"Geneva Joy (Lord) Heath lived at 617 Main Street with her husband, Elroy N. Heath. The couple married on September 29, 1886 and moved into the home soon after. Although there is little information about Geneva other than working as a clerk in the Town Clerk's office in the 1920s, there is a wealth of information about her husband. A native of Springfield, Elroy moved to Wakefield around 1879 and worked in Boston where, according to the 1883 publication Commerce, Manufactures & Resources of Boston, Mass., he was a 'Manufacturer of Heath's Improved Indexes and Letter Files.' He held several patents for his inventions, including two for letter holders and filing systems, which created 'a convenient combined index book and table, by means of which any name or subject may be found with the utmost rapidity.' A bicycle enthusiast and a member of Wakefield's bicycle clubs in the early 1900s, Elroy had two other patents, one which improved the propelling mechanism for bicycles 'and the like', and another which created an improvement for carrying packages and drawings for 'velocipede' riders. According to the patent application, 'My improved package-carrier resembles a hammock, and I have devised hammock-suspending devices by which it may be readily swung from the handle-bar or some other suitable part of the machine.' A velocipede was any of the several early bicycles with pedals on the front wheel. He moved his business from Boston to Room 5 in the Wakefield Block in 1884, and his patented files, indexes and advertising calendars were reported to have a widespread reputation. In addition to his business and hobby, Elroy was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and was active in the Town as chairman and secretary of the Wakefield Municipal Light Board and as a member of the Finance Committee. The picture of Geneva was most likely taken at the couple's summer home, Idyll Farm in Springfield. Elroy died in 1909, and the farm was sold in 1911." Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2016 Photo courtesy of the Wakefield Historical Society.
