Names of people (ancestors, relatives, their neighbors and friends mentioned in letters and documents) can show up in all sorts of places. Google Book search is nice place to start from the comfort of your own home http://books.google.com/ When starting out with a family or new branch of the family tree, it is a good idea to just explore the local history where you know your ancestor lived. Once you click on a book found at Google Books, you are able to search for keywords in every volume, one at a time or through all the books in the database. If Google Books doesn’t satisfy, try Internet Archive. For the book best selection, check your local library and see what is available through the inter-library loan system.
A few of the books found about Nutfield (Londonderry, Derry, Windham), New Hampshire at Google Book Search:
Londonderry, by the Londonderry Historical Society, 2004, Arcadia Publishing. (some pages not viewable)
The Londonderry Celebration: Exercises on the 150th Anniversary of the Settlement of Old Nutfield , by Robert C Mack, 1870, Manchester: Published by John B. Clarke.
Early Records of Londonderry, Windham and Derry, NH 1719-1745, by George Waldo Browne, 1911, Manchester Historic Association.
The Descendants of James and William Adams of Londonderry, Now Derry, NH: Also a Brief Account of the Families of Robert Cochran and Joseph Morrison of Londonderry, and of Dea. Thomas Cochran of New Boston, NH, by Andrew N. Adams, 1894, Rutland, VT, Tuttle Company. (Also available is the Higginson Genealogical Books reprint)
James Rodgers of Londonderry and James Rogers of Dunbarton, by Josiah H. Drummond. 1897, Manchester, NH, Gould Publishers
The History of Londonderry, Comprising the Towns of Derry and Londonderry, NH , by Edward Lutwych Parker, 1851, Boston: Perkins and Whipple.
Willey’s Semi-Centennial Book of Manchester, 1846-1896: Historic Sketches of that Part of New Hampshire Comprised Within the Limits of the Old Tyng Township, Nutfield, Harrytown, Derryfield, and Manchester, From the Earliest Settlements to the Present Time, by George Franklyn Willey, 1896, Manchester, NH: Willey Publishers
Derry Revisited, by Richard Holmes and William Dugan, 2005, Acadia Publishing
Supplement to the History of Windham in New Hampshire: A Scotch Settlement, by Leonard Allison Morrison, 1892, Boston, Mass: Damrell & Upham
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Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Where the heck is Zealand, New Hampshire?
I found ancestors in a ghost town! Zealand, New Hampshire exists only on birth and death records. It no longer exists on maps, gazetteers or even on line at places like mapquest.com or Google Earth. Sure, I can find a Zealand River, and Zealand Notch ( a notch is a gap or mountain pass in New England), and there is a Zealand Hut as part of the Appalachian Mountain Club trail system. My daughter hiked the Zealand Trail on snowshoes several years ago and stayed overnight in the Zealand Hut. All are remnants of a once thriving town.
In the Great North Woods there were towns that sprung up overnight as “company towns” for the logging and forestry industries. And so they died as quickly as they sprung up. A large part of the Great North Woods became the White Mountains National Forest in 1918, in three non-contiguous areas. There are more than 780,000 acres of protected land in the National Forest, and a large section of land is also New Hampshire or Maine State parkland. These lands became protected areas due to the horrific clear cutting, erosion, large forest fires, and poor land management that occurred at the end of the nineteenth century- just about the same time someone in my family tree was born in Zealand, New Hampshire.
In 1884 the Zealand Valley Railroad ran into the heart of the White Mountain National Forest area, and suddenly a million acres of virgin forest was available for lumber. Around these lumber areas grew company towns, a paternal system of control similar to the textile mill system seen in the Merrimack River valley. The homes, the stores, hotels, railroads and even the hospitals were run by the lumber company of James E. Henry in Lincoln, Fabyans (another ghost town) and Zealand. There were similar towns in Conway and other parts of the Great North Woods. There were strict rules imposed by the lumber companies such as “Any person found throwing food or making unnecessary and loud talk at the tables will be fined” [The Story of Mount Washington, by F. Allen Burt, Hanover, NH, 1974] .
In its heyday 53 million feet of timber were floated down the Connecticut River. Paper production became a major industry in northern New Hampshire. [New Hampshire: Crosscurrents in its Development, by Nancy Coffey Hefferman and Ann Page Stecker, University Press of New England, Lebanon, NH, 2004, page 162] Unfortunately, the number of paper mills has dwindled in the past dozen years, and now tourism reigns in the Great North Woods as the number one industry. The White Mountains National Forest is now one of the most visited parks in the eastern United States. Only hikers can visit Zealand Notch. There are no longer any roads to Zealand, and the Zealand hiking trail follows the path of the old logging train. An area that had been laid waste by fires in 1888 and 1903 is now again hardwood forest.
Note: One member of my family tree who lived in Zealand, New Hampshire is Mabel Boyle, daughter of James Boyle and Catherine McFarlin, born in Zealand on 22 July 1881, d. 25 March 1975 in Franconia, New Hampshire; married on 3 September 1923 to Oscar Sumner Carroll, son of Leslie Carroll and Elnora Mary Wilkinson. Mr. Boyle was found in the 1880 census record in Carroll, New Hampshire, and it lists him as being born in Canada, with his wife and seven children.
For more information:
The Appalachian Mountain Club http://www.outdoors.org/
Chronicles of the White Mountains by Frederick Wilkinson Chadbourne, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1916.
J. E. Henry’s Logging Railroads: The History of the East Branch & Lincoln and Zealand Valley Railroads, by Bill Gove, Bondcliff Books, 1998 [I couldn’t locate a copy of this book at a library nor to view at Google books, but it is on Amazon.com as a used book ]
http://www.logginginlincoln.com/ Bill Gove’s website (Gove is a retired forester who has written three books on New Hampshire’s logging railroads) see the link http://www.logginginlincoln.com/Zealand%20Gove%20Gallery/Zealand%20and%20the%20Zealand%20Valley%20Railroad/ for photos and maps of the Zealand logging railroad http://www.logginginlincoln.com/Page.html has a page about J. E. Henry and his company towns.
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gtusa/usa/nh.htm A guide to NH “Ghost Towns” (most are associated with logging camps and company towns)
---------------------
In the Great North Woods there were towns that sprung up overnight as “company towns” for the logging and forestry industries. And so they died as quickly as they sprung up. A large part of the Great North Woods became the White Mountains National Forest in 1918, in three non-contiguous areas. There are more than 780,000 acres of protected land in the National Forest, and a large section of land is also New Hampshire or Maine State parkland. These lands became protected areas due to the horrific clear cutting, erosion, large forest fires, and poor land management that occurred at the end of the nineteenth century- just about the same time someone in my family tree was born in Zealand, New Hampshire.
In 1884 the Zealand Valley Railroad ran into the heart of the White Mountain National Forest area, and suddenly a million acres of virgin forest was available for lumber. Around these lumber areas grew company towns, a paternal system of control similar to the textile mill system seen in the Merrimack River valley. The homes, the stores, hotels, railroads and even the hospitals were run by the lumber company of James E. Henry in Lincoln, Fabyans (another ghost town) and Zealand. There were similar towns in Conway and other parts of the Great North Woods. There were strict rules imposed by the lumber companies such as “Any person found throwing food or making unnecessary and loud talk at the tables will be fined” [The Story of Mount Washington, by F. Allen Burt, Hanover, NH, 1974] .
In its heyday 53 million feet of timber were floated down the Connecticut River. Paper production became a major industry in northern New Hampshire. [New Hampshire: Crosscurrents in its Development, by Nancy Coffey Hefferman and Ann Page Stecker, University Press of New England, Lebanon, NH, 2004, page 162] Unfortunately, the number of paper mills has dwindled in the past dozen years, and now tourism reigns in the Great North Woods as the number one industry. The White Mountains National Forest is now one of the most visited parks in the eastern United States. Only hikers can visit Zealand Notch. There are no longer any roads to Zealand, and the Zealand hiking trail follows the path of the old logging train. An area that had been laid waste by fires in 1888 and 1903 is now again hardwood forest.
Note: One member of my family tree who lived in Zealand, New Hampshire is Mabel Boyle, daughter of James Boyle and Catherine McFarlin, born in Zealand on 22 July 1881, d. 25 March 1975 in Franconia, New Hampshire; married on 3 September 1923 to Oscar Sumner Carroll, son of Leslie Carroll and Elnora Mary Wilkinson. Mr. Boyle was found in the 1880 census record in Carroll, New Hampshire, and it lists him as being born in Canada, with his wife and seven children.
 |
| The Zealand Trail Photo by Mike Kautz, National Geographic Society, 2007 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ |
For more information:
The Appalachian Mountain Club http://www.outdoors.org/
Chronicles of the White Mountains by Frederick Wilkinson Chadbourne, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1916.
J. E. Henry’s Logging Railroads: The History of the East Branch & Lincoln and Zealand Valley Railroads, by Bill Gove, Bondcliff Books, 1998 [I couldn’t locate a copy of this book at a library nor to view at Google books, but it is on Amazon.com as a used book ]
http://www.logginginlincoln.com/ Bill Gove’s website (Gove is a retired forester who has written three books on New Hampshire’s logging railroads) see the link http://www.logginginlincoln.com/Zealand%20Gove%20Gallery/Zealand%20and%20the%20Zealand%20Valley%20Railroad/ for photos and maps of the Zealand logging railroad http://www.logginginlincoln.com/Page.html has a page about J. E. Henry and his company towns.
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gtusa/usa/nh.htm A guide to NH “Ghost Towns” (most are associated with logging camps and company towns)
---------------------
To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Where the heck is Zealand, New Hampshire?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 7, 2010, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/where-heck-is-zealand-new-hampshire.html
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Wordless Wednesday- McGuire Pet Cemetery, Londonderry, NH
For those other members of the family, not always included on the family tree...
Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Tombstone Tuesday - Pettingill Burial Ground, Londonderry, NH
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Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
Monday, October 4, 2010
Leif Ericson Parade - October 10 in Durham, New Hampshire
Leif Ericson Parade, October 10, 2010 in Durham, New Hampshire
Ha det gøy! (Have fun!)
Leif Ericson Day is celebrated internationally on October 9th. According to an article in Foster's Daily Democrat "...the traditional parade began in 1977 when Nobel K. Peterson and two others wanted to do something in conjunction with Leif Ericson Day, which is Oct. 9. Peterson and his friend were doing laundry when they decided to march next door to Young's Restaurant in honor of the Icelandic explorer known as the first European to land in North America." See the website http://fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091009/GJNEWS_01/710099889 Foster's Daily Democrat, "The Vikings are Coming!" By Robert M. Cook, Friday, October 9, 2009. In Durham the annual proclamation by President Obama and by New Hampshire's Governor Lynch will be read.
Last year's post for Leif Erikson Day 2009
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/leif-erikson-day-in-new-hampshire.html
There are a plethora of silly videos of the Durham Leif Ericson parade on Youtube.com
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Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
Amanuensis Monday- George Washington Signed Here? A Mystery Document
My 5x great grandfather Abner Poland served in Revolutionary War, but so did his father, Abner Poland, Sr., and so the records have always been difficult to separate when I started to research the Poland family. He was born in 1761, and was only fifteen when the Battles of Lexington and Concord occurred in 1775. He enlisted not long after, on 15 January 1776 as a private in Captain Abraham Dodge’s Company in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He reenlisted in 1777 for another two years, and reenlisted again in 1780 serving a total of seven and half years until his honorable discharge at Newburgh, New York. He was in the battles at Hubbardston, Stillwater, Monmouth and Yorktown. Most interesting of all was that he received the Badge of Merit in 1785 from George Washington!
Although I knew Abner Poland had received this honor, and I had read about it in town histories and compiled genealogies, it was remarkable to find a copy of the honor amongst the paperwork for his pension application on http://www.footnote.com/. I guess he had mentioned his honor in his application, and a copy of the award was placed into his file. There is also a handwritten document with the same information, without Washington’s signature.
By His Excellency
GEORGE WASHINGTON, Esq;
General and Commander in Chief of the Forces of the
United States of America.
THESE are to CERTIFY that the Bearer hereof
Abner Poland, Coporal
In the Eighth Massachusetts Regiment, having faithful-
ly served the United State Seven years and six Months
and having inlisted for the War only, is
hereby Discharged from the American Army.
GIVEN at HEAD-QUARTERS this
Thirteenth day of June 1783
Geo. Washington
By HIS EXCELLENCY
Command
I. Trumbull Lieut.
REGISTERED in the Book
of the Regiment
Francis Tufts, Adjutant,
THE above Corporal Poland
has been honored with the BADGE OF MERIT for seven years & six months
Years faithful Service
M. Jackson Colo.
[written diagonally across the paper]
Land warrant No. 4871 ???
To Joseph Foss ?? for
700 acres ?? Abner Poland
Nov. 2nd, 1795
The mystery is that the pension file is dated 1818, and his wife received widows benefits until her death in 1846- but George Washington died on 14 December 1799. Is this document a copy of an original paper signed in 1783 upon Abner’s discharge? Or is a document made in 1818 when he registered for a pension? If I travel to the National Archives in Washington DC will I see George Washington’s actual signature on the paper, or a copy made later? Also, is the name on the bottom of the second document also George Washington's signature?
