John Moses EASTHAM [67]

   Cause of his death was Stroke.

   User ID: 4.

  General Notes:

BIOGRAPHY: The family story goes that when Grampa was a mere six years old, his father took him by the hand, led him to the front door of their big and lovely home, opened it and deposited little John on the front step. Then he said to the little boy, "Go find a job now, and don't come home until you have found one. (This was an era when children worked, but I find it odd that Great-Grampa did not do the usual thing, which was to search for a good "master" for his son, bargain for terms, and then to apprentice him out for a specific period.)

BIOGRAPHY: Whether he meant it literally or not, little John took him literally. He spent at least two days looking for work, and for two nights he slept wherever he could find shelter. I vaguely remember being told that he was allowed to sleep on a shelf under a counter somewhere. Finally he found a job as a printer's devil, at the paltry pay of 1 or 2 pence per week. He returned home with the good news, and learned that his pence would be handed over to his father each week. Whether Grandpa felt bitter about this or not, I do not know, but his daughter Margie would relate with a definite distaste that "Your Great Grampa just doted on his daughters, but he made your grandfather go to work!"

BIOGRAPHY: I do not know what level of education Grampa had or what other work he did as a young man. His youngest son, my Uncle Tommy, told me that "He was in line to the next beadle of St. George's, but he didn't feel that he was religious enough for that. He wanted to be a butcher!" And in America, he was a butcher. Keep in mind that he could have inherited the position of beadle, which came with a respectable guaranteed salary, robes of office, and a position of significance within the community. Grampa, apparently, was something of a rebel!

BIOGRAPHY: Later in life, he met and fell in love with the daughter of an impoverished family. When he told his well-to-do and highly respected father of his intention of marrying Miss Maggie Marsden, he was told in no uncertain terms that he would be disinherited and disowned. The rebel nature revealed itself again as John and Maggie eloped and went to London. There they made a decent living selling Maggie's wonderful fish and chips in Piccadilly Circus. Somewhere along the line they decided to emigrate to Australia. Grampa had lung problems, and the warmer weather of Australia probably sounded beneficial, and the country was new and wide open -- a man could make his fortune!

BIOGRAPHY: They took ship for Australia, stopping over in New York to transfer to another ship. They had a layover of a couple of days during which to rest and sightsee. Gramma, a superstitious lady, visited a fortune-teller during this layover, and was horrified when the medium informed her, "You are going on a long ocean voyage, and your husband will not live to see your destination!" That did it. Gramma was nothing if not stubborn! She dug in her heels and absolutely refused to get back on the ship!

BIOGRAPHY: We next find them in South Attleboro, Massachusetts, where my mother was born. I do not know how long they lived there, or even why they chose Massachusetts, though I think it very intriguing that the only town named EASTHAM in the United States is not far from South Attleboro, Massachusetts! Did they perhaps have relatives there? Or did it just sound auspicious?

BIOGRAPHY: They did make at least two trips back to England. My Aunt Dorothy remembers living in England, and tells the story about her little brother Albert who wouldn't talk. They were beginning to think there was "something wrong with him", when one day they heard him rattling fluently along in French! Turned out that his best friend, who lived next door, was a French boy, and Uncle Albert had been soaking up the French spoken in his home!

BIOGRAPHY: When they did finally settle, it was in Chicago, Illinois. Again, I do not know their reasons for choosing that location, especially because Gramma's sister and at least one brother had settled far to the north in Toronto, Canada.

BIOGRAPHY: They lived in a typical house on School Street. They owned the home having paid $9,500 for it. I remember the house -- tall and narrow, made mostly of wood with a brick "English Basement" that was half above ground. This basement was often rented to boarders. There was an attic that was great fun to play in. There was a wooden back porch with a porch swing, all overlooking a small back yard bounded by a fence. I remember the smell of the old paint and being able to see a lot of other identical porches on either side of our yard. Very urban! It was a friendly street where all the neighbors knew one another and visited together frequently. Summer evenings were the time for everyone to sit out on the front porches and call to one another or wander over to one anther's yards. Noisy gangs of kids with glass jars would chase fireflies from one yard to the next. I remember flowers blooming in every tiny front yard, and usually short little fences with creaky front gates would surround the precious plants. The evening scents were lovely. Mom had lots of wonderful memories of School Street, and it is easy to understand why.

BIOGRAPHY: Grampa was from all accounts a remarkable and extremely likable man. Mom used to fondly remember how she and her siblings would bring friends home for dinner or a little visit, and years later -- long after she and her siblings were grown and gone -- they would come home to find their old friends sitting in the kitchen visiting with Grampa! He always had a smile, a joke, and a friendly word. When he died, his funeral was attended by crowds of people, all of whom had nothing but kind and loving words for him. My sister remembers him clearly, and absolutely adored him. She said he was the warmest, kindest and most patient person she ever knew other than our own mother (who, by the way, was said to have been Grampa's "pet"). Mom loved him with all her heart and always called him "Pop".

BIOGRAPHY: Grampa loved gadgets. He was the first one in the neighborhood to have a crystal radio, the first one to have a regular radio, the first one to have a car, the first one to have a television, etc. In fact, during the Depression, theirs was the only telephone for blocks around. So many people used Grampa's number on job applications, and so many people came to the door asking to use it to call on potential jobs, that Grampa finally couldn't keep up with the phone bill and actually had the regular phone removed and a PAY PHONE installed in his kitchen!

BIOGRAPHY: I hope other family members will add stories about Grampa. I wish I had known him -- he sounds like a wonderful person.

BIOGRAPHY: Susan Egan Wyatt
Alpharetta, GA
June 29, 1999

  Noted events in his life were:

• Address: 4 Butler Place, 23 June 1881, Preston, Lancashire, England, Great Britain. ¹³⁹

• Census: 1891 British Census, 5 April 1891, Preston, Lancashire, England, Great Britain. ¹⁴¹

• Census: 1901 Census, 31 March 1901, Preston, Lancashire, England, Great Britain. ¹⁴²

• Address: 2 New Kendal St, 6 March 1905, Preston, Lancashire, England, Great Britain. ¹⁴³

• Occupation: Mechanic, 6 March 1905, Preston, Lancashire, England, Great Britain. ¹⁴⁴ <Name>

• Immigration: from England to the United States, 25 November 1909, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA. ^145,146 Name: John Moses Eastham
Arrival Date: 25 Nov 1909
Age: 28 years
Estimated Birth Year: 1881
Gender: Male
Ethnic Background: English
Port of Departure: Liverpool, England
Ship Name: Saxonia
Port of Arrival: Boston, Massachusetts
Friend's Name: Uncle Robert Turner 927 N Main St Pawtucket, RI
Last Residence: England
Birthplace: Preston, England
Microfilm Roll Number: 142

• Physical Description: 5' 4", Brown Hair, Blue Eyes and "Fresh" Complexion. He had a scar on back of left hand, 25 November 1909, Chicago, Ward 15, Cook, Illinois, USA. ¹⁴⁷

• Arrival: from England aboard SS Baltic, 13 August 1914, Ellis Island, New York, New York, USA.

• Arrival, 1 August 1919. ¹⁴⁸

• Census: 1920 Census, 1 January 1920, 69 Lawn Ave, Pawtucket, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. ¹⁵

• Address: 1920 Census, 1 January 1920, 69 Lawn Ave, Pawtucket, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. ¹⁴⁹

• Occupation: Machinist in a machine shop, 1 January 1920, Pawtucket,Providence,Rhode Island,USA. ¹⁵

• Census: 1930 Census, 1 April 1930, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA. ¹⁴⁵

• Address: 1930 Census, 1 April 1930, 4151 School St, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA. ¹⁴⁵

• Draft Registration: U.S. World War II Draft Registration Card, Abt 1942, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA. ¹⁵⁰ Source Citation: Roll 30955_165770; Local board: Chicago , Illinois.

Source Information:
Ancestry.com. U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: United States, Selective Service System. Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. National Archives and Records Administration Branch locations: National Archives and Records Administration Region Branches.

• Cremation, March 1954, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA.

John married Margaret "Maggie" Elizabeth MARSDEN [68], daughter of James MARSDEN [10] and Elizabeth HARLING [150], on 6 March 1905 in St Paul's Church, Preston, Lancashire, England.¹⁴³ (Margaret "Maggie" Elizabeth MARSDEN [68] was born on 28 January 1882 in 6 St Peter Street, Preston, Lancashire, England, Great Britain ¹⁵¹, christened on 26 February 1882 in St John's, Preston, Lancashire, England, Great Britain ^152,153 and died in December 1974 in Wheeling,Cook,Illinois,USA ¹⁵⁴.)