Camden People - William H. Day

WILLIAM H. DAY was born in May of 1860 to Samuel B. Day and his wife Ellen. he was one of at least five children, coming after George and before John, Alphonso and Ella. His father worked as a brick mason. The 1869 Camden City Directory indicates that Samuel B. Day was living in the 600 block of Chestnut Street. The family appears in the 1872 City Directory in South 7th Street, below Division Street. By 1874 they had relocated to Birch Street in North Camden. The 1878 City Directory shows the family at 622 Cedar Street. They moved to 537 Birch Street prior to the enumeration of the 1880 Census. When the 1900 Census was taken, William H. Day and his sister Ella, both unmarried, were still living with their parents at 537 Birch Street.

When the Census was taken in 1880, William H. Day worked as a clerk in a hardware store, but by 1881 had gone to work as a carpenter. He was named as Camden's building inspector on January 1, 1907 during the administration of Mayor Charles H. Ellis. He succeeded William T. Steinmetz in the position after Steinmetz's death in December of 1906. William H. Day was still on the job as building inspector as late as 1923. He lost his position when Victor S. King took over as Mayor in 1923. After leaving city government, William H. Day went into business as a contractor.

A carpenter by trade, William H. Day appears in the 1880 Census and 1881 and 1882 City Directories at 537 Birch Street. The 1883 Camden City Directory has him at at 261 Kaighn Avenue. From 1884 through 1921 William H. Day lived at 517 North 6th Street. A bachelor most of his life, William H. Day finally married at the age of 56. He and his wife Mary moved to 2929 Stevens Street in East Camden shortly before the 1922 City Directory was compiled, then within a year moved to 2935 Stevens Street. Sadly, by April of 1930 William H. Day was a widower. The 1930 Census shows him at 2935 Stevens Street along with his sister Ella, who had never wed. Their next door neighbor was Arthur Colsey. who would become Camden's Chief of Police a few years later. Both William and Ella Day were living at the Stevens Street address in 1940. William H. Day was still living at 2935 Stevens Street in East Camden when the 1943 City Directory was compiled. They were not listed in the 1947 Directory, and may have both passed.

	Philadelphia Inquirer September 4, 1888

Thomas Dudley - Isaac Shreeve - William T. Bailey - Christopher A. Bergen Isaac Githens - George Barrett - Frank Welch - Howland Croft - Samuel Bakley David Freeman Sr. - Albion Lane Christopher Mines Jr. - William Ireton - Howard Lee Amos R. Dease - John Brothers - James Hewitt - John C. Edwards Malachi D. Cornish - J.Willard Somers - Frank C. Somers - John Wells William H. Day - Dilwyn Pettit - J. Milton Powell - George Denny - Everett Ackley Samuel M. Gaul - Joseph Brown - Frederick Parker - John H. Milton - David Rankin Samuel Roach - James Brown - Isaac Robinson - William K. Price - Reuben Gaskill John W. Everman - Samuel H. Mourey - William H. Smith - Herman Heimbold Thomas Watson - E. Thompson

Philadelphia Inquirer - March 26, 1914 Click on Image for PDF File of Complete Article
	Joseph Nowrey Charles McElhone George N. Cook O. Glen Stackhouse Charles Smith Edward Finley Stevens Street Daniel Burns South 4th Street Mt. Ephraim Avenue Sheridan Street John Shimski William H. Day Guarantee Realty Co.