Salvatore was born on 27 December 1902 in Melilli, Sicily to Vincenzo Sanzaro, age 29, and Anna Fazzino, age 27. His birth record may be viewed here. Salvatore, like his father, was a tenant sharecropper. They grew olives and figs on the farm. In October of 1927, Salvatore married 17-year-old Sebastiana Milardo in Melilli and had seven children:
Along with so many others from Melilli, Salvatore and Sebastiana immigrated to Middletown, Connecticut. They first arrived at Ellis Island, NY on December 24, 1955 after an 11-day ocean voyage.
Salvatore died in 1976 at the age of 74 and was buried in St. Sebastian’s Cemetery, Middlefield, CT.
Mildred was born in Middletown, Connecticut on 4 September 1906. Her mother, Ida Estella Barrows, was 38, and her father, Eugene Dudley Kelsey, was 41. Mildred grew up in a small home at 422 Washington Street in Middletown, near the area where the train bridge spans the road and across from Indian Hill Cemetery.
At the age of 19, on 21 August 1926, she married Frank Quinn Gaylord. They would eventually have 12 children. When Mildred was pregnant with her 7th child, she nearly died in a suicide attempt. Consequently, five of her children were placed in foster care and two, including the 7th, were put up for adoption. Mildred and Frank then had five more children. They struggled financially and the children did not attend high school, opting to start work as soon as possible. Mildred died on 11 July 1986 in East Hampton and was buried in Skinnerville Cemetery, East Hampton, CT in an unmarked grave.
Frank was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on 18 June 1904, the son of John Frederick Gaylord and Grace Annie Bashaw. His father died suddenly when Frank was 3 years old leaving seven children to be cared for, not including another one on the way. Frank’s maternal grandparents moved to Springfield to help out, but life must have been difficult. In 1920, at age 16, Frank lived with his mother and five siblings, along with his grandmother, Josephine (Cross) Bashaw, in Revere, Massachusetts.
Frank married Mildred Hazel Kelsey in Middletown, CT on 21 Aug 1926 at the age of 22. His married life was full of heartache. He and Mildred had 12 children. When Mildred was pregnant with her 7th child, she nearly died in a suicide attempt. Consequently, five of their children were placed in foster care and two, including the 7th, were put up for adoption. He and Mildred then had five more children. They moved around quite a bit, struggling financially. The children did not attend high school, opting to start work as soon as possible.
Frank died Middletown in July 1993 at the age of 89, having outlived many of his family members. He was buried in Skinnerville Cemetery, East Hampton, CT in an unmarked grave.
Mary was born in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, the daughter of James Henry Emery and Flora Evelyn MacQuarrie. Her family later moved to Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts, where her father worked as a barber.
1900 U.S. Census – Boston, Massachusetts
Mary M Emery
Age
1
Birth Date
Feb 1898
Birthplace
Massachusetts
Home in 1900
Boston Ward 21, Suffolk, Massachusetts
Race
White
Gender
Female
Relation to Head of House
Daughter
Marital Status
Single
Father’s Name
Jame H Emery
Father’s Birthplace
Maine
Mother’s Name
Flora Emery
Mother’s Birthplace
Canada, England
Household Members
Name
Age
Jame H Emery
32
Flora Emery
41
Henietta Emery
5
Hamilton G Emery
2
Mary M Emery
1
1910 U.S. Census – Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts
Mary was a nurse her entire professional career, starting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There she met and married the love of her life, Bill Collins, on 18 December 1928. They resided there for nearly four years and had their first child there in October of 1929. Bill was an intelligence officer in the Canadian military, but it’s unclear how he spent his time in Puerto Rico and his life, in general, was mysterious.
Here’s an excerpt from a letter Mary wrote to her daughter on 20 December 1967: “Margy dear – Monday was my 39th wedding date and today is Maryann’s birthday. When one realizes the maturity of one’s children, the span of years becomes appalling. It does not seem 39 years ago that we were married in a little church in San Juan, and I was so land sick, that the minister seemed to be weaving back and forth. Your daddy was so poised and calm one would think marriage was a daily event. The one thing he did not expect was a seasick bride.”
Bill was Canadian and Mary had family members in Nova Scotia, so when they left Puerto Rico they settled in Halifax where the girls began their elementary education. Bill died in Sydney, Cape Breton, in 1940 under questionable circumstances. We still don’t know exactly what happened.
Mary was scarred by the loss of her husband and found it difficult to raise two young daughters on her own while she was grieving and trying to earn enough money for the household. At first, she moved with her children to Panama, where her brother, Hill, was working for a fruit company. It is unclear how long they remained in Panama. They may have returned to Halifax for some time, but eventually moved to Providence, RI to live with Mary’s sister, Etta. After some time, they moved again, this time to Warwick, RI, where Hill owned a home on Palm Boulevard.
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Sometime after her girls had graduated from high school, Mary moved to Orlando, Florida where she lived for many years. She had a home with grapefruit growing in the backyard; then she moved into a large apartment building for retirees. Mary was a beautiful woman with sparkling blue eyes, a twinkling smile, and a charming personality. She had a zest for life and was very close to her siblings.
Grandma Mary & Aunt Etta in their later years
Mary died at the age of 90 on 23 September 1989 at the Groton Regency, a nursing home in Groton, Connecticut. Her sister, Etta, had been living with her there. Mary’s daughter, Margaret, carried her ashes in an urn from Connecticut down to Orlando, Florida, where Mary’s ashes were placed in the earth next to her husband.
Children of William James Collins and Mary Matheson Emery:
This picture of WJC might have been taken between 1918-25
In 1914, Canada entered World War I. This was a formative time in Bill’s life and the war shaped his future. He probably enlisted when he turned 18, which was in February of 1917. 25% of enlisted men in Canada were from the province of Ontario, where Bill lived.
Age 25-30?
William James Collins (rear center); his brothers, John Henry Collins and Roy Kingsley Collins; his sister, Evelyn; his mother, Maggie; and his father, John Henry Collins.
As I write this, something I’ve often pondered now makes sense to me. My father, Ken Dutton, used to tell me that while in high school my mother, Margaret, haughtily declared that she was British. I often wondered why she would have said this because she was only partially of English descent. It may have been her identification with Canada as part of the British Empire and her father’s involvement in the Canadian military that impressed upon her British national pride. Bill had roots in England so that was probably part of it, too.
The war ended on 11 November 1918 when Bill was 3 months shy of 20 years old, but he continued his work as a Canadian intelligence officer. By 1928, for some reason that is unknown to us, he was residing in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
At the age of 29, Bill married my grandmother, Mary Matheson Emery, in San Juan on 18 December 1928. They were head over heels in love. The news must have devastated his mother because she died eight days later (tongue-in-cheek, of course, bless her soul). Alternatively, she died because she had fulfilled her purpose in life: one of her children had gotten married (again, tongue-in-cheek).
My mother, Flora Margaret Collins, was born in Santurce, San Juan about ten months after their marriage, on 1 October 1929.
Their second child, Maryann Etta, was born on 20 December 1931 in Nyack, New York. I have no idea what they might have been doing in Nyack, but maybe my cousins can shed light on this. Were they celebrating Christmas there with someone? Were they stuck there by some stroke of misfortune? About two weeks later, on 7 January 1932, Bill, Mary, Margaret, baby Maryann and Mary’s mother, Flora, traveled by ship from New York to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In July 1933, Bill traveled from San Juan to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, accompanied by Mary; their two daughters; and his mother-in-law, Flora Emery. Their eventual destination was Detroit, Michigan, where his siblings were residing and where Bill and his family would stay in the Lexington Hotel. Ship records indicate that Bill said he was of Irish nationality. His mother was certainly Irish, but it surprises me that he would claim to be Irish and my mother, as I’ve mentioned, declared that she was English. It could also have been a mistake.
Bill’s father had died in March 1933. Did Bill, in fact, travel to Canada for the funeral in March? Did he agree in March to make a trip to Detroit to be with his siblings in July?
Bill was 37 when his brother, John Henry, died in Toronto. Two years later, his brother, Roy, died in Bay City, Michigan.
Sometime prior to 1938, Bill and his family had moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
WJC with his daughters
William James Collins, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, around 1939? My mother and Maryann were freezing! It must have been a special occasion. Had the girls insisted on being so under-dressed? I can’t imagine who decided on posing for this photo, but I’m glad we have it.
Canada entered World War II on 10 September 1939 and Bill was pressed into service again. Less than a year later, Bill died in Sydney, Nova Scotia at the age of 41.
Bill with his daughter, Margaret
The family story we had been told is that he was killed in WWII, shot in an alley in the middle of the night, because he was a military spy. We don’t know if any of this story is true. It’s possible that the story developed over time, embellished by a family remembering their hero. We do know that he was serving in the Canadian special forces, involved in gathering intelligence and that this story may actually be accurate. The cause of death on his death certificate, “heart disease,” has not dissuaded some of us from continuing to believe the spy-assassination story because there may have been a cover-up.
Many thanks to Kristina Gottman Miller for sending me Bill’s death certificate and obituary.
Bill was dearly missed by his family members. His daughter, Margaret, would relate that her father sat her down upon his knee and told her that he would not live to see her turn 14. He said that God had shown him a picture of what she would look like and she was beautiful. His prescience, combined with the fact that his two brothers had died recently, may indicate that Bill had a serious health issue and knew that he would not live much longer.
Bill was originally buried in Toronto, Canada, but his ashes were later moved to Orlando, Florida, where his wife, Mary, was living and where she was later buried.
She earned her degree in Art and spent many long hours at her easel capturing a view, which she would interpret in watercolors. She had a booth once at the Mystic Art Festival. Helen married Percy Clifton Dutton in Tarrytown, NY and they had three children. Helen spent her family vacations at East Falmouth, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. Later in life, she resided with her son, Kenneth, and family. Helen became a Jehovah’s Witness and devoted much of her time to Bible study.
Children of Percy Clifton DUTTON and Helen Agnes Smith:
Percy was born in 1897 in Yonkers, New York, the son of Frederick Osbon Dutton and Ida Wilhelmina Breithack. Below is a picture of his baptismal certificate, in German, issued by St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Yonkers.
Above, Ida holding Ada; probably Ida’s youngest sister; Percy and Fred in front.
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Percy married Helen Agnes Smith in Tarrytown, Westchester, NY in 1928 and they started their family in Nutley, New Jersey. During the Great Depression, Percy had been unemployed in New Jersey but was hired right off the unemployment line to work as a professional engineer for Goodyear Rubber Co. in Providence, Rhode Island. The entire family, including Percy’s sister and mother, moved first to Cranston, RI and then to Warwick, RI.
Percy spent vacations in East Falmouth, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod where he built a cottage and served as the president of the Pinecrest Beach Association. He resided with his son, Kenneth, and family in Connecticut later in life. Percy enjoyed smoking cigars and blowing smoke rings through bigger smoke rings. He also enjoyed making his own delicious pizza, having family picnics, playing croquet and sitting by the fire on a cold night. Religion: Methodist.
Percy Dutton, Kenneth Smith
Percy C. Dutton
Percy (right) with Uncle Ken Smith (left), Percy in photo on the right
Census records
1900 – Yonkers, Westchester, NY
1910 – Yonkers, Westchester, NY
1920 – Yonkers, Westchester, NY
1930 – Nutley, Passaic, NJ
1940 – Warwick, Kent, RI
Percy died of pneumonia in Kent County Hospital, Warwick on 28 January 1978. He was buried in the family plot at Highland Memorial Park, Johnston, Rhode Island.
A FAMILY HISTORY 