Aunt Nellie and Mr. Russell

So, when we last left Aunt Nellie in 1940, she was working as a maid at 182 Marlborough Street. She was 47 years old.

182 Marlborough Street about 1942 from the website https://backbayhouses.org/182-marlborough/

Marlborough Street is in Boston's Back Bay which was a quagmire and health hazard in the early 1800s. The City decided to fill in this marshland to expand the size of the city. The process started about 1850. 

The backbayhouses.org website says:

182 Marlborough was designed by architect Samuel D. Kelley and built in 1880 by Samuel Stillings, a carpenter and builder, probably for speculative sale, one of two contiguous houses (180-182 Marlborough) ...

By the 1881-1882 winter season, 182 Marlborough was the home of retired wool merchant Charles Larkin, a widower.  He had lived at the Hotel Hamilton at 260 Clarendon in 1880.  By the 1882-1883 season, he was living at the Hotel Vendôme.

By 1882-1883 winter season, 182 Marlborough was the home of Mrs. Cordelia A. (Backus) Knowlton, the former wife of house carpenter Edmund A. Knowlton ... Cordelia Knowlton operated a lodging house at 182 Marlborough.  In 1880, she had lived and run a boarding house at 116 Boylston.

182 Marlborough (ca. 1942), photograph by Bainbridge Bunting, courtesy of The Gleason Partnership

She continued to live at 182 Marlborough in 1887, together with several lodgers ...

By 1888, 182 Marlborough was the home and medical office of Dr. John Orne Green, a physician specializing in diseases of the ear and a professor at Harvard Medical School.  Dr. Hasket Derby, an oculist and ophthalmologist, also maintained his office there ...  

"By the 1909-1910 winter season, 182 Marlborough was the home of Charles Theodore Russell and his wife, Louise (Rust) Russell.  They previously had lived at 16 Exeter.

Initially, they probably leased the house from Dr. Samuel Jason Mixter and his wife, Wilhelmine (Galloupe) Mixter, who lived at 180 Marlborough ...  Wilhelmine Mixter died in January of 1925, and Samuel Mixter died in January of 1926 and by 1928 Louise R. Russell is shown as the owner of 182 Marlborough.

180-182 Marlborough (2013)

The Russells also maintained a summer home in Falmouth.

Charles Russell was assistant treasurer of the Boston Wharf Company until 1914.  Thereafter he was a trustee and real estate dealer.

Louise Russell died in October of 1938.  Charles Russell continued to live at 182 Marlborough until his death in July of 1961.  The house was shown as vacant in the 1962 and 1963 City Directories."



So back to Aunt Nellie. Two years after Louise Russell's death, the 1940 U.S. Census for 182 Marlborough Street on April 5 lists C.T. Russell renting his house for $80 monthly. Charles is a 70 year old widower. I think it's interesting that Mr. Russell is renting his home after we just saw that his wife was the owner in 1938. 
The census reports that Mr. Russell was born in Massachusetts and completed 4 years of college. Retired is crossed out. The form indicates that Mr. Russell is unable to work, he was not working in 1939 so he did not earn any income. But he did receive income over $50. 

Caroline Olsen is the 60 year old "hired hand." She was born in Sweden and completed 4 years of school. She works as a maid and earned $900 last year.

Both lived in the same house 5 years ago.

So Aunt Nellie is in the 1940 Boston directory but not in the census - so maybe she did not start work here until after April when the census was taken? I couldn't find her in the 1940 census or in any passenger lists from Ireland - in case she had gone home for a visit.

According to the Fort Point Channel Landmark District Study Report, in 1836 the Boston Wharf Company (BWCo) was incorporated to build wharves for docking and warehousing. Like in other sections of 19th century Boston, the first step was to turn soggy marshes into usable land. (As we just saw in the Back Bay.) 

“The company filled in the land along the South Boston shoreline, laid out the streets and alleys, and constructed the buildings,’’ Erin Doherty, preservation planner for the district, said. “As nearly all of the buildings were designed by their staff architects, the district has a remarkable degree of uniformity.’’ 

Fort Point is Boston’s largest and most significant collection of late 19th and early 20th century industrial loft buildings, Doherty said. 

"The warehouses held mostly sugar and molasses until the late 19th century, due in part to the position of BWCo Director Elisha Atkins, who held stock in the Bay State Sugar Refinery ... 

"According to the Landmarks Commission, the area’s development lasted until the 1880s, when the Congress Street Bridge was built, opening up better access to Fort Point from downtown Boston and giving BWCo the opportunity to expand its markets."

Oh my lord! Elisha Atkins!! The world or Boston is small indeed. The Atkins lived on Concord Avenue in Belmont - just outside Belmont Center. The Atkins' estate was up the hill on the right hand side - I'm not sure if it included property on the left hand side.  The Atkins owned sugar plantations in Cuba - when I worked at Sancta Maria Hospital in Cambridge, an old man would come to the cafeteria for lunch - he told me that he had worked in Cuba on the Atkins plantations. I thought he was a nice old man - seemed lonely so I talked to him. Later, I found out that Johnny Murphy's aunt Bridie Murphy used to work for the Atkins and the Claflins!! She used to live in on Concord Ave.!

New England Confectionary Co. from bridge, ca. 1898-1907 —Boston Public Library via Flickr Creative Commons

"At that time (when the Congrees Street Bridge was built) some manufacturers moved into buildings owned by BWCo, such as Chase & Co., which was the predecessor of New England Confectionery Company (NECCO)."

And this is another connection with my family!! My husband did landscaping at the NECCO company when he was foreman for Larry Antonellis' landscaping company. Larry's brother Dominic Antonellis had became president of NECCO in 1978.

So the Boston Wharf Company is the enterprise for which Charles Russell worked, and now Aunt Nellie is working for him. So who is he?

Charles T. Russell is a descendant of Samuel Hastings (born 1735 in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts - died 1823 in Princeton, Massachusetts.) Samuel served as a lieutenant at the Battle of Lexington which was the start of the American Revolution. He was appointed captain in 1781 by Massachusetts Governor John Hancock. So we have another family with long roots in the Bay State.

Samuel's granddaughter, Persis Hastings (born November 27, 1793) married Honorable Charles Russell, merchant, on June 14, 1815 in Princeton.  This Charles Russell was born March 4, 1793 - his parents were John Russell of Princeton and Eunice of Stow.

In 1870, 77 year old Charles Russell is listed as a farmer with real estate worth $4,000 and a personal estate of $4870. Charles was a merchant in Princeton, clerk of the town and postmaster, representative eight years, four years a member of the Senate and four years a member of the Governor's Council. Not too shabby!

Charles and Persis Russell had a son, Charles Theodore Russell - born Nov 20, 1815 - graduated from Harvard - formed a law firm with his brother Thomas Hastings Russell with offices in the Brazer Building at 27 State Street for more than 50 years. 

This map shows the location of the Brazen Building at 27 State Street with the red icon near the top right. It also shows Fort Point Channel, the Congress Street and Summer Street Bridges and Necco Street mid to lower right. It also shows Commonwealth Avenue and Marlborough Street on the left.

The Brazen Building at 27 State Street behind the old State House.

Charles Theodore Russell married Sarah E Ballister of Dorchester on Monday June 1, 1840 in Dorchester - Reverend John AC Abbott of the Eliot Church in Roxbury performed the ceremony. I wonder how they met? Their son Joseph Ballister Russell was born 24 October 1852 in Boston - they were living at 17 Edinburgh St. in Boston. Charles is working as a lawyer.


By 1856 Charles Theodore Russell was a counsellor at 27 State Street - he had a house at Craigie and Brattle Streets in Cambridge which is just outside of Harvard Square. The intersection of the streets can be seen on the map below - just below the red icon for 69 Sparks street.

Charles T. Russell  was mentioned in 1853 at 69 Sparks Street in Cambridge - the red icon in the map above. This REALLY spiked my interest because Johnny Murphy's relatives - the family of butcher and developer Tim Burns  - lived at the other end of Sparks Street near Mount Auburn Street. 

The following is from Cambridge Buildings and Architects by Christopher Hall which I found on the Cambridge Historical Commission's website. It lists 69 Sparks Street under 2 Hillside Street.
2 Hillside Street is a 3 story house built in 1953 - the dot in front of the #2 means the house was still standing in 1999. The alternate address is 69 Sparks Street.
The notation shows that in 1853 the house was taxed to owner George Meacham. In 1858 I believe this means that Charles Theodore Russell was the owner. I'm not sure what the rest means - 65+bg w1 sparks. But in 1898 the architects J.R. and W.P. Richards made renovations to Charles' house including a bay window. In 1905 further renovations were made by W.P. Richards only now Mrs. Joseph B. Russell is the owner.

"•2 (Sparks st 69) house 3-st 1853

.....1852 house deed 610,130 70'sparks ws sBrewsterD (o) Meacham Geo. to (o) Davis Benj.G.

.....1853 house tax 58 RussellCT 65+bg w1 sparks : 69 (o) Meacham Geo.

.....1854 Walling map

.....1898 house altered & bay window permit 7347 sparks 69 (o) Russell Chas T (a) Richards J.R. & W.P.

.....1905 house altered permit 11109 sparks 69 (o) Russell Jos.B mrs (a) Richards W P

.....1936 •garage permit 37282 sparks 69 (o & b) Howard M B"

The 1870 Cambridge Census for Ward 1 - (again the Cambridge Directory lists the house at Sparks Street near Brattle Street) - has the following listing:
50 yo Charles T - lawyer - real estate $18K - personal wealth $4K
50 yo Sarah E - keeping house
23 yo Josie E - no occupation
21 yo Sarah L - no occupation
19 yo Charles T Jr - no occupation listed - college student is crossed out
18 yo Joseph B - stock clerk
14 yo Henry E - at school
12 yo William E - at school (this son would lead quite a life - graduate Harvard 1877 - then LLB from BU -  practiced law in Boston - mayor of Cambridge 1885-1888 - great speaker and debater - governor 1891, 2, 3 - elected at 34 - then retired from politics to practice law.)
42 yo Kate McCarthy - domestic servant - Ireland
20 yo Bridget Cremlin - domestic servant - Ireland

In 1875 Charles Theodore is a counsellor at 27 State Street in Boston where his son Charles Theodore, Jr. is a lawyer and both live at 69 Sparks Street in Cambridge.
Henry E. Russell is a clerk at 205 State Street and is boarding at 69 Sparks Street.
Joseph B. Russell is listed working at 18 T. Wharf in Boston - he was a stock clerk in 1870 - I wonder what he is doing now? He also is boarding at 69 Sparks Street.

69 Sparks Street, Cambridge

No history of Long Wharf is complete without mention of T 
Wharf, the T-shaped wharf attached to Long Wharfs northern 
face. It was constructed in the 18th century to take advantage 
of the deep water available midway down Long Wharf. 
T Wharf became the center of Boston's fishing industry during 
the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sometime after the 
decline of the fishing trade in Boston, T Wharf became a 
favored residential address for artists and the home of the very 
popular Blue Ship Tea Room until the wharfs disintegration in 
the 1960's. 

http://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/k930f8304

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

T Wharf, above, looks like a busy location - it must have been an exciting place to work for a 20 something!

In 1880 Joseph Ballister Russell marries Lillian Hillard Tenney on May 20 in Delaware - Right Reverend Alfred Lee performed the ceremony.

That same year - 1880 - the Cambridge census for 69 Sparks Street listed Joseph and Lillian living with Joseph's family.

The next year on Aug 23, 1881 CT Russell was born in Cambridge - parents are Joseph B & Lillian H - he is a shipper - he was born in Boston - Lillian was born in Kentucky.

By 1881 Joseph and Lillian Russell had their own home at 138 Brattle Street in Cambridge, but they didn't move far away - this house is at the corner of Brattle and Sparks Streets.

In 1897 the Cambridge Directory reports that Joseph B. Russell has an office at 114 State Street in Boston and is also president of Cambridge Safe Deposit and Trust Company - but he now he has a house in Belmont. So he was a successful merchant and now has gone into banking. And the Belmont Directory for 1896-97 lists Joseph B. Russell as a banker at 114 State Street in Boston with a house on Pleasant Street at the corner of Concord Avenue.  I know Pleasant Street in both Belmont and Arlington has some big beautiful houses - but this intersection is right behind the Belmont Police Department and Town Hall - I don't remember any older houses in this location. I did see this house below at 692 Pleasant Street but I'm not sure it is the right house. This picture is looking at the intersection with Concord Avenue - that brick building in the background is Belmont Town Hall. I know this area fairly well - my grandparents lived up the hill off Concord Ave in the early 1920s. There were no paved streets when the Russells lived here. And we just learned that the Atkins family live up the hill on Concord Ave.

The 1900 census for Cambridge lists Joseph B. Russell's house at 69 Sparks Street as closed. He must have inherited or bought it when his father Charles Theodore Russell or mother died. Johnny Murphy's Burns relatives live at 15 Sparks Street - closer to Mount Auburn Street.

The 1900 United States Census of Belmont lists the Russell family but provides no street name. 47 year old Joseph B. Russell is head of the family. He and his parents were born in Massachusetts. He is a treasurer. He has no mortgage on his home.
44 year old Lillian Russell was born in Kentucky. They have been married for 20 years and have 5 children.
Charles Theodore 2nd is 18 years old. 
Sarah is 17 years old.  
Joseph B., Jr. is 1. 
Daughter Junia is 12. 
Otis T. is 10. 

There is also Joseph Russell's older brother Charles Theodore living with them - he is a 49 year old lawyer.

The Russells have 5 servants. Their butler is 25 year old Eugene Bishop who was born in Maryland. Their other servants are all from Ireland - a coachman, chambermaid, cook. But the most interesting to me is Julia Burns - she is 37 years old - born in Ireland in May 1863 - she immigrated in 1870 - has been here for 30 years - she is the Russells' laundress. And I think this is my husband's great-great-aunt from Gortdromagh, Sneem, Co. Kerry!!! I hadn't been able to find her in any records, but I knew that she was working near Cambridge from Aunt Helen. Her uncle, Tim Burns, lives at the other end of Sparks Street. She emigrated from Ireland to his house in 1880.

Apparently, Joseph kept both houses - the one in Belmont and the one in Cambridge - his family, including his brother, stayed at either house. 

The Brookline street directory for 1905 lists Joseph B. Russell of Belmont as a member of the Brookline Country Club.  He applied for a U.S. passport in March 1904 and stated that he is a merchant and plans to go abroad temporarily - he planned to return to the United States within 2 years.

Charles Theodore Russell, 24, married Louise Rust, 26, on March 14, 1906 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This is the first marriage for both. Charles was born in Cambridge and is living there at 69 Sparks Street; Louise was born in Eau Claire in Wisconsin but is living at 154 Bay State Road, Boston. Charles' parents are Joseph B Russell and Lillian H. Tenney. Louise's parents are William A. Rust and Nora Drummond. Prescott Evarts was the clergyman who married them - he resided at 19 Follen Street in Cambridge - the rectory for the Episcopal Christ Church in Harvard Square.

Episcopal Christ Church - By User:Magicpiano - Own work, GFDL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22922223

1906 -1908 the young Russells are living at 69 Sparks Street in Cambridge with Charles' father, Joseph B. Russell, who is treasurer at the Boston Wharf Company and owns the house at 69 Sparks Street. So Joseph took over as treasurer from his father.

In 1908 a baby boy is born at 154 Bay State Road, to Charles T. and Louise Russell of 16 Exeter Street in Boston. Charles is a manager, but it does not say where. A few days later, it looks like a baby girl is born to Louise's brother Paul at the same address 154 Bay State Road.

1909 - Charles T. Russell is working at 259 Summer Street in Boston and is living at 16 Exeter Street in Boston.

259 Summer Street is in the red building on the left - looking toward Summer Street bridge.

18 Exeter Street is the red brick building - 16 would be to the left on the corner of 196 Marlborough Street behind the tree. So the Russells were living fairly close to the house where they would soon move.

In 1910 Charles and Louise Russell are at 182 Marlboro Street. We know that they have recently moved in. They have been married for 4 years, and they have 2 sons - 3 year old Charles, Jr. and 6 month old Henry.  They have 2 nurses, a waitress, a cook, and a laundress - the "waitress" is 81 years old! 

In 1915 Charles' father, Joseph B. Russell, applied for another passport - he had been traveling for over 20 years.  This application included a picture as well as the description. Joseph was 62 years old at the time. He was 5'61/2" tall; he had a medium forehead with gray eyes and a straight nose. He had a medium mouth but a strong chin - his brown hair was turning gray. His complexion was rather dark in his oval face. I included this because I don't have a picture of Mr. Russell but perhaps he looked like his father.

In 1920 the Russells are renting 182 Marlboro Street.  37 year old Irish native Mary Carrol is the cook; 30 year old Alfreda Nelson is the Swedish chambermaid; and 27 year old Dorothy Lane is the governess - she is from Massachusetts. 

According to the 1930 census, 48 year old Charles Russell is the head of the family. The house is worth $45, 000. Charles is a Trustee.  Of what? the Boston Wharf Company? 

Louise R. Russell is 50 years old and was born in Wisconsin. 

There are 4 children. 23 year old Charles T. Russell, Jr. is a clerk in a bank. The other children - 21 year old Henry D., 19 year old Joseph B., and 17 year old Louise - all attend school.

There are also 3 servants working for the Russells. Nellie Mahoney is the 45 year old cook from the Irish Free State - she is widowed. 45 year old Annie Doddy is the chambermaid - she is single and is also from Ireland. Faye Troop is the 23 year old Canadian nurse - the children are almost as old as she is! So is she a nurse for Mrs. Russell? We just saw that she dies in October 1938.

So, let's check out Falmouth for the Russells. The 1926 and 1929 street directories of Falmouth list Charles T. and Louise Russell of Boston having a summer residence in Falmouth off Jones road. Also listed is their son Charles T. Russell, Jr. of Boston - a summer resident of Falmouth who is boarding at Charles T. Russell's.

So we know a little about Mr. Russell - how long did Aunt Nellie work for him? More to come.

Some of Aunt Nellie's Employers

The following is a note from my mother telling me about Julia Finn who used to work near Aunt Nellie when Nellie was at 91 Beacon Street in Boston. “Across the way” according to Aunt Nellie, Julia was working for the aunt and uncle of Mrs. Bingham for whom Aunt Nellie later worked. 

Julia knew Aunt Nellie in Ireland – she lived near family friend Ned Shea and Bridgie. She was never friendly to the Keohanes in Ireland. (My mother thought she was a friend or cousin of Tim Cummings.) Julia used to visit and play cards with the maids at 91 Beacon Street. She wasn’t feeling good, made an appointment to make out her will, witness never showed up, no will made. Julia fell and hit her head on the radiator in her room. A Protestant maid called a priest. Bingham’s uncle would not let him visit Julia in the house. He rode with her to the hospital in the ambulance – she died on the way to the hospital. The priest was Fr. Rogers who had baptized my uncle Jim Keohane at Sacred Heart Church in Watertown.

I found a Julia Finn leaving Queenstown on 31 August 1900 on the S. S. New England. She is a 22 year old servant - she is not married. She can read and write. Her last residence is Kinsale.

Boston is her final destination. Her sister paid for her ticket, and she has $25. She has never before been to the United States.

Is she going to her uncle? Is that what it says - J ? Finn?  Then it looks like Joy - and below that, Boston Hotel. 

I found a baptismal record for Julia Fynn of Derrinagasse. She was baptized in the Innishannon parochial area on 25 October 1877 - parents were Jeremiah Fynn and Mary Hurly - sponsors were William O'Keefe and Mary Horgan. The baptismal date matches Julia's age.

Jeremiah Finn and Mary Hurley were married in Innishannon by Father Holland P.P. (parish priest) on 12 June 1870. Michael Murphy and Julia Hayes were the witnesses. 

Ellen Finn was baptized on 9 April 1871 in Innishannon. Sponsors were John Finn and Margaret Neill.

23 February 1874 bring another daughter in Derrinagassia - Mary's sponsors were Denis Reily and Ellen Finn.

Catherine Finn of Derrinagassie was baptized on 9 May 1880 - sponsors were John Finn and Mary Hennesey.

So we see that Jeremiah and Mary Finn had 4 daughters - Ellen, Mary, Julia, and Catherine. There are some gaps between the daughters - maybe there were other children that I didn't find.

The 1901 Irish census lists two Finn families in Derrynagasha townland in Leighmoney which is near the town of Kinsale as we have seen. Jeremiah is the 60 year old head of the family in house #4. Mary is 50 years old. Their 16 year old daughter Lizzie and 13 year old son David live with them. They have 18 year old Charles Hogan working as their farm servant.

The other Finn family is too young to belong to 22 year old Julia - and the names don't jive.

But do you remember that we talked about the Hogans a while ago? Charlie Hogan was the son of Aunt Nellie's great aunt Ellen Pierce who was married to Patrick Hogan. Aunt Nellie's grandmother was Mary Pierce who married Jack Keohane. Anyway, Charlie Hogan was not listed with his family in 1901 so I think this is probably him. 

When were we talking about the Hogans, I had forgotten about Julia Finn. She had emigrated in 1900 so was not listed  in the Irish Census  - so there was nothing to jog my memory. This would make sense that Charlie worked for the Hogans - Aunt Nellie told my mother that Julia knew the Keohanes in Ireland.

The 1911 Irish census tells us that Jeremiah has died; Mary is listed as a widow. 22 year old David Finn is now the farmer although 60 year old Mary is head of the family. 24 year old Lizzie is still living there - she is single. 27 year old John Finn, a relative, is listed although it does not say that he is a farm servant - I wonder if he was visiting? Another relative is there that day as well - 13 year old James Shorten - why is he there?

The census also tells us that Mary has had 6 children - 5 are living. We saw baptismal records for Ellen, Mary, Julia, and Catherine - and Lizzie and David are listed in the Census - that is 6 - we know Julia, Lizzie and David are alive in 1911.

1911 has Julia T. Finn leaving Queenstown on the S.S. Arabic on 27th September. She is a 29 year old single housemaid. She reads and writes. It looks like it says she is an Irish citizen, but then is it NAL?  What is that? Her last permanent residence was Kinsale. Her nearest relative in Ireland is her mother Mrs. Finn from Dernagasha, Kinsale. Her final destination is Roxbury, Massachusetts. I wonder when her father died - he was not listed in the Census, but no information is given when the Census was enumerated.

And did you notice that Julia is traveling with Mary A. Connolly who is also from Kinsale? Mary is 28 years old, and like Julia, she is a single housemaid. She also reads and writes. And she also has those letters NAL.  Does it say her father is D. O. Connolly or D. O'Connolly? Whichever, he is from Bandon Road, Kinsale. Her final destination is also Roxbury, Mass.

Page 2 tells us that Julia bought her own ticket and has $40. I think it says she was in Boston for 11 years. Maybe until 1911? She is joining her uncle James Finn at 18 Hawthorne Street in Roxbury. Julia is 5'5" tall, has a dark complexion, dark/brown hair, and blue eyes. She has no marks of identification. Her birth place is Kinsale.

It is interesting that Mary Connolly bought her own ticket - she only has $10. She also was in Boston previously - for 17 years until 1911. And she is joining her cousin - JAMES FINN!!! Looks like it says 121 St., Roxbury, Mass, but then it has 18 Hawthorne Street!! She must be related to Julia! She is 5' 4 1/2" - has a fair complexion, brown hair, and gray eyes. She has no identifying marks. Her birth place is Kinsale.

The 1920 U.S. Census lists Miss Julia Finn working as a servant for  Mrs. Amos S. Hopkins at 46 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. 73 year old Mrs. Hopkins is listed as the head of the family; she owns the house - no mortgage. She was born in Rhode Island as was her father; her mother was born in New Hampshire. She is listed as married, but no other family member is listed.

Mrs. Hopkins has 5 servants. They are all from Ireland except one who is from Newfoundland. Julia Finn is listed as 29 years old - she immigrated in 1911 and is an alien. 

Although the above age sounds like it is off, I'm inclined to think that this could be our Julia Finn. Why? Because Aunt Nellie had said that Julia worked across the way from 91 Beacon Street. Look at this first map which shows where 91 Beacon Street is - near the corner of Beacon and Arlington Streets. 

Now look where 46 Commonwealth Avenue is - across the Boston Common to Comm. Ave.

I think 46 Comm Ave is the first red brick building beside the gray colored building on the right 

http://mv.ancestry.com/viewer/44abdd64-9932-4c26-8efc-d835cda16721/9215842/6895905954

The website -   http://www.bosarchitecture.com/backbay/commonwealth/46.html - tells us:

"In 1903, 46 Commonwealth was purchased by Amos Lawrence Hopkins and his wife, Maria Theresa Burnham (Dodge) Hopkins. At the time they purchased 46 Commonwealth, the Hopkinses were living at 84 Commonwealth with her mother, Maria Theresa (Burnham) Dodge. The Hopkinses and Mrs. Dodge moved to 46 Commonwealth by the end of 1904. Amos Lawrence Hopkins was a railroad investor and officer, affiliated with the Jay Gould organization until 1889, when he retired to Williamstown (where he had been born) and acquired extensive land holdings. He returned to the railroad business in the 1890s and became President of the New York, Susquehanna, and Western Railroad Company, and receiver of the Chicago and Northern Pacific Railroad. Maria Theresa Dodge died in April of 1910 and Amos Lawrence Hopkins died in April of 1912. Theresa Hopkins continued to live at 46 Commonwealth in 1935. She also maintained a summer home in Nahant. The house was not listed in the 1936 and 1937 Blue Books."

The 1930 census again lists Julia Finn at 46 Commonwealth Avenue. Theresa Hopkins is 83 years old and widowed. She owns the house which is worth $40, 000. This census reports that Mrs. Hopkins was born in New York - her father born in Georgia - her mother born in New Hampshire. Is this the same woman from 1920?

Mrs. Hopkins has 4 servants including a cook, a seamstress, and 53 year old Julia who is the laundress. This says that Julia immigrated in 1900 and is a naturalized citizen.

I looked for Julia's naturalization papers. In 1924 Julia Theresa Finn completes her Declaration of Intention to become a United States citizen. I can't make out her age. She is working as a laundress. She reports her color as white, her complexion is medium. She is 5' 2 1/2" tall - she weighs 138 lbs. Her hair is brown, her eyes are blue. She has no distinguishing marks.  She was born in Cork, Ireland on 24th October 1877 or 1879 - 1877 is written but 879 is typed above it. She resides at 1 Gloucester Street, Boston. 

Julia emigrated to the United States from Queenstown, Ireland on the vessel New England. Her last foreign residence was Cork. She is not married.

Julia, like others before her, is renouncing allegiance to King George V of Great Britain and Ireland.

She states that she arrived at the port of Boston in Massachusetts in September 1900. 

She is not a polygamist nor an anarchist. it is her intention in good faith to become a citizen of the United States and to reside there permanently. So help me God.

Julia signed this - Julia Theresa Finn - on the 18th of January 1924 in the Boston District Court of the United States.

Interesting notation on the bottom of the page: it looks like "cert Gr Britain by birth; France by marriage. Certificate of Naturalization No. 2355182 issued on 19th July 1926." This looks like a different page under Julia's application.

On the left page Julia's Petition for Naturalization shows that she is still residing at 81 Gloucester Street and is still working as a laundress. She was born on the 24th of October 1877 in Cork.

Julia emigrated from Queenstown on or about the 31th day of August 1900, and she arrived in the port of Boston on 8th September 1900 on the vessel New England.

Julia declared her intention of becoming a citizen of the United States on the 18th of January 1924 in the United States District Court of Boston.

Julia is not married.

Julia has resided continuously in the United States since 8th of September 1900 and has lived continuously in Massachusetts since 1912. (Remember she went home to Ireland in 1911.)

Declaration of Intention #15?149 and certificate of arrival from Department of Labor were filed 25 March 1926.

Julia signs the petition - Julia Theresa Finn

Witnesses are David L. Finn whose occupation is insurance and who lives in Somerville and Catherine Condon, housewife, residing in Cambridge. Both swear that they personally know that Julia has resided in the United States since 1920 and in Massachusetts since 1920. 

They both signs their names in U.S. District Court of Boston - David L. Finn and Catherine Condon - on 25 March 1926.

I wonder if Catherine Condon could be Julia's sister Catherine Finn who was born in 1880 - she is a couple of years younger than Julia. And would David Finn ever be her younger brother who was farming after his father died! I guess I will leave this for another day.

1 Gloucester Street in Boston's Back Bay

Julia signs the oath of Allegiance to the United States on 6 December 1926 and becomes a United States citizen.

I found an index to Julia T. Finn's death in 1938 - Boston's Volume 12 page 89 - but no death certificate online. I guess we have to check with Boston's Registry Department to obtain a death certificate.

When we left Aunt Nellie Keohane, she had declared her intention to become a US citizen in 1928 - she was a housekeeper at 1 Walnut Street in Boston. 

In 1929 Dan Gimlett had come to Aunt Nellie who was supposed to be living on Newtonville Avenue in Newtonville. I haven't been able to find any information about this.

1930 saw Aunt Nellie filing her Petition for U.S. citizenship on July 17 - she gave her address then as 104 Park Avenue in Arlington, Massachusetts. My family knows that this is the house my grandfather, John Keohane - Nellie's brother, had bought. She was working as a domestic servant. Maybe she used Park Avenue as a permanent address in case her job changed.

On November 17, 1930 Nellie signed the oath of allegiance to the United States.

I had been trying to find Aunt Nellie in the 1930 U.S. Census and finally found her this month - March 2016. As in 1928 Aunt Nellie is still working and living at 1 Walnut Street on Beacon Hill.  Ellen F. Mason is the 84 year old head of the family. She owns the house which is worth $30, 000 - she has a radio. She is single! This surprised me - I'm not sure why. She reads and writes - she speaks English - this does not surprise me. She and her parents were born in Massachusetts.  

Miss Mason's niece - Gladis Winthrop - lives with her. Gladys is 40 years old - she provided the information to the census enumerator. She is also single - she reads and writes - she speaks English.  Like her aunt, she and her parents were also born in Massachusetts. Neither Gladis nor her aunt work.

They have 5 servants.

36 year old Fannie McLaughlin is from the Irish Free State. She immigrated in 1906 and has not taken out papers for citizenship. 

Aunt Nellie is 31 years old and has taken out papers to become an American citizen. 

Mary Sullivan is 60 years old. She immigrated from English Canada in 1910; she is an alien. 

All three are single women - all read, write and speak English.

64 year old Clara (?) Disbury is another servant but unlike the others she is married. She was married at 31. She reads, writes, and speaks English. She was born in England. Her father was from the Irish Free State; her mother was from England. She immigrated in 1891 and is a naturalized citizen.

Catherine E. (?) Sharbury  is the other servant - she is 40 and single. She immigrated to the United States from English Canada in 1910 and has taken out papers for naturalization. She also reads, writes, and speaks English. I wonder if she immigrated with Mary Sullivan?

Ellen Mason comes from another old Yankee family who has been in New England for generations. Her ancestor, Captain John Mason, came to Dorchester, Massachussetts from England in 1630 - he had served with distinction in the Netherlands - then he became one of the earliest settlers of the new colony. 

Ellen's grandfather, Jeremiah Mason, was born in Lebanon, Connecticut. He attended Yale and was admitted to the bar in Vermont and New Hampshire in 1779. Jeremiah Mason was an acquaintance of President George Washington, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. He served as New Hampshire's Attorney General - as a United States Senator from New Hampshire from 1813-1817 - as a New Hampshire legislator. He moved to Boston in 1832 to practice law.

Jeremiah Mason married Mary Means whose father, Robert Means, was one of the oldest and most respected merchants of Amherst, New Hampshire according the the Amherst Historical Society. He was born in Stewardstown, County Tyrone, Ireland in 1742 and came to America in 1766. He managed to acquire large tracts of land and make his fortune. He served in the Massachusetts Senate and served in other local government positions. 

Jeremiah Mason and Mary Means had several children including Robert Means Mason who was born 25 September 1810 in Portsmouth, NH.  - he was the 6th of their 8 children. He decided to follow his brother James into the mercantile trade and became a clerk for him. With the help of merchant and philanthropist Amos Lawrence* who had married his aunt, Robert went to work for a merchantile company in Philadelphia. He then went to New York where he succeeded his brother as a partner in Stone and Mason. He retired from there in 1836 and formed a partnership with James W. and Alleyne Otis - sons of Harrison Gray Otis - as New York agents for New England manufacturers. In 1843 Robert Mason returned to Boston and founded Mason and Lawrence with his friend Amos Lawrence - their company was soon known nationally. 

(*Amos Lawrence's father was a Revolutionary War officer who fought at Bunker Hill.  Amos started out as a clerk in a country store and wound up with his brother Abbot owning the greatest wholesale mercantile company in the United States. The company did much for the mill towns of Lowell and Lawrence in Massachusetts. When he died in 1852, Amos' fortune was worth $8,100,100!!)

Robert Mason marries Sarah Ellen Francis 18 November 1843. Sarah was the daughter of a leading merchant, Ebenezer Francis, and the granddaughter of Colonel Ebenezer Francis who was killed in action in the American Revolution.  Robert Means Mason builds a home in Newport, Rhode Island where the family summers. His wife's asthma causes the family to spend time in Europe at various health resorts in England and on the continent. 

When his wife's father dies, Robert Mason inherits considerably more property and money. He and his wife were very philanthropic. His wife's health however mandated a return to Europe where she died suddenly in France in 1865 at 46 years of age. Robert Mason and his children eventually return to Boston to their house at 1 Walnut Street.

Robert Mason and two of his daughters make a trip to Florida for the benefit of one of his daughter's health. He catches cold on the way and develops pneumonia. He dies March 13, 1879 in Georgia. He is survived by 3 daughters - two other daughters and his only son dying before him.

Here are just a few documents that I found re the Masons.

It is amazing to me that this is Robert Mason's 1847 passport application. Imagine - 1847!!

The 1850 census for Boston's Ward 4 lists the Mason family as the 59th family visited by the census taker. 

R. M. Mason is a 40 year old merchant whose real estate is worth $21, 000. His wife Sarah is 30 and has 3 children - Elizabeth who is 6, E. F. (Ellen) who is 4, and Alfred who is 3/12 or 3 months old.

The Masons have 5 servants.

In the 1855 Massachusetts census the Masons have two more children - Anna and Clara - but young Alfred is not listed.  They have three servants. Robert is a commercial merchant.

The 1856 Newport Directory lists Robert Mason with a house at the end of Bellevue.

The 1860 census of Boston's Ward 4 lists Robert Mason's real estate being worth $25, 000. His personal wealth is worth $1,500,000! He is a 50 year old merchant!!! Wow!!! But get this - his wife Sarah's personal worth is $300,000!! How much would the Masons be worth today?!!!

The four girls have a new sister - Ida. There are 2 servants and a seamstress to look after the family.

When we come to the1870 census of Boston's Ward 6, we have 60 year old retired merchant Robert Mason, 22 year old Ellen Mason who has no occupation, and 14 year old Ida Mason who attends school.

I was interested in that first servant - the 45 year old coachman Neeley or Kealy Pierce. That last name - Pierce - is this a coincidence that there was a Pierce working for the Masons? Do you remember Aunt Nellie's paternal grandmother was Mary Pierce. We found a Cornelius Pierce in Dunderrow in Griffith's Valuation.  We also found an 1835 baptismal record for Con Pearce of Dun Derra - a brother of Mary and Ellen Pierce. Neely/Neily could be a nickname for Cornelius, couldn't it? And the dates aren't too far off. I admit that it is a long shot. I can't find any more information about him. 

The 1870 directory lists Robert M. Mason having a  house at 1 Walnut Street at the corner of Beacon Street in Boston.

I was very disappointed when I found Robert Mason's will of 1879 on www.ancestry.com and learned that the most important pages were missing. But the first pages were very revealing. Robert bequeaths to each of his sister Marianne Mason Ellison' two children and to each of the seven children of his dead brother, Charles Mason, $5000. 

He gives $10, 000 to his son-in-law Robert Charles Winthrop the Younger.

Robert Mason also entrusts $20, 000 to his son-in-law Robert Charles Winthrop to divide into equal parts and to invest one half and hold the proceeds in trust until Robert's grandson, Robert Mason Winthrop, reaches 21 years of age - at this time Robert Winthrop is to give the trust fund to Robert Mason Winthrop.  The other half is also to be invested and the proceeds held in trust until Robert Mason's granddaughter, Clara Bowdoin Winthrop, reaches 21 years of age - at this time the trust fund shall be turned over to Clara.

There is no other information available! Except the usual provisions that if the grandchildren die, then the trust fund goes to their issue. But no word about Robert Mason's other grandchildren or even his own children!! Those are the pages that are missing!!  But we can presume that he left generous provisions for his daughter Ellen Mason for whom Aunt Nellie Keohane is working at 1 Walnut Street in 1928 and 1930.

1879 Robert Mason's will

The 1910 census shows Ellen F. and Ida M. Mason living at 1 Walnut Street in Boston's Ward 11 Precinct 4 - they have 5 servants. Ellen is 63; Ida is 54. Both are single and have their own income.  They also have a companion - Kate Bricked/Brickhand who is 67 years old and was born in Brazil. She is an American citizen though - her father was born in Maryland and her mother in Rhode Island. She also has her own income.

The Masons have 3 young servants - 2 chambermaids and a parlor maid. They have a 47 year old French cook - she is a widow and immigrated in 1901. 

The Masons also have a 21 year old Irish general servant. I hope he is not the same Patrick Clinton who is a 27 years old "inmate" or patient at Boston State Hospital in 1917 - he is insane. He is still there in 1920.

The 1913 Street Directory for Newport, Rhode Island lists Ellen and Ida Mason of Boston living at Rhode Island Avenue and Bath Road.

The 1920 census finds 73 year old Ellen and 69 year old Ida Mason living on Rhode Island Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island's Ward 4. They own the house - there is no mortgage. Their companion/friend - 78 year old Kate Bisckhead/Birckhead - is still with them. The three ladies are all single. They have no servants living with them which surprises me at their ages. Maybe the servants work by day.

The map shows the intersection of Rhode Island Avenue and Bath Road/Memorial Boulevard near St. Michael's Country Day School (the beige square on mid right.)

 I happened upon the following information about the Mason sisters as I was looking for the location of their Newport home. It is from the history of St. Michael's Country Day School - https://issuu.com/smcds/docs/history_of_smcds?e=5815414/9453451

The land where St. Michael's Country Day School is located was originally owned by the Easton family who were early settlers of Newport. The land later passed into the Gibbs family. Part of the area was sometimes called Lovers Lane. In 1850 it was purchased by Robert Means Mason!!

Mr. Mason built a wood frame house designed by Seth Bradford who had designed Chateau Sur Mer on Bellevue Boulevard for anyone familiar with Newport. When Robert Mason died, his daughter Ellen Mason inherited the house and property which she shared with her sister Ida Mason.

The two sisters were very active in both the Boston and Newport communities - they supported the Newport Hospital, the Newport Historical Society, and the Home for the Aged. Miss Ida Mason served on the board of the Newport Community Center; Miss Ellen Mason served as president of the Civic League for many years. Ellen campaigned against the private lease of Easton's Beach believing that access should remain public. Ellen also gave a piece of her estate to the town of Newport so that Bath Road could be widened - it is now Memorial Boulevard. Ellen only asked that the town pay for her trees to be moved and the ground leveled.

The sisters were among the cofounders of the first correspondence school in America. Ellen established the school's French department and taught French to the students via mail.  She also participated in the founding of Radcliffe College which is now part of Harvard University.

The sisters were interested in gardening. They hired Frederick Law Olmsted, America's first landscape architect, to renovate the gardens of their Newport estate. Many of us in the Boston area are very familiar with Mr. Olmsted's Emerald Necklace which links Boston Common and the Boston Garden with Franklin Park with a system of parks. He also designed the landscaping for Central Park in New York, the White House, and the United States Capitol.  

Mr. Olmsted introduced the Mason sisters to architect H.H. Richardson whom they hired to renovate their wooden cottage. He had built Trinity Church in Boston in 1872. Unfortunately, the Mason cottage burned to the ground in 1899.

The Mason sisters spent the winter of 1900 or 1901 at the Hotel del Coronado across the bay from San Diego. Here they met the young architect Irving Gill who designed a mission style home for them in Newport. The sisters enjoyed their Newport summer cottage until their deaths. 

Ellen Mason on left; Ida on right.

So we saw that Aunt Nellie Keohane was working for the Masons by at least 1928 when she declared her intention of becoming an American citizen and was there for the 1930 U.S. census.

Again, according to the history of St. Michael's Country Day School, Ida Mason died in October 1928 - her estate was distributed between her sister Ellen and various charities including hospitals, schools, charities and children's' causes. Her estate was worth $1,000,000!

Older sister Ellen Mason died less than 2 years later - 28 April 1930. The census returns are dated 9, 1930 - so what month is that? Normally the census seemed to be enumerated in April. Ellen's estate was worth more than $5,000,000!!! Imagine! This was just as the Depression was starting!! Her estate was distributed to many of the same charities as Ida's. She also endowed two beds at Newport Hospital named for her father Robert Means Mason and for Mrs. Eliza Hunter Birckhead, the mother of her longtime friend Miss Katherine (Kate) Birckhead - we have seen her living with the Masons in the 1910 and 1920 censuses.

I didn't find Ellen Mason's will online - that would have been interesting. 

Was Aunt Nellie in Newport with the Masons? Funny that there is no listing of the servants. I did look for street directory listings in Boston and Newport for Aunt Nellie but found nothing. If she did not go to Newport, was she working for another family in Boston?

What happens to Aunt Nellie when Ellen Mason dies? We saw her listed at her brother's house at 104 Park Avenue in Arlington Heights in the 1930 census. Was she between jobs?

And it looks like Aunt Nellie went back to Ireland at some point. The S.S. Laconia leaves Queenstown on 17 September 1933. Line 5 on the list of United States citizens has Ellen Keohane on board - she is 37 years old and single. Her passport is #27501. She was naturalized in the U.S. District Court of Boston on 22 November 1931. She is returning to 197 Marlboro Street in Boston. The Laconia docks in Boston on 25 September.

So this is a new address for Aunt Nellie about 4 blocks from 91 Beacon Street and a little further from 1 Walnut Street.

197 Marlborough Street is the white building behind the trees.

#197 Marlborough Street. A single, four-story, 
three-bay, brick and stone, bow fronted Federal Revival 
house, characterized by flared keystone lintels, flat roof, 
balustrade, and dentil cornice. This house is one of the 
few Federal Revival buildings on Marlborough Street. Built 
in 1891 by J. L. Faxon.    From: https://archive.org/stream/marlboroughstree00bost/marlboroughstree00bost_djvu.txt

I finally was able to find an entry for 197 Marlborough Street on www.ancestry.com. For the year ending 1934, the Boston Directory lists Harrison Gray Otis who works in real estate and insurance at 177 State Street, Room 604 and who resides at 197 Marlborough Street. Mrs. Harrison Gray Otis is also listed as having a home at 197 Marlborough Street.

Harrison Gray Otis - this name jumps out at me!! I know there was a wealthy man of this name in Boston around or after the Revolutionary War. There is a house with the same name on Cambridge Street in Boston that is open for tours. Could this Harrison Gray Otis at 197 Marlborough Street be a relative?

I found that according to the website http://backbayhouses.org/197-marlborough/ 

"197 Marlborough was designed by architect J. Lyman Faxon and built in 1891-1892 by H. McLaughlin, builder .... By 1932, 197 Marlborough was the home of Mrs. Louise (McNamara) Otis, widow of Harrison Gray Otis, and their three adult children: Harrison Gray Otis, Jr., William Allyne Otis, and Margaret Otis.

Robert H. Gardiner et al, trustees, are shown as the owners of 197 Marlborough on the 1938 Bromley map.

Margaret Otis married in December of 1936 to Nelson S. Odman.  After their marriage, they lived in Manchester.
Harrison Gray Otis, a real estate broker, married in November of 1943 to Pauline (Smyth) Fraser-Campbell, the former wife of Arnold Fraser-Campbell.  After their marriage, they lived at 197 Marlborough with his mother and brother until about 1946, but had moved to 99 Revere by 1947.
William Otis married in December of 1947 to Alice (Merriam) Dale, the former wife of Frank Knight Dale, and they moved to 2 Otis Place.  William Otis had been a real estate broker and bond broker; he owned the barber shop at the Ritz Carlton Hotel from the 1930s to the 1960s.

Louise Otis continued to live at 197 Marlborough until about 1948, but moved soon thereafter.
The house was shown as vacant in the 1949 Boston City Directory."

So here's a little information that I found on this Otis family. They can trace their family back to the Otis family of Barnstable who were involved in the Revolutionary War.  This is a connection to the Historical Society of Watertown where I volunteered for several years. Fiery patriot James Otis and his sister Mercy Otis Warren visited the Fowle House before and during the American Revolution.  The Fowle House is owned by the Historical Society. According to its website, "On July 20, 1775, the Provincial Congress elected a 28-member Executive Council, or Governor's Council, to serve as its upper house and as its executive body without a governor. These two bodies proceeded to govern the Province of Massachusetts Bay until the adoption of the State Constitution in 1780." The Historical Society had a re-enactor who portrayed Mercy Otis Warren for Open Houses - she also visited the Watertown schools in the character of Mercy Otis Warren whose portrait hung in the Fowle House. This is an amazing connection - especially since I am an admirer of Mercy and have read several of her books.

Another connection is that James and Mercy's brother was Samuel Allyne Otis. Samuel's son, Harrison Gray Otis, built a summer home on the Watertown/Belmont line. The house was later sold and Oakley Country Club is now situated on the property. When I was young, my cousins and my family would go sledding on the hills at Oakley Country Club. I took my own children sledding there.

https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:rv0435911 states that the Oakley house was rebuilt in 1808 by Charles Bullfinch as a summer house for Harrison Gray Otis. In the 1890's it became Oakley Country Club. The house burned in 1962. One of the wealthiest men of Boston during his time, Otis was reportedly worth at least US $800,000 in 1846, which in 2010 would be equivalent to $5.6 Billion. Otis was elected U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (1817-1822), and then Mayor of Boston (1829-1831).

Harrison Gray Otis was born in 1765 and his parents were Elizabeth Gray and Samuel Allyne Otis. He studied at Harvard University and became a lawyer. He was involved in national politics as well as Massachusetts politics. He knew Presidents George Washington and John Adams. He belonged to  Alexander Hamilton's Federalist Party.

American National biography online reports:

"Along with several business partners, Otis purchased Copley Pasture on Beacon Hill in 1795. The investment enriched him greatly and led to the development of Boston's most fashionable residential district, where Otis himself lived. He was a leading participant in other real estate ventures associated with the growth of Boston in this era, including the purchase in 1803 of what became South Boston. He was also one of the original proprietors of the Boston Bank and invested significant sums in New England's growing textile industry, including the Taunton Manufacturing Company, in which he had an interest of about $100,000 by 1823."

So Harrison Gray Otis was one of the Mount Vernon Proprietors - we heard about this group when we discussed the Emmons family of 91 Beacon Street. And Harrison Gray Otis was father of James W. and Allyne Otis who we just saw went into business with Robert Means Mason and became New York agents for New England merchants. Everyone is so intertwined snd connected!!

John B. McNamara of Charlestown was a baker. His wife Margaret Hagerty was a housekeeper in the 1880 census. They were both born in Ireland. They were living at 2 Putnam Street with their two children - Louise who is 8 and John who is 6. Margaret's father is also living with them - 74 year old Michael Haggerty.

They have one house servant - 23 year old Lizzie McDowd from Nova Scotia. There are also 4 men living with them who work in the bakery.

So this Louise McNamara, whose parents were Irish immigrants, and Harrison Gray Otis from an old Yankee family marry in Boston on 5 October 1893. He is listed as a gentleman, and she is at home. Harrison was born in Nahant; Louise was born in Boston. It is the first marriage for each. James W. Allison was the priest who married them - he lived at 27 Winthop Street in Charlestown. I believe they were married at St. Mary's Church in Charlestown - it was established in 1828 for the burgeoning Catholic population in Charlestown - at that time it was only the 2nd Catholic Church besides Holy Cross Cathedral in Boston.

So, this Harrison Gray Otis is the namesake and great grandson of the American patriot, lawyer, businessman. His wife Louise is the widow mentioned in the information about 197 Marlborough Street where Aunt Nellie is working in 1933.

Interesting that Harrison Gray Otis died in Dublin in 1915 per his son's application for the Sons of the American Revolution. 

Harvard Alumni Bulletin, Issue 17 said he had been living there for some time.

So Aunt Nellie was working for this Otis family - I wonder how long she was there?

Aunt Nellie Keohane on May 24, 1933 taken at the Modern Studio in Scollay Square.

I found Aunt Nellie working as a maid at a different address in the 1940 Boston Street Directory - now she is at 182 Marlborough Street. I haven't found anything between 1933 and 1940.

We have seen that Aunt Nellie Keohane has worked for some pretty wealthy Yankee families - some have ancestors who go back to the founding of Massachusetts - they all have relatives who fought in the Revolutionary War. I guess it is time to move on to 182 Marlborough Street and see where that takes us!