The Adams Family

 

 
THE INDIVIDUALS
(chronologically by date of birth)

 
FRED L. ADAMS
November 3, 1856 - March 24, 1944
 
AUGUSTUS S. WENTWORTH
 February 26, 1860 - January 19, 1927

CHARLES FRED GOWEN
September 6, 1861 - June 3, 1914

FLORENCE “FANNIE” (JORDAN) (WENTWORTH) (BATCHELDER) (WALLACE) TIBBETTS
 August 12, 1867 - 1953

HARVEY EARLE ADAMS
May 21, 1881 - December 21, 1918

CHESTER ARTHUR EMMONS
February 5, 1882 - January 10, 1965

NELLIE ARLETTA (WENTWORTH) (ADAMS) WELCH
September 20, 1890 - September 23, 1988

VICTOR STANLEY GOWEN SR.
November 15, 1897 - December 9, 1961

FRANKLIN KING HURD
April 4, 1901 - July 23, 1965

GRACE MABEL (JONES) (GOWEN) HURD
September 7, 1902 - December 1962

PIERRE L. BLUTEAU
September 30, 1909 - (body found March 13, 1975)

CHARLES AUGUSTUS ADAMS
November 28, 1910 - January 26, 1987

ALMEDA FRANCES (ADAMS) (TREW) HURTEAU
April 2, 1916 - March 13, 1997

EDMUND "PHILLIP" LADD BADGER
September 28, 1917 -  December 1, 1951

LAURA MAY (ADAMS) (YOUNG) BARRY
December 4, 1918 - January 15, 1969

VICTOR POULIN
November 1, 1919 - May 6, 1951

ORVA VIOLA (GOWEN) (BADGER) ADAMS
September 14, 1920 - (body found March 13, 1975)

CLARENCE RICKER JR.
January 23, 1921 - (body found May 28, 1961)

ALPHONSE DESCHAINE
July 11, 1923 - July 28, 1979

ALTHEA ARLENE (GOWEN) (MURRAY) SHIPP
September 26, 1923 - October 18, 2001

HARVEY E. ADAMS
May 13, 1940 - September 28, 2008

KENNETH C. MURRAY JR.
March 21, 1945 - August 15, 1964

JOANNE MARIE (HITCHCOCK) (CHARPENTIER) ADAMS
August 29, 1948 - December 29, 2021

CHARLES A. ADAMS
April 21, 1949 - June 23, 2015

 
 
 
 
 
 1856: Fred L. Adams is born.

Fred Adams' Father's Blacksmith Shop

c. 1870: Working in his father’s shop, Fred Adams learns the blacksmith trade.

1880: Fred Adams marries Cora Etta Lawerence on May 8.

1881: Harvey Earle Adams is born on May 21.

1886: Augustus S. Wentworth marries Florence "Fannie" Jordan in Brownfield, Maine, on November 21.

1890: Franklin K. Hurd’s grandfather loses his farm to foreclosure in July. (Author's Note: Franklin's grandfather inherited the family's farm from his mother.)
 

1896 - Court Case 
 
Complaints from concerned neighbors leads to the arrest of Florence (Jordan) Wentworth on charges of cruel and abusive treatment against her daughters: Josie and Nellie.

Most of the complaints surrounded Josie, the Wentworth's eldest daughter. Neighbors reported that Josie did not receive proper treatment and had no liberty. They said Josie was primarily confined in the upper part of the Wentworth house and was not allowed to interact with the neighborhood children.

The case went to trial on July 23. Florence testified that she did not let Josie play with the other kids, mostly boys, for several reasons but mainly because they used profanity.

In open court, the events of the evening of July 13 were told. Instead of going to bed, the kids ran up and down the stairs of the family's Haskell Street home. Florence became aggravated. She picked up a stick and spanked both kids with it.

Florence denied hitting them with a stick. However, Mrs. William Berry, one of the witnesses, said that last winter she walked in as Florence was whipping Josie with a piece of firewood.

After the judge interviewed Augustus and the children at length, he bound Florence to the court's September term, citing probable cause.

Augustus and Annie Wentworth
 
1896: While Harvey Adams rides his bicycle in August, the tire breaks, causing him to fall. (He gets severely injured with a dislocated and fractured elbow.)

1898: Nellie Wentworth receives perfect attendance for the current term, so far, from Miss Davies in the Warren schoolhouse.

1902: Grace Mabel Jones is born in Kingsbury, Maine, on September 7.

1905: Florence (Jordan) Wentworth runs off with a man, not her husband. A grand jury finds her guilty of lascivious cohabitation in September. Citing desertion, Augustus Wentworth files for divorce from Florence. On November 11, a judge awards Augustus custody of their children. Florence, a tailor, marries Orin Herbert Batchelder, an undertaker's assistant, on November 22.

1907: Augustus Wentworth marries Annie L. Carter on September 25.

1908: Orin Batchelder divorces Florence (Jordan) (Wentworth) Batchelder. Alvando Sylvanus Wallace, a fish dealer, marries Florence in Portland, Maine, on August 8. They divorce shortly after.

1910: Harvey Adams marries Nellie Wentworth on June 15. Leonard Grant Tibbetts weds Florence (Jordan) (Wentworth) (Batchlder) Wallace, a seamstress for a costumer, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on November 21. Nellie (Wentworth) Adams gives birth to Charles Augustus Adams on November 28 in Westbrook, Maine.

1914 - Questionable Shooting

Charles Fred Gowen's half-brother, Chester A. Emmons, shoots and kills him while they are poaching deer in Wellington, Maine, on June 2. The bullet goes through Charles's back and lungs, but he does not die instantly.

Chester puts Charles into their wagon and brings him home. Chester calls for a doctor, telling him it was an accidental shooting. (Author's Note: It is unclear but before admitting that he shot him, Chester may have told the doctor that Charles committed suicide.)

Chester and Charles's son, Leigh, nicknamed "Chub," drive to where the deer were shot. They skin the poached deer, taking as much meat as possible. They bury the deer heads and the hides in the ground and take the meat back to Charles Adam's place, where they hide it in his cellar.

Charles dies at 2:30 a.m. the following morning. The physician questions the position of the gunshot wound and refuses to issue a death certificate of accidental shooting. Instead, he calls for the sheriff.

Authorities order an inquest into Charles' death. The inquest finds that the shooting was accidental, but police arrest Chester under a special Maine statute that calls for prosecution of shooting a human being while in pursuit of wild game. At his arraignment on June 4, Chester pleads not guilty. The judge, citing probable cause, holds him for the grand jury at the September term of the Supreme Court. He sets bail at $1,000, which Charles's wife, Julia, pays.  

At his court appearance in September, Chester pleads nolo contendere, and the court fines him $100 plus court costs. (Author's Note: Chester fell ill and died in a convalescent home on January 10, 1965. Cause of death: Hypertensive Heart Disease, Acute Decompensation)

1916: Nellie Adams gives birth to a daughter, Almeda Francis Adams, on April 2. 

1917: Augustus Adams, suffering from a bad case of the grip, recovers enough in January to leave his house again. Annie returns home after going to Amherst, Novia Scotia, for the death of her father, William Carter. 


1918: Nellie Adams gives birth to a daughter, Laura May Adams, on December 4. After Laura's father, Harvey Earl Adams, dies of bronchopneumonia at about 3:00 p.m., on December 21, her mother gains employment as a live-in housekeeper and moves in with the family she serves. Since Nellie can no longer care for her children, She sends Charles to live with his grandparents and Almeda is sent to the State School for Girls. (Author's Note: It is believed that Laura became a ward of the state and was sent to the Temporary Home for Women and Children in Portland.) 

1919: Augustus Wentworth falls ill in February and is confined to his house. 

1920: Augustus Wentworth falls ill in January. Charles Adams accompanies his grandfather and step-grandmother to the latter’s relatives in Nova Scotia for a few weeks. Victor Gowen marries Grace Jones on March 28. Grace starts suffering convulsions on the evening of September 14. She is brought to Somerset Hospital in Skowhegan, Maine, where she gives birth to a daughter, Orva Viola Gowen, on September 15, but remains hospitalized in critical condition. (Author's Note: Orva was named after her father's sister, Orva E., who died of pneumonia on October 18, 1918.)

1921: Citing cruel and abusive treatment, Florence Tibbetts files for divorce from Leonard G. Tibbetts in Cumberland County Superior Court on May 4. The judge grants Florence's divorce on November 22 and orders Leonard to pay alimony of $10 per month. 

1922: Augustus Wentworth falls ill in January. His condition is so severe that he is confined to his home for three months. He is finally well enough to return to work in early May. Leonard Tibbetts marries the widow Auger on October 16. 

1923: Augustus Wentworth falls ill in March. Alphonse Deschaine is born in Fort Kent, Maine, on July 11. Althea Arlene Gowen is born on September 26. 

1924: During a search of the Gowen's farm in October, authorities confiscate a large barrel of mash and nearly two quarts of distilled liquors. They arrest Victor and charge him with the illegal manufacture of liquor.

1925 - State of Maine vs. Victor S. Gowen


At his arraignment on March 13, Victor Gowen pleads not guilty to illegally manufacturing liquor. During the trial, a professor at the University of Maine testifies that a large barrel of mash and nearly two quarts of distilled liquor (confiscated in the October 1924 raid on Gowen's farm) contained 37% alcohol. A jury finds Victor guilty on March 16.

1925: Laura Adams returns home after being hospitalized for a throat operation. Victor Gowen falls ill in December.

Althea Gowen
1926: Cobb Bros. of Harmony, owned by Harry E. and Edgar Cobb, and their former business partner Charles C. McLaughlin, sue Victor Gowen for nonpayment. Grace (Jones) Gowen's brothers (Ernest, Warnie, and Henry) travel to East Wellington, Maine, to see her on July 4. Grace Gowen falls ill in August and is laid up for two weeks in poor condition.

