Herbert R. Quimby

Herbert R. Quimby was born on June 16, 1886, in either New Jersey or New York.¹ At this time, we do not know the names of his parents. Herbert was called "Bert" by some members of the related families.²

Herbert served as a Private First Class in the United States Army during World War I.³ Other than his service during WWI, we know almost nothing about Bert's early years. but pick up a trail about him in 1920 when we find Bert and his first wife, Ella (Schreiber) Quimby, living with Ella's sister and husband, Lena (Schreiber) Ziesse and William Henry Ziesse.⁴ The Ziesse and Quimby families were living at 687 East 132nd Street in the Bronx, New York, directly next door to Ella's and Lena's sister Antoinette (Schreiber) Abbott, Antoinette's husband Jameson Abbott, and the Abbott family children. The Abbott family was residing at 689 East 132nd Street, Bronx, NY.⁵ Both Bert and Ella are listed in the 1920 U.S. Census as ironers employed at a laundry." Dorothy (Abbott) Delaney, Bert's niece, recalled that Bert was an expert hand ironer who did work on fancy clothes, such as tuxedo shirts, as well as other intricate and difficult jobs.⁶ Ella and Bert were probably married circa 1903.

By May of 1930 when the U.S. Census was taken, Bert's first wife had died and he had remarried.⁷ Bert's second wife, Isabelle ( _________ ) Quimby, was known as "Belle."⁸ The couple was living in an apartment, for which they are paying thirty dollars a month rent, located at 436 East 138th Street in the Bronx, New York. In 1930, he is employed as a laundryman and Belle is listed as a laundress.

Very little else is known about Bert. Ella, his first wife, died quite young, and they did not have children. Bert does not appear to have had any children with his second wife, Belle.

Herbert R. Quimby died on September 29, 1940, and was interred on October 3, 1940, at Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, NY, which is where his wife Belle is also interred.⁹

¹ His birth date is from information on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs gravesite locator website. (http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov). There is conflicting data about Herbert's place of birth. The 1920 U.S. Census indicates that he was born in New York, whereas the 1930 U.S. Census indicates New Jersey.
² Conversation between Dorothy (Abbott) Delaney and her son, Robert Franklyn Delaney, 2001. Dorothy, who was a child at the time, knew Bert from the period when Bert and Belle Quimby were living with the Abbott family at 689 East 132nd Street, Bronx, NY.
³ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs gravesite locator website. (http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov).
⁴ 1920 U.S. Census - T625 Roll 1129 ED 14 AD 1 Sup Dist 2 Sheet 1A Bronx, NY.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Conversation between Dorothy (Abbott) Delaney and her son, Robert Franklyn Delaney, 2001.
⁷ The 1930 U.S. Census indicates that his first marriage took place when he was 17 years old, which, if the burial information about date of birth is correct (1883), whould place her first marriage around 1900. The census also indicates that Bert was first married at age 17. His first marriage was to Ella Schreiber, who is my grandaunt.
⁸ Dorothy (Abbott) Delaney knew Isabelle and recalled that she was known as "Belle." Conversation with Dorothy's son, Robert Franklyn Delaney, 2001.
⁹ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs gravesite locator website. (http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov). Interment took place in Section F, Site 1137 at Long Island National Cemetery.

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