Wednesday, February 28, 2018

The BBC Northern Ireland Filming in Derry, New Hampshire This Weekend

BBC Presenter Gavin Andrews with two descendants of Rev. MacGregor
Alan Laughlin (left) and his son Ainsley (right) preparing their genealogy
journey to Nutfield to meet up with American cousins

On Saturday March 3 2018 at 12.30pm there will be a small gathering of Reverend James McGregor descendants, historians, enthusiasts and other early settler Nutfield families in the Function Room at Derry Public Library and we would love to see you there. 

The gathering is part of a three-part living history and genealogy series for BBC Northern Ireland where BBC presenter Gavin Andrews takes McGregor descendant Alan Laughlin and his son Ainsley from Ireland to ‘Nutfield’ to learn more about the McGregor legacy.  Alan will be very moved to meet you all, weather permitting. 

12.30pm - Function Room at Derry Public Library, 64 E Broadway, Derry NH 03038

1.00pm - The film crew, TV presenter and Alan and Ainsley (fellow descendants arrive) and a light lunch is served.

3.00pm - The film crew will be moving on to explore other locations however you are very welcome to stay at the library and enjoy the company.

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The BBC Northern Ireland crew will be filming in Maine and New Hampshire for this three part television series where Irish descendants of Rev. MacGregor come to meet their American cousins in America.  Reverend James MacGregor left Aghadowey, Northern Ireland in 1718 with his Scots Irish flock and brought them to Puritan Boston, where they were not welcome as Presbyterians. They were sent to Casco Bay in Maine, where they spent a very cold, harsh winter.  In the spring some of the Scots Irish went up the Merrimack River to Haverhill, where they heard of a place to settle in New Hampshire.  They went to scout out this land and brought Rev. MacGregor and sixteen families to what was known as Nutfield in April 1719.  This grant of land eventually became known as Londonderry.  Over time, Londonderry was divided in to today's towns of Derry, Londonderry, and Windham, with parts of modern Manchester, Hudson (Nottingham West), and Chester, too.  

If you are a descendant of the MacGregors or one of the other early Nutfield settlers, please join us at this "Family Reunion" at the library in Derry, New Hampshire.

MacGregor Public Library, Derry, New Hampshire

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The BBC Northern Ireland Filming in Derry, New Hampshire This Weekend", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 28, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-bbc-northern-ireland-filming-in.html: accessed [access date]). 

Weathervane Wednesday ~ Above a University Library

I post another in a series of weather vane photographs every Wednesday.  This started with images of weathervanes from the Londonderry, New Hampshire area, but now I've found interesting weather vanes all across New England and across the globe.  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!  If you know a great weather vane near you, let me know if you'd like to have it featured on this blog.

Today's weather vane was photographed in New Hampshire.

Do you know the location of weathervane post #352?  Scroll down to find the answer.





This interesting weathervane can be seen on the tower above the Baker Library at Dartmouth University in Hanover, New Hampshire.  According to the 1927 Boston Herald article below, this gilded weathervane is 8 feet 9 inches long, and 6 feet 8 inches high, and was built by A.N. Merryman.  It depicts a man trading with a Native American under a pine tree for the tract of land to be known as "New Hampshire".

According to the Dartmouth University website, there was a contest for the design of the weathervane. The architect Stanley Orcutt's design "Wheelock and an Indian under the Pine" won, and Merryman of Concord built the weathervane. It weighs 600 pounds and is 200 feet above the Dartmouth campus.  Eleazar Wheelock (1711 - 1779) was a missionary from Connecticut who founded Dartmouth College to educate the Native Americans, but it mainly educated the sons of New England settlers, including his own son in the first graduating class of four students. The barrel of rum on the weathervane behind Wheelock refers to an old Dartmouth drinking song.

"Eleazar Wheelock was a very pious man
He went into the wilderness to teach the Indian
with a Gradus ad Parnassum, a Bible and a drum
And five hundred gallons of New England rum"

from the Dartmouth Digital Library Collections,
Icon1647-1198-000004A
Boston Herald, September 4, 1927

Dartmouth University website:
www.dartmouth.edu

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

UPDATE!  
This weathervane was removed in June 2020. The following are accounts of why it was removed:

Valley News, Hanover, New Hampshire, "Native American Students say Dartmouth Library Weathervane 'Flaunts Racist Depiction'", 12 June 2020:
https://www.vnews.com/Petition-calls-for-removal-of-Baker-Library-weathervane-34719730 

Dartmouth website, 20 June 2020,  "Dartmouth Removes Baker Tower Weather Vane":
https://news.dartmouth.edu/news/2020/06/dartmouth-removes-baker-tower-weather-vane 


The Union Leader, Manchester, New Hampshire" Dartmouth to Remove Weather Vane", 16 June 2020:  https://www.unionleader.com/news/education/dartmouth-to-remove-weather-vane-depicting-native-american/article_7693ca28-197e-54b5-bb16-3b048f1b1468.html 

WCAX, "Contoversial Weather Vane Coming Down at Dartmouth College", 25 June 2020 (with video):
https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Controversial-weather-vane-coming-down-at-Dartmouth-College-571481131.html 

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To Cite/Link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ Above a University Library", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 28, 2018 (https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/weathervane-wednesday-above-university.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Sarah Rowe wife of William Cogswell, died 1849, Derry, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed at Forest Hill Cemetery in Derry, New Hampshire.


SARAH E. ROWE
WIFE OF
WILLIAM COGSWELL
BORN AT EAST KINGSTON
DIED IN THIS TOWN
JULY 18, 1849
AGED 33 YRS.
-----0-----

Sarah Elizabeth Rowe was born in East Kingston (Kensington), New Hampshire on 4 March 1814, the daughter of Winthrop and Nancy Rowe.  She attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College) from 1839 - 1840.  She was a teacher in Lancaster, Sanbornton and Exeter, New Hampshire, and then married William Cogwell on 12 August 1846 in Exeter, New Hampshire.  

There must have been several local Derry girls who attended Mount Holyoke. The local Adams Female Academy in East Derry had Mary Lyons as a teacher. Lyons went on to found Mount Holyoke in 1837 after leaving Derry, and some of her students must have followed her.  Sarah Rowe was one of the first students at Mount Holyoke.

William Cogswell was the son of Joseph Cogswell and Abigail Cleaveland, born in Londonderry (now Derry) on 23 October 1806.   He was a selectman in Derry in 1838 and 1839. 

Click here for a blog post about the Adams Female Academy in East Derry:

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Sarah Rowe wife of William Cogswell, died 1849, Derry, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 27, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/tombstone-tuesday-sarah-rowe-wife-of.html: accessed [access date]).

Monday, February 26, 2018

2018 March Genealogy and Local History Event Calendar


Genealogy Events Calendar

For last minute updates, see the “Nutfield Genealogy” Facebook page at this link:  https://www.facebook.com/nutfield.gen/   Please send new events to me by commenting here at the end of this post, or email vrojomit@gmail.com 

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February 28 - March 3, 2018, RootsTech, in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The largest family history conference in the world. If you can't be there in person, watch sessions via live streaming video at https://www.rootstech.org/  

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 February 27, Tuesday, 6:30pm, Ingalls Memorial Library Genealogy Workshop, at 203 Main Street, Rindge, New Hampshire.  Presented by Karla McLeod.  Free access to Ancestry in the library.  http://www.rindgenh.org/towncloud/calendar/entity-6

February 27, Tuesday, 7 -9pm, Central Massachusetts Genealogical Society Meeting, at the American Legion Post #129, 22 Elm Street, Gardner,  Massachusetts.  Guests are welcome for a $2 donation.  See www.cmgso.org 

March 1, Thursday, 7pm, Genealogy Research: How-to Basic Tools, at the Westford Museum, 2 Boston Road, Westford, Massachusetts.  Local genealogists Bob Oliphant, Patti Mason and Dave Welsh will present lectures on family history research. Free to the public.  Please register at https://museum.westford.org/events/genealogy-research-how-to-basic-tools/   for part two, see March 8th.


March 2, Friday, noon, The 1919 Boston Police Strike Project, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society Library, 99 - 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  Presented by Margaret R. Sullivan, records manager and archivist at the Boston Police Department Archives.  Free to the public, register here:  https://shop.americanancestors.org/products/the-1919-boston-police-strike-project-with-boston-police-archives-umass-boston-and-volunteer-genealogists


March 3, Saturday, 10:30am, Autosomal DNA Workshop, at the Danbury Public Library, 170 Main Street, Danbury, Connecticut.  Led by Nora Galvin, certified genealogist.  Free and open to the public.  Snow date: March 10thwww.connecticutancestry.org 



March 3, Saturday, 12:30 - 2pm, Tracing Irish Ancestors in Maine and Finding Place of Origin, at the First Congregational Church UCC, 301 Cottage Road, South Portland, Maine.  Presented by Don Taylor.  


March 3, Saturday, 9 am - 9pm, Boston Massacre Commemoration, at the Old State House, 206 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  The massacre is re-created at 7pm outside the museum and is FREE.  The museum events are included with museum admission.  See this link for a schedule of events http://www.bostonhistory.org/massacre/  

March 4, Sunday, 2pm, Find Ancestors in Town Records:  Hog Reeves, Fish Cullers, Tithing Men and More, at the Augusta City Center, in the City Council Chambers, 16 Cony Street, Augusta, Maine.  Part of the lecture series "Bring Out Your Dead! The Art of Researching Maine & New England Ancestry” hosted by the Fort Western living history museum.   Presented by Carol P. McCoy, president of the Maine Genealogical Society.  Free to the public.  Recommended donation of $5 for nonmembers.  

March 5, Monday, 9:30am to 4 pm, Researching Your Irish and Scots-Irish Ancestors, Part of the Ulster Historical Foundation North American Lecture Tour, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 99 - 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Presented by Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt.  $85 includes breakfast and lunch.  More information and registration here:  https://shop.americanancestors.org/products/researching-your-irish-and-scots-irish-ancestors  

March 6, 13, 20 and 27, Tuesdays, 2pm and 5:15pm  Hands-On Genealogy with Alan Doyle Horbal, at the Berkshire Athenaeum, Wendall Avenue, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  Open to the public, sign up at www.pitssfieldlibrary.org or call 413-499-9480 ext. 6.  Class is limited to 12, with a waiting list. 

March 7, Wednesday, The Orphan Train Movement: History, Genealogy, Legacy, at the Boston Public Library, Commonwealth Salon, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  Presented by genealogist Michael Brophy.  Free to the public.

March 7, Wednesday, noon, Songs of Emigration:  Storytelling Through Traditional Irish Music, at the First Baptist Church, 122 Main Street, Plaistow, New Hampshire.  Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council.  Free to the public.  Presented by Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki.  There will be a brunch at 11am open to the public.


March 7, Wednesday, 7pm, New England Lighthouses and the People Who Kept Them, at the Paul Memorial Library, 76 Main Street, Newfield, New Hampshire.  Presented by lighthouse historian and author, Jeremy D’Entremont.  Free to the public.


March 5, Monday, 9am – 4:30pm, Researching Your Irish and Scots Irish Ancestors with the Ulster Historical Foundation, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 99 – 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  Join Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt from the Foundation.  Details and registration at www.americanancestors.org 

March 7, Wednesday, 9:15am, New Hampshire Francophonie Flag Raising Ceremony at the State House, 107 N. Main Street, Concord, New Hampshire. Free event sponsored by the Franco-American Centre.  Proclamation by Gov. Sununu.  Family Friendly


March 7, Wednesday, 7pm, New England Lighthouses and the People Who Kept Them, at the Paul Memorial Library, 76 Main Street, Newfields, New Hampshire. Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council.  Free to the public.  Presented by Jeremy D’Entremont.


March 8, Thursday, 7pm, Genealogy Research:  How-to Going Deeper, at the Westford Museum, 2 Boston Road, Westford, Massachusetts.  Part Two of a series that started on March 1.  Local genealogists Bob Oliphant, Patti Mason, and Dave Welsh will present lectures for people interested in researching their family history.  Free to the public.  Please register at this link:  https://museum.westford.org/events/genealogy-research-how-to-going-deeper/ 


March 10, Saturday, 9am – 3:30, Telling Your Family Story, at the Nackey Loeb School of Communications, 749 East Industrial Park Drive, Manchester, New Hampshire.  $60 includes lunch, register online at this link: http://www.loebschool.org/application-form.asp  or call 603-627-0005.  Presented by storyteller Fritz Wetherbee, John Clayton director of the Manchester Historic Association, Meg Heckman reporter for the Concord Monitor, archivist Lori Fisher, and videographer John Gfroerer. 


March 10, Saturday, 1pm, Genealogy Workshop: Immigration and Naturalization: Tracing Your immigrant Ancestors, at the New Hampshire Historical Society,  30 Park Street, Concord, New Hampshire. Presented by Rhonda McClure of NEHGS.  Tickets available online at Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/immigration-and-naturalization-tracing-your-immigrant-ancestors-workshop-registration-39258474153?aff=eac2  $35 for members, $50 non-members.


March 10, Saturday, 9am – 4pm, An 18th Century Flair: Caps and Hair, hosted by the Fort at No. 4, 267 Springfield Road, Charlestown, New Hampshire.  A one day class in the art of styling your hair 18th century style, presented by Angela Murphy and Jennifer Roy.  Coffee, tea and lunch included. Proceeds to benefit The Fort at No. 4.  $45 class fee. Preregistration required at this link: http://fortat4.org/workshops/caps-and-hair/18thcwoman-cap-hair.html   


March 10, Saturday, 9am - 4pm, WWI Centennial: Doughboy Roadshow, at the Aldrich House, 110 Benevolent Street, Providence, Rhode Island.  Sponsored by the Rhode Island World War One Centennial Commission.  Bring your WWI artifacts, documents, and militaria (no firearms) and receive help on identifying and preserving these heirlooms.  Meet with genealogists to learn how to research your veteran ancestors.  For more information contact riww1cc@gmail.com.  No registration needed.


March 10, Saturday, 10am, NEHGS New Visitor Tour, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 99 – 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Free, no registration needed.  Tour attendees are welcome to use the library following the tour.


March 10, Saturday, 1 - 3:30pm, DNA in Genealogy: How Genetic Testing Can Enrich your Family History, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society Library, 99 - 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  Presented by NEHGS genealogist Tom Dreyer and NEAPG member Shellee Morehead. $25 per person.  Register here https://shop.americanancestors.org/products/dna-in-genealogy   


March 10, Saturday, 2pm, Images of America: The House of Seven Gables Book Panel, at the House of Seven Gables, 115 Derby Street, Salem, Massachusetts.  Free to members, non-members $10.  To reserve a spot for this panel discussion, email groups@7gables.org Ryan Conary, David Moffat, and Everett Philbrook discuss their findings while writing the Images of America book on the House of Seven Gables.  Learn the new information the team discovered about the house, and the stories behind some of the photographs.  Copies of the book will be available in the museum store before and after the lecture.



March 11, Sunday, 2pm, From Water to War – A Murch Family History, at the Augusta City Center, in the City Council Chambers, 16 Cony Street, Augusta, Maine.  Part of the lecture series "Bring Out Your Dead! The Art of Researching Maine & New England Ancestry” hosted by the Fort Western living history museum.   Presented by the author of the 2017 book by the same name, Dana Murch.  Free to the public.  Recommended donation of $5 for nonmembers.  

March 11, Sunday, 2pm, Rosie’s Mom:  Forgotten Women of the First World War, at the Kensington Public Library, 126 Amesbury Road, Kensington, New Hampshire.  Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council.  Free to the public.  Presented by historian Carrie Brown.

March 13, Tuesday, 10:30 – noon, Researching Your Family Tree, at the Wilmington Memorial Library, 175 Middlesex Avenue, Wilmington, Massachusetts.  A six week course:  March 13, 27, 29, April 3, 5, 10.  Registration at the library main desk starting Monday, February 12.  Presented by educator, lecturer and genealogy researcher Linda MacIver.  The first two classes are mandatory.  Must have basic computer skills to participate.


March 13, Tuesday, 6:30pm, How Plymouth Women's Work Saved Plymouth Colony, at the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Presented by David Furlow and Lisa Pennington.  Free to the public. 

March 13, Tuesday, 6:30pm, Songs of Emigration: Storytelling Through Traditional Irish Music, at the Baker Free Library, 509 South Street, Bow, New Hampshire.  Free to the public. Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council.  Presented by musician Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki. 


March 14, Wednesday, 10am, New England Lighthouses and the People Who Kept Them, at the Marion Gerrish Community Center, 39 West Broadway, Derry, New Hampshire.  Hosted by the Amoskeag Mills Questers.  Free to the public. Presented by lighthouse historian Jeremy D’Entremont.


March 14, Wednesday, 1pm, Songs of Emigration: Storytelling Through Traditional Irish Music, at the Goodlife Center, 245 North State Street, Concord, New Hampshire.  Free to the public. Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council.  Presented by musician Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki.  This program above will be repeated at 6pm at the Nesmith Library, 8 Fellows Road, Windham, New Hampshire. 


March 14, Wednesday, 1pm, “If I am Not For Myself, Who Will Be for Me?” George Washington’s Runaway Slave, at the Chesterfield Town Hall, 520 Route 63, Chesterfield, New Hampshire.  Presented by living historian Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti who will portray Oney Judge Staine, the slave who ran away to New Hampshire.  Free to the public.


March 14, Wednesday, 6pm, Songs of Emigration: Storytelling Through Traditional Irish Music, at the Newsmith Library, 8 Fellows Road, Windham, New Hampshire.  Free to the public. Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council.  Presented by musician Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki.  This program above will be repeated at 1pm at the Goodlife Center, 245 North State Street, Concord, New Hampshire. 


March 15, Thursday, 6:30pm, Evacuation Day Lecture, at 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts and hosted by the Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site and Boston 1775. Presented by historian J. L. Bell to present “Myths and Realities of Henry Knox’s Mission”.  Space is limited, so reserve your spot by calling 617-876-4491 or email reservationsat105@gmail.com


March 17, Saturday, 9:30 - noon, Anti-Irish Sentiment in 19th Century America, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society Library, 99 - 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  In partnership with the Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA) and presented by Peter Drummey of the Massachusetts Historical Society and Eileen Pironti of NEHGS.  Cost $25 per person.  Morning refreshments included.  Register here:  https://shop.americanancestors.org/products/anti-irish-sentiment-in-19th-century-america  


March 17, Saturday, Historical Exercises at Dorchester Heights Monument for Evacuation Day,  commemorating the day the British left Boston Harbor in 1776.  The historic re-enactors will begin the ceremony following the 9am mass at St. Augustine's Chapel, weather permitting.  Sponsored by the South Boston Citizens Association.  Parade on Sunday, March 18th in South Boston.  


March 17, Saturday, noon – 3pm, Sharing Your Research Results, at the Centre Congregational Church, 5 Summer Street, Lynnfield, Massachusetts.  Hosted by the Essex County Society of Genealogists, and presented by Seema-Jayne Kenney.  Bring your own lunch and social at noon, lecture at 1pm.  www.esog.org 

March 18, Sunday, 12:30 – 1:20, Alan Shuchat – Life Under the Tsars: Registration, Residence and Exit Routes, at the Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton Centre, Massachusetts.  Sponsored by the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Boston. Free to members, $5 to non-members.  Prelecture Special Interest Group 12:30 Belarus and Litvak, and at 3:30 Poland and Ukraine.


March 18, Sunday, 2 – 4pm, Using Colony and State Records to Trace Your Native Ancestors in New England, at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire Public Library, Levenson Room.  Presented by Cheryll Toney Holley, the current chief of the Hassanamisco band of the Nipmuc Nation, a Native American tribe recognized by the state of Massachusetts. Free to the public.



March 18, Sunday, 2pm, A Family Lineage Connection to Fort Western, at the Augusta City Center, in the City Council Chambers, 16 Cony Street, Augusta, Maine.  Part of the lecture series "Bring Out Your Dead! The Art of Researching Maine & New England Ancestry” hosted by the Fort Western living history museum.   Presented by Paul Lessard, who will discuss his own family lineage.  Free to the public.  Recommended donation of $5 for nonmembers.  

March 20, Tuesday, 6:30pm, A Visit with Queen Victoria, at the Hampton Falls Free Library, 7 Drinkwater Road, Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.  Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council. Free to the public.  Presented by living historian Salley Mummy in proper 19th century clothing resplendent with Royal Orders.

March 20, Tuesday, 7pm, Brewing in New Hampshire: An Informal History of Beer in the Granite State from Colonial Times to the Present, at the Gordon Nash Library, 69 Main Street, New Hampton, New Hampshire.  Hosted by the New Hampton Historical Society.  Free to the public. Presented by Glenn Knoblock.


March 20, Tuesday, 7:30pm, New England Lighthouses and the People Who Kept Them, at the Spear Museum of the Nashua Historical Society, 5 Abbott Street, Nashua, New Hampshire.  Free to the public. Presented by lighthouse historian and author Jeremy D’Entremont. 


March 21, Wednesday, 10am, New England Quilts and the Stories They Tell, at the Messiah Lutheran Church, 3030 Route 101, Amherst, New Hampshire.  Hosted by the Nipmugs Chapter of Questers and the NH Humanities Council.  Free to the public.  Present by expert Pam Weeks.  Participants are invited to bring one quilt for identification and story telling.  Coffee will be held at 9:30 with the program to follow at 10am.


March 21, Wednesday, 6pm, Discovering Irish Ancestors with the Townland Valuation Translator, at the Boston Public Library, Commonwealth Salon, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  Presented by John Schnelle.  Free to the public.


March 21, Wednesday, 6:30pm, Poor Houses and Town Farms:  The Hard Row for Paupers, at the Bedford Public Library, 3 Meetinghouse Road, Bedford, New Hampshire. Sponsored by the Bedford Historical Society and the NH Humanities Council. Free to the public.  Presented by historian Steve Taylor. 


March 22 – 24, The New England Historic Genealogical Society’s Genealogical Skills Boot Camp, at the NEHGS library, 99 – 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Take your research skills to the next level!  This intensive three day program will teach you how to tackle genealogical problems like a pro.  Lectures, small group discussions and activities, hands on exercises, and homework assignments.  Registration and information:  https://shop.americanancestors.org/products/genealogical-skills-boot-camp


March 22, Thursday, 7:30pm, The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of a Nation, at the Berwick Academy Arts Center, Berwick, Maine.  Presented by Dr. Colin Calloway, author of his forthcoming book with the same title.

March 22, Thursday, 7pm, Covered Bridges of New Hampshire, at the Hancock Town Library, 25 Main Street, Hancock, New Hampshire.  Free to the public.  Presented by Glenn Knoblock.


March 22 - 24, Genealogical Skills Boot Camp, at the New England Historical Genealogical Society Library, 99 - 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts. $550 per person.  Lectures, small group discussions and activities, hands on exercises, homework assignments, etc.  For more information and registration see this page online:  https://shop.americanancestors.org/products/genealogical-skills-boot-camp  


March 24 and 25, Saturday and Sunday, 9am – 5pm, Old House and Barn Exposition, Presented by the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, at the Manchester Downtown Hotel (formerly the Radisson) on Elm Street in Manchester, New Hampshire. Featuring vendors, resources, demonstrations, and lectures about old houses and barns.  For more information: https://nhpreservation.org/old-house-barn-expo/


March 24, Saturday, 9am – 5pm, New England Colonial Trade & Craft Fair, at the Redhook Brewery, 1 Redhook Way, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Historical reproductions, artisans $5 admission, door prizes.  For more info email jsat@myfairpoint.net

March 24, Saturday, 11am, Putting Faces on the Textile Industry:  The Workers of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, at the Olivia Rodham Memorial Library, 1 Nelson Common Road, Nelson, New Hampshire.  Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council.  Free to the public.  Presented by Robert Perraualt.

March 24, Saturday, 1pm, Women's History Walk:  "Nethertheless She Persisted", at the Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.  A walking tour of the cemetery to visit the graves of admirable women.  $7 members, $12 non-members.  Click here for tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/womens-history-walk-nevertheless-she-persisted-tickets-37705505181?aff=efbeventtix 

March 24, Saturday, 2pm, New Hampshire Heritage Lecture:  The Company That Built Manchester, free with admission, at the New Hampshire Historical Society, 30 Park Street, Concord, New Hampshire.


March 24, Saturday, 2pm, Roxbury Fort Hill and Standpipe, a walking tour sponsored by The Old South Meeting House, Boston, Massachusetts.   $8 for OSMH members, who may bring a guest.  Email members@osmh.org or call 617-482-6439 x23 to register.


March 24, Saturday, 4:45pm, Welcome to Our Home Living History Tour at Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, 399 Lexington Road, Concord, Massachusetts.  An expert, costumed guide portraying one of the Alcott family members will take you on an interactive tour.  Hear anecdotes, learn about their lives, play a 19th century game, participate in a treasure hunt, and sing period songs. Adults $12, Students $10, Youths (6 – 17 years) $8, Children 2 – 6 years $4.  Family rate $30.  Space limited to 15 participants.  Reservations and pre-payment strongly suggested.  Phone 978-369-4118 ext. 106. 


March 24, Saturday, 6pm, 18th Century Tavern Dinner, at the Red Barn at Outlook Farm, 310 Portland Street, South Berwick, Maine.  Tickets sold from January 29 to March 9.  Period attire encouraged.  http://www.oldberwick.org/   for more information contact info@oldberwick.org 


March 25, Sunday, noon, Salem Women’s History Day at the House of the Seven Gables, 115 Derby Street, Salem, Massachusetts. Free to members and Salem residents.  Tickets reserved by emailing jarrison@7gables.org or call 978-744-0991 ext. 152.  Noon women’s history tour, 1pm presentation “My Patriotic Duty” Women and the preservation of the Old South Meeting House Boston, 2pm “The Tireless Traditionalist: Mary Harrod Northend and Old Salem, 1904 – 1926”, 3pm Women’s history tour.  Events also ongoing at the Salem Witch House and the Phillips House Museum.  See their websites for details.


March 25, Sunday, 1pm, Songs of Emigration: Storytelling Through Traditional Irish Music, at the Rogers Memorial Library, 194 Derry Road, Hudson, New Hampshire.  Free to the public. Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council.  Presented by musician Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki. 


March 25, Sunday, 2pm – 4pm, Logan Kleinwaks Historic Polish Directories and Other Sources Searchable at GenealogyIndexer.org, at the Framingham Public Library, 49 Lexington Street, Framingham, Massachusetts.  Sponsored by the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Boston and the Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts. Free to members, $5 to non-members.  A reception will follow the lecture.


March 25, Sunday, 2pm – 4:30pm, Historic Polish Directories Searchable at GenealogyIndexer.org , at the Framingham Public Library, 49 Lexington Street, Framingham, Massachusetts.  Hosted by the Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts and the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Boston. Presented by Logan Kleinwaks, founder of GenealogyIndexer.  A reception will follow the lecture.


March 25, Sunday, 1 - 2:30pm, The Sentimental Symbolism of Mount Auburn, at the Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. $7 members, $12 non-members.  A tour led by volunteer docent Nancy Callan.  Click for tickets https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-sentimental-symbolism-of-mount-auburn-tickets-37854867929?aff=efbeventtix 

March 26, Monday, 5:30pm, Making Beer Along the Powwow, at the Brewery Silvaticus, 9 Water Street, Amesbury, Massachusetts. Learn about beer brewing in a historical mill building on the edge of the Powow River.  No admission fee, cash bar.


March 26, Monday, 7pm, New Hampshire Cemeteries and Gravestones, at the Piermont Old Church Building, 131 NH Route 10, Piermont, New Hampshire.  Hosted by the Piermont Historical Society.  Free to the public. Presented by Glenn Knoblock. 

March 27, Tuesday, 7 – 9pm, Central Massachusetts Genealogical Society Meeting, at the American Legion Post #129, 22 Elm Street, Gardner, Massachusetts.  Guests are welcome for a $2 donation.  See www.cmgso.org 

March 31, Saturday, 9am – 12 noon, History Comes Alive at the Boston Tea Party Shops and Museum, 1 Black Falcon Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts.  More info https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/


Looking ahead!

April 7, Saturday, 2018 New England Family History Conference, at 91 Jordan Road, Franklin, Massachusetts. Sponsored by the Blackstone Valley and Hingham Stakes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Free to the public. http://nefamilyhistory.com/   This conference has been continuing for 40 years with nationally recognized speakers and presenters.  The keynote speaker will be Brian Moncur, Founder and CTO of BillionGraves.com. 


 April 7, Saturday, 9am – 5pm, Indoor Scottish Festival, at Nashua High School South, Nashua, New Hampshire.  Tickets for $10 on sale starting at February 3rd. Bagpipe competition, Highland dancing, fiddle competitions, Pipe Bands, Scottish vendors, clan booths.  Kid friendly. Sponsored by Scottish Arts. http://nhssa.org/ 


April 7-8, Massachusetts Genealogical Council 2018 Seminar, at the Courtyard by Marriot, Marlborough, Massachusetts.  DNA track with Jennifer Zinck on Saturday, and an all day track on genealogy with Dr. Thomas Jones on Sunday.  Register online for one or both days. http://www.massgencouncil.org/2017/2018-seminar/ 


 April 21, Saturday, 9 am – 4pm, 2018 Spring Workshop of the Maine Genealogical Society:  Writing Your Family History, at the Elks Lodge, 397 Civil Center Drive, Augusta, Maine.  Guest Speaker, Joseph C. Anderson, II FASG.  Registration includes lunch.  Members $45, non members $55.  To register and for more information https://maineroots.org/2018-spring-workshop-writing-family-history/


April 21, Saturday, 1:30 pm, Connecticut Society of Genealogists Program, at the CSG Library, 175 Maple Street, East Hartford, Connecticut.  Register for one workshop:  French Canadian presented by Diane Lenti, Irish presented by Nora Galvin, Polish or Eastern Europe presented by Jonathan Shea, or Italian presented by Monique Heller.  Preregistration due by April 16.  http://www.csginc.org/csg_view_event.php?event=275 

 April 27, Friday, Genealogy Lock-In, at the Memorial Hall Library, 2 North Main Street, Andover, Massachusetts.  Spend an uninterrupted evening using MHL’s genealogy resources.  Reference librarians will be on hand to help your research. A dinner of sandwiches, chips and cookies is included.  $10 per person. 


April 28, Saturday, 9am – 4pm,  American Canadian Genealogical Society Spring Conference, Manchester, New Hampshire.  Three sessions with speakers. Time to research in the library.  $5 at the door.  $10 prepaid bag lunch orders.  


May 18, 19, 20, Roots 2018: An International Conference on Family History, presented by the Quebec Family History Society at McGill University, New Residence Hall, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. For more information www.qfhs.ca

May 19, Saturday, Blaine Bettinger (Genetic DNA expert) at the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists in Concord, New Hampshire.  More information coming soon.


May 19, Saturday, 11am, Connecticut Society of Genealogists Program, at the Casa Mia Restaurant at the Hawthorne Inn, 2421 Berlin Turnpike, Berlin, Connecticut.  Come celebrate our 50th anniversary.  Registration a 11am, brief business meeting and lunch, and a presentation by Walter Woodward.  Call the CSG office at 860-569-0002 or email csginc@csginc.org  

July 7, Saturday, History Camp Boston, at Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts.  and History Camp Weekend http://historycamp.org/boston 


 August 14 – 16 Scots Irish Reunion:  Bringing the Ulster Diaspora To Life, at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine. Hosted by the St. Andrews Society of Maine and the Maine Ulster Scots Project. Visit www.maineulsterscots.com for more information.


13 September, Thursday – Saturday, The 2018 New York State Family History Conference, at Tarrytown, New York.  More information coming soon. 

September 22, Saturday – The Fall Conference of the American Canadian Genealogical Society, to be held at the Puritan Back Room, Manchester, New Hampshire.

September 28 – 30, Old Planters Reunion, at Historic Beverly, 117 Cabot Street, Beverly, Massachusetts.  Save the date!  More information soon!

April 3-6, 2019,  New England Regional Genealogical Conference NERGC in Manchester, New Hampshire at the Radisson Hotel on Elm Street.  http://www.nergc.org/2019-conference/ for more information.

August 10 – 16, 2019, Founders, Fishermen and Family History Cruise, On Holland America’s ms Veendam, departing Boston on August 10 for a 7 night trip to Canada, ports include Boston, Portland (Maine), St. John, Halifax, Sydney, and Bar Harbor, Maine.  Speakers include the genealogists Gena Philibert-Ortega, Tami Osmer Mize, and David Allen Lambert. See the website for more information: http://www.oconnelltravel.com/rw/view/38994  



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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "2018 March Genealogy and Local History Event Calendar", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 26, 2018, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/2018-march-genealogy-and-local-history.html: accessed [access date]). 

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Surname Saturday ~ TOWNE of Salem and Topsfield, Massachusetts

Topsfield, Massachusetts 1872

TOWNE / TOWN

William Towne, my 10th great grandfather, was baptized in the Saint Nicholas Church at Great Yarmouth in England on 18 March 1598/9, the son of John and Elizabeth Towne.  He married his wife, Joanna Blessing in Great Yarmouth, and six of his eight children were born there before they came to Salem, Massachusetts.  On 11 October 1640 his first land was in a part of Salem called Northfields “Graunted to William Townde a little neck of land right over against his howse on the other side of the riuer to be sett out by the towne.”

In 1652 William Towne removed his family to "New Meadows", now called Topsfield, where he bought forty acres, and bought more land in 1656.  He gave his youngest son, Joseph, two thirds of his Topsfield land in 1663 when he married Phebe Perkins.  I descend from the third son, Edmund Towne (about 1628 – 1678), who married Mary Browning, my 9th great grandparents. 

William’s mother-in-law (Joanna’s mother), Joanne (Priest) Blessing, had been accused of being a witch in England.  During the trials, Ann Putnam testified that three of Joanna (Blessing) Towne’s daughters were witches because her mother was a witch.  [Salem Village Witchcraft: A Documentary Record of Local Conflict in Colonial New England, by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, 2016, page 28]   Mary (Towne) Easty was accused on 1 April 1692, and hanged on 22 September 1692.  Rebecca (Towne) Nurse was accused on 2 May 1692 and hanged on 19 June 1692.  Sarah (Towne) Cloyse was accused on 3 April 1692. She spent four months chained in jail, and her case was dismissed in January 1693.   A fourth daughter, Susannah, died in 1678, before the trials began, or she probably would have been accused, too!

In his youth, Edmund Towne was an apprentice to Henry Skerry of Salem.  He was known as “Sergeant Towne” in the Topsfield records.  He was part of the militia, and in 1674 he formed a committee to petition to form a military guard for Topsfield, which was considered the frontier.  Edmund Towne died without a will.  His wife, Mary, was named administrix, and she divided the estate among the daughters. 

In the next generation, I descend from Samuel Towne, my 8th great grandfather, who married Elizabeth Knight. He also died without a will, and his wife divided the estate between herself and the four children.   Their youngest daughter, Rebecca Towne, is my 7th great grandmother, who married Stephen Johnson in 1730. Stephen died in 1734, leaving her with two small children, and Rebecca remarried to her second cousin, Joshua Towne, the son of Jacob Towne and Phebe Smith.

Some TOWNE resources:

The TOWNE Family Association: http://townefolk.com  

“TOWNE Cousins” on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/townecousins2014/  

Towne Family, William Towne and Joanna Blessing, Salem, Massachusetts, 1635, Five Generations of Descendants, by Lois Payne Hoover, 2011, from the Towne Family Association.

(An older compiled genealogy) The Descendants of William Towne: Who came to America on or about 1630 and settled in Salem, Mass., by Edwin Eugene Towne, 1901, reprinted by Higginson Book Co., 2006.

Some of the Towne Family and the Salem Witchcraft Delusion, by Joseph L. Wheeler, 1969
Gary Boyd Roberts, “Notable Kin:  The Progeny of “Witches” and “Wizards”: Some Descendants of George Burroughs and William and Joanna (Blessing) Towne, Parents of Mary Easy and Rebecca Nurse”, NEHGS, NEXUS Volume 9, pages 108 – 11 which was also printed in his book Notable Kin, Volume Two, pages 79 -86 (descendants of fifteen 1692 Salem witch trial victims).

My TOWNE genealogy:

Generation 1:  William Towne, born about 1598, probably in England, died about 1672 in Topsfield, Massachusetts; married on 25 April 1620, St. Nicholas, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England to Joanna Blessing, daughter of John Blessing and Joanne Priest.  She was born about 1594 in Great Yarmouth, and died 1682 in Topsfield.  Eight children.

Generation 2:  Edmund Towne, born about 1628 in Yarmouth, England, died before 3 May 1678 in Topsfield, Massachusetts; married on 25 March 1652 in Salem to Mary Browning, daughter of Thomas Browning and Mary Unknown.  She was born 7 November 1637 in Salem, and died about 1717 in Topsfield.  Seven children.

Generation 3:  Samuel Towne, born 11 February 1673 in Topsfield, died 1714; married on 20 October 1696 in Topsfield to Elizabeth Knight, daughter of Phillip Knight and Margaret Wilkins.  She was born 25 January 1677 in Topsfield, and died 17 May 1752 in Topsfield.  Four children.  Elizabeth remarried to Elisha Perkins on 4 April 1715 in Topsfield.

Generation 4:  Rebecca Towne,  born 8 February 1699/1700 in Topsfield; married on 2 December 1730 in Topsfield to Stephen Johnson.  He was born about 1700 and died 29 August 1734 in Topsfield.  Two children.  Rebecca remarried to her cousin, Joshua Towne, on 7 August 1739 in Topsfield, and had one more child.

Generation 5:   Ruth Johnson married Richard Cree
Generation 6:  Stephen Cree married Hannah Smith
Generation 7:  Sara Cree married James Phillips
Generation 8:  Hannah Phillips married Thomas Russell Lewis
Generation 9:  Hannah Eliza Lewis married Abijah Franklin Hitchings
Generation 10:  Arthur Treadwell Hitchings married Florence Etta Hoogerzeil
Generation 11:  Gertrude Matilda Hitchings married Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Surname Saturday ~ TOWNE of Salem and Topsfield, Massachusetts”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 24, 2018, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/surname-saturday-towne-of-salem-and.html: accessed [access date]). 

Friday, February 23, 2018

A Traitor in My Family Tree? Yes! Part Two

A screenshot of JL Bell's blog Boston 1775
https://boston1775.blogspot.com/

One of the things I love about blogging is the comments I get on my blog. In yesterday’s post I referenced another blogger.  He commented back on my blog with a big hint about some additional information in an article he wrote in 2005.  Wow!  What lot of good genealogical information that was new to me!

My blog post yesterday was about Ebenezer Richardson and his two wives.  Yesterday, 22 February, was the anniversary of Ebenezer’s mistaken attempt to quell a Boston mob by firing bird shot into the crowd.  He injured one boy and killed another, probably causing the Boston Massacre two weeks later, on 5 March 1770.  I read about his story at Twitter in an “On This Day In History” tweet.  The names in the link caught my attention since they were all from my family tree.

In my blog post I gave some posts from J.L. Bell’s history blog Boston 1775 as sources. He wrote back in a comment that he had written an article in the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s magazine New England Ancestors about Ebenezer Richardson, and he said, “I think Rebecca (Fowle) (Richardson) Richardson died in 1753 after her sister Kezia (Fowle) Henshaw gave birth and before Kezia married Ebenezer Richardson. There’s no divorce on the record… I think the Rebecca Richardson who died in 1782 is therefore someone else.”

The article that J.L. Bell wrote is “’A Wretch of Wretches Prov’d with Child’: From Local Scandal to Revolutionary Outrage”, New England Ancestors, Volume 6 (2005), pages 22 – 24 and page 40, (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.)   I looked it up online with great enthusiasm, since both the RICHARDSON and the FOWLE families of Woburn are in my family tree.  As Bell stated in this article “When Kezia (Fowle) Hincher gave birth in 1752, she had been an unmarried widow for over five years. Naturally, her neighbors in Woburn, Massachusetts, gossiped about the father.  At first the mystery roiled local church politics.  Eventually, the fallout from this genealogical puzzle helped bring on the American Revolution.”  Yes, it was a great genealogical puzzle! 

Puzzling out my genealogical relationship to the main characters in this story was my main goal yesterday.  But last night, after reading the NEHGS article by J. L. Bell, I’m was determined to iron out the details of the lives of the two sisters, Rebecca and Kezia.  Fortunately, Bell had done all the work in preparing his article.  He believes there was no divorce, no bigamy, and that Rebecca had died before Ebenezer remarried to Kezia. His argument is laid out in his article. 

The magazine story also describes, in great detail, Ebenezer’s extra-marital affairs with his sister-in-law. She first accused her employer of being the father of her bastard child (she was house maid to the local minister), and he had to sue to restore his reputation.  It’s very juicy stuff for the 18th century (things haven’t changed much, have they?).  And there are more details about Ebenezer’s treachery in colluding with the British customs officials more than fifteen years later, to the point of not sentencing him to hang, and leaving him free to escape to freedom in London.  He was so infamous that even in “1816 John Adams remembered Ebenezer this way: ‘Adultery, incest, perjury were reported to be his ordinary crimes’”. 

To me, another very interesting part of J. L. Bell’s article is how he describes how he found all the documentation to prove Ebenezer Richardson’s story. He puzzled out the intricacies of the sister’s relationships to him with vital records, church and town records, but he also found broadsides, trial records, Legal Papers of John Adams (he was the lawyer for the British side of the Boston massacre), and probate records. In the last paragraph of the article he gives a tip for ordering copies from the National Archives of Great Britain. Usually I read Bell’s work in the context of American history, but this article proves how history and genealogy work hand in hand.

If you missed part one of this blog post (yesterday) click on this link:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/a-traitor-in-my-family-tree.html 

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To Cite/Link to this post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Traitor in My Family Tree?  Yes!  Part Two", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 23, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/a-traitor-in-my-family-tree-yes-part-two.html: accessed [access date]). 

Thursday, February 22, 2018

A Traitor in my Family Tree?

Boston Massacre

On this date, 22 February, in 1770 a mob had gathered outside of Theophilus Lillie’s shop in Boston to protest his importation of British goods. This was during the “Intolerable Acts” when the folks in Boston decided to stop drinking tea and buying British goods, rather than pay the intolerable taxes on imported goods.  While reading about this incident in history, I was struck by the name of the shopkeeper and (thank you internet!)  I was researching his genealogy to find a link to my LILLIE ancestors of Reading, Massachusetts.  I wasn’t finding any links.

As I read further, I learned that the man who lived next door to the shop in the story was named Ebenezer Richardson.  He tried to disperse the crowd by firing bird shot into the crowd, which was mostly young boys and teenagers.  One teen was injured, and a 10 year old German boy named Christopher Sneider was killed.  Again, being a genealogist, I stopped at the name of Ebenezer Richardson.  I had a long line of Ebenezer Richardsons in my family tree, from the town of Woburn outside of Boston. It only took me a minute to confirm that one of these cousins in my tree was the same Ebenezer Richardson whose shot out his bedroom window foreshadowed the Boston Massacre, which took place soon after on 5 March 1770. 

Who was Ebenezer Richardson?  Well, it turns out that his hot temper which led to this incident was not the first time he had displayed tawdry behavior.   In 1752 his wife’s sister gave birth to his child.  He married his own sister-in-law in Boston in January 1754 (his wife didn’t die until 1782).   

Ebenezer Richardson, upon fleeing Woburn, went to work for the British as an informer in Boston.  When he was found out, the British made him a Boston customs officer. His job was to collect the new  taxes from the hated Stamp Act and Townshend Acts. 

After the little Sneider boy died,  two thousand people attended his funeral.  On 20 April 1770 Richardson was found guilty of murder by a Boston jury. I’m not surprised- he was a very unpopular figure in Boston and rumored to be tarred and feathered.  The British judges thought the sentence unfair and didn’t sentence him to hang, and London sent a pardon.  The British also found him a new job in 1773 in Philadelphia.  But the good folks of Boston “informed” on Richardson and told the people of Philadelphia his story, including the scandal with his second wife.  He fled to London.

No more is known of Ebenezer Richardson.  Did he die in London?  Change his name?

Ebenezer Richardson, son of Timothy Richardson and Abigail Johnson, was born on 31 March 1718 in Woburn, Massachusetts.  He married first to Rebecca Fowle about 1740.  She was the widow of Phineas Richardson (she was the second cousin once removed of Phineas, and the second cousin twice removed of Ebenezer).   He married second to Kezia Fowle, sister to Rebecca and widow of Thomas Henshaw.   I have no further information on Kezia, and Rebecca died on 6 November 1782 in Woburn, long after the scandal.

The two Fowle sisters, Rebecca and Kezia, are my 1st cousins 8 generations removed.  Their parents, John Fowle and Elizabeth Prescott are my 8th great uncle and aunt.  John’s parents, James Fowle (1643 – 1690) and Abigail Carter (1648 – 1718) are my 8th great grandparents.

Ebenezer Richardson is further removed from me.  He is my 3rd cousin, 8 generations removed.  His great grandparents, John Richardson and Elizabeth Bacon, are my 9th great uncle and aunt. His 2x great grandparents, Samuel Richardson (1602 – 1658) and Joanna Thake (1606 – 1666), are my 9th great grandparents.  Interestingly, Elizabeth (Bacon) Richardson’s grandparents, Michael Bacon (1579 – 1648) and Alice Blower (1681 – 1648), are my 11th great grandparents.

For more about this story:

Don't miss Part Two of this blog post:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/a-traitor-in-my-family-tree-yes-part-two.html


The Richardson Memorial: Comprising a Full History and Genealogy of the Posterity of these Three Brothers, Ezekiel, Samuel and Thomas Richardson, by John Adams Vinton, 1876, pages 242-244, page 265.

J.L. Bell, “Ebenezer Richardson Custom’s Informer”, Boston 1775, posted May 22, 2006, (http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2006/05/ebenezer-richardson-customs-informer.html: accessed 22 February 2018).

J. L. Bell, “Ebenezer Richardson as Cause of the American Revolution”, Boston 1775, posted April 9, 2015, (http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2015/04/ebenezer-richardson-as-cause-of.html: accessed 22 February 2018).

My RICHARDSON "Surname Saturday" post:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/01/surname-saturday-richardson-of-woburn.html

My FOWLE "Surname Saturday" post:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/12/surname-saturday-fowle-of-charlestown.html


The image above is from Paul Revere of Boston. The print was copied by Revere from a design by Henry Pelham for an engraving eventually published under the title "The Fruits of Arbitrary Power, or the Bloody Massacre," of which only two impressions could be located by Brigham. Revere's print appeared on or about March 28, 1770. - http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsc.00174, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4415919

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To Cite/Link to this post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “A Traitor in my Family Tree?”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 22, 2018, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/a-traitor-in-my-family-tree.html: accessed [access date]). 

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Weathervane Wednesday ~ Above a Congregational Church

I post another in a series of weather vane photographs every Wednesday.  This started with images of weathervanes from the Londonderry, New Hampshire area, but now I've found interesting weather vanes all across New England and across the globe.  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!  If you know a great weather vane near you, let me know if you'd like to have it featured on this blog.

Today's weather vane was photographed in Vermont.

Do you know the location of weathervane post #351?  Scroll down to find the answer.



This arrow weathervane can be seen atop the steeple of the Congregational Church on the village green in Norwich, Vermont.  This congregation was first gathered in 1770.  A building was built in this location in 1852.  The bell in the steeple is an original Paul Revere bell, purchased in 1817. Last year, 2017, marked the 200th anniversary of this historic bell.


This quintessential New England church in Norwich
was immortalized by painter Maxfield Parrish
"Peaceful Night, Church at Norwich Vermont"
1950


The Norwich Congregational Church website:  http://www.norwichcongregational.org/

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

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ Above a Congregational Church", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 21, 2018, (https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/201/21/weathervane-wednesday-above.html: accessed [access date]).