It's 4:08 am Saturday morning. I have been tossing around in this bed for a while so decided to write down some of what is going around in my head.
This is a bit out of order for My Family Story which I just can't settle down to finish - even though I am so close to the end - Aunt Nellie is almost done, then Aunt Hannah, Uncle Jim Keohane, and finally my grandfather John Keohane are left. But I can't concentrate on them right now.
February school vacation is a great time to travel. My daughter Mairead went to Seattle for a few days - we had been out there in August on our way to Alaska with my son Dan and his wife Amanda. We all loved Seattle - Mairead had talked about returning again to see more of it - so she did.
My nieces traveled - Ellen to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon with some fellow teachers - Dan had flown in and out of Las Vegas a couple of times in his quest to travel to all 50 American states.
Katherine and a friend went to Norway for a lifetime of adventures - they went on a reindeer sleigh ride over the snow - that must have been similar to the dog sled ride that Dan and Amanda, Mairead and I took on a glacier in Alaska.
My sister Patty and all the Schiavonis traveled to London - one of my favorite cities. Some of them are heading to other parts of England and Scotland this week. Dan traveled with some of the Schiavonis to England and Scotland when he was in middle and high school - I know he golfed at Old St. Andrew's.
My sister Jody and I had originally thought about going to London - but Mickey had a hip replacement so Jody was otherwise engaged, and because Dan had told me in December that he had decided to have this lung transplant, I pulled out of London to save money for that life changing event.
But I did travel this vacation week as did Dan and Amanda - to MGH - Massachusetts General Hospital - Dan finished up his pre transplant testing, and we attended a transplant class.
Since the day Dan was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis - and I can still picture him - a high school sophomore - sitting at a table in the living room on Green St. in Watertown - I got off the phone with Dr Gerry Hayes at St. E's who had told me that Dan had CF and he was referring him to Henry Dorkin, a CF specialist at Floating Hospital - I had to tell Dan, I knew this time would come. I remember thinking then that at least it wasn't cancer.
I had worked with CF babies when I was a visiting nurse in New Hampshire years before - I hardly knew what CF was or what I was supposed to do except to give those babies chest PT - I remember stretching my legs out and laying them upside down on my legs so their heads pointed to the floor. I would cup their little backs and then do their sides and front. Never thought I would be trying to do it to my own son years later when he was a teenager. A PT would come to our house, and I could hear the cupping sound downstairs - it was so loud I thought Dan would come down through the floor! Sometime the PT could not make it - I would try but I didn't have the strength or stamina to do a good job of it for Dan.
Now here we are at MGH listening to a Social Worker, Ann LaFleur telling us that Dan needs 2 caregivers after the transplant. I had always thought that I would be the primary caregiver - for some reason I never thought Dan was going to get married - then he met Amanda and his life changed. So now I am the back up primary caregiver - I told them both I would do whatever they needed.
Ann told us that there will be multiple follow up appointments - at least 2x weekly - Mondays and Thursdays - get there early for lab work - don't take any of the 14 pills before the labs. Then there might be chest X-rays or scans or echoes or bronchs before seeing doctors, nurses, other disciplines - a long tiring day.
But, before all that, comes getting on the transplant list - the evaluation is a long series of tests - Dan had some during Christmas school vacation and finished them up this week. The transplant team meets weekly and reviews the candidate and test results - eventually decides to accept or reject the patient - gives them a score and then he/she is listed on the transplant list. The score is 1-100 - below 30 is considered not ready for transplant - the person is not on oxygen 24/7 or is able to function fairly well. Over 80 is a disqualification - the person is too sick and deconditioned to survive a transplant or will not recover enough to improve his/her quality of life. So between 31 and 79 is the place to be, I guess. The average wait on the list is 22-29 days.
Ann LaFleur went on to say that if you make the list and live over 2 hours from MGH, you should consider staying closer to the hospital while you wait for your lungs. Dan said it took them about an hour and a half to get there from Leominster. Ann said that MGH subsidizes Beacon House where patients and families can stay before and after the transplant - families can also stay while the patient is in the hospital - it is $69/night. LaQuinta hotel is 2 miles away and has a special rate of $100/night for families - they also provide a shuttle back and forth to MGH.
Ann said when Dan gets the call - do not rush in - no need for a police escort - but don't delay. Ann Marie the nurse practitioner explained that when she hears that lungs are available, she goes through MGH's listing to see if there is a match. If there is, she sends out the procurement team to collect the lungs - then she calls the patient and tells them to head in. She needs Dan to give her 3 phone numbers - she starts at the top and calls until she gets someone - so our phones have to be charged at all times and within reach. Ann Marie gets the rest of the team rolling which includes setting up the operating room. When the patient arrives, he/she is whisked away to get ready - and the family gets to wait for an awfully long time - could be over 8-10 hours.
The doctor on the procurement team examines and tests the donor lungs and says yea or nay. If nay, everything stops and the team and patient go home. If yea, there is only a 6 hour window once the lungs are procured from the donor to get them transplanted - and that includes transportation time back to MGH. Ann Marie said they have had patients intubated and ready for surgery then had to cancel because the surgeon rejected the lungs. So when the call comes, it is not definite - it could be a no go.
However, if all goes right, and the transplant is done, Dan would go to ICU from the OR. After he is off the breathing machine, he has to have a speech and swallow exam before he can eat or drink anything so he does not aspirate anything down into the new lungs which could cause infection. Dan is in ICU for 3-5 days then transferred to the transplant floor where he starts real physical therapy, med teaching, and gets ready to go home. He will be in the hospital 3+ weeks. The caregivers meet with a pharmacist, the nurse practitioner, PT, etc for extensive teaching. Dan needs a caregiver 24/7 for at least 1 month at home - he will be on new meds so the caregiver has to watch for any side effects from meds, any signs of rejection or infection plus keep track of med changes as well as take Dan into MGH 2+ times weekly for follow up appointments. And this doesn't include the regular day to day meals, laundry, cleaning, etc!!
Someone mentioned that the high doses of Prednisone might make Dan crabby so we need to be prepared for that. He can't drive for the first 3 months - no swimming or hot tub for a year in case he would swallow the water - but WE can enjoy his pool and new hot tub!!
Preventing infection is tantamount - do not visit if you are sick or have been in contact with someone who is sick. Frequent hand washing is important - and that applies to the flu as well as a transplant. Sarah the pharmacist told us that a lung transplant is different and more delicate than any other transplant because each time Dan breathes, he is exposing his new lungs to the outside air and everything in it. Dan will have lost the protection of the secretions of his original lungs.
Other problems that could arise are diabetes from the Prednisone, kidney disease from all the meds, increased risk of skin cancer.
We also met with a pharmacist and a speech therapist during this transplant class. Everyone said the transplant will be very costly - start fundraising. Ann Lafleur I guess is especially fond of spaghetti dinners from what the others said about her. She also mentioned silent auctions and a patient who had friends who were musicians - they got together one night for a fundraiser,
Someone gave out a list of 14 meds that would be taken postop - Dan is to check with his insurance to see if they are covered and what the copay is - one gentleman at the class said his insurance does not cover Tobi nebulizer which costs $7000/month - so that fellow has to pay out of pocket.
Besides copays for meds or the cost of the meds themselves, there are hospital copays - Dan's was $750 for MGH, but I'm not sure what it is now, parking and meals while he is in the hospital and for the 2+ days per week for follow up testing, a spirometer which is about $500 that he uses at home and insurance does not cover - they also have to maintain their mortgage, utilities, car payment and most importantly their insurance coverage.
Ann encouraged caregivers to work while patients are in the hospital - ask other family members to visit while the caregivers are working - this will cut down the time Amanda and I have to take off from work.
So my traveling this week was a lot different than anything I had done before - but I learned a lot! Now we are waiting for Dan's appointment at MGH in March - he will likely be listed then - and the real countdown will begin!
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Aunt Nellie and Freddie
Marcel Albert and Ann Cyr are married in Winn, Penobscot, Maine on 9 Mar 1886.
Their son, Frederick Albert, is born March 30, 1888 in Kingman, Maine. He is the second living child of Marcel Albert and Annie Cyr. The birth certificate states this is a legitimate birth!
The birth certificate also tells us that Marcel Albert is a 36 year old white male born in St. Leonards, New Brunswick, Canada. He is a woods contractor - I'm not sure what that is exactly.
Annie is a 20 year old white housewife who was born across the St. Johns River in Van Buren, Maine. She is reporting her son's birth. It is received by the town clerk on Feb. 16, 1938! What the heck! 1938!
Kingman town clerk Ada L. O'Roak certifies that the above information is correct on Feb. 16, 1938.
The website -- http://www.etravelmaine.com/region/aroostook/van-buren-maine/ -- tells us that "Van Buren is one of Maine’s most northerly towns, hugging the United States border with New Brunswick. Nicknamed “The Gateway to the St. John Valley,” the town is proud of its heritage as a riverside community. The area was originally settled by the French, and those historical ties continue today, with approximately 75% of Van Buren residents habitually speaking French."
The website -- http://www.etravelmaine.com/region/aroostook/van-buren-maine/ -- explains that:
Saint-Léonard is a Canadian town in Madawaska County, New Brunswick.
It is located on the east bank of the Saint John River opposite Van Buren, Maine, to which it is connected via the Saint Leonard-Van Buren Bridge.
Saint-Léonard was once a popular town during Prohibition in the United States as it was easy to smuggle alcohol to Van Buren.
National guard training took place on upper Cape Cod from 1908. In 1935 Governor James Michael Curley signed a bill to purchase land for a Military Reservation. Between 1935 and 1940 this was the site of the largest WPA project in Massachusetts (Works Project Administration.)
In 1940 the U.S. Army leased the reservation to build housing and facilities for troops coming through for training. After Pearl Harbor was bombed and the USA joined the war, a convalescent hospital was established on the base where Army nurses were trained before shipping out overseas.
In 1942, Aunt Nellie was listed as a maid at 182 Marlborough St.
WBZ photo
In 1948 Nellie Keohane is a maid at 182 Marlborough Street, but she continues to be listed as Ellen in Freddie's listing.
1957 Boston Directory lists Nellie Albert,widow of Fred, maid r182 Marlborough St.
Some time after Freddie died, Aunt Nellie got my grandmother a job as housekeeper/laundress with Mr. Russell.
We always had to be quiet and sneak in to see or pick up Aunt Nellie and Ma when they were working for Mr. Russell – both in Boston and Falmouth. When we went to visit Aunt Nellie, she would hang a dishcloth on the hedges on Jones Road if it was safe for us to drive into the house - meaning that "himself" was out so the coast was clear.
Eventually, the dishcloth wasn't needed. I remember my father giving Mr. Russell a big wave as we drove in the driveway - Mr. Russell would be sitting on the porch reading the newspaper.
I don't know how long Aunt Nellie and Ma stayed with Mr. Russell - maybe until he died in July 1961?
Their son, Frederick Albert, is born March 30, 1888 in Kingman, Maine. He is the second living child of Marcel Albert and Annie Cyr. The birth certificate states this is a legitimate birth!
The birth certificate also tells us that Marcel Albert is a 36 year old white male born in St. Leonards, New Brunswick, Canada. He is a woods contractor - I'm not sure what that is exactly.
Annie is a 20 year old white housewife who was born across the St. Johns River in Van Buren, Maine. She is reporting her son's birth. It is received by the town clerk on Feb. 16, 1938! What the heck! 1938!
Kingman town clerk Ada L. O'Roak certifies that the above information is correct on Feb. 16, 1938.
The website -- http://www.etravelmaine.com/region/aroostook/van-buren-maine/ -- tells us that "Van Buren is one of Maine’s most northerly towns, hugging the United States border with New Brunswick. Nicknamed “The Gateway to the St. John Valley,” the town is proud of its heritage as a riverside community. The area was originally settled by the French, and those historical ties continue today, with approximately 75% of Van Buren residents habitually speaking French."
The website -- http://www.etravelmaine.com/region/aroostook/van-buren-maine/ -- explains that:
Saint-Léonard is a Canadian town in Madawaska County, New Brunswick.
It is located on the east bank of the Saint John River opposite Van Buren, Maine, to which it is connected via the Saint Leonard-Van Buren Bridge.
Saint-Léonard was once a popular town during Prohibition in the United States as it was easy to smuggle alcohol to Van Buren.
The town's economy is driven by potato farming and a J.D. Irving Limited sawmill. Saint-Léonard is officially bilingual but it is predominantly a Francophone community.
On June 30, 2008, a truck carrying 12 million bees overturned near Saint-Léonard. This accident was the first of its kind in New Brunswick.
The red icon shows Kingman, Maine where Freddie was born.
Kingman is an extinct plantation and town, now an unorganized territory (township) in the East Central Penobscot township in Penobscot County, Maine. It was first organized as McCrillis Plantation in 1859; reorganized as Independence Plantation in 1866; then incorporated as the Town of Kingman in 1873. The town's incorporation was surrendered and its status was demoted to Kingman Plantation in 1935. Kingman's plantation organization was repealed in 1945, and since then it has been unorganized territory (a township). Whew! Got that?
According to the United States Census Bureau, the unorganized territory has a total area of 25.4 square miles, of which 25.0 square miles is land and 0.4 square miles, or 1.42%, is water.
I haven't been able to find anything else about Freddie until we get to 1941.
I found a 1941 postcard from Freddie Albert to Peggy Keohane, my mother's sister - looks like Freddie was at 184 Main Street in Falmouth. I think the postmark is for August 12, 1941. One side of the postcard shows a scene from Camp Edwards in Bourne.
In 1940 the U.S. Army leased the reservation to build housing and facilities for troops coming through for training. After Pearl Harbor was bombed and the USA joined the war, a convalescent hospital was established on the base where Army nurses were trained before shipping out overseas.
"Dear Peggie
How are you
Have a nice job for the summer - give my regards to all
Freddie
184 Main Street Falmouth"
188 Main Street in Falmouth is now Anejo - the Mexican restaurant - the red brick building on the right. 178 Main Street is Twigs which is the next building to the left - 176 Main Street is Lemon Lime Hair Salon which is behind the tree on the left. So 184 must have been located where part of Anejo is now located.
We know the Russells have their summer home off Jones Road. When did Freddie start working for the Russells?
We know the Russells have their summer home off Jones Road. When did Freddie start working for the Russells?
In April 1942, Freddie's World War II draft registration is serial number 3135. He is living at 57 Clarendon Street in Boston. He has a phone - Hubbard 6022. He is 53 years old and was born in Kingman, Maine, USA on March 30, 1888.
Miss Helen Keohane of 182 Marlboro St., Boston will always know his address.
Freddie is working temporarily for Western Union Telegraph at 230 Congress St., Boston.
Freddie signs that the above information is true.
57 Clarendon Street is the wooden door in the center beside the rounded building.
Freddie is living on Clarendon Street near the South End, not near the Back Bay - it is the section between Columbus Avenue and Tremont Street.
#230 Congress Street is the building on the left - it was originally the headquarters for the Western Union Corporation.
The website - http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1801.html - gives us a little information about Western Union.
"The New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company, now Western Union, began as a financial services and communications company in 1851. The firm expanded by buying out a number of competitive companies. In 1856, the company changed its name to Western Union Telegraph Company in anticipation of its ability to send telegraphs from the east coast to the west coast. The company completed its first transcontinental telegraph line in 1861, then went on to offer a variety of money- and time-related services to the public. In 1884, the company was one of the first 11 to list on the Dow Jones Transportation Average in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)."
By April 1942 when Freddie registered for the draft, the US had been in the war since the previous December. I wonder what Freddie was doing - young men had likely joined the military - was he delivering telegrams? He states the job was temporary. Did he learn to use a telegraph? I would love to know!
Western Union delivery boys - photo from Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry.
Page 2 of Freddie's WWII draft registration tells us that Freddie is white, is 5' 7 1/2" tall, weighs 148 lbs. He has hazel eyes, gray hair and a light brown complexion.
In 1942, Aunt Nellie was listed as a maid at 182 Marlborough St.
Aunt Nellie’s husband Freddie was a cook at the Coconut Grove. I think he was working the night of that terrible fire but managed to escape. I included some information on the fire.
The Cocoanut Grove was a restaurant or supper club near Park Square in Boston. According to cocoanutgrovefire.org, " 'The Grove' as it was called by locals, was the place to see and be seen. World-renowned personalities would stop in at the Cocoanut Grove when in Boston; Boston politicians were regulars, the Red Sox and Bruins held celebrations there; families and college students would go to the Grove for those special occasions and anniversaries. It was not unusual for Boston area racketeers to be among the guests."
