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Susan Ladd (Campbell) Hyde

Aunt“Susie” as she was known in the Family, was the daughter of Colin Campbell III and Phoebe Anne Seeley.  She was born at Beechwood, Weymouth North, in 1858.  I remember, as a boy, in the late 1940ies, visiting other Aunts with my Father whenever we were in Weymouth.  It was a very formal affair with tea and cucumber sandwiches. By then Susie and her sisters were gone but the next generation visited in the summer.    Aunt Bal and Aunt Jessie to name a few.
I have in my possession an article about Beechwood written by cousin Sydney Holyoke whose Mother, Charlotte was Susie’s sister.  This is an interesting Story written by him about his Aunt Susie.

“My Aunt Susie was the last of the Campbell “girls” to get married.  I think she had no special object in matrimony, she simply wanted to be able to put a “Mrs.“ before her name.   Finally she met and married a clergyman, with a county parish in Massachusetts, by the name of William Hyde.   It didn’t appear to be a very close marriage because, every summer she left her husband, and his lonely preaching, while visiting the home of her youth Beechwood.  Also she did not leave her estate to her   husband but to her sister, Aunt Min‘s children, Cuth and Dorothy.

One summer she bought a new, shiny, black model T-Ford touring car, the  kind where you put on side curtains when it rained. This was  Aunt  Susie’s pride and joy, a priceless possession.  She had a  special  dustcloth which she went all over the car before she started  and then again as soon as she returned home.

The model-T had no gas gauge. The attendant at the gas pump had a stick which he put into the tank to see how much gas was left.  She would have none of this!  She had her own special stick and after wiping it carefully with a clean cloth and gave it to the attendant to use rather than to trust his stick.

In those days, ladies, particularly those of some considerable maturity, wore skirts down at least to their ankles.  So she would then daintily lift up her skirt, reach into the top of her black cotton stockings and remove her purse  to  pay her bill .

Aunt  Susie  owned  her  car  but never did learn to drive  it.  She had a very reliable chauffeur, her sister Minnie.  Aunt Min  did all the driving while Susie always sat straight and proudly with her on the front seat.   Aunt Min was an excellent driver and was most articulate when she  stopped the car and told off some poor unfortunate male whose  driving  methods  displeased her .  It was really a treat to drive with that odd pair of old , but “young -at- heart” ladies .”

These are some of the stories from cousin Sydney Holyoke which I have found in his many letters to my Grandfather and to Aunt Bal.  There are more letters that may be in the possession of cousin Elissa or other members of the Family.  If you have any to share please copy to me.  Elissa and I plan to get together to sort through them properly so these memories will not be forgotten.