Ancestor Sketch

Alice Dorcas (Ladd) Harris was born in Saco, York County, Maine, and lived her entire life in York County, Maine.

Welch-Harris Project – Ancestor #13

List of Grandparents

• Grandfather: Living
• 1^st Great-grandmother:  WH-13 – Alice Dorcas Ladd (1901-1990)
• 2^nd Great-grandfather:    WH-26 – Edwin Grant Ladd (1857-1937)
• 3^rd Great-grandfather:     WH-52 – Silas Ladd (1814-1890)
• 4^th Great-grandfather:     WH-104 – Thomas Ladd (1766-1837)

Birth

Alice Dorcas Ladd was born on 26 October 1901, in Saco, York County, Maine. She was the third of four children born to Edwin Grant and Dorcas Annie (Patterson) Ladd.

Alice had an older sister, Florence, who died in 1898 at the age of 2. Her other older sister, Lillian was ten years older than Alice. Lillian kept two autograph books wherein she collected the autographs of various important Saco and Biddeford individuals. Alice’s younger sister, Albertha, was born in the summer of 1904, so she was less than three years younger.

1910s

The 1910 Census shows Alice living at home with her parents and her two living siblings. Her father was a farmer, who owned his farm. Living with them was her (paternal) uncle, George Ladd. Alice, along with her younger sister, Albertha, were attending school.

In 1918 the Spanish Flu hit. When Alice had her seventeenth birthday, October 1918, nearly 2,500 Mainers died of the flu. Over 5,000 Mainers died of the Spanish Flu during that time.[i]

By late 1919, Alice was working as a Mill Operative in Saco.

Marriage

On December 13^th, 1919, a Marriage Intention was filed and nine days later, on Christmas Eve, 1919, Alice Dorcas Ladd and Thomas Washington Harris were joined in marriage by Horace H. Hayes, a clergyman in Saco.

1920s

The 1920 Census finds Alice and Thomas rooming in Saco at 106 Elm Street. Alice was working as a beamer at a cotton mill and Thomas was a laster at a shoe factory.

The 1920s also saw the births of their two children—first a girl in 1923 and then a son in 1928.

In 1929, Alice visited Mrs. Paul Huff in Kennebunkport and brought her two children along.

1930s

The 1930 census finds Alice, her husband, and their two children living on her parent’s farm on Boon Road in Saco, Maine.  Alice’s father died inn 1937, and Thomas took over as the head of the household.

1940s

The 1940 Census finds Alice, her husband and their two children living on the farm at 142 Boon Road. Living with them is Alice’s mother Dorcas and a lodger, Benjamin Luce. Their son went into the Marine Corps.

1950s

Their son married and farmed the land next to them, while Alice’s husband, Thomas, continued to be identified as a shoemaker.

In 1987, Alice’s husband died. Alice continued on alone and died on 25 February 1990 at the Trull Nursing Home in Biddeford. She was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

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Sources

• 1910 Census (NARA, 1910), Various, 1910 – Edwin G Ladd – Saco, York, Maine. “United States Census, 1910,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MR3P-4FX : accessed 21 April 2020), George T Ladd in the household of Edwin G Ladd, Saco Ward 1, York, Maine, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 256, sheet 13B, family 296, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 548; FHL microfilm 1,374,561.
• 1920 Census (FS), Thomas & Alice Harris, Roomers in the household of Annie M. Palmer – Saco, York, Maine. “United States Census, 1920,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF8H-7NZ : accessed 27 October 2019), Alice Harris in the household of Annie M Palmer, Saco Ward 7, York, Maine, United States; citing ED 129, sheet 5A, line 31, family 123, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 651; FHL microfilm 1,820,651.
• 1930 Census (A), Ancestry, Edwin G Ladd, Head – Saco, York, Maine – ED 16-39, Sheet 8B, Lines 71-77. Year: 1930; Census Place: Saco, York, Maine; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0039; FHL microfilm: 2340576.
• 1940 Census, Thomas Harris – Ward 1, Saco, York, Maine. “United States Census, 1940,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KM9S-P3N : 27 July 2019), Benjamin Luce in the household of Thomas Harris, Ward 1, Saco, Saco City, York, Maine, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 16-62, sheet 7B, line 41, family 142, 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 1496.
• Maine Directories, Ancestry, 1948 Saco Directory – Page 343 – Harris.
• Maine Directories, Ancestry, 1950 Saco Directory – Page 351 – Harris.
• Maine Directories, Ancestry, 1951 Saco Directory – Page 341 – Harris.
• Maine Directories, Ancestry, 1954 Saco Directory – Page 343 – Harris.
• Maine Directories, Ancestry, 1956 Saco Directory – Page 355 – Harris.
• Maine Directories, Ancestry, 1961 Saco Directory – Page 375 – Harris.
• Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921, Family Search, Birth – Alice D Ladd – 26 Oct 1901. “Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZQG-DQS : 4 April 2020), Dorcas Patterson in an entry for Alice D Ladd, 26 Oct 1901; citing Saco, , Maine, United States, multiple sources, Maine; FHL microfilm.
• Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921, Family Search, Marriage – Thomas Washington Harris & Alice Dorcas Ladd – 24 Dec 1919. “Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24N-S9XP : 13 March 2018), Dorcas Patterson in the entry for Thomas Washington Harris and Alice Dorcas Ladd, 24 Dec 1919; citing Saco, York, Maine, United States, multiple sources, Maine; FHL microfilm.
• Maine, Marriage Records, 1713-1922, Ancestry, Thomas Washington Harris & Alice Dorcas Ladd – 24 Dec 1919. Maine State Archives; Cultural Building, 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084; 1908-1922 Vital Records; Roll Number: 25. https://search.ancestry.com/collections/1961/records/1639176/.
• United States Social Security Death Index, Family Search, Alice D (Ladd) Harris – 25 Feb 1990. “United States Social Security Death Index,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JKDP-6PP : 20 May 2014), Alice D Harris, 25 Feb 1990; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database.

Endnotes

[i] “In 1918, A Pandemic Swept Through Maine — And Offers Lessons For Containing COVID-19”. 2020. Bangor Daily News. Accessed April 22, 2020. https://bangordailynews.com/2020/04/05/news/bangor/in-1918-a-pandemic-swept-through-maine-and-offers-lessons-for-containing-covid-19/.