Hello, This week in the mail, I was very pleased to receive some new information from the Killingly Historical Society regarding the Adoptive parents of my grandmother - from 1892 Melrose, MA.* One of the items found in the newspapers of the area was regarding a court case: May 1892 "Mr. and Mrs. John P. DEXTER of Melrose, MA, are in attendance at the Superior Court in Putnam this week." "The case of Mr. & Mrs. John DEXTER against Joseph McLELLAN, executor, to recover $500 for nursing & carriage here to Jane McWEAVER, was on trial Tuesday at the Superior Court. POTTER & CLEVELAND for Plaintiffs, WARNER & SHUMWAY for defendant. The case was given to the jury this morning." ... First, I'd like to know if anyone knows of this Miss or Mrs. Jane McWEAVER. (I've not seen her name before.) Second, does anyone know who this Joseph McLELLAN is. (ditto) Third, does anyone know what "nursing & carriage" means. Would it be a service similar to a "visiting nurse" or a "live-in nurse" for an elderly or disabled person? ... A little background is that John and Mary (CLARK) DEXTER seem to have left their life-long home in Killingly, CT, around 1889 and moved to Melrose, MA. However, the letter from the Historical Society shows that they might have moved to Melrose from Killingly during the summer of 1888 (or possibly before that). ... To go along with my grandmother's story, she would have been "conceived" during the spring or early summer of 1888. The DEXTER couple, at Ages 59 and 56 adopted her soon after she turned 3. Thank you for your time. Betty (near Lowell, MA) *I have posted the story (the mystery) of my grandmother's childhood in past years, and possibly last year. So, the better part of the story/mystery can be found in the archives. A quick outline of the years I am most interested in are: 1850's - John and Mary DEXTER marry and have 3 daughters. Only one to live to adulthood is Clara. One died at Age 3 and one at Age 16. 1877 Clara DEXTER married Abner YOUNG in Killingly, CT. They had a daughter, Bertha, who died at Age 2. They had a son, Earle YOUNG, who lived to adulthood and married -- and I'm looking for some of his descendants !!! (One census report showed that Clara had 3 pregnancies - but data appears nowhere else.) 1888 - possibly spring of 1888, John and Mary DEXTER leave their life-long home in Killingly, CT, to move to Melrose, MA. John was the head of a Real-Estate Office in Melrose, and seems to have held several other jobs from 1888 until his illness ~1903. Mar. 1892, as an "older couple," they adopt a baby girl, Age 3. Apr. 1899, Mrs. DEXTER dies. Mr. DEXTER sells their home in Melrose, and seems to move into a boarding house in Boston. Around the same time, he places his adopted daughter, then Age 10 in an orphanage in Boston. (She remains in orphanages / homes until approx, Age 20.) 1900 - John DEXTER cannot be found in any 1900 census. But, I found out that he went to live in the Tewksbury State Hospital in 1904 and died there one year later. One of his guests was a young lady, "Mamie" - which was a nickname of my grandmother. My grandmother probably left "The Temporary Home" around 1908/1909 and moved in with her girlfriend's family. One of the neighbors was a young man who took quite a liking to her. On Christmas Eve, 1911, they walked to a Minister's home and asked him to marry them. They had 9 children, but only 6 lived to adulthood. (Note: When Mrs. "Molly" DEXTER died in 1899, her body was returned to Killingly to be buried. When John DEXTER died in 1905, his body was buried on the grounds of the Tewksbury State Hospital. We don't know why.)