Cinderella Amelia (Lyons) Newcomb (1820 - 1910)

 

Cinderella Amelia Lyons is a half sister to my 3rd great grandmother, Isabella Lyons Bill (1806 - 1872).  Her name intrigued me, so I decided to investigate her life.  Down the rabbit hole!

I had seen the name Cinderella before on a real person.  See this blog post HERE.  This is the only time I have found a Cinderella in my own family tree. The two examples of the name Cinderella I had seen were from the early 1800s.  So I checked the 1850 Federal Census to see how many women and girls had this fairy tale name!  According to Ancestry.com there were there are over 330,000 examples of this name in the 1850 census.  Wow!  And that wouldn't even include Cinderella Lyons, who was born and married in New Brunswick, Canada. 

My 4th great grandfather, Thomas Ratchford Lyons, the son of David Lyons and Elizabeth Ratchford, was born on 3 March 1780 in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia.  He married Ann Skinner, the daughter of Charles Skinner and Sarah Osborn, on 30 September 1802 in Cornwallis.  Ann was born 9 May 1786 in Cornwallis, and died 19 October 1815 in Cornwallis.  Later, Thomas remarried to Anne Griffin, the daughter of James Chipman Griffin and Sarah Harris, on 21 May 1818 in Sackville, Nova Scotia.  

Thomas had five children with each wife, Ann and Anne, six daughters and four sons.  Of course, the name Cinderella jumped out at me as being very interesting!  I was able to trace her life under her married name.

Cinderella Amelia Lyons was born on 19 November 1820 in Sackville, and married William Freeman Newcomb on 11 December 1845.  William was born on 18 March 1813 in Cornwallis, but the marriage document listed his residence as Roxbury (now part of Boston, Massachusetts), so he must have immigrated to the United States before the wedding.  Cinderella and William also had five children, and their birth records list their birthplaces as Roxbury, Massachusetts; Cornwallis, Nova Scotia; Lewiston, New York; New York; and Massachusetts. 

William died 9 June 1857 on Rainsford Island, Boston Harbor, and was listed as being buried there, too.  This bit of information sent me down another rabbit hole, since I was not familiar with Rainsford Island.  The vital records listed him as dying of apoplexy [probably a stroke], a carpenter, born in Nova Scotia, with no parents listed.  After some research I learned that there was a small pox and quarantine hospital on Rainsford Island, which was also known as Hospital Island, Pest House Island, and Quarantine Island.  He was only 44 years old, so perhaps William had been struck down by a contagious disease? There was no further information on the death record. There are no gravestones on Rainsford Island today, nor any standing buildings.  It is a protected part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Park, being off limits from April to September due to bird nesting, and no transportation to the island. According to Find A Grave, it is estimated that there are thousands of burials on this island, with only about 1, 599 names identified between 1854 to 1896.  About 350 bodies were removed in 1947 and reburied on Long Island.  

Cinderella lived a long life after her husband died.  She didn't pass away until 15 January 1910 in Boston. I found one obituary for her in far away New Mexico, in the Santa Fe New Mexican, 21 January 1910 ""Death of Mrs. C. A. Newcomb - Mrs. Cinderella Amelia Newcomb, mother of Judge William H. Newcomb, and Mrs. H. H. Betts of Silver City, died last week at Boston, Massachusetts, in her ninetieth year."  Despite being a widow with five children, and her husband being only a carpenter, her children did well in life.  Two lived in Massachusetts, one married the judge and removed to Silver City, New Mexico, and two unmarried daughters removed to Los Angeles and were buried at the prestigious Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. 

Cinderella is buried at the Mount Hope Cemetery in Boston.  I hope to find and photograph her tombstone when the weather improves. 

For the truly curious:

Tombstone Tuesday - Alice and Cinderella, 2012:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/10/tombstone-tuesday-alice-and-cinderella.html  

Surname Saturday - Lyons, 2013:

     https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/08/surname-saturday-lyons-loyalists-from.html  

A book about Rainsford Island, free and readable on Internet Archive "Rainsford Island: A Boston Harbor Case Study in Public Neglect and Private Activism" by William A. McEvoy and Robin Hazard Ray, 2019:    https://archive.org/details/rainsfordislandb00mcev_0 

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Cinderella Amelia (Lyons) Newcomb (1820 - 1910)", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 2, 2023, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinderella-amelia-lyons-newcomb-1820.html: accessed [access date]). 

Amanuensis Monday - Sarah Osborn Skinner 1760 - 1848

Back in 2001 I found a distant cousin on GenForum, and we were both descended of Sarah Osborn, who married Charles Skinner on 24 November 1774 in New Brunswick.  According to my calculations, Sarah was only about 14 when she married, not the 16 claimed in her obituary.  This is the article sent to me by the cousin with whom I was corresponding.  This was a wonderful clue to my 5x great grandmother's life, because records are very scarce in Nova Scotia!

The Christian Messenger, January 1848 ( a Baptist magazine):

"Died 15 January 1848 in Cornwallis [Nova Scotia], Mrs. Sarah Skinner in 88th year, daughter of the late Samuel Osborne of Martha's Vineyard, U.S. They removed to Casco, ME, to NB, then to NS. Born 22 July 1760, married in NB at age 16 to Charles Skinner, native of Connecticut. Leaves 8 sons, 7 daughters, 113 grandchildren, 60 great-grandchildren. Late W.A. Chipman was a brother-in-law. Edward Manning and George Dimock sons-in-law. Rev. I. E. Bill married a granddaughter."


Osborn Genealogy:

Generation 1: Reverend Samuel Osborn, born in Ireland about 1690 and died in 1774 Boston, Massachusetts; married on 1 January 1710 to Jedidah Smith, daughter of Benjamin Smith and Jedidah Mayhew.  Six children.  He was a graduate of the University of Dublin and became pastor of the church at Eastham, on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, but was dismissed for his Arminian opinions and removed to Boston.

Generation 2: Samuel Osborn, born 1711 at Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, died after 8 October 1753; married on 9 September 1731 in Edgartown to Keziah Butler, born about 1710 in Edgartown and died in October 1768 in Edgartown.  Ten Children.  Keziah remarried to Samuel Pease in 1752.

Generation 3: Samuel Osborn, born about 1732 in Edgartown, died in Nova Scotia; married on 28 April 1755 to Sarah Wass, daughter of Wilmot Wass and Rebecca Allen, born 24 January 1738 in West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, died about 1813 in Nova Scotia.  Five children.

Generation 4. Sarah Osborn, born 22 July 1760 in Fredricton, New Brunswick, died on 15 July 1848 in Pleasant Valley, Cornwallis County, Nova Scotia; married on 24 November 1774 in New Brunswick to Charles Skinner, son of Aaron Skinner and Eunice Taintor, born 3 January 1748 in Colchester, Connecticut, died before 1837 in Nova Scotia.  Fifteen children including Ann Skinner, born 1786, who married Thomas Ratchford Lyons in 1802.   I descend from their daughter, Isabella Lyons, who is my 3x great grandmother who married the Reverend Ingraham Ebenezer Bill mentioned in the obituary.

For the truly curious:

Another blog post with a longer version of this obituary:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-obituary-of-sarah-osborne-skinner.html  

My OSBORN lineage:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/12/surname-saturday-osborn-of-cape-cod-and.html  

My SKINNER lineage:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/11/surname-saturday-skinner-of-hartford.html   

My BILL lineage:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/03/surname-satruday-bill-of-boston.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Amanuensis Monday - Sarah Osborn Skinner 1760 - 1848", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 29, 2011, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/amanuensis-monday-sarah-osborn-skinner.html: accessed [access date]). 

Amanuenis Monday- Professor Bill in the Google Book Search

My 2x great grandfather, Caleb Rand Bill, was born on 30 May 1833 in Nictaux, Nova Scotia and died on 30 December 1902 in Salem, Massachusetts. He married Ann Margaret Bollman in 1858 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and had nine children. I don’t know all the different places he lived in his life, but his children were born at New Brunswick, Maine, Nova Scotia, Watertown and Beverly, Massachusetts. These were some of the places where he taught as a music professor. He was quite well known as a music teacher, but I didn’t know how well until I found these tidbits in the Google Book Search!

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The New York Daily Tribune, Tuesday July 16, 1889, Page 7, column 5

TEACHERS TAUGHT AT ASBURY PARK.
INSTRUCTORS AND SUBJECTS AT THE COMING SCHOOL OF PEDAGOGY.

Asbury Park, July 15 (Special).- The Summer School of Pedagogy, which has become famous in the last, two years, began Its annual session in Educational Hall today. Among those present are teachers from all parts of the country. The arrangements for the school are upon a liberal scale. There will be lectures by Professor James M. Green, the principal of the New-Jersey State Normal School a t Trenton, on physiology. Professor William M. Griffin, principal of one of the grammar schools of Newark, will lecture upon arithmetic. Professor P. E. Demarest, the principal of one of the grammar schools of Long Island City, is the lecturer on natural history. The programme of the school shows many prominent people in educational circles as lecturers. Dr. Jerome Allen, Editor of "The School Journal,'' New-York, will deliver a course of lectures to the school on the history of educational thought Professor William N. Barringer, Superintendent of Public Instruction. Newark, will lecture on pedagogy. P. E. Demarest will also deliver a course of lectures on botany. The languages will be taught by A. S. Kelly, principal of the Lyman School, Boston, and A. B. Guilford, principal of a Jersey City grammar school. Edwin Shepard, of Newark, will lecture on history. J. S- Cooley, of Windsor Locks, Conn., will teach writing, and Professor C. R. Bill, of Boston, will lecture on music. Dr. E. P. Heff, of Newark, will deliver a series of lectures on physiology, and Stephen S. Day, principal of a Newark grammar school, will lecture on mlscroscopy. Elocution will be taught by Miss Minnie Swayzee, of New-York. A course in woodcarving will be given by Miss Laura L. Thompson, of Jersey City. Professor L. H. Thompson, of Jersey City, will deliver a course on drawing and manual training, and physical training will be taught by Miss M. E. Hampton, of Plainfield.

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History of Public School Music in the United States, by Edward Bailey Birge, Oliver Ditson Co, 1928, page 134

“The first summer school exclusively for school music training was held in 1884 at Lexington, Massachusetts, under Hosea E. Holt. Then in 1886 the National Summer School of Music was started in Boston with the following faculty: - Luther Whiting Mason, N. Lincoln, C. R. Bill, George A. Veazie, O. B. Brown, S. H. Hadley, J. B. Sharland, Henry G. Carey and Leonard B. Marshall.”

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National Education Association of the United States, Journal of Proceedings and Addresses, Session of the Year 1894 Held at Asbury Park, New Jersey, Published by the Association, St. Paul, 1895, page 925

Department of Music Education
Secretary’s Minutes
First Session – Thursday, July 12, 1894
“….The discussion was opened by A. J. Gantvoort, Piqua, Ohio, who was followed by C. C. Congdon, St. Paul, Minn.; J. C. Broekhoven, Cincinnati, Ohio; C. R. Bill, Salem, Mass.; and W. S. Twichell, Paterson, N. J…”

Page 956
Discussion
“Mr. C. R. Bill, Salem, Mass., put special emphasis on the fact that music is no longer taught as it was years ago, but is conducted, in the main, by the regular teacher under intelligent supervision. The whole question of teaching music must be considered from an educational point of view.”

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Municipal Register of the City of Waterbury, Connecticut for the year 1895, Press of C. & M. T. Maloney, 1896, Page 23

Public School Report
“Report of the Teacher of Music
To M.S. Crosby, Superintendent of Schools:

There are two agencies at work in the schools in connection with musical instruction, viz, the director of music and the regular teachers.

It is the duty of the director to visit the schools at regular intervals as time will permit, to plan and lay out a systematic course of instruction for the teachers, and to give lessons regularly to each class in the presence of the teacher. The last named is a very important feature of the direction, because it is here that the regular teacher, who is not supposed to be a music teacher, learns not only what, but how to present musical instruction to the pupils, and it is for this reason that the director of music is very earnest in his desire that the undivided attention of the regular teacher should be given to his work while he is in the room. I am glad to be able to say that such attention is given, and that there is scarcely an exception to this desirable attitude on the part of the regular teachers, and not only is this the case, but what is more gratifying there is an earnest desire on the part of teachers to follow out the directions of the supervisor, and to know just how they may become most useful in connection with music.

The general progress of the schools in music during the past year has been marked. Progress in music as in other things depends largely on conditions. Especially is this true when considered in connection with the order and discipline of the school. If, when the music teacher enters the room, he find the normal condition one of attention and respectful submission to what is required on the part of the pupils, good results are sure to follow his efforts. If, on the other hand he finds a widely different condition of affairs, his efforts will not be attended with that success which is desirable. Hence, the widely accepted principle that good order and attention must be the grand fundamental basis of the teacher’s operation in the school room.

I may mention as prominent in this connection, which is everywhere apparent in the schools, the increasing interest of pupils in the subject of music.

The object of music study in the schools is not only to acquire a knowledge of the principles of music, but to acquire it in such way that an ever increasing taste and love for that which is best in music will be formed. The heartiness with which the scholars take up - as a general rule – their work in music, is in evidence that they are developing a love for it which will increase with their knowledge of the subject, and with their intelligence in musical interpretation.

Here I may say that the original programme of instruction suggested by the director for the various grades is being carried out with good results in the first grades. The little are introduced to the study of music through rote songs suited to their capacity and age. They also study the scale, together with the steps of the scale, and tones arranged in rhythmical form, and commence notation, which means the use of the staff notes, etc. In the second grade the same ideas is continued in a more extended form, and the larger portion of the time is give to note and not rote singing. In the third grade the instruction begins to be more technical, and good work in sight singing may be looked for. Part singing is introduced in the fourth grades. Part singing is established as the regular order, chromatics and studies of the various keys. The subject of time is given very careful attention, the pupils being required to mark and keep their own time.

In the fifth grade studies in the various keys continued, more difficult rhythms, chromatics and modulation, and two part singing in all keys. In the sixth grade the harmonic relation of sounds is taken up.

Three part singing is commenced, chromatics, modulation and minor keys are considered. It is expected that pupils of this grade, as also of the fifth and fourth, will be able to sing two and three part songs of ordinary difficulty at sight.

In the seventh and eighth grades the work of the sixth grade is continued and developed, with practical work in three and four part singing.

The development and progress of music in the High school is dependent largely upon the work of the lower schools. There is already a marked improvement in this school, and as soon as the High school is composed of scholars, all of whom have had musical training in the grammar schools, music will assume a commanding and gratifying position there. In all of the grades the charts and books of the National music course are in use, and as the songs contained in that course are of the best authors of school music, much good in every way may be expected from their use.

Respectfully submitted,

C. R. Bill, Director of Music
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Municipal Documents of the city of Beverly, Massachusetts, 1907

Page 416 - 417
“…In 1873, a special teacher of music, C. R. Bill, was employed. He also taught music to the lower schools….In 1884, music was again introduced under the former instructor, C. R. Bill, and free textbooks were first provided.”
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Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

John Lennox, Innkeeper at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

The Lennox Inn, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Today's Innkeeper, Robert Cram, and the tavern room

The house across the street, where John Lennox actually lived....

The Lennox Inn, a bed and breakfast, is located at 69 Fox Street in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Lunenburg is a pretty town on the coast, famous for being the berth of the “Bluenose” schooner, found on the Canadian dime. The United Nations has designated the entire town of Lunenburg as a World Heritage Site. The Lennox Inn is the oldest continuously operating inn in Canada, built in 1791 by John Lennox, a Scots immigrant. There is some evidence that it was built by Andreas Jung, and sold to Mr. Lennox for a tavern. This must have caused some concern, for the Lutheran church is still located directly across the street.

From the website http://www.lenoxinn.com/ you can see that this historic building has been lovingly restored and preserved, saved from demolition in 1991 by the current owner, Robert Cram. It is a step back in time to visit or stay here.

John Lennox was born about 1765 in Scotland, and he died on 1 Oct. 1817 in Lunenburg. He married Ann Margaret, the daughter of German immigrants, on 19 Mar. 1797 at St. John’s Anglican Church. Their first child, Ann Barbara, was born several years previous to the wedding. His will left property to his wife, Anna Margaret (Schupp), son William and daughters Anna Barbara, Isabella, Sarah and Lucy, omitting son Louis.

