Charles Bolden

Source Citation:                                                                                             Year: 1910; Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 3, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1299; Page: 20A; Enumeration District: 0315; FHL microfilm: 1375312

Registration State: New York; Registration County: New York; Roll: 1786672; Draft Board: 140 WWI

Year: 1920; Census Place: Manhattan Assembly District 19, New York, New York; Roll: T625_1221; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 1340

Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1967; Certificate Number Range: 070001-073000

Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0798; FHL microfilm: 2341306

New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Death Certificates; Borough: Richmond; Year: 1938

New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Death Certificates; Borough: Manhattan; Year: 1938

Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, New York, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02665; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 31-1707B

Year: 1940; Census Place: Sewickley, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: m-t0627-03416; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 2-484

The National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147

    Charles Henry Gerard Bolden was born in Clevelend, Ohio on the 9th of May 1883 .  His mother, Mary Frances, was born in West Virginia, and his father, James Lee Bolden, was from Virginia.

Gerard, or Harry, as he was also known, married in 1904 at St Benedict's Roman Catholic Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His bride, Marrietta Kirk, was a native of Pennsylvania and lived with her family in Sewickley, a borough located 12 miles northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River.

After the wedding, the Boldens' lived in Pittsburgh where Marrietta gave birth to two children, a daughter, named Frances, who was born in 1906, and a son, Garland, who was born in 1910.

Gerard was a talented singer, musician and stage actor. His baritone voice was highly regarded within his Pittsburgh community and he was encouraged by prominent members of that community to further his musical education.  Money was raised to send Gerard to the Llyod School of Music in Pasedena.  Like many performers, Gerard also took other types of work to support the family.  By 1915, the Boldens' were living in Manhattan and in 1918, Gerard was working as a laborer at Bush Terminal in Brooklyn.  He continued to perform in numerous musical recitals and found work performing in theater.

Tragically, in 1926, Marrietta passed away after a long illness.  She died at her home town of Sewickley and is buried in Sewickley Cemetery.  The family suffered another terrible loss in 1938 when their son, Garland Bolden, died at the Sea View Sanatorium on Staten Island, then the largest tuberculosis treatment hospital in the country.  He was only 28 years old.  Mary Frances, Gerard's mother, died just seven months later.  Both are buried in the Frederick Douglas Memorial Park on Staten Island.

On the 1940 U.S. Census, Gerard is living in a boarding house in Manhattan and working as a teacher at the WPA (Works Progress Administration) Music Center as a teacher.

 Two years later he registered for what was called, "The Old Man's Draft of WWII" when he was 59 years old.  On his draft card he states that he is still employed by the WPA.  He is described as being 5 feet 3 inches tall with brown eyes, black hair, and having a dark brown complexion.

By 1940, daughter Frances, now Frances Williams, had relocated to Sewickley and was the mother of three children, Frances, Gerard, and Yvonne.

Charles Henry Gerard Bolden died on the 24th of March 1981 and was buried on Hart Island on the 14th of April 1981.