Townsend, Mass., Spaulding Memorial Class Photo

My Father, Edward A. Sullivan is in the back row..2nd from the right and he is standing next to "BudJohnson..who is on the end.
Also in the photo are in the second row...Donald Keefe..2nd from the right...he is a retired teacher from the Townsend school system.
And my Aunt Elizabeth Spaulding...my Mother's older sister.
Elizabeth is 6th from the right.
Bud Johnson was my Mother's cousin.
My Dad was about 13 years old at the time this photo was taken in 1938.

Edward A. Sullivan

My Father was to young to sign himself into the service, so at the tender age of 17... his Mother "signed" him into the navy.

He participated in the Normandy Invasion by driving the landing assault boats to shore with GI's.

Dad was at the Omaha beachhead. Only twice did he ever speak to me about that day. Once was to tell me what he actually did and once was to tell me he did not need to to see Saving Private Ryan that he all ready had lived that day.

Vera Rose Lancey Sullivan Wilson Sullivan

Here is a photo of my Grandmother and her 2nd husband Edgar Wilson.

After Edgar died she remained single for a while. Then she remarried my Grandfather, Edward T. Sullivan.

She is buried in Townsend, Mass. with the both of them.

Andrew Cook

Son of Samuel Jackson Cook and Sylvia Spaulding Cook

Born, December 3, 1830...died August 27, 1864

E. Z. Adams

and trying to figure out where he fits in.

Roswell Adams

still trying to figure out who he belongs to.

Finally....he is the son of Edward Gary Adams and Patty-Stone Spaulding

Gilbert Cook

He was the youngest child in the Cook family.

Gilbert was born on August 4, 1841....died Febuary 17, 1895.

He was married to Sarah Jane Spaulding, who was born on Febuary 8, 1844...died June 21,1913.They had two children.

Gertrude Mabel, born, May 28, 1874

Ethel Florence, born, June 12, 1875.

Sarah Jewett Cook Adams

Sarah Jewett Cook, born, March 19,1834...died September 3,1867.

She was married to Henry C. Adams.

They had one son...Herbert S. born, November 1, 1865.

After doing a lot of studying and some head scratching...

It would appear that Henry C. Adams ended up marrying his dead wife's sister Mary Jane.

Mary Jane Cook was born on September 26, 1836...died March 31, 1897

Henry Adams was born on January 9, 1831..died December 19, 1918.

They had one child together a daughter her name was

Estelle Edna, born on April 25, 1876.

She is the baby photograph above.

Sarah Jewett was the daughter of Samuel Jackson Cook and

Sylvia Spaulding.

Vera Rose Lancey and Edward Timothy Sullivan

This is Vera and Edward Timothy Sullivan. This photo was taken arond 1966 in Townsend at my folk's house..Edward T., was very ill at the time with lung cancer. He died in August of 1967...He was a huge fan of the Red Sox.

My grandparents were divorced sometime after the birth of their fourth and final child. I do not have all those details. But almost 35 years later they got married to each other again.

They each had been remarried to other spouses and each of them outlived their spouses.

Vera's 2nd husband was Edgar Wilson from Townsend.

Edward T. was married to a woman named Lizzie(I think). They were living in a trailor park near Revere Beach when I first met them...I might have been around 10 years old.

The four children were......

Harriet Elizabeth, born, January 8, 1924......died June 2002

Edward Alden, born, November 19, 1925....died June 19, 2003

William Robert, born, September &, 1927....October 1979

Dorothy Madeline, born, November 16, 1928 ....April 2004

Chester Alden Lancey and Rose Lucier

The photo of the children is L-R(facing you)

Reginald Robert "Teddy", Vera Rose, and Chester Alden Jr.

I have no idea as to what year this photo was taken.

Chester Alden is on the left in the darker shirt. He was about 17-18 years old in this photo. Rose is about 30-31 years old in this photo. At this time I do not know when they got married let alone when they divorced.

I was very fortunate to have grown up knowing the both of them. Grampa "Happy" as he was called, died in June of 1969. Rosie, died a few short years later in the summer of I think 1975.

Each of them had been re-married and each outlived their 2nd spouses

When I was very young my father took me to visit Happy and his wife Lena. They had an apartment in Worcester.

Rosie, lived in Fitchburg with her 2nd husband, Harry Dyment (I think spelling is correct). Rosie lived next door to a sister...the last name was Clements or Clement.. the Clements had some sort of a salvage yard business. It overlooked the now John Fitch Highway.

Anyway....Chester Alden and Rosie had four children

Chester Alden Jr., born on November 4, 1904

Vera Rose, born Febuary 5, 1907....died November 30, 1980

Rexford Reginald, born July 7, 1908...died August 1908

Reginald Robert, born August 25, 1910

Uncle Alden died sometime before I was born in a car accident (before 1950).

Emma Lizzie Cook and Wilber Alden Lancey

I do not have any photos of Emma Lizzie. I only have a photo of Wilber Alden Lancey

Emma Lizzie was born October 23, 1855 and Wilber Alden was born on May 30, 1853. I do not know when they were married.

Emma and Wilber had six children.

Tessa Myrtilla, born October 31, 1875

Alton Roswell, born May 23, 1877

Leroy James, born September, 19,1879...died, June 2, 1915

Earl Wilber, born August,17,1881

Ava Lizzie, born August 14, 1883

Chester Alden, born May 3, 1885

Chester Alden married Rose Lucier. They had four children.

Samuel Jackson Cook and Sylvia Spaulding Cook

This is Samuel Jackson Cook..He was born on March 14, 1798. He was 1st married to a Hannah Flag of Lunenburg, Mass. She was born on June 2, 1796. Hannah and Samuel Jackson were married in November of 1823. Hannah died on March 29, 1827.


Samuel Jackson and Hannah had one son together.


That son was Jackson...he was born on July 16, 1825...he died on November 9, 1906. More on him later.





Samuel Jackson then married for a 2nd time to a Sylvia Spaulding of Townsend, Mass. Sylvia was born on December 16, 1799. They had seven children together.
She is in the photo shown above.

Their 1st son was James, born on May 5, 1829. James married a Sarah Elizabeth Pierce, who was born on June 1, 1828.


James and Sarah had four children together. Three sons and one daughter.


Their daughter was Emma Lizzie, born on October 23, 1855. Emma Lizzie, married Wilber Alden Lancey..who was born on May 30, 1853.
Emma Lizzie died on March 29, 1912.
Wilber Alden died on May 10, 1914
Emma Lizzie would be my Great-Great- Grandmother.

Samuel Jackson Cook and his wife Sylvia Spaulding Cook both died on the same day..January 10, 1878

Samuel Cook

This is Samuel Cook. He was born in Newton, Mass. on March 12, 1767. He was 1st married to a Sarah Jewett, who was born in Pepperell, Mass. on April, 28,1764. They were married in Pepperell on April 24, 1797. Sarah died on June 24, 1834..aged 70 years, 1 month, 26 days.

Samuel then married a Dolly Holden, who was born on August 28, 1776. They were married on August 1, 1835. Dolly died on November 29, 1859.

Samuel Cook died on December 31, 1858...aged 91 years,9 months.

He had five children....

One of the children was a Samuel Jackson born, March 14, 1798, died January 10, 1878.

I will get to to other children later.

Looking for my Cook family relatives......

I know you are out there. Somewhere.... and I am hoping we can all find each other...maybe some of you have all ready found each other and I am the only lost one.
But I would like to know more of my ancestors relatives and descending offspring.
I have some family photos that were handed down to me from my father, I will be posting them in this blog
The Cook family I am looking for largely comes from Lunenburg, Mass.
Samuel Cook and Samuel Jackson Cook and Emma Lizzie Cook are in the paternal line of my Grandparents..all having many greats in the title.
My Great Grandfather was Chester Lancey, son of Wilber Lancey and Emma Lizzie Cook.
Chester had a daughter, Vera.. and she was my Grandmother...Vera, had a son Edward...he was my Dad..I am his oldest child...J.R. Sullivan