"On The Path Of The Pilgrims" Tour from the General Society of Mayflower Descendants - Day One

The Massachusetts, State House, Boston, Massachusetts
Undergoing an extensive exterior restoration project

 For the 400th Anniversary commemoration of the voyage of the ship Mayflower, the General Society of Mayflower Descendants planned several tours.  After rescheduling due to the COVID pandemic, these tours finally took place this summer.  Earlier, a tour took place in England and the Netherlands, and since Vincent and I had already taken that tour in 2017 we opted for the New England tour.  Although we live within two hours of Plymouth we know there are many historic sites we have not experienced.  What fun to do it with Mayflower cousins! 

Our tour started by meeting up with our 44 fellow travelers at a hotel at Boston's Logan airport.  We had a welcome dinner and meeting, which included playing an ice breaker game where we had to find someone who matched the Mayflower passengers on cards passed out before dinner.  The person I had to find shared Mayflower passenger George Soule in her family tree, just like me! In our group there were Society members from as far away as California, Montana, and Texas - and there were some from New England including Maine and also a pair from New Hampshire.  

We started our tour the next day by walking the Freedom Trail from the State House to the North End.  This was rather like herding cats!  Having 45 tourists following a guide through Boston's narrow streets and traffic crossing was not easy, but we didn't lose anyone! We were back at the State House on the last day of our tour for a special Mayflower Pilgrim surprise, so stay tuned for the blog post Day Five of this tour. 

The Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on the Boston Common

Our group at the Granary Burying Ground

Our tour guide, Lisa,
with her ancestor's tombstone

We walked past the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial, the memorial to William Blackstone (Boston's first English resident), the Park Street Church, the Tremont Temple and over to the Granary Burial Ground.  There are no Mayflower passengers buried here, but several members of our group had ancestors buried here.  Our tour guide found her ancestor's gravesite - a Captain Thomas Andrews buried in 1690 (he died of small pox returning from an expedition to Canada.  

A marker for the graves of John Winslow and his wife,
Mary Chilton, a Mayflower passenger

Not far from the Granary Burying Ground is the King's Chapel burying ground.  This is where Mary Chilton, a Mayflower passenger is buried.  Mary was about fourteen years old in 1620 when the Mayflower landed in Plymouth, and a common myth is that she was first European woman to step on Plymouth Rock.  She was orphaned the first winter in Plymouth.  She married John Winslow, who was the brother of another Mayflower passenger, Edward Winslow.  They lived on Spring Lane in Boston, where John Winslow was a prosperous merchant. The Chilton Club in Boston is named in her honor. 

Spring Lane, off Washington Street, 
the oldest street in Boston

This marker to Mary Chilton is located on Spring Lane,

near the Commonwealth Book Shop (a pedestrian street)

Next we walked past the Old State House, the site of the Boston Massacre, and had a short stop at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.  Our tour continued past the Holocaust Memorial and we had a lunch break at the new Boston Public Market (new to me!).  We regrouped in front of the Union Oyster House and followed the guide across the Greenway to the North End.  We passed Paul Revere's House and followed the Paul Revere Mall up to the Old North Church.  

The state of Paul Revere in front
of the Old North Church

We had a tour of the Old North Church, and the docent knew we were all Mayflower descendants, so she made point of showing us two stone plaques in the entrance of the church. One is a gift from the Guildhall in Boston, England where the Pilgrims were thrown into prison for illegally attempting to leave England.  The other is a plaque from the Boston Stump parishoners to the city of Boston, commemorating the Winthrop fleet.  The picture of the plaque from the Guildhall was difficult to photograph since the bright summer sun from the front door was shining on the glass cover. 

After a brief tour of the Copp's Hill Burial Ground, we boarded our bus again and headed to Quincy, Massachusetts for the Adams National Historical Park.  Did you know that President John Adams was a descendant of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins?  And so was his son, President John Quincy Adams.  

Church of the Presidents
United First Parish Church, Quincy

Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams
and their First Ladies lie in this crypt under the church

This plaque is in the church sanctuary.
There is a similar plaque for John Quincy Adams
and his wife, Louisa Catherine Johnson

John Quincy Adams was born in this modest house in 1767

John Adams was born in this little house in 1735

Our tour first went to the Church of the Presidents, where a docent gave a wonderful lecture on both Presidents Adams.  He then took us (in small groups of course) into the crypt where both presidents and their first ladies are interred.  The church was built in 1828 with granite donated by John Adams.  The bell in the steeple was cast by Paul Revere. 

Our next stop was at the farm where both John Adams and John Quincy Adams were born in side by side homes.  Then we went to see Peacefield, where John Adams lived in retirement, and his son John Quincy Adams built a library.  Generations of the Adams family lived here until it was donated to the United States in 1946.  The Stone Library houses the 14,000 volumes owned by John Quincy Adams.  Once a year, on John Quincy Adams' birthday (July 11th) the library is open to the public.  We were there on this special day to see inside the library, and to view the Mendi Bible on display on his library table.  The Mendi Bible was given to him in 1841 by the group of freed Mendi captives from the ship La Amistad.  This bible was stolen from the library in 1996, but the FBI recovered it in 1997 from a locker at a gym in Portsmouth, New Hampshire!  The first black governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, took his oath of office with the Mendi Bible in both 2007 and 2011.   

Next I will post on this blog about Day Two, in Plymouth, Massachusetts! 

The Stone Libary, next to Peacefield

The Mendi Bible on display inside the Stone Library

For the truly curious:

My 2017 blog posts of "Along the Pilgrim Trail" tour of England and the Netherlands start with this post in Babworth, Nottinghamshire, England:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/10/along-pilgrim-trail-babworth.html  

Click this link for Day Two of the tour:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/07/day-two-on-path-of-pilgrims-tour-by-gsmd.html  

Tour Day Three  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/07/day-three-of-path-of-pilgrims-tour-by.html 

Tour Day Four https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/07/day-four-on-path-of-pilgrims-tour-by.html    

Tour Day Five  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/07/day-five-of-path-of-pilgrims-tour-by.html   

The General Society of Mayflower Descendants   https://themayflowersociety.org/   

Boston Freedom Trail    https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/  

Old North Church  https://www.oldnorth.com/   

Wikipedia article on Mary Chilton   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Chilton  

The Adams National Historic Park   https://www.nps.gov/adam/index.htm   

Wikipedia article on The Mendi Bible https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendi_Bible   

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, ""On The Path Of The Pilgrims" Tour from the General Society of Mayflower Descendants - Day One", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 19, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/07/on-path-of-pilgrims-tour-from-general.html: accessed [access date]).  

Mary Adams, Infant, died 1818, Derry, New Hampshire ~ Tombstone Tuesday

This tombstone was photographed at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Derry, New Hampshire. At the time of this burial, this was Londonderry, New Hampshire.

Sacred

to the memory of

MARY ADAMS

daughter of Mr. Samuel &

Mrs. Sarah Adams

who died Nov. 9, 1818

aged 1 yr. & 14 days.

While cleaving to this darling dust,

And weeping at her grave

We would adore the wise and just

Who takes but what He gave.

Mary Adams, born abut 25 October 1817 and died 9 November 1818, was the infant daughter of Samuel Adams and Sarah Fitz, who were married on 3 March 1817 in Londonderry, New Hampshire.  They had three daughters: first, Mary Woodman (above), second Caroline Sawyer born 25 August 1819 and married Albert S. Newsmith, and third Louisa, born 17 February 1822 and married the Rev. Charles S. Porter.  They also had a son named George Fitz, born in Derry on 29 June 1824 and married Elizabeth W. Whitney.

Colonel Samuel Adams was born in Newbury, Massachusetts on 20 April 1779 and died 12 September 1861 aged 82 years.  He was a son of the Elder David Adams and Mary Woodman.  Colonel Samuel Adams was a descendant of Robert Adams (1602 - 1682) of Newbury.

Sarah Fitz, his wife, died 26 April 1878, aged 84 years.  Sarah was the daughter of Currier Fitz and Sarah George of Hampstead, Sandown and Derry, New Hampshire.  Her brother Daniel graduated from Dartmouth College and the Andover Theological Seminary and was a pastor at Ipswich, Massachusetts from 1826 to 1867.

To see an online version of The Descendants of Robert Adams of Newbury, Mass, by Andrew N. Adams, 1900,  (see page 126 for Colonel Samuel Adams) click this link:
http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ankeny/folklore/Robert%20of%20Newbury/Robert%20Capture.pdf 


UPDATE -  January 22, 2020  A has reader figured out the missing words in the epitaph above "adore the wise" by googling the words of the poetry and matching it to this Barnstable, Massachusetts epitaph on Find A Grave:  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/130618406/joseph-smith 

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Mary Adams, Infant, died 1818, Derry, New Hampshire ~ Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 21, 2020, (https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/12/mary-adams-infant-died-1818-derry-new.html: accessed [access date]).

Tombstone Tuesday ~ David Adams and Mary Woodman, buried at Derry, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed at the Forest Hill Cemetery in East Derry, New Hampshire.  This town was part of Londonderry, New Hampshire until the schism, or split of the towns, in 1827.

Elder DAVID ADAMS

died Jan. 24, 1838 A.E. 83 years

          MARY his wife

died Sep. 19, 1816 A. E. 64

                SAMUEL ADAMS

died Jan. 12, 1822 A.E. 69

MARY, Daughter of

DAVID & MARY ADAMS

died April 2, 1838. A.E. 57

This is an enormous gravestone (taller than me, and I'm 5 foot 7 inches), but it is half empty of inscriptions.  Perhaps the Adams family was planning on listing many more family members? There were many Adamses buried nearby.  If you would like to see the blog post for the dark gray tombstone to the left of the large slab, click HERE (it is the burial spot of their son, David Adams, Jr. who died when a senior at Harvard College). 

David Adams, the son of Samuel Adams and Mary Jewett, was born 10 December 1754 in Newbury, Massachusetts.  He was married on 22 September 1778 in Newbury to Mary Woodman, daughter of John Woodman and Hannah Adams, who was born 9 November 1752 in Newbury.  They had seven children:   Samuel, Mary, David Adams II, John Woodman, Hannah, Elizabeth and Sally.  David Adams was the brother of Samuel Adams, who married Mary's sister, Elizabeth Woodman (two brothers married two sisters).  

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ David Adams and Mary Woodman, buried at Derry, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 27, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/11/tombstone-tuesday-david-adams-and-mary.html: accessed [access date]).

Family Reunions, 2015

Members of the Balch and Woodbury families tour the 1679 Balch House
during the 2014 "Old Planters" Family Reunion in Beverly, Massachusetts

Summer is time for family reunions!  The following list of family reunions and family association meetings are taking place in New England, or are families descended from New England settlers.  If you know of one I didn’t list, please email me at vrojomit@gmail.com or leave a message in the comments:

WING -  June 19 – 21, at the Plaza Hotel, Salt Lake City, Utah, the 2015 Wing Family Reunion,  for descendants of the Reverend John and Deborah Wing.  http://www.wingfamily.org/reunions.html

LINELL – June 26 – 28 at the Sheraton Four Points, Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts for the 10^th Annual Linnell Family Reunion   http://www.linnellfamilyassociation.com/Reunion/2015/Reunion_2015_Registration_Form.pdf

MANNING -  June 27, at the Manning Manse, Billerica, Massachusetts, Annual meeting and gathering.  http://www.manningassociation.org/newsletters/messenger_2015_03.pdf   (held on the fourth Saturday of June annually)

GRINNELL-  July 9 – 12 in New Bedford, Massachusetts for the Grinnell Family Association of America, descendants of Matthew and Rose Grinnell.  http://www.grinnellfamily.org/

STILES – July 9 -12, Stiles Family Reunion at the Wingate Hotel, Erlanger, Kentucky, meeting, genealogy, group photo, tours, meals http://www.stilesfamilyofamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/2015-sfa-Reunion-info.pdf

PHELPS Family Reunion in Windsor, Connecticut - for descendants of Willaim and George Phelps - July 11, 2015.  Please join the FB group Phelps Famly Reunion in Windsor for more details:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/236219789837169

ELDRED - July 12 at Lake Eden, Eden, Vermont the 75^th Annual Eldred Family Reunion.  Held every year on the 2^nd Sunday in July.   http://eldredreunion.com/

BLAISDELL/BLASDEL -  July 16 – 19, at the Holiday Inn Portsmouth, 300 Woodbury Avenue, Portsmouth, Maine, The Blaisdell National Family Reunion, with tours of York and Pemaquid, Maine, and also a tour of the Blaisdell clock makers in Amesbury, Massachusetts.  http://www.blaisdell.org/BFNA%20Reunion%202015%20Schedule.doc.pdf

BOTSFORD and PLATT - July 17 and 18, at the Botsford Homestead, 84 Gunn Street, Milford, Connecticut, The Botsford and Platt family associations joint reunion.  Contact Richard N. Platt at rnplatt@optimum.net or Michelle Narus at michelle@ivy-design.com for more information.

ADAMS Family Association of Wilton, ME annual reunion July 18, 2015 at Kineowatha Park, Wilton, ME. See www.adamsfamilyassociation.info  for details.

FOLSOM -  The 100^th Anniversary Folsom Family Assocation Reunion will be held in Exeter, New Hampshire July 22 – 26, 2015.  http://www.folsomfamily.org/Other%20Pages/National%20Reunion%20and%20Conference.html

FOOTE – July 23 – 26, at Salt Lake City, the Foote Educational Conference (held every two years) under the auspices of the Foote Family Association of America FFAA, for descendants of Nathaniel Foote of Wetherfield, Connecticut.  http://footefamily.org/reunion2015.html

FELTON Family Association annual reunion,  24 -25 July 2015,  at the Nathaniel Felton Jr. and Nathaniel Felton Sr. homesteads on Felton Hill in Peabody, Massachusetts.  Check the website http://www.feltonfamily.org/Events_and_Products.html

PARSONS – July 25 at Stocking Hall, Cornell University,  Ithaca, New York the 93^rd Parsons Family Reunion.  See the newsletter online for more information, http://www.parsonsfamilyassn.org/Cornet_chronical_spring_2015_kbg_4_print_v1__2_.pdf

RUSH – July 25 – August 1, Rush Family Reunion in Benedicta, Maine, held every five years for the descendants of Johann Diederich Rashe (1800 – 1874) and Sarah Theresea Schmidt (1812 – 1856), who came to the US in 1833.  http://rushreunionbenedicta.blogspot.com/

LILLIBRIDGE -  July 25, the Lillibridge National Family Reunion, at Exeter, Rhode Island, located at the Canonicus Camp and Conference Center.  https://lillibridgereunions.wordpress.com/

LOCKE Family Association meeting; July 31-August 2 in Portsmouth, NH - info submitted by David Wilson, The 125th reunion of descendants of Rye, NH founder John Locke.  See this website http://www.lockefamilyassociation.org/reunions.html

SHELDON - July 31 to August 2^nd, Sacremento, California, the Sheldon Family Association Reunion http://www.sheldonfamily.org/2015reunion/2015meeting.htm

McINTIRE-  August 1, 11am McIntire Family Reunion, at the Barn at the the York Historical Society. Bring a lunch and a dessert to share.  We're collecting Scottish recipes, bring yours to share.  

OLD BROAD BAY FAMILY HISTORY ASSOCIATION-  August 1st, a reunion of the descendants of the German Settlers at Old Broad Bay, Waldeboro, Maine.  The meeting will take place at the Knox-Lincoln County Extension, 377 Manktown Road, in Waldeboro at 9am.  See the website for more information and a list of surnames:  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~meobbfha/

RICHARDS – August 3 – 7, Ocean Edge Resort and Golf Club, Brewster, Cape Cod, Massachusetts  http://richardsreunion.com/reservations-2/

STEERE -  The 85^th Annual Steere Family Association Reunion to be held August 7 – 9 in Chepachet, Rhode Island for descendants of John Steer.  See this newsletter PDF for more information: http://steerefamily.com/reunion_schedule.pdf

FAIRBANKS - August 8, the 113^th Annual Fairbanks Reunion at the Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts.  Email homestead@fairbankshouse.org to receive the newsletter with more information or call 781-326-1170 or see the website www.fairbankshouse.org

KIMBALL  - The Kimball Family Association annual reunion will be held August 14 and 15 at the Best Western Plus hotel in Haverhill, Massachusetts.  There will be a business meeting of the association, a trip to the Bradford Burial Ground, and other tour to historic sites.   http://www.kimballfamilyassociation.com/

COLBY – The 62^nd Annual Colby Clan Reunion will be held August 14 and 15^th at Bow, New Hampshire, for descendants of Anthony and Susannah Colby.

 http://www.colby-family-association.org/2015%20march_colby%20news.pdf

KALLOCH – August 15, at the Congregational Church, 172 St. George Road, South Thomaston, Maine,  see www.http://kalloch.org or the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kalloch-Family-Reunion-Association/163290497023722

DENISON - GALLUP -  August 15 will be a combined reunion of the Denison and Gallup families at the Coogan Farm and Nature Center in Mystic, Connecticut.  Contact Julie Souto for more information juiss8814@yahoo.com 

MEADER – The Meader Family Association, descendants of John Meader of Piscataqua, who settled near the mouth of the Oyster River by Durham, New Hampshire around 1647, has an annual reunion August 28 and 29 in Manassas, Virginia.  http://www.themeaderfamily.org/Pages/reunion2015.html

HARLOW -  75^th Annual Reunion of the Sgt. William Harlow Family Association will be held August 29 – 30 at the Beal House in Kingston, Massachusetts and at the Harlow Old Fort House on Sandwich Street, Plymouth, Massachusetts.  http://www.harlowfamily.com/current_events.htm

MAYFLOWER Society General Board of Assistants Meeting, September 9 - 13th at Foxwoods Casino, Connecticut.  See your Mayflower Quarterly for more information and registration forms, or the website https://www.themayflowersociety.org/2015-gboa-meeting/schedule-of-events

NICKERSON -  The Nickerson Family Association Annual Reunion will be held September 11 – 13 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  http://www.nickersonassoc.org/togethering.shtml

HARRIMAN-  September 12, at the First Parish Church, 50 Church Street, Waltham, Massachusetts, The Harriman Family Association Meeting and Reunion, for the descendants of Leonard and John Harriman, immigrants to Rowley, Massachusetts and New Haven, Connecticut circa 1638.  http://www.harriman-family.org/

TOWNE Family Reunion -  September 18 - 20th, for descendants of William Towne and Joanna Blessing of Topsfield, Massachusetts at Vancouver, Washington.  See the website for details and registration http://townefolk.com/testing/TFA_MEET.php

HATCH – September 11 – 13 at Falmouth, Massachusetts for the Hatch Family Association   http://www.hatchfamilyassoc.org/reunion.htm

DENNISON - GALLUP - August 15, the combined Dennison and Gallup family reunion will be held at the Coogan Farm Nature and Heritage Center in Mystic, Connecticut.

LEAVITT - September 18 - 19, Descendants of John Leavitt of Hingham, Massachusetts and Thomas Leavitt of Hampton, New Hampshire will meet at Leavitt Hill in Deerfield, New Hampshire.  See the website for more details.  http://www.leavitts.org/ 

TENNEY-  September 18 – 20^th, in Upshur County, West Virginia, The Tenney Family Association Reunion, for descendants of immigrant John Tenney of Rowley, Massachusetts.

http://10efamily.org/2015-annual-reunion-in-upshur-county-west-virginia/

NYE – September 19, 2015 at the Benjamin Nye Homestead and Museum in East Sandwich, Massachusetts.  Annual business meeting, lunch, afternoon and evening programs.  See the fall newsletter of the Nye Family of America Association, or this website:  http://www.nyefamily.org/home/family-reunion

RICE -  September 25 -26, the Edmund Rice Association meets up at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts.  http://www.edmund-rice.org/reunion.htm  

Upcoming next year:

CRANDALL   Crandall Family Association – Upcoming 2016 reunion, see the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Crandall.descendants

WINCHESTER,  June 17 – 19, 2016 at Digby Pines, Digby, Nova Scotia.  For descendants of Nathan Winchester, who came to Nova Scotia from Framingham, Massachusetts about 1760.  For registration and schedule of events contact Jim Greenwood at thewinchesterreunion@gmail.com  and for genealogy information contact Mr. Schani Biermann at ussenterprise1701@accesscomm.ca

GRISWOLD Family Association:  Contact@griswoldfamily.org  for more info. We are planning to visit Boston MA in 2016 and tour in Griswold country in the UK in 2017.

LOOMIS Family Reunion, July 1, 2018 - July 14, 2018.   https://www.facebook.com/events/406026092817497/

DOANE  The 54^th Biennial Reunion of the Doane Family Association will be in the summer of 2016.  http://www.doanefamilyassociation.org/dfacalendar.html

THAYER -  July 1 – 4, 2016 at the West Point, New York historic Thayer Hotel http://www.thayerfamilies.com/

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Family Reunions, 2015", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 8, 2015 ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/06/family-reunions-2015.html : accessed [access date])

The Oyster River Massacre, 1694 (and two lucky uncles)

The Falls at Oyster River

The Oyster River Massacre happened on 18 July 1694 at Durham, New Hampshire, then part of the town of Dover.  There had been a period of peace with the native Abenaki tribes following the Cochecho Massacre and the Seige of Pemaquid, Maine in 1689.  The government at Boston entered a new trade negotiation with the Abenaki and the French wished to end this agreement.  They didn't want the Abenaki to ally with the English.  The New England settlement at Oyster River was attacked by about 250 Abenaki led by Claude-Sebastien de Villieu of Quebec.   About 100 inhabitants were killed and 27 taken captive to Canada.   Half the town was destroyed, along with crops and animals, which left the survivors destitute.   Five out of twelve garrisons were destroyed.  Many of the refugees fled to Massachusetts.  It was the worst massacre of King William's War. 

The settlement eventually rebuilt, and was protected by troops from Massachusetts.  By 1716 Oyster River Plantation was a separate parish of Dover, named after Durham in England.  The town of Durham was incorporated in 1735 and included parts of Dover, Madbury, Lee and Newmarket.  

Oyster River from the footbridge below the historic marker

I could not find a complete list of deaths or captured individuals from the Oyster River Massacre.  According to the New Hampshire Provincial and State Papers, Volume 2, pages 125 – 128, some of the surnames mentioned as killed were  Dean, Adams, Drew,  and Davis.   

List of some of the captured individuals of the massacre was found in the book New England Captives Carried to Canada, by Emma Lewis Coleman, pages 253-254 and the names include the following people:

Mercy Adams

Two daughters of John Davis

John Dean’s wife and child

Peter Denbow

John Derry

Deliverance Derry

John or Joseph Derry

Thomas Drew

Tamsen Drew

Thomas Edgerly, Sr.

Joseph Edgerly

A daughter and some children of Thomas Edgerly, Jr.

Judah (Davis) Emerson

Ann Jenkins and three children

Samuel Rand

Remembrance Rand

Mrs. Hannah Watson

Joseph Watson

Abigail Willey/Willis, daughter of William Pitman of Dover

There are many interesting stories from this event.  John Bickford (about 1625 - 1697) married my 8th great aunt, Temperance Hull, the daughter of Reverend Joseph Hull.  An unrelated man, Thomas Bickford, had a garrison house. I can only imagine that my great aunt and uncle Bickford were sheltering at this fortunate garrison because John Bickford did not die in this attack, but he died three years later in 1697.  According to The History of New Hampshire, by Jeremy Belknap, ed. John Farmer (Dover, N.H.: S.C. Stevens and Ela & Wadleigh, 1831):

"Thomas Bickford preserved his house (12.)  in a singular manner. It was situated near the river, and surrounded with a palisade. Being alarmed before the enemy had reached the house, he sent off his family in a boat, and then shutting his gate, betook himself alone to the defense of his fortress. Despising alike the promises and threats by which the Indians would have persuaded him to surrender, he kept up a constant fire at them, changing his dress as often as he could, shewing himself with a different cap, hat or coat, and sometimes without either, and giving directions aloud as if he had a number of men with him. Finding their attempt vain, the enemy withdrew, and left him sole master of the house, which he had defended with such admirable address."

Another great uncle was lucky.  Robert Burnham (about 1614 - 1691), my 9th great grand uncle, built a garrison house at Oyster River in 1654.  The Burnham Garrison was about a mile below Durnham Falls.  It sheltered the Burnham descendants and the Pitman family, and none were lost. Seven garrisons were defended: Burnham, Bickford, Smith, Bunker, Davis, Jones and Woodman.  Robert Burnham's daughter, Sarah was married to John Woodman (about 1634 - 1706), who also successfully defended the Woodman Garrison, the largest garrison in the Oyster River area.  

The state historical marker is on the south side of Route 4, just east of the intersection with Route 108, by the bridge over the falls at Oyster River.

OYSTER RIVER MASSACRE

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

On July 18, 1694, a force of about 

250 Indians under command of the

French soldier, de Villieu, attacked 

settlements in this area on both

sides of the Oyster River, killing

or capturing apporximately 100

settlers, destroying five garrison

houses and numerous dwellings. It

was the most devastating French and

Indian raid in New Hampshire during

King William's War.          1993

Oyster River Massacre links:

http://minerdescent.com/2013/02/01/oyster-river-massacre-1694/ 

http://www.seacoastnh.com/history/as-i-please/digging-into-the-oyster-river-massacre/ 

“The Great Massacre of 1694: Understanding the Destruction of Oyster River Plantation”, by Craig J. Brown, Historical New Hampshire, Volume 53 (1998), pages 68 – 89.

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-oyster-river-massacre-1694.html

Copyright © 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Weathervane Wednesday ~ A very Historical School

Every Wednesday for two years I've been posting photographs of weather vanes located in or near the Nutfield area (the former name for the land where Londonderry, Derry and Windham, New Hampshire are now located). Most are historically interesting or just whimsical and fun weather vanes. Today's weather vane is a very historic building in Derry, New Hampshire. Have fun guessing where you may have seen this weather vane.

Do you know the location of weather vane #125? Scroll down to see the answer....

Today's weather vane can be seen on the Adams Female Academy building on Lane Road in Derry, New Hampshire.  It is a feather, probably representing a quill for writing.  The Adams Female Academy was founded in 1824 by Jacob Adams "to be located within one hundred rods of the East Parish meeting house in Londonderry" (in those days the entire town was Londonderry, later divided and the East Parish became the town of Derry).  This one of the first all female schools in New England, and it had several famous teachers, including Mary Lyon who later established the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary  which is now Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.  Mount Holyoke is the oldest woman's college in the United States.  The Adams Female Academy in Derry is now a private residence.

Click here to read a previous blog post about the Adams Female Academy:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/03/adams-female-academy-1824-derry-new.html 

Click here to see the entire collection of Weathervane Wednesday posts!

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/11/weathervane-wednesday-very-historical.html

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Presidential Library

Every Wednesday for more than two years  I've been posting photographs of weather vanes located in or near the Nutfield area (the former name for the land where Londonderry, Derry and Windham, New Hampshire are now located). Most are historically interesting or just whimsical and fun weather vanes. Today's weather vane can be seen in in a National Historic Site, somewhere in Massachusetts. Have fun guessing where you may have seen this weather vane.

Do you know the location of weather vane #124? Scroll down to see the answer....

When you visit the Adams National Park in Quincy, Massachusetts, you are seeing the homes of TWO presidents!  The first is the home where John Adams raised his son, John Quincy Adams, and the second is the larger estate home where John Adams retired, and where his son, John Quincy Adams, built the Stone library.  It holds over 14,000 volumes of books, and was designed to be fireproof and separate from the wooden house known as "Peacefield".  It was built in 1870 after a request in John Quincy Adams's will,  in a medieval style, different from the very New England style farmhouse and estate.

Adams National Historical Site http://www.nps.gov/adam/index.htm

Click here to see the entire collection of Weathervane Wednesday posts!

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/11/weathervane-wednesday-presidential.html

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tombstone Tuesday ~ David Adams, Derry, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed on Settlers Row, at the Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire

Mr.

David Adams Junr.

A member of the senior class

of Harvard University & son

of David & Mary Adams

died March 4th 1805

AEtat. 22

O death, where is thy sting

O grave where is thy victory

Thanks be to God who giveth me the

victory through our Lord Jesus Christ

As flowers of summer falls to bloom no more

As billows rise and die upon the shore

So Generations live and pass away

They sleep in silence till the judgement day

David Adams was the son of David Adams and Mary Woodman.  He was born 4 November 1782 in Derry, and died on 4 March 1805, unmarried.  His father, David Adams, was born 10 December 1754 in Newbury, Massachusetts and died 24 January 1838 in Derry; he married Mary Woodman on 22 September 1778 in Newbury.  They had seven children, and their son David was the third child.  He was a descendant of Robert Adams (1582 - 1676) one of the first settlers of Newbury. 

This young student was eulogized in The Monthly Anthology and Boston Review,  Volume 2, 1805, Boston, edited by Samuel Cooper Thacher, David Phineas Adams and William Emerson on pages 164 - 165

"NECROLOGY OR NOTICES COLLECTED OF PERSONS RECENTLY DECEASED AT HOME AND ABROAD
'Bleffed are the pure in heart: For they fhall fee God.'
     At Londonderry, N.H. on the 4th of March, Mr. DAVID ADAMS, Jun. fenior fophifter of Harvard Univerfity, AEt. 22
     When the eminently good are removed from this world, an account of their characters becomes interefting, and may be ufeful not only to their friends, but to the publick.
     Efpecially when the young, diftinguifhed by uncommon piety and purity of life are taken away, an example is afforded us, which the duty we owe to heaven and ourfelves directs us ferioufly to notice, and rightly to improve.
     Seldom do we witnefs a life fo pure, and a death fo happy, as were exhibited by this truly excellent and amiable young man.  Poffeffing the moft placid and affectionate difpofition, united to a ftrong and cultivated mind, he attracted the efteem and conciliated the affection of all, who knew him.  Diftinguifhed by uncommonly correct principles, his life was untainted by the vices and unfpotted by the irregularities of youth."

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Update at Nutfield Genealogy

August has been a busy month, even though I wasn’t even home one week to work on genealogy!  I spent some time on Long Island, and found several interesting things to blog about later, including my posts on Shelter Island, the Dolan DNA Learning Center and the Walt Whitman Birthplace.  I always find something historical when we are sightseeing! 

Last month my newest guest blogger, Betty Pye Wing, launched her own blog The Pye Plate at http://thepyeplate.blogspot.com/   This is the third time I’ve encouraged someone to start their own blog, and they all are wonderful!  In fact, one of these bloggers has also started a second blog (unrelated to genealogy), so they must be having fun!  And I think that The Pye Plate is one of the all time great names for a blog!  

The Nesmith Public library in Windham has honored me by placing a link to my blog on their page of genealogical resources on their website.  Windham is one of the original towns that made up the grant of land known as Nutfield.  It’s always nice to learn more about Windham.  I was surprised to see quite a few hits on my blog that traced back to the library website.  What a great surprise.  Check it out! http://www.nesmithlibrary.org/Misc/Genealogy.html

Just last week a student at St. Anselm’s college in Manchester contacted me about using one of my photographs of a family burial plot in her presentation.  It is a lecture “for medical professionals that will contrast how the culture was in the 1800s vs. today for the acceptance of death and dying.”  I wish I could be a fly on the wall for that presentation!  I granted her permission, attributed to my photographer, Vincent Rojo, and I applauded her for asking.  I’m sure many more of my photos have been “lifted” without permission.  You can see the photo of the Pettingill Burial Ground of Londonderry at this link: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/tombstone-tuesday-pettingill-burial.html

A story I posted last year on the Towne Family Burial Ground around the corner from my house will be published in the next issue of the Towne Family Association newsletter, “About Towne” (another great name!).   I just received permission to take photos of the folk art portraits of Robert Boyd and Mary Towne that hang in Londonderry’s Leach Public Library to accompany the article.  If you are a descendant of William Towne and Joanna Blessing who came to Salem, Massachusetts about 1635, you can read all about it! The condominium I live in now was built on the Boyd dairy farm in the 1960s.  The Townes lived across the street, near the burial ground.  William must have fell in love with “the girl next door!”  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/09/tombstone-tuesday-towne-family-burial.html

Cousin Connections:

While I was in Long Island I received an email from a brother and sister who were excited to find their Wilkinson ancestors on my blog.  They were able to trace 11 generations back!  Some photos of a graveyard  I had posted from my first cousin near Brownsville, Maine helped them to put it all together.  We are very distant cousins, but it’s always nice to meet another Wilkinson descendant.

Another sharp eyed reader found several common ancestors on my blog, HAM, HEARD and HULL among others, and sent me the link for the Tamsen Meserve counterfeiter story.  It was too good not to share, so it was yesterday’s post.  I hope you enjoyed it, too!  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-1731-counterfeiter-named-tamsen.html

A third cousin wrote to me from Texas, after he saw my story about the Draper and Maynard Sports Equipment Company, and the very unique name of Cupe Adams.  He must have used Google.  I don’t think there are many people in the world with the name Cupe.  He said that he was Cupe Adams, the 5^th George Herbert Adams.   He also divulged that the first George got the nickname Cupe from delivering love messages to the girls side of campus to the boys side of campus.  The students started calling him Cupid.  It evolved into Cupe.  It was a great name to use for “cousin bait”!   The story about Cupe Adams can be found at this link: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/draper-and-maynard-sports-equipment.html

Enjoy what little of summer is left! 

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

The Boston Massacre, 5 March 1770

Revere, Paul, engraver.  'The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.," 1770. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Reproduction Number LC-USZC2-4913.

 Revere, Paul, engraver.
 'The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.,"
1770. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Reproduction Number LC-USZC2-4913. 

The “Incident on King Street” happened on 5 March 1770.  Due to some unpopular legislation from England, Boston residents became unruly so soldiers were stationed in Boston to maintain order.  Relations were tense between civilians and representatives of the British crown.  On this day the British soldiers killed five civilian Boston residents. 

The “incident” now known as the Boston Massacre started when a mob began to harass a British sentry.  Snowballs and objects were thrown, and the soldiers fired into the crowd.  Eight soldiers, one British officer and four civilians were arrested.  Tensions heightened when Paul Revere (and others) published propaganda that spread throughout the colonies.  In the court case that followed, six of the soldiers defended by John Adams were acquitted.   The American Revolution broke out five years later, after further tensions between the colonies and the Crown broke down diplomatic relations, and the Intolerable Acts led to the Boston Tea Party and the eventual showdown at Lexington and Concord.

Since my family tree included many Boston families, I took a closer look to see if anyone witnessed or participated in any of the events around the Boston Massacre.  I was happy to find quite a few connections!

Thomas Wilkinson was married to Rebecca Cocks in Boston on 2 December 1756.  In attempting to connect this Thomas Wilkinson to my 6x great grandfather Thomas Wilkinson (abt 1690 – about 1740) who lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, I found that this Boston Thomas was the great grandfather of my 1^st cousin several generations removed.  I have traced the Boston Wilkinsons and found much good information, but no Wilkinson connection.  This Thomas died in 1809 in Boston, and was a member of the New North Church.  He testified at the court case where John Adams represented the British soldiers.

His testimony:

"Thomas Wilkinson, sworn.  Do you know either of the prisoners?  Yes, I know Montgomery, he used to live close by my house;  I know none of the rest.  I was a thome the whole evening, the Old South bell rung for nine as usual; about a quarter after, I heard Mr. Cooper's bell ring.  I went out and swa the Old South engine hauled out.  I ran down as far as the town pump, there seemed to be a considerable body of people and some with buckts.  The people out of the champber windows, said, do not go down there, you will be killed.  I saw ten or twelve of the soldiers with naked cutlasses by Boylston's alley.  I saw them with their cutlasses and bayonets drawing up towards the people.  I went back and stopped at the main-guard.  Were there a number of the town's people there at that time?  Yes, and many with buckets in their hands.  Were they contending with any body?  No, they wee standing in the street.  What were the soldiers doing?  They were brandishing their swords and sallying up to the people, but I did not tarry there one minute.  What number of people were there?  Thirty or forty.  Had the persons the soldiers came up to, anything in their hands?  No, they had nothing but buckets.  I took it they were brandishing their swords at the people, but I saw them strike nobody.  I went to the main-guard, I saw the sentries before the guard-house, walking as usual.  I stayed on purpose to see somebody come back from Boylston's alley, to know if any were wounded.  People were coming down from the south end, crying where is the fire?  where is the fire?  I said there is no fire but the soldiers were fighting.  At that time, in King Street, I do not think you could see a man, chid, or boy passing.  I stood there at the main-guard for about four minutes.  The Old Brick Bell began to ring, and the people seemed to come along fast, with buckets and bags.  Did Mr. Cooper's bell ring before?  Yes, a good while.  Could you see the sentry at the Custom house where you stood.  No, I stayed there about five minutes, and in a very short time I looked down King street, and saw thirty or forty people in King street; Capt. Preston came down to the main-guard, as it were from behind the Brick meeting, and said turn out, damn your bloods, turn out.  A party of soldiers turned out, Montgomery amongst them;   I was going to Montgomery to ask what they were going to do?  They drew up in two files, I think there were eight men, Capt. Preston drew his sword and marched down with them, and I went down as far as Mr. Waldo's shop with them, I thought they were going to relieve the guard.  After that, I went up by the main guard again, having left the soldiers on their march down from Waldo's shop, and passed round the Town-house, came down the north side of it, and went down King street, and got within two yards of the right of them; I saw Capt. Preston standing at the right of the circle; I stayed there about four minutes when I heard the word given, fire!  There was none fired then.  Then I heard, damn your bloods fire!  Instantly one gun went off; I saw the flash of every gun as they went off, one after another, like the clock striking.  Where did the firing begin?  I began at the right.  Did you see Montgomery after he got down there?  No.   Where did you stand when the guns were fired?  I stood about two yards to the right, in Royal Exchange lane, and towards the back of the soldiers;  I am positive the firing began a the right and went on to the left.  I counted the guns.  How many were fired?  Seven fired and one flashed.  Was there a longer distance betwixt the first and second gun, than betwixt the rest?  No more than the rest I think.  Did you see any man fall?  I did not.  There was a large opening at the centre, but on the right and left wings the crowd was close and thick.  Could you see all the soldiers?  No, I could not, there were many people between me and the soldiers.  Did you see the person who held the gun that flashed?  Yes, but did not know him.  Whereabouts was he standing?  I believe by the flash, he was the third or fourth man from the right.  Did you see any thing thrown at any of them before the firing?  No, I stood all the time they were there, and saw nothing thrown at all.  Did you see any body knocked down?  No.  You saw no ice nor snow balls?  No, I did not.  Did the people round you seem to be pressing on as to injure the soldiers?  No; had I seen anything being thrown, I would have gone away.  Did you see any blows given by any body, before or after the firing?  No, I did not.  Do you know Mr. Palmes?  No; I saw a man talking wiht the officer.  Do you know Mr. Bliss?  No  Did you hear any huzzaing?  Yes, before the party marched down, there were were two or three huzza, but afterwards none at all.  How many people do you imagine were there?  Sixty or seventy.  From the time they went from the main-guard, till the firing, how long was it?  It was not more than ten or twelve minutes."  [History of the Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770: Consisting of the Narrative by Frederick Kidder, Albany, NY: Joel Munsell, 1870, pages 144-146]

My second cousin 9 generations removed is Isaac Greenwood.  He is listed among the witnesses, but I haven’t found his testimony.  Richard Dana (1700 – 1772) is a 2^nd cousin 9 generations,  removed.  He was a lawyer in Marblehead and Boston.  He was a member of the committee that investigated the Boston Massacre, and died before the Revolution started.  When John Adams became president he stated “had his life been preserved he would have furnished one of the immortal names of the Revolution” [American Historical Magazine, by the publishing society of New York, Americana Society, Volume 1, November 1906, No. 6, page 465].

Jane (Franklin) Mecom (1712- 1794) is a 1^st cousin 8x removed.  As a woman, her most of her papers were not saved and any diary did not survive.  She lived in Boston, and was the youngest of seventeen children.  She cared for my great aunt, Abiah, in her old age, and witnessed an extraordinary time period in Boston.  But her brother was famous, and her letters to him were saved. She said of the mobs "what a wretched world would [this] be if the vile of mankind had no Laws to [re]strain them!"  Yes, her brother was Benjamin Franklin.  According to Jane Franklin Mecom: A Boston Woman in Revolutionary Times, by Neremy A. Stern, Princeton University, The McNeil Center for Early American Studies, 2006  “A copy of the long section dealing with Benjamin's attitude to his office was made by Jane, and ended up in the British Library. It clearly came there from Cooper's papers, seized by British forces in 1775. Unfortunately, Jane’s letters to her brother for the next several years do not survive and once again she must be seen mainly in her brother’s replies.”  Benjamin Franklin did not return to Boston during the years Massacre, Tea Party and of the Revolution, but we can catch a glimpse of the family life from these bits by Jane.

My 6x great uncle, General John Glover (1732 – 1797), married Frances Hitchborn as his second wife, and she was the 1^st cousin to Paul Revere!  This is my closest connection to the famous Paul Revere who is most known for his “Midnight Ride” to warn the countryside that the British Regulars were marching to Concord.  However, his propaganda posters and cartoons like the one he produced about the Boston Massacre were probably his biggest political move of the era.  Many, many men were out riding to warn the countryside about the British soldiers marching to Lexington and Concord, but this one cartoon roused the thirteen colonies to action in the first place!

UPDATE!  A loyal reader sent me this link to the story of his ancestor, Dr. Elisha Story, who treated Robert Patterson after the Boston Massacre (he was wounded in the arm with gunshots).  This link is to a post at J.L. Bell's blog "Boston 1775"  http://boston1775.blogspot.com/search/label/Dr.%20Elisha%20Story 

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To Cite/Link to this post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Boston Massacre,  5 March 1770", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 5, 2012, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/03/boston-massacre-5-march-1770.html: accessed [access date]).