Lucy and Charles Dodd

Charles Dodd, early age

Charles H. Dodd was born in New York City, February 26, 1838. At the age of nine he moved to Stamford, Connecticut, into the household of a daughter of John Bissell. Pursuing his studies with such avidity and under such favorable conditions, at the age of twelve he had gained a fair English and Latin education and three years later was far enough advanced to enter Yale college. He left Yale two years later, in 1855, and joined the project of building a railroad across the Isthmus of Panama, where he stayed until the project was completed. He briefly stayed in San Francisco, then took a trip to South America, being perhaps the first American to cross the Andes from Concepcion. Upon his return to California [probably in 1856], he began the life of a miner, in Grass Valley, Nevada County and on the South Yuba River. Following the Washoe excitement, he moved east across the Sierra, and was among the early discoverers of the Esmeralda mines. In 1861 he abandoned mining and with the capital he had acquired he opened a hard-ware store in Esmeralda in connection with Wm. Moliniux [Molineux?], continuing in business for four years with a fair degree of success.

Dodd C H   tinsmith

Aurora in Nevada, today a completely vandalized "ghost" town, eight miles east of Bodie, was in the 1860s a booming mining center. At the peak of its productivity it had a population estimated from six to nine thousand people, and was one of the large producing silver camps of Nevada.

According to W. A. Chalfant's Masonry in Eastern California, Inyo Register Press Bishop, California, 1935, there was a Masonic association in Aurora in 1861 or 1862, which evolved into Esmeralda Masonic Lodge (No. 170) in 1863. One of the members, according to Chalfant, was Charles H. Dodd, see this page.

Even more details about Dodd's connection to Masonry could be found at the Nevada Masons' site: During the founding of the Esmeralda Lodge (which this site calls "No. 6"), in the evening of October 10, 1863, C. H. Dodds was installed as a Senior Steward. In October 1864, "Chas. H. Dodd" became a Senior Deacon.

According to a biographical note in the "Republican League Register of Oregon" (1896) (see below for a full reference), in 1864, Charles was elected Lieutenant of the Esmeralda Rifles, and went to Arizona for a campaign against the Piute and Mojave Indians. He resigned in 1865.

Note added Apr 2007:
Sue Silver, from the Mineral County Museum in Hawthorne, Nevada, kindly sent the following information, based on the material from the book Aurora - Nevada's Ghost City of the Dawn, by Robert E. Stewart (Nevada Publications, 2004):

Charles Dodd was a widower at the time he married Lucy Sproat. His first wife and child both died shortly after the birth of the child and were buried in the cemetery at Aurora. There are no gravestones for this young mother and infant child.

I recently found the following note in the Daily Alta California of Sep 24, 1864, p.6, c.2, in the "Died" column:

In Aurora, N[evada] T[erritory] Sept., 17th, Matilda, wife of Charles H. Dodd, aged 18 years and 11 months.

Lucy Sproat, early age

Miss —, the sister-in-law [of Hutchings'], was a young lady of a great deal of intelligence and refinement, and I spent some very pleasant hours, indeed, while waiting there. She was taking the station observations on the barometer and thermometer for Clare [Clarence King], which was very kind indeed, as she was very faithful in the strict observance of the hours, etc. We talked about everything that could aid to pass the hours agreeably, and with sufficient profit to conquer the tendency to idleness.

But Lucy did even more than just taking the meteorological data. In the book "Geology; Volume 1", which J. D. Whitney (Geological Survey of California) had prepared for the California Legislature in 1865, we find a segment on measurement of the average height of the Yosemite Valley on p. 420:

[The Yosemite Valley] is an almost level area, the fall from one end to the other of the valley proper being only about fifty feet (...) Its elevation above the sea is, according to our measurements, 4060 feet. A much longer series of observations than ours was taken by Miss Sproat, at the request of Messrs. Gardiner and King, while they were engaged in their survey [in 1864]; the result has not yet been calculated.

The mean of our observations, in June [1864], was 4046 feet; those taken by Miss Sproat, in October [1864], gave, as calculated by Colonel R. S. Williamson, 3935 feet.

Charles and Lucy's marriage, 1866

In Yo Semite Valley, on Sunday, May 27th, 1866, at the residence of J. M. Hutchings by Reverend W. H. Story, Mr. Charles H. Dodd of Aurora, to Miss Lucy A. Sproat, of the Valley. No Cards.

We are under obligation to the Reverend gentleman for a small piece of wedding cake. The ceremony took place at sunrise, on empty stomachs and it is presumed that the parties had good appetites for the viands and etceteras.

A similar announcement was printed on June 2, 1866, in the Mariposa Free Press:

At Hutching's Hotel, Yo Semite Valley, Mariposa County, Sunday, May 27th, 1866 by Rev. W. H. STOY, of New Almaden: Mr. CHARLES H. DODD, of Aurora, to Miss LUCY A. SPROAT, of Yo Semite.

