Dorchester Illustration no. 2376 James A. Cusick
Robert Cusick has been following our World War I servicemen blog posts and contacted us about his father, Charles, who was a Dorchester resident and veteran of World War I. We are honored to have another serviceman to feature in our exhibit!
JAMES A. CUSICK
James Augustus Cusick was born on February 3, 1894 in Boston to parents Richard and Mary (Morgan) Cusick. At the time of his birth, James’s family was living on Rockland Street near Dudley Square in the neighborhood of Roxbury. James was the third son of Richard and Mary after Arthur and Richard, Jr.; Richard was born in Massachusetts but Mary was a Canadian immigrant.
By the 1900 census, the Cusick family is a family of 7, having added two more children to the mix: sons Clifford and Albion. They are now living on Washington Street near Egleston Square in Jamaica Plain. James’s father, Richard, is listed as working in the clothing business. By 1910, the family has moved again and is now living in Dorchester, where they will stay. They are living on Callender Street near Franklin Field and Richard is working as a “traveling wool salesman.” Although James is only 16, he is listed as working as a house painter. Additionally, he has two more siblings: another brother, Frank, and a little sister, May. The family now has seven children.
On June 4, 1917, James registered for the draft. He is living at 1829 Dorchester Avenue in Dorchester, not too far from Peabody Square. His occupation still lists him as a painter and employed by someone in Dorchester named John Whidden. He is listed as having previous military experience as a private in the coast artillery. While in the service, James served in the 151st Artillery Division as well as the 42nd Infantry “Rainbow” Division. The name for “rainbow division” takes its name from a quote said by General Douglas MacArthur when National Guard units were federalized to create an army at the start of the United States’ involvement in World War I. The division was meant to be non-divisional and take units from several states, leading MacArthur to proclaim that it would “stretch over the whole country like a rainbow.” According to his son, Robert, part of James’s job during the war was to go to railyards with a horse-drawn wagon and pick up artillery shells which he would then take to the front. He also manned a French 75 artillery cannon during the campaigns at the Battle of Champagne, Battle of Saint-Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. And, James was in Sedan in France on Armistice Day on November 11, 1918. However, James did not return home until the Spring of 1919 as he was part of the 42nd Division, which was ordered to stay in Europe and occupy an area in Koblenz, Germany, along the Rhine River; he was honorably discharge on May 7, 1919.
After the war, James returned to Boston and moved back in with his mother and siblings. In 1920, he is living again on Dorchester Avenue, single, and working as a conductor on the street railway. However, in 1926, James married his first wife, Anna G. Hanley. Shortly after, in 1927, they had their first son, James, and are living on Adams Street in Dorchester. Their daughter, Phyllis, was born a two years later in 1929, and another daughter, Marie, in 1931.
Unfortunately, in 1936, Anna died at the young age of 41; leaving James to a single father to three young children: James was 8, Phyllis was 6, and Marie was 5. According to the 1940 census, by this time, the family is living on Spaulding Street in the Neponset area of Dorchester. There is a young IrIsh woman, named Mary O’Toole, living with them and listed as a housekeeper. Only four years later, in 1944, Mary would marry James. And, in 1950, they would have a son, Robert.
James and his family would remain in Dorchester for the rest of his life. He died on June 11, 1975 at the age of 81. His obituary lists him as a World War I Army veteran and a retired postal service employee. At the time of his death, he was a grandfather of seven and a great-grandfather of one. His funeral was said at Saint Mark’s Church in Dorchester and he is buried at the Blue Hills Cemetery in Braintree.
Sources
“42nd Infantry Division (United States).” Wikipedia.com. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/42nd_Infantry_Division_(United_States)
Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Birth Records, 1840-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.
Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Marriage Records, 1840-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2013.
Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.
Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. 12 Jun 1975. Page 58.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23665921/james_cusick_obituary/?xid=637