The above photograph depicts Maynard Wesley Whaples, Sr. (1902-1962) on the left, and his father, Charles Wesley Whaples (1874-1963). The photograph is dated 24 August 1952 and the location is Twin Points in Dorchester County, MD. “Twin Points” refers to an area west of Cambridge, MD on the south bank of the Choptank River facing Tilghman Island on the north bank. I was unable to discover a Whaples connection to Twin Points [see the update below].
Charles was born in Hartford, CT and moved to Cambridge, MD at the age of 19. He married Ruby Florence Sammons (1878-1938) in 1894 and they had nine children. An oysterman, in notices published in The Baltimore Sun of 12-13 February 1963 he was described as “an old-time dredge boat captain” and as a “sailboat racing enthusiast on the tidewater rivers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.” Charles won the Comet class in the Tred Avon (River) Yacht Club’s 4th of July 1936 sailing race in the vicinity of Easton, MD. In the 1910s he owned parts of the schooner Dreadnaught and the sloop Thistle. Charles’ brother George Nelson Whaples (1871) was also a waterman who lived in Cambridge and owned the schooner Robbins between 1910 and 1915. They lived at various addresses in the city of Cambridge.
Maynard married Lillie Agnes Abbott (1905-1985) and they had one child, Maynard Wesley Whaples, Jr. (1925-1989). Maynard spent his career in the garment industry. In the 1930 Census Maynard was a cutter and Lillie was a seamstress for the Liberty Manufacturing Company in Cambridge. In the 1940 Census Maynard was enumerated as a “manager in shirt manufacturing.” Lillie’s father, John Henry Abbott (1879-1953), was also a waterman who was born on Deal Island in Wicomico County, MD. Lillie’s mother was Nancy Ellen Willey (1884-1955).
Below is the reverse of the photograph which I purchased at an antique store on The Avenue in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore. There were dozens of photographs in the box these were in but this was the only one with identifying information. The box also contained several letters written to Lillie by her son Maynard, Jr. during WWII and others. I hope to post about these documents in the future.
1 October 2017 update: I received a note from one of Maynard’s nieces who informed as follows to explain Maynard’s connection with Twin Point: “Saw your picture of Maynard Whaples and father and you couldn’t connect them with Twin Point. [Maynard’s] brother, Charles, was married to [Maynard’s wife’s sister] and they both owned property of the end of Twin Point Rd. There was, at one time, two residences joined by a screen porch, but that burned down somewhere in the late 50’s. They then built separate houses on the same property. After their deaths, I don’t believe anyone in the family bought the property.” This communication also reminded me that Maynard and two of his brothers married three Abbott sisters.