| Notes |
- ADELAIDE (HOLLENBECK) MCFARLIN 1900 - 1999 by; Peter F McFarlin -
2008;
Adelaide (Ruth?) Sutherland Hollenbeck was born in the Brooklyn Maternity Hospital on May 19 1900, the daughter of Everett and Adelaide (Sutherland) Hollenbeck of Brooklyn. In the 1900 US census (taken on June 1st) she is listed there as "Ruth" Ho llenbeck and is in the nursery room (6th fl) while her mother is in a private room on the 3rd floor. The hospital record may be in error or her name became Adelaide shortly after.
EDUCATION AND GRAND TOUR
The 1910 census finds the Hollenbeck family living at Curtis Terrace in Maplewood, a part of South Orange, New Jersey (NJ) where Adelaide, age nine, is attending school. In 1919 she is graduated from the Columbia High School of South Orange/Maplew ood.
About 1920, Aunt Polly went to Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts (MA) and studied biology. Her first dissection was on a cat and she fainted. She soon dropped biology and decided to continue with her art interests at the Museum Schoo l (of Fine Arts) in Boston, MA. (# 2)
In May of 1924, at age twenty three, Adelaide traveled with her parents to Europe on the SS Leviathan. She listed on her March passport her occupation as student and countries planned to visit were; British Isles, France, Belguim, Holland, Switzer land and Italy.
MARRAIGE AND HOME
She had met Kirk McFarlin in Maplewood NJ, while playing bridge at a mutual friend's house. They saw each other for a period and were married there in May of 1926. After honeymooning at Lake Placid they returned to their new home at 24 Delwick Lan e in Short Hills, NJ. Polly was interviewed in 1983 for some history of the Delwick Lane area (# 3). "My husband and I discovered this lovely little spot while we were horseback riding. At that time we were engaged.". I have lived at 24 Delwick La ne since the summer of 1926 when I moved into the house as a bride." Her home was designed by her husband Kirk and built by Bernhardt Mueller.
"We knew that it would be a wise thing to have a dog, because we were almost alone on this street, and while we were trying to decide what kind of a dog we would get, I heard a scratch on the door one morning, and here was a little wire-haired fo x terrier wagging it's tail and he seemed to enjoy being here; we put him out at night and the next morning back he would come." The McFarlin's neighbor, Louis Kaufmann..."came over one morning and said he understood that his little dog Bubbles wa s very happy living with us." And so, Bubbles became their household pet while the Kaufmann children shared him on summer weekends when they were at their huge estate home across from the McFarlins there on Delwick Lane.
Adelaide was first Episcopalian and later Christian Scientist, which was introduced to her through her husband Kirk.
CHILDREN
Around 1927-28 Adelaide (Polly) miscarried their first child; a girl. Kirk took Polly to relax in Bermuda in May/June of 1928. The 1930 census finds Adelaide and Kirk owning their home and with a maid. Their son Kirk Charles McFarlin was born Jul y 13 1930 in East Orange. His daughter Claire later shares that her grandma Polly almost named him Kirkpatrick, (after the longer version of his ancestor branch; the Kirkpatricks of Middlesex, PA. and 1700's NJ before that). When the Kirkpatrick s settled in Coitsville, OH in the early 1800's, they had shortened their surname to Kirk. Polly decided to also shorten it, after baby Kirk was born, "...she couldn't see giving such a small child, such a long name" (# 4). Aunt Polly later told P FM that they called young Kirk 'Peter', after a pet rabbit, so as to not call him 'junior'. Charles was sometimes used as his legal, original middle name. Adelaide and Kirk's last child was their son Everett Byrne McFarlin, born in East Orange, Oc t of 1933.
Adelaide applied some of her art knowledge to designing patterns for china sets, and she later became an expert calligrapher, later teaching classes in the Millburn area. Her sister-in-law, Peggy McFarlin had also been a student at the Museum Scho ol in Boston (1926-1930) and she and Adelaide created wonderful little handmade christmas cards which they exchanged in the 1930's (# 1).
MORE TRAVELS AND VISITS
The following is from Claire (McFarlin) Viviani to PFM (# 4); "...Our trips were three. The first was in 1970, which Grandma Polly (Adelaide) took me on a 6 week guided tour of Europe, starting in England, by bus, and finishing in Italy. Absolute ly fabulous. The following year both Kirk and Adelaide took me to the Far East during my Christmas Holiday, for about 4 weeks. I especially remember celebrating my 16th birthday in Tokyo, which was our first stop. They had a Japanese friend that j oined us. After, we went to Kyoto and then Taipei and Manila. Then we returned to Taipei where we spent Christmas. Grandpa (Kirk) must have had some type of business he was taking care of during this trip as I met a couple more friends (Chinese) a nd one of their wives who joined us for dinner. Then it was on to Hong Kong and Bangkok and HuaHin. After this part of the trip we headed to Beirut and after that, home. This too was a wonderful experience, and I definitely got the impression tha t a lot of it was business, as Grandma and I did other things, like shopping, swimming and Kabuki Theater.
