The Nurse from Milton Mills, New Hampshire: Flora N. Runnels (1866-1960)

Posted on 31 August, 2015 by Janice Brown
Written on the back of the photograph: "Flora n. Runnels, Milton Mills, Strafford Co., N.H."

Written on the back of the photograph: “Flora n. Runnels, Milton Mills, Strafford Co., N.H.”

She has a fairly plain face, intelligent dark eyes, curly hair. She wears the pinstriped frock of a nurse over her dark dress. Her collar is tightly and demurely closed with a pin.  The name of the woman in the photograph is Flora N. Runnels.  I should also add here that it turns out (yes again!) that she is a cousin, albeit distant, from me.

I would have liked to learn more about her, but information is lean. She was born in Acton Maine, and by 1880 she was 13 years old and living in Milton Mills, New Hampshire with her parents Isaac and Mary along with several siblings. Census records show that she graduated from high school, not a small feat for women of her time in a farm family. Possibly she took classes or courses for nursing, but sometimes women became adept by watching other women. Continue reading →

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Frank O. Foster of Manchester NH and His Connection to Gen. John Gray Foster

Posted on 26 August, 2015 by Janice Brown
Frank Orrin Foster with his first wife, Alice (Fern) Foster.

Frank Orrin Foster with his first wife, Alice (Fern) Foster.

I started off preparing this story, with just a pair of matching photographs, of Frank O. Foster, and his wife, Alice. As is often the case I acquired these on Ebay, happening to notice they had spent some time in my native city of Manchester, New Hampshire. I felt fortunate that someone had the foresight to label their names on the back of these lovely portraits.

My preliminary research revealed several Foster genealogies, and on inspecting the first one, I felt a bit smug that researching this line would be easy to do.  Well, I was so wrong.  There is nothing easy about researching FOSTER in New England, as all the older published genealogies have some major flaws and errors. Continue reading →

Posted in History, Military of New Hampshire, New Hampshire Men, New Hampshire Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A New Hampshire Mother of a President: Eliza (Ballou) Garfield 1801-1888

Posted on 22 August, 2015 by Janice Brown
Cabinet Photograph: Mrs. Eliza Garfield (1801-1888), Attributed to James Fitzallen Ryder, American photographer, Special Collections, Fine Art Library

Cabinet Photograph: Mrs. Eliza Garfield (1801-1888), Attributed to James
Fitzallen Ryder, American photographer, Special Collections, Fine Art Library, Harvard Library

She was the first woman in American History to see her son sworn in as President of the United States.  At his inauguration ceremony, the new President turned first to his mother, kissing her on the cheek, before he kissed his wife.

He was, of course, James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States.    She was Eliza (Ballou) Garfield, who was born in 1801 in the small town of Richmond, Cheshire County, New Hampshire. She was affectionately known as Grandma Garfield. Continue reading →

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Current Event: New Hampshire Caddie Camp Reunion September 11-13, 2015

Posted on 19 August, 2015 by Janice Brown

In 2007 I wrote a story about Caddie Camps in New Hampshire. One source states that over 2,000 young men learned to caddie, and to golf this way.  Based on the comments to that blog post, many seemed to enjoy the experience, and have wonderful memories.

old time golferSomeone with a great interest in these camps, Michael Campana, recently wrote to me to inform me of a few things.  First, that his parents met at the old Maplewood Hotel in New Hampshire that used to run one of the caddie camps. Secondly, to let me know that organizers Frank Colvario, Robert Caggiano, Tony Wozniak, Gary Conserva, John Daly, James Daly, Carl Ameno, Gerry Brandi and Patricia (Tanso) Romano  have arranged for a reunion in Bethlehem, NH from 11-13 September 2015 for former campers and staff members of the North Bennet Street School caddy camps.

The NBSS school operated two CCs in NH – Maplewood and Lake Tarleton (Pike) – and three on Cape Cod. The NH camps were around quite a while. Michaels father, a Bostonian, attended the Maplewood CC from 1926-1930.

For those caddies, young and old, here is a link to Michael’s blog, and more information on this reunion.   Even if you don’t plan to attend this rare event, you could take a peek at his blog, and try to identify the young men in his photographs.  To get in touch with the organizers, see this web site.

 

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The Origin and History of New Hampshire’s Daniel Webster Highway

Posted on 18 August, 2015 by Janice Brown
Old postcard photograph of the New Daniel Bridge (built in 1922) showing the Library and Central Street in the distance. This street was a part of the Daniel Webster Highway that extended from Nashua to the White Mountains. Daniel Webster was born 2-3/4 miles form the Highway at lower Franklin.

Old postcard photograph of  Franklin New Hampshire’s “then new” Daniel Webster Bridge (built in 1922) showing the Library and Central Street in the distance. This street was a part of the Daniel Webster Highway that extended from Nashua to the White Mountains. The birth place of Daniel Webster is a few miles away.

The Daniel Webster Highway in New Hampshire was originally called the “Merrimack Valley Road” and followed the course of the Merrimack River. On January 23, 1921, the Anaconda Standard newspaper (of Anaconda MT) announced that “backed by many prominent citizens, the New Hampshire Bar association is completing plans for pushing through the legislature a bill for naming one of the three main roads (the so-called “middle road”) the “Daniel Webster highway.” Continue reading →

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