Alice Ethel Bland

Posted on February 1, 2021 by earltaylor

Alice Ethel Bland

World War I Veteran

By Camille Arbogast

Alice Ethel Bland was born on August 12, 1885, in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, to Alice Lavinia (Shay) and Samuel Bland. Samuel, who was born in England, married Alice Lavinia around 1884. They also had a younger daughter, Ida, born in 1892. Samuel was a machinist; directories specify he was a rivet maker.

The Blands immigrated to the United States on October 4, 1897, taking the train from Sherbrooke to Boston. They settled in Quincy, Massachusetts. In 1900, they lived on Highland Avenue; a year later they moved to 25 North Central Avenue. Alice graduated from the Wollaston School in June 1902. She also attended two years of high school, according to the 1940 census. In February 1904, Alice Lavina died of phthisis pulmonalis (or tuberculosis) in Gardner, Massachusetts. Samuel and his daughters remained in Quincy, living at 5 Prospect Avenue in 1906. He remarried in September 1907, wedding Margaret Lycett, a millworker from Weymouth, Massachusetts. In 1910, Samuel, Margaret, Alice, and Ida were living at 245 Newbury Avenue. Alice was a leather worker and Ida was an order clerk at a leather firm. Ida married in June 1913. Around that time, Samuel, Margaret, and Alice moved to 107 East Squantum Street. Alice was hired as a nurse at a Massachusetts state infirmary on October 8, 1913. She graduated from the nursing program at the State Infirmary at Tewksbury, Massachusetts, on September 23, 1916.

Alice entered the Army Nurse Corps on December 21, 1917. When she enlisted, she gave as her address 20 Mount Vernon Street in Dorchester, the home of her cousin Agnes O’Court. Her stepmother, care of a post office box in Hanover, Connecticut, was her next of kin. Alice was initially sent to the Army Base Hospital at Fort McPherson, in Atlanta, Georgia.

On July 27, 1918, she moved to the Mobilization Station in New York. One of Alice’s colleagues later described the conditions there: “The nurses stood patiently in long lines in the super-heated corridors of the mobilization station, with hundreds of others, waiting for assignment.” Alice was assigned to Base Hospital 51, a unit formed in Boston. The nursing staff consisted of a “Chief Nurse, ninety-nine nurses, and one dietitian.” At their initial meeting, the nurses decided by vote to “be a democratic Unit, that in every subject affecting the good name or general comfort of Unit No. 51, the majority should rule, the Chief Nurse giving the final vote.” They had a song they sang to the tune of Yankee Doodle: “We’re a Boston Unit going out, To help beat the Kaiser; And when we’ve finished up our work, He’ll sadder be and wiser.”

Alice sailed with the nurses of Base Hospital 51 on the troopship France IV on August 25, 1918, arriving in Brest, France, on September 4. From there, the nurses traveled by train to Toul, the location of Base Hospital Number 51, which was part of the Justice Hospital Center. The hospital had a bed capacity of 2,000 and treated 12,505 patients.

The hospital was near to the action of the Saint Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives. So close were they, that the hospital often served as an evacuation hospital rather than a base hospital, receiving wounded directly from the battlefield. During the Saint Mihiel offensive “the flame of the barrage lighted the windows and buildings vibrated to the shock, as the great guns boomed.” As the battle continued, “lines of ambulances” delivering a “steady stream of our wounded” began arriving, continuing “for four terrible days and nights.” According to her obituary, Alice “was gassed while on duty with combat troops in France.” She may have been part of one of the two smaller groups of Base Hospital 51 nurses who were sent closer to the front during the offensives.

After the Armistice on November 11, 1918, the hospital cared for many ex-prisoners of war, as well as influenza patients. The chief nurse estimated that about ten percent of the nurses fell ill with influenza. Base Hospital 51 ceased operations on March 31, 1919. On May 20, Alice sailed from Brest, France, on the USS Mobile, with the Casual Nurse Detachment Number 25. She arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey, on May 30. Back in the United States she worked at a Demobilization Station until her discharge on July 19, 1919.

After the war, Alice continued to work as a nurse in general practice. She lived with her cousin Agnes, Agnes’s children, and another cousin at 20 Mount Vernon Street. While Alice was overseas, in April 1918, her sister Ida had died of bronchial pneumonia. Ida’s obituary suggested that their father, Samuel, had also died by 1918. On March 27, 1920, Alice became an American citizen. Her petition for citizenship was witnessed by two fellow nurses, Elizabeth E. Mahon of Brookline, and Bessie A. Wadleigh of Jamaica Plain.

By the late 1920s, Alice had moved to California, living in Los Angeles at 837 Westlake Avenue. She may have moved to California for her health, as her obituary stated that due to having been gassed during the war she “suffered ill effects from the poison the remainder of her life.” In April 1930, she was sharing an apartment at 1736 West 24th Street, Los Angeles, with another nurse, Lillian C. McAdams, a widowed Canadian. Lillian was a trained nurse working in a hospital. According to the 1930 census, Alice, too, was a trained nurse but she was currently unemployed.

On November 25, 1930, Alice married Ralph Choate Shepherd in Los Angeles. Born in 1882, Ralph was originally from Gloucester, Massachusetts, where he had run his family’s market, J.C. Shepherd Meat and Grocery on Main Street. Previously married, he had three children. His middle child died in 1915 at age seven. He and his first wife moved to California in 1927 where he managed a grocery store.

In 1932, Alice, Ralph, and Ralph’s adult son Joseph lived at 930 North Haywood Avenue. By 1938, they had moved to 12206 Cantura Avenue in Studio City, North Hollywood, Alice’s home for the rest of her life. Alice was active with the Los Angeles unit of the Women’s Overseas Service League; of which she was the service chairman. The organization was dedicated to “philanthropic and patriotic activities,” which included purchasing war bonds, working with the Red Cross, USO and “kindred organizations,” as well the “raising and disbursing of funds for disabled ex-service women.”

Alice died on March 29, 1953, at the Veterans Administration Hospital on Wilshire and Sawtelle Boulevards in West Los Angeles. A funeral service was held for her at the Sawtelle Veterans Chapel. She was buried in the Veterans Administration cemetery in Los Angeles, now known as Los Angeles National Cemetery.

