Hathaway and Maine Avenues, Long Beach
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It was not uncommon for brothers of one family to marry sisters of another in the 19th century. But one Long Beach family took the idea to extremes. KPCC’s Kitty Felde says it’s another Street Story.
Kitty Felde: The Reverend George Hathaway of Skowhegan, Maine had five daughters: Mary, Margaret, Martha, Susan and Sarah. Theresa Barbee, Docent Coordinator at Rancho Los Alamitos, says the minister was a well-known abolitionist.
Theresa Barbee: Their home in Maine was used as a stop-off point in the “underground railroad.” He was also a firm believer in women’s rights, in women’s suffrage. So they were a very forward thinking family for the era, for the time.
Felde: The Hathaway girls began marrying members of the Bixby family and moved out west to Long Beach. Jothum Bixby married Margaret, John Bixby married Susan, Lewellyn Bixby married Sarah, and after she died, her sister Mary. He would have married Martha, too, but she turned him down. Martha came out west, though, to care for Lewellyn’s children. Today, you’ll find Hathaway Avenue and Maine Avenue in Long Beach, named for the marrying sisters.
