Anniversaries - June 2 to June 9

[Anniversaries of living people will not be posted.]

*Updated July 29, 2012 to add women's married name (maiden name in parenthesis)

Birthdays:

John Straw, 7th great grandfather, was born June 2, 1728 at Amesbury, MA
Phebe (Young) Dyer, 7th great grandmother, was born on June 3, 1707 at Eastham, MA
Elizabeth Ann (Farnum) Dewey, 2nd great grandmother, was on born June 4, 1889 at Mt. Vernon, NH
Abraham Temple, 8th great grandfather, was born on June 4, 1652 at Charlestown, MA
Samuel Harmon, 6th great grandfather, was born on June 5, 1686 at Wells, ME
Samuel Sawyer, 7th great grandfather, was born on June 5, 1674 at Newbury, MA
Robert "Father" Kemp, 2nd great grandfather, was born on June 6, 1821 at Wellfleet, MA*

Father Kemp

Weddings:

none

Deaths:

Richard Lyman, 10th great grandfather, died on June 3, 1662 at Windsor, CT (descended from King Alfred the Great)
Hepzibah (Lyman) Dewey, 9th great grandmother, died on June 4, 1732 at Columbia, CT (descended from King Alfred the Great)
Edmund Tompkins, 6th great grandfather, died on June 5, 1719 at Eastchester, NY
Betsy (Perley) Dewey, 3rd great grandmother, died on June 6, 1831 at Berlin, VT
Prudence (Hibbard) Delano, 6th great grandmother, died on June 8, 1752 at Tolland, CT
Zachary Fitch, 8th great grandfather, died on June 9, 1662 at Wakefield, MA
Reginald Foster, 10th great grandfather, died on June 9, 1681 at Ipswich, MA


* More will be written on Robert "Father" Kemp in a future post.

Fotos - May 30th

I went on a photo Meetup with the local camera club this past Wednesday at 6:30 PM to downtown Plymouth.  Many of the photo shoots I attend are downtown, but each has a particular topic or are taken at various seasons or time of day.  So, the subject matter may be the same, but the photos can look quite different.  The topics have included night photography, "postcard" Plymouth, harbor sunrise, and a few more.  The theme for this past Wednesday was to shoot with a specific lens, 50mm (or similar, no zooming) and at a singe aperture (the photographer got to choose the aperture).  I chose f4.5 for the aperture since the light would be gradually fading throughout the shoot.  I also fixed the ISO setting at 400.  The only variable was shutter speed which was automatically determined by the camera.  Because depth of field for this aperture setting is small when the subject is close, the subject should be in focus but objects in front of or behind the subject blur.  Most of the subjects of my photos were within 10 feet, so the depth of field of my photos was between 6 inches to 2 feet.  The blur can create interesting but intended effects. This exercise was to try to help us think more about framing our subject.  You have to be a bit more observant and intimate with your subject as you have to move in closer or back away because you can't rely on your zoom.

The club walked around downtown Plymouth center and the harbor area.  The bolder photographers went into stores and bars to take pictures of objects in those locals (most stores were closed by 6:30 Wednesday afternoon).  They also took pictures of strangers on the street.  I guess I was somewhat bold as I did go into a cigar store and also asked a shore fisherman if he would mind if I took some pictures of him.  Most of our photos were taken from the street.  I have done some minor post processing of my photos with Photoshop Lightroom.  Here are some of my pictures.

This was actually a test photograph I made in our garden before the Meetup.

Many photos were taken of signs around the town.  This one was outside the British Beer Works.  Cheers!

Lots of motorcycles around Plymouth and denim clad bikers.  I thought a photo of this "Savage" was appropriate.

These are cigar boxes.  Each is uniquely interesting, but I don't think my shot captured the uniqueness.  (I felt a bit strange walking around the small store taking pictures.)

Sea stones, green foliage, and a touch of white in a garden.

I liked the look of the black fence with the green and yellow grass.

Part of a statute.

A gate in front of the Mayflower Society house.  The gate is always open, so I typically would not notice the street number in the gate.

The grass was tough to focus on, but I still liked the photo.

I liked the way the setting sun shone on these paddles.

I wasn't the only one taking in the setting sun over the harbor.

This fisherman allowed me and others to photograph him.  I took several, but like this one the most.

I liked the colors and reflection of this Mayflower II dory.

I liked the early evening colors in the background.

Mumblings - Donald Lester Dewey: The Early Years

Donald Lester Dewey

In my last Mumblings posting, I wrote about Katherine Skeffington Dewey (my grandmother) and the effect her husband's (Francis Osman) early death had on her.  I’m sure it had an effect on all her children as well.  I know some of the effect it had on her youngest child Donald, my father, and I will write on that in this first post on him.

Donald was born on February 16, 1912 at Reading, MA.  By the time he was six years old in 1918 and maybe before that, his father was institutionalized.  We can assume that Francis Osman was going through significant crises in his life before 1918.  So, it is also safe to assume that from an early age, Donald was raised without a father in his life.  His mother was left to find a way to provide for him and his siblings, Elizabeth, Marion, and Robert. 

The Pre-Adult Years

The Dewey family lived at 5 Morgan Park, Reading from 1905 until 1914.  Donald was born February 16, 1912.  A few years later (about 1915), the family move to 14 Hancock Street, Reading.  Then from 1921 until 1926/27 he lived at 38 Mineral Street.  (His mother and siblings continued to live on Mineral Street until 1930.)  The earliest photo I have of Donald is from a 1922 Reading school photo that I bought on eBay.  He had said he went to the Highland School and I think I found him in the group pupils.  He would have been 10 years old.  He completed 8 years of school in Reading (from WWII USN separation records).  

1922 Highland Street School (Donald circled)

Around 1926/27, his mother sent him to live with a family (presumed to be the Gaffneys) in New Jersey where four years later (1931), he graduated as an apprentice printer compositor (from WWII USN separation records).  She probably felt that she could not tame him and that he might have a chance to move along in his life if he learned a trade.  So, from about the age of 14/15, he was separated from his family and living on his own for many years.  I have many pictures from a Gaffney family sent to my father during WWII.  One of the pictures was taken in front of a building with "B. Gaffney Printing" in the picture.  I assume that it was at this printing company that Donald apprenticed.  Donald’s apprenticeship ended at around the same time as the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and the Great Depression.  I was told that his family had tried to get him a job through a family contact at the Boston Herald newspaper.  Given the economic times, the job never materialized. During the Great Depression which lasted until the start of World War II, the unemployment rate in this country was over 25% (Wikipedia) and Donald wasn't able to find employment locally.

Donald (2nd from right) - Apprentice Printer

Donald (about 19 years old) - Graduation from Printing Apprenticeship

My father did not talk a lot about his childhood but the few stories he told lead me to believe that he and the group of boys he hung around with frequently got into trouble.  I remember him telling a story of he and his friends lighting a wagon of hay on fire one night and rolling it down the Mineral Street hill.  He lived his early childhood near the railroad tracks in Reading and said he would hop aboard freight cars and disappear from home for days at a time.  

The Early Adult Years
My brother remembers a story that Donald was given a nickel to buy a loaf of bread.  He left home and joined a circus.  He was gone for several years, but when he finally returned home, he walked into the family house with a loaf of bread.  I believe that this event would have been in the early 1930's during the depression and after completing his printing apprenticeship.  He told me that at one time he worked as a pin boy at a bowling alley.  This was a dangerous job he said as the pins would fly everywhere when struck by the bowling ball.

Donald in center with friends

Next Post: Donald Lester Dewey: The Years at Sea

Anniversaries - May 27 - June 2

*Updated July 29, 2012 to add women's married name (maiden name in parenthesis)
Birthdays:

Mercy (Saxton) Dewey, 7th great grandmother, was born May 30, 1696 in Stonington, CT

Weddings:

Rebecca Dyer married Jonathan Paine, 5th great grandparents, on May 28, 1765 at Truro, MA

Deaths:

Robert Andrews, 9th great grandfather, died on May 29, 1668 at Topsfield, MA
Jonathan Fernald, 5th great grandfather, died on May 29, 1791 at Kittery, ME
Abiah (Edson) Alden, 6th great grandmother, died on May 31, 1749 at Middleborough, MA
William Sargent, 9th great grandfather, died on May 31, 1712 at Amesbury, MA
Amey (Hatch) Delano, 7th great grandmother, died on June 1, 1762 at Tolland, CT
Robert Kemp, 4th great grandfather, died on June 2, 1816 at Truro, MA

Anniversaries - May 20 - May 26

*Updated July 29, 2012 to add women's married name (maiden name in parenthesis)
Birthdays:

Hannah (Dennison) Saxton, 8th great grandmother, was born May 20, 1643 in Roxbury, MA
Joseph Alden, 8th great grandfather, was born May 22, 1627 in Plymouth, MA
Margaret (Morrow) Milligan, 3rd great grandmother, was born May 22, 1835 in Ireland
Mary (Kelly) Davis, 9th great grandmother, was born May 24, 1678 in Newbury, MA
Rebecca (Rockwell) Carrier, 6th great grandmother, was born May 24, 1705 in Colchester, CT
Abigail (Sawyer) Annice, 6th great grandmother, was born May 26, 1709 in Newbury, MA

Weddings:

Mary Williams married Daniel Bradley*, 8th great grandparents, May 21, 1662 in Haverhill, MA (see note below)
Sarah (maiden?) and Hugh Gunnison, 9th great grandparents, May 23, 1647 in Boston, MA
Mary Packard married Simeon Alden, 5th great grandparents, May 23, 1763 in Bridgewater, MA
Mary Hutchinson married Thomas Hale, 8th great grandparents, May 26, 1657 at Salem, MA

Deaths:

Margaret (Fields) Milligan, 4th great grandmother, died May 21, 1874 in Boston, MA

* Daniel Bradley and many of his descendants were killed in Haverhill, MA by Indians during a period of time called King Williams's War.  Here is an account from "The History of Concord":

"The ancestors and relatives of Mr. Bradley, in Haverhill, had had a bitter experience of Indian cruelty.  Daniel Bradley was killed there, August 13, 1689.  Isaac Bradley at the age of fifteen, was captured in the fall of 1695.  Daniel Bradley, (son of Daniel,) and Hannah his wife, and two of their children, Mary and Hannah, were killed, March 15, 1697, when Mrs. Dustin was made prisoner; and Joseph, Martha and Sarah Bradley, children of Joseph Bradley, were slain at the same time.  The house of Joseph Bradley, grandfather of Lieutenant Jonathan, was burnt by the Indians, February 8, 1704, and his wife taken prisoner a second time ..."  - Bouton, Nathaniel, The History of Concord, Published by Benning W. Sanborn, 1856, pages 162 - 164.

A more in depth account can be found at "The Bradley Family and the Indians" by Bill Scholtz, April 9, 2010.

Anniversaries - May 13 - May 19

*Updated July 29, 2012 to add women's married name (maiden name in parenthesis)
Birthdays:

Hepzibah (Ford) Lyman, 10 great grandmother, was born on May 15, 1625 at Dorchester, ENG.  Hepzibah was briefly mentioned in a prior post as she married Richard Lyman (descended from Alfred the Great).
Thomas Farnum, 5th great grandfather, was born on May 16, 1709 at Andover, MA.
Elizabeth (Annice) Corliss, 5th great grandmother, was born May 18, 1736 at Haverhill, MA.

Weddings:

Hannah Hutchinson married Thomas Farnum, 6th great grandparents, on May 14, 1693 at Andover, MA.
Sarah Chase married Charles Cormac Annice, 8th great grandparents, on May 15, 1666 at Newbury, MA.
Mary Foster married Francis Peabody, 9th great grandparents, on May 18, 1654 at Topsfield, MA.

Deaths:

Robert "Father" Kemp, 2nd great grandfather, died on May 15, 1897 at Boston, MA.  (Robert Kemp will be the subject of a future post.)
William Rockwell, 9th great grandfather, died on May 15, 1640 at Windsor, CT.
Thomas Carrier, 8th great grandfather, died on May 16, 1736 at Colchester, CT.
Renald Fernald, 8th great grandfather, died on May 17, 1656 at Portsmouth, NH.
Margaret (Goodman) Tompkins, 8th great grandmother, died on May 18, 1672 at Salem, MA.
Joseph Towne, 7th great grandfather, died on May 18, 1717 at Topsfield, MA.
Hannah (Hutchinson) Farnum, 6th great grandmother, died on May 19, 1716 at Andover, MA.

Mumblings - Katherine Skeffington Dewey

Katherine Skeffington

Katherine (Catherine) Skeffington (also spelled Skiffington, Skivington) was born in Lowell, MA on June 13, 1871 and died on February 25, 1963 in a nursing home in Tewksbury, MA.  Katherine married Francis Osman Dewey of Reading, MA on July 10, 1901.  I believe that Katherine was the only child of Patrick and Bridget (Daley) Skeffington.  It is thought by some family members that Katherine worked in the Lowell mills before meeting and marrying Francis.  Katherine and Francis are buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Reading, MA.

Katherine and Francis Osman had five children

Elizabeth Winifred (1903 – 2001) - grandmother was "Winifred" Daley

George Franklin (1905 – 1909) – named after Admiral "George" Dewey

Marion Katherine (1907 – 2003) - aunt was "Marion" Kemp Dewey

Robert Francis (1910 – 1980)

Donald Lester (1912 – 1980)

George and Elizabeth (about 1906)

Francis Osman Dewey was institutionalized from around 1918 until his death in 1925.  So from 1918 on, Katherine had to raise four children ages 15, 11, 8, and 6 on her own.  (Son George had died in 1909.)  Her parents were not alive by 1918.  Her father died in 1905 and mother died in 1911.  So she had no assistance from her side of the family.  I wondered if the Dewey family assisted Katherine and her family or was her family shunned because Francis, a Protestant, married Katherine, a Catholic mill girl?  Similarly, I asked in a previous post how Katherine's mother-in-law Elizabeth Kemp Dewey survived until her death in 1926 after her husband died in 1890.  

A common solution for providing for widows/widowers with our first ancestors was remarriage.  Many of my earliest ancestors were married two or three times.  However, I have researched city street directories and found that Katherine and Elizabeth's solution was to live in an extended family after their husbands deaths.  It was also a common practice to take in boarders for extra income. Ancestry.com has recently added a U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 (Beta) version that helps answer where and with whom did these families live (search results are available for a monthly subscription fee).  By looking at town directories and US Census records in the Ancestry database, I have found that for much of the time, Elizabeth and Katherine lived in the same house.

Extended Families: Residences of Elizabet Kemp Dewey, Francis Osman and wife Katherine Dewey

1866: Elizabeth Kemp married Edgar Osman Dewey and they lived with her parents Robert and Elizabeth Kemp at 243 Northampton St., Boston.  

1867 to 1892: Elizabeth Kemp Dewey lives on Summer Avenue in Reading, MA.  During this time, husband Edgar Osman dies in 1890. Several of their children including grandfather Francis Osman Dewey live in the Summer Avenue home.  (Great-great grandfather Francis Osman (Sr) and his son Francis Henry Dewey were living at 176 Summer Ave.)

1892 to 1895: Elizabeth, shown in the records as Lizzie D. Dewey, is boarding at 1 Hancock St., Reading.  Boarding with Lizzie are adult children Francis Osman, presumably with Katherine, Edgar, and Marion.  (Daughter Minnie Evelyn Dewey married in 1891 and moved away, possibly to Lynn with her husband Phillip Emerson.)

1896 to 1904:  Lizzie and family live at 109 Summer Ave., Reading.  Francis Osman
moves out in 1902 after marrying Katherine Skeffington.  The 1903 Lowell, MA Street Directory shows Francis Osman boarding at 263 Fayette Street, presumably with wife Katherine.  She had been living with her parents Patrick and Bridget Daley Skeffington on Willie Street in Lowell, MA prior to there marriage.  In 1903, Elizabeth Winifred Dewey is born in Lowell.

1905 to 1906:  Elizabeth is living at 20 Prescott Street, Reading.  Daughter Marion lives with her mother until she marries Charles Terrill in 1906 and moves out of Prescott Street.

1905 to 1914:  Francis Osman and Katherine are living at 5 Morgan Park, Reading.  In 1907, Elizabeth moves into the 5 Morgan Park home with her son and daughter-in-law.  Children George (1905-1909), Marion (1907), Robert (1910), and Donald (1912) are born while the family lived on Morgan Park.

1915 to 1920:  Francis Osman and Katherine are living at 14 Hancock Street, Reading.  Around 1916-1917 life is beginning to unravel for Francis Osman.  After many years of working at F.O. Dewey & Sons - RR lanterns (Reading Directories 1898 to 1915), he is no longer working at F.O. Dewey & Sons but as a rubber worker at Reading Rubber Manufacturing Co., Ash St. (1917 Directory).  (Reading Rubber Mfg. later became Goodall Sanford Mills.)  Also, the 1917 Reading Directory shows that Elizabeth moved from Hancock Street to 3 Parker Street, Reading.  By 1918, we know that Francis Osman has been committed to Danvers State Hospital.  Katherine and her four living children continue to live at 14 Hancock Street until 1920.
1921 - 1930: Katherine lives at 38 Mineral Street, Reading. Daughter Elizabeth marries and moves to Pennsylvania (children Dorothy and Berry are born in Pennsylvania per 1930 US Census).  Francis Osman dies on March 10, 1925.
1925 - 1926: Elizabeth lived at 15 Sanborn Street probably until her death on Oct. 23, 1916. 
1930 - 1931: Katherine and son Robert are living with her daughter Elizabeth at Mt. Vernon St., Reading.
1932 - 1937: Katherine is living with son Robert and wife Margaret at 48 Village Street, Reading.
1937 - after 194x: Katherine is living with daughter Elizabeth and family at 146 Village Street, Reading.  This was a two family house and the Tompkins lived next door.  Katherine's son Donald married Vera Tompkins after returning from WWII.
194x - 1960s: Katherine lived with her daughter Elizabeth.
1963: Katherine was living in a nursing home in Tewksbury, MA when she died on February 25, 1963.

Anecdotes

Katherine was a short woman but was known to be a fast walker.  How many of her descendants have inherited this trait from her?  Some of Elizabeth’s children probably know her best having grown up with her in the household.  I have heard that she may not have been easy to live with.  She is said to have a liking for thread and may have walked out of stores with some without paying for it.  I do not remember much about her as she was 79 by the time I was born and then spent time in a nursing home before her death.  I do remember her once farting at my parents dinner table and saying that someone must be shooting off fireworks in the neighborhood.  

Back: Donald, Elizabeth, and Robert; Front Marion and Katherine