December 2015 Genealogy and Local History Event Calendar

November 28, Saturday, 9am, NEHGS Irish Genealogy Study Group, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 99 – 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  The Irish Study group meets on the last Saturday of the month to discuss research problems and share solutions. www.americanancestors.org

November 21 to January 3, Christmas at the Newport Mansions, see the entire schedule of events http://www.newportmansions.org/events/christmas-at-the-newport-mansions

November 27 – December 20, Holiday Lantern Light Tours at Mystic Seaport, Mystic, Connecticut.  The 36^th annual theatrical production of Lantern Light Tours.  Set in 1876, this play unfolds in the museum’s historic buildings and vessels.  Visitors of all ages will enjoy a horse drawn carriage ride, the beautiful glow of lanterns that light the way and a visit with St. Nicholas!  This is a 70 minute progressive performance that covers a half mile of uneven terrain (cobblestones, grass, stairs) and is performed in all weather.  Each tour is limited to 16 people, and not recommended for children under age 4.  See this link to reserve a ticket: http://www.mysticseaport.org/event/lantern-light-tours/

December 1, Tuesday, 7pm, Finding Cousins Using DNA, at the Chelmsford Public Library's McCarthy Meeting Room, Chelmsford, Massachusetts, presented by Pam Holland and sponsored by the Chelmsford Genealogy Club.  Free to the public.

December 1, Tuesday, 5:30 – 7:30pm, In Their Shoes: The Experiences of Worcester’s Extraordinary Women, at the Worcester Public Library’s Saxe Room, Worcester, Massachusetts.  Contact Maureen Ryan Doyle 508-735-3217.  The Worcester Oral History Project (WWOHP) will read excerpts of the new book.  It is the culmination of research into the more than 300 oral history that WWOHP has collected, preserved and shared since its inception in 2005. Free to the public.

December 2, Wednesday, 6:30pm, Family Stories: How and Why to Remember and Tell Them, at the Plaistow Public Library, 85 Main Stree, Plaistow, New Hampshire. Free to the public, contact Brianna Sullivan 603-382-6011.  Presented by storyteller Jo Radner, who will share some foolproof ways to mine memories and interview relatives for meaningful stories and oral history.

December 2, Wednesday, 7pm, Family History Research Workshop, at the Watertown Public Library, 123 Main Street, Watertown, Massachusetts. Free to the public, but please register- space is limited to 8 people. Call (617) 972-6436. Presented by local genealogical researcher Liz Kolster.

December 2-13, Kennebunkport’s Annual Christmas Prelude, in historic Kennebunkport, Maine.  See the full schedule of events here: http://www.christmasprelude.com/schedule/full-schedule/range.listevents/-

December 3, Thursday, noon, Lunch and Learn: Victorian Era Nutrition, at the Visitor Center at Plimouth Plantation, Plymouth, Massachusetts, speaker Tani Mauriello will explain how families 150 years ago made healthy food choices.  Free to members, $8 non members. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lunch-and-learn-victorian-nutrition-speaker-tani-mauriello-tickets-15617325842

December 3, Thursday, 6pm, Brewing in New Hampshire: An Informal History of Beer in the Granite State from Colonial Times to the Present, at the Work Nest NH, 85 South State Street, Concord, New Hampshire. Free to the public.  Contact Karina Kelley for more information 603-254-6211.

December 4-6, 11- 13, 18 – 20, Friday to Sunday, 5pm – 10pm, Christmas by Candlelight, at Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts. An enchanted evening of gingerbread, roasted chestnuts, music, dance and a slight ride (weather permitting).  Meet Father Christmas and Santa Claus.  $15 admission for entrance, see the website https://www.osv.org/events/upcoming-events

December 4 – 6, Christmas In Salem: Twelve Houses of Christmas, Salem, Massachusetts.  Tour 12 historic houses in Salem’s McIntire District, including PEM’s Ropes Mansion.  Organized by Historic Salem, Inc.  $35 tickets at www.christmasinsalem.org 

December 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 4 – 6pm, Holiday Lantern Tour, at the Brick Market Museum, 127 Thames Street, Newport, Rhode Island, recurring Friday and Saturdays in December, Hear the history of holiday traditions and learn how colonial Newport celebrated the holidays.  Reservations suggested as space is limited. $15 per person.  Contact the Newport Historical Society (401) 841-8770.

December 5 and 6, Saturday and Sunday, Candlelight Stroll, at Strawbery Banke Museum, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. $20 adults, $10 children, $50 for families, Tickets can be pre-purchased by phone 603-433-1107. 

