Walter Halliday Farrier, Sr.

• Born: 23 August 1894 (Brooklyn, Kings, New York)
• Died: 6 August 1971 (Point Pleasant, Ocean, New Jersey)
• Parents: John McCullagh Farrier and Annie Brewster Beach
• Spouse: Marie Lillian Zimmermann (md. 14 June 1916 Brooklyn, Kings, New York)
• Children: Miriam (Dolly) Farrier, Claire Jane Farrier, Walter Halliday Farrier, Jr.
  

1894 August 2
Born Brooklyn, Kings, New York, the fourth of five children  [1]

1908 (abt)
Age 14
His father has nervous breakdown due to business partner absconding.  Leaves home to earn money, lives with brother Albert, who is an engineer for Thomas Edison.  Finishes high school at night and then puts himself through the Pace Institute, a business college, in New York.  He works for a time as an accountant in an auditing firm in New York.  [2]

1916 June 14
Age 21
Marries Marie Lillian Zimmermann in New York.  Lists his occupation as “timekeeper.”  Address:  255 Pearl St., Brooklyn, New York  [3]

Walter H. Farrier - date unknown

1917 June 5
Age 22
Fills out WWI draft registration card.  Lists occupation as “Timekeeper at Edison Electric Company.”  His address is 2532 Madison St. New York.  Under dependents, he lists  “wife pregnant, mother.”  He describes himself as tall, medium build, blue eyes, and brown hair.”  He lists his military experience as three years as a sergeant in the Field Artillery Branch of the New York State National Guard.  [4]

Daughter Claire Jane says that “In WWI he rode around the armory where he trained people in Brooklyn (Fort Harrison?) and played polo there.”

1918 June 23
Age 23
Daughter Miriam (Dolly) is born in New York  [5]

1920 January 2
Age 25
Living in Clifton City, Passaic, New Jersey with wife Marie, daughter Mirian M. (age 1-1/2), and mother-in-law, Marie Zimmermann.  Occupation:  Public accountant.  [6]

1920 December
Age 26
Death of father, John McCullagh Farrier [7]

1925 April 17
Age 30
Daughter Claire Jane is born in New Jersey [2]

1926 August
Age 32
Death of mother, Annie Brewster Beach Farrier [8]

1930 April 2
Age 35
Living in Newark, New Jersey with wife Marie and daughters Miriam (age 11) and Claire Jane (age 4).  [9]

1932 February 8
Age 37
Son Walter Halliday Farrier, Jr., is born in Newark, Essex, New Jersey. [2]

1933 (abt.)
Age 39 (abt.)
Helps bring Albert Einstein to America.  See story below. [2]

1940 April 17
Age 45
Living in Maplewood, Essex, New Jersey with wife Marie and children Mirian M (age 21), Clare Jan (age 15), and Walter H (age 8). [10]

1942
Age 47
Fills out WWII draft registration card.  Lists address as 20 Claremont Ave., Maplewood, Essex, New Jersey.  Is employed by Louis Bamberger, owner of Bamberg’s Department Store (which is now owned by Macy’s).  His son, Walter, Jr., says he was an auditor there and that he also managed the personal funds of Mr. Bamberger.  After Mr. Bamberger died, he worked for Federated Department Stores (which includes Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, etc.).  When Federated Department Stores moved from New York City to Cincinnati, he went to work as a business manager at Bloomingdale’s and retired as its comptroller. [11]

1943 December 11
Age 49
Is a charter member of the Green Pond Sailing Club (later Green Pond Yacht Club)  [12]

Walter H. Farrier about 1950

Walter and Marie Farrier - 1955

1971 August 6
Age 76
Dies at Point Pleasant, Ocean, New Jersey.  He donated his body to Rutgers Medical School (in New Brunswick, New Jersey) for anatomical purposes. [13, 14]

According to son, Walter, Jr., he was athletic, playing basketball, handball, billiards, and pool. During WWI, he did weight lifting. He was not a church-goer, but did teach principles of honesty and integrity to his children. Walter remembers “extremely well being in the car, and my father saying at one point that the important thing is that when you walk down the street, you want people to raise their hands to greet you or salute you, rather than to raise their hands to hit you.”

He was quite involved with his children. Walter, Jr., remembers being read to regularly and that his father took saxophone lessons and trumpet lessons with his son. He also played piano by ear occasionally.

Walter, Jr’s, remembrance: “I remember hearing in those days in New York, a man wore a hat, period. And if a person set out to do auditing at some client’s firm where they were going to audit the books, if the auditor was without a hat, it was not uncommon for the manager of that company to call back to the auditing firm, “Send us a man who is properly dressed.” My father hated to wear hats, and he had only one Hamburg, a very nice hat, that didn’t even fit him. And for many, many, many years he carried this one Hamburg. It was not practical, because it didn’t fit on his head. But he had a hat. So he would carry that hat around.”

Regarding the bringing of Einstein to America, Walter, Jr, says: “In fact, when Einstein was brought over, my father was instrumental in the arrangements. Einstein didn’t want to meet the press, and so when he was coming, there was considerable fanfare, because he was well-known as being a great theoretician, ‘cause his big advances were made when he was quite young. You know, in the 1915/1916 era. He was already an outstanding theorist, scientific theorist. So, when he came to the United States in the ‘30s, my father was to arrange the thing, and so they arranged to have Einstein brought in on a little launch from the ocean liner, so he that wouldn’t be there when the ocean liner met where all the press would be waiting to interview him. They brought him in to another dock, inconspicuously, to avoid the press, ‘cause Einstein didn’t want to have that reception.”
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[1]  "New York, Births and Christenings, 1640-1962," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FDYV-YBF : accessed 04 Feb 2013), Walter Halliday Farrier, 23 Aug 1894; citing reference , FHL microfilm 1324420.

[2]  Personal knowledge of son, Walter Halliday Farrier, Jr.

[3]  State of New York Certificate and Record of Marriage no. 6706.

[4]  Ancestry.com.  U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005.

[5]  "United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VSJF-HZH : accessed 15 Feb 2013), Dolly F Kelley, July 1993; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

[6]  "United States Census, 1920," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M4Y9-5F2 : accessed 15 Feb 2013), Walter H Farrier, , Passaic, New Jersey; citing enumeration district (ED) , sheet 1B, family 15, NARA microfilm publication T625, FHL microfilm 1821062.

[7]  Burial record for John M. Farrier at http://www.green-wood.com/burial_results/index.php  Viewed online October 2012.

[8]  Burial record for Annie B. Farrier at http://www.green-wood.com/burial_results/index.php  Viewed online October 2012.

[9]  "United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X4DG-5WQ : accessed 15 Feb 2013), Walter Farrier, Newark (Districts 1-250), Essex, New Jersey; citing enumeration district (ED) 0103, sheet 1A, family 4, NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1335.

[10]  “United States Census, 1940,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K4RM-ZBB : accessed 16 Feb 2013), Walter H Farrier, Maplewood Township, Essex, New Jersey, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 7-211, sheet 13B, family 281, NARA digital publication T627, roll 2336.

[11]  Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

[12]  Green Pond Yacht Club Constitution and By-Laws, adopted December 11, 1943.  Viewed online at http://www.greenpondyachtclub.com/uploads/GPYC_By-Laws.pdf February 2013.

[13]  NJ State Dept. of Health death cert. State File #43532.

[14]  "United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JPZW-YNB : accessed 04 Feb 2013), Walter Farrier, August 1971; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).