The Crostons of Haverhill, Part 2: Francis Croston and Susan Love

In Part 1 of this article I wrote about the origin of my family line that immigrated from County Cork, Ireland to Bradford, Massachusetts. My ancestor John W. Croston's younger siblings Thomas Croston and Sarah (nee Croston) Baker and their sons were the first to immigrate. They lived in a house on Summer Street in Bradford. Their sons worked in the Haverhill shoe factories.

In 1850 when Thomas and Sarah settled in Bradford the population was just over 1,300 people. If you look at the map below you see the location of the house on Summer Street. You will also see an arrow pointing to the home of  F. Crostin, only a few blocks away on Main Street.

No knowledge of the relationship of any other Croston family in the area to my family tree was passed down through the generations.

This F. Crostin was Francis (Frank) Croston. Frank arrived in Boston before 1839. Frank married Susan Love in Boston 18 May 1839.

In 1840 the couple had settled near 145 Purchase St. in Boston. This area is now known as the Financial District and was near modern day South Station. It was also close to the North End, most of this area, being close to the harbor, was a common place for Irish immigrants to live after they came off the ships in America.

Buildings at 145 Purchase Street Boston, MA

In the 1840 Census of Boston, Francis was living in the 8th Ward. At the time he was age 30-40 and living with his wife Susan, age 20-30 and an older woman age 50-60.

By 1850 Frank and Susan had moved to Bradford and were living on Main Street. Franks occupation was "Laborer". By this time Frank and Susan had 6 children. Also living in the house was Susan's mother Mary Love, age 60 and a male age 24 named George. The value of real estate owned  was $800, which shows that Frank had purchased the property where they lived.

Frank's wife Susan was born in Ireland about 1821. It can be assumed that she immigrated with her mother Mary (nee Good) Love before 1839.

Frank was born in Ireland around 1802. His occupation was Stone Mason. He might have been taught this trade in Ireland as most structures there were made of stone. It also was a desired skill in Boston and it enabled him to save up enough money to purchase the house on Main Street in Bradford.

The house that Frank purchased in 1850 was the old Bradford schoolhouse, which was erected in 1797. The school was in use until 1832 when a new brick building replaced it.

According to an article in the Haverhill Gazette 24 March 1910 Frank renovated the house before moving his family into the property:

"Frank Croston, who was a resident of the town then purchased the schoolhouse property... and he remodeled the house, built it up to two stories and was the designer of the present structure. It remained in the Croston family since then but the building has been sold to be removed to make way for the modern residence and it will disappear from sight, leaving a vacancy, which in the middle of old timers can never be filled."

In 1910 the house was sold to C. Herbert Poor, whose wife had inherited substantial real estate in Bradford. They moved the house to Cogswell Avenue where it still stands today and built a new and modern house on the old site.

Frank and Susan had 10 children:

-Mary A. Croston b. 1840, Boston, m. Levi Stephens 1879 in Acton, MA, occupation dressmaker

-Elizabeth (Lizzie) Croston b. 1841, m. Captain William Paddock (Mariner)

-John H. Croston, b. 1843, went missing about 1870

-Sarah Rebecca Croston, b. 1844, did not marry, occupation stitcher

-Susan Croston, b. 1846, m. Charles Johns 1872

-George T. Croston b. 1849, did not marry, occupation engine builder

-Alice Croston b. 1851, m. Williard Eugene Atwoood 1877

-Lavinia Croston b. 1853, died age 11 of diptheria

-Francis "Frank" E. Croston, b. 1855, m. Annie O'Leary 1900, occupation shoe factory worker

-William Croston, b. 1855, died age 5 of diptheria

If you have not already noticed a naming pattern here or when comparing to your own Croston family tree, you will start to see it emerge soon. 

Frank seems to gave been very skilled and resourceful. He lived a long life, passing away around the age of 90 in 1892. On his death record it states that his parents names were: John Croston and Mary Vaseing,

Susan was about 20 years younger and lived to the age of 89. Below is her will:

For a variety of reasons it appears that none of Frank and Susan's children had children, so the line ends here. 

Not much else is known about the life of Frank and Susan and there is no concrete connection that I have found tying him to the other Croston families, although I do have some clues and theories which I will outline in the conclusion of this article.

It is important to think about the political and religious divide in Ireland at the time and how it related to the Croston family. Many of the questions about relationships as well as rational for grouping family members together comes down to what their religious beliefs were, so I will continue to return to this subject.

The only marriage records for Frank and Susan are from a newspaper and a civil record. After several attempts to find a church record I have not yet discovered where they were married. Their children were all married in Episcopal or Unitarian churches so I conclude that Frank and Susan were Protestant. In Ireland their church would have been part of the Church of Ireland. This is confirmed by the final resting place of many of the family members including Frank and Susan in Elmwood Cemetery which is a nondenominational cemetery. 

I hate to end Part 2 on a somber note, but the death record of Susan (nee Love) Croston is a good example of how the paths of the 3 Croston families cross in the vital records and census' documents of Haverhill and therefore is an appropriate lead in to Part 3, which I will post later this week.

Death Record of Susan Croston

In the above record in the box on the right under "Physician's Certificate" you will see the name of the physician who cared for Susan from the start of her illness and for 12 days until her death on Oct 22nd. His Name was John F. Croston, M.D., of Haverhill, MA.

Up next: Part 3: the family of  Dr. John F. Croston