JOHN RUSSELL LAWTON was the son of Lizzie Lawton who at the of age 17, arrived in Boston from Queenstown, Ireland on board the S.S. Saxonia. Saxonia sailed from Queenstown (now called Cobh) on 18 April 1906 arriving in Boston on 26 April 1906. According to the ship's manifest, Lizzie's destination was Quincy, MA. She had $10 on her person and was a servant. Her last residence in Ireland was in Midleton (sic), County Cork. Her sponsor and the person who paid for her passage was her uncle, William Wallace, who lived on Spring St., Quincy, MA (William was about 25 when he emigrated to America in 1899. He never married and lived in Quincy until his death in 1948). The ship's manifest and the two birth records are the only documents that I could find about Lizzie. The two birth records are the only ones that name her as John's mother.
There has been recent speculation that Lizzie may have been taken to an Unwed Mother's Home in Quebec, Canada when she was pregnant. As an unwed mother, she was probably separated from her baby at birth. Most often the child would have been put up for adoption. The "penitent" as Lizzie would have been referred to, was required to change her name so as not to bring shame to her family (hence her disappearance from records). Most of the residents were Roman Catholic between the ages of 18-22 and almost half were domestic servants like her. John lived with the Paradise Family who were immigrants from Quebec and could have adopted him in Quebec and returned with him to Quincy. Unfortunately, I have no records to substantiate an adoption.
John was nowhere to be found in the 1910 or 1920 Massachusetts Federal census reports nor in the Canadian census of 1911 or 1921. In the 1930 US census, John's surname was spelled Laton. He was enumerated then with the Paradise family for the first time.
According to dad, his first language was French. He said life with the Paradise's was difficult. My father was bitter about his circumstances and would almost never talk about his early life. I found from his personal records that growing up he was an amateur radio enthusiast and rode an Indian motorcycle during the 1920s. He served from 1926 to 1929 with the MA National Guard (I never knew this). In 1932, he married Christine L. Connolly in Quincy, Norfolk, MA. They were the parents of three daughters, Lorraine Mary, Dorothy Ann and Patricia J. Lawton. He worked as a ship fitter in the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, MA and the Hingham Shipyard during WWII. One of the ships he worked on much later was part of the Apollo space program. After he and Christine divorced, he married Doris Elizabeth McLaughlin on 26 Nov 1945 in Braintree, Norfolk, MA. They were the parents of three children. After the war, shipping contracts dried up and layoffs ensued. Dad drove a truck on Otis Air Force base in Barnstable County on Cape Cod after the war. Over the years he worked as a carpenter's helper and later returned to Fore River when ship building picked up. Our family moved often it seemed (I attended 8 different grammar, junior high and high schools). From Wareham to Rockland then Braintree, Weymouth, then East Braintree. Doris and John divorced in 1965. He returned to Quincy and later entered an assisted living facility in Braintree where he died in 2006 in his 97th year. He was a life-long non-smoker and never drank alcohol, but he did like to dance.
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John R Lawton, 96, of Braintree, a retired shipfitter, died Sunday at John Scott House in Braintree. Mr Lawton worked at the Fore River shipyard in Quincy for many years. He enjoyed ballroom dancing, especially at the Bryan VFW Post in Quincy. Born and educated in Quincy, Mr Lawton lived in the city most of his life before moving to Braintree seven years ago. He is survived by two daughters, Dorothy A Hutton and Patricia J Doyle of Quincy; two sons; 10 grandchildren, several great-grandchildren and several great-great grandchildren. He was the father of the late Lorraine Breen-Salvatore and the late Jack Lawton and grandfather of the late Michael Breen and Beth Lawton. Burial will be in Pine Hill Cemetery, Quincy.
Obituary from The Patriot Ledger, 17 April 2006. Original obituary edited for content.
There has been recent speculation that Lizzie may have been taken to an Unwed Mother's Home in Quebec, Canada when she was pregnant. As an unwed mother, she was probably separated from her baby at birth. Most often the child would have been put up for adoption. The "penitent" as Lizzie would have been referred to, was required to change her name so as not to bring shame to her family (hence her disappearance from records). Most of the residents were Roman Catholic between the ages of 18-22 and almost half were domestic servants like her. John lived with the Paradise Family who were immigrants from Quebec and could have adopted him in Quebec and returned with him to Quincy. Unfortunately, I have no records to substantiate an adoption.
John was nowhere to be found in the 1910 or 1920 Massachusetts Federal census reports nor in the Canadian census of 1911 or 1921. In the 1930 US census, John's surname was spelled Laton. He was enumerated then with the Paradise family for the first time.
According to dad, his first language was French. He said life with the Paradise's was difficult. My father was bitter about his circumstances and would almost never talk about his early life. I found from his personal records that growing up he was an amateur radio enthusiast and rode an Indian motorcycle during the 1920s. He served from 1926 to 1929 with the MA National Guard (I never knew this). In 1932, he married Christine L. Connolly in Quincy, Norfolk, MA. They were the parents of three daughters, Lorraine Mary, Dorothy Ann and Patricia J. Lawton. He worked as a ship fitter in the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, MA and the Hingham Shipyard during WWII. One of the ships he worked on much later was part of the Apollo space program. After he and Christine divorced, he married Doris Elizabeth McLaughlin on 26 Nov 1945 in Braintree, Norfolk, MA. They were the parents of three children. After the war, shipping contracts dried up and layoffs ensued. Dad drove a truck on Otis Air Force base in Barnstable County on Cape Cod after the war. Over the years he worked as a carpenter's helper and later returned to Fore River when ship building picked up. Our family moved often it seemed (I attended 8 different grammar, junior high and high schools). From Wareham to Rockland then Braintree, Weymouth, then East Braintree. Doris and John divorced in 1965. He returned to Quincy and later entered an assisted living facility in Braintree where he died in 2006 in his 97th year. He was a life-long non-smoker and never drank alcohol, but he did like to dance.
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John R Lawton, 96, of Braintree, a retired shipfitter, died Sunday at John Scott House in Braintree. Mr Lawton worked at the Fore River shipyard in Quincy for many years. He enjoyed ballroom dancing, especially at the Bryan VFW Post in Quincy. Born and educated in Quincy, Mr Lawton lived in the city most of his life before moving to Braintree seven years ago. He is survived by two daughters, Dorothy A Hutton and Patricia J Doyle of Quincy; two sons; 10 grandchildren, several great-grandchildren and several great-great grandchildren. He was the father of the late Lorraine Breen-Salvatore and the late Jack Lawton and grandfather of the late Michael Breen and Beth Lawton. Burial will be in Pine Hill Cemetery, Quincy.
Obituary from The Patriot Ledger, 17 April 2006. Original obituary edited for content.
JOHN RUSSELL LAWTON was the son of Lizzie Lawton who at the of age 17, arrived in Boston from Queenstown, Ireland on board the S.S. Saxonia. Saxonia sailed from Queenstown (now called Cobh) on 18 April 1906 arriving in Boston on 26 April 1906. According to the ship's manifest, Lizzie's destination was Quincy, MA. She had $10 on her person and was a servant. Her last residence in Ireland was in Midleton (sic), County Cork. Her sponsor and the person who paid for her passage was her uncle, William Wallace, who lived on Spring St., Quincy, MA (William was about 25 when he emigrated to America in 1899. He never married and lived in Quincy until his death in 1948). The ship's manifest and the two birth records are the only documents that I could find about Lizzie. The two birth records are the only ones that name her as John's mother.
There has been recent speculation that Lizzie may have been taken to an Unwed Mother's Home in Quebec, Canada when she was pregnant. As an unwed mother, she was probably separated from her baby at birth. Most often the child would have been put up for adoption. The "penitent" as Lizzie would have been referred to, was required to change her name so as not to bring shame to her family (hence her disappearance from records). Most of the residents were Roman Catholic between the ages of 18-22 and almost half were domestic servants like her. John lived with the Paradise Family who were immigrants from Quebec and could have adopted him in Quebec and returned with him to Quincy. Unfortunately, I have no records to substantiate an adoption.
John was nowhere to be found in the 1910 or 1920 Massachusetts Federal census reports nor in the Canadian census of 1911 or 1921. In the 1930 US census, John's surname was spelled Laton. He was enumerated then with the Paradise family for the first time.
According to dad, his first language was French. He said life with the Paradise's was difficult. My father was bitter about his circumstances and would almost never talk about his early life. I found from his personal records that growing up he was an amateur radio enthusiast and rode an Indian motorcycle during the 1920s. He served from 1926 to 1929 with the MA National Guard (I never knew this). In 1932, he married Christine L. Connolly in Quincy, Norfolk, MA. They were the parents of three daughters, Lorraine Mary, Dorothy Ann and Patricia J. Lawton. He worked as a ship fitter in the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, MA and the Hingham Shipyard during WWII. One of the ships he worked on much later was part of the Apollo space program. After he and Christine divorced, he married Doris Elizabeth McLaughlin on 26 Nov 1945 in Braintree, Norfolk, MA. They were the parents of three children. After the war, shipping contracts dried up and layoffs ensued. Dad drove a truck on Otis Air Force base in Barnstable County on Cape Cod after the war. Over the years he worked as a carpenter's helper and later returned to Fore River when ship building picked up. Our family moved often it seemed (I attended 8 different grammar, junior high and high schools). From Wareham to Rockland then Braintree, Weymouth, then East Braintree. Doris and John divorced in 1965. He returned to Quincy and later entered an assisted living facility in Braintree where he died in 2006 in his 97th year. He was a life-long non-smoker and never drank alcohol, but he did like to dance.
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John R Lawton, 96, of Braintree, a retired shipfitter, died Sunday at John Scott House in Braintree. Mr Lawton worked at the Fore River shipyard in Quincy for many years. He enjoyed ballroom dancing, especially at the Bryan VFW Post in Quincy. Born and educated in Quincy, Mr Lawton lived in the city most of his life before moving to Braintree seven years ago. He is survived by two daughters, Dorothy A Hutton and Patricia J Doyle of Quincy; two sons; 10 grandchildren, several great-grandchildren and several great-great grandchildren. He was the father of the late Lorraine Breen-Salvatore and the late Jack Lawton and grandfather of the late Michael Breen and Beth Lawton. Burial will be in Pine Hill Cemetery, Quincy.
Obituary from The Patriot Ledger, 17 April 2006. Original obituary edited for content.
There has been recent speculation that Lizzie may have been taken to an Unwed Mother's Home in Quebec, Canada when she was pregnant. As an unwed mother, she was probably separated from her baby at birth. Most often the child would have been put up for adoption. The "penitent" as Lizzie would have been referred to, was required to change her name so as not to bring shame to her family (hence her disappearance from records). Most of the residents were Roman Catholic between the ages of 18-22 and almost half were domestic servants like her. John lived with the Paradise Family who were immigrants from Quebec and could have adopted him in Quebec and returned with him to Quincy. Unfortunately, I have no records to substantiate an adoption.
John was nowhere to be found in the 1910 or 1920 Massachusetts Federal census reports nor in the Canadian census of 1911 or 1921. In the 1930 US census, John's surname was spelled Laton. He was enumerated then with the Paradise family for the first time.
According to dad, his first language was French. He said life with the Paradise's was difficult. My father was bitter about his circumstances and would almost never talk about his early life. I found from his personal records that growing up he was an amateur radio enthusiast and rode an Indian motorcycle during the 1920s. He served from 1926 to 1929 with the MA National Guard (I never knew this). In 1932, he married Christine L. Connolly in Quincy, Norfolk, MA. They were the parents of three daughters, Lorraine Mary, Dorothy Ann and Patricia J. Lawton. He worked as a ship fitter in the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, MA and the Hingham Shipyard during WWII. One of the ships he worked on much later was part of the Apollo space program. After he and Christine divorced, he married Doris Elizabeth McLaughlin on 26 Nov 1945 in Braintree, Norfolk, MA. They were the parents of three children. After the war, shipping contracts dried up and layoffs ensued. Dad drove a truck on Otis Air Force base in Barnstable County on Cape Cod after the war. Over the years he worked as a carpenter's helper and later returned to Fore River when ship building picked up. Our family moved often it seemed (I attended 8 different grammar, junior high and high schools). From Wareham to Rockland then Braintree, Weymouth, then East Braintree. Doris and John divorced in 1965. He returned to Quincy and later entered an assisted living facility in Braintree where he died in 2006 in his 97th year. He was a life-long non-smoker and never drank alcohol, but he did like to dance.
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John R Lawton, 96, of Braintree, a retired shipfitter, died Sunday at John Scott House in Braintree. Mr Lawton worked at the Fore River shipyard in Quincy for many years. He enjoyed ballroom dancing, especially at the Bryan VFW Post in Quincy. Born and educated in Quincy, Mr Lawton lived in the city most of his life before moving to Braintree seven years ago. He is survived by two daughters, Dorothy A Hutton and Patricia J Doyle of Quincy; two sons; 10 grandchildren, several great-grandchildren and several great-great grandchildren. He was the father of the late Lorraine Breen-Salvatore and the late Jack Lawton and grandfather of the late Michael Breen and Beth Lawton. Burial will be in Pine Hill Cemetery, Quincy.
Obituary from The Patriot Ledger, 17 April 2006. Original obituary edited for content.
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