a similar name, John Thomas Betteridge who also registered, a bricklayer from Philadelphia.
I found a 100 year anniversary history of the Fritz Lodge, the Masons in Conshohocken (1868-1968), and therein Russell N. Adair was noted as a past master, 1935 (no picture). I also found a (very out of focus) page from the 1958 yearbook for Plymouth Whitemarsh High School and Russell is pictured as a member of the Board of Education - so it would seem he left the plumbing and painting trades and went into education as the women of the family certainly did as well.
More info is being sought presently. It's hoped once I get to the cemetery I can firm up his death data and find an obituary to tell his life story.
In the meantime, his probable wife may be here.
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