Blogger Meetup at Exeter, NH's Revolutionary War Festival

Genealogy Blogger Tom Tufts and Yours Truly

Tom Tufts is the author of the Tufts Family Genealogy blog.  We share the ancestor, Peter Tufts (1616- 1700) who settled in Malden, Massachusetts.  He is my 9th great grandfather.  Tom started by guest blogging on my blog, and then started the Tufts Family Genealogy blog in 2012.  We have met up a few times.  I knew that Tom was a long time volunteer at the Exeter, New Hampshire Fire Museum, and he told me that the museum was going to be open during the Exeter Revolutionary War Festival last weekend. It was time for my first visit to this extraordinary little museum.

This little museum used to be the old fire station.  There are two hand pumpers from 1835 and 1846, and a steam pump from 1873 build in Manchester, NH. The fire engines date from the 1920s and 1940s. The bays of the old fire station are full of memorabilia like fire extinguishers, air tanks, axes, patches, tools and lots of photos of firemen from the years past.  Many of the old photos have names on them, which is a great genealogy resource. 

If you are a regular reader of Tom's blog, you may not know that he is a retired fireman with 20 years of service in Manchester and five years of service in Exeter.  His grandfather was an Exeter fireman, and there are photos of him in the museum. Tom even showed me a group photo that includes his grandfather, and two other family members.  I'll let Tom post that on a future blog post, because the story behind the people in the group photo is a bit of genealogical serendipity.  

The museum is located on 30 Court Street in Exeter, New Hampshire.  It is open the first and third Saturday of the month from noon to 4pm.

The Tufts Family Genealogy blog
http://tuftsgenealogy.blogspot.com/  

Read Thomas Tufts guest blog posts at Nutfield Genealogy
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Guest%20blogger%20Tom%20Tufts

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/07/blogger-meetup-at-exeter-nhs.html 

Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Tufts of Charlestown and Malden, Massachusetts

TUFTS

My first and only Tufts ancestor is Mary Tufts, the daughter of Peter and Frances Tufts, born in England about 1613.  She married George Fowle in England, about 1634, had one son, and then came to America.  She lived first in Concord, Massachusetts (where she had five children), and then in Charlestown (where she had five more children!).

It is interesting that Mary’s sister, Elizabeth, and brother, Peter Tufts, all came to America, too, and lived in Malden, Massachusetts next door to Charlestown.   Peter Tufts  (1616 – 1700) married Mary Pierce in 1647 in Charlestown, and had five children.  Sister Elizabeth Tufts (about 1619 – 1693) married Thomas Lynde in Charlestown in 1646. 

Tufts University http://www.tufts.edu/ is located in both Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, across the Mystic River from Charlestown and Malden.   The founders were Universalists, and 20 acres of land were donated by Charles Tufts in 1852 on top of Walnut Hill, the highest point in Medford.  He also made a second  donation of another 80 acres later in his life.  In 1892 the trustees voted to admit both men and women.  P. T. Barnum was an early benefactor, and he started a Natural History Museum on campus with his animal specimens, including Jumbo the elephant, who is the college mascot.

Charles Tufts (1781 – 1876), the college benefactor, is the 3x great grandson of Peter Tufts and Mary Pierce of Malden, Massachusetts.   He would be my fourth cousin, five generations removed.  He made his fortune in brickmaking, and inherited most of his land.   He is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery.    

You can read about the Tufts family at Thomas W. Tuft’s blog “Tufts Family Genealogy” at the link http://tuftsgenealogy.blogspot.com/   There is a book called Tufts Kinsmen: A Recapitulation of the Geonealogy of All Known Persons of the Tufts Surname, by Herbert Freeman Adams, 1992, as well as many papers published by the Tufts Kinsman Association at the NEHGS library.  You can also read a story of the family at the book Sex in Middlesex, by Roger Thompson, University of Massachusetts Press, 1986, pages 45 – 53. 

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Generation 1: Mary Tufts, daughter of Peter Tufts and Frances Unknown, born about 1613 probably in Wilby, Norfolk, England, died 15 February 1676 in Charlestown, Massachusetts; married about 1634 in England to George Fowle, son of George Fowle and Ann Draper.  He was born on 27 January 1610 in Sandhurst, Kent, England, and died on 19 September 1682 in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Eleven children.

Generation 2:  Lt. James Fowle m. Abigail Carter

Generation 3:  Capt. James Fowle m. Mary Richardson

Generation 4: Mary Fowle m. James Simonds

Generation 5: Caleb Simonds m. Susanna Converse

Generation 6:  Ruth Simonds m. Andrew Munroe

Generation 7:  Luther Simonds Munroe m. Olive Flint

Generation 8: Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 9: Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

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

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Fowle of Charlestown and Woburn, Massachusetts

Lt. James Fowle's tombstone
at the Old Burial Ground, Woburn, Massachusetts

George Fowle was an early immigrant to New England. He was made a freeman in Concord, Massachusetts on 14 March 1639 and living in Charlestown by 1648.  He was a tanner.  His double gravestone, with his wife Mary, at the Phipps Street Burying Ground in Charlestown states that he died at age 72.  Together, they had eleven children and left a will probated on 3 October 1682. 

Lieutenant James Fowle, the second son, was born at Concord and died at Woburn, Massachusetts. He was a cordwainer (shoemaker).   His gravestone states he was forty-nine years old.  He married Abigail Carter, the daughter of Captain John Carter.  She married second Ensign Samuel Walker, and married third to Deacon Samuel Stone.  He was the lieutenant of the local militia, originally appointed as ensign by Governor Andros, which met with some opposition since Andros was an unpopular  leader.   Lt. James Fowle enlisted in the1690 unsuccessful  Phipps Expedition to Quebec, Canada.  He died shortly after returning home, probably due to complications of exposure to the cold weather.   His will , written before the expedition, reads “being a call of God bound for Canada in the Expedition against the French Enemy, and not knowing whether I shall ever return home alive…”

The best source for information on the Massachusetts Fowle family is the book Descendants of George Fowle (1610/11? – 1682) of Charlestown, Massachusetts by Eugene Chalmers Fowle,  New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1990.

My lineage from George Fowle:

Generation 1: George Fowle, born 27 January 1610 at Sandhurst, Kent, England, son of George Fowle and Ann Draper, died on 19 September 1682 in Charlestown, Massachusetts; married about 1634 to Mary Tufts, daughter of Peter Tufts and Frances Unknown, born about 1613 in England and died 15 February 1676 in Charlestown.  Eleven children.

Generation 2: Lieutenant James Fowle, born about 12 March 1643 in Concord, Massachusetts, died on 17 December 1690 in Woburn; married in 1666 to Abigail Carter, daughter of John Carter and Elizabeth Kendall, born 21 April 1648 in Woburn, died 11 May 1718 in Woburn. Eight children.

Generation 3:  Captain James Fowle, born 4 March 1667 in Woburn, died 19 March 1714 in Woburn; married on 2 October 1688 in Woburn to Mary Richardson, daughter of Joseph Richardson and Hannah Greene, born 22 March 1669 in Woburn and died 23 October 1748 in Woburn. Twelve children.

Generation 4: Mary Fowle, born 18 June 1689 in Woburn, died 9 March 1762 in Woburn; married on 17 June 1714 in Woburn to James Simonds, Jr., son of James Simonds and Susanna Blodgett, who was born 1 November 1686 in Woburn and died 30 June 1775 in Woburn. Nine children.

Generation 5: Caleb Simonds m. Susanna Converse

Generation 6:  Ruth Simonds m. Andrew Munroe

Generation 7:  Luther Simonds Munroe m. Olive Flint

Generation 8: Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 9: Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

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

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Follow Friday ~ Tufts Family Genealogy

Over the past few months I've had a few guest bloggers try out writing their genealogy and local history stories on my blog.  Several of them have gone on to start their own blogs, and this week Tom Tufts debuted his own genealogy blog "Tufts Family Genealogy" at http://tuftsgenealogy.blogspot.com/

This book was the inspiration for one of Tom's guest posts

Tom wrote three stories this year at my blog, the first was "John Tufts: A Shipwreck Story of Londonderry Immigrants" at the link http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/03/john-tufts-shipwreck-story-of.html   He had originally written to me to see if I had more information on this great story about some Tufts from Northern Ireland immigrating to the New World.  I hadn't heard this story of the shipwreck before, and so he wrote up the blog post and it received a lot of comments. His second story was "Scots Irish at Concord, NH and the 'Irish Fort'" http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/08/scots-irish-at-concord-nh-and-irish-fort.html which was another local history story that was new to me.

