Mayme Bradshaw Delaney 1872-1941

When I moved to Manchester, NH in 1986, I had no idea that that there was so much family history there.   Several of Pat and Johanna’s offspring lived in Manchester for a time, and  at least two (Alice and Mayme) are buried there.

I don’t know a lot about Mayme’s day to day life, or what she was like,  but I can say that I LITERALLY walk in her footsteps.  Usually on the way to cash a check or pick up a meatball sub.  “What the hell does that mean?”  you may ask.  Read on…

Mary Emelda (Mayme) Bradshaw, the third child of Patrick and Johanna Bradshaw was born June 10th,  1872 in Chateaugay, NY.    She appears as a child in the 1875 New York State Census and the 1880 Federal census in Chateaugay.

According to my dad, her name was pronounced “Mame” – one syllable, not “Mamie”, as you might expect.  Not that it matters, I suppose,  but it’s just one more little fact that we can hold onto for another generation or two.

My Uncle John wrote that Mayme and her younger sister Alice moved to Manchester some time at the late 1800s, most likely to find work in the Amoskeag Textile Mills(fear not  – the next biographical post will be all about Aunt Alice).  We don’t know when they left,  but neither of them appear in Chateaugay in the 1900 Federal Census.  Other sources say that Aunt Alice was 16 when she moved to Manchester, so a best guess would be 1890.

Mayme married John Delaney on January 27th, 1903, in Haverill MA. John was a Taylor who (according to Uncle John) had a contract for Policeman’s uniforms.   They had no children.

The 1910 census shows the couple living at 123 Oakland Street.  Mayme’s occupation is listed as Saleswoman – grocery store.  They lived at that location through at least 1927.

In 1927 John received an inheritance from Charles Rowell,  the employer of Alice Bradshaw, Mayme’s sister.  Charles passed away with no heirs, and left  most of his fortune to to Alice who had been working for the family for decades.   The only other individual named in his will was  Mayme’s husband John , who received $10,000, or about $139,000 in 2018 dollars.

By 1930 they had moved to  farm in Londonderry.  John is listed in the 1930 census as a Farmer, and no occupation for Mayme is listed.

I doubt that Mayme and her husband changed careers and lifestyles so dramatically out of economic need.  Both were in their mid-fifties.  A career change to farming in late middle age sounds more like a retirement strategy, especially given the fact that John had received the inheritance from Charles Rowell.

My grandparents visited Mayme sometime in 1930, and brought along their sons John and Gerald, who would have been in their early teens by then.

A few observations about this photo:

1)  I am guessing  that this was taken at Mayme and John’s house.  The tidy house and surroundings seem more New England than Franklin County, NY.

2) I can’t identify the man in the middle of the photo below,  but he’s probably John Delaney.

3) Pat (my Grandfather) seems at ease, and is almost smiling.   In most photos he’s a pretty grim fellow.  The other adults seem to be enjoying themselves too.  The boys look miserable.

4) Gerald and Junior’s footwear is pretty impressive for the early 30’s.    And those knickers – wow.

Here’s another picture of Mayme and her nephews.   Not sure what was going on, but these boys did not seem happy to be there.

Farm life didn’t last long.  John died in 1933.  Shortly after,  Mayme moved into an apartment in Manchester where she lived for the rest of her life.   The apartment was on Elm Street, just a couple miles from her sister Alice’s home on River Road.

The apartment building (1480 Elm) is still there, about a quarter mile from where I work.  I walk by it every so often on my way to the bank or to Pappy’s Pizza, which are both right across the street.

She died in 1941 at the age of 68, and is buried in the Rowell Family plot in Manchester’s Pine Grove Cemetery. Her obituary stated that she was a Christian Scientist.

Here’s a timeline of her life.

Thanks once again for reading.  If there are any long lost cousins out there who can make any additions or corrections, please let me know.

P.S. – Comments are always most welcome

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