Pawtucketville War Memorial

Ground was broken on November 11, 1927 for the Pawtucketville War Memorial in memory of the seventeen men who died during World War One. The Gold Star Mother's of the district had the honor of breaking ground. The memorial was located on the riverbank of Riverside Street.

On December 11, 1927 the cornerstone was laid and a time capsule was sealed in a copper box in the cornerstone. Items included:

• History of Pawtucketville by Joseph M. Wilson
• History of Dracut by Silas Coburn
• History of the fundraising for the memorial with contributor's names
• Photo of the memorial
• Photo of Durkee house
• Collection of war period fundraising buttons
• War souvenirs from battlefields in France by Lt. Rasuez
• Souvenir medal commemorating Col. Lindberg's non-stop flight across Atlantic
• Copies of Courier-Citizen and Lowell Sun showing ground breaking
• Soil and stone from French ceremony given by Gold Star Mother Mrs. E.J. McCarthy

On May 31, 1928 the impressive monument was dedicated. Medal of Honor recipient, George Charette and ten surviving members from the G.A.R. posts in Lowell including Chief Marshall Dudley L. Page and 6,000 residents attended the dedication.

A bronze tablet at the center of the monument listed the seventeen men: Wilfred Taylor Axon, Phillip Chalifoux, Henry J. Cognac, Omer Deziel, George H. Gravelle, Joseph Hebert, Ernest B. Hoyle, Arthur J. Lejeunnesse, Bartholomew Lamarre, Ralph H. Lashua, Leo H. MacDonald, Joseph N. Nichols, Joseph Paquin, James Douglas Rivet, Alfred G. Salvas, Ralph W. Tewksbury, Daniel Tully

Sadly the Flood of 1936 damaged the monument and it had to be moved. There was a lot of controversy as to where it should go. On November 11, 1940 it was moved to the Riverside Street side of the School Street bridge.

Again the monument had to be moved when the V.F.W Parkway was built. The state was responsible for moving it and damaged it. They paid $3,000 to replace it with the marker that is now on the Varnum Avenue side of the School Street bridge. The City of Lowell appropriated $500 for the inscription. This monument was dedicated May 30, 1951.  Since we were involved in the Korean Conflict at the time and World War II had recently ended, this memorial is for all who gave their lives during wartime from Pawtucketville. They paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Thank you.

Can't help but wonder what happened to the old cornerstone.

Captain America Walton

Usually when I research a story I find another. While researching Captain Kittredge who was killed in action during the Great War, I learned he had a grandfather who served in Civil War. His name was America Walton.

America Walton was born in Franklin Plantation, Maine in August of 1835. His family moved to Peru, Maine when he was nine and then on to Lowell by himself in 1856. He worked at the Lowell Bleachery and joined the Company B of the City Guards. He must of resigned from the 6th Massachusetts because he is not listed on the roster in 1861 and in May of 1861 he went to Patten Maine where he joined the 8th Maine Company B Infantry. In 1863 while on furlough he married Sophronia Dow.

Courtesy photo - Maine Archives

He was involved in several battles and was shot twice. He was at Appomattox when Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865. He was promoted often and ended up a Captain in 1865.

After the war he was an active member of G.A.R Post #120 (James A. Garfield). At a meeting celebrating the 50th anniversary of Lee's surrender at Appomattox he was the only living person in Lowell who had witnessed the surrender.

Unfortunately, he lived long enough to see his grandson, Captain Paul E. Kittredge killed in action in World War One.

He died in Lowell March 15, 1919 and is buried in Edson Cemetery. Our own Captain America.

Update: Thanks to Walter Hickey, Historian Extraordinaire we have confirmation that America Walton was a member of the Massachusetts 6th Company D from 1857-1859.

Captain Paul E. Kittredge

Paul Edward Kittredge was born December 31, 1890 in Newton, MA to Edward and Mary E. (Walton) Kittredge. The family moved to Lowell soon after having family here. Paul joined the National Guard, the 101st Infantry 26th Yankee Division. He married Sarah R. Hemmersley of Lowell, on September 30, 1914 at the Immaculate Conception Church. They had a daughter Marion Louise born May 27, 1915 and they lived at 95 Andover Street.

Paul was called up for the Mexican trouble and was in charge of recruiting more soldiers in Lowell in 1916. His occupation is listed as Special Policeman. Two days after being promoted to Captain he was killed by a mortar shell on October 23, 1918. He received the Croix de Guerre for conspicuous bravery by the French government. He is buried in the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery in France.

Courtesy: Find a Grave

Washington Square at the intersection of Nesmith and Andover streets was renamed Kittredge Park in his honor. His mother sailed to France May 17, 1932 as part of the Gold Star Mother's Pilgrimage tour that was sponsored by the US Government. His wife remarried after the war to Howard Cameron and she died in Norwood in 1965.

He never came home. We thank him and his family for his sacrifice. Think of him when you drive by Kittredge Park.

In researching Captain Kittredge I found the story of his grandfather Captain America Walton. Isn't that a great name? Blog post about him tomorrow on Veteran's Day.

McErlane Brothers

Peter J. McErlane and Paul M. McErlane were born in Lowell to Irish born Peter and Elizabeth (Kane) McErlane along with six sisters. The family lived in the Pawtucketville section of Lowell at 53 Third Avenue and were founding members of St. Rita's parish.

Peter was the oldest and graduated from the Bartlett, Lowell High School class of 1935 and the evening division of Lowell Textile class of 1940. He enlisted in the army ten months before Pearl Harbor. He was a member of the famed Yankee Division 101st Infantry 26th Division Company K.

First Sergeant Peter J. McErlane

His younger and only brother Paul graduated from the Bartlett and Lowell High School class of 1940. He also was an excellent golfer, winning the Lowell City Caddy Championship in 1940. He joined the Air Force and was a radio gunner of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.

Sergeant Paul M. McErlane

On April 25th 1944 the McErlane family got news that their youngest son was Missing in Action. On his second combat mission his plane had to ditch over Germany. Three of the flight members ended up being Prisoners of War and six were lost. They were shot down on Easter Sunday. Right before Paul left for his ill fated mission he sent flowers to his mother for Mother's Day. They held out hope that he had survived but at the end of the war he was declared dead. A mother's heartache.

On December 10th 1944 the McErlane family was notified by the War Department that their other son, Peter was killed in action on November 28th 1944 in Vibersviller near Metz, France. He was part of the Lorraine offensive that was so deadly. He really didn't have a chance. Lots of hand to hand fighting as the Americans marched towards Germany. Trying to clear the towns to get the tanks through. Patton's tanks. It was a deadly affair.

Peter and Paul's sister Rita was serving as a Lieutenant in the US Army Nurse Corps in Italy. On the front line. She survived the war and married in Milan, Italy.

After the war the McErlanes were popular members of St. Rita's and the Pawtucketville neighborhood. The square across the street from the Joseph A. McAvinnue Elementary School is named in their honor. It's at the intersection of Mammoth, 4th Avenue and Woodward Avenue.

Paul never came home. He is memorilized on the Tablet of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery in Margaraten, Netherlands and on the family stone at St. Patrick's Cemetery.

Peter's body came home in 1948 and he had a funeral at St. Rita's and burial at St. Patrick's Cemetery. They were both survived by their parents and sisters Joan Donaghey, Anna Monnahan, Frances Fadden, Rita Miller, Eleanor Sullivan and Patricia Bartlett. Thank you McErlane family.

Our Friends to the North - World War One

The National War Memorial in Ottawa was dedicated May 21st 1939 in honor of all the Canadians that fought in the Great War. Over the years it has been updated to include all the wars the Canadians have participated in. Last week Corporal Nathan Cirillo was shot and killed by a terrorist on sacred ground. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

In researching World War One and remembering those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, I knew that we had several servicemen who served for the Canadian Expeditionary Forces from greater Lowell. Because the United States tried to stay out of the war for as long as we could, many men went north to Canada to get in on the action.

In greater Lowell there total of 174 war time deaths for those fighting for the allies. Some were accidents, illness or killed in action.  Looking closer at who they were fighting for we have a total of 21 servicemen who died fighting under the Canadian flag.

Please remember the ultimate sacrifice they made.

Aubrey	Bearisto	5th Canadian Battalion	September 28, 1918
Harry	Burke	Canadian Black Watch	October 1, 1918
Mederic	Champagne	Canadian Expeditionary Force	August 18, 1918
Gavin	Caldwell	Royal Air Force mechanic	October 13, 1918
Narcisse	Desrosiers	Canadian Expeditionary Force	August 27, 1918
Phillip	Doyon	22d Canadians	August 27, 1918
Eldon	Elston	Canadian Black Watch	October 16, 1918
Thomas	Fennelly	Canadian Expeditionary Force	November 7, 1918
Anthony	Gray	Canadian Expeditionary Force	September 20, 1918
Thomas	Hamblett	Canadian Infantry	August 27, 1918
Bertrand	Lamarre	Canadian Expeditionary Force	August 19, 1917
Lee	MacKenzie	4th DT Mortar Battery	September 28, 1918
Stewart	Maclean	42nd Canadian Kilties	August 12, 1918
James	McClennan	42d Bn. Canadian Infantry	April 7, 1916
Edmond	McNamara	American Legion of Canadian Army	April 12, 1918
Harry	Miller	Canadian Expeditionary Force	December 6, 1918
Joseph	Paquin	Canadian Expeditionary Force	October 26, 1917
John	Regan	Canadian Expeditionary Force	October 11, 1918
Edward	Rowe	224th Canada.	August 28, 1918
William	Swift	Canadian Expeditionary Force	October 1, 1918
Ray	Turner	Canadian Expeditionary Force	January 5, 1918

Benjamin Franklin Butler

Lawyer - Civil War General

Governor - Congressman

Industrialist - Yachtsman

1818-1893

Photo credit: Library of Congress

Love him or hate him he knew how to use his power and influence. After the Civil War Major General Butler returned to Lowell to practice law. He was very active in the affairs of the textile mills both for and against the owners.

The General had a house in Lowell at 133 Andover Street. The house (mansion) was torn down in the 1970s and was located on the land of Mansion Drive, Carriage Drive and Butler Drive off Andover Street.

He also had a summer residence in Gloucester called Bay View that he built in 1866. Still owned by his descendents it is available for rent today if you are interested.

http://www.vrbo.com/450619#

General Butler invested in the Pentucket Navigation Company in 1867. The steamer Merrimac brought vacationers from Lawrence and Haverhill to the Black Rocks at Salisbury Beach for summer recreation. He also brought coal up the river to sell in Lowell. He made a lot of money. General Butler also purchased the yacht "America" from the U.S. Navy in 1873. He was an excellent yachtsman. The trip from Lowell to Gloucester is 40 miles so you have to wonder how many times he made the trip by water.

The mouth of the Merrimack River is one of the most dangerous on the east coast. Boats coming out of the river have Black Rocks and Badger Rocks on the Salisbury side to navigate. A light house was positioned on the Plum Island side. Along with a life saving station. The jetties that are on each side of the entrance to the Atlantic Ocean did not exist.

Benjamin Butler himself picked out the spot for the navigation aid we know as Butler's Toothpick in 1873. It's officially known as Coast Guard Black Rock Day Beacon #10 (Light List #9040). It is owned by the Coast Guard but sits adjacent to Salisbury Beach Reservation. It is forty feet tall and sits on a granite base 24 feet tall. The General also owned Cape Ann Granite so I wonder if he supplied the granite as well.

In 1947 the high tide swept out the wooden structure. It was rebuilt. It has had several updates over the years. It is a highly prized landmark today. We love visiting it when we camp at Salisbury Beach Reservation.

Thanks Ben!

Corp. Joseph Worthy - 101st Infantry Company M - WW1

Corporal Joseph H. Worthy was born in Boston September 26, 1891 the son of Joseph and Elizabeth O'Hare. His father was born in Ireland. This second generation Acre resident worked at the U.S. Cartridge Company as a moulder and attended St. Patrick's Church. He joined the National Guard and served during the trouble at the Mexican Border before World War One. 







Boston Globe Photo

Corp. Joseph Worthy was a member if the 101st Yankee Division Company M that many Lowell men fought with in France. They were one of the first to fight. He was killed along with three other Lowell men during the Second Battle of the Marne in Vaux France on July 15, 1918. Their names are Pvt. Francis M. McOsker, Pvt. Arthur McOsker and Pvt. Philip Chalifoux all of Company M.

Joseph Worthy was survived by his father Joseph, sister Mrs. Martin Brick and brothers John and Richard. His mother died in 1912. He is buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery in Lowell. A square is named in his honor at the corner of Broadway and Dutton Streets.

Shortly after the war his brother was contacted by a soldier from Boston, Sergt. H.L. Ryder that he was the one who discovered Joseph Worthy's body. He was dead and holding a prayer book. The book was "Remembering the Eucharistic Mission at St. Patrick's Church, Lowell, April 1918" with 95 Adams Street inside the cover. It is thought that he was praying when he died. He returned the book to the grateful family.

The Congressional Medal of Honor and Lowell Connections

With yesterday's announcement of Sgt. Ryan Pitts of Nashua, NH being selected as the latest recipient of the MEDAL OF HONOR I thought a rundown of past recipients with local connections was warranted. Sgt. Ryan Pitts was born in Lowell and served in Afghanistan in the U.S. Army 2nd Platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion Airborne, 503 Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne. The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest award for combat valor

In the Hall of Flags at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium there is a plaque that was dedicated in 1952 to all the Lowell men who have are recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. The plaque was updated with the addition of David H. McNerney, after the Vietnam War.

Here is the list of the Medal of Honor Recipients with Lowell connections:

CIVIL WAR

Albert Ames - US Army at Bull Run, VA. Buried in Lowell at Hildreth Family Cemetery. Married General Benjamin Butler's daughter.

Eugene W. Ferris - US Army at Berryville, VA. Entered service from Lowell.

John C. McFarland - US Navy. Lowell resident. Has headstones in St. Patrick's, Edson and Lowell Cemetery. Wife and son are buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery.

Daniel J. Murphy - US Army at Harcher's Run, VA. Entered service from Lowell, MA.

Dennis J.F. Murphy - US Army at Corinth, Mississippi. Entered service from Lowell, MA.

Joseph Aton Sladen - US Army at Resaca, GA May 14, 1864. Entered service from Lowell, MA.

Joseph Swell Gerrish Sweat - US Army 6th Massachusetts Co. C at Carsville, VA. Entered service from Lowell, MA.

Joseph Taylor - US Army at Wendon, VA.. Lived in Lowell after Civil War. Buried in Edson Cemetery. I have a separate blog post about him.

Edwin Truell - US Army near Atlanta, GA. Entered service in Lowell. Buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

OTHER

James F. Sullivan - US Navy. Peacetime. Saved sailor from drowning.

George Charette - US Navy. Born in Lowell 1867. Spanish American War in connection with the sinking of Merrimac in Santiago Harbor Cuba. Buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Square in Lowell in his honor.

Joseph R. Oullette - US Army Killed in Action in Korea. Born in Lowell. Buried at St. Joseph's Cemetery, East Chelmsford. Aiken Street Bridge is named in his honor.

David H. McNerney - US Army, Vietnam at Polei Doc. - born in Lowell.

Thank you Sgt. Ryan Pitts and all those Lowell men that came before you.

Rear Admiral Joseph Giles Eaton

In the Oakland Cemetery in Dracut lies the body of Rear Admiral Joseph Giles Eaton, his first wife, Mary Ann Varnum Eaton and his nine year old daughter Isabella Varnum Eaton. He was a war hero from the Spanish American War as the Commander of the USS Resolute during the battle in Santiago harbor. Yet he was buried here in haste with no military honors and only three so called mourners. One of them probably being the person that killed him.

Joseph Giles Eaton was born in Greenville, Alabama on June 29, 1847 to William Pierce Eaton and Sarah Brazier. He attended school in Lockport, NY, Union Academy in Worcester, MA and graduated sixth in his class from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1867. He married Mary Ann (known as Annie) Varnum from Dracut in 1871. They had one child who tragically died from cerebral meningitis at age nine in 1883. The family lived in Washington, DC during most of his 39 years of Naval service. He retired in 1905.

 Isabella's grave at Oakland Cemetery in Dracut, MA

http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=73322235&PIpi=88768899

In 1906, Annie, the Admiral's first wife was very sick. They hired a private nurse, Jennie May (Harrison) Ainsworth to attend to her. She was a descendent of President William Henry Harrison and a cousin of President Benjamin Harrison. She was living apart from her estranged husband Daniel Henry Ainsworth a known drunkard. After Annie's death, the Admiral married  her nurse Jennie Ainsworth. If she was divorced from Ainsworth or not is of some question. The Admiral however gave her the money to complete the divorce.

For a time the couple along with his two step daughters lived a good life in Brookline, MA. He was a member of the Algonquin Club of Boston. He had a Navy pension of $15 a day which back then was very good. Rumor had it that the Admiral's wife was giving her ex-husband money without the Admiral's knowledge.

The family moved to Norwell with a summer home in Scituate. The old Admiral, 20 plus years older than his wife, adopted an infant after both pretending his wife was pregnant. Within a month the baby was dead. She accused him of poisoning the infant. An autopsy was done and no foul play was detected. Soon everyone knew the baby was not their biological son. The baby is buried at Union Cemetery in Scituate. The home in Norwell is now a real estate office but looks very similar to the farm house.

Assinippi Farm Norwell, MA - Courtesy Google Street View

The Admiral left the family for some time but they reunited. Their life was not the happiest. The Admiral may have taken to drinking. His wife was mentally unstable. His oldest step daughter got pregnant, had the baby and got married. Not to the baby's father. She was later divorced and committed to Taunton State Hospital living alongside Jane Toppan.

The Admiral turned up dead in his bed in March 13, 1913. He was sixty six years old. His second wife was suspect almost immediately. The funeral was stopped by the police. An autopsy was ordered from Harvard Medical School. She arranged his burial in the Oakland Cemetery in Dracut. He died of arsenic poisoning.

The Admiral's wife, step daughter Dorothy and newpapermen came on the train with the body to Lowell. The funeral director took them to Dracut's Oakland Cemetery. He was buried with his first wife and young daughter. No military honors - no flag on the casket - no Naval escort. The next day the police were convinced the wife poisoned her husband. She was arrested and spent seven months in a Plymouth jail until the trail.

Admiral Joseph Giles Eaton Headstone - Oakland Cemetery - Dracut, MA



After a sensational trial Mrs. Jennie Eaton was acquitted. She testified in her own defense. Most people thought she was guilty. Newspapers across the world carried news of the trial. On June 13, 1914 the Admiral's wife remarried her first husband Daniel Henry Ainsworth. She had inherited all the Admiral's assets. Her husband manages to get arrested seven times in the next year for drunkenness. Next Mrs. Jennie Ainsworth and her daughter Dorothy McMahon get arrested for leaving the second baby out of wedlock by her daughter Margie Ainsworth. They take the baby (which is not developing normally) and leave it on the steps of a doctor's office in Brookline, MA. The baby dies days later. They both served suspended sentences.

The entire Ainsworth and McMahon families move to Washington, DC and open a bread and breakfast near the Capitol and manage to stay out of the news for the rest of their lives.

Rear Admiral Eaton is noted in many newspapers and books as being a Medal of Honor Recipient but I can not find proof that he is. He has truly been forgotten by the unfortunate circumstances of his death. Please remember the Admiral and his naval service to our country.

70th Anniversary of D Day - The Normandy Invasion - Jun 6-8, 1944

In Lowell on the morning of June 6th, 1944 the city's air raid sirens blared at 5:00 AM signaling the dawn of D-day. Thousands attended church services to pray. The largest sea based invasion in history was underway on the beaches of France. 

First Lt. John J. Shaughnessy was one of the first 11 boys to enlist in the Army from Lowell on November 9, 1940. During his service he was awarded the Purple Heart in the battle for Tunisia. He was killed in action June 6th during the Normandy invasion. He was the son of Mr. & Mrs. Edward (Anna O'Donnell) Shaughnessy of 1091 Gorham Street. A graduate of Sacred Heart and Lowell High School he was 26 years old. His body was returned to Lowell for funeral services on December 9, 1947. He is buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery.

Ironically, he was named after his uncle, John J. O'Donnell who was killed during World War One. The O'Donnell playground is named for him. John J. Shaugnessy Elementary school, also on Gorham street is named for the World War II hero.

One year after his death a poem written by his aunt, Sister Marcella of the Sisters of Mary, Binghampton, NY and published in the Lowell Sun:

VICTORY

Somewhere in France he is sleeping
Under sacred Normandy's moon
Our hero whose flower of manhood
Was shipped off for heaven last June.

There in the green of the hillside
They laid him beside his men;
Nothing shall shatter his slumber
No one shall hurt him again.

Winds sigh the chant of his requiem
Moonlight illumines his cross;
Soft helpless rain like our teardrops
Echoes the pain of his loss.

Yet his is the truest triumph,
Death brings the perfect peace.
The living will always be militant
Till life and its struggles cease.

We thank this family for their sacrifice and we remember.

Monuments Men and the Lowell Connection

I haven't seen the Monuments Men movie starring George Clooney and Matt Damon yet but I'm looking forward to it. And of course there is a Lowell connection!

Keith Merrill was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota June 8, 1887. He graduated from The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa in 1906, Yale University 1911 and Harvard Law School 1914. He married Katharine Ayer, daughter of Frederick Ayer and his second wife Ellen Banning on May 7, 1917 at her parents Avalon summer home in Beverly, MA. Frederick Ayer owned the American Woolen Company and his former residence is now the Franco American school in Lowell. Keith's wife's sister Beatrice was married to Gen. George Patton and they were very close.

"[Avalon, front view]," in NOBLE Digital Heritage, Item #11673, http://heritage.noblenet.org/items/show/11673 (accessed May 30, 2014).

Keith Merrill worked for the US Foreign Service from 1917-1937 at various diplomatic posts around the world. During WWII he joined the US Navy Reserves. Near the end of the war the United States government made an effort to recover works of art that the Germans had confiscated during the war. Commander Merrill was enlisted into service to ensure that 202 of these works were shipped to Washington, D.C. for safe keeping. On December 8, 1945 these works were sent and kept in storage until 1948. They then went on an exhibition tour. He ensured that the works were returned to Europe.

Life Magazine, January 24, 1949

As a gesture of good will after the war, Italy loaned to the National Gallery in Washington, D.C the Michelangelo's statue of David-Apollo. Commander Merrill was responsible for ensuring the safe delivery.It had never left Florence Italy since it was made in 1525.

Keith Merrill and his wife spent the remaining years on various boards, collecting and donating artwork and contributing to many philanthropic endeavors. Keith Merrill died June 8, 1959 at his summer home Avalon, in Prides Crossing in Beverly, MA at the age of 72. He is buried in the Frederick Ayer lot in the Lowell Cemetery.

Photo credit: Corey Scuito

Sumner H. Needham - Family and Service

Most people in Lowell know the story about April 19, 1861 when Ladd, Whitney, Needham and Taylor were killed in Baltimore at the very start of the Civil War. Ladd & Whitney are buried in Monument Square in front of Lowell City Hall. Sumner Henry Needham of Lawrence was not instantly killed but died a week later in Baltimore after unsuccessful brain surgery.  He never gained consciousness from the blow to the head by the rebels on Pratt Street. He is buried in Bellevue Cemetery in Lawrence. Charles A. Taylor was also killed and is buried in Baltimore. I'll save that story for another day.

By the City Government

of Lawrence, this Monument

is erected, to endear to

posterity the Memory of

SUMNER H. NEEDHAM.

of Co. I,. 6th Regit. M.V.M.,

who fell a victim to the

passions of a Secession Mob,

during the passage of the

Regiment through the

streets of Baltimore, march-

ing in Defence of the Nation's

Capital, on the memorable

19th day of April A.D., 1861.

Aged 33.

A Loyal North, in common

with his widow and an only

child, mourn his loss.

A.D., 1862.

Sumner Needham's wife Hannah was a dressmaker. She gave birth to his son December 19, 1861, 8 months to the day after his death.  Sumner could not have known he was to be a father that day in Baltimore. In all my years of reading census records I have never seen one like this:

This is the 1865 State of Massachusetts census for Lawrence, MA. Hannah Needham is listed  as "Widow of the Martyr "S H Needham".

So what became of Sumner Henry Needham Jr.? He married twice had two sons named Sumner Henry Needham.  He died in Tilton, New Hampshire in 1934.

The first Sumner grandson was born in Lawrence April 30, 1885 and he became an Optometrist. His office was in the Sun Building.

He joined the military in 1916 and served during the Mexican trouble. Then he served as a Captain during the Great War of Battery F 102nd Field Artillery. After the war he was the first to donate war trophies for the new Lowell Memorial Auditorium. He stayed in the service and was stationed in San Antonio, Texas. He was promoted to Major.  He in turn had a son named Sumner H. Needham and he also became a Major in the army. They are both buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

Sadly, the other Sumner H. Needham grandson was killed when a car ran over him as a young boy.

We thank the Needham family for their service and their sacrifice.

Dr. Walter Burnham

Walter Burnham was born in Brookfield, Vermont January 12, 1808. His father and brother were doctors. He graduated with his medical degree from the University of Vermont in 1829. He married Annis Crawford February 8, 1831. They had five children. He started his practice in Vermont but moved to Lowell in 1846.

Surgeon - Massachusetts Sixth Regiment (1862-1870)

Dr. Burnham was a gynecological doctor. He specialized in removing ovarian tumors.  Now at this time, anesthesia was primitive and these surgeries were very risky.  For the first time in the world, on June 26, 1853 he performed the very first hysterectomy where the patient survived and it happened in Lowell, MA. He performed over 300 surgeries with only a 25% mortality rate which was excellent for the time.

Dr. Burnham also was a state legislator. He was responsible for the Anatomy Act of 1855 which allowed the bodies of dead paupers to be used for medical dissecting purposes. He was a member of the Lowell school committee for many years. He was also a 32 degree Mason and  a member of the American Medical Association.

During the Civil War he was the surgeon for the Massachusetts Sixth Regiment. He was very proud of the fact that his mortality rates for disease were very low for his unit in the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia. He only lost 13 men to disease out of the regiment of 1,000.

He traveled extensively throughout the Northeast performing operations for those in need. In January  of 1880 he fell in Elmira, New York getting on a train, injuring his elbow. This resulted in an amputation which started the decline in his health. He died February 17, 1888 in Lowell at the age of 75. He is buried in the Lowell Cemetery.

His daughter, Stella married Henry Phelps Perkins an agent at the Bleachery and brother of the Civil War hero, Solon A. Perkins whose framed gideon was just found in the basement of the Lowell Memorial Auditorium.

Ralph Regis Giles - Missing at Sea

Ralph Regis Giles known as "Reggie" was born in Nashua, NH on December 11, 1932 to Ralph and Alice (Hurley) Giles and grew up at 44 Royalston Avenue in the Highlands section of Lowell. He graduated from Keith Academy class of 1950. He played football and baseball at Keith and was an accomplished singer.

On March 20, 1951 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Seaman Apprentice. He completed his training in Newport, R.I. and was assigned to the USS Hyman (DD-32) during the Korean War. On November 29, 1951 he was on duty preparing lines for refueling when he was swept overboard in stormy seas near Wonsan Harbor in North Korea. Five men were swept overboard and only three bodies were recovered.  Reggie was only 18 years old.

His body has not been found. He is remembered by a cenotaph in the Rock Garden at St. Patrick's Cemetery.

Reggie was survived by his parents, brothers Gerald and James and sister Marilyn. His siblings have provided DNA samples to the Defense POW/MIA Personnel Office hoping someday he can come home to his family. Lowell still remembers and hopes his family can bring him home wherever that may be.