Margery reviews the Crawford line

A page from Margery's scrapbook.

John Le Baron Crawford was my father's Dad and lived over on Botoloph Street in Melrose with his wife Elizabeth Reid Crawford. They had two sons and a daughter. One son was named Cecil Bertram Crawford, my father. The other son was named Harold Reid Crawford and the daughter was Elizabeth Reid Crawford. The parents came over from England and stayed with other English people in Melrose to get settled and bought a small house of Botoloph Street. The children were born here in Melrose and attended the Melrose public schools.

Elizabeth Reid Crawford, my father's mother, died when my father was eighteen years old. The neighbors were very nice and tried to help the family. I guess he missed his mother so my father, Cecil Bertram, became a holy hellion in school.

As I understand it his father, John Le Baron Crawford, just couldn't stand it anymore. He heard that a new art and engineering school was coming to Boston. After examining it he decided he would take Cecil Bertram out of the local school and put him in the new school in Boston. Well, what a success that was! It was an engineering school and Bert liked it and studied faithfully. He graduated at the top of his class and got a good job in Manhattan, New York. He was going with my mother, Lee Dority, and they decided to get married. They had a wedding and settled in Coney Island in a big Victorian two-family house.

Well, my grandfather, my mothers' father, was so unhappy with his daughter's move to New York that he was beside himself. When my mother became pregnant my grandfather decided to take action. He had a talk with Bert and Lee and said how about moving back to Melrose. He said he would buy them a house and take Bert into the family bonding business.

And that's how Lee and Bert were back in Melrose.

In a footnote: Cecil Bertram Crawford, my father, was okay in school till his mother died. He loved to play hockey with his brother and, we gather, he played on the high school team. Aren't these pictures wonderful. I am pleased that I have them.

Now that is another wonderful picture of my father and his sister. I have a larger original print in my living room.

June 2, 2006

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Margery reviews the Crawford line