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Snippets for Aunt Sharon: James Maher, Cleveland Tailor

This tailor shop vignette shows young workers seated on the table in the “tailor’s pose.” They sewed by the natural light afforded by windows. James Maher may have done work like this early in his career. (Image: rawpixel.com)   The first evidence of James Maher, one of my Aunt Sharon's great-grandfathers, is in an 1861 Cleveland city directory—the telephone books of their day. 1   James Maher's entry in the 1861 Cleveland city directory.   James was a tailor in the days when Cleveland was on the verge of rivaling New York as a capital of the garment industry in the United States. 2 Earlier in the 19th century, before the spread of industrialization, clothing was still handmade, usually by women in the family. The wealthy might have their garments made by a tailor or seamstress. As the 19th century progressed, the need for ready-made clothing became more important for occupations like mining, for sailors, and for slaves. 3   Bird’s eye view of Cleveland, 1877. P...

Visit to Greenwood Cemetery, Newton, Kansas


 

by Nancy Gilbride Casey


I've often shared photos, documents, and genealogical news on Facebook. I thought it worthwhile to publish them here, on Leaves on the Tree, as well. This will be an occasional project as the Facebook Memories posts come up.

 

Today's throwback is to July 3, 2021, when daughter Anne and I were coming back from a trip to Colorado. We journeyed through Kansas, and stayed near Newton, Kansas, just so I could visit Greenwood Cemetery, and capture some grave photos of my husband's Davis and Taylor ancestors.


These three headstones mark three Davis/Taylor graves. From right to left: The largest stone is for Collostin Davis and Ellen Maria Martin Davis, Jim's 3x great grandparents. The middle monument is that of the Davis' daughter Florence and her husband Henry O. Taylor. Lastly, next to the tree, is the grave of Blanche Davis Eddington, Florence's sister.

The largest stone is for Jim's 3x great grandfather Collostin James Davis, Civil War veteran of the 12th Maine Infantry. His wife was Ellen Maria Martin Davis; she and Collostin were the parents of Florence, Blanche and George. Sadly Ellen outlived her husband, and all of her children







The small, original stone for John Davis, Collostin's brother, and fellow Civil War veteran from of the 42nd Maine Infantry. An inscription for John was later added to the main stone (below), but the original one still present.

Inscription for George R. Davis, Collostin and Ellen's son.

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) marker. The GAR was begun in 1866 as a fraternal organization for Union veterans. The F, C and L stand for fraternity, charity and loyalty. Both Collostin and John were members of the GAR during their lives and honored with these markers for their service during the Civil War, after their deaths.

Until next time....

Read other posts on the Davis and Taylor families:


NOTES

All images: Nancy Gilbride Casey, photographer, Davis and Taylor grave sites, Greenwood Cemetery, Newton, Kansas, 4 July 2021.

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