My Revolutionary War Patriots, Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, New Hampshire

Colonel Burnham's Tavern, Milford, New Hampshire

This is #1 in a series of posts I intend to write this year for the 250th Anniversary of the USA. 

Colonel Joshua Burnham, my 5th great grandfather, was born on 26 January 1754 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the son of Stephen Burnham (1715 - 1790) and Mary Andrews (b. 1712) of the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, Massachusetts.  Many of his 12 siblings removed away from Massachusetts, just like he did.  Joshua died in Milford, New Hampshire on 7 June 1835, and his brother Stephen died in Lyndeborough, New Hampshire.  His brother Caleb died in Lake George, New York, and brothers David and Jonathan died in Vermont.  

Joshua was a founder of the town of Milford when it became a separate town from Amherst in 1794.   He had served in the Revolution as a private from New Hampshire enlisting in April 1775 after the Lexington Alarm under Captain Josiah Crosby for 8 months, and at the end of that term he re-enlisted under Captain Jones of the same regiment for one year.  He was at Bunker Hill, New York, Philadelphia, and was discharged at Aesopus (formerly Kingston), New York.  

Returning to Milford, he married Jemima Wyman on 21 January 1779 at Wilton, New Hampshire, a contiguous town.  She was the daughter of Increase Wyman and Catherine Unknown, born 10 February 1757 in Billerica, Massachusetts, and died on 6 September 1843 at the home of her daughter Jemima Burnham, who lived in South Boston (my 4th great grandmother).  In the Milford town records Joshua was on the committee to build a town pound in 1797, and was listed as a taxpayer in 1830. 

Joshua Burnham lived on the road to Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, now known as River Road, in a fine house that is still standing about two miles from the center of Milford. It was known as Colonel Burham's Tavern.  He sold this farm in 1822 to Jesse Hutchinson, the leader of the famous Hutchinson Family Singers, and they lived there for many years. Jesse and Polly raised 13 of their 16 children there, of whom half were part of the singing group.  The Hutchinson family entertained many important historical figures there, including Fredrick Douglass, General Tom Thumb, and P.T. Barnum.  The house remained in the Hutchinson family until 1949. 

In the biography of the Hutchinson family on pages 8 to 10, see below, is this passage:

"Right in the vicinity of these premises was Colonel Burnham, living in the little red house on the hill, which had been selected by his children as a home for his declining years, and situated where he could overlook the surrounding landscape, including a good view of the farm that was once the home of his family and which he had lost by unpaid debts. He was a frequent visitor to the place; and when the fruits were ripe, he would have free access offered by my father and the privilege of obtaining what fruit he desired. There was one very favorite apple, the flavor of which was delicious; and when the apples were ripe, this honorable old gentleman would be seen going and coming with his pockets full, and they were pockets! They were like bags, and he could carry almost half a peck in each one. He would come over, fill his pockets, and then trudge along towards home. He was occasionally visited by officers of the armies of the Revolution; and it was said that one of the staff of Washington was among them. My parents honored him by naming Joshua after him. He would frequently show his regard for his namesake by some token, and before passing into his dotage he called him to his house and presented him with a sash worn by him on parade while he was under George Washington's command. This article was carefully preserved, and is still, after the decease of both giver and receiver, an heirloom in the family.

In those early days among the pioneers, education was sometimes neglected. The colonel, though passing through seven years of renown as a discreet officer, could not write his own name, and while in business kept his accounts by characters. For instance, having sold cheese to a person, he would make a mark of that portion of cheese that that man received. His funeral was the first that I had ever witnessed, and the impression was depressingly suggestive." 

Joshua Burnham came upon hard times and lived in poverty in his older years. He applied for a military pension in 1818.  The application papers for his pension outlined his service, his life, family members and friends from the war.  They also described his poor health and need for a military pension.  He died on 7 June 1835 in Milford at age 93, and was buried in the small burial ground about a quarter mile from his tavern house, and buried in a plot near his friend Jesse Hutchinson.  His epitaph read "Soldier of the Revolution, zealous in his country's cause, Faithful to the constitution and obedient to it's laws".  His wife Jemima applied for, and received, a Revolutionary War Widow's pension in 1838, and she died in 1843. 

