How conservative were Northeastern Republicans before the 60's?

[soniquemd21921]

Back in the days when 3-1 GOP support was the standard in rural New England and upstate New York (i.e. the 1850's through the early 1960's), just how conservative were those voters (especially considering that FDR failed to get more than a third of the vote in 22 counties in the Northeast in 1936)? Probably not as conservative as today's "base", but perhaps more conservative than the Javits/Jeffords/Snowe/Weld types of the mid/late 20th century.

[soniquemd21921]

Another interesting fact I've stumbled across: in 1948, there was a referendum in Massachusetts to make birth control in the state legal. Due to a heavy Catholic turnout it lost considerably (a turnout that also benefited Truman in the state). In heavily Catholic and Democratic cities and factory towns it was soundly defeated, but in the ultra-Republican Yankee towns across the state it won in a landslide.

Did New England Republicans support birth control because they felt it would prevent adding more Democratic votes (since Catholics had big families then) or what?