Tombstone Tuesday ~ Major John Goffe, died 1813 in Bedford, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed at the Old Burial Ground in Bedford, New Hampshire.

IN

Memory of

Maj. John Goffe,

who died, Feb. 3

1818.  AE. 85

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

Also of

Mrs. Jemima.

his wife who died

Sept. 11, 1818,

AE. 90

The bottom of this tombstone is inscribed by the carver

"J. M'Conihe, Jr."

There is a long string of John Goffe’s in the GOFFE family of Bedford, New Hampshire:

Immigrant ancestor John Goffe (about 1648 – 1716) m. Hannah Sumner

Generation 2: Squire John Goffe (1677 – 1748) m Hannah Parish (my 1^st cousin 10 generations removed)

Generation 3: Colonel John Goffe (1701 – 1786) m. Hannah Griggs

Generation 4: Major John Goffe (1727 – 1818) m. Jemima Holden.  This John Goffe, was born 16 Feburary 1727 in Londonderry, New Hampshire and died 11 September 1818 in Bedford, New Hampshire; married on 17 September 1749 to Jemima Holden.  They had eleven children!

Colonel John Goffe set up the original sawmill and grainmill on Crosby’s Brook, near the Merrimack River in what is now Bedford, NewHampshire.  The colonel set up his son in the business.  Major John Goffe served in the Revolutionary War, and so did several of his sons.  Two of his sons died in service during the Revolution.  Goffstown and “Goffe’s Falls” are named for Colonel John Goffe.

Three generations of John Goffes and their wives

Squire John Goffe, Colonel John Goffe and Major John Goffe are all buried side by side in the Old Burial Ground in Bedford, with their wives.  

Click here to see the tombstone of Colonel John Goffe

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/06/tombstone-tuesday-col-john-goffe-and.html   

Click here to read more about Goffe's Mill in Bedford, New Hampshire:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/04/family-history-is-preserved-in-new.html   

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Major John Goffe, died 1813 in Bedford, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 11, 2016,  (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/tombstone-tuesday-major-john-goffe-died.html: accessed [access date]).

More than Ten Great New Hampshire and Massachusetts Cemetery Websites (You’ll wish your ancestors were buried here!)

Towne Cemetery, Londonderry, New Hampshire

Look!  I found more than ten websites for this list.  Usually on the 10th of each month I post a list of top ten ideas, hints, or other genealogical subjects.  After pre pubishing this list with only ten cemtery web pages, I actually found 15 towns with excellent, searchable websites.   I also found that many towns are using a consolidated database called CemeteryFind (see below- it is listed as #15 on this list).  In addition to searchable websites for cemeteries, I found 20 towns with PDF files of burials available online, including Londonderry, New Hampshire.

Beyond the “Find A Grave” website, do you sometimes wish for more detailed information, especially maps and locations of graves?  Usually you have to visit a town cemetery department, or the office of a private cemetery, or perhaps the local historical society to find help with finding burial locations.  However, there are at least ten websites for cemeteries in New England that you might find helpful!

If your ancestor’s cemetery is not listed here, please be aware that nearly every town in New England has a town website.  On that website you can find contact information for the cemetery department and/or the cemetery commission.  Members of the cemetery commissions are elected, and their job is to answer questions or to lead you to the person who can answer your questions.  Most will have a listed phone number or email address.  These websites sometimes have maps of the public cemeteries, and names of the private cemeteries.  Very old cemeteries are sometimes located now on private land, and you will need permission of the landowner to visit.  The town reference librarian or historical society will have cemetery records for very old cemeteries.

I’m sure I missed a few great websites. These are just the cemetery web pages I have found during my genealogy research.  If you know one in New Hampshire or Massachusetts, please leave a message for me below, or email me at vrojomit@gmail.com and I’ll add it to this list.

1.  Plymouth, Massachusetts Burial Record Search http://gis.townhall.plymouth.ma.us/burialsearch.html   by entering the surname of the deceased you will find the location of the burial in Plymouth.  You can click for a further map of the cemetery plot location, which makes finding the grave easy.  Graves from 1620 to the present.

2.  Old North Burying Ground, Ipswich, Massachusetts  https://historicipswich.wordpress.com/   an alphabetical index of graves, section maps, index by map locations, transcriptions of epitaphs, slideshows of the gravestones and a downloadable database.  Graves range from 1634 – 1798. 

3.  Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts   http://mountauburn.org/  offers an ineractive map to search the burial records and find the location of specific graves by entering the name of the deceased  http://mountauburn.org/map/     Mount Auburn also has a research and genealogy department that can send you copies of the cemetery maps, cemetery lot cards, burial records, photographs of the lot and monuments and other files http://mountauburn.org/2011/research-requests/ 

4.  Hillsborough, New Hampshire  http://www.bridgevillage.com/    A database of 19 public cemeteries in Hillsborough from 1788 to the present (last updated in August 2015) Searchable by surname or by cemetery name.  You can search or browse each cemetery, too. 

5.  Hampton, New Hampshire     All of the gravestones in nine of Hampton’s ten cemeteries (all except for High Street Cemetery) can be found on the Hampton Public Library website.  Some of these cemeteries have digital images.  (If you need information on a burial at High Street, call the caretaker’s office at 603-926-6659- they are very helpful and will leave directions and a flag for the grave you are looking for on the day you plan to visit)  See this link for general information http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/genealog/howto/cemetery.htm  and click here for the cemetery records at the library website   http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/graves/graves.htm 

6. Keene, New Hampshire Cemetery Lookup https://www.ci.keene.nh.us/cemetery-lookup   You can enter surnames or complete names into a search engine for a cemetery database.  Cemetery maps are available by section to help you locate gravesites.  Information on graves from the late 1700s to the present. 

7.  Amherst, Massachusetts  Cemetery Record Search  https://www.amherstma.gov/829/Cemeteries  the North, South and West Cemetery records are now searchable. 

8.  Holyhood Cemetery, Chestnut Hill and West Roxbury, Massachusetts https://www.mapsonline.net/bostonma/holyhood.html    Detailed plot information and satellite maps with the plot locations. 

9.  Littleton, Massachusetts Burial Information http://www.littletonma.org/content/19459/19751/1343/17486/default.aspx

10.  Chelmsford, Massachusetts search burial records  http://cemeteries.townofchelmsford.us/search-burial-records.asp   Search by name and receive a report on the burial with plot information from six cemeteries in Chelmsford. 

11. Westport, Massachusetts Historic Private and Public Cemeteries  http://westport.loreprojects.com/home.cfm  names, birth and death dates, age, gender, military status, relatives, and sometimes genealogical information. Photos of public cemetery gravestones.  The database is updated as new information becomes available. There are interactive maps for Linden Grove and Maple Grove, and a map for Beech Grove.  There are 105 cemeteries and burial grounds in Westport!

12. Waltham, Massachusetts http://www.city.waltham.ma.us/cemetery-department  There is a searchable database of names and online cemetery maps to help you locate plots. 

13.  Village Cemetery in Dedham, Massachusetts  http://gis.dedham-ma.gov/cemeteryviewer_village/  burial information for the Village Cemetery, with an interactive satellite map.  This cemetery dates back to 1638. 

14.  You are in luck if you have ancestors buried in Lowell, Massachusetts.  Barbara Poole recently blogged about finding information on all the private and public cemeteries in Lowell.  No matter which one your family members are buried in, there are aids, maps and resources available.  Check this link:   http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2016/08/cemeteries-in-lowell-massachusetts.html   

15.  Historic Burying Ground Initiative for Boston, Massachusetts   https://www.cityofboston.gov/parks/hbgi/search.asp  This database includes all legible graves from a mid-1980s survey by volunteers.   Searchable by last name and by the 14 historic cemeteries included in this project. 

