William Alexander Mutch (1909 - 1959)

Born 16 Jul 1909 in South Hadley, Massachusetts, USA

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 28 Aug 1959 at age 50 in South Hadley Falls, Massachusetts, USA

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Biography

William was born on 16 July 1909. He was the son of Robert Mutch and Barbara (Oliphant) Mutch.^[1]

A list of Massachusetts births shows his birth date as the 16th of July, 1909, born in South Hadley to Robert Mutch and "Barbary C. Oliphant"[sic]. It says that his father was a Machinist, and that both of his parents were from Scotland.^[2]

In the 1930 census, he was living at home with his family at 56 (or maybe 54) Canal St., working as a "Laborer" at the paper mill.^[3]

In the 1940 census, he is listed as a "Back Tender" at a paper mill, living at 42 High Street in South Hadley, Massachusetts. He is listed as making $1513 in the year of 1939. He is living with his wife Josephine and their children William Jr. (4), Ronald (3), and Barbara (5 months). He is listed as having completed education through "H2", possibly 2 years of high school?^[4]

On 16 Feb 1946, Hampshire county land records show that Muriel Reed Forrest, widow of Arthur C. Forrest, sold a piece of property (presumably the property containing 54 and possibly 56 Canal Street). A half-share went to William and Josephine Mutch, and another half-share went to the Halket family. This is the house that Wiliam grew up in, and at the time of the sale, it appears that his father and unmarried siblings may have been living there. The record suggests that after the sale, there was a mortgage of $3550 owed on the property. This property consisted of three parcels which appear to all be in close proximity to one another, and may all lie between canal street and the canal.^[5]

On 7 February 1958, Hampshire county land records show that William and Josephine Mutch purchased an additional piece of land from Howard and Nellie Everson, also apparently between the canal and Canal St., which may have been attached to property that they already owned. The document appears to suggest that most of the Everson's property had been taken by the state of Massachusetts to build a highway; it may be that the remaining land was too small to be of use, and was sold to the neighbors (that is, William and Josephine Mutch).^[6]

The next year, his obituary reports that he had what appears to be a heart attack while at work at the American Writing Paper Corporation, tried to drive home, and was then assisted by police who drove him to the Holyoke Hospital, where he was dead on arrival of acute coronary thrombosis. The date was 28 August 1959.^[1]

At the time of his death, he had been an electrician for "a number of years" with the American Writing Paper Corporation.^[1]

He was a member of the South Hadley Falls Methodist church, and of the masons.^[1]

Strangely, Hampshire county has a number of documents related to these properties that appear in his name after his death. First, on 19 February 1962, the mortgage taken out by the Mutches and Halkets is discharged.^[7] Secondly, there are a pair of inheritance tax real estate certificates associated with his estate that apparently certify that no inheritance tax was owed on the property.^[8][9] It's not clear why this happened nine years after his death.

FamilySearch has a record for him, at https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/G9QH-6GV

Research Notes

In the 1950 Census^[10] the household includes William, Josephine, and their four children: William D., Ronald E., Barbara, and David. In the other unit at 54 Canal St. lived Raymond Hennequin, his wife Ruth, their daughter Ruth B, and their daughter Carol A. William Mutch is listed as having worked 50 hours in the previous week as an Electrician's Helper at the Paper Mill. All are listed as having been born in Massachusetts. William D. (the 14-year-old) is one of the "sample" census people about whom more information is collected.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} "W A Mutch, 50, Dies of Attack", Springfield Union (Springfield, MA), 29 August 1959, p. 37
2. ↑ "Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6XP9-36C?cc=1536925&wc=M61J-TTL%3A77695501 : 27 October 2020), 004401711 > image 321 of 1129; Massachusetts Archives, Boston.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRHX-HVX?cc=1810731&wc=QZF3-TMS%3A648804401%2C648887701%2C650308501%2C1589282347 : 8 December 2015), Massachusetts > Hampshire > South Hadley > ED 45 > image 30 of 40; citing NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002).
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89M1-Q3KM?cc=2000219&wc=QZXY-PSP%3A790102901%2C796168201%2C796749101%2C952310301 : accessed 19 July 2021), Massachusetts > Hampshire > South Hadley Town > 8-68 South Hadley Town bounded by Alvord, Brainerd, N Main, Carew, Bardwell, W Main, Buttery Brook; Connecticut River; Connecticut River; also South Hadley Falls (part) > image 11 of 28; citing 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.
5. ↑ Warranty Deed, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Book 998, Page 515, image via masslandrecords at URL https://www.masslandrecords.com/Hampshire/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
6. ↑ Warranty Deed, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Book 1266, Page 179, image via masslandrecords at URL https://www.masslandrecords.com/Hampshire/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
7. ↑ Mortgage Discharge, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Records Book 1372, Page 289, image via masslandrecords at URL https://www.masslandrecords.com/Hampshire/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
8. ↑ Inheritance Tax Real Estate Certificate, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, records, Book 1516, Page 731, image via masslandrecords.com via url https://www.masslandrecords.com/Hampshire/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
9. ↑ Inheritance Tax Real Estate Certificate, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, records, Book 1516, Page 730, image via masslandrecords.com via url https://www.masslandrecords.com/Hampshire/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
10. ↑ "Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States records, Apr 2, 2022," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-9QHW-RY4S?view=explore : Dec 24, 2022), image 33 of 74; National Archives and Records Administration.

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