Dorchester Historical Society

Dorchester Illustration 2413 Desmond Hubert Fitzgerald

Posted on July 14, 2019 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2413 Desmond Hubert Fitzgerald

At the Dorchester Historical Society, we are in the process of a year-long project to commemorate the 100^th 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: Desmond Hubert Fitzgerald.

Written by Camille Arbogast

Desmond Hubert Fitzgerald was born on September 10, 1900, at 23 Old Harbor Street in South Boston. His parents, Michael and Ellen (McNally), known as Nellie, were Irish immigrants. Michael was a barber who eventually owned his own shop; Nellie had been a dressmaker before her marriage. Desmond had an older brother, Edward, and a younger sister, Mary Lucille. By 1910, the family had moved to Dorchester, living on Wolcott Street. Desmond’s maternal aunt, Bertha, also lived with the Fitzgeralds. In 1916, they were living at 721 Norfolk Street in Mattapan.

At age 17, on June 7, 1918, Desmond enrolled as a Seaman 2d Class in the U.S. Naval Reserve Force at the Boston Recruiting Station. On June 25, he was sent to the naval training camp in Hingham. About three weeks later, he was sent to the naval training station on Bumpkin Island in Boston Harbor, where he served on armed guard duty until August 14, when he was relocated to New York City. On August 21, he began serving on the USS Frederick. On his notecard for Desmond Fitzgerald, Dr. Perkins noted that Desmond made “several trips overseas” and that he had “been over in France. Basecamp on second trip.” Desmond served on the Frederick until the Armistice. On January 30, 1919, he was placed on Inactive Duty from the Naval Overseas Transportation Service in New York, New York. He was honorably discharged on September 30, 1921. His service card cited lack of funds as the reason for his discharge.

In 1920, he was living with his parents at the home they owned, 91 Babson Street, Mattapan. He worked as a weigher in the leather industry. His siblings were working, as well: Edward as a wool weigher and Mary as a stenographer. In August 1921, he was appointed for “six weeks during the vacation season in the Bridge Service,” according to a notice in the Boston Globe. In the mid-1920s, the Boston directory listed Desmond’s occupation as clerk. In 1928, the directory stated that Desmond had removed to Miami, Florida.

However, it appears he moved back after only a short time in Miami as Desmond appears on the 1930 census back in Mattapan, living with his parents, at 91 Babson Street. He had begun a career with the New England Telegraph and Telephone company, where he would work for thirty years, rising to the position of supervisor. In 1936, Desmond achieved notoriety when he was pickpocketed twice in the same day. One morning, a thief engaged Desmond in conversation on South Market Street, stealing $15 from his pocket while they spoke. In the afternoon, Desmond was targeted again, this time losing his watch and two dollars while on Northampton Street. The story was picked up by papers around the United States, reported on as far away as Wisconsin and Florida.

On June 24, 1939, Desmond married Julia F. Coyle. They were married in Quincy, Julia’s hometown. They settled at 47 Merrymount Road, Julia’s family home, where the directories list them living into the 1950s. In 1960, they appear in the Boston directory living at 4 Everett Street in Hyde Park but by the end of that year they had moved to Florida. At the end of Desmond’s life, they lived at 8101 Ridge Road in Seminole, Florida.

Desmond died on March 15, 1971, in Pinellas, Florida. Buried in Quincy, he was celebrated in services in Seminole and in Quincy. He was a member of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Seminole; the Sherurn Chapter Telephone Pioneers of Boston; the Telstar Telephone Pioneers of Seminole; Elks Lodge 943 of Quincy; Seminole Ridgewood Civic Association and the Blessed Sacrament Holy Name Society.

Sources

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

Family Tree, Ancestry.com

1916 Boston Directory; Archive.org

Census Records, Federal, 1910, 1920, 1930; Ancestry.com

Service Record; The Adjutant General Office, Archives-Museum Branch, Concord, MA

“Appointments Made by the Mayor in City Hall,” Boston Globe, 3 Aug 1921:18; Newspapers.com

“Mattapan Man Victim of Larceny,” Boston Globe, 20 July 1936 :15; Newspapers.com

“Robbed Twice in Day,” The Evening News (Wilkes-Barre, PA) 31 July 1936: 13 [story also carried in Racine WI; Petersburg FL papers]; Newspapers.com

“Deaths,” Boston Globe, 18 March 1971: 36; Newspapers.com

“Deaths,” Tampa Bay Times (St Petersburg, FL), 17 March 1971: 33; Newspapers.com

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Babson Street, Dorchester, Mattapan, Uncategorized, World War 1, World War I | Comments Off

Dorchester Illustration 2412 Robert Hogg Johnson

Posted on July 7, 2019 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2412 Robert Hogg Johnson

Our next biography features: Robert Hogg Johnson.

written by Camille Arbogast

Robert Hogg Johnson was born at 39 Robinson Street, in the Meeting House Hill section of Dorchester, on September 15, 1892. His parents, Mabel and Wells H. Johnson, were both from New Hampshire; Wells was a lawyer and stenographer. In the 1880s, he was the private secretary of New Hampshire Senator Edward Rollins, and spent two seasons in Washington, D.C with the Senator. Wells later had a long career as a stenographer in the Suffolk Superior Court. Prior to her marriage, Mabel worked as a housekeeper in Boscawen, New Hampshire. They were married in 1891, in Boston, by Reverend Samuel E. Herrick of the Mount Vernon Church in Pemberton Square.

Robert had three younger sisters, Ruth, Rita, and Mildred. In 1900, the family lived at 118 Lonsdale Street in the Ashmont section of Dorchester. By 1910, they had moved a couple of blocks away to 70 Shepton Street. During the 1913-1914 school year, Robert was a special student at Boston University. On his World War I draft registration he gave his profession as actor. His listed the “Bostock Brothers” theatrical agency of Times Square, New York, run by Claude and Gordon Bostock, as his employers.

Robert was drafted and inducted into the army on June 25, 1918. He initially served with Company E of the 346th Infantry of the 87th Division. He joined Company L of the 346th shortly before shipping overseas on the USS Stephen Castle on August 26. He was made a Private First Class on October 7. In December, he began serving with the 302nd Infantry Military Police Company. He was promoted to Corporal on July 5, 1919; a few days later, on July 12, he became a Sergeant. Robert returned to the United States in September 1919, sailing from Brest on the USS Mount Vernon as part of Brest Casual Company #4719. He arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey, and was demobilized at Camp Devens in Shirley and Ayer, Massachusetts on September 25.

He returned to live at 70 Shepton Street with his family, working as a bookkeeper in an office. His sister Ruth was a private secretary; Rita was an artist. Youngest sister Mildred was still in school. In March 1920, their father, Wells Johnson, died. Reverend Jason Noble Pierce of the Second Church in Dorchester officiated at his funeral.

The family moved to 25 Wheatland Avenue; directories in the 1920s indicate Robert was living there as well; he worked in a restaurant. When his mother died in April 1928, her funeral was held at the house. The 1928 Boston directory reports Mabel’s death and shows Robert still living at 25 Wheatland Avenue, now working as an artist. By 1929, Robert was no longer listed in the Boston directory. After this time, the details known about Robert’s life are sparse.

Robert relocated to New York City. He is probably the Robert Johnson found on the 1940 census residing on Manhattan Avenue and working as a ticket taker at a theatre. According to his World War II draft registration, he worked at the Lido Theatre, a movie theatre in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill neighborhood. He listed as his contact Louis Goidel of Brooklyn, possibly the Louis Goidel who managed the Hamilton Theatre, a movie theatre on Hamilton Avenue in Brooklyn. In 1942, Robert was living at 8 West 101st Street. At the time this biography was written, we are not able to confirm any further details about the rest of his life or when he died.

