J. Fred & Lulu Flynn
I want to talk about J. Fred Flynn and Lulu (Mayo) Flynn. These are two of my favorite of my wife's ancestors. They were her grandparents on her father's side. J. Fred was born in 1869 and grew up in Bangor, Maine. Lulu was younger. She was born in 1881. Her family was from Standish, Maine. Both J. Fred and Lulu were deaf. In the 1900 census, Lulu is listed as a pupil at the school for the deaf in Portland, Maine. In that same Census we learn that Lulu could both read and write but could not "speak English" (though she knew sign language well enough). In 1905, at the age of 24, she marries J. Fred, who was 36. According to the Bangor Directory, he worked as a casket trimmer (casket upholsterer), working for a funeral home in Bangor. The 1910 census describes it as "shop work." I know he was a fine craftsman because we own a cedar chest that he built, and it is quite beautiful. J. Fred's family bore their share of tragedy. His father, James Flynn, serve...