The Olsens of Buffalo

Last time we met, we were in the midst of the Great Lakes Storm of 1913.  Somehow the Olsens survived this brutal storm, apparently they were not on the Great Lakes at the time.  Actually, during this same time frame in 1975 - November 10, 1975 to be exact, was the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  I guess those Great Lakes storms can be pretty bad.  Now I'll be singing that song while writing - oh well.

John then served overseas during WWI, there is no draft registration card, so I assume that he enlisted, but I could be wrong.  This is his service abstract from ancestry.com:

Unimpressed by the storm, and after the War,  the Olsens remained in Buffalo, living at 59 Zittle St in 1920.  Alfred supported his family by working as a motorman for a railway company, and John was a clerk for the railroad.  Then, as we saw in our last episode, Alfred dies on 18 Mar 1926, as he is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in the Lackawanna section of Buffalo (Sec DD, Lot 45 if you're keeping score).

About two years before the death of his father, John is hired as a Policeman in the City of Buffalo, NY, a job he will keep for 32 years.  In the 1930 and 1940, John and his mother still live at 59 Zittle St, and John polices the streets of Buffalo until 1956.  There is one change in the 1930 census - Catherine's brother William H. O'Dea, now lives with them, where he is also counted in the 1940 census.  But 1941 brings some sad changes.  William O'Dea dies on 31 Aug 1941 at the age of 82.  His body is returned to Susquahanna, PA for burial with his parents and brother, James.  James had died forty years earlier in 1900.  Apparently the attorney for William's will set a record of sorts authenticating a signature on William's will.  And the event made the local paper:

I thought this was interesting, and I just had to add it.  This came to me courtesy of my on line researching friend, Denise.  Thanks.

So then on 18 Nov 1941, (three weeks before Pearl Harbor) Catherine passed away.  She was 80 years old and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery with her husband:

So it appears that John lives in the house and retires from the Buffalo Police Department in 1956.  He lives there until he entered the North Town Nursing Home in North Tonawanda, NY where he passed away at the age of 69 on 9 Aug 1962.  I found this obit for John, sorry about that nasty stripe down the middle:

It takes a little work, but it is still readable.  So he spent 32 years as a Patrolman in Buffalo.  I found a website for Buffalo Police Now and Then, and I never knew how big the city was.  I have one more picture before I go.

This is 59 Zittle St in Buffalo NY, which I got from Google Earth. Yup this is where it all happened for over 40 years the Olsens owned and resided in this house.  It was still standing in 2015 when the Google Earth car drove by and captured this image.  It probably looked a little different back in the day, no air conditioners in the windows I would imagine.  I wouldn't think you would need A/C in Buffalo - but what do I know.  I do know that my ancestors spent most of their lives in this house, in this city, and it's still there.