16.  Cemeteryfind.com  is a website used by many towns in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island (and outside of New England)  for burials in their public cemeteries.  https://cemeteryfind.com/    Check to see which cemeteries have been added.   In NH the towns of Bow, Claremont, Kingston and Laconia are listed.  In Massachusetts these towns are using CemeteryFind:  Ayer, Barnstable, Boston, Braintree, Brighton, Centerville, Charlestown, East Boston, East Bridgewater, Greenwood,  Hyannis, Lawrence, Marshfield, Marstons Mills, Maynard, North Reading, Norton,  Oak Bluffs, Osterville, Reading, Riverview, Roslindale, Roxbury,  South Boston, Stoneham, Watertown, West Barnstable, West Roxbury, Westborough,  Weymouth, Winchester and Yarmouth.    The search results give the cemetery detail, the deceased name with lot and grave numbers, which can be matched up to maps.

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

Cemetery inventories (PDF files of names of burials in cemeteries) these are NOT databases

1. Jaffrey, New Hampshire   http://town.jaffrey.nh.us/Pages/JaffreyNH_Bcomm/Cemetery/inventories

2. Londonderry, New Hampshire  http://www.londonderrynh.org/Pages/LondonderryNH_BComm/Cemeteries/Inventory/1-16

3. Bedford, New Hampshire  http://www.bedfordcemeteries.org/  (there is also a “Friends of the Town of Bedford Cemeteries at this link: http://www.friendsofbedfordcemeteries.org/ )

4. Mount Vernon, New Hampshire Green Lawn Cemetery http://www.montvernonnh.us/index.php/cemetery-home   (click on the link in the right hand column that says “database” for the PDF file – it’s not a true database) 

5. Warner, New Hampshire  http://www.warnerhistorical.org/cemetery-information.html   (downloadable, not viewable)

6. Pelham, New Hampshire  http://www.pelhamnhhistory.org/library/onlinelibrary_lib1.html#Gravestones 

7.  Moultonborough, New Hampshire http://www.moultonboroughhistory.org/MHS%20Articles%20&%20Tidbits/Articles/Moultonborough%20Cemerty%20Records/Moultonborough%20Cemetery%20Records.htm

8.  Hopkinton, New Hampshire http://www.hopkinton-nh.gov/Pages/HopkintonNH_Cemetery/TOWN%20OF%20HOPKINTON%20CEMETERY%20RECORDS

9.  Nashua, New Hampshire http://www.nashuanh.gov/192/Cemetery-Search

10. Old Burial Ground, Brookline, Massachusetts http://obg.aboutbrookline.com/

11. Old Burial Hill, Marblehead, Massachusetts   http://www.marblehead.org/index.aspx?NID=1104   700 images of 657 gravestones, transcribed epitaphs, etc.

12. St. Patrick Cemetery, Lowell, Massachusetts   http://stpatrickcemetery.com/  Burial listings 1895 to 2011 along with detailed plot maps.

13.  Bourne, Massachusetts Pocasset Cemetery http://www.pocassetcemetery.org/ and Catamet Cemetery  http://www.cataumetcemetery.org/   Both pages list burials, and have satellite maps.  An ongoing genealogical information database is being built (a work in progress) for each burial.

14.  Duxbury, Massachusetts Cemetery Documents   http://www.town.duxbury.ma.us/Public_Documents/DuxburyMA_Cemetery/  A list of many historic cemeteries (many containing the graves of Mayflower passengers), maps, and alphabetical decedent locator pages.   

15. Carlisle, Massachusetts Cemetery Interment List for Green Cemetery on Bedford Road   http://www.carlislema.gov/pages/CarlisleMA_clerk/Green_Cemetery/Green_Cemetery  A PDF list of burials with locations, map is available on another PDF.  This webpage was an Eagle Scout project.

16. Prospect Hill Cemetery, Nantucket, Massachusetts Interment Index   http://www.prospecthillcemetery.com/  The list of burials is an Excel file which shows name, lot number, date of death and birth, and the section of the cemetery when the lot is located.  Recent interments may not be available until the list is updated. Check back for updates.

17.  Edgartown, Massachusetts,  http://www.edgartown-ma.us/departments/cemetery   downloadable PDF files of some cemetery interments (Jeffer’s Lane is alphabetical with images) , others are plot maps (handwritten images) – Jeffer’s Lane, Old Town, Town Cemetery, Old West Side, Hilltop, Old West Side. 

18. Rehoboth, Massachusetts http://www.oldrehoboth.com/cemeteries.htm  has 52 cemeteries!  You can search each cemetery listing separately for burials. 

19. Swansea, Massachusetts http://www.swanseamass.org/history/cemeteries.html  has 43 small cemeteries, most have listings on this page of interments with names, date of deaths, and plot numbers.

20.  Hingham, Massachusetts http://www.hinghamcemetery.org/   There is a large PDF file with a list of burials, cemetery maps, and historic information.

-------------------------- 

Also-

The Veteran’s Administration National Gravesite Locator  http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/index.html    search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veteran’s cemeteries, and other military cemeteries, or for veterans in private cemeteries with government issued military grave stones.   Can be used for any state. 

Cape Cod Gravestones  http://www.capecodgravestones.com/  information about 17^th, 18^th and 19^th century gravestones across Cape Cod.

Find A Grave  http://www.findagrave.com/

Billion Graves  https://billiongraves.com/  

New Hampshire Old Cemetery Association   http://www.nhoga.com/


Some useful books on this subject:

Boston's Copp's Hill Burying Ground Guide, by Charles Chauncey Wells, 1998 (Historical notes and illustrated maps).

A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries, by David Allen Lambert, 2nd edition, 2009. 

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

To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "More Than Ten Great New Hampshire and Massachusetts Cemetery Websites (You’ll wish your ancestors were buried here!)", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 10, 2016, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/more-than-ten-great-new-hampshire-and.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ BELCHER of Ipswich, Massachusetts

BELCHER

Jeremy AKA Jeremiah BELCHER, my 9^th great grandfather, was born about 1614 in England and arrived in New England aboard the ship Susan & Ellen in 1635 as part of the Winthrop Fleet.   The passenger list has a 25 year old woman named Mary Clifford listed next to him.  It is supposed by some that this woman became his first wife because of two reasons.  First, he had a grandson named Clifford Belcher, and second, he had two daughters named Mary (one by his unknown first wife, and another by his second wife Mary Lockwood).  I descend from the second daughter named Mary, born in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1660 and who married Thomas Andrews in 1681/2.   Her sister Judith married his brother, John Andrews. 

Jeremy Belcher was made a freeman at Ipswich on 13 March 1638/9 and he was granted land and also purchased much land. He appears in the records selling and buying land.  He was a selectman, served on juries, and was a sergeant for the Ipswich militia.  His marriage contract with Mary Lockwood in 1652 granted her land for life in her own right.  He died in 1692/3 and she outlived him and died in 1700.  Jeremy was able to sign all his deeds, but his second wife, Mary signed by mark.

For more information on the BELCHER family see:

The New England Historic Genealogy Society Register, Volume 60, pages 249 – 256, and pages 358 – 364.

Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634 – 1635, Volume 1, pages 231 – 237.  

“Belcher Genealogy Research” at Rootsweb  http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genbel/main/belchers1.html    

Just for fun, a parody blog "The Journal of Constant Belcher" by Tim Abbott, http://constantbelcher.blogspot.com/  (not a relative or descendant!)

My BELCHER genealogy:

Generation 1:  Jeremy Belcher, born about 1614 in England, died 21 March 1693 in Ipswich, Massachusetts; married first to Unknown (four children); married second on 30 September 1652 in Ipswich to Mary Lockwood, daughter of Edmund Lockwood and his wife, Elizabeth (seven more children). 

Generation 2:  Mary Belcher, daughter of Jeremy Belcher and Mary Lockwood, born 12 July 1660 In Ipswich, died 21 March 1731 in Ipswich; married on 9 February 1681 to Thomas Andrews, son of John Andrews and Jane Jordan.  He was born in 1654 in Ipswich and died 22 March 1718/19 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich.  Two children.

Generation 3:  Thomas Andrews married Mary Smith

Generation 4:  Mary Andrews m. Stephen Burnham

Generation 5: Joshua Burnham m. Jemima Wyman

Generation 6: Jemima Burnham m. Romanus Emerson

Generation 7: George Emerson m. Mary Esther Younger

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

Generation 9: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

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

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ BELCHER of Ipswich, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 8, 2016, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/surname-saturday-belcher-of-ipswich.html: accessed [access date]). 

The 8th Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge

The house where I grew up in Holden, Massachusetts 

Today is National Poetry Day in the United Kingdom.  I couldn't find a similar Poetry Day for the United States, so I'm going with October 6th for this blog post.  It's especially fitting because the poem I'm posting is from my grandmother, Bertha (Roberts) Wilkinson, who was born on 30 September 1897 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England.  I've featured many of her poems for Bill West's Great Genealogy Poetry Challenges in previous years, and here is another one.

Bertha loved to write poems about New England, nature and especially the seasons.  I've posted one about springtime, and one about the bicentennial, and here is one about winter.  It's a little early to be thinking about winter, but apparently Bertha liked winter in New England.  I'm sure that winters in her adopted city of Beverly, Massachusetts were colder and snowier than in Leeds, but she seemed to find all that fun!


Winter in New England

Winter's here, no doubt about it.
     Glad that all our storm boots fit.
Get out the woolen scarf and hat,
     Glove and mittens - stuff like that.

Now the house with good roof on it,
     Fitting snugly, like a bonnet,
Storm doors, windows fitting tight,
     Chimney cleaned and fireplace bright.

Soon the falling snow we'll see
    On the roof, the lawn, the tree
As though touched by magic wand
     Turning all to fairy land.

Snow has fallen through the night.
    Children wake up with delight.
Edged with ermine, fence and gate,
    Bird bath filled up like a plate.

Dressed warmly with a shout.
    Let us get the shovel out!
Make a path from door to street.
    Now the neighbor's children greet.

Making snowballs, having fun.
     Then the lessons- school is done.
Hurry home as fast as can,
     Make a snow fort or big snow man.

Supper time and night is here.
     Fire is burning, making cheer.
At the fireplace with the most
    of the marshmallows we'll toast.

Now the children's prayers are said.
    They will jump into their bed
Thinking of the lovely way
     They have spent a winter's day.



An announcement for participation in the 8th Great Genealogy Challenge, by Bill West.  The deadline is November 17th:
http://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/2016/09/he-seventh-annual-great-genealogy.html

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The 8th Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 8, 2016,  (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-8th-annual-great-genealogy-poetry.html: accessed [access date]). 

Weathervane Wednesday ~ Do you Recognize this Clock?

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

Today's weather vane is from somewhere in Massachusetts.

Do you know the location of weather vane #279?  Scroll down to see the answer...

This beautiful weathervane was photographed at the top of the steeple over the East Parish Meetinghouse in Salisbury, Massachusetts.   The original meeting house was built of logs in 1640, and according to the church website, it was the 18th church built in Massachusetts.  This building you see now was built in 1834 as a Methodist congregation.  The clock tower was built in 1897, and it was a gift from John T. Brown in memory of his wife.  Instead of numerals on the clock face there are the twelve letters MEMORIAL GIFT.

The weathervane is a fancy, gilded arrow in the banner style typical of so many New England meetinghouses and churches.  It is visible from quite a distance as you travel up Lafayette Road (Route 1A) along the seacoast.


The East Parish United Methodist Church, Salisbury, Massachusetts
http://www.eastparishumc.org/  

Click here to see the entire series of Weathervane Wednesday posts!   

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ Do you Recognize this Clock?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 5, 2016,  ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/weathervane-wednesday-do-you-recognize.html:  accessed [access date]).

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Five Fletchers on one Tombstone

This tombstone was photographed at the Forefather's Burial Ground in Chelmsford, Massachusetts

panel 1:

Rebekah

Sept. 24

1778

In the

? year of

her Age

panel 2:

Jepthae

died Sept

26th 1778

In the 4th

year of

his age.

He lies in the

same grave

as his

mother

panel 3:

In Memory of

Mrs Hannah

Fletcher wife

of Lieut. Benjn

Fletcher who

departed this

Life Sept 26th

1778 in the 30th

year of her Age

panel 4:

Mary

died Octr

3d 1778

In the 9th year of

her Age.

panel 5:

Sarah

died Octr

5th 1778

In the 6th

year of 

her Age

Hannah Parker, daughter of Isaac Parker,  married Benjamin Fletcher in Chelmsford on 29 January 1767.  Obviously, some contagious childhood disease struck the Fletcher household and killed these four little children and their mother, all within two weeks of each other in the autumn of 1778.  Their eldest child, Hannah, born 1767 was the lone survivor.  This pathetic tombstone lists all the victims.  Benjamin remarried to Ann Spaulding on 21 October 1779 and had three more children.


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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~  Five Fletchers on one Tombstone", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 4, 2016, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/tombstone-tuesday-five-fletchers-on-one.html: accessed [access date]).

350th Anniversary of the Francis Wyman House, Burlington, Massachusetts and a Family Reunion

Wyman Descendants, photo by John Goff

In 1666 (or thereabouts) Francis Wyman (1617 - 1699) built a home in Woburn, Massachusetts, on land that is now 56 Francis Wyman Road in Burlington, Massachusetts.  He had over 1,000 acres near the Shawsheen River.  This homestead is now owned by the Francis Wyman Association, and celebrated it's 350th anniversary this year.  Over 30 descendants from all over the USA (from as far away as Nebraska, Wyoming, California, Oregon and Washington), England and New Zealand came together to commemorate the occasion and honor their Wyman Ancestors.

It was a chilly, raining day for the reunion on October 1st,  but that did not dampen the spirits of the Wyman family.  The house was open for tours, there was a cookout, and a family meeting.  We were entertained by colonial music and a musket salute by a group of Revolutionary War reenactors. Salem architect John Goff gave an excellent history of the house to the family members, with some new information about the structure of the building.  In the evening we all warmed up in a local restaurant to share a meal and good conversation. A good time was had by all!

The Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the
American Revolution Col. Henry Knox
Regimental Color Guard
John Zafiris, Jr., Jack Cunningham, Bob Bossart and Bill Carlson

Francis Wyman, our immigrant ancestor, was a tanner who owned property in "downtown" Woburn for his business, but he built his homestead on what was considered the frontier.  Nearby were several Christianized "praying Indian" villages, which were considered good protection against unfriendly Indian and French neighbors to the west and north.  As Wyman accumulated land, one of his deeds was witnessed by Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, the first Native American (Wampanoag) to graduate from Harvard.  The history of this land goes back further than the lifetime of our ancestor Francis Wyman.

The Wyman house stayed in the Wyman family for many generations, and then was sold out of the family.  It was in decrepit condition when descendant Benjamin Wyman saw the home in 1898 and established the Francis Wyman Association to buy the farmhouse and restore it.  A caretaker lived in the home until 1996 when an accidental fire destroyed most of the interior stairwell up to the roof.  This is the 20th anniversary of the fire.  After several rounds of renovations the house is open to the public again as a museum house. There is still much work to be done to the interior.

Above, John Goff gave a talk on the history of the Francis Wyman house, and the evidence through out the house of renovations over 350 years. You can see the fire damage on the walls, ceiling and mantel behind John.  Although he is not a descendant, John Goff has been an active volunteer for the past 20 years working on the renovations after the fire.  Below, descendants gather in the parlor room to for tours of the Wyman homestead. 

The Francis Wyman house is the oldest home in Burlington, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.   The mission of the Francis Wyman Association is to preserve the homestead and the story of the Wyman family.  You can participate in this mission by donating your time, materials or money to the association at this webpage www.wymanassociation.org

For the truly curious:

My Wyman lineage:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/08/surname-saturday-wyman-of-woburn.html

More about the fire at the Wyman house:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/06/grand-re-opening-of-1666-francis-wyman.html

Click on the video below to see the Burlington Cable Access TV show on the 305th Anniversary of the Francis Wyman House:



Another BCAT video of the history of the Francis Wyman House

https://youtu.be/vjEZHx0X2tY


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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "350th Anniversary of the Francis Wyman House, Burlington, Massachusetts and a Family Reunion", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 3, 2016,  (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/350th-anniversary-of-francis-wyman.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ SMITH of Ipswich, Massachusetts

Smith is not a fun surname to research.  And I’ve done it three times already!

