Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Francis Masterson.
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 that highlights these men and their service to our country.
Our next biography features: Francis Masterson.
Written by Camille Arbogast.
In the photograph Francis is on the left.
Francis Masterson, known as Frank, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, on April 12, 1887, to John Masterson, a farmer, and his wife, Mary (Burns). Their eleven other children included: James, Patrick, Michael, Julia, John, Bridget, and Katie. In 1901, they lived in Drumhart, County Cavan, in a four-room house with brick walls and a non-thatched roof on a farm with a few outbuildings: cow house, piggery, and barn. By 1901, Frank no longer attended school; the Irish census recorded his occupation as a “farmer’s son,” meaning he worked on the family’s land.
On April 5, 1908, Frank sailed from Queenstown on the White Star Line’s S.S. Cymric, arriving in Boston on April 14. His brother James, already living in Dorchester at 12 Huntoon Street, paid Frank’s passage. In July, Frank filed his intention to become an American citizen. On his intention papers, he described himself as a farmer. In 1910, he lived at 12 Huntoon Street in Lower Mills, boarding with his older brothers James and Patrick in the household of Patrick Blessington. At this time, Frank was a laborer in the chocolate mill, probably Walter Baker Chocolate. By 1913, he lived at 17 Lonsdale Street and was a conductor on the electric street railway. He took his oath of citizenship on February 2, 1914. His citizenship petition was witnessed by brother Patrick Masterson and Michael Murphy, a gardener from Milton.
In June 1917, Frank was living at 277 Codman Street (present-day Gallivan Boulevard) and still working as a conductor for the Boston Elevated Railway Company. On his notecard for F. Masterson, Dr. Perkins noted that Frank served with A Company, 301st Ammunition Train. The 301st Ammunition Train was part of the 76th Division, or the Liberty Bell Division, organized in September 1918, and largely comprised of draftees from New England. The Division trained at Camp Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts. On July 14, 1918, Frank sailed overseas from Montreal, Canada, with the 301st Ammunition Train on the SS Ajana. He returned from France in February 1919, sailing from Brest, on the USS Kansas with B Company, 116th Ammunition Train, arriving in Hoboken, New Jersey, on February 23, 1919.
Before he left for France, Frank married Bridget Kelly. During the war, she lived at 15 Johnson Place in Mattapan, and they resided there together after Frank’s return. Initially, he went back to his job as a street car conductor. In 1922, he is listed as a student in the Boston directory. That year, Bridget purchased property in Milton from Thomas and Annie Kelley. She and Frank settled at 74 Central Avenue in Milton, where Frank lived for the rest of his life.
In the mid-1920s, Frank was a bookkeeper. In 1929, he appeared in the Milton Directory as an operator. During the 1930s, Milton directories list him a watchman. The 1940 census reported his occupation as a guard watchman at the Charlestown Navy Yard. In 1942, on his World War II draft registration, he reported that he was retired, though the 1945 directory continued to list him as a watchman.
Frank died on January 28, 1946, in Milton. A Solemn High Mass of Requiem was celebrated for him at St. Gregory’s Church in Dorchester and he was buried in the Milton Cemetery. Frank was a member of St. Gregory’s Court, Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters; Old Dorchester Post American Legion; Disabled American Veterans, Navy Yard Chapter 17; and Division Number 20 Ancient Order of Hibernians.
Sources
Immigration Records, National Archives at Boston; Waltham, Massachusetts; Ancestry.com
1901, 1911 Irish Census, National Archives of Ireland, Dublin; http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie
Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1891-1943, National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Ancestry.com
Federal Census 1900, 1910, 1920, 1940; Ancestry.com
United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com
Lists of Outgoing & Incoming Passengers, 1917-1938. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985, The National Archives at College Park, Maryland; Ancestry.com
Boston & Milton Directories, various years; Ancestry.com
Deed, Norfolk Registry of Deeds; www.norfolkresearch.org
Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. Records of the Selective Service System, National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com
Deaths, Boston Globe, 29 Jan 1946: 27; Newspapers.com