Notes
Note N7196 Index
John was a shoemaker. Nancy referred to herself as "Jennie." That name appears on the record of her marriage to John, and elsewhere. She was a cook. Their marriage did not last very long, ending before 1900. In 1900, we find her in Brockton, Massachusetts, living in a hotel (NARA Microcopy T623, Roll 673, Vol. 60, E.D. 1094, Page 131B).
Notes
Note N7197 Index
James served in two Maine infantry units during the Civil War.
The first enlistment, a nine-month term from 16 October 1862 to 25 August 1863, was with Co. E of the 24th Maine. They fought mainly in battles at Port Hudson, near New Orleans, Louisiana. However, their biggest problem was with the southern climate (184 men were lost to disease and over 100 more were discharged with disabilities).
His second enlistment was with Co. F of the 29th Maine, which he joined 13 November 1863. This unit fought in Louisiana (Sabine Cross Roads) and Virginia (Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek).
The 29th Maine stood guard duty at Washington arsenal in May of 1865, guarding the assassins of President Lincoln. In 1866, the unit went to South Carolina. Apparently, by then, James had had enough of Army life and deserted (24 March 1866) at Darlington, SC. Had he waited only three months longer, he would have been with the Regiment when it was mustered out and honorably discharged 21 June 1866.
We have yet to discover where James went after he deserted.
Notes
Note N7198 Index
Thomas was a house painter and paperhanger. They lived for several years in Lynn, Massachusetts. In 1903, they moved to Boston. By 1910, they were back in Maine, living in Bangor. They had no children.
Notes
Note N7199 Index
In 1870, Joseph was working as a teamster and rooming with the Julia Furbush family in Augusta.
Notes
Note N7201 Index
Edgar was a house painter and wallpaper hanger by trade. His marriage to Elva ended in divorce 13 September 1900. She charged him with utter desertion, adultery, intoxication, refusal to provide support, assault and abuse. The divorce was decreed "for the cause of gross & confirmed habits of intoxication" [apparently, the other things charged were not of sufficient merit so as to be seriously considered]. Custody of Hazel was given to Elva (MAINE DIVORCE RECORDS 1900-1909, Roll 2, Vol. 5, Page 18, Maine State Archives).
On 2 February 1902, Edgar enlisted in the U.S. Army, and was stationed at Fort Slocum, New York. He expected that, while in the Army, he would do some "real soldiering." However, when the officers at the Fort realized his talent, they kept him busy working on the post buildings. Working at his trade for the meager pay of a private caused him to become very dissatisfied with Army life, and he deserted on 22 August 1902, having served only about 6 months. He returned to his home in Maine.
Not wanting to be arrested as a deserter and taken to a military prison, Edgar did not stay long in Maine, but, instead, went to Revere, Massachusetts (just outside Boston), where he found work with William F. Mitchell, the husband of one of Edgar's cousins, Millie. He also boarded with the Mitchells, who lived at 27 Franklin Place in Revere. On Friday, 3 July 1903, after having dinner with William and Millie, Edgar told them that he was going into Boston for a while, mainly to exchange a pair of trousers that he had recently purchased, but which did not fit him. He never returned from that trip into the city.
About 1:10 a.m. on Saturday morning, the 4th of July, Boston Police were notified that there was a man lying on the ground in Boston Common. The man was thought to be unconscious and needed help. From witnesses, the police learned that the man had been lying there for upwards to an hour and a half, but the witnesses thought him to be drunk, so they did not bother to check on his condition. An ambulance was sent to the scene. The man was taken to the Relief Hospital where it was discovered that he was dead. From the marks and bruises on his face and head, it was evident that he had been brutally beaten elsewhere and then taken to the Boston Common where he was dumped on the ground and left to die. That man was Edgar Leroy Scribner. He had been robbed and beaten to death.
The police carried out an investigation, but were unable to uncover any clues as to who killed Edgar. However, the "Bangor Daily News" reported on 7 July that William D. Smith, a blacksmith in Bangor, claimed to have information that would lead the authorities to the killers. Mr. Smith said that he had worked in Benton, Kennebec County, where Edgar had apparently spent the previous winter. There, he knew of two men who had often and openly spoken of their deep hatred for Edgar, who, as they expressed it: "did them dirt." They vowed to follow Edgar "to the end of the earth" in order to get even with him. According to Smith, Edgar had many enemies, chief among them the two men who seemed to want nothing less than the death of Edgar Scribner. Smith said that he would tell the names and give a full description of the men to the Boston Police. Asked why he didn't tell the authorities about those threats when he first heard them, Smith said that he had thought little about them, considering them to be idle talk ("The Boston Herald" editions of 5-7 July 1903; "The Boston Globe" editions of 5-8 July 1903, and "The Bangor Daily News" editions of 5-8 July 1903). Edgar's killers were never caught.
About a year and a half after their divorce, Elva re-married. Her second husband was 30-year-old George W. Hoxie of Fairfield (which is also where Elva was living at the time), 17 January 1903 in Waterville (MAINE VITAL RECORDS: Marriages 1892-1907, Maine State Archives). How ominous it was that, on the Marriage Record, Elva claims to be a widow. Six months later, Edgar was murdered.