Memories of 1976 and 2001 Anniversaries of the Revolutionary War

 Do you remember the Bicentennial in 1976?  Or the Quasquibicentennial in 2001? Growing up in Massachusetts, we always celebrated a year early, for example April 19, 1975 was the 200th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Patriot's Day is coming soon, and it reminded me of these special anniversary memories. 

On April School vacation in 1976 my family took a roadtrip to Walt Disney World in Florida. It was Patriot's Day back home in Massachusetts, and the Bicentennial was being celebrated everywhere!  Disney World was brand new, having opened in 1971.  It was our first trip driving as far as Florida in our big Pontiac Safari wagon.  We loved it!  The parade on Main Street USA in Disney World featured scenes from American history, of course, for the 200th anniversary.  Everyone was patriotic in 1976. 

Back home in Holden, Massachusetts there was a Fourth of July parade in 1976.  I remember that I rode on a float with the "candy stripers" from Holden Hospital (which is now defunct). This photo shows a young man from my high school class who drove his oxen from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston during the re-enactment of the Knox Trail. I wish I could remember his name. 

On the night of the Fourth of July 1976 I remember going to see fireworks at the Worcester airport.  My friend, Marion, and I had made a blueberry pie and decorated it like an American flag.  It is the only photo I have of that night.  We ate the pie in the backyard with all the neighbors, and listened to the fireworks all around us. 

In 2000 it was the 225th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington, and we attended all the events with our daughter, who had just turned thirteen years old.  She laid a bouquet of flowers on the monument to the fallen on Lexington Green, in honor of two great uncles (many generations removed) who fell during the battle, Robert Munroe and Jonas Parker. Our ancestor, Andrew Munroe (1718 - 1766) had died before the battle, but his son, Andrew (1764 - 1836), my 4th great grandfather, probably witnessed seeing his relatives fight and die during this battle.  He would have been about eleven years old. He was a Major by the end of the war. 

On the fourth of July 2001, the 225th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we were on a family vacation to Williamsburg.  In this photo we are sitting on the lawn in front of the Governor's mansion, waiting for the fireworks show at dusk.  We wore matching US flag t-shirts, and there were huge crowds. 

2001, the 225th anniversary was a very patriotic year. There was a big Revolutionary War re-enactment in Windham, New Hampshire, and we all attended.  Here is my Dad trying on some 18th century garb at one of the sutler's tents.  He looked pretty good in that patriotic uniform.  I wonder if he resembled some of his ancestors who fought in this war in 1975 and 1976.  

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

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Memories of 1976 and 2001 Anniversaries of the Revolutionary War", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 16, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/memories-of-1976-and-2001-anniversaries.html: accessed [access date]). 

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

 

Yours truly and granddaughter in front of the

Munroe Tavern in Lexington, Massachusetts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More information on Major Andrew Munroe for the truly curious: 

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolution

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

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

other blog posts about Andrew Munroe and the Munroe family:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tombstone Tuesday Ancestral Magnets?

This Christmas Santa brought me these unusual magnets made from tombstone art of a member of my family tree. Mary Munroe (daughter of John Ball and Elizabeth Pierce) was born about 1651 and died in August 1692 in Lexington, Massachusetts.  She was the second wife (of three!) of William Munroe, a Scots prisoner of war captured at the Battle of Worcester and sentenced to forced indentured servitude in Boston.  They had ten children together.  I descend from William's first wife, Martha George.   I also descend from Mary's brother, John Ball, who married Sarah Bullard.  See the link below for my blog post on the BALL family. 

These details are 3D prints of details taken from the tombstone of Mary Ball Munroe. 

HEART AND SOUL

This small hearn adorns the gravestone of Mary Munroo

symbolizing the heart as the seat of the soul. Her sould was

released for its flight to Heaven upon her death

August 12, 1692 at the age of 41.  she is buried in the

Old Burial Ground, Lexington, Massachusetts.

This piece of historic cemetery art is cast

directly from the face of an old New England gravestone.

It is completely handmade and finished. Item #0110

MUNROO '92

A windged skull adorns the gravestone of Mary Munroo

as symbol of her sould flying to Heaven; the goal for

Colonists of her era.  She served 41 years and hoped

for eternal life when she died August 12, 1692.  She is 

buried in the Old Burial Ground, Lexington, Massachusetts.

This piece of historic cemetery art is cast

directly from the face of an old New England gravestone.

It is comepletely handmade and finished. Item #0109

These magnets were created by "The Gravestone Girls" who I have met at many genealogy conferences, and heard their cemetery lectures at many historical societies and libraries.  I have several other art pieces from ancestor's graves made by the Gravestone Girls.  There is a link to their website below where you can find a schedule of their events, and shop for art objects made from copies of New England gravestones. 

For the truly curious:

The Gravestone Girls website:   https://www.gravestonegirls.com/#/  

My original 2011 "Tombstone Tuesday" blog post on the gravestones of Mary Munroo and her husband William in Lexington, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/06/munroes-in-lexington-ma-tombstone.html  

My Surname Saturday blog post on the BALL family:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/surname-saturday-ball-of-watertown.html

My Surname Saturday blog post on the MUNROE family of Lexington, Massachusetts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-munroe-of-lexington.html  

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

To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday Ancestral Magnets?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 30, 2025, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/12/tombstone-tuesday-ancestral-magnets.html: accessed [access date]). 

Visiting Our Ancestors in Lexington, Massachusetts

 

This summer we took our granddaughter to see Lexington, Massachusetts.  She had been reading a book called Sam, the Minuteman, by Nathaniel Benchly.  This is an "I can Read" level 3 book about a fictional young man that witnessed the Battle of Lexington. One day while she and I took turns reading this book I mentioned that her ancestors were at this battle, and that the houses of some family members still stand in Lexington.  A few months later we took a short day trip to see these sights! 

The first place we visited was the Munroe Tavern.  It was owned by members of the Munroe family.  Seven members of the family were mustered on Lexington Common on 19 April 1775.  Our ancestor, Andrew Munroe, was only eleven years old on that day.  This was about the age of Sam, the Minuteman in the book.  We don't know if Andrew witnessed the battle, but chances are that he was nearby.  His two uncles, Robert Munroe and Jonas Parker (husband to his Aunt Lucy Munroe), were the first two men killed on Lexington Green. His cousin William Munroe (1742-1827) owned the Munroe Tavern.

On 19 April 1775 William Munroe had to leave his family and join the minutemen on Lexington Green.  He left his wife and children, and a handyman named John Raymond.  The British Regulars marched right down the road in front of the house towards the town common.  The women and children fled to the woods, and John Raymond stayed to protect the house.  The British killed Raymond, and commandeered the tavern as a field hospital.  On the retreat, after the battles of Lexington and Concord, the house was used to treat the British wounded, and then it was set on fire when they left. Fortunately the house survived. 

In 1789 President Washington toured the new United States and stopped in Lexington, Massachusetts to have a meal with the Munroe family at their tavern.  The table, chair, and even the dishes Washington used were carefully preserved by the Munroe family. These items are still on display at the Munroe Tavern, on the second floor. I've also blogged about this event, and you can read about it HERE. 

In the tavern room, on the first floor, the British Regulars shot a bullet into the ceiling.  The Munroe family preserved this evidence of the event and it is still visible today.  

The downstairs part of the Munroe Tavern is a museum dedicated to telling the story of the Battle of Lexington from a British viewpoint. This was a controversial move by the Lexington Historical Society several years ago.  The upstairs rooms tell the story of the Munroe family and their view of that day nearly 250 years ago. In the bedroom are many family artifacts. I blogged about the rebranding of the Munroe Tavern HERE. 

A colonial costume!  It was fun trying on different outfits at the Munroe Tavern.

Nana dressed as a "Redcoat"!

It was fun to bring my granddaughter to see these sights and to learn about her ancestors.  However, discussing war and death with an eight year old was interesting, too.  She had lots of questions. "Why did they fight?" and "Why did the Red Coats kill  John Raymond?" and "Why did the Red Coats fight the minutemen?" and the inevitable "Why do we have wars?".   If you bring young children to see battlefields and cemeteries, and if they see or read stories about war and oppression you must be prepared to answer these questions. And be prepared to answer the more philosphical questions about war with "Everyone has questions about that" or "I wish I knew that, too".  We weren't surprised at the questions, but tried to answer as truthfully as possible.  Not all history is easy. 

We placed pennies at the monument on Lexington Green where the slain minutemen are buried.

"This Monument is erected

By the inhabitants of Lexington,

Under the patronage & at the expense of

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

To the memory of their Fellow Citizens,

Ensign Robert Munroe, Messrs. Jonas Parker,

Samuel Hadley, Jonathan Harrington, Junr.

Isaac Muzzy, Caleb Harrington, and John Brown

of Lexington & Asahel Porter of Woburn,

Who fell on this field the first Victims to the 

Sword of British Tyranny & Oppression,

On the morning of the ever memorable

Nineteenth of April, An. Dom, 1775.

The Die was cast!!!"

On our way back walking from the Lexington Green we saw this house facing the battlefield.  We wondered if this was another member of our Munroe clan.  When I was home I looked up the names Marret and Nathan Munroe.  They were father and son.  Marrett Munroe (1713 - 1798) was married to Deliverance Parker, the sister to Captain  John Parker of the Lexington Minutemen, and cousin to Jonas Parker mentioned above.  Marret's son Nathan Munroe (1747 - 1829) served under Captain Parker's command on the day of the battle across the street from his house, with six other Munroe men. 

For the truly curious:

The Munroe Tavern at the Lexington Historical Society website:   https://www.lexingtonhistory.org/munroe-tavern   

The Munroe Tavern at Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munroe_Tavern_(Lexington,_Massachusetts)  

and several blog posts:

"Rebranding History" 26 September 2011  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/rebranding-history.html  

"Surname Saturday - Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts" 30 June 2012   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-munroe-of-lexington.html  

"Cousins at the Battle of Lexington" 15 April 2010    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/04/cousins-at-battle-of-lexington.html  

"Read how a family history fib spread in 1889, and is still spreading today!" 29 January 2015 (about Washington's visit to the Munroe Tavern in 1789)   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/01/read-how-family-history-fib-spread-in.html    

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

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Visiting Our Ancestors in Lexington, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 12, 2023, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2023/09/visiting-our-ancestors-in-lexington.html: accessed [access date]). 

A photo of Mary Munroe Sanderson (1748 - 1852) who witnessed the Battle of Lexington, Massachusetts

This is an amazing old photo of Mary Munroe Sanderson (1748 - 1852) from the collections of the Boston Public Library.  Thank you to my sister's friend, who shared a copy to her from Facebook (see the link below).  We all share Munroe ancestry!

Mary Munroe was born 10 October 1748 in Lexington, Massachusetts.  She married Samuel Sanderson of Woburn on 27 Ocotber 1772 and had six children.  On 23 September 1852 the women in Lexington had a fundraising party for Mary Munroe Sanderson, who was more than 100 years old and suffering from severe arthritis.  The party raised $300, and she died a month later, aged 104. She died on 15 October 1842 in East Lexington, and is buried at the Old Burying Ground.   Her epitaph reads:

Mary Munroe relict of Samuel Sanderson
Born in Lexington Oct 10, 1748
Died in East Lexington Oct 15, 1852
Age 104 years 5 days
A witness of the first revolutionary conflict, she recounted its trying scenes to the last. The vitality of her Christian faith was envinced by cheerfulness under severy bodily infirmity for more than twenty years.

Mary is the daughter of William Munroe and Rebecca Locke.  William Munroe is the brother of my 6th great grandfather, Andrew Munroe (1718 - 1766).  These are the generations that lived through the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and the American Revolutionary War.  The Sanderson House still stands next to the Munroe Tavern in Lexington, Massachusetts.  

Mary's husband, Corporal Samuel Sanderson [from the Hudson History of Lexington, Volume II Genealogies]: He was sergeant in a detachment from Lexington militia company commanded by Capt. John Bridge, service 5 days; detachment reported on command at Cambridge from 11 May to 15 May 1775, by order of Committee of Safety; also corporal, pay-roll of a detachment from Lexington militia company commanded by Capt. John Parker, service 2 days; detachment reported on command at Cambridge from 17 June to 18 June 1775, by order of Committee of Safety; also private, Capt. John Briges company, Col. Eleazer Brook’s regiment, service from 4 March to 8 March 1776, 5 days; company stationed in Roxbury.

From Canavan Papers Vol I:  To the east of Munroe Tavern is the Sanderson place, in 1775 this long low house was occupied by Samuel Sanderson and his wife Mary Munroe Sanderson, to whom he was married in 1772. With them was his brother Elijah. These two Sandersons were cabinetmakers. At a later period Elijah lived in Salem and from time to time sent venture of cabinet to France and Spain where they sold well, for the old New England joiner was an artist and made all kinds of woodwork from Pine coffins to the most beautiful desks and sideboards.

(Mary) …She was the daughter of one of the Munroe’s in that part of Lexington known as Scotland, and was born in 1748. She married Sanderson in 1772, he worked at his trade as a “Jiner” in the basement of the house, and his wife often held a candle as he made a coffin. When he heard that the British were coming he piloted his wife over to her father’s carrying his babe, and accompanied by a little girl who was at their house. Over at Scotland they found the mother getting breakfast and the brothers at first did not believe the report. After the British retreated Mary returned home and found a good many things had been stolen. Her cow (which was a good part of her marriage portion) had been killed; and a wounded British soldier was stowed away in her bed. She cried out “ I wont hae him there. Why didn’t you knock him on the head?” But the town authorities insisted he be taken care of. Those who lived on that part of Lexington called Scotland had a little of the Scottish accent and Mrs. Sanderson kept it all her life. The soldier begged for Tea but she refused. “what for should I gae him tae for? He shall hae none.” The wounded man refused to eat or drink unless the food was tasted by some of the family.

The Sandersons moved to Lancaster in 1776 but after her husbands death she returned ot Lexington and died there in 1852 at the age of 104.

I don't know the year this photo was taken, but she looks like she was very elderly at the time.  

For the truly curious:

The Facebook link with the photo of Mary Munroe Sanderson:   https://www.facebook.com/HistoricPhotographs/posts/pfbid031uXGDheW6iDLa5tvAN1ZT1xg5PxffwdrF7bpyfrkcKHq3wgK8Xk8iEfqQt1QFPhxl   

The Sanderson House:   https://www.lexingtonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3514/Area-AD---Sanderson-House---Munroe-Tavern  

This sketch of Mrs. Mary Sanderson is from the Locke Family Association website:  www.lockegenealogy.org  It is from the book Book of the Lockes: A genealocial and historical record of the descendants of William Locke, of Woburn, Massachusetts, by John Goodwin Locke.  

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

To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A photo of Mary Munroe Sanderson (1748 - 1852) who witnessed the Battle of Lexington, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 7, 2023, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-photo-of-mary-munroe-sanderson-1748.html: accessed [access date]). 

Patriot's Day

Patriot’s Day, 19 April 1775

The Lexington Minute Man Statue
Photographed on 19 April 2000 - The 225th Anniversary of the Battle

“On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year”

                                From The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The year 1975 is one I always remember because it was the year I decided to trace my family tree.  I was only thirteen years old, and I lived in Massachusetts.  It was the prelude to the nation’s Bicentennial celebration, and in 1975 Lexington and Concord celebrated the 200^th anniversary.  There were re-enactments going on all around me that year, including the Knox Trail, Evacuation Day, Bunker Hill, etc.  One of the first discoveries I made while tracing my family tree was to find my MUNROE ancestors who were at the Battle of Lexington.

On 19 April 2000 we took our daughter to see the 225^th Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington re-enactment, which involved getting to the Lexington Green at o’dark hundred to get a good spot right by the ropes which marked off the battlefield.  The battle begins every year at dawn.  It was a very odd feeling to watch your family members being shot and killed at a battle re-enactment.  You can read about that experience at this link… 

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/04/battle-of-lexington-re-enacted.html

Did you know that 2025 will mark the 250th anniversary of this famous battle?  Plans are already underway to commemorate this event.  The website Revolution 250 has been set up for this anniversary https://revolution250.org/  

Here are some old images from our family slides that I digitized, showing our visit to the 225th anniversary re-enactment in Lexington.  The quality is poor, but it brings back memories of that event…

Originally the eight men who were killed at the Battle of Lexington were secretly buried,
later they were re-interred on the Battle Green under this obelisk.
I always bring flowers for this spot, because two 5th great grand uncles are buried here,
Robert Munroe (1712 - 1775) and Jonas Parker (1722 - 1775) (married to Lucy Munroe).
 These two uncles were also the first two men to fall at the Battle of Lexington,
also veterans of the French and Indian War. 

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

To Cite/Link to this post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Patriot's Day", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 19, 2021, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2021/04/patriots-day.html: accessed [access date]). 

University of Durham Team Is Reaching Out to the Descendants of 17th Century Scottish Prisoners

The Scottish Prisoners of War research team from the University of Durham, UK

Last night in Saugus, Massachusetts a group of ordinary Americans met up to discuss an archaeological dig in Durham, England.  What did these folks have in common?  Not a common interest in archaeology per se,  but each one had an ancestor who had been forcibly brought to New England in chains as a Scottish prisoner of war in 1650 or 1651 during the English Civil War. 

In 1650 in Dunbar Scotland a force of Scottish soldiers faced the English army led by Cromwell and lost the battle.  Over 6,000 men and boys, mostly between the ages of 13 and 25 years old, were taken captive.  After the wounded were released about 5,000 soldiers were marched towards Durham, in Northeast England for imprisonment.  After the 120 mile march, only 3,000 of these starving men arrive and were locked inside the Durham Cathedral.  The rest had died along the way.  Within the next six weeks, another 1,600 soldiers would die.  Their final resting place would remain a mystery for the next 350 years.  Of the survivors, some were sent to Ireland, some to fight in France, and the rest were sent into forced servitude in the New World.

About 250 of these men were placed aboard the ship Unity, which brought them to labor at Hammersmith, the place now known as the Saugus Ironworks.  They arrived in Massachusetts and were divided up – some sent to the iron works, and others to lumber mills in New Hampshire and Maine.  All were sent to do hard labor in the New World.  These young men never went back to Scotland, but eventually made their way to communities scattered over New England and left large numbers of descendants.

In 2013, during an expansion project at the Durham University, a mass grave was found between the cathedral and Durham castle. The excavation site revealed human remains which have been studied by the Durham University team which examined about 17 – 28 bodies, and partial bodies.  They were all male, all between 13  to 25 years of age, all dated scientifically to the time period of incarceration in the Durham Cathedral in 1650.  It appeared to be the bodies of the Scottish soldiers, which had been tossed into a pit by the castle wall.  The findings were released to the public 2015. 

And so the team from Durham University came to Saugus, Massachusetts last night to explain the science and history behind this discovery.  They met early with the descendants of the Scottish Prisoners of War in New England to discuss the discovery, DNA projects, plans for reburial in Durham, and commemoration plans (a plaque near the discovery site and an upcoming 2018 exhibition in Durham).  This was followed by a public lecture co-sponsored by the National Park Service’s Saugus Ironworks.  It was standing room only, and extremely interesting to descendants, Saugus residents and the general public.

Descendants filled the room during a pre-lecture discussion group.
The lecture itself was standing room only!

Members of the Durham University team
answered questions from descendants
and the general public

If you think you might be descended of one of the Scottish Prisoners of War from the Battle of Dunbar, you could be part of this project.  See the links below for more information and for contacts.

  

The Durham team will be next visiting Berwick, Maine; Harvard University; Brown University and then Chris Gerrard, the project leader, will be back to the Old Berwick Historical Society for another public lecture (similar to the Saugus lecture) on November 2^nd, at 7:30pm at the Berwick Academy’s Whipple Arts Center, in Berwick, Maine). 

Contact information:

Website:  www.durham.ac.uk/scottishsoldiers

Twitter:  @durham_uni    or  @arcDurham  #ScotsSoldiers

Email SUBSCRIBE to Scottish.soldiers@durham.ac.uk

Video of the talk given in Saugus 25 October 2016:
https://vimeo.com/190898760

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

For more information on the Scots Prisoners of War sent to New England:

My 2015 blog post:  “Discover of Scots Prisoners of War at Durham Cathedral in England!  How is this important to New England Genealogical Research?”  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/09/discovery-of-scots-prisoners-of-war-at.html

2016 blogpost:  “City Square Charlestown, Massachusetts – and so many ancestral connections!”  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/09/city-square-charlestown-massachusetts.html

My SPOW ancestor, William Munroe “Surname Saturday ~ Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts”  

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-munroe-of-lexington.html

Another SPOW ancestor, Alexander Thompson, “Surname Saturday ~ THOMSON/ THOMPSON of Scotland and Ipswich, Massachusetts”  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/05/surname-saturday-thomson-thompson-of.html

Scottish Prisoners of War genealogy website:   http://scottishprisonersofwar.com/

Scottish Prisoners of War Facebook community  https://www.facebook.com/scottishprisonersofwar?fref=ts

SPOW Yahoo Group   https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/scottish_war_prisoners/info

Scottish Prisoners of War DNA project:   https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/scottish-po-ws/about/background

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

eather Wilkinson Rojo, "University of Durham Team Is Reaching Out to the Descendants of 17th Century Scottish Prisoners", October 25, 2016,  ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/university-of-durham-team-is-reaching.html: accessed [access date]).

City Square, Charlestown, Massachusetts - and so many ancestral connections!

City Square, Charlestown, Massachusetts *

In the 1970s, 80s and 90s, the Boston “Big Dig” Central Artery project moved all the roads to the tunnels and bridges under City Square in Charlestown.  An archeology project done on the site revealed the foundations of Gov. John Winthrop’s 1629 Great House and the Long family’s Three Cranes Tavern.  

Yours truly, standing in the Three Cranes Tavern footprint

As a Long descendant, I waited a long time to go see the newly developed park at City Square.   Restoration of this area into a park didn’t begin until the mid 1990s.

Then, just recently, Linda Hall Little, another genealogy blogger, sent me a photo of the weathervane atop the fountain at City Square Park.  She lives in Charlestown just a block away.  When I saw the weathervane (a crane of course!) I knew I had to feature it on “Weathervane Wednesday” (see yesterday's post) and I also knew I had to feature the park and the memorial to the Long family Three Crane’s Tavern. 

[Also, I descend from Governor John Winthrop's sister, Lucy Winthrop (1601 - 1669) who married Emanuel Downing.  So, Governor Winthrop, who lived in the Great House for three months, was my great uncle 10 generations removed]

Fountain at City Square
featuring a crane weathervane* 

The foundation stones of Three Crane tavern

An exhibit nearby shows the floorplan of the tavern and Great House,
and plots of land owned by members of the LONG family

Great House and Three Cranes Tavern
1629 - 1775
This reconstructed foundation outline represents the tavern
uncovered by archaeologists during the 1980s.  Postholes
from the Great House timbers were also found among the
stones.  Concrete bands have been added to complete the
outline of the two story tavern.  The building was burned
during the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.

When I told Linda that I knew the history of the weathervane because I was a Long descendant, she ran over to the park and took dozens of photos for me.  I’m using some of her photos here, and also some of my own photos.  My family was so excited when they saw Linda’s photos* – so we went to see it ourselves a few weeks later and took more photos!  Thanks, Linda! 

History:

In 1630 the Winthrop fleet carried 700 Puritans on 11 ships to New England.  They settled in Charlestown and Governor Winthrop built his Great House.  When the colonists moved to Boston (due to poor water quality in Charlestown) the Great House became a meeting house, and then a tavern in 1635 run by Robert Long (my 9^th great grandfather) and his family.   The tavern remained in the Long family for 140 years until it was burned to the ground during the Battle of Bunker Hill.  In fact, most of the neighborhood burned to the ground.  

Afterward, the area was cleared and became a market.  Market Square was named “City Square” in 1848 when the town of Charlestown became a city.

That is not the only family connection I have to this spot.  In 1650 the tavern was waterfront property.  Ships from England entered Boston Harbor and the entrance to the Charles River right in front of what is now City Square.  The ship John and Sara docked here on 11 November 1651 and the human cargo on board,  272 Scots Prisoners of War from the Battle of Worcester, were sold on the wharf to the highest bidders by Thomas Kemble.  Two of my ancestors, William Munroe (and his two brothers) and Alexander Thompson.  Several other ancestors, like Francis Wyman of Woburn, had several Scots prisoners of war as servants in his tannery.  I can imagine that drinks were sold swiftly at the tavern on the day those Scots were sold into servitude.

For the truly curious:

My blog post about the LONG family in Charlestown

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/surname-saturday-long-of-charlestown.html

My blog post about my WINTHROP connection, and descent from Lucy Winthrop:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/09/surname-saturday-winthrop-of-england.html  

“Secrets of the Three Cranes Tavern” by Amy Laskowski, for the Boston University website, posted November 9, 2014 http://www.bu.edu/today/2014/boston-archaeology/

Passenger list  (actually a “statement of goods” record) of the John and Sara prisoners of war, 1651

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/ship-john-and-sara-prisoners-of-war.html

My blog post about William Munroe (about 1625 – 1718), SPOW, http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-munroe-of-lexington.html

My blog post about Alexander Thompson (about 1636 – about 1696), SPOW  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/05/surname-saturday-thomson-thompson-of.html

Affectionately known as “SPOW” or Scots Prisoners of War, the online research community is administered by Teresa Hamilton Rust at these four separate websites:

Scottish Prisoners of War Facebook Community

https://www.facebook.com/scottishprisonersofwar?fref=ts

Scottish Prisoners of War website by Teresa Rust  http://scottishprisonersofwar.com/

SPOW Yahoo Group   https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/scottish_war_prisoners/info

Scottish Prisoners of War DNA project:

https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/scottish-po-ws/about/background

Some books:

Emigrants in Chains, by Peter Wilson Coldham, 1992

Directory of Scots Banished to the American Plantations 1650 – 1775, by David Dobson, 2010

 Linda Hall Little's genealogy blog Passage to the Past

https://passagetothepast.wordpress.com/about/   
All photos marked with * are from Linda, otherwise they were taken by Vincent Rojo

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "City Square, Charlestown, Massachusetts - and so many ancestral connections!", Nufield Genealogy, posted September 29, 2016,  ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/09/in-1970s-80s-and-90s-boston-big-dig.html: accessed [access date]). 

Dear MUNROE cousins, Revolutionary War Buffs, Scots Prisoner of War (SPOW) Researchers, and Family Historians

Munroe Tavern before the "Red Coat Museum" renovation

Earlier this week I received this very interesting email from a reader whose mother lives on Tavern Lane in Lexington, Massachusetts.  She read my blog post “Rebranding History”*  from 2011, which described the renovations of the Munroe Tavern in Lexington from a historical home of the Patriotic MUNROE family into “The Redcoat Museum”.    I’ve been watching how the home the Munroe family donated to the Lexington Historical Society has changed its mission from honoring this family that lost so much during the Battle of Lexington, into a museum honoring the British Regulars that attacked their homestead and village.

The Munroe Tavern was formerly a place to honor the MUNROE family.  It told the story of the William Munroe (1742 - 1827) Family, descendants of William Munroe (1625 - 1718) who was a Scots prisoner of War from the Battle of Worcester in 1650.  He was sold into servitude in Massachusetts, but ended up being a property owner in Cambridge Farms, now the town of Lexington, Massachusetts.  William Munroe, 4th, was the militia leader during the Battle of Lexington in 1775.  His home, the tavern, was used by the British as a field hospital and headquarters on the day of the Battle.  The British Regulars then killed his handyman and set the house ablaze before abandoning it upon their flight back to Boston. 

This reader now wrote to me about more changes at Lexington’s Munroe Tavern:

“Since the rebranding of the Munroe Tavern and the opening of the new wing in 2011, the Lexington Historical Society has moved forward and is planning to construct another addition to your family's house.  They plan to expand Munroe Tavern with a barn-like structure featuring a massive display window typically found in retail stores.

 Last week the Society received a variance from the Lexington Board of Appeals to place the new 32 X 24 foot structure a distance of just 7.3 feet from Tavern Lane -- instead of the required 30 feet.  The new addition will house Lexington historical archives that are currently residing in the basement of the Hancock-Clarke house.  After being refused by other Lexington locations, the Society selected Munroe Tavern to build the archive structure.  The Tavern will continue to operate as the Redcoat Museum.

 My Mother lives on Tavern Lane and she is opposed to constructing another addition to Munroe Tavern because it will change the character of the Tavern and the neighborhood.  There is a meeting scheduled on Thursday, February 4, with Lexington's Historic Districts Commission (They oversee the Munroe Tavern Historic district and other notable town districts.) to review the Historical Society's expansion plans for the Tavern.

 We wanted to see if you would be interested in voicing your opinion regarding the changes planned to Munroe Tavern.   We also are interested in your advice on how we can persuade the Commission to stop the construction changes to the Tavern.

 In my Mother's title search documents for her Tavern Lane house there is a copy of the will from James S. Munroe.  In his January 26, 1911 will, as you know, he donated the Tavern to the Lexington Historical Society.  In reading his will I wonder how Mr. Munroe would have weighed in today on the new construction planned to his house.  His will states:

  “…This device is made upon the express condition that said Historical Society shall keep the premises in good repair and forever maintain the same in substantially their present or original condition, shall pay all taxes and other municipal charges and assessments, if any, which may be levied thereon, shall appoint a suitable custodian to have charge thereof, and shall at stated and suitable times open the house for the inspection of the public.  Said Society shall make reasonable rules and regulations for the care of said Munroe Tavern as it may deem expedient, and shall have the right to charge a reasonable admission fee.  If, however, said Society shall refuse to accept this devise, or in case of such acceptance, shall cease to exist, or shall fail to comply with the conditions herein set forth, I give, devise and bequeath said real estate to the Town of Lexington upon the same conditions, but if said Town shall refuse to accept said devise, or having accepted said devise, shall not comply with the conditions herein set forth, I devise said real estate to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts upon the same terms and conditions as above set forth but if said Commonwealth shall refuse said gift, then I device said real estate to my heirs at law… " "

In a separate email she also wrote:

“Here are details on this week's meeting:  The Historic Districts Commission will be holding a public hearing on Thursday, February 4, at 7:10 pm "with respect to the exterior architectural changes of 1332 Massachusetts Avenue (the Tavern), which is located within the Munroe Tavern District."  Also here is the email address for submitting letters to the Commission: historicdistrictscmsn@lexingtonma.gov”

The Public Meeting Notice is at this link:
http://www.lexingtonma.gov/sites/lexingtonma/files/uploads/2016-02-04-hdc.pdf 
and will be held at the Selectman's Meeting Room, 1652 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, Massachusetts at 7 PM.  

And

“Letters should also be copied to fdagle@lexingtonma.gov  (the Commission's assistant who will make sure that everyone on the Historic Districts Commission gets a copy of the letter.)”

The Red Coat Museum in 2011

I will be writing to the Historic Districts Commission of Lexington with my opinions of the project.  I’m not optimistic because my email and mail from before the “rebranding” of the Munroe Tavern to the “Red Coat Museum” received canned replies not very sympathetic to Munroe family members and the descendants of William Munroe. It is my opinion that the original terms of the will were violated with the first rebranding of the Munroe Tavern, and this second renovation and addition are even further violations of the will. But, I'm not a lawyer. Just a descendant. 

I’d love to hear your opinions of the project, too.  Perhaps I will forward them all to the Historic Districts Commission in Lexington in another email.  Please leave your comments below.

For more information on the Munroe Tavern, you can scroll through all the blog posts I have previously written about this historic home here:

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search?q=munroe+tavern

*”Rebranding History” my previous blog post on the renovation of the Munroe Tavern into the Red Coat Museum in Lexington, Massachusetts : 

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/rebranding-history.html

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

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Dear MUNROE cousins, Revolutionary War Buffs, Scots Prisoner of War (SPOW) Researchers and Family Historians", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 3, 2016, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/02/dear-munroe-cousins-revolutionary-war.html:  accessed [access date]).