Shirley Marion (Eaton) Wilkinson 1928 - 2021

Auntie Shirley Wilkinson, surrounded by her grandchildren
On her 90th birthday in 2018

Obituary from The Cricket, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, July 1, 2021  https://www.thecricket.com/obituaries/shirley-marion-eaton-wilkinson/article_ce131574-dab3-11eb-ac54-63901d2c0641.html  

"Shirley Marion Eaton Wilkinson, age 93, died June 30.  She was born in Wakefield, MA, the daughter of Emory Nelson Eaton and Marion Wilson (Bullock) Eaton.  Shirley resided in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, most of her life.  She was predeceased by her loving husband of 56 years, Robert Munroe Wilkinson.

Surviving Shirley are her son, Stephen Wilkinson, and his wife, Emma, of The Villages, Florida; her daughter, Susan Wilkinson Parker, and her husband, Jeffrey, of Manchester-by-the-Sea; her sister Mary Louise O’Brien; and her sister-in-law Phyllis Wilkinson.  Shirley leaves cherished grandchildren Amy Lyn Wilkinson and her fiancé Christopher Merlino; Robert Gonzales Wilkinson and his fiancée Anna Lisa Vust; Christopher Schulte Parker and his wife Nicole Anne; and Brian Eaton Parker and his wife Rosaly; greatgrandchildren Ava and Anthony, children of Amy; Caleb and Benjamin, children of Christopher and Nicole; and William, Alejandro and Caroline, children of Brian and Rosaly; and special nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Shirley and the family are deeply grateful to Mary Hardwick as well as the care providers at The Linden and Ledgewood Rehab.

During high school, Shirley worked at Pioneer Village in Salem and was a soda jerk at Allen’s Drugstore in Manchester.  She graduated first in her class from Story High School in 1945 and entered the Beverly Hospital School of Nursing, graduating with her nursing diploma in 1948.  Shirley was a member of the WWII U.S. Army Cadet Nurse Corps.  She worked at Beverly and other hospitals, Oakwood Nursing and Retirement Home and was also a private duty nurse.  Shirley loved her career as a registered nurse.

Reading, music, gardening, knitting, traveling, playing bridge, Scrabble, walking, crossword puzzles, and volunteering were favorite pastimes.  She also loved genealogy and was delighted to be a granddaughter of Benjamin Bullock, Manchester’s old-time baker.

Shirley was an active member of the First Parish Church Congregational where she sang in the choir for 40 years, and served in a variety of roles, including deaconess and trustee.  She enjoyed The Manchester Woman’s Club, Manchester Historical Museum, the Council on Aging, the Lions Club, Golden Agers, Seaside Knitters and Beverly Hospital Nursing Alumni Association.   

Robert and Shirley loved hosting family vacations to Cape Cod, New Hampshire, the Caribbean and other places, providing the family with eternal wonderful memories. 

Shirley treasured her many friends and her beloved hometown.  She will be remembered for her smile, positive attitude during health challenges and pleasure in helping others.

A celebration of life will be held Saturday, August 14, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. at First Parish Church Congregational, followed by a reception at the chapel.  To those who wish, memorial contributions may be made to the music ministry of First Parish Church Congregational, PO Box 187, Manchester, MA. 01944."

For the truly curious:

A 2015 blog post about Aunt Shirley Wilkinson's service as a Cadet Nurse in the 1940s:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/06/is-there-cadet-nurse-from-world-war-ii.html

A 2020 blog post about Aunt Shirley Wilkinson's recognition as a Cadet Nurse by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/07/cadet-nurses-of-world-war-ii-finally.html 

Surname Saturday ~ MASTERS of Watertown and Cambridge, Massachusetts

MASTERS / MARSTERS / MASTERSON

My 11^th great grandfather, John Masters (about 1581 – 1639) was a tavern keeper.  He is of unknown origins, but he used a Lady Barrington as a reference in a letter written on 14 March 1630/1.  In his book The Great Migration Begins, Volume 2, page 1236, the author Robert Charles Anderson states that this is a clue to his origins being in Essex, England as a servant with one of the Puritan gentry families.

John Masters, his wife Joan, and children arrived in New England with the Winthrop Fleet in 1631.  He first lived in Watertown where he was a freeman on 18 July 1631.  He then removed to Newtowne (now Cambridge) in 1633.  He was licensed to keep a tavern in Cambridge on 3 September 1635.  The History of Cambridge, by Lucius R. Paige, 1877, page 609, states that his house was located on what is now Ash Street, near Brattle Street, near the current Harvard Divinity School campus.  He died on 21 December 1639, two days after making his last will and testament.  His wife died five days later. He named his three daughters in his will, and the grandsons (Abraham and Nathaniel) by a son who had predeceased him. 

John Masters must have had a rebellious streak.  Winthrop wrote of him on 5 July 1632 “The strife at Watertown congregation continued still; but at length they gave the separatists a day to come in, or else to be proceeded against.  At that day, all came in and submitted, except John Masters, who, though he were advised by diverse ministers and others, that he had offended in turning his back upon the sacrament, and departing out of the assembly, etc., because they had then admitted a member whom he judged unfit, etc.; yet he persisted.  So the congregation (being loath to proceed against him) gave him a further day, 8, at which time he continuing obstinate, they excommunicated him; but, about a fortnight later, he submitted himself, and was received in again.” [The History of New England from 1630 to 1649, by John Winthrop, Volume 1, page 97] 

I descend from John Masters’ unknown son through his grandson, Nathaniel.  I also descend from his daughter Elizabeth who married first to Edmund Lockwood, and second to Cary Latham. 

Nathaniel Masters has an interesting story.  He lived for some reason in Plymouth, Massachusetts where he probably married about 1631.   He is mentioned in a letter by Governor Bradford of Plymouth in February 1632.  Then he was mentioned in a New London, Connecticut record in 1651 for “fornication” before his marriage with Ruth Pickford (his wife).   This brings up a number of questions such as– Why was Nathaniel in Plymouth? Why did the fornication take place in New London (Pequott Harbor)?

Besides connections to Plymouth, Massachusetts and New London, Connecticut, Nathaniel received a land grant in York, Maine in 1666.  He became a freeman in Wells, Maine in 1670, and then was back in Manchester, Massachusetts in 1702.  He had seven children, and I descend from his daughter Lydia who married Josiah Littlefield.  She was killed by Indians on 10 August 1707 on her way home from Boston, along with her son Josiah, Jr.  Josiah, her husband, was killed by Indians in Wells, Maine in 1712 just a few years after spending two years in captivity in Canada. His second wife, Elizabeth Hilton, was killed by Indians in 1738. 

Some MASTERS resources:

The Great Migration Begins, by Robert Charles Anderson, Volume II, pages 1234 – 1236 for a sketch of John Masters.

Essex Institute Historical Collections, Volume 36, page 157

Surname Saturday post for PICKWORTH - https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/12/surname-saturday-pickworth-of-plymouth.html 

Surname Saturday post for LOCKWOOD -  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/12/surname-saturday-lockwood-of-cambridge.html  

My MASTERS genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Masters, born about 1581 in England, died 21 December 1639 in Cambridge, Massachusetts; married to Joan Unknown about 1606. Four children.

Lineage A

Generation 2: Elizabeth Masters, born about 1612 in England, died 14 April 1712 in New London, Connecticut; married first to Edmund Lockwood; married second to Cary Latham about 1685.  Eight children.

Generation 3: Jane Latham m. Hugh Hubbard

Generation 4:  Lydia Hubbard m.  John Burrows

Generation 5:  Desire Burris m. Moses Gore

Generation 6:  Desire Gore m. Thomas Ratchford

Generation 7: Elizabeth Ratchford m. David Lyons

Generation 8:  Thomas Ratchford Lyons m. Ann Skinner

Generation 9:  Isabella Lyons m. Rev. Ingraham Ebenezer Bill

Generation 10:  Caleb Rand Bill m. Ann Margaret Bollman

Generation 11:  Isabella Lyons Bill m. Albert Munroe Wilkinson

Generation 12:  Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

Lineage B:

Generation 2:  Unknown Masters.  Two sons named in John Masters’ will (Nathaniel and Abraham)

Generation 3:  Nathaniel Masters, died 1 July 1708 in Manchester, Massachusetts; married about 1653 to Ruth Pickworth, daughter of John Pickworth and Anna Unknown. Seven children.

Generation 4:  Lydia Masters, born about 1661 in Wells, Maine; died 10 August 1707 in Wells; married before 1688 to Josiah Littlefield, son of John Littlefield and Patience Unknown.  He was born about 1662 in Wells and died 26 April 1712 in Wells.  Seven children.

Generation 5: Anna Littlefield m. Jacob Perkins

Generation 6:  Stephen Perkins m. Comfort Chesley

Generation 7:  Mary Perkins m. Nathaniel Batchelder

Generation 8:  Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 9:  George E. Batchelder m. Abigail M. Locke

Generation 10:  George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 11:  Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 12:  Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ MASTERS of Watertown and Cambridge, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 29, 2018, (https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/12/surname-saturday-masters-of-watertown.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ PICKWORTH of Plymouth and Manchester, Massachusetts

PICKWORTH / PECKWORTH / PIKWORTH / PICKWORD

My 10^th great grandfather, John Pickworth (about 1606 – 1663) arrived in New England about 1631, and lived briefly in Plymouth before settling in Salem, Massachusetts.  He eventually lived in that part of Salem known as “Jeffrie’s Creek” which is now the town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.  On 6 February 1631/2 [Winthrop Papers, 1498 – 1654, Volume 3, page 65] the Governor of Plymouth, William Bradford, wrote to John Winthrop, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, that  “John Pickworth, he came but as a sojourner to work for a few weeks, in which time he got a wife, and so is long since returned double, and hath no cause to complain, except he hath got a bad wife”.  There is no description of why the Governor thought Pickworth’s wife was “bad”.  She is known in records as Anne, but her maiden name is a mystery.

John Pickworth was a very active citizen of Manchester.  He was elected to several town positions, including selectman and constable.  He owned many parcels of land, and a share of the town sawmill.  He was also in court a few times, and the records show him being fined for drunkenness, and for fighting with John Norman (also my 9^th great grandfather from Manchester, Massachusetts).  He was a member of the church in Salem, and had eight of his nine children baptized there.

John Pickworth died in 1663, and he left a will which names his wife, sons, and daughters.  The inventory of his estate included his land, house, meadows, and his share of the sawmill.  His wife died in 1682, named as “the widow Ane Pickworth Of Manchester” who left items to her daughters and to granddaughters “Ane Pickworth” (daughter of son Joseph), “Ane Killem” (daughter of John Kilham), and “Ane Sibblie” (daughter of her daughter Rachel Sibley).  All three granddaughters who were listed in the will were all named Anne. 

I descend from John and Anne’s daughter, Ruth Pickworth (1633 – 1716) who married Nathaniel Masters about 1653 and had seven children.  Her husband was presented at court in Salem for “his wife being with child by him before they were married, the act having been committed in Pequott Harbor.”  The case was sent to Connecticut for trial (Pequot Harbor is the mouth of the Pequot River (now the Thames River and the city of Groton, Connecticut).  I have not seen a record of the trial in Connecticut.

Some PICKWORTH resources:

For this blog post I used the sketch about John Pickworth in The Great Migration Begins, Volume III, pages 1462 – 1464.  I also researched in the Essex Quarterly Court records, the Winthrop Papers (see above), the Salem Town Records, and the book History of Manchester, Essex County, Massachusetts, 1645 – 1895 by Rev. Darius Francis Lamson, 1895.  See Alicia Crane Williams’ blog post “Human Nature Writ Large” at the Vita Brevis blog of NEHGS 2 January 2014 for another account of John Pickworth’s brawl with John Norman https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2014/01/human-nature-writ-large/   

My PICKWORTH genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Pickworth, born about 1606 probably in England, and died between 27 June 1663 and 25 August 1663 in Manchester, Massachusetts; married about 1631 to Anne Unknown.  Nine children.

Generation 2:  Ruth Pickworth, baptized in Salem, Massachusetts on 14 October 1638, died on 5 April 1716; married about 1653 to Nathaniel Masters, son of John Masters and Joan Unknown.  He was born about 1613 and died 1 July 1708 in Manchester.  Seven children.

Generation 3: Lydia Masters m. Josiah Littlefield

Generation 4: Anna Littlefield m. Jacob Perkins

Generation 5: Stephen Perkins m. Comfort Chesley

Generation 6: Mary Perkins m. Nathaniel Batchelder

Generation 7: Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 8: George E. Batchelder m. Abigail M. Locke

Generation 9: George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 10: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Surname Saturday ~ PICKWORTH of Plymouth and Manchester, Massachusetts”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 8, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/11/surname-saturday-pickworth-of-plymouth.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ GARDNER of Gloucester, Massachusetts

GARDNER / GARDINER / GARNER

 Very, very little is known of my 8^th great grandfather, James Gardner (about 1641 – 1684) who appears first in the Gloucester, Massachusetts records in 1661 when William Vinson deeded him some land.  He settled in the most eastern section of the Gloucester peninsula according to John J. Babson in his History of the Town of Gloucester, 1860.   He next appears in the vital records in 1661 when he married Elizabeth Vinson, daughter of the William mentioned above.  They had ten children together and both died rather young in 1684. 

I descend from James Gardner, Jr., my 7^th great grandfather, who was the youngest child, not even four years old when his parents died.  James had five children with his wife Abigail (maiden name unknown) all born in Gloucester.  Again, I descend from the youngest child, Eunice, born in 1724, my 6^th great grandmother, who married Jeremiah Allen from Manchester, Massachusetts. 

I have two other GARDNER lineages.  One is from Thomas Gardner at this link:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/01/surname-saturday-gardner-of-salem.html

and the other is a brickwall ancestor in Salem, Massachusetts:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/03/surname-saturday-gardner-of-boston.html 

My GARDNER genealogy:

Generation 1:   James Gardner, born about 1641, died 8 December 1684 in Gloucester, Massachusetts; married on 19 June 1662 in Gloucester to Elizabeth Vinson, daughter of William Vinson and Sarah Unknown. She was born 16 May 1644 in Gloucester, and died 4 March 1684 in Gloucester. Ten children.

Generation 2:  James Gardner, born 27 August 1681 in Gloucester, married Abigail Unknown.  Five children. 

Generation 3:  Eunice Gardner, born 18 March 1724 in Gloucester; married on 17 June 1748 in Manchester, Massachusetts to Jeremiah Allen, son of Jeremiah Allen and Lydia Tuck.  He was born 6 April 1728 in Manchester and probably died in Nova Scotia. Eight children.

Generation 4:  Abigail Allen m. Comfort Haley

Generation 5:  Comfort Haley m. Rebecca Crosby

Generation 6:  Joseph Edwin Healy m. Matilda Weston

Generation 7:  Mary Etta Healey m. Peter Hoogerzeil

Generation 8:  Florence Etta Hoogerzeil m. Arthur Treadwell Hitchings

Generation 9: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Surname Saturday ~ GARDNER of Gloucester, Massachusetts”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 16, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/06/surname-saturday-gardner-of-gloucester.html: accessed [access date]). 

Flag Day!

This flag was photographed in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts

The steeple to the left is the First Parish Congregational Church, and the flagpole is located in the little park just in front of the town hall.   If you look close you can see two weathervanes in this photo, too!

The church weathervane was previously posted at this link:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/07/weathervane-wednesday-very-old.html


The almost indecipherable fire engine weathervane near the flagpole is above "Seaside #1", an old fire station now part of the Manchester Historical Society, and I have a previous "Weathervane Wednesday" post about this weathervane at this link:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/10/weathervane-wednesday-firehouse-by-sea.html

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Flag Day!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 14, 2017, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/06/flag-day.html: accessed [access date]).

Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Fancy Sailing Ship

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 was photographed in Massachusetts.

Do you know the location of weather vane #302?  Scroll down to see the answer...

Today's weathervane was photographed in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.  It is on a large cupola above the public library.  The library is located next door to the First Parish Church, which has a beautiful old weathercock I blogged about in 2014.  From this angle you can see both weathervanes!

We have photographed many sailing ship weathervanes in New England, but this is one of the most fanciful and imaginative.  The sails are decorated with stars, and the masts are decorated with fluttering banners.  It is only a two-dimensional weather vane, but it is whimsical and fun.  This library is located just a few steps from the harbor, and Manchester-by-the-Sea was the home of many sea captains and mariners over the years.  A sailing ship is the perfect choice for this location.  There are no cardinal points on this weather vane.

The stone library was designed by Charles F. McKim, a famous architect of many New England and American landmarks, including the Boston Public Library and New York's Penn Station.  The stained glass windows were designed by Tiffany.  You can read all about the history of this little gem of a library in the link below.

Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library website:  http://www.manchesterpl.org/

First Parish Church, Manchester-by-the-Sea weathervane blog post:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/07/weathervane-wednesday-very-old.html  


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


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Heather Wilkinson Rojo,  "Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Fancy Sailing Ship", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 15, 2017, (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/03/weathervane-wednesday-fancy-sailing-ship.html:  accessed [access date]).

Genealogy Workshop in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts

On May 7th I'll be in the "other" Manchester (Massachusetts) for a beginner Genealogy workshop.  Please join me if you are in the area! See below for registration information.

To register please call 978-526-7230 or email info@manchesterhistoricalmuseum.org

Thank you to the Manchester Historical Museum for inviting me!
http://www.manchesterbytheseahistorical.org/

Manchester Historical Museum
10 Union Street
Manchester, MA  01944

Surname Saturday ~ FRIEND of Salem and Manchester, Massachusetts

John Friend was in New England around 1637 and became a church member in Salem, Massachusetts in 1640.  He resided in the part of Salem that became Manchester, and he was a farmer, grist mill operator and a builder.    On 16 March 1640 several landowners, including John Friend, petitioned the General Court to establish Manchester as a separate village from Salem. This was granted in 1645, as you can see above on the town seal. 

In 1649 John also petitioned to build a grist mill on the Bass River. He built a dam and a grist mill near what is now the Cummings Center (the old United States Shoe Corporation), and near where my ancestor John Balch was living at the time (the Balch house is still standing and is owned by the Beverly Historical Society).  Around 1650 he sold the mill and land to Lawrence Leach, another one of my ancestors.   This is only a few blocks from 7 Dearborn Avenue in Beverly, Massachusetts, where I grew up, and where four generations of my family lived and walked to work at “The Shoe”.

There were several other John Friends in New England at this time period.  In the Essex Genealogist, Volume 16 (1996), page 139 a letter is quoted from John Winthrop to his son, John, dated 10 June 1636 “… I pray deliver this letter inclosed to Jo: Friend…”  This may have been a different John Friend.  Also, there is a John Friend in Boston at this time, a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, who is probably a third John Friend.

It is unknown when John Friend died, but his will was dated 4 November 1655 and it was probated on 27 January 1655/56 in Salem. 

from The Essex Antiquarian, Volume VI (1902), page 157

"WILL OF JOHN FRIEND

The will of John Friend was proven in the court at Ipswich 27:1:1656.  The following copy is from the original on file in the office of the clerk of courts at Salem, Volume III, leaf 47.

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The last will & Testament of John ffreind made ye 4: of ye ii mo: 1655

I John ffriend being weake & sick of Bodie by of pfect Memory doe ordaine this as my Last will & testament

Imp.  I giue & bequeath unto my Sonn Samuell ffriends a double portion out of my whole estate personall & Reall:

Item  I giue unto my duaghter Elizabeth pecker: befides that tenn pownds I haue in my hands wch her granfather gaue her, twente shillings

Item I giue & bequeath unto my other thre children Bethiah Hester & James, Equall portions one as much as ye other: & for ye better pformance of this my will I appoynt my Sonn Samuell to be my Executor, & defire & appoynt my Louing ffiends william Dodg & william King to be my ouerfeers in witnefs whereof I haue herunto fet my hand ye day & yeer firft above written:

witnes George Emery

             Edmond grouer  [no signature]

             Henery Hericke"

Some FRIEND resources:

The History and Genealogy of John Friend of Salem, Massachusetts and his descendants, by Peter Pindar Stearns, Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, 1997.

Also see the following articles, “John Friend of Salem and His Descendants”, Part 1  and Part 2, by Peter Pindar Stearns, The Essex Genealogist,  Volume 16 (1996), page 138 – 145, and Volume 16 (1996), pages 212 – 220.

My FRIEND genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Friend, born about 1605 in England, died between 4 November 1655 and 27 January 1656 in Manchester, Essex County, Massachusetts; married Unknown.  Five children

Generation 2: Bethiah Friend, born about 1637 and died before 1680; married about 1657 to John Poland, son of Thomas Poland and Hannah Unknown.  He was born about 1631 in England and died 3 August 1713 in Hamilton, Essex County, Massachusetts. Seven children.  John Poland married second to Margery Unknown, widow of Anthony Dike, about 1680.

Generation 3:  James Poland married Rebecca Kimball

Generation 4: John Poland married Abigail Davis

Generation 5:  Daniel Poland married Sarah Bishop

Generation 6:  Martha Poland married Alexander Mears

Generation 7:  Samuel Mears married Lydia W. Burnham

Generation 8: Samuel Mears married Sarah Ann Burnham

Generation 9: Sarah Burnham Mears married Joseph Gilman Allen

Generation 10: Joseph Elmer Allen married Carrie Maude Batchelder

Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen married Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Published under a Creative Commons License
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Family Reunions, 2015", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 27, 2015 ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/06/surname-saturday-friend-of-salem-and.html : accessed [access date]).  

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Abigail (Allen) Haley, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

This tombstone was photographed at the Chebogue Cemetery, at Town Point, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

In memory

Of

Abigaile Heley

Wife Of

Mr. Comfort Heley

Died June 16, 1799

Aged 39 years

My daughter trying to decipher this very worn tombstone

Abigail Allen was the daughter of Jeremiah Allen (b. 1728) and Eunice Gardner (b. 1724), born 23 July 1753 in Manchester, Massachusetts, died 16 June 1799 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  She married Comfort Haley on 21 July 1777 in Chebogue, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  He was the son of Ebenezer Healey and Grace Bullen, born 1754 in Brimfield, Massachusetts, died 15 May 1821 in Chebogue.  Their parents were planters, resettled in Nova Scotia from New England after the expulsion of the Acadians.

Abigail Allen is my 5th great grandmother. She is a direct descendant of William Allen (1602 - 1678) an early settler at Manchester, Massachusetts and my 9th great grandfather.  My mother's maiden name is Allen, a direct descendant of this same William.  Although Abigail Allen is also in my mother's lineage, it is from a different line, through the Healey's who left Nova Scotia and came back to Massachusetts, and settled in Beverly, Massachusetts. A double Allen line. 

Abigail died at age 41 (although the gravestone says she was 39 years old), and had seven children.  After Abigail's death, her husband Comfort Haley remarried to Hannah Ellis (1765 - 1862) in December 1795 and had seven more children.  Hannah was 30 years old, the widow of Stephen Tinkham, and Comfort was 41 years old. 

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/07/tombstone-tuesday-abigail-allen-haley.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Familiar Grasshopper

Weathervane Wednesday is an on-going series of photographs I post weekly.  I started by publishing weather vanes from the Londonderry area, but now I've been finding interesting weather vanes all across New England.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting. Often, my readers tip me off to some very unique and unusual weather vanes, too! Today's weather vane is from Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.

Do you know the location of weather vane #164? Scroll down to the bottom to see the answer!

Today's weather vane is located on Peele Square in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, a building or two away from where my aunt lives.  This weather vane is right on the creek that empties out into Manchester harbor.  It looks like the famous grasshopper weather vane at Faneuil Hall.  If you are near this building you will have a great view of three weather vanes- the grasshopper, the weathercock atop First Parish Church and the wonderful old fashioned fire engine on top of the old Fire House Museum. 

I previously blogged about the grasshopper weather vane at Faneuil Hall at this link:

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/06/weathervane-wednesday-genealogical.html

You can see the First Parish weathercock at last week's post here:

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/07/weathervane-wednesday-very-old.html  

The Fire House Museum weather vane is at this link:

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/10/weathervane-wednesday-firehouse-by-sea.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/2014/07/weathervane-wednesday-familiar.html

Copyright 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Very Old Weathercock

Weathervane Wednesday is an on-going series of photographs I post weekly.  I started by publishing weather vanes from the Londonderry area, but now I've been finding interesting weather vanes all across New England.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting. Often, my readers tip me off to some very unique and unusual weather vanes, too! Today's weather vane is from Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.

Do you know the location of weather vane #163? Scroll down to the bottom to see the answer!

Today's weather vane is the rooster 115 feet high atop the steeple of the First Parish Church in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.  This pretty church sits right next to the harbor.  I remember not too long ago the steeple was tilting at a very dangerous angle, and the townspeople held many fund raisers to have it repaired.  This weathercock dates back to 1754, and cost the church members 7 pounds, 10 shillings and 8 pence.

There are several pages about this weathercock in the book Yankee Weathervanes by Myrna Kaye, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co, Inc., 1975 on pages 16 - 19.  Weathercocks are some of the oldest weather vanes in Europe.  According to the legend in the Bible, when St. Peter was told by Jesus that "The cock shall not crow, 'til thou hast denied me thrice".  The cock was also an old symbol of vigilance, alerting the town of the end of night, which is also a symbol of the resurrection.  The rooster and the fish are common weather vanes on old New England churches, as well as the ubiquitous banner.

My aunt and uncle had their wedding here in 1949.  The same uncle had his funeral here in 2005.  Generations of my ALLEN ancestors gathered here with the same church parish for worship in the 1600s and 1700s, although this present building was built in 1809.

The First Parish Church, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts http://www.firstparishchurch.org/ 

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/2014/07/weathervane-wednesday-very-old.html

Copyright 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ NORMAN of Salem, Massachusetts

According to Sidney Perley’s History of Salem, “Old Goodman Norman and his son” were already at Salem before Governor Endicott arrived in 1628.  My 10^th great grandfather, Richard Norman (1580-1653) arrived at Cape Anne, Massachusetts with the Dorchester Company in 1624, as part of a fishing fleet.  Some of these fishermen returned to England, and others stayed with Roger Conant at Naumkeag (now Salem, Massachusetts).  Richard and his son, John, were considered “Old Planters”.  His wife and daughter-in-law were members of the Puritan church in 1637, after Winthrop Fleet arrival. 

Richard Norman was a shipwright, and also a fisherman.  There is a sketch of his life in The Great Migration Begins.  He was married, but the name of his wife is unknown.   He was granted twenty acres of land in Salem in 1636.  In the 1637 division of marshland he was given ¾ of an acre.  The next year he was granted another twenty acres “that was Mr. Thorndeck’s”.  In 1653 he deeded his son, Richard Norman, his house and 10 acres “in Marvelheade upon Derbe Fort side” along with his rights to cow commons.

My NORMAN genealogy:

Generation 1: Richard Norman, born about 1580 in England, died 22 April 1653 in Marblehead, Massachusetts; married and five children.

Lineage A:

Generation 2: Alice Norman, born in England, died 8 March 1632 in Salem, Massachusetts; married about 1629 to William Allen.  He was born 1602 in England and died 30 January 1678 in Manchester, Massachusetts.

Generation 3: Samuel Allen m. Sarah Tuck

Lineage i

Generation 4: Joseph Allen m. Catherine Leach

Generation 5: William Allen m. Mary Ingalls

Generation 6: Isaac Allen m. Abigail Burnham

Generation 7: Joseph Allen m. Judith Burnham

Generation 8: Joseph Allen m. Orpha Andrews

Generation 9: Joseph Gilman Allen m. Sarah Burnham Mears

Generation 10: Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder

Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

Lineage ii

Generation 5: Alice Allen m. Daniel Williams

Generation 6: Ruth Williams m. Moses Platts

Generation 7: Sarah Platts m. George Southwick

Generation 8: Mary Southwick m. Robert Wilson

Generation 9: Mercy F. Wilson m. Aaron Wilkinson

Generation 10: Robert Wilson Wilkinson m. Phebe Cross Munroe

Generation 11: Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 12: Donald Munroe Wilkinson  m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

Lineage B:

Generation 2: John Norman,  born about 1612 in England, died about 1673 in Manchester, Massachusetts; married about 1629 in Salem to Arabella Baldwin, daughter of Sylvester Baldwin and Sarah Astwood.  She was born about 1613 in England and died 23 November 1679 in Salem. Nine children.

Generation 3: Arabella Norman, born 13 February 1644 in Salem, died 8 May 1681 in Manchester; married about 1672 in Manchester to Samuel Leach.  He was the son of Robert Leach and Alice Alls.  He was born about 1653 in Manchester and died 14 October 1696.  Three children.

Generation 4: Catherine Leach m. Joseph Allen (see above)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/03/surname-saturday-norman-of-salem.html 

Copyright ©2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

The Forster Flag, 1775

The Forster Flag, 1775

Over the past few years I have blogged several posts about my cousin's long renovation project of the Israel Forster house.  You can read some of the posts at this link HERE.  A few months ago she told me that an interesting artifact from the house was up for auction.  It would be fun to bid on this object and return it to the Forster house, but unfortunately this was expected to sell for millions of dollars!

The Forster Flag was created in 1775.  It is red, with seven white stripes on one side, and six white stripes on the reverse.  This flag was carried by the men of Manchester, Massachusetts when they answered the Lexington alarm on 19 April 1775.  According to oral tradition, it was created from a flag from a British ship. The flag was flown by Captain Samuel Forster of Manchester, and preserved in his family for two centuries. For a long time it was kept at the Israel Forster house, built in 1804, in the center of Manchester.  In 1975 it was acquired by the Flag Heritage Foundation in Winchester, Massachusetts.

The Israel Forster House, Manchester, MA

The Doyle Auction House in New York City auctioned off the Forster Flag yesterday.  The proceeds from the auction were being donated to the Whitney Flag Research Center Collection in the Dolph Brisco Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin.

And the big news?  Who won the auction and how much did they pay?

