Family

Divorce, 1930s Style

“17 Divorces Given in Dedham Court”

“Catherine M. Shepardson of Quincy was given a decree from her husband, Winthrop E. Shepardson of Springfield, on the grounds of cruel and abusive treatment. They were married Sept. 28, 1925, and have one child, of whom the mother was given custody and $80 a month for its support.”

The Boston Globe, 4 Nov. 1930, p. 5

According to my mother (the child mentioned), family lore was that all parties agreed to the testimony of “abusive treatment”, given by one of Catherine’s sisters, in order to hasten the divorce proceedings.

I’ve been looking for this for 15 years. Now that I have a date and the court, the next step is to try to get the court proceedings.

The Ears Have It

Peter Gaskell Bence
(1849-1919)		 Raymond Everett Bence
(1892-1973)		 Raymond Everett Bence Jr.
(1925-1994)

Three generations of the Bence family

A Summer Outing

Charles WIlcox and family summer outing with Raymond Bence - 1902On Sunday, July 6th, 1902, my 9 year old grandfather, Raymond Bence (1892-1973), spent the day sailing with family off the coast of Tiverton, Rhode Island.

Charles E. Wilcox (1881-1938) was Raymond’s half-brother, the son of Raymond’s mother Emma Rowena Macomber (1853-1909) by her first husband Charles H. Wilcox.

Charles E. Macomber (1866-1937) and Fred Macomber (1856-1934) were Raymond’s uncles, Emma’s younger brothers.

Irving Cook (1827-1913) was the husband of Emma’s half-aunt, Martha B. Wilcox (1840-1914).

Source: Fall River Daily Evening News (Fall River, MA), 7 Jul 1902, p. 7, accessed at newspapers.com on 28 May 2020.

Another Life Cut Short

Anne Gaskell’s father Peter Gaskell died in 1825 at the age of 18, 5 months after his marriage to Hannah Handford and 6 months before Anne’s birth.

Burial Register for Peter Gaskell - 1825
Burial Register for Stockport Chapel of Disley, County of Chester – Peter Gaskell, under Coroner’s warrant, Disley, 3 Nov 1825, age 18, J. Sumner.