Picture of Boston Neck
http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/thumbnail/257470/1/View-Of-Boston-Neck.jpg
Beacon Street developed as a cow path to the Boston Common in the early 1700s. Charles Bullfinch designed the present Massachusetts State House in 1787 - it was located on Beacon Street across from Boston Common on pasture land purchased from John Hancock's heirs. Colonial housing on the Shawmut Peninsula at this time was becoming crowded. Seeing an opportunity for developing the area near the new State House, Harrison Gray Otis joined with several other prominent citizens including Charles Bullfinch to form the Mount Vernon Proprietors. They purchased nearby land owned by artist John Singleton Copley who had been living in England for 20 years. This was the start of the development of the south side of Beacon Hill.
The Shawmut peninsula had 3 hills. The largest was the steep Trimountain/Tremont which had 3 summits. One of the summits, Beacon Hill, was named after the beacon that was built on its peak to warn the residents of Boston of enemy danger. The three peaks of the Trimountain were eventually removed so housing could be built while the land from the peaks was used to fill in the salt marshes and mud flats of Back Bay.
The new Beacon Hill facing Boston Common became a desirable location for wealthy Boston families after it was developed in the early 1800s.
Workers excavating part of Beacon Hill. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1800_beacon_hill.jpg
I was very interested to read that Miss Wales donated to and worked at Perkins School for the Blind when it was located in South Boston. I worked in the library at Perkins when I was in high school - it had relocated to Watertown in 1912. My daughter Mairead works there now with the deaf blind students. Miss Wales' association with Mass General Hospital also interested me because of my nursing background.
He leaves another store at the south side of Cornhill that he values at $7000 to son Henry Ware Wales. He orders his executor to pay over to Henry $15, 000 and then $8000 to equal approximately $30, 000 which Thomas equates with what he has left the others. And of course, any future advancements made by Thomas to his son Henry will be deducted after Thomas death.
Thomas directs that his wife be Mary Ann's guardian if Thomas dies before Mary Ann is 21 years of age. He further directs that Abby receive the rents from the houses and store that Thomas is leaving to Mary Ann for her daughter's board, clothing, education and other expenses, and that Mary Ann not receive the payments directly until she turns 21.
Thomas directs that the above bequests to his children equal $30,000 each. Thomas then goes on to leave the rest and residual of his other remaining personal and real estate to a trust with the trustees of his estate - Samuel Quincy, Nathaniel H. Emmons, Thomas B Wales, Jr., and George W. Wales - charged to ensure that his beloved wife can occupy his Mansion House on Winter Street during her lifetime or until she decides to move. The trust is also to collect the rents, interests, dividends, and income from Thomas' other parts of his estate. They are to pay Abby $6000 annually and more if she needs it.
Thomas also directs the trust to pay his brother Ephraim $200 annually. There are also annual bequests to friends and nieces for $100-$200. He left one time sums of $500 to more nieces and friends. He then directs that any additional income to the trust - but not more than 6% of the principal - shall be divided equally among his children, and in the case of his daughters, the payment will be made to his daughters for their use - not for their husbands.
Elizabeth Wales' husband - Nathaniel Emmons is also from an old Boston family. He is also a merchant.
1865 Mrs. Nathaniel H Emmons paid $25 to support New England Female College. Sounds like women's education was important to these two families.
Trade in the American colonies was limited by British trade laws. The colonists had to import goods from England - they were not allowed to trade directly with other countries. This changed after the American Revolution. Of course, there were always Americans smuggling goods into the colonies.
"The demand for Chinese products—tea, porcelain, silk, and nankeen (a coarse, strong cotton cloth)—continued after the Revolution. Having seen the British make great profits from the trade when the colonies were prevented from direct trade with China, Americans were eager to secure these profits for themselves. The need to provide employment for people who had depended on the sea for their livelihood, the need to continue importing manufactured goods as yet unavailable from American sources, and the need to generate capital for development stimulated the development of a new kind of foreign trade. Direct trade with China was part of this trade. With the volume of foreign trade relatively small during the early years of the Republic, trade with China played a significant role."
Ship building became big business in the seaport states. Smugglers who had operated covertly under British rule could now expand their business legitimately along with others with backgrounds in sailing. A larger merchant class developed. Fortunes were made.
Members of the family of Thomas B. Wales (1776-1859) were minutemen who marched to Lexington on April 19, 1775. Thomas was a prominent Boston Merchant. A ship owner engaged in worldwide trade, Wales turned his attention to railroad commerce late in life, becoming President of the Boston & Providence Railroad. He left his fortune to his family.
The website for the First Church of Boston -:http://www.firstchurchbostonhistory.org/donors&dedicatedlaity.htm - provides this information:
"Thomas B Wales (2nd) was the eldest son of the senior Thomas Beale Wales (1776-1853) ...
His father left him a considerable fortune, and in his 30s, he became President of the Thomas B. Wales Company. As one of the earliest entrants into railroad construction in Massachusetts, the Wales Company laid tracks for the Boston-Providence Railroad in the 1830s. The Company also entered the American Clipper ship trade visiting harbors throughout Europe, India & Asia.
Thomas satisfied his civic duties as a member of the Boston City Council, Ward 10, becoming an alderman in the 1840s. He was Proprietor #805 of the Boston Athenaeum.
A major contributor to First Church of Boston, he was a Chairman of the Standing Committee, & for many years a member of the Financial Committee."
Out of personal interest, I want to include the following information from the same website about Robert Beale Wales' youngest daughter:
His father left him a considerable fortune, and in his 30s, he became President of the Thomas B. Wales Company. As one of the earliest entrants into railroad construction in Massachusetts, the Wales Company laid tracks for the Boston-Providence Railroad in the 1830s. The Company also entered the American Clipper ship trade visiting harbors throughout Europe, India & Asia.
Thomas satisfied his civic duties as a member of the Boston City Council, Ward 10, becoming an alderman in the 1840s. He was Proprietor #805 of the Boston Athenaeum.
A major contributor to First Church of Boston, he was a Chairman of the Standing Committee, & for many years a member of the Financial Committee."
Out of personal interest, I want to include the following information from the same website about Robert Beale Wales' youngest daughter:
"Miss Mary Anne Wales was the only daughter of the late Thomas B Wales by his second wife, Miss Abby Frothingham, the daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Langdon Frothingham.
Both families had long been connected with the First Church in Boston where in 1835, Mary Anne was baptized, later becoming prominent in the charitable work of its Society. In 1872, Miss Wales was voted to be the first female member of the Church’s Committee on Charity & Donations & the Committee to raise subscriptions to retire the debt of the new Church building in the Back Bay in 1868. Her contribution was $5, 000. Miss Wales was Proprietor #811 of the Boston Athenaeum."
Well known throughout Boston for her benevolent work, she donated to & worked at the Perkins Institute for the Blind, where 'she was truly beloved & highly appreciated for her wise liberality, benevolent activity & benignant ministries.' She gave freely of her large wealth, to Harvard Divinity School, the Museum of Fine Arts, & to the Boston Dispensary of Massachusetts General Hospital. At the Hospital, she was a major force in developing a professional nursing program.
She devoted much of her time personally in teaching poor members of her own sex, it being her custom each year to select some of the brightest & most promising of her pupils & have them thoroughly taught in self-supporting work, particularly the possibility of becoming a professional nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital.
She died of paralysis at her residence on Brimmer Street, Boston, in 1893 at the age of fifty-eight."I was very interested to read that Miss Wales donated to and worked at Perkins School for the Blind when it was located in South Boston. I worked in the library at Perkins when I was in high school - it had relocated to Watertown in 1912. My daughter Mairead works there now with the deaf blind students. Miss Wales' association with Mass General Hospital also interested me because of my nursing background.
Another daughter of Thomas Beale Wales, Elizabeth W. Wales. marries Nathaniel Emmons on 13 November 1828. More about this family shortly.
I found a will written by Thomas B. Wales in 1848 on www.ancestry.com. This man is quite wealthy!! He is leaving his beloved wife Abby L. Wales all furniture, plate, wines, liquors, books, stores, and other articles in his mansion at the time of his death except he wishes that she let his children take whatever articles they desire as memorials of their father.
Thomas leaves his daughter, Elizabeth W., wife of Nathaniel Emmons, a dwelling house on Brattle Street in Boston for "her separate use" and if she dies without issue, her inheritance goes to Thomas' other heirs. He also directs that $7000 be deposited in the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company - and that the interest and income from that be paid to his daughter, Elizabeth W Emmons, for her sole use and separate receipt - she may dispose of this income upon her death as she desires except for any sum of money that Thomas may give his daughter in the meantime - this must be repaid to Thomas' estate. Thomas values the house on Brattle Street at $8000. He states that the house, the insurance and the $15, 000 heretofore that Thomas has advanced to Elizabeth total $30, 000.
