Genealogist Tries to Solve Eagle Head Mystery
Central Maine Morning Sentinel
Colin Hickey
_________
Winslow, Maine (US):
Call it the mystery of the Eagle head.Thelma Brooks, who heads the Taconnett Falls Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society, said the mystery started with a phone query from a Florida man.
James H. Heyer of Clearwater, Fla. had purchased a wooden Eagle head, apparently carved by Fred Eaton Southard, who was born in Winslow in 1861, according to Heyer's research.Heyer said the Eagle head he purchased had been commissioned by a Winslow family for whom Southard had built a staircase.
But for whatever reason, the family decided the commissioned piece did not fit the staircase and had Southard do another one.Thus the initial carving, it seems, went on the open market, eventually falling into Heyer's hands.
Now Heyer wants to find the Winslow home that Southard did the commission work for more than a century ago. He also wants to get any information about Southard's life as an artisan.Brooks, too, is intrigued by the query. She has searched the records at the genealogical society's Lithgow Street home for any clues about Southard.
So far, she said, she has confirmed that Southard was born in Winslow, as well as found a picture of Southard, taken from the Internet, showing that he worked as a locksmith in Massachusetts in 1900.The genealogical society also has sought help from other organizations that deal with the past.
Nov 29, 2005
Central Maine Morning Sentinel
Colin Hickey
_________
Winslow, Maine (US):
Call it the mystery of the Eagle head.Thelma Brooks, who heads the Taconnett Falls Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society, said the mystery started with a phone query from a Florida man.
James H. Heyer of Clearwater, Fla. had purchased a wooden Eagle head, apparently carved by Fred Eaton Southard, who was born in Winslow in 1861, according to Heyer's research.Heyer said the Eagle head he purchased had been commissioned by a Winslow family for whom Southard had built a staircase.
But for whatever reason, the family decided the commissioned piece did not fit the staircase and had Southard do another one.Thus the initial carving, it seems, went on the open market, eventually falling into Heyer's hands.
Now Heyer wants to find the Winslow home that Southard did the commission work for more than a century ago. He also wants to get any information about Southard's life as an artisan.Brooks, too, is intrigued by the query. She has searched the records at the genealogical society's Lithgow Street home for any clues about Southard.
So far, she said, she has confirmed that Southard was born in Winslow, as well as found a picture of Southard, taken from the Internet, showing that he worked as a locksmith in Massachusetts in 1900.The genealogical society also has sought help from other organizations that deal with the past.
Nov 29, 2005