Sources

Birth Record, New England Historic Genealogical Society; Boston, Massachusetts; Ancestry.com

Marriage Record for Wells and Mabel Johnson, New England Historic Genealogical Society; Boston, Massachusetts; Massachusetts, Marriage Records, 1840-1915; Ancestry.com

“Dorchester District,” Boston Globe, 10 March 1920; 6

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

Boston University, The Year Book 1913-1914, Boston, MA, 1913, via google books

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

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 Passengers, 1917-1938 & Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1891-1943, National Archives, Washington, D.C.;The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Ancestry.com

Boston City Directories, Ancestry.com

“Deaths,” Boston Globe, 7 April 1928; 20

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

“More Letters of Thanks from ‘Movie’ Managers,” The Standard Union, Brooklyn, NY, 8 July 1923; 30

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Dorchester, Lonsdale Street, Robert Hogg Johnson, Robinson Street, Uncategorized, World War 1, World War I | Comments Off

Dorchester Illustration 2411 16 Howe Street, Bragg-Howe House

Posted on June 30, 2019 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2411 16 Howe Street, Bragg-Howe House

We have heard that the Howe House at 16 Howe Street is the subject of a petition to demolish. The City of Boston Assessor’s website shows the lot where the house is located comprises 5200 square feet, and a small separate lot of vacant land at the back has another 1260 square feet. We have heard that the developer has proposed building 6 units on the 2 lots. Reportedly the application to demolish is the subject of a hearing before the Boston Landmarks Commission to determine whether the Commission will approve a 90-day demolition delay.

Today’s illustration shows the house in earlier times. It comes from the Dorchester Historical Society collections and is apparently a published photograph. There is no indication of its source, but it appears to be from the 19th century. There is also a more recent photograph showing its more recent appearance.

Although the 1977 survey produced under the auspices of the Boston Landmarks Commission estimates the construction date as about 1800, it is likely the building was not erected until the mid 1830s. Hannah Bragg, widow of Nahum Bragg, sold the property out of her deceased husband’s estate to Samuel B. Howe in 1842. She referenced a deed from Thomas Bird to Nahum Bragg dated April 8, 1835, which makes no mention of buildings on the land. It is likely that Nahum and Hannah built the house after they acquired the land in 1835. The house appears on the 1850 map of Dorchester.

Samuel Howe was an inspector of leather at 28 N. Market Street, Boston. He conveyed the property to Leonard Howe in 1848. It is unclear what their relationship may have been. Leonard was born in Sturbridge in 1792 and married Ann Evans in Newton in 1811. They were in Dorchester by 1820 when Leonard and his family members were counted in the US Census. Ann died in 1874, and Leonard died in 1879. They are buried in the Dorchester Old North Burying Ground.

Christopher Kingsley, who lived in this house in the past, reported a couple of years ago about the elements of the house that may be original. These include interior details combining Federal-period forms with Greek Revival elliptical moldings and fluted pillars. He says the house is probably the vernacular product of a creative local housewright. However the house does not seem to meet the level of significance that would be required to designate it as a Boston Landmark. A Boston Landmark must be of at least regional significance, and in spite of its age, this house appears to be significant only at the local level. [Note: as of July 26, 2019, it appears that the results of new research may provide the level of significance for the Boston Landmarks Commission to designate the property as a Boston Landmark. The significance may be related to various factors and most probably to Lowell Kingsley’s ownership of the property. Lowell was headmaster of the first special education school in the country, the Kingsley School in Boston, founded by his mother.]

Proposed changes to a Boston Landmark must be approved by the Boston Landmarks Commission. Other designations, including National Register of Historic Places, do not prevent demolition.

