1906 advertisement for Londonderry Lithia Water
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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Happy Holidays 2022", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 24, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/12/happy-holidays-2022.html: accessed [access date]).
Ten years ago I posted a similar story about a walk through Monson. It was time for another walk... (see my post at https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-abandoned-town-of-monson-new.html )
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For the truly curious:
The Abandoned Town of Monson, New Hampshire, 2012 https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-abandoned-town-of-monson-new.html
Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, Monson Center: https://forestsociety.org/property/monson-center
Map of Monson Center: https://forestsociety.org/sites/default/files/Monson%20Village%20Map.pdf
I've blogged about exploring other "ghost towns" - Monson, NH; Dogtown, MA; Chinese Camp, CA; and Zealand, NH. You can find them at this link: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/ghost%20town
New Hampshire Magazine, "The Mystery of Monson", 2019: https://www.nhmagazine.com/the-mystery-of-monson/
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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Walk Through Abandoned Monson, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 20, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/12/a-walk-through-abandoned-monson-new.html: accessed [access date]).
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| Webhannet Falls, Wells, Maine Where Edmund Littlefield was granded land for a grist and saw mill in 1643 |
For the truly curious:
Wells [Images of America Series], by Hope M. Shelly, Arcadia Publishing, Dover, NH, 1996, page 7.
The Historical Society of Wells and Ogunquit, Maine - Littlefield Gallery webpage: https://www.wellsogunquithistory.org/littlefield
My blog post on Edmund Littlefield for Surname Saturday (showing my lineage): https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/surname-saturday-littlefield-of-wells.html
Tombstone Tuesday, Josiah Littlefield, buried in Wells, Maine: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/07/josiah-littlefield-d-1713-wells-maine.html
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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Edmund Littlefield's Grist and Saw Mills, Wells, Maine", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 15, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/12/edmund-littlefields-grist-and-saw-mills.html
Today's weathervane was photographed over the Town Hall, 208 Sanford Road, Wells, Maine.
This terrific weathervane is a highly detailed three masted ship with white sails. It is located on the cupola above the Wells Municipal Building or town hall. The original meetinghouse was a small wooden building built in 1662, which burned in 1692 during a raid by the indigenous people of the area. A second meetinghouse was built in 1699, and a third one in the 1770s. The current meetinghouse was built in 1862 as a church known as the First Congregational Church of Wells, and is now used by the Historical Society.
The Wells Municipal Offices Building was built in the 1960s. There were several previous town halls built in the 1800s and 1900s after town government separated from the churches. Most "meetinghouses" in New England were formerly used as churches.
These tombstones were photographed at the First Parish Burial Ground, Newbury, Massachusetts.
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Judith Greenleaf, daughter of Edmund Greenleaf (1574-1671) and Sarah Dole (1588 - 1663), was born 2 September 1625 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England and died 15 December 1705 in Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts. She married first to Henry Somerby in 1644 and had four children, and I descend from her second daughter, Elizabeth Somerby (1646 - 1716) who married Nathaniel Clark. She married second to Tristram Coffin and had ten more children. Tristram Coffin had been her first husband's apprentice. Both men were merchant tailors.
The headstone is mostly illegible now in the midday sun when we visited, and her elaborate footstone is very legible.
Click here to see a blogpost about the tombstone of Tristram Coffin:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/06/tristram-coffin-died-1704-newbury.html
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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My 10th Great Grandmother, Judith Greenleaf Coffin, d. 1705, Newbury, Massachusetts - Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 29, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/11/my-10th-great-grandmother-judith.html: accessed [access date]).
At the statehouse, in Concord, New Hampshire, at 10am on Tuesday, 22 November, 2022 the New Hampshire Governor Christopher T. Sununu signed and presented the annual Thanksgiving Proclamation with members of the New Hampshire Mayflower Society.
By His Excellency
Christopher T. Sununu, Governor
And the Honorable Executive Council
A Proclamation
In the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty-Two
Thanksgiving Day
November 24, 2022
Whereas, in the autumn of 1621, the Pilgrims held a three-day feast to celebrate the pentiful harvest they reaped following their first winter in North America, and
Whereas, the first national Thanksgiving Day, proclaimed by President George Washington, was November 26, 1789, and President Abraham Lincoln, proclaimed the first annual national holiday in 1863, establishing the date as the last Thursday of November at the behest of nationally celebrated editor and author, and daughter of New Hampshire, Sarah Josepha Hale, and
Whereas, on Thanksgiving Day, New Hampshire citizens and all Americans come together to enjoy the fellowship of family and friends with a feast that symbolizes the many blessings of our lives, and
Whereas, while Thanksgiving is a time to gather in a spirit of gratitude with family, friends and neighbors, it is also an opportunity to serve others and to share our blessings with those in need, and
Whereas, as citizens we pause to consider our good fortunes, and are especially mindful of the heroic men and women who serve and have served our country;
Now, therefore, I, Christopher T. Sununu, governor of the state of New Hampshire, do hereby proclaim November 24, 2022 as Thanksgiving Day in the State of New Hampshire, and call this day to the attention of all citizens.
Given during Executive Council session, this 22nd day of November, in the year of Our Lord, two thousand twenty-two, and of the independence of the United States of America, two hundred forty-five.
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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "2022 New Hampshire Thanksgiving Proclamation", Nutfield Genealogy, posted 23 November 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/11/2022-new-hampshire-thanksgiving.html: accessed [access date]).
This tombstone was photographed at the First Parish Burial Ground in Newbury, Massachusetts
This is the tombstone of Stephen Greenleaf, my 9th great grandfather. He was known as Captain for his service in the local militia, and for his fame serving in the Indian wars of the time. In 1689 he was "appointed agent of the state to treat with the Indians at Penacook". He was wounded in 1694 and petitioned for relief by presenting the bill for Dr. Humphrey Bradstreet on 18 May 1695. His petition to the General Court "The petition of Capt. Greenleaf, of Newbury, Humbly Showeth: That upon the Seventh of October last, about three o'clock in afternoon, a party of Indians surprised a family at Turkey Hill in said town, captured nine persons, women and children, rifled the house, carrying away bedding and dry goods. Only one person escaped, and gave notice to the next family, and they the town; upon the alarm your petitioner with a party of men pursued after the enemy, endeavoring to line the river Merrimac to prevent their passage, by which means the captives were recovered and brought back. The enemy lay in a gully hard by the roadway, and about nine at night made a shot at your petitioner, and shot him through the wrist, between the bones, and also made a large wound in his side, which would have been very painful and costly to your petitioner in the cure of them, and have in a great measure utterly taken away the use of his left hand, and wholly taken off from his employment this winter. Your petitioner therefore honorably prays this honorable court that they would make him such compensation as shall seem fit; which he shall thankfully acknowledge, and doubts not but will be an encouragement to others, and possibly to relieve their neighbors when assaulted by so barbarous an enemy. And your petitioner shall ever pray. (signed) Stephen Greenleaf"
Apparently he lived a long time after being wounded, for he lived to be 92 years old and had twelve children!
For the truly curious:
Capt. Stephen Greenleaf- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Greenleaf
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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Stephen Greenleaf, died 1743, Newbury, Massachusetts - Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 22, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/11/stephen-greenleaf-died-1743-newbury.html: accessed [access date]).
The Church of the Presidents, or the United First Parish Church of Quincy, Massachusetts is located on 1306 Hancock Street. It is a Unitarian Universalist congregation today. The building was erected in 1828, with funding by President John Adams, who contributed the granite. The original building was a wooden meetinghouse with a congregational church. It is now known as "The Church of the Presidents" because both presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams were parishoners. Both presidents are buried in the crypt along with their wives, the First ladies Abigail Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams. Their pews are marked with ribbons and plaques in the sanctuary.
I had previously visited Quincy and the National Park sites here associated with John Adams and John Quincy Adams, but I had never visited this church. We toured the church as part of a Mayflower Society tour in July 2022, because both presidents Adams were descendants of Mayflower passengers John Alden and Priscilla Mullins.
The church is open to the public for tours, including the crypt. Every year there are wreath laying ceremonies on the birthdays of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Please see the links below for contact information for the First Parish Church to arrange for a tour. There is no fee for a tour, but donations are welcome. The crypt is wheelchair accessible (elevator) and there is a virtual tour for those who cannot visit in person.
For the truly curious:
The Church of the Presidents - United First Parish Church, Quincy, Massachusetts - https://ufpc.org/
The Church of the Presidents, Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_First_Parish_Church
The Church of the Presidents, Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/Church-of-the-Presidents-297561790578720/
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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Church of the Presidents, Quincy, Massachusetts - Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 16, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/11/church-of-presidents-quincy.html: accessed [access date]).
This summer we took a ride on the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad in Meredith, New Hampshire. The train road along the shore of the lake to Laconia and back to Meredith. Along the way we saw a quite a few weathervanes, but they were difficult to photograph from a moving train. Here are two of the most interesting weathervanes we spotted!
For the truly curious:
The Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad - https://hoborr.com/winnipesaukee-scenic-railroad/
Click here to see over 475 other weathervanes! https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday
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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Seen along the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad - Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 9, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/11/seen-along-winnipesaukee-scenic.html: accessed [access date]).
