Hubler history W. R. Hubler, Jr., M. D

Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama and Gadsden, Etowah County, Alabama

¹⁷⁷²,¹⁷⁷³

Birmingham is the county seat of Jefferson County. Jefferson County was created by the Alabama legislature on Dec. 13, 1819. It was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson. The county is located in the north-central portion of the state, on the southern extension of the Appalachians, in the center of the iron, coal and limestone belt of the South. Birmingham was named for England's iron and steel center in Warwickshire.¹⁷⁷⁴

Gadsden, AL is the county seat of Etowah. Etowah County was created by the Alabama legislature on Dec. 7, 1866, and was originally named Baine County in honor of Gen. David W. Baine, a Confederate soldier from Lowndes County. The county was abolished on Dec. 1, 1868 by the Constitutional Convention and re-established on the same day, under the name of Etowah, which is from the Cherokee language. Etowah County is located in the northeastern section of the state, in the southern Appalachians. Marshall, DeKalb, Cherokee, Calhoun, St. Clair and Blount Counties border it. Sand Mountain and Lookout Mountain are located in Etowah County. Gadsden, the county seat of Etowah County, is named after Col. James Gadsden, distinguished soldier, diplomat and railroad president. It was settled in 1840 and was incorporated in 1871. Gadsden is one of Alabama’s major industrial centers—begun with the building of one of the world’s first hydroelectric projects in 1906.

Lloyd Lincoln HUBLER (1886-1972)

Lloyd Lincoln HUBLER (Feb. 12, 1886 Youngstown, OH-July 9, 1972 Gadsden, AL)

Edith WEBER (Jan. 10, 1883 Jackson, MI-Feb. 28, 1951 Jackson, MI) (m 1913 Cleveland, OH)

Winthrope R. HUBLER, Sr. (July 31, 1916 Youngstown, OH-Oct. 20, 1993 Corpus

Christi, TX) (m Marie Seale)

Mabel Orr Taylor (Aug. 1, 1906 Macon, GA¹⁷⁷⁵-Feb. 7, 1991 Corpus Christi, TX) (m July 12,

1960 Centre, AL)¹⁷⁷⁶ (2nd wife; no children)

The birth date of Lloyd Lincoln HUBLER (1886-1972) is unclear. He was born on Feb.12, but the year is debated. Family tradition, the vital statistics recorded in the family Bible, the Mormon Church,¹⁷⁷⁷ a pension application signed by his father¹⁷⁷⁸ and other family historians¹⁷⁷⁹ record his birthday as Feb. 12, 1886. The 1900 Federal Census, which was taken on June 1, lists the birth date of Lloyd HUBLER as Feb. 1886 (age 14).¹⁷⁸⁰ The 1910 federal census (taken in April) listed Lloyd HUBLER as age 23, making his birth year 1887. However, under Social Security number 209-05-7119, Lloyd HUBLER is listed with a birth date of Feb. 12, 1885 in Youngstown, OH and a death date of July 1972 in Alabama.¹⁷⁸¹, ¹⁷⁸² [The SS Act was passed by Congress and signed by F. D. Roosevelt in 1935, but the attempt to register the millions of citizens began in Nov. 1936 with the distribution of application forms, and SS cards began being issued on Jan. 1, 1937. The US Postal Service was contracted to collect the data, verify the information and issue identification cards. The SS numbers were sent to Baltimore for registration. 35 million numbers were issued in 1936-37.¹⁷⁸³ Usually, Social Security data is very accurate since the individual (by signing the application) swears to the authenticity of the data submitted (which has many financial ramifications). So, I ordered a photocopy of his original Social Security Application on which he wrote [it appears to be his handwriting—his signature was scripted “LL Hubler,” while the data was capitalized (and block-printed)]. His birth date was Feb. 12, 1885, which also corresponded to his written age (51) at the time of his application (Nov. 1937). His funeral certification papers and headstone (taken from information supplied by his second wife, Mabel Taylor) states that his birth date was Feb. 12, 1885, and that he was 87. When he was hospitalized in 1944 (see below), his recorded age was 58, which would make his birth year 1886. Further confusing the issue is the age of “33” on his official, notarized marriage application in 1913 in Cuyahoga Co (Cleveland), Ohio, which would make his birth year 1880, and in Oct. 1965 his Texas hunting license listed his age as “78,” which would mean that his birth year was 1887. [His son (my father), W.R. HUBLER (1916-1993), wanted to be forever young and purposely tried to hide his age by misstating his birth date by several years whenever possible, but that did not seem to be a motivating factor in the confusing data with L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) since a birth year of 1885 would have made him older.] A birth certificate should resolve the question, and I ordered it, but the county clerk of Mahoning Co has no record of his birth there,¹⁷⁸⁴ even though all my sources state that Youngstown, Ohio was his birth site! Finally, after repeated tries, an official birth record in probate court of Mahoning County (Vol.4, Pg. 29) for Lloyd HUBLER (1886-1972) was found in Youngstown. It was misfiled under the name “Roy,” but it was an obvious mistake since the parents were “Alford [Alfred] HUBLER and Kate Straley.” ¹⁷⁸⁵ The birth year was 1886. [The names of at least three of his siblings (Adda=Ada, Clymy=Amy and Gelivin=Edwin) were also misspelled on the Mahoning County Probate Court Birth Records. With all the misspelling of the names of the principals, the accuracy of the birth year on the record is suspect; however, I would expect the year to have been valid, especially since the numerical data is corroborated by the family Bible on all of his siblings.] Thus, the preponderance of evidence points to the birth date of Lloyd HUBLER (1886-1972) as Feb. 12, 1886. It is possible that L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) forgot (and thus misstated) his birth year. In this book, I have recorded the year as 1886.

