Wead Family Photo

A member of the Wead family recently shared a photo and it's a gem (Thank you, Kathleen!).

Before we dig into the details, a quick refresher course on the familial link between the Weads and the Waites. To be precise, the only link that I'm aware of (and I may be mistaken) is when Luella Waite (sister to Sidney Waite, my maternal grandfather) married into the Wead family.

As a side note, I dimly recall meeting "Aunt Luella" when I was 7 or 8. My mother (Eva Waite Picerno) routinely drove "home" to Massachusetts for several summers in a row and, of course, I was her constant companion as a kid. One of the visits (1969 or so) was to Aunt Luella's house in Hubbardston. I can still see a big old house in my mind on one summer afternoon; I played outside while the adults chatted. I can't recall much about Luella, other than I have an image of her as a warm and friendly soul.

With that in mind, the new Wead family photo (spring 1906) offers a different view of Luella (for me), when she was 29, according to the back of the photo.

Another plus in this photo (in terms of burnishing/expanding my memories of summer trips long ago) is the presence of Hazel (Wead) Brigham, age 4, in the photo. I also recall meeting Hazel at one the summer trips to Massachusetts. Memories are a bit clearer here, probably because I was a few years older by this point. I recall a big, white farmhouse. Kathleen tells me via email that Hazel's house is still there, in Hubbardston. Now I'm curious--time to take a look on Google maps.

Finally, here's the back of the photo, with additional details on who's who (remember that you can click on the photos to enlarge them):

Waite Children Circa Late-1920s

It's been over a year since my last post -- many apologies. Somehow the time flies. I plan on more frequent posts, starting with this little gem I found recently: a photo of the younger Waite children with their mother, Carrie Waite (center, back row). I believe that the young woman standing on the right (to Carrie's left) is Majorie Waite, Carrie's daughter who died giving birth to her son, Ralph Taft, who passed away in 2008. Ralph, of course, was raised by his grandparents, Sidney and Carrie (Aldrich) Waite.

I'm pretty sure that's my mom, Eva Waite, in the front row sitting. The boy to her left is brother Ernie Waite and that's sister Alice on her right. The woman standing with the baby is a mystery. Perhaps a neighbor? Or the wife of one of the older Waite brothers? If anyone has a guess, please let me know (either through email or in the comments below).

I'm also guessing that the photo is taken at one of the Waite homes in or near Hubbardston. The time is probably late-1920s. My mom, born in 1920, could be nine years old here, which would date the photo at 1929 -- a pivotal year for the US. The scene appears to be the late-summer or early autumn. Could this have been taken on the eve of the stock market crash of October 1929 -- the event that arguably brought on the Great Depression? If so, these poor souls had no idea what was coming. The same can and should be said for us all, of course. The future is forever uncertain.

In any case, I can only wonder what the context is for this photo. My mom appears to be in her Sunday dress clothes. Has everyone just come back from church? Or is this late-afternoon after Sunday dinner?

As in this case, every photo carries more questions than answers. If anyone can fill in a few more of the missing pieces, please get in touch. Thanks!

Mary Maria (Matten) Waite -- Part II

In the previous post, I summarized some of the known facts about my maternal great grandmother, Mary Maria Matten Waite. I also published a photo of her. As it turns out, that photo was a cropped version of a larger photo that shows her next to her first husband, Lowell Sylvester, as shown below.

The photo above was generously provided by a cousin, Clara R. in Utah. Thanks, Clara! She also provided some additional background on Mary Maria. Here are some excerpts from Clara's letter re: Mary and Lowell:

They lived in Hubbardston, Mass., and it was getting near to the end of the year [in the weeks before his untimely death that turned Mary into a young widow]. She was expecting a baby soon. He went out hunting to get food in the woods for the fall and winter seasons. He didn't get back and some folks went looking for him. I don't know how long they searched but when he was found they knew what had happened. He had climbed a rock fence and I guess the rocks must have slipped and he fell and his gun went off and he was killed.... She had her baby and was alone, and needed help. The baby's name is Etta Alice Sylvester. [Mary] knew Aaron Waite, and his wife who had died. He had children who needed care. So she tended his children, and later they were married. I remember Etta who would pick me up so I could see the mother robin feed her babies in the nest outside the window.

Mary Maria (Matten) Waite

Mary Maria Matten Waite, my maternal great grandmother, died relatively young, was married twice, and reportedly had a child before marrying my maternal great grandfather, Aaron Waite. One question that arises from this history: What become of the child in her first marriage (before marrying Aaron) and any descendants?

In theory, there may be a separate line of blood relatives out there that descends from Mary Maria. That's quite intriguing. If anyone has any information on the topic, please get in touch.

Meanwhile, here's the standard photo of Mary Maria (see below) that's been circulating. Born in 1851 (or 1850?) in Woburn, Mass., her first husband was Lowell Sylvester, who died in 1876 (although one account reports that he died in 1871, apparently from a hunting accident). They had one child.

Mary Maria remarried soon after -- anyone know the date of their marriage? With her second husband, Aaron Waite, she had three children, including my maternal grandfather, Sidney Clarendon Waite. When Mary Maria passed, she left three young children behind. That must have been quite burdensome for Aaron. I don't think he remarried, but perhaps someone knows otherwise.

Meanwhile, Mary Maria died in Hubbardston, Mass., at a relatively young age of roughly 40 years old. I'm guessing that she's 35 in the photo below, which equates with the year 1885. It appears to be a formal photo -- perhaps taken at a studio in Gardner or Worcester? In any case, her dress strikes me as a Sunday-best outfit that's typical for the late-19th century. One thing we know for sure: she was keen on buttons!

Aldrich & Son Strike A Pose

Hats off to any one who knows the occasion for this formal gathering in front of what is obviously a very large statue that includes a horse (and some military hero atop, no doubt). I'm clueless about the organizing principle, or the names of most of these people. Fortunately, Aunt Ethel's handwriting on the rear of the photo provides a few details:

Father is in second row=third from right (6th from left)
Fred is second row=fifth from right (fourth from left)

"Father," of course, is Frank Aldrich and Fred, the young lad who's easy to spot in this group, is his son. (For an earlier photo of Frank and all his sons, see this post here.)

I have no idea why this was taken or what it represents, but it's fun to speculate. A Sunday afternoon in Worcester for the reunion of Civil War vets and some of their wives and family? Or perhaps a civic meeting of one sort or another with a break when someone with a camera stumbled by and the crowd decided to record the assembly for posterity?

Meantime, I'd love to know where this was taken. If the statue remains, it should be easy to identify. A park, no doubt. Worcestor is an obvious guess. Can any one confirm or offer the true locale?

Also, what year could this be? The answer's straightforward once you know Fred's birthdate. I don't have that information handy, but my guesstimate, based on simply studying the photo, is sometime around or just after World War I, give or take, i.e., 1920.

In any case, it's a grand setting and a worthy addition to the Waite/Aldrich photo archive.

The Waite Family at the Homestead, Hubbardston, Mass.

This is one of my favorite photos from the Waite archive because it shows members of the extended family at home. I'm imagining that this is a Sunday afternoon in the spring, perhaps just after a big Sunday dinner. It certainly captures a time and place in the old New England, perhaps sometime around 1915 or so?

In any case, I've uploaded a high-resolution image so that if you click on the photo you'll see a larger size with a fair amount of detail.

Cany any one identify the location of this photo in Hubbardston? I'm told, however, that the house is long gone.

By the way, the young man sitting directly behind the dog looks a lot like your trusty author. The fact that he's sitting next to Carrie (to his right), my grandmother (who looks a lot like my mom), well, that just makes the whole scene a bit more interesting in a visual sense for me.

Meantime, here's the information that's written on the reverse side of the photo:

The Waite Homestead, Hubbardston, MA
Carrie [Aldrich] and Sidney Waite sitting in front of their dog
Luella Waite (later Wead) to the left of them
In the back are:
Half sisters, Anna Waite (born 1847, married John Rice, 1870) and
Mary Persis (born 1850, married John Holden 1868); their mother: Persis (not in the picture)
Persis Waite of Barre, married Arron Waite 1842. She died 1874
Half brother, Edward, born 1851 (in the back row)
Young boy, son of either Anna or Mary
Aaron Waite is the man with the beard, father of Sidney Waite

Edith Waite

A somewhat elusive but oddly memorable figure in Waite family history for me is one Edith Waite. I recall a trip with my mother, when I was 10 or so, to pay a visit to Edith. It was the summer, of course, and mom was on one of her many treks "back home" to visit family and friends in Mass--mostly in the Worcester area. I can't quite recall where Edith was living on our visit, but I remember a house in the summer, replete with wildflowers in the yard. Being 10 years old, I quickly become bored with the adult chattering in the house and escaped to the yard to explore flora and any fauna.

Alas, details about Edith and her exact connection to the Waite lineage elude me. Hopefully, someone can fill in the blanks, including: Who were her parents and how does she fit in to the family tree in context with Sidney and Carrie, my maternal grandparents?

Oh, yes, one other bit of history that I do recall with Edith. She was living in Salem, Mass in her final years. Could I have visited her there? How long did she live there?

I've also heard that there was a bit of intrigue surrounding her demise. Can anyone adds some color to the story?

Meantime, here are two photos that turned up in my mom's collection. The first is dated Sep. 17, 1949 and listed as taken in Beverly, Mass. The people are named, from left to right: Edith, Ethel and George, Alice and Gordon. That's Alice Waite Jensen and her son Gordon, and Edith W. on the left. Who's Ethel and George? Somewhere in the ether of memory those two names ring familiar.

In the second photo (same date as above), the handwriting on the back lists: Edith, Karl, Ethel and George, and Alice. I recognize Karl Jensen (Alice's husband), along with Edith W. But there's Ethel and George again. Can any one offer some clarity?