James Betelle, Where Are You?

John emailed me a few days ago with new information he dug up; Marie Betelle’s obituary from the New York Times: August 30, 1959 Mrs. Marie Ann Louise Betelle, widow of James O. Betelle, an architect, died of a brain hemorrhage early yesterday at University Hospital. She was 52 years old. Mrs. Betelle lived at [...]

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This is a group photo of the staff of Cope & Stewardson, circa 1899, where JOB served as draftsman. Is one of these fine moustachioed gentlemen our James? Edit: The photo actually has a caption, buried on another page: From Left to Right: Alfred Morton Githens, William Charles Hays, Walter Cope, John A. MacMahon, James [...]

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This short piece appeared in the Arts section of the August 24th, 1931 issue of Time Magazine. While it doesn’t offer much new factual information about JOB, it does paint a more rounded picture of his life than what we know so far. Hey, he was bald! Note: Updated to include the accompanying photograph and [...]

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It appears that the Betelle’s had a break-in at their home while they were away during the winter of 1941. The full account was printed in the June 6, 1941 edition of The Millburn & Short Hills Item: $60,000 GEM THEFT HERE Gaining entrance through a first floor window thieves obtained more than $60,000 in [...]

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All the Census data on JOB. There is exactly one Betelle listed in the USA. He has no memory of James. “Harry” is most likely James, as the birth year matches. 1880 census – Wilmington, New Castle Co, DE, Film #1254119 NA Film Number – T9-0119 p. 318 D Occupation Name /Relationship /Marital Status /Gender [...]

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