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Thursday, January 31, 2019

February 2019 Genealogy and Local History 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 2, Saturday, 10am, New Visitor Tour of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, at 99 – 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  Free orientation and tour.  You do not need a membership. Tour attendees are welcome to stay and use the library following the tour.  No registration is necessary.

February 2, Saturday, 10am – 2pm, Open Hearth Cooking Classes, at Historic Deerfield, 80 Old Main Street, Deerfield, Massachusetts.  Tickets available at www.historic-deerfield.org  $60 members, $65 non-members.

February 2, Saturday, 10am – 4pm, Dawnland Storyfest, at the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, 18 Highlawn Road, Warner, New Hampshire.  Native American storytelling.  Free to the public. For more information visit www.indianmuseum.org 

February 2, Saturday, 10am - noon, DNA for Genealogy Roundtable, at the Cos Cob Library, 5 Sinawoy Road, Cos Cob, Connecticut.  Hosted by the Connecticut Ancestry Society. Free to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Snow date, February 9th. 

February 2, Saturday, 2pm or 3pm or 4pm, Movie Showing: The Concord Coach: A New Hampshire Legacy, at the New Hampshire Historical Society, 30 Park Street, Concord, New Hampshire.  A documentary film written and directed by Rebecca Howland, celebrating the history of the Abbot-Downing Company and the iconic Concord coaches.  45 minute film in included in the price of admission, $7 for non-members. 

February 3, Sunday, A Visit with Queen Victoria, at the Lawrence Barn, 28 Depot Road, Hollis, New Hampshire.  Hosted by the Hollis Social Library.  Presented by living historian Sally Mummey in proper 19th century clothing resplendent with Royal Orders.  Snow date February 10th.  Free to the public.

February 4, Monday, 6pm, Mentioning Unmentionables: An Exploration of Victorian Underclothes, at the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  Free to the public, please register at www.masshist.org  Presented by period textile specialist Astrida Schaeffer.  There will be a pre-talk reception at 5:30 for those with tickets from the website.

February 4, Monday, 7pm, Shipwrecks of Cape Cod, at the Thomas Crane Public Library, 40 Washington Street, Quincy, Massachusetts.  Presented by Cape Cod Historian and author Don Wilding for a look at the wrecks of the Castagna, The Francis, the Montclair, the Jason, the Portland, and many more. 

February 5, Tuesday, 6pm, Boston By Map, at the Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  Hosted by the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center. Free class, first come first serve (limited seating). 

February 5, Tuesday, 6:30pm, The Turbulent Origins of the US Constitution, at the Exeter Historical Society. 47 Front Street, Exeter, New Hampshire. www.exeterhistory.org  Suggested donation $5 for non-members.  Free to the public.  Refreshments at 6:30pm, program at 7pm.

February 6, Wednesday, 6pm, Cumming Center Walking Tour II, at the Cumming Center, Beverly, Massachusetts, hosted by Historic Beverly.  $10 or free for members. Part II of the tour in January will cover the 100 Building of the former United Shoe Machinery Corporation facility, the former Medical Center, and topics such as immigration, the life of a USMC worker, and life "after the Shoe".  

February 9, Saturday, 10am - 1pm, Old York Family Program: Silhouettes and Valentines, at the Old York Historical Society, 3 Lindsay Road, York, Maine. Tickets at oldyork.givezooks.com  Tickets only for silhousette sitters, each takes ten minutes to cut. Please request a time with Kathleen at 207-363-4974 x 104.  Tickets are $25 or $20 members.  

February 9, Saturday, 11am, Lecture: The Amoskeag Ledge, at the Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford Street, Manchester, New Hampshire. Free with regular admission.  Free to Manchester Historic Association members. An illustrated talk by local historian and MHA president Ed Brouder about the quarry atop Company Hill (now known as Derryfield Park).  Learn about the Ledge, remember the Brownies who swam in the quarry year round, and discover a powerful 20th century socialite.

February 9, Saturday, 11am, A Visit with Abraham Lincoln, at the Pierce Manse, 14 Horseshoe Pond Lane, Concord, New Hampshire. Hosted by Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.  Steve Wood portrays President Lincoln by recounting his early life and ends with a reading of “The Gettysburg Address”.  Free to the public.

February 9, Saturday, 1pm, Curator's Tour: Signs of the Times, at the New Hampshire Historical Society, 30 Park Street, Concord, New Hampshire.  Tour is included with the price of admission, $7 for nonmembers. 

February 9, Saturday, 1:30pm, Digging Deeper with Military, Pension and Probate Records, at the Goodnow Library, 21 Concord Road, Sudbury, Massachusetts. Sponsored by the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists Middlesex Chapter, and presented by genealogist Diane MacLean Boumenot.  Free and open to the public.  http://www.msoginc.org 

February 9, Saturday, 11am, Witches and Bitches: The Badass Women of Beverly Virtual Walking Tour, at the Historic Beverly Memorial Hall in the Cabot House, 117 Cabot Street, Beverly, Massachusetts.  Enjoy the virtual walking tour from the comforts of a chair at the Cabot House. Learn about the women who stole from the clergy, sat on their neighbors in church, confessed to witchcraft, and tormented their neighbors cows. $10 or free for members. 

February 11, Monday, World War II in New Hampshire, at the Amherst Congregational Church, 11 Church Street, Amherst, New Hampshire. Hosted by the Historical Society of Amherst and a documentary presented by John Gfoerer.  Free to the public through a grant from the NH Humanities Council.

February 11, Monday, 6pm, Lincoln and the Jews: A History, at the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Pre-talk reception at 5:30.  Free to the public.  Please register with a free a ticket at www.masshist.org  Presented by historian Jonathan D. Sarna of Brandeis University.

February 12, Tuesday, 7pm, The Vietnam War: Veteran Voices, at the Elkins Public Library, 9 Center Road, Canterbury, New Hampshire. This program was rescheduled from October 30, 2018. A 21 minute video features war stories told by American, North Vietnamese, and South Vietnamese soldiers, with a discussion facilitated by Bill Donoghue. Free to the public.

February 13, Wednesday, noon, Using AmericanAncestors.org at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 99 – 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  Presented by the NEHGS Web Team. Free to the public. Please pre-register at www.americanancestors.org

February 13, Wednesday, 6:30pm, Harnessing History:  On the Trail of New Hampshire’s Sate Dog, the Chinook.  At the Belknap Mill, 25 Beacon Street East, Laconia, New Hampshire.  Presented by Bob Cottrell.  Free to the public.

February 13, Wednesday, 7pm, New England Quilts and the Stories They Tell, at the George Holmes Bixby Memorial Library, 52 Main Street, Francestown, New Hampshire. Presented by Pam Weeks.  Participants are invited to bring one quilt for identification and/or story sharing. Free to the public.

February 14, 15, and 16th, 7pm, Unconditional Love: The Letters of John & Abigail Adams, at the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, Boston, Massachusetts. For tickets and information call 617-338-1173. $39 ticket or $69 per couple includes one glass of champagne, sparkling cider, wine or beer per person, plus freshly brewed tea and a selection of fruit and cheeses.  3 Performances February 14, 15 and 16.  Doors open at 6:30, show begins at 7pm.

February 16, Saturday, 10am – 1pm, A Revolutionary Spinning Bee:  NHS History Space Event, at the Old Colony House, 82 Touro Street, Newport, Rhode Island.  Sponsored by the Newport Historical Society. www.newporthistory.org A team of living historians will portray the Daughters of Liberty as they recreate one of the political protest spinning bees from the Revolutionary War. Learn why the women took the time to make homespun fabric instead of purchasing it. Free to the public.

February 18, Monday, 10am - 2pm, Establishment Day, at the Pilgrim Hall Museum, 75 Court Street, Plymouth, Massachusetts.  Hosted by the New Plimmoth Gard. On this date in 1621 the men of Plymouth first organized their militia. Ceremonial election of officers, read the Plymouth militia rules, display of weapons and other reproduction items. Weather permitting the New Plimmoth Gard will conduct pike and musket drills (including firing muskets) on the museum front steps. Included with museum admission.  Family friendly. 

February 18, Monday, 1pm, A Visit With Abraham Lincoln, at the Concord Museum, 200 Lexington Road, Concord, Massachusetts. Presented by living historian Steve Wood as President Lincoln.  Admission charge.

February 18, Monday, 6pm, “Separate:  The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson”, at the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Tickets at www.masshist.org  Presented by Steve Luxenberg at the Washington Post.  Pre-talk reception at 5:30.  Please register at the link. 

February 19, Tuesday, 6pm, Abby Hutchinson’s Sweet Freedom Songs: Songs and Stories of the Struggle for Abolition and Woman Suffrage, at the Goffstown Public Library, 2 High Street, Goffstown, New Hampshire. Free to the public. Presented by re-enactor Deborah Ann Goss as Abby Hutchinson Patton.

February 20, Saturday, 10am, New Visitor Tour of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, at 99 – 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  Free orientation and tour.  You do not need a membership. Tour attendees are welcome to stay and use the library following the tour.  No registration is necessary

February 20, Wednesday, 6pm, New England Quilts and the Stories They Tell, at the Chichester Town Hall, 54 Main Street, Chichester, New Hampshire. Free to the public.  Presented by Pam Weeks. Participants are invited to bring one quilt for identification and/or story telling.

February 20, Wednesday, 6pm, Fish Flake Hill Virtual Walking Tour, at the Historic Beverly Memorial Hall at the Cabot House, 117 Cabot Street, Beverly, Massachusetts. $10 or free for members.  No walking required! Journey via slide show past the historic structures in the oldest part of Beverly, the site of Revolutionary War and maritime industries, and home to many merchants and sea captains.  

February 23 and 24, Fall River Historic Photo Club Exhibit, at the Lafayette-Durfee House, 94 Cherry Street, Fall River, Massachusetts. 

February 22, Friday, 11am, 1 pm, 2pm or 3pm, Washington’s Birthday Tours of the Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Space is limited, so please reserve your spot 617-876-4491 or email reservationsat105@gmail.com. 

February 23, Friday, 6pm, Old York Tavern Dinner with Chef Jason Miller, at the Old York Historical Society, 3 Lindsay Road, York, Maine. Sponsored by the Old York Historical Society, tickets at oldyork.givezooks.com 

February 22, Friday, 7pm, Huzzah!  Tavern Night!, at the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, Boston, Massachusetts.  Revel with Sam Adams, John Hancock, Dorothy Quincy and other prominent Bostonians. Sample rustic fare, play authentic games, sing, and determine the fate of Colonial America! Family Friendly. Tickets at www.trustedtours.com

February 23, Saturday, 10am, Longfellow Birthday Celebration, hosted by the Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site and by the Mount Auburn Cemetery, 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Christopher Phillips will portray Henry’s brother Sam Longfellow and share stories.  The lecture will be followed by birthday cake, and weather permitting, a visit to the Longfellow family tomb.

February 23, Saturday, 2pm - 5pm, Did German Subs Enter Portsmouth Harbor During World War II, at the Portsmouth Public Library, 175 Parrott Avenue, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Hosted by the USS Albacore Submarine and Museum. Presented by Carol White. Free to the public. 

February 28, Thursday, 7pm, New England Lighthouses and the People Who Kept Them, at the Madbury Town Hall, 13 Town Hall Road, Madbury, New Hampshire. Presented by lighthouse historian and author Jeremy D’Entremont.  Free to the public.  Snow date of March 7 if necessary.

February 28, Thursday, 7:30pm, Picturing Maine: Life, Labor, and Landscape, 1840 – 1940, at the Berwick Academy Arts Center, Berwick, Maine. Hosted by the Old Berwick Historical Society. A richly illustrated lecture by Dr. Libby Bischof.  Free to the public.

Coming soon!

March 5, Tuesday, 2pm, Family, Memory, Place: Writing Family Stories, at the Pease Public Library, 1 Russell Street, Plymouth, New Hampshire.  An interactive workshop led by Maura MacNeil.  Free to the public.

 March 9, Saturday,  Telling Your Family Story, at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications, 749 East Industrial Park Drive, Manchester, New Hampshire.  $60 fee for the workshop, including lunch.  Instructors include media professionals who tell New Hampshire stories, historians, videographers, and an archivist to offer tips on preserving and protecting photos and family papers.  Register online http://www.loebschool.org/application-form.asp  or call for information 603-627-0005 




March 16, 2019, Saturday, History Camp Boston, at Suffolk University Law School, across from the Old Granary Burying Ground, in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. See the website for more information and registration. http://historycamp.org/boston?fbclid=IwAR1iGXontgxTK4ogaN7xfy46sifH8I-RJrljRcAR2YKeBRdCwWq9tjKkJs8    
 March 16, Saturday, 9am – 5pm, Deerfield-Wellesley Symposium 2019: New England Travels, at Historic Deerfield, 80 Old Main Street, Deerfield, Massachusetts.  Free day-long symposium explores the art and material culture of New England travel from 1700 – 1950. 



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 Zaandam, departing Boston on August 10 for a 7 night trip to Canada, ports include Montreal, Quebec City, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island), Sydney, Halifax, Bar Harbor, and Boston, Massachusetts. 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 


Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Weathervane Wednesday ~ Weathervanes in Boston, England

I posted a series of weather vane photographs every Wednesday for the last several years.  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.  This is the last weathervane post of the series!  I hope you've enjoyed these Weathervane Wednesday posts. 

Today's weather vanes were photographed in England.

Do you know the location of weathervane post #400?  Scroll down to find the answer.




These weathervanes were photographed on the tower above the "Boston Stump" or St. Botolph's church,  in Boston, Lincolnshire, England.  The name of the town "Boston" is thought to derive from "St. Botolph's town".  We were visiting Boston during our tour of England and Holland with the General Society of Mayflower Descendants Historic Sites Tour last year.

There appear to be eight weathervanes on the octagonal tower above the church.  Each is a gilded banner, and very shiny in the sunlight.  However, the tower is extremely tall at 272 feet height, and we could only see these weathervanes using the zoom lens on the camera.  You can see the sunlight glinting off the banners from a great distance.  This tower is so tall, sailors at sea use it as a landmark!



There is a "Puritan Path" of markers outside the
church, memorializing the Puritans who left
Lincolnshire for Boston, Massachusetts

"1630 John Cotton bids farewell to his parishoners on the the Arbella"

This church is very important in New England history.  The Puritan leader Rev. John Cotton was a vicar at St. Botolphs in the 17th century.  He encouraged a large number of his congregation, on board the ship Arbella and other ships in the Winthrop Fleet, to leave for New England in 1630.  By 1633 Rev. Cotton also left, and he founded and named Boston, Massachusetts.  There is a Cotton Chapel inside St. Botolph's church now, as well as a model of the Mayflower (the Pilgrim Fathers were imprisoned in Boston for trying to escape to Holland).   I had several ancestors believed to have been on board the Arbella, including Samuel and William Chesebrough, William Beamsley, Edward Converse, Mattias Irons, Edmund Lockwood, Thomas Mayhew, and Ezekiel Richardson.

Five men from Boston, England became Governors of Massachusetts - Richard Bellingham, Thomas Dudley, Simon Bradstreet, John Leverett and Francis Bernard.

I think that this church and it's weathervanes are a nice way to wrap up this series of 400 weathervane posts for "Weathervane Wednesday".  I can't think of a town or church in England that influenced migration and family history as much as the "Boston Stump".

I hope you enjoyed this series!

Click here to read about our day in Boston, Lincolnshire, England:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/11/along-pilgrim-trail-boston-lincolnshire.html

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ Weathervanes in Boston, England", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 30, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/weathervane-wednesday-weathervanes-in_23.html: accessed [access date]). 

Saturday, January 26, 2019

WEIR - Early Nutfield Settler

The Governor Shute Petition for Nutfield

[Note:  I will be doing a series of genealogical sketches on the early Nutfield settlers in advance of the 300th anniversary of Nutfield for Founders Day, April 12 - 14, 2019 in Derry, New Hampshire.  If you have additional notes on the first few generations of this family, please comment below or send me an email at vrojomit@gmail.com, and I will edit this sketch.  These sketches will be used and distributed to the public and to descendants at the Founders Day activities.]

WEIR – Descendants of Nutfield Settler Robert Weir
Alternative spellings WEIR / WEAR / WARE

Robert Weir, a Scots Irish settler from Northern Ireland, arrived in New England with the Rev. James McGregor in 1718.  This group of Ulster Scots first went to Casco in Maine, but spent a miserable winter there.  In the spring they went up the Merrimack River to Haverhill.  Robert Weir and James Gregg petitioned the Governor of Massachusetts for permission to settle on land fifteen miles north of Haverhill in New Hampshire.  He was one of the sixteen men who accompanied Rev. McGregor to see the land, which they called “Nutfield”.  The New Hampshire general court called them (24 September 1719) “a company of Irish at Nutfield”.  In 1722 this land was chartered as Londonderry.   Robert Weir became the first sheriff of Londonderry.  His lot was adjacent to the meetinghouse and Robert MacGregor’s lot.

Robert Weir was born about 1682 in Northern Ireland and died 1726 in Londonderry, New Hampshire.  He was married to Martha Reid (?) about 1706 in Ireland. 

Children: 

      1.       John, born about 1700 in Northern Ireland, died in Warrington Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania; married to an unknown spouse. Three sons:  Samuel, Hugh and James

      2.       Robert, born in Northern Ireland, died after 1789 in Sevier County, Tennessee.  Married to Rebecca Carrell in 1740 in Northampton, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  Children:  John (married Nancy Moore), Samuel (married Polly Thompson and Margaret Gilliland), Rebecca (married John Moore and Robert Lowry), and Elizabeth.  Buried at the Fort Wear Cemetery in Tennessee.

      3.       Elizabeth, born in Londonderry 4 November 1723 [Vital Records of Londonderry, New Hampshire, 1719 – 1910]. She married William Thone. Children:  Agnes, Jennet, John, William, Samuel, Isaac, and Benjamin

      4.       James, married Jane.  Children:  Robert (married Mary Walker), Jane (married Thomas Kelso), Hannah (married Edward Hay), John, Mary (married Robert Flack in Pennsylvania), and Ann.    

      5.       William

For more information:

Notable Southern Families, by Zella Armstrong, 1918, Volume 1, pages 16 – 19.

Scotch Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America, by Charles Knowles Bolton, 1910, pages 248,  264

“Scotch Irish Settlers in New Hampshire, 1719 – 1776”, by William Copely, in Historical New Hampshire, New Hampshire Historical Society, Volume 50, pages 213 – 228.

Clan Douglas Society of North America (septs Blackwood and Weir)


Click here for links to the sketches of all sixteen first Nutfield settlers: 
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/p/nutfields-first-16-settlers.html 


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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "WEIR - Early Nutfield Settler", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 26, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/weir-early-nutfield-settler.html: accessed [access date]).

Friday, January 25, 2019

MacGREGOR - Early Nutfield Settler

The tombstone of Rev. and Mrs. James McGregore
Forest Hill Cemetery, East Derry, New Hampshire


[Note:  I will be doing a series of genealogical sketches on the early Nutfield settlers in advance of the 300th anniversary of Founders Day, April 12 - 14, 2019 in Derry, New Hampshire.  If you have additional notes on the first few generations of this family, please comment below or send me an email at vrojomit@gmail.com, and I will edit this sketch.  These sketches will be used and distributed to the public and to descendants at the Founders Day activities.]

MacGregor – Descendants of Rev. James MacGregor of Nutfield
alternate spellings: MacGregor / McGregor / MacGregore / and possibly Greg / Gregg / 

The Reverend James MacGregor, born about 1677, was the pastor of the Aghadowey Presbyterian church in Northern Ireland.  He was the son of a military Captain, but his parents are unknown.  MacGregor often mentioned he was from Magilligan, but it is unknown if he was born there, or just grew up near there.  Rev. MacGregor would have been about age 12 during the Siege of Londonderry, and stories say that he was the young boy who fired the cannon that signaled the end of the siege.

 There is no record of James McGregor matriculating or graduating at the University of Glasgow, according to their archivist.  Since the name McGregor was outlawed in Scotland during the time he would have attended (1693 – 1784) he might have used an alias [A James Greg graduated in 1696].  

Rev. MacGregor was ordained at Aghadowey in 1701, and then brought his flock to New England in 1718, and founded Nutfield (Londonderry) in April 1719.  Because he brought members of his parish with him, he is often referred to as the "Moses of the Ulster Scots".   He married Marion Cargill, daughter of David Cargill, in Londonderry, Ireland on 29 March 1706. He died in Londonderry on 5 March 1729, and she died there on 1 January 1735/6.  They are buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery behind the First Parish Meetinghouse, the parish he founded in 1719. 

Children:

     1.       Robert
     2.       Daniel
     3.       David, born in Ireland on 6 November 1710, married Mary Boyd, and became a minister like his father.  He died 30 May 1777 at age 68.  Mary died 28 September 1793 at age 70.  Nine children – David, Robert (married Elizabeth Reid, daughter of General Georg Reid, settled in Goffstown), David (graduated Dartmouth, was a Captain in the Revolutionary War), James (married Margaret Holland, daughter of Colonel Stephen Holland), Elizabeth, Margaret (married James Rogers), Mary Anne (married James Hopkins), Jane (married Robert Hunter), Mary (married Robert Means of Amherst)
     4.       Jane
     5.       Alexander, had a daughter Susannah (1742 – 1817) who married Thomas Burnside. A grandson was Major-General Ambrose Everett Burnside of the Civil War.
     6.       Mary, married James Paul, daughter Mary married John Weir.
     7.       Elizabeth
     8.       Margaret
     9.       John
    10.   James

For more information:

“The Presbyterians of Magilligan Ancestral Guide 1600 – 1900”, by Stephen McCracken and Fiona Pegrum, 2019

Clan Gregor Society:  http://www.clangregor.com/  

MacGregor/ Gregor DNA Project at Family Tree DNA

Aghadowey: A Parish and its Linen Industry, by Rev. T. H. Mullin, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1972

The History of Londonderry, by Rev. Edward Lutwyche Parker, 1851  


Click here for links to the sketches of all sixteen first Nutfield settlers: 
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/p/nutfields-first-16-settlers.html 


Also:
Thank you to Stephen McCracken of the Facebook page "1718 Society" for pointing me to some additional resources for the genealogy of Rev. James MacGregor. 

Window inside the
First Parish Meetinghouse
memorializing
Rev. James McGregor,
Marion Cargil,
Rev. David MacGregor,
and Mary Boyd.


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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "MacGREGOR - Early Nutfield Settler", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 25, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/macgregor-early-nutfield-settler.html: accessed [access date]). 

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Throwback Thursday ~ Honeymoon in Vermont and New Hampshire 1983

 A few weeks ago Vincent retired from working at the same company for almost 35 years.  He has a lot of plans for projects, including scanning our collection of slides.  We have an entire floor to ceiling bookcase of slide carousels from his parents, my parents, and from our early college and married years. Santa bought him a nice slide scanner, and this week he started using it.

The first slides he chose to scan were our honeymoon photos.  We drove from Holden, Massachusetts where we were married to Quebec and Montreal, Canada for our wedding trip, including stops in New Hampshire and Vermont.   

Here are the first scans.  Does anyone know how to correct the ugly yellow tinge to the film? We were poor starving students in those days, and we used to order cheap film from Seattle Filmworks instead of buying Kodak film.  We also sent the film to Seattle Filmworks for processing because it was the cheapest option.  We are paying the price now 35 years later.

These photos are of our overnight at the Hanover Inn on the campus of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.  We were married on a Saturday, just before the 4th of July.  The only thing I remember about this inn was that there were fireworks in the sky as we drove into Hanover.

The Hanover Inn, 1983

Our honeymoon suite

Don't you just love the TV? and the fancy luggage?

1983 Selfie!

Quechee Gorge, Vermont

Smuggler's Notch, Vermont

The Trap Family Lodge, Stowe Vermont

Yours Truly, Stowe, Vermont


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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Throwback Thursday ~ Honeymoon in Vermont 1983", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 24, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/throwback-thursday-honeymoon-in-vermont.html: accessed [access date]). 

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Weathervane Wednesday ~ Weathervanes of a famous English University

I posted 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.  This series is drawing to a close next week when I publish my 400th weathervane post!

Today's weather vanes were photographed in England.

Do you know the location of weathervane post #399?  Scroll down to find the answer.



These weathervanes were photographed when we toured Cambridge University in England as part of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants Historic Sites Tour in 2017.  We visited Cambridge because the passenger William Brewster attended Peterhouse College at Cambridge.  And the pastor to the Pilgrims, Rev. John Robinson, my 11th great grandfather on both my maternal and paternal sides of the family tree, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1596 from Corpus Christi College and he earned his Master of Arts in 1599. 

This weathervane and the two below are just interesting banner weathervanes we spotted as we wandered the streets of Cambridge.  I'm not sure what the buildings are, but they are part of the University.

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These two weathervanes were on two buildings directly across the lane from famous Eagle pub where Watson and Crick relaxed in between their research on DNA at Cambridge University.  You can read more about our visit to this pub at this link:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/04/where-did-watson-and-crick-hang-out.html   

I love the dragon weathervane, and I'm sure there is a story to this choice, but I couldn't find it.  The banner weathervane next door appears to have a design embossed into the metalwork, but it is impossible to see if it is just decorative, or perhaps it is numbers or words? 

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This odd weathervane was above the tower of St. Benet's Parish Church.  I can't decide if this is a banner style weathervane, or perhaps a wind paddle with an interesting counterweight.  This is the oldest church in Cambridgeshire, and the oldest building in the town of Cambridge.  The tower was probably built between 1000 AD and 1050 AD.  It is next to Corpus Christi College at Cambridge University. 



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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ Weathervanes of a famous English University", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 23, 2019,(https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/weathervane-wednesday-weathervanes-of.html: accessed [access date]). 

Monday, January 21, 2019

Upcoming Nutfield Settlers Series and Nutfield 300th Anniversary Events!

First Church in East Derry, New Hampshire

Preparations are being made for the upcoming 300th Anniversary of Nutfield celebrations in Derry, Londonderry, Windham and Derryfield (Manchester), New Hampshire!  We will be celebrating the first permanent Scots Irish settlement in the New World.  The first big event will be the Founder’s Weekend April 12 – 14, 2019 at the First Parish Church (Rev. James MacGregor’s parish) and across the street at the Upper Village Hall in East Derry, New Hampshire.  Watch for registration information and specific schedules of events coming soon.

If you haven’t seen the brochure yet for the 300th Anniversary (a whole year’s worth of events in four towns!), click here…
(Print it out! It’s a two sided bifold)

Yesterday three new videos about the 1718 migration and the 1719 founding of Nutfield was made public.  These videos were produced by our partners the Ulster-Scots Agency in Northern Ireland.  You can find all three videos, and an introductory video by Richard Hanna, Director of Education and Language for the Ulster-Scots Agency.  In the Nutfield video you can see me on screen for about five seconds!  You can view them at this link:

In the next few months I will be publishing sketches of the first sixteen families to settle Nutfield at this blog.  Stay tuned for all the new posts!  When I finish that series, I will be posting similar posts on some of the other early Scots-Irish families that settled Nutfield (Londonderry).  For a complete list of those first sixteen families, click here: 

To keep up with the latest information on what’s happening, see the Nutfield 300th website: 

Nutfield 300th Facebook group:   https://www.facebook.com/Nutfield300th/ 

Or my own Nutfield Genealogy Facebook group:  https://www.facebook.com/nutfield.gen/

I’m especially interested in meeting (in person and online) with descendants who are interested in attending, planning, and meeting up with cousins and other descendants of Nutfield settlers during Founder’s Weekend in April. We are planning a fun reunion for everyone who is a Nutfield (or Londonderry, Derry, Windham or Derryfield) descendant as part of this weekend.  If you are planning to attend, or if you cannot attend but would like to receive the information, please register at this link:
https://www.nutfieldhistory.org/family-outreach/   

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Upcoming Nutfield Settlers Series and Nutfield 300th Anniversary Events!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 21, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/upcoming-nutfield-settlers-series-and.html: accessed [access date]).  

Friday, January 18, 2019

Were Your Ancestors Founding Members of the First Church of Salem?

First Church,
Salem, Massachusetts


On 6 August 1629 the following thirty men in Salem, Massachusetts signed the covenant to establish the First Church.  The Records of the First Church in Salem states “A Catalogue of the names of those person that are joined in full Comunyon.”  At the bottom of this post I’ve transcribed the spellings exactly as spelled in the book. 

According to the website for the First Church in Salem (now a Unitarian Universalist Congregation) "thirty of the newly arrived Puritan settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony gathered together to form a church on August 6, 1629.  Among the members present were Roger Conant, the founder of Salem, and John Endicott, the first Governor of the Colony.  On that day, the church called two Puritan ministers who had made the voyage from England with the other colonists.  The Rev. Samuel Skelton became the church's first Pastor and the Rev. Francis Higginson was called as the church's first Teacher.  it was Rev. Higginson who composed the now famous Salem Covenant at its founding, the very same covenant that has been used by each generation of church members down through the centuries and is recited even today during the weekly Sunday services:


We Covenat with the Lord and one with another,
And doe bynd our selves together in the presence of God,
To walke to gether in all His waies,
According as he is pleased to reveale him self unto us,
In his Blessed worth of truth."


I was surprised to see how many ancestors I had in this list, as well as Rev. Samuel Skelton (1593 - 1634), who is my 10th great grandfather.   I’ve highlighted the names that are my ancestors. You might want to see how many you have on this list, too! 

   1.     Samuell Sharp
   2.     John Endecott
   3.     Phillip Veren
   4.     Hugh Laskin
   5.     Roger Connant
   6.     Laurance Leach
   7.     William Auger
   8.     Francis Johnson
   9.     Thomas Eborne
  10. George Williams
  11. George Norton
  12. Henry Herricke
  13. Peeter Palfye
  14. Roger Maurye
  15. Thomas Gardner
  16. John Sibly
  17. John Baulch
  18. Samuell Moore
  19. John Holgrove
  20. Ralph Fogge
  21. John Horne
  22. John Woodberye
  23. William Traske
  24. Townsend Bishop
  25. Thomas Read
  26. Richard Rayment
  27. Jeffry Massy
  28. Edmond Batter
  29. Elias Sileman
  30. Edmond Giles

The book The Records of the First Church in Salem also lists the names of the men and women who signed the covenant up until 1659.  I found many, many ancestors and relatives on these lists.  You might want to check these lists, too.

Click here to see the book The Records of the First Church in Salem, pages 1 – 41 (including baptisms up to 1692):



For the truly curious:
The Records of the First Church in Salem Massachusetts 1629 - 1736, edited by Richard D. Pierce, 1974

The First Church, Salem, Massachusetts website:  http://www.firstchurchinsalem.org/


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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Were Your Ancestors Founding Members of the First Church of Salem?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 18, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/were-your-ancestors-founding-members-of.html: accessed [access date]).