1927: Augustus Wentworth dies in Windham, Maine, on January 19. Charles Ricker, Warren Pease, and Victor Gowen Sr. are among the witnesses called for the defendant in the State of Maine vs. Henry Jones, who appears in court in September, charged with wet driving on Main Street in Athens Village on July 4. 

1929: Failing in health, Cora (Lawerence) Adams dies suddenly on August 21. The Gowens move into Warren Henry Pease’s house in Wellington, Maine, after Grace becomes his servant.

1930: Victor Gowen cuts a business trip short when one of his children is hospitalized with double pneumonia in April. Alvando S. Wallace dies on April 18. Charles Augustus Adams moves in with his mother and sister, Laura. With his mother out of work, Charles gets a job at a paper mill to support his family. Nellie Adams is admitted to Maine General Hospital for an operation in October. 

1931: Charles Augustus Adams, sent to serve two years in the Panama Canal Region, is one of fifty Maine soldiers prepared to rush to aid Managua, Nicaragua following a devastating earthquake.

1933: Cobb Bros. files for bankruptcy. 

1934: Grace Gowen has an undisclosed surgery at a local hospital. (Author's Note: Two weeks later, on April 30, the hospital transferred Grace to E.M.G. Hospital.)

1934 - Accident


As Victor and Grace Gowen, driving Scott McLaughlin's Ford half-ton truck, pull onto the state highway in North Anson, Maine, they are stuck broadside by a Ford roadster driven by Burtelle Pease on December 8. Both vehicles are damaged beyond repair with the Ford overturning into a ditch, injuring Mrs. Gowen's right arm in the process. (Burtelle Pease received injuries to his left arm. His wife escaped unharmed. May, his mother, received minor injuries to her head and knee.)

1935: Grace Gowen is admitted to Kennebec Valley Hospital (reason unknown). Pierce Lane Young marries Laura Adams on March 30 (some sources say March 3). She gives birth to a son, Harvey, on May 16. Feeling the spirit of Christmas, a Springfield District Court judge reduces Pierre Blueteau's drunk driving fine from $85 to $75 on December 26.

1936: A judge grants Grace's divorce from Victor Gowen, on May 27. (Grace filed for divorce on the grounds of cruel and abusive treatment and extreme cruelty.) Edmund "Philip" Ladd Badger marries Orva Gowen on August 1. Almeda Adams marries John K. Trew in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on October 3.

1937: Victor Gowen Sr. pleads guilty in July and is fined $6.57 after a Maine State Trooper sites him for inadequate brakes. Orva (Gowen) Badger, citing cruel and abusive treatment, files for divorce from Edmund Philip Badger. She files her case with Somerset County Superior Court on September 16, and the court rules in her favor on September 29. Nellie (Wentworth) Adams marries William P. Welch.

1938: Almeda (Adams) Trew files for divorce from John K. Trew in September. A judge grants her divorce on October 7 and orders John to pay a lump sum of $50 and $5 weekly. The judge also allows Almeda to resume her maiden name. (John K. Trew was an investigator for the Overseers of the Poor, a department of the City of Portland, Maine.)

1939: Charles Augustus Adams marries Orva V. Gowen on April 27. The Rickers hold a double wedding at their home on May 28, when their two sons, Clarence Jr. and Arnold, marry two sisters, Lucille and Evelyn Burns. Citing desertion and the unknown whereabouts of his wife, Franklin K. Hurd divorces his wife in June. Franklin Hurd marries Mrs. Grace Gowen on July 14. A furniture company shows up at Pierce and Laura Young's apartment and repossesses their furniture after Pierce fails to pay them. Authorities arrest Pierce in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and bring him to Portland, Maine, to answer a nonsupport complaint filed by Laura. On September 30, a judge sets bail at $1,000 but releases him on his recognizance. Citing cruel and abusive treatment, Laura (Adams) Young files for divorce in Cumberland County Superior Court on December 5. In her filing, she seeks custody of their three minor children and alimony.

1940: Authorities commit Edmund Badger to the insane asylum at Bangor, Maine. Charles Adams loses his truck driving job and goes to work for Orva's father, Victor Gowen; he also moves into the Gowen home. At their divorce hearing, Laura (Adams) Young tells the court that Pierce would disappear after getting paid on Saturday and not return until Tuesday. The judge grants her divorce and custody of their three children on February 28. He orders Pierce to pay her support of $9 per week.  William H. Barry of Portland, Maine, buys 128 Nelson Street in West Springfield, Massachusetts. Franklin K. Hurd appears before a judge on a complaint of operating a motor vehicle without inspection. The judge fines him $1 and court costs of $3.95.

1942: Laura (Adams) (Young) Barry's car is slightly damaged after it is struck broadside by another vehicle at Main and Carew streets in Springfield, Massachusetts, on December 21. Her son Harvey Young, receives minor injuries to his right hand. 

1944: Laura’s husband, William Hyde Barry, dies at home following a short illness.

1944 - Complaint Against Clarence Ricker Sr.

Clarence Ricker Sr. pleads innocent at his arraignment in Western Somerset Municipal Court, on December 27, following a complaint against him by Orva Adams on claims of wanton and lascivious speech and behavior. The court finds him guilty and fines him $1 plus court costs totaling $9.30. The judge also stipulates that he should depart from his son's house.

Clarence Ricker Jr.'s arraignment was on the same day. Police charged him with assault and battery on his wife Lucille, who filed the complaint against him. He pleaded not guilty. The court found him guilty and ordered him to pay a $5 fine and court costs of $8.10. The judge also sentenced him to 60 days in the Somerset County Jail but suspended the sentence and placed him on probation for six months. (Author's Note: In 1943, Lucille filed a similar complaint against Clarence Jr., who was found guilty and ordered to pay a $15 fine and court costs of $7.70.)

1945: A judge fines Victor Gowen $10 plus court costs of $3.95 for operating a vehicle with inadequate brakes. 
 
1946: Orva Adams is hospitalized in February. Eugene A. Hurteau marries Almeda Adams on July 27. Orva Adams files for divorce from Charles Adams in Somerset County Superior Court. 

1947: Pineland Lumber Company sues Eugene Hurteau in January for a past-due balance of $284.68. Victor Poulin pleads guilty to drunk driving and pays a $100 fine plus court costs.
 
1947 - Beef Heist

Charles Forbus of Brighton, Maine, noticed his two-year-old bull went missing, so he notified the local sheriff, who investigated. When he found the carcass near the home of Charles Adams, it was clear that someone had carved the bull up.

The sheriff charged Charles Adams with receiving stolen property on October 26, 1947. (250 pounds of beef valued at $125). Arcade Jones and Kenneth Murray were also arrested and charged with stealing the bull.

All three appeared in court on January 21, 1948. They pleaded not guilty, and the judge set bail (Jones and Murray $1,000 each, Adams $500). Not being able to pay, they remained in the sheriff's custody.

Adams made bail on either January 22 or 23. Jones and Murray made bail on January 31 for an appearance at the May term of Somerset County Superior Court after the judge found probable cause.

A grand jury indicted the trio on May 13, 1948. Appearing in court on May 20, they all pleaded guilty. The judge sentenced Jones and Murray to six months in jail, and Adams received a four-month sentence.
 
1948: Charles Adams sells land to Victor Gowen. Police arrest Victor Poulin in the early morning hours after causing a drunken disturbance with Orva Adams. Orva requests the court to dismiss her divorce case against Charles Adams, which it does without prejudice on May 11.

1949: Charles and Orva welcome a son (Charles) on April 21. Almeda gives birth to a child on October 14.

1951: Victor Poulin walks away unhurt after a car accident on January 1. Alphonse Deschaine moves to Holyoke, Massachusetts. Victor Poulin is fatally injured when his 1947 Chevrolet overturns in an early morning crash in May. The crash breaks his neck and he dies at the hospital around 4:00 a.m. Orva Adam's ex-husband, Edmund Ladd Badger, who was committed to the insane asylum in 1940, dies there on December 1. 

Victor Poulin's 1947 Chevrolet "Death Car" (1951)

 
 1951 - December Divorce Trial
 
Acting on a tip, John E. Rackley travels to a cabin in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. He asks a local policeman to accompany him, but he does not tell the officer why.

Upon arriving, Rackley is surprised when instead of Almeda (Adams) Hurteau, they find her friend Mrs. Grace Reed drinking cocktails with a male companion. (Mrs. Reed would later tell the judge that she was not surprised by the visit because the guy she was with called the same police officer minutes before and invited him over.)

Rackley, a private eye hired by Almeda's husband, Eugene A. Hurteau, had been tailing her. He followed Almeda about 20 times, starting in August 1951 through October of that same year. On several occasions, Rackley had witnessed Almeda meeting a man at Union Station in Portland, Maine, and taking him back to her house, where she lived with her husband. Rackley would lie in wait, sometimes until 3:00 a.m., and Almeda's gentleman caller was still inside the Hurteau home. Sometimes Rackley would see the man at the train station the following day.

It was no secret that Eugene, a traveling salesman, was a heavy drinker. He sold building materials* and was gone during the week but home on weekends, although sometimes he would be gone for two or three weeks. When Eugene drank, he became verbally abusive toward his wife. (Author's Note: Some sources say Eugene sold road machinery, however, building materials is believed to be correct. His sales territory was northern New England: Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.)

During their messy and public divorce trial, a witness testified that she had seen lipstick stains on Eugene's shirts and handkerchiefs. The witness said that for seven weeks she and her husband had to provide money and buy food for Almeda and her child.

Throughout the trial, Almeda contested the divorce and admitted no wrongdoing. She repeatedly denied her husband's claim of infidelity and said that her husband had framed her.

Rackley testified that he witnessed Almeda visiting bars and conversing with various men. He also said he saw parties at the Hurteau home, some lasting long past midnight.

Eugene's attorney subpoenaed Charles Giftos, a reluctant witness who was said to be one of Almeda's lovers. The court declared him an adverse witness, with the judge warning him to watch his step on more than one occasion.

Almeda hurled accusations about Eugene drinking and hallucinating - saying he once chased imaginary black kittens around their house. In his defense, Eugene said he once kidded his wife about the kittens because she had wanted one.

Eugene told the stunned courtroom that Almeda would "farm out" their child while partaking in her extracurricular activities with other men or throwing parties. He said his wife racked up bills totaling more than $3,000 traveling to Massachusetts to meet various lovers. (Almeda testified that there were no parties. She said she deliberately left all the lights on in the home until 3 and 4 a.m. so people could see what was happening inside.)

As the two-day trial wrapped up on December 21, Almeda became hysterical when the judge granted her husband divorce and custody of their child. (Eugene requested that his sister in Connecticut care for the child, but the judge refused and required the child to stay in Maine.)

In response to his ruling, the judge said Almeda was guilty many times of indiscreet conduct and that there was enough evidence to satisfy some of her husband's claims of cruel and abusive treatment. The judge also said there was no denying that early one morning, Almeda had been seated in a parked car with a man, not her husband, while her child fell ill, and had she been home with the child, as she should have been, it would not have been necessary to track her down to care for the sick child. (Two  Portland, Maine police officers testified that they saw Almeda in an automobile at Union Station at 3:40 a.m. on July 20, 1950.)

It did not take long for Eugene to remarry, which he did ten days after his divorce from Alemda was finalized.

Almeda attempted to gain custody in January 1952, but the judge ruled that Eugene retain custody. (Author's Note: Eugune and his new wife welcomed a newborn on June 11, 1952. They divorced in 1960.)

Since August 12, 1952, the child, by petition, was legally cared for by Mr. and Mrs. Johnson of South Portland, Maine. Almeda went back to court in January 1953 to try to regain custody. The Johnsons had no children of their own. Since young Hurteau's birth, the Johnsons cared for him on multiple occasions (when Almeda "farmed" him out to them). And Mrs. Johnson was visibly upset about the possibility of losing the child they loved.

The judge in this trial said the Johnsons were a "grand couple," but he believed a child should be with its mother and awarded Almeda custody on January 29, 1953. The judge also chastised Eugene as to why he had accused Almeda of infidelity when he was guilty of such conduct.

 The Johnsons were devastated, but they supported the judge's decision.
 
1953: Charles and Orva Adams' son, Robert A. Adams, dies on April 13. (He was ill for about seven years.) Annie (Carter) Wentworth dies in Amherst, Nova Scotia, on May 31. Florence (Jordan) Tibbetts dies on November 18. 
 
1956 - Arrest Details

Police arrest Charles at about 10:30 p.m. on January 22, for striking 20-year-old Private Ronald A. Normandin at his daughter's Walnut St. apartment in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Charles admits to being drunk.

Charles appears in court on January 30 and is found guilty.
 
1957: Police in Holyoke arrest Orva Adams on July 9 following a complaint that she left the scene of an accident unidentified after causing property damage at Lyman and Front streets on July 7. (Police also charge her with driving without a license and using a car without authority. She pleads guilty to all three charges at her arraignment on July 9. The court fines her $25 on the first two charges; they file the third count.)

1958: Police arrest Alphonse Deschaine for driving to endanger following an accident he caused on February 15. He is later acquitted. Alphonse gets laid off. On a complaint made by his wife, Alphonse is charged with failure to support her and their eight minor children. (Sons: Richard, Ronney, Larry, Leroy, Bryan, and James. Daughters: Debra and Darlene. A daughter, Sandra, was born later.) Octo's Retail Furniture Mart files a $500 lawsuit against Charles Adams on May 13 for failing to pay a past-due balance of $353.74. Alphonse regains employment, and the judge dismisses the charge on September 19. 
 
Octo's Retail Furniture Mart

 
1959: Grace-Demos Furniture Company sues Charles Adams for $300 for failing to pay a past-due balance. At the January hearing, the judge finds for the plaintiff, $150. Police arrest Charles Adams for breach of peace on June 28.

1959 - Arrest

At the East Street Club, Charles Adams, who had been drinking, starts making serious accusations about one of Holyoke Police Department's beat patrolmen, Officer John Superson.

Charles phones Holyoke police headquarters. He reports that Officer Superson, who worked part-time at the club on special duty, was serving alcoholic beverages to patrons while wearing his police uniform.

Charles continues his drinking spree at the club and then heads to his apartment on the fifth floor of a building at 597 Canal Street.

Superson, off-duty at the time, pays a visit to Charles's apartment shortly after midnight on Sunday, June 28. (Author's Note: Superson may have followed Charles home.)

Superson knocks on the Adams' apartment door. When Charles's wife, Orva, answers the door, Charles starts yelling at Superson. Orva tells the two men to discuss the matter outside. Charles follows closely behind Superson as they walk down five flights of stairs. Charles shouts at Superson the whole way down, thus creating a disturbance throughout the apartment building that wakes several tenants. Even though 597 South Canal Street was no stranger to problems, its residents were still curious to learn what all the commotion was - this time.

Neighbors eavesdrop as Charles, still on his profanity-laced rant, confronts Superson on the concrete sidewalk in front of the apartment building. A fight ensues when Charles throws the first punch. (Author's Note: At six feet five inches and weighing 250 pounds, Superson was bigger than Charles, who stood about 6 feet tall and weighed 180 pounds.)

Superson intercepts Charles's righthanded punch midair. Holding Charles's fist, Superson attempts to subdue him and throws him onto the sidewalk. Superson then calls for a police cruiser to pick up Charles. Police arrive and at about 12:55 A.M. they arrest Charles for drunkenness and breach of the peace.

The Holyoke Police Department and local judges are all too familiar with Charles Adams, who has a growing laundry-list of police and court records for various misdemeanors.

The officers take Charles to the police station. But due to the severity of his injuries from the scuffle, they later brought him to Holyoke Hospital, where doctors listed him in poor condition and placed him on the danger list. The arresting officers initially thought Charles was stunned due to the fall. While in his jail cell, Charles had drifted in and out of consciousness and was bleeding from either his ear or his nose. They didn't realize that Charles's skull fractured when his head hit the sidewalk. Doctors treated him in the emergency room before admitting him to the hospital at 2:35 A.M. Charles went wholly unconscious at the hospital sometime Sunday morning. He regained consciousness on Monday evening, so on Tuesday, doctors took him off the danger list and upgraded his condition to fair.

Meanwhile, Holyoke police conducted an internal investigation into the events leading to Charles's arrest. With Charles's condition improving, his doctor gave detectives the go-ahead to question him, but Charles would not speak to them. And when they questioned Orva, she seemingly did not want to get involved. But she did give an oral statement saying she did not witness the scuffle because it took place outside while she stayed in the apartment. Still, Orva refused to sign a written statement. The Adams' neighbors, however, were much more cooperative. And they had no problem signing written statements that backed up Superson's claims about the disturbance.

Holyoke Police Chief David H. Barnett vindicated Officer Superson on July 2 when, following his investigation, he said he determined that no police brutality occurred. He also said as far as he was concerned, the case was closed, pending any new information.

Charles remained in the hospital, which left the court no choice but to postpone his hearing. But immediately following his release, the court held his arraignment hearing. Appearing in court on July 23, Charles pleaded not guilty to breach of the peace, and the judge continued the case to August 6. But the judge, citing Charles' ill health, had to re-continue the case again.

In addition to spending several weeks in the hospital, Charles was out of work for about two months before being able to return to the Acme Chain Company, where he was responsible for maintenance. (Author's Note: Orva also worked at Acme Chain.)

Charles planned to sue Officer Superson. Attorney Stephen A. Moynahan of Springfield would represent Charles. A forerunner to Charles's damage suit against Superson was a $50,000 real estate attachment, pending the trial date, filed at the Hampden County Registry of Deeds on March 17, 1960. Moynahan issued a Hampden County Superior Court writ of $50,000 tort action against Officer Superson for false arrest and assault and battery. Deputy Sheriff Edward Sacks served Superson that same day. The tort action listed Charles's injuries: fractured skull, cerebral concussion, partial hearing loss, and impaired eyesight. The writ was returnable by April 4, 1960. (The case ended up going to trial on April 4, 1962. Witnesses included newly divorced Charles (See 1961) and his neighbor Mrs. Germane Morin. During the proceedings, the attorneys held several sidebars and conferences before agreeing to settle for an undisclosed amount.)

1959 - Orva's Pocketbook Caper (5:30 P.M., October 8)


Orva contacted the police to report that she had lost $110 in bills. What happened was that after making a call in a telephone booth near the Holyoke Food Mart, Orva Adams walked out, leaving her brown leather pocketbook behind. When she went back to retrieve the bag, it was gone.

1960: Firefighters receive a call at 4:17 A.M. on March 11 for a fire in Pierre L. Bluteau's apartment. (Investigators believe a cigarette ignited an overstuffed chair.) A judge fines Pierre L. Bluteau $75 for drunk driving in May (a charge of public drunkenness is filed). In July, Alphonse Deschaine pleads guilty to a charge of nonsupport. The judge sets Alphonse's bail at $500 and throws him in jail for 30 days for violating his probation. Following a long illness, Nellie's husband, William Welch, dies in a Maine hospital on November 13.

1961: Emery E. Konrad of Holyoke, Massachusetts, sues Harvey Adams for $700 in March (resulting from an automobile accident on July 27, 1960). Clarence Ricker Jr. drowns under mysterious circumstances. Somebody finds his body in Twelve Mile Brook in Clinton, Maine, on May 28. He may or may not have had a medical episode while fishing and fell into the water. Orva's father, Victor Gowen Sr., dies at 2:45 A.M. on December 9, in Littleton, New Hampshire, of acute peritonitis due to a perforated gastric ulcer contributed by arteriosclerotic heart disease.

1961 - Arrest #1 Details


Alphonse Deschaine's neighbors witness him and Orva Adams having sex together in the hallway of the Holyoke tenement he lived in at 447 High Street at about 10:30 P.M. on March 14. Fed-up by the spectacle, they call the police.

