Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral for Weathervane Wednesday

This weathervane was photographed in the Old Quebec City, Canada.

Last week I featured a weathercock above the Quebec City church Notre Dame des Victoires, and today I'm featuring another weathercock from Quebec City also from a church named Notre Dame.  This building is the basilica catheral of Notre Dame de Quebec.  This Roman Catholic church was originally built at the site of a chapel built by Samuel de Champlain in 1633. The tower with the weathercock was built in 1744, and you can see in the plans below, the weathercock was included.  

This church building was destroyed twice, first during the Siege of Quebec in 1759 during the French and Indian War, and then in 1922 it was destroyed by fire.  At first the Ku Klux Klan was blamed for the destruction, but the American thief Ray Marsden confessed to the crime, to cover his burglary. In 1874 it was the first church in North America to be elevated to a basilica.  It is the oldest parish in Canada and celebrated it's 350th anniversary in 2014.  Quebec's first bishop, Francois de Laval, is buried in the crypt. 

The weathercock is an important Christian symbol, often found on Roman Catholic churches.  This one is particularly fancy and detailed, in three dimensions with an elaborate cross.  

These are the plans for the cathedral from 1744, used to reconstruct the church in 1759.
The weathercock was included in the original plans.

By Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry - Élévation de la basilique de Québec, Chaussegros de Léry, 1744, BAC, FR CAOM 3DFC 424A. - facebook.com, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45830176

For the truly curious:

Cathedral Basilica of Notre Dame de Quebec at Wikipedia -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral-Basilica_of_Notre-Dame_de_Qu%C3%A9bec   

The parish website for Notre Dame de Quebec  -  https://www.notre-dame-de-quebec.org/copie-de-basilique-cathedrale   

Click here to read over 500 more Weathervane Wednesday posts:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 17, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/07/notre-dame-de-quebec-basilica-cathedral.html: accessed [access date]). 

Missing Vessel in the Pacific Ocean, 1846

 

Newsclipping from The New Bedford Mercury, New Bedford, Massachusetts, Friday, May 21, 1847, Volume XL, page 3. 

transcription:

"MISSING VESSEL - On the 5th of August last, the Brig Wm. Neilson, of this port, Capt. Weston, sailed from Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, for Manilla and Canton, since which nothing has been heard of her, although there are dates from Manilla to Feb. 11.  As this run is usually made in about 30 days, it is feared that she foundered in a typhoon, and all on board perished.  The dates from the Sandwich Islands are to Dec. 26, and if she had been lost at any point between the two places, it is altogether improbabable that accounts should not have been received from her at one or the other.

The Hon. Geo. Brown of Beverly, late US Commissioner to the Sandwich Islands, was a passenger, with his son.  Capt. John Dominis, formerly a highly repectable shipmaster of this city, but more recently a merchant of Honolulu, was also a passenger.

When the Wm. Neilson sailed from this port, Nov 5, 1845, her roll of equipage contained the names of the following persons, who, it is believed, were all in her at the time she left Honolulu; they were mostly young and enterprizing New England men: Church Weston, of Duxbury, master; Ovander M. Hammett, of Chilmark, 1st officer; Joseph M. Bryant, of Nobleboro', Me, 2d do.; Amherst Peterson, of Marshfield; Seth F. Peterson, of do; David J. Mann, of Hanover, Walter S. Tribou, of do; Joseph Gilbert, of Salem; John Pitts, of Bell Haven (supposed a foreigner) seamen; Alfred Dorsey, of Baltimore, colored man, cook; Moses H. Ganges, of Philadelphia, colored boy, steward.

The Wm. Neilson was a fine clipper brig, built, we believe, in Baltimore.  She had some cargo on board, and a considerable amount of specie belonging to the owners of the vessel and others.  There is insurance in this city for $8000 on the vessel, $2000 on freight money, and $17,850 on cargo, specie, &c, amounting in all to $27,850. - [Boston Daily Advertiser]"  

Captain John Dominis

Who was Captain John Dominis?  According to the world famous genealogist Donald Lines Jacobus, he was an Italian who married a woman from Boston (and Jacobus could not find her ancestry). I'm happy to say that I have solved this mystery that Jacobus could not. [See The American Genealogist, New Haven, CT: D.L. Jacobus, Volume 32 (1956), page 70.]

John Dominis was probably born in Trieste, in what is now Slovenia.  On 5 October 1824 he married my 5th great aunt, Mary Lambert Jones, in Boston. Mary was the daughter of  Owen Jones (about 1768 - 1850) and Elizabeth Lambert ( about 1775 - 1834).  Mary had 7 siblings, including Catherine Plummer Jones (abt 1799 - 1828), my 4x great grandmother.  Mary was born on 3 August 1803 in Boston, and died 25 April 1889 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father Owen Jones, was born in Wales, and was the son of a Boston customs collector, another Owen Jones (1735 - 1798). Elizabeth Lambert's ancestry is still a mystery to me. 

Captain John Dominis first appears in Boston records on 1 February 1823 when he declared his intention to become a US citizen at the US District Court. This record states "that he came from said Trieste to Boston AD 1819 ".  On 19 May 1825 he applied for his citizenship in Boston, and there was a statement signed by Josiah Marshall and Daniel C. Bacon "that the said John Dominis has resided with the US five years at least and within the State of Massachusetts during the five years last past except being absent occasionally on voyages at sea; and during the time he behaved as a man of good moral charcter, attached to the principles of the constitution of the US and well diposed to the good order and happenings of the same." 

John Dominis also obtained a Seaman's Protection Certificate that was issued in Boston on 28 October 1825.  This record lists him as being 28 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall, and of dark complexion.  It states that he was from Trieste, Italy, and was a naturalized US citizen. 

Professor Samuel Eliot Morison, who wrote about maritime history including the Mayflower, wrote about Captain John Dominis, who became the master of the ship Owhyhee owned by Josiah Marshall of Boston. The Owhyee (the old spelling for Hawaii) explored the Pacific northwest, the Columbia River, and Willamette Valley.   Dominis also was the master of the brig Bolivar, the Nye, and the Joseph Peabody, which sailed to the Sandwich Islands from New York City in 1839.  

Captain John Dominis brought his wife, Mary, and his little son, John Owen Dominis, from Boston to live in Hawaii aboard the Joseph Peabody in 1839.  He left two small daughters at a boarding school in Schenectady, New York.  The captain and his wife began to build an impressive house in Honolulu. Mary sent to Boston for the windows, doors, and other parts for her new home.  Her brother in law, Enoch Snelling, designed the front entrance to this house. 

In 1846 Captain John Dominis set sail again for China to buy furniture for his new mansion in Honolulu.  He was never heard from again, and there were many newspaper accounts, like the one above, presuming he was lost at sea.  Mary was forced to take in boarders in her new house, to keep up the appearances of her status in society.  One of these boarders, Anthony Ten Eyck, consul to the United States, nicknamed her house "Washington Place" because it was similar to George Washington's mansion at Mount Vernon.  Many of these boarders were Americans and some foreign consuls. 

In 1862  John Owen Dominis married Lydia Kamakaeha Paki, the future Queen Liliuokalani. The married couple lived in Washington Place.  Mary Dominis died in 1889.  After the Queen was desposed in the illegal takeover of Hawaii, she spent her retirement years at Washington Place.  This home served as the governor's mansion for the governor of Hawaii for many years, and is now a museum. 

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For the truly curious:

Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen, Liliuokalani, by Liliuokalani (Queen of Hawaii), 1898, Lee and Shepard of Boston, reprinted by Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007. 

My very first blog post on July 27, 2009:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/07/hawaii-boston-connection-to-royal.html  

I have written many blog posts about Washington Place.  You can scroll through these stories by clicking at this link:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search?q=washington+place   

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Missing Vessel in the Pacific Ocean, 1846", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 9, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/07/missing-vessel-in-pacific-ocean-1846.html: accessed [access date]). 

Bank of New England, Windham, New Hampshire for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed in Windham, New Hampshire. 

I spotted this weathervane in Windham, New Hampshire, near exit 3 off Route 93.  Usually I see it while I'm entering or exiting the highway, so I don't have a chance to pull over and get a good photo.  Last month I was in the passenger seat of our convertible when we passed by, so I got a photo with my cell phone.  Sorry for the slight blur from zooming in from far away! 

This weathervane is two dimensional, but it appears as if the lighthouse is three dimensional.  There is also a silhouette of a sailboat to the left of the lighthouse, and a fish to the right.  I enjoy the details of this weathervane very much!  The sun often reflects off the lantern at the top of the lighthouse, so it is very noticable from a distance. It must be made of a glass prism, which is very interesting!

The Bank of New England in this location dates to around the time exit 3 was reconstructed around 2015 when Route 93 was widened to four lanes from the Massachusetts border to Manchester, New Hampshire. This project was completed in 2021.  The Bank of New England has been a privately held bank in Salem, New Hampshire since 2007, and it is not related to the now defunct Boston based Bank of New England. It's logo is the lighthouse, just like the old Bank of New England, symbolizing safety and shelter.  

For the truly curious:

Wikipedia Bank of New England -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_New_England 

Bank of New England

14 Bank Road (off Indian Rock Road near Route 93)

Windham, New Hampshire 

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Bank of New England, Windham, New Hampshire for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted 3 July, 2024, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/07/bank-of-new-england-windham-new.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Chateau Frontenac Hotel in Quebec City for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed in Old Quebec City, Canada. 

A view of the Chateau Frontenac
from the ferry across the St. Lawrence River to Levis

In May we drove to Quebec City and stayed at the Chateau Frontenac hotel, recreating our honeymoon 40 years ago.  This massive hotel has 610 guest rooms, 18 floors, and many towers and turrets.  Even though it resembles a castle with many towers, this is the only weathervane I could see on the hotel.  The weathervane resembles a banner, which is appropriate for the castle theming.  The very first weathervanes are considered to be banners flying on buildings like castles and forts. 

The Chateau Frontenac sits above the Terrasse Dufferin overlooking the Saint Lawrence River.  It is considered to be the most photographed hotel in the world. It was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1981.  It has been featured in movies, including the Alfred Hitchcock film I Confess. Many celebrities and political figures have stayed here, such as FDR, Sir Winston Churchill, Celine Dion, Queen Elizabeth II, and many Canadian prime ministers.  

For the truly curious: 

Chateau Frontenac at Wikipedia:    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_Frontenac  

Fairmont Chateau Frontenac website   https://www.fairmont.com/frontenac-quebec/   

Click here to see over 500 more Weathervane Wednesday posts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Chateau Frontenac Hotel in Quebec City for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 26, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/06/the-chateau-frontenac-hotel-in-quebec.html: accessed [access date]). 

Chalmers Wesley United Church in Quebec City for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed in Quebec City, Canada.

The Chalmers Wesley United Church is located on 78 Rue Sainte-Ursule, in Old Quebec City, Canada.  It is between Porte Saint Louis and the citadel.  This protestant, English language church was built between 1851 and 1853, and in 1925 became part of the United Church of Canada. 

Like most protestant churches, their weathervane is very simple.  It is a an arrow with no cardinal points. It was very difficult to photograph the church because of the narrow streets, but we did get some nice photos of the weathervane from many blocks away.  Most of the Roman Catholic churches in Quebec City featured weathercocks or more elaborate weathervanes. Click HERE to see the weathercock from Notre Dame des Victoires in Quebec, my June 12th Weathervane Wednesday subject.  

For the truly curious:

The website for Chalmers Wesley United -  https://chalmerswesley.org/   

The Facebook group for the Chalmers Wesley United Church    https://www.facebook.com/groups/chalmer 

To see over 500 more Weathervane Wednesday posts, click here:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Chalmers Wesley United Methodist Church in Quebec City for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 19, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/06/chalmers-wesley-united-methodist-church.html: accessed [access date]).

Notre Dame des Victoires, Quebec City for Weathervane Wednesday

 Today's weathercock was photographed in Quebec City, Canada.

The narrow streets and tiny square, Place Royale, in front of the Notre Dame des Victoires church in Lower Quebec City made this weathercock very difficult to photograph!  I had first visited this church during our honeymoon in Quebec over 40 years ago.  But now the church is closed except on Sundays and special days for mass only.  We could not visit the inside of this historic church when we were there in May this year.

This church is very old, and it was erected between 1687 and 1723.  According to Wikipedia "The church is one of the oldest in North America."  In September 1759 the church was bombarded by the British before the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.  It was restored and reopened in 1816. There is a model of a ship hanging from the ceiling of the church - it is a model of the Brézé which was commanded by the Marquis of Tracy. 

The weathervane above the steeple is a three dimensional weathercock above a pointer and some very fancy cardinal points marking the directions in French. The weathercock is a very common weathervane for Roman Catholic churches.  Weathercocks are weathervanes with roosters. There was a papal edict in medieval times that cockerels should be displayed on each church in memory of Peter's betrayal of Jesus "I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." Luke 22:34.  Many of the cocks or roosters ended up on top of steeples as weathervanes.

We took this interior photo in 1983
on our honeymoon in Quebec City

For the truly curious:

Notre Dame des Victoires at Wikipedia:    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame-des-Victoires_Church  

The parish of Notre Dame des Victoires:  https://www.notre-dame-de-quebec.org/notre-dame-des-victoires-church  

Click here to see over 500 more Weathervane Wednesday posts:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Notre Dame des Victoires, Quebec City for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 12, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/06/notre-dame-des-victoires-quebec-city.html:  accessed [access date]). 

Captain Peter Adolph, buried 1702/3 in Sandwich, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at the Old Town Cemetery in Sandwich, Massachusetts.

HERE LYETH Ye BODY OF CAPt.

PETER ADOLPH, OF NEW YORKE

AGED 48 YEARS, WHO DYED

SHIPWRACK IN THIS BAY

16th OF MARCH, 1702/3 &

WAS WASHED ON SHOARE

3 MILES BELOW THIS TOWNE. 

I found this interesting gravestone whilst wandering around looking for ancestors in this ancient burial ground in Sandwich, Massachusetts.  Located on Cape Cod, there were many tombstone for drowings and accidents at sea.  Who was Captain Peter Adolph?

Pieter Adolfz Van der Grost was baptized 8 July 1657 at the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam (now New York City), son of Adolph Pieterszen and Aefje Dircks.  He married Janneken Van Brosum at the same church on 1 January 1679, and they had eight children.  His will was proved on 29 May 1704. 

His 8 June 1696 will reads " Peter Adolph De Groot, being of perfect memory, do make this my last will and testament. First, I have nominated and appointed for my heir my beloved wife, Janeke Adolph, for one half of my estate of houses, lands and goods. And the other half to the four children which I have procured with her, named Adolph, Egbert, Agie, and Peter De Groot. I give to my son Adolph £10 for his birthright, and to my son Peter £5 for the sake of his name. My wife is not to be obliged to make any inventory or to give any account. Witnesses: Abraham Abrahamsen, Andries Abrahamsen. Timon Van Borsum and Cornelius Vielie are made executors. Proved 29 May 1704, and Cornelius Vielie is confirmed as executor"  [New York (County) Surrogates Court Abstract of Wills on file in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York (Volume 1, 1665 - 1707). Collections of the New York Historical Society (New York: Printed for the Society, 1892) pages 388-389.]

Captain Adolph was lost at sea in a shipwreck while sailing from Boston to New York.  The crew washed up on Scorton Beach in East Sandwich, and they all were buried in nearby cemeteries.  Adoph's widow gave a bell to the meetinghouse at Sandwich in gratitude for giving her husband's body a Christian burial.  It is known as the Captain Adolf Bell, and the meetinghouse is known now as the First Church of Sandwich, Massachusetts.  The bell is now on display inside the church. 

For the truly curious:

Find A Grave memorial for Capt. Peter Adolph:    https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86541132/peter-adolph    

 More about this family from Rootsweb:    https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~brouwergenealogydata/genealogy/p655.htm  

Wikipedia article on the First Church of Sandwich, Massachusets:    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Church,_Sandwich_Massachusetts    

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Captain Peter Adolph, buried 1702/3 in Sandwich, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 3, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/06/captain-peter-adolph-buried-17023-in.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Mile Away Restaurant, Milford, NH for Weathervane Wednesday

 The Mile Away Restaurant is located on Federal Hill Road, Milford, New Hampshire.

The Mile Away Restaurant is one mile away from the location of where the locals were going to build the village meetinghouse in Monson, New Hampshire.  Monson was incorporated as a town in 1746, the same year this farm house was built.  But the town of Monson was abandoned by the 1770s and the meetinghouse was never built.  The land for the town of Monson was divided up by the nearby towns of Milford, Hollis, and Brookline.  This area is now a historic site with signs on the cellar holes and stone walls.  Only one house survives, and is open some weekends and by chance as an educational center about the history of Monson.  

The Mile Away was turned in to a restaurant by two families from Switzerland in 1967.  The Murphy family bought the restaurant in 1996 and continues to operate a restaurant, with some of the original recipes from Switzerland like Swiss potatoes and Viener Schnitzel. The current executive chef lived in Switzerland for many years. 

The banner weathervane atop the roof of the main restaurant has the cut out numbers of 1746, honoring the year this farm house was built.  It is a very simple weathervane, appropriate for the humble beginnings of this property as a farm over 250 years ago. 

For the truly curious:

The Mile Away Restaurant and Tented Venue

603-673-3904     https://www.mileawayrestaurantnh.com/   

52 Federal Hill Road

Milford, New Hampshire

Click here to read two more blog posts about the ghost town of Monson, New Hampshire, which is "a mile away" from this restaurant.

2022 "A Walk Through Abandoned Monson, New Hampshire"    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/12/a-walk-through-abandoned-monson-new.html   

2012 "The Abandoned Town of Monson, New Hampshire"     https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-abandoned-town-of-monson-new.html   

Click here to read over 500 more Weathervane Wednesday posts!   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Mile Away Restaurant, Milford, NH for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 29, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-mile-away-restaurant-milford-nh-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

Clarissa Goldsmith Wilson, d. 1874, Peabody, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at the Wilson Burial Ground in Peabody, Massachusetts.  This little cemetery is located behind Kappy's Liquor Store off Route 114, near the North Shore Mall.  All the land around the mall was the Wilson Farm in the 1700s and 1800s.  Route 114 was "The Andover Road".  

Clarissa Goldsmith, daughter of Jeremiah Goldsmith and Sarah Converse, was born 11 April 1797 in Andover, Massachusetts.  She married John Wilson, son of Robert Wilson and Sarah Felton (my 5th great grandparents) on 1 June 1831 in Andover.  John was born 18 January 1778 in Danvers and died 26 June 1863, leaving Clarissa a widow.  She died on 1 January 1874. 

When I photographed this cemetery about 10 years ago it was in the fall and there was not good sunlight.  Since the cemetery is located next to a highway cloverleaf, and behind a mall, it was in bad shape.  Clarissa's gravestone was precariously tipped to one side.  If you look up Clarissa's gravestone on Find A Grave you will see that it is now lying flat on the ground, and it is no longer standing.  

The Wilson Cemetery in Peabody, Massachusetts

John and Clarissa Wilson had two boys:

1.  John Wilson, Jr., born 13 October 1832 in Danvers, died 17 July 1867, and married Elizabeth Abbott Waldo in 1856.

2. Edward Hooker Wilson, born 14 March 1835 in Danvers. 

1870 Federal Census, Peabody, Essex County, Massachusetts
Post Office: Peabody Roll: M593_612 Page: 342 Image: 184
Wilson, Clarissa, age 73, keeping house, real estate $6500, personal $5000, b. Mass.
          Edmund H. age 33, farmer, real estate $4000, personal $2500, b. Mass.
          John B., age 10, attending school, b. Mass.
Peabody, Abigail, age 60, domestic servant, b. New Hampshire
McPherson, Jason, age 20, farm laborer, b. Nova Scotia

On the page for the 1870 census Clarissa Wilson, the widow, was living a few houses down from my 3x great grandfather Aaron Wilkinson, and only two houses away from Aaron's son William Prescott Wilkinson (my 3x great uncle) and many other Wilson families.   

For the truly curious:

Another blog post from 2009 about the Wilson Cemetery:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/09/buried-at-mall.html   

My WILSON Surname Saturday post:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/01/surname-saturday-wilson.html   

Clarissa Wilson's memorial at Find A Grave:   https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141545305/clarissa-wilson    

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Clarissa Goldsmith Wilson, d. 1874, Peabody, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 21, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/05/clarissa-goldsmith-wilson-d-1874.html: accessed [access date]). 

Essex Junction, Vermont Fairgrounds for Weathervane Wednesday

 Today's weathervane was spotted at Essex Junction, Vermont.

This sweet steam engine weathervane is located on the cupola over the main gatehouse of the Champlain Valley Expoistion.  It is a two dimensional weathervane with lots of details including the wheels, smoke stack (with smoke!), bell, cow catcher, etc.  Since the gatehouse looks like a train station, this was a very appropriate choice for a weathervane. 

This location hosts over 100 events a year.  The most famous is the 10 day long agricultural fair every summer.  This year the fair runs from August 23 to September 1, 2024.  

For the truly curious:

The Champlain Valley Exposition website:    https://cvexpo.org/    

Champlain Valley Exposition, 105 Pearl Street, Essex Junction, VT

info@cvexpo.org

To see over 500 more "Weathervane Wednesday" posts, click here:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Essex Junction, Vermont Fairgrounds for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 15, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/05/essex-junction-vermont-fairgrounds-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

Peter Hoogerzeil Patents a Stove in 1891

 

Beverly Citizen, Saturday, November 28, 1891, page 2

"Ancient and Curious Stoves

Peter Hoogerzeil made application, last week, for his third patent on a rolling oven grate. His first patent was issued about two years ago and the second about one year later. The improved grate is automatic, and emerges and receds as the door, to which it is attached, is opened or closed.

     He also has a Franklin stove, a portable iron fireplace, with open front and swinging crane, which was named after Dr. Franklin, who invented it, and bears a bust of its inventor.

     Another curious possession is one of the old James stoves, the word "Salem", which appears on its face, indicating the place of its manufacture, though there is nothing that suggests its age. It is in an admirable state of preservation, stands about 28 inches from the floor, is of about the same width, and is not over 15 inches in depth. The fire is kindled at the bottom, and overhead is the oven, with a door opeing in front and one at the back.  The heat also passes through a funnel on either side of the oven, and an iron handle forms a part of the stove-covers. Mr. Hoogerzeil believes this to be the oldest stove in existence, and is desirous of obtaining information of the period when it was manufactured in Salem.  Particular interest attaches to it from the fact that a Detroit stove company has offered $100 in gold for the oldest stove to be placed on exhibition at the World's fair.  Mr. Hoogerzeil obtained the stove through James M. Woodbury, who purchased it from the estate of Miss Susan Forniss, by whom it was used until her decease." 

My great great grandfather Peter Hoogerzeil was a tinkerer and an inventor.  I have found at least a dozen patents he produced, including several for stoves, stove parts, and other cooking devices. He was born 24 June 1841 in Beverly, Massachusetts, the son of Peter Hoogerzeil (an immigrant from Holland) and Eunice Stone.  Peter married Mary Etta Healey on 14 March 1870 in Salem.  She was the daughter of Joseph Edwin Healy and Matilda Weston, natives of Nova Scotia.  

Peter had many occupations over the years.  In the 1860 census he was a fisherman.  In the 1870 census he was listed as a quartermaster and expressman (made deliveries).  He was listed as a teamster (truck or delivery driver) on his 1908 death certificate.  In 1867 he founded the Hoogerzeil Express Company, which he ran for many years and eventually passed it on this his brother-in-law, John E. Healey. He ran his express business from his home in Beverly, and had a large workshop behind the house.  The 1884 Beverly City Directory lists "Peter Hoogerzeil, Jr., job wagon, house 43 Bartlett St."   My mother remembers this house, where her aunt, Isabel Hoogerziel Sorenson, Peter's daughter, lived. 

Among Peter's US patents were the following that were all related to stoves or cooking:

        #403,938 Patented May 28, 1889 Stove Oven

#418,721 Patented January 7, 1890 Stove Oven

#467,292 Patented January 19, 1892 Stove Oven

#486,469 Patented November 22, 1892 Wheelbarrow

#512,615 Patented January 9, 1894 Steam or Baking Pan

For the truly curious:

My Surname Saturday post of my HOOGERZEIL lineage:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/03/surname-saturday-hoogerzeil-of-holland.html

Blog post "Peter Hoogerzeil's House in Beverly, Massachusetts":     https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/08/not-so-wordless-wednesday-peter.html

Tombstone Tuesday - Peter Hoogerzeil's gravestone:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/08/tombstone-tuesday-peter-hoogerzeil.html 

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Peter Hoogerzeil Patents a Stove in 1891", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 7, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/05/peter-hoogerzeil-patents-stove-in-1891.html: accessed [access date]). 

Abijah Hitchings' Cow in 1799 - But which Abijah Hitching was it?

 

The Salem Gazette, Tuesday, 16 July 1799; Salem, Massachusetts; Volume XIII; Issue 829; page 4

This notice of a lost cow (above) appeared in the Salem newspaper in 1799.  I knew immediately that it was one of my ancestors because of the unusual name of Abijah Hitchings.  But which Abijah?  Can you believe that there are five Abijah Hitchings in my family tree, all living in Salem, Massachusetts between 1753 and 1910?  There may have been more that I don't know about, too! 

The first clue is Salem.  The advertisement is from the Salem newspaper, and it includes the wording "Salem, July 5".  Unfortunately, all my Abijah Hitchings lived in Salem, so that was not very helpful.

Next is the date of 1799.  I used the date to eliminate some of the Abijah's in my tree. 

My 5th great grandfather, Abijah Hitchings, lived between 1753 and 1826 

My 4th great grandfather, Abijah Hitchings, lived between 1775 and 1868

My 3rd great grandfather, Abijah Hitchings, lived between 1809 and 1864

My 2nd great grandfather, Abijah Franklin Hitchings, lived between 1841 and 1910. 

From these dates, I can guess that it was either of the two first Abijah Hitchings who lost the cow, since the rest were not born by 1799.  And my 4th great grandfather, Abijah Hitchings was just 24 years old in 1799, and had been married just three years, with one young child living at home (you guessed it - that child was Abijah Hitchings (1798 - 1803)).  His father, my 5th great grandfather, was 46 years old, married since 1775, with four children by two different wives still living at home.  Either one of these could have owned the lost cow.

I know from The Diary of William Bentley, Volume 2, page 468, that Rev. Bentley visited the elder Abijah Hitchings (my 5th great grandfather) often, and in March 1799 he mentioned the "small house on the Hitchens lot on Beckett Street".  This Abijah was veteran of the Revolutionary War, and a housewright in Salem. 

But, just two doors down (according to the 1810 census) Abijah, Jr. lived with his family.  He was a carpenter and a shipwright, and only married once. His first child was named Abijah Hitchings III, but he died young and they named their seventh child (out of eleven!) Abijah Hitchings in 1809 (my 3rd great grandfather).  Rev. Bentley also visited this family very often, and mentioned the visits in his diaries. When he died in 1868 he was the oldest man in Salem. 

Any guesses on who owned the lost cow?

For the truly curious:

Surname Saturday - My HITCHINGS lineage:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/10/surname-saturday-hitchings-of-lynn.html   

A blog post about Rev. Bentley's diary and the Hitchings family in Salem:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/09/amanuensis-monday-excepts-from-rev.html  

Click here to read all my blog posts that mention COWS!  LOL!    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/cows

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Abijah Hitchings' Cow in 1799 - But which Abijah Hitching was it?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 23, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/04/abijah-hitchings-cow-in-1799-but-which.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Odiorne Family, from the Odiorne Burial Ground, Rye, New Hampshire

 These tombstones were photographed at the Wallis-Odiorne Burial Ground on Bracket Road in Rye, New Hampshire.  Most of the inscriptions are legible, but unfortunately the smaller poetry epitaphs are mostly illegible. 

WILLIAM S. ODIORNE

DIED

Nov. 4, 1869

Aged 72 yrs, 1 mo. &

8 days.

???? [illegible]

MARY T.

wife of Wm S. Odiorne,

DIED

April 7, 1867,

Aged 66 yrs, 3 mos.

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

Dearest Mother thou hast left us

and thy loss we deeply feel;

But 'tis God that has bereft us,

He can all our sorrows heal.

She sleeps in Jesus and is blest,

???? her slumber may

??? suffering and from sin released

And freed from every ???

TRUMAN S. ODIORNE

DIED

Dec. 3, 1831,

Aged 57 yrs, 2 mos.

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

???[illegible]

MOTHER

MARY O.

wife of

Trueman S. Odiorne

DIED

Aug. 16, 1894

AEt. 56 yrs,11 mos

12 days

?????[illegible]

William Seavey Odiorne was born 26 September 1797 in Rye, New Hampshire, the son of Ebenezer Odiorne and Mary Seavey.  He married Mary T. Amazeen on 9 July 1823. She was the daughter of Ephraim Amazeen and Hannah Tarleton.  The Amazeen family goes back in time to the immigrant John Amazeen, who was described as "John Amazeen, an Italian" by Charles Brewer, a Portsmouth historian. William and Mary Odiorne had nine children, and some are buried here in this burial ground.

Truman Seavey Odiorne is the oldest child of William and Mary.  He was born in 1822 in Rye, and married Mary Olive Moulton, the daughter of Joseph Moulton and Lydia Marston on 23 April 1864 in Rye.  She was born in 1837 and died 16 august 1894 in Rye. They had five children: William Wallace b. 11 Sept. 1864; Jonathan Everett b. 18 July 1866; Lydia Ann b. 13 Aug. 1869; Charlotte Seavey b. 3 August 1872; and Mary Amazeen b. 12 Dec. 1873. 

I am an Odiorne descendant, and William Seavey Odiorne is my 4th cousin, 5 generations removed.   Our common ancestor is the immigrant John Odiorne, born about 1625 in Shevlock, Cornwall, England and died 1707 in New Castle, New Hampshire. John Odiorne's parents and siblings first lived on the Isles of Shoals off the coast of Portsmouth, and were later granted land at Great Island, now known as New Castle.  John later purchased the land that is now Odiorne State Park in Rye.  

For the truly curious:

"Surname Saturday - Odiorne" a blog post from 5 November 2011

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/surname-saturday-odiorne.html  

Find A Grave, Truman Seavey Odiorne:   https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/182148226/truman_seavey_odiorne   

Portsmouth Athenaeum, Truman Seavey Odiorne:     https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/182148226/truman_seavey_odiorne 

Also, a sketch on John Amazeen "an Italian?"   http://kristinhall.org/fambly/Amazeen/JohnAmazeen.html 

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

To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Odiorne Family, from the Odiorne Burial Ground, Rye, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 16, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-odiorne-family-from-odiorne-burial.html: accessed [access date]). 

Reverend Ebenezer Coffin, died 1816 Newbury, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at the First Parish Burial Ground in Newbury, Massachusetts.

In memory of

EBENEZER COFFIN, A.M.

aged 45

Faith, hope and Charity

His soul possesses the three.

Erected by his son

Robert Stevenson Coffin

1826

Ebenezer Coffin was born 15 February 1769 in Newbury, Massachusetts, the son of Reverend Joshua Coffin and Sarah Bartlett. He went to Harvard College, and graduated in 1789. He was ordained as a Congregational pastor at the church in Brunswick, Maine in 1792.   Ebenezer married Mary Newhall on 25 September 1793 in Brunswick. She was the daughter of Samuel Newhall and Elizabeth Sprague of Newburyport. They had five children born in Brunswick and removed back to Newbury in 1802 where he was the school teacher.  Ebenezer died on 26 January 1816.  

Robert Stevenson Coffin was the second child of Rev. Ebenezer Coffin.  He was born in Brunswick and when the family relocated to Newbury he was apprenticed to a printer. During the War of 1812 he was a sailor aboard a ship that was captured by the British and the entire crew was imprisoned, and later released. He worked at a printer in Boston and in Philadelphia. He was a poet known as the "Boston Bard", but later became "intemperate" and died in Rowley, Massachusetts in 1827.  Robert Stevenson Coffin never married. 

Ebenezer Coffin's other children were Newhall, Eloisa, Horace, and Cazneau Bayley, who died in September 1826 when struck by lightning on the ship Hogart off the coast of Texas.   

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

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Reverend Ebenezer Coffin, died 1816 Newbury, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 9, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/04/reverend-ebenezer-coffin-died-1816.html: accessed [access date]). 

Margaret Muzzey, died 1787 in Newbury, Massachusetts

 

THIS

Mournfull Stone is

Erected to ye Memory of

Miss Margaret Muzzey

the only Child of Mr. Joseph

and Mrs Lydia Muzzey

who after a long & painfull

sickness which she bore with

Unexampled patience

Exchanged this Mortal for an

immortal state Decr. ye 8th

1787 In the 23rd year of

her age.

What tho this body turns to dust

It can't disturb my rest

May I but dwell with Christ above

To be for ever blest. 

Margaret Muzzy, born 12 January 1765 in Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, and died 18 December 1787 in Newbury, was buried at the First Parish Burial Ground in Newbury.  She was the daughter of Joseph Muzzey (1731 - 1801) and Lydia Stickney (1733 - 1799) married on 26 May 1756 in Newbury.  

We often think that the Puritans, who lost so many babies to childhood diseases, were cold hearted and stoic.  This tombstone shows two parents mourning the loss of an only child.  It is an example of how our assumptions are wrong, and the parents of the eighteenth century were just like us today. 

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

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Margaret Muzzey, died 1787 in Newbury, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 2, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/04/margaret-muzzey-died-1787-in-newbury.html: accessed [access date]). 

Millie the Mill Girl of Manchester, New Hampshire - An Update

More than a year ago I reported that the city of Manchester, New Hampshire was rennovating "Millie", the statue that honors generations of mill girls who toiled in the textile mills along the Merrimack River.  You can read that blog story HERE.   I'm happy to report that the restoration project finished several months ago, but I never had a chance over the winter to take new photographs.  You can see the finished project now below!

THE MILL GIRL

She stands here for thousands

of 19th century working women

Industrial Revolutionaries who broke

with the past to earn their living,

making history and creating the future.

In 1880 one third of Manchester's population,

3385 women, worked in the textile mills of

the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, situated

below along the banks of the Merrimack River.

Sculptress:

Antoinette Schultze

Funding for this public art project

was made possible by gifts from

Norwin S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation

and 

Samuel P. Hunt Foundation

Dedicated September 9, 1988

Presented by the City of Manchester Parks and Recreation Commission

and

Manchester Art Commission

For the truly curious:

My blog post from August 2022 about the rennovation of Millie:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/08/millie-in-millyard-manchester-new.html   

A blog post from 2012 about Millie the statue:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/02/millie-mill-girl-of-manchester-new.html     

The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoskeag_Manufacturing_Company  

"Mill Girl makeover: New accessible surroundings for historic city landmark", Manchester Ink Link, July 26, 2023   https://manchesterinklink.com/mill-girl-makeover-new-accessible-surroundings-for-historic-city-landmark/  

"Mill Girl Plaza in Manchester unveils accessibility additions", WMUR TV, July 26, 2023  https://www.wmur.com/article/mill-girl-plaza-manchester-accessibility-additions/44655616        

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

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Millie the Mill Girl of Manchester, New Hampshire - An Update", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 25, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/03/millie-mill-girl-of-manchester-new.html: accessed [access date]). 

Votes for Women! The White Farm in Concord, New Hampshire

 

National Votes for Women Trail

Road to the 19th Amendment

Home of Armenia S. and 

Nathaniel White, social

reformers and founders

of New Hampshire Woman

Suffrage Association 1868.

William C. Pomeroy Foundation 2022

                                            Learn more at

                                    nvwt.org

View of the entrance to White Farm

We recently visited the White Farm in Concord, New Hampshire for the New Hampshire Surplus store, which is open on Mondays. This is a fun place to find all sorts of office equipment and government supplies, and to also find bins full of items confiscated by the TSA agents at airports (pocket knives, electronics, snow globes, baseball bats, tools, etc.) as well as things abandoned at airports (books, water bottles, wheelchairs, leg braces, glasses, and other oddities).  I noticed a new sign in front of the entrance, or rather a new sign to me since the pandemic.  I was excited to read about the family that once lived here, but I also wanted to learn more about the sign.  Who was the NVWT?  What was this "National Votes for Women Trail"? What is the William C. Pomeroy Foundation? 

First I tackled the White family.  I googled and searched for more information on Armeia S. and Nathaniel White.  This property on Clinton Street was their dairy farm, but they also had a fine mansion downtown, and White Park is named for them. 

Armenia Smith Aldrich (November 1, 1817 - May 7, 1916) was born in Mendon, Massachusetts to John Aldrich and Harriet Smith.  If you are interested in her ancestry, read the "Cow Hampshire" or the Wikipedia articles listed below. She was descended from many colonial families, including Edward Doty, Francis Cooke, and Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower.  She married Nathaniel White and lived in Concord, where Nathaniel had a stage coach business.  Armenia was very interested in reform and progressive movements, including abolition, sufferage, and temperance.  She was elected the first president of the NH Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the first president of the NH Woman Suffrage Association. 

Nathaniel White (February 7, 1811 - October 2, 1880) owned a stage coach business, and later a railroad entrepreneur.  He was also interested in progressive ideas and was instrumental in the NH Asylum for the Insane (just down the road from his farm), the NH State Reform School, the Orphanage in Franklin, and the Home for the Aged in Concord.  His farm was originally over 400 acres. He served in the NH state legislature, and ran for governor in 1875 for the Prohibition Party. 

Children of Armeia and Nathaniel White:

1. John A (1838 - 1899)

2. Armenia E. (b. 1847 and married Horatio Hobbs)

3. Lizzie H. (b. 1849 and married Charles H. Newhall)

4. Annie F. (1852 - 1865)

5. Nathaniel, Jr. (1855 - 1904)

6. Selden F. (b. 1857 and died young)

7. Benjamin C. (b. 1861)

In researching this signpost, I learned about the National Votes for Women Trail, which is part of the National Collaborative for Women's History Sites.  The link below has an interactive map with over two thousand sites.  Many of these sites are in New England, and many of those are in New Hampshire!  Who knew? 

The signpost also mentions the William C. Pomeroy Foundation, which helps "communities celebrate and preserve their history" according to their website (see the link below).  Their signage program began in 2006 to place historical markers in NY state. Then the foundation expanded across the country with grants for historical markers in 48 states.  

For the truly curious:

"Cow Hampshire" blog article on Armenia White:  https://www.cowhampshireblog.com/2015/03/24/new-hampshires-leading-suffragist-civil-leader-and-philanthropist-armenia-s-aldrich-white-1817-1916/  

Armeia S. White Wikipedia article:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia_S._White  

Nathaniel White Wikipedia article:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_White_(businessman)  

NH Historical Society on Armenia White  https://www.nhhistory.org/object/313471/white-armenia-s-1817-1916   

NH Surplus - White Farm, 144 Clinton Street, Concord, NH     https://www.das.nh.gov/purchasing/white-farm.aspx   

NH Women's Foundation article on this historical marker:   https://nhwomensfoundation.org/2022/08/11/armenia-white-marker-added-to-the-new-hampshire-womens-heritage-trail/  

The National Votes for Women Trail: https://ncwhs.org/votes-for-women-trail/   

The William C. Pomeroy Foundation:  https://www.wgpfoundation.org/    

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

To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Votes for Women!  The White Farm in Concord, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 18, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/03/votes-for-women-white-farm-in-concord.html: accessed [access date]).