tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42164095839426889472024-03-17T20:04:17.550-07:00Know Their StoriesA Family History BlogErinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.comBlogger194125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-50779067831526689322024-02-25T06:00:00.000-08:002024-02-25T08:18:37.274-08:00Bad Puritans: Samuel Gorton, Robert Coles, and the Founding of Rhode Island (Part 2)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjifF3Mpfl2iuuhwnkmW4qqfPl5AZAyGK-2K9xgo8gvgq8jL9qfvKfA89vD1FL5y3zDc10QYAmDsyv-YdfADRy1IQIDgzo-J-khXQ3tsfdQpPeecQEtlVwI6UF-ZSLgJCYvqnht6JkDGqdVfbe63fFHeXuWElludZHIg2g7g2KxSCfCAg_No6PpTWfAVS4/s800/Providence_1650.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjifF3Mpfl2iuuhwnkmW4qqfPl5AZAyGK-2K9xgo8gvgq8jL9qfvKfA89vD1FL5y3zDc10QYAmDsyv-YdfADRy1IQIDgzo-J-khXQ3tsfdQpPeecQEtlVwI6UF-ZSLgJCYvqnht6JkDGqdVfbe63fFHeXuWElludZHIg2g7g2KxSCfCAg_No6PpTWfAVS4/w400-h225/Providence_1650.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A painting by artist Jean Blackburn depicting the town of Providence in about 1650.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2024/01/bad-puritans-samuel-gorton-robert-coles.html">my last post</a>, I wrote about my 9th great-grandfather Samuel Gorton, the religious leader and firebrand who founded Warwick, Rhode Island. While Gorton butted heads with nearly everyone he encountered, he was secure in his faith, his education, and in his commitment to a high moral standard. None of this can be said for my 9th great-grandfather Robert Coles. Robert was also a founding father of Rhode Island, and he was the father-in-law of Samuel Gorton's daughter Mahashalalhasbaz, but his route to Rhode Island took a very different path.</p><p>Robert Coles was born about 1605 in Sudbury, Suffolk, England. Nothing is known of his early years. His parents have not been conclusively identified, nor is there any indication of what Robert's trade may have been in England. In about 1629, Robert married a woman named Mary whose surname is unknown. In 1630, they emigrated to the British colonies in America. The place Robert lived undoubtedly influenced his decision to leave England.</p><blockquote>Sudbury, England was a hotbed of Puritan sentiment during much of the 17th century. It was among the towns labelled "notorious wasps' nests of dissent." During the decade of the 1630s, many Sudbury families departed for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. [Source: <i>Great Migration Study Project, Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to N.E. 1620-1633, Vols I-III</i>.]</blockquote><p></p><blockquote>One of these Puritan areas was the Stour River Valley, on the border between Essex and Suffolk. This valley, where John Winthrop lived, became known as a godly kingdom. John Cotton, who became vicar of St. Botolph’s parish in Boston in 1612, also advanced a Puritan agenda. His preaching drew many godly men and women (likely including Anne Hutchinson) from surrounding towns to hear him preach. [Source: <a href="https://historicbostons.org/blog-1/bremer">Partnership of Historic Bostons</a>]</blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBsWtW1YHPTwFzdctKoBKGtp1PusNzvS9mpa3UoBDah-kN8ZU7zzKdqEn5pYY70-h0QnWkfBDAEfq42kZrzwnB6iPQB1nAbzchnFB4LO_-aVLKdiIFdlbrqlbsGIiHgTtaqf7ogHVkFhrzfu19MfoBojDPBLrRyQ8cxOWQpgZekKwKOIZDDteiJ84ELY/s864/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%205.40.58%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="864" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBsWtW1YHPTwFzdctKoBKGtp1PusNzvS9mpa3UoBDah-kN8ZU7zzKdqEn5pYY70-h0QnWkfBDAEfq42kZrzwnB6iPQB1nAbzchnFB4LO_-aVLKdiIFdlbrqlbsGIiHgTtaqf7ogHVkFhrzfu19MfoBojDPBLrRyQ8cxOWQpgZekKwKOIZDDteiJ84ELY/s320/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%205.40.58%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sudbury's location, northeast of London, is shown with a red pin</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>John Winthrop, a leader in the Puritan movement, and the future first Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, had a lot of influence in Suffolk. While the details of their association are not known, Robert Coles apparently subscribed to Winthrop's doctrine and his growing belief that Puritans must physically separate themselves from the seemingly corrupt Church of England.</p><blockquote>As a young man, Winthrop became convinced that England was in trouble: Inflation coupled with population growth had led men to pursue wealth at the cost of their souls. Efforts to reform the Church of England had faltered. Zealous bishops hounded religious dissenters who resisted obeying the rules. Puritans like Winthrop were persecuted. As he worried about his future, Winthrop became intrigued by a new venture, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a commercial enterprise that offered the chance for religious freedom in the New World.<br /><br />Winthrop struggled with the decision to abandon his homeland. He was keenly aware that hardships had claimed the lives of half the Pilgrims who had settled in Plymouth 10 years earlier. He had no illusions about the difficulties that lay ahead -- a hostile climate, bad food, sickness and isolation. When he survived a bad accident with his horse, he took this as a divine signal: God was calling him to create a holy community in the wilderness of New England. [Source: <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/godinamerica/people/john-winthrop.html">PBS</a>]</blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBsPPSSJeo7siK2WSfd8q5hhn6gMvrCHdgswqwiAwAyODsXadZLGUzCloH9MwuLAa59jHzZz1S4ja8fJJwCmWtsVfBMwPlcipXv6Ax9POt7_1ITuZ6dc3_hiFSTkhSuPqBVjrw0DKdtHQ2kWqXgTkRuyGKv26b-WCIUsxkWIg3Vmt-lt8hSEtKQJDz3Bs/s2000/JohnWinthropColorPortrait.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1645" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBsPPSSJeo7siK2WSfd8q5hhn6gMvrCHdgswqwiAwAyODsXadZLGUzCloH9MwuLAa59jHzZz1S4ja8fJJwCmWtsVfBMwPlcipXv6Ax9POt7_1ITuZ6dc3_hiFSTkhSuPqBVjrw0DKdtHQ2kWqXgTkRuyGKv26b-WCIUsxkWIg3Vmt-lt8hSEtKQJDz3Bs/s320/JohnWinthropColorPortrait.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Portrait of John Winthrop by an unknown artist</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Winthrop signed on with the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1629 and spent the following year encouraging others to join him in emigrating to the new colonies. In 1630, he led a group of eleven ships that sailed from Yarmouth to Salem, the first five of which departed on April 8, and the rest in May. This group, called the Winthrop Fleet, included my 9th great-grandfather Robert Coles. After arriving at Salem in 1630, Robert and his wife Mary moved on to Roxbury, Massachusetts, where their first child, John Coles was born.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4giOUsFJiuCoyb8DS5nVqgMrbiPMYDgJsDsaoE2YjwLdYJq6GckAAHXyPiKZLctlWk7JZi0N4UTPUvGhBiwBUP4Gut0Gvu6RKWvWzXtdTYfoCTH0H9aCJqT5R2T8ZMmdzPLC8w3ohPfv_j92INyqmGvg3Sg0YMJpLGFSVnyxMsih1o_73PUzhcjzBfjo/s1121/Puritan-ships-arrive-in-Boston_1630.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="1121" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4giOUsFJiuCoyb8DS5nVqgMrbiPMYDgJsDsaoE2YjwLdYJq6GckAAHXyPiKZLctlWk7JZi0N4UTPUvGhBiwBUP4Gut0Gvu6RKWvWzXtdTYfoCTH0H9aCJqT5R2T8ZMmdzPLC8w3ohPfv_j92INyqmGvg3Sg0YMJpLGFSVnyxMsih1o_73PUzhcjzBfjo/w400-h144/Puritan-ships-arrive-in-Boston_1630.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>An illustration depicting the Winthrop Fleet arriving in Boston Harbor</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><blockquote><p>Coles arrived in New England in the summer of 1630 as a passenger in the Winthrop Fleet, and was among the first settlers of the town of Roxbury. In October of that year he petitioned the Massachusetts Bay Colony's General Court in Boston to become a freeman and in 1631 he took the freeman's oath. He was a founding member of the First Church of Roxbury, which was a non-separating Congregationalist church established in 1631, and in 1632 he was one of two townsmen elected to represent Roxbury in the General Court. During his term, Massachusetts Bay became the first colony to adopt formal arbitration laws.</p>In 1633, Coles was in the first company, led by John Winthrop the Younger, that went to Agawam where he was granted a large home lot on the Ipswich River at present-day East and Cogswell Streets and 200 acres—a property now called Greenwood Farm—on the neck of land north of town. He moved to Salem in 1635 where he received a home lot in town and 300 acres of farmland south of Felton Hill "in the place where his cattle are by Brooksby. [Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Coles_(settler)">Wikipedia</a>]</blockquote><p>Robert and Mary had three children together:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>John Coles (b. 1630; d. 1676; m. Ann)</li><li>Deliverance Coles (b. 1632; d. 1663; m. Richard Townsend)</li><li>Ann Coles (b. 1634; d. 1695; m. Henry Townsend)</li></ol><div>If you were to just read the details above, it would be easy to assume Robert was a typical Puritan, involved in the work of settling new communities, filling civic and religious leadership roles, and parenting young children. However, the court records of the time tell a different story. Robert Coles was a notorious drunk, and between 1631 and 1634, his behavior escalated to the point that it placed him firmly outside the confines of what was acceptable to the Puritans. The Puritans, for all their rigidity and righteousness, were not inherently opposed to alcohol. The drinking of alcohol and its use for medicinal purposes were a commonplace part of early colonial life. What was unacceptable was public drunkenness and drinking on the Sabbath when one was meant to be in church. We don't know if Robert had a problem with alcohol prior to his arrival in New England, but once there, his tendencies landed him in hot water immediately.</div><div></div><p></p><blockquote><p></p><div>In 1631, Coles was fined five marks (about £3 then and US$850 in 2022) for drunkenness aboard the Friendship and at Winnissimet, now Chelsea. The Friendship was carrying two hogsheads (more than 120 gallons) of flavored mead called metheglin. Coles's fellow carousers—who were not pious Puritans—included Edward Gibbons, a former polytheist "who chose rather to Dance about a May pole...than to hear a good Sermon" and Samuel Maverick, a wealthy Anglican "very ready to entertain strangers." In 1632, Coles was again fined for drunkenness, this time in Charlestown. In addition to his fine of £1 he was required to appear before the General Court and the Court of Assistants to publicly confess.</div><p></p></blockquote><p></p><blockquote>Coles was charged a third time for drunkenness in 1633, along with fellow settler John Shatswell, at Agawam. Shatswell was fined £2, but Coles was fined £10 (about US$2900 in 2022) for multiple offenses: drunkenness, encouraging Shatswell's wife to drink, and "intiseing her to incontinency and other misdemeanor." Coles was also sentenced "to stand with a whte sheete of pap on his back wherein a drunkard shalbe written in great letters, & stand therewith soe longe as the Court thinks meete...." [Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Coles_(settler)">Wikipedia</a>] </blockquote><p>The Puritans were big fans of public punishment. They used shame as a tool to keep their communities in line. What was more shameful than being made to stand in a town square and be disciplined and chastised in front of ones neighbors? Puritan courts sentenced offenders to be restrained in bilboes, "a long heavy bolt or bar of iron having two sliding shackles, something like handcuffs, and a lock. In these shackles were thrust the legs of offenders or criminals, who were then locked in with a padlock. Sometimes a chain at one end of the bilboes attached both bilboes and prisoner to the floor or wall." [Source: Alice Morse Earle, "<i>Curious Punishments of Bygone Days</i>"]. Those convicted of crimes might be publicly whipped, branded, or made to stand in a visible place with a cleft stick secured to their tongue. Colonial law enforcers also liked to hang signs on sinners advertising their crimes, and then make them stand in town squares for some length of time wearing their signs. When that castigation proved insufficient, words or letters might be sewn onto their clothes, and the guilty party forced to wear it for a longer period. There are a number of instances of this kind of punishment in colonial records, including the following:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In 1636, William Bacon was sentenced to stand in stocks wearing a large letter "D" for drunkenness.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In 1639, Margaret Henderson of Boston was fined and sentenced to stand in the town center wearing a paper that declared her “ill behavior.”</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In 1656, a woman from Taunton and Plymouth was whipped, fined, and sentenced to wear a red "B" on her clothing to indicate the crime of blasphemy.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In 1673, Widow Bradley of New London was sentenced to wear a paper pinned to her cap to advertise her shame.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In the 1600s, a Massachusetts court legislated that if someone twice interrupted a preacher during worship, they had to pay a fine of five pounds and stand on a 4-foot block wearing a sign that read, ‘WANTON GOSPELLER.’ </li></ul><div>One of the most famous of these punishments was the one given to my 9th great-grandfather Robert Coles. After many previous convictions, and apparently no change in his behavior, in 1634, a court in Roxbury delivered a severe verdict.</div><div><blockquote>The court orders that Coles, for drunkenness by him committed at Roxbury shall be disfranchized, weare about his necke & soe to hange upon his outward garment a D made of redd clothe & sett upon white, to contynue this for a yeare & not to leave it off at any tyme when hee comes amongst company.... [Source: <i>Records of the Court of Assistants of the colony of the Massachusetts Bay, 1630–1692. Vol. 2. Boston: Suffolk County</i>]</blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_rq1QAI6YqW56TddC66i-OoOSq9mSsviOoRTYP-K4xElhVxcxUR5rD55auzg87IACilP-G2msHi3NCx5pZSXy8kSsnLHPgQWMJqUPg2baWZA6WKaCL3F74gHeMgZnIXKFMP-56Bkkjekno5xRtaU1P6Cj0Bj1lzXj9u562w_ZSCBrEKkHPKeVgyJKuQ/s678/Scarlet-punishment-678x300.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="678" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_rq1QAI6YqW56TddC66i-OoOSq9mSsviOoRTYP-K4xElhVxcxUR5rD55auzg87IACilP-G2msHi3NCx5pZSXy8kSsnLHPgQWMJqUPg2baWZA6WKaCL3F74gHeMgZnIXKFMP-56Bkkjekno5xRtaU1P6Cj0Bj1lzXj9u562w_ZSCBrEKkHPKeVgyJKuQ/w400-h178/Scarlet-punishment-678x300.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>An illustration showing various forms of Puritan punishment, which includes a man, perhaps Robert Cole, wearing a scarlet "D" [<a href="https://www.genealogymagazine.com/scarlet-letters-of-punishment/">source</a>]</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Robert was stripped of his right to vote, and for a year, he had to wear a large red "D" sewn onto a white background on his clothes, as a symbol of his persistent drunkenness. If this sounds familiar, it is because this punishment was an inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous novel, <i>The Scarlet Letter</i>. Hawthorne based the sanctions imposed upon his heroine, Hester Prynne, on several historical sources, including that of an English man named William Prynne, whose face was branded with the letters "S" and "L" after he criticized an archbishop. In <i>The Scarlet Letter</i>, Hawthorne gave Hester a sentence more like those handed down in colonial America, where convicts were made to wear signs, and specifically the one given to Robert Coles, who was sentenced to wear a scarlet letter emblazoned on his clothes.</p><p>From 1634 to 1635, Robert wore his scarlet "D." After living for some time in Roxbury and Agawam (later Ipswich), in 1635 Robert took up residence in Salem. In December 1635, Robert was granted 300 acres of land just west of central Salem. With his holdings across three Massachusetts communities, Robert now owned a considerable amount of land. He made enough money farming those lands and with milling operations that he prospered despite his many convictions.</p><p>Another notable resident in Salem in 1635 was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams">Roger Williams</a>. Williams would shortly become one of the founding fathers of Rhode Island, as discussed in my previous post about Samuel Gorton. Williams believed in the separation of church and state, something the Puritans vehemently opposed. Their whole raison d'être in the colonies was to create a pure society based on their religious beliefs, and they considered Williams' teachings dangerous and heretical. Williams was forced out of Salem during a blizzard in 1636, and he fled southward, establishing the Providence Plantation in Spring of that year. It is not known whether Williams and Coles interacted during their overlapping time in Salem, or whether Coles was, at that time, drawn to Williams' religious persuasions, but it seems likely. Robert Coles followed Roger Williams to Providence in 1637.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhSgVOoDN7CIe4A3IArFOzXk4BPSf-VmBTywaBk2DqUhp5DDEEHgXueEas7xMVZA-jO00jHu7b-DSugDcHnBsOpNBauliITBcxMto30lfV0JA2IiczokGRwwFpgpQfgzKK56a4_5EE7mbNsJor3nUpO3nmSu6NNVHlJ639y05VmsVuiz_Gx7VRLkCzLo/s679/ri.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="679" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhSgVOoDN7CIe4A3IArFOzXk4BPSf-VmBTywaBk2DqUhp5DDEEHgXueEas7xMVZA-jO00jHu7b-DSugDcHnBsOpNBauliITBcxMto30lfV0JA2IiczokGRwwFpgpQfgzKK56a4_5EE7mbNsJor3nUpO3nmSu6NNVHlJ639y05VmsVuiz_Gx7VRLkCzLo/s320/ri.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>An illustration depicting Roger Williams welcoming settlers to Providence</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Between his final known conviction in 1634, and his departure for Providence in 1637, life was rocky for Robert Coles. He may have stopped drinking to excess, for he was not in court on such charges after 1634. However, it seems that his wife, Mary, may have followed in his footsteps. In 1634, Robert and Mary were excommunicated from their church in Roxbury, and the parish noted in its records that Mary "did too much favor his ways, yet not as to incur any just blame, she lived an aflicted life, by reason of his vnsetlednesse [unsettledness] & removing fro place to place." [Source: <i>Boston Registry Department (1884). Records relating to the early history of Boston. Vol. 6</i>]. It is not clear when Mary died, but it was likely sometime between her daughter Ann's birth in 1634 and Robert's move to Salem in 1635. Mary would have been young at the time of her death, probably in her late 20s. She left behind three children under the age of five.</p><p>In about 1637, before departing Salem for Providence, Robert married again. His second wife, Mary Hawxhurst, was the daughter of Sampson Hawxhurst, the vicar of Nuneaton in Warwickshire, England, and his wife Elizabeth. Mary also emigrated to the colonies with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630, traveling with her brother, Christopher Hawxhurst. Robert and Mary had five children together.</p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Daniel Coles (b. 1637; d. 1692; m. Mahahshalalhasbaz Gorton)</li><li>Elizabeth Coles (b. 1639; m. John Townsend)</li><li>Nathaniel Coles (b. 1642; d. 1678, m. (1) Martha Jackson (2) Deborah Wright)</li><li>Sarah Coles (b. 1646; d. 1692; m. Thomas Townsend)</li><li>Robert Coles (b. 1648; d. 1715; m. Mercy Wright)</li></ol></div><p></p><div><ol style="text-align: left;"></ol><div>You may notice that all four of Robert Coles' daughters married men with the surname Townsend. Three of these men, John, Henry, and Richard Townsend, were known to be brothers. However, Thomas Townsend, who married Sarah Coles, is not believed to be closely related to them. </div><div><br /></div><div>You may also notice that Robert's two youngest sons married women with the surname Wright. Deborah and Mercy Wright were sisters, the daughters of Nicholas Wright and his wife Ann. Their brother, John Wright, married Mary Townsend, the daughter of Ann Coles. So, three Townsend siblings married three Coles siblings, and three Wright siblings married two Coles siblings and a child of a sibling.</div><div><br /></div><div>Daniel Coles was one of the two Coles siblings who did not marry a Wright or a Townsend. He married Mahahshalalhasbaz Gorton, daughter of Samuel Gorton. I descend from their son Samuel Coles. However, I also descend from Daniel's sister Ann Coles, via her daughter, Susannah Townsend. This means Robert Coles is my 9th great-grandfather on two different lines of my family tree.</div></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kVwBgvAcFXcCm7ADstwV1SLk52kqQoted-YK0Coq9tlrDbtSjtXFdNCJlSS_5zSViTZiuRuAgbwvNFRVnniaBiDVKtCl0poSC1iDH9_9lu7CU5jFvCmXeyNACOC2NO6YN17kGvQCuPZvugm7l6HxxxGXhjhS4av89FUnz9L2w4r1TIqnELpeBLd4D0E/s2108/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%206.32.40%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1558" data-original-width="2108" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kVwBgvAcFXcCm7ADstwV1SLk52kqQoted-YK0Coq9tlrDbtSjtXFdNCJlSS_5zSViTZiuRuAgbwvNFRVnniaBiDVKtCl0poSC1iDH9_9lu7CU5jFvCmXeyNACOC2NO6YN17kGvQCuPZvugm7l6HxxxGXhjhS4av89FUnz9L2w4r1TIqnELpeBLd4D0E/w640-h474/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%206.32.40%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A chart showing how I descend from my 9th great-grandfathers, Robert Coles and Samuel Gorton, <br />ending with my second great-grandfather, John Thorne Griffin.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>In 1637, Robert left Salem and followed Roger Williams to Providence. He brought with him his wife, Mary, and his four small children. The youngest, Daniel, was born not long before the move. </div><div><br /></div>In 1638, Robert was recorded as a founding member of the church in Providence, the first Baptist church in the colonies. The minister, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezekiel_Holliman">Ezekiel Holliman</a>, baptized Roger Williams, Robert Coles, and about a dozen other men at the first gathering of church members. In this small group of men was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Carpenter_(Rhode_Island_colonist)">William Carpenter</a>, who is also my 9th great-grandfather on a different (but connected) family line.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3xMPsM-HCY7GXB28pvN7pw-8Wcmb7nypmQBHj1sOC_qnMwGM1KI4YXZSdlH0cBKVb_5lMzd796wNa6ZmcB3LAzmHnMyF_m5r9stDp4VChY__yM5_BgWjD6FERpOX94bf9fPQpb1nGIpfujZqpgPG8lTvFMsZPmx3Gaesuojj5Jek3hsH8SEnka7CQ_o4/s1852/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%209.17.00%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1542" data-original-width="1852" height="533" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3xMPsM-HCY7GXB28pvN7pw-8Wcmb7nypmQBHj1sOC_qnMwGM1KI4YXZSdlH0cBKVb_5lMzd796wNa6ZmcB3LAzmHnMyF_m5r9stDp4VChY__yM5_BgWjD6FERpOX94bf9fPQpb1nGIpfujZqpgPG8lTvFMsZPmx3Gaesuojj5Jek3hsH8SEnka7CQ_o4/w640-h533/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%209.17.00%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>William Carpenter's great-grandson, Timothy Carpenter, married Phebe Coles, <br />great-granddaughter of Robert Coles.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />Robert Coles was one of the first 13 settlers of Providence.<br /><blockquote>Each of the original proprietors received a narrow, five- or six-acre, river-front home lot that stretched eastward from Towne Street, now Main Street, to "a highway," now Hope Street in present-day College Hill, Providence, and they received shares of upland and meadow on the south side of town. Robert Coles's home lot was on the Great Salt Cove between the lots of Thomas Olney and William Carpenter and along the ancient "highway" called the Wampanoag trail, now Meeting Street. The land granted to him south of town laid east of Mashapaug Pond. [Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Coles_(settler)">Wikipedia</a>]</blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwrzXBoO7BAHY15roqsBtY0bT1-cQCcaUf3OWDrTktW3j3s7UPArPYIq9bKCP8oSLPg5ZBBPJOJa7XTHTMv7UTlAIsDc1ltRyfHrZ-iGoKDcydj4Z2VtCPE05qQRCEJwdgEeqgQJjM7GfSHSjc1hkEZItP6Ls-Blmhl5E964tqChyuj-wU6-nhleDdGc/s1812/Original_Providence_Rhode_Island_town_layout_of_homesteads.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1268" data-original-width="1812" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwrzXBoO7BAHY15roqsBtY0bT1-cQCcaUf3OWDrTktW3j3s7UPArPYIq9bKCP8oSLPg5ZBBPJOJa7XTHTMv7UTlAIsDc1ltRyfHrZ-iGoKDcydj4Z2VtCPE05qQRCEJwdgEeqgQJjM7GfSHSjc1hkEZItP6Ls-Blmhl5E964tqChyuj-wU6-nhleDdGc/w400-h280/Original_Providence_Rhode_Island_town_layout_of_homesteads.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The plan showing the original division of home lots in Providence.<br />Robert Coles' lot is 20th from the top, right next to William Carpenter.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>In fall of 1638, Robert also built a home on the Pawtuxet River in what is now Pawtuxet Village. In 1640, he signed the Plantation Agreement at Providence, an accord that amended the 1637 Providence Agreement. This agreement was one of the first compacts regarding governance in the colonies, and was a precursor to the United States Constitution. Notably, among the 39 signers of the agreement were two women, a radical statement during a time in which women were not included in government and were not permitted to vote. As mentioned in my <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2024/01/bad-puritans-samuel-gorton-robert-coles.html">post about Samuel Gorton</a>, the founders of Rhode Island were ahead of their time in favoring rights for women and honest dealings with their Native American neighbors.<div><blockquote>In addition to being one of the first political compacts, the Providence Agreement also contains the first expression in the new world of the separation of church and state—achieved by limiting the town meeting to “civil things.” [Source: Charles Evans, “<i>Oaths of Allegiance in Colonial New England</i>"]</blockquote>By 1648, Robert had moved to Warwick, Rhode Island, the town founded by my 9th great-grandfather, Samuel Gorton. Robert operated a mill in Warwick and lived there until his death in 1654.<p></p></div><div>The early years of Robert's life in the New England colonies are so strikingly different than his later years. He grew from a repeat offender, in and out of court, censured for his drunkenness to the point that his punishment inspired a major work of American literature, to an upstanding founding father of the capital of Rhode Island. Sometime between 1634 and 1637, Robert, "seems to have reformed... and there is certainly nothing in the Providence town records or those of Warwick, where he afterwards resided, to indicate that he did not lead a perfectly correct life in both places." [Source: <i>The MacDonough-Hackstaff Ancestry</i>, Rodney MacDonough]. At the time of Robert's death, he was a major landowner in Rhode Island. He left an estate valued at more than £500, a large amount in those times. Not enough has been written about Robert's personal and religious convictions, and what may have inspired him to turn his life around, but by the time he arrived in Rhode Island, he was clearly a changed man.</div><div><br /></div><div>After Robert's death, his wife Mary married Matthias Harvye. In 1661, they moved to Oyster Bay, on Long Island, in New York. All of her children went with them, either in 1661 or in the years that followed. Three of Mary and Robert's sons founded the community of Musketa Cove, now Glen Cove. In Oyster Bay, Musketa Cove, and in Flushing, Queens, where some of the family later moved, several really fascinating branches of my family converge. The Townsend, Feakes, and Bowne families were Quakers, considered radical and unlawful, and persecuted for their beliefs. Continuing the legacy of their forbearers in Rhode Island, these families fought fiercely for their right to practice religion as they saw fit, enduing imprisonment, banishment, and myriad other challenges. I'll talk about them in future posts.</div><div><br /></div><div>According to Wikipedia, some of Robert Coles' notable descendants include the following:</div><ul style="color: #222222;"><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4216409583942688947/5077906783152668932#" style="color: #1155cc;">Walter Chrysler</a><span style="color: black;">, who founded the </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4216409583942688947/5077906783152668932#" style="color: #1155cc;">Chrysler Corporation</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Novelist <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4216409583942688947/5077906783152668932#" style="color: #1155cc;">Miriam Coles Harris</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">American Revolutionary War spies <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4216409583942688947/5077906783152668932#" style="color: #1155cc;">Robert Townsend</a> and Sally Townsend, who were siblings and members of the secret <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4216409583942688947/5077906783152668932#" style="color: #1155cc;">Culper Ring</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Spy Jesse Coles, who was captured while carrying a message to <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4216409583942688947/5077906783152668932#" style="color: #1155cc;">General Washington</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Robert R. Coles, chairman of the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4216409583942688947/5077906783152668932#" style="color: #1155cc;">Hayden Planetarium</a></span></li></ul><div><span style="color: #222222;">This concludes the series on my "bad Puritan" ancestors, Samuel Gorton and Robert Coles. Neither one fit into Puritan society, whether due to their unconventional religious beliefs, or their inability to abide by Puritanical law. Gorton, Coles, and many others like them, ended up in Rhode Island, a safe haven for those who found themselves outside the strict and rigid communities established in Massachusetts. The cities founded in Rhode Island by religious dissidents, notably Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, and Samuel Gorton, paved the path for a future America, one that endeavored to separate government from religion and truly allow its citizens freedom of worship. The fulfillment of that promise was a long way off, and some may say we're still working on it today, but the early Rhode Island communities firmly set a stake in the ground for those ideals.</span></div></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-32417091849265187452024-01-29T05:30:00.000-08:002024-02-25T20:51:13.872-08:00Bad Puritans: Samuel Gorton, Robert Coles, and the Founding of Rhode Island (Part 1)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJ3kMpKDrGYKaNjeuyT5ipKT_J_Ib8O8vbFOE84S1X-wLxPyRQQ1o4jrdF4zltGEU3HWpH9PisiXUhUAQcyYvZANzv97BGcaxDkYfGZIBcfZShuw3efenvJjNP0xqB6J7tNcGaCVGBonxY_yEzHLL4P-DmQbf-0_Jesm49ieckm0_hSwkp1dKurKAGrY/s274/Gorton-35.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="250" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJ3kMpKDrGYKaNjeuyT5ipKT_J_Ib8O8vbFOE84S1X-wLxPyRQQ1o4jrdF4zltGEU3HWpH9PisiXUhUAQcyYvZANzv97BGcaxDkYfGZIBcfZShuw3efenvJjNP0xqB6J7tNcGaCVGBonxY_yEzHLL4P-DmQbf-0_Jesm49ieckm0_hSwkp1dKurKAGrY/s1600/Gorton-35.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Samuel Gorton (artist unknown)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In Colonial America, clashing loyalties and disparate religious beliefs often resulted in breakaway groups of colonists departing to form new settlements.</p><p>The earliest English immigrants to the British colonies were typically separatists; Puritans so extreme that they had to cross an ocean and start a new civilization in order to adequately distance themselves from an English church they viewed as ungodly and corrupt. In history class, we learn that the Puritans came to America seeking religious freedom, and this is partially correct, but that freedom only extended to those who worshipped like they did. They were incredibly intolerant of those who practiced other forms of Christianity. Anglicans, Quakers, and Antