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Thursday, January 31, 2013

February Genealogy Calendar

The February 8th Meeting of the Hudson Library Genealogy Club

Local Club Meetings

Hudson Genealogy Club, at the Rogers Memorial Library, 194 Derry Road, Hudson, NH http://www.rodgerslibrary.org/  every 2nd Friday of the Month, at 1:30 PM contact Gayle St. Cyr 603-886-6030

Genealogy Roundtable, at the Derry Public Library, 64 East Broadway, Derry, NH  http://www.derry.lib.nh.us/  every first Tuesday of the Month, at 1 – 2:30 PM.   contact: Christine Sharbrough 603-432-6140

Greater Lowell Genealogy Clubhttp://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maglgc/ meets at the Pollard Memorial Library, Lowell, MA 10AM to 1PM once a month. 
Newton, NH Genealogy Club- Gale Library, Newton, NH, 603-382-4691, 3PM on the third Wednesday of the month. 

Chelmsford Genealogy Club, at the Chelmsford, MA Public Library, first Tuesday night of the month at 7PM in the McCarthy Meeting Room, contact Judy Sylvia
http://www.chelmsfordlibrary.org/programs/programs/genealogy_club.html 978-256-5521

Rye Genealogy Club, at the Rye Public Library, first Tuesday of the month at 2PM.  http://ryepubliclibrary.org/


February 5, Tuesday, Noon to 1pm,  A Free Negro who Also Owned the Covenant with Us, , at the Congregational Library, 14 Beacon St., Boston, Massachusetts. FREE.  For more information see http://www.14beacon.org/news-and-events/program-and-workshop-schedule   This discussion addresses African American affiliation with churches in the eighteenth century.

February 6, Wednesday, 6pm – 7:30pm One Colonial Woman’s World: The Life and Writings of Mehetabel Chandler Coit, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society at 99-101 Newbury Street, Boston, FREE to the public.  For more information see http://www.americanancestors.org/Event.aspx?id=28180

February 8, Friday, 8pm, Rum and Revolution, at the Depot Building, 13 Depot Square, Lexington, MA, An evening of music, history and a taste of rum! Sponsored by the Lexington Historical Society. $10 adults only, reserve a seat by calling 781-862-1703

February 9, Saturday, 1:30 pm New Visitor Welcome Tour, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 99 – 101 Newbury Street, Boston.  FREE to the public. See the website www.americanancestors.org

February 14, Thursday, 1pm, Crosscut: A Spoken Documentary, at the Rye Congregational Church, 580 Washington Road, Rye, NH, sponsored by the NH Humanities Council 603-964-6281.  Rebecca Rule will discuss the oral histories of North Country people to tell the story of logging in the Androscoggin Valley in the 1880s through the boom years. FREE

February 15, Friday, 10am Mary Todd Lincoln: Wife and Widow, at the Community Church of Durham, 17 Main St. Durham, NH 603-868-7364, sponsored by the NH Humanities Council.  Join Mary Todd Lincoln as she reflects on her life. FREE

February 19, Tuesday, 7pm, New Hampshire’s One-Room Rural Schools: The Romance and the Reality, at the Merrimack Public Library, 470 DW Highway, Merrimack, NH 603-424-5084. FREE.  A discussion about the lasting legacies of the hundreds of one-room schools that dotted the landscape of New Hampshire.

February 21, Thursday, 7pm, The Adventures of Benjamin Franklin, at the Leach Libary, 276 Mammoth Road, Londonderry, presented by historical re-enactor J. T. Turner.  Free to the public. Refreshments. For more information 603-432-1132.

February 21, Thursday, 6pm, Acadian History and Genealogy at the National Archives, 38 Trapelo Road, Waltham, Massachusetts.  Presented by Lucie LeBlanc Consentino, an expert on Acadian genealogy.  Reservations are required, please call 866-406-2379 2379 or email boston.archives@nara.gov FREE to the public.

February 23, 10am - noon, Planning a Family Reunion & Sharing your Family History at the Nevins Memorial Library, 305 Broadway, Methuen, MA, sponsored by the Merrimack Valley Chapter of the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists.  Free and open to the public.  http://www.msoginc.org/merrimackvalleynews.html  

February 23, 10am – noon, Behind the Scenes in Collections and Conservation, at the Historic New England Facility at 151 Essex Street, Haverhill, Massachusetts.  Free to Historic New England members, $25 nonmembers, $15 Haverhill residents.  Registration is required, please call 617-944-5959.

February 27, Wednesday, Find your Ancestors, and Perhaps Yourself, in the 1940 Census at the Wadleigh Library in Milford, NH.  For more information see www.wadleighlibrary.org or contact 603-673-2408 refdesk@wadleighlibrary.org

March 2, Saturday, 8:30 am – 5pm Ancestry Day at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, sponsored by the New England Historic Genealogical Society and Ancestry.com.  $30 registration fee, $19 parking at the Prudential Center.   http://ancestrydaynehgs.eventbrite.com/?o_xid=53689&o_lid=53689&o_sch=Email or email education @nehgs.org

March 2, Saturday, 3pm, Tea and Fashion at the Munroe Tavern, Meet Colonel and Mrs. Munroe for a tour of the Munroe Tavern and an exhibit of rare textiles on display this weekend only.  A delicious high tea, music and raffle of teapots will follow. Sponsored by the Lexington Historical Society.  $30 members/$35 non-members.  Reserve your spot by calling 781-862-1703

March 2, Saturday, 1pm Baked Beans and Fried Clams: How Food Defines a Region, at the Derry Public Library, 64 E. Broadway, Derry, NH  432-6140 A celebration of the regional favorites, and a discussion on the many foods distinctive to New England. FREE

March 3, Sunday, 3pm, Tea and Fashion at the Munroe Tavern, Meet Colonel and Mrs. Munroe for a tour of the Munroe Tavern and an exhibit of rare textiles on display this weekend only.  A delicious high tea, music and raffle of teapots will follow. Sponsored by the Lexington Historical Society.  $30 members/$35 non-members.  Reserve your spot by calling 781-862-1703

March 4, Monday, 1pm A Visit with Queen Victoria, at the First Baptist Church of Nashua, 121 Manchester St., Nashua, NH  603-886-7201.  Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council.  Sally Mummey performs as her royal highness, to reveal the personal details of a powerful yet humane woman. FREE

March 4, Monday, 2:15pm Vanished Veteran’s- NH’s Civil War Monuments and Memorials, at the Havenwood Heritage Heights Auditorium, 33 Christian Avenue, Concord, NH 603-229-1185.  A discussion on the earliest obelisks, to statues, artillery, murals, cast iron, stained glass and buildings from the 1860s through the 1920s in New Hampshire. FREE

March 6, New Visitor Welcome Tour, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 99 – 101 Newbury Street, Boston.  FREE to the public.  See the website www.americanancestors.org

March 6, Wednesday, 6:30pm If I am Not for Myself, Who Will Be for Me?  George Washington’s Runaway Slave, at the Kimball Public Library, 5 Academy Avenue, Atkinson, NH  603-362-5234.  FREE The story of Ona Judge Staines, who ran away from Martha Washington to New Hampshire.  Presented by Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti.

March 8, 6:30pm – 8:30pm The Irish Experience at the Phillips House, 34 Chestnut Street, Salem, Mass.  $10 Historic New England members, $15 nonmembers, Discover the daily lives of the Phillips family’s Irish domestic staff.  Registration recommended, please call 978-744-0440 for additional information.

March 23, Saturday, joint Irish Genealogy Conference between TIARA and NEHGS at 99 Newbury Street, Boston, MA

March 28, Thursday, 2:30pm The Abolitionists of Noyes Academy, at Heritage Heights- Tad’s Place, 149 East Side Drive, Concord, NH  603-229-1266 In 1835 the first racially integrated school was opened in Canaan, NH, but outraged citizens raised a mob that dragged the academy off its foundation and ran the African American students out of town. This is the story of three extraordinary Afrian American leaders, Henry Highland Garnet, Alexander Crummell and Thomas Sipkins Sidney.  FREE

March 30, Saturday, The New England Family History Conference, sponsored by the Hingham Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, at the Franklin LDS Church, 91 Jordan Road, Franklin, Massachusetts.  For more information see the website at http://www.nefamilyhistory.com/index/main

April 17 – 21, New England Regional Genealogical Conference, at the Raddison Hotel and Conference Center, Manchester, NH  For more information see the website www.nergc.org

April 21st, Wednesday,10am  FREE Vacation Week Genealogy For Kids Program at the National Archives,  38Trapelo Road, Waltham, Massachusetts.  Participants research their family history with volunteers and staff available to help out.  Reservations are required, please call 866-406-2379 2379 or email boston.archives@nara.gov

April 21st, Wednesday, 2pm, Behind the Scenes at the National Archives, a 45 minute tour to see original documents of our nation’s history.  Reservations suggested, please call 866-406-2379 or email boston.archives@nara.gov

Coming Up:

August 4 – 9, 2013, The 33rd IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, Boston Park Plaza Hotel



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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Weathervane Wednesday ~ Child's Play

Every Wednesday for almost a year and half I've been posting photographs of weathervanes located in or near the Nutfield area (the former name for the land where Londonderry, Derry and Windham, New Hampshire are now located).  Most are historically interesting or just whimsical and fun weathervanes.  Today's weather vane can be found somewhere on New Hampshire's seacoast.  Have fun guessing where you may have seen this weather vane.

Do you know the location of weathervane #80?   Scroll down to see the answer....



Today's weather vane can be seen at Great Island Common in New Castle, New Hampshire.  This park is located at 301 Wentworth Road, and is open to the public.  There are 32 acres of park, and a beach with views of two light houses and the Isles of Shoals.  It is a lovely spot for a picnic or to play by the seaside.  I'm sure that the nice playground inspired this weathervane on the maintenance shed.  It was created by local artist Walter Liff, who also designed several other weather vanes around the seacoast region.

Walter Liff also created this whimsical sculpture
on the beach at Great Island Common


Great Island Common website http://www.newcastlenh.org/pages/NewCastleNH_Common/great

Read more about the artist, Walter Liff, here:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20010619/NEWS/306199995 

Click here to see the entire collection of Weathervane Wednesday posts!

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Haseltine Family of Chester, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed at the Chester Village Cemetery, Chester, New Hampshire.  To see a video tour of this cemetery, click at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=593N5m3NBvE

JOHN NEWTON
HASELTINE
MAY 1, 1822
DEC. 1, 1904

ANNIE P.
APR 2, 1866, SEP. 22, 1892
AMELIA W.,
JAN. 13, 1869, JAN. 14, 1869
LUCY C.,
AUG.3, 1872, SEP. 11, 1872
CHILDREN OF
J.N. & AMELIA M.
HASELTINE

THERE IS REST IN
HEAVEN


John Newton Haseltine was the son of Thomas Haseltine and Elizabeth Sanborn.  He was born at Chester on 1 May 1822 and died 1 December 1904 in Chester.  His death record at the New Hampshire Vital Records lists him as a retired merchant, who lived previously at Malden, Massachusetts. He married Amelia Morse Davis on 14 December 1864 at Newburyport, Massachusetts.  She was the daughter of Benjamin and M. Eveline Davis.  His marriage record lists him as a manufacturer.

This is another zinc monument (also known as "zinkers"),
like the one I posted several weeks ago at this link:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/12/tombstone-tuesday-frank-h-johnson-derry.html 

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Monday, January 28, 2013

Peter Hoogerzeil's Wheelbarrow




Found at GenealogyBank.com

Saturday Morning Citizen, Beverly, Mass.  1 October 1892, page 2

"Four Awards at the Fair
Mr. Peter Hoogerzeil may well feel proud of the success of his exhibits at the Essex Agricultural Fair this week, he recieving four awards, as follows:  First premium, $2, on coop of Perkin bantams; second permium $1, on one coop of Perkin bantams; gratuity $1, on patent rolling oven grate for a stove.  Those who saw the wheelbarrow were highly pleased with Mr. Hoogerzeil's invention and several flattering offers were received from parties who wished to put it on the market.  It is on exhibition at Whitcomb & Carter's store."



This image was found at the Google Patent Search
No Model No 486,469 P HOOGERZEIL WHEELBARROW Patented Nov 22 1892
 THE NORRIS PETERS CO PHOTO LITHO WASHINGTON D C 


Peter Hoogerzeil is my 2nd great grandfather.  He was a prolific inventor and I've written about him at this blog previously (see the links below).   His father, also named Peter Hoogerzeil,  came from Holland to Salem, Massachusetts in the 1820s. Peter, Jr. was a fisherman, quartermaster and then began his own express business in Beverly, Massachusetts, near the Salem bridge on Bartlett Street.  During his lifetime he patented over a dozen inventions.  

Peter Hoogerzeil, son of Peter Hoogerzeil and Eunice Stone, born in Beverly, Massachusetts on 24 June 1841, died on 10 May 1908 in Beverly; married on 14 March 1870 in Salem to Mary Etta Healey, the daughter of Joseph Edwin Healey and Matilda Weston.  She was born in Beverly on 19 May 1852 and died  on 23 July 1932 in Beverly.  They had six children, all born in Beverly:

1.  Florence Etta, my great grandmother, born 20 August 1871, died 10 February 1941 in Hamilton, Massachusetts; married Arthur Treadwell Hitchings.
2.  Lillie May, born 29 September 1873, died 17 May 1874
3.  Alonzo, born 29 May 1875, died 23 January 1946; married Mabel Thurston Cressey
4. Edward Peter, born 27 July 1877, died 11 October 1807; died unmarried
5. Lucy May, born 18 June 1882, died 3 September 1931, died unmarried
6. Isabel, born 3 August 1888, died 29 February 1960; married George Sorenson

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Previous blog posts about Peter Hoogerzeil's inventions and patents:


Peter Hoogerzeil's House

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Surname Saturday ~ Richardson of Woburn, Massachusetts

RICHARDSON


Samuel Richardson was executor of his father’s estate in 1634 in Hutchins, England and then came to America with his brother Thomas, to follow his brother Ezekiel who was already in Massachusetts.  He was granted a lot in Charlestown and became a member of the church there.  All three brothers were granted lots in 1638 in what is now Malden, Massachusetts.   In 1640 all three brothers, and others, were on a committee of seven to draw up the boundaries for a new settlement to be called “Charlestown Village”.  They all had new house lots next to each other on a road that became known as Richardson’s Row in what is now Woburn, Massachusetts.

Samuel was the richest man in Woburn in 1645, and became a selectman.   He left no will, but had deeded some land earlier in 1657 to his sister “Susanna  Richardson, now Brooks, during her lifetime and ten to my cousin [sic nephew] Theophilus Richardson”. 

Samuel’s son, Joseph Richardson (my 8x great grandfather), was in the Great Swamp Fight on 19 December 1675.  This was one of the great battles of the King Philip’s War against the Narragansett tribe.   It took place in a frozen swamp near the present day Kingston, Rhode Island, when the frozen water made an assault possible on a large native fortification.  It is thought that 300 native people died, and many families fled into the harsh environment to only die later of exposure.  It was a battle that changed the war in favor of the colonists and the Narragansett were eventually defeated when their sachem Canonchet was captured the next spring.  King Philip (also known as Metacomet) was killed in August 1676, ending the conflict.

Sources for researching the Richardsons of Woburn:

The Richardson Memorial by John Vinton, Brown Thurston & Co., Portland, Maine, 1876 and Samuel Richardson and Josiah Ellsworth. By Ruth Richardson Privately Published. 1974.   There are several sketches and articles about Samuel, Ezekiel and Thomas Richardson, and the English origins of Joanna (Thake) Richardson,  in the New England Historic Genealogical Society Register and in The Great Migration Begins, Volume III by Anderson.  For a complete list of these articles and sketches see pages 197 and 198 of New Englanders in the 1600s by Martin Hollick, NEHGS, 2012 expanded edition.

My Richardson genealogy:

Generation 1:  Samuel Richardson, baptized on 22 December  1602 in Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, died 23 March 1658 in Woburn (the part now known as Winchester), Massachusetts; married on 18 October 1632 in Great Hormstead, England to Joanna Thake, daughter of William Thake and Joan Wood.  She was baptized on 2 February 1606 in Barkway, England and died 20 June 1666 in Woburn, Massachusetts.   Nine children.

Generation 2: Joseph Richardson, born on 27 July 1643 in Woburn, Massachusetts, died on 5 March 1717/18 in Woburn; married on 5 November 1666 in Woburn to Hannah Green, daughter of Thomas Greene and Elizabeth Lynde.  She was born on 7 February 1647 in Woburn, and died on 20 May 1721 in Norwich, Connecticut.

Generation 3: Mary Richardson, born 22 March 1669 in Woburn, died 23 October 1748 in Woburn; married first on 2 October 1688 in Woburn to James Fowle, son of James Fowle and Abigail Carter.  He was born 4 March 1667 in Woburn and died 19 March 1714 in Woburn. Then had twelve children.  Mary married second to Samuel Walker. 

Generation 4: Mary Fowle married James Simonds, Jr.
Generation 5: Caleb Simonds married Susanna Converse
Generation 6:  Ruth Simonds married Andrew Munroe
Generation 7: Luther Simonds Munroe married Olive Flint
Generation 8: Phebe Cross Munroe married Robert Wilson Wlkinson
Generation 9. Albert Munroe Wilkinson married Isabella Lyons Bill
Generation 10: Donald Munroe Wilkinson married Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

My second Richardson lineage:

Generation 1: Thomas Richardson, born 14 May 1543 in Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, died 7 January 1634 in Westmill; married on 24 August 1590 in Westmill to Katherine Duxford, daughter of Richard Duxford and Katherine Unknown.  Seven children:

1.       Elizabeth Richardson (my 9x great grandmother) born 12 January 1593,  in Westmill and died 22 June 1630 in Westmill, married on 1 May 1617 in Westmill to Francis Wyman as his first of three wives.  I descend from their first son, Francis Wyman (1617 – 1699) who married Abigail Reed and settled in Woburn, Massachusetts
2.       John Richardson, born about 1596
3.       James Richardson, born about 1600
4.       Samuel Richardson (see above) my 9x great grandfather
5.       Ezekiel Richardson, born about 1602, died 21 Oct 1647 in Woburn, Massachusetts
6.       Margaret Richardson, born about 1607
7.       Thomas Richardson, born 3 July 1608 in Westmill, died 28 August 1651 in Woburn

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Friday, January 25, 2013

Even More Stars! Follow Friday


I’m up to five!  Thanks for two more stars from Pam Carter, from “My Maine Ancestry”  http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/  and also from John Tew at “Filiopietismprism “  http://filiopietismprism.blogspot.com .  Thanks, Pam and John! 

These are stars I was given towards nominations for the Blog of the Year award, click here to read more about that surprise http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/01/surprise-ive-been-honored.html 



OK, part of the award fun is passing on the kharma.  I’m finding it hard to nominate more blogs at this point, even though I'd love to nominate several hundred great genealogy blogs.  But just to keep the ball rolling here are a few more for Follow Friday.  I’m getting comments that my nominations are helping some new bloggers find some great new reading, and some veteran bloggers are finding new resources, and so that is my goal.  I covered new genealogy blogs HERE and New England genealogy bloggers HERE.  This is a list of some great new reading (and one new one just for listening!)

1. Nathaniel Lane Taylor “Genealogist’s Sketchbook”  http://nltaylor.net/sketchbook/  Nat Taylor was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists in 2011.  His well-written posts will introduce you to this prolific author.  This is one of my favorite genealogy blogs.  

 2. Matt B. “…And this is Good Old Bostonhttp://goodoldboston.blogspot.com/ is a fun blog about some forgotten and not-so forgotten historical trivia about Boston.  Check out his list of great history blog links in the right hand column.

 3. Donna Segar “Streets of Salem”  http://streetsofsalem.com/  Donna Segar is a history professor at Salem State College.  Her blog has fantastic stories and photos of Salem, Massachusetts, and she specializes in the architectural history of the city.

 4. Stephanie Ann “World Turn’d Upside Down http://worldturndupsidedown.blogspot.com/  Stephanie is only a college student but she has wonderful posts about being a Civil War re-enactor.  She is a knitter and a history buff, and her blog posts will amaze you with her knowledge of American history.

 5. Christy K. Robinson “William & Mary Barrett Dyer” http://marybarrettdyer.blogspot.com/  Christy’s blog specializes in the history and genealogy of 17th-century New England, especially the Quakers, and the story of William and Mary Dyer, one of the first Massachusetts Quaker martyrs.

6. Randall Stephens, editor of “Historical Society”, a group blog with many writers at http://histsociety.blogspot.com/   This is a project of Boston University’s history department, which also has a website www.bu.edu/historic with several journals, a biennial conference and lectures and seminars.  The posts are wonderful bits of American history.

 7. Jane Sweetland “AncestryInk”  http://ancestryink.blogspot.com/   Jane is a graduate of the BU Creative Writing program AND the BU Genealogy course.  She writes about coastal Maine and Massachusetts.  This is a fairly new genealogy blog (since 2011) but is very well done.

This blog was started in 2013 and has only one post, but deserves some mention today for Follow Friday:

8. Marian Pierre Louis “On-Site Research New England” http://www.researchnewengland.com/ has only one post so far, but looks like it will be a fantastic series.  Marian will be touring New England and posting her interviews with genealogists, librarians and archivists.  The first podcast (you can listen or download) is of an interview with Rhonda McClure at NEHGS.  Fantastic!

Happy blog reading (and listening!)

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Thursday, January 24, 2013

More Blasts from the Past!

While cleaning off my desk I found an old folder from when I was in high school.  Inside I found lots of postcards, school photos, my class schedules and various other things I recognized as stuff I used to hang on my locker door.  I must have cleaned out my locker one June and put them all into this folder.  I don't remember opening this folder again until just now.  Among all the nostalgic items were these two clippings from the local Holden, Massachusetts newspaper The Landmark.  


Probably from the summer of 1975 or 1976
I'm in the middle, covered with foam, and the
girl to the right is my friend Eleanor Walton
click to enlarge the photos
 

Probably from the summer of 1977
when my friend Marion (Eleanor's sister) and I ran the
"craft shack" at the local town pool recreation area.


The Landmark newspaper, Holden, Massachusetts http://www.thelandmark.com/

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Maine Lobster


Every Wednesday I post a photograph of a weathervane, usually from the Nutfield area of New Hampshire (Derry, Londonderry or Windham), but sometimes there is an unusual or historic weathervane from somewhere else in New England.  Today's weathervane was spotted in Maine.

Do you know the location of weather vane #79?  Scroll down to see the answer!






Today's weather vane was photographed by my guest blogger Tom Tufts in Rockland, Maine.  While on vacation he spotted this great lobster weather vane on top of the fire station!  According to their website, the Rockland Fire Department dates back to the 1840s.

Rockland Maine Fire Department website http://rocklandfd.com/

Click here to see the entire Weathervane Wednesday series of posts! 

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo and Tom Tufts

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Tombstone Tuesday ~ David Adams, Derry, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed on Settlers Row, at the Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire



Mr.
David Adams Junr.
A member of the senior class
of Harvard University & son
of David & Mary Adams
died March 4th 1805
AEtat. 22

O death, where is thy sting
O grave where is thy victory
Thanks be to God who giveth me the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ

As flowers of summer falls to bloom no more
As billows rise and die upon the shore
So Generations live and pass away
They sleep in silence till the judgement day

David Adams was the son of David Adams and Mary Woodman.  He was born 4 November 1782 in Derry, and died on 4 March 1805, unmarried.  His father, David Adams, was born 10 December 1754 in Newbury, Massachusetts and died 24 January 1838 in Derry; he married Mary Woodman on 22 September 1778 in Newbury.  They had seven children, and their son David was the third child.  He was a descendant of Robert Adams (1582 - 1676) one of the first settlers of Newbury. 

This young student was eulogized in The Monthly Anthology and Boston Review,  Volume 2, 1805, Boston, edited by Samuel Cooper Thacher, David Phineas Adams and William Emerson on pages 164 - 165

"NECROLOGY OR NOTICES COLLECTED OF PERSONS RECENTLY DECEASED AT HOME AND ABROAD
'Bleffed are the pure in heart: For they fhall fee God.'
     At Londonderry, N.H. on the 4th of March, Mr. DAVID ADAMS, Jun. fenior fophifter of Harvard Univerfity, AEt. 22
     When the eminently good are removed from this world, an account of their characters becomes interefting, and may be ufeful not only to their friends, but to the publick.
     Efpecially when the young, diftinguifhed by uncommon piety and purity of life are taken away, an example is afforded us, which the duty we owe to heaven and ourfelves directs us ferioufly to notice, and rightly to improve.
     Seldom do we witnefs a life fo pure, and a death fo happy, as were exhibited by this truly excellent and amiable young man.  Poffeffing the moft placid and affectionate difpofition, united to a ftrong and cultivated mind, he attracted the efteem and conciliated the affection of all, who knew him.  Diftinguifhed by uncommonly correct principles, his life was untainted by the vices and unfpotted by the irregularities of youth."

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Monday, January 21, 2013

A Peculiar Accident




Found at GenealogyBank.com


Saturday Morning Citizen, Beverly, MA, 18 June 1892, page 2

"A Peculiar Accident
Alonzo Hoogerzeil, clerk for Mr. Joseph A. Wilson, met with a peculiar accident Wednesday noon.  He was leaning into a window to obtain some article, and as he did so he kicked a bottle of "pop."  The bottle exploded and a pice of flying glass struck him on the third finger of the right hand, cutting it to the bone at the knuckle.  He could not leave the store for he was alone.  Mr. Charles H. Woodbury was passing and he came in and bound up the finger, which was bleeding profusely.  As soon as Mr. Wilson returned the young man went to Dr. Stickney and had the wound dressed.  It is painful, but will heal all right and he will not lose the use of the finger."

Alonzo Hoogerzeil, son of Peter Hoogerzeil and Mary Etta Healey, was born 29 May 1875 in Beverly, Massachusetts, died 23 January 1946 in Beverly; married on 30 May 1895 in Danvers, Massachusetts to Mabel Thurston Cressey, daughter of Eben Flint Cressey and Elizabeth A. Whittier.  She was born 25 July 1874 in Danvers and died 27 September 1951 in Salem, Massachusetts.  Four children born in Beverly:

1.  Roland Gale, born 22 August 1895, died 14 March 1972 in Norfolk; married Helen Josephine Sullivan.
2.  Marion Cressey, born 15 January 1904, died 1953; married Charles Francis Howard
3.  Norman Peter, 10 October 1905, died 24 December 1992 in Danvers; married Helen Preble
4. Hilda Lucy, born 10 December 1915, died 13 May 2000; married Harold Kingston

Alonzo was my 2nd great grand uncle, brother to my great grandmother, Florence Etta Hoogerzeil (1871 - 1941).    Over the years he went from being a clerk to owning his own shop.  He sold books, stationary and periodicals in Beverly, and then was a clothing salesman.   Among the ordinary things I found about his life was this odd tidbit:

"Catalog of Copyright entries"  by Library of Congress Copyright Office, 1920, Part 4, page 319
"Alonzo Hoogerzeil of Beverly, Massachusetts held a copyright for a "Hinduphone" on July 16, 1920, 2nd c. August 19, 1920. K 14807"


Does anyone know what a "Hinduphone" might have been in 1920?

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Sunday, January 20, 2013

More Stars

I’m up to three stars… someone just reminded me I should update my award logo to show the three stars.  Thanks, John, for the reminder!
This award is given for fun and appreciation
I usually name new bloggers for these types of awards, but I did that last week.  There seems to be a conspiracy theory among some bloggers about these awards.   They may be right on some points, but I still think that for new bloggers this is great exposure.  “Best of Lists” and memes helped me to find some great blogs to follow, and introduced me to some wonderful writers.  Where would we be without a little help in the beginning days of our blogs? 

About three years ago there were so many of these awards floating around that I stopped accepting them, and disappointed a few writers.  I felt badly turning down a few newbies.  Then  two years ago Lucie LeBlanc Consentino awarded me her lovely award “The Rose Blogger Award” from her heart.  She named this after her mother, and gives it out to those bloggers “who keep the memory of their ancestors alive.”  Thanks, Lucie, I’m honored.   (See her homepage at http://lucieslegacy.blogspot.com )  She expects no mention, no linkback, nothing in return, and that is wonderful.   Lucie is a star herself!  

This award was given from the heart
I hadn't seen one of these blog awards for a long time, and then this one popped up.  I decided to do it just for fun.  No ulterior motives.  If someone wants to continue this without the link back to the original post, it’s OK by me.  If someone breaks the chain, it’s OK by me, I don’t believe it will cause any bad kharma.  Be inventive, be a Lucie and come up with your own awards, or just appreciate the kind thoughts from other bloggers.  After all, if blogging isn't fun, why would we all be doing it?


My original star was awarded 10 Jan 2013 from Mariann at the “Into the Briar Patch” blog.
Then on 14 January 2013 I received two more stars, one fromJohn at “The Thomas Gardner Society”blog and another from from Kathryn at “Reflections”blog. Thanks, John and Kathryn! I appreciate your nominations very much. 

Although it is 2013 now, the stars and nominations continue to be passed around, which is fun, and an interesting way to learn about other blogs out there in cyberspace.   The goal is to win six nominations, thus six stars…    We’ll see what happens!

I have to name more nominations, and again I wish I could nominate everyone.  Since I can't do that, this time around I’m going to name some of my favorite New England genealogy bloggers:

    1.       Lucie Consentino  “Lucie’s Legacy” http://lucieslegacy.blogspot.com/  and also “Acadian Ancestral Home” http://acadian-ancestral-home.blogspot.com/
    2.       Barbara Poole “Life from the Roots” http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/
    3.       Bill West “West in New England” http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/
    4.       Pam Carter “My Maine Ancestryhttp://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/
    5.       Pam Seavey Schaffner “Digging Down East” http://www.diggingdowneast.blogspot.com/
    6.       Diane MacLean Boumenot “One Rhode Island Family” http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/
    7.       Ryan Owen  “Forgotten New Englandhttp://forgottennewengland.com/  
    8.       MarDi  “A Hoyt Family Genealogy” http://www.la-famille.mardistudio.com/blog/la-famille-blog-3/

The rules are at my first blog post from last week.  And my first group of nominations.  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/01/surprise-ive-been-honored.html

Some food for thought about Blogging Awards:

“Blog Awards – What do you Think?” by Heather Kuhn Roelker http://leavesfortrees.blogspot.com/2013/01/blog-awards-what-do-you-think.html

“Blogging Genealogy: Blog Awards & SEO” by Caroline Pointer http://www.blogginggenealogy.com/1/post/2013/01/blogging-genealogy-blog-awards-seo.html

To Award or Not to Award by Catherine Crout-Habel   http://caiteile.com/2013/01/15/to-award-or-not-to-award/


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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Friday, January 18, 2013

Surname Saturday ~ Carter of Woburn, Massachusetts

Capt. John Carter, son of Thomas Carter, Woburn Old Burial Ground

There are two Thomas Carters who were first settlers of Woburn, Massachusetts.   It is easy to keep their stories and families separate if you recognize that their ages are about thirty years apart.  One was the first minister, and the other a lowly blacksmith.  Their children have similar names, and both had wives named “Mary”.  

My ancestor Thomas Carter was born about 1585 in England.  It is unknown when he immigrated, or on which ship he arrived.  He was admitted as a freeman in 1636. Thomas Carter was a blacksmith, and served once as constable but was fined for being late in directing witnesses to a trial.  He lived first at Charlestown, but was described as being “of Woburn” (the borders seem to be a bit confused in those days.)  His  1650 will names his wife, Mary, sons Thomas, Samuel, Joseph and John, daughters Mary and Hannah, grandsons Caleb and Joseph Carter, John Brinsmead and John Green.   Among his assets was a Scotsman named Matthew, valued at 14 pounds.

Among my Woburn ancestors, another, Francis Wyman, a tanner, owned several Scotsmen who were prisoners of war from the Battle of Dunbar.  Another was a Scots prisoner, William Munroe.  It is interesting that these men stayed and intermarried in the communities where they were once held captive and in servitude. 

Randy Seaver posted Thomas Carter’s will recently at his blog GeneaMusings http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/11/amanuensis-monday-will-of-thomas-carter.html

The best sources for Thomas Carter, the blacksmith, are the town histories of Charlestown and Woburn, and the vital records.  There is a short sketch of Thomas Carter in the book The New England Ancestory of Dana Converse Backus, by Mary E. N. Backus, 1949.

My lineage from Thomas Carter:

Generation 1: Thomas Carter, born about 1585 in England; died about 1652 in Woburn, Massachusetts; married Mary Unknown, who died 6 March 1665 in Woburn.  Six children.

Generation 2: John Carter, born about 1617, died 14 September 1692 in Woburn; married about 1642 in Woburn to Elizabeth Kendall.  She was born about 1613 in England, died 6 May 1691 in Woburn.  Five children, I descend from two Carter daughters.

Line A.  
Generation 3.  Abigail Carter, born 21 April 1648 in Woburn, died 11 May 1718 in Woburn; married in 1666 in Woburn to Lt. James Fowle, son of George Fowle and Mary Tufts. 
Generation 4.  Capt. James Fowle m. Mary Richardson
Generation 5. Mary Fowle m. James Simonds, Jr.
Generation 6. Caleb Simonds m. Susanna Convers
Generation 7. Ruth Simonds m. Andrew Munroe
Generation 8. Luther Simonds Munroe m. Olive Flint
Generation 9. Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Munroe Wilkinson
Generation 10. Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill
Generation 11. Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

Line B.
Generation B.
Generation 3.  Hannah Carter, born 19 January 1651 in Woburn, died 10 August 1691 in Woburn; married on 1 January 1669 to James Converse, son of James Converse and Anna Long.  He was born on 16 November 1645 in Woburn and died on 8 July 1706 in Woburn.
Generation 4. Robert Converse m. Mary Sawyer
Generation 5. Susanna Converse m. Caleb Simonds (they were first cousins once removed)
(See Above)

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ Carter of Woburn, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 18, 2013, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/01/surname-saturday-carter-of-woburn.html: accessed [access date]). 

Londonderry Explosion 107 Years ago Today


"AT LONDONDERRY
Big Boiler Explosion On Friday
LIVES OF THIRTY MEN WERE IN DANGER
$10,000 Loss In The Rockingham County Town
FACTORY WILL BE COMPELLED TO TEMPORARILY SHUT DOWN

Londonderry, N. H., Jan. 19.
--A boiler connected with the Annis grain and lumber mills plant at North Londonderry exploded today, wrecking the boiler and the engine house, and damaging both the grain mill and the wood working factory, besides causing injuries to 
Justin Sanborn, the engineer.


The boiler was one of two which are used in operating the mill. It burst with a report which was heard for a long distance, and was thought at first to have been an earthquake.

The concussion practically demolished the brick boiler house and threw the second boiler out of place. Flying debris also knocked off portions of the ends of the wood mill and the grain mill, between which the boiler was located.

The plant was compelled to shut down and it will be practically idle, it is believed, for about six weeks, until repairs can be effected.

The total damage is placed at about $10,000. "


Portsmouth, Herald, Portsmouth, NH 20 Jan 1906
Transcribed by Helen Coughlin for GenDisasters.com http://www.gendisasters.com/data1/nh/explosions/londonderry-explosion1906.htm

page 11 of  Londonderry, by the Londonderry History Historical
Society, Acadia Publishing, 2004


Annis Grain and Lumber Mill was located in the north end of Londonderry that is now known as “The Villgae”.  You can still see the smokestack and some of the buildings between Mammoth Road and Rt. 28.   Annis mill also had a large grain elevator, and most of the mill was later destroyed by fire and razed.  There was a B & M train station located here, too, and the rail trail is barely visible.  So many people used to be employed at this location that workforce housing grew up nearby.  These Victorian era homes are still standing on Buckthorn, Foxglove and Waymouth Roads.


The Annis Mill chimney still stands
but all the other buildings date after the above photo.
The restored rail trail will cross this section of
Mammoth Road. 


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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Thursday, January 17, 2013

A Blast from the Past!

I found this news clipping in my cookbook.  The cook book is Seasoned with Grace by Eldress Bertha Lindsay of the Canterbury, New Hampshire Shaker Village.  Years ago when you visited the Shaker Village the Eldress Bertha would greet you and shake your hand, and in her later years she would greet you from her rocking chair.  Eldress Bertha passed away in 1990, one of the last surviving Shakers in the United States.

I entered this summer squash casserole recipe to the local newspaper column of the Nashua Telegraph in 1988.  It was chosen as "recipe of the week" and printed on June 1, 1988.  At the end of the year all the weekly recipe winners were invited to a Cook-Off at the Fairgrounds Junior High School in Nashua.  We all had to cook our recipe and we were judged by a panel of local restaurant chefs.  I remember that I did not win, and the judges suggested I steam my squash in the future (I tried that later at home, and my squash was too mushy).   I also remember that my daughter was a toddler running around the home economics classroom kitchen with my husband in hot pursuit during the entire ordeal.   Although I didn't win the top prize, I did win first place in my category of casseroles and received the Shaker cookbook as a prize.  Imagine my surprise when I opened up the cookbook the next day to peruse the pages, and I found my Squash Casserole recipe in the book!  It was almost exactly word for word the very same recipe.  No steaming either.

Nashua Telegraph, Nashua, NH, June 1, 1988

click images to enlarge


Another thing I remember is that for several years after this event, the phone would ring and complete strangers would ask me what brand of packaged croutons I used.  It was always the same question every time.  "What brand do you use?"  I was always too embarrassed to say I always used the cheapest brand on sale, so I used to tell them I used Pepperidge Farm brand to sound like I was an expert.  This is life in a small town, when complete strangers call to ask questions about recipes in the local paper for three or four years after it is printed!

P.S. Don't you love those 1980s eyeglasses!

The Nashua Telegraph, Nashua, New Hampshire http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Weathervane Wednesday ~ An Abandoned Town


This is part of an on-going series of photographs of weather vanes in New Hampshire.  I started by documenting the weather vanes in the Nutfield area (formerly Derry, Londonderry and Windham, New Hampshire) but I've spread out to other areas now.  Some of the weather vanes are historical, some are whimsical, and all are interesting.  Today's weather vane is located in a "ghost town" or abandoned town in Southern New Hampshire.

Do you know the location of weather vane #78?  Scroll down to see the answer!



The Joseph Gould House

Interior (photographed through the window!)

This weather vane is located on the Joseph Gould house in Monson, New Hampshire.  Monson is an abandoned town that straddles the Hollis and Milford border.  The area has stone walls, cellar holes of homes, wells and an old town pound.  It was settled in 1737 and abandoned in the 1770s.  As we walked around Monson we marveled at the fields bordered by stone walls, and discussed how the settlers must have used oxen and sledges to drag the stones out of the fields.  When we saw this weather vane it was as if the spirit of one of the settlers had left this as an answer!  However, I do not know if this weather vane is original to the building or not.

Click this link to see a previous blog post about the abandoned town of Monson, New Hampshire with lots of photos of the cellar holes and old roads:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-abandoned-town-of-monson-new.html

Click here to see the entire series of weather vane posts! 

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Tombstone Tuesday ~ A Visit to Mount Auburn Cemetery

Mount Auburn Cemetery is a very historic place in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Some of the most famous Bostonians and New Englanders are buried here, and will continue to be buried here. I used to pass by here  as a student, since it is just a few blocks from Harvard Square.  My student teaching was right down the street.  I remember riding my bike through the cemetery with friends. It's located right next to the Cambridge City Cemetery, but Mount Auburn is much more beautiful since it was designed to be a park.  The trees, flowering bushes and plantings, lawns and hillsides are all features usually not seen in municipal, or even most private cemeteries.  It's 170 acres are officially an arboretum.

You can read all about the history of Mount Auburn and its illustrious "residents" in books or online at the website HERE .  As a genealogist, I'm most impressed by the staff and services offered by the main office at Mount Auburn.  I've been to visit similar cemeteries around Boston, like Woodlawn or Harmony Grove.  Both of those cemeteries are private, garden style cemeteries, with gates and staffed offices.

The difference between these cemeteries is how visitors and genealogists are treated.  At Harmony Grove, the office manager will bend over backwards to share her files on the families buried there.  But sometimes she cannot pull information up while you wait, but she will mail things and keep your name on file to connect with unknown cousins.  At Woodlawn, the staff is very suspicious.  If you don't have a specific name, you won't get information.  You cannot browse the files to "look up people" who might be buried there from your family, or even to see if there might be another family plot under the same surname.  Woodlawn also doesn't allow photographs.

Compare those with Mount Auburn and you will have a pleasant surprise.  First of all, Mount Auburn welcomes visitors with open arms, and not only for visiting graves, but for riding bikes, bird watching, jogging, you name it.  There is an active "Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery" group for events and fund raising. They reach out to the community, and the community has embraced the cemetery back with both arms.  Tourists, photographers, family and historians all are welcome.

The staff has set up an extensive website.  You can link to a map page where you can search for a specific plot HERE  or read about their genealogical resources HERE. The staff also takes email requests for genealogical information  and is very prompt about returning answers to queries. Copies of the cemetery plots are available free of charge HERE for family plots (not for burials in public lots).

What information is included in a cemetery lot card? Here is an example of the front and back of a cemetery plot for my distant cousins.  You can see that the entire family is listed, and that three were buried at the same time, even though they died in different years.  I can assume that they were removed from another cemetery to be buried here.  The layout of the stones marked on the plot map matches the layout in the photographs.  On the back you can see that the three marble stones are under perpetual care.

front
back





From this information on the lot card I was able to look up the names of the females buried here, to find their marriages, since I only had their maiden names. This helped me to find their marriage records, and to add their husbands and families to my family tree.

The Nicholas Land Family:

Generation 1: Nicholas Land, born about 1802 in Germany; married on 15 May 1834 in Boston to Abigail Rice Arnold, the daughter of Eliphaz Arnold and Mary Torrey Rice.  She was born about 1801 in East Weymouth, Massachusetts and died on 19 July 1854 in Boston.   Abigail was was the widow of Elisha Wales, by whom she had two daughters, Lucy Ann born 1823 and died 17 June 1849 in Boston, and Cordelia born in 1831 and died in 1833.

Three Land children:

1. Mary Abigail Land, born about 1835, died on 31 August 1895 in Boston; married on 4 December 1862 to Nathaniel Greenwood Snelling, son of Enoch Howes Snelling and Sarah Dargue Jones.  He was born in Cambridge in 1823 and died on 24 July 1902 in Hull, Massachusetts.
2. Nicholas L. Land, born about 1839 and died 1880 in Boston; married on 11 November 1862 in Chelsea, Massachusetts to Mary E. Pettingill.
3. Catherine I. Land, born about 1843, died on 19 October 1905; married on 22 April 1889 in Boston to Josiah Brigham Stetson, son of James Aaron Stetson and Abigail Fiske Brigham.  He was born 23 July 1843 in Quincy, Massachusetts and died on 25 April 1895.

Nathaniel Greenwood Snelling, known as Greenwood, is my first cousin 5 x removed.  His mother, Sarah Dargue (Jones) Snelling (1794 - 1875) is the sister of my 4x great grandmother, Catherine Plummer (Jones) Younger (1799 - 1828).  They were both sisters of Mary Lambert (Jones) Dominis (1803 - 1889), who went to Hawaii with her husband and had a son, Governor John Owen Dominis (1832 - 1891) who married Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawaii.

When Queen Lili'uokalani came to Boston in 1897 to visit her relatives, she attended a family party at Nathaniel Greenwood Snelling's home.  He lived on 96 Dudley Street in Roxbury, which was a swanky address at that time.  I know there were three first cousins in attendance: Nathaniel Greenwood Snelling, Governor J. O. Dominis, and Mary Esther (Younger) Emerson, my 3x great grandmother .  My great grandmother, Carrie Maude (Batchelder) Allen and her mother Mary Katharine (Emerson) Batchelder were probably in attendance, too.  It is Carrie who passed on the story of how she met the Queen to my family.  She would have been 24 years old at the time of the Queen's visit.  Carrie died in 1963. I spent twenty five years trying to find out how Carrie was related to Queen Liliuokalani!

In her autobiography Queen Liliuokalani describes a party at N. G. Snelling's house in the January of her Boston visit.  pages 320-1  "Before leaving Boston, as it was my intention to do some time during the month of January, my cousin  Mr. N. G. Snelling, gave a family party at his house, to which my suite was invited, and I had the pleasure of meeting as many of the family as could be brought together.  More than thirty relatives and a few of the most intimate friends of the kind host were present.  An elegant table laden with refreshments and adorned with flowers occupied the centre of one of the rooms, and the event was made in all respects as delightful as possible to us."  [The Queen was famous for using only initials in her autobiography, which made it very difficult to figure out who the relatives were in Boston!]

The staff at Mount Auburn is collecting stories on the people interred in their cemetery.  This is a perfect example of a wonderful bit of history and an interesting story to add to their files.  Imagine the delight it will give to someone someday in the future, when they contact Mount Auburn about this family.  I have news clippings, letters to Hawaii and family trees to contribute.  Imagine what other information is already in the Mount Auburn files, and maybe it is one of your ancestors!

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Links:

Mount Auburn Cemetery http://www.mountauburn.org/

Wikipedia- Mount Auburn Cemetery and its history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Auburn_Cemetery

Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mountauburncemetery?fref=ts

Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, Massachusetts has no official website, but a list of famous people interred there can be found at this link http://salem.essexcountyma.net/HarmonyGroveCemetery.htm 

Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett, Massachusetts http://www.woodlawncemetery.com/

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Monday, January 14, 2013

Surprise! I’ve been honored!


Author, genealogist and blogger Mariann Regan left me a surprise comment on my blog last week with “I have nominated you for Blog of the Year 2012 Award” .  Here is a link to her post: http://mariannregan.authorsxpress.com/2013/01/10/two-surprises-and-nominations-paid-forward/


The rules for this award can be found here at this link:

Apparently the idea is to collect a star for each time your blog is nominated, up to six stars.  I’m very happy just to receive one star and display it on my sidebar!  Thanks, Mariann!   If you haven’t checked out Mariann’s blog,you should try it today.  She is a wonderful writer, and her enthusiasm for genealogy shows in her blog posts.  I haven’t read her book Into the Briar Patch, but she describes it as her “quest to understand her family history” back to the early 1800s.  Mariann is also a great cheerleader for genealogy blogging, and is constantly commenting on blogs, promoting other bloggers on Facebook, and retweeting and mentioning blog posts on Twitter. 

There are other rules for the Blog of the Year award:
   1.       Select the blogs you think deserve the Blog of the Year 2012 Award
   2.       Write a blog post and tell us about the blogs you have chosen – no minimum or maximum number of blogs required- and present them with the award
   3.       Please include a link back to this page http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/ and include these rules in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)
   4.       Let the blogs you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them.
   5.      You can now join the Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience.
   6.     As winner of the award- please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award- and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar… and start collecting stars…

Well, that’s a lot of rules to follow, and I hope I did this all correctly.  The choosing blogs is the hardest part.  I wish I could nominate everyone on my blog reader, but that is a HUGE number of blogs!  So I decided I would pick seven lucky bloggers (only because that is my favorite number) and (only because I had to limit this to some number) and ( I really wanted more…)  I decided to nominate all “new to me” bloggers…

   1.        Kathryn Smith Lockhard at “Reflections” http://kathrynsmithlockhard.blogspot.com/
   2.        “Nupepa”  http://nupepa-hawaii.com/
   3.       John and Ann Switlik at “Thomas Gardner of Salem, MA” http://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/
   4.       John D. Tew at “Filiopietism Prism”  http://filiopietismprism.blogspot.com/
   5.       Elroy Davis at “Green Mountain Genealogy”  http://greenmountaingenealogy.blogspot.com/
   6.       Chris at “Massachusetts and More Genealogy Blog”  http://massandmoregenealogy.blogspot.com/
   7.       Thomas W. Tufts at “Tufts Family Genealogy”  http://tuftsgenealogy.blogspot.com/
   8.       Bette Wing at “The Pye Plate”  http://thepyeplate.blogspot.com/

Did anyone notice I gave eight nominations?  I told you I couldn’t pick just seven! Like I said, I wish I could give everyone a nomination, but it just wasn’t possible.  I’m sure another blog award will roll around soon and I can nominate more…
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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo