Happy 100th Anniversary, Nana and Grampy!

 Today is my grandparents' 100th wedding anniversary.  They were married on Valentine's day in 1925 in Hamilton, Massachusetts.  

There is no wedding photo. Not a single one.  And very few photos of my grandparents alone together.  

My grandparents with me, around 1962

A photo of my grandfather from my grandmother's little photo album.

She wrote his name on the sticker. 

My grandmother's high school photo.  She was supposed to graduate from Beverly high

school, but never did because she moved from Beverly to Hamilton and never finished. 

My Dad took this photo in the 1970s when

he caught Nana and Grampy under the mistletoe! 

In 1975 there was a very big 50th anniversary party for my grandparents,

at the Commodore restaurant in Beverly.  It was attended by all seven of their children

and dozens of cousins and relatives. This photo was in the local newspaper.

Was there a wedding cake 100 years ago?

My grandfather, Stanley Elmer Allen, son of Joseph Elmer Allen and Carrie Maude Batchelder, was born 14 January 1904 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He married Gertrude Matilda Hitchings, daughter of Arthur Treadwell Hitchings and Florence Etta Hoogerzeil, on 14 February 1925, in Hamilton, Massachusetts.  She was born 1 August 1905 in Beverly, Massachusetts.  Both young people were neighbors in Hamilton, a case of falling in love with the boy next door?  Why no photos?  Was it a "shot gun" wedding?  My uncle, Stanley Elmer Allen, Jr., was born in June. 

This is a real love story. My grandparents went on to have seven children between 1925 and 1942.  These children were born and grew up in the Great Depression and World War II.  When the oldest child went off to serve his country during WWII, the youngest child was born.  They had 29 grandchildren, mostly born during the baby boom following the war, but some as late as the 1970s.  

My grandparents lived in a tiny house, a former "camp" near Asbury Grove in Hamilton. This was a Methodist campground where both sets of my great grandparents lived. My grandparents house still stands on Roosevelt Avenue, and it is hard to believe seven children (five boys and two girls) all lived there together.  Several relatives all lived nearby.  Most of the extended family worked at the local estates at one time or another.  Hamilton is known for its large estates owned by wealthy Boston families such as the Winthrops, Appletons, Mandells (now the site of the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) and General George S. Patton.  

10 Roosevelt Avenue in Hamilton, photographed in 2004

My daughter standing in front of the Patton tank

in Patton Park, Hamilton, Massachusetts

My grandfather worked hard almost all his life since the 8th grade.  He had to drop out of school to support his older sister when her husband died in the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic, leaving her a widow with two babies.  He worked in a leather factory, on the Charles Tainter estate, the Palmer estate, and on 7 August 1927 he began to work as a glazier at the United Shoe Manufacturing in Beverly, Massachusetts.  He worked there for 41 years. 

Stanley died on 6 March 1982 at the Beverly Hospital.  Gertrude died 3 November 2001 at a nursing home in Peabody, Massachusetts.  

For the truly curious:

My ALLEN Surname Saturday blog post from 2012:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/09/surname-saturday-allen-of-manchester.html   

My HITCHINGS Surname Saturday blog post from 2014:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/10/surname-saturday-hitchings-of-lynn.html   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Happy 100th Anniversary, Nana and Grampy!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 14, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/02/happy-100th-anniversary-nana-and-grampy.html

Daniel Robert Allen (1955 - 2024) Obituary

 From Hall Funeral Home, Casco, Maine

  https://www.hallfuneralhome.net/obituaries/Daniel-R-Allen?obId=30710777#/obituaryInfo 

Daniel R. Allen Obituary

"NAPLES-Daniel R. Allen, 68, of Naples, died Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 at Mercy Hospital in Portland, surrounded by his family.

He was born on July 17, 1955, in Beverly, MA, a son of Stanley E. and Mary (Horgan) Allen, Jr. He attended local schools, graduating from Hamilton High School.

After high school, Dan enlisted in the US Army and served for three years. Upon his discharge in 1978 he worked as a long-haul truck driver for a few years before settling into work with the US Postal Service serving in Haverhill. While there, he met Dawn Archambault in 1986. They married in 1990 and started their beautiful family.

In 1989, he and Dawn purchased “Cooper’s Anchorage” which is now a longtime thriving marina, Causeway Marina, in the heart of Naples Maine.

Dan has served the local community in various ways over the years including organizing and volunteering for several Naples Winter Carnivals, working on the Naples Bridge Committee and various town boards. He was quite the naples historian, loving to talk and learn about the history of this beautiful place which he has enjoyed since a young child.

He enjoyed motorcycles, snowmobiling, firearms and the love of his dogs over the years. His greatest pleasure however was the company of his family.

Dan is loved by his wife, Dawn of Naples; sons, Daniel R. Allen, Jr. and his wife, Corene of Harrison, Jesse Allen and Savanna Kay of Naples, Zachary Allen and his fiancé, Hailey Engelhardt of Naples; five grandchildren, Chase, Carter, Remi, Capri, Finn (and a 6th on the way, Beau). He was predeceased by his parents; two brothers, Stanley “Mickey” Allen III and Martin Allen.

Memorial visitation will be held from 6-8PM, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, at the Hall Funeral Home in Casco. A graveside service with military honors will be held in June with a specific time and date to be announced (which will be followed by a celebration of his life at the marina). Tributes may be shared at www.hallfuneralhome.net."

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I have 29 first cousins on the Allen side of my family tree.  Most are older than me, and it is always sad to hear that another Allen cousin has passed away.  It is becoming too common as the years pass by.  Below are some of my favorite photos of Danny and I.  We would visit at his family camp on Crooked River in Casco, and he used to push me around in the wheelbarrow.  The second photo is of Uncle Al (Dan's father and my mother's oldest brother) holding me, and his three sons, my first cousins now all deceased, Danny, Mickey, and Marty.  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Daniel Robert Allen (1955 - 2024) Obituary", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 19, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/02/daniel-robert-allen-1955-2024-obituary.html: accessed [access date]). 

99 Valentine's Days Ago

 

My grandparents, Stanley Elmer Allen (1904 - 1982)  and Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (1905 - 2001), were married on Valentine's Day 14 February 1925 in Hamilton, Massachusetts.  The photo you see above is from their 50th anniversary party in 1975.  I often wondered why we never had a wedding photograph for my grandparents.

I started my genealogy journey as a teenager.  In the mid 1970s (near to the anniversary party event) I became interested in my family history due to the book "Roots" and the Bicentennial.  I took a genealogy class at the local community college and learned to start our family history by documenting myself, my parents, and grandparents.  When I got to my grandparents 14 February 2925 wedding certificate, and then the birth of their first child in June 1925, I quickly learned why there were no wedding photos.  My grandparents were married in the parsonage, not the church, with little fanfare, and started their life together. Was it a "shotgun wedding"? Did they elope? 

Stan and Gertrude's marriage thrived, and they had seven children and 29 grandchildren. Most of the descendants were present at that 50th wedding anniversary party.  The event took place at the Commodore restaurant in Beverly, Massachusetts, a business that ceased operations long ago.  There were many photos taken that day, and the black and white photo you see above was in the local newspaper. It was a huge family event that I still remember! 

My Dad snapped this photo at around the same time the newspaper photo was taken, as Nana and Grampy posed with their cake.  Did they have a wedding cake in 1925. 

My grandparents and their seven children

My first cousins at the party (grandchildren of Stan and Gertrude)

My grandparents lived next door to each other before their marriage. It was the mythical "girl next door" romance.  I don't have a photo of my grandfather in his youth, but he was very handsome.  Here is my grandmother's high school graduation photo below. She was very pretty, and only 19 at her marriage.  

Was it planned for them to marry on Valentine's Day, or just serendipity? After discovering my grandparent's marriage documents, I've since discovered many "shot gun weddings" in my family tree. They were very common in the 1700s and 1600s.  Do you find this to be true, too?  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "99 Valentine's Days Ago", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 14, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/02/99-valentines-days-ago.html: accessed [access date]). 

Merry Christmas, Hamilton, Massachusetts, 1950

Merry Christmas! Here is my mother and her family at Christmas around 1950 at my grandparents home on Roosevelt Avenue in Hamilton, Massachusetts.  Seventy-three Christmases have come and gone since this photograph was taken.  

Back row, my Auntie Mamie (Mary Cecelia Horgan Allen) holding her son, Marty (Martin Michael Allen, born 1950), next to my Uncle Donald Franklin Allen holding Mamie's son, Mickey (Stanley Elmer Allen III), next to my grandfather, Stanley Elmer Allen, my Auntie Barbara, and her husband Edward Baxter Thacher.  

In the middle, my mother is in the plaid shirt.

The next row down is my Uncle Dickie (Richard Lewis Allen), my grandmother, Gertrude Matilda Hitchings Allen), my Uncle Bobbie (Robert Arthur Allen) and my great aunt (sister to my grandmother) Eunice Mary Hitchings Bunce). 

In the front row the two children seated on the floor are my cousins Sandra Lee Thacher and Allen Baxter Thacher. 

Nearly everyone in this photo has passed away since this photograph was taken in Hamilton, Massachusetts. Only four relatives are still living today.  My mother was one of seven siblings, and she is still with us, as well as her youngest brother Dickie.  Even most of my first cousins in this photo have passed away except for Sandra and Allen.

To cite/link to this photo: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Merry Christmas, Hamilton, Massachusetts, 1950", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 24, 2023, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2023/12/merry-christmas-hamilton-massachusetts.html: accessed [access date]).    

Vintage Memorial Day Parade Photos

 Some vintage images, found in a box of slides, from family members marching in Memorial Day parades in years past (1950s, 1970s, and 2000s) in Hamilton and Holden, Massachusetts, and in Londonderry, New Hampshire. 

1950s Hamilton, Massachusetts

1974 Holden, Massachusetts Brownies

1975 Holden, Massachusetts Girl Scouts

2003 Londonderry, New Hampshire

2005 Londonderry, New Hampshire

2005 Londonderry, New Hampshire

2005 Londonderry, New Hampshire
High School Band and the Veterans
laying a wreath in the Glenwood Cemetery

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Vintage Memorial Day Parade Photos", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 26, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/05/vintage-memorial-day-parade-photos.html: accessed [access date]). 

Christmas Eve, 1963

 

This photo was taken at in Hamilton, Massachusetts at Auntie Mamie and Uncle "Al" Stanley Allen's house.  They had a fireplace, and we didn't.  Perhaps that is why this photo was posed, even though we usually didn't hang our stockings at other people's homes!  It was taken by my father with his camera, and matches the rest of the roll of photographs of that Chrismas. 

I was surprised when years after my Grandmother died in California, my first cousin sent me a slightly different version of this photo she found amongst my Grammy's belongings!  Same pajamas.  Same fireplace.  Same Christmas stocking hanging behind me.  It must have been taken by someone else at the same time my father took the first photograph. 

You never know what photos you will find in a relative's photo albums!

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Christmas Eve, 1963" Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 24, 2020, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/12/christmas-eve-1963.html: accessed [access date]).  

Did Your Ancestor Serve in the Civil Defense During World War II?

Two weeks ago I posted about this wooden crate from my parents' house that was full of World War II ephemera.  The last blog post was about the ration tickets I found inside the box, and this week I've photographed the items related to civil defense. Both of my grandfathers, Donald Munroe Wilkinson ( 1895 - 1977) and Stanley Elmer Allen (1904 - 1982) were both too old to serve or be drafted into the military during World War II.  However both volunteered in the civil defense.

Many civilians served in voluntary positions during the war for air raid drills and coastline drills.  They also learned to fight fires, provide first aid, assist the coast guard, and also to lead recycling, rationing and Liberty bond drives. There were women's auxiliary units, too, for first aid, rolling bandages, and other projects.  Even children played with games that taught them to identify aircraft and other civilian saboteur surveillance. 

I found this certificate in the box, recognizing my maternal grandfather's service in the auxiliary police for the town of Hamilton, Massachusetts.  During World War II many police officers were drafted, leaving towns without their usual police force.  Citizen volunteers were trained to assist the regular police.

My paternal grandfather served as an air ward warden in Beverly, Massachusetts (a contiguous town).  The air raid wardens would patrol their neighborhoods to make sure that homes were darkened with blackout curtains.  Beverly is a coastal town, and blackouts were important along both coasts of the United States.

For the truly curious:

World War II ration tickets blog post:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/06/world-war-ii-ration-tickets-and-tokens.html 

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Did Your Ancestor Serve in the Civil Defense During World War II?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 25, 2020, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/06/did-your-ancestor-serve-in-civil.html: accessed [access date]).

World War II Ration Tickets and Tokens

This cardboard wallet held ration coupons during WWII, and a news clipping listing where items would be available

I recently read something on Facebook that seemed to be very appropriate for the pandemic crowds waiting in line for meat, milk and just to enter grocery stores.  A 1944 newsclipping from Salem, Massachusetts read "BUTTER IN SALEM, 1000 WAIT IN LINE   Salem, Jan. 23 - ... Waiting in line in front of an Essex Street dairy market in downtown Salem at which a shipment of butter had just arrived today were more than 1000 persons.  Traffic was disrupted, and other shops in the neighborhood isolated."  The folks on this group made comments that even if the people of Salem waited in line, in 1944 these consumers could not purchase it without a ration coupon.  Many of the comments were from people who had never seen a ration coupon.  I knew that my Mom had a box full of World War II ephemera in her basement, including ration coupons.

At my next visit with Mom I "borrowed" her box of WWII mementos, and talked with her about the newsclipping. She instantly recognized the address on Essex Street in Salem as the Kennedy butter and egg store.  Her parents would save butter ration coupons and drive to Salem, too.  She had lots of stories about the ration coupons.  Her family included seven children (five boys!) and they were entitled to many coupons to feed them, buy shoes, and other commodities. Her father had an "essential worker job" (sound familiar?) and he had coupons to buy tires and gasoline to drive to work.  Families would trade coupons, and she knew that shoes were an item her mother needed often for her seven children.  

After photographing all the items in my Mom's box, I posted several images of the ration coupons on the Facebook group.  You can see them below.  The box also had lots of other interesting World War II items, and I'll try to write a blog post about them soon, and include lots of photographs.

The newspaper listed when coupons
could be redeemed

This jar held cardboard ration tokens

Ration tokens were given as change when coupons were redeemed

My Aunt's ration coupons. Each family member was entitled to coupons. She was only 16 years old.
She was married at age 18, but her husband was a serviceman who was stationed in China during the war.

Click here for another blog post about some of the items found in the same box, pertaining to Civil Defense during World War II:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/06/did-your-ancestor-serve-in-civil.html

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "World War II Ration Tickets and Tokens", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 12, 2020, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/06/world-war-ii-ration-tickets-and-tokens.html: accessed [access date]).