Walter Randall Jacobs & Wives

Walter Randall Jacobs

Walter Randall Jacobs

Born April 10, 1881 in Portland, Maine

to George Barstow Jacobs Sr. and Mary L. (Libby) Jacobs

He married Ethel Bliss Sparrow on January 14, 1908 in Portland, Maine

The couple had 2 girls, Margaret Eleanor and Ethel Sparrow

After Ethel's death (see below) he married Bessie Frances Weeks in 1919

He died on November 3, 1963 in Portland, Maine

Ethel Bliss Sparrow

Ethel Bliss Sparrow

Born May 21, 1882 in Portland, Maine

to Capt. Grenville Sparrow and Martha (Tukey) Sparrow

She married Walter Randall Jacobs on January 14, 1908 in Portland, Maine

The couple had 2 girls, Margaret Eleanor and Ethel Sparrow

She died, due to complications following childbirth, on July 1, 1911 in Portland, Maine 

Bessie Frances Weeks

Bessie Frances Weeks

Born January 31, 1889 in Malden, Mass.

to Howard T. Weeks and Harriet (Glover) Weeks 

She married Walter Randall Jacobs in 1919 and helped him

raise his 2 daughters from his previous marriage.

She died in February of 1966 in Portland, Maine

Ethel and Bessie had been friends growing up. 

Bessie's step-mother, Grace (Clough) Weeks, was the niece of Martha (Tukey) Sparrow, Ethels mother.

Bessie, Walter, and Ethel

The Jacobs Side - Ethel and Margaret

I'm going to start with my 'Nana', Ethel Sparrow (Jacobs) MacNeil, whom I've already mentioned a few times, and her older sister, Margaret.

Ethel Sparrow Jacobs

She was born on June 24, 1911 in Portland, Maine

to Walter Randall Jacobs and Ethel Bliss (Sparrow) Jacobs

She married Cecil R. MacNeil on November 7, 1931

and after having 6 children, the couple divorced in the 1970's

She passed away in Freeport, Maine on August 6, 2008

Margaret Eleanor Jacobs

She was born on April 19, 1910 in Portland, Maine

to Walter Randall Jacobs and Ethel Bliss (Sparrow) Jacobs

She married John L. Snider on June 21, 1934

They had 2 boys, William and Charles.

She passed away in Newton, Mass. on February 2, 1998

Although we do have a ton of photos of Ethel and Margaret together, they were not raised together as sisters until Ethel was around 10 years old. Ethel Bliss (Sparrow) Jacobs passed away shortly after Ethel was born, leaving Walter as a single parent. He ended up moving in and staying with his mother-in-law, Martha Ann (Tukey) Sparrow, with Margaret, until he remarried a woman named Bessie Frances Weeks in 1919. After their marriage, Ethel (who was being raised by Walter's sister, Fanny) moved back into the Jacobs home with her father, sister, and new step-mother.

Ethel and Margaret - Growing Up

Ethel Sparrow Jacobs - Circa 1912

Ethel Sparrow and Margaret Eleanor Jacobs at Stroudwater

Ethel Sparrow and Margaret Eleanor Jacobs

Margaret Eleanor, Walter R., and Ethel Sparrow Jacobs

Ethel Sparrow Jacobs, Bessie F. (Weeks) Jacobs,
and Margaret Eleanor Jacobs

Ethel Sparrow and Margaret Eleanor Jacobs

Walter R. Jacobs, Bessie F. (Weeks) Jacobs,
Margaret Eleanor and Ethel Sparrow Jacobs

Ethel Sparrow Jacobs (6th Grade - 1923)

Bessie F. (Weeks) Jacobs, Margaret Eleanor Jacobs,
and Walter R. Jacobs

Margaret Eleanor Jacobs w/ her Family

Margarets husband, John L. Snider,  their son (not sure which one),
and Margaret.

Margaret and son (again, not sure which one).

Margaret with Ethel's children
Franklin and Walter

MacNeil Family Pictures (1920 – 1950)

Cecil MacNeil & Family

Sisters - Theo, Natalie, and Margaret
MacNeil

Brothers - John, Harry,
and Cecil MacNeil

Sisters - Theo and Margaret MacNeil

Theo, Jack Hornsinger (Theo's boyfriend/husband),
Natalie, Margaret, and Annie (Barnes) MacNeil.
(Not sure of the names of the others.)

Cecil MacNeil & Ethel (Jacobs) MacNeil w/ his family

Ethel, Cecil, Natalie, Chester MacMahan
(Margarets boyfriend/husband), Margaret, Theo and Unknown.

Back Row - Chester, Unknown, and Cecil
Front Row - Margaret, Natalie, and Ethel

Cecil MacNeil & Ethel (Jacobs) MacNeil w/ their children

Cecil, Ethel, and baby Walter

Walter and Cecil

Cecil and Ethel
with Franklin, Frances, and Walter

Ethel with
Walter, Franklin, and Frances

Franklin, Walter, Frances
and Gordon

Ethel (holding Alice), Cecil, Gordon (in front of Cecil),
Walter, Franklin, and Frances

Franklin, Ethel, Walter, Alice, Frances, and Gordon

Walter, Ethel, Gordon, Frances, Alice and Raymond