Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of George McClellan: Anti-Chinese Riot and Officer McClellan’s Prostitution Scandal and Resignation from the Denver Police
October 1880 was a significant month for George R. McClellan. He had been warned by Denver Mayor Richard Sopris to not bother returning to Denver following a visit home to Hanson, Massachusetts, as a result of his involvement in a bribery scandal within the Denver police department and Denver City Council. But he defiantly returned and continued to serve as a police officer, until fallout from the Moon affair on 15 October 1880 led to his dismissal, along with one third of the Denver police department –including the chief of police – who were fired by a corrupt City Council … Continue reading Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of George McClellan: Anti-Chinese Riot and Officer McClellan’s Prostitution Scandal and Resignation from the Denver Police
Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of George McClellan: Becoming Officer McClellan, the Farcical Moon Affair, and a Bribery Scandal in Denver
George R. McClellan left Hanson, Mass. for Denver in the fall of 1879 without a particular business venture in mind. He had burned his bridges with former partner F.W. Gromm, whose trunk business had become successful in McClellan’s absence. He was not invited to rejoin Gromm’s company, and so he went looking for work in Denver. In December 1879, George R. McClellan, a trained brick mason and former trunk shop owner, was hired as a Denver police officer, with no particular experience in policing. McClellan joined the force at the height of tensions between Denver politicians and the police force. … Continue reading Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of George McClellan: Becoming Officer McClellan, the Farcical Moon Affair, and a Bribery Scandal in Denver
Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of George McClellan: Success In Denver Turns To Smoke
George McClellan left his new bride Imogene and infant son George in Hanson, Mass. and arrived in Denver, Colorado by early December 1873. He probably traveled by railroad, including the Old Colony Railroad from Hanson, The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad to New York City, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from New York City to St. Louis, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad from St. Louis to Kansas City and on to Denver. The first identified record of George R. McClellan in Denver is from an announcement published in Daily Rocky Mountain News on 6 December 1873 … Continue reading Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of George McClellan: Success In Denver Turns To Smoke
Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of George Roderic McClellan: His Roots
Imogene (Everson) McClellan was an avid genealogist. About 1903, several years after her husband George Roderic McClellan disappeared, Imogene began compiling her own genealogy. While doing so, she wrote on a small slip of paper all that she could remember about George McClellan’s immediate family, and gave it to her daughter Lillian McClellan. Lillian’s grandniece Maria McClellan discovered it years later, when she inherited Lillian’s papers. It was the first clue to discovering the origins of George Roderic McClellan. It reads: McClellan Family Dougal McClellan, son of Dougal McClellan and Mary Scott, born in Edinburg, Scotland married Christina Cameron, b. I[n]verness, Scotland Oct. … Continue reading Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of George Roderic McClellan: His Roots
Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of George Roderic McClellan
Part One: Family Traditions: The Disappearance of George Roderic McClellan My grandmother’s house, the childhood home of my father, has been in the family for several generations. It holds countless memories and stories, and the story of its origin looms large in family lore. My grandmother is a McClellan from Hanson, Mass., but the introduction of the family surname to Hanson was surrounded in a century-old scandal. Built in 1903 for my great-grandmother Imogene Lillian (Everson) McClellan, the house was intended to be a fresh start for Imogene and her three children. Her husband, Nova Scotian-born (with Scottish roots) George … Continue reading Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of George Roderic McClellan
New England’s Dark Day, as later told by Jane Austin
235 days ago today, on 19 May 1780, New England experienced a mysterious “Dark Day”. The sky was reported as dark or yellow, and the sun was reported as red or completely obscured. Ash filled rain fell from the sky in some areas, and some reported the smell of smoke in the air. For many it was taken as a possible sign of the coming apocalypse. Today it is believed that massive forest fires in and near present-day Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario were the cause of New England’s Dark Day. Tales from that day were passed down for generations. … Continue reading New England’s Dark Day, as later told by Jane Austin
Wishful Wednesday: Seeking the Bible of Rev. Thomas Smith of Pembroke MA
Putting this request out: I am hoping to locate the Rev. Thomas Smith Bible. The bible of Rev. Thomas Smith (1706-1788) of Pembroke, Massachusetts was mentioned in A Memorial of Rev. Thomas Smith (Second Minister of Pembroke, Mass.) And His Descendants , Compiled by Susan Augusta Smith (Plymouth, MA: Avery & Doten, 1895). There are many references in the Smith Memorial to this bible, such as: In the bible of his son, Rev. Thomas Smith, occurs this quaint record, in his own handwriting, now dim with age and almost illegible: “My father died March 4th, 1746, it being on Saturday about … Continue reading Wishful Wednesday: Seeking the Bible of Rev. Thomas Smith of Pembroke MA
Surname Saturday: John Everson of Plymouth, Massachusetts
As NEHGS celebrates its 170th anniversary, this week the New England Historical and Genealogical Register launched a beautiful new format and style. This Register features my article “Descendants of John Everson of Plymouth, Massachusetts” which identifies and untangles the early Everson family of Plymouth Colony. In the 17th century, John Everson was an unwelcome transient in both Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony, and he ultimately gave up custody of his three young children, who were each taken in and raised by separate Plymouth families. Very little has been published on the family up until now, and the few publications … Continue reading Surname Saturday: John Everson of Plymouth, Massachusetts
Treasure Chest Thursday: The wedding dresses of Ida Edith (Payne) Edwards, 1949-1958
My husband’s grandmother Ida Edith (Payne) Edwards was a talented dressmaker. From the ages of 14 to 16, she served a two year apprenticeship with a dressmaker in the west end of London. She spent the majority of her working career as a ladies tailor or dressmaker throughout London. While working as a tailoress, she met her husband William James Stephen Edwards, a fellow tailor, and they married in 1913. In the 1930s she worked for a small couture dressmaker. During World War II, she worked as dressmaker for Debenham’s department store, remaining in London during the Blitz. She was very … Continue reading Treasure Chest Thursday: The wedding dresses of Ida Edith (Payne) Edwards, 1949-1958
Tombstone Tuesday: An 18th Century Graveyard “Haunting” in Hingham, Massachusetts
Just in time for Halloween, a bit of historical haunting debunking… By the 1820s, Dr. James Thacher of Plymouth, famed Revolutionary War surgeon and doctor, was on a mission: to provide scientific or medical explanations for superstitions he had encountered. He gathered evidence from medical journals as well as anecdotes from learned friends near and far and compiled An Essay on Demonology, Ghosts and Apparitions, And Popular Superstitions. Also, An Account of the Witchcraft Delusion at Salem, published in 1831. He reported the following story: “Were all the supposed apparitions and spectres to be met with the intrepidity displayed in … Continue reading Tombstone Tuesday: An 18th Century Graveyard “Haunting” in Hingham, Massachusetts
Amanuensis Monday: The Broken Indenture of Ezekiel Sprague Jr. of Scituate, Mass.
While performing research in Scituate, Massachusetts town records, I came across an unusual record from a town meeting (edited slightly for spelling): 25 May 1767 Upon the Petition & Request of Ebenezer Mott setting forth that he about four years ago took by indenture an apprentice named Ezekel Sprague to learn the trade of a cordwainer & to provide for him til he should arrive to the age of twenty one years he being now about 13 years old but so it is that yt Ezekel has been for some time troubled with uncommon fits and it is doubtful whether … Continue reading Amanuensis Monday: The Broken Indenture of Ezekiel Sprague Jr. of Scituate, Mass.
Thankful Thursday: Boston Firefighter James M. Gibbons (1949-1981)
This week the city of Boston mourns and honors Boston firefighters Lt. Edward J. Walsh Jr., 43, and Michael R. Kennedy, 33, who were trapped in a fire in a brownstone at 298 Beacon Street in the Back Bay. The era of the internet has been a remarkable force, garnering community support, thoughts and prayers, as well as encouraging donations to help the firefighters’ families. Three decades ago a similar fire took the lives of my mother’s cousin Jimmy Gibbons, 31, and his friend Lt. Paul M. Lentini of Engine Company 37, in a brownstone at 0 Newbury St. … Continue reading Thankful Thursday: Boston Firefighter James M. Gibbons (1949-1981)