 

Four police officers arrive on the scene. They arrest Alphonse and Orva and charge each with two counts, drunkenness and lewdness.

 

They are arraigned in Holyoke District Court the next morning. Orva appeared in front of the judge first. She pleaded guilty to drunkenness and not guilty to lewdness. The judge continued her case and set bail at $150. Next up was Alphonse. He pleaded guilty to both charges, and the judge set bail at $150. The judge also ordered them to keep away from each other.

Appearing in court on March 17, Orva retracted her not-guilty plea, and the judge placed her on probation for one year. Alphonse received the same sentence.

 

1961 - Arrest #2 Details


Orva Adams and Alphonse Deschaine violate the judge's order not to see each other. Once again, fed-up neighbors rat the couple out to police, who catch them red-handed in Alphonse's apartment on the afternoon of Friday, April 28. Police arrest them for violating their probation. They also charge them with drunkenness. When the judge hears that Orva and Alphonse violated his order, he revokes their suspended sentence and throws them both in jail for two months. (The judge adds an additional 15 days to Alphonse's sentence for failing to pay a $15 fine.)

 

1961 - Charles Adams Divorce


Following his wife's very public affair with Alphonse Deschaine, Charles Adams files for divorce on the grounds of gross and confirmed habits of intoxication. The court grants Charles custody of their three minor children.

 

1962: Pierre L. Bluteau faces a judge after police arrested him on a complaint from his wife, Yvonne, for failure to support her and their two minor children. He is held on $650 bail and the case continues on February 14. Pierre makes bail and the judge issues a continuance on February 21. Grace (Jones) (Gowen) Hurd dies in a Colorado hospital on December 23.

1964 - Las Vegas Wedding Nightmare

Althea's youngest son, Kenneth C. Murray Jr., and his bride-to-be, Darlene Lowe, left California for Las Vegas on August 16.

Althea and Kenneth Sr. had already arrived in Sin City for the wedding, as did Darlene's parents. They waited for the young couple to show, but they never did.
 
Darlene was behind the wheel of the 1962 Chevrolet as it traveled eastbound on U.S. 91 at a high rate of speed. Approaching heavy traffic, Darlene pressed hard on the brake pedal, causing the car to skid off the roadway about two miles from the Nevada border. Darlene and Kenneth were ejected from the vehicle as it flipped over end to end at least three times before landing upright.

The California Highway Patrol responded to the accident. Mercy ambulance took the young couple to Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital.  

Kenneth died at the hospital about 2.5 hours after the accident. Darlene was seriously injured and admitted to the hospital with a broken hip and lacerations. (Kenneth lived at 849 11th Street, Santa Monica, CA, and Darlene lived in the same city at 2439 4th Street.)

1966: With liabilities totaling $1,174, Almeda (Adams) (Trew) Hurteau files Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection (a.k.a. Wage Earner Plan). Bruce J. Charpentier and Joanne M. Hitchcock marry on August 6. A judge finds Harvey Adams guilty of speeding and fines him $20.

1967: Bruce Charpentier and Joanne (Hitchcock) Charpentier separate on February 1. Harvey gets in a car accident at about 2:10 a.m. on November 21. His passenger, Doris Kwasniewski, who is also the car's owner, suffers head injuries.

1968: Police arrest Alphonse Deschaine after he was involved in two hit-and-run car accidents and a third collision involving five vehicles on the same day (Monday afternoon, September 16). Hundreds of spectators flood the street to view the heavily damaged cars in the five-car pileup. Police charge Alphonse with failure to stop, wet driving, drunkenness, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, and failure to appear in court. Charles is injured in a car accident in South Hadley, Massachusetts, on October 4. Holyoke Hospital treats him for lacerations on his head and a right knee injury. Joanne Charpentier's father, Robert E. Hitchcock Sr., dies when his truck leaves I-495 and rolls down an embankment, knocking down several guardrails. 

1969: Laura May (Adams) Barry dies in Wesson Memorial Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts, on January 15. (She was a nurse at the time of her death.) Harvey Adams gets into an accident after the car he is driving hits an open manhole while traveling north on South Canal Street around three A.M. on March 9. 

1970: Police arrest Harvey Adams. He is charged with speeding, burning rubber, having no registration in possession, a red light violation, and operating an unregistered vehicle. 

1971: On grounds of gross and confirmed habits of intoxication, a judge grants Joanne divorce from Bruce J. Charpentier on November 3. and awards her custody of their son. The judge dismisses Bruce's claim of cruel and abusive treatment. 

1972: Joanne (Hitchcock) Charpentier appears in court to answer a charge of larceny by check under $100. 

1974: Charles and Orva's son, Harvey E. Adams, marries Joanne (Hitchcock) Charpentier on May 11. 

1975: Police arrest Alphonse Deschaine's sons, Richard and Ronney, following an accident on September 28. Police charge Richard with driving under the influence of alcohol and they charge Ronney with breach of peace and interfering with a police officer. (In 1972, police arrested Richard for drunkenness, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without a license, driving an uninsured car, and driving an unregistered vehicle.) 

