Rachael (Dean) Eastman was born in Lawrence, MA on April 28, 1895, the daughter of William W. Dean and Rebecca (Sager) Dean. Rachael had an older sister, Ethel (1883 – 1952). Her husband was Ralph Sawyer.
Rachael was descended from a long line of Marblehead Privateers, who fought in both the War for Independence and the War of 1812. The papers of the Melzard Family are held at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
The Dean Family, from Salem, MA, included a number of sea captains in the South Pacific and Asia trade. Rachael’s grandfather, William Dean, was a sea captain who was buried at sea in 1846. The early Dean genealogy is recorded in the Essex Institute Historical Collection, Volume 13.
Rachael experienced a wonderful childhood. Her family was able to afford a summer cottage on the shore of nearby Canobie Lake in Salem, NH. The cottage provided a retreat from the summer humidity of their home in densely populated Lawrence, MA.
Rachael attended Oliver Grammar School in Lawrence (her diploma, class picture, and class day picture are framed and on display at the present Oliver School.) She graduated from Lawrence High School in 1913.
She was an extremely independent young woman. In 1911, she was one of the first women in the Merrimack Valley to get a driver’s license. Although the automobile had been around for a while, most women had problems with the hand cranked ignition. In 1911, automobiles came out with the key-turned electric ignition.
After High School, Rachael attended and graduation from Boston’s Fanny Farmer Cooking School.
On December 12, 1917, Rachael married Weston F. Eastman, and on February 6, 1919, their only child, Weston Dean Eastman, was born.
In addition to being a loving and dedicated wife and mother, Rachael led an extremely active and fulfilling cultural and civic life. She was an involved member of both the Lawrence Woman’s Club and Shawsheen Woman’s Club as well as a lifetime member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Theatre Guild of Boston.
Rachael was an accomplished bridge player, belonging to a number of bridge clubs. She was also an enthusiastic antique collector.
She loved sports, particularly her beloved Boston Red Sox. She rarely missed watching or listening to a game.
Over the years, she spent many enjoyable summers with her family at York Beach, ME.
After the death of her husband Weston, Rachael became the matriarch of the Eastman family, leading many family trips to the Marlboro-Blenheim Hotel in Atlantic City, twice a year: for Easter and for the Miss America Contest and Parade. She and her family also frequented Washington, D.C. for historical adventures, where they stayed at the Shoreham Hotel. Columbus Day weekend was the annual trip to Montreal to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving, staying at either the Windsor Hotel or Queen Elizabeth Hotel.
Sundays were always a dedicated family day in the Eastman family with a Sunday dinner and then various roadtrips, some at over a distance of 200 miles roundtrip!
Rachael was an outstanding cook who was always creating special pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, and poached salmon with white egg sauce, green peas and new potatoes for the traditional Fourth of July dinner.
She always made sure that the Eastman family would never forget their New England Yankee food heritage. Many Sunday and holiday dinners included a number of items from S.S. Pierce, as well as New England boiled dinner, creamed salt cod, planked steak, Anadama bread, baked beans with canned B&M brown bread, Rat Trap cheddar cheese, Johnny cakes, Indian pudding, hermits, Boston cream pie with Moxie and hard cider to drink.
Rachael led an elegant and rewarding life. She died in December of 1973.
From the Present Back: The Paternal Ancestry of Rachel Dean Eastman and the Dean Family Name
I am Weston Dean Eastman, Jr (W. Dean Eastman), born 2/22/1948, the only child of Weston Dean Eastman and Harriet Ridings Eastman, married 6/9/1946 in Lawrence, MA.
Weston Dean Eastman was born 2/6/1919, the only child of Weston F Eastman (born in Lawrence, MA 8/6/1883) and Rachael Dean Eastman, who were married in Lawrence, MA on 12/12/1917.
Rachael Dean Eastman (b. 4/28/1895 in Lawrence, MA) was the daughter of William Waters Dean, (b. 4/15/1847 in Lawrence, MA, d. 5/30/1918 Lawrence, MA). William Waters Dean and Rachael’s mother Rebecca Sager were married in Lawrence, MA on 11/30/1876.
Rachael’s sister Ethel was born in 1883 and died in 1952.
Rachael’s grandfather William Henry Dean (b. 4/4/1819) died on a voyage in Central America on 7/9/1859, buried on land aged “40 years, 3 months and 5 days”. He was married to Elizabeth Joslin (b. 10/23/1824 in Salem, MA) on 10/27/1844.
William Henry Dean was the child of Thomas Dean (b. 6/30/1784, d. 6/25/1855) and Sarah Dean (d. 5/22/1846), who were married 10/31/1813. They had a number of other children in addition to William Henry, including Thomas (b. 3/13/1815), Edward Stanly (b. 11/30/1816), George (b. 7/28/1822), and Benjamin (b. 5/30/1828).
Thomas Dean (b. 6/30/1784) was the child of Thomas Dean (b. 1759, d. 7/2/1802) and Lydia Waters Dean (b. 8/2/1763, d. 1/26/1812), who were married in Salem, MA.
Thomas Dean’s grandfather, Thomas Dean, was born in 1691 and died 8/24/1752.
For more, see the The Dean Family in Salem by Edward Stanley Waters.