Sepia Saturday #29 - Hastings Family

Last week I posted a few amusing pictures of the Harry Hastings family enjoying an afternoon at their beach house. This week I dug deep into the photo archives to come up with more on the Hastings and the beginning of that family.

Here we have a Souvenir List from a European cruise in 1894, upon the Cunard Steamer "Umbria", where my maternal great grandparents met for the first time. Listed member, Miss Margaret Watrous of Wellesboro Pennsylvania is my great grandmother, and Mr. H. L. Hastings of Worcester, Massachusetts is my great grandfather.

The young couple -

Harry Leander Hastings

4-19-1875/10-26-1946

Margaret Isabelle (Smith) Watrous Hastings

12-8-1872/3-15-1950

This photo shows Harry & Margaret leaving on their honeymoon on October 20, 1898.

Harry & Margaret made their home at 23 Westland Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, the same city in which Harry ran the family business, "The L. A. Hastings Co.-Fine Harness & Leather Goods".  Photo circa: early 1900's.

Harry & Margaret had five children:

Frances Watrous, Sept. 21, 1899-May 25, 1994;

Twins, Elizabeth Lucy & Gerald Leander, August 20, 1903

Gerald died Feb. 18, 1947 - Elizabeth died Oct. 6, 1965

Martha Watrous, March 4, 1905-May 20, 1980

Harry Leander Hastings, Jr., Jan. 12, 1912-Dec. 24, 1938

Shown here are three generations of Hastings men, circa 1905:

Leander Augustus Hastings

Harry Leander Hastings

Gerald Leander Hastings

I love the caption written on this photo dated August 1905, "In the good old summertime".  Showing the twins, Elizabeth & Gerald and eldest daughter Frances, with the nurse/nanny.

Circa apprx. 1908-1910

(The above photo was taken before Harry Jr. was born)

Sepia Saturday #28Its Summertime!Head to the Beach House!

My great grandparents owned a "Summer Cottage" at Sagamore Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts that they called "Two-Ways" as it had a fabulous view of the bay on one side, and lovely gardens on the other.  Each year they would pack up and leave their city home in Worcester for fun in the sun!  This family home was sold in the 1950's.

The photo below shows what might be a Sunday afternoon gathering, after a round of golf by the men -note that the attire doesn't quite seem beach appropriate- and they were entertaining a special guest. The approximate date is unknown, but through family birthdates I would guess this to be early 1930's.

They all seem very proper, although I notice that my great grandfather (on the far left), is glancing at Albert's shoes and smiling...

This one shows them all having a great laugh as Albert shows off his stylish shoes... high heels, seriously?

And then they all relax, after having a good chuckle...

L.to R.: Harry Leander Hastings, Martha Watrous Hastings, Bertha May Hastings, Margaret Isabelle Watrous Hastings, and family friend, Albert Hyde.

©2010 All photographs from the family archives, property of Janice Stiles-Boults.

Sepia Saturday #27Wedding Day

Remembering my parents

on their wedding day, June 12, 1943

Southfield, Massachusetts

My parents celebrated their 50th anniversary

June 12, 1993

In loving memory

Martha Louise Cook Stiles

8/28/1923-12/31/1994

Henry Raymond "Bud" Stiles

7/7/1920-5/11/2009

Sepia Saturday #26The Great New EnglandHurricane of 1938

From the family archives - photographs of the damage from the Great New England Hurricane of September 1938. Taken by my great grandfather, Howard Augustus Cook, in and around the Village of Southfield, Town of New Marlborough, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, New England! 

From Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia:

"The New England Hurricane of 1938 (or Great New England Hurricane or Long Island Express or simply The Great Hurricane of 1938) was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869. The storm formed near the coast of Africa in September of the 1938 Atlantic hurricane season, becoming a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale before making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Long Island on September 21. The hurricane was estimated to have killed between 682 and 800 people, damaged or destroyed over 57,000 homes, and caused property losses estimated at US$306 million ($4.7 billion in 2009 dollars).  In 1951, damaged trees and buildings were still to be seen in the affected areas. To date it remains the most powerful, costliest and deadliest hurricane in New England history."

Massachusetts

The eye of the storm followed the Connecticut River north into Massachusetts, where the winds and flooding killed 99 people. In Springfield, the river rose to 6 to 10 feet above flood stage, causing significant damage. Up to six inches of rain fell across western Massachusetts, which combined with over four inches that had fallen a few days earlier produced widespread flooding. Residents of Ware were stranded for days and relied on air-dropped food and medicine. After the flood receded, the town's Main Street was a chasm in which sewer pipes could be seen.

To the east, the surge left Falmouth and New Bedford under eight feet of water. Two-thirds of all the boats in New Bedford harbor sank. The Blue Hills Observatory registered sustained winds of 121 mph and a peak gust of 186 mph.  The New Haven Railroad from New Haven to Providence was particularly hard hit, as countless bridges along the Shore Line were destroyed or flooded, severing rail connections to badly affected cities (such as Westerly) in the process.

Photographs ©2010 Property of Janice Stiles-Boults