By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | August 25, 2019
In this year, we encounter a new crop, pole rights, a leather repairer wanted, another horse auction, a Milton Mills man on a spree, the destruction by fire of the Milton Grammar School, a summer cottage for rent, a barber wanted, a pasture offered for a horse, a sales proposition, Mrs. Dobbyn’s return, a drug clerk seeking employment, the death of John E. Townsend, a chauffeur seeking work, a missing bankroll, yeggmen cracking the Milton post-office safe, help wanted at the Milton Shoe Company, and some cold weather.
This was also the year in which the Great War began in Europe. (It later had to be re-designated as the First World War, or World War One (WW I)).
FOR SALE. ICE. MILTON, N.H. – New crop, car lots. J.O. PORTER, Marblehead, Mass., or Milton, N.H. dSu4t ja1 (Boston Globe, January 1, 1914).
A public commission granted permission for the telephone company to erect its telephone poles on private property, forcibly overriding the owners’ objections, and to run its lines between them, “for the common good.” The owners received an “award” of damages.
MANY PETITIONS ARE FILED. Public Service Commission Grant Pole Rights in Strafford County and Award Damages. Concord, Jan. 29. – The following petitions have been filed with the public commission: Petition of W.A. Emerson’s sons et als. vs. Boston and Maine railroad, for a change in the location of the railroad station in Hampstead. Petition of Fowler Brothers et als. vs. Boston and Maine railroad, asking for the restoration of early train service on the Hooksett branch. Petition of Canaan People’s Telephone Company for permission to operate a telephone utility in Canaan and Enfield. Petition of Sullivan county railroad vs. James Keefe et als., asking for the assessment of land damages of land taken for railroad purposes in North Walpole. Petition of Fitchburg Railroad company for approval of a proposed Issue bonds. Petition of Canterbury and Boscawen Telephone Company for approval of proposed issue of stock. Upon the petition of the New England Telephone and Telegraph company vs. John Greenfield et als., asking for pole rights over lands of the respondents in Rochester, Milton, Brookfield and Madison, the commission has an order granting the company permission to build the proposed lines which are found to be required for the common good, and has awarded damages as follows: John Greenfield, $175; Walter S. Wentworth, $200; Charles Wentworth, $175; Luther Hayes, $69; Thomas Lahey, $250; Walter S. and Mary Sanborn, $200 (Portsmouth Herald, January 20, 1914).
The Milton Shoe Co. sought a patent leather repairer. Patent leather had a high gloss surface made of successive coats of lamp black and linseed oil, with bakings and dryings between coats. Russet leather would have been similar, but with a reddish brown coloration.
MALE HELP WANTED. WANTED – Patent leather repairer and russet repairer, steady work. Apply to MILTON SHOE CO. Milton, N H. 2t f25 (Boston Globe, February 25, 1914).
Seven Metropolitan Ice Company horses, who had worked all winter in Milton’s ice industry, were sold at a Boston special auction, held on Thursday, March 12, at 11 AM.
HENRY S. HARRIS’ SONS NO. UNION HORSE EXCHANGE, SAMUEL C. HARRIS, Prop., 197 Friend St. and 38 Traverse St., Boston. REGULAR AUCTION SALE, Wednesday March 11, AT 10:30 A.M., We Will Have Six Carloads OF FRESH COUNTRY HORSES Arrive on Monday and Tuesday, which means that we will have at least 200 horses to go under the hammer on Wednesday. In this lot are some fancy matched pairs: of , different weights and some fancy singles, and consists of Draughters, Expressers, Grocery and Light Wagon Horses, and, in fact, suitable for any kind of business. These horses must be sold, and it is enough to say that they will be sold cheap enough to suit any one, and now is the time to get what you want. AT 3 O’CLOCK 50 ACCLIMATED HORSES That have been used in and about the city, of all kinds, have been consigned by various firms who are reducing their stock or replacing them for fresh ones will be put up for absolute sale to the highest bidder. Among them are some good, sound horses and a good opportunity will be presented to buy serviceable horses at attractive prices; reasons for selling will be announced at time of sale. ANNOUNCEMENT SPECIAL AUCTION SALE On Thursday, March 12, At 11 A.M. One carload of heavy draught horses that have been used by the Metropolitan Ice Co. at Milton, N.H. These horses have been worked all Winter and are in practically perfect condition. No better lot of horses can be found anywhere, in this lot are: 1 Pr. Brown Horses, 5 & 6 yrs. old, weigh 2900 lbs., 1 Pr. Bay Mares, 6 & 7 yrs. old, weigh 3000 lbs, 1 Roan Mare, 5 years old, weighs 1350 lbs., 1 Black Horse, 7 years old, weighs 1700 lbs., 1 Black Horse, 8 years old, weighs 1600 lbs., and balance are in matched pairs and singles of various weights and ages. Immediately Following We Will Sell 17 horses that have been used by a local coal company who are reducing their stock for the Summer; this is an exceptionally good lot of young, sound horses and most of them were purchased green last Fall. These horses are placed for absolute sale regardless of cost or value, to the highest bidders. Sale Positive, Rain or Shine. SAMUEL C. HARRIS, J.W. MILLER, Auctioneers (Boston Globe, March 8, 1914).
