"The Dueckershoffs"
The name Dueckershoff shouldn't mean much to the residents of North Bergen. It is a unique surname albeit one that does not necessarily jog the memory. But for me the name oddly means something. No, they are not long lost relatives, nor are they a family that once held a high stature in town. What, or better yet who they are started out as a name on a mortgage. A name however that reaches very close to home, in fact to my actual home.
Courtesy of Michael Maring
My grandparents, Walter (Bernie) and Angelina (Julie) Maring purchased their home on 67th Street in 1962. There they raised their two sons, Walter, my uncle and Michael, my father. It's a two family brick walk up. My grandparents only rented to family and the building is still family occupied today. Knowing that their has always been family there is comforting in some sense. I have irreplaceable childhood memories of sitting on the porch with my grandmother and her brother, Uncle Al, better known to some in town as Snuffy as well as Sunday dinners with everyone gathered around the table usually with the Giants or Jets game on in the background. And I continue to make memories there with every passing holiday, birthday, BBQ, etc. The Maring's moved to 67th street some 50 years ago, and being interested in the past I questioned...who lived there before we did?
One thing this blog has opened my eyes to in North Bergen has an extensive and rich history. Residents tend to focus on the major events in our history. The big names, the memorable places, the times etched into our collective memories. I, like many others, am interested in uncovering the unknown of town which leads us back to the Dueckershoffs. I found the name on an old deed in the paperwork regarding the sale of the property to my grandparents. My grandparents purchased the home from Wilfred & Dorothea Lawrence. The cost, $16,200.00... again... for a two family home... in North Bergen. Today that would be roughly $133,000 an almost impossible listing price for a home. Nevertheless, how to the Dueckershoffs fit into this sale?
Dorothea Lawrence was born Dorothea Dueckerhoff in 1930. Her father August Dueckershoff would call that brick walk up on 67th Street home for 47 years. However, when the young August moved there 67th Street was known as Towerhill Avenue. The Dueckershoff arrived in America in 1893 when August's father, Peter settled in present day Union City and worked in the nearby Orcilla Silk Mill and even at the William Peter's Brewery. The Dueckershoff family quickly outgrew their Union City dwelling as Peter married Maria Esser and had two children Joseph and August. Sometime around 1910 Peter took a job with the Prudential Insurance Company. Shortly after this, he purchased a vacant lot near the intersection of Ridgely Street and Towerhill Avenue, present day Bergenwood Avenue and 67th Street.
1910 Sanborn Insurance Map
Courtesy of Princeton University
The homes construction was complete by 1915. By 1920 Towerhill Avenue was renamed to 23rd Street. The Dueckershoff family grew as the neighborhood continued to develop around them. August would work as a delivery driver for the neighboring factory before become a North Bergen firefighter. August would marry in 1929. According to the 1930 Census the home and property were valued at $10,000 and August was paying $35 per month in rent to his father Peter. As happens in life, Peter and his wife Maria both passed away peaceful in their home, 1939 and 1946 respectively. August and his wife would live in the home until his passing in 1959. He lived in the home for 47 years and proudly served the town of North Bergen for 25 years as a firefighter based out of the American Hose Company, present day Engine 9 of the NHRFD.
Courtesy of Family Search
It was after August and his wife's passing that his daughter Dorothea, who was born and raised in that building, felt it was best to sell. Luckily for me it was sold to a young married couple who happened to be my grandparents. Over the last 56 years, the unsuspecting building on 67th Street has been home to my grandparents, uncle, father, great grandfather, aunts, uncles and cousins. It is the home where both my brother and I started our families, raising both our children there. A place we still call "up the block" or "grandma Julie's." In the ever changing landscape of North Bergen it is important that we hold onto our collective past. Street names change, neighborhoods evolve and businesses come and go. With each new resident it is a valuable piece of our history that someones old home is a new home for others.
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