Hello there!

I am doing research on my family tree and there is a firefighter who married my great grandmother. I am trying to find out more about him and was wondering if you could help. He appears in another family tree and the owner of that tree has very little info about him but said he worked at Engine 95 in Chicago.

His name is Peter John McAndrews. When he was born on August 22, 1890, in New Castle, Delaware, his father, Thomas, was 28 and his mother, Bridget, was 26. He had one son (John) from one relationship. He then married Anna Griswald on July 20, 1920, in Chicago, Illinois. He died on May 2, 1971, in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 80. The 1920 Census puts him at 4043 West Lake Street which is a short walk from your firehouse.

Here is the official census record:

click to download

Below is a photo of my grandmother wearing the hat. I’ve been told the fireman sitting down is wearing a captain’s hat but don’t know about the other 4 guys. And I don’t know if anyone in the photo is the Peter I’m looking for. If you or someone else could help me out, I would be so thankful! Did they take photos of the firemen back then for identification? Can I get a photo of Peter from his time at the firehouse? How long did he work there? Did he retire as a fireman or did he leave he fire house altogether? If so, why? What kind of person/worker was he? I’ve got other questions but this gives you an idea of what I’m looking for.

I live in Bolingbrook so if someone would like me to drive out to the city to share what they know about him, I’d be happy to do that.

Please feel free to forward my email to anyone you know who can assist me in my family tree research.

Sincerely,

Tom Wagner

Tags: historic photo of firefighters in Chicago, Peter John McAndrews, request for assistance