Martin Mower Richardson, tenor

If you were to browse through Walter L. Mower's family history, one trait that appears often among the Mower clan is musical ability.  Admittedly it is not an attribute I inherited - I recall my grandmother Mower saying more than once that what I lacked for in ability, I made up for in volume.  But given that several Mowers were musical, imagine what would happen if two descending lines of the family intersected, perhaps we'd end up with a world-renowned opera singer in the family.  Well, that is just what happened.  In 1872,  William Henry Richardson, a grandson of Martin & Mary (Underhill) Mower through their daughter Emily, married Mary Mower, a granddaughter of Martin & Mary (Underhill) Mower through their son, John Edwards Mower.  Yes, indeed, first cousins.  They had three children, the youngest of which was born 21 Feb 1883 in St. Paul, Minnesota.  He was appropriately named Martin Mower Richardson.

Martin Mower Richardson

Starting his singing career young, Martin was singing in his school choir in St. Paul at the age of 10, a choir that was under the direction of E. Oberhoffer who went on to be the conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra.  In a St. Paul newspaper, specific mention was made of Martin, reporting that "particularly noticeable was that [voice] of Martin Richardson, whose tenor was remarkable for so young a voice."  After high school, he pursued his music education in St. Paul and New York.  He began his career as a vocal teacher at the private Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania during 1910-11, but then moved to Europe to further his own education, studying under the eminent Maestro Vincenzo Lombardi.  During 1912-1914, Martin performed throughout Italy, as well as Paris and London.  On May 31, 1914, he made his operatic debut as Ernesto in "Don Pasquale" at the Royal Opera in Florence, Italy.  He returned to the States during the last half of 1914 having been engaged for the Boston Opera, a venture which failed upon his return. Martin sang in St. Margaret's Episcopal Church and other churches in the New York City area.  He gave numerous concerts and recitals in New York, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., performing at both famous concert venues and at private balls and social events.  A search of period newspapers on the east coast have countless references to appearances. He also was a popular private vocal instructor.  Martin toured Maine in 1916 (giving one pause to ponder whether any of his Mower cousins attended his concerts).  He then set out during 1917-18, touring the western states.  Martin was a recurrent performer for several seasons at Lake Mohonk Mountain House, an elite summer resort in New York.  While in Washington, D.C., he performed for many American and foreign diplomats.  In 1922, Martin attended a reception at the White House (President Warren Harding being in office). Martin also lived in Cleveland, Ohio, for a time during his later years.

One review which appeared in The Washington Times on 12 December 1919, reports that "his voice is full and vibrant and even, but he is inclined to "spend" it too much, pouring out its full volume overmuch and making his songs of the same dramatic caliber as the arias.  So excellent an organ should be somewhat conserved and would be rendered thereby more artistic.  In soft work Mr. Richardson has a smooth and suave quality of very lovely town, that has a violin timbre in it of appeal and color."

Of personal note, we learn from his passport application that Martin Richardson was 5'9" tall, with black hair, brown eyes and an aquiline nose.  On 19 May 1923, he married Mary Margaret Negley in Manhattan, New York.  The couple had no children.  Martin died in Ohio on 17 March 1950. 

A special thank you to cousin Vivien Richardson Gorski for bringing Martin Mower Richardson to my attention.

Line of descent A: 1-Richard Mower, 2-Samuel Mower, 3-Samuel Mower, 4-Jonathan Mower, 5-John Mower, 6-Martin Mower, 7-Emily (Mower) Richardson, 8-William Henry Richardson

Line of descent B: 1-Richard Mower, 2-Samuel Mower, 3-Samuel Mower, 4-Jonathan Mower, 5-John Mower, 6-Martin Mower, 7-John Edwards Mower, 8-Mary (Mower) Richardson
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Sources

•  "U.S. Passport Applications 1795-1925 [database online]." Digital image. Ancestry.com, Ancestry. www.ancestry.com : 2007.
• Saerchinger, Cesar, editor. International Who's Who in Music and Musical Gazeteer: A Comtemporary Biographical Dictionary and a Record of the World's Musical Activity. .New York, New York: Current Literature Publishing Company, 1918.
• The Musical Monitor. Oct. 1920, p. 24.  books.google.com.
• "Martin Richardson Pleases in Recital." The Washington Times, Washington, D.C. 12/12/1919, p. 3, col. 4. 
• "Martin Richardson." The Washington Times, Washington, D.C. 02/09/1922, p. 8, col. 5
• "High School Operetta." The St. Paul Daily Globe. 5/17/1902.
• Gorski, Vivien Richardson.  Richardson Family Tree.  Ancestry.com.  Accessed 10/03/2016.

"Aunt" Delinda Ann Jackson

Teaching is a profession that often appears throughout the Mower family.  For one cousin (second cousin three times removed to be exact), Delinda Ann Jackson, education was her life and her passion.

Delinda, the eldest of four children born to Joseph and Betsey Edwards (Mower) Jackson, was born on 16 January 1831 in Greene, Maine.  She never married, and lived to the age of 88, dying of apoplexy on 15 November 1919 in Lewiston, Maine.  She was in very good health for the majority of her life, suffering three shocks in the fall of 1919, after which her health failed rapidly.  Delinda is buried in the Jackson family plot in Old Valley Cemetery in Greene, Maine.

Delinda began her teaching career at the age of 16, tackling a class of 12 pupils at the school in the so-called Berry district of Greene.  She recollects that she "was small of her age and must have been child-like in appearance."  In this era, each school district hired its own teachers, often taking family connections into account.  It was commonplace for young women to gain these positions for the summer term, whereas men were typically hired for the winter term as discipline would be more challenging -boys, who had been working in the fields during the summer, would attend the winter term.  This worked well for Delinda as she would teach summers and continue her own education in the winter, attending Lewiston High School and Kent's Hill Seminary.

Once started, she decided that she "preferred teaching to house work and stuck to the profession."  Her second teaching term was at the Lane school in Greene where she managed a larger class size, 30 students.  She also taught various terms in neighboring towns - Lewiston, Auburn, Livermore, Readfield.  However it was at the Jackson School in Lewiston (a school named after her father's family) where she spent over 40 years.  Well loved by her students, she was affectionately known as "Aunt."  In total, Delinda taught over 100 terms during her career, remaining interested and involved with education in the community until the end of her life.  She retired in 1895, thereafter assuming the position of Postmaster of Greene Corner until 1900.

Aside from her career, Delinda was very active and led a busy social life.  Religion played an important role in Delinda's life.  She was  a member of the United Baptist Church in Greene and was also very passionately involved in the local Woman's Christian Temperance Union.  She was also a member of the Androscoggin Grange #8.

Line of descent: 1-Richard Mower, 2-Samuel Mower, 3-Samuel Mower, 4-Jonathan Mower, 5-John Mower, 6-John Mower, 7-Betsey Edwards Mower
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Sources

• "Maine Death Records 1617-1922 [database online]." Digital image. Ancestry.com, Ancestry. www.ancestry.com : 2016.
• Mower, Walter Lindley, compiler. Sesquicentennial History of the the Town of Greene, Androscoggin County, Maine 1775 to 1900. 1938. Reprint, Salem, Massachusetts: Higginson Book Company, n.d.
• "Jackson School Grad.: Class of three Receives Diplomas 'Aunt' Delinda Jackson a Guest." The Lewiston Daily Sun, Lewiston, Maine. 6/28/1918.
• "Veteran Teacher Dies in Lewiston." The Lewiston Daily Sun, Lewiston, Maine. 11/17/1919.
• Old Valley Cemetery (Route 202, Greene, Maine). Gravestone.

Neighborly Uncle Marshall Mower

One of the Mower clan that I've always had an affinity for is my 4th great granduncle, Marshall Mower.  I think it is because we share the same birthday, September 1st.  And he piqued my interest long before I discovered the story which appears a little later in this post.

Gravestone of Marshall & Charity Mower

Marshall Mower was born 01 Sep 1773 in Charlton, Massachusetts, the 9th of 10 children born to Jonathan and Elizabeth (Bemis) Mower.  Family historian Walter Lindley Mower described him as "a man of commanding presence, tall, erect, of large physique and attractive features, and an excellent bass singer."  On 1 Jul 1790, Marshall married Charity Curtis.  She was the daughter of Rev. Caleb Curtis, the first settled minister in Charlton and his wife, Charity Combs, having been born 04 Sep 1773 in Charlton.  Marshall and Charity Mower raised a large family.

Around 1802 Marshall, along with his wife, their 4 children, and his father, followed his older brothers and moved from Charlton to Greene, Maine, where they settled in the center part of that town, on a grant from his father.  About 11 years later, Marshall and his family again packed and moved by ox team once again, this time to Calais, Vermont, where he lived out the remainder of his life.

Marshall died 19 Jan 1831 at the age of 57.  His wife survived him, dying on 31 Oct 1843 at the age of 70.  They are both interred in Robinson Cemetery in Calais, Vermont.  Patti and I made the trip to visit his grave site back in 2014.  It was an emotional moment to stand at this grave.  He is laid to rest in a beautiful and well maintained little cemetery on a very out of the way back road.

Marshall and Charity (Curtis) Mower had 14 children:

1. Lucy, b. 4 Nov 1790
2. Mary, b. 2 Jun 1792
3. Nancy, b. 5 Jan 1795
4. John, b. 6 Jun 1797, d. in infancy.
5. Sophia, b. 6 Jun 1797, d. in infancy. 
6. Laura, b. 31 Oct 1799, d. 25 Aug 1802.
7. Curtis, b. 26 Oct 1801
8. John Russell, b. 8 Mar 1803
9. Alfred, b. 7 Nov 1804
10. Nelson, b. 14 Oct 1806
11. Cyrus, b. 22 Sep 1809
12. Elizabeth, b. probably 1811, d. 22 Nov. 1813.
13. Eleanor, b. 16 Oct 1813, d. 29 Aug 1816.
14. Cynthia, b. 11 Apr 1815

Now, for the interesting folklore associated with Uncle Marshall.  According to a 1996 article in the Newsletter of the Androscoggin Historical Society, it appears that Marshall was up to the task of being a good neighbor back in 1807.  As told by Mrs. John Burbank Hooper of Greene in 1882, that one set of neighbors to Marshall Mower was the town physician, Dr. Ammi Ruhamah Cutter and his wife, Deborah nee Curtis (and no, I have not determined if she is related to Marshall's wife, Charity Curtis).  Dr. Cutter was a highly regarded member of the town, "beloved and esteemed by all."  I'll add that apparently, Mrs. Deborah Cutter was quite a beauty.  Anyway, unfortunately, the couple had not been able to conceive allegedly due to the impotency of Dr. Cutter.  The couple very much wanted to have a family. So it was agreed that Marshall Mower would assist Mrs. Cutter with conceiving a child by having sexual intercourse with her (Marshall having proved his ability to father numerous children with his wife).  For services rendered, Dr. Cutter would give Marshall a cow.  The deed was done and John Loring Cutter was born on 19 Jun 1807.  Evidently, all were well satisfied with the transaction, as they repeated it, an act resulting in the birth of William Cutter on 24 Sep 1813.  The births of both children are recorded in the vital records of the Town of Greene, both shown as the children of Dr. Ammi Cutter and his wife Deborah.  However, according to Mrs. Hooper, Dr. and Mrs. Cutter have admitted that Marshall Mower is the father of the two children.  Interesting also is that Walter L. Mower in his "History of Greene" has a brief narrative about Dr. Cutter, but makes no mention of the Cutter children.

Now I'm not sure if the repercussions of these "transactions" hastened the move of Marshall Mower and his family out of Greene, but that did take place around the time of William Cutter's birth.

An interesting footnote to this story is that both of the Cutter boys seem to have moved to Bangor, Maine.  I recently located the grave site of William Cutter.  He is interred in Mount Hope Cemetery here in Bangor, Maine, in a lot right across from the Superintendent's office. More research needs to be done on their families.

Line of descent: 1~Richard Mower, 2~Samuel Mower, 3~Samuel Mower, 4~Jonathan Mower
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Sources

• "Dr. Ammi R. Cutter's Children." Androscoggin History, Newsletter of the Androscoggin Historical Society, 17 (2/1996).
• Robinson Cemetery (Robinson Cemetery Road, Calais, Vermont). Gravestone.
• Mower, Walter L. Mower Family History: A Genealogical Record of the Maine Branch of This Family together with Other Branches of the Family Tree. Portland, Maine: The Southworth Press, 1923.
• Mower, Walter Lindley, compiler. Sesquicentennial History of the the Town of Greene, Androscoggin County, Maine 1775 to 1900. 1938. Reprint, Salem, Massachusetts: Higginson Book Company, n.d.
• Systemic History Fund. Vital Records of Charlton, Massachusetts, To the end of the year 1849. Worcester, Massachusetts: Franklin P. Rice, Trustee of the Fund, 1905.
• FamilySearch. "Records of births, deaths, marriages and marriage intentions, 1755-1925 (Greene, Maine)." Database with digital images. FamilySearch. www.familysearch.org

Dedication - Elizabeth (Bemis) Mower

As I start this journey, I can think of many ancestors that I could dedicate the blog to, but one particular person comes to mind.  It's funny how in the course of researching family history, you sometimes seem to make a stronger connection to certain ancestors than to others, often not for any particular rational reason, and for me it seems to be always be a grandmother (perhaps indicating a need for therapy on my part).  On my maternal side, it's my 3rd-great-grandmother, Ann Maidstone (Hillman) Grant, mother of 23 children according to family lore, of which 16 survived to adulthood).  On my paternal side, Betsey (Gibbs) Vickery, one of my 2nd-great-grandmothers, is my go-to favorite as I have her photograph and she just looks like a sweet, kind, loving person.  So for the Mower line, even though she is a Mower by marriage, I'm going to have to pick my 5th great-grandmother, Elizabeth (Bemis) Mower, as the person I will dedicate this blog to.  The Mowers loved marrying women named Elizabeth, she is one of my 5 grandmother Mowers with that name.

Gravestone of Elizabeth (Bemis) Mower,

Elizabeth Bemis was reportedly born in Spencer, Massachusetts, about 1735, the 7th of 8 children born to Samuel and Sarah (Barnard) Bemis.  She comes from strong colonial stock.  Her father was the second settler of Spencer, purchasing 400 acres of woodland and began the process of clearing timber before moving his family to their new home.  William, their third child, was the first to be born after the move.  Sarah, fearing the Indians that lived in the area and frequently made their presence known, removed herself to Sudbury near the end of her pregnancy and when her baby was two weeks old returned home on horseback covering a distance of 50 miles through wilderness in one day, carrying little William in her arms.

Like many women of this period, not a lot is known of their lives, but we can acknowledge the large contribution they made to their families, let alone birthing numerous children.  Elizabeth married Jonathan Mower, son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Sprague) Mower on 10 Jul 1755 in Spencer.  Jonathan and Elizabeth settled in Charlton, Massachusetts.  Together, they had 10 children, all born in Charlton:

1. Elisabeth, b. 7 May 1756, d. 15 Jan 1784 in Charlton.
2. Jonathan, b. 25 Oct 1757
3. John, b. 26 Mar 1759
4. Samuel, b. 17 May 1761
5. Abigail, b. 26 Mar 1763
6. Sarah, b. 14 Feb 1765
7. William, b. 16 Mar 1767
8. Ebenezer, b. 23 May 1769
9. Marshall, b. 1 Sep 1773
10. Jemima, b. 25 Oct 1777

Elizabeth (Bemis) Mower departed this life on 1 Mar 1802 in Charlton, Massachusetts.  She is buried there in a beautiful spot - Northside Cemetery, where her grave is marked with an old slate gravestone on which is inscribed "In Memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Mower, wife of Mr. Jonathan Mower, deceased March 1st, 1802, Aged 67 Years and 2 Months."

After his wife's death, Jonathan moved north to Greene, Maine, where several of his children had already relocated.  It is through this couple that the majority of the Mowers found in Maine are descended.  So for that, we dedicate this blog to the woman who literally gave birth to this branch of the family.
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Sources:

• Mower, Walter L. Mower Family History: A Genealogical Record of the Maine Branch of This Family together with Other Branches of the Family Tree. Portland, Maine: The Southworth Press, 1923.
• Draper, Thomas Waln-Morgan. The Bemis History and Genealogy: Being An Account In Greater Part Of The Descendants of Joseph Bemis of Watertown, Mass.. San Francisco, California: The Stanley-Taylor Co., Printers, 1900.
• Systemic History Fund. Vital Records of Charlton, Massachusetts, To the end of the year 1849. Worcester, Massachusetts: Franklin P. Rice, Trustee of the Fund, 1905.