lucy ann holbrook torrey (part 3 of 4)

Lucy's illness

Lucy's life takes a turn for the worse by the time of the 1870 census, at age 44, when she is listed as insane. The only clue I have to her insanity is from the 1880 Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes. (note 1)

From lucy holbrook blog post

This census lists Lucy as being in the following asylums; Taunton, South Boston and Worcester. By 1880 she had spent 12 years of her life in asylums according to this census, and was last discharged in 1879. There is also a checkmark in the column of homicidal. It sounds as if Lucy had some serious mental health issues, and probably did not have the best of life living in asylums during this time period. I would very much like to obtain her health records, and have read online that some people have had success getting records from the Worcester Hospital.

I do not know how long Lucy stayed at home after her 1879 discharge, but by the 1900 census, her husband had died and she is a patient at the Worcester Insane Asylum again. She is also a resident of this asylum in the 1910 Census.

There are some probate records for Lucy listed in the Norfolk County, MA Probate Index on ancestry.com during this time of illness.  I ordered these documents some time ago, hoping to find some more information on Lucy's medical condition. The documents did not provide any detail in this respect, but did show when Lucy was declared insane along with some guardian information and land ownership information.  The following is a breakdown of her probate records:

• May 12 1869 : Lucy is declared insane and her husband, Nathaniel R. Torrey, is declared her guardian of person and estate
• May 12 1869 : Nathaniel possesses "certain real estate...in which his said wife is entitled to a jurisdiction right of dower and homestead and that he is desirous of selling from time to time...he prays that he may be authorized to release all said jurisdition rights of dower and homestead of his said wife that he may sell or mortgage within the next 5 years." (includes a "schedule A" which documents location of land (note 2 and map below).  The court grants Nathaniel's request to release authorization to him.
• Oct 6 1874 : Nathaniel petitions the probate court and is granted that he be authoized to sell to Alveh Raymond... "real estate with a dwelling house and / Barn thereon, situated in said Weymouth, / On the corner of Park Avenue and Pleasant / Street, and occupied by Alveh Raymond Jr" (highlighted on map below)
• September 13 1882  case number 18598 Nathaniel petitions the probate court and is granted that he be authroized to sell to J. Shores...  "John F Shores of / Said Weymouth holds against him a / Bond for a deed of about five eights of / An area of land situated on Union / Street in said Weymouth with a small / Dwelling house and barn thereon" (J Shores lives next to Nathaniel and Lucy Torrey on the 1876 weymouth map above)
• March 1898 case number 33415  new gaurdianship, as Nathaniel R. Torrey is deceased.  Gaurdianship granted to Nathaniel A. Torrey and George W. Torrey, sons.
• August 1899 Nathaniel A Torrey petitions court to sell land of his deceased father..."
  That an advantageous offer has been made to your petitioner for said estate to wit, the sum of / Six hundreddollars over and above an existing mortgage of sixteen hundred dollars,
  That theinterest of all parties concerned will be best promoted by an acceptance of said offer, and / That it will be for the benefit of said ward that her interest therein be sold, and the proceeds / Thereof putout on interest or invested in some productive stock, for the reason that she is / Now without other means of support at the insane asylum."

Lucy probably resided at the Worcester Insane Asylum until her death in 1912, as her death record is from Worcester. The cause of death is listed as dementia praecox, with a contributory cause of broncho-pneumonia.  While she was in Worcester, three of her children passed away.  George Wilbur Torrey died of pneumonia in 1901, Lucy Jenny Torrey died at the Westborough Insane Asylum in 1903 of tuburculosis, nepritis, and pneumonia, and Nathaniel Austin Torrey died of heart disease in 1909. 

Lucy's death record states that Lucy was buried in South Weymouth.  Her two remaining children, Lydia and Henry (my 2nd great grandfather) must have been responsible for making sure she was brought back home and buried with her husband at Elmwood Cemetery on Union Street in South Weymouth. 

From lucy holbrook blog post

websites of interest:
1. Worcester insane asylum pictures from 1948 Life Magazine article on Opacity website.
2. Wikipedia article on Worcester Insane Asylum

notes:
1.  U.S. Federal Census - 1880 Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes : National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Nonpopulation Census Schedules for Massachusetts, 1850-1880: Supplemental Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes; Year: 1880; Roll: 35; Publication Number: T1204. ancestry.com

2.  Schedule A of Lucy's probate describes land that Nathaniel wants authorization over, but Lucy has rights to according to dower and homestead.  " One undivided fifth part of all the real estate which I inherited from my father Josiah Torrey late of Weymouth deceased intestate..."

• "being about seven acres of land with the buildings thereon and bounded as follows mainly / Northerly by land of Alvah Raymond and Park Avenue / Easterly by land of Alvah Raymond and Pleasant Street / Southerly by land of Elijah Bates, westerly by land / of George Holbrook and widow Noah Torrey" (highlighted on old Weymouth map of 1876 below - after Nathaniel sells to Alveh Raymond, looks like Jospeh Emmons Torrey, Nathaniel's cousin, is living next to this property)
• "Also 1 piece of land continuing one and half / acres bounded as follows / Northerly by Prescott Torrey and Land of R. S. White / Easterly by land of Jacon Holbrook / Southerly by Park Avenue / Westerly by Pleasant Street" (highlighted on weymouth map below : near ps torrey)
• "Also / 1 piece wood bottom containing about 7 acres / in south Weymouth on what is called mosquito plan"
• "Also / eight aces wood bottom on pine hill in Hingham / bounded as follows northely by land of heirs of David Whitman / Easterly by land of Daniel Holbrook / Southerly by land of Abner Curtis / Westerly by land of Jason Holbrook" (I have not been able to find this land on the 1879 Hingham map - Pine Hill is the southern most hill of World's End in Hingham - but none of the above names are on the Hingham map in that area)
• "Also / 1 pew in the congregational Church / South Weymouth"

some of Nathaniel Torrey's land in Weymouth as noted in Schedule A of Lucy's Probate records

From lucy holbrook blog post

to do:
1. Obtain Lucy's medical records. (Shirley Burchfield posted on an online forum about obtaining records from the Worcester Insane Asylum : "[you need to be]appointed a "volunary executor" for medical records only. This entailed driving to the City Hall, getting the death certificate, walking next door to the courthouse and filling out the paperwork, handing over $120 and within minutes, I was appointed her voluntary executor. I then just needed to mail a copy of the death certificate, together with the court order to Worcester State Hospital and within 6 weeks I had most of her records. ") Sounds promising!  I have already ordered a certified copy of Lucy's death certificate online through Worcester Vital Records department.

lucy ann holbrook torrey (part 2 of 4)

family life

Lucy Ann Holbrook married Nathaniel Rodney Torrey when she was 18 years old in Weymouth, MA on November 23, 1845. The 1850 census shows that the newly married couple may have stayed in the same house that Lucy grew up in, as they are listed in the same household as her mother Hannah Holbrook, age 63. (note 1)

From lucy holbrook blog post

By this date, Lucy and Nathaniel had already suffered the loss of their first child, Nathaniel, at the age of 1 year and three months from dysentery. (note 2)  Having her mother with them probably provided Lucy with some support during this difficult time.

Lucy and Nathaniel had six more children after the loss of their first child. I have found some confusing information on two of their daughters, Mary and Lydia.  The different records show they were born in the same year, only three months apart.(note 3)  The 1860 census lists Lydia, but not Mary.  Lucy's mother Hannah is also not listed on the 1860 census, as she died in 1852.  In 1870, Lucy is 43 years old and is living with her husband Nathaniel and all of her children, except Mary who again is not listed.  The oldest, Nathaniel, is 19 years old, and the youngest, Henry, is 10.  Considering the time period, Lucy stopped having children at a fairly young age of 33.   

Ancestry.com has two helpful databases which show where Nathaniel and Lucy's house may have been located. The Massachusetts City Directories and the Historic Land Ownership map database. The 1873 directory for Weymouth shows Nathaniel living on Union Street in South Weymouth, near the Abington Line. I do think this is the house that Lucy grew up in, as her mother's death record states that Hannah was born and died on Union Street. The map for Weymouth lists the landowners in 1876. Nathaniel is marked as R Torrey for Rodney Torrey, on Union Street, very close to the Abington line, as the directory also stated.

I experimented with Google Earth a little, using the historical Weymouth map as an overlay to find the location of Nathaniel Rodney Torrey and Lucy's house on Union Street.  I did not want to embed the kmz file onto this page, as I thought it would slow down the loading of the webpage.  If you would like to see the overlay on Google Earth, just click on this file to open it.  The Google Earth program must be on your computer first.

The Weymouth map from 1876 shows that Nathaniel and Lucy lived in an area which later became the Weymouth Naval Air Station.  It is still labeled as such on the google map below, but the Air Station has since closed.  The marker I have placed is the approximate location of Nathaniel and Lucy's house, using the map as an overlay to pinpoint the location.  The old Weymouth map shows Union Street branching off a little bit to the southwest, where the blue marker is.  This part of the road no longer exists, probably removed with the houses when the Air Station was built.

Google Map with approximate location of Nathaniel and Lucy Torrey's house 1876

View Nathaniel Torrey and Lucy Ann Holbrook Torrey in a larger map

The 1876 weymouth map also shows that Lucy lived on the same street as some of her relatives, mostly on her father, James Holbrook, side.  Her cousin Ann Payne (Aunt Lydia Holbrook's daughter), who married Jeremiah Stoddard, lives across the street from Lucy and Nathaniel.  Also, a little up the street I believe is Lucy's sister Hannah who married Alanson Cushing.  On the 1870 and 1880 census Hannah and Alanson are enumerated near Lucy's family, so perhaps the L Cushing is Alanson Cushing.  A little further up Union Street is Lucy's nephew, George A Holbrook, one of the boys that was probably living with Lucy and her mother in the 1840 census.  A couple of houses up the street from George, is Lucy's cousin Minot Holbrook (son of her Uncle Minot Holbrook).  Just across the street from Minot is Lucy's Uncle Jeremiah Holbrook and Uncle William Holbrook.  (note 4)  Judging by all the Holbrook's on Union Street, it seems that Lucy and Nathaniel are living on land from Lucy's father, James Holbrook; who probably had land from his father Abner.  Most of the relatives on Union Street are cousins who probably all inhereted land from their parents; which probably came from their grandfather Abner Holbrook also.  Even though Lucy's siblings are not living on Union Street; with the exception of Hannah, most of them did stay in Weymouth.  One sister, Belinda, did move to Norwell (South Scituate) and one brother, Cornelius, looks to have moved to California for the gold rush.     

1876 Weymouth Map

From lucy holbrook blog post

There is a lot of information on this map, including a school right up the street on Union Street, close to Minot's house. There is still a school located in this general area today, not the same building of course, but interesting that the location stayed the same. If Lucy grew up in this area, I am sure this is the school she would have attended.

The History of Weymouth book on ancestry.com also states that Lucy's father, James, lived at 573 Union Street, across from the Elmwood Cemetery; which describes where the marker is on the google map above.  I did search zillow.com for this address, but the number of the house does not seem to  be present on Union Street; which offers some proof that the house no longer exists and probably was removed when the Naval Air Base was built.  The Weymouth book also states that James' brother Abner lived next door, and that house was probably built by their father, Lucy's grandfather, Abner Holbrook (2_933).  The 1876 Weymouth map above shows a J. Shores living next to Nathaniel and Lucy, which probably was bought from a Holbrook at some point. (Note 5)  I also noted earlier that Lucy's mother Hannah's death record stated that Hannah Bates Holbrook was born and died on Union Street, so the Bates must have also had land in this area.

My next post will focus on Lucy's older years and some of the breakdown of Nathaniel Torrey's land and where his family probably resided.


continued...

notes:

1. US Federal Census : Year: 1850; Census Place: Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: M432_329; Page: 230B; Image: 461. ancestry.com

2. U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.  National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Archive Collection: T1204; Archive Roll Number: 9; Census Year: 1850; Census Location: Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Page: 861; Line: 4. ancestry.com

3. I did not find a birth record for Lydia in the Massachusetts Birth Records on familysearch.com, but Lydia's marriage record states parents as Lucy and Nathaniel Rodney and the 1900 census shows oct 1857 as her birth. However; there is a birth record for Mary G for Jul 1857, but no census records for her. Did she die before 1860? I could not find a death record in the Massachusetts database. Maybe they changed Mary's name to Lydia, but this would be odd. Lydia is in 1860 census with family.  Maybe Lydia's birth year is wrong on the 1900 census. 

4.  The 1870 census has jeremiah stoddards family enumerated a couple of families above lucy's, and the weymouth map lists a j. stoddard across the street.  The rest of the Holbrooks are enumerated on adjacent pages, and listed a little further up the street on Union Street on the Weymouth map.

5. Some quick research using the weymouth vital records and census databases show that the only direct adult ancestor of Lucy's Uncle Abner (James' brother) living in 1876 is Abner's grandson Joseph W. Holbrook. I located him on the 1876 Weymouth map as living in the Lovell's Corner part of Weymouth. Joseph's father Abner married a Lovell, so perhaps he sold his land next to James to live on his wife's land after he married.

lucy ann holbrook torrey (part 1 of 4)

childhood

Lucy Ann Holbrook was born May 15, 1827 in Weymouth, MA to James Holbrook and Hannah Bates. She was the youngest of 11 children. When Lucy was born, her mother was about 40 years old, and her dad 48.

When Lucy was 3 in 1830, her household from the census probably consisted of the following family members. (note 1)

From lucy holbrook blog post

2 males 5-10 (brothers Jeremiah and Cornelius)
2 males 10-15 (brothers James and William)
1 male 40-50 (father James)
1 female under 5 (Lucy)
1 female 5-10 (sister Lindsay)
1 female 10-15 (sister Hannah)
1 female 40-50 (mother Hannah)

Her two oldest brothers, Oran and Minot, had already married and moved out.  Also, an older brother and sister, Edmund and Louisa, had died in 1827; when Lucy was only months old. They probably died of an illness, which would have been frightening for Lucy's mother to worry about her newborn also becoming sick.

In 1840, when Lucy was only 13, she experienced the loss of her father, James. The 1840 census shows Lucy's mother, Hannah, as head of household; living with what seems to be a younger family. (note 2)

From lucy holbrook blog post

2 males under 5 (nephews Charles and George)
1 male 10 thru 14 (nephew Oran)
1 male 15 thru 19 (brother Cornelius or Jeremiah - both not married yet)
1 male 30 thru 39 (brother Oran (died in 1840))
2 females 10 thru 14 (Lucy, sister Lindsay)
1 female 30 thru 39 (sister-in-law Lydia (Oran's widow))
1 female 40 thru 49 (Hannah - although probably around 53 years old?)

This younger family living with Lucy and her mother most likely is Lucy's brother Oran's family. Oran may have been sick as he also died in 1840, leaving a wife and 3 children. Maybe the family moved in with Hannah for support. Lucy probably helped take care of her nephews, although the oldest, Oran, was actually a couple of years older than she.

continued...

notes:

1. 1830 US Federal Census : 1830 US Census; Census Place: Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Page: 179; NARA Series: M19; Roll Number: 60; Family History Film: 0337918. accessed on ancestry.com

2. 1840 US Federal Census : Year: 1840; Census Place: Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: 192; Page: 287; Image: 586; Family History Library Film: 0014679. accessed on ancestry.com

children of william holbrook and elizabeth pool (part 2 of 2)

According to the History of Weymouth  book on ancestry.com (3_273), the following are the children of William Holbrook and his first wife, Margaret Torrey :

children born at weymouth by first wife:

• william b. 20 Oct. 1734; d. 21 July, 1736
• Samuel b. 2 Dec. 1735

The same book lists the following as the children of William Holbrook and his second wife, Elizabeth Pool, all born at Weymouth:

• William b. 16 Mar. 1739; d. at Lake George, 10 Sept. 1756, about 19 yrs.  A soldier under General Winslow
• Abner b. 9 Mar. 1741
• Cornelius d. 14 Dec. 1742
• Nathaniel b. 7 Mar 1744
• Margaret b. 16 Feb. and d. 30 June 1747
• Adam b. 4 Aug. 1750, d. 13 or 19 Sept. 1832 ae 82 yrs.  He was non compos and never married
• Margaret b. 18 Apr 1754, d. unm 17 jan 1816, ae 62 or 65 yrs
• Mary, m. ____ Hunt of Cummington
• William, bp. 5 Mar. 1758; resided in East Abington

As mentioned in my last post, not all of these births are recorded in the Weymouth Vital Records;  Cornelius and Mary are both not found in the above Record Book.  Looking quickly, it may be that Cornelius was not a son of William and Elizabeth, but actually William's father Cornelius, who died in 1742.  I will have to look closer at these dates and records.

Looking at William and Elizabeth's family with the information from the Weymouth book, they had at least 8 children, 7 of which survived to adulthood.  Also, most likely in their household was Samuel, from William's first marriage. 

The Weymouth book also states that William and Elizabeth resided in South Weymouth.  The first federal census of 1790 shows the following Holbrook families living in Weymouth, MA : Ab, Jon, Elisha, Nathan, Silvanus, and widow Holbrook.  It looks like at least Abner and Nathaniel stayed in Weymouth.  I will have to do a little more research to find Adam, Margaret, Mary and William.  Perhaps some of them are living together and are not listed indivually in the census.  It is likely that William and Elizabeth had died before this census was taken, William would have been 81 and Elizabeth about 75 years old in 1790.  The Weymouth Vital Records book does not have an obvious match for the death of Elizabeth or William; but according to the History of Weymouth book, William made his will in 1767, and it was distributed 20 years later in 1787 (3_273). 

The book also has a couple of paragraphs of the location of the house of William's grandson, James Holbrook, on Union Street (2_933).  I have been to this area of South Weymouth to locate the gravestones of James and his wife Hannah Holbrook. Perhaps this land was handed down to James through his grandfather William.  The earliest map I have found from Weymouth, MA (Historic Land Ownership database on ancestry.com) is from the late 1800's, so I am not able to see where William owned property.  I will have to check the suffolk deeds to see where exactly he lived.  I also was not able to find where Elizabeth and William were buried.  Maybe they were also buried at the Elmwood Cemetery on Union Street, like their grandson James, if their house was located in this area.

To do:
1.  Locate probate in Suffolk index and order probate. at NEHGS
2.  Locate any deeds of William in suffolk deed books. at NEHGS
3.  Trace children of William and Elizabeth to see which towns they settled in.

books:
1.  Representative men and old families of southeastern Massachusetts ... on google books

william holbrook and elizabeth poole (part 1 of 2)

William Holbrook and Elizabeth Poole,  6th great-grandparents of mine, recorded their intent to marry in Weymouth, MA. The entry is noted in the book,

Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850: Marriages and deaths

for May 11, 1738. The annotation next to their marriage of CR2 stands for the church record of the First Church of Christ, South Precinct.

 

According to the History of Weymouth book, this was William's second marriage, and Elizabeth's first. (3_273) Most of the information I have on this couple is from this book, which I was able to access on ancestry.com.  The weymouth book lists 9 children of William and Elizabeth, although I was only able to find 4 (including my 5th great grandfather Abner) in the Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850: Births. Perhaps the other children are listed in church records from the town. I had looked into locating church records from their church while researching another ancestor, Hannah Canterbury White, and found that the NEHGS library holds,

The book of records of the Second Church of Christ in Weymouth, Massachusetts : baptisms and marriages/ by John J. Loud. F74.W77 W76 1900.

I am not sure if this is the same church, but definitely worth looking at. The book is only 36 pages, but the notes state the records extend from 1722 to 1818; which may include William and Elizabeth's marriage in 1738, and their children's birth dates.

Another source of information for William and Elizabeth's children could be William's will and probate records.  The History of Weymouth book states the following...

He made his will 23 Nov. 1764, and his estate was distributed to his heirs 6 July, 1784.

Weymouth was still a part of Suffolk County at this time (until 1793), so I will need to locate William's probate from the following source:

Probate: George, Elijah, "Index Probate Records, Suffolk Co., MA 1636-1893" Boston, MA: 1895 3 Vol.'s

(to be continued...)

james fitchie ferguson and grace stewart cox

My great great grandparents, James Fitchie Ferguson and Grace Stewart Cox, were married on May 2, 1895 in Dundee, Scotland. The Statutory Registers of Marriages on scotlandspeople has an address of their marriage at Park Place, Clepington Road, Dundee by Robert Sharp Warren, minister of Saint David's. I searched for a St. David's in Dundee, and found the following possible church that their minister was from; although it is not located on Clepington Road.  The current name of the church is St. David's High Kirk, located in the center of Dundee, at the hill of Dundee Law.  It is part of the Church of Scotland, which complies with their marriage register.  I also searched on google for a minister of Robert Warren, but did not find additional information on him. I am not sure if this is the Church they attended, but it does seem this would be the church referred to in the register, even if they were not actually married in the building.

At the time of their marriage, Grace and James were both living at different addresses on Perth Road in Dundee. Grace grew up at the house she was living in, while James came to Dundee from Kettins sometime between 1881 and 1895 (in the county of Forfar at the time, now in county of Angus). Grace and James were married only a month before they had their first child, my great grandmother, Ann Hutchison Ferguson. Perhaps they were not married in the church because of this early pregnancy.



Before Marriage : Grace's residence at 40 Perth Road (A) and James' at 199 Perth Road (B)


View Larger Map

Very soon after they married, Grace and James moved to Glasgow, Scotland, about 75 miles from Dundee. They had all three of their children in Glasgow, between the years of 1895 - 1901. All three children were born in the same house at 6 Walker Street in Glasgow. I would assume this is the house Grace and James lived in at the time. I was able to find online an 1894 map of Glasgow, from the National Library of Scotland's map collection.  I aslo looked at the street view from Google maps and see that the street has changed a bit, with the addition of another street, Walker Ct.  I am guessing the house (or flat/apartment) they lived in probably does not exist anymore. 

1894 Map of Walker Street, Glasgow, Scotland : residence of James and Grace Ferguson 1895-1901

From Screen Captures

Current Google Map of Walker Street, Glasgow, Scotland

View James Ferguson Timeline 1867-1930 in a larger map

At some point in 1901, after the birth of their third child (James), Grace moved to Kettins with her three children while James stayed in Glasgow. Kettins was closer to the Dundee area where Grace had spent her childhood, a good 70 or so miles away from Glasgow, where James stayed. The 1901 census has them enumerated in these separate cities/towns. Maybe Grace needed more space or more help, as she moved in with her mother in law and brother in law at Lintrose House in Kettins. It seems James' brother Peter was a gardner for this estate. I found some information about the Lintrose House and cottages at ScotlandsPlaces. There are also photographs of the house and the family that lived there at the Search Room of The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Histoical Monuments of Scotland. You can actually order these online from their website, or visit them in person to view the photos.  (note 1)

I am not sure how long Grace and James lived apart, but by 1911 they are together again in Glenfinart in Kilman, Scotland, county of Argyll.  This was a big move for James from the city of Glasgow to what looks to be a more rural part of Scotland, in Kilman. Glenfinart was a name of a house, but I am not sure if it was also considered an area of Kilman.  There is also some photographs and information about the Glenfinart house at ScotlandsPlaces.  James' occupation is listed as coachman and chauffer in many sources, perhaps he was a chauffer to the family at Glenfinart.  (note 2)

map of Glasgow (East) and Glenfinart, Kilman (West)

View James Ferguson Timeline 1867-1930 in a larger map

Not much time after James and Grace moved to Kilman, World War I began. The UK would pass the Military Service Act in 1916 requiring "single men 18 to 41 years old were liable to be called up for military service unless they were widowed with children or ministers of a religion", according to the article on wikipedia. In 1916, James was above the age limit for the draft at 49 years old. His son James was only 15 in 1916; by the end of the war in 1919 James would have been 18. He may have registered for the draft by the end, but I did not find him in the British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920, on ancestry.com. 

After the Great War, all three of James and Grace's children emigrated to America. First was their eldest daughter and my great grandmother, Ann, in 1920.  The story is that she was a nurse in WWI and that is how she met her husband, Alfred Labrecque. (I wrote a little about Alfred and his service here, but I still have not looked at all his service records I had ordered some time ago.)  I have searched various WWI databases from the UK, and I am unable to find records of Ann's service.  Her future husband, Alfred, enlisted from Canada, even though he was living in Massachusetts. After the war, Ann left Scotland for America, and stated Alfred as the friend she knew in the United States.  So she did at least meet Alfred during the war, while he was serving; but I still have no proof she was serving as a nurse.  I wonder if it is possible she was a nurse in a hospital that saw War patients, but was not actually enlisted.  I do believe the records for Alfred show he was injured at some point.  I will have to check into the records more closely.

