Photo Record
Images
Additional Images [14]
Metadata
Object # |
2024.020.001 |
Description |
This photo is of the Lloyd Arnold Davis summer cottage on West Beach before the hurricane of 38. He was my grandfather and the property has been in my family since 1921, is my research is accurate, and still remains privately owned passed down through the generations to my sister and me. Horseneck clambake...my Grandfather on the right and Joseph Estes, his brother in law, on the left. Both photos are dated...who was to know what was ahead in 1938... a photo of the owner of the cottage, Grandfather, Lloyd Arnold Davis, left, and my Dad, Russell A. Davis on the beach. The Davis side of my family, paternal, lived in Somerset but spent summers at Horseneck. My Dad was a photographer by profession. These were taken on West Beach right after Hurricane Carol. The family in front of the dune on our property is my Mom, my brother and sister and on the left, me. Our family cottages, pre '38, were on the section of West Beach that is close to the mouth of the Westport River to give you a reference. Charles H Gifford, Charlie Ross, the hermit of Horseneck In charge at the beach, a little wizened-up Yankee with chi whiskers nad a very kind heart. One day when a stranger invaded the beach and was shooting at sandpipers, Charlie made the sage remark: "If a feller wants to shoot suthin, let him shoot suthin of some bigness." He lived all alone in a Cape Cod house which stood not far from Moby Dick Sandwich shop, as a young man he had vanished from the Point for years, just at the time of the famous disappearance of a wealthy youth named Charlie Ross. When Charlie Gifford returned, tactturn about what he had been doing or where he had been, it was natural that his nickname became Charlie Ross. the sailboat.... My Great Grandfather, Winston Stephens, was born in FL on March 6, 1864, five days after his father was killed in the Civil War. He originally trained to be an educator, married, then attended and graduated from Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. In 1895 he relocated, with his family, to New Bedford to establish a dental practice where he remained until shortly after his wife's death in1921. Winston's maternal Grandfather, James William Bryant, had a double masted sail boat made for him. It was named the Okeehumkee, and we assume, was brought to and stayed at the Horseneck cottage to be sailed during the summers on the beach. Not sure of the date, those in the photo or who is sailing the Okeehumkee at Horseneck, but it is the only one with two masts. It could be my grandfather, Winston B. Stephens, sailing with friends, or my Uncle, Winston B. Stephens Jr..... he hurricane of 1938 destroyed both the Stephens and the Davis cottages completely, but the hull of the Okeehumkee was found in the dunes, returned to my Grandfather and carefully, meticuluously restored. It was originally made for my Great Grandfather, passed down to my Grandfather, then to my Uncle, then to his daughter, my Cousin, and ultimately to her son and is "moored" in FL which seems so appropriate and fitting, as that is where my Great Grandfather was born. Such is the life of the Okeehumkee....built in the late 1800's, a survivor of the 1938 hurricane at Horseneck and cherished by those who presently or in the future will be guardians of this magnificent sailing vessel with its rich history and priceless sentimental value. Dr. Winston Stephens and his wife Amy Gaston Stephens. The first to spend summers at the beach cottage. He was the dentist who came to New Bedford from FL to establish a dental practice in 1895. It seems he either rented or owned the cottage previously owned by Hannah R. Gifford. She died in 1902, and it would seem that he and his family, wife and two sons were summering at Horseneck in the late 1800's/early 1900's. Dr. Stephens, his son Ned on the left and his son Winston Bryant Stephens on the right, I think holding my mother. She was born in 1920 so this photo would appear to be taken in maybe 1922. Ned and Winston were the two mentioned in Hartley Howe's interview as "the two kids who were at the beach to play with in the summer". These are my grandparents, Winston Bryant Stephens and his wife, Edmee Stephens. They were married in 1919, she a WWI war bride from France. They lived in New York but continued to spend summers at Horseneck with their children. Winston Bryant and Edmee's three children. My Mother, Edmee Josephine, and my Uncle, Winston Bryant Jr. and my Aunt, Amy Gaston twins who were born in 1926. This photo, date I would guess is approximately 1952, taken on the Stephens property on Horseneck. Winston Bryant Stephens Jr., his wife Bettie Margaret Kiser, Amy E.(Davis), Linda S. (Davis), my Mom, Winston's sister, Edmee Josephine Stephens Davis, and Stephen R. Davis my brother. Linda and Stephen were twins. There you have four generations of the Stephens family enjoying summer life at Horseneck Beach....and that is just my Mom's side. My Dad's family had their own cottage, and that is where my parents met. This gives you a bit of the history of the Stephens family who summered and made many happy memories at Horseneck Beach when life was so much simpler. |
Search Terms |
Horseneck Beach West Beach |
People |
Davis, Lloyd Arnold Stephens, Winston |
Object Name |
Scan |
Accession# |
2024.020 |