Military Monday: 2nd Lieutenant Roy Edwards of the Rifle Brigade, 10th Battalion

After writing a post the other week about Sydney Henry Payne’s service in World War I, I found myself wondering what happened to Syd’s commander, 2nd Lt. Roy Edwards [no relation to Syd's brother in law, William James Stephen Edwards, the husband of Syd's sister Ida Edith (Payne) Edwards, who also served in WWI].

You may recall that he sent Syd’s mother, Edith Jane (Scarrott) Payne Burns Hart the following letter, assuring her of Syd’s safety:

“Oct. 26 1917.  Dear Mrs. Payne, No doubt your son has told you he is servant to me in France and as I have just arrived home on leave I thought you might like to hear from me that he is quite well and as we are in a quiet part of the line he is quite safe for many a day to come. As an officer’s servant he has quite a good time as I think he will admit & I feel sure it will be a consolation for you to know that servant’s seldom if ever do any of the dangerous jobs. Yours truly, Roy Edwards, 2^nd Lt. R.B. PS Your son asked me to tell you that I am getting his watch mended & will take it back with me.”

First page of letter written by Roy Edwards to Edith Hart, 1917

Second page of letter written by Roy Edwards to Edith Hart, 1917

The tragedy of that letter, of course, was that one month later the 10th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade would be called to participate in the Battle of Cambrai. Sydney Payne was injured in the Battle of Cambrai on 20 November 1917 and died of his wounds on 21 November 1917.

It seems that Lt. Edwards returned to the front in time to give Syd back his newly-repaired watch.

2nd Lt. Roy Edwards is listed as a casualty who died 30 November 1917 on the Cambrai Memorial in Louveral, France, according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and The War Graves Photographic Commission, but unlike Sydney Payne, he does not have an individual gravestone. Investigating further, it seems that the reason for this was because his body was never found or identified. According to British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920, 2nd Lt. Roy Edwards of the 10th Battalion Rifle Brigade [service number NW/5/15883] was “wounded and missing” on 30 November 1917, with a note stating that Roy’s brother, L.H. Edwards, applied for a medal in his late brother’s honor on 29 October 1921, and that Roy’s next of kin was his mother, Mrs. Edwards of 30 Nevern Place, S.W. 5.

Probate of Roy Edwards of 21 Bush-lane Cannon-street, London, a lieutenant of the Rifle Brigade who “died on or since 30 November 1917 in France” was granted to his widow Louise Isabelle Edwards on 20 November 1919. His effects were valued at £1051 7s. 6d., according to the National Probate Calendar.

So Lt. Edwards survived his servant Sydney Payne a mere 10 days along the previously “quiet” and “safe” front in France, yet unlike Syd’s family who were immediately notified of his death, Lt. Edwards’ family waited two years before declaring Roy dead, since his body was not identified on the battlefield, presumably holding onto the slim hope that he would miraculously appear, perhaps having been taken prisoner rather than dead. But like so many of England’s families at the time, their son/husband/brother never came home.

Tombstone Tuesday: “Chief Seattle’s Grave” and Suquamish Cemetery, Suquamish, Wa.

Suquamish Cemetery and St. Peter’s Catholic Mission, Suquamish, Washington

We recently visited Suquamish Cemetery beside St. Peter’s Catholic Mission in Suquamish, Kitsap County, Washington on a cold and rainy day. The cemetery is well-known as the burial site of “Chief Seattle” [so-called by Midwestern settlers who founded the city of Seattle and named it in his honor in the 1850s, the title "Chief" was an American title, he was named si?al in Lushootseed]. It is also the burial site of numerous Catholic Suquamish tribe members and related families.

Chief Seattle, 1864. Photo by E.M. Sammis. Courtesy of University of Washington Libraries Special Collections #NA1511.

