This month we finished re-processing and writing an updated finding aid for the McCarthy Family Collection. You can now read the new finding aid here! To get an overview of what is available, read on!
Lowell Police vs. Cambridge Police baseball club game at Lake View, Lowell. Aug 13, 1895. Cambridge won 12 to 8
This collection documents a longstanding and active family in Cambridge and various local organizations spanning a period of nearly 150 years. The members of the McCarthy family were longtime residents of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The first generation to live in Cambridge was Maurice McCarthy. An Irish immigrant born in County Cork, Ireland, Maurice became a U.S. citizen in 1860. A year later, in 1861 he purchased land in East Cambridge at 6 Lechmere Place. He and his wife, Mary Hurley McCarthy, had two children, Ellen McCarthy and Jeremiah H. McCarthy.
Invitation to Jeremiah and Julia’s 25th anniversary celebration. 1934.
Jeremiah was born in 1857 and married Julia Theresa Lane on November 24, 1900. Julia was also an Irish immigrant, but she moved to 29 Warren Street in East Cambridge when she was just 8 months old. As a child, Julia attended the Thorndike Grammar School where she learned the Duntonian System of penmanship created by Alvin R. Dunton, an overseer of penmanship studies in Boston schools. Many of her penmanship books are available for viewing in this collection. There are also many of her personal papers, including correspondence, memorabilia, and vital records, as well as photographs.
Julia Theresa Lane’s penmanship book. She graduated from the Thorndike Grammar School at the age of 13 in 1880.
Between 1900 and 1905 Jeremiah and Julia moved into a house at 134 Otis Street, where the McCarthy family resided until 1993. Jeremiah, sometimes known as “Jerry,” worked for 39 years as a patrolman out of the East Cambridge police station and he retired a year before his death in 1926. Julia lived until 1963 and she was noted for being the oldest East Cambridge resident and oldest graduate of the Thorndike School.
Julia Theresa (Lane) McCarthy, 1928. Likely in her yard at 134 Otis Street.
The couple had three sons, Gerald F., John L., and Justin H. McCarthy. They and their children were active members in the Catholic community in Cambridge. This collection has many of their papers relating to the East Cambridge Catholic Club and the Sacred Heart Church.
Page 30 from Justin McCarthy’s photo album containing a clipping about Gerald “Jerry” becoming a Cambridge cop. Ca. 1930s
Gerald F. McCarthy was born on January 25, 1902 and sometimes referred to as “Jerry” like his father. He worked for the Cambridge Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department, and finally for the Massachusetts State Police as a lieutenant. He also served in WWII from October 30, 1942 to May 10, 1946. Content accumulated about the Cambridge Police force offer some insight into what he and his family deemed important about that subject.
Front page of The Elm¸ a publication of Cambridge Council, Knights of Columbus. 1933.
John Lane McCarthy was born on February 15, 1904 and attended Harvard Dental School. He had an office in Central Square and was also employed as one of Cambridge’s school system dentists. In 1934 he married Margaret Loretta Roche in Woburn. He then served in WWII as a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve in 1939 and he began his active duty as a lieutenant commander of the Dental Corps in June 1943. He was also affiliated with the Bainbridge Naval Hospital Training Center in Maryland and the U.S.S. War Hawk that participated in the Pacific Theater. John was also a member of the Cambridge Elks Lodge, the Knights of Columbus, the Guild of St. Apollonia, and the Agnes Holy Name Society. Our collection has printed materials and other records relating to these groups and other subject matter.
Front cover and page 25 from Justin McCarthy’s photo album. Shown: 134 Otis Street, Justin, Jeremiah, John Lane, Gerald, and Julia McCarthy. Ca. 1920s
Justin H. McCarthy was born in 1906 and worked as a marine electrician at the Boston Navy Yard as well as Western Electric. While serving for the Navy, he embarked on trips to Bermuda. There are many photographs taken during his trips to Bermuda as well as his experiences in the Navy. He retained many of his holiday cards, which provide additional information about his extended family and friends. He also compiled a photo album that we digitized for preservation purposes. It is available for viewing on our Flickr page, here:
Beyond these central family members, the collection includes nearly 300 photographs of McCarthy family members and friends (1890s-1980s), over 250 photographs of unidentified people and places, 10 tintypes, and 1 drawing.
The Commission has recently finished processing a small image collection titled the Lewis Family Collection. This collection chronicles a portion of the longstanding and prolific Lewis family of Cambridge, Mass. and it is part of a much larger set of subject records available concerning the Lewis family. Other records include the Lewis family and Lewisville segments of African American files in CHC people files. However, these other textual files mainly pertain to the family’s 19th century contributions and its efforts in various African American movements, including the Cambridge Liberian Emigrant Association. We highly recommend you visit us to see these incredibly rich records!
The Lewis Family Collection is unique because it is solely visual documentation and it covers a period of about 20 years (1900-1920) that is not often represented in historical accounts of the Lewis family. It also is a product of a larger effort conducted by the CHC primarily in 1980-1982 called the Cambridge Photo History Project. The Project was intended to bring together photographs of Cambridge taken before 1945. For this collection, the donor brought in five scrapbooks, which were photographed page-by-page and then returned to her. The CHC retained the surrogates and transformed them into negatives and copy prints so that the content of the scrapbook would be available to you.
“Dad.” George W. Lewis Jr. ca. 1900-1920s
Within the collection are three generations of the Lewis family, immediate relatives, and close friends. The first generation shown is Nancy and George Washington Lewis (Jr.) George Washington Lewis (Jr.) was born in Cambridge in 1848 and he worked as a steward for the Harvard Porcellian Club for over 45 years and he replaced his father’s position in 1876.
“Ma.” Nancy E. Lewis, ca. 1900-1920s
On October 11, 1872 George married Nancy E. Poole who was born ca. 1852 in Columbia, South Carolina. They had five children, Elizabeth E. Lewis, Jerome Theodore Lewis, Walter E. Lewis, George Colman Lewis, and Ethel A. Lewis. By 1897 the family purchased 47 Parker Street and were noted for hosting amateur theatrical productions and housing black Harvard undergraduates.
“A.M. Harvard. 1917”
“[top left] Julia Harris, [Gordon David] Dave Houston, [top right] Bob Morris, [bottom left] Ida Morris, [bottom right] Tony Harris”, ca. 1900-1920sThese images exemplify some of the African American youth that would congregate at the Parker Street residence. Gordon David (Dave) Houston is the resident of “Houston’s Den” mentioned in this collection. He was born in Cambridge on May 6, 1880 and attended the Cambridge High and Latin School. In 1900 he graduated from the high school, the same year as Anthony Harris– it is possible that they knew each other through sports. In 1904 he graduated from Harvard College cum laude and pursued an academic career as an English professor. He led English departments at Tuskegee Institute, Howard University, Dunbar High school, and Douglas High School. On August 20, 1907 he married Dora Mayo Lawrence and they had two daughters, Dorothy Maude and Ethel Augusta.
Anthony (Tony) Harris went to Sunday School at Christ Church in 1900– likely connecting him to Ethel Lewis. That same year he graduated from the Cambridge Manual Training School for Boys (CMTS) after attending and graduating from the Washington grammar school in 1895. During his time at CMTS, Anthony– or more popularly addressed as Tony– was known for his skills at football. He later coached football at CMTS until ca. 1906. The 1908 City Directory cites Anthony as a waiter boarding at 73 Howard Street.
The others in this image have speculative biographical histories available in the collection’s finding aid.
Along with hosting social gatherings for friends, Nancy and George had five children. The image on the left shows “Bessie” Lewis with her probable bridesmaids in 1910, the year she married Maurice Jefferson Brooks, who is in the right-side image. Bessie’s given name was Elizabeth Estelle Lewis but she went by various nicknames including Bessie, Birdie, Bess, and Aunt Lizzie. She was born in November 1880. After her family moved to Cambridge, she worked as a bookkeeper. She married Maurice (1879-1913), a porter from Washington D.C. living in Boston, on October 20, 1910. They had one son, Jerome Theodore Lewis, named after Elizabeth’s brother. When Maurice died in 1913, she moved back in with her parents.
“E.A. Lewis”
George and Nancy’s other daughter was Ethel A. Lewis who was born in October 1878. According to articles in the Cambridge Chronicle, she attended Sunday School at Christ Church and partook in the Girls’ Friendly Society in Cambridge– two organizations that connect her to other individuals in this collection. In the 1900 Census she is cited as working as a stenographer. She has been cited as graduating from Bryant & Stratton Commercial College ca. 1903 and by 1905 as working as a teacher for Simmons College, although no records of confirmation have been found. Nonetheless, a book was published by the Colored Citizens of Greater Boston and the Garrison Centenary Committee of the Suffrage League of Boston and Vicinity due to her efforts as stenographer. The book, The Celebration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of William Lloyd Garrison was published in 1906 and it is available free as an online Google Book! Ethel moved to Baltimore, Maryland in 1906 to become a schoolteacher. She boarded at various residents including 1409 McCulloh St in 1920 and 1935 Druid Hill Ave in 1930 while being employed as a teacher and stenographer.
“G.C. Lewis”, ca. 1900-1920s
One of their sons, George Colman Lewis, was born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1875. By the 1890s he was a member of the Cambridge Social Union Debating Club and in 1892 he graduated from the Manual Training School. He also partook in the Riverside Cycle Club, an exclusively black club in Cambridge. At various points throughout his life George C. worked as a railroad worker but he attempted a career change ca. 1900 when he embarked on becoming a tailor at 29 Boylston Street. He soon returned to the railroad industry and became a porter. He died on August 19, 1906 at the Mt. Auburn Hospital of heart disease when he was 31 years old. He is here depicted at 4 Wellington Ave (now Somerville).
“Ma Lewis, Pa Lewis, Nellie Sorrell, Anthony Harris, Benzina Reese, Henry Robbins, Ethel Lewis, Jerome Lewis”, ca. 1900-1920s
The Lewis’s eldest son, Jerome Theodore Lewis, was born on November 21, 1872. When the family moved to Cambridge, he worked as a laborer for Ford Motors at 400 Brookline Street. He also married Margaret A. Lewis. Another son, Walter E. Lewis was born in November 1876 and died August 23, 1880. Little is known about him.
Benzina Reese was Nancy Lewis’s niece. Born in October 1873 in South Carolina, Benzina came to Cambridge by 1900. The 1900 Census lists her as working as an office girl. In 1902 she married Frederick Sandford Gray– making her also the Mrs. Gray of this collection. At some point they moved to 10 Chestnut Street in Plymouth, MA, where Frederick worked as a chef. They had three children: Herman F., Helen E. and Leslie R. Gray. Herman is also present in this collection as a baby.
Anthony (Tony) Harris went to Sunday School at Christ Church in 1900– likely connecting him to Ethel Lewis. That same year he graduated from the Cambridge Manual Training School for Boys (CMTS) after attending and graduating from the Washington grammar school in 1895. During his time at CMTS, Anthony– or more popularly addressed as Tony– was known for his skills at football. He later coached football at CMTS until ca. 1906. The 1908 City Directory cites Anthony as a waiter boarding at 73 Howard Street. The biographies of Nellie Sorrell and Henry Robbins are currently unknown.
“(upper left) Pa Lewis, (upper middle) Kate, Sue [Harris], (bottom middle) Washington Elm, (bottom right): Andrew”, ca. 1900-1920sThere are so many others present in this collection we could only give a quick taste of what you can come see. We’ve also digitized a sampling of images for our Flickr page. Check them out here
To learn more about what is available in the Lewis Family Collection, our newly edited finding aid will be available here soon!
A True Copy of a Plan of the “Summer House Lot” in Cambridge Belonging to Harvard College Made by Alex. Wadsworth, Surveyor. 26 Dec 1842.
In 1849, Daniel Treadwell purchased from Harvard College a section of land from what was then known as the summerhouse lots. Treadwell married Adeline Lincoln of Hingham in 1831 and in 1834 was appointed Rumford Professor and Lecturer on the Application of Science to the Useful Arts at Harvard.
Daniel Treadwell (1791-1872) painted by E. A. Blood (1874), Harvard University Portrait Collection, Bequest of Miss Martha Elizabeth Driver to Harvard University.
Three years later, Professor Treadwell supervised the construction of Gore Hall (now demolished) to house the Harvard Library and devised a method of heating that building.
Gore Hall, ca. 1915
Treadwell was best known as an inventor, first manufacturing wooden screws. He later devised improvements to the printing press and was the first in the United States to produce the a sheet of paper printed by machine rather than by hand.
Page from Memoir of Daniel Treadwell, illustrating Treadwell’s process on improving the printing press.
Treadwell’s travels to England in 1835 may have influenced his choice of the Regency style for his first home, built by William Saunders in 1838. This building still stands, though it was moved from 48 Quincy Street to 21 Kirkland Street, and is now the Harvard Sparks house.
Sparks House (December 1964)
Treadwell sold this house in 1847, and in 1849 hired Saunders again to build the house at 29 Concord Avenue. Treadwell had purchased The following is a selection taken from Susan Maycock and Charles Sullivan’s Building Old Cambridge (2016)
A few houses built in Old Cambridge during the 1830s and ’40s followed a form of the Classical Revival style that was related to the English Regency period of the early 1800s. These flush-boarded houses had cube-like massing, low hip roofs, and broad pilasters without capitals repeated across the facade. The conservative, academic style was found primarily in the Boston area but also occasionally along the Maine coast…The earliest Cambridge example is the house that William Saunders built for Daniel Treadwell in 1838.
29 Concord Ave photographed by D. Bradford Wetherell, Jr. (1953)
Treadwell lived in the house until his death in 1872, and it was then occupied by Judge Horatio G. Parker and later owned by George H. Abbott, who made significant renovations to the property, including a pitch roof, addition of a billiard parlor on the east side and new interior finishes. Various other occupants lived in the house until it was demolished in 1959 to make way for the Continental Terrace apartments. For more information on this new building, check out our Modern Monday post from January 27th!
Sources
Susan E. Maycock and Charles M. Sullivan, Building Old Cambridge: Architecture and
Development (MIT Press, 2016)
CHC biographical files
CHC survey files
Wyman, Morrill. “Memoirs of Daniel Treadwell.” In Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, XI:334–35. Cambridge, Mass: John Wilson and Son, 1888.
We have recently added three new collection finding aids and five old but newly updated finding aids to our website. Check out the list below, and email us at chcarchives@cambridgema.gov to research any of these collections.
New!
Scully Family Collection
This collection relates to two generations of the Scully family, beginning with Daniel Scully, a Cambridge cooper who emigrated from Ireland in 1872. He married another Irish immigrant in Cambridge, Mary Tackney, who worked as a waitress. They had 8 children and the collection heavily focuses on two of their sons, James and George. Topics include service in WWII, the St. Mary Church of Annunciation in Cambridgeport, Irish heritage, U.S. citizenship, and Norumbega Park in Auburndale, Mass. The records in the collection were created between 1872-1970 and consist of official documents, commemorative pins, photographic materials, a newspaper, and large objects.
Noteworthy items include a water-front port pass, a cooper’s mallet, and a grappling hook that connect Daniel Scully to the Goepper Bros. Co. and the Revere Sugar Refinery, two companies with locations in Cambridge. There is also an encased tintype and photographs that display the family’s residence on Spring Street. Find out more about the collection and the background history of the family here.
Daniel Scully’s cooper’s mallet and grappling hook. Image from our Flickr album, photograph by John Dalterio.
Watson Funeral Home Collection
The Watson Funeral Home Collection consists of photographs, certificates, clippings and ephemera related to the Watson Funeral Home, a 20th century business in Cambridge that was once on Magazine Street. The funeral home was run by Charles Burnett Watson and the collection holds content about his conversion of the Greek Revival house into his business. Other items include his Old Farmer’s Almanac, newspaper clippings about the house, and matchbook advertisements. Click here to learn more about Watson’s biography and read the collection’s inventory.
Carter’s Ink Collection
This collection contains ephemera relating to the Carter’s Ink Company that was collected by John Hinkel, a “labeled master inks” collector from Missouri. The Carter’s Ink Company was a nationally-prominent manufacturer of inks and office supplies. The bulk of this collection consists of advertisements, internal corporate documents, and external publications. The independently produced advertisements range from cardstock illustrations, postcards, bottle-shaped adverts, a calendar, and a dictionary. The corporate documents have information pertinent to general workers, including employee rules, as well as the official company newsletter.
To get a taste of what is present in this collection, some of the items have been digitized and uploaded to our Flickr. Click here to view the album.
Carter’s Ink Advertisement Card. Image from our flickr.
Updated or Digitized Collections:
Alfred E. Vellucci Snapshot Collection:
Vellucci was once mayor of Cambridge and this collection reflects a public relations project from 1976. Images are now digitized and available for viewing on our Flickr page here. Click here to read the original post highlighting this collection.
Rindge Technical School
We have uploaded two albums to our Flickr page concerning the school. The Rindge Technical School Collection album contains digitized images selected from Box 1 of the collection. This box holds sports photographs from 1912-1922. Click here to see players from the football, crew, hockey, track, swimming, and baseball teams. If you would like to learn more about the entire collection, click here.
The other album, Rindge Technical School Construction – 1932 includes a selection of large-print negatives that reflect the school demolition and construction project conducted in 1932-1933. The new building was designed by architect Ralph Harrington Doane and built by the George A. Fuller Company. These negatives and others have been printed and bound in “Rindge Technical School, started Feb. 2 1932, completed Jan. 12 1933” by George A. Fuller Co. The book is available for viewing in the CHC Library. Click here to view the album.
Cambridge Objects Collection – new objects and new photographs on Flickr
Additional images of objects from the Cambridge Objects Collection have been uploaded to the Flickr album. This is an artificial collection of objects relating to various aspects of Cambridge history. Click here to check them out and click here to read the finding aid!
An Ashton Valve Company pressure gauge, ca. 1923-1924
Rindge Technical School Bowl and Mug
Curtis Mellen Photograph Collection
This collection has recently been reorganized and an updated finding aid has been published here. The collection consists of photographs of the family as well as interior and exterior views of the family’s homes in Cambridge. The Mellens were a very prominent family in Cambridge, and their soap business, Curtis Davis & Co., became the American branch of Lever Brothers, the largest soap manufacturer in the world at the time. To see what is available in the collection, we uploaded select images to a Flickr album here.
Harry Havelock Hanson Collection
Recently, we created the Handsome Harry Hanson StoryMap. It tells the story of occasional Cambridge resident Harry Havelock Hanson in a walking tour format. This StoryMap allows you to follow an online map and images around Harvard Square as though you were actually there. Follow the tour to learn about the exciting exploits of Harry Havelock Hanson, as recorded in his calendar entries between 1891 and 1919. Click here to check it out!
This collection is primarily composed of the daily pocket diaries of Harry Havelock Hanson, occasional Cambridge resident and career railway man. It also contains some personal papers belonging to Hanson and his family. The finding aid for the collection is available here.
Today we are highlighting some archival photographs that we recently digitized. In our archive’s stacks there is a flat box housing seven mounted photographs associated with the T.J. Flynn Metal Works Inc., a 20th century Cambridge business.
Life raft metal cross-section. T.J. Flynn Metal Works Collection, CHC.
The earliest reference to the company was in 1914, when Thaddeus J. Flynn’s T.J. & Sons Co., Sheetmetal Works, was located on Albany Street in Cambridgeport. This family company witnessed many location changes from 1914 to the 1930s. In 1918 it was at 37 Albany Street, then it moved to 18-20 Portland Street in 1925, and in 1930 it was located at 49 Albany Street. By 1918, the name of the company changed to its more well-known version, T.J. Flynn Metal Works Inc.
Associated with this larger business was Flynn Roofing and Metal Co., run by Flynn’s son, Edmund T. Flynn. It also moved around the neighborhood – residing at 37 Albany Street in 1917, 8 Portland in 1920, then 35 Albany Street between 1921-1922, and subsequently 49 Albany Street in 1937. Unfortunately, none of the original buildings have photographic references in the CHC files and the larger company was officially unincorporated by 1968-1972, although its final locations are unknown.
During the heyday of the T.J. Flynn Metal Works Inc., Thaddeus married Mary A. Flynn. Their son Edmund invented a life-raft design in the early 1900s. The photographs in the CHC’s archival box are accounts of his work.
A polygonal-shaped testing model raft created by Edmund T. Flynn. T.J. Flynn Metal Works Collection, CHC.
It is unknown when these images were taken since they do not reflect Edmund’s patent approved by the U.S. Patent Office on July 16, 1918. His final design notes emphasize how the official raft was “substantially pointed” at each end and that the “buoyant member is non-circular in cross-section.” The polygon version reflected in the photographic images could have been an earlier design Edmund scrapped during his tests at Scituate Harbor. Or, it could have been a later revision since his patent was updated in 1941.
Two unidentified men standing in a raft to demonstrate the submerged section. T.J. Flynn Metal Works Collection, CHC.
Nevertheless, Edmund’s patented life-raft was a success. It was used in both World Wars and it was officially approved for use on ocean, coast, bay, lake and sound vessels by the Department of Commerce.
E.T. Flynn’s patent design authorized by the U.S. Patent Office on July 16, 1918. Patent # 1,272,412. Source: USPTO PatFT database.
Thaddeus also gained a patent in 1929 for a roof drain. A year later, on September 9, 1930, Thaddeus died, and his wife Mary became president of the company. She was assisted by J. Henry Flynn and his wife Belinda S. Flynn, who were first referenced as additional owners of the company in 1925. However, by 1968-1972 the family business had dwindled out. Edmund’s son, Jonathan, opened European Engineering in Belmont, MA in 1958 but it was ultimately a failed venture. Jonathan’s son, Nick, recounts his father’s subsequent journey in “The Button Man,” published in The New Yorker in 2004.
Thank you to all who attended this year’s Cambridge Open Archives! From June 24-28, eight different archives and collecting repositories opened their doors to the public, showcasing collections items and sharing the stories behind objects, documents, and photographs. This year’s Open Archives theme was Politics and Activism in Cambridge (and Beyond).
Below, take a look at some of the photos taken by a few of this year’s participating archives and attendees. If you have photos from the event, feel free to share them with us! chcarchives@cambridgema.gov.
Thank you to all of the archives and archives fans! We’ll see you next year.
May 1st has become known as MayDay in the archives world. Every year on May 1st, archivists and other cultural heritage professionals take time to assess the preservation needs of their collections and amend glaring problems.
In acknowledgement of MayDay, we would like to take this opportunity to communicate some quick tips for preserving your own archival materials at home. We will focus on relaying basic information for care and storage of the three most commonly saved items: scrapbooks, photographs, and documents.
Scrapbooks
Albums of photographs, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera weave a narrative of family history. However, the materials from which many scrapbooks are constructed can be harmful. Adhesives, dated plastic sheets, and newspaper accelerate deterioration of photographs and documents.
This image of Harvard Square trolley workers show how over time, adhesive can cause document and photographs to pull and create ripples.
We recommend scanning your scrapbook pages to create a digital surrogate, or removing items in danger of damage. If you want to keep your scrapbooks intact, make sure to store them in a dark area with a lower temperature (at least below 75° and at 65° if possible) and a lower relative humidity (below 65%). Often, linen closets work well for this purpose! Store your scrapbooks in a box made of acid free-materials.
Photographs
Printed images communicate stories and are seen as proof of events and past existence. Yet, the people and places within these images can quickly fade if not taken care of properly.
This photograph has begun to yellow, likely due to the acidic paper to which it is mounted.
Photographs should be placed inside acid-free folders or archival plastic sleeves and kept inside in a dark room or closet with a lower temperature and relative humidity.
If your photographs have been rolled for a long period of time and are now stuck, consult a professional who can humidify and flatten your print safely. If you scan your photographs, you will be able to view it whenever you like, and lessen the effects of UV and humidity on your physical prints.
Documents
Documents such as letters, postcards, and paper records provide us with descriptions and evidence. Often, these items are unique and become more fragile over time. If you have paper in your family collection, separate pages from harmful materials such as newspaper or staples.
The acidic paper of this Signet Hosiery Company membership book has begun to yellow, and the staples are in danger of rusting if not kept in a cool, dry place.
Like scrapbooks and photographs, make sure to store your documents in a cool and dry location (not an attic or basement). Store documents in acid-free containers, ideally inside folders and a box.
If you would like to learn more about how to preserve documents, photographs, scrapbooks, or other materials you may have, contact our archivist, Emily at egonzalez@cambridgema.gov or 617.349.4683.
