I loved the photo of Gladys and Arthur Brewer, taken with Herbert Gilman in Boothbay Harbor, Lincoln, Maine in the early 1900s.

I have to wonder if this picture was taken about the time their father died in 1904 because Gladys and Arthur look like they could be about age 10 and 12. More on this thought in a bit.

Locating Gladys and her brother, Arthur, was an easy task, as they were found living in Southport, Maine, which is barely two miles away, in the 1900 census:

Edward Brewer Family, 1900 Census
Source: Ancestry

Arthur W.  was born in August 1892, while Gladys H. was born in December 1894. They were the children of Edward A. Brewer, born c1864, and Almira Bell Gilman, born in 1870, and who married on 17 November 1886 in Southport and who had two other, older, children. Willis Elmer was born 21 September 1887 and Lena E(sther). was born in September 1889.

The Brewer family life was disrupted on 29 May 1904, when Edward, a fisherman, passed away at the young age of 40 years from septic appendicitis.

Source: Ancestry

A few years later, Mira, as she was called, married (2) Luther M. Bearce on 20 August 1908 in Haverhill, Essex, Massachusetts.

What happened to the family at that point? Mira was living with Luther and his children in 1910 in Haverhill.

Her oldest son, Willis Elmer Brewer, had married Florence Hanna on 27 October 1909 and followed his father’s occupation as a fisherman. Florence died by 1920, but Willis had two children at that time, 8 year old Alvin and 4 year old Leslie. Willis died on 28 April 1975 and is buried in Southport, Maine.

Esther Lena Brewer was also out of the house, as she married (1) Albert DeJardin, 10 April 1909, in Bedford, Massachusetts. She later married (2) Fred Robertson, on 29 December 1923, New York City, New York and (3) James P. Gallagher, 3 July 1934, Plaistow, New Hampshire. It appears that she had no children. Lena, as she was called, died on 17 May 1965 in Augusta, Maine.

Neither Arthur nor Gladys are found in the Bearce home in 1910. Oddly, though, there is a nine year old boy named Arthur W. Bearce. Arthur Brewer would have been 18 years old in 1910.

Arthur Wilson Brewer, who became a lineman,  married Mary C. Piper on 20 July 1912 in Lawrence, Essex, Massachusetts. He died on 28 September 1967, probably in Massachusetts, according to his Mason membership card. They had two children – Irving Linnell and Donald.

Gladys H. Brewer married Howard W. Meserve probably c1917. they are not found in 1920, but in 1930 are living in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts. Gladys died in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1970. She was the mother of three children – Howard, Helen and Raymond.

There is one mystery I haven’t yet figured out. The photograph I have is clearly marked on the back:

Herbert Gilman
Gladys Brewer
Arthur Brewer

Gladys’s and Arthur’s mother, Mira, was the third of four children. Her eldest sibling was NEWBERT E., not Herbert, Gilman, born about 1864. Next was Mira’s sister, Bessie, born c1867, then Almira (Mira) and the youngest child was another brother, Harley, born c1874.

That means in 1904, Newman would have been about 40 years old, which would be a good fit with the age of the man identified as Herbert. Harley would have been about 30 and I think the man in the picture looks older than 30.

Here is the stumper: Newman Gilman died on 13 January 1888, aged about 24, and there is a gravestone, typical of the era and appears original, for him in the Southport Cemetery.

I have not found any Herbert Gilman that seems to tie into this family. Mira’s father, Silas, seems to have had three sisters, but no brothers.

Their stepfather, Luther Bearce, was born about 1863. I wonder if this could possibly be Luther?

In any case, I have found grandchildren of Gladys and this wonderful photo is going home to them.