Monday, January 14, 2013

1894 Graduation Photograph of Bertha Maude Charlesworth; Haverhill High School, Haverhill, Massachusetts


1894 graduation photograph of Bertha Maude Charlesworth, a student at Haverhill High School, Haverhill, Massachusetts.

The photograph was taken by the Waldon Smith studio of Boston, Massachusetts.



This photograph was found with those of five other Class of 1894 graduates of Haverhill High School.

The other students are Amy Gertrude Foss; Jessie Mabel GaleGeorge E. Hutchins; George Munroe Gage Nichols or Charles Howard Nichols; and Lillian Mae Pettengill.  Click on the name for more information on that individual.  The graduation program for the Class of 1894 appears at the end of this post.

Note that Bertha Maude Charlesworth read an essay entitled "Visit of Minerva to Haverhill" at her graduation.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome!]

Bertha Maude Charlesworth was born 4 June 1876 at Exeter, New Hampshire, daughter of Edward and Mary Eva Evaline (Lawrence or Laurence) Charlesworth, who were born in England and at East Kingston, New Hampshire, respectively.

Bertha's paternal grandparents were, I think, Emmanuel and Charlotte (Knowles) Charlesworth of England.  Her maternal grandparents were, and this is also an "I think", David Luther Lawrence and Rosanna (McCann) Lawrence.

On 14 December 1897 at Haverhill, Massachusetts, Bertha Maude Charlesworth married Fred A. Smith, son of George and Annie Elizabeth (Ayer) Smith of Haverhill.

The couple stayed at Haverhill and raised four sons there.   Fred was in the leather business and, according to his obituary, spent 30 years cutting leather for shoe soles.

I noticed a clipping online where Fred left an insurance policy worth $5000 to his aunt and the balance of his estate, $75, to his wife.  Hopefully this was just a case where Bertha's lifetime needs had already been provided for.

Bertha Maude (Charlesworth) Smith died in 1966 at Haverhill.

If you have any corrections and/or information  to share, please leave a comment for the benefit of other researchers.

































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3 comments:

  1. Pam, what is your connection here? My name is Peter Ayer Smith and I am one of Bertha Maude's grandsons. I grew up in the old Lawrence house in East Kingston back in the 40s and 50s.

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  2. Thanks for commenting! No family connection; just interested in researching orphan heirlooms I've found over the years. She has such a lovely face and expression. I wonder what her essay was about - was she referring to Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom, or a contemporary Minerva?

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  3. No idea what Minerva she talked about! Her mother's name was Mary Ann Eveline Lawrence.

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