1975 - Hole in the Wall Cafe Stabbing

A "friend" stabs Harvey Adams in the lower left chest at a dive bar called the Hole in the Wall Cafe (679 High Street, Holyoke, Massachusetts), at about 10:15 P.M. on April 21. Joanne rushes him to Holyoke Hospital. The hospital admits him after discovering that he has internal injuries. When police question Harvey, he refuses to name the person who stabbed him. (The bar was a reputed hang-out for teenage runaways.)

1975 - Mysterious Deaths

Pierre Bluteau's landlord calls Holyoke police after entering Pierre's apartment through the backdoor and discovering his body and that of Orva Adams in the bedroom, at two P.M. on March 13. Police arrive and secure the apartment. (They keep it under lock and key until early April.)

 

The bodies are lying on their backs, about three feet apart, on the bedroom floor. Police note that even though there is a substantial amount of trash all over the apartment, there are no obvious signs of foul play or a break-in and neither body shows signs of injury. They also note the large number of full and empty liquor bottles scattered about the apartment. The medical examiner estimates that the couple had been dead within 24 hours of being found. Upon closer inspection, detectives find several bills from a local liquor store.

 

Detectives interview Pierre's landlord, neighbors, and acquaintances. They learn that Orva moved in with Pierre about two years prior.

Authorities send the bodies for an autopsy, which fails to shine light on the cause of death. The medical examiner sends tissues from the bodies to state pathologists in Boston. After the first batch comes up inconclusive, additional tissue samples are sent to Boston. Test results show the couple had traces of ethanol (ethynol intake), isopropanol, ethylene glycol, and acetone in their blood. 

Authorites Remove Orva's Body

Authorities close the case in August. In their final report, they said the couple had been drinking heavily. They theorized that they mistakenly drank from a bottle of antifreeze or some other poisonous fluid that had alcohol in it.

At the time of her death, Orva Adams left three daughters, Mrs. Jacqueline Menard, Deborah J. Adams, and Mrs. Patricia Clappe. She also left two sons, Harvey and Charles. (Orva was predeceased by her son Robert.) Pierre left his wife, Yvonne, a son, Regis, and a daughter, Mrs. Regina Leduc. (Pierre was predeceased by a son killed in a car accident.)

1979: Orva's former lover, Alphonse Deschaine, dies in Daytona Beach, Florida, on July 28. (His cause of death was unknown; therefore, the medical examiner listed it as natural causes. He was only 56.)

1987: Charles Augustus Adams dies on January 26 in Warren, Massachusetts.

1988: Nellie Arletta (Wentworth) (Adams) Welch dies in a nursing home in Agawam, Massachusetts, on September 23.

2001: Althea (Gowen) (Murray) Shipp dies on October 18. Joanne Marie (Hitchcock) (Charpentier) Adams dies on December 29.

2003: After working to identify all of its graves, the cemetery Charles Augustus Adams is buried in notes in their report that they found no headstone for him.

2008: Harvey E. Adams (Charles and Orva's son) dies on September 28.

2015: Charles A. Adams (Charles and Orva's son) dies on June 23. 



Edited Out/Author's Additional Research Notes

Working Titles: History Repeats Itself, The Adams Family, A Family Affair, Roots

Victor Gowen (Known Addresses)
Wellington, Maine
Carlton, Maine (1925)
East Wellington, Maine. (1926)
Harmony, Maine (1941)
Bridgton, Maine (c. 1945)
Littleton, New Hampshire. (1953)


Charles A. Adams (Known Addresses)
Gilbertsville, Massachusetts (1953)
80 Hamilton St., Holyoke, Massachusetts (1956)
597 Canal St., Holyoke, Massachusetts (1959)
44A Winthrop Terrace, Warren, Massachusetts (moved to Warren c. 1979)

Charles A. Adams Miscellaneous Information
Served in the US Army during WWII.
Jehovah Witness.
Fireman, 1930s.
Truck driver.
Sheet metal worker (ACME Chain Company).


Almeda Frances Adams Known Addresses
128 Brighton Avenue, Portland, Maine (1946)

Laura May Adams (Known Addresses)
128 Nelson St., West Springfield, M.A.

Franklin K. Hurd (Known Addresses)
El Paso, TX (1953)
Colorado Springs, CO (c. 1954)


Harvey Adams (Known Addresses)
597 Canal St., Holyoke, MA (1961)
229 Chicomansett Village, Chicopee, MA (1966)
76A Rivers Ave., Chicopee, MA (1970)
260 Suffolk St., Holyoke, MA (1974)

At the time of his death, Harvey Adams was employed by the S. D. Warren Company.

Further research is needed but Joanne may have had a daughter who may have been engaged to Harvey's son, Robert Richard Adams.

Ronald Normandin lived at 548 Prospect St., Willimansett (Chicopee).

Pierre Bluteau's family contested his grandfather's will which was tied up in the courts for years.

It appears that Pierre Bluteau lived in the same apartment building his entire life. His family owned the building for many years. Pierre's grandfather was the first French-Canadian to settle in Holyoke. 





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