Sources

Military, Compiled Service Records. World War I. Carded Records. Records of the Military Division of the Adjutant General’s Office, Massachusetts National Guard.

Naturalization Records. National Archives at Boston, Waltham, Massachusetts; Ancestry.com

Quincy, Massachusetts, directories, various years; Ancestry.com

City Document NO. 14: Inaugural Address of the Mayor City Government of 1903 Together with the Annual Reports of the Officers of the City of Quincy, Massachusetts, For The Year 1902. Quincy: Advertiser Steam Job Print, 1903 :102; Archive.org

1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 U.S. Federal Census; Ancestry.com

Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA; Ancestry.com

List of the Officials and Employees of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1914-1915. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co, State Printers, 1915: 195; Books.Google.com

Sixty-Third Annual Report of the Trustees of the State Infirmary at Tewksbury. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co, 1917: 17; Ancestry.com

Coleman, Laura E. “Experiences of the Justice Hospital Group, Base Hospital 51.” The American Journal of Nursing. Vol 19, No 12 (Sept 1919), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins: 931-939; Jstor.org

Lists of Outgoing & Incoming Passengers, 1917-1938. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985, The National Archives at College Park, MD; Ancestry.com

Ford. Joseph H. “Base Hospitals,” The Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War, Volume 2: Administration American Expeditionary Forces. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1921-1929; Archive.org

“United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940,” database, citing Military Service, NARA microfilm publication 76193916 (St. Louis: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985), various roll numbers; FamilySearch.org

“California, County Marriages, 1850-1952,” database; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, county courthouses, CA; FamilySearch.org

“New Englanders Move Here,” The Van Nuys News, 10 May 1927: 4; Newspapers.com

State of California. Great Register of Voters. Sacramento, CA: California State Library; Ancestry.com

Los Angeles Directories, various years; Ancestry.com

“W.O.S.L. Holds Supper Meeting Saturday, June 6,” San Fernando Valley Times, 9 June 1942: 8; Newspapers.com

United States, Selective Service System. Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. Records of the Selective Service System, Record Group Number 147. National Archives and Records Administration.

“California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994,” database; FamilySearch.org 

“Last Rites Held for Mrs. Shepherd,” Valley Times (North Hollywood, CA), 2 April 1953: 10; Newspapers.com

National Cemetery Administration. Nationwide Gravesite Locator; Ancestry.com

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Frank Lemuel Black

Posted on February 1, 2021 by earltaylor

Frank Lemuel Black

World War I Veteran

By Camille Arbogast

Francis Lemuel Black, known as Frank, was born on May 30, 1892, in Roxbury. A twin, he was born just before his brother Robert, Jr.. Their parents, Robert LeBaron and Cecelia V. (McManaman), were immigrants from New Brunswick, Canada, who married in Boston in 1889. Prior to her marriage, Cecelia was a tailoress. Robert was a painter and a piano finisher before becoming an electric railway motorman. Robert and Cecelia had four other children: Cecelia L. born in 1889, William in 1896, Minnie in 1895, and Vincent in 1899.

At the time of Frank’s birth, the Blacks lived at 14 Adams Street in Roxbury. By 1895, they were living in Dorchester, residing at 5 Ballou Avenue. Five years later, they had moved a short distance to 90 Chapman Avenue (today’s Callender Street). They lived at 150 Canterbury Street (today’s American Legion Highway) at the edge of Franklin Park by 1910.

Frank attended three years of high school, then apprenticed as a machinist. By 1917, he was employed as a machinist toolmaker by the Nelson Blower & Furnace Company of 11 Elkins Street in South Boston. At that time, he was living with his family at 3 Oak Terrace (today’s Oakhurst Street).

At this point, little is known about Frank’s First World War service. On his draft registration in June, 1917, he gave his name as Frank Laurence Black and stated that he had already served four years as a Machinist in the Navy in Boston. It is likely he served in a similar capacity during the war. His obituary reported that he was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War I.

In 1920, Frank was living at 3 Oak Terrace and working as a toolmaker at a tool company. On May 29, 1924, he married secretary Irene Fawcett at Trinity Church in Haverhill. Irene was born in Everett to English immigrant parents. John Fawcett, her father, had been a harbor pilot, guiding ocean liners through Boston harbor. At the time of his death in 1908, he was “the owner of considerable real estate in Dorchester.”

In 1930, Frank and Irene were living with her mother, Marion Fawcett, in Brighton at 1657 Commonwealth Avenue, in an apartment they rented for $50 a month. By 1935, they lived in Newton. Two years later, Frank purchased 131 Bailey Road in Somerville, a home worth $3,600 in 1940.  Frank and Irene had moved to 93 Oxford Street in Arlington by 1942. In the early 1940s, in Somerville and Arlington, Irene’s brother Joseph Fawcett lived with them.

At the time of his marriage, Frank was a mechanical engineer. This was the occupation reported for him on the 1930 census. In 1940, he was a dye maker. Two years later, he worked for switch manufacturer Ucinite of 459 Watertown Street in Newtonville. At the end of his career he was a machinist at United Car Fastener.

In the late 1940s or 1950s, Frank and Irene moved to Needham. Around 1962, they relocated to Florida, living at 2107 Bayshore Gardens Parkway in Bradenton. There, Frank was a member of the Bayshore American Legion Post 217 and Irene belonged to the English Order of Odd Ladies of Massachusetts. Irene passed away in October 1966. Frank died on August 18, 1971, in Bradenton, Florida.

Sources

Birth Record, Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook); Ancestry.com

Robert L. Black Naturalization Papers, National Archives at Boston, Waltham, MA; Ancestry.com

1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 US Federal Census; Ancestry.com

Family Tree, Ancestry.com

World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com

Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915; FamilySearch.org

“Mourn With Family,” Boston Globe, 8 July 1908: 11; Newspapers.com

“Deeds,” Boston Globe, 21 May 1937: 39; Newspapers.com

Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. Records of the Selective Service System, National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com

“Deaths in Tampa, Other Cities on the West Coast,” Tampa Tribune, 26 Oct 1966: 13; Newspapers.com

Obituaries, Tampa Bay Times (St Petersburg, FL) 20 August 1971: 27; Newspapers.com

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Dorchester Illustration no. 2496 Grove Hall Universalist Society Church and Parish House

Posted on February 1, 2021 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2496  Grove Hall Universalist Society Church and Parish House

The illustration comes from the April 14, 1894, issue of American Architect and Building News.

The drawing of the proposed church and parish house does not exactly match the church as it exists today.  Was the building constructed as in the drawing and then altered?  Or was it built as it exists today?

The Holy Tabernacle Church is located at 70 Washington Street and has a legal address on the side street of 14 Bishop Joe L. Smith Way.  This section of Washington Street is between Columbia Road and Blue Hill Avenue.

The society that built the church was the Grove Hall Universalist Church, following the design of Francis R. Allen.

The following is from Parish Register of the Grove Hall Universalist Church, Dorchester, Massachusetts and Favorite Recipes.  1913.

“The Grove Hall Universalist Church came into existence March 3, 1878, being an off-shoot of the Roxbury Universalist Church, and in its inception received the cordial support of that parish.  On January 9, 1878, a meeting was held at the residence of Mr. Franklin S. Williams for the purpose of organizing a church.

Starting as a mission church, holding its first or preliminary meetings at the residents of various interested persons, it soon wanted a centrally located temporary home, and began holding its meetings in Wetherell Hall, at or near the junction of Washington Street and Blue Hill Avenue.  That served its needs for a time, but the desire for a home having more the churchly appearance prevailed, and the church on the corner of Blue Hill Avenue and Schuyler Street was built.

This amply served the purposes of the society until about 1892, when the subject of a new larger church was agitated, resulting in the building of the present edified.  At about this same time it also ceased to be a mission church, and since then has been able to maintain services without calling upon the state Convention for aid.

The present edifice was completed in 1895, and cost, furnished, about $45,000: $25,000 of this was provided for by a mortgage; the balance was raised by canvassing our parishioners.  To our good member, kind and generous neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Ivers W. Adams, we are largely indebted, both for their liberality in subscribing for the building and in their continued liberality in contributing to the wiping out of the mortgage debt, which has lately been accomplished and made possible largely through their instrumentality.”

Ivers Adams, mentioned above, is described in George V. Tuohey (1897). A History of the Boston Baseball Club – A concise and accurate history of Base Ball from its inception. Boston, MA: M.F. Quinn & Co., 1897,  p. 64.  His house faced Columbia Road at the corner of Washington Street.

Ivers Whitney Adams (born in Ashburnham, Massachusetts in 1838) was an American baseball executive and businessperson, and founder of the first professional baseball team in Boston, the Boston Red Stockings.

Adams was the Founder, Organizer and First President of the Boston Base Ball Association, the legal corporation that operated the baseball club initially known as the Boston Red Stockings. The club was Boston’s first professional baseball team, continues to operate today as the Atlanta Braves, and is the longest continuously operating team in Major League Baseball. On January 20, 1871, the Boston Base Ball Association was legally organized by Adams with $15,000 raised from investors and the commitment of Harry Wright, manager of America’s first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, to manage the new Boston club. ”

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Dorchester Illustration no. 2495 Prendergast Preventorium

Posted on January 24, 2021 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2495   Prendergast Preventorium

Illustration: Photograph from Boston Traveler, October 29, 1952. Robert Love is at the left with Lorraine Ryan and Dianne Melluso.

After hearing the Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, present at the Inauguration, a phrase from her poem keeps coming back into mind: “It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit, it’s the past we step into …”  That places us in the position of being honest about our shared history, not just telling the good.

Although today’s illustration may provide a warm feeling about how youngsters at the Prendergast Preventorium were entertained, a very different impression emerges in the pages of a book written by a former resident.   Robert A. Love’s book Promises to Keep: Memoirs of  a Polished Street Fighter (copyright 2013) describes his experiences at the Preventorium as one chapter in a childhood full of difficulties, including learning to live with Tourette syndrome and  continually moving from place to place, either to find an affordable apartment or being placed in institutions and foster homes.

In 1952, his mother was diagnosed with Tuberculosis and told that she needed to enter the Boston Sanatorium on River Street for treatment.  Bobby and his three siblings were given a clean bill of health, but they were taken by state officials to the Prendergast Preventorium, also in Mattapan.  They included Dianne, 12; Geri, 11; Eddie 8 and Bobby, 7.  The Preventorium was an institution for children who were related to or exposed to people with Tuberculosis. 

Love states that the Preventorium housed about 80 children. The dining room was at the center of the facility with twelve wooden picnic tables arranged in two rows.  There were separate dormitories for boys and girls, on the north and south sides of the building.  He describes the staff as negligent, with no training in psychology or other appropriate field.  He singles out one staff member who “firmly believed that inflicting physical pain and humiliation were the best forms of discipline.”  He describes the staff member pulling the hair of the children and smacking them.  Other staff members were described as being adept at smacking, slapping and calling names.  Many of the children developed symptoms of abuse including twitching and coughing. 

The author admits there were more pleasant occasions like Halloween, but even in the photo session, where only the cutest children were chosen to pose, their minder stood close by with a “smile or I’ll beat the hell out of you attitude.”

This cautionary tale is meant to remind us that when we tell history, we need to present the truth.  But what is the truth?  Is it the version from Bobby’s memories?

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Henry Paul Louis Bertocchi

Posted on January 24, 2021 by earltaylor

Henry Paul Louis Bertocchi

World War I Veteran

By Camille Arbogast

Henry Paul Louis Bertocchi was born on May 2, 1900, at 84 Quincy Street in Roxbury, to Antonio and Delfina (Gazza) Bertocchi. Henry’s parents were born in Italy, immigrating to the United States in 1895. Antonio’s siblings included: Etlino, known as Albert, who was born in Parma, Italy in 1894, Delciza, known as Adele, born in Boston in 1898, Alfred born in 1902, George born in 1903, and Louis born in 1907. Antonio was employed as a laborer, coalman, and teamster. In 1907, the family lived at 82 Quincy Street. By 1916, they had moved to 152 Quincy Street. That July, Henry was arrested for disturbing the peace and placed on probation.

