Sunday, November 30, 2014

Who will be the millionth reader?


Who will it be?  Sometime overnight someone out there will view the millionth page view of my blog.  I noticed a few weeks ago that the numbers were getting close to a million. True Lewis on Facebook wondered aloud “Who will it be?”  That got me to wondering…

Will it be my Mom? She was one of my first fans.  She reads almost every blog post and lets me know if there are edits to be made.  She was one of the first people to accompany me on genealogy trips around Massachusetts to gather vital records when I was just a teenager.  She has a great curiosity about the family tree.  Mom was my first fan.

Will it be extended family?  I have lots of first cousins who read this blog, like Sue and Cheryl, and Uncles and Aunts.  Some are new readers, and some have been reading it all along.  Perhaps one of these cousins will be the millionth reader?

Will it be more distant family?  I’ve met second and third and fourth cousins through my blog.  These are cousins I never met, and some I never knew about until they commented about common ancestral lines. And then there are the really distant cousins who read my blog.  Mayflower cousins like Harry  and Penny, and cousins I’ve met through blogging like Bill West, Barbara Poole and Betty Huber Tartas and many, many others.

Will it be a Googler?  It’s fun to receive comments from people who just find my blog by accident.  Some of these are Googling specific surnames or localities.  Some are students working on homework. You never know what will happen with Google.  Perhaps the millionth reader will be here by sheer chance?

Will it be a serious researcher?  Some of these researchers have contacted me from faraway places such as Ireland, Spain and England.  I love knowing that my blog has an international reach! There is a lot of serious interest in the Nutfield Ulster Presbyterian settlers from people in  Northern Ireland.  Welcome to my blog!

Will it be a genealogist sitting at home in pajamas and slippers, sipping a cup of hot tea, and searching online far into the night.  Perhaps this is YOU right now?

Which one is YOU? Which one will be the millionth viewer?

-----------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/who-will-be-millionth-reader.html
Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo


Saturday, November 29, 2014

Surname Saturday ~ PRESBURY/PRESBYTER/PRESBITERY/PRESTON/PRESSON of Sandwich, Martha's Vineyard, Beverly, Massachusetts and of Saco, Maine


PRESBURY   PRESBYTER   PRESBITERY   PRESTON  PRESSON

John Presbury’s (about 1610 - 1648) first appearance in a New England record is on the Sandwich, Massachusetts 1643 list of men “able to bear arms”.  His widow, Catherine,  remarried to Richard Chadwell on 22 July 1648 in Sandwich.

John Presbury, Jr. (about 1640 - before 1679) married Dorcas Besse in 1664 went to Martha’s Vineyard, Salisbury, and to Saco, Maine in 1670.  He was a shoemaker.  In the third generation, William Preston (about 1664 - about 1718) married Priscilla Randall of Saco,  and lived there until about 1690.  King William's War with the Indians and French created many hostilities in the Maine settlements, which drove many settlers back to Massachusetts.  William and Priscilla removed to Beverly, Massachusetts. 

Randall Preston (1702 – 1744) was in the fourth generation in New England.  He was a tailor in Beverly.  He married Susannah Stone, a descendant of Nathaniel Stone (1632 - 1718) from whom I also descend in another Stone lineage.  In some records he was known as Randal Presson.  He was baptized as an adult in 1727, which was unusual in Puritan Massachusetts.

William Presson (1737 – 1814) settled at Gloucester, Massachusetts and married Abigail Sargent.  He was also a tailor.  His death was recorded in the Salem Gazette on 27 December 1814 with the words “Died – At Gloucester, Mr. William Preston, aged 78 – an honest man.”   My Preston line daughters out with William’s daughter, Lucy (1763 – 1852), who married James Andrews of Essex, the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, in 1788. 

For more information on the Presbury/Preston family:

The History of Martha’s Vineyard  by Dr. Charles Banks, Volume III Family Genealogies, pages 410 – 411.

“Memoirs of Alfred Presson (1838 – 1913) of Gloucester, Massachusetts”, New England Historic Genealogical Register, 18:3

This family is not recorded in the Great Migration series nor in Martin Hollick’s book New Englanders in the 1600s.  My sources were town records, church records, vital records and town histories. 

My Presbury/Preston genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Presbury, born about 1610 in England, died in 1648 in Sandwich, Massachusetts; married about 1637 to Catherine Unknown.  Two children.

Generation 2:  John Presbury, born about 1640 in Sandwich,  died before April 1679 in Saco, Maine; married about 1664 to Dorcas Besse, daughter of Anthony Besse and Jane Unknown,  in Sandwich.  Three children.

Generation 3:  William Preston, born about 1664 in Saco, died about 1718 in Beverly, Massachusetts; married in Maine to Priscilla Randall, daughter of Richard Randall and Elizabeth Irons.  She was born about 1661 in Saco and died 23 April 1752 in Beverly. Nine children.  William married second to Sarah Crocker.

Generation 4:  Randall Preston, born 3 April 1702 in Beverly, died 27 March 1744 in Beverly; married on 2 July 1723 in Beverly to Susanna Stone, daughter of John Stone and Sarah Gale.  She was born 20 August 1702 in Beverly, and died 17 May 1751 in Beverly.  Twelve children.

Generation 5:  William Presson was baptized on 24 April 1737 in Beverly, and died 20 December 1814 in Gloucester, Massachusetts; he married Abigail Sargent, the daughter of John Sargent and Mary Unknown, on 6 August 1761 in Gloucester.  Nine children.

Generation 6:  Lucy Presson, born May 1763 in Gloucester, died 5 September in 1852 in Essex, Massachusetts; married on 15 July 1788 in Ipswich to James Andrews, son of John Andrews and Martha Cogswell.  Ten children.

Generation 7:   Orpha Andrews m. Joseph Allen
Generation 8:  Joseph Gilman Allen m. Sarah Burnham Mears
Generation 9: Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder
Generation 10: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

-----------------------------
The URL for this post is
 http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/surname-saturday-presburypresbyterpresb.html
Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo


Friday, November 28, 2014

December 2014 Genealogy and Local History Calendar


December 3, Wednesday, 6pm, Legendary Locals of Beacon Hill, at the Otis House, 141 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts presented by author Karen Cord Taylor based on her new book. Hear the stories of people such as John Hancock, Louisa May Alcott, John Singleton Copley and Julia Ward Howe. Free to the public, registration required 617-944-5920. 

December 4, Thursday, noon, Lunch & Learn:  Thanksgiving: The Holiday that Swallowed the Pilgrims, at Plimoth Plantation, Plymouth, Massachusetts, presented by Jim Baker, FREE for members, $8 non members, Bring a lunch or buy one at the visitor center.  See the website for more information www.plimoth.org

December 4, Thursday, 6:30pm, Speaking Out on Neighborhood Change, with Anne Alison Barnet, at the West End Museum, Boston, Massachusetts. FREE to the public, register at the website www.thewestendmuseum.org

December 5, Friday, 5pm – 8pm,  and December 6, Saturday 10am – 2pm, Home for the Holidays, at the Sarah Orne Jewett House Museum and Visitor Center, 5 Portland Street, South Berwick, Maine. FREE.  Take a walk through the historic rooms and a display of the Jewett family Christmas cards.  Make your own Victorian toys and ornaments, and help decorate the Christmas tree.  Guided tours on Saturday only for $5 suggested donation.

December 5 – 7, 35th Annual Christmas in Salem House Tour, for more information contact Historic Salem, Inc. at 978-745-0799 or info@historicsalem.org.  The 2014 tours will take place in South Salem, showing Victorian homes that escaped the Great Salem Fire of 1914, and those rebuilt with colonial revival details.

December 6, Saturday, noon – 2pm, Music in the Meeting House, at the Rocky Hill Meeting House, 4 Portsmouth Road, Amesbury, Massachusetts.  Free to Historic New England members and Amesbury residents. $5 nonmembers.  Experience the holiday season with song by UMass Lowell’s Connexion singers.  Call 978-462-2634 for more information. 

December 6, Saturday, 10am – 4pm, Holiday Open House at the Millyard Museum, FREE admission, 200 Bedford Street, Manchester, New Hampshire, call 603-622-7531 for more information.  Children’s crafts, holiday storytelling, historical exhibits, raffles, games with free prizes, cookies and cider, shopping in the Museum shop with sales on select items and gift membership packages available.

December 8, Monday, 7:30pm New Hampshire on Skiis, at the Congregational Church of Amherst, 7 Church Street, Amherst, New Hampshire, presented by professor E. John B. Allen, free to the public, contact Neil Brenner for more information 603-315-8413.

December 8, Monday, 6pm, Making History: King Phillip’s War in Documents and Artifacts, at the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.  Students of the Boston University course “Making History” discuss the MHS exhibit on King Phillip’s War they have researched and compiled.

December 13, Saturday,  4:30pm, The Spirit of Christmas Past: Four Centuries of Christmas in New England, at the Sarah Orne Jewett House Museum and Visitor Center, 5 Portland Street, South Berwick, Maine. Free to Historic New England Members, $5 nonmembers.  This popular lecture traces the development of the celebration of Christmas from the time it was outlawed in 17th century New England to the 20th century.  Registration required, call 207-384-2454.

December 16, Tuesday, Anniversary Celebration of the Boston Tea Party Re-enactment! See the website http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/boston-tea-party-reenactment presented by the Boston Tea Party Museum and the Old South Meeting House Museum.  Join in at the theatrical colonial debate at the Old South Meeting House, march to Boston Harbor and then watch the Sons of Liberty storm the Brig Beaver and destroy the chests of tea.  Don’t forget to shout “Huzzah!”

December 21, Sunday, 2 – 4pm Boston Area Chantey and Maritime Sing, at the USS Constitution Museum, at the Charlestown Navy Yard, Charlestown, Massachusetts.  Join in a rousing chorus of sea chanteys.  Family friendly, open to anyone who would like to participate.

December 24 – January 4, daily except Dec. 25, and Jan. 1, 10am – 5pm, Wood Ship, Iron Men: December School Vacation Week, at the USS Constitution Museum at the Charlestown Navy Yard, Charlestown, Massachusetts.  Hands on exhibits, interactive programs, and creative crafts for explorers or every age.  Meet the crew that sailed the USS Constitution in the War of 1812. Must pay museum admission.

January 12, Monday, 7pm, Treasure from the Isles of Shoals:  How New Archaeology is Changing Old History, at the Stratham, New Hampshire Fire Department, 2 Winnicutt Road, Stratham, New Hampshire.  FREE to the public, contact 603-778-0434 for more information.

January 14, Wednesday, 7pm Family Stories: How and Why to Remember and Tell Them, at the Merrimack Public Library, 470 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, New Hampshire, presented by storyteller Jo Radner.  Snow date January 15 same time and place.  Free to the public.  Call the library for more information 603-424-5021.

January 16, Friday, 10:15am, A Woman That Keeps Good Orders: Women, Tavern Keeping, and Public Approval,  at the Community Church of Durham, 17 Main Street, Durham, New Hampshire, FREE to the public.  Please join in for coffee at 9am with the program to follow at 10:15am,

January 17, Saturday, 7pm, Colonial New Hampshire, presented by the Walpole Historical Society, at the Walpole Town Hall, 34 Elm Street, Walpole, New Hampshire, FREE to the public.  Call 603-756-3449 for more information.

January 17, Saturday, 10:30am to noon, Lecture- Lindencrest at the Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford Street, Manchester, New Hampshire presented by historian Ed Brouder, Free to members, regular admission fee for non-members, call 603-622-7531 for more information.  Lindencrest was an elegant mansion in the Queen city, and in the 1890s it was the scene of a scandal involving a widow, her teenaged daughter, a respected doctor and a bank executive who fled to South America.

January 17, Saturday, 2 – 3pm, Winter Weekends at the Phillips House, at the Phillips House Museum, 34 Chestnut Street, Salem, Massachusetts. $5 Historic New England members, $10 non members. Enjoy hot cocoa and cookies while viewing film clips of the Phillips family engaged in their favorite winter activities.  Tour the house to see family items usually not on display, including sporting equipment, postcards, photographs and artwork.  Registration required, call 978-744-0440 for more information. 

January 19, Monday, 2:15pm, Moved and Seconded: Town Meeting in New Hampshire, at the Havenwood Heritage Heights Auditorium, 33 Christian Avenue, Concord, New Hampshire.  FREE to the public, Call 603 -229-1185 for more information.

