Saturday, March 15, 2014

Surname Saturday ~ SCHUPP of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

St. John's Anglican Church
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

The story of the SCHUPP/SCHUPE/SHUPE family is intertwined with the history of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.  This town was one of the first settlements of protestants by the British before the expulsion of the Acadians.  It was settled in 1753, and raided nine times by the native Mi’kmaq and Acadians during its first six years.  The British government encouraged “Foreign Protestants” to come settle this area. The Germans who came here named it in honor of King George II, who was also the Duke of Bransschweig-Luneburg.

Richard Schupp arrived in Nova Scotia aboard the Ann on 28 June 1750 with a family of six from Zwingberg in Darmstadt, Germany.  At the Public Archives of Nova Scotia  (PANS) there are lists of 47 groups of settlers, in groups of six male names.  Richard Schupp is on this list.  He lived at Lot 6 on Townsend Street.   His son, my 5th great grandfather Johan Justinas Schupe, was born in Germany about 1746. 

 Johan had two wives, and had eleven children.  He named his children, and his second wife, Catherine Magdelena Unknown, in his will.  His daughter Ann Margaretha married a Scots settler, the Lunenburg innkeeper John Lennox.  Ann and John Lennox are my 4th great grandparents.

The best resources for researching the Schupp family, and other early German families of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia are the histories of the area, the vital records and the church records.  There are early “Victualling Lists” that provide information on the settlers who received food and supplies.  These lists were transcribed by Winthrop Bell and are available online and at PANS.   There is also a South Shore Genealogy Society in Lunenburg that provides information on these early settlers www.ssgs.ca

Rootsweb Lunenburg Genealogy Resources page http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canns/lunenburg/
Nova Scotia Genealogy Network Association http://nsgna.ednet.ns.ca/
The town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia http://www.explorelunenburg.ca/

My Schupp genealogy:

Generation 1:  Richart Schupp, born about 1725 probably at Litrelinden, Wielbourg, Germany; married first to Apollina Unknown.  She died 26 July 1751 in Halifax, Nova Scotia;  married second to Maria Margaretha Ringels.

Generation 2:  Johan Justinas Schupe, born about 1746 in Germany, died about 1813; married first to Anna Margareta Finck on 1 November 1763 at Saint John’s Anglican Church, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.  She was the daughter of Christian Finck and Anna Maria Unknown, who were also settlers at Lunenburg from Germany. She died 5 May 1801 in Lunenburg.  He married second to Catherina Magdelena Unknown.  Eleven children by his first wife.

Generation 3: Ann Margaretha Schupp, born 18 September 1773 in Lunenburg; married on 19 March 1797 at Saint John’s Anglican Church in Lunenburg to John Lennox.  He was born about 1763 in Stirling, Scotland and died 1 October 1817 in Lunenburg.  Six children.

Generation 4:   Sarah Elizabeth Lennox m. Bremner Frederick Bollman
Generation 5: Ann Margaret Bollman m. Caleb Rand Bill
Generation 6: Isabella Lyons Bill m.  Albert Munroe Wilkinson
Generation 7: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/03/surname-saturday-schupp-of-lunenburg.html 

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo


Friday, March 14, 2014

Is Everyone Irish on St. Patrick’s Day?


Most of my ancestors are from England with a few exceptions. Sprinkled among my English ancestors are a Dutch stowaway, a Hessian Soldier, a 1650 Scots Prisoner of War, and several Ulster Presbyterians with Scots roots.  There are also several noble connections in my family tree which lead back to Normans (Vikings), Plantagenets with Spanish and French brides, and more Scots.  According to the “Ethnicity Estimate” for my DNA at Ancestry.com I tested for 100% European, with a breakdown of 79% Europe West, 18% Ireland and 3% Iberian Peninsula and less than 1% Great Britain.  



The 18% Irish DNA has me stumped.  Of course there are plenty of brickwall maiden names in my tree, and I have only traced my WILKINSON maiden name back to London around 1690. So who are these Irish ancestors that are supposed to be hanging off my family tree? Did some of my Ulster Presbyterian ancestors have Irish spouses?  Were some of my English ancestors of Irish heritage in the centuries past? Were some of my Scots originally from Ireland?  I haven't yet found proof of a single Irish man or woman in my research.

My most heavily researched Scots lineage is MUNROE.  My immigrant ancestor in this line was William MUNROE, my 7th great grandfather, captured in 1650 at the Battle of Worcester and marched to London as a prisoner of war.  He was put on a ship to Boston and sold into servitude on the wharf at Charlestown, Massachusetts.  His descendants have been heavily researched and documented in New England.  

According to the Clan Munroe website, the surname MUNROE refers to the River Roe in Ireland, their ancient homeland.   The River Roe is located in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland.   The fact that I live today in Londonderry, New Hampshire where one of the first Scots Irish settlements was established in 1719 seems like serendipity.   Everything has come full circle?



Another puzzle is my husband’s DNA test.  He is a first generation American, with parents from Spain.  His test came back 3% African, 96% European and less than 1% West Asian. The breakdown reads 3% North African (the “Moorish” influence on his ancestry), 61% Iberian Peninsula, 21% Italy/Greece, 10% Ireland, 3% Great Britain, 1% Europe West and less than 1% Middle East.   His DNA is typical of the invading Moors, Romans, and invading Celts and other Mediterranean tribes.  What stumps me is that he has more Great Britain DNA than me, and there is a significant amount of Irish in him!  

We’ll both be wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day!

Celebrate your possible Irish roots with free access to selected Irish records at Ancestry.com this weekend, through Saint Patrick's Day (March 17th)-
 http://www.ancestry.com/cs/us/irish?o_xid=59482&o_lid=59482&o_sch=Email 

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/03/is-everyone-irish-on-st-patricks-day.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Weathervane Wednesday ~ My Favorite Eagle

Every Wednesday for more than two and a half years Vincent and I have been posting photographs of weather vanes located in or near the Nutfield area (the former name for the land where Londonderry, Derry and Windham, New Hampshire are now located). Most are historically interesting or just whimsical and fun weather vanes. If you know an interesting weather vane, please send me an email or leave a comment below.

Today's weather vane was found just over the border in Vermont. Have fun guessing where you may have seen this weather vane.

Do you know the location of weather vane #142? Scroll down to see the answer....






The ubiquitous eagle weather vane is usually seen on civic buildings or banks.  This weather vane was photographed at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, on a cupola above the cafe.  It is not an old building, unlike most of the other galleries and barns at the Shelburne Museum.  However, this weather vane caught my eye because it is so unusually graceful and artistic.  Most eagle weather vanes are boring and static.  This eagle looks as if he were just landing, or perhaps just launching himself off the roof.  His beak and expression are beautifully designed.  This three dimensional weather vane also has a gorgeous patina.  He is not a boring eagle weather vane!

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

The Shelburne Museum - www.shelburnemuseum.org 

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Copyright 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Jabez Treadwell, died 1780, Ipswich, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Old Burying Ground, Ipswich, Massachusetts


In Memory 
of
Mr. JABEZ TREADWELL
who departed this Life
22d Day of Dec
1780
In the 67th year of his age
"Blessed are the dead which died in
the Lord, that they may rest
from their labours; and their 
works do follow them." 

closeup detail


Jabez Treadwell's foot stone

Jabez Treadwell is my 6th great grandfather.  He was born 9 August 1713 in Ipswich, Massachusetts, the son of Nathaniel and Hannah Treadwell.  On 20 November 1736 he married Lucy Haskell, the daughter of Mark Haskell and Martha Tuthill.  She was born 21 May 1715 in Gloucester, and died 21 September 1789 in Ipswich.  They had eleven children.

Click here to see previous blog posts about Jabez Treadwell:
Surname Saturday:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/02/surname-saturday-treadwell-of-ipswich.html

Jabez Treadwell's Will:   http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/jabez-treadwells-will.html 

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/03/tombstone-tuesday-jabez-treadwell-died.html 

Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Monday, March 10, 2014

From cradle to... cradle?

The following cradles were photographed at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont. 


A chlld's cradle by the fireplace of the "Settler's House", a typical scene you
might have seen re-created at museums and historical home across colonial America.



What is this?  It's a huge, coffin sized cradle by the kitchen fireplace at the
"Dutton House" historic home.  This adult sized bed was a place to care for
elderly members of the family while the women cooked and worked.
This would be the final resting place for beloved grandparents, by the family hearth.


Instead of a hospital bed or hospice, imagine spending your last
months or weeks of life being rocked gently in this adult sized cradle?

I have seen these cradles here at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, and also at
 the Sturbridge Village living history museum in Massachusetts.  
There is also one at the Coffin House in Newbury, Massachusetts.
These once common items are now curiosities from a time before nursing homes existed. 


The Shelburne Museum website  https://shelburnemuseum.org/ 

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "From cradle to... cradle?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 10, 2014, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/03/from-cradle-to-cradle.html: accessed [access date]).  


Saturday, March 8, 2014

Surname Saturday ~ LENNOX of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

The Lennox Inn, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
The Lunenburg, Nova Scotia death records list John Lennox as “of Stirling, Scotland, innkeeper, died on 1 October 1817 at 54y.”  In researching my 4th great grandfather, John Lennox, I was surprised to learn that his inn at 69 Fox Street in Lunenburg was still standing, and still operating as a bed and breakfast.  It is the oldest operating inn in Canada.  In 2007 we planned a genealogical family vacation to Nova Scotia, and the first place we wanted to book was a few nights at the Lennox Inn.

John Lennox married Ann Margaretha Schupp, the daughter of German immigrants to Lunenburg, in the St. John Anglican church, just a few houses away from his inn.  He had six children.  They lived in a smaller house on Fox Street across the street from the inn.

St. John's Anglican Church
where John Lennox married Ann Margaretha Schupp
The house where the Lennox family lived
across the street from the inn

In his 1817 will, John Lennox, innkeeper, named his wife, son William and daughters Anna Barbara  Chamberlain, Isabella Lennox, Sarah Lennox and Lucy Lennox.   This will and the inventory of his estate were valuable resources for the restoration of this colonial building. During the restoration the owner found John Lennox’s signature on a beam, and an order from Halifax for a list of rums and wines.  The modern day “innkeeper”, Bob Cram, showed me these things on our tour of the Inn.  It was a wonderful experience to sleep in my ancestor’s tavern!

His daughter, Sarah, married Bremner Frederick Bollman, the son of the town doctor,  and they named their daughter, my great great grandmother, Ann Margaret “Annie”, after her mother. Annie and her husband, the music professor Caleb Rand Bill, removed to Salem, Massachusetts.

My Lennox genealogy:

Generation 1: John Lennox, born about 1765 in Stirling, Scotland, died 1 October 1817 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia; married on 19 March 1797 in Saint John’s Anglican Church in Lunenburg to Ann Margaretha Schupp.  She was the daughter of Johan Justinas Schupe and Anna Margareta Finck, born 18 September 1773 in Lunenburg. They had six children.

Generation 2: Sarah Elizabeth Lennox, born 16 February 1805 in Lunenburg; married first to Martin Ernst and had one child; married second to Bremner Frederick Bollman, son of Dr. Johann Daniel Bollman and Jane Bremner.  They had three children.

Generation 3:  Ann Margaret Bollman m. Caleb Rand Bill
Generation 4: Isabella Lyons Bill m. Albert Munroe Wilkinson
Generation 5: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

For more information:

The Lennox House (built by John Lennox, innkeeper and across the street from his inn, on the corner near the St. John Anglican Church in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia) http://www.edmundbrownless2.de/lennoxhouse.html

The Lennox Inn, 69 Fox Street, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia   http://www.lennoxinn.com/

My blog post about the Lennox Inn:

A 2013 blog post by Jean Knowles, about the Lennox Inn:

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The URL for this post is:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/02/surname-saturday-lennox-of-lunenburg.html 

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Friday, March 7, 2014

America’s First Military Dog? Sgt. Beaubien

"Sergeant Beaubien" by historical artist John Buxton
depicts Rangers on patrol overlooking Lake George.
On the right is William Stark with his famous dog "Beaubien"

Captain William Stark was a member of Roger’s Rangers, and elder brother to General John Stark who was so famous during the American Revolution.  (Gen. Stark coined the famous phrase “Live Free or Die” which became the New Hampshire state motto).   Both Stark brothers were born at the Stark homestead on Stark Road in Derry, New Hampshire (then known as Londonderry).  Each brother took a different side during the American Revolutionary War, but served together in the French and Indian War.  

William Stark adopted a wolf hybrid dog from a French Canadian officer, and he named him Sergeant Beau de Bien.  He entered the dog into the muster roll of the Rangers, and he earned Sergeant’s pay as a scout.  The men called the dog “Beaubien”.  This famous dog was beloved by the Rangers and his story is now part of New Hampshire history.

“He [Beaubien]lived to a ripe old age and though he never boasted of his deeds he was considered a hero.”   History of Rogers Rangers, by Burt G. Loescher, Volume 1, pages 90-91.

A hearing was held recently in Concord at the statehouse to create a canine veteran’s day to honor service dogs.  Twelve other states have such a holiday.  Richard Holmes, the Derry Town historian recently announced at the Londonderry Historical Society meeting on 25 February 2014 that the first military dog in America was Londonderry’s own Beaubien.  His story could be the symbol of the service dogs from New Hampshire for this new holiday. 

For more information:

“Dogs could be honored with Canine Veteran’s Day”, WMUR TV, 20 February 2014 http://www.wmur.com/news/dogs-could-be-honored-with-canine-veterans-day/24587696

“Sgt. Beaubien was another Nutfield First" by Rick Holmes, Derry News, March 13, 2014  https://www.derrynews.com/opinion/column-sgt-beaubien-was-another-nutfield-first/article_bb803e17-8cf0-5a59-bc2a-9bf2248386af.html   

Sergeant Beaubien, original artwork by John Buxton http://www.lordnelsons.com/gallery/frontier/buxton/15.htm

My Londonderry friend just wrote a children's book about a military dog, see this link:
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Adventures-Jethro-Fritz-Feinstein/dp/1457524570 


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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "America’s First Military Dog? Sgt. Beaubien", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 17, 2023, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/03/americas-first-military-dog-sgt-beaubien.html: accessed [access date]). 

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Genealogy Research in Derry, New Hampshire




Derry, New Hampshire has two public libraries.  The largest one is located on Broadway, with the New Hampshire room with local history resources.  In 1990 there was an expansion of the original building.  The renovation quadrupled the space and created the New Hampshire room which is full of local history resources.  The library is named for Henry F. MacGregor, whose 1926 will instructed his widow to buy land and build a library for the town of Derry.  It was dedicated on 14 January 1927. Henry MacGregor is a direct descendant of the Reverend James MacGregor, who brought his flock from Aghadowey, Northern Ireland to Nutfield, New Hampshire in 1719.



This stained glass window was originally in the MacGregor home in Houston, Teas. 
 It was installed in the New Hampshire room.  


The collections of the New Hampshire Room



The New Hampshire Room is in the rear of the first floor.  You will need to stop by the reference librarian's desk and sign in before it will be unlocked for you.   This room houses all the local history and genealogy collections.  There is also a microfilm reader for the newspaper archives dating from 1891 to the present. See the link below for a list of the resources in this room. 

There is no published book of Derry vital records, but you can look in the town reports for births, marriages and deaths.  The town clerk also has records of births, marriages and deaths, and copies are sent to the Vital Records Department in Concord, New Hampshire, about a half hour north of Derry, New Hampshire by Route 93. 

Derry Public Library
64 East Broadway
Derry, New Hampshire
03038
603-432-6140

The New Hampshire Room resources can be seen at this page:

Derry Town Clerk
located at the Derry Municipal Building
141 Manning Street
Derry, New Hampshire
603-432-8176

New Hampshire Vital Records Administration
71 South Fruit Street
Concord, New Hampshire  03301
603-271-4651

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/01/genealogy-research-in-derry-new.html 

Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo