Tombstone Tuesday ~ Katharine Whipple, d. 1702 Ipswich, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Old Burying Ground Cemetery in Ipswich, Massachusetts

HERE LYETH

Ye BODY

OF KATHARINE

WHIPPLE

AGED 17 YEARS

DIED AUGSt Ye

16  1702

Katharine Whipple is my 2nd cousin nine generations removed.  I was wandering the Old Burying Ground in Ipswich searching for surnames from my family tree (Whipple, Treadwell, Goodhue, etc) when I saw this stone.  I thought that 1702 was very early and hoped that it was one of the oldest stones in the cemetery.  But immediately after Vincent took this photo, we found two from 1696!  I'm not sure what the oldest tombstone is in this cemetery, but you can have a lot of fun looking!

Katharine Whipple, the daughter of John Whipple and Katherine Leighton, was born 25 August 1685 in Ipswich, and died 16 August 1702 in Ipswich.   I found three children born to John and Katherine Whipple in the vital records, and Katharine was the eldest daughter.  She was the great grand daughter of Matthew and Jane Whipple, the immigrant ancestors of the Whipples of Ipswich.  Matthew Whipple (1560 - 1619) died in Bocking, Suffolk, England and his two sons, John (1595 - 1669) and Matthew Whipple (1588 - 1647) came to Ipswich, and I descend from both of them.  Katharine descends from John Whipple and his wife, Susannah Clark.

--------------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/01/tombstone-tuesday-katharine-whipple-d.html
Copyright (c) 2015, Heather Wilkinson  Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ GOODHUE of Ipswich, Massachusetts

GOODHUE

I don’t know much about William Goodhue (1612 – 1699), my 9^th great grandfather, which is sad because I descend from all three of his children.  I don’t know his English ancestry, nor do I know when he came to New England.  He settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts and was a freeman on 7 December 1636. He had three children with his wife, Margery Watson, and was married two more times but appears to have had no more children.

William Goodhue was a selectman and deacon of the church in 1658 in Ipswich.  He was a representative to the General Court in 1666 and a few more times after that.  He died in 1699 when he was 86 years old.

The daughter of William Goodhue, Mary, married Thomas Giddings in 1658.

The elder son, Joseph Goodhue, married first to Sarah Whipple in 1661.  She had ten children and then died delivering twins.  In a long letter written to her husband on 14 July 1681 she wrote out her wishes in case of her death at the time of this birth.   I have a transcription of this poignant letter at this blog post:   http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/03/amanuensis-monday-1681-letter.html   This letter spells out what should happen to her children and how they should be raised.  It’s a tear jerker.   She must have known it was going to be a difficult pregnancy and that she might not survive.

The youngest son, William Goodhue lived on the family farm in Chebacco Parish.  He was a deacon at the Chebacco Parish church. In 1687 Governor Andros imposed a tax on the people of Massachusetts in violation of their charter, not to be taxed without an assembly’s consent.  The minister of Ipswich and two men, one was William Goodhue, Jr., conferred a town meeting against this tax.  William and five Ipswich men were arrested and jailed in Boston.  The town of Ipswich paid their fines.  In 1704 Ipswich granted William Goodhue land for his losses.  This tax revolt was almost 100 years before the Revolutionary War.

Some GOODHUE sources:

One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families, by John Osborne Austin, Salem, Massachusetts; 1893 (reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Company in 1977)

History and Genealogy of the Goodhue Family in England and America to the Year 1890, by Reverend Jonathan E. Goodhue, Rochester, NY: 1891.

New England Historic Genealogical Society Register, Volume 112, page 143

A Partial List of the Descendants of Matthew Whipple, the Elder, of Bocking, Essex County, England, by Henry Burdette Whipple, 1965.

My GOODHUE genealogy:

Generation 1: William Goodhue, born about 1612 in England, died 7 September 1699 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, Massachusetts; married first about 1635 to Margery Watson, daughter of Joseph Watson.  She was born about 1612 and died 28 August 1668 in Ipswich; married second on 7 February 1670 to Mary Morton; married third to Bethiah Rea, widow of Captain Thomas Lothrop; married fourth to Remember Gott, widow of John Fisk.  Three children with Margery Watson, and I descend from all three!

Lineage A:

Generation 2:  Mary Goodhue, born about 1637, died before 1685; married on 23 February 1658 in Ipswich to Thomas Giddings as his first wife.  He was born about 1638 and died 19 June 1681 in Ipswich, the son of George Giddings and Jane Lawrence.  Three children.

