Ancestor Bio – Horace Upton Newcomb (1877-1956)

By Don Taylor

Born in Canada, Horace Newcomb immigrated to the United States as a child. He lived a simple life as a carpenter in Boston and Cumberland County, Maine.

Blanchard Project 2017 – Ancestor #10

List of Grandparents:

• Grandmother: Priscilla May Newcomb (1905-1984)
• 1^st Great-grandfather: Horace Upton Newcomb (1877-1956)
• 2^nd Great-grandfather: Alexander Newcomb (1850-1929)

Horace Upton Newcomb (1877-1956)

Horace Upton Newcomb was born on 7 September 1877 in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, Canada, the fourth child of Alexander and Amelia Jane (Allen) Newcomb. There are several records which indicate he was born in Cumberland County, Maine, however, Parrsboro is in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.  His naturalization papers are very clear regarding his birthplace. Horace was the fourth of 11 children. His siblings were

• Mary Ellen Born 1875
• Wealthy Jane Born 1874
• Hugh Olsen Born 1875
• Theodore Hill Born 1879
• Ruby Stella Born 1882
• Bertha Josephine Born 1886
• Edith Mabel Born 1887
• Willis L Born 1891
• Martha Elfriede Born 1893
• Carlos Alonzo Born 1895

All of the children, except for Ruby Stella, who died in 1899 at the age of 17, lived to adulthood.

In July 1880, Horace and family immigrated from Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada aboard a steamer arriving in Portland, Maine.

It appears that in 1900 he is living in Boston as a lodger in the house of James B. Peppard and working as a deckhand.

On September 7, 1903, Horace married Ethel May Carr in Somerville, Massachusetts. The ceremony was performed by George Whitaker, Minister of the Gospel, who lived at 160 Cambridge St. Cambridge, Mass.

Horace and Ethel had four children:

• Horace Arthur (1903-1988) Born in Roxbury, Boston, MA.
• Priscilla May (1905-1984) Born in Hingham, MA
• Theodore H. (1907-1986) Born in Hingham, MA
• Hugh Earl (1909-1960) Born in Hingham, MA

In 1910, Horace and Ethel were living on Cross Street in Hingham, Plymouth County, MA. Horace was a laborer working for a contractor.

Sometime between 1910 and 1917, the family moved to Portland, Cumberland County, Maine and lived on North Street.  His WW I draft registration indicates he lived at 14 North Street, but the 1920 Census indicates he lived at 144 North Street. Either address is possible. Also, it is possible that the street was renumbered. Again, in 1920, Horace is listed as a carpenter and an alien. All four children are living with him and his wife.

I have been completely unsuccessful finding any of the family in the 1930 Census. However, by 1935, the family moved out to Peaks Island (in Casco Bay), Portland, Maine and lived on Island Street. Although Horace filed his first papers much earlier, he didn’t take the oath to become an American citizen until 5 January 1937.

The 1940 Census indicates that the children had all left home and Horace and Ethel were living together on Peaks Island. Horace was still a carpenter; however, he hadn’t work worked in the previous 39 weeks before the census was taken in April 1940.

Horace died on 11 April 1956. He was buried in Brooklawn Memorial Park in Portland. Section E, Lot 344, Grave D1.

Sources

• 1900 Census (A), Ancestry, Horace Newcomb (lodger) Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.

• 1910 Census (NARA), Family Search, Horace Newcomb – Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts. “United States Census, 1910,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2K8-RN7 : accessed 13 October 2017), Horace Newcomb, Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 1217, sheet 18A, family 427, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 612; FHL microfilm 1,374,625.

• 1920 Census (NARA), Family Search, Horace W Newcomb – Portland, Cumberland, Maine, United States. “United States Census, 1920,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFZ8-CSZ : accessed 13 October 2017), Horace W Newcomb, Portland Ward 1, Cumberland, Maine, United States; citing ED 28, sheet 3A, line 40, family 57, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 639; FHL microfilm 1,820,639.

• 1940 Census (NARA ), Family Search, 1940 – Horace V Newcomb – Peak’s Island, Cumberland, Maine. “United States Census, 1940,” database with images, FamilySearch ( : accessed 16 December 2017), Horace V Newcomb, Island Ward 2, Ward 1, Portland, Portland City, Cumberland, Maine, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 3-42, sheet 3B, line 71, family 69, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627.  Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1475. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMMW-5Q9.

• Find a Grave, Find A Grave, Horace Upton Newcomb – Memorial #132641945. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=132641945.

• Maine, Federal Naturalization Records, 1787-1952, Ancestry, Horace Upton Newcomb – Oath – National Archives at Boston; Waltham, Massachusetts; ARC Title: Petitions and Records of Naturalization, 1790 – 11/1945; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?viewrecord=1&r=an&db=MENaturalizationRecordsOrigs&indiv=try&h=1081569.

• Maine, Federal Naturalization Records, 1787-1952, Ancestry, Horace Upton Newcomb – Petition. Source Citation

• National Archives at Boston; Waltham, Massachusetts; ARC Title: Petitions and Records of Naturalization, 1790 – 11/1945; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?viewrecord=1&r=an&db=MENaturalizationRecordsOrigs&indiv=try&h=1081569.

• Maine, World War I Draft Registration Index, 1917-1919, Family Search, Horace M Newcomb – Portland, Cumberland, Maine.

• Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915, Family Search, Horace Newcomb & Ethel May Carr. “Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N44B-531 : 30 July 2017), Horace Allen Newcomb and Ethel May Carr, 07 Sep 1903; citing, Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 2,057,588.

• Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records,1626-2001, Family Search, Marriage – Horace Newcomb & Ethel Carr.

• U. S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Ancestry, Portland, Maine – 1957 – Page 520 – Newcomb – Original data: Original sources vary according to the directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory title page image for full title and publication information. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?viewrecord=1&r=an&db=USDirectories&indiv=try&h=901185029.

• United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Family Search, Horace Upton Newcomb – Portland, Cumberland, Maine. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZFY-G9Z.