Brief Life History of Joseph Robinette
Joseph Robinette Biden Sr., 86, father of Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D., Del.), died yesterday at the senator's home in the Wilmington suburbs after a long illness. Mr. Biden was born in Baltimore on Nov. 18, 1915. His family moved to Wilmington, where he attended St. Paul's School and Wilmington High School. He graduated from St. Thomas Academy in Scranton. During World War II, Mr. Biden was an executive with a Boston factory that supplied plastic hulls, a special waterproof sealant applied to all U.S. merchant marine ships built during the war. After the war, he co-owned an airport and crop-dusting service on Long Island. In 1953, he moved his family to Claymont, Del. He was a sales manager for several Wilmington automobile dealerships and worked for 15 years in real estate condominium sales in New Castle County and Rehoboth Beach for the Patterson-Schwartz agency. His eldest son, Joseph, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, and will run for his sixth term in November. Mr. Biden is survived by his wife of 61 years, Jean Finnegan Biden; three sons: Sen. Biden, James B. and Francis W.; a daughter, Valerie Biden Owens; 10 grandchildren; and three great grandchildren. A viewing will be held tomorrow from 5 to 9 p.m. at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Church, 10 Old Church Rd. in Greenville, Del. A Mass of Christian Burial will be said at the church at 9 a.m. Thursday. Burial will follow in St. Joseph on the Brandywine Cemetery. The family suggests contributions to the Biden Scholarship Fund at Archmere Academy or to First State Hospice of Wilmington. Copyright (c) 2002 The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Family Time Line
Sources (15)
- Joseph R Biden, "United States Census, 1940"
- Mr Joseph Robinette Biden, Sr, "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, and Marriages 1980-2014"
- Joseph R. Biden, "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1916 · The First woman elected into the US Congress
Jeannette Pickering Rankin became the first woman to hold a federal office position in the House of Representatives, and remains the only woman elected to Congress by Montana.
1917 · WWI and Delaware
During 1917 and 1918, Delaware sent around ten thousand soldiers to fight in WWI. The mortality rate of those ten thousand was minimal, with only forty-seven deaths.
1939 · Nylon Plant in Seaford
In 1939, DuPont opened a nylon plant in Seaford, Delaware. The idea came when in 1935, Dr. Wallace discovered a synthetic fiber.
Name Meaning
English (Hampshire and Surrey): habitational name, probably from Baydon (Wiltshire). The placename may have meant ‘hill associated with a woman named Bēage’ (a personal name derived from Old English bēag ‘ring, bracelet, torque’ + Old English dūn). The surname is pronounced /'baidən/.
History: The surname Biden has a long history in East Meon (Hampshire), recorded there from 1327 until at least the 1840s. — Joe Biden, the 46th president of the US, is of Irish, English, and French descent. His mother’s Jean (Catherine Eugenia) Finnegan entire family tree traces back to Ireland, with some of the ancestors named Blewitt (see Blewett ).
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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