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| Frank (left) and Edgar Charbonneau, Winchendon, Mass., September 1911. Photo by Lewis Hine. |
Left, Frank Chebarro, admitted 13 years old; been making bands all
summer in Glenallen Mill. Said, "I wouldn't go to school until they come after me." Also brother Edgar, 8 years
old, who "helps" brother. "He picks up bobbins and things like that." Location: Winchendon, Massachusetts,
September 1911, Lewis Hine.
"He never liked to have his picture taken." - Edgar's
son, Leo
When Lewis Hine was documenting child labor, very young workers such as
Edgar often told him that they were "just helping" a brother or sister, rather than actually being employed. Many
of these children would have been prime recruits for the mill owners, and it would have served their interests to have them
hanging around the mills, occasionally sweeping or picking up trash. Some of these youngsters may have welcomed the opportunity,
which might have made them feel important or "grown up," like their older siblings. Frank was the oldest boy, so
that would not have been the case for him, but he may have helped his mother or father at the mill when he was Edgar's
age. I initially had trouble finding any record of these boys.
There was no one in the birth, marriage or death records in the Winchendon town hall with the last name of Chebarro. Lois
Abare, the town clerk, suggested I try Charbonneau. It proved to be good advice. In the 1910 census, I found brothers Frank
and Edgar with the last name spelled Charbano. Their parents were Henry and Delina. According to a brief family history posted on the Internet, Henry was born about 1871, in Greenville, New Hampshire;
and Delina (Adelina Laviolette) was born about 1873, in Grand Isle, Maine. They married in 1897, in Greenville. They had six
children, including Frank, born in 1898, and Edgar, born in 1903. By
1920, the family (spelled Charbonneau in the census) had moved to Easthampton, Massachusetts. But in 1930, Frank was living
in Rindge, New Hampshire (just over the border from Winchendon), with his wife Melvina and their four children. Unfortunately,
Frank died in Winchendon in 1940, at the age of 42. According to his obituary in the Fitchburg Sentinel, his survivors included
his wife, five sons and three daughters, and brother Edgar, of Easthampton. Frank still spelled his name Charbonneau. I was
unable to locate any of his direct descendants. At the city
hall in Easthampton, I found Edgar's death record (this time spelled Charbano). He died in 1959, at the age of 56. According
to his obituary, he left his wife Loretta, and two sons, Raymond and Leo. Ten years later, Loretta passed away. I located
Leo in Florida, called him, and sent him the photo. Oddly enough, his spells his name Cherbano. The following is my interview
with him.
Interview with son, Leo
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