The Poland Lineage:
Generation 1. Thomas Poland, b. England, d. 22 Feb 1666 in Wenham, Massachusetts; married to Hannah (maiden name unknown)
Generation 2. John Poland, b. abt 1631 in England, d. 3 August 1713 in Hamilton, Massachusetts; married about 1657 to Bethiah Friend, daughter of John Friend, b. about 1637.
Generation 3. James Poland, b. about 1665 in Wenham, Massachusetts, d. 1722; married on 12 April 1694 in Wenham to Rebecca Kimball, daughter of Richard Kimball and Rebecca Abbye, b. 20 Oct 1668.
Generation 4. John Poland, b. about 1693 in Hamilton or Wenham, Massachusetts, d. 21 April 1777 in Hamilton, Massachusetts; married on 11 April 1777 in Hamilton, Massachusetts to Abigail Davis, daughter of James Davis and Abigail Metcalfe, d. 19 April 1776. I descend from two sons, Abner (below) and Daniel (1724-1768) who married Sarah Bishop.
Generation 5. Abner Poland, b. about 1736 in Essex, d. 9 February 1824 in Essex; married on 3 April 1761 to Dorothy Burnham, daughter of Caleb Burnham and Dorothy Browne, b. 11 August 1734 in Essex, d. 7 April 1789 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. This Abner, Sr., also enlisted in Capt. Abraham Dodge’s regiment, reenlisted and saw the battle of Burgoyne, Long Island, White Plains and Harlem Heights. He was also issued a pension. He was a prison at Forton Prison, England. Later he was the commander of several privateers listed in Salem.
Generation 6. Abner Poland, b. 17 May 1761 in Essex, d. 14 January 1835 Enfield, New Hampshire; married on 20 March 1783 in Essex to Sarah Burnham, daughter of Westley Burnham and Deborah Story, b. about 1759 in Essex, d. 10 November 1846 in Canaan New Hampshire. This is our Revolutionary War veteran who earned the Badge of Merit.
---------------
Although I knew Abner Poland had received this honor, and I had read about it in town histories and compiled genealogies, it was remarkable to find a copy of the honor amongst the paperwork for his pension application on http://www.footnote.com/. I guess he had mentioned his honor in his application, and a copy of the award was placed into his file. There is also a handwritten document with the same information, without Washington’s signature.
By His Excellency
GEORGE WASHINGTON, Esq;
General and Commander in Chief of the Forces of the
United States of America.
THESE are to CERTIFY that the Bearer hereof
Abner Poland, Coporal
In the Eighth Massachusetts Regiment, having faithful-
ly served the United State Seven years and six Months
and having inlisted for the War only, is
hereby Discharged from the American Army.
GIVEN at HEAD-QUARTERS this
Thirteenth day of June 1783
Geo. Washington
By HIS EXCELLENCY
Command
I. Trumbull Lieut.
REGISTERED in the Book
of the Regiment
Francis Tufts, Adjutant,
THE above Corporal Poland
has been honored with the BADGE OF MERIT for seven years & six months
Years faithful Service
M. Jackson Colo.
[written diagonally across the paper]
Land warrant No. 4871 ???
To Joseph Foss ?? for
700 acres ?? Abner Poland
Nov. 2nd, 1795
The mystery is that the pension file is dated 1818, and his wife received widows benefits until her death in 1846- but George Washington died on 14 December 1799. Is this document a copy of an original paper signed in 1783 upon Abner’s discharge? Or is a document made in 1818 when he registered for a pension? If I travel to the National Archives in Washington DC will I see George Washington’s actual signature on the paper, or a copy made later? Also, is the name on the bottom of the second document also George Washington's signature?
The Poland Lineage:
Generation 1. Thomas Poland, b. England, d. 22 Feb 1666 in Wenham, Massachusetts; married to Hannah (maiden name unknown)
Generation 2. John Poland, b. abt 1631 in England, d. 3 August 1713 in Hamilton, Massachusetts; married about 1657 to Bethiah Friend, daughter of John Friend, b. about 1637.
Generation 3. James Poland, b. about 1665 in Wenham, Massachusetts, d. 1722; married on 12 April 1694 in Wenham to Rebecca Kimball, daughter of Richard Kimball and Rebecca Abbye, b. 20 Oct 1668.
Generation 4. John Poland, b. about 1693 in Hamilton or Wenham, Massachusetts, d. 21 April 1777 in Hamilton, Massachusetts; married on 11 April 1777 in Hamilton, Massachusetts to Abigail Davis, daughter of James Davis and Abigail Metcalfe, d. 19 April 1776. I descend from two sons, Abner (below) and Daniel (1724-1768) who married Sarah Bishop.
Generation 5. Abner Poland, b. about 1736 in Essex, d. 9 February 1824 in Essex; married on 3 April 1761 to Dorothy Burnham, daughter of Caleb Burnham and Dorothy Browne, b. 11 August 1734 in Essex, d. 7 April 1789 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. This Abner, Sr., also enlisted in Capt. Abraham Dodge’s regiment, reenlisted and saw the battle of Burgoyne, Long Island, White Plains and Harlem Heights. He was also issued a pension. He was a prison at Forton Prison, England. Later he was the commander of several privateers listed in Salem.
Generation 6. Abner Poland, b. 17 May 1761 in Essex, d. 14 January 1835 Enfield, New Hampshire; married on 20 March 1783 in Essex to Sarah Burnham, daughter of Westley Burnham and Deborah Story, b. about 1759 in Essex, d. 10 November 1846 in Canaan New Hampshire. This is our Revolutionary War veteran who earned the Badge of Merit.
---------------
To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Amanuensis Monday- George Washington Signed Here? A Mystery Document", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 4, 2010, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/amanuensis-monday-george-washington.html: accessed [access date]).
Friday, October 1, 2010
Genea-Angel Award from a real Angel
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| The Genea-Angel Award |
Just recently Barbara also awarded 18 bloggers the Genea-Angel Award. I was tickled pink to be on her list, and it is just like Barbara to share it with so many great bloggers. She is a true Angel herself, having helped me with so many genealogy and blogging puzzles.
I would like to pass along the award, too, to the following bloggers:
Leah Allen at the “Internet Genealogist” for collaborating with me on a series of posts about how our relatives met in Hawaii about 150 years ago.
Martin Hollick at “The Slovak Yankee” for rooting out so many good New Hampshire genealogy resources and blogging about them. I would never have known about some of these good books, articles and websites without his posts.
Michelle Robillard at “Call me Shell” for helping me get my Facebook account synced up with my blog posts via NetworkedBlogs. I hope she remembers how frustrated I was that day!
Marian PIERRE-LOUIS at "Roots and Rambles" for helping me with several blog posts about properties in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
And thanks, too, to all the other bloggers and readers who have left encouraging notes as comments on my blog. And to all the folks who signed up as followers - I love seeing all your smiling little faces in the right hand column every morning when I log on!
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Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
Caverly Family Reunion 2010
Last week I attended the Caverly Family Reunion in Strafford, New Hampshire. The Caverly Family Association meets every two years, and produces a newsletter. The first known Caverly in New Hampshire was William Caverly, born about 1650 and died about 1732 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. For more lineage information see my updated (with changes to the family tree) blog post http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Caverly
This year the reunion was held at the historic Bow Lake Grange Hall, next to the dam on Bow Lake. This is a pleasant community hall for Strafford. Families have been summering on Bow Lake for over 100 years, and there are photos and maps inside the hall. The family association put on a great cookout lunch, complete with hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled sausages. Homemade salads, baked beans and desserts were also served. Over thirty Caverly cousins were in attendance.
Dick Caverly is the association president. He has tried to get me to attend quite a few of these reunions, and we surprised him this year when we showed up at the door! He graciously introduced me to all my distant Caverly kin. I was pleased to meet Mary Caverly, the association treasurer who is also a volunteer at the New Hampshire Vital Records room in Concord. On one wall there was a Caverly family tree over fifteen feet long, printed out on a plotter by Bruce Caverly of Arkansas. It was exported from Family Tree Maker 2005 to the plotter, and was the first of the kind I had ever seen! (Usually I have to tape together large trees from regular 8x10 paper from my home printer).
I also met Lenny Caverly, the association historian, who filled me in on some new revisions to the Caverly genealogy. He, along with 91 year old Roger Leighton, gave a great talk after lunch, and discussed the Bow Lake neighborhood of Strafford. Roger remembers seeing his first parade right in front of the Grange Hall, led by a Civil War veteran on a white horse! He also told stories of the houses along Caverly hill, where every cellar hole and antique home was once owned by a Caverly family member. Another Caverly cousin graciously presented an old photo album (with labeled photos!) and a bible with a genealogical register to the Caverly Association that morning. Some of the surnames in those books were Caverly, Ricker, Leighton and Hill.
Following the historical talk, there was a raffle of several historical books and a goody bag of Stonewall Kitchen jams and sauces. Two cousins from California won the prize for traveling the greatest distance to attend the reunion. After the family meeting, Lenny took interested family members on a tour of Caverly Hill and the Caverly Family burial ground. It was wonderful to attend this family gathering, even though my nearest Caverly ancestor (Elizabeth Caverly who married Thomas Wilkinson in 1715) is 9 generations removed!
To join the Caverly Family Association, send inquiries to the Caverly Family Association, c/o Mary Caverly 280 Hale Road, Sanbornton, NH 03269-2202 or email maryecav@metrocast.net
Caverly Books I learned about at the reunion:
Becky, Grandmother of New Hampshire, by Alice Clark Haubrich, 1966. This is a novel, based on facts, about some early Piscataqua Pioneers including Caverly ancestors. Hard to find.
Genealogy of the Caverly Family, by Robert Boodey Caverly, 1879 reprints available at Higginson (note, the first two generations have had revisions since this book was printed)
Escape from the Deep, by Alex Kershaw, 2008 A nonfiction book about the legendary submarine Tang, and the survivors who escaped from 180 feet under the sea only to be captured by the Japanese in 1944. Only nine of the original eighty man crew survived, including Floyd Caverly. (I won this book in the raffle!)
New Caverly Links:
http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/publications/documents/caverly_strafford.pdf New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources notes on the Reverend John Caverly House in Strafford, New Hampshire
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/nh/town/strafford/index.htm Strafford, New Hampshire genealogy page
http://www.kimvarneychandler.com/caverly Website of Caverly Genealogy, some mistakes in the first two generations, so be aware and check your own sources.
----------------------------
Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
 |
| A 15 foot long Caverly Family Tree was on display |
This year the reunion was held at the historic Bow Lake Grange Hall, next to the dam on Bow Lake. This is a pleasant community hall for Strafford. Families have been summering on Bow Lake for over 100 years, and there are photos and maps inside the hall. The family association put on a great cookout lunch, complete with hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled sausages. Homemade salads, baked beans and desserts were also served. Over thirty Caverly cousins were in attendance.
Dick Caverly is the association president. He has tried to get me to attend quite a few of these reunions, and we surprised him this year when we showed up at the door! He graciously introduced me to all my distant Caverly kin. I was pleased to meet Mary Caverly, the association treasurer who is also a volunteer at the New Hampshire Vital Records room in Concord. On one wall there was a Caverly family tree over fifteen feet long, printed out on a plotter by Bruce Caverly of Arkansas. It was exported from Family Tree Maker 2005 to the plotter, and was the first of the kind I had ever seen! (Usually I have to tape together large trees from regular 8x10 paper from my home printer).
 |
| Lenny Caverly and Roger Leighton give a historical talk about the Bow Lake section of Strafford, NH |
Following the historical talk, there was a raffle of several historical books and a goody bag of Stonewall Kitchen jams and sauces. Two cousins from California won the prize for traveling the greatest distance to attend the reunion. After the family meeting, Lenny took interested family members on a tour of Caverly Hill and the Caverly Family burial ground. It was wonderful to attend this family gathering, even though my nearest Caverly ancestor (Elizabeth Caverly who married Thomas Wilkinson in 1715) is 9 generations removed!
To join the Caverly Family Association, send inquiries to the Caverly Family Association, c/o Mary Caverly 280 Hale Road, Sanbornton, NH 03269-2202 or email maryecav@metrocast.net
Caverly Books I learned about at the reunion:
Becky, Grandmother of New Hampshire, by Alice Clark Haubrich, 1966. This is a novel, based on facts, about some early Piscataqua Pioneers including Caverly ancestors. Hard to find.
Genealogy of the Caverly Family, by Robert Boodey Caverly, 1879 reprints available at Higginson (note, the first two generations have had revisions since this book was printed)
Escape from the Deep, by Alex Kershaw, 2008 A nonfiction book about the legendary submarine Tang, and the survivors who escaped from 180 feet under the sea only to be captured by the Japanese in 1944. Only nine of the original eighty man crew survived, including Floyd Caverly. (I won this book in the raffle!)
New Caverly Links:
http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/publications/documents/caverly_strafford.pdf New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources notes on the Reverend John Caverly House in Strafford, New Hampshire
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/nh/town/strafford/index.htm Strafford, New Hampshire genealogy page
http://www.kimvarneychandler.com/caverly Website of Caverly Genealogy, some mistakes in the first two generations, so be aware and check your own sources.
----------------------------
Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
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