Genealogy Story – The Bridal Shower

The other day I was looking for a picture of my parent’s wedding to post in honor of what would have been their 70^th anniversary. In the process I ran across a newspaper account of a bridal shower that was held for my mother. I’d looked at it a few times in the past, but hadn’t realized the significance of it. But this time one of the names of the guests looked familiar from some of my recent genealogy research. So I thought that I’d look at it more closely.

The Context

I am also in possession of a number of family articles, one of which is my mother’s “Bride’s Book.” One of the things in it is a list of the bridal showers that she had where she also recorded, in her very neat handwriting, all the gifts she received and from whom. So I was able to determine that this particular bridal shower was held on August 19, 1946, about three weeks before my parents’ wedding. Since my mother also listed the gifts as she received them, the ones from this shower were also listed consecutively and I could get additional information about the attendees (for example, the newspaper listed women by their husband’s name, e.g. “Mrs. Raymond Baughan”, but my mother had recorded it as “Mrs. Charlotte Baughan”). I was also able to see gifts from others who were not able to attend, but who sent along gifts anyway.

The shower was sponsored by my father’s mother, Mrs. Vera Rogers (she had divorced and remarried), and her sister, Mrs. Irene Hartwell, and was held at the Hartwell farm in Roxbury, CT. Most of the guests were from New Milford, CT. Since this was a shower from my father’s side of the family, these guests would have been either relatives or close family friends of his. But my father had not lived in New Milford for several years at this point. He, his sister, and his mother and step-father had moved there in mid-1931 when he was 10 years old and he had only lived there for six years until sometime in 1937 when he and his sister moved to Waterbury to live with their grandparents (the father and step-mother of their father). So the people in attendance would either be relatives or friends of his mother, not so much friends of his.

Immediate Family

In addition to the guests, there were of course many close family in attendance. These included: his mother (Vera [Levy] Rogers) and step-father (Charles Rogers); his aunt (Irene [Levy] Hartwell), uncle (Joseph Hartwell) and cousin (Marjorie Hartwell); he (Vernon Russell) and his sister (Dorothy [Russell] Hill), my mother (Sylvia Pierpont), her parents (Harold and Sara Pierpont), and her aunt (Miss Edna Blackman [incorrectly reported in the paper as “Myrta” Blackman]).

The Waldron Connections

The Waldron family were cousins of the Russell family in New Milford. When my great-grandfather, Louis Russell, lost his wife in 1903, he was unable to care for all six of their children. He gave his younger children up to be raised by some of his Waldron relatives. William was raised by Samuel and Lillian Waldron. Martha Pauline was raised by Helen [Madigan] [Pulver] Waldron and her mother. Louis later married Helen.

Because of this heavy connection with the Waldron family, you will see many references to it in the guest list. I’m not going to try to detail each individual connection, but just to note that Waldron connection with an “*”.

Guests

There were 15 guests representing 12 families at the shower. In addition, three individuals sent gifts but were unable to attend themselves. Here is what I have been able to find out about them in regards to how they are connected to my father.

Mrs. Luther Peet (nee Eva Pulver) – my father’s aunt. She is the daughter of my father’s step-grandmother, Helen [Madigan] [Pulver] [Waldron] Russell. I have recently made connection with Eva’s great-granddaughter which is why the name Luther Peet was the one that caught my eye.

Mildred [Osborne] Russell – my father’s aunt. She married his father’s brother William (who had been raised by Samuel Waldron*.) She was unable to attend, but sent along a gift.

Misses Frances and Alice Cogshal [incorrectly recorded in the newspaper as Cogshell] – sister-in-laws of Richard B Waldron*

Eva Ives – sister-in-law of Samuel Waldron* and a cousin of my father’s grandfather.

Marguerite Lewis – wife of Alton Peet Lewis who is brother-in-law of Luther Peet above. Was not able to attend, but sent along a gift with her daughter Dottie. There may be other Peet-Russell connections, but this is the only one that I have been able to confirm. UPDATE - Marguerite (Margaret)'s maiden name was Margaret Waldron. She is a sister to Eva and an aunt to my father.

Mrs. Gordon Lewis (Dottie/Dorothy) – see description of her mother Marguerite. UPDATE - Dorothy is a (step-)cousin of my father.

M/M Frederick Stebbins –neighbors to the Rogers family (on the same page of the 1940 census). They had addresses at 32-1/2 and 38-1/2 respectively, so the both lived in 2^nd floor apartments with only one house in between. They were not able to attend, but sent a gift, probably with the Rogers.

William Harz – neighbor of the Rogers family (on the same page of the 1940 census)

Mrs. Augusta Walker – neighbor of Vera’s and Irene’s relatives and so a long-time family friend, older and widowed

I have not been able to find any connection for the following: Edith Caldwell; Mrs. Raymond Baughan (Charlotte); Mrs. William Fickerson (Lillian M); M/M Howard Clark; Mrs. A. J. Henderson (Lillian); M/M Norman Gowdy