2011 Seven to Save in New Hampshire

The Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch,
one of New Hampshire's last grand wooden Victorian era hotels
was closed indefinitely in September 2011

The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance has published its list of historic structures worth preservation in 2011.  For the past five years the alliance has raised support and awareness of endangered places in the state of New Hamshire.  In many cases, this awareness has saved these buildings and structures from loss, demolition or ill-planned renovations.   Of the 35 structures on the list, half have been saved.

The 2011 list includes:

1. The Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch, (closed since September 15^th)

2. The Old Grist Mill on Little River in Kingston

3.  Middleton Town Hall

4. The Farley Building in Hollis

5. Pearson Hall on Haverhill’s town common

6. The Charlestown Town Hall

7. The Wheaton-Alexander House in Winchester (destined for demolition)

This year the ceremony was held at UNH, where two structures have been on the list; the Millpond Dam in 2010 and the New England Center in 2009.  Michael Tule, the chair of the Alliance’s Seven to Save Committee stressed how preservation creates jobs, and how preserving our historic buildings is essential to tourism and business in New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance website http://www.nhpreservation.org/

WMUR news story of this announcement

http://www.wmur.com/news/29471889/detail.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

My blog post on the 2010 Seven to Save

 http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/seven-to-save.html

The Derry Upper Village Hall
hosted the Taylor Family Reunion this summer
and was on the first list in 2006.
It is still waiting to be "saved". 

In 2009 the First Parish Church in Derry, founded by the original Scots Irish Settlers of Nutfield, was named to the “Seven to Save List”. I wrote about this at my post on 1 November 2009, which you can read at this link http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/11/first-parish-church-derry.html   On the first list in 2006 the Derry Upper Village Hall Meetinghouse was also listed, which is located across the street from the First Parish Church.

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Nahant Historical Society

Another “New to Me” Genealogy Resource

Nahant is located on the Massachusetts coast,
north of Boston

Nahant, Massachusetts is a small island off the coast of Essex County.  You can reach it by a mile long causeway from Lynn, Massachusetts, at the traffic circle on Lynn Shore Drive.  I was at the Nahant Historical Society last week with my godparents, searching for some GOVE ancestors at the Greenlawn Cemetery and meeting some distant Gove cousins who had a copy of the 1922 Gove Genealogy Book by W. H. Gove.  Armed with lots of information about the lineage we had to research, we set off to the Nahant Historical Society.

Before you set off to the Nahant Historical Society, be sure to check the website (listed below) for hours and times.  And street parking is not allowed in the area of the Nahant Community Center, where the Historical Society is on the first floor.  There is a small parking lot, so keep your fingers crossed! 

The Nahant Historical Society has some great exhibits, including one installed in 2004 that won the prestigious “Certificate of Commendation” from the American Association of State and Local History.  This exhibit is called “Nahant on the Rocks” and it tells the story of how Nahant grew from an island where Lynn residents grazed livestock to a celebrated summer colony for wealthy Bostonians.   My godfather liked this exhibit very much, and there were several artifacts from the Gove family there, including his great grandfather’s sign for his fish market and a wooden lobster trap built by a cousin.

My godfather photographing
tombstones at the Greenlawn cemetery, Nahant, Mass. 

The best part of our visit was all the time we spent together in the library.  The Hodges Reference Room is a very large reading room with many shelves of good local history, biographies of summer residents, town information and a genealogy section.  I found a copy of The Polands from Essex County,  by Chester Harrison Poland, 1981, and the librarian made photocopies of many pertinent pages for me (only 10 cents a page, a bargain compared to 25 cents at NEHGS and $5 a page at the New Castle, NH Historical Society!).   My godfather found a bookcase full of the old Nahant town reports, and in one he found references to his grandfather’s service as the town treasurer, along with a short biography.  There were books on Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, too, and the same Gove grandfather had been Lodge's personal secretary while he summered in Nahant.  Again, the librarian cheerfully made copies.  We found a few more books, and made many more copies before leaving.  

 

This was the second time my godfather had visited the Nahant Historical Society.  Both times the staff warmly received him and was able to tell him much information on his families genealogy, including the places in the cemetery where he would find the Gove burials, and they also knew all the Gove descendants still living in town.  Nahant is a small community, but the staff at the Historical Society is extremely knowledgeable and friendly!   The museum and library are free, but voluntary donations are accepted.

While you are in town, take the time to check out the views from the coast, or from the beaches around the island and on the causeway.  Nahant is a beautiful place to visit, even if you don’t have ancestors from there!

The Nahant Historical Society website http://www.nahanthistory.org/    

The town of Nahant website http://www.nahant.org/default.shtml

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Weathervane Wednesday- What is it?

I've been collecting photographs of the many, many weather vanes in the Nutfield area (Derry and Londonderry, New Hampshire).  If you want a challenge, I'll post the locations at the bottom of the page so you can scroll down far enough to see the photo, but not the location, and try to guess where you may have seen these lovely weathervanes.

Do you know the location of weather vane #10?

I'm not sure if this is a fish, or something else?  But it is located on top of the converted barn located behind the fancy Victorian house known as "The Laurels" in North Londonderry Village.

For a look at an old postcard of The Laurels, as well as some historical information, try this link to the website Historic Londonderry, New Hampshire at  http://historiclondonderry.com/?page_id=93   I think this same weathervane appears in the old postcard, but it is hard to tell.  The Laurels is a former boarding house on the old trolley line that used to run from Manchester to Canobie Lake Park in Salem.

****
Commenter Bill West was correct with the guess of a whale for the shape of this weathervane.  The Laurels was built by Civil War veteran and former whaling sea captain George S. Garvin according to page 34 of the book Londonderry, by the Londonderry Historical Society, published by Acadia Publishing in 2004.

Click here to see the other weather vanes in this series

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tombstone Tuesday - Pinkertons at Valley Cemetery

These gravestones were photographed at the Valley Cemetery in Londonderry, New Hampshire.  It is located on Pillsbury Road.

ELIZABETH PINKERTON

WIFE OF

ELDER JAMES PINKERTON

DIED AUG. 25, 1804 AGE 42

In Memory of

Isabella daughter of

Elder James Pinkerton

who died April 6th 1790

aged 2 years 7 months 16 days

We scarce enjoy the balmy gift

But mourn the pleasure gone

MARY

relict of the late

John Pinkerton

died Nov. 29, 1848

Aet. 68

(verse obscured by lichen)

Matthew Pinkerton

son of

Lieu. John & Mrs. Mary

Pinkerton died Nov.

1809 Etat. 4

I previously posted some other Pinkerton gravestones from Londonderry at these links: 

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/12/pinkertons-buried-at-valley-cemtery.html

and 

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/john-pinkerton-tombstone-tuesday.html

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Another “New to Me” Repository of Genealogy Material!

My maiden name was Wilkinson, and the first immigrant ancestor in Portsmouth was Thomas Wilkinson who married in 1715 in Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. New Hampshire’s first settlers settled near Portsmouth, all along our grand 18 miles of seacoast. This includes New Castle, Rye, Hampton and Seabrook, along with variations and break away towns such as North Hampton and Hampton Falls. My maternal great grandmother was Carrie Maud Batchelder. The first Batchelder in New Hampshire was Reverend Stephen Bachiler who wandered the New England seacoast and settled the town of Hampton in 1638 as its first pastor.

And so I’ve decided to explore the seacoast communities and their historical societies. The first one I chose to visit is Hampton, because its historical society has a complex of buildings called the Tuck Museum located right across the street from Founder’s Park. I am descended from a dozen of the families commemorated on plaques here, so I certainly wanted to see this landmark. I also noted that the museum complex included plenty of exhibits on tools and things to occupy Hubby whilst I spent some time in the library. If not, it is near enough to the beach so a companion could check out the seashore if you wish some time alone with the collections. The museum complex has five buildings, including a barn, fire house, and one room school house.

President Franklin Pierce's walking cane
(he married local girl Jane Means Appleton,
born in Hampton March 12, 1806)

The first thing I did upon hearing some wonderful comments about Tuck Museum was to check out the website. There you can find the hours, days, directions, and general information to plan your trip. If you are coming from far, this is valuable and timesaving. Fortunately for me, the Tuck Museum is less than an hour from Londonderry. There was a map of the family stones at Founder’s Park, and I printed this out to find the stones I wanted to photograph. I also checked their genealogy link to see if there was information on the families I wanted to research (thirty three surnames are listed on the website, but the collections contain many more families).

 The Tuck Museum was well staffed the Sunday afternoon I visited, with five volunteers manning the tours and the research room. At one point, Hubby and I were the only folks there, so we had plenty of people to answer questions and help us find books and materials. They also sold many good resources there such as burial ground guides, books, maps, and gifts. Some of these are also available to purchase online, such as the cemetery guides, and History of Hampton: The Early Settlers 1630 – 1730, by Edmund Willoughby Toppan, which I bought online through the Tuck Museum. It is not available on Amazon. This store page also has a link to many downloadable maps.

Volunteer Eleanor Becotte and Yours Truly
in the Tuck Museum library.
Ellie's new book about the poet Whittier is out this month!

My visit was on the first weekend of October, and the museum shop was out of some material I wished to purchase, but I was able to order it online. The staff was very helpful about giving addresses and information about the historical society holdings and locations in nearby communities such as North Hampton and Seabrook. They also knew where historic houses and cemeteries were located, and were able to give decent directions. For example, I wanted to see the 1691 grave of Edward Gove in Pine Grove cemetery, and the docent also told me that there was a historical marker in the center of the cemetery with information about Edward Gove, but the two were not adjacent to each other (this could have been confusing if I wasn’t warned ahead of time!) It is definitely a place I will be revisiting soon, since there are many more things I would like to see in the research room and more nearby cemeteries and historical sites to see. Best of all, admission is FREE!

Hampton Historical Society http://www.hamptonhistoricalsociety.org/index.htm 

The genealogy page describing holdings in the Tuck Museum library: http://www.hamptonhistoricalsociety.org/genhist.htm

The Founder’s Park page, with a link to the map showing the family surname stones: http://www.hamptonhistoricalsociety.org/foundpk.htm

The Tuck Museum blog “History Happens” by Betty More http://tuckmuseum.wordpress.com/

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday – Mead

MEAD

I haven’t been able to find origins or parents for Nicholas Mead, who died after 1720 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  He is first recorded in Bristol, Rhode Island in 1680.  A census in Bristol 1688/9 shows 6 children.    Nicholas Mead shows up in Greenland, New Hampshire in 1699 leasing a farm.  He was a tanner, and in 1701 his tanning yard was taxed in Portsmouth.   He bought a tannery in Berwick, Maine in 1713.  By 1716 he was in prison for debt, and again in 1717 in Berwick.  Three more children were baptized in Portsmouth.   I don’t know his wife’s maiden name.

In the second generation, Thomas Mead, my 6x great grandfather, left a will proved in 1759 that names his Wilkinson grandchildren.  This was a brickwall breaker for me, and helped to prove my Mead lineage.  Thomas’s wife, Hannah Stilson alias Anne Marie , was born and baptized in Quebec, Canada to two famous captives taken from New Hampshire in 1703.  Much was written about the Stilson family, which helped me to piece together this line. I'll write more about that soon when I do the Stilson family on another Surname Saturday post. 

Generation 1.  Nicholas Mead, died after 1720; married to Elizabeth, maiden name unknown.  Nine children:

            1. Joseph; m. Mary Deverson 25 February 1714; m. Ruth Moses about 1748

            2. Thomas, see below

            3. Susanna, b. 5 September 1679 Charlestown, Rhode Island

            4. Elizabeth, b. 14 August 1681, Charlestown; m. Joseph Dennett 1703; m. Samuel Hewey 1718

            5. Ebenezer, b. 22 March 1686, Bristol, Rhode Island

            6. Katherine, bap. 10 July 1687, Bristol

            7. John, bap 13 May 1688, Bristol; m. Hannah Cotton 1708

            8. Benjamin, b. 9 Jan 1693 Kittery, Maine; m. Judith Lord 1717

            9. Nicholas, b. before 1699

Generation 2.  Thomas Mead, died between 13 June and 26 September 1759 when his will was proved, probably in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; married on 2 May 1725 in New Castle, New Hampshire to Hannah Stilson, daughter of James Stilson and Hannah Anne Odiorne, born 2 August 1706 in Quebec, Canada, died 1776 in New Castle.  Five children:

            1. Margaret,

            2. James, born about 1728

            3. Joseph, born about 1728, died 1810 Pigwacket, now Fryeburg, Maine

            4. Hannah, see below

            5. Anna, born about 1745

Generation 3. Hannah Mead, born 9 August 1730 in Wakefield, New Hampshire, died before 1759; married about 1753 to James Wilkinson, son of Thomas Wilkinson and Elizabeth Caverly, born about 1730 in Berwick, Maine, died between 1796 and 1805 in Berwick. Seven children.

Generation 4. William Wilkinson and Mercy Nason

Generation 5. Aaron Wilkinson and Mercy F. Wilson

Generation 6. Robert Wilson Wilkinson and Phebe Cross Munroe

Generation 7. Albert Munroe Wilkinson and Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 8. Donald Munroe Wilkinson and Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

There has been no book written up on the Mead family of New Hampshire, nor any major articles in genealogical journals.  Most of the information I have found was gleaned from vital records, the New Hampshire State Papers, or probate.   There is a website for Stilson family information at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~stilsongeneology/stilsonbk5.html and a book for the Odiorne family Genealogy of the Odiorne Family in America, by John Creighton, 1875 revised by David Walter Odiorne in 1975.

See my blog post about the Wilkinson line at this link http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/surname-saturday-wilkinson.html  

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To Cite/Link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday – Mead", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 8, 2011, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/10/surname-saturday-mead.html: accessed [access date]). 

Free Ideas for Family History Month

October is Family History Month in New Hampshire!

Tuesday, October 11

Manchester, New Hampshire, The American Canadian Genealogical Society will be open from 8 AM to 4PM FREE, no need for membership or fees.  Anyone who would like to research their roots is welcome.  Genealogists will be available for assistance, too.   The ACGS Library is located at 4 Elm Street, next to the Blessed Sacrament Church.  603-622-1554  Website www.acgs.org

Thursday, October 20

Genealogy and Vital Records, at the Derry Public Library, 6:30 PM, Christine Sharbrough, reference librarian and certified genealogist, presents a lecture on the history of vital records in the USA and strategies for finding evidence of births, marriages and deaths pre-civil registration.  Best for intermediate and expert genealogical researchers and those interested in the history of the development of US vital records.

Saturday, October 22

"What's your Ancestral Story?" Concord, The Concord LDS Family History Library, 90 Clinton Street will offer a FREE day of workshops and lectures on genealogy for all levels, beginners to advanced, and for all ages.  Open to the public.  Please pre-register since there is limited seating.  For more information see the website  http://concordfhday.crossett.net/Whats_YOUR_Ancestral_Story/Welcome.html

Thursday, October 27

Genealogy and the Treasures of the New Hampshire Room, at the Derry Public Library, 6:30 PM, Christine Sharbrough, reference librarian and certified genealogist, will present a lecture on the hidden gems and unique local genealogy materials in the Library’s “New Hampshire Room”.  For all ages and skill levels.

Ancestry.com

Every day until October 15th Ancestry.com is celebrating its 15th Anniversary by offering a free database, no need for a subscription!  

Don't forget, the Londonderry Leach Library and the Derry Public Library both offer Ancestry.com and Genealogybank, two popular internet genealogy websites FREE everyday! There are also many reference books on genealogy and local history on the shelves.  Check them out anytime!   (If you live elsewhere, call your local library to see what online resources are available, and what help your reference librarians can offer for researching your family tree.)

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Legacy Genealogy Cruise hits Boston and NEHGS!

The nine day 2011 Legacy Genealogy Cruise left New Jersey a week ago and hit Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine; Saint John, New Brunswick; Halifax, Nova Scotia and saved the best for last- Boston, Massachusetts!   A total of about 200 genealogists sailed on the Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas and enjoyed 15 hours of personal genealogy instruction from instructors including Thomas MacEntee and Geoff Rasmussen.  

Sharon Sargent consults with one of the cruising genealogists

Today the vacationing genealogists hit the port of  Boston, and forty-five of them loaded into cabs and hit the New England Historic Genealogical Society on Newbury Street.  Geneablogger Barbara Poole and Yours Truly met with the group to assist with guiding their library research.  Genealogists Sharon Sargent and Mary Ellen Grogan offered 15 minute consultations for more in depth genealogy help.  Genealogist Emeritus, Gary Boyd Roberts showed up and gave his advice to many of the researchers in the sixth floor reading room, which was a surprise to most of the patrons.  I had fun watching him surprise some of the researchers with new lines for their family trees .  [If you’ve never had your charts “Gary-ed”, it’s a great experience!]

Thomas MacEntee meets up with a fan in Boston! 

The next Legacy Genealogy Cruise is actually two cruises, which can be combined or taken separately.  One cruise leaves Oslo, Norway on May 12th for ports in England, Scotland, France and Ireland for nine days.  The next cruise on May 21st is six days in Norway and Denmark, including scenic fjord cruising.  They can be combined for one extra long, extravagant genealogy vacation!  All the information on the ports of call, schedules and class information can be found at this webpage http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/CruiseInfo_2012.asp

It was fun meeting up again with Thomas MacEntee, who I had met for the first time at the SCGS Jamboree in June.  He is a popular genealogy lecturer, founder of the Geneablogger website, author of several popular blogs and other achievements too numerous to list here.  The cruisers were fun to work with, and of course while helping them with their research I made at least two cousin connections through their New England ancestry.  Serendipity strikes again!

DISCLAIMER-  I was not compensated in anyway by Legacy, Royal Carribean Cruises, or the New England Historic Genealogical Society for this blog post.  Of course, it would be fun to receive freebies (hint hint ) but I volunteered because Thomas asked nice.  And he bought me lunch. 

New England Historic Genealogical Society http://www.americanancestors.org/

Geneabloggers  http://www.geneabloggers.com/

The 2012 Legacy Genealogy Cruise  http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/CruiseInfo_2012.asp

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo