The Story of George G. Manire, Sr. and Erline Randolph
George G. Manire Sr. was born in Halifax, Virgina on May 15,1895. On August 5, 1918 he enlisted in the Army. At age 22, George registered for the World War l Draft on June 5, 1917 at the Precinct 23rd, 38th Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was single and resided at 1701 Atlantic Street. He had worked at Midvale Steel which was a succession of steel-making corporations whose flagship plant was the Midvale Steel Works in Nicetown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which operated from 1867 until 1976.
Erline Maye Randolph was born in Asbury Park Ites, New Jersey on March 22, 1899. Her father was born in New Jersey and her mother (maiden name, Johnson) was born in Virginia. The Department of Public Safety organized in 1887 in pursuance of the Bullitt Bill and composed of the Bureaus (formerly independent Departments) of Police, Fire, Health, Building Inspectors, Boiler Inspectors, Inspectors of Fire Escapes and the Electrical Bureau; in 1888 the Bureau of City Property was transferred to the Department from the Department of Public Works to which it was returned in 1912. In 1900, the first inspectors of elevators were appointed but were the next year placed within the Bureau of Building Inspectors and not organized into the Bureau of Elevator Inspection until 1908. Erline worked for the City of Philadelphia, PA - The Department of Public Safety in the Bureau of Elevator Inspection. She was officially certified and licensed as an Elevator Operator on April 19, 1917.
George, age 24 and Erline, age 19 were married in the year 1919, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and their Marriage License Number is 406643. On July 23, 1919, George was released from the Army. According to the 1920 14th US Census, they lived and rented their home in Philadelphia Ward 38, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on West Butler Street. They didn't have any children when the census was recorded on January 13,1920, however George and Erline were expecting their first child in July of that same year. They had two daughters (Louise and Eugenia) that shared same birth dates on July 9 and they were 5 years apart.
George and Eiline Manure, Sr. along with 6 of their children rented and lived at 133 Harmer Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania according to the 1930 16th Census of the US recorded April 7,1930. George worked as a general laborer for a baking company. As you can see their last name, Erline's and some of the children's names were misspelled and recorded that way on the official document.
Household Members: George Manure age 34 Eiline Manure age 31 Louisa Manure age 9 Desaree Manure age 8 George Manure age 6 Eugenia Manure age 4 Wyatt Manure age 3 Cymphia Manure age 1
In 1940 the 16th Census of the US was recorded on April 4, 1940. George and Erline Manire, Sr. along with 11 of their children rented and lived at 5725 Commerce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This document also had misspellings of some of children's names, ages, estimated birth years and highest grade levels. Their last child Paris Manire, Sr. was not born at the time the census was taken, however was born in October of that same year.
Household Members: George Manire age 45 1895 VA 2nd grade Laborer - Government, Erlean Manire age 40 1900 NJ 8th grade Laborer - Government, Louise Manire age19 1921 PA High School, 2nd year Domestic - Private work Essiere Manire age 18 1922 PA High School 1st year George Manire age 16 1924 PA 8th grade Eugenia Manire age14 1926 PA 8th grade Wyatt Manire age13 1927 PA 4th grade Synthia Manire age 11 1929 PA 5th grade Winifred Manire age 9 1931 PA 2nd grade Mary Manire age 7 1933 PA 1st grade Philip Manire age 5 1935 PA Priscilla Manire age 3 1937 PA Christopher Manire age 1 1939 PA
In 1942, the Manires rented and lived at 3955 Warren Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. George worked at the Works Progress Administration, renamed the Work Projects Administration (WPA) in 1939. WPA was created by order of President Theodore Roosevelt to provided jobs to unemployed workers to carry out public-works projects, including war-related projects, the construction of public buildings and roads, and operate large arts, drama, media and literacy projects. It fed children and redistributed food, clothing and housing. Almost every community in the United States had a park, bridge or school constructed by the agency. At age 46, George registered for World ll on April 27,1942 at Local Board No.7, Fayette County, Post Office Building, Masontown, Pennsylvania. Masontown is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pittsburg Metro Area.
On July 23, 1943, their eldest son, George, Jr. enlisted for World War ll but received no branch assignment, with grade of private and under the component of Selectees (Enlisted Men). He only had 2 years of high school and had skills in the manufacture of miscellaneous products listed as his occupation. The following were the terms of his enlistment: George was required to be enlisted for the duration of the War or other emergency needs, he had serve an additional six months after the War and was subject to the discretion of the US President or otherwise according to law to perform other duties as needed. His Army Serial Number was 33790594.
U.S. School Yearbooks, years 1880-2012, this is an indexed collection of middle school, junior high, high school, and college yearbooks from across the United States. In 1944, Eugenia Manire was featured in the graduating class of 1944 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania addition. At this time, she was 18 years old, lived at 3955 Warren Street and attended West Philadelphia High School. She was the first of the children to receive a high school diploma. This is what was noted under her picture:
"Jean's" walking habit will come in hand when she becomes an Angel of Mercy. We understand that those gals would travel miles to create smiles. Even though, "Doc of the Navy" is her pin-up boy, her favorite branch of the service of the service is the Army Air Corps.
Angel of Mercy is an affectionate nickname for a nurse. West Philadelphia High School is a secondary school located in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school was completed on November 1, 1912, and occupied an entire city block between 47th and 48th streets, between Walnut Street and Locust Street. It was originally divided into a boys and girls school, but both were combined in the 1930s to ease administration and streamline education. "Doc of the Navy" is a reference to a Hospital Corpsman, an enlisted male medical specialist of the United States Navy who serves with the U.S. Navy and the United States Marine Corps. During World War II, Corpsmen received their initial medical training at Hospital Corps School. They learned first aid, minor surgery, nursing care, dietetics, hygiene and sanitation, pharmacy, chemistry, nursing care, and anatomy and physiology.
On August 25,1946, their daughter Desaree gave birth to Howard T. Atkinson, Jr., he grew up to be a future Army War Hero and role model for his family.
On February 13,1953, George and Erline lost their eldest child Louse Baxter and she was 32 years old at the time of her death. On August 6, 1957, Philip Manire enlisted in the Army. In 1959, they resided at 5424 Jefferson Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with their daughter, Mary Starkey and her family. During that year Erline past on February 1,1959 and she was 59 years old. Within 10 months of his mother's death, George A. Manire, Jr. succumbed on December 26,1959 and he was 36 years old. Philip was released from the Army on July 31,1963.
Unfortunately, Howard T. Atkinson, Jr. became a casualty of the Vietnam War on February 23, 1969. To learn more about how he sacrificed his life to save others in the Battle of Dau Tieng, please his tribute page, Our US Vietnam War Hero.
George, Sr. lived on until his death on February 1,1972 at the age of 77. During the celebration of his life ceremony, two Western Union telegrams were sent and read from two famous people, who acknowledged they were relatives, Barbara Jean McNair and Robert Jerry "Bob" Lanier, Jr.
Barbara McNair (March 4, 1934 – February 4, 2007) was an American singer and actress. Born Barbara Jean McNair in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Racine, Wisconsin,McNair studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Her big break came with a win on Arthur Godfrey's TV show Talent Scouts, which led to bookings at The Purple Onion and the Coconut Grove. She soon became one of the country's most popular headliners and a guest on such television variety shows as The Steve Allen Show, Hullabaloo, The Bell Telephone Hour, and The Hollywood Palace, while recording for the Coral, Signature, Motown, and TEC Recording Studios labels. Among her hits were "You're Gonna Love My Baby" and "Bobby".
Robert Jerry "Bob" Lanier, Jr. (born September 10, 1948) is a retired American professional basketball player who played for the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.
The other unique bond that George and Erline shared was that they both died on February 1st, 13 years apart. Their remaining children went on to continue the legacy by having a host children of their own, and their children had children and so on. As of today, Priscilla Kimp is the only living daughter of George and Erline Manire.
If you have any additional information on the family's history or see corrections needed to the information that we have here, please contact the committee via the 'Contact Us' page and we will add it to the website.