Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA - Genealogy

Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

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Fire at Worcester.   "A fire broke out in the vicinity of School street, in Worcester, about 1 o'clock on Wednesday morning, which destroyed a large block of dwellings, brick machine factory, belonging to T. W. Paine, Esq. and the extensive stable of Messrs. Burt and Billings. All but the stables were insured. We have not learned further particulars. The estimate loss is $30,000." The Farmers' Cabinet, Amherst, NH 31 Aug 1838

1. WORCESTER. [Pop. 7,497. Inc. 1684.]   Worcester was called Quinsigamond by the Indians, who joined with Philip against the colonists in the bloody war of 1675. In 1701, Worcester was deserted by the inhabitants, through fear \ of the Indians. In 1786, Worcester was disturbed by the insurrection of Daniel Shays, to suppress which the State was obliged to raise an army. Besides the ordinary buildings of a county town, Worcester contains the State Lunatic Hospital, a splendid monument of philanthropy, and the Hall of the Antiquarian Society, whose cabinet and library are very curious and valuable. The sources of the Blackstone meet in Worcester, and furnish valuable privileges. The Blackstone Canal extends from Worcester to Providence, in Rhode Island, but the subsequent construction of rail-roads has rendered the canal unprofitable. The chief manufactures are woollen and cotton goods, boots and shoes, hats and bonnets, paper, and iron ware. Distance from Boston, 40 miles. Source: An Elementary Geography for Massachusetts Children by William Bentley Fowle and Asa Fitz, 1845

1845 - A Horrible Death   "We learn from the Worcester (Mass.) Transcript, that Mr. ASA MASON, manufacturer of tacks and brads, while adjusting his machinery, was caught by the skirts of his coat by the belt, and drawn up backwards over the shaft, between which and the ceiling there was only a space of 18 inches and was thrown round upwards of 100 times before the machinery could be stopped. His back was probably broken the first revolution. He died in a few moments. Mr. MASON was between 50 and 60 years of age." Louisville Morning Courier and American Democrat newspaper Louisville, KY Monday, November 24, 1845

A Horrible Death   We learn from the Worcester (Mass.) Transcript, that Mr. ASA MASON, manufacturer of tacks and brads, while adjusting his machinery, was caught by the skirts of his coat by the belt, and drawn up backwards over the shaft, between which and the ceiling there was only a space of 18 inches and was thrown round upwards of 100 times before the machinery could be stopped. His back was probably broken the first revolution. He died in a few moments. Mr. MASON was between 50 and 60 years of age. Louisville Morning Courier and American Democrat Louisville, Kentucky 24 November 1845

A NARROW ESCAPE.   Fred Shaw, the swan boat man, had a narrow escape from drowning at the lake yesterday. He went out after lilies, and, while busily engaged in his work made a misstep and fell into the lake, where the water is about seven feet deep and the mud is of unknown depth. He found the bottom of the water and about two feet below it the surface of the mud, and if his companion had not been a remarkably strong man he would be standing there now. "Swannie" alone was unequal to the task of extricating his feet from the mud, but luckily his friend was able to reach down into the water far enough to get hold of his hand and pull him out. Worcester Daily Spy Worcester, MA 3 Jul 1889

Worcester Massachusetts, 1890 A Gazetteer of the State of Massachusetts, with Numerous Illustrations written by Rev. Elias Nason, M.A.; revised and enlarged by George J. Varney. Boston: B.B. Russell. 1890, 724 pages   WORCESTER, the capital of Worcester County, is an enterprising mercantile and manufacturing city 44 miles west-by-southwest of Boston, 43 miles northwest of Providence, and 53 miles northeast-by-east of Springfield. Its latitude is 42° 16´ 17´´ north, and its longitude 71° 48´ 13´´ west. The city is the centering point of six railroads, namely, the Boston and Albany Railroad, the Norwich and Worcester (leased by the New York and New England Railroad), the Worcester and Nashua, the Providence and Worcester, the Worcester and Fitchburg, and the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad. With these roads entering at various points of the compass, transportation facilities are afforded convenient to the outlying villages. These are Lake View, Quinsigamond, Barbers (which are the post-offices), Barnardville, Blithewood, Bloomingdale, Greendale, Jamesville, Leesville, New Worcester, Northville, Tatnuck, Trowbridgeville, East Worcester, South Worcester and Worcester Junction. The Union Passenger Station at Worcester, of hewn granite, is one of the handsomest and best-equipped stone structures of the kind in the country. The adjoining towns are West Boylston on the northeast corner, with Royalston nearly in contact [Boylston, actually]; Shrewsbury on the east; Grafton at the southeast angle; Millbury and Auburn on the south; Leicester on the west of the southern section, succeeded by a corner of Paxton; while Holden lies along the northwest line. The form of the town is quite irregular. The area is about 36 square miles, of which 20,835 acres are assessed land. The woodland embraces 2,923 acres; containing a variety of trees, with a large proportion of chestnut in the eastern part. The geological structure of the territory consists of the St. John's group, Merrimack schist, and ferruginous gneiss, in which occur steatite, beds of clay and peat and of iron-ore. The land is charmingly diversified by rounded hills and winding valleys, through which some of the tributaries of the Blackstone River make their way, and furnish some motive power. Mill Brook runs through the city proper, furnishing much power, and affording a terminal channel for the excellent sewerage system. It has its origin in North Pond, in the northern part of the town, and is the main stream of the Blackstone River. The other principal streams are Broad-meadow Brook in the southern section, Kettle Brook in the southwest, and Tatnuck Brook in the western section. Hills and elevated land surround the township; and within are Winter Hill in the north, Tatnuck Hill in the west, Prospect Hill in the centre, and Millstone Hill in the east commanding a fine view of Lake Quinsigamond and the hills and vales of Shrewsbury, divided from the city on its whole eastern side by this beautiful sheet of water. These and lesser eminences, as well as the vales and plains, are covered with well-cultivated farms, orchards and gardens, interspersed with attractive farmhouses, and often with handsome residences. " There is scarcely to be met with, in this or any other country," says Prof. Edward Hitchcock, referring more especially to the central section, "a more charming landscape than Worcester presents from almost any of the moderately elevated hills which surround it. The high state of agriculture in every part of the valley, and the fine taste and neatness exhibited in all the buildings of this flourishing town, with the great elegance of many edifices, and the intermingling of so many fine shade and fruit trees, spread over the prospect beauty of a high order, on which the eye delights to linger." The extensive territory of this city embraces the large number of 349 farms; whose product in 1885 was $620,756. The manufactures are exceedingly numerous. The leading articles are boots and shoes, cut shoe goods, carriages, rail-cars, boilers, rolled and sheet iron, machinery, tin, copper and brass goods, wire-work, fire-ovens, edge-tools, wrenches, files, shoe and other artisans' tools, ploughs and other agricultural implements, doors, sashes and blinds, screws and other metallic articles for mechanics' uses, furniture, organs, men's clothing, corsets, hosiery and other cotton, woollen and worsted goods, cards, card clothing, looms, dye-stuffs, chemicals, oils and paints, bricks, tiles and pipes, paper, envelopes, boxes, cards and other paper goods, leather, belting, harnesses, trunks and valises, packed and butchers' meat, flour and meal, tobacco articles, and beverages. The whole number of establishments, as enumerated in the industrial census for 1885 (recently published), was 772; employing about 25,000 persons, and producing goods to the value of $28,699,524. Worcester is the location of the Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Company, noted for its wire; the G. H. Whitcomb Company for its envelopes; the Ames Plough Company, for its ploughs,—of which it makes 30,000 a year, of 150 or more patterns. There are other makers of the first two articles. The power-loom industry originated in Worcester, and there it has been developed to an extent that has made the Worcester looms famous throughout the world. There are now three loom works in the city, the annual product of which is valued at $2,500,000. Worcester has seven national banks, whose aggregate capital stock is $2,250,000; and four savings banks, carrying deposits, at the close of last year, to the amount of $23,081,684. The population in 1885 was 63,389; of whom 14,843 were legal voters. The valuation in 1888 was $64,502,636,— with a tax-rate of $16 on $1,000. There were 8,720 taxed dwelling-houses. The public schools in the city are graded, and include a high school and a State Normal School, The school-houses belonging to the city were 43 in number, and were valued at $1,034,939. Several of them — the high school especially — are superior structures. The Worcester-County Free Institute of Industrial Science is a school of great value and high repute. Its principal building is constructed of colored stone from Millstone Hill, and occupies a fine eminence in the northern section of the city. It is a free school of technology, founded by the liberality of the late John Boynton, of Templeton, in Worcester County, who gave $100,000 for the institution on condition that the city of Worcester should furnish the buildings. A grant of $50,000 was made by the State and a donation of $100,000 by the Hon. Stephen Salisbury, for the school. It was also provided with a well-furnished machine-shop, costing about $80,000, by the generosity of the late Ichabod Washburn. The Oread Institute, a picturesque structure of stone, in the form of a feudal castle, and occupied as a young ladies' seminary, makes an impressive appearance in the southern section. The College of the Holy Cross is delightfully situated on the northern acclivity of Packachoag Hill. Other schools are the Highland Military Academy, the Worcester Academy, the Orphanage of the Sisters of Mercy, the Union Church Free Kindergarten, two business colleges and several others. The State Normal School has a beautiful building of colored stone on a commanding eminence in the easterly section of the city. A valuable feature of this school is the apprenticeship system in teaching; and another is the systematic psychological observation of children. The Worcester Free Public Library contained, in 1885, about 63,000 volumes, and occupied a building valued at $40,000. There is a new and noble structure for the purposes of a public library now building. This institution has been made uncommonly useful to the community through its connection with the city schools; a result which has been largely owing to the exceptional qualifications and zeal in this work of the librarian, Mr. Samuel S. Green, — of long experience and wide repute. The latest, and prospectively the greatest, of the institutions of this city, and possibly of the country, is the Clark University, established in 1887 by Hon. Jonas G. Clark, a citizen who, by enterprise and the exertion of great native ability, had acquired a very large fortune. For years he cherished the purpose of founding an institution that would not interfere with, but supplement all others, by making its object the enlargement of the boundaries of human knowledge. He wisely chose to guide the formation of the institution himself, and has therefore, while still in the vigor of life, given the sum of $2,000,000 for a basis of an institution of philosophical research, to be eventually extended in all directions within the scope of human observation. He has associated with him in the conduct of the institution several gentlemen of acknowledged eminence; and Prof. G. Stanley Hall, of the Johns Hopkins University, has been chosen as tile president; and several teachers of high ability have already been associated with him. Several of the institutions have large and excellent libraries; and the aggregate number of volumes in the public, professional and association libraries in the city (excluding those of church and Sunday schools) was 236,750. Of these was the county law library, of 9,000 volumes; that of the Natural History Society, an active and beneficial institution; and of the American Antiquarian Society, founded in 1812 by the munificence of Isaiah Thomas, the most celebrated American printer of his time; which has a large collection of books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and objects of biology; and the Worcester Antiquity Society, which has similar collections, but of a more local and social nature. The Worcester County Musical Association, having its organic centre in this city, was started some thirty years ago, and is now fitted, probably, to do more for music than any other institution of the kind in the country. Its annual musical festivals have won for the city the reputation of being an important musical centre. The influence of the society in the city is nowhere more quickly perceived than in the churches. The number of these is forty-one. They include 9 Congregationalist, 7 Baptist, 6 Methodist, 6 Roman Catholic, 3 Protestant Episcopal, 2 Unitarian, 2 Universalist, a Free Baptist, an Evangelical Lutheran, a Friends, a First Church of Christ, an African Methodist, and an undenominational church. Some of these edifices are noble churchly structures; of which St. Paul's — a strictly Gothic form — is esteemed one of the finest; and All Saints (Episcopal) and the Central Church (Congregationalist) are notable for their beauty. The new quarters of the Young Men's Christian Association are such as reflect credit upon the architect and the city. Among the public institutions of Worcester of a specially benevolent character, the Worcester Lunatic Hospital stands at the head. Its enormous granite structure is delightfully located by the lake in the eastern section of the city. it has 1,000 feet of frontage, and consists of a central administration building with thirteen wings extending from each side; each one being so constructed as to admit light and air on all sides. In May, 1889, this building contained over 800 patients. Another public building of note is the county court-house, a handsome structure of granite. Mechanics' Hall is the place for great audiences — seating about 2,000 persons; and the elegant theatre will accommodate, probably, two thirds as many. Horticultural Hall, Washburne Hall, Grand Army Hall and Insurance Hall, fall successively from the last number, but are mostly pleasant places. There are many handsome business blocks, while some of the factories have a very striking appearance. The Old South Meeting House—of the first parish of Worcester, organized in 1716—has recently disappeared; but its old neighbor, the town-hall, though neither imposing nor beautiful, still stands, serving. well the city uses. From its social and political influence, Worcester is sometimes, and not inappropriately, called "The Heart of the Commonwealth." This place was incorporated as a town, October 15, 1604 [sic, actually 1722]; and was named for the ancient city of Worcester, on the Severn, in England. Its incorporation as a city occurred February 20, 1848. Quinsigamond, now applied to the lake at its eastern border, was the Indian name for Worcester. The Indians inhabiting here were probably Nipmucks. They were much under Christian influence, and King Philip tried in vain to induce them to join his cause against the whites. The first permanent settlement by the latter appears to have been in 1713, when Jonas Rice returned to the home from which dread of the Indians had driven him and others,— the wife of one (Dickory Sargent) having been killed by them in 1704. In 1718 a number of Scotch-Irish families, from Londonderry, came in. The people evinced a sturdy patriotism during the Revolutionary war, and were active in suppressing Shay's Insurrection. During the war of the Slaveholders' Rebellion the city was prompt to furnish its full quota of men and to sustain its full share of the expenses. "The Massachusetts Spy" was first issued in Worcester by Isaiah Thomas (previously mentioned) May 3, 1775. His press was set up three days prior to the battle of Lexington; and thus "the first thing printed in Worcester" contained an account of the battle of Lexington. From this press, also, came the first folio Bible printed in the United States. The present newspapers and journals of the city are the Evening Gazette, Evening Telegram, and the Spy, dailies; La Travailleur (French), semi-weekly; the Sunday Telegram, the Ægis and Gazette, the Massachusetts Spy, the Christian Weekly, Le Courrier de Worcester (French), the Home Journal, Ostra Postfen (Swedish), Veckoblad (Scan.), weeklies; the Eastern Medical Journal, semi-monthly; the Messenger of Truth, the Piedmont Mission Builder, and the Pocket Guide, monthlies. Worcester is the native place of the following distinguished persons: Col. Timothy Bigelow (1739-1790), a Revolutionary patriot, and member of the Provincial Congress 1774-1775 (to whom there is an elegant monument); Benjamin Adams (1765-1837), B. U. 1788, an able lawyer; Levi Lincoln, LL.D. (1782-1868), governor of the State from 1825 to 1834; Lewis Bigelow (1785-1838), a prominent lawyer; Charles Allen, LL.D. (1707-1869), an able statesman; William Lincoln (1801-1843), an editor and antiquary; George Bancroft, LL.D. (1800), an eminent historian and statesman; Manton Marble (1835), an able editor and author and Dorothea L. Dix, a well-known philanthropist.

1896 - Train Accident   BODY IDENTIFIED. Remains of Man Killed at Southgate Crossing Friday Those of H. Lyons. The body of the man who was killed at the Southgate crossing on the Norwich and Worcester railroad Friday afternoon, and in whose possession were found a peddler’s license bearing the name of John B. McCarthy of Boston and also a pass issued by the Washburn & Moen Company in the name of T. Lyons of Boston Bridge Company until within a short time. He has worked at Greendale, Quinsigamond, and in the city proper. The peddler’s license belongs to his brother-in-law, John B. McCarthy of Boston. The dead man has a father and mother residing in that city, and Saturday they telegraphed Undertaker Sessions that they would come to Worcester to claim the remains which will be held awaiting their arrival. Worcester Daily Spy Worcester, Massachusetts 4 Oct 1896 The case of Henry Lyon, who was killed at the Southbridge street crossing of the New England road, proved to be a case of trespass. He was not in the employ of the road and the witnesses said he was trying to steal a ride. He was between two uncoupled cars, when a switch engine backed down to couple them, and, as he jumped, he slipped and went under the wheels. Worcester Daily Spy Worcester, Massachusetts 14 Oct 1896

TROLLEY DEAL IN CONNECTICUT: New Haven Road Purchases the Webster and Worcester System.   NEW HAVEN, Jan. 12 - The New Haven Road has just purchased through the People's Tramway Company of Danielson, Conn., the Webster and Worcester Street Railway Company. The purchase gives to the People's Tramway Company control of the trolley lines from Danielson, Conn., to Worcester, a distance of forty miles. The company recently acquired the Putnam and Thompson Street Railway Company, and later took over the Webster and Dudley system, the latest purchase of the Webster and Worcester completing the circuit. The New Haven Road will extend the People's Tramway line in time to Norwich, thus connecting with the steam road along the Thames to New London and forming a continuous line from Norwich to Boston, a distance of 120 miles. The People's Tramway system will run express trains, freight, mail, baggage, and passenger coaches over the newly acquired line. The express trains will make stops only at Putnam and Webster in the through run from Danielson to Worcester, and will run at an average speed of thirty-five miles an hour. A smoker will be added to the through trains. The price paid for the new roads is comparatively small. The Tramway stock is $400,000. Webster and Dudley $50,000, and Worcester $150,000, making with the bonded debt an outlay of $1,000,000. The road when completed will cater to fully 120,000 people. Railroad and trolley men see in the move taken by the People's Tramway Company a step in the programme of the Consolidated Road to occupy the trolley field ahead of the electric road companies. By taking over the new lines the New Haven Road stops competition at Worcester and controls all of the trolley business of Eastern Connecticut. The line will be used as a feeder to the steam roads at Worcester and Norwich. The New York Times New York, New York 13 January 1901

A Massachusetts Man's Big Luck - Gate Tender on a Railroad to Get a Large Slice.   The Times Special Service. WORCESTER, Mass., Saturday, June 7. - Family records expected daily from the parish priest at Lanoraie in Quebec are expected to establish the claim of Joseph A. Demars, a gate tender of the Boston & Albany Railroad to a share of the $8,000,000 which has been in possession of the city authorities of Cleveland, O., since 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Demars, in case they are able to prove their claim, will have to share the fortune with the families of Mrs. Loiuse Caisse, Alfred Caisee, Henry Caisse and three sisters, and Mrs. Frank Belville. Fiction never furnishes a stranger romance than that of the Caisse millions and the efforts of the Caisse family to prove their kinship to the mysterious real estate man who died in Cleveland nearly forty years ago. Men and women have grown old in hope of eventually becoming wealthy, families have increased and multiplied until now, should the fortune be divided, a liberal estimate would give those having claims only about $300,000 each. Family Came from Canada. The family comes from Canada. So did Leonard Caisse, the multi-millionaire of Cleveland. After his death heirs were advertised for, and over 200 put in claims, but were unable to establish them. Further proofs of the family of this millionaire have come to light which has caused the Cleveland authorities to issue another call for heirs to the millions to appear and put in their claims. A dispatch from Middletown, N. Y., gives details of the death of owneres of real estate which constitutes the property. Pierre Bourdon, a real estate man of 1122A de Mountigny street and Joseph Prud'homme, a carpenter of 265 Plessis Street, Montreal, were grandsons of the brother of Leonard Caisse, who died at Sarah Scorskending, Huron County, Ohio, leaving to his sons, Absolon and Leonard, his fortune, which he made by speculating in Cleveland real estate when the city was young. Proofs in an Old Bible These two sons of the Canadian millionaire died intestate and without direct heirs, the last in 1880. Many have Americanized the name from Caisse to Case, and it was despaired of ever locating the rightful heirs until J. E. Durham of Huron County, Ohio, discovered the proofs. He was demolishing an old barn on a newly acquired piece of property when he discovered in ruins and old Bible. The fly leaves of this book contained the genealogy of the millionaire's family in complete detail and in his handwriting. From the details it was learned that a brother had lived in Lanoraie, a small town between Montreal and Quebec. The brother was a farmer, Antoine Caisse and was the heir to the property after the two sons died. He evidently never knew of the fortune left by his brother, and later by his nephews. It is through their relationship with this Antoine Caisse that Prud'homme and Bourdon of Montreal expected to get the money, as they are the grandchildren of Antoine Caisse on the meternal [sic] side. Mayor is Asked to Act. These Montreal men have applied to the Mayor, asking him to inform the Mayor of Cleveland of their relationship to Antoine Caisse, and to assist them in getting the $8,000,000. "This old Lanoraie farmer, Antoine Caisse," said Mr. Demars, "was my wife's father's uncle. I knew him well, as I was born in Lanoraie. My wife and all her people, with the exception of one brother, Camille, were born in this little town, too. There has been much talk over this property. "We felt for years that we were the real descendants of the Canadian millionaire, but had nothing to prove it with more than the family name. About eighteen or twenty years ago the matter came up, but we could do nothing, and when I read this story I knew in a minute the necessary proofs had been found. "This Antoine Caisse is the very link in the family which gives us the proof. We believed all the time that he should have had the money, but he could not establish a relationship, or did not try, and when my wife's people tried, they could not do it. "The finding of the genealogy written by the millionaire furnishes just the proof we wanted." Date: June 07, 1902 Location: Washington Paper: Seattle Daily Times

Fireworks Explode in Store - Panic-Stricken Women and Children Rescued from Cellar of Burning Building    Special to The New York Times. "WORCESTER, Mass., July 2. — Accidentally stepping on a bomb-jack, a large torpedo, Albert Childs, a clerk of the Nelson Five and Ten Cent Store, 526 and 528 Main Street, started a fire at 6:30 o'clock to-night which caused the explosion of $700 worth of fireworks and cut off forty customers and clerks from the only exit in the store." "Women and children were injured and suffocated by the smoke and were finally rescued from the cellar, where they had fled to avoid the flames. Manuel Oviginian was caught under a freight elevator as it was descending with twenty-five women in it, into the bottom of the pit. He was taken to the City Hospital, where his right leg was amputated. He is not expected to live. Twenty-five women and children received minor injuries and were carried to their homes in police ambulances." "The discharge of pyrotechnics created a panic among the men, women, and children in the store. Skyrockets, mines, Roman candles, and $300 worth of firecrackers filled the air with balls of fire." "With one wild rush the crowd ran to the back of the store to the elevator shaft. Here they crowded in wild confusion until Frances Hoyt, the cashier, got to the place, and quieting the crowd on the elevator, crowd saw the detectives with axes, and followed." "The detectives rushed at the hotel doors, which had quickly been locked and bolted. A few strokes of the axes had them down, and the officers continued on through the hotel. On the second floor they found a room brilliantly lighted." "Admittance was demanded, but as no answer came, the axes were again used.." "Only four men were still inside, and these were„ arrested. The other occupants had made good their: flight by going out through windows, and jumping to the ground, while others passed .through a door on the other side of the room, and, going up stairs, reached the roof and made their escape in that way." "As the escaping players jumped from the porch roof to the ground they were received with shouts of derision by the crowd of several thousand below." "The elevator had just started when some one in t h e cellar pulled the cord and started the elevator down with its load of human freight. The cellar was fast filling with smoke, and here the firemen found the women half suffocated." "After the fireworks had all blown up, the fire, which had started in all part of the store; was quickly extinguished. One little boy, who had been locked up in a room directly under where the fire started, on t h e charge of stealing candy in the store, was rescued by the firemen, terribly scared, but unhurt." The New York Times, New York, NY 3 Jul 1904

80 DEAD AND 700 INJURED IN WORCESTER TORNADO.   THOUSANDS OF HOMES WRECKED; PROPERTY LOSS IN MILLIONS. "MINOR" TWISTER HITS FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM SECTOR; EXETER, N. H. SLAMMED. "Worcester, June 10 (UP) - New England's worst tornadoes in history left thousands shocked and homeless today, damage in the millions of dollars and a steadily rising death toll." "The death toll climbed to 80 with 71 identified. Six unidentified bodies were at a hospital morgue here and three at a Shrewsbury funeral home. Thus the nation's three-day twister toll was 234, with 154 having died in tornadoes in Nebraska and the Ohio-Michigan area. Hardest hit by the New England tornadoes was Worcester county, a textile and manufacturing center, where estimates of injured ran up to 700. Thousands of homes were wrecked and property loss was estimated in the millions of dollars." "Elsewhere, a comparatively 'minor' twister snarled through the Franklin-Wrentham section of Massachusetts, damaging scores of buildings, sending 35 persons to hospitals, and hurling hailstones 'as big as snowballs.' A twin-funnel monster also demolished a dozen building and a country club at Exeter, N. H." "Meteorologist CHARLES F. BROOKS, of the Harvard observatory at Milton said the New England tornadoes were spawned by the same squall line as those in the west. He said the worst previous tornado in New England occurred Aug. 9, 1878, in Wallingford, Conn., when 34 were killed." "But these were mere pygmies compared to the blast that chewed along a 25-mile strip from Petersham to Southboro, Mass., leaving at least 10,000 shocked and homeless -- dependent on improvised "dormitories" for shelter and on soup kitchens for food." Flee To Cellar. "Perhaps the first to see the impending disaster were MR. and MRS. GEORGE JONES of Petersham, standing together by the picture window of their home overlooking the Hardwick Hills. They fled for the cellar as the inky funnel thundered closer, and heard the barn yanked from its foundations." "Then the twister roared on through Barre, Rutland, Holden, into Worcester's North End and beyond. Automobiles somersaulted off their wheels, bounding crazily and rolling in the streets like rubber balls. Whistling through the air were roofs, pigs, cows, bricks, pianos and entire buildings, turning the region around New England's third largest city into a nightmarish Alice in Wonderland world." "A dress from a shop window was carried 45 miles away to land on a suburban Boston lawn. Another Bostonian found a bundle of shingles from a Worcester lumber yard in his driveway. Some debris landed at seaside Wollaston." "A bus overturned, killing one passenger and injuring others. Flying wood decapitated a Shrewsbury woman. A neighbor was killed when the post office collapsed. Children huddled at their mothers' skirts were crushed beneath falling walls. Elderly at the Worcester Home farm were killed as walls collapsed." Four Religious Killed. "It was near Vespertide when the storm plunged on Assumption college, leveling a dormitory, cracking a spire and killing a priest and three nuns." "Gov. CHRISTIAN A. HERTER of Massachusetts immediately declared the county a disaster area so that town officials might draw immediately on emergency state funds. He also called in National Guardsmen to swell the growing army of relief workers poring into the county with rescue and relief equipment." "The Worcester city council met in an emergency midnight session, naming a seven-man disaster appraisal committee headed by EVERETT F. MERRILL, the governor's economic adviser. They were to report back to the council to determine whether the governor should be asked to request President EISENHOWER to proclaim the county a federal disaster area." "Wreckage of poles, trees, broken homes and twisted live wires made highways and streets virtually impassable. In Worcester, disaster workers had to fight their way through, carrying the dead and maimed. Hospital morgues overflowed, spilling their victims into adjacent rooms where the bodies were hastily covered with sheets while nurses and doctors tended the injured." "Outside, lines formed, tearful parents seeking children, husbands seeking wives, the living identifying the dead." "State police in radio equipped cars improvised communication services in an area where telephone lines were gone. In all some 6,800 telephones were out of order." "Five American Red Cross disaster experts were dispatched from Alexandria, Va., along with a crew of nurses. Some 300 units of plasma and whole blood were rushed in from nearby banks along with a blood-mobile to handle donors answering constant radio appeals. The twister buckled a huge section of the Norton Co.'s new $6,000,000 plant, the roof falling on 40 automobiles and crushing them like paper. Only minutes previously more than 100 workers had left the plant, where damage was estimated at $1,000,000. From Westboro came a report that MRS. TIMOTHY F. CAHILL had been killed by an oil drum, fired by wind with the force of a cannon shot." Ground to Matchwood. "A block-long section of Worcester's great Brook Valley housing project was ground to matchwood." "Workers at the Diamond Match Co. lumber yard, surveying $500,000 damage to that plant, told of watching an automobile sail over an eight-foot fence and land upside down on the Assumption college lawn. Maj. GERALD O'CONNOR, an Army officer stationed at Worcester, fled with his wife and 3-year-old son to the cellar of their home while the roof blew away in a wind that sounded to him "'like a skyful of planes.'" "All schools in the area were closed for the rest of the week so the buildings might shelter the homeless. Churches and other undamaged public buildings were pressed into service." "LIST OF DEAD Worcester, June 10 (UP) - The United Press list of identified dead in the Massachusetts tornadoes: ANDERSON, MRS. ANNA, of 59 Humes avenue, Worcester. ARONSON, EDWARD J., of Westboro. ARONSON, MRS. EDWARD J., of Westboro. ARONSON, MISS SHEILA, 15, of Westboro (daughter of MR. and MRS. EDWARD J. ARONSON). ASLANIAN, NANCY, 5, of 40 Randall street, Worcester. BEEK, ALICE, of Fairchild drive, Holden. CAHILL, MRS. TIMOTHY F., 42, of Flanders road, Westboro. CLEMENT, BEVERLY, 8, of 147 Uncatena avenue, Worcester. CLEVELAND, MRS. HERBERT, of 333 Burncoat street, Worcester. DALY, LAWRENCE, of 71 Main street, Shrewsbury. DALY, MRS. LAWRENCE, of 71 Main street, Shrewsbury. DIVINCO, REV. ENGELBERT E., 65, A. A. head of the French department at Assumption college, Worcester. DAGOSTINO, FRANK, of 45 Yukon avenue, Worcester. DAGOSTINO, MRS. FRANK, of 45 Yukon avenue, Worcester. DE MARCO, JAMES, of 3 Southgate terrace, Worcester. DE MARCO, JANICE, address unknown. ERICKSON, HAROLD, 32, 62 Rowenn street, Worcester. ECKLER, (no first name) of Holden, who died at Holden district hospital. FALCONE, JOSEPH, 59, of 44 Humes avenue, Worcester. FALCONE, LILLLIAN, of 44 Humes avenue, Worcester. FISHER, MARLENE, 3 months old, daughter of MR. and MRS. WOODROW, of 335 South street, Shrewsbury. GLEASON, MRS. ABBIE, of 71 Pasadena parkway, Worcester. HANNAH, MRS. LILLIAN, of 151 Uncatena avenue, Worcester. HAKALA, ARNE, 20 Constitution avenue, Worcester. HAKALA, (girl first name believed to be ANNA) of 20 Constitution avenue, Worcester. HARDING, ROBERT, 15, of Main street, Rutland. HARRISON, MRS. ARTHUR, of 24 Chevy Chase avenue, Worcester. HUTTON, MRS. ANNIE, 74, of 37 Humes avenue, Worcester. HUTTON, BARBARA ANN, 6, of 37 Humes avenue, Worcester (granddaughter of MRS. ANNIE HUTTON, also killed). JACKSON, BEVERLY L., no address known. JACKSON, JR., JAMES A., 8, of 29 Osceola avenue, Worcester. JACKSON, ROBERT, 29, of 29 Osceola avenue, Worcester. JACOBSON, ROBERT, of 29 Scola avenue, Worcester. JOHNSON, MRS. (first name unknown) of Holden (mother of STANLEY JOHNSON, 434 Shrewsbury street, Holden). KARAGOSIAN, MRS. ANNA, 32, of 40 Randall street, Worcester. KARRIS, JOAN, dead on arrival at St. Vincent hospital, no address. LELAND, MRS. FRED, of 355 Burncoat street, Worcester. LOWELL, ANN, no address. MANNING, STANLEY M., of 765 Main street, Worcester. McDONALD, ETHEL, of Brewer estate, Shrewsbury. MARSH, DONALD, 30, of Main street, Rutland. MARTILA, MRS. RAYMOND, Salisbury street, Holden. MASON, MRS. NORA of Stoneham, visitor at Shrewsbury. MIGUETTE, JEAN PAUL, 30, of 1 Bliss street, Worcester. MONTGOMERY, MRS. ELIZABETH of 102 Randall street, Worcester. MORRISON, KENNETH, age and address unknown. MULHERN, JOHN F., of 96 Clark street, Worcester. NELSON, ROY, 14, address unknown. NOBORINI, MRS. INGRADE, 26, of Fayville section of Southboro. NOBORINI, ROBERT, 1, son of MRS. IRNGARDE NOBORINI. OLSON, KENNETH, of Lake street, Shrewsbury. OSLAND, (child) body in wreckage of home but not recovered, 2 weeks old, of 361 Main street, Holden. PETTIGREW, MRS. KATHERINE, of 20 Falex road, Worcester. PEGOSKLAN, MRS. (first name unknown) of Randolph street, Worcester. RICE, DOROTHY A., 15, of 16 Longmeadow avenue, Worcester. RICH, PEARL, 19 Paul street, Worcester. SANTOM, MR. (no first name available), at Worcester City hospital. SANTOM, MRS. (no first name available), at Worcester City hospital. SISTER MARIE of ST. HELENA, 37, of the Assumptionist order, of Worcester. SISTER MATILDA, of the Assumptionist order, of Worcester. SISTER ST. JOHN of God, of the Assumptionist order, of Worcester. STEELE, GEORGE, 14, of Uncatena avenue, Worcester. STRONG, BEVERLY, 18, of Old Petersham road, Barre. SULLIVAN, MICHAEL 14, of 100 Uncatena avenue, Worcester. TRIOLI, JR., MRS. JAMES, wife of postmaster of Fayville section of Southboro. WHITE, EDWARD B., 13, of Old Petersham road, Barre. HOWE, THOMAS, of Worcester. HOWE, MRS. THOMAS, of Worcester. BARNES, MRS. RUTH G., 40, of 7 Central avenue, Sterling Junction." The Lowell Sun Massachusetts 1953-06-10

Ancestors Who Were Born in Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

Bailey
Clifton George Bailey (12 Dec 1886,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-19 Nov 1930,Key West, Monroe, Florida, USA)
Baker
William Arthur Baker (abt. 1928,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-22 Sept 2008,Southbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Barrette
William Robert Barrette (6 Oct 1927,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-15 Dec 1995,Webster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Bourdelais
Joseph Louis Henri Bourdelais (28 Oct 1882,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-3 Oct 1932,New Bern, Craven, North Carolina, USA)
Corriveau
Albert L. Corriveau (15 Sep 1931,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-16 Jan 1990,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Flagg
Kenneth A Flagg (9 Aug 1937,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-23 Nov 2010,Avon Park, Highlands, Florida, USA)
Gaboury
Alfred Gaboury (29 Aug 1906,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-Jul 1985,Auburn, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)	Alfred J Gaboury (24 Apr 1928,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-28 Feb 1992,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)	Barbara Ann Gaboury (26 Aug 1932,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-4 Mar 2002,Webster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
George N Gaboury (24 Jul 1911 ,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-24 Aug 2005,Leominster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Gunnarson
Ruth E Gunnarson (9 Apr 1925,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-11 Nov 2006,Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts, USA)
LeBoeuf
Beatrice E LeBoeuf (2 Aug 1905,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-23 June 1992,Southbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Masterson
Hazel G Masterson (22 Jan 1910,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-7 Aug 1979,Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut, USA)
Millette
Carol A Millette (30 Dec 1948,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-3 Apr 2010,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Moore
Alice Mary Moore (10 Dec 1918,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-24 Jan 1992,Southbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Orcutt
Kenneth Beal Orcutt (23 Apr 1893,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-03 Aug 1962,Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA)	Stanley Tower Orcutt (23 Jan 1895,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-04 Aug 1977,Chico, Butte, California)
Perry
Bertha M Perry (23 Feb 1867,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-1936,)
Reidy
Blanid Reidy (12 Jun 1908,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-9 Aug 1989,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Rollins
Martin Walter Rollins (Nov 1864,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-aft. 1920,)
Snow
Arthur M. Snow (12 Jan 1906,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-Mar 1975, )
Walsh
Francis Joseph Walsh (19 Oct 1919,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-21 Feb 1991,Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA)
Wohlbruck
Gretchen Wohlbruck (22 November 1904,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-11 April 1995,Shrewsbury, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)	Theodore Clemens Wohlbruck (02 Apr 1906,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-22 Jan 1985,Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, USA)	Virginia Wohlbruck (24 Jan 1903,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-,)

Ancestors Who Died in Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

Albano
Christopher Albano (31 Jan 1954,-21 July 2005,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Bazin
Charles-Émile Bazin (May 30 1866,Saint-Ours, Québec, Canada-October 10, 1938,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Breen
John Francis "Jerry" Breen (16 May 1898,Massachusetts-Apr 1973,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Corriveau
Albert L. Corriveau (15 Sep 1931,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-16 Jan 1990,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Feige
Augusta Amalie Feige (Apr 1844,Marklissa, Silesia (Schlesien), Prussia (Preußen), Germany-12 Mar 1908,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)	Evelyn Pearl Feige (4 Mar 1912,Thompson, Windham, Connecticut, USA-18 Oct 1981,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)	Helen Louise Feige (9 Oct 1892,Auburn, Cayuga, New York, USA-22 Jun 1954,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Gaboury
Alfred J Gaboury (24 Apr 1928,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-28 Feb 1992,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Giroux
Albina Giroux (19 Apr 1895,Southbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-17 Oct 1983,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Goode
Peter T Goode (10 Feb 1943,Somerville, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA-22 Jul 2002,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)	Timothy F Goode (3 Sep 1938,Massachusetts-27 May 2009,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Korch
Elna M Korch (26 Jul 1923,Webster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-8 Nov 1991,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)	Floris M Korch (16 Jul 1913,Webster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-19 Mar 1981,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)	Norma P Korch (25 Feb 1934,Webster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-26 Apr 2004,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Ronald E N Korch (10 Feb 1925,Webster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-15 Oct 2001,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Laliberte
Eusebe Laliberte (25 DEC 1893,Charlton, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-28 Apr 1971,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)	Frank Laliberte (1 FEB 1903,Southbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-4 AUG 1980,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Lippe
Marie Parmelia Lippe (8 Mar 1889,Southbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-6 Mar 1912,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Metras
Arthur R Metras (27 Oct 1932,Southbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-25 Apr 2007,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Millette
Carol A Millette (30 Dec 1948,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-3 Apr 2010,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Orcutt
Dora Alta Orcutt (02 Feb 1884,Rockland, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA-03 Oct 1889,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Reidy
Blanid Reidy (12 Jun 1908,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-9 Aug 1989,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Renaud
Philip Levi Albert Renaud (14 Nov 1907,Southbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA-15 Jun 1996,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Roberts
Ruth B Roberts (18 Oct 1922,Putnam, Windham, Connecticut, USA-8 Dec 2000,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Salisbury
Helen Elizabeth Salisbury (19 Apr 1866,Aurora, Cayuga, New York, USA-30 Aug 1945,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Timmerman
Henry W Timmerman (8 Feb 1880,Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts, USA-11 Jun 1917,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)	John Frederick Timmerman (1849,Bremen, Germany-21 Jul 1911,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
White
Doris Ann White (26 Aug 1925,Enfield, Hartford, Connecticut, USA-03 Jan 1996,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Zachara
Lillian Zachara (04/01/1923,Dudley, MA-2 Jan 2010,Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)

Cemeteries

Reference Sources

 

 Newspapers

 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, MA

 Worcester Daily Spy, Worcester, Massachusetts


 

 City Directories

 1929 Massachusetts City Directory - Worcester

 The Worcester Directory Massachusetts 1929

 The Worcester Directory Massachusetts For the Year Ending February, 1932 The Worcester Directory Massachusetts For the Year Ending February, 1933 . Worcester Massachusetts: Sampson & Murdock Co., 1932.

 Polk's Worcester (Worcester County, Mass.) City Directory 1942. Boston Massachusetts: R. L. Polk & Co., 1942.

 Polk's Worcester (Worcester County, Mass.) City Directory 1946. Boston Massachusetts: R. L. Polk & Co., 1946

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