Putnam-Wright Chronicles: More information on the early lives of Mary Connelly and Ervin Putnam

Monday, October 25, 2021

More information on the early lives of Mary Connelly and Ervin Putnam

Thanks to my Uncle and my cousin, I now have a little more information on the early lives of Mary Gertrude Connelly and Ervin Earl Putnam. This includes some more photos. I'll post the facts here and then incorporate them into their biographies.

Between 1918 and 1923, Mary Gertrude Connelly worked at the US Veterans Hospital No. 44 in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. She was the secretary to the President of the Hospital. The terms stenographer and secretary were interchangeable at that time. Mary is listed as a stenographer in the 1920 Census while living at 50 Cedar Street in Cambridge, MA with her mother and siblings. Mary’s father was frequently away from home, typically back in Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island. Ervin Earl Putnam worked at the US Veterans Hospital No. 44 in West Roxbury as a lab technician and met Mary Connelly there.
When the new veterans’ hospital opened in Northampton, MA, both Mary and Ervin were transferred there from West Roxbury. Mary continued as secretary to the hospital President and Ervin became both the X-Ray Technician and the Lab Technician.
In November, 1920 Mary Connelly played the part of Joan of Arc in a play that may have been performed in Washington, D.C. During this time, Mary stayed with her sister Helen Connelly who lived at 1515 Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C.
During one of her trips to Washington, D.C., Mary encountered General John J. Pershing who allowed her to photograph him on the steps of what looks like a government building.