Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Lynwood Waldron Storer
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: Lynwood Waldron Storer.
Written by Donna Albino.
Lynwood Waldron Storer was born on July 31, 1887, in New Sharon, Maine to parents Charles and Lizzie Storer, both born in Maine. Lynwood was still living in his hometown as late as 1910, according to the US Census. But shortly after the census was assembled, Lynwood must have headed for Massachusetts; he graduated from Massachusetts College of Optometry in Boston in 1916, and married Hazel Etta Appleby, an immigrant from New Brunswick, Canada, in 1917 in Waltham. Perhaps inspired by his father’s military service during the Civil War, Lynwood served as a sergeant in the medical department of the 33rd Engineers during WWI. His WWI service card lists the only Dorchester address he had during his life: 1120 Washington Street. By 1920, Lynwood and his wife Hazel were living in Roslindale, according to the US Census.
During the 1920s, the family grew by two: their son Edward Lynwood Storer was born in 1920, and their son Philip Whittemore Storer was born in 1922. For a brief time, the family lived in Belmont, but for most of the rest of their lives, the Storer family lived in Allston-Brighton and Newton.
Lynwood spent his career as an optometrist. He was a member of the Massachusetts and American Societies of Optometrists, and a trustee at his alma mater, Massachusetts College of Optometry. He was also very active in his community, serving as an officer for many years for the Allston-Brighton Kiwanis. The Boston Globe ran many articles describing events that he helped organize and facilitate for the Kiwanis in the 1930s and 1940s. Lynwood also served as a member of Ebenezer Fuller Masonic Lodge in Newtonville, and the American Legion. He was the vice president of Brighton Cooperative Bank, and deacon of Allston Congregational Church.
Lynwood’s wife Hazel passed away on April 15, 1969. They had been married for over 50 years. Seven months later, Lynwood joined her; he passed away on November 16, 1969. They are buried together in Newton Cemetery. At the time of their death, their son Edward was a doctor living in Needham, and their son Philip lived in Mt. Pocono, Pennsylvania, and they had six grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Sources:
Maine Birth Records, 1715-1922. Augusta, Maine: Maine State Archives. Maine Birth Records, 1715-1922, Maine State Archives, Augusta, Maine.
Department of Public Health, Registry of Vital Records and Statistics. Massachusetts Vital Records Index to Marriages [1916–1970]. Volumes 76–166, 192– 207. Facsimile edition. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.
Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.
Year: 1900; Census Place: New Sharon, Franklin, Maine; Page: 8; Enumeration District: 0097; FHL microfilm: 1240592
Year: 1910; Census Place: New Sharon, Franklin, Maine; Roll: T624_540; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0132; FHL microfilm: 1374553
Year: 1920; Census Place: Boston Ward 23, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_740; Page: 36B; Enumeration District: 548
Year: 1930; Census Place: Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0266; FHL microfilm: 2340694
Year: 1940; Census Place: Newton, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: m-t0627-01614; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 9-409
US Army Transport Service, passenger list, 30 June 1918 on Calamares
The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) * 17 Nov 1969, Mon * Page 30 (obituary)
FindAGrave memorial, Linwood Storer (1887-1969), Newton, Mass.
Massachusetts Grand Lodge of Masons Membership Cards 1733-1990. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.
Storer-Grant-Gould-Warren family tree, by PhilipStorer59, Ancestry.com