Thomas and Ella Moses moved east to Mt. Vernon, New York, in 1900. After settling into their new home, Moses wrote, “Ella and I had become a bit acclimated. The children became interested in their schoolwork, and we “jollied” ourselves along with the idea that we were perfectly happy in our Eastern home. Pitt [age 19] went directly to Trenton, N.J. with his Uncle Frank, making a start in his future life’s work. Mamie [age 17] was trying to be happy in Chicago. In September she and her husband joined us for a while.”
The couple had four children: Thomas William “Pitt” Moses (b. 1879), Mary “Mamie” Titcomb Moses (1881), Lillian Ella Moses (1886) and “Rupert” Moses (1889).
Pitt worked with Frank Deming Moses in the gas industry. Frank Moses’ contribution to the gas industry was significant; his later passing was reported in the American Gas Association Monthly, listing him as one of the gas industry’s “old guard.” Pitt, followed in the footstep of his uncle and worked with him at the gas plant in New Jersey (see past installment 162).
Moses was forty-four years old with two of his four children already grown; Pitt and Mamie were beginning their own adventure. Moses’ familial responsibilities were diminishing, as there were no longer four children awaiting his arrival at the door after an extended absence, only two, ages twelve and fifteen by 1901. There were no more small children under foot who were desperately seeking his attention or disturbing him in his studio. Moses recognized that he lost many precious moments with his family over the years while he was travelling. He desperately missed his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, always wanting them to know how much he disliked the extended separations. In 1930, Moses sent a Halloween card to his granddaughter Doris. In the card, Moses he wrote, “I am not staying away from home because I like to. I would like to take a train tonight for Chicago. It will be a month more before I can get home.”
I wonder if Moses’ move to New York signified hope; hope that there would be enough work to stay in one city and not travel. Hope that the pattern established over the past twenty years would change. It was time to start a new chapter in their lives and leave all past regrets behind in Chicago. Of this transitional period, Moses wrote, “As we closed the year’s work, we found that we had done very well, and I didn’t regret going East; but we did miss our Oak Park home, and the Harrison Street house [in Chicago] was a constant source of worry for us.”
There were so many possibilities in New York, but even more financial risks as Moses & Hamilton began setting their sights on Coney Island and the profits that could be made by manufacturing amusements.
To be continued…
