27 Aug 2004
Hi Sally,
Here is the information I have gathered. I setup this page so that you can view and copy documents and information to your computer at your leasure if you wish. You can right-click on each link with your mouse and select "Save As..." to copy documents and images to your computer.
Steve
On 26 April 1910, Sherwood, Sybil and Dorothy Baldwin where living in German Flatts, Herkimer County,
New York. Less than a year later (when the 1911 North Adams City Directory in Berkshire county, Massachusetts
was published), the Baldwins were living in North Adams at 354 Church Street. 354 Church St. was the
home Arthur Davenport's father, Ammon, built in 1898. The following were residents at that address in
1911: Arthur and wife Elizabeth Davenport, Julia Davenport (widow of Ammon), Mrs. Anna E. Baker (Arthur's
sister), Sherwood, Sybil and Dorothy Baldwin, and Augusta C Dunton who was listed as a boarder. The
home must have been quite large. Typically these homes were two stories, with a basement and a large
attic. It is know that the Davenport house was built 47 feet wide at the front and 50 feet deep (a footprint
of 2,350 square feet).
The Baldwins must have known the Davenports prior to moving from German Flatts to North Adams, as the
1911 directory shows Arthur Davenport and Sherwood Baldwin already working in the same business together
at an auto garage on 106½ Main St. Since the 1910 census shows Arthur as both a dentist and an
"auto agent" in North Adams and Sherwood Baldwin as a "Machine maker" in German
Flatts, it is assumed Arthur owned the business while Sherwood provided his mechanical skills to tend
to these early automobiles. Whatever the case, by 1914 the two would definitely be in business together.
From the local newspaper, The North Adams Transcript, it can be established that Arthur Davenport, D.D.S.,
had an interest in bicycles and sold them at least during the 1890's. This interest and side-business
evolved into that of automobiles.
After having been in the automobile business together for several years and with their families living
in the Davenport house at least from 1911 to 1914, Sherwood W. Baldwin and Arthur E. Davenport parted
company. Their parting occurred by 1917, for in that year Sherwood was living at 43 Highland Ave. and
Arthur was living at 104 1/2 Main St. The 1917 directory had no occupation listed for Arthur, whereas
Sherwood was listed as "pres Hoosac Auto Supply Co" and proprietor of Baldwin's Garage at
106 Main St. Arthur's sister Anna Baker was living in the Davenport house. Arthur's wife Elizabeth may
have died before this time. The 1919 directory has Arthur living back at the Davenport house at 354
Church St.--where his sister Anna and her son Roy Davenport Baker lived--and his office at 102 1/2 Main
St. Both the 1917 and 1919 directories show no sign of Arthur in the automobile business and it is likely
he stayed with his dentistry practice. The 1919 directory shows no sign of Sherwood Baldwin.
It is unfortunate that Sherwood and daughter Dorothy cannot be found in the 1920 or 1930 federal censuses,
but it is known they were eventually living in Wickford, Rhode Island. This is evidenced by the 1945
obituary of Sherwood's sister, Sadie B. Mack, which states, "Survivors are her husband, one
brother, Sherry W. Baldwin, of Wickford, R.I., and a sister, Miss Elizabeth G. Baldwin, of this city
[Pittsfield, MA]". However, the 1920 census shows Arthur E. Davenport and Sybil E. (Banker
Baldwin) Davenport, along with Anna Baker, were living at the Davenport house on Church St. This is
the first indication that Sybil, former wife of Sherwood W. Baldwin, was divorced from Sherwood and
was remarried to Arthur E. Davenport, Sherwood's former business partner. It seems Arthur and Sybil
left North Adams by 1922, as Arthur was not listed in the directory. In the 1930 census, they are living
in Lewis, Essex County, New York. This is the town were Sybil's father, Loyal Banker, was also living.
In 1930, Arthur, at age 63, was no longer practicing dentistry. He and Sybil, age 46, must have lived
in a fine house as it was valued at $10,000, one of the higher valued houses in the area.
Your Baldwin and Banker Ancestral Tree: Ancestor Tree
(use the + button to enlarge; hold-down the mouse button to drag)
I did not easily find much on your Baldwin side, so that branch does not go very far back:
(You will need Abobe Acrobate Reader to view this and other documents
on this page. If you already have it installed on your computer you can click on the file before or
after you copy the file to your computer. If you do not have Adobe Reader installed, you can download
and install it from here )
Your Baldwin and Banker Ancestral Genealgoy Report: Ancestor
Report
Detailed information on your ancestory.
Below are selected document images consisting of Census, Directory, and Newspaper material. I have much more, but these should give you an example.
News:
1898-03-25-MA-North_Adams-north_adams_transcript-soc-Davenport-newhouse
(column 1)
1945-04-27-MA-Pittsfield-Berkshire_evening_eagle-p13-0bit-BaldwinSadie
(column 4)
City Directory pages:
1911-MA-North Adams-CityDirectory-p097-BaldwinSherwood
1914-MA-North Adams-CityDirectory-p083-BaldwinSherwood
1914-MA-North Adams-CityDirectory-p131-DavenportArthur
1917-MA-North Adams-CityDirectory-p062-BaldwinSherwood
1917-MA-North Adams-CityDirectory-p114-DavenportArthur
Census pages:
1910-NY-Herkimer-German_Flatts-p254-BaldwinSherwoodW
1910-MA-Berkshire-North_Adams-p151-DavenportArthur
1920-MA-Berkshire-North_Adams-5_WD-rt625_681-p193-DavenportSybilE
1930-NY-Essex-Lewis-p953-DavenportSybilE
Interesting Info and Links:
Old Postcards of North Adams
and town streets (some of Church Street where the Davenports and Baldwins lived)
I found this interesting drawing, by Arthur Davenport's father, Ammon! It is housed at the Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston. I found it
here, Click on the picture to the left to view a larger image.
Ammon Farnsworth Davenport Biography pages
Useful Research Links:
Washington State Family History Centers
Here is a sample of microfilm records that can be ordered at you local FHC. It is best to ask the volunteers
at the center what is best to order depending on what you are interested in finding out:
Essex
County, New York records
Bershire
County, Massachusetts records
Massachusetts Mailing List
Berkshire County, MA Mailing List
(sign-up to ask questions about the Baldwins and Davenports in North Adams)
it may be better to use the large Massachusetts
Mailing Lists.
Essex County, NY Mailing List (to ask
question about Arthur and Sybil Davenport)
it may be better to use the large New York
Mailing Lists.