Tom's last story on my blog was "Henry Tufts, Black Sheep of an Otherwise Respectable Family" at http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/09/henry-tufts-black-sheep-of-otherwise.html    This story grew out of our meeting in person at the Derry Library's New Hampshire Room for some collaborative research, and a discussion about our common Tufts ancestors.  After the story of Henry Tufts was posted, I urged Tom to think about starting his own blog.  His stories are too interesting, and his knowledge of local history and families is vast enough to fill his own blog.

And so, Tom started posting stories.  He didn't want to advertise his blog until he had a few posts up on the website.  When he finally put up a post on Facebook to share his blog, I figured it was safe to now publicize his URL and time for him to get a few followers!

Tom Tufts is a resident of nearby Raymond, New Hampshire.  He is a volunteer at the Exeter Fire Museum located on Court Street in Exeter, New Hampshire https://www.facebook.com/pages/Exeter-Fire-Museum/106340866082047 .   Tom is seriously considering starting a new career as a professional genealogist, and is off to a good start with his new blog!  I hope you will read his posts and consider becoming a follower, too!

Also by one of my past guest bloggers: The Pye Plate by Bette Pye http://thepyeplate.blogspot.com/


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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Weathervane Wednesday - On top of another carriage house...

This is part of an on-going series of photographs of weather vanes in the Nutfield, New Hampshire area (formerly Derry, Londonderry and parts of Hudson, Windham and Manchester).  Some of the weather vanes are historical, some are whimsical, and all are interesting.  Today's weather vane isn't near Londonderry, but found somewhere on the seacoast...

Do you know the location of weather vane #66?   Scroll down to the bottom to see the answer!

This carriage house was built in 1890 and is part of the summer estate of former Massachusetts Governor Alvan T. Fuller.  The weathervane is a black two-dimensional horse.  This building is now part of Fuller Gardens, which is open to the public in Rye, New Hampshire. The formal and japanese gardens were designed by the famous landscape architects, the Olmstead brothers of Boston, in 1938.  The grand formal gardens were originally designed to be enjoyed from the Fuller's bedroom window.  The big summer estate home was razed.

Alvan Fuller was born 27 February 1878 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Alvan Bond Fuller and Flora Anabella Tufts.  He was governor in 1924, defeating James Curley, and re-elected in 1926.

The Fuller Gardens website http://www.fullergardens.org  The gardens are open from mid May to mid October for the public to enjoy.

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


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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Henry Tufts, Black Sheep of an Otherwise Respectable Family

by guest blogger, Tom Tufts

I hope my Great-Grandfather forgives me. James Arthur Tufts I was a professor of English at Phillips Exeter Academy for 50 years and on local library boards to prevent Henry Tufts's book from being bought for the public to read. Henry was not an ancestor of mine and his book is what I call barely historical fiction. It tells the tale of his life of criminal activities and “sufferings”. Titled; A Narrative of the Life, Adventures, Travels and Sufferings of Henry Tufts, Now Residing at Lemington, in the District of Maine, in Substance, as Compiled from His Own Mouth. The printing shop that originally printed it was burned down on account of it but later it was edited and released by Edmund Lester Pearson in 1930 and in 1993 with an extensive introduction by Neal Keating.  It is available occasionally today from online sources. Some stated it was really written with Thomas Tash, a revolutionary hero and neighbor of Henry’s in Lee NH.

                                The story contains narrative of his first exploits stealing fruit from a neighbor’s orchard as a child and continues stealing whenever he needed throughout his life. He seemed proud of it, stole from his own family and found fault with those who would not lock things up. He fathered children with several women, even marrying them without leaving his previous wife. He joined the army and deserted when he got bored. After a time this all caught up with him and he often was jailed but prided himself with his ability to escape jails including Exeter, Dover, and in Maine and Massachusetts. He even was committed to death for offenses in Massachusetts and only was reprieved at the last moment and sent to the Castle prison in Boston. He later was moved to Salem where he escaped the last time fleeing to Maine where his wife and their children had established homes. He had spent time living with the Abenaki Indians to recover from an illness and learned the Indian method of medicine from Molly Ockett which he later performed for many others, perhaps making up for his many disgraces.

That is the short version. It barely details the full story. A quick internet search will bring up results for many books and articles where the book is mentioned. It is not bad if you look at it as entertainment or for a look into what life was like in the colonial era. The book Landmarks in Ancient Dover, New Hampshire by Mary Thompson describes him in her description of the Lee/Durham boundary line which ran through their farm. Notable Events in the History of Dover New Hampshire From the First Settlement in 1623 to 1865 by George Wadleigh is another. The full review of his book which I prefer appears in Harper's new monthly magazine Volume 76, Issues 451-456. This review by Thomas Wentworth Higginson really describes it better than I could. He details many of his exploits stealing horses and travelling the continent.

I would rather tell the story of the true Tufts family that is filled with leaders in many fields. They were teachers, preachers, soldiers, and farmers, and all respectable members of society. The book itself describes the family as Boston “Brahmin”. Most of us can trace our roots to Henry’s great-great- grandfather Peter Tufts who came to Charlestown Massachusetts from Norfolk County England around 1638. Henry’s grandfather was a respected Harvard educated preacher and his cousin Lieutenant Thomas Tufts of Greenland NH was one of the New Hampshire Militia in the siege of Louisburg Nova Scotia in 1745 and died from illness acquired there. Colonel Henry Tufts, no direct relation, and of a much later date was the first head of the US Army Criminal Investigation Division. Descendents of his family and his father’s family were early settlers of the Farmington NH area and Limington ME. I expect to greet many of them at the annual reunion in Middleton NH this month. There are many patriots and civic leaders in the families even today. A Dennis Robinson of seacoastnh.com recently reviewed the book with no reference to respectable Tufts. The best reference for this family is Tufts Kinsmen by Herbert Adams and the Tufts Kinsmen Association (2010 and earlier editions). It can be obtained by e-mailing tuftskinsmenbook@gmail.com

For more information: 

J. Dennis Robinson "Henry Tufts wrote First American Criminal Biography" http://www.seacoastnh.com/History/History_Matters/Henry_Tufts_Wrote_First_American_Criminal_Autobiography/

A Narrative of the Life, Adventures, Travels and Sufferings of Henry Tufts, now residing at Lemington, in the District of Maine, by Henry Tufts, printed by Samuel Bragg, 1807 (the original book can be seen at the Essex Institute, Salem, Massachusetts and at the New York Public Library) 1993 reprint available.

Genealogy:

Generation 1) Peter Tufts (1617 - 1700) m. Mary Pierce

Generation 2) Thomas Tufts (1883 - 1733) m. Mary Lynde

Generation 3) Henry Tufts (1716 - 1780) m. Mary Wedgewood

Generation 4) Henry Tufts was born 24 June 1748 in Newmarket, New Hamphsire, and died 31 January 1831 in Limerick, Maine.  He was married about 1770 in Durham, New Hampshire to Lydia Bickford, daughter of Joseph Bickford and Margery Unknown. In the Tufts Kinsman he is listed as "vagabond, soldier AR, Indian doctor".  

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Copyright 2012 Heather Wilkinson Rojo and Tom Tufts

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Isaac Thom and his Children

This tombstone was photographed at the Cemetery on the Hill, Windham, New Hampshire

ISAAC THOM ESQ.

died in Boston

Jan. 29, 1832

AEt. 52

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WINSLOW LEWIS

died Dec. 21, 1824

AEt. 23 mo.

SOPHIA

died Oct. 7, 1828 AEt. 13 mo.

ISAAC

died Aug. 4, 1820 AEt. 7 yrs.

ARTEMAS SIMONDS

died Jan. 7, 1832 AEt. 22 mo.

Children of

Isaac Thom Esq. & Sophia

his wife

Isaac Thom was born 31 January 1790 in Windham, New Hampshire, the son of Benjamin Thom and Katherine Morrison.  He married Sophia Senter on 16 April 1809.  She was born 17 February 1789, the daughter of Asa Senter and Margaret Tufts.  She died 3 March 1849.  He died on 29 January 1832 in South Boston, Massachusetts, where he was a member of the city council. 

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

John Tufts: A Shipwreck Story of Londonderry Immigrants

John Tufts: A Shipwreck Story of Londonderry Immigrants

By Tom Tufts, Guest Blogger for Nutfield Genealogy 

ttuftsy@comcast.net

from the Boston Evening Post  22 June 1737

Has anyone ever heard of Londonderry or Windham immigrants from Ireland in 1737 being shipwrecked off Nova Scotia or Maine?

Sometimes it’s really not clear what records to believe. I have been researching Tufts families for a few years and come across a lot of great stories and records but often the stories are conflicting or unclear. I always tell people to seek out the actual records and cherish those as accurate, but are they really? We have all seen errors in census and written histories.

 John Tuffts or Tufts was clearly in Windham by 1748 when he married and then bought a farm in 1752 from John Morison (whose wife was Ann (Tufts) Morison-his second cousin). He married (first) Catherine Moore had a family in Windham and a second family with Mary Campbell in Belfast Maine. His history from then is quite clear as he was a miller, selectman and led the families that removed to settle what is now Belfast Maine. They were all clearly of Scots-Irish descent and their stories are in several town histories.

The Tufts historians have differed over John’s ancestry. The latest was Herbert Adams who worked for 50 years on Tufts history and his result was recently published by the Tufts Kinsmen Association as Tufts Kinsmen. He shows that this John came from Medford as most of our Tufts descended from Peter Tufts who came from England around 1638.  He even mentions the bible of Peter Tufts was handed down through John’s family.

Recently a genealogist sent me a note questioning this connection. She has a transcript of a story handed down through a branch of this family that he was actually from Ireland (Scots-Irish) and shipwrecked as a boy when coming to this country and orphaned. This reminded me I had seen a similar story in; Tufts Family History 1963 by Jay Franklin Tufts. That story is from a third branch of John’s family and very similar to the transcript.

The genealogist also sent a news article from the Boston Evening Post in 1737 which details the wreck of the Catherine off sable Island near Nova Scotia. It was from Portrush, Ireland and headed for Boston with many families and said to be the “most richly laden that ever crossed the ocean”. Many perished but some were rescued and brought to “Piscataqua” (Portsmouth) and “thence to Londonderry”.

So my quandary is who to believe. The shipwreck stories can’t be denied. While there are differences, there are too many similarities, and the story comes from 2 different branches of John’s descendents. The bible story, if accurate, would prove he was related to Peter Tufts but where’s the bible?  There are other details in Tufts Kinsmen which relate him as well, including estate benefits from relatives wills. The other note in Kinsmen that is interesting is under another John who was said to be Irish, not from Peter, who settled in West Brookfield MA. There he states a John Tufts did try to come from Ireland but perished in the wreck of the Catherine! He quotes the ships manifest and has the notation (NEJ) which is not in the bibliography.

I really wonder why this story isn’t written about in more local or family histories. If anyone has heard of a similar shipwreck story please share. It was quite dramatic as nearly half perished. John’s mother threw him her purse to him as she slipped below the waves and this haunted him for years. Three others who perished were “Messr.s Archibald, Charles Mcneal (Macneal?) and Mrs. Margaret Snell”. They could have been coming to join others of their family already in Nutfield.  John’s survival was said to be with a brother and sister. What happened to them? Would some family have taken them in? The mystery remains to be discovered.

part two of the above newsclipping

part three

part 4
click to enlarge the images

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My guest blogger is Thomas Tufts, of Raymond, New Hampshire, who is a descendant of John Tufts of Windham.  He contacted me a few weeks ago about this story, and I also received an email query from him through the Londonderry Historical Society.  I couldn't find any information for him in the papers in the Londonderry Leach Library, and he has been searching the files in many local archives, including the New Hampshire Historical Society Library.  I thought that maybe by putting his information on my blog someone out there might know more information about the wreck of the Catherine or this group of Scots-Irish immigrants, including John Tufts.  If anyone knows more, please leave a comment here or contact Tom at ttuftsy@comcast.net  Thanks!

UPDATE -  see additional information about the shipwreck from Christine Sharbrough at the Accessible Archives blog at this link: http://www.accessible-archives.com/2012/07/tories-in-new-hampshire/

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo and Thomas Tufts, "John Tufts: A Shipwreck Story of Londonderry Immigrants", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 22, 2012, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/03/john-tufts-shipwreck-story-of.html: accessed [access date]).