There is also a note about their wedding in the Daily Alta California (San Francisco) on June 3, 1866, p.4, c.2:

Moving to Oregon

From Scott's book (cited above), it appears that Lucy and Charles had first tried their luck in Utah:

In May, 1866, Mr. Dodd was married to Lucy A. Sproat, a native of Middleboro, Massachusetts. Life now began to assume a new aspect. He began to feel the necessity of establishing a home where there would be a degree of permanency such as no strictly mining locality ever offers. With this idea in mind he sold out his business at Esmeralda and started for Salt Lake City, where he contemplated establishing a hardware store in connection with the Hawley Bros., of San Francisco. The Mormons held undisputed control of Salt Lake City at that time and President Brigham Young ruled affairs with all the absolutism of the Czar of Russia. Mr. Dodd was soon informed that he could not start in business at that point unless he would agree to pay tithes to the Mormon rulers, this he refused to go. He, therefore, began to look for a more inviting field for beginning operations, and came to Oregon. After making a tour of the State, he located at Salem where he established a hardware store in September, 1866. For two years he was rewarded with moderate success when he disposed of his stock and in October, 1868, came to Portland where he opened the hardware store of Hawley, Dodd & Co.

Their children

Walter Hutchings Dodd, born April 6, 1867, in Salem, Oregon.
    [Sometimes listed as Walter Hutchins Dodd].
Edward Arthur Dodd, born April 26, 1869, in Portland, Oregon.
   [Sometimes listed as Arthur Edward Dodd].
Edith L. Dodd, born 1873 in Oregon.
Lucy E. Dodd, born June 20, 1876, in Oregon

Local Portland papers have many short notes about Charles' children, mostly about boys. For example, the Morning Oregonian of March 31, 1888 reports that "Walter H. Dodd, son of Charles H. Dodd of this city, who is now attending Amherst College, was recently awarded the [prestigious] Sawyer Medal for his academic excellence... The medal is of gold and weighs two ounces...". Later that year, the Morning Oregonian, has several notes about Walter and Edward (Arthur): "Arthur and Walter, the two sons of Mr. CH Dodd (...) are in Europe on a training expedition" (Sep 9, 1888), and "Two of CH Dodd's sons were at Venice..." (Sep 17, 1888). On Oct 7, 1888, the same paper prints two long letters from Edward and Walter, describing their European vacation.

There is more below about Charles and Lucy's children Walter, Edward, and Lucy E. Their daughter Edith didn't leave much trace. She died while still a teenager. Two issues of the Morning Oregonian of August 1889 summarize all that we know about Edith:

August 28, 1889
DIED
At Long Beach, after a long and painful illness, Edith Lucille, eldest daughter of Chas. H. Dodd, aged seventeen. Notice of funeral will be given tomorrow.

August 31, 1889
The funeral of Miss Edith Dodd, the 17-year-old daughter of Mr and Mrs CH Dodd, took place from the family residence on Second and Harrison streets yesterday afternoon. The funeral was attended only by relatives and intimate friends, and the remains were interred in Riverview cemetary. The floral decorations were simple and beautiful.

Family Ties

Another Elvira's visits to Oregon is recorded in a diary by Judge Matthew P. Deady, one of Portland's leading citizens in the 19th century. Deady was a casual friend of the Dodds, and both were wardens and Sunday school teachers in Portland's Trinity (Episcopal) church. In an entry written on Sep 25, 1879, and covering the period between Sep 9, and Sep 20, 1879, the judge says:

...Played croquet every day with Mrs. Dodd and her sister Mrs. Hutchins, they two against me, and [I] generally beat them..."

In the early 1890s, Elvira even had a permanent address in Portland, first in a place near the Dodds, then with the Dodds, in their house at 403 Second Street. According to the Portland City Directory, 1890, (R. L. Polk & Co., Portland, Or., 1890), "Elvira B Hutchings (widow James M)" lived at 463 2nd [Street]. A year later, in 1891, her address is listed as "boards 403 2nd [Street]". I have no access to the Portland Directories prior to 1890, and after 1891, and cannot tell how long did she stay in Portland in total. In 1893 and beyond, Elvira lives in San Francisco, and is listed in the San Francisco City Directories.

H. C. Dodd & Co.

Charles H. Dodd & Co.
Chas. H. Dodd & Co.
Hawley Dodd and Company

Invoice from Dodd's Portland store, 1886. (Source of the picture: eBay)

A book about Portland history, is listing the most important improvements in the city in 1887. Among others, it selects "the four-story brick building of C. H. Dodd, on the corner of First and A streets, seventy-seven thousand dollars...". Harvey Scott's "History of the Oregon Country" lists Hawley Dodd & Co. as contributors to the Portland Hotel fund and to other civic projects (e.g., Oregon Central Railroad construction).

Charles H. Dodd before 1890
(a portrait from Scott's History of Portland, Oregon)

Newly gained wealth allowed Charles to become an art collector. The online catalog of Frederick Ferdinand Schafer's (1839-1927) paintings quotes two Schafer's landscapes in C. H. Dodd's posession in 1885, and 1890: Morning in Yosemite, and Sunset in the Swiss Alps. Both of those paintings are now lost.

A certain degree of resentment towards nouveau riche that Charles Dodd no doubt had represented, could be sensed in the following paragraph from Judge Deady's diary (see above): "July 22, 1883—Attended Sunday School and Morning and Evening prayer at Trinity as usual. The Rector being absent, Mr. [C.H.] Dodd read the service and a sermon upon the text Who putteth his hand to the plow... Those who don't like him complained that in so doing he was calling attention to the plough he had for sale".

On Nov 12, 1885, Chas H. Dodd, Pres. Oregon Immigration Bureau was one of petitioners to the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, Washington, D. C., asking that the area around Crater Lake, "containing said lake and its approaches, be set apart and reserved from future settlement or other appropriation by the Government, and kept and preserved as a Public Park for the people of the United States". Find more about this petition (warning: this server is very slow). In April 1896, the battle for the Cascade Reserve was still on. In a letter by W. G. Steel, who was one of the organizers of the original 1885 petition, C. H. Dodd's function is described as "President of the Chamber of Commerce".

According to the Oregonian, in 1888, C. H. Dodd was the Chairman of the Portland School Board (The Oregonian, Dec 5, 1888, p.8).

On August 4, 1889, a few weeks before his daughter Edith's death, Charles Dodd suffered a big loss in a fire in Spokane Falls, Washington, when the entire business portion of the city, twenty five blocks of houses and offices, were reduced to ashes. According to the New York Times of Aug 8, 1889, p.3, Dodd's agricultural implements business had a loss of $10,000, insurance covering $6,500. When the business portion of Pullman, Washington, was destroyed by fire in early July 1890, a local paper, Pullman Herald, reported a $17,000 loss for Chas. H. Dodd & Co., of which only $1,500 was covered by insurance.

The Oregon Historical Quarterly has several references to Charles H. Dodd scattered in various issues. Probably the most interesting one is in Vol. 15, p. 234. It describes the new Astoria & Portland Railway, that incorporated in early 1892. It was financed by group of investors, including Charles H. Dodd. However, the company's bankruptcy was declared in Sep 1892, even before the railroad was completed. The article doesn't state how big a loss for Dodd this was.

There is much more about Charles Dodd's business successes in Harvey Scott's History of Portland, Oregon (cited above). I will post the complete Charles Dodd's biography from Harvey Scott's book shortly - stay tuned.

Charles H. Dodd around 1896
(a photo from the Republican League Register of Oregon)

The "Republican League Register of Oregon", printed by The Register Publishing Company, 1896, pp. 199-203, has a brief Charles' biography: "DODD, CHARLES H., a prominent business man of Portland... Mr. Dodd has always taken an active part in public enterprises, and has especially given his attention to the Chamber of Commerce, Board of Immigration and Portland Expositions, of all of which he has been president. He was one of the prime movers in the consolidation of the three cities. As a Republican he has been earnest and active, a member of conventions and league meetings, and a forceful campaign speaker, and is now president of the James G. Blaine Club, and a delegate to the next National Presidential Convention." (Quoted from the Oregon Republican League Web site).

Portland Census, 1895

Name	Year	Record Type	County	Number
Dodd, C H	1895	Census	Multnomah	Precint 25 pg 014
Dodd, E A	1895	Census	Multnomah	Precint 25 pg 014
Dodd, L A	1895	Census	Multnomah	Precint 25 pg 014
Dodd, L E	1895	Census	Multnomah	Precint 25 pg 014
Dodd, L E	1895	Census	Multnomah	Precint 25 pg 014
Dodd, Lucy E	1895	Census	Multnomah	Precint 25 pg 014
Dodd, Ruth	1895	Census	Multnomah	Precint 25 pg 014
Dodd, W H	1895	Census	Multnomah	Precint 25 pg 014
Dodd, Ruth	1895	Census	Multnomah	Precint 17 pg 014
Dodd, W H	1895	Census	Multnomah	Precint 17 pg 014

I don't know why there appears to be three records for L[ucy] E Dodd, nor do I know who was Ruth Dodd (somebody related to Walter Hutchings Dodd?)

Lucy disappears, Charles remarries, 1906

On Sep 17, 1880, Deady wrote: "...Found Mrs. Dodd at Grimes..."; Sep 18, 1880: "...Was indisposed in the evening with soreness of limbs and inflammation of the head. Mrs. Dodd gave me some homeopathic medicine and cured me or I got well..."; Sep 23, 1880: "The Dodds and myself started with Monroe for Skipanon [on a return trip to Portland]..."

In 1890, when Scott was writing Dodd's biography, Charles and Lucy's marriage was still on firm foundations. Scott wrote:

Mr. Dodd is a man of strong religious convictions, and ever since his residence in Portland, has been a member of the Episcopal Church. He has been specially active in Sunday-school work, having been Superintendent of St. Stephen's Sunday-school from 1868 to 1874, and of Trinity Sunday-school from 1875 to the present time, never having missed being at his post a single Sunday while in the City. (...) His home life has been singularly a happy one. His wife, of refined and cultured mind, has been truly a helpmate and companion, sharing and co-operating in all of his plans, and has done her full share toward creating a home where he finds his chief happiness.

Lucy's visit to Texas(!) is briefly mentioned in the San Antonio Daily Light of Feb 25, 1891: "Mrs. C. H. Dodd and daughter, of Portland, Oregon, are at the Maverick".

However, after the 1895 Portland Census, when Lucy was listed as "Dodd, L.A." in the household of "Dodd, H.C.", there are no more references to Lucy Augusta Dodd in the Oregon State Archive. (Check their search page, and search for Dodd in Multnomah County).

I couldn't find any info about Charles or Lucy Dodd in the 1900 U.S. Census for Oregon. A possible explanation for Lucy's disappearance is provided in an article about Prof. Mario Capecchi, in the following paragraph:

Many young women at the turn of the century lived out their dreams of moving to Europe through the characters in Henry James' novels. But Capecchi's grandmother, Lucy [E.] Dodd, was determined to become a painter. The talented young woman sailed from her home in Portland, Oregon, to Florence Italy, chaperoned by her mother [Lucy Augusta]. Her father [Charles], who'd gained considerable wealth trading with Japan and China, stayed behind.

Whether widdowed or divorced, Charles didn't stay alone for long time. The Oregon State Archive page shows that Charles got remarried in 1906:

Dodd, Chas H & Fraser, Calisto M [probably Calista!]
Married Oct 11, 1906, in Portland, Multnomah County.

Dodd—FRASER Charles H. Dodd, 68, Portland and Calisto M. Fraser, 62.

In early 1910, Charles and Calista were in New York. Charles applied for his and his wife's passport on Feb 11, 1910, for a "six months trip". Her name is shown on the application form as "Calista M. Dodd". The New York Times of Feb 12, 1910, page 9, lists passengers on "transatlantic steamships sailing today", and shows "Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Dodd" aboard S.S. "Pannonia" heading for Naples. Were they on their way to visit Charles' daughter Lucy in Florence (see below)?

Charles H. Dodd, who now lives on First street near Grant, is possibly the oldest living fireman in the city. He was a member of the department in the old volunteer days and knows what it means to bend his back over the brakes of the heavy pumps. (From the Morning Oregonian June 13, 1920, Magazine Section, p.1).

A census taker, visiting Charles' household in Portland on Apr 23, 1910, finds both "Chas H. Dodd", age 70, and "Mrs. Calista Dodd", age 50, back home after the trip.

Charles dies, 1921

The Oregon Historical Quarterly, in Vol. 19, p. 83, describes the YMCA Jubilee in Portland, on Sunday, March 31, 1918, and says that among the chief speakers was also C. H. Dodd.

He was registered in the 1920 US Census as "Charles H. Dodd" in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon. According to the Oregon Death Index, 1903-1998, Charles died in Portland on June 12, 1921. His obituary was published in the Morning Oregonian on June 13, 1921, p.5:

Charles H. Dodd, Early Citizen, Dies
Career of Prominent Business Man Is Closed;
Public Life is Active;
Ex-President of Chamber of Commerce Long Affiliated With Civic Progress of the City.

Charles H. Dodd, for half a century one of Portland's prominent business men and citizens, died last night at his home, 580 First street, at the age of 83 years. The funeral has been set tentatively for tomorrow.

Mr. Dodd was born in New York and came to this city in the early 60s after working in the gold fields of California and established on Fourth street one of the earliest businesses here in hardware and agricultural implements. This business prospered under his management until its agencies were established throughout the northwest.

Thirty years ago, Mr. Dodd was one of the strongest leaders of the community and civic life, holding such positions as chairman of the school board, president of the Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the board of directors of the baby home. He retired from business and from active part in civic affairs several years ago, and had been failing for several weeks prior to his death.

Mr. Dodd was an early member of Trinity Episcopal church, was prominent in its affairs throughout his life here and was warden of the church for many years.

Besides his widow, Mr. Dodd leaves two sons, Walter H. and E. Arthur Dodd, and a daughter, Mrs. Lucia Ramberg. The body is at the Holman chapel.

Calista Dodd

Sons Walter and Edward at Amherst

Walter Hutchings Dodd's entry, under Alumni 1889 (printed in 1901).

Edward Arthur Dodd's entry, under Alumni 1891 (printed in 1901).

In 1927, another Amherst Alumni Directory was published. (Amherst College Biographical Record of the Graduates and Non-Graduates, Centennial Edition, 1821-1921, Published by The College, Amherst, Massachusetts, 1927). It contains biographical sketches of students in the classes 1822 to 1921, plus brief information about the classes of 1922 to 1925. The data are still being transcribed and indexed, and are available free at Richard Yanko's Web pages at Amherst University site.

At this time, Walter's records has not been entered yet, but Edward's record tells us more about his life between 1901 and 1927:

3378. Dodd, Edward Arthur. S[on] of Charles M. and Lucy A. (Sproat), b. Portland, Ore., Ap. 26, 1869. Ph.D., Halle-Wittenburg U., 1897. Delta Upsilon.

Prepared Portland (Ore.) H.S. In business and study in the West, 1891-94; studied political economy Berlin and Halle Univs., Germany, 1894-97; theology, Philadelphia, Penn., 1897-98; ordained deacon, Prot. Episc. Church, Wilmington, Del., 1899; priest, 1900; in charge of St. Mark's Chapel, N.Y. City, 1899-1904; asst. Emmanuel Ch., Boston, 1904-06; rector St. John's Ch., Rosebank, Staten Is., N.Y. Chairman Civilian Relief, Richmond Co. Red Cross; with Y.M.C.A., France, 1917; Chaplain Base Hospital 116, France, 1918-19.

Married Jy. 25, 1906, Harriette deWitt Allen, San Francisco, Cal. Ch[ild]: Edward A.

Address: Christ Church Parish House, Hyde Park, Mass.

Son: Walter Dodd (1867-1928)

In 1889, on the occasion of his graduation from Amherst, Walter was presented with a beautiful Howard watch by his father. (The watch is now in a private collection). From about 1897, Walter lived in Brooklyn, and was a lawyer in New York City. There are various scattered records about his professional cases in Brooklyn and New York newspapers.

According to the Amherst record (above), at the end of 1898, Walter married Cora Emily Brown [Cora=Corinth] of Colfax, WA. He might have first met her while serving as a lawyer in Colfax in 1893.

Walter is listed in the 1910 and 1920 Censuses, in Kings County, New York. He died in 1928. A funeral notice was printed in the New York Times on Jan 30 1928, p. 21:

DODD   On Friday, Jan 27, 1928, Walter Hutchings of 296 Park Place, Brooklyn. Services at St. Luke's Episcopical Church, 520 Clinton Av., Brooklyn, on Monday Jan 30 [1928], at 3 P. M.

According to the Brooklyn Standard Union, on June 8, 1918, Walter Jr was one of 41 graduates of the Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School: "Walter Hutchings DODD, Jr., (honor role)". The centenial Amherst directory shows him as a member of the Class of 1924: "Dodd, Walter H., Jr. 296 Park Pl., Brooklyn, N.Y".

Walter Jr died in 1978. A funeral notice was printed in the New York Times on Nov 20, 1978, p. D12:

DODD   Walter Hutchings, on Nov 18, 1978 of Huntington, L.I. Brother of Norman H. [Dodd]. Services will be held at Fairchild Chapel, 1570 Northern Blvd, Manhasset, LI [=Long Island], Tuesday, 10AM. Visiting Monday, 3 to 5 and 7 to 9PM.

Very little is known about Walter and Cora's son Norman. He was also a student at Amherst [source: Amherst Graduates' Quarterly, 1928]. There is a note in the New York Times in 1926: "Amherst, Mass., April 20. Norman Dodd of Brooklyn today was reelected captain of the Amherst College swimming team. He was high scorer last season..."

The Social Security database possibly lists Walter Dodd's younger son as: Norman H. Dodd, birth Oct 4, 1904, death Sep 22, 1996, Suffolk Co., New York.

Son: Edward Dodd (1869-1937)

Edward Arthur Dodd
Die Wirkung der Schutzbestimmungen für die Jugendlichen und weiblichen Fabrikarbeiter und die Verhältnisse im Konfektionsbetriebe in Deutschland. Vergleichende Untersuchungen.
236 pages, G. Fischer, Jena, 1898.

His passport application filed in Berlin in October 1895, stated that he had arrived to Germany in April 1895 for a two-year study in Munich. However, other documents list him as student in Berlin and Halle, from 1894 to 1897. He was awarded a PhD in Halle in 1897, and then returned to the U.S., to study theology in Philadelphia. (However, Edward has continued his collaboration with German colleagues in the twentieth century. For example, data from the Port of New York show that Rev. Edw. Dodd, age 35, was a passenger on the ship Prinzess Alice, which sailed from Bremen on June 25, 1904, and arrived at Port of New York on July 6, 1904).

An interesting article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, on Feb 4, 1902, p. 13, describes "The Sunday Liquor Question" meeting in Manhattan. One of the speakers was introduced as Rev. Dr. Arthur Dodd, vicar of St. Mark's Chapel, Avenue A, Manhattan. This was of course, Edward Arthur Dodd. He was of the opinion that closing the saloons on Sundays wouldn't work in his parish. About 74% of the population in his district, he said, was foreign born. They had traditions which came from the old world, and those taking up the Sunday closing question must not overlook these traditions. The majority of the people in his parish, he said, were Germans, and beer drinking was almost universal. The saloons where whisky was the principal beverage, were to be condemned in the strongest terms, he said, but in the beer halls, the places where social and trades organizations assembled, there was little or no bad order. It was as impossible to close the [beer] saloons on Sundays there as on any other day. It was all very well to talk about reform and the effects of reform, but the saloons in his [Fourteenth Assembly] district could not be closed, he concluded. (The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1841-1902, is available free online!)

There is a note about Edward's wedding in the Marin Journal on Thursday, July 26, 1906, p. 8:

July 18th [1906]
Edward A. DODD, age 37, of Boston, to Harriette De W. ALLEN, age 30, of San Francisco
Married July 25th by W.F. Nichols

Edward made another trip to Europe during the World War I: He was with YMCA in France in 1917, and then served as a Chaplain in the Base Hospital 116, in France, during 1918. The list of passengers from the Port of New York shows that Edward Arthur Dodd (his address shown as "St.Johns Rectory, Sta. Island") has returned to New York on Jan 1, 1919, from a trip to Europe (Bordeaux), aboard the ship Espagne.

During the 1930 Census, Edward and his family ("Harriet D. Dodd", wife, and "Edward Arthur Dodd [Jr], son, age about 19) lived in Rye Beach, Rockingham County, New Hampshire.

Edward died in 1937. The New York Times of May 25, 1937, printed the following obituary on p. 28:

Rev. Dr. Edward A. Dodd
Former Episcopal Rector Here Was on Retired List

Rye Beach, N. H., May 24 (AP).
Dr. Edward A. Dodd, a retired Episcopal clergyman, died here today. His age was 68. A native of Portland, Ore., he held degrees from Amherst College, the University of Halle, Germany, and the Philadelphia Divinity School. He had serverd as a rector of churches in New York, Boston and Exeter, N. H. His widow and a son, Edward Jr., of New York, survive.

DODD – Rev. Edward Arthur Dodd, Ph. D., at Rye Beach, N. H., May 23. Funeral service at Christ Church, Exeter, 10. A.M. Wednesday, May 26. Burial private).

DODD – Harriette DeWitt, In Rye Beach, N. H., on Dec 18, wife of late Rev. Edward Arthur Dodd, Ph.D. and formerly of Staten Island and Boston. She was born in San Francisco, Aug 11, 1875. One son, Edward Arthur Dodd [Jr] survives. Funeral at Christ Church, Exeter, N. H., Friday, Dec 20, at 11 A.M. Please omit flowers.

Many paintings by his aunt, Lucy Dodd Ramberg (Charles and Lucy Dodd's daughter, see below), including a picture of the artist's mother (Lucy Augusta [Sproat] Dodd), were in Edward Jr's posession at the time of his death. I don't know what happened to those artworks.

