Ralph May and Gladys May

Ralph May (1882-1973) was the only child of James Rundlet May and Mary Morison May and was the last member of the family to live in the mansion on Middle Street. He grew up in the family home, left to attend Harvard, and kept the house as a summer retreat with his second wife Gladys Weir Smyth (1890-1986). Gladys embraced the family home and with Ralph decided to keep the furnishings and wallpapers as they had always been. Gladys was an active member of the Portsmouth Hospital Guild, the Portsmouth Athenaeum, and supported many causes. She died at her home in Cambridge several years after Ralph May’s death. Ralph was actively involved with many historical associations in Portsmouth, and was known as a local historian who wrote poems, essays, and histories of his hometown of Portsmouth.