Every time I heard the phrase “Batchelder Tiles” I was sure
that these Arts and Crafts era decorative tiles were made by a distant cousin.
I know the name Batchelder is fairly uncommon, but in New Hampshire there are a
huge number of Batchelder descendants from the Reverend Stephen Batchelder. He had ten children, and dozens and dozens of
grandchildren born in New England who left even more descendants. The 1898
Batchelder genealogy book written by Frederick Clifton Pierce is enormous, with
over 600 pages.
I started off by using Google, and was delighted to learn
that these famous tiles were designed and manufactured by Ernest Allan
Batchelder (1876 - 1957) born in Nashua, New Hampshire!
I was so happy to find a cousin! As I traced his family back to nearby Francestown, I was sure I found a descendant of Rev. Stephen Batchelder. Or so I thought until I continued to follow his line in the Pierce book and on Ancestry, and checked the
clues against vital records and other primary sources. Can you believe that his lineage did NOT come
from Rev. Stephen, but from Joseph Batcheller (1604 – 1647), an early settler
at Wenham, in Essex County, Massachusetts.
I should have not been so cocky. I’ve owned Pierce’s book about the Batchelder
genealogy, and it covers not only Rev. Stephen’s descendants, but also the
brothers Joseph, Henry, Joshua and John Batchelder of Essex County,
Massachusetts. I’ve run into marriages
from both lineages in my own family history research, and know many people who
descend from the Massachusetts Batcheller/Batchelders.
So this is a cautionary tale! Never take for granted that someone is a
cousin, no matter how unusual the surname, and always check the primary sources
against lineages you see online.
I also learned a lot about the Batchelder tiles while researching
Ernest Allan Batchelder’s family. These
beautiful tiles are very common out west, especially in California, and are
collectible treasures for restoring Arts and Crafts style homes. Entire rooms were designed around these
tiles, especially the fireplaces. They
feature neutral colors, often with animals, flowers and birds. Some of the tiles are geometric and others
have Mayan motifs. Their designs have stood the test of time, and have remained
popular for generations. (Scroll down to the bottom of this blog post for a peek at some Batchelder tiles)
Batchelder went to the Massachusetts Normal Art School, and
removed to Pasadena, California to teach at the Throop Polytechnic Institute (now
the California Institute of Technology).
As a hobby, Batchelder built a kiln in his Pasadena backyard in 1909 to
hand craft tiles.
Over time Ernest Batchelder wrote two books on architecture and design. His tile making business went bankrupt
during the depression when the house building market dried up. He closed his business in 1932, but continued
to dabble in pottery as a hobby until the 1950s. His house in Pasadena is on
the National Register of Historic Places, and is decorated with Batchelder
tiles inside and out on the chimney and the front walkway. The house is privately owned, and not open to
the public.
Although I was not related to Ernest Batchelder's paternal line, I am related through his Sleeper, Kimball and Whipple maternal ancestors. Here are some of the resources I used to puzzle out the genealogy for Ernest Allan Batchelder’s genealogy:
Although I was not related to Ernest Batchelder's paternal line, I am related through his Sleeper, Kimball and Whipple maternal ancestors. Here are some of the resources I used to puzzle out the genealogy for Ernest Allan Batchelder’s genealogy:
Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org for the NH vital records
and records from other states
Batchelder Bachellor Genealogy: Descendants of Rev.
Stephen Bachiler, of England, a leading non-conformist, who settled the town of
New Hampton, N.H., and Joseph, Henry, Joshua, and John Batcheller of Essex Co.,
Massachusetts, by Frederick Clifton Pierce, 1898. Available online at the HathiTrust website
and by subscription at the Ancestry.com website.
The Genealogy of the Batchelder Family of Hampton, New
Hampshire by Charles Hull Batchelder, edited and prepared by Carl W. Brage in
1985, at the Lane Memorial Library of Hampton, New Hampshire website: http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/genealog/batchelder/index.htm
Batchelder Tile Registry at the Pasadena Museum of
History: https://pasadenahistory.org/research-and-collections/batchelder-registry/
A book about Ernest Allan Batchelder Batchelder
Tilemaker, was written by Robert Winter in 1999. There is no preview on Google Books or Amazon
of this book. You can read more about
this book at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Batchelder-Tilemaker-Robert-Winter/dp/1890449032
or at AbeBooks.com https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/batchelder-tilemaker/author/robert-winter/
To see the original Batchelder Tile Catalog, look at the “Tile
Nut” website: http://www.tilenut.com/Batchelder/index2.html
Genealogy:
Generation 1: Joseph Batcheller,
was born 1604 in Canterbury, Kent, England, and died March 1647 in Wenham,
Massachusetts; married in 1628 in Thangington, Kent, England to Elizabeth
Dickenson.
Generation 2: John Batchelder, was born 20 January 1638 in
Salem, Massachusetts; died 17 December 1698 in Wenham, Massachusetts; married
first on 12 July 1661 to Mary Dennis who died in 1665; married second on 4 May
1666 in Salem to Sarah Goodale, daughter of Richard Goodale and Dorothy
Whiterent, mother of fourteen children.
She was born 31 May 1640 in Salem and died 22 March 1729. John
Batcheller/Batchelder was involved in the 1692 witch trials as a juror. He signed a statement asking for forgiveness
for their judgement “we have been instrumental, with others, through
ignorantly and unwittingly, to bring upon ourselves and this people of the Lord
the guilt of innocent blood”.
Generation 3: David Batchelder, was born April 1673 in
Wenham, Massachusetts; died 29 January 1766 in Wenham; married first on 7 May
1709 in Wenham to Susannah Whipple, daughter of Colonel Joseph Whipple and
Alice Smith. She was born 3 April 1676,
Ipswich, Massachusetts and died 13 June 1764 in Wenham, Massachusetts (mother
of nine children including Amos Batchelder).
Married second to Thankful Perham (nine more children!)
Generation 4: Amos Batchelder,was born 6 April 1727 in Wenham, Massachusetts,
died 4 May 1809 in Wenham; married on 18 December 1752 to Lydia Lord
Kimball. She was born 3 June 1734 in
Wenham, and died 26 November 1813.
Generation 5: Amos Batchelder, was born 17 December 1761 in
Wenham, Massachusetts; died 20 September 1843 in Francestown, New Hampshire; married
on 9 June 1786 in Wenham to Hudah Kimball.
She was born 25 January 1764 in Wenham, and died 14 February 1846 in
Francestown.
Generation 7: Levi Batchelder, was born 20 December 1798 in
Francestown, New Hampshire, died 14 June 1875; married on 7 March 1826 in
Francestown to Parmelia Batch.
Generation 8: Elbridge Kimball Batchelder, was born 13 May 1826 in Francestown,New Hampshire; died 2
April 1900 in New Hampshire; married on 13 December 1849 in Francestown, New
Hampshire to Cornelia Ann Vose. Three
sons.
Generation 9: Charles Levi Batchelder, was born 24 June 1851
in Francestown, New Hampshire, died 30 May 1906; married first on 26 November
1873 in Boston to Mary A. Sleeper; married second on 15 December 1882 to Etta Mary
(Perkins) Spurling (mother of Ernest Allan Batchelder).
Generation 10: Ernest
Allan Batchelder, was born 22 January 1876 in Nashua, New Hampshire, died 6
August 1957 in Los Angeles County, California.
He married on 30 July 1912 in Pasadena, California to Alice Emma
Coleman, born 27 July 1873 in Beatrice, Gage County Nebraska, died 17 June 1948
in Los Angeles. They had a son, Alan
Coleman Batchelder born 4 August 1914 in Pasadena.
---------------------------Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Ernest Allan Batchelder, Tilemaker (1875 – 1957) – A Cautionary Genealogy Tale!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 6, 2020, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/02/ernest-allan-batchelder-tilemaker-1875.html: accessed [access date]).
What a fun post. I, too, have run into a familiar or famous surname and thought, here's a new cousin!
ReplyDeleteOccasionally I have been able to find a real connection, like with "Oz" author L Frank Baum (you can read about that here (http://robtsfamily.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-wonder-is-always-and-always.html); sometimes it needs following up, like my possible connection to Evelyn Waugh (https://robtsfamily.blogspot.com/2014/02/writing-and-talk-do-not-prove-me.html).
The examples of absolute misses are too numerous to list, though!
Great post Heather....I will see if I find something in the newspapers and forward to you.
ReplyDeleteLoved your post...I just found out tonight that I am descended from the Rev Stephen Bachiler and the moment I heard that name, and saw how his daughter's name started changing (to Bachelder) I just couldn't help but wonder if there was a connection to the person who started the famous Tile company back in the day. I also saw a picture of a wooden chair that had belonged to the Rev Bachiler that had carved designs very reminiscent of those beautiful tiles...and YES, I am a huge fan of Brett Waterman and his show "Restored"! You and I were on the same page, but you did all the hard work of the genie research...good on you for doing that! I really enjoyed this post and I even shared it on Brett's Facebook page...I hope you don't mind! Thanks again for your wonderful blog.
ReplyDelete