Frederick Law Olmsted's House -- A Dream of A Visit in Brookline, Massachusetts

I am posting this for two reasons, first, it is a National Historic site, and second, I always wanted to see it. Unfortunately, it was in the process of closing and we only saw one room in 2013. It was still closed in 2016. The park and house are now open, see HERE.

Walkway to the house. The tree by the rock was planted by Frederick Law Olmsted.

Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site

Wikipedia

Frederick Law Olmsted's FindAGrave site.

"About the Olmsted Legacy

Beginning in 1857 with the design for Central Park in New York City, Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903), his sons and successor firm created designs for more than 6,000 landscapes across North America, including many of the world's most important parks.  Olmsted’s remarkable design legacy includes Prospect Park in Brooklyn, Boston’s Emerald Necklace, Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, Mount Royal in Montreal, the grounds of the United States Capitol and the White House, and Washington Park, Jackson Park and the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago.  Olmsted’s sons were founding members of the American Society of Landscape Architects and played an influential role in the creation of the National Park Service." The article is taken from the Olmsted website.

Great enclosed porch photos.

I was delighted to see Wisteria still growing, our visit was on June 30th.

Below is a page from the "The Master List of Design Projects of the Olmsted Firm 1857–1979," and the visitors center allowed me to copy the section for Lowell.
The last entry above is for Tyler Park, Lowell, MA, a 5-minute walk from my house. See photos below.

Brook Farm in Roxbury, Massachusetts and How it Relates to Me

When I discovered back in January that my 2nd great-grandfather surveyed a property in West Roxbury, Massachusetts for the city, I immediately became interested in learning more. Thanks to the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) in Boston for giving me additional information and confirmation that he indeed did a map of Brook Farm in Roxbury, June 1849, and it is in their collection. 

Fast forward to nine months, I just went to Brook Farm, now a Historic site, you'll see the photos below. The Farm consists of 179 acres of "rolling fields, woodlands and wetlands" and one lonely building. I love knowing that my ancestor, Charles H. Poole surveyed this land in the late 1840s as well as the town of Roxbury and Long Island, in Boston Harbor.

I'll quote what is written about the Farm in the brochure prepared by the Dept. of Conservation and Recreation for Massachusetts. "Founded in (October 11) 1841 at the height of the Transcendental movement, an experimental society of men, women and children had dreams of leading a more wholesome and simple life. The Farm's members and visitors included renowned authors and philosophers Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dana, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller."

"Utilized in later years for a poorhouse, Civil War training camp and orphanage, the site reflects a theme of social consciousness and reform." Visitors are free to roam around the Farm, and even picnic there. Since I had been waiting nine months to visit, I was terribly excited to be there, even though, it's less than an hour from home."

The Community disbanded six years after its inception. A loss of their residential building due to fire, and other reasons were partly to blame. In 1861 the Second Massachusetts Infantry Regiment used the land for military training. In 1872 Martin Luther Orphan's Home was opened, and remained there until 1943. Later, in 1948, the Brook Farm Home, a treatment center and school opened, closed in 1974.

The history doesn't stop here. The land has a much older past. In February, I read in the Boston Globe an article about the Farm and the "display of artifacts found during excavations in the 1990s at the historic Brook Farm site." On display at the lab are over 100 artifacts from Brook Farm highlighting the diverse uses of the property, including a 5,000 year old Native American spear point, colonial artifacts, painstakingly reconstructed ceramic serving dishes used by the Brook Farmers, the only physical remains of the massive Phalanstery building, as well as architectural elements and personal items from the Utopian community. The later use of the property is represented by Civil War-era items from Camp Andrew, and toys from an orphanage run out of the Hive building - the heart of Utopian-period community." I spoke with the City Archaeologist, and asked him some questions. Unfortunately some of the exhibit is being removed this weekend, so I won't get to see it.

"Brook Farm was one of the first sites in Massachusetts to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Site." There is quite about this Farm from Wikipedia.

The Print Shop was built in the 1870s for the Orphanage. Other buildings have burned.

Images from West Roxbury Historical Society and Google may be seen HERE.

 1861 -1865
Second Massachusetts Infantry
Recruited Mustered and Drilled
on These Grounds
Known as Camp Andrew
Left Here for the War for the Union
July 8, 1861

Some of the wetlands.

While looking at an exhibit at the Fruitlands Museum, in Harvard, Massachusetts, with a blogger friend, I noticed the mention of 1841 when Brook Farm was founded (above and below).

Also see:

MassMoments article titled: "Utopians Purchase Brook Farm"

Massachusetts Historical Society

From correspondence I had with the Society in January 2013.

"I found the following item which is directly attributed to Charles H. Poole:

Call number(s):      Mss. Large 1849 June

Contained in:     In Mss. Large Manuscripts.

Creator:     Poole, Charles H.

Title:     Manuscript map of Brook Farm, June 1849

Description:     Scale 1:3600.

    1 manuscript map : pen and ink and watercolor; 37 1/2 x 55 cm.

Scope:     A manuscript map of the property of Brook Farm.

Local notes:     From the Perry-Clarke papers."

From a facebook page I received, is the following interesting article.

City of Boston Archaeology Program

September 20 at 9:43am · 

One of the collections management features we added this year is a new system to convert our digital catalog data automatically into formatted archival tags. These tags not only will live with the artifacts themselves in their archival bags, but also serve as labels and scales in the photos we are now taking of every artifact we process. This year we have already taken over 20,000 artifact photos, and are actively uploading them into a searchable artifact database, which we will launch soon. #collectionsmanagement #archaeology #digbos

Old Mammy Redd, an Accused Witch, Recently Pardoned

The poem below, was found in my ancestor's manuscript located in the archives at the New England Historic Genealogical Society's Library. My photographed image came out well, and since it meant something to my ancestor, I've decided to use it for Bill West's Fifth Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge! as described on his blog, West in New England.

At first, I thought the author, Julian S. Cutler might have been related to the writer or even to me, since I have a long lineage of Cutlers. However, I find no connection.

Old Mammy Redd is based on a true but very sad story about Wilmot Redd. She was convicted of Witchcraft in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and was hung. I found some links explaining more about this event. They are listed below.

OLD MAMMY REDD.

[For the Transcript.]

In Salem's court-house the old crone stands,

With her wrinkled cheeks and her bony hands,

And pleads for her life on a summer's day,

The life which the maidens had sworn away.

No kind neighbor or friend is there

To urge the granting of her wild prayer,

And crushed she listens the sentence fall--

"Death on the gallows for witches all!"

Never again will her old eyes see

The fisher boats, when the winds are free,

Sail out of the harbor of Marblehead,

Or home when the evening skies are red.

No more will she watch the while gulls fly
With snowy wings; 'gainst the inky sky,
When in from sea, through the twilight gray,
The storm comes sweeping across the bay.

No more will she hear when the shadows fall

The sunset gun from Fort Sewall's wall;

Nor list at midnight the rythmic roar

Of flood-tides creeping along the shore.

Short are the days of Mammy Redd,

Old witch woman of Marblehead;

Vain her prayers; 'neath the autumn sky,

Up Gallows Hill she is led to die.

"Witch," her accusers called her there;

Scoffed at her tears and her broken prayer;

Naught was heard but the cruel cry--

"Hang her--so let the old witch die!"

So she perished on Gallows Hill,

And the days and the years went by, until,

They said, in the streets of Marblehead,

"No witch, but a martyr was Mammy Redd."

And I've been told, when the midnight tide

Creeps in to the short where the old crone died,

If you listen, borne on the midnight air,

Her voice comes wafted in wailing prayer.

JULIAN S. CUTLER.

Marblehead, Feb. 19, 1889.

Below are photos of Wilmot "Mammy" Redd's memorial in the Witchcraft Memorial, Charter Street Burying Ground, also known as The Burying Point, Salem, Massachusetts

Wilmot Redd

Hanged

Sept. 22, 1692

Note: Other good websites for additional information about Mammy Redd.

Find A Grave  "On October 31, 2001 Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift signed a bill pardoning Wilmot Redd along with four other victims of the witch trials."

Vast Public Indifference article

Thomas Mayhew -- Watertown, Massachusetts

Thomas Mayhew was my 10th great-grandfather.

HERE BY THE ANCIENT FORD

THE LANDING AND THE WEIR

WAS THE HOMESTALL OF

THOMAS MAYHEW,

A LEADER IN WATERTOWN AFFAIRS

FROM 1635 TO 1645.

AFTERWARDS WITH HIS SON,

THE REV. THOMAS MAYHEW

HE LABORED AMONG THE INDIANS

AT MARTHA'S VINEYARD.

I wrote three other posts pertaining to Thomas, see below:

http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2013/09/founders-monument-watertown.html

http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2011/08/saturday-surname-mayhew-of.html

http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2011/08/those-places-thursday-where-ancestor.html

Prince Spaghetti of Lowell, Massachusetts Fame -- Wordless Wednesday

Z

Home of Prince Spaghetti, Lowell, Massachusetts

In 1912, in the North End of Boston, three immigrants from Sicily began making spaghetti and sold it to customers. The business was so fantastic that they needed more space, so in 1941 they moved to Prince Street in Lowell. In 1987 the company was sold to Borden, Inc., whose headquarters are in Ohio.

The stipulation between Borden and Prince was that nothing would change for ten years; no major changes and no layoffs. It was one huge family, mostly of hard-working Portuguese employees, many who worked there 30-40 or more years on one of the three shifts. When I began working there, into the 8th year of being owned by Borden.

It came to no huge surprise, that when the 10 years was up, Borden had no need for Lowell's plant, but they wanted the name. They had other plants, incl. one in St. Louis. Word of our closing spread like wildfire, I received phone calls from the press, and everybody wanted to know all the details.

Fortunately, I had more information and warning than most people, since I worked for the Plant Manager. Over 400 employees lost their jobs. We received nice severance packages and other benefits, but the pride of working for one of the most well-known companies in Massachusetts was no more.

The building in red brick is the original plant (where all offices, shipping, quality control, mini grocery store, and the Prince museum) and the large white/grey building was where the pasta was manufactured.

Prince Pasta / Spaghetti is now owned by New World Pasta in Pennsylvania. I can still buy the same blue Prince box in any local store. It didn't go away, just changed several hands and locations.

I shared some advertising products from the company in a recent post, see HERE. 

Nice article about the history from Mass Moments.

Courtyard facing the old and new buildings. Below are two railroad cars. There was also a fleet of large trucks with the same logo.

Update: On June 25, 2014, there was an article in The Lowell Sun newspaper about the old Prince plant and property being up for sale again.  See article at HERE.

Update #2 on October 15, 2014. Lowell Five buys former Prince building. http://www.lowellsun.com/ci_26732377

Photo of building from the back, Lawrence Street side (November 2014).

Mary, George, Gerald, Ted and Sonny...Where are the Others?

None of the individuals below were related to me, but we had a very strong bond. They were employees and bosses of where I worked for over ten years. When I began working at Father John's Medicine Co., Inc., in Lowell, Massachusetts, these people became my second family, and even after I left, I was in contact with several for many years. There are another eight I would like to locate. Once an employee began working at the company, they never left. Why? They weren't fired, the benefits and hours were great and it was a wonderful company. Several older employees died while I was there, and during my 10+ years there, I was always the youngest person. I decided to honor my former co-workers because I really liked these people and there is nobody else to do it.

Other names I am looking for are Thomas Fox, Eddie O'Hare, Lila Shannon, Frank Shannon, Joe Carty, Agnes Mellen, Annette Tatre, Anna M. Maloney.

Mary Helen McNamara

1917 - 2011

 George H. Donehue (father to sons Gerald and George)

1880 - 1967

Gerald F. Donehue

1910 - 1993
The above was buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery, Lowell, Massachusetts

George H. Donehue

1912 - 1987
The above was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Tewksbury, Massachusetts. His wife Marion was buried with him.

Lucian T. Villandry  1930  --  2005
His father is below.

Theodore Villandry died in May 1965
(He worked at Father John's Medicine while I was there, and lived at 29 Hanover Street).
(Locating this stone took four trips to the cemetery.)
The above two were buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Haverhill, Massachusetts Library, Local History and Genealogy Section

Haverhill Public Library

99 Main St, Haverhill, MA 01830

Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts

(978) 373-1586

Back entrance to the Haverhill Public Library, taken from the parking lot. Parts of the library are older, but this is the addition.

Peeking into the Local History Room. The Library now has a lot of information about its Special Collections and Archives online (new to me). Please check it out if you are interested. https://haverhillpl.org/special-collections/ In reading through this link, I see this section moved to a new place in the library. In the past, they always had limited hours to visit. Currently,  the hours are:\

Special Collections Hours

Tuesday	10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Wednesday	3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Thursday	10:00 am – 3:00 pm

The room looks the same as it did a good 12 years ago. The only difference is their hours. Now open 4 hours a day, for two days. Many years ago, it was open more frequently, but they always had the policy of closing for an hour for lunch!

In the back, there is a large room packed with their genealogies and other related history books. You are not allowed back there, but you can request what you need. Most reference books are upfront for patrons. Years ago, there was one day a year set aside for the members of the Essex Society of Genealogists (ESOG) members to spend the entire day looking in the back room. It was a real treat the three times I went. By the way, ESOG will always be my favorite genealogy club, if you aren't a member, and have Essex Co., Massachusetts ancestors, why not look into joining.

Three patrons working on a project.

Part of the Haverhill Directory collection.

Lucy Larcom -- A Mill Girl, A Writer, a Lovely Park in Lowell, Massachusetts

Lucy Larcom was typical of many young mill girls who worked in one of the many mills in New England. She was born in Beverly, Massachusetts and in 1830 she and her mother moved to Lowell. In 1835 when she turned 11 she began working in a mill. Many of the girls arrived here alone, some from the countryside in neighboring towns or from further away, like Maine. Some stayed until they had saved enough money, got homesick, tired of the work or helped their parents through their hardship. Lucy worked in Lowell until age 22, then moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and several other places. Years later she became an English literature teacher at Wheaton College. She never married, died in Boston (see death register below) and is buried in Beverly, Massachusetts (see photo below).

The school children who visit Lowell, all learn about her and other mill girls, and there is quite about her life in the Mill Girls exhibit (maintained by the National Park Service).

Above and below is the Lucy Larcom Park in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Lucy lived in a Boarding House like this one in Lowell. There is a period exhibit of what various rooms looked like during that time. This is free, open year round and maintained by the National Park Service.

Short bio of Lucy Larcom displayed in one of the above rooms.

Lucy died in Boston on April 17, 1893 at the Hotel Hoffman. I found her on the death register, last entry above, she was 69. See A New England Girlhood by Lucy Larcom and this site by the National Park Service.

Central Cemetery

Grass Avenue

Beverly, Massachusetts

The entry for her on FindAGrave is quite impressive. See HERE.