Jane Merrill

  General Notes:

Research of G. Blackburn

the following was written by Jane Merrill (grand daughter of Luther Gould Straw):
".....at 12 yrs of age , (Samuel Eastman Straw) died and being the eldest son, Grandpa (Luther) went to work in Lynn in the shoe factory in order to support the family. At some point in time he married Mary...and they moved to Salem.
They had three children..following the death of Mary her children went to live with their maternal relatives in So. Berwick, ME....
At the time of the great Salem fire in 1914 grandpa's factory was burned....
Because the unions were moving into MA mills and factories, Grandpa made the decision to move to Augusta, ME and took over a factory in Hollewell...
Grandpa lost his money in the stock market crash in 1929 (aided aparently by poor investments in Florida real estate suggested by great-grandma Sykes)..they...took in room renters...Grandpa took over the vegetable garden- back to his earliest years as a farmer- and they were able to make a good and comfortable life for themselves...."

www.google.com
MERRILL, Jane Of Newton, March 1, 2013. Beloved sister of the late Carleton P. and Edward Merrill. Dear Sister in Law of Treva (Rector) Merrill of Newton and Eva Austin of Wilmington, Delaware. Family and friends will gather for a Funeral Service in the Eliot Church of Newton/UCC, 474 Centre St., Newton Corner, MA 02458, Thursday, March 7 at 10:00 AM. In lieu of flowers remembrances may be made in Jane's memory to the Eliot Church of Newton. Burke & Blackington Funeral Home www.BurkeFamilyFuneralHomes.com
Published in The Boston Globe on Mar. 3, 2013 -