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]). 

Surname Saturday ~ WINTHROP of England and Massachusetts

The first known Winthrop in this line was Adam Winthrop, son of Adam Winthrop and Joane Burton, who was apprenticed in London for ten years.  He was a clothier, and a member of the Clothworker’s Company of London.  He was later elected Sheriff of London.

In 1543 he served time in Fleet Prison “for disobeying the wardens in the search because that he would not suffer them to carry the cloth out of his house”.  Adam was not released from Fleet until he paid a 600 pound fine.  In 1544 he bought a manor house in Groton and became “Lord of the Manor” .  King Edward VI granted him arms and the rank of Gentleman in 1544.  This was passed on to his son John Winthrop.   I descend from the youngest son, the third Adam Winthrop in this line.

This Adam was also a clothier in London.  He was made master of the Clothworker’s Company in 1551.  When his brother John went to Ireland in 1594 he became the Lord of the Manor at Groton.  His papers were preserved in the British Museum as “The Winthrop Papers”.  Adam and his second wife are buried at St. Bartholomew’s Church.   Adam’s only son, John Winthrop (1588 – 1649) was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and came to New England on board the ship Arbella in 1630. There were a total of eleven ships that came that summer with the Arbella, and these ships carried about 800 Puritan immigrants known as “The Winthrop Fleet”.

Governor John Winthrop’s youngest sister, Lucy (1601-1679) came to the New World in 1638 on board the ship Thomas and Francis with her husband, Emanuel Downing and settled in Salem, Massachusetts.  They returned to England in 1645 when her husband became a spy for Cromwell.  Downing was appointed to be Minister to Holland under Cromwell, and later Council of State for Scotland under the King Charles.  He died in Scotland, and Lucy went to live with her son, Sir George Downing, in London.  George lived at Number 10 Downing Street, which later became the Prime Minister’s residence.

Lucy Winthrop Downing was my 10^th great grandmother, and the end of my Winthrop line.  Her daughter, Lucy Downing (1625- 1697) was born in Salem, Massachusetts and married Bonus Norton.  They were my 9^th great grandparents.

The Winthrop Papers are online at  https://archive.org/details/winthroppapers05wint 

The Lion and the Hare: Being the Graphic Pedigree of over one thousand Descendants of John Winthrop, 1588 – 1649, by Ellery Kirk Taylor, Ann Arbor Michigan, 1939

Notes On the Winthrop Family: And Its English Connections Before Its Emigration to New England, by William Henry Whitmore, Albany NY, 1864

The Winthrop Family in America, by the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1948

My Winthrop Genealogy:

Generation 1: Adam Winthrop married to Joane Burton

Generation 2: Adam Winthrop, born on 9 October 1498 in Levenam, Suffolk, England, died on 9 November 1562;  married first on 20 July 1534 to Agnes Sharpe; married second to Alice Hunne.

Generation 3: Adam Winthrop, baptized on 10 August 1548 at St. Peter’s Parish in Levenam,  died on 28 March 1623 in Groton, Suffolk, England;  married first on 20 February 1579 to Anne Browne; married second to Alice Still.

Generation 4: Lucy Winthrop, born on 9 January 1601, died on 1679 in England; married on 10 April 1622 in Groton to Emanuel Downing.  He was the son of George Downing and Dorcas Bellamy baptized on  12 August 1585 in St. Lawrence Parish, Ipswich, Suffolk, England, and died on 26 July 1658 in Scotland. Five children.

Generation 5: Lucy Downing m.  William Norton

Generation 6:  Bonus Norton m. Mary Goodhue

Generation 7:  Elizabeth Norton m. Benjamin Swett

Generation 8:  Elizabeth Swett m. David Batchelder

Generation 9:  Elisha Batchelder m. Sarah Lane

Generation 10: Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 11:  George E. Batchelder m. Abigail M. Locke

Generation 12:  George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 13:  Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 14:  Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/09/surname-saturday-winthrop-of-england.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Emanuel Downing of Salem, Massachusetts

from the Peabody Essex Museum, dated about 1819
The Emanuel Downing mansion on Essex Street in Salem,
This house was taken down in 1753. 

DOWNING

Emanuel Downing (1585 – 1658), my 10^th great grandfather, is a fascinating ancestor who seemed to be related to lots of historic figures from New England history.  Because he touched so many historic events and knew so many important figures, it is easy to find information on his life and genealogy.  His lineage goes back to the time of the Magna Carta in 1215, and he descends from one of the sureties Saire de Quincy, Earl of Winchester.

Emanuel Downing graduated from the University of Cambridge in England.  He first married Ann Ware in 1614 and had three children.  He then married Lucy Winthrop, sister of Governor John Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and his famous son, George, was born in 1623.  George Downing, brother to my 9^th great grandmother, Lucy Downing (1625 – 1697), graduated from Harvard and was the Ambassador to the Netherlands under Cromwell and Charles II.  He lived at Number 11 Downing Street, which is now the residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.   Samuel Pepys was his clerk.  George Downing was knighted in 1661 and became Secretary to the Treasury.  He became a baronet in 1663.

One of Emanuel’s daughters, Anne, married first to Joseph Gardner, and second to Governor Simon Bradstreet.  Simon was a Cambridge University graduate, and a founder of Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He was Secretary of the United Colonies of New England, and an envoy to King Charles II in 1661.  He was deputy Governor of Massachusetts from 1673 – 1679, and Governor from 1679 – 1686, and again from 1689 to 1692. 

Emanuel Downing lived in Salem, in what is now Peabody, Massachusetts.  He had a tavern on the Ipswich Road, and a house in Salem he bought from Governor Simon Bradstreet.  He returned to England in 1656 and rented his tavern in what is now Peabody to John Proctor (1631 – 1692).  John Proctor is also my 8^th great grandfather, and was hung as witch on 19 August 1692 during the Witch Hysteria.

On a sad note, Emanuel Downing is infamous for penning a letter in 1645 to his brother-in-law, Governor John Winthrop, "A war with the Narragannsett is verie considerable to this plantation... if upon a Juste Warr the Lord shall deliver them into our hands, we might easily have men, women, children enough to exchange for Moores... For I doe not see how we [white men] can thrive until wee get into a flock of slaves sufficient to doe all our business".  He advocated trading the native Indians of New England for black African slaves. [Emanuel Downing to John Winthrop, August 1645, Massachusetts Historical Society Collection,  Winthrop Papers, 5: 38 - 39]

After Emanuel Downing returned to England he was made Clerk of Council of State to Scotland. He removed to Edinburgh, where he died on 26 September 1660.  He was buried at St. Martin’s in the Field in London.  Lucy, his wife, removed to England to live with her son Sir George and died in London on 10 April 1679. Emanuel Downing had several famous descendants, including William Tecumseh Sherman,  US President John Quincy Adams, and Vice President Aaron Burr (who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804).  He is also the ancestor of Reverend Johnathan Edwards, Puritan theologian. 

For more information:

You won’t find Emanuel Downing in any of the volumes of The Great Migration series by Anderson, but you will find several of his children there.  He is mentioned in several local history books, including The History of Salem by Sidney Perley, and in books about the Winthrop and Bradstreet families.

Emanuel Downing, by Frederick Johnson Simmons, 1958 

The Ancestry of Dr. J. P. Guilford, Volume I: Seventeenth Century New England Colonials, by Joan S. Guilford, Orange, CA, 1990, pages 253-258 are about Emanuel Downing.

The American Genealogist, Volume 74, pages 161-174, and 299 – 308) for the English ancestry of Emanuel Downing.

My DOWNING genealogy:

Generation 1: Emanuel Downing, son of Reverend George Downing and Dorcas Bellamy, was born 12 August 1585 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, died 26 July 1658 in Scotland; married first on 7 January 1614 in Edinburgh, Scotland to Anne Ware (three children); married second on 10 April 1622 in Groton, Suffolk, England to Lucy Winthrop (five children).  Lucy was the daughter of Adam Winthrop and Anne Browne.

Generation 2: Lucy Downing, daughter of Emanuel Downing and Lucy Winthrop, born in 1625 in Salem, Massachusetts, died on 2 May 1697 in Ipswich, Massachusetts; married to William Norton, son of William Norton and Alice Browest.  (five children)

Generation 3: Bonus Norton m. Mary Goodhue

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: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/08/surname-saturday-emanuel-downing-of.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)

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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 ~ BILL of Boston, Connecticut, Nova Scotia and Salem, Massachusetts

BILL

The Billtown Baptist Church, 2007
We drove the little red convertible all the way to Nova Scota
to see if there really was a place called "Billtown" and we found it! 

This is sometimes a difficult line to research.  Whenever I Google “BILL” I usually get hits on first names, not surnames, and newspaper searches pull up legislation instead of people.  But I was lucky, several very good books have been compiled on the Bill family, and they helped me to form the skeleton of my research.  Using vital records, newspapers, and in the case of one minister in this line some college archives, filled in and confirmed my lineage.

The first Bill in America was John Bill (1598 – 1638), who lived in what is now Winthrop, Massachusetts.  It was across the harbor from Boston, and at that time was known as Pulling or Pulllen Point, and then known as Bills Farms.  The earliest Bills are buried in Boston at Copp’s Hill Burying Ground next to the Old North Church.  From Copp’s Hill you can look across the harbor and see Winthrop and to where the Bill family had settled.

Son John Bill, aged 13, arrived on the ship Hopewell , and his sister, Mary, age 11 with the Tuttle family, arrived on the ship Planter, both in 1635 as part of the Winthrop Fleet.   The earliest record of the father John Bill is in the records “Town of Boston”  where it reads “John Bill died 10 mo. 1638”   Another record on 21 January 1638/9 made Richard Tuttell responsible for “one Dorthie Bill, Widdowe, a sojourner in his house…for any thing about her”  [see Drake’s History of Boston, p. 245]   Richard Tuttle was her brother.

Phillip Bill (1629 – 1689), son of John Bill, left Pulling Point, Massachusetts, where his children were born,  and removed to a part of New London, Connecticut that is now the town of Groton.  He died the same day as his daughter, Margaret, of throat distemper (diphtheria) on 8 July 1689.  His widow married again to Samuel Bucknall or Buckland.

Phillip’s grandson, Ebenezer Bill (1695 – 1788), lived in Lebanon, Connecticut and eventually sold his home to his brother James.  He removed to Nova Scotia as a planter upon the removal of the “French Neutrals” ( The Acadian Huguenot Protestants).   He settled in Kings county, Nova Scotia.  His children came with him, and Asahel Bill (1748 – 1814), my 4^th great grandfather, settled on a large tract of land  which became known as “Billtown”.   

Reverend Ingraham Ebenezer Bill  (1805 – 1891), my 3^rd great grandfather, was the youngest of eleven children.  He was moved to become a Baptist at a very young age, and was called to the ministry.  He was one of the founders of Acadia College in Wolfeville, Nova Scotia, which was founded by several Baptist ministers.  He was the pastor of the Billtown Baptist Church for over twenty-three years, and then pastor of the Germain Street Baptist Church in St.  John, New Brunswick.  He preached in Prince Edward Island, Maine, England and all the states as far south as Alabama.   He was the editor of “The Christian Visitor” Baptist newspaper and wrote the book Fifty Years with the Baptist Ministers and Churches of the Maritime Provinces of Canada in 1880. 

Rev. Bill’s son, the music professor Caleb Rand Bill (1833 – 1902), removed with his family back to New England.  He lived and taught music in Houlton, Maine,  and in the towns of Watertown, Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts. 

Some sources for researching the Bill family:

History of the Bill Family, edited by Ledyard Bill, 1867

A supplement to the Bill Family book was privately published by Harry Bill of Billtown in the 1990s for members of his immediate family.  I don’t have a copy of this book, but I do have copies of pages pertinent to my lineage which Harry sent me before he passed away in 2010.  If you can find a copy of this book you will find all the family lines updated.  

There is much about the Billtown Bills in local history books of Kings County, Nova Scotia, and the archives at Wolfeville’s Acadia College have copies of the biographies and sermons of the many Bill Baptist ministers, including Reverend I. E. Bill, my 3^rd great grandfather.  

There was a senator Caleb Rand Bill, appointed to the Canadian Senate 23 October 1867 by Royal Proclamation from Queen Victoria. He represented Kings County from 1855 to 1859, and the northern region of Kings County from 1863 to 1867 in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.  He was a brother of my ancestor Rev. I. E. Bill, and is buried at the Billtown Baptist Cemetery.  You can find his biography in any good Canadian encyclopedia or list of famous Canadians.

My Bill genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Bill, born about 1598, died 21 January 1638; married about 1612 in England to Dorothy Tuttle, daughter of Symon Tuttle and Isabel Wells.  She was born about 1592, and died about December 1638 in Boston, Massachusetts.  Five known children.

Generation 2: Phillip Bill, born April 1629 in England, died 8 July 1689 in New London, Connecticut; married about 8 July 1689 in Groton, Connecticut to Hannah Waite.  She was the daughter of Samuel Waite and Mary Ward, born about 1625, died 1709 in Groton.  Eight children.

Generation 3:  Samuel Bill, born about 1665 near Boston, died 27 January 1730 in Groton, Connecticut; married about 1685 in Groton to Mercy Houghton, daughter of Richard Haughton and Catherine Unknown.  Eleven children.

Generation 4:  Ebenezer Bill, born 14 December 1695 in Groton, died 23 May 1788 in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia; married first about 1719 to Elizabeth Unkown;  married second on 8 September 1726 in Lebanon, Connecticut to Patience Ingraham, daughter of William Ingraham and Elizabeth Chesebrough.  She was born 2 April 1706 in Stonington, Connecticut, and died October 177 in Groton.  Ten children. 

Generation 5: Asahel Bill, born 7 April 1748 in Lebanon, died 10 November 1814 in Billtown, Nova Scotia; married on 18 June 1778 in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia to Mary Rand, daughter of Caleb Rand and Mary Mayhew.  She was born about 1758 and died 19 February 1845 in Billtown.  Eleven children.

Generation 6:  Reverend Ingraham Ebenezer Bill, born 19 February 1805 in Billtown, died 4 August 1891 in St. Martin’s, New Brunswick; married first to Isabella Lyons, daughter of Thomas Ratchford Lyons and Ann Skinner.  She was born 28 January 1806 in Cornwallis, died April 1872 in Carleton, New Brunswick.  Rev. Bill married second on 14 May 1873 in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Susan L. Nichols, widow of George Dove.

Generation 7:  Professor Caleb Rand Bill, born 30 May 1833 in Nictaux, Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, died 30 December 1902 in Salem, Massachusetts; married on 7 June 1858 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia to Ann Margaret Bollman, daughter of Bremner Frederick Bollman and Sarah Elizabeth Lennox.  She was born on 11 September 1835 in Lunenburg, and died 1923 in Salem, Massachusetts. Nine children.

Generation 8: Isabella Lyons Bill, born January 1863 in Machias, Maine, died 19 January 1935 in Beverly, Massachusetts; married on 18 October 1894 in Salem, Massachusetts to Albert Munroe Wilkinson, son of Robert Wilson Wilkinson and Phebe Cross Munroe.  He was born 7 November 1860 in Danvers, Massachusetts, died 12 May 1908 at the Corey Hill Hospital, Brookline, Massachusetts. Two children.

Generation 9: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ BILL of Boston, Connecticut, Nova Scotia and Salem, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 23, 2013, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/03/surname-saturday-bill-of-boston.html: accessed [access date]). 

Fort Banks, Winthrop, Massachusetts

Fort Banks – Winthrop MA

by Guest Blogger, Bette Pye Wing

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, Winthrop is where I grew up. I never knew it at the time, but it was a super special place to live. As I moved to new places and visited others, I was able to make a fairly accurate assessment of each and Winthrop always came out the winner.

For instance, how many kids grew up on a peninsula 1.6 miles square, with 7 miles of beaches, a view of the inner harbor and Boston skyline on one side and nothing but ocean and islands in any other direction?  For that matter, how many kids grew up in a town with two (2) forts and a third one near by on Deer Island? Yes, that would be as in military forts and not just historical ones, but actively occupied and maintained forts. It wasn’t unusual to see jeeps and Army trucks on the streets near the biggest fort, Fort Banks. It was usual to spend a day at the beach and see the Shore Patrol making their daily rounds. The Army was a definite presence in our town.

Fort Banks started out as a Mortar Battery, originally built in 1892. It was named for the Civil War general and congressman, Nathaniel P. Banks. It originally had four pits with four, twelve inch diameter mortars each. These mortars were capable of sending an 800 pound shell, nine miles out to sea. This installation was meant to guard and protect Boston Harbor as part of the Harbor Defense. Later, anti-aircraft guns were added and Fort Banks became the base for the Army’s 9^th Artillery Regiment. In preparation for WWII, by the end of June 1941, there 58 Officers, 18 NCO’s and 892 enlisted men stationed at Fort Banks. As we headed into the Korean War, Nike Anti-Aircraft Rockets were on the site.  The fort now served as part of the early warning system for all of New England. There was also a 250 bed hospital, barracks and officers housing. Today, only one pit and two underground bunkers remain of the original installation, which were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. In the 40’s and 50’s military personnel had life pretty easy. Fort Banks became know as The Country Club, while Revere Beach Amusement Park and the hot spots in Boston provided plenty of entertainment.

What once was an important defense installation bustling with military personnel and activity, became inactive September 30,1966. It has become a multi-use area, today, with a school, playground, condominiums, apartment buildings and a cemetery.

I have access to the census records of Fort Banks from 1910 – 1940 and will do look-ups. Please use thepyeplate@gmail.com to request additional info or look-ups.

The other two forts, Fort Dawes and Fort Heath will be the subjects of future blogs.

  

Sources:

http://ed-thelen.org/J-McGrath/NBANKS.HTM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Banks_Mortar_Battery

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_Banks_Mortar_Battery_Winthrop_MA_01.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Banks_(Massachusetts)

http://winthropite.com/history

personal observations and history

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo and Bette Pye Wing

So, Where is Winthrop anyway?

An essay by a new guest blogger, Bette Pye Wing

The Deane Winthrop House circa 1675
Winthrop, Massachusetts

So where is Winthrop anyway? I grew up in Winthrop, but I always say I’m from Boston because no one knows where Winthrop is. I run into other New Englanders and they say the same thing, so I always say “me too, but I actually come from Winthrop.” Then I find out they’re from Lynn, Medford, Chelsea, Revere or another town they think no one has heard of. So then we have a great chat about Boston, the home towns and how much we miss New England. I call myself an outlander, but, in truth, I’m a died in the wool, sea water in my veins, New Englander.

But this isn’t about me, it’s about Winthrop. This little gem of a town is a peninsula jutting out into the northern reaches of Boston Harbor. There are only two ways into and out of town, one through East Boston and the other through Revere. This has provided the town with a bit of insulation. You usually have a reason for going there because you can’t go any further. There’s nothing beyond except the mighty North Atlantic. You don’t drive through Winthrop on your way to some other town.

Winthrop was settled in 1630 by just a handful of hardy people. Much of it was owned by John Winthrop, Gov. of Mass. Bay Colony. His son, Deane Winthrop (1623-1704) was one of the early settlers. The place that became his home was built in 1637 and he lived there 1647-1703. It has become one of the oldest wood frame houses in the country. Another distinction for this historical jewel is that it is the oldest continuously lived in home in the United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

When I was a youngster, the people, who lived there as caretakers, were friends of my family. I spent many an afternoon there with my mother while she visited with her friend. I treasure my warm memories of this house, but one stands out vividly. Across from the front door was a closet built in under the staircase. This small, cramped closet held a secret, though. Way in the back was another door. I was allowed to go into that place, have the doors closed and for a brief moment in time, I experienced the fear those early children must have felt, for this was a hidey-hole, where they hid the children during Indian attacks. I don’t know if the Indians ever did attack, but those first settlers were prepared to save their children. The Deane Winthrop House is open to the public but you must call ahead for an appointment. (617) 846-8606 40 Shirley St, Winthrop, MA 02152 Sources: http://www.wihaonline.org/deane.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deane_Winthrop_House

http://www.winthroptranscript.com/2009/03/19/deane-winthrop-house-writes-new-chapter-with-a-new-addition/ 

and Personal experience

by Guest Blogger Bette Pye Wing

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo and Bette Pye Wing