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William Koch 
BIRTH: 2 Sept 1888, New York
BIOGRAPHY:
William was the son of German immigrants, who arrived in the United States in 1887. At the time of the 1900 Census, William was 11 years old, and living at 345 Grove Street, City of New York, Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County, NY
(28-WD - Series: T623; Roll: 1066; Page: 148; District:
505), with his Father, George (46) (b Jan 1854, Germany), a real estate agent; his Mother, Bertha (42) (b Nov 1857, Germany); his brother, George (18) (b Jan 1882, Germany), bill clerk; his sisters: Frieda (17) (b May 1883, Germany); Bertha (15) (b Dec 1884, Germany); Clara (13) (b Feb 1887, Germany); Lucy (9) (b Jan 1891, NY); and Lillie (7) (b Nov 1892, NY).
William's Father, George, died 13 Jun 1904, at the age of 48, in Kings County,
NY. At the time of the 1910 Census, William was 21 years old, a student in a law office, and living at 1419 Jefferson Avenue, City of New York, Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County, NY
(28-WD - Series: T624; Roll: 981; Page: 262; District:
883), with his Mother, Bertha C. (52); his brother, George H. (28), stenographer in a tobacco house; and his sisters: Clara A. (23),
bookkeeper at a jewelers; Lucy (19), stenographer at a clothing house; and Lily (17).
William
registered for the draft during WWI, on 5 Jun 1917. At that time, he was 28, employed as a lawyer at 11 Wall Street, NY, and living with his Mother at 1419 Jefferson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. He
married
Rebecca Florence Allen on 16 Mar 1918.
At the time of the 1920 Census, William was 31 years old, and living at 1486
Jefferson Avenue, City of New York, Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County, NY (Series: T625; Roll: 1176; Page: 247; District:
1267), with his wife, Rebecca F. (27), and their daughter, Ruth Allen, age 7
months (b Washington, D.C.). William was a lawyer. William's Mother, Bertha (62); brother, George (38), letter carrier; widowed brother-in-law, Albert Birman (27), a French
immigrant (arrived in 1903), a jeweler; and niece, Marion Birman (3) (b NY), were living at the 1419 Jefferson Avenue address
(Series: T625; Roll: 1176; Page: 6; District:
1271).
Rebecca died ten days after giving birth to their second daughter, Edna Martha (b 18 Jan 1923), on 28 Jan 1923. William kept 3 year old Ruth, but gave Edna over to the care of his sister, Clara, and her husband Harry F.
Thurber.
At the time of the 1930 Census, William was 42 and living at 312
Weirfield Street, City of New York, Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County, NY (20-DIST - Series: T626; Roll: 1536; Page: 152; District:
445), with his daughter, Ruth (10); his Mother, Bertha Koch (72); his brother, George Koch (48), single,
a Postman; his brother-in-law, Albert Birman (38), widowed,
a jeweler; and his niece, Marion Birman (13).
Some time after the 1930 Census, William married Emma Meyer.
DEATH: William
died in May 1964, in New York.
Married 16 Mar 1918
Rebecca Florence Allen 
CHILDREN
Ruth Koch
BIRTH: 24 Sep 1919,
Washington, D.C.
At the time of the 1920 Census, Ruth was 7 months old and living at 1486 Jefferson Avenue, City of New York, Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County, NY
(Series: T625; Roll: 1176; Page: 247; District:
1267), with her Father, William (31), and her Mother, Rebecca F. (27). Her
Father, William, was a lawyer.
Ruth's Mother, Rebecca, died shortly after giving birth to her second child, Edna Martha, on
18 Jan 1923. Ruth remained with her Father, but Edna was given over to the
care of her Aunt Clara and Clara's husband, Harry F. Thurber.
At the time of the 1930 Census, Ruth was 10 years old, and living in
Brooklyn, NY (20-DIST - Series: T626; Roll: 1536; Page: 152; District:
445), with her
Father, William (42). They lived next door to Ruth's Grandmother, Bertha
Koch (72); her uncle, George Koch (48), single, a Postman; her Uncle,
Albert Birman (38), widowed, a Jeweler; and her cousin, Marion Birman (13).
Some time after the 1930 Census, Ruth's Father married Emma
Meyer.
Ruth attended the University of Michigan and was a member of the Zeta Tau
Alpha Sorority. She graduated in 1939.
Ruth married Richard G. Eubank (b 18 Apr 1916; d 28 Nov 1976, Birmingham, Michigan)
and had six children: Patricia, Ruth, Janet, Gail, Lynn, and Richard Jr.
DEATH: Ruth died on 14 Jan 1974, in
Bloomfield, Michigan.
Edna Martha Koch 
BIRTH:
18 Jan 1923, Queens, NY
BIOGRAPHY:
Edna's Mother, Rebecca Allen, died ten days after Edna's birth, leaving Edna's Father, William Koch, with a three year old (sister, Ruth), and
an infant, Edna. William kept Ruth, but Edna was given over to the care
of his sister, Clara,
and Clara's husband, Harry F. Thurber. The Thurbers also had an adopted daughter, Dorothy.
Edna's Aunt Clara had emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1887,
with her Father, George Koch, her Mother, Bertha, her brother, George, and her
sisters: Frieda and Bertha. She
was the last of the Koch children to be born in Germany.
She later married Harry F. Thurber, and lived with him, and their
daughter, at 3214 Snyder Avenue, Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County, NY, in
1917. At the time of the 1920 Census, Clara was 32 years old, and living with her husband, Harry (32), an accountant, and
their adopted daughter, Virginia (7) (b Delaware), at 415 Belmont Avenue,
Newark, Essex County, NJ (9-WD - Series: T625; Roll: 1034; Page: 255;
District: 204). Clara's year of
immigration is listed as 1910 (really 1887). Their daughter Virginia's
name was later changed to Dorothy.
Edna's Uncle Harry, whom she called "Boppa", had been born in
St. Louis, Missouri (5 Jun 1887). At the time of the 1900 Census, Harry was 12 years old, and living at 2505 Sarah Street, St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri
(26-WD - Series: T623; Roll: 900; Page:
289), with his Father, Frank G. (39), an
electrician (b Sept 1860, West Virginia); his Mother, Annie (36) (b Apr 1864,
Missouri); his sister, Irene M. (10) (b Aug 1889, Missouri); and his brother, William Egbert
(1) (b May 1899, Missouri).
When he registered
for the draft during WWI, he lived at 3214
Snyder Avenue, Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County, NY. He was employed at
A. C. Penn, Inc. (100 Lafayette Street, NY), as a cashier and
bookkeeper. He had a dependent wife and child. At some point in his career, Harry worked for Columbia Records, Bridgeport, CT, contracting
album covers.
At the time of the 1930 Census, Edna was 7 years old, and living at 325 Fountain Street, New Haven, New Haven County, CT
(29-WD - Series: T626; Roll: 278; Page: 18; District:
92, with her uncle, Harry F. (42), a sales manager (lamp); her aunt, Clara A. (43); and her cousin,
now called Dorothy W. (17) (b Delaware).
Dorothy,
Edna, Clara and Harry Thurber
  
Clara A. ThurberDorothy
Thurber
Edna lived with the Thurbers until the end of elementary school, when Clara
died. Edna then went to live with her Father, William, her stepmother, Emma Meyer, and her sister, Ruth, in Brooklyn, NY.
Edna,
Emma, Ruth and William Koch
(A
visit when Edna still lived with the Thurbers.)
Edna attended Bushwick High School in Brooklyn and in 1945, received a degree in English Education at Hunter College, in NYC. She went back to
live with her Uncle Harry, at 70 Howe Street, New Haven, CT. She kept
house for him, and obtained employment as a service representative, with
SNETCO.
Edna
- 1946
Edna met Charles F. Petitjean on a blind date
to a New Haven Pop's Concert (Sara Vaughn - guest artist), at the Yale Bowl, in New Haven, CT
(30 Jul 1946).
Charles
Frederick Petitjean
They married on 1 Jun 1947.
Wedding
- 1 Jun 1947
Edna and Charles moved to New Haven, CT, and their son, Ross Allen, was born there
in 1948.
Soon afterward, Edna went on a trip to England with her mother-in-law, Bessie, and baby,
Ross.
Florence,
Ross, Bessie and Edna Petitjean
England
- 1948
Their daughter, Susan Nance, was born at St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury, CT,
in 1949. The family had been living with Charles' Mother's until she died in
1949. At that time they purchased the first of two homes in Fairfield, CT,
and lived in Fairfield for the next 17 years. Their daughter Ann
Beth (b 1954) and son, Douglas Charles (b 1956) were both born
at Bridgeport Hospital.
While living in Fairfield, Edna became an English teacher in Westport, CT.
Harry Thurber spent his last years with them in Fairfield, until he died on
11 Sep 1956, at
Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport, CT.
In 1961, Charles was invited to be a summer, visiting professor at SUNY in Albany, NY. They purchased a home in Clifton Park, NY, where they lived for the next fourteen years, until retirement (1980).
While living there, Edna taught English at Shenendahoah High School in Clifton Park,
where her students called her "Mrs. Shakespeare."
Charles and Edna's son, Ross, married Joyce
Avery; their daughter, Susan, married P. Joseph Ward; and their daughter, Ann,
married Dennis Kallimanis. They had seven grandchildren: Matthew
Petitjean; Blake Allen, Dylan, Eliot Ross, and Barrett Ann Ward; and Claire
Anastasia and Alex Charles Kallimanis.
They retired to a home in East Sandwich, MA, and a winter condo in Naples, FL. On the Cape, Edna taught courses on Shakespearean plays for Wisdom College, led study groups in Sandwich, and taught about herbs in Elizabethan literature at Green Briar.
Edna
teaching Shakespeare
(See
Article)
Edna was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church in Sandwich, where she sang in the choir for many years. She was also a member of the Sandwich Women's Club and the ECW at St. John's. She sang with the Cape Cod Chorale and went with them on a European
tour in the
1980's.
Edna and Charles moved to Delaware City, DE, to be near
their daughter, Ann and her family. For the last year of her life she lived
at the Millcroft Health Center, Newark, DE.
DEATH: Edna died on 15 Nov 1998, in Delaware City, DE, at the age of 75.
BURIAL: Memorial services were held in Delaware City, and in Clifton Park, NY. Her ashes were placed in the Columbarium in the Chapel of St. George's Episcopal Church, in Clifton Park, NY.
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Marriage
of Charles William Petitjean
Bridget Lynch Little
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