Dorchester Illustration no. 2331 Harold Bispham Daly
At the Dorchester Historical Society, we are in the process of a year-long project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I. Using a collection of photographs we have of WWI Dorchester residents, we will be featuring servicemen in a number of short biographies throughout the year. At the culmination of the project, we hope to produce an online exhibit which highlights these men and their service to our country.
Our next biography features: HAROLD BISPHAM DALY
Harold B. Daly was born on 10 September 1894 to Martin Ordway Daly, a dentist who was born in Boston and Mary Eastman who was born in Brookline. In 1900 and 1910, the family was living with the father’s parents on Adams Street., Dorchester. They had a servant. Harold graduated from Dorchester High School in 1913 and secured a position at Old Colony Trust Company by September 1913.
By 1917, Harold’s fatherhad died and Haroldhad registered for the draft. He was listed as a bank clerk at the Old Colony Trust Co., Court Street, Boston, and as partial support for his widowed mother. He was of medium height and build, with brown eyes and hair.
Harold was selected for service May 31, 1918, trained at Camp Jackson, South Carolina, assigned to Field Artillery Replacement Depot through August 15, and transferred to D Truck Co., 5th Corps Artillery Parkuntil discharge. He was appointed Sergeant on August 21, went overseas on September 23, landed at St. Nazaire on October 7 and was at St. Amand whenthe armistice was signed. He sailed from Pauillac, France on the U.S.S. Santa Ana on March 16 and landed in Hoboken on March 29th. He was honorably discharged from the service at Camp Devens on April 17, 1919.
In 1920, the family still resided on Adams Street with a servant. The grandfather is no longer there. Harold is a bookkeeper at the bank.
Sometime before 1930, Harold married Alma W. Nadeau and they had one child, Elizabeth B., age 2 in 1930. They still resided on Adams Street with other members of the family. By 1940, Harold is listed as a clerk at police headquarters and still resided on Adams Street with his wife, child and a lodger.
When he registered for the draft in 1942, he was employed by the City of Boston, 154 Berkeley Street, Boston (Police Headquarters) and still resided on Adams Street.
Harold died 11 December 1958 at age 64, of respiratory failure and cerebral hemorrhage at Carney Hospital and is buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Dorchester. He lived on Adams Street, but a different house number than all the previous addresses. He was survived by his wife and daughter and is memorialized on a plaque of the Third Religious Society (Unitarian) which is located at the Dorchester Historical Society.
Do you know more about Harold Bispham Daly? We would love to hear from you! All material has been researched by volunteers at the Dorchester Historical Society, so please let us know if we got something wrong or you think a piece of the story is missing!
REFERENCES:
Census Records, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, FamilySearch.org
Death record, Vital Statistics, Mt. Vernon St., Dorchester
Dr. Perkins’ Notes
Service Record, The Adjutant General Office, Archives – Museum Branch, Concord, MA
WW1 and WW11 Draft registration, Ancestry.com & FamilySearch.org