Résumé

McCarthy worked as an architect for ten years or less. His practice in Los Angeles lasted in various forms between 1895 and 1902. Thereafter, he turned his attention to inventing, most specifically, inventions related to automobiles.

Partner, McCarthy and [Louis] Mendel, Architects, Los Angeles, CA, 1895-1896. In 1896, this firm had an office in Rooms #150-151 of the Wilson Building #2 in Los Angeles at 102 South Spring Street. His partner, Louis Mendel, Sr., (1867-1940) returned to Seattle, WA, during the Klondike Gold Rush, and formed a partnership with the very successful Seattle architect Charles Herbert Bebb (1862-1942). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1896; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 21; FHL Roll Number: 976930, accessed 10/10/2023.)

Principal, Thomas J. McCarthy, Architect, Los Angeles, CA, 1897-1899. McCarthy continued his practice alone in Rooms #150-151 of the Wilson Building #2. (See Maxwell's Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1897, p. 615.) McCarthy leased Room #112 of the Stowell Block in 1899. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1899, p. 1000.)

Partner, McCarthy and [Fernand] Parmentier, Architects, Los Angeles, CA, 1900.

Principal, Thomas J. McCarthy, Architect, Los Angeles, CA, 1901. In 1901, he remained in the space that he and Parmentier shared in 1900, at 226 South Spring Street. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1901, p. 1226.) He continued working in Room #452 of the Stowell Building in Los Angeles. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1902, p. 699.)

Manufacturer, brass parts, Detroit, MI, 1910. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Detroit Ward 17, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T624_680; Page: 5a; Enumeration District: 0254; FHL microfilm: 1374693, accessed 10/10/2023.)

Inventor, New York, NY, 1915.

Inventor and Salesman, automotive accessories, Newark, NJ, 1920-1922.

Inventor, Los Angeles, CA, c. 1923-1927.

Relocation

Of Irish extraction, Thomas James McCarthy was born in English-speaking Canada around 09/1865. Like many architects of this time, McCarthy moved around a great deal during his lifetime, including several transcontinental moves. Information on McCarthy's early years in Canada has not been unearthed, as yet. The sheer number of contemporary men named "Thomas J. McCarthy" has complicated isolating the facts of his biography. His date of birth listed in PCAD, 09/1865, came from the 1900 US Census, and may not be accurate. A date of death also has not been definitively found, although it does appear that he was alive in 1930.

As noted in the NY State Census of 1915, McCarthy was about 15 years old when he entered the US permanently. He was listed as a citizen by this time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1915; Election District: 07; Assembly District: 27; City: New York; County: New York; Page: 37, accessed 10/10/2023.) The 1920 US Census, however, indicated that McCarthy entered the US in 1886 (at age 21) and that he remained an alien at this time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Newark Ward 16, Essex, New Jersey; Roll: T625_1038; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 281, accessed 10/10/2023.)

Voter records from 1896 in Los Angeles County, McCarthy indicated that he had been naturalized an American citizen on 09/02/1890 in US District Court in Tacoma, WA. Presumably, the architect worked here for a period around that time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1896; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 21; FHL Roll Number: 976930, accessed 10/10/2023.)

His name first appeared in Maxwell's Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1895.The architect resided at 240 East 2nd Street in Los Angeles in 1895. (See Maxwell's Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1895, p. 932.) Maxwell's Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1896, (p. 919), also indicated an address of 240 East 2nd Street.

Later in 1896, he resided at 2808 South Hope Street in Los Angeles, according to voter records. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1896; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 21; FHL Roll Number: 976930, accessed 10/10/2023.) He and his family continued to live here in1897. (See Maxwell's Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1897, p.1026.)

McCarthy lived at 1033 West 30th Street in Los Angeles, CA, in 1900. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1900, p. 217.) The US Census of 1900 confirmed this address. As per this document, McCarthy lived with his wife and five children at 1033 13th Street. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Los Angeles Ward 5, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 89; Page: 1; Enumeration District: 0050, accessed 10/10/2023.) The architect had relocated his residence to 152 West 32nd Street by 1902. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1902, p. 699.) It is likely that McCarthy moved his family from Los Angeles in either late 1902 or early 1903, as he was not listed in the Los Angeles California, City Directory, 1903.

