Today, April 8th, marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of my grandfather, Charles LeRoy Garrison.

Charles was born “_______ Garrison” on 8 Apr 1912 in Edinburg, (West Windsor), NJ.  He was the 12th child born to Adline and Sturley Garrison — the 6th, and youngest son — he was the next to last child (sister Grace was born in 1915). He was most likely born in his home and Dr. Arthur performed the delivery.

For some reason Charles was not named, officially, on the day of his birth.  Only his last name appears on the “Name of Child” line.  During the 18th & 19th centuries, it was not uncommon for parents to not give a name to newborns.  Mostly this was due to the high rate of infant mortality.

Charles’ birth certificate records the number of children born to the mother (12) and the number still living (11).  The 1900 US census asked the same question of women and for Adline the census shows she gave birth to 5 children and the number still living was 5.  This would mean that at some point between 1900 and 1912 a child was born to Adline who died young. This could explain Charles not being named at the time.

It wasn’t until April 3, 1929 that the original birth certificate was amended and he was legally named “Charles LeRoy”.

On September 23, 1930, Charles married Leota Weastell in Doylestown, PA. Both were from the Wilbur section of Trenton — Charles of 445 Walnut Ave and Leota of 450 Garfield Ave.