Grace Allen Obituary

11 February 2015
Gloucester Times, Gloucester, Massachusetts
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/obituaries/grace-allen/article_2c40d0f5-0b2d-5d96-ae3a-cbda5ae3e9da.html

WENHAM, Massachusetts:

Grace Allen, born in Detroit, Mich., was the daughter of Peter and Mamie Brancaleone. She was raised in Gloucester and graduated from Gloucester High School.

Grace had been employed for many years as a sales clerk at Rich’s Department Store in Salem, until her retirement.

She had a love for the city of Gloucester and visited the city frequently. She was an active member at Our Lady of Good Voyage Church in Gloucester and worked in the church rectory for many years.
She enjoyed bowling, knitting, sewing, cooking, and her weekly visits to the movies.

Grace was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister and friend who will be missed by all who knew her.

In addition to her husband, Donald Allen, with whom she had shared 30 years of marriage, she is survived by her daughter, Colleen Sullivan and her husband, Henry, of Beverly Mass. She has three sons, Louis McGrath and his wife, Wendy, of Gloucester, Dennis McGrath of Waltham, and Daniel McGrath and his wife, Kathy, also of Gloucester; four grandchildren, Louis R. McGrath and his wife, Misty, Heidi Schuster and her husband, Michael, and Danielle and David McGrath; three great-grandchildren, Elizabeth and Robert Schuster and Micah McGrath. She is also survived by her brother, Leo, and his wife, Ilene, of Florida. She was predeceased by her parents; her brother, Thomas; and her sister, Jenny DeMarco.

Her funeral services will be held at the Campbell Funeral Home, 525 Cabot St., Beverly, Friday, February 13th, at 9 a.m. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Visiting hours on Thursday are from 4 to 7 p.m. Contributions may be made in her memory to the charity of one’s choice. Information, directions, condolences at www.campbellfuneral.com.

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Grace was my aunt.  Her husband is my mother's brother.  She passed away last week.

1803 and the Vaccine Controversy in New England

This news story is from the Farmer's Cabinet, Amherst, New Hampshire, Thursday, 23 June 1803, Volume I, Issue 33, page 2, accessed on line at Genealogy Bank.  The controversy over vaccinations has been the news lately with outbreaks of measles and whooping cough making a comeback after decades of relief from these diseases.  In 1803 the small pox vaccine was fairly new, invented by Edward Jenner in 1798.  Before Jenner's discovery, people tried to inoculate themselves with partial success with a process known as variolation.  But since most people alive at that time knew the consequences of catching the disease, the majority of people were innoculated with Jenner's vaccine.   According to this article, there were still a few who held off getting the vaccine and died of this dreaded disease.  

We all know that when the entire population was vaccinated, the disease small pox almost disappeared from our planet.  Diseases such as measles, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and others remain to plague everyone (children and adults) because of the current trend to ignore or even deny vaccinations.  

This is a case of learning from history, not ignoring it. 

Small Pox -  The Charleston Courier, after 

mentioning the death of Mr. Josiah Smith,

of the small pox, observes, "While we sym-

pathize with his family, we cannot but la-

ment his folly in neglecting vaccination,

which would have secured him with certainty,

from the ravages of that disorder, which has

made his wife a widow, and his children or-

phans."  The same paper informs us, that 

since the introduction of the Cow-Pox 

into Charleston, it has been twice lost from

the want of succession of subjects, and that

from present appearances it is likely soon to

be lost a third time, although the small pox

is propagating there apace.  This is a de-

plorable instance of the force of strong pre-

judices.  We are happy to understand that

in New-York, vaccination meets so lib-

eral an encouragement, as to afford strong 

hopes that the Small-Pox will before long en-

tirely disappear.  We have been informed

that the most respectable gentlemen of the 

faculty of this city, have come to a resolu-

tion not to inoculate for the small pox any

more.  If this be true, it is an instance of

bold and independent conduct, in the highest

degree honorable to every individual of the

association, and one which promises the most

saluatory consequences to our fellow-citizens.

Genealogy Bank   www.genealogybank.com

The Small Pox Vaccine, at Wikipedia   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox_vaccine

The 1730 and 1774 Marblehead Riots against Small Pox Inoculation
http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/1730-1774-marblehead-riots-smallpox-inoculation/ 

A previous blog post about the large numbers of children lost to "throat distemper" (diptheria)
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-kingston-new-hampshire-throat.html


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To Cite/Link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "1803 and the Vaccine Controversy in New England", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 19, 2015, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/02/1803-and-vaccine-controversy-in-new.html: accessed [access date]). 

Weathervane Wednesday ~ And another church from Delaware!

Weathervane Wednesday is an on-going series of photographs I post weekly.  I started by publishing weather vanes from the Londonderry area, but now I've been finding interesting weather vanes all across New England.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting. Often, my readers tip me off to some very unique and unusual weather vanes, too!

Today's weather vane  is from somewhere in Delaware, just like last week.

Do you know the location of weather vane #196? Scroll down to see the answer!

Today's weather vane is the second set of photos contributed by genealogist Yolanda Campbell Lifter of Ohio.  Her business website is Ohio Family Research at http://www.ohiofamilyresearch.com/  

Yolanda photographed the Old Swede's church in Wilmington, Delaware, also known as the Holy Trinity Church.  This area was settled by Swedish settlers in the 1630s before the arrival of William Penn.  This stone and brick church was built in 1698 by the Swedish community living along the Christina River.  It was the only Swedish colony established in the original 13 colonies.  Old Swede's is one of the oldest church buildings in the United States.  It was begun as a Lutheran church, but is now Episcopalian.

The website for Old Swede's is http://www.oldswedes.org/   This is a beautiful website, but the history page is under construction and the video link is broken.  I found a great video about the Old Swede's church at Youtube, follow this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=501bF34LwPI 

The weathervane at this church is a simple arrow, but it has some very delicate scroll work and some fantastic lettering for the cardinal points. Very early weather vanes are usually just arrows or banners, not figures, especially on churches.  I don't know the year this weather vane was installed, but since this church is so very old, it must be a very old weather vane.

Old Swedes Foundation website  http://www.oldswedes.org/  

Click here to see the entire Weathervane Wednesday collection! 

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/02/weathervane-wednesday-and-another.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

February 22nd is World Thinking Day! Join us with your Scouting Memories

The Memorial to Lord and Lady Baden-Powell

inside Westminster Abbey, London

Thinking Day, celebrated on February 22nd, is the mutual birthday of Robert Baden-Powell and his wife, Olave St. Clair Somes.   World Thinking Day is celebrated by Scouts and Guides all over the world, by remembering their fellow Scouts and Guides world wide, celebrating the meaning of scouting and its impact around the globe.  

When I was young, we would spend thinking day dropping pennies into a box for the international World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts WAGGGS fund (to fund the four world centers for Girl Guides and Scouts in India, England, Mexico and Switzerland), playing with paper dolls of uniforms from around the world and swapping badges from other countries.   

As a Girl Scout leader in the 1990s and early 2000s, we used to hold a town wide event for Brownies and the older Girl Scouts would sing songs, dress in costumes and serve food from countries where Girl Scouting was popular.  I was lucky enough to visit Pax Lodge twice, the WAGGGS center in London, and I would share my experiences with the Brownies. 

Now, I invite all bloggers to share their own experiences as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts next Sunday, February 22, 2015.  Tag your blog post for World Thinking Day, and leave me a comment here, or at my email vrojomit@gmail.com  so I can post a compendium of all the Thinking Day posts.  Post photos of your scouting days, stories of your memories past and present, or maybe a few photos of the scouting mementos you have saved.  

I'm looking forward to reading all your posts!

World Thinking Day  WAGGGS  http://www.worldthinkingday.org/en/home

Wikipedia "World Thinking Day"  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Thinking_Day   

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-22nd-is-world-thinking-day.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tombstone Tuesday ~ David and Rebecca Armstrong of Windham, New Hampshire

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

DAVID ARMSTRONG

DIED

Oct. 7, 1853

AEt. 62

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Our home is above

REBECCA ARMSTRONG

DIED

March 1, 1847

AEt. 27

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Farewell, we meet again,

                             Farewell, Rebecca

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/02/tombstone-tuesday-david-and-rebecca.htm
Copyright (c) 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

George L. Wyman ~ “A Hard Character”

The Manchester Weekly Times, Manchester, New Hampshire, October 1, 1881

From http://theoldentimes.com/glwyman81nh.html

--- George L. Wyman, who stole a quantity of steam fire engine castings from the Amoskeag Company about six years ago, and who was tracked by David Perkins after his appointment as detective for the company, was sentenced Thursday forenoon in the Supreme Court at Nashua to a fine of $50 and costs, and to six month in jail.  Wyman has been a hard character, and has led a life of crime.

I saw this newsclipping and I was intrigued by several things.  First of all, it was fun to imagine a detective in the 1880s tracking down this thief, before the technology we have today.  Also, the name WYMAN, which is in my family tree, is what made me stop and read this story.  Most New England Wymans are all descended from Francis Wyman (1621 - 1684) of Woburn, Massachusetts.  I wondered if this George was a cousin to me through Francis Wyman?  Also, The Amoskeag Company was famous for their fire engines in the 1800s and early 1900s.  I just saw a fine example in Exeter at the Fire Museum, and another on display at the Manchester Historic Association’s Millyard Museum.  I knew I wanted to investigate this Black Sheep Wyman, just like the detective mentioned in the news clipping. 

I didn't know what a tangled knot I was going to find! 

I turned to Google to see what I could find on George L. Wyman.  The first thing that popped up  at Google books was a list of paupers from the city of Manchester, New Hampshire in this book:  Thirty-Fourth Annual Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the City of Manchester for the Fiscal Year ending December 31,1879, Manchester, NH: Printed by John B. Clarke, 1880.  In the year 1874 George L. Wyman was given $2.46 in poor relief.  In 1875 he received $3.22, in 1876 he received $2.62.  Also in this book a Peter Gaines was paid $1 to furnish wood to Sarah Wyman (page 223), and Hardy & Putnam were paid $89.43 to furnish groceries to Sarah Wyman (page 220).   Who was Sarah Wyman?

In the NH Death records I found a George L. Wyman, d. 23 Feb 1912 at 752 Elm Street in Manchester, New Hampshire, age 70 years, 3 months, born in Goffstown, New Hampshire in November 1841, divorced, cause of death- natural causes, alcoholism probable, father Edward Wyman and mother Mary Loomis.  From here I was able to look for more information on George in the vital records, and filled out the genealogy you can find below.  I found his wife (the Sarah Wyman from the poor records), daughters, marriages and lots of other New Hampshire vital records pertaining to this family at https://familysearch.org/

1870 US Federal Census, Manchester, New Hampshire, George L  (age 29) and Sarah J. Wyman (age 28) are living in the household of Edward and Mary Wyman.  George is listed as a teamster. His brother Edward A. (age 26), working in a print shop, is listed there as well.  Remember this fact – see below!

In the 1880 census, Sarah J. Wyman is listed at 31 Granite Street in Manchester,  as the head of the household, no husband, age 37, with five daughters, and a boarder named Charles Loomis, age 22 (a possible cousin?).   I couldn’t find George L. Wyman in the 1880 census, but in 1900 he was listed in the census as living in Goffstown,  age 60,  as a prisoner at the state prison.  Jailed again for some unknown offense!   In the 1910 census he was listed as a boarder at 788 Elm Street in Manchester, working as an engineer doing “contract-work”.  He was dead two years later.

Since I was having good luck with online resources, I also tried Fold3 www.fold3.com  whereI found George L. Wyman listed as a private in the Civil War, from Nashua, New Hampshire, enlisted on 9 August 1861, age 21, in Company F of the 4^th New Hampshire Infantry.  He was discharged on 23 August 1864.  On 29 March 1894 he applied for an invalid pension.   

Last I checked Genealogy Bank www.genealogybank.com and I found a divorce granted in Nashua, New Hampshire to Sarah J. Wyman from George L. Wyman listed in the New Hampshire Patriot and State Gazette (Concord, NH), Thursday, October 14, 1880, page 3.   Unfortunately, I didn’t find any more news stories on the theft or the arrest and sentencing of George L. Wyman, for either offense (1881 or whatever put him in prison in the 1900 census).

As a Wyman descendant, and a member of the Wyman Family Association  http://wymanassociation.org/ I had the rest of George L. Wyman's lineage back to the 1500s in my data base.  The family database, newsletters and books helped me to piece this lineage together many years ago, and the search I had done on George L. Wyman fit right in!  This Wyman family originated when Francis Wyman (1621 - 1684) came to America and settled in Woburn, Massachusetts.  His house, built in 1666, still stands and is the site of an annual Wyman family reunion every autumn.  

The Wyman Genealogy:

Generation 1:   Francis Wyman, was born 1594 in Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, died about 15 September 1658 in Westmill; married on 1 May 1617 in Westmill to Elizabeth Richardson, daughter of Thomas Richardson and Katherine Duxford.  These are my 10^th great grandparents.

Generation 2: John Wyman, son of Francis Wyman and Elizabeth Richardson, was born 1621 in Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, died 9 May 1684 in Woburn; married on 5 November 1644 in Woburn to Sarah Nutt, daughter of Miles Nutt and Sarah Bronson.  She was born about 1624 in Barking, Suffolk, England and died 24 May 1688 in Woburn.  Ten children.   John Wyman was my 9^th great uncle, and I descend from his brother, Francis Wyman (1617 – 1699), who also immigrated to Woburn, Massachusetts from Westmill in England.

Generation 3: Seth Wyman, son of John Wyman and Sarah Nutt, was born 3 August 1663 in Woburn, died 26 October 1715 in Woburn; married on 17 December 1685 in Woburn to Esther Johnson, daughter of William Johnson and Esther Wiswall.  She was born 13 April 1662 in Woburn, and died 31 March 1742 in Woburn.

Generation 4: Seth Wyman, son of Seth Wyman and Esther Johnson, was born 13 September 1686 in Woburn, died 5 September 1725 in Woburn; married on 26 January 1715 in Billerica to Sarah Ross.  She was born 7 October 1694 and died 26 November 1727.

Generation 5: Seth Wyman, son of Seth Wyman and Sarah Ross, was born in 1719, died 19 November 1749 in Arlington, Massachusetts; married on 4 July 1744 in Woburn to Ruth Wright.

Generation 6: Seth Wyman, son of Seth Wyman and Ruth Wright, was born 17 February 1750 in Woburn, Massachusetts, died 11 April 1825 in Goffstown; married three times to Sarah Atwood,  Sarah Wright and Ruth Belknap.

Generation 7: Seth Wyman, son of Seth Wyman and Sarah Atwood, born 4 March 1784 in Goffstown, died 2 April 1843; married on 16 December 1808 in Skowhegan, Maine to Wealthy Loomis, Daughter of Dyer Loomis and Esther Johnson. 

Generation 8: Edward Wyman married on 6 January 1840 in Manchester, New Hampshire to Mary Loomis, daughter of George Loomis and Martha French.  She was born 16 January 1819 in Skowhegan, Maine, and was Edward’s first cousin (George Loomis was the son of Dyer Loomis and Esther Johnson).   Seven children.   Just by coincidence, Mary Loomis is my 6^th cousin 5 generations removed because we are both descendants of the immigrants Joseph Loomis (about 1590 – 1658) and Mary White (1590 – 1652) who settled in Windsor, Connecticut.

Generation 9: George Lewis Wyman, born November 1840 in Goffstown, New Hampshire, died 23 February 1912 in Manchester, New Hampshire, married to Sarah Jane Lyman, five children born in Manchester.   According to the NH Vital Records, on 19 April 1885 she remarried to Edward A. WYMAN , printer, (George’s brother) in Manchester!   She died 31 October 1926 in New Hampshire.  This makes the two Wyman brothers, both husbands of Sarah Jane Lyman,  my 7^th cousins 4 generations removed. 

Children of George Lewis Wyman and Sarah Jane Lyman:

1. Ida Wealthy Wyman, born 15 March 1861; married first to Wardner Jefferson Jones; married second 21 April 1908 to Jason Albert Phillips

2. Mary Pattee Wyman died 19 October 1947; married first on 23 March 1888 to Herbert Danford; married second on 25 April 1893 in Manchester to John Thomas. Interestingly, this marriage record did not list George L. Wyman as the father, the father was left blank (note below how another sister spurned George and named Edwin as her father on her marriage record).

3. Caroline E. Wyman, born 1868, died 12 June 1945 and buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in Manchester; married Arthur Leroy Holt on 3 July 1888.  

4. Sarah Aurilla Wyman, born 1871, married on 15 August 1892 to  Joseph Frank George; married second on 28 August 1926 in Francestown, New Hampshire to Frank Edson Chandler.

5. Anna Lillice Wyman born 1 September 1875 married on 2 September 1893 in Manchester to Emile G. Dirtsch.  Edwin A. Wyman is listed as the father on the marriage.

6. Nellie Wyman,  born after 1876, no further information.

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/02/george-l-wyman-hard-character.html

Copyright © 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ HICKS / HIX of Cape Cod and Beverly, Massachusetts

Susanna Hix (1768 – 1859), my 4^th great grandmother, was a mystery to me because I could not find a vital record that listed her parents.  It was not until I recently looked at the Beverly town clerk records and I found her parents, Abraham and Sarah Hix, listed with their children.  I also found a surprise that helped me find the origins of the parents!  I found a warning out in the town clerk records “Dec. 19, 1757, a warrant was issued to warn Abraham Hix to depart out of the town he being an inhabitant of Plimoth in the County of Plimoth”!

Apparently Abraham didn’t leave and return to Plymouth, for he appears in Captain John Tapley’s militia company in Beverly in 1758, and three children’s births were registered in Beverly in 1759, 1761 and Susanna in 1768. 

In researching the Plymouth records I found that Abraham Hix had been previously married to Bathsheba Donham on 11 July 1751 in Plymouth. Her death was recorded in Plymouth on 22 June 1756.  He must have removed to Beverly soon after this.

Abraham Hix appears to be the son of Abraham Hicks and Desire Trowbridge, who were married on 10 February 1723/24 in Falmouth, Massachusetts.  I have not found Abraham, Jr’s birth record in Falmouth, but there were three other siblings recorded there.  His wife, Sarah Matthews, my 5^th great grandmother, is also a mystery.  I don’t know her origins, birth or death.  Interestingly, Sarah and Abraham were married on 18 May 1757 in Salem, New Hampshire.

I also found in the Beverly Town Clerk records that Susanna Hix had an illegitimate daughter with Josiah Lovett on 31 January 1790.  She married my 4^th great grandfather, Captain Josiah Stone, on 25 January 1795 and had six children.  I have found no further records on the Lovett child. 

Susanna’s husband was a sea captain.  Family lore is that he was transporting a shipment of hemp from Rotterdam, Holland to the ropeworks in Salem and there was a young Dutch stowaway on board.  This young man, Peter Hoogerzeil, married his daughter, Eunice Stone, my 3^rd great grandmother.

Is there anyone out there researching the HICKS / HIX family of Cape Cod and Plymouth?  I’d love to know the origins of Abraham Hix’s family.

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My HICKS / HIX genealogy:

Generation 1:  Abraham Hicks married on 10 February 1723/24 in Falmouth, Massachusetts to Desire Trowbridge.  Four children.

Generation 2:  Abraham Hix, died about 1767 in Beverly, Massachusetts; married first to Bathsheba Donham on 11 July 1751 in Plymouth, Massachusetts; married second on 18 May 1757 in Salem, New Hampshire to Sarah Matthews and had three children born in Beverly.

Generation 3:  Susanna Hix, baptized on 17 January 1768 in Beverly, Massachusetts, died 30 May 1859 in Beverly; married on 25 January 1795 in Beverly to Captain Josiah Stone, the son of Josiah Stone and Martha Ashby.  They had six children.  

Generation 4:  Eunice Stone m. Peter Hoogerzeil

Generation 5:  Peter Hoogerzeil m. Mary Etta Healey

Generation 6:  Florence Etta Hoogerzeil m. Arthur Treadwell Hitchings

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

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/02/surname-saturday-hicks-hix-of-cape-cod.html

Copyright © 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

A Romantic Poem by Robert Dinsmoor ~ The Rustic Bard of Windham, New Hampshire

I've blogged about Robert Dinsmoor (1757-1836) before.  You can read about him HERE.  He was the farmer poet of Windham, New Hampshire known in his day as the "Rustic Bard".  Remember that he was descended from Ulster Presbyterians and some of the original Nutfield Settlers, so his poems should be read with a Scots accent in mind.  Just like some of the rhyming epitaphs in Derry, New Hampshire's Forest Hill Cemetery.  If you read them aloud with a Scots accent, suddenly they rhyme perfectly!

Last year for Valentine's Day I posted a poem by Dinsmoor to his wife, Mary Park who was also known as Molly.  You can read it and the story of their relationship HERE.   I found another love poem to Mary written by Dinsmoor, in the acrostic style.  This reminded me so much of poems written by school children on Valentine's Day that I decided to post it today.  Of course, Dinsmoor's acrostic to Mary was much more sophisticated than the ones you usually see on a Valentine's Day card. 

ACROSTIC: MARY PARK, ROBERT DINSMOOR

My love is like the morning fair,

Alluring to my sight ;

Resistless all her graces are,

Young, beautiful, and bright ! 

Possessing still a virtuous mind,

And innocently gay ;

Replete with sense, to peace inclin'd,

Keeps anxious cares away. 

Revolving suns around shall play,

On wings aerial bring the day

Bestows on me my wife !

Embraced within her arm's I'll rest,

Renew sweet raptures in my breast,

To bless my fleeting life ! 

Dear cords of friendship shall us bind,

In love as strong as death ;

Nor shall our hearts a rival find,

So long as we have breath. 

May Heav'n approve the passion then,

On which such friendship grew ;

Oh ! may some faithful Angel's pen

Record our love so true !

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-romantic-poem-by-robert-dinsmoor.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo