Glorious Fourth

"The Glorious Fourth. 

The entire Family gathered in the grove ... 

After lunch they had a parade.  

Will's family drove down and back by carriage.  John & Oda returned by train. "

This entry in Mary Ward Nichols' 1913 diary caught my attention.  I smile to think of "Will's family" coming by carriage.  That would be William Stanley Nichols at age 31 and his young family coming from North Andover, MA. His family included his wife Nellie and two sons, Edward and Nathan. Nathan was only 18 months old.  

Context:  Nathan later became my father.  "Will" became known to me as "Granddaddy."  But in 1913 Will was Rev. William S. Nichols, minister in the North Parish Church of North Andover, where he served from 1909 to 1919.

Will had grown up in Danvers in that house at Pine Knoll, where his aunt Mary Ward Nichols was living and keeping a diary.  I happen to have a box of her diaries now in my home. 

It's interesting to catch this glimpse of an earlier 4th of July with my grandfather and his family.  I wish I had a picture of the carriage they used. 

In the 1950's we probably all WALKED to the Pine Knoll family gatherings. Granddaddy by then had retired and returned to Danvers to live. We lived next door to him, at 120 Nichols Street. Walks to PK to visit with the great aunts and cousins were frequent and routine. No carriages. I don't recall a parade, either.  I guess I was born a bit late for those.  I do recall various automobiles parked along the PK driveway.   

Here's another view MWN's 1913 diary entry:

Click on image to enlarge

Each page of this 1913 diary measures just 3" x 4.75".  

Her 1914 diary was even smaller (2" x 4"), with entries very hard to read. In 1914 she did not write anything on July 4, nor for several days following.