Abbie Diantha and Celia Josephine Gold, 1/4th-Plate Ambrotype, Circa 1857

A slip of paper inside the image reads "Abbie & Celia Gold." (Detail image: www.flickr.com/photos/60861613@N00/12979665045/in/photost...)

 

Although this image is in poor condition and very dark, I was instantly captivated with the smiling face of little Celia Gold, wrapped safely in the embrace of her older sister, Abbie. The girls were the children of Joseph and Abigail Thompson Gold (b. abt. 1818) of Roxbury, Washington County, Vermont. The elder, Abbie Diantha, was born 15 July, 1843. Celia Josephine Gold was born 10 September, 1854.

 

Their father, Joseph Gold, was born 9 January, 1818, in Roxbury, Vermont. Joseph was the son of Baptist deacon William Gold (31 Oct., 1780 – 16 March, 1859) and his wife, Anna (or Annett) Vera Dewey (b. 1780, VT). I own an ambrotype of the deacon, which can be seen here: www.flickr.com/photos/60861613@N00/14026734724/.

 

The origins of the Gold family were in England. The immigrant had been Abbie and Celia’s great-grandfather, Joseph Gold, who was “born in London, England, in sight of Whitefield Church. He came to this country at the age of nineteen years, and made his home in what was then Northbury, Connecticut. He served in the Revolutionary War for seven years. Afterwards, he was employed at the government arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts. Thence he went to Stratford, Connecticut, where he followed farming. In 1822, he came to Roxbury, Vermont, to live with his son William and died there in 1924. He married, in Northbury, Patience Goodenough, who died in 1826,” states “New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 4."

 

Deacon William's son William had a daughter called Augusta Melinda (b. 12 Oct 1846 - 14 Sepember, 1929) and son named William Franklin (b. 12 July, 1842). The children, who can be found on the 1850 census living with the their parents and grandparents are purportedly the subjects of this image: www.flickr.com/photos/60861613@N00/13037117185/in/photost..., athough it seems to show a girl who is clearly older than a boy who has a girl's center hair part. While that alone would not rule out an identification as a boy, in combination with the older female, the identification seems less secure. (Please click on the link to read the resolution of this issue, which was supplied to me by a Flickr denizen.)

 

In 1850, Joseph and Abigail, the girls’ parents, who were then both age 32, appeared on the census with seven-year-old Abbie Diantha, and infant named Zachariah Chatfield, and an elderly woman Hannah Tompson, who may have been Abbie and Celia’s maternal grandmother. Two years later, Abbie, age 9, had a daguerreotype made. I am lucky enough to own this as well, and you can see it here: www.flickr.com/photos/60861613@N00/14618574249/.

 

In 1860, the census noted that Abbie, age 16, was a “domestic.” Celia was no doubt an adored family pet, age five. (I own an ambrotype from the estate that I feel sure is of Celia at about age 10. It can be viewed here: www.flickr.com/photos/60861613@N00/14026662115/) Father Joseph had real estate worth $2,000 and $380 in personal goods.

 

Two years after this census, 18-year-old Abbie married Oscar Samuel Willey (b. 10 May, 1839) on 30 November in Brookfield. (An ambrotype of Oscar is here: www.flickr.com/photos/60861613@N00/14107133864/.) A photo of Abbie taken shortly before the time of her marriage can be found here: www.flickr.com/photos/60861613@N00/13026980284/in/photost....

 

Oscar was the son of John Willey (1705 – 1889) and his wife Martha Moulton (1795 – 1886). “New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial” has a biography of Oscar Willey. Of his early years, it notes that he had been born in Sharon. “He attended the public schools of his native town, and learned the trades of carpenter and machinist. He served his apprenticeship in a machine shop in Northfield, Vermont, and afterward worked for a time in Boston. Returning to Northfield, he bought a saw mill, which he operated for several years,” the tome states.

 

According to the 1860 census, the young couple were farming, not running a sawmill, in Northfield—although the mill may have come later in the 1860s. In May, 1863, Oscar’s name appears in draft records of Northfield, although he does not appear to have served during the Civil War. On 25 October, 1869, Abbie gave birth to a son, the couple’s only child, Chauncey Merton Willey.

 

By 1870, the census seems to show that the couple was financially struggling. The enumeration states that Oscar was working in a chair factory in Northfield. They had no real estate and personal goods worth only $150. However, “New England Families” tells the tale only thus: “In 1870, he bought a farm in Sharon and cultivated it for a period of twelve years.” Indeed, in 1880, the census placed the Oscar, Abbie, and Chauncey in Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, living on a farm with John and Martha Willey, Oscar’s parents.

 

Abbie’s little sister Celia had married farmer William Myron Wiley, the son of William G. Wiley and Christiana Spaulding (b. 29 Aug. 1813), on 4 March, 1877, in Northfield. (She appears to have been called “Jessie” by her husband.) Whether Oscar Willey and William Wiley were related is unknown. The newlyweds took up farming in Northfield and remained there for the rest of their lives. Sadly, they had no children.

 

“New England Families” moves the story of Oscar and Abbie forward, “Afterward, [Oscar Willey] plied his trade as a carpenter at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, for about five years, and afterward was employed in bridge building for the Boston & Maine railroad…. Then he came to Barre, Vermont, where he had charge of the derrick and other machinery in one of the granite sheds, and continued in this line of business for the rest of his life.”

 

The book describes him as a “a Republican. He was a member of lodge of Odd Fellows at Northfield, and of the lodge of Free masons at Strafford, Vermont. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, but after making his home in Barre, he attended the Congregational Church.”

 

The 1900 census shows Oscar was then working as a day laborer—again, a different situation than “New England Families” describes. He died 16 July, 1903, in Barre.

 

Of Abbie’s son, Chauncey, “New England Families” notes, “He began to study medicine in Dartmouth Medical School, but did not complete the course. He preferred a business career, and left the medical school to take a position in the office of the Boston & Maine Railroad Company [for whom his father had also worked] at Concord, New Hampshire. At the end of the first year, he was promoted to a chief clerkship and he continued in the railroad business for three years and a half. He resigned in 1893 to accept a position with the firm E. L. Smith & Company, granite manufacturers, of Barre, and subsequently became a partner in the firm. He represented the firm at Buffalo, New York, for several years.”

 

On 27 March, 1895, Chauncey married Jennie Morse (25 Aug., 1872 – 2 Aug., 1941), the daughter of James and Augusta Gold Morse. Augusta Gold Morse was a cousin of his mother’s, being the daughter of her uncle William Gold and his wife Loretta Orcutt.

 

In 1901, Chauncey tried his hand at the boot and shoe business, going into partnership with George Tilden under the name Tilden & Willey. “New England Families” says that this lasted until 1905, “when he withdrew to become a teller at the National Bank of Barre, selling his share of the business to his partner.” Chauncey became assistant cashier and then cashier. “He was prime over in organizing the Quarry Savings Bank & Trust Company, of which he [was] secretary and treasurer from the beginning.” He was a Republican, like his father, and served as a delegate to conventions and was heavily involved in Masonic orders and other fraternal societies such as the Knights of Pythias and the Shriners.

 

His aunt, Celia Gold and Uncle William Wiley appear together on the 1910 census, still working their land in Northfield. The 1910 census shows the widowed Abbie Gold Willey living with her son Chauncey, his wife Jennie, and grandson Chauncey M. Willey, Jr. (b. 6 May, 1906). The 1904 directory of Barre shows Abbie as “widow of Oscar S.” and living at 144 Elm Street. The house, which stands today, is large and well made, perched on the side of a steep hill on a rural road. William Wiley died 4 June, 1914. Late in 1915, Celia, who seems to have been working as housekeeper, died of a cerebral hemorrhage on 20 September, 1915.

 

Abbie Gold Willey outlived her little sister by 11 years. The 1920 census shows Abbie dwelling with Chauncey, Jennie, Chauncey, Jr., and a second grandson, Sheldon Gold Willey (b. 13 May, 1912). (There had been one other grandson, James Gold Willey, who lived only a day, 4-5 November, 1903.) The family also had a live-in servant. The street address given was 1 Maple Grove. This house stands today, too—not ostentatious, but a large house of white clapboard with a wraparound porch situated on a street of other fin-de-siècle middle class homes. A directory of the Auto Club, 1920, says that upwardly mobile Chauncey drove a Cadillac.

 

Abbie died in Barre on 26 May, 1926, of “senility” at her Maple Grove Street home. Her son Chauncey, presumably Jennie, and grandson Chauncey, Jr., were also living there. She is buried beside her husband in Mount Hope Cemetery, Northfield.

 

Chauncey Willey went on to become to mayor of Barre in 1944. “The Camden News” of 28 September, 1948, notes, “Because of a typographical error in the city charter, Mayor Chauncey M. Willey is wondering how long his term will last. When Willey took office six months ago, he expected to be mayor for two years. But a self-styled political scientist named Harley W. Kidder says it’s time to elect a new mayor. Elections In Barre should be held every six months instead of two years, Kidder told city officials. Officials checked and found that the city charter actually said ‘biannually’ (twice a year) instead of ‘biennially ’ (every two years). The charter probably will be amended to correct the typographical error, enabling Willey to complete his two years in office.” This must have occurred, because Chauncey went on to serve as mayor until 1954. (In 1952, the 1 March edition of the “Elyria [Ohio] Chronicle Telegram” reported under the headline “Not Ready to Quit” that “Mayor Chauncey M. Wiley is running for reelection. Asked if this would be his last term, the octogenarian replied, ‘I’m not sure.’”)

 

Chauncey died on 14 September, 1960, in Barre, of coronary sclerosis. He is buried in Mount Hope with his wife Jennie, and infant son Joseph. Chauncey Willey, Jr., died 22 September, 1992, also in Barre.

Done