George Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh, New York

This is part one of three blog posts about the historic sites at Newburgh/New Windsor, New York where my ancestor recieved the Badge of Merit from General George Washington. 

Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh, New York

Last fall we visited Washington's Headquarters, a New York state park located on the banks of the Hudson River in Newburgh.  Washington was stationed here for more than 16 months at the end of the Revolutionary War.  Although it was not as famous as his winter headquarters at Valley Forge, it was his longest stay at any headquarters during the war. 

This stone house was built around 1725 and then owned by the Hasbrouck family.  The Continental Army was encamped nearby during the war at the New Windsor Cantonment.  Washington moved into the house on 1 April 1782 and left on 19 August 1783.  While he was in Newburgh he established the Badge of Military Merit, which was to be awarded to enlisted men for long and faithful service.  It was awarded to three men at Newburgh, all stationed nearby in New Windsor. The ceremony took place on the front lawn of the headquarters at Newburgh.  Then, with the war coming to a close, no more Badges of Military Merit were awarded by Washington. The program was abandoned until World War 1.  

It was during Washington's time at Newburgh, New York that the Newburgh Conspiracy occured.  In March some of the New Windsor Cantonment officers wrote an anonymous letter to take action against Congress.  They were angry about lack of pay, and threatened to disband the army. General Washington gave a speech known as the "Newburgh Address" to persude the officers to remain loyal to Congress and to him.   

The house was returned to the Hasbrouck family after Washington left.  The property remained in the family until 1848 when the owners defaulted on a mortgage payment and were forced to leave.  The house became the property of the state of New York, and later became a public historic site.  In 1910 a two story brick museum was added to the property, and the Hasbrouck house was decorated to reproduce how it looked during the Revolutionary War.   A monument "Tower of Victory" was built in 1887.  It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. 

Several years ago I was researching my ancestor, Abner Poland (1761 - 1835), who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.  His service with the 8th Massachusetts Regiment included the battles at Hubbardston, Stillwater, Monmouth, and Yorktown - a total of seven years and six months.  Abner Poland received the Badge of Merit on 13 June 1783 from George Washington at Newburgh.  The certificate granted to Abner Poland read:  "The above Corporal Poland has been honored with the Badge of Merit for seven years and six months faithful service.  M. Jackson Colonel". You can find the link below for my interesting blog post on this unique certificate, signed by George Washington. 

Years later, Sarah Burnham Poland, his widow, applied for a widow's pension on 1 February 1837, and received $88 per year, which began on 4 September 1837. Sarah lived until 1846.  Sarah and Abner are buried at the Oakgrove Cemetery behind the Community Church in Enfield, New Hampshire. 

The Tower of Victory by the Hudson River

Items on display at the Newburgh museum

The Badge of Merit certificate awarded to Abner Poland

at Newburgh, New York and signed by General George Washington

(click to enlarge)

For the truly curious:

Washington's Headquarters at Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington%27s_Headquarters_State_Historic_Site   

Washington's Headquarters, NY state park website:   https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/17/details.aspx  

For more information on Abner Poland, my 5th great grandfather, in blog posts:

Surname Saturday - POLAND of Essex County, Massachusetts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/04/surname-saturday-poland-of-essex-county.html   

George Washington Signed Here? A Mystery Document:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/amanuensis-monday-george-washington.html   

Tombstone Tuesday - Abner Poland, Enfield, New Hampshire:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/10/tombstone-tuesday-my-5th-great.html    

The National Archives - Good News/Bad News (my trip to NARA to see Washington's signature on Abner Poland's discharge):   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-archives-good-news-bad-news.html  

The National Archives - They read my blog!?     https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-archives-they-read-my-blog.html   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "George Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh, New York", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 18, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/03/george-washingtons-headquarters-at.html: accessed [access date]). 

Betsy Holmes Shaw, died 1795, Plymouth, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts

 

Epitaph:

To the memory of

Mrs. BETSY SHAW

wife of

Mr. ICHABOD SHAW Jun.r

who died Dec.r 26, 1795

aged 20 years.

Also her infant daughter

Betsy Holmes by her side

aged 7 months & 15 days.

 Betsy Holmes Shaw was born 10 May 1774 in Plymouth, the daughter of Captain Ichabod Holmes and Rebekah Ellis.  She married Ichabod Shaw on 29 March 1795 in Plymouth.  When Betsy died on 26 December 1795, Ichabod remarried to Esther Homes (1769 – 1846) , her sister.  Esther outlived Ichabod, who died on 26 July 1837 in Plymouth. All three are interred at Burial Hill.

The top of Betsy’s tombstone shows a cherub, and a brick tomb, next to a funeral urn.  All three are common images by gravestone carvers in the early Federal period.  It is possible that Betsey died from complications of childbirth? She was buried with her infant daughter.

 For the truly curious:

Graven Images – New England Stonecarving and Its Symbols, 1650 – 1815 by Allen Ludwig, 2000, (pages 202 and 205 discuss this tombstone).   

Also see Epitaphs from Burial Hill by Bradford Kingman, 1892. See #1448 for Betsy Holmes Shaw.

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 To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Betsy Holmes Shaw, died 1795, Plymouth, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 11, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/03/betsy-holmes-shaw-died-1795-plymouth.html: accessed [access date]). 

Edmund and Lucy Coffin, Newbury, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 These two tombstones were photographed at the First Parish Burying Ground, Newbury, Massachusetts

LUCY,

Wife of Edmund Coffin,

Born

April 17, 1776,

Died

Dec. 3, 1858

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There remaineth a rest to the people of God. 

In memory of

MR. EDMUND COFFIN

who died Suddenly

Octr. 23, 1825;

aged 61 years. 

A noble mind!  Just generous, bold, sincere

of such a spirit, see!  The dust is here,

But while this ground, with fondest thoughts we tread;

Let no the partial living praise the dead;

The kindest tears that Friendship here can pay,

Is Sorrow weeping all her sins away. 

Lucy and Edmund Coffin, side by side in the Burying Ground

Edmund Coffin was born 14 January 1764 and died on 23 October 1825, the son of Major Joshua Coffin and Sarah Bartlett.   He was married twice, first to Mary Moody on 13 November 1792 in Newbury (six children), and then to Lucy Kimball on 25 April 1809 in Ipswich, Massachusetts (five more children).

Interesting trivia:

“In 1785, the Coffin House, which had for so many years seen multiple generations living as one family, was legally divided. Edmund Coffin, one of two adult sons of Joshua Coffin, reached twenty-one and wanted his share of his deceased father's estate. Consequently, a division was made first between the two sons and their widowed mother, and after her death in 1798, between the two sons, Edmund and Joseph. Each had exclusive use of certain rooms, stairways, and cellars with the right of passage through some of the other rooms. The "families" lived almost completely separately under one roof, using different kitchens and entertaining rooms. The house remained divided this way through the last generation of Coffins to occupy the house.”  [From The Coffin House Facebook page published 2 June 2017]

Lucy Kimball is the daughter of Nathaniel Kimball, born about 1776 in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and Elizabeth Low.  She died on 3 December 1858.  Lucy is my relative through her great grandmother, Mary Thompson of Ipswich (the daughter of my Scottish Prisoner of War ancestor Alexander Thompson (about 1636 – 1695), and her 2x great grandfather, Richard Kimball (about 1595 – 1675), an early settler at Ipswich, Massachusetts.  On her tombstone is a quote from Hebrews 4:9-16 KJV "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his." 

Edmund and Lucy are buried at the First Parish Burying Ground in Newbury, Massachusetts, right across the street from the First Parish Meeting House.  The Coffin House is located nearby and is operated as a museum by Historic New England.  It was built by Edmund’s 4x great grandfather, Tristram Coffin (1632 – 1704), who came to New England from Brixton, Devonshire, England.  Tristram’s parents (Tristram Coffin (1609 – 1681) and Dionis Steven came to New England in 1628 and settled in Salisbury, Newbury and finally the island of Nantucket, and they are also my 11^th great grandparents.

 For the truly curious:

The webpage for the Coffin House Museum (1678) https://www.historicnewengland.org/property/coffin-house/ 

Edmund Coffin’s personal papers and manuscripts are stored at Historic New England Folder C.1.19-C.1.26 and GUSN-296354.  There is a description of these papers online at https://www.historicnewengland.org/explore/collections-access/gusn/296354 

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Edmund and Lucy Coffin, Newbury, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 4, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/03/edmund-and-lucy-coffin-newbury.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Irish Cottage for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed in front of the Irish Cottage in Methuen, Massachusetts. 

The Irish Cottage is a restaurant in Methuen, Massachusetts, located right at the interchange of Routes 93 and Rt. 113.  It was previously located across Rt. 113 in a strip mall, but now it is a stand alone building.  This miniature cottage is next to the parking lot, right by the street.  It looks very Irish, with the shamrock decorations and thatched roof.  Above the mini house is a small weathervane.  You might not notice the weathervane whilst passing through this intersection, but you will certainly notice the miniature cottage!

The tiny weathervane is a horse silhouette, which is very tradtional around New England.  I've never been to Ireland, so I don't know what the common weathervanes would be over there.  I've seen claddagh weathervanes, and a shamrock weathervane, too, around New England, but this mini vane features the horse. 

The Irish Cottage serves pub food and boasts a staff from Sligo and Galway.  There are special events, and a function room for parties and meetings. Live Irish music is played every Saturday.    

For the truly curious:

The Irish Cottage website:    https://www.theirishcottagepub.com/ 

Irish Cottage Pub and Restaurant, 17 Branch Street, Methuen, Massachusetts

Click here to see over 550 more weathervanes featured on "Weathervane Wednesday":   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Irish Cottage for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 26, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-irish-cottage-for-weathervane.html: accessed [access date]). 

Aunt Janet and Uncle Bill Blades for Photo Friday

 

This is a photo of my Auntie Janet and Uncle Bill Blades.  My cousin sent me this photo, but we don't know the year or place.  Janet is my grandfather's little sister.  She was born 14 June 1898 in Salem, Massachusetts to Albert Munroe Wilkinson and Isabella Lyons Bill, my great grandparents.  In 1927 she married William John Blades, who was born 14 June 1894 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  They lived in Beverly at 111 Essex Street in Beverly, next door to her aunt Georgia and Uncle Charles Marshall, and not far from where my grand parents lived on Dearborn Avenue. This house was built in 1675 by an ancestor, William Woodbury.  It was bought by Uncle Bill in 1927, around the time of their marriage. The house was sold in 1968 when Aunt Janet was widowed and moved into an apartment for the elderly in Beverly.  

Bill Blades was a veteran of World War I, where he lost a toe to frost bite in the trenches.  There is a family story that he was General Pershing's chauffeur. His military papers list him as a driver, but there is no proof about the General Pershing story!  After returning to civilian life he worked in the automobile industry as a repairman (1920 census), and for an auto dealer (1930 census).  He joined the Masons in 1920, in Dorchester where he lived with his parents before he married Auntie Janet.

Uncle Bill died in 1962 when I was a baby.  I don't remember him.  He is buried with a veteran's gravestone at Central Cemetery in Beverly, next to Janet, who died in 1981.  They never had any children. 

Auntie Janet worked for many, many years for the Salem Electric Lighting Company (a public utility). She earned a small gold brooch every five years she worked there, and after her death my father had the pins made into mongrammed pins for the women in the Wilkinson family.  I received one, as well as my sister, mother, aunt, and cousin.  

I remember my father picking up Auntie Janet from her apartment in Beverly and bringing her to our home in Holden, Massachusetts for Easter and Thanksgiving dinners.  She was a tiny lady, and always smiling, but I never knew her well.  The only story I remember about Auntie Janet was from my grandmother: 

"And of course we were married on a Thanksgiving Day 1926.  I think the date was November 25th, 1926.  I remember that day was quite hectic but we had the family, and an Episcopalian minister married us.  We went to Boston for just a couple of days.  My sister stayed with my mother and then I kept on working.  Oh, when we went away for our honeymoon Don's sister tried to pull away his suitcase for him.  And he kept hanging on to it and he got a black eye from the door banging into his eye.  So he had a black eye on our honeymoon and people joked about that but he really didn't feel a bit good." 

1976, Aunt Janet Wilkinson Blades

at my grandparents' 50th anniversary party. 

This is the only photograph I have of Uncle Bill Blades alone

For the truly curious:

Tombstone Tuesday 2015, William John Blades:     https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/03/tombstone-tuesday-william-john-blades.html   

The House at 111 Essex Street in Beverly, built by William Woodbury in 1675:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/01/house-built-in-1676-by-william-woodbury.html   

Surname Saturday WILKINSON from 2011 (my lineage back to our first WILKINSON immigrant ancestor in New England, Thomas Wilkinson of Portsmouth, New Hampshire)   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/surname-saturday-wilkinson.html   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Aunt Janet and Uncle Bill Blades for Photo Friday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 21, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/02/aunt-janet-and-uncle-bill-blades-for.html: accessed [access date]).  

Happy 100th Anniversary, Nana and Grampy!

 Today is my grandparents' 100th wedding anniversary.  They were married on Valentine's day in 1925 in Hamilton, Massachusetts.  

There is no wedding photo. Not a single one.  And very few photos of my grandparents alone together.  

My grandparents with me, around 1962

A photo of my grandfather from my grandmother's little photo album.

She wrote his name on the sticker. 

My grandmother's high school photo.  She was supposed to graduate from Beverly high

school, but never did because she moved from Beverly to Hamilton and never finished. 

My Dad took this photo in the 1970s when

he caught Nana and Grampy under the mistletoe! 

In 1975 there was a very big 50th anniversary party for my grandparents,

at the Commodore restaurant in Beverly.  It was attended by all seven of their children

and dozens of cousins and relatives. This photo was in the local newspaper.

Was there a wedding cake 100 years ago?

My grandfather, Stanley Elmer Allen, son of Joseph Elmer Allen and Carrie Maude Batchelder, was born 14 January 1904 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He married Gertrude Matilda Hitchings, daughter of Arthur Treadwell Hitchings and Florence Etta Hoogerzeil, on 14 February 1925, in Hamilton, Massachusetts.  She was born 1 August 1905 in Beverly, Massachusetts.  Both young people were neighbors in Hamilton, a case of falling in love with the boy next door?  Why no photos?  Was it a "shot gun" wedding?  My uncle, Stanley Elmer Allen, Jr., was born in June. 

This is a real love story. My grandparents went on to have seven children between 1925 and 1942.  These children were born and grew up in the Great Depression and World War II.  When the oldest child went off to serve his country during WWII, the youngest child was born.  They had 29 grandchildren, mostly born during the baby boom following the war, but some as late as the 1970s.  

My grandparents lived in a tiny house, a former "camp" near Asbury Grove in Hamilton. This was a Methodist campground where both sets of my great grandparents lived. My grandparents house still stands on Roosevelt Avenue, and it is hard to believe seven children (five boys and two girls) all lived there together.  Several relatives all lived nearby.  Most of the extended family worked at the local estates at one time or another.  Hamilton is known for its large estates owned by wealthy Boston families such as the Winthrops, Appletons, Mandells (now the site of the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) and General George S. Patton.  

10 Roosevelt Avenue in Hamilton, photographed in 2004

My daughter standing in front of the Patton tank

in Patton Park, Hamilton, Massachusetts

My grandfather worked hard almost all his life since the 8th grade.  He had to drop out of school to support his older sister when her husband died in the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic, leaving her a widow with two babies.  He worked in a leather factory, on the Charles Tainter estate, the Palmer estate, and on 7 August 1927 he began to work as a glazier at the United Shoe Manufacturing in Beverly, Massachusetts.  He worked there for 41 years. 

Stanley died on 6 March 1982 at the Beverly Hospital.  Gertrude died 3 November 2001 at a nursing home in Peabody, Massachusetts.  

For the truly curious:

My ALLEN Surname Saturday blog post from 2012:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/09/surname-saturday-allen-of-manchester.html   

My HITCHINGS Surname Saturday blog post from 2014:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/10/surname-saturday-hitchings-of-lynn.html   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Happy 100th Anniversary, Nana and Grampy!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 14, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/02/happy-100th-anniversary-nana-and-grampy.html

A Lighthouse at Oropesa, Spain for Weathervane Wednesday

 Today's weathervane was photographed in Oropesa del Mar, Castellon, Spain.  

Last October we visited Valencia, Spain.  We visited this little lighthouse on a coastal hill in Oropesa del Mar, Spain.  It is next to an old ruin from 413 AD called the Torre del Rey (The King's Tower).  The lighthouse was first lit on 1 April 1857. The town of Oropesa is now a resort town, but it originally had a port that was quite busy with maritime trade.  The light house was first lit with olive oil, then paraffin until it was electrified in 1924.  This lighthouse is considered one of the oldest in the community of Valencia. 

The weathervane on top of the lighthouse tower is very simple, just an arrow.  It serves as a weather instrument, and it is mounted below an anemometer which measures wind speed and direction. The cardinal points below the vane are in Spanish - N, S, E, and O (oeste = west). 

For the truly curious:

Faro de Oropesa del Mar webpage:    https://oropesadelmarturismo.com/en/empresa/faro-de-oropesa-del-mar   

Click here to see over 550 more weathervanes from all over the world:   

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Lighthouse at Oropesa, Spain for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 5, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/02/a-lighthouse-at-oropesa-spain-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

A Walk through Alcala de Henares, Spain for Weathervane Wednesday

 Happy New Year!  All these weathervanes were photographed near the parador at Alcala de Henares, in the province of Madrid, Spain.  We walked from the parador to the birthplace of Cervantes, and saw many, many weathervanes. This is an old university town, with many church steeples and college towers.  It was founded in the first century, BC by the Romans.  This city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Near the parador (which was originally a student hostel centuries ago)  was a section of the Complutense University, founded in the late 15th century. It was full of church steeples and towers with lots of weathervanes. We had a lot of fun walking here and photographing all the weathervanes. 

This building was on the Plaza de Cervantes, near the parador where we ate lunch. I loved the circular part of the weathervane, which held up the cardinal points. And the stork's nest is a bonus! 

Here we are at the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616), the Spanish author of Don Quixote. Cervantes was born in his grandparents house, and grew up in poverty. His father was a barber-surgeon. 

For the truly curious:

Alcala de Henares at Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcal%C3%A1_de_Henares   

Miguel de Cervantes at Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Cervantes  

To see over 550 more weathervanes, please click here:     https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Walk through Alcala de Henares, Spain for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 29, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/01/a-walk-through-alcala-de-henares-spain.html: accessed [access date]).