Martin Carrigan
Martin B. Carrigan was born in Pennsylvania in July of 1872, one of the 13 children of John and Ann Carrigan. His family came to Camden in 1888, first living at 420 Taylor Avenue. By 1890 the Carrigans were at 441 Washington Street. Martin Carrigan had gone to work by then, as an electrician. He and his widowed mother were still at 441 Washington Street through the summer of 1900.
In Martin Carrigan's time there was no such thing as Civil Service; all appointments were at the discretion of the party in power. A staunch Republican, he was rewarded on December 3, 1904 with an appointment to the Camden Fire Department.
In 1906 Martin Carrigan was living at 439 South 5th Street in South Camden. Other members of his family resided at 610 Henry Street. He married shortly after the 1906 City Directory was compiled. At the time of the 1910 Census, Martin and Anna Carrigan and step-son Walter E. Hall, then 13, lived at 610 Henry Street.
Politics in the years prior to World War II, and especially prior to World War I, was a full-contact pastime. In the aftermath of the 1911 election Martin Carrigan and others were indicted on election fraud charges. He served a four month long sentence in the Camden County jail in the spring and summer of 1912, then returned to the Fire Department.
The 1914 City Directory shows that Martin Carrigan and his wife Anna were living at 610 Henry Street. Stepson Walter was still at home in 1914, but had married and moved out by June of 1917, when he registered for the draft. By January of 1920 Martin and Anna Carrigan had moved to 618 West Street.
Captain Martin Carrigan died in the line of duty of injuries sustained while fighting a fire on January 19, 1922. He left his widow Anna and a stepson. Anna Carrigan was still living at 618 West Street when the 1924 City Directory was compiled.
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Camden Post-Telegram, April 6, 1914 — Real snapper soup served with all its snap was enjoyed by the laddies at Fire Headquarters, Fifth and Arch streets, Saturday night. The week-end feast as provided by popular contribution among the boys and served by those inimitable chefs, Joe Johnson and Jim White, was a great success and several gallons of the tasteful stuff was dispensed.
Those gracing the festive board were Chief Worthington, Deputy Chief Stockton, Lieutenant James White, Captain George Wade, Joseph Johnson, Peter McCaulley, William Laird, William Wilberson, Harry Hankins, Charles Cook, Newton Ash, James Miller, Joseph Allen, Martin Carrigan, William R. Cason, Conn L. Mack.
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Arlington Cemetery, Pennsauken, NJ
Martin Carrigan was buried in an unmarked grave at Arlington Cemetery in Pennsauken, New Jersey, in grave SS-436-1.
Friends and members of the Camden Fire Department raised money and furnished a headstone in September of 2019.
Tag: martin-carrigan
Six Horses Saved in Sunday Blaze
Fire believed to have started through the drying of animal hair destroyed Hugh A. Greenan's frame building at 1736 South 7th Street; six horses were rescued and Chief Peter B. Carter sounded a general alarm.
Alarms of Fire Before and After Carrigan Funeral
Camden firemen were called to a three-alarm fire at Hugh A. Greenan's stables on South 7th Street just before marching to Captain Martin B. Carrigan's funeral, and to a drugstore fire on Everett Street on their return.
Fire Bells Toll as Capt. Carrigan Is Laid to Rest
Hundreds lined the streets and firehouse bells tolled as the cortege of Captain Martin B. Carrigan passed through Camden to Arlington Cemetery, escorted by ninety-two firemen under Chief Peter B. Carter.
City Is Mourning Carrigan's Death
Camden's municipal buildings, police stations and firehouses were draped in mourning for Captain Martin Carrigan, who died of injuries received fighting the Kaighn Avenue fire; city council voted to pay the expense of his funeral.
Captain Carrigan Dies of Hurts in Kaighn Ave. Fire
Captain Martin B. Carrigan of Engine Company No. 2 died at Cooper Hospital of a fractured skull and severe burns received while leading his men at the Economy Store fire on Kaighn Avenue.
Police to Probe $200,000 Kaighn Ave. Fire
Mayor Charles H. Ellis ordered an investigation into the $200,000 fire that destroyed the Economy Store and adjoining buildings at 427-429 Kaighn Avenue, injuring five Camden firemen — one of them, Captain Martin B. Carrigan, critically.
4 Big Camden Fires in Six Weeks Bring Losses of $595,000
Four fires in Camden's business district within six weeks destroyed or damaged a dozen retail stores, with losses fixed at $595,000 — the Baker-Flick Department Store, Toone & Hollingshed, Nell's Haberdashery and the Economy Store.
Charm Presented to Deputy Chief
A Camden Daily Courier report of November 24, 1915 on a turkey supper given to the members of No. 4 Engine Company in honor of Deputy Fire Chief William Patterson. Charles Watkins Jr. was among those gathered.
100 Girls in Fire Scare; Chief's Auto Overturns
Fire Chief John A. Stockton and his chauffeur Martin Carrigan jumped clear as the chief's car skidded into a beer truck at Broadway and Kaighn Avenue while responding to a fire at the General Gas Mantle Company plant.
North Camden News
The monthly supper at Camden Fire Headquarters, Fifth and Arch streets, featured German sour krout served by Lieutenant Jim White, with Chief Charles Worthington and Assistant Chief John A. Stockton among the speakers.
Celebrations by 3 Fire Companies
New Year's banquets were held by Engine Company No. 7, the firemen at Headquarters, and Hook and Ladder Truck No. 1; Daniel Smith was among the diners at Headquarters.
Their Jail Doors to Open
John Bolden, Martin Carrigan and Daniel Woods, sentenced to four months and disfranchisement for election frauds at the November election in Camden, were to be released from jail at noon on Monday.
3000 Ask Mercy in Camden Election Frauds
Petitions bearing more than 3000 names were presented to Judge Joline asking reconsideration of the two-year disfranchisement imposed on the Camden election fraud defendants, four of whom — John Golden, Martin Carrigan, Daniel J. Woods and Charles Crane — were serving four months in the county jail.
Camden Election Trials On Today
Trials of those indicted for alleged violations of the Camden election laws opened before Judge Joline; Martin Carrigan and Charles Crane were the first two cases scheduled.
Many Accused of Election Frauds
A Camden County grand jury returned fifty-five true bills for alleged election irregularities in January 1911; John H. Carroll was among those accused of violations.
More in the Net of Bar Committee
The Camden County Bar Association's special committee caused several more arrests in the 1910 election fraud investigation; John Stockton, Martin Carrigan and Joseph Sparks were held in $500 bail on a charge of urging a fraudulent vote.
Three Firemen Met Death in Camden Blaze
Three firemen — George Shields, William Hillman, and William Jobes — are killed and nine people injured when fire destroys the old Sixth Regiment Armory in Camden.
New Firemen Added to Camden's Force
With the Camden Fire Department spreading across the city, City Council's Fire Committee appointed additional firemen, naming one or two men from each of the twelve wards.
More Firemen for Camden
The Fire Committee of Camden City Council appointed a slate of new firemen — among them Martin Carrigan — ahead of the completion of the new fire house at Twelfth and Federal streets.
Sixteen Appointed to Fire Department
Meeting at the home of its ailing chairman, Dr. Frank Neall Robinson, the fire committee of Camden City Council recommended sixteen men — Martin Carrigan among them — for appointment to the Fire Department, drawn from wards throughout the city.
Eighteen New Firemen Named
City Council's Fire Committee named eighteen new firemen — Martin Carrigan among them — sixteen of whom would not report for duty until the new fire house was ready the following July.