At this auction of priceless historical items, a Babylonian cuneiform clay cylinder was sold for a record setting $605,000.  Other items included a full multi volume set of Birds of America illustrated by John James Audobon and Reverend Cotton Mather's book Wonders of the Invisible World: Being an Account of the Tryals of Several Witches Lately Executed in New England  published one year after the Salem witch hysteria in 1693 (sold for $8,750).  These are very historic items at impressive sales prices.

I called the Doyle Auction house in New York City at 3 pm yesterday, well after the morning auction.  I was told that the flag remains UNSOLD.  I don't know if this means there were no bidders, or if a reserve price was set and never met.  According to an article at Fortune magazine's website, the University of Texas at Austin was holding out for a minimum reserve (see this link:  http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2014/04/03/texas-holdem-a-university-bets-big-on-a-high-profile-auction/ )

The story is apparently not finished!

US Flag stamps, 2000

The Forster Flag is in the top row, 

second from the right

Pre-auction press release by the Doyle auction house:
http://www.doylenewyork.com/content/more.asp?id=317 

A story about the flag from the Gloucester Times, 8 April 2014 (before the auction)
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/local/x1445030495/Manchester-flag-could-fetch-3M

A story about the Forster Flag from the Brisco Center for American History
http://www.cah.utexas.edu/news/press_release.php?press=forster_flag

UPDATE  29 April 2014
http://www.jtfrancis.com/news5.html

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-forster-flag-1775.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Bird with a Snack

Every Wednesday for more than two years Vincent and I have 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. If you know an interesting weather vane, please send me an email or leave a comment below.

Today's weather vane was found in Massachusetts by a genealogy blogger who contributed a weather vane two weeks ago . Have fun guessing where you may have seen this weather vane.

Do you know the location of weather vane #131? Scroll down to see the answer....

Today's weather vane was photographed by Steven Handler, and sent to me by his wife, the genealogy blogger Elizabeth Pyle Handler.  It is another private residence on a side street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.  The weather vane is a bird with a fish.  At first glance it appears to be a seagull, but perhaps it is another type of sea going bird, perhaps it's an osprey? This is beautiful three dimensional sculpture, with a great patina.  I'm not surprised that such a pretty weather vane caught their eye!

Elizabeth Pyle Handler has two blogs:

From Maine to Kentucky   http://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html
A Jewish Genealogy Journey   http://jewishgenealogyjourney.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year from Heather and Vincent at Nutfield Genealogy!

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/2014/01/weathervane-wednesday-bird-with-snack.html 

Copyright 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Weathervane Wednesday ~ Near the Train Tracks

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. If you know an interesting weather vane, please send me an email or leave a comment below.

Today's weather vane was photographed by a reader, and a fellow genealogy blogger, in Massachusetts. Have fun guessing where you may have seen this weather vane.

Do you know the location of weather vane #129? Scroll down to see the answer....

Today's weather vane was photographed by Steven Handler and sent to me by his wife, the genealogy blogger Elizabeth Pyle Handler.  It is a private residence on a quiet side street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.  This weather vane is a very highly detailed three dimensional antique train engine on a cupola above a garage.  This home is near the commuter train rail, so their choice of a train is very apropos. In a town full of nautically themed weather vanes, signs and names, its nice to see something different! 

Elizabeth Pyle Handler has two blogs:

From Maine to Kentucky  http://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/

Jewish Genealogy Journey http://jewishgenealogyjourney.blogspot.com/

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


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The URL for this blog post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/12/weathervane-wednesday-near-train-tracks.html

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Firehouse by the Sea

Every Wednesday for almost two years I have 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. Sometimes I photograph other weather vanes as I travel around New England, especially if they are historic or near historic sites. Today's weather vane can be seen on the coast of Massachusetts. Have fun guessing where you may have seen this weather vane.

Do you know the location of weather vane #122? Scroll down to see the answer....

Today's weather vane can be seen in the little village of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.  Seaside No. 1 was a firestation built in 1885 to house the first horse drawn fire engine.  It later became the town police station until 1970.  Now the town Historical Society runs it as a museum.  Inside you can find two old fire engines, a hand pumper from 1835 and a horse drawn one from 1902.  The weather vane on top of the tower is very appropriate!   This three dimensional weather vane is very detailed, from the horse reins and delicate spokes on the wheels, to the smoke billowing out of the fire engine.

Manchester Historical Society web page for Seaside No. 1  http://www.manchesterbytheseahistorical.org/seaside-no-1-firehouse/

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/2013/10/weathervane-wednesday-firehouse-by-sea.html
 

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Happy Fourth of July!

This photograph was taken at the 2010 Fourth of July Parade in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Foote of Salem, Massachusetts

You can see Winter Island at the top.
This is where Pasco Foote was granted land.
I still have relatives living on Salem Neck! 

FOOTE

Pasco Foote arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts aboard the “Ann” about 1630.  He removed to Salem by 1636 and was granted 40 acres of land.  On 16 January 1636/7 the town of Salem granted him another half acre on Winter Island.  He was a fisherman and merchant.   On 14 March 1640 he signed a petition to remove to Jefferyes Creek (later known as Manchester.)  On 26 April 1649 he took the oath of fidelity and was sworn as constable of Manchester.  He lived in Manchester from 1649 to 1652, then removed back to Salem.  On 6 February 1653 he joined the First Church of Salem (1st Church, Salem, Church Records).  Pasco Foote had eight of his children baptized 6 December 1653: John, Malachi, Samuel, Elizabeth, Mary, Isaac, Pasco, and Abigail. (Essex Institute Vol IV, (5 Oct 1864) page 243).

His will was proven on 30 April 161 and mentions his son (one unnamed, probably Isaac,  Samuel and Pasco, and his daughters Elizabeth, Mary, and Abigail.   My ancestor, Isaac Foot, lived in Salem and was made a freeman in 1678.  He was also a fisherman.

There are two Foote compiled genealogy books, The Foote Genealogy by Nathaniel Goodwin, 1849 and The Foote Genealogy by Abram W. Foote, 1907.  Ed Strickland of the Foote Family Association is working on an update to the book by Abram Foote.

The Foote Family Association has information on Nathaniel Foote of Connecticut and a small portion of the website devoted to Pasco Foote at this link http://www.footefamily.org/pasco.htm  Harriet Rockwell, of the FFA, is interested in hearing from descendants of Pasco Foote at her snail mail address 1177 Fearrington Post, Pittsboro, NC  27312.  Her email is hrockwell@earthlink.net   It has not been proven that Nathaniel of Connecticut is related to Pasco Foote.

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My lineage from Pasco Foote

Generation 1: Pasco Foote, born about 1608 in England, died 28 September 1670 in Salem, Massachusetts; married to Unknown.  Eight children.

Generation 2: Isaac Foot, born about 1644, died 1741; married Abigail Jeggles, daughter of Thomas Jeggles.  She was born 21 July 1648 in Salem and died after 1741.

Generation 3: Elizabeth Foot, born April 1675; married Nathaniel Felton, son of John Felton and Mary Tompkins.

Generation 4. Malachi Felton m. Abigail Jacobs

Generation 5. Sarah Felton m. Robert Wilson

Generation 6. Robert Wilson m. Mary Southwick

Generation 7. Mercy F. Wilson m. Aaron Wilkinson

Generation 8. Robert Wilson Wilkinson m. Phebe Cross Munroe

Generation 9. Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 10. Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Black of Salem, Massachusetts

BLACK

John Black and his wife, Susanna, arrived in Salem, Massachusetts on board the ship “Talbot” in 1629.  We don’t know his origins or birth date, but it is set at about 1591 because in 1645 the court exempted him from militia training “John Black being poor & aged 54” [ Essex Quarterly Court 1:84]  In 1636 he was granted 30 acres at Jeffrey’s Creek, near Salem.  On 13 May 1640, John Black and sixteen other Salem men wrote a petition “to erect a village there” at Jeffrey’s Creek.  [Essex Quarterly Court 7: 201-2]

John Black died in 1675, but on 20 April 1670 he sold “to my son John Black of the same” his house lot in Beverly for 8 pounds “except two acres of land out the said lot, which I do give and set over unto my son-in-law Isaack Davis, they to pay rent to John Sr.”  [Essex County Deeds 3: 140].  John had seven known children, but only four lived to adulthood.

Jeffry’s Creek settlement was part of Salem set off to become the smaller town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts in 1645. According to the “Manchester Cricket” newspaper, which has been printed since 1888, the original village was called Creekites, and the name stuck for many years.  After the name became Manchester, the inhabitants were called “crickets”.  This name was still being used in 1888 when the local paper was established. [see http://www.themanchestercricket.com/history.php]

The Black genealogy:

Generation 1: John Black, born about 1591 in England, died 1 March 1675 in Beverly, Massachusetts, married Susanna Unknown. Seven children:

1. Unknown Black, born about 1629, died on board the “Talbot” 24 June 1629

2. Elizabeth Black, born about 1632; married first Humphrey Gilbert about 1655, married second William Raynor 24 September 1658, married third Henry Kimball about 1675, and married third Daniel Kilham about 1678.

3. Persis Black, see below

4. Lydia Black, baptized 25 December 1636, died young

5. Lydia Black,  baptized 3 June 1638; married Isaac Davis

6. Daughter Black, baptized 27 November 1640, died young

7. John Black, born about 1642, married first Freeborn Wolfe, widow of Robert Sallowes, married second Deborah Unknown.

Generation 2.  Persis Black born about 1633, died before 1704 in Salem; married on 29 November 1655 in Salem to Robert Follet, son of John Follett.  He was born 1625 in England and died 1708 in Salem: Ten children.

Generation 3. Hannah Follett married John Southwick

Generation 4. John Southwick married Mary Trask

Generation 5. Elizabeth Southwick married Robert Wilson

Generation 6. Robert Wilson married Sarah Felton

Generation 7. Robert Wilson married Mary Southwick

Generation 8. Mercy F. Wilson married Aaron Wilkinson

Generation 9. Robert Wilson Wilkinson married Phebe Cross Munroe

Generation 10. Albert Munroe Wilkinson married Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 11. Donald Munroe Wilkinson married Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

Sources:

Great Migration Begins,  by Robert Charles Anderson, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995,  Volume 1, pages 175 – 177.

The Essex Genealogist, Volume 14, pages 110 – 111.

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo