Google Your Way to a Quilt

Google your way to a Quilt

Sometimes after I’ve tried the library, the archives, ancestry.com and NEHGS- I next resort to finding genealogy information by just Googling names to see what comes up. Now, with the addition of Google Books, I’m often surprised at what happens. And sometimes names that didn’t draw any hits six months ago suddenly have interesting results. This is what happened to me last week.

My Munroe lineage was one of the first lines I ever worked on, and it was easy to do when I found the book “The History and Genealogy of the Lexington, Massachusetts Munroes” by Richard S. Munroe. I was only sixteen years old when I started researching my own genealogy, with a night school class under my belt and the American Antiquarian Society within bicycle riding distance of my house in Holden, Massachusetts. I used this book to fill out the obligatory family tree chart, but for thirty years I’ve been filling in the missing stories.

The name I was interested in researching was Luther Simonds Munroe. His father had fought in the American Revolution, and his great, great grandfather had been a prisoner of war under Cromwell in Puritan England, and he had been sentenced to indentured servitude in New England. There were plenty of interesting Munroes, and fascinating stories, but Luther Simonds Munroe had a big blank next to his name in the book. I knew the basics: he died of diabetes at age 46 in 1851; he was listed as a church sexton on his death record; His children were in the Danvers and Salem vital records. Period.

There are three Luther Simonds Munroes in the Massachusetts Vital Records: 1). The sexton Luther Simonds Munroe, 2.) his son, Luther Simonds Munroe, Jr. and 3.) a nephew with the same name. I couldn’t find anything interesting about any of these Luthers. Suddenly, when Googling the name, there were several hits, and all pointed to an exhibit at the Lowell Quilt Museum in 2008. Imagine that, just down the road from here in Londonderry, New Hampshire!

The Massachusetts Quilt Documentation Project was established in 1994, and over time is has recorded 6,000 pre-1950 quilts from this state. A book, “Massachusetts Quilts: Our Common Wealth” edited by Lynne Z. Bassett and others documents the stories of 112 of the most historic quilts, with beautiful photography and detailed histories. One of these featured quilts was sewn by Emily (Wiley) Munroe, the wife of the nephew named Luther Simonds Munroe of Lynnfield, Massachusetts.

Emily Munroe’s quilt was sewn sometime in the civil war era. It is made of 54 woolen blocks from the simple farming clothing of the family. Each block shows country designs of flowers, trees, horses and a central block with a house scene, complete with a dog and horse. The colors are mostly earth tones, brightened up with touches of red wood cloth. Emily passed the quilt down in her own family, and through descendants, until it was ultimately donated to the Lowell Quilt Museum. It is a simple, yet elegant design, and somehow it made its way into the commemorative book. The book contained the story of Emily, her family, the quilt’s provenance and how it was donated.

Well, I was so excited to find this on Google; I immediately emailed the curator at the Quilt Museum. Connie Colom Barlow, the executive Director emailed me back and explained that the exhibit was over, and the quilt was put into permanent storage in the collections area. However, we were welcome to contact the curatorial assistant to find a mutually agreeable time for an appointment to see the quilt up close and personal!

Right now, the plan is for all the cousins, aunties, daughters and me to get together for a family field trip to see the “Munroe Quilt.” We are still in the middle of emailing a flurry of messages back and forth, from Maine to Rhode Island, to find a time. After our quilt field trip, I’ll blog another story, and include some more photos of our generation with the quilt. Stay tuned!
Meanwhile, I’m still searching for more about Luther Simonds Munroe, 1805 – 1851, Danvers.

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The Munroe family Tree:

Gen. 1: William Munroe, born about 1625 in Scotland, died on 27 January 1717/18 in Lexington; married about 1665 to Martha George, daughter of John George and Elizabeth, born about 1636 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, died about 1672 in Lexington. William was married three times and had a total of fourteen children.

Gen 2: George Munroe, born about 1672 in Lexington, died on 17 January 1746/7 in Lexington; married to Sarah Mooer, daughter of Jonathan Mooers and Constance Langthorne, born about 1677 in Newbury, died on 4 December 1752 in Lexington. Nine children.

Gen. 3: Andrew Munroe, born about 4 June 1718 in Lexington, died on 16 September 1766 in Lexington; married on 26 May 1763 to Lucy Mixer, daughter of Joseph Mixer and Mary Ball, born on 21 November 1727 in Shrewsbury, died on 3 September 1783 in Woburn (now Burlington, Massachusetts.) Lucy remarried on 6 December 1774 in Woburn to Caleb Simonds as his second wife- he was married three times.

Gen. 4: Andrew Munroe, born on 31 March 1764 in Lexington, died on 7 August 1836 in Danvers; married to Ruth Simonds, daughter of Caleb Simonds and Susannah Simonds, born on 13 April 1763 in Woburn, died on 29 January 1840. Eleven children, including the Luther Simonds Munroe who is my 4th great grandfather, and Uriah, his brother, see below. Andrew and Ruth were step siblings (see mother Lucy’s remarriage above)

Gen 5: Uriah Munroe, born 27 Oct 1793 in Danvers, died 12 Mar 1841 in Lynnfield; married on 20 October 1819 in Danvers to Esther Eleanor Twiss, daughter of Jonathan Twiss and Esther Bruce, born on 16 July 1803 in Danvers. Three children.

Gen 6: Luther Simonds Munroe, born on 2 May 1823 in Danvers, died 29 Jan 1885 in Lynnfield; married on 10 April 1851 in Boston to Emily Louise Wiley, daughter of Robert Wiley and Rosetta Benton of England, born 25 August 1832 in Boston, Massachusetts, died 16 August 1894 in Lynnfield. Seven children, including Harry Wingate Munroe, born on 20 May 1859, who inherited the quilt.

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See also:

http://www.massquilts.org/MassQuilts_Book.htm  - for more information on the Book project, and a link to the chapter with the story and photographs of the Munroe Quilt

www.nequiltmuseum.org - the webpage for the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell

http://books.google.com - the search engine that helped me find the quilt and story
“History and Genealogy of the Lexington, Massachusetts Munroes” by Richard S. Munroe, 1966

“Munro: Sketch of the Munro Clan; Also of William Munro who, Deported from Scotland, Settled in Lexington, Massachusetts, and some of his Posterity” by J. P. Munro, 1900, out of print, yet available in a custom bound photoduplicate of the original on acid free paper through the bookstore at the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

UPDATE-  Yes, my family did get to see the quilt!  Click here for the blog post!
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/05/emily-wiley-munroes-quilt-circa-1860.html

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Copyright 2009, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tombstone Tuesday- Bumping into Great Great Great Grandma!

George E. Batchelder 1822- 1848


Abigail M. (Locke) Batchelder 1825-1888


Leavitt Cemetery, Chichester, New Hampshire

Not too far north of Nutfield is Chichester, New Hampshire. My mother’s grandmother was a Batchelder, and she was born in Chichester, but the family lived in Boston. Their roots were on the New Hampshire seacoast, because the first Batchelder in the New World was the Reverend Stephen Batchelder, who founded Hampton. The Batchelders didn’t have their roots in Chichester, but all the brides, and cousins, and in-laws, were born, lived and died in Chichester.

So we set off to Chichester one sunny day to look for various Batchelder names in the cemetery, and the other family names that went along with the family tree. We had a list of Welches and Lockes to search for, too. We didn’t have any idea which cemetery to look in, or where the cemeteries were located (in the days before GPS!) but we had the minivan, the camera, and the notebook.

Just off the center of town, we found a small grassy burial ground called the “Leavitt Cemetery.” This was promising because someone in the Batchelder family tree had married a Leavitt. We parked the minivan and searched the cemetery. There were loads of familiar names, and we took many photos, but we couldn’t find George and Abby (Locke) Batchelder, my 3x great grandparents.

After taking photos and notes, and getting exasperated, I threw open the door of the minivan and hit a gravestone. I jumped out to inspect the stone, and started to laugh out loud. I had just bumped into great, great, great grandma!  (The stone was undamaged, but I did nick the paint on the van door)

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For the Batchelder Family tree back to Rev. Stephen Batchelder, see my post on 20 August 2009 http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/08/mystery-of-jonathan-batchelder.html

Locke Family Tree:
Generation 1: John Locke, born about 1627 in England, died 26 August 1696 in Rye, New Hampshire during an Indian massacre; about 1652 to Elizabeth Berry, born about 1636 and died after 1708.

Generation 2: John Locke, born about 1654 in Portsmouth, died after 1733; married about 1677 to Elizabeth Bolles, daughter of Joseph Bolles and Mary Howell, born 15 January 1650/1 in Welles, Maine; died 12 November 1734 in Rye.

Generation 3: John Locke born 1683 and died about 1774; married to Sarah Unknown

Generation 4: Richard Locke born 28 July 1720 in Rye, died 15 May 1804; married about 1745 to Elizabeth Garland, daughter of John Garland and Elizabeth Dearborn, born 13 March 1723/4 in Rye.

Generation 5: Simon Locke, born September 1770 in Rye, died 31 July 1863 in Rye; married on 14 February 1792 in Greenland, New Hampshire to Abigail Mace, daughter of Ithamar Mace and Rachel Berry, born 1 February 1767 in Rye, died 18 February 1803.

Generation 6: Richard Locke, born 1794 in Rye, died 23 March 1864 in Chichester; married on 21 Oct 1823 in Chichester to Margaret Welch, born about 1796 in Kittery, Maine, died 11 March 1860 in Chichester.

Generation 7: Abigail M. Locke, born 10 September 1825 in South Boston, Massachusetts, died 15 January 1888 in Chichester; married on 7 September 1845 in South Boston to George E. Batchelder; son of Jonathan and Nancy Batchelder, born on 13 August 1822 in Chichester, died 3 April 1848 in Chichester.

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Copyright 2009, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Mill Girls from Derry and Londonderry

Country Girls in the Big City

Eliza Adams and her sisters,
Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire

The Eliza Adams Exhibit at the
Boarding House Museum, Lowell, Massachusetts

Years ago I took my Londonderry Girl Scout troop to Lowell National Park, to see how the mill girls lived and worked. The girls were about twelve years old, not much younger than some of the mill workers in the 1830s and 40s. We took a canal boat ride, and toured the noisy Boot Mill (a big hit for kids) and finally went into the boarding house. We earned a merit badge with some of our activities in Lowell, but the girls also learned that young ladies from Londonderry and Derry were some of the mill workers.

Inside the boarding house there was an interactive exhibit showing some of the girls who worked in the textile mills, including some personal items, photographs and silhouettes. Of all the exhibits, the one I remember most was Eliza Adams from Derry. Her trunk, letters and photograph were behind glass, but a recorded voice of an actress read her letters aloud. It was poignant, and even the little girls were amazed that a girl from Derry lived and worked in those big factories weaving cloth.

Eliza is one of the most famous of the Lowell mill girls, like Lucy Larcom, because her letters to her mother have survived through time. Tens of thousands of girls served in Lowell and other mill cities, but they remain silent witnesses to history. Very few mill girls ever left letters or journals. Through Eliza we learn her daily routine, her friendships, her homesickness, that she attended a reception held for President Tyler, and witnessed a strike.

At age 42 Eliza bought a farm in South Hadley, Massachusetts, where Mary Lyons had her college, Mount Holyoke, the first college for women in America. Years before, Mary Lyons had been an assistant teacher at the Adams Female Academy in Derry. Eliza had attended school in Derry with Mary Lyons, before going to work in Lowell. Eliza Adams adopted two little girls, and fostered several others, and grew prosperous on her farm as a single, independent woman.

Eliza, and her sisters, attended the Adams Female Academy in Derry, which had been founded by her uncle, Jacob Adams, who left a bequest to the school. Later, after working at the mills in Lowell, she went to Ipswich to work in another mill and also attend the Ipswich Female Seminary founded by Zilpah Grant, another teacher from Derry’s Female Academy. Letters from Eliza to both Zilpah and Mary Lyons survive in the archives at Mount Holyoke College. Zilpah Grant and Mary Lyons are some of the most famous educators mentioned in Feminist History courses.

What is amazing is that Eliza did nothing unusual by today’s standards. She went to school, educated herself with her own earnings, bought property and was a single mother. She did not go off to Lowell to work in the mills with the aim of finding a husband or man to help her in life. However, in the mid 1800s these were rare events, and probably considered quite odd. Letters do survive over time, but most letters we see from this time period are written by men. To read about Eliza’s accomplishments is wonderful, but it is also just as nice to read about her daily work life, and her homey remarks back to her mother back on the farm in Derry.

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The Eliza Adams Lineage:

Gen. 1. Robert Adams was born in England in 1602; married to Eleanor Wilmot and resided in Newbury, Massachusetts. Robert Adams first came to Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1635, bringing his wife and his first two children. He resided in Salem and removed to Newbury in 1640. His first wife, Eleanor, died on 12 June 1677 and married second 6 February 1678 to Sarah (Glover) Short, the widow of Henry Short. He died on 12 October 1682, and his widow died on 24 October 1697 in Newbury.

Gen. 2. Sergeant Abraham Adams, born in 1639 in Salem, Massachusetts; married on 10 November 1670 to Mary Pettengill, daughter of Richard Pettengill and Joanna Ingersoll, born on 6 Jul 1652 and died on 19 September 1705. He was a corporal in the militia of 1685 to 1693, and became a sergeant in 1703. They resided in Newbury, Massachusetts. They had fourteen children. He died in August 1714 in Newbury.

Gen. 3. Richard Adams, born in Newbury on 22 November 1693; married on 12 December 1717 to Susannah Pike, daughter of John Pike and Lydia Little, born on 3 April 1697 and died on 17 October 1754. They resided in Newbury and had ten children

Gen. 4. Deacon Edmund Adams, youngest child of Richard, born 24 October 1740 in Newbury; married first on 22 November 1764 to Hannah Thurston, she died on 14 September 1807; he married second about 1811 to Mrs. Betsey Kimball of Hampstead, New Hampshire. Edmund Adams removed to Derry, New Hampshire and settled on the farm belonging to Deacon James Adams, a first comer to Nutfield. Deacon Edmund Adams had ten children by his first wife, and one by his second wife.

Gen. 5. Edmund Adams, eighth child of Deacon Edmund, born in Newbury on 3 April 1777; married in 1808 to Elizabeth Carr. She died on 2 May 1858 and he died on 8 September 1858. They resided in Derry and had eight children.
Edmund’s brother, Jacob Adams, the youngest child, was born 14 Jan 1785 in Newbury, and died unmarried. Jacob was the founder of the Derry Female Academy.

Gen. 6. Eliza Adams, fourth child of Edmund, born on 15 January 1815 in Derry; died unmarried in 12 November 1881. She is buried with her parents in Forest Hills Cemetery, Derry.

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Sources:

“A Genealogical History of Robert Adams of Newbury” by Andrew N. Adams, Rutland, VT: Tuttle Publishing Company, 1900

“The Story of an Industrial City: A guide to Lowell National Park” by Thomas Dublin, National Park Service, 1993

“The Belles of New England: The Women of the Textile Mills” by William Moran, St. Martin’s Griffin/ Thomas Dunne Books, 2004

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Copyright 2009, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

First Parish Church, Derry

First Parish Church, Derry in 1895

On Wednesday 28 October 2009, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance announced the state’s annual “Seven to Save” campaign and the First Parish Church in East Derry earned a spot on the list. The First Parish congregation has been in Derry since the original Scots Irish settlers held a religious meeting of thanksgiving under a tree in 1719. The current church building itself was built in 1769 and still serves an active congregation and a large part in the Derry community activities.

Also named to the 2009 “Seven to Save” list are the 70-meter ski jump at Gunstock Ski Area, the United Methodist Church in Keene, a mill building in East Alstead, the iron furnace in Franconia, the New England Center in Durham, and Brewster Memorial Hall in Wolfeboro. This annual list recognizes properties statewide that are threatened or endangered and in need of resources, both financial and labor related, to preserve them. The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance began the “Seven to Save” program in 2006, and being recognized by the list has helped several buildings to be saved from razing or demolition, including the Epsom Meeting House, a covered bridge in Ossipee, and a brick schoolhouse in Manchester. Perhaps being on the list will attract some funding for renovating the First Parish Church.