"The last trip was with just Grandma, to Greece (ca 1974/5 - ed.). I was already in college, and I think it was because she had always wanted to go and had never had the opportunity, and she knew how much I loved Ancient History.
Every summer, after we moved back to the States (from Guatemala to Ann Arbor in 1969 - ed.), I would try to go out and visit and I would spend a couple of weeks with them. Grandma taught me calligraphy (which she did so beautifully) and Japanese f lower arranging (Ikibana) and Chinese cooking with a real wok (in those days, that was impressive). We always managed to get in to New York at least once - by train, bus and subway, and go to the Metropolitan Museum, and could not come home unles s we stopped at Chock-Full-O-Nuts and bought a dozen of their donuts. I also would help Grandpa in the (home) office. This was after he had retired from his job in the city (which he too rode the train into), and had resumed working at home for Ri fe Hydraulic. I would help with typing letters, sending information to people who requested it and general office work."
Adelaide's application for her SS number in October of 1955 indicated her employer at the time was the nearby Millburn High School (which, in 2008, became the top-rated high school in New Jersey). Her grand-daughter Gina McFarlin came to live wit h them (Polly and Everett) in 1984/1985 for a year and attended school there, graduating from Millburn High in 1985.
After Polly's husband Kirk had passed on in 1977, she continued living in the Delwick Lane house with Everett until they both moved to Houston to be near her family; grand-daughters Gina and Lissa and occasionally, son Kirk, when he came to the st ates from Guatemala. Adelaide lived to be in her 100th year there in Houston and passed on in Oct of 1999.
(Research):NOTES AND REFERENCES
Peter had first learned of his aunt Polly McFarlin from his mother Peggy McFarlin and aunt Mary Applegate, while growing up and living in Wellesley, MA. They both always spoke highly of Polly and had fond memories of her from Short Hills.
(# 1) - 1974 Peter Folsom McFarlin (PFM); 9-10 October; Personal conversations between PFM and his uncle Kirk and aunt Polly McFarlin while at their home in Short Hills NJ. These were willingly taped and later transcribed to text.
(# 2) - 2008 data from Gina (McFarlin)
(# 3) - 1983 "An Interview with Mrs Kirk (Polly) McFarlin of 24 Delwick Lane, Short Hills" in, The Thistle; by the Millburn/Short Hills Historical Society, Fall, 2004 V 34 pp 13 - 20.
(# 4) - 2008 data from Claire (McFarlin) Viviani.
OTHER SOURCES
- 1900 - census; NYC, Kings co, New York ED 133 pp 138a, 138b; Ruth (sic) Hollenbeck (patient) a 1/12 b May 1900 and Adelaide Hollenbeck (patient) a 28 b Jan 1878, both in Brooklyn Maternity Hospital, St John's Place, Brooklyn.
- 1910 - census; Maplewood, Essex co, New Jersey ED 218; Adalaide Hollenbeck (at school) a 9 with her parents Everett and Adalaide Hollenbeck and servant Fannie Brudy, all living at Curtiss Place.
- 1919 - in; History of the School district of South Orange and Maplewood; by Foster, 1930, p 303; List of graduates of Columbia High School with Adelaide Sutherland Hollenbeck graduating in 1919.
- 1920 - census; Maplewood, Essex co, New Jersey ED 324; Adelaide's parents are listed living at 24 Curtis Place with her uncle, Charles Byrne, (young Adelaide was not listed there, or located elswhere - she was probably living at Wellesley Colleg e whose US census records were not found.)
- 1924 - US Passport #378120 (Washington) issued to; Adelaide Hollenbeck, single b May 19 1900 in Brooklyn, New York, now living at 22 Curtis Place, Maplewood, New Jersey and occupied as a student. She was 5' 6", blue eyes, light hair. Planning t o leave on the Leviathan, May 3rd for; British Isles, France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, and Italy. Travelling with her parents Adelaide and Everett Hollenbeck
- 1928 - Passenger list for the SS America, arriving at NYC June 8th 1928 from Hamilton, Bermuda; Adelaide McFarlin b 1900 Brooklyn, NY and Kirk McFarlin b 1892 Topeka, Kan, both married and living at Delwick Lane, Short Hills, NJ.
- 1930 - census; Millburn, Essex co, New Jersey ED 7-506; Adelaide McFarlin wife a 29 b NY with Kirk McFarlin a 37 b KA and Hilda Reinhauer maid a 23 b Germany, all living at Delwick Lane.
- 1955 - (Oct 11th) SS Application # 143-30-1568 for Adelaide Hollenbeck McFarlin of PO Box 401,Short Hills, NJ a 55 b May 19 1900, employed by Millburn High School.
- 1999 - SS Death Index for Adelaide H McFarlin, #143-30-1568, last resided in Houston, Texas; b 19 May 1900 d 1 Oct 1999.
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1900 - 1999 (99 years)
