Bernadette Marie Delaney
Bernadette Marie Delaney, born 22 August 1881 in Brooklyn, New York, was the first of eight children born to Margaret (Montgomery) and John Francis Delaney, who are my great-grandparents.1 The family was living at 120 Somers Street in Brooklyn when she was born. The birth certificate identifies her mother as Maggie Delaney (age 23) and indicates that her father, John F. Delaney (age 26), was a salesman.
Bernadette married Jessie Thomas Hodges, about whom I have so far uncovered very little information. The couple's first and apparently only child, Bernadette Maxine Hodges, was born on July 25, 1903. When the 1900 U.S. Census was taken, Bernadette was single and still living with the Delaney family at 188 Lexington Avenue in Brooklyn.2 Therefore, until a marriage certificate is found, we can only estimate 1901 or 1902 as the year of her marriage to Jesse Thomas Hodges.
A small news item and photograph from 1927 in a publication titled American Pictorial Magazine reveals that Bernadette Hodges operated a fencing school, perhaps in Brooklyn.3 The photo shown on the left side of this page was cropped from the larger magazine photograph depicting Bernadette with students in one of her fencing classes. Although the quality is very poor quality, the photo is displayed here because I have no other images of Bernadette at this point.
A 1929 New York Times article concerning the sale of Tex Rickard's property after his death provides a brief mention of Bernadette: "Mrs. Maxine Rickard, widow of the promoter, attended the sale, accommanied by her mother, Mrs. B. Hodges."4
Bernadette plays a part in the story her daughter told about Tex Rickard in the 1936 book titled "Everything Happened to Him - The Story of Tex Rickard." Some dialogue involving "Mrs. Hodges" in Chapter XXI of the book is a reference to Bernadette (Delaney) Hodges.5
Bernadette (Delaney) Hodges died in Miami, Florida, on October 7, 1934.6 According to the obituary, she was to have been buried in New York, but I have not yet found the cemetery where interment took place.
1 Certificate of Birth - Brooklyn, #6375, for Bernadette Delaney, August 22, 1881.
2 1900 U.S. Census, T623, Roll 1060, ED 387, Ward 23, Page 9A, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York.
3 I have been unsuccessful in finding the publisher of the American Pictorial Magazine in order to track down a better quality image of the picture and article. The isolated electronic image that I came across is simply dated 1927, without reference to the page number, month or where the magazine was published.
4 "Rickard Furnishings Are Sold At Auction - Articles Bought for Projected Florida Home on Sale With Other Collections," New York Times, May 16, 1929, p. 4.
5 Everything Happened to Him - The Story of Tex Rickard, by "Mrs. Tex Rickard" [i.e., Bernadette Maxine Rickard], Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York, 1936, pp. 321-329.
6 Obituary for "Mrs. Bernette Hodges" (i.e., Bernadette Hodges), Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Wednesday, October 10, 1934, p. 15.
Page created: December 13, 2009