My Revolutionary War Patriots - Captain Westley Burnham of Essex, Massachusetts

 

The David Burnham house in Essex, Massachusetts

built by Capt. Westley Burnham's grandfather 

This is the 7th patriot ancestor I have written in this series of blog posts. My 6th great grandfather, Westley Burnham, was born on 17 August 1747 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipsiwch, Massachusetts (now the town of Essex), the son of Westley Burnham (1719 - 1797) and Deborah Story.  He was a descendant of Thomas Burnham (about 1623 - 1694) of Norwich, Norfolk England, and his wife Mary Lawrence. On 5 December 1771 he married Molly Woodbury, who was born 29 July 1749 in Beverly, the daughter of Robert Woodbury and Hannah Preston. They had ten children, who all grew to adulthood and were married. 

Westley, Jr., was a mariner, like most of the men in Chebacco Parish.  He worked as a fisherman and as a sailor before his marriage.  When the Lexington Alarm came on 19 April 1775 he served in Capt. David Low's 3rd Company, in Colonel Cogswell's regiment (which was a trainband or local militia).  In 1776 he was a private in Capt. Daniel Giddings' Company, in Colonel Foster's Regiment, which was stationed at Gloucester for seacoast defence. Also in 1776 he served in Captain Ray's Company, Colonel Pickering's Regiment. Then he served again in Capt. Dodge's Company, Colonel Johnson's Regiment in 1777, where he was in the Battle of Bemis Heights, which was part of the Battles of Saratoga in New York.  

Westley Burnham received a pension for his service in the war - Pension number s18750  [Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 9 Feb 2018), "Record of BURNHAM, WESLEY JR", Ancestor # A018081.]  There is a Revolutionary War marker and flag on his grave in the Ancient Burial Ground in Essex. 

epitaph:

In Memory Of

Mr.Wesley Burnham 

who died 

Sept 1, 1835

Aged 83 years

According to the book The Burnham Family, on pages 344 and 345,  Westley Burnham, Jr. became a privateer after the Revolutionary War.  He was eventually captured by the British. "Captain Westley Burnham was in early life a sailor. At the age of seventeen he made a voyage to Lisbon, and rowed in a boat over the site of Old Lisbon, which had been destroyed and sunk by an earthquake in 1755. For a short time he served as a soldier in the war of the revolution. Afterwards he entered the privateering service. In an engagement with the enemy, the vessel in which he sailed was captured, and with the rest of the crew he was carried to England. An order of the admiralty gave permission to any American prisoners to go on board His Majesty's ships and do sailor's duty, except fighting, if they should choose to do so. After remaining some time in the 'Mill Prison,' he took advantage of this order, and entered the seventy-four gunship Preston. While on a cruise on the West India station he was taken sick with the small pox, and was left in hospital in Jamaica. He was so near to dying there, that one man who returned to this country from that island, reported to his family that he was dead. On his recovery he immediately took ship for Boston, and on arriving there walked to Chebacco. His arrival was noised abroad, and, as he expressed it, 'that night all Chebacco was at the house to see one who had risen from the dead.' He became a successful navigator. No vessel commanded by him was ever wreaked or dismasted, and his judgment in maritime matters was very highly esteemed. He afterwards followed the hereditary occupation of vessel-building. For a considerable length of time he was totally blind. He was a man of extraordinary strength."  

This story is also told on the Historic Massachusetts website. 

  "The “skipper” was also a fisherman and made many trips to the Grand Banks. He followed the hereditary occupation of vessel building, and some of these were built in a yard near the house and hauled to the water as was the custom. Westley Burnham served in the War of the Revolution and afterward entered the privateering service. He was captured along with his vessel and crew and carried to England. After remaining in Mill Prison, he took advantage of an order of the Admiralty which gave permission to American prisoners to go board his majesty’s ship and do any sailor’s duty except fighting. While on a cruise to the West Indies, he was taken sick with smallpox, and when the ship sailed, he was left in a hospital in Jamaica. He was close to dying and was reported to be dead by one man who returned to this country from the island. Westley recovered, took a ship to Boston, and walked to Chebacco where he was welcomed by his family as one who had risen from the dead." 

I descend from two of Westley Burnham's sons.  First I descend from Asa Burnham (1778 - 1850) who married Polly Bray in 1801 in Ipswich.  Secondly I descend from Henry Burnham (1783 - 1867) who married Sally Poland on 2 May 1805 in Essex.  Sally was the daughter of Abner Poland, who was also a Revolutionary War Veteran.  The Colonel Joshua Burnham (1754 - 1834),  who was the first ancestor in this series about Revolutionary War ancestors, is also a descendant of the immigrant settlers Thomas Burnham and Mary Lawrence, and a distant cousin to Captain Westley Burnham. 

The photo of the David Burnham House, Essex, Massachusetts,  above, is from Wikipedia and is attributed to  Magicpiano - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20998307

The David Burnham house in the photos above is located on Pond Street in Essex, and was built in 1685.  The land was granted to the brothers John and Thomas Burnham instead of pension money for serving in the Pequot War. Thomas Burnham's son John owned the land where the house was built by his youngest son David.  It then passed to Westley Burnham, Sr., who passed it on to Captain Westley Burnham, Jr.  After Capt. Burnham's death the house went to his daughter Anna Burnham (1785 - 1862) who married her cousin Abner Burnham.  Anna and Abner had fourteen children and 81 grandchildren!  From there the house passed into the hands of the Story family and was restored under the suppervision of George Francis Dowe, curator of the Essex Institute in Salem in 1924, 100 years ago.  It is still standing on Pond Street in Essex.  

For the truly curious:

The Burnham Family: Or the Genealogical Records of the Descendants of the Four Emigrants of the Name, who were among the early settlers in America , by Roderick Henry Burnham, Hartford, Connecticut, Press of Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1869. (available to read online at Google books)  See pages 344 and 345 for Westley Burham, Jr. 

See also The Historic Massachusetts website  https://historicmassachusetts.org/essex/ accessed 16 March 2026 for the aerial view photo and the story of Westley Burnham's homecoming after being captured by the British. 

This blog post shows my many Burnham lineages:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/05/surname-saturday-burnham-of-chebacco.html 

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

Patriot #2 in this series: Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-major.html   

#3 Jonathan Flint of Reading, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-jonathan.html   

#4 Daniel Glover of Marblehead, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-daniel.html  

#5 Levi Younger of Gloucester, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-levi.html  

#6 Nathaniel Treadwell of Ipswich, Massachusetts:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-nathaniel.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots - Captain Westley Burnham of Essex, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 28, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/05/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-captain.html: accessed [access date]). 

My Revolutionary War Patriots - Nathaniel Treadwell of Ipswich, Massachusetts

 

The Agawam Hotel in Ipswich, Massachusetts

was formerly the Treadwell Tavern, before the

mansard roof and porches were added.

This is Patriot #6 in my series of blog posts about ancestors in the Revolutionary War.  Nathaniel Treadwell, my 5th great grandfather, was baptized in Ipswich, Massachusetts on 28 October 1753. He was the son of Jabez Treadwell (1713 - 1780) and Lucy Haskell (1715 - 1769) of Ipswich. There were many Nathaniel Treadwells in the Ipswich records, inclusing another cousin named Nathaniel Treadwell who owned another inn in Ipswich.  It was not fun unraveling all these different men from the records!

Nathaniel's father, Jabez, died on 22 December 1780 when Nathaniel was a young man and before he married. Nathaniel received bequests from his father, Jabez', Last Will & Testament, "I give and devise to my two sons Samuel Treadwell & Nathaniel Treadwell and to their heirs and assigns forever, my new barn, my land at Timber Hill so called & my little pasture (so called) my upland and salt marsh at the Hundred, one old upland Right at Jeffries Neck my lot of marsh at Plumb Island called Staniford's Lot, one half for quantity and quality, of my thatch bank adjoining pine creek called Staniford's Bank, to be equally divided between them. Provided notwithstanding, if my said son Samuel, who is now absent, shall never return, my will is, that the one half of my new barn and orchard above given to my said son Samuel, shall be and remain to my said son Nathl and to his heirs and assigns forever;" (Note: Samuel did return). He also received a share of his father's church pew in the First Parish Church at Ipswich and a share of the "husbandry tools".  [Will of Jabez Treadwell, 13 Nov 1780, Ipswich, Essex Co., MA: Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991, Essex - Probate Records, Roll:Treadwell, E-Treadwell, J, 1828-1991: Published at Ancestry.com. 

On 17 July 1786 Nathaniel married Mary Hovey in Ipswich.  She was born about 1751 and died 15 January 1832 in Ipswich, outliving her husband by about ten years. Her parents and ancestry are a mystery to me.  There were many Mary Hoveys in the records, too, in Ipswich and other Essex County towns. I have not been able to figure out her history, even though my Mayflower lineage papers back to Isaac Allerton pass through Nathaniel Treadwell and Mary Hovey. My lineage was accepted, and I'm still working on finding out more about Mary Hovey.

On 19 April 1775 Nathaniel was part of the local militia under Captain Nathaniel Wade. They answered the Lexington Alarm and marched to Mystic on the 21st and then to Cambridge, serving for 3 weeks.  They returned home to Ipswich on 5 June 1775.  Nathaniel Treadwell then reenlisted on 1 August 1775 in Colonel Little's regiment, and again he reenlisted in his cousin William Treadwell's company for three years.  He was discharge on 10 October 1780 and marched home 240 miles. The DAR lists Nathaniel Treadwell as patriot #A116294. 

Nathaniel and Mary had five children, all sons.  Nathaniel, Jr., born in 1787 served in the War of 1812 and was a prisoner in Dartmoor Prison.  Jabez, the second son born in 1788, is my 4th great grandfather, and he married Elizabeth "Betsey" Jillings Homan in 1811.  John, born in 1790 removed to Boston as a cabinet maker. Samuel was born in 1793, and William was born in 1797. 

In 1806 Nathaniel Treadwell built an inn at what is now 26 North Main Street in Ipswich, across from the Congregational Church and common.  He kept his tavern until 1818 and passed the business on to a cousin, Moses Treadwell. This in was renovated in the mid 1800 with Victorian trim, a new roof line, front porches, and a eventually a Victorian style tower. At that time it was known as the Agawam Inn.  It is still standing. Under the ownership of theTreadwell family, the inn entertained many dignitaries such as Daniel Webster, President Monroe, and General Lafayette, who dined there on 3 August 1824. 

On 12 July 1820 Nathaniel Treadwell applied for a Revolutionary War Pension, under file number S33827.  The file reads: "enlisted on the first of January 1776 in Capt. Abraham Dodge's Company & Col. Moses Little's Regiment on the Continental establishment for one year and served the whole of that term and was discharged in 1777. enlisted in Capt. William Treadwell's company & Col. Cranes Regiment of Artillery on the Continental establishment & both in the Massachusetts line for three years & served the whole of that time & was discharged. And after that served three months in the militia at West Point. was in the battles of Long Island, White Plains, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth & Stony Point, is aged sixty eight years, infirm & unable to labor, his wife Mary is aged sixty nine years, and cannot perform much labor, his family consists of himself and wife only". 

Nathaniel Treadwell died in Ipswich on 2 January 1822 and is buried in the Old Burying Ground.  His wife died on 15 January 1832 and is buried nearby in the same cemetery. Both gravestones survive and are legible. 

"Descendants of Thomas Treadwell", by William A. Robbins, 

New England Historic Genealogical Society Register, Volume 60, July 1906, page 294. 

The Jabez Treadwell Family Register, son of Nathaniel, 

and my 4th great grandfather.  My line descends from his

daughter, Eliza Ann, born in 1812, barely visible in this

image (just below the tear in the document).  

For the truly curious:

A blog post on my TREADWELL lineage: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/02/surname-saturday-treadwell-of-ipswich.html  

A blog post on my brickwall ancestor, Mary Hovey, wife of Nathaniel Treadwell:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/08/surname-saturday-hovey-another.html  

My ALLERTON lineage which passes through Nathaniel Treadwell and Mary Hovey (descendants of Isaac Allerton, Mayflower passenger):   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/07/surname-saturday-allerton-mayflower.html  

To read more about the Nathaniel Treadwell Inn AKA Agawam House:   https://historicipswich.net/agawam-house-26-north-main-street/ 

Massachusetts Soldiers & Sailors of the Revolutionary War ["Massachusetts Soldiers & Sailors of the Revolutionary War", Vol. 16, Pg. 35, (Compiled from the Archives) Prepared & Published by the Secretary of the Commonwealth..., Wright & Potter Printing Co., State Printers, Boston, 1896. Published online at Archive.org 

New England Historic Genealogical Society Register, Volume 60, July 1906, page 294

Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, The National Archives, NARA M804. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files. Roll: 2411: Treadwell, Nathaniel #S33827. Published on Fold3. Accessed Jun 2019  

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

#2 in this series,  Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-major.html  

#3 Jonathan Flint of Reading, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-jonathan.html   

#4 Daniel Glover of Marblehead, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-daniel.html  

#5 Levi Younger of Gloucester, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-levi.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots - Nathaniel Treadwell of Ipswich, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 21, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-nathaniel.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  

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

It's Not Too Late to Attend the Highland Games and Scots Prisoner of War Reunion!

We spent a lovely day up at Loon Mountain at the New Hampshire Highland Games today.  I just got home a few minutes ago, and I'm writing up this quick blog post so you can read all about the genealogy and historical seminars being given this year.  Besides the fantastic music, dancing, heavy athletics (caber tossing and stone throwing), sheep dog trials, over 60 clan tents, whiskey tastings, Scottish foods, Scottish gifts, and viewing lots of fellow visitors in kilts we also attended three historical seminars.

The first seminar we attended was "The Origins and Growth of Clan Tartans" by speaker Peter Eslea MacDonald. Peter is a famous Tartan Historian and Head of Research and Collections Scottish Tartans Authority.  He is also the author of the book The 1819 Key Pattern Book - One Hundred Original Tartans.  This was a very interesting history of Scotland, highland dress, and the origins of what we think of as clan tartans.  The history of clan tartans is fairly recent, just originating in the late 1700s or early 1800s, not in ancient times.  Nonetheless, half the audience was wearing their clan tartans!

After some shopping, watching the sheep dog trials, and sharing a delicious meat pie called "bridie", we attended another seminar "Lost Lives, New Worlds: Unlocking the Story of the 1650 Scottish Soldiers Buried on Palace Green in Durham (UK)" presented by Dr. Christopher Gerrard.  Dr. Gerrard is a Professor of Archaeology at Durham (UK not NH) and the team leader for the Scottish Soldiers Project.  He also designed the exhibition on view now at the Saugus Ironworks National Historic Park in Saugus, Massachusetts. I have attended a presentation by University of Durham members at Saugus in the past (You can read all about that HERE), but this presentation had some new information from the book of the same name as the lecture, which was published after I last visited Saugus, and since these prisoners of war were re-interred in Durham.  That meeting in Saugus had about 30 attendees, and this presentation today filled an entire tent.  Many of the attendees today were descendants of Scottish Prisoners of War (SPOW) from the battles of Dunbar and Worcester.

After a nice lunch and more shopping at the vendor tents, we attended our third seminar "Involuntary American: The Scottish Prisoners of 1650 and 1651" by Dr. Carol Gardner.  This is the title of her new book, too.  Dr. Gerrard's talk focused on the history of the battle, and the identification of the bodies found in Durham near the cathedral where the prisoners were locked up.  Dr. Gardner's presentation focused on the forced migration and servitude of the Scottish teens and young men who were brought to New England.  I also learned that other SPOWs went to Ireland, France, Barbados and Virginia, as well as to forced labor in England and Scotland.  I bought a copy of her book (I already owned the book on the Durham archaeological dig) and I can't wait to read it.  Two of my ancestors were SPOWs from the battle of Worcester - William Munroe (who went to Lexington, Massachusetts) and Alexander Thompson (who eventually went to Ipswich, Massachusetts.)

We spent the rest of our time at The Highland Games actually watching some of the heavy athletics (the hammer throw).  We also saw the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pipe & Drums and Dancers in the parade square.  We heard the Red Hot Chili Peppers, lots of pipers, and other Scottish music.

It's not too late to attend these seminars!  There is a full schedule of events at the website https://nhscot.org/ but here are the other genealogy and history seminars you might find interesting (including the Sunday SPOW descendants gathering):

Saturday, September 21st
10:15    A Tour of Gaelic Languages by Dr. Emily McEwan (repeated)
10:30   Lost Lives, New Worlds by Dr. Christopher Gerrard (repeated)
11:45 Get Started Digging up your Roots by Joan Barnes (repeated)
1:30   By Different Routes: Scottish Prisoners & Ulster Scots in New England by Dr. Carol Gardner (repeated)
4:15   Involuntary Americans by Dr. Carol Gardner (repeated)
4:30   The Buchanan Tartans by Peter Eslea MacDonald

Sunday, September 22nd
10:30 Lost Lives, New Worlds by Dr. Christopher Gerrard (repeated)
10:30 The Use of Tartan as a Jacobite Symbol by Peter Eslea MacDonald
11:00  Dunbar (and Worcester) Descendants Gathering
12 noon  By Different Routes: Scottish Prisoners & Ulster Scots in New England by Dr. Carol Gardner (repeated)
1:30  A Tour of Gaelic Languages by Dr. Emily McEwan (repeated)
1:30 Get Started on Diggin gup your Roots by Joan Barnes (repeated)
2:30  The Food and History of the Burns Supper by Gary Maclean
3:00  The Scottish Prisoners of 1650 & 1651 by Dr. Carol Gardner
3:00  Outlander and the Real Tartans of 1745 by Peter Eslea MacDonald
4:30  Key Online Sites for Scottish Genealogy by Joan Barnes

For the Truly curious:

The New Hampshire Scots Official Website (including Highland Games information):  https://nhscot.org

My blog post "The Discovery of Scots Prisoners of War at Durham Cathedral!  How is this Important to New England Genealogy?"
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/09/discovery-of-scots-prisoners-of-war-at.html 

My blog post "The University of Durham Team is Reaching Out to Descendants of 17th Century Scottish Prisoners":
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/university-of-durham-team-is-reaching.html 

My blog post about William Munroe, Scottish prisoner of war:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-munroe-of-lexington.html 

My blog post about Alexander Thompson, Scottish prisoner of war:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/05/surname-saturday-thomson-thompson-of.html

The Clan Thompson Tent

The RCMP (the Mounties) Pipe & Drum Band

The Sheep Dog Trials

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "It's Not Too Late to Attend the Highland Games and Scots Prisoner of War Reunion!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 20, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/09/its-not-too-late-to-attend-highland.html: access [accesss date]).

Was your ancestor a Scottish Prisoner of War from the Battle of Dunbar?

During the English Civil War the Scots were on the side of the monarchy, and fought against the Puritans.  At the Battle of Dunbar on 3 September 1650 hundreds of Scots prisoners of war were marched to Durham and imprisoned in the cathedral.  150 of these prisoners were sent on the ship Unity to the Massachusetts Bay Colony as indentured servants.   Exactly one year later, on 3 September 1651 at the Battle of Worcester, several hundred more Scots were taken prisoner, and 272 were sent to Massachusetts on the ship John and Sara.   There was a passenger list of the men sent from Worcester, and a recreated passenger list of 180 suggested names from the battle of Dunbar.

Was your ancestor a Scot living in New England at this time period?  Is his name on one of these lists?

Next fall the Battle of Dunbar will be re-created and commemorated in Dunbar, East Lothian Scotland. The flyer above has been circulating on social media, and more information will be announced soon.  At the SPOW (Scottish Prisoners of War) Facebook group, many descendants are planning to attend the events in Scotland.

Are you one of the descendants who might be attending?



For the truly curious:

The Scottish Prisoners of War Society -   https://scottishprisonersofwar.com/ 

An alphabetized list of the Dunbar Prisoners:    https://scottishprisonersofwar.com/battle_of_dunbar_pows_america/

An alphabetized list of the Worcester Prisoners:
  https://scottishprisonersofwar.com/battle_of_wor_pows_in_america/ 

Durham University: Scottish Soldiers Project:     https://www.dur.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects/europe/pg-skeletons/ 


Some other blog posts I have published on this subject:

September 2015 - The Discovery of the Scots Prisoners of War graves in Durham, England:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/09/discovery-of-scots-prisoners-of-war-at.html 

October 2016 - University of Durham Team visits Descendants in Saugus, Massachusetts
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/university-of-durham-team-is-reaching.html 

August 2011 - The Ship John and Sara Prisoners of War 1651
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/ship-john-and-sara-prisoners-of-war.html

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Was your ancestor a Scottish Prisoner of War from the Battle of Dunbar?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 6, 2018 ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/12/was-your-ancestor-scottish-prisoner-of.html: accessed [access date]).

Top Ten Genealogy "Close Calls"

What’s a “Genealogy Close Call”?  It happens when I research an ancestor and realize that if fate didn’t intervene I wouldn’t be here today.  Some of our ancestors narrowly escaped disasters, only to live on and produce a descendant that led to YOU!   Read down the list, and you’ll instantly know what I mean.  I’m sure there are many “close calls” in your family tree, too.  Why don’t you tell me about some of these bits of serendipity in the comments?

Close Call No. 1:

John Howland (1592 – 1673) is my 9th great grandfather on both my mother’s side, and my father’s side of the family.  He had a very close call on his way to Massachusetts on board the ship Mayflower in 1620. Halfway across the Atlantic the Pilgrims encountered a great storm. For some unknown reason, the passenger John Howland was on deck instead of below with the other Pilgrims.  He fell overboard, but miraculously grabbed a rope that was hanging over the side of the ship, and he was hauled to safety.  Young John was described in William Bradford’s journal “though he was somewhat ill with it, yet he lived many years after.”  He later married Elizabeth Tilley, another passenger, and had many children, including the two daughters, Hope and Desire, from whom I descend.  If not for that rope, I wouldn’t be here today.

Close Call No. 2:

I have many ancestors who were involved in the 1692 Witchcraft Hysteria that hit Salem, Massachusetts. Three were hanged, many others were imprisoned, brought to trial, accused and otherwise abused.  The ones who were hanged (Bridget Bishop, John Proctor and George Jacobs) were past their prime, with grown children, so their deaths did not mean that my lineage never occurred.  However, I had one ancestress, Elizabeth Collston (b. 1676), my 7^th great grandmother, who was arrested and imprisoned with her mother and grandmother.  At some point 16 year old Elizabeth Collston escaped.  And she escaped a second time weeks later!  Considering that she could have been brought to trial and hanged like the three ancestors mentioned above, she also could have died in jail because the conditions were appalling.  Lucky Elizabeth escaped, married in 1703, and had a daughter, Mary Collston, who was my 6^th great grandmother.  Thank you Elizabeth!

Close Call No. 3:

My 7^th great grandfather, William Munroe (1625 – 1718) was a Scots warrior in the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651.  The Scots lost the battle, and survivors were rounded up and marched without food to London to be shipped on board the John and Sarah to Boston to be sold into servitude.  If you read about the Scots prisoners of war, there were not many survivors of this bloody battle.  There were not many survivors of this forced march to London.  Some died on board the ship on their way to the New World. Somehow young William survived all this to be sold on the docks into servitude.  The Scots were not welcome in Puritan Boston, but most of these men survived and married and left many descendants.  William married in 1665 to Martha George and had four children, including my 6^th great grandfather, George Munroe (about 1672 – 1747), and remarried twice more and had ten more children!  There are many descendants who feel quite grateful that William was a survivor!