The website - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoanut_Grove_fire - tells us that "The club had opened in 1927 as a partnership between two orchestra leaders, Mickey Alpert and Jacques Renard. (Although neither held an interest in the club by 1942, Alpert was leading the house band the night of the fire.) It was located at 17 Piedmont Street, in the Bay Village neighborhood of Boston, a few blocks south of the Boston Public Garden. Alpert and Renard's mob-connected financiers gained control and opened a speakeasy in the complex, and it gained a reputation for being a gangland hangout. Gangland boss and bootlegger Charles "King" Solomon, also known as "Boston Charlie," owned the club from 1931 to 1933, when he was gunned down in the men's room of Roxbury's Cotton Club nightclub in 1933.[2] Ownership passed to Solomon's lawyer Barnet "Barney" Welansky, who sought a more mainstream image for the club while he privately boasted of his ties to the Mafia and to Boston Mayor Maurice J. Tobin. He was known to be a tough boss who ran a tight ship: hiring teenagers to work as busboys for low wages, and street thugs who doubled as waiters and bouncers. He locked exits, concealed others with draperies, and even bricked up one emergency exit to prevent customers from leaving without paying.[3] Coincidentally, on the night of the fire, he was still recovering from a heart attack in a private room at Massachusetts General Hospital, where some of the victims would be sent.
November 28, 1942
bostonfireistory.org
altasobscura.com
The website cocoanutgrovefire.org has the following:
"It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and the night of the highly anticipated football game between rivals Boston College and Holy Cross. Nearly a year after Pearl Harbor, men and women were looking for ways to forget about the war for a few hours. Crowds pushed night clubs and theaters beyond their limits. The Cocoanut Grove night club was no exception. Already a very popular venue, a new bar, the New Broadway Lounge, had recently opened within the night club. The night club was very crowded, with some estimates as high as a thousand people.
The fire was first noticed around 10:15 p.m. in the Melody Lounge, which was located in the basement. According to witnesses, it immediately spread throughout the Melody Lounge between the false cloth ceiling and the plywood ceiling above it, then ascended the stairway.
The Cocoanut Grove was a restaurant or supper club near Park Square in Boston. According to cocoanutgrovefire.org, " 'The Grove' as it was called by locals, was the place to see and be seen. World-renowned personalities would stop in at the Cocoanut Grove when in Boston; Boston politicians were regulars, the Red Sox and Bruins held celebrations there; families and college students would go to the Grove for those special occasions and anniversaries. It was not unusual for Boston area racketeers to be among the guests."
The website - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoanut_Grove_fire - tells us that "The club had opened in 1927 as a partnership between two orchestra leaders, Mickey Alpert and Jacques Renard. (Although neither held an interest in the club by 1942, Alpert was leading the house band the night of the fire.) It was located at 17 Piedmont Street, in the Bay Village neighborhood of Boston, a few blocks south of the Boston Public Garden. Alpert and Renard's mob-connected financiers gained control and opened a speakeasy in the complex, and it gained a reputation for being a gangland hangout. Gangland boss and bootlegger Charles "King" Solomon, also known as "Boston Charlie," owned the club from 1931 to 1933, when he was gunned down in the men's room of Roxbury's Cotton Club nightclub in 1933.[2] Ownership passed to Solomon's lawyer Barnet "Barney" Welansky, who sought a more mainstream image for the club while he privately boasted of his ties to the Mafia and to Boston Mayor Maurice J. Tobin. He was known to be a tough boss who ran a tight ship: hiring teenagers to work as busboys for low wages, and street thugs who doubled as waiters and bouncers. He locked exits, concealed others with draperies, and even bricked up one emergency exit to prevent customers from leaving without paying.[3] Coincidentally, on the night of the fire, he was still recovering from a heart attack in a private room at Massachusetts General Hospital, where some of the victims would be sent.
November 28, 1942
The website cocoanutgrovefire.org has the following:
"It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and the night of the highly anticipated football game between rivals Boston College and Holy Cross. Nearly a year after Pearl Harbor, men and women were looking for ways to forget about the war for a few hours. Crowds pushed night clubs and theaters beyond their limits. The Cocoanut Grove night club was no exception. Already a very popular venue, a new bar, the New Broadway Lounge, had recently opened within the night club. The night club was very crowded, with some estimates as high as a thousand people.
The fire was first noticed around 10:15 p.m. in the Melody Lounge, which was located in the basement. According to witnesses, it immediately spread throughout the Melody Lounge between the false cloth ceiling and the plywood ceiling above it, then ascended the stairway.
According to District Fire Chief John P. Vahey’s November 1970 report to the Fire commissioner:
(Excerpts)
As the fire rushed up the stairway it traveled near the ceiling and above the heads of the persons ascending to make their way out of the building. The movement of this fire and great volume of carbon monoxide gas generated by lack of oxygen was accelerated by the narrow (4 feet) width of stairway which acted like a chimney adding a draft of suction to the room below. In the stairway the partially unburned gas rapidly mixed with air and increased the temperature and rapidity of flow.
The burning mass passed from the top of the stairway into a narrow connecting corridor. At this end of the corridor was an exit door leading to Piedmont Street (this door was locked the night of the fire). The other exit from the Melody Lounge was by means of a door (used by waiters) leading to a passageway to the kitchen. Located in this passageway was a door leading to an outside alleyway. (This door was locked the night of the fire).
Fire appeared in the street floor lobby within two to four minutes after it was first seen in the Melody Lounge. It was described as traveling rapidly as a “ball of fire” below the ceiling and a yellowish or blue color.
Most of the lights on the premises became extinguished immediately upon the appearance of the fire.
The fire in the corridor of the Foyer appeared to have been accelerated by a large ventilating fan placed over the further end of the Caricature Bar acting to draw air from the Foyer along the length of the Caricature Bar.
As fire traveled through the lobby toward the Caricature Bar it was soon followed by a thick cloud of smoke. The fire then traversed the length of the area containing the Caricature Bar.
Some few persons, including persons coming from the basement Melody Lounge passed through the revolving door on Piedmont Street before the mass of flames reached it. The door then appears to have jammed. There was a very great pouring of flames through the exit. The great majority of persons on the street floor had no warning of the fire until the flames actually appeared in the lobby.
Upon reaching the Main Dining Room the flame, moving rapidly, swept high about the room near the ceiling, shortly followed by a cloud of dense smoke described by witnesses as acrid.
The burning and decomposition of wall coverings once again produced material largely gaseous and capable of further combustion and vary rapid movement.
The great mass of partially burned gases spread from the Main Dining Room and into the Broadway Lounge.
The rapidly pouring mass of burning gaseous material appeared to have been depressed from its high elevation within the premises in order to pass through the exits. Persons attempting to pass through the exits were overcome by the great heat of fire and of the gaseous material pouring through them at the time.
The fire, within five minutes after it was first seen in the basement room, entirely traversed the street floor of the main building and had passed to the entrance to the Broadway Lounge.
Until such time as they were brought under control, the flames poured out of the exits on Piedmont Street, Shawmut Street and Broadway.
The firefighters had the fire out in little over an hour. The cause of the fire was never determined, and according to the Boston Fire Department’s official report, the origin of the fire is indicated as 'unknown.' "
For the official tally, 498 died as a result of the fire, and 116 were injured.
The firefighters had the fire out in little over an hour. The cause of the fire was never determined, and according to the Boston Fire Department’s official report, the origin of the fire is indicated as 'unknown.' "
For the official tally, 498 died as a result of the fire, and 116 were injured.
bostonfireistory.org
What a terrible tragedy - I seem to think that I heard that Freddie escaped out a window in the kitchen or in the back of the nightclub. Maybe someone else in the family remembers more details.
I always felt a connection to this tragedy since going to Boston College nursing school.
On a happier note, Hannie Huliston had told me about a visit to Aunt Nellie on Marlboro Street. Hannie went into the bathroom – guess who was just sitting in there – hiding? Aunt Nellie had hidden Freddie in the bathroom so Hannie and whomever she was with would not see him. They had not yet married, and Aunt Nellie had told no one about Freddie. Hannie said neither of them said anything, and she just shut the door – she never said anything to Aunt Nellie either!!
The index to Massachusetts Marriages 1946 to 1950 lists Frederick Albert's marriage in 1946 in Boston in volume 35 page 33.
I think it was Frances Keohane Smith who told me that Aunt Nellie married Frederick (Freddie) Albert 15 December 1946 in Boston. I hadn't been able to find any marriage certificate online. I think Frances also told me that Aunt Nellie got married at St. Cecilia's which is known as the maids' Church. So I wrote to the Church and Bingo! Frances was right!
Frederick Albert and Ellen Keohane were married December 15, 1946 by Reverend Charles Riley - witnesses were William Raltman and Margaret Raltman.
Saint Cecilia Parish was established in 1888. At that time the Back Bay section of Boston along Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street was the residential section of the Yankee aristocracy. The maids (“Irish working out girls”) and coachmen who served these residents had long requested a church of their own. When Archbishop Williams granted their request and carved the parish from the territory of the Cathedral, they built a magnificent church out of their meager earnings.
The church was dedicated on April 22, 1894. Its architecture is Romanesque, XII Century Norman. The main altar, notable for its massive simplicity, was carved from a single block of white Carrara marble. The painting in the center reredos is a reproduction of da Vinci’s The Last Supper, and the dome above is an array of 24K gold rosettes.
Hannie also said that one evening Aunt Nellie, Freddie, and another couple came up the back stairs on Green Street with flowers and wine or champagne. Aunt Nellie announced that they had just been married. Hannie said she and my mother were hysterical in another room thinking of Aunt Hannah’s reaction. Turns out my father, John Manning, had to drive my mother with Mae Keohane and Aunt Nellie to tell Aunt Hannah. Hannie said my mother told her that Aunt Hannah kept crying “my only sister and you didn’t tell me!”
Hannie also said that one evening Aunt Nellie, Freddie, and another couple came up the back stairs on Green Street with flowers and wine or champagne. Aunt Nellie announced that they had just been married. Hannie said she and my mother were hysterical in another room thinking of Aunt Hannah’s reaction. Turns out my father, John Manning, had to drive my mother with Mae Keohane and Aunt Nellie to tell Aunt Hannah. Hannie said my mother told her that Aunt Hannah kept crying “my only sister and you didn’t tell me!”
"Ellen Keohane i.e. Aunt Nellie and her new husband (only husband) Fred Albert"
In the 1947 Boston Directory Freddie is listed as a houseman at the rear of 182 Marlborough - Ellen is his wife.
In 1948 Nellie Keohane is a maid at 182 Marlborough Street, but she continues to be listed as Ellen in Freddie's listing.
Tragically, Freddie died 30 July 1954 in Falmouth, Massachusetts after a fall from a balcony. Later, when we were kids and would visit Aunt Nellie at Mr. Russell’s, I was sure I could see Freddie’s blood on the bricks below the balcony.
| Name: | Frederich Albert [Frederick Albert] |
|---|---|
| SSN: | 028143807 |
| Birth Date: | 30 Mar 1888 |
| Death Date: | 30 Jul 1954 |
| Claim Date: | 4 Aug 1954 |
| Type of Claim: | Death Claim |
| Notes: | 20 Aug 1976: Name listed as FREDERICH ALBERT; 18 Aug 1978: Name listed as FREDERICK ALBERT |
1957 Boston Directory lists Nellie Albert,widow of Fred, maid r182 Marlborough St.
Ma and Aunt Nellie on Green Street
Some time after Freddie died, Aunt Nellie got my grandmother a job as housekeeper/laundress with Mr. Russell.
Eventually, the dishcloth wasn't needed. I remember my father giving Mr. Russell a big wave as we drove in the driveway - Mr. Russell would be sitting on the porch reading the newspaper.
Approaching house as we drove in from Jones Road - the pond would be to the left.
Mr. Russell would be sitting in a rocking chair on the right side of the porch.
Patty, Jimmy, and Christine in front of the house after Mr. Russell died.
This is the side of the house we would enter - near the kitchen and laundry. That's our station wagon in the driveway.
Same view as above but overgrown.
Jimmy, Pops, and Christine checking out the house.
Patty with Christine and Jimmy in driveway.
Patty, Christine, Johnny, Pops holding Jody, and Jimmy in the driveway heading to barn.
My family and the Hulistons would rent the Cullen's run down cottage in Falmouth Heights for the first 2 weeks in July. My family was in back - the Hulistons were in front - they usually stayed for 3 weeks. I remember Aunt Nellie riding her bicycle over from Mr. Russell's - she would have ham and a lovely sweet bread - like a Portuguese sweet bread - in the basket of her bike - it would still be warm when she arrived.
I don't know how long Aunt Nellie and Ma stayed with Mr. Russell - maybe until he died in July 1961?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)