My Revolutionary War Patriots - Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts

 

Yours truly and granddaughter in front of the

Munroe Tavern in Lexington, Massachusetts

This is Patriot #2 I have written about for this series on my Revolutionary War ancestors.  Major Andrew Munroe was born 31 March 1764 in Lexington, Massachusetts, the son of Andrew Munroe (1718 - 1766) and Mary Mixer (1727 - 1783).  His mother was married three times, first to Daniel Simonds, second to Andrew Munroe and third to Caleb Simonds.  Caleb had been married three times, too, and with his second wife, Susanna Converse had a daughter named Ruth Simonds.  Ruth was Andrew Munroe's step sister, and they married 22 March 1785 in Burlington, Massachusetts. 

Andrew Munroe was the great grandson of William Munroe ( about 1625 - 1718), a Scots Prisoner of War who was captured at the Battle of Worcester in 1650 and sent in chains to be sold into servitude on the docks of what is now Charlestown, Massachusetts.  He lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts briefly and then removed to Cambridge Farms, now known as Lexington, Massachusetts in a part of town near the Woburn line that became known as "Scotland".  He had fourteen children by three wives, and left many descendants in Lexington and Middlesex County who eventually fought in the Revolutionary War. 

When Andrew was only eleven years old the Battle on Lexington Green took place.  Many members of his Munroe family were at this battle, including his uncle William Munroe who was captain of the Lexington Militia.  Several family members were killed including his two uncles, Robert Munroe (1712 - 1775) and Jonas Parker (1722 - 1775), who was married to his father's sister, Lucy Munroe. I'm sure that this event shaped Andrew's life in many ways, since he enlisted in the war very young.  At age 16, on 15 July 1780, he enlisted in the Continental Army for six months under the command of Capt. James Cooper in the 16th division. He served under Brigadier General Patterson at Camp Tottoway on 25 October 1780 for another six months.  Later Andew enlisted as a private in the Danvers Militia Company, where he served from 1796 to 1817.  He applied from Danvers for a pension on 14 August 1832.  

Andrew and Ruth were married in Burlington, and had two chidlren born in Woburn.  His next two children, twins Andrew and Ishmael, were born in New Grafton, New Hampshire on 1 April 1789.  Andrew had been given a land grant in New Grafton for his military service.  It doesn't appear that he stayed very long in New Grafton, but returned to Danvers, Massachusetts where seven more children were born. 

I couldn't find his being promoted to Major in his military records, but his gravestone at the King's Burial Ground in Peabody (formerly part of the town of Danvers) read:

"In the memory of Major Andrew Munroe Formerly of Lexington Soldier of the Revolution who died Aug. 7, 1836 aged 73 Erected by his daughter Mrs. Mary T. Taylor."   

I descend from the youngest child of the eleven children, Luther Simonds Munroe (1805 - 1851) who married Olive Flint, daughter of John Fint and Phebe Flint (second cousins), on 3 September 1826 in Reading, Massachusetts.  

More information on Major Andrew Munroe for the truly curious: 

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolution

History and Genealogy of the Lexington, Massachusetts Munroes by Richard S. Munroe, 1966

Report of the Committee Appointed to Revise the Soldier's Record by Danvers, Massachusetts, 1895 (see page 142) 

other blog posts about Andrew Munroe and the Munroe family:

2012 "Surname Saturday - Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts"   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-munroe-of-lexington.html  

2012 "5 November 1789, George Washington Dined Here!"   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/5-november-1789-george-washington-dined.html  

2013 "He married his step sister?"   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/he-married-his-step-sister.html  

2015  "The woeful life of a colonial woman"  (about Mary Mixer Munroe)   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-woeful-life-of-colonial-woman.html  

#1 in this series Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, New Hampshire:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-colonel.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots - Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 10, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-major.html: accessed [access date]). 

Weathervane Wednesday ~ Seen at a Family Reunion

Weathervane Wednesday is an on-going series of photographs I post weekly.  I started out by publishing only weather vanes from the Londonderry area, but now I've been finding interesting weather vanes from all over New England.  Sometimes these weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are very unique.  Often, my readers tip me off to some very special and unusual weather vanes.

Today's weather vane is from somewhere in Massachusetts.

Do you know the location of weather vane #299?  Scroll down to see the answer...

I have to thank Vincent for this weathervane.  We were attending the annual Wyman family reunion at the circa 1666 Francis Wyman homestead, 56 Francis Wyman Road in Burlington, Massachusetts in October. It was a chilly, rainy day so the whole clan was huddled under a tent.  We were talking and listening to a history lecture, when suddenly he saw this weathervane over my shoulder.

This weathervane is installed on the roof of a neighbor's house, next door to the Wyman homestead. It is not located on a cupola, but attached directly to the roof. It is a finely detailed, three dimensional eagle. It has above average detailing in the feathers and features, and I especially like the ruffled wing feathers as if the eagle is about to take off.  Or did it just land?  Even the arrow's feathers are detailed, which is unusual.

You never know where you will find the next weathervane!


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

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~  Seen at a Family Reunion", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 22, 2017, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/02/weathervane-wednesday-seen-at-family.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ UNKNOWN (Another Brickwall Ancestress)

Catherine Unknown, my 6^th great grandmother, was the wife of Increase WYMAN of Burlington (now Billerica), Massachusetts.  She has no known parents, no known marriage record, and no known death record.  Increase’s ten children are listed in the Billerica vital records by baptism date – and his seven youngest children were all baptized together on 5 December 1773.  What a lack of records on this family group! The rest of the WYMAN family was very well documented in records, before and after Increase!

Increase Wyman served in the Revolutionary War, once for 9 months in Col. Spaulding’s regiment at Fishkill in 1778, and again for 6 months in 1780 under Brigadier General John Glover (my 7^th great grand uncle in another lineage) when he was 47 years old.  His Revolutionary War service is better documented than the rest of his life.  His death date is unknown.   To complicate things, his father was called Increase Wyman.  And Increase, Jr. had a son named Increase born between 1765 and 1770.  

According to Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts, Volume 1, by William Richard Cutter and William Frederick Adams, 1910, page 475 Ebenezer Richardson took as his fourth wife “December 12, 1776, Catherine, died 19 January 1783, widow of Increase Wyman.”  This appears to be an error because Increase Wyman’s military records match his birthdays- both in 1778 and 1780. 

Ebenezer Richardson was the son of Hezekiah Richardson and Elizabeth, born in Townsend, Massachusetts on 25 November 1751.  He married first Catharine (Tufts) Wyman on 12 December 1776.  She died before 1789.  He married second in 1789 to Jerusha Dodge, daughter of Zachariah Dodge.  According to the website www.wyman.org (by the WYMAN Family Association), Catharine Tufts was the daughter of William Tufts and Katharine Wyman.  She married first to Nathaniel Wyman on 2 July 1772 and he died on 2 April 1776.  Then she married Ebenezer  Richardson at the end of 1776.  This Katharine/Catherine cannot be my 6^th great grandmother . 

Catherine’s daughter, Jemima Wyman (1757 – 1843) is my 5^th great grandmother.  Jemima married a Revolutionary War Colonel named Joshua Burnham and lived in South Boston.  Her life is very well documented in vital records.

Does anyone have any clues about Catherine UNKNOWN Wyman?

My genealogy:

Generation 1:  Catherine UNKOWN; married to Increase Wyman, son of Increase Wyman and Deborah Pierce.  He was born 4 June 1732 in Woburn.  Ten children.

Generation 2: Jemima Wyman, born 10 February 1757 in Billerica, died 6 September 1843 in South Boston; married on 21 January 1779 to Colonel Joshua Burnham, son of Stephen Burnham and Mary Andrews.  He was born on 26 January 1754 in Gloucester, Massachusetts and died 7 June 1835 in Milford, New Hampshire.  Eleven children.

Generation 3: Jemima Burnham, born 9 May 1783 in Milford, died 5 August 1868 at 88 Emerson Street, South Boston;  married on 22 November 1810 to Romanus Emerson, son of John Emerson and Katherine Eaton.  He was born 1 September 1782 in Townsend, Massachusetts and died 10 October 1852 in South Boston.  Seven children.

Generation 4: George Emerson, born 11 July 1817 in South Boston, died 11 January 1890 in Dorchester, Massachusetts; married on 11 August 1845 in Boston to Mary Esther Younger, daughter of Levi Younger and Catherine Plummer Jones.  She was born 17 Feb 1826 and died 7 January 1913 in Boston.  Eight children.

Generation 5: Mary Katharine Emerson, born 25 December 1847 in South Boston, died 23 April 1932 in Roxbury, Massachusetts; marrie don 28 October 1869 in Chichester, New Hampshire to George E. Batchelder, son of George E. Batchelder and Abigail M. Locke.  Nine children.

Generation 6: Carrie Maude Batchelder, born 22 September 1872 in Chichester, died 21 January 1963 at the Sea View Convalescent and Nursing Home, Rowley, Massachusetts; married on 1 November 1892 in Essex, Massachusetts to Joseph Elmer Allen, son of Joseph Gilman Allen and Sarah Burnham Mears.  Five children.

Generation 7: Stanley Elmer Allen, born 14 January 1804 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, died 6 March 1982 in Beverly, Massachusetts; married on 14 February 1925 in Hamilton, Massachusetts to Gertrude Matilda Hitchings, daughter of Arthur Treadwell Hitchings and Florence Etta Hoogerzeil.  She was born 1 August 1905 in Beverly and died 3 November 2001 at the Pilgrim Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, Peabody, Massachusetts.  Seven children. (My grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~  UNKNOWN (Another Brickwall Ancestress)", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 22, 2016, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/surname-saturday-unknown-another.html: accessed [access date]). 

350th Anniversary of the Francis Wyman House, Burlington, Massachusetts and a Family Reunion

Wyman Descendants, photo by John Goff

In 1666 (or thereabouts) Francis Wyman (1617 - 1699) built a home in Woburn, Massachusetts, on land that is now 56 Francis Wyman Road in Burlington, Massachusetts.  He had over 1,000 acres near the Shawsheen River.  This homestead is now owned by the Francis Wyman Association, and celebrated it's 350th anniversary this year.  Over 30 descendants from all over the USA (from as far away as Nebraska, Wyoming, California, Oregon and Washington), England and New Zealand came together to commemorate the occasion and honor their Wyman Ancestors.

It was a chilly, raining day for the reunion on October 1st,  but that did not dampen the spirits of the Wyman family.  The house was open for tours, there was a cookout, and a family meeting.  We were entertained by colonial music and a musket salute by a group of Revolutionary War reenactors. Salem architect John Goff gave an excellent history of the house to the family members, with some new information about the structure of the building.  In the evening we all warmed up in a local restaurant to share a meal and good conversation. A good time was had by all!

The Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the
American Revolution Col. Henry Knox
Regimental Color Guard
John Zafiris, Jr., Jack Cunningham, Bob Bossart and Bill Carlson

Francis Wyman, our immigrant ancestor, was a tanner who owned property in "downtown" Woburn for his business, but he built his homestead on what was considered the frontier.  Nearby were several Christianized "praying Indian" villages, which were considered good protection against unfriendly Indian and French neighbors to the west and north.  As Wyman accumulated land, one of his deeds was witnessed by Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, the first Native American (Wampanoag) to graduate from Harvard.  The history of this land goes back further than the lifetime of our ancestor Francis Wyman.

The Wyman house stayed in the Wyman family for many generations, and then was sold out of the family.  It was in decrepit condition when descendant Benjamin Wyman saw the home in 1898 and established the Francis Wyman Association to buy the farmhouse and restore it.  A caretaker lived in the home until 1996 when an accidental fire destroyed most of the interior stairwell up to the roof.  This is the 20th anniversary of the fire.  After several rounds of renovations the house is open to the public again as a museum house. There is still much work to be done to the interior.

Above, John Goff gave a talk on the history of the Francis Wyman house, and the evidence through out the house of renovations over 350 years. You can see the fire damage on the walls, ceiling and mantel behind John.  Although he is not a descendant, John Goff has been an active volunteer for the past 20 years working on the renovations after the fire.  Below, descendants gather in the parlor room to for tours of the Wyman homestead. 

The Francis Wyman house is the oldest home in Burlington, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.   The mission of the Francis Wyman Association is to preserve the homestead and the story of the Wyman family.  You can participate in this mission by donating your time, materials or money to the association at this webpage www.wymanassociation.org

For the truly curious:

My Wyman lineage:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/08/surname-saturday-wyman-of-woburn.html

More about the fire at the Wyman house:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/06/grand-re-opening-of-1666-francis-wyman.html

Click on the video below to see the Burlington Cable Access TV show on the 305th Anniversary of the Francis Wyman House:



Another BCAT video of the history of the Francis Wyman House

https://youtu.be/vjEZHx0X2tY


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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "350th Anniversary of the Francis Wyman House, Burlington, Massachusetts and a Family Reunion", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 3, 2016,  (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/350th-anniversary-of-francis-wyman.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ WYMAN of Woburn, Massachusetts

2015 Wyman Family Reunion
at the Francis Wyman Homestead
circa 1666, Burlington, Massachusetts

Francis Wyman (1617 – 1699), my 9^th great grandfather, is the immigrant ancestor of a large number of descendants.  He came over with his brother, John Wyman, along with his uncles, Samuel and Thomas Richardson in 1636.  The first record of all four of these kinsmen was in 1640 when they signed the town order for Charlestown Village – now known as Woburn, Massachusetts.  Francis was made a freeman in 1657. The two brothers became tanners in Woburn.

In 1658 his father, Francis Wyman, Senior, wrote in his will “I do give and bequeath unto my two sons Francis Wyman and John Wyman which are beyond sea ten pounds a piece of Lawful English money to be paid unto them by mine executor if they be in want and come over to demand the same.”

There is a Wyman Street in Woburn where John had a house.  And in 1666 Francis Wyman built his homestead that still stands on Francis Wyman Road in what is now the town of Burlington, Massachusetts.  It is now owned by the Francis Wyman Association.

Francis Wyman had several Scots prisoners of war as indentured servants in his tannery.  He also had a slave.  In his will he left “a Negro girl named Jebyna” to his wife.  100 years later four WYMAN households in Woburn still had one slave each.  [“Slavery was part of Winchester History” by Ellen Knight, Daily Times Chronicle, Winchester Edition, Feb. 24, 2000]   He is often confused with Frances WICOM/WICOMB, who testified against Margaret Scott of Rowley during the 1692 Salem witch trials.  Many books state that it was Francis Wyman, but they are different people, a woman from Rowley versus a man from Woburn.

Francis Wyman is buried in Woburn at the Old Burial Ground, and his epitaph reads:

"Here lyes ye body of Francis Wyman, aged about 82 years, died November 28th, 1699"  "Memento Mori-Fugit Hora."  "ye memory of ye just is blessed"

2012 Wyman Family Reunion

For more information:

The Francis Wyman Association     http://wymanassociation.org/

Wyman Genealogy  https://www.wyman.org/

The History of Woburn, Massachusetts by Samuel Sewall,  1869

The Richardson Memorial: Comprising a Full History and Genealogy of the three brothers Ezekiel, Samuel and Thomas Richardson,  by John Adams Vinton,  1876.

Some Descendants of Francis Wyman of Woburn, Massachusetts, by Mrs. Bernard Woodke, 1990 [manuscript at NEHGS Mss C 3920]

My WYMAN genealogy:

Generation 1:  Francis Wyman, son of Francis Wyman and Elizabeth Richardson, born 2 May 1617 in Westmill, Herfordshire, England, died 28 November 1699 in Woburn, Massachusetts; married second on 2 October 1650 in Woburn to Abigail Reed, daughter of William Reed and Mabel Kendall and mother of his children.  She was born 30 December 1634 in Dorchester, Massachusetts and died before 1699. He was previously married on 30 January 1644 in Woburn to Judith Pierce, daughter of John Pierce and Elizabeth Hart.  She was born about 1623 in Norwich, Norfolk, England and died in 1644, the year they were married.  Twelve children with his second wife, Abigail.

Generation 2: Nathaniel Wyman, born 25 November 1655 in Woburn, died 8 December 1717 in Woburn; married on 28 June 1692 in Woburn to Mary Winn, daughter of Increase Winn and Hannah Satell.  She was born 1 May 1670 in Woburn, and died 7 June 1743 in Woburn.  Twelve children.

Generation 3: Increase Wyman, born 1 March 1707 in Woburn, died 5 September 1739 in Woburn; married on 11 March 1730 in Woburn to Deborah Pierce, the daughter of Ebenezer Pierce and Mary Wilson.  She was born 17-9 in Woburn, and died in 1739.  Five children.

Generation 4:  Increase Wyman,  born 4 June 1732 in Burlington, Massachusetts, and died before 1776; married before 1755 to Catherine Unknown. Ten children.

Generation 5:  Jemima Wyman, born 10 February 1757 in Billerica, Massachusetts, died 6 September 1843 in South Boston, Massachusetts; married on 21 January 1779 to Colonel Joshua Burnham, son of Stephen Burnham and Mary Andrews.  He was born 26 January 1754 in Gloucester, Massachusetts and died 7 June 1835 in Milford, New Hampshire.  Eleven children.

Generation 6: Jemima Burnham m. Romanus Emerson

Generation 7:  George Emerson m. Mary Esther Younger

Generation 8: Mary Katharine Emerson m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 9: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 10: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ WYMAN of Woburn, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 6, 20116,  (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/08/surname-saturday-wyman-of-woburn.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Francis Wyman House turns 350 years old this year!

The Francis Wyman House, 2015

There is a lot of news coming from the Francis Wyman Association.  Francis Wyman is my 10^th great grandfather.  He was born in Westmill, Hertfordshire, England in 1617 and settled in Woburn, Massachusetts (his homestead is now located in the town of Burlington).  He had two wives and twelve children, and a lot of descendants.  The Francis Wyman Association has owned the Francis Wyman house since 1900, and was founded for the preservation of the historic homestead.  It is not owned by the town or a historic society.

The Francis Wyman House was built in 1666 and still stands on 56 Francis Wyman Road.  Read below about how you can attend a public open house.   On the grounds of the Wyman home, next to the driveway, is a stone wall and a mysterious stone chamber.  No one has been able to explain the purpose of the stone chamber, which is topped by a two ton flat piece of granite. It is presumed that the chamber was built before European contact.

The Stone Chamber at the Wyman Homestead, Burlington, Massachusetts

The "roof" of the stone chamber, seen from the side of the stone wall

The FWA has set up a new Facebook page.  If you are interested in historic homes, or if you are a WYMAN descendant, or just a fan, please go to this link and click “Like” to receive all the newest information about the house, history and events going on in 2016.  https://www.facebook.com/FrancisWymanAssoc/?fref=ts

Here is an excerpt from an email from Jon Wyman, the president of the Francis Wyman Association:

“The big news this month is that the Boston ABC station, WCVB will air a show about new England stone and stone walls (possibly including our stone chamber) on their nightly show called Chronicle this Thursday evening, February 4th at 7:30PM [this aired last night].  That's 7:30 on Ch 5 in Boston for those of you in our viewing area.  For the rest of you, they stream the show live on their website www.wcvb.com/chronicle  

Fair warning: streaming can be a bit sketchy at times, but they also post the individual segments on their site the following day, under the heading "Chronicle HD Videos"    Those links are up only a few days, but if you bookmark them you will have access forever and can share with far-flung friends, family. “

Here are some upcoming events at the Francis Wyman House, located at 56 Francis Wyman Road, Burlington, Massachusetts.   The house Is open to the public on the second Saturday of the month from May to September.

May 14^th -  Preservation Month celebration

June 11 -   Open house day in Burlington for historic sites

June 9 -   To be announced

August 13 -  “Celebrate Burlington Day”, open house and colonial games and crafts on the town common

September 10^th -  To be announced

October 8^th -  Francis Wyman Association annual meeting and family reunion.  Our 350^th birthday!

Francis Wyman Association website    http://wymanassociation.org/

“Thursday, February 4: Romancing the Stone on the Main Streets and Back Roads of New England”, HD video of WCVB Channel 5 Boston’s Chronicle TV show featuring the stone chamber at the Francis Wyman House in Burlington, Massachusetts.

http://www.wcvb.com/chronicle/thursday-february-4-romancing-the-stone-on-the-main-streets-and-back-roads-of-new-england/37711006

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Francis Wyman House turns 350 years old this year!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 5, 2016, (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-francis-wyman-house-turns-350-years.html: accessed [access date]). 

WYMAN Family Reunion ~ The Descendants of Francis WYMAN (1594 - 1658)

The Francis Wyman Homestead, circa 1666, Burlington, Massachusetts

On Saturday, October 3rd, in the rain and chill, the descendants of Francis Wyman (1594 - 1658) met at the Francis Wyman homestead in Burlington, Massachusetts.  The house was built in 1666 and next year the house will be 350 years old!  If you would like to be part of the big anniversary celebration of the homestead, check the website http://wymanassociation.org/ and the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/WymanAssociation.org/    

In 1898 a descendant, Benjamin Wyman, found the homestead in a decrepit condition and founded the Francis Wyman Association to purchase the house and preserve it.  The association was incorporated in 1902 and has held reunions since 1899. 

In 1996 the house was nearly destroyed by a fire.  There were two rounds of renovation since the fire, which uncovered major structural damage inside the walls by insects and age.  The first renovation restored the outside shell of the home, funded by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the town of Burlington, and generous descendants and others.  The second renovation restored the stairway, which made the upstairs and attic accessible.  Much more work will be required to preserve the homestead as a museum. 

The current project is to rebuild a well sweep on the lawn of the homestead.  The required archaeological dig is expensive.  Please donate to this piece of Burlington and New England history at the Wyman Association website, where you can donate online with PayPal or by mail.  The Francis Wyman Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Your donation is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. 

Francis Wyman and his brother, John, originally owned about 1000 acres of land in Woburn (now in the towns of Burlington and Billerica).  The house is now located at 56 Francis Wyman Road (Route 62), Burlington, Massachusetts.  

If you would like a tour, please email tour@wymanassociation.org 

For more information  info@wymanassociation.org 

For WYMAN genealogy information, please contact Ginny Mucciaccio at ginny@wymanassociation.org or see the online database at http://www.wyman.org/genealogy-test    

More photos of the 2015 family reunion:

Damage is evident from the 1996 fire 

Architectural Preservationist John Goff explained to me
what was uncovered under the original plaster when
a door was widened for handicap access in the Wyman house.

The restored staircase, and new wall panels
that show visitors the chimney construction behind the wall

Extremely wide floor boards in an upstairs chamber

The basement stairway with timber peg construction

An old sign that used to hang in front of the Wyman homestead

Wyman Association president John C. Wyman addresses his kinfolk

The Rumford Historical Association in Woburn
gave a wonderful presentation on Rumford fireplaces

Thanks to John Goff of Salem, Massachusetts for the group photo of the Wyman Reunion

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Published under a Creative Commons License

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "WYMAN Family Reunion ~ The Descendants of Francis WYMAN (1594 - 1658)", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 5, 2015, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/10/wyman-family-reunion-descendants-of.html : accessed [access date]).

He married his Step Sister?

Back when I was a teen aged kid, in the 1970's, before computers and the internet, I started working on my family history.   As a teenager, I was very intimidated by the librarians and archivists in some repositories.  They definitely did not like genealogists, and they did not like children.  I had to get permission to step inside several archives, including interviews.  The staff at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester often stopped to ask me what I was doing in the building, but I had a badge and my name was on the “researcher” list when I was fifteen. 

 It was difficult at times to untangle what I was reading in the vital records.  Can you imagine finding some sort of mystery and not having Twitter, Facebook or email to instantly consult with fellow genealogists?   None of my teen friends were helpful, and the genealogy class I attended was full of retired people who were new at genealogy, too.  I didn't know a single experienced genealogist, except my genealogy teacher.  There were no genealogy clubs.  I was on my own!

And so, upon studying my  5x great grandmother, I found her marriage record to be very confusing.  Working backwards from my 4x great grandparents, Andrew Munroe and Ruth Simonds, I saw that they were married on 22 March 1785 in Woburn (now Burlington), Massachusetts.   Ruth’s parents were Caleb Simonds and Susanna Converse.  Andrew’s parents were listed as Andrew Munroe and Mary Simonds.   In trying to find Mary’s marriage and parents, I ran into problems. 

It turned out that Mary Simonds was really Mary Mixer, daughter of Joseph Mixer and Mary Ball and the widow of Daniel Simonds.  She was married to Daniel Simonds in 1749, to Andrew Munroe in 1763 (and had a son, Andrew, jr.), and to Caleb Simonds (cousin to Daniel) in 1774.   Caleb Simonds was married twice, first to Susanna Converse in 1746 (and had a daughter Ruth), and then to Mary (Mixer) Munroe. 

Yes, Ruth Simonds married her step brother.  Eleven years after Caleb and Mary married, she married Andrew Munroe, Jr. on 22 March 1785. 

Susanna Converse m. Caleb Simonds  m. Mary Mixer m. Andrew Munroe

                                  I                                                             I

                            Ruth Simonds  m.  Andrew Munroe, Jr.

                                                   I

                                     Luther Simonds Munroe

                                   (my 3x great grandfather)

Not only was this eye brow raising to me at age fifteen, it was difficult to sort out on my own.  However, it slowly unraveled, and was quite a relief to find that everything worked out without any incestuous marriages. 

Then I found out that Luther Simonds Munroe had married Olive Flint in 1826, and her parents were named John Flint and Phebe Flint.   Can’t you just hear me saying “Here we go again!” 

Since this time, I've found several cases of step siblings marrying in my family tree.  Also first cousins marrying, lots of second cousins and third cousins marrying, and siblings marrying the widowed spouse of a sibling.   I think I've seen it all, over and over, which is not unusual in early colonial New England, and probably not unusual anywhere else.

Click here for my Simonds lineage:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/12/surname-saturday-simonds-of-woburn.html

Click here for my Mixer lineage:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/09/surname-saturday-mixer-of-watertown.html

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "He married his Step Sister?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 28, 2013, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/he-married-his-step-sister.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ Simonds of Woburn, Massachusetts

SIMONDS

This illustration of the Jesse Cutler House (built by William Simonds)
is from page 58 of Legends of Woburn, by Parker Lindall Converse,
published in 1896.  You can read this book at Archives.org
http://archive.org/stream/legendsofwoburn02conv#page/n7/mode/2up

William Simonds was born in 1612 in Winchester, Hampshire, England, son of William Symonds and Alice Unknown.   He settled first in Charlestown where he became a freeman in 1639.  He was first married to a Sarah Unknown about 1641 in Concord, Massachusetts, and then he removed to the settlement which became the town of Woburn, Massachusetts in about 1644 when he was taxed there.

In 1644 he also married Judith Phippen, the widow of James Hayward.  He built his house in the Cummingsville section of town about 1670, and is no longer standing, but there are photographs of it.  William Simonds died in 1672 and left Judith his house in his will, and it eventually passed to his son Benjamin and stayed I the Simonds family until 1844, when it was sold to Jesse Cutler.  

William and Judith had twelve children,  and ten lived to adulthood.  There are a large number of descendants who spread out over Middlesex County, Massachusetts and beyond.    If you are researching this family be sure to check all the various spellings: SYMONDS, SIMMONS, SIMMONDS, SIMONS, etc.

There are few books or articles about William Simonds and his descendants.  The best bet is to search the vital records, local histories and Woburn or Burlington records for this family.  The Burlington Historical Society was a terrific place to visit, too.  http://www.burlingtonmahistory.com   I also found these two books to be helpful:

Genealogical Sketch of William Simonds, by Edward Francis Johnson, 1889

The History of Woburn, Massachusetts from the Grant of its Territory to Charlestown in 1640 to the year 1680, by Charles C. Sewall, 1990, Heritage Books

The town of Burlington was once part of Woburn, Massachusetts.  You can find many places there named after the Simonds family, including Simonds Park (once the Nathan Simonds home), the Marshall Simonds Middle School, and Simonds Road. 

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My lineage from William Simonds:

Generation 1: William Simonds, baptized on 20 November 1612 at St. Peter’s in Winchester, Hampshire, England, died on 7 June 1672 in Woburn, Massachusetts; married first to Sarah Unknown, married second to Judith Phippen, widow of James Hayward, on 18 January 1644 in Woburn.  She died 3 January 1690 in Woburn.

Generation 2:  James Simonds, born 1 November 1658 in Woburn, died 15 September 1717 in Woburn; married on 28 December 1685 in Woburn to Susannah Blodgett, daughter of Samuel Bloggett and Ruth Eggleton.  She was born 17 February 1663 in Woburn and died 9 February 1715 in Woburn.   James Simonds married second to Anna Lawrence.

Generation 3:  James Simonds, son of James Simonds and Susannah Blodgett, was born 1 November 1686 in Woburn, and died 30 June 1775 in Woburn; married on 17 June 1714 in Woburn to Mary Fowle, daughter of James Fowle and Mary Richardson.  She was born 18 June 1689 in Woburn and died 9 March 1762 in Woburn.

Generation 4:  Caleb Simonds, born 27 August 1720 in Woburn, died 4 January 1811; married first on 26 March 1746 in Woburn to Susanna Converse, daughter of Robert Converse and Mary Sawyer.  She was born on 18 June 1724 in Woburn and died 29 October 1771 in Woburn. Caleb Simonds married second to Lucy Mixer on 6 December 1774 in Woburn.   She was the daughter of Joseph Mixer and Mary Ball, born on 21 November 1727 in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts and died on 3 September 1783 in Burlington, Massachusetts. 

Generation 5: Ruth Simonds, daughter of Caleb Simonds and Susanna Converse, born 13 April 1763 in Woburn,  and died 29 January 1840 in Danvers, Massachusetts; married on 22 March 1785 in Burlington, Massachusetts to Andrew Munroe, son of Andrew Munroe and Lucy Mixer (his step-mother).  Andrew Munroe, Jr. was born on 31 March 1764 in Lexington, Massachusetts and died on 7 August 1836 in Danvers, Massachusetts. 

Generation 6:  Luther Simonds Munroe m. Olive Flint

Generation 7:  Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 8:  Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 9:  Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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To Cite/Link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ Simonds of Woburn, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 15, 2012, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/12/surname-saturday-simonds-of-woburn.html: accessed [access date]). 

Stone Wall Stories - #4 The Sheepcote

My Mum and I checked out the sheepcote
at the 2005 Wyman Family Reunion

The Francis Wyman house was built in Woburn (now Burlington), Massachusetts in 1666.  It is located on 56 Francis Wyman Road, and is owned by the Wyman Family Association.  Every fall there is a reunion at the homestead.  The first thing all the kids (big and little) do is to run over to the stone wall near the house and look for the “hidey hole” or “sheepcote” (a pen for sheep).

The entrance to the Sheepcote

This strange stone chamber pre-dates the 1666 house, and pre-dates European settlement, so it was probably never used as a shelter for sheep.  It is obviously too small for sheep, too.  There were Indian settlements nearby, but usually the Indians in this part of New England did not build stone structures.  The large stone which forms the “roof” of this structure would have been difficult to move into place without iron or metal tools.

The large "roof" stone of the sheepcote

I don’t know who named this the “Sheepcote”.  It is  a true history mystery!

The Wyman Family Association website   www.wyman.org

This post is part of a series of stories I wrote for this week all about stone walls.

Story 1 –  America's Stonehenge, Salem, New Hampshire
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/stone-wall-stories-week-1-americas.html

Story 2-  Stone Walls - 
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/stone-wall-stories-2-stone-walls-and.html

Story 3- Dogtown, Massachusetts
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/stone-wall-stories-3-dogtown.html

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

The Count Rumford House

By a bit of serendipity, my daughter lives in Burlington, Massachusetts near the Woburn town line.  This is where many of our ancestors lived in the 1600s and 1700s.  Soon she is moving to a new apartment in a new city, but recently she called me on the cell phone with some exciting news.  After living in this area for two years and usually using the same gas station, she happened to look across the street and notice a historic house.  She recognized the name from some of my stories.  I guess she was paying attention!

This is the Count Rumford House, where Benjamin Thompson was born born in 1753 in Woburn, Massachusetts.  His mother and my 5x great grandfather were siblings, which makes him my first cousin 7 generations removed.  Benjamin Thompson was a brilliant engineer and mathematician, but he was a Loyalist and fled to England.  He was made a Count in Germany for his contributions to the development of arms for the Hapsburg government, which explains why a country boy from Woburn earned a title.

click to enlarge

Generation 1: William Simonds, born about 1612 in Winchester, Hampshire, England and died 7 June 1672 in Woburn, Massachusetts, married first to Judith Phippen on 18 January 1644 in Woburn.  Twelve children.

Generation 2: James Simonds, born 1 November 1658 in Woburn, died 15 September 1717 in Woburn; married first on 29 December 1685 in Woburn to Susannah Blodgett, daughter of Samuel Bloggett and Ruth Eggleton. Six children.

Generation 3. James Simonds, Jr., born on 1 November 1686 in Woburn, died 30 June 1775 in Woburn; married on 17 June 1714 in Woburn to Mary Fowle, daughter of James Fowle and Mary Richardson. Nine children including these two below...

Generation 4. Caleb Simonds, my 6x great grandfather, born 27 August 1720 in Woburn, died 4 January 1811 in Woburn; he had four wives, and my 6x great grandmother is his first wife, Susanna Converse married on 26 March 1746 in Woburn.  She was the daughter of Robert Convers and Mary Sawyer.

also generation 4: Ruth Simonds, born 10 October 1730 in Woburn, married on 30 May 1752 in Woburn to Benjamin Thompson her first husband, son of Ebenezer Thompson and Hannah Converse.  Ruth and Benjamin Thompson were the parents of "Count Rumford", Benjamin Thompson, born 26 March 1753 in Woburn and died 21 August 1814 in Auteuil, near Paris, France.  He was married to Sarah Walker in November 1772, the daughter of Reverend Timothy Walker of Rumford (now Concord, New Hampshire). He was also married to Anne Marie Pierrette Paulze in 1804 in Paris, the widow of scientist Antoine Lavoisier.   He had a daughter, Sophia Thompson, born in 1798 with the Countess Baumgarten, and a son who died young by a French woman named Victoire.

The Count Rumford House is open seasonally for tours: http://www.countrumford.com/

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Wedding Serendipity

Our family tree is growing a new branch!  Last month our daughter was engaged to be married, and she jumped right into wedding planning.  She has always dreamed of being married in a historical house with some family connection.  Fortunately for her, there are many houses in our area that were lived in by ancestors and their close kin.  She was on line researching houses, and on the phone with many of them that made her “short list”.

My daughter’s first choice was the Fairbanks house, which was built by her 11x great grandfather, Jonathan Fairbanks (abt 1594 – 1668), in Dedham, Massachusetts.  It was built between 1637 and 1641.  She loved the fairytale look of the crooked roof line, and the history.  However, the house and grounds were too small for a big wedding.  It has hosted small weddings in the past.  There were no kitchen facilities for a caterer.  Disappointed, she moved on down the list.

The Mayflower House, Plymouth, MA

Next was the Mayflower House in Plymouth, which is used by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants as their headquarters.  If you have used the library, you have been there.  It has a lovely rose garden in the back, where I have attended garden parties for the Mayflower Society’s Trienniel Congresses every three years.  This garden was too small for a reception tent, but would be perfect for a wedding ceremony.  My daughter decided to move on down the list…

The 2000 Felton Family Reunion, Peabody, MA

The Felton Houses in Peabody, Massachusetts were built by her 10x great grandfather, Nathaniel Felton (abt 1615 – 1705).  The Nathaniel Felton, Sr. house was built about 1650, and later divided in half to build the Nathaniel, Jr. house next door.  Both houses have large additions and gardens.  There is a barn across the street used for functions, and our family is familiar with this from the Felton Family Association reunions held every summer in the barn.  There is room for a tent near some beautiful orchards.  My daughter was not in love with the site (perhaps it was too familiar to her from the family reunions?) so we moved on down the list.

The Francis Wyman House, Burlington, MA

The Wyman house, built in Burlington, Massachusetts in 1666 by her 10x great grandfather, Francis Wyman (1617 – 1699), is lovely, but has no bathrooms, kitchen or proper place for a party.  There are plans to erect a barn on the grounds in the near future, especially for functions and rentals.  Too bad, because my daughter lives right in Burlington and that would have been handy! 

The next house was the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline, Massachusetts, which is inside a lovely carriage house that looks like a Loire castle.   The manor house that used to be behind it was destroyed years ago to form a town park.  Many weddings are held on the great lawn, with the “castle” in the background.  It was a bit too formal, too expensive, and not really owned by an ancestor, just a close cousin since Larz Anderson married Isabel Weld Perkins, and we have both Perkins and Weld ancestors.  Next…

The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts sounded perfect.  I've passed by this old house many times and have seen weddings and functions going on in the yard.  It was built by Reverend William Emerson in 1770, who was Ralph Waldo Emerson's grandfather, and is my 1st cousin 7 generations removed.  Our Emerson ancestors lived for a long time in Concord.   The Old Manse is a very romantic house because Nathaniel Hawthorne lived here for a short time and etched love poems to his wife on the window panes.  It is also located right next door to the Concord Minuteman statue and the Old North Bridge for some delightful wedding photos, but would make her wedding right in the middle of lots of tourists and gawking.  The Old Manse didn't quite fit my daughter's plans either. 

I could tell that my daughter was becoming a bit frustrated in her search, since there were so many choices, and none were perfect.  She confessed that she always like the Pierce House in Lincoln, Massachusetts.  She used to pass it every day when she worked nearby at the DeCordova Museum.  It was beautiful, historical, and who cared if it didn’t belong to a member of the family tree.  We all went to visit it and she loved it so much that we put down a deposit for a day next spring.  My husband took a photo of the portrait of John H. Pierce that was in the hallway.  I asked the caretaker if he was descended of the Pierce’s of Watertown, Massachusetts (a wild guess!).  He told me that he didn’t know the family genealogy, but he knew that his real name was Hoar, and he changed it to Pierce.

Here we are at the Pierce  House

Undaunted, when I got home I took a look at my Pierce family tree on the computer.  I found an article about John Howard Pierce online, and how his father, Abijah Pierce Hoar, had changed the surname.  Abijah’s mother was Susanna Pierce.  I found her already listed in my database as a 5^th cousin, 6 generations removed.  This was a rather distant kinship, but fun to tell my daughter about the connection.  However, before I called her I looked at John Howard Pierce’s wife’s name, Mary Elizabeth Wheeler.   She had six common ancestors with us (Coolidge, Hubbard, Heyward, two Munroe lines, and Stone).  Now, that was interesting! 

We’ll have to put a family tree under that portrait of John. H. Pierce on the wedding day!

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For more information, check this list.  One of these historic Massachusetts houses could be perfect for your next function or wedding!:

The Fairbanks House, Dedham, MA http://www.fairbankshouse.org/index.html

The Mayflower House, Plymouth, MA http://www.themayflowersociety.com/museum

The Nathaniel Felton, Sr. and Jr. Houses, Peabody, MA http://www.peabodyhistorical.org/properties.asp

The Francis Wyman House, Burlington, MA http://www.wyman.org/francis-wyman-house

The Larz Anderson Estate, Brookline, MA http://larzanderson.org/
The Old Manse http://www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/greater-boston/old-manse.html 

The Pierce House, Lincoln, MA http://www.piercehouse.com/

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Wedding Serendipity", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 9, 2012, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/04/wedding-serendipity.html: accessed [access date]).