The Mangle Iron at Myrtle and Warren Southworth's home in Belfast Maine

I loved to visit Aunt Myrtle Dickey Southworth and her husband, my Uncle Warren Southworth in their Belfast Maine home.  They lived on the top floor of a two story duplex.  The home had a back room, like an attic room, but on the same level as the duplex apartment.  In the room was a mangle ironing machine for pressing sheets and such.  Fascinating!
Aunt Myrtle was a kind and caring woman to me and trips to her home were always a highlight of Belfast Maine visits (my home state).  Her husband was my great grandparents' son.  I do recall that the Mangle was large, but do not recall if it was this model.  

Aunt Myrtle E. Dickey and Uncle Ralph Warren Southworth were married on Saturday, November 10th in Belfast Maine. They had two children, a daughter and a son.  Myrtle died in Chula Vista California in 1982 at the age of 70. She was living near her daughter's area.  Uncle Warren died in Belfast Maine in 1970 at the age of 59.  In this picture, Warren is standing with his older brother Dana Southworth.  Dana died in 1971 at the age of 75.  Dana's second marriage was to Helen Devlin Southworth, who was a violinist in the Boston Pops Orchestra.

YMCA Camp Skyuka near Columbus NC

We used to take our sons to Camp Skyuka on White Oak Mountain, far up into the coolness of being over 3000 feet high. 

Skyuka, a Cherokee,  lived during the American Revolution,  As the story goes, British Redcoats got Skyuka to agree to lead British men to raid pioneer homesteaders in the area.  Cherokees had been raiding the homesteaders and Capt. Thomas Howard organized a campaign to stop this after three bloody massacres against the homesteaders.  On a secret trail, Skyuka led Capt Howard to defeat the Cherokees in 1776.  Skyuka was not honored by his people, but was by the British. Skyuka was said to have been saved by Howard as a boy and a friendship grew.  

YMCA Camp Skyuka opened its doors in 1957 on 99 acres.  It closed and then reopened in 1975, the period when my sons attended Camp Skyuka.  The cabins, infirmary, and kitchen and mess hall were built of blue granite from a quarry in Green River Cove.  Moonshiners likely still resided on White Oak Mountain; they may still today. The camp had lots of swimming activities, boating, fishing, crafts, archery and rifle ranges, horseback riding, tennis courts, and ball fields.   The boys enjoyed every activity and even the campfire stories.  I bet they were not really very happy to see us arrive to pick them up!

The campsite was closed in the late 1990s.  

<== Blue Granite Cabin

        Trading Post  ==>

This mess hall photo is from http://www.campskyukahoa.com/Mountain_History.html 

See also: 

The Legend of Skyuka

http://kirkhneely.com/2013/07/07/the-legend-of-skyuka/   

Camp Skyuka Friends

https://www.facebook.com/groups/29670617910/

Is this James?  From facebook group as
"Allison and Jim 1979":

Capt Green Pendleton of Searsport Maine - My GGGGrandfather

Born June 21, 1774, Green Pendleton (My GGGGrandfather) moved to Searsport from Westerly, RI where he was born.  He was just 10 years old when he moved with his father, Peleg.  Possessing a powerful physique and "of much natural dignity of bearing," Green went to sea at a  young age, and ultimately rose to command the Sloop Endeavor, and the schooners Independence and Ceres between 1816 and 1829.  Capt. Green Pendleton died at the age of 88.  Nice longevity!

In 1795 at age 20 he married his 18 year old first cousin, Ann Park.  Following the birth of their first child, Nancy, he purchased the land where his home, "Fairwinds," now stands from William Taylor of Boston for $5.00.  Nancy was followed by daughters Abigail and Catherine.  Then his sons were born. 

Captain Green Pendleton's five eldest sons all became Master Mariners who, in the days of American sailing ships, carried our flag throughout the seven seas.  Two didn't return from voyages. Green, Jr., and Benjamin. Charles and Christopher returned.   John died at sea. Charles later died in Havana.

Capt. Green Pendleton's youngest son, James Hervey Pendleton (My GGGrandfather), complied with his father's wishes, and stayed ashore to farm instead of following the seas as others had done.  James farmed the land and succeeded to the estate upon his father's death in 1863.  

Fairwinds has been a Bed and Breakfast located at 428 E. Main St., Searsport, Maine. My husband and I enjoyed staying there a few years ago.  So very nice!

Ralph Dana Southworth - My Great Granddad's Haberdashery

For decades I heard about my dad's grandfather's haberdashery.  Knew it was so, but never could find anything pertinent to it other than family tradition.

FINALLY, GOT IT - 1913 Advertisement!

Ralph Dana Southworth, Grandfather of Robert Fuller (my dad) and Dad of Alice Southworth Fuller Healey.  Ralph also was or became the City Clerk for the City of Belfast Maine...for many years.

Ralph and Alvra and family lived at 3 Church Street in Belfast.  Short commute to the haberdashery and to city hall!

The Life and Tragedy of My Great Aunt Martha Evelyn Southworth

Martha Evelyn Southworth entered this world on March 16, 1901 in Belfast Maine, a welcomed and loved baby of her parents (my great grandparents), Alvra and Ralph Southworth.  Martha's sister Alice was my grandmother who also had the highest respect and love for her parents.

When my Great Aunt Martha was young, she is said to have looked a lot like me as a child.  I do not see this resemblance (she is the one sitting), but my Grandmother Alice Southworth (standing) swore to it.  Their brother Dana is standing behind his sisters.

Perhaps as I and she grew up, I began to resemble Martha more -- she is the one on the right; Alice on left in the photo below.

Regardless of outer appearances, Martha's life was filled with love and loneliness. 

On September 14 in 1921 Martha married when she was 20 years of age to Edward "Eddie" Thornton Sullivan.  She was so very in love with the blue-eyed Eddie (See photo) who was 10 years older than Martha.  Eddie was born on October 14, 1891 in Portland ME. He died on February 20, 1938 and is buried in the Southworth section of Grove Cemetery in Belfast ME.

 

Eddie was a stevedore and he served honorably in WWI for 6 months, but I do not know if he was injured while on duty.  Martha worked as a stenographer. By 1930 he was selling life insurance and she no longer worked outside their home at 27 Spring Street in Belfast.

Martha was devastated when Eddie died at the mere age of 46 from lobar pneumonia.  She suffered great melancholy. Martha returned to live with her parents at 55 High Street in Belfast. In 1940, for example, she lived with her parents Ralph and Alvra Southworth where her 20 year old sister Jane, her sister Alice and her then husband Stanley K Healy and Alice's son Robert Fuller (my dad) also lived.  She was surrounded by a family that loved her dearly. 

Martha came to believe that her grieving was adequately behind her so as to allow her to move forward with her life.  In July of 1941 she married Kenneth L. Young, a good man, whom she believed in her heart that she loved and that she would make Ken a good wife.  Love him, she did.  But her stricken spirit was not truly healed from her love and loss of Eddie.  She did not feel she was the good wife she had so wanted to be. 

Married to Ken for four years, Martha was still gripped with mourning which led her into a deep depression.  Eventually she shot herself in the head, instantly dying on July 2, 1945, just 26 days before I was born!  She was but 44 years old.  My family was stricken, as was Ken.

The Mystery of Emma Jane Evans of the Mid 1800s Regarding Her Maiden Name

Is Emma Jane an Evans or is Her Surname Piper?

While working on Ancestry.com recently I found a family tree that listed Emma Jane as Emma Jane Piper. Where did Piper come from? I wrote the owner of that information, but no response. So what do I do with this controversy. I have her as Emma Jane Evans and truly believe she was an Evans, particularly because my mother's middle name is her namesake. Emma Jane Evans is mom's great grandmother. Emma's husband and my mom's great granddad is William Bennett. There is no question that William and Emma Jane married and lived in Guilford in the 1880 Census. 

How I proved she is an Evans:

To start with I went to familysearch.org which is free and to ancestry.com where I have a membership.

On familysearch.org I searched for Emma Jane Evans and found her marriage. According to the Maine Marriage Records, Emma Jane Evans married William Bennett on October 3, 1862. They married in Guilford, Maine which is in Piscataquis County. There are a lot of my family's ancestors in Guilford. This is a good fit.

It makes sense to select a federal census from either website for Guilford, Maine. I selected the 1900 census. In this census William Bennett and wife Emma Bennett are 69 and 52 years of age respectively and are living with their daughter Clara Nickerson's family. Clara is one of their daughters and she did marry a Nickerson so this is a good fit also.

The Piper genealogist had her Emma Jane being born in June 1847 and dying in 1898 on October 14, in Gilead Maine. Since this is the 1900 census, the mysterious Emma Jane "Piper" Bennett is already deceased. Piper is the wrong surname. Emma Jane Evans Bennett was born in the same month and year, but she is still alive in 1900.

The census shows me that Emma Jane and William have been married 37 years, or since about 1863. I know from the marriage records that they married on October 3, 1862; so this fact is verified additionally.

Next I looked at the census page for Guilford in Piscataquis County Maine and found my family surnames of Bennett, Evans, and Titcomb as close neighbors. This is outstanding information.

Living on North Guilford Road is the Nickerson family, the home where Emma Jane and William are living. The head of the household is their son-in-law Alexander Nickerson, his wife Clara, the three Nickerson children, and my mother's grandparents. This all fits well.

Next door to this Nickerson home is an Evans residence. Stewart and Annie P. Evans with their two children live here along with Stewart's brother James. An Evans family living next door to another couple of Evans is not likely a coincidence, so this is again a very good fit.

The next house is the Titcomb home of John P. and Emmie Titcomb. Titcombs are ancestors of my family, so we have another good family fit.

I did pick up a fact in the 1900 census that I did not know. Emma Jane Evans Bennett was in "nursing."

I am no longer concerned about Emma Jane "Piper". I think my proof for the surname Evans is very solid. I could gather a lot more through other censuses but don't see a need for this research at this point. William Bennett and Emma Jane Evans Bennett are my mother's great grandparents.

Research is good. Use the information you gather to build a timeline for your family members and the facts unveil themselves nicely.

Ruth Ridgeway Cator Fowler Ultimately Dies as a result of Bootlegger Auto Crash in DC

Ruth and two of her Cator children

On July 7, 1929, at the age of 33, Ruth Fowler died of pneumonia following an auto accident approximately two weeks earlier.  Ruth's sister "Aunt Elvie" (Mrs. Elva J. Ridgeway Trammell) relayed the story to the family and Mary Alice Cator told it to me many years later:

In 1929 my husband's grandmother, Ruth Alice Ridgeway (Cator) Fowler lived with her husband George and her three daughters by her first husband, my husband's grandfather Charles Conrad Cator, Jr. 

The Fowlers resided at 204 F Street NW in Apartment 2.  He worked in "autos."  Georgetown University has a law center campus here now.

George Fowler and Ruth had been driving around one of the street circles in Washington DC when revenuers, chasing bootleggers, slammed into their car.  Ruth struck her head very hard. She was taken to Providence Hospital but refused to stay there.  Ruth was brought home on a stretcher to their apartment on F Street.

The accident took a lot out of her. One of Ruth's friends cared for her at home for two weeks even though that friend was suffering from a cold.  While recovering, Ruth contracted the cold or the flu. Her system failed to be able to handle the overwhelming accident and illness simultaneously and she worsened.  Ruth was taken back to Old Providence Hospital in Washington DC where she died.

Grandmother Ruth had no children by her then husband, George Fowler, but Grandmother Ruth and Granddaddy Charlie Cator Jr.'s children were still underage.  Bernice (in the flowered dress) was born in 1915, was only 14; Evelyn was 12; and Mary Alice Cator was just 11.  It is said that the three girls spent a short time in a local orphanage before being moved to live with their father, Charlie Cator, in Washington DC.  This meant that Charlie Jr and his 2nd wife Florence were now parenting 6 daughters including Jerri (Florence's daughter), and both Dorothy and Cora Cator, children of Florence and Charlie Jr.  All were living at 910 G Street, SE in DC.

About Prohibition and Washington DC

During Prohibition, people, states and political sides referred to themselves as "wet" or "dry." During this American experiment in trying to be freed from alcohol, the efforts were quickly unraveled. 

In the book, Prohibition in Washington, D.C.: How Dry We Weren't it was stated that bootleggers routinely, week after week, brought 22,000 gallons of whiskey, moonshine and the like to DC's 3000 speakeasies.  The bootleggers traveled about town with their clandestine goods, the revenuers raced after and tried to detain and arrest the bootleggers and confiscate their illegal goods.  Prohibition began to fade in 1933. 

It is interesting to note that drinking was not illegal. Enforcement was aimed at banning or barring the making, selling and shipping of alcohol for consumption.*

* http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2012/12/five-interesting-facts-about-prohibition%E2%80%99s-end-in-1933/