Brattle Street was located to the left of the green Town Dock - it was in what is now City Hall Plaza. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/DockSquare_1775_Boston_map.png
1857 corner of Court and Brattle Streets from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/1857_EveningScene_BrattleSt_Boston_byWinslowHomer_Ballous.jpg
1855 Brattle Street - I wonder if the Wales house is in this picture?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/1855_BrattleSt_BostonianSociety.png
Thomas Beale Wales leaves his daughter Mary Ann Wales two houses and a store at the head of Wales Wharf on Sea Street - this is worth $13, 000. If she dies without issues, the inheritance reverts to Thomas' other heirs. Thomas has already deposited $2000 to the Massachusetts Hospital Insurance Company and directs his executors to deposit to this account a sum of money so that the balance reaches $30, 000. The income of this account is to be paid to Mary Ann on her sole account and for her sole use.
Wales Wharf on Sea Street was in the Fort Port Channel area.
Wales Wharf on Sea Street was in the Fort Port Channel area.
Sea Street is at the bottom of this map on the left - unfortunately, it does not show the names of the wharfs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Street_(Boston)#/media/File:1769_SummerSt_Boston_map_WilliamPrice.png
Thomas goes on to leave his son - Thomas B. Wales, Jr. - half of his wharf on Sea Street with all the docks and buildings valued at $12, 500. He has already advanced $15, 000 to Thomas, Jr.
So he directs his executors to pay Thomas Jr. the sum of $25, 000 but any sums that may be hereafter advanced to the son will be deducted from the $25, 000. Thomas goes on to leave the other half of his wharf to his son George W. Wales with the same monetary provisions. But there is a stipulation that the property cannot be partitioned or divided during the lives of these two sons.
He leaves another store at the south side of Cornhill that he values at $7000 to son Henry Ware Wales. He orders his executor to pay over to Henry $15, 000 and then $8000 to equal approximately $30, 000 which Thomas equates with what he has left the others. And of course, any future advancements made by Thomas to his son Henry will be deducted after Thomas death.
Cornhill was a street located on th site of the current City Hall Plaza in government Center. Until 1829 it was called Market Street. It comprised a busy part of the city near Brattle street, Court Street, and Scollay Square.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhill,_Boston
Thomas leaves his son Edwin Wales another store on the north side of Cornhill valued at $8000. He has already advanced him $22, 000 so that is it for Edwin.
Thomas directs that his wife be Mary Ann's guardian if Thomas dies before Mary Ann is 21 years of age. He further directs that Abby receive the rents from the houses and store that Thomas is leaving to Mary Ann for her daughter's board, clothing, education and other expenses, and that Mary Ann not receive the payments directly until she turns 21.
Thomas directs that the above bequests to his children equal $30,000 each. Thomas then goes on to leave the rest and residual of his other remaining personal and real estate to a trust with the trustees of his estate - Samuel Quincy, Nathaniel H. Emmons, Thomas B Wales, Jr., and George W. Wales - charged to ensure that his beloved wife can occupy his Mansion House on Winter Street during her lifetime or until she decides to move. The trust is also to collect the rents, interests, dividends, and income from Thomas' other parts of his estate. They are to pay Abby $6000 annually and more if she needs it.
1860s picture of Winter Street looking toward Boston Common
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Street_(Boston)
Thomas also directs the trust to pay his brother Ephraim $200 annually. There are also annual bequests to friends and nieces for $100-$200. He left one time sums of $500 to more nieces and friends. He then directs that any additional income to the trust - but not more than 6% of the principal - shall be divided equally among his children, and in the case of his daughters, the payment will be made to his daughters for their use - not for their husbands.
Elizabeth Wales' husband - Nathaniel Emmons is also from an old Boston family. He is also a merchant.
In 1865, the Massachusetts Census lists Nathaniel, merchant, and Elizabeth Emmons living in Ward 6 with three sons - Samuel F, George B., and Arthur B. Emmons. They have 2 Irish servants - 35 year old Ann Clark and 19 year old Hannah Reardon.
1865 Mrs. Nathaniel H Emmons paid $25 to support New England Female College. Sounds like women's education was important to these two families.
In 1870 Nathaniel H. Emmons was a merchant at 70 State Street and lived at 8 Mt. Vernon Place on Beacon Hill. His son Nathaniel H., Jr. and company (J.P. Gates) are merchants at 70 States Street; Junior also is living at 8 Mt. Vernon Place.
Map of the south side of Beacon Hill showing 8 Mt. Vernon Place not far from the Massachusetts State House. This was the area that the Mt. Vernon Proprietors developed.
Beacon Street in 1870 - Mt. Vernon Place was off Joy Street on the left side of Beacon Street.
http://x.lnimg.com/photo/poster_1920/b79e4022ab094b8b9ce7b8c819d991d4.jpg
The website: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8-Mount-Vernon-Pl-Boston-MA-02108/59174591_zpid/ tells us that 8 Mount Vernon Place is a brick 4 story single family home with 16 rooms - it now has 5 bedrooms and 6 full and 3 partial bathrooms. It was last remodeled in 2011 - it sold for $10,890,000 that year also - I'm not sure if the renovations were done before or after the sale!
(As an aside that I found quite interesting, sometime after the Emmons had moved from 8 Mt. Vernon Place, the house was bought by Fiske Warren, whose father was a wealthy paper manufacturer. His wife, Margaret "Gretchen" Osgood, whose father worked with Louis Pasteur on rabies antibodies, had a younger sister Mary Osgood who married Erskine Childers.
Margaret Gretchen Osgood Warren and her daughter Rachel - portrait by John Singer Sargent in 1903
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gretchen_Osgood_Warren&oldid=700505033
As anyone interested in Irish history knows, Erskine and his wife Mary Osgood smuggled guns into Dublin on his boat the Asgard. Later, he was secretary for the Irish delegation - which included Michael Collins - who attended the Anglo-Irish Peace Treaty Conference in London. But he broke with Collins over the Treaty and supported DeValera and the Irish Republican Army. Erskine was later arrested by Free State Troops, found guilty of unauthorized possession of a firearm - I think it was a gun that Michael Collins had given him - and was executed.)
The 1870 census also lists Nathaniel H. Emmons living in Ward 6 of Boston with his wife Elizabeth W. Emmons. Nathaniel is a 75 year old Indian (goods) merchant with real estate worth $75, 000 and his personal worth is $75, 000. Their son Nathaniel H, Jr. is a 35 year old Indian (goods) merchant. 40 year old Kate Sheehan of Ireland is their domestic servant.
1871 Nathaniel H. Jr. marries Eleanor Bacon.
1872 Nathaniel and Eleanor Emmons have a son - Robert Wales Emmons.
The 1876 Boston Directory lists Nathaniel H. Emmons still at 8 Mt. Vernon Place while Nathaniel Jr. has moved to 98 Charles Street which was one of the new roads built when Beacon Hill was leveled.
98 Charles Street is not far from 8 Mt. Vernon Place which is off Joy Street.
96 Charles Street is in the center of this picture - Kate Theo home goods store is located there now - it it the building with the light colored 2nd and 3rd floors on the left. So 98 Charles Street must be to the left or right - I"ll have to take a road trip to check it out.
The 1880 Census shows the Emmons family living in Falmouth Village, Massachusetts. Nathaniel is a 42 year old "commission merchant." 31 year old Elena G has 4 children - Robert W, 7, Elena B. who is 4, Susan who is 2, and William B who is 9 months. They have 4 servants plus a nurse. This was a surprise since I have a connection to Falmouth and now live in East Falmouth.
I believe Nathaniel's father died about 1878 - his mother is still listed at 8 Mt. Vernon Place in the 1880 street directory.
The same directory lists Nathaniel H Emmons, Jr. still working at 40 Water Street in Boston but living at 245 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston's Back Bay! This is the area of mud flats that were filled in when Beacon Hill was being leveled, and by 1880 this area was becoming a fashionable residential area. But we just found the family living in Falmouth in 1880!
The website - http://backbayhouses.org/245-commonwealth/ - tells us that "245 Commonwealth was designed by William Whitney Lewis, architect, and built by William H. Sayward, builder, in 1877 for East India shipping merchant Nathaniel Henry Emmons, Jr., and his wife, Eleanor Gassett (Bacon) Emmons, on land he had purchased on December 1, 1870. They entered into party wall agreements in June of 1877, and Eleanor Emmons is shown as the owner on the original building permit applications for the house and a stable, dated June 13, 1877, and on the final inspection report, dated December 31, 1878 ... They also maintained a home in Falmouth." This explains why they were in Falmouth for the 1880 census!
"Robert Wales Emmons married in February of 1896 to Helen Brooks, and they moved to 91 Beacon. He was a member of his father’s shipping firm and later would become a banker and broker." Reverend Endicott Peabody was the celebrant. Peabody was from another wealthy merchant family; however, he walked away from the family business to become an Episcopalian minister. He was one of the founders of Groton Academy, a private preparatory boys school whose financial supporters included Theodore Roosevelt.
1900 U.S. Census shows the young family living at 91 Beacon Street. 27 year old Robert W. Emmons 2nd is the head of the family. He was born in Massachusetts in December 1872. He is a stockbroker. He owns the house.
Robert's wife, Helen B., is 24; she was born in December 1875. They have been married 4 years. Helen has had one child - Robert W. 3rd who was born in July 1897. Both Helen and Robert W. 3rd were also born in Massachusetts.
The family has 3 servants. The nurse is French - 25 year old Leonie Bruchet. She emigrated in 1893 and has been in the United States for 7 years.
27 year old Christina Ferguson is the Canadian cook. Her father was from Scotland while her mother was from Canada. She emigrated in 1891 and has been in the U.S. for 9 years.
Henrietta Edwards is a 34 year old servant. She grew up in Canada (English) where her parents were also born - they were of English descent. She immigrated to the united States in 1883 and has been here for 17 years.
In 1909, Who's Who in New England lists Robert Wales Emmons 2nd, banker, born in Boston in 1872 - son of Nathaniel H. and Eleanor G. (Bacon.) He received a BA from Harvard in 1895. He married Helen Brooks in 1896. He is Treasurer and Director of Nathaniel H. Emmons and Company. He is a member of the brokerage firm Schirmer, Chapin, and Emmons; Treasurer and Director of Lawrence Gas Company of Massachusetts, a trustee for Claverly Trust, Children's Hospital. He belongs to several clubs - Somerset, Tennis and Raquet, New York Yacht, Eastern Yacht, and the University of New York. He resides at 91 Beacon Street in Boston, and his offices are at 79 Milk Street.
The family has 5 Irish servants in the 1910 census. Robert Wales 2nd is still working as a stock broker. He and Helen have been married for 14 years and have 2 sons - Robert Wales Emmons 3rd, who is 12, and 4 year old Gardner Emmons.
The 1920 U. S. Census shows the family are still at 91 Beacon Street. Robert Wales Emmons 2nd is listed as manager of a shipping company. He owns the house - has no mortgage. They have 5 different servants - one from Scotland, the others from Ireland.
1928 Robert W. Emmons 2nd is still at 91 Beacon Street - he still has an office at 79 Milk Street Room 613.
Robert Wales Emmons dies in April 1928 at his summer home in Monument Beach, Cape Cod. The Biddeford Weekly Journal reports that he was an internationally known yachtsman. After he graduated Harvard, he entered the banking business. His father, Nathaniel Emmons, was the owner of East India clipper ships and the son was a follower of the sea from boyhood, first as the skipper of catboats on Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay and afterwards of yachts and sloops in international regattas.
During the war he served as lieutenant commander in the navy and was assigned to patrol duty in the first naval district, which included the New England coast.
Robert's wife continues to live at 91 Beacon Street until about 1939.
The Wales and Emmons families were typical of the merchant class in Boston. This is the background and atmosphere in which Aunt Nellie Keohane finds herself when she arrives in Boston looking for work. And why, you might ask, have I talked so much about the Wales and Emmons families. Because Aunt Nellie worked at 91 Beacon Street at some point in her career. And it is likely that she worked for the Emmons!
I was surprised to see that Aunt Nellie had gone home in 1925. She is returning to Boston on the S.S. Laconia - the ship left Cobh (Queenstown) 22 November 1925. Aunt Nellie is listed on line #1 - I don't know what the Head Tax is, but Aunt Nellie or someone is paying it. She is listed as Nellie Keohane - not Ellen Keohane. She is 29 years old and single. She reads and writes English. She is a citizen of the Irish Free State. Her last permanent address is Boston - there is a note that she left June 19, 1925. Her nearest relative in Ireland is her brother James Keohane in Ballythomas, Kinsale, Co. Cork. Her final destination is Boston, Ma.
The Laconia docked in Boston on November 29th, 1925. Nellie bought her own ticket to Boston and has $50. She was in Boston before from 1920-1925. She is a resident returning to Maple Rd., Clifton, Boston, Mass. What kind of address is this?
I tried to find where Aunt Nellie was living or working. There is a Clifton Street near Uphams Corner in Dorchester. There is a Maple Street off Seaver Street in Roxbury. There is a Maple Street in Milton off Central Avenue just across the Neponset River from Dorchester Lower Mills. So I don't know where Aunt Nellie was staying.
I wonder if this was around the time when her father, Patrick Keohane, died. Aunt Nellie told me that she went home when he was sick. When her father lie dying inside the house in Ballythomas, she heard the Banshee crying outside so she knew the end was near. She said she heard the banshee for two or three nights. When the banshee did not keen the next day, she knew her father would die that night - and he did.
I remember going to an Irish program at Boston College back in the 1980s. One speaker talked about the origins of the banshee. He said that there is no definitive form, but the one distinctive feature is a lament, a cry that signifies death. Ban means woman - Shee is a hill or mound. A banshee is a women of the fairy hills. Certain Irish aristocratic families - like the Fitzgeralds and O'Briens - have a female spirit attending them, and she can be heard keening before a family member dies - she is always combing her hair while she is keening. She may have been a woman at one time - abducted by the fairies. If a human eats fairy food, she becomes a fairy. The banshee may sometimes be seen as a hideous old woman, but whatever form she takes, she is always keening. I never thought to ask Aunt Nellie what her banshee looked like.
I knew that Aunt Nellie was engaged to a Dan Gimley - not from Aunt Nellie mind you - she never mentioned it - but from my mother and my aunt Hannie. She had saved money to pay his fare to Boston where she was working. She had a Hope Chest full of things she had bought for the marriage including dishes, linens.
You can't imagine how excited I was when I just happened across Dan Gimblett's name - not Gimlet - crossed out on a passenger Manifest for the S.S. Cedric which was leaving Cobh ( the former Queenstown) on 1 August 1926. It looks like he is a 27 year old general laborer. He is able to read and write English. He is a British citizen, and his last permanent residence is Kinsale, Cork. His nearest relative is his mother, Mrs. Margaret Gimblett, of Kinsale, Co. Cork.
Dan has a ticket to his final destination in Newtonville, Mass. He has never been to the U.S. before. His cousin, Miss N. Keohane, bought his ticket!!!! (What!?! His cousin?) He is joining her at ??? Newtonville Avenue, Newtonville, Mass. Dan intends to return to Ireland but plans to remain in the U.S. indefinitely and become a U.S. citizen. He is in good mental and physical health. He is 5’?” – I can’t make out his height - he has a fresh complexion, fair hair, and green eyes. He was born in Kinsale. But he has no visa which must be why he did not make the journey - although visas are issued in Cobh. This is very interesting – especially since Aunt Nellie just come back from Ireland in November 1925. I wonder if she bought Dan's ticket then or left him the money when she was there. Is she disappointed, angry, depressed that he did not make the trip? Interesting that she is listed as Dan's cousin. I wonder if they are related?
I did find some young Gimletts and a single Gimlett merchant seaman in the 1901 Irish Census - they were living in World's End. In house #3, 60 year old Michael Newman is living with his wife, 56 year old Mary A. Newman. Michael is a fisherman; Mary is a fish monger which is someone who sells fish. Neither can read. Michael's 3 stepsons are living with them - 18 year old Peter Gimlett is able to read and write - he is a tailor. Jeremiah and Daniel Gimlett are 14 and 13 - neither reads nor writes.
I think it is interesting that Michael Newman is Protestant - he belongs to the Church of Ireland. The rest of the family are Roman Catholic.
I suppose Mrs. Newman sold her husband's fish from a pier like this - maybe even this pier in Kinsale.
World's End in 1901 has John Gimlett, 33, living in house #14.5 - he is a merchant sailor. He reads only and is single.
So are any of these Gimletts related to our Dan Gimblett or are these two different families? On the 1926 ship manifest, Dan lists his age as 27 - so his birth date would be around 1899. The Dan Gimlett listed living in World's End in 1901 is 13 years old. So he is a little older than our Dan, and his mother may be the Mary Newman who is listed in the 1901 Census. Meanwhile the ship manifest lists our Dan's mother as Margaret Gimlett - Dan's nearest relative in Ireland.
It is fascinating or horrifying or both to look at the House and Building Return of the 1901 Census for World's End. Page 1 lists several houses with 2-3 families living in them. Take # 5 - a second class house - there are 3 families living there - the Mahoneys have 12 family members living in one room! In the same house the Sheehans have 6 people living in one room while the Harringtons in the same house have 4 people living in one room!! 22 people living in 3 rooms in 1 house!! What is going on? And this is not the only house with several families. There are 3 other pages but no landowner is listed.
But back to Aunt Nellie, she declares her intention to become a citizen of the United States in 1928. She is 33 years old and works as a housekeeper. She describes herself as 5 feet 4 inches tall - 129 lbs - she has dark brown hair, brown eyes with no distinctive marks. She was born in Co. Cork, Ireland on 27 June 1894. She now resides at 1 Walnut Street in Boston, Massachusetts.
Walnut Street is 2 blocks from the Massachusetts State House off Beacon Street, and it is not far from 91 Beacon Street where Aunt Nellie told several of us that she worked.
#1 Walnut Street would be the building on the left - #3 is on the right.
Aunt Nellie emigrated to the United States from Liverpool, England on the vessel Caronia. Her last foreign residence was Co. Cork. She is not married.
She renounces allegiance to King George V. She arrived in the port of New York on or about the 24th of May 1920. She is not an anarchist; she is not a polygamist nor a believer in the practice of polygamy. She intends in good faith to become a citizen of the United States and to permanently reside here. So help me God. Signed: Ellen Keohane.
Aunt Nellie swore this in U.S. District Court of Boston on 21 May 1928 before the Deputy Clerk of Court.
I had been excited to find that Dan Gimlett was supposed to come out in 1926 and didn’t.
BUT THEN I FOUND: Dan Gimlett (Gimlett this time - not Gimblett) on board the SS Cedric (the same ship he was supposed to take in 1926!!) sailing from Cobh on March 17, 1929 - St. Patrick's Day no less! The Cedric arrived in Boston on 25 March. Dan is a 29 year old single farm laborer who has a visa that was issued in Cobh 10/12/28. He was born in Kinsale, and that is his last permanent residence. His mother, Margaret Gimlett, of Mill Hill, Kinsale is his nearest relative in Ireland.
He has a ticket to his final destination of Newtonville, Massachusetts. His ticket was again paid by his cousin, Miss Nellie Keohane! I can’t make out the number at Newtonville Avenue in Newtonville. Dan plans to stay permanently in the United States and become a U.S. citizen. He is 5 feet 2 inches (not too tall) – he has a “fresh” complexion with dark hair and blue eyes.
I suppose Aunt Nellie was delighted to see Dan Gimlett - she had been waiting for several years for him to emigrate.
Aunt Nellie and Matt Touhy/Twohig in the mid 1920s, and the house is in Belmont where Nellie's brother, John Keohane, and his family lives.
The picture above has Dan Gimlett and Ned Shea with the Keohane children - my mother is standing, Hannie is sitting on Ned Shea's shoulders, and Peggy is sitting on his lap. My grandmother, Margaret Moriarty Keohane, is looking out the window in Arlington. Aunt Nellie probably took the picture. Dan is wearing my grandfather's hat from the Boston Elevated Railway - or is it? Maybe Dan worked for the Boston Elevated Railway too.
When I searched the street directories for Daniel Gimlett, I found a Daniel Gimblett living in Watertown at 59 Union Street in the 1930 U.S. Census. He is a laborer for a contractor, but he did not work the previous day. The other information fits - he is 29 - he immigrated in 1929.
Dan is boarding with James and Mary McCallin - James is a laborer at a foundry - his home is worth $16, 000 - he has a radio. He and his wife are Irish born. They have 12 boarders including this Daniel Gimblett - all but the two Higgins lads are also Irish born - and all are working - at least on the day before the census was taken.
I don't know if this is our Dan - but our Dan had friends from Kinsale living in Watertown - surely he knew John Reardon, Con Butler, Jimmy McCarthy - so it is possible. Also of interest are the 2 Twohigs - James and John - we just saw a picture of Mattie Tuohy/Twohig with Aunt Nellie. And that name is very unusual.
59 Union Street in Watertown is the house on the right - I'm not sure if this house is now a duplex, but the house on the left has #61 and #63. I can understand having 12 boarders if #59 is a single home, but if it is a duplex, that would be pretty tight quarters.
But, back to our lovebirds. Unfortunately, this romance has an unhappy ending. After Aunt Nellie has worked and saved to pay for Dan Gimlett to come out to Boston and has gathered a hope chest full of dreams for their wedding, Dan lets her down very badly - he gets another woman pregnant. He does "the right thing" and marries that woman. I'm not sure where this woman is - in Boston or at home in Ireland, but I cannot find any more information about Dan Gim(b)lett.
Aunt Nellie does go on with her life.
Aunt Nellie does go on with her life.
Aunt Nellie worked as a cook for rich families in Boston. We know she worked at 91 Beacon Street and 1 Walnut Street as well as in Newton. During the Depression, men would come to the kitchen door begging for something to eat. Aunt Nellie would not want the family of the house to know she was feeding the unemployed men so she would tell the men to come back when the family was not around. She would give them big heaping sandwiches to take away with them. Aunt Nellie also cooked/catered for John F. Kennedy.
My mother and Hannie used to visit Aunt Nellie at the places she worked. One evening they went in with Denis McHugh - he was John Reardon's brother-in-law - John Reardon was Aunt Nellie's cousin. Maybe John Reardon was there as well. They were playing cards and did not realize that it had started snowing. When it was time to leave, Aunt Nellie made Denis McHugh or one of the men go out first. Then she made each of the others go one at a time and step into the foot prints that were made by Denis so the man coming to check the furnace in the morning would only see one set of footprints and not know that Aunt Nellie had had visitors.
Petition for U.S. Citizenship # 125703 was filed in the U.S. District Court in Boston. Ellen Keohane reports her residence at 104 Park Ave., Arlington, Middlesex (Middlesex County in Massachusetts. This was my grandfather's home.) Her occupation is a domestic. She was born in Cork, Ireland on June 27, 1894. Her race is Irish.
She declared her intention to become a citizen of the United States on May 21, 1928 in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts in Boston. She is not married.
Her last foreign residence was London, England. She emigrated to the United States of America from Liverpool, England. Her lawful entry for permanent residence in the United States was at New York, under the name of Nellie Keohane on May 17, 1920 on the vessel Caronia as shown by the certificate of her arrival attached hereto.
Aunt Nellie gives the normal assurances that she is not a disbeliever in organized government nor a polygamist. She is attached to the principles of the Constitution and the United States. She renounces allegiance to King George V and states her intention to reside permanently in the United States.
She is able to speak the English language. She has resided in the United States and in Middlesex County since May 17, 1920.
She has not before made petition to become a citizen of the United States.
Attached to the Petition is Aunt Nellie's Declaration of Intention to become a citizen of the United States, the certificate of the Department of Labor of her arrival, and the affidavits of the two verifying witnesses.
Aunt Nellie signs her full true name - Ellen Keohane - after praying to become a citizen of the United States and swears that the information she has given is true.
George V on left
Witnesses are Hannah Mahoney, housewife, of 42 Madison St., Somerville and May Walsh, housewife, of 16 Burney St., Roxbury. They swear that they are citizens of the United States and that they have know Ellen Keohane since 1920. They also swear that she has lived continuously in Arlington in Middlesex County since 1920! They swear that she is a person of good moral character, is attached to the principles of the Constitution, and is in every way well qualified to become a citizen of the United States. Signed Hannah Mahoney and Mary Walsh.
Both Aunt Nellie and the witnesses signed the above forms in the office of the clerk of the court in Boston on 17th July 1930.
S.S. Caronia
Do you remember that witness Hannah Mahoney is the friend who took in Aunt Nellie's brother Tom Keohane and her niece Frances Keohane after Tom's wife died?
And Mary/May Walsh is my grandmother's oldest sister - Mary Moriarty Walsh - she was the first one out to Uncle Con Moriarty in Newport, Rhode Island, and she married Jeremiah Walsh.
Aunt Nellie signed the oath of allegiance and became a citizen of the United States on 17th November 1930.
Aunt Nellie, Hannie, Peggy, Jim, and Ellen Keohane in Arlington.
Hi. I live in Mary Anne Wales's house in Beacon Hill. I'm writing a history. Thank you for your post. I tried to get in touch but your email address doesn't work. Please make contact if you're interested in corresponding.
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