Surname Saturday - Stacy

STACY

There is a record for the marriage of Simon Stacy and Elizabeth Clark  in Chester’s “London Marriages”  that reads: "Simon Stacy of Bocking, Essex County, Clothier, and Elizabeth Clerke of Theydon Garnon, said county, spinster, daughter of Stephen Clerke of same, Yeoman, married at Theydon Mount, Essex County, November 6, 1620."   Simon Stacy arrived in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1637 with his family.  He left no will, and there is no death record.  His wife left a will in 1669 naming many items for her children, which showed she was living well as a widow, even after her husband’s death.  

  

The Stacy Genealogy:

Generation 1:  Simon Stacy, son of Thomas Stacy, born about 1602, Bocking, Essex, England, and died in Ipswich, Massachusetts; married 6 November 1620 at Theydon Mount, Essex, England to Elizabeth Clark, daughter of Stephen Clark and Elizabeth Reynolds.    Seven children:

1. Susannah, born about 1629, married Joseph French

2. Thomas (see below)

3. Simon, born about 1637, married Sarah Wallis

4. Ann,  born about 1641, married

5. Mary, born about 1645, married Samuel Mears

6. Sarah, married William Buswell

7. Elizabeth, married William Adams

Generation 2: Thomas Stacy, born about 1630 in Bocking, England, and died 23 July 1690 in Salem, Massachusetts; married 4 October 1653 in Salisbury, Massachusetts to Susannah Worcester, daughter of the Reverend William Worcester and Sarah Brown.  She was born about 1630 in England, died in 1688.  He was about 16 years old when he arrived in the New World.  He removed to Salem, where he was a miller. Five children:

1. Thomas, born 6 July 1654, married Hannah Hicks

2. William, (see below)

3. Rebecca, born 7 Dec 1657, married James Burleigh

4. John, born 16 March 1666, married Mary Clarke

5. Susanna, born 16 January 1667, married John Marston

Generation 3:  William Stacy, born 21 April 1656, died 5 March 1706 in Kittery, Maine; married on 25 May 1685 in Kittery to Mehitable Weymouth, daughter of Edward Weymouth and Esther Hodson.  She was born in 1669, and died 13 January 1753 in Berwick, Maine.  William inherited the mill from his father.  He was a witness in the trial of Bridget Bishop for witchcraft in 1692.  Seven children:

1. Mary (see below)

2. Hester, born 22 November 1693, probably died young

3. William, born 12 January 1696

4. Samuel, born 19 April 1698, married Mary Pray

5. Elizabeth, born 10 August 1701, probably died young

6. Benjamin, born 17 November 1704, married Lydia Libby

7. Mehitable, born 4 April 1706, married Joseph Emery

Generation 4:  Mary Stacy, born 6 April 1690 in South Berwick, Maine, and died 12 January 1753; married on 22 June 1709 to John Thompson, son of John Thompson and Sarah Emery.  He was born about 1684 in Kittery, and died in 1753.  Three children

Generation 5. Mary Thompson married Richard Nason

Generation 6. Mercy Nason married William Wilkinson

Generation 7. Aaron Wilkinson married Mercy F. Wilson

Generation 8.  Robert Wilson Wilkinson married Phebe Cross Munroe

Generation 9. Albert Munroe Wilkinson married Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 10. Donald Munroe Wilkinson married Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

There is a sketch of the Stacys in Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire by Charles T. Libby and Walter G. Davis.  There are also sketches of Simon, Thomas and William in the Genealogical Dictionary of New England, Volume IV, pages 159 – 160. The name is spelled STACY, STACIE, STACE, or even STASY in records.   There is a book Simon Stacy and his Descendants by Virginia McCann, Ukiah, California, 1978.  

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

The Nutfield Genealogy Top 10 for 2011

This is the time of the year that David Letterman and Time magazine and other media outlets publish their "Top 10" lists for the year.  So, thank you to everyone who read Nutfield Genealogy this year.  These are the top 10 stories at Nutfield Genealogy according to statistics provided by Blogger

1. Hezekiah Wyman and the Legend of the White Horseman  (over 1200 page views and counting since I wrote this story for Patriot's Day in April 2011!)

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/hezekiah-wyman-and-legend-of-white.html

This story took place on the day of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, when Hezekiah Wyman taunted the British regulars who were retreating back to Boston.  They called him “Death on the Pale Horse” and probably a lot worse names, too!

2.  Treasure Chest Thursday – Publishing a Book for my Blog (almost as many hits as #1)

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/04/treasure-chest-thursday-publishing-book.html

This post shows how I used Blurb.com to produce a hardcover book version of my blog, and why I preferred Blurb over other self publishing book companies.

3.  Canobie Lake Park, Salem, New Hampshire

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/08/canobie-lake-park-salem-new-hampshire.html

Canobie Lake Park opened in 1902 as a trolley park to attract folks to use the trolley system on weekends, and it is still open!  I think many of the page views on this post are due to folks Googling for information for a visit to this amusement park, more than actually wanting the history.

4. The Carole Brinkman Unsolved Murder Mystery

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/04/carole-brinkman-unsolved-murder-mystery.html 

This story was inspired by a bit of research I did for my cousin, who had bought a 1960s camera with a roll of undeveloped film.  He asked me to research the owner so he could return the film, and I was shocked to find out it belonged to a young lady who had been murdered!  Many of the comments I received are from townspeople who remembered the murder.

5.  The Midnight Ride of William Dawes

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/midnight-ride-of-william-dawes.html

Did you know that Paul Revere did not set out alone on the night of 19 April 1775?  There were actually almost 100 riders out that night, but William Dawes accompanied Paul Revere for a large part of his ride.  I’m glad to see the name “William Dawes” showing up through Google searches.

6.  My Mayflower Passenger Ancestors

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-mayflower-passenger-ancestors.html

This is a compendium of lists written by other Geneabloggers of their Mayflower ancestors, published the week of Thanksgiving 2011.  I hope to make this an annual post, so watch for it again in 2012.   

7.  The Face of Genealogy

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/06/face-of-genealogy.html

This is another compendium of blogger posts of  those who participated in providing lovely family photos, old and new, in response to an offensive article published by the website LA Weekly about the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree in June 2011.  I love how the blogging community responded with this lovely tribute.  Thank you everyone!

8.  Thanksgiving Proclamation 2010

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-proclamation-2010.html

In 2009 and 2010 I posted a photo of New Hampshire’s Governor Lynch on the event of his signing the annual Thanksgiving Proclamation.  The New Hampshire Mayflower Society requested a proclamation for 2011, but it was left off the docket in the rush of changing the date for the New Hampshire Presidential Primary date in November.  This must be the reason why so many folks searched out another proclamation post this year, but it never appeared!  We’ll try again next year!

9.  The New England Geneablogger Bash

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/new-england-geneablogger-bash.html

This was my post with photos for the first ever New England Geneablogger Bash, which was held by a small group of brave bloggers on the eve of Hurricane Irene. 

10.  A Visit to Plimoth Plantation

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/visit-to-plimoth-plantation.html

A post with many photos of the living history museum at Plymouth, Massachusetts.  It’s difficult to NOT get good photos here, and I’m sure it was popular with internet searches and kids. 

Stay tuned to see what ends up being the most popular posts next year!  I’m always surprised by the posts that end up being hits with my readers.  If you didn’t see your favorite story here, please leave me comment!  I’d love to know what you enjoyed reading at Nutfield Genealogy in 2011.

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

My Favorite Posts for Nutfield Genealogy 2011

These were my favorite posts for 2011.  Most of my favorites are on this list because they turned out to be such fun to research, but some of them were my favorites because they generated so many comments.  I love getting comments and making contact with readers, especially if we end up having “cousin connections” or similar research interests. 

If you don’t see your favorite story on this list, leave me a comment!  I’d love to know what you enjoyed reading this past year at Nutfield Genealogy.

Heather’s 2011 Favorites

1. – 4.  My Dad’s College Paper on the Massachusetts Underground Railroad

Part 1 http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-dads-college-paper-on-underground.html

Part 2 http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-dads-college-paper-part-2.html

Part 3 http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/12/dads-college-paper-part-3.html

Part 4 http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-dads-college-paper-part-4.html

This almost wasn’t even a post.  It started as a simple comment on Facebook when I said that I had found my Dad’s 1954 college report.  I had more than a dozen people ask me to post it online.  I thought that was an interesting idea, and took on the challenge of transcribing the report and also doing some of my own research on the people Dad had contacted in 1954. I posted a bit of genealogical serendipity in Part 4.

5. Five Kernels of Corn for Thanksgiving

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/five-kernels-of-corn-for-thanksgiving.html

AND 6.  Five Kernels of Corn- An Update

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/five-kernel-of-corn-update.html

I had fun researching the origins of this little story passed on to Mayflower descendants, and then I had even more fun researching why it was only a myth thanks to comments left to me by my Mayflower cousin, Ginny Mucciaccio, former Governor of the Massachusetts Mayflower Society (she is also my cousin through the Wyman Family of Woburn, Massachusetts). 

7.  Veteran’s Day Transcription Project

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/veterans-day-transcription-project.html

In 2010 and 2011 I started transcribing the veteran’s memorials and honor rolls in Londonderry for Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day.   Here I invited other genealogy bloggers to join me, and I had a great compendium of participants from six states and the United Kingdom.   By transcribing the honor rolls, we make the name available to search engines on the internet, and thus descendants and family members can find their veterans’ names.  This is a project I hope to continue in 2012.

8.  Rebranding History

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/rebranding-history.html

This story was inspired by a visit to the grand re-opening of my ancestor’s house in Lexington, Massachusetts, which turned out to be a “rebranding” of the museum with a completely different focus, not on the family who lived there, but on the British Regulars who attacked their town and tried to burn down the home.  It received several good comments, lots of email, and inspired two blog posts by Bill West and J. L. Bell.   It was all good commentary, for and against, representing different points of view on a controversial subject.   Thank you to those who participated!

9.  Draper and Maynard Sports Equipment

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/draper-and-maynard-sports-equipment.html

This was so much fun to research.  I took a simple little story told by my uncle, about his visit to a relative’s factory when he was a little boy.  There was a lot of history behind his little memory!  

10.  The National Archives – They read my Blog?

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-archives-they-read-my-blog.html

This was a follow up to a post I wrote about going to Washington DC to visit the National Archives to see a specific document first hand- only to be turned away.  Surprise, surprise!  They liked the first post enough to write back to me, and to send me a fine hi-res photograph of the document in question.  It was a win-win situation for everyone!   The link to the first post is http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-archives-good-news-bad-news.html  This was the post that I spoke about on the GeneaBlogger Talk Radio Show.  Thanks, Thomas MacEntee!

Stay tuned tomorrow to see the posts that were actually the most popular stories with my readers on my blog this year, according to the statistics provided by Blogger.  

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Weathervane Wednesday - I'd rather be Sailing!

I've been collecting photographs of the many, many weather vanes in the Nutfield area (near Derry and Londonderry, New Hampshire).  Today's weather vane is nearby, but not in Derry or Londonderry.  If you want a challenge, I'll post the locations at the bottom of the page so you can scroll down far enough to see the photo, but not the location, and try to guess where you may have seen these lovely weathervanes.

Do you know the location of weather vane #23?

This beautiful copper sailboat is located on the cupola atop of the Fred Fuller Oil and Propane building in Hudson, New Hampshire, at 12 Tracy Lane.  It is visible from Route 102 (Ferry Road and the corner of West Road).   This business has been operating in New Hampshire for over 40 years at several locations.  We can only guess that perhaps Mr. Fuller is a weekend sailor?  The business website is http://www.fullers.com/

Click here to see the other weather vanes in this series

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tombstone Tuesday - Captain James Gregg

IN
Memory Of
Capt. James Gragg
who died
March 10th 1758
In ye 85th year
of his age

Captain James Gregg was one of the original charter settlers of Nutfield, then Londonerry, now Derry, New Hampshire.  He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland and was in Northern Ireland with his parents before coming to New England.  He married Janat Cargill, daughter of Captain James Cargill.   He built the first grist mill in Londonderry.  For more information on the Greggs see http://www.colonialgreggs.gfhp.co.uk/

For more genealogical information on some Gregg descendants see this link:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/06/colonel-william-gregg-of-londonderry.html

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Merry Christmas from our house!

from all of us to all of you! 

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday - Emery

EMERY

Anthony Emery arrived in Boston aboard the ship “James” on 3 April 1635 with his wife, children and his brother John.  They all settled in Newbury, Massachusetts until about 1640, when Anthony removed his family to Dover, New Hampshire.  He was one of the signers of the “Dover Combination” on 22 October 1640.   He ran a tavern, which burned down in 1643, and this petition allowed him to stay in business:

"Right worp com of the Massachusetts

The humble peticon of Anthony Emry of Dover

Humbly showeth

Unto your good worp that your poore peticonr was licenced by the towne abousd to keept an ordinary wh shd give Dyet & to sell beere & wine as was accustomed & sithence there was an order that none but one should sell wine upon which there hath beene complaint made to your worp as Mr. Smyths saith & hee hath in a manner discharged your petr weh wilbe to your petr great damage haueing a wife & 3 children to maintain & not a house fitted for present to liue in haueing had his house & goods burnt downe to the ground "Humbly beseeching yor worp to bee pleased to grant to your petr that he may sell wine & that Mr. Smyth may be certified thereof hee keeping good order in his house & he shall as hee is in Duty bound pray for your worps health & happyness."

On 7 March 1643/4, "Anthony Emery of Dover, his petition is refered to the next Cort at Dover, & hee is alowed liberty to draw out his wine in the meane time."

By 1649 he had removed again, this time to Kittery, Maine near Sturgeon’s Creek, where he was fined in October 1650 for selling alcohol without a license, but at the same time granted an order to keep an “ordinary” (tavern) and also a ferry.  Later, there were several people from Kittery and Dover rounded up for entertaining Quakers, including Anthony Emery.  He was fined the heaviest, ten pounds and ten shillings for lying to the court.  He tried to deed his land to his son, James, so he could leave Kittery for Rhode Island, but his wife changed her mind and sued him for her portion and returned to Kittery.    Apparently they never lived together again.  He was a freeman and shoemaker in Portsmouth, Rhode Island by 1660 and apparently died there sometime before 8 June 1681 when his will leaves his land to his daughter, Rebecca. 

The Emery Genealogy:

Generation 1. Anthony Emery,  baptized on 29 August 1601 in Romsey, Hampshire, England as the son of John Emery and Agnes Northend, and died perhaps on 30 March 1680 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island; married Frances Unknown. Three children.  

1. Rebecca Emery, married first Robert Weymouth, second Thomas Sadler, third to Daniel Eaton of Little Compton, Rhode Island.

2. Unknown Emery

3. James Emery (see below)

Generation 2:  James Emery, baptized at Romsey, Hampshire, England on 18 September 1631, married first to Elizabeth Unknown mother of his children, married second to Elizabeth (Newcomb) Pidge, widow of John Pidge.   Seven children:

1. Elizabeth Emery, born about 1657, married Sylvanus Nock

2. James Emery, born about 1658, married Margaret Hitchcock

3. Sarah Emery (see below)

4.  Zachariah Emery, born about 1662, married Elizabeth Goodwin

5. Noah Emery, born about 1663, married Elizabeth Unknown

6.  Daniel Emery, born 13 September 1667 married Margaret Gowen

7. Job Emery, born 1670 married Charity Nason

Generation 3. Sarah Emery married John Thompson

Generation 4. John Thompson married Mary Stacy

Generation 5. Mary Thompson married Richard Nason

Generation 6.  Mercy Nason married William Wilkinson

Generation 7. Aaron Wilkinson married Mercy F. Wilson

Generation 8. Robert Wilson Wilkinson married Phebe Cross Munroe

Generation 9. Albert Munroe Wilkinson married Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 10. Donald Munroe Wilkinson married Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

There is a sketch of Anthony Emery in The Great Migration: Immigrants to America, by Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, Volume II, pages 441 – 446.   There is a book Genealogical Records of Descendants of John and Anthony Emery of Newbury, Mass., 1590 – 1890, by Reverend Rufus Emery, 1890. 

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday - Emery", Nutfield Genealogy, posted 24 December 2011, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/12/surname-saturday-emery.html: accessed [access date]). 

Follow Friday – some favorite websites

Here is a list of blogs I have enjoyed this past year.  I tried to list ones that are not genealogy websites, but still of interest to genealogists or historians.

http://boatbuildingwithburnham.blogspot.com/   Harold Burnham, wooden ship builder in Essex, Massachusetts. If you have ancestry from Essex, someone in your family tree probably built ships!

http://boston1775.blogspot.com/   J. L. Bell, author and historian, writes about Boston on the eve of the American Revolutionary War.

http://www.earlyamericancrime.com/     Anthony Vaver, author and blogger writes about crime and punishment in Colonial and Early America.

http://heritagepaperdolls.blogspot.com/   Melinda Bowers, this one is just for fun!

http://newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com/   Peter M,  writes about the weird and interesting folklore from New England.

A blog from the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts http://pastispresent.org/   Very interesting stories based on "stuff" from their collections.  This is the archive where I first discovered genealogy research when I was a teenager, because it was within bike riding distance from my house! 

http://rockynook.blogspot.com/    Every summer there is an archeological dig at the homestead of the Howland family (of the Mayflower) in Duxbury, Massachusetts.  Follow the dig, or read past posts about what they have discovered.

http://www.womenhistoryblog.com/  each post is a full biography of a woman in history, including wives of Founding Fathers, wives of Patriots, and women who were famous on their own (inventors, writers, spies, etc.)

 

an assortment of New England genealogy websites new to me:

Bloodlines of Salem, a collection of information and links pertaining to Salem, Massachusetts circa 1692, the year of the witchcraft hysteria   http://bloodlinesofsalem.org/index.htm

Digital Commonwealth  a collection of links to materials held by Massachusetts libraries, museums, historical societies and archives  http://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/

The Italian Genealogical Society of America  http://www.italianroots.org/

My Kennebunks, the history of the Kennebunks, Maine by Sharon Cummins http://www.mykennebunks.com/

Nashua, NH  History 1900 – 1950 http://www.nashuahistory.com/site/nashuahistory_1900.htm

Seacoast New Hampshire   history, news, arts, tourist information and even a blog-  all hosted by Portsmouth, NH historian J. Dennis Robinson  http://www.seacoastnh.com/

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Genea-Santa came early this year!

A Christmas scene by New Hampshire's Tasha Tudor

Here are some major genealogy gifts I received this year.  I was amazed when I looked through my blog posts from 2011 and I found ten big discoveries or experiences that enhanced my genealogy research:

1. The maiden name of my 4x great grandmother In The Batchelder, Batcheller Genealogy by Frederick Clifton Pierce, 1898 she is known as just “Nancy”.   I never found a death record for her .  I finally found her daughter’s marriage and her daughter’s death record, which named her as Nancy Thompson.  She married Jonathan Batchelder on 11 February 1822 in Belmont, New Hampshire, but that record doesn’t give her parents, Darn!  Stay tuned… this one isn't a post quite yet!

2.  I got to go to the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree!  Yahoo!  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/06/new-hampshire-yankee-at-jamboree.html

3.  The City of Beverly helped me to find my 3x Great Grandfather’s military records, and his death in June 1862 in Saint Charles, Arkansas during a battle which sunk his vessel, the USS Mound City a Union iron clad ship.   http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/healey-square-beverly-massachusetts.html

4.   Thanks to Thomas MacEntee and Flip-Pal to receive a portable scanner as part of the Simple Gifts Genealogy Blog Hop promotion. http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/flip-pal-blog-hop.html   I had fun creating some heritage Christmas gifts, and also scanning dozens of family photographs!

5. I discovered a great genealogical resource at the Hampton Historical Society Library http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/10/another-new-to-me-repository-of.html  and I plan to visit often to check out the books and materials on their shelves.

6.  I enjoyed my second visit to the Mayflower Triennial Congress in Plymouth, Massachusetts and met dozens of Mayflower cousins, heard some terrific lectures by leading Pilgrim researchers http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/women-of-mayflower-project.html, and got to visit Plimoth Plantation again http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/visit-to-plimoth-plantation.html, and the Jabez Howland House for the first time http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/howland-spoon.html

7.    Made a cousin connection for my husband through my blog http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/01/gracias-eduardo.html when a second cousin recognized a photo I had posted of their great grandparents.   It was a fun international reunion!

8.  In October I was invited to meet up with the Legacy 2011 Genealogy Cruisers when they had their port of call at Boston, and we had a fun day at the New England Historic Genealogical Society  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/10/legacy-genealogy-cruise-hits-boston-and.html

9.  The New England Geneabloggers had their first Bash at our home in August, and we missed Hurricane Irene!  It was a wonderful gift to meet lots of bloggers I had only previously known online. http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/new-england-geneablogger-bash.html

10. I had a chance to visit the National Archives in Washington DC, but didn’t get to see the document I wanted to view in person.  But when I blogged about my experience, the archivists relented and sent me a fine high quality digital image of my ancestor’s discharge from the Revolutionary War, signed by George Washington http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-archives-they-read-my-blog.html   Yahoo, again, for the power of blogging!

Also, I discovered lots of books, blogs, websites, and genealogy friends online and at the Hudson Genealogy Club that meets every first Friday at the Rogers Public Library in Hudson, New Hampshire.  It’s been an amazing year! 

Thank you Genea-Santa Claus!

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Weathervane Wednesday - Above a Beauty Parlor

I've been collecting photographs of the many, many weather vanes in the Nutfield area (Derry and Londonderry, New Hampshire).  Today's weather vane is nearby, but not in Derry or Londonderry.  If you want a challenge, I'll post the locations at the bottom of the page so you can scroll down far enough to see the photo, but not the location, and try to guess where you may have seen these lovely weathervanes.

Do you know the location of weather vane #22?

This weather vane is located at 5 West Broadway on the corner of Martin Street, in Derry, New Hampshire, on the turret above the Iredesa Beauty Salon.  It appears to be a fine copper weather vane with a nice green patina, but most of the cardinal letters are missing except for the E "east".

Click here to see the other weather vanes in this series

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tombstone Tuesday - Currier Fitz

This gravestone was photographed at Forest Hill Cemetery, East Derry, New Hampshire.

SACRED
To the memory of
CURRIER FITZ
Died Jan. 20, 1844
Aet. 77

SARAH
his wife
Died June 10, 1846

GEORGE FITZ
Son of Currier Fitz amd Sarah Fitz
Died at Winnsborough S. C.
March 29, 1826
Aet 25

B. DAY LOWELL

In the first photo, this might look like a normal sized stone, but don't be fooled by appearances.  I am still amazed at how tall some of these stones are in my area.  I'm 5'7" tall, so this is an enormous stone, carved by the prolific stone carver Benjamin Day of Lowell, Massachusetts.  It must have been some feat to get these enormous stones to Derry, New Hampshire from Lowell, Massachusetts before paved roads.  

Currier Fitz married Sarah George, and he was also a soldier in the American Revolution.   The name is seen spelled FITZ, FITTS or FITCH.    The son, George, was a rector at Mt. Zion College in South Carolina, and died young there.  Another son, the Reverend Daniel Fitz, was a pastor at Ipswich, Massachusetts. 

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Christmas Shopping in Madrid, Spain

Our family outside of the Madrid Department Store
El Corte Ingles in 2006

Plaza de Sol, Madrid, Spain

This post is for the Geneabloggers Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com/ and today's theme is "shopping".  My favorite place for Christmas shopping has to be in Madrid, Spain.  We have visited my in-laws in Madrid four or five times for Christmas, which is fun because Christmas lasts until January 6th in Spain, which is the day gifts are exchanged and the night that children receive presents from "Los Reyes Magos" or the Three Kings.  All of Madrid is lit with hundreds of light displays and nativity scenes.

Buying figures for your home nativity set at the Plaza Mayor,
in Madrid-- there are hundreds of stalls selling nativity figures, animals
tiny trees, buildings and supplies of all kinds!

The Plaza Mayor, or main square, is set up as a giant "Mercado Navideño" or Christmas Fair, selling decorations, gifts, and best of all, hundreds of stalls selling pieces for nativity sets from one inch to life size.  You can buy figures of the Holy Family, the wise men, animals, and of course, hundreds of townspeople for your own "Belen" (the Spanish word for Bethlehem).  Most Spanish nativities feature many townspeople, including shepherds, tradespeople, Roman soldiers, and peasants.  Every Spanish nativity has a tiny well, and many have a naughty little figure called the "el cagón".  The well is for a popular Christmas carol about Mary washing Jesus's swaddling clothes in a well, and the other... well, it's so naughty you will just have to Google it!

On the streets of Madrid at Christmas time you can sit
on a King's lap, instead of Santa's lap.
This is my daughter with one of the 3 Kings, 1998

The Mercado Navideño also sells masks and costumes for the "Dia de los Innocentes" or Day of the Innocents on December 28th.  This is the day that marks the massacre of the "innocents" by King Herod in the Bible story.  In Spain it is celebrated like our Halloween, when children dress up in costumes as disguises.  There are also decorations for sale for New Year's Day, and Christmas Trees for sale, although most people celebrate Three Kings instead of Santa Claus in Spain.  The 12 Days of Christmas between December 25th and January 6th are a busy time with lots of parties and celebrations in Spain and other Spanish speaking countries!  It all ends when there is a huge parade down the Avenida Castellana when the Three Kings arrive in Madrid, complete with horses, camels, elephants and gifts, and it is televised for the children all over Spain.

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday - Thompson

THOMPSON/ THOMSON

Thompson's Island, Boston, Massachusetts

David Thompson (1592 – 1628) is a favorite ancestor because of all the terrific adventure stories about him in early New Hampshire History.  But he is also a favorite because his wife, Amyes Colle, is related to me two ways.  The first way is through her marriage with Thompson in 1613 because I descend from their son, Miles Thompson my ancestor.  The second way I am related to Amyes Colle  is that her second marriage was to Samuel Maverick, son of my other ancestor John Maverick (1578 – 1636).  Yes, it is a tangled genealogy!  Amyes Colle is thought to be the first white woman permanently settled in New Hampshire.

It is hard to summarize David Thompson in a short blog post.  He was an agent of Sir Ferndinando Gorges, and he first visited New Hampshire in 1616.  By 1621 he had established a trading post at Odiorne Point on the New Hampshire seacoast.  It was the first year round station, although the coast had been visited in the summer for many years.  I blogged about Odiorne Point at this link: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/surname-saturday-odiorne.html with some photos of the early settlement sites.    Thompson’s fort was known as Pannaway, and he had a fur trading business with the Indians as well as a salt cod fishing enterprise for the fishermen working out at the Isles of Shoals.  The exact location of Fort Pannaway is unknown since the area was disturbed for the construction of both Route 1 and Fort Dearborn during World War II.

An early sea captain, Christopher Leavitt, visited Pannaway in the summer and fall of 1623 and describes David Thompson as a scholar who entertained visitors and strangers with graciousness and hospitality.

He also had a station in Boston Harbor now known as Thompson’s Island, where he removed from Pannaway around 1626.  This island is now the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center, and part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.    This is where David Thompson disappeared in 1628.  His widow married Samuel Maverick, who lived on Maverick’s Island, another island in Boston Harbor that is now located under filled land for Logan Airport.   There is a monument to David Thomson at the cemetery in Odiorne Point, New Hampshire.

Many people have written about David Thompson over the years, from Edward Winslow and William Bradford of the Mayflower, to Charles W. Brewster the 1800’s newspaper columnist in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to present day historians.    There are many tales of his adventures, and my personal favorite is one where Miles Standish appeared at Pannaway to beg for salt cod in 1623 to keep the Pilgrims at Plymouth alive.  It was the cause of the second day of Thanksgiving at the Plymouth colony! See the link below for more on this story...

Thompson/Thomson Genealogy

Generation 1.  David Thompson, born 1592, son of Richard Thompson and Florence Cromlen of Clarkenwell, England, and he is presumed to have drowned or disappeared off Thompson’s Island in Boston harbor in December 1628; married on 18 July 1613 in St. Andrew’s, Plymouth, Devonshire, England to Amyes Colle, daughter of William Colle and Agnes Bryant.   She was born about 1592 and died in 1649 in Massachusetts, and was married second to Samuel Maverick, brother to my 10 x great grandfather, Moses Maverick (1578 – 1636).  Five children:

1. Ann Thompson, died young

2. Priscilla Thompson, born before 1616, died about 1635

3. John Thompson, born 5 January 1619 in Plymouth, England; married Sarah Woodman

4. Ann Thompson, died young

5. Miles Thompson (see below)

Generation 2:  Miles Thompson was born about 1626 in New Hampshire and died before 30 June 1708 in Berwick, Maine; married about 1652 to Anne Tetherly, daughter of William Tetherley and Christian Thorne.  She was born about 1632 and died after 1717 in Berwick.  Seven children:

1. Ann Thompson, married Israel Hodson

2. Bartholomew Thompson, died unmarried

3. Mary Thompson, born about 1659 and married Thomas Rhodes

4. John Thompson, (see below)

5. Sarah Thompson, married James Goodwin

6. Amy Thompson, married Daniel Goodwin

7. Thomas Thompson, married Sarah Furbush

Generation 3:  John Thompson, born about 1662, died about 1702; married about 1683 to Sarah Emery, daughter of James Emery and Elizabeth Unknown.  Three children.

1. Mercy Thompson, married Philip Stackpole

2. Elizabeth Thompson, married Mainwaring Hilton

3. John Thompson (see below)

Generation 4.  John Thompson, born about 1684 in Kittery, Maine, died about 1753; married on 22 June 1709 to Mary Stacy, daughter of William Stacy and Mehitable Weymouth.  She was born on 6 April 1690 in South Berwick, Maine and died 13 January 1753 in Kittery.  Three children:

1. John Thompson, born 10 November 1711, married Mary Unknown

2. Mary Thompson (see below)

3. Noah Thompson, born 15 March 1713 in Berwick, married Susannah Place

Generation 5.  Mary Thompson married Richard Nason

Generation 6.  Mercy Nason married William Wilkinson

Generation 7.  Aaron Wilkinson married Mercy F. Wilson

Generation 8.  Robert Wilson Wilkinson married Phebe Cross Munroe

Generation 9.  Albert Munroe Wilkinson married Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 10.  Donald Munroe Wilkinson married Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

A book about David Thompson is First Yankee: David Thomson 1592- 1628, by Ralph E. and Matthew R. Thompson, originally printed in 1979, reprinted by the Piscataqua Pioneers.    There are sketches of David Thomson in the Great Migration Begins, Volume III, pages 1807-1809, and in the New England Historic Genealogical Society Register, Volume 9, pages 110 – 116.  You can find sketches of the Pannaway settlement in any good New Hampshire history.

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A great website for Thompson genealogy, with links to other websites http://www.wellswooster.com/tommies/

The Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center website http://www.thompsonisland.org/

Charles W. Brewster’s excerpt about “Old Pannaway”  http://seacoastnh.com/brewster/85.html

How David Thompson “saved” the Pilgrims, by present day Portsmouth Historian J. Dennis Robinson:  http://www.seacoastnh.com/Today/Editor-at-Large/Turkeygate-The-Thanksgiving-Scandal/

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Follow Friday ~ North Country Chronicles

Londonderry's Civil War Monument

I recently received some email from Marcia Gulesian.  She was researching Lorenzo Wight, a Londonderry resident who served in the Civil War.  While searching for more information on him, she saw his name on my post about the names on the Londonderry Civil War Memorial on the town common.  She contacted the through the Londonderry Historical Society, not knowing that all genealogy queries are forwarded to me!  I was on vacation at the time and referred her to the town librarian for a look up.  Later I was able to find Lorenzo in the town vital records, listed as Lorenzo White, who died in St. Augustine, Florida during the Civil War.  After a few emails back and forth we realized that we were both genealogy bloggers in New Hampshire.  Serendipity!

On 15 December 2011 Marcia posted a story on her blog about the Wight family at this link http://north-country-chronicles.blogspot.com/2011/12/wights-of-gilead-maine.html   I invite you to read the story, and to check out her whole blog.  She did a great job explaining how she pieced together all the members of the Wight family.  It has been fun to find a new genealogy blogger, especially one with Londonderry connections!

Lorenzo Wight's name
on the honor roll on the
Londonderry Civil War Monument

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The North Country Chronicles Blog
http://north-country-chronicles.blogspot.com/

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

The Boston Tea Party ~ 16 December 1773

On my Christmas Tree, 2011

The Boston Tea Party took place on 16 December 1773, and was an act of violence and treason.  There is no official list of participants, especially since the men who threw the tea into the harbor were committing a crime.  There is a list at the Boston Tea Party Museum website that contains the names of men “documented” to have been at the event. http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/.   The “Sons of Liberty” chapter of the SAR has a list of 58 men at this link http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/tealist.html

In various records, I’ve found several members of my family tree who claimed to have been at the Boston Tea Party.   Who knows for sure?  What do you think?

Robert Hichborn was the brother in law to my 6x great grandfather Daniel Glover (1735 – abt 1790).  He had several famous military brothers, including General John Glover (1732 – 1797).   Robert Hichborn was a sailmaker and shipbuilder who lived on Anne Street in Boston’s North End, near the site of the Boston Tea Party.  He was a member of the Sons of Liberty and was also an officer in the American Revolution.   In the Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings Volume 20, page 11, he was listed along with 25 men, including Paul Revere, to guard the tea (guard?).  This is the same bunch accused of tossing it into the harbor.   

Nathaniel Frothingham (1746 – 1825) is a 2^nd cousin seven generations removed, grandson of my 7x great aunt Hannah (Rand) Frothingham (1672 – 1760), great grandson of my ancestors Thomas Rand and Sarah Edenden.  He was a Boston coachmaker or “chaisemaker” and is listed on the Tea Party Museum website, as well as on the SAR list.

Major Robert Davis (1747 – 1798) was a descendant of my ancestors John Gore and Rhoda Gardner.  He was an officer in the American Revolution, and a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company.  He was said to have been a member of the Boston Tea Party in compiled genealogies, and was also a Freemason.  He is on the museum list, and the SAR list has him as an “importer of groceries and liquors”.  I wonder if he was involved with importing tea?

John Holyoke (1743 – 1807) was married to Elizabeth Treat (1747 – 1830) my 2^nd cousin 8 generations removed.  He served in the American Revolution and claimed to have participated in the Boston Tea Party.  “Mr. HOLYOKE never, never confirmed the tale; the whole party was pledged to secrecy” [ Holyoke, A North American Family 1637 - 1992, John Gibbs Holyoke, Gateway Press, Inc. (Baltimore, 1993)]  He is not on the lists at the museum or SAR.  I’m inclined to think he was telling his grandchildren a tall tale.

Serendipity! Last month I was pleased to find out that fellow genealogy blogger, Deb Ruth, had made a “cousin connection” with me when she was researching her husband’s ancestor James Starr.  She was excited to find out that James was a member of the Sons of Liberty, and he had participated in the Boston Tea Party.  Starr is listed on the museum website.  She wrote about our cousin connection at this link: http://deb-adventuresingenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/surprise-connection-hello-cousin.html

There was a Josiah Snelling listed on the page of participants from the Boston Tea Party museum, but there are no details about him.   My 4x great grandmother, Catherine Plummer (Jones) Dominis, had a sister, Sarah Dargue Jones (1794 – 1875) who married Enoch Howes Snelling in Boston.  Enoch had three cousins named Josiah Snelling, born in 1735, 1741 and 1757.  The last one would have been only 16 years old in 1773.  All these Snellings lived along the waterfront in Boston, mostly in the North End, where Paul Revere lived, too.  I’m pretty sure that the Josiah Snelling on the list is one of these cousins, or maybe even one I don’t have in my Snelling database.

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The list of participants from the Boston Tea Party Museum can be seen at this link:

http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/participants-in-the-boston-tea-party

There is also a running theme at J.L. Bell's Blog "Boston 1775" about the participants at the Boston Tea Party.  He writes posts every December about the possible men who were documented to be at the event, believe it or not.  You can find his blog at this link http://boston1775.blogspot.com/

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Huge leaps forward and some steps backward

I’ve been doing genealogy a long time.  In the 1970s I mentioned that I was driving to Boston to take a look at the US Federal Census Indexes at NEHGS, so I could write to NARA for a copy of a census record.  I was talking to someone who remembered doing genealogy research before the invention of photocopies.  She said she that remembered having to drive to NARA in Washington to look at the microfilm back in her early days of genealogy research.  Then we discussed her grandfather, who researched genealogy before microfilm was invented.  Together we wondered how he researched with census records.  We knew he used them, but we had no idea how it was done at the turn of the 20^th century. 

Now I can sit at home in my PJs, anytime of night and day and not only look at a census index, I can pull up the image of the record itself!   Within minutes I can compare records from several decades in the United States, or even check those in Canada or the UK.   It often makes me shiver when I think about the possibilities.  Sometimes I will show someone new to genealogy how to look up a Federal Census record, and they are amazed, too.  You don’t have to be an “old timer” in genealogy to appreciate the power of the internet.

After almost two decades of records appearing online freely and in exponentially increasing frequency, there have been a few small steps backward.   Due to the proliferation of “identity theft” several states have started requiring a few hoops you must go through in order to obtain records, and this is not just on line.  Here in New England there are states that have cracked down on researchers.  For many years Connecticut has required genealogists to present a researcher ID.  This is easy to obtain, but requires planning ahead, and has caught many people off guard.   Last year Maine implemented the same.   

Many other states across the US are starting to change access to records.  How do I know this?  Facebook, Twitter, genealogy blogs and email have all brought me messages about bills up before the state governments in faraway places like Pennsylvania [Vital Records Bill SB-361].   Not only do I know about this bill, I know about the grassroots efforts against it, and about the meetings, discussions and public hearings for and against.  This is a good thing!

The internet has brought records into our living rooms, but it has also brought information about access to records right into my lap.  Only a small percentage of records have been scanned or transcribed for internet access.  But a huge percentage of records have been discussed, cataloged, indexed, chatted about or written about on the internet.  If it’s not accessible, someone on the internet has written about how to find it, who to contact, where it is located, how to write or call for copies, and maybe even reviewed the contents.    This is one of the good things about using the internet for research, since you have no excuse for not being prepared to visit any repository or library anymore.  

As access to records change, for the better or for the worse, at least we can remain prepared.  All this discussion is invaluable.  Someone looking for the most obscure bit of data on someone who lived one hundred or two hundred years ago can still find clues online, or at least hook up with someone who can help out.  It is the people, volunteers and paid staff, all working behind the scenes, that make this possible.   And even when we lose access to a repository, or lose an entire website (like the current shut down of Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness)  through this incredible web of people online we can piece together new ways of finding the same answers, clues, sources and data.

I know that my research has become much richer since I recognized the fact that joining in on the discussions, blogging and online chatting is the new way of finding resources… even if those resources aren’t internet based.    Anyone who toils away alone on their genealogy research is missing out on the biggest advance in genealogy- the people online and in person at your local or state genealogy clubs and societies.   A network of people can be more valuable than a network of data.  People working together can overcome loss of record access, temporary or permanent.

Keep up the discussion!  In Maine Rep. Deborah Sanderson sponsored LD 258 to amend LD 1781 which passed last year and closed vital records for 100 years.   There is also Maine LD 388 which will lower the fee for the state researcher ID card, and make it last for two years.   You can tell that lawmakers are reconsidering their previous votes, especially when tourism and the local economy is affected by closing down access to Maine’s rich archives.   We are making a difference!

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This post is a response to Thomas MacEntee’s Open Thread Thursday discussion for 15 December 2011 at this link:

http://www.geneabloggers.com/eat-our-own-genealogy-industry/

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo