Wednesday, November 7, 2007

My Grandfather, Frederick W. Seaver (1876-1942)

Frederick Walton Seaver was born 9 October 1876 in Leominster, MA, the son of Frank Walton and Hattie Louise (Hildreth) Seaver. He grew up in Leominster with his parents and brother, Howard. The family lived at what is now 149 Lancaster Street in Leominster.

Fred married Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962), the daughter of Thomas and Julia (White) Richmond, on 18 June 1900 in Leominster, MA. The picture below is of Fred and Bess before their wedding day.


After his marriage, the Frederick Walton Seaver family lived for a short time in Leominster MA at 149 Lancaster Street (with his parents and grandmother Hildreth), where their two oldest children were born. Fred was working in a comb-making factory in Leominster. In about 1905, he became a superintendent at another factory in Fitchburg. The family lived at 56 Linden Street there, where son Stanley was born. They bought a house at 116 Lawrence Avenue in Fitchburg where Ruth and Frederick were born, and the older children went to school at Highland Avenue School, then Maverick Street School, and finally Goddard Street School.

In the 1910 U.S. census, the Fred W. Seaver (it is indexed as Leaver in the census record) resided at 116 Lawrence Street in Fitchburg Ward 6, Worcester County, Massachusetts (1910 U.S. Census for Massachusetts, Worcester County, National Archives Microfilm Series T624, Roll 608, Page 193, Enumeration District 1745, Sheet 6B, dwelling #82, family #125, line 52). The family included:

* Fred W. Seaver -- head of household, male, white, age 33, married once, 10 years, born MA, father and mother born MA, speaks English, superintendent in a comb shop, a worker, owns home, with a mortgage, can read and write
* Bessie A. Seaver -- wife, female, white, age 28, married once, 10 years, 4 children, 4 living, born CT, father born England, mother born CT, speaks English, no occupation, can read and write
* Marion F. Seaver -- daughter, female, white, age 8, single, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, attends school
* Evelyn Seaver -- daughter, female, white, age 7, single, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, attends school
* Stanley R. Seaver -- son, male, white, age 4, single, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, attends school
* Ruth W. Seaver -- daughter, female, white, age 2, single, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, attends school
* James H. Richmond -- brother-in-law, male, white, age 23, single, born CT, father born England, mother born CT, speaks English, comb-maker, in a comb shop, a worker, 24 weeks out of work in 1909, can read and write

In about 1911, Fred was offered a position as superintendent at the Patton Manufacturing Company in Leominster, which made hairpins from celluloid material. The family moved to a large house on the factory site at 290 Central Street, where Edward and Geraldine were born. The house was on the main road from Leominster to Sterling and Worcester, with streetcar tracks in the middle of the road. There were several smaller buildings around the house - a barn which was used as a garage, chicken coops and rabbit hutches. A brook ran beside the house to the factory. The house was heated by warm air from the factory.

In the 1920 U.S. Census, the Frederick W. Seaver family resided at 290 Central Street in Leominster, Worcester County, Massachusetts (1920 U.S. Census for Massachusetts, National Archives Microfilm Series T625, Roll 747, Page 125, Supervisor District 3, Enumeration District 102, Sheet 14A, dwelling #175, family #288, line 1). The family included:

* Frederick W. Seaver -- head of household, male, white, age 42, married, born MA, father born MA, mother born MA, superintendent of a comb shop, a salaried worker, rents home, able to read, write and speak English
* Bessie R. Seaver -- wife, female, white, age 38, married, born CT, father born England, mother born CT, no occupation, able to read, write and speak English
* Marion F. Seaver -- daughter, female, white, age 18, single, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, attending school, able to read and write, and speak English
* Evelyn Seaver -- daughter, female, white, age 16, single, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, attending school, able to read and write, and speak English
* Ruth W. Seaver -- daughter, female, white, age 12, single, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, attending school, able to read and write, and speak English
* Frederick W. Seaver Jr. -- son, male, white, age 8, single, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, attending school, unable to read and write, able to speak English
* Edward R. Seaver -- son, male, white, age 6, single, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, attending school, unable to read and write, able to speak English
* Geraldine Seaver -- daughter, female, white, age 2, single, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, unable to read and write, unable to speak English

During the 1920's, Fred and Bess bought a cottage on the shore of Whalom Lake, between Leominster and Fitchburg. The family spent summer weekends there. Vacations were taken at Cape Cod on occasion.

In about 1927, the owner of the Patton Manufacturing Company, Barney Doyle, sold the factory to the Dupont Company, and the site closed on Central Street. Fred moved to the main plant in Leominster, and was superintendent of the toothbrush division there until his retirement. The family bought a house at 20 Hall Street in Leominster.

In the 1930 US Census, the Fred W. Seaver family resided at 20 Hall Street in Leominster, Worcester County, Massachusetts. The household included (1930 US Census for Massachusetts, Worcester County, National Archives Microfilm Series T626, Roll 964, ED 226, page 3A):

* Fred W. Seaver -- head, own home, worth $5,000, owns a radio set, male, white, age 52, married, first at age 25, can read and write, born MA, father and mother born MA, speaks English, superintendent in a celluloid company
* Alma B. Seaver -- wife, female, white, age 48, married, first at age 18, can read and write, born CT, father born England, mother born RI, speaks English
* Ruth W. Seaver -- daughter, female, white, age 22, single, can read and write, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, speaks English, teacher in a public school
* Frederick W. Seaver -- son, male, white, age 18, single, can read and write, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, speaks English
* Edward R. Seaver -- son, male, white, age 16, single, can read and write, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, speaks English
* Geraldine Seaver -- daughter, female, white, age 12, single, attends public school, can read and write, born MA, father born MA, mother born CT, speaks English

The picture below is Fred Seaver taken probably in the 1930's.




During the Depression, Fred took a cut in pay at Dupont, and the bank foreclosed on the house. The family moved to an apartment on West Street in downtown Leominster.

Fred Seaver retired at age 65, and died shortly thereafter, on 13 March 1942, of prostate cancer at the home of his daughter, Evelyn Wood, in Andover MA. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Leominster with his wife Bess and their first son, Stanley Richmond Seaver who died in 1910.

1 comment:

Bill West said...

Randy,
I don't know if you've seen this
book or not already, but WorldVitalRecords.com has just added it to their database and it's free for 10 days:

"Origin and Genealogy of the Hildreth Family of Lowell, Massachusetts." Reade, Philip. Lowell, MA. (1892)