-------------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/december-2014-genealogy-and-local.html 

Copyright 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thanksgiving Proclamation 1805

Thanksgiving Proclamation 10 October 1805
Gov. John Langdon of New Hampshire


STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
BY THE GOVERNOR.
A PROCLAMATION.
It has been customary for the citizens of this state, at the recommendations of the supreme executive authority, to set apart a certain day near the close of the year for the purpose of publicly recognizing their dependence upon Almighty God for protection, and that they might express their gratitude to Him for all blessings and mercies received and implore a continuance of them;- I therefore, in conformity to this laudable and long established practice, do by and with the advice of the council, appoint THURSDAY THE TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY OF NOVEMBER NEXT to be observed as a day of PUBLIC THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER throughout this state, hereby exhorting the people of all sects and denominations to assemble with their pastors and religious teachers, at their respective places of public worship on that day, and devote a reasonable part thereof in praising and adoring Almighty God, and in offering up our thanks to Him as the great author of every good and perfect gift, for the many favors that he has been pleased to bestow upon us as individuals during the past year; as also fro the gracious exercise of his guardian care over the great and general concerns of our common country. That although the earth has been visited by a severe and early drought, yet that by his blessing we are favored with a competency of the fruits of the field, for the supplies of another year. That we have not been afflicted with those contagious diseases that have visited some of the cities of our sister states, but have enjoyed a general measure of health.
That the life and health of the President of the United States have been preserved; that our civil and religious liberties are secure; and that no internal causes have occurred to disturb the peace and harmony of our land. For the termination of our contest with one of the African powers; the liberation of our fellow-citizens from bondage, and their restoration to the arms of their country, and the sweets of liberty. For his smiles on our commerce, navigation and fisheries, and for that prosperity that has generally prevailed. But above all, for the inestimable blessings of the gospel of peace and salvation, the means of grace and hopes of future glory, through the merits of a crucified Savior.
And while our mouths are filled with praise and thanksgiving, let us supplicate our heavenly benefactor, that he would penetrate our hearts as well with a due sense of his goodness, as of our own unworthiness, and continue to us all the blessings that we now enjoy, and bestow upon us all such addition favors as may be for our good. That he would be pleased to keep the government of the United States under his protection; bless our nations in all its internal and external concerns, and inspire all in authority with wisdom, and with a patriotic regard to its welfare and honor. That he would command the pestilence that now scourges some of the cities of our country to cease its desolations, and make those cities rejoice in the return of health, and in the mercies of the Lord. That he would particularly keep this state under his holy and superintending care, smile upon its agriculture, commerce, and fisheries, and bless the labors of the laborer in every walk and department of life. That he would cherish our university, our academies and schools, and all our institutions for promoting improvements in knowledge, usefulness, and virtue. That he would preside in all our courts and inspire those who make, and those who administer the laws, with his divine wisdom; and make every branch of our civil government sub serve the best interests of the people. That he would bless the means used for the promulgation of his word, and make pure religion and morality more and more abound. And it is hereby earnestly recommended that all persons abstain from labor and recreation unbecoming the solemnities of the day.
Given at the council chamber in Portsmouth, this tenth day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and five, and of the independence of the United States of America, the thirtieth.
JOHN LANGDON

By His Excellency’s Command, with advice of council.
Secretary

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

My Mayflower Ancestors

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours! 

It is Thanksgiving tomorrow, and a day when many people remember their ancestors who were present at that first meager harvest feast in the Plymouth Colony in 1621.  Many other bloggers were posting their Mayflower lineages, and I decided to join in.  I don't do this to brag or boast, but to find any possible cousin connections among my readers.  If you find one of these names in your family tree, please let me know!  Leave a comment or email me at vrojomit@gmail.com

Here are my own lineages in alphabetical order with Mayflower passengers in bold:

Isaac Allerton (abt 1586 – 1659)and Mary Norris (1587 – 1621- she died during the first winter on Cape Cod)
Remember Allerton (abt 1614 – 1656) and Moses Maverick
Abigail Maverick and Samuel Ward
Martha Ward and John Tuthill
Martha Tuthill and Mark Haskell
Lucy Haskell and Jabez Treadwell
Nathaniel Treadwell and Mary Hovey
Jabez Treadwell and Betsey Jillings Homan
Eliza Ann Treadwell and Abijah Hitchings
Abijah Franklin Hitchings and Hannah Eliza Lewis
Arthur Treadwell Hitchings and Florence Etta Hoogerzeil
Gertrude Matilda Hitchings and Stanley Elmer Allen (my maternal grandparents)

Edward Doty (abt 1599 – 1635) and Faith Clark
Desire Doty and Alexander Standish
Desire Standish and Nathan Weston
Nathan Weston and Hannah Everson
Zadoc Weston and Mary Clements
Matilda Weston and Joseph Edwin Healey
Mary Etta Healey and Peter Hoogerzeil
Florence Etta Hoogerzeil and Arthur Treadwell Hitchings
Gertrude Matilda Hitchings and Stanley Elmer Allen (my maternal grandparents)

John Tilley (abt 1571- 1620) and Joan Hurst (abt 1568 – 1621) both died the first winter orphaning their 15 year old daughter, Elizabeth Tilley (1607 – 1687) who later married  John Howland (1592 – 1673)
Hope Howland and John Chipman
Hannah Chipman and Thomas Huckins
Hope Huckins and Benjamin Hamblin
Hannah Hamblin and Jonathan Crosby
Ebenezer Crosby and Elizabeth Robinson
Rebecca Crosby and Comfort Haley
Joseph Edwin Healey and Matilda Weston
Mary Etta Healey and Peter Hoogerzeil
Florence Etta Hoogerzeil and Arthur Treadwell Hitchings
Gertrude Matilda Hitchings and Stanley Elmer Allen (my maternal grandparents)

John Tilley (abt 1571- 1620) and Joan Hurst (abt 1568 – 1621) parents of Elizabeth Tilley (1607 – 1687) and John Howland (1592 – 1673)
Desire Howland and John Gorham
Desire Gorham and John Hawes
Elizabeth Hawes and Thomas Daggett
Elizabeth Daggett and John Butler
Keziah Butler and Samuel Osborn
Samuel Osborn and Sarah Wass
Sarah Osborn and Charles Skinner
Ann Skinner and Thomas Ratchford Lyons
Isabella Lyons and Rev. Ingraham Ebenezer Bill
Caleb Rand Bill and Ann Margaret Bollman
Isabella Lyons Bill and Albert Munroe Wilkinson
Donald Munroe Wilkinson and Bertha Louise Roberts (my paternal grandparents)

George Soule ( abt 1593 – 1680) and Mary Beckett
John Soule and Rebecca Simonson
 Rebecca Soule and Edmund Weston
Nathan Weston and Desire Standish
Nathan Weston and Hannah Everson
Zadoc Weston and Mary Clements
Matilda Weston and Joseph Edwin Healey
Mary Etta Healey and Peter Hoogerzeil
Florence Etta Hoogerzeil and Arthur Treadwell Hitchings
Gertrude Matilda Hitchings and Stanley Elmer Allen (my maternal grandparents)

