Sources:
1. Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002 (index plus scanned
images of marriage book pages; online at Ancestry.com; abstracted by Diana
Gale Matthiesen):
Frederick H. Maher of 2209 Humbert, Alton, Madison Co., IL;
age 37
Ouida Crouch of 1104a Hodiamont, St. Louis, MO; age 32
License: 10 Jun 1942, Jefferson Co., MO |
2. 1910 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com):
Frederick H. MAHER (æ 4, b. MO) is living in the City of St. Louis,
MO (p. 264A), with his parents, Edward J. MAHER (æ 43, b. MO) &
Chloe (æ 35, b. KY), and sister.
3. 1920 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com):
F. Harold MAHER (æ 15, b. MO) is living in the City of St. Louis,
MO (p. 229A), with his parents, Edward J. MAHER (æ 55, b. MO) &
Chloe (æ 43, b. KY), plus sister.
4. 1930 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com):
Frederick H. MAHER (æ 25, b. MO) is living in the City of St. Louis,
MO (p. 288B), with his widowed mother, Chloe C. MAHER (æ 53, b. KY),
plus married sister and her husband.
5. State of Florida. 1998. Florida Death Index,
1877-1998. Florida Health Dept., Office of Vital Records. (online
at Ancestry.com):
Name: |
Fred H Maher |
Ouida Riggs |
Birth
Date: |
|
6 Nov 1909 |
Death
Date: |
Aug 1969 |
9 Nov 1984 |
County
of Death: |
Pinellas |
Pinellas |
State
of Death: |
Florida |
Florida |
Age
at Death: |
|
75 |
Race: |
White |
White |
6. SSDI: Social Security Death Index (online at RootsWeb.com):
Name |
Birth |
Death |
Last Residence |
SSN |
Issued |
Post-em |
MAHER, Frederick |
26 Aug 1904 |
Aug 1969 |
33540 (Zephyrhills, Pasco, FL) |
494-09-3286 |
MO |
Yes |
RIGGS, Ouida |
06 Nov 1909 |
Nov 1984 |
33590 (Florida) |
488-03-8436 |
MO |
Yes |
33590 is an invalid zip code, so it's possibly a misreading of 33540.
7. Wagoner
Place Historic District. National Register of Historic Places
Registration Form (online at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources,
Missouri State Historic Preservation Office web site).
Excerpts extracted by DGM:
In 1944, Frederick and Ouida Maher purchased 1904 Wagoner
Place from Jack and Mattie Howard who were only the second owners of the
house. Dr. Venable, with the assistance of the Mahers, appears to
have participated in the practice known at the time as “flipping.”
A white or light-skinned African-American would purchase a property from
a white real estate broker and then quit-claim the property to an African-American
homeowner. The practice was also known as “block busting” and by
1943, it had become a tried and true method for de facto integration of
all-white residential blocks. The Mahers turned the property over
to Dr. and Mrs. Venable, who recorded the deed. The Venables lived
in the house with their daughters until the late 1950’s when they moved
to the St. Louis suburb of Ballwin, Missouri.
The Mahers do not appear in any St. Louis census prior to 1940,
so little of them is known. For several years, they purchased property
on Wagoner Place on behalf of other Black families. Whether they
did this from moral conviction or performed it as a paid service is unclear.
The Mahers purchased at least three other properties in the Wagoner private
subdivision: in 1943, 1918-1920 Wagoner for Mrs. Gladys Smith; and
1800 Wagoner Place for Harry and Lillian Brady; in 1945, they transferred
4649 Leduc to Winifred Ball, a bookkeeper...
1524 Dick Gregory Place
(1524 Wagoner Place)
Contributing
Constructed: c. 1891
Builder: unknown
Use: residential
The same building footprint appears on all of the historical maps
for this parcel. The 1899 Juehne map does not number the structure
but does describe it as a two-story brick building with a mansard or attic.
There are no building permits for this property.