Generation 3:  William Giddings, died after 1757; married on 19 September 1698 in Lynn, Massachusetts to Sarah Hitchings, the daughter of Daniel Hitchings and Eleanor Unknown (also my 8^th great grandparents in another lineage).   Three children.

Generation 4:  Thomas Giddings m. Martha Smith

Generation 5:  Sarah Giddings m. Amos Burnham

Generation 6:  Judith Burnham m. Joseph Allen

Generation 7:  Joseph Allen m. Orpha Andrews

Generation 8: Joseph Gilman Allen m. Sarah Burnham Mears

Generation 9:  Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder

Generation 10: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

Lineage B:

Generation 2:  Joseph Goodhue, born about 1639 in Ipswich, died 2 September 1697 in Ipswich; married on 13 July 1661 to Sarah Whipple, daughter of John Whipple and Susannah Clark.  She was born 3 November 1641 in Ipswich and died 23 July 1681 in Ipswich. Nine children.  He married second on 4 July 1692 to Mercy Boynton, and had one son.  

Generation 3: Mary Goodhue, born about 1664 in Ipswich, died after 30 April 1719; married Bonus Norton, son of William Norton and Lucy Downing.  He was born about 1657 in Ipswich and died 30 April 1719 in Hampton, New Hampshire. Eight children.

Generation 4:  Elizabeth Norton m. Benjamin Swett

Generation 5:  Elizabeth Swett m. David Batchelder

Generation 6:  Elisha Batchelder m. Sarah Lane

Generation 7: Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

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

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

Generation 10: Carried Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen (see above)

Lineage C:

Generation 2:  William Goodhue, born about 1645, died 12 October 1712 in Ipswich; married on 14 November 1666 in Ipswich to Hannah Dane, the daughter of Reverend Francis Dane and Elizabeth Ingalls.  She was born about 1648 in Andover, Massachusetts. Eleven children.

Generation 3: Bethiah Goodhue, born about 1683 in Ipswich, died 28 March 1752 in Ipswich; married after 24 November 1711 in Ipswich to Benjamin Marshall, the son of Benjamin Marshall and Prudence Woodward.  He was born 15 November 1684 in Ipswich, and died 2 October 1747 in the Chebacco Parish.  Five children.

Generation 4: Elizabeth Marshall m. David Burnham

Generation 5: Amos Burnham m. Sarah Giddings (see above)

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

The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/09/surname-saturday-goodhue-of-ipswich.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ NORTON of Ipswich

NORTON

I have several NORTON ancestors.  There is a Nicholas Norton (abt. 1610 – 1690) who settled at Edgartown, Massachusetts on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.  (see this link http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/12/surname-saturday-norton-of-marthas.html )    There is also a George Norton ( abt 1610 – 1659) who settled in Gloucester, Wenham and Salem, too.

This is a post about William Norton (1610 – 1694) who arrived in New England aboard the ship Hopewell on 29 August 1635.  William Norton settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts.  There was a John Norton, who was a minister in Ipswich and Boston, and many genealogists including Savage and Pope thought they were brothers.  Robert Charles Anderson of the Great Migration series does not agree and states in The Great Migration, Volume V, page 282 “Further research in the English records of this family should be undertaken with a view to resolving this problem.”

 There is an article in The American Genealogist, Volume 16, pages 101 - 115 “George Norton of Salem, Massachusetts”, that attempts of connect George Norton with John and William as one big family. This article was written so long ago (1939) that it is a bit outdated, but it does lay out the English origins of the Norton family.  There are earlier articles about the Nortons in some NEHGS Register journals from 1859 and 1874.  It appears that no new research has been published recently on the Nortons.

William Norton married Lucy Downing, the daughter of Emmanuel Downing, and niece of the Governor of Massachusetts, John Winthrop (1588 – 1649).  He was referred to as “Mr.” in documents, and was a wealthy merchant in Ipswich.   They had five children, and the youngest was born six years later than his closest brother, and so was named “Bonus Norton”.   This is a name that always makes me smile.

Bonus lived in Ipswich and married Mary Goodhue.  He later removed to Hingham, Massachusetts and then to Hampton, New Hampshire where he ran a tavern from 1695 to about 1700.  He is buried in the Quaker burial ground in Seabrook, New Hampshire. I have no evidence he was a Quaker, and his wife had been admitted to the First Church at Hampton. 

William Norton and Lucy Downing were ancestors of both President John Adams and John Quincy Adams, through Bonus’s brother,  Reverend John Norton of Hingham, Massachusetts.

My Norton genealogy:

Generation 1: William Norton, born about 1610 and died 30 April 1694 in Ipswich, Massachusetts.  He married Lucy Downing, the daughter of Emmanuel Downing and Lucy Winthrop.  She was born about 1625 in Salem and died 2 May 1697 in Ipswich.  They had five children.

Generation 2: Bonus Norton, born about 1657 in Ipswich, died on 30 April 1719 in Hampton, New Hampshire; married Mary Goodhue, daughter of Joseph Goodhue and Sarah Whipple.  She was born about 1664 in Ipswich, and died after her husband (she was administratrix of his will).  They had eight children.

Generation 3:  Elizabeth Norton, born 31 March 1703 in Hampton, died 25 March 1759 in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire; married on 20 July 1732 in Hampton to Benjamin Swett, son of Joseph Swett and Sarah Andrews.  He was born 2 May 1710 in Hampton and died 6 June 1762 in Hampton Falls.  Elizabeth and Benjamin had four children.  Elizabeth was previously married to Thomas Jenness and had two children.

Generation 4:   Elizabeth Swett m. David Batchelder

Generation 5:   Elisha Batchelder m.  Sarah Lane

Generation 6:  Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 7:  George E. Batchelder m.  Abigail M. Locke

Generation 8:  George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 9:  Carrie Maud Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 10: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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

The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/08/surname-saturday-norton-of-ipswich.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo  

Surname Saturday ~ WHIPPLE of Ipswich, Massachusetts

The Whipple House, Ipswich, Massachusetts circa 1677

WHIPPLE

Matthew Whipple of Bocking, Essex, England left a will in 1618 naming his children.  I descend from two sons named in this will, Matthew and John.  The will was transcribed in “Genealogical Gleanings in England” The New England Historic Genealogical Society Register (October 1890) Volume 44, page 389.

"Mathewe Whipple the elder of Bocking, Essex, clothier, 19 December 1616, proved 28 January 1618.

"My capital messuage or tenement, with the yards, gardens, orchards, members and appurtenances, situate in Bradford Street in Bocking, now in the occupation of me and said Mathewe, from and after my decease shall remain to Mathewe Whippell, mine eldest son, upon condition that he shall pay or cause to be paid to my son John Whippell fourscore pounds within three months next after my decease, and to my daughter Jane thirty pounds within six months, and to my daughter Elizabeth thirty pounds within twelve months, and to my daughter Mary thirty pounds at one and twenty or day of her marriage, and to my daughter Amie thirty pounds at one and twenty or day of marriage, upon reasonable demand made by the said Jane, Elizabeth, Mary and Amye. To my daughter Amce (?) six silver spoons of the better sort, two high latten candlesticks, my biggest brass pot and three pounds six shillings and eight pence. To my daughter Johane forty shillings. To my daughter Jane two silver spoons, two pewter platters of the greater sort, one pewter candlestick, one half headed bedstedle, my best flock bed, a flock bolster, a coverlet and a pair of blankets. To my daughter Elizabeth two silver spoons, one pewter candlestick, two pewter platters of the greater sort, a half headed bedstedle, next the best, a flock bed, a flock bolster, a coverlet, a pair of blankets and the little chest which was her mothers. To my daughter Mary two silver spoons, two pewter platters and a pewter salt, a trundle bedsteadle, a flock bed, a flock bolster, a coverlet, a pair of blankets. To my daughter Amye two silver spoons, two pewter platters, a pewter salt, a trundle bedsteadle, a flock bed, a flock bolster and a pair of blankets. To my son John a joyned table and frame standing in my old parlor (and other movables). To my sister, wife of Richard Rathbone twenty shillings, To Hercules Stephens ten shillings. To my grandchildren Hercules Arthur, Margaret Arthur, Henry Caldham and Anne Caldham six shillings eight pence apiece. To the poor of Bocking twenty shillings. All the rest to my son Matthew, sole executor."

               

John Whipple came to America with Israel Stoughton in 1631, probably on the ship Mary & John.  He was the man who built the “Whipple House” still standing in Ipswich, Massachusetts and is a museum house operated by the Ipswich Historical Society.  John and his brother, Matthew, were granted two hundred acres in the part of Ipswich known as “The Hamlet” (incorporated in 1793 as the town of Hamilton). 

There is an interesting descendant, also named Matthew Whipple, who freed his slave Plato in his will of 1760:

This may satisfy whom it may concern that I the Subscriber in Consideration that my Servant Plato has been a faithful Servant that after my Death and my Wife's Death he shall be free if be desires it and if he don't he shall have Liberty to live with any of my friends whom he pleases. And I give him Liberty to live in my east Kitchen & have his feather Bed and Bedding thereto belonging & a Pot & Skillet & a Pewter Platter & Bason & Spoon & Tramel two Chairs, one Ax and one Hoe, and a Cow & he shall have good Pasture for her, and Liberty to cut bay sufficient for her, & have one Acre of Land, where it may be most convenient for him, and a Barrel of Cyder, & three Bushels of Apples a Year as long as he lives yearly & every Year, & have liberty to cut Wood lie necessarily shall want, & Barn Room for his Cow & hay & all other Priviledges necessary for him. In Case he should by any Providence be disenabled to support himself, or through old Age not able to support himself comfortably, my Heirs shall do it whatever he shall stand in need of, which is my Will.

Ipswich, Dec. 3, 1760. MATTHEW WHIPPLE.

Taken from the (Ipswich) Antiquarian Papers Volume I No. 3  Ipswich, December 1879

Some WHIPPLE resources:

Fifteen Generations of Whipples: Descendants of Matthew Whipple of Ipswich, Massachusetts, About 1590 – 1647: An American Story by Blaine Whipple, (Baltimore: Gateway Press, 2007, 4 volumes)

History and Genealogy of “Elder” John Whipple of Ipswich, Massachusetts: His English Ancestors and American Descendants by Blaine Whipple, (Victoria, B.C; Whipple Development Corp, 2003)

The Antecendents and Descendants of Noah Whipple of the Rogerene Community at Quakertown,  by Clara Hammond McGuigan with additional sections by Robert W. Merrian.

Whipple Family Tree by Dwane V. Norris (Jackson, Mich., 1996), p. 6-7.

"The Ancestry of Brigham Young," by Mabel Young Sanborn, The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine (1931), vol. 22, p. 16-17.

 "Genealogical Gleanings in England," The New-England Historic Genealogical Society Register (October 1890)  Volume 44, page 389.

One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families by John Osborne Austin (Salem, Mass., 1893; reprint ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1977), p. 262.

See also the Whipple Genealogy by Henry Waters at the Ipswich Historical Society library. 

My WHIPPLE genealogy:

Generation 1: Matthew Whipple, born about 1560 in Bocking, Essex, England, died 16 January 1619 in Bocking; married about 1582 in Bocking to Joan UNKNOWN.  She died 19 May 1612.

Lineage A:

Generation 2: John Whipple, baptized 29 August 1596 in Bocking, died 30 June 1669 in Ipswich, Massachusetts; married in England to Susannah Clark, who died after 13 July 1661. Eleven children.

Generation 3: Sarah Whipple, born 3 November 1641 in Ipswich, died 23 July 1681 in Ipswich; married on 13 July 1661 in Ipswich to Joseph Goodhue, son of William Goodhue and Margery Watson. He was born in 1639 and died 2 September 1697 in Ipswich. Nine children.

Generation 4: Mary Goodhue m. Bonus Norton

Generation 5: Elizabeth Norton m. Benjamin Swett

Generation 6: Elizabeth Swett m. David Batchelder

Generation 7: Elisha Batchelder m. Sarah Lane

(UPDATE - New discovery 11 July 2019!  The Jonathan Batchelder listed in Generation 8 is not the son of Elisha Batchelder and Sarah Lane, but he is the son of Nathaniel Batchelder and Mary Perkins. You can see this lineage at this link:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/09/surname-saturday-new-batchelder-lineage.html  )

Generation 8: Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

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

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

Generation 11: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

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

Lineage B:

Generation 2: Matthew Whipple, born 19 December 1588 in Bocking, died 28 September 1647 in Ipswich; married on 7 May 1622 at St. Mary’s church, Bocking to Anne Hawkins, daughter of John Hawkins and Mary Levitt.  She was born 23 January 1590 at Kelvedon Near, Colchester, Suffolk, England, and died about 1643 in Ipswich.  Eight children.

Generation 3: Elizabeth Whipple, born about 1629 in Bocking, died 12 February 1685 in Ipswich; married about 1648 to Jacob Perkins.  He was baptized 12 September 1624 in Hilmorton, Warwickshire, England and died 29 January 1700 in Ipswich.  Nine children.

Generation 4:  Jacob Perkins m. Elizabeth Sparks

Generation 5: Elizabeth Perkins m. David Burnham, son of John Burnham and Elizabeth Wells. David was born 20 October 1688 and died 2 February 1770. Five children and I descend from two of them.

Lineage B1:

Generation 6: David Burnham m. Elizabeth Marshall

Generation 7: Amos Burnham m. Sarah Giddings

Generation 8: Judith Burnham m. Joseph Allen

Generation 9: Joseph Allen m. Orpha Andrews

Generation 10: Joseph Gilman Allen m. Sarah Burnham Mears

Generation 11: Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder

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

Lineage B2a:

Generation 6: Westley Burnham m. Deborah Story

Generation 7: Westley Burnham m. Molly Woodbury

Generation 8: Asa Burnham m. Polly Bray

Generation 9: Lydia W. Burnham m. Samuel Mears

Generation 10: Samuel Mears m. Sarah Ann Burnham

Generation 11: Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen (see above)

Lineage B2b:

Generation 6: Westley Burnham m. Deborah Story

Generation 7: Westley Burnham m. Molly Woodbury

Generation 8: Henry Burnham m. Sally Poland

Generation 9: Sarah Ann Burnham m. Samuel Mears

Generation 10: Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen (see above)

Lineage B2c:

Generation 7: Sarah Burnham m. Abner Poland

Generation 8: Sally Poland m. Henry Burnham (see above)

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ WHIPPLE of Ipswich, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 19, 2014, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/07/surname-saturday-whipple-of-ipswich.html: accessed [access date]).  

Planning a Genealogy Photo Trip to Ipswich, Massachusetts

Last week we took a trip to Ipswich, Massachusetts.  I had four goals four this trip:

1. )      Visit the Historical Society to learn about their genealogy resources

2. )      Visit the Whipple House, built by an ancestor

3. )      Visit the 1640 Hart House restaurant, built by someone in my family tree

4. )      Photograph lots of ancestral gravestones at the Old North Burial Ground

This is what I learned…  It pays to use the internet before going on a little trip like this… Or to pick up the phone and ask questions.  Did I meet my four goals? 

1.)    Ipswich Historical Society has a museum you can learn more about at http://www.ipswichmuseum.org/ to find the hours and days it is open.  It operates tours of both the Whipple House and the Heard House.  Also, it is right next door to the Ipswich Visitor Center (bonus points for visitors). You can get a lot done here in one place, but they also have a staff genealogist who just happened to meet me at the door.  I didn’t have an appointment, this was just serendipity.  She prefers appointments for genealogy questions (this is stated on the website!), so you need to call ahead.  Or queries are answered for $20 per hour, one hour minimum.   Her best advice to me was to explore the historical records at the Ipswich Public Library.  I'll have to make a special research trip to Ipswich at some other date.

This is only a partial view of the map of Ipswich, Mass

with houses and early land grants marked by surnames.

It was a large map hanging just inside the entrance to the Ipswich Museum

Also, at the entrance to the museum was this great map of the original proprietors of Ipswich, Massachusetts.  You just might find your ancestor on this map.  The society does not have copies of this map on a poster or brochure.  Just inside the front foyer was the gift shop, where I bought this great book about Ipswich, too.

American Town: The History of Ipswich, Massachusetts

by Alan Pearsall,  Ipswich, Mass: Ebsco Publishing, 2009

2.)    So, we had a great tour of both houses, but the Whipple House was first.  It was a private tour since it was a Friday morning and we were the only patrons.  This was wonderful and I was able to ask lots of questions.  Photos were allowed without flash.  Perfect!

Above is the back of the Whipple House, and below is the front door 

Whipple House web page:

http://ipswichmuseum.drupalgardens.com/exhibitions-collections/whipple-house

Captain John Whipple (1595 – 1669) built the Whipple House.  He is my 10^th great grandfather.  His daughter Sarah Whipple (1641 – 1681) is my 9^th great grandmother, married to Joseph Goodhue.  As you can see, I don’t have a long line of Whipple ancestors in Ipswich!

If you are interested in photographing First Period Homes (before 1725) or your ancestor's home in Ipswich, you can pick up the following brochure at the Visitor Center or at the Historical Society. It was produced by the Ipswich Historical Commision:

3.)    After the Historical Society we found the 1640 Hart House restaurant.  http://1640harthouse.com/   It wasn't dinner time, so we didn't go inside.  This is something else to add to the agenda for trip number 2 to Ipswich.   I took some photos of the outside, and we’ll save the fancy dinner for the next time we are in town.  It was built by Thomas Hart, who was an indentured servant in Boston until 1637.  He came to Ipswich and built this home, which was passed down in the family for generations, and added onto over the years.   Some of the original Keeper’s Room was removed from the interior and installed as an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.   So does that make it a good excuse for Trip number 3?

Thomas Hart (1611 – 1674) had a son named Thomas Hart (about 1640 – 1717), and a grandson named George Hart (1669 – 1753) who married Martha Ward (1672 – 1723), my first cousin 9 generations removed.

4. )    The best information for Ipswich History and cemetery guides is at the website of the Ipswich Historical Commission (not the Historical Society) at https://historicipswich.wordpress.com/   

On this cemetery web page, there are links to each of the old cemeteries in Ipswich.  You can print them out (or download them).  I did both, so I could use my iPad mini or my paper copy in the cemetery.  Actually the paper copies worked out best because I could circle the spots on the map where my ancestors were buried, and I could write notes as to who was buried where.  There is also an eBook version.

For the Old North Burying Ground there is a database of graves I saved as a text document.  I used this to see who was buried here, and (thank goodness!) there is a list of epitaphs for those stones that are now almost illegible.   I printed out all the maps.  The cemetery is divided into eight sections, and all the graves are numbered according to the database of graves in the text document.

This was a very easy system.  I had TWELVE pages of graves to find and photograph.  I had highlighted all the direct ancestors, and we found all of the directs, and many, many of the other graves.  I will have to go back to find them all.  We spent about an hour and took over 150 photographs of WHIPPLE, TREADWELL, WARD, HASKELL, and other surnames.  Jackpot!

Above is my paper version of the Old North Burying Ground sections C and D map

and below is the downloaded version from the website onto my iPad Mini

Below I made a text document of the locations and epitaphs, 

cut and pasted from the version on the website.  

Direct ancestors were highlighted. 

I checked them off as we photographed each gravestone. 

I would recommend this system to anyone exploring the Old North Burying Ground.  Bring your hiking boots, since it is very large and built on a very steep hill. Hopefully your ancestors aren't buried at the top of the hill or you’ll have to climb a scary set of granite steps.  Don’t ask me how they carried coffins up there 250 years ago.  I don’t know the answer to that!

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

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Planning a Genealogy Photo Trip to Ipswich, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 6, 2013, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/09/planning-genealogy-photo-trip-to.html: accessed [access date]). 

A 1779 Slave Petition finally passes in the New Hampshire Legislature, 233 years late

Prince Whipple, an enslaved officer in the Continental Army, and 19 other enslaved men from New Hampshire drew up a petition in 1779.  They wanted to be emancipated.  The New Hampshire legislature tabled the petition, saying that it wasn't a good time to vote (it was the middle of the Revolutionary War).  They effectively ignored the black men’s document.   Five of the men and Prince Whipple were eventually freed, and the other 14 died as slaves.

Thirty years ago historian Valerie Cunningham found the petition on the front page of the New Hampshire Gazette and wrote about it in her book Black Portsmouth.   To raise awareness for the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail and the fundraising effort to erect a memorial on the site of the African Burying Ground, the committee asked Senator Martha Fuller Clark to revive the petition.  She introduced it to the Senate in January 2013. 

Now 233 years later, New Hampshire is changing history.  In March 2013 the New Hampshire Senate unanimously passed the bill.  Today, on 24 April 2013 the New Hampshire House voted on the bill to free the 14 slaves.  The vote passed (344 yeas and 2 nays, then after a revote it was unanimous).

Although only about 1% of New Hampshire’s population is of African American descent, this action rights a wrong that has been long overdue.  The small number of blacks in New Hampshire makes them less likely to be heard in political matters.  This vote freed those 14 enslaved men posthumously. Their fate had languished in limbo for 233 years.

To go along with the celebration, just yesterday, the National Endowment for the Arts gave a $20,000 grant to the African Burying Ground Memorial Park.  This brings the total raised to $720,000.  The African Burying Ground Committee is looking to raise $1.2 million.  This recognition from the NEA helps to bring the project into the national spotlight.

Judy G. Russell, the “Legal Genealogist” asked me to photograph this petition at the New Hampshire State Archives, for one of her lectures at the National Genealogy Society conference.  If you are attending the conference in Las Vegas, Nevada 8 – 11 May 2013, you can hear all the details from Judy, an expert lawyer and genealogist (a terrific combination).  My photographs were donated to the State Archives, and are on file at the State Archives office for anyone who would like to see a copy of the petition.  Here is page one above.

These are the names of the enslaved men who signed the petition. Do you recognize any of these surnames from your New Hampshire family tree?

Nero Brewster

Will Clarkson

Garrett Colton

Peter Frost

Zebulon Gardner

Cesar Gerrish

Seneca Hall

Cipio Hubbard

Winsor Moffat

Cato Newmarch

Jack Odiorne

Romeo Rindge

Pharaoh Rogers

Quam Sherburne

Pharaoh Shores

Kittindge Tuckerman

Cato Warner

Peter Warner

Samuel Wentworth

Prince Whipple (owned by William Whipple, signer of the Declaration of Independence)

For the truly curious:

Click this link to see the 1779 Freedom Petition as published in the New Hampshire Gazette, 15 July 1780:  http://www.trinityhistory.org/AmH/SlavesNH1779.pdf

Black Portsmouth by Mark J. Sammons and Valerie Cunningham, University of New Hampshire Prss, Published by University Press of New England, Lebanon, NH, 2004

Seacoastonline announces the vote today at this link:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20130424-NEWS-130429868

The Portsmouth African Burying Ground http://www.africanburyinggroundnh.org/

The Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail http://pbhtrail.org/web/

The New Hampshire State Archives  http://sos.nh.gov/arch_rec_mgmt.aspx

A lesson plan from the New Hampshire Historical Society about the 1779 Slave Petition:

http://www.nhhistory.org/edu/support/nhsources/slavepetitionlesson.pdf

The NGS 2013 Family History Conference http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/conference_info

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A 1779 Slave Petition finally passes in the New Hampshire Legislature, 233 years late", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 24, 2013, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-1779-slave-petition-finally-passes-in.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Nathaniel Page House- Featured on PBS’s This Old House!

The Bedford Flag is a famous flag carried by the Bedford Militia during several wars.  Generations of the Page family served as flag bearer, and carried this flag, which gave them the right of the title “Cornet”.  I’ve been to many colonial battle re-enactments, and in 2000 I saw the 225^th anniversary re-enactments of the events of 19 April 1775. At the battle at the “Bloody Angle” about 200 Bedford and Lincoln men responded to the Lexington Alarm and fired on the British as they retreated back towards Boston.  The soldiers were carrying this flag.  It is the oldest existing flag in the United States.

The Nathaniel Page Homestead
before rennovations

I recently opened my member’s magazine from WGBH Boston, and saw that their production of “This Old House” was going to renovate the Nathaniel Page house in Bedford, Massachusetts.  I knew exactly where to look in my family tree for information about the family.  I’m not a Page descendent, but since I have some Middlesex County ancestors , I looked and saw that we are connected through several marriages.  I had four generations of Nathaniel Pages in my notes, including the two who were flag bearers and the one who built the Page house in Bedford.   Several Cornet Pages had wives who were both 1^st and 2^nd cousins many generations removed from me, related through the Larkin, Blanchard, Wheeler, Whipple, and Crosby lines. I have a Page lineage from Hampton, New Hampshire which is unrelated to the Bedford Pages.

The Page Genealogy:

Generation 1:  Nathaniel Page born about 1645 in England, died 12 April 1692 in Boston; married Joanna Unknown.

                1. Nathaniel Page (see below)

                2. Elizabeth; m. John Simpkins

                3. Sarah; m. Samuel Hill, Jr.

                4. Jane, died young

                5. Christopher, b. 1690

Generation 2: Cornet Nathaniel Page, born 1679 probably in England, died 2 March 1755 in Bedford; married first on 6 November 1701 in Bedford to Susanna Lane, daughter of John Lane and Susanna Whipple, born 24 January 1683 in Bedford, died 2 September 1746 in Bedford; married second to Mary Grimes.

                1.  Cornet Nathaniel Page; (see below)

                2. Cornet John;  (see below)

                3. Christopher, b. 16 July 1707;m. Susannah Webber

                4. Susannah, b. 29 April 1711; m. Samuel Bridge

                5. Joanna, b. 1714; m. Josiah Fassett

Generation 3. Cornet Nathaniel, born 4 September 1703 in Bedford, died 4 April 1779 in Bedford; married abt 1729 to Hannah Blanchard, daughter of John Blanchard and Mary Crosby, born 24 October 1704 in Billerica, died 7 September 1763.

                1. Nathaniel, b. 22 May 1729

                2. Thomas, b. 5 May 1733; m. Anna Merriam

                3. Hannah, b. 15 May 1732; m. Jonas French

                4. William, b. 19 Feb 1737/8; m. Pattie Hill

                5. David, b. 4 April 1740; m. Abigail Jones

                6. Susannah, b. 22 January 1742

                7. Abigail, b. 15 September 1744; married Nathaniel Brown

Generation 3.   Cornet John born 11 October 1704 in Billerica, died 18 February 1782 in Bedford; married first on 23 December 1731 in Concord to  Rebecca Wheeler, daughter of Ebenezer Wheeler and Mary Minot, born 2 September 1712 in Concord, died 12 July 1755 in Bedford.  Fourteen children born in Bedford; married 2^nd 15 January 1756 in Lexington to Amity Cutler; married 3^rd 3 June 1773 in Bedford to Rachel Blanchard.

                1. John, b. 2 September 1733

                2. James, b. 12 May 1735

                3. Ebenezer (Bedford militia), b. 3 June 1737

                4. Susanna,  b. 21 October 1739, died young

                5. Timothy (Bedford militia), b. 11 June 1741

                6. Minuteman Nathaniel, b. 20 June 1742; m. Sarah Brown (had nine children including another Nathaniel, born 25 October 1775).

                Eight more children

Generation 3. Christopher; m. Susannah Webster

                1. Sergant Christopher (Minuteman)

                2. Mary; m. Nathan Reed

                3. Susannah, died young

                4. Job, died young

                5. Susannah, died young

                6. Lucy, died young

You can read about the Bedford Flag at this link from the Bedford Public Library (page 53 has a vintage photo of the house that will star on the PBS series “This Old House”: http://www.bedfordlibrary.net/pdf_files/BedfordFlagUnfurled.pdf

You can read all about the PBS project at this link: http://www.pbs.org/thisoldhouse/articles/viewer.php?item=bedford-mass

You can see the grave of Cornet Nathaniel Page here: http://gravematter.smugmug.com/Massachusetts/Bedford/Old-Burying-Ground/4496828_BMk6M/3/264701498_NXkGT

You can read about the Bedford Flag and the Bedford Minutemen Company (re-enactors) at this link: http://www.bedfordminutemancompany.org/Flag   Check out their website, it’s very interesting and informative!

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

Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Platts Family - Tombstone Tuesday

The Platts gravestones are located in the Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire.  The stone erected to James Platts is typical of several found along the area called "Old Settlers", where descendants have erected memorial stones to their ancestors because the original gravestones are missing, broken or illegible.

The Platts family plot

JAMES PLATTS

BORN ROWLEY MASS. aUG. 21, 1775

BUNKER HILL MASS. AMERICAN ARMY

1775-6-7 DIED JAN 9, 1835

HIS WIFE MARY WARNER

BORN IPSWICH MASS JAN. 22, 1755

DIED NOV. 29, 1839

CHILDREN (B) LONDONDERRY

MARY 1780-1858

SUSAN (FISK) 1782-1822

NANCY (WALKER) 1785 - 1873

SARAH (WALKER PIERCE 1789 -1864

MAHITABLE 1790-1844 LOWELL MASS

ABIGAIL (FISK) 1792-1878

JAMES 1794-1828 BRASHER N.Y.

IN WAR 1812

WESLEY 1797-

ELIZA 1800 - 1830

ERECTED BY C.M. AND F.E. PLATTS

James Platts was born 21 August 1755 in Newbury, Massachusetts, died 29 January 1835 in Londonderry; married on 6 April 1780 to Mary Warner, born 22 January 1755 in Ipswich, Massachusetts, died 29 November 1839.

James Platts was the son of James Platts and Mary Perkins. We share a plethora of common ancestors, including Samuel Platts AKA Gawkroger (1617 – about 1690) and Sarah Bates (my 9x great grandparents), Richard Hutchinson (1602 – 1682) and Alice Bosworth (my 9x great grandparents), John Perkins (1583 – 1654) and Judith Gater (my 10x great grandparents), Robert Kinsman (1603 – 1664) (my 9x great grandfather), Daniel Rindge (d. 1662) and Mary Kinsman (my 8x great grandparents), and John Burnham (1616 – 1694) and Mary Whipple (my 9x great grandparents).

Mary was the daughter of John Warner and Susannah Hodgkins of Ipswich, and the grand daughter of Nathaniel Warner and Mary Tuthill. We also share the following ancestors: John Tuthill (1666 – 1715) and Martha Ward (my 8x great grandparents), George Giddings (1609 – 1676) and Jane Lawrence (my 9 x great grandparents), Daniel Rindge and Mary Kinsman (see above).

So many common ancestors! I’m glad we snapped this photo!

My Platts Genealogy:

Generation 1. Samuel Platts and Sarah Bates

Generation 2: Abel Platts and Lydia Bailey

Generation 3: Moses Platts and Hannah Platts (daughter of Jonathan Platts and Elizabeth Johnson)

Generation 4: Moses Platts and Ruth Williams

Generation 5: Sarah Platts and George Southwick

Generation 6: Mary Southwick and Robert Wilson

Generation 7: Mercy F. Wilson and Aaron Wilkinson

Generation 8: Robert Wilson Wilkinson and Phebe Cross Munroe

Generation 9: Albert Munroe Wilkinson and Isabella Lyons Bill

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

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

Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo