Avis Nugent: Life Story of My Great-Grandmother by Marilee Eatough

Avis Nugent was born on July 11, 1874 in Tuckerton, Burlington County, New Jersey. She was the fourth of five children born to James H. Nugent and Ellen Errickson. Her father James was disabled, believed to be a result of the Civil War. He passed away when Avis was just six years old leaving a large family in exceedingly destitute circumstances. At this time, Ellen was unable to provide for her children and they were farmed out to different families in the community. James’s pension from the war went to his first wife Mary Eunice Smith.

There is a rumor that Avis’s parents James H. Nugent and Ellen Errickson were never officially married. This would explain why the children sometimes went by Nugent, and sometimes went by Errickson, their mother’s maiden name. It would also explain why his first wife received his pension. Apparently, James took his time returning home after the war. His first wife, Mary Eunice Smith, believed that James had died during the war and started a new family with Nicholas E Morey while he was away.

Avis’s father, James H. Nugent died on March 5, 1880 of phthisis pulmonalis. In 1880, shortly after her father died, Avis, age six, was living in Little Egg Harbor Township with Samuel and Mary Gale. Samuel had served in the same company as her father during the Civil War. The baby, Mary Naomi, sometimes called Mayoma, resided with her mother who was working as a servant for Sylvester and Rhoda Mathis in Bass River. Her older sister Esther Jane, who mostly went by Jane, age twelve, went to work as a servant in the household of Daniel and Rachel Mathis in Bass River. Her sister Agnes, age ten, was living with Fithian and Charlotte Seeds, also in Bass River. Her brother James, age seven, was living with his aunt and uncle, Samuel, and Elizabeth Seaman in Eagleswood.

By 1885, Avis, age ten, and her sisters had been reunited with their mother Ellen. This time it was in the home of her uncle James Erickson in Heislerville, Maurice River, New Jersey. However, her brother James G. was still living with his aunt and uncle Samuel and Elizabeth Seaman in Eagleswood, Ocean County, New Jersey. Her mother Ellen was struggling with her health. Ellen had problems with her lungs and died later that year, at the age of forty-one.

Avis attended three years of high school. At the age of twenty, she married Daniel Jay Levey of Pennsylvania on September 6, 1893. The marriage took place in Camden New Jersey. For an unknown reason Avis used the name Avis V. Errickson, and Daniel used the name Daniel J. Delevey on their marriage record. Speculation suggests that the name variations may have had something to do with Daniel working as a detective, perhaps he was undercover at the time and hiding his identity.

The couple had six children together. However, only three of them lived past infancy. Some of her children were born prematurely at seven months. Just three months after they got married, on December 18, 1893, Avis gave birth to their first child in Cumberland County New Jersey, a daughter who died the following day. This child may have never received a name. It was listed as “UNKNOWN” on the death record.

The Following year Avis gave birth to her second child on April 24, 1896. This child only lived for 20 days. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to find a name or a gender for this child. It was buried at Oak Park Cemetery in New Castle, Pennsylvania.

The newlywed couple settled in New Castle, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania where Daniel went to work at New York Pen Station and Orrtanna Railroad.

They welcomed their third child into their family on February 18, 1897. This time it was a son which they named Daniel Jay Levey, after his father. There has been some confusion regarding Daniel Jay Levey Junior’s birth year. In some places, it is listed as 1895 and in other places, it is listed as 1897. A newspaper article dated 24 February 1897 printed in the New Castle News states that they recently had a son. It is believed that Dan lied about his age in order to serve in the military.

On November 1, 1897, Avis gave birth to her fourth child, a daughter, who passed away the following year.

They welcomed a fifth child into their family on November 18, 1899, it was another son who they named Edwin Earle Levey.

The sixth child of Avis and the baby of the family was my grandmother, Charlotte Avis Levey, who was born on November 26, 1912. She was born in Farrell, Pennsylvania. Charlotte attended nursing school in Cleveland, Ohio. She made the move with her mother and brothers to Newhall, California.

Avis’s husband Daniel had several occupations over the years. In addition to working as a tower man for the railroad, he spent some time as a steelworker, contract painter, general manager, bank clerk, detective, Justice of the Peace, and realtor.

Avis and Daniel were living in Wesleyville, Erie County, Pennsylvania when her husband Daniel, Jay Levey passed away on February 11, 1922. His cause of death was listed as Dilated Myocarditis, a heart condition. He was cremated and buried in Erie Cemetery.

Avis enjoyed working in the garden. She also enjoyed writing. She wrote one story titled Sally that has been passed on through the generations. It is about a woman named Sally Evans who married John Lloyd. It was written like a biography, and references places in the area where she grew up. We have not been able to tie the story to any family members and have yet to determine whether the story is true.

Avis struggled with health-related problems. At the age of 51, she suffered from severe chest pain, expectorated blood, had no appetite, and felt very week. According to her medical records, Avis’s mother and sister also suffered from hemorrhages from the lungs and died young. Avis believed that she only had a short time to live and was referred to a specialist, Dr. E.G. Weibel of Philadelphia. Dr. Weibel diagnosed Avis with Pulmonary Tuberculosis and said that she should improve and have a chance at life if she follows the doctor’s instructions.

In an attempt to improve her health, in 1936 Avis moved across the country to Newhall, Santa Clarita County, California with her three living children Daniel Jay, Edwin Earle, and Charlotte Avis. In California, they all lived together on a large three-acre lot owned by Avis. Over time three houses were built on this property. Her daughter Charlotte, with her husband Thomas, lived at the top of the hill with their family. Avis lived in the same house as her two sons Dan and Ed at the bottom of the Hill. There was another house on the property further down closer to the highway that a non-related couple (Ruth and Jerry Pruitt) lived in.

Avis’s oldest son, Daniel Jay Levey Jr. was brilliant. Dan went to the Duchesne University of America. After graduating from there he went to Chattanooga College of Law and became a lawyer. Dan worked as a lawyer in Philadelphia for a short period of time before he was drafted into the army. He served in the army during WWI between 1917 and 1918 where he was responsible for the military police. He returned from his military service with some serious mental health problems. They later found out that Dan was actually experimented on with mustard gas. This explains the challenges of his mental health. He married Margaret E Davis on June 21, 1920 in Philadelphia, but they did not have any children before they divorced on May 28, 1923. In California, Dan lived with his mother and worked in the construction industry as a painter. Because of his mental condition, Dan spent many years in various veterans’ hospitals. In 1962 Dan was declared incompetent, and his veteran’s compensation was handled through a trust. Dan was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood, California when he died on October 17, 1971.

Her son, Edwin Earle (Ed) enjoyed basketball. He played it in junior high, high school, and college. At the age of 18, Ed worked as a clerk at the Central Trust Title Company. Ed attended Grove City College in Pennsylvania. At the age of 30, he was working as a carpenter in Harbor Creek, Pennsylvania. He continued to work as a carpenter after the move to California. Edwin never married and continued to live with Avis throughout her life. When he passed away in 1952, he was cremated and buried in Erie Cemetery with his parents.

Avis’s daughter Charlotte Avis studied nursing in Cleveland, Ohio, and earned a certificate as a Practical Nurse. In 1937 Charlotte married Thomas Scholl in Burbank, Los Angeles, California. It is believed that they met while Charlotte was in nursing school. Thomas left Ohio and moved to California to marry her. The couple had five children and lived in a separate home on the same property as Avis.

Avis died on January 31, 1948, at the age of 73, just a few short weeks after her last grandchild was born. The cause of death was Broncho Pneumonia. She was cremated by Grandview Crematory in Glendale, California and her remains were sent to Erie, Pennsylvania where they were buried in lot number 304, Section 27, next to the ashes of her husband Daniel Jay Levey in the Erie Cemetery.