December 5, 12 and 19, Saturdays, and December 6, 13 and 20, Sundays,  Holiday Dinners in Pitt Tavern, New!  Presented by Pickwick’s at the Banke, a seated Holiday Dinner in the historic William Pitt tavern during the Candlelight Stroll. Live music, a four course colonial dinner, (menu by Chef Evan Mallett).  Reception starts ½ hour before dinner.  Seatings at 4pm, 6pm, 8pm)  Adults $65, children 12 and under $25.  For reservation tickets click here: https://strawbery-banke-museum.simpletix.com/Event/24181/Holiday-Dinner-at-Pitt-Tavern/#.Vk35frerRhF

December 5, 6, 11, 18, 23, at 6pm,  Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol Costumed Reading and Dining Experience, at the Plimoth Plantation, Plymouth, Massachusetts.  Imaginative staging, delicious food and beautiful traditional carols create a wonderful experience!  (December 5 has a noon matinee and a 6pm evening performance).  Tickets must be purchased in advance, see this link: http://www.plimoth.org/what-see-do/plimoth-december

December 5, Saturday, Chester Greenwood Day, Farmington, Maine.  The annual celebration of the famous inventor of the earmuff! Parade at 11am, downtown sales shopping, the annual dip into frigid Clearwater Lake and more. http://www.downtownfarmington.com/events/chester-greenwood-day

December 5, Saturday, 10am – 3pm, Annual Shaker Christmas Fair at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, 707 Shaker Road, New Gloucester, Maine. Shaker baked goods, gifts and holiday items including fresh cut Maine Christmas trees and wreaths, garage sale.  Lunch plates will be served. Free to the public. http://maineshakers.com/shaker-christmas-fair/

December 5, Saturday, 9am – 5pm, Climbing Your Family Tree: A Day of Genealogy for Kids at NEHGS!  At the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 99 – 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts, for ages 8 – 18 (children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult).  FREE and open to the public.  Bring your kids and grandkids for a day of family history fun featuring arts and crafts, scavenger hunts, family lectures and more.  Create a keepsake ornament to bring home.  Register at this link: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ebtfkyel8fafeb71&llr=yzxrytcab

December 5, Saturday, Christmas at “North Pole of the North Country” in Bethlehem, New Hampshire, An entire schedule of FREE events in historic Bethlehem, the highest elevated town east of the Rocky Mountains. Join in the time honored tradition of having your holiday cards and letters postmarked at by Santa with a special Bethlehem postmark at the Post Office! http://www.christmasinbethlehemnh.com/#!events/ct3q

December 5, Saturday, 10am – 4pm, Holiday Open House at the Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford Street, Suite 103, Manchester, New Hampshire.  Guest appearance by Santa from 10am – 11am.  Children’s crafts, storytelling, new exhibits, raffles, old fashioned games with prizes, cookies and cider, and shop in the museum shop.  FREE admission.

December 5, Saturday, 11am – 4pm, Holiday House Tour of Historic Concord, Massachusetts.  $40 for Concord Museum Members, $45 nonmembers.  Purchase tickets online http://www.concordmuseum.org/special-events-house-tour.php

December 5, Saturday, 12 – 3pm, A Homestead Christmas, at the Remick Farm Museum, in Tamworth Village, New Hampshire. $5 per person, ages 4 and under FREE.  Special tours, samples of Victorian Christmas cookies and syllabub, seasonal decorations, pet the farm animals, holiday crafts, open hearth cooking demonstrations, hand crafted goods for sale and delicious farmhouse kitchen baked goods to buy. http://remickmuseum.org/index.php?page=homestead-christmas

December 5, Saturday, 12pm – 2pm, Music in the Meetinghouse, at the Rocky Hill Meeting House, 4 Old Portsmouth Road, Amesbury, Massachusetts.  UMass Lowell’s Connexion singers bring the meetinghouse alive with holiday music from the period in which it was built.  No restroom.  Building is unheated.  Call with concerns or for more information  978-462-2634.  Free to Amesbury residents and Historic New England members, $5 nonmembers.

December 5, Saturday, 1pm, Discover Mount Auburn – Walking Tour, at the Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. $5 members, $10 nonmembers.  This tour will focus on stories of history, monuments and the lives of those buried here.

December 10, Thursday, 6pm, Christmas Dinner and Concert at Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Festive cocktails, fine dining, holiday bluegrass and folk music.  $60 non members, $50 members.  Children 2 and under FREE.  https://www.osv.org/event/christmas-dinner-concert 

December 11, Friday, 1pm A Cup of Christmas Tea with the Rodgers Memorial Library Genealogy Club.  Come join the genealogy club for a spot of tea (or coffee), with cookies and holiday memories.  Writing down your family traditions is an important part of genealogy. The guests will discuss ways to preserve customs and also listen to a reading via video of the book "A Cup of Christmas Tea".  Please register at www.rmlnh.org or call 603-886-6030.   

December 12, Saturday, Holiday Fireside Chat and Book Signing with the NEHGS Experts, chat sessions at 10:30am, 1pm, and 3:30pm, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 99 – 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  FREE to the public.  Visit with award winning family history experts Robert Charles Anderson, Christopher C. Child, and Alicia Crane Williams.  Enjoy free access to the library, complimentary hot drinks and snacks, and special “in-store” pricing on charts, books and gifts.  Seating is limited, please register here http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ebsfort59ad87aac&llr=yzxrytcab

December 12, Saturday 11am – 3pm, Holiday House Tour, sponsored by the Beverly Historical Society, Beverly, Massachusetts.  A holiday stroll to see historic houses in their seasonal finery.  All houses are within walking distance of downtown Beverly. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at this link: http://housetour2015.bpt.me/  Call 978-922-1186 x0 for more information.

December 12 & 19, 2 – 6pm, Light in the Darkness: a Plimoth Plantation Christmas, at the Plimoth Plantation museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  Take a candlelit tour through the English settlers village, sit by the roaring fire, and talk with colonists about how they marked Christmas in the New World. Try holiday treats, watch a traditional Mummers play, hear about the Native winter solstice, and see a live nativity in the barn.  Be sure to dress warmly, and purchase your timed ticket at this link: http://www.plimoth.org/what-see-do/plimoth-december or call (508) 746-1622 x8359.

December 14, Monday, 6pm, She Can Bring Us Home: Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee, Civil Rights Pioneer, at the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  $10 fee, to register call 617-646-0578 or visit www.masshist.org/events A Talk by Diane Kiesel, acting justice of the New York Supreme Court and adjunct professor of law.  She will discuss her book on Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee and her activist career.

December 16, Wednesday, 10:30am, A Visit with Queen Victoria, at the Plymouth Senior Center, 8 Depot Street, Plymouth, New Hampshire.  Free to the public, Sally Mummey performs this living history in proper 19^th century clothing resplendent with royal orders. Snowdate, December 17^th, same time and place.  Contact Robin Koczur for more information 603-536-1204.

December 26 to January 3, December School Vacation Week at Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Keep the kids busy during school vacation with a wide range of crafts, entertainment and outdoor activities including sledding and sleigh rides.  https://www.osv.org/event/december-school-vacation-week-2015

January 2, 16, 23, 5 – 9pm, Dinner in a Country Village, at Olde Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts.  $95 per person, $75 for OSC members.  Gather in the parsonage where costumed 19^th century interpreters will oversee the preparations, but participants do the roasting, baking, and mulling over an open hearth. https://www.osv.org/event/dinner-in-a-country-village/dinner-in-a-country-village-31


January 5, Tuesday, 7pm, Margaret Bourke-White, America’s Eyes, at the Exeter Historical Society, 47 Front Street, Exeter, New Hampshire.  Free to the public.  Sally Matson presents a living history moment using WWWII era Vmails found at Syracuse University.  Contact Barbara Rimkunas for more information 603-778-2335. 

Planning ahead:

March, 2016,  Beginning the Journey of Genealogy, a four week genealogy course at the the Montachusett Regional Vocational Tech School, 1050 Westminster Street, Fitchburg, Massachusetts by genealogist Jake Fletcher.  See this link for more information: https://www.montytechnites.com/


April 2017, NERGC 2017, at the Mass Mutual Center, 1277 Main Street, Springfield, Massachusetts 

Surname Saturday ~ WEBSTER of Ipswich, Massachusetts

WEBSTER

John Webster’s origins are unknown.  He was a freeman in Boston, Massachusetts on 4 March 1635. He was in Salem in 1637 and settled in Ipswich by 1639.  In the records he was described as a baker “John Webster the Baker was admonished for brewing and tipleinge” [1640].  He was married to Mary Shatswell, whose brothers Theophilus and John Shatswell also immigrated to Ipswich. 

John Webster had died by about 29 September 1646, when his estate was administered in court.  It is the long untangling of his estate in court records that give us the best glimpses into his life and property.  Mary’s will, as his widow, also continued the court records with many pages of descriptive information on the children and property. In the Great Migration sketch for John Webster, Robert Charles Anderson includes many pages of untangling based on these court records, including indentifying the married names of the daughters.

After John Webster’s death, Mary remarried on 29 October 1650 in Newbury to Sergeant John Emery, who was also my 9^th great grand uncle.  I descend from his brother, Anthony Emery (1601 – 1680) who settled in Boston, Massachusetts; Dover, New Hampshire; and Kittery, Maine.

John Webster and Mary Shatswell had eight children, including a daughter Hannah who was the mother of Hannah Duston (See this link for the story of Hannah Duston’s kidnapping and escape).  I descend from the son Stephen Webster (1636 – 1694) and his wife Hannah Ayer.

Some WEBSTER resources:

The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634 – 1635, by Robert Charles Anderson, Volume VII, pages 261 – 268.

Pillsbury Family manuscript, by Mary Lovering Holman, in the collections of the New England Historic Genealogical Society MSS 779.

Ancestry of Charles Stinson Pillsbury and John Sargent Pillsbury, by Mary Lovering Holman, 1938, Volume 1, 

A Genealogical History of the Clark and Worth Families, by Carol Clark Johnson, 1970

Genealogical Records of Descendants of John and Anthony Emery ,by  Rev. Rufus Emery, 1890

Historical and Genealogical Shatswells of Ipswich., No 1., Augustine Caldwell, [A typed manuscript available to read online at Ancestry.com]

Some of the Descendants of John Webster of Ipswich, Massachusetts, compiled by John C. Webster, MD, 1912.  [Available online at Google book search] – a revision of an earlier work by Dr. John Ordway Webster in 1884.

