Frances H. Massoletti

Frances H. Massoletti 

Frances H. Massoletti was born about 1859. Her father passed away when she was about 3 years of age. After her father’s death, Frances moved with her mother to Boston to be near her maternal grandparents. Frances attended the Young Ladies School at Villa Maria Convent in Quebec, Canada. Her graduation was detailed in the 1873 Journal of Education for the Province of Quebec. Musical instruction was an important part of her education at Villa Maria and Frances performed the harp during the graduation. Frances was 21 years old in 1880 and according to the Boston census, she and her mother were living with her maternal grandfather, George K. Hooper and her grandmother, Catherine. The City Directories of Boston tell us that Frances was living at 15 Hotel Westland in 1897 and at the same address with her mother, Roselia, in 1898 and 1899. In the 1900 census, Frances is living with roommates. She lives alone in 1904 and the Boston City Directory reports that she is a music teacher. 

Frances started a camp for girls in 1907 in New Hampshire. 

She is listed as a member of the American Folk-Lore Society in 1908 and 1909. Directories show that she moved to Longwood Avenue and the 1920 census shows her at that address as a housekeeper for 2 elderly brothers, Selwin and Louis Spraque. The 1923 City Directory reports that Frances died 10 April 1923.

American Samplers by Bolton & Coe detailed 4 Massoletti and Horwell samplers from the late 1700s and early 1800s and at the date of the book’s publication in 1921, the samplers were in the possession of Frances Massoletti. Currently one is known to exist in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Collection.