Person Page

     Mary M. Delematre married Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch, son of Joseph Henry Bowditch and Elizabeth Blanchard Abbot, on 14 September 1875 in Kankakee Co., Illinois.¹
     Her marriage to Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch was very short. They were married on 14 September and left the next morning on a wedding trip to Chicago. They left their bags at the train station to be forwarded to the Nevada House where they were staying. After spending the night together Nathaniel went down to check for their bags, but they weren't at the hotel, so they decided to visit Lincoln Park to pass the time until their bags arrived. But while Mary went back to their room to get ready, Nathaniel disappeared. She eventually contacted a friend, who brought money to pay the hotel bill and took Mary home to her mother. When Nathaniel left he had about $600 with him, and she assumed that "something terrible must have befallen him." It was later found that her trunk was still at the Illinois Central station in Chicago, but Nathaniel's was missing.²
     He reappeared in Kankakee about a month later, on 13 October, saying he had been drugged and robbed, and tried to reconcile with his wife. She and her family apparently doubted his story, and he attempted suicide by taking 1 1/2 oz. of laudanum. He also confessed to having a wife and two children in Burnsville, North Carolina. He recovered, and according to the papers said he had disappeared because of remorse for his "unfaithfulness to Mrs. Bowditch No. 1," and that he came back because of his "love for No. 2."^3,4 Nathaniel was arrested for bigamy, and in December 1875 was sentenced to a year in prison.⁵

     Alice Coleman Thorndike was born on 10 December 1867 (based on her age at death of 7 months, 21 days).¹ She died on 31 July 1868 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee Co., Wisconsin, from "congestion of the brain."¹

     William Tecumseh Sherman Thorndike was born on 16 January 1893 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts.² He was baptized on 20 January 1893 at St. Cecilia Church in Boston.³ He married first Katherine Hunt, daughter of Thomas Merrick Hunt, on 9 October 1920 at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Auburn, Cayuga Co., New York.^4,5 They divorced say 1933 ("several years ago," according to a 1938 newspaper article about William's second marriage).⁶ He married second Eleanor Hickey on 28 June 1938 in Maine.⁷ He died on 10 October 1958 at Germantown Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at age 65 from prostate cancer.¹ He was buried at Central Cemetery (Sub Division 11, Lot 288) in Beverly, Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁸
     On 15 October 1903, at age 10, he unveiled the statue of his grandfather Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman during its dedication ceremony in Washington, D.C.⁹
     He graduated from Harvard University in Cambridge, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, with an A.B. degree in 1915, then went on to Harvard Medical School, graduating in 1919.¹⁰ While at Harvard he also served as a private in the Medical Enlisted Reserve Corps, enlisting on 17 December 1917. He was never called to active duty, and was discharged on 26 December 1918.¹¹
     He began his medical career as an intern at Massachusetts General Hospital and at Boston Lying In Hospital, then served on the obstetrics and gynecology staff at both hospitals until 1938, when he was named assistant director at Massachusetts General. He moved to Germantown General Hospital in Philadelphia in 1948, serving as its managing director. He was one of the early advocates of surgical patients becoming mobile as soon as possible to help in their recovery. He was a member of the American Medical Association, the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Medical Society, and served on several medical committees and boards.¹⁰
     During World War II he served as registrar with the Sixth General Hospital Group in North Africa and Italy, and later as a lieutenant colonel commanding the 154th Station Hospital in Italy.¹⁰
     He is listed with his first wife Katherine in the 1930 census in Brookline, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, along with a servant, Margaret Murphy¹², and with his second wife Eleanor in the 1940 census at Phillips House, Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts, with a lodger, C. E. McGahey.¹³

     Martha Thorndike was born on 18 January 1895 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts.¹ She was baptized on 4 February 1895 at St. Cecilia Church in Boston.² She married Joseph Rochemont Hamlen, son of James Clarence Hamlen and Caroline Frances White, on 4 May 1918 at the bride's home in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts.³ She died on 8 December 1973 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts, at age 78.^4,5 She was buried at Evergreen Cemetery (Section H, Lot 21, Grave 8) in Portland, Cumberland Co., Maine.⁶
     She was educated at Miss Mary's School in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts, and overseas. She founded the Dartmouth Book School in Boston, served as chair of the Social Services Committee at Boston City Hospital, and was active in Red Cross charity work during World Wars I and II.⁵
     She traveled with her husband Joseph on business trips to Cuba and Jamaica in 1919, and to Cuba and the West Indies in 1920.^7,8 And in the summer of 1923 they took a vacation trip together to Europe, visiting Great Britain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.^9,10
     She and Joseph are listed in Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas, in the 1920 census¹¹, and in Brookline, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, in the 1930 and 1940 censuses. In 1930 they had three servants, Elsie Unruh, Mary Boyle, and Catherine MacMorrow. Catherine was still with them in 1940, along with Bellina Rska and Francis Benedict.^12,13

     Anna Thorndike was born on 12 September 1896 in Harvard, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.¹ She married John Charles Rock, son of Frank S. Rock and Annie J. Murphy, on 3 January 1925 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts. The ceremony was performed by Cardinal William O'Connell, Archbishop of Boston.² She died on 8 August 1961 at home in Brookline, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, at age 64.³ She was buried at Forest Hills Cemetery and Crematory in Jamaica Plain, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts.⁴
     She graduated in 1919 from Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Montgomery Co., Pennsylvania.³
     After graduation she made at least two trips to France, in 1919 and 1921, as part of the Committee for Devastated France, a volunteer organization created in 1919 to help that country recover from the destruction of World War I. The French government later awarded her the Medal of French Gratitude for her service.^5,6,3
     During World War II she was a member of the Red Cross canteen service in Boston, and served as chair of the Boston Committee of the Frontier Nursing Service. She was also active in the Bryn Mawr Club of Boston, and the Social Service Committee of Boston City Hospital.³
     She and her husband John are listed in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts, in the 1930 census with their children and two servants.⁷

     Katherine Hunt was born on 1 August 1898 in Auburn, Cayuga Co., New York.³ She married William Tecumseh Sherman Thorndike, son of Paul Thorndike and Rachel Ewing Sherman, on 9 October 1920 at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Auburn, Cayuga Co., New York.^1,4 They divorced say 1933 ("several years ago," according to a 1938 newspaper article about William's second marriage).⁵
     She was a junior at Smith College in Northampton, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts, at the time of her engagement to William Thorndike in August 1918.² She and her husband William are listed in Brookline, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, in the 1930 census, along with a servant, Margaret Murphy.⁶

     Eleanor Hickey was born on 30 September 1901 in Canada.^2,3 She married William Tecumseh Sherman Thorndike, son of Paul Thorndike and Rachel Ewing Sherman, on 28 June 1938 in Maine.¹ She died on 9 May 1976 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts, at age 74.³ She was buried at Central Cemetery (Sub Division 11, Lot 287) in Beverly, Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁴
     She and her husband William are listed at Phillips House, Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts, in the 1940 census, with a lodger, C. E. McGahey.⁵

     Joseph Rochemont Hamlen was born on 15 March 1881 in Portland, Cumberland Co., Maine.³ He married Martha Thorndike, daughter of Paul Thorndike and Rachel Ewing Sherman, on 4 May 1918 at the bride's home in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts.¹ He died on 3 January 1957 at the Phillips House, Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts, at age 75.⁴ His funeral on 7 January 1957 was held at Harvard Memorial Church, and drew more than 500 mourners, including Harvard's President and many officers, staff, faculty, and alumni.⁵ He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery (Section H, Lot 21, Grave 10C) in Portland, Cumberland Co., Maine.⁶
     He graduated from Milton Academy in Milton, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, then in 1904 from Harvard University in Cambridge, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. He was also awarded an honorary master's degree from Harvard in 1933.⁴
     After graduation he joined J. H. Hamlen & Son in Portland, Cumberland Co., Maine, a manufacturer of lumber and cooperage products founded by his great-grandfather.^4,7 From 1911 to 1925 he served as the company's representative in Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas, and traveled extensively on company business, including to Cuba, Jamaica, the West Indies, and Central and South America.^7,8,9,10,11 His wife Martha accompanied him on trips to Cuba and Jamaica in 1919, and to Cuba and the West Indies in 1920.^12,13 And in the summer of 1923 they took a vacation trip together to Europe, visiting Great Britain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.^14,15
     He served as chairman of the Harvard Fund Council from 1925 to 1929, and in 1927 was named general secretary of the Harvard Alumni Association and president of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin.^7,4
     In 1929 he joined the New York advertising firm of Rudolph Guenther-Russell Law as its New England director in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts. The firm's name was later changed to Albert-Frank-Guenther-Law, and he was named as its vice president.⁷
     He was an active supporter of the American Red Cross, starting in Washington, D.C., where he was serving as its acting vice chairman at the time of his marriage in 1918.¹ He was chairman of the Boston chapter from 1933 to 1947, and in 1940 headed the American delegation to the Pan American Conference of the International Red Cross in Santiago, Chile.⁴
     He was also a member of several social clubs, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and a fellow of the American Geographical Society.⁷
     He and his wife Martha are listed in Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas, in the 1920 census¹⁶, and in Brookline, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, in the 1930 and 1940 censuses. In 1930 they had three servants, Elsie Unruh, Mary Boyle, and Catherine MacMorrow. Catherine was still with them in 1940, along with Bellina Rska and Francis Benedict.^17,18