Captain Myles Standish (abt 1584 – 1656) and Barbara Unknown
Alexander Standish and Desire Doty
Desire Standish and Nathan Weston
Nathan Weston and Hannah Everson
Zadoc Weston and Mary Clements
Matilda Weston and Joseph Edwin Healey
Mary Etta Healey and Peter Hoogerzeil
Florence Etta Hoogerzeil and Arthur Treadwell Hitchings
Gertrude Matilda Hitchings and Stanley Elmer Allen (my maternal grandparents)

For information about Mayflower passengers online see Caleb Johnson’s Mayflower History at

For information about the Mayflower Society see http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/

-----------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/my-mayflower-ancestors.html
Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Weathervane Wednesday ~ The Oldest Building in this Town

Weathervane Wednesday is an on-going series of photographs I post weekly.  I started by publishing weather vanes from the Londonderry area, but now I've been finding interesting weather vanes all across New England.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting. Often, my readers tip me off to some very unique and unusual weather vanes, too!

Today's weather vane is from a town in New Hampshire.

Do you know the location of weather vane #184? Scroll down to see the answer!




This weathervane is located on top of the bell tower of the Old Town Hall on Main Street, Hooksett, New Hampshire.  It is a filigree banner, probably copper like the cupola on which it sits.  This building was constructed in 1828 and it is the oldest in Hooksett.  It has served as the town hall, a court house, and as a police station.  This building survived the flood of 1936 and the Hurricane of 1938.

The Old Hooksett Town Hall is known for its tower and the tin ceiling on the first floor.  The Hooksett Historical Society, which is located next door in the Prescott library building (built in 1909) is applying for a grant from New Hampshire through the conservation license plate program to preserve the building.

Did you know that every time you buy a conservation license plate from the State of New Hampshire (the plates with the moose on the left side) you are funding projects through the Division of Historical Resources?   All funded properties must be publicly owned, and all projects must adhere to standards.  Please see this webpage for more information: :   http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/grants/moose/   



The Hooksett, New Hampshire Historical Society http://hooksetthistory.wordpress.com/  

"Moose Plates", the New Hampshire Heritage and Conservation Program:
http://www.mooseplate.com/

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

------------------------------------

The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/weathervane-wednesday-oldest-building.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Samuel Steel, Derry, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed at Forest Hills Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire


HERE LYES THE BODY OF MR
SAMUEL STEEL.  HE DIED
DECEMBER 8TH 1761 AGED
32 YEARS

READER BEHOLD AS THOU GOES BY
AS NOW THOU ART SO ONCE WAS I
AS NOW I AM SO MUST THOU BE
REMEMBER MAN SO THOU MUST DIE

According to Rick Holmes, the town historian of Derry, New Hampshire, the rhyming scheme in this epitaph doesn't appear to rhyme unless you use a Scots accent.  In Scots, "die" rhymes with "be", pronounced "dee".  The Scots Irish dialect was alive in Londonderry and Derry, New Hampshire for many generations, as evidenced by the poetry of Windham's Rustic Bard, Robert Dinsmoor (1757 - 1828).  

This tombstone is decorated with the primitive geometric designs seen all over the 18th century section of Forest Hill Cemetery's Scots Irish settlers graves.  Some of these can be attributed to stone carver John Wight (1702 - 1775).  Whenever I see these geometric symbols on gravestones they remind me of Celtic knots. Here we see a primitive hour glass and a pair of crossed bones mixed in with the geometric patterns.

Samuel Steel was married to Janet Morrison, daughter of Charter James Morrison. 

---------------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/tombstone-tuesday-samuel-steel-derry.html
Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Monday, November 24, 2014

Where are the Pilgrims?


I spent some time on Sunday afternoon searching for something to watch on TV related to Thanksgiving.  There were a plethora of cooking shows, with hints on roasting the perfect turkey.  But I was looking for something historical that mentioned the Plymouth settlers.  The only thing I found was the very inaccurate 1952 movie “Plymouth Adventure” starring Spencer Tracy.  And it was on the TCM channel by subscription only.  (So I couldn’t watch)  – Sigh –

Earlier I had gone to several stores looking for a Thanksgiving greeting card.  I really wanted one with a depiction of a Plymouth pilgrim, since it was for one of my Mayflower cousins from the NH Society.  After looking at over 100 cards, I gave up.  There were pumpkins, cornucopias, and autumn leaves but not a single pilgrim.  There was not even a historically inaccurate one with buckles on his hat.  – pout  –

Earlier I had gone looking for some Thanksgiving decorations.  I have a set of beautifully made pilgrim figures with historically accurate costumes, bought at Plimoth Plantation several years ago.  But we have recently moved and I can‘t find where they were packed away.  After much searching, I gave up on decorating for Thanksgiving 2014.  There was nothing out there, just a lot of Christmas stuff, and a few Halloween decorations offered on sale at 75% off.  Where are all the Thanksgiving decorations?   - groan  –

To top this all off, a friend recently showed me her fourth grader’s history book.  This is the year that most students learn about local history and American history.  There was no mention of the Plymouth settlement.  In fact, the book started at about the time of the American Revolution!  No mention of the Native Americans, no colonial settlement, no immigration to the New World?  In what context can you study the American Revolution without understanding the events that led up to the conflict?  - tearing hair out –


Comments?

----------------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/where-are-pilgrims.html
Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

The Kingston, New Hampshire Throat Distemper Pandemic of 1735


On November 13th, on the WMUR TV show “New Hampshire Chronicle” historian Fritz Wetherbee told a scary tale about the “Kingston Pandemic” of 1735 - 1736.  According to Fritz, there is a legend that in 1735 a Mr. Clough of Kingston, New Hampshire butchered a pig that had died of a throat ailment, and that Mr. Clough himself soon died of what was then known as “throat distemper” (what we now call diphtheria).  I don’t know if the story about Clough’s pig is true or not, but the pandemic was absolutely true, and has been well documented.

In 1735 - 1736 the town of Kingston suffered a pandemic of throat distemper and lost 150 children, most under the age of 10.  The disease spread to the seacoast and to Massachusetts.   In Hampton Falls twenty families lost all of their children, and 1/6 of the entire population perished.   Almost 1,200 people in fifteen different towns in the state of New Hampshire were dead by 1737.

