Ira Miller was born in Acton, ME, December 13, 1826, son of Caleb and Mary (Kennerson) Miller.
He was left motherless when a babe of six weeks and was twelve years old when his father died. He was reared by his uncle, Woodman Miller. When sixteen years of age he started out to take care of himself and assisted farmers during the haying season, feeling sufficiently well paid when he received twenty-five cents for a day’s work. He then went to Lebanon, Me., where he worked for Millett Wentworth for seven months, thereby earning the sum of seven dollars, after which during the summers he again assisted farmers and attended school in the winters in Acton, Me., where he afterward was employed by Simon Tuttle at a wage of ten dollars a month, which in his second season was increased to thirteen dollars (Scales, 1914).
Woodman Miller headed an Acton, ME, household at the time of the Sixth (1840) Federal Census. His household included one male aged 30-39 years, one female aged 30-39 years, two males aged 5-9 years, one female aged 5-9 years, one male aged under 5 years, and two females aged under 5 years.
He married, May 29, 1849, Frances W. “Fanny” Merrill. She was born in Acton, ME, December 7, 1825, daughter of Asa and Fannie (Wood) Merrill.
Ira Miller, a shoemaker, aged twenty-four years (b. ME), headed an Acton, ME, household at the time of the Seventh (1850) Federal Census. His household included Frances Miller, aged twenty-four years (b. ME), Winfield S. Miller, aged six months (b. ME), Ezra Farnham, a shoemaker, aged seventeen years (b. ME), and Ezriah Brackett, a shoemaker, aged fifteen years (b. ME). Ira Miller had real estate valued at $500. (He was a neighbor of Ralph Farnham).
He then learned the shoemaking trade at Milton Mills and then opened a shop and soon had a trade that made necessary the employment of six or eight men. In 1855 he erected the first shoe factory ever built at Acton, Me., and embarked in shoe manufacturing on a large scale, having a shoe store in connection, later selling his factory and buying the Roberts’ grist mill. This he remodeled and made it the best plant of its kind in the county, operating it from 1859 until 1866 (Scales, 1914).
Ira Miller, a miller, aged thirty-two years (b. ME), headed an Acton, ME, household at the time of the Eighth (1860) Federal Census. His household included Fanny Miller, a lady, aged thirty-three years (b. ME), Windfield L. Miller, aged ten years (b. ME), and Fanny L. Miller, aged eleven months (b. ME). Ira Miller had real-estate valued at $1,000 and personal estate valued at $200.
Ira Miller registered for the Class II military draft in Acton, ME, July 1, 1863. He was a miller, aged thirty-six years (b. ME). Ira Miller enlisted in the Third State Militia Cavalry (2d Organization) in 1863.
The Miller’s youngest child, Fannie L. Miller, died October 3, 1863. One might suppose that her death date was actually October 3, 1862, as their next child, Fannie L. Miller, who was born in Acton, ME, August 15, 1863, received her name.
Ira Miller was Town Clerk of Acton, ME, in 1863 through 1865.
He then sold out and went into the hotel business, becoming proprietor of the Central House at Milton Mills which he conducted until 1877 (Scales, 1814).
Ira Miller appeared in the Milton directories of 1868, 1869-70, 1871, as proprietor of the Central House hotel at Milton Mills.
Ira Miller, a hotel keeper, aged forty-three years (b. ME), headed a Milton household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. His household included Fannie W. Miller, a landlady, aged forty-four years (b. ME), Winfield L. Miller, a clerk in hotel, aged twenty years (b. ME), Fannie L. Miller, aged six years (b. ME), Samuel Kershaw, a laborer, aged twenty-five years (b. NH), and Hattie Young, a domestic servant, aged twenty-five years (b. NH). Ira Miller had real estate valued at $5,500 and personal estate valued at $2,500.
Ira Miller appeared in the Milton directories of 1873, 1874, 1876, 1877, as proprietor of the Central House hotel and Livery Stable, at Milton Mills.
He then opened the largest general store at Milton Mills, putting in a heavy stock, including groceries, boots, shoes, oil, drugs, hardware and farm implements, and this proved a very prosperous enterprise. He had acquired 400 acres of valuable land together with his town property (Scales, 1914).
Ira Miller was one of the Milton Mills merchants and manufacturers that had business with some rival soap salesman in or around 1878.
Ira Miller, a storekeeper, aged fifty-three years (b. ME), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills Village”) household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Fannie W. Miller, keeping house, aged fifty-four years (b. ME), and his child, Fannie L. Miller, at school, aged sixteen years (b. ME).
Ira Miller appeared in the Milton directories of 1880, 1881, 1882, 1884, 1887, 1889, 1892, 1894, and 1898, as a Milton Mills merchant. He appeared also as Town Treasurer and a Justice of the Peace in 1880, 1881, 1882, 1884, 1887, 1889, 1894, and 1898. He was Town Treasurer in 1901.
MILTON. Town meeting passed with but very little excitement. Ira Miller. Officers elected are as follows: MODERATOR, Abram Sanborn; TOWN CLERK, Charles H. Looney; SELECTMEN, Henry B. Scates, David Wallinford, Elbridge W. Fox; TREASURER, Ira Miller. Voted to purchase a safe for the benefit of the town. Voted to build a road to the new mill, which will be done as soon as the weather will permit. OLD HUNDRED (Farmington News, March 25, 1881).
LOCALS. Ira Miller, of Milton Mills, recently slaughtered four hogs whose aggregate weight was 2667 pounds (Farmington News, January 30, 1885).
The following substantial real estate transaction might have been the purchase of the 400-acre farm mentioned in the Scales history.
REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS. E.D. Farnham to Ira Miller, land in Milton, $4,350 (Farmington News, August 12, 1887).
ROBBERY AT MILTON MILLS.About $200 in Goods and Money Taken. On Opening the store of Ira Miller, at Milton Mills, Tuesday morning, it was found that burglars had been at work during the night. Hardly a thing was in its proper place. The safe door was lying upon the floor, and the contents of the safe, with the exception of the money it contained, were also upon the floor. About $100 worth of goods, mostly cigars, tobacco and cutlery were taken, and about $80 in money. Mr. Miller received, Monday, for safe keeping, $2,000, and it is supposed that this was what the thieves were after, but the money was where they could not find it (Farmington News, September 23, 1887).
York. Ira Miller’s safe at Acton, was burglarized a short time ago, and about thousand dollars in cash and three thousand in securities stolen, reports the Biddeford Journal (Bangor Daily Whig and Courier (Bangor, ME), October 10, 1887).
Fannie W. (Merrill) Miller died January 30, 1897. Her daughter Fannie L. (Miller) Lowd died in the Maine General Hospital in Portland, ME,, May 25, 1898, aged twenty-four years.
Ira Miller, a widowed merchant (retired), aged seventy-three years (b. ME), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills Village”) household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his son-in-law, Freeman H. Lowd, a widowed storekeeper, aged forty-six years (b. ME), his grandchildren, Grace M. Lowd, at school, aged sixteen years (b. NH), and Alice M. Lowd, at school, aged thirteen years (b. MA), and his servant, Susie B. Clarke, a housekeeper, aged twenty years (b. NH). Ira Miller owned their farm, free-and-clear.
I. Miller appeared in the Milton directory of 1901, as a Milton Mills merchant of shingles and clapboards.
Ira Miller died in Milton Mills, December 12, 1902, aged seventy-five years, eleven months, and thirty days.
French immigrant John M. Carrecabe, of Lynn, MA, who would later be remembered as the pioneer of the leatherboard trade, lost his North Shapleigh, ME, satellite mill to a fire in 1884. He erected the Milton Manufacturing Co. paper mill, which adjoined Mill No. 2, a leatherboard mill, alongside the Salmon Falls River in Milton, in that same year. He produced paper and leatherboard there for some eight years prior to selling out to Seth F. Dawson, of Lawrence, MA, in 1892.
English immigrant Seth F. Dawson ran his mill operation as the Milton Leatherboard Company. He was its president, visiting Milton two days a week, until he placed it in charge of his son and namesake, Seth F. Dawson, Jr., around 1908-09. The son took up residence in Milton and presided over the mill for much of his life. The elder Dawson continued as Treasurer.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, leatherboard is an artificial leather made by a pulping and compressing process, typically from scrap leather or fibrous materials (as waste paper and wood pulp). Leatherboard replaced pure leather as a cheaper and tougher substitute in the making of shoe heels.
Power is a big factor in making leather board, as leather is a very hard stock, and in consequence leather board mills are situated where water power is available. A small leather board mill uses more power than would be required to run a large shoe factory. Proximity to centers where leather is cut is necessary and low priced coal is a factor. Sole leather pieces and skivings from sole leather are used but no upper leather waste. The leather is defiberized in large beating engines, a process which takes many hours. When the material leaves these engines it is in the form of a fibrous pulp. This pulp is formed into sheets on a machine which is an adaptation of a paper machine and these sheets are then dried. After the sheets are thoroughly dry they are rolled and finished (Shoe and Leather Facts, 1913).
LOCALS. A large quantity of old newspapers and papers of various kinds was shipped from this station to the leatherboard mill at Milton last week where it will be used in the production of leatherboard (Farmington News, July 27, 1894).
John M. Carrecabe – 1884-93
John M. Carrecabe was born in Laas, France, October 16, 1838, son of John M. and Rose Carrecabe.
Near the end of his life, John M. Carrecabe told the story of his origins to the American Shoemaking periodical of Boston, MA.
John Carrecabe of Lynn has had a remarkable career. He was born in Laas, France, 77 years ago. He ran away when ten years old and became an apprentice to a tanner. His father wanted him back home, but the tanner asked that he be allowed to stay. After serving a few years as an apprentice, his father gave him money. He went to London and then to Barcelona, from where he took a ship to South America. He worked in a tannery in Brazil for a while. Next he went to Cuba to visit a cousin. This cousin was killed by lightning and young Carrecabe took charge of his tannery and ran it until 1866. Then came an insurrection and his tannery was burned and he felt lucky to escape with his life and $3,000 in gold which he had inside of his belt. He came to New York and called on some Lynn men, with whom he had done business. They induced him to come to Lynn. He got work in the Tapley tannery, after much difficulty, for he was so small the tanners didn’t want to hire him. He was promised $5 a week, but he showed that he knew about leather exceptionally well, and $15 was put in his pay envelope. He tried to return it thinking a mistake had been made. Forty years ago he and his associates engaged in the manufacture of leatherboard. He has continued to make leatherboard and leatherboard products ever since. He built mills in Maine and in Milton, N.H., and he was among those who started the O.K. Shank Co. He recently started a shop at 460 Union street, Lynn, for making leatherboard products (McLeish, 1915).
John M. Carracabe, a morocco dresser, aged twenty-seven years, married in Lynn, MA, June 29, 1872, Annie Louisa Potter, aged eighteen years, both of Lynn. She was born in Annapolis, Nova Scotia, Canada, September 3, 1854, daughter of John P. “Polhemus” and Ellen M. (Balcolm) Potter.
[Ed.: Morocco leather was made from goatskin; a morocco dresser was one who tanned such leather].
LYNN, At 1.40 yesterday afternoon a blaze was discovered on the roof of an L of the house [at the] corner of Washington and Union streets, occupied by John M. Carrecabe, and owned by F.E. Abbott of the firm of R.A. Spalding & Co., Market street. The damage was very slight, but a small hole being burned. Sparks falling from the chimney of a shop adjoining caused the trouble (Boston Globe, March 13, 1879).
John M. Carracabe, a junk dealer, aged thirty-six years (b. France), headed a Lynn, MA, household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Annie L. Carracabe, keeping house, aged twenty-five years (b. Nova Scotia), his children, John A. Carracabe, aged five years (b. MA), Mary E. Carracabe, aged three years (b. MA), Arthur M. Carracabe, aged two years, and <blank> Carracabe, aged one month, and his servant, Hannah Cahill, a domestic servant, aged fifteen years (b. Ireland). They resided on High Rock Avenue.
John M. Carrecabe of Lynn, a junk dealer, petitioned for U.S. citizenship in Lynn, MA, October 26, 1880. He renounced the government of France, where he had been born October 16, 1840 [SIC]. His application claimed that he had arrived as a child in New York, in April 1855 [SIC].
John M. Carrecabe of Lynn, MA, had a leatherboard mill at North Shapleigh, ME, from as early as 1881, until it burned February 5, 1884.
NORTH SHAPLEIGH – York Co. Pop. 25. On Portland and Rochester R.R.; Adams, N.Y. and B. Ex. Carrecabe, J.M. P.O., Lynn, Mass. Shapleigh Mill. S.P., East Wakefield, N.H., 8 miles. One 650-lb. and two 550-lb. engines. One 36-inch Cylinder. Water. Leather Board. 2500 lbs., 24 hours (Vance, 1881).
Trade Gossip. John M. Carricabe, leather-board manufacturer, North Shapleigh, Me., has been burned out (Lockwood, 1884).
NORTH SHAPLEIGH – York Co. Nearest Station Springvale, on Portland and Rochester R.R. American Ex. Tel. M.O., Springvale. Nearest bank, Rochester N.H., 33 miles. Carrecabe, John M. Office, Lynn, Mass. SHAPLEIGH MILL. Established 1860. One 600-lb. and two 500-lb. engines. One 38-inch cylinder. Water. One wheel 100-HP. Employes 5. Leather Board. 2,000 lbs., 24 hours. (Burnt February 5, 1884. Probably will not be rebuilt) (Bryan, 1884).
“10. [Left] Milton Mfg. Co. Erected by John M. Carrecabe, 1884. … 12. [Right] Mill No. 2, Leather Board”
According to the “Bird’s Eye View” map of Milton of 1888, John M. Carrecabe erected his Milton Manufacturing Co. paper mill, in 1884, at the foot of Mill Street. The map showed it (to the left of the smokestack) as being beside his Mill No. 2, the leatherboard mill (to the right of the smokestack).
John M. Carrecabe & Co., and others, of Lynn, MA, petitioned the Massachusetts Senate, in February 1887, requesting that telephone rates might be limited by law (Massachusetts Senate, 1887). They also petitioned the Massachusetts House of Representatives. (One wonders why, in so doing, they did not foresee the possibility of leatherboard prices being also set by law, rather than by the market).
LYNN. A horse attached to John Carracabe’s team, driven by John Pequette, ran away on Central square this morning, throwing the driver from his seat. The animal continued, and struck Alden Choate, a gentleman 73 years old, injuring him severely. Mr. Choate was removed to his home on Mason street. The driver was severely injured (Boston Globe, August 29, 1887).
MILTON – Strafford Co. Pop. 1,512. On Conway Branch, N. Div. of B. & M. R.R. Tel. office; nearest bank, Farmington, 5 miles; American Ex. Carrecabe, J.M., & Co. (Succeed John M. Carrecabe). P.O., Lynn, Mass. Two mills. Carrecabe Mills. Five 550-lb. and one 700-lb. engines. Three 40-inch Wet Machines. Water. Leather Board. 7000 lbs., 24 hours. New Mill. Six 550-lb. engines; one 72-inch Cylinder Machine. Water. Manilla and Wrapping. 8000 lbs., 24 hours (Vance, 1887).
John M. Carrecabe appeared in the Milton directories of 1887, 1889, and 1892 as a leatherboard manufacturer.
John M. Carricabe of Lynn, MA, was one of 20,000 “rich” New England residents that paid more than $100 in taxes in 1888. Lynn’s tax rate was $18.60 per thousand; Carricabe paid $478 (Luce, 1888). (Lewis W. Nute of Boston, MA, paid $1,744 (Boston’s tax rate was $13.40 per thousand)).
John M. Carricabe’s Milton Manufacturing Co. was running “day and night” in the Fall of 1888. After which it appears to have shut down for several months.
MILTON. The Milton Manufacturing Company is running at its utmost capacity, manufacturing leather board and paper. They employ some forty hands, running the twenty-four hours day and night. Burley & Usher, shoe manufacturers of the same place, are turning out twenty cases per day and have orders on hand to last well into the winter months. They give employment to some 200 hands, with a weekly pay roll of $1,400 (Farmington News, September 28, 1888).
NEW ENGLAND NEWS. The Carricabe paper works in Milton, N.H., are being run day and night (Essex County Herald, November 2, 1888).
NEW ENGLAND NEWS. The paper mill at Carricabe’s works, Milton, N.H, will start again soon, after having been shut down several months (Londonderry Sifter (South Londonderry, VT), June 27, 1889).
John M. Carrecabe appeared in the Lynn directory of 1890, as president of Milton Manufacturing Co., at 36 Harbor street, with his house at 64 Hamilton ave. By the time of the Lynn directory of 1891, i.e., at sometime during 1890, he had “removed to Milton, N.H.”
MILTON. J.M. Carricabe and family are at Drew’s Hotel for a few weeks (Farmington News, August 1, 1890).
MILTON. The Milton Manufacturing Co. are to resume work, next Monday, at the paper mill (Farmington News, August 29, 1890).
MILTON. J.M. Carricabe is doing business at the leatherboard mill, having increased the capacity this summer. He has also erected a large boiler for the manufacture of pulp, but it is not yet in operation (Farmington News, October 10, 1890).
From the following, it would seem that John M. Carrecabe suspended production again in 1892. His engineer spent the summer making shoes in Portsmouth, and he himself spent time at his home base in Lynn, MA. He sold his Milton leatherboard mill to a party of capitalists from Lawrence, MA, in late 1892. The next owner, Seth F. Dawson of Lawrence, presumably led that party.
WEST MILTON. Willie Swinerton, who was engineer for Carrecabe so long, is lasting in Portsmouth this summer (Farmington News, July 29, 1892).
MILTON. John Carrecabe returned from Lynn, Mass., Monday, for a few days (Farmington News, October 28, 1892).
MILTON. A party of Lawrence, Mass., capitalists have purchased the leatherboard factory of John M. Carrecabe and with several improvements will continue the business. Mr. Carrecabe will remain on hand until the stock is used up (Farmington News, December 9, 1892).
MILTON. Mr. John M. Carrecabe gives up possession of the leatherboard mill this week. The new company will take possession immediately (Farmington News, February 3, 1893).
Carrecabe’s teenage son, John A. Carrecabe, who had been cashier at the Milton factory, might not have wanted to return to Lynn, MA. He took briefly a clerk’s job at J.D. Willey’s Milton grocery store. The younger Carrecabe perhaps remembered his father’s beginnings as a French runaway. He ran away himself to Manchester, NH, where he took another clerk’s job under an assumed name.
MILTON. John A. Carrecabe is clerking at J.D. Willey’s grocery store (Farmington News, February 17, 1893).
BOY LOST AND FOUND. Chief of Police Miller received word Saturday morning from John M. Carrecabe of Boston that he had good reason to believe that his 18-year-old son was here, having run away from home a few weeks before. Mr. Miller found the boy clerking for W.B. Atwood under the name of Frank Roberts. He immediately wired his father, who came here on the 3 o’clock train Saturday night. Accompanied by Mr. Miller, they went to Bina Hastings’ house where the boy was boarding. The boy was taken completely by surprise and promised to go home with his father. Both left for Boston on the midnight train. No motive was discovered for the boy’s running away. His father is a twine merchant in comfortable circumstances and the boy had received a good education and been cashier in his father’s factory at Milton, N.H. He first went to Manchester, N.H., and was under police surveillance there when his father arrived to bring him home, but escaped as soon as he caught sight of his father in the Manchester depot. Mr. Carrecabe was very grateful to Chief Miller for his prompt detention of the boy (St. Johnsbury Caledonian, March 9, 1893).
MILTON. Dana Tasker and John Carrecabe have returned from the World’s Fair. Several will leave Milton for Chicago the first week in October (Farmington News, September 22, 1893).
John M. Carrecabe reappeared in the Lynn, MA, directory of 1893, as being employed in Boston, MA, and having a house at 324 Western av. in Lynn, MA. His son, John A. Carrecabe, appeared as a clerk, who boarded at 324 Western av.
John M. Carrecabe appeared in the Lynn, MA, directory of 1897, as a dealer in leather, strawboard, and shoe findings, at 543 Washington street, but also for L.J. Richards & Co, at 587 Washington street, with his house at 324 Western av. His newly married son, John A. Carrecabe, had “removed to Salem,” MA. (Whose directory listed him as a manufacturer in 1897: John A. Carrecabe, shoe stock manufr, 277 Derby, h. 12 Dearborn).
Lynn Directory, 1897
Business Troubles. F.L. Bragdon & Co. shoe manufacturers, Peterboro, N.H., have assigned. A meeting of the creditors will be held Monday. Some of the Boston creditors are Mullen Brown, T.F. Boyle & Co, L.B. Southwick & Co., J.M. Carrecabe, W. E. Gilman & Co., Tripp giant leveler company, and the Wire grip fastening company. The assignees are A.J. Walt, S.M. Smith and E.W. Jones, all of Peterboro (Boston Globe, June 9, 1897).
John M. Carracabe, a leather dealer, aged sixty-one years (b. France), headed a Lynn, MA, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Annie L. Carracabe, aged forty-five years (b. Canada (Fr.)), his children, Mary E. Carracabe, aged twenty-three years, Espert W. Carracabe, a clerk, aged twenty years, Sabrina J. Carracabe, at school, aged eighteen years, and Annie L. Carracabe, at school, aged sixteen years, and his brother-in-law, Frederick Potter, a shoe stock fitter, aged nineteen years (b. MA). They resided at 324 Western Avenue.
George A. Leighton, a roofer, was found guilty of receiving 800 pounds of tar paper, which was delivered to him without the knowledge or consent of John M. Carracabe, the owner. Leighton, it appeared, made a deal with the shipper. He will be sentenced tomorrow (Boston Globe, October 10, 1900).
It would seem that John A. Carrecabe, the runaway son of 1893, was in some respects not quite right. He married in Lynn, MA, July 5, 1896, Angelina R. Hogue. But then he married again, bigamously, in Boston, MA, November 26, 1901, Angela M. O’Connor.
MISS O’CONNOR IN GOTHAM. LYNN, Dec. 6. – Angela O’Connor has not yet returned to the home of her youth, at 130 Fayette street, nor up to 11 o’clock tonight had her irate father found John A. Carrecabe, the alleged married man with whom she eloped. Mr. O’Connor contemplates doing all sorts of rash things to the man who he says enticed his daughter away – when he catches him. At the present time Mr. Carrecabe would be considered a fairly good risk by any insurance company, he being at least as far west as New York, while Mr. O’Connor remains in Lynn. Miss O’Connor has written to her sister from New York and expressed entire satisfaction with her new life (Boston Post, December 6, 1901).
POLICE WANT HIM. After John Carrecabe, a Lynn Man. Deserted His Wife to Marry Miss Angela O’Coancr. Visited Wife In Nashua Alter Wedding. She Had No Suspicion of Double Dealing. Believes the Young Woman Was Deceived by Him. LYNN, Dec. 11. The whereabouts of John Carrecabe and Miss Angela O’Connor, who left this city a week ago, after being married in Boston is still puzzling the police and Mrs. Carreeabe, who returned to this city today from a visit to Nashua. Carrecabe and Miss O’Connor were married Nov. 26, and two days afterwards he visited his wife at Nashua and told her he was going to New York, as he had secured a permanent position there. That the affair was planned far ahead is now generally conceded, and it is believed that Miss O’Connor was an innocent victim of his schemes. The return of the marriage has been made to the Boston city clerk, and this convinces the friends and relatives of the young woman that she insisted upon a ceremony being performed before she would accompany him. Since his desertion of his wife here and elopement with Miss O’Connor he has written his wife from Albany, N.Y., telling her he would return within a short time and advising her to be prepared to accompany him to New York. “The letter was kind and affectionate,” she said today, “and there was absolutely nothing about it to arouse my suspicions.” “I do not blame Miss O’Connor. She bas been made his dupe. He has deceived both of us, and especially me, for he visited me at Nashua after he had been married to Miss O’Connor. I do not know what I will do.” The story is a strange one. The O’Connors and Carrecabes live but a short distance apart, and Miss O’Connor was Carrecabe’s bookkeeper in the office of the small business he conducted. For nearly two years past he has been visiting the house of the young woman and her parents all the time believed him to be single. Repeatedly he spent evenings at the house. when his wife was at her home but a short distance away, and he also escorted the young woman to many places of amusement. Her friends are sure she did not know he was married. Mrs Carrecabe, who is also a young woman about 23, returned to this city today from Nashua, where she has been visiting for a week past. Her husband spoke about her going there to see friends, and she departed. Just after her departure he married Miss O’Connor and then spent a day and night in the company or his first wife In the New Hampshire town, returning to this city and departing with Miss O’Connor. Mrs. Carrecabe said today: “My husband and I have not had a quarrel, and if I had thought he was calling on another woman this thing would not have happened. While I was in Nashua I received letters from him, and all were in a loving vein. Of course I suspected nothing and it all seems like a nightmare. “While visiting he called on me, and we were together some time, and by never an action or word did he show that he was inconstant or tired of me. He told me he had a position in New York, and we planned to live there. He was to go on and see about the place, and send for me. When he left we had agreed on everything, and I looked forward with much pleasure to a life in New York. “Since his departure I received a letter from Albany, N.Y. I wondered what he was doing there. The letter explained that he would not go to work for several days, and so had taken a trip to that city. He said for me not to worry if I did not hear from him for some time.” “I certainly thought nothing was wrong until receiving word from my parents to return home, and I have come here to learn of this terrible affair.” Mrs. Carrecabe is prostrated over the action of her husband. She is a fine looking young woman and a good housekeeper. Application has been made for a warrant for the arrest of Carrecabe, and the police of the country will be asked to look out for him and the young woman (Boston Globe, December 12, 1901).
Mrs. John A. [Angelina R. (Hogue)] Carrecabe appeared at her own separate address on Minot street in the Lynn directories of 1902 and 1903. Her erstwhile husband, John A. Carrecabe, appeared as bookkeeper in the San Francisco, CA, directory of 1905. He was a hardware clerk, aged thirty-five (b. MA), and his wife (of nine years (first marriage!)), Angela M. (O’Connor) Carrecabe, aged twenty-nine years (b. MA), were both boarders in Portland, OR, in 1910.
John M. Carrecab, a shoe finding co. proprietor, aged seventy-two years (b. France), headed a Lynn, MA, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of thirty-eight years), Annie L. Carrecab, aged fifty-five years (b. Canada (Eng.)), his children, May E. Carrecab, aged thirty-three years (b. MA), and Sabrina J. Carrecab, a shoe machinery co. forewoman, aged twenty-eight years (b. MA). John M. Carrecab owned their house at 324 Western Avenue, free-and-clear. He had immigrated to the U.S. in 1860; Annie L. Carrecabe had immigrated in 1872. She was the mother of seven children, of whom five were still living.
THE REAL ESTATE MARKET. FOR SALE at 693 Western av., Lynn, Mass., brick house, 16 rooms, stable, garage, 2300 ft. land, great for investment, next block to the electric works on Center st; low price, $12,000. Inquire within or of JOHN M. CARRECABE, 78 High st., Boston, Mass. (Boston Globe, October 23, 1910).
MILTON. Mr. and Mrs. Espert Carricabe and little daughter of North Rochester were guests at Garland farm last Sunday (Farmington News, February 27, 1914).
One is reminded constantly that truth can truly be stranger than fiction. Long after his divorce John A. Carrecabe returned from years spent on the west coast and [re-] married (2nd) in Boston, MA, July 28, 1915, his bigamous wife of 1901, Angela M. Connor. He was a salesman, aged forty years, and she a bookkeeper, aged thirty-five years.
MALE HELP WANTED. WANTED. Man to run iron press; must know how to set dies. Apply 78 High st, Boston, JOHN M. CARRECABE (Boston Globe, July 9, 1916).
John M. Carrecabe died in Lynn, MA, April 7, 1918, aged seventy years.
DEATHS. CARRECABE – In Lynn, April 7, John M. Carrecabe, 70 yrs. Home private. High mass of requiem at St. Jean de Baptiste Church, Franklin St., Tuesday at 10 a.m. Relatives and friends invited (Boston Post, April 8, 1918).
John Andrew Carrecabe registered for the WW I military draft in Melrose, MA, September 12, 1918. He was forty-three years of age (b. March 17, 1875), and resided at 50 Warwick Road, Melrose, MA. He was employed as manager of John M. Carrecabe [Co.], at 307 Fourth Street, Chelsea, MA. His wife, Angela M. Carrecabe, of 50 Warwick Road, Melrose, MA, was his nearest relative. He was of medium height, with a medium build, blue eyes, and brown hair.
CHELSEA. John M. Carrecabe [Co.] of 307 4th st. informed the police that his factory was entered and an attempt made to open the safe by hammering the handle. Nothing appears to be missing (Boston Globe, September 9, 1919)
“Interior View at John M. Carrecabe Plant” (Shoe and Leather Facts, January 1920)
In 1921, the late John M. Carrecabe was “remembered as the pioneer of the leather-board industry” (Nickelson, 1921).
John A. Carrecabe of Lynn, MA, drowned in a boating accident at Buck’s Cove, on Sebec Lake, in Dover-Foxcroft, ME, June 9, 1929, aged fifty-four years. He was holding his wife Angela’s hand until, apparently exhausted, he sank in twenty feet of water, only fifty feet from shore (North Adams Transcript, June 10, 1929).
Annie L. (Potter) Carrecabe died in Swampscott, MA, November 8, 1934, aged eighty years.
DEATHS. CARRECABE – In Swampscott, Nov. 8, Annie L., aged 80 years. Funeral services will be held at her late residence, 23 Linden av., Swampscott. on Sunday at 2 p.m. Relatives and friends invited (Boston Globe, November 10, 1934).
Angela M. (Connor) Carrecabe died in Lynn, MA, in February 1944.
Seth Franklin Dawson [Sr.] – 1893-09
Seth Frank Dawson was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, July 19, 1847, son of William and Hannah M. “Anna” (Earnshaw) Dawson.
S.F. Dawson, Sr., who is treasurer of the Milton Leather Board Company of Milton, N.H., was born in England, in 1846, and was a babe of six months when his parents brought him to the United States and established the home at Lawrence, Mass. There he was reared and still resides (Scales, 1914).
Wm. Dawson, an operative, aged thirty-seven years (b. England), headed a Lawrence, MA, household at the time of the First (1855) Massachusetts State Census. His household included Anna Dawson, aged thirty-seven years (b. England), David Dawson, an operative, aged sixteen years (b. England), Henry Dawson, aged fifteen years (b. England), Firth Dawson, aged thirteen years (b. England), Anna Dawson, aged eleven years (b. England), Seth Dawson, aged eight years (b. England), Jane Dawson, aged seven years (b. England), and Joshua Dawson, aged three months (b. MA). They shared a two-family dwelling with the household of Benjamin Simpson, a mason (b. NH).
Seth F. Dawson’s father, William Dawson, died of “lung fever” in Lawrence, MA, May 8, 1860, aged forty-two years. Hannah Dawson, a housekeeper, aged forty-two years (b. England), headed a Lawrence, MA, household at the time of the Eighth (1860) Federal Census. Her household included Abel Dawson, a butcher, aged twenty-three years (b. England), Henry Dawson, an operative, aged twenty-one years (b. England), Seth Dawson, an operative, aged seventeen [thirteen] years (b. England), Anna Dawson, an operative, aged sixteen years (b. England), Firth Dawson, aged thirteen years (b. England), and Jane Dawson, aged eleven years (b. England). Hannah Dawson had personal estate valued at $50.
Hannah M. Dawson, a widow keeping house, aged fifty-two years (b. England), headed a Lawrence, MA, household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. Her household included William H. Dawson, a provisions dealer’s clerk, aged thirty-one years (b. England), Seth F. Dawson, a provisions dealer, aged twenty-two years (b. England), and Emma Jane Dawson, a woolen mill worker, aged twenty-one years (b. England). Seth F. Dawson had real estate valued at $1,500 and personal estate valued at $500. They shared a two-family dwelling with the household of John Haigh, a woolen mill worker, aged forty-seven years (b. England).
The first step in his business career was in the meat and grocery line, but eighteen years ago he established himself in the leather board business, in which he has successfully been engaged since that time. He is also an extensive dealer in real estate and has done much to improve and increase the real values of the township. He has taken an active part in the councils of the Republican party, has served as councillor two terms and as president of the school board two terms. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Pilgrim Fathers, and trustee and superintendent of the Methodist Sunday school. He married, October 26, 1876, Lizzie Abigail, daughter of Daniel Darius and Harriet (Standridge) Cutting, who were the parents of three daughters and two sons. Daniel D. Cutting was a farmer in Standridge, Canada, and came to the United States in 1854. He settled in Vermont, where he had purchased a farm and cultivated the same ten years. He then removed to the state of New York. Seth Frank and Lizzie A. (Cutting) Dawson had children: 1. Rose Edith, born November 3, 1877, married Arthur Barker, has three children. 2. Seth Frank. Jr. born June 17, 1879. 3. Florence Cutting, born November 20, 1887 (Cutter, 1908).
Seth F. Dawson appeared in the Lawrence directory of 1873, as proprietor of Seth F. Dawson & Co., provisions, on Garden street, at its corner with Newbury street. His house was at 22 Spring street. His widowed mother, Hannah Dawson, as well as his brothers, Henry Dawson, who was a clerk at Seth F. Dawson’s, and William H. Dawson, who was a clerk, all resided at 22 Spring street. Seth F. Dawson appeared also as Recording Steward, and Treasurer of Stewards, of the Garden Street Methodist Episcopal Church.
He married in Lawrence, MA, October 26, 1876, Elizabeth A. Cutting. She was born in Clarenceville, Quebec, Canada, August 30, 1853, daughter of Daniel D. and Harriet E.S. (Standridge) Cutting.
Seth F. Dawson was a city councilor in Lawrence, MA, in 1878.
MASSACHUSETTS. Wm. D. Stevens, formerly employed in the provision store of Seth F. Dawson in Lawrence, and who was arrested for selling mortgaged property in the fall of 1878, and was sentenced to nine months in the House of Correction, but appealed, furnished bonds, and afterward fled to Canada, was arrested at South Paris, Me., Friday, and brought to Lawrence Saturday and lodged in jail. While absent, Stevens figured prominently in the role of a reformed temperance lecturer, and brought a suit for $5,000 damages against a Conticook paper in consequence of alleged slanderous articles concerning his previous career (Boston Post, February 9, 1880).
Seth Dawson, provisions, aged thirty-three years (b. England), headed a Lawrence, MA, household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Elizabeth Dawson, aged twenty-eight years (b. Canada), and his children, Rose Dawson, aged one year (b. MA), and Frank Dawson, aged one year (b. MA). They resided at 46 Summer street.
He was brought up in the leather business and about 1882 entered this business at Lawrence, Mass., carrying it on under the style of S.F. Dawson. In 1892 he removed the concern to Milton, organizing the Milton Leather Board Company. Here a large business has been built up, the output being 20,000 pounds every twenty-four hours, and employment being given to twenty-five men. He married Eliza A. Cutting, who was born at Potsdam, N.Y. They have two children, Mrs. Arthur Barker of Mass., and S.F., Jr. Mr. Dawson maintains his home at Lawrence but spends two days of the week at the plant in Milton. In politics he an independent voter. He belongs to the Odd Fellows and to the Pilgrim Fathers and with his family attends the Methodist Episcopal Church (Scales, 1914).
Seth F. Dawson appeared in the Lawrence, MA, directory of 1883, as a leatherboard manufacturer, at the lower end of Canal street, with his house at 46 Summer street. His mother, the widow Hannah [(Earnshaw)] Dawson, appeared as having died March 11, 1882. His brother, William H. Dawson, appeared as a clerk at S.F. Dawson’s, with his house at 68 Haverhill street. Another brother, Henry Dawson, had also his house at 68 Haverhill street.
Seth F. Dawson of Lawrence, MA, was one of 20,000 “rich” New England residents that paid more than $100 in taxes in 1888. Lawrence’s tax rate was $16.00 per thousand; Dawson paid $280 (Luce, 1888).
Seth F. Dawson experienced a destructive fire when his Lawrence mill storehouse burned on Saturday morning, April 20, 1889. (The suicide in the article below was merely an unrelated Lawrence event; Dawson would experience two more fires in Milton).
FIRE AND SUICIDE AT LAWRENCE. Lawrence, Mass., April 20 – The storehouse of the leather board mill of Seth F. Dawson, on the lower canal, containing 100 bales of jute and leather board pulp, was, with its contents, damaged $8000 by fire this morning. The cause of the fire is said to have been spontaneous combustion. Andrew Moyes, a section baud at the Pacific Mills, shot himself through the head this morning with a revolver. He left a letter saying that he was tired of life. He has been contributing to the press articles on Home rule in Ireland, and on the condition of the workingmen in this country. His employers recently discovered that he was the author of these articles, which fact seemed to worry Moyes. He leaves a wife (Fall River Daily Evening News, April 20, 1889).
LAWRENCE. An alarm of fire was rung in from box 72 at 12.35 this morning, caused by the discovery of flames issuing from the stock of leather board and jute in S.F. Dawson’s storehouse on Island street, which was partially burned Saturday morning (Boston Globe, April 22, 1889).
Seth F. Dawson was one of the party of Lawrence capitalists that purchased John M. Carrecabe’s leatherboard mill at Milton in late 1892. He and the Lawrence investors incorporated their venture in Maine, December 17, 1892, as the Milton Leatherboard Company.
MILTON. A party of Lawrence, Mass., capitalists have purchased the leatherboard factory of John M. Carrecabe and with several improvements will continue the business. Mr. Carrecabe will remain on hand until the stock is used up (Farmington News, December 9, 1892).
The Milton Leatherboard Company cut back on its staff in November 1893, as a consequence of the Panic of 1893.
NEW ENGLAND MILL NOTES. The Milton Leatherboard Co., of Milton, N.H., has made a reduction in the number of its employes (Burlington Independent, November 25, 1893).
Mr. John Morin, Morain, or Morian, of Lawrence, MA, lost his arm at the Milton Leatherboard Co., when it got caught in a moving driving belt that he sought to adjust. The accident was described in January 1894 as having occurred “recently.”
LOCALS. Deputy Sheriff J.E. Hayes served a writ on the Milton leather board mill proprietors last week in favor of a Mr. Morin who recently lost an arm by an accident in the factory and claims damages (Farmington News, January 19, 1894).
LOCALS. The case of John Morain vs. the Milton Leatherboard Company will be tried again at the coming term of the supreme court here in Dover, beginning Tuesday of next week. Morain claims damages in the sum of $10,000 for the loss of an arm while operating a machine in the company’s mill a few years ago. The case was first tried at the September term of court. Worcester, Gaffney, and Snow are counsel for Morain – Foster’s (Farmington News, February 8, 1895).
Verdict for Defense in a $10,000 Suit. DOVER, N.H., Sept. 14. The jury in the $10,000 damage suit brought by John Morian of Lawrence against the Milton Leatherboard company for the loss of an arm while adjusting a belt, returned a verdict for the defendant last night, and were discharged. The case was tried a year ago, when the jury disagreed, 11 to 1, in favor of the plaintiff (Boston Globe, September 14, 1895).
Milton Leatherboard Co. appeared in the Milton directories of 1894, 1898, 1901, 1904, and 1905-06.
LOCALS. On Tuesday morning the gong on the leatherboard mill at Milton could be plainly heard [from Farmington], the air was so clear (Farmington News, June 8, 1894).
The Milton Manufacturing Co. paper mill portion of the Mill Street mill complex was sold at auction to Alvah Shurtleff in June 1897. (Milton Leatherboard Co. continued under the Dawsons). After Shurtleff resumed active operation, there were a spate of worker injuries, some quite serious, over the next few years. The paper mill building burned down in June 1909. Twin State Gas and Electric thought to setup an electric power plant there in 1916.
MILTON. The paper mill, which was sold at auction last week, was purchased by Alvah Shurtleff for $13,000. Mr. Shurtleff will resume active operation in the mill at once (Farmington News, June 25, 1897).
MILTON. Ed Chipman, the boss finisher at the Milton leatherboard mill, is spending a few days with relatives in Lynn and vicinity. Both of the leather board mills and the paper mill are running full force night and day, there being a ready sale for all the goods that they can manufacture (Farmington News, March 30, 1900).
Edwin Chipman, a leather-board hand, aged thirty-one years (b. MA), headed a Milton (“Milton Village”) household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of thirteen years), Mary B. [(Drew)] Chipman, aged thirty-three years (b. NH),and his children, Bessie Chipman, aged twelve years (b. MA), and Alta D. Chipman, aged four years (b. NH). Mary B. Chipman was the mother of three children, of whom two were still living.
MILTON. Miss Susie Haley, daughter of Rev. Frank Haley, entered the employ of Milton Leather Board Company as bookkeeper on Monday (Farmington News, May 18, 1900).
Seth F. Dawson, a leatherboard manufacturer, aged fifty-two years (b. England), headed a Lawrence, MA, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of twenty-three years), Lizzie A. Dawson, aged forty-nine years (b. Canada), and his children, Rose E. Dawson, aged twenty-two years (b. MA), Seth F. Dawson, [Jr.,] aged twenty years (b. MA), and Florence C. Dawson, at school, aged twelve years (b. MA). Seth F. Dawson had arrived in the U.S. in 1850, and was a naturalized citizen; Lizzie A. Dawson had arrived in 1853. Seth F. Dawson owned their house at 46 Summer street, with a mortgage. Lizzie A. Dawson was the mother of three children, of whom three were still living.
MILTON. R.T. Barker is working for S.F. Dawson (Farmington News, December 7, 1900).
Camp Hedding was a Methodist camp meeting revival site founded in East Epping, NH, in 1863. It was sufficiently large and active that it had its own post office and railroad station by 1896.
HEDDING CAMP-MEETING ASSOCIATION (M.E.), HEDDING, N.H. Pres. Rev. J.E. Robins, Dover; sec., Rev. Wm. Ramsden, Rochester, N.H.; treas., Seth F. Dawson, Lawrence, Mass.; ex com., Christopher Button, Exeter, N.H., Rev. G.W. Norris, Lawrence, Mass., Alanson Palmer, Brooklyn, N.Y., John Young, Rochester, N.H., Wm. Brown, Auburn, N.H., Rev. J.L. Felt, Suncook, N.H. Annual meeting in August 1898 (Tower, F.L., 1897).
HEDDING CAMPGROUND. News of Interest to Portsmouth Friends of the Chataqua Meetings. On Sunday morning, Sunday school was held at Grace church Haverhill, under the charge of Rev. Otis Cole, and the junior department met in the Rochester house under the charge of Seth F. Dawson of Lawrence (Portsmouth Herald, August 5, 1901).
The Milton Leatherboard Company had a stone dam with a 25-foot fall in the 1901 U.S. Geological Survey report. Its water could generate between 200-300 horsepower.
MILTON. Frank Norton is making a trip through New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the interests of the leather board mill (Farmington News, November 15, 1901).
Seth F. Dawson experienced his second destructive mill fire when the Milton Leatherboard mill burned down on January 8, 1902. (The first having been his Lawrence storehouse).
MILLS DESTROYED BY FIRE. One Man Burned and Seventy-Five Out of Employment. Milton, Jan. 9. – The Milton Leather Board mills here, were burned yesterday, causing a loss of between $55,000 and $60,000. One man was badly burned. The fire started from an overheated pulley. Seventy-five men are thrown out of employment. The mill and yard cover over two acres of land, and on the premises a large quantity of lumber was piled, which was destroyed. The steam plant of them all had recently been fitted up with an additional new engine, and steam apparatus at the cost of $20,000 (Portsmouth Herald, January 9, 1902).
FIRE AT MILTON. The town of Milton was visited by a bad fire at an early hour Wednesday morning when the large leather board and shoe findings factory, owned by the Milton leather board company, was totally destroyed. The loss will be a bad blow to the people as well as the owners. The alarm was given at 7.45 and the Milton fire department responded promptly but the fire had such a start that their work amounted to but little. A man by the name of Dresser, who was among the last to get out of the mill, was badly burned about the head and arms, and was taken to his home in Lebanon, Me., after having his wounds dressed by Dr. Hart. The cause of the fire is supposed to be due to an overheated pulley, but the owners were unable to state sure. The loss is estimated at about $60,000, and is well covered by insurance. The machinery, which was of the latest improved pattern, is wholly destroyed, also the boiler and engine. The employees feel their loss badly, as some valuable watches and clothes were destroyed. The factory was a good one having been built about 12 years. It was two stories high, 185 feet long and 52 feet wide, with a boiler room 40×60, two stories in height. At this time business was rushing, a day and night crew being employed, in all about 80 hands. A large amount of stock was on hand (Farmington News, [Friday,] January 10, 1902).
MILTON. January 8, 1902. Wood building, used as leatherboard mill; owned and occupied by Milton Leatherboard Co.; building valued at $9,000; damage to building, $9,000; insurance upon building, $7,000; contents valued at $35,000; damage to contents, $35,000; insurance upon contents, $25,000; loss total, cause, slipping of belt (Brett, et. al., 1913).
Herman C. Dyer of Milton, who had been employed at the Milton Leatherboard Company for ten years, died accidentally when he fell off of a train in Rochester, NH, in December 1904. (His death was initially thought to have been a murder).
MILTON – Strafford Co. Pop. 1,625. On B.&M. R.R. M.O. and Tel. office; nearest bank, Rochester, 8 miles; Am. Ex. MILTON LEATHER BOARD CO. (S.F. Dawson, Jr., Pres.; S.F. Dawson, Treas.) S.P. at mill. Eight Beating and one Jordan engines; six Cylinder machines. Water and Steam. Leather board. 14,000 lbs., 24 hours (Lockwood, 1905).
MILTON – Strafford Co. Pop. 1,625, On B. & M. R.R. M.O. and Tel. office; nearest bank, Rochester, 8 miles; Am. Ex. MILTON LEATHER BOARD CO. (S.F. Dawson, Jr., Pres.; S.F. Dawson, Treas.). S.P. at mill. Eight Beating and two Jordan engines; six Cylinder machines. Water and Steam. Leather Board. 14,000 lbs., 24 hours (Vance, 1908).
Florence Cutting Dawson, of Lawrence, MA, died of tuberculosis in New York, NY, August 15, 1909, aged twenty-one years, eight months, and seventeen days. (She was the youngest daughter of Seth F. and Lizzie A. (Cutting) Dawson).
Franklin Dawson, a leatherboard manufacturer, aged sixty-two years (b. England), headed a Lawrence, MA, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Elizabeth A. Dawson, aged fifty-nine years (b. Canada). Franklin Dawson rented their house at 8 Jackson Terr. Elizabeth A. Dawson was the mother of three children, of whom two were still living (daughter Florence C. Dawson having died in the prior year).
Seth F. Dawson, a manufacturer, aged seventy-five years (b. England), headed a Lawrence, MA, household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Elizabeth Dawson, aged sixty-nine years (b. Canada). Seth F. Dawson rented their house at 81 Saunders street.
Elizabeth A. (Cutting) Dawson died in Lawrence, MA, April 30, 1926. Seth F. Dawson, Sr., died in North Reading, MA, August 7, 1926.
Seth Franklin Dawson, Jr. – 1909-32
Seth Franklin Dawson, Jr., was born in Lawrence, MA, June 17, 1879, son of Seth F. and Lizzie A. (Cutting) Dawson.
S.F. Dawson, Jr., was educated at Lawrence, Mass. As soon as school days were over, he became actively connected with his present business, subsequently becoming head of the concern. On March 23, 1909, he was married to Miss Edith Ackerman, who is a daughter of Rev. G.E. and Eugenia Ackerman, and they have two children. Seth Willard, who was born at Lawrence, Mass., and Harold Cleveland, who was born at Milton, N.H., which is the family home. Mr. and Mrs. Dawson are members of the Congregational church. In politics Mr. Dawson is a Republican and fraternally is a Mason (Scales, 1914).
Seth Frank Dawson, Jr., married (1st) in Lawrence, MA, May 24, 1909, Edith Willard Ackerman, both of Lawrence. He was a manufacturer, aged twenty-nine years, resident at 8 Jackson Terrace; she was a teacher, aged twenty-two years, resident at 156 Garden street. She was born in Warsaw, NY, circa 1887, daughter of Rev. George E. and Eugenia (Van Wormer) Ackerman. Her father performed the ceremony.
MILTON. Robert M. Looney has gone to Lawrence, Mass., to act as best man at the marriage of Miss Edith Willard Ackerman to Mr. Seth Frank Dawson, Jr., which is to occur in that city on Wednesday evening, March 24, at 8 o’clock, in the Garden street Methodist church of which Rev. George Everett Ackerman, father of the bride, is pastor. Mr. Dawson has been engaged for quite a number of years in the leather board business in Milton, his father being the senior partner. Miss Ackerman is said to be an accomplished musician, having been organist at the University of Syracuse, N.Y. The spacious and pleasant house on South Main Street, owned and once occupied by Charles Tasker of Boston, has been fitted with electricity and otherwise prepared and furnished for immediate use and will be occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Dawson, on their return to Milton, which will be on Thursday, March 25, the day after their marriage. Mr. Dawson is most highly esteemed by all who know him and Milton may feel well honored by this addition to its numbers. Surely their many friends will wish the young couple a long and happy life (Farmington News, March 26, 1909).
Chiefly About People. Personal. Married, on the evening of March 24th, in the Garden Street Methodist church, Lawrence, Mass., in the presence of several hundred invited guests, by Rev. G.E. Ackerman, pastor of the church, Mr. Seth Frank Dawson, Jr., and Edith Willard Ackerman, daughter of officiating clergyman. Mr. Dawson is secretary and treasurer of the Milton Leather Board Company, and they will reside Milton, N.H. (Holliday, et al., 1909).
Dawson-Ackerman Wedding in Lawrence, Mass. Friends here of Dr. and Mrs. G.E. Ackerman, former residents of Chattanooga will be interested in the news of the marriage of their daughter Edith to Seth Frank Dawson, Jr., of Lawrence, Mass., where Dr. Ackerman has charge of the Garden Street M.E. church. Dr. Ackerman was for fourteen years a professor in the University of Chattanooga. According to the Lawrence Telegram: One of the prettiest of this season’s weddings took place last night at 8 o’clock in the Garden Street M.E. church when Miss Edith Willard Ackerman, daughter of the Rev. Dr. George E. Ackerman, became the bride of Seth Frank Dawson, Jr. The double ring service was used. The Rev. Dr. Ackerman officiated. Following the ceremony, which was attended by hundreds of friends and acquaintances of both the young folks, a wedding reception was held in the parsonage. A bounteous wedding supper was served by-a caterer. The bride looked charming in a gown of white sheath satin. Her tulle veil was caught up with orange blossoms sent to her by her uncle from Florida. She carried handsome white roses. The bride was attended by her sister, Miss Edna M Ackerman, in a handsome creation of point de spray lace over pink silk. She carried handsome white roses. Mr. Robert Looney of Milton, N.H., was best man. The auditorium of the church was adorned with potted plants and palms. The attendance was so large in the church that the following efficient corps of ushers were busy for an hour previous to the ceremony showing the parishioners and friends of the contracting couple into seats: Arthur Barker, Jerome W. Cross, Walter F. Lillis, Frank W McLanathan, Alexander Wilson and H. Christopher Chubb. Just previous to the wedding march, which was played by Miss Sadie Fearon, Miss Carrie Frazer of Syracuse, N.Y., sang “O Fair, O Sweet and Holy.” Following the ceremony, Mr. and Mrs. Dawson held a reception in the parsonage at which a large number of friends took the opportunity to shower congratulations on the newly wedded couple. The couple were the recipients of many handsome, costly and useful gifts, notably a complete set of valuable silverware from the parishioners of the church. They will reside at Milton, N.H, where a cozily furnished home awaits them. Master Richard Lord was ring bearer and little Janice Barker was flower girl. The two little ones gave the affair an additional charm. Seth Frank Dawson, Jr., the bridegroom, is the son of Seth F. Dawson, one of Lawrence’s best known and respected residents, who resides at 8 Jackson terrace. At present both Mr. Dawson and his son are engaged in the manufacture of leather board in Milton, N.H., where they are proprietors of the Milton Leatherboard Co. Mr Dawson, Jr., has long been a member of the Garden Street M.E. church and enjoys an extended circle of friends who were liberal In their well wishes for a most successful future in the new life into which he has just entered (Chattanooga Daily Times, March 30, 1909).
Milton Leather-Board Advertisement, 1912
MILTON. An alarm of fire was given Thursday evening of last week at about half past eight which proved to be the paper mill. It was all ablaze in a few minutes after it was discovered and soon fell to the ground. It has been considered unsafe for sometime past. Thirty-five or forty men were thrown out of employment by its loss (Farmington News, June 18, 1909).
Seth F. Dawson, Jr., a leatherboard manufacturer, aged thirty years (b. MA), headed a Milton household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of one year), Edith W. Dawson, aged twenty-three years (b. NY), his child, Seth B. Dawson, aged three months (b. NH), and his mother-in-law, Eugenia Ackerman, a widow, aged fifty-eight years (b. NY). Seth F. Dawson, Jr., rented their house. Emma E. Looney, a widow [of Charles H. Looney], aged fifty-six years, was their neighbor. (Her household included her son (and Dawson wedding Best Man), Robert M. Looney, principal of Milton Grammar School). Eugenia Ackerman was the mother of three children, of whom two were still living. (Edith W. Dawson should have been listed as the mother of one child, of whom one was still living, but that information was omitted).
Chi – Syracuse University. [Class of] ’08 – Born to Mr. and Mrs. Seth Frank Dawson (Edith Ackerman) a son, Willard (Kappa Alpha Theta, 1910).
Fire in Milton. Fire early Wednesday destroyed the big mill of the Milton Leather Board Company and caused a loss that will reach $100,000. Fifty employees of the concern were thrown out of work by the fire. Starting from a cause not yet determined, the blaze sped with great rapidity and soon the whole mill was enveloped. The fire brigade of the mill assisted the Milton fire department in fighting the flames, but the building was doomed from almost the start of the fire. When the fire was discovered six persons were working in the mill and they escaped and gave the alarm. The president of the company owning the mill is S. Frank Dawson of Milton, and Seth F. Dawson of Lawrence is treasurer. Partial insurance (Farmington News, [Friday,] March 22, 1912).
“The New Plant of the Milton Leather Board Co., Milton, N.H.,” July 1913
See also Milton in the News – 1912 for further details of the Milton Leatherboard fire of March 1912.
State News. A large crew of Italians started on the construction of a concrete mill for the Milton Leatherboard Co., Monday (Farmington News, May 10, 1912).
A detailed description of the new mill facilities and features, complete with blueprints and photographs, appeared in a Concrete-Cement Age article of July 1913 (from which the following has been excerpted).
In 1912, there was constructed by Milton Leatherboard Co., at Milton, N.H., a new reinforced concrete mill, on the site of the former plant destroyed by fire. This mill is located on the west bank of the Salmon River in Milton village, about ¼-mi. below the reservoir dam. Mills of various kinds have occupied this site for a century and at least four are known have been destroyed by fire. Two wooden mills have been lost by the company in the past 12 years from fire [1902 and 1912]. A large proportion of the product manufactured by this company consists of leatherboards, made from leather scrap used for heeling in the manufacture of shoes. The location of the mill is admirably adapted to this purpose. First, by reason of an excellent water power; second, in having a spur track from the main line of the Boston & Maine R.R. closely paralleling the mill its entire length, and extending past the mill, over a trestle, several hundred feet. This simplifies the handling of raw stock into, and the finished product out of the mill. … Unique and distinguishing features of this plant are the beating engine tubs and wet machine vats which are entirely of reinforced concrete, and it is thought that this is the first instance of the kind in this country. Much credit is due S.F. Dawson [Sr.], treas. of the Milton Leatherboard Co., for originating the idea, and also for courage in opposition to adverse criticism in carrying it into execution. The results have thus far been most gratifying, as so smooth and symmetrical are the tubs in appearance that they may classed almost as works of art … The plant was designed, all plans furnished, and construction supervised by I.W. Jones, Cons. Engr., Milton, N.H. (Brett, et al., 1913).
MILTON – Strafford Co. Pop. 1,625. On B.&M. R.R. M.O. and Tel. office; nearest bank, Rochester, 8 miles; Am. Ex. MILTON LEATHER BOARD CO. (S.F. Dawson, Jr., Pres.; S.F. Dawson, Treas.) S.P. at mill. Eight Beating and two Jordan engines; six Cylinder machines. Water and Steam. Leather board. 14,000 lbs., 24 hours (Lockwood, 1913).
MILTON – Strafford Co. Pop. 1,625. On B.&M. R.R. M.O. and Tel. office; nearest bank, Rochester, 8 miles; Am. Ex. MILTON LEATHER BOARD CO. (S.F. Dawson, Jr., Pres.; S.F. Dawson, Treas.) S.P. at mill. Eight Beating and two Jordan engines; six Cylinder machines. Water and Steam. Leather board. 14,000 lbs., 24 hours (Lockwood, 1915).
A fire crew from the Milton Leatherboard Company turned out for the Hotel Milton fire of November 1915.
MILTON. It is now reasonably assured that Milton village will be illuminated with electricity and Twin State Gas and Electric Co. has looked over the site of the old paper mill with the view of locating the power plant there. If plans are consummated Milton Mills and Union also will be lighted (Farmington News, December 8, 1916).
Milton Leather-Board Advertisement, 1917
S. Frank Dawson, Jr., appeared in the Milton directory of 1917, as president and manager of the M.L.B. Co, at the foot of Mill street, with his house at 53 So. Main street, corner of Farmington road.
Seth Frank Dawson, Jr., of Milton, registered for the WW I military draft in Milton, September 12, 1918. He was thirty-nine years of age (b. June 17, 1879), and employed as president of the Milton Leatherboard Co. of Milton. His nearest relative was Edith A. Dawson of Milton. He was of a medium height, with a medium build, blue eyes, and brown hair.
Mrs. Edith W. (Ackerman) Dawson died in Milton, October 14, 1918, aged thirty-two years, and three days. (She was one of the Milton victims of the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918).
LOCAL. Local club women and many friends learn with sincere regret of the death of Mrs. S. Frank Dawson, Jr., wife of the manager of the Milton Leatherboard Co., which occurred at her home in Milton, Monday, after a short illness of influenza. She was a splendid woman and very prominent in the affairs of the church, the Red Cross and the Woman’s Club (Farmington News, [Friday,] October 18, 1918).
Seth F. Dawson [Jr.] married (2nd) in Philadelphia, PA, November 27, 1919, Elizabeth Tennant. She was born in Ashly, PA, February 11, 1882, daughter of Linus E. and Sarah J. (Strong) Tennant. (The John Curtis Tennant in the announcement below was her brother, rather than her father).
MARRIAGES. DAWSON-TENNANT. At Philadelphia, Nov. 27. 1919, S.F. Dawson of Philadelphia and Miss Elisabeth H. Tennant, daughter of John Curtis Tennant, formerly of Wilkes-Barre (Wilkes-Barre Record, November 29, 1919).
S. Franklin Dawson, a manufacturing owner, aged forty years (b. MA), headed a Milton household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Elizabeth Dawson, aged thirty-seven years (b. PA), and his children, S. Willard Dawson, aged ten years (b. MA), and Harold C. Dawson, aged six years (b. NH). S. Franklin Dawson owned their house on Lower Main Street, Milton Village, free-and-clear. Emily E. Looney, a widow, aged sixty-five years (b. NH), was still their neighbor.
Milton Leatherboard company, of Milton, had eighteen male employees and zero female employees, for a total of eighteen employees, at the time of a New Hampshire state inspection in 1920 (NH Bureau of Labor, 1920).
MILTON – Strafford Co. P 1,128. On B. & M. R.R. M.O. and Tel. office; nearest bank, Rochester, 8 miles. MILTON LEATHER BOARD CO. (S.F. Dawson, Jr., Pres. and Supt; S.F. Dawson, Treas.) S.P. at mill. Five 3500-lb. Beating and three Jordan engines; six Wet Machines. Widest trimmed sheet, 48 inches. Water and Steam. Heeling Board. 30,000 lbs, 24 hours (Lockwood, 1922).
Seth F. Dawson, Jr., was elected as a Milton state representative in November 1924. He ran as a Republican (Portsmouth Herald, November 21, 1924).
Young Seth W. Dawson died in Tilton, NH, March 20, 1926, aged sixteen years, one month, and twenty days. (He died of influenza, as had his mother before him). Tilton, NH, was the site of the Tilton Seminary.
Milton Leather Board Co. appeared in the Milton directory of 1927, as leather board manufacturers, with Seth F. Dawson as Manager. Seth F. (Elizabeth T.) Dawson had their house on Main street.
Milton Leatherboard employee, William T. Wallace, was seriously wounded in a freak accident there on October 31, 1928. He died that same day in the Rochester hospital following an operation there, aged sixty-seven years, and nine months. His Rochester death certificate (signed by Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Milton) explained that he had been
Struck by a flying blade from a heavy steel fan in the drying room of the Milton Leatherboard mill on the side of his abdomen causing the bursting of a section of the intestines. He was taken to the Rochester Hosp. and died after his operation before recovering from the anesthetic.
MILTON. Many local friends, and especially the orders of Red Men and Pocahontas throughout the state, regret the untimely and tragic death of William S. Wallace of Milton, who died at the Rochester hospital last Monday as the result of injuries while at his employment in the Dawson paper mill last week. Mr. Wallace was a past great sachem of the Red Men of New Hampshire. For many years he was an employe of the Boston and Maine R.R. as the station master at Milton. Also he was a former business man of Milton (Farmington News, November 9, 1928).
MILTON – Strafford Co. Pop. 976. On B. & M. R.R. M.O. and Tel., nearest bank, Rochester, 8 miles. MILTON LEATHER BOARD Co. (S.F. Dawson, pres.; Chas. F. Jameson, treas.; M.J. Guild, supt.). S.P. at mill. Five 3500-lb. Beaters and three Jordans. Six Wet machines; widest trimmed sheet, 48 inches. Water and steam. Fibre and Innersole Board. 20,000 lbs., 24 hours (Vance, 1930).
Seth F. Dawson, a leatherboard manufacturer, aged fifty years (b. MA), headed a Milton household at the time of the Fifteenth (1930) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of eleven years), Elizabeth T. Dawson, aged forty-eight years (b. PA), and his son, Harold Dawson, aged seventeen years (b. NH). Seth F. Dawson owned their house on South Main Street, which was valued at $4,000. They had a radio set.
Seth F. Dawson Retires. Seth F. Dawson, president of the Milton Leather Board Company, Milton, N.H., manufacturers of high grade fibre boards, retired last week after more than 35 years with the company. Mr. Dawson will spend a well earned vacation at his summer home at Great East Lake in Maine, before making his plans for the future. The remaining members of the firm are W.T. Rich, Jr., president; C.F. Jameson, treasurer and M.J. Guild, mill manager. Mr. Rich and Mr. Jameson are at the Boston office of the company, C.F. Jameson and Company, Inc., 142 Cambridge Street (Paper Trade, 1932).
Mrs. Elizabeth (Tennant) Dawson died in Rochester, NH, October 28, 1933, aged fifty-one years, eight months, and sixteen days.
Mrs. Elizabeth T. Dawson. Rochester, N.H., Oct. 28. (AP.) Mrs. Elizabeth T. Dawson, 51, former teacher of music at the University of Virginia and Stephen Girard College in Philadelphia, died suddenly today. Mrs. Dawson, prominent in church and fraternal circles in this city, was born in Ashley, Pa. She leaves her husband, Seth F. Dawson, a son, Harold C. Dawson, and a brother, J. Curtis Tennant of Philadelphia (Hartford Courant, October 29, 1933).
LOCAL. The sudden death of Mrs. Seth Dawson of Rochester, last Saturday, is sincerely mourned by many Farmington friends. She was an officer in Fraternal Chapter, O.E.S., in this town and was prominent in many other fraternal orders in Rochester. She was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Tennant of Pennsylvania and was married to Mr. Dawson in 1919. She was a fine musician. Much sympathy is expressed for the bereaved husband (Farmington News, [Friday,] November 3, 1933).
Miss Helen Anderson, 1942
Seth F. Dawson [Jr.] married (3rd) in Rochester, NH, September 5, 1936, Ruth H. ((Svenson) Anderson) Iovine, he of Milton, and she of Waco, TX. He was a manufacturer, aged fifty-seven years; she was a school teacher, aged forty-two years. Gardner S. Hall, a Rochester, NH, judge, waived the five-day waiting requirement. She was born in Boston, MA, circa 1894, daughter of Rev. Svante and Hilda C. (Lundgren) Svenson. (Her elder sister, Ingeborg V. “Ivy” Svenson, married Henry A. Townsend of the Townsend blanket mill family).
Mrs. Ruth H. Dawson’s son, Robert R. Anderson, was the principal of Nute High School in 1939-42. Her daughter, Helen Anderson, married in North Easton, PA, during WW II.
Today in SOCIETY. MARRIED YESTERDAY in North Easton [PA,] to Corp. George Healey of that town was Miss Helen Anderson, daughter of Mrs. Seth Dawson of Milton, N.H. (Boston Globe, December 22, 1942).
Seth Frank Dawson of Milton registered for the WW II military draft in Milton, April 27, 1942. He was retired, aged sixty-two years (b. Lawrence, MA, June 17, 1879). His contact was Ruth H. Dawson, Milton; their telephone number was Milton 62. He stood 5′ 7″ tall, weighed 162 pounds, with gray eyes, gray hair, and a light complexion.
Seth F. Dawson, Jr., died in Rochester, NH, April 15, 1955, aged seventy-five years.
TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 1955. Resolutions. Mr. Evans of Milton offered the following resolution: Whereas, Seth F. Dawson of Milton has passed away, and Whereas, Mr. Dawson was a former representative from Milton, therefore be it Resolved, That we, the members of the House of Representatives of the New Hampshire Legislature, express our deep Sympathy to the family in its bereavement, and be it further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House transmit to the widow, Mrs. Seth F. Dawson, a copy of these resolutions (NH House, 1955).
His widow went on to have a career in politics, which included over a decade as Milton’s NH State Representative. She was Milton’s NH State Representative as late as the 1974-75 biennial term (Portsmouth Herald, March 4, 1974).
MILTON CANDIDATES. Milton. – Local candidates in the primary next month include: For representative, Mrs. Mildred Galarneau, former correspondent for the News; Mrs. Ruth Dawson of the Mills, who served in 1958-59; both Republicans. For checklist supervisors, all Republican, George Longley, Charles Piper, Marion Roberts, Fred Eldridge. For Moderator, Lewis Piper, Republican; Everett McIntire, Democrat (Farmington News, August 7, 1962).
Pond Water Level Slated for Hearing. A piece of legislation of interest to Portsmouth area residents with property on Milton Three Ponds is due for public hearing tomorrow in Concord. The bill would bar draw down of water in the ponds to a level below 14.5 feet between June and Labor Day, this depth to be on the gauge at the dam gate in Milton. The bill, introduced by Clayton E. Osborn, R-Portsmouth, and Ruth H. Dawson, R-Milton, is due for a hearing by the House Resources, Recreation and Development Committee at 1:30 p.m. in Room 207 of the State House annex. A $200 fine is proposed for violation of the draw down limit (Portsmouth Herald, March 4, 1963).
MRS. DAWSON NAMED CHAIRMAN. CONCORD. – Mrs. Ruth Dawson of Milton has been appointed New Hampshire Conference Chairman for the 16tb Annual Republican Women’s Conference which is to be held April 22, 23 and 24 at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C. National Committeewoman Mrs. Rose Bovaird in announcing the appointment expressed pleasure in Mrs. Dawson’s acceptance of this important post. Long active in Republican affairs, Mrs. Dawson is the only woman ever elected from the towns of Milton and Middleton as Representative to the General Court. She has been elected a Representative for five terms and is a past Legislative Department Chairman for the American Legion. Mrs. Dawson will strive to have a record-breaking number of Delegates to the Conference in April. Mrs. Bovaird also appoint Mrs. Anita Carmen of Manchester as Publicity Chairman for the Conference (Farmington News, February 29, 1968).
Area Solons All Favor H.B. No. 1. Governor Walter Peterson’s controversial Citizens’ Task Force bill No. 1 found no opposition with legislators whose constituencies cover an area served by this newspaper. Representatives Ralph Canney, Robert Drew, Fred Tebbetts, all of Farmington; Rep. Ruth Dawson, New Durham-Milton; and Rep. Jakob Mutzbauer of Alton all cast favorable votes. The bill passed easily by a 246-127 margin in the House (Farmington News, February 6, 1969).
This afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its hearing on HB 81, a bill which passed the House on a voice vote and would prohibit law enforcement officers from also serving as bail commissioners. The bail commissioner operates on a fee basis, being paid for each call to determine whether bail is necessary, and how much, after an arrest. Each town or city has three commissioners and, in some cases, convenience has led them to also be police officers. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ruth H. Dawson, R-Milton, and Rep. Shirley Merrill, R-Lebanon, both testified against this practice at a House hearing, feeling “the prosecutor should not also set bail.” Rep. Merrill also testified as to complaints in Lebanon about the system. The bill passed the House on an uncontested voice last week (Portsmouth Herald, February 18, 1969).
Mrs. Ruth H. (((Svenson) Anderson) Iovine) Dawson died in Wolfeboro, NH, August 15, 1985.
To be continued …
References:
Brett, Allen, and Whipple, Harvey. Concrete-Cement Age (1913, July). Reinforced Concrete in Factory Construction. Some Details of Mill and Dam Work in Reinforced Concrete in Milton, N.H. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=D8VLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA3
Luce & Bridge. (1888). Twenty Thousand Rich New Englanders: A List of Taxpayers Who Were Assessed in 1888 to Pay a Tax of One Hundred Dollars Or More. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=aAkPAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA100
McLeish Communications. (1915). American Shoemaking, Volume 57. Boston, MA: American Shoemaking Publishing Co.
By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | February 23, 2020
Here we find a 1916 recollection of two competing industrial soap salesmen – “No. 34” and “Jim” – and their sales trip to Milton Mills.
Based upon the manufacturers, hotelier, and storekeeper mentioned, it would seem that the sales trip described must have taken place in or around 1877. The Waumbeck Company had its origins in the early 1870s; Ira Miller (1826-1902) had by this time transferred his Central House hotel to Crosby B. Remick (1849-1919), and opened his eponymous store, as he did in 1877; and Edward Brierley (1817-1878) was still living. David H. Buffum (1820-1882), a principal at the Great Falls Manufacturing Company, has not yet arrived on the scene. John Townsend (1807-1891), retired founder of the Townsend blanket mill, was then about seventy years of age, while his son, Henry H. Townsend (1842-1904), founder of the Miltonia Mills, was then about thirty-six years of age.
A GREEDY COMPETITOR.
In my early days in the soap trade, there seemed to be a broader field than there is to-day. True, there were fewer salesmen on the road selling mill soaps. As I recollect, there were two of us in New England territory, representing large houses, and, occasionally, a small maker of soap among the competitors would go out himself, and sell some mill. But the bulk of the trade was handled by my competitor and myself, I will call him Jim. There surely ought to have been trade enough for both of us. One morning I met him on the Eastern Division of the Boston & Maine Railroad, coming from Boston. He was not very amiable, rather out of sorts with me. For the truth was, I had been rather busy with the mills on that division. I had been to Great Falls the day before and sold them. The son of the owner had told me that his father had gone to Milton Mills, together with Mr. Briarly, superintendent of a felt mill he owned there to Briarly’s camp at East Pond on a fishing expedition. This is in explanation of what happened after Jim and I reached Milton Mills. We both got off at Union, N.H., and took the stage over to Milton Mills. Jim rode on the inside, I on the outside. He
DID NOT MAKE MUCH TALK,
and I, after one or two attempts to converse with him, subsided. The facts were that on a previous trip I had been to the mills and sold the Waumbec Company a car and sold a sample five-cask lot to Briarly Felt Mills; also sold Townsend a sample order, I have forgotten the number of packages, and had run over the month before and got encouragement from Briarly that my soap was proving very satisfactory and that he expected to give me a car order, which was my errand on the day Jim and I were on the way to Milton Mills. We arrived about dinner time, went in to dinner together. We had begun to eat when Jim started up from the table and said he had a bad attack of the toothache and could not eat. I finished my meal, while Jim walked down to the Briarly mill at least one-half mile from the hotel. Before he came back I had interviewed Henry Townsend, whom I saw coming across the square, and sold him. This left nothing for Jim except a possibility of changing Briarly
AWAY FROM HIS PROMISE
to me. Jim came back, hot and mad clean through. “Why couldn’t you have told me Briarly was down to East Pond fishing,” he said, and “saved me this walk?” It was a very hot day In August. I asked him how long he supposed I was running his business. He made me no answer, but turned to Remick, the hotel proprietor, and said, “How many horses have you got in the barn?” Remick said, “Six.” “I want them,” said Jim, “and I want you and the fastest one of the lot to drive me to Briarly’s camp.” I had not been on the road long, but I had learned a little forbearance against pushing business on a mill man when he was on a pleasure hunt away from his mill. So I began to remonstrate with Jim against going to the camp. He just laughed at me. I tried to get one of the six horses that Jim had commanded, but Remick reminded me that I had heard Jim hire the whole bunch. I told Remick that would be the last time he would have the pleasure of my company, and was making a few other
REMARKS NOT COMPLIMENTARY
to him. When a salesman for a dye-stuffs house who was at dinner with me and had driven in from Sanford, Me., saw the fix Jim had me in, he stepped up and said it was his first trip to this country, that he had no acquaintance, and if I would introduce him to the owner of the felt mill I might ride with him. I gladly accepted his invitation. Meanwhile, Jim and Remick had started for East Pond. The dye man drove a piebald horse, not any snap to him. When he got opposite Briarly’s mill, he balked up. I sprang over the wheel, saying to my friend that his horse couldn’t do me any good. I ran all the way back to the village, and entered a grocery store kept by Ira Miller. I will say that, before going on the road to sell soap, I was eight years in a wholesale grocery store in Boston. Miller had been a customer, and when he came in to buy goods, he was always boasting about the fine horses he had. I had not him for three or four years. As soon as I got my breath, I said, “Ira, have you got a good horse?” “The best in the state,” he replied.
“HITCH HIM UP,”
and drive me to East Pond.” That horse was harnessed and put in a rig in very quick time. As we rode along, I explained to Ira the trouble I was in. That was a grand horse of Ira’s. We overtook friend Jim and Remick about five miles out. I said, “That is what I am after, Ira,” pointing to Jim. They were moping along, thinking they had done me up, I suppose. When I spoke to Ira, he said, “Hang on to the seat,” and like a shot we went by them. I looked back, and Jim had the reins away from Remick, and the whip in his hand, and was lashing that horse into a run, but that horse was not in it with Ira Miller’s animal. We left them out of sight and drove into the lake shore. “Change sides,” said Ira, who rose up and I slipped under him. At the camp I found Mr. Briarly, booked his order for a car of soap, just as he had promised me, when Jim and his friend drove into the woods. I told Ira to drive me to Wolfboro Junction, which he did. Pretty soon Remick left Jim there. But he would not fraternize with me, and staid up at the end of a long platform away from me. I had mischief enough left in me to go to the telegraph office and wire in the order I had taken. No 34.
The Mitchell-Cony directory of 1908 set forth the following sequence of occupants of the Brierley felt mill at Milton Mills.
On the site of the shoe factory occupied by Andrews Bros., Edward Brierly erected a felt mill about forty years ago, where he carried on a large business, employing a fair number of hands until it was burned in the spring or early part of the summer of 1873. He rebuilt the mill soon afterward, and the property later came into the possession of David H. Buffum of Somersworth. After Mr. Buffum’s death, his son, Harry Buffum, sold it to Varney & Lane, who began the manufacture of shoes. The next owners of the factory were the Gale Shoe Co., of Haverhill, who, after several years of successful operation, leased the property to Andrews & Co., of Everett, Mass., who, under the name of the Boynton Shoe Co., carry on the industry successfully at the present time (Mitchell-Cony, 1908).
English immigrant Edward Brierley erected his felt mill at Milton Mills “about forty years ago,” i.e., about 1864. It burned in the spring or early summer of 1873, and was rebuilt “soon afterward.” It came later into the hands of felt manufacturer David H. Buffum. After his death (December 1882), his son, Harry Buffum, sold it to Varney & Lane, who began to manufacture shoes, rather than felt. Next came the Gale Shoe company, and Andrews, Wasgatt Co., dba Boynton Shoe Co. After Boynton Shoe Co., and beyond the Mitchell-Cony sequence, came Timson & Co.
With the exception of the original Edward Brierley operation, and, briefly, David H. Buffum, Jr., few, if any, of the following company officers resided in Milton Mills. Their main factories were elsewhere, and they employed local superintendents to manage their Milton Mills “country factory” satellites.
Edward Brierley – c1864-79
Edward Brierley was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, May 19, 1817, son of John and Mary Brierley.
Edward Brierley arrived in the U.S. at New York, NY, December 24, 1841. He married, probably in Lowell, MA, circa 1843, Margaret M. Thompson. She was born in Ireland (alternatively given as Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland) in 1812.
Agnes Jane Brierley, daughter of Edward and Margaret Brierley, was born in Lowell, MA, June 17, 1844. Margaret Briley was born in Lowell, November 15, 1845. Frances Brailey was born in Lowell, May 17, 1847. Edward James Brierley was baptized in Lowell, MA, June 24, 1849.
Edward Brierley resided in Lowell, MA, when he was naturalized in the local police court there, May 31, 1851.
Edward Brierley and his family paid a visit to the “old country” in 1852. Edwd. Brierley, aged thirty-six years (b. England), Margt. Brierley, aged thirty-five years (b. England), Agnes Brierley, aged eight years (b. England), Francis Brierley, aged five years (b. England), and Edwd. Brierley, aged three years (b. England), returned together in the 1500-ton packet ship Daniel Webster, in 1853. The Daniel Webster, Captain Howard commanding, departed from Liverpool, England, January 30, 1853, and arrived in Boston, MA, on Saturday, February 26, 1853.
Marine Intelligence. ARRIVALS AND CLEARANCES AT BOSTON. Saturday, February 26. Arrived Ship Daniel Webster, Howard, Liverpool Jan. 30; brig Montrose, Poland, Penacola (Boston Globe, March 5, 1853).
Edward Brierly established a block printing business at Milton Mills in 1850 [more likely in or after 1853] and after a few years of successful business purchased a saw mill and privilege on the site of the present Brierly mill where he soon began the manufacture of felt goods. The rapid increase of his business soon compelled him to make extensive additions and in a short time he had extensive mills on both sides of the river doing a very remunerative business (Scales, 1914).
Daughter Frances M. Brierley died October 26, 1860, aged thirteen years (buried in Milton Mills). Edward Briley, a factory operative, aged forty-three years (born England), headed a Milton Mills household at the time of the Eighth (1860) Federal Census. His household included Hannah [SIC] Briley, aged forty years (born Ireland [SIC]).
An “enterprising” Edward Brierley was mentioned in the Vulpes letter of January 1864, as being about to build a mill in Milton Mills.
Daughter Agnes J. Brierly of Milton Mills, N.H., was a junior at the Abbot Female Academy in Andover, MA, in July 1864. Among other subjects, she was a pupil in instrumental music. She married in Boston, MA, June 7, 1870, Henry H. Townsend, a merchant, she of Milton, NH, aged twenty-six years, and he of Boston, aged twenty-seven years. (He was a member of Milton Mills’ Townsend blanket factory family).
Edward Brierly, a felt manufacturer, aged fifty-three years (born England), headed a Milton Mills household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. His household included Margaret Brierly, keeping house, aged fifty-four years (born Scotland), and Edward J. Brierly, a clerk in a felt manufactory, aged twenty-one years (born MA). Edward Brierly had real estate valued at $3,000 and personal estate valued at $2,000.
A William Brierley (1828-1894), also an English immigrant, appeared in Milton at this time. He would seem to have been a younger half-brother or cousin of Edward Brierley, in whose mill he was working. (He had in 1870 a wife, Elizabeth E. Brierley, and children, Edward J. Brierley, John W. Brierley, Sarah A. Brierley, and Cora H.J. Brierley).
Edward Brierley was mentioned also in the Milton business directories of 1869-70, 1871, 1873, 1874, 1876, and 1877.
In the summer of 1873 these mills were entirely destroyed by fire thus sweeping away in an hour the accumulations of years of hard labor. Mr. Brierly soon began the erection of a new mill but losing largely by the insolvency of insurance companies he became somewhat embarrassed and was obliged to compromise with his creditors. His health soon after failing he was unable to recover his former financial position and at his death the property went into other hands and has since been operated by other parties (Scales, 1914).
WANTS. WANTED – A second-hand church or factory bell weighing about (900) nine hundred pounds; good tone. Also a second-hand Otis elevator for four stories. Address E. BRIERLEY & SON, Milton Mills, N.H. (Boston Globe, April 22, 1874).
(See also news articles of 1873, regarding the fire, and news articles of 1874, regarding the reconstructed mill).
Edward Brierly of Milton Mills filed for a U.S. patent (No. 166,450), June 1, 1875, for a frame for dying cloth (U.S. Patent Office, 1875).
MILL SUSPENDED. GREAT FALLS, N.H., Aug. 10. – Brierley’s felt mills, at Milton. N.H., have suspended, throwing forty hands out of employment. Cause assigned, No sales for the goods already on hand (Boston Post, August 11, 1875).
Edward Brierly died in Milton Mills, July 7, 1878, aged sixty-one years.
His widow, Margaret M. Brierley, keeping house, aged sixty-six years (b. Ireland), headed a Milton household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. Her household included her boarder, John Condon, a wool sorter, aged twenty-six years (b. SC), her niece, Agnes Condon, a housekeeper, aged seventeen years (b. NH), and her help, Rollin C. Town, a laborer, aged twenty-six years (b. NH).
Margaret M. (Thompson) Brierly died in Milton, July 30, 1888, aged seventy-five years.
The last will of Margaret M. Brierly of Milton Mills, dated May 17, 1886, and proved in Strafford County Probate Court, in September 1888, devised all of her money on hand or at interest to the children of her son, Edward J. Brierly, and the children of her daughter, Agnes J. Townsend; and the rest and residue to her son, Edward J. Brierly, and her daughter, Agnes J. Townsend. Mary E. Berry, Georgie W. Marsh, and Elbridge W. Fox witnessed her signature.
Son Edward J. Brierley, appeared in the Milton directories of 1880, 1881, 1882, 1884, 1887, and 1889, as a Milton Mills grocery merchant (and manufacturer of washing powder (1880-82)). (It was he that spoke up for the Varney & Lane strikers of 1889).
MILTON. We are sorry that our genial friend, Brierley, of the Mills felt shop, did not receive the election on the civil board at Acton (Farmington News, March 13, 1891).
He and his son, Leroy T. Brierley, appeared in the Milton directories of 1900, and 1902, as keeping a general store at 41 Main street in Milton Mills, with a residence at A.S., M.M., i.e., Acton, ME, side, Milton Mills. [Springvale Road].
Edward J. Brierley, a grocer, aged fifty-one years (b. MA), headed a Acton, ME, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of twenty-seven years), Hannah E. [(Lowd)] Brierley, aged fifty-one years (b. ME), and his children, Francese Brierley, aged twenty-three years (b. ME), Helen Brierley, aged twenty-one years (b. ME), Bertha Brierley, at school, aged nineteen years (b. ME), and Ralph Brierley, at school, aged twelve years (b. ME). Edward J. Brierley owned their house, free-and-clear. Hattie E. Brierley was the mother of five children, of whom five were still living.
LOCAL. Leroy T. Brierley of Milton Mills, who is well known by many people in this vicinity, having been employed in his father’s store for the past eight years, has gone to Boston and secured a situation on the Grove Hall surface cars of the Boston elevated railway (Farmington News, July 10, 1903).
Edward J. Brierley died in Acton, ME, January 30, 1906, aged fifty-six years, eight months, and fourteen days. Hannah E. (Lowd) Brierley died in Acton, ME, in 1927.
David Hanson Buffum (and Sons) – 1879-88
David H. Buffum was born in North Berwick, ME, November 10, 1820, son of Timothy and Anna (Austin) Buffum.
He married in Somersworth, NH, January 26, 1853, Charlotte E. Stickney. She was born in Great Falls, Somersworth, NH, April 19, 1831, daughter of Alexander H. and Betsy H. (Chesley) Stickney.
David H. Baffum, a bank cashier, aged thirty-nine years (b. ME), headed a Somersworth (“Great Falls P.O.”), NH, household at the time of the Eighth (1860) Federal Census. His household included Charlotte Baffum, aged thirty years (b. NH), Edgar S. Baffum, aged four years (b. NH), Harry Baffum, aged two years (b. NH), and Cathe. Ainwright, a domestic, aged seventeen years (b. Ireland). David H. Baffum had real estate valued at $5,000 and personal estate valued at $10,000.
David H. Buffum, a manufacturer, aged forty-two years (b. ME). registered for the Class II Civil War military draft in Somersworth, NH, June 30, 1863.
Charlotte E. (Stickney) Buffum died March 8, 1868.
David H. Buffum, a woolen mill agent, aged forty-nine years (b. ME), headed a Somersworth (“Great Falls P.O.”), NH, household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. His household included [his children,] Edgar S. Buffum, aged fourteen years (b. NH), Harry Buffum, aged twelve years (b. NH), David H. Buffum, Jr., aged seven years (b. NH), and Charlotte E. Buffum, aged two years (b. NH), [his half-sister,] Sarah Hussey, keeping house, aged forty years (b. ME), and Mary Pillsbury, a domestic servant, aged twenty-one years (b. ME). David H. Buffum had real estate valued at $25,000 and personal estate valued at $50,000.
David H. Buffum was elected a NH State Representative from Somersworth, NH, and was twice elected to the NH Senate. He was Senate President in his second term (Metcalf, et. al., 1878).
Aside from these important manufacturing enterprises, he [Hon. D.H. Buffum] has been several years a partner with L.R. Hersom in the wool pulling and sheep-skin tanning establishment on Berwick at Great Falls, and has, furthermore, extensive manufacturing interests at Milton Mills (Metcalf, et. al., 1878).
D.H. Buffum appeared in the Milton directories of 1880, 1881, and 1882, as a Milton Mills manufacturer of felt cloth, piano and table covers.
David H. Buffum appeared in the Great Falls directory of 1880, as agent and treasurer of G.F. [Great Falls] Woolen Co., with a house on Beacon street. Edgar S. Buffum appeared a boarder at David H. Buffum’s. The Great Falls Woolen Co., with D.H. Buffum as its agent, was situated on Woodvale street.
WATER-POWERS AND MANUFACTORIES. A fine water-power at Milton Mills is occupied on Acton side of the river by a large felting-mill, erected on the site of a smaller one in 1873, the first having been destroyed by fire. The present mill was erected by E. Brierley & Son, and was exempted from local taxation for ten years. D.H. Buffum & Co. became the proprietors and operators in 1879. All kinds of felting goods are manufactured here, giving employment to about 40 skilled operatives and $250 000 capital (Clayton, 1880).
David H. Buffum, a woolen manufacturer and ex-State Senator, aged fifty-nine years (b. ME), headed a Somersworth (“Vil. of Great Falls”), NH, household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. His household included his children, Edgar S. Buffum, a woolen manufacturer, aged twenty-four years (b. NH), Harry A. Buffum, an apprentice to a woolen manufacturer, aged twenty-two years (b. NH), David H. Buffum, Jr., at school, aged seventeen years (b. NH), his [half-] sister, Sarah Hussey, a housekeeper, aged forty-five years (b. ME), and his servant, Agnes Davis, a servant, aged twenty-five years (b. NH).
David H. Buffum died in Somersworth, NH, December 29, 1882, aged sixty-two years.
D.H. Buffum appeared in the Milton directories of 1884, and 1887, as a Milton Mills manufacturer of felt cloth, piano and table covers. C.A. Dockham’s textile industry directory of 1884 included further details:
Milton Mills; Milton. Buffum, D.H., & Co., felt, piano and table covers, horse blankets, etc., 6 sets felt cards.
Buffum’s felt mill had a 15-foot stone dam in George F. Swain’s report on Milton Water Power in 1885. D.H. Buffum’s Sons appeared in the textile “Blue Book” directory of 1888, as Milton Mills manufacturers of felt piano [&] table covers, etc. They had one water wheel, two boilers, and six sets of felt cards (Palmer, 1888).
David H. Buffum, Jr.
DAVID HANSON BUFFUM [JR.]. David Hanson Buffum was the son of David Hanson Buffum and Charlotte Elizabeth (Stickney) Buffum. David H. Buffum, the elder (1820-1882), was born at North Berwick, Me. He became a woolen manufacturer, being interested in mills at South Berwick and at Great Falls and Milton Mills, N.H. He was descended from Robert Buffum of Yorkshire, England, who settled at Salem, Mass., in 1634. The Stickneys came from Stickney in England to Rowley, Mass., in 1638. Mrs. Buffum (1831-1868) was born at Great Falls, N.H. Buffum was born in the same place on October 1, 1862. He prepared for college at the Great Falls high school and at Phillips Exeter. He was a member of our freshman glee club, football team, and ball nine, on which he played third base, and he threw a baseball farther than any one else in the class – 305 feet. He was a member of Eta Phi, but left college during sophomore year. He had roomed in freshman year at 82 Wall Street, and in sophomore year at 464 Chapel Street. From 1883 to 1886 Buffum was employed with D. Buffum’s Sons at Milton Mills. Wearying of factory occupations, he went to the car shops of the Boston & Maine Railroad at Waltham, Mass., and had turned to civil engineering when he died in Somersworth N.H., on March 19, 1893. He was unmarried. His older brothers are graduates of Yale, – Edgar S. Buffum, of Newtonville, Mass., in ’77, and Henry A. Buffum, of Rockland, Me., in ’79 (Yale University, 1913).
The Kimball Brothers’ Shoe company of Lynn and Haverhill, MA, considered moving a portion of their production to a three-story mill building in Milton in November 1888, but did not. The Lynn shoe firm of Varney & Lane opened a branch factory there instead. Henry A. “Harry” Buffum is said to have sold the mill to the Varney & Lane Shoe Company.
Varney & Lane Shoe Company – 1888-90
Charles Wesley Varney was born in North Berwick, ME, July 30, 1838, son of Calvin and Eliza (Nowell) Varney.
He married, circa 1864, Ellen N. Lane. She was born in Exeter, NH, November 17, 1840, daughter of Elbridge G. and Elizabeth M. (Moses) Lane.
Charles W. Varney, a shoe manufacturer, aged forty-one years (b. MA [SIC]), headed a Lynn, MA, household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Ellen N. Varney, at home, aged thirty-eight years (b. NH); his children, Louise N. Varney, at school, aged sixteen years (b. NH), Lucia D. Varney, at school, aged thirteen years (b. NH), Fred L. Varney, at school, aged nine years (b. MA), Ada M. Varney, at school, aged six years (b. MA), and Ralph W. Varney, at home, aged ten months (b. A); his brother-in-law, Elbridge G. Lane, a clerk in store, aged thirty years (b. NH); his boarder, Ida Lane, at home, aged twenty-eight years (b. ME); and his servants, Sarah Willey, a servant, aged sixty-five years (b. NH), and Maggie Healey, a servant, aged twenty years (b. Ireland). They resided at 7 Commercial Street in Lynn, MA.
Current News. The citizens of Milton Mills, N.H., are raising the sum of $3,000 for the establishment of a shoe factory in the old Buffum felt mill, which will employ 400 hands. If the amount is raised Varney and Lane of Lynn, Mass., will put in the machinery and commence operations in a few weeks. The shop will be a boom to the town (American Engineer, 1888).
Lynn Shoe Firm’s Country Shop. Dover, N.H., Sept. 7. – Varney & Lane of Lynn, Mass., have made arrangements to run the shoe shop recently occupied by Buffum & Co., at Milton Mills. Machinery will be at once put in and work commenced as soon as possible (Boston Globe, September 8, 1888).
Varney & Lane advertised for shoe cutters for its new Milton Mills plant in May 1889.
The Labor Field. The hands in the employ of Varney & Lane, Milton Mills, N.H., are on strike for an advance in wages. The citizens of the town have voted to support the strikers, and boarding-house keepers and merchants have decided not to board or furnish any aid at any price to workmen who may be obtained to fill the places of those who are out. The firm threaten to remove their business to Lynn. Following are the prices that the workmen have been paid by Varney & Lane together with the rates paid in Lynn for the same work:
The firm claim to have paid full, average, country-factory rates and consider it unjust that prices for making a $1 shoe should be compared with Lynn prices on a $2 to $4 shoe. They have always maintained agreeable relations with their employees, and have paid ruling union prices in Lynn. They state that they will finish up the work they have on hand at Milton Mills, N.H., if possible; if not, they will take it to Lynn. They talk of fitting up the old Donovan factory on Box place for the purpose (Shoe & Leather Reporter, 1889).
Varney & Lane appeared in the Shoe and Leather Annual directory of 1890 as shoe manufacturers in both Acton, ME, and Milton Mills (but not thereafter).
SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD. State Arbitrators Hold Conference with Varney & Co. LYNN, July 10. — The State board of arbitration, which consists of Charles H. Walcott of Concord, Ezra Davol of Taunton and Richard P. Barry of Lynn. came to Lynn this morning to give a bearing on the labor trouble at C.W. Varney & co.’s shoe factory. The difference between the firm and the operatives is a question of price, and the operatives ask that the firm pay the same as ether firms are paying for the same grade of work. The firm expressed its willingness to submit the matter to the State board of arbitration for adjustment and so notified the board. The result was a meeting of the board at City Hall at 10 o’clock this morning. Charles W. Varney, representing the firm, was present, but the operatives were not represented. The conference between the board and the firm was a private one. While the local council is not willing to take part in the hearing, yet the members are willing to meet the firm and discuss matters with the view of settling their differences. The operatives have placed their case in the hands of the local council, and will follow its suggestions. The operatives say that they having nothing to arbitrate, as they simply ask for such prices as have already been established by the State board of arbitration (Boston Globe, July 10, 1890).
[Lucian Newhall] had it [a Lynn South Common Street factory] until 1870 when C.W. Varney it with his brother. They did business under the style of the Varney Bros., and subsequently T.W. Varney & Co. The company was E.G. Lane, Jr., who is now associated with Mr. Varney in the capacity of partner. This has been a fortunate building for the owners, all of whom were successful while doing business in it, none of whom have ever failed. The factory of C.W. Varney & Co., which they now occupy, has a capacity of over fifty cases per day. It goes without saying that the members of this firm are men of integrity, and they are now making a stylish and popular price line of foot wear which merits the attention of the trade. Frederick L. Varney, son of C.W. Varney, gives every indication of following in the footsteps of his predecessor. To the advantages of a modern technical education he adds the experience which has been gained in the factory. The Boston office of C.W. Varney & Co. is 25 High street, where Frederick L. Varney be found on Wednesdays and Saturdays. He is one of the young men of Lynn who are to the front. In this connection it should be stated that C.W. Varney came to Lynn in 1867, and that the firm title of C.W. Varney & Co. has been continued without interruption for 20 years (Boot & Shoe Reporter, 1892).
Echoes from the Factories. C.W. Varney & Co.’s increased space of close on to six thousand square fills an important niche on this season’s run, and the firm would have been unable to fill orders without the new room. Some striking new lines for fall are now being shown by Varney & Co. in boys’ heeled and spring heeled goods (Boot & Shoe Recorder, 1898).
Charles W. Varney, a shoe manufacturer, aged sixty-two years (b. ME), headed a Lynn, MA, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of thirty-six years), Ellen M. Varney, aged fifty-nine years (b. NH), his children, Fred L. Varney, a shoe manufacturer, aged twenty-nine years (b. MA), and Ada M. Varney, aged twenty-six years (b. NH), and his servants, Katherine Henry, a servant, aged twenty-three years (b. Ireland), and Mary E. MacCurdy, a servant, aged thirty-seven years ((b. Ireland). Charles W. Varney owned their house at 98 Walnut Street, with a mortgage. Ellen M. Varney was the mother of seven children, of whom five were still living.
Ida S. Lane, a widowed boarding-house keeper, aged fifty-three years (b. ME), headed a Boston, MA, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. Her household included her boarders, Charles W. Varney, own income, aged seventy years (b. ME), Ellen N. Varney, own income, aged sixty-nine years (b. NH), Ada M. Varney, own income, aged thirty-five years (b. MA); Kneeland H. Shaffer, a manufacturer’s storage clerk, aged thirty-four years (b. NY); and Mary E. Lang, a Normal school art teacher, aged fifty-five years (b. NY). Ida S. Lane rented their house at 86 St. Stephen’s Street.
Charles W. Varney died in Westborough, MA, March 30, 1915.
CHARLES W. VARNEY DEAD. Westboro Farmer Was Retired Lynn Shoe Manufacturer. WESTBORO, March 30 – Charles W. Varney, a retired Lynn shoe manufacturer, died (his morning at his home, East Main st., at the age of 76. He was born in North Berwick, Me., son of Calvin and Eliza (Norwell) Varney. He was a member of the old Lynn shoe firm of Varney and Lane, but removed to Westboro four years ago and bought Gilmore farm. He leaves besides his wife, Mrs. Ellen Varney, four children, Mrs. George P. Faunce of Lynn, Frederick L. Varney of Portland, Me., Miss Ada M. Varney of Westboro and Ralph W. Varney of Chicago (Boston Globe, March 31, 1915).
Ellen N. (Lane) Varney died in Winnetka, IL, February 17, 1928.
Gale Shoe Company – 1895-04
Herbert E. Gale
Herbert E. Gale was born in Haverhill, MA, November 13, 1864, son of John E. and Mary B. (Davis) Gale.
He married in Marblehead, MA, September 29, 1892, Martha J. Pollard, he of Haverhill, MA, and she of Marblehead. She was born in Boston, MA, September 8, 1865, daughter of Marshall S.P. and Georgianna (Jones) Pollard.
Gale Shoe M’f’g Co., Office, Duncan Street, Haverhill, Mass.; Salesroom, No. 1 Lincoln Street, Boston. Factories: Haverhill, Mass., Clinton, Maine. The Gale Shoe Manufacturing Company is a thoroughly representative Haverhill concern, not only on account of the magnitude and character of its business, but also because the senior partner has long been prominently identified with shoe manufacturing and with the business interests of the city, and is active and successful in promoting its development in every legitimate way. The company is composed of Messrs. John E. Gale, Herbert E. Gale, and began operations January 1889. Mr. John E. Gale is senior partner of the firm of Gale Brothers, in Exeter, N.H., is president of the Haverhill National Bank, and vice president of the City Five Cents Savings Bank. The active manager of the company’s business is Mr. Herbert E. Gale, who graduated from Harvard College in the class of 1888, and who is extremely well known to the trade, and is very successful in producing footwear that just suits the class of trade it is intended for, and that is furnished at positively bottom prices. Evidence that this company’s goods “hit the mark” is afforded by the fact that although the business was started in a comparatively small way four years ago, the last year’s sales amounted to nearly half a million dollars, being sold to the largest jobbers in the country. The company occupy their own factory, which is located on Duncan street, and has about 30,000 square feet of floor space. Employment is given to about 200 hands, and the firm control the product of two out-of-town factories, where their cheaper grades of goods are made, the capacity of the three factories being 60 to 70 sixty pair cases daily. The product includes men’s and women’s cheap and medium grade hand and machine-sewed slippers, and low cuts in black and colors. The company sell exclusively to the jobbing trade in the South, West, and Northwest, and are most ably represented in this department by Mr. John M. Hill, who has charge of their salesroom, No. 1, Lincoln street, Boston (Mercantile Illustrating, 1894).
Shoe Factories. The Gale Shoe Co., of Haverhill, have leased the shoe factory at Milton Mills, N.H., formerly operated by C.W. Varney & Co., and will manufacture a portion of their shoes there (Boot & Shore Reporter, 1895).
Former Varney & Lane mill superintendent William T. Rockwell sought workers for a new shoe factory in February 1895.
MALE HELP WANTED. MACHINIST wanted in stitching room, must he able to run Reece & Morley machines, state age and give references and salary expected. Apply to Gale Shoe Mfg., Milton Mills, N.H. Sud3t my30 (Boston Globe, May 31, 1897).
HERBERT ELBRIDGE GALE. Since the last report I have continued in the shoe manufacturing business in Haverhill, with the Gale Shoe Manufacturing Company. We have factories at Haverhill, and Milton Mills, N.H., and Boston office at 106 Summer street. My daughter, Barbara, was born Aug. 16, 1894. In winter I live in Haverhill and in summer at my home in Clifton [Marblehead, MA]. Am a director in the Haverhill National Bank, Bay State Steamship Company, and treasurer of Peterboro’ Electric Light Heat and Power Company. Am a member of the University Club of Boston, Pentucket Club of Haverhill, Corinthian Yacht Club of Marblehead, and Boston Boot and Shoe Club (Harvard College, 1898).
The Gale Shoe Company had half-ownership of Dam #18 in the U.S. Geological Survey report on Milton Water Power in 1901. Gale Shoe Manufacturing Co. appeared in the Milton directories of 1901, and 1904.
Herbert E. Gale, a shoe company merchant, aged forty-six years (b. MA), headed a Haverhill, MA, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of seventeen years), Martha P. Gale, aged forty-six years (b. MA), his children, John E. Gale, aged sixteen years (b. MA), and Barbara Gale, aged fifteen years (b. MA), and his servants, Effie S. McLaughlin, a private family chambermaid, aged thirty-eight years (b. Canada (Fr.)), Maggie McLeod, a private family laundress, aged thirty-five years (b. Canada (Fr.)), Olive Christson, a private family cook, a private family waitress, aged thirty years (b. Norway), Catherine Blainey, a private family waitress, aged twenty-one years (b. Ireland (Eng.)), and Lewis Dean, a chauffeur, aged twenty-five years (b. MA). Herbert E. Gale owned their house at 39 Summer Street, free-and-clear. Martha P. Gale was the mother of two children, of whom two were still living.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. Exeter. Gale Bros. (Inc. $205,000). J.E. Gale, pres’t; J.A. Towle, treas. and sec’y; and Herbert E. Gale, vice pres’t; women’s medium McKays. A. (Job). (Boot & Shoe Reporter, 1914).
NEW HAMPSHIRE. Portsmouth. Gale Shoe Co., Islington St. Herbert E. Gale, pres’t; H. Taylor, vice pres’t; M.I. Pattinson, treas.; Geo. H. Carter, sec’y; women’s medium welts and McKay’s. H.C. Taylor, buyer, B. (Boot & Shoe Reporter, 1914).
Herbert E. Gale died in Swampscott, MA, October 22, 1936, aged seventy-one years.
HERBERT E. GALE DIES IN 72D YEAR. President of Gale Shoe Manufacturing Co. ILL SOME TIME. Left Active Management of North Adams Plant to Son, John E. Gale, Treasurer. Herbert E. Gale, president of Gale Shoe Manufacturing company which has been a local industry since it moved to this city in the spring of 1934, died last evening at his home, 391 Puritan road, Swampscott. He was in his 72nd year. Mr. Gale had been in failing health for many months past but he remained the head of the corporation to the time of his death and until very recently had kept an active part in the direction of its affairs from its Boston office. He was born in Haverhill and received his education in the public schools of that town, at Phillips Andover academy and at Harvard university where he was a member of the class of 1888. His father had for many years been prominently identified with the shoe industry and with banking in Haverhill and as a young man after completing his education, Mr. Gale entered the shoe manufacturing business that his father had founded, succeeding the latter as its head upon his death. The industry, after operating for a number of years in Haverhill, established a plant in Manchester, N.H., where in the course of time its operations were largely centralized. It was from Manchester that it moved to this city nearly two and one-half years ago to take over and occupy the building of the North Adams Industrial company, off Brown street that had previously housed the George E. Keith and the Melanson Shoe companies. Mr. Gale made several visits to this city during the time that the plant was being established and gotten in operation here but he left the active management of the manufacturing and of the business largely to his son, John E. Gale, treasurer of the concern, while he devoted his own attention to the administrative affairs of the enterprise at its Boston office. His home had long been in Swampscott and in recent years he had spent his winters at Palm Beach, Fla. Throughout the trade he was known as an uncommonly able executive while veteran employes of his concern of whom it brought a number to this city when it moved here, spoke of him from their personal acquaintance with him and their own knowledge of his ways, as a fair and just employer. Mr. Gale is survived by his wife, the former Martha Pollard, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Marshall S.P. Pollard of Boston, a daughter, Mrs. J. Edson Andrews of Andover, his son, John, whose home is in Newton Center, and five grandchildren. The funeral will be held on Sunday afternoon at 2.30 o’clock at his home In Swampscott and burial will follow In the Forest Hills cemetery at Boston (North Adams Transcript, October 23, 1936).
Martha J. (Pollard) Gale died in Palm Beach County, FL, January 3, 1955.
Andrews, Wasgatt Company, DBA Boynton Shoe Company – 1904-14
Herbert P. Wasgatt was born in Boston, MA, August 26, 1865, son of James G. “Gilbert” and Mary A. (Faunce) Wasgatt.
Elmore Andrews was born in Montreal, Canada, in October 1867, son of Robert and Ellen (Budden) Andrews.
Herbert P. Wasgatt married in Boston, MA, April 23, 1891, Clara E. Stuart. He was a boot & shoe manufacturer, aged twenty-five years, and she “at home,” aged twenty-one years. She was born in Boston, MA, circa 1895, daughter of Jacob and Wilhelmina Stuart.
LEGAL NOTICES. NOTICE is hereby given that the copartnership heretofore existing between Elmore Andrews and George F. Gurney, under the firm name and style of Andrews & Gurney, is this day dissolved by mutual consent. ELMORE ANDREIVS, GEO. F. GURNEY. The undersigned will continue the business under the, name of Andrews & Co., and is authorized to settle all accounts of the late firm. ELMORE ANDREWS. 3t ap19 (Boston Globe, April 19, 1892).
Elmore Andrews and Herbert P. Wasgatt formed the partnership Andrews, Wasgatt Company in Baltimore, MD, in 1892. They moved their business to Everett, MA, in 1896, where they built a factory in 1897.
Elmore Andrews married in Newton, MA, March 31, 1894, Ermina Lane. She was born in Gloucester, MA, August 28, 1876, daughter of Abraham O. and Emily (Daggett) Lane.
Elmore Andrews, a manufacturer of shoes, aged thirty-two years (b. Canada (Eng.)), headed an Everett, MA, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of six years), Ermina Andrews, aged twenty-three years (b. MA), and his child, Bertha Andrews, aged four years (b. MA). Elmore Andrews owned their house at 72 Harvard Street, with a mortgage. Ermina Andrews was the mother of one child, of whom one was still living.
Herbert P. Wasgatt, a shoe manufacturer, aged thirty-five years (b. MA), headed an Everett, MA, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of nine years), Clara E. Wasgatt, aged thirty years (b. MA), his children, Helen S. Wasgatt, at school, aged seven years (b. MA), and John F. Wasgatt, aged four years (b. MA), and his servants, Mary F. O’Neill, a servant, aged twenty-three years (b. Ireland (Eng.)), and Helen C. McKinnin, a nurse, aged thirty-four years (b. Canada (Eng.)). Herbert P. Wasgatt owned their house at 180 Hancock Street, free-and-clear. Clara E. Wasgatt was the mother of two children, of whom two were still living.
MALE HELP WANTED. STOCK FITTER on wos and miss [women’s and misses] work. BOYNTON SHOE CO., Milton Mills, N.H. (Boston Globe, October 30, 1904).
MALE HELP WANTED. PULLERS OVER on misses’ and chl sboes. BOYNTON SHOE CO., Milton Mills, N.H. ThuFSu mh9 (Boston Globe, March 10, 1905).
The Boynton Shoe company of Milton Mills advertised again for shoe pullers-over in December 1906. Its parent company, Andrews-Wasgatt, advertised for shoe vampers in December 1908, and shoe stitchers in November 1909.
The Boynton Shoe Co. appeared in the New Hampshire business directories of 1906 and 1908, as operating in Milton Mills. (It appeared also in the Maine Register and Legislative Manual of 1908, as an Acton, ME, manufacturer of ladies shoes).
The Andrews, Wasgatt Company appeared in the Everett, MA, directory of 1908:
CORPORATIONS. Andrews-Wasgatt Co., shoe mnfrs. ft. Bartlett. Inc. Nov. 1, 1905. Capital $100,000. Elmore Andrews, Pres.; Herbert P. Wasgatt, Treas.; John E. Kincaid, Sec.
Elmore Andrews, a shoe factory manufacturer, aged forty-two years (b. Canada (Eng.)), headed an Everett, MA, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of sixteen years), Ermina Andrews, aged thirty-two years (b. MA), his children, Bertha Andrews, aged fourteen years (b. MA), Elmore L. Andrews, aged five years (b. MA), and Ellen L. Andrews, aged two years (b. MA), and his servant, Ida Svenson, general housework, aged twenty-seven years (b. Sweden). Elmore Andrews owned their house at 72 Harvard Street, free-and-clear. Ermina Andrews was the mother of four child, of whom three were still living.
Herbert P. Wasgatt
Herbert P. Wasgatt, a shoe manufacturer, aged forty-four years (b. MA), headed an Everett, MA, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of eighteen years), Clara E. Wasgatt, aged forty years (b. MA), his children, Helen S. Wasgatt, aged sixteen years (b. MA), and John F. Wasgatt, aged fourteen years (b. MA), and his servant, Julia Flynn, a private family servant, aged twenty-one years (b. Ireland (Eng.)). Herbert P. Wasgatt owned their house at 180 Hancock Street, free-and-clear. Clara E. Wasgatt was the mother of two children, of whom two were still living.
Herbert P. Wasgatt was mayor of Everett, MA, between January 2, 1911, and January 2, 1912.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. Milton Mills. Andrews-Wasgatt Co. (Inc. $100,000) (also Everett, Mass., and Boston office 46 Lincoln St.) Elmore Andrews, pres’t; H.P. Wasgatt, treas.; J.E. Kincaid, sec’y; misses’ and children’s medium McKays. E Andrews, buyer. B. (Boot & Shoe Reporter, 1914).
Elmore Andrews resigned from the Andrews, Wasgatt Co. in 1918, in order to focus on his real estate interests.
Elmore Andrews, a shoe manufacturer, aged fifty-three years (b. MA [SIC]), headed an Everett, MA, household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Ermina Andrews, aged forty-two years (b. MA), his children, Bertha Andrews, aged twenty-four years (b. MA), Elmore L. Andrews, aged fourteen years (b. MA), Ellen L. Andrews, aged twelve years (b. MA), and Virginia Andrews, aged eight years (b. MA). Elmore Andrews owned their house at 11 High Street, free-and-clear.
Herbert P. Wasgatt, a shoe manufacturer, aged fifty-three years (b. MA), headed an Everett, MA, household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Clara E. Wasgatt, aged fifty years (b. MA), his children, Helen S. Wasgatt, aged twenty-six years (b. MA). Herbert P. Wasgatt owned their house at 180 Hancock Street, free-and-clear.
Henry P. Wasgatt died in Boston, MA, December 21, 1934.
HERBERT P. WASGATT OF NEWTON IS DEAD. Funeral of Former Mayor of Everett Tomorrow. Herbert P. Wasgatt of Newton died yesterday at the Baker Memorial Hospital, where he had been a patient only a short while. Mr. Wasgatt was a former Associate Commissioner of Labor and Industries, representing employers of labor; former Mayor of Everett and a former member of the Governor’s Council. His term as a member of the Labor and Industries Department expired last year. He was not reappointed. Funeral services will be held at 2 tomorrow afternoon at the Union Church, Waban. He was born in South Boston. Aug 26, 1865, the son of Gilbert and Mary A. (Faunce) Wasgatt. The family shortly afterwards moved to Plymouth and later to East Boston, where he was graduated from the East Boston High School. He was employed for a number of years by the firm of Bird & Stevens, slipper manufacturers, and in 1896, in partnership with Elmore Andrews, entered business for himself. He entered politics in 1907, being elected to the Everett Board of Aldermen, and was elected Mayor of that city in 1910. He was president of the Everett Trust Company, treasurer of the Everett Board of Trade, past master of Mt. Tabor Lodge. A.F. & A.M., of East Boston: a member of Palestine Lodge. A.F. & A.M., of Everett; of St John’s Chapter, R.A.M.; East Boston, Council. R. and S.M., and William Parkman Commandery, K.T., all of East Boston, and Aleppo Temple of the Mystic Shrine; Everett Council, United Commercial Travelers; New England Shoe and Leather Association, Boston Boot and Shoe Club and associate member of Co. B, 8th Regiment, M.V.M. (Boston Globe, December 22, 1934).
Elmore Andrews died in Everett, MA, February 24, 1936, aged sixty-nine years.
ELMORE ANDREWS DEAD IN EVERETT. Developed Much of City’s Industrial Section. EVERETT, Feb. 23. – Elmore Andrews, 69, treasurer of the Everett Factory and Terminal Association, which developed much of the industrial section of this city, died this morning at his home, 11 High st., after an illness of a week. Andrews came to this city in 1897, when as a partner in the shoe firm of Andrews, Wasgatt Company, he built a factory. In 1918 he resigned from the firm and entered the real estate business. He was born in Montreal and received his early education there and at Halifax, N.S. He was employed by shoe firms in Manchester, N.H., and Baltimore before he and Herbert Wasgatt started business in the latter city in 1892. Five years later they moved the business here. He was formerly treasurer of the Standard Mailing Machine Company; founder, vice president and director of the Everett Trust Company, and trustee and city commissioner of the Whidden Hospital. Surviving him is a wife, Ermina Lane Andrews, formerly of Gloucester; three daughters. Bertha, Ellen Louise and Virginia Andrews, and a son, Elmore L. Andrews, all of this city. The funeral will be held at 2:30 Wednesday afternoon at the First Universalist Church (Boston Globe, February 24, 1936).
Timson & Co. – 1915-18
Charles Otis Timson was born in Salem, MA, January 14, 1861, son of Edwin H. and Julia S. (Story) Timson of Swampscott, MA.
He married in Lynn, MA, November 20, 1882, Susan M. Herrick, both of Lynn. He was a shoe-cutter, aged twenty-two years; she was a bookkeeper, aged twenty-one years. She was born in Lynn, MA, November 12, 1861, daughter of George W. and Maria Herrick.
Business Troubles. Charles O. Timson, shoemaker, Swampscott, is in bankruptcy. Liabilities $4269, assets $65 (Boston Globe, December 11, 1898).
Charles O. Timson, a shoe cutter, aged thirty-nine years (b. MA), headed a Swampscott, MA, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of eighteen years), Susan M. Timson, aged thirty-eight years (b. MA), his children, Frederick H. Timson, at school, aged sixteen years (b. MA), George E. Timson, at school, aged twelve years (b. MA), Louis E. Timson, at school, aged ten years (b. MA), Jennie M. Timson, aged ten years (b. MA), and Charles R. Timson, aged one year (b. MA), and his servant, Annie Sweetland, a servant, aged twenty-nine years (b. MA). Charles O. Timson owned their house at 40 Roy Street, free-and-clear. Susan M. Timson was the mother of six children, of whom five were still living.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. Epping. Tlmson & Co. (West Epping), (Boston office 132 Lincoln St.); men’s and women’s medium welts and turns. C.O. Timson, buyer. Makers of “The Timson Shoe” and “Foot Ease Comfort Shoes.” D. (Boot & Shoe Reporter, 1914).
MILTON MILLS, N.H. It is reported that the firm of TIMSON & Co., now operating at West Epping, will move its entire business here. This firm, through the efforts of the Board of Trade, have purchased the shoe factory owned by Andrews, Wasgatt, & Co., Everett, Mass. Timson & Co. are makers of nurse and comfort shoes, turned work, and have steady trade for their product. They have been manufacturing shoes for the past seventeen years, and for the last fourteen years have only shut down while taking account of stock (McLeish, 1915).
The pretty town of Milton Mills is to be congratulated upon securing a new shoe industry. Timson & Co., now operating in West Epping, are to move their plant into the factory formerly occupied by Andrews-Wasgatt. They intend to start with about 100 employees. This will be a valuable addition to the manufacturing interests already there (Farmington News, October 1, 1915).
BOSTON AND NEW ENGLAND. Takes Large Factor[y]. Timson & Co., makers of comfort shoes, who were formerly in business in Lynn, are to move from West Epping, N.H., to a large factory at Milton Mills, N.H. (Shoe & Leather Reporter, 1915).
Industrial Information. New Enterprises and Changes in the Trade. EPPING, N.H. The Timson Shoe Company have cleared their factory of machinery and removed to Milton Mills, N.H. The past ten weeks have seen nearly a dozen families convey their goods to Milton Mills, and it is to be regretted, as it was only industry of the town. There rumors to the effect the factory soon be occupied again (American Shoemaking, 1916).
NEW CORPORATIONS. A list of the corporations formed last week in New England, with the capitalization and the names of the leading incorporators, is given herewith. Massachusetts. Timson & Company, Inc., Boston – Charles O. Timson, Howard L. Vaughn, Mary A. Golden; boot and shoe manufacturers: $50,000 (Boston Globe, March 6, 1916).
Business Troubles. Charles O. Timson, treasurer of Timson & Co. Inc., Acton, Me., Milton. N.H., West Epping, N.H., and 207 Essex st., Boston, has made an assignment on behalf of the company of its land, buildings, factory property, stock, machinery and fixtures to Frederick D. Merrill, Albert D. Hawkie and Richard Feaker (Boston Globe, February 21, 1917).
Buyers’ Guide to Boston Offices. Shoe Manufacturers, Wholesale Dealers and the Findings Trade. Timson Bros. (Milton Mills); 630 Atlantic Ave. (Boot & Shoe Reporter, 1918).
LYNN MAN, IN AMBULANCE CORPS, GIVEN WAR CROSS. LYNN, March 28. – For bravery shown in the removal of wounded in the Verdun section during December and January, Louis E. Timson of Lynn, an American ambulance driver, was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. Yesterday’s news dispatches from Paris mentioned his name among several other American ambulance men as recipients of the war cross. Whether yesterday’s news story is a belated official announcement of the awarding of the Croix de Guerre in January or whether it means that another decoration has been conferred upon him is not known to members of his family, who live at 7A Shore drive. He is 27 years old, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles O. Timson, and is engaged with his brother, George Timson, in the manufacture of shoes in Boston. Last June he volunteered for service with the American Ambulance Corps in France and was assigned to Section 13, which was turned over to the French Army located in the Verdun sector. Timson has had many narrow escapes from death from shells, but has escaped injury. When his six months volunteer service was completed he was the first member of Section 13 to enlist in the United States Army (Boston Globe, March 29, 1918).
Business Troubles. An involuntary petition in bankruptcy has been filed against the Charles O. Timson Shoe Co., Lynn, at the instance of three creditors whose claims amount to $521.39 (Boston Globe, October 20, 1922).
LYNN AND HUDSON AUTOS IN MARLBORO COLLISION. MARLBORO, Oct 22. -Charles O. Timson, 63, of 80 Silsbee st., Lynn, was assisted from his overturned automobile after a crash with another car at the corner of Lincoln and Bolton sts. yesterday, where the police found him head down and feet upward. He was without a scratch, but complained of pain. He was the operator and only occupant of the car. The other car in the crash was owned and operated by Mrs. Lillian Ryan of 73 Lincoln st., Hudson. She was shaken up. Both cars were badly damaged. Timson’s car turned over twice. Officer William Dolan and other members of the Marlboro police aided Timson in extricating himself from the wreck (Boston Globe, October 22, 1929).
Susan M. (Herrick) Timson died in Danvers, MA, December 27, 1948. Charles O. Timson died in Lynn, MA, March 2, 1950.
RECENT DEATHS. CHARLES O. TIMSON, 89, retired shoe manufacturer. At Lynn (Boston Globe, March 3, 1950).
Clayton, W. Woodford. (1880). History of York County, Maine: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=-e8gAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA428
McDermott, Charles H. (1920). A History of the Shoe and Leather Industries of the United States Together with Historical and Biographical Notices. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=J0dJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA348
Yale University. (1913). Quarter-Centenary Record of the Class of 1885, Yale University: Covering the Thirty-one Years from Its Admission Into the Academic Department, 1881-1912, Yale ’85; Pub. for the Class. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=6bcvAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA358
The Milton Grammar School was built in 1892, and not in 1882 as has sometimes been reported. This may be confirmed through an examination of the 1888 “birds-eye view” map of Milton (see References below). Neither the Grammar school nor the Nute High school appear in this map, as they had not yet been built. The error apparently arises out of a misreading of the dedication as it appears in photographs of the front of the building.
Construction of the “New School House” in 1892
Town School, Milton, N.H.
MILTON. A school meeting was held Saturday afternoon, and it was voted to raise the sum of $5500 to build a new school house. It is to be ready by September 5 (Farmington News, April 1, 1892).
The $5,500 cost of the school house would be equivalent to $158,442 in modern inflation-adjusted dollars. By way of comparison, Derry, NH, spent $9,000 on its school house, which it claimed was the finest in the state (Farmington News, December 7, 1894).
The architect’s name has not come to hand. Ms. Sarah Ricker identified its type as the Victorian Stick style (see References below).
Building contractors S. Knox & Son erected the new school building. That firm’s partners were carpenters Simeon P. Knox and his youngest son, Ulysses S. Knox, both of Farmington, NH. (Simeon P. Knox appeared in the surviving Civil War Veterans Schedule of the Eleventh (1890) Federal Census. The son was a namesake for General Ulysses S. Grant).
A newspaper account of an extensive 1887 renovation to the multi-story Farmington store of E.T. Wilson concluded with a mention of Simeon P. Knox’s involvement in the project.
The carpenter work will be under the supervision of S.P. Knox, which insures a good job, speedily completed (Farmington News, October 7, 1887).
Construction of the new Milton Grammar school began shortly after the vote appropriating its costs.
MILTON. Work has begun on the new school house (Farmington News, April 22, 1892).
MILTON. Work is progressing rapidly on the new school house. It will be a handsome building and an ornament to the town when finished (Farmington News, May 6, 1892).
MILTON. The Milton school house which has been erected by the well-known builders, S. Knox & Son, approaches completion (Farmington News, August 19, 1892).
MILTON. The new school house has been painted (Farmington News, September 9, 1892).
MILTON. Work has been resumed on the new school house and it will be completed in a short [while] (Farmington News, October 14, 1892).
MILTON. The new school house is receiving its second coat of paint (Farmington News, November 25, 1892).
MILTON. Shed being built at new school house. Boiler to be set up this week (Farmington News, December 23, 1892).
Simeon P. Knox, a carpenter, aged sixty-nine years (b. NH), headed a Farmington, NH, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of forty years), Sarah E. [(Bickford)] Knox, aged sixty-five years (b. NH), and his aunt-in-law, Abigail R. [(Rumery)] Drew, a widow, aged eighty-five years (b. NH). They shared a two-family dwelling with the household of Ulysses S. Knox, a carpenter, aged thirty-seven years (b. NH). His household included his wife, Addie E. [(Whitehouse)] Knox, aged thirty-three years (b. NH), and his children, John E. Knox, in school, aged seven years (b. NH), Harry Knox, in school, aged six years (b. NH), and Mildred Knox, aged three years (b. NH).
LOCALS. Mrs. Abbie Drew, at the age of four-score and four years, could not be outdone easily by the young girls, in the clever making of a patchwork quilt. In exactly one week from the day on which she had bought print in three patterns, Mrs. Drew had cut and had put together, in an original design, 1029 pieces, marked off by six strips of one kind of print, each way of the quilt. The sewing is very even and neat, and was done entirely by hand. This was only one of several quilt-covers which Mrs. Drew has made to present to friends or near relatives. Mrs. Drew is an aunt of Mrs. Simeon P. Knox, with whom she makes her home (Farmington News, September 15, 1899).
S.P. Knox & Son subsequently erected a “set” of buildings for H.F. Howard at Rochester, NH, beginning in October 1897 (Farmington News, October 8, 1897). They had made a great improvement to the fine old Hurd place in New Durham, NH, in July 1900 (Farmington News, July 27, 1900).
Simeon P. Knox died in Farmington, NH, August 17, 1918, aged eighty-seven years, four months, and seventeen days. His son and partner, Ulysses S. Knox, died in Farmington, NH, May 25, 1923, aged fifty-nine years, three months, and seven days.
A Graded School
The Milton Grammar school’s greater size allowed for it be set up as a “graded school,” i.e., a school in which the students were separated into classes, grades or age cohorts, as opposed to the one-room schoolhouses still operating elsewhere in town. Graded schools were an educational innovation or fad of this period.
Farmington touted its graded school system in December 1894, Freedom considered a $3,000 appropriation for a graded school at its March 1895 town meeting, Alton thought it was losing for lack of one in March 1899. A Milton Mills real estate advertisement of 1897 mentioned Milton’s graded schools among the attractive features and conveniences of the town.
There was opposition to the establishment of graded schools. For many, transportation was a problem (in the days before school buses). That is to say, many pupils had to travel lengthy distances from their outlying homes to a centrally-located graded school.
Alfred W. Jones complained of transporting children by wagon to the village grammar school. He was concerned about the quality of both wagons and drivers, especially drivers. In fact, there were occasions when Milton school wagons full of students tipped over.
Costly Economy. Mr. Alfred W. Jones of Milton, N.H., complains of the new school law in that state. By the provisions of the law, school boards are authorized to convey children in sparsely settled districts to the village schools. Mr. Jones complains that in carrying out this law some school boards practice an improper economy in furnishing poor teams and incompetent drivers. In some cases the drivers are worse than incompetent, being men of low class, given to drink, vulgarity and profanity. He says “I would rather go back to the old law than to have our children receive more schooling and be ruined.” (New England Farmer (Boston, MA), February 20, 1892).
(While one might take Jones’ point about the risks of transporting pupils to school by wagon, his characterization of the drivers’ supposed moral failings might be taken with a grain of salt, as he would himself go on to become Milton’s poisoning murderer of 1897).
Some young students (and teachers) boarded in Three Ponds village in order to be near the centrally-located grammar school. They might see their parents only on weekends, and not necessarily every weekend.
WEST MILTON. Miss Hazel Perkins was home from her studies at Milton village and spent Sunday with her parents. Harry Perkins and Jack O’Connor spent the week-end on a fishing trip at Merrymeeting pond (Farmington News, March 27, 1914).
MIDDLETON. Ethel Whitehouse, who is attending school at Milton, was the week-end visitor of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Whitehouse (Farmington News, February 3, 1911).
Some questioned the very “Graded School” system itself.
For an all-round primary school you can’t beat the little country schoolhouse, ten or more little folk and a sweet woman to teach them. Every child may represent a separate class, but that doesn’t matter. Each child has the patient, careful aid in his studies which is so largely denied him when attending the larger and graded school (Portsmouth Journal, February 1902).
An affectionate remembrance of the district school in the “Contributors Club,” in the April Atlantic, acknowledges certain wants not well supplied by every such school in past years, but the brief article says this, and it is true: “The district school is peculiarly friendly to ideas.” This is the secret of much of the success that has attended both men and women whose education was begun in a district rather than in a graded school. But there are teachers who are friendly to ideas, who give culture and refinement to them, in modern schools, although the “System” must “roll safely on its way.” Individuality has a hard time now-a-days, in this era of precise machineries for men and things, but there still is something about every soul that allows of discrimination on the part of the observer, and when one strives towards that “top” where there is always room, one develops character, and character counts, sooner or later, – sometimes too late, for all save that which is to come after us (Farmington News, April 10, 1903).
The Milton Grammar school was known also as the Milton Village school, the Milton Town school, or the Milton graded school [Primary and Intermediate], in order to distinguish it from its smaller predecessor, whose bell it retained, as well as from the other one-room schoolhouses dotted still around town: Hare Road, West Milton, South Milton, Plummer’s Ridge, etc.
This school building stood for nearly twenty-two years before it burned down on Saturday, April 4, 1914. It would be replaced by the present Milton Elementary School building. (A school made of bricks replaced a school made of sticks).
Milton Grammar School Principals
The name of the Milton Grammar School’s principal, if any there was, from its 1893 completion through the 1899-00 academic year remains unclear at present. (This will be updated if further information comes to hand).
Milton Grammar School teachers of this period included Miss Lucas, Miss Abbie M. Sanger, Miss Lillian B. Hanscom, Mrs. Winnifred E. (Allen) Kimball, Miss E. Maude Garland, and Miss Lillian W. Kane. One or more of them might have been the “principal” teacher.
The principals of the Milton Grammar school thereafter were Walter H. Bentley (1900-01), and Robert M. Looney (1902-14).
Walter Harold Bentley – 1900-1901
Walter H. Bentley was born in Brookline, MA, May 24, 1878, son of David and Esther A. (Boyden) Bentley.
David B. Bentley, a schoolteacher, aged sixty-eight years (b. Canada (Eng.)), headed a Bridgewater, MA, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of thirty-eight years), Esther A. Bentley, aged fifty-nine years (b. MA), his child Walter H. Bentley, a day laborer, aged twenty-two years (b. MA), and his boarders, Rachel Parker, a servant, aged twenty-three (b. Canada (Eng.)), Howard H. Stiles, a shoe shop rounder, aged twenty-one years (b. NY), Frank C. Weeks, a water works superintendent, aged thirty-two years (b. VT), Ethel E. Thomas, a schoolteacher, aged twenty-five years (b. ME), Nancy I. Westgate, a schoolteacher, aged twenty-four years (b. MA), Edna L. White, a schoolteacher, aged twenty-six (b. MA), and Archie C. Osborne, a druggist, aged thirty-two years (b. NH). Esther A, Bentley was the mother of two children, of whom two were still living. They resided in a rented house.
NEWS OF THE STATE. Walter H. Bentley, principal of Milton grammar school during the past year, has been elected principal of the Sawyer grammar school at Dover at a salary of $900 (Farmington News, July 12, 1901).
W.H. Bentley was then principal of Dover high school, in Dover, NH, for the 1901-02 and 1902-03 academic years.
LOCAL. The twentieth meeting of the Strafford County Teachers’ Association will be held at the Rochester high school building, this Friday, beginning at 8.20 o’clock in the forenoon. Superintendent M.E. Bennett of Sanford, Me., will speak at ten o’clock, with the discussion following to be opened by W.H. Bentley, principal of Dover high school. Other speakers are Superintendent M.C. Metcalf of Winchester, Mass., and the Rev. Edgar Blake of Lebanon. Dinner will be served at noon in the Methodist vestry, for twenty-five cents a plate. The dinner is meant to be a source of good cheer and real sociability, and few short speeches will be in order after the meal (Farmington News, February 27, 1903).
A “prudential committee” chose him to be principal of the Walnut-sq. grammar school in Haverhill, MA, for the 1903-04 academic year (Boston Globe, June 16, 1904).
NEW TEACHERS CHOSEN. Haverhill School Board Takes Steps Toward the Building of a New High School. HAVERHILL, June 16. The school board last evening approved the action of the prudential committee in recommending to the city council the purchase of a site for a new high school building. Four new teachers for the high school were chosen, the successful candidates being Miss Mabel Watson of Peabody. Miss Frederica Van Benschoten and Miss Margaret Bennshoten, both of Bloomfield, N.J., and Miss Harriet Webster of this city. The following other new teachers were elected: Herman W. Williams of Boston as an instructor in the manual training school, Hope R. Mudge of Newton as a teacher of cooking, G. Chandler Russell of Merrimac as an instructor in sloyd [see References below], Misses Ida Swift of this city, Alice Weirnan of Marblehead and S. Belle Lean of Westfield, to have charge of the kindergartens, Misses Edna McKeigue, Jessie McMillan and Bertha Marshall, all of this city. Hiram O. Marble was reelected as truant officer, and the Carlton scholarship medals in the high school were awarded, to Bernice I. Tasker and Harold M. Goodwin. The committee of teachers of the high school recommended Frank J. Tuck for this honor, but it was shown that Goodwin obtained the higher percentage, which appeared to be the only question involved, and the vote was unanimously in favor of the latter. The salaries of Principal Files and Assistant Principal Town of the high school were increased $100 each, as were the salaries of Principals Ernest W. Bentley. Walter H. Bentley and W.F. Sayard of the Currier, Walnut-sq. and Cogswell grammar schools respectively (Boston Globe, June 16, 1904).
A number of [Quincy, MA] grammar schools will have new teachers. Walter H. Bentley is principal of the Coddington school, vice [Latin: in the place of] Miss Mary A. Dearborn, who resigned after a service of over 30 years. Mr. Bentley is a graduate of the Bridgewater normal school, class of 1900, and has taught at Milton, N.H., Dover, N.H. (Boston Globe, September 11, 1905).
Walter Harold Bentley married in Haverhill, MA, August 28, 1909, Harriet Adelia “Hattie” Morrill, he of Quincy, MA, and she of Haverhill. They were both teachers. She was born Haverhill, MA, June 10, 1886, daughter of William E. and Hattie E. (Davis) Morrill.
Some 25 years ago, Walter H. Bentley of Winchester, who taught at Gov. Dummer Academy and other schools, and started a boys camp at Wolfeboro, N.H., in 1909, wrote a letter on this subject [circa 1941-42]. It was printed in a pamphlet to parents, and the letter is quoted in the last publication of the camp, now conducted by his son, Bradford M. Bentley, also of Winchester. Said the founder in part: “Wyanoke is like a big family. It is made up of boys – little fellows of 8 or 9 who need constant and sympathetic care and understanding; sturdy, active youngsters of 12 or 13, who need plenty to do and steady, wise direction; big, growing youths of 15 and 16, who are beginning to think of what life means, and who need inspiration and the daily comradeship of mature men who understand them. All of these boys benefit greatly from the community life of the camp. Many campers come from small families. At camp they learn that everything, even fun, is to be shared, and that the duties well done and consideration for others bring satisfaction and friends. Boys like and need to ‘run with the pack’ and a Summer home cannot fill this need as a camp does” (Boston Globe, April 30, 1967).
Walter H. Bentley, a public school teacher, aged thirty-one years (b. MA), headed a Quincy, MA, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of zero years), Harriet A. Bentley, aged twenty-three years (b. MA), and his widowed father, aged seventy-seven years (b. Canada (Eng.)). Walter H. Bentley owned their house at 104 Woodward Avenue, with a mortgage.
Walter H. Bentley resigned his principalship at Quincy’s Coddington school at the close of the 1910-11 academic year (Boston Globe, April 26, 1911).
Walter Harold Bentley registered for the WW I military draft in Ossipee, NH, September 12, 1918. He had two addresses and occupations: he was a teacher at Dummer Academy in So. Byfield, MA, but also a summer camp director, at Wyanoke Camp, Wolfeboro, NH. He was forty years of age (b. May 24, 1878). He was of a tall height, medium build, with brown eyes and gray hair. His nearest relation was his wife, Hattie A. Bentley, of Wolfeboro, NH.
Walter H. Bentley, a teacher & proprietor of a boys’ camp, aged forty-one years (b. MA), headed a Winchester, MA, household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Harriet M. Bentley, aged thirty-three years (b. MA), and his child, Bradford M. Bentley, aged six years (b. MA). Walter H. Bentley owned their house at 24 Central Street, with a mortgage.
He was subsequently a camp director, resident in Winchester, MA, in 1930; and a camp director, resident in Winchester, MA, in 1940.
Walter H. Bentley died January 30, 1945, aged sixty-six years. Harriet A. (Morrill) Bentley died in Winchester, MA, March 18, 1973, aged eighty-six years.
Deaths and Funerals. Walter H. Bentley. WINCHESTER, Jan 30. – Walter H. Bentley, 66, of 24 Central St., founder of several Summer camps for boys and girls, died today at his home. A graduate of Bridgewater Normal School, he was principal of schools in Milton and Dover, N.H., Haverhill and Quincy, and was associated for a time with Governor Dummer Academy. In 1904 he helped found the Medomak Camp for Boys and in 1909 he opened Camp Wyanoke, Wolfeboro, N.H., now directed by his son, Bradford M. Bentley. He also founded Camp Winnemont for Girls at West Ossipee, N.H., Besides his son he leaves a wife. Funeral services will be held in the Ripley Memorial Chapel of the First Congregational Church Thursday at 2:30. Burial will be in Wolfeboro, N.H. (Boston Globe, January 31, 1945).
Camps Founder Dies in Massachusetts. Boston, Feb. 1 (AP) – Walter H. Bentley, 66, a pioneer in the founding of children’s summer camps, died Tuesday. A resident of Winchester, Bentley was principal of schools in Milton, Dover, N.H., Haverhill and Quincy during his early years as an educator. He operated his own camps, Wyanoke for boys at Wolfeboro, N.H., and Winnemont for girls at West Ossipee, N.H. Burial will be in Wolfeboro, N.H. (Portsmouth Herald, February 1, 1945).
Robert Miller Looney – 1902-14
Robert M. Looney was born in Milton, June 10, 1880, son of Charles H. and Emily E. (Miller) Looney.
LOCALS. Robert Loony, son of C.H. Loony, a graduate of Nute school in Milton will attend Philips Academy at Exeter the coming term (Farmington News, August 28, 1896).
MILTON. Miss Helen Miller, Robert Barker and R.M. Looney, all of Boston, were visitors in town last week (Farmington News, April 27, 1900).
LOCALS. Walter H. Looney and Robert M. Looney, sons of the Hon. C.H. and Mrs. Looney of Milton, and graduates of the Nute school, attended the dance and reception of the class of MCM [1900], last Friday evening (Farmington News, June 29, 1900).
MILTON. Robert M. Looney gave a very successful Bohemian party at the home of his parents, Hon. and Mrs. C.H. Looney, last Thursday evening. The home was decorated with vines and flowers. About forty guests were invited. Mamie Dickey and Maude Clements won the prizes at whist, and were crowned and seated upon the throne. Mark Dickey and Minnie Hussey received the booby prizes and sat at the feet of the more fortunate couple. The costumes were in true Bohemian style (Farmington News, September 13, 1901).
Robert M. Looney appeared in the Milton directory of 1902, as a student, boarding with C.H. Looney, So. Main street. His father appeared as the Hon. Charles H. Looney, custom house, Portsmouth, NH, with a house at 54 So. Main street, near Tappan street. (Charles H. Looney died April 23, 1902).
MILTON. The funeral services of Elsie Avery were held at the home of her parents last Saturday at one o’clock. Miss Avery was a graduate of the Nute high school, under Prof. [Arthur T.] Smith, and this was her second year at Vassar college, from which she was brought home about two weeks ago, very ill with typhoid fever. She was young, bright and interesting, and had been given every advantage that money could procure. She was the youngest daughter of Postmaster J.H. Avery, and the only child by his second marriage. Everything that faithful nursing and the care of a physician could do was done to save her but without avail. The blow to her parents is indeed a hard one and many a home is saddened by her death. Several of the N.H.S. alumni were present at the service, among whom were Robert M. Looney and Helen Miller of Boston, Mass., [and] Maurice Dickey of Worcester, Mass. Prof. Smith came Wednesday evening before her death, which occurred Thursday morning, Feb. 6, at 6 o’clock, and remained until Sunday morning. There was a profusion of beautiful flowers from many friends. The bearers were Maurice Dickey, Bert Horne, Bard Plummer, and Walter Looney. Rev. M.P. Dickey conducted the burial service. The body was arrayed in her graduating dress of white lansdowne. Among the flowers were many lovely roses of different shades (Farmington News, February 14, 1902).
PERSONAL. Principal R.M. Looney of the Milton grammar school, and Mrs. E.F. Looney, were in town Sunday, visiting the parents of the latter, Mr. and Mrs. John Waldron (Farmington News, June 12, 1903).
Robert M. Looney appeared in the Milton directory of 1905, as principal of the Milton Grammar School, boarding with Mrs. C.H. Looney, at 54 South Main street.
New Hampshire. DOVER. At the meeting of the Strafford County Teachers Association at Dover on May 22 the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: President, W.B. Sprague, Durham; vice president, B.S. Mooney, Somersworth; secretary, Miss Annie L. Ricker, South Berwick; treasurer, E.A. Pugsley, Salmon Falls; executive committee, Miss Annie Rollins, Rochester, Robert M. Looney, Milton, Miss Elsa W. Regestein, Farmington; member of educational council, Dr. A.J. Keyes, Dover (Boston University, 1905).
PERSONAL. Principal R.M. Looney of the Milton grammar school was a guest over last Thursday of Mr. and Mrs. E.F. Thayer and attended with them the Caveny entertainment at the opera house. He also visited the grammar school in the afternoon (Farmington News, January 3, 1908).
(J. Franklin Caveny of Chicago, IL, described as a cartoonist, clay modeler, and chalk talker, gave a lecture at the Rochester opera house on that Thursday night, January 2, and another before the Women’s Club in Somersworth, NH, January 4, 1908).
Robert M. Looney appeared in the Milton directory of 1909, as principal of the Milton Grammar School, boarding with Mrs. C.H. Looney, at 54 South Main street.
MILTON. R.M. Looney went to Boston Friday afternoon, returning Sunday evening (Farmington News, May 7, 1909).
Emma E. Looney, a widow, aged fifty-six years (b. NH), headed a Milton [“Milton 3-Ponds”] household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. He household included her children, Walter Looney, a clerk at Central House, aged thirty-two years (b. NH), Robert M. Looney, a grammar school teacher, aged thirty years (b. NH), Harry N. Looney, a shoe factory cutter, aged twenty-seven years, and John H. Looney, aged twenty-four years (b. NH). She owned their house free-and-clear, without any mortgage. [They resided at 54 South Main street in 1905].
Robert M. Looney appeared in the Milton directory of 1912, as principal of the Milton grammar school, boarding with Mrs. C.H. Looney, at 54 South Main street.
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).
WEST MILTON. Miss Lula V. Grace who, by the courtesy of Mr. Looney, principal of the Milton village grammar school, acting in conjunction with the school board and superintendent, participated in the exercises and received her diploma with Mr. Looney’s class at Milton last Friday evening, is the first pupil to receive this distinction since the school has become graded. A delegation of the scholars, accompanied by their teacher and many friends from this part of town, witnessed the exercises which have gained a well-deserved prominence under Mr. Looney’s efficient instruction. The exhibition hall at the Nute high school building, where the grammar school has been in session since the burning of the schoolhouse, was occupied to the last available inch. The execution of some of the most difficult subjects of original composition and essay by the members of the graduating class was truly wonderful for pupils of this grade, while the choral and orchestral numbers from the leading operas were very cleverly rendered and were accorded unanimous acclamation of favor. Miss Hazel Perkins of this district was a member of the graduating class at Milton, having attended that school this past year (Farmington News, June 26, 1914).
Robert M. Looney appeared in the Milton directory of 1917, as principal of the Milton grammar school, boarding with Mrs. C.H. Looney, at 54 South Main street. (This would seem to be a copy-and-paste from the prior directory).
Robert Miller Looney of Milton, NH, registered for the WW I military draft in Boston, MA, September 12, 1918. He was a salesman for H.K. Miller & Co. of 170 Summer Street, Boston, MA, aged thirty-eight years (b, June 10, 1880). His nearest relation was Mrs. Charles H. Looney, Milton, NH. He was of a medium height, and a slender build, with blue eyes, and light hair.
Emily E. Looney, a widow, aged sixty-five years (b. NH), headed a Milton household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. Her household included her children, Walter E. Looney, Customs House deputy collector, aged forty-one years (b. NH), Robert M. Looney, a broker, aged thirty-nine years (b. NH), and Harry H. Looney, a shoe shop shoe cutter, aged thirty-seven years (b. NH). Emily E. Looney owned their house on Lower Main Street, Milton Village, free-and-clear. They lived near or next to S. Frank Dawson, a mnfy [manufactory] owner, aged forty years (b. MA).
Robert M. Looney, a cotton goods broker, aged forty-nine years (b. NH), was one of one hundred eighty-three lodgers at the Stag Hotel (Technology Chambers) at 5-9 Botolph Street in Boston, MA, at the time of the Fifteenth (1930) Federal Census. He paid $35 per month for his hotel suite.
Robert M. Looney died in Newtonville, Newton, MA, July 22, 1932, aged fifty-two years, one month, and twelve days.
IN MEMORIAM. ROBERT LOONEY. Many friends in this vicinity learn with sincere regret of the death of Robert Miller Looney, the last member of one of Milton’s oldest and most prominent families, which occurred in Newtonville, Mass., on July 22. The end came quietly after a protracted period of suffering, the last two years of which he was deprived of almost every resource of physical independence, yet the bright and sunny disposition with which he met and made numberless friends during the varied contacts of a useful and energetic life, was never surrendered until the end. He was a native of Milton and 52 years old, the third son of the late Hon. Charles H. Looney and Emily (Miller) Looney. He received his education in the public school of Milton, was graduated with the first class of Nute high school and later attended Bryant & Stratton Business college of Boston. For a time he was engaged in the personnel of hotel management in the last named city but left it to become principal of the Milton grammar school in which capacity he achieved unprecedented success, carrying the interests of the school into the community as no other institution or similar influence has been able to do. Later, until his retirement on account of ill health, he was associated with the cotton brokerage business. He was a member of the “Square & Compass Club” of Boston, the Old South Club, the Boston City Club, an active member of the New Old South church and a member of Fraternal Lodge, No. 71, A.F. and A.M., of Farmington. Of his immediate family he was the last and his closest relatives surviving are Mrs. Archibald Campbell Jordan of Winchester, Mass., Looney’s sister-in-law, Mrs. Walter Looney of Boston, both of whom were tenderly devoted to him through his long illness. Funeral services were held at Waterman’s chapel, Boston, for the benefit of his Boston friends, and on the Sunday afternoon following his death services were held in the Union church at Milton and interment was in the cemetery at Lebanon, Me. (Farmington News, August 5, 1932).
The last will of Robert Miller Looney of Milton devised personal effects and furniture to his cousin, Antoinette M. Straw of Bedford, MA; his sister-in-law, Elizabeth G. Looney of Boston, MA; Edith S. Balfour of Bedford, MA; William L. Young, principal of the Horace Mann school of Everett, MA; and aunt Helen M. Jordan of Winchester, MA. He devised $25 each to Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Milton; Dr. Roger W. Graves of Boston, MA; Dr. Cecil W. Clark of Newtonville, MA; and [former Nute High principal] Arthur Thad Smith of Winchester, MA. He devised to the town of Milton:
… the parcel of land with buildings thereon constituting my family home in said Milton to be used by said town of Milton for the benefit of the whole town in any manner in which said town of Milton desires to use the same.
He devised the rest, residue and remainder to his friend, William L. Young; his sister-in-law, Elizabeth G. Looney; and his cousin, Antoinette M. Straw, in equal shares. He named his sister-in-law, Antoinette M. Straw as executrix. The will was dated May 18, 1931, and proved in Strafford County Court, August 9, 1932.
The Milton Town warrant for the town election of March 14, 1933 contained an article regarding the Looney homestead:
[Article] 24. To see if the town will vote to accept a bequest under the will of the late Robert Miller Looney, and if so to determine what shall be done with the property and pass any other vote or votes relative thereto.
[Article 25 on the same ballot concerned buying the Old Fire Station lot for $1].
The headmasters of Milton’s Nute High School for its thirty-third through its sixty-sixth years were: R. Harold Gillmore, 1923-26; Ralph G. Reed, 1926-29; Eshburne O. Judkins, 1929-31; Philip R. Burlingame, 1931-36; Austin L. Howard, 1936-39; Robert R. Anderson, 1939-42; John L. Knight, 1943-44; Elliot W. Burbank, 1944-49; and Walter J. Foster, 1949-57.
Nute High School. “Publ. by J.H. Willey, Milton, N.H. No. 4. Made in Germany”
Beginning in 1928 we have readily available for the first time annual Town Reports, with the annual reports of the Nute High School headmasters. An example of each headmaster’s annual reports have been included in the text.
Ralph Harold Gillmore – 1923-26
Ralph Howard Gillmore was born in Lynn, MA, September 8, 1894, son of Edward and Inez M. (Andrews) Gillmore.
Ralph H. Gillmore of Concord, NH, joined the 120 men and 43 women of the Freshman class (“Class of 1916”), which was the largest class to date, at Middlebury College in Middlebury, VT, in September 1912 (Middlebury Register, September 27, 1912).
Ralph Harold Gilmore, 1917
RALPH HAROLD GILLMORE, “ROSIE.” Concord. Concord High. Mechanic Arts. “Rosie” transferred to New Hampshire from Colby in order to be closer to “the ideal of his dreams,” and also to take advantage of the excellent training given by our illustrious “Wood Shop Butcher.” As a social chap, “Rosie” is a leader, and is substantiated by a frequent visitor who hails from the metropolis of Concord. Bits of conversation which have been overheard during these periodic trysts, lead us to believe that Harold is not as quiet as our first impression indicated. However, we heartily welcome our rosy-cheeked Concord lad and we wish him the best of luck in this, his second choice of an Alma Mater. ΑΤΩ; Transferred from Colby (3) (New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts Yearbook, Durham, NH, 1917).
Ralph Harold Gilmore of Concord, NH, registered for the WW I military draft in Concord, NH, June 5, 1917. He was a self-employed farmer in Pembroke, NH, aged twenty-two years (b. Lynn, MA, September 8, 1895). He was of medium height, with a medium build, brown eyes, and dark brown hair.
He married in Concord, NH, June 30, 1917, Lena May Winslow, he of Concord and she of Chichester, NH. She was born in Chichester, NH, in 1897, daughter of Frank and Mary J. (Lake) Winslow. She was likely “the ideal of his dreams” mentioned in his college yearbook.
R. Harold Gillmore and his wife, Lena Gillmore, appeared in the Concord directory of 1919 as having moved to Chichester, NH, R.F.D. #14.
Ralph H. Gillmore, a high school teacher, aged twenty-five years (b. MA), headed a Casco, ME, household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Lena M. Gillmore, aged twenty-two years (b. NH), and his son, Vernell W. Gillmore, aged one year, eight months (b. NH). Ralph H. Gillmore rented their house in Casco town.
R. Harold Gilmore appeared in the Maine Register for 1920 as principal of the Woodstock High School of Woodstock, Oxford County, ME.
There have been three new teachers on the faculty this year. Mr. Crooker was replaced by Mr. R. Harold Gilmore as principal. Miss Olive Chase was secured as an assistant. At the Christmas recess, she was obliged to undergo an operation on her throat, so she had to leave the faculty. Mr. Byron W. Barker was secured to take her place and serve out the school year. Mrs. Swan expects to terminate her teaching in June, after 14 years of faithful and efficient service as a teacher in Woodstock high school. She had also served two years as superintendent of schools in Woodstock (The Woodstock High School Eureka, Spring 1921).
R. Harold Gilmore appeared in a list of the high school headmasters and principals whose secondary schools had been approved by the NH Board of Education for the 1923-24 academic year. He was listed as the headmaster of the Nute High School, in Milton, which was classed as an A4 school. “Class A includes all schools with complete secondary programs … An attached number shows the number of years in the approved program” (NH State Board of Education, 1924).
R. Harold Gillmore, a high school teacher, aged thirty-five years (b. MA), headed a Hardwick, MA, household at the time of the Fifteenth (1930) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of thirteen years), Lena W. Gillmore, aged thirty-two years (b. NH), and his son, Vernell W. Gillmore, aged eleven years (b. NH). Ralph H. Gillmore rented their house on New Braintree Road, for $25 per month. They had a radio set.
Lena W. Gillmore, aged forty-two years (b. NH), headed a Pembroke, NH, household. She owned her house on the Pembroke Hill Road, which was valued at $4,000. She had resided in Hardwick, MA, in 1935. There appears to have been an enumeration error by which her husband was omitted from their household. Another enumerator recorded him on a supplementary page. R. Harold Gillmore, a public high school principal, aged forty-six years (b. MA), headed a Pembroke, NH, household in this same Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. He owned his house on Pembroke Street, which was valued at $4,000. He had resided in Pembroke in 1935.
Ralph Harold Gilmore of Pembroke, NH (RFD #4, Concord, NH), registered for the WW II military draft in Concord, NH, April 26, 1942. He was employed by the Town of Hardwick, MA, aged forty-seven years (b. Lynn, MA, September 28, 1894). Lena M. Gillmore, RFD #4, Concord, NH, was his contact. Their telephone number was Concord 698-23. He was 5′ 7″ in height, weighed 175 pounds, with brown eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion.
Ralph H. Gillmore appeared as a farmer in the Concord, NH, directories of 1943 and 1947. He and his wife, Lena W. Gillmore, had their house and farm at Pembroke Hill, R.D. #4.
R. Harold Gillmore appeared in the Concord, NH, directories of 1950, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1960, and 1962. He and his wife, Lena W. Gillmore, had their house at 64 N. Main street. He was a farmer in 1947 and 1957, and retired in 1960 through 1962.
R. Harold Gillmore died in 1967. Lena M. (Winslow) Gillmore died in 1983.
Ralph Gerry Reed – 1926-29
Ralph G. Reed was born in Bridgton, ME, April 22, 1886, son of Wilbur M. and Carrie W. (Osgood) Reed.
He married in Haverhill, MA, September 18, 1909, Blanche Alma Favor, he of Bridgton, ME, and she of Franklin, NH. He was a teacher, aged twenty-three years, and she at home, aged twenty-three years. She was born in Hill, NH, March 16, 1886, daughter of Llewelyn D. and Alma A. (Caverly) Favor.
ALUMNI. [Class of] 1909 – Ralph G. Reed is principal of the High School at Marlboro, New Hampshire (Bates Student, February 1911).
Ralph Gerry Reed of Sherman Mills, ME, registered for the WW I military draft in Houlton, ME, September 12, 1918. He was employed as a teacher by the Town of Sherman, ME, aged thirty-two years (b. April 22, 1886). He was of tall height, with a slender build, blue eyes, and brown hair. His nearest relative was Blanche F. Reed of Sherman Mills, ME.
Ralph G. Reed, a high school teacher, aged thirty-three years (b. ME), headed a Sherman, ME, household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Blanche A. Reed, aged thirty-three years (b. NH), and his children, Carol L. Reed, aged nine years (b. ME), Glendon Reed, aged six years (b. ME), Cherry Reed, aged one year, nine months (b. ME), and Stanley D. Reed, aged two months (b. ME). Ralph G. Reed rented their house on the Mills Road.
Reed’s daughter, Carol L. Reed, won the Nute High School Thrift Week essay contest in January 1927. The set topic was “Benjamin Franklin’s Contribution to American Independence.” Her winning Nute essay then moved up to be judged in the Strafford County essay contest. At that level, it was John Woodman, a Rochester sophomore, who won the Strafford County Thrift Week essay contest (Farmington News, February 4, 1927).
Ralph G. Reed’s third annual headmaster’s report, for the academic year 1928-29, appeared in the Milton Town Report for 1928, i.e., for the fiscal year ending January 31, 1929.
Ralph G. Reed
REPORT OF HEADMASTER OF NUTE HIGH SCHOOL
To the Superintendent of Schools and the Members of the Board of Trustees:
I herein submit for your consideration my third annual report as headmaster of Nute High School.
The school year opened September 4 with an enrollment of eighty pupils, thirty-eight girls and forty-two boys. One boy registered later in the Fall making the total enrollment for the year eighty-one. During the first half year nine pupils have withdrawn from school leaving our enrollment at the present time seventy-two. The number of pupils leaving school has been greater than during the past two years, the reasons being justifiable in many instances. Three removed from town, two were unable to secure transportation, one was due to sickness and the remaining three were either indifferent to high school work or unprepared for it.
Nute High School has received creditable mention from the state department for several years for maintaining a high per cent attendance each year. This year we continued the good record for some weeks by having an average of 98% but epidemics of contagious diseases began to afflict us in December and soon afterward the prevailing epidemic of influenza began to make itself evident among the pupils in ever increasing numbers, on many days from twelve to twenty pupils being absent.
The splendid class which was graduated from the school last June left a gap in the scholastic, literary, musical, and athletic activities which is very difficult to fill and which will take time and effort to replace.
The tuition rate has been increased from sixty dollars per year to seventy-one dollars and eighty-two cents, this amount being the maximum amount allowed by the state to charge, the figures being based upon the annual per capita cost per pupil. There are twenty-eight tuition pupils registered at the present time.
Respectfully submitted,
RALPH G. REED, Milton, N.H., February 5, 1929.
Ralph G. Reed was headmaster at the Amherst, NH, high school beginning with the 1929-30 academic year. He submitted his third annual report, dated Amherst, N.H., February 1, 1932 (Amherst Town Report, 1932).
Ralph G. Reed, a town school teacher, aged forty-three years (b. ME), headed an Amherst, NH, household at the time of the Fifteenth (1930) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of twenty years), Blanche A. Reed, aged forty-four years (b. NH), his children, Carol L. Reed, aged nineteen years (b. NH), Shirley B. Reed, aged twelve years (b. ME), and S. Duane Reed, aged ten years (b. ME), and his nephew, Arthur E. Reed, aged ten years (b. MA). They had a radio set. Ralph G. Reed rented their part of a two-family residence on Depot Street, for $12 per month. Their widowed landlady, Celia A. Fulton, private family housework, aged fifty-eight years (b. MA), occupied the other part. The whole was valued at $1,200.
Ralph G. Reed appeared in a list of the high school headmasters and principals whose secondary schools had been approved by the NH Board of Education for the 1931-32 academic year. He was listed as the headmaster of the Amherst High School, in Amherst, NH, which was classed as an A4 school. “Class A includes all schools with complete secondary programs … An attached number shows the number of years in the approved program.”
Ralph G. Reed died November 17, 1933. Alma A. (Favor) Reed died in Acton, MA, July 24, 1981.
REED – Of Acton, July 24, Blanche (Favor), wife of the late Ralph G. Reed. Mother of Mrs. Carol Coyne of Florida, Stanley D. Reed of Shirley, Mrs. Shirley Goodman of Acton, Mrs. Lorraine Fadden of Norway, Maine and the late Glendon T. Reed. Sister of Vera Favor of Tilton, NH. Also survived by several grandchildren and great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at a later date at The South Acton Congregational Church. Memorial gifts in her name may be made to The South Acton Congregational Church. Acton, MA 01720. Arrangements by The Acton Funeral Home (Boston Globe, July 26, 1981).
Eshburne Oscar Judkins – 1929-31
Eshburne Oscar Judkins was born in Upton, ME, January 31, 1893, son of Albert W. and Bertha L. (Morse) Judkins.
Eshburn Oscar Judkins of Upton, ME, registered for the WW I military draft in Upton, ME, June 4, 1917. He was a student, aged twenty-four years (b. Upton, ME, January 31, 1893). He was of tall height, with a slender build, blue eyes, and light brown hair.
Eshburn O. Judkins was inducted into the U.S. Army in South Paris, ME, July 25, 1918. He was promoted to Private First Class, September 20, 1918. He was overseas in Europe, between October 3, 1918 and October 21, 1919, where he was attached to various Army Ordnance detachments and departments. He was demobilized on November 4, 1919.
Eshburn O. Judkins appeared as a senior in the University of Maine’s Prism yearbook of 1924-25. He graduated in June 1925 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
ESHBURN O. JUDKINS, “Jud,” Upton. Gould’s Academy. [Major:] Mechanical Engineering. Ex-’16, ex-19, ex-22; Class Track (1), (2); Class Baseball (1), (2); Class Basketball (2); Varsity Basketball (3); Varsity Track (3); Track Club (3); “M” Club (3), (4); President, Dormitory Council (3), (4); Class Nominating Committee (3), (4); Senator, Students’ Council (4); Committee on Student Activities (4) (Prism, 1924).
Eshburn O. Judkins, aged thirty-three years, married (1st) in Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, MA, September 14, 1926, Lena Flora Estey, aged twenty-eight years, he of Upton, ME, and she of Oak Bluffs. She was born in Fitchburg, MA, January 12, 1898, daughter of Wallace A. and Flora J. (Ray) Estey.
Lena Flora Estey graduated from the Norton, MA, high school with the Class of 1916 (she was one of only four graduating Seniors), of which she was the valedictorian. Her valedictory address was entitled “Present Day Opportunities.” She also played a piano solo entitled “Scintillements.”
Two of last year’s graduates from the commercial department. Miss Helen Morgan and Miss Bertha Lincoln, entered business offices soon after they were graduated. A third graduate. Miss Lena F. Estey is attending Wheaton College (Norton Town Report, 1917).
Lena F. Estey appeared in the annual Oak Bluffs Town Reports as Librarian of the town’s public library, between April 1922 and December 1925. One might speculate – with no actual evidence – that a vacationing Eshburn O. Judkins met her at her library. Its hours were “Daily, except Sun., 2-5, 6-8” (MA Free Public Library Commission, 1924).
Healdville. Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Judkins of Springfield, Mass., were recent visitors at A.O. Estey’s (Rutland Daily Herald, December 4, 1926).
Oscar E. Judkins (and his wife Lena Judkins) appeared in the Bristol, CT, directory of 1927, as a teacher, with a house at Rear 55 Maple street.
Boy Scout Notes. A full organization of Scoutmaster, two assistant Scoutmasters, five troop committeemen and two patrols of 16 Scouts was effected at West Pawlet last week. The leaders chosen are: Scoutmaster, E.O. Judkins; assistants, James Clark and John Morrow; troop committee, Clarence J. Watters, Arthur H. Morrow, W.O. Williams, Thomas J. Williams, and Ralph Beecher; patrol leaders, Glenn Fitzgerald and Watkin Griffith; scribe, John C. Williams. This makes the 30th troop to be organized in the council area (Rutland Daily Herald, February 27, 1928).
Arlington. County Spelling Contest. The winner of the Bennington county spelling contest, which was held in the Arlington Memorial High school Saturday afternoon, was Miss Mary Shaw of Bennington, with Miss Gertrude Levin of Manchester Center being second. The alternates were James Clarke of Manchester and Albert King of Readsboro. The judges were Capt. Herbert Wheaton Congdon of Arlington, H.C. Matthews, Principal of the Pawlet High school, and E.O. Judkins, principal of the West Pawlet school. Alva Noble of Readsboro acted as chairman of the committee to review the written papers, the contest being conducted by E.L. Bigelow of Manchester Center, superintendent of schools (Rutland Daily Herald (Rutland, VT, May 21, 1928).
West Pawlet. Prof. and Mrs. E.O. Judkins have returned from a summer vacation. He will resume his duties Monday in the West Pawlet high school (Rutland Daily Herald, September 10, 1928).
West Pawlet. The staff teaching in the High school includes: Prof. E.O. Judkins of Maine, Mrs. Kate Richardson of Boston, Miss Myra Ellwell of Bennington, Miss Meredith Clapper of Selkirk, Fourth, fifth and sixth grades are being taught by Miss Fish of Wallingford and first, second and third by Mrs. Mary Jackson Hughes. Miss Hazel Roberts is teaching at Nelsonvllle and Miss Gertrude Tobin at Braintree (Rutland Daily Herald, September 13, 1928).
West Pawlet. Prof. E.O. Judkins went to Warren, N.H., Friday after Mrs. Judkins, who had been spending a month with her parents. They returned Sunday (Rutland Daily Herald (Rutland, VT), April 29, 1929).
Robert Oscar Judkins, second child of Eshburn O. Judkins (headmaster, b. Upton, ME) and Lena Estey (b. Fitchburg, MA), was born in Rochester, NH, October 16, 1929 (Milton Vital Records).
E.O. Judkins’ first annual headmaster’s report, for the academic year 1929-30, appeared in the Milton Town Report for 1929, i.e., for the fiscal year ending January 31, 1930.
REPORT OF HEADMASTER OF NUTE HIGH SCHOOL.
To the Superintendent of Schools and the Members of the Board of Trustees:
The school year opened September 3 with an enrollment of seventy-four, seventeen seniors, fifteen juniors, twenty-two sophomores, and twenty-one freshmen. We now have seventy-five pupils of which number twenty-four are tuition pupils.
Twelve pupils are registered for the college preparatory curriculum and sixty-three for the general business.
The general business curriculum program has been enriched and broadened by the substitution of junior business practice for commercial arithmetic in the freshman year, and the giving of a complete bookkeeping course in the sophomore year. These are to be followed by the introduction of typewriting and correspondence in the junior year and office practice in the senior year. Other commercial courses are commercial history and geography and economics and commercial law.
Extra-curricular activities consisting of base-ball, basket-ball, prize speaking, dramatics, the school publication, orchestra, chorus, and scholarship day round out the program.
To meet the state requirements and replace worn-out books it has been necessary to buy new texts for English, junior business practice, history of civilization, modern European history, and reference books for sociology and economics and law.
The attendance has been high and the school spirit good.
Respectfully submitted,
E.O. JUDKINS. Milton, N.H., February 7, 1930.
Eshburn O. Judkins, a high school headmaster, aged thirty-seven years (b. ME), headed a Milton household at the time of the Fifteenth (1930) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Lena E. Judkins, aged thirty-two years (b. MA), and his children, Mary Jane Judkins, aged one year (b. VT), and Robert O. Judkins, aged six months (b. NH). They rented their residence on the Farmington Road, for $25 per month. They did not have a radio set. Their household appeared in the enumeration between those of Sarah P. Haley, a widow, aged eighty-two years (b. NH), and her tenant, William S. Lougee, a fibre mill superintendent, aged fifty-five years (b. NH), on the one side, and Huon L. French, a high school janitor, aged seventy-seven years (b. NH), on the other.
Barbara Lena Judkins, third child of Eshburn O. Judkins (headmaster, b. Upton, ME) and Lena Estey (b. Fitchburg, MA), was born in Rochester, NH, January 22, 1931 (Milton Vital Records),
O. Eshburn Judkins, superintendent of schools, aged forty-seven years (b. ME, headed a Reed Plantation, ME, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, E. Lena Judkins, housework, aged forty-two years (b. ME), his children, J. Mary Judkins, aged elevn years (b. ME), O. Robert Judkins, aged ten years (b. ME), L. Barbara Judkins, aged nine years (b. ME), and E. Geraldine Judkins, aged five years (b. ME), and his lodger, T. Stanley Ritchie, a hoop-shaving laborer, aged fifty-one years (b. ME). O. Eshburn Judkins owned their house at 16 Main Street, which was valued at $700. They had resided in the “same house” in 1935.
Lena F. (Estey) Judkins died in Lassen, CA, June 26, 1965. He married (2nd) in Arlington, VA, September 15, 1968, Marjorie Martin.
Eshburne O. Judkins died in Davis, CA, May 14, 1992, aged ninety-nine years. Marjorie (Martin) Judkins died in 2000.
Phillip Russell Burlingame – 1931-36
Philip Russell Burlingame was born in Springfield, MA, November 11, 1892, son of Frederick R. and Josephine I. (Story) Burlingame.
Philip R. Burlingame of R.F.D. #2, Three Rivers, MA, registered for the WW I military draft in Palmer, MA, June 5, 1917. He was employed as a farmer (“jointly with father”), aged twenty-four years (b. Springfield, MA, November 11, 1892). He was of tall height, with a slender build, gray eyes, and brown hair. He claimed an exemption for his “defective eyes” and his employment as a farmer.
He married in Palmer, MA, in 1919, Thelma J. Keith. She was born October 2, 1897. By 1900 (if not before), she was the adopted daughter of Lyman L. and Jennie M. (Burke) Keith.
Philip R. Burlingame, a construction overseer, aged twenty-two years (b. MA), headed a Palmer, MA, household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Thelma K. Burlingame, aged twenty-two years (b. MA, and his boarder, Harry Bradley, a construction laborer, aged twenty-one years (b. MA). His parents lived next door: Frederick Burlingame, a farmer, aged fifty-eight years (b. MA), and Josephine Burlingame, aged fifty-two years (b. RI). Philip R. Burlingame owned his house on Prospect Hill Road, with a mortgage, while his parents rented theirs.
Philip R. Burlingame appeared twice in the Manchester, NH, directory of 1924. He appeared with his wife, Thelma Burlingame, as an instructor, with a house at 47 Sagamore street. He appeared also, in both 1924 and 1925, as a teacher in the West Side High school, with a house at 673 Chestnut street.
Philip R. Burlingame appeared in the 1926 edition of the Meteor, which was the high school yearbook for Berlin, NH. He was a physical training instructor and baseball coach.
Philip R. Burlingame appeared in the Berlin, NH, directories of 1927 and 1930, as a high school coach, with his house at 360 Willard street.
Philip Burlingame, a public school instructor, aged thirty-seven years (b. MA), headed a Berlin, NH, household at the time of the Fifteenth (1930) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Thelma Burlingame, aged thirty-one years (b. MA), and his daughter, Barbara Burlingame, aged nine years (b. MA). They shared a rented two-family dwelling with the household of their landlord, Dubey Telesphore, an industrial agent, aged forty-four years (b. NH). They paid $35 per month in rent. Both households had radio sets. Their dwelling was on Willard Street.
The University of New Hampshire’s College of Liberal Arts conferred a Bachelor of Science degree upon Phillip R. Burlingame of Durham, NH, at its commencement held June 15, 1931 (Boston Globe, June 15, 1931).
SPRINGFIELD MAN HEADS NUTE HIGH IN MILTON, N.H. MILTON, N.H., Sept 1 – Nute High School began the Fall schedule today with a new headmaster, Philip R. Burlingame of Springfield, Mass. Mr. Burlingame was graduated from Springfield College, class of 1922, and from New Hampshire University, 1931. He has been the submaster in the High School at Berlin, N.H. for five years. Last year he was in the teaching staff at New Hampshire University in the department of physical education. A new teacher at Nute High School is Miss Mary Timmens, who will teach history and French. She is a graduate of New Hampshire University and has been teaching in the High School at Durham (Boston Globe, September 2, 1931).
Headmaster Burlingame took an active role in establishing an interscholastic basketball league with other schools in the region.
BASKETBALL LEAGUE FORMED AT DOVER. Philip R. Burlingame was elected secretary of the basketball league formed at Dover, November 7. He recently sent Farmington high school his report of the minutes of the meeting. At a meeting held in the American House hotel in Dover, attended by Headmaster Wright and Coach Riccardi of Newmarket, Headmaster Faunce of Epping, Headmaster Bannister and Coach Pellerin of Farmington, Headmaster Burlingame and Manger Roland Knight of Nute high of Milton, an attempt was made to form a basketball league for boys and also one for girls, consisting of Raymond, Epping, Newmarket, Pittsfield, Farmington, and Nute high schools. [Many other details followed regarding the league’s board, eligibility, trophies, etc., that have not been extracted here] (Farmington News, November 20, 1931).
Philip R. Burlingame’s second annual headmaster’s report, for the academic year 1932-33, appeared in the Milton Town Report for 1932, i.e., for the fiscal year ending January 31, 1933.
REPORT OF HEADMASTER OF NUTE HIGH SCHOOL
To the Superintendent of Schools and the Members of the Board of Trustees:
The forty-second year of this institution opened September 5 with an enrollment of seventy-nine pupils. Transfers to other schools and withdrawals reduced the registration until at present there are 69 pupils divided as follows: Seniors, 12; Juniors, 9; Sophomores, 18; Freshmen, 30. There are eleven tuition pupils as compared with twenty-four last year.
Reports from the State Department of Education show an increased rating by the Commissioner on the scholastic standard of the school over that of previous years.
The Otis Group Intelligence Scale given all members of the school showed an increase of from five to ten points on a like performance given last year, showing a mastering of fundamental processes.
The Woody Arithmetic Scale to determine efficiency in mathematics showed a marked difficulty on the part of all to handle fractions, the result showing the Seniors 87% perfect, Juniors 83%, Sophomores 82% and Freshmen 84%.
There has been a trend towards increase in those registering in the Classical Course this year, eight freshmen electing the Latin or College preparatory course as compared with three last year.
Realizing the value of visual education, field trips have been made by the various classes, the Senior United States Government group going to Concord for a day and attending the Legislature, Federal court, States Prison, Historical society and other places of interest. The Commercial department has visited a modern office and seen up-to-date office equipment being used. Physiography class students visit nearby places to witness effects of water and glacial erosion.
Athletics have been self supporting, and furnished a surplus for purchasing of a ten volume set of Standard History of the World for general reference and research work. It has also furnished money for many needed improvements about school including a new gravel road, a first aid and emergency room for girls which has been furnished with a couch, dressers, table and chairs. As a matter of safety a concrete slab has been poured to cover the unused well back of the school. Shrubbery set out by the graduating class of 1932 has been fertilized and cared for and has made good growth.
Several outstanding booklets, papers and projects of work have been completed. A reproduction of “The House of Seven Gables,” a carpenter job worthy of a master builder, is exhibited by Constandino DiPrizio, sophomore honor pupil from Middleton.
Attendance has been excellent and to date but five tardy marks are charged against the school showing an aptitude for promptness hitherto not exhibited.
The excellent condition of the school property is due in a large measure to the untiring efforts of Caretaker Tetherly, whose personal interest is highly commendable.
Respectfully submitted,
PHILIP R. BURLINGAME, February 24, 1933. Headmaster.
WEST MILTON. The Church Night program was held last Thursday evening at Nute Chapel. The literary program was under the direction of Charles Hayes. Mrs. Daisy Curtis rendered two piano selections in her usual pleasing manner. Miss Myrtle Durkee rendered a vocal selection which was enjoyed by all. Headmaster Philip R. Burlingame gave a very instructive address on “Education.” Anyone not present surely missed a real treat. Refreshments were served by Mrs. Cora Garland and her assistants (Farmington News, September 22, 1933).
MILTON. Nute high school started basketball practice Tuesday night, with Mr. Burlingame coaching (Farmington News, November 2, 1934).
Philip Burlingame, a public school teacher, aged forty-six years (b. MA), headed a Lancaster, NH, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Thelma Burlingame, aged thirty-nine years (b. MA), and his children, Barbara Burlingame, a maid (private home), aged nineteen years (b. MA), and Robert Burlingame, aged nine years (b. NH). They owned their house at 37 Prospect Street, which was valued at $2,800. (William Fuller, superintendent of schools, aged fifty-four years, rented a house at 52 Prospect Street). They had resided in Milton, NH, in 1935.
Philip Russell Burlingame of Lancaster, NH, registered for the WW II military draft in Lancaster, NH, April 27, 1942. He was employed by Williams Brothers of Tulsa, OK, aged forty-nine years (b. Springfield, MA, November 11, 1892). Thelma J. Keith Burlingame, 37 Prospect Street, Lancaster, NH, was his contact. Their telephone number was Griffin 4692. He was 5′ 11″ in height, weighed 195 pounds, with blue eyes, grey-brown hair, and a ruddy complexion.
Philip R. Burlingame died in August 1964. Thelma J. (Keith) Burlingame died in Manchester, NH, in May 1986.
Austin Lucius Howard – 1936-39
Austin L. Howard, was born in Essex, VT, January 18, 1906, son of Ernest M. “Charles” and Ethel M. (Barnes) Howard.
Essex Junction. Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Howard of Atlantic City, N.J., Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Whiting of Burlington, were guests on Monday of Mr. and Mrs. W.F. Barnes. Mr. Howard, who was a former resident of this village, came to Burlington to attend commencement at the University of Vermont from which institution his son, Austin L. Howard of Burlington, was graduated in the electrical engineering class (Burlington Free Press, June 17, 1931).
Austin Howard, headmaster of Nute high school, Milton, and Robert Anderson and Miss Ruth Paulson both also of Nute high school, were the judges of a prize speaking contest at the Alton high school on Friday evening, April 22, 1938, at 8 PM. The winners were to go on to compete in the interscholastic contest held at the University of New Hampshire, May 6, 1938 (Farmington News, April 29, 1938).(Robert Anderson, then a teacher at Nute high school, would become its next headmaster).
Austin L. Howard’s third annual headmaster’s report, for the academic year 1938-39, appeared in the Milton Town Report for 1938, i.e., for the fiscal year ending January 31, 1939.
REPORT OF THE HEADMASTER OF NUTE HIGH SCHOOL.
To the Superintendent of Schools and the Members of the Board of Trustees:
I hereby submit my third annual report of the Nute High School which opened its forty-eighth year on September 6 with an enrollment of 76 pupils. Transfers and withdrawals have reduced the registration until at present there are 68 pupils divided as follows: Seniors, 9; Juniors, 15; Sophomores, 21; Freshmen, 23.
The attendance has been excellent, the average attendance to date being better than 96 per cent.
There has been one change in the teaching staff. Miss Mary Sherburne, B.A., replaced Miss Ruth Paulson.
One new subject, Biology, has been added to the curriculum.
New equipment which has been purchased this year includes the following: a complete set of laboratory apparatus for Biology; four Royal typewriters; one Burroughs adding machine. New text books were purchased for the following courses: Economics, Sociology, French I, and Biology.
Athletics have been self supporting and have furnished a surplus for the purchase of additional equipment.
As has been stated in past reports, there is still a big demand and need for Domestic Arts courses for the girls and Practical Arts courses for the boys. Estimates have been obtained on the cost of installing these courses in our school. By taking advantage of Federal Aid, one-half of the salary of the extra teacher needed to put this program in operation would be paid by the George Dean fund. The largest part of the cost would be for the initial equipment and this could be spread over a period of four years. It is estimated that the total additional cost of putting this program into operation will be fifteen hundred dollars for the first year, one thousand dollars for the next three years, and five hundred dollars for each year thereafter. There is no question but what these courses are needed by our boys and girls and I hope that they may be installed next year.
The many helpful suggestions of our Superintendent have been beneficial to the school and staff.
Respectfully submitted,
AUSTIN L. HOWARD, Headmaster, February 10, 1939.
Austin Howard was headmaster of Alton, NH, high school beginning with the 1939-40 academic year.
ALTON AND ALTON BAY. Mr. and Mrs. Austin Howard of Milton are to occupy the Mrs. Nellie Roberts house. Mr. Howard is the new headmaster of Alton high school (Farming News, August 25, 1939).
Austin L. Howard, a high school principal, aged thirty-three years (b. VT), headed an Alton, NH, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Florence E. Howard, aged thirty-one years (b. ME). Austin L. Howard rented their house on Mitchell Avenue, for $20 per month. They had both resided in Burlington, VT, in 1935.
Austin Lucious Howard of Alton, NH, registered for the peacetime military draft in Alton, NH, October 16, 1940. He was employed by the Alton School Dept., aged thirty-four years (b. Essex Junction, VT, July 19, 1906). He was 5′ 11″ in height, weighed 220 pounds, with blue eyes, brown hair, and a ruddy complexion. Florence Evelyn Howard was his contact.
Personal Mention. Mr. and Mrs. Austin L. Howard, who have been visiting relatives and friends for the past week, have returned to their home in Alton, N.H. (Burlington Free Press, March 2, 1942).
Local Briefs. Hold Birthday Party. A birthday party was given at the home of Mr. and Mrs. E.A. Smith for Mrs. Florence Howard and Edward Smith. Games were played, following which refreshments were served. Mrs. Howard and Smith received many gifts. They also were presented with large birthday cakes which were made and decorated by Miss Bertha Barnes. Mrs. Howard was presented with a corsage of American beauty roses by her husband (Burlington Free Press, April 28, 1942).
Personal Mentions. Mr. and Mrs. Austin Howard of Alton, N.H., spent the weekend with his mother, Mrs. E.A. Smith of 213 N. Winooski ave. They were en route to visit relatives in Worcester, Mass, and Hartford, Conn., before Mr. Howard leaves for Washington, D.C., where he has employment (Burlington Free Press, June 10, 1942).
Austin L. Howard married (2nd) in Albuquerque, NM, in 1951, Marjorie B. Harrison, he of Washington, DC (Albuquerque Journal, July 18, 1951).
Austin L. Howard Dies Age 54; Taught at UVM. Austin Lucious Howard, former Burlington resident and electrical engineer at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., died there Thursday at the age of 54. Mr. Howard and two associates installed the first hydrogen bomb ever tested in an airplane, relatives said. More recently, he was with the Vanguard and other missile projects as a technical research engineer. Mr. Howard was former instructor in electrical engineering at the University of Vermont, later headmaster of schools in Milton and Alton, N.H. In 1945, he transferred to Washington. He was active in many Burlington musical organizations, conducting his own orchestra. He also was a member of the Burlington Military Band and had previously been its manager. He also belonged to Burlington Lodge, F&AM. Mr. Howard was educated in the schools of Essex Junction and Burlington and was graduated from the University of Vermont in 1931. He was born in Essex Junction July 18, 1906, son of C. Ernest and Ethel (Barnes) Howard. He made his home in Brandywine, Md., and was a member of the Methodist Church of Horsehead, Md. Besides his wife, Marjorie Henderson Howard, he leaves his mother, Mrs. Ethel Smith of 28 Clarke St., Burlington; his father of Tampa, Fla.; a sister, Mrs. George Eiss of Watertown, N.Y.; an aunt, Bertha Barnes of Burlington; two uncles, Chester L. Barnes of Essex Junction and Floyd W. Barnes of Montpelier; three nieces, a nephew and several cousins. The funeral will be held Tuesday at 2 at the Corbin and Palmer Funeral Home, 71 S. Union St., the Rev. Charles Washburn of the Church of the Nazarene officiating, assisted by the Rev. Edward Foster of the Free Methodist Church. Calling hours at the funeral home Monday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 (Burlington Free Press, January 23, 1961).
Robert Rettig Anderson – 1939-42
Robert R. Anderson was born in Boston, MA, June 11, 1908, son of Ruth H. (Swanson) Anderson.
Robert R. Anderson married in Houston, Harris County, TX, October 10, 1931, Lalue B. Zappa, he of Houston, TX, and she of Alexandria, LA. Rev. Harry G. Knowles performed the ceremony.
MILTON MILLS. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Anderson of Dover were week-end visitors to town (Farmington News, June 7, 1935).
MILTON MILLS. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Anderson, who have been In Dover during the winter, are occupying their home on Main street (Farmington News, June 28, 1935).
Robert Anderson and Miss Ruth Paulson, teachers at Nute High school, as well as Austin Howard, headmaster of Nute High school (see above), were the judges of a prize speaking contest at the Alton High school on Friday evening, April 22, 1938, at 8 PM. The winners were to go on to compete in the interscholastic contest held at the University of New Hampshire, May 6, 1938 (Farmington News, April 29, 1938).
Headmaster Robert R. Anderson, A.B. University of New Hampshire 1936. French, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, U.S. History, General Mathematics (Purple & Gold, 1940)
Robert R. Anderson, a public school teacher, aged thirty-one years (b. MA), headed a Milton Mills household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Lalue B. [(Zappa)] Anderson, aged thirty years (b. LA). Robert R. Anderson owned their house on [Milton Mills’] Main Street, which was valued at $1,000.
Robert Rettig Anderson, of Milton Mills, registered for the peacetime military draft in Milton, October 10, 1940. He was thirty-two years old (b. Boston, MA, June 11, 1908), and was employed by the Trustees of Nute High School. His next of kin was Lalue B. Anderson. He was 5’8″ tall, weighed 150 pounds, and had a light complexion, blonde hair and blue eyes.
Robert R. Anderson’s third annual headmaster’s report, for the academic year 1941-42, appeared in the Milton Town Report for 1941, i.e., for the fiscal year ending January 31, 1942.
REPORT OF THE HEADMASTER OF NUTE HIGH SCHOOL.
To the Superintendent of Schools and Members of the Board of Trustees:
I hereby submit my third annual report of the Nute High School which opened its fifty-first year September 3, 1941, with an enrollment of 105 pupils. Eleven have withdrawn for the following reasons: 3 moved to another school district; 4 were not adapted to high school work; 3 went to work; and 1 because of poor health. Our membership of 94 on this date is divided as follows: post graduate, 1; seniors, 17; juniors, 20; sophomore, 24; freshmen, 32. Records show that during the years of World War I many pupils withdrew from schools before completing their secondary work. We in the school hope that this will not be condoned now, but on the other hand that our young people will be encouraged to remain in school to prepare themselves to be better qualified to serve their community and country.
There has been one change and one addition to our teaching staff. Mr. Laurent Bosse, who teaches Trades and Industries, replaced Mr. Luther Preston; and Miss Lurlene Gordon was added to teach all the sciences and Latin. Enrollment in our Trades and Industries courses increased to such an extent that it became necessary to employ a full-time teacher for those courses alone, whereas in the previous years a part-time teacher was adequate.
The following new subjects have been added to this year’s programs of studies: General Science, Human Behavior, and Consumer Buying. Otherwise, the approved program is the same as last, except the following alternates are substituted: Physics for Chemistry; Geometry for Trigonometry and Advanced Mathematics; Economic Problems for Sociology; the Home for the Family; Automotive Shop and Cabinet Making for Practical Mechanics; French II for French I; Latin I for Latin II. We are offering Art courses by correspondence from the University of Nebraska. Those pupils studying these courses under teacher supervision find them very much worthwhile and interesting. It is possible through this medium to add to our program at a reasonable cost many of those subjects for which special teachers are often necessary.
New equipment purchased this year includes: complete equipment for Automotive Shop, 1 Burroughs Adding Machine, 1 portable sanding machine, 1 microscope, additional Physic laboratory equipment, stapler, and a supply of Philgas. New textbooks were purchased for the following classes: Bookkeeping, Junior Business Training, General Science, Human Behavior, Consumer Buying. Due to the increased enrollment of most of our classes it was necessary to purchase new books for nearly every class.
We are again this year taking advantage of the help offered by the National Youth Administration to aid needy pupils in school.
The results of the State tests are as follows: 1 test above the State average, 1 at the State average, and 1 test below the State average.
We are continuing our daily activities period. As this program progresses it becomes increasingly evident that our facilities are inadequate. We hope that after this period of world conflict or even during it that arrangement can be made to offer a complete program of health and physical education.
During the summer vacation and early in the fall the following improvements were made in the school: new rubber matting was laid on the stairs, new electrical switches were installed for all the lights in the building, new shades were hung where needed on all the windows, and an office was constructed in the hallway on the second floor.
The girls in the Home Economics classes are continuing to serve hot noon lunches. We are making use of supplies from the Surplus Marketing Administration.
At present we are making a survey of the town and the surrounding school districts which this school serves to determine the feasibility of offering out-of-school youths National Defense training classes to be given in the evenings. It is possible to offer four such classes, one at a time – woodworking, metal work, automotive and electrical.
Athletics have been self-supporting and it is hoped that there will be a surplus to purchase baseball uniforms for the boys and softball uniforms for the girls. We were admitted a member of the Southeastern League at its meeting last October. It is hoped that the rules of good sportsmanship and clean playing and the opportunity of making friends with the young people of other schools will prove a benefit to our boys and girls.
We in the school appreciate the helpful suggestions of our superintendent, Mr. Howard L. Winslow, and for the splendid cooperation we have received from the members of the Board of Trustees.
Respectfully and sincerely submitted,
ROBERT R. ANDERSON, Headmaster. [February 1942].
SOUTHEASTERN LEAGUE ELECTS PRESIDENT. At the annual winter meeting of the Southeastern league, which was held recently at Northwood, the following officers wee elected: President, Robert Anderson of Milton; vice-president, Wilfred Pourier of Epping; and secretary and treasurer, Rischard S. Ricciordi of Pittsfield Schools represented at this meeting were: Alton, Coe-Brown of Northwood, Epping, Farmington, Nute, Pittsfield and Raymond (Farmington News, March 6, 1942).
KIWANIS CLUB SPEAKER THIS WEEK WILL BE ROBERT ANDERSON, MILTON. Headmaster Robert Anderson of Nute high school will be the speaker at the Kiwanis club meeting this Thursday evening. He will talk about “Aeronautics,” a course which is being given in many high school, including Nute. Election of officers will take place at this meeting and it is hoped that all members will be present (Farmington News, December 11, 1942).
Robert R. Anderson died in Washington, DC, February 10, 1961, aged fifty-two years.
Robert Anderson. Milton Mills – Robert R. Anderson, 52, of Washington, D.C., formerly of Milton Mills, died suddenly Friday in the U.S. Air Force Hospital, Andrews AF Base, Washington. He was born in Boston, but had spent much of his life in New Hampshire. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Lalue (Zappa) Anderson; one son, Robert Paul Anderson, both of Washington; his mother, Mrs. Seth F. Dawson of Milton Mills; Two sisters, Mrs. Helen Pierson of North Easton, Mass., and Mrs. Phyllis Gelaneau of Cheshire, Conn. Anderson was a World War II veteran, a lieutenant commander in the navy. He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations. He was past master of Unity Lodge No. 62 of Masons at Union. He attended Fessenden School, Newton, Mass., Tilton Seminary, Phillips Exeter Academy, New Hampton School for Boys, Dartmouth College, and was a graduate of the University of New Hampshire. He was principal of Nute High School for several years and at the time of his death was a training officer in the Air Research and Development Command of the USAF. Funeral services were at Peaslee Funeral Home, Union, Monday. Rev. Ernest Calvert officiated. Burial will be in Milton Mills Cemetery (Farmington News, February 16, 1961).
Scholarship. MILTON – Next June the first Robert R. Anderson Music Awards will be made according to an announcement from Principal John R. Callahan. These awards will total $50 and will be in the sum of $25 each to a boy and a girl in grades 9 through 12 who has contributed most to the music program at Nute High School. The recipients will be selected by the principal and music teachers. Academic grades of the pupils will not be considered and the same pupil may receive the award more than one year so a pupil has a chance of receiving $100 during his or her four years of attendance at Nute. Robert R. Anderson, in whose memory the awards are being given, taught at Nute High School prior to becoming principal. Throughout his time at Nute High School he directed the Nute chorus and band. Mr. Anderson left Nute to serve his country during the war. His untimely death was a shock to those who knew him as teacher, principal, counsellor and friend. Mrs. Ruth H. Dawson of Milton Mills, his mother, is the donor of the awards and his family selected music as that was one of his major interests (Farmington News, October 25th, 1962).
Mrs. Lalue B. (Zappa) Anderson died in Bradenton, FL, June 6, 1967, aged fifty-seven years.
Deaths in Tampa and the Bay Area. MRS. LALUE ANDERSON. BRADENTON. – Mrs. Lalue B. Anderson, 57, of 2803 19th Ave. W., died Tuesday. Born In Louisiana, she came here in 1962 from Washington, D.C. She was a member of the Eastern Star. Survivors include a son, Robert P. Anderson of Bradenton; a brother, Julian Zappa (Tampa Tribune, [Thursday,] June 8, 1967).
John Lewis Knight – 1943-44
John Lewis Knight was born in Topsham, ME, May 14, 1915, son of Raymond E. and Dorothy C. (Cheney) Knight.
John Lewis Knight married in Washington, DC, August 18, 1940, Jane Corbin Staggers. She was born in Fairmont, WV, circa 1914, daughter of Harvey H. and Mabel L. (Fleming) Staggers. She had been employed as a requisition typist by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Fairmont, WV, in January 1936. She received $720 per annum).
John Lewis Knight of Washington, DC, registered for the peacetime military draft in Washington, DC, October 16, 1940. He was twenty-five years of age (b. Topsham, ME, May 14, 1915). He was 6′ tall, weighed 140 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a light complexion. He gave his next of kin as [his mother] Dorothy Cheney Knight (as opposed to his wife of two months).
South Berwick Items. Mr. and Mrs. John L. Knight leased a house in Rochester and will move there the latter part this week (Portsmouth Herald, June 19, 1941).
South Berwick. Mrs. John Knight Honored At Party. Mrs. Dorothy C. Knight and Georgiana Chaney entertained at a dessert bridge in honor of Mrs. John L. Knight at the Eastman Community house yesterday afternoon. Present were: Mrs. Frederic L. Davis, Mrs. Philip Shorey, Mrs. Frances Whitehead, Mrs. Ruel B. Rideout, Mrs. John H. Burleigh, Mrs. John Knight, Mrs. William Leonard, Mrs. Harland Goodwin, Mrs. Benjamin Nealley, Mrs Charles E. Stevens, Mrs. Mabel Norton, Mrs. H. Fred Hadden, Miss Grace G. Yeaton, Mrs. Florence Wentworth, Miss Susan Miller and Mrs. Robert M. Tyrrall (Portsmouth Herald, July 17, 1941).
Rochester. Mr. and Mrs. John L. Knight, former residents, have returned to their home in South Berwick, after visiting friends here (Portsmouth Herald, September 5, 1942).
John L. Knight, B.S. Bowdoin College. Graduate Study George Washington University and University of New Hampshire. Mathematics and Science (Somersworth High School Yearbook, 1958)
John L. Knight’s first annual headmaster’s report, for the academic year 1943-44, appeared in the Milton Town Report for 1943, i.e., for the fiscal year ending January 31, 1944.
REPORT OF HEADMASTER OF NUTE HIGH SCHOOL
To the Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Trustees of Nute High School:
Looking over the mass of literature that came across my desk each morning, there can be little doubt that American Education has gone to war. These great piles of mail ask the schools to cooperate to sell bonds, collect scrap, teach wartime math, teach wartime physics, join the WAVES, join the WACS, join V-12, V5, offer adult courses, stress athletics, plow the roads, harvest the crops, take care of children, save paper, save fats, do rationing, and so forth, and so forth. And at the same time the schools are asked to do better teaching of the subject matter ordinarily included in its curriculum.
Lest the reader thinks this to be an alibi for any of our shortcomings, or an excuse for not having done some of things we should have done, let me explain that all this pressure that comes from the war and its activities is not nearly so hard on the teachers as it is on the pupils. Recognizing that there is a very great mental strain on the pupils in any school system makes it a little more difficult for the administration of a school to keep the academic standards high. If a boy works all night in a shop or factory can a school expect him to do good work in school the next day? Shall the school relax its standards and accept slipshod work in the classrooms as a result of this outside employment? Shall the school overlook the attendance records of those young people engaged in outside work? These and many other questions harass the schools in wartimes but most administrators are agreed on the over-all approach to the solution to the problems. Schools must be tolerant this year. As never before there must be a strong attempt made to show young people the advantage of and their duty to do good school work. (The Armed Forces have already gone on record officially concerning their whole-hearted recommendation that “getting an education is youth’s first and most important job”).
At Nute High School this year we have tried to keep the above general philosophy in mind in any of the changes made.
Quite obviously the above requires the cooperation of the home. Without it the school can do only a small part of the job. It has always been important that the school and the home work together for the welfare of youth, but more today than ever before is this necessary.
New Teachers. This year the Trustees elected to decrease the teaching staff by one teacher. To fill the vacancy in the Home Economic Department, Miss Catherine Guyer of Hanover, N.H., was chosen. Miss Guyer is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire.
New Schedule. With one less teacher than usual it was necessary to drop some of the elective courses. And in order to get in all the required courses a new schedule was made. This calls for one-hour recitation periods in place of the customary forty-minute periods. Since many of the pupils are taking five subjects in a five-period day there are few who have study time in school. Consequently much of the out-of-class study must be done at home. This new schedule has worked out very satisfactorily and pupils and teachers are in favor of its continuance.
Student Council. Anything new takes time to get organized, and the student council is no exception. Four members of each class comprise a group which handles student finances, arranges athletic schedules, assists in formulating policies of the school, and other tasks as they may appear. It is hoped that this democratic system of school management will not die of the difficulties that beset democratic processes: disinterest and slowness of operation. In a nation that has for a long time taken for granted the system of democracy it is hoped that boys and girls in school can learn that democracy is hard work – but worth working for.
General. Hot lunches are being served to about forty each day at an average cost of 10 cents. Fresh milk is sold under government subsidy for 2 cents per half-pint. It is greatly desired that regular medical and dental clinics be provided at the school. At present there are no funds provided for the school nurse to visit the high school regularly. Athletics are being carried on under difficulties. We have had a rather extensive basketball schedule this winter, and last spring we managed to get in a few baseball games, but transportation is still a problem.
Attendance. Below is a table showing the membership of the school:
Class; Enrolled; Dropped Out; Average Attendance Before Leaving; Reason for Leaving.
Senior; 14; 0; [Blank]; [Blank] Junior; 18; 1; 7 Days; Left Town Sophomore; 17; 1; 3 Days; Work Freshman; 27; 4; 19 Days; 1 Work, 2 Left Town, 1 Sickness [Total:]; 76; 6; 14 Days; [Blank]
As can be seen from this chart, we have been fortunate in having no more than two leave school permanently for work. We have not been so fortunate in the attendance day by day of those remaining in school. And many of the reasons for this attendance record are remediable. Sickness has caused many of the boys and girls to be absent, but there have been may who have stayed out of school for lesser reasons. Obviously a person who misses 15-35% of the school time can not keep up with his class. And in spite of teachers’ attempts to get pupils to male up work, there has been a noticeable dropping in the ranks of consistent absentees.
Consequently a provision has been made to help absentees make up the work missed. We now have a one-hour study hall at the end of the day, under teacher supervision, which guarantees an equal amount of time for study that the pupil has been absent.
As noted above, pupils missing a large percentage of time are handicapped when test come around. Most of our pupils could get passing marks if they were present each day and concentrated during their presence. The school tries to teach concentration, and good work habits. But attendance is very much in the hands of the parents. Parents who condone absences for insignificant reasons are in reality helping their children to fail courses and to develop bad school attitudes.
In conclusion, a school like Nute High must make up its mind as to what end it shall serve. Shall the school close its eyes to the unpleasant facts of poor classroom work, high absenteeism, and become a diploma factory, granting diplomas to those registered in the school for the requisite four years – learn or not learn – as the pupils’ spirit moves? Or shall it demand a standard of accomplishment and citizenship before awarding its diploma?
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN L. KNIGHT, Headmaster [February 1944].
MILTON, N.H. NUTE HIGH SCHOOL: Day – Coed Ages 13-18. Est. 1891. John L. Knight, B.S. Bowdoin, Princ. Enr.: Day 75, Fac. 5. Tui: $90. Grades VII-VIII, High Sch. 1-4. Col. Prep., Secretarial, Dom. Science, Manual Arts (Sargent, 1947).
[Class of] 1936. John L. Knight has joined the faculty of Cheshire Academy, Cheshire, Conn. (Bowdoin Alumni Magazine, November 1944).
North Berwick. Mr. and Mrs. John L. Knight are in Hollywood Beach, Fla., to attend a life insurance educational conference. They also plan to visit Mrs. Knight’s mother, Mrs. Mabel Staggers of Avon Park, Fla. (Portsmouth Herald, March 22, 1954).
John L. Knight appeared in the Berwick (ME) directory of 1958, as a teacher at SHS [Somersworth High School], resident at Maple street in North Berwick.
John L. Knight and Jane C. [(Staggers)] Knight were divorced in San Diego, CA, in May 1977.
John L. Knight died in South Berwick, ME, July 12, 1996.
Elliot Winsor Burbank – 1944-49
Elliot W. Burbank, 1919
Eliot W. Burbank was born in Sandwich, MA, July 8, 1896, son of Frank C. and Nellie A. (Taylor) Burbank.
Elliot Winsor Burbank of Worcester, MA, registered for the WW I military draft in Worcester, MA, June 5, 1918. He was a student at WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), aged twenty-one years (b. Sandwich, MA, July 8, 1896). He resided at 17 Somerset Street, in Worcester, MA. His nearest relative was [his father,] F.C. Burbank, of Sandwich, MA. He was of medium height, with a medium build, blue eyes, and brown hair. The registrar noted that Burbank was “sick at Carney Hospital, Boston, Mass., from a surgical operation.”
Elliot W. Burbank appeared in the 1919 Navy Directory, as an Ensign in the Naval Reserve Force in the 1st Naval District.
He married in Alton, NH, September 6, 1922, Lydia A. Jones. She was born in Alton, February 27, 1890, daughter of Albert J. and Clara M. (Chesley) Jones.
ALTON. Mrs. Elliot Burbank of Sandwich, Mass., is spending a week with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Jones (Farmington News, May 15, 1925).
SANDWICH. The public schools opened today. Mrs. Elliot W. Burbank of Sandwich has been added to the teaching staff at the High School (Boston Globe, September 7, 1926).
Elliot W. Burbank, no occupation given, aged thirty-eight years (b. MA), headed an Alton, NH, household at the time of the Fifteenth (1930) Census. His household included his wife (of eight years), Lydia J. Burbank, aged forty years (b. NH), his children, Elliot Winsor Burbank, Jr., aged six years (b. NH), and Albert C. Jones, aged four years, three months (b. MA), and his mother-in-law, Clara M. Jones, a widow, aged seventy-seven years (b. NH). Elliot W. Burbank owned their house in Alton Town, which was valued at $1,200.
Elliot Burbank, a public school teacher, aged forty-three years (b. MA), headed a Hanover, NH, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Lydia Burbank, aged forty-six years (b. NH), and his children, Elliot Burbank, Jr., aged sixteen years (b. NH), and Albert Burbank, aged fourteen years (b. MA). Elliot Burbank rented their house on the Lyme Road, for $32 per month. They had lived in Alton, NH, in 1935.
Elliot Winsor Burbank of Alton, NH, registered for the WW II military draft in Laconia, NH, April 27, 1942. He was employed at the Hanover High School by the School District of Hanover, NH, aged forty-five years (b. Sandwich, MA, July 8, 1896). He resided at School Street, in Alton, NH, but he gave also a mailing address of Lyme Road, Hanover, NH. Mrs. Elliot W. Burbank, of School Street, Alton, NH, was his contact. They had no telephone number. He was 5′ 7″ in height, weighed 190 pounds, with blue eyes, gray hair (partly bald), and a ruddy complexion.
ALTON AND ALTON BAY. Albert, son of Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Burbank, is a patient at Wolfeboro hospital, as a result of an automobile accident which occurred on the Loon Cove road last Friday (Farmington News, September 25, 1943).
ALTON AND ALTON BAY. Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Burbank and family, who have spent the summer at their Alton home, have returned to Hanover, where Mr. Burbank is a member of the high school faculty (Farmington News, October 8, 1943).
ALTON AND ALTON BAY. Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Burbank of Milton were visitors in town on Sunday (Farmington News, September 7, 1944).
Elliot W. Burbank’s first annual headmaster’s report, for the academic year 1944-45, appeared in the Milton Town Report for 1944, i.e., for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1944.
REPORT OF THE HEADMASTER OF NUTE HIGH SCHOOL.
To the Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Trustees of Nute High School. I hereby submit the annual report of Nute High School which opened its fifty-fourth year on September 6th with an enrollment of sixty-nine pupils divided as follows: Seniors, 13, Juniors, 14; Sophomores, 19, Freshmen, 23.
The staff consists of five teachers as follows: Miss Marjorie E. Goodwin – Commercial and Economics; Miss Bertha M. Leathers – English and History; Miss Beatrice Hastings – Home Economics and English; Mr. Stephen H. Perkins – Trades and Industries; Mr. Elliot W. Burbank – Mathematics and Science.
The old and new pupils were greeted with improvements which had been made within the building during vacation. The assembly hall had been entirely redecorated including the sanding and treating of the floor. The upper and lower halls leading to it were included in the work of the carpenters and painters. New composition treads and stainless steel edges replaced the old rubber treads on the stairs. In the laboratory a new fluorescent lighting had been installed in place of the old lighting fixture. Small philgas tanks have replaced the large cylinders thus reducing the annual expense for gas. The return pipes to the steam heating plant have been replaced at the request of the insurance inspector.
New equipment has been purchased for the laboratory including much needed apparatus and chemicals. New textbooks have been obtained for Sociology, Mathematics, Chemistry, and the Shop, together with books for class reference.
The boys in the shop classes, under the direction of Mr. Perkins, have aided several members of the community by doing various types of projects, such as cement work, putting up plaster board, and assisting and observing the construction of a garage. They are called upon to do repair work about the school premises This practical work has proved very beneficial to them. The flag pole which was blown down in the September hurricane has been painted and stored with expectations of its being erected in the spring.
As has been the custom, hot lunches are being served at cost to those pupils that wish them. The lunches are being prepared by the girls from the home economics classes under the supervision of Miss Hastings. Milk is also provided at noon for two cents a half pint due to a Federal subsidy.
The critical shortage of manpower has made it necessary to call on the boys to assist in snow removal. This tends to upset the good attendance that has been enjoyed up to the winter months. Although these boys are performing a patriotic duty and a community service, their parents should recognize that time thus lost, unless made up, hampers their education.
The work of the Student Activities Association has been continued as a democratic student governing body. At present it is sponsoring musical clubs and a school orchestra. A period at the end of the school day makes time for extra-curricular activities.
The Southeastern League was revived this year with the opening of the basketball season. Games are being played with its members. It is hoped that the rules of good sportsmanship and the making of new friends from the of other schools will broaden the outlook of our boys and girls.
I wish to thank our Superintendent, Board of Trustees, teaching staff and pupils for their fullest support. The success of Nute High School depends upon the continuation of this cooperative spirit.
Respectfully submitted,
ELLIOT W. BURBANK, Headmaster Milton, N.H., January 29, 1945.
NUTE HIGH SCHOOL, Milton, N.H. Head Master, Elliot W. Burbank, B.S. Univ. of New Hampshire. Est. 1890; Co-ed 12-20; Enrol. 75; Fac. 5; Dip. given. Sep. to June. Days: Mon. thru Fri. Grades IX to XII. Tui.: $90. Graduation from Grade 8 required (Dewart, 1946).
ALTON AND ALTON BAY. Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Burbank of Milton were in town over the week-end (Farmington News, June 21, 1946).
ALTON AND ALTON BAY. Mr. and Mrs. Winsor Burbank [Jr.] were called to Sandwich, Mass., over the week-end to attend the funeral services of the former’s grandmother, Mrs. Nellie Burbank (Farmington News, January 24, 1947).
Of Interest to Women. Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Burbank, Alton, N.H., and Albert Burbank, Middlebury, Vt., have arrived in Coshocton. The wedding of Albert Burbank and Miss Susan Shireman, Cambridge rd., will take place in the Presbyterian church Wednesday afternoon at 4 o’clock (Tribune (Coshocton, OH), December 26, 1950).
State Board Okays Aid for Alton Schools. MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The state Board of Education has granted the School District building aid it had been denied on three previous occasions. Wednesday’s action means the town will receive some $120,000 from the state for a $400,000 bond issue floated several years ago for additions to Alton’s school system. The board previously held that Alton did not qualify for state building aid because its system did not meet minimum standards. But Elliot W. Burbank, chairman of the town board, said Alton’s school construction now qualifies for building aid. The $120,000 in aid will be paid to the town over the 20-year life of the bond issue. The state board also voted to issue the certificate of annexation for the Brookfield School District into the Governor Wentworth Regional School District. The unanimous vole came after the board heard lengthy arguments from proponents of the move and those who opposed it. In earlier action, the state board received a group of Nashua residents to discuss he proposed vocational institute to be established in Nashua. And it approved the exterior design for the Laconia Vocational Institute (Portsmouth Herald, February 9, 1967).
Lydia A. (Jones) Burbank died in Alton, NH, March 17, 1970. Elliot W. Burbank died in Alton, NH, September 5, 1977.
Walter John Foster – 1949-57
Walter John Foster was born in Salem, MA, September 18, 1907, son of John F. and Marie R. “Rosilda” (Cyr) Foster.
He married in Chicago, IL, August 5, 1933, Leona F. Priest. She was born in Lee, NH, September 3, 1908, daughter of William L. and Grace L. (Jenkins) Priest.
Walter Foster, a chemical lab worker in a leather finishing plant, aged thirty-two years (b. MA) headed a Chicago, IL, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Leona Foster, aged thirty-one years (b. NH), and his children Cynthia Foster, aged five years (b. NH), and Patricia Foster, aged two years (b. IL). Walter Foster rented their house at 628 Barry Avenue, for $40 per month. They had resided in the “same place,” i.e., Chicago, IL, in 1935.
Walter John Foster of Chicago, IL, registered for the peacetime military draft in Chicago, IL, October 16, 1940. He was employed by the Hart Leather Finishing Co, aged thirty-three years (b. Salem, MA, September 18, 1907). He was 5′ 8″ in height, weighed 160 pounds, with blue eyes, back hair, and a light brown complexion.
Newmarket High Teacher Named To Milton Post. A Newmarket high school teacher has been named headmaster of Nute high school in Milton. Walter Foster’s appointment as head of the Milton school has been announced by Jonathan Osgood of Somersworth, head of supervisory union 56. Mr. and Mrs. Foster and two daughters, Cynthia and Patricia, will move to Milton in the fall (Portsmouth Herald, June 20, 1949).
MILTON, N.H. NUTE HIGH SCHOOL: Day – Coed Ages 11-20. Farmington Rd. Tel. 58-2. Walter J. Foster, B.A. Univ. of N.H., Prin. Grade VIII, High Sch. 1-4. Col. Prep, General Home Economics, Business, Manual Arts. Enr. Boys 65, Girls 65, Grad. ’48-’52 – 76; Entr. Col. ’48-’52 – 31. Fac. full-time 7, part-time 1. Tui. $235. Est. 1890 (Sargent, 1954).
Cynthia G. Foster married in Rochester, NH, June 20, 1955, James J. Brezinksi, she of Milton and he of Lebanon. She was a student, aged twenty years, born Dover, NH, daughter of Walter J. and Leona (Priest) Foster. He was a teacher, aged twenty-four years, born Lebanon, ME, son of Jacob and Andella (Androwski) Brezinski.
FOSTER – BREZINSKI. Milton – Cynthia G. Foster, daughter of Principal and Mrs. Walter J. Foster of Nute High School, and James L. Brezinski of Lebanon, were wed recently in St. Mary’s Church, Rochester (Farmington News ,July 21, 1955).
Walter J. Foster’s seventh annual principal’s report, for the academic year 1955-56, appeared in the Milton Town Report for 1955, i.e., for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1955.
REPORT OF PRINCIPAL OF NUTE HIGH SCHOOL
To the Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Trustees of Nute High School:
I hereby submit my seventh annual report of the Nute High School which opened its sixty-fifth year, September 7, 1955, with an enrollment of one hundred and thirty-five. Transfers and withdrawals to date have left the present enrollment, of one hundred and twenty-nine, divided as follows: Seniors, 22; Juniors, 16, Sophomores, 29; Freshmen, 36; Grade Eight, 26.
The approved program of studies is the same as last year with the following alternates being substituted: Biology for General Science; French II for French I; Fused Geometry for Advanced Algebra and Trigonometry; Consumer Buying for Sociology; Human Behavior for Economics; Physics for Chemistry; The Home for The Family; Office Practice for Stenography and Typing; Bookkeeping for Business Law and Salesmanship.
The resignations of Mr. Louis Pagliuso, Mr. Wendel Nickerson, Mr. George Boyko, and Mr. Clyde Skelly were accepted and they were replaced by Mr. Harry Kimball of the University of New Hampshire, Mr. John Tierney of Keene Teachers College, Mr. Elton Young of the New England Conservatory of Music, and Mrs. Bertha Lord who returned to accept her previous teaching position. The veteran teachers were very happy to have Mrs. Lord return, but the jubilation was too short for Mrs. Lord became ill and had to resign. Three substitute teachers followed (Mrs. Buckler, Mrs. Nystedt, and Miss Worthley) before a permanent replacement could be found in Mr. Stuart Whipple, a graduate of the University of New Hampshire.
The lunch program is running smoothly again this year under the capable management of Mr. and Mrs. Harriman. We are serving approximately 86 meals per day of which about one-quarter are at reduced rates.
The Juniors and Seniors have been doing some automotive work in shop while the lower classes are engaged in woodwork. The usual projects have been made and several odd jobs repairing school equipment have been accomplished.
Physics students have been learning to make use of the forces found in our Universe; the flow of water and how to make it useful, the laws of motion, and heat and its uses.
The Eighth Grade Science class has learned a little about the soil, its conservation, and care. A sample of soil from one of the nearby farms has been sent to the Farm Bureau for analysis. The students have had an insight into the services of the Sanitation Department, atomic energy, and the extensive source of energy from the Sun.
The Seventh Grade did not have the opportunity to take Homemaking this year. The time usually allotted to them had been given to the Freshman and Sophomores because of the large group taking Foods and Clothing. This course has been divided into one semester of Clothing and one semester of Foods.
A course in Home Living is being offered to Juniors and Seniors this year. The units studied include: child care and development, home decoration, and home nursing.
The Home Economic laboratory has some new and very useful equipment. A Hardwick gas range was installed, making a total of three stoves, thus giving the students experience in both gas and electric cooking. A new Kenmore sewing machine has also been added.
The English classes are again using Practical English, the student magazine, and availing themselves of the many books of all types and grades furnished by the Bookmobile.
New equipment includes a set of lockers for the girl, twenty-four lockers for the boys, an electric belt sander, desks, chairs, combination locks, and two new typewriters. The policy of two new typewriters should be continued or increased for it is impossible to replace the machines at this rate as rapidly as they should be. The one electric typewriter we have came from government surplus and is now about useless. Electric typewriters are so much more expensive than manual machines, it has not seemed expedient to purchase another as more pupils can learn to type with the larger number of regular machines.
Extra-curricular activities are: Science Club, Volleyball and Softball under the guidance of Mr. Kimball; Student Council and prize speaking, Mr. Whipple; girls’ basketball, Mr. Tierney; baseball, Mr. Roberge; Nute Flash, Miss Goodwin assisted by Mr. Whipple; Dramatics, Miss White assisted by Mr. Kimball, Mr. Tierney, and Miss Goodwin; boys’ basketball and National Honor Society, Mr. Foster.
In place of the senior three-act play, the student body combined their talents and presented three successful one-act plays directed by Miss White, Mr. Kimball, and Mr. Tierney. In the spring, the Dramatics Club will enact two one-act plays for the student body.
In May the annual fashion show will be presented.
Last spring Miss Goodwin, Mr. Skelly, and Mr. Foster took a Psychology course, “The Construction of Classroom Tests,” given at Rochester by the University of New Hampshire.
The November issue of the New Hampshire Educator, the official journal of the New Hampshire Education Association, contains an article by Miss Goodwin.
The members of the Nute faculty are active in the newly formed Union 44 Teachers Association, which is a professional organization affiliated with the National Education Association. The Milton teachers entertained this group in December at Nute High School, with Mr. Robert D. Bailey, Executive Secretary of the New Hampshire Education Association, as the speaker.
We are again grateful to the Milton Parent Teacher Association for sending one of our students, Janice Griffith, to the Conservation Camp.
Again I wish to express sincere appreciation to the superintendent, trustees, teachers, and townspeople for their continued support.
Respectfully submitted,
WALTER J. FOSTER, Principal.
Walter J. Foster died in his home on Farmington Road (now Elm Street) in Milton, June 20, 1957, aged forty-nine years.
DEATHS. Walter J. Foster. Milton – Funeral services took place Sunday for Walter J. Foster, 49, principal at Nute High the last 8 years. He died suddenly last Thursday afternoon at his home on Farmington Rd. Edgerly Funeral home of Rochester was in charge of arrangements for rites at Milton Community church. Rev. Buell Maxfield officiated. Burial was in Newmarket. Mr. Foster was born in Salem, Mass., on Sept. 18, 1907. He graduated from University of New Hampshire in 1933. He taught in Newmarket before coming here. He was a member of Masonic and Eastern Star groups of Newmarket and regional and national educational associations. He leaves his mother, Mrs. Rosila C. Foster of Milton, his wife, the former Leona Priest, two daughters, Mrs. Cynthia Brezinski of Connecticut and Miss Patricia Foster of Milton, and 2 grandchildren (Farmington News, [Thursday,] June 27, 1957).
New Teachers Named. Mrs. Foster Elementary Supervisor. Mrs. Leona Foster of Milton has been named elementary school supervisory principal for Farmington, Supt. Ramon Martineau said. She will also serve as music supervisor for local schools. A UNH graduate, Mrs. Foster has taught for 20 years in Newmarket and Hampton, and for the last 3 in Milton primary grades. She is the widow of Walter Foster, late Nute principal. Mrs. Foster will succeed Arthur Enman, who is moving to Manchester (Farmington, News, July 4, 1957).
Leona F. (Priest) Foster married (2nd) in North Andover, MA, June 19, 1961, Alexander C. Haskell. Alexander C. Haskell was born in Columbia, SC, April 25, 1902. He died in Natick, MA, November 30, 1992.
SCHOOL BOARD CHAIRMAN WEDS FORMER TEACHER. Their wedding Monday in No. Andover, Mass. has been announced by Mrs. Leona Foster and Alex C. Haskell of Grove st. Rev. Clinton W. Carmichael, a lifelong friend of the bride, performed the ceremony. Mr. Haskell, for many years owner of Haskell’s Dept. store, now Reed’s, is chairman of the Farmington School Board. Mrs. Foster, widow of the late principal of Nute High in Milton, taught in the local schools for two years and then has been to Germany the past two years. She completed a tour of teaching with the United States Army Dependent’s Education group last week and arrived by air early Monday at McGuire air base near Trenton, N.J. The couple plans trips to visit their respective grandchildren and then will spend the summer at their cottage, Merrymount, on Lake Winnipesaukee. The new Mrs. Haskell will teach remedial reading in local schools next fall, the same subject she taught servicemen’s children in Europe (Farmington News, [Thursday,] June 22, 1961).
Leona F. ((Priest) Foster) Haskell died in Florida, December 12, 1992.
Massachusetts Free Public Library Commission. (1924). Annual Report of the Board of Free Public Library Commissioners, for the Year Ending November 30, 1923. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=gLcYAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA6-PA29
Sargent, Porter. (1954). Handbook of Private Schools.
Town of Oak Bluffs. (1923). Annual Financial Report of the Town of Oak Bluffs, for the Year Ending December 31, 1922. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=5F40AQAAMAAJ
By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | January 26, 2020
In this year, we encounter a snow train meeting a snowplow, a truck accident, a convalescent home, cottages for sale and for rent, a lightning strike, Milton’s sesquicentennial celebrations, a new cottage for sale, a former music supervisor, a devastating barn fire, Red Gate farm for sale, a large Acton-side house for sale, and a former physician.
[This sequence of Milton news articles will be paused here for a time at Milton’s sesquicentennial year, so that other articles may be brought up into this same time period. Generally, these others might require more research, which means that my usual twice-weekly pace may slacken for a time].
The first Boston & Maine Sunday Snow Train of the season struck the plow of a Milton snowplow truck partially struck on the tracks.
346 Aboard First Sunday Snow Train. Reluctantly Quit Skiing at Call For Last Busses. By PAT HARTY. A crowd of 346 skiers and spectators rode the first Boston & Maine Sunday Snow Train of the season to the Eastern Slopes region of New Hampshire yesterday and had some of the best skiing of the year. They had an unscheduled experience when the train hit a snowplow in Milton, N.H. The plow became stuck in heavy snow and did not quite clear the track. The operators leaped to safety, but a piece of the plow frame swept the side of the diesel and broke a few windows in the train. No one was hurt. Snowshoes Too. Nova Kelso, a dentist’s receptionist in Boston, transplanted from Walla Walla. Wash., called one of her first days of New England skiing superb. She did most of her skiing in Oregon and was one of he country’s few women ski patrolmen. She doesn’t mind splinting a broken bone but claims handling a toboggan on a mountainside is really tough for a girl. They didn’t waste a minute, they kept the rope tows and the skimobile humming, and quit only when the word was passed that the last buses were leaving for the station, a mile away. However, skiers did not have a monopoly, as snowshoers, hikers and just plain spectators swelled the crowd. Peer Reed Owen, 65, of 275 Gallivan boulevard, Dorchester, brought along his favorite snowshoes and hiked to the summit of Cranmore Mountain. “That ice the skiers were falling on was no easier for my snowshoes,” commented Peer, “but I soon got above them and into soft snow. It was wonderful up there looking off at Mt. Washington in the distance.” Peer is a head janitor at Harvard University’s Business School, where he presides at Hamilton Hall. He brought along his 19-year-old son, Edward, who is a sophomore in the undergraduate college. Ed does not share his father’s love for the snowshoes, but skis. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Nesbitt, 74, and 72, respectively, were certainly the oldest folks on the train, but their spirits were among the youngest. They were the pair who organized a party of 79 skiers in Lawrence years ago in order to get the Sunday snow special to stop there. Their comments would qualify them as experts as they watched the stream of down-running skiers. Donald Guy, 8, son of the photo chief of the Associated Press, hated like fury to head for the station at the close of the day. Aid Olympic Fund. Henry Brown of Beverly, train conductor, was on hand early this morning to shake the hands of many of the train’s regulars. First to greet him was Sven Cederstrom of Beacon Hill, without whom the train wouldn’t leave the station. He and Henry rode the first one and they have not missed many since. Henry (Swampy) Paris of the Initou Ski Club of Woburn made the trip and sold decals for the Olympic Ski Team Fund en route. He realized $40 for the fund at half a dollar a throw. Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Miselis at New London, Conn came the longest distance to ride up. They got up at 3:30 in the morning and took the 5 o’clock train to Boston. They brought their sons, Robert, 5, and Richard, 6, to take a ski lesson from Hannes Schneider, famed ski maestro of Cranmore Mountain. Neal Mahoney was in charge of the ski car, which is complete with every ski gadget known to man. John O’Rourke assisted him in fitting bindings to rental skis or fixing broken gear. Bjarne Johanssen, ski shop owner, and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Burt Lindahl of Brookline and Burt Shea of Somerville were on hand. Margaret and Mary Reil of Woburn, Bill Rouillard and Ed Hamilton oi Stoneham, and John and Dot Mason of Woburn were part of a group of 17 that came along from the Initou Ski Club. Nan Mulcahey was another Woburnite who sped down Cranmore all afternoon. Joan Hureau and Rita Lucarelli of Everett gave the rope tow a workout. Margaret Coppinger of Medford confided that she lives for the Winter and skiing. Summer is just something to be endured, she feels. The crowd of spectators who went to make up a crowd of close to 1500 at the skimobile were treated to a pretty sight this afternoon when 150 children, members of the junior ski program, went through their paces. They were having a dress rehearsal for a television and movie short they will make later in the week. The skiing was good here today with most of the crowd playing around on the North and South Slopes. The upper Rattlesnake and Arlberg trails as well as the lower Arlberg and North Conway trails got plenty of running. The snow was deep and the runs were well packed out. This may be the year when Snow Train crowds will again reach the 1000 mark (Boston Globe, January 7, 1952).
Ralph E. Treadwell [“Jr.”] of Milton Mills was hospitalized for injuries he received in a truck accident on Spring street in Farmington, NH.
MILTON MILLS MAN INJURED IN TRUCK CRASH ON SPRING STREET. Ralph E. Tredwell was taken to the Frisbie Memorial hospital early last Sunday morning, where he was treated for injuries sustained in a truck accident on Spring street, shortly before 1 a.m., on that date. The extent of his injuries are not known at present, but it was reported that he was still hospitalized early in the week. The accident occurred just north of Ricker’s garage. Tredwell was reported driving his truck toward Farmington village, on his return from a dance in New Durham. It is believed that the truck, with a snow plow attachment on front, struck a series of bumps, causing him to lose control of the vehicle, with the result that the truck went off the highway, and crashed into a tree. The truck was badly damaged, but was saved from complete demolishment by the snow plow attachment. Tredwell was taken to a local physician, who advised him to be taken to the hospital. The accident was investigated by Lawrence Lover, the officer on duty (Farmington News, February 29, 1952).
Ralph E. Treadwell married in Maine, October 20, 1953, Louise D. French. Ralph Treadwell appeared, with his wife, Louise Treadwell, in the Rochester directory of 1960, as a Portsmouth Naval Shipyard employee, with a house at 8 Mill street, East Rochester.
They removed to Honolulu, HI, between then and 1968. He died at Ewa Beach, Honolulu, HI, December 12, 1983.
Beatrix A. “Billie” (Bishop) Meunier, formerly of Northfield, VT, but reportedly resident at this time in Acton, ME.
Beatrix Meunier became proprietor of the Sunshine Lunch and Bakery in Newport, NH, in August 1946 (Burlington Free Press, August 9, 1946). She opened the eponymous Billie’s restaurant, in the Varney Block (at the intersection of Central and North Main streets), in Farmington, NH, in August 1950.
In March 1952, she planned to open a convalescent home on Charles street in Milton.
LOCAL BUSINESS WOMAN TO START CONVALESCENT HOME IN MILTON. Miss Beatrix Meunier, well known proprietor of Billie’s restaurant, has announced the purchase of the former Reginald Curtis dwelling property on Charles street in Milton. This is of considerable interest to people in this vicinity, as Miss Meunier also announced that following a series of repairs and renovations, she plans to open the large 16-room structure as a convalescent home. It is not expected, however, that the home will be open for business until sometime in late spring or during summer (Farmington News, March 28, 1952).
Beatrix Meunier appeared in the Milton tax valuation of April 1, 1952, as owner of the Reginald Curtis homestead, which was valued at $4,300.
William P. Boivin advertised a new cottage for sale, as he had in the previous year. (He had previously offered similar “Little America” cottages for rent in 1949).
Summer Cottages and Houses. FOR SALE. New Lake Front Cottage. 4 ROOMS and flush, finished and furnished, ready to move in, electric pump, good well, pine trees on lot; good beach; loan can be arranged; price $4800. Write WM. BOIVIN, Box 51, Milton, N.H. SSu (Boston Globe, May 24, 1952).
William P. Boivin appeared in the Milton tax valuation of April 1, 1952, as owner of Lots 6, 7, Durkee cottage and 8 lots and cottages, Bowering, which was valued at $8,800.
Summer Cottages and Houses. STEVENS Cottages. Milton, N.H.; spacious, modern, lake boat, bathing. $50-$60. TR6-4577. dSu3t je6 (Boston Globe, June 6, 1952).
Shore, Mountain, Lake, Country. 112. STEVENS COTTAGES, Milton, N.H. Tel. Mil. 34-11. $50-$60 a week. Spacious, modern, bathing, boat. 3t j6 (Portsmouth Herald, June 10, 1952).
Florence E. Stevens appeared in the Milton tax valuation of April 1, 1952, as owner of five cottages and lots, which was valued in total at $6,700. (Earlier advertisements (those of 1944) place the Stevens Cottages on Northeast Pond).
Charles E. [Jr.] and Eva M. (Pearson) Perry lost their Goodwin road residence to a fire caused by a lightning strike.
MILTON DWELLING STRUCK BY LIGHTNING BURNS COMPLETELY. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Perry on the Goodwin road in Milton was struck by lightning during the electrical storm early Tuesday evening and was completely destroyed by fire that ensued. Mr. and Mrs. Perry were away from their home at the time and the blaze was not discovered until it had gained such headway that it became noticeable to neighbors in that section of town. The dwelling, which was one of the oldest structures in that area, was completely gutted before firemen could be notified. It is reported that the unfortunate couple had no fire insurance coverage (Farmington News, June 13, 1952).
The Heirs of Charles E. Perry [Sr.] appeared in the Milton tax valuation of April 1, 1952, as owners of a 50-acre farm, which was valued at $1,000.
Bad weather forced Milton’s sesquicentennial celebration from its planned location on the grounds of the Nute High school to the town hall building on Sunday, August 10, 1952.
As its name implies, the featured Goodall Sanford band was based in Sanford, ME. Norman I. Stansfield, a Sanford weaver, aged thirty-six years, was its manager, and Everett E. Firth, a Sanford music teacher, aged fifty-six years, was its director. In some of its reported concerts it featured as many as fifty musicians.
The principal speaker was Styles Bridges of Concord, NH, one of New Hampshire’s two U.S. senators. U.S. Representative Chester Merrow was also in attendance.
150th ANNIVERSARY OF THE TOWN OF MILTON CELEBRATION, AUGUST 10. The town of Milton was incorporated in 1802, when it separated from Rochester, where formerly it was known as the Northeast Parish. Since the first settlement in 1760, the population has increased until now there are 1510 persons in town. They will be joined by many former residents and people from other communities in celebrating the 150th anniversary of the town at a program to be held on Nute high school grounds on Sunday August 10, from one to five in the afternoon. The Goodall Sanford band will be in attendance, the principal speaker will be Hon. Styles Bridges, and there will be other interesting and entertaining numbers. The committee in charge of the occasion consists of Chairman Lyman Plummer, Edward R. Stone, Maurice L. Hayes, Theodore C. Ayer, John G. Gilman, Leroy J. Ford, and Robert P. Laskey (Farmington News, August 1, 1952).
150th ANNIVERSARY OF TOWN OF MILTON. The town of Milton celebrated the 150th anniversary of its incorporation last Sunday, August 10, with a program that featured local and national participants. Although the rainy day necessitated the change of location from the scheduled Nute high school grounds to the town hall building, the interest of citizens and former residents and friends was not dampened in the least. The hall was filled by one o’clock in the afternoon, when the Goodall Sanford Band opened the ceremonies with a concert. The address of welcome was given by Lyman Plummer, who was chairman of the committee of arrangements. Then followed “The Star Spangled Banner,” by Joseph Barry, Pledge of Allegiance, and invocation by Rev. George F. Currier. The history of the town was given by John G. Gilman, chairman of the board of selectmen. Speakers for the occasion were Hon. Styles Bridges, Hon. Chester Merrow and Mayor C. Wesley Lyons of Rochester. Singing by the audience, benediction by Rev. Buell W. Maxfield and a concert by the band brought to a close the order of the day which made a very fitting observance of 150 years of progress in the town of Milton (Farmington News, August 15, 1952).
Milton’s centennial observance took place on August 30, 1902 and one of New Hampshire’s two U.S. Senators took notice of its bicentennial year in a speech on the senate floor on March 13, 2002.
William P. Boivin advertised a new cottage for sale, as he had in May and in the previous year.
Summer Cottages and Houses. FOR SALE. BRAND new water front cottage, Milton, N.H.: if you love to fish, swim and hunt, this is it; 4-room Summer home, furnished, refrigeration and gas; ready to move in; running water and your own private beach and wharf; price $4500. Write Wm. BOIVIN, Box 51, Milton, N.H. SuM (Boston Globe, August 3, 1952).
William P. Boivin appeared in the Milton tax valuation of April 1, 1952, as owner of Lots 6, 7, Durkee cottage and 8 lots and cottages, Bowering, which was valued at $8,800.
Here we learn that John Whelan of Durham had at one time been in charge of music education in Milton.
Durham Items. The John Whelans of Mast Rd. are moving this week to Munson [Monson], Mass., where Whelan will be supervisor of music in the public schools. He formerly was in charge of music for Durham, and Milton, N.H. (Portsmouth Herald, August 26, 1952).
WW II Veteran Paul R. McDermott and his wife, Geraldine M. (Davis) McDermott lost their huge barn and twenty-seven head of cattle in an overnight five-alarm fire. (A similar fire destroyed the Katwick’s West Milton barn and cattle in February 1948).
Paul R. and Geraldine M. McDermott appeared in the Milton tax valuation of April 1, 1952, as owner of the 70-acre Bailey farm and creamery, which was valued at $6,500. They owned also seven cows, valued at $875, and three neat stock, valued at $300.
27 HEAD OF CATTLE LOST IN N.H. BLAZE. Huge Barn Destroyed in Milton; Loss Given at $100,000. MILTON, N.H. (AP). – Fire, unofficially estimated at $100,000 damage, raced through a huge barn here last night and 27 head of cattle perished in the flames. Only five cows were saved by farmhands and neighbors who braved smoke and intense heat and entered the structure which belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Paul R. McDermott. The fire was discovered by Mrs. McDermott shortly before midnight when she noticed smoke emerging from the building. Fire companies from three towns helped fight the flames but the barn was leveled. No cause for the fire was immediately determined but firemen said new hay was stored in the building yesterday and they theorized spontaneous combustion may have been responsible (Brattleboro Reformer, September 9, 1952).
Paul R. McDermott appeared, with his wife Geraldine M. McDermott, in the Dover directory of 1953, as a farmer, with his house at 392 Central av.
New Hampshire Real Estate and Business Properties. Excellent Village Home in N.H. ATTRACTIVE, sound construction, 1½-story house, 7 rooms, large porch, sizable barn, 2-story workshop adjacent, suitable for business; good well, electricity, 1 min. walk to P.O. and stores, lakes and large shopping districts nearby; price .$4500. Address RED GATE FARM, Milton Mills, N.H., tel. 24-12. Su3t s21 (Boston Globe, September 21, 1952).
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore H. Ayer of Red Gate Farm, Milton Mills, announced the engagement of their daughter, Jane E. Ayer, to Donald E. Pearson of Manchester, NH, in January 1965 (Farmington News, January 7, 1965).
REAL ESTATE. IN ACTON, ME. State line property, 12-room house, could be used as two-family, guest, convalescent home or an ideal summer home. Near schools, stores, post office and churches; several large lakes nearby, plenty good fishing and hunting. Price $2900, cash or terms. CLARENCE DeVOID, BOX 93, MILTON MILLS, N.H. (Boston Globe, October 5, 1952).
Clarence E. Devoid came from Vermont. The $2,900 he sought for this large house would be worth $28,329 in current inflation-adjusted dollars.
Here we bid farewell to Dr. John A. Stevens, who appeared in various sources as a resident of Union, NH, in the period 1903-11.
LOCAL. Dr. John Andrew Stevens, aged 77 years, died Monday morning, October 6, at his home in Dover. Dr. Stevens at one time practiced medicine in Milton Mills, and later in New York state. He retired about twenty years ago. He was quite well known among older Farmington residents (Farmington News, October 10, 1952).
By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | January 23, 2020
In this year, we encounter a pair of Milton snowbirds, a letter to the editor, Milton cottages for rent or sale, a running child, the Minnewawa Council, Little America cottages for sale or rent, a summer job (and coffee cake recipe), a fatal auto accident, two toddlers killed in an auto fire, a hunting death, and Robert E. Jones’ birthday remembered.
Sisters Mrs. Ingeborg V. “Ivy” (Swanson) Townsend, of Milton Mills, widow of Henry Townsend, and Mrs. Ruth H. ((Swanson) Iovine) Dawson, of Milton, visited Orlando, FL, as tourists in February 1951.
I.V. Townsend, a widow, aged seventy-two years (b. NH), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills”) household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. Her household included her boarder, Harold Dawson, a life insurance salesman, aged twenty-seven years (b. NH). Ingeborg Townsend owned her house on [Milton Mills’] Main Street, which was valued at $2,500.
Tourist Registrations. Mrs. I.V. Townsend. Milton Mills, N.H., Mrs. Seth F. Dawson. Milton, N.H. (Orlando Evening Star, February 14, 1951).
Mrs. Ingeborg Townsend served on the Frisbie Hospital open-house-day committee in September 1951 (Farmington News, September 28, 1951). Mrs. Ruth H. Dawson would embark upon a political career.
Milton Leatherboard manager M. James Guild wrote to the editor of the Boston Globe with his concerns that unbalanced budgets constituted a threat to democracy.
M. James Guild, a leather-board manager, aged fifty-two years (b. Scotland), headed a Rochester, NH, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Eva [M. (Taylor)] Guild, aged forty-seven years (b. MA), and his children, Josephine C. Guild, aged twenty-two years (b. MA), M. James Guild, Jr., a leather-board laborer, aged eighteen years (b. VA), Frederick W. Guild, aged fourteen years (b. VA), and Kenneth S. Guild, aged ten years (b. NH). M. James Guild owned their house on White Hall Road, which was valued at $8,000. They had resided in the “same house” in 1935.
Meston James Guild of Whitehall Road, Rochester, registered for the WW II military draft in Rochester, NH, April 27, 1942. He was fifty-five years old (b. Wells, Somerset, England, March 7, 1897), and employed by the Milton Leather-board Co. of Milton, NH. His contact was [his wife] Eva Mertis [(Taylor)] Guild of Whitehall Road, Rochester. Their telephone number was Rochester 1162. He was 5′ 9″ tall, weighing 240 pounds, with blue eyes, grey hair, and a ruddy complexion.
What People Talk About. Our Own Stupidity and Ignorance Could Make Democracy Fold Up. To the Editor – John Harriman is right. Democracy is not going to fold before the bluster of Communism. Nobody I know of wants Communism or Socialism. Then what is going to make what we call democracy fold? Our own stupidity and ignorance – they could very easily cause it to fold up. We refer not to money, but the handling of money as the most important thing in the world. If an individual spends beyond his means, he ends at the poor farm. A state would probably be taken over by the Federal Government. If the United States becomes insolvent, with the resulting financial and social chaos, what is the result? The Government would take over control of everything and everybody. This would be a totalitarian state, any way you figure it; call it anything you want. This is the only thing that can destroy free enterprise or democracy. A free democratic government must, by the very nature of it, live within its means or, as we say, balance the budget. If it does not, it is bound to be a failure which means the end of that or any other system. M.J. GUILD, Milton, N.H. (Boston Globe, February 14, 1951).
Guild did not live to see $23 trillion dollar debts, which have been climbing under both parties at over a $1 trillion per year (and whose rate of increase is increasing). Many monetary analysts claim that debts of this size can never be repaid or outgrown; it can end only in a default or hyperinflation.
Summer Cottages and Houses. MILTON, N.H. 4-rm. lakefront cottage for rent, all conv., boating, fishing, swim. Aug. only. $50 wk. Write D 341 Globe. SSu (Boston Globe, May 5, 1951).
Houses for Sale. 120. A COTTAGE on Town House Pond, Milton, N.H., 3 yrs. old, $4,000, 5 rooms and bath, Youngstown kitchen cabinets, combination gas and oil range, tile floor in kitchen and bathroom, Elec. hot water, 2 bedrooms, living room, glassed in porch, full length copper screens on all windows. Completely furnished. Cement cellar under kitchen, 12’x12′. Call Rochester 780. 2t m11 (Portsmouth Herald, May 11, 1951).
REAL ESTATE. NEW HAMPSHIRE Highway Farm, $10,000 – House, 10 rooms, large sheds and barn, 90 acres, long high way frontage. C.T. BALCOM, Realtor; ME 4-2140. or Rte. 16, Milton, N.H. SSuW (Boston Globe, May 26, 1951).
Robert D. Runnells of Milton had a child run into the side of his car in Portsmouth, NH. You have seen perhaps the Crystal Motor Express freight trucks with their safety motto: “Behind a rolling ball comes a running child.”
Police Reports. Police reported that a girl five-year-old girl identified as Dona Jean Powell of 35 Profile avenue ran from behind a parked car into the side of a car operated by Robert D. Runnels, 19, of Milton, yesterday near her home. The girl was taken to Portsmouth hospital. (Portsmouth Herald, May 16, 1951).
The child, Donna Jean Powell, survived to graduate from Portsmouth High School in June 1963.
Milton long had a chapter of the unfortunately-themed Improved Order of Red Men (IORM) fraternal mystic order. Here several candidates are to have a higher degree conferred upon them in Manchester, NH.
Mystic Orders. Red Men. The 30th annual meeting of the Old Deerfield Conference will be held on Friday and Saturday in Manchester, N.H., in Odd Fellows Hall. 83 Hanover st. The Pocahontas Degree will be conferred on several candidates by Minnewawa Council of Milton, N.H., at 8:00 p.m. The annual business meeting of the Conference will be called at 9:00 a.m. Saturday. A reception and ball to Great Chiefs and guests at 8:00 p.m. New England will be represented by Great Chiefs from the several Reservations (Boston Globe, June 3, 1951).
Many of these mystic orders had their nineteenth century origins as mutual insurance benefit societies. The Red Men claimed to have their origins in the Boston Tea Party. Presidents Warren G. Harding, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt were in their time all members of the IORM.
William P. Boivin advertised a new cottage for sale. (He had previously offered similar “Little America” cottages for rent in 1949).
Summer Cottages and Houses. NEW COTTAGE FOR SALE, IN PINE GROVE on shore of Milton Lake, N.H., finished and furnished like a home, 4 rooms, flush, screened porch, good well, electric pump, will sleep 6 people, price $5200. Write WM. BOIVIN, Box 90, Milton, N.H. SSu (Boston Globe, June 16, 1951).
Summer Cottages and Houses. VACATION IN N.H. LITTLE AMERICA housekeeping cottages by the lake, boating, bathing, fishing, $35 to $45 a week; vacancy second week in July and the month of Aug. Write WM. BOIVIN, Box 40, Milton, N.H. SSu (Boston Globe, June 23, 1951).
Miss Edith J. Hodgdon, proprietor of The Little House (hotel) and Pantry in Northfield, VT, recruited her niece, Joyce Hodgdon of Milton Mills for some summer assistance. She had opened the hotel in 1940, changed its location in or around 1948 and, more recently, there had been a kitchen fire there in May 1951 (Burlington Free Press, May 21, 1951).
Edith J. Hodgdon, a commercial food work dietician, aged thirty-four years (b. VT), headed a Northfield, VT, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. Her household included her hotel guest, Rufus C. Jones, a memorial granite salesman, aged forty-two years (b. TX). The hotel was situated at 9 North Main Street. Edith J. Hodgdon had resided in Boston, MA, in 1935; her guest had resided in Colfax, WA, in 1935.
Edith J. Hodgdon appeared in the Northfield, VT, directory of 1949 as proprietor of The Little House and Pantry, with her house at 40 So. Main street. The Little House and Pantry appeared as a restaurant and tea room at 40 So. Main street, with Edith J. Hodgdon as its proprietor.
Personal News Items. Miss Joyce Hodgdon of Milton Mills, N.H., a senior in Milton High School, is assisting at The Little House this summer. She is a niece of the owner, Miss Edith Hodgdon (Burlington Free Press, July 11, 1951).
And if Joyce Hodgdon were to have brought home to Milton Mills her Aunt Edith’s Quick Coffee Cake recipe, it would have looked like this:
Favorite Recipes of Famous Taverns. The Little House and Pantry. Next to the post office in the village of Northfield, Vermont, this restaurant, owned by Edith Hodgdon, specializes in real New England dishes. It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., every day. Closed December 20 to January 5. Baked goods may be purchased in the Pantry.
LITTLE HOUSE QUICK COFFEE CAKE
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons shortening
2 eggs
1¼ cups milk
2½ cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs, beat well. Stir in milk and dry ingredients. Spread in oblong 9 x 12 cake pan and sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts. Bake in moderate oven. Serve warm with butter. Makes 12 portions (Ford Times, December 1956).
Herbert M. Drew of Milton is thought to have suffered a heart attack while driving to Farmington, NH, on the Farmington-Middleton road, i.e., the modern NH Route 153. Drew died and his wife was injured in the ensuing accident.
Five Killed in New England Road Accidents. Five persons were killed and several others were injured yesterday in a series of accidents through New England. In Farmington, N.H., Herbert M. Drew, 53, of Milton, N.H., was killed and his wife was seriously injured when their car careened down a steep embankment on the Farmington-Union road. Mrs. Irma Drew, 43, suffered a fractured right leg, head injuries, and a dislocated knee. She was rushed to Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester. Dr. George McGregor of Durham, medical referee, said the accident may have been caused when Drew had a heart attack. He was treated for a heart condition recently. Drew died from the injuries suffered in the accident. Dr. McGregor said. (Portsmouth Herald, August 7, 1951).
MILTON MAN DEAD, WIFE HOSPITALIZED, AFTER AUTO ACCIDENT ON MIDDLETON ROAD. Herbert M. Drew, aged 53, a resident of Milton and recently employed as a chimney cleaner, lost his life, and his wife was hospitalized when the car he was driving plunged off the Farmington-Middleton highway last Monday morning between 9 and 10 o’clock. The accident occurred as Mr. and Mrs. Drew were on their way to work in Farmington and it is believed that Mr. Drew suffered a heart attack as the car was rounding a sharp curve in the road directly opposite the home of Mr. and Mrs. Chris Tibbets. The vehicle went out of control, plunged down over a steep embankment and turned over on its side. The front end of the vehicle crashed into a large pine tree, causing considerable damage. Mrs. Drew the only other passenger in the oar was taken to the Frisbie Memorial hospital in Rochester and was later removed to the Huggins hospital in Wolfeboro where she is being treated for head injuries, leg and hip injuries, with possible fracture of both and severe bruises. Dr. George MacGregor of Durham, the attending medical referee, pronounced the man dead upon arrival at the scene and the body was removed to the Norman L. Otis funeral parlor. Mrs. Drew is a well known beauty parlor operator in Farmington and her husband had been employed variously as a woodsman, chimney cleaner, and at other occupations. They lived a short distance from the accident scene. Rural mail carrier Harry Nute narrowly escaped being involved in the accident. At the time of the crash he was scheduled to stop at mail boxes only a scant few feet from where the Drew car left the road, however due to extra heavy mail he was a few minutes late and thereby escaped possible injuries to himself and damage to his car. Mr. Drew was born in Concord and survivors include his wife, Mrs. Irma Drew; a son Frederick Drew of Laconia; two sisters, Mrs. Arthur Foote and Mrs. Leonard, both of Concord; and three brothers, Harry of Bow, Chester of Meredith, and Andrew of Concord. Funeral services were held on Wednesday afternoon at the Norman L. Otis funeral parlor. Remains were taken to Bow (Farmington News, August 10, 1951).
Late in the evening of the same day as the accident, and less than a mile away on the same road, a drunken Milton Mills driver crossed over into oncoming traffic, causing a head-on collision in which seven people were injured, one of them hospitalized (Farmington News, August 10, 1951). (There was a serious roll-over accident on this road in December 1949).
CARD OF THANKS. I am deeply grateful for the cards, flowers, and many kindnesses and expressions of sympathy in my recent great misfortune. Mrs. Irma Drew (Farmington News, August 17, 1951).
Mrs. Irma Drew may have suffered after-effects from the accident in which her husband died. She published the following notice a year after she sustained her injuries.
NOTICE! MRS. IRMA DREW wishes to notify her friends and customers that she will be at Wolfeboro Hospital for a few days. Her shoppe will be open for telephone calls and future appointments, under the care of her apprentice, Miss Phyllis Masse (Farmington News, August 22, 1952).
Two young children burned to death in a horrible fire on Jug Hill Road in Milton Mills. Their family had only recently moved here from Gorham, NH.
Cornelius R. Murphy, a paper mill laborer, aged twenty-seven years (b. NH), headed a Gorham, NH, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of one year), Leah B. [(Cousens)] Murphy, aged twenty-two years (b. ME), his child, Mary E. Murphy, aged one month (b. NH), and his step-child, Bobby A. Poutin, aged three years (b. ME). Cornelius R. Murphy rented their house on Lancaster Road, for $10 per month, He had resided in the “same place,” i.e., Gorham, NH, in 1935, while his wife had resided in Portland, ME.
Cornelius R. Murphy (with wife Leah B. Murphy) appeared in the Gorham, NH, directory of 1948 as an employee of the BCo, i.e., the Brown Company, with a house on Upper Main street.
Sisters, 3 and 2, Burned to Death in Parked Auto. MILTON MILLS, N.H., Oct. 11. – Two little sisters burned to death in a fire which destroyed an automobile parked outside their parents’ farmhouse on Jug Hill road at noon today. The victims were Lynn Murphy, 3, and Donna, 2, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Murphy. The family moved here from Gorham only a month ago. Medical Referee George McGregor of Durham said he believed the children set the car afire while playing with matches. However, State Police were called in to investigate. The parents had missed the little girls, but had no idea they were in the automobile until firemen extinguished the flames. Lynn and Donna had been playing in the yard with their kitten when last seen alive. There are three other children, Adrian, 10; Cornelius Jr., 6, and Mary, 11 (Boston Globe, October 11, 1951).
Alphonse P. Plante of Dover, NH, son of Joseph E. and Marie E. (Lavertue) Plante, lost his life in a Milton hunting accident.
18 PERSONS DEAD IN NEW ENGLAND. Fires, Drownings, Highway Crashes Take Big Week-End Toll. HUNTER WOUNDED FATALLY IN N.H. Alphonse E. Plante. 21, of Dover, N.H., who had enlisted in the Marine Corps only a week ago, was killed when his shotgun banged against a stump and discharged into his abdomen while he was hunting in Milton, N.H. (Brattleboro Reformer, December 3, 1951).
Famous Milton-native Robert E. Jones’ birthday was remembered in syndicated newspaper birthday columns around the nation.
Today’s Birthdays. Robert E. Jones of New York, noted stage designer, born Milton, N.H., 64 years ago (Shreveport Times, December 12, 1951).
By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | January 19, 2020
In this year, we encounter a retired headmaster’s lecture, chicken dinners at the Hotel Braemore, real estate, a Goodwin Road fire, highway construction, escaped Strafford County prisoners, and a West Milton camp for sale.
Dr. George E. Carmichael, a retired headmaster, was apparently an early “snowbird.” He gave a lecture to other retirees in Florida on the last survivor of Bunker Hill, i.e., Ralph Farnham of Milton Mills. (Ralph Farnham’s swan song appeared in various news articles of 1860).
Retired Teacher Will Give Talk. “The Last Survivor of Bunker Hill” will be the lecture topic of Dr. George E. Carmichael, Milton Mills, N.H., at 2 p. m. today at the Tourist Center Lounge. His talk is sponsored by the International Retired Teachers Association. Dr. Carmichael is retired headmaster of the Milton Mills Preparatory School. Dr. Arnold D. Collier, president of the teachers organization, has extended an invitation to members of the Friday Night Club and the New Hampshire Society to attend the Monday meeting (Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, FL), January 16, 1950).
Dr. George E. Carmichael is principally remembered as the founder of the Brunswick Preparatory school of Greenwich, CT, which he founded in 1902, and of which he was headmaster until 1933.
His obvious Milton Mills connection was his wife, who was a daughter of Everett F. and Carrie B. (Ricker) Fox of Milton Mills. George E. Carmichael, a teacher, aged thirty-seven years, married in Milton, December 25, 1912, Helen G. Fox, aged thirty-one years, he of Greenwich, CT, and she of Milton. Rev. Myron P. Dickey, then of Kennebunk, ME, performed the ceremony.
Al Braman turned over the proprietorship of the Hotel Braemore to his wife, Madeleine (Van Reybroeck) Braman. She advertised reasonable rates, hotel dining room hours, and special chicken dinners.
HOTEL BRAEMORE. Milton, N.H. Special Chicken Dinners $1.00. Open 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Transient rooms, $1.50 single, $3.00 double. Some furnished 2-room Apts. Reasonable weekly rates. Madeleine Braman, prop. (Farmington News, February 3, 1950).
Madeleine (Van Reybroeck) Braman was born in Moerkerke, West Vlaanderen, Belgium, July 6, 1896. She died in Inglewood, Los Angeles, CA, January 28, 1977.
Henry H. Pillman had still his Mountain View camp for sale, as he had in the previous year.
Summer Cottages and Houses. MILTON. N.H. Shore front camp, $3300 ; also lots. Call LY 5-4311 (Boston Globe, April 9. 1950).
FARM, VILLAGE HOMES. 6-RM. house, 5 acres, oil furnace; near school, stores and church; $2300. Brook H. Jedrey, Milton Mills, N.H. (Boston Globe, April 16, 1950).
Realtor Chester T. Balcom of Melrose, MA, offered several Milton properties for sale. He would seem to have had a local agent or representative with a Milton telephone number.
REAL ESTATE. NEW HAMPSHIRE. Route 16, 8 single and double cabins, furnished, running water, flush toilets, sinks, stoves, electric lights, septic tanks, excellent fishing, swimming; prominent location. C.T. BALCOM. MElrose 4-2140 and Milton, N.H. W AMS AM Su (Boston Globe, April 19, 1950).
REAL ESTATE. MILTON, N.H. – Colonial, 8 rooms, steam heat, barn, 25 acres, in field and woodland, $5700. C.T. BALCOM. Realtor. MElrose 4-2140; Route 16, Milton, N.H.; tel. Milton 41-32. SSu (Boston Globe, May 6, 1950).
Leslie W. and Hazel A. (Perkins) Anderson had a two-alarm fire that damaged the second story of their two-story Goodwin Road house.
Leslie W. Anderson, a shoe shop wood heeler, aged forty-four years (b. MA), headed a Milton household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Hazel A. Anderson, aged forty-two years (b. NH), his children, Ellaine A. Anderson, aged sixteen years (b. NH), and Lena E. Anderson, aged fifteen years (b. NH), and his boarder, Jacob M. Swinerton, a shoe shop treer, aged thirty-seven years (b. NH). Leslie W. Anderson owned their house, which was valued at $1,200. They had resided in Farmington, NH, in 1935.
Leslie Walter Anderson, of Goodwin Road, Milton, registered for the WW II military draft in Rochester, NH, April 27, 1942. His mailing address was P.O. Box 71, Farmington, NH. He was aged forty-six years (b. Stoneham, MA, June 21, 1895), and worked at the Rondeau Shoe Co. in Farmington, NH. Hazel A. Anderson, of Goodwin Road, Milton (or P.O. Box 71, Farmington, NH), was given as his contact. Leslie W. Anderson was 5′ 10″ tall, weight 163 pounds, and had brown hair, brown eyes, and a light complexion.
FIRE DAMAGES HOME OF LESLIE ANDERSON IN MILTON. Fire of unknown origin cause considerable damage to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Anderson on the Goodwin road in Milton last Monday night. The blaze, which originated in an upstairs room of the two-story house, was discovered by the Anderson family who were occupying the first-floor rooms at the time. They immediately called the Milton fire department and firemen were quickly dispatched to the scene. Upon arrival, the Milton fire chief called for assistance from the Farmington fire department and Chief Gibbs sent Farmington’s new tank truck unit. The two departments worked together as a team, and the superb performance of the tank truck, soon had the fire under control, but only after one room of the house was gutted and other portions of the upstairs considerably damaged. Damage is unofficially estimated at close to $1,000 (Farmington News, April 21, 1950).
In the Milton taxpayer inventory, i.e., property assessment, of April 1949 (for the year 1950), Leslie Anderson’s property included the 90-acre Hersey farm ($200) and its woodland ($200), the 45-acre Daniel Goodwin farm ($150) and its woodland ($150), the 45-acre George Goodwin farm ($250) and its woodland ($100), and the 5-acre Canney farm ($1,000). His residence, and the property damaged by fire, would seem to have been the 5-acre Canney farm.
Highway construction in Milton was being “figured,” presumably by the NH State Department of Transportation, for May 11.
New England Building Projects. According to Gainey’s Construction Newsletter the following is a partial list of projects now being figured. Silver Lake Elem Schl, Athol, Extn., May 11; Sanders St. Elem. School (Addn & Alts), Athol, Extn., May 11; New Church & Parish Hse. (Alts), Quincy, May 11; Elementary School, Dover, N.H., Ext., May 11; Bridge, Conway, N.H., May 11; Highway, Milton, N.H., May 11; Theatre & Stores, Littleton, N.H., May 12; Parochial School, Salem, May 12; Concr. & Stone Msnry. Bridge & Approaches, Grafton County, N.H., May 16; Install Fire Detection System, Chelsea, May 17; Day Sq. Station, E. Boston, May 18; Alt. to Four Schools, Lexington, May 18; Elem. School Addn., Hadley, May 22; Hospital (Alts. & Addn.), Brattleboro, Vt., May 23; Pierce Elem. School, W. Newton, May 23; Hospital, Fort Kent, Me., May 26; Hospital (Addn. & Alts.), So. Braintree, May 31; Housing Project 200-2, Worcester, June 2; Motor Vehicle Storage Bldg., North Scituate, RI, Abt. June 16 (Boston Globe, May 7, 1950).
Bernard G. Sprague of Acton, ME, pled “not guilty” to charges of setting fire to the Milton Mills Knights of Pythias hall. He was held until bail could be determined.
Bernard Sprague, a lumber (firewood) chopper, aged twenty years (b. Waterboro, ME), headed an Acton, ME, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Virginia [M. (Smith)] Sprague, aged twenty years (b. VA), and his child, Irving Sprague, aged one month (b. ME). Bernard Sprague rented their house on the Milton Mills Road, for $3 per month.
Bernard Sprague enlisted in the U.S. Army in Portland, ME, May 25, 1943. He had a grammar school education (as did most people). In civilian life he had held what the army classed as semi-skilled jobs: “chauffeurs and drivers, bus, taxi, truck, and tractor.” He was born in Maine in 1920, and stood 68″ (5′ 8″) tall.
Maine Man Held for N.H. Grand Jury on Charge of Arson. ROCHESTER. N.H., April 28 – Following a hearing in Municipal Court today, Judge Justin A. Emery found probable cause to hold Bernard Sprague, 30, of Acton, Me., for September grand jury action on a charge of arson. The state alleged that Sprague set fire to the wooden three-story Knights of Pythias building, owned by the town of Milton, at Milton Mills. N.H., on April 20. The building was nearly destroyed in a blaze fought by firemen of five communities. Sprague, represented by Municipal Judge Errol S. Hall of Farmington, pleaded not guilty. County Solicitor Alfred Catalfo presented eight witnesses, including two women, who were across the street and testified they saw Sprague enter the building a short time before the fire broke out. Defense presented no evidence. As bail was beyond the jurisdiction of the local court, Sheriff Wilfred J. Pare and Deputy Sheriff Hervey Tanner took Sprague, father of several children, to the House of Correction (Boston Globe, April 21, 1950).
On August 6, after three months in jail, Bernard Sprague and another prisoner, Leonard I. Boutin, overpowered Strafford County’s head jailer, took his keys, and escaped. Boutin, who had a prior drunk-driving conviction in his native Vermont, was “working off” his time on a Strafford County drunk-driving charge.
Prisoners Who Fled N.H. Jail Sought. DOVER. N.H. Aug. 7 (AP) – Police searched today for two prisoners who escaped from the Strafford County Jail near here. Bernard Sprague, 30, of Milton Mills, and Leonard Boutin, 37, of Vermont, overpowered and injured the head jailer, Daniel Cronin of Dover, late yesterday afternoon. A jail official said the two escapees hid in a dark corner near the main door of the jail and rushed the head jailer as he was releasing another prisoner to help with evening chores. Cronin’s hip was injured as the two fleeing men pushed him to the floor. A cordon, consisting of local and state police end deputy sheriffs, surrounded the area, but no trace of the convicts was found (Boston Globe, August 7, 1950).
Posse Searches For Two Escaped Prisoners in Dover. Two prisoners, who fled the Strafford county jail in Dover late yesterday, are still on the loose today. Sheriff Wilfred Pare said all-night search for the men was unsuccessful, although a posse made up of deputies, state and local police combed the wooded areas near the jail. Pare said the men are Bernard Sprague, 30, of Acton, Me., who faces the Superior court in September on a arson charge, and Leonard Boutin, 37, of Bennington, Vt. Boutin is working out a $199 fine assessed by the Somersworth municipal court on a drunken driving charge (Portsmouth Herald, August 7, 1950).
ONE OF TWO ESCAPED PRISONERS IS CAPTURED. MILTON MILLS, N.H., Aug. 8 (AP). – One of two prisoners who broke out of Strafford county jail in Dover after slugging a guard Sunday was captured in woods today. Leonard Boutin, 37, surrendered without a struggle to a posse headed by Sheriff Wilfred J. Page (Rutland Daily Herald (Rutland, VT), August 9, 1950).
Two Strafford County Jail Fugitives Back. STATE AP NEWS. Dover, Aug. 9. – Two prisoners who slugged a guard and broke out of Stratford county jail last Sunday were back in custody today. BERNARD SPRAGUE, 30, returned to the jail last night with his wife, Virginia, 23 [30], and six children ranging in age from one to seven. Mrs. Sprague said: “I told the sheriff if I could find him I was going to make him give himself up.” She didn’t give any details, SPRAGUE arrived at the jail as a posse was searching for him in a wooded area in Milton where Leonard Boutin, 37, was captured without a struggle several hours earlier. Sprague and Boutin escaped by overpowering Guard Daniel Cronin and seizing his keys. Sprague was awaiting a hearing on an arson charge. Boutin serving an eight months sentence (Nashua Telegraph, August 9, 1950).
The Town Warrant for Tuesday, March 13, 1951 included Article 32: “To see if the Town will vote to retain the Knights of Pythias lot in Milton Mills Village for use as a park in future years, allowing the Selectmen to sell a narrow piece adjoining the property of Mr. Lombard.”
Nothing has come to hand regarding the disposition of Sprague’s case. He died January 3, 1959, aged thirty-eight years.
Harlan Feyler of Farmington, NH, offered to swap a nearly completed four-room West Milton house for a car of equal value.
FOR SALE. CAMP 12 FT. by 20 ft. with addition of 15 ft. by 20 ft. most completed for four-room house, on lot of land 125 ft. by 75 ft., with spring of water on lot. Located in West Milton, three miles from Farmington, excellent hunting. Will sell or swap for car of same value. Harlan Feyler, Charles St., Farmington (Farmington News, December 8, 1950).
“The essence of the [voluntary] exchange is that both people make it because they expect that it will benefit them; otherwise they would not have agreed to the exchange. A necessary condition for an exchange to take place is that the two goods have reverse valuations on the respective value scales of the two parties to the exchange” (Rothbard, 1970).
By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | January 16, 2020
In this year, we encounter a mountain-top farm for sale, a favorite poem consoles, Boston hooligans, the twelfth winter carnival, Nute Ridge as an underground railroad station, a drowning tragedy, more real estate offerings, and a miraculous escape.
The F.C. Tanner of this farm advertisement was likely a misprint for S.C. Tanner, the Milton store proprietor, former state representative, and, of late, realtor for Country Properties realty.
REAL ESTATE. FARM, VILLAGE HOMES. N. Hamp. Summer Home, $3000. 40 ACRES on mountain top, view fields and woodland; blueberries, hunting, fishing. and skiing; near lake and village; 7-rm. house & barn; electricity, telephone. R.F.D. Write or call F.C. TANNER, Milton, N.H. (Boston Globe, January 9, 1949).
As usual, one finds oneself astonished to learn how little housing costs were as a proportion of one’s income before government interventions in the real estate market. The $3,000 asking price for a house, barn, and forty acres of land would be equivalent to only $32,640 in modern inflation-adjusted currency.
The Boston Globe editors ran a regular column in which its readers might request reprints of their favorite poems or song lyrics. Lois J. Colby had a favorite poem about traveling a stony path.
SONGS and POEMS of LONG AGO.
If there is a favorite song or poem which you would like and are unable to find, write to the editor of Everybody’s Column. Our readers are pleased to send in old favorites requested. Editor.
Reward
O what a stony path I trod To find my way to you – and God. So many turns I took were wrong I blundered endlessly along Yet, as I stumbled, so I grew, And found at last, my God – and you.
Lois J. Colby, Milton Mills, N.H. (Boston Globe, January 9, 1949).
Lois Jeanette Keddie was born in Newton, MA, circa 1912-13, daughter of Arthur W. and Clara M. (Wentworth) Keddie.
Arthur W. Keddie, a woolen mill finisher, aged twenty-seven years (b. MA), headed a Milton household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Clara Keddie, aged thirty-one years (b. NH), and his children, Lenora F. Keddie, aged eight years (b. NH), and Lois J. Keddie, aged seven years (b. MA). Arthur W. Keddie owned their house on Church Street, free-and-clear, without any mortgage.
Lois J. Keddie married (1st), in Belmont, NH, September 7, 1930, William I. Colby, from whom she was divorced October 13, 1933. She married (2nd) in Milton Mills, 1935, Alfred H. Shea. One might like very much to learn that – as in the poem – she found at last what she sought. However, she and Alfred H. Shea were living apart in 1940.
Lois J. Colby, a blanket mill weaver, aged twenty-seven years (b. NH), headed a Milton household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. Her household included her daughter, Barbara Colby, aged nine years (b. NH). (Lois J. Colby was said to be divorced). She rented their house in Milton Mills Center, for $8 per month.
Perhaps it was her daughter that fulfilled for Lois the reward of the poem.
Milton visitors to Boston fell afoul of city slickers several times in the past. Here six Nute high school lads were accosted by rowdies.
What People Talk About. More Boston Rowdyism. To the Editor – About 7:20 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 29, one group of six of our Nute High School lads suffered a short surprise attack in Boston from a “mob” of not fewer than 22 others. This occurred within sight of the North Station and a traffic officer. The assailants were undoubtedly boys of that locale. Said premeditated, cowardly assault caused some pain to our group and financial loss to at least one parent. These attacks are nothing new but are now too frequent, even for Boston. The Garden, or any other part of town, may not be on our itinerary in the future. If they are we may come prepared to do battle on more even terms the next time. I suggest a few pilgrimages by the good citizens of Boston to parts of their own city, to see some of the sights. S.H. PERKINS, Milton, N.H. (Boston Globe, January 21, 1949).
Herbert S. Perkins, a shoe shop stitching finisher, aged forty-three years (b. NH), headed a Milton household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Rosemond Perkins, aged forty-six years (b. NH), and his children, Herbert S. Perkins, Jr., aged twenty-three years (b. NH), Constance J. Perkins, aged sixteen years (b. NH), and Robert E. Perkins, aged six years (b. NH).
By 1949, Robert E. Perkins would have been fifteen years of age, i.e., Nute high school age. He might have been one of the victims, or at least in a position to have heard about it (and tell his father).
Notice was here given of the Teneriffe Sports club’s twelfth annual winter carnival. It featured downhill and slalom ski races by age classes and the coronation of a carnival queen.
TENERIFFE SPORTS CLUB’S WINTER CARNIVAL, MILTON, N.H. The Teneriffe Sports club’s twelfth annual carnival is scheduled for Saturday, February 19. At 9 a.m., the junior boys’ races will be run. The slalom races will begin at 10 o’clock. The classes are to be divided so that youngsters in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades will be competing against one another, and an additional group will include those in the seventh and eighth grades. The prizes will be given to the winners of the combined events. On Saturday afternoon, at one o’clock, the downhill race for those in high school will be held. The slalom race will start at 2.30 p.m. The prizes will go to the winners of the combined events. On Sunday afternoon at one, men’s and women’s races will be [take] place, with the downhill run as the lead-off attraction. The slalom will follow at 2.30 o’clock. The men’s and women’s races will be run in together, although separate trophies will be awarded. The trophies this year will be a little more special, and will go to the winner of the combined events, because it is the opinion of the committee that this method is fairer to the all-round performer. An especially fine award will go also to the team who has the best combined time. The meet is invitational and letters have been mailed to the Abenakis of Wolfeboro, Bauneg Bog club of Sanford, Me., Concord Ski club, Panda Outing club of Biddeford, Rochester, and Garrison Outing club of Dover. Entries on the carnival queen must be in not later than February 12, and are limited to girls from the ages 14 to 25. The queen will be named and coronated at the carnival ball to be held on Saturday night at the Strand building (Farmington News, February 1, 1949).
Extracted here from a lengthier letter to the editor regarding the census is the story of a Nute Ridge farmer whose farm served as a station on the underground railroad. The author was Farmington storeowner Ned L. Parker, whose son, H. Franklin Parker, had served briefly as one of Nute Chapel’s ministers.
An amusing story is told of a “station,” located on Nute Ridge in the neighboring town of Milton. A sympathetic farmer, who had on occasion aided these unfortunate people, on repairing to his barn one morning to feed his cattle, was confronted by a huge black man who rose up from the haymow and whose entire raiment consisted of a “swallowtail” coat. This slave had escaped from Virginia and was on his way “up through,” as the trail to Canada was called. The good farmer provided a hearty breakfast and suitable clothing and permitted the fugitive to remain concealed in his barn until nightfall. Then this member of the underground conveyed his black brother to a “station” in Alton from which point he eventually made his way to Canada and freedom (Farmington News, March 25, 1949).
Perhaps one would not call this situation “amusing,” but it remains instructive. For those who remain confused as to the difference between what is right and what is legal, i.e., some politicians’ or court justice’s scribbles, what the sympathetic West Milton farmer did was illegal and what the pursuing sheriffs and slave-catchers did was perfectly legal.
Mrs. Phoebe C. (Whitten) Willey lost sight of her toddler in the yard, who then drowned in nearby Hart brook.
WEST MILTON CHILD DROWNED IN BROOK. A tragic note was struck in the hearts of Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Willey of West Milton, when their son, Everett C. Willey, aged three years and eight months, was accidentally drowned in the Hart brook, a short distance from their home, last Saturday afternoon. The child, who had been playing in the yard, wandered off and was missed by Mrs. Willey, who sought the aid of neighbors. After a search of the locality, Robert Badger and Charles Ellis discovered the child’s body in a deep part of the brook. Investigation of the accident was made by Dr. Forrest L. Keay of Rochester, medical referee of Rochester, who announced that death was due to accidental drowning. Survivors include his parents, two sisters, Florence and Gwendolyn, and three brothers, Murray, Milton, and Norman. Funeral services were held Monday at the Norman L. Otis funeral parlor, with Rev. Charles Shelley of the Nute Ridge chapel officiating. Remains were taken to Somersworth for burial (Farmington News, April 1, 1949).
Charles A. Willey was born in Auburn, NH, March 22, 1896; son of George and Melvina (Kelley) Willey.
He married (1st) in Candia, NH, November 7, 1914, Gertrude M. Tuttle. Their children included Norman, Murray, Milton, and Gwendolyn. She died in Rochester, NH, March 20, 1936. He married (2nd) in Chichester, NH, April 17, 1945, Phoebe C. Whitten.
Henry H. Pillman had still his Mountain View camp either for sale or for rent, as he had in the previous year.
Summer Cottages and Houses. MILTON, N.H.; for rent, large camp on lake, sleeps 8, conveniences. LY 5-6927 SSu (Boston Globe, June 18, 1949).
Summer Cottages and Houses. MILTON, N.H. Large shore front camp, flush toilet, running water; $38 wk.; open July 30 on. LY 5-6927 (Boston Globe, July 17, 1949).
Bill Boivin (formerly of Rochester, NH) had eight new Little America cottages for rent on Route 16. (These cottages appeared still on Milton tax rolls of the late 1970s (and possibly beyond)).
Summer Cottages and Houses. VACATION AT N.H. LITTLE America cottages by the lake at Milton, N.H., Route 16, 8 new cottages, 3 and 4 rooms. screened porches, boats. bathing and fishing. $35.00 and $43.00 weekly. For reservation write BILL BOIVIN, Box 138, Milton, N.H. (Boston Globe, July 31, 1949).
William P. Boivin, a garage salesman, aged forty-six years (b. NH), headed a Rochester, NH, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Louise Boivin, a shoe shop packer, aged thirty-two years (b. NH). William P. Boivin owned their house at 30 Hancock Street, which was valued at $1,800.
Assuming it is extant, it should not be too hard to identify a 1790 Cape Cod-style house on the main [White Mountain] highway.
REAL ESTATE. NEW HAMPSHIRE. PARTLY furnished 1790 Cape Cod, 7 rooms, bath, lav., oil heat, 2 long living rooms, on main highway; also small guest house in rear on river connecting with large lakes: excellent location for year-round antique shop, guest house, etc. C.T. BALCOM, Realtor; MElrose (Mass.) 4-2140, or Route 16, Milton, N.H. SSu (Boston Globe, August 7, 1949).
Note the ease with which establishing a year-round antique shop or summer hotel is proposed.
Robert P. Laskey of Milton Mills had a miraculous escape from death when his convertible rolled over on the Farmington-Middleton highway. (Said highway sounding like the modern NH Route 153).
MILTON MILLS MAN UNINJURED IN AUTO ACCIDENT SUNDAY NIGHT.Robert Laskey of Milton Mills escaped injury in an auto accident which occurred last Sunday evening on the Farmington-Middleton highway near the home of Alden Emery. Mr. Laskey was driving his convertible towards Farmington and failed to make a curve in the highway. The vehicle turned completely over and was badly demolished, however, Mr. Laskey was extricated from the wreck and taken to the office of a local physician, where he was found to be uninjured, but suffered shock as a result of a severe shaking up. Chief of Police Elmer F. Clough investigated the accident (Farmington News, December 9, 1939).
Twenty-eight-year-old Robert P. Laskey rolled over in a convertible automobile with no roll-bar and no seatbelts. He was a very lucky man. Well, he was unlucky in having the accident in the first place, but lucky in everything else.
Alden C. Emery, whose house was near the scene of the accident, resided at Charles Street North in Farmington, NH, close to its intersection with the West Milton Road.
Seth F. Dawson appeared in the Lawrence directory of 1873, as proprietor of Seth F. Dawson & Co., provisions, on Garden street, at its corner with Newbury street. His house was at 22 Spring street. His widowed mother, Hannah Dawson, as well as his brothers, Henry Dawson, who was a clerk at Seth F. Dawson’s, and William H. Dawson, who was a clerk, all resided at 22 Spring street. Seth F. Dawson appeared also as Recording Steward, and Treasurer of Stewards, of the Garden Street Methodist Episcopal Church.
He and his son, Leroy T. Brierley, appeared in the Milton directories of 1900, and 1902, as keeping a general store at 41 Main street in Milton Mills, with a residence at A.S., M.M., i.e., Acton, ME, side, Milton Mills. [Springvale Road].
David H. Buffum was born in North Berwick, ME, November 10, 1820, son of Timothy and Anna (Austin) Buffum.
LYNN MAN, IN AMBULANCE CORPS, GIVEN WAR CROSS. LYNN, March 28. – For bravery shown in the removal of wounded in the Verdun section during December and January, Louis E. Timson of Lynn, an American ambulance driver, was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. Yesterday’s news dispatches from Paris mentioned his name among several other American ambulance men as recipients of the war cross. Whether yesterday’s news story is a belated official announcement of the awarding of the Croix de Guerre in January or whether it means that another decoration has been conferred upon him is not known to members of his family, who live at 7A Shore drive. He is 27 years old, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles O. Timson, and is engaged with his brother, George Timson, in the manufacture of shoes in Boston. Last June he volunteered for service with the American Ambulance Corps in France and was assigned to Section 13, which was turned over to the French Army located in the Verdun sector. Timson has had many narrow escapes from death from shells, but has escaped injury. When his six months volunteer service was completed he was the first member of Section 13 to enlist in the United States Army (Boston Globe, March 29, 1918).
Philip Burlingame, a public school instructor, aged thirty-seven years (b. MA), headed a Berlin, NH, household at the time of the Fifteenth (1930) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Thelma Burlingame, aged thirty-one years (b. MA), and his daughter, Barbara Burlingame, aged nine years (b. MA). They shared a rented two-family dwelling with the household of their landlord, Dubey Telesphore, an industrial agent, aged forty-four years (b. NH). They paid $35 per month in rent. Both households had radio sets. Their dwelling was on Willard Street.
Austin L. Howard Dies Age 54; Taught at UVM. Austin Lucious Howard, former Burlington resident and electrical engineer at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., died there Thursday at the age of 54. Mr. Howard and two associates installed the first hydrogen bomb ever tested in an airplane, relatives said. More recently, he was with the Vanguard and other missile projects as a technical research engineer. Mr. Howard was former instructor in electrical engineering at the University of Vermont, later headmaster of schools in Milton and Alton, N.H. In 1945, he transferred to Washington. He was active in many Burlington musical organizations, conducting his own orchestra. He also was a member of the Burlington Military Band and had previously been its manager. He also belonged to Burlington Lodge, F&AM. Mr. Howard was educated in the schools of Essex Junction and Burlington and was graduated from the University of Vermont in 1931. He was born in Essex Junction July 18, 1906, son of C. Ernest and Ethel (Barnes) Howard. He made his home in Brandywine, Md., and was a member of the Methodist Church of Horsehead, Md. Besides his wife, Marjorie Henderson Howard, he leaves his mother, Mrs. Ethel Smith of 28 Clarke St., Burlington; his father of Tampa, Fla.; a sister, Mrs. George Eiss of Watertown, N.Y.; an aunt, Bertha Barnes of Burlington; two uncles, Chester L. Barnes of Essex Junction and Floyd W. Barnes of Montpelier; three nieces, a nephew and several cousins. The funeral will be held Tuesday at 2 at the Corbin and Palmer Funeral Home, 71 S. Union St., the Rev. Charles Washburn of the Church of the Nazarene officiating, assisted by the Rev. Edward Foster of the Free Methodist Church. Calling hours at the funeral home Monday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 (Burlington Free Press, January 23, 1961).
Miss Edith J. Hodgdon, proprietor of The Little House (hotel) and Pantry in Northfield, VT, recruited her niece, Joyce Hodgdon of Milton Mills for some summer assistance. She had opened the hotel in 1940, changed its location in or around 1948 and, more recently, there had been a kitchen fire there in May 1951 (Burlington Free Press, May 21, 1951).
CARD OF THANKS. I am deeply grateful for the cards, flowers, and many kindnesses and expressions of sympathy in my recent great misfortune. Mrs. Irma Drew (Farmington News, August 17, 1951).
Milton Observer 