James Henry Emery

Great-great-grandparent – 1 of 16 in this generation

(1868-1941)

James was born in North New Portland, Maine on 29 April 1868, the son of Samuel F. Emery and Elizabeth Victoria Thing. He was the 5th of 7 children and the 2nd of 3 boys. They had moved to Augusta by 15 Jan 1879, the day his father died there when James was just 11.

James appears with his mother and three siblings in the 1880 U.S. Census in Augusta. There they resided at 114 Winthrop Street, west of the Kennebec River and just east of Mount Pleasant Cemetery where his father was buried.

Household members:

1. Victory Emeary, 43
2. Georgia Emeary, 14
3. James H. Emeary, 12
4. John A. Emeary, 10
5. Anny Emeary, 8

At the age of 21, on 9 June 1889, James married Jeanette A. Glidden, the daughter of Isaac Newton Glidden and Bessie (maiden name unknown), in Whitefield, Lincoln, Maine. They had two children:

1. Mabel Annie, b.15 Aug 1889 in Whitefield; married William Franklin Mains, the son of John L. Mains and Esther Cromwell, in Whitefield, Maine on 2 Oct 1910. They had children:
   1. Earle Joseph Mains (or Maines), b. 29 June 1911 Whitefield; d. 2 November 1979 in Portland, Cumberland, Maine (see his obituary below)
   2.  Irvin Lincoln Mains, b.16 Oct 1912, Whitefield; d. 9 Oct 1990 Waterville, Maine
2. Arthur L., b.about 1893, died of cholera 11 September 1903 in Whitefield

James and Jeanette divorced, apparently on very bitter terms. The children from each of his marriages never met one another. Jeanette remarried in Whitefield on 25 Jan 1894 to Anson B. Crocker, and they had at least one child.

In the 1900 U.S. Census, Jeanette, Anson and their children appear in Whitefield, Maine (the first three Crocker children must have been from a previous marriage).

Household members:

1. Anson B. Crocker, 42
2. Janette A. Crocker, 25
3. John H. Crocker, 12
4. Edwin E. Crocker, 10
5. Glen A. Crocker, 9
6. Amasis J. Crocker, 2
7. Mabol Emerick, 11
8. Arthur J. Emerick, 10

Anson Crocker died in Whitefield on 22 Aug 1901. Young Arthur Emery died in Whitefield on 11 September 1903. In 1910, Jeanette is found living with her brother, William A. Glidden:

Household Members:

1. William A. Glidden, 42
2. Jeanett Crocker, 34
3. Amaziah G. Crocker, 11
4. Mabel A. Emery, 20

Late in 1910, Mabel married William Franklin Mains (or Maines). By 1920, however, Mabel (Emery) Mains was residing at in New Gloucester, Maine at the Maine State School for the Feeble-Minded. She worked there doing “linen-room work.” Meanwhile, her husband, William Mains, was a prisoner at the Androscoggin County Prison. Their 8-year-old son, Irvin, may have been in a children’s home in 1920 since he is found there (at Pownal State School) in 1930.

The institution that became Pineland had, at its largest in the late 1950s, some 1,700 residents, some hundreds of staff at any time, and some 50 buildings. Its imposing campus served many needs: care and treatment of persons with mental retardation, a place for orphans, unruly youth, or those too poor to live elsewhere, and care and treatment of youth with psychiatric needs.

https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/301/page/567/display

It seems likely that neither Mabel nor Irvin were feeble-minded – they were just poor and homeless.

Mabel died in New Gloucester in 1928. Click here for her record on findagrave.com. William remarried to Addie L. (Calder) Collamore on 16 May 1930 in Harpswell, Maine. By 1940, William was in prison again. Addie and her two young sons resided together in Phippsburg while Bessie was placed in the Lewiston & Auburn Children’s Home.

For some reason, James H. Emery made his way down to Hyde Park, Massachusetts where he married Flora Evelyn MacQuarrie on 14 June 1894 at the age of 26. He was a barber and Flora was a weaver, according to the marriage record.

James and Flora had four children:

1. Henrietta Emery
2. Hamilton Blaine Emery
3. Mary Matheson Emery
4. James Hildreth Emery

1900 U.S. Census, 27 Codman Pk, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts

1. Jame H. Emery, 32
2. Flora Emery, 41
3. Henrietta, 5
4. Hamilton G., 2
5. Mary M., 1

1910 U.S. Census, 12 Domforth Street, Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts

1. Jame H. Emery, 41
2. Flora Emery, 50
3. Henryetta, 15
4. Hamilton B., 12
5. Mary M., 11
6. James H.,

1920 U.S. Census – not found

1930 U.S. Census – 8 Chase Street, Taunton, MA

1. James H. Emery, 61, owner of a paint shop
2. Flora, 71, immigrated 1887, naturalized citizen

The census indicates that James and Flora owned their home and it was worth $3,200.

James died on 17 Jan 1941 in Taunton, MA and was buried there in Westville Cemetery. To view his gravesite, click here.