Col. J. Burnham's gravestone

For the truly curious:

Tombstone Tuesday - Joshua Burnham's gravestone:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/10/tombstone-tuesday-col-joshua-burnham.html  

2010 blog post "The Illiterate Colonel" (I have since discovered he was quite literate and signed many documents)   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/01/illiterate-colonel.html    

2017 blog post "Joshua Burnham Proves His Military Service"   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/06/joshua-burnham-proves-his-military.html  

2017 blog post "Jemima (Wyman) Burnham applies for a Revolutionary War Widow's Pension"   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/06/jemima-wyman-burnham-applies-for.html   

2014 blog post showing my BURNHAM lineage:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/05/surname-saturday-burnham-of-chebacco.html  

and in books:

A manuscript Old Houses of Milford, compiled in a notebook for Wadleigh Memorial Library, Milford, New Hampshire

The Story of the Hutchinsons by John Wallace Hutchinson, 1896 (see pages 8 -10 for the information on Colonel Joshua Burnham and his house he sold to Jesse Hutchinson of the Hutchinson family singers). 

The History of Milford, by George A. Ramsdell, Rumford Press, Concord, New Hampshire, 1901, see page 783.  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots, Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 15, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-colonel.html: accessed [access date]). 

This story will give you the Willeys - literally!

 

To the memory of the Family

which was at once destroyed by

a slide from the white Mountains

on the night of 28 August 1826.

SAMUEL WILLEY, AE 38

POLLY L. WILLEY, 35

ELIZA A. WILLEY, 12

JEREMIAH WILLEY, 11

MARTHA G. WILLEY, 10

ELBRIDGE G. WILLEY, 7

SALLY WILLEY, 3

Happy Halloween!  In New England we use a lot of words to describe the sensation of getting the shivers - goosebumps, goosepimples, chicken skin, jitters, getting the creeps, and "getting the willies".  Some people say that this word "the willies" dates back to a disaster that happened in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in 1826 when an entire family died during a landslide.  The Willey Family story is sad, but scary enough to have lived on in ghost stories, books (including Nathaniel Hawthorne), and history books.  I previously blogged about the Willey family disaster and their genealogy HERE in 2010.  Seven members of the Willey family, two parents and five children, and two hired hands all died in this landslide. Only the bodies of the parents, two of the three children, and the two hired men were found. The bodies were buried near the homesite originally, and then reburied elsewhere. 

Recently we drove through Crawford Notch, the site of the famous 1826 landslide, and we looked at the monument to the family.  I knew that this was the place where the family house stood, not the burial place for the bodies of the Willey family.  But where were they buried? Somewhere else in Crawford Notch? Nearby in Bartlett or somewhere that is now part of the Crawford Notch State Park or the White Mountain National Forest land? Miles away with family members in southern New Hampshire (the family originated in the Piscataqua Region) or even out of state? Where? 

I made a quick search of the Find A Grave website, and Google with some interesting results. I searched for Samuel Willey born 1788 and died 1826.  Find A Grave said he was buried in the Willey Slide Cemetery located in Intervale, Carroll County, New Hampshire.  There are many places in New Hampshire called "Intervale", which literally means between mountains or between towns.  There is a place called Intervale nearby between the towns of Bartlett and Conway, New Hampshire. On Find A Grave there are no GPS coordinates or directions, which is very odd.  There is no description of the cemetery, and no map.  Very odd indeed.  There is even a misleading entry "Willey Family Cemetery" off Moose Mountain Road in Brookfield, New Hampshire with no photos, no information, nothing. I think it was created as a red herring. 

Since we were in the area, I was determined to find this elusive cemetery.  Google showed me that I was not alone. Many other people have documented this search online. I found one of the hired hands buried nearby in Bartlett.  His name was David Allen, and he is buried at the Garland Ridge Cemetery a short distance from Crawford Notch.  There is a link below to his gravestone. That was easy. But where is the Willey family burial ground, and where is the other hired hand buried? 

Using Google Maps satellite view has helped me in the past to find small, unmarked family cemeteries in New England.  Since we live in a heavily wooded region, satellite views often show small square or irregular openings in the forest canopy that are not visible from the road.  My next ploy was to stop in to the Conway or North Conway Public Library to ask about local cemeteries. 

As we were driving up towards Crawford Notch, through the Kancamaugus Notch and Bear Notch, I read the accounts online of other people searching for the Willey Family.  The story told by Robert Gillis of his teenaged nephew, Colin, searching for the burial ground, was inspirational. I loved reading about young people who become enthralled with local history or genealogy.  Colin used the local library to find the small Willey family burial ground. Then he mysteriously did not give the location.  But, if Colin could find it, I was sure I could find it, too.

As we were driving I also watched a 15 minute video by "Rick and Bill" on Youtube of their search for the Willey Cemetery.  You can find the link below.  Rick and Bill make videos of local history in New Hampshire, and although they also did not give the location of the cemetery either, their video gave me clues in the background as to where it was located. If you are familiar with the Intervale area, you will know what I mean. 

Both Vincent and I searched the Intervale area using the satellite views.  We knew that the Willey burial ground was nearby and easily found it.  You can find it, too.  I'm going to follow the local tradition and not tell you where to find it.  Some things can't be too easy! 

I'm writing this story near Halloween.  I've seen what Halloween mania has done to historic places like Salem, Massachusetts, and to some local burial grounds.  This is why the local people have not published the map, coordinates, or address for the Willey Family cemetery.  If you are truly interested in the history, then like me, Bill, Rick, and Colin, you can do the legwork and find it for yourself.  This is a burial ground which deserves respect.  It is not a tourist attraction for Halloween.  

Visit with respect.  Bring flowers, and leave nothing but footprints. 

Colin, Bill, Rick, and the entire Willey family would agree.  Let me know if you find the Willeys! 

The Willey Family plot

A close up of the tombstone

This stone is marked with a DAR flagholder,

and is reinforced with a metal support

The entrance to the cemetery is on private property.

Ask permission before you enter the cemetery

For the Truly Curious:

A 2010 blog post about the Willey Family:   
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/happy-halloween-story-of-willey-family.html     

Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willey_House_(New_Hampshire)   

Link to Samuel Willey's memorial at Find A Grave:   https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/231693821/samuel-willey  

Link to David Allen's memorial at Find A Grave:   https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116456101/david-allen  

Robert Gillis, "An historical quest fulfilled: Finding the Willey Family of Crawford Notch", posted 17 September 2015,  https://www.robertxgillis.com/?p=5761  accessed 18 October 2025. 

Bill Thompson and Rick Davidson, "Visiting the Site of the Famous Willey Landslide and the Willey Cemetery", Youtube, 17 April 2024,   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPlKlczGsBs accessed 18 October 2025. 

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

To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "This story will give you the Willeys - literally!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted 28 October 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/10/this-story-will-give-you-willeys.html: accessed [access date]). 

Two Bangs Babies, died in Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at the Ancient Burial Gound in Brewster, Massachusetts.

In Memory of                               In Memory of

    Isaac Sparrow Bangs                           Sukey Bangs       

                    who died april 12 1795                   who died octr 20th 1794     

            Aged one year                             Aged 2 Months     

    11 Months & 3 Days                        &12 Days         

Children of Mr Dean and Mrs Eunice Bangs

Happy the babes who privileged by fate

To shorter labor and a lighter wight

Received but yesterday the gift of breath

Ordered tomorrow to return to death. 

This sad, broken, and reset tombstone was dedicated to two children of Captain Dean Bangs (1756 - 1845)  and his wife Eunice Sparrow (1756 - 1818).  The carvings show a winged soul and also a fallen dove/bird.  Eunice was the daughter of Isaac Sparrow and Mary Hopkins (a Mayflower descendant).  They had two sons named Isaac Sparrow Bangs (1793 - 1795 and 1798 - 1874).  Captain Dean Bangs was a descendant of Edward Bangs of Chichester, England who came to the Plymouth Colony in 1623 on board the ship Anne.  

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Two Bangs Babies, died in Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, July 15, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/07/two-bangs-babies-died-in-brewster.html: accessed [access date]). 

Thomas Bangs, age 12, of Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at Brewster, Massachusetts.

THOMAS BANGS

SON OF JOSHUA &

MEHETIBEL BANGS

AGED 12 YEARS

AND 8 DAYS DECd

DECEMBER YE 8th

1728

Thomas Bangs was born on 28 November 1716 in Harwich, Massachusetts and died on 8 December 1728.  He was the son of Captain Joshua Bangs and Mehitable Clark.  He was one of nine children (Nathan 1714 -1749, Thomas 1716 - 1728, Thankful 1720- 1749, Joshua 1723 - 1755, Mary 1724 - 1784, Mehitable 1728 - 1805, Thomas b. 1729, Susanna b. 1731, and Mary b. 1734). 

Captain Joshua Bangs was the son of Edward Bangs and Ruth Allen, and the grandson of  Jonathan Bangs and Mary Mayo, and the great grandson of Edward Bangs and Rebecca Hobart (immigrant ancestors) of Chichester, England, who came to the Plymouth Colony on board the ship Anne in 1623. According to the book The Great Migration Begins 1620 - 1633, Volume 1, page 86, Edward Bangs was an inkeeper at Eastham on Cape Cod.  

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Thomas Bangs, age 12, of Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 8, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/07/thomas-bangs-age-12-of-brewster.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Russell Colbath House in Albany, New Hampshire

 

  

The Russell Colbath Homestead in located inside the White Mountains National Forest, right on the Kancamagus Scenic Highway in Albany, New Hampshire. It is operated by the USDA Forest Service and volunteers. The day we visited this historic site, a National Park Ranger was inside to answer questions.

For many years we had driven by this historic homestead, but it had always been closed to the public.  You have to watch for the "OPEN" flag in front of the house before you miss the entrance.  Previously we had explored the small burial ground beside the house.  You can see some photos of this cemetery at this link:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/09/tombstone-tuesday-passaconaway-cemetery.html  We were very happy to finally see the flag and be able to see inside this house.

The house was built in 1832 by Thomas Russell with his son, Amzi Russell.  At the time about 1,000 people lived in this part of New Hampshire, farming and logging.  Passaconaway was a thriving community.  The White Mountain National Forest was organized in 1918 and now has over 750,000 acres or 1,225 square miles of forest.  This house and the land around it became part of the National Forest in 1961.  It is a museum to educate visitors on the life of the people who lived in this region that eventually became a National Park. It is the only house from the 19th century still standing in the Swift River Valley. 

This site includes the house, a timber frame barn built in 2003, the cemetery, hiking trails, parking and a rest area with toilets (the only flush toilets on the Kancamagus Highway!).  It is operated by the Forest Service and is located next to the Jigger Johnson Campground. 

Thomas Russell moved his family to this area of New Hampshire, once the town of Passaconaway, around 1820, and operated a sawmill.  The house stayed in the family, being passed on to descendants until 1930 when it became a summer cabin.  It stood empty until it was purchased in 1961 by the Forest Service. Passaconaway was a busy community at one time, but now it is all forest. His son, Amzi Russell, helped build the house.  His daughter Ruth and her husband, Thomas Colbath, inherited the house.  Ruth ran a post office for the town of Passaconawy in the front room of her house until 1907. 

Ruth's husband, Thomas Colbath lef the farm one day in 1891 and told his wife he was off to run some errands.  After dark Ruth put a candle in a window for Thomas, but he never returned. The town searched for Thomas, but he was never found.  She left the light in the window for 39 years but he never returned until three years after she died in 1930. By then the house had been sold and Ruth was buried in the cemetery next door. 

If you would like to visit the Russell-Colbath house, you can take your chances of finding it open as you drive on the scenic Kancamagus Highway, or you can call the Saco District Ranger Station for hours of operation at 603-447-5448.  Visits are free to the public. 

Passaconaway Cemetery

For the truly curious:

A previous blog post (2018) about the Passaconaway Cemetery next to the Russell-Colbath House:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/09/tombstone-tuesday-passaconaway-cemetery.html  

"A Light in the Window", a YouTube video by Rick Davidson and Bill Thompson about the Russell-Colbath House:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W27ajDwwjU   

From New Hampshire Magazine, "I'll be back in a little while",  https://www.nhmagazine.com/be-back-in-a-little-while/  

Wikipedia article on the White Mountains National Forest:      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Mountain_National_Forest   

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

To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Russell Colbath House in Albany, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 26, 2024, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-russell-colbath-house-in-albany-new.html: accessed [access date]). 

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

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

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

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

The Wilson Cemetery in Peabody, Massachusetts

John and Clarissa Wilson had two boys:

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

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

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

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

For the truly curious:

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

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

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

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

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

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

WILLIAM S. ODIORNE

DIED

Nov. 4, 1869

Aged 72 yrs, 1 mo. &

8 days.

???? [illegible]

MARY T.

wife of Wm S. Odiorne,

DIED

April 7, 1867,

Aged 66 yrs, 3 mos.

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

Dearest Mother thou hast left us

and thy loss we deeply feel;

But 'tis God that has bereft us,

He can all our sorrows heal.

She sleeps in Jesus and is blest,

???? her slumber may

??? suffering and from sin released

And freed from every ???

TRUMAN S. ODIORNE

DIED

Dec. 3, 1831,

Aged 57 yrs, 2 mos.

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

???[illegible]

MOTHER

MARY O.

wife of

Trueman S. Odiorne

DIED

Aug. 16, 1894

AEt. 56 yrs,11 mos

12 days

?????[illegible]

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

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

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

For the truly curious:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In memory of

EBENEZER COFFIN, A.M.

aged 45

Faith, hope and Charity

His soul possesses the three.

Erected by his son

Robert Stevenson Coffin

1826

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

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

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

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

Maria Josefa Garcia Martin, Madrid, Spain, Tombstone Tuesday

 Today's "tombstone" was photographed at the Cementerio Sur in Madrid, Spain.

MARIA JOSEFA

GARCIA MARTIN

*8-7-1934

+11-10-2023

TU HIJO NIETA

Y FAMILIA

NO TE OLVIDAN

D.E.P

(English translation)

MARIA JOSEFA 

GARCIA MARTIN

BORN 8 JULY 1934

DIED 11 OCTOBER 2023

YOUR SON, GRANDDAUGHTER

AND FAMILY

WILL NOT FORGET YOU

R.I.P.

[REST IN PEACE]

Maria Josefa Garcia Martin is my mother-in-law, who died a few months ago in Madrid, Spain. Everything about her final days was a strange experience to me.  Her home care, her hospital care, her funeral arrangements, her final resting place, and the legal bureaucracy of settling her estate in a foreign country were overwhelming not just emotionally, but also physically exhausting.  We finally were able to see her "tombstone" when we visited Madrid for her funeral mass.

In Spain, and in many European countries, the deceased is laid out for visitation (velatorio) at a tanatorio within a few hours of death, and buried the next morning. The remains are not embalmed.  There is no delay, and the funeral mass (for Catholics) is held a month later in the church. The tanatorio funeral director arranges for all the legal paperwork and for the burial place. 

There are several very large public cemeteries in Madrid, and the public tanatorios are enormous, handling dozens of funerals at the same time. It is an amazingly quick and streamlined process.  Cremations are not common, but are available. Usually just close friends and family attend the velatorio, and attendance at the mass held later is much higher.  For Maria, friends and family from all over Spain came to Madrid for her funeral mass in December at the neighborhood Catholic church.  

Cemeteries are completely different in Spain from cemeteries in New England, especially in the urban areas.  Most people in Spain have insurance which pays for the funeral and final expenses including a gravesite or niche in a columbarium.  Niches are by far the most popular, since family gravesites are rare and expensive.  Niches are rented in five or ten year increments, or even rented for 100 years.  At the end of the rental agreement you may extend the rental or the body is exhumed, the niche is cleaned out and rented again. Since the body was not embalmed, there may only be bones. These remains are reburied in a common burial ground or ossuary. 

If an American dies abroad, the US Embassy can provide a CRODA certificate, which serves as a death certificate along with the Spanish death certificate. A CRODA certificate will help with settling the estate and legal matters back in the United States, such as social security or life insurance, and it is neccessary if the remains are being taken back to the US (including cremains).  CRODA is a Consular Report of a Death Abroad.  The embassy staff in Madrid was very helpful to us both when Vincent's mom died, and also years ago when his father died and we had to bring his ashes back to the United States. 

You can see that the columbarium at the Cemeterio Sur had walls four niches high.  Rolling ladders were available for placing flowers.  Vincent bought some poinsettias and left them at his mother's niche.  

A little bit of genealogy: 

Maria Josefa Garcia, born 8 July 1934 in Orbaiceta, Navarra, Spain and died 11 October 2023 in Madrid, Spain.  She married Vicente Rojo, son of Moises Rojo and Anacleta Benito, on 9 January 1960 in Madrid.  

Generation 1:  Jose Garcia, born 28 November 1908 in Bouza, Salamanca, Spain and died 3 December 1994 in Madrid, Spain, married on 8 September 1933 in Villar de Ciervo, Salamanca, Spain to Maria Consuelo Martin, born 11 November 1908 in Villar de Ciervo, and died 29 April 2001 in Madrid.  

Generation 2:  Sebastian Garcia, born 6 May 1878 in Fraga, Huesca, Spain, and died 22 June 1962 in Puerto Seguro, Salamanca, Spain, married on 9 April 1902 to Maria Ribero, born 4 June 1873 and died 21 January 1944.

Manuel Martin, born about 1880 in Barcelona, Spain and died 10 September 1971 in Villar de Ciervo, Salamanca, Spain, married 23 January 1904 in Villar de Ciervo to Josefa Rivero, born 23 October 1884 in Villar de Ciervo, and died 17 November 1937 in Villar de Ciervo. 

Generation 3: Celestino Garcia, born 25 May 1851 in Barba de Puerco (now Bouza), Salamanca, Spain, and died 11 February 1914, married on 1 December 1877 in Barba de Puerco to Joaquina Munoz, born 30 September 1858 in Puerto Seguro, Salamanca, Spain, and died 2 December 1893 in San Vicente, Badajoz, Spain.

Vanancio Ribero married Rosalia Montero on 11 June 1856 in Barba de Puerco (now Bouza), Salamanca, Spain.

Mateo Martin,  born in Vitigudino, Salamanca, Spain married Manuel Ventura.

Manuel Rivero, born 24 December 1850 in Villar de Ciervo, Salamanca, Spain, married Ofofila Gonzalez, born 17 January 1849 in Villar de Ciervo, Salamanca, Spain

Generation 4: Juan Antonio Garcia, born 8 March 1825 in Puerto Seguro, Salamanca, Spain, married Ramona Espinazo, born 15 June 1820 in Puerto Seguro, Salamanca Spain.

Bernardino Munoz married Ynes Zato, born 23 April 1834 in Puerto Seguro, Salamanca, Spain. 

Ambrosio Ribero married in 1813 to Ynes Martin

Antonio Montero, born 21 November 1809 in Barba de Puerco (now Bouza), Salamanca, Spain, and died 31 December 1845 in Puerto Seguro, Salamanca, Spain, married to Catalina Espinazo, born 25 November 1806 in Barba de Puerco. 

For the truly curious:

Consular Report of a Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad:   https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/while-abroad/death-abroad1/consular-report-of-death-of-a-u-s--citizen-abroad.html   

Cementerio Sur Carabanchel, Madrid, Spain   https://sfmadrid.es/cementerio/cementerio-sur-carabanchel  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Maria Josefa Garcia Martin, Madrid, Spain, Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 23, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/01/maria-josefa-garcia-martin-madrid-spain.html: accessed [access code]). 

Samuel Roberts, buried 1881, Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom - Tombstone Tuesday

 It's Tombstone Tuesday! Today's tombstone was photographed by Laura Cleaver for the Find A Grave website, at the Leeds General Cemetery in Leeds, Yorkshire England. 

"SAMUEL ROBERTS, WHO DIED JULY 4th 1881

AGED 52 YEARS"

I was surprised to find my 2nd great grandfather's gravestone on the Find A Grave website, and it is the first overseas tombstone I have found.  Samuel Roberts, the son of John Roberts and Hannah Westerman, was born about 1829 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England.  He married Mary Anne Stott on 21 March 1853 in Leeds.  She was the daughter of James Stott and Sarah Heseltine, born 29 October 1831 in Leeds and died in March 1912 in Settle, Yorkshire.  Samuel and Mary Anne had ten children, three went to the United States including my great grandfather John Peter Bawden Roberts (1865 - 1925) who immigrated to Beverly, Massachusetts in 1915 via Ellis Island.

Samuel raised his family in the slums of Yorkshire. He worked as a laborer in factories, and according to several census records he was described as an "engine man" or "engineer".  This means he operated machinery in the factory.  He lived in the Woodhouse section of Leeds, in 1871 his residence was 25 Woodhouse Street, and in 1881 his residence was 17 Rhodes Buildings.   His death record lists his occupation as "engine tender".  

Samuel died on 3 July 1881 (according to the death record) and was buried on July 6th.  His gravestone lists the death on July 4th.  The informant was his son Arthur.  There are 14 people listed on the gravestone, all unrelated (I checked).  That seemed strange to me, so I did some investigating online.  What I found was surprising to me as an American, but not so strange to Europeans.   

Leeds in the 19th and early 20th century was a factory town.  The slums were horrific.  I have an oral history recorded on a cassette tape, and narrated by my grandmother, Bertha Roberts (1897 - 1990).  Her stories reminded me of books like Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt. The city was overcrowded with laborers and their families. The cemeteries were overcrowded, too.  

Samuel was buried in a "guinea grave" at the Leeds General Cemetery, also known as Woodhouse Cemetery or Woodhouse Lane Cemetery.   A guinea grave was a grave for 12 - 20 people, and the family paid one "guinea" for this priviledge.  According to a Facebook forum for "Leeds Family History" a guinea was 21 shillings or a little more than a pound in today's money.  Paupers would be buried in a common grave for free.  Thank goodness for these informal genealogy groups on Facebook!  Through this group I was referred to another group "Friends of Woodhouse Cemetery", where I learned more history of this burial ground.  Members of these groups gave me a great history of the guinea graves, and of the slums in the Woodhouse neighborhood. 

UPDATE:  After this blog post was published online on March 12, a woman named Yvonne Sutton and her sister Linda Goodwin read the post and then took more photos of Samuel's gravesite.  Scroll to the bottom to see what she posted on the "Friends of Woodhouse Cemetery" Facebook group!  

The sad thing about the Leeds General Cemetery is that it belongs to the University of Leeds, who removed almost all the gravestones to create a greenspace for their campus known as St. George's Field.  Most of the surrounding area known as Woodhouse is part of the university, too, and the addresses I have from census records for Samuel are now new university housing.  Originally there were over 80,000 burials in this cemetery, most without memorial stones in guinea graves. Very few stones are still there, and the chapel is still standing, so it is a miracle that this stone with Samuel Robert's name survives.

As an American we are not accustomed to the practice of cemeteries without "perpetual care".  I have seen in Spain that bodies are placed in rented niches for a few years, which are later cleaned out and then the niche is rented to another family.  In England the graves are not "perpetual" either, and especially paupers' graves or common graves such as these guinea graves.  

I have not visited the city of Leeds.  I'm hoping to someday see the church where the Roberts family worshipped (All Soul's Hook Memorial), the streets, and this cemetery.  I can find records of other family members in this cemetery, but this is the only one with a photograph of a surviving tombstone. 

This house stood on Rhodes Buildings where Samuel Roberts lived in Leeds, around the time of his death.  Thank you to the Leeds Libraries Leodis website  https://www.leodis.net/   

Updated photos, with kind permission from Yvonne Sutton and Linda Goodwin:

This photo and the maps below will help me to locate the gravesite. The gravestones were all moved, and many buried, to another location, to form the university parkland. 

For the truly curious:

Samuel Roberts at Find A Grave:  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/226194619/samuel-roberts  

"Friends of Woodhouse Cemetery" at Facebook:    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1765932953450945  

The University of Leeds maintains a website with a database of burials at the Leeds General Cemetery.  Here is a link to the record for Samuel Roberts:   https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/546233/roberts_samuel?selection=Leeds%20General%20Cemetery%20Burial%20Registers%20Index&archiveLocationOfOriginals=433&resultLength=60&resultOffset=7&fbclid=IwAR3f7Jdc43AcKSycGhOQBGoQ1MQfW_Zgi9BvHM-jS_zYEwycpr1iWnaoEn4 

Surname Saturday blog post for the ROBERTS family:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/03/surname-saturday-roberts-of-leeds.html  

This link is part four of a transcription my grandmother's audio tape, describing her childhood in Leeds:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/05/amanuensis-monday-berthas-audio-tape.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Samuel Roberts, buried 1881, Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom - Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 14, 2023, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2023/03/samuel-roberts-buried-1881-leeds.html: accessed [access date].

Walking on Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts

 

In July 2022 I visited Burial Hill with a group of Mayflower descendants from the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.  Only some of us went to the top of Burial Hill to visit the cemetery and see the sights.  It was a lovely summer day, and quite a climb to the top (lots of stairs) and another long climb back down the hill.  It was well worth it, especially since I wanted to see the memorial to John Howland, which was at the very top of the hill.  I had visited Plymouth dozens of times previous to this tour, but had never made the climb to the top of Burial Hill.  

FYI! If you plan to visit, there are long stairs up to the top of Burial Hill.  There are stairs behind the meetinghouse, and also behind Burial Hill with a large parking lot. But no matter which direction you use to approach Burial Hill, there are stairs! 

Among the gravestones are historical markers for important people, and the location of the first fort the settlers built in 1621 (replicated at the Plimoth Patuxet museum as a wooden garrison also used as a meetinghouse.) 

An old postcard of Burial Hill.  The view hasn't changed much, has it?

This is the Meetinghouse at the foot of Burial Hill.  Next to the meetinghouse, on the grassy slope you see to the right of the parked cars, are several memorial stones to Mayflower passengers.  These men are probably buried somewhere on Burial Hill, but the actual locations have been lost to time.  Descendants have placed the three memorials (cenotaphs) next to the meetinghouse. I have photographs below. 

Edward Doty, the Mayflower passenger, is buried somewhere on this hill.  Descendants placed this memorial stone here in the 1800s.  There is also a cenotaph to Edward Doty at the Winslow Burying Ground in Marshfield. The back of this memorial stone lists his children.

This is the memorial stone to Mayflower passenger John Alden.  The actual location of his grave is unknown, but believed to be somewhere on Burial Hill.  

This rather big stone to Mayflower passenger Elder William Brewster is also at the foot of Burial Hill next to the Meetinghouse.  I didn't show the entire memorial stone because it is full of inaccurate information (including the wrong name for his wife!).  This stone was placed by a descendant. 

For the truly curious:

Burial Hill Cemetery, from the Plymouth, Massachusetts town website (There are links to maps):  https://www.plymouth-ma.gov/cemetery-and-crematory-management/pages/burial-hill-cemetery   

Find A Grave, Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts    https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/310849  

My ancestor, John Howland, A Mayflower passenger, buried here at Burial Hill -  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2023/02/john-howland-mayflower-passenger-died.html  

Here is a link to my blog post about our tour to Plymouth and Burial Hill.  We visited on Day Four of our tour, on the same day as a trip to Duxbury and Pilgrim Hall Museum -   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/07/day-four-on-path-of-pilgrims-tour-by.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Walking on Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 28, 2023, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2023/02/walking-on-burial-hill-in-plymouth.html: accessed [access date]).