Showing posts with label Cecelia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cecelia. Show all posts

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Dorothy May Scott Part 4


Dorothy Mae Scott, born 1929, died 1996, New Hampshire.  

Part 4, 1950s.



1951 age 21

Birth of son Ralph Kimball


When Ralph Kimball was born on 5 March 1951, his father Paul was 26 and his mother Dorothy was 21.  


1952 age 22

Death of Mother

Cecelia R. Adams Scott Fracker died, 17 April 1952 in Franklin, Merrimack NH.  There is no death certificate nor any record of her death that I can find.  New Hampshire is very difficult to get information from.  At any rate, I include this because this is her mother we are talking about, but I'm not entirely convinced that Dorothy knew about this event.  Or that she cared?

Marriage of ex-husband Paul Smith Kimball to Joyce Eloise LaBrecque Cushing.  Second marriage for both parties.  They would go on to have three boys and one girl.  Paul Jr. and Ralph did not live with this new family.



1951-1953

Dorothy divorced Paul Kimball and remarried to John William Coons sometime in this timeframe.  I cannot find any record of such so far.  Again, New Hampshire.


1953 age 24

Residence 32 Spruce, Manchester NH, Dorothy M. Coons living with John M. Coons.

Dorothy and John Coons, 1953
Google Maps 2018

Dorothy and John Coons 1953
Google Maps street view

The first image, you can see this is very close to 10 Spruce street where John Coons lived when he and Dorothy married.  The second image is a park.  That address no longer exists.





Birth of son John William Coons Jr

When John William Coons was born on 27 October 1953, his father John was 25 and his mother Dorothy was 24.
Residence at the time of John Jr's birth is 69 Central Street, Manchester, Hillsborough County NH.


The Coons family at John Jr's birth
Google Maps 2018


Coons address 1954 also does not exist
Google Streetview


1954 age 24

Death of son John William Coons Jr, 27 May 1954, age just over 6 months.


John William Coons Jr death certificate 1954

This document is where we get the 69 Central street address.  Little John Jr. was only 7 months old when he died of Pneumonia caused by Staphylococcus aureus.  This is the bacteria we all have in and on our bodies.  Unfortunately for Jr., it got out of hand and grew too fast to fight.  Interestingly, on the line marked "Other significant conditions contributing to the death but not related to the disease or condition causing it," the document lists Septicemia (staphylococcus) and otitis media.  In actuality, the Sepsis is what caused the death.  Sepsis is the body's response to infection, shutting down organs causing death.  Septicemia means that the Staphylococcus bacteria invaded his bloodstream.  He would have had a very high fever, very fast heart rate and breathing quickly.  He would have become disoriented, passing out before he wore out.  Poor little guy.

The boy was born in Manchester, his mother's maiden name is listed as Dorothy May Kimball.  Now, either I have the wrong Dorothy -- but I don't, I'll explain later -- or she was distancing herself from the Scott name.  It couldn't have been an error on the part of the informant, since Dorothy herself gave all this information.  

He is buried at St. Joseph's cemetery in Manchester NH.  At the bottom is typed "32 wks.  6 lbs. 8 ozs."  I suspect this means he was born prematurely, and still weighed 6 1/2 pounds.  Either that, or his AGE is 32 weeks and he is only 6 1/2 pounds.  If it is the latter, then he was indeed quite sick.

1956 age 27

Birth of daughter Dorothy May French, 17 November 1956 in Manchester, Hillsborough County NH.  It looks like she was born two years before her parents married.  I don't actually have a birth certificate, so we'll look at her death certificate.  She was born 17 November 1956 in Manchester, NH


1958  Community Motors Hills Goldsboro Directory


1957 age 27

Death of daughter Dorothy May French, 16 January 1957, Hooksett, Merrimack County NH.  Baby died age 1 month 29 days, of pneumonia which she'd had for three days.  The pneumonia was caused by her malnutrition over the last 3-4 weeks of her life.  That's an odd way to die, and a long time for a baby to starve.  It is possible this is truly a failure to thrive.  Her father was William P. French, and the mother Dorothy Mae Scott.  (she actually used her REAL maiden name, here).  No autopsy was done.  The MD certifies that he'd never seen the baby while she was alive.  She is buried in Holbrook cemetery, Candia NH.  At the bottom is typed "40 weeks, 6 lbs."  Perhaps this means she was born at 40 weeks?  Remember baby John Jr?  I thought the typed 32 weeks at the bottom could mean his age was 32 weeks?  Well, that theory does'nt apply here.  It must mean gestational age at time of birth.



Death Certificate for Dorothy Mae French



Social Security name change to Dorothy May Coons in February 1957.  I wonder if this is when Dorothy and John Coons married?  If you know anything about this, contact me.




I applied for and recieved her application for Social Security number.  She applies as Dorothy May Coons, living at 19 Lake Avenue, Manchester NH.  She was born Dorothy May Scott.  She is 27 years old, born on 11 October 1929, Manchester NH.  The 2018 Freedom of Information Agent cut out both parents' names because they may still be living.  Okay, she didn't know.  Next time I apply for SSAN application, I'll make sure to include parents' deaths.  Continuing on, she is a white femaile who has never applied for a number.  As of the date she applied, 14 February 1957, she is unemployed.  There is a signature.



A couple of points I noticed:  
1.  It almost looks as if three people helped her fill out the form.  The printed Coons name at the top and the signature at the bottom seem (to me) to be from the same person.  The word "unemployed," while slanted backwards like some of the other words, seems to be a stronger and more stable hand of a second person.  The rest of the writing, with the alternating slant of the hand and the curled entry of the "M's" in Man[chester] and May seems to be from a third person.  I don't really know, these are my impressions.  The signature.  Dorothy's signature seems hesitant, with alternating slants.



Let's look at the address, 19 Lake Avenue.  Any bets if the house still stands?


1957 Dorothy Coons address at the time she applied for SSAN
Current house in red, previous addresses in blue
Google Maps 2018



Google StreetView

I certainly hope nobody was holding their breath.  We are batting a thousand, here, folks.  Why would these dwellings all be gone?  Possibly, they were so run down with old age, not worth fixing.  If you know anything about this, let me know, okay?  On the right.





1958 age 28


Birth of daughter Georgianna Dorothy French, 2 January 1958.  


1958 Birth Index Georgianna Dorothy French

Trust me, she's in here somewhere.  Georgianna was born while they were living at 206 Manchester, Manchester NH, 2 July (about 20 days before her parents' wedding).  She grew up in Hooksett, and attended Hooksett schools.  Georgianna later married Richard Gabriel Martel.  She loved whitewater rafting and riding motorcycles, and raised pugs.  She died in 2006 of an automobile accident.  Her husband Richard would die two years later, leaving their adult daughter.


So, this is a spot where I am very confused.  Somewhere in here, Dorothy and John Coons divorced, and she married William French.  It looks like the previous two girls were born before this marriage, but have the last name French.  I don't have the records to prove this.  What I do have I've placed in here.

William P. French city directory

It looks to me as if this directory was out before his marriage?  He lives at 633 Elm, Manchester NH.  Drum Roll, please --------

1958 William P. French, 633 Elm, Manchester NH


633 Elm, Manchester NH

Glad to see our average is still right up there.  No house.  BUT, can you see the close proximity to the Coons residences?  Within a couple of blocks.  What are the chances Coons and French were friends?


1958 age 28

Marriage 21 July 1958 to William Percy French Sr, in Manchester, Hillsborough County NH


1958 marriage certificate

William Percy French lived RFD #1 Box 258, Hooksett, Merrimac NH.  He was 50 years old, widowed.  This is his second marriage.  He works as a cook.  Parents are Percy Benjamin French, still living in Waldoboro, Maine, and Mary Henrietta Buchanan French, dead by this time.

Dorothy May Coons -- remember that question a while back, where I considered that I may have had the wrong Dorothy?  Well, this is the reason I don't think so.  Look at her name -- Dorothy COONS.  She is listed as divorced -- she says this is her second marriage.  Did she forget?  or did she intentionally mislead?  She is 30 years old, living at 206 Manchester.  Parents Chester Scott living in Franklin NH, and Cecilia Adams is dead by this time.  She has no job -- again.

There are no actual signatures, again.  What's up with that?

1958 address, 206 Manchester street


1958 address, 206 Manchester, Manchester NH

See the yellow highlighted area?  That looks like where the house used to be.  I'm beginning to see a theme, here.

Let's look at the index, see if there is any new information.

William Percy French and Dorothy May Coons

William French is living in Hooksett, and Dorothy lives in Manchester.  Wonder exactly how they met?


1958, 206 Manchester, Manchester NH

This directory includes Dorothy, with a different address, 206 Manchester.  William Percy French is a kitchen helper at the Red Arrow Cafeteria.  



We have two choices.  I rather think it is the top one, since it is so SO close to the rest of the addresses.

Red Arrow Diner 2018

So this is what it looks like today.  The website says it has been open since 1922.  I imagine it looked much like this, and I can almost see Dorothy and Paul coming here for dinner, meeting William French the Cook or kitchen helper.  BTW, I have reached out to the restaurant, hopefully I get a response.  Time will tell.  Odd, isn't it?  This is the first building on my research list that is still standing!







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Resources

https://scottfamilyresearch.blogspot.com/2017/06/census-sunday-nfs-sr-1930-census.html


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Sunday, December 23, 2018

Dorothy May Scott Part 2


Dorothy Mae Scott, born 1929, died 1996, New Hampshire.  

Part 2, 1930s.


1930 age 1

Here is little Dorothy, not yet able to walk when the census-taker knocks on their door.  Her parents Chester and Cecelia Scott and her older brother Norman Scott (see his first post here).

Census Franklin City, Merrimack County NH
Scott Family starts line 2

Here the same information as I posted when writing about Norman.

Little Norman in his first Census.  He was about 2 years old, and his little sister Dorothy was just a few months old.  I wonder what happened to that first child.  I wrote in the last blog about NFS birth certificate, and that he is the second child born to Cecelia. 
He lives with parents Chester and Cecelia at 538 Central Street, Franklin NH.  This is a rented house.  I looked through the neighbors on this sheet, and I don't see anybody who may be related.  It seems they were on their own, here.


Scott Family on the map, 1930 census
538 Central Street, Franklin NH

Above and below are the map view, from Google Maps 2017, and the streetview image captured November 2015 from Google Maps.  You can see where the house might have been, but it doesn't look like it is there anymore.  Point of research -- see if there are historical photos of this house, and any record of when it was torn down and why.


Google Maps streetview 2017
538 Central Street, Franklin NH

Dorothy is aged 7 months old, born in NH.  Chester was a laborer in the Saw Shop.  Chester has never been in the military.


1930 Historical Insight

The Great Depression

1930 Great Depression
Credit: Dorothea Lange/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Ancestry.com Historical Insight

The Great Depression was still in it's devastating tour of the nation.

Though the vast majority of the jobs created by President Roosevelt during the Great Depression were for unskilled laborers, he also employed artists to document life across the country. This photograph of a migrant family escaping the Dust Bowl was shot by Dorothea Lange and has become an iconic work from the era. 1936, Nipomo, California.   – Ancestry.com Historical Insight


1931 age 1

Birth of Sister Yvonne


Her sister Yvonne L. Scott was born on 25 April 1931 in Franklin NH when Dorothy Mae was 1 year old.  There is not much information about this little sister, except stories I'd heard throughout my marriage into the family.  We'd heard she'd married a man named "Pugh" and that she'd had nose cancer that disfigured her face and eventually she died of that condition.  If you have any information, contact me.  Information on the Scott side of the family is really scarce, both in anecdotal evidence and stories from family, as well as in actual records and documents.  It's almost as if  --  had I not begun researching them, they would have disappeared from the face of the earth.



1934 age 4

Parents Divorce


1934 Chester & Cecelia Scott Divorce


16 February 1934.  Dorothy's parents Chester and Cecelia divorced.  Chester was the one who filed for divorce on the grounds that Cecelia was adulterous.  Merrimack NH.

I will include things like this because, although they did not happen to her in particular, they had to have influenced Dorothy's life in some way.  I mean, imagine being a little 4 year old girl, with a protective older brother age five and a three year old little sister.  Who did they live with after the divorce?  Is this when the kids were placed into orphanages?  Let's explore this little thought experiment further.

And, remember.  The country is still in slow recovery from the Great Depression.

Four years ago, Chester was a laborer in the Saw Shop (according to the 1930 census).  There is no apparent family nearby for him to call upon.  He seems to have had nobody to watch three young kids.  Since Cecelia -- although she contested the divorce -- there had to have been enough incriminating evidence for the decision of adultery.  Would that automatically exclude the children remaining with the mother?  Or, if Cecelia was awarded the children anyway, What was life like then?  Where was momma living?  Women simply did not just raise children as a single mom in those days.  While Cecelia remarried at least once more, It looks like Chester never did.


1935 age 6

Residence per 1940 census

She's living with someone -- who?  I don't know, but she's living in Concord NH.  Could Dick S. Bell and Mary L. Scott Bell have lived here and taken her in?  I wish I had records!


1938 about age 8

Historical Insight -- The Great New England Hurricane of 1938

Dorothy Mae Scott was likely living in Franklin New Hampshire, one of the areas battered in 1938 by a hurricane boasing cyclones with extremely high winds.

Credit: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
 – Ancestry.com

A hurricane pummeled the northeast with sustained winds of 109 mph on September 21, 1938. In New York City, the sea level rose seven feet in 30 minutes. Some 50,000 homes were damaged or leveled and 2 billion trees snapped like toothpicks in a single day. “It came as a shock and it came suddenly,” one survivor remembered. Conflicting weather reports left locals unprepared, and by the time the tempest subsided, 700 were dead, and 700 more injured.  – Ancestry.com


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Resources

https://scottfamilyresearch.blogspot.com/2017/06/census-sunday-nfs-sr-1930-census.html

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Sunday, December 2, 2018

Dorothy May Scott Part 1



Dorothy May Scott, born 1929, died 1996, New Hampshire.  

Part 1, 1920s.


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Introduction


Dorothy May Scott is my husband's aunt, the sister to his father.  This has been a challenging person to research for two reasons.  First, I have a name of Coons on one document, and on another is the last name of Bell.  I will go over these two anomalies when we get there.  Actually, there are more than two reasons.  Again, I'll point out the difficultues as we get to them.




Norm has several stories he'd heard about her.  The one that haunts him to this day is when he very first knew that his father had a sister at all.  She'd contacted Norm Sr, explaining that she was very ill, and dying, and wanted him to take her large number of children in.  He couldn't, and my husband always wondered what happened to them.  He really feels as if his father abandoned those kids.  They would be in their 60s or so.

The other story is of the time when my husband's dad and his sisters were put into orphanages.  Both parents were still alive, but this would have been just after the Great Depression.  Perhaps the family couldn't keep everyone fed.  Norm Sr. didn't talk much about it, and the information he's given I can't really verify.  Orphanages didn't actually keep records, at least none that I can access.  Perhaps it is an orphanage thing ... or just a New Hampshire thing.  I'll talk about that more, believe you me.

If you are related, and you know additional information, please contact me.  I am always open to suggestions and corrections.




1929, birth

Dorothy Mary Scott was born on 11 October 1929 in Franklin, NH to Cecelia R. Adams Scott age 19, and Chester C. Scott, age 28


Dorothy Mae Scott Kimball Coons French mini pedigree
from Ancestry.com

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Next post -- 1930s

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Wednesday's Child -- Clarence Anthony Scott 1927-1927


I found Norman F. Scott's older sibling.  When we looked at NFS birth certificate, we noted that he was the second child born to this couple.  I found him.

Clarence Anthony Scott 3-gen pedigree
from Ancestry.com


He is Clarence Anthony Scott, and he was born 24 May 1927 in Franklin NH.  They were living on 23 Spring street at the time of his death, two and a half months later.

Clarence Anthony Scott died 1927
2017 Google Maps



I couldn't find a birth certificate, nor even birth record online, but I did find his death certificate.


Clarence Anthony Scott 1927
death certificate front

Whenever you see a record like this, be sure to advance one to check the backside of the record.  Sometimes there is valuable information there, too.  One other example I can think of is the WWI Draft cards.  Be sure to check the backs.

Clarence Anthony Scott 1927
death certificate back

Was he a sickly child?  Did the new parents not know how to be parents?  His mother Cecelia was only 18 when her first-born died.


Sunday, June 11, 2017

Census Sunday -- Norman Scott Sr 1940 Census


This is the 1940 census for Norman Frederick Scott.  You'll find him on line 71.  He is 11 years old, and living in St Peter's Orphanage on the corner of Alsace and Kelley streets in Manchester NH. The truly sad part about this is that he was not really an orphan.  The story is that he was put in and out of the orphanage when things got tight for the Scott family.  At one time he lived with his Uncle Fred Adams in Franklin.  That will be another story to tell in another post.

Nope, his parents are still alive at this point in time.  Where are they?  I have yet to find his mother Cecelia in 1940, nor his father Chester.  I have scanned the census for the entire orphanage and found no other Scott children.  So, where did the girls go?  Did they stay with their parents?  Were they farmed out to relatives?  I can find neither hide nor hair of his little sisters Dorothy and Yvonne.


1940 census for Norman Scott, age 11
St Peter's Orphanage, Franklin NH

This census really makes me both sad and mad.  Mad because his family couldn't keep him, and sad because of the same reason.  What does that do to a child's psyche to be put away when they couldn't afford to keep him?  And, again, were his extended family also in a tight bind where they couldn't band together to keep the family together?

I got the impression NFS Sr did not like to talk about his childhood.



Sunday, June 4, 2017

Census Sunday --- NFS Sr 1930 Census


Little Norman in his first Census.  He was about 2 years old, and his little sister Dorothy was just a few months old.  I wonder what happened to that first child.  I wrote in the last blog about NFS birth certificate, and that he is the second child born to Cecelia.

He lives with parents Chester and Cecelia at 538 Central Street, Franklin NH.  This is a rented house.  I looked through the neighbors on this sheet, and I don't see anybody who may be related.  It seems they were on their own, here.

1930 Census, Franklin, Merrimack NH

Scott Family on the map, 1930 census
538 Central Street, Franklin NH

Above and below are the map view, from Google Maps 2017, and of the streetview image captured November 2015 from Google Maps.  You can see where the house might have been, but it doesn't look like it is there anymore.  Point of research -- see if there are historical photos of this house, and any record of when it was torn down and why.


Google Maps streetview 2017
538 Central Street, Franklin NH


That's about par for the course as far as the Scott family goes.  It seems as if all record gets wiped off the face of the earth.  If we are related, please feel free to contact me, I'd love to chat.  Subscribe to catch every morsel posted.



Adella Grace Scott Scribner Part 9 of 9, 1940s

Adella Grace Scott Scribner ... 1940s 1940 1940 Census, 1 April 1940.  Widowed, living with daughter Gertrude in Franklin, Merrimack ...