Norman Parks Belyea by Camille Arbogast.
Norman Parks Belyea was born on August 13, 1893, in Dorchester at 21 Oak Terrace (today’s Oakhurst Street). His parents, Helen Matilda (Northrup), known as Matilda, and Lewis Albert Belyea were originally from New Brunswick. Lewis was a house carpenter who immigrated to the United States in the 1880s. Matilda arrived in the 1890s. Prior to her marriage she was a dressmaker. They were married in 1892. It was Lewis’s second marriage. Norman was an only child.
In 1899, the Belyeas lived at 138 Greenwood Street. A year later they relocated to 3 Page Street. Living with them was Norman’s maternal grandmother, Rhoda. By 1902, Norman and his parents had moved to 64 Callender Street. That year, Norman graduated from the Roger Wolcott School, which stood on the corner of Norfolk and Morton Streets. Norman also attended four years of high school, according to the 1940 census.
In 1912, Norman appeared in the Boston directory as a “folder.” By 1915, he was employed as a transitman, or surveyor, with H.T. Whitman & C. Howard, a real estate surveying firm with offices at 220 Devonshire Street in Boston. Norman also dabbled in real estate. He ran an advertisement in the Boston Globe in April 1915, offering a “FINE lot of land, level and dry … 2 minutes to Charles River, with swimming and canoeing. 5c fare to Boston.” In April 1917, he was selling a lot in Dorchester, “2 minutes to steam, electrics and stores,” which would be “good for 3-flat.” Perhaps thinking he might soon be drafted, in May 1918, Norman gave his mother power of attorney, allowing her to “lease, rent, mortgage or sell” real estate he held in Suffolk and Norfolk Counties.
On July 22, 1918, Norman was drafted and inducted into the Army. He was sent to the 151st Depot Brigade at Camp Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts, for training. On August 9, he was assigned to the 74th Infantry, which had recently been organized at Camp Devens. Initially a member of Company C, a week later he was transferred to Headquarters Company, where he served until his discharge. He was promoted to corporal on September 11. Norman was demobilized at Camp Devens and discharged on January 27, 1919.
After his military service, Norman returned to live with his parents at 64 Callender Street, which they had since purchased. He resumed his prior profession, employed as civil engineer with a land company. He was also still selling real estate. In April 1921, he advertised “2 lots of land in Dorchester” in a “good neighborhood.” In the mid-1920s, he was hired by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a civil engineer in the Department of Public Works, a position he held for the rest of his career.
On October 8, 1932, Norman married Flora May Herald of Everett, Massachusetts. She was an assistant secretary in a State Street law office. Norman and Flora were married at Everett’s Glendale Square Methodist Episcopal Church. After their marriage, they took a two-week honeymoon trip to Bermuda. The couple had two daughters, Priscilla born in 1934 and Virginia in 1942.
In December 1932, Norman and Flora purchased land in Milton, Massachusetts. While a home was built there they lived at 64 Callender Street. By 1935, they had moved into their new home at 49 Hills View Road, Milton. In 1940, it was valued at $13,000, and that same year, the census reported that Norman earned $3,200 a year. Norman’s father, Lewis, also lived at 49 Hills View Road with Norman and his family. Matilda had died in 1932; Lewis died in 1950.
On September 10, 1963, Norman died suddenly in Milton; his death certificate stated that he presumably suffered a coronary occlusion, or heart attack, as he “fell dead.” His funeral was held at the Milton Parkway Community Methodist Church on Blue Hills Parkway and he was buried in Dorchester’s Cedar Grove Cemetery. Norman had been a member of Union Lodge, AF & AM, and the Canopy Club of the State Engineers.
Researched and written by Camille Arbogast.
Sources:
Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911–1915. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA; Ancestry.com
Tisdale, Florence G. Belyea. The Genealogy of the Boulier-Bulyea-Belyea family, 1697-1969. [n.p], 1970; Archive.org
Family Tree; Ancestry.com
“Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001,” database, citing Marriage, Boston, Suffolk, MA, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FamilySearch.org
Boston directories, various years; Ancestry.com
1900, 1910, 1920, 1940 US Federal Census: Ancestry.com
“7911 Diplomas in Boston Public Schools,” Boston Globe, 23 June 1910: 4; Newspapers.com
Advertisement, Boston Globe, 4 April 1915: 36; Newspapers.com
Advertisement, Boston Globe, 8 April 1917: 36; Newspapers.com
Power of Attorney, filed 20 May 1918, Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, book 1397, page 261; NorfolkResearch.org
United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com
Military, Compiled Service Records. World War I. Carded Records. Records of the Military Division of the Adjutant General’s Office, Massachusetts National Guard.
Advertisement, Boston Globe, 3 April 1921: 37; Newspapers.com
“Miss Herald to be Bride of N.P. Belyea,” Boston Globe, 7 October 1932: 3; Newspapers.com
Deaths, Boston Globe, 13 January 1932: 26; Newspapers.com
Deed, filed13 December 1932, Milton, MA, Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, book 1979, page 550; NorfolkResearch.org
Certificate of Death filed 4 June 1968, Town of Milton, Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, book 4516, page 88; NorfolkResearch.org
Deaths, Boston Globe, 12 September 1963: 38; Newspapers.com