SMITH of Weathersfield, Connecticut and Hadley, Massachusetts https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/11/surname-saturday-smith-of-wethersfield.html 

SMITH of Exeter and Hampton, New Hampshire   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/01/surname-saturday-smith-of-exeter-and.html   

SMITH of Reading, Massachusetts

 https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/07/surname-saturday-smith-of-reading.html   

My 9^th great grandfather, John Smith, came to New England with his mother, Alice Barnes Smith.  She was the daughter of Thomas Barnes and Rebecca Alabaster, baptized on 6 June 1596 at St. Mary’s Parish Church in Hadleigh, Suffolk, England.  She married Samuel Marryon in 1611, was widowed and then married John Smith in 1619.   John Smith apparently died some time before 1635 when Alice brought her son, John Smith, Jr., to Ipswich, Massachusetts.  According to the records at the Hadleigh Parish church there were four men named John Smith/Smyth buried at the church between 1621 when John Smith was born and 1635 when he came to Ipswich. 

Alice (age 40) and John (age 13) are listed as passengers aboard The Planter with the Hasfell family from Sudbury, Suffolk, England.  The Planter left London on 10 April 1635 and arrived in Massachusetts on 7 June 1635.  Richard Haffield was granted land in Ipswich in 1635.  Another new arrival, Samuel Appleton, from Little Waldingfield (2 miles from Sudbury) was granted land in 1635, too.  John Smith eventually became a tenant farmer on Appleton’s land.

John’s son, John Smith (1654 – 1736) lived in Ipswich and his daughter, Mary Smith (1685 – 1731) was my 7^th great grandmother.  She married Thomas Andrews in 1711 and lived her entire life in Ipswich.  Their daughter, Mary Andrews (born about 1712) married Stephen Burnham in 1735 in Ipswich and they removed to Milford, New Hampshire.  Stephen and Mary were the third and fourth members to join the First Congregational Church in Milford, and are on the list of the first 19 members of the church, formed in 1788.

UPDATE 8 October 2016:
Gordon Harris of Ipswich sent in this link to a photo of John Smith's gravestone at the Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich:
https://ipswich.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/d93_john_smith_1713.jpg

My SMITH genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Smith, baptized 11 June 1593 in Hadleigh, Suffolk, England as the son of William Smith and Elizabeth Mudd, died before 1635; married on 17 June 1619 in Hadleigh to Alice Barnes, the widow of Samuel Marryon.  She was baptized at Hadleigh on 6 June 1596 as the daughter of Thomas Barnes and Rebecca Alabaster.  Two children.

Generation 2: John Smith, born about 1621 in England, died in Ipswich, Massachusetts; married Elizabeth Unknown. Eight children born in Ipswich.

Generation 3: John Smith, born 29 October 1654 in Ipswich, died 24 April 1736 in Ipswich; married Elizabeth Unknown. 

Generation 4:  Mary Smith, born 27 September 1685 in Ipswich, died 31 March 1731 in Ipswich; married 8 April 1711 in Ipswich to Thomas Andrews, son of Thomas Andrews and Mary Belcher.  He was born in 1682 in Ipswich and died 13 February 1746 in Ipswich.  Six children.

Generation 5: Mary Andrews, born about 1712 in Ipswich; married on 16 August 1735 in Ipswich to Stephen Burnham, son of Thomas Burnham and Susannah Boardman.  He was born about 1715 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, and died 1790 in Milford, New Hampshire.  Thirteen children.

Generation 6: Colonel Joshua Burnham, born 26 January 1754 in Gloucester, died 7 June 1835 in Milford; married on 21 January 1779 to Jemima Wyman, daughter of Increase Wyman and Catherine Unknown.  She was born 10 February 1757 in Billerica, Massachusetts and died 6 September 1843 in South Boston.  Eleven children.

Generation 7: Jemima Burnham m. Romanus Emerson

Generation 8: George Emerson m. Mary Esther Younger

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

Generation 10: Carrie Maud Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

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

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ SMITH of Ipswich, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 1, 2016,   (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/surname-saturday-smith-of-ipswich.html: accessed [access date]).