Soulieres 1893
New Ipswich Historical Society
In a previous post I identified these buildings as factories, when in fact they were tenement housing. These buildings were located on Turnpike Road just as one approaches the bridge. Warwick Mills is located across the street. The far building is still standing.
The French Canadians
New Ipswich resident Rick Blanchette sent the Society a photo taken of his family in front of the tenement building. He wrote that the Society did not have any photos of the many French Canadians that lived and worked in New Ipswich which is true.
These are Rick Blanchette's Souliere and Leclerc ancestors. The photo was taken in 1893 in front of the large tenement building in High Bridge,
Back Row Left to Right: Vitaline, Pierre Sr. (Rick’s great-great grandfather), Emilie (Rick’s great-great grandmother), Marie Louise, Edward Leclerc (Rick’s great grandfather), Emelie.
Front Row Left to Right: Joseph Adelard (AKA Bebe), Magloire, Julie (Souliere) Leclerc (Rick's great grandmother, holding baby Eliza – the mother of Laurette Lafrenière and Therese Pelletier of Greenville), Elizabeth (AKA Eliza), and Pierre Jr.
Rick’s grandmother, Marie (Leclerc) Lizotte was not born until 1899.
Prior to 1899, members of this family purchased the large duplex on at the sharp corner on Hubbard Hill Road in Greenville, which is where Rick’s grandmother was born.
The People of New Ipswich
The New Ipswich Historical Society has a large collection of “people” photographs. There are group photos, formal studio portraits and what might be considered snapshots of the day. We’ll feature one or more in this newsletter. Not everyone has been identified, so we’ll appreciate reader input.
On this day - May 3, 1908
James Roger diary entry
3rd (Sunday)
Snow showers in morning. Cold west to N.W. wind. Mr. Peacock preached on Joshua & the Israelites crossing the Jordan. C.E. Miss Taylor leader.
Miss Madeline Thurston, 1864-1939, according to info found online, was a native of Rhode Island and a teacher in Newton MA who summered in New Ipswich. The Thurstons were a large clan descended from Daniel Thurston, who settled in Newbury MA in the early 1600s. Thurstons were prominent in early Fitchburg history, the most famous of whom was Asa Thurston, first missionary to the Hawaiian Islands. Sally (Thurston) Phillips of Fitchburg and Ashburnham, 1783-1848, mother of Colonel Ivers Phillips, was a 3gr-grandmother of Betsy Thoms.
I replied in a previous note that I thought those were apartments for the mill workers. Highbridge was a French Canadian village. Wherever there was a textile mill in NH you'll find French Canadians. In Highbrige in 1930-1940s you'll find families with last names like Duval, Leger, Soucy, Ouellette, Desrosiers, Guilmette, LaCroix, Rochon, Montagne, Boulerisse, Croteau, Belanger, Vaillancourt, Charois and others. Highbridge must have been known to Canadian postal workers since one day in the 1950s I received a letter from a former teacher who had gone back Quebec. The letter was addressed "William Niemi Highbridge USA" and it got to me! No zip code, no town, no state!