Showing posts with label Portsmouth NH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Portsmouth NH. Show all posts
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Mr and Mrs George R Palfrey 50th Wedding Anniversary 1945
From The Portsmouth Herald January 25, 1945
Monday, August 4, 2014
Reminiscences of Theodore Chase Notable Portsmouth Shipowner and the Old Chase House
For more info and photo credit see Walk Portsmouth by Ronald T. Campbell of Hampton, New Hampshire is a professional writer and photographer whose lifelong hobby is studying history.
The Crowley Collection
Sneak Peek: 'Thread' at Portsmouth's Strawbery Banke
Reminiscences of Theodore Chase. a Notable Portsmouth Shipowner-the Old Chase House Date: Thursday, July 3, 1884 Paper: Boston Daily Advertiser (Boston, MA)
Friday, February 28, 2014
Isles of Shoals Tragedy 1902 Oceanic Hotel Star Island
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| Photo permission of R Stearns Family Collection Note Not for Copy |
The day before the incident The Portsmouth Herald printed "the drowning season is at hand" (July 16 1902) Picture from Saturday, July 19, 1902 Paper: Boston Herald (Boston, MA) Page: 12
By his own account Captain Miles had taken out a small party which included Mr. Dingley, son of the elate Gov. Dingley of Maine, in the early afternoon, and on returning them to Appledore was handed a message informing him that a party was waiting at Star. Mr. William Roger Greeley, a guest at the Oceanic says he was a member of the party which had just been out, and in a communication dated 1958 says “We were sailing in a whale boat owned and operated by local fishermen, when my uncle, Hon. George P. McLean, Governor of Connecticut, noticed a black cloud in the south and asked the ‘captain’ to make haste to the wharf to escape a squall. He said there was no danger, but my uncle insisted. As soon as we got out of the boat a party of fourteen or fifteen–the head waiter, a fine young college student, and a dozen or more waitresses got in over my uncle’s protest.” Mr. Greeley did not know, however, that five waitresses refused to go, much as they desired to join the party. Ella Adams, Helen Twombly, Nellis Collins, Nellie Raitt and Hattie Gilmore stayed on the pier and watched the others sail off in gay laughter. Skipper Miles said, “I never sailed a jollier party than these young people…I said to them, “Where do you want to go, girls?” and they told me just to sail around the islands and not to go too far out.” There was brisk breeze from the southeast, so the Skipper headed northwest, intending to keep within the lee of the islands, and as he and came up the west coast of Appledore young Oliver Adams, brother of Ella who had stayed behind, and two other sisters who were on the boat, shouted and waved to turn back, but the party sailed on and cruised for nearly an hour to the north and east of Appledore.
The Rev. Charles E. Park watched the whole performance from the piazza of the Oceanic, and after more than fifty years revived his memory of it in a note for our “Living History.” He says:
“A young fisherman had offered to take them for a sail; and probably it was up north toward Boon Island. On their return they were surging merrily along, close-hauled on the port tack to a brisk southwest breeze. The girls were all ranged along the port gunwale to offset the list of the boat….As they opened up the harbor between Appledore and Star, so they could see the steam-boat pier, there was the steamer just in, and bringing another batch of delegates. Very soon they had to go about on the starboard tack in order to shoot up into the (Appledore) harbor. This was just what the girls wanted, for now, with the boat listing to port they could all crowd over to the starboard side and get a perfect view of the passengers leaving the steamer, not 50 feet away. And then it happened. The boat slipped into the lee of the steamer; and wind pressure on the sail was cut off; the boat righted with a jerk, and because all the weight was on the starboard side, she kept right on listing to starboard until water was pouring, green and heavy, over the gunwale. Being well ballasted to make her stiff when on the wind, she sank like a plummet.”
The Rescue: It seems from various descriptions that the entire list of seventeen, including the skipper were carried down by the suction of the rapidly descending boat. No one was caught in the rigging, and no one fell beneath the hull. The skipper said: “My god, girls, it’s all over–we are all gone!” I yelled; and that was the last I saw of any of the party. As the boat sank we were all drawn under by the terrible whirl and suction, but as the craft struck the bottom the air in her forced me up to the surface again. I presume that the others also came to the top of the water, but I did not see any of the party. I was down for more than a minute, I should judge, and when I saw blue sky was some distance from where we went under. Luckily a large soap box which had been in the boat was floating by and I put my arms around it. This was my salvation as I cannot swim a stroke, although I have worked on the water for more than thirty years. I drifted shoreward and soon reached the rocks, which bumped and brusied me to some extent. I was taken from the water in an unconscious condition by two fishermen and carried to the hotel.” Oliver Adams was first to reach the floundering victims. He said: “Lemuel Davis and I were near the Appledore Hotel when the party started out, and we waved them to turn back, but the boat kept on. They had been out about an hour when we saw the flaw strike the boat a good blow and over she went. With all possible haste Davis and I ran to the shore and launched a dory. The breakers were coming high and strong, but we got out there first. Davis had the oars and I never thought we would get to the drowning girls. It was an awful suspense.
“When we got to where she went down all were bunched. I grasped two of the girls, not knowing who they were and rowed rapidly to shore. I kept their heads out of the water as best I could, but it was a hard job to go through the breakers. We were about fifteen yards from the shore wehn I was thrown out of the boat, but still kept my hold on the girls…After a time we succeeded in reaching dry land, and then we turned our efforts to resuscitating the two girls. It was then for the first time that I discovered that one of them was my sister Ena. I did not know that she was in the boat…After fully half an hour we succeeded in restoring Miss Haggerty… My sister was undoubtedly dead when she reached the shore…” “The last I saw of Alward and Farrington they were struggling and trying to hold several of the girls above water. Both were expert swimmers, but they could not hold out in such a sea against the odds.”
Steamer Sam Adams, which had just discharged her passengers at the dock now made for the rescue with only her Skipper, Charles Allen, and engineer, Peter Peterson aboard. They threw a line to one girl who proved to be Lillian Bresnahan, and drew her aboard, but the second was too feeble to hold on, and sank. Winds and waves were driving the steamer onto the rocks, so she had to pull away from shore, and rescued no others. By this time the waters were in tumult. Fishermen from Star and Smuttynose came in doreis to join the frantic efforts of the Appledore boys. These boats, bobbing like corks on the choppy sea managed to recover eight floating victims. These were brought to shore where the whole population of the Islands was reaching out for them, and Drs. Warren and Richter were directing fruitless first aid. The bodies were carried on cots to the music room of the Appledore Hotel, and placed in a silent row for identification by friends and relatives from Star– nine in all, five missing, somewhere under the still savage waves. Word had been cabled to Coroner Edward E. Shapleigh of Kittery and Undertaker H. W. Nickerson of Portsmouth who left Portsmouth at about 9:15 on the steamer Merryconeag. After the bodies were identified they were carried on mattresses to the waiting Merryconeag and taken to Portsmouth where they were to be claimed by relatives. The next day (July 18) Michael E. Hurley was summoned to undertake the recovery of five missing bodies. He assembled his own diving equipment and early Saturday morning, with John Ford of Dover as tender, went down to explore the ocean bed. He found the whale boat intact, and announced that Skipper Miles had not been at fault in handling his sails. Some had said he failed to free his sails in making his tack, and it was a tight sail which caused the boat to capsize, but Hurley found no tight sail. One at a time he discovered the sunken bodies, at a depth of about sixty feet, but it was not until the next afternoon that all had been recovered. Some faces were still recognizable, but others had been disfigured by the ravages of fish. All were taken to Portsmouth to join their silent companions, and wait to be taken home. Guests at both hotels asked for no service on the evening of the tragedy. Appledore recovered more quickly after the last victim had been taken to mainland, and the seas were calm once more. But the Oceanic could not be reconciled. Guests came from their rooms next morning in silence and seemed confused as they entered the dining room where only a handful of waitresses with haggard faces were there to serve them. Out of twenty-two, sixteen were absent, fourteen never to return to their accustomed places. Orders were given with choked voices if at all. Many had no heart for eating but would rise without words and return to their rooms.
