What biographical records exist about Fred and Mary Trump around 1946 in Queens?
Executive summary
Contemporaneous public records and standard biographies place Fred and Mary Anne Trump living in Jamaica Estates, Queens, in 1946, when their son Donald was born at Jamaica Hospital on June 14, 1946 [1] [2]. Biographical articles and family histories note the family home as a Tudor-style house in Jamaica Estates and that Fred was an active postwar builder of middle‑class housing in Queens and Brooklyn [3] [4] [5].
1. Where they lived in 1946 — a houses-and-neighborhood record
Multiple biographies and local reporting identify the Trumps’ residence in 1946 as a Tudor-style house in Jamaica Estates, Queens; Fred Trump built the home and later purchased adjacent lots and expanded into a larger mansion in that neighborhood [3] [5] [2]. Local histories and a Queens Chronicle piece trace the family’s long presence in Jamaica Estates and cite telephone‑book and property‑record continuity up through the mid‑1940s [6].
2. Birth records and early life — hospital and family census markers
Standard biographical sources state Donald J. Trump was born on June 14, 1946, at Jamaica Hospital in Queens, the fourth of five children of Fred and Mary Anne Trump [1] [2]. Wikipedia and other profiles list the family’s children and birth years, which provide anchor points for any genealogical or vital‑records search [7] [3].
3. Fred Trump’s occupation and public footprint in 1946
Fred Trump is consistently described in the available reporting as a real‑estate developer who, after World War II, concentrated on building low‑ and moderate‑income housing in Queens and Brooklyn — a career that made him a prominent local figure by the late 1940s [4] [3]. These accounts are the basis for locating him in business directories, property filings, and newspaper coverage of building projects from that era [6].
4. Mary Anne (MacLeod) Trump — immigrant background and civic profile
Biographical sources portray Mary Anne as a Scottish immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 1942 and who was identified in later obituaries and profiles as a socialite and local philanthropist; she is consistently listed as the mother of the Trumps’ five children and resident of Jamaica Estates [7] [8]. Available reporting notes family health events around the early 1940s (a miscarriage in the mid‑1940s and a later emergency hysterectomy after Robert’s birth in 1948) as context for the family’s personal history [3] [2].
5. Types of primary records you can consult (what the sources imply exists)
The assembled profiles imply several concrete records exist for 1946: vital‑records (Donald’s birth at Jamaica Hospital) and standard municipal/property records (deeds, building permits) documenting Fred Trump’s homebuilding and property ownership in Jamaica Estates, as well as city telephone directories and business listings that researchers have used to place the family at specific addresses [1] [3] [6].
6. Family narratives and interpretive sources — competing perspectives
Beyond public records, family memoirs and critical accounts offer differing portraits: family members and supporters present Fred as a successful entrepreneur who built thousands of units, while critics and some relatives (cited in later books and reporting) portray Fred’s methods and family dynamics as aggressive and controlling — these interpretive sources inform psychological and social readings of the 1940s household but are not substitutes for primary documents [4] [9].
7. What the provided sources do not supply — research gaps to note
The current set of sources does not include actual 1946 primary documents such as the original birth certificate image, deed copies for the exact 1946 addresses, building‑permit files, or contemporaneous local newspaper clippings from 1946; available reporting summarizes these facts but does not reproduce those raw records (not found in current reporting). For definitive primary proof, consult Jamaica Hospital birth registers, Queens property deeds, 1940s city directories, and municipal building‑permit archives.
8. How to proceed if you need primary documentation
Based on where secondary sources place the Trumps, a practical next step is to request a birth record from New York City for June 14, 1946; search Queens property and deed records for Jamaica Estates parcels associated with Fred Trump; consult 1940s telephone directories and local newspapers; and look for building permits tied to addresses cited in biographies [1] [3] [6]. The sources recommend these record types but do not themselves contain the primary documents.
Limitations and sourcing note: this brief relies solely on the provided biographies, news profiles and local history excerpts; every factual claim above is drawn from those items [3] [7] [8] [4] [1] [6] [5] [2]. If you want, I can draft a targeted records request list (specific URLs/agency contacts) to obtain the primary 1946 documents.