Saturday, November 10, 2012

c1904 Photograph of Arthur Edward Davenport of Brimfield, Massachusetts, taken while a student at the University of Maine


c1904 photograph of a young man identified on the reverse as Arthur Edward Davenport of Brimfield, Massachusetts.  

The photograph was taken by the Chalmers studio of Bangor, Maine, and is the same image that was used for Davenport's photo in the University of Maine Prism.  

Fogler Library at the University of Maine has put its Prism yearbooks online, so it was easy to compare the two images.

The handwriting on the reverse is very faint against a dark background.  I've lightened the background a bit, but it's still hard to read.



From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome]

Arthur Edward Davenport was born 21 April 1882 at Brimfield, Massachusetts, son of Edward H. and Sarah Eliza (Groves) Davenport.

His paternal grandparents were John and Hannah (Hall) Davenport.  His maternal grandparents were Levins and Martha C. (Draper) Groves. 

Arthur graduated from the University of Maine in 1904 with a degree in electrical engineering.   




He and Fred Victor Fifield wrote a 38-page book entitled Resistance of Ground Return in 1904.

On 25 December 1906 at Brimfield, Massachusetts, Arthur Edward Davenport married Alma May Thompson, daughter of George W. and Estella Tryphena (Abbott) Thompson, both Maine natives.  Alma was born 8 March 1882 at Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Arthur, Alma and three children are listed in the 1915 New York Census.  They were living in New York City, in Richmond County. Arthur was working as an inspector.

They were living in Brooklyn, New York when Arthur filled out a World War I Draft Enlistment Card in 1918.

After that I haven't found a record of Arthur.  The children were recorded in the 1920 Census of Brimfield, Massachusetts living with Emma and George Plimpton.  Emma was Arthur's older sister. Their mother was still alive but perhaps unable to care for them.  Without their mother in the household, Arthur, assuming he was still alive, perhaps felt they would be better off with their aunt.

I found their mother Alma May (Thompson) Davenport in the 1930 and 1940 Census of Brattleboro, Vermont, where she was listed as a patient.  The 1940 Census indicated gave the name of the institution as the Brattleboro Retreat.  Alma died in 1951.

It would seem that Arthur was still living, as in both the 1930 and 1940 Census, Alma was listed as married.

If you have corrections to the information above or information to fill in the blanks, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!


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