Days passed and new hands came to serve, but memory lingered long over those dark hours. Dr. Park speaks for them all in his later review: “You say, why begin your reminiscences with so sad a story? Had you been an ardent Shoaler at that time could you have forgotten it? Could you have attended a single session for the next fifty years without at least once during the week recalling that fearful tragedy?” Picture from Harvard Crimson Article H Coleman Farrington
Roster of the Missing
Ena Adams, Portsmouth, NH
May Adams, Portsmouth, NH
Winfred A. Alward, Frederickon, NB
Catherine H. Bowes, Saxonville, MA
Elizabeth A. Bowes, Saxonville, MA
Bessie A. Chase, Malden, MA
Henry C. Farrington, Cambridge, MA
Laura Belle Gilmore, Exeter, MA
Bertha Graham, Danvers, MA
Isabelle Kauska, Cambridge, MA
Eva L. Marshall, Haverill, MA
Mary E. Marshall, Haverill, MA
Minnie McDonald, Cambridge, MA
Anna E. Sheehan, West Medford, MA
Springfield Republican (Springfield, MA) Issue: 98 Page: 7
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Davenport Family Tavern & Inns
From research I have found my Davenport line had a common trend-owning taverns, inns, and other entrepreneurial enterprises. William owned the Wolfe, or Davenport's Inn in Newbury (later operated by his two sons Anthony and Moses) and step brother John Davenport two taverns in Portsmouth, NH --The Arks Inn and The Mason's Arms.
But, before them father James had a few taverns in Boston, MA. James Davenport owned the Globe Tavern, A Bunch of Grapes, and Kings Head Inn in Boston. At the Essex Institute, in Salem, is a portion of the sign which formerly hung at the " Bunch of Grapes," on State street, Boston, a famous coaching station in the days of the Boston and Providence stages. It is made of clay, moulded and baked, and is said to have been brought from England." He was not the only owner it changed hands before.
On the occasion of the victory of Stark, at Bennington, there was a grand celebration at the " Bunch of Grapes," in Boston. Early in the evening there began to arrive great numbers of the principal men in the town, as well as strangers, who happened to be "within the gates of the city" at this time. " In the street were two brass field-pieces, with a detachment of Colonel Craft's regiment." On the balcony of the town house all of the drummers and fifers in one of the regiments then in the town were posted. At a given signal the artillery commenced a salute of thirteen guns. After this the enthusiastic party assembled in the house, drank a series of toasts, following every one of which there was a salute of three guns and a shower of rockets. "About nine o'clock two barrels of grog were brought out into the street for the people that had collected there. It was all conducted with the greatest propriety, and by ten o'clock every man was at his home." Edward Field "The colonial tavern; a glimpse of New England town life in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries." From the Boston Gazette December 24, 1754
He also owned the Ebenezer Hancock House which is now a law office- the story on how it was saved by the "wrecking ball" at Swartz Law
James Davenport had 22 children and 3 wives. He was the son of Ebenezer Davenport and Dorcas Andrews. James was born in Dorchester, March 1, 1693. From the "History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts, Now Called the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888, Volume 1" with works cited below: He married, (1) Sept. 30, 1715, Grace Tileston, of Dorchester. She died Oct. 24, 1721, aged twenty-seven years, and he married, (2) May 3, 1722, Sarah, born July 9, 1699, daughter of Josiah and Abigal Folger (sister of Benjamin Franklin). She died May 23, 1731, aged thirty-two years. He married, (3) Nov. 12, 1731, Mary Walker, of Portsmouth daughter of George Walker and Rebecca Addington Davenport. James was a constable of Boston in 1725, and May 25, 1735, gave ten pounds toward the erection of the new workhouse.
In 1722, Dec. 31, he and his father-in-law, Josiah Franklin, became sureties in the sum of one hundred pounds for Brie Blare, tailor, from Martha's Vineyard, who desired to settle in Boston. In 1748, Michael Lowell advertised that his place of business was "at the corner-shop leading to Mr. James Davenports [1727] hardtack bake-house, near the sign of the Cornfields." Not long after this, Mr. Davenport (1727) changed or enlarged his business, for he appears as an innholder.
On the corner of Fleet and Ship, now North, streets, Major Savage (1637) had a house and garden. He wharfed out in front in 1643. This house, or another house on the same spot, became King's Head Tavern. It was burned down in 1691, but rebuilt. The Memorial History of Boston, Vol. II, p. ix, says, "In 1754 Davenport [1727], who had kept the Globe Tavern, petitioned to keep the Bunch of Grapes, formerly known as Castle Tavern, near Scarlets Wharf." Mr. Drake says that James Davenport (1727) kept the King's Head Tavern in 1755, and his widow in 1758. He certainly kept a public-house in 1757, for we learn from the selectmen's minutes, under date of Dec. 5, 1757, that Robert Stone, innholder, upon whom five British soldiers had been "quartered and billeted," complained to the selectmen that he had more than his share; whereupon the selectmen "removed, from his house to James Davenports [1727] at North End," three men.
King's Head Tavern, North and Lewis (or Fleet) streets. Erected in 1691, This etching was drawn from an 1855 photograph. The King's Head continued a large and flourishing hostelry until the beginning of the Revolution, when it was converted into barracks for the marines, and then taken down for fuel. Joseph Austin bought the site, and established there his large bakery. James Davenport (1727) was appointed coroner for Suffolk County, Jan. 7, 174o-1, and was first sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1732.
Administration on his estate was granted June 13, 1759. Boston Records; Davenport Genealogy; New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg., 1879, pp. 25-34; Drake's Old Landmarks, p. 168; Porter's Rambles in Old Boston, p. 286.
William was his first son of James and Grace Tileston born Oct. 19, 1717 and settled in Newburyport. He married Sarah, daughter of Moses Gerrish and Mary Noyes of Newburyport. He operated the original Wolfe from his home.
From "History of Newburyport, Mass., 1764-1905" Currier, John J.
Dr. Henry Coit Perkins, son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Storey) Perkins, was born in the Wolfe tavern on State street, Newburyport, November 13, 1804. He graduated at Harvard in 1824, and receiv'ed the degree of M. D. in August, 1827. On the third day of September following" he began the practice of medicine in Newburyport, and married, October 30, 1828, Harriet, daughter of John Davenport.
The Union Fire Society was organized February 28, 1783. Benjamin Frothingham, Edward Toppan, William Cross, Daniel Balch, jr., Abraham Jackson, Daniel Cofifin, Richard Pike and other well-known citizens of Newburyport were members of this association. Meetings were held usually at Wolfe Tavern.
The first meeting of the stockholders of the company was held at the house of Mr. Moses Davenport, " Wolfe Tavern," on the seventeenth day of July for the election of officers.
The taverns and inns of the were the original business Exchanges; they combined the Counting House, the Exchange-office, the Reading-room, and the Bank : each represented a locality according to Alice Morse Earle in 'Stage-coach and Tavern Days' the aristocratic eastern towns, Newburyport and Portsmouth, were represented by ship owners and ship builders, merchants of the first class."
John Davenport was born Aug. 4, 1752 and is son of James and his third wife Mary walker. He moved to Portsmouth, NH when he was very young. He lived there until his death March 28, 1842. He married first, Elizabeth Hull, of Portsmouth; m. second, widow Elizabeth Welch Pendexter, June 21, 1780; m. third, Sally Bradley, of Haverhill, MA. The intermarriages in the family here
/THOMAS DAVENPORT b: ABT 1640
/EBENEZER DAVENPORT b: 1661 d: 1738
/JAMES DAVENPORT b: 01 MAR 1693 d: BEF 02 NOV 1758
| \DORCAS ANDREWS b: ABT 1660
/JOHN DAVENPORT b: 04 AUG 1752 d: 20 MAR 1842
| | /GEORGE WALKER b: ABT 1670
| \MARY WALKER b: BET 1707 AND 1715 d: BET 18 JAN 1759 AND 04 AUG 1762
| | /RICHARD DAVENPORT b: ABT 1620
| | /ELEAZER DAVENPORT b: ABT 1640 d: 1678
| | | \REBECCA ADDINGTON b: 1649
| \REBECCA DAVENPORT b: 1676 d: 1718
PAMELA WALKER DAVENPORT b: ABT 1790
\ELIZABETH PENDEXTER OR WELCH b: ABT 1754 d: 03 FEB 1801
C S Brewesters "Rambles About Portsmouth"
On the opposite side of Ark Lane, on the corner of State street, stood the Ark Tavern, kept by John Davenport. It was originally a two-story single house, fronting on State street. Mr. Davenport was a silver smith and buckle maker, and had removed to Portsmouth from Boston, where he was born. He had occupied the building on the corner of Fleet and Congress streets, now owned by the Mechanic Association, and had served the town as constable several years. He made several additions to the house in State street, one of which, one-story high, covered a small gore of land on the eastern end, about eight feet in width at the widest end, in which he himself worked at his trade. A connection of Mr. Davenport's wife, (Mr. Welch,) having at Lynn acquired a knowledge of the ladies' cloth slipper manufacture, he with him commenced the making of them in copartnership; at the same time continuing the buckle making business, which soon afterwards became unprofitable by the introduction of shoe strings. Mr. Davenport then opened his premises as a public house, with the sign of Noah's Ark, and denominated his house the "Ark Tavern,"
exhibiting in front a fanciful sign of the picture of the Ark. Mr. Davenport's wife died in this house while the Superior Court was sitting in Portsmouth, in the month of February, and as his house was crowded with boarders, which made her burial very inconvenient, she was kept until the court closed its business about three weeks after. The artist who painted Mr. Davenport's sign, went by the name of James Still. His proper name was James Ford. Under his real name he had been guiltyof an offence which cost him a part of his ears. Although he dropped the Ford he did the long hair over his ears, yet as his baptismal name was not changed it remained, he said, James Still. Thus in the exercise of his good talent as a delimeator and painter he continued till the time of his death under the name of James Still.
Wife of John Davenport
"LADY DAVENPORT" (circa 1800) As affable lady with ready smile is seen at three-quarters length, standing beside a vase of tulips, for one of which she reaches; she clasps the stem lightly, her right forearm being extended across her body to attain the flower. Figure slightly to right, she faces front, before a conventional background of gray, brown and olive notes. She has florid cheeks and dark brown hair, and wears a low-cut gown of gray-brown satin, generously adorned with silver fringe and with frills and flounces; flowing sleeves with lace, and lace-edged corsage.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Foster-Spalding Family
A Share from UNH Special Collections & Thank You to Jessica McClain for permission
This is an introduction to the Collection on Foster-Spalding Family Papers
Joseph Foster, 1730-1804
Col. Joseph Foster was born in what is now the town of Essex, Massachusetts in June 19, 1730. Initially a fisherman and sailor, Col. Foster became a merchant and sea capatin, living in Gloucester, Massachusetts for much of his life. In 1756 Joseph married Lydia Giddings, one of the couple’s eight children was Joseph Foster (1764-1816).Col. Foster’s sea travel brought him to the West Indies and to points in Europe. Col. Foster was one of the wealthier land holders in Gloucester during the second half of the eigteenth century. He was present in Gloucester during the British attack on the city in August of 1775. Col. Foster would serve in the House of Representatives of Massachusetts from 1775 to 1776. Elected as Colonel of the Sea-Coast Forces during the Revolution in 1776.
In 1782, Col. Foster was captured with the ship “Polly” by Britishforces and was detained in Nova Scotia. Col. Foster died in 1804 in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Joseph Foster, 1764-1816
Joseph Foster was the son of the previous Joseph Foster, and was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts May 27, 1764. Joseph was a sea captain, sailing to destinations in the West Indies and South America. In 1782 he married Rebecca Ingersoll and the couple had thirteen children, all born in Gloucester. One of Joseph and Rebecca’s children was Joseph Foster (1784-1843).Joseph Foster was third mate on the ship “Polly,” with his father as captain when it was captured and detained in Nova Scotia by the British. Joseph was also involved in local government in Gloucester.
Joseph was lost at sea in 1816 near the Island of Guadaluope, West Indies, probably during a hurricane.
Dr. Lyman Spalding, M.D., 1775-1821
Lyman Spalding, M.D. was born June 5, 1775 in Cornish, New Hampshire. Following graduation from Harvard in 1797, he studied medicine with Nathan Smith, M.D., whom he assisted in establishing a medical school at Dartmouth College, teaching the first chemistry courses at the school. After receiving an honorary degree from Dartmouth in 1798, Spalding began to practice medicine in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1799.On October 9, 1802, Dr. Spalding married Elizabeth Coues (1779-1838), daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Jackson) Coues of Portsmouth. Ten years later, in 1812, he was elected president and professor of anatomy and surgery at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Western District of the State of New York. Spalding moved his family to New York City in 1814, but resigned his academic post after only a few years in order to better serve his profession and family. While in New York, Spalding served as a trustee of the city’s free schools and played a part in establishing the city’s first Sunday schools.
Dr. Spalding’s life ended unexpectedly in 1821, as described in “Tribute to Dr. Spalding” (1840): “Walking in a street [in New York], some ponderous body from aloft struck him a violent blow on the head, and the gigantic intellect no longer performed its functions. Removed to Portsmouth, NH where his lady’s friends resided, he expired at that place soon after [October 30, 1821]. Such was the end of Lyman Spalding, a man whom none could approach without respect, or leave without affection.”
Elizabeth Coues Spalding, 1779-1838
Elizabeth Coues was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, December 16, 1779. She was the only child born to Elizabeth (Jackson) and Peter Coues. Her father, Peter Coues, had two other wives with whom he had an additional twelve children. Elizabeth met her husband Lyman Spalding when he came to her home as a physician to treat her step-grandmother for burn wounds. Elizabeth married Lyman Spalding, October 9, 1802 in Portsmouth.
Elizabeth was in Portsmouth for the birth of her five children, and often lived apart from her husband who had accepted a position in New York. Elizabeth moved back and forth between Portsmouth and New York and died in Portsmouth in 1838.
Joseph Foster, 1784-1843
Joseph Foster, the husband of Adelaide Coues Spalding Foster (below) was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts August 2, 1784. He was a sea captain and married first in 1806, Lucy Elwell. His first wife died in 1837 and he married Adelaide in 1838.
After attending school in Boston for several years, in about 1799 Joseph decided to go to sea, like his father and grandfather, as a sea captain. Joseph died on the ship “Ventrosa” off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in 1843. One of Joseph’s eleven children (three by Adelaide) was Joseph Foster (1841-1930).
Elizabeth Parkhurst Spalding, 1803-1878
Elizabeth Parkhurst Spalding, the first child born to Lyman and Elizabeth (Coues) Spalding, was born August 11, 1803 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It was she who began collecting the family papers and letters, later taken up by her nephew, Joseph Foster. Elizabeth’s education included several years at the Manhattan Female Seminary. She returned to Portsmouth sometime before 1830, where she operated a School for Young Ladies during the 1830s.
Elizabeth never married. She traveled extensively in her lateryears, including a trip to Europe, as well as living for periods of time in Northwood and Claremont, New Hampshire. Her letters are testament to her desire for staying in contact with her family, especially the family of her sister Adelaide Coues (Spalding) Foster. Elizabeth died July 16, 1878 in Portsmouth.
Adelaide Coues (Spalding) Foster (1805- ?)
Adelaide Coues (Spalding) Foster, the second child of Lyman and Elizabeth (Coues) Spalding, was born in Portsmouth on December 3, 1805. She, like her sister, Elizabeth, was educated at the Manhattan Female Seminary.
On September 2, 1838 she married Joseph Foster III (1784-1843), a sea captain, in Portsmouth. Following her marriage, Adelaide lived in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where her three children were born. She was living there at the time of her husband’s death, on December 19, 1843, while serving on board the brig Ventrosa near Holmes’ Hole (now Vineyard Haven). Adelaide moved back to Portsmouth in 1850 with her two surviving children, Joseph Foster IV and Lyman Spalding Foster (her first child, who bore the same name as her mother, had died aged one year old in 1840). The date of Adelaide’s death is unknown, although it occurred sometime after the death of her sister in 1878.
Alfred Peter Spalding, 1815-1844
Alfred Peter Spalding was the fourth child born to Lyman and Elizabeth (Coues) Spalding. Born in Portsmouth December 15, 1815, Alfred became a sea captain, like many other men in his family. The close relationship that Alfred had with his two sisters Elizabeth and Adelaide is evident from the many letters he exchanged with them.Alfred was the master of the ship “Normandie” of New York and in 1844, was lost at sea during a return trip from England.
Edwin Stewart, 1837-1933
Edwin Stewart was the father of Laurance Sprague Stewart, the husband of Dorothy Foster (Dorothy Foster was the third child of Joseph Foster (1841-1930). Edwin Stewart was born in New York, New York May 5, 1837 and graduated from Williams College in 1862. During the Civil War, he was appointed Assistant Paymaster in the U.S. Navy.His naval career included service on the USS Pembina during the capture of Fort Royal, on the USS Richmond during the battles of Port Huron and Mobile Bay, on the USS Michigan in the Great Lakes, on the USS Hartford in China and Japan and on the USS Lancaster to Japan to represent the United States at the coronation of the Czar. In 1889 Edwin was appointed Paymaster General and was responsible for reorganizing the navy’s purchasing and accounting system, creating the US Navy Supply Corps. He retired from the navy in 1899 as a Rear Admiral.
Edwin Stewart was married twice, first to Laura Sprague Tufts in 1865 and second to Susan Maria Estabrook in 1877. He had a total of four children, the last of which was Laurence Sprague Stewart who married Dorothy Foster in 1919. Edwin Stewart died in 1933.
Joseph Foster, IV (1841-1930)
Joseph Foster, IV, the second child of Joseph, III, and Adelaide Coues (Spalding) Foster, was born June 17, 1841 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In November of 1850 he returned to Portsmouth with his mother and brother. He was educated at the Portsmouth Academy, and from 1857- 1862 worked as a clerk for Edward F. Sise, a dealer in coal, salt and crockery in Portsmouth.
On October 3, 1862 Joseph entered the navy as a Captain’s Clerk on the USS Augusta under Commander E. G. Parrott. In 1863 he was part of the convoy of General Bank’s Expedition from Hampton Roads, Virginia to Ship Island, Mississippi. On October 19, 1863 Joseph was appointed Acting Assistant Paymaster in the volunteer navy. He was present for the fall of Charlestown on February 10, 1865. While attached to the Commodore McDonough in 1865, he was able to save the public money, as well as his official books and papers from the wreck of that vessel. He was commissioned as Past Assistant Paymaster in 1867, Paymaster in 1877, Pay Inspector in 1898, and Pay Director in 1901, serving as the General Storekeeper at the Portsmouth Navy Yard. His duties brought him to many areas of the country and world, including Asia and the Caribbean.
On October 7, 1875 Joseph married, Helen Dickey (1853-1904), daughter of David and Lois Leverett (Nelson) Dickey. The couple had four children, the first two born during Joseph’s service in China. After his first wife’s death in 1904, Joseph married Josephine Hunt in 1906 in London. Joseph died May 17, 1930 in Portsmouth.
Foster and Spalding Family
(partial genealogy)
Joseph Foster
(1730-1804)
| Lyman Spalding m. Elizabeth Coues
| (1775-1821) | (1779-1838)
Joseph Foster |
(1764-1816) ______________________|_______________________
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
Joseph Foster m. Adelaide C. Elizabeth P. Edward J. Alfred P. Lyman
(1784-1843) | (1805-1898) (1803-1879) (1819-1833) (1815-1844) (1810-1892)
| m.
_____________|_______________________________________ Susan Parker Parrott
| | | (1815-1889)
| | |
Adelaide Joseph Foster Lyman Foster
(1839-1840) (1841-1930) (1843-1904)
m. m.
Helen Dickey Elima Hallet
(1853-1904) (1839-1899)
|
| Edwin Stewart
__________________________|__________________________ (1837-1933)
| | | | |
| | | | |
Joseph Beatrice Isabel Dorothy m. Laurence Stewart
(1880-1947) (1882-1900) (1892-1937) (1886-1970) | (1886-1980)
m. |
Jane Holmes ___________|______________
| | |
_|____________________ Mary Lawrence
| | | m2.
| | | David Welch
Joseph John Mary Jane
Biographical information was primarily found in:
- Foster, Joseph. Colonel Joseph and His Children and Grandchildren. Cleveland, Ohio, 1947.
- Welch, David. Unpublished genealogical information on the Foster, Spalding, Coues, Stewart-Aikman and Estabrook families.
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