Monthly Archives: March 2025

Dorchester Illustration 2714 Scutching Knife and Hackle

Dorchester Illustration 2714 Scutching Knife and Hackle Last week, we saw a flax break. This week we have a photo of the Clapp family scutching knife and hackle (sometimes called a heckle). After the stems were broken with the flax … Continue reading

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Dorchester Illustration 2713 Flax Break

 New Englanders grew flax to make linen. One of the steps in the processing of flax is to crack the stalks to separate the fibers from the woody core of the flax plant. Today’s illustration is a photograph of the … Continue reading

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Dorchester Illustration 2713 Flax Break

 New Englanders grew flax to make linen. One of the steps in the processing of flax is to crack the stalks to separate the fibers from the woody core of the flax plant. Today’s illustration is a photograph of the … Continue reading

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Dorchester Illustration 2712 Elbridge Torrey

Elbridge Torrey was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1837, to a farming family. He attended the public schools in Weymouth and went on to graduate from the Bridgewater State Normal School. He became the principal of an elementary school, then … Continue reading

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Dorchester Illustration 2711 Charles A. Ufford

Dorchester Illustration 2711 Charles A. Ufford Charles Augustus Ufford was born on Aug. 29, 1856, to Samuel N. Ufford and Mary E. Ufford. At that time, his father, Samuel, and his uncle, Hezekiah, were operating a stove and lamp business … Continue reading

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Dorchester Illustration 2710 John Joseph May

Dorchester Illustration 2710 John Joseph May John Joseph May owned an estate on the west side of Dorchester Avenue in the area of Dorchester Avenue between Pond Street (Crescent Avenue) and Mayfield Street. His father had founded one of the … Continue reading

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