Category: In the news

Newspaper articles about individuals I am tracking “In the News.”

Albert S. Bodge in the News – Death, Draft, and life in Westbrook

In the News
Blanchard Project
Blanchard-Bodge
By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.“In the News” is my reporting of discovered newspapers articles and advertising regarding ancestors I am researching. Albert S. Bodge is a 2nd great-grandfather in my Blanchard-Utterstrom Project. The information found in newspapers invariably provides fresh texture to understanding the life of an ancestor.

This week I look at five articles I found through the website Genealogy Bank.

The Portland Daily Press (Portland, Maine) dated 24 Aug 1897, page 5.

WESTBROOK

The Funeral of Albert S. Bodge was held at the Advent church yesterday afternoon. Mr. Bodge had been an employe of S. D. Warren & Co. for the past twenty years. His age was 59 years. He leaves a widow and three daughters.

What I learned:

    • Albert died before 24 Aug 1897
    • Albert worked for S. D. Warren & Co. 1877-1897 and (probably lived in Westbrook during that time.
    • Albert was (probably) an Adventist.
    • It was confirmed that Albert was born about 1838.
    • It was confirmed that Albert left a widow (Emily ?) & three daughters; Berta, Minnie, & Hattie. 

The Portland Weekly Advertiser (Portland, Maine) dated 25 Jul 1863, page 4.

The Draft
14th Sub-District—Brighton and Naples.
358 Enrolled—107 drawn.
Windham

…Albert S Bodge… 

What I learned:

    • The clipping confirmed that Albert lived in Windham in 1863 and was drafted in the Windham draft.

Portland Daily Press (Portland, Maine) Dated 14 Aug 1863, Page 4.

List of persons who furnished substitutes:

… Albert S Bodge,…

 

What I learned:

    • The article confirmed that Albert paid a substitute in the Civil War.

Portland Daily Press (Portland, Maine) Dated 30 Apr 1866, Page 2.

Letters Remaining Unclaimed

In the Post Office at Portland, State of Maine, 30th day of April 1866.

To obtain any of these letters, the applicant must call for “Advertised Letters,” give the date on this list and pay ONE CENT for advertising. If not called for within ONE MONTH, they will be sent to the Dead Letter Office….

GENTLEMEN’S LIST.

…Bodge Albert…

What I learned:

    • Albert lived in Windham in 1863, during the draft, and lived in Portland in April 1867 when he married Lizzie Maybury. In 1866 his residence may have been fluid as he apparently received mail in Portland but wasn’t picking it up.

Portland Daily Press (Portland, Maine) Dated 30 Jun 1896, Page 3.

WESTBROOK

DUCK POND

… Mrs. Albert Bodge and daughter Hattie from Cumberland Mills, are visiting at Mr. Wm. Smith’s;…

What I learned:

    • The Bodge’s were living in Cumberland Mills in June 1896.

Cumberland Mills was a neighborhood in Westbrook, Maine. Duck Pond was a village about five miles north of Cumberland Mills, still within the township.

Donna in the News – “Route of Flight Changed”

Montran Monday
Montrans in the News
By Don Taylor

“Donna in the News” is my reporting of newly found newspaper articles and advertising regarding my grandmother, Madonna Montran (aka Donna Montran and aka Donna Darling). I am always excited when I find new information regarding my grandmother’s exciting show business career during the 1910s and 1920s. 

This week’s article is from the Boston Evening Transcript (Boston, Mass.) dated 22 July 1915.

Boston Evening Transcript (Boston, Mass.) dated 22 July 1915. (Via Newspapers.com)

ROUTE OF FLIGHT CHANGED

City Officials Refuse to Allow Miss Montran to Drop Pennants on Boston Common

Because of inability to secure a permit to drop the “Birth of a Nation” pennants on the Boston Common, the route of the biplane carrying Miss Donna Montran had to be suddenly changed. Miss Montran, one of the “belles of 1861” in the moving picture at the Tremont Theatre, expected to make two round trips with Captain J. Chauncey Redding, in his aeroplane, from Saugus to Boston, dropping from the machine, while over the Common, one hundred pennants advertising the “Birth of a Nation, twenty-five of which had free ticket attached.

City officials would not allow this to be done, so that instead of coming to Boston Miss Montran flew over Lynn and Revere, where the pennants were dropped. She was attired similar to the lobby girls at the Tremont Theatre, with the exception of the hoop skirt. It is doubtful if the flight over Boston could have been made even if a permit had been granted, for the weather conditions today would not allow for the altitude necessary to insure safety.

This article provided additional detail regarding Donna’s biplane flight in 1915 over Lynn and Revere and how come she didn’t fly over Boston Common and drop the pennants there.

For more about Donna’s 1915 Biplane Flight see July 22-23, 1915 – Saugus, Mass. – Donna’s Biplane Flight (Boston Daily Globe).

Montrans in the News – “At the Summer Resorts”

Montran Monday
By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.This week for Montran Monday[i], I found the following article in the Boston Evening Transcript dated 4 August 1899, Page 9, Column 5, 1st full paragraph.[ii]

“At the Summer Resorts”
Golf the Feature at Camden

 Madame Najia Maqhabghat and her brother, Joseph Montran, of New York, are guests of Mrs. Horace Barnes, at the Eager homestead. Madame Maqhabghab will give a Persian tea, early in August, in Camden [Maine]. 

 I learned:

It is not clear if this Joseph Montran is the same Joseph Montran I had identified before. So I added a new Joseph Montran, who lived in New York in 1899, and his sister Najia.

Other Actions

A search on Newspapers.com and Ancestry.com for Maqhabghat and Maqhabghab yielded no results other than this one article. So the spelling of Najia’s last name is still unclear and was probably misspelled in the newspaper – twice.

ENDNOTES

[i] Montran Monday – My grandmother’s father was John Montran. She used the surname, as a young child and again when she began in show business. The name is uncommon and most of the Montrans I see in the newspapers are my grandmother during her early vaudeville career. However, with the constant flow of newly digitized material, I often learn of new articles which contain the Montran name. I pay attention to the finding and try to determine a possible relationship of any Montrans to Donna’s father, John Montran.

[ii] Boston Evening Transcript (Boston, MA), Newspapers.com, 1899-08-04 – At the Summer Resorts – Joseph Montran. Page 9. https://www.newspapers.com/image/735420074/?terms=Joseph%20Montran&match=1.

 

Don’s Genealogy News – December 29, 2020.

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.Don’s Genealogy News includes genealogical activities I’m involved with as well as genealogical items that I’ve found interesting and would like to share with my genealaogical friends. I hope you find them interesting. 

Scarborough Historical Society

One second after midnight on January 1st, copyrighted works from 1925 will enter the US public domain. One of my favorite Scarborough history books, Grandfather Tales of Scarborough by Augustus F. Moulton, comes out of copyright. I have already digitized it and expect to upload it in the first few days of 2021 to Internet Archives and Digital Maine with links to it from the Scarborough Historical Society webpage. 

Scarborough Public Library

Ancestry has extended Library Edition access to Ancestry from home through your local library until March 31st. If you find the cost of an Ancestry subscription prohibitive and US records fit your needs, this is excellent news. To access the Library Edition of Ancestry, go to your public library’s research page, then select “Ancestry Library Edition” (In Scarborough, go to https://www.scarboroughlibrary.org/research.) But the process should work with most libraries in Maine.

Greater Portland Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society

The GPC-MGS will meet via Zoom at 1 PM on January 2nd, 2021. Members of the chapter should have received the Zoom link. If you did not, please contact me via the comment form below.

Blogs

Fred Moss has an excellent post on the Records Advocate “Closing Death Records is Just Dead Wrong!” Some states have used the “legislative fix” to close death records doesn’t stop identity theft and creates other problems. A good read.

Conferences

New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC) will be virtual this year and will be in April and May 2021. For the latest info, see their E-Zine at https://nergc.org/e-zines/

Services

American Ancestors announced that Volumes 64 through 68, for the years 2016 through 2020, were added to The Mayflower Descendant database. As I learned from Family Search’s “Family Search’s Famous Relatives,” I have several potential Mayflower passenger ancestors. It looks like I might have lots more fun. If you find you have Mayflower Descendants, you might find an American Ancestors (NEHGS) membership worthwhile.

Chin-Chin in the News – 16 November 1919 – Trinidad, CO – Unknown Theatre

Vaudeville/Chin-Chin

My grandmother was a vaudeville star and I am following her career, trying to learn of her many performances. In October 1919, she joined the cast of the Charles Dillingham production of “Chin-Chin” “Chin-Chin” played in the US and Canada until June 1920. I monitor several newspaper services watching for new venues that the show played while she was a cast member.

I recently received a notification from the folks at Elephind that they had added the “Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection to their searchable items. As such, I ran a quick search and had two new findings. The first entry is from the Denver Jewish News dated 5 November 1919. It was an ad for Chin Chin playing at the Broadway Theatre in Denver, a venue I had learned about previously.

The second article found was from the Walsenburg World dated 20 November 1919, Page 5, Column 3, Para 12, which read:

Walsenburg World – Nov 20, 1919 – Page 5, Column 3, Paragraph 12.

“Mr. and Mrs. George Blickhahn, Mr. and Mrs. James Flynn, Mrs. B. Gardner, Aldolph Unfug, Miss Clara Kincaid of La Veta, and Lois Sporleder all spent Sunday in Trinidad seeing ‘Chin Chin.’”

The previous Sunday would have been November 16, 1919. Trinidad is a small town about 40 miles southeast of Walsenburg and about 11 miles north of the New Mexico border.

It appears that the show may have been at West’s Theatre, however, I’ll need to confirm that with additional research. The show played in Denver from the 9th to the 15th, went south to Trinidad for the 16th then returned back north to Pueblo on the 18th and Colorado Springs on the 19th.

New Venue Added:

Nov 16, 1919 – Trinidad, Colorado – (Probably) West’s Theatre.