Ralph Bartlett Drinkwater (1874 - 1942)

Born 18 Mar 1874 in Lincolnville, Waldo, Maine, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Florence Cheeney (Bailey) Drinkwater — married 29 Aug 1897 in Peabody, Massachusetts, USA

Husband of Catherine Nora (Sheehan) Drinkwater — married 1 Jan 1916 in Peabody, Essex, Massachusetts, United States

Descendants

Died 20 Dec 1942 at age 68 in Peabody, Essex, Massachusetts, United States

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This profile is part of the Drinkwater Name Study.

Biography

Ralph Barrett Drinkwater
is the 7th generation of this surname found in early America, and a descendant of Thomas Drinkwater.

Ralph Drinkwater was born on March 18, 1874 in Lincolnville, Waldo, Maine, United States. His parents were Emerson Drinkwater and Clara Adams. Ralph is a descendant of mariners; however, he did not follow them to the sea. He worked on land in the leather trade his entire life for J.S.Crehore, Inc. - which explains his 2nd son's middle name of Crehore.

Marriages

1st: Married 29 Aug 1897 in Peabody, Essex, Massachusetts, to Florence Cheeney Bailey, born in Peabody, Essex, Massachusetts, daughter of Franklin P. Bailey and Sarah E. Barbour. Ralph was a currier when he married; Rev. O.H. Wallace, officiant.

Together they had 8 children:

1. Helen Drinkwater, b. 1898
2. Emerson Drinkwater, b. 1899
3. Harry Drinkwater, b. 1901
4. Phyllis Drinkwater, b. 1903
5. Ralph Drinkwater, b. 1905
6. Sarah Drinkwater, b. 1908
7. Lloyd Drinkwater, b. 1910
8. Unnamed Infant Drinkwater, b. 1912

Florence, died 3 days after the birth of her daughter of puerperal eclampsia. She was only 33 years old.

1898, lived in Peabody, was a currier 1901, lived at 19 Churchill Place when Harry was born. 1905, at 83 Endicott St 1910, lived at 11 Basford Ct, leather splitter 1912, at 10 Basford St, leather, Maine

2nd Marriage: 1 Jan 1916 in Peabody, Essex, MA to Catherine Nora Sheehan, daughter of John Sheehan and Norah Murphy.

Ralph, age 44, registered for the WWI draft on 28 October 1918. He lived at 31 Pier Point Street, Peabody, worked as a leather splitter at 15 Grove Street for J.S. Crelore. His wife, Katharine, is his nearest relative. He is medium height and build, with blue eyes and brown hair.

Ralph Bartlett Drinkwater signature

1940 - still renting on Pierpoint Street, foreman, leather tannery.

He died on December 20, 1942 in Peabody, Essex, Massachusetts, United States

Morocco Leather

This article examines the role of “Turkish” leatherworkers in New England’s labor movement in the early twentieth century. It begins with the exodus of a large Ottoman population from eastern Anatolian provinces to eastern Massachusetts, and their employment in New England’s leather factories. Throughout the article, the rise of the leather business in eastern Massachusetts cities (including Peabody and Salem), the Turkish immigrants’ concentration on Peabody’s Walnut Street (which came to be called “Ottoman Street”), the importance of kin and friends in providing practical information vital for adjusting to the new environment, and the coffee house as a response to industrial conditions are discussed at length. The author argues that, although many of the Turkish leatherworkers originated from rural backgrounds and had no experience in unionizing and striking, their quick adjustment to the industrial city and their growing awareness of labor rights was a result of lectures given within the Turkish community, changing circumstances in the old country and in the United States, such as the Balkan Wars and World War I, and their unchallenged place in the tanneries of Peabody, MA.

Sources

• Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FXJL-7V7 : 11 March 2018), Lloyd Irving Drinkwater, 27 Nov 1910, Peabody, Massachusetts; citing reference ID #p 678, Massachusetts Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 2,315,295. 22:50, 20 December 2018 (UTC)

Name Lloyd Irving Drinkwater

Event Type Birth

Event Date 27 Nov 1910

Event Place Peabody, Massachusetts

Gender M

Father's Name Ralph B Drinkwater

Mother's Name Florence C Bailey

• Massachusetts, Marriage Records, 1840-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. 23:03, 20 December 2018 (UTC)

Name: Ralph B Drinkwater

Age: 23

Birth Year: abt 1874

Birth Place: Lincolnville, Maine

Marriage Date: 29 Aug 1897

Marriage Place: Peabody, Massachusetts, USA

Father: Emerson P Adams

Mother: Clara M Adams

Spouse: Florence C Bailey

• Year: 1900; Census Place: Lynn Ward 6, Essex, Massachusetts; Page: 3; Enumeration District: 0397; FHL microfilm: 1240645. 1900 United States Federal Census for Ralph Drinkwater 21:04, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

Ralph Drinkwater 26, leather splitter, Maine

Florence C Drinkwater 21, Massachusetts

Hellen K Drinkwater 2, Massachusetts

Emerson P Drinkwater 1, Massachusetts

• Year: 1910; Census Place: Peabody, Essex, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_587; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0443; FHL microfilm: 1374600. 1910 United States Federal Census for Ralph B Drinkwater 23:13, 20 December 2018 (UTC)

Ralph B Drinkwater 36, Maine, engineer, Morocco shop

Florence C Drinkwater 31, Massachusetts, 6 children, 6 alive

Helen K Drinkwater 12, Massachusetts

Emerson P Drinkwater 11, Massachusetts

Harry C Drinkwater 9, Massachusetts

Phyllis B Drinkwater 7, Massachusetts

Ralph B Drinkwater Jr 4, Massachusetts

Sarah B Drinkwater 1, Massachusetts

Here's Ralph's World War I draft card, signed by him, clearly showing his middle name as 'Bartlett.'

• "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZNF-T7Q : 13 March 2018), Ralph Bartlett Drinkwater, 1917-1918; citing Peabody City no 26, Massachusetts, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,684,681.

Also, record of his second marriage giving middle name Bartlett (in some beautiful handwriting):

• "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:23Y9-3YK : 14 October 2017), Ralph Bartlett Drinkwater and Catherine Nora Sheehan, 01 Jan 1916; citing Marriage, Peabody, Essex, Massachusetts, United States, certificate number 38, page 691, State Archives, Boston.

• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXY5-V8W : accessed 20 December 2018), Loyd Drinkwater in household of Ralph Drinkwater, Peabody Ward 3, Essex, Massachusetts, United States; citing ED 243, sheet 6A, line 32, family 116, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 696; FHL microfilm 1,820,696. 22:55, 20 December 2018 (UTC)

Ralph Drinkwater Head M 45 Maine, splitter, leather factory

Catherine N Drinkwater Wife F 27 Massachusetts

Ralph Drinkwater Son M 14 Massachusetts, puller, leather factory

Loyd Drinkwater Son M 9 Massachusetts

Francis Drinkwater Son M 7 Massachusetts

John Sheehan Brother-in-law M 22 Massachusetts

• Year: 1930; Census Place: Peabody, Essex, Massachusetts; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0231; FHL microfilm: 2340637. 1930 United States Federal Census for Ralph B Drinkwater 21:11, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

Ralph B Drinkwater 56, leather splitter

Katherine Drinkwater, 37, Mass, father & mother-Irish Free State

Francis Drinkwater 17, son, Massachusetts, restaurant dish washer

Steven Gress (sp.), 4-1/2, son, Massachusetts, father-Russia, mother-Austria

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4XK-KV2 : 14 March 2018), Ralph B Drinkwater, Ward 3, Peabody, Peabody City, Essex, Massachusetts, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 5-307, sheet 9B, line 60, family 174, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1588. 20:03, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

Ralph B Drinkwater Head Male 66 Maine, foreman, leather tannery

Catherine M Drinkwater Wife Female 48 Massachusetts

• Ralph Barrett Drinkwater on Find A Grave: Memorial #169803392 23:16, 20 December 2018 (UTC)

• Acehan, I. (2009). “Ottoman Street” in America: Turkish Leatherworkers in Peabody, Massachusetts. International Review of Social History, 54(S17), 19-44. doi:10.1017/S0020859009990228. 18:35, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

• Images of America Peabody's Leather Industry by Ted Quinn. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston SC, Chicago IL, Portsmouth NH, San Francisco CA. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2007937344.