Dorchester Illustration 2311 Ray A Campbell

Posted on July 30, 2017 by earltaylor

2311 Ray A Campbell

Ray Alexander Campbell -1924.0001.015

At the Dorchester Historical Society, we are in the process of a year-long project to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of World War 1. Using a collection of photographs we have of World War 1 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 Ray A. Campbell:

Ray was born April 13, 1893 in Boston to David B. and Lavinia M. Campbell, both of whom had immigrated from Nova Scotia, Canada. In 1910, he lived with his parents and siblings on Hillside Terrace in Dorchester. His father was a carpenter and his mother a homemaker.  He had three older sisters and two younger brothers. At age 17, he worked in the cement industry. He’s described as being of medium height and build, with brown hair and gray eyes.

He enlisted Dec. 26, 1917 and served with the Aviation Force in France as a Carpenter’s Mate 2nd Class. The photo shows him in naval uniform. The Naval Aviation Force predated the modern Air Force.

On returning from the war, he married Sarah Adams Boyle, known as Sadie, on July 3, 1919. They apparently lived with his parents on Clermont Street in the Ashmont neighborhood of Dorchester, but later bought a home on Sawyer Avenue in Savin Hill. They had two sons, Ray A., Jr., and  John R., and Sadie’s brother William also lived with them.

Ray died November 24, 1957, while living on Franklin Road in Lexington. Services were held at his home.

Do you know more about Ray A. Campbell? 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:

Ancestry.com:

US Federal Census, 1910, 1920, 1930

US WWI Draft registration, 1917-1918

 

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

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Dorchester Illustration of the Day 2310 Fred C. Gilpatric, Jr.

Posted on July 23, 2017 by earltaylor

2310 Fred C. Gilpatric, Jr.

Dorchester Illustration no. 2310       Fred C. Gilpatric

Fred C. Gilpatric – 1924.0001.018

At the Dorchester Historical Society, we are in the process of a year-long project to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of World War I. Using a collection of photographs we have of World War I Dorchester residents, we will be featuring service men and women 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 women and their service to our country.

Our next biography features: Fred C. Gilpatric, Jr.

Fred Cook Gilpatric, Jr. was born on March 8, 1897 to Fred and Flora May Gilpatric, and he appears to have been their only child. At the time of his birth, and for his childhood, the Gilpatrics made their home on Richmond Street in the Lower Mills neighborhood of Dorchester. Fred’s father, Fred Sr., was a lawyer in Downtown Boston, listed in the Boston City Directory as working on Court Street as well as Pemberton Square.

Fred graduated from Boston Latin School in 1914 and went on to study at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He was set to graduate in 1919 but never would; he was chosen for military service after enlisting on June 5 ,1918. Interestingly, Dr. Nathaniel R. Perkins is listed as the registrar on his draft registration card. His draft card describes him as a young man of “medium height and build, light blue eyes, and dark brown hair.”

Fred did not serve very much time in the military as he was stricken with influenza pneumonia and never recovered. On September 27, 1918, Fred died at the Base Hospital in Camp Lee, Virginia while he was still in officer training school. His death certificate lists him as a “soldier, private in Company 26, Central Officers Training.” He is buried in Dorchester at Cedar Grove Cemetery, and his grave is marked with a stone that reads: “Our Soldier Boy.” Dr. Perkins notes on his index card for Fred, “ This young man had brilliant prospects in the future but he answered his country’s call and made the supreme sacrifice.”

In 1920, the Old Dorchester Post honored Fred and three other young Dorchester men who died during World War I, by dedicating street squares in their names. The square at Adams and Milton Streets was renamed Fred C. Gilpatric Square and dedicated in a ceremony held on November 21, 1920.

Do you know more about Fred C. Gilpatric? 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!

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

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Dorchester Illustration 2309 Adams Corner

Posted on July 16, 2017 by earltaylor

2309 Adams Corner circa 1880

Dorchester Illustration no. 2309           Adams Corner circa 1877

The Dorchester Historical Society has received a set of three photographs from descendants of the Pierce family.

This photo came in three parts. The three photos appear to have been separate, mounted on card backing.  It looks as if someone cut the card backing to allow the photos to be set side by side to create the wide landscape view that we have been able to achieve by scanning each one separately and combining the panels using Photoshop.  A rough edge on the left panel indicates that there may once have been another panel to the very left.

The photo shows Adams corner between 1874 and 1882, before Gallivan Boulevard was created and when Marsh Street was a faint impression on the landscape leading toward the houses in the distance.  The photographer was probably standing on Pierce land on the south side of what is now Beaumont Street up on the hill, somewhere about 53 to 71 Beaumont Street – in their backyards down toward Westmoreland Street, which did not exist at the time.

Adams Street runs horizontally from left to right, turning the corner around the coal gas building, continuing a block and passing the entrance to Malvern Street (now Millbrook Street), which extends vertically at the right side of the composite photo.  Marsh Street runs from behind the coal gas round-house toward the houses in the distance.  Granite Avenue runs diagonally to the right from that same intersection.  The 1874 map indicates that the round house was owned by the Dorchester Gas Light Company, and continues to appear on the maps through 1910.  Coal gas was used for illumination for street lights and residential and commercial buildings.  The 1918 map shows the round house as a garage owned by Bernard Murphy.

The street extending from Adams Street in the center at an angle going off toward the left is Minot Street.  Notice that on the near side of Adams Street between Minot Street and the coal gas house is a small stream that became larger as it went under Adams Street.  This is the beginning of Davenport’s Creek leading to the Neponset River.  A part of this stream is visible today as a gully on Hallett Street between the Firefighter’s Credit Union and the car dealership on the corner of Gallivan, although that location is not in this photo.  I am told that the basements of houses along Minot Street are sometimes quite damp due to this underground stream.  Between 1910 and 1918 the stream was capped from Adams Street to Ross Road.  Between 1918 and 1933 the stream was capped as far as Hallet Street, probably as part of the construction of Gallivan Boulevard in the late 1920s.

The house in center in the distance is the S.S Pierce property whose site is now occupied by St. Brendan’s Church.  The buildings in the left of the picture on the near side of Adams Street were the property of Thomas Pierce in 1874 and George Pierce in 1884.

On the 1874 map, the stream on the near side of Adams Street is visible, but Minot Street on the near side of Adams Street is only a proposed street. The bottom center of the photo shows a definite street on the near side of Adams and the upper portion of houses, so it would seem the photo is after 1874.  The 1882 map shows Minot Street on near side of Adams Street, but the stream is no longer visible on the near side of Adams, so the stream must have been covered over in that eight year period. Therefore it seems the photo is earlier than 1882.

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Dorchester Illusration 2308 Cannons for the War of 1812

Posted on July 9, 2017 by earltaylor
KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

Dorchester Illustration no. 2308           Cannons for the War of 1812

The Dorchester Historical Society has acquired 2 brass cannons that were made for the New England Guards in 1814.  The Guards used them in their encampments, including on Savin Hill, Dorchester, and Lafayette fired one of them during his farewell tour to America in 1824 when he visited the Guards at Savin Hill.  The New Hampshire Patriot and State Gazette of September 6, 1824, repeats information from the Boston Centinel, describing part of his visit: “After passing South Boston, we understand, he visited the New-England Guards, now on camp duty at Savin Hill, in Dorchester, and witnessed their skill at target firing.  On his visit to the encampment of the New-England Guards, the General, we are told, tried his skill in gunnery , and directed one of the field pieces with such good aim, as to pierce the target.  A large assemblage of the visitors of the encampment announced his success with reiterated cheerings.  He then dined with Governor Eustis, in Roxbury.”

The following is from Antique Views of Ye Towne of Boston by James Henry Stark. (Boston: 1882) Stark is describing an engraving showing the Guards at Savin Hill.

“The News England Guards camped annually on the level ground on the south side of the hill.  The illustration shown here was produced from an oil painting in the room of the Bostonian Society in the Old State House.  It shows the camp as it appeared in 1819, with the large bell-shaped tents in the foreground, and the high rocky hill covered with cedar trees.  When Lafayette visited Boston in 1824, he attended the camp, and fired one of the field pieces, putting a shot through the centre of the target.

The following is from Proceedings of the Bostonian Society at the Annual Meeting, January 13, 1885. Boston, 1885. p. 23-26

“These cannon, which for a long  period  have been disused, have been given the necessary attention, and are now in  excellent condition. Their weight is about seven hundred pounds apiece when dismounted, while each gun with  its  carriage, represents  a  total  weight  of about  twelve hundred pounds.  Upon the breech of these pieces is exhibited a representation, in relief, of the Indian figure borne upon the shield of the Commonwealth, with an engraved inscription, as follows:  ‘Cast and Mounted by Order of the Board of War, for the  New England Guards, 1814.’  The  carriages upon which these guns  rest are constructed  of  white  pasture oak, and in their  shape differ materially from the pattern now in use for  ordnance  of this description.  The guns are identified, in the memories of early members of the corps,  with many interesting associations.  They mark the period when the duties of the organization, although  described in the preamble of its Constitution as those of  ‘a Company of  Light  Infantry,’  were, in part at least, those of  Artillery, to which branch of service it appeared, in the early years of its existence, to especially incline.  Ample testimony is afforded by the records to the fact that the guns thus granted  by  the  Government were faithfully  exercised by the corps in persevering efforts to perfect itself in target practice,  during frequent tours of military duty, a custom which appears to have been measurably adhered to in subsequent years, during its  memorable encampments at Woburn, and at Savin Hill.  At the  latter place, in the year 1824, it had the honor of welcoming, as its distinguished guest, General Lafayette, then making his last visit to America, who, escorted by Governor Eustis, paid a visit  to the camp.*”

*The  official existence of the New England Guards dates from September 22, 1812.  Upon that date “the persons named in the petition of Lemuel Blake and others, associated for the purpose of forming a Company of Light Infantry,” met at Concert Hall, at six o’clock, P. M., in accordance with Brigade Orders, signed by Bryant P. Tilden, for the election of officers. The choice was as follows, by a unanimous vote:  Samuel Swett, Esq., Captain; George Sullivan, Esq., Lieutenant; Mr. Lemuel Blake, Ensign. The Constitution of  “The Company of New England  Guards” was adopted September  25, 1812.

The carriages for the cannons are gone. The Dorchester Historical Society is currently researching the appropriate design of a gun carriage for at least one of the cannons.

The Bostonian Society had a two-fold reason for de-accessioning these cannons. The Bostonian Society interprets the Revolutonary-era history of Boston, so the cannons fall outside of their mission, having been produced and used in the 19th century. Additionally, due to their size and weight, The Bostonian Society was unable to display them in the Old State House but considers them important objects that should be available to the public.  They were pleased that the Dorchester Historical Society would give them a home, where they can be used to help interpret the history of Dorchester and the Commonwealth.

Check out the Dorchester Historical Society’s online catalog at

http://dorchester.pastperfectonline.com/

 

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Dorchester Illustration 2307 World War I: Harold Armstrong Andrews

Posted on July 2, 2017 by earltaylor

2307 Harold Andrews

Dorchester Illustration no. 2307 World War I: Harold Armstrong Andrews

What we are cataloging now at the Dorchester Historical Society

At the Dorchester Historical Society, we are in the process of a year-long project to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of World War I. Using a collection of photographs we have of World War I Dorchester residents, we will be featuring soldiers in a number of short biographies throughout the year. Most of the collection is a series of cards and photographs of men and women who were examined by Dr. Nathaniel R. Perkins of 1122 Adams Street prior to entry into service.  At the culmination of the project, we hope to produce an online exhibit which highlights these men and their service to our country.

Harold Armstrong Andrews

According to Dr. Perkins, Harold A. Andrews, 73 River St., Mattapan, enlisted in WW1 on December 7, 1917. He was sent to Fort Slocum, NY and then to Jacksonville, Florida for training.  He served in the 301st Field Remount Squadron, American Expeditionary Forces, France. The A.E.F. was the expeditionary force of the U.S. Army during WW1. It was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of Gen. John J. Pershing. Remount units worked with the Veterinary Corps to care for and supply fresh horses for the troops and supply wagons, as the horses were so frequently incapacitated or killed.

Harold A. Andrews was born in 1895, the youngest of 10 children (4 brothers and 5 sisters), on 73 River St., Mattapan to Thomas Alonzo Andrews Jr. and Charlotte (Armstrong). His parents were both born in East Boston. Thomas worked as an engineer in the Fire Department and Charlotte worked as a book keeper.

By 1910, only one of Harold’s brothers, Edwin Leslie born in 1890, was still living at home and he was working at the Baker chocolate factory. Three sisters were still living at home and working as mill hands in the chocolate factory.

Both Harold, age 22, and his brother Edwin, age 26, registered for the first draft on June 5, 1917. Harold is listed as an electrical operator for the Edison Electric Light Co. in Dorchester. He was single, white, medium height and slender with blue eyes and dark hair. Edwin is listed as an Electrical operator at the Edison Electric Co. in Milton. Edwin was single, Caucasian, short and slender with brown eyes and black hair. Edwin claimed exemption due to the care of his mother and also in so far as his service may be necessary to the Public Utility Service in which he is employed. Also it is possible he did not eventually serve as he may not have been well. He died of TB at age 27 in May 1918.

According to an internet search on the U.S. Remount Squadron No. 301, WW1, the Squadron sailed overseas from Hoboken, NJ, under the command of Captain John S. Hunt, April 30, 1918, and arrived at St. Nazaire, Loire Inferieure, France, Remount Depot No. 1 on May 12.  For several months, the unit served at the Depot at Coetquidan and then reported for duty under the Commanding General First Army in Heippes (near Souilly and Verdun) where an Army Evacuation/Collection Station was established, the Army Animals Evacuation Depot at Aubreville. Animals that were evacuated to the Station were relayed by rail to S.O.S. Veterinary Hospitals. The station was established to meet the needs of the Veterinary Army Corps during the Meuse-Argonne operations. Thousands of animals were received and issued until the Depot closed April 28, 1919. The 301 departed Verdun and marched with the 3rd Army for Wengerohr, Germany. The 301 was stationed at the Depot there until they departed for home in June 1919. There is a photo on line of the 301st Field Remount Squadron at Wengerohr, just google “301 Remount Squadron”.

By 1920, Harold had married Myrtle (Mertyl) L. Healy (b. 1899) and both are living with his mother Charlotte and two of his sisters, still at 73 River St.  Harold’s father, Thomas, had died suddenly of “natural causes” at age 63 in 1914, having retired from the Boston Fire Department.

In 1930, Harold was living with his wife and their 2 children, Helen (8 years old) and Harold Andrews Jr., (6 years old) on Fiske Ave. in East Weymouth. He was listed as a watchman in the electricity business.

On April 28, 1933, Harold died suddenly, presumably of heart disease (coronary thrombosis), at age 37 at home in E. Weymouth. He had been an operator at the Edison Plant for 16 years. He was buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, with his wife’s grandparents, after an Odd Fellows service in the chapel. He was a member of the Dorchester Lodge, 158, I.O.O.F., River St., Dorchester Lower Mills.

 

REFERENCES:

Birth, Marriage and Death Records, Familysearch.org

Census Records, 1880, 1910, 1920, 1930, Familysearch.org

Cedar Grove Cemetery Record

Death notice, Boston Globe

Draft Registration Records, Familysearch.org

Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, 150 Mt. Vernon St., Dorchester, MA

Website: 301 Remount Squadron

 

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

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Dorchester Illustration 2306 Cars Decorated for Parade

Posted on June 25, 2017 by earltaylor

2306 Cars Decorated with Flags

Dorchester Illustration no. 2306           Cars Decorated for Parade, 1915

Today we have a photograph of two cars from 1915 with flags facing the wrong way on Columbia Road, and the display advertisement from the 1913 Boston City Directory for R.S. Fitch Real Estate.  Were the cars going to join the Dorchester Day Parade, or were they out for the Fourth of July?  The person who owned the photo thinks the first car may be an Oakland Touring Car.  The license plate of the second car has the date 1915.

The brick building in the background with the sign R.S, Fitch Real Estate is now 622 Columbia Road (city assessor gives it as 4 Hamlet Street).  The Boston City Directories from 1913 and 1915 have entries for R.S. Fitch Real Estate at 79 Milk Street and 624 Columbia Road.   Fitch lived on Sumner Street.  On the back of the photo, there is a handwritten note: W.H. Hardy, 19 Parkman Street, and Mr. Milton, 16 Parkman Street.

Neither Fitch nor Milton seems to have owned real estate on Sumner Street or Parkman Street respectively.  The 1918 atlas shows the owner of 19 Parkman Street as William H. Hardy.  City directories and census show William to have been a building contractor.  He would have been 47 years of age at the time of photograph.  Too bad we don’t know which man in the photograph he was.

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

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Dorchester Illustration 2305 Robinson School

Posted on June 18, 2017 by earltaylor

2305 Robinson School

Dorchester Illustration no. 2305           Robinson School

The Robinson School was located where there is now a vacant lot on Robinson Street, where pieces of stone and fence indicate what was once there.

Postcard. Caption on front: The Robinson School, Dorchester, Mass.  Photo by J.V. Hartman.  Postally unused. On verso: Pub. by J.V. Hartman & Co., Boston, Mass. Series 64.

This building, named the Benjamin Cushing School, opened in 1897 and closed in 1973.  It was demolished soon thereafter.

The detail from the 1933 atlas shows the location.

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

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Dorchester Illustration 2304 Edmund Baker House corner of Washington & Richmond

Posted on June 11, 2017 by earltaylor

2304 Edmund Baker House and Methodist Church Richmond at Washington

Reminder: Dorchester House tour today, noon to 5 pm, starting at All Saints Church, Peabody Square

 

Dorchester Illustration no. 2304           Edmund Baker House corner of Washington & Richmond

Postcard. Caption on front: Cor. Wash. And Richmond Sts.  Postmarked Dorchester Center Station.  Circa 1910.

Illustration is of the Edmund Baker House and Methodist Church and houses on the opposite side of Washington Street.  The site where the house was located now has an office building.  The Methodist Church building has been replaced with an A-frame one-story building.

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

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Dorchester Illustration 2303 World War I Francis G. Kane

Posted on June 4, 2017 by earltaylor

2303 Francis G. Kane

Dorchester Illustration no. 2303                       World War I: Francis G. Kane

In response to our first post about the Society’s World War I materials, Marti Glynn offered information about another Dorchester soldier.

Francis G. Kane of Dorchester was killed in action on April 12, 1918 at Apremont, in the battle of Bois Brule. He was 23 years old. He was a member of the 26th ‘Yankee’ Division, 52nd Brigade,104th Infantry.  In 1920, the Boston City Council named the intersection of Bowdoin Street and Winter Street after Frank Kane.

Francis Gerard Kane was born on January 21, 1895 to Robert Kane and Mary G. Jordan, the second of three children, between his older brother Joseph R. and his sister Mary.   By 1910 the family lived at 1B Puritan Avenue, in the Mt. Bowdoin neighborhood of Dorchester.  Robert Kane was a newspaper compositor.   When Francis registered for the draft on January 5, 1917, he was employed as a Clerk at the American Agricultural Chemical Company on State Street.

The American legion’s Francis G. Kane Post #60 was named in his memory.

Check out the Dorchester Historical Society’s online catalog at

http://dorchester.pastperfectonline.com/

 

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Dorchester Illustration 2302 Dorchester House Tour

Posted on May 28, 2017 by earltaylor

2017_House_Tour_reporter_4C cropped

Dorchester Illustration no. 2302               Dorchester House Tour

Dorchester Historical Society Continues Neighborhood House Tour

Sunday, June 11, from 12 noon to 5 p.m.

Featuring Homes in the Ashmont/Carruth Neighborhood and the Parish of All Saints, Ashmont

Continuing the long tradition of Dorchester house tours that it revived last year in the Ashmont Hill neighborhood, the Dorchester Historical Society presents the 2017 Dorchester House Tour on Sunday, June 11, from 12 noon to 5 p.m. This year the tour features the Ashmont/Carruth neighborhood, where ten spectacular houses will be open for ticket-holders to visit.  Homeowners will be on hand to talk about the ways they have preserved, restored, and transformed their 19th century houses for 21st century living. Their homes are very special to them, and this is a wonderful way to hear their stories first-hand.  The recently restored 1892 Parish of All Saints, Ashmont, at 209 Ashmont Street, will also be open.

Registration is at All Saints, Ashmont.  Check in to pick up your house tour booklet, which serves as your ticket.

Tickets in advance $30.  Buy tickets at: www.dorchesterhistoricalsocietyblog.org  Your name will be kept on our list, so that you can check in and pick up your booklet.

The price for tickets on the day of the tour will be $35.

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