USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Sutton > History of the town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1876 to 1950, Volume II > Part 29
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The Richmond Burt home, next on Purgatory Road, had a series of owners: Alden Rice, John Sylvester in 1891, Alden Rice in 1893, Mrs. Dora Hilton in
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1905 and VanBuren Dorr in 1905. The old house was torn down and Dorr erected the present building, a small house. He sold to Mr. Blanchard and it was later owned by a relative, Edward Lacomb. It was purchased by Mrs. Bot- tomly, who made repairs and sold the building and some land to a Mr. Caplette. After living here for a while, he let the government take it on a mortgage. It is now owned and occupied by Mr. DeMarr.
In the days when the Burts lived here, the house seemed quite isolated, on a road, little used, and miles from telephone or post office, yet the family always had the latest news. A neighbor, early one morning, happened to be in a village when the first announcement of President Garfield's assassination was received. In great excitement he drove to the Burt home, sure, this time, to be the first to break the news. "Oh yes," said Melissa, "a peddler just told us."
A piece of land, formerly a part of the Remick place, was sold by Arthur E. King to Mr. and Mrs. Eilfred Sansoucie, who are planning to build a new home. This is the last place in District 5 before entering Purgatory Chasm.
MANCHAUG DISTRICT, No. 6
T HE large block, on the southwest corner of Mateychuk Triangle, was once used as a mill. Volume I of the Sutton History speaks of its being built about 1828 and had dressers on the first floor and forty-eight looms on the second. Years later, about 1862, it was decided that the vibration of the machinery put too much of a strain on the wooden mill so it was changed into a tenement house. Many families came down from Canada to work for the Knight Co. and we are told that twenty apartments were made available, besides space for mill storage! Each family group had many children, and a millworker across the street was heard to say one day when the children poured out of the doors on the way to school, "That house looks like a beehive." The name has remained. The building is still called "The Beehive." There is room for a store, a bowling alley and five tenements, at present.
The family of Emerson and Pauline VanCott and children Paul, Eleanor, Marjorie and Emerson occupy one unit and Rena Sapienza the other, on the side towards the square. Emerson VanCott is a veteran of World War II and served in the Army. Two more units are occupied by Paul and Catherine Rutana and children Francis and Catherine, and Raymond and Juanita Budreau and children Richard and David. Paul Rutana served in the Navy in World War II. Raymond Budreau served in the Army in World War II. Another unit is the home of Joseph and Susie Valach and children Anna (Jan. 1915), Mary (Dec. 1915), Agnes (1916), Joseph Jr. (1922), now with the U. S. Army in England and Margaret (1926). John Wollach, another son, has his name spelled differ- ently because, at his birth, the doctor or an official, registered him by the sound of his name.
John Wollach (1919) has an enviable record. Before the war with Japan, he was one of seventy-five Army Air Corps Fliers, who were awarded the Distin- guished Flying Cross for extraordinary achievement in ferrying a flight of bomb- ers from Honolulu to the Philippine Islands. John Wollach became a Major in World War II and still holds that rank in the Air Corps. He is stationed in Frankfort, Germany with his wife, Dixie Maimer of Oklahoma City, and his three children.
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MANCHAUG
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This block was bought by Louis Hzvisdos after the Knight Co. owned it. Alfred Ledoux was next and Mordon Enterprise Co. is the present owner. Many families have lived here. Among them are those of George Patterson, Everett Towle, Charles Plouffe, Frank Zuidema, C. Castonguay and Lawrence Roy.
The first house beyond the bridge, on the west side of Main Street, is now owned by Richard and Delia Ennis. It was formerly the property of B.B. and R. Knight Co. and was sold, in the 1922 auction, to John Brady of Uxbridge. John Conley next bought the place and he, in turn, sold it to Richard and Delia Ennis, in 1949.
The Louis Donais family lived here for a time and Mr. and Mrs. Donais both died here. The son Joseph married Florence Deome. They had a son John and daughter Lillian, who lived here also. Edward Brodeur resided here at one time. Lillian Brodeur was born and died here, also Lodina. Flora married Alphonse Pariseau and Edward Jr. married Rose Mercier.
Edmond and Eva Conley lived here and, after her death, Edmond and Flor- ence, his second wife, made this their home. Twins, John and Omer, children of John and Laura (Plante) Conley, died in infancy. Doris Conley (1916) married Oscar Picard. The present tenants, besides the Ennis family, are Mrs. Frances Conley and sons, Robert Francis (1934), now in Military Service, and Donald Richard (1943). Her husband, Napoleon Conley, died in 1951.
The flood of 1936 did a great deal of damage to this property. The force of the rushing water and the pounding of the wet bales, which floated down from the storehouse, lifted the house off its foundation, demolished the garage and washed away a large area of the back yard. The interior has since been remodeled and the exterior greatly improved by the addition of a front porch and sun room.
Between the bridge on Main Street and George Plante's house, is a short street, called Canal Street, on which there are two houses. The first has two tene- ments and is owned by Mrs. Rose Brousseau. This house was one of the Knight Co.'s units and was bought by Charles King and later owned by George Plante. Mrs. Brousseau, the present owner, lives there with her daughter Rose Marie. Harvey J. Brousseau died here and the little boy, Richard Brousseau, aged two, was drowned. Harvey J. Brousseau was in Military Service The second tenement is now occupied by Richard and Alice Plante and sons, Richard and Ronald. The family of Edward Sylvester Sr. lived here for a time. The children are Edward Jr., Earl, Dorothy, now Mrs. Cook, and Doris. Mr. Sylvester served the Town of Sutton on the Board of Public Welfare for several years and was active in the WPA administration also. Mrs. Dalvina Roberts lived here with her children: Roland, who married Antoinette Ouillette, and son Raymond; Irene, who mar- ried Jesse Noble; Jeannette, who married Earl Fletcher and Alice. The families of Joseph Chouinard, Joseph Bergeron and Joseph Brousseau, all lived here. The house has been modernized and a two-car garage has been added to the property.
The second house on Canal Street was also a Knight Co.'s unit. It was sold to a Mr. Dalbec of North Uxbridge and is now owned by George Dykstra. The present occupants are Mr. and Mrs. Francis Croteau and daughters, Gloria Landry and Lorraine Croteau, and Mrs. George VanDyke and family. Former
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occupants were the John Kurtyka family, the Ovila Maynard family and a family named Courteau. Armand and Russell Maynard have died, the latter in a motorcycle accident. Evelyn married Hugh Eaton and Loretta is now Mrs. Robert Dufresne.
The first house beyond Number One Mill, going east, is the home of George and Irene Plante. This home was formerly owned by the B.B. and R. Knight Co. and sold to E. J. Brady of Uxbridge. Later, it was owned by J A. Conley and, in 1927, it was bought by the present owners.
At first, it was occupied by families connected with the B.B. and R. Knight Co. Those of Isidore Messier, John Proulx, Malvina Dumas and Malvina Cotnois lived here. Since the George Plante family came, it has been a one-family dwell- ing and was modernized inside and outside. The Plante children are: Lucille M. (1926), who, in 1949, married Richard Buma; Dunbar G. (1927), single; Richard L. (1928) married Alice Baca, in 1948, and Edward R., single.
When the flood waters came down the nearby stream, in 1936, this house escaped ruin by a slender margin. Two and one half sides of the cellar wall were washed away and the water flooded the ground floor of the house, to a depth of three feet, ruining the furniture. Mr. Plante made a desperate effort to save some of his property and once, as he went out the door, a huge bale, weighing perhaps six hundred pounds, and soaked with water, came against the house, missing him by inches. Only a quick jump saved his life.
George Plante served in the Army during World War I. Dunbar Plante was in World War II and Richard Plante was in the U.S. Army.
George Plante was Postmaster in Manchaug for many years and also conducted a general store and meat market. For a long period of years, he has been elected to the Sutton School Board. He served also on the Committee for the new Memorial School. Mr. Plante has an extraordinary memory and has assisted most generously in compiling the facts for the history of Manchaug.
The next house, at the intersection of Main Street and Mumford Road, was originally a two-tenement unit, and belonged to the B.B. and R. Knight Co. It was sold to John Brady of Uxbridge, in 1922, and later bought by Joseph A. Conley, who tore down nearly the entire structure and built a spacious and beautiful one-family home. Here Joseph and Rita Conley and son Paul, 1929, resided for a number of years before moving into a new home in Whitinsville. Joseph Conley is a storekeeper, and when he lived in Manchaug, served the Town of Sutton, as Selectman, from 1931 to 1936. Paul Conley is a graduate of Georgetown University where he took the pre-medical course and is now a student in the Jefferson Medical School at Philadelphia.
When the house had two tenements, it was occupied by the Magloire Lamoureaux family and that of Hormidas Chapdelaine. Both Mr. and Mrs. Chapdelaine died here. The John Conley Sr. family lived here for a period of years before the deaths of the father and mother. The Conley children were: John, who married Laura Plante; Edmond, who married Eva Lambert, and after her death, Florence Phoenix; George married Delia Dubuque; Joseph married Rita Plante; Virginia married Ernest St. Andre (deceased) ; Victor married Mary Greene and Napoleon (deceased) married Frances Clifford.
Joseph A. Conley sold this property to Donald and Dorothy Hamblette and recently, 1952, it has passed into the possession of Henry and Stasia Morro.
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The house beyond George Plante's, going toward East Douglas on Main Street, is owned by William Faubert. It was formerly the property of B.B. and R. Knight and, later, bought by Winfield Schuster. Roland Ross of Wilkinson- ville was the next owner and now it is owned and occupied by the family of William Faubert. It has been greatly improved and the interior has been modernized. Among the families who have lived there, over the years, are those of Felix Raiche Sr., August Ouillette, J. B. Lemaire, Samuel Gagne and Napoleon Conley, whose son Donald was born here in 1943.
Just beyond the Faubert house, on the same side of the street, is the property owned and occupied by Rose Delima Bousquet. This, like the Faubert house, was a Knight Co.'s unit and subsequently bought by Winfield Schuster and then owned by Roland Ross of Wilkinsonville.
The house has been remodeled recently and a sun parlor has been added. Among former occupants are the families of Willie Cabana and John Proulx. Both Mr. Cabana and Mr. Proulx died here. Doris Cabana married George Benoit, who has died. The Francois Giguere and Joseph Bilodeau families lived here, also. The families of J. B. Boulanger and J. B. Villiard lived here, and Napoleon, Rose and Delia Boulanger were all married from this home.
The large block, at the corner of Morse Road and Main Street, is now owned by Lewis Sherman of Sutton. He bought this property from the Millbury Savings Bank about 1930. At present, four of five tenements are rented. The residents are Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Cimchowski and daughter Shirley Ann. Mr. and Mrs. George VanDyke and children, Leonard, Russell, Laura and Richard, were here for a time. Samuel Gagne has a tenement in this block and also the Frank Zuidema family, who occupy the part that was a store. The children are Franklin and Richard.
It is said that the house behind the block was once used for the Roman Catholic Church services. On the second floor can still be seen an arched ceiling in one section of the tenement and, at one end of the room, there are two small spaces on either side of a panelled wall where the altar may have been. No one seems to know just when the services were held here, but it is reported that Rev. Delphoses built a church on Main Street in 1883 and this may have been the site. The present residents are Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wilson and children Robert, David and Richard, also Mr. and Mrs. Earl Fletcher and children Beverly and Judy.
The smaller house, nearby, is also owned by Lewis Sherman and is occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Pare and four children, Raymond Joseph, Wilfred Allen, Steven John and Sharon Mary, and recently by the family of Girard Englehart.
All three of these houses were bought by Mr. Sherman at the same time. In 1929, they were taxed to Joseph and Dennis Gauthier.
The two-apartment house on the left, at the intersection of Main Street and Morse Road, is owned by Clara and Zephir Rinfrette. It was one of the Knight Co.'s houses and, later, bought by Cyriac Rinfrette. Mr. and Mrs. Rinfrette lived here with their children: Joseph; Hormidas (deceased); Zephir; Fabian (de- ceased) ; Alfred Raoul (deceased) ; and Aurore. The present tenants are Mrs. Ora Hayford and daughter Beatrice and the George Bauville family. The house has been greatly improved and modernized in recent years.
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The next house above Rinfrette's, going up Morse Road, is now owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. LaLiberty. It, too, was a Knight Co. house, and, later, Joseph Raiche owned it for a time. Mr. and Mrs. John Montigny died here. This house has been modernized.
The house beyond the Raiche property is owned and occupied by the family of Arthur Giguere, shoemaker, whose deed is dated, March 29, 1932. There is one son, Norman Giguere, 1942. Mr. Giguere states that the building was once a stable, then a hat shop, a meat market, and later a candy store. This same structure has been remodeled into a comfortable home and shoe-repair shop. The house on the right of Morse Road, behind the Walmsley's house on Main Street, is the home of Donat and Florence Bileau. They live there with their children Florence and Harvey.
The next property, on the left, was formerly owned by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Bessette, who lived with their children, Joseph Jr., Edward, Felix, Alphidas, Sylva, Henry, Hermine, Clara, Clarinda, Blanche and Marie Louise. The present tenants are Mr. and Mrs. Sylva Bessette, Clara Bessette and Felix Bessette. John and Hermine Danis lived here at one time with children Alphege and Ida, who married Chester Flinton. The house has been modernized inside and outside, and a new two-car garage has been built.
The next house on the left, going up Morse Road, is owned by Henry and Lavina Bessette. They have one son Raymond. It is an interesting fact that this modern and comfortable home was made possible by using the material from a very different structure and Mr. Bessette's ingenuity.
On the right of Morse Road, nearly opposite Henry Bessette's house, is what was long known as the Frank Greene Sr. property. It is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Edmond Conley and they live there with their son Richard (1940).
Frank Greene Sr. and his wife, the former Mrs. Cloutier, died here. She had a son, Adelard Cloutier, who was a veteran of World War I and served in the Army. Mr. Greene's other children were: Frank Jr., who married Laurette Robert, and Odilla, who was later Mrs. Fish, and went to Woonsocket. Mr. Greene's second wife was the former Mrs. Oscar Peters.
The land, at the end of Morse Road, was once owned by Jonathan Wheeler, and was called the Wheeler Plains. It extended as far as the river, near Man- chaug Number One Mill. The other side was owned by Deacon Aaron Elliot. Jonathan Wheeler served in the Colonial War. His farm was willed to his two daughters. Azubah married Simeon Morse, and Sarah married Zelek Darling.
The house was built by Zelek, in 1807, with a large stone chimney and a fire- place in every room. These fireplaces were removed in later years, but the stone threshold is still in existence. The next owner was his son John and, in later years John's son George. John bought some of the Morse farm but sold it afterwards. George Lewis married Abbie Jane Sheldon and their three children were all born here: John B., born July 8, 1874, died suddenly Aug. 18, 1937; Florence Estella, born Jan. 29, 1877, married Walter B. Pine of East Douglas; Clara May, born July 12, 1879, is unmarried. The large linden trees that surround the house were planted by John Darling, in 1848. Two of these were struck by lightning. There were two barns on the place; one was destroyed by the hurricane of 1938. There are five generations buried in the family cemetery near the home.
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Returning to the point formed by the intersection of Mumford Road and Main Street, we find the home of Joseph and Clara Chouinard. This is probably one of the B.B. and R. Knight houses that were sold before or after the 1927 auction, for it does not appear on the plan for that sale. It was bought by Roland Ross of Wilkinsonville and, later, by Joseph and Clara Chouinard. There are two Chouinard children, Louis (1925) and Raymond (1931). Raymond, who married Barbara Hemingway, lives in the apartment on the second floor of the father's house. Louis Chouinard served in the Navy for three years, during World War II. Several other families have lived here; those of Treffle Donais, Alcide St. Jean, Joseph Viau and George Herbert Johnson. The house was made into two tenements after it was owned by the Knight Co.
On the east side of Main Street, tucked in between Sherman's big block and Decouteau's store, is a small house belonging to Exilda Vincent. It was a part of Lewis Sherman's block at one time and he sold it to Mrs. Vincent, about 1949. Before that, it belonged to Joseph Gauthier. It has been used as a Library, Boy Scout Headquarters, Thibodeau's printing shop and Ouillette's barber shop, but it is now changed into a comfortable home for Mr. and Mrs. Henry Vincent.
Next to the Vincent house, on the east side of Main Street, is the large block owned by George Dykstra. On the ground floor is the store, owned by Joseph Decouteau. The John Mateychuk Post of the American Legion and Auxiliary have their headquarters in this building. Above the store there are two tene- ments; one is occupied by Chester and Beatrice Pianowski and children, Nancy (1936), Patricia (1938) and Dorothy (1941) and the other by Robert and Dorothy Fisher and their children, Robert A. (1940), Patricia (1942) and Ronald L. (1946). Mr. Fisher is a dyer and Mr. Pianowski is a carpenter.
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest St.Andre once lived here and Mr. St.Andre kept the store. Other storekeepers were Charles Houle, Josph Merchand and John Conley. Mrs. Cordelia St. Jean had a dressmaking shop here at one time and the family of Samuel Gagne once made their home here.
Almost opposite Decouteau's store, on the west side of Main Street, is the home of Mrs. Adelard Cote. Mr. Cote died in 1948 but Mrs. Adelard Cote still resides here. The property was once owned by the B.B. and R. Knight Co., but has been in the Cote name for years. Alice Cote (1916) married James Casey, a teacher, and they live in Connecticut with their three children. Alex Cote, Mr. Cote's brother, died here.
Former occupants of the home were Damasse St. John and family and the families of Dr. Bourbonnais, Ovide Mercure, Wilfred Laliberty and Alex Bibeau; the last three named worked in the mill. Alex Bibeau served in the Army in World War I.
Next to the Cote house, on the west side of Main Street, we find the two- tenement home belonging to Eugene Giugere. This was a Knight house, which escaped the disastrous fire of 1924. It has been owned by Joseph A. Conley, Frank Giugere, Olevine Giugere and, on Dec. 24, 1949, became the property of Eugene Giugere, a ring inspector. Mrs. Olevine Giugere lives with her son Eugene in one tenement and Mrs. Clarinda Senecal and son Girard in the other. Arthur Giugere married Sophie Bombara. The Treffle Donais family lived here for a time and Delina Donais married David Picard. The Edward
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Lesage family also lived here. Arthur Senecal, Frank Giugere and Treffle Donais all died in this home. The house has been modernized and many improvements have been made, over a period of years.
Almost opposite the Cote home, on the east side of Main Street, are the two houses owned by Diamond Markopoulas. They were formerly the property of Joseph Bessette, hotel owner, and Diamond Markopoulas bought them, in 1924. There are four Markopoulas children: Nicholas (1922), who served as an Army Paratrooper for three and a half years, Argero (1926), Stephen (1927) and Helen (1931). Mr. Markopoulas has a store in the front of the building and it was formerly used as a barber shop by Willie Ouillette.
In the rear of the store building there is another house, also owned by Mr. Markopoulas. This house is occupied by Dalvina Richard. Alice Richard married Gerald Englehart. Jessie and Irene Noble lived here and there is one child Jessie (1945). Earl and Jeanette Fletcher also made their home here and the children are Judy Ann (1946) and Beverly (1948). Jessie Noble was in the Army two and a half years in World War II and Earl Fletcher served also.
John Wamsley's home is on the east side of Main Street, nearly opposite Conley's store. This is the old Dr. P. L. Couillard house. Dr. Couillard was known for miles around and was an excellent physician. He served his neigh- bors and friends to the best of his ability and will long be remembered in this vicinity. He had eight children: Edward J., who married Delima Roberts, Charles (deceased), Bertha, Neomie, Jacque, Ulysses, Ruth and Rachel. Most of the children went to live in Worcester.
A few millworkers' families lived in the house, also; those of Alfred Nault, John Fredette and Everett Towle among the number. In 1947, John and Theresa Walmsley bought the property and occupy it at present with their son, John William (1947). John Walmsley served in the Navy for three years in the Pacific Area.
On April 16, 1924, a disastrous fire swept over the east and a part of the. west side of Main Street. It began in a garage belonging to Edwin Bennett, near the site of the present Walmsley home. A one-tenement house and a four- tenement unit, behind Walmsley's were destroyed. From there on, everything, including the Rectory, Convent, St. Anne's Church, eleven houses which com- prised the tenements of twenty-five families, two barns, five sheds, two garages and a store were lost. Six of these buildings were on the east side of Main Street, near the site of Joseph Conley's store. The house where Theodore Bous- quet now lives, the McDonald house, was spared, but the fire swept on over Gervais Street and Darling Road and destroyed St. Jean Baptiste Hall, at the corner of Main Street and Darling Road. The fire started about noon and de- struction continued through the night. There was no organized fire company in Sutton at the time and Forest Fire Warden Martin Shaw, with his few men and chemicals, fought the blaze heroically. Whitinsville and Dudley sent assistance and the B.B. and R. Knight Co. closed the mills so the men could help.
No one, who saw that fire, has ever forgotten the terror and despair of the many families left destitute, and few, if any, have forgotten to thank God that no lives were lost. For many years the cellar holes gave mute reminders of the destruction of the fire and, even today, children find burned pennies in the area.
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ST. ANNE'S CATHOLIC CHURCH (IN CONSTRUCTION, 1952), MANCHAUG
The next house, on the west side of Main Street, is the home of Alphidos and Valida Bessette and Mr. and Mrs. James Gray. It was formerly owned by Joseph Gauthier and also by Julia Rinfrette. Stanislaus Gauthier, who was a storekeeper, lived here, as did Aglea Gauthier. The Adolph Lafleur family once made this their home and Exilda Carpenter, a milliner. Arthur Bessette served in World War II in the Marines. He married Beatrice Courtreau and is now in Korea.
The house beyond the new Church, on the east side of Main Street, is the home of Theodore and Mary Bousquet. Mr. Bousquet is in the garage business and also deals in oils. This property is owned by Delviny Bousquet. It was for- merly owned by Michel McDonald and by Mrs. Augustine McDonald. At the time of the fire, in 1924, the house had a very narrow escape from destruction. The shed in the rear was destroyed and St. Jean's Hall, which was situated on the further side of Darling Road, many feet away, was burned. In the McDonald family there were Albert, Arthur, John, William, Emma, who married Archie Daziel, and Albina, who became Mrs. Provost. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald, John, Albina and Albert have died. William and John McDonald were in World War I, in the Army. Theodore and Mary Bousquet, who make their home here now, have two children, Theodore Joseph (1936) and Mary Ellen (1943). The house has been entirely remodeled and is very attractive.
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