Dorchester Historical Society

No open house in December for our historic houses

Posted on December 9, 2018 by earltaylor

Please note that we will not be open to the public for tours in December

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Dorchester Illustration 2382 Ivers Adams

Posted on December 9, 2018 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2382 Ivers Adams

Portrait of Ivers Adams from http://arslongaartcards.com/cards/pioneer-portraits-i/ivers-adams/

Ivers Adams lived at the northeast corner of Washington Street and Columbia Road, where there is now a Burger King. Adams was the first president of the Boston Baseball Association in 1871. He founded the Boston Red Stockings and invited Harry and George Wright and two other plays of the disbanded Cincinnati Red Stockings to form the Boston Red Stockings.

Adams was born in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, May 20, 1838. In 1857 he moved to Boston to become an apprentice in the dry-goods firm of Houghton, Sawyer & Company. After his initial start there, he moved to a position at the John H. Pray & Sons Company, a carpet company.

After seeing the Cincinnati Red Stocks play on Boston Common in 1869, he felt that Boston needed a professional team as a way to raise Boston’s business profile. Adams with 4 others incorporated and raised $15,000 by selling shares in the new company. Adams saw the benefit of establishing baseball as a spectator sport, and he encouraged his businessmen friends to bring their friends to the games.

The Great Boston Fire destroyed the buildings of the John H. Pray Sons & Company in 1872, and Adams, who was now part of the ownership of the company, helped to rebuild, furnishing carpets to the new emerging class in the Boston area, which produced a high demand. It is said that Adams was well on his way to millionaire status by 1880. At age 44, he retired and moved his family to Dorchester. He died in 1914, two years after his team was named the Braves.

Home of Ivers Adams in Grove Hall was identified by Anthony Sammarco in Dorchester Then & Now

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Boston Braves, Boston Red Stockings, Dorchester, Grove Hall, Ivers Adams, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Dorchester Illustration 2381 Elizabeth Stanton Chadbourne

Posted on December 2, 2018 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2381 Elizabeth Stanton Chadbourne

Elizabeth Stanton Chadbourne was born September 6, 1855, to William and Elizabeth Chadbourne. William came to Lynn, Massachusetts, from Lyman, Maine, at the age of eighteen to take a job in the shoe industry. He and his brother Benjamin later operated a grocery business in Boston. He married in 1845, and he and his wife Elizabeth had 5 children. He later began serving as a police officer at Boston’s Station 5. When Dorchester was annexed to Boston, he was made captain of the district, and he oversaw the construction of station 11, where he remained until his retirement in 1878. He was the first captain of police to be pensioned, after twenty-five years of service. He came out of retirement for a couple of years in the early 1880s to operate a stable at the corner of Savin Hill Avenue and Sagamore Street.

The family lived on Payson Avenue, then bought a home at 71 Grampian Way in 1877. William died in August, 1895, having spent the last four winters of his life in Parksley, Virginia, a town improved by his daughter Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was listed individually in the Boston Directories in the 1870s and 1880s as a public reader and a teacher of elocution. It was rare at the time for women to have their own listings in the directories.

The Cleveland Leader, Feb. 19, 1893, explained how Elizabeth was responsible for the improvement of Parksley, Virginia, which is located on the peninsula extending south from Maryland toward the entrance to Chesapeake Bay:

Elizabeth S. Chadbourne, a Boston elocutionist gave some dialect readings in Delaware and first visited and recognized the possibilities of the fertile peninsula, which had been practically closed to the world until about five years ago. A single farmhouse with a station composed the town. Now there is a flourishing town with broad streets, pretty houses, and great prospects, owned by a stock company of which Miss Chadbourne is secretary, treasurer and largest shareholder. She is also the inside worker who interests people to invest. She understands all kinds of leases, deeds, etc., and can make out an agreement on the spot which all the quibbles of the lawyers cannot circumvent.

The American Biography: A New Cyclopedia Biography (1918) reported that she started the Parksley Land and Improvement Company to build the town, the first in that area to be developed along modern lines. At the time of publication of the Encyclopedia, the town had eighteen general stores, two banks and a population of more than two thousand inhabitants. By then Elizabeth was retired from the management of the company and was a member of the Dorchester Woman’s Club and treasurer of the Red Cross at Savin Hill.

Elizabeth died in 1930 and was interred at the Chadbourne Cemetery in Lyman, Maine.

Check out the Dorchester Historical Society’s online catalog at
http://dorchester.pastperfectonline.com/

The archive of these historical posts can be viewed on the blog at
www.dorchesterhistoricalsocietyblog.org

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Dorchester, Elizabeth Stanton Chadbourne, Parksley Virginia, Savin Hill, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Dorchester Illustration 2380 Charles B. McDonald

Posted on November 25, 2018 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2380 Charles B. McDonald

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 which highlights these men and their service to our country.

Our next biography features: CHARLES B. MCDONALD 1924.0001.154

Charles Bertram (or Bertrand) McDonald was born July 18, 1897, to Frank Hubert and Clara Edna (Willard) McDonald of 1066 Washington Street, Dorchester. His father was a builder, born in Boston and his mother was a waitress born in Maine. Charles had an older brother, George Willard McDonald.

By 1900, they were a family of 5 as there was now a younger sister Marjorie Thayer McDonald. They lived at 2157 Dorchester Avenue. The father was listed as a carpenter. By 1910, they also had a boarder and a domestic lodger.

On May 29, 1917, at age 19 years and 9 months old, Charles enlisted in the Navy as an apprentice seaman at the Boston Navy Yard. He served on the U.S.S. Virginia, sailing to Hampton Roads on August 27, 1917 and returning to Boston for repairs in February 1918. Shortly after, he sailed overseas and was stationed at Brest, France. He returned to Newport News in December 1918. On July 4, 1919, he again sailed to Boston for external repairs and was transferred to the U.S.S. Idaho which sailed from New York on July 7, 1919 for Rio Janeiro. For several months, he sailed through the Panama Canal for ports on the West Coast, including San Francisco. On October 1, 1919, he was transferred to the East Coast for discharge. He was honorably discharged at Hingham, Mass. as a Fireman 1^st Class on October 25, 1919.

In 1920, the family of 5 was reunited at 2157R Dorchester Avenue. Charles wais a fireman for the railroad and his brother George was a millhand at the chocolate mill.

Charles married on September 8, 1921 to Beatrice Hickey, age 22, a waitress, living at 160 Brookline Street. She was born on Prince Edward Island. Their marriage was officiated by A.A. Rideout, at the Blaney Memorial Baptist Church, 69 Richmond Street, Dorchester.

Several years later, on March 15, 1925, Charles’ brother, a candymaker, died of heart disease, but the following year, Charles and Beatrice had a son, Roy. In 1930, they were renting at 44 Sexton Street and they had a radio set. Charles was then listed as an engineer in the electric light industry.

In 1949, Charles’ mother died of heart disease at age 89 and Charles died of heart disease at age 56 on June 22, 1953. Charles was survived by his wife, Beatrice, his sister Marjorie and his son Roy. His occupation was listed as Fireman 1^st Class. He was buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Dorchester, as was his brother and mother.

He is remembered on a bronze plaque in a list of service members from World War 1 that came from the Blaney Memorial Baptist Church and is now at DHS.

Do you know more about Charles B. McDonald? We would love to hear from you! All material has been researched by volunteers at the Dorchester Historical Society, so please let us know if we got something wrong or you think a piece of the story is missing!

REFERENCES:

Birth Records, FamilySearch.org

Cemetery Records, Cedar Grove, Dorchester

Census Records, Federal, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, FamilySearch.org

Death Records, Vital Statistics, Mt. Vernon St., Dorchester

Death Records, State Archives

Dr. Perkins’ notes

Marriage Records, State Archives

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Charles B. McDonald, Charles McDonald, Dorchester, Lower Mills, Uncategorized, World War 1 | Comments Off

December 9, 2019, Holiday Party, Dorchester Historical Society

Posted on November 21, 2018 by earltaylor

December 9, 2018 2 to 4 pm

Dorchester Histoircal Society, 195 Boston Street

Holiday Open House

Join DHS members and friends to ring in the holiday season at the annual Holiday Open House.

Dorchester -based pianist Bil Mooney-McCoy will play music of the holiday season and lead the gathering in a lively carol sing.

Enjoy food, good company and shopping in our specialty gift shop.

Admission is by donation of any amount.

Posted in Featured Events | Tagged Dorchester Historical Society, featured event, Featured_Events, Holiday Open House, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Dorchester Illustration 2379 Vincent J. Hoye

Posted on November 18, 2018 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2379 Vincent J. Hoye

Reminder: Program about World War 1 is Sunday, Nov. 18, 2 pm..

If you have photographs of your own World War I veterans who lived in Dorchester, please bring them! We would love to add them to our growing collection of Dorchester servicemen.

Vincent J. Hoye

Our next biography features: VINCENT J. HOYE 1924.0001.117

Vincent Joseph Hoye was born on 2 OCT 1889 to Stephen T. Hoye, a Boston lamplighter and Rose A. Leach of 1016 Washington Street, Dorchester. Both parents were born in Boston. Vincent was the 6^th child with older sisters and an older brother, Edward P.

By 1900, he had another brother, Stephen Aloysius, and another sister. By 1910, they are all still living at 1016 Washington Street, except older brother Edward.

On June 5, 1917, when Vincent registered for the draft, he was working at Starrett Fields Co., 809 Massachusetts Avenue, Roxbury. He was 27 years old, of medium height and build, with brown eyes and black hair. His brother Stephen, age 24, also registered. Stephen was listed as tall and slender with gray eyes and black hair; however, he claimed an exemption due to a physical disability. He was a “student at Tech” and there is no evidence that he ever served.

Vincent enlisted in the Army on August 27, 1917 and he later left for training as a flier. It was reported in the Boston Post, Thursday, September 13, 1917, that he left for St. Louis the day before, with eight other men TO BE ARMY BALLOONISTS. They were to qualify as lieutenants in the balloon pilot aeronautical service. They were “men who have passed the examination and have been ordered to take the training course”. They had received their appointments and were all attached to the Reserve Signal Corps. “The course will require five months during which they will be paid $25 a week”. “When they qualify as lieutenants they will receive $2000 and when in foreign service $3000. The men will be obliged to qualify in observation, signaling, marksmanship, ballooning and parachuting.” Vincent was made Balloon Pilot in October 1917, commissioned Lieutenant on January 15, 1918, and appointed Military Ariel Observer in October 1918.

After the war, Vincent lived at home and worked as a lumber salesman. He married Eleanor Z. Walsh, who lived at 92 Blue Hill Avenue. She was a teacher at the Mary Hemingway School, Dorchester. The marriage was reported in the Boston Globe. It took place on July 26, 1919 at St. Patrick’s Church, Dudley Street, Roxbury, by the parish priest, but in the presence of priests from St. Gregory’s Parish. Vincent was listed as a graduate of BC and “during the war was a pilot in the air service of the army”. His brother Stephen was the best man and listed as a graduate of MIT 1918.

In 1920, Vincent and Eleanor were living with Eleanor’s mother and brother at 92 Blue Hill Avenue and Vincent was listed as a salesman for a cement company.

By 1930, Vincent and Eleanor were living at 18 Ruggles Place and they had 4 children, all girls, Eleanor, RoseMary, Agnes and Ann. Vincent was listed as a commercial salesman and a veteran.

By 1940, they had 2 more children, both boys, Vincent and John. Vincent was listed as a lumber salesman. His father, age 90, was still at 1016 Washington Street with 4 of his unmarried siblings.

Vincent registered for the draft in 1942 when he was 52 years old and was working for Bay State Lumber Co., 136 Southampton Street, Boston, a company he founded with his brother Edward in 1929. The yard was closed in 1951 following a fire which almost destroyed it. He retired in 1964.

Vincent died 20 March 1978, age 88, in Framingham at the Bethany Hospital for Chronic Disease after a short illness. His residence was 18 Rugdale Road, Dorchester. Mass was said at St. Gregory’s Church, Dorchester, and he was buried at Mt. Benedict Cemetery, West Roxbury. His death record indicates he entered the military service on 10 Sept 1917 and was released from the Army 4 January 1919 having achieved rank of 2^nd Lieutenant, 65^thU.S. Army Balloon Corps. His occupation was listed as Vice President, Bay State Lumbar Company. He was survived by his wife, who died the following year at age 87. He was also survived by all six of his children; his younger brother Stephen; his youngest sister Agnes; 23 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Do you know more about Vincent Joseph Hoye? We would love to hear from you! All material has been researched by volunteers at the Dorchester Historical Society, so please let us know if we got something wrong or you think a piece of the story is missing!

REFERENCES:

Birth Records, FamilySearch.org

Census Records, Federal, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, FamilySearch.org

Census Records, Federal, 1940, Ancestry.com

Death notice: The Boston Globe, March 21, 1978

Death notice: Social Security, FamilySearch.org

Death notice: US Dept Veterans Affairs, Ancestry.com

Death record: Vital Records, 1978, 1979, Mt. Vernon St., Dorchester

Dr. Perkins’ notes

Draft Registrations, FamilySearch.org

Marriage Record, FamilySearch.org

Marriage notice, Boston Globe, July 26, 1919

News article, Boston Post, Sept 13, 1917, TO BE ARMY BALLOONISTS

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Dorchester Illustration 2378 Nathaniel Royal Perkins

Posted on November 11, 2018 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2378 Nathaniel Royal Perkins

Note: a week away

Program: Sunday, November 18, 2018 2 pm. Dorchester Historical Society, 195 Boston Street

The 26th Yankee Division and Massachusetts in World War 1

Brigadier General Leonid Kondratiuk, Director of Historical Services at the Adjutant General’s Office of the Massachusetts National Guard, will discuss the 26th Infantry “Yankee” Division and its role in World War 1,. Brigadier General Kondratiuk is an expert in Massachusetts military history and formerly served as chief of National Guard history at the Pentagon.

Also, in commemoration of the centennial of World War 1, the Dorchester historical Society presents an exhibit honoring the Dorchester residents who served our country during World War I.

We hope to continue our WW1 biographies, but for the centennial of Armistice Day and the official end of the First World War, we introduce the man who created the collection of World War I Dorcheser servicemen’s index cards and photos given by his widow to the Dorchester Historical Society:

Doctor Nathaniel Royal Perkins

Nathaniel Royal Perkins was born on September 10, 1847 in Plainfield, Vermont. He was the youngest of five children born to Amherst and Experience (Reed) Perkins. His father, Amherst, was a grist and saw miller. He is a descendant of John Perkins, who came from Bristol, England and landed at Nantucket aboard the ship Lyon on February 5, 1631 and who had originally settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Nathaniel attended the Newbury Seminary in Newbury, Vermont before attending Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He then attended the Boston University School of Medicine where he graduated in 1876; he was a member of only the third graduating class of the Medical School. While at school in 1872, Nathaniel married Clara Amelia Livingston, who was also from Vermont. According to her family genealogy, she was a descendant of Captain Benjamin Livingston, who fought in the Battle of Lexington and Concord as a “minuteman” before he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Continental Army under General Gates. Because of this, Clara was very active in the Daughters of the American Revolution. Nathaniel and Clara were married in Newport, Vermont on May 23, 1872; Nathaniel was 24 and his bride was 20 years old. The couple did not have children until after Nathaniel graduated from Boston University. Their first child, Roscoe, was born on April 6, 1879 in Haverhill, New Hampshire. Dr. Perkins was practicing medicine in nearby Woodsville, New Hampshire at the time. The 1880 census is when we first see Nathaniel living and working in Winchendon, Massachusetts. He was listed as a “home physician” and lived with his wife, Clara, his son, Roscoe (age 5), a son Leon (age 3 months), and a servant, Mary Cullinane. Dr. Perkins practiced medicine in Winchendon for fourteen years before moving his practice to Dorchester in 1890.

By the time of the United States Census in 1900, Dr. Perkins and his family were living in Dorchester at 1122 Adams Street. They again, had a live-in servant living with them. Unfortunately, his young son, Leon, died when he was just three years old from Scarlet Fever. Clara gave birth to a daughter, Clara Aleda, in 1884. In 1910, the family was still at the same house on Adams Street but Roscoe was no longer living at home. Clara Aleda worked as a public school teacher and the family still had a live-in servant. In 1908, Dr. Perkins was elected president of the Massachusetts Homeopathic Medical Society.

In 1917, at the age of 70, Dr. Perkins was working for one of the local registration boards that was set up under the Selective Service Act of 1917. It was the duty of the local boards to register young men for the draft and classify them according to the needs of the certain war-time industries. Each local board registered an average of 5,000 men. Dr. Perkins was assigned to a local board, Selective Service Board No. 21; we found his signature on many of the draft cards for the men in his photograph collection.

In 1920, Dr. Perkins was 73 years old and, according to the census, still practicing medicine. In fact, he was elected assistant secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Registration in Medicine in 1921. He was still living in the same house on Adams Street with his wife, Clara, his daughter Clara Aleda, and a live-in servant.

Dr. Perkins died suddenly on two years later on September 23, 1922 at the age of 75. His obituary appeared not only in Boston newspapers, but in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania newspapers as well, where his son, Roscoe, was himself practicing medicine. His funeral was held at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Lower Mills, and he was buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Winchendon, Massachusetts.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

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

Ancestry,com. New Hampshire, Marriage and Divorce Records, 1659-1947 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

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

Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929 [database on-line].

Newspapers.com – The Boston Globe – 22 May 1922 – Page 11

Newspapers.com – The Boston Globe – 23 Sep 1922 – Page 11

Newspapers.com – Harrisburg Telegraph – 23 Sep 1922 – Page 2

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Program, Nov. 18, 2018 The 26th Yankee Division and Massachusetts in World War 1

Posted on November 9, 2018 by earltaylor

2 pm, Sunday, November 18, 2018 at the William Clapp House, 195 Boston Street

The 26th Yankee Division and Massachusetts in World War 1

Also, in commemoration of the centennial of World War 1, the Dorchester historical Society presents an exhibit honoring the Dorchester residents who served our country during World War 1.

Posted in Featured Events | Tagged 26th Yankee Division, Featured_Events, Leonid Kondratiuk, Uncategorized, World War 1 | Comments Off

Dorchester Illustration 2377 Dorchester’s Second High School

Posted on November 4, 2018 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2377 Dorchester’s Second High School

Elbridge Smith School, Dorchester’s Second High School

The Elbridge Smith school building was located at the corner of Dorchester Avenue and Centre Street and served as Dorchester’s second high school. At the time it was completed in 1870 there were about two hundred and twenty pupils in the school.

It served as the town’s second high school until the yellow brick Dorchester High School building was erected in Codman Square in 1900. The Elbridge Smith School was demolished in 1957 and replaced by a one-story brick structure built around an interior courtyard. This new school was named to honor Patrick O’Hearn, a former city building commission and the founder of the Massachusetts Cooperative Bank in Fields Corner. In 2009, the building was renamed the Henderson School to honor Dr. William Henderson, whose 20 year tenure as the leader of the school made the school a model for diversity and inclusion.

Second Dorchester High School

entry from

Boston. Annual Report of the School Committee of the City of Boston. 1888. (Boston, 1889), 50.

Dorchester High School.–This school was established in 1852. Before the annexation of the town to Boston, the accommodations of the old schoolhouse were insufficient to meet the increased demands of the school, and a new building was in process of erection oat the time of annexation. The new building was completed and occupied in September, 1870.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Dorchester, Elbridge Smith School, Henderson School, O'Hearn School, Second High School | Comments Off

Dorchester Illustration 2376 James A. Cusick

Posted on October 28, 2018 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration no. 2376 James A. Cusick

Robert Cusick has been following our World War I servicemen blog posts and contacted us about his father, Charles, who was a Dorchester resident and veteran of World War I. We are honored to have another serviceman to feature in our exhibit!

JAMES A. CUSICK

James Augustus Cusick was born on February 3, 1894 in Boston to parents Richard and Mary (Morgan) Cusick. At the time of his birth, James’s family was living on Rockland Street near Dudley Square in the neighborhood of Roxbury. James was the third son of Richard and Mary after Arthur and Richard, Jr.; Richard was born in Massachusetts but Mary was a Canadian immigrant.

By the 1900 census, the Cusick family is a family of 7, having added two more children to the mix: sons Clifford and Albion. They are now living on Washington Street near Egleston Square in Jamaica Plain. James’s father, Richard, is listed as working in the clothing business. By 1910, the family has moved again and is now living in Dorchester, where they will stay. They are living on Callender Street near Franklin Field and Richard is working as a “traveling wool salesman.” Although James is only 16, he is listed as working as a house painter. Additionally, he has two more siblings: another brother, Frank, and a little sister, May. The family now has seven children.

On June 4, 1917, James registered for the draft. He is living at 1829 Dorchester Avenue in Dorchester, not too far from Peabody Square. His occupation still lists him as a painter and employed by someone in Dorchester named John Whidden. He is listed as having previous military experience as a private in the coast artillery. While in the service, James served in the 151st Artillery Division as well as the 42nd Infantry “Rainbow” Division. The name for “rainbow division” takes its name from a quote said by General Douglas MacArthur when National Guard units were federalized to create an army at the start of the United States’ involvement in World War I. The division was meant to be non-divisional and take units from several states, leading MacArthur to proclaim that it would “stretch over the whole country like a rainbow.” According to his son, Robert, part of James’s job during the war was to go to railyards with a horse-drawn wagon and pick up artillery shells which he would then take to the front. He also manned a French 75 artillery cannon during the campaigns at the Battle of Champagne, Battle of Saint-Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. And, James was in Sedan in France on Armistice Day on November 11, 1918. However, James did not return home until the Spring of 1919 as he was part of the 42nd Division, which was ordered to stay in Europe and occupy an area in Koblenz, Germany, along the Rhine River; he was honorably discharge on May 7, 1919.

After the war, James returned to Boston and moved back in with his mother and siblings. In 1920, he is living again on Dorchester Avenue, single, and working as a conductor on the street railway. However, in 1926, James married his first wife, Anna G. Hanley. Shortly after, in 1927, they had their first son, James, and are living on Adams Street in Dorchester. Their daughter, Phyllis, was born a two years later in 1929, and another daughter, Marie, in 1931.

Unfortunately, in 1936, Anna died at the young age of 41; leaving James to a single father to three young children: James was 8, Phyllis was 6, and Marie was 5. According to the 1940 census, by this time, the family is living on Spaulding Street in the Neponset area of Dorchester. There is a young IrIsh woman, named Mary O’Toole, living with them and listed as a housekeeper. Only four years later, in 1944, Mary would marry James. And, in 1950, they would have a son, Robert.

James and his family would remain in Dorchester for the rest of his life. He died on June 11, 1975 at the age of 81. His obituary lists him as a World War I Army veteran and a retired postal service employee. At the time of his death, he was a grandfather of seven and a great-grandfather of one. His funeral was said at Saint Mark’s Church in Dorchester and he is buried at the Blue Hills Cemetery in Braintree.

Sources

“42nd Infantry Division (United States).” Wikipedia.com. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/42nd_Infantry_Division_(United_States)

Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.

Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

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

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

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

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

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., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. 12 Jun 1975. Page 58.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23665921/james_cusick_obituary/?xid=637

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Dorchester, James Cusick, Uncategorized, World War 1 | Comments Off