I am nearly finished with Chapter 6 of my book about my Thomas and Rogers ancestors, but I am a bit behind posting on this blog. I am jumping ahead because of Cee’s weekly Fun Foto Challenge, which this week is tombstones or cemeteries.
Dale and I took an “ancestors’ tour” in the summer of 2012 to Ohio, which was the state in which these ancestors had settled. In Cleveland, we met and stayed with my second cousin Carolyn and her husband Dick. Carolyn and her brother Jeff had already done a lot of research on our common ancestors, so I had a jump start – in fact, our route was based on a similar tour Carolyn and Dick had done.
Our original immigrant ancestors, Thomas Thomas and Elizabeth Robinson Thomas, are buried at the cemetery in Ross (formerly Venice), Ohio, the town where they lived during Rev. Thomas’ last years. He died in 1831 and his wife Elizabeth, who survived him by 22 years, was buried next to him in 1864. Later one of their daughters, Sarah, was buried alongside her mother (they share a tombstone). I tried to decipher the poem that was written on Rev. Thomas’ tombstone by doing rubbings with paper and crayon, but didn’t have much luck. The tombstone is very old and weathered, and cracked in two places.
Dale took this picture of me doing a rubbing of the poem.Elizabeth Robinson Thomas and their daughter Sarah are buried near Rev. Thomas’ tomb.
Most of the other Thomas descendants are buried at Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio. This cemetery is well-known due to a few of its famous “residents” – the Wright Brothers, poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, and writer Erma Bombeck.
Pictures below, L to R: graves of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Orville Wright, Erma Bombeck
People have left coins on Orville Wright’s grave.
We couldn’t find E. Bombeck’s headstone because this rock is IT!
There are tours at Woodland to visit famous graves, but we were mainly interested in hanging out in the Thomas and Rogers plots:
This is the tombstone of Thomas Ebenezer Thomas and his family. Individual graves are nearby, marked with initials of the deceased.
The actual graves are marked with the initials of those buried beneath. These 2 are the graves of “Ebbie” and “Willie” who died in childhood.
On the right is Lydia, my great-great-grandmother; to the left is her son (my great-uncle) Alfred A. and his wife Jennie Head Thomas.
The Rogers children, too, had individual graves, with their names and birth and death dates:
Maiden aunt, sister of Linda Rogers Thomas; Aunt Grace was an accomplished painter.
I have my maiden great-great-aunts, Grace, Helen and Anna, to thank for writing a genealogical history of their ancestors.
My great-grandparents, John Hampden Thomas and Linda Rogers Thomas
Two of their children died in infancy:
John and Linda had three other daughters, the youngest of which was my paternal grandmother, Isabel Rogers Thomas, who married Allen Perry Lovejoy II. They lived in Janesville, Wisconsin. Their graves are in the Lovejoy family plot in Oak Lawn Cemetery, Janesville, WI.
A more complete picture of both Thomas and Elizabeth emerges as their life together unfolds. Following their marriage, the couple settled in Chelmsford, where Rev. Thomas had been pastor at an Independent church for two years, and where the family lived until 1814.
Four children were born to Thomas and Elizabeth Thomas in Chelmsford:
Mary, b. Dec. 26, 1809 (m. Nelson Gilpin, May 4, 1890, Venice, OH)
Elizabeth (1)*, birthdate unknown; died at age of 2 in Chelmsford.
Thomas Ebenezer, b. Dec. 23, 1812 (m. 1840 Lydia Fisher, in Northboro, MA, d. Feb. 2, 1875).
Elizabeth (2)*, b. Aug. 1814 (m. Charles Spinning Burrowes, in Ohio).
Elizabeth (2) was actually born after her father had left Chelmsford and before he moved his family to Manchester, where they lived until April 1815. There is little information about Mrs. Thomas’ life during her first years of marriage.
Although Thomas Thomas continued writing his diary, the pages for the years 1809-1814 were destroyed. What we know of his Chelmsford days are contained in his few diary entries just before he left Chelmsford in May of 1814 as well as letters written many years later to his son, Thomas Ebenezer, from Thomas Spencer (who married Elizabeth’s sister Mary).
Chelmsford, Essex, 1809-1814
Chelmsford is the first city of Essex, and is located about 30 miles northeast of London. It is an old city; it has been the county seat of Essex since 1215.
It is here that Rev. and Mrs. Thomas settled upon their marriage, and where Thomas worked as assistant to an aged pastor of the Independent Church, Rev. Mr. Douglass.
Because our ancestor’s diary of the years 1809-1813 were destroyed, I can only speculate on their life there. Presumably they received support from Elizabeth’s father as well as her brother-in-law, Thomas Spencer, who became a close friend of her
Mary and Thomas Spencer in old age
husband. Rev. Thomas must have continued the activities started at Hoxton and applied in his work as assistant pastor, preaching in churches and outside of them, further developing his skill for extempore speech. The Independents were a very strict sect – the English Puritans of that time. Their earnest faith and religious life were severe and they did not generally join in “worldly” activities like those around them.
I discern from the Rev. Thomas’ and his wife’s later writing and correspondence that the Lord was foremost on their minds in their daily lives: there was daily Bible reading and singing of hymns in the home and they prayed over decisions that needed to be made. It was also likely a comfortable and happy home, as Elizabeth was said to be a cheerful person in nature, and both she and her husband had great enjoyment in singing.
A Final Farewell
Rev. Thomas’ diary continues in 1814: He preached his farewell sermons at the end of March to the congregation of Chelmsford, an assemblage of a thousand people! These sermons were so heartfelt that the congregation was quite moved. He wrote in his diary that he told them that “it had been my desire and determination if I should ever leave them, to preach from Acts 20 – ‘I am clear from the blood of all men,’” referring to the apostle Paul’s final words to the elders of Ephesus, before he departed for Jerusalem, that he had not shrunk from declaring to them the whole counsel of God. Paul exhorts them to take care of the church from “fierce wolves” who would come among them and try to divide them with words and ideas meant to entice them away (Acts 20:29-31).
Rev. Thomas’ diary continues by saying that he would not preach from Acts 20 “because it is not in my power to do so” but instead from Ephesians 6:10 to the end:
“ ‘Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord, etc.’ I spoke with great solemnity, with many tears, and left the place of worship where I had preached for ten years, never to enter it more!” The referenced Bible passage is full of battle metaphors which Paul uses to tell the people of the church to hold fast against evil for the dark forces are strong, but ends on a high note with wishes for peace, love through faith, and God’s grace (Ephesians 6:10-24).
Both of the abovementioned Biblical passages are charged with emotion, as are Rev. Thomas’ sermons to his flock in saying farewell, expressing his own strong feelings. He must have felt a great deal like Paul, having built strong relationships with the congregations he preached to, and then having to bid them farewell.
He left Chelmsford on May 10, 1814.** Before leaving, he wrote in his diary about a scene that bears a strong comparison to Acts 20:36-38. “All the church and congregation, with many others, came to see me in my own house. A prayer meeting was held there every night for about two weeks…The prayers and tears I shall never forget…”
The Devil and an Angel
From Chelmsford the Thomas family went to London to visit Elizabeth’s brother-in-law, Mr. Thomas Spencer. The best account we have of Rev. Thomas’ time spent with Thomas Spencer comes from Spencer’s own correspondence with Rev. Thomas’ son, many years later. Although Spencer does not specifically state when their conversations about religious beliefs took place, his remarks provide interesting insight into Thomas Thomas’ beliefs.
(Thomas) Spencer describes a “peculiarity” of his brother-in-law, the belief in Satanic influence. In early life, (Thomas) Thomas believed people were always surrounded by good or evil spiritual influences. One day, the two of them were walking through the streets of London, deep in conversation about some religious topic, when someone threw something at them from an upper window. Startled, this distracted them from their conversation.
“There!” exclaimed Thomas. “A man must be a devil himself who does not believe in the perpetual working of the evil one.” He claimed that Satan knew they were talking about a subject having to do with their souls’ salvation and devised this diversion to derail their conversation.
Thomas told Spencer that when he was a boy, he was once sent on an errand and his route led him to the bank of a river. Suddenly he saw the faint shadow of someone following him – a shadow without substance. This did not scare him, however, because he believed it to be a good angel that always watched over him.
Moreover, our ancestor had developed an interest in the Society of Friends, and was instrumental in Spencer’s becoming a Quaker. Spencer writes in his letter to his nephew that Thomas gave him “such a description of Quakerism that [Spencer] resolved in [his] heart to become a Quaker.”
Returning to the abovementioned letter from Thomas Spencer to his nephew, Thomas E. Thomas, many years later, in this letter Spencer writes a little about Rev. Thomas’ politics and shows us another side of his personality as well. In April, 1814,*** the Thomas family were guests at Spencer’s house near London for a short time. It was at this time that the idea was born of emigrating to America. The two men talked long and often about it, both being radical republicans of that time.
During this visit, Napoleon I was defeated and banished to Elba. This was a cause for celebration in London, and the brothers-in-law went out to see the sights, which were splendid.
Thousands lined Hyde Park during the 1814 jubilee celebrations to see James Sadler’s balloons take off.
They hitched a ride on the back of a coach and had a perfect view as the coach drove slowly along. Right behind them was a coach driven by a bad-tempered man. He kept trying to knock them off their perch on the preceding coach with his pole! Finally he lunged forward, wounding Spencer in the leg and tearing his trousers. Thomas got really angry at this, and jumping down, he “bearded” their assailant on his seat and gave him a beating with his walking stick! Spencer adds his gratitude that “very likely he did more for his friend and brother than he would have done for himself.”
Entering into business
On the advice of his former patron, Thomas Wilson, with whom he had remained friends, Rev. Thomas then went to Chester, where his sister lived. In Chester he entered into business (he did not say what kind of business it was) and late in the summer of 1814, he moved his family to Manchester, 41 miles from Chester. His daughter Elizabeth at that time must have been a newborn baby. In Manchester, he began a partnership with Mr. J. Huxley, who, he wrote, was an honest man.
While in Manchester, he became acquainted with several good men in trade, but he also encountered a lot of corruption and dishonesty. It was at this time that Rev. Thomas learned to speak more directly and to choose his words carefully when engaging with businessmen, something he had not learned before he got into the business world. No doubt he intended to settle there with his family, but after about eight months, he ran into one of his fellow students from Hoxton. This man lived in Knottingley, Yorkshire, and persuaded Rev. Thomas to move there, where he could continue in his business as well as preach the gospel to many “destitute people.”
*Note: To avoid confusion, I have called the first Elizabeth born to them (who died at the age of 2) as Elizabeth (1), and her sister, born in 1814, who survived to adulthood, as Elizabeth (2).
**Note that his departure from Chelmsford predates his daughter Elizabeth (2)’s birth by 3 months, indicating that he left his family behind at that time, perhaps to arrange housing and employment in Manchester, where they resided beginning in late summer, 1814.
***Spencer gives the year of this visit as 1816, but it must have been in 1814 – it was in April of that year that Napoleon I was overthrown, which caused great celebration in England.
Chelmsford is the first city of Essex, and is located about 30 miles northeast of London. It has been the county seat of Essex since 1215.
It is here that Rev. and Mrs. Thomas settled upon their marriage, and where Thomas worked as assistant to an aged pastor of the Independent Church, Rev. Mr. Douglass. The couple’s first four children were born in Chelmsford, as follows:
Mary, born Dec. 26, 1809
Elizabeth (1), born 1810, died at about two years old in 1812*
Thomas Ebenezer, born Dec. 23, 1812
Elizabeth (2), born August, 1814*
Unfortunately, our ancestor’s diary of the years 1809-1813 were destroyed, and so I can only speculate on their life there. Presumably they received support from Elizabeth’s father as well as her brother-in-law, Thomas Spencer, who became a close friend of her husband.
Rev. Thomas must have continued the activities started at Hoxton and applied in his work as assistant pastor, preaching in churches and outside of them, further developing his skill for extempore speech. The Independents were a very strict sect – the English Puritans of that time. Their earnest faith and religious life were severe and they did not generally join in “worldly” activities like those around them. I discern from the Rev. Thomas’ and his wife’s later writing and correspondence that the Lord was foremost on their minds in their daily lives: there was daily Bible reading and singing of hymns in the home and they prayed over decisions that needed to be made. It was also likely a comfortable and happy home, as Elizabeth was said to be a cheerful person in nature, and both she and her husband had great enjoyment in singing.
*Note: To avoid confusion, I have called the first Elizabeth born to them (who died at the age of 2) as Elizabeth (1), and her sister, born in 1814, who survived to adulthood, as Elizabeth (2).
A Final Farewell
Rev. Thomas’ diary continues in 1814: He preached his farewell sermons at the end of March to the congregation of Chelmsford, an assemblage of a thousand people! These sermons were so heartfelt that the congregation was quite moved. He wrote in his diary that he told them that “it had been my desire and determination if I should ever leave them, to preach from Acts 20 – ‘I am clear from the blood of all men’”2, referring to the apostle Paul’s final words to the elders of Ephesus, before he departed for Jerusalem, that he had not shrunk from declaring to them the whole counsel of God. Paul exhorts them to take care of the church from “fierce wolves” who would come among them and try to divide them with words and ideas meant to entice them away (Acts 20:29-31).
Rev. Thomas’ diary continues by saying that he would not preach from Acts 20 “because it is not in my power to do so” but instead from Ephesians 6:10 to the end:
“ ‘Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord, etc.’ I spoke with great solemnity, with many tears, and left the place of worship where I had preached for ten years, never to enter it more!” The referenced Bible passage is full of battle metaphors which Paul uses to tell the people of the church to hold fast against evil for the dark forces are strong, but ends on a high note with wishes for peace, love through faith, and God’s grace (Ephesians 6:10-24).
Both of the abovementioned Biblical passages are charged with emotion, as are Rev. Thomas’ sermons to his flock in saying farewell, expressing his own strong feelings. He must have felt a great deal like Paul, having built strong relationships with the congregations he preached to, and then having to bid them farewell.
He left Chelmsford on May 10, 1814. (This predates his daughter Elizabeth (2)’s birth by 3 months, so he must have left his family behind at that time, perhaps to arrange housing and employment in Manchester, where they resided beginning in late summer 1814.)
Before leaving, he wrote in his diary about a scene that bears a strong comparison to Acts 20:36-38. “All the church and congregation, with many others, came to see me in my own house. A prayer meeting was held there every night for about two weeks…The prayers and tears I shall never forget…”
Tuesday, December 21, 1943
1:45 p.m.
My darling Margot, and Judy, and Mother –
This is my Christmas letter to all of you. But since I shall not be able to finish it now and I don’t know when I shall get it off, I’ll send it special so that you will be sure to get it Christmas Day. Probably I shall write again before then, but you won’t receive it until afterward.
.
It sure is going to be a lonely Christmas without you, but I guess nothing can be done about. At least I have quite a lot of presents to open, and we have a delicious dinner planned to eat. But somehow the real Christmas conviviality will not be there, under this homeless & family-less atmosphere. I hope you all have a wonderful time – if I know that you are, then I shall be happy.
.
Grandma sent me this check for a Christmas present. Please put it into war bonds or stamps. Are you still buying stamps every week? – I hope so, for it’s a good way to build up a nest-egg for our children.
I suggest that future bonds bought out of these savings be bought in L.L.’s name, at least bonds bought after his birth with stamps previously bought. This check and the
$200 WW II war bond
small contribution you will find in the Christmas envelope should be a good start on bonds for him, supplemented by $1 a week.
4:15 p.m.
Finally got the pears – some one slipped up in the Norfolk office and they sat in the warehouse there for four days before they were sent over to the Portsmouth office, where I picked them up yesterday. The box had been opened and three pears
Pears were my father’s favorite fruit.
removed, leaving only 9. And about 4 of them were too over-ripe to be edible. The rest were all right, after a few spots were cut out, and I truly enjoyed them – they certainly are a treat. Thank you a thousand times for sending them to me – it was worth all the trouble.
…
The weather has been nice here lately – comfortable in the daytime and not too cold at night. And it has been clearer & drier than usual too.
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Gil & Jim may not leave for Christmas after all; Gil is pretty sure he is not going. I investigated the possibility of going to Aunt Julie’s, but I would not be able to make it for more than a few hours, and I have decided it is not worth it. We have to go right back into shakedown work the morning after Christmas, even though it is Sunday.
There is lots of optimism among men in the service (including Charley Eagan) about how soon the war will end. But I am not encouraged. Our successes against the Japanese are heartening, but we are still on only the outer fringe of their defenses. And the Russian & Italian campaigns are already slow, with the heaviest fighting still ahead. The apparently complete co-operation of the leading Allied powers is one bright spot in the picture, and of course some progress is being made in the war as a whole. This Bolivian mess is a blow, but it will not be too harmful to the general cause provided the new government does not stop selling us their tin we need so badly. – Well, I am not a news commentator, and I guess the best thing to do is just to do my part, unconstructive as it may seem, and hope that everyone else in & out of service will do the same. (The amount of loafing that goes on in this Navy Yard is enough to disgust & discourage anyone!)
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Wednesday – 11 a.m.
Just received three beautiful 15-lb. turkeys for Christmas dinner. Couldn’t get any oysters for stuffing, but cook is going to make one out of something else. We also have cranberry, cider, candy & nuts, makings for mince pie, and all the fixin’s. So it should be a good dinner. Where are you going to have dinner?
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Had liberty last night, but stayed aboard – too much trouble to get into blues and go ashore. We prefer Little Creek to this place, because there all you need to do is throw on a khaki blouse and walk five minutes, and then you can go to a movie & have a drink. Here it takes a half hour to dress, longer than that to get to civilization, and there’s nothing there when you do get there!
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I know that when bigger ships were in a yard, they connected up a phone for them. But I was pleasantly surprised when they did it for us – it is a great convenience for the numerous calls to offices & shops in the yard – and officers are allowed to make local personal calls on it.
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Have you heard the new popular song based on the ditty Mother has so long said for us
Mairzy Doats song cover
– “Goats eat oats, lambs eat oats,” etc.? It is pretty cute – we heard Ozzie Nelson & Harriet Hilliard sing it on the Red Skelton show last nite.
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Must stop this now, and get it off to you, or you will never get it. I wish I could be with you all Saturday, or at least have done more, directly, to make your Christmas a happy one. But my thoughts will certainly be with you every minute of the day, as they are every day.
.
All my wishes for a happy day and my best Christmas love to
Margot
Judy
Mother
Lester Llewellyn
All the rest of the family at home
From
Bob
Gunnery exercises on USS Iowa
December 29, 1943
9:45 p.m.
My darling –
What a time we have ahead of us. We get under way at 7 tomorrow a.m. and will be out all day in gunnery exercises, then wait for dark to do some night firing, and will be in about 11 p.m. the next morning we leave at 5, sweep all day, drop depth charges when we get out to sea, and then sweep back, arriving back here about 4 Saturday a.m. – swell way to spend New Year’s Eve, isn’t it?! All day Saturday we shall be busy as bedbugs cleaning up the ship, and Sunday morning we have the departure inspection.
Mine sweeper at sea
Got your letter of Dec. 23 yesterday – glad to hear that you were going to Wausau okay. But I was sorry that I had scared you into postponing your trip until Jan. 25, for it now seems fairly certain (as you learned from my last letter) that we shall be back in Boston not later than Jan. 12 – if you still want to try to get reservations early enough, before my birthday, it might be worthwhile – no harm in trying anyway, though there is always a chance that we may be delayed by some unforeseen circumstances. …
.
We were out all day yesterday, and were scheduled to go today, but a hard snowstorm this morning caused the powers-that-be to cancel all operations today. It has stopped snowing now, but it is very cold.
…
Sorry to hear Judy has had such a tough time – poor little tyke – hope she was all over it by Christmas or at least by the time you went to Wausau. Pleased to learn that Mother is okay – I can hardly believe that she is getting hard of hearing – perhaps she is just more inattentive as she gets older – but it’s nice to know she is getting relief from her arthritis.
.
It might be nice to have the car in Boston – depends somewhat on where we live – public transportation seems to be pretty good there. But I don’t know how we would get it out there, and I doubt if we could use it enough to make it worth the expense & trouble of keeping it. And Boston is a god-awful town to find one’s way around in – worst town I know for that.
…
Well, darling, it is getting late and I have a long & busy day ahead. So I’ll end this, but I expect I’ll add more before it is mailed.
.
I adore you, Bob
Deviating a bit from my normal two threads on this site, this post tells about a family home, built in 1881, in Janesville, Wisconsin. I have made two recent visits to the home, first in October 2013, with my sister, on invitation from the new owners, and again last month (June 2015), with a large group of family members. Once more, the new owners, a young couple that is working on restoring the home to its original glory, graciously invited us to tour their home.
Three images of the Lovejoy home: the two photographs show what the house looked like when it was originally built; the other photo, on the cover of my mother’s book, is a more recent photo, after additions were put on.
My paternal great-grandfather, Allen Perry Lovejoy, had the house built and lived there with his family until his death. My great-grandmother, Julia Stow Lovejoy, outlived her husband by nearly 50 years, and lived to the ripe old age of 103! She died in 1953, in this very home.
This plaque, inside the front entrance, was added when the home became the property of the YWCA.
My great-grandmother, in her old age, could no longer climb stairs, and so she had an elevator put in right alongside the stairway between the first and second floors. This elevator no longer exists, of course, but these two pictures show its location.
Location of the elevator (at the base of the stairs) (2013)Looking down from the second floor at the spot where Grandma’s elevator would have been. (2015)
After her death in 1953, the home eventually passed into the ownership of the YWCA, which made major changes to the house and built a large addition. This is how I remember it, growing up – the rooms on the first floor were used for various activities, including art classes, which I participated in during the summer, and the addition included a ballroom which were used for teen dances, called “Swing Lobby”. I remember attending these dances when I was in junior high school. With the addition, the house looked like the picture on the cover of my mother’s book and as shown in the picture below, which is a painter’s realistic rendition of the house.
Although the YMCA modified the house quite a bit, they did not change too much of its exterior features. However, more recently the home was purchased by a man who began to cover over the original facade.
The previous owner had stripped much of the woodwork, but at least he kept the boards, which are stacked here and labeled with their location. (This was in 2013 – by 2015, most of them had been placed in their original locations.)The top third of the front facade was covered with some sort of generic, sand-colored plaster, obscuring the original design. It’ll be a big job to strip off this and the layer of glue underneath!
The young couple that owns it now is working on undoing the damage he had done.
The house is now listed in the National Registry of Historic Places and thus is protected
Plaque on the front of the house
from demolition.
The following photo essay shows many of the beautiful features of the Lovejoy home, which I took on our tour in 2013 and in 2015.
Stained glass window behind bookshelf in living roomFireplace in living room – the fireplace is how it was originally but the wallpaper is new.In this corner of the living room, near the fireplace, Grandma had her writing desk.
During her later years living here, my great-grandmother, “Grandma Lovejoy”, would routinely take the elevator downstairs every morning. She would go into the kitchen and drink a glass of orange juice before sitting at her writing desk to work on her correspondence. It was exactly during this daily routine that she died at the age of 103 – she was sitting at her desk as usual, preparing to read and answer letters.
Adjacent to the living room was the dining room.
Although it may look small, this dining room hosted many family holiday dinners. My oldest sisters remember having Thanksgiving dinners here when they were young. At the far end of the dining room was another fireplace, where the door is now. The fireplace was removed by the YWCA, when they had the addition built. The doorway now leads to the ballroom.
On the other side of the dining room is a sitting room or library. The walls were lined with glass-covered book shelves, filled with books.
Bookshelves in the libraryThis room now is used as a sitting room, with a large sofa in the middle.
Next to the dining room is the small kitchen and a storage closet.
The owners in the small kitchen
The stairway to the second floor is flanked by three beautiful windows.
This chandelier hangs over the stairwell.
On the second floor are a few large rooms, and would have contained the family’s bedrooms. The floors are bordered with beautiful patterns, and there is a fireplace with exquisite etched tiles.
tile details
Crooked hallway
We then proceeded up to the third floor, with panoramic views of the city and the Rock River.
View from 3rd floor window – how much more scenic it must have been before all these other buildings were built!View through a window on the stairway leading to the third floorAnother old house in the neighborhood
On the third floor, we climbed a ladder up to a small, confining attic. From there we had access to the roof.
Doorway to the atticView from the roof: The river can be seen across the middle of the picture. The church spire on the right belongs to the church (also a historical landmark) that my parents belonged to.chimneyThe Nowlan house next door.
Back on the first floor, we visited the ballroom built by the YWCA. The owners of the house were married there last fall, but it is now full of equipment and projects-in-progress, including a picket fence they are constructing so their two large dogs will have a place to play. LThis house is full of delightful details in decoration.
Banister post with daisy patternOver the doorwayEtched glass on interior doorway (front entrance)Daisy pattern on doorknob – this was a theme in the house – Grandma Lovejoy liked daisies.Woodwork detail; these posts surrounded many of the windows and doorways in the house.
Outsiide the house are two porches, one on each side of the house facing the street.
This porch ran alongside the side street. Grandma would emerge from the door onto this porch, cross the porch and step into a waiting carriage or car.The front of the Lovejoy house, taken from across the street (Oct. 2013).
I’ll finish this post by showing the genealogy of this branch of the family (maiden surnames in parentheses – the women in my family retained these surnames as their middle names and dropped their original middle names):
1. Allen Perry Lovejoy Sr. 1825-1904 + Julia Isbell (Stow) Lovejoy 1849-1953
(my great-grandparents)
2. Allen Perry Lovejoy Jr. 1882-1918 + Isabel Rogers (Thomas) Lovejoy 1886-1971
(my grandparents)
3. Robert Carr Lovejoy 1917-1988 + Margaret Bissell (Thom) Lovejoy 1917-2014
(my parents)
There were four Allen Perry Lovejoys – my father’s oldest brother was Allen Perry Lovejoy III, and my brother is Allen Perry Lovejoy IV.
The family Bible of Thomas Robinson contains pages from a Bible that belonged to his father, containing two generations of Robinsons. (Family Bibles were passed down to each generation according to primogeniture.)
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Thomas Robinson, born Feb. 8, 1754, was the seventh child of James and Elizabeth Robinson. On Sept. 10, 1781, he married Sarah Banks, and he died on July 3, 1823.
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Sarah Banks got her last name from her stepfather, George Banks. Her natural father was a Captain Wilkinson, who died when Sarah was about five years old. Her mother’s name was Elizabeth, but we do not know her maiden name nor any of her antecedents. We do know that she was born in 1728 and died in 1793 and is buried at the Stepne Meeting Burial Ground. We also have no further information on Capt. Wilkinson, including his first name, except that he died in 1760.
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Sarah Wilkinson (Banks) was born Sept. 10, 1755. She married Thomas Robinson on her 26th birthday. She died on Feb. 19, 1804 and is buried at the Stepne Chapel burial ground.
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Elizabeth was the first child born to Thomas and Sarah Robinson. She was born at Gravesend, London, July 17, 1782. She died on April 6, 1864 in Dayton, Ohio, USA.
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Elizabeth took over much of the role of housewife and mother after her mother’s death in 1804, including the care of her younger siblings still living in the household. By the time of her marriage to Thomas Thomas in 1808, her youngest sister, Ann, was 13.
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By the time of Thomas Thomas’ acquaintance with the family, Thomas Robinson was living in his own house at Greenbank, Wapping, London. He was a prosperous and wealthy merchant in the Russian tallow trade. He was also a deacon of the Independent Congregation of Stepne Chapel in London. The picture of him below was a watercolor portrait, which his daughter Elizabeth carried with her on all her journeys and kept on her mantelpiece in each of her residences.
Thomas Robinson, father of Elizabeth Robinson Thomas
In early life, Elizabeth was raised in comfort and plenty. Her life growing up in London stands in stark contrast to the life she led after her marriage to Thomas Thomas. I believe it was her strong religious faith and upbringing in the Independent Church, that influenced her decision to marry him – after all, she did have other suitors – and this faith carried her through the subsequent deprivations and difficulties she faced following her marriage, with the duty to protect her growing family. Other traits she surely possessed were courage, fortitude and perseverance, as will become evident especially upon the family’s emigration to the United States in the fall of 1818, and living a pioneer life with few resources for years afterward.
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I found little information regarding Elizabeth’s life before marriage. However, a look at English society at that time gives us hints, as do some of the skills she drew upon in later years.
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Elizabeth’s father, Thomas Robinson, was successful and prosperous in his business, and as a result, the family acquired considerable wealth. In class-conscious Britain at the end of the 18th century and early 19th century, the Robinson family would be considered part of the growing middle class. As a man of means, her father would have been able to provide creature comforts as well as an education for all of his children.
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Since the middle class more often escaped the class consciousness of the aristocracy, it was not unheard of for a young lady of the middle class to marry a member of her class with less income or from the working class, as was Thomas Thomas. During the rise of the middle class at that time, there was increased interaction between social classes.
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Many intellectuals (as Thomas Robinson likely was) would have taken an interest in and supervised their children’s education. Elizabeth and her sisters were probably educated at home, at least in their early years, by a private tutor or governess. Non-Anglicans (dissenting Protestants) were barred from attending public schools; instead, they attended their own private academies. It is very possible that the Robinson siblings attended one of these, run by the Independents.
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While education for girls was focused on the expectation of their future as wives and mothers which emphasized domestic skills, new ideas about education were influencing the middle and upper classes in particular at the beginning of the 19th century.
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Whether in a private academy or with a tutor or governess at home, middle and upper class girls of that period would have learned basic academics, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Certainly the formal education of young people in that era emphasized the importance of being proficient in languages and letter writing.
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As part of the traditional upbringing of girls, “decorum and accomplishments” would be a goal of the rising middle classes preparing their daughters for entry into higher society. Such accomplishments would have included music and the fine arts, domestic arts such as sewing and embroidery, as well as the study of modern foreign languages, mainly French and Italian.
Young ladies learned to play the piano and sing.
Music was also important in a girl’s education. Elizabeth was likely taught either the piano or the harp and was certainly good at singing; not only would she likely have entertained guests with music (and very likely her future husband!) but particularly enjoyed singing hymns, which in the future was to entertain her children on their journey to their new home in America.
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Practical study of household management would also be important in a traditional education for girls. In the domestic realm, basic academics were also important.
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Reading was important for managing a household and correspondence, as well as being able to entertain others with intelligent conversation and reading aloud. Reading scripture would certainly have been included in her education at an academy or with a tutor, and I can envision Elizabeth as a young woman
Reading was an essential skill for young ladies in the early 1800s.
effortlessly quoting scripture to her guests. Writing well was also important – there was an emphasis on beautiful penmanship, correct spelling and grammar, and books were provided to pupils with examples of good letter writing.
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Math was important, too. No one could run a household without a good understanding of numbers and accounting: a young woman would have to be able to manage accounts, balance a budget, track expenses, and know how to calculate food and other household supplies that needed to be purchased.
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The sciences were also being taught to girls of the upper classes. Botany was emphasized for knowledge of medicinal plants which would be necessary to understand when consulted in an emergency or when a household member became ill. Such knowledge may have been useful during the family’s pioneer days as emigrants to America and when the family went to live in a small settlement in southern Ohio.
Painting by De Scott Evans
After her mother’s death in 1804, Elizabeth would apply many of the skills learned during her education to run the household. Most likely the Robinsons would have had servants, who would have to be hired and managed; this was the responsibility of the wife or female head of the household. The servants, with Elizabeth’s help and tutelage, would be employed to do the cleaning, cooking, tending fires and other household chores. There would also be mending to do and maintaining the household garden, in which perhaps both the servants and Elizabeth would participate.
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She would also take on the role of surrogate mother to her younger siblings, Sarah, age
Sarah Robinson Stallybrass, younger sister of Elizabeth Robinson Thomas
14, Mary, age 12, and Ann, age 9 at the time of their mother’s death in February 1804. Most likely she would have supervised their education, their participation in church activities and their lives outside the home. She would have had to set a moral example to her younger sisters and perhaps also teach them domestic skills.
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Besides her education, accomplishments and domestic skills, evangelical ideology emphasized religious piety and virtue, compassion, chastity and modesty. Elizabeth certainly exemplified all of these values. Women’s public lives were generally restricted to issues in which they could apply their morals and piety, participating in religion and charity.
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There is an anecdote about Elizabeth, which perhaps offers an insight into her personality, told by her brother-in-law in a letter to his nephew, Thomas Ebenezer Thomas, two years after her death. He had not seen her since she and her family emigrated to America in 1818, but had always maintained great respect for her. In the letter, he wrote that in “about 1808” (which was the year of her marriage), “from some fancy or passion”, she had her beautiful hair cut off. It was such an unusual thing to do that he remembered it clearly.
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This story about my great-great-great grandmother puzzled me. I had never heard of women having their hair cut short during the Regency period. Generally they piled it on top of their heads in some fashion during the day, kept it under bonnets in public, and only let it down at bedtime. However, in doing research on hairstyles of the early 1800s, I learned that in fact, there was a movement within fashion trends away from the traditional, following the French Revolution. The “new” classical style encouraged women to look “natural” in the way they dressed, and a new emphasis was placed on feeling comfortable and at ease in their clothes.
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The classical influence extended to hairstyles, reflecting a new freedom for women to feel more carefree. A daring, well-known woman, Lady Caroline Lamb, was one of the first to wear a short cropped hairdo, called “a la Titus”. This was a reference to the 10th emperor of the Roman empire, which the neo-classical styles sought to emulate. The Journal de Paris reported in 1802 that “more than half of elegant women were wearing their hair or wig à la Titus, a layered cut usually with some tresses hanging down.” By 1808 or so, this fashion of short hair would have reached the British Isles.
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The pictures below are of children with short hairstyles, from the web site Jane Austen’s World.
My mother told me that on June 6, 1944, after hearing the news about the invasion of Normandy, she was worried and scared. She was a young wife and mother of a 21-month-old child, and 7 months pregnant with another. She knew from her husband’s letters that he was somewhere in the English channel on a minesweeper.
Since she couldn’t sleep, she called a close friend, who I believe was also pregnant, and the two of them went out for a walk at 2 am! They walked and walked and talked.
Although Dad wrote home nearly every day, I do not have a letter dated June 6, 1944. However, his letter to my mother on June 9 says that he hadn’t had time to write nor anywhere to mail a letter if he had. It must have been a tremendous relief for my mother to receive Letter #36, which was added to and mailed several days later!
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#36 Friday, June 9, 1944 – 1 p.m.
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My darling –
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I wrote & mailed #35 to you last Saturday (June 3), and haven’t written since – I haven’t had time & haven’t been anywhere where I could mail letters. When we get back to such a place, I hope I can cable you, so that you will not be worried about the gap in my mail – this will be mailed at the same time. Last Saturday I also sent a V-mail to Mother. And later in the day I received your #39 (air mail – 9 days) & the article about U.S.N.R.
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M.S. – was much interested in the latter. I should get a baleful of your letters when our mail catches up to us again.
Your guess is right – we are at the Normandie [sic] beach-head and have been from the start. Have been under way since Saturday night, sweeping over here for the past four days. It has been an experience I shall never forget so long as I live. We have had a couple of bad scares, but so far are untouched. We have swept some mines but been involved directly in no action ourselves. We have, however, been close to plenty of action. Cannot see the details of
D-Day naval bombardment: USS Nevada
what’s going on on the beach, and get most of our news over the radio, as you do. But we are getting a good “view” of the naval bombardment & the entrance of all types of naval vessels into the area. Although there is almost constant shelling, it is not so noisy as I expected, and we really have seen less activity than you would think. Of what I can tell you, the thing that impresses me the most is the size of the operation. On the whole, from our point of view, the weather has been good.
Have no idea when we shall leave this area (you will know we have when this letter is mailed, even if I cannot cable), but it can’t be too soon. It is not just the noise, to which we are getting accustomed, but the rugged character of life on board here. The first couple of days we got practically no sleep at all & were really pooped out – that has improved lately, though sleep still comes in snatches. Since I now feel more rested, the most annoying thing is personal hygiene – last night I took my first shower & shave since we shoved off – in fact it was the first time in five days that I had taken off my clothes at all – my old ideas of frequency of showers & changes of clothes are certainly going by the board!
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But we are getting along fine really, and everyone’s spirit seems to be holding up well. We keep busy, & get good entertainment out of our radio. So, darling, please don’t worry – I’ll be all right. What worries me most is that you will worry yourself into an unhealthy state and endanger yourself & L.L.
(Transcriber’s note: L.L. stood for Lester Llewellyn, a highly improbable name for the baby my mother was expecting! Until my second sister was born, my parents affectionately referred to him (her) as Lester Llewellyn.)
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Since I have told you about all I am allowed to, there isn’t much more to say. One of our crew exhibited a fine bit of timing – he got appendicitis & had to be transferred of the ship the last day before we left the United Kingdom!
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…
Did I remind you about the people to put on the birth announcement list? I guess I did. Don’t forget the Kuhns & my other cousins & aunts. Don’t forget Geo. & Eleanor Thomas – you say you saw George – is he contemplating moving back to Janesville soon?
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Tell Judy thanks for her letter – I really enjoyed it. She certainly has learned a lot of words & other tricks since I saw her. I sure do miss her something awful.
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Swell that your Mr. Rauch is so good – I hope you can keep him and that he will work for you enough to get done what is necessary.
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Sure glad to hear that Mother was getting better – hope she is fully recovered by now. Maybe I shall hear from her soon.
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You seem to be working awfully hard – darling, don’t get yourself too tired – you know what it did to you in Boston, when the nervous strain was less than it is now. You should get some relief when the maid starts, which I hope is by now. You don’t say anything more about having the baby restored to upright position again & whether it will stay there – what about it? – I am a little concerned.
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Well, I’ll close this temporarily and keep adding to it until I can mail it. Darling, just remember that I shall always adore you.
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Sunday, June 11, 1944 – 1:30 p.m. Well, we are still here, and are still keeping busy sweeping, etc. No sign or indication yet as to when we shall get away from here. We are getting a little more used to it, and life does not seem as rugged as it did. We have had another scare or two, but we really in very little danger and less & less so as our forces progress. But we shall still be glad to get away from here whenever they give us the word!
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That’s about all I can tell you – we get our news over the radio, as you do, and so know very little more of what goes on than you do. We see only a very, very small part of the activity that is making news. But from all reports the boys are doing a swell job in there – hope they keep it up. And isn’t the news from Italy good? I expect a big offensive on the Russian front soon, and possible other invasions – but I really know nothing about it (if I did, I couldn’t say anything at all!).
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Wish we could get to wherever our mail is, because I wonder about you & Judy & Mother – & especially you – how you are & what you’re doing. If I told you a million times, darling, you’d never know how much I miss you. But I hope you can read between the lines, sweetheart, for I really love you, love you, love you with every gram of strength & feeling within me. So take good care of yourself – for me.
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June 12, 1944 – 9 a.m.
Just got off watch a few minutes ago, after learning that they are going to pick up our outgoing mail in a little while. So I want to get this off to you. With it I shall send a V-mail to Mother, so that you will hear as soon as possible that we are all okay. Have no idea whether they will bring incoming mail to us, nor when I shall be where I can cable you.
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No more news – it has been relatively quiet lately. I guess the fighting is pretty fierce inland, but the boys seem to be making progress. The weather is beautiful today – only the second clear day we have had since we got here.
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Must stop now.
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Loving you always –
Bob
At the end of 1943, my father was stationed on board ship YMS-305, on the East Coast of the United States. The ship did not actually depart for Europe until March of 1944, when they learned of where they were to be stationed there. Meanwhile, Dad had his first holiday season away from his beloved wife, daughter, and mother, which must have been very lonely indeed! The following letters tell how the men were occupied during November 1943 and how they celebrated Thanksgiving. The first letter was written prior to boarding the ship; the others were written on board.
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Monday, Nov. 8, 1943, 6:30 pm
My darling Margot –
After writing to you Sat. I stretched out on my bed to rest a few minutes before going out to mail it. I fell asleep & slept from 3 until Carol woke me up at 6! Consequently, your letter did not leave here until Sun. afternoon, and you got it a day later than I expected. I spent all Sat. evening, after mailing the letter, reading; finally went to sleep & slept 10 ½ hrs. more – amazed at myself, but I guess I am slept out now. Yesterday we wandered around town, chatted, & read. Went to show last nite – thought Jean Arthur was always in fairly good shows, but this one smelled! Called “A Lady Takes a Chance”.
Spent most of the day over at the yard today, doing many little things. I have gotten very chummy with the exec, Jim Wills, & the engineering officer, Gil Gilchrist, both of whom I like very much. (Wills was just married a week ago, after he got here.) The skipper, who has just made Lt., I don’t know so well – he is a vague, odd sort of fellow, but seems both friendly & capable. He assigned us today – I have gunnery, sound, commissary, & education – good set of jobs, and certainly no more than my share. So I am satisfied. Of
Commissary section
course I am fourth officer – have definitely lost ground since I first left SCTC – but as long as I have a job to do & can do it well, I am happy. The worst thing is my living – I must bunk in the ward-room and find what closet & drawer space I can with the other officers.
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Officers’ wardroom
After work we had a milk shake & then went up to Gil’s room to have a little scotch in “celebration” of his girl’s returning his engagement ring! Now settled down for a quiet evening in the room.
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We still hope & expect to get the ship out of here & down to Boston next Sunday or Monday. That’s about all I can tell you about our future movements, because I don’t know much more myself. Anyway, I am less discouraged than I was.
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I am reading over those Yale Alumni Magazines … Keep sending them on to me, as they come in. You may remember that I never did get the July one – if you ever come across it, I still would like to see it. Another mystery is the disappearance of a suit of underwear I took off just before the party Wed. night – I intended to bring it with me & have it washed when I got here, but it was not in my luggage, unless I put on the dirty suit by mistake when I made a quick change in Bath – if you come across it, please send it to me. Also let me know if you ever find my camera, but do not send it to me. (I understand Boston is a good place to get movie films.)
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The weather has been lousy here – raw & damp, with lots of rain.
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See papers here irregularly, but frequently enough to keep up on the news, which is on the whole encouraging.
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I miss you & Judy awfully much – going home seems to make me just more lonesome when I am away from you! But I still hope I may see you before too long. In the meantime I am waiting to hear from you.
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I love you more than anything in the universe –
Bob
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November 20, 1943 – Saturday
6:20 pm
My darling Margot –
Well, now we are in commission – commissioned in a very simple ceremony at 10 a.m. today, with workmen hammering & pounding all over the ship! In fact they hammer & pound all the time, including all nite – one nite I was sleeping in the crew’s quarters and woke up to find a workman hammering on a pipe no more than 6 inches from my ear! Now we have my bunk rigged in the wardroom, but I still have noise all around me most of the time – but we get used to it, & sleep thru it all anyway.
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We are up on the marine railway to have some work done on the bottom and the sound gear installed. Meanwhile, the ship is torn up in all parts, and loose supplies we are still in the process of stowing are to be found all over the deck. There are a million things to do, but everyone is pitching in, and we are getting them done. The other officers are swell.
We shall be here for at least 3 or 4 more days, then go over to Boston Section Base for minesweeping trials, calibrations, etc., and leave for Little Creek about Dec. 1 – that is where we are likely to be for Christmas, or else en route to Casco Bay or Key West for sound trials – not very encouraging, is it? However, there is a good chance that we shall settle down to operating regularly out of some northeastern port on this side of the Atlantic.
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Fleet P.O. was not on the ball and has been sending all our mail to Maine – so we have not got any yet, but should have by Monday. …
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It’s been a lot warmer the last two days, and I had liberty, but I didn’t use much of it. One night we went to see a movie (saw the last part of Bob Hope picture they stopped on account of an air raid drill the nite before leaving Little Creek and also a pretty good spy picture). … Last nite I tried to call you, but there was a 2-3 hr. delay thru Chicago, and I didn’t wait.
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Another thing I have done is to try to call Lou Shine at Little Creek. My bag is not here yet, and I have been trying to get him to see if he sent it. But one nite he was out, and the second time there was too long a delay, and I didn’t wait. Did he ever send the express receipt home? If so, please mail it to me at once. I am a little worried about my stuff & need it badly – at least 2/3 of my entire navy wardrobe is among it.
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I thought I had a lot to say, but I seem now to have run out of material. I have not seen a paper regularly & lost track of the news (our ship’s radios are not installed yet), except for hearing about the British shell which landed on a cemetery in W. Roxbury when some stupid sailor was playing with the gun out in the harbor!
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…
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Hope I soon get my mail, for I feel out of touch with home & you & Mother & little Judy – I bet she’s changed a lot just since I left. I miss you all so – and love you too –
Bob
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Don’t know if I can get this mailed tonite or not – I hope so.
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November 27, 1943
7:30 p.m.
Dearest –
Your letters finally caught up with me, and I was glad to hear all the news of you. Yours of the 18th and 20th arrived Wednesday and those of the 22nd and 14th came yesterday – the latter had gone to Bath & back.
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Today has been a wild madhouse aboard. We leave the yard at 8 a.m. tomorrow, and today they have been trying to clean up 1001 jobs still undone (some of them will be left unfinished),checking lists with us, while we were taking on ammunition, fuel, supplies, & registered publications! And they will be working all night in a vain effort to finish up.
We shall be in & around Boston on various jobs & runs until about Friday, when we shall start off for Little Creek. So I shall have a few more liberties here and maybe a chance to do a little shopping.
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Yesterday we had a delicious turkey dinner aboard at noon. I tried to get away soon after
Thanksgiving dinner
that, so I could call you all up at Grandma’s. But one thing after another came up, and I didn’t get away until 4:30. Then I had to concentrate on getting out to the Kuhns’, didn’t reach there until nearly 6, and then it was too late to call.
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We had a swell dinner there, with favors ‘n’ everything. There were just four of us, the fourth being June Hayes Larson, an old Newark friend of Kay’s who is here trying (so far in vain) to see her husband in a nearby army camp before he goes overseas. Afterward we had highballs & played poker, and I was sorry I had to leave at 11:30 to catch the latest possible bus into town. So I had a pretty good Thanksgiving, and I hope you did too.
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…
Wednesday night I went to see The Doughgirls on the stage here – it is pretty
The Doughgirls Playbill
entertaining. The veteran Taylor Holmes does a superb comic job and really carries the show, which is otherwise only fair.
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Tell Mother I was glad to have her letter, the interesting clippings, & especially the swell snapshot of Judy. I liked Marcella’s shot of Judy you sent too. (Wasn’t that picture the Brandons took horrible?!) …
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I am just about broke – missed the mid-November pay day and haven’t had any since I left Little Creek. They will not pay me until next pay day (Tuesday) – they have a right to refuse to pay at other times. Mr. Clarke’s check, which I cashed, will just about carry me through, but Gil says he has money he can lend me if I need it.
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We had very little of the terrific snowstorm which hit Maine & other places a few days ago. And the last few days have been balmy – quite comfortable on deck without even a suit coat! That’s not likely to last, however, and it’s awfully damp & raw here when it is cold.
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Out of necessity I bought a pair of cheap warm gloves. But they will not last very long, probably – just enough to get me thru to Xmas – subtle hint, eh? I have been to several of the ship’s service stores (the navy has small bases all over Boston, instead of one big yard) but found them small & poor – they have very little stock and nothing like good haberdashery, films, etc. But I still have to investigate the one in E. Boston.
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Have noticed a slight shortage of cigarettes, esp. Camels. In Maine, & once here, I could not get them at all, and even here it is hard to get cartons of anything but Philip Morris! One can always get something, however.
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Last night when I came in they had the wardroom so torn up in installing the safe that I couldn’t swing my bunk. So I decided to sleep in the skipper’s (his wife is here), but found a workman in there putting up a shelf over the bunk! I kicked him out, and he finished up the job this morning! The environs of my closet & drawers in the office are still too torn up to make it accessible, and I am still keeping stuff in suitcases and other people’s drawers & closets, but that will soon be over. Our only other discomfort is that the ash trays we ordered still haven’t come – the only one we have at present is a large hub cap the skipper picked up alongside the road in Boothbay!
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Glad of all the news – … You seem to be having quite a lot of social life – and I am happy to hear that you are having fun. Your Xmas shopping sounds pretty successful, too – sorry I cannot help you out, even with suggestions.
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And of course I am glad to hear every detail about Judy – I miss her so! I am sorry, & a little worried, if you feel she is getting somewhat spoiled – I imagine both you & Mother could be a little more firm with her – I am sure all will be well – you mustn’t let yourself get discouraged, for I know you are really doing a swell job.
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Two carpenters have just come in to rebuild our wardroom dishracks – the holes in them were not the right size for the glasses & dishes, which have to be held in place when the ship is lurching.
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Don’t know what happened to my camera, but it’s not too serious – it was inexpensive and I had had it for years.
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Glad to hear that nothing was wrong with the tires. But keep checking them often and keep the pressure up, and have them carefully examined if they go down too fast. Do you continue to rotate them according to the plan we arranged last winter?
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I don’t see a newspaper very often, but now I get some news on the radio and count on Newsweek to bring me up to date. The war seems to get bloodier & bloodier as our successes increase, and I fear that trend will increase. It looks as though it will take a long time to knock Germany out.
I am all excited about your possible pregnancy and can hardly wait to hear more news from you about it. I shall be the happiest man on earth if it is true – so happy that you can name the child anything you want if it comes!
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The only trouble is that it makes me miss you all the worse – and I’d love to have you come to Norfolk. But I want to discourage you from doing it. Shakedown is a terrific grind – work day & nite. When Jim Wills was there for shakedown on a YMS, he & the other officers each found time for one evening of liberty in the three weeks they were there. Because of this none of the officers are planning to have their wives there. I think, therefore, that it is very foolish for you to come – I’d feel worse with you so near & not able to see you than with you at home. It would be wonderful if we could be together then, & especially for Christmas (if we are still there on Dec. 25), but I am afraid it is impossible. So please wait until later, especially as it is very probable (in fact as certain as anything is in the navy – we are already assigned) that we shall be operating by the day out of an east coast port for at least a couple of months – (This is strictly confidential – I should not tell even you – don’t repeat it yet) then you can come & bring Judy & really live with me for awhile – won’t that be swell? So please, darling, wait – and understand that I really want it as much as you do, but just cannot see it.
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Must close now & do some work – this letter (with many interruptions to talk to workmen) is too long already.
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I love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, &
LOVE YOU – BOB
Between September 21 (the date of his last letter) and October 1, 1943, my father went home, because he refers to this visit in his letter dated October 1. The following letters, all dated in October of 1943, were his last letters home prior to being commissioned on the sub chaser YMS-305.
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Friday, October 1, 1943
(On United States Navy letterhead)
Will send all mail for you to
Janesville, for Mother to Olinda*, until further notice from either
of you.
Note the address – please give it to theoffice.
My darling –
Shall try to wire you tomorrow, but in case I cannot this letter will be the first word you will have of me. To begin with, I am safe, well, comfortable & not too unhappy about the prospects.
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After I sent you the package of films & the card from the Chicago post office, I walked back to the station, tried in vain to get Barbara Phillips on the phone (got the number out of the phone book, but she did not answer), and read until train time. About the only other things I did in Chicago were to get a book box at Brentano’s to put the films in and to try in vain to see Mr. Graham (who was taking a vacation before going into the army next week).
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The train to Washington was full but comfortable. It had individual seats and I slept pretty well, although I was not one of the lucky ones who had an empty seat next to him to stretch out in. There was no club car and nothing but a washroom for men, but we could smoke in our seats. The dining car was crowded, as usual, but served the good food for which the B.&O. is famous. They also had a loudspeaker system for announcing meals, stops, etc.!
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… The train from there to Richmond & the one from Richmond here were hot, crowded, & dirty. I had to go all the way across town to change stations in Richmond, ate lunch & waited for an hour in the second one, a stinking hole if I ever saw one. I have since found out that the Chesapeake & Ohio runs a through train from Chicago to Norfolk (I knew about one leaving Chi. in the a.m., but there is also one in the afternoon), which is by far the best way to come!
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But all C. & O. trains stop at Newport News, and we came across from there by boat. But that is an easy change, and the trip is an interesting one of about an hour’s duration across the corner of Chesapeake Bay (really Hampton Roads) amongst many ships of all types. Arrived in Norfolk, after much inquiry & calling, we found that the best way to get out here was by cab for only $1, and thus we traveled.
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I am at a small, new section base 12 miles northeast of Norfolk on Chesapeake Bay, right next to the amphibious training base. Got here about 7, logged in, got what I could to eat (fig newtons, coke, ice cream, & cake!) at ship’s service store, and got a room in BOQ [Base Officers’ Quarters]. I am in a room for four men, but only two others are in it now, and one of them (whom I have not met yet) expects to move out soon. There is enough drawer & closet space, the plumbing is modern, the beds seem comfortable, etc., but there is only one comfortable chair, one hard chair, cockroaches, & no ash trays! I unpacked what stuff I have (my sea bag will be sent out from Norfolk when it arrives, and I hope my expressed suitcase will too), took a welcome shower, and sat down to write this. I finish my checking in tomorrow.
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I understand the mess is good, there is a comfortable lounge with radio and newspapers & magazines, and a bar that serves any type of drinks. One reason no one goes to Norfolk, besides the fact that it is hard to get there, is that there are few good nite spots there and hardly any that the shore patrol will permit us to patronize – they kicked two men out of a lobby of a hotel where they were looking up movies in a paper, because they were not guests of the hotel!
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The school here is only in its fourth week of operation and not too well organized, apparently – I many start school tomorrow – with lectures not in sequence so that one can start almost anywhere. Classes are from 8:30-11:30 and 1:00-4:30, and there is little outside work – six days a week. They give all courses – navigation, seamanship, communications, gunnery, etc., in addition to mine courses – and the staff of instructors is supposed to be very experienced & good. (The commanding officer is a captain, wrote the words to “Anchors Aweigh”.) The school has one YMS (136 ft. – PCS is modeled on its hull) and one AM (type Hagge is on – does lots of escort work as well as sweeping), and we cruise in the Bay about once a week. The class building is only about half a block from here and recreation, store, & movie hall in a building across the street.
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My other roommate, Lt. (j.g.) McLaughlin, radar instructor, has just come in. He is just starting a course here and is very glum because he seems to be stuck here for the duration – seems nice, as is Ens. Miller, who was here when I came in. Miller is from Los Angeles, has a grandmother in Clinton, mother-in-law came from Janesville, and he has often visited there. …
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The course is set up for eight weeks, but few stay that long – some have assignments when they get here, and others get them soon. All go to new construction – either YMS or AM. Crews are also trained, assembled, & assigned here. I may go as exec on a YMS, using my command group & 1074 experience, or as a junior officer on an AM, where my A.S.W. training will be useful – I don’t know which I want or am more likely to get, but I’ll know more after my interview with the very popular exec tomorrow.
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A few officers have their families here – places to live nearby are not too scarce, but a car is essential & gas hard to get, and there is little to occupy said families. We are really in the country, and transportation to Norfolk is poor. I’ll inquire further when I can.
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Please read this to mother – I can’t repeat it all to her.
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I had a wonderful time at home and am deriving much pleasure from reminiscing, especially on Judy. You don’t know how much it meant to me to see her. Hug & kiss my cute little rascal for me. It was wonderful seeing Mother too, and most of all being with you. I have thought of you these past two days, conjecturing just when you got back from Walworth, bathed Judy, showed her off to the relatives, went to bed, got up, went to Janesville, etc.
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I love you more than anything in the universe –
Bob
Cold & raining in Washington and here, hot in Richmond – understand it is really cold here at nite.
*Transcriber’s note: Olinda: The name of my grandmother’s summer home on Lake Geneva, in Williams Bay, Wisconsin.
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Monday, October 11, 1943
My darling –
I sure was surprised to get your call, but it was a pleasant surprise, and now I am really looking forward to your coming. Try not to make it any later than Saturday – I cannot wait any longer! That through train leaves Chicago at 2:something in the afternoon and arrives here about 4 or 5 – it is knocked all apart and put together again in Cincinnati, but the Pullmans go there & require no change. I shall try to get across to Newport News to meet you, but probably will not be able to make it, in which case you get on the ferry & I’ll meet you in Norfolk. Buy your x.x. ticket there to Norfolk, and you get off the train & right onto the boat – it is an interesting trip of about an hour’s duration – lots of ships, etc.
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There is a nice inn about five minutes walk from here, and I am going to try to get us a room there. It is in the country, but some of the navy wives living there have cars. The biggest drawback is that there is no decent place to eat there, or anywhere around here. You can eat here in BOQ – quite a few girls do – but that is not so feasible for breakfast.
When you come, bring warm fall clothes, such as you would be wearing at home now. Also try to bring an alarm clock – even that old one without a face (on the sleeping porch or in the maid’s room) would be O.K. Please also bring a fair amount of cash, and the check-book. I shall be paid about $100 Friday, but can get no other cash until Nov. 1, unless my travel money comes in, which I can’t count on.
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Got your last letter Sat. – hope the washing machine turns out O.K. Interested to hear about Dave’s party, the Cummings’ life, & especially the Hough baby – what a surprise that was!
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Saturday night I saw Walt Disney’s version of Victory thru Air Power – very well done and an interesting exposition of de Seversky’s thesis, though it drags in the latter parts. Tonight we had This is the Army, and it is very good – I really enjoyed it. Other than that I have just gone to classes, slept, read, listened to baseball & football games, written letters, bulled, played bridge, etc.
I bought myself a waterproof watch, and it runs like a dream. As you know, I have been trying to get one ever since I got in the service, and needed it now with my old watch out of kilter again. It runs like a dream, has a radium dial, & a sweep second hand. It is one of those bought by the gov’t for sale to service men – cost $23 – there are no more of the $35 variety.
WW II watch with radium dial (recently sold on eBay for $650!). These watches were made by female factory workers, many of whom later became ill with radiation sickness.
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Try to bring the pajamas, sox, & laundry bag I mentioned in my last letter with you if you can.
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Remember that Friday is the last day to send stuff to men overseas for Xmas – maybe you can find something for them in Chicago.
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Have some more dope on my possible assignment, but things change so fast that I can’t be sure of anything. I’ll tell you more when [you] get here. Anyway, 1) one officer has already been taken from our class & sent to a ship, and 2) I am more likely to get sound officer on an AM (because of my Key West training) than at first appeared.
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Must go to bed now, because I have to stand watch from 2-6 a.m.!
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Can hardly wait for you to get here. J’taime plus que rien tu peux dire –
Bob
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Friday, October 29, 1943
My darling,
You probably will know more than I am going to tell you before you receive this, for I shall try to communicate with you by phone or wire as soon as I know more details tomorrow. Anyway, I learned today that I have been assigned to the YMS-305, and just before supper I learned that I am to be detached tomorrow. That’s all I know – don’t know where she is, when she is to be commissioned, nor how soon I shall have to report, but I imagine I shall have to go directly to her and that she will be commissioned very soon. Hope to get out of here by tomorrow nite, leaving laundy & cleaning for my roommate to send to me.
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I intended to write to you last nite, but I would not have had this news then. You would not have got it before Monday anyway. The reason I didn’t was because we came back from the movie, went in to get a beer, found the bar open but the bartender gone, and one of the beer taps had been left unchecked! So we helped ourselves! Couldn’t afford to leave with all that free beer flowing! I must have had five before the duty yeoman came in to close the place up & discovered what had happened – at least a dozen other officers had had equally as many!
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The movie last nite was Wallace Beery in Salute to the Marines – better than I expected.
Tonight we had Bob Hope in Let’s Face It, which was very funny as long as it lasted;
but they stopped it in the middle for an air raid drill, which took about an hour, and they would not show the rest of it after the drill was over! Incidentally, the dim-out on the east coast is being eliminated, but of course blackouts will continue.
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Another night this week we had a very good glee club & a pretty good dance band, all of negro sailors from the training school at Hampton Institute. Still another nite they had a USO show – I didn’t go but wished I had when I heard how entertaining it was.
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Glad to get out of this place – it’s getting worse all the time. We now have exercises at the end of the afternoon every day, the first of a weekly inspection of rooms in BOQ was begun today, and there is to be a personnel inspection of all officers & men tomorrow! Besides, it’s quite cold here now, and the BOQ [Base Officers’ Quarters] heating is none too adequate – and we have had lots of rain, too, esp. Tuesday, when our group was out at sea. (That was the day we passed close aboard the Charger anchored out in the Bay.)
USS Charger
I have got to be an inveterate magazine reader here, esp. of the Satevepost [probably short for Saturday Evening Post]. Also got the new Reader’s Digest – they sell for only 15 cents in ship’s service stores! By the way, do you remember our plot to put that cartoon (of the little boy rolling the mine up on the beach on the bulletin board? – Mac put it there Sunday, and it is still there!
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Glad to get your letter yesterday & hear that everything is all right. Was pleased at all the successful shopping you did – …
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As you know, I did not get the duty I wanted, but I shall know much more about it after I get to the ship. It all depends on the type of work the ship does (& where) and also the other officers. So far as I know, they are all strangers to me – apparently the captain & the engineering officer are already at the ship, while to exec was also assigned from here & is here, but I don’t know him & haven’t been able to find out who he is. There will be four officers. In normal course, depending on the skipper’s rank & his desires, I should go up to exec pretty soon, and eventually to skipper. And I have the consolation of knowing that if I do go on an AM later, it will be with more experience, & also to a better ship, for many improvements are to be made to them in the future.
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If I get proceed time to some east coast port, I doubt that I shall go to the expense of going home – may just go up to see Aunt Julie instead – but I shall see how things work out – you probably will know before you receive this.
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I miss you something awful, my sweetie pie. I want to see you in your new dress & new fur – I bet you look even more beautiful than ever. And I miss Judy, too, – my walking, talking cute little girl. Be good, both of you.
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I love you more than anything in the universe –
Bob
In this third installment of the life of my great-great-great grandfather, Rev. Thomas Thomas, the newly employed Rev. Thomas’s thoughts turn toward finding a spouse. This section is directly from the first chapter of the book I am writing about my Thomas ancestors. All information for this section was obtained from his grandson, Alfred A. Thomas’, small book written for his son: To My Boy, Thomas Head Thomas, publishing date 1885, with quotes from the diary of his grandfather, Rev. Thomas Thomas.
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Having established himself in a profession and with a paid position, Rev. Thomas began to think about marriage. He continued to spend time with his benefactor, Thomas Wilson; he wrote in his diary, “Feel the struggles of the old man, which is corrupt. Lord, help me to crucify the flesh with its affections.” Wilson cautioned him to be careful in his choice of a marriage partner, saying that “much of a minister’s comfort and usefulness depends on his wife.” Rev. Thomas wrote that he didn’t know such a person as Wilson described: “of considerable learning, abilities, property and religion.”
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No doubt this conversation about marriage was brought about by Rev. Thomas’ mention of a young woman in whose company he had spent time. He wrote, “Spent to-day delightfully with the family of Thomas Robinson.”
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Fortunately, the young minister did find a woman possessing all of these qualifications, not to mention personal attractions, affection, courage (which would serve her well in a life of difficult circumstances and challenges) and devotion. Elizabeth Robinson, the eldest daughter of Thomas Robinson (a deacon in an Independent church), had taken on the role of mother in the household, since her mother died in 1804, including care for her younger siblings.
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In Rev. Thomas’ diary, he wrote that he spoke to Mr. Robinson about his daughter. “Fear I should be unable to support her in the style to which she is accustomed.” Two weeks later, he went to London to visit her. When he arrived, he encountered another young gentleman who was there also to pay courtship to Elizabeth! Apparently this young man had spoken to her directly about marriage, while Thomas had asked her father for her hand. “The next day,” he wrote, “I disclosed my heart to her, and prayed with her. She was very greatly agitated, and soon after was taken seriously ill.” No wonder: not one, but two marriage proposals in the same week!
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A few days later, he returned home to Chelmsford, feeling anxious about her answer, and that night he dreamt about her. His anxiety in waiting led him to write in his diary two days later, “Much engrossed with the concerns of this life; resigned to the will of God respecting Miss R.”
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It is likely that Miss Robinson was experiencing anxiety of her own, because she took her time making up her mind – it was not until a few days later that she wrote to Thomas. Quoting from his diary, “Received a letter from Miss R. refusing my offer. It cut me to the heart; have carried it to the Lord, and find some relief. I can, I will, say, ‘the will of the Lord be done!’” And then, the next day, amidst “anxious thoughts”, he received another letter from Miss Robinson. “She is undecided, and desires to be directed by the will of Providence.”
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Her indecisiveness was resolved in Thomas’ favor, however, and on October 25, 1808 Thomas Thomas and Elizabeth Robinson were married at St. George’s Chapel in London. At that time English law required that all marriages be performed by clergy of the establishment (Church of England).
St. George’s Chapel (drawing made in 1863 of the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Alexandra of Denmark)Interior ceiling – St. George’s ChapelEast Window – St George’s Chapel
Note: St. George’s Chapel is located at Windsor Castle, a day trip from central London.
Pictures below, L to R: graves of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Orville Wright, Erma Bombeck
We Are Such Stuff IV 