Daughter: Lucy E. Dodd (1876-1929)

In several references, Charles and Lucy Dodd's daughter, Lucy E., is described as a Wellesley graduate. However, Ian Graham, from Wellesley College Archives, checked the school records, and found that Lucy E. Dodd had attended Wellesley College for just one year, the 1895-1896 academic year. During that year, she was enrolled in the following courses: Mathematics I, English I, Bible I, Greek I, and French I. There does not appear to be a photograph of Miss Dodd in the College Archives, and Ian could not find any other information regarding her.

Soon after this brief college experience, Lucy, now twenty, and possibly with her mother as a "chaperone", left for Europe. According to her "emergency passport application" filed on October 31, 1896 in Berlin, she left the United States on October 1, 1896, and intended to return within four years. The purpose of her trip to Berlin and Germany was stated as "completing my education". Lucy is described as "5 feet 8 inches tall, with brown eyes and hair, high forehead, normal nose, medium mouth, full face and round chin". A passport for travel abroad was generally optional for U.S. citizens until 1941. However, for people like Lucy, who wanted to stay abroad for a longer period of time, a passport was a valuable identification document in dealing with local authorities. Lucy probably didn't obtain a regular passport before her trip, and therefore needed to apply under "emergency" clause in the consular office in Berlin.

We don't know where exactly did she pursue her painting career. Her brother Edward's study in Germany overlapped with Lucy's stay. (Edward had arrived to Munich in April 1895, and has completed his PhD work in Halle in 1897). According to Kester-Haeusler Foundation documents, in 1897 and possibly beyond, she was a pupil of Franz von Lenbachs in Munich. She might have been taking other painting lessons in France, Italy, and other places.

On one of her trips to France, possibly to Nice, she had met a German philologist, archaeologist, and art critic, Walter Ramberg. I couldn't find any mention of Walter or his work in the catalog of the German National Library. The couple married probably before 1904, and eventually moved to Florence. There is still a "Ramberg Villa" in Florence today. It was formerly known as "Villa Della Stufa". While the earliest reference to "Ramberg Villa" is from the mid 1920s, it is possible that the Rambergs have acquired it, or at least lived in it shortly after their arrival to Florence: One of Lucy's oil paintings from 1913, is titled "Olive Orchard at the Villa Della Stufa". Their two sons, Walter Gustave Charles Ramberg, and Edward Granville Ramberg (who was named for his maternal great grandfather, Granville Sproat) were born in Florence on February 16, 1904, and June 14, 1907, respectively. Their daughter, Lucy Elizabeth Ramberg ("Lucia"), was born on Feb 3, 1905 [this is based on her Social Security record], probably also in Florence. (Note the choice of names: "Walter", "Lucy", and "Edward" were also children names in the family of Lucy Ramberg's father, Charles H. Dodd. In general, children's first names are frequently recycled in C. H. Dodd's and his descendent's families, which sometimes could be very confusing).

Lucy Ramberg's children adopted their father's German citizenships (I only have an indirect evidence for this statement. Many years later, on Sep 25, 1925, when Walter Ramberg was returning to Itacha from a summer vacation in Europe, the Port Authorities in New York described Walter as a person whose nationality and race[!] were German, arriving with an immigration visa issued in Florence, and intending to become a permanent U.S. citizen). Lucy and Walter surrounded their three children with art and culture, raising them in a rare cosmopolitan atmosphere in which they spoke French, German, Italian, and English. "A nanny, gardeners, cooks, house cleaners and private tutors for languages, literature and sciences", that is how Prof. Capecchi describes the young Rambergs upbringing. Similarly, son Walter remembers "a French governess" for the children.

Portrait of Julie Kester (nee Ashton) by Lucy Dodd Ramberg, from the Kester-Haeusler-Stiftung collection of paintings. Julie was one of Lucy's family benefactors in Bavaria. Oil on canvas, date unknown.

Everything changed abruptly with the outbreak of the World War I in the summer of 1914. The father of the family, Walter, volunteered to join the German army already in August of 1914. However, he was accidentally killed (gunned down by his own troops, according to a family tradition) on November 17, 1914, in the bloody First Battle of Ypres. (British casualties in this battle were reported at 58,155 soldiers, French casualties were set at around 50,000, and German losses at 130,000 men).

After Walter's death, Lucy – considered a foreigner – had to leave Florence in May of 1915 ("for political reasons", according to the book "Zehn Jahre Kester-Haeusler-Stiftung 1988-1998"). She and her three young children searched for a new homeland in Germany, and were invited to live in the mansion of Caspar and Therese Haeusler in Fürstenfeldbruck, near Munich, where they got ample moral and material support. Lucy's son Edward stayed in touch with the Haeuslers (he called them "uncle Caspar and aunt Resel"), and later, with their children Mirjam and Gabriele ('Bele'). Edward, and probably his two other siblings, attended Theresien Gymnasium in Munich during the war. When the war ended, Lucy took her children back to Italy (Florence?). In 1920, she re-applied for the American citizenship, and was granted the U.S. passport in the Rome embassy on May 15, 1920. (This passport is now in the Edward G. Ramberg Collection, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia).

From the Port of New York passenger lists, we know that the family was planning to return to New York aboard the ship Dante Alighieri, on August 22, 1920. However, for unknown reasons, they were late in boarding the ship, and their names were crossed out in the last moment. On August 20, 1920, they embarked the ship Giussepe Verdi in Naples, and finally reached New York on September 3, 1920. The family (their names Italianized) is listed as:

Mrs. Lucy Dodd Ramberg to entertain today at tea and opening of [her] art exhibit. Portland, Oregon, 1922.

Ramberg Lucia, age 43, widow, born 1876 June 30th, Portland, Or.
Ramberg Walter (son), age 16
Ramberg Lucia (daughter), age 15
Ramberg Eduardo (son), age 13

Lucy Ramberg's sons, Walter and Edward, stayed in Oregon, attending the Lincoln High School, then Reed College in Portland in the early 1920s. They both transferred to Cornell, and continued successful scientific careers in the USA. However, Lucy Ramberg, and her daughter Lucia must have returned to Italy after only a short stay in the US. According to Lucia's son, Prof. Mario Capecchi, young Lucia eventually moved to Paris to study at the Sorbonne, where she became an instructor in French literature and poetry. "She had a passion for language. She spoke about 15", recalled Prof. Capecchi. "Even if she didn't know one, in a half hour, she could pick it up." There will be a few more words about Lucia at the end of this section.

While her sons Walter and Edward studied at the Reed College, Lucy Ramberg kept coming back to Oregon rather frequently. In 1923, her name appears in the passenger list of the ship Mauretania, which sailed from Southampton on Sep 6, 1923, and arrived at Port of New York on Sep 14, 1923. She gave her address in the USA as "407 Hoyt Str., Portland, Ore."

She then returned to Europe, but less than a year later, she was aboard the ship La Savoie, which left La Havre on May 24, 1924, and arrived to New York on June 1, 1924. This time her address in the USA was indicated as "Reed College, Portland, Oregon". A freak accident involving Lucy happened during that voyage. The New York Times of June 2, 1924, has the following paragraphs on the page 2, under the title "Wave Sweeps Savoie; Three Women Bruised; Rises Suddenly From Trough of Sea and Carries Passengers and Chairs Down the Deck":

When the French liner Savoie arrived late yesterday from Havre, Commandant M. Aubert, the master of the vessel, reported rough weather on the voyage and said that a huge wave rose from the trough of the sea Wednesday morning and rolled over the starboard bow, sweeping everything before it.

Several cabin passengers who were seated on the deck near the bridge were knocked out of their chairs by the sea and carried helplessly along the deck. Mrs. L. Ramberg, an American portrait painter, suffered a cut on her head six inches long...

On February 9, 1925, according to a New York Times article, Lucy sailed for Europe aboard the steamship Empress of Scotland. Lucy Ramberg's final trip to the USA seems to have happened in 1926. She was a passenger on the ship George Washington, which sailed from Southampton on Apr 29, 1926, and arrived to New York on May 7, 1926. Her name was listed as "Lucy D. Ramberg", and her address in the U.S. as "Hotel Mallay, Portland, Oregon".

Visits with her family were not the only reason for her frequent trips between Europe and Oregon. Although she has made her name as a painter, she was now involved in a different project. She established a school for American girls in her villa in Florence. "The Handbook of Private Schools", by Porter Sargent (1952), has the following description of her school on p.659:

The Lucy Dodd School, Villa Ramberg gia della Stufa, 197, Via Vittorio Emanuele. Girls Ages 17-24. Est[ablished] 1925. Mrs. Lucy Dodd Ramberg, Beaux Arts of Italy, Wellesley College, Principal. Enr: Bdg limited to 15. Fac[ulty]: 4. Tui: $1,700. Courses 2 years: Languages, History, Literature, Philosophy, Art, Music. Pro-prietary. Episcopal. Entering Col. [...] Mrs. Ramberg, an American, a portrait painter and an exhibitor in the International Exposition, takes a few girls into her villa on the outskirts of the city for the study of languages, history, and art. The lectures of the second year are given exclusively in French and Italian. Opportunity is offered for travel in Italy, France and Germany.

The Oregonian article added in October 2007:
The best biographical sketch of Lucy Dodd Ramberg's life and work that I could find was published in the Sunday edition of the Oregonian on July 11, 1926, section 5, p.2. Earlier that summer, in May, Lucy was on what would be her last visit to Portland, and she spoke to a reporter, who then published a story several weeks later. The article in the lower right corner of the page is entitled: "Portland women sets up art school in Florence", with a subtitle: "Italy scene of activities of gracious and gifted Mrs. Lucy Dodd Ramberg whose work is well known in Oregon". Here are several paragraphs from the article:

(...) A Portland woman of exceptional charm and culture, Mrs. Lucy Dodd Ramberg is co-founder with Miss Marguerite Walker Jordan of Virginia, of the Lucy Dodd School [for American girls] in Florence, Italy.

Mrs. Ramberg, as Lucy Dodd, was born and reared in Portland. At the age of 19 she was graduated from Wellesley, and then went to Munich where she studied art under Lenbach [Franz von Lenbach, 1836-1904, German painter]. From there she went to Paris, where she studied with Raphael Collin [1850-1916, French painter], and she also studied in Berlin. It was while in Rome that she met and became the bride of Baron Ramberg. Her portraits of many well known Americans have attracted much praise. Among those which she has painted was that of the late C. S. Jackson of the Oregon Journal of Portland [Charles Samuel "Sam" Jackson, 1860-1924, editor of the Oregon Journal daily newspaper], the late William Wheelwright of Portland [William D. Wheelwright was one of Portland's most distinguished elder business leaders], and of Mrs. Guy Talbot [Geraldine Wallace Talbot, abt 1885-1972], and Mrs. Phil Jackson of the same city [possibly Dorothy Jackson, the first wife of Sam Jackson's son Philip?] In Boston, she added to her collection of notables portraits of Mrs. Albert Whittier [possibly wife of Albert R. Whittier, 1872-1945?], Mrs. John Hoar [probably Dorothy Brown Hoar, 1894-1987], and Mrs. Arthur Dodd [Harriette DeWitt Dodd, 1875-1963, wife of Lucy's uncle Edward Arthur Dodd?]. In 1917 she painted the portraits of the King and Queen of Bavaria, and of the Infanta Pilar [perhaps Infanta Maria Del Pilar of Spain, 1912-1918], niece of the Infanta Eulalia of Spain.

The school which bears the name of this prominent daughter of Oregon is housed in the beautiful old Villa Della Stuffa [Stufa!], with five acres of spacious gardens and rambling walks, lined with olive trees many years old. The Villa is filled with priceless art treasures. In the dining room is a table, an original of the 13th century, while the cupboard dates from the 16th century (...)

It was to the Villa Della Stuffa that Baron Ramberg took his American bride at the time of their marriage 25 years ago [in 1901?!], and here they lived happily until his death.

Among the young women which have been students at the Lucy Dodd School for the last year are Miss Marjorie Pittock [Marjorie Pittock McDougall, 1907-1999], Miss Evelyn Meyer [Evelyn B. Meyer, 1908-2001], and Miss Eleanor Wiggins [b. 1906] of Portland and Miss Catherine Deyette [b. 1907] of Seattle. Miss Luanie Strong, a charming young Portland girl [LouAnn Strong, b. 1906, the only daughter of Fred H. Strong and Mary Wells Strong, hotel owners in Portland?], and Miss Drusilla Albert [Drusilla Albert Kidd, 1909-1990], daughter of Mr. Charles Albert of Spokane, will be among the students who will enter the Lucy Dodd school next October. They will join Miss Marguerite Jordan, co-founder of the school, in New York in the late summer, and will go with her to Florence.

Miss Jordan is spending the summer in New York, and has an apartment at 52 Gramercy Park [a popular 16-story residential hotel at that time]. Mrs. Ramberg, who has recently been in a visit to this country, sailed in the middle of June to Italy.

Not only that Lucy was frequently traveling to the U.S., but her two sons were coming to see her during summers. According to the Port of New York documents, Walter was on a return trip from Europe to New York in September of 1925, while Edward's trips from Europe to New York were registered in Septembers of 1927, and 1928. (He had also spent the summer of 1929 in Europe).

Lucy Dodd-Ramberg died in 1929. An obituary was published in the New York Times on Jan 22, 1929, p.24:

There is a possibility that Lucy had died in a hospital in Munich, not in Florence. However, her last resting place is in Italy. According to a private communication by Prof. Capecchi, she is buried in a cemetery near the St. Francis Basilica in Assisi, together with her mother Lucy Sproat Dodd.

"Lucy Dodd School" was taken over by Elizabeth Yoder of Los Angeles in 1929, and she kept the format unchanged. The Los Angeles Times of May 26, 1929, p.C1, informs that "Elizabeth Yoder... is sailing for Italy soon to establish a school for American girls in Florence. A beautiful villa in the hills overlooking this picturesque Italian city has already been obtained for this purpose..."  On Aug 25, 1929, p.25, the same paper brings an article titled "Students Leave for Florence. Party of Girls Will Stay Year in Europe to Take Special Studies":

Miss Elizabeth Yoder of this city [LA], director of a school for American girls, located in Florence, Italy, left Thursday evening with a party of students for a year of study and travel. They are to sail next Sunday from New York. (...) The Elizabeth Yoder School—residential and travel—is limited to fourteen American girls, and the home is the Villa Ramberg at 197 via Vittorio Emanuele, Florence, formerly the home of Marchese della Stufa. Miss Yoder has chosen Florence as the home of the school because the most comprehensive collection of art treasures in Europe is there. It is expected that at the close of the year each girl will have a conversational knowledge of a foreign language.

The Art Inventories Catalog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, registers 34 paintings by Lucy Dodd Ramberg, mostly oil on canvas, and created between 1898 and 1914. All those works are privately owned by extended family members.

Interesting lives of Lucy Ramberg's two sons are well documented on the Web, see for example A Tribute to Walter Ramberg (1904-1985), and An Introduction to Edward G. Ramberg (1907-1995) Papers. Edward and his wife Sarah (Sargent) didn't have any children. Walter Ramberg and Julia Elisabeth Lineberger got married in Munich in 1930, and had three children: Walter Dodd Ramberg, Julia Elizabeth Ramberg [married Hall], and Lucy Dodd Ramberg [married name: Lucy Cadogan].

Less is known about Lucy Ramberg's daughter Lucia (Lucy). According to the German National Library Catalog, she has published two short collections of poems (in German) in the mid 1930s:

Gedichte / Lucia Ramberg
["Poems by Lucia Ramberg"], Hamburg, Verl. d. Blätter f. d. Dichtg, 1936, 10 Bl.

Bittere Erde: Frühe Gedichte / Lucia Ramberg
["Bitter Earth: Early Poems by Lucia Ramberg"], Hamburg : Verl. Ellermann, 1937, 26 Seiten [26 pages], 22 x 14 cm.

Note added October 2007:
Lucia's son Prof. Mario Capecchi was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in medicine for his research in gene modifications.

(The End)