In one of the four large upstairs guest rooms, the name of John Lennox was uncovered on a pine panel. This pencil autograph is still visible above the fireplace. Robert Cram also found a receipt for wine and rum, complete with John Lennox’s name, between the floor joists of the attic during the restoration. The first floor of the Inn is set up for daily breakfast, but the original tavern can be imagined since the wooden bar is still installed in one corner. It still has the wooden cage over the bar, just like one I once saw at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts.

Several years ago we planned a family vacation to Nova Scotia, and I was excited to book two nights at the Lennox Inn. We were the only occupants, so at night it was spooky to hear the creaking and groaning of the old building, and we half expected to see the ghost of our ancestor, John Lennox. Innkeeper Cram assured me that John Lennox probably never lived there in the Inn, because his personal residence was across the street in a smaller house.

Flagon and Trencher Society - for descendants of Colonial innkeepers  http://www.flagonandtrencher.org/ 


The LENNOX lineage:

Gen. 1. John Lennox b. about 1765 in Scotland, d. 1 Oct. 1817 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia; married on 19 Mar 1797 at St. John’s Anglican Church in Lunenburg to Ann Margareta Schupp, daughter of Johan Justinas Schupp and Anna Margareta Finck, b. 18 Sep 1773 in Lunenburg.
Children:

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  1. Ann Barbara, b. 30 Dec. 1793 in Lunenburg; married about 24 Aug. 1813 in Lunenburg to Thomas Humphreville Chamberlain.
  2. William Lennox, b. 8 Jun 1799 in Lunenburg, d. 15 Apr. 1822 in Lunenburg
  3. Louis Lennox, (not mentioned in his father’s will) b. 1 Jun. 1801 in Lunenburg, d. 14 Jul 1901 in Lunenburg
  4. Isabella Lennox, b. 7 Oct 1803 in Lunenburg; married on 25 May 1830 at the Zion Lutheran Church, Lunenburg to Caspar Arenberg
  5. Sarah Elizabeth Lennox, b. 16 Feb. 1805 in Lunenburg; married to Bremner Frederick Bollman.
  6. Lucy Catherine Lennox, b. 14 Mar 1807 in Lunenburg, d. 13 Dec. 1869 in Lunenburg; married to George Oxner.

Gen. 2. Bremner Frederick Bollman and Sarah Elizabeth Lennox. He was the son of Dr. Johann Daniel Bollman and Jane Bremner. Dr. Bollman was a surgeon from Hammersleben, Saxony, Germany, who arrived in the New World as a Hessian mercenary serving under Baron Riedesel’s Regiment. He settled in Lunenburg, a mostly German town. Jane Bremner was the daughter of Scots immigrants Robert and Margaret (Stewart) Bremner. Bremener Frederick Bollman was born on 25 Feb. 1802 and died on 15 Dec 1838 in Lunenburg. Sarah remarried to Martin Ernst.
Children:

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  1. Jane Sarah Bollman, b. 9 May 1833 in Lunenburg; married on 26 Jan. 1850 at St. James Anglican Church in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia to George James Lowe.
  2. Ann Margaret Bollman, b. 11 Sep 1835 in Lunenburg; married Caleb Rand Bill on 7 June. 1858 in Lunenburg.
  3. James Daniel Bollman, b. 11 Jun 1836 in Lunenburg

Gen. 3. Ann Margaret Bollman and Caleb Rand Bill. An excerpt was found in the Diary of Adolphus Gaetz of Lunenburg: June 1858 Monday 7th- "Married at 12 o'clock noon, at the house of Mrs. Trider, under whose care the Bride had been brought up, Mr. C. R. Bill, formerly at teacher of vocal music in this place, to Miss Annie Bolman, daughter of the late Bremner Bolman. At 2 o'clock the married couple started on their way to New Brunswick, they were escorted as far as Mahone Bay by several young men and maidens who had been at the wedding. The above were married by the father of the Groom, Rev'd I. E. Bill, baptist preacher, at St. John, New Brunswick, who came here for the purpose." Caleb Bill was a music professor, and he and his bride lived at St. John’s, New Brunswick; Houlton, Maine; Watertown, Massachusetts and Salem, Massachusetts. They had nine children, all musically talented. Professor Bill and his wife, Annie, were my great, great grandparents.

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/09/john-lennox-innkeeper-at-lunenburg-nova.html
Copyright 2009, Heather Wilkinson Rojo