A year after Ann came to America, James and Grace's second daughter, Margaret, also emigrated (both Ann and Margaret came in through Ellis Island).  Her passenger record also states she was a nurse, like her sister Ann.  I did not find much information on Margaret after 1932 when she is listed in the Weymouth, MA directory, so I am unsure if she married or where she died (my Dad believes she did not marry, and moved to NY).  Finally, James and Grace's youngest, James, emigrated to America in 1923. He also settled in Massachusetts like his oldest sister Ann. Grace and James probably felt the pressure to also emigrate when all of their children left Scotland. It was also probably a little easier to leave Scotland as both sets of parents had passed away by 1922. They followed their children to America, in 1923, the same year their son James emigrated. They settled in Weymouth, MA; the town I grew up in. James' occupation in the census is listed as chauffer, which is consistent with the occupations he had in Scotland as vanman and coachman. 

Since James and Grace and all their children emigrated, I was curious to see if any of their siblings also emigrated, or if they left some living cousins that have stayed in Scotland. I was not able to track all of James' siblings' down, but the ones I have found look to have stayed in Scotland and not emigrated. One of James' brother, Daniel, has a descendant in England that has contacted me for her mother-in-law, who is Daniel's daughter. She does remember visiting cousins in Scotland, so I am sure that this family has left some cousins still living in Scotland. Daniel had the most children of the siblings. Some of James' siblings, such as Jessie, Isabella, and perhaps Annie, look to never have married. Other siblings had either one or no children. I definitely could be missing some information as it is hard to track this time period online, as the last available census is 1911. Also the birth records are expensive to browse through on Scotlandspeople, having to pay credits for each one. (note 3)

Grace's family has been a little more difficult to trace with 11 siblings.  A couple of the younger sisters, Jessie and Susan, seem to have emigrated to the US.  I found some passenger records which seem to match these sisters.  An older sister may also have emigrated, Margaret Francis Cox Hanily.  I found a marriage record for her in Manhatten, NY in 1898 on familysearch.  She would have probably been the first to leave Scotland in Grace's family.  It would be great to find other cousins living in US, but I am not sure if any of these sisters had children. Grace's older sister, Betsy, seems to have had the most children that I have found; but she stayed in Scotland.  I was unable to find most of the death records for Grace's siblings, which would help me locate where they had spent at least the last part of their lives. 

I do not have an exact death date for Grace, although this should be easy enough to find.  I will have to visit the Registry of Vital Records in Dorchester, MA wich has an index to deaths in the state.  Thanks to the reference department at the Quincy Public Library again, I do have the death date for James.  According to his obituary from the Patriot Ledger, James died December 13, 1940.   

Both James and Grace are buried at Mt. Wollaston Cemetery in Quincy.  I am not sure why I did not clear the grass to read Grace's death date, but I do know that she was still living in 1941 when she is listed in the Weymouth, MA directory as a widow.

links :
There is an interesting Scottish Emigration website from the National Library of Scotland which has some stories related to emigration during this time period.

to do
1. browse through the census to see if other families were listed at Lintrose
2. order photos of Lintrose House and Glenfinart house online from their website, or visit them in person to view the photos
3. look through Alfred's Canadian service records - hospital mentioned where he could have met Ann?
4. find out more information on siblings of grace and james - contact cousin again to see if any photos, etc.
5. search Genes Reunited - they have the British Newspaper Archive - for search terms, Glenfinart and Lintrose to see what comes up. Maybe more information about families that lived there. Grace and James spent spent most of their life in count of Argyll - which do not have a newspaper represented, but may be able to find something. I did a brief search and found some info on cox family possibly as they lived in angus- saved images as screenshots to picasa. might have some info on james brother peter ferguson as he lived in angus county.
6. look into magazine - discover scotland - any info on dundee? or kettins?
7. find death date for Grace - have to visit statistics office in dorchester to find death date.

notes :

1. James may have also been in Lintrose house as a child, as his father Peter was also a gardner. The prior census for James' father do not list Lintrose, but Campmuir. Maybe the census was not as specific in the earlier years, I will have to browse through the census to see if other families were listed at Lintrose (which would imply James and father were not at Lintrose).  I did also find a connection between James' brother Peter and Lintrose - Peter married a Murray - and a Murray family owned this estate.  So perhaps this is why Peter was living here - not because his father had been there before. 

2. photo lists a murray under glenfinart - and a murray family is from lintrose - some documents on murray family of lintrose on national archives. or national register of archives but did not find a connection of any murrays at glenfinart.

3. James Siblings:

• Margaret, oldest sister, is difficult to track down after the 1871 census. I have found bits and pieces of her life, such as having a daughter in 1896 in Kettins. Her daughter's birth record states she was married in London in 1893, but I have not been able to find her marriage record. I was also unable to find her and her husband in the 1901 and 1911 Census. I did find that Margaret died in 1913 in Dundee, Scotland; which had listed her occupation also as a nurse, a maternity nurse. I found her daughter Janet last at Kettins in the 1911 census, perhaps Janet has left us some living cousins in Scotland. 
• Peter, oldest brother, looks to have stayed in Scotland, living at Lintrose as the gardner. He married a Margaret Murray. As I mentioned above, Murray is a name that I have found linked to Lintrose house. I will have to do some more research on Margaret and her family to see if there is a connection. Peter and Margaret were not married until 1920, Peter was 37. The latest Census I am able to search is 1911, so I did not look much further yet to see if they had any children and left some descendants in Scotland.
• Alexander, brother, marries in 1898, but does not have children by 1911 census - did not find death record in Scotland or any immigration records to US.
• Jessie, sister, did not marry or have children and stayed in Scotland.
• Daniel, brother, has left the most ancestors in the family. died in 1960 at blairgowrie, county of perth. had 5 children according to kstyrell's tree on ancestry.com. I have spoken a little with Daniel's youngest daughter, Elizabeth's, daughter in law; who states that the family moved to England, but remembers visiting family in Scotland.
• Elizabeth, sister, had one son by the 1911 census. It also looks like they stayed in Scotland, with Elizabeth's death in Kilmacolm in the county of Renfrew. Husband James Cunningham may have left a will as found in the index on ancestry.com.
• Annie, sister, did not find much information. Not sure if she married or when she died.
• Isabella, sister, looks to be single still by 1944 when she is a witness for her sister's death. Did not find more information on her either.

everett linwood torrey and ethel french stoddard

When I first started this blog, I would write about my direct line ancestors on their anniversaries or birthdays. I quickly found out that I did not have the time to keep up with all the ancestors. I had to make a decision wether I would skip writing about people if I passed their date or simply write the person's name as the title and save the post as a draft to write about them later. I decided to do the latter, and I went forward a couple of months with ancestors to write about. I think it is at least a year later and I still have not gone through the second month of anniversaries and birthdays. I started with April 2010 and am now just in May 2010. The next date in line is the anniversary of my great grandparents, Everett Torrey and his wife Ethel French Stoddard.  Their story is a sad one, one that I really did not look forward to writing.

Everett and Ethel are my great-grandparents. I was not fortunate enough to meet them as they died before I was born. They lived during hard times, and their story reflects the difficulties of their lives.

From Pictures

They were married in Hanover, MA by Melvin S. Nash, clergyman, on May 1, 1906.   Everett was 21 years old and Ethel was only 18 years old. I am not sure how they met; my grandmother never spoke of her mother or father, and I did not have the interest to ask when she was alive. Even if my grandmother were still living, I am not sure I would even now have the courage to ask her about her parents, as I always felt there was this hush about them. My mother does speak sometimes of her grandmother Ethel, always praising how she was such a hard worker, that she managed a farm and her family mostly by herself.

At the time of their marriage, Ethel was living in Norwell, MA and Everett was living in the neighboring town of Rockland, MA.  As I mentioned above, I am not sure how Everett and Ethel met.  The only connection I have found is that both Ethel's father and Everett were shoe workers; which was very common during this time in MA.  Ethel's father most likely worked in Norwell or a neighboring town.  In 1902, four years before their marriage, Everett was living in Hanover, which is close to Norwell.  Perhaps Ethel's father and Everett worked together and that is how he met Ethel. 

I knew I had some additional information on Everett from family papers I have in my file that my mother gave me a while back.  Looking through these files, I found a piece of paper which looks like it came from, or was photocopied from, a small book.  It must have been from a book written for, or about, the Emerson Shoe Company. The Chaper title from the page I have is "Who's Who in the Factory", and on the top of the page is handwritten 1918. The subtitle of the chapter is "Everett L. Torrey, Dressing Department". The entire page is written about Everett. I wish I had a copy of the entire book or pamphlet, but I am happy to at least have this page about my great-grandfather. I did a quick search on google books for the book, but had no luck.  From this excerpt, I did learn that Everett, at the age of 14 (around 1898), worked for the J. E French Company in Rockland, MA.  If the handwritten date on the paper is correct, Everett worked at J E French until 1905, as the article states he left there 13 years ago to work for Emerson Shoe Company in Rockland, MA.  Maybe Arthur Stoddard, Ethel's father, was also working at J E French, as his mother-in-law was a French.  I will have to see if Lydia French was connected to J E French, which would make this scenerio more likely.   I did a quick search on who J E French may have been, but I did not find any additional information.  There does not seem to be a J E French In Lydia's immediate family tree.

From Pictures

About two years after their marriage, Ethel and Everett had a son, born March 9, 1908.  Unfortunately, they also experienced their first loss, as the child was born ill with kidney problems and died 6 days after he was born.  He remained unnamed, and is buried with Ethel and Everett as "baby boy".  The cause of death on his certificate from familysearch.org states he died of uremia.

Their next son, Kenneth, was born in June 1909.  He stayed in the Norwell and Weymouth area until his death in 1973.  I do not have a record of any children that he and his wife had, I will have to ask my mother to confirm. 

After Kenneth, another unnamed son was born; this time prematurely, in December of 1910.  The death record shows he died of atelectasis, collapse of a lung.  He died the day he was born, December 21, 1910; which would become a significant date for this family.  Three of Everett and Ethel's children died on December the 21st, including my grandmother.  Also, another close person to my grandmother, her husband's sister, (we called her Auntie), also died on December 21st.

Getting back to Ethel and Everett, they had their 4th son (second son that lived past infancy), Linwood (aka Ben).  Linwood also stayed close to home in Massachusetts throughout his life. The Social Security Death Index states he lived in Norwell, MA when he died in 1979.  I do not have any information on a spouse or possible children for Linwood. 

Some months after Ben was born Ethel experienced more grief in her life.  Her sister, Carrie, at the age of 23, committed suicide in November of 1913.  I am sure this was difficult for Ethel to deal with.  The newspaper article that I found on the matter explained Carrie was having some difficulty with her students in Brockton, MA, which led her to committ suicide.  A later article discounts this theory saying 300 students attended a memorial for Carrie.  The article states that Carrie committed suicide by gas inhalation.  According to the 1910 census, Carrie was living with her parents in Norwell on High Street.  I am not sure if Carrie was living there three years later at the time of her suicide. Ethel's other sister, Nellie, also lived on High Street with her husband and family.    At that time, Ethel and Everett were living close in Norwell on Main Street.

According to Everett's WWI draft registration card, by 1918, Ethel and Everett had moved to High Street in Norwell also.  The 1920 Census enumerates Ethel and Everett, Ethel's sister Nellie and family, and Ethel's parents all on High Street living next to each other.  Ethel and Everett had not had any more children up to this point after having Ben in 1913; perhaps she was trying to deal with the loss of her sister.  In 1921 however, they had their first daughter, Ruth.  Ruth is one of my grandmother's siblings that I do remember.  We would visit her and her husband in Duxbury near the beach when I was younger.  They had two children, but they were older by the time I remember Ruth and John, and I did not know their children.  Ruth died from a car accident with her husband on that ominous day of December 21, 1994. 

From Pictures

Ethel with her son Ben (Linwood) and daughter Ruth

Ethel and Everett had a 5th son, Russell, who also stayed close to home.  His obituary of 2006 states he was from Norwell, MA.  Russell was married, and had at least three children who stayed close to the Norwell area, according to his obituary.

Their next and final son, Arthur, was born in 1926.  He was the only child that moved out of Massachusetts to New Hampshire.  He was married and had at least one child, who I have spoken to through email.  She had bought and was living in Ethel's house on High Street until 2001.  The Social Security Death Index has her father Arthur Torrey's death in Nashua, NH.  He died on December 23, 1995, only a couple of days after the infamous December 21st date!

The last child Ethel and Everett had was my grandmother, Helen, in 1929.  Ethel was 41 years old, Everett was 45 when they had her.  Soon after my grandmother was born, her father Everett moved to Millford, MA. Perhaps one of the reasons that my grandmother never talked about her father was that she really did not know him. The census records show that he was living in Millford as a boarder working in a shoe factory in 1930. Ethel and all her children were still living in Norwell at this time with her father, Arthur on High Street. My grandmother was only 1 year old at this time. It was obviously a tough time during this period with the stock market crash and the depression, so Everett probably went looking for work wherever he could find it.

I am not sure if Everett came back to visit and support his family, but I am sure it was a very difficult time for Ethel and her children.  I have been told that she eventually had to sell off most of her family farm in Norwell to support herself.  I will want to check the deed records to see whose land it originally was before Ethel was there and if she did sell some of it off.  My mother remembers visiting her grandmother Ethel, along with some unmarried older women who lived next door.  My mother believes these women were Ethel's sisters.  As mentioned above, her sister Carrie had died in 1913.  One of the women could have been Nellie, although she was married with at least 7 children.  At the time my mother would have visited though, her husband could have passed and her children moved away; therefore, my mother may have assumed she was an umarried woman.  The women could also have been some of Nellie's daughters, so they would have been my grandmother Helen's cousins.    About 20 years before my mother was born, the 1930 census shows that Nellie and her husband were living next door to Ethel and their farther Arthur.  I do not recognize the other names neighboring them. 

From Pictures

Ethel? at the Farm and House on High Street, Norwell,MA

It was fortunate that Ethel's father and sister were so close, as she would soon need their support when her husband, Everett, committs suicide in 1938.  I found some conflicting information about the location of Everett's death.  The death certificate states he hung himself near his home on High Street in Norwell, but the body was not found for about 4 months.  Another newspaper article states his body was found under a tree in  Saylesville, RI.  I cannot find a connection of him to that area of Rhode Island.  If he was still living in Milford, MA at this time, Saylesvill, RI is about 25 miles from there.  Everett did have a sister and a brother living in Rhode Island in 1930, but about 18 miles away in Warwick, RI.  I am not sure how to proceed to find the most accurate information on Everett's death.

From Pictures

Ethel's 75th birthday with children, Helen, Russel, Ben (Linwood), Ruth, and Arthur

Ethel lived for another 26 years after her husband Everett died. She stayed on High Street in Norwell, MA until her death in 1964. Ethel was buried with her husband at the Washington Street Cemetery, along with three of her sons.

From Pictures

To do list:

1. Find deeds to farm on high street in Norwell to see how land changed hands. Who bought the land first.
2. Find more about Everett's death location.
3. Fix picture of Ethel's 75th birthday
4. Find more living cousins - nellies children and grandchildren.