In the early 19th century, Catholic French Canadian trappers were working along the waters and forests of Puget Sound, and several took local Puget Salish or Lushootseed wives. In the 1830s, the Hudson Bay Company established the trading post Fort Nisqually on Puget Sound, and had enough Catholic workers within the company that in 1838, Catholic priests Francis Blanchet and Modeste Demers arrived to serve the Catholic community at Puget Sound. They also served as missionaries to the local Puget Salish tribes. In 1841, Lt. Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Navy remarked that a large white crucifix stood on the beach beside Ol’-Man-House of the Suquamish tribe (a 2,000 year old village site with a large cedar longhouse). Chief Seattle’s father belonged to the Suquamish tribe, and during the 1840s Chief Seattle began attending Masses held at the Ol’Man House and was baptized there, taking the name “Noah Sealth”. In 1861, a Catholic mission church was built above the Ol’Man House village. In 1870 (shortly after the death of Chief Seattle, who died in 1866), the U.S. government burned the Ol’Man House in an effort to have the Suquamish tribe take up farming and spread out into individual land plots rather than a centralized community. The efforts largely failed, as the tribe rebuilt the village and continued to reside at the Ol’Man House village. The federal government then condemned the Ol’Man House site in 1904 with the intentions of building a naval fortification which was never built, and at this time the mission church was destroyed.  Portions of the church, such as the Gothic windows, were salvaged and included in the new St. Peter’s, which was rebuilt next to the Suquamish Cemetery in 1904. The government sold the Old Man House property in 1937 to private development and much of it became vacations homes. In 1950, the Washington Parks department purchased an acre of waterfront property near the site of the Ol’Man House which was donated to the Suquamish tribe in 2004. Several dedication ceremonies and memorials have been held in honor of Chief Seattle which in part have resulted in a number of historic photographs of his grave as well as the cemetery over time. Here is a view of Chief Seattle’s grave and the overgrown cemetery, overlooking St. Peter’s and Puget Sound, taken by famed photograph Asahel Curtis in 1910:

Chief Seattle’s Grave in Suquamish Cemetery overlooking St. Peter’s Catholic Mission Church and Puget Sound beyond. Taken by Asahel Curtis, c. 1910. Courtesy of University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division.

Mary Kitsap’s grave, St. Peter’s Catholic cemetery, Suquamish. Taken by Asahel Curtis, c. 1911. Courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division.

Here is the cemetery in 1938:

Chief Seattle’s grave. Taken by Lawrence Denny Lindsley, 1938. Courtesy of University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division

The overgrown tree stumps and brush evident in the 1910 and 1938 photographs are nowhere to be seen today, as the cemetery has expanded as a burial location to the present day, and as various grants over the past century have been obtained to help with landscaping, pathway development, and plaques and sign installation. In 1939 the graveyard was restored by funding from the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Suquamish Commercial Club. Using burial records from St. Peter’s Church, the groups made and placed 503 cement grave markers. Over 400 names were carved into the markers, and unidentified graves were noted a stone marked with an X.

Our view of the cemetery was the same as Asahel Curtis’ in 1910:

View of Chief Seattle’s grave, overlooking St. Peter’s Catholic Mission Church and Puget Sound

View of Suquamish Cemetery overlooking Puget Sound

In 1890, a white marble gravestone was placed over Chief Seattle’s burial site by Seattle pioneers, including Arthur Denny, on which they inscribed the following: “”SEATTLE Chief of the Suqampsh and Allied Tribes, Died June 7, 1866. The Firm Friend of the Whites, and for Him the City of Seattle was Named by Its Founders” On the reverse is written: “Baptismal name, Noah Sealth, Age probably 80 years.” In the 1976, a Bicentennial grant funded the construction of cedar poles and two war canoes, carved by Jim and Ernest Chester of the Nitinat and George David of the Nootka, to place by Chief Seattle’s grave. As it deteriorated, recently two 12 foot cedar poles portraying the life of Chief Seattle, created by artist Andrea Wilbur-Sigo, replaced the canoe memorial.

Marker by the entrance to the cemetery recognizing the 2009 renovation of Chief Seattle’s gravesite.

Chief Seattle’s gravestone, flanked by two 12 foot cedar poles portraying the life story of Chief Seattle by artist  Andrea Wilbur-Sigo of the Squaxin Island Tribe.

Chief Seattle’s grave

Tributes left along the stone wall by Chief Seattle’s grave.

A plaque marked the recent burial site of “Our Ancestors from Old Man House Village, Returned to Rest In Peace, September 21, 2007, With Others from Our Ancient Village Sites”. The Burke Museum in Seattle for many years had held the remains of  almost a dozen historic Native Americans which had been discovered through construction activities near the site of the Old Man House Village during the past century. The museum had very little in the way of acquisition, provenance, or historical records pertaining to the remains. In 2007, following the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, the Burke Museum notified the Suquamish tribe and the remains were reburied on 21 September 2007.

Memorial plaque honoring the 11 human remains that had been discovered near the Old Man House Village and held for many years at the Burke Museum. Pursuant to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, the remains were reburied at Suquamish Cemetery in 2007.

There were several benches installed throughout the cemetery modeled after historic Suquamish canoes (the silhouette of which is also featured on the marker memorializing the Old Man House burials):

One of several benches installed throughout the cemetery styled as historic Suquamish canoes.

Many of the cemetery’s burial records from the Kitsap County Historical Society Museum are listed at the Suquamish Cemetery’s FindAGrave page.

Tombstone Tuesday: WWI Rifleman Sidney Henry Payne

Sidney Henry PAYNE was born on 21 July 1898 in 125 Blackfriars Rd., Southwark, London, England, the son of Thomas Samuel Henry Payne and Edith Jane Scarrott. His name was also spelled as “Sydney”. He was the brother of Ida Edith (Payne) Edwards and the half-brother of Lucy Lilian Burns. He was baptized on 16 December 1900 in St. Mary’s, Lambeth, London, England.

Sidney/Sydney Henry Payne, 1917, World War I

At the age of 18, he enlisted for World War I at Southwark on 7 September 1916, and was assigned service number S/25413. From then until August 1917, he was stationed at Minster West, North Sheerness, where he engaged in rifle training and machine gun training. As Sidney’s letters to his sister Ida show, he became frustrated having to wait in England. He volunteered three times for service to France, but was turned down. Upon receiving advice from his uncle Henry Percy Scarrott, he volunteered again and was accepted for service in France. He wrote to his sister about the news, but asked that she not inform their mother, since he did not want her to worry unnecessarily. By September 1917, he was stationed in France.

He wrote to his mother Edith on 25 September 1917, “My Dear Mother, Just a line in reply to your most welcome letter and also to thank you very much for parcel and give my thanks to Lucy. I could not write before as I have just come out the line and I am getting on fine and am in good health and I hope you are not worrying over me, I hope the war to be over very shortly”.

On 26 October 1917, Sidney’s senior officer wrote a letter to Edith (Scarrott) Payne Burns, describing Sidney’s service in the war thus far: “ Dear Mrs. Payne, No doubt your son has told you he is servant to me in France and as I have just arrived home on leave I thought you might like to hear from me that he is quite well and as we are in a quiet part of the line he is quite safe for many a day to come. As an officer’s servant he has quite a good time as I think he will admit & I feel sure it will be a consolation for you to know that servant’s seldom if ever do any of the dangerous jobs. Yours truly, Roy Edwards, 2^nd Lt. R.B. PS Your son asked me to tell you that I am getting his watch mended & will take it back with me.”

On 12 November, Sidney Payne wrote his last letter to his mother, written only 8 days before he was injured in the Battle of Cambrai on 20 November 1917 and died of his wounds on 21 November 1917. “My Dearest Mother, Just a few lines in reply to your most welcome letter, and am so glad to know that you still are quite safe and you must cheere[?] and look forward to the best and you must not worry over me because I am quite allright, and I should like you to thank Lucy very much for photograph and I also answered Mrs. Butler’s letter, also I am jolly glad you have had some one to console you feelings during these awful air raids and you must thank Mr, [Maxter?] for me & also for cigarettes. Well how is Lucy getting on I hope she has been a good girl while I have been out, here also next line you write you might send me a few safety razer blades ask for Gilletts. Well how are you getting on; well I hope and not worrying about Fritz’s aeroplanes, I expect by now you are quite use to them any way I wish it was all over, you had better not keep my dinner hot because I don’t suppose I shall be home this Christmas very likely. You say in your letter Ma that my officer is a [sport?] well as a matter of fact he is one of the best officers we have got and all the boys like him. As Christmas is drawing near I think I would like you to get me a present. I should very well like a ring, if you think you can get me one, let me know and I will send you the one I have on my finger so you can get the size. Well this is about all I have to say and I hope you are all in the pink and that you will write again soon. Closing with heaps of love and kisses. I am Your Loving Son, Sid. XXXXXXXXXXXXXX PS Am enclosing a Gillett safety blade these are the sort I want.”

Although Sid didn’t know it at the time, his mother had very good reason to worry.

While in France, Sidney served as a rifleman in the military in the 10th Battalion, Rifle Brigade which served in the 59^th Brigade of the 20^th (Light) Division, which was a New Army division formed as part of the K2 Army group. They were stationed in a quiet section of France along the German Hindenberg line. However, his division was called in to participate in the surprise attack known as the Battle of Cambrai, which began at 8 PM on November 20, 1917.

From Wikipedia: The Battle of Cambrai (20 November – 7 December 1917) was a British campaign of the First World War. Cambrai was a key supply point for the German Siegfried Stellung (part of the Hindenburg Line) and the nearby Bourlon Ridge would be an excellent gain from which to threaten the rear of the German line to the north. The British plans originated from Henry Hugh Tudor, commander of the 9th Infantry Division artillery. In August 1917, as Brigadier-General, he conceived the idea of a surprise attack in IV Corps sector that his unit occupied. Tudor suggested a primarily artillery-infantry attack, which would be supported by a small number of tanks to secure a breakthrough of the German Hindenburg Line. The German defences were formidable. Cambrai having been a quiet stretch of front thus far enabled the Germans to fortify their lines in depth and the British were aware of this. Tudor’s plan sought to test new methods in combined arms, with emphasis on artillery and infantry techniques and see how effective they were against strong German fortifications. The battle began at 8 p.m. on 20 November, with a carefully prepared and predicted but unregistered barrage by 1,003 guns on German defences, followed by smoke and a creeping barrage at 300 yards ahead to cover the first advances. Despite efforts to preserve secrecy, the German forces had received sufficient intelligence to be on moderate alert: an attack on Havrincourt was anticipated, as was the use of tanks. Initially there was considerable success in most areas and it seemed as if a great victory was within reach; the Hindenburg Line had been penetrated with advances of up to 5 miles (8.0 km). The 20th (Light) Division, which Sidney Payne was a part of, forced a way through La Vacquerie and then advanced to capture a bridge across the St Quentin canal at Masnières. The bridge collapsed under the weight of the crossing tanks, halting the hopes for advance there. Of the tanks, 180 were out of action after the first day, although only 65 had been destroyed. Of the other casualties, 71 had suffered mechanical failure and 43 had ditched. The British had suffered around 4,000 casualties and had taken 4,200 prisoners, a casualty rate half that of Third Ypres (Passchendaele) and a greater advance in six hours than in three months there.

Sidney Payne was injured the first night of the attack on 20 November 1917, and he died on 21 November 1917 at the age of 19. He had been brought to a clearing station located just to the west of the line, where he died of his injuries. He was buried in Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery, Manacourt, France.

Two days after his death, the matron of the clearing station where Sidney died wrote the following letter to his mother:

“48 Car Clear Stn. 23 Nov 1917.

Dear Mrs. Payne [51 Rockingham St., New Kent Rd., London ],

It is with much regret I have to tell you of the death of your son 25413 Pte. S. Payne on Tues. from wounds sustained in battle. He was brought in to us that day, but we found him beyond our aid to resussitate, & all we could do was to ease his pain & make him comfortable. He passed very peacefully away to his rest. He is buried in the military cemetery nearby here. With very sincere sympathy, Yours faithfully, Matron”

Sid’s mother’s pain must have been amplified by having likely just received the letter from Sid on November 12th (which was packaged with his officer’s letter from October 26th) with assurances of his safety and how quiet the line was.

Battle of Cambrai, France, 20 November 1917, The 20th British Division in which Sidney Payne was stationed with the 10th Battalion Rifle Brigade, moved from Gouzeaucourt to Masnières, France, where he suffered injuries and died the following day

Not only did Sid’s mother and sisters mourn his loss, but he had also recently become engaged. Sydney Henry Payne and Emily Louise Fournier were engaged in 1917, possibly through letters while he was on duty during World War I, though it is likely they met before the war began. She was born in 1901 at Southwark, London, England.   It is uncertain how long Sidney and Emily were engaged, but their engagement likely took place while Sidney was away during the war, as Emily Fournier’s mother had never met him. Emily later married Robert T. BASTIN, in 1926 at Lambeth, England.

95 years ago today, Mrs. Fournier wrote the following letter of condolence to Edith (Scarrott) Payne Burns regarding the death of Sidney, as reported by Emily:

17 St. Albans St. Kennington Dec 4th 1917

Dear Mrs. Payne,
Since Emily told me the sad news I have not had courage to write as I feel so sorry for you being your only son perhaps I should not have noticed it so much only Emily told me you had a letter saying he was an officer’s servant and would be allright for a time it seemed no time after all is finished in this world for him for Emily it is a wound that will heal but for your it will be for the rest of your life. I have never seen your son but as the child received his letters, she used to pass them to me. I will tell you his mother what I thought of him. I thought him a most noble character with all of the fine qualities to make a good man it seems to me so hard for you with no husband. I hope I am not hurting your feelings but I have wanted to write two or three times but could not do it. Mrs. Payne I have much to be thankful for as I have my husband and all of my children still and this is much to be thankful for. The eldest is 21 years next May he goes up again tomorrow, the next is in the army but still in England, and I have Emily and five younger. The youngest two next February and when I look around and know such lovely boys have gone I feelt frightened of what I should feel if I was in your place today accept my best wishes for your health and strength to help you over this great trouble.
Yours Respectfully.
Mrs. Fournier.
[Note, handwritten in blue pen by Ida Edwards: From Sid's Fiancee's Mother]

[This incredible letter provides some wonderful insights into Sid's perceived character and his relationship with Emily.  But as a colleague of mine once jokingly commented upon reading the letter with some of its awkward phrasing- "It might be one of the earliest forms of writing to a 'frenemy' I have ever seen!"]

Sidney Henry Payne wrote numerous postcards and letters to his mother, Edith Jane (Scarrott) Payne Burns Hart and to his older sister, Ida Edith (Payne) Edwards during World War I, which were saved by sister, Ida Edith (Payne) Edwards. Sid often mentions that he has spoken to or wishes to speak with the two men in his immediate family who were also serving in World War I: his uncle, Henry Percy Scarrott, and his brother-in-law, “Will”, William J.S. Edwards, the husband of Ida (Payne) Edwards. He also often requested that his sister Ida send his love to his little sister Lucy Burns.

Sid’s letters show that he was a funny, stubborn, cocksure, brave young man. In his death at the all-too-young age of 19, he joined the almost one million casualties that the United Kingdom suffered during the Great War. Although but a small percentage of that overwhelming statistic, his death was greatly felt in his immediate family for generations to come.

So 95 years after his untimely death, here’s a moment to honor Sidney Henry Payne, beloved son, brother, uncle.

The gravestone of Sydney Henry Payne, Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery Manancourt, France, courtesy of the War Graves Photographic Project http://twgpp.org/

ROCQUIGNY-EQUANCOURT ROAD BRITISH CEMETERY, MANANCOURT, FRANCE, where Sidney Henry Payne is buried. Image courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission,  http://www.cwgc.org/

Treasure Chest Thursday: The Hidden Sword Blade Guard in a Secret Compartment of Grace McClellan’s Sideboard

In 1969, after the passing of Nana Grace (Hanson) McClellan, a large wooden sideboard from her house was moved next door to her granddaughter Edna’s home, where it has sat by the kitchen table for 43 years. This month, Edna gave the sideboard to her daughter Debbie, and a small group of family members gathered to help maneuver the heavy piece of furniture. As they cleared out the sideboard of possessions that had accumulated over the years, they uncovered a false back in one of the drawers, which was moved to reveal a small hidden compartment. Neither Edna nor anyone in the family had ever known of the compartment’s existence since its arrival in 1969.

Imagine the surprise, then, to open the compartment and discover this little treasure sitting inside:

Brass object discovered in a hidden compartment in Nana McClellan’s sideboard. Photograph courtesy of Don Blauss.

The object was made out of brass, with a design featuring an eagle with six arrows behind the eagle and a narrow arm with a floral design along the arm. It’s the handle and blade guard to a sword – with the sword missing, of course.

Back side of the brass sword handle and blade guard. Photo courtesy of Don Blauss.

Grace (Hanson) McClellan acquired the sideboard from Daniel Waldo Field, the Brockton shoe manufacturer and philanthropist, who died in 1944. Although the exact date of purchase is uncertain, it probably occurred between 31 January 1920 (when Grace Hanson of Whitman, Mass. married Roderic McClellan of Hanson, Mass.) and the death of D. W. Field in 1944.

With that piece of provenance, there are four probable scenarios for who originally owned the blade guard (and missing sword):

1) An ancestor of Grace (Hanson) McClellan (1886-1969)

2) An ancestor of Roderic McClellan (1882-1962), the husband of Grace (Hanson) McClellan

3) An ancestor of Edith (Ramsdell) McClellan (1883-1918), the first wife of Roderic McClellan

4) An ancestor of Daniel Waldo Field (1856-1944). This seems unlikely if the sideboard was sold during his lifetime, because he presumably would have known that the piece was hidden in the compartment. However, if it was sold perhaps as part of his estate after his decease, its possible that his heirs were not aware that it was hidden.

Additionally, there’s the chance that Roderic and Grace McClellan or Daniel Waldo Field picked up the piece as a curiosity and hid it away, although the hidden nature of the compartment suggests it held value – sentimentally or financially. And it’s also possible that someone owned the sideboard prior to D. W. Field, though the chances of it remaining undiscovered during so many moves over the years seems unlikely.

Closeup of blade guard. Photo courtesy of Don Blauss.

Closeup of the top of the blade guard, including the hole where the sword used to sit. Photo courtesy of Don Blauss.

 

Base of the handle and blade guard. Photo courtesy of Don Blauss.

The eagle with six arrows behind it certainly suggests a military decoration, such as the federal war eagle. A search for similar blade guards online resulted in some similiar matches, such as this blade guard attached to a Spanish-American War sword for a New York officer:

sword was presented to First Lieutenant Alfred Somerset Orchard Commanding Company D 23rd Regiment National Guard of the State of New York on the occasion of his promotion. Courtesy of Specialist Auctions.

A Civil War era Calvary officer’s blade guard had a similiar eagle with six arrows:

Civil War era Calvary Officer’s Sword. Courtesy of Civil War Preservations.

But without any maker’s mark or inscribed date on the brass guard, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact era of the sword. If anyone can locate another guard with the exact same design with a known provenance, that would be extremely useful in helping to solve the mystery of the guard’s original owner.

But assuming that the sword could possibly date to World War I (1917-1918 for U.S.), the Spanish American War (1898), or the Civil War (1861-1865), let’s revisit the four possible owners.

1) An ancestor of Grace (Hanson) McClellan (1886-1969). Grace Hanson was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland to John F. Hanson and Lila Cody and orphaned when she was a teenager. She then went to live in the household of her maternal aunt Margaret (Cody) Andrews and Fred Andrews in Brockton, Massachusetts, where she became a schoolteacher. Little is known about her father, but according to the 1910 Census, he was born in England, and if he was a similar age to his wife Lila Cody (b. ca. 1864, Maryland), he was too young for service in the Civil War. It is uncertain if he was alive for the Spanish American War – the family has not yet been identified in the 1900 Census. So with just those bare facts, he seems an unlikely candidate for the original sword owner. Lila (Cody) Hanson’s father, Martin Cody, was probably the 39 year old “Martin Codey” who enlisted from Baltimore as a private on probably in June 1863 in Company G, 10th Regiment Infantry of Maryland Volunteers for a six month term, but likely never reported for duty when his information was filed 10 July 1863, since he was listed as AWOL on 5 July 1863 and by October 1863 was classified as deserted. Since he enlisted but probably did not report for duty, it is unlikely he received a uniform or weaponry. Additionally, he had two eldest sons, and several of his daughters moved and married in Massachusetts, so any of those children would probably more likely to inherit war mementoes than his orphaned granddaughter Grace Elizabeth Hanson would have. Therefore, Grace (Hanson) McClellan and her immediate ancestors can probably be eliminated as the original owner of the sword, if it indeed dates to Civil War, Spanish American War, or World War I military service.

2) An ancestor of Roderic McClellan (1882-1962), the husband of Grace (Hanson) McClellan. Roderic himself served in the Massachusetts State Guard during WWI, a duty sergeant of N Company in the Fourteenth Regiment of Infantry, which was disbanded on 18 December 1918. He was the top-ranking sharpshooter in his company during that time. However, there is no evidence that he was issued a sword.

Roderic McClellan in uniform. Duty Sergeant, Company N, 14th Regiment of the Massachusetts State Guard. Circa August 1918.

Roderic’s father, George McClellan (1848-1912), was from Nova Scotia and living in Canada during the Civil War (and too young to serve) and had abandoned his wife and children in the 1890s and did not serve in the Spanish American War. His paternal grandfather Dougald McClellan lived in Canada and had died by the American Civil War. His maternal grandfather, Barnabas Everson, did not serve in the Civil War and died before the Spanish American War. Therefore, Roderic McClellan and his immediate ancestors can be eliminated as the original owner of the sword, if it indeed dates to Civil War, Spanish American War, or World War I military service.

3) An ancestor of Edith (Ramsdell) McClellan (1883-1918), the first wife of Roderic McClellan. Roderic McClellan married Grace Elizabeth Hanson in 1920, two years after the death of his first wife, Edith May Ramsdell, who died in 1918 during the Spanish influenza epidemic. Her father, Edgar O. Ramsdell (1863-1899) was too young for Civil War service and did not serve in the Spanish American War. Her paternal grandfather, John Brooks Ramsdell (1819-1895) did not serve in the Civil War and died before the Spanish American War. Her maternal grandfather, Caleb Francs Wright (1828-1907) registered for the Civil War Draft in June 1863, but did not serve in the Civil War or Spanish American War.

4) An ancestor of Daniel Waldo Field (1856-1944). D.W. Field was too young for service in the Civil War, and his father, William Lawrence Field (1828-1914) did not serve. D. W. Field married Rosa A. Howes of Barnstable in 1879. Her father, Philip Howes (1811-1867), also did not serve in the Civil War.

So unfortunately, that provides no likely suspects for the original owner of the sword. Perhaps if more details come to light about the provenance of the sword, or if anyone can help to date the sword more precisely, further details can be brought to light.

 

Wordless Wednesday: The Gravestone of the Children of Andrew Neal, Granary Burying Ground, Boston, Mass.

Gravestone of the Children of Andrew Neal, Granary Burying Ground, Boston, Mass.

The gravestone reads:

The children of Andrew & Helicen Neal

TEMPUS EDAX RERUM (Time, devourer of all things)

Elizabeth Neal	Elizabeth Neal	Andrew Neal
Aged 3 Dayes Dec’d 1666	Aged 2 weeks Dec’d June ye 12 1671	Aged 18 months Dec’d
As Also ye body of Hannah Neal is here inter’d

The carver of this stone has been identified as the “Old Stone Cutter” in the Farber Collection. This is one of the more memorable and dramatic stones in the graveyard, I often stop by it when I am passing by.

Travel Tuesday: Connecting Hurricane Island, Maine to the San Donato Val di Comino Diaspora

Loreto Salvucci, a granite stonecutter from San Donato Val di Comino, Italy, left his home in the Comino Valley – and his usually pregnant wife Carmela (DiBona) four times to come to the U.S. to work in American quarries in 1899, 1904, 1905, and 1909. In 1906, his younger half-brother, Gaetano Salvucci, had moved permanently to the U.S., settling in Quincy, Massachusetts where he worked as a granite polisher. Additionally, Loreto’s mother-in-law Carmela (Paglia) DiBona, and several DiBona in-laws were also living and working in the granite industry Quincy, Mass. by 1900 – along with numerous extended friends and family members from San Donato Val di Comino who also settled in Quincy.

According to the family, Loreto’s wife Carmela and their four children Luigi (b. 1898), Lucio (b. 1903), Raffaele (b. 1906) and baby Eda (b. 1910) immigrated from Italy to Boston to permanently join Loreto and reunite the family. Their next child, Eva, was born at Quincy in 1912. All their remaining children were born in Quincy, and during the ten years after being reunited, Loreto saved his earnings to afford a home of his own in Quincy, having rented several apartments during that time.

With all these details, it seemed natural to assume that the family reunited in Quincy in 1910 and immediately began to settle in to home and work there. I had previously been unable to locate Loreto, either as a solitary granite worker, or with his reunited family in the 1910 Census. However, I knew that Carmela and the kids arrived in Boston in April of 1910, right around the time of the census, so guessed that perhaps they had not yet arrived and Loreto was simply lost in the shuffle or somehow mistranscribed in the census.

But a family photo pointed to a clue:

Lucio “Lou”, Raffaele “Ralph”, Luigi “Gig”, and Eda Salvucci, Hurricane Island, Maine, 1910

The back of the photograph was labeled:

Photograph Label for the Salvucci Children, Hurricane Island, Maine, 1910

Never assume!! I searched for Knox County, Maine, and located a family whose head of household was transcribed on Ancestry as “Lauis Salwrisi”. This actually showed the family of “Louis” and Carmela Salvucci – both listed as unable to speak English, only Italian. Enumerated 7 May 1910, just a week after Carmela and the Salvucci children arrived in the port of Boston on 28 April 1910 aboard the S.S. Canopic, the language barrier most likely was the cause of numerous errors that the census taker recorded for the family:

Louis [sic, Loreto] Salvucci, 38, married for 12 years, b. Italy, immigrated 1899, alien, a granite stonecutter, rents home

His wife Carmela, 35, mother of 4 living children, b. Italy, immigrated 1900 [sic, 1910]

His son Lugi [sic, Lucio] 6, b. Maine [sic Italy]

His son Raphael, 4, b. Maine [sic, Italy]

His son [sic, daughter!!] “Eighty” [sic, Eda, likely a phonetic spelling of nickname "Edy"], 6 months, b. Maine [sic, Italy]

His son Louis, 11, b. Maine [sic, Italy]

The family also lived with domestic Italian servant Mary Luxbring (21) and boarder Charles McCarthy, a crane car engineer.

They lived in the same dwelling house with two other families – likely it was a three family granite company tenement house.

In 1910, Hurricane Island was essentially a granite town, run by Booth Brothers & Hurricane Island Granite Company, which had been a thriving business until 1900 when demand began to wane and other quarries in New England offered easier access to the granite than an island off the coast of Maine. Hurricane Island granite was known for its pink-gray stone. The last shipment of granite from the island was in 1914, and by 1916 the island had been completely deserted, becoming a ghost town.

But in 1910, the granite company changed management, in an effort to try to revitalize the company, and likely Loreto Salvucci heard of their new job openings through the San Donato network, and hoped, along with the Hurricane Island Granite Company, for a new direction for both his job and newly arrived family. Numerous San Donato granite workers were located in both Quincy and Hurricane Island, passing word of jobs and connections through a wide network of family and friends. According to the history of Hurricane Island, workers earned $1.75-$2.50 per week, which went directly into an account at the company store.

Company houses at Hurricane Island, Maine, early 1900s, where the Salvucci family resided in 1910-1911, Courtesy of http://www.antique-photography.com/

Eastern End of the Hurricane Island Quarry

But the granite company struggled, and Loreto must have soon realized the stress of the struggling business was not worth the security of his family, so they returned to Quincy by 1912, where they had a larger support network of friends and family, and easier access to both necessities and comforts than they had found on the tiny island on the ocean off the coast of Maine. Choosing to leave Hurricane Island of their own accord, Loreto Salvucci unknowingly saved the family from the company’s final collapse: Hurricane Island Granite company’s final shipment was a barge of giant granite blocks en route to Rockport, which got caught in a storm on Nov. 8, 1914 and sank to the bottom of Penobscot Bay. That was the final straw for the company which ruined their finances. Management came to the island and announced the closing of the company and town immediately. Tools were left where they dropped.  The workers and families quickly gathered their possessions and got on the boat to the mainland.  All possible equipment was sold, and some still sits on the island abandoned. Several families remained for a few years, gathering abandoned possessions from the company housing tenements, and taking apart the buildings to sell for wood. At least the Salvucci family left on their own terms two years before this situation developed, and went on to prosper in the Quincy community.

[References: History of Hurricane Island; Booth Brothers and Hurricane Island Granite Company Manuscript Collection]

Amaneunsis Monday: Inventory of the Estate of Capt. Henry Josselyn of Pembroke, Mass., 1787

Below is a transcription of the inventory of Capt. Henry Josselyn of Pembroke, Mass. He was born at Scituate, Mass., 24 March 1696, the son of Henry Josselyn and Abigail Stockbridge. He married at Pembroke, 23 September 1718, Hannah Oldham. He died at Pembroke by 26 June 1787, when his probate was filed, at the age of 91 years. His eldest child, Hannah Josselyn, married Henry Munroe Sr. at Pembroke on 16 November 1738. The unknown origins of Mary Miller, the wife of their son Henry Munroe Jr., were recently discussed in this blog.

From Plymouth County, Massachusetts Probate Records, volume 30, page 195 [part of docket #11660]

Plymouth, SS. To Messrs. William Torrey, gentleman, James Bonney & David Oldham, yeoman, all of Pembroke in the county of Plymouth, Greeting -

You are hereby impowered and directed to make a just and equal appraisement of all the estate, real and personal, which Henry Josselyn, late of Pembroke, aforesaid, gentleman, deceased, died seized, in lawful money, and make return of this warrant with your doings, under your hands & upon your oaths, as soon as your can. Given under my hand and seal of office at Hanover, this 26th day of June 1787.

Joseph Cushing, Judge of Probate

An inventory and appraisement of the real & personal estate of which Henry Josselyn, late of Pembroke in the county of Plymouth, gentleman, deceased, died seized, taken by us the subscribers this fourth day of July 1787 by virtue of a warrant from ye Honorable Joseph Cushing, Esqr., Judge of Probate for the County aforesaid, viz -

Homestead farm, 280£ _ Foster Lot (so called) 216£…496.0.0

16 acres (so called) 45£ _ Wood lot in the West Parish [present-day Hanson, Mass.] 150£…195.0.0

Cedar Swamp, 3rd Lot 28.6.8 _ 9th ditto 28£ _ 13th ditto 26.13.4…83.0.0

22nd ditto 72£ _ 27th ditto 20£ _ fresh meadow 22£ … 114.0.0

Amount of real estate ___ £888.0

Wearing apparel … 1.16.6

[total] £889.16.6

William Torrey, James Bonney, David Oldham

Plymouth, SS. July 7th 1787. Then Josiah Smith, administrator with the will annexed on the estate of Capt. Henry Josselyn, late of Pembroke, deceased, made oath that this inventory contains all the estate of said deceased, that had come to his knowledge and if hereafter he should know of any other, he will render account of it, the appraisers having also made oath to the same. Before Joseph Cushing, Judge of Probate.

Plymouth, SS. To the Honorable Joseph Cushing, Esqr., Judge of the Probate of Wills &c., for & within the County of Plymouth. Humbly shows, Josiah Smith, administrator with the will annexed of Henry Josselyn, late of Pembroke, gentleman, deceased, that he apprehends said estate is insolvent, therefore, prays commissioners may be appointed to examine the claims thereon & such procedure has as the law in such case has provided and as &c.,

Josiah Smith.

Plymouth County, Mass. Probate Records, 30:195, Inventory of Henry Josselyn of Pembroke, Mass., 1787