Lester Steven Foss Jr. (1893 - 1964)

Born 11 Aug 1893 in Cumberland Mills, Westbrook, Cumberland, Massachusetts, United States

Husband of Marion B. (Edgecomb) Foss — married 12 Sep 1914 in Livermore Falls, East Livermore, Androscoggin, Maine, United States

Husband of Thelma M. Taylor — married 24 Nov 1936 in Maine, United States

Died 10 Oct 1964 at age 71 in Maine, United States

Biography

Birth

Lester Stephen Foss Jr. was born at the village of Cumberland Mills in Westbrook, Maine, on 11 Aug 1893, the son of Lester S. Foss Sr. and Minnie A. (Reynolds) Foss.^[1][2]

Marriages

1. On 12 Sep 1914, Lester S. Foss Jr., clerk, 21, and Marion B. Edgecomb, student, 19, both of Livermore Falls, Maine, published at Livermore Falls their intention to marry, and they married there on 12 Sep 1914.^[3] There were no known children from the marriage.
2. Lester S. Foss married Thelma M. Taylor, with whom he shares a gravestone,^[4] on 24 Nov 1936.^[5] For some reason they were living apart in 1940; the 1940 Census shows Lester S. Foss living with his widowed mother-in-law, Hattie M. Edgecomb, at Livermore Falls, Maine. His marital status is shown as married, but that appears to have been crossed out or questioned.^[6] There were no known children from the marriage.

Military Service

In his World War I draft registration, Lester S. Foss reported that he had served for three years as a corporal in the Maine National Guard.^[2] His Veterans Administration index card shows that he served as a seaman 2nd class in the United States Naval Reserve Force from 7 May 1918 to 17 Feb 1919.^[7]

Occupation

Lester Foss' World War I draft registration card says he was a watchmaker.^[2] In 1940, he was called the owner of a jewelry store.^[6] He may have taken over the business of his father-in-law, Edwin Edgecomb, who owed a jewelry store at Livermore Falls, Maine.^[8] An 1870 photo in the 1970 history of Livermore, Maine, of the east side of South Main Street of Livermore Falls, says it was the "present [1970] location of Foss's Jewelry Store."^[9]

Death

Lester Steven Foss died on 10 Oct 1964.^[7] His name is engraved on the Edgecomb family gravestone at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Livermore Falls, Maine, with a birth date of 1893 and no death date,^[10] but he apparently was buried with his second wife at the North Jay Cemetery in Jay, Maine, where his grave marker is inscribed with the dates 1893-1964.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Birth record of Lester S. Foss, in Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921, database with images, FamilySearch > Vital records 1892-1907 > Folgert-Fossman > image 2731 of 3817; multiple sources, Maine.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Draft registration card of Lester Steven Foss Jr., in United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, database with images, FamilySearch > Maine > Androscoggin County no 2; A-M > image 2013 of 3820; citing NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). His name middle name is spelled Steven in the typed "name in full" section of the card, but his signature spells it Stephen.
3. ↑ Marriage record of Lester S. Foss Jr. and Marion B. Edgecomb, in Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921, database with images, FamilySearch > Vital records, 1908-1922 > Fortney - Frawley, > image 359 of 4346; multiple sources, Maine.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Photo of gravestone of Thelma T. Foss and Lester S. Foss (Find A Grave: Memorial #154997964)
5. ↑ FamilySearch transcription of the marriage record of Lester S. Foss of Livermore Falls, Maine, and Thelma M. Taylor of North Jay, Maine, in Maine, Marriage Index, 1892-1966, 1977-1996, database, FamilySearch > Lester S Foss Jr and Thelma M Taylor, 24 Nov 1936; citing Marriage, Maine, United States, State Archives, Augusta.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Lester S. Foss Jr. in the Hattie M. Edgecomb household, household #56, in United States Census, 1940, database with images, FamilySearch > Maine > Androscoggin > Livermore Falls Town > 1-69 > image 10 of 29; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Veterans Administration Index Card for Lester Stephen Foss, in United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940, database, FamilySearch > Veterans Affairs master index, prior war file | 76193916| RG 15, Foley, James - Foster, Clifford Max Jr., dup roll 73A, pt. 4 of 4, 1917-1940 > image 3124 of 4331; citing NARA microfilm publication 76193916 (St. Louis: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985).
8. ↑ Ira Thompson Monroe, History of the Town of Livermore, Androscoggin County Maine; From Its Inception in 1735 and Its Grant of Land in 1772 to Its Organization in 1795 Up to the Present Time 1928 (Lewiston, Me., 1928), page 104
9. ↑ 1870 photo of South Main Street, Livermore Falls, Maine, in Reginald H. Sturtevant, A History of Livermore, Maine], Second Edition (Trafford Publishing, n.p., 1970, 2nd ed., 2010), page 204
10. ↑ Photo of gravestone of Edwin E. Edgecomb; Hattie M. Bryant, his wife; Lester S. Foss; and Marion B. Edgecomb, his wife (Find A Grave: Memorial #179137165)