On December 12, 1917, Henry enlisted in the Regular Army at Fort Slocum, near New Rochelle, on Long Island, New York. Henry was initially assigned to the 25th Recruit Company, General Service Infantry. On December 14, he was transferred to Company H, 38th Infantry, 6th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Division. He was promoted to private first class on March 22, 1918. A week later he departed for France, leaving from Hoboken, New Jersey on March 29, sailing on the USS Mount Vernon.

The 3rd Division trained at the 9th (Chateauvillain) Training Area until the end of May, then moved to the Chateau-Thierry area. June 1 through 5, the 38th Infantry participated in the Aisne Defensive. After the engagement, they continued serving in the Chateau-Thierry sector. The Germans attacked on July 15; the Champagne-Marne defensive lasted until July 18. As the German troops withdrew, the 3rd Division advanced during the Aisne-Marne offensive of July 18 through 27. In early August, they were stationed in the Vesle sector. Henry was promoted to corporal on September 6. September 12 through 16, the 38th Infantry participated in the Saint Miheil offensive. On September 30, they began fighting in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, remaining in the battle through October 27. After the Armistice on November 11, the 3rd Division was part of the Army of Occupation. On April 14, 1919, Henry was made a private. A month later, he sailed from Marseille, France, on the SS Canada, as part of the Saint Aignan Casual Company No 4457 Special Discharges. He was discharged on June 10, 1919.

In January 1920, Henry was living at 6 Kent Court in Somerville with his brothers Lewis and Albert, along with Albert’s wife, Annie, and daughter, Delfina. He was possibly the Henry Bertocchi of 393 Warren Street, Roxbury, who was one of a trio arrested in August 1920 “after a chase in Roxbury … during which the police fired a shot to halt the men.” They were found guilty of “attempting to break into the home of Benjamin Lipsky, 4 May st, Roxbury.” “As [the police] approached the Lipsky house they saw some men run and chased them through Holborn st. to Gannett st. and Gaston st. … Bertocchi was arrested … on Blue Hill av.” Found guilty, Henry was given “a suspended sentence of six months in the House of Correction and placed … on probation for one year.” In the mid-1920s, Henry lived at 80 Woodcliff Street.

By 1929, Henry had moved to 96 Warren Street in Roxbury and had begun working as a chauffeur, his occupation for the rest of his life. He drove for the Boston Sanitary Division. In 1940, he was making $1,700 a year. Two years later, he reported that his workplace was on Battery Street in the North End.

Henry married Sarah E. Tierney, known as Sadie, in 1929. Sadie and Henry had three children: Joan, Paul, and Ronald. In 1930, Henry and Sadie lived at 40 Dennis Street in Roxbury. The next year, they resided at 96 Blue Hill Avenue. They had moved to 78 Forest Street in Roxbury by 1935. They returned to Blue Hill Avenue by 1938, when they lived at number 58. In 1942, they lived at 3 Presby Place, off Winthrop Street, near Blue Hill Avenue. They were living at 357 Dudley Street by 1944.

Henry died on August 2, 1944. A funeral was held at his home and a Solemn High Mass was celebrated for him at Saint Patrick’s Church on Dudley Street.

Sources

“Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915,” database: FamilySearch.org

Deaths, Boston Globe, 21 June 1955: 31; Newspapers.com

“Dorchester District,” Boston Globe, 18 July 1916: 9; Newspapers.com

Military, Compiled Service Records. World War I. Carded Records. Records of the Military Division of the Adjutant General’s Office, Massachusetts National Guard.

Lists of Outgoing & Incoming Passengers, 1917-1938, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985, The National Archives at College Park, MD; Ancestry.com

Battle Participation of the Organizations of the American Expeditionary Forces in France, Belgium and Italy 1917-1918. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1920; Archive.org

American Battle Monuments Commission. 3d Division Summary of Operations in the World War. Washington, DCUnited States Government Printing Office, 1944; Archive.org

Boston directories, various years; Ancestry.com

“Trio Caught in Roxbury Chase Put on Probation,” Boston Globe, 17 August 1920: 16; Newspapers.com

“Suspend Sentences of Three in Break Case,” Boston Globe, 18 August 1920: 20; Newspapers.com

“United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940,” NARA microfilm publication, St. Louis: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985; FamilySearch.org

Reports of Proceedings of the City Council of Boston for the Year Commencing January 1, 1940, and Ending December 31, 1940. Boston: City of Boston Printing Department, 1941; Archive.org

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; Ancestry.com

1930, 1940 U.S. Federal Census; Ancestry.com

Deaths, Boston Globe, 6 August 1985: 18; Newspapers.com

Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. Records of the Selective Service System, National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com

“Evening Death Notices,” Boston Globe, 3 August 1944: 16; Newspapers.com

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Hyman James Berson

Posted on January 24, 2021 by earltaylor

Hyman James Berson

World War I Veteran

By Camille Arbogast

Hyman James Berson (sometimes spelled Birson) was born in March, 1896, in Vilnius, Lithuania. His birthdate was reported as either March 20, 28, or 30. In 1906, he immigrated to the United States, along with his mother Annie (Rosensky or Rezefsky) and his siblings, Rose (born in 1892), Bennett (1894), and Arthur (1898). They joined their step-father, Jacob Berson, in Boston. Jacob, a carpenter, immigrated in 1903. After settling in Massachusetts, Jacob and Annie had six additional sons: Philip (1907), Charles or Marckus (1908), Barnet (1909), Max (1911), and Samuel (1913).

When they first arrived in Boston, the Bersons lived at 109 Leverett Street in the West End. By late 1909, they had moved to 263 Havre Street in East Boston. That August, three-year-old Philip fell off the second story porch and fractured his skull. He survived, thanks in part to a laundry wagon driver, who saw the accident and rushed the boy to the hospital in his wagon. In October, 11-month Barnet died of pneumonia.

Hyman was not in the family household at that time; by April 1910, he was an inmate at the Suffolk School for Boys, a reform school on Rainsford Island in Boston Harbor. The island had been home to a reform school since 1895; it was renamed the Suffolk School for Boys in 1906. Multiple misdemeanor offenders were sent to the school for “special attention in the formation and building of character and habits, to fit him to occupy a useful place in the community.” Boys attended academic classes and also studied trades like shoemaking. It is possible Hyman was already at the school in December 1909, when a “great storm” did “thousands of dollars worth of damage” to the island.

It is unclear when Hyman rejoined the Berson household. In 1911, the family returned to the West End, living at 39 Anderson Street. In 1912, Rose was married. She died of toxemia three years later at the Boston Lying-In Hospital. 

By 1914, the Bersons were living at 14 Lena Park (later renamed Lorne Street) in Dorchester. Hyman gave this address in August, 1914, when he was arrested for shoplifting in downtown Boston. Plain-clothes officers charged him “with the larceny … of a pair of shoes valued at $2.” It is possible he was sent to the state prison in Concord, Massachusetts, for this crime. He was an inmate of the “Massachusetts Reformatory, Concord Junction ” in June 1917, when he registered for the draft.

About a month later, on July 19, 1917, Hyman enlisted in the Army. He served as a private in Company F, 23rd Infantry, 2nd Division. In September, he sailed overseas. The 23rd Infantry participated in engagements at Chateau Thierry, the Aisne-Marne, Saint-Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne. It was most likely during the Meuse-Argonne offensive that Hyman was injured. Initially, on October 21, 1918, he was reported missing in action. About two weeks later, his status was changed to severely wounded. He returned to the United States on the USS Princess Matoika, as part of Convalescent Detachment Number 102, sailing from Saint-Nazaire, France, on March 8, 1919, and arriving at Newport News, Virginia, on March 20. His records show two discharge dates: June 30, 1919, or April 29, 1920.

Hyman was not part of the Berson household at 14 Lorne Street in January 1920, when the census was taken. Later, he lived in a home his family owned at 17 Hiawatha Road in Mattapan. Hyman died on December 12, 1922. He was buried in Beth Abraham Cemetery in West Roxbury. In 1939, a government issued veteran headstone was requested by his mother and placed on his grave.

Sources

Naturalization Records. National Archives at Boston, Waltham, MA; Ancestry.com

1910, 1920 United States Federal census; Ancestry.com

Boston directories; various years; Ancestry.com

“Child Falls from Piazza,” Boston Globe, 10 August 1910: 8; Newspapers.com

Death Record, Barnet Berson, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA; Ancestry.com

A Brief History of Rainsford Island Boston. Printing Department, Rainsford: Suffolk School for Boys, 1915; Archive.org

Marriage Record, Death Record for Rose Berson Zetlin, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA; Ancestry.com

“Three Arrests in Stores,” Boston Globe, 14 August 1915: 14

World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com

“Grooming Themselves to Upset Bill’s Apple Cart,” Boston Globe, 19 July 1917: 6; Newspapers.com

Applications for Headstones for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Ancestry.com

“United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940,” database; FamilySearch.org

Lists of Outgoing & Incoming Passengers, 1917-1938. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985, The National Archives at College Park, MD; Ancestry.com

“New England Boys on Casualty List,” Boston Globe, 9 November 1918:5; Newspapers.com

“Casualties Reported by Gen. Pershing,” Official US Bulletin, November 12, 1918: 17; Books.Google.com

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Arthur Archie Bernstein

Posted on January 24, 2021 by earltaylor

Arthur Archie Bernstein

World War I Veteran

By Camille Arbogast

Arthur Archie Bernstein was born on June 15, 1895, in New York City. His father, a tailor named Hyman Bernstein, was born in Russia. His mother, Annie Feldman, was from Austria. His parents both immigrated to the United States in the early 1890s. Their other children included: Lillie (also known as Lillian) born in 1896, Yetta (also known as Etta) in 1898, Nathan in 1901, Jennie in 1903, Minnie (also known as Martha) in 1905, Celia in 1908, and Dorothy in 1910.

The family moved to Boston by 1898, initially living at 37 Cooper Street in the North End. In 1901, they resided in the West End at 22 Willard Street (between today’s Leverett Circle and North Station); two years later they relocated to number 16. The Bernsteins continued to move around the West End, living at 15 Barton Street in 1905, and 27 Poplar Street in 1908. By 1910, they had moved to Dorchester and were living at 23 Normandy Street. In 1913, they resided at 38 Fayston Street in Roxbury. They were back in Dorchester at 74 Kingsdale Street by 1916. That year, Hyman appeared in the Boston directory as both a tailor and as a co-owner of Levin & Bernstein Liquors at 29 Howard Street. In 1917, the family lived at 41 Woolson Street in Mattapan.

Arthur began appearing in the Boston directory as a clerk in 1913. In June 1917, he reported on his World War I draft registration that he was a salesman with A. Hermon, 131 State Street in Boston. He claimed exemption from the draft on the grounds of having dependents.

On September 27, 1917, Herman entered the Army. He served as a Field Clerk, Adjutant General’s Department, in the personnel section at Northeastern Department Headquarters. In early 1919, he requested a discharge from the Army. On February 3, he was released from active duty and was discharged on March 2. A short notice in the newspaper reported that he planned to go into business in Boston.

In 1920, a widowed Annie and her children moved to Brooklyn. There, Arthur was a truck booker. His siblings were also working: Lillian as a bookstore saleslady, Etta as a stenographer in a brokerage, and Nathan as a telegraph operator. Etta died in December 1923.

In May 1924, Arthur obtained a license to marry Sallie H. Ladden. They had three children: Sylvia, Miriam, and Harvey. In 1930, they lived at 502 Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. Arthur was a “customers man” at a brokerage. By 1940, they had moved a few blocks to 85 Parkville Avenue and Arthur was earning $2,500 a year. He was the manager of the Federman & Filston office at 66 Court Street, Brooklyn. The next year the 66 Court Street office housed a branch of the brokerage Sartorius, Engel, & Co., and Arthur was the manager.

At this time nothing further is known about Arthur’s later life, including when he died.

Sources

1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 US Federal Census: Ancestry.com

Boston Directories, various years: Ancestry.com

World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration;Ancestry.com

United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940, database, FamilySearch.org

“Notes of the Service,” Boston Globe, 4 Feb 1919: 5; Newspapers.com

Death Notices, New York Times, 6 December 1923: 19: ProQuest.com

Index to Marriages, New York City Clerk’s Office, New York City Municipal Archives; New York, NY, Borough: Brooklyn: Ancestry.com

“Marriage Licenses,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 15 May 1924: 11; Newpapers.com

“Financial Notes,” New York Times, 23 June 1940: F3; ProQuest.com

“Brokerage Firms Announce Changes,” New York Times, 2 Jan 1941: 47; ProQuest.com

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Nathan Bensusan and Gershan Bensusan

Posted on January 24, 2021 by earltaylor

Nathan Bensusan and Gershan Bensusan

World War I Veterans

By Camille Arbogast

Brothers Nathan and Gershan Bensusan both served in the Quartermaster Corps during the First World War. Nathan was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, on December 10, 1890. Gershan, known as George, was born in Boston on September 11, 1896.

Their father, Moses Bensusan, known as Moss, was a cigar maker who had been born in England. Their mother, Sarah (Nickelsberg or Mickelsburg) was originally from Amsterdam, Holland. Moss and Sarah married in London in 1880. Their oldest child, Elizabeth, was born in England in 1881. According to family sources, they had two other children who were born in England, Louis in 1882 and Dinah in 1884, both of whom died at under a year old. Moss, Sarah, and Elizabeth immigrated to the United States in 1885.

After their arrival in the United States, the Bensusans initially lived in New York City, where Frances was born in 1886 and Kate in 1888. By 1890, they had moved to Saratoga Springs, where Nathan was born, as well as Rachel in 1891. Frances died in 1889 and Rachel before 1900, according to family sources. The Bensusans moved to Massachusetts by 1892, where their son, Koffman (known as John Benson), was born. He was followed by Flora (known as Florence) in 1894, George, and Rachel (known as Ruth) in 1899.

In 1892, the Bensusans lived at 53 Lamartine Street in Jamaica Plain. By 1894, they had moved a short distance to 25 Armstrong Street. At the time of George’s birth in 1896, their home was 26 Mansur Street in Roslindale. Three years later they were living at 1 Buckley Avenue in Jamaica Plain. They had moved to 343 Heath Street by 1901. That year, Sarah died of appendicitis and septicemia.

Nathan attended one year of high school, according to the 1940 census. He was possibly the Nathan Bensusan who graduated from the Jefferson School on Heath Street in 1907. George attended four years of high school, according to the 1940 census.

By 1910, the Bensusans had moved to Dorchester and were living at 59 Coleman Street. Nathan, 19, was working as a shipping clerk at a clothing store. Kate and Florence were milliners; John was a newsboy. The next year, they moved to 78 Clarkson Street and Kate married. In 1912, Moses wed Bessie (Simmons) Levi, who lived at 406 Blue Hill Avenue. It was the second marriage for both. Bessie, like Sarah, was originally from Holland. The Bensusans were living at 77Kingsdale Street in 1916. By June 1917, they had moved to 263 Talbot Avenue. Nathan was working as a commercial traveler. George was in the billing department of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Boston.

On December 13, 1917, Nathan enlisted in the Army at Fort Slocum in New Rochelle, New York. He initially served the Provisional General Repair Shop School Section at Camp Joseph E. Johnston in Jacksonville, Florida, the largest Quartermaster Corps training camp. On March 1, 1918, Nathan was assigned to Storekeepers Company 1, also based at Camp Joseph E. Johnston. He was transferred to Detachment #2, Quartermaster Corps, in Newport News, Virginia on March 25 and promoted to private first class on August 1. Nathan was discharged on February 25, 1919.

George also joined the Army at Fort Slocum, enlisting on May 9, 1918. He was initially assigned to the Quartermaster Corps Recruit Depot at Fort Slocum. On May 17, 1918, he too, was sent to Camp Joseph E. Johnston, where he served in Company 5, Receiving Camp. On June 7, he was transferred to Training Company #8, and then on June 30, to the Quartermaster Corps Detachment at Camp Cody in Deming, New Mexico. He was made a private first class on August 1; a corporal on August 15; a sergeant on December 1; and a sergeant first class on December 31. George was demobilized at Camp Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts, and discharged on January 28, 1919.

While still in the Army, Nathan married Ida Brooks in Boston on May 19, 1918. Ida, a bookkeeper, had been born in Russia and immigrated to the United States around 1897. She lived at 15 Helen Street in Dorchester. Nathan and Ida were married by Rabbi Phineas Israeli. They had three children: Albert born in 1920, Howard in 1922, and Selma, also known as Sally, born in 1925.

Nathan was a stocks and bonds salesman. In 1929, the Boston directory listed him working for the LeBoeuf Fountain Pen Company of Springfield, Massachusetts. His license to sell stocks was revoked in June 1931, due to his involvement in the sale of fraudulent stocks of the company. He was the treasurer of Friendly Products in 1932 and 1933. In 1942, Nathan reported on his World War II draft registration that he was employed by F.L. Putnam & Co., a brokerage firm located at 77 Franklin Street in Boston.

Nathan and Ida moved to Brookline, Massachusetts in the 1920s, living at 156 Coolidge Street in 1924, 395 Harvard Street in 1926, and 19 Westbourne Terrace in 1928. In 1929, they moved to 125 Park Street in Brookline, where they lived for more than ten years. In 1930, Ida’s father, Isaac, a watchmaker with his own shop, was living with them. They also employed a live-in maid, Catherine Wallace, a 28-year-old recent immigrant from Scotland. Around 1942, they moved to 132a Coolidge Street, also in Brookline. In the early 1950s, they relocated to Quincy, Massachusetts, initially living at 31 Alrick Road. At the end of Nathan’s life, they lived at 243 Marlboro Street in Quincy.

Nathan died on his 71st birthday, December 10, 1961. A service was held for him at Solomon Chapel at 420 Harvard Street in Brookline and a memorial observance was held at his late residence. He was buried in the Roxbury Mutual Cemetery in Woburn, Massachusetts. When Ida died in 1966, she was buried beside him.

George returned to 263 Talbot Avenue after the First World War and worked as a receiving clerk at a wholesale drug company. On July 25, 1920, George married Marian Edelstein. Marian had been born in Boston and lived at 6 Lincoln Road (today Landor Road) in Dorchester. They were married by Rabbi Hyman Glaser of Shari Zidek, 18 Intervale Street. In 1922, George and Marian were living at her family’s home on Lincoln Road and he was working as a paper hanger. Their daughter, Shirley, was born in 1923, followed by Phyllis in 1925. Marian died in 1925.

In March 1927, George filed for bankruptcy, owing $1,000. That year, he married Henrietta Goldman in Boston. In 1929, they lived at 38 Park Vale Avenue in Allston. The next year they moved to 217 Warren Street in Brighton. They moved again in 1932, to 100 Kilsyth Road, where they lived for at least five years. By 1940, they had moved to 14 James Street in Brookline, George’s home for the rest of his life.

After his bankruptcy, George went to work for the Sears, Roebuck and Company department store chain. He began as a salesman in 1929 at the newly opened Boston store at 201 Brookline Avenue. By 1932, he was a division head, and by 1934, the assistant manager of the Cambridge store. He earned $3,180 in 1940. That year, he was elected vice-president of the Ten Year club, comprised of retail employees who had worked for Sears for ten years or longer. George was manager of the Sears store on Moody Street in Waltham, Massachusetts by 1945. Three years later, he was kidnapped on his way home from work one evening. He was driving through Newton, Massachusetts, “when another machine forced him to the curb. Two men jumped out of the other car, rapped on Bensusan’s windows with revolvers and ordered him to ‘open up.’” One of the men told him “‘We know who you are. We know you have the keys to the store and you know the combinationof the safe. Drive back to the store, open it up, don’t try to attract attention of any cops, and nothing will happen to you.’” Back in Waltham, “they menaced” George “with revolvers,” forcing him “to open the safe and surrender $2500 in Christmas shopping receipts.” After the heist, his kidnappers deposited him “at a lonely area near Albemarle Golf Club, in Newtonville.” George “managed to flag down a passing car and the driver took him to the police station.” The Boston Globe reported that “the kidnapping and holdup was similar in detail to at least two others in the last year.” By 1951, George had left Sears and was working at the House of Television store in Kenmore Square.

George died in Miami Dade County, Florida, on January 25, 1969. A service was held for him at Solomon Chapel and he was buried in the Sharon Memorial Park, in Sharon, Massachusetts.

Sources

Military, Compiled Service Records. World War I. Carded Records. Records of the Military Division of the Adjutant General’s Office, Massachusetts National Guard.

Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007; Ancestry.com,

Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA; Ancestry.com

Family Trees; Ancestry.com

Boston Directories, various years; Ancestry.com

1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 U.S. Federal Census; Ancestry.com

Documents of the School Committee of the City of Boston for the year 1907. Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1907: 57; Archive.org

Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957. Microfilm Publication, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Ancestry.com

World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com

A War-Time Record: An Illustrated Account of the War-Time Activities of The Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Boston During the Great War 1914-1918. Privately Printed for The Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Boston, 1922: 65; Archive.org

“Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920,” database, citing Marriage, Boston, Suffolk, MA, United States, certificate number 2608, page 201, State Archives, Boston; FamilySearch.org

“Two Stock Selling Licenses Revoked,” Boston Globe, 19 June 1931: 21; Newspapers.com

Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. Records of the Selective Service System, National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com

“Morning Death Notices,” Boston Globe, 11 December 1961: 39; Newspapers.com

 Nathan Bensusan, FindAGrave.com

“Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920,” database, citing Marriage, Boston, Suffolk, MA, United States,, certificate number 4586, page 37, State Archives, Boston; FamilySearch.org

Department of Public Health, Registry of Vital Records and Statistics. Massachusetts Vital Records Index to Deaths [1916–1970]. Facsimile edition. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA; Ancestry.com

“Business Troubles,” Boston Globe, 8 March 1927: 22; Newspapers.com

Department of Public Health, Registry of Vital Records and Statistics. Massachusetts Vital Records Index to Marriages [1916–1970]. Facsimile edition. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA; Ancestry.com

“Trio Kidnaps, Robs Waltham Store Manager,” Boston Globe, 17 December 1948: 1; Newspapers.com

“House of Television Opens New Store at Kenmore Sq.,” Boston Globe, 11 April 1951: 37; Newspapers.com

“Late Death Notices,” Boston Globe, 27 Jan 1969: 28; Newspapers.com

State of Florida. Florida Death Index, 1877-1998. Florida: Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, 1998; Ancestry.com

George Bensusan; FindAGrave.com

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Walter Ernest Bauer

Posted on January 24, 2021 by earltaylor

Walter Ernest Bauer

World War I Veteran

By Camille Arbogast

Walter Ernest Bauer was born on July 31, 1888, at 84 Albion Street in Roxbury. His father, John Edward Bauer, was a Bostonian of German ancestry. His mother, Emily (Trochsler), immigrated to the United States from the Alsace-Lorraine region of France in the 1860s. John and Emily were married in Boston in March 1882. They had two other children: Emily Louise born in 1884 and Theodore Edward in 1886.

At the time of Walter’s birth, his father was a bartender. In the 1890s, John was a clerk. He worked in a billiards room at 32 Boylston Street in 1900. By 1905, he was a manager at 110A Sudbury Street, a position he held into 1909. After a 13-week period of unemployment, in 1910 he was employed again, this time as a hotel waiter, which was his career for the rest of his life.

By 1900, the family had moved to Dorchester and resided at 9 Corona Street. Walter attended the Christopher Gibson School, graduating in 1904. In 1907, he graduated from the Mechanic Arts High School in Back Bay. By 1910, Walter and his family were living at 15 Stratton Street and he was a typewriter mechanic. The next year, he was working as a chauffeur. On his World War I draft registration in June 1917, he reported he was a self-employed chauffeur mechanic, claiming exemption from the draft due to physical disability.

On February 28, 1918, Walter enrolled in the United States Naval Reserve Forces, serving as an Aviation Machinists Mate, First Class. He was placed on inactive service on January 28, 1919. In 1920, he was employed as a riveter in a shipyard. He was discharged from the Navy on September 30, 1921.

While Walter was in the Navy, his brother Edward died. Edward had married in 1911 and moved to Winthrop, working as a manager at a boot and shoe company. In late September 1918, he caught influenza. It was the height of the influenza epidemic in Massachusetts; the day after Edward fell ill, the governor issued a proclamation, advocating that schools and public gathering places be closed in an attempt to halt the spread of the disease. After a 9-day illness, Edward died of influenza-related pneumonia, one of thousands to die of the illness in the Commonwealth. In Boston alone there were 4,794 casualties in 1918.

In 1920, Walter, his parents, and his sister Emily, who was a stenographer and bookkeeper, lived at 27 Bowdoin Street. His father died suddenly in 1921. In 1930, Walter, his mother, and sister were living at 50 Bowdoin Street, which they rented for $50 a month. By this time, Walter was a driver and mechanic in the post office motor vehicle service, working out of a building on A Street in South Boston. His mother died in 1937. In 1940, Walter and his sister were still living at 50 Bowdoin Street. Walter was making $2,000 a year working for the post office. Emily, now an office manager, also earned $2,000 a year. They both reported on the 1940 census that they also had income from other sources. In January 1949, Walter retired from the post office.

By 1960, Walter and Emily lived at 174A Brush Hill Road in Milton, their home for the rest of their lives.  Emily died in May 1960. Walter died in Milton on September 10, 1962, and was buried beside his family members in Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain. He was a member of the William L. Harris Post 196 of the American Legion.

Sources

Birth Record & Marriage Record, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts; Ancestry.com

1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 US Federal Census; Ancestry.com

Annual Report of the School Committee of the City of Boston, 1904. Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1904: 191; Archive.org

“210 Receive Diplomas,” Boston Globe, 22 June 1907: 11; Newspapers.com

“Child Struck Down by Auto,” Boston Globe, 17 August 1911: 13; Newspapers.com

World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com

U.S. Veteran Master Index, NARA microfilm publication, St. Louis: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985; FamilySearch.org

“Boston, Massachusetts,” Influenza Encyclopedia. University of Michigan Center for the History of Medicine. <https://www.influenzaarchive.org/cities/city-boston.html>

Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. Records of the Selective Service System, National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com

“Nine Retirements Announced Here in Postal Service,” Boston Globe, 30 Jan 1949: 20; Newspapers.com

Morning Death Notices, Boston Globe, 5 May 1960: 20; Newspapers.com

Death Notices, Boston Globe, 11 Sept 1962: 28; Newspapers.com

“Walter Ernest Bauer,” FindAGrave.com

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Richard Balukjian

Posted on January 24, 2021 by earltaylor

Richard Balukjian

World War I Veteran

By Camille Arbogast

Richard Balukjian, known as Dick, was born to Hagop and Anna (Panosian) Balukjian in Amasia, Shirak, Armenia, on February 25, 1893. In 1910, Dick immigrated to the United States, sailing from Patras, Greece, on the White Star Line’s RMS Oceanic on August 9. Sixteen days later he arrived in New York, then immediately made his way to Boston. He may have had family in the area; his service record has a note “Acoby (Aunt),” perhaps referring to his local next of kin. By June 1917, Dick was living in Dorchester at 80 Shepton Street, working as a shoe lining cutter at the George E. Keith Shoe Company factory on A Street in South Boston. That July, Dick declared his intention to become an American citizen.

On July 20, 1918, Dick was inducted into the Army. He was one of 12,500 men drafted in Massachusetts that month. Sent to Camp Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts, he was assigned to the 151st Depot Brigade for training. On September 18, he was transferred to the Medical Detachment of the 73rd Infantry, 12th Division, serving as a private. On October 29, he became an American citizen. He was discharged on January 29, 1919, at Camp Devens.

In 1920, Dick lived in a lodging house at 36 Dwight Street in the South End. He had returned to his prior occupation of shoemaker. By the late 1920s, he was living about a block away at 26 Milford Street. He had changed careers as well, now driving for Tremont Taxi. By 1938, he had moved about a mile to 151 Worcester Street where he lived through at least 1946. He reported on his World War II draft registration in 1942 that he worked for himself, driving a taxi cab, working out of the garage at 112 Worcester Street. Dick retired in 1950. By 1953, he was living at 142 West Concord Street.

Dick married Lillian May (Braley) Goss on December 23, 1953, in Norfolk, Virginia. Lillian was born in Danbury, New Hampshire. She was a widow with five children, her first husband having died in 1945. Lillian lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She and Dick settled there after their marriage, living at 23 Myrtle Avenue.

The Balukjians ran a business in Alton Bay, New Hampshire, operating “Dick’s Cottages,” sometimes also called “Dick’s Housekeeping Cottages,” or “Dick’s Distinctive Cottages,” on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee near Pumpkin Point. Built in 1953, each of the six 32×24 foot cottages featured a flush toilet, shower, kitchenette, bedroom-living room, and screened porch. The lodgings could be rented overnight or by the week and housekeeping was provided. Across the highway from the cottages, Dick and Lillian had a two-bedroom summer residence with a “commanding view” of the lake.

In early 1956, Dick was diagnosed with lung cancer in his right lung and died later that year at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire, on July 26, 1956. A funeral was held for him at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth. Dick was buried in Franklin Cemetery, in Franklin, New Hampshire. He had been a member of the Armenian Church of Boston and the Independent Taxi Operators Association.

Sources

Virginia, Marriages, 1936-2014. Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, VA; Ancestry.com

Naturalization Records. National Archives at Boston, Waltham, MA; Ancestry.com

World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com

Military, Compiled Service Records. World War I. Carded Records. Records of the Military Division of the Adjutant General’s Office, Massachusetts National Guard.

“Another Large Lot of Enthusiastic Young Men Start for Camp Devens for Training,” Boston Globe, 22 July 1918: 7; Newspapers.com

1920 U.S. Federal Census; Ancestry.com

Boston directories, various years; Ancestry.com

Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. Records of the Selective Service System, National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com

“Auction Sales” [advertisement], Boston Globe, 8 September 1963: 146; Newspapers.com

“Summer Cottages and Houses” [advertisement]; Boston Globe, 14 June 1953: 106; Newspapers.com

Applications for Headstones for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Ancestry.com

“New Hampshire Death Certificates, 1938-1959,” citing Manchester, Hillsborough, NH, New Hampshire Division of Vital Records, Concord, NH; FamilySearch.org

“Richard Balukjian,” Portsmouth Herald, 27 July 1956: 3; Newspapers.com

“Funeral Notices,” Portsmouth Herald, 27 July 1956: 3; Newspapers.com

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