In 1891 Ida Pesold purchased the property from Woerheide Realty
and Improvement Company for $5,500. This property was sold to two
other real estate companies, including the Fambal Realty and Improvement
Company in 1925 and the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation in 1936. In
1923 Louis and Margaret Mumford lived at 1524 Wagoner Place. In 1941,
while the property was under the ownership of the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation,
Ella Hanley lived in the house. According to the 1930 census, Hanley
was a white woman whose parents were born in Northern Ireland. She
worked as a housekeeper and was born around 1880. Finally, as they
had before with other property located in the proposed Wagoner Place Historic
District, Frederick H. and Ouida E. Maher purchased the building
in 1943 and immediately sold it to Gladys Smith, who was African-American...
1800 Dick Gregory Place
(1800 Wagoner Place)
Contributing
Constructed: c. 1897
Builder: unknown
Use: residential
Similar building footprints appear on all of the historical maps.
The building on the parcel is described by the 1899 Juehne map as a two-story
brick structure with a mansard or attic but does not number the structure.
The 1910 census reveals that its owner, Caroline Puse, a widow, lived in
the house with her three children: Anna; William J., a liquor dealer;
and Edward H., an embalmer. A relative, widower Charles H. Puse,
also lived with the family.
According to the 1920 census the house was owned by Lena Baumann,
another widow, who lived there with her six children and her mother. The
1930 census revealed that the residents of the building were now renters:
Louis Peters, a watchman; Johanna Peters, Peters’ wife; and Lillian Henneck,
their divorced daughter who worked as a cashier in a department store.
By 1936 another owner, John C. Thurmond had moved into the building; but
it was acquired the same year by the Home Owners Loan Corporation, apparently
to avoid foreclosure. It was sold to Frederick H. and Ouida E.
Maher in 1943, who immediately transferred the property to Harry R.
and Lillian A. Brady, an African-American couple...
(1904 Dick Gregory Place)
(1904 Wagoner Place)
Contributing
Constructed: c. 1897
Builder: unknown
Use: residential
The building footprint for this structure remains consistent in
the historical maps. The structure is not numbered in the 1899 Juehne
map, but is described as a two-story brick building with a mansard or attic.
There are no building permits for this property.
In August 1891 Fritz W. Umbeck purchased the property from Woerheide
Realty and Improvement Company for $1,225.00. In 1895 Edward A. Oeters
purchased the property and lived there through at least 1923, according
to the St. Louis city directory for that year. Edward A. Oeters worked
for the St. Louis Post Office throughout the time he lived at 1904 Wagoner
Place. In 1929 after his death, Jack (also called John) and Mattie
Howard purchased the property and lived there until 1944. Jack Howard
was a laborer in 1930; his wife and one son worked at a shoe factory, and
another son at an electric company. In 1944 Frederick and Ouida
Maher bought the property and immediately sold it to Dr. Howard P.
and Marjorie Venable, an African-American couple...
4649 Leduc Street
(4649 Garfield)
Contributing
Constructed: c. 1925
Builder: unknown
Use: residential
No building is shown on this lot until the 1940 Sanborn map.
According to the City records, the building was constructed in 1925. No
building permits are available for the property. In 1901 William
B. Collins purchased this lot along with four others from the Woerheide
Realty and Improvement Company. Collins paid $23,500 for the five
lots. In 1945 Frederick H. and Ouida E. Maher purchased the
property from a white woman, Jacobine Holste. The Maher’s immediately
sold the property to Walter and Mary J. Thomas, who then sold it to a black
woman named Winifred Ball in 1945. The 1930 U.S. Census identified
Ms. Ball as a bookkeeper for a garage. Her father was a Pullman porter... |
8. Messages posted to the Carrico Surname Board (online
at RootsWeb.com/Ancestry.com).
9. Public Member Trees (online at Ancestry.com).
10. WorldConnect / WorldTree (online at RootsWeb.com/Ancestry.com,
respectively). |