BUMPUS, C.E.

Here is another photo I probably should not have purchased. Scanning through the backs of the photos at the antique store, I thought this image was adequately identified to be useful for this project, but upon closer examination later, I see this was not the case.

This photo is labeled in pencil, on the back:

"Mr. C. E. Bumpus, 25 Cedar Street, Wakefield, Mass."

That may mean that the subject of the photo is "C.E. Bumpus," or that the photo belonged to Mr. C. E. Bumpus, and is an image of someone else.

The photo was likely taken between 1890 and 1900. The fellow in the photo appears to be about eight to ten years old. That would mean he was born between 1880 and 1890. Wakefield is a community on the north side of Boston.

In the 1894 City Directory of Wakefield, we do indeed find a man named Charles E. Bumpus, living at 25 Cedar Avenue. His occupation is "iron moulder." He is still at 25 Cedar Street in the 1905 City Directory. In the 1907 edition he had relocated to 549 Main Street.

Unfortunately, C.E. Bumpus is not indexed in Ancestry.com in the 1900 Census records, although he clearly should be there as he was living at the same address in Wakefield for many years. After much searching through individual pages of the 1900 Census, Charles E. Bumpus was eventually verified at 25 Cedar Street, Wakefield.

BUMPUS, Charles Ellis, Mar 1855, born in Massachusetts of Massachusetts parents, occupation iron moulder
BUMPUS, Abbie Etta, May 1861, wife, born in Massachusetts of Massachusetts parents, no occupation
BUMPUS, Chas. W. Mar 1886, son, born in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, at school

Seeing that C.E. Bumpus was 45 years old in 1900 would tend to give evidence to the photo being of someone else, and  not the man at the given address. It is most likely an image of his son, Charles Weston Bumpus who was 14 at the time of the Census, and around 10 at the time of the photo.

In the 1910 Census, Charles E. and Abbie (maiden name is Swift) have moved to Wareham in Plymouth County, Massachusetts and are engaged in farming. Young Charles is no longer in the household. Abbie died in 1914 and is buried at Centre Cemetery in Wareham.

The 1920 Census shows Charles the elder is widowed. In his household are Charles Jr., his wife Ethel (vital records show her maiden name as Hopkins) and daughter Dorothea (b. 26 Sep 1913 in Wareham). The elder Charles is employed at a truck farm. Charles Jr. is a marine engineer and is at sea.

Charles E. died in 1921 and is buried in Centre Cemetery in Wareham, Mass. The 1855 State Census shows that Charles E. was the son of Silas Gifford Bumpus and Betsy (Maxim) Bumpus who were living at the time of his birth in Carver, Plymouth County, Mass.

Following his father's death, Charles Jr and family returned to Melrose, in Middlesex County where the family remained until his own death in 1954. Charles W. is buried in the same Plymouth County cemetery as his parents, and wife Ethel (1890-1980).

Daughter Dorothea "Dolly" was a popular student at Melrose High School. She married in 1937 to Raymond John Dodge. She lived to the age of 90, passing away in 2004.

Melrose High School Yearbook - 1931