By 1910, if not sooner, McCarthy had switched careers. He became an inventor of automobile parts and a manufacturer of brass objects in Detroit, MI. He lived at 510 Pennsylvania Avenue in Detroit, MI, with his wife Addie, five children and a household servant, George Endo (born c. 1882 in Japan). The 1910 US Census indicated that Endo came to the US in 1895. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Detroit Ward 17, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T624_680; Page: 5a; Enumeration District: 0254; FHL microfilm: 1374693, accessed 10/10/2023.)

McCarthy lived in New York, NY, according to the 1915 NY State Census, at 123 West 56th Street. He lived at this address with Addie, his daughters Gertrude, Bernice and Madeline, and sons Ralph and Kenneth. Madeline had married someone name "Lawton" by this time, but lived with her parents. Thomas McCarthy worked as an "Inventor" according to this document. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1915; Election District: 07; Assembly District: 27; City: New York; County: New York; Page: 37, accessed 10/10/2023.)

Addie and Thomas moved to Newark, NJ, by 1920. The lived at 193 Peshine Avenue at this time, with their sons Ralph and Kenneth, who both worked as automotive machinists. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Newark Ward 16, Essex, New Jersey; Roll: T625_1038; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 281, accessed 10/10/2023.) He lived in Newark, NJ, until about 1922, when he relocated to Los Angeles, CA, to pursue his inventing. He lived in Los Angeles during the mid-1920s, at least. In 1923, the inventor lived at 5334 Mesa Drive in Los Angeles. It is unclear if he remained married to Addie at this time. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1923, p. 1997.)

Thomas McCarthy either died during the late 1920s or split with his wife and moved to Cleveland, OH, by 1930. A "Thomas J. McCarthy" aged 63 and born in English-speaking Canada, was a lodger living in an apartment at 7011 Euclid Avenue. This Thomas McCarthy also worked in auto accessories. It is hard to dechiper the cursive writing on the census form, but it seemed to read either "inspector" or "inventor" of auto accessories. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0411; FHL microfilm: 2341509, accessed 10/10/2023.)

In 1930, Addie lived on her own in Newark operating a rooming house at 186 Johnson Avenue in Newark. She did not own this house, but paid $125 per month in rent and had six roomers in 1930. The Price and Lee Company's Newark, New Jersey, City Directory, 1930,indicated that she was the "widow" of Thomas J. McCarthy, while the 1930 US Census listed her as married. It is possible that Thomas died in 1930. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Newark, Essex, New Jersey; Page: 18A; Enumeration District: 0147; FHL microfilm: 2341072, accessed 10/10/2023 and The Price and Lee Company's Newark, New Jersey, City Directory, 1930, p. 772.)

Spouse

McCarthy wed Adelaide E. "Addie" Wagg (born c. 09/1875 in WI), on 02/14/1893 in Marinette, WI, a town about 55 miles northeast of Green Bay, WI.

Children

By 1900, Thomas and Adeline had five children: Madeline McCarthy (born c. 02/1894 in WI), Gertrude McCarthy (born c. 06/1895 in CA), Bernice McCarthy (born 02/1898 in CA), Ralph McCarthy (born c. 10/1896 in CA), and Joseph Kenneth McCarthy (born 05/09/1897 in NJ-d. 07/11/1985 in Houston, TX).

Madeline wed Thomas Lawton (c. 1881-1947), a DE-born, osteopathic physician, on 04/29/1915 in Manhattan, NY. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014, accessed 10/19/2023.)

Joseph Kenneth McCarthy married Ethel Swain on 12/30/1935 at Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Colorado Springs, CO. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. Colorado, U.S., County Marriage Records and State Index, 1862-2006 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Marriage Records. Colorado Marriages. State Archives, Denver, Colorado, accessed 10/10/2023.)

Biographical Notes

According to an 1896 Los Angeles County voter roll, McCarthy, at age 30, stood 6-feet tall. He was Caucasian with a "medium" complexion, gray eyes and brown hair. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1896; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 21; FHL Roll Number: 976930, accessed 10/10/2023.)

A “Thomas J. McCarthy” was an investor in Pacific Mining and Dredging Company in Los Angeles in 1896. This company was formed to extract gold and silver from black sand deposits “…extending southerly along the beach from Ballona.” (See “Free Gold,” Los Angeles Times, 05/27/1896, p. 13.) In Maxwell's Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1896, (p. 919), there were three men named "Thomas McCarthy," a machinist, teamster and the architect. The architect was the only one listed as "Thomas J. McCarthy" in the volume.