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These are the plans for the cathedral from 1744, used to reconstruct the church in 1759. The weathercock was included in the original plans. |
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral for Weathervane Wednesday
Tuesday, July 9, 2024
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]"
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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]).
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Bank of New England, Windham, New Hampshire for Weathervane Wednesday
This weathervane was photographed in Windham, New Hampshire.
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]).
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
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]).
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
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]).
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
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]).
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Captain Peter Adolph, buried 1702/3 in Sandwich, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday
This tombstone was photographed at the Old Town Cemetery in Sandwich, Massachusetts.
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
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]).