Archive Record
Metadata
Catalog Number |
MS149 |
Title |
Dowdell-Grace-Lebel family papers, 1873-1967 |
Scope & Content |
Papers of the Dowdell, Grace, and Lebel families of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, dating largely from 1873 to 1967. The Dowdell family papers include deeds, mortgages, and an abstract of title related to 4 Cornwall Street, later renumbered 50 Cornwall Street, dated 1873 to 1940. The papers also include loans and a record of payments made on the loans. There are also papers related to the deaths of Dowdell and his wife as well as a poem and photo related to a 1915 performance of the Little Bowery Athletic Club. The Grace family papers include bills and receipts, dated 1898 to 1948, as well as an autograph book, dated 1888 to 1891, which contains newspaper clippings about the Grace family from the 1940s to 1960s. The papers also include ephemera, such as World War II ration books, and notes on the Grace family genealogy likely compiled by Frances (Dowdell) Lebel circa the 2000s-2010s. The papers were accumulated and organized by Frances (Dowdell) Lebel, who also researched the family genealogy. She was the daughter of Harry L. Dowdell, and her uncle was Frank H. Grace. The materials primarily consist of papers collected by Harry L. Dowdell and Frank H. Grace. Arranged in two series: the Dowdell family papers, 1873-1951, and the Grace family papers, 1888-1967. FOLDER LISTING I. Dowdell family papers, 1873-1951 BOX 1 Folder 1 Benjamin F. Webster papers related to 4 Cornwall Street, 1873-1909 Includes deeds, mortgages, and abstract of title for 4 Cornwall Street, later renumbered 50 Cornwall Street. Also includes a hand-drawn site plan showing plots and their owners along Cornwall, Rockingham, and McDonough streets. Names on site plan: S[tella] C. Webster, Horatio G. Wentworth, E. Clinton Frye, J. J. Scully, Annie Loughlin, Samuel H. Grossman, A[nn] F[olsom] & S[usan] H. Mathes. Folder 2 Harry L. Dowdell papers - mortgages for 50 Cornwall Street, 1919-1940 Folder 3 Harry L. Dowdell papers - loan payments, 1919-1948 Folder 4 Harry L. Dowdell papers - loans and receipts, 1927-1929, 1949-1950 Folder 5 Receipt for funeral of Helena F. Dowdell, 1938 Folder 6 Will and receipts for funeral of Harry L. Dowdell, 1951 Folder 7 Little Bowery Athletic Club, 1915, undated Two typewritten pages containing a poem for Harry L. Dowdell, "Dear Harry: The Bowery Show was great . . ." Dated April 20, 1915. The poem names the young men who performed in the show and thanks Dowdell for teaching them. Signed "With sincere good wishes--Little Bowery Athletic Club." Includes a one-page photocopy of an undated newspaper clipping [circa 1990s?] with a photo of the Little Bowery Athletic Club members and the caption, "Back in April, 1915, the Little Bowery Athletic Club of Portsmouth staged a minstrel show and dance in Freeman's Hall, located upstairs in the Franklin Building on Congress St." II. Grace family papers, 1888-1967 BOX 1 Folder 8 Frank H. Grace autograph book, 1888-1891, 1945-1946, 1967 Autograph book given to Frank H. Grace by his aunt Alice Grace of Kittery, Maine, on December 25, 1888. Also includes six newspaper and newsletter clippings related to the Grace family collected by Frances (Dowdell) Lebel, dated 1945 to 1946 and 1967. Names: John T. Grace (1888), Effie M. Quinn (1891, aunt of Frank H. Grace), Charlotte R. Cottle (1890, of Kittery, Me.), Ana H. Cutts (1891, of Kittery, Me.), Abbie E. Huckins (1890, of Kittery, Me.), Anna A. Stanley (no date, grandmother of Frank H. Grace), Georgie Goodwin (1889, of Kittery, Me.), Cora E. Huckins (1889, of Kittery, Me.). Folder 9 Leases and receipts for bicycles, 1891-1918 Leases and receipts for safety bicycles purchased in Portsmouth by John T. Grace and Frank H. Grace. Organized by Frances (Dowdell) Lebel. Includes an inventory with Lebel's notes. Names: W[illiam] W. McIntire, Jesse H. Wilkinson, Fred E. Dixon, Goodwin E. Philbrick, C[lifford] A. Lowd. Folder 10 Receipts (rent), 1906-1913 Receipts for rent of a house at 47 State Street paid by Frank H. Grace, dated from March 6, 1906, to April 6, 1913. Paid to Annie E. Rand. Folder 11 Receipts (doctors, dentists), 1911-1937 Receipts from Portsmouth doctors and dentists for the Grace family. Organized and researched by Frances (Dowdell) Lebel, who lived at 457 Broad Street after purchasing the house from estate of Dr. Byron F. Staples. Includes an inventory with Lebel's notes. Includes two receipts for contributions made by both Frank H. Grace and his wife, Celia Grace, to the [Portsmouth] Hospital Building Fund in 1921. Frances (Dowdell) Lebel explains, "This was for the erection of the oldest building on the now City Complex [i.e., the Portsmouth Hospital formerly located on Junkins Avenue], which was built in the mid 1920s. I know this is correct, as I, Frances Dowdell Lebel, was born in 1925 in the top floor corner room, in what is now the Connie Beane Center, which was being used as a hospital during the construction of the new hospital." Names: M. P. Henderson, A[rthur] C. Heffenger, B[yron] F. Staples, F[rances] C. Heffenger [wife of Dr. Arthur Cowton Heffenger, who died in 1923], Charles M. Dale, S[ylvester] F. A. Pickering, Thomas H. Simes, George A. Tredick, James H. Dixon, S[amuel] F. Griffin, Herbert L. Taylor. Folder 12 Receipt for Globe Gas Light Company, 1898 Frank H. Grace receipt for the purchase of a railroad lantern with lard oil from the Globe Gas Light Company of Union Street in Boston, Mass. Grace worked as a railroad conductor. Dated December 19, 1898. Folder 13 Receipts (home insurance), 1915, 1924 Frank H. Grace receipts for home insurance from John Sise & Co., dated 1915, and C. E. Trafton, dated 1924. Folder 14 City of Portsmouth "Rates, Rules, and Regulations of the Water Division," 1918 Water information and rates for Portsmouth and New Castle, N.H. Dated August 1, 1918. Folder 15 Receipts (home maintenance), 1915-1949 Grace family receipts for household projects, including appliance repairs, contracting, masonry, decorating, gravel, carpentry, electrical work, painting and paper hanging, fruit tree maintenance, millwork, moving, and plumbing. Names: C. F. Caswell, Donald A. Randall, W. R. Weston, John G. Sweetser, Alfred Binns, James E. Chickering, Frank B. Wiggin, Harry L. Pio, Nathaniel Pierce, Gardner D. Witham, Fred A. Gray, Elmer E. Eaton, W. C. Philbrick, N. J. Groux, Willis P. Gray, Myles Standish Watson, John Mitrook, Charles W. Odiorne (Garnet Odiorne), L. V. Regan, Fred O. Trefethen. Folder 16 Receipts (home goods), 1905-1931 Grace family receipts for home goods, including laundry, curtains, fabric, bedding, kitchenware, rugs, carpets, chairs, tables, towels, hardware, appliances, and awnings. Names: Central Steam Laundry, R. H. White Company (in Boston, Mass.), M. P. Alkon & Co., Portsmouth Furniture Co., W. F. Washburn, Pryor-Davis Co., John G. Sweetser, Sugden Brothers, Lemuel T. Davis & Son, Fred L. Wood, Walter F. Laskey, D. H. McIntosh, Kathryn H. Marden. Folder 17 Receipts (clothing, accessories, flowers, dance classes), 1916-1948 Grace family receipts for clothing and accessories, including suits, pants, hats, kitchen coat, handbags, uniforms, and jewelry. Also includes funerary flowers as well as dance classes paid by John Grace for three half terms with Georgine M. Moses. Names: F. W. Lydston & Company, R. E. Hannaford, Charles J. Wood, Henry Peyser & Son, Georgine M. Moses, Pearson's Greenhouses, J. A. Malloy, A. J. Trotter, Oren Bragdon & Son, Harry Winebaum, Kathryn H. Marden, Page's (certified gemologist). Folder 18 Receipts (cars), 1921, 1924 Two receipts for cars purchased by Frank H. Grace. The first receipt, handwritten and dated November 19, 1921, is from Harry L. Dowdell for a Buick touring car in dark green with yellow running gear. Grace purchased the car for $600. The second receipt, dated May 3, 1924, is from Hiram E. Wever of General Motors Acceptance Corporation for a used Buick touring car. Grace purchased the car for $1061.20, with a $250 deposit and a $150 trade-in. Folder 19 Receipts (groceries, ice cream, milk), 1914-1946 Grace family receipts for groceries, including meat, vegetables, sugar, eggs, bread, and fruit, as well as milk and ice cream. Names: Boston Confections Store (successor of P. Nichols), William S. Nelson, Albert E. Rand, Wallis S. Rand (Rand's Store), Wiggin & Co., Colonial Market, Rowell's Market, Central Market (W. H. White and F. E. Hodgdon), Cold Spring Farm (Charles H. Brackett in Greenland, N.H.), Baker Farm (in Exeter, N.H.), John Leary. Folder 20 Receipts (ice), 1916-1930 Names: I. M. Schurman, Portsmouth Ice Company. Folder 21 Receipts (coal, gas, wood), 1914-1940 Names: Carll & Co., C. E. Walker & Co., The People's Coal Co., August Hett, Charles W. Gray (successor of The People's Coal Co.), Portsmouth Gas Company, Jeremiah Regan, Consolidation Coal Company, Portsmouth Ice & Coal Co. Folder 22 City of Portsmouth tax bills, 1914-1936 Tax bills from the City of Portsmouth for Frank H. Grace's house and land at Rand's Court (also known as the rear of 980 South Street). Arranged in reverse chronological order. Folder 23 Frank H. Grace ephemera, 1918-1945 Ephemera collected by Frank Hilton Grace, including his registration certificate during World War II, dated September 12, 1918; his New England Association of Railroad Veterans membership card for the year 1924; a balcony ticket for the Portsmouth High School Senior Reception at Freeman's Hall, dated June 18, 1926; a gasoline ration card for a Chrysler sedan, dated 1942; a supplemental mileage ration card for the same Chrysler, date 1943; a fuel oil ration coupon for Frank H. Grace of Lake Shore Park in Laconia, N.H., dated 1944; and a folder containing fuel oil ration stamps for Frank H. Grace of Lake Shore Park in Laconia, N.H., dated 1945, and an identification tag from the Internal Revenue Service for the Chrysler. Folder 24 Ration books, 1942-1943 World War II ration book holder for the Grace family, including four stamped books each for Frank Hilton Grace, Mary Cecelia Grace, and John Howard Grace. Mary's book two includes a postcard with an application for book three, postmarked in Portsmouth. Holder also includes red and blue tokens. Folder 25 Lebel family genealogy notes, c. 2000s-2010s Genealogy notes regarding the Sullivan family, likely compiled by Frances (Dowdell) Lebel. Includes notes written on the back of a postcard announcing a new phone number for I. R. Lebel, CPA, of 54 Court Street in Portsmouth, N.H. Also includes two printouts of computer screenshots from Ancestry.com showing census records with the Stock and Sullivan families marked. |
Creator |
Lebel, Frances (Dowdell), 1925-2021 |
Collection |
Dowdell-Grace-Lebel family papers, 1873-1967 |
Object Name |
Papers, Family |
Date |
1873-1967 |
Extent of Description |
0.5 lin. ft. (1 box) |
Language of Material |
English |
System of arrangement |
Arranged in two series: the Dowdell family papers and the Grace family papers. Papers accumulated and organized by Frances (Dowdell) Lebel, largely in chronological order. Archivist retained original order as much as possible, though some folders and some items within folders were reorganized in chronological order to facilitate research use. |
People |
Cottle, Charlotte R. Cutts, Ana H. Dale, Charles Milby, 1893-1977 Dame, Mary Ann (Meloon), c1811-1888 Dixon, Fred E. Dixon, James Henry, 1877-1936 Dowdell family Dowdell, Harry Leo, 1884-1951 Dowdell, Helena Frances "Lena" (Sullivan), 1890-1938 Goodwin, Georgie Grace family Grace, Alice Grace, Frank Hilton, 1878-1964 Grace, John Howard, 1908-2003 Grace, John T. Grace, Mary Cecelia "Celia" (Sullivan), 1882-1967 Grace, Rod Griffin, Samuel F., 1890-1958 Griffin, Walter L. Heffenger, Arthur Cowton, 1853-1923 Heffenger, Frances Curtis "Fannie" (Pickering), 1854-1938 Henderson, M. P. Huckins, Abbie E. Huckins, Cora E. Kelliher, Eleanor Theresa (Dowdell), 1917-2000 Lebel family Lebel, Frances Cecelia (Dowdell), 1925-2021 Lebel, Irenee Remi, 1926-2014 Lowd, Clifford A., 1872-1933 Mathes, Ann Elizabeth (Folsom), 1814-1862 Mathes, Susan Helen, 1855-1925 McCarthy, Charles McCarthy, Lizzie A. McIntire, William Wallace, 1848-1924 Philbrick, Goodwin E., 1861-1948 Philbrook, Patricia "Patty" (Lebel) Pickering, Sylvester F. A., 1867-1945 Quinn, Effie M. (Stanley), 1867-1922 Rand, Albert Emmons, 1856-1923 Rand, Annie E. (Marston), c1847-1917 Rand, John Alonzo, 1841-1922 Rand, Wallis, 1898-1970 Simes, Thomas Hardy, 1876-1959 Stanley, Ann A. (Hodgdon), 1836-1900 Staples, Byron Frederick, 1877-1957 Staples, Lewis Everett, 1851-1943 Stock family Sullivan family Taylor, Herbert Leonel, 1877-1945 Tredick, George A. Webster, Benjamin Franklin, 1824-1916 Webster, Stella C., 1854-1952 Wentworth, Horatio Gates, 1847-1936 Wilkinson, Jesse H. Yeaton, Charles Edmond Thompson, 1824-1909 Yeaton, Elizabeth Ann (Wiggin), c1823-1897 |
Search Terms |
Austin Street Broad Street City of Portsmouth Congress Street Connie Bean Center Cornwall Street Court Street Franklin Building Freeman's Hall Hancock Street John Sise & Co. Insurance Agents Kittery (Me.) Laconia (N.H.) Little Bowery Athletic Club Market Street McDonough Street New England Association of Railroad Veterans Page & Bartlett Counsellors at Law Pleasant Street Portsmouth (N.H.) Portsmouth High School Portsmouth Hospital (Junkins Ave.) Portsmouth Trust and Guarantee Company Rand's Court Richards Avenue Rockingham Street South Street State Street Trafton Insurance Agency Union Street Walter L. Griffin Funeral Home |
Subjects |
Abstract of title Athletic clubs Autographs Bicycle shops Bicycles Boston (Mass.) Cars Clothing stores Coal companies Contractors Dance instructors Deeds Dentists Ephemera Families Farms Funeral homes Funerals Furnishings Gas industry Gasoline Genealogy Grocery stores Hardware stores Hats Hospitals Houses Ice Ice cream & ices Insurance companies Land Lawyers Medical care Milk Minstrel shows Mortgages Newspapers Physicians Poems Railroad employees Ration cards Rations Receipts Rent Taxes Water use World War I World War II |