Pauper Graves

Who Were They?
Burials in the Paupers’ Section/City Home Lot

Seaside Cemetery, Gloucester, Massachusetts

February 10, 2023

A note, a caveat, and a request:

As far as we know, the names of the approximately 118 bodies that rest in the City Home Lot exist only on a series of three hand-written maps that are not entirely legible and don’t entirely agree with one another. We have done our best to decipher handwriting and locate documents that support our best guesses. The only thing we can guarantee is that best efforts have supported this information.

If you have alternate or additional information about those listed in this document, please contact us -- Gloucester Cemeteries Advisory Committee.

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Between 1905 and 1930 the City Home Lot in Lanesville’s Seaside Cemetery was the burial site for paupers and those otherwise unable to afford a burial plot, those who were unidentified or unclaimed by family and those who died at the City Home (the Almshouse). Fourteen of those buried in the City Lot are unnamed. Three maps of the City Home Lot exist. One shows graves between Avenues A and F. The other two show graves in the extended section of the City Home Lot — between Avenues E and H. There is a map of earlier graves which overlaps one row (between Avenues E and F) with the maps of the extended section, and a different numbering system is used, creating two grave numbers for everyone buried between Avenues E and F. With only one exception (Oscar Tuikka), the graves remain in the same place - only the plot/grave numbers differ.

The meager information we’ve been able to assemble paints a remarkably vivid picture of life in Gloucester in the first quarter of the 20th century. Those who lie in the City Home Lot were overwhelmingly immigrants , most from Finland and Nova Scotia, who worked in the fishing and quarrying industries. While many immigrants succeeded in creating better lives and giving their children more advantages than they had had, there were those who fell victim to tuberculosis and the influenza epidemic, early widowhood, and drug and alcohol addictions or simply fateful mishaps. They have been largely overlooked and forgotten. This project is an attempt to give them the dignity of remembrance.

Research conducted by and recorded by Sharron Cohen

The Cemeteries Advisory Committee thanks Sharron Cohen for her meticulous research and interest in this history.

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John Henry Baavola (1872-1915), a single, 43-y-o laborer from Finland, died 31 August 1915 in Knowlton’s Pasture, West Gloucester, of a lung hemorrhage secondary to pulmonary tuberculosis. Grave #3 between Avenues E and F. #21 on extended City Home map.

John Balfe (1880-1915), a freight handler for the B&G SS Co., died while working aboard the Steamer City of Gloucester. Grave #18 between Avenues D and E.

The ship was docked at the Boston & Gloucester Steamboat Co. wharf in Gloucester on 9 March 1915. He was 35 years old when he died of accidental drowning, according to medical examiner D.J. Finegan. He was buried in the Seaside Cemetery City Home Lot on March 22, 1915. Information on his death certificate was provided by George L. Browne, undertaker.

August Baroni (abt 1845-1910), a 65-year-old Italian paving cutter, died 16 August 1910, at Gilbert Hospital. Grave #11 between Avenues C and D.

He died of “abscess of right lung following tuberculosis,” according to Dr R.K.B. Knowles, who had to attended him from August 10-16. He was born in Italy about 1845 to Jacob and Madeline Baroni and resided at 951 Washington St. in Gloucester. Information for his death certificate came from “record at Overseer’s Dept.”

Minnie Beck (1871-1922) was most likely born Helmina or Wilhelmina Ammunsen in Norway in March 1871 to Hans Ammunsen and Engeta Engobretsen. Grave #48 between Avenues F and G.

She married Eli G. Beck (born in St Pierre and Miquelon, Newfoundland, March 1878, to James and Susan Ause Beck) in Gloucester 5 March 1900. It was his first marriage and her second. (Her first marriage was to a man named Hanson.) According to a series of federal censuses, she was at least five years older than her husband, 29 to his 22 in 1900, 40 to his 35 in 1910. She had also arrived in the US five years earlier than he had, 1888 to his 1893. In 1900, Eli was a fisherman. By 1910 he owned and kept a boarding house and employed a live-in cook named Annie, a 26-year-old immigrant from French Canada. In the 1920 federal census, Eli was a 42-year-old boarder at 8 Washington Square and he was again a fisherman aboard a “deep sea vessel.” Minnie did not appear on the census with him. According to the 1925 City Directory, she died two years later, on 20 Dec. 1922.

John Beltoniemi/John Niemi (1862-1906). According to his death certificate, the 45-year-old unmarried laborer, who lived at 12 Centennial Avenue, was born in Finland about 1861, died at Gilbert Hospital on 11 August 1906, and was buried in Seaside Cemetery’s City Home Lot on 13 Aug 1906. Grave #15 between Avenues A and B.

Medical examiner S.F. Quimby, who viewed the body on 11 Aug and performed an autopsy on 12 Aug, judged the cause of death to be shock and internal hemorrhage from fractured ribs and other injuries.

Although the death certificate identifies him as Beltoniemi, the grave map identifies John (rather messily) as John B. Niemi. The only John Niemi in city documents appears in the 1899 Gloucester City Directory as a paving cutter living on Granite St. in Pigeon Cove, Rockport. Two other Niemis lived on Granite Street “near Rockport Granite Co.” The 1900 federal census lists 37-year-old John Niemi as one of 8 boarders in the 54 Langsford Street home of Sanna Jacobson and her 4 children. He was born in Dec 1862 in Finland, had been married for 11 years, had immigrated the year before, in 1899, was employed, as were all the other boarders, as a quarryman. He could read and write but could not speak English. Neither the Gloucester nor Rockport City Directories listed a John Niemi or Beltoniemi in censuses or directories after 1900.

It appears that John Niemi was born in Finland Dec 1862, married in Finland in 1889, at the age of 28, immigrated in 1899, at the age of 38, and died in August of 1906, at the age of 45. It is unlikely that his wife ever joined him.

Carl J. Bloom (1899-1912) was a 13 year old pupil when he died of diphtheria at his parents’ home at 14 Oak St., Gloucester. Grave #4 between Avenues D and E.

Born in Gloucester to John F. Bloom and Louise Melberg, both of Sweden, he died 20 December 1912, having been attended by Dr Arthur S. Torrey from Dec 17-20.

Sarah Boynton (1879-1905) was born in Rockport to Lewis Boynton of Georgetown, MA. and Louise Ledger of Gloucester. She lived at 116 Eastern Ave when she died at Gilbert Hospital on 9 June 1905, at the age of 26. Grave #4 between Avenues A and B She had been attended from June 7-9 by Dr C.H. Morrow who diagnosed “morphine and cocaine used as habit for four years.” adding as a contributing factor "extensive ulcers from hypodermic syringe.” Informant for the death certificate was Sarah’s mother, Louise Boynton. She was buried in the City Home Lot on 11 June 1905.

George Bushey (1856-1905) was born in Gloucester on 14 Feb 1856 to Paul Bushey (1830-1864), a mariner, of Prince Edward Island and Elisabeth McPherson (1831-1909) of Prince Edward Island (1860 census) or Pictou, Nova Scotia (death certificate) .

Grave #1 between Avenues A and B

On 16 March 1864 George’s father, Paul Bushey, 35, was Captain of the schooner Oliver Burnham heading for George's Bank. All hands were lost. He was survived by his wife and 3 children. His brother Isaac Bushey, 30, was also lost. (Information from an ancestry.com family tree.) On 2 Aug 1866, Elizabeth remarried James R. Clark (1846-1870). On 12 October 1870, James was one of the crew lost aboard the ‘Day Star.’

In 1880, George was a 24-y-o inmate at the Gloucester Almshouse, where he had been admitted in 1879 for being “intemperate.” In 1900 he was a 42 year old fisherman (unemployed for 12 months) living with his mother Elizabeth Clark, a 69-y-o widow, at 116 Pleasant St. The Census shows she gave birth to 9 children, only one of whom was still alive. She had immigrated from Canada in 1845. The household included a boarder, 43-year-old widow Helen Lang. George was a resident of Gloucester when he died in the Ipswich House of Correction on 6 Sept 1905 of alcoholism and Bright’s Disease, having been attended from Sept 1-5 by Dr William E. Tucker of Ipswich. He had been at the House of Corrections for 7 months. Informant for the death certificate was Howard Lane, keeper at the House of Correction. George Bushey was buried in Seaside Cemetery’s City Home Lot on 8 Sept 1905.

Elizabeth Clark died three and half years later, on 6 April 1909, in the Gloucester almshouse of acute bronchitis, 4 days duration, complicated by senility. She was buried in Clark’s Cemetery, Gloucester.

Ann Byers: There were several Ann Byers living in Gloucester in the 1920s. The most likely is the Ann Byers who, in the 1910 census, was 65 years old. Grave #53 between Avenues F and G.

If so, she was born about 1845 in Canada, immigrated in 1905, and was a maid in the 335 Main St. home of Julius Porter 35, proprietor of a clothing store, and his wife Mary, 34. Both Julius and Mary were born in Russia, spoke Yiddish and English, and had immigrated in1888 and 1896 respectively. Their children were Hattie, 8, Harry, 6, and Hilman, 4. Ann Byers could neither read nor write. In the 1913 City Directory, Ann Byers was listed as a domestic at 327 Main St.

The Massachusetts Death Index lists an Ann Byers who died in Gloucester in 1926. If this is the correct Ann Byers, she would have been 71 years old.

Minnie (Walsh) Carrigan (abt 1875 -1907), the 32-year-old wife of Charles Carrigan, died on 8 July 1907. Grave #6 between Avenues B and C.

She died of tuberculosis of the lungs, for which Dr R.K.B. Knowles had attended her from March 2-July 8, 1907. She was born in Nova Scotia about 1875 to Patrick Walsh and Maggie Grant of Nova Scotia. Her husband gave information for the death certificate.

Edward C. Coombs (1850-1913) “alias Edward Edwards,” as noted on the death certificate, was a 63-year-old married paper hanger, who resided at 14 Laurel St, Gloucester, but died at the Gloucester Almshouse on 21 March 1913. Grave #6 between Avenues D and E.

He had been attended for Acute Broncho Pneumonia from March 10-21 by Dr. Arthur S. Torrey. Edward was born in Brooklyn, NY, to Daniel and Katherine Coombs. Information was provided for the death certificate by his wife Jennie Gilroy Coombs of Gloucester, originally from England.

Six months later, on 19 Oct 1913, his 30-year-old son William E. Coombs of 14 Laurel St., Gloucester, died at the City Hospital of “acute interstitial nephritis” and was buried in Beechbrook Cemetery. Information for the death certificate was provided by Mrs Emma Parker of Grove Street.

On 22 July 1914, Jennie Gilroy Coombs “alias Jennie Edwards” died at the age of 53 of uremia with the contributory factor of chronic interstitial nephritis. Although she died at City Hospital, her residence was 27-½ Millett St. Information for the death certificate was provided by Mrs Otto Johnson. She was buried in Beechbrook Cemetery.

Harriet B. (Fields) Cooper (1816-1913), the 97-year-old widow of William T. Cooper, lived at the Gloucester Almshouse and died at the city hospital on 29 March 1913. Grave #7 between Avenues D and E.