We wish the house could be saved. The 90-day demolition delay, if imposed, will give interested parties a chance to come up with a plan that might save the house. If anyone has a bunch of money and wants to buy a historic house, here’s the opportunity.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Dorchester, Howe Street, Leonard Howe, Samuel Howe, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Dorchester Illustration 2410 Oakland Garden Amusement Park

Posted on June 23, 2019 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2410 Oakland Garden Amusement Park

The illustration shows a horse-drawn car of the Highland Railway traveling to Oakland Garden, an outdoor amusement park located on Columbia Road near Blue Hill Avenue. Its property took up what is what is now the land on either side of Hewins Street and Wolcott Street and in between, stretching from Columbia Road to Erie Street. The map detail is from the 1884 Bromley atlas.

The Oakland Garden Amusement Park was established in the early 1880s, showing up on the 1884 atlas. Although Franklin Park opened in 1883, not all the land for the park had been acquired by that time, and the park was not completed for several years. Therefore the success of Oakland Garden Amusement Park must have resulted partly from its proximity to Franklin Park, offering additional attractions for visitors there.

The park appears again in the 1889 atlas, but by 1894, the land had been subdivided for residential development.

” Evening performances included mini-theatricals, operettas and concerts, while circuses and sideshows amused local children during the day. So popular were the attractions of Oakland Garden that horse-drawn cars were chartered from the Highland Railway.”

“Thus ‘if you wish to spend a pleasant evening,’ all you had to do was purchase a ticket. Large numbers of visitors not only took the cars but walked from miles around.”

Source: Anthony Mitchell Sammarco. Dorchester in the Images of America series. (1995).

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Anthony Mitchell Sammarco, Dorchester, Hewins Street, Oakland Garden Amusement Park, Uncategorized, Wolcott Street | Comments Off

Dorchester Historical Society received Massachusetts Convention Center Authority Grant

Posted on June 22, 2019 by earltaylor

The Dorchester Historical Society (DHS) has received a $5,000 Community Partnership Grant Award from the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. Over the last 14 years, the DHS has allocated the majority of resources from its fundraising efforts to exterior property restoration for the 5 buildings on 2 sites owned and maintained by the Society. Throughout the restorations, the DHS maintained a vigorous schedule of exhibits and programs; and, the completion of the exteriors of these historical sites now allows the board to consider an expansion of its programming. The grant will help the DHS achieve a more robust schedule of programs and events on a diversity of subjects that continue to celebrate to the rich heritage of the multi-cultural community in which we live.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Community Partnership Grant, Dorchester, Dorchester Historical Society, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Dorchester Historical Society’s June program was standing room only

Posted on June 19, 2019 by earltaylor

Reflections on the June program of The Dorchester Historical Society from board member Edward Cook

Reflections on the June program of The Dorchester Historical Society from board member Edward Cook:

Seldom, if ever, has the monthly program hosted by the Dorchester Historical Society had its agenda amplified in content and poignancy as it was this past Sunday.

Despite falling on Father’s Day, the June 16th event attracted a crowd with standing room only, filling the room even before the program began. One of the attendees, Bob Haas, attributed the size of the crowd to the subject of the afternoon. “People are interested in this topic.”

The program featured a talk by author Ed Quill about his book, When Last the Glorious Light: Lay of the Massachuset. Mr. Quill, a native of South Boston and a long-time writer and archivist at The Boston Globe, penned his book in order to fill what he saw as a historiographical gap: no books had previously been written about the tribe after whom the Commonwealth was named.

Shortly after Mr. Quill began his talk, a special group of attendees arrived. After Mr. Quill opened the floor to questions, two men in the audience self-identified as descendants of various indigenous peoples. Mr. Wompineequin Wompatuck introduced himself in the language of the Massachuset and translated the introduction into English. He is the Chief Sachem of the Mattakeeset people—a portion of the Wampatuck tribe of the Massachuset nation. He explained that the others with him were all from different parts of the Massachuset peoples.

One of the key points in his comments was that the Massachuset people still exist and are seeking official recognition from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for tribal status. He and the other Massachuset people recognized the contribution that Mr. Quill’s book made and respectfully emphasized the importance that they be included in all study of their people’s history so that their voice was heard. Mr. Quill noted the Massachuset source that had been consulted as a part of his researchand agreed by quoting a selection from his last chapter that, until the Massachuset people write their own history, there will be no true history of their people.

Several people in the audience expressed interest in learning more and supporting specific action to assist in the tribe in gaining official recognition status. Several tribe members expressed gratitude for these new allies and offered to help with further programs on the life and history of the Massachuset, past and present.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Dorchester, Ed Quill When Last the Glorious Light: Lay of the Massachusett, Indians, Massachuset, Mattakeeset, Native Americans | Comments Off

Dorchester Illustration 2409 William Henry Brady

Posted on June 16, 2019 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2409 William Henry Brady

Our next biography features: William Henry Brady.

William Henry Brady was born January 9, 1896, at 12 Churchill Place (today’s Tanglewood Road) in Dorchester. His parents, Joseph Hugh and Margaret (McCallion), called Maggie, were from Nova Scotia. Married in 1887, in Stoneham, Massachusetts, Joseph was a house painter and Maggie was a housekeeper before her marriage. Their oldest child, Theresa, was born in 1887, followed by Catherine in 1889, Mary Irene in 1891, Margaret in 1893, Helen in 1897, Alice in 1899, Hugh in 1901, Frances Bernadine in 1903, Edward Lemert in 1907, and Herewerd Paul 1910. Elizabeth, born prematurely in 1906, died shortly after birth. Hugh died in 1911 of Mitral insufficiency, a form of heart valve disease.

By 1903, the family was living at 1211 Morton Street, Dorchester. By 1907, they owned 33 Groveland Street, Mattapan. The 1910 census recorded oldest sister Teresa now married, but still living with the family, along with her four-year-old daughter Lorraine Ford. William’s paternal uncle Savarus was also in the household.

When William registered for the draft in June 1917, he was working as a teamster with the Standard Oil Company on Freeport Street in Dorchester. On August 28, 1918, William was drafted and inducted into the National Army at Local Board 21, Dorchester’s draft board. He was sent to the 156 Depot Brigade at Camp Jackson, South Carolina for military training. On September 3, he was attached to the Field Artillery Replacement Depot. On October 17, he joined the 3^rd Battery October Automatic Replacement Draft, a group of draftees being readied to take the place of casualties overseas. William did not make it overseas before the Armistice, and in December he returned to the Field Artillery Replacement Depot at Camp Jackson. He was demobilized at Camp Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts, and discharged on January 10, 1919.

After the war, he returned to live with his family at 33 Groveland Street. He worked as a clerk in a provisions store. By 1930, William’s father had died. William, his mother and his unmarried siblings had moved to 21 Dewolf Street, Dorchester. William had taken on his father’s profession: house painting. The next year, they lived at 26 Howe Street, Dorchester. By 1933, they were living at 401 Quincy Street, Dorchester, in the home of William’s married sister Mary Irene. His mother died in 1938.

Around that time, William married a woman named Mary. By 1940, William and Mary had two sons, William Junior, age 2, and a one-month-old infant. William also had a step-son, Thomas Connolly, age 9. William and Mary lived at 107 Alexander Street, a few blocks from his sister Mary Irene. William was technically unemployed in 1940; he reported that he had public emergency work, undertaking painting projects. He had been out of work for 18 weeks and had worked only 36 weeks in 1939. In 1942, the Bradys lived at 135 Whitfield Street, Dorchester. William worked for Bethlehem Steel at the Fore River Yard in Quincy. By 1943, according to the Boston directory, he had returned to painting. They stayed at 135 Whitfield Street until 1946. In 1947, a William and Mary Brady appear in the directory at 29 Union Street in Charlestown. In 1959, Thomas Connolly lived with them, along with Thomas’ wife, Impie L. In the mid-1960s, a William and Mary Brady appear living at 33 Gerald Street in Brighton. He is a painter with the Connolly Buick Agency and she is an aide at Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital. In 1964, Mary V. Brady is listed in the Boston directory as the widow of William H. No other record of his death has yet been found.

Sources

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

Death Certificate for Elizabeth Brady, Hugh Brady; Ancestry.com

Family Tree, Ancestry.com

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

Boston Directories, various years, Ancestry.com

World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, National Archive and Records Administration; Ancestry.com

Service Record; The Adjutant General Office, Archives-Museum Branch, Concord, MA. (These records have been transferred to the Massachusetts Archives)

World War II Selective Service Registration Cards, National Archives and Records Administration, Ancestry.com

“Rites Tomorrow for Mrs. Margaret T. Brady,” Boston Globe, 14 Feb 1938:13; Newspapers.com

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Dorchester, Lower Mills, Mattapan, Uncategorized, Wlliam Henry Brady, World War 1, World War I | Comments Off

Dorchester Historical Society Program June 16, 2019 When Last the Glorious Light

Posted on June 14, 2019 by earltaylor

Dorchester Historical Society, 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125

Sunday, June 16,, 2019, 2 pm at the, William Clapp House

“When Last the Glorious Light”

Join the Dorchester Historical Society for a conversation with Ed Quill, author and former journalist at The Boston Globe, as he shares his new book When Last the Glorious Light. This is the first full-length book on the Massachuset tribe–the people of the Blue Hills–for whom the Commonwealth was named. Ed will discuss the history of influential chieftains including Chickataubut, Chickataubut’s brother Cutshamekin, ,Chickataubut’s son Wampatuck and Wampanoag chief Obbatinewat.

Ed Quill’s book may be purchased on his website at

https://www.quillcloud.net/

Posted in Featured Events | Tagged Ed Quill, Featured_Events, Native Americans, When Last the Glorious Light | Comments Off

Dorchester Illustration 2408 Residence and Plant of Frank H. McDonald

Posted on June 9, 2019 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration 2408 Residence and Plant of F. H. McDonald, building contractor

Number 2157 Dorchester Avenue as it appears today is in the upper left of today’s illustration. It is located across from the entrance to Carney Hospital. Its appearance about 1900 is shown in the larger picture to the right. In 1884, the lot did not exist; the land was part of tract of about 8 acres owned by Joseph Churchill. The 1889 atlas shows the new lot of 10,000 square foot with the building at the front. The building at the back of the property, used by F. H. McDonald for his contracting business appears for the first time in the 1898 atlas. The 1910 atlas shows the owner as Clara E. McDonald.

The 1920 census reported that Frank, a carpenter, and his wife Clara were living in the building at the rear with their sons George, 25, and Charles, 22, and daughter Marjorie, 19. By 1926 the McDonald family does not appear in the Boston list of residents for 2157 or 2159 Rear Dorchester Avenue.

By 1933 the property was no longer owned by the McDonald family, and the lot was sub-divided with 6500 square feet for the three-family house facing Dorchester Avenue and 3500 square feet for the building at the rear with address 2159 Rear Dorchester Avenue, fronting on Ruggles Place, later Rugdale Road. The red house at the bottom of the picture at the lower left is at the site of the former contracting building and appears to be the same building.

Anthony Sammarco says “the plant provided numerous pieces of prefabricated mill work for houses being built in Dorchester and the surrounding areas in the late 1800s and early 1900s.”

The American Series of Popular Biographies. Massachusetts Edition. says

“FRANK H. MCDONALD, a well-known resident of Dorchester, is carrying on a substantial business as one of the leading carpenters and builders of that district. He was born in Boston, June 4, 1855, son of John and Adeline H. (Pray) McDonald. His father’s paternal grandparents emigrated from Scotland to Nova Scotia; and there his grandfather, Hugh McDonald, and his father, John, above named were both born and reared.

John McDonald learned in Nova Scotia the trade of a ship-joiner, which he followed in his early manhood. In 1848 he removed to Boston, where he worked for many years as a house carpenter. His wife, whose maiden name was Adeline H. Pray, was born in New Hampshire.

Frank H. McDonald obtained a practical education in the Boston public schools, and at the age of fourteen years decided to learn the carpenter’s trade for which his mechanical ingenuity specially fitted him. He followed this occupation as a journeyman until 1895, when he established himself in business on his own account, and has since continued it with satisfactory pecuniary results.

Mr. McDonald has been twice married. His first wife, Mary H. Chute, daughter of Solomon Chute, of Bridgetown, N.S., died in 1886, a year after their marriage. In 1893 Mr. McDonald married for his second wife Miss Clara E. Willard, daughter of Frederick Willard, of Thomaston, Me. Of this union two children have been born; namely, George H. and Charles B. Fraternally, Mr. McDonald is a member of Macedonia Lodge, A.F. & A.M.,* and of the Golden Cross. Politically, he affiliates with the Republican party.”

*A.F. & A.M. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged carpenter, contractor, Dorchester, Frank H. McDonald | Comments Off

Dorchester Illustration 2407 Catharine Clapp

Posted on June 2, 2019 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2407 Catharine Clapp

This is one-half of a stereoview card showing Catharine Clapp in the parlor of the Lemuel Clap House. In the late 18th to early 19th century, the family began using Clapp, but Catharine’s father Lemuel continued to spell his name with one “p”. When Lemuel died in 1819, he left the house to his unmarried daughters Catharine and Rebecca. Rebecca died in 1855.

The illustration shows Catharine in her later years sitting in the parlor. The Society has pieces of the wallpaper seen in the illustration – the wallpaper was there during the Revolution when the house was used as a barracks for Colonial troops during the Siege of Boston. There is a story that the men who occupied the house in the run up to the fortification of Dorchester Heights tried unsuccessfully to pry the roses from the walls to adorn their uniforms.

The entry for Catharine in the family genealogy:

Catharine, b. April 17, 1782; d. unm. Feb. 21, 1872, in her 90^th year. She retained her mental faculties to the last, reading her bible and other good books daily, without glasses, which through her long life she never used; was a worthy woman, of the old puritan stamp; lived and died in the house in Willow Court, occupied by her father during his life. The house, after her death, as elsewhere mentioned, passed into the hands of her nephews, Frederick and Lemuel.

The following is from Supplement p. 321 in The Clapp Memorial. Record of the Clapp Family in America. Compiled by Ebenezer Clapp. Boston: David Clapp & Son, 1876.

After the death of Catharine, the east room or parlor not being used; and no fire being kept there, the wall paper became loose and a part of it came off. This paper was known to have been on the walls one hundred and three years, and doubtless was imported from England. It was of a showy pattern, with large columns or pillars, with bright red roses intertwined about them. It has been said that when Capt. Lemuel’s military company was quartered in the house, in the early part of the Revolutionary War, the soldiers tried to get these roses off to put on their hats, but their efforts proved unavailing. During the last few years, pieces of this paper have been much sought after for relics. In the east chamber can be seen in the floor the charred marks of the legs of the iron kettles used by the soldiers, and in two other room the ceiling show marks made by their guns while exercising. In striking contrast with the chimneys of the present time, the west chimney of the old house measures about eight feet square in the cellar.

The Clapp Memorial also mentions: William Blake Trask, a Dorchester cabinet-maker and later a prominent genealogist, married Richard Clapp’s daughter Rebecca (Richard was a brother of Catharine). They built a house on Clapp Place in 1844 (now numbered 42 Mayhew Street), where they resided for 10 years. Subsequently, for seventeen years, they lived in the Lemuel Clap House with Catharine and Rebecca, aunts to Mrs. Trask. They continued there until Catharine’s death in 1872, then moved to the brick house erected by Mrs. T’s father, Richard, on Pond Street.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Catharine Clapp, Dorchester, Lemuel Clap House, wallpaper | Comments Off