1867 Letter from George Webster Cushman at Skowhegan, Maine, to his parents, Charles and Jane Cushman at Winslow, Maine

13 May 1867 letter sent by George Webster Cushman while he was working at or near Skowhegan, Maine, to his parents, Charles and Jane (Hayden) Cushman at Winslow, Maine.

This letter came to me with two others that George wrote to his parents: [click on the date] and a letter that James Walker Austin wrote in 1869 to his cousin George:

• February 23, 1868 - a lengthy letter describing how he managed to save the shop during a fire that destroyed several  other buildings; the letter seemed to be seeking peace with his parents after what apparently was a rift that caused him to move away, though he indicates that he feels the fault was not his.
• June 11, 1869 - a letter informing his parents that he has just married and that he and his bride will be visiting soon with a private team.
• September 21, 1869 - from James Walker Austin at Roxbury, Massachusetts, to his cousin George

Whatever rift there may have been, it was apparently resolved by the time of the 1870 Census, as George and his wife Lucy were listed in the household of his parents at Winslow, Maine.

This letter describes a fire at a skate factory at which several women were burned, including one fatally.

Transcript:

13 May 1867

Kind Parents,

An opportunity is now at my disposal and I will improve it by answering your kind missive which came safely at hand.  I can assure you I found a glad welcome.  The thought often crosses my mind and expresses itself in the language of the poet.  “Lo they miss me at home”.  Home, how many pleasant recollections cluster around thee and what a thrill passes o’er me at the mention of that name.  Your letter found me in the enjoyment of physical health, which is one of the choicest blessings heaven can bestow and without which no one can truly enjoy life no matter with what they are surrounded.  My business is good, plenty to do, Labor is one of the richest blessings that we enjoy.  Were it not for labor and the bright star of hope we might well despond.  It is my intention to labor on patiently and perseveringly and I am in hopes to be a benefit to mankind and to make the world some better for my being in it.  It would be the height of ambition when I shall have passed through the meandering pathways of life and my eyes turn for the last time upon earth and earthly objects - to look back upon a well spent life and forward to a heaven well earned.  I have made many deviations from the path of virtue and had I followed your instructions more fully should have been a better man but your counsel has kept me from many a temptation.  I hope that I am not wholly ignorant of my better natures, desires.  I thank you cordially for your kindly wishes.  I presume you have heard ere this of the burning of the skate factory.  It was burned the 17th ult.  Mr. Williams, the owner, went to put a faucet into a varnish barrel and the hole not being large enough took a hot iron which made the barrel explode setting the building on fire and burned 3 of the girls badly.  One has since died.  The others are getting along well.

It seems more like the fall of the year than it does like the genial spring, but the devine being has promised that seed time and harvest shall never fail, and his promises are sure. Happy indeed must be the person that possesses them.  I have nothing by the way of news to write you.  I am keeping house today or at least I’m main housekeeper.  The old gentleman and little boy are with me.  When I have an opportunity I shall come to see you. I hope you will excuse this poor apology of a letter with its many imperfections.  Write whenever it is convenient.  I close by wishing you the choicest blessings of heaven.

G. W. Cushman

P.S. I am ashamed of my writing but I have a very poor pen and I know you will excuse it.

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

George Webster Cushman was born 9 March 1838 at Winslow, Maine, the son of Charles and Jane (Hayden) Cushman.

From what I could tell, George's paternal grandparents were Joshua and Lucy (Jones) Cushman, and his maternal grandparents were Charles and Mary Polly (Howard) Hayden.

As another of the letters implies, George married Lucy Jane Ireland on 5 June 1869 in Somerset County, Maine, presumably at Skowhegan or in that area.

Lucy Jane Ireland was born 27 April 1840 at Chester, Maine, the daughter of Eleazer Colburn Ireland and Rhoda B. (possibly Wyman) Ireland. The family subsequently moved to the Skowhegan area where presumably George and Lucy would eventually meet.

The couple had at least two children, sons Alvin W. Cushman and Robert Hayden Cushman.  

Interestingly, Alvin was living at Canon City, Colorado at the time of the 1900 Census. His maternal grandparents, Eleazer Coburn Ireland and wife Rhoda and at least two of their sons had moved from Skowhegan to Canon City at some point after the 1880 Census. Eleazer Coburn Ireland and Rhoda died in Fremont County, Colorado in the 1890s.  

The 1910 Census of Bingham Canyon, Utah, finds Charles with wife Katie and a son and a daughter, the older of whom, Richard, has the surname Hodgins; he may have been Katie's child from a previous marriage. Katie was Catherine Farrell, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland about 1877. Charles and Katie moved back to Winslow, Maine, not long after that Census enumeration; they would have one more child, a son George.

Joseph Hodgins apparently took Charles' surname at some point; he stayed in Utah and died there in 1970.

The other son of George Webster Cushman and Lucy Jane (Ireland) Cushman, Robert Hayden Cushman married Marie Josephine Fecteau, daughter of Philmon and Amanda (Grenier) Fecteau. Marie Josephine was born at Beauceville, Quebec about 1896. They had at least one child, a daughter Ruth Gertrude Cushman.

I found an online source detailing the Skowhegan area people and families who left Skowhegan for other areas. Lucy's father and two of her brothers are mentioned: Coburn, Alvin (for whom her son was named) and Charles. Brother Prentice also went west but is not mentioned.

A Colorado Ireland relative has graciously forwarded the image of a clipping that indicated that Lucy Jane (Ireland) Cushman had visited her brothers in Ula, Colorado in 1886.

She also provided images of tintypes of Lucy's brothers Prentice Floyd Ireland and Charles Judson Ireland. 

Prentice Floyd Ireland was born about 1845 in Maine, and married Mary Frances Presho, daughter of William and Mary (Collins) Presho, in Lancaster County, Nebraska, on 21 September 1877.
  

Prentice Floyd Ireland 

I believe Prentice and Mary Frances had three children; son Rupert died at about age eleven and another daughter may have died in infancy.  Daughter Pearl Queen Ireland, born 23 October 1880 in McGregor, Iowa, survived to adulthood.  Her own writings give her birth date as 27 October 1880

Prentice died about 1888 in Colorado, possibly in the Wet Mountain area.  His modern day family members have searched in vain for his resting place.

Charles Judson Irelanad

Charles Judson Ireland was born about 1851 at Skowhegan, Maine and went west to Colorado with his brothers.  While there, he married Hattie, with whom he had three children: David Elton Ireland, born 1 September 1881 in Colorado; Lucy Ireland and Bessie Ireland.  

Charles was single and working as a ranchman in the 1880 Census of Wet Mountain Valley, Colorado, so his marriage to Hattie, who was born in Nebraska, according to Census records, must have occurred very soon after that enumeration.

Hattie had apparently died or moved away before the time of the enumeration of the 1900 Census of Fort Garland, Colorado, where Charles was living with his three children.  I haven't been able to find anything about her, other than from the 1885 Colorado Census in which she indicated that she was born about 1865 in Michigan and that her father was from England and her mother from Wales.

On 8 December 1909 at Winslow, Maine, Charles married Alice Belle Files, daughter of George W. Files and Helen (Smiley) Files.  Alice was born about 1860 at Wales, Maine.  According to their marriage record, Charles was then living in New Mexico and working as a lumber dealer.

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


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Bangor, Maine, area: Two photographs of Unidentified Men

Two photographs of unidentified men, both taken by studios at Bangor, Maine.

The cabinet photograph above was taken by the Ramsdell studio.  There's nothing written or printed on the reverse.

The photograph below, which might be a graduation photograph, was taken by the Dole studio located in the Kenduskeag block.

Again, there is nothing written or printed on the reverse.

If you recognize either or both of these men from your family albums or research, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!

Bangor, Maine


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Bangor, Maine, area: Vintage Photograph of Man in Police or Fireman's Uniform

Photograph of a man in what appears to be a Policeman's or Fireman's uniform.  The photograph was taken by the Home Portrait Studio of Main Street in Bangor, Maine.  The street address is hard to decipher but might be 140 or 146.

The photograph is in a presentation folder and carries no identification on either the folder or the reverse of the photograph.

If you recognize this man from your family albums or research, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!

Bangor, Maine


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Antwerp, New York studios: Two CDVs of Unidentified Children, both by the Weller Studio

Two cartes de visite of young children, both by an Antwerp, New York studio.  The CDV above was taken by Weller's.  There's nothing on the reverse.

The other CDV has the studio imprint on the reverse.

The studio is identified as L. S.Weller, Gallery of Fine Art.

If you recognize either of these children from your family albums or research, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!

Antwerp, New York


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1852 Letter from Elizabeth H. Pomeroy at Westfield, Massachusetts; Westfield Normal School

Letter dated 1 November 1852 from E. H. Pomeroy at Westfield to her "Normal Sister" Lizzie, who may have been Miss E. J. Adams.  

The two were, or had been, fellow students at Westfield Normal School at Westfield, Massachusetts.  The letter writer was Elizabeth H. Pomeroy, originally of Suffield, Connecticut.

The letter came with paperwork from the seller that indicated that the recipient was at Machias, Maine, but I don't see any reference to Machias in the letter, and, if the envelope survived, it didn't stay with the letter.

I found an 1889 Westfield Normal School catalog that contains the name Elizabeth H. Pomeroy, as well as Mary Viets and Clarissa Bancroft who are mentioned in the letter, and possibly to Lizzie as well, though I didn't see an Elizabeth or Eliza or Lizzie Adams.  

According to the catalog, Elizabeth H. Pomeroy hailed from Suffield, Connecticut.  After studying at Westfield in 1851, she taught at Suffield for a year, followed by two years teaching in Carroll County, Illinois.  She married New York native William G. Fielder and was living at Marquette, Michigan, with her husband and two daughters, at the time the catalog was published in 1889.

Her 1907 death record gives her birth date as about 1829, and her parents as Erastus and Harriet (Cobb) Pomeroy.  Erastus's parents were Asa and Jerusha (Smith) Pomeroy. The 1850 Census of Suffield, Connecticut, shows Elizabeth and Jerusha living together.

Erastus had died in 1832.  I don't have a death date for Elizabeth's mother Harriet (Cobb) Pomeroy, but perhaps she had died by 1850 as well.

Elizabeth had at least three children, daughter Harriet Williams Fielder, who died in infancy; daughter Mina Louise Fielder, born 4 October 1862 in Illinois; and daughter Mary Elizabeth Fielder, born 9 December 1867 in Illinois. 

Her 1907 death record indicates that her husband William G. Fielder had predeceased her.

Transcript:

Westfield, Nov. 1st 1852

My dear sister Lizzie,

I am again seated in my chamber thinking of you and as I cannot call to see you as I anticipated I will take my pen and converse a while with you.  I arrived home safe on Friday afternoon.  I was very much fatigued.  Not long after my arrival one of my friends sent for me to come and see her and much to my gratification I found a Cousin that I had not expected to see.  She has been teaching, and she thinks some of coming to Westfield with me next term.  Have you heard from your home yet? So let me know as soon as you decide.  Write to me how your Mother is when you hear.  For I can truly sympathize with you.  But we know that He who doeth all things well, does not willingly afflict us.  Tell Miss Smith that I was disappointed in not seeing her again Friday.  Give my love to her and tell her to write to me.  Give my love to all the normals.  Did you go to church yesterday.  I did not.  Mother is much pleased with our pictures.  She thinks mine is perfect and says that you look natural.  I do not know how many times I have looked at you and it seemed as if you would speak to me. You cannot imagine how highly I prize it.  I will put in a card for you to give to Miss Viets and Clara Bancroft if you please.  How does Miss C. P. get along.  I am anxious to hear all about you.  Write to me soon, very soon.  I hope that we shall meet again soon. It seems much longer than it really is since I saw you but I know that you will take the trouble to read this scrawl if you can pick out the words.  It is written in my lap and it is almost dark. Henry does not get much better.  He has the Typhoid Fever.  I came up this afternoon in the rain and shall go back tomorrow if nothing happens.  Excuse all mistakes.

Good night, Dear Lizzie.  This  is from your Normal Sister, E. H. Pomeroy.

Miss E. J. Adams

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or if you can shed any light on the letter's recipient, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

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Cabinet Photograph of Mary Hale Ridgway; by a Haverhill, Massachusetts studio

Cabinet photograph of a woman identified on the reverse as Mary Hale Ridway, which I believe should have been Mary Hale Ridgway, or Mary Warren (Hale) Ridgeway.

Assuming I have the correct Mary Hale Ridgway, and from online research, hopefully correct: [corrections and additions welcome!]

Mary Warren Hale was born about 1859 at West Newbury, Massachusetts, the daughter of William J. and second wife Sarah (Piper) Hale.

Her paternal grandparents were William and Elizabeth (Goodwin) Hale.  Her maternal grandparents were Walter, Jr. and Mary (Pierce) Piper.

On 22 July 1880 at Atkinson, New Hampshire, Mary Warren Hale married Moses M. Ridgway, Jr., son of Moses and Sarah (Locke) Ridgway.  He was born at West Newbury, Massachusetts, on 24 December 1845.

Mary and Moses had at least two children, daughters Clara or Clair Ridgway, born 20 September 1881, and Mabel Hale Ridgway, born 17 March 1883 at West Newbury, Massachusetts.

20th century Census records show the couple living apart.  By the time of the 1920 Census, Mary indicated that she was widowed.

Mary died at Derry, New Hampshire, in 1929. 

West Newbury, Massachusetts


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Five Photographs by Bangor, Maine studios of Unidentified Women

Five photographs taken by Bangor, Maine, studios of unidentified women.

The cabinet photograph above was taken by the George Lansil studio at 4 Main Street, Bangor, Maine. There's printing on the reverse, but nothing to identify the woman.

The cabinet photograph below was taken by the Marston Studio of Bangor, Maine. There's nothing on the reverse.

The cabinet photograph below was taken by the J. F. Gerrity & Company studio of Bangor, Maine. There's nothing but a question mark on the reverse.

The photograph below was taken by the George Lansil studio of Bangor, Maine.  There's nothing on the reverse.

The photograph below was taken by the Perry studio of Bangor and Old Town, Maine.  It's in a presentation folder.  There's no identification on the folder.  The photograph is glued on; I doubt there's any identification on the reverse.

If you recognize any of these women from your family albums or research, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!

Bangor, Maine


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