By Kathleen Downey
Richard Doyle poses with his Book “Ericson Family History”
Richard Doyle likes to keep busy. The retired Newburyport High School history teacher (he taught for 37 years, 17 of those years simultaneously teaching theatre arts) had just published his facetiously titled teaching memoir, “Winston Churchill Was a Catholic Priest” when he spoke with Newburyport Today last year to share anecdotes and insights into the world of teaching. (The title of his memoir is taken from an actual student answer to a test question.) Now Doyle has just finished writing a book that profiles his family’s genealogy. “Erickson Family History” is a rich exploration of Doyle’s Swedish lineage, following the bloodline and family heritage passed to him through his mother. The book is a precious account of meshed life stories of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Doyle describes his latest effort as “a gift for the next generation of my family.” But the personal tome is also a time capsule of people and events that colored an earlier period of Newburyport.
Doyle’s grandfather, John Erickson, provides one of the more colorful stories. A veteran of the Spanish-American War, he served as Newburyport’s fire chief during the mid 1920s. During the course of his tenure, he issued a warrant against local businessman Bossy Gillis for improper storage and sale of gasoline without a permit. Gillis was subsequently fined $100 and spent 30 days in jail. But when Gillis later became mayor (one of the city’s more fabled), he exercised what Doyle describes as retaliation: Gillis promptly fired Doyle’s grandfather. “The indignity took an emotional toll on my grandfather,” says Doyle. Erickson died shortly thereafter of malaria, contracted during his military service.
Another relative who served the city was Doyle’s great uncle. “My grandmother’s brother, John Kelleher, was elected to four consecutive terms of mayor, from 1942 to 1949,” Doyle informs me. One of his more memorable mayoral contributions was the “Depression show” fundraiser that he organized at City Hall. “The little variety show raised $6000, an impressive amount during the Depression era,” says Doyle.
Doyle's Book - which contains family photos and Newburyport lore
But “Erickson Family History” also includes whimsical snippets, like the replicated recipe for Jordan Marsh’s famous blueberry muffins, which were as legendary throughout the Greater Boston area as the now defunct Boston-based department store for which they are eponymously named. “My aunt Josephine lived in Boston –she loved the hustle and bustle—and she worked at Jordan Marsh,” Doyle explains.
Included in the book are lots of family photos, stark pictures of Newburyport landmarks, and historical maps of the city and its environs.
A labor of love, Doyle says that his niece got the task rolling with the initial research and by sketching the Erickson family tree. Doyle took the mantle from there, and with his natural affinity for history and his tenacity for research, the book began to take shape. “I believe the teacher in me took over. I sent questionnaires to all my cousins, asking questions such as: What is your favorite memory? What is the most important thing that your parents taught you? . . .” Doyle says that the best thing to come from the book is the closeness it has fostered amongst his family. “It feels very nice,” he says with quiet humility.
Doyle cites his mother as his biggest inspiration. She stressed to Doyle the importance of an education, of earning a college diploma, and of always learning. His aunts and uncles reinforced this ethic. “I think I was programmed into becoming and educator,” Doyle laughs.
A role model whom Doyle often cited to his students is Franklin D. Roosevelt, whom Doyle admires for “saving the country from revolution and upheaval during the Great Depression.” He would tell his students, “Not everything that Roosevelt tried as president worked—but the point is that Roosevelt always tried and always gave his best effort.”
Reflecting upon history is second-nature to Doyle. A quotation from his book aptly captures the sentiment that he strived to convey to his students . . . and now shares with his family in “Erickson Family History.” “Goodness and greatness come from our past and will serve us well into future,” he writes.
Readers can leaf through Richard Doyle’s book, “Erickson Family History,” at the Newburyport Public Library, where it is available in the local archives room.
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Kathleen Downey is a contributing writer to Newburyport-Today if you are a “Townie” and would like to be interviewed by Kathleen, please let us know!
