Brookline Historical Society
Schools

Runkle School, Graduating Students, 1921
Buildings demolished in 1962 and replaced by the current buildings at 50 Druce St.
Runkle School Children
Buildings demolished in 1962 and replaced by the current buildings at 50 Druce St.
Sewall School, 1892
275 Cypress St., building still standing.

Page 7, plate 7282. From an album of fifty photographs of Brookline schools, classrooms, and examples of clay modeling, wood-working, and cooking. Produced for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
[Source: Brookline Preservation Department]
Sewall School, Kindergarten, 1892
275 Cypress St., building still standing. For the 1891-1892 school session Harriet E. Hart was listed as the principal; Mary A. O'Hearn, Annie M. Utley, Dora T. Maine were listed as teachers.

There are seven student names listed on the blackboard, five girls and two boys. They are all children who lived within a few blocks of the school in the neighborhood known as "The Point", all from families of fairly-recent immigrants (4-5 from Ireland, 2 from England). Remarkably, all five of the girls appear to have remained living with family members throughout their lives, never marrying. The children named are:
  • Mary T. Mahoney. The family lived at 18 Roberts St. and her father was a laborer who emigrated from Ireland. A dressmaker, she never married and lived her entire life with family members within a few blocks of that address.
  • Willie Herbert may be Wilwyn Bret Herbert whose father emigrated from England in 1880 and later lived elsewhere in Brookline but there is no other supporting evidence for his identity.
  • Gertrude F. Burns lived until the age of about 29 with her family at 55 Franklin St. She later worked as a domestic nurse but there is no more information about her after 1915.
  • John Lally lived at 23 Roberts St. His father emigrated from Galway, Ireland in 1872 and worked for years as a coachman for the Henry Poor estate on Walnut St., a few blocks away.
  • Sarah May McAdams lived at 5 Roberts St. Her father’s father emigrated from Ireland, her father worked as a carpenter. One of ten children, she later worked in a factory as an armature winder, lived with her parents until their deaths, and never marrying.
  • Nellie Beverley is most likely Frederica Beverley who lived on Chestnut St., directly across the street from the Charles Sargent estate where her father worked as the butler. Her eight-year-old sister, Lena, would have been too old for this class but cannot be ruled out as the match. Frederica remained unmarried, living with family members in Brookline for the remainder of her life.
  • Mary Ellen Nora McMahan lived on Cypress Court. Her father had emigrated from Dublin and was a herdsman at the time after having been a coachman for several years. She lived with family members for years and remained unmarried.


Page 8, plate 7283. From an album of fifty photographs of Brookline schools, classrooms, and examples of clay modeling, wood-working, and cooking. Produced for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
[Source: Brookline Preservation Department]
Sewall School, Kindergarten, 1892
275 Cypress St., building still standing. For the 1891-1892 school session Harriet E. Hart was listed as the principal; Mary A. O'Hearn, Annie M. Utley, Dora T. Maine were listed as teachers.

Page 9, plate 7283-2. From an album of fifty photographs of Brookline schools, classrooms, and examples of clay modeling, wood-working, and cooking. Produced for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
[Source: Brookline Preservation Department]
Sewall School
275 Cypress St., still standing.
Sewall School Garden Plots, June 29, 1903
Looking south from Franklin St. From left to right, all still standing:
  • 17 Henry St., at the very back
  • Possibly 16 Henry St.
  • The pair of houses at 160 and 156 Chestnut St.
  • the rear corner of 106 Franklin St., in the foreground
In 1903, there was an initiative in town to broaden educational efforts by engaging school students in maintaining gardens. For the Sewall School, a Mr. Kelly, a local landowner, allowed the use of several of his empty housing lots that were directly across Franklin St. from the school. Each student in grades one through four was given a small plot to manage.
[ref. The Brookline Chronicle, November 7, 1903]
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]
Sewall School Garden Plots, September 8, 1903
On the far left is the rear of 106 Franklin St. Across the street is 101 Franklin St. To the right, behind the tree, is the south side of the school.

In 1903, there was an initiative in town to broaden educational efforts by engaging school students in maintaining gardens. For the Sewall School, a Mr. Kelly, a local landowner, allowed the use of several of his empty housing lots that were directly across Franklin St. from the school. Each student in grades one through four was given a small plot to manage.
[ref. The Brookline Chronicle, November 7, 1903]
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]
Sewall School Students
Working in the school gardens. The car barn of the Boston Elevated Railway, corner of Cypress St. and Franklin St., visible in the rear.
[Source: Brookline Preservation Department]
St. Mary of the Assumption Band, 1912
Front Row, Left to Right: Francis McAdams, James Mahoney, Joseph Sweeney, William Kendrick, John O'Neill, Leo O'Neill, Constantino Martini, Leonard Hope.
Second Row: Alphonsus Johnson, George O'Day, Thomas .Kendrick, Joseph Nevins (Drum Major), Rev. John P. Sheehan, Prof A. Ferretti (Director), James O'Neill, Thomas Maguire, John Sullivan, James Tonra.
Third Row: Edward Kickham, Peter Rooney, John Mulvey, Thomas Love, Francis Regan, Arthur Mulholland, John Maguire, William Ward, Michael Tonra, John Hope.
Fourth Row: Edward Keaveny, Patrick Tonra, Roy Videon, Francis Kelleher, Edward O'Neil, Fergus Hickey, Francis Mahon, Francis Lorance, Charles Lacy.
Fifth Row: Michael Mulvey, John Hickey, Edward McGrath, William Donovan, John Kendrick, Edward Lee.
St. Mary's Class of 1937, William Ward
Billy Ward was a classmate of Lawrence Moloney, Jr. and lived at 90 Brook St. The William Billy Ward Playground, located between Aspinwall Ave. and Brook St., is named for him.
St. Mary's High School, Class of 1945
Senior class photo of Pauline Moloney, daughter of Lawrence T. Moloney.
Union Building, Kindergarten Class, 1892
The Union Building, located at the corner of High and Walnut streets, was razed in 1961 for public housing.

Page 11, plate 7285. From an album of fifty photographs of Brookline schools, classrooms, and examples of clay modeling, wood-working, and cooking. Produced for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
[Source: Brookline Preservation Department]
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