My mother’s “Aunt Kittie,” Catherine Ruth Grace was born in 9 November 1889 in New Britain, Connecticut to William J. Grace and Mary Courtney Grace. Her siblings were: Joseph, Edward and Raymond (my grandfather). Catherine married Arthur Pearce Fourette in 1913 and they had two children together, Helen (b.1915) and Ruth (b. 1916), it does not appear they lived together after the birth of the children.

Helen died in her first year of life and Ruth died in 1923, at the age of six (cause unknown). The 1920 census shows Catherine working as a clerk at Travelers Insurance Company and living with her mother, younger brother (Raymond) and daughter Ruth.

This post centers on a tragic incident involving Thomas F. Griffith, an elected constable and political leader in Middlesex County (Hartford, CT), that resulted in the death of Catherine’s daughter Helen. The details of the incident are supported and illustrated by court records and newspaper stories.

The Crime – On 13 March 1915, Thomas Griffin, an elected constable for Middletown, went to apartment of Catherine Fourette to serve court papers on her husband, Arthur, for the return of certain household furniture. Arthur was not living in the apartment at the time. According to news articles and court records, Griffin forced his way into the residence and in the process assaulted both Catherine and her infant, Helen. It is assumed that the injuries to mother and daughter led to the death of Helen. The actions of that day are described in an the below article “Judge Scores Constable” – The Journal (Meriden, Connecticut) · 13 Apr 1917.

The Case – Almost two years the death of Helen and with no criminal action taken against Griffin, Catherine filed a civil suit alleging trespass and assault and seeking $5,000 in damages. After a trial, the jury found in favor of Griffin after a very short deliberation. This verdict was successfully appealed by Catherine’s attorney, Daniel J. Donahoe, and a new trial was ordered based on a biased statement by the judge to the jury that Griffin’s breaking of the door (into the apartment) was “accidental and unintentional.” The appeal, Fourette v. Griffin, provides very interesting reading.

Sadly, this is were the story ends. I have been unable to find record of a second trial or the case being settled out of court. However, this case set precedent by viewing a shared entrance/passageway in a house, with multiple apartments, as being protected against unreasonable search and seizure, an officer had no right to enter the property. Below are quick vignettes on Thomas F. Griffin and Catherine’s attorney, Daniel J. Donahoe.

“A great big brute who attacked a defenseless woman endeavoring to protect her baby.” Daniel J. Donahoe

According to his obituary, Thomas F. Griffin (1870 – 1933) served as the elected town constable of Middletown, CT. for 27 years, was the Democratic town chairman and was also a member of the Democratic state committee. In 1920, he was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson to serve as a Deputy U.S. Marshall (article).

“Possessed of an indomitable will and ambition”

Catherine’s attorney, Daniel Joseph Donahoe (1853–1930), was very distinguished and respected. Donahue served as an Associate Judge (1887-1903) and Judge (1913-15) for the Middletown City Court. He was also the first lawyer to hold the office Public Defender for the Superior Court of Middlesex County. Donahoe was also a published poet. In 1914, Donahoe argued before the CT. Supreme Court on behalf of the plaintiff in ELIZABETH BROWN vs. THOMAS BROWN we held that a married woman could recover damages from her husband for an assault committed upon her by him.

Copyright © 2022. All Rights Reserved by David R. FrenchQuestions, Comments and Corrections are Appreciated

Edward Francis Daly Sr., my maternal great-grandfather, was born on May 13, 1870, in Waterbury, Connecticut. Edward was the son of Michael Daly and Hannah Mulcahy, both immigrants from Ireland. In 1889, Edward married Mary Ester Butler in Portland, Connecticut. In the census of 1900 and 1910 for Portland, CT., his occupation is listed as carpenter.

From 1914 through 1921, he was the appointed postmaster for Portland. Edward died on November 13, 1937 at the age of 67. His obituary (left) notes that he was the building superintendent at the Portland Trust Company (Bank) for the 10 years prior to his death. Edward was a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), the largest and oldest Irish Catholic organization in America and was grand knight of the local Knights of Columbus council in Portland.

In 1914, Edward was named by President Woodrow Wilson to be the postmaster for Portland, Connecticut.  He was nominated to be postmaster by Congressman Bryan Francis Mahan (New London, CT.), who was a lawyer by trade and postmaster of New London, CT. before and following his term in Congress. Note: The service record of Edward’s son (Edward Jr.), lists his employment in 1917 as a clerical worker for the postmaster (his dad) of Portland, CT. Here is a post about Edward Jr. – Pvt. Edward F. Daly Jr. – WW1 Pv Co C 3 BN 20 En

Did Edward suffer a horrible injury in 1895 while working as a joiner for the Berlin Iron Bridge Company? While I have no confirmation, everything (name/occupation/residence) lines up that this was my great grandfather. (Article – 1895 – Hartford Courant)

Comments, corrections and suggestions appreciated

Copyright © 2021. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.

My maternal great uncle, Edward Francis Daly Jr., was born 20 October 1899 in Portland, Connecticut. Edward enlisted in the American Expeditionary Forces on August 8, 1917 and joined Company C, 3rd Battalion of the 20th Engineers (Forestry). According to the transit document for his passage home, Edward served in the Medical Detachment for the 3rd Battalion.

Drawing from a unit history of the 20th Engineers, I provide select highlights of the journey Edward took from enlistment to his discharge from the Army. The hint that allowed me to develop this post – Pv Co C 3 BN 20 Eng – was on an index card from the U.S. Veterans Bureau that listed his service record. My appreciation to Michael Daly for the amazing photograph of his grandfather in uniform and his research on the Daly family.

15 August 1917 – General Order Number 108 authorized the formation of the 20th Engineer Regiment (Forestry) at Camp American on the campus of American University in Washington, D.C. Due to overcrowding, the 3rd Battalion moved first to Fort Belvoir, Virginia and then to Fort Myer, Virginia for basic training.

15 December 1917 – Washington, D.C.  – The Third and Fourth Battalions paraded Pennsylvania Avenue, led by the Fourth Band, they were reviewed from the portico of the War Department Building by the Secretary Baker. (below – photograph)

2-3 January 1918 – the 3rd Battalion moved to Jersey City, New Jersey to sail for France. They joined the 4th Battalion on the U. S. S. America and sailed, with 44 officers and 1956 enlisted men on board, for France, arriving in Brest, France on January 17^th. 

17 January 1918 – (Three hours from France) Lookouts sighted a torpedo wake heading for the America, it narrowly missed the stern of the ship by twenty feet. The submarine was never sighted.

23 January 1918 – Company C was sent to a hardwood operation at Sauvigney les Gray, in the upper valley of the Saone, and under the Dijon administration. The timber harvest required long hauls to the mill by narrow-gauge logging railways.

11 Nov 1918 – Following Armistice, Company C, 3^rd Battalion remained in France for six months providing fuel, rebuilding roads and dismantling the mills and camps. 

14 May 1919 – Edward boarded the Santa Paula and arrived in Brooklyn, New York on 28 May and was disbanded at Camp Merritt, NJ.

Sources:

3rd Battalion, 20th Engineer Regiment (Forestry) – Unit History

Forest History Society – World War I: 10th and 20th Forestry Engineers

Comments, corrections and and suggestions appreciated.

Copyright © 2020. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.

My maternal great-uncle, James Charles Daly, was born February 1892 in Portland, Connecticut.  A cigar maker by trade, James enlisted in March 1918 in the American Expeditionary Forces and was assigned to Company C, 103^rd Field Signal Battalion, 28^th Infantry Division.  At the time of enlistment he was twenty-six years old and was described as tall, medium build with black hair and brown eyes. After two months of military training at Camp Devens (MA) and Camp Mills (NY), James sailed for France, arriving in La Harve on June 5, 1918.   

During World War 1, the 103rd Field Signal Battalion was the main signal support organization for the 28th Infantry Division of the American Expeditionary Forces. The strength of the 103rd Signal Battalion was close to 500 personnel in 1918.

According to his service record, James participated in battles at Marne (2^nd), Thiacourt, Meuse-Argonne, Chateau Thierry (note photograph above – was Charles in the room?), Oise-Aisne, and Saint Michel.

On September 7^th, during the Battle of the Ourcq River, James was gassed and needed to be transported to Hospital No. 5 on the coast near the town of Camiers.  He was treated at the hospital from September 10 to October 18 and then returned to his unit for duration of the war.  

James was cited for bravery for his service and was honorably discharged from service in May 1919 at Camp Dix, New Jersey. He returned to Portland, Connecticut to live with his parents and work for a cigar manufacturer, Julius Kuntze, in Meriden, CT. James never married and died in October 1926 at the age of 34.

Cousin Joe – I wrote a previous post on Charles’ cousin, Sargent Joseph Aloysius Grace (1892-1918) who died on October 11, 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne Operation in World War 1. Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, Bar Nothing (AAA-O)

Hospital No. 5 – At the time the Charles was recovering from being gassed, my paternal grandfather, George B. French was working at this hospital. Pvt. George B. French – World War 1

Comments, corrections and and suggestions appreciated.

Copyright © 2020. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.

My maternal great-grandmother, Mary Ellen (Courtney) Grace, was born in March 1863 in Meriden, Connecticut. She married William Grace in 1887 and had four children (Raymond Sr., Edward, Kittie and Joseph). Mary died on October 2, 1923, in Rockfall (South Farms), Connecticut, at the age of 60.

I recently discovered her cause of death. On the afternoon of October 2, 1923, the Hartford Courant reported that Mary was killed on the street directly in front of her home after being struck by a car after she had “alighted” from a trolley car.

Below are newspaper clippings covering her death and subsequent wrongful death suit filed by her son, Raymond. The case was later dismissed by the State’s Attorney.

• Hartford Driver Fatal Injuries Middletown Woman
• Sues for $10,000 for Woman’s Death
• Has Case Continued
• Hartford Man has Case Nolled

End Note: Raymond (1899-1962), my grandfather, suffered the loss of his father (William) when he was 17 in 1916, his brother James died in WWI in 1918 and then his mother in 1923. The deaths of his parents and older brother all before he was 25.

Comments, corrections and and suggestions appreciated.

Copyright © 2020. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.

The following is a brief story about my maternal great-uncle, Sargent Joseph Aloysius Grace (1892-1918) of Middletown, Connecticut, who died on October 11, 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne Operation  in World War 1.  Joseph enlisted in August 1917 and was serving in the III Corps – 4th Infantry Division – 7th Infantry Brigade – 39 Infantry Regiment (AAA-O) – HQ Company at the time of his death in 1918.

While Joseph’s cause of death is not stated, American Expeditionary Force (AEF) order of battle reports from that day note that “early on the morning of the 11th, the entire regimental staff of the 39th was gassed.”  If Joseph was assigned to headquarters, it can be assumed that he was among those who died that morning. Ironically, a news article (below-left) announcing his death, states that he had been recently promoted to be the regimental non-commissioned officer of gas defense (27 Nov 1918 – Meriden Journal). The use of chemical weapons was deployed heavily by both sides during the campaign. 

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest operation of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) during World War and remains the deadliest American troops have ever fought.  The AEF launched its massive offensive on September 26, 1918 along a twenty-four-mile front from the Argonne Forest to the Meuse River—a long strip of rolling hills and wild woodland about 150 miles east of Paris.  One month to the day after Joseph’s death, an Armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany on 11th November 1918, bringing an end to the  First World War.

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest operation of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) during World War and remains the deadliest American troops have ever fought.  The AEF launched its massive offensive on September 26, 1918 along a twenty-four-mile front from the Argonne Forest to the Meuse River—a long strip of rolling hills and wild woodland about 150 miles east of Paris.  One month to the day after Joseph’s death, an Armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany on 11th November 1918, bringing an end to the  First World War.

Meuse-Argonne Offensive – September 26 and November 11,1918

AEF – 26,277
killed and 95,786 wounded

German –
28,000 killed and 92,250 wounded

Sources:

The History of the 39th U. S. Infantry during the World War (p.81-83)

The Use of Gas in the Meuse-Argonne Campaign

© David R. French and French in Name Only, 2024. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Comments/Reviews 
Appreciated!

“O God! that bread should be so dear, and flesh and blood be so cheap!”  Like doves to the ark, o’er the waters we flee,  To the land blesse’d of God-America, to thee.  Cry of the Famishing Irish, 1853

All told, over 100,000 people are estimated to have died from disease and starvation in County Cork during the famine years of 1846-1850.  Nearly 100,00 more emigrated.   The great hunger forever changed Ireland’s demographic, political and cultural landscape and delivered “our” Daly, Grace, Butler, Young and Mulcahy families to America.

The early generations of Grace, Daly, Butler and Courtney men in America in the mid-to-late1800’s worked as blacksmiths, carpenters, quarry workers, dyers and general laborers, all occupations that required hard, dirty work under dangerous working conditions.  While the women in the family, prior to 1900, are listed as “keeping house” this work was diverse and endless; mending and washing the clothes, preparing meals and on top of this, they would give birth to and raise an average of 4-5 children.

The 1880 U.S. Census notes that William J.
Grace, age 21 and born in Connecticut, was working in Hartford and living with
the family of  a co-worker (Elias
Marn).  His parents, Michael (b. 1825)
and Catherine Grace (b. 1828), were both from Ireland.   By 1886, William was working as a
“horse-shoer and blacksmith” in Meriden (CT). 
It was there that he met his bride, Mary Ellen Courtney, who lived with
her parents (Michael and Bridget) just a few houses away from where he lived at
63 Arch Street.  After their marriage,
William and Mary moved to New Britain (CT) where he continued his trade
(advertisement) and in 1899 they had a son, William Lawrence Grace. 

Michael Daly, born in Ireland in 1835, appears in the Waterbury, Connecticut City Directory in 1876-7 under the occupation of dyer located on Grand Street.  He is married to Hannah Mulcahy, who was the daughter of Michael and Ellena (Connell) of Ballyvatta, County Cork, Ireland.  Their son Edward Francis Daly was born in 1870 and married Mary Ester Butler whose parents (James and Anastasia) would live with them in their later years. 

GRACE FAMILY  LINE

Michael Grace (1825+- Ireland – d. ? CT) – Catherine ?

William Grace (1859 Ct. – ? CT) – Mary Ellen Courtney

Raymond L. Grace (1899 CT – 1962 CT) – Mary “Rhea” Daly (Photograph)

Mary Grace French (1933 -2004) – John S. French

DALY  FAMILY 
LINE

Michael Daly (1835 Ireland
– 1876 CT) – (Jo)Hanna Mulcahy (1837 Ireland – 1906 CT)

Hanna’s parents were Michael Mulcahy + Ellena O’Connell, Ballyvatta, Ireland

Edward F. Daly  (b. 1870 CT – 1937 CT) – Mary Ester Butler

Mary “Rhea” Daly (1901 CT – 1988 CT) – Raymond L. Grace

COURTNEY FAMILY  LINE

Michael Courtney (1836 Ireland
– ? CT) – Bridget ? (1849 Ireland – bet. 1900-20 CT)

Mary Ellen Courtney (1863 CT – d. 1923 CT) – William Grace (1862 – 1916 CT)

BUTLER FAMILY  LINE

James Butler  (1843 Ireland – 1927 CT) – Anastasia Young
(1844 Ireland – 1921 CT)

Anastasia’s parents were Patrick Young + Rose A. Powers, Kildare Ireland

Mary Ester Butler (1867 NY – 1946 CT) – Edward F. Daly (1870 CT – 1937 CT)

Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.