52 Ancestors #24: James Lucey and Cocheco Bottling Works

In March of 1904, my great-grandfather James E Lucey Jr along with his brothers David and John, purchased the Emerson Bottling Company of Rochester, NH and renamed it the Cocheco Bottling Works.

They bottled their own ginger ale, tonic water as well as orange and lemon-lime crush. Around 1917, the Lucey’s sold the business to Alfred Lagasse, who lived a few doors down from James and his wife Mary on Portland St. in Rochester. Alfred was late with a payment once and Mary chased him down Portland street with a broom according to a story I was told by her daughter Betty.

The Bottling Works building made the cover of the Images of America Rochester book by Florence Horne Smith. If you are not familiar with this wonderful series of books from Arcadia Publishing, check out the available titles here. I have about 30 of them from the various places my family have lived over the years, there’s always something of interest in them.

Over the years I’ve found some bottles and a wooden crate with the Cocheco logo, it’s doubtful that they are from the time period when the Lucey’s owned it, but still nice to have.

James was born in South Groveland, MA on 14 Apr 1879 and married Mary O’Brien on Halloween in 1905. They had seven children, all in Rochester: Frances, James Gerald, Richard, Donald, Vincent [my grandfather], Joan and Elizabeth. James died of a heart attack in Rochester on 19 Jan 1944 at 64 years old.

This post is 24th in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge series.