Throat distemper raged again in New England several times over the next century. There were several terrible pandemics in which many children were lost.  I looked through my own family tree for victims and expected to find a few families that lost a few children.  What I found was truly chilling.

Instead of losing a child here, and a child there, I found entire families devastated by throat distemper. I found so many examples that I decided to only list those who lost more than two family members – and there were many that fit this description.  And not all were children.

BILL – Phillip Bill (1629 – 1689), my 7th great grandfather, lived in New London, Connecticut and died of throat distemper on 8 July 1689, the same day as his six year old daughter, Margaret.  This left his widow, Hannah Waite, with six children to care for.  She remarried to Samuel Bucknall in 1696.  This incident preceded the pandemic of 1735.

CHOATE – John Choate (1697 – 1765), my 7th great grand uncle, lived in Ipswich, Massachusetts.  According to town records he “lost all his children during the prevalence of throat distemper in 1735”.  I had no idea how many children he lost until I looked in the records.  Two children died early before the pandemic, and then he lost all five surviving children in 1735-1736.  A cause of death was not listed, but the town records about throat distemper filled in the blanks for me.  What a tragedy!

HOLGATE – James Holgate (1692 – 1756) and his wife Jemima Rideout of Haverhill lost five children, too, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, to throat distemper.  James is the stepson of my 8th great aunt, Magdalen Dunnell.  Haverhill was a hotbed of diphtheria cases during the pandemic, and lost a total of 256 children during 1735 – 1736!  An unbelievable number of deaths for a town that was very small at this time period.

LANE- Samuel Lane (1698 – 1776) and Elizabeth Blake (b. 1699), my 7th great grandparents, lost three children in one day, 2 August 1735 in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.  Abigail, Samuel and Elizabeth all died of throat distemper, leaving only two children behind.  The Lanes went on to have two more children and named them Abigail and Samuel.   I descend from this second Samuel Lane (1741 – 1822), who was my 6th great grandfather. A total of 214 people in Hampton Falls died of diphtheria this year, 96 of them were under age ten.

LOCKE- John Locke (1683 – 1774) lost his wife Sarah, and four children to throat distemper in 1736 in the seacoast town of Rye, New Hampshire.  He was left with only one living child (two had previously died as infants). This surviving child was my 6th great grandfather, Richard Locke (1720 – 1804). 

SHATSWELL – Richard Shatswell (died 1772) and his wife Mary Treadwell (1702 – 1787), my 2nd cousin 8 generations removed, lived in Ipswich and lost three of their four children during the throat distemper pandemic in October and November of 1736.   They had only one more child after this disease took their young children. 

Possibly there were more deaths in my family tree due to the throat distemper pandemic of 1735 - 1740, but sometimes young children were not recorded, and usually the cause of death was not recorded.  It takes looking at town and church records, and reading the accounts of the epidemic to trace which lives were lost to this disease. 

This is not all ancient history.  You would be surprised to learn that diseases like diphtheria (throat distemper), pertussis (whooping cough), and tetanus are making a comeback because people have stopped vaccinating their children, and adults have stopped receiving their boosters.  This is the DPT vaccine your children should get as infants, but for many misguided reasons it has become “unpopular”.  Now children can catch these horrible diseases, and die, just like these poor children did in colonial New England. And it was entirely preventable.

One of the more famous diphtheria pandemics in the past 100 years was the 1925 outbreak in Nome, Alaska when teams of sled dogs relayed medications to the stricken town.  This was the race that inspired the Iditarod, and Balto, the hero dog of the serum run to Nome, has been honored by a statue in New York’s Central Park, and an animated movie.

The elderly who have not kept their boosters up to date, and unvaccinated children are at the most risk from dying of complications of a modern diphtheria pandemic.  Unvaccinated adults can pass on these diseases to infants who have not yet been vaccinated.  During the 1990s in the Soviet Union over 150,000 people were sickened with diphtheria, and over 5,000 died.  Yes, it can happen in modern times, too.  You can imagine the horror of losing one family member, but now you can see that in some cases all the children and even spouses were taken, too.   These colonial era families could not prevent their children from taking ill .  We have to learn from history that these diseases are not gone.  They still linger, and still terrorize.   And we can prevent children and adults from dying needlessly.

For the truly curious:

History in Focus: Diphtheria Epidemic by Dean Merchant, (courtesy of the Hampton Union, Friday, June 27, 2008) on the Lane Memorial Library of Hampton, New Hampshire website:   http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/HAMPTON/history/diphtheriaepidemicHU20080627.htm

The “Throat Distempter” of 1735 – 1740, by Ernest Caulfield, click here to view the PDF file: http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC2602120&blobtype=pdf

History of Kingston NH 1694 – 1994 online, see page V-1 for the throat distemper pandemic:  http://www.kingstonnh.org/sites/vth-kingston/files/file/file/history_of_kingston.pdf

A new UpWorthy infographic on pre-vaccine morbidity rates
http://www.upworthy.com/ever-wonder-why-people-100-years-ago-died-so-much-younger-its-these-14-reasons?g=2&c=ufb3

Here is a list of epidemics and pandemics in the US from 1616 to the present.  I found this by Googling "New England" epidemic list.   I'm sure that you can find similar lists on line by Googling locations and the words pandemic or epidemic:
http://www.joycetice.com/articles/epidemics.htm


--------------------------

To Cite/Link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Kingston, New Hampshire Throat Distemper Pandemic of 1735", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 24, 2020, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-kingston-new-hampshire-throat.html: accessed [access date]). 


Saturday, November 22, 2014

Surname Saturday ~ COGSWELL of Ipswich and Essex, Massachusetts

Cogswell's Grant, Essex, Massachusetts
John Cogswell arrived in New England with his family aboard the Angel Gabriel in 1635.  This is the famous ship, part of the Winthrop Fleet, that shipwrecked at Pemaquid Point in Maine on its way to Massachusetts from England.  You can read more about the Angel Gabriel HERE .  John Cogswell, and most of the passengers on the Angel Gabriel, made their way to Ipswich, Massachusetts where he was granted 300 acres of land in the part of Ipswich known as Chebacco.

In the 1650s John Cogswell, Jr. went to England and his visit was recorded by relatives in Wiltshire and in a letter from London dated 30 March 1653 [NEHGR 15: 177].   He died on the return voyage in September 1653.  I have seen references of his dying of injuries from a snake bite, but no solid proof.  Why would there be a snake on the ship?  

Cogswell Grant was originally 300 acres in what is now Essex, Massachusetts. It is now a historic house museum on 165 acres along the Essex River. The house was purchased by Bertram and Nina Little in 1937, and donated to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, now known as Historic New England.  Bertram Little was the president of the Society for many years.  The home standing on this property was built in 1728 by Jonathan Cogswell, Jr.

Among the more famous COGSWELL descendants are Lady Diana Spencer, mother of Princes William and Henry of England (so they are all Cogswell descendants!); Presidents John Adams,  John Quincy Adams and Calvin Coolidge; Margaret Mead, Tennessee Williams, Oliver Wendall Holmes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Julia Ward Howe.

What is amazing is that this lineage begins and ends in Essex, Massachusetts.  John Cogswell was one of the first settlers in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich in the 1630s, which became the town of Essex, Massachusetts.  All the generations below lived in Ipswich and Essex, including my own mother, who was born in Ipswich.  John Cogswell's mother-in-law was named Phyllis, and he named one of his daughters Phyllis, and this name was passed on for several generations.  My mother's name is Phyllis, too. 

My COGSWELL genealogy:

Generation 1: John Cogswell, son of Edward Cogswell and Alice Unknown, born about 1592 in Westbury, Leigh, Wiltshire, England, died 29 December 1669 in Ipswich, Massachusetts; married on 10 September 1615 in Westbury Leigh to Elizabeth Thompson, daughter of Reverend William Thompson and Phillis Unknown.  She was born about 1598, and died 2 June 1676 in Ipswich.  Twelve children.

Lineage A:

Generation 2: John Cogswell, born about 1622 and died 27 September 1653 on a ship returning to America from England; married to Unknown.  Three children.

Generation 3: John Cogswell, born 1650 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, died 1724; married on 22 July 1674 in Ipswich to Margaret Gifford, daughter of John Gifford and Margaret Temple.  Six children.

Generation 4: John Cogswell, born 6 September 1683 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, died 3 May 1719 in Ipswich; married in 1708 to Sarah Brown, daughter of John Brown.  She died on 15 July 1752.  Four children.

Generation 5: Martha Cogswell,  born on 1 January 1719 in the Chebacco Parish, and died 23 December 1809 in Ipswich; married on 1 March 1747/48 in Ipswich to John Andrews, son of John Andrews and Elizabeth Wallis.  He was born in 1717 in Ipswich and died 3 May 1779 in Ipswich.

Generation 6: James Andrews, born 13 November 1763 in the Chebacco Parish, died 19 October 1857 in Essex (the former Chebacco Parish), Massachusetts;  married on 15 July 1788 in Ipswich to Lucy Presson, daughter of William Presson and Abigail Sargent.  She was born in May 1763 in Gloucester and died 5 September 1852 in Essex.  Ten children.

Generation 7:  Orpha Andrews, born 3 Feb 1804 in the Chebacco Parish, died 20 April 1869 in Peabody, Massachusetts; married on 28 October 1824 in Essex to Joseph Allen, son of Joseph Allen and Judith Burnham.  He was born 31 July 1801 in the Chebacco Parish and died 2 August 1894 in Beverly, Massachusetts.  Six children.

Generation 8: Joseph Gilman Allen m. Sarah Burnham Mears
Generation 9:  Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder
Generation 10: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

Linage B:

Generation 2:  Sarah Cogswell, born about 1645 in Ipswich, died 24 January 1733 in Ipswich; married about 1663 to Simon Tuthill/Tuttle, son of John Tuthill and Joan Antrobus.  He was born about 1637 in Ipswich and died 11 January 1691 in Lynn, Massachusetts.  Twelve children.

Generation 3:  John Tuthill m. Martha Ward
Generation 4: Martha Tuthill m. Mark Haskell
Generation 5: Lucy Haskell m. Jabez Treadwell
Generation 6: Nathaniel Treadwell m. Mary Hovey
Generation 7: Jabez Treadwell m. Betsey Jillings Homan
Generation 8: Eliza Ann Treadwell m. Abijah Hitchings
Generation 9: Abijah Franklin Hitchings m.  Hannah Eliza Lewis
Generation 10: Arthur Treadwell Hitchings m. Florence Etta Hoogerzeil
Generation 11: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (see above)

For the truly curious:

Cogswell’s Grant website

There is a sketch of John Cogswell and his children at the Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C- F, pages 137 – 140.

The Cogswells in America, by E. O. Jameson, 1884

Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines, by Mary Walton Ferris, 1943, Volume 1, pages 188 – 189
Cogswell Family Association   www.cogswell.org

--------------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/surname-saturday-cogswell-of-ipswich.html
Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo


Friday, November 21, 2014

Photo Friday ~ Stone Arch Bridge, Stoddard, New Hampshire


Stone arch bridges built completely without mortar were commonly built in the Contoocook region of New Hampshire.  Many still survive, like this one along the side of Route 9 in Stoddard near the townline of Antrim. 




----------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/photo-friday-stone-arch-bridge-stoddard.html
Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Thanksgiving Proclamation 2014, Concord, New Hampshire



On Wednesday, November 12, 2014, Governor Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire signed the Thanksgiving Proclamation at the statehouse in Concord.  This was sponsored by the New Hampshire Mayflower Society, and members of the board were present at the ceremony.  


Thank you to Priscilla E. Theberge for the photograph of Gov. Hassan reading the proclamation.  And thank you to the office of Gov. Hassan for the group photograph at the top of this post.

New Hampshire Society of Mayflower Descendants   www.nhmayflower.org

------------------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/thanksgiving-proclamation-2014-concord.html
Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Schoolbook

Weathervane Wednesday is an on-going series of photographs I post weekly.  I started by publishing weather vanes from the Londonderry area, but now I've been finding interesting weather vanes all across New England.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting. Often, my readers tip me off to some very unique and unusual weather vanes, too!

Today's weather vane is from somewhere in New Hampshire.

Do you know the location of weather vane #183? Scroll down to see the answer!








This weathervane was spotted on top of the Town of Hooksett Town Offices, on Main Street, Hooksett, New Hampshire.  It is a two dimensional book, appropriate for a former elementary school building.  This building was the former Village School.

The Old Hooksett Town Hall, built in 1828, was closed in 2008, and the town offices moved to this building.  Hooksett currently has three public school buildings, and the high school students attend classes in Manchester.  Hooksett is currently considering agreements with other towns, as well as looking into building their own high school building.

The Town of Hooksett website    http://www.hooksett.org/  

Hooksett, New Hampshire School District, SAU 15  http://hooksett.sau15.net/  

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


--------------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/weathervane-wednesday-schoolbook.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Tombstone Tuesday ~ James Bonaparte THORNTON of Merrimack, New Hampshire

The Thornton Cemetery in Merrimack, New Hampshire is the burial site of Dr. Matthew Thornton, signer of the Declaration of Independence and many members of his family.  Dr. Thornton had five children, four grew to adulthood and had descendants.  James Thornton lived across the street in the tavern, and several of his children had unusually interesting lives.  His son James Bonaparte Thornton, born 11 May 1800 in Merrimack,  was a lawyer in New Hampshire, as well as member of the House of Representatives in 1829 and 1830, and was a comptroller of the US Treasury under President Jackson.  He was appointed to be charge d’affaires at Callao  in Peru in 1836, but died there in 1838.  He was married to Sophia Shepard of Litchfield, Connecticut and had two children – Mary Parker Thornton and James Shepard Thornton, naval officer in the Mexican War and the Civil War.



Sacred
to the memory of
HON. JAMES BONAPARTE THORNTON
Son of James & grandson
of Hon. Mathew Thornton,
Born at Thorntons Ferry
A.D. 1800 After honorably
filling various posts under
the state and national gov-
ernment, he died at Callao,
A.D. 1838, while representing
the United States as charge
D. affaires to Peru.
    His remains were remov-
ed to this spot by his son and
Interred A.D. 1871.
A memory of his merits still lives
Where he once lived and records his praise.


For more information on the Thornton Family:

The Family of James Thornton, Father of Hon. Matthew Thornton, by Charles Thornton Adams, New York: 1905 – available to read online at Archive.org

Matthew Thornton’s Family and Descendants at New Hampshire Search Roots by Janice Webster Brown http://www.nh.searchroots.com/HillsboroughCo/Merrimack/familytrees3.html

---------------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/tombstone-tuesday-james-bonaparte.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo



Monday, November 17, 2014

My Top Ten Genea-Mysteries




Several other genealogy bloggers have posted their top genea-mysteries, and have even been led to solutions to some of their top brickwalls through these posts.  Among these bloggers are Diane Boumenot http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2014/10/17/my-top-ten-genea-mysteries/ ,  Lorine McGinnis Schulze http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.ca/2014/10/my-top-10-genealogy-mysteries.html ,  Brian Massey  http://ancestorsatrest.blogspot.com/2014/11/genealogy-mystery-what-happened-to.html  .  and Barbara Poole  http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2014/02/brick-walls-of-mine-if-you-solve-i-pay.html  (who will actually pay $100 for information leading to breaking through her brick wall ancestors). 

If you know some of these mystery ancestors, or if you think there might be a cousin connection, please contact me! 

Here are my Top 10 brick walls:

1. Who is James Phillips?  He was born about 1792, probably in Rowley, Massachusetts (his death record says he was “a native of Rowley”).  He died 5 April 1820 in Topsfield, Massachusetts.   On 6 August 1815 he married Sarah Cree in Topsfield.  They had two children, Sarah, born about 1816 and Hannah, my 3rd great grandmother, born about 1821, both born in in Topsfield.  Were there other children?  Who were James’s parents?  Sarah was previously married to John W. Ham, who died before 1814, and had a daughter, Lucinda Ham, born 27 August 1809 in Topsfield. 

2.  Who is Hannah Smith?  She married my 5th great grandfather, Stephen Cree, on 27 February 1787 in Holden, Massachusetts.  Stephen was born in Topsfield in 1760 and died there in 1821.  All five of their children were born in Topsfield.  Did they elope to be married in Holden, or was Hannah a resident of Holden? Who were her parents?  One clue is in the book Early Massachusetts Marriages Prior to 1800 Worcester County, Southborough, page 72 “Stephen Cree & Mrs. Hannah Smith February 27, 2787”  What is this reference to Southborough?

3. Who is the Mary Hovey who married Nathaniel Treadwell on 17 July 1786 in Ipswich, Massachusetts?  These are my 5th great grandparents.  This is a Mayflower lineage back to Isaac Allerton, but none of the paperwork ever submitted with this couple names her parents. I left it blank and my application was accepted.  I have no birth date for her or place of birth.  She had five children with Nathaniel Treadwell, and she died on 15 January 1832 in Ipswich.  Nathaniel was a Revolutionary War Patriot.

4. What are the origins of Benjamin Gardner, born about 1720 probably in Boston, and died 7 June 1797 in Salem, Massachusetts?  This is my 6th great grandfather, and much has been written about him in Salem records, and in the diaries of Rev. William Bentley who mentioned his wives and his children, and his brother, but Benjamin still remains a mystery.  He was married twice, first to Sarah Randall on 10 October 1751 in Boston at the West Church.  They had three children, including my 5th great grandmother, Mary Gardner born in Boston.  Sarah died in 1781 in Salem, and he remarried to Mary Briers (widow  of Michael Ferguson and John Bassett) on 2 November 1782 in Salem.   Benjamin was a ropemaker in Salem, a partner to Josiah Gaines.  He had a brother, Thomas Gardner, who died on 22 September 1789 in Boston.

5. Benjamin Gardner’s (above #4) wife was Sarah Randall, my 6th great grandmother.  Her parents were Stephen Randall and Sarah Cannon, married 16 January 1728 in Boston.  Who was Stephen Randall?  He died sometime before 18 May 1742 when his widow Sarah was made guardian to Andros Randall, age 4, “deceased, mariner”.  Sarah must have died before March 1749/50 when a John Hill was made guardian to Andrus Randall, age 11, “son of Stephen, mariner & Sarah, both deceased.  Sarah Cannon’s parents were Andros Cannon and Sarah Bridge, married in Boston on 3 August 1711. 

6.  Who is Nancy Thompson (about 1804 – 1847), my 4x great grandmother? She married Jonathan Batchelder on 11 February 1822 in Belmont, New Hampshire.  Her children’s marriage and death records say she was born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire.  There are several Thompson families in Gilmanton and Belmont (contiguous towns) but no record of Nancy/Ann/Hannah Thompson.  Jonathan Batchelder died in the Concord State Assylum.   His wife, Nancy Batchelder, was granted guardianship of their children in 1847.  No further trace of Nancy can be found in the New Hampshire vital records or census records.  Did she remarry and change her name?

7.  Who is Elizabeth Lambert (about 1775 – 1834), my 5x great grandmother? She married Owen Jones, a native of Wales and son of a British customs officer, on 11 May 1793 at the Second Baptist Church in Boston, Massachusetts.  They lived in the North End, and had six daughters all described as debutantes and all married very well.  I’m hoping she is from a well-connected, wealthy family in Boston who left lots of good records, but so far I cannot find her parents or lineage.  There were many Lambert/Lombard/Lumbard/Lamport families in Boston at this time, and I have searched them all for Elizabeth.   One clue-  Elizabeth had a sister, Sarah, who married John Darke/Dargue on 1 December 1793 in Boston.  Elizabeth (Lambert) Jones named her first daughter Sarah Dargue Jones in her honor.  The sister Sarah (Lambert) Dargue died on 3 September 1796.  No parents listed.  Another clue – Elizabeth Lambert was probably born at about the time of the siege of Boston during the American Revolution (many residents fled the city), so she may have been born elsewhere in New England.

8.  Who is Margaret Welch (about 1796 – 1860), my 4x great grandmother?  Her death record in Chichester, New Hampshire does not name her parents or place of birth.  She married Richard Locke on 21 October 1823 in Chichester.  Her children’s marriage and death records say she was born in Kittery, Maine.  Census records say she was born in Maine.  I haven't found her in vital records or in any compiled genealogy. 

9.  Who is Elizabeth, wife of William Homan (baptized 25 July 1725 in Marblehead, Massachusetts)?  She is my 6x great grandmother.  She married William Homan on 5 January 1758 in Marblehead and had only one child, Thomas Homan, born about 1758 (my 5x great grandfather).  Who were her parents? Did she have other children or did she die young? This woman is a complete mystery to me, and so is this whole family!

10.  Who is Thomas Jillings (died 1801 in Newbury), my 5x great grandfather?  He married Hannah Mirick on 18 November 1725 in Newbury and had seven children with her.  Hannah was born in Charlestown in 1702 and died in 1754 in New bury.  If he was born around the same time as her he would have been nearly 100 years old at the time of his death.  Jillings is an unusual name, but I can’t find his origins, parents or any ancestors.  Is Jillings a misspelling or corruption of some other surname?

Click here for a previous post from 2012 of my Top Ten Brickwall Problem Ancestors

------------------------------

To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Top Ten Genea-Mysteries", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 17, 2014, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/my-top-ten-genea-mysteries.html: accessed [access date]). 

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Surname Saturday ~ BEAMSLEY of Boston



Although my Beamsley lineage daughters out in the second generation, there is a lot of information about William Beamsley, the immigrant ancestor, to be found in books and archives.  He arrived in Boston in 1632, and was admitted to the Boston church on 5 April 1635.  He was admitted as a freeman on 25 May 1636. The Boston records show him serving many civil roles such as constable, fenceviewer, water bailey, highway surveyor, and he was admitted to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery company in 1656/57.

About 1632 William Beamsley married Anne Unknown, probably in England, and his six children were all born in Boston.  Around 1645 he married a widow and had another child, and took in her children (three of his step children are named in Beamsley’s will).

Beamsley owned much land he had acquired over time in Boston. This was all described in his will.  His daughters are all named with their husbands in a deed dated 1668 which sold his house and land to Key Alsop of Boston.  [“Ann Woodward with Ezekiell Woodward her present husband, Grace Graves with Samuell Graves her present husband, Mercy Wilborne alias Peterson with Andrew Peterson her present husband, Hannah Beamsley alias Perkins with Abraham Perkins her present husband, Elizabeth Page with Edward Page her present husband, Mary Roberson alias Dennis with Thomas Dennis her present husband, [and] Edward Bushnell all formerly of Boston” Suffolk Deeds 5:519- 522]  note: Elizabeth and Mary are step daughters.

I descend from the daughter Ann (Beamsley) Woodward named above, and from two of Ann’s daughters- Margaret (Woodward)  Andrews and Prudence (Woodward) Marshall.

For more information on William Beamsley:

The Ancestry of Margaret Brooks Thelfall, by John Brooks Threlfall, Madison, Wisconsin: 1985, unpaginated, see ancestor number 390.

Fifty Great Migration Colonists to New England & Their Origins, by John Brooks Threlfall, Madison, Wisconsin: 1990, pages 13 – 16.

Great Migration Begins,  by Robert Charles Anderson, NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts: 2001, Volume 1, pages 139 – 142.

My Beamsley lineage:

Generation 1: William Beamsley, born about 1605 probably in Lincolnshire, England, died 29 September 1658 in Boston, Massachusetts;  married first about 1632 in England to Anne Unknown who died between 1643 and 1645; married second  about 1645 to Martha Hallor, widow of Edward Bushnell, who died before 16 November 1668. Six children with Anne, one child with Martha.

Generation 2:  Anne Beamsley, born 13 February 1632/33 in Boston, died about 1679 in Ipswich, Massachusetts; married in January 1650 in Boston to Ezekiel Woodward as his first of three wives.  They had nine children together, and I descend from two daughters.

Lineage A:
Generation 3:  Margaret Woodward m. William Andrews

Lineage A1:
Generation 4:  John Andrews m. Elizabeth Story
Generation 5:  Abigail Andrews m.  Jeremiah Burnham
Generation 6:   Abigail Burnham m. Isaac Allen
Generation 7:   Joseph Allen m. Judith Burnham
Generation 8:   Joseph Allen m.  Orpha Andrews
Generation 9:   Joseph Gilman Allen m.  Sarah Burnham Mears
Generation 10:  Joseph Elmer Allen m.  Carrie Maude Batchelder
Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

Lineage A2:
Generation 4:  Rachel Andrews m. Zachariah Story
Generation 5:  Deborah Story m. Westley Burnham

Generation A2a:
Generation 6:  Westley Burnham m. Molly Woodbury
Generation 7: Henry Burnham m. Sally Poland
Generation 8: Sarah Ann Burnham m. Samuel Mears
Generation 9:  Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen (see above)

Generation A2b:
Generation 6:  Sarah Burnham m. Abner Poland
Generation 7:   Sally Poland m. Henry Burnham (see above)

Lineage B:
Generation 3:  Prudence Woodward m. Benjamin Marshall
Generation 4: Benjamin Marshall m. Bethiah Goodhue
Generation 5:  Elizabeth Marshall m. David Burnham
Generation 6:  Amos Burnham m. Sarah Giddings
Generation 7:  Judith Burnham m. Joseph Allen (see above)

-------------------------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/surname-saturday-beamsley-of-boston_15.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo