Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: George Andrew Holst

Posted on November 28, 2019 by earltaylor

Holst, George

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: George Andrew Holst

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: George Andrew Holst.

Written by Carmille Arbogast.

George Andrew Holst was born March 1, 1888, at 85 Condor Street in East Boston. His parents, John Oscar and Augusta Mathilda (Svanson), were Swedish immigrants. John was a machinist. Married in Boston in November 1882, they had four other children: Albert born in 1883, Victoria in 1885, Esther in 1895, and Florence in 1897.

In 1898, Augusta died of empyema, or a build-up of fluid in the pleural cavity around the lungs, a condition often associated with pneumonia. Later that year, John remarried, wedding Mina Droulet Stone. They had six children: Grace born in 1900, Olga in 1901, Alice in 1904, Lorimer in 1906, Douglas in 1908, and John Oscar Junior in 1910. In 1900, the family lived on Waldo Street in Dedham. By 1910, they had moved to 19 Ericsson Street in the Port Norfolk section of Dorchester. By that time, George was working as a machinist, his life-long career.

On June 26, 1912, George married Marion Edith DeLappe of 544 Ashmont Street. Marion was a clerk. They were married by the Reverend Winthrop Peabody of All Saints Church in Peabody Square. The couple moved in with her parents, carpenter John and his wife, Mary. On July 26, 1913, George and Marion had a daughter, Mildred Edith, born at the Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital. Mildred died of broncho-pneumonia less than a year later in January 1914, and was buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery.

In 1917, George, Marion, and her parents lived at 16 Tolman Street in the Neponset neighborhood of Dorchester. George was working for the Coffin Valve Manufacturing Company, which specialized in fire hydrants. On his draft registration, George claimed exemption from service on the grounds that Marion was financially dependent upon him. He also stated he had served in the Massachusetts Militia for three years as a mechanic. On his notecard for George Holst, Dr. Perkins noted that George was selected in the draft, but given an exemption. In 1917, George enlisted in the Navy as a Mechanic First Class and was stationed at the United States Experimental Station in New London, Connecticut.

In 1920, George was again living on Tolman street with Marion and her parents. By 1930, he had purchased a home on Main Street in Millis. His in-laws, along with one of their married daughters, her husband, and their son, rented the other unit in the building. At this time, George was a production assistant in a locomotive shop. In the early 1940s, he worked for Mason Neilan Valve Company on Medway Street in Dorchester.

Marion died in January 1941. She was buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery. The next year, George married again, marrying widow Stella L. (Rankin) Coldwell in Millis. Stella died in 1954 and was buried in Millis’s Prospect Hill cemetery, beside her first husband. George married for a third time to Laura B. Curtis and they lived together at 222 Sherman Street in Canton. Laura died suddenly in July 1966.

George died in Cambridge on March 14, 1977. He was a longtime member of the Charles River Masonic Lodge.

Sources

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

Family Tree; Ancestry.com

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

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

Birth record for Mildred Holst: Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts; Ancestry.com

Death record for Mildred Holst; New England Historic Genealogical Society; Boston, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911; Ancestry.com

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

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, 8 January 1941: 9; Newspapers.com

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

Stella Rankin Coldwell/Holst, FindaGrave.com

Death Notices, Boston Globe, 13 July 1966: 26; Newspapers.com

Deaths, Boston Globe, 16 March 1977: 57; Newspapers.com

Massachusetts Grand Lodge of Masons Membership Cards 1733–1990. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts; Ancestry.com

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: George Andrew Holst

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: George Osman Holdstock

Posted on November 28, 2019 by earltaylor

Holdstock, George Osman

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: George Osman Holdstock

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: George Osman Holdstock

Written by Donna Albino.

George Osman Holdstock was born in South Boston, on December 27, 1892. His parents, Henry Holdstock and Mary (Webster) Holdstock, lived at 5 Sayward Place in Andrew Square when he was born, and his father was a furniture trimmer. Henry was an immigrant from England, and Mary was an immigrant from Scotland. George was the second child in the family; their son Henry had been born three years earlier.

By 1900, the family had moved to a rented home at 40 Cedar Street in the Lower Mills area. George’s father was working as a furniture shipper. The family was still living at this address in 1910. George was  18 years old, and working as a brass worker in a stencil works company. His father was a wood worker in an upholstery company, and his brother Henry was an upholsterer in an upholstery company, so it seems likely that two men worked together. By 1913, the family had moved to nearby 50 Idaho Street.

The year 1914 was a busy one for George and his family. The family moved to Milton that year, George performed a piano solo at Roxbury Evening Commercial High School’s graduation ceremony in April of 1914, and in June of 1914, George was best man at his brother Henry’s wedding at their Milton home at 162 Eliot Street.

On June 5, 1917, at the age of 24, George registered for the war draft. He was still living with his parents at 162 Eliot Street in Milton, and working as an assistant bookkeeper for the Diamond Match Company in Boston. He enlisted in the United States Army on July 20, 1917. George served as supply sergeant for the 302nd Infantry Regiment. A supply sergeant gets supplies to the base and into the hands of soldiers, and conducts supply room inventories and makes sure Army property is secure from theft. The 302nd was one of the primary subordinate units of the 151st Infantry Brigade, which was assigned to the 76th Infantry Division. The 302nd Infantry served in France July 21 to November 11, 1918.

The 76th Infantry Division was known as the “Liberty Bell Division.” It was organized at Camp Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts in September of 1917. George and 89 other men from the Milton area joined them at Camp Devens on September 21. The division was composed of National Army drafts from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut. George departed on the RMS Aquitania for France on July 5, 1918, with the first units of the 76th Infantry Division. The RMS Aquitania was a British ocean liner, and served as both a troop transport and as a hospital ship during WWI. Upon arrival in France, the division was designated as a depot division and ordered to the St. Aignan area. Here the division was broken up, training cadres were formed, and the men were used as replacements for combat divisions at the front.

The USS Eten was a troop transport that made two trips to France to repatriate United States troops after the war. George returned to the United States on one of those trips, traveling with the St. Mignan Casual Company from the port at St. Nazaire, France on June 12, 1919. He was released from duty on July 9, 1919.

After the war, George returned to his parents’ home, now at 29 Ashmont Street in Dorchester, for a few years. He became a member of Hammett Masonic Lodge in East Boston in 1920, and was awarded a veterans medal. In July 1921, the announcement of George’s engagement ran in the Boston Post, where he worked in the financial department. George was engaged to Grace Linscott, also a Dorchester resident. On April 8, 1922, George and Grace were married, and by 1923, the couple had moved to the Wollaston area of Quincy, where they  started their family. By 1930, they owned their home at 33 Dunbarton Road. They had two daughters, Virginia age 7, and Priscilla age 2.

George and Grace led seemingly quiet lives in Quincy. In 1972, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They were still living at 33 Dunbarton Road, and they had seven grandchildren. George passed away on July 11, 1980, and was buried at Blue Hill Cemetery in Braintree. His wife Grace was buried next to him in 1987, and their daughter Virginia joined them in 2012.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Marriage Index, 1901-1955 and 1966-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Number: 011-05-4200; Issue State: Massachusetts; Issue Date: Before 1951

Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Boston Ward 24, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Page: 13; Enumeration District: 1537; FHL microfilm: 1240688

Year: 1910; Census Place: Boston Ward 24, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_625; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 1633; FHL microfilm: 1374638

Year: 1920; Census Place: Boston Ward 21, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_739; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 515

Year: 1930; Census Place: Quincy, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 0108; FHL microfilm: 2340671

Year: 1940; Census Place: Quincy, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: m-t0627-01631; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 11-222

Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Ancestry.com. U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Mason Membership Cards, 1733-1990 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

WikiTree, 76th Infantry Division, United States Army, World War I

WikiTree, 151st Infantry Brigade, United States Army, World War I

Combat Service of Organizations of the United States Army in the World War, Historical Section, The Army War College, June 5, 1931

Career Trend, Responsibilities of a Supply Sergeant

Wikipedia, RMS Aquitania

Wikipedia, USS Eten

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 03 Apr 1914, Fri Page 15

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 03 Jun 1914, Wed Page 18

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 22 Sep 1917, Sat Page 3

Boston Post (Boston, Massachusetts) 24 July 1921, Sun Page 40

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 09 Apr 1972, Sun Page 121

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 03 Apr 1987, Fri Page 62

Ancestry.com, Kalloch Family Reunion Association Tree  by Ken Kalloch

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: George Osman Holdstock

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Guy Frederick Hadlock

Posted on November 28, 2019 by earltaylor

Hadlock, Guy Frederick

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Guy Frederick Hadlock

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: Guy Frederick Hadlock.

Written by Camille Arbogast.

Guy Frederick Hadlock was born in Boston on June 15, 1890. His father, George Frederick Hadlock, born in Charlestown, was a carpenter. His mother, Emma Esther (Abbott), was from Cambridge. Married in Boston in September 1889, Frederick and Emma also had a daughter, Ruth, born in 1897.

In 1900, the family lived in a rented home on Brook Road in Milton. Included in their household was a servant, 20 year-old Ada McAllister of New Brunswick. By 1910, they owned 16 Ashmont Street in Dorchester. That year, Guy graduated from Boston’s Mechanic Arts High School, located in the Back Bay at Belvidere and Dalton Streets. Guy then went to work as a clerk in the office of the Boston Belting Company at 256 Devonshire Street. Makers of belts, hoses, and rubber goods, the Boston Belting Company was one of the largest rubber manufacturers in the world. In 1914, still working as a clerk, Guy moved to the Boston Belting Company’s factory location, 84 Linden Park Street, Roxbury (the location of today’s Reggie Lewis Center). He was still in this job in June 1917, when he registered for the draft.

On December 8, 1917, Guy entered military service. Six months later, he sailed for Europe, leaving from Brooklyn on the USS Roepat, as a private in Section A, Advance Animal Transport Depot 302, Quartermaster Corps. He returned to the United States on June 28, 1919, sailing from Saint-Nazaire, France, on the USS Marcia. By that time, he had been promoted to Sergeant. He was discharged on July 17, 1919.

While Guy was in the service, his parents died. First, his mother passed away in March 1918. About a year later his father followed, dying shortly after becoming ill while at work on a carpentering job. Returning to Dorchester after the war, Guy again lived at 16 Ashmont Street  with his sister Ruth and their aunt and uncle Mary and Charles Jones. He was shipper at a rubber company, perhaps having returned to the Boston Belting Company. His uncle Charles was a railroad conductor. Ruth worked as a clerk for an insurance company. In 1923, at 16 Ashmont Street, Ruth was married to William Botting by the pastor of the Second Congregational Church, Dorchester. By this time, Guy, who was the best man, had moved to Portland, Maine.

Guy appears in the Portland directory as early as 1920. He continued to maintain a presence in the Boston directory, as well, appearing as a salesman living at 16 Ashmont until 1926, when he was listed as removed to Portland. All through the 1920s, he appeared in the Portland directory, first as a manager at 686 Congress Street, then, beginning in 1923, as a reporter out of 31 ½ Exchange Street. In 1923, he lived at 12 Dow Street; in 1925, at 1 Spring Street Place; and in 1927, at 16 Delano Park, in the nearby town of Cape Elizabeth.

On July 27, 1931, in Conway, New Hampshire, Guy married Vera L. Bartlett, a music teacher from Portland, with family roots in Gorham, Maine. On July 31, 1931, their son Guy, Jr.was born. They settled at 24 Quincy Street in Portland.

In the early 1930s, Guy continued to work at 31 ½ Exchange Street, from 1933 until 1935 as a chief clerk. In 1936, he appeared in the Portland directory as a cashier at 4 Winslow Street. After 1937, the directory listings for Guy give no profession. On the 1940 census, Guy’s occupation was reported as “Credit Man, Private Investigation,” but he was actually unemployed and had been for 110 weeks. Vera was working as a music teacher.

Guy died on January 15, 1944. Vera passed away a few months later in May 1944. Their son was killed in a car accident in 1953, while training as an airman at Sampson Air Force Base in New York State. They are all buried in Eastern Cemetery in Gorham, Maine

Sources

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

Family Tree; Ancestry.com

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

“Graduation Day in Boston Schools,” Boston Globe, 24 June 1910, 4; Newspapers.com

Boston Belting Company: Turgeon, Jason. “The Boston Belting Company, Roxbury India Rubber Company, and Charles Goodyear,” Projects by Jason: Fort Hill History, 8 November, 2011,

<http://www.jasonturgeon.net/forthillhistory/the-boston-belting-company-roxbury-india-rubber>

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

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

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

“Dorchester District,” Boston Globe, 23 April 1919, 7; Newspapers.com

“Miss Ruth A. Hadlock and W.T. Botting Married,” Boston Globe, 30 Nov 1923, 22; Newspapers.com

Boston and Portland Directories, various years, Ancestry.com

Marriage Record, New England Historical Genealogical Society, citing New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire; Ancestry.com

Vera Hadlock death: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/121448875/vera-l-hadlock

“Airman Killed, 6 Persons Hurt,” The Ithaca Journal (Ithaca, NY) 24 Feb 1953, 1; Newspapers.com

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Guy Frederick Hadlock

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Henry Higgins Gross

Posted on November 28, 2019 by earltaylor

Gross, Henry Higgins on the right

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Henry Higgins Gross

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: Henry Higgins Gross.

Written by Donna Albino.

Henry Higgins Gross was born on June 4, 1893, in Milton, Massachusetts, to Sylvester Gross and Ellen (Pelrine) Gross. Henry was their second child; their first child was a son named Arthur, born two years earlier. The family had moved several times between Milton and Dorchester Lower Mills for a few years. By 1900, the family had settled in a rented house at 22 Bakers Court in Lower Mills, and Sylvester was working as a coachman. Two more children had been born to the family: a son named William, and a daughter named Mary.

In 1910, the family was renting a home at 12 Millers Lane in the Lower Mills neighborhood of Dorchester. Sylvester was working as a teamster for a chocolate factory, and Henry, then 17 years old, was working as a clerk for an insurance company.

On June 5, 1917, Henry registered for the draft. He was 24 years old and self-employed in the express business. He was living with his parents at 1234 Morton Street in Lower Mills. On his draft card, Henry claimed exemption from the war for business reasons, but a few months later, on November 23, 1917, he enlisted with the National Guard. Henry served with the 28th Company of the Boston Coast Artillery Corps at Fort Standish, a coastal fort located on Lovell’s Island in Boston Harbor. After the American entry into World War I, in early 1917, the fort was expanded to include temporary structures such as quarters and addition storehouses, and hosted seven gun batteries. Several of these were earmarked for potential use in the war effort, but were never sent overseas.

Henry was then transferred to Battery F, 55th Artillery Coast Artillery Corps until March 24, 1918. The US Army Coast Artillery Corps was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and aircraft defense of the United States, and operated heavy and railway artillery during WWI. On March 25, 1918, Henry was listed with the 55th as a passenger on the RMS Mauretania heading to France, but his name was crossed out on the passenger list. According to his service card, Henry had been transferred to Battery F, 54th Artillery Coast Artillery Corps.

The Maine Regular Army Coast Artillery formed Battery F of the 54th Artillery Coast Corps. The battery was trained and issued new steel helmets, something that the American Army would use for the first time during combat, and another first-time item, a round aluminum dog tag. They were also issued rifles, packs and all small items a soldier would need, but not artillery pieces. Americans had no heavy artillery that was mobile to take to France. The 54th Battery F had already left on the SS Canada on March 22, and Henry was not on that ship. He sailed instead on March 30, 1918 with the Overseas Casual Company on the USS President Lincoln to Hoboken, NJ and then on to France to work at the Trench Artillery Center until his discharge on April 11, 1919 from Camp Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts.

After the war, Henry did not stay in Massachusetts. He met Margaret McCarrick, a young woman living in New York City with her mother, and working as a stenographer. In April of 1920, he and Margaret McCarrick registered for a marriage license in New York City, and married in May of 1920. In the 1925 New York census, they were living at 269 West 153rd Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. They had three children: a son and two daughters. Henry was working as a chauffeur. In the 1930 census, the family had moved to 146 West 168th Street in the Bronx, and they had had a second son. William was working as a chauffeur for a private family. In the 1940 census, the family was still living at the same address, and William was still working as a chauffeur.

Henry Higgins Gross lived a quiet life in New York City until he passed away on December 30, 1971. His wife and four children survived him, as well as nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was buried at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

Sources:

Fold3, Boston City Directories, 1891-1897

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Birth Records, 1840-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Manhattan; Volume Number: 5

Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.

New York, New York City Marriages, 1829-1940

Year: 1900; Census Place: Boston Ward 24, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Page: 2; Enumeration District: 1531; FHL microfilm: 1240688

Year: 1910; Census Place: Boston Ward 24, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_625; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 1633; FHL microfilm: 1374638

New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1915; Election District: 09; Assembly District: 04; City: Rochester Ward 10; County: Monroe; Page: 35

New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 37; Assembly District: 22; City: New York; County: New York; Page: 29

Year: 1930; Census Place: Bronx, Bronx, New York; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0110; FHL microfilm: 2341201

Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, Bronx, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02466; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 3-244B

Registration State: Massachusetts; Registration County: Suffolk; Roll: 1685013; Draft Board: 21

The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 494

US Army WWI Transportation Service, Passenger List, Ship: President Lincoln, Outgoing,

Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Wikipedia, Fort Standish (Boston, Massachusetts)

Wikipedia, United States Army Coast Artillery Corps

History of the 55th Artillery, C.A.C. during WWI

History of the 54th Artillery, C.A.C. during WWI

Daily News (New York, New York) 02 Jan 1973, Tue Page 200

Ancestry.com, Sisson Family Tree by Bryan Sisson

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Henry Higgins Gross

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Ray Boutelle Greene

Posted on November 28, 2019 by earltaylor

Green, Ray B

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Ray Boutelle Greene

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: Ray Boutelle Greene.

Written by Camille Arbogast.

Ray Boutelle Greene was born on July 19, 1892, in Clinton, Massachusetts. His father, Henry Herbert Greene, had also been born in Clinton. His mother, Lillian Pierce (Boutelle), known as Lilla, was from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where her parents ran a bakery on Circle Street. Henry and Lilla were married in Fitchburg in 1887, then settled in Clinton. In addition to Ray, they had a daughter, Helen, who was born in 1889.

The family moved to Dorchester in 1894, living at 1015 Dorchester Avenue. By 1903, they were living at 537 Park Street in Dorchester where the family resided for many years. Ray’s paternal grandmother, Mary J. Greene, lived with the family.

At the time of Ray’s birth, Henry was a bank clerk. The next year, the Clinton directory listed him as a bookkeeper at the First National Bank. By 1910, he was a treasurer at the Walter M. Lowney Company, a chocolate manufacturer known for its Cherry Blossom, a special chocolate-covered cherry with coconut and peanuts mixed into the chocolate shell. The company had a Boston office at 486 Hanover Street, as well as a large factory in Mansfield along the Boston and Providence rail line. Lilla was a musician and “musical advisor,” according to her obituary. Helen, too, was musical, and gave music lessons.

In 1911, Ray graduated from the Mechanic Arts High School, located in the Back Bay at Belvidere and Dalton Streets. He served for eight months in the Massachusetts Cavalry sometime before 1917, according to his World War I draft registration. By 1917, Ray was working as an automobile salesman, his life-long profession. He was employed by the Winton Motor Carriage Company in their Boston showroom, located at 674 Commonwealth Avenue, on Boston’s developing Automobile Row. Later, he was associated with the Ford Motor Company, particularly the Lincoln division, which he began selling in 1924.

Ray enrolled in the Navy on April 2, 1918. On his notecard for Ray B. Greene, Dr. Perkins noted that Ray was a Chief Machinist at the United States Naval Aviation Station in Chatham, Massachusetts. Located on Nickerson Neck (today the site of the Eastward Ho! Country Club), and built in 1917, it was one of the first Naval air stations. One of the main duties of the air station was to patrol the coast, watching for enemy craft; in July 1918, a German U-boat did approach off-shore of Orleans, near Nauset Beach, where it fired on a tug and four barges. Ray was discharged from the Navy on September 30, 1921, though he was probably put on inactive duty prior to his discharge.

In 1920, Ray was again living with his family at 537 Park Street and had returned to selling automobiles. On September 28, 1921, he wed Mabel Gertrude Hunter of Dorchester at Trinity Church in Boston. They had two sons, Ray B., Jr. born in 1923, and Richard H. born in 1926.

Initially, Ray and Mabel lived in Watertown, then Newton. In June 1927, they purchased 9 Prince Street in Needham. A few years later, in 1930, the house was valued at $11,000. They employed a live-in housekeeper; in 1930, the housekeeper was Rachel B. Baker, a 22-year-old from Maine. In 1942, they lived at 17 Prince Street (it is unclear whether they moved or the street was renumbered). Ray was still selling cars, now associated with the T.C. Baker Company, a Ford, Mercury, Lincoln Zephyr dealership on Boylston Street, or Route 9, in Brookline Village. In 1945, Ray ran ads in The Boston Globe encouraging readers to “Sell your car to Ray B. Greene,” offering “Top OPA prices paid for good clean cars from ’35 up.” In the 1950s, Ray and Mabel purchased 226 Great Plain Avenue, Needham, and Ray was a car dealer with Clark and White Lincoln-Mercury.

Ray died on August 8, 1962, of heart disease at New England Deaconess Hospital. A service was held for him at Christ Church in Needham and he was buried in the Needham Cemetery.

Sources

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

Family Tree; Ancestry.com

“Mrs Mary D Boutelle, Former Resident, Dies,” Fitchburg Sentinel, 20 April 1933: 2; Newspapers.com

“Lowney Chocolate Factory,” Wikipedia.org, last edited on 29 November 2018, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowney_Chocolate_Factory>

“Funeral of Mrs. Lilla Greene,” Fitchburg Sentinel, 1 July 1937: 2; Newspapers.com

Boston Directories; Various Years; Ancestry.com

US Federal Census, 1910, 1920, 1930; 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,” St. Louis: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985; FamilySearch.org

“Naval Air Station Chatham,” Wikipedia.org, last edited on 26 June 2019, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Station_Chatham>

Setterlund, Christopher. “Hidden Cape Cod—A Chatham Naval Air Station that Used to Exist,” CapeCod.com, 9 July 2018,

<https://www.capecod.com/lifestyle/hidden-cape-cod-a-chatham-naval-air-station-that-used-to-exist/>

“Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915,” Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, State Archives, Boston; FamilySearch.org

Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com

Advertisement, Boston Globe, 18 March 1945: 33; Newspapers.com

“Ray B. Green, 70, Auto Executive, of Needham,” Boston Globe, 9 August 1962; 34

Death Certificate, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, attached to Book 21314, page 116, Norfolk County Registry of Deeds; NorfolkResearch.org

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Ray Boutelle Greene

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Frederick Prescott Goodrich

Posted on November 28, 2019 by earltaylor

Goodrich, Frederick Prescott

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Frederick Prescott Goodrich

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:  Frederick Prescott Goodrich.

Written by Camille Arbogast.

Frederick Prescott Goodrich, known as Fred, was born on January 3, 1890, in Manchester, New Hampshire. His father, John Allen Goodrich, was born in Sedgwick, Maine, the son of a minister; his mother, Amoretta Jane (Sweatt), was born in Manchester, NH, the daughter of a machinist. They were married April 11, 1876, and had two older children: Charles born in 1881, and Grace born in 1885.

John was a clerk in Manchester and the family owned a home at 345 Hosley Street. Living with them was Amoretta’s sister, Nancy Swett, who at one time worked in a cotton mill, probably in the city’s huge Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. In 1903, the Manchester directory reported John removed to Boston; the Boston directory listed him as in “butter and cheese” at 96 ½ Blackstone Street. The 1910 census described this line of business as a “retail merchant, grocer.” John was in the butter and eggs business until 1914. By the 1920s, he was an “egg candler” or egg inspector.

Initially, John boarded at 29 Hancock Street on Beacon Hill. In 1904, he is listed in the directory living in Dorchester, at 4A Moultrie Street. In 1906, the family resided at 10 Stratford Street. The next year, they were listed at 10 Larchmont Street, Dorchester, a home they purchased and in which John and Amoretta lived in for the rest of their lives. The family were members of the Second Congregational Church in Codman Square.  In 1908, Fred graduated from Dorchester High School.

By 1910, his sister Grace had gone to work as a school teacher; she worked for many years at the Comins School in Roxbury. Aunt Nancy still lived with them, but his brother Charles had married and moved to New Jersey. At this time, Fred was attending Dartmouth College, graduating in the class of 1912.

In 1913, Fred appeared in the Boston directory as a clerk. In August 1915, he reported to The Dartmouth Alumni Magazine that he was an investigator for the Massachusetts Employees Insurance Association at 84 State Street in Boston. In September 1915, Fred began working in Newton, Massachusetts, at the Vocational High School as an English teacher. On his notecard for Frederick Prescott Goodrich, Dr. Perkins noted that Fred also taught at Braintree High School. On his draft registration in 1917, Fred gave his profession as a school teacher at the Cascadilla School in Ithaca, New York, a prep school for Cornell University. He also claimed exemption from the draft, noting that his aunt Nancy was partially dependent on him for support.

When he enrolled in the Navy on May 24, 1918, his address was 3 West 47th Street, New York City. Dr. Perkins recorded that at the time of Fred’s enlistment he was “in Guaranty Trust Co.” Fred joined up at a New York City recruiting station. He served as a Chief Quartermaster, based at Headquarters, 1st Naval District, Boston, from June 14, 1918, until the Armistice. On November 1, 1918, he was placed on inactive duty at Headquarters, 3rd Naval District, New York City. Fred also served in the Navy Bureau of Aviation as an Aviation Chief Rigger. According to Dr. Perkins, Fred trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and was sent to Key West, Florida. Fred was discharged on September 30, 1921.

After the war, Fred was very interested in a bill before Congress, The National Soldiers’ Settlement Bill, which aimed to help returning servicemen obtain farmland. Fred was one of many veterans who wrote to the Department of the Interior for information about the plan. He did not go into farming, but instead banking. In December 1920, he reported in The Dartmouth Alumni Magazine that he was working for the Mercantile Bank of the Americas, 44 Pine Street, New York City, and living at 1288 Dean Street, Brooklyn; in March 1921 he reported he was working for Lybrand, Ross Brothers and Montgomery, certified public accountants, at 55 Liberty Street, New York City. He appeared twice in the 1920 census, both living with his parents and sister on Larchmont Street, and also with his brother Charles and his family in Westfield, New Jersey.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Fred lived in New York City. In his father’s obituary in 1934, Fred was reported as living in Brooklyn. On his 1942 World War II draft registration, he gave his address as 438 80th Street, Brooklyn andt that time, he was self-employed. When his sister Grace died in October 1953, her obituary reported he was still living in New York City.

Fred died a month later on November 9, 1953. He was buried in Valley Cemetery in Manchester, New Hampshire in his parents’ plot.

Sources

“New Hampshire, Birth Records, through 1900.” New England Historical Genealogical Society. Citing New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire; Ancestry.com

Little, George Thomas. The Descendants of George Little, Who Came to Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1640. Auburn ME, 1882; Archive.org

Manchester, NH, and Boston Directories, various years, Ancestry.com

Federal Census 1900, 1910, 1920; Ancestry.com

The Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Various years; Archive.org

“Schools Will Open Monday,” The Newton Graphic (Newton, MA) 10 September 1915: 1; Archive.org

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

New York State Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917–1919. Adjutant General’s Office. New York State Archives, Albany, New York; Ancestry.com

Applications for Headstones, compiled 01/01/1925 – 06/30/1970, documenting the period ca. 1776 – 1970, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985.National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; Ancestry.com

Groves, Charles S. “Bay State Soldiers Would Turn Farmers,” Boston Globe, 23 February 1919: 18; Newspapers.com

United States Bureau of Reclamation. Work and Homes for Our Fighting Men. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1919; Archive.org

“John A. Goodrich,” Boston Globe, 8 Aug 1934: 17; 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, Boston Globe, 13 October 1953: 45; Newspapers.com

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Frederick Prescott Goodrich

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biographies: Thomas and John Flaherty

Posted on November 28, 2019 by earltaylor

Flaherty, Thomas and John

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biographies: Thomas and John Flaherty

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: Thomas Flaherty and John Flaherty.

Written by Camille Arbogast.

Thomas is pictured at the left and John at the right.

Thomas and John Flaherty were the sons of Michael, a gardener, and Bridget (Byrne) Flaherty; both were Irish immigrants who arrived in the United States around 1880. Michael and Bridget were married in Boston in 1888. Their first child, Thomas Joseph Flaherty, was born on April 11, 1890, in Milton. Their younger son, John Francis, was born February 27, 1897, in Dorchester. Thomas and John had three sisters, Katherine born in 1891, Mary in 1895, and Teresa in 1899.

By the time John was born, the family lived at 23 Monson Street in the Lower Mills neighborhood of Dorchester. Michael’s brother, Patrick Flaherty, lived with them and worked in the chocolate mill, most likely at the Walter Baker Chocolate Company. In 1907, Bridget died of pneumonia, a complication of an appendix abscess. In 1917, the family purchased 2171 Dorchester Avenue.

At age 20 in 1910, Thomas was a laborer doing odd jobs. By the time of his draft registration in 1917, he was a forester working for the Metropolitan Park Commission of Massachusetts. During the war, Thomas served as a Private in Company F, 315 Ammunition Train, 90th Division. On July 6, 1918, he sailed from New York on the USS Louisville, bound for Europe. The 90th Division were present at the engagements at Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne. After the Armistice, they were part of the Army of Occupation. On May 29, 1919, Thomas returned to the United States, sailing from Saint-Nazaire, France, on the USS Edgar F Lukenbach. He arrived in Boston on June 8, 1919, and was sent to Camp Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts for demobilization.

In June 1918, John registered for the second draft, for men who had turned 18 since the prior draft. At the time of his registration, he, too, worked for the Metropolitan Park Commission. John enrolled in the Navy and was sent to Newport, Rhode Island, probably for training. On his notecard for John Flaherty, Dr. Perkins noted that John served in the First Company, Fifth Regiment in Newport.

After the war, Thomas and John returned to 2171 Dorchester Avenue; John remained there for the rest of his life. Thomas worked as an electrician and John as leather sorter. Their father worked in the chocolate factory, while sisters Katherine and Mary were stenographers.

Thomas married Mary L. Bennett of Waltham on October 19, 1921, at St. Charles Church, Waltham. Mary was known locally as a soprano soloist at the church. The couple settled in Waltham, living with Mary’s parents, Joseph and Catherine Bennett, at 120 Brown Street. Thomas and Mary had one son, Thomas, born in 1926. In 1927, Thomas and Mary, along with Mary’s parents and their young son, moved within Waltham to 24 Fiske Street. The next year they moved again, purchasing 150-152 Russell Street, also in Waltham. In 1937, Thomas, Mary, their son, and Mary’s mother relocated to 96 Galen Street in Waltham. By 1938, they were back at 150 Russell Street. In 1940, Thomas, Mary, and their son lived at 21 Murray Street, Waltham. By 1942, they had moved again, to 16 Hamblin Road, Waltham.

During this time, Thomas worked as a salesman, his primary occupation for his married working life. He was employed by a dye and chemical company, according to the 1930 census. In 1942, on his World War II draft registration, he reported his employer’s address as 72 Granite Street, Boston. By 1940, he made $2,000 a year.

John remained living in the home at 2171 Dorchester Avenue. In 1930, it was valued at $8,000. Residing there with John were his father, Michael, and sisters: Teresa, Katherine, and Mary. Michael died in 1931.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, John appears in the Boston directory as a clerk. In 1930, the census reported he was a salesman for a leather house.  In 1936, he was a helper electrician in the Charlestown Navy Yard. On the 1940 census, his profession was recorded as “laborer, forests,” though he had been unemployed for 26 weeks. The 1943 Boston directory lists him as a laborer for the Park Commission at the Charles River Dam (located where the Museum of Science is today). That January, John was granted a leave of absence from his job as a Lock and Draw Operator on account of illness. In 1947, the Metropolitan District Commission voted to appoint him permanent Lock and Draw operator. He continued in this position until the late 1960s. He was retired by 1970.

In the late 1940s, Thomas and Mary moved in with John, Katherine, and Teresa at 2171 Dorchester Avenue. Thomas continued to work as a salesman until 1948, when the Boston directory listed him as a laborer. Their sister, Katherine, was a social worker with the Boston Welfare department.

Thomas died in Dorchester on May 31, 1950, and was buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury.  He was a member of the Old Dorchester Post Number 65, American Legion. John died on January 15, 1970. Masses for both brothers were celebrated at St. Gregory’s Church in Lower Mills.

Sources

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

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

Death Record, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.

Boston and Waltham 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

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

Wythe, George. A History of the 90th Division, 1920; Archive.org

“Two Snoring Autoists Arrested at Quincy,” Boston Globe, 19 September 1921: 1

“Waltham,” Boston Globe, 19 October 1921; 9

Deaths, Boston Globe, 30 April 1931; 30

Waltham Board of Registrars. Waltham Annual Listing, 1937; Archive.org

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

Metropolitan District Commission Minutes, May 1942-July 1945 & 1947; Archive.org

“Charles River Dam Bridge,” Wikipedia.org. Last edited 4 October 2018;

Deaths, Boston Globe, 2 June 1950: 27; Newspapers.com

Deaths, Boston Globe, 1 Feb 1970: 94; Newspapers.com

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biographies: Thomas and John Flaherty

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Hollis Watson Ewart

Posted on November 28, 2019 by earltaylor

Ewart, Hollis W

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Hollis Watson Ewart

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: Hollis Watson Ewart.

Written by Camille Arbogast.

Hollis Watson Ewart was born on December 7, 1895, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His parents, Samuel L. and Alice L. (King) Ewart, were from New Brunswick, Canada. They married in January 1889, in Woodstock, Carleton, New Brunswick. Hollis had four siblings: Elton born in 1891, Clarence in 1894, Laura in 1898, and Gertrude in 1903. In 1900, the family lived at 27 Bailey Street in Everett and Samuel was a laborer in a coke works.

By 1904, Samuel and Alice’s marriage had ended. Alice was listed as Samuel’s widow in the Boston directory, but on the census her marital status was reported as divorced. It appears Samuel returned to New Brunswick, where he died in 1930.

Alice and the children moved to Dorchester, living in 1904 at 1009 Washington Street in Lower Mills. By 1910, they resided at 19 Wesley Avenue. The next year they moved to 1132 Washington Street and then, in 1912, to 14 Huntoon Street, where they remained through the end of the First World War. By 1917, Hollis was working as a printer for Anchor Linotype Printing Company of 144 High Street in Boston, which advertised that it specialized in printing “school magazines” and “college papers.”

On his notecard for Hollis Ewart, Dr. Perkins noted that Hollis was drafted and inducted into the Army on October 5, 1917, and was sent to Camp Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts. He was assigned to Company F of the 301st Infantry. Before he departed for France, his sister-in-law Ellen (married to his brother Clarence) snapped a picture of him on the steps of 14 Huntoon Street; this is the photograph in the Perkins collection. On July 6, 1918, Private Hollis Ewart sailed for France on the RMS Cedric, leaving from New York City. According to Dr. Perkins’ notes, Hollis was eventually transferred to Company D, 110th Infantry, 28th Division. By the time he returned to the United States on October 28, 1919, he was a Private First Class and serving in the 285th Military Police Corps. He was discharged on November 1, 1919.

In 1920, he lived with his family at 300 Central Avenue in Milton. He returned to the printing industry, working as a pressman. In the early 1920s, he lived in Milton, but by 1925, he had returned to Dorchester, living at 86 Astoria Street in Mattapan and working as a printer at 6 Oakland Place. In 1926, he moved to 629 River Street where he remained through the end of the decade.

By 1930, his mother and sister Gertrude had moved to Weymouth. Hollis followed and by 1935 lived at 44 Wachusett Road in North Weymouth, lodging in the home of George and Mathilda Roulston. His mother died in 1938. During the Depression, Hollis was out of work for 17 weeks. By 1940, he was doing public emergency work, an outdoor laborer employed trimming trees. The next year he appeared in the Weymouth directory as a laundry worker. By 1942, he was employed by the Bethlehem Steel Company, at Fore River in Quincy and still boarded with the Roulstons. By the early 1950s, Hollis had moved to 51 Independence Avenue in Quincy and was a state employee.

On December 11, 1954, Hollis married Helen Margaret (Topf) Whitcher. Margaret was born in Hyde Park in 1910. She was a widow with two adult children, living in Dedham. Hollis and Helen were married in West Dover at the West Dover Church by the Reverend Walter R. Kraft. By the late 1960s, they lived at 63 Garfield Road in Dedham.

Hollis died on June 7, 1969, and was buried in Brookdale Cemetery in Dedham. He was survived by his wife, three siblings, two stepchildren, and five grandchildren.

Sources

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

Family Tree; Ancestry.com

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

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

Anchor Linotype advertisements: The Tech, November 23, 1925 <http://tech.mit.edu/V45/PDF/V45-N56.pdf>; A Handbook of American Private Schools, 1923, Books.google.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 directory, various years; Ancestry.com

1921, 1923 Annual Town Reports of Milton, Archive.org

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

Marriage Record, Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records; Ancestry.com

Deaths, Boston Globe, 9 June 1969: 34; Newspapers.com

Hollis Ewart, Findagrave.com

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Hollis Watson Ewart

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Edwin Leo Ego

Posted on November 28, 2019 by earltaylor

Ego, Edwin

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Edwin Leo Ego

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: Edwin Leo Ego.

Written by Donna Albino.

Edwin Leo Ego was born in Roxbury on February 1, 1896 to John Ego and Mary (Hassan) Ego. Edwin was their sixth child; they had three sons and two daughters before him.

By 1900, the growing family had moved to 124 River Street in Mattapan.  At that time, there were two more children, a boy and a girl. The oldest son, James, was helping his father in the florist trade. The other children were in school.

In the 1910 census, the family was still living at 124 River Street in Mattapan. Edwin was 14 and still in school; his father and his brother James were working as florists, his brother John Jr was working as a bookkeeper for a plumbers supplies business, and his brother Charles was working as a stenographer for an electrical business. A ninth child had joined the family; Charles’s youngest sibling, a sister Gertrude, was nine years old.

On June 5, 1917, Edwin and his brother Charles registered for the war draft. A tall, slender man with dark hair and gray eyes, Edwin was working as a gardener, employed by his older brother James. The brothers were both still listed as living at 124 River Street in Mattapan on their draft cards.

Edwin was inducted on June 24, 1918 along with 500 other men from the greater Boston area, and left on a special train from North Station for Camp Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts shortly before noon. The men were given a rousing sendoff as the train of 15 cars pulled out of the shed. A Boston Globe reporter described the scene: “The now familiar scenes were reenacted. This going away was the same as others in the past; the same tender farewells, the same parting kisses from mothers, sisters and sweethearts; the same courageous handshakes of fathers and brothers. And then the fluttering of handkerchiefs and the wiping away of tears.”

Edwin was assigned to the 151st Depot Brigade until August 1, 1918. The role of depot brigades was to receive and organize recruits, provide them with uniforms, equipment and initial military training, and then send them to France to fight on the front lines. The 151st Depot Brigade organized for the Great War was stationed at Camp Devens.

After August of 1918, Edwin was stationed with the Supply Company in the 74th Infantry. Infantry is a military specialization that engages in military combat on foot. Infantry traditionally relies on moving by foot between combats as well, but may also use mounts, military vehicles, or other transports. Infantry make up a large portion of all armed forces in most nations, and typically bear the largest brunt in warfare. The 74th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the 12th Division, and demobilized in January 1919. Edwin was discharged on January 22, 1919 at Camp Devens.

Edwin returned to his childhood home at 124 River Street in Mattapan after the war. His father had passed away in 1911, and his mother Mary was listed has the head of the house in the 1920 census. James was working as a florist, Charles was a bookkeeper for an oil company, and Edwin was working as a gardener at home. Two other siblings were working as clerks for the city of Boston, and the youngest daughter, Gertrude, was working as a stenographer for a tailoring business.

In 1927, Edwin married Mary Lillian Carroll. By 1930, they moved to 19 Blue Hill Terrace in Milton, and had a daughter Marian, who was a year old. Edwin was working as a clerk at the post office. They were renting the home in 1930, but by the 1940 census, they had bought the home at 19 Blue Hill Terrace, and their daughter Marian was now 11 years old. Edwin was still working as an office clerk at the post office.

In 1942, Edwin registered for the second World War draft. His draft card revealed that he worked at the post office in Dorchester. His physical description was very similar to his appearance 25 years earlier for the first World War draft, but  his hair was gray.

The year 1944 was a year of loss for the Ego family. In February of 1944, Edwin’s mother passed away, and was interred at New Calvary Cemetery in Mattapan. Only a few months later, on June 19, 1944, Edwin passed away in Milton. His obituary listed him as a member of the Harris Post of the American Legion, and identified the post office where he worked as the Dorchester Center Post Office.

In 1945, Edwin’s wife Mary filled out an application for a military veteran’s headstone for his grave. The request for flat granite marker was approved and sent to Milton Cemetery. Edwin’s wife Mary never remarried. She passed away in 1976 and was interred in Milton Cemetery, likely next to Edwin’s resting place.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Birth Index, 1860-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Marriage Index, 1901-1955 and 1966-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Death Index, 1901-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Boston Ward 24, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Page: 16; Enumeration District: 1537; FHL microfilm: 1240688

Year: 1910; Census Place: Boston Ward 24, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_625; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 1633; FHL microfilm: 1374638

Year: 1920; Census Place: Boston Ward 21, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_739; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 523

Year: 1930; Census Place: Milton, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0063; FHL microfilm: 2340670

Year: 1940; Census Place: Milton, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: m-t0627-01628; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 11-131

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 24 Jun 1918, Mon Pages 1-2

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 21 Feb 1944, Mon Page 17

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 21 Jun 1944, Wed Page 18

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 05 Feb 1976, Thu Page 33

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Edwin Leo Ego

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Charles Joseph Ego

Posted on November 28, 2019 by earltaylor

Ego, Charles Ego

Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Charles Joseph Ego

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: Charles Joseph Ego.

Written by Donna Albino.

Charles Joseph Ego was born in Roxbury on March 7, 1889, to John Ego and Mary (Hassan) Ego. His parents lived at 39 Bowers Street in Roxbury, and his father was a florist. Charles was their fourth child; they had two other sons, James and John, Jr., and a daughter, Elizabeth.

By 1900, the growing family had moved to 124 River Street in Mattapan.  Then there were four more children, two more sons, Daniel and Edwin, and two more daughters, Mary and Marguerite. The oldest son, James, was helping his father in the florist trade. The other children were in school.

In the 1910 census, the family was still living at 124 River Street in Mattapan. Charles was 21 and working as a stenographer for an electrical house. His father and his brother, James, were working as florists, and his brother John, Jr. was working as a bookkeeper for a plumbers supplies business. A ninth child had joined the family; Charles’s youngest sibling, a sister Gertrude, was  nine years old.

Charles enjoyed helping at social events. The Boston Globe reported in November 1914 that he aided at St. Gregory’s Lyceum semiannual dancing party at Milton Town Hall, and in January 1917, Charles was on the St Gregory’s Lyceum committee in charge of throwing a whist party at Odd Fellows Hall on River Street in Lower Mills.

On June 5, 1917, Charles registered for the war draft. He was working as a ledger clerk and stenographer for Ames Plow Company in Boston, and was listed as tall, with a medium build, blue eyes and brown hair. On his draft card, he wrote that he was ineligible for the draft because he had poor eyesight, but he still ended up being called for the war effort. He was inducted on July 7, 1918, and served in the 14th Company at the Coast Artillery and Coast Defenses of Narragansett Bay at Fort Getty, Rhode Island, until August 24, 1918.

The Coast Defenses of Narragansett Bay was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island, including Fort Getty, a coast artillery fort. Numerous temporary buildings were constructed in Narragansett Bay to accommodate the wartime mobilization. As the only component of the Army with heavy artillery experience and significant manpower, the Coast Artillery was chosen to operate almost all US-manned heavy and railway artillery in WWI.

After August of 1918, Charles was transferred to Company A of the 58th Ammunition Train, where he would serve until his discharge on December 20, 1918. The ammunition train was an element of armies in 20th century warfare. They were responsible for transporting the artillery and infantry ammunition of each division from the ammunition refilling point to the area of engagement using horse-drawn wagons or motor vehicles.

Charles returned to his childhood home at 124 River Street in Mattapan after the war. His father had passed away in 1911, and his mother Mary was listed as the head of the house in the 1920 census. James was still working as a florist and Edwin was working as a gardener at home. Two other siblings were working as clerks for the City of Boston, and the youngest daughter, Gertrude, was working as a stenographer for a tailoring business.

Charles continued to enjoy organizing events. In May of 1926, there was entertainment after communion at St. Gregory’s church and breakfast at Gilbert Stuart School Hall on Richmond Street; Charles served on the entertainment committee for that event. In June of 1926, Dorchester Lower Mills Council of the Knights of Columbus celebrated its 30th anniversary with a field day and carnival, and Charles served on the committee that organized the event.

The 1930 census for Ward 21, District 523 has not survived, but the Boston city directory confirms that Charles was still living at 124 River Street in Mattapan and working as a clerk in 1931. In 1931, Charles married Ellen Digby in Boston, and they lived in Hyde Park in 1932 and 1933. In 1934, they moved to West Roxbury, and in 1940 they lived at 348 LaGrange St in West Roxbury, and had a son, John, who was  seven years old.

In 1942, Charles registered for the war draft. He was working for Gulf Oil, and his card noted he was 6 feet tall, 205 pounds, with blue eyes, red hair, and a ruddy complexion. In April 1943, Gulf Oil Corporation held an event to honor its longest employees, and Charles was recognized for 25 years of service. Even though Charles’s active war duty years had long passed, he continued to serve in the war effort through his employment at Gulf. John Maddocks, Gulf New England division manager, spoke at the service, and drew a connection between Gulf and the WWII war effort: “The long period of service of our men and women is playing an important part in supplying the petroleum products needed by our fighting forces and by American industry in helping bring defeat to the Axis. … Because approximately 12% of all Gulf men and women are in the armed services, the responsibilities of those at home have increased and the experience gained by so many of our employees during their long association with the company is aiding us materially in the conduct of the business of an essential war industry.”

On October 1, 1946, Charles passed away in West Roxbury. He had been a member of the West Roxbury Post, American Legion 167, and Knights of Columbus, Dorchester Lower Mills Council. His wife, Ellen, lived for many years after him. When Charles’s youngest sister Gertrude passed away in Mattapan in 1988, Ellen was listed as a surviving sister-in-law.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Marriage Index, 1901-1955 and 1966-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Death Index, 1901-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Boston Ward 24, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Page: 16; Enumeration District: 1537; FHL microfilm: 1240688

Year: 1910; Census Place: Boston Ward 24, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_625; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 1633; FHL microfilm: 1374638

Year: 1920; Census Place: Boston Ward 21, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_739; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 523

Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Year: 1940; Census Place: Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: m-t0627-01680; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 15-705

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

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

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 10 Nov 1914, Tue Page 6

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 23 Jan 1917, Tue Page 16

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 10 May 1926, Mon Page 7

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 03 Jun 1926, Thu Page 11

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 06 Apr 1943, Tue Page 6

The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 03 Oct 1946, Thu Page 20

Ancestry.com, Silvers Family Tree by srb1059

Wikipedia, Ammunition Train

Wikipedia, Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Charles Joseph Ego