Copyright © 2022 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
Two Sosman & Landis employees were listed as guests at a Chicago Commerce event in 1914. They were J. C. Johnson and Chas. H. Szcesney. At the time, Johnson was listed as the firm’s secretary. Szcesney likely worked in the office with Johnson.
Charles “Charlie” Herman Szcesney was the son of Frederick “Fritz” Sczesney and Emilie Zilke. Both were European immigrants who left their homeland to start a new life in America. Illinois marriage records list that Fredrich Sczesny and Emilie Zihlke were married in Chicago on June 5, 1886. Born on October 31, 1893, Charlie was one of five Szcesney children to grow up in Chicago. By the way, the spelling of their surname varies from Szcesney to Szcesny to Chesney.
The 1900 US Federal Census listed the Szcesney household as including:
Frederick (b. Aug 1855, head)
Amelia (b. June 1862, wife)
Martha (b. Feb 1887, daughter)
George (b. June 1889, son)
Emma (b. Aug 1891, daughter)
Charles (b. Oct 1892, son)
William (b. March 1898, son).
That year the Szcesney home was located at 527 Melrose, Chicago. I have uncovered very little about Szcesney’s childhood in Chicago. However, for geographical context, Melrose St. was located halfway between Lincoln Avenue and the Chicago River. In other words, they lived a little northwest of what we consider the Lincoln Park Neighborhood today.
A decade later, the Szcesneys were still located on the same street, but their address was listed as 1821 Melrose. Amazingly, this old home is still standing.
In 1910, the Szcesney household included Fred (57 yrs.), Emily (48 yrs.), George (20 yrs.), Emma (19 yrs.), Charles (16 yrs.), William (12 yrs.), Mamie (7 yrs.). Charlie was working as an office boy that year, with his father employed as a RR flagman and his eldest brother George as a machinist in the auto industry.
Sometime between 1910 and 1914, Charlie began working in the Sosman & Landis office. His time at the studio only lasted a few years though. Only his father, Frederick Sczesny was listed in the 1917 Chicago Directory, working as a gateman and living at 1821 Melrose St. However, Charles Szcesney, was still listing Chicago as his home in 1918.
His WWI Draft Registration Card listed the home address of Charles Herman Sczesney as “Y.M.C.A. Chicago, Illinois.” At the time he was working as an accountant, listing “himself” as his employer. Szcesney’s physical appearance was described as medium height, medium build, brown hair and brown eyes. By the end of 1918 he was living in to Boston, Massachusetts and working as an accountant. Szcesney remain an accountant for the rest of his life, and possibly worked as an accountant at Sosman & Landis.
Szcesney continued to work as an accountant over the years, although he shifted from one industry to the next. When Szcesney moved east and married, he changed the spelling of his name from Szcesney to Chesney. His name change is understandable; “sz” really confuses Americans. I say this as my own name – Waszut – always makes people stop and wonder about the correct pronunciation. Changing your last name from Szcesney to Chesney simply helps people pronounce it correctly – shchez-nee.
It also changed his perceived nationality, making it sound a little more Norman, French in origin. This may have helped fit in with his future in-laws.
Charles Herman Chesney married to Bernadette “Blanche” P. Boucher (1893-1974) in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in 1923. Blanche was the only child born to French-Canadians Frank and Josie Boucher. The couple’s wedding was announced on September 5, 1923, in the “Fitchburg Daily Sentinel:
“Chesney-Boucher
Miss Bernadette Blanche Boucher 85 Holt street and Charles H. Chesney of Boston, were married Tuesday at Christ Episcopal church by Rev. Arthur J. Gammack, rector. They were attended by Mr. and Mrs. Ellsworth O. C. Hill of Whalom and Mrs. Sarah Dyson of this city. Mrs. Chesney has been employed at the downtown bank of the Fitchburg Bank & Trust Co. and Mr. Chesney is a public accountant. Mr. and Mrs. Chesney will make their home at 380 Riverway Street, Boston.”
By 1930, the Chesneys relocated to New Jersey, settling in Teaneck. They would continue to live in the township for the remainder of their lives. For context, Teaneck is due east of Hackensack, just across the Hackensack River; an 8-minute drive. Chesney continued to work as a public accountant, now managing his own firm. In 1931, he was listed in the Hackensack Directory, doing much of his business there.
The 1940 US Federal Census listed Chesney as an accountant in the distilling industry, still living at the same address with Blanche.
His WWI Draft card from 1942 still listed Chesney’s address as 535 Wyndam Rd., Teaneck, New Jersey. That year he listed Brewster Aeronautical Corp., Long Island, as his employer. I have uncovered very little about Chesney’s life after moving east.
Chesney passed away in 1958 at the age of 65 yrs. old. His obituary was published in “The Record” of Hackensack, New Jersey, on July 18, 1958 (page 4):
“CHESNEY – Charles H. Suddenly on July 16, 1958, of 535 Wyndham Road. Teaneck. Beloved husband of Blanche Chesney, Devoted brother of Martha Plourd, Mamie Harlquist and William Chesney, Service at the Volk Colonial Home, 789 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, Saturday, at 1 P.M. Interment George Washington Memorial Park, Paramus.”
To be continued…