She succumbed to broncho pneumonia, for which she had been seen by Dr. Arthur S. Torrey from March 26-29. He listed arterio sclerosis as a contributing factor. Information for the death certificate was provided by William J. (T?) Cooper of Gloucester. Harriet was born in Milton, MA, to Jeremiah Fields, and married William T. Cooper in Dorchester on Nov 4, 1840. William was a tin plate worker and a fitter plate worker. They had at least five children: Harriet E. Cooper, b 1840, Elizabeth A. Cooper (Martin) b 1847, Fanny Cooper b 1850, William T. Cooper, Jr., b 1855, and Arthur W. Cooper, born 1858/died Dec 11, 1862 at the age of 4 after a six-day bout of croup.

William T. Cooper, Sr. died 29 January 1892, in Gloucester, of apoplexy. Although Harriet Cooper lived in the Almshouse at the time of her 1913 death, she had lived with her son William and grandson Alden for the 1900 census (Spring St.) and the 1910 census (East Main St.). Both William and Alden were painters. Florence Cooper, her granddaughter who lived with them in 1900, was a “lady clerk.”

Her son William T. Cooper is buried in the Seaside City Home lot, grave #42 between Avenues F and G.

William Thomas Cooper (1854-1920). William’s name is William P. Cooper on the City Home map but William T. Cooper on the Massachusetts Death Index for 1920. Grave #42 between Avenues F and G.

William Thomas Cooper was born 28 Sept 1854 in Gloucester, to William Thomas Cooper and Harriet B. Fields. He married, in Maine, Melvina McMahon (b.1857-?) on 15 March 1879. He was a “tin man” like his father, in Georgetown, Maine, in the 1880 census.

He married for the 2nd time, 19 July 1890, at age 31 (on the marriage record, 36 by my math) 25-year-old Margaret Forbes, a domestic from Louisburg, Cape Breton. His address at the time was 131 East Main St., and his occupation was “painter.” His father, William T. Cooper, Sr. died 29 January 1892, in Gloucester, of apoplexy.

The 1900 census, which placed William Cooper, Jr., on Spring St in Gloucester, found him again a widower. (He said he had been married for 1 year, so Margaret must have died in 1891, but I found no record.) He was still a painter, living with his 82-year-old widowed mother Harriet Cooper along with his 20 y-o daughter Florence M., a “lady clerk” and 18 y-o son Alden, a farmer. By 1910, William, Jr., still a painter, 29 -y-o Alden, also a painter, and 92-y-o mother Harriet were living on East Main St.

His daughter, Florence Cooper, married Arthur Ben Parsons in 1901 and died 8 March 1903 from the consequences of the death of her fetus in utero. Alden moved to Ohio and married in 1913. Harriet Cooper died that same year in the Gloucester Almshouse. In the 1920 federal census, 66-year-old William Cooper was also an “inmate” in the Almshouse.

William’s mother, Harriet B. Cooper (1816-1913), is buried in grave #7 between Avenues D and E.

Ida (Swicker/Zwicker) Perkins Couria (1868-1906) was born in Chester, Nova Scotia, to William Swicker and Eliza Luntz, both of Nova Scotia. Grave #9 between Avenues A and B.

She married, first, George Enoch Perkins (1847-1898) by whom she had three children: Courtney Everett Herman Perkins (1880-?), Lewis Perkins and George W. Perkins. Her husband, a cook, died and was buried in Danvers, MA., 22 Aug 1898, at the age of 51, from “general paralysis.” She married Arthur B. Couria on 15 June 1902 in Gloucester. She was 35; he was 25, and it was his first marriage. He was a driver, formerly a hostler. Ida Perkins Couria died 1 August 1906, at the age of 38, at Gilbert Hospital. Her residence was 124 Duncan St. at the time. She had been attended from July 5- Aug 1 by S.W. Mooring, who diagnosed her with Pulmonary Embolism with the contributing factor of Salpyngitis. She was buried in the City Home Plot on 3 August 1906. Informant for the death certificate was Mrs. D. White of 107 Duncan St. Three years after her death, on 9 Sept 1909, Arthur Couria married a second time to Margaret Aichele - her first marriage. He was 32; she was 31. He was listed as a gardener on the marriage record.

Susan A. (Donnell) Cross (abt 1848-1916) Susan Donnell, born about 1848-9 in Boston to John Donnell and Grace Doherty, was a 23-y-o domestic from Charlestown, MA. Grave #11 between Avenues E and F. #29 on extended City Home map.

She married Albert Henry Cross in Gloucester on 1 May 1885. He was 30, born in Rockport on 29 May 1854 to mariner John Cross and Nancy Gee. The 1910 census listed Albert at 12 Beacon St. He was a laborer at “Odd Jobs” who could read but not write, he had been married for 25 years, but Susan was not on the page. In the 1917 City Directory Susan and Albert H. Cross, a laborer, lived at 104 Pleasant St. Susan probably died in 1916, but no record has yet been found.

Albert H. Cross, born 1849, was a widowed “inmate” at the City Poor Farm in 1920

Charles Day (1833- 1910), a 77-year-old resident of the Gloucester Almshouse, died 30 March 1910. Grave #9 between Avenues C and D.

He died of “Hemorrhage of the stomach & lungs,” according to Dr. D.J. Finegan, who had attended him from September 1909 until his death. According to his death certificate, he was born in Bucksport, Maine.

Thomas Day (abt 1830- 1906) There were several men named Thomas Day, one a resident of Rockport for most of his life, the others residents of Gloucester. Grave #13 between Avenues A and B.

One that seems a possible match is:

According to his death certificate, Thomas Day was born in Rockport about 1830 and died in the City Home 2 August 1906 at the age of 76. S.W. Mooring, who attended him from 2 Jan - 2 Aug 1906, diagnosed Intestinal obstruction with contributing senility. He was buried 4 Aug in Seaside’s City Home Lot. The informant for the death certificate was George Parsons, Overseer of the Poor.

The 1850 federal census for Rockport listed Thomas Day age 20, son of Samuel and Mary Day with siblings Joseph, 31, and William 23. All the men in the family were fishermen except Thomas, whose occupation is listed as “none.” In 1870 he alone remained at home with his parents and was listed as a 37-y-o laborer. In the 1880 federal census, Thomas was living in Rockport, probably in a house with others but as a separate family unit, and was listed as disabled because of “distorted limbs.” The 1900 census found him still in Rockport, one of 2 boarders in the home of George Brown. His date of birth was given as January 1825, making him 75 years old. The 1905 Gloucester City Directory listed Thomas Day as a resident of the Almshouse. (The only link between the Thomas Day of Rockport and the Thomas Day who died in the Gloucester almshouse is the death certificate’s listing of “Rockport” as his birthplace.)

Ebenezer Devine (1857-1915) The 55-year-old, married fisherman, was born 24 May 1857 in Woods Harbour, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia to Andrew and Hannah (Nickerson) Devine. Grave #6 between Avenues E and F. #24 on extended City Home map.

He married Ada Malone (1860-1952) and had 12 children, among them: Robert Kempton Devine (1889-1980), Leta Mae Devine (1890-1978), Jennie Devine (1893-1980), Austin Devine (1894-1979), Oscar Devine (1894-1974), Clyde Erneld Devine (1897-1975), Kenneth Bradford Devine ((1900-1963), Albert Devine (1903-1963), Thomas Devine (1904-1981), and Ernest L. Devine (1907-1969).

Eben Devine was a quintessential member of Gloucester’s fishing community in the early part of the 20th century. Born the son of a Nova Scotian fisherman, he was also the sibling and father of fishermen. At least two of his brothers fished out of Gloucester. His 22-year-old brother George died in 1888 when he fell from the schooner Etta Gott off Thacher Island, and his brother Lovett (1863-1925) is buried in the Fisherman Rest section of Beechbrook Cemetery.

In 1915, Eben was reported missing by fellow crewmen from the schooner Hattie A. Heckman. Ten days later his body was seen floating in Gloucester Harbor by Ten Pound Island’s keeper, George Bailey, who retrieved it and rowed it ashore. Despite decomposition, Oscar Devine identified his father’s body, perhaps by his dark coat and the spectacles in the pocket. The medical examiner ruled death by accidental drowning, but a darker ghost of a story has always lingered in the Devine family’s lore: Known to be a drinker, Eben Devine was followed from a bar on the dark October night of his disappearance by two men with whom he’d had an altercation. In 2022, his grandson, Roger Devine had a stone placed to commemorate Eben.

Minnie E. (Darville) Dunbar (1868-1914), also Mary E. (Darville) Dunbar, widow of Norris Burton Dunbar. Grave #12 between Avenues D and E. She was a resident of the City Home, but she died at the City Hospital on August 22, 1914, of chronic Interstitial nephritis. She had been under the care of Dr Arthur S. Torrey from August 1-22, 1914. Forty four year-old Minnie had been born in Plymouth, England. According to the 1900 federal census, Minnie Darville immigrated to the US in 1887.

She was a 21-year-old domestic living in Hyde Park when she married Norris Burton Dunbar (1867-1902, of Maine or New Brunswick) in Gloucester on 15 August 1891. He was a sailor living in Gloucester at the time. They had five children, two of whom died in infancy: Rosa Jane Dunbar (1892-1892) died at a few days old. Etta Maude (Dunbar) Harrison (1895-1968) married Raymond C. Harrison, a teamster, in 1912, at the age of 17. Etta died in July 1968 in Lynn, MA. Edith Gertrude (Dunbar) Haskell (1896-1992) married Augustine R. Herrick on 14 August 1914, eight days before her mother’s death. She was 19. He was a laborer, she was a seamstress. Elizabeth May (Dunbar) Rising (1898-1974) married Morris Rising (1902-1960). Elizabeth died 10 Feb 1974 in Saugus. Irma Stuart Dunbar 1902-1903, died at 3 months of malnutrition. Norris Burton Dunbar (1867-1902) was lost at sea 4 July 1902, age 45, while fishing from the vessel Independence on the banks off Newfoundland, leaving Minnie with three daughters, ages 7, 6, and 4, to raise as a single mother. Minnie’s is one of the few grave stones in the City Home lot. The dates inscribed on it are 1868-1914. The death certificate, information for which was provided by Mrs, Rosamond Harrison of15 Bass Ave, estimated her date of birth at 1870. The stone is more likely to be correct. Her daughter, Edith Gertrude (Dunbar) Herrick, who was 95 when she died, is buried in Seaside Cemetery, along with her husband Augustine and son Donald, within sight of her mother’s grave.

David Ekland/Eklund (1876- 1910), a 34 year-old, married laborer and Finnish immigrant, was the son of Charles and Mary Ekland of Finland. Grave # 12 between Avenues C and D.

He resided on Willow St, probably near the Willow Street Crossing which was the approximate location of his death. He died on 6 Nov 1910 from “Multiple injuries. Run over by train. An accident, according to medical examiner S. F. Quimby. He was buried the following day in the City Home Lot. Oscar Eklund who provided information for David Ekland’s death certificate, lived at 23 Willow St. The names were spelled differently and both were legible. They may or may not have been related.

The 1910 federal census for Gloucester listed a not entirely legible entry for Taavid Eiklund, a 30-year-old laborer/stone work, out of work for 10 weeks, married 8 years, immigrated from Finland in 1906, living as one of 5 Finnish immigrant boarders in the 29 Willow St. home of Peter Johnson, 26, wife Petti, 30, daughter Tyyne, 7, and son John. Peter immigrated from Finland in 1903, Petti and Tyyne in 1905. The same census listed the residents of 23 Willow Street as Otto (not Oscar) Aklund, 35, and his wife Tikla, both Finnish immigrants who immigrated in 1901 and 1900 respectively.

Anna Maud Flaherty (1899-1915) born 28 January 1899 to John H. Flaherty of Gloucester and Emma Rutledge Flaherty of Gloucester, died on 13 March 1915. Grave #17 between Avenues D and E.

She died at the Lakeville MA Sanitorium, at the age of 16, of pulmonary pthisis (tuberculosis). Her legal residence was 38-½ Water St., Gloucester. Information for the death certificate was provided by her mother Emma Flaherty, who would die in Sept of diabetes and be buried in grave #5 between Avenues E and F.

Emma (Rutledge) Flaherty (1864-1915). The 48-y-o housewife and widow of John Flaherty was born 27 Nov 1864 in Gloucester to John Rutledge of England and Margaret Saxon of Nova Scotia, according to information on the death certificate provided by Mrs. Florence Doucette. Grave #5 between Avenues E and F. #23 on extended City Home map.

Emma Flaherty died at her 38-½ Sargent St, Gloucester, home on 16 Sept 1915, of diabetes mellitus. Her 16-year old daughter, Anna Flaherty had died on 13 March 1915 at the Lakeville MA Sanitorium of tuberculosis. Anna is buried in grave #17 between Avenues D and E.

John Gallant (?- 1922) According to the Massachusetts Death Index, John Gallant died in Gloucester in 1922. Grave #49 between Avenues F and G.

A series of City Directories place him in Gloucester, consistently at 139 Concord St, West Gloucester, with the occupation “laborer,” from 1888-1891 (index) and in viewable directories 1911, 1919, and 1922.

James George (abt 1853-1908), approximately 55 years old, died 21 January 1908 of accidental drowning, according to medical examiner S.F. Quimby. Grave # 10 between Avenues B and C.

His body was found off the Steamboat Dock on Pearce St., Gloucester. No other information, not even a residence, was listed on the death certificate.

Annie Grover (1829-1912), an 83-year-old single woman, died 5 January 1912 at the Gloucester Almshouse. Grave #16 between Avenues C and D.

She had been born in Portsmouth New Hampshire according to the Almshouse matron. Dr Arthur S. Torrey, who attended her from January 1-4, determined she died of Bronco-pneumonia with arteriosclerosis as a contributing factor.

William Harrington/Hanington (?-1907) is buried between Edward Holmlund (10 Feb 1907) and Adam Waananen (4 April 1907), so the presumed range for his date of death is between February and May 1907, though there is some confusion in the expected sequential dates of burial for graves #1, 16, 17, and 18 in the row between Avenues A and B. No death certificate has yet been located for a William Harrington who died between February and May of 1907. Grave #17 between Avenues A and B.

There were multiple William Harringtons alive in the years before 1907. One, born Sept 1861, was a 38-y-o resident of the Beverly Almshouse (Cedar St, Beverly) in the 1900 census. No document connects him to Gloucester.

Another possibility is William M. Harrington, who appears in the 1860 federal census for Gloucester as the 7- year-old son of David, 31, a joiner, and Evaline Harrington, 28. On that census, William had been born in Maine 7 years previously. 1880 and 1900 federal censuses place him back in Maine.

Neither William Harrington has yet been connected by documents to the City Home grave.

Frank L. Harris (1887-1905), an 18-year-old fisherman, died at his residence, 18 Arthur Street, on 26 Nov 1905. Grave #7 between Avenues A and B.

He died of diphtheria with contributory heart failure, according to Dr. Arthur McCabe who attended him from Nov 20-26. He was born in Gloucester on 11 Jan 1887, to mariner John L. Harris of New London, CT, and Mary O’Neil of Woonsocket, RI. His mother, Mary Harris of 18 Arthur St., was the informant for his death certificate. He was buried in Seaside Cemetery’s City Home Plot on 17 Nov.

Sophia (Lassuri) Hendrickson (abt 1877- 1908), the 31-year-old wife of William Hendrickson, lived at 21 Centennial Avenue but died at Gilbert Hospital on 9 Oct 1908. Grave #18 between Avenues B and C.

According to Dr. R. Garland, her cause of death was “toxic myocarditis” of 3 days duration, contributed to by a three week course of typhoid fever. She was born in Finland in 1877 to Andrew and Susie Lassuri. Information was provided for the death certificate by her sister Hilda Lassuri.

Charles W. Higgins died in 1916 in Gloucester, according to the Massachusetts Death Index. Grave #12 between Avenues E and F. #30 on extended City Home map.

John Hill (1852-1912), a Finnish immigrant laborer of approximately 60 years of age, died suddenly at the Gloucester Police station on 18 September 1912. Grave #1 between Avenues D and E.

Medical Examiner S.F. Quimby ruled the cause of death “apoplexy (probably)” with “alcoholism” as a contributing factor. He maintained a residence at 40 Maplewood Avenue and was listed as married, though no other information about his wife or parents appears on the death certificate.

Charles Herbert Hines (1870-1907), a single, 36-year-old fisherman who lived aboard a vessel, was found dead at Fear’s Dock on Duncan St., on 7 September 1907. Grave # 8 between Avenues B and C.

He was the victim of accidental drowning, according to Dr. James H. Knowles. Hines was born 27 Nov 1870 in East Pubnico, Nova Scotia, the son of Charles Hines and Alrimina Oram of Nova Scotia. Information was supplied for the death certificate by Mrs. Roberts, 41 Washington St.

According to his Find-a-Grave memorial page, Charles Herbert Hines was the son of Charles H. Hines and Ermina Oran. He was the brother of Edward Ernest Hines (27 Oct 1873 – ?), Ursa P Hines (1876-?), Uriah Hines (1878-?), Roy Hines (1878–22 Feb 1902), and Albert Leighton Hines (12 Mar 1881-30 Jul 1966)

Fred Hodgdon (abt 1865-1905) was an approximately 40-year-old laborer who had been born in Boothbay, Maine, and lived in Essex, MA at the time of his death. Grave #5 between Avenues A and B

His body was found in Gloucester Harbor on 19 June 1905 but medical examiner S.F. Quimby, who ruled accidental drowning, estimated the body had been in the water 10 days to two weeks. The body, which was identified by George Rich and Charles Mullen, was buried in the City Home Lot on 21 June 1905.

Edward Holmlund (abt 1841-1907). Edvard/Edward Holmlund, a fisherman, was born in Sweden about 1841, and died on 9 Feb 1907, at the age of 55, at Gilbert Hospital, of double croupous pneumonia. Grave #18 between Avenues A and B.

He was buried in the City Home Lot of Seaside Cemetery on 10 Feb 1907 after having been attended from 6-9 Feb by Dr. R.K. B. Knowles. At the time of his death, he lived at a boarding house on 9 Beach St., Gloucester. In 1892 he had lived at 46 Main St.; in 1890, 29 Prospect St. Samuel Nelson, a fellow Swede and proprietor of the Beach St. boarding house, was the informant for his death certificate.

Jennie E. (Troumain) Jackson (abt 1862-1907), the 45-year-old wife of Andrew Jackson, died on 31 May 1907, at the Gloucester Emergency Hospital. Grave #1 between Avenues C and D.

She died of “bronchial asthma” with a contributing cause of “cardiac exhaustion” according to Dr. H.H. Choate, who had attended her May 19-31, 1907. She lived at “Thistle House” in Gloucester. She was born approximately 1862 in Marbou, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to Henry Troumain from Port Hood, Cape Breton, and Mary Johnson from Marbou. Information for the death certificate was provided by Mrs. Harnish of Water St., Gloucester. (1862-1907)

John Johnson (1837-1908), a 71-year-old fisherman, died at the police station on 24 August 1908. Grave #17 between Avenues B and C.

He died of “heart disease (probably)” according to medical examiner S.F. Quimby. He had been born in Eastport, Maine, about 1837, according to the Overseer of the Poor. (1837 - 24 Aug 1908)

Martin Johnson (abt 1844-1907), a 63-year-old fisherman, died at the Gloucester Almshouse 17 June 1907. Grave #5 between Avenues B and C.

He died of mitral heart disease of years duration, with the contributing factor of 6 days duration hemiplegia, according to doctor R.K.B. Knowles, who attended him from Feb 28- June 17, 1907. He had been born in Sweden about 1844. Information for the death certificate was provided by the Overseer of the Poor.

Joseph Kallikoski (?-1916), (Kallikoski was the most frequent spelling. It was also Kalliakoski and Kallikosk). Grave #8 between Avenues E and F. #26 on extended City Home map

Kallikoski was the husband of Helena Karppi and father of Ida M. Kalliakosk (a domestic who married quarryman Johan J. Kiivista on Nov 20, 1900). Joseph died in 1916. No death certificate as yet found.

He was listed as Joseph Kallikoski on both the Massachusetts Death Index and City Directories for 1911 (rear Norseman Ave., quarryman), 1915 (boards at the City Home) and 1916. The 1916 City Directory listed the date of his death as 4 March 1916.

Joseph A. Kallio, (abt 1878/1883/1881-1921) There were several Joseph Kallios in Gloucester in the early 1900s, six of whom were registered for the draft in WWI. Grave #44 between Avenues F and G.

The two most likely to be the one in the City Home Lot were: Joseph Alexander Kallio, born 10 May 1878. A 40-y-o from Finland who lived at 37-½ Sargent Street, he was a “stonework laborman" who worked for Dennis Billeau in Magnolia. His sister was Katie Hemia. Another draft card for Joseph “Axel” Kallio gave his birth as 8 Aug 1881, (he was 37 years old), in “Finland Russia.” He lived at 7 Viking St., with wife Selma S. (Tuskina) Kallio and worked as a paving cutter for the Rockport Granite Co. in Bayview. His signature suggests a lack of grasp of writing and the English language.

The Kallio married to Selma was still alive in 1922, according to the Gloucester City Directory. The marriage record to Selma Tuskina has an 1883 birth date for Joseph Axel Kallio.

Mattie Kangas (abt 1887-1912) was a Finnish immigrant laborer about 25 years old, who died at his residence, 13 Centennial Avenue, Gloucester, on June 9, 1912. Grave #18 between Avenues C and D.

According to medical examiner S.F. Quimby, the cause of death was “pressure of blood clot following fractured skull (police investigating). Result of a quarrel. No action taken after investigation.” Duration: a few hours.

Unknown Kelleher (Brother William H.) (?-1918?) The extended City Home map creates a mystery. Grave#38 between Avenues F and G.

It reads "Unknown Kelleher" with "Brother Wm H." written above it. Is Wm H. Kelleher buried in the pauper's grave, attested to by his brother? Or is Wm H. Kelleher's brother in the grave? The likely date of interment is between Sanna Liisa Winterroad's death (2 Oct 1918) and the end of the year (because the next grave was also 1918, unspecified month). The Massachusetts Death Index lists two Kellehers who died in Gloucester in 1918: John E. Kelleher and William Kelleher. (No helpful middle initial.) Find-a-Grave has memorials for two Kellehers who died in Gloucester in 1918: John E. Kelleher, died 26 Sept. 1918, and his father William Kelleher (again, no helpful middle initial), who died 1 Oct. 1918. Alas, they are both buried in the Cherry Hill Cemetery.

Information that doesn’t fit:

William Kelleher was a laborer boarding at Shepherd St in 1884, a fish skinner in 1894. He is buried in Cherry Hill Cemetery. There were two William Kellehers, father and son, in city censuses for 1917 and 1919, the father boarded at his son’s hotel. William H. Kelleher, b 1864, owned the Taft Hotel on Main St. He had siblings Anna (b 1875), John 1875-1918 (buried in Cherry Hill Cemetery), Joseph, b.1878, and Frank, b 1880.

In 1894, Rev. John Kelleher had removed to Boston, but in 1903, there was a John Kelleher a fish handler, boarding at 9 Middle St. Gloucester.

In 1903, the Gloucester City Directory listed William H. Kelleher and his wife Eva at 8 Porter St, lodging house. There was a shoemaker named William Kelleher listed in the 1894 City Directory, and a James H. Kellier/Hellier, age 72, on the 1920 census list of inmates in the City Poor Farm on Emerson Ave.

Hedvig Kunsiluoma (abt 1887-1912), an approximately 25-year-old unmarried pregnant domestic from Finland, committed suicide by illuminating gas on 29 November 1912. Grave #21 between Avenues D and E.

Samuel Lake (?-1920) died in 1920, according to the Massachusetts Death Index. Grave #41 between Avenues F and G.

Information from a combination of ancestry.com family profiles claims that Selim Lake was born in Helsinki, Finland, and was married to Hedwig Sophia (Rindinan) Lake (b. 18 Oct 1881, Helsinki.) They had two children: Helvi/Helen Lake (Brown) (1916-1983) and Eino Selim Lake (1917 - 2006, buried in Beechbrook, Gloucester.) The timing indicates that Hedwig was a widow with a 4-y-o and a 3-y-o when Samuel died. Hedwig/Hilda? Sophia (Rindinan) Lake died in Gloucester sometime between 1976 and 1987.

Gabriel Lindstrom (abt 1852-1905), a 53-y-o widowed fisherman who lived at 17 Commercial St, died 1 hour after his arrival at Emergency Hospital on Short Street. Grave #6 between Avenues A and B.

He had been attended from Nov 20-23 by Dr H.H. Choate, who diagnosed acute pulmonary tuberculosis with pulmonary hemorrhage as the cause of death. Lindstrom was born in Finland about 1852, died 23 Nov1905 and was buried 25 Nov 1905 in Seaside’s City Home Lot. Informant for the death certificate was “Overseer of the Poor, Sec’y.”

John Mackey (1847-1905), a 58-y-o married resident of Gloucester, died at Gilbert Hospital on 31 March 1905 and was buried in the City Home Lot at Seaside Cemetery on 2 April. Grave #2 between Avenues A and B

He had been attended from March 5 -31 by Dr. R.K.B. Knowles who diagnosed myocarditis of “probably years” duration. John Mackey had been born in Boston and was a barber. The informant for the death certificate was the Overseer of the Poor.

Henry F. Madden (1850-1913), a 63-year-old, single laborer, died suddenly on 25 August 1913 of “Heart Disease (probably)” according to the medical examiner S.F. Quimby. He was born in Boston and resided at 36 Rogers St., Gloucester. Grave #9 between Avenues D and E.

Susan (Hutt) Maguire (1817-1911), the 94-year-old widow of Patrick Maguire, was born 11 March 1817 in Nova Scotia, and died 13 Dec 1911 at her 35 School St. residence. Grave #15 between Avenues C and D.

She had been attended from Dec 11-12 by Dr D.J. Finegan, who determined the cause of death to be cerebral hemorrhage with arteriosclerosis as a contributing factor. Information for the death certificate was provided by Christine Chisholm.

Alex Martin see Kalle Sarkka

George H. Martin (1848-1907), a 59-year-old (according to his death certificate) fisherman, died at the City Home on 31 May 1907. Grave #4 between Avenues B and C.

He died of tuberculosis of the lungs with the contributing factor of aortic regurgitation, according to Dr R.K. B Knowles, who attended him from Feb 28- May 31. George Martin had been born in Gloucester on 9 July 1849 (according to his birth certificate; 1848 according to death certificate) to James Martin and Bethia Smith, both from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

According to the 1855 state census James Martin, Sr., a mariner, and his 55-y-o wife Bethia were living in Gloucester with their children James H. Martin, 22, also a mariner, William Martin, 15, and George Martin, 6. All three children had been born in Massachusetts.

The 1870 federal census listed the Martin parents, James Martin 75, no occupation, and Bethia Martin, 67, and the brothers — James, 38, William, 27, and George, 20, all three of whom were fishermen. Bethia Smith died 16 January 1878, at the age of 75, of phthisis. (tuberculosis). By 1880 James Martin, Sr. was living with daughter Susan (Martin) Jeffrey’s family. James, Sr. probably died between 1880 and 1890.

George Martin’s sister, Susan Martin, who had married Robert Jeffrey, died in 1905, at the age of 75, of cerebral thrombosis. It appears that both William and George Martin were in the Almshouse together by 1900. George Martin died 31 May 1907 and was buried in the City Home section of Seaside. (Grave #4, between Avenues B and C.) William Martin, who provided information for George’s death certificate, died 14 Feb 1912, and is buried in Beechbrook Cemetery in Gloucester. James Martin, the oldest of the brothers, who may have lost a leg in the Civil War, managed to stay out of the Almshouse, but he joined his brother George in the City Home Lot in 1921. James is buried in grave #43 between Avenues F and G.

James H. Martin, Jr. (abt 1834-1921) : According to the Massachusetts Death Index, James H. Martin died in 1921, in Gloucester, MA. He had been born about 1834. Grave #43 between Avenues F and G.

In the 1855 state census: James Martin, a 64-year-old mariner and his wife Bethia Smith, 55 years old, both from Halifax, Nova Scotia, were living in Gloucester with their children James H. Martin, 22, also a mariner, William Martin, 15, and George Martin, 6. All three children had been born in Massachusetts.

June 15, 1863: A Civil War draft registration record lists two Martin brothers: William, age 21, an unmarried fisherman, and James H.Martin, now 30, with this remark: “Lost one leg.”

1870 federal census listed the Martin parents, James Martin 75, no occupation, and Bethia Martin, 67, and the brothers, James, 38, William, 27, and George, 20, all three of whom were fishermen.

Bethia Smith died 16 January 1878, age 75, of phthisis. (Tuberculosis)

In the 1880 federal census, James Martin, Jr., was 45 years old and a boarder in the 10 Bass Avenue home of Susan Sargent, 43, and her children, Carrie E. Sargent, 15, Ella Sargent, 13, William B. Sergeant, 20, and Rinaldo R. Sergeant, 22. William and Rinaldo were both fishermen. 10 Bass Avenue appears to have housed 6 families, though Susan Sargent’s was the only one with a boarder. James' mother had died and his father was living with daughter Susan Jeffrey’s family. James, Sr. probably died between 1880 and 1890.

In the 1900 federal census, James H, Martin, age 67, was single with no occupation listed. He was boarding at 3 Harmony Square, in the home of Susan Sargent, 65, and her granddaughter Florence Kimball, a 15-year-old servant. 3 Harmony Square appears to have been one residence that housed 4 families, each with a single boarder.

In the 1910 federal census, James H. Martin, 75, was a boarder in the Main Street, Rockport, home of Terrance O’Brien, 50, a saloon keeper (on his own account), O'Brien's wife Florence E., 39, and son Terrance J., 14.

In the 1920 federal census, James H. Martin, age 86, a single, retired fisherman, was the only boarder in the 26 East Main St. home of Terrance O’Brien, 61-y-o saloon keeper who worked for wages in a liquor store, his wife Florence, 52, and son Terrance J. O’Brien, 24, a barber who worked for wages in a barber shop.

James H. Martin died in 1921.

What happened to James Martin's siblings?

It appears that both of his brothers, William and George Martin, were in the Almshouse together by 1900. George Martin died 31 May 1907 and was buried in the City Home section of Seaside. (Grave #4, between Avenues B and C.) William Martin, who provided information for George’s death certificate, died 14 Feb 1912, and is buried in Beechbrook Cemetery in Gloucester.

Their sister Susan Martin, who had married Robert Jeffrey, died in 1905, at the age of 75, of cerebral thrombosis. Their daughter married Samuel Dexter.

Elina (Talvitie) Mattila (abt 1886 - 1917) The name on the City Home map for Grave #14/#32 is “J. Mattilla.” Mattilla/Mattila is a relatively uncommon name in Gloucester, which makes the failure to find a J. Mattilla who died in 1916-1917 puzzling. Grave #14 between Avenues E and F. #32 on extended City Home map.

The Massachusetts Death Index lists Elina (Talvitie) Mattila, who died in Gloucester in 1917. It is highly likely that she lies in the grave and that someone mistakenly wrote her husband’s initial on the map.

If so, Elina/Ilina/Alima Talvitie was born in Finland about 1886 to John Talvitie and Katrie Kangas, She immigrated to Gloucester in 1905, where she worked as a domestic. Sometime before 1911 she met Jacob Victor Mattilla, (1882-1944) who had immigrated in 1904.

In the 1910 federal census Jacob Mattila had been one of three boarders in the Norseman Avenue home of Abram Jacobson, 45, a lumper, his wife Matilda, 38, and their three children, John A, 17, apprentice engineer, Andrew A., 12, and Lilia A., 6. Jacob Mattila and the other two boarders, Aadi Pajari, 21, and William Newman, 25, were quarrymen. Jacob was described on the census as a plug driller.

On 27 May 1911, in Gloucester, the 29-year-old quarryman married the 25-year-old domestic. It was a first marriage for both. They had children, Arvo H. Mattila, b 1912, and Ennie/Edna Susanna Mattila, b 1915 (also known as Arthur and Helda/Edna?)

Jacob had been a quarryman before and at the time of his 1911 marriage, but, by 1919, after his wife’s 1917 death, he lived with his brother-in-law John Talvitie’s family at 19 Brierwood and ran a cobbling shop on Langsford Street. In 1935, he lived with Mrs Minnie Bentinen at 1234 Washington Street. He died 11 March 1944 and is buried in Locust Grove Cemetery in a plot marked “Koski” belonging to Verner Koski and Matilda Lehto.

Elina Talvitie Mattila was Jacob Talvitie’s sister, and, therefore, sister-in-law of Sanna Liisa Talvitie/Winterroad, who lies in Grave #18/#36 in this same row of burials.

Albert Ellery Mattison (1859-1926) (also spelled: Mattieson/ Matterson) was born in Gloucester Dec 1859 to John Mattison and Eliza Ellery. Grave #54 between Avenues F and G.

On 8 Aug 1893 he married (Marnie/Mary? Gimpson/Simpson?) from Great Falls, NH, the daughter of Peter and Hannah Gimpson. It was a first marriage for both*. He was a 33-y-o hack driver, and she was 21.

The 1900 federal census found Albert Mattison living at 8 Prospect St. Gloucester. His birth date was Dec 1859; he was a 40-y-o, printer? painter? with 26-y-o wife Mary (b June 1874 in New Hampshire) and his 59-y-o widowed mother Eliza J. (b. 1841.) The 1905 City Directory lists Albert E. Mattison as a boarder at 8 Prospect St. and his mother, Eliza J., widow, as “house, 8 Prospect.” Neither of them appear in the 1910 census for Gloucester,** but by 1913 Albert Mattison boarded at the City Home, and in the 1920 federal census there was an “inmate” at the city poor farm in Ward Five named “Albert Madison,” 60-y-o, and widowed. According to the Massachusetts Death Index, Albert Ellery Mattison died in Gloucester in 1926.

*There may have been a previous marriage to Jessie Cushing, 12 Nov 1884. He was listed as the 24 y-o son of John Mattison and Eliza E. Ellery; he was a teamster. The bride was 20, a cutter, daughter of James Cushing.

** Eliza Jane Ellery Mattison, resident of 8 Prospect St., died at the Gilbert Hospital on 25 Feb 1906 of pneumonia and interstial nephritis. She was buried at “High St.” Informant for her death certificate was Peter J. Mattison.

Thomas McGowan (abt 1866-1906) was an approximately 40-y-o laborer whose address was unknown when he died at Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester following an accident and subsequent amputation of his leg. Grave# 12 between Avenues A and B.

He may also have had pneumonia. He was attended by S.W. Mooring July 3-4, died on 4 July 1906, and was buried in the City Home section of Seaside Cemetery on 13 July.

Elizabeth McKeen (abt 1857-1925) died in 1925, according to the Massachusetts Death Index. Grave #51 between Avenues F and G.

She appears in the 1920 federal census, age 63, placing her birth about 1857 in Canada. She was single and an “inmate” in the City Home (Almshouse) on Emerson Avenue (mistranscribed as “Norton” on ancestry.com). Gloucester City Directories list her at or “boards” at the City Home in 1913, 1917, 1919, 1922 and 1925.

Allen E. McLean (abt 1885-1908) was born about 1885 in Gloucester, MA., to James McLean and Jennie MacDonald, both from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Grave #16 between Avenues B and C.

He died at the age of 23, on 13 August 1908 in Salem, MA, of nephritis and alcoholism, according to Dr. Frank S. Atwood of Salem. Information for his death certificate was provided by his mother.

George S. McMullen (?-1917) died in Gloucester, Ma. In 1917 according to the Massachusetts Death Index. Grave #13 between Avenues E and F. #31 on extended City Home map

The 1915 Gloucester City Directory listed a George McMullen, fish handler, boarding at rear 115 Washington St.

Edmund McVeagh (1836-1907), who had been born in New York City in 1836, was a 71-year-old fisherman who was living aboard his vessel when he died on 15 April 1907 at Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester. Grave #2 between Avenues B and C.

The cause of death was chronic endocarditis, according to Dr. Edward B. Hallett, who attended him April 14-15. He was buried in the City Home Lot at Seaside Cemetery on April 17. Information for the death certificate was provided by the hospital record. There is a notation on the City Home map that $3.00 was paid by someone named Brown.

Aaron R. Miller (1846-1912), a 66-year-old, married laborer, lived at the Gloucester Almshouse and died at the City Hospital on 17 Dec 1912. Grave #3 between Avenues D and E.

He died of acute broncho pneumonia with the contributing factor of arteriosclerosis. He had been attended by Dr. Arthur S. Torrey from Dec 10-17. Aaron was born in 1846 in Boston to James Miller of Boston and Mary Gill of Cape Cod. Information for the death certificate was provided by George E. Macdonald, Overseer of the Poor.

Margaret Miller (abt 1855-1915), the 60-year-old widow of Aaron Miller, was born in Nova Scotia. Grave #7 between Avenues E and F. #25 on extended City Home map.

She died 27 Nov 1915 at City Hospital, having been attended since January 1915 for carcinoma of the stomach. Information for her death certificate was provided by the Secretary Overseer of the Poor, George MacDonald, who attested that she was a resident of the City Home.

Emil L. Nelson (abt 1865 - 1915). This grave is marked E.L. Nelson on both versions of the City Home burial map. Grave #2 between Avenues E and F. #20 on extended City Home map.

But the stone placed there (one of the few in the City Home Lot) is inscribed “C.L. Nelson 1865-1915 died on sch A. Kinberg”* There is a 1915 death certificate for E.L. Nelson, but not for C.L.Nelson. It’s highly likely that his name was Emil L. Nelson, based on a 1917 Gloucester City Directory listing for Emil L. Nelson, who died on 21 June 1915 -- a date that agrees with E.L. Nelson’s death certificate.

According to his death certificate, 50-year-old E.L. Nelson was born in Sweden about 1865 and died on 21 June 1915 aboard the schooner A.F. Kindberg, on which he was a mate. Dr. D. J. Finegan, who examined him on the day he was buried - 24 June 1915 - judged the cause of death to be chronic alcoholism. Information for the death certificate was given by George Kane of Surrey, Maine. Nelson was unmarried.

To complicate matters, there was an Emil M Nelson in Gloucester around the same time., but Emil L. and Emil M. Nelson were two different men.

* The city of Gloucester's Died-at-Sea site lists the Kinberg/Kindberg as a coasting lumber schooner. The schooner A.F. Kindberg, a transport vessel, sank off Quarry Island (Nova Scotia?) on 29 Nov. 1919.

Wilbur Horatio Nelson (? - 1905) The City Home map reads “Horatio A. Wilbur alias Andrew Nelson.” Grave #1 between Avenues B and C.

His death certificate reads “Wilbur Horatio Nelson (alias Andrew Nelson)” and the Massachusetts Death Index simply says “Wilbur Horatio Nelson.” The Massachusetts Death Index lists one Wilbur Horatio Nelson and two Andrew Nelsons who died in Gloucester in 1905.

The death certificate provides the following information: Wilbur Horatio Nelson (alias Andrew Nelson), married, unknown age, died at Gilbert Hospital on 4 Dec 1905. Dr. S.F. Quimby, who attended him from Nov 26 - Dec 4, 1905, judged the cause of death to be endocarditis of probably 2 weeks duration. No other information was available on the death certificate.

The 1900 federal census for Gloucester, MA., listed a Horatio Nelson, who was born in English Canada (probably Nova Scotia) in May 1853, and immigrated to the US in 1885. He was a ship’s carpenter. About 1892 he married Emma, who was born in May 1853 in English Canada and immigrated in 1888. They had two children: Curtis Nelson, b May 1895 and Gertrude M. Nelson, born Feb 1900. There were two Andrew Nelsons in town (two of them show up in the Massachusetts Death Index for 1905) which makes me question the information from the 1900 federal census (is this the right man?) for two reasons: 1) both the death certificate and the notation on the City Home map mention his alias, 2) if he was the Horatio Nelson listed in the census, he had a wife and two children, ages 10 and 5 when he died, but his death certificate is startlingly devoid of information. Even the “Informant” entry is blank.

John Niemi see John Beltoniemi

Olaf Olsen (abt 1837-1907), a 70 -year-old widowed fisherman, died at the Gloucester Almshouse 12 July 1907. Grave #7 between Avenues B and C.

He died of tuberculosis of the lungs, of years duration, with arteriosclerosis as a contributing factor, according to Dr. R.K.B. Knowles. Information for the death certificate was provided by George Parsons, Overseer of the Poor.

Peter Olsen/Olson (abt 1857-1912), a Finnish immigrant laborer, approximately 55 years old, was living on Maplewood Avenue when he died suddenly at the Cape Ann Anchor Works on 18 May 1912. Grave #17 between Avenues C and D.

Medical Examiner S.F. Quimby said the cause of death was “Heart disease probably.” His name was spelled Olson on the City Home map but Olsen on his death certificate.

Charles Onnela (abt 1855-1919) appears in the 1910 federal census for Gloucester as a 55-y-o paving cutter for the granite industry living at 1187 Washington St. Grave #40 between Avenues F and G.

He was head of household, married for 35 years, but with no wife or children listed. He immigrated to the US in 1903. The Gloucester City Directory for 1917 lists Charles and Mary E. Onnela at 1160 Washington St. He was a paving cutter. He was identified on the pauper’s map as Charles Onnela, but on the Massachusetts Death Index for 1919 as Onnala.

The grave next to (and previous to) his belongs to Mary Onnela. The few documents that exist spell the surnames of both Charles and Mary “Onnela” until they died. The City Home map lists them as Charles Onnela and Mary Onnala, while the Massachusetts Death Index for 1916-1920 lists them, one after the other, with exactly the opposite spellings — Charles Onnala, Gloucester, 1919, and Mary (Sandelin) Onnela, Gloucester, 1918. I don’t know where the discrepancies came from, but I think they both spelled their name with an “e” (Onnela). Charles was married to Mary E. Onnela and Maria Sandelin was married to Kalle Onnela. (“Kalle” is the Finnish version of “Charles.”), making it highly likely that the Mary Sandelin Onnela and Charles Onnela in the City Home Lot were man and wife.

Mary (Sandelin) Onnela, (?- 1918) Mary Onnela’s maiden name came from the Massachusetts Death Index (see below for discussion of the spelling.) Grave #39 between Avenues F and G.

A 20 May 1910, Boston, marriage listing for 28-y-o Herman Onnela to Hilja Malin records the groom’s parents as Kalle Onnela and Maria Sandelin. She is identified on the Pauper’s map as Mary Onnala, but on the death index as Mary Onnela.

The grave next to (and later than) hers belongs to Charles Onnela. The few documents that exist spell the surnames of both Mary and Charles “Onnela” until they died. The City Home map lists them as Charles Onnela and Mary Onnala, while the Massachusetts Death Index for 1916-1920 lists them, one after the other, with exactly the opposite spellings — Charles Onnala, Gloucester, 1919 and Mary (Sandelin) Onnela, Gloucester, 1918. I don’t know where the discrepancies came from, but I think they both spelled their names with an “e” (Onnela). Since there were few individuals named Onnela in city records, the fact that Charles was married to Mary E. Onnela and Maria Sandelin was married to Kalle Onnela. (“Kalle” is the Finnish version of “Charles”) makes it likely they were man and wife.

Levi Page (abt 1865-1922) was born in Maine, according to the 1920 federal census, and died in 1922, according to the Massachusetts Death Index. Grave #46 between Avenues F and G.

In 1900 the federal census listed him in the Maplewood Avenue home of his parents, William and Minerva Page. Like his 67 y-o father, 35 y-o Levi was a day laborer. The family took in a boarder, 44-y-o widowed fisherman Zacherias Surrette. In 1910, 49-y-o Levi W. Page lived alone on Maplewood Avenue and worked on a fish wharf as a laborer. He was one of 50 “inmates” listed in the Poor Farm in the 1920 federal census.

He was identified as Levi Page on the City Home map but Levi W. Paige in the 1920 federal census. There is another man, Levi Willis Paige, whom I suspect has been conflated with Levi Page in ancestry.com family tree sources.

George M. Pelton (1849 -1915), the married 66-year-old laborer who lived at 167 Western Avenue, died at Gilbert Hospital on 8 March 1915. Grave #16 between Avenues D and E.

He had been under the care of Ellwood Emlen Shields, MD for one day. Cause of death was “Gangrene of the scrotum & pelvis and the same of the lower part of the abdomen.” Contributing causes were Balano posthitis & chronic nephritis.” Information for the death certificate was provided by George E. MacDonald, Overseer of the Poor.

Mary Ann (King) Phillips (1847- 1909), 62 years old, died at her residence (rear 20 Eastern Ave., Gloucester) on 14 May 1909. Grave #6 between Avenues C and D.

She was born in the “Western Islands” (Both the Axores and islands off Scotland were called this but this family did not speak English so the Azores is most likely) to Joseph and Mary King, arrived in Gloucester in 1883, and married Joseph Phillips in 1885. He was Portuguese and a fisherman. According to Dr. D.J. Finegan, who attended her from May 1-14, she died of “Broncho pneumonia. La Grippe” of two weeks duration. information for her death certificate was provided by her brother-in-law Manuel Thomas of Gloucester.

