UPDATE: Lowell Robert Adams was the youngest brother of my 2X great grandfather, Calvin Segee Adams. I lost track of his family with the birth of his granddaughter, Ruth A. Marsh, in Massachusetts in 1913, discussed below.
Time is often a help in genealogical research, as more and more information is appearing online.
In this case, I have picked up the trail of Ruth A. Marsh. She married Henry Aloysuis O’Leary, who was a chemist, and they had three children, a son and two daughters. Their son has also passed away, but he left descendants, and at least one of their daughters married.
I’ve contacted a grandson and hope to be able to share lots of family history with him. It doesn’t appear that he is aware of any of the Adams ancestry. It definitely pays to revisit past research, even when the work was done fairly recently!
Original Post:
I have to admit that I never knew much about 1898, except that the Spanish-American War took place that year and that Cuba and the Phillipines were involved. 21 April 2015 is the 117th anniversary of the start of that war. Then a certain photograph came into my possession that made me want to learn a bit more about that war.
1st Lt. Lowell Robert Adams, center
Lowell R. Adams was the youngest of nine children born to Daniel and Sarah (Parker) Adams of Deer Island, New Brunswick, Canada and Calais, Washington, Maine. He was the brother of my 2x gret grandfather, Calvin Segee Adams, and Lowell actually lived into my lifetime, although I never met him.
Lowell was born in 1861, one of two of Daniel’s children to be born in Maine rather than in Canada. Lowell, along with his cousin, Stephen B. Adams of Eastport, each served in the Spanish-American War. However, Stephen was recruited as a private. They each were assigned to Battalion B, 1st Maine Heavy Artillery and were mustered in on 16 July 1898. Battalion B consisted mostly of men from Washington County, Maine.
The Spanish-American War began on 21 April 1898 and only lasted for ten weeks, which meant it ended at the end of June 1898. The Treaty of Paris was signed on 10 December 1898 and went into effect on 11 April 1899. I have no idea how long Battalion B spent in Cuba, but they apparently were not sent there until the war had officially ended. Perhaps they were stationed there to ensure a smooth government transition.
I am not sure how Calvin Adams’ branch of the family came into possession of this historic photo. I suspect that Lowell gave copies of the photo to some of his family members.
Lowell Adams married twice. His first wife was Charlotte (Lottie) Ward; they married in 1887 in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada. Lottie died before 1900, likely in Calais, ME, when Lowell and their two children, Ralph and Sarah, were enumerated in that census.
On 29 June 1908, Lowell married Grace L. Barnes in Concord, Merrimack, New Hampshire. They had no children. Grace died in 1943 and is buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Everett, MA with Lowell.
Son Ralph, born on 12 January 1888, ME, died on 7 May 1910 in Lynn, Massachusetts of peritonitis brought on by appendicitis. He was buried at Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, MA.
Daughter Sarah W. , born in 1891, ME, married Jerome E. Marsh on 2 July 1912 in Boston, Massachusetts. They had one child, a daughter, Ruth A. Marsh, born 4 April 1913. Ruth was still at home in the 1930 census, when the family lived in Malden, MA. She was not in the home in 1940 when her parents lived in Melrose, MA. Ruth likely married during that decade or else she died young. I haven’t found any records for this family after the 1940 census.
Lowell Adams lived a good long life, passing away in the Soldiers’ Home in Everett, MA on 23 March 1954. He was buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Everett, next to his wife, Grace.
I would love to make contact with Ruth’s descendants if there are any out there.