The following notes from World Family Tree Vol. 85, tree 746:
The following is a clipping from the newspaper about Martha.
"Funeral Service of Mrs. Martha Jane Holden.The remains of Mrs. Martha Jane Holden, a former resident of Deer Isle, were brought to Mansfield, Mass., the place she so dearly loved. The final summons came as the result of accidental burns she received at her summer home on Saturday night, October 25. Funeral services were held Friday afternoon, October 31, at 2.30 o'clock. Rev. Gove of the Congregational church of Mansfield officiating.
The choir sang 'Sometime We'll Understand,' 'Some Sweet Day' and 'In the Garden'.
There were many friends and relatives present and many beautiful floral pieces were received, among them from Elmer Lord & Co., Boston, Mrs. Sidney Treat of Malden, Dr. and Mrs. Walsh of Dorchester, the Evans family of Winthrop, Mrs. Ada Howard of Auburndale, and the Women's Guild of Arlington, Mass.She leaves besides her husband, two daughters, Mrs. Roland L. Barber of Arlington, and Mrs Albert French of Boston, a son, Charles, of Australia, and six grandchildren. Interment took place in the Cedar Grove Cemetery, Marshfield. Her many friends, who loved her dearly, will mourn this sudden and sad ending."
I have contacted the town of Marshfield and had the following information back.
Martha Jane Holden is buried there in the Cedar Grove Cemetery. This is the largest cemetery in the town, and is located beside the Congregational Church.
The head stone reads "Mother" 1866-1924 (note the birthdate difference).
She is buried beside Rowlie L. Barber 1876-1924. This is Auntie Lou's husband.
The following notes from World Family Tree, Vol. 85, tree 746:
From "The Bangor Daily News", Bangor, Penobscot, Maine, Thursday, June 24, 1937.
"In the village of Deer Isle I chatted with a retired sea captain who in a long career at sea passed safely through the hazards of storm and shipwreck only to be shot down on land by a bandit while presiding as superintendent of Mariners House of the Seaman's Aid Society in Boston.This man is Captain Clarence W. Holden, and the story of his escape from death after being critically wounded by a stickup man is one of the marvels of Boston's surgical cases.
At 10 p.m., June last, Captain Holden was in the act of opening the safe in his office at Mariners' House when two young masked bandits walked in with drawn automatics and ordered him to 'stick 'em up'. He did so and they backed him to a chair and made him sit down. Then one of the holdup men rifled the safe, taking a change box containing $18 and overlooked more than $1,000 in bills that reposed in a small compartment of the safe.
On the way out one of the bandits growled, 'Here's good night to you old timer' and with these words he shot the captain in the back. The bullet missed the spine by a scant half-inch, passed close to the left kidney, took an upward course, barely clearing the heart and left lung, split the fifth rib in its passage, left the torso, and passed through the left arm, dropping to the floor.
'It almost seemed', said the captain,'that the hand of fate directed the course of this bullet, so that it would not strike my vital organs. Both the surgeons and the police looked upon it as something akin a miracle and declared that a similar case had never come under their observation. The bandit who shot me must have been inspired by pure viciousness, for I made no outcry, realizing the utter uselessness of protest. It was a great satisfaction to me to know that they missed most of the money in the safe. I spent many years at sea and had many narrow escapes, but nothing like this adventure on land in the city of Boston.'
Because of temporary invalidism caused by his wound, the captain resigned his position as superintendent of Mariners' House and retired to Deer Isle, the region of his birth and his boyhood, where he purchased the house of the late Captain Leslie Gray. When I called on him he was busily engaged in supervising renovations in his new home and arranging some half models and other relics which he collected during his long career as a seafaring man. He showed me his most prized possession, a finely executed half-model of the schooner Ellen Little, designed for him by John J. Wardwell and built at the yard of Cobb and Butler, Rockland.
In reviewing the career of this retired sea captain I found many things of exceptional merit, and certainly a large measure of courage and resource on the high seas. Like most Maine sea captains, Captain Holden began at the lowest rung of the ladder in seamanship and worked his way to the top through unquestioned grit and ability. Many capable sailors have gone forth from Deer Isle and have chalked up a high mark in the world of skilled seamanship, but few have surpassed the shining record of this intrepid sailor. Outstanding in his fine record are the rescues of the crew of two steamships within a period of 16 months. These ships were burning at sea when the rescues were made. Captain Holden saved a total of 48 men from these two vessels. And yet there is nothing about this little captain to indicate that he is of the material of which heroes are made. He has an unassuming personality, his eyes are mild and kindly, and his voice carries no hint of boastfulness. Just now as he is arranging to make his retirement enjoyable, and plans to have a garden so that he may be assured of a little healthful exercise during the summer months.
Captain Holden was born August 14, 1865, in North Deer Isle, the son of George W. Holden, who taught school for twenty years on Little Deer Isle and later became an itinerant music teacher, conducting singing schools in many villages in this island empire of Penobscot Bay. The captain felt a yearning for the sea when a small boy, and at 15 signed articles on the brig. Allison, owned in Boston and commanded by Captain Charles Haskell. He received $10 per month as an ordinary seaman, and his first voyage was from Boston to Digby, Nova Scotia. For 36 years he was a shipmaster, commanding various schooners and square riggers. He voyaged to the West Indies and South America, and made several trips across to England during the World War.
The captain lost but one vessel, and that was in 1903 when he was skipper of the schooner Vietta.
'We were carrying a cargo of salt,' he said, 'when a bad gale struck us off the Virginia Capes. In a twinkling our sails were torn away by the velocity of the wind and we lost our steering gear. We began to leak badly, and after many exhausing hours at the pumps we abandonded her 300 miles off the Virginia Capes. Nine of us were drifting in our small boat, expecting every minute to be swamped by the rough seas, when we were picked up by the Italian tramp steamer, Mongello, and taken to Genoa, Italy. That was my only wreck and during my long career at sea I never lost a man or had a mutiny.''Tell me about the rescues you made at sea, captain.' I asked. 'There is nothing much to say about them,' he replied. 'I was mate of the Alice E. Clark of Portland and we were bound from New York to Wilmington, N.C. when one night off the Virginia Capes we saw a steamer all afire. We could hear the shouts of the 26 members of the crew, who had leaped from the burning ship into the water. I commanded the boat that rescued them. We landed the rescued at Vineyard Haven. Sixteen months later off New York we rescued the crew of the British ship Creedmore, which had caught fire at sea. This ship was loaded with gasoline, and the crew lost no time taking to the boats. We picked up the Creedmore's boat carrying 22 men, also landed them at Vineyard Haven.
'During the World War, I commanded the schooner Ellen Little and carried several cargoes of gasoline to the Canary Islands. This was not such a nice cargo when you figure that the ocean at the time was infested with German undersea boats. But we were lucky and never actually saw a submarine, though several times we heard their gunfire, and came across the wreckage of the vessel that had been sent to the bottom. I retired from the sea in 1926, and later was appointed superintendent of Mariners' House in Boston.'
For a period of about 10 years Mrs. Holden went to sea with her husband. They have three children. The Captain told me that his chief hobby was playing solitaire."
The following are newspaper cuttings from America:
Clarence W. Holden.
"Captain Clarence W. Holden passed away at the Blue Hill hospital Friday, July 18, 1947, after a long illness. He was born in Deer Isle August 14, 1865. Besides his widow, Rose M. Holden, he leaves a brother Howard Holden of Providence, R.I.; two daughters, Mrs. R.L. Barber of Arlington Mass., and Mrs. A.L. French of Boston, Mass.; a son Charles F. Holden of Australia; several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was a member of the Order of the Masons in Deer Isle and the Order of the Eastern Star also in Deer Isle. Funeral services were held at the Church-on-the-Hill Monday, July 21, at 2 p.m. Interment was in the Mount Adams Cemetery."Clarence W. Holden.
"Clarence Wright Holden well known sailing captain died at the Blue Hill Hospital Friday after a long illness. Captain Holden was devoted to sailing vessels and would never go on a steam ship. For some years after retiring from the sea he was head of the Boston Seaman's Institute until he was seriously injured by armed men who were attempting to hold up the Institute office. He was born at Deer Isle August 14, 1865, and became an authority on the waters of the Atlantic both of North and South America. He was a member of the Deer Isle Masonic Lodge, the OES and the Fireman's Association. Captain Holden is survived by his wife, Rose; two daughters, Mrs. R.L. Barber of Arlington and Mrs. A.P. French of Boston; one son, Charles of Australia and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The funeral was held Monday at 2 at the Deer Isle Congregational Church with the Rev. Milton McGorrill officiating. Burial was at Mt. Adams."Dr. Ferguson's notes: Account began May 11 1888 - called by Clarence to see wife, mentions wife, child and daughter; ends August 26 1902.
Newsletter of the Haskell Family Society
Vol 6 No 2 June 1997Dorothy Haskell, 97, died November 24, 1996, at the Island Nursing Home, Deer Isle, Maine, USA. Born 24 April 1899 in Deer Isle, she was daughter of Captain Caleb A. and Rose (Eaton) Haskell, granddaughter of Captain Jasper and Martha (Haskell) Haskell. She graduated from Deer Isle High School in 1918, and St. Andrews Hospital Nursing School in Portland in 1922. She retired from nursing in 1963 and returned to Deer Isle to live in the Haskell Homestead. She was predeceased by a brother, Robert; three sisters, Irene Ferris, Thelma Brock and her twin, Doris Haskell. She is survived by a nephew, John Stanton Brock, and will be sorely missed by long-time neighbors and friends.
25946. Capt. Willard Graves Haskell
Deer Island newpaper
It was with great sorrow that the many friends of Willard G. Haskell learned of his death, which occurred at his home in Newtonville, Mass., Sat. Nov. 20th, after a long period of failing health, altho he has been able to follow his usual avocation up to within a few weeks of his death. Mr. Haskell was the second son of Capt. Jasper W. & Flaville Haskell. He was born while the family lived in New Haven, Conn., about 46 years ago, and came to Deer Isle with his parents when a boy. He married Miss Lizzie Powers of South Deer Isle. To this union were born six children, Kathleen, Gladys, George, Virginia, Willard and Norman. The family made their home here until about a year ago, when they moved to Newtonville, believing that the city furnished better opportunities for the ohildren.
Besides his family, who have lost a kind and most indulgent husband and father, Mr. Haskell leaves a mother, one sister, Miss Villa M. Haskell, and two brothers, Capt. C. A. Haskell, of the schooner Hester, now on a voyage to Europe, and Capt. Harris W. Haskell, who has just arrived in Savannah, Ga., from Cuba. He was a valued member of Marine Lodge, F. & A.M., and was highly respected by all who knew him. After a brief service at the home in Newtonville, the remains, accompanied by the mother, the wife, and Miss Kathleen, arrived here Thursday night and the funeral is taking place this afternoon, with interment at Mt. Adams.
45860. Willard Davison Haskell
Willard Davison Haskell served in WW2 as 2nd Lt, USAF, 838 Bonb Squadron in France.
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War Memorial Deer Isle, Hancock, Maine
World War II
Willard Haskell (killed)
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U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
Name: Willard D Haskell
Birth Year: 1918
Race: White, citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country: Maine
State of Residence: Massachusetts
County or City: Middlesex
Enlistment Date: 8 Jan 1943
Enlistment State: Massachusetts
Enlistment City: Boston
Branch: Air Corps
Grade: Aviation Cadet
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Component: Reserves - exclusive of Regular Army Reserve and Officers of the Officers Reserve Corps on active duty under the Thomason Act (Officers and Enlisted Men -- O.R.C. and E.R.C., and Nurses-Reserve Status)
Source: Enlisted Reserve or Medical Administrative Corps (MAC) Officer
Education: 4 years of high school
Civil Occupation: Insurance clerks, n.e.c.
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
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U.S. Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945
Name: Willard D Haskell
Gender: Male
Race: White
Religion: Protestant
Disposition: Nonrecoverable
Service Branch: Army
Rank: Second Lieutenant
Service Number: 816302
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WWI, WWII, and Korean War Casualty Listings
Name: Willard D. Haskell
Death Date: 6 Jun 1944
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery
Cemetery Burial Plot: Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Cemetery City: Cambridge
Cemetery Country: England
War: World War II
Awards: Air Medal, Purple Heart
Title: Second Lieutenant
Rank: Second Lieutenant
Service: U.S. Army Air Forces
Service ID: O-816302
Division: 838th Bomber Squadron, 487th Bomber Group, Heavy
Data Source: World War II Honor Roll