Contributed by Lubec Historical Society
Description
“My mother had labeled it South Lubec along with the other details on the back,” wrote descendant Betsey Leavitt Josselyn in 2010. “My grandmother, Nora Leavitt Mahoney and her brother Paul Mahoney, spent their early years with their maternal grandparents after the death of their mother, Lulu Ellen Leavitt Mahoney. She died after giving birth to Paul when my grandmother was two years old.
In this photograph, my grandmother Nora can be seen hiding behind her grandmother Wealthy Ellen Wormell Leavitt’s skirt, and Paul is in the arms of their grandfather, Loring Leavitt. They look to be about four and two, placing this photo close to 1897.” Loring Leavitt was an assistant keeper of West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, at the end of South Lubec Road, from 1861 to 1867. Wealthy Ellen was a daughter of Ebeneezer Wormell, keeper in the 1850s. The moustached gentleman in front of the cellar door and the heavily bearded man seated in the carriage are not identified.
The epitome of rural life around the beginning of the 20th century is captured in this photograph. Note the scroll work on the porch overhang supports, a Victorian touch to this simple cape dwelling. There is a carriage barn in the rear, attached for more comfortable access in Maine winters. The barren landscape testifies to a time when firewood was the primary fuel.
About This Item
- Title: Loring Leavitt homestead, Lubec, ca. 1897, ca. 1897
- Creation Date: circa 1897
- Subject Date: circa 1897
- Location: Lubec, Washington County, ME
- Media: Photograph on card, trimmed along bottom
- Dimensions: 12.0 cm x 19.6 cm
- Local Code: 378 jpg
- Collection: Betsey Leavitt Josselyn
- Object Type: Image
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
- Dwellings--Maine--Lubec
- Houses--Maine--Lubec
- Lighthouse keepers--Maine--Lubec
- Families--Maine--Lubec
- Leavitt family
People
Other Keywords
For more information about this item, contact:
Lubec Historical Society135 Main Street, Lubec, ME 04652
Use of this Item is not restricted by copyright and/or related rights, but the holding organization is contractually obligated to limit use. For more information, please contact the contributing organization. However, watermarked Maine Memory Network images may be used for educational purposes.
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