He was the last child and third son of A. W. HUBLER (1842-1921). The source of the middle name of L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) is as unsettled as his birth date. The grandson of L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972)¹⁷⁸⁶ recalls that he said that since his birthday was the same as that of Abraham Lincoln, he adopted the middle name of “Lincoln.” But also, L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) could have been named after Abraham Lincoln who had visited Youngstown and who was President of the United States when Lloyd’s father served in the Union forces in the Civil War, or after Richard Todd Lincoln, the son of Abraham Lincoln, who was a good friend of a man named Logan who was a prominent Youngstown businessman and who was in the news and on everyone’s lips in Youngstown in 1886 as Logan’s wedding was in preparation. (Logan's father was nominated Vice President for the Republican Party in 1886.).¹⁷⁸⁷ The birth record of L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) is mired in uncertainty since his name was mistakenly recorded as “Roy” and his father was recorded as “Alford.” No middle name was registered, but there was no space designated for a middle name. If he adopted the middle name “Lincoln,” it must have been early since his marriage record in 1913 records his name as “Lloyd L. HUBLER.” [The other children of A.W. HUBLER (1842-1921) all had first and middle given names, and the birth record in HUBLER family Bible (which might have been recorded in close timeframe to the event) include “Lincoln” as his middle name.] Lincoln is also the name of a busy street in Youngstown (just as was “Wick,” his father’s middle name). It could be that his tale to his grandson was an inside joke and that his parents gave him the name to commemorate Lincoln’s birthday or simply as a way to remember his own birthday.

Lloyd Lincoln HUBLER (1886-1972) grew up in a brood of twelve children, attended public school in his hometown and lived in the large home on Rayden Avenue that housed the A.W. HUBLER family. His large family was financially comfortable, but not wealthy. As the "baby" of the family, L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) enjoyed the security of many older siblings and remained close to them throughout his life. He was called “Lloyd” by his family, signed his name in 1913 (on his marriage application) “Lloyd L. Hubler” and as an adult usually signed his name “L.L. Hubler.” He never used his middle name, “Lincoln.”

L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) attended Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio in the engineering department. His older brother Ed [Edwin HUBLER (1873-1960)] who owned a small cement plant paid his college expenses. He was an engineering major in 1911 in the college, which at that time was named Ohio Normal University (and is now known as Ohio Northern University). L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was a member of Lambda Tau Delta fraternity and probably lived in the large fraternity house (which is now gone).¹⁷⁸⁸ Ada is a small town in Hardin County in northwestern Ohio that is now the home of the Wilson Sporting Goods Company that manufactures almost all the sporting equipment for America’s professional sports teams. The 1910 Federal Census that was taken on April 28, 1910 lists him as a student,¹⁷⁸⁹ and he probably enrolled in college after graduating from high school (probably about 1907), took a four or five year curriculum and graduated from the university (probably about 1912). [I have contacted Ohio Northern University requesting information, but I was told that the only extant data was a picture in the 1911 college yearbook taken in front of his fraternity.]

L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) married Edith (Edythe) F. WEBER (1883-1951) in Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co, Ohio on Nov. 4, 1913 (Vol. 86, page 296).¹⁷⁹⁰ I do not know why he was in Cleveland. (He was 27 and probably had graduated from college one or two years earlier, and she was 23.) It might be illuminating to see if he ws listed in the Cleveland diectory in 1912-11916. According to a notarized copy of their marriage application (Cuyahoga Co; # 90078), his occupation was “engineer,” and hers was “none;” and his residence in Cleveland was 1202 E. 100th St., while his bride resided at 1252 E. 100th St.;¹⁷⁹¹ so he either met a neighborhood girl, or they were living in Cleveland as “neighbors.” However, his age was recorded as 33 (so he would have been born in 1880), and her age was 25 (so she would have been born in 1888). [Both birth dates differ from those accepted—could it have been a miscalculation on their part in the heat of the moment or a mistake on the recorder’ part? The document is very legible.]

After marrying Edith WEBER (1883-1951), L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) began work in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in a steel company as a civil engineer. His only child, W. R. HUBLER (1916-1993), was born in 1916 in Youngstown, OH, the product of a difficult pregnancy and delivery. His wife, Edith WEBER (1883-1951), had rheumatic heart disease and was told by her doctors never to get pregnant again. The physical strain was intensified by her controlling, dominant nature—far from his laid back, easy-going personality. Their lives together became "in name only"; and separations were frequent while their son, W. R. HUBLER (1916-1993), grew up; and finally, the split became permanent when he graduated from high school and began to attend college.

L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was not listed in the 1920 Federal Census in Birmingham, Alabama, Ensley, Alabama or in Youngstown, Ohio, so his family might have resided in Pennsylvania. In about 1922 when W.R. HUBLER (1916-1993) was about 6 years old, L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) moved to Ensley, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama and worked in a steel plant.¹⁷⁹² L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was in Ensley in 1928, and Edith was with him.¹⁷⁹³ He was in Birmingham, Alabama when W.R. HUBLER (1916-1993) graduated from high school in 1934, but Edith WEBER (1883-1951) was in Jackson, Michigan. Often Edith WEBER (1883-1951) went to her family home in Jackson, Michigan where she lived with her sister, Tina WEBER Larkey; and her son, W. R. HUBLER (1916-1993), attended elementary schools in Jackson at times.

The Depression affected the steel business especially hard, and many workers and companies were left without work. Raymond A. Burkhard knew L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) in Birmingham in 1931. (Burkhart's father was also a steel engineer; and so they shared in the economic woes of the times. His family moved to Selma, Alabama and eventually ended up employed in the steel mills of Pittsburgh). Burkhard was about 10 years old when he knew L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) in Birmingham and called him "Hubie," as did others then.¹⁷⁹⁴ L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was living with his son, W. R. HUBLER (1916-1993), (when he was finishing high school) and was separated from his wife Edith WEBER (1883-1951).¹⁷⁹⁵ W. R. HUBLER (1916-1993) graduated from Ensley High School (Birmingham, Alabama) in 1934, began Howard College (Birmingham, Alabama) in the fall term of 1934, transferred to Birmingham Southern in the spring of 1935 and was a full time student there through the spring term of 1937. His address was 2824 16th Place, N. Birmingham, Alabama in 1934 when W.R. HUBLER (1916-1993) began college.

Probably L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) lost his job in 1933 or 1934. It must have looked bleak. However, in March 1935, United Engineering and Foundry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania gave him a job at $1.25/hour. His son, W.R. HUBLER (1916-1993), was in college in Alabama and Burkhardt remembers that L.L. HUBLER (1886-1993) moved into the same housing division on Mohangola Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as did his family in 1935.¹⁷⁹⁶

Apparently, L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) worked in several steel mills in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Alabama during the late 1930s and early 1940s. On Nov. 20, 1936 when L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) first applied for Social Security, he lived at 1928 Mononghela, Swissvale, Pennsylvania and was employed by United Engineering and Foundry of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.¹⁷⁹⁷ In 1937, he still lived at 1928 Monogahela Ave., Swissvale, Pennsylvania.¹⁷⁹⁸ Later, he resided at 2621 St., Ensley, Alabama (1942),¹⁷⁹⁹ 18th Court, Ensley, Alabama (1942)¹⁸⁰⁰, ¹⁸⁰¹ and 6366 Monitor Avenue, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1944).¹⁸⁰²

When he was laid off in 1945, L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) left Youngstown to go to Pascagoula, Mississippi for a new job. He stopped in Gadsden, Alabama at the impetus of a friend to visit the head of a steel mill. He was hired on the spot and started that day as a "checker,” an engineer who checked the final plans for design and accuracy, and he would give the final clearance for construction. L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) began employment with Republic Steel in Gadsden, Alabama on Oct. 1, 1945. [Republic Steel Co. has its roots in 1886 when its forbearer, Berger Manufacturing Co, was born in Canton, Ohio. In 1930, the late Cleveland financier, Cyrus S. Eaton, consolidated a group of steel companies, including Interstate Iron and Steel Co, and Central Alloy Steel Corp., to create the Republic Steel Corp. During the 1940s and 1950s (when L.L. HUBLER worked there), Republic Steel played a critical role in supplying steel products for the production of military equipment, as well as, the burgeoning post-war economy. In 1984, the Republic Steel Co. merged, and the result was LTV Steel, the country's second-largest steel maker. But, faced with a sluggish economy, soaring imports and burdensome debt, the company fell into reorganization bankruptcy in July 1986 and eventually became Republic Engineered Steels Inc., owned by its employees, and now as public stock.] Although he was separated [but named Edith HUBLER (1883-1951) as the beneficiary of his pension plan],¹⁸⁰³ L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) never divorced Edith WEBER (1883-1951). In 1951, his estranged wife, Edith WEBER (1883-1951), died in Jackson, Michigan.

In 1948, L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) lived in Gadsden, Alabama at 501 10th St., and in 1950 at 1020 Walnut St., Gadsden, Alabama.¹⁸⁰⁴, ¹⁸⁰⁵ He then bordered in a home owned by Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) and her mother at 412 Southside, Gadsden, Alabama. In 1957, L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) made $9,433 from Republic Steel (his Social Security number was 209-05-7119).¹⁸⁰⁶ He retired soon after and moved to Corpus Christi, Texas to be with his son, W. R. HUBLER (1916-1993) where he lived for about two years. L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) enjoyed retirement, which gave him time to pursue his favorite avocations—hunting and fishing.

His eyes were blue, and his hair was light brown. L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was about 5' 6" and weighed 185 lb. (1942),¹⁸⁰⁷ and 177 pounds (1944),¹⁸⁰⁸ but by 1965, he had slimmed down to 150 pounds.¹⁸⁰⁹ His complexion was light and ruddy. He had thinning hair late in life, and although he was not totally bald, his pate was sparsely populated. In Gadsden, Alabama, he attended the First Baptist Church (Mabel Taylor a was Baptist); in Corpus Christi, he attended the First Methodist Church (W.R. HUBLER was Methodist). He was not especially religious, but Edith HUBLER (1883-1951) was an active and devout Lutheran.

For years before he died, L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) had a heart irregularity. In October 1944 (he was 58), he had his first minor heart attack and was admitted and treated in a hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he lived at the time. According to the records there, he had been suffering chest pains for two years. He did not drink alcohol and had stopped smoking one year earlier. He did not have significant social or physical abnormalities.¹⁸¹⁰ His blood pressure was normal. Later, he had a pacemaker implanted, which really helped.¹⁸¹¹

In 1972, the failing physical condition of L. L. HUBLER (1886-1972) became beyond the control of his wife, Mabel Taylor (1906-1991), and he entered a nursing home in Gadsden, Alabama. Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) always felt that a nursing home was the end of the line.¹⁸¹² [Toward the last of his life, he developed memory and logic loss, and even though his wife did not want to send him to a nursing home, she could not care for him. It is probable that L.L HUBLER (1886-1972) was beginning the senile dementia that plagued almost all of his family. I tried to find more about his final health status. All knowledgeable family members were dead, so in November 2001 I telephoned the funeral parlor that handled his mortal remains to find the name of the nursing home. [They said that he died at Maguffie Nursing Home and not at a hospital, as indicated by the newspaper obituary. However, when I called the nursing home, I was told that about a year ago, the home had changed owners and that the new manager had ordered the destruction of all records prior to 1995. There was one employee who had worked there in 1972, but she could not recall L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972).] His departure date is as enigmatic as his arrival day. Various sources record different death dates [June 17, June 28, July 9, July (only) and July 10], but all agree on 1972, and the consensus is that L L. HUBLER (1886-1972) died on July 9, 1972 at 9 P.M. at a local hospital in Gadsden, Alabama and was interred in Crestwood Cemetery in Gadsden, Alabama.¹⁸¹³,¹⁸¹⁴,¹⁸¹⁵ Collier-Butler Funeral Parlor¹⁸¹⁶ handled the funeral arrangements. The cause of death was cardiac arrest.¹⁸¹⁷ His Social Security number was 209-05-7119. ¹⁸¹⁸

In 1960, L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) moved back to Gadsden, Alabama, and on July 12, 1960 at Centre, Alabama, he married a second time to his old-time friend, Mabel Orr Taylor (1906-1991).¹⁸¹⁹, ¹⁸²⁰ Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) was born in Macon, Georgia on Aug. 11, 1906. Her father was Alec Morgan Taylor (born in Vienna, Georgia, but moved to Gadsden, Alabama before the First World War) and her mother was Pearl Leonard Stewart (born in Howard, Georgia).¹⁸²¹ Her father, A. M. Taylor, died when he jumped or fell from a bridge into the Coosa River at 4 o’clock in the morning of July 10, 1939.¹⁸²² There was strong belief that he committed suicide, and Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) always felt strongly about her father’s suicide and could hardly talk about it over fifty years later.¹⁸²³ Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) was an only child.

Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) was a graduate of Avert College in Danville, VA and Ashley Hall College in Charleston, South Carolina¹⁸²⁴ (now Ashley Hall has been converted into a high school)¹⁸²⁵. She applied her training in primary education in a private kindergarten and elementary school, which she owned and operated in Gadsden, Alabama. When L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was searching for employment in the 1945, he became acquainted with the matronly librarian and teacher. Later, he stayed with Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) as a boarder at her three-story home which served as her school and the home for her elderly aunt and herself. In 1960, when he married Mabel Taylor (1906-1991), she was still running her school, and they resided on the second floor, while her school was on the first. Their honeymoon was spent at a Canadian fishing camp. (He was afraid to tell his son, W. R. Hubler (19916-1993), with whom he lived every fall; and thus he telephoned with the news one evening from Canada while on his honeymoon; however, his son was not home, so he told his daughter-in-law, Marie Seale HUBLER (1918-1988), who smoothed the news when she told his son.).¹⁸²⁶

After L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) died in 1972, Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) continued her school in Gadsden, Alabama. She developed mild adult onset diabetes late in life and went to a nearby hospital for her major meal. Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) never liked to cook much anyway. When her aunt was alive and residing with her, she channeled her energy toward the school while her elderly aunt managed the food preparation.

In 1984, Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) sold her home/school and moved to Corpus Christi, Texas to be close to her stepson, W.R. HUBLER (1916-1993). Lloyd David HUBLER (b 1947) gave her a small car, and she rented an apartment. A straight-laced Baptist, Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) was a lady who espoused the gentile, Southern traditions. She always spoke in a soft, Georgia accented voice, liked to play bridge, loved her pet dog, Beaux, and always dressed immaculately and appropriately. Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) was the antipathy of the modern urbanite. It was refreshing to visit with her. Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) often served as an adult sitter for her stepson, W.R. HUBLER (1916-1993), when he became disabled with Alzheimer's disease, and she could almost always be found with W.R. and Helen HUBLER. After W. R. HUBLER (1916-1993) moved into a nursing home in 1990, she continued her close relationship with Helen Mullen HUBLER (1934- ), but she guarded her independency. However, her health began to fail. Helen Mullen HUBLER (b 1934) did not want another obligation, so Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) joined her stepson, W.R. HUBLER (1916-1993), in Westwood Manor Nursing Center in Corpus Christi.

In 1991, Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) developed intestinal blockage problems and underwent emergency surgery. She died in Humana Hospital in Corpus Christi on Feb. 7, 1991. She was interred in Crestwood Cemetery in Gadsden, Alabama beside her husband, L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972).¹⁸²⁷ In her will, Mabel Taylor (1906-1991) left all of her estate assets (there was not much) to her stepson, W.R. HUBLER (1916-1993).¹⁸²⁸