July 28, 1943 – Merton's War Diary

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July 28, 1943

Left #1 on the Iris, a Norwegian freight and passenger boat.

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The Iris - from www.sjohistorie.no

#1 was the code name of the base that Merton had been staying at.  I believe there were 7 in total.

The site warsailors.com has a great page on the history of the Iris including a crew list and convoy records. She rescued several sailors from ships sunk to U Boats over her carrer.

It is these old photos and documents that bring these journal pages to life for me.

The Norwegian site www.sjohistorie.no has another great photo of the ship as well.

In 1943 and 1944,  my Grandfather Merton Young traveled to Greenland while working for the Merritt-Chapman & Scott Company. He wrote a brief diary of his journey and this is a piece of that story.

Next Entry – July 30, 1943

July 21, 1943 – Merton's War Diary

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July 21, 1943
Went fishing in fjord with 2 soldiers. One of them caught a big codfish that had a hook in with a line, rod and reel attached!!

What a fish story indeed!  With Merton being from Cape Cod, it did make me wonder if the Cape was indeed named after the Cod Fish.

Iceland is Close to Greenland - Sigfús Eymundsson (1837 - 1911) - Scanned from "Þór Magnússon (1976). Ljósmyndir Sigfúsar Eymundssonar Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík." page 73

Iceland is Close to Greenland – Sigfús Eymundsson (1837 – 1911) – Scanned from “Þór Magnússon (1976). Ljósmyndir Sigfúsar Eymundssonar Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík.” page 73

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Hudson, NH – Genealogy Club

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Last week held the second Friday of the month which meant that the Genealogy Club of Hudson NH met at the Rodgers Memorial Library.

This was the first time that I had attended and I found it very interesting.  Genealogists from all levels were present.  One with 40+ years of experience to someone who has not even begun yet and was looking for guidance on where to start.

The Rodgers Library in Hudson NH. Image Courtesy of The Rodgers Library http://www.rodgerslibrary.org/

The Rodgers Memorial Library in Hudson NH.  Image Courtesy of The Rodgers Library http://www.rodgerslibrary.org/

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A Hamilton Railway Special

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After reading the July 8th entry of Merton’s War Journal [Link], my Mother commented something to the effect that ‘I don’t Listen to the family stories very well‘ and that the pocket watch did indeed come from within the family. She believes it did belong to my 2nd Great Grandfather – Leonard Ivy Young born in 1843 and died in 1924.

Railroad pocket watch believed to have belonged to Leonard Ivy Young b.1843 d.1924

Railroad pocket watch believed to have belonged to Leonard Ivy Young b.1843 d.1924

My Mother was kind enough to snap a quick photo of it to share.

This seems to be a Hamilton Railway Special – Probably made around 1912.  The Hamilton website has a similar model though the there are some distinct differences.  The earlier models seem to have a different logo treatment, as do some of the later.

Superbly designed and splendidly constructed, this watch achieved that high pinnacle of perfection. More than 200,000 pieces of the 940 movement were produced from 1900 to 1928. 18 size, 21 jewels.¹

Perhaps in another blog post we will talk about the glasses and diary in the background.

¹ From www.hamilton-museum.com/museum

July 8, 1943 – Merton's War Diary

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July 8, 1943
Went back to work with tools

The entries this month are much shorter and further apart.  I hope this means that Merton is keeping busy.

At least now though it seems that he is doing something in his profession.  Speaking of which – looking at the 1940 US Census records we can see Merton’s profession is listed as Carpenter in the Building / Construction Industry

[Image Extract – 1940 Census Merton]

Looking back to the 1930 US Census he is listed as a Carpenter as well.

In the 1920 US Census however he is only 16 years old.  Looking up to his father Louis Ivy Young, look what we can see…

[Image Extract – 1920 Census – Louis]

Yup – it runs in the family… though I have a hard time cutting a straight line.¹

In 1943 and 1944, my Grandfather Merton Young traveled to Greenland while working for the Merritt-Chapman & Scott Company. He wrote a brief diary of his journey and this is a piece of that story.

Next Entry – July 16, 1943

¹My father was an engineer and pretty handy with tools as well.  Looking at the census record’s for Louis’s father reveals that he was a mariner in his earlier days and a Railroad Station Agent in the later.  I know within the family heirlooms we have a railroad pocket watch and in researching for this blog post I immediately wonder if this belonged to him.  I will keep you all posted on this as I find anything out.

Of Tea and Independence

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Happy Independence Day!

Back in 1773, a group of rebels, AKA The Sons of Liberty, boarded ships in Boston Harbor and made quite the mess by dumping 92,000 pounds of tea owned by the Brittish East Inda Company into the water.*

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Elkanah Young of Mount Desert Island Maine, was one of these ‘Sons’ who partook in these activities that ultimatley led to the American Revolution.

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How he got from Maine to Boston is still a mystery to me but one I hope to find out someday.

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* Check out The Boston Tea Party Ship Page [Link] for more facts and mythbusting.