No 13149 Robert Stone (left) and Samuel Cohen
Photograph of Robert Stone and Samuel Cohen. Contained in an album at the Dorchester Historical Society of about 150 photos kept by Nathaniel R. Perkins, MD, who examined thousands of men who were going into the war, 1914-1918. Given by Mrs N. R. Perkins in accordance with instructions from her late husband, Dr. Nathaniel P. Perkins of 1122 Adams St, Dorchester. Index catalog has entries for the individuals.
Robert Stone 155 Wellington St Dorchester Enlisted Aug 1918 Garden City LI, overseas Sept 21 Aviation Field 1 Briston England discharged Dec 8, 1918
Robert Stone. Written by Donna Albino.
Robert Stone was born in Russia on August 9, 1899, to Morris and Anna Stone. The family immigrated to the United States sometime between 1909, when their sixth child was born in Russia, and 1911, when Robert became a naturalized citizen of the United States. The Stone family was living in Mattapan on 155 Wellington Hill Street when Robert joined the Army to fight in the Great War on August 18, 1918, just a few days after he turned 19 years old. Robert went overseas to Bristol, England on September 21 to work at an aviation field there. His service card reveals he worked with the Handley Page bomber until his discharge in December 8, 1918. There are no records detailing the extent of his war experience, but the Handley Page was used in several bombing raids in October on Kaiserslautern, a city in southwest Germany, and it appears likely that Robert was part of that effort.
When Robert was discharged from the war effort in December 1918, he returned to his parents’ home in Mattapan. The 1920 census reveals that the family was still living at 155 Wellington Hill Street. His father, Morris, was listed in the census as retired at age 48, which suggests that perhaps he was disabled. Nine of the children still lived with their parents, from age 6 to 23. Robert was 20 years old, and working as a chauffeur. His two oldest brothers were working in moving pictures, one as a manager and one as a shipper. The family’s mother tongue was Yiddish, but all of them spoke English.
In 1921, Robert married a Polish immigrant named Rita Sheinberg (a Boston Globe announcement spelled her name as Reta Schunberg) in Brockton. By the 1930 census, Rita and Robert were living in Hyde Park in their own home with two sons and a daughter. Robert was working as a salesman for a tool factory. By the 1940 census, they had moved less than a mile away to another home in Hyde Park. Robert was then a trustee salesman for a tire retreading company. His three teenagers were still in school.
In 1960, Robert and his wife Rita were still living in the Hyde Park home where they had lived when they were documented for the 1940 census. On April 2, 1961, Robert passed away suddenly in Florida. His three children, his surviving seven siblings, and six grandchildren gathered for services in Brookline. There was no mention in his obituary of where he is buried. After Robert’s death, his wife relocated to Newton, where their daughter Eva lived, and Rita remained unmarried for the rest of her life. Rita passed away in 1989, and is buried at Mishkan Tefila Memorial Park in West Roxbury.
Sources:
Year: 1920; Census Place: Boston Ward 21, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_739; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 519
Year: 1930; Census Place: Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Page: 28A; Enumeration District: 0478; FHL microfilm: 2340690
Year: 1940; Census Place: Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: m-t0627-01678; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 15-633
Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Marriage Index, 1901-1955 and 1966-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.
The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 01 Aug 1921, Mon page 5
The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 04 Apr 1961, Tue page 47
The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) 09 Nov 1989, Thu page 117
Cole Family Tree by dfp150, Ancestry.com
Wikipedia, Handley Page Type O