Earle A. Bigelow is listed among the service records maintained by Dr. Nathaniel Royal Perkins. During World I, Dr. Perkins was employed by the draft registration board to examine young men for the draft. During this job, he befriended many servicemen and kept track of their military service during the war. Dr. Perkins died in 1922, and his widow, Clara, donated the collection to the Dorchester Historical Society in 1924.
Earle A. Bigelow lived at 1242 Morton Street, Mattapan.
Earle Atwood Bigelow and his twin sister Ethel A. Bigelow were born in Chelsea on January 6, 1895. Their parents were originally from Vermont: Frank W. Bigelow was a picture framer and Flora B. (Ladd) Bigelow was a homemaker. In 1900 the family was living in Hyde Park, and by 1910 they were at 1242 Morton Street in Mattapan, near the intersection of Morton Street and Washington Street in Lower Mills.
Earle’s World War I draft registration card says that he was an agent for the Hotel & Railroad News Service, just over the line in Milton. He was of medium height and build, with blue eyes and blond hair. He enlisted in the US Naval Reserve Force on June 25, 1917 and served as a cornetist withe band with the rank of Musician 1st Class. He was sent to the Naval Training Camp in Hingham, Massachusetts for a few weeks, then to the Naval Hospital at Chelsea. He was back at the training camp from October 9, 1917, to July 16, 1918. For a few days hew as at the Receiving Ship at Boston, then he was assigned to the USS Rochester until November 11, 1918, when he went on inactive duty. He was discharged on April 2, 1919.
His wedding announcement appeared in the Boston Globe on January 17, 1918. His parents announced that he would marry Viola La Frances Flagg, of Dorchester, formerly of Auburn, Maine. The Rev. Philip King , of Brookline, officiated. King had formerly been pastor of the Village Church, Dorchester. Earle and Viola lived at 17 Tolman Street, Dorchester, in 1920. By 1930 their marriage had ended in divorce, and Earle was living with his parents again at 1242 Morton Street.
Earle was an accountant who worked on his own account and sometimes for employers. In the 1930s he moved to East Braintree and later to South Weymouth. His World War II registration card gives his address as 120 Mill Street, Weymouth. He was working at the Furnace Brook Garage in Quincy. He listed his sister Ethel, Mrs. Walter Crawford, of 50 Old Morton Street, Mattapan as his contact person. In 1947 he joined the Delta Lodge of the Masons, listing his occupation as service manager.
Earle Atwood Bigelow died in Polk, Florida, on October 8, 1963.
Sources:
Birth Record on Ancestry.com
Boston Globe on Newspapers.com
City directories on Ancestry.com
Florida death index on Ancestry.com
Masons membership card on Ancestry .com
Social Security Administration Social Security Death Index on Ancestry.com
US Census 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 on Ancestry.com
World War I and World War II registration cards on Ancestry.com
World War I service record. Military, Compiled Service Records. World War I. Carded Records. Records
of the Military Division of the Adjutant General’s Office, Massachusetts National Guard.