The first Presbyterian Church in New England was formed when that first group of Scots Irish settlers gathered for worship under the oak tree near Beaver Pond. In 1721 the first building was built, just west of the current church. By 1722 the town changed its name from Nutfield to Londonderry. By 1740 another Presbyterian church had been established in the “West Parish” which is now located inside Londonderry. In 1769 the present building was built, and enlarged in 1824 to its present size. In 1845 it was renovated, with the church sanctuary on the second floor, and the town hall on the ground level. Today the church is a Congregational Church, and it has a Historic Preservation Committee to help preserve the nearly three hundred years of history at the First Parish Church.

There was a schism between the people of Nutfield (Derry and Londonderry) in 1828 and the parishes split into the two present towns. Parts of Windham and Manchester were originally within the Nutfield grant. The First Parish church remains the oldest and most historic church in the area. Hopefully, being named as one of “Seven to Save” will help to preserve the original building for future generations to enjoy. There is an official state historical marker in front of the church, and Forest Hills cemetery is located behind it. This is Derry’s only municipal cemetery, and the home of some of the oldest gravestones and burial sites. It is located on 47 East Derry Road, in East Derry Village.

For more information please see:

“The Derry News”, October 29, 2009 “East Derry Icon One of ‘Seven to Save’”

www.nhpreservation.org --- The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance

http://www.fpc-ucc.org --- The First Parish Congregational Church of East Derry

www.1718migration.org.uk --- The Scots Irish Migration to the New World

Stories in Stone, Part 2

This story from the Derry News is about the Forest Hill Cemetery, which is directly behind the First Parish Church in East Derry Village, where this New Hampshire State Historical Marker is located on East Derry Road.

from "The Derry News" Published: October 22, 2009

STORIES IN STONE
To the attentive visitor, cemeteries say much about a town's history

By Julie Huss
jhuss@derrynews.com

"The living come with grassy tread, to read the gravestones on the hill..."

From "In a Disused Graveyard" by Robert Frost

111For the hundreds and hundreds of those buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in East Derry, it's a study in stone as their stories and lives are etched into the aging granite.

The cemetery is the final resting place for many of Derry's finest — the notables who made their mark on the town's history and forged lives through the years.

One one afternoon, a visitor stops by the historic graveyard on the hill near First Parish Church for a stroll through history. It's quiet, solemn, with hardly a sight to be seen, except for rows of stones in every size, some crumbling under the weight of generations, others shiny and gleaming under an autumn sun. A scampering squirrel creeps and hides underneath one toppled stone, storing a winter's worth of acorns in a perfect, dark spot.

The 35-acre graveyard shows its age. Stones are falling, some teeter and almost drop over; others lie flat on the grassy ground. Some stones are missing completely, others are cracked in half, with various pieces strewn nearby. Some graves are not even visible to a visitor's eye, covered in the moss of time.

The stones reflect examples of every major carving style, showing images such as frowning angels, urns and ranging from simple designs to more detailed images of death.

Forest Hill is looking better these days thanks to many volunteers pitching in for various tasks at the graveyard, according to Dorothy Goldman, longtime cemetery supporter and currently working in Forest Hill documenting graves and photographing the stones. She said she sees improvements everytime she enters this hallowed ground — one of her favorite places to spend time.

Through her work at Forest Hill, Goldman hopes to get every grave documented for future generations to enjoy. Although the town's most notables lie there, many of those unsung heroes also call Forest Hill their final home. They are the people Goldman said she enjoys learning about the most.

"I'm trying to find the common folk," she said, "the ones not always written about."

Goldman said records of those buried at Forest Hill are available through the Derry Public and Taylor libraries, also at First Parish Church and the Derry Museum of History.

Here is a look into the lives of some of those buried at Forest Hill:

Everett R. Angell, died at the age of 10 and now laid to rest with one of the most interesting stones at Forest Hill. The inscription on the stone reads, "See them up yonder," as these are believed to be the boy's last words before he died as he saw visions of angels coming through his window to take him off to Heaven.

Gregory Smart, died in Derry at the age of 24 in May of 1990, the victim of a murder plot involving several teens and his wife, Pamela, who went on to be convicted of conspiring to murder her husband. She is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

The Shepard family, parents, and other relatives of America's first astronaut in space, Alan B. Shepard Jr.

The Derry-born astronaut's parents, Alan B. Shepard Sr., and Renza lie in Forest Hill as do his grandparents. The younger Alan, and his wife, Louise, were cremated following their deaths in 1998 and their ashes were spread at sea. A marker for the hometown hero is placed at Forest Hill.

Rev. James McGregor, one of the earliest settlers in this area, among the original citizens of Derry. Preached his first sermon near Beaver Lake and a leader of the original Nutfield colony. He died in 1729 at the age of 52 years.

John Parker, lived in Derry and was found dead in 1864 in the woods of North Andover, Mass. He served as a New Hampshire recruiting officer for the Civil War. His demise was deemed a murder. Parker worked for the town to procure substitutes to fill up its quota in the war.

For more stony stories from the graveyards of Londonderry, see next week's issue of the Derry News.

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My computer is still away from home, so I decided to post the second part of this series from "The Derry News" you can see the story with photos at www.derrynews.com
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Yesterday's post is the Derry News story about Londonderry's cemeteries.

History Lessons Carved in Stone

A Gravestone in Vally Cemetery
for two children of Deacon John Pinkerton


from The Derry News, October 29, 2009
History lessons carved in stone

By Suzanne Laurent
slaurent@derrynews.com

LONDONDERRY — Dry leaves crunch underfoot and trees take on their muted autumn hues, the brilliance of early October now gone. While cemeteries and old burial grounds are interesting in their own right, they are almost more fascinating as Halloween approaches followed by the melancholy days of November.

The cemeteries of Londonderry and Derry are grassy slopes of history. They tell of the time when Londonderry covered the entire area, before Derry branched off to become its own town.

Various religious and secular organizations were associated with the beginnings of the first four cemeteries. Private lots were once common in town, but the descendants of these families moved their ancestors' remains to public cemeteries in the 19th century.

The Old Hill Cemetery, east of the town center on Hovey Road, began as the first churchyard of the Presbyterian West Parish in the original Londonderry. A drastic change occurred in this cemetery in 1930 when officials decided to clean up the broken stones that were tilted at dangerous angles amidst tangled underbrush.

"No measurements were taken of the location where the markers originally stood," said Town Historian Marilyn Ham.

The cleared yard was plowed by tractor, leveled and seeded.

"When the stones were to be reset, most were at the roadside," according to an account in The History of Londonderry, Vol. 3, edited by Ferne Schmidtchen.

"The decision was to place them in rows beginning near the wall where they leaned. By chance, the space between the headstone and footstone was not the usual distance. As a result, the uninformed observer might believe that early Londonderry was inhabited by midgets."

Pillsbury Cemetery on Hovey Road is Londonderry's newest cemetery and abuts the Old Hill Cemetery established in 1733. It opened in the fall of 2004 as the town ran out of space for new plots in Pleasant View Cemetery on Mammoth Road.

The Valley Cemetery (1793) on Pillsbury Road is located between the Old Hill Cemetery and the town center. It was also known as the Rev. Dr. Morrison's Churchyard for his Presbyterian meetinghouse that stood to the east.

According to a story in the Derry News dated Friday, Nov. 11 1881, "The town of Londonderry appropriated $300.00 for improvement of cemeteries in town, and accordingly work was commenced last Saturday, on the cemetery near Col. Pillsbury's. Many trees have been cut down and among them the famous old white oak, that has kept 'watch and ward' for nearly sixty years, over the tomb of the beloved Morrison."

Here is a look at some interesting people buried in Londonderry:

Major John Pinkerton, the founder of Pinkerton Academy, was buried in the Old Hill Cemetery, also called Pinkerton Yard. His horizontal tombstone, raised on four corner posts, had an extensive inscription which included the amounts of his bequests to the Presbyterian Churches of both the east and west parishes.

The Pettengill family cemetery, once located on Harvey Road, was relocated to Sunnyside Cemetery when the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport built a new runway five years ago. There are two other private family cemeteries in town: The Kendall Cemetery on Kendall Pond Road and the Towne Cemetery on John Street.

George "Duffy" Lewis, a star outfielder for the Red Sox in the 1910s, is buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery on Gilcreast Road. In 2000, John Clayton, a columnist for the Union-leader, discovered that Duffy's grave was unmarked and wrote two articles about it. A subsequent fund in Duffy's name provided a gravestone and flowers in perpetuity.

Ginger Harvey's grave is located in Sunnyside Cemetery on Litchfield Road. Ginger's father was a slave and Ginger worked in a home in Londonderry. One day as Ginger was approaching the house to work, she noticed smoke. She grabbed a broom and banged on the windows alerting the still sleeping family. The family asked what they could do to repay her and Ginger asked that she have a Christian burial. She lived to be almost 100 years old and was interred in 1865.

David Rollins Leach is buried in a family vault in Glenwood cemetery. He bequeathed $3,000 to found the Leach Library which opened on Feb. 25, 1880 with 1,000 books.

Londonderry has a Pet Cemetery on Harvey Road established by Minnie McGuire who felt that pets, too, should have a suitable final resting place.
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Credit to The Derry News, www.derrynews.com
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-(My computer is with the Geek Squad so I've posted this Derry News story in lieu of having my own database and Word files available to research a story. Hopefully I'll be back on line soon with my own postings!)

Pinkerton Tavern Ghosts!

Pinkerton Academy, Derry, New Hampshire

Pinkerton Tavern Ghosts
A Post for Halloween!

In October, thoughts of ghosts and witches come to mind. There were plenty of accused witches, even one who was found guilty in the 1600’s, and New Hampshire has its share of ghosts. When we first moved to Londonderry over 25 years ago, the first ghost we heard about was the one haunting the Pinkerton Tavern, in Derry. At the time, this building was an unfinished furniture store, and then a series of restaurants, now “The Pinkerton Tavern.”

The Pinkerton Tavern building is 270 years old, built by Elder James Pinkerton. James and his brother, Major John Pinkerton, were merchants in Derry. John started as a peddler, and soon owned a store. James was an influential man, a deacon of the church, a representative to the General Court, and Major John served in the American Revolution. They were quite wealthy for the time, and often made loans to the people of Derry, before there were formal banks. In 1814 the Reverend Edward L. Parker asked the merchant brothers to donate money to start a school, which is now known as Pinkerton Academy.

Pinkerton Tavern, Derry, New Hampshire

The Pinkerton family homestead lost its barn in a fire, and the land was later sold to the Hood Dairy Farm. Later it became the unfinished furniture store, and then restaurants. According to the Pinkerton Tavern website www.thepinkertontavern.com the resident ghost is called “Rachel”. I remember when it was a furniture store, and the clerk explained to me that the best place to see the ghost was on the stairway. The current owners say that “Rachel” is a friendly ghost.

When the restaurant used to be called “Neets”, about five years ago, the owners said that the ghost was often seen in the basement. Other restaurant staff said the ghost of “General Pinkerton” would slam doors, even though Major (not General) Pinkerton never lived there. You can read about the ghost at http://www.neghostproject.com/casefiles/neets.htm and how some ghostbusters apparently photographed this spirit!


Pinkerton Family Genealogy:

1. John Pinkerton, born about 1690 in Ireland, died 10 February 1780 in Londonderry; married about 1722 to Mary Elizabeth Farmer. Both are buried at the Hill Cemetery, Londonderry.

Children:

1. David, born 1732 in Ireland, died 8 May 1808 in Londonderry
2. Major John, born 1735 in Ireland, died 1 May 1816; married first about 1760 to Rachel Duncan, five children; married second 18 December 1801 to Polly Tufts, no children.
3. Matthew, born about 1738 in Londonderry, New Hampshire, died about 1814; married first to Ann McCurdy; married second to Mary Unknown.
4. Samuel
5. Elder James, born about 1747, died 6 January 1829; married first about 1771 to Elizabeth Nesmith, daughter of John Nesmith and Elizabeth Reid, born 19 April 1762 in Londonderry; married second 15 May 1809 to Susan Wallace, born 8 November 1741, died before 1835. (see children below)

Children with Elizabeth:

1. Betsey, born about 1780, died 1837; married 26 April 1807 in Boston to her first cousin John Aiken, son of James Aiken and Elizabeth Pinkerton.
2. Isabella, born about 1785
3. James, born about 1790, died young.
4. Mary B, born 10 May 1791; married William Choate.
5. Clarissa, born 1793; married Robert E. Little.
6. Jane, born 1796, died 1875; married 28 July 1815 in Londonderry to her first cousin, Joshua Aiken, brother to her sister Betsey’s husband.

Children with Susan:
John Morrison Pinkerton, born 6 February 1818, died 6 February 1881; unmarried
6. Mary, born 1740, died 23 September 1807.
7. Elizabeth, born 1748, died 1793; married May 1768 in Londonderry to Deacon James Aiken.
8. Rachel, born 1749, died 17 November 1796.
9. Jane, born about 1753, died 14 February 1809, buried at the Valley Cemetery in Londonderry; married about 1774 to Deacon David Brewster.

Sources:
Londonderry Vital Records
"History of Londonderry" by Rev. Edward L. Parker
www.thepinkertontavern.com


Copyright 2009, Heather Wilkinson

Taylor Saw Mill in Derry

"The pride and joy of Ernest Ballard, 84, is this rare, water-powered up and down sawmill he erected at his home in Derry, New Hampshire." (There'll Always be Water Wheels by Neil M. Clark, December 3, 1955.)

This is the Taylor Up and Down Saw Mill at Ballard State Park

The Ballard State Forest in Derry is 71 Acres surrounding a pond, with picnic tables and walking trails, but the main attraction is the Taylor Sawmill. Built 200 years ago, around 1799, it was an advance in technology from a pit saw, where two men used a long two handled saw, one standing above the timber and the other in a dug pit below. The “Up and Down Sawmill” is a mechanized version of the pit saw, using a water powered system of gears and shafts to drive the long blade of the saw. Generally only the saw blade was powered and logs were pushed through by hand, but with some ingenuity the moveable carriage was developed, to move the log through the moving blade.

One of the beautiful results of this type of sawn lumber is that the wood doesn’t display the typical curved cut marks seen on lumber cut by circular saws. Preservationists and renovators prize finding original timbers in old colonial era homes that display the marks of pit saws or “Up and Dow” sawmills. Cut marks are even used for dating colonial homes. This type of lumber, known as “sash sawn” lumber, is produced at the Taylor Saw Mill on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month during the spring and summers. Demonstrations run generally from about 10AM to 3PM through the end of September, as long as there is sufficient water to run the waterwheel at the dam. (This shouldn’t be a problem in 2009!)

The “Up and Down Sawmill” was a short lived technology, which was replaced by the water powered circular saw by about 1825. Circular sawn logs, driven by water turbines, steam, electricity and computers are still the most common type of lumber produced today. Being a short lived technology, there are only a few examples of this type of “Up and Down Saw” surviving in the United States. Other than Derry, you can see one at Old Sturbridge Village, in Massachusetts, or at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont.

The Taylor Saw Mill is located on Island Pond Road in Derry, New Hampshire, on the left, about 3.7 miles from Clam Haven. The historic site is run by both the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation and the Division of Forests and Lands Community Forestry and Stewardship Bureau. For more information see the Division of Forests and Lands website on the 200 year old Taylor Up and Down Sawmill.

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The Taylor Family Tree:

Generation 1. Matthew Taylor was born about 1690 in Northern Ireland and died26 January 1770 near Beaver Lake, Derry, New Hampshire; married about 1720 to Janet Wilson and settled in Nutfield, New Hampshire in 1722. Ten Children

Generation 2. David Taylor, fourth son, born 10 August 1735 in Nutfield; married Margaret Kelsey. Seven Children.

Generation 3. Robert Taylor, born about 1770, died 10 May 1837 in Derry; married to Dolly Colby. Robert Taylor bought the property where the sawmill now stands in 1799. He began to operate the up and down sawmill in about 1805. He and Dolly had ten children, including a daughter Rebecca Morrison Taylor who married John Poulsand Langmaid and died in 1888. He was the uncle to the murdered schoolgirl Josie Langmaid. See the blog posting on Josie's murder on 14 October 2009.


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This story was originally published at www.londonderrynh.net

Copyright 2009, Heather Wilkinson Rojo