My WEBSTER lineage:

Generation 1:  John Webster, born about 1606 in England, died before 29 September 1646 in Ipswich, Massachusetts; married about 1630 in England to Mary Shatswell, daughter of John Shatswell and Judith Dillingham.  She was born about 1610 in England and died 28 April 1694 in Newbury, Massachusetts.  Mary married second to John Emery,  my 9^th great grand uncle.  He is the son of John Emery and Alice Banet, my 10^th great grandparents through John’s brother, Anthony Emery (1601 – 1680).  Eight children.

Generation 2:  Stephen Webster, born about 1636 in Ipswich, died 10 August 1694 in Haverhill, Massachusetts; married on 24 March 1662/3 in Haverhill to Hannah Ayer, daughter of John Ayer and Hannah Webb.  She was born 21 December 1644. Six children.   Stephen married second to Judith Unknown, widow of William Broad.

Generation 3: Abigail Webster, born about 27 May 1676 in Haverhill, died 19 June 1750; married Samuel Berry, son of James Berry and Eleanor Wallis.  Four children.  Abigail was first married to James Marden on 23 October 1693.

Generation 4: Jotham Berry m. Mary Bates

Generation 5: Rachel Berry m. Ithamar Mace

Generation 6: Abigail Mace m. Simon Locke

Generation 7: Richard Locke m. Margaret Welch

Generation 8: Abigail M. Locke m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 9: George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 10: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Published under a Creative Commons License
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ WEBSTER of Ipswich, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 28, 2015, (   http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/11/surname-saturday-webster-of-ipswich.html:  accessed [access date]). 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Thanksgiving Turkey?

I post a series of weather vane photographs every Wednesday.  This started with images of weathervanes from the Londonderry area, but now I've found 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 or unusual weathervanes, too!

Today's weather vane is from a vacation spot in New Hampshire

Do you know the location of weathervane #236?  Scroll down to find the answer.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I've been saving this photo of the weather vane from a top the cupola at the Hart's Turkey Farm Restaurant in Meredith, New Hampshire.  This local landmark has been operated by the Hart family since 1954.  It is located near Meredith Bay on Daniel Webster Highway at the junction of Routes 3 and 104, so it draws a lot of tourists, even busses full of leaf peepers!

Here you can get a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings, turkey pot pies, turkey sandwiches, turkey chili, poutine with turkey gravy, turkey nuggets, turkey meatloaf, and lots of other turkey specialties! I'm sure they will have a full house tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday!

The third generation of the Hart family is now running the restaurant.  It has grown from an actual farm with a 12 seat dining room, to a huge business with nearly 500 seats that also provides functions and local catering. Check out the website link below for a complete history, and also a memory page where customers post their fondest remembrances of visits to Hart's Turkey Farm Restaurant.

The weathervane is a two dimensional silhouette of a turkey, with nicely carved feather details we could only see with a zoom lens. It is the only turkey weather vane I've ever seen.  How about you?  

Hart's Turkey Farm Restaurant website:  http://hartsturkeyfarm.com/   

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


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Published under a Creative Commons License

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~A Thanksgiving Turkey?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 25, 2015, (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/11/weathervane-wednesday-thanksgiving.html : accessed [access date]).

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Augustus and Martha Dodge, Beverly, Massachusetts

AUGUSTUS DODGE

Died February 2, 1858

Aged 45 ys and 5 mos

The carving inside the chain reads 

"PARTED BELOW

UNITED ABOVE"

MARTHA L. 

widow of 

AUGUSTUS DODGE

Died Oct. 10, 1878, 

aged 63 yrs.

Augustus Dodge, born 17 August 1812 in Wenham, Massachusetts, son of Nicholas Dodge and Prudence Edwards.  He married Martha L. Knowlton on 17 November 1834 in Wenham.  Augustus died 2 February 1858 in Wenham and is buried next to Martha in the Dodge’s Row Burying Ground in North Beverly.  He is a distant cousin to me through his Woodbury and his Herrick ancestors. 

Martha Knowlton was born 20 August 1815, daughter of Ivers Knowlton and Sarah Patch.  She was born 20 August 1815 and died 10 October 1878 in Hamilton. She is a distant cousin to me through her Dane, Kimball, Friend, and Balch ancestors. She was also a descendant of the Mayflower passenger, Richard More (1614 - about 1696). 

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Published under a Creative Commons License
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Augustus and Martha Dodge, Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 24, 2015  (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/11/tombstone-tuesday-augustus-and-martha.html: accessed [access date]). 

Clues to finding Dodge’s Row Burying Ground, Beverly, Massachusetts

Dodge's Row Burying Ground, off Dodge Street, Beverly, Massachusetts

I dare you to find this little gem of a cemetery!  Even with a map, a GPS and a written description of how to find this cemetery we had a lot of trouble finding this cemetery.  “Dodge, shared right of way on right and driveways on left, opposite and in between Norwood’s and Beaver Pond Roads (North Beverly), park in cemetery.”  These were the only clues I could find online at the Beverly, Massachusetts US GenWeb Project.  

There are no signs off Dodge Street to tell you where to turn, and even once you pull into a private home driveway you are faced with several signs stating “PRIVATE DRIVE”, but you have to be brave enough to drive right through on the driveway, which is really a right-of-way through private property to the burying ground.

It was only later when we pulled up Google Earth’s satellite images of Dodge Street in Beverly and carefully viewed the woods between and behind the houses along the road- when we found it!  It's well hidden, but worth the drive if you have North Beverly ancestors.  The oldest stone I found was 1705.  The newest one I saw read 1922.  Many are broken or illegible. 

Here is a screen shot of how this cemetery looks via satellite image on an iPhone.  You can see the cemetery in the woods to the left of the tree farm (which is a big clue to finding this burying ground).  The private drive way is between two houses, with two more homes behind them on the way to the cemetery.  Be brave and keep driving! 

Some of the gravestones are illegible, sunken or facedown

This part of the cemetery seems to be in the process of being swallowed by the forest

Essex Antiquarian, July 1899, volume 3, page 105 “Dodge’s Row Burying Ground Inscriptions”.   [It’s a good thing that these gravestones were transcribed over 116 years ago, because they are very faded today. This article transcribed only pre-1800 stones.  A digital version of this volume is available online at the Internet Archive (free)   https://archive.org/details/essexantiquarianv3v4sale ]

Inscriptions from the Old Burying Ground in Dodge's Row, North Beverly, Massachusetts, 1888, [A small book of only 14 pages].

Some photos of Dodge’s Row tombstones [only those stones with the surname DODGE] from the Dodge Family Association website

http://www.dodgefamily.org/CemeteryHeadstonePages/Massachusetts/Beverly_DodgeRow/dodgerowcemetery_stones.shtml

Dodge’s Row tombstones by plot number

http://www.paulasgenealogy.com/dodgesrowcemetery/dodgesrow_bylot.htm

Good Luck finding Dodge’s Row Burying ground!  I’ll be featuring a few of these interesting tombstones starting tomorrow for Tombstone Tuesday.

For the truly curious:

The deeds to all the land comprising Dodge's Row Burying Ground were transcribed and published in The Essex Institute Historical Collections, Volume XXIV, 1887,  pages 116 -  122   https://archive.org/details/essexinstitutehi23a24esseuoft/page/322/mode/2up  

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Cite/link to this post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Clues to finding Dodge’s Row Burying Ground, Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 23, 2015
( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/11/dodges-row-burying-ground.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ WALLIS of Rockingham County, New Hampshire

WALLIS/WALLACE/WALLES/WALLS

The first record of George Wallis is when he bought land in Rumney Marsh, now Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1656.  George Wallis next bought land in Little Harbor (part of Portsmouth, New Hampshire) in 1660.  The deed describes him as “sometime of Newfoundland”.  In 1685 administration of his estate was granted to his widow, Eleanor.  On 13 March 1785/6 his children William, George and Honor signed a deed dividing his land, as well as Walter Randall and James Berry for their wives, and “with the consent of Caleb, our youngest brother”.   This land is now near the state park and beach now known as Wallis Sands in Rye, New Hampshire.

I descend from the George Wallis’s daughter Eleanor, wife of James Berry.  I also descend from a completely different Wallis family, descendants of John Wallis (1627 – 1690) of Gloucester, Massachusetts at this link: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/12/surname-saturday-wallis-of-gloucester.html   I also have a mystery Wallis – who is the unknown Wallis who married Sarah Wilkinson, daughter of Samuel Wilkinson (1722 – 1795) of Deerfield or Epping, New Hampshire?

Some WALLIS resources:

Martin Hollick, the blogger at The Slovak Yankee has written about the descendants of George Wallis extensively  http://mhollick.typepad.com/slovakyankee/

My WALLIS lineage:

Generation 1:  George Wallis, born about 1619, probably in England, died 14 Dec 1685 in Little Harbor, New Hampshire; married to Eleanor Unknown. Six children.

Generation 2: Eleanor Wallis, born 1652 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; married about 1673 in Rye to James Berry, son of William Berry and Jane Unknown.  He was born between 1650 and 1652 and died after 1712. Five children.

Generation 3: Samuel Berry m. Abigail Webster

Generation 4: Jotham Berry m. Mary Bates

Generation 5: Rachel Berry m. Ithamar Mace

Generation 6: Abigail Mace m. Simon Locke

Generation 7: Richard Locke m. Margaret Welch

Generation 8: Abigail M. Locke m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 9:  George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 10: Carrie Maud Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Published under a Creative Commons License
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ WALLIS of Rockingham County, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 21, 2015, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/11/surname-saturday-wallis-of-rockingham.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Thanksgiving Plate

A while ago I bought this blue and white Staffordshire plate at Plimoth Plantation museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  I think souvenirs should be useful, as well as remembrances of trips.  This one is used at Thanksgiving, but most of the year it sits in my china cabinet. 

At the museum shop there were several similar plates. One had the Mayflower, and another had Plymouth Rock.  I liked this one because of the family crests around the edge, the Thanksgiving scene, and for the surprise on the back of the plate! 

The Standish family crest

The Howland family crest

I was surprised to find this list of the "Pilgrim Fathers" stamped on the back of the plate.  It's always fun to have a souvenir with five ancestors listed on it! Are your ancestors listed here, too? 

Of course, there is no mention of the "Pilgrim Mothers" or the children here.  So I had to buy a mug with all the other names!

If you are interested in buying a plate like this, it is still for sale at Plimoth Plantation!  Perhaps you can still get it in time for your Thanksgiving table?

Here is the link to this item at the museum shop website:
http://www.plimoth.com/products/first-thanksgiving-plate?variant=5991079041

(If you poke around the website you can find the other plates and the mug I mentioned above)

DISCLAIMER-  I was not paid by Plimoth Plantation to endorse their museum shop, or reimbursed in any way. But I am a proud member.  And a descendant of eleven Mayflower passengers.

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Published under a Creative Commons License
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Thanksgiving Plate", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 20, 2015 (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-thanksgiving-plate.html: accessed [access date]).

2015 New Hampshire Thanksgiving Proclamation

Today, November 18, 2015, at the statehouse in Concord, New Hampshire, Governor Maggie Hassan proclaimed the Thanksgiving holiday as November 26, 2015.  Members of the New Hampshire Mayflower Society sponsored the celebration and were in attendance at the ceremony.

Members of the NH Mayflower Society, Gov. Hassan (holding the proclamation), and members of the Governor's Council
at the Statehouse in Concord, New Hampshire 

The State of New Hampshire

By Her Excellency

Margaret Wood Hassan, Governor

A Proclamation

THANKSGIVING DAY

NOVEMBER 26, 2015

WHEREAS,  In 1621, Pilgrim Governor William Bradford issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation to recognize a day of reflection and celebration, to be shared between the Pilgrims and Native Americans; and

WHEREAS, President George Washington proclaimed the first National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789; and

WHEREAS, Beginning in 1827, Sarah Josepha Hale, a famous author and poet from Newport, New Hampshire, wrote thousands of letters advocating for a national celebration of Thanksgiving; and

WHEREAS, The tradition of giving thanks became official in 1863- at the height of the Civil War- when President Abraham Lincoln declared that the fourth Thursday in November should be set aside for personal remembrance as "A Day of Thanksgiving", and each president since has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation; and

WHEREAS, Thanksgiving marks the commencement of the holiday season, bringing increased expressions of love, compassion and service, and

WHEREAS, Thanksgiving has grown into one of our Nation's most honored days, a time celebrated with families and friends when we can express gratitude for our many blessings;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, MARGARET WOOD HASSAN, GOVERNOR of the state of New Hampshire, do hereby proclaim NOVEMBER 26, 2015, as THANKSGIVING DAY in the State of New Hampshire, and I encourage all residents to reflect upon the many offerings of life for which each of us, individually and collectively, can be grateful.

Given this 16th day of November, in the year of

Our Lord two thousand and fifteen, and the

independence of the United States of America,

two hundred and forty.

(signed) Maggie Hassan 

Margaret Wood Hassan

Governor

Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Mermaid Swimming by the Cove

Weathervane Wednesday is an on-going series of photographs I post weekly.  We  started by publishing weather vanes from the Londonderry area, but now We'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! If you know an interesting or historical weathervane, please let me know.

Today's collection of weather vanes is from Massachusetts.

Do you know the location of weather vane collection #235?  Scroll down to see the answer!

Juniper Cove, with a rising tide

Today's weathervane was see on top of a private home near Juniper Cove, on Columbus Avenue in Salem, Massachusetts.  It is not located on a tower or cupola.  This is a very beautiful three dimensional copper mermaid.  The weathervane is very bright and shiny, so it is probably fairly new.

The house is located right on the waterfront next to Juniper Cove, so the mermaid seems very appropriate for this spot.

Click here to see another weathervane photographed at Juniper Cove:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/11/weathervane-wednesday-fish-by-sea.html 


Click here to see the entire Weathervane Wednesday collection!

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Published under a Creative Commons License
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Mermaid Swimming by the Cove", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 18, 2015, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/07/weathervane-wednesday-mermaid-swimming.html : accessed [access date]).

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Priests buried at St. Patrick's Cemetery, Hudson, New Hampshire

These tombstones were photographed at St. Patrick's Cemetery, Hudson, New Hampshire.

RT. REV.

MONSIGNOR

MATTHEW J.B.

CREAMER

PASTOR OF

ST. PATRICK'S PARISH

1906 - 1936

DIED

OCTOBER 1, 1936

IN HIS EIGHTIETH

YEAR   R.I.P.

According to the website for St. Patrick parish in Nashua, New Hampshire, the church was founded in 1901, and the building was completed in 1909.  Monsignor Creamer was the very first priest of this parish.  The St. Patrick cemetery was purchased by the community in 1856 on land across the Merrimack River from Nashua, in the town of Hudson. 

Monsignor Creamer's impressive Irish cross monument was located inside a large flat grassy roundabout in the cemetery.  It was only after I got out of my car to photograph his tombstone when I noticed that the grass circle was full of flat monuments to other priests.  They all had served in local Catholic churches near Nashua. 

REV. DENIS P. DOWNEY                         REV. LAUNCELOT F. QUINN

PASTOR OF OUR LADY OF MERCY            PASTOR OF ST. CHRISTOPHER PARISH

MERRIMACK, NH                                                   NASHUA, NH

BORN jAN. 14, 1903 - DIED NOV. 24, 1992          BORN JUNE 22, 1904- DIED JAN. 7, 1960

R.I.P.                                                                   R.I.P.

RT. REV. MSGR. JOSEPH R. O'CONNOR

PASTOR OF ST. PATRICKS PARISH

1957 NASHUA N.H.  1965

BORN JUNE 14, 1888 - DIED OCT 27, 1965

ORDAINED DEC. 21, 1918

R.I.P.

I'm not a Roman Catholic, nor were any of my ancestors since The Reformation in the 1500s.  I haven't really explored many Catholic cemeteries either.  I found this cemetery to be beautiful, with carvings and statuary not usually seen in austere Puritan New England burial grounds.  I was fascinated when I found this section of the cemetery where these priests were buried.  It is poignant to me that they are buried together with their brethren, instead of with their families.  The only other time I have photographed Roman Catholic religious was a post I did of the mausoleum to the Sisters of Mercy in Windham, New Hampshire.  You can see that post at this link:  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/09/tombstone-tuesday-sisters-of-mercy.html  

St. Patrick Parish history  http://www.stpatricksnashua.org/67  


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To Cite/Link to this post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Priests buried at St. Patrick's Cemetery, Hudson, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 17, 2015 (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/11/tombstone-tuesday-priests-buried-at-st.html: accessed [access date]).

Baby's Lullaby, by Bertha Roberts Wilkinson

My daughter and my new granddaughter

Baby’s Lullaby

Softly the night shadows steal across the sky,

Back to their home nests, the birds swiftly fly.

The flower are folding their petals so soft.

The sea is the only one loud and storm tossed.

But. baby of mine, the storm will subside

And the splashing will cease with the ebb of the tide.

So Mother will gently rock baby to rest

Then send you to sleep with the sun in the west.

Then the moon will shine on with her gentle light

To guide you my darling on Fairy Land’s flight.

The angels will take you and sing to you sweet,

Then bring you back home in their magic fleet.

When Mother will take you once more in her arms

You will tell her the wonders, the love and the charms.

How they showed them to you through wonderful dreams

Then brought you back safely from out of your dreams.

This poem was written by my grandmother, Bertha Louise (Roberts) Wilkinson (1897 - 1990).  My grandmother attended school only until about age 12 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England.  She had to go to work at age 12 as an under nurse to a children's nanny in a vicarage in Leeds.  She immigrated to Massachusetts, through Ellis Island, in 1915.  She didn't marry my grandfather, Donald Munroe Wilkinson (1895 - 1977) until 1926, when she was nearly 30 years old.  In an oral history of her life she recorded on tape she said that she was anxious to marry and have children, but her parents were ill and she had to care for them.  Her first baby, my Uncle Robert, was born after her father had died and the same year her mother passed.  My father was born when she was nearly 40 years old. 

Bertha Wilkinson

She must have loved being a mother to her own babies after being a nursemaid.  I'm sure she would have loved to meet her great great granddaughter, my own grandchild, pictured above.  Grammy Bertha wrote many poems, and I have posted them here for Bill West's Genealogy Poetry Challenge.  This year is the 7th annual poetry challenge.  You can find more information at this link: 
http://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-seventh-annual-great-genealogy.html   




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Published under a Creative Commons License
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Baby's Lullaby, by Bertha Roberts Wilkinson", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 16, 2015, (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/11/babys-lullaby-by-bertha-roberts.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ BERRY of Rye, New Hampshire

A mini reunion of BERRY descendants in Kittery, Maine 2014

BERRY

William Berry was sent to New Hampshire around 1631 by Captain John Mason.  He must not have been a permanent settler until later because he does not show up in Anderson’s Great Migration series of books. By 25 May 1640 he was living at Strawberry Bank.  He was a freeman on 18 May 1642 in Newbury, Massachusetts, where he was a proprietor on 7 December 1642.  At the town meeting in January 1648/9 it was “granted that Wm Berry shall have a lot upon the neck of land upon the South side of the Little River at Sandy Beach.”  He was granted another lot of land on 13 January 1652 at Sandy Beach, which is now Rye, New Hampshire.

He must have died before 28 June 1654 when his widow, Jane was granted administration of his estate.  Two sons, James and John Berry, and a grandson, Joshua Foss agreed to a division of his land on 13 June 1717.

The Berry Family Cemetery in Rye Is located about a quarter mile from  Route 1 (Lafayette Road) on Breakfast Hill Road. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~langolier/berry_rye.html

Some BERRY resources:

Descendants of William Berry of Rockingham County, NH for Four Generations, by June Berry, Kearns, UT, 1993

The Berrys by the Beach, by Sylvia Fitts Getchell, Newmarket, NH: Newmarket Press, 1980

A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, by James Savage, 1909

Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire, by Charles Henry Pope, 1908       

     

History of the Town of Rye, NH from Its Discovery and Settlement to December 31, 1903, by Langdon B. Parsons, 1905.

"Descendants of William Berry of Strawberry Bank - Rye, NH" Facebook Group  https://www.facebook.com/groups/460907980677056/    

My BERRY lineage:

Generation 1:  William Berry, born about 1610 in England, died before 28 June 1654 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; married before 1634 to Jane Unknown. Seven children, and I descend from three of them.  His widow Jane remarried to Nathaniel Drake.

Lineage A:

Generation 2:  Elizabeth Berry, born about 1636 and died after 1708; married about 1652 to John Locke.  He was born about 1627 in England and died 26 August 1696 in Rye, New Hampshire.  Eleven children.

Generation 3:  John Locke m. Elizabeth Unknown

Generation 4: John Locke m. Sarah Unknown

Generation 5: Richard Locke m. Elizabeth Garland

Generation 6: Simon Locke m. Abigail Mace

Generation 7: Richard Locke m. Margaret Welch

Generation 8: Abigail M. Locke m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 9: George E. Batchelder, Jr. m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 10: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

Lineage B:

Generation 2:  Mary Berry, born about 1634, died between 1706 and 1710 in Rye, New Hampshire; married John Foss.  He was baptized 25 November 1633 in Paignton, Devonshire, England, and died 17 December 1699 in New Castle, New Hampshire. Eleven children.

Generation 3: Elizabeth Foss m. Nathaniel Batchelder

Generation 4:  Josiah Batchelder m. Sarah Page

Generation 5:  David Batchelder m. Elizabeth Swett

Generation 6: Elisha Batchelder m. Sarah Lane

Generation 7:  Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 8:  George E. Batchelder m. Abigail M. Locke (see above)

Lineage C:

Generation 2:  James Berry, born between 1650 and 1652 in Strawbery Banke or New Castle, New Hampshire, died after 1712; married about 1673 to Eleanor Wallis, daughter of George Wallis and Eleanor.  She was born about 1652 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Five children.

Generation 3: Samuel Berry, born between 1660 and 1680, died 19 June 1750; married to Abigail Webster, daughter of Stephen Webster and Hannah Ayer.  Four children.

Generation 4: Jotham Berry. Born about 1711, died after 1790; married on 11 November 1731 in Rye, New Hampshire to Mary Bates, daughter of William Bates.  She was born about 1712.  Two children. Jotham married second on 16 April 1780 to Tryphene Philbrick, widow of John Saunders.

Generation 5:  Rachel Berry, baptized on 3 July 1743 in Rye, died 9 November 1806 in Rye; married on 6 December 1764 in Rye to Ithamar Mace, son of John Mace and Sarah Frost. He was born about 1729 on the Isles of Shoals and died before 9 November 1806. Three children.  Rachel married second to Joseph Hall about 1781 in Rye.

Generation 6: Abigail Mace m. Simon Locke (see above)

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Published under a Creative Commons License
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ BERRY of Rye, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 14, 2015 (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/11/surname-saturday-berry-of-rye-new.html: accessed [access date]).

David Colglazier of Londonderry, New Hampshire Wins Historic Preservation Award

NEMA Executive Director Dan Yaegar (left) presents David Lee Colglazier of Londonderry, NH, with the 2015 NEMA Excellence Award during a ceremony on November 6, 2015

David Lee Colglazier of Londonderry, NH, has won the 2015 NEMA Excellence Award for museum practice.   David’s varied work in the field of historic preservation makes him very deserving of this prestigious award.

David Lee Colglazier, former conservator at Old Sturbridge Village and museum consultant, won an Excellence Award for his dedication and involvement in the New England museum community. In his more than forty years’ in the field Colglazier has held numerous positions including a reviewer of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Conservation Support grants, Co‐Chair of the NEMA Conservators’ Professional Affinity Group, Londonderry Historical Society trustee, and an advocate for historic preservation. As part of the Londonderry Heritage Commission, Colglazier recently sponsored a bill in the New Hampshire legislature that would provide a tax credit to homeowners who restore or preserve historic houses.

ʺThis award is a testament to David’s passion, commitment, and vision in his work for and with New England’s museums. His work makes us better as a community of museum professionals and as a field,” said NEMA Executive Director Dan Yaeger in announcing the honor. “We are proud to acknowledge the accomplishments as an outstanding example of leadership and service to our museum colleagues, visitors, and partners.”

The NEMA Excellence Award competition recognizes individual members for excellence in museum practice, whether they’re behind‐the‐scenes or on the front lines, the unsung heroes or the superstars. Nominated by their peers, nominees represent a range of a worthy practices, acts of outreach, kind deeds, and sustained commitments to going above and beyond, regardless of job description. Winners were recognized at the 97^th Annual NEMA Conference in Portland, Maine, November 6, 2015.

NEMA inspires and connects people engaged with the museum field, i provides tools for innovative leadership, and empowers museums to sustain themselves as essential to their communities. For nearly 100 years, the New England Museum Association has been the only organization in New England serving museums of all sizes and the dedicated people who work for and with them.

To learn more about the New England Museum Association, go to www.nemanet.org.

 NEMA Executive Director Dan Yaegar (left) presents David Lee Colglazier of Londonderry, NH, with the 2015 NEMA Excellence Award during a ceremony on November 6, 2015

New England Museum Association

22 Mill Street, Suite 409

Arlington, MA 02476

781-641-0013                  

www.nemanet.org