Charles H. Belledeu, Dorchester Illustration 2628

Posted on August 6, 2023 by earltaylor

Charles H. Belledeu

Dorchester Illustration 2628

Charles H. Belledeu was a contractor who built several houses in the Ashmont section of Dorchester.

The following article about Belledue was published in the The Dorchester Beacon on May 5, 1900, is an example of local journalism from the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries that emphasized positive messages.

Charles H. Belledeu

“The subject of this sketch was born in West Deer Isle, Maine, October 7, 1860.  His father was Louis Belledeu, a sea captain, and was born in France. His mother was Lucy Sweetser, a native of Deer Isle. His father retired after following the sea many years and settled down on the farm which was the old homestead. C. H. and his father could not agree. He told his father one day after a reprimand for some boyish prank he was going to leave home and come to Boston, but his father laughed at the idea and said he would have to go and bring him home, as he would never be able to support himself. 

“One morning, he packed up his valise and bade that all good-by, and started for Boston with $3.50 in his pocket, arriving here without any friends or anyone to help him. He looked for work until his money was all gone, then thought what his father told him. He could not bear to think of going back unsuccessful and made up his mind to get a job. He at last got a chance to learn the carpenter’s trade in Mr. Lilford’s shop at the north end.  After three years and a half, he had learned his trade and then went to work for J. & C. A. Noyes, 5 Province Court, Boston.  He saved his money and went to school evenings and finally got to be foreman. 

“When his firm dissolved partnership, he bought out J. Noyes and started for himself. At the end of ten years, he went home on a vacation and told his father he could buy him out then. The old gentleman was pleased with his success. Mr. Belledeu has built several houses and a hotel in Dorchester, which he rents, also other houses in the suburbs of Boston. He has had some large contracts for buildings in Boston. He also makes a specialty of store fittings, which he sends all over the country.

“Mr. Belledeu is a 32d degree Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine. His is a great lover of horses, which is his hobby. He is secretary of the Dorchester Gentlemen’s Driving Club and one of the racing committee of the Boston Driving Club.

“Mr. Belledeu married Miss Viola A. Powers, October 26, 1887, a daughter of the well-known physician and surgeon, Dr. T. F. Powers of Boston, and a niece of Senator Powers of Vermont.”

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Dorchester Illustration 2627, Baker Chocolate Company

Posted on July 30, 2023 by earltaylor

Dorchester Illustration 2627, Baker Chocolate Company

Baker Chocolate was a frequent advertiser of its products in national magazines before the era of radio and television. Many of its ads were aimed toward parents. The advertisement in the today’s illustration targets the mid to upper classes — or at least those who would like to think they are part of those classes.

James Baker started the Baker Chocolate Company at Dorchester Lower Mills in 1780. His grandson Walter Baker gave the company the name Walter Baker and Company in the mid-19 th century. The company was sold to the Forbes Syndicate in 1896, which carried on the business until it was sold to  Postum Cereal in 1927.   It is now part of the Kraft Heinz conglomerate.

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Dorchester Pottery foot warmer, Dorchester Illustration 2626

Posted on July 23, 2023 by earltaylor

Dorchester Pottery foot warmer

Dorchester Illustration 2626

Dorchester Pottery Works produced commercial and industrial stoneware and later decorative tableware until the 1970s. Founded in 1895 by George Henderson, the business was located on Victory Road near Mill Street. The Dorchester Pottery Works kiln and its building have been designated a Boston Landmark.

Today’s illustration shows a circa-1910 image of the very popular foot warmer, a stoneware hot water bottle.

Dorchester Pottery’s wares evolved over the years from primarily agricultural products, such as mash feeders and chicken fountains were cast from molds. Acid pots and dipping baskets were in demand by jewelry manufacturers, and Henderson’s popular foot warmer was known as a “porcelain pig.”

In 1940, Dorchester Pottery’s line of distinctive gray and blue tableware was introduced. It was shaped on a potter’s wheel and plates were shaped both using a mold and on the wheel.

In 1914, Mr. Henderson built an enormous beehive kiln 28-feet in diameter of his own design made of unmortared bricks. When it was carefully stacked with two or three freight car loads of unfired pottery, the opening was sealed and the kiln was slowly heated with 15 tons of coal and four cords of wood to a temperature of 2500-3000 degrees Fahrenheit. After days of cooling, the door would be opened, brick by brick, and the fired pieces removed. The entire process took about one week to complete.

There is an extensive collection of Dorchester Pottery on display at the Dorchester Historical Society’s William Clapp House.

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Grove Hall Universalist Church, Dorchester Illustraton 2625

Posted on July 16, 2023 by earltaylor

Grove Hall Universalist Church, Dorchester Illustration 2625

Holy Tabernacle Church is located at 70 Washington St. This section of Washington Street is between Columbia Road and Blue Hill Avenue.

The illustration of the church building is from American Architect and Building News, June 20, 1894.

The society that built the church was the Grove Hall Universalist Church. Architect Francis R. Allen and his associate W. H. Brainerd designed the building.

The following is from Parish Register of the Grove Hall Universalist Church, Dorchester, Massachusetts and Favorite Recipes, 1913. 

“The Grove Hall Universalist Church came into existence March 3, 1878, being an off-shoot of the Roxbury Universalist Church, and in its inception received the cordial support of that parish.  On January 9, 1878, a meeting was held at the residence of Mr. Franklin S. Williams for the purpose of organizing a church. 

Starting as a mission church, holding its first or preliminary meetings at the residents of various interested persons, it soon wanted a centrally located temporary home, and began holding its meetings in Wetherell Hall, at or near the junction of Washington Street and Blue Hill Avenue. That served its needs for a time, but the desire for a home having more the churchly appearance prevailed, and the church on the corner of Blue Hill Avenue and Schuyler Street was built.

This amply served the purposes of the society until about 1892, when the subject of a new larger church was agitated, resulting in the building of the present edified. At about this same time it also ceased to be a mission church, and since then has been able to maintain services without calling upon the state Convention for aid.

The present edifice was completed in 1895, and cost, furnished, about $45,000: $25,000 of this was provided for by a mortgage; the balance was raised by canvassing our parishioners. To our good member, kind and generous neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Ivers W. Adams, we are largely indebted, both for their liberality in subscribing for the building and in their continued liberality in contributing to the wiping out of the mortgage debt, which has lately been accomplished and made possible largely through their instrumentality.”

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Ernest Skinner, Dorchester Illustration 2624

Posted on July 9, 2023 by earltaylor

Ernest Skinner

Dorchester Illustration 2624

Ernest M. Skinner (1866-1960) was the most prominent organ builder of the early 20th century. Skinner believed an organ should be able to play all music effectively and with infinite tonal variety. His organs were highly orchestral in character. The high point of Skinner’s career may have been the installation of one of his organs in the Washington National Cathedral.

Skinner married Mabel Hastings in 1893, they lived at 293 Savin Hill Ave. for 2 years, and then 33 years at 7 Evandale Terrace on Savin Hill. One of his three children, Eugenia Shorrock, married in 1917, and moved to 259 Savin Hill Ave. at the corner of Evandale Terrace. 

In the late 1890s, Ernest Skinner supervised the installation of numerous organs made by the Hutchings Company, including one in the Pilgrim Church in Dorchester. In 1900 he started his own company, the Ernest M. Skinner & Co. In 1905 it was incorporated as the Ernest M. Skinner Company.

In 1914 the company moved into a new factory building in Dorchester at Crescent Avenue and Sydney Street. The company became the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company in 1932, and Skinner’s association with the firm ended in 1936. He and his son, Richmond, opened the Ernest M. Skinner & Son Company in Methuen, Mass., this company built the organ for the Washington National Cathedral in 1937.

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CowParade in Fields Corner Dorchester Illustration 2623

Posted on July 2, 2023 by earltaylor

CowParade in Fields Corner Dorchester Illustration 2623

Two life-size fiberglass cows are on display at Fields Corner’s Memorial Square at the intersection of Dorchester Avenue and Adams Street.

They are part of a herd of 75 life-size cows displayed across the city. Each cow was painted by a New England artist and will be sold to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to mark the 75th anniversary of the Jimmy Fund.

One of the cows in Fields Corner, Sally Sunset, (on the left in the photo) has been bought. The other one called Spreading Love is still available. The cows will remain in Dorchester until Sept. 4.

CowParades are public art events that serve as fundraisers for local nonprofit organizations. They have been held since 1999 in 80 countries, more than 6,000 cows have been created.

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Farrington Store, Dorchester Illustration 2622

Posted on June 25, 2023 by earltaylor

Farrington Store, Dorchester Illustration 2622

Franklin Farrington operated a small grocery store at the corner of Dorchester Avenue and East Street at Glover’s Corner from 1856 until his death in 1901. The Farrington Store building still stands at Dorchester’s most historically dangerous intersection where Freeport Street meets Dorchester Avenue. Traffic improvements have made the intersection safer. 

The following puff piece about the business was published in the booklet “Picturesque Boston Highlands, Jamaica Plain and Dorchester” (New York: Mercantile Illustrating Co., 1895).

“Among the many grocery establishments carried on in this city, that conducted by Mr. Fr. Farrington, at No. 1261 Dorchester Avenue, corner of East Street, Dorchester District, deserves particular mention on account of the age and the high character of the enterprise. It was inaugurated about 1830 by Andrew Glover, who sold the business in 1863 to the present proprietor, who had been in business on the opposite side of the street for six years previous, or since 1856, and in this connections it is interesting to note that Mr. Farrington’s business cards refer to  him as a dealer in ‘West India Goods,’ as all groceries were called in the days when the most important goods they handled came entirely from the West Indies. But we would not have our readers infer that there is anything ‘behind the times’ about this establishment, for it is thoroughly ‘up to date’ in every particular although Mr. Farrington does adhere to the old-fashioned policy of giving ‘full value for money received.’ He carries a large, carefully-chosen and compete stock of staple and fancy groceries, including the choicest teas and coffees and the purest spices that the market affords, and a very complete line of imported and domestic table delicacies, the very best canned goods, etc. Employment is given to three competent assistants, and all orders are assured prompt and careful attention.”

The building has been changed over the years.

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Dorchester Illustration 2621, Bunker Hill Day

Posted on June 18, 2023 by earltaylor

Bunker Hill Day

Dorchester Illustration 2621

Bunker Hill Day was yesterday. It marks the Battle of Bunker Hill, the first major battle in the Revolutionary War, which took place on June 17, 1775, in Charlestown. The British won the battle.

Lemuel Clap served as a captain in the Revolutionary War, and during the siege of Boston and the Dorchester Heights campaign some of his men were stationed at his house. The house still stands on Boston Street.

Elizabeth (Clapp) Withington kept a diary and wrote on June 17, 1839, what her paternal grandmother, Rebecca (Dexter) Clap – Lemuel’s second wife whom he married in 1768 ­– had experienced.

The diary reads:

“Today commemorates the anniversary of the battle of Bunker hill, a day to ever be remembered by the children of the soldiers of the revolution. This morn at the breakfast table, the conversation was on the subject of this battle. My grandmother Clapp went out of doors & ascended a little hill not far from home to see the smoke of the burning of Charlestown & listened to the report of the cannon. What emotions filled her heart, her husband absent, the probability that they must abandon her home, making their Indian meal into bread, ready for their departure.

How little can we of the present day form any just conception of the labours & toils of our grandfather?  When my grandmother, deprived of sleep by the sickness of one of her children, in going from one room to the other, was obliged to step between the bodies of soldiers who lay in unconscious sleep on the floor, ready at a moment’s warning for the march.”

Although the Dorchester Historical Society’s Lemuel Clap House was altered in the early and mid-eighteenth century, it is still the same as it was during the revolution. It was moved to its present location on Boston Street in 1957.

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Dorchester Illustration 2620 Al Donahue

Posted on June 11, 2023 by earltaylor

Al Donahue

Dorchester Illustration 2620

Al Donahue was a violinist and a big band leader. Albert Francis Donahue was born on Huntoon Street in Dorchester in 1902. He graduated from Boston University Law School, but he was in such demand as a musician, he never took the bar examination. Donahue attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He got his start playing in Boston-area campus bands.

From the 1930s through the 1950s the Al Donahue Orchestra played at many famous venues across the country including the Rainbow Room of Rockefeller Center in New York City, the Palladium in Hollywood, the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, the Oriental Theater in Chicago, and locally at the Totem Pole in Newton. In 1932, Donahue’s orchestra had provided music aboard Furness Bermuda Line steamship, the Monarch of Bermuda. The orchestra was the featured attraction with regular engagements during 1936-38 at the Bermudiana Hotel in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Between 1935 and 1942, he recorded for Decca Records, Vocalion, and Okeh. His biggest hit was a rendition of “Jeepers Creepers,” which went to number one on the Billboard chart in 1938. He also recorded for University Recording Company. Vocalists including Paula Kelly, Dee Keating, Lynne Stevens, Phil Brito, and Snooky Lanson were guest singers with the band.

After World War II, the ensemble moved away from big band music toward light music, playing throughout the West Coast and appearing in films such as Sweet Genevieve. Later, Donahue would return to cruise ships once more, as music director contracting bands for the Furness Bermuda Line. His band played on the Queen of Bermuda and the Ocean Monarch from 1950 to 1963.

In 1933 he married New York heiress Frederica Gallatin. They had three children, two sons and a daughter. He settled in Oceanside, California, where he ran a store called Ponzi’s House of Music, which closed in the 1970s.

Donahue died in 1983.

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Dorchester Illustration 2619, Humphrey Atherton’s Tomb

Posted on June 4, 2023 by earltaylor

Humphrey Atherton’s Tomb

Dorchester Illustration 2619

Humphrey Atherton was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, and he organized the first militia in Dorchester. As Major-General in the Suffolk Regiment, he was the senior military officer in New England, which included the responsibilities of subduing and controlling Native Americansand apprehending criminals, such as those accused of heresy.Atherton was also known for his harsh treatment of Native Americans and his opposition to Quakers.

Atherton died after he fell off his horse which stumbled over a cow. His Quaker critics believed his horrible death to be God’s visitation of wrath. A century later a Quaker imaginatively described Atherton’s death:

“Humfray Adderton … having been, on a certain day, exercising his men with much pomp and ostentation, he was returning home in the evening, near the place where they usually loosed the Quakers from the cart, after they had whipped them, his horse, suddenly affrighted, threw him with such violence, that he instantly died; his eyes being dashed out of his head, and his brains coming out of his nose, his tongue hanging out at his mouth, and the blood running out at his ears: Being taken up and brought into the Courthouse, the place where he had been active in sentencing the innocent to death, his blood ran through the floor, exhibiting to the spectators a shocking instance of the Divine vengeance against a daring and hardened persecutor; that made a fearful example of that divine judgment, which, when forewarned of, he had openly despised, and treated with disdain.”

The following inscription can be found on Atherton’s tomb in Dorchester Old North Burying Ground:

Hear lyes our Captaine, & MAJOR of Suffolk was withall,

A godley Magistrate was he, and MAJOR GENERALL

Two Troops of Hors with him here Came, Such worth his love did Crave;

Ten Companyes of Foot also Mourning Marcht to his grave.

Let all that read be sure to keep the faith as he has don,

With Christ he lives now crownd, His name was HUMPHREY ATHERTON

He dyed the 16 of September 1661.

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