_________________________________________-

In the 1900 federal census both sisters and their husbands lived at the same address - 50 Friend St. Manuel immigrated in 1855, Joseph immigrated in 1870, both sisters immigrated in 1883. Manuel and Margaret had been married 17 years; Joseph and Mary Ann for 15. Both Manuel and Joseph were fishermen though unemployed for the previous 6 months. None of the four could read, write, or speak English.

John Piftnala (?-1917) died in Gloucester in 1917 according to the Massachusetts Death Index. Grave #15 between Avenues E and F. #33 on extended City Home map.

Roswell Pinkham (1844-1906) had been a mariner at the time of his marriage but was a 62-year-old carpenter when he died. Grave #10 between Avenues A and B.

He was born in 1844 in Boothbay, Maine, the son of Sawyer (or Langer, according to his marriage record) Pinkham of Boothbay, Maine, and Eliza Perkins of Georgetown, MA. He died at the City Home (almshouse), on15 Feb 1906, of phthisis pulmonalis (tuberculosis). He had been attended by S.W. Mooring Jan 3 - Feb 15,1906. He was buried 17 Feb in the City Home Lot. Informant for the death certificate was George Parsons, Overseer of the Poor. Roswell had married Mary Robinson (1846-1902) in Gloucester on January 3, 1868, and had two sons: John W. Pinkham (1868-1935) and Arthur Matthew Pinkham (1873-?).

Stillman Pinkham (1884-1915) was a single, 31-y-o laborer from Nova Scotia. Grave #4 between Avenues E and F. #22 on extended City Home map.

Born 26 March 1884, the son of Conrad Pinkham and Emma Hardy, he lived at 6 Calder St, Gloucester and died in the City Hospital on 3 Sept 1915 of carcinoma of the rectum. The attending doctor had been seeing him since 15 June. Information for his death certificate was provided by his mother Emma Pinkham of Rockport, MA. The 1910 federal census had him living in Gloucester at 6 Traverse St with his 60 y-o widowed mother Emma. He was 26 and had worked as a laborer on a fish wharf though he had been out of work for 20 weeks at the time of the census. According to that census, he had been born in Canada in 1889 rather than 1884.

Catherine (Barry) Powers (1854-1907), the 53-year-old wife of Matthew A. Powers, died 10 May 1907 at Gilbert Hospital of chronic kidney and heart disease, according to Dr. C.H. Morrow, who had attended her May 1-10, 1907. Grave #3 between Avenues B and C.

According to her death certificate, she was born in Beaver Harbor, New Brunswick in 1854 to Edward Barry and Eliza Gorman, both originally from Ireland. She lived at 12 Oak St., Gloucester, at the time of her death. The informant for the death certificate was Margaret E. Powers.

In 1880, 24-y-o Catherine was a servant in the Middle St home of Preston and Clara Friend who had a 3-year-old child. According to the census, Catherine was born in New Brunswick.

Her marriage record differs in a few details. Catherine Barry, a 27-year-old domestic, married Mathew A. Powers, fisherman, son of Thomas and Catherine (Kennedy) Powers, in Gloucester on 15 Oct 1882. He was from Halifax, Nova Scotia; she was from Digby, Nova Scotia. Her parents are listed as James and Susan (Green) Barry (not the Edward and Eliza (Gorman) Barry listed on her death certificate.)

In the 1900 federal census, Catherine lived on Granite Court with her husband Matthew, a fisherman, and 3 living children (of 4 births): Annie b.1882, Margaret E., b 1883, and Everett, b 1894. The census claimed she was born March 1854 and immigrated to the US in 1874.

Frank H. Resse (1833-1909), a 76-year-old resident of the Gloucester Almshouse, died 13 August 1909. Grave #8 between Avenues C and D.

He died of acute nephritis, according to P.P. Moore. He had been born in England.

Amanda Malvina Rich (1845-1908) was born 9 Aug 1845 in Wellfleet, MA, to Aaron Rich of Wellfleet and Rebecca Lewis of Wayfield, MA. Grave #11 between Avenues B and C.

She married Albert Pool in 1898, at the age of 53, and divorced him some time before her death on 26 February 1908 at the age of 62.* Though her residence was 62 Cross St. Gloucester, she died at the Gloucester Almshouse. Dr P.K. Knowles, who attended her from Nov 27, 1907 - Feb 26, 1908, judged the cause of death to be cancer of the uterus. The informant for the death certificate was George MacDonald, Overseer of the Poor.

*The age on her death certificate, 60, is in error. Her birth record shows her birth date to be 9 August 1845 making her 63.

William H. Rogers (abt 1838-1907), a 69-year-old fisherman, died suddenly on a Gloucester wharf on 13 June 1907. Grave #2 between Avenues C and D.

He died of “Heart disease probably,” according to medical examiner S.F. Quimby. Rogers had been born in Nova Scotia about 1838 to William Rogers of Nova Scotia and Mary Rogers, originally from England. Information for the death certificate was provided by William Rogers’ daughter, Mrs. Hamlett.

Annie (Martin) Rowe (1865-1905) was living at 29 Willow St, Gloucester, when she died at Gllbert Hospital on 7 Dec 7 1905 at the age of 40. Grave #8 between Avenues A and B. Cause of death was gastro enteritis, with the contributing factor of “probably uremia” according to medical examiner S.F. Quimby. She was born in Canso, Nova Scotia, to David B. Martin and Abbie Carter, both of Nova Scotia. Her husband, Joseph Greenleaf Rowe, a sailmaker, had died a month before, on 11 Nov 1905, in Gloucester.* Annie was buried in the City Home Lot on 9 Dec 1905. She was the grandmother of Mary E. Rowe, who died 29 January 1913, and is buried in grave #5 between avenues D and E.

*According to Medical Examiner S.F. Quimby, Joseph Greenleaf Rowe committed “Suicide by cutting throat” at Commercial St. (presumably his work site, since he lived at 29 Willow St.) on 11 Nov 1905 and was buried two days later at Oak Grove Cemetery. He was 44 years old.

Mary E. Rowe (1912-1913) was 4 months, 7 days, old when she died “suddenly” on 29 January 1913 from an “overdose of cough medicine (probably)” Grave #5 between Avenues D and E.

According to medical examiner S. F. Quimby, who added “debility” as a contributing factor. She had been born 22 September 1912 to Lena E. Rowe of 11 Prospect Square, Gloucester, who provided no information about the father for the death certificate. The child was the granddaughter of Annie Martin Rowe (Lena’s mother) who died in 1905 and is buried in Grave #8 between avenues A and B.

Lena E. Rowe was 14 years old when her parents (John Greenleaf Rowe and Annie (Martin) Rowe died in 1905, and 22 when her daughter Mary died. She would die at the age of 58 in the Montgomery Co. Inst. Dist. Home in Royersford, PA, 9 March 1950, of coronary artery disease secondary to arteriosclerosis, following 3 years of hemiplegia. Her name at the time was Lena McIlhenny, widow of (unnamed) McIlhenny, and her occupation before her final illness was listed as “cook.” She is buried in Augustus Lutheran cemetery in Trappe, PA.

Otto Saksa (abt 1875-1910), a 35-year-old Finnish immigrant laborer, resided at 13 Centennial Avenue but died at 298 Washington St. (probably Gilbert Hospital). Grave #10 between Avenues C and D.

He died on 10 April 1910 of “interstitial obstruction and rupture of the stomach, of 2 days duration,” according to medical examiner S.F. Quimby. Information for the death certificate came from the hospital record.

Infant son Saleruis There is a death certificate for “Infant son Salaruis,” (note slightly different spelling), an unattended stillbirth on 27 June 27,1915, at 45 Beacon St, Gloucester, to Alma Salaruis of Finland. No grave# Left of row between Avenues E and F.

 The infant was seen by medical examiner D.J. Finegan on 28 June and buried in the Seaside City Home Lot 29 June 1915.

Kalle Sarkka(abt 1863-1909), alias Alex Martin, lived at 13 Centennial Avenue. Grave #4 between Avenues C and D.

The 46-year-old laborer died suddenly of alcoholic apoplexy at 75 Main St., Gloucester, on April 9,1909, according to medical examiner S.F. Quimby. He had been born in Finland. Informant for the death certificate was Louis Matson, also of 13 Centennial Ave. Sarkka was buried in the City Home Lot at Seaside Cemetery on April 13, 1909.

Vivian Sheffield (?-1929) (best guess at name) died 1929 according to the Massachusetts Death Index. between Avenues G and H.

This name exists on only one of the two extended maps for the City Home lot. Vivian Sheffield is the best guess of a name based on the fact that the Massachusetts Death Index lists a Vivian Sheffield of Gloucester deceased around the right time for that last row of graves. No other Shaf, Shap, Shef, or She with a given name of Victor, Vernon or Vivian could be located in the death indexes between 1916 and 1940. The name was not included on the list for a City Home Lot sign because the name is illegible and verification is thin.

Felix F. Silvonen (1858-1913) (Silvronen on his death certificate), a 55-y-o painter who had emigrated from Finland, died of a gastric ulcer at his residence, 66 Langsford, St., Gloucester, on June 20, 1913. Grave #8 between Avenues D and E.

He had been treated from June 11-20 by Dr William Rowley. His birth date on the death certificate was May 30, 1858. Informant for the death certificate was “Mrs. Silvronen.” Felix was interred on June 22 in the City Home section of Seaside Cemetery.

Felix’s daughter, Martha M. Silvonen, is buried in grave #11, and his wife Helen is buried in grave #15 in the same row as Felix’s burial.

Helen Silvonen (1862-1914), (also spelled Silvernen, Silvonen — Helena Sihvonen on

her death certificate), was the 52-y-o widow of Felix F. Silvonen. Grave #15 between Avenues D and E.

She died at her 66 Langsford St, Gloucester home on 25 Nov 1914 of pulmonary tuberculosis. She had been born Aug 30, 1862, in Finland. The medical examiner was D.J. Finegan. Information for the death certificate was provided by Karl Sihvonen. She was buried in the City Home Lot at Seaside Cemetery. Her husband Felix and daughter Martha are buried in the same row of graves in the City Home Lot. Felix is in Grave #8, and Martha is in grave #11, between Avenues D and E.

Martha M. Silvonen (1896-1914), 18 years old, was born in Finland on 22 Feb 1896 and died at her parents’ home, 66 Langsford St, in the Lanesville section of Gloucester, on 3 August 1914. Grave #11 between Avenues D and E.

She died of tuberculosis of the lungs. She had been treated for the condition from April 1- Aug 3 by Dr. William Rowley. Her parents were Felix F. and Helen S. Silvonen, the latter of whom provided information for the death certificate. Felix had died June 20, 1913, of a gastric ulcer; Martha died of tuberculosis in Aug 1914, and Helen died, also of tuberculosis, on Nov 25, 1914. They all rest in the row of graves between Avenues D and E — Felix in grave #8, Martha in grave #11, and Helen in grave #15.

May or Mary Simon/Simmons. Illegible last name on map. Grave #52 between Avenues F and G.

The Massachusetts Death Index lists three women named Mary Simmons who died in Gloucester in the 1920s: Mary (Spencer) Simmons, died 1922; Mary W. (Fernandez) Simmons, died 1927; Mary C. (Thomas) Simmons, died 1930. None of the dates are quite right for the sequence of burials.

But Mary W. (Fernandez) Simmons seems the most likely. If so:

She was born 30 Dec 1840 in Flores, Azores, immigrated to the US in 1854, and married John K. Simmons, a grocer and manufacturer, according to his death certificate, who died 11 Oct 1915 at the age of 79 of acute prostatitis and acute cystitis. He was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Gloucester. Mary and John had ten children (according to an ancestry.com family tree), all adults by the time their father died: Joseph Simmons (1858-?), Daniel (Manuel) Simmons (1860-?) Anna Simmons (1866-?), Frank Simmons (1867-?) Emma Simmons (1869-1927), Caroline Simmons (1873-?) Willie J. Simmons (1878-?) Edith Simmons (1879-?) Georgey (1881-?) And Nellie G. Simmons (1887 -?)

In the 1920 federal census she was living on Friend Street with her daughter Georgey, her husband John A Perry, a clerk in a Fish? Office and their three children.

Mary W. (or Ursula) Fernandez Simmons died in Gloucester 4 Oct,1927. (ancestry.com family tree

Agnes J. (Winn) Smith (?-1917) died on 30 April 1917, according to the 1919 Gloucester City Directory. Grave #16 between Avenues E and F. #34 on the extended City Home map.

She had lived at 43 Prospect St, Gloucester, and was either married or widowed in 1917, when the City Directory referred to her as “Mrs.” Agnes J. Smith.

Elvira Sodersten (1879-1908), a 29-year-old domestic, born about 1879 in Sweden, died in the Gloucester Almshouse 13 June 1908. Grave #15 between Avenues B and C.

Her cause of death was acute nephritis, according to Dr. P. P. Moore, who attended her from May 3-June 12, 1908. Her father was A__ G. Sodersten; her mother unknown. Information was provided by Mrs. Warner, Commercial St., Glou.

John E. Stenman(1844-1914), a 70-year-old resident of the City Home, was born in Sweden in 1844, son of John Stenman and Johanna Manberg of Sweden. Grave #13 between Avenues D and E.

He died 14 September 1914 at the City Home, after having been treated for four days for Broncleo Pneumonia by Dr. Arthur S. Torrey. Contributing cause of death: Chronic valvular heart disease. Information for the death certificate was provided by George E. MacDonald, Overseer of the Poor.

Harry Stewart (1835-1916) died in Gloucester in 1916, according to the Massachusetts Death Index. Grave #9 between Avenues E and F. #27 on extended City Home map.

Harry Stewart is listed in the 1910 federal census, living at 16 Duncan St, Gloucester, in a boarding house whose head was James P. Gleason (who listed himself as cook.) Harry, one of 72 borders, all fishermen of widely ranging ages, was an 81-y-o widower and unemployed fisherman, born in Connecticut. In the 1911 Gloucester City Directory Stewart was living in the Almshouse.

Frances Stone (? -1908) died at her residence, r 78 Rocky Neck Avenue, Gloucester, on Dec 29, 1908, age “about 35”, of alcoholism. Grave #3 between Avenues C and D.

Chester Roberts of Gloucester was the informant for the little amount of information that is on the death certificate. The medical examiner was S.F. Quimby. Frances Stone was buried in the City Home Lot at Seaside Cemetery on Dec 31, 1908.

Angus Stuart (abt 1854- 14 July 1909) The City Home map lists Silas Stuart in grave #7 between Avenues C and D.

No death certificate was found for a Silas Stuart between the deaths of Mary Ann Phillips (14 May 1909) and Frank Resse (13 August 1909). (Burials in the City Home Lot were usually sequential.) There is a death certificate for Angus Stuart, a 45-year-old from Nova Scotia, resident of the Gloucester Almshouse, who died on 14 July 1909 of “paresis,” for which he had been attended by Dr. D.J. Finegan from June 1- July 14. No other information appears on the death certificate, but the Gloucester City Directory placed Angus in the almshouse at least by 1907.

George Stuart (abt 1836-1905) lived in the Gloucester Almshouse and died there on 5 May 1905, at the age of 69, having been attended by Dr P. P. Moore from Jan 1, 1904 - May 1, 1905. Grave #3 between Avenues A and B.

His diagnosis was mitral insufficiency. George Stuart had immigrated from Scotland, was married, and had worked as a fisherman. Informant for the death certificate was Mrs. McDonald, matron at the Almshouse. George Stuart was buried in the City Home Lot at Seaside Cemetery on May 6, 1905.

Sarah Ida Terry (1895-1933) (Sadie I. Terry on gravestone, one of only half a dozen markers in the City Home Lot.) between Avenues G and H.

Sarah Terry was born in Gloucester in 1894 (according to an ancestry.com family tree. Her stone reads 1895) to James Henry Terry and Susan Anderson Terry. Her father died 9 May1899, when Sadie was four. There appear to have been four children in the family: Abigail (1891-1910), Mary J. (1892-?), Sarah Ida (21 May 1894- 1933), and Benjamin Edward Terry (1896-1964)

Sarah had a daughter, Priscilla Sarah Terry (Valentgas) (1913-1988) Sarah/Sadie died in Gloucester in 1933 at the age of 39.

A series of City Directory listings follow the life of Sarah’s mother, Susan Terry, and presumably that of Sarah and her daughter Priscilla.:

1898, Susan, with James Henry Terry at r Acacia St.

(James died 9 May 1899, according to City Directory, no death record found).

1903: Susan, widow of James H., house 34 Grove St.

1909: Susan, widow, 69 Poplar St.

(1910: death of daughter Abigail Terry of tuberculosis.)

1917: Susan lived at 26-½ Millett St. Daughters Mary and Sadie/Sarah Terry boarded with her.

1919: Mary J. And Sarah I.Terry boarded with Susan at 26-½ Millett St. Sarah was a waitress.

1922: Susan was still at 26-½ Millett St. Sarah I. was a waitress working at 328 Main St and living at 2 Harbor Terrace. No mention of Mary J.

1925: Sarah I. Terry was a fish worker at 49 Rogers St. Both she and her mother Susan lived at 2 Harbor Terrace.

1927: Both Sadie I and Susan were at 2 Harbor Terrace.

1928: Susan Terry died Feb 1928.*

1930 federal census: Sadie was a fish packer with a 17-year-old daughter.

1932: Sadie R. Terry at 24 Eastern Avenue

1933: death of Sarah/Sadie.

* Sadie’s mother, Susan “Susie” (Anderson) Terry died in Gloucester in 1928. There is a notation on the City Home map that a plot in the same last row was “sold Susan Terry,” but a later version of the map has a faint, as if in pencil, “removed” written across it.

Note: Susan Terry was not included on the list for the City Home Lot sign because her burial in the lot is inconclusive.

Susan “Susie” (Anderson) Terry (abt 1860- 1928), Sarah Terry’s mother, was born in Interville, Nova Scotia about 1860 to John and Annie L. Anderson. between Avenues G and H.

On March 2, 1889, in Gloucester, she married James Henry Terry, a laborer born in Dennisport, MA on 9 Feb 1860 to James M. Terry and Abigail Chase. They appear to have had four children: Abigail (1891-1910), Mary J. (1892-?), Sarah Ida (21 May 1894- 1933), and Benjamin Edward Terry (1896-1964).

James died in 1899. Their daughter, Abigail C. Terry (1890-1910), died of pulmonary tuberculosis on Feb 27, 1910, and was buried in Cherry Hill Cemetery.

A series of City Directory listings follow Susan’s life:

1898: with James Henry at r Acacia St.

1899: James died.

1903: Susan, widow of James H., house 34 Grove St.

1909: Susan, widow, 69 Poplar St.

1910: death of daughter Abigail.

1917: Susan lived at 26-½ Millett St. Mary and Sadie/Sarah Terry boarded with her.

1919: Mary J. and Sarah I. Terry boarded with Susan at 26-½ Millett St. Sarah was a waitress.

1922: Susan was still at 26-½ Millett St. Sarah I was a waitress working at 328 Main St and living at 2 Harbor Terrace. No mention of Mary J.

1925: Sarah I. was a fish worker at 49 Rogers St. Both she and her mother Susan lived at 2 Harbor Terrace.

1927: Both Sadie I and Susan were at 2 Harbor Terrace.

1928: Susan Terry died Feb 1928.

1933: death of Sarah/Sadie.

A daughter of James Terry and Susan Anderson Terry (Abigail C. Terry 1890-1910) died of pulmonary tuberculosis on 27 Feb 1910 and was buried in Cherry Hill Cemetery. Sarah/Sadie is in the City Home Lot at Seaside and it appears that Susan may have meant to be buried there and either changed her mind or was buried elsewhere by one of her children. Benjamin Terry was buried in Beechbrook in 1964. Mary J. Terry’s burial site is, as yet, unknown.

Susan Terry died 11 Feb 1928 (according to the 1929 Gloucester City Directory and Massachusetts Death Index.). The extended version of the City Home map says “sold Susan Terry,” but a later version of the map has a faint, as if in pencil, “removed” written across it.

1860-1928)

Margaret (King) Thomas (1828 -1909), the 81-year-old wife of Manuel Thomas, died at her residence (rear 20 Eastern Avenue) on 11 May 1909. Grave #5 between Avenues C and D.

According to Dr. D.J. Finegan, who attended her May 4-11, she died of “broncho pneumonia,” with a contributing cause of senility. She had been born in the “Western Islands” (Both the Axores and islands off Scotland were called this) to Joseph and Mary King. Margaret is the older (by 19 years) sister of Mary Ann (King) Phillips who died three days later. Margaret’s husband Manuel provided information for both Margaret and Mary Ann Phillips’ death certificates. It’s possible that Manuel Thomas died in Gloucester in 1929 at the age of 93.

Lydia (Harga/Haaga) Tuikka (Toikka) (1883-1913). According to a biography posted on Find-a-Grave, the 26-year-old wife of Oscar Tuikka was born on 23 Oct 1883 (1885 on her death certificate) in Haapajarvi, Finland, to Joseph/Josef Harga/Haaga (1844-1887) and Alvira/Alvina (Laagala) Harga/Haaga (1847-1923). Grave #13 between Avenues C and D.

She died 31 March 1911 of puerperal septicemia following the birth of son Onni Edward Tuikka, who died at the age of 2, in New Hampshire, in 1913, of influenza. Information for Lydia’s death certificate was provided by Oscar Tuikka of 9 Norseman Avenue, whom she had married on 13 September 1905 in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

 Lydia and Oscar had four children: Tovio Benjamin (1906-1985), Arline (Fannie) (1907-2000), Jukka (1909-), and Onni Edward (Mar 1911-Apr 20, 1913). After Lydia died a variety of family members may have cared for the children.

Lydia’s husband, Oscar Tuikka, who died on October 2, 1918, possibly of influenza, is buried in the City Home Lot, either in grave #19 between Avenues E and F or in grave #37 between Avenues F and G.

Oscar Tuikka (abt 1879-1918). (Toikka) Oscar Tuikka, a quarryman who was born about 1879 in Finland to John Tuikka and Justina Puranen, married Lydia Haaga, also from Finland, in Gloucester on 13 Sept 1905. Grave #35 between Avenues F and G.

They had four children: Tovio, Arline Tuikka Harwood, Jukka, and Onnii Edward Tuikka, who died of influenza in 1913 in New Hampshire at the age of two. Oscar Tuikka died 2 Oct 1918.

Note: A burial dilemma: Oscar Tuikka appears in grave #19 between Avenues E and F on the old City Home map (He is written in above Sanna Liisa Winterroad) but he appears in the first grave in the next row (#37 between Avenues F and G) on the extended map. There is an overlap/redundancy between the two maps (the burial row between Avenues E and F) so 17 people have two grave numbers - one corresponding to a numbering system on one map and a different numbering system for the second, but their graves are in exactly the same place in the actual Lot. That is not true for Oscar Tuikka. His grave location is different on the two maps.

Oscar’s wife. Lydia (Haaga) Tuikka, is also in the City Home Lot, in Grave #15 between Avenues C and D.

Adam Waananen (abt 1871-1907), a 36-y-o married laborer, was born about 1871 in Jaaskis, Finland. Grave #16 between Avenues A and B.

He arrived in Boston on 13 January 1907, aboard the “Cymric” out of Liverpool, bound for his brother Peter Waananen’s home at 37 Sargent St., Gloucester. He had $10 in his possession, was in good mental and physical health, stood 5’6-1/2” tall, had a “brunette” complexion, brown eyes and black hair. His death at the rear of his brother’s 37 Sargent St residence less than three months later, on 4 April 1907, was judged a suicide by hanging by medical examiner S.F. Quimby, He was buried in the City Home lot at Seaside Cemetery on 5 April 1907. His brother Peter Waananen was the informant for his death certificate.

Nathaniel Wagner (1887-1906) of 86 Main St, Gloucester, died in the Detention Hospital, Gloucester, on 21 April 1906. Grave #11 between Avenues A and B.

He was attended from April 9-21 by S.W. Mooring, who was also the informant for the death certificate. Wagner was diagnosed with diphtheria with paralysis of the heart as a contributing factor. He was a19-y-o from West Auburn, Nova Scotia, who had arrived in Boston from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia aboard the S.S. Prince Arthur on 25 Oct 1903. He was buried in the City Home lot on 22 April.

Catherine (Nickerson) Smith Westlen (1837-1921) was born Dec 1837 in Halifax, Nova Scotia to Stephen and Deborah Nickerson. Grave #45 between Avenues F and G.

She arrived in the US in 1872 and married Andrew Westlen on 17 May 1877, in Gloucester. Both were 38. It was his first marriage, her second. (Her first was to a man named Smith, details unknown.*) Andrew Westlen, a mariner, was born March 1839 in Sweden to Lars and Anna Madalano and had immigrated about 1868. In 1880 the Westlens lived in Phippsburg, Maine, where Andrew was a mariner and she was a housekeeper. They were back in Gloucester by 1886, where the city census listed Andrew as a laborer. The1900 federal census listed them in a rented home at 29 Prospect Street, where they took in three boarders, all Norwegian fishermen. Andrew was a fish peddler. He died Dec 12, 1901, of interstitial nephritis and was buried in Cherry Hill #256. According to several censuses, Catherine had had two children (possibly by her first husband) but neither survived. She lived at several addresses on Prospect St., and in the 1910 census took in washing at her rented home at 79 Prospect Street. The 1919 city census said she boarded at the City Home. The 1920 federal census listed her among the 50 “inmates” of the City Poor Farm on Morton (Emerson) Avenue in Ward five. She died 7 June 1921, at the age of 84.

* The Massachusetts Death Index for 1921 lists Catherine Westlen as: Westlen Catherine S. (Nickerson). Two Gloucester marriage records for Catherine Smith and Andrew Westlen list Catherine’s parents only as “Stephen & Deborah,” which led to an ancestry.com transcription of the record as parents “Stephen & Deborah Smith.” One of the Gloucester marriage records specifically mentions that her M.N. (maiden name or married name?) is Nickerson. The marriage date and even first name of the presumed first husband Smith have remained elusive, but there is an almost unreadable ship’s manifest that shows a Catherine N. Smith, born in Halifax, returning to Halifax from the US. The date is unknown, but she is 28, which would suggest the journey was made about 1865, placing the date of her marriage (and possibly her husband’s death) before 1865. She would then return to the US in 1872 and marry Andrew Westlen in 1877. Whether her maiden name is Nickerson or Smith (and vice versa for her first husband’s name) is inconclusive.

Gertie E. White (abt 1870-24 April 1908), 38 years old, died at her residence, 13 Commercial St., Gloucester, on 24 April 1908. Grave #14 between Avenues B and C.

She was a housekeeper. Medical examiner S.F. Quimby judged the cause of death to be “heart and kidney disease (probably).”

M. Parker Whitman (1865-1915) was born in June 1865 in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, to Henry Whitman and Miriah Margeson of Nova Scotia. Grave #1 between Avenues E and F. #19 on extended City Home map.

M. Parker Whitman, single and a cook by occupation, was 49 yrs, 11 months old when he died about 23 Feb.1915, of “drowning probably suicide” according to the medical examiner D.J. Finegan. His body was found off a maritime dock in Gloucester, probably on 10 May 1915, which was the date of the death certificate and burial in Seaside Cemetery’s City Home Lot. Informant for the death certificate was Carl W. Whitman of Beverly.

George E. Wiggins (1886-1911), an approximately 25-year-old fisherman, son of Thomas Wiggins, had been missing since March 14. Grave #14 between Avenues C and D.

His body was found in Gloucester Harbor 1 June 1911. Medical Examiner S. F. Quimby judged his death an accidental drowning.

Sarah L. Winning (?-1916) died in1916 in Gloucester according to the Massachusetts Death Iindex. Grave #10 between Avenues E and F. #28 on extended City Home map.

The 1915 & 1917 Gloucester City Directories listed her as the wife of George F. Winning, a laborer, at 27 Allen St. No wife was listed with George Winning in 1913. They may have had a child, Anna C. Winning.

Sanna Liisa (Larm or Joki) Talvitie/Winterroad (1880-1918). The City Home map lists her as Sanna Liisa Winteroad, but the family name is Talvitie (“Winter road,” the English translation of “Talvi tie,” and “Talvitie” were both used on documents and in federal censuses.) Grave #18 between Avenues E and F. #36 on extended City Home map.

A Find-a-Grave page for Sanna Liisa (Larm) Talvitie/Winterroad gives the following information: She was born Sanna Liisa Larm on 1 January 1880 in Finland, the daughter of Soloman (Salmoni) and Mary Larm. The arrival manifest for the Cymric out of Liverpool (12 June 1913, Boston) listed her as Sanni Talvitie, daughter of Salmon Joki, born about 1878, in Seinajoki, Finland. She probably traveled with her four children by Jacob Talviti, who had joined his brother John Talviti/Winterroad in the Gloucester quarries in 1906. Jacob was a quarryman, stonecutter and later a stone mason.

Sanna and Jaakko (Jacob) Johannes Juho Talvitie had four children before he emigrated to the US:

1) Selma Katherine Talvitie Arbeene, 1900 Finland -1990 Somerville, MA.) August Waldo Talvitie, 1903, Finland -7 July 1932, Gloucester, MA

3) Saimi Ulriika Talvitie, 1904, Finland - 1974, MA

4) Eli John Talvitie, 1906 Finland - 22 June 1991, Los Angeles CA

They had two more children after Sanna joined him in Gloucester:

5) Oiva Talvitie, 13 March 1914, Gloucester- 1916, Gloucester, MA

6) Alta "Aallotar" Rauha Talvitie Anicetti, 1915, Gloucester - 2010 Richland, WA.

Sanna died 2 Oct 1918 in Gloucester, MA, at the age of 30, of influenza. Jacob lived another 19 years, dying in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1937 at the age of 58. Although his death certificate said he was to be buried in Massachusetts, a corrected document said he was interred in an unmarked grave in the County Cemetery in Phoenix. (His Find-a-Grave page claims he died in a sanitarium and was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave in Cementario Lindo in Phoenix.) Jacob was the brother of Elina Talvitie Mattila, who is buried in the same row as her sister-in-law Sanna Talvitie — grave #14 between Avenues E and F.

Unknown Adult (About 1870-1906). The body of an unidentified white male adult was found in Gloucester Harbor on 4 Aug 1906. Grave #14 between Avenues A and B. Medical examiner S.F.Quimby judged the deceased to have been between 30 and 40 years old, and the death to have been probable drowning 4-5 weeks previous to his removal from the water. The remains were buried in Seaside Cemetery’s City Home Lot on 4 Aug 1906.

Unknown man (?-1907) may have been “Body Found Fernwood Crossing Gloucester.” Grave #9 between Avenues B and C.

According to medical examiner S.F. Quimby, the body, which was “cut to pieces by R.R. train,” was that of an unknown white male. He was found on 10 December 1907 and buried in the City Home Lot 14 Dec 1907.

Unknown adult found in harbor (?-1908). The most likely match is a death certificate for “Unknown white male found floating in Gloucester Harbor” on April 29, 1908. Grave #12 between Avenues B and C.

Medical examiner S. F. Quimby judged “body evidently in water a long time,” “2 or 3 months probably” after drowning. He was interred 1 May 1908 in Seaside Cemetery, presumably the City Home Lot. All other information on the death certificate is marked “unknown.”

Unknown Man Killed on R.R. Track (?-1908) The most likely match for a death certificate is “Unknown Male Killed on RR Track Maplewood Ave. Gloucester” (?-1908). Grave #13 between Avenues B and C.

A white male died 12 May 1908, was viewed by medical examiner S.F. Quimby on the same day. He ruled the cause of death to be “multiple injuries, run over by train.” He was buried in the City Home Lot on 15 May 1908. There is little information on his death certificate. The informant listed was undertaker Edward Lloyd.

“Unknown Infant” (1914-1914). “Body found floating in harbor” July 7, 1914 (probably dead since about June 30, 1914 - so, about a week.) Grave #10 between Avenues D and E.

The child was approximately 3 months old, white female: cause of death “unknown, probably drowning” According to Medical examiner Parker Burnham. She was buried in the City Home Lot on July 15, 1914.

Unknown at sea: Likely between 1926 &1928

Unknown female (?-1922). The notation on the City Home map reads “Unknown female found off Salt Island, Oct 19, 1922.” Grave #47 between Avenues F and G.

Killed by train. Judging by the dates of contiguous burials, the death occurred between 1922 and 1925. Grave #50 between Avenues F and G.

Between Wall Avenue and the boundary of Seaside Cemetery:

There is an elongated pie-shaped section to the left of the City Home Lot (looking from the front of the cemetery toward the back.) Separated from the main part of the City Home Lot by a series of small, short, granite blocks, it is bounded by Wall Avenue on the right and a stone wall that marks the edge of the cemetery on the left. It appears to have been the burial site for children and skeletal remains.

To the left of graves between Avenues C and D:

Grave #13: Margaret ?

————————-

To the left of graves between Avenues D and E:

Grave #15: Unknown skeleton found at (illegible).

Grave #14: Illegible.

“Skeleton”Illegible Grave #30 to the left of avenues F and G.

Two skeletons found at Coffins -- Grave #29 between Avenues F and G.

Death certificates with no identifiable graves:

— Unknown female infant (March 1908-March 1908). According to Medical Examiner S.F. Quimby, the body found at Stage Fort Park 27 March 1908 was that of a nearly full-term stillborn baby girl.

— Unknown Adult Male (?-1904?) The death certificate for a skeleton reads “Unknown adult male - found in Magnolia Woods near West Gloucester.” Although found Nov 20, 1905, medical examiner S.F. Quimby judged that death had occurred “a year or more before - cause unknown.” He was buried in Seaside Cemetery 24 Nov 1905.

Grave #17 (does not appear on the extended City Home map, but there is an open plot — # 35— that corresponds to #17) “George Brewer of Boothbay Maine.” appears on the avenues A - F City Home map. )