i grew up in {squantum }, a penninsula off of quincy ma. my 6 th grade students are now studying the s f gold rush. lotta crabtree's name came up, and i heard stories all through my childhood of her connection with squantum. many roads are named after her family :livesy rd , ashworth rd, even crabtree lane, please if you know anything about this connection, let me know . i would be gratefull. thanx, hillary parnaby

-- hillary parnaby (gexy56@aol.com), January 17, 2001

Answers

I grew up in Squantum and so did my dad. I call him and asked him because he is a history buff. He did not have a lot of info for me with out looking it up but he said that Lotta Crabtree's husband was the one how owned most of the land in Squantum, He also thinks that she was in theatre. Could you know what else you find. I would be interested in knowing. Jessica

-- Jessica Cushing (jcush@onebox.com), June 09, 2001.

Lotta is most famous here in San Francisco. Her parents brought her out west after the gold rush. Her father, a handsome charming man, gambled and drank. The mother was desperate to feed her child. They met Lola Montez (Liza Gilbert/from England). Lola saw something in little Lotta. She taught her how to intertain. With a few dances and comedy lines, Lotta was an immediate hit. These poor souls looking for gold, lonely and homesick for their families, were thrilled to see this charming talented little girl. Lotta's mother would gather up the gold nuggets after the performance. San Francisco was their next conquest. Then the East Coast and Europe. She was perhaps America's first 'super star.She was an excellent actress and comedian, with a slightly naughty appeal. She would dress as different characters, including Asians and men. After her huge success, she remembered that in SF when she was a child there was no water available for the citizens and horses to drink from. In 1875, she donated Lotta's fountain after becoming very rich,to SF. It is the most important icon in the city. Every anniversary of the 1906 Earthquake and Fire, the survivors have met at the fountain at 5:00am. When she died in the 1920's she donated millions to animal rights. She never married. She did fall in love; however, her mother controlled her until the end. Lotta had no regrets, she wrote at the end she had a fanta

-- Craig Smith (palmedo@aol.com), June 11, 2001.

Hi, I am all so look for more things about her she in a relative of mine on my fathers side. Ill try and post some info for you if i can. :)

-- Adam crabtree (rcrabtree@aol.com), February 10, 2003.

I GREW UP IN SQUANTUM LVED THERE MY WHOLE LIFE AND NEVER LEFT, UNTIL JUST LAST YEAR WHEN I JOINED THE MILITIARY, ITS A NICE PLACE TO LIVE, AND GROW UP I PROBABLY SPENT MORE THAN HALF MY LIFE DOWN THE PARK BEHIND SQUANTUM SCHOOL. I KNOW ALOT OF PEOPLE FROM AROUND THERE AND ONE THING I'VE NOTICED IS HOW THE NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPED A LINE BETWEEN BLUE COLLAR TYPE PEOPLE AND RATHER WEALTHY PEOPLE. FROM PARTS SUCH AS CRABTREE. I REMEMBER GETTING YELLED AT AS A KID FOR SWIMMING IN THE WATER IN FRONT OF SOMEONES HOUSE, SWIMMING IN FRONT OF SOMEONES HOUSE DOES THAT NOT SEEM STRANGE TO YOU. I JUST HOPE THAT THE PEOPLE IN SQUANTUM WHO HAVE BEEN THERE FOR YEARS, DONT END UP LEAVING BECAUSE OF HOW HIGH PRICED THE AREA IS TO LIVE IN, I THINK THAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING A LITTLE BY A FEW PEOPLE NOT TO NAME ANY NAMES (STAMOS).

-- chopper (john.walsh@dm.af.mil), April 03, 2003.

Lotta Crabtree, a wise investor, invested in land in Squantum. Squantum is a peninsula connected to North Quincy by a causeway, and which is a part of North Quincy. Lotta loved animals and kept racehorses; Sonoma Road in Squantum is named after Sonoma Girl, one of Lotta's favorite racehorses. Livesy Rd. was given Lotta's mother's maiden name, and Ashworth was her father's middle name. Those roads, along with Crabtree Road, were part of the parcel of land which Lotta owned.

Lotta spent the last years of her life in Boston, in the Brewster Hotel. She also played in Boston theaters, including The Park and The Boston Theater.

When she was older, Lotta travelled a lot, but bought the Hotel Brewster in 1909 and kept rooms there. At her brother Jack's sugegeestionh she set up a racing stable, which he would manage. The stables were in the Atlantic sectioh of Quincy, and Jack Crabtree (and his wife Annie) moved onto 70 acres estate in SSheand kept rooms in the Hotel Brewster

-- Rachel Squires Bloom (rmsbloom@hotmail.com), May 07, 2003.