Courtland D. Healey went from Milton Mills to Boston, MA, to see some people. It would seem that he found them difficult to face, or was possessed of a prodigious thirst, or both.
ARRESTED TWICE IN THE SAME DAY. Courtland D. Healey Gives His Own Bail. Admits Being Drunk. Will Hurry to New Hampshire Home. Courtland D. Healey, who claimed to belong in Milton Mills, N.H. got arrested twice yesterday in the South End on drunkenness charges. And both times after he straightened up he bailed himself out. This morning, when Clerk Lord called his name in the Municipal Court, he said: “Yes, sir, that’s my name, and I was drunk, just as the officer says I was.” It was then explained that Healey had been bailed out only a hour when he was arrested the second time, and about midnight he bailed himself out the second time. Healey said he guessed he would go right back to Milton Mills instead of visiting the people he came to Boston to see. His case today was placed on file (Boston Globe, March 21, 1914).
Mr. Healey left little trace in Milton Mill’s documentary record. He would seem to have been an older man, who originated in upstate New York, and perhaps did not remain long.
The Milton Grammar School burned to the ground on Saturday morning, April 4, 1914. (It was replaced by the current Milton Elementary School).
WEST MILTON. The residents of this side of the town were shocked to learn of the disastrous fire which consumed the grammar school building at Milton village at an early hour last Saturday morning (Farmington News, [Friday,] April 10, 1914).
When barbers were making $14 per week, a furnished 5-room cottage and stable could be rented for the season for $100. (Roughly $356 and $2,532, respectively, in 2018 dollars).
SUMMER COTTAGES. TO LET FOR SEASON. $100.00. FURNISHED 5-ROOM COTTAGE and stable at Milton, N H; oak and pine grove, sandy beach, good fishing and gunning. P.O. Box 617, Farmington, N.H. (Boston Globe, May 10, 1914).
Stanley C. Tanner was born in Farmington, NH, October 30, 1892, son of Hervey E. and Mary (O’Hare) Tanner.
Stanley C. Tanner, an odd jobs laborer, aged seventeen years (b. NH), resided with his family in Wakefield, NH, at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His family resided on Charles street in Milton, at its corner with Mill street, in 1912.
He advertised now for a barber, in language very similar to the 1913 advertisements of Arthur Marshall. The only difference being that $14 was offered now, rather than $13. Perhaps Marshall had hired him then and they were now associated.
MALE HELP WANTED. WANTED – A barber, $14 with ½ day off; none but sober men need apply. STANLEY L. TANNER, Milton, N.H. (May 27, 1914).
Stanley Cleaveland Tanner of Milton, NH, aged twenty-four years, registered in Milton, Strafford County, NH, June 5, 1917, for the WW I draft. He was then employed as a fireman for the Y.W.C.A. in Boston, MA. He was tall and slender, with brown eyes and brown hair.
Private 1st Class Stanley C. Tanner left Boston, MA, on the troopship Lancashire, July 19, 1918, with Battery A of the Sixty-Sixth Artillery, Coast Artillery Corps. He left Pauillac, France, February 19, 1919, on the troopship Powhattan, bound for Hoboken, NJ, again with Battery A of the Sixty-Sixth Artillery, Coast Artillery Corps.
We have all heard of horses being “put out to pasture.” This would seem to be an offer to accept someone’s horse for free. It would do henceforth some light work on a farm for its keep.
HORSES, CARRIAGES, ETC. WANTED – Horse for keeping, light work, on farm. R.J. KENNISTON, Milton, N.H. (Boston Globe, June 14, 1914).
Other similar advertisements more clearly say a horse for its keeping. The alternative would have been “a trip to the glue factory.”
In 1912, William T. Wallace had been a bookkeeper for the Milton Shoe Company, with his house at 60 Main street, opposite the Hotel.
AGENTS, PARTNERS, ETC. AGENTS – Would you be satisfied to take in $4 a day; write at once for our new proposition; territory going fast; don’t miss this chance. WALLACE & COMPANY, Box 47, Milton, N.H. (Boston Globe, July 5, 1914).
Whatever his new proposition might have been, it apparently did not last for long.
Newspapers of this time, and even much later, routinely printed news of the comings and goings of local residents. This might now be regarded as an open invitation to burglars.
BUNKER HILL DISTRICT. Lieut. and Mrs. John F. Dobbyn and family are at Milton, N.H. Lieut. Dobbyn is to return to duty in the Police Department in two weeks, but his family will remain for the rest of the Summer (Boston Globe, July 21, 1914).
This particular item announced a return visit by the unsinkable Mrs. Dobbyn, who had rescued a drowning girl in 1902. Lt. Dobbyn had escorted the victim of the Hennessey Kidnapping of 1908 from Milton to her home in Boston, MA.
War in Europe. Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Austro-Hungarian royal heir on June 28, 1914. Diplomatic threats and maneuvering, termed “the July crisis,” followed. The Austro-Hungarian empire shelled the Serbian capital on July 28. The Russian empire mobilized on July 30. The German empire declared war on the Russian empire on August 1. Germany invaded the Belgian empire and declared war on the French republic on August 3. The British empire declared war on the German empire on August 4. The British empire and the French republic declared war on the Austro-Hungarian empire on August 12. The Japanese empire seized Asian territory of the German empire on August 23. The Ottoman empire entered the war in November 1914, with attacks against the Russian empire (in the Caucasus) and the British empire (in Mesopotamia and the Sinai).
Empires would be bankrupted, or driven under, or both. Millions would be killed and huge amounts of property destroyed. All for nothing. At the beginning at least, people of the United States (and Milton) may have had their sympathies one way or another, but the U.S. government remained neutral, at least for a time.
A newly-married Emerson’s Pharmacy clerk in Milton Mills sought to improve his situation. Frederick Edwin Carswell was born in Denver, CO, October 8, 1891, son of Luther E. and Jennie E. (Titus) Carswell.
Luther Carswell, a cotton mill brass worker, aged forty-four years (b. VT), headed a Manchester, NH, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of twenty-one years), Jennie Carswell, aged forty-two years (b. NH), and his children, Fred E. Carswell, a drug store clerk, aged eighteen years (b. CO), Bernice Carswell, a confectionary store bookkeeper, aged sixteen years (b. NH), and William Carswell, aged ten years (b. NH). Jennie Carswell was the mother of five children, of whom three were still living. They rented their house at 356 Lake Avenue in Manchester.
Based upon his claim of having worked two years in a Rexall store, it would seem that F.E. Carson took up residence in Milton Mills, and employment in Emerson’s Pharmacy, circa 1912. (See Milton in the News – 1913 for more on Emerson’s Pharmacy).
Fred Edwin Carswell married in Manchester, NH, February 4, 1914, Frances Edna Ayer, both of Milton. She was born in Parsonfield, ME, September 21, 1892, daughter of Harry E. and Charlotte H. (Hanscom) Ayer. He was a druggist and she a telephone operator.
SITUATIONS WANTED – DRUG CLERK with 9 yrs’ exp., reg. asst. N.H., 2 yrs. in Rexall store, desires position after Sept 1; young married man of neat appearance and good salesman; best of references; would consider laboratory, drug store or a general store position where a hustler and a good salesman is wanted. Address F.E. CARSWELL, Milton Mills, N.H. dSu5t au22 (Boston Globe, August 22, 1914).
Fred E. Carswell was still a drug clerk at Emerson’s Pharmacy, with a house at 5 Highland street in Milton Mills, in 1917. However, by 1919, he and Frances were back with his family in Manchester, where he was working as a machinist as late as 1922. He would return to Milton Mills. In fact, he became its postmaster.
Frederick E. Carswell died in Milton Mills, October 5, 1957. Frances E. (Ayer) Carswell died in Wolfeboro, NH, November 8, 1980.
Here we bid farewell to John E. Townsend, who ran his family’s blanket mill at Milton Mills.
John E. Townsend Dead. MILTON MILL, N.H, Sept 9 – John E Townsend, a prominent blanket manufacturer died yesterday after a long illness. He leaves a wife, son and daughter (Boston Globe, September 9, 1914).
DEATHS. TOWNSEND – In Milton Mills, N.H., Sept. 8, John E. Townsend, in his 43d year. Funeral Saturday, Sept. 12, at 2 P.M. (Boston Globe, September 10, 1914).
We encountered him previously as an amateur photographer in 1902, and the victim of a theft in 1910.
On the day after the Townsend funeral, chauffeur L. Miles advertised for a new situation for he and his wife.
SITUATIONS WANTED – MALE. CHAUFFEUR and wife, 6 yrs’ exper. driving and repairing, foreign and domestic cars, holds London license, wife to do housework. L. MILES, Box 244, Milton, N.H. dSu3t s12 (Boston Globe, September 13, 1914).
Having a London license suggests he was of British origin (as were the Townsends). One might suppose that he had been the Townsend chauffeur.
A young lady from Milton was unfortunate enough to lose or have stolen from her in Boston, MA, quite a wad of cash. (It would have been equivalent to between $2,052 and $2,565 in 2018 dollars; a 10¢ purchase at the Tremont-st. 10¢ store, would now cost $2.57).
LOST, FOUND, ETC. LOST – Tuesday afternoon in Houghton & Dutton’s or the nearby Tremont-st. 10¢ store, a banded roll of money, between $80 and $100, by a young lady dependent on same; liberal reward. Box 293. Milton, N.H. 2t n5 (Boston Globe, November 5, 1914).
Houghton & Dutton’s was a large department store at the intersection of Tremont and School streets. (Its neighbors were the Suffolk County Courthouse, on its back side, and King’s Chapel, the Parker House, and the Tremont Temple, on its Tremont Street side).
Four yeggmen, i.e., safe-crackers, attempted to blow the Wolfeboro, NH, post-office safe in the early hours of November 11. They failed to dislodge the door and were driven off in a hail of gunfire.
PURSUING YEGGMEN. Wolfboro Citizens in Chase of Men Who Broke Into Postoffice and Tried to Blow Safe. WOLFEORO, Nov 11. – Citizens of Wolfboro, armed with shotguns, rifles and revolvers, early this morning started in pursuit of two yeggmen, who at 1:40 attempted to blow the safe in the Post-office in the Peavey Block In the center of the town. The men fled along the road which parallels the railroad line to Wolfboro Falls and Sanbornville. The men entered the Postoffice by forcing a side window and rifled the drawers of stamps and change. They fired two charges of nitroglycerine, which battered the safe, but did not break the door open. The explosions aroused the neighborhood. Above the Postoffice live E.H. Trickey, cashier of the First National Bank, and Leonard Cook, fireman on the Boston & Maine. As they looked out the yeggmen warned them to pull their heads in. Cook, who is a hunter, fired at the men with his rifle, but without apparent effect. Then the men fled (Boston Globe, November 11, 1914).
WHOLE TOWN AROUSED. Postoffice Robbers Flee in Auto After Battle With Revolvers. Wolfboro, N.H., Nov. 12. Two men living over the postoffice here engaged in. a revolver battle with four yeggmen who attempted to crack the postofflce safe. Twenty shots were fired. All the yeggs made their escape in an auto. Three explosions in rapid succession and the fusillade of shots aroused the town and within a few minutes the street was filled with excited people. The interior of the postoffice was badly damaged and the door of the safe loosened. Nothing is reported missing (Fitchburg Sentinel, November 12, 1914).
Milton proved to be a much softer target. Three nights later, the yeggmen succeeded in opening its post-office safe and got clean away with a sizeable take.
ROBBERS MADE BIG HAUL. Opened Safe in Milton, N.H., Post-office and Secured $1500 to $1800 in Cash and Money Orders and Stamps. MILTON, N.H., Nov. 14 – Robbers cracked the safe in the Milton Postoffice this morning about 2 o’clock and secured $1500 to $1800 in money, money orders and stamps. They escaped by auto. They were seen in Rochester about 2:30 o’clock by the crew of the night shifter. A portion of rope from a mail bag with the attached cord with the name “Milton” on it was found by William Otis at the Hancock-st crossing. It is suspected that the robbers were the ones who robbed the Wolfboro office several days ago. Last night’s break was the fifth in New Hampshire in the past four months, but was the only successful one (Boston Globe, November 14, 1914).
There were no indications of any arrests, at least not at this time. The Milton Mills post-office safe had been robbed similarly twenty years earlier, in May 1894.
Various shoemaking skills were wanted at the Milton Shoe Company.
FEMALE HELP WANTED. HELP WANTED. CLOSERS and stayers, tip stitchers, lining markers, one Duplex eyeletter and one operator on Peerless button sewing-machine. Apply to MILTON SHOE COMPANY, INC, Milton, N.H. dSu5t d2 (Boston Globe, December 6, 1914).
Milton experienced more frigid weather on the day before Christmas. Presumably, good weather for ice.
COLDEST YET. Twenty-Four Below Zero at Milton, N.H. The lowest mark reached on the thermometer this morning was reported at Milton, N.H., where the glass showed 24 below. At Rochester it was 20, Dover 10, Sanbornville 19, Berwick 18, Union 20. In this city it ranged from 2 to 5 below (Portsmouth Herald, December 24, 1914).
Previous in sequence: Milton in the News – 1913; next in sequence: Milton in the News – 1915
References:
Find a Grave. (2013, August 12). Fred E. Carswell. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/115348239
Find a Grave. (2013, August 12). John E. Townsend. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/115352496
Wikipedia. (2019, August 3). Patent Leather. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_leather
Wikipedia. (2019, August 20). World War I. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
Milton Observer 