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Mystery of Frances Appleton Packard

This past June I wrote about the importance of LGBTQ+ ancestors, stating that there are more queer ancestors within my family tree, and pointed out my fourth cousin five times removed, Frances Appleton Packard (1836-1902), noting that she "was always listed as single and never noted as marrying anyone, which can be a clue that the person is a queer individual". [1] In this post, I'd like to focus on her life.

Reprinted from my Packed with Packards! WordPress.

Frances was born in Brunswick, a town within Cumberland County, Maine on March 28, 1836 to Alpheus Spring Packard, Sr., a professor of Greek and Latin at Bowdoin College, and Frances Elizabeth Appleton, said to be a "woman of rare excellence". Unfortunately, when Frances A. was three years old, her mother would die for reasons not yet known. Frances A. next appears in the 1850 census, living with her father, Alpheus Sr., her five brothers (Charles A., William A., George L., Alpheus Jr., Robert L.), her stepmother Caroline W. Bartels (Alpheus Sr.'s second wife), and two boarders: 12-year-old George McLellan and 17-year-old Joanna Sillers. By 1860, however, she would not be living in the same household as her parents. Where she was living that year remains a mystery. But, one can make the supposition that she was still living in Brunswick, as she was living with her family in 1870 with her father and stepmother. This would be unchanged by 1880, as she still lived in Brunswick with her parents and an 18-year-old servant named Margaret Cusick in the household. [2]

Further evidence of her residence in Brunswick is made clear by one document: the school catalogue of Abbott Female Academy. She attended there between 1851 and 1852. She was among many married women, many of whom were from towns in New England or elsewhere. Abbott Academy, based in Andover, Massachusetts, was a well-known independent boarding prep school which was aimed at educating young women, with women proving key to its success, and was beginning to develop its robust curriculum. She would not be a student there the following term, from 1852 to 1853. She would only be briefly mentioned elsewhere, and additional records show that she was living in Bath, Maine (first on 21 Linden and later on 894 Washington), through the 1890s and into the early 1900s. In these records, she is never noted as marrying anyone else, always shown noted as being unmarried. [3] She would die on July 20, 1902 in Bath from bronchitis pneumonia and be noted as a housekeeper:

This image combines records from Maine, U.S., Death Records, 1761-1922 for Frances Appleton Packard, 1902, P, Maine State Archives; Cultural Building, 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084; 1892-1907 Vital Records; Roll Number: 43, Images 1-2. Charles, her brother, is noted as providing information about her.

She would be buried in Pine Grove Cemetery alongside her parents. Her Find A Grave entry only says two words currently: "Never married." [4] There's much more that can be said about her, however. A search on newspapers.com uncovered an obituary in the Sun-Journal which described her as a "woman of culture", a "deep student of literature" and member of the Fortnightly club. It also notes that she lived in Brunswick from her birth, in 1836 until the death of her father in 1884, and then moved to Bath, where she lived, meeting "many warm-hearted friends" which he kept until her death. It further notes her membership in the Congregational Church of Brunswick and later in the Winter street church in Bath. She was noted as dying, at the age of 63, at the home of her brother Charles who lived in Bath as well. Other notices pointed out that William, the sister of Frances, would administer his estate. [5]

We also learn, from the newspapers, that Frances visited the Bath Military and Naval Orphan Asylum in February 1898, where it turns out she worked as a "lady visitor" since at least January 1895. She is not to be confused with Frances Elizabeth Packard (1880-1971), daughter of Alpheus Jr. (Frances A.'s brother) and Elizabeth Derby Walcott who was said to be a "remarkably interesting young woman" who went on a trip to Europe, Asia, and Africa, from 1898 to 1899, and reportedly had "many friends" in Auburn and Lewiston. As for Frances A., one article confirmed her trip to Liverpool in 1899. She was clearly more than someone who was unmarried whose nickname was purportedly "Fanny", but a person who had a full life. [6]

The Bath Military and Naval Orphan Asylum was a place that helped out soldiers' orphans, and "half orphans of officers, soldiers, seamen and marines" who died while in combat or from wounds, injuries, or disease. This may be why Frances A. was listed as a housekeeper on her death record. It also included soldiers’ and sailor’s orphan children and grandchildren of any gender, specifically veterans of the Civil War. By January 1903, there were 69 children in the asylum plus 18 who were admitted and 25 taken in by other homes or relatives. Some children had been "farmed to outside homes" but came back to the asylum for "one reason or another".

In 1892, Frances A. voices her views on the aforementioned asylum in 1892 and shows that she is impressed by it [7]

In sum, much of the life of Frances Appleton Packard remains a mystery, complicated by the fact there were others who had similar names, leading to a propensity of false drops. Additionally, while she was noted as single throughout her life, I could find no indication that she ever had a partner. The supposition, based on what I said at the beginning of this post, that those listed as single may be queer is still a good one, but in the case of Frances A., all we can say is that she was single and unmarried throughout her life, as no evidence points to anything else. After all, thought her life, Maine had in place a sodomy law which imprisoned people for ten years, after a revision in 1840, for the crime of sodomy (anal sex, oral sex, or bestiality), laws which are usually used against gay or lesbian people. It would only be repealed in 1976. Even so, some have said that Maine has a "rich LGBT history that is relatively unknown". Interestingly, Brunswick is among the towns recommended for where LGBTQ people should move, while Bath is not. The exact history of LGBTQ people in those towns is still fuzzy, although one source said that "rural Maine gays who had little support in their small towns." That was likely the case for Brunswick and Bath, perhaps more for the latter than the former. [8] In sum, the story of Frances A., living in a town based in shipbuilding (Bath) and the center of activity for the Pejepscot region (Brunswick) remains unwritten, but this article is just the start.

Notes

[1] There are other ancestors that I believe might be gay or otherwise queer, since they never married: my great-granduncles Harold "Harry" Cyrus Packard (1907-1975), Herbert Miles Packard (1898-1966), and Thomas "Tom" Theodore Packard (1902-1975) (this would be funny as he was apparently staunchly Republican), my great-grandaunts Olive Martha Packard (1896-1969) and Rachel May Packard (1900-1933), my second great-uncle Joseph B. Mills (1844-1900), my first cousin two times removed Giles Franklin Whitley (1911-1970) who died in 1970. The same is the case for my great-granduncle Joseph Winfield Packard (1885-1910), but that is no surprise as he only lived to the age of 24 before a freight train took his life. The same is the case for my first cousin three times removed Harry Tilson Packard (1879-1915), my first cousin three times removed, who died at the age of 36 in Los Angeles, and my second great aunt Mary M. Packard (1862-1887) who died at only 24 years old. I also have a nonbinary cousin, whose name I won't mention here, and on that note, I'd love to find some nonbinary ancestors, although that could be a challenge. There's also the interesting fact that my second great-grandaunt Margaret "Maggie" E. Mills (1854-1920) and father of great-grandaunt Thomas H. Crosgrove (b. 1858) only had a child when they adopted Mabel Hattie Packard (1892-1961), my great-grandaunt who is the child of Cyrus Winfield Packard (1852-1924) and Dorothy "Dora" Ann Mills (1849-1895), adopted by Thomas and Mabel at age 3. Also, Mary Jane Mills (b. 1854) my 2nd great-grand aunt was not married, from the little we know about her, nor was my second great-grand uncle, William Mills (b. 1861), my first cousin three times removed, Joseph Arthur Packard (1891-1911) who died at age 20, my first cousin three times removed, Walter Archie Packard (1903-1928) who died at age 25 when he was crushed by an elevator in the Montgomery Ward building in Albany. Additionally, my second great-granduncle B. Fred "Freddie" Packard (1858-1884) never married, nor did my first cousin four times removed Eva L. Packard (1876-1967), living in Kansas City for over 50 years, my first cousin four times removed Martha Elvira Packard (1880-1957), living in Kansas City like her sister Eva. The same is the case for my fourth great-grandaunt Ruby Packard (1799-1871) who never married and died of old age or my fourth great-grandaunt Sally Packard (1792-1868). Also, my first cousin three times removed Ida Martha Packard (1892-1973) and her husband Andrew Erastus Kenney (1891-1971) never had any children. Then there's Polly Nash Packard (1819-1868), my third great-grandaunt, termed to have a mental illness by censustakers and stayed at home for her whole life.

[2] 1850 United States Federal Census for Frances A Packard, Maine, Cumberland, Brunswick, Year: 1850; Census Place: Brunswick, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 251; Page: 254b; 1860 United States Federal Census for Alpheus S Packard, Maine, Cumberland, Brunswick, Year: 1860; Census Place: Brunswick, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M653_437; Page: 58; Family History Library Film: 803437; 1870 United States Federal Census for Frances A Packard, Maine, Cumberland, Brunswick, Year: 1870; Census Place: Brunswick, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M593_539; Page: 75A; 1880 United States Federal Census for Francis A. Packard, Maine, Cumberland, Brunswick, 024, Year: 1880; Census Place: Brunswick, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 477; Page: 55C; Enumeration District: 024. I went through all 120 pages of the 1860 United States Federal Census for Brunswick and didn't see anyone who was Frances. Interestingly, there is a family led by a 45-year-old John Mills and 30-year-old Mary Mills on image 80 (of 120).

[3] U.S., College Student Lists, 1763-1924 for Frances A Packard, Massachusetts, Abbott Female Academy, 1879 (date of publication), Image 174 (and page 48); U.S., College Student Lists, 1763-1924, Massachusetts, Abbott Female Academy, 1879 (date of publication), Image 176; https://archive.org/details/memorialalpheuss00litt/page/10/mode/2up (on page 10); U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 for Frances A Packard, Maine, Bath, 1897, Bath, Maine, City Directory, 1897, Image 134 (Page 131); Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., Book Indexes to Passenger Lists, 1899-1940, (002) Aug. 26, 1899-June 30, 1900, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Book Indexes to Boston Passenger Lists, 1899-1940; Microfilm Serial: T790; Microfilm Roll: 2, Image 148; U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 for Frances A Packard, Maine, Bath, 1902, Bath, Maine, City Directory, 1902, Image 83 (page 161).

[4] Maine, U.S., Nathan Hale Cemetery Collection, 1780-1980 for Frances Packard Appleton, Annis, George F-Austin, John B, Images 194 and 1035.

[5] "Obituary of Miss Frances Appleton Packard, dying at home of her brother, Charles" clip from Sun-Journal, Lewiston, Maine, 21 Jul 1902, Page 7; "Death notices" clip from Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine, 30 Jul 1902, Page 5; "William A. Packard is administrator of his sister's estate" clip from Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine, 05 Dec 1902, Page 2. She wasn't mentioned in her father's obituary in 1884 weirdly enough.

[6] She is mentioned as a lady visitor at the asylum on page 5 of this report. Also, the "Appleton-Aiken family papers (1806-1934)" Finding Aid put together by the University of Michigan Clements Library, she is listed as unmarried. Also see: "Frances visits the home" clip from Sun-Journal, Lewiston, Maine, 26 Feb 1898, Page 18; "Frances elected as a "lady visitor"" clip from The Lewiston Daily Sun, Lewiston, Maine, 08 Jan 1895, Page 6; "Passengers return from Liverpool" clip from Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, Massachusetts, 23 Sep 1899, Page 4. This article is about the other Frances: "Frances returns from a trip abroad" clip from Sun-Journal, Lewiston, Maine, 14 Oct 1899, Page 8. This Frances was covered in the newspaper more, as in 1901, it was noted that Florence Gallagher, Elise P. Packard, and Jessy L. McClellan, all women who seemed to be unmarried, were Frances' guests at the Mere Point House (see "Frances entertains guests at Mere Point House" clip from Sun-Journal, Lewiston, Maine, 20 Jul 1901, Page 12). It was also shown that this Frances had been to other parties at the house, including one sailed by a Mr. Packard (see "Frances presents a gift" clip from Sun-Journal, Lewiston, Maine, 02 Aug 1895, Page 8; "Opens cottage at Mere Point" clip in Sun-Journal, Lewiston, Maine, 25 Jun 1901, Page 3). This Frances also seemed to be supportive of temperance (see "Elected to temperance temple" clip in Sun-Journal, Lewiston, Maine, 15 Jan 1898, Page 6). This Frances purportedly crossed the Atlantic with Alpheus Jr. during his travels (see page 200 of T.D.A. Cockerwell's Biographical Memoir of Alpheus Spring Packard 1838-1905). She is also not to be confused with the daughter of William Alfred Packard (Frances E's brother) and Susan Breeze Gallagher also named Frances Appleton Packard (born c. 1865) who died at the age of 17 in October 1882.

[7] Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Military and Naval Asylum At Bath, ME. 1892 (Augusta: Burleigh & Flynt, 1892), 8.

[8] Alan Woods in his "The 7 Best Towns in Maine for LGBT Families" article recommends Augusta, Bangor, Bar Harbor, Brunswick, Ogunquit, Portland, and Rockland. Also see "Pride Maine LGBT History: Life and Activism in the 1970s, a panel discussion and exhibit", "Maine LGBT History: Life & Activism in the 70s. Part One", "LGBTQ+ History in Maine: A Documentary History Reader", "LGBT History in Maine 1856-1984", "Great Towns for LGBT Couples in Maine", "Bath library celebrates pride month, marks LGBTQ+ history in Maine".

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