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Text
3 Woodside Street
Built for
Mary J. Converse
George A. Converse
Engineer
Eastern Railroad
1874
Researched and written by Jay Quarantello
May 2021
Historic Salem Inc.
The Bowditch House
9 North Street, Salem, MA 01970
(978) 745-0799 | HistoricSalem.org
©2020
�Date of Purchase
Conveyed by
Conveyed to
Amount
Document
Notes
February 17, 2021
Paul R. Kennedy and
Ellen A. Kennedy
Joseph L. McNiff Jr.
and Robert L.
Allison
$530,000
“The land in said Salem, together
with the buildings thereon”
April 15, 1983
Mildred J. McKay of
Nova Scotia, Canada
Paul R. Kennedy
and Ellen A.
Kennedy
$53,200
SO. Essex
#606
Bk:
39542
Pg: 390
Bk: 7133
Pg: 444
November 10, 1939
Elizabeth V. McGee
May 23, 1918
James O’Donnell and
Alice E. O’Donnell
February 23, 1917
Elmer F. Littlefield and
Mary B. Littlefield
November 12, 1903
Samuel P. Coombs
55 m. past 2 P.M.
November 12, 1903
Elmer F. Littlefield
55 m. past 2 P.M.
November 12, 1903
55 m. past 2 P.M.
Edwin D. Cushing
husband of Emily F.
Cushing, Lois R. Reed
wife of George Reed,
Nellie P. Reed wife of
Charles David A.
McKay and Mildred
J. McKay
$3200
Bk: 3201
Pg:
231-232
“with interest thereon
at the rate of six
percent annum,
payable in monthly
installments at
$25.96…”
Elizabeth V. McGee,
$2500
Bk: 2391
wife of Charles H.
Pg: 379
McGee
Alice E. O’Donnell,
“for consideration
Bk: 2358
wife of James
paid”
Pg:
O’Donnell
486-487
Mary B. Littlefield
“one dollar and other Bk: 1724
valuable
Pg: 76-77
considerations.”
Samuel P. Coombs “one dollar and other Bk: 1724
valuable
Pg: 75-76
considerations”
Elmer F. Littlefield
“one dollar and other Bk: 1724
valuable
Pg: 74-75
considerations”
“The land in said Salem, together
with the buildings thereon”
“Charles David A. McKay died on
February 20, 1979.”
“the land in said SALEM, together
with the buildings thereon.”
“the land in said SALEM with the
buildings thereon”
“the land in said SALEM with the
buildings thereon”
“a parcel of land, together with the
buildings thereon”
“parcel of land with the buildings
thereon”
“the parcel of land in said Salem
with all the buildings thereon”
49 feet front on woodside; 100 feet
six inches deep on the northeast
�Benjamin A. Reed, and
William S. Noyes Jr.
husband of Mabel
Noyes
November 12, 1903
55 min past 2 P.M.
Emily Cushing, George
Reed, Benjamin Reed
Jr., Addison Reed, Tilly
Reed all of Salem and
Mabel Noyes of
Beverly
side; 99 feet deep on the southwest
side; and northerly by land now or
late of Cullen 49 feet, more or less,
being the same land conveyed to
Mary J. Converse by deed of Mary
A. Woods widow of Ephraim
Woods…”
Elmer F. Littlefield
“one dollar and other
valuable
considerations”
Book 891, leaf 60
Bk: 1724
“The parcel of land in said Salem
Pg: 72-73
with all the buildings thereon”
49 feet front on Woodside; 100 feet
6 inches deep on the northeast
side; 99 feet deep on the southwest
side being the same land conveyed
to Mary J. Converse by deed of
Mary A. Woods widow of said
Ephraim Woods dated October 8th
1873…
“The above lot is bounded
northerly forty-nine (49) feet now
or late of Cullen...”
May 7, 1877
George A. Converse
and Mary J. Converse
Emily F. Reed and
Benjamin A. Reed
“in consideration of
two thousand and
seventy two dollars”
Bk: 975
Pg: 197
“to me paid by Emily F. Reed wife
of Benjamin A. Reed of said
Salem… do hereby give, grant,
bargain, sell, and convey unto the
said Emily F. Reed and heirs… the
following described parcel of land
with all the buildings thereon
situated in said Salem in that part
thereof known as North Salem and
�May 9, 1877
Charles H. Kezar
George A. Converse
and Mary J.
Converse
Bk: 942
Pg: 193
November 15, 1875
George A. Converse
and Mary J. Converse
Charles H. Kezar
“in consideration of
three hundred
dollars, to us paid by
Charles Kezar of said
Salem… Subject to a
prior mortgage for
$1500, given by us to
Charles S. Nichols…
Bk: 942
Pg: 193
November 13, 1874
Charles S. Nichols
Charles H. Kezar
“in consideration of
the principal &
interest due thereon
to me…”
Bk: 916
Pg:
270-271
November 3, 1874
Mary J. Converse
Charles S. Nichols
“the sum of fifteen
hundred dollars three
years from this date,
with interest semi
annually, at the rate
of eight percent, per
annum, and until such
payment shall pay all
taxes and
Bk: 915
Pg: 49
being lot number eighteen
according to the plot of land
belonging to the Estate of the late
Ephraim Woods as surveyed by
Chas A. Putnam surveyor May 29,
1871.
Mortgage: “I, the mortgager, here
named [Kezar], having received
satisfaction for this mortgage
hereby fully discharge the same.”
Mortgage: “...do hereby give, grant,
bargain, sell, and convey onto the
said Charles H. Kezar… the lot of
land No. 18, on Woodside street in
Salem, with the buildings
thereon… whereby we promise to
pay to the grantee or order the said
sum and interest at the times
aforesaid, shall be void…”
Mortgage: “hereby acknowledged
do hereby assign, transfer, and set
over unto the said Kezar the said
mortgage deed, the real estate
thereby conveyed, and the note
and claim… to the conditions
therein contained and to
redemption according to law.”
Mortgage: “But upon any default in
the performance or observance of
the foregoing condition, the
grantee… may sell the granted
premises… and that until default in
the performance of the condition
this deed we and our heirs… may
hold and enjoy the granted
premises…”
�October 8, 1873
Mary A. Woods widow
of the late Ephraim
Woods
Mary J. Converse
assessments on the
granted premises”
“three hundred and
seventy five dollars”
Bk: 891,
Pg: 60
“Lot number Eighteen (18) on
Woodside Street in North Salem…
according to the plot of land in
North Salem, belonging to the
estate of the late Ephm Woods, as
surveyed by Chas A. Putnam Survr
[sic] May 29th 1871.” It being
understood and agreed by and
between said grantor and grantee
that the said Mary J. Converse shall
build or cause to be built on said lot
within one year from the date
hereof a dwelling house to cost at
least $2000.x the erection of said
dwelling house as aforesaid being a
part of the consideration for this
transfer.”
�1
Naumkeag Land
Sidney Perley, a famed local historian in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century,
wrote in his book A History of Salem: Volume I that “According to tradition, North River, in
Salem, was stocked with salmon.”1 With such promising fishing waters, it is no surprise then that
Reverend John Higginson remembering his childhood in 1694 wrote that "ye Indian Towne of
Wigwams was on ye North Side of ye North River not far from Simondes's… and ye both ye
North and South Side of that river was together called Naumkeke.”2 Perley, trying to identify the
location of this village, found that Mr. Symond’s house was formerly located on the modern day
corner of North St. and Osborne St. Perly’s work, therefore, indicated that this “Indian Towne of
Wigwams” was likely about a half mile from where 3 Woodside St. now stands.
3 Woodside St. in relation to North River and the site of what would have been an “Indian Towne of Wigwams”
located near the corner of Osborne and North St.
Long before the home at 3 Woodside St. was built, local Native Americans and English
colonizers in the early 17th century referred to Salem as Naumkeag. Perley wrote that
Naumkeag “means ‘Fishing place,’ from namaas, fish, ki, place, and age, at.”3 Living in these
wigwams were the Naumkeag people, a band of the Massachusetts tribe. The Naumkeag
1
Perley, Sidney. A History of Salem Massachusetts, Volume I. The University of Virginia, 1924,
http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/Perley/vol1/images/p1-20.html. Pg 20.
2
Roads, Samuel. The History and Traditions of Marblehead. Boston, Houghton, Osgood and company, 1881.
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009579169. Pg 3-6.
3
Perley, Sidney. The Indian Land Titles of Essex County Massachusetts. Essex Book and Print Club, 1912.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=yale.39002005253001&view=2up&seq=31. Pg 8.
�2
hunted, farmed, and fished on this land for generations before Europeans ever arrived in North
America.4
A wigwam village as sketched in an 1877 book titled Old Naumkeag. The accuracy of this picture to Old Naumkeag is
unknown. 5
Elizabeth Solomon, a modern member of the Massachusett tribe at Ponkapoag,
remarked in a video for Pioneer Village Salem:
...we hope that you will take time to honor the original holders of this land: the Massachusett people...We
maintain a millenia long relationship with this place. Despite changes to the environment and its occupation
by others following colonization, Salem remains Native space to which we belong. May all that we do with
Native spaces honor the land and prepare the way for those to come.6
4
Pioneer Village Salem. “The Naumkeag.” Pioneer Village Salem, Accessed 2021.
https://www.pioneervillagesalem.org/the-naumkeag.
5
Webber, C.H. and Nevins, W.S. Old Naumkeag. A.A. Smith & Company, 1877.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Old_Naumkeag/XoolAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1. Pg 185
6
Solomon, Elizabeth. “The Naumkeag.” Pioneer Village Salem, Accessed 2021.
https://www.pioneervillagesalem.org/the-naumkeag.
�3
Accordingly, every house history of Salem needs to acknowledge the indigenous peoples who
lived on this land before English arrival. A history of Salem and the neighborhood of North
Salem would be incomplete and unjust otherwise.
The Woods Family
The origins of the house at 3 Woodside St. can be traced back to the family of Ephraim
and Mary A. Woods. Ephraim Woods was born on December 20, 1800 to Lt. Ephraim Woods
and his wife, Eunice, in Hollis, New Hampshire.7 On May 3, 1827, at the age of twenty six,
Ephraim Woods married Mary A. Cole of Beverly, Massachusetts, daughter of Oliver and Polly
Cole. Mary was twenty years old at the time of her marriage.8 The Woods family lived on or near
North St. for much of their lives.
Approximately forty six years after their marriage, Mary A. Woods, “widow of the late
Ephraim Woods,” would sell the following piece of land:
Lot number Eighteen (18) on Woodside Street in North Salem… according to the plot of land in North
Salem, belonging to the estate of the late Ephm Woods, as surveyed by Chas A. Putnam Survr May 29th
1871. It being understood and agreed by and between said grantor and grantee that the said Mary J.
Converse shall build or cause to be built on said lot within one year from the date hereof a dwelling house to
cost at least $2000... the erection of said dwelling house as aforesaid being a part of the consideration for
this transfer.9
Mrs. Woods stipulated to the grantee, Mary J. Converse, that on lot number eighteen, a house
be built. While the house at 3 Woodside St. would be built by Mary J. Converse, the Woods
were one the most important families who shaped the land of North Salem also known as the
North Fields.
To understand the eventual land where Mary J. Converse would build her home, one
would have to examine the life and business of Ephraim Woods. Pictured below in the 1870
census, Ephraim Woods is listed as a cooper, a barrel maker, and Mary’s occupation is listed as
“keeping house.”10
7
Cutter, William Richard. Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern
Massachusetts. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1908.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Genealogical_and_Personal_Memoirs_Relati/Rdk4AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=
1. Pg 345.
8
Ibid., Pg 345.
9
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: Mary A. Woods; Grantee: Mary J. Converse. October 8, 1873. Book 891, Pg 60.
10
1870 United States Federal Census. Salem Ward 6, Essex Massachusetts, Roll: M593_613, Page: 748A.
Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4269708_00616?usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId
=26535871
�4
The census, however, does not do justice to the importance of Ephraim and Mary A. Woods in
their community. William Richard Cutter, a historian at the New England Genealogical Society,
prepared a book titled Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston
and Eastern Massachusetts, which Lewis Historical Publishing Company released in 1908. This
book went into detail about the Woods family. Contained below is the relevant section of that
book:
Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern
Massachusetts.
�5
While the 1870 census listed Ephraim solely as a cooper, the 1860 census listed him as
a gardener.11 Pictured below is that 1860 census.
Today in the Peabody Essex Museum Archives in Rowley, Massachusetts some of Ephraim
Woods’ business records remain preserved. On the next page is an invoice of merchandise
shipped on board the schooner Mac from Salem to Galveston, Texas “on account and risk of
Ephraim Woods” in 1838, the first year of Martin Van Buren’s presidency.
11
1860 United States Federal Census. Salem Ward 6, Essex, Massachusetts, Page: 192. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4232226_00005?usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId
=353001
�6
An 1838 invoice of Ephraim Woods’ merchandise to be sold by Captain Nathan Frye in Galveston, Texas. Texas was
not yet a state when this order was shipped. In 1838, the United States government recognized this territory as the
Republic of Texas.12
12
Woods Family Papers, 1836-1896. Box number 1, Folder number 1. Call Number: Fam. Mss. 1119. Phillips Library
Stacks, Rowley, MA. Accessed May 20, 2021.
�7
Below is a transcript for an 1851 Woods’ Nurseries advertisement with a picture of the original
document to follow.
Woods’ Nurseries!
Salem, Mass.
Now ready for sale,
10.000 Apple trees;
5.000 Standard Pear trees;
1.000 Dwarf
“
“ ;
1.000 Cherries;
Many kinds of Plums and Peaches.
The above trees embrace most of the kinds that have been proved worthy of cultivation. The
Apple trees are two, three, and four years from the bud; Standard Pears from two to six years
from the bud; 1.000 very large and acknowledged by many [as] the best in New-England. The
trees have all been worked under the eye of the proprietor, and can therefore be
recommended to the public and warranted true to their names.
The prices of trees according to their size and quantity. Trees carefully taken up, securely
packed forwarded to any part of the United States.
●
●
Scions cut to order.
All orders by mail promptly executed.
Ephraim Woods, Proprietor
March 8th 1851
No 122 North St, Salem, Mass
�8
An 1851 Advertisement for Woods’ Nurseries. 13
13
Ibid., Call Number: Fam. Mss. 1119.
�9
An 1845 notebook of Ephraim Woods that recorded a list of trees growing in his nurseries. In December of 1845,
Texas would become the 28th state in the United States, which was part of a series of events leading to the
Mexican-American War a year later. A child from a later generation seems to have doodled in pencil within this
notebook’s pages.14
A drawing of a pigeon likely done by Ephraim Woods on page 16 of his notebook.
14
Ibid., Call Number: Fam. Mss. 1119.
�10
Ephraim Woods’ receipt for a pew at the first Universalist Society in Salem.
The different trees and fruits that the previous documents detail provide a glimpse into
what the North Fields of Salem looked like prior to Ephraim Woods’ land being sold. Some of
the trees Ephraim Woods listed likely occupied lot 18 where 3 Woodside St. now stands. Today,
street names like Woodside and Nursery honor the horticulturalist business that shaped the
environment in this section of Salem during the mid-nineteenth century. The Woods family,
accordingly, profited substantially both during Ephraim Woods’ life and after his death from this
land. The receipt for a pew at the Universalist society was just one sign of the Woods family’s
wealth. On the next page is an 1871 map showing the land belonging to the estate of Ephraim
Woods following his death.15
15
Salem Registry of Deeds. "Plan of Land in North Salem belonging to the estate of the late Ephraim Woods."
August, 15, 1871. Book 831, Plan 300.
�11
This map is located in the Salem Registry of Deeds. It was completed by Charles Putnam, a surveyor, on May 29,
1871, roughly four months following Ephraim Woods’ death. Notice on the map, Charles Putnam, divided this land
into plots. A star has been added to show plot number 18, the one eventually sold to Mary J. Converse. The Roman
Catholic Church lands above the plots belong to St. Mary’s Cemetery today. A twentieth century resident of 3
Woodside St., Doug McKay, joked that the neighbors in the back were always very quiet.
The home at 3 Woodside rests in what Putnam called Plot 18. Plots 19 and 20 were eventually divided and a
neighbor’s home was added on the left side of 3 Woodside St.
�12
After Ephraim Woods’ passing, Mary A. Woods, the sixty-five-year-old matriarch of the
Woods family, inherited his landholdings. Even though her husband had died, she was not
alone. She was cared for by their son Lt. Col George Henry Woods, who was born on February
2, 1831, and his wife Kate Tannatt Woods. George Henry had graduated from Brown University
in the class of 1853, and had then graduated from Harvard Law School two years later. He
practiced law in Minnesota when the Civil War broke out. He eventually rose to the ranks of
lieutenant-colonel in Company D, First Regiment Minnesota Infantry Volunteers. He was
seriously wounded during the Seven Days battle of the Peninsular campaign of 1862. He was
also an honored bodyguard during the funeral of President Abraham Lincoln following his
assassination.16 Despite living until 1884, George Henry Woods “never fully recovered from the
wounds and hardships of war.”17 Kate Tannatt Woods, George Henry’s wife, cared for George
Henry and his comrades as a nurse during the Civil War and also cared for him after the war.
Following the Confederacy’s surrender, Tannatt Woods moved to Salem with her husband to
help his aging parents, Ephraim and Mary, while educating their two children.18
Kate Tannatt Woods’ relationship to the Woods family, while important for this narrative,
was of little importance to her acclaim in the 19th century. Tannant Woods was a famed author,
editor, and poet. Her first poem was printed when she was only ten years old; she wrote for
numerous magazines throughout her life; and she published nearly a book a year in her
adulthood. Tannatt Woods was an active member of the Salem community and was a sought
after lecturer on historical subjects.19 Tannatt Woods, pictured below, was famous internationally,
and likely found a strong female companion in her mother-in-law, Mary A. Woods. 20
16
Cutter, William Richard. Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern
Massachusetts. Pg 346.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Genealogical_and_Personal_Memoirs_Relati/Rdk4AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=
1&bsq=ephraim%20woods
17
Ibid., Pg 346.
18
Willard, Frances and Livermore, Mary. American Women: Fifteen Hundred Biographies, Volume I. Mast, Crowell &
Kirkpatrick, 1893. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.31951p00283700a. Pg 798.
19
Ibid., Pg 798.
20
Ibid., Pg 798.
�13
Mary A. Woods, who sold the land that would become 3 Woodside St., was also an
important member of the Salem community. While she was only listed as “keeping house” in the
1870 census, she was someone who participated in many of Salem’s charitable efforts. Below is
an excerpt from the 1864 Salem Directory:
The Female Samaritan Society was founded in 1832 by the women of the Universalist church
and their pastor. According to an 1873 state report, “Its object is to aid the worthy poor, without
regard to name or sect… It expends $1,000 a year for about 200 families.”21 Mary was listed as
the 2nd Vice President of the Female Samaritan Society.22 Mary A. Woods died on November
11, 1884, thirteen years after her husband’s death. They are both buried in Woodlawn Cemetery
in Salem.
While the Woods family preceded the house at 3 Woodside St., they undoubtedly
shaped North Salem in important ways. Ephraim Woods’ nurseries transformed the land where
the house at 3 Woodside St. would be built. His son, George Henry, sacrificed his health and
well-being in defense of his country and its democratic principles. His wife, Kate Tannatt Woods,
was a widely read and respected author, bringing additional literary fame to Salem.23 Mary A.
Woods, while only listed as “keeping house” in the census, found purpose in charitable work,
and shaped North Salem as much as her husband Ephraim when she stipulated in deeds that
purchasers of his land were required to build houses on the former nursery lots. One can
imagine that her work within the Female Samaritan Society may have inspired her to provide
affordable land to families who wanted a house of their own. When she sold Lot 18 to Mary J.
Converse, a daughter of Irish immigrants, in 1873, she set in motion the construction of what
would become 3 Woodside St. On the next page is an excerpt from the 1873 deed detailing the
aforementioned arrangement, as well as a picture of Mary A. Woods’ signature.
21
Massachusetts Board of State Charities. Annual Report of the Board of State Charities of Massachusetts, Volume
10, Parts 1873-1874. Wright & Potter, 1874. Pg 49.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annual_Report_of_the_Board_of_State_Char/Ty8MAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=
1&dq=Female%20Samaritan%20Society%20Salem&pg=PR1&printsec=frontcover
22
Adams, Sampson, & Co. The Salem Directory, 1864. Geo. M Whipple & A.A. Smith, 1864. Pg 236.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Salem_City_Directory_Salem_Mass/9K5IAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1
23
Willard, Frances and Livermore, Mary. American Women: Fifteen Hundred Biographies, Volume I. Pg 798.
�14
This signature can be found in Book 832, Page 40, R. Manfield to M.A. Woods at the Registry of Deeds.
The Converse Family, North Salem, and the Eastern Railroad Company
When Mary J. Converse and her husband George A. Converse bought Lot 18 from Mary
A. Woods in Salem in 1873, the city itself was changing. Maritime life which had marked the
early days of Salem had given way to local factories and the railroad. An eight room school
house had just been built in South Salem. Horse drawn carriages wandered in streets lined by
naphtha lights and globe lanterns.24 Mayor Cogswell in his address to the city opined about the
recent financial panic and how it “made a whole continent feel poor in a day,” and “how madly
we all, as individuals and communities, have rushed on, of late in the extravagant expenditure of
money.”25 Cogswell worried about public drunkenness and the excesses of alcohol
consumption. Despite having a liquor law, the enforcement and non-enforcement of it did little to
curb Salem’s consumption habits.26 Within the days leading up to the purchase of land on
Woodside St. the Naumkeag Boat Regatta sailed alongside Salem’s shores, the Peabody Essex
Museum hosted a male choir, and a new temperance society had been announced.27
On the following page is an 1874 Boston Globe article, written a year after the
Converses bought land from Mary A. Woods, detailing all the changes happening across the
city. Of particular note, the article detailed the neighborhood of Mary and George Converse:
"North Salem also shows many changes. Several streets have been laid out, and, though, lots
in this section do not command as high prices as do those at the other end of the city, yet some
fine residences have been put up and North Salem's prospects for the future are quite
flattering."28
24
Salem City Documents 1873-1874. Salem, Mass: Salem Press, Corner of Liberty and Derby Streets, 1874. Pg
8-15.
25
Cogswell, William. Salem City Documents 1873-1874. Salem, Mass: Salem Press, Corner of Liberty and Derby
Streets, 1874. Pg 24.
26
Ibid., Pg 15.
27
"Salem." The Boston Globe. October 3, 1873. Accessed 2021.
https://bostonglobe.newspapers.com/image/428180097/?terms=salem&match=1
28
“A Brief Glance at the Condition of the Market in Salem.” The Boston Globe. May 12, 1874.
https://bostonglobe.newspapers.com/clip/77630160/salem-description-12-may-1874/
�15
�16
One can see the changing prospects of North Salem by looking at changing maps of the
1870s.
In this 1872 map, Nursery St. has been named but Woodside St. was still unlisted.29
In this 1874 map, the Converse family was marked as having owned the land but the house either had not been built
or had been completed after the creation of this map.30
29
Beers, D.G. "Salem: Essex County 1872." Historic Map Works, Accessed 2021.
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/8280/Salem/Essex+County+1872/Massachusetts/.
30
G.M. Hopkins & Co. "Part of Ward 6. Salem, 1874, Plate R." WardMaps LLC, Accessed 2021.
https://wardmapsgifts.com/collections/atlas-of-salem-massachusetts-1874/products/salem-massachusetts-1874-plate
-r
�17
This map details points of interest for North Salem and has been cross referenced with the 1874 Salem
Directory.31
A. These are two public schools located in North Salem.
B. Located here is North Bridge, likely the route George A. Converse used to travel to work.
C. The businesses along the North River waterfront were main engines of economic growth in North
Salem. There were brass founders and finishers; a coppersmith; painters and tradesmen; and most
prominently leather curriers and tanners, among many other businesses.
D. The historic location of the Naumkeag wigwam village.
E. The location of James M. Prime’s grocery store, the closest to the Converse family home.
F. Symonds’ grocery store, the last before crossing North Bridge into the Salem city center.
31
G.M. Hopkins & Co. "Part of Ward 6. Salem, 1874, Plate Q." WardMaps LLC, Accessed 2021.
https://wardmapsgifts.com/collections/atlas-of-salem-massachusetts-1874/products/salem-massachusetts-1874-plate
-q
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When Mary J. Converse and George A. Converse began constructing their home in
1874, their section of North Salem had not been as densely developed as the neighborhoods
closer to North River. The house at 3 Woodside St., however, was to Mary, George, and their
nine-year-old daughter Carrie, a home for their family. This must have been an important
milestone for Mary’s family. Mary was born in 1845 to Irish immigrants named James McMullen
and Mary Brerman McMullen.32 It is worth noting that the spelling of Mary’s maiden name
changed over the course of her life in various documents, including: Mullen, McMullen, and
Mullin. Furthermore, it is unknown if Mary was born in Ireland like her parents. It seems likely
due to a lack of documents, however, that Ireland was Mary’s native land.
On February 29, 1864, Pastor C.W. Biddle, married George A. Converse of Salem, to
Mary J. McMullen in Lynn, Massachusetts. She was nineteen years old. George was a
twenty-one-year-old shoemaker at the time.33 A copy of the record is below.
Unlike Mary, George had a large family and was born in Massachusetts on September 27, 1843.
His father Robert Converse was from Danvers, and his mother Elizabeth Cliff was from Salem.34
They had raised him alongside his eight brothers and sisters in Salem.
When they had bought the land on Woodside St., they had little in common with the
Woods family. Like Mary A. Woods and Ephraim Woods, the Converses were Universalists and
had one child. However, the similarities ended there. In 1873, Ephraim had been two years
dead and Mary was in the twilight of her life. George and Mary Converse were in their early
thirties and raising their nine-year-old daughter, Caroline, or Carrie as they called her.35
Whereas the Woods family had been one of Salem’s most prominent families, the Converses
came from more ordinary roots. In the eleven years from his marriage to buying the land on
Woodside St., George A. Converse, the shoemaker, had become George A. Converse, the
engineer.
Eastern Railroad had a station in downtown Salem approximately one mile from
Woodside St. George’s brother, Josiah, who lived on Boston St., also worked for Eastern
Railroad but in the repair shop.36 Eastern Railroad was the first railroad to connect Boston to
Portland giving tourists from Massachusetts an opportunity to escape to the beaches in Maine,
and Mainers a way into the Boston metropolitan area.37 On the next page is a map of the
Eastern Railroad from Professor Charles J. Kennedy’s history of the Eastern Railroad Company.
32
Department of Health and Bureau Records. "Certificate of Death for Mary J. Converse." Vital Records, Bronx Death
Certificates. April 7, 1933.
33
Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915. Marriages v. 163 (p.120-end), 164, 171-172, 1863-1864. Familysearch.org.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6F6S-9ZK?i=622&cc=1469062.
34
The Essex Institute. Vital Records of Salem, Mass to 1850, Volume III. The Essex Institute, 1924. Pg 238.
35
Birth Certificate of Caroline A. Converse. Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, P 186,
Vol 8. Familysearch.org. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:DD94-S46Z.
36
Sampson, Davenport, & Co. The Salem Directory, 1876. A.A. Smith & Co, 1876. Pg 50.
https://www.noblenet.org/salem/reference/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Name-Listing-1876.pdf.
37
Bucar, Jim. "The Railroad Corridor." Eastern Trail Alliance, Accessed 2021.
https://www.easterntrail.org/history-of-the-eastern-trail/.
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The main line of Eastern Railroad ran along the coast from Boston to Portland, including a stop in Salem where
George A. Converse worked. 38
When Mary J. Converse and George A. Converse bought the land on Woodside St., the
Eastern Railroad was marred by scandal and debt. Only two years earlier, the Bangor Express
train departing Boston had crashed into another train stationed in Revere. The New York Times
wrote that “the machine plowed its way two-thirds of the way through the swaying mass of
38
Kennedy, Charles J. “The Eastern Rail-Road Company, 1855-1884.” The Business History Review Vol. 31, No. 2.
Pg 188. https://www-jstor-org.corvette.salemstate.edu/stable/3111849?seq=10#metadata_info_tab_content
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humanity before it, and was only stopped in its careen after nearly the whole car had been
crushed into fragments… So [Sic] add to the terrors of the scene the scalding water from the
locomotive was thrown upon the crowd, and the entire train burst into flames.”39 In total, 29
people were killed and 57 injured.40 Mismanagement and the Great Revere Train Wreck of 1871
doomed the Eastern Railroad, which would last only until 1884 roughly a decade after the
Converses bought land on Woodside St. Today, the MBTA has converted some of the old
Eastern railways for the Commuter Rail’s Newburyport-Rockport Line. In addition, some portions
of the old railways have been converted into walking and biking paths.41
Despite Eastern Railroads' financial struggles, the company holds an important place in
Salem’s history. Hundreds of people like Geoge A. Converse worked for Eastern Railroad,
including four members of his family in 1872 as pictured below.42
The Salem Depot stood in Salem for nearly a century from 1847 to 1954. The Boston Globe
said of the building in 1938:
Some say the Salem railroad station is the most hideous structure in America... Some say its ugliness is
enchanting, that all it needs is a coat of ivy – preferably poison ivy – to make it an antique of rare value.
Some Salem commuters shudder at it daily. Others look upon it as an old friend, shelter of their fathers,
grandfathers, and great-grandfathers.43
Today, Riley Plaza is located where the Eastern Railroad Station once stood. A railroad tunnel
was built under the site after the building was razed. On the next page are some photos of the
Eastern Railroad Depot.
39
"Death on the Rail." The New York Times. August 27, 1871. Accessed 2021.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54716017/1871-aug-27-revere-station-train-wreck/.
40
Kennedy, Charles J. “The Eastern Rail-Road Company, 1855-1884.” Pg. 188.
41
"Newburyport/Rockport Line." Get There By Train, Accessed 2021.
https://sites.google.com/site/gettherebytrain/home/railroads/mbta/newburyport-rockport-line
42
Sampson, Davenport, & Co. The Salem Directory, 1874. Geo M. Whipple & A.A. Smith, 1874. Pg. 50.
https://www.noblenet.org/salem/reference/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Name-Listing-1874.pdf
43
Connolly, Michael J. "The Year They Tore Salem Depot Down." The Imaginative Conservative, The Boston Globe,
December 4, 1938. Accessed 2021.
https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2019/12/year-they-tore-salem-depot-down-michael-connolly.html
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The Eastern Railroad Depot circa 1870.44
The E.R.R. Repair Shop where George’s brother Josiah worked.45
44
Salem State University. "Eastern Railroad Depot, Salem, Mass." Nelson Dionne Collection, J.S. Lefavour, SV362,
1870. https://digitalcommons.salemstate.edu/stereoviews/346/.
45
Salem State University. "Interior of Car Shop, E.R.R., Salem, Mass." Nelson Dionne Collection, J.S. Lefavour,
SV289, 1870. https://digitalcommons.salemstate.edu/stereoviews/287/.
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The Salem Depot circa 1910, decades after George A. Converse worked there. 46
Once George A. Converse and Mary J. Converse bought land on Woodside St., they
endeavored to build a house on Lot 18 as Mary A. Woods had stipulated. The Converse family,
however, must not have had the money required to do this right away; therefore, on November
3, 1874, Mary J. Converse received a mortgage from Charles S. Nichols, a mortgage broker and
insurance agent. Nichols was a wealthy man who lived in a mansion at 37 Chestnut St.47 He
loaned Mary J. Converse “the sum of fifteen hundred dollars three years from this date, with
interest semi annually, at the rate of eight percent, per annum, and until such payment shall pay
all taxes and assessments on the granted premises...” If the Converses defaulted on the
mortgage Nichols could sell the premises. So long as the Converses paid the assigned fees
though, they “may hold and enjoy the granted premises.”48 It is important to note in this
mortgage deed that this is the first mention of any buildings on Lot 18. It is therefore likely that
the Converses completed construction of the house at 3 Woodside St. in 1874. The house does
46
Library of Congress. "Boston and Maine Railroad depot, Riley Plaza." Detroit Publishing Co., ca. 1910.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/det.4a19779/.
47
Sampson, Davenport, & Co. The Salem Directory, 1872. Geo. M. Whipple & A.A. Smith, 1872. Pg 136.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Salem_Directory_containing_the_city/W_IIQgjrk8kC?hl=en&gbpv=1
48
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: Mary J. Converse; Grantee: Charles S. Nichols. November 3, 1874. Book 915,
Pg 49.
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not appear in the Salem Directory, however, until 1876. Below is a picture of the deed referring
to “all buildings and other improvements thereon.”49
In 1876, the house at 3 Woodside St. appeared in the Salem Directory for the first time.
A picture of an advertisement for Charles S. Nichols Fire Insurance Co. on 97 Washington St. 50
Nichols, however, did not hold the title to the Converse mortgage and insurance for long.
Ten days later, on November 13, 1874, he sold it to Charles H. Kezar. The deed read that
Nichols “do hereby assign, transfer, and set over unto the said Kezar the said mortgage deed,
the real estate thereby conveyed, and the note and claim… to the conditions therein contained
and to redemption according to law.”51 The reasons for this exchange are not clear. Unlike
Nichols, one of Salem’s wealthier residents, Kezar was a licensed innholder at 28 Market Square
49
Ibid., Book 915, Pg 49.
Sampson, Davenport, &. Co. The Salem Directory, 1876. Pg 302.
51
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: Charles S. Nichols, Grantee: Charles H. Kezar. November 13, 1874. Book 916,
Pg 270-271.
50
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and lived in a house on 75 Summer St.52 There was also a restaurant attached to Kezar’s inn
where his brother George was a cook. The restaurant was simply called the “Eating Saloon.”
Below is an 1882 advertisement for Kezar’s business.53
By 1882, Market Square had been renamed Derby Square.
Roughly a year after Kezar obtained the Converse mortgage, the Converses took out an
additional loan in 1875 “in consideration of three hundred dollars, to us paid by Charles Kezar of
said Salem… Subject to a prior mortgage for $1500, given by us to Charles S. Nichols…”54 This
totaled the debt they owed to Kezar at $1800. Two years later, on May 9, 1877, the Registrar of
Deeds annotated the Kezar mortgage in the margins and noted that all debts were paid off. The
deed read “I, the mortgager, here named [Kezar], having received satisfaction for this mortgage
hereby fully discharge the same.”55 Pictured below is that annotation, as well as the signature of
Charles H. Kezar.
It is possible that the Converses fell into financially difficult times and could not make the
necessary mortgage payments to Kezar. Two days before the Registrar of Deeds had made the
annotation that all debts had been paid off, the Converses had sold their house at 3 Woodside
St. to Benjamin A. Reed and Emily F. Reed on May 7, 1877. The Converses had bought Lot 18
at the beginning of a financial crisis in 1873.This crisis had set off panic across the United
States and Europe. President Ulysses S. Grant and his Republican colleagues tasked with the
52
Sampson, Davenport, &. Co. The Salem Directory, 1876. Pg 106.
Meek, Henry. The Naumkeag District Directory, 1882-3. Henry M. Meek & Francis A. Fielden, 1882. Pg 574.
https://www.noblenet.org/salem/reference/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1882_2_230-332.pdf
54
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: Charles H. Kezar, Grantee: George A. Converse & Mary J. Converse. May 9,
1877. Book 942, Pg 193.
55
Ibid., Book 942, Pg 193.
53
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responsibility of reconstructing the South following the Civil War felt the consequences as well.
Partially as a result of these economic difficulties Republicans lost the 1874 Congressional
elections, one of many decisive moments that led to Confederate sympathizers regaining power
in the South.56 By 1877, the fortunes of the nation had turned: President Rutherford B. Hayes
had agreed to remove the military from the South, abandoning black Southerners to white
“home rule.” That same year, George, Mary, and Carrie Converse moved out of their home at 3
Woodside St. They had originally bought the land for $375; took out a mortgage for $1500; and
then were loaned an additional $300, totaling an investment of $2,175. When they sold the
house and land in 1877, it was for $2072. It is unclear but it seems unlikely that the Converses
profited from the sale of 3 Woodside St.
Less than a year after his move from 3 Woodside St., George A. Converse’s name appeared in the Boston Globe
citing his second place finish in the Italian Greyhounds category of the Massachusetts Kennel Club Dog Show. He
had the second best Italian Greyhound “dog or bitch” in the competition.
Second Empire Architecture and the Home at 3 Woodside Street
When the Converses built the house at 3 Woodside St., they chose a style that
contrasted sharply with Salem’s earlier First Period or Georgian style homes. The Converses
built a house in the architectural tradition of the Second Empire in France. The origins of this
type of architecture traced back to the reign of Napoleon III. In 1851, the elected president of
France, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon I, dissolved the National Assembly
effectively ending the short-lived Second Republic installing himself as emperor. He ruled
France for approximately 18 years until 1870 when he went into exile in England and the Third
Republic was established.57 From 1852 to 1870, however, Napoleon III transformed the
architectural life of Paris. He expanded the city's limits, widened boulevards, and constructed
new buildings modeled after an earlier Italian Renaissance tradition.58 These new structures
symbolized the architectural style of the Second Empire. A few examples are shown on the next
page.
56
Barreyre, Nicolas. "The Politics of Economic Crises: The Panic of 1873." The Journal of the Gilded Age and
Progressive Era, V. 10, 2011. Pg 403. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23045120
57
Delage, Irene and Guiga, Nebiha. "Napoleon III, Emperor of the French (1808-1873)." Napoleon.org, Accessed
2021. https://www.napoleon.org/en/young-historians/napodoc/napoleon-iii-emperor-of-the-french-1808-1873/.
58
McNamara, Sarah. "The Rise & Fall of the Mansard Roof." The Old-House Journal, August-September 1984. Pg
152. https://dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/files/Rise_and_Fall_ofThe_Mansard.pdf.
�26
Boulevard Haussmann, Credit: Thierry Bézecourt.
The Avenue de l'Opéra painted by Camille Pissarro (1898).
The mansard roof, or “the french roof,” is the defining feature of Second Empire
architecture. Although the height of Second Empire architecture was in the nineteenth century,
the mansard roof was popularized by an architect named Francois Mansart, who lived from
1598 to 1666.59 The mansard roof was a signature of Parisian buildings during this time
because it allowed French citizens to skirt tax laws. During the Second Empire, there was a new
property tax that was based on the height of a building measured from the ground to the base of
the roof. Rather than measuring the building to the ceiling of the top living space which then led
to a roof, the mansard roof with its steep sides and dormer windows thus forced inspectors to
permit a top living space free of charge.60
While the mansard roof was the defining characteristic of French Second Empire
architecture, it was not the only one. Often Second Empire buildings featured but were not
limited to ornamented windows and doorways. Additionally roofs often had bracketed cornices
at their base for extra detail. Architects and builders sometimes used bay windows and corner
quoins to sometimes enhance the appearance of a more modest residence.61 On the next page
is a picture of the house at 3 Woodside St. with annotated notes on its architectural features.
59
Ibid., Pg. 152
"Architecture in Oakwood." The Society for the Preservation of Historic Oakwood, Accessed 2021.
https://www.historicoakwood.org/second-empire
61
Old House Journal. "The Mansard Roof and Second Empire Style." Old House Online, Accessed 2021.
https://www.oldhouseonline.com/house-tours/the-mania-for-mansard-roofs/
60
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A 1986 picture of the house at 3 Woodside St. taken by Debra Hilbert of the Northfields Preservation Association.
Much of the following analysis is borrowed from her notes.62
A. A concave corner, a common style on a mansard roof.
B. Two dormer windows at the front of the mansard roof. Dormer windows coupled with the mansard roof’s steep
sides allowed Parisian homeowners to skirt city tax laws by adding extra living space.
C. The mansard roof, the defining feature of Second Empire architecture. The house at 3 Woodside St. used to have
a fishscale slate roof, which has since been removed.
D. Windows with tab-bracketed caps.
E. Bay windows, like this one, were often added to more modest Second Empire homes to provide additional detail.
F. A bracketed and dentilled doorhood. This ornamentation calls back to an earlier Italianate style.
One has to wonder what about this style appealed to the daughter of Irish immigrants
and one of Salem’s modest sons, what dreams did this architecture hold for them. While this
type of home is rare in North Salem today, it was a phenomenon that swept across the world.
Expositions in Paris in 1855 and 1867 exposed the French Second Empire beyond the borders
of France.63 This style found its second home in the United States, a country that was also
experiencing great societal change. The Second Empire style reached the height of its fame
during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, the former Union general who had crushed the
southern rebellion four years before assuming office.
62
Hilbert, Debra. "MACRIS Report: 3 Woodside St." Massachusetts Historical Commission, Sal 507, April, 1986.
https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=SAL.507.
63
McNamara, Sarah. “The Rise & Fall of the Mansard Roof.” Pg 152.
�28
Grant had commissioned a British architect named Alfred B. Mullett who designed the
State, War, and Navy buildings in Washington D.C. drawing from French Second Empire
influences. Many of America’s wealthiest residents followed suit. Old House Journal, a digital
magazine, commented on the proliferation of this style to all classes of people: “Nonetheless,
the mansard roof was so useful—both as a means of securing additional living space at the top
of the building and as a device for adding visual heft and distinction to a small and simple
building—that its use by all classes of homeowners was widespread.”64 There are quite a few
examples of this style house in Salem, mostly in the city center and in the southern part of the
city. The Converse house on Woodside St. is a rare example of Second Empire architecture in
North Salem.
The Second Empire style though faded quickly from favor in the United States. Some
critics have associated its demise as a byproduct of the scandals that Grant’s critics associated
with his presidency.65 Others tied it to a waning French influence around the world. After the
disastrous results of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870 the French army was decimated, and
Napoleon III was captured and exiled.66 Regardless, these buildings were demolished as quickly
as they took prominence in America. The survival of this modest French Second Empire house
in Salem thus represents a distinctive period in the history of the United States and the world, as
well as the hopes and dreams of Mary and George Converse, its first owners, and Mary A.
Woods, who stipulated that her husband’s nursery lands be turned into residential homes.
3 Woodside St.67
64
Old House Journal. "The Mansard Roof and Second Empire Style."
https://www.oldhouseonline.com/house-tours/the-mania-for-mansard-roofs/
65
McNamara, Sarah. “The Rise & Fall of the Mansard Roof.” Pg 154.
66
Old House Journal. "The Mansard Roof and Second Empire Style."
https://www.oldhouseonline.com/house-tours/the-mania-for-mansard-roofs/
67
"3 Woodside St, Salem, MA 01970." Zillow.com, Accessed 2021.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/3-Woodside-St-Salem,-MA-01970_rb/56118846_zpid/.
�29
The Reed Family & Massachusetts 23rd Regiment Co. F
On May 7, 1877, Emily F. Reed, “wife of Benjamin A. Reed of said Salem” bought a
“parcel of land with all the buildings thereon situated in said Salem in that thereof known as
North Salem and being lot number eighteen according to the plot of land belonging to the Estate
of the late Ephraim Woods as surveyed by Chas. A. Putnam surveyor May 29, 1871.” They
purchased 3 Woodside from the Converses “in consideration of two thousand and seventy two
dollars.”68 Though the second homeowners, Emily and Benjamin Reed would live in 3 Woodside
St. longer than the Converse family. They would be the last residents of the nineteenth century
and the first of the twentieth century.
Emily Farley was born on June 14, 1839 to James Farley and Mary West.69 When she was
three years old her father, James Farley, passed away.70 Mary raised Emily and her two siblings
for four years as a single parent until she met Stephen Young, who was also widowed and
raising two boys of his own.71 In 1855, Emily Farley appears in the census living in Salem in the
household of Stephen Young, a mason, and her mother Mary.72 A year later in 1856 at the age
of eighteen, Emily Farley married Benjamin A. Reed of Salem.73 Between 1859 to 1878, from age
twenty to thirty-nine, Emily would give birth to seven children: Emily, Alice, George, Benjamin,
Addison, Matilda, and Mabel, respectively. Only Alice, her second daughter, did not live to
adulthood, dying at 14 months old.
The patriarch of the family, Benjamin A. Reed, was born in 1835 during the presidency of
Andrew Jackson to Clarke Reed and Martha Pulisifer.74 He was twenty-one years old when he
married Emily. He supported his large family by working as a carpenter throughout his life.75 On
December 20, 1860, the life of the Reeds and that of the nation would change forever. A
headline in the Charleston Mercury read “The Union is Dissolved.”76 By mid-1861 ten more
states would secede joining South Carolina and forming what they called the Confederate States
68
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: George A. Converse and Mary J. Converse, Grantee: Emily F. Reed and
Benjamin A. Reed. May 7, 1877. Bk 975, Pg 197.
69
Death Record of Emily Farley Reed. Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915, 1921-1924. FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NW2Y-PDQ.
70
Death Record of James Farley. Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001. FamilySearch.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1K-XW64.
71
Mary Farley Marriage. Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915. FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N4QV-LYM?from=lynx1UIV8&treeref=9N6K-3HJ
72
Massachusetts State Census, 1855. Salem, Ward 03, Digital Folder 004279395. FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-62YV-DW?i=29&cc=1459985&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F6190
3%2F1%3A1%3AMQH9-9MP.
73
Benj. A. Reed and Emily Farley Marriage. Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915, FHL microfilm 1,433,014.
FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NWBT-7D1?from=lynx1UIV8&treeref=M5S7-G51
74
Benjamin A. Reed Death Records. Massachusetts, U.S., Death Records, 1841-1915, Original Source:
Massachusetts Vital Records. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2101/images/41262_b140117-00294?treeid=&personid=&usePUB
=true&_phsrc=fOS215&_phstart=successSource&pId=521943
75
Benj. A. Reed and Emily Farley Marriage. Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915.
ttps://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NWBT-7D1?from=lynx1UIV8&treeref=M5S7-G51
76
"The Union is Dissolved." Charleston Mercury. November 3, 1860. National Park Service.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/south-carolina-secession.htm
�30
of America, a nation, as the “Mississippi Declaration of Secession” stated, whose “position is
thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery-- the greatest material interest of the
world.”77
On April 15, 1861, Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, a base for Federal troops.
President Lincoln within days had called upon Northern men to join the war effort. Back in
Salem, as was the case across the nation, talk of this impending war was at a peak. Salem’s
young men formed an organization called “The Union Drill Club” with the intention of learning
about military duty and life. Within a month, this Union Drill Club had formed a company and
voted on a uniform. They would become Company F, a part of the Massachusetts 23rd
Volunteer Regiment. With Governor Andrew’s permission, leaders of Co. F opened a recruiting
station at 31 Washington St.78 The Salem Gazette wrote of that day that “no single event has
occurred in our city in reference to the present war, which is more cheering to every patriot
than the enlistment of this organization of our young men… We are called, indeed, to lay our
most precious jewels upon the altar now.”79
Ninety-four percent of Massachusetts’ 23rd Regiment Co. F was made up of men from
Essex County, about seventy percent from Salem alone.80 Salem’s residents celebrated Company
F on the Commons, the only group of soldiers ready for the front that passed through the city.81
On October 14, 1861, Benjamin A. Reed, the twenty-six-year-old carpenter from Salem, enlisted
for three years of service as a private. Reed was an ordinary man. He was about 5’6” with fair
skin, blue eyes, and brown hair.82 At the time of his enlistment, he was not yet living on 3
Woodside St. as it was still a part of Ephraim Woods’ nursery. He would leave behind two of the
house’s future residents for the South: his wife Emily and their daughter Emily. Alice, their
second daughter, had died less than a month before Benjamin enlisted. One has to wonder
what role this death played in Benjamin’s decision to join the war effort. Emily Reed must have
been aware that this decision risked the life of her husband and could bring tragedy onto the
Reed Family once again. When Reed joined, Emily was also one month pregnant with
Benjamin’s first son, George.83 On the next page is Benjamin A. Reed’s record from his
“Regimental Descriptive Book.”
77
“A Declaration of the Immediate causes which induce and justify the secession of the State of Mississippi from the
Federal Union.” Yale Law School, Accessed 2021. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_missec.asp
78
Emmerton, James A. A Record of the Twenty-Third Regiment Mass Vol. Infantry. William Ware & Co., 1886. Pg. 4.
https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/443047-a-record-of-the-twenty-third-regiment-mass-vol-infant
ry-in-the-war-of-the-rebellion-1861-1865-with-alphabetical-roster-company-rolls-portraits-maps-etc?viewer=1&offset=
0#page=35&viewer=picture&o=&n=0&q=
79
Ibid., Pg 39.
80
Valentine, Herbert E. Dedication of the boulder commemorating the service of the Twenty-Third Regiment.
Newcomb & Gauss, Printers, 1905. Pg. 10.
81
Ibid., 10.
82
Benjamin A. Reed Enlistment Record, 1862. Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in
Organizations from the State of Massachusetts. Fold3.
https://www.fold3.com/image/524451808?terms=reed,war,massachusetts,civil,union,united,america,benjamin,a,state
s
83
George Reed Birth Record. Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915, 004341182. FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6S44-321?i=932&cc=1463156.
�31
�32
As the regiment drilled, it was common for Company F to sing either “John Brown’s
Body” or a patriotic ode dedicated to the Union Drill Club by some of Salem’s women.84 The
song is pictured below.
This song does not mention the downfall of slavery. In retrospect, this was an obvious effect of the war but at its start this was
not yet evident. It is worth noting that this sentiment was not entirely absent though. Salem’s soldiers sang “John Brown’s Body”
which commerated the martryed abolitionist who attempted to violently overthrow the institution of slavery in Harpers Ferry,
Virginia.
One can imagine the sons of Essex county singing these songs as they went first to
Annapolis, Maryland and then traveled by ocean to Hatteras, North Carolina.85 Benjamin A.
Reed was with Company F. on these first journeys southward.86 On February 5, 1862, the
monotony of camp life was broken when Company F was ordered to travel to Roanoke Island, a
location along the North Carolina coast. They had arrived as a part of a fleet of ships: the
steamers towing four sailing vessels, supply vessels in the rear, and gunboats leading the way
84
Valentine, Herbert E. Dedication of the boulder commemorating the service of the Twenty-Third Regiment. Pg 11.
Emmerton, James A. A Record of the Twenty-Third Regiment Mass Vol. Infantry. Pg 26.
86
Benjamin A. Reed Muster-in Roll. Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in
Organizations from the State of Massachusetts. Fold3. Pg 3. https://www.fold3.com/image/524392637.
85
�33
and flanking the sides.87 They were met with a few shells when they landed but were practically
unchallenged.88
James Emmerton, a corporal and assistant surgeon, remembered Company F’s first
march to the front at Roanoke Island when he wrote, “It was hard, at first, to realize that our
charming rural by-road— a mere track through the woods— was to lead by so short a course to
a bloody battle-field. The almost universally evergreen foliage was bright with the recent rain
and frequent birds were chirping amid the emerald leaves.”89 At the end of this road was an
opening surrounded by mud and swampland. There Company F met with the Massachusetts
25th Regiment who was engaged in battle with the Confederate enemy. About 3,000
Confederate soldiers were positioned on Roanoke Island prepared for the Union assault.
Six brass howitzers from Union gunboats supported Company F soldiers as they engaged
with the enemy. It was in this part of the battle that Company F laid its first jewels on the altar.
Two soldiers from Marblehead, Lieutenant Goodwin and Sargeant Morse, had been killed.
When they were buried two months later in their hometown, Emmerton wrote, “business was
suspended and the entire population took part. Flags were at half-mast everywhere. The public
buildings as well as many private residences and stores and the Unitarian Church were draped
in black.”90
Despite the hardships and death that they faced, Company F pushed ahead through the
North Carolina swampland using their swords to carve a way through the wilderness, engaging
the rebels and forcing them to retreat. While other regiments from Massachusetts and New
York fought in different locations on Roanoke Island, General John G. Foster in his report noted
that “the 23rd Mass. — sent to turn’s the enemy’s left — had also made its appearance on that
flank— another cause of the necessity of the enemy’s retreat.”91 Along with the Massachusetts
24th, the 23rd Regiment joined in pursuit of the retreating enemy soldiers. Shortly thereafter,
General Foster arrived by horseback announcing a Confederate surrender.
87
Emmerton, James A. A Record of the Twenty-Third Regiment Mass Vol. Infantry. Pg 43.
Ibid., Pg 45.
89
Ibid., Pg 46.
90
Ibid., Pg 48.
91
Ibid., Pg 51.
88
�34
A painting published by Currier & Ives depicting the Capture of Roanoke Island on February 8, 1862.92
On February 8, 1862, the Union had captured Roanoke Island, one of the first stages of
what would become known as the Burnside Expedition. By capturing Roanoke Island, Union
soldiers gained a base from which they could wage war against Confederate soldiers from the
sea.93 Generals Ambrose Burnside and George McCellan devised this plan as one piece of
General Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan, where Union soldiers would institute a blockade along
the Confederate coast. Burnside said that he wanted soldiers “bordering on the northern
seacoast, many of whom would be familiar with the coasting trade.”94 Benjamin A. Reed of
Salem, the second homeowner of 3 Woodside St., was one those northern seaboard soldiers
fighting at Roanoke Island. On the next page is a “Company Muster Roll” showing his activity
duty status in January and February of 1862.
92
“Capture of Roanoke Island, Feby. 8th 1862.” Lithograph, Collection: Popular Graphic Arts. Currier & Ives, 1862.
Library of Congress. http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b49921/.
93
"The Burnside Expedition" North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial. North Carolina Department of Cultural
Resources. NCPedia, Accessed 2021. https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/burnside-expedition.
94
Burnside, Ambrose E. Personal Narratives of Events in the War of Rebellion. N. Bangs Williams & Company, 1882,
Providence College. Pg 7.
https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=ri_history
�35
�36
The Massachusetts 23rd Regiment would fight in twelve more battles across the South:
New Bern, Goldsboro Bridge, Kinston, White Hall, Smithfield, Port Walthall Junction, Arrowfield
Church, Proctor’s Creek, Drewry's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Wyse Fork. They would
lose 218 men in the war to end slavery and save the Union. Four officers and eighty enlisted
men would die from fatal wounds, and two officers and one hundred and thirty-two enlisted
men would die from disease.95 Benjamin A. Reed, however, likely did not see the field of battle
again after fighting on Roanoke Island in February, 1862. On the “Company Muster Roll” for
March and April, he is listed as being absent due to sickness while at New Bern.96 In May and
June of 1862, he was listed as being sick at the hospital.97
95
National Park Service. "Union Massachusetts Volunteers: 23rd Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry." National Park
Service. Accessed 2021.https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UMA0023RI
96
Benjamin A. Reed Muster-in Roll. Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in
Organizations from the State of Massachusetts. Pg 7.
97
Ibid., Pg 8.
�37
On August 18, 1862 he left North Carolina and was assigned to recruiting service in
Massachusetts. It was during this time that he likely met his son George for the first time. From
August onward, Reed was listed as having been on an extended furlough. In addition to being
on furlough, his sickness lingered as well. By the new year, 1863, following the passage of the
Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, Reed still had not rejoined the Massachusetts 23rd
Regiment. By March and April of 1863, he was listed as being discharged on account of
physical disability with a Boston surgeon’s certification dated on October 7, 1862.98 His
discharge papers stated:
Private Benjamin A. Reed of Captain Whipple’s Company (F) of the Twenty Third Regiment of
Massachusetts Volunteers, was enlisted by RR Emerton of the Fourteenth day of October 1861, to serve
three years; he was born in Salem, in the State of Massachusetts. Twenty six years of age, five feet five and
¾ inches high, light complexion, blue eyes, brown hair, and by occupation enlisted Carpenter… I certify that
I have carefully examined the said Benjamin A. Reed of Captain Whipple’s Company, and find him incapable
of performing the duties of soldier, because of enlargement of the liver and chronic diarhosa [sic]...99
It is possible that Reed’s enlarged liver and diarrhea were symptoms of jaundice, a
common sickness in the army, or possibly hepatitis. However, there is no definitive
understanding of the illness that forced Reed from active duty. On the next page is
Benjamin A. Reed’s discharged papers.
98
99
Ibid., Pg. 19.
Ibid., Pg. 19.
�38
By the end of the war in 1865, the Reed family had grown from three to five. Emily and
Benjamin welcomed a new son into the family, Benjamin Reed Jr., on January 21, 1865. In the
�39
years after the war, Benjamin Reed would continue to work as a carpenter in Salem in order to
support his growing family. He would have three more children with Emily. Addison P. Reed,
Benjamin and Emily’s third son, was born two years after the war’s conclusion in 1867.100 In
March of 1873 his daughter Tillie was born.101 On a lighter note, in 1874, Benjamin A. Reed’s
name appeared in the Boston Globe because his clothes had been robbed.102
When the Reeds moved into 3 Woodside St. in 1877, they brought with them two
teenagers and three children. Emily at thirty-nine years old may or may not have realized when
they bought 3 Woodside St. that she was pregnant for a seventh time. Nearly eight months later,
Mabel Reed, the family’s last child was born. Below is an 1880 Census capturing what the Reed
family would have looked like three years after moving into Woodside St. and nearly eighteen
years since Benjamin Reed fought on Roanoke Island.103
The 1880 census captured what life was like for the Reed Family in the early days of their time living on Woodside St.
The following is an explanation of each of the categories annotated above.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
100
The number of the house on Woodside St.
The names of the family members
Race
Sex
Age
Family Relationship
Marital Status: Single
Marital Status: Married
Profession - here we have the most interesting glimpse into the Reed Family. Emily, the matriarch of the
Reed family, is listed as “Keeping House,” undoubtedly devoting much of her time to raising her children.
Only three Reed family members earned a wage: Benjamin, the patriarch, as a carpenter, Emily as a
bookkeeper, and George as an errand boy who worked while also attending school.
Not shown in this picture is a category indicating that all Reed family members could read and write.
Addison Reed Death Record. Canada, British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993.
FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLRJ-LHR?id=M5S7-G51.
101
Matilda Reed Birth Record. Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915. FamilySearch.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZ6G-L8Q.
102
"The Suburbs: Notes." The Boston Globe. January 12, 1874. Accessed 2021.
https://bostonglobe.newspapers.com/image/428182017/?terms=benjamin%20a.%20reed&match=1
103
United States Census, 1880. Massachusetts, 1880 federal census: soundex and population schedules.
FamilySearch.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YB3-B18?cc=1417683&wc=XHT7-DP8%3A1589405656%2C1589405
685%2C1589395083%2C1589398228
�40
While Benjamin A. Reed raised his family, his old comrades in the 23rd Regiment
worked to remember the service of Essex County’s men in the Civil War. On September 26,
1871, the Salem Gazette published a reunion notice for "resident members of the late 23rd
Regiment." After a larger than expected crowd reported to this gathering, a 23rd Regiment
Association was formed. This association worked to record the history of the 23rd
Massachusetts Regiment, and specifically the service of Company F. They also hosted annual
dinners commemorating and celebrating the soldiers who took part in the war. Pictured below is
an 1880 reunion invitation for anyone who wanted to commermate the participation of the
Massachusetts 23rd Regiment, Company F in the Battle of Roanoke Island.104
104
Massachusetts Infantry 23rd Regiment Association. “Reunion (notices).” Box number 1, Folder number 1, Call
number: E S1 S5 M1 T1. Phillips Library Stacks, Rowley, MA. Accessed May 20, 2021.
�41
A dinner menu from the 1880 reunion.
In addition to these annual dinners, a few members of Company F recorded histories of
their time in the war. Herbert E. Valentine, a former soldier in Company F and the most prolific of
these historians, wrote and drew detailed histories of the regiment’s war effort. In his 1896 book
Co. F, 23d Massachusetts Volunteers in the War for the Union he interspersed photographs of
those who served alongside him throughout his narrative. Below is an undated photograph from
Valentine’s book of Benjamin A. Reed. It is the earliest known picture of a resident who lived at
3 Woodside St.105
105
Valentine, Herbert E. Co. F, 23d Massachusetts Volunteers in the War for the Union. W.B. Clarke &
Co., 1896. Pg 111.
�42
�43
It is unclear if Benjamin A. Reed ever attended any of these reunions. The inclusion of
his photograph in Valentine’s book possibly signals that he did. Furthermore, he likely fought on
Roanoke Island, which increases the likelihood that he attended one of the dinners. Roanoke
Island was the first and most celebrated of these battles among Company F’s soldiers. Through
the years, Benjamin A. Reed continued to collect a disability pension for his service in the Civil
War. Pictured below is a record of Reed’s pension.106
With each passing annual celebration of the 23rd Regiment, the Reeds grew older. Their
children would find jobs, husbands, wives, and homes of their own. Emily and Benjamin
watched their household of eight become a household of four. By the time the 1900 census was
taken, only two of their children, Tillie and Mabel, remained at 3 Woodside St. Benjamin was still
a carpenter, and Tillie was listed as a saleswoman. Benjamin and Emily Reed had been married
for forty-four years and living at 3 Woodside St. for over half that time. Pictured below is a
portion of the 1900 census.107
Benjamin Reed Jr.’s name also grew in stature in Salem. He had been listed as a sign
painter in the 1886 Salem Directory.108
106
Benjamin A. Reed Pension Record. Pension Number: 270319. Fold3.
https://www.fold3.com/image/313117509?rec=309340951&terms=reed,war,massachusetts,civil,union,united,america,
benjamin,a,states.
107
1900 United States Census. Salem city Ward 6, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9R6-98D.
108
Sampson, Murdock, & Co. The Salem Directory, 1886. Merrill & Mackintire, Henry P. Ives, 1886. Pg 313.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Salem_Directory/-PcCAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1
�44
Nine years later, Benjamin A. Reed Jr., the carpenter’s son and his father’s namesake, would be
advertising himself as a college educated optician. Below is a copy of an advertisement for his
business.109
Benjamin Reed Jr. is listed as a graduate of Philadelphia Optical College in this 1895 advertisement.
Three years after the 1900 census, Emily F. Reed, the mother of six, and the family’s matriarch
passed away from tuberculosis.110 She was sixty-four years old.
The official cause of death was phthisis pulmonalis, known more commonly as consumption or tuberculosis.
After Emily’s death, the Reed children sold their family home of twenty-six years to Elmer
F. Littlefield. One has to speculate what the children felt that day signing in their father’s stead.
Mabel, the youngest of the Reed children, born one year after the family moved in, only ever
knew a world that had the embrace of her mother and her childhood home in it. Benjamin A.
Reed would wake up for the first time in forty-seven years without his wife. In the 1906 Salem
Directory, the seventy-one year old widow was shown as a boarder in a house on 152 North St.,
a few blocks from Woodside St.111 In 1909, six years after his wife’s death, Benjamin Reed
passed away. At the time of his death Benjamin was living on Oakland St. with his daughter
Emily and her husband, a shoecutter named Edwin Cushing.112 Emily’s house was very close to
109
Meek, Henry M. The Naumkeag Directory. Henry M. Meek, 1895. Pg. 1161.
https://www.noblenet.org/salem/reference/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1895_945-1101.pdf
110
Death Record of Emily F. Reed. Family Search.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6SX9-83R?i=945.
111
Meek, Henry M. The Naumkeag Directory of Salem. The Henry M. Meek Publishing Co., 1906. Pg. 199.
https://www.noblenet.org/salem/reference/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/121-352.pdf
112
Ibid., 118, https://www.noblenet.org/salem/reference/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/57-120.pdf.
�45
their former house on Woodside St. just across the way off of North St. Below is a copy of
Benjamin A. Reed’s death certificate.
In this death certificate Benjamin A. Reed’s cause of death is listed as Erysipelas, a bacterial infection affecting the
skin.113 It is unclear if this illness was related to his reported liver enlargement during his time in the Civil War.
When Benjamin A. Reed was laid to rest next to his wife Emily in Harmony Grove
cemetery on February 11, 1908, his family lost a father and his community lost one more of
Salem’s sons who remembered what it was like fighting in the war to save the Union. In
September of 1908, the Boston Globe reported that the 38th annual reunion of the
Massachusetts 23rd Regiment was twenty members fewer. Among the names listed was
Benjamin A. Reed. 114
113
Stanway, Dr. Amy. "Erysipelas." DermNet NZ, Accessed 2021. https://dermnetnz.org/topics/erysipelas/.
"Veterans in Reunion." The Boston Globe. September 25, 1908.
https://bostonglobe.newspapers.com/clip/77629318/benjamin-a-reed-listed-as-having/#.
114
�46
A copy of the Boston Globe article listing all the veterans of the 23rd Regiment who had passed away that year.
Internal notes from the Company F reunion committee. Annotated next to Reed’s name was his date of death and his
former address, the one his comrades associated with him in life: 3 Woodside St.115
115
Massachusetts Infantry 23rd Regiment Association. “Reunion (notices).” Phillips Library Stacks, Rowley, MA.
�47
Today, the city of Salem has a lasting monument to the 23rd Volunteer Regiment of
Massachusetts. On the western edge of the Salem Commons on Winter St., near the spot
where the city of Salem first cheered on these soldiers, there is a boulder commemorating their
service during the Civil War. On the plaque is a list of ten companies that composed the
regiment and the thirteen battles in which they fought. In 1905 when the city dedicated this
monument, it is unknown if Benjamin Reed or his family attended. Yet it stands today as a
reminder of the common men who left their native Salem as soldiers and risked their lives in a
war that would save the Union and end the institution of slavery.
The Littlefield Family
On November 12, 1903, Elmer F. Littlefield signed three deeds for “one dollar and other
valuable considerations.” First, the children of Benjamin and Emily Reed signed one deed, and
then the spouses of the Reed children signed another deed.116 Once this task was completed,
Littlefield became the owner of “the parcel of land in said Salem with all the buildings thereon…
49 feet front on Woodside; 100 feet 6 inches deep on the northeast side; 99 feet deep on the
116
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: Cushing, Reed, Noyes; Grantee: Elmer F. Littlefield. November 12, 1903. Book
1724, Pg 72-75.
�48
southwest side being the same land conveyed to Mary J. Converse by deed of Mary A. Woods
widow of said Ephraim Woods dated October 8th 1873.”117 Immediately after signing those two
deeds, Littlefield sold the property to Samuel P. Coombs for “one dollar and other valuable
considerations.”118 Coombs then immediately sold his stake in 3 Woodside St. to Mary B.
Littlefield, Elmer’s wife, for “one dollar and other valuable considerations.”119 There are a lot of
uncertainties with the events of this date. It is unclear the role Coombs played in this
transaction, what “valuable considerations” were traded on this day, and if the Littlefields had
any prior connection to the Reeds.
Regardless, the Littlefields became the third family to live at 3 Woodside St. Elmer F.
Littlefield was born in 1871 in Reading, Massachusetts to Elmer H. Littlefield and Frances
Newell. Twenty-six years later, on June 14, 1897, he married twenty-one-year-old Mary A.
Bartlett . Mary A. Bartlett’s parents John H. Bartlett and Angelia were from Salem. Elmer was
working as a bookkeeper when Minister Charles H. Puffer of the Universalist Church wed the
couple.120 In the Salem Directory of 1895-1896, roughly a year before their marriage, Elmer was
listed as an employee of the National Security Bank of Boston. He was listed as a boarder on 157
North St., a few blocks from Woodside St. Pictured below is this entry in the Salem Directory.
Elmer and Mary Littlefield had three children who lived at 3 Woodside St. Mendum
Littlefield, who would grow up to be an engineer, was born in 1898.121 Prescott H. Littlefield, the
second Littlefield son, was born on November 29, 1901. As an adult, he lived in Darien,
Connecticut and worked for the Canada Dry Corp. for thirty-one years. He was also a graduate
117
Ibid., Book 1724, Pg 72-75.
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: Elmer F. Littlefield, Grantee: Samuel P. Coombs. November 12, 1903. Book
1724, Pg. 75-76
119
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: Samuel P. Coombs, Grantee: Mary B. Littlefield. November 12, 1903. Book
1724, Pg. 76-77
120
Mary and Elmer Littlefield Wedding Record. New England Historic Genealogical Society; Boston, Massachusetts;
Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911–1915, 1897. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2511/images/41262_b139431-00508?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&
queryId=3342d98af81f6ab7b6c45e149c556efb&usePUB=true&_phsrc=fOS220&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJ
s=true&_ga=2.196661420.1491671804.1620734643-137947325.1619384030&pId=3942409.
121
Mendum Littlefield Certificate of Marriage. Marriages small short volumes state, Vol. 48 Rockport to Salem Jan 1 Oct 31, 1924, Film #107560389. FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-93GR-8LQ5.
118
�49
of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.122 Below is a 1923 yearbook photograph of
Prescott H. Littlefield, a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity at MIT.123
On July 11, 1903, the first Littlefield daughter, Elizabeth, was born. Four months later,
the Littlefield family moved into 3 Woodside St. Like the Reeds, Elmer and Mary were raising
young children in the house. On December 14, 1908, a fourth Littlefield child was born, a
daughter named Virginia.124 Virginia, the only child born during the years when the Littlefields
lived at 3 Woodside St., would eventually become a teacher as an adult.125 Sadly though,
tragedy struck the Littlefield household in 1909. Elmer and Mary lost their daughter, Elizabeth,
at the age of six years old. Her death certificate listed that she had died from dysentery and
complications from appendicitis. Before her death, she suffered from the effects of dysentery
for ten days and the complications of appendicitis for seven. On the next page is a picture of
Elizabeth Littlefield’s death certificate.126
122
Prescott Harland Littlefield Obituary. Ancestry Message Board, Meredith Richey. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/81572712/person/34553238548/media/e7e77ee4-c46f-42a8-9151-5da
b6d5a59d4?_phsrc=fOS296&_phstart=successSource.
123
U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012. School Name: MIT; Year: 1923. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1265/images/31916_b032758-00388?treeid=&personid=&rc=&use
PUB=true&_phsrc=fOS295&_phstart=successSource&pId=974841632.
124
Death Record of Virginia Falby. Vermont Vital Records, 1760-2008. FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KNMX-FG1.
125
Marriage Record for Virginia Falby. New Hampshire, U.S., Marriage Records, 1700-1971. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61836/images/61836_01_1058-00376?usePUB=true&_phsrc=fOS
297&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=120587840.
126
Death Record of Elizabeth B. Littlefield. Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915, 1921-1924, #2313603. FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6QJV-X7?i=722.
�50
Elizabeth Littlefield, the six-year-old daughter of Elmer and Mary, lived her whole life in the home at 3 Woodside St. Her death
certificate confirms that she died in the family home.
The Littlefields moved out of 3 Woodside St. in 1917, nearly eight years after the death of
Elizabeth. One has to wonder if her death shaped the family's experiences and memories in the home.
Perhaps as Elmer professionally became more successful he wanted to upgrade to a larger house in a
more affluent city, like he did when moved to Swampscott.127 Or maybe his success as a banker afforded
the family the opportunity to escape the home where his six-year-old daughter had lived and then
passed away. Below is an excerpt of the 1910 census, taken a year after Elizabeth’s passing.128 Her
absence is noted within the census.
127
1930 Federal Census, Mary B. Littlefield. Year: 1930; Census Place: Swampscott, Essex, Massachusetts; Page:
2A; Enumeration District: 0279; FHL microfilm: 2340638. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/16649797:6224?tid=&pid=&queryId=93005299db96bffe7321f7f9e
4263f80&_phsrc=fOS244&_phstart=successSource.
128
1910 Federal Census. Year: 1910; Census Place: Salem Ward 6, Essex, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_587; Page:
3B; Enumeration District: 0475; FHL microfilm: 1374600. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/31111_4330068-00895?usePUB=true&_phsrc=fOS2
27&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=10904688.
�51
The numbers annotated above were in a column with the title “Mother of how many children. Above the 4 read the words
“Number born.” Above the 3 read the words “Number now living.”
Unlike the Reeds whose family life was centered around their residency at 3 Woodside St., the
Littlefields moved from place to place throughout their lives. No matter their residence though, Mary
continued to stay at home while Elmer commuted into Boston and worked as a banker. Elmer’s 1956
obituary in the Boston Globe is the most comprehensive biography of his life available.129 That obituary is
posted on the next page followed by a copy of Elmer’s signature.
129
"Obituary for Elmer F. Littlefield." The Boston Globe. October 31,1956. Accessed 2021.
https://bostonglobe.newspapers.com/clip/77628827/obituary-for-elmer-f-littlefield-aged/#.
�52
�53
This signature was taken from a copy of an application for The Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Elmer F. Littlefield received the approval of this society in April of 1928. He was a confirmed ancestor of Obadiah Hills of
Newbury, Massachusetts, a minuteman at Lexington and Concord.130
The O’Donnell Family
On February 23, 1917, Alice E. O’Donnell, wife of James O’Donnell, was the next buyer of the
house on 3 Woodside St. She bought “the land in said SALEM with the buildings thereon… for
consideration paid.”131 The details of payment based on these records in the Registry of Deeds are
unclear. The O’Donnell family also lived on 3 Woodside St. for the shortest amount of time. They would
live in the home on 3 Woodside St. for fifteen months total.
The O’Donnells broke the pattern of young families buying the house at 3 Woodside St. They
were older than Elmer and Mary Littlefield, but roughly the same age as the elder Reed children. James
O’Donnell was born in Ireland in 1862.132 His wife Alice Mullen O’Donnell was born in Salem, but both of
her parents had emigrated to the United States from Ireland.133 When they bought the house on 3
Woodside St., James was approximately fifty-five years old and Alice was approximately fifty-four years
old. They had three children: Catharine, James Jr., and Edward. Their youngest child Edward was
twenty-two years old when his parents moved into the house on 3 Woodside St. Catharine, their oldest,
was thirty-one years old.
130
Littlefield Application. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Provo, UT,
USA: Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2204/images/32596_242252-00054?treeid=&personid=&usePUB=
true&_phsrc=fOS228&_phstart=successSource&pId=574841
131
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: Elmer F. Littlefield and Mary B. Littlefield; Grantee: Alice E. O'Donnell. May 23,
1918. Book 2358 Pg. 486-487.
132
James A. O'Donnell Birth Record. Massachusetts, U.S., Birth Records, 1840-1915, 1893. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5062/images/41262_b139392-00520?usePUB=true&_phsrc=fOS2
55&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=3536187.
133
1900 Federal Census, O'Donnell. Year: 1900; Census Place: Salem Ward 6, Essex, Massachusetts; Page: 1;
Enumeration District: 0459; FHL microfilm: 1240648. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4113833_00242?usePUB=true&_phsrc=fOS258&_p
hstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=54948921
�54
James O’Donnell worked as a mason throughout his life while Alice stayed at home and managed
the house. All the O’Donnells could read, write, and speak English.134 The 1917 Salem Directory listed
James O’Donnell as the primary resident of 3 Woodside St.135 This entry is pictured below.
Both Alice and James died in the early 1920s.136 However, before this happened they sold 3 Woodside St.
in May of 1918 to Elizabeth and Charles McGee.
The McGee Family
When Elizabeth V. McGee, wife of Charles H. McGee, signed the deed for 3 Woodside St., the
house was forty-three years old. She paid $2500 for “the land in said SALEM, together with the buildings
thereon.”137 When the McGees bought the house, Charles was thirty-eight years old and Elizabeth was
ten years his junior.138 Both Charles and Elizabeth had not been college educated; however, both could
speak, write, and read English. Charles' parents had emigrated to the United States from English-Canada
when he was born in New Hampshire in 1880. Elizabeth V. Griffin’s father hailed from New Hampshire
and her mother from Massachusetts. She was born in her mother’s home state.139 Based on various
censuses, the McGees had three children when they moved into 3 Woodside St. Veronica “Myrtle”
McGee, the oldest daughter, was approximately ten years old when her parents moved into the house.140
134
Ibid., 7602.
Meek, Henry M. The Naumkeag Directory, 1917. The Henry M. Meek Publishing Co., 1917. Pg. 153.
https://www.noblenet.org/salem/reference/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1917_56-130.pdf.
136
Death Record of Alice O'Donnell. Massachusetts, U.S., Death Index, 1901-1980. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/3659/images/41263_2421406273_0060-00489?treeid=&personid=
&hintid=&queryId=1525b071b1cd128cfb5b421468258134&usePUB=true&_phsrc=fOS260&_phstart=successSource
&usePUBJs=true&pId=4206603
137
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: James O'Donnell and Alice E. O'Donnell; Grantee: Elizabeth V. McGee. May
23, 1918. Book 3201, Pg 231-232.
135
138
139
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9M3-YDLN?i=348&cc=1928860
Anna B. McGee Birth Record. Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920, Births 1920, vol 117 Salem.
FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9M3-YDLN?i=348&cc=1928860.
140
Veronica McGee Marriage Record. Marriage certificates, 1901-1937, Film #004245778. FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D8QQ-47W?mode=g&cc=1520640
�55
She was born about five years before Charles had married Elizabeth in 1914.141 Joseph McGee, their
second child, was nearly two years old, and Viola McGee was a newborn.142
Charles McGee was a short man with brown eyes, black hair, and a medium build. As he aged,
McGee slowly went bald. When he bought the house on Woodside St. with Elizabeth, he was employed
as a reporter writing for the Salem Evening News, where he would work for nearly all his adult life.143 On
September 12, 1918, Salem’s city government registered Charles McGee for the draft.144 Fortunately for
McGee, Germany surrendered on November 11, 1918, ending the Great War. On the next page is a copy
of his draft registration card.
141
Charles and Elizabeth McGee Marriage Record. Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915, 004329372.
FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6P74-872?i=623&cc=1469062&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F619
03%2F1%3A1%3AN46B-741.
142
1940 United States Census, McGee. Massachusetts (Essex County), Salem City, Ward 5. FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9M1-48C1?i=23&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A
1%3AK4XG-W27.
143
McGee Draft Registration. World War I Selective Service System draft registration cards, 1917-1918.
FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GB5R-GWD?i=1919&cc=1968530&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F
61903%2F1%3A1%3AKZN7-H2Q
144
Ibid., 61903.
�56
On this page, 3 Woodside St. is listed as Charles McGee’s primary residence.
�57
On the second page of this draft card, the registrar recorded Charles McGee’s physical attributes.
�58
In 1919, Elizabeth gave birth to another daughter whom the couple named Virginia. In 1920, at
the age of thirty, she gave birth to their final child, Anna B. McGee. Below is a copy of Anna’s birth
certificate.145
Anna McGee was born in Peabody, Massachusetts, yet her parent’s primary residence is listed above: 3 Woodside St.
While the McGees raised their family on Woodside St., Charles continued to write for the Salem Evening
News. He worked out of the Salem Evening News building, which was located on 155-187 Washington St.
in sight of the Salem Depot, George Converse’s former place of employment. Below is a picture of
Charles McGee’s office building.
145
Anna B. McGee Birth Record. Massachusetts State Vital Records,
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9M3-YDLN?i=348&cc=1928860.
�59
This photo was included in historian Jim McAllister’s article about the Salem Evening News building. As McAllister noted, the
Salem Evening News expanded this building into the one behind it on Washington St. The date of this photograph is unknown.146
Today the Salem Evening News Building holds many different purposes including being a home to the three restaurants: Adriatic
Restaurant and Bar, Passage To India, and The Derby.
146
McAllister, Jim. "Salem News Building Has a Colorful History." Salem, Massachusetts: The City Guide,
Accessed 2021. https://www.salemweb.com/tales/snewsbldg.php.
�60
Charles McGee was a successful employee at the Salem Evening News throughout his career. In
the 1930 Census, like on his draft card, he was listed as a reporter.147 In 1931, the Salem Directory listed
Charles McGee as an editor.148
In 1933 during the throes of the Great Depression, his title changed from editor to teletype editor.149
By the 1940 census, after having survived the worst of the Depression, the McGees had moved to a new
home in 1939 on Pickman Rd. valued at $5000. Based on the census, this new house was an upgrade,
worth $1100 more than the house on 3 Woodside St.150 This fact coupled with Charles being listed as an
assistant editor indicates financial success in a time of economic instability. He was not, however, the
sole wage earner in his household. Joseph was working as a gas attendant, and Anna was doing
housework for a private family. Myrtle and Viola, though, were no longer living with their parents.
In 1942, at the age of sixty-two, Charles McGee was again registered for the draft. Whereas his
hair had been black during the First World War, it had grayed by the time of the Second World War. He
was also wearing glasses. Although these registration cards exist, they do not indicate the United States
147
1930 United States Census, McGee. Massachusetts, Essex, Salem, ED 265. FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRHQ-H5Z?i=25&cc=1810731&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F619
03%2F1%3A1%3AXQG9-Z41.
148
Polk, R.L. Salem City Directory, 1931. R.L. Polk & Co. of New England, 1931. Pg. 220.
https://www.noblenet.org/salem/reference/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1931_59-324.pdf.
149
Polk, R.L. Salem City Directory, 1933-34. R.L. Polk & Co. of New England Publishers, 1933. Pg. 265.
https://www.noblenet.org/salem/reference/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1933-4_51-290.pdf.
150
1940 United States Census, McGee. Massachusetts (Essex County), Salem City, Ward 5.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9M1-48C1?i=23&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A
1%3AK4XG-W27.
�61
government’s intentions to draft older men like Charles. Rather, these records were intended to detail
the manpower and resources that could be utilized for the war effort.151 Charles H. McGee, like his son
Joseph, was not drafted to serve in World War Two. Pictured below is Charles’ “Old Man” draft card.152
Charles McGee’s residence was listed as being on Pickman Road, having moved out of 3 Woodside St. three years earlier in 1939.
151
"The Old Man's Draft." The Newberry, Posted on July 21, 2012, Accessed 2011.
https://www.newberry.org/old-mans-draft.
152
Charles McGee Draft Card, WWII. Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. Fold3.
https://www.fold3.com/image/275294040.
�62
This military card provided insight into the ways in which Charles McGee aged while living at 3 Woodside St.
�63
In 1952, nearly thirteen years after moving out of 3 Woodside St., the man behind
forty-one years of Salem Evening News columns appeared in the headlines.153
Two days later on December 4, 1952, The Salem Evening News reported that Charles Henry
McGee the “beloved newspaperman” had died. Elizabeth McGee, ten years younger than her
husband, would be buried next to him twenty-two years after his passing.154 A copy of Charles
McGee’s obituary is on the next page.155
A picture of Charles H. McGee from his obituary.
153
“Charles McGee is on Danger List.” Salem Evening News. December 2, 1952. Microfilm: Salem Public Library.
Death Record of Elizabeth McGee. "Find A Grave Index," database. FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVLR-FXKW?from=lynx1UIV8&treeref=LK51-S8V.
155
“Charles H. McGee, News Employe 41 Years, Dies.” Salem Evening News. December 4, 1952. Microfilm: Salem
Public Library.
154
�64
�65
The McKay Family
On November 10, 1939, Elizabeth V. McGee sold the home at 3 Woodside St. to Charles David A.
McKay and Mildred J. McKay for $3200 “with interest thereon at the rate of six percent annum, payable
in monthly installments at $25.96.”156 When this deed was finalized, little did David and Millie McKay
156
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: Elizabeth V. McGee, Grantee: Charles David A. McKay and Mildred J. McKay.
November 10, 1939. Book 3201, Pg 231.
�66
know that they would own 3 Woodside St. longer than any other family in its history. For forty-four years
they would call 3 Woodside St. their home.
Charles David A. McKay was born in 1897 in Nova Scotia to James and Elizabeth McKay.157 Two
years later in 1899, Mildred Jean MacKenna was born in Massachusetts to Gilbert and Minerva
MacKenna.158 Though born in Massachusetts, she would spend her youth living in Roseway, Shelburne,
Nova Scotia. While in Nova Scotia, David had gone to school until the seventh grade and Millie had
completed her first year of high school.159 As a teenager, Millie had asthma and had not been doing well
with the neighboring coal mines. Her breathing problems changed the course of her life. She met David
because he would deliver eggs to the MacKenna house in order to help out their family.160 The two fell in
love and married each other on November 30, 1921 in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.161 On the next page is a
copy of David and Millie’s marriage record.162
157
David McKay Enlistment. Canada, World War I CEF Attestation Papers, 1914-1918. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1086/images/gpc012-531064a?usePUB=true&_phsrc=fOS277&us
ePUBJs=true&pId=277958.
158
Mildred MacKenna Birth Record. Massachusetts, U.S., Birth Records, 1840-1915, 1899. Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5062/images/41262_b139447-00331?pId=1462809
159
1940 United States Census, McKay. Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States; citing enumeration district (ED)
5-365. FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4XL-YKH.
160
White, Curtis. Personal Interview. May 2021.
161
McKay Marriage Record. Canada, Nova Scotia Vital Records, 1763-1957, p. 311, volume 27. FamilySearch.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DHHQ-KRY?i=114&cc=2241441.
162
Ibid., 61903.
�67
Both David and Millie’s signatures are shown above. David is also listed for the first time as a carpenter rather than as fisherman
like his other records indicated.
�68
Before they were married, however, David was drafted to serve in the Canadian Expeditionary
Force during World War One. At the time, he was twenty-one years old and listed as having fair
complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair. He stood at about five feet, five inches. He was working as a
fisherman when he was called to serve. Below is a copy of his Canadian Expeditionary Force Attestation
Papers.163
In addition to providing the details of his early life in Canada, this attestation paper has David’s signature on it.
163
David McKay Enlistment. Canada, World War I CEF Attestation Papers, 1914-1918.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1086/images/gpc012-531064a?usePUB=true&_phsrc=fOS277&us
ePUBJs=true&pId=277958.
�69
Beginning on June 5, 1918, David held the rank of private while serving in the Nova Scotia 1st
Depot Battalion. He was listed as having been stationed in a camp in Aldershot, Nova Scotia.
Camp Aldershot, 1914-1918164
Depot Battalions, like the one David was listed as having been a member of, were intended to provide
reinforcements to preexisting Canadian Reserve Battalions in England. The Nova Scotia 1st Depot
Battalion was to provide reinforcements specifically for the Royal Canadian Regiment and the 25th, 28th,
85th, and 185th Battalions.165 David’s stint in the army was short lived though. He became severely ill
and was likely discharged in September of 1918, two months before the war’s conclusion. He would tell
younger generations in his family that he never served.166 On the next page is a copy of his military
records.
164
"Military Camp, Aldershot, #17." Oakville Public Library, 1914-1918.
https://images.oakville.halinet.on.ca/63464/data.
165
"Guide to Sources Relating to Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force." Library and Archives of Canada,
Accessed 2021.
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/Documents/depot%20battalions.pdf.
166
White, Curtis. Personal Interview. May 2021.
�70
As is the case in the document below, it is difficult to trace the meaning of the shorthand on these documents. Without a rosetta
stone, parts of these records remain a mystery.
�71
After nearly a year of marriage, David and Millie had their first child, Douglas G. McKay.167 Doug
was born in Nova Scotia like his father. After his birth, David, Millie, and Doug left Nova Scotia and moved
to Salem, Massachusetts. By leaving their native Canada, David avoided a career as a fisherman like so
many Nova Scotians before him, and instead continued to earn a wage as a carpenter. Based on 1940
census records, the McKays emigrated to the United States between the years 1922 and 1927. Their
second child, a daughter named Evelyn, was the first U.S. born citizen in the family. In 1929, their third
and final child Marjorie was born.168
Before buying the house on Woodside St., the young McKay family lived in different parts of
North Salem, including stints on Grove St. and Balcomb St. Later in life David fondly remembered
watching neighborhood pickup hockey games that were played off of Grove St. A copy of the 1930
census from the McKay family’s time on Grove St. is shown below.
Of note, David McKay rented a living space on Grove St. for $36 a month. He would later tell his grandchildren that he bought 3
Woodside St. because when he rented houses all he was left with was a box of rent receipts. Below are excerpts from the Salem
Directory.
1931 Salem Directory169
1937 Salem Directory170
On November 10, 1939, when they moved into their new home on 3 Woodside St., David and
Millie were in their early forties and raising two teenagers and a ten-year-old. By that point,
seventeen-year-old Doug was the most formally educated person in the household. Below is an excerpt
of the 1940 census, recorded a year after the McKays moved into the house on Woodside St.
167
Find a Grave Database. "Memorial Page for Douglas Gilbert James McKay," ID: 168917790. Find a Grave.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/168917790/douglas-gilbert_james-mckay.
168
1940 United States Census, McKay. Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4XL-YKH.
169
Polk, R.L. Salem City Directory, 1931. Pg 22.
https://www.noblenet.org/salem/reference/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1931_59-324.pdf.
170
Polk, R.L. Polk's Salem City Directory, 1937. R.L. Polk & Co., Publishers, 1937. Pg 267.
https://www.noblenet.org/salem/reference/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/1937-Salem-Directory-OCR.pdf
�72
On the far right of this picture, each family member’s place of birth is listed. Their education levels are to the left of that column.
Not shown in this excerpt is David’s occupation as a carpenter where he made $800 total off of forty weeks of work.
In 1940, Doug McKay, their oldest son, graduated from Salem Vocational High School with training as a
carpenter, or as he liked to joke, as a “wood butcher.”171 After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in
1941, the Second World War loomed over the McKay family as Doug thought about his future.
Knowing the likelihood that he was going to be drafted, Doug enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Unlike
being conscripted, Doug wanted to be in control. He knew that if he joined the Navy he could at least be
on a ship and guaranteed a bunk in which to sleep.172 Below is Doug McKay’s registration card.173
Doug is listed as a resident of 3 Woodside St. While living in his parents house, he worked in a boatyard in Marblehead. His
relationship with the ocean would not only define his military career but his life. He listed his father as the “person who will
always know our address.”
171
Find a Grave Database. "Memorial Page for Douglas Gilbert James McKay," ID: 168917790.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/168917790/douglas-gilbert_james-mckay.
172
White, Curtis. Personal Interview. May 2021.
173
Doug McKay Enlistment. Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Multiple Registrations,
Roll:44016_06_00073. Fold3. https://www.fold3.com/image/688226588.
�73
The second page of this report lists Doug’s physical attributes.
�74
It is unclear if Doug ever knew that he was the second resident of 3 Woodside St. to serve his
country. He had enlisted to join the armed forces in Salem nearly eighty one years after Benjamin A.
Reed did the same. Beginning in December 1943, a series of muster cards appeared in Doug’s military
records. They showed his extensive military experience in the Pacific Theatre of the war aboard the USS
Conner. The Conner was a Fletcher-class destroyer built in the Boston Navy Yard in Charleston and
launched in mid-1942.174 Doug was a sound man on the ship and responsible for scanning the ocean for
enemy submarines. In the late stages of the war, the Conner participated in numerous battles across the
Pacific Ocean.
In late 1943, muster records indicate that he was present for the bombardment of Nauru Island.
About a month later, he took part in the Marshall Island Assaults in January and February of 1944. During
the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Conner served as a rescue ship for planes on extreme range strikes.
In 1945, the Conner supported Australian troops invading Brunei with pinpoint gunfire support. Later
that year, the crew of the Conner stopped the hospital ship Tachibana Maru for inspection and
discovered contraband and a large number of soldiers, whom they took as prisoners.175 While Doug was
serving Millie would stay up late at night in the family home back on 3 Woodside St. listening to the radio
for updates about the war, undoubtedly worrying for her son’s life. The family maintained a victory
garden behind Salem High School, now Collins Middle School, throughout the war.176 By the time the
Japanese surrendered, Doug was fortunate to have survived the Conner’s many battles and the Second
World War.
In 1946, Doug’s name appeared on a muster roll for the USS Cushing. At the end of the war, the
Cushing served as a harbor entrance control vessel in occupied Japan, specifically Sagami Wan near
Tokyo Bay.177 On January 21, 1946, Doug was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy. A series of
pictures contextualizing Doug’s military service are featured in the following pages.
174
"Conner II (DD-582)." Naval History and Heritage Command, June 30, 2015, Accessed 2021.
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/conner-ii.html.
175
Ibid., https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/conner-ii.html.
176
White, Curtis. Personal Interview. May 2021.
177
"Cushing IV (DD-797)." HazeGray, Accessed 2021. www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd797txt.htm.
�75
A modern day picture of Sagami Bay, where Doug was likely stationed at the end of the war.178
U.S. and British Warships in that same bay in 1945.179
178
Quercus, Acuta. "Viewed from Miura Peninsula." January 25, 2016.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagami_Bay#/media/File:Mt._Fuji_from_Hiroyama_Park_(Zushi).jpg.
179
"Unknown American U.S. and British Warships Anchored in Sagami Wan." The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
August 27, 1945.
https://emuseum.mfah.org/objects/103918/us-and-british-warships-anchored-in-sagami-wan-outside-of#
�76
An aerial view of the USS Conner in 1943. Doug served most of his time in World War Two aboard this ship.180
A photo of the USS Conner in which the background of a city skyline appears to have been edited out of the picture.181
180
"Conner (DD 582)." Destroyer History Foundation. NARA photo 80-G-276724.
https://destroyerhistory.org/fletcherclass/0_allnum/582conner_01.html.
181
"L45-57.07.01 USS Conner (DD-582)." Naval History and Heritage Command, Catalog: L45-57.07.01.
https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/naval-subjects-collectio
n/l45--us-navy-ships/41-60/l45-57-07-01-uss-conner--dd-582-.html.
�77
The muster roll of the crew list aboard the USS Conner, the first one in which Doug appeared.182
The muster roll of the crew list aboard the USS Cushing, the last one in which Doug appeared.183
182
Doug McKay, first Muster Roll. U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, National Archives ID: 594996.
Fold3. https://www.fold3.com/image/308137169?rec=289409697&terms=james,war,gilbert,world,douglas,mckay,ii.
183
Doug McKay, last Muster Roll. U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, National Archives ID: 594996.
https://www.fold3.com/image/308046434?rec=288621830&terms=navy,war,g,world,cushing,douglas,mckay,ii.
�78
When Doug returned home to Salem, the family must have been relieved that they were all back
together safely. Despite leaving the Navy, Doug would always remain connected to the sea. He would
build at least two lapstrake boats in the cellar of 3 Woodside St. In order to get the boats out of the
house he had to entirely remove the bulkhead. In addition to working as a carpenter on the North Shore
after the war, Doug eventually became the owner and operator of Danvers Boat & Motor in Danversport.
He enjoyed saltwater fishing and clamming while recounting his old Navy stories to his friends and
family.184 His nephew, Curtis, wrote about Doug’s character in his obituary:
He was a very generous person - taking friends & family out fishing; sharing many fascinating stories (he was one of
the best story tellers), his mechanical expertise, his tools, or spare parts. He would drive from Roseway to his US Naval
reunions in the US until he could no longer drive there. He enjoyed talking with others on his short wave radio.185
Below is a picture of Doug McKay featured in his obituary in 2014.
As the years passed following World War Two, Doug’s father David continued to work as a
carpenter and Millie continued to manage household affairs. In 1957, Marjorie, the youngest McKay
daughter, married Robert White Jr. of Beverly. Marjorie met her husband Bob while working at Bomac
Laboratories in Beverly. Bob’s obituary stated that the couple “enjoyed 28 years of marriage and had
three children.”186 Throughout her life, Evelyn worked as a bookkeeper, partially because she enjoyed the
physical work of writing penmanship.187 Both Evelyn and Doug never married, though both remained
184
Find a Grave Database. "Memorial Page for Douglas Gilbert James McKay," ID: 168917790.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/168917790/douglas-gilbert_james-mckay.
185
Ibid., https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/168917790/douglas-gilbert_james-mckay.
186
"Robert S. White Jr." Legacy.com, Published June 18, 2008.
https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/legacy/111775543,
187
White, Curtis. Personal Interview. May 2021.
�79
close with the rest of the family. Marjorie and Bob’s children held many cherished memories at their
grandparents house on 3 Woodside St. and valued the time they spent with the McKay family. David
McKay, the patriarch of the McKay family passed away in 1979. In 1996, Millie would join her husband
and be buried alongside him in Roseway, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Curtis White, David and Millie’s grandson, fondly remembers spending time at his grandparents
house through the decades. Curtis graciously agreed to be interviewed about his family. Below begins a
section containing photographs provided by Curtis White along with assorted memories of his family and
their time at 3 Woodside St. The modern photos are from Zillow.com.188
David McKay is cutting a tree away from the house after it was downed by a hurricane. Even though the McKays bought the
house in 1939, it is possible this damage was a result of the 1938 Hurricane, one of the worst storms to ever hit the area.
188
"3 Woodside St, Salem, MA 01970." Zillow.com, Accessed 2021.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/3-Woodside-St-Salem,-MA-01970_rb/56118846_zpid/.
�80
David McKay painting while sitting in the sink.
Members of the McKay family standing in the kitchen,
a place that Curtis remembered as being very hectic
but full of joy.
That same sink area is shown in the Zillow listing above.
�81
Evelyn McKay standing in front of the back porch prior
to its enclosure.
Evelyn was standing in front of the orange
foundation immediately following the brick one.
�82
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
On the southeast wall on the southern corner of the basement were wooden shelves for canned goods. Curtis recalled
that his grandmother was always processing, canning, and storing fresh, homegrown vegetables. While they never
had a garden on the property, Doug kept a few outside the home. One of Curtis’ favorite spots in the whole house was
the stairway under the bulkhead, which was used to store these vegetables. David and Millie would often transport
these goods between their home in Salem and the house they owned in Nova Scotia. At Christmas time, the basement
held stacks of candies, which Millie and her daughters prepared and delivered to the elderly and sick.
A lathe, a machine often used for shaping wood, metal, or other materials, was located below the window.
There was a raised wood floor in the cellar, which had a room with a kiln. It was a workshop used by Marjorie and
Evelyn for making and glazing greenware.
This parking space next to the garage did not exist when the McKays lived in the house. Evelyn had an aluminum
screen house set on red concrete paving stones in this area.
The garage was used to store tools and carpentry supplies. There were two sets of hinged doors rather than overhead
doors. There was a large planer and jointer inside that David and Doug would use to process rough sawn lumber to
make into dimensional boards. Rough sawn lumber was stored on either side of the garage to dry.
�83
Curtis noted that his grandparents gutted this bathroom and removed an old clawfoot tub from it. This Salem bathroom looked
remarkably similar to the bathroom in their second house in Nova Scotia. They used the same materials for both.
�84
Evelyn used to decorate the bay window sill every Christmas, as shown above.
Shown below is that same bay window today.
�85
Millie’s parents, Gilbert MacKenna and Minerva “Minnie” Doane, opening presents at Christmas time. This photo was taken
sometime before Minnie passed away in 1966. Doug’s middle name was Gilbert and Evelyn’s was Minerva, both named after
their maternal grandparents. Below is a picture of the living room space with those same bookshelves today.
�86
The living room space shown above used to be the McKay family dining room. Below is a picture of David and Millie McKay on
their fiftieth wedding anniversary. One cannot know what David and Millie were thinking that day as they cut their cake
surrounded by family in the dining room of the home where they raised their children. Even with a brief glimpse into their life
through photographs and historical records, one can infer that they were proud of the loving family they created.
�87
The Kennedy Family
On April 15, 1983, Mildred J. McKay sold her family home on Woodside St. to Paul R. Kennedy
and Ellen A. Kennedy for $53,200.189 Because Paul and Ellen are still alive, the details of their life and
time at 3 Woodside St. will not be listed. However, they were the second longest tenured residents of
the house, living there for nearly thirty-eight years. In 1984 the Board of Registrars released a book titled
Street List of Persons. Of particular note in this book, Paul Kennedy and the McKays are listed as the
residents of 3 Woodside St. After this entry, Paul and Ellen will be sole homeowners listed.190
Paul Kennedy is listed as an electrical technician and Ellen Kennedy is listed as a credit manager.
The McNiff and Allison Family
On February 17, 2021, Paul R. Kennedy and Ellen A. Kennedy sold “the land in Salem, together
with the buildings thereon” to Joseph L. McNiff Jr. and his husband Robert L. Allison.191 Joe and Rob were
living in the Boston area for more than twenty years before they moved to Salem. They bought the
house on 3 Woodside St. while navigating the complexities of a global pandemic, which changed the
housing market, among many other cultural transformations. Joe noted that the couple was seeking a
LGBT-friendly community, and that they “have long been charmed by Salem’s eclectic and welcoming
nature.” He added, “the ability to have our forever home in a place with such a rich historical past is
more than we could ever ask for.”192
189
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: Mildred J. McKay; Grantee: Paul R. Kennedy and Ellen A. Kennedy. April 15,
1983. Book 7133, Pg 444.
190
Board of Registrars, Salem Massachusetts. Street List of Persons. January 1, 1984. City of Salem. Pg 136.
191
Salem Registry of Deeds. Grantor: Paul R. Kennedy and Ellen A. Kennedy; Grantee: Joseph L. McNiff Jr. and
Robert L. Allison. February 17, 2021. So. Essex #606 Bk: 39542 Pg 390.
192
McNiff. Personal Interview. May 11, 2021.
�88
�89
The Converses
Mary J. Converse, the first name on the deed to the house at 3 Woodside St., passed away in
New York City on April 7, 1933.193 The headlines in the New York Times that day covered the end of
Prohibition: “BEER FLOWS IN 19 STATES AT MIDNIGHT AS CITY AWAITS LEGAL BREW TODAY.”194 Buried on
page 10 were headlines about the Nazi rise to power in Germany: “HITLER CHALLENGES AMERICAN
PROTESTS: Asserts We Have Least Right to Attack Anti-Semitism in View of Our Ban on Yellow Race.”195
Mary had been living in the Bronx in an apartment building on Creston Ave. She had been widowed since
1904 when her husband George died.196 It is not clear why Mary was living in New York City at the time.
Perhaps she had wanted to remain close to her family. Her daughter, Carrie, had married and had
children with a police detective named Robert Duggan. The Duggan family also lived in New York City.
Without question, Mary had a much different life than the one she held in the quiet suburbs of North
Salem in the 1870s.
Mary J. Converse’s apartment building on 2330 Creston Ave. in the Bronx, as well as a map showing its location.
193
"Certificate of Death for Mary J. Converse." Department of Health of the City of New York: Bureau of Records,
1933. Registration No. 5920.
194
“BEER FLOWS IN 19 STATES AT MIDNIGHT AS CITY AWAITS LEGAL BREW TODAY.” The New York Times.
April 7, 1933, Accessed 2021.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/04/07/99302932.html?pageNumber=1&auth=login-smartlock.
195
“HITLER CHALLENGES AMERICAN PROTESTS.” The New York Times. April 7, 1933, Accessed 2021.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/04/07/99303029.html?pageNumber=10.
196
Death Record of George A. Converse. Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915, 1921-1924, FHL microfilm 2,069,838.
FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7FC-L1W.
�90
A copy of her death certificate.
�91
It was a cloudy day on April 8, 1933, when Mary J. Converse returned to Salem and was buried
next to her husband George in Harmony Grove Cemetery.197 Mary, who had built the home at 3
Woodside St. in French architectural traditions, now rests in a place patterned after the rural cemeteries
in France.198 When she and her husband built the home at 3 Woodside St., who knows what dreams they
held for the house. Through the generations, the home’s central structure likely remained remarkably
similar to the time when it was built, even as the neighborhood and the character of the city changed
around it. Long past the quiet days of Ephraim Woods’ nurseries, 3 Woodside St.’s residents shaped their
town and country in small ways. From Benjamin A. Reed and Douglas G. McKay, who risked their lives to
end destructive forces of oppression; to George A. Converse who simply helped a railroad company
connect Boston and Maine; to Charles H. McGee who edited the day’s news; to the mothers that raised
dozens of future Salem residents; each shaped the city Salem is today.
197
“Weather.” Salem Evening News. April 8, 1933. Salem Library: Microfilm.
"Harmony Grove Cemetery." Harmony Grove: About Page, Accessed 2021.
https://www.harmonygrovesalem.org/about.
198
�92
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Woodside Street
Historic Salem, Inc. House History
A resource made available by Historic Salem, Inc. detailing the history of Salem's houses.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
3 Woodside Street, Salem, MA, 01970
Subject
The topic of the resource
House History
Description
An account of the resource
Built for
Mary J. Converse
George A. Converse
Engineer
Eastern Railroad
1874
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Historic Salem, Inc.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Historic Salem, Inc. house histories
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Historic Salem, Inc.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Built 1874
House history completed 2021
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Jay Quarantello
Language
A language of the resource
English
1874
2021
3 Woodside Street
Converse
Eastern Railroad
engineer
Massachusetts
Salem
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/28828/archive/files/63df6deab82edcb83c7a733695b89d98.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=q79sNTryO4un8Mbqzvk2Mqt%7EBL64BzpL2DKj8Xi%7EYBIRES3gXiCBT2EM0Yaql4YLHuKdoJ3Dh-VUE5gB69RpctJoMUEsiIaJXWx8j-1F3fJRcitUN08LwPY4dP8Cnc%7ECsfJ3MUygB6AV9ReKQjoO0bhxbGmnl63sdFC9d%7EpWQnka0AtperXpEV9LhVqOiE-o6IsZ7BA7rDy6mo6McQVj1VlEYvanjfKlmTdJE1jpTBEfgvEAn0wwDlfkiKJzX0Ij9s2LubOCHzxqSIPEL-JLfqRC%7EtHfzwtW6jMFWunz2HCVh9AY-UT-mtzywqHsp6EtSY1m9XW%7E%7ExIPBI7X0f2Egg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
2f74fb1ffdb001ebf20feb67dc9761d3
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Buffum Street
Historic Salem, Inc. House History
A resource made available by Historic Salem, Inc. detailing the history of Salem's houses.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
34 Buffum Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970
Subject
The topic of the resource
House history
Description
An account of the resource
Built by John H. Bickford, electrical engineer in 1895
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Historic Salem, Inc.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Historic Salem, Inc. house history
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Historic Salem, Inc., Salem Historical Society
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1895, 1986
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Joyce King
Language
A language of the resource
English
34
34 Buffum
Bickford
Buffum
electrical
engineer
John
John Bickford
Queen Anne
wood