Effie B. Sweet

1874 - 1948  (73 years)

• Name	Effie B. Sweet
  Born	23 Feb 1874	Atkinson, Piscataquis County, Maine
  Gender	Female
  Died	11 Feb 1948	Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts
  Buried	Aft 11 Feb 1948	Spring Brook Cemetery, Mansfield, Bristol County, Massachusetts
  Person ID	I7396	New England Hall Families Master Tree
  Last Modified	17 Oct 2017

  
  

  Family	George Washington Hall,   b. 8 Oct 1869, Atkinson, Piscataquis County, Maine ,   d. 18 Feb 1940, Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts  (Age 70 years)
  Married	22 Mar 1894	Lewiston, Androscoggin County, Maine
  Children	1. Bernice Effie Hall,   b. 5 Jun 1895, Atkinson, Piscataquis County, Maine ,   d. 3 Jan 1980, Encino, Los Angeles County, California  (Age 84 years)   2. Beulah Doris Hall,   b. 4 Feb 1897, Mansfield, Bristol County, Massachusetts ,   d. 23 Mar 1958, Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts  (Age 61 years)   3. George Linwood Hall,   b. 2 May 1898, Mansfield, Bristol County, Massachusetts ,   d. 5 Jul 1920, Yarmouth, Barnstable County, Massachusetts  (Age 22 years)   4. Wendell Ernest Hall,   b. 3 Aug 1900, Mansfield, Bristol County, Massachusetts ,   d. Apr 1901, Mansfield, Bristol County, Massachusetts  (Age 0 years)   5. Helen Viola Hall,   b. 22 Mar 1902, Mansfield, Bristol County, Massachusetts ,   d. 24 Dec 1963, Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts  (Age 61 years)   6. Clifton Elwood Hall,   b. 11 Jan 1905, Mansfield, Bristol County, Massachusetts ,   d. 18 Apr 1979, Hyannis, Barnstable County, Massachusetts  (Age 74 years)   7. Marjorie Irene Hall,   b. 9 Apr 1907, Mansfield, Bristol County, Massachusetts ,   d. 27 Apr 2000, Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida  (Age 93 years)   8. Sumner Frederick Hall,   b. 23 Feb 1910, Mansfield, Bristol County, Massachusetts ,   d. 14 Oct 1984, Pompano Beach, Broward County, Florida  (Age 74 years)
  Last Modified	17 Oct 2017
  Family ID	F1882	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 23 Feb 1874 - Atkinson, Piscataquis County, Maine Married - 22 Mar 1894 - Lewiston, Androscoggin County, Maine Died - 11 Feb 1948 - Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Buried - Aft 11 Feb 1948 - Spring Brook Cemetery, Mansfield, Bristol County, Massachusetts  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Effie B. Sweet was born to Ella Baxter, father unknown, on 23 Feb 1874. Ella was seventeen at the time of Effie's birth, so Effie was probably conceived when Ella was sixteen. In 1877, Ella married William Henry Newcomb, a self-made man who managed a saw mill near Easton, Maine. It's not clear whether Effie ever lived with her mother Ella and step-father William, but what is known, is that Ella died in Lowell, Massachusetts (officially) of hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain) by her mid-twenties, leaving others to raise Effie. Following Ella's death, Effie's Aunt Hattie (mother Ella's older sister) may have initially tried to raise Effie herself, or perhaps with the help of the Bragdons, Ella's maternal grandparents, who lived nearby. At some point between 1874 and 1880, however, Hattie Baxter brought Effie to the Sweet family, paying the Sweets to provide Effie with room and board. The Sweets accepted Effie into their family and Effie used the Sweet name, although Effie may have never been formally adopted. (The Sweets also had a daughter, Hattie, so Effie had both a adoptive sister and a biological aunt "Hattie." This has been the source of some confusion in researching Effie's ancestry.) Effie married George Washington Hall on 22 Mar 1894 in Lewiston, Maine and the couple moved to Mansfield, Massachussetts between 1895 and 1897.  George ultimately established a real estate practice in Boston, where he continued to work for several years. George and Effie had eight children, including one son who died in infancy, not including a twin to Beulah who was stillborn and a male child who was stillborn. There is some evidence that George and Effie separated around 1920. The 1920 U.S. Census lists Effie as head of household in Mansfield, Massachusetts while George is listed as a boarder in Melrose, Massachusetts, on the far side of Boston from Mansfield. Sadly and somewhat inexplicably, Effie spent the last 23 years of her life interned at Medfield State Hospital and died there of hypertensive heart disease at the age of 74. Although the fact of Effie's internment at Medfield State Hospital (a psychiatric hospital) implies that Effie was mentally ill or even insane, it's possible she was simply depressed following the tragic death of her eldest son Linwood in an airplane accident. Indeed her nephew, Sumner Quincy Newcomb, was quoted once as doubting that there was anything seriously wrong with Effie. With the benefit of hindsight as well as some knowledge of modern treatment for depression, one could legitimately question whether it was necessary for her to be committed at all, let alone left in the State's care for over 20 years. Although copies of Medfield Vital Records indicate that Effie was buried in Spring Brook, there is no known marker for Effie's gravesite. Medical records and her death certificate indicate that she was buried in the Hall lot with husband George and aunt Hattie Baxter but with no marker of her own. Records also indicate that Effie's daughter Beulah was buried in the Hall lot as well.