Close Call No. 4:   

My 4^th great grandfather, Johann Daniel Bollman (about 1751 – 1833) was born in Hammersleben, Saxony, Germany.  He was a surgeon, and a Hessian officer during the American Revolutionary War.  He served with Baron de Riedesel’s Brunswick Regiment.  They fought at the Battle of Bennington in August 1777 where about 200 Hessians were killed and 700 were captured.  Then they fought in September at the Battle of Saratoga where my ancestor was captured.  Most of the Germans were marched to prison camps near Boston.  However, since he was a doctor, he was one of the first men to be included in a prisoner exchange and sent to Halifax.  He settled in the town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia – not far from Halifax.  He survived two bloody battles and being captured.  Dr. Bollman became a politician, as well as the town doctor.  He was a member of the House of Assembly and represented Lunenburg from 1793 - 1809.   He was a physician for 54 years and died at age 82.   Click this link to learn more about this ancestor:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/03/surname-saturday-bollman-my-hessian.html  

Close Call No. 5:

My 5^th great grandfather, Levi Younger (1756 – 1806) served in the Revolutionary War as a seaman.  This wasn’t unusual because he was a mariner from Gloucester, Massachusetts.  However, what was unusual was that he was captured and sent to the prison ship “Favorite” in New York harbor.  If you read or Google what the conditions were like on those British prison ships you will wonder how Levi Younger survived this ordeal.  Then he was brought to Forten Prison at Gosport near Portsmouth in England.  Googling the story of Forten Prison will make your hair stand on end. Somehow young Levi survived all this, returned to Gloucester, and married in 1784.  He had five children, including Levi, Jr. (1786 – 1858), my 4^th great grandfather.

Close Call No. 6:

Levi Younger, Jr. (1786 – 1858) is my 4^th great grandfather.  His father  (see above) was captured as a seaman during the Revolutionary War.  Levi, Jr., was also a mariner, and when the War of 1812 occurred, he stepped in to serve his country in defense of the New England coast.  You guessed it – Levi was one of the many American sailors “impressed” into the British navy during the War of 1812.  He was listed as “refusing to do so service [and] have been punished”.  Like father like son.  He also survived his ordeal and was married in 1816 in Boston and had five children, including my 4^th great grandmother, Mary Esther (Younger) Emerson described below.

Close Call No. 7:

This one is quite a story!  James Stilson, my 7^th great grandfather, was born about 1680 in Maine near the Pemaquid River.  He was captured in 1689, along with his mother, two sisters and a brother, and taken by the Indians to Quebec, Canada.  His mother was redeemed after a few years, but James was not ransomed for 12 years.  He heard that a New England woman was still being held prisoner, and he went back to see her, and liked what he saw.  Her name was Hannah Odiorne, the widow of John Batson of Cape Porpoise, Maine.  He ransomed and married her in the Roman Catholic church of Notre Dame in Montreal.  They had both been baptized Roman Catholic during their captivity.  Their first child, Marie Anne Stilson dit Dutilly Odiorne was baptized Roman Catholic on 8 March 1707.  They were remarried in Boston upon returning to New England.   The baby baptized in Montreal is my 6^th great grandmother, Hannah (AKA Marie Anne) who married Thomas Mead on 2 May 1725 in New Castle, New Hampshire.

Close Call No. 8:

Mary Esther Younger (1826 -1913) was my 3^rd great grandmother. Her father was a mariner from Gloucester who lived in Boston.  Her mother died very young, leaving Esther motherless, and two little brothers also died at the same time.  Her father remarried, but there must be more to the story because Esther was adopted by her father’s sister and her husband, David Harris.  She was raised by the David Harris family (this was another longer story on how I puzzled out her real parents).   What kind of dreadful disease or accident took the mother and brothers? Was Mary Esther lucky to have survived?

Close Call No. 9:

George Emerson (1817 – 1890) was my 3^rd great grandfather.  He was a young husband with a wife (Mary Esther Younger, above) and two small children when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mills in California in 1848.  On February 4, 1849 George was one of the 100 members of the New England and California Trading and Mining Company that left Boston on board the ship Leonore for San Francisco.  Yes, he was “49er”!  They arrived 150 days later via Cape Horn in San Francisco Bay.  There are a few surviving diaries from other members of this group of gold miners, and one describes George Emerson as sick and dying, left by the side of a California creek to write his will.   Somehow George survived, and made his way home to Boston where he had six more children.  One was Mary Katharine Emerson, my great great grandmother.  She wouldn’t have been born if he had died in California, like many other 49ers.  Click this link to learn more about my '49er ancestor:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/08/george-emerson-forty-niner.html  

Close Call No. 10:

My great great grandfather, Abijah Franklin Hitchings (1841 – 1910) served twice in the Civil War. His second enlistment brought him with Company H, 19^th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry to the Battle of Fredricksburg where he was shot in the leg on 13 December 1862.  He was discharge for his wounds on 25 July 1863 at Boston.  His leg wound was horrific, but he refused to let them amputate.  He suffered for the rest of his life from terrible diseases like necrosis.  I have a 100 page pension report with lots of pages of medical reports from his annual trips to the medical facilities at the Old Soldier’s Home in Chelsea, Massachusetts.  He walked with a cane for the rest of his life.  Fortunately, he was well enough to marry on 22 September 1864 and had two children, including my great grandfather, Arthur Treadwell Hitchings (1868 – 1937).   Personally, I think this is quite a miracle since we all know how terrible the medical attention was during the Civil War battles (not just from TV, but from historical accounts), and he lived through infections and necrosis in the years before antibiotics became available.  Look up necrosis – it’s quite nasty.   Click this link to learn more about A. F. Hitchings:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-to-find-your-american-veteran.html   

The image above is from the journal Blast from the Ram's Horn, 1902, page 249 https://archive.org/stream/blastsfromramsho00unse/blastsfromramsho00unse#page/n256/mode/1up

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

Alona Tester, an Australian genealogy blogger, was inspired by this blog post and wrote her own about her Australian ancestors and their "Close Calls".  You can read these stories at this link:
http://www.lonetester.com/2017/03/genealogy-close-calls/

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Top Ten Genealogy "Close Calls", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 10, 2017, (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/03/top-ten-genealogy-close-calls.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ YOUNGER of Gloucester, Massachusetts

The first YOUNGER in this lineage is William Younger, My 6th great grandfather, who married Lucy Foster in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1750 and had four children.  I don't know his origins, nor his birth or death information.  According to Babson's History of of Gloucester, William Younger is listed on page 261 under  "a list of settlers from 1701 to 1750 inclusive, which contains all new-comers who are known to have been heads of families during that period."

I descend from William's third child, and second son, Levi Younger (1756 - about 1806), my 5th great grandfather. Gloucester is a famous New England fishing port, and has been the home of mariners and fisherman from the beginning of its history until today.  Levi served in the Revolutionary War as a seaman.  He was enlisted in Captain Bradbury Sanders 2nd company on 13 January 1776 "for defense of the seacoast".  Apparently Levi was captured by the British.  He was exchanged for a British prisoner named James Price,  and sent to New York on the Favorite.

Apparently Levi Younger was imprisoned in Forton Prison in England, which was an infamously bad place.  Try Googling it to read some hair raising stories.  Among the Franklin Papers I found this interesting letter written to Dr. Benjamin Franklin in 1782.  I have transcribed Levi Younger's name in bold  [from http://franklinpapers.org/franklin/framedVolumes.jsp?vol=37&page=116a  accessed 22 August 2015]:

From Daniel Edwards et al.
als: American Philosophical Society
L’Orient April 8th: 1782.
Sir
Haveing had the good fortune to make our Escape from Forton Prison in England on the 13th March last and to take a small Sloop from Portsmouth in the Night in which 32 of us landed safe at Cape Bellflour from whence we marched to Le Hague where we met with a French Gentlemen a Commissary who gave us a Pass a pair of Shoes & 10 Livres each to go as far as St. Maloes. When we arrived there 19 of us being not able to travell any farther they went on board a Privateer for a Months Cruize 5 got Passes and have gone to Nantes in order to make the best of their way to America & 8 of us came here for the like purpose wanting to get home as soon as Possible haveing been a long time prisoners some of us sent to England from the West Indies & some from New York. We arrived here the 25th: Ultio. & the American Agent not being here nor no Continental Ships we were Obliged to take Lodgeings for 11 Days before we could get a Vessell to go on Board off & the Capt. has it not in his power to give us any thing but our Victuals for our Work he haveing his Complement of hands already Shipped however he has promissed us a passage home but cannot give us any Money untill he Arrives in Philadelphia. And as there is no other Vessell in the Harbour Bound to America that will Sail this 3 or 4 Months and this Ship being almost Ready to sail we have thought it best to come on Board of her upon them Conditions.
        And as we are destitute of both Money and Clothes we have made bold to apply to your Excellency requesting (If you please) some Assistance that will enable us at least to satisfy the Gentleman who was so kind as to take us in and Board us for the above mentioned time. (his Name is John Dager)
        Two of us belong to Continental Ships Joshua Goss Midshipman belonging to the Boston Frigate was taken in one of her Prizes on the 8th: of July 1778 by the Porcupine Ship of War of 24 Guns and Carried to England where he has been a Prisoner ever since untill this present Escape.- The Other Eliphalet Rogers belonging to the Alliance Frigate was taken in one of her Prizes the 18th: Septr. 1779 and has likewise been a Prisoner in Forton Prison untill this present time. Therefore they would be extremely Obliged to your Excellency (if in your Power) to advance them a trifle of their Wages as their Necessities at present are very Pressing- Your Excellencie’s granting this our Humble Petition would be gratefully Acknowledged by your Excellencies Most Obdt. Humble Servts.
        Daniel Edwards Joshua Goss George Clark James Fuller Elipalet Rogers Robert Fulton Isaac Allen William James His Mark
p.s. There is two more prisoners arived here that wrote to your Excellency from Havre de Grace and two of their Companions that Escaped in the Cartell with the french are detained in the [Kian] at Brest who would be glad of your assistance in setting them at Liberty. their Names are Levi Younger & Bartholemew Cashwood

His Excellency Doctr. Franklin Esqr.
Addressed: His Excellency / Doctr. Franklin Esqr. / At / Paris.
Notation: [torn: Edwar]ds Daniel, [torn: Goss J]oshua, &c. L’ori-ent [torn] 1782.


I have not found a death record for Levi, but there was a newspaper notice in the Salem Gazette on 11 March 1806, page 4:

 "Notice is hereby given that the subscriber has been duly appointed administratix of the estate of Levi Younger of Gloucester, mariner, deceased, and has taken upon herself that by giving bends, as the law directs.  All persons having demands against the said estate, are requested to exhibit them for settlement- and those indebted to make payments to: Mary Carter, Admin'x
Gloucester, Feb. 4th, 1806."

Mary Wotten is my 5th great grandmother.  She married Levi Younger in 1784, and then when widowed she remarried to John Carter in 1801.  She is the Mary Carter named in this newpaper notice.  The court record for Levi Younger, mariner of Gloucester, intestate, first court date 9 Oct. 1806 (No. 30803). Essex County Probate.

I descend from Levi and Mary Younger's eldest son, Levi, Jr. (1786 - 1858), my 4th great grandfather.  Just like many other men from Gloucester, including his father, this Levi was also a mariner.  And coincidentally, he was also captured by the British during the War of 1812.  During this war many seamen were "impressed" by the British into the British Navy.  Those who refused to serve for the British when captured were thrown into prison.

I found the following letter in  "The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States" Thirteenth Congress, first and second sessions, May 24, 1813 to April 18, 1814 inclusive- compiled from authentic materials, Washington: Gales and Seaton, 1854, page 2267.  Again, I have transcribed Levi's name in bold letters.
E. Cooke to R. G. Beasley
Foreign Office, Oct. 19, 1812
"In Consequence of your letter to Lord Castlereagh of the 12th instant, I am directed by his Lordship to desire that you will furnish me with the names of the American sailors who have been so punished, and of the ship they are on board...Thomas W. Marshall, Peter Lazette, Edward Whittle Banks, and Levi Younger, on board the Royal William, gave themselvers up as prisoners and were in consequence thereof put into close confinement for eight days."

Levi, Jr. made his way home and appears in many certificates of protection as a mariner from Gloucester "light complexion".  These certificates were voucers for citizenship, and include identification such as place of birth, age, physical description, etc. They were to discourage impressment, but didn't work in Levi's case!  You can find the original certificates of protection at the National Archives.

Levi, Jr. married Catharine Plummer Jones of Boston in 1816.  I found this record in the Gloucester vital records, Boston Marriages, and in the newspaper Boston Daily Advertiser, 6 November 1816, page 2.  They are my 4th great grandparents.   Catharine had a famous sister, Mary Lambert Jones (1803 - 1828) who married Capt. John Dominis and removed to Honolulu, and became the mother-in-law to Queen Liliuokalani of the Kingdom of Hawaii.  Catharine had at least five children and died before the age of 30 in Boston.  Levi remarried two more times, and died in Boston in 1858. 

Their daughter, Mary Esther Younger, is mentioned in letters found in the Hawaii State Archives in the files of Queen Liliuokalani, written by her first cousin, the Queen's husband, Governor John Owen Dominis. When Mary Esther's mother died, she had been adopted by an aunt, the sister of Levi Younger, Mary Younger (1788 - 1873), who had married David Harris.  She was known as Esther Harris in some documents, but others listed her as Mary Esther Younger, which was a clue to this lineage, and to the connection to the Queen of the Kingdom of Hawaii.  

My YOUNGER genealogy:

Generation 1.  William Younger; married on 6 May 1750 in Gloucester, Massachusetts to Lucy Foster, daughter of Benjamin Foster and Susanna Andrews.  She was born 15 June 1723 in Gloucester.  Four children. 

Generation 2.   Levi Younger, born 7 February 1756 in Gloucester, died before 4 February 1806 in Gloucester; married on 17 July 1784 in Gloucester to Mary Wotten, daughter of John Wotton and Mary Hall.  She was born 15 August 1755 in Gloucester.  Five children.

Generation 3.  Levi Younger, born 1 May 1786 in Gloucester, died 8 December 1858 in Boston, Massachusetts; married first to Catherine Plummer Jones on 23 October 1816 in Gloucester.  She was the daughter of Owen Jones and Elizabeth Lambert, and the mother of five children.  Levi remarried second to Jane Unknown, and third to Margaret Unknown.  

Generation 4.  Mary Esther Younger, born 17 Feb 1826, probably in Boston, and died 7 January 1913 in Boston;  married on 11 August 1845 in Boston to George Emerson, son of Romanus Emerson and Jemima Wyman.  He was born 11 July 1817 in South Boston and died 11 January 1890 in Dorchester, Massachusetts.  Eight children.

Generation 5.  Mary Katharine Emerson m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 6.  Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 7.  Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

Blog posts about this family:

The Last Will and Testament of Levi Younger:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/10/levi-younger-last-will-and-testament-10.html

An adoption in the 1800s
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/03/an-adoption-in-1800s.html

You can also click on the keywords YOUNGER, JONES, etc in the right hand column to pull up more stories about these families.

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ YOUNGER of Gloucester, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 17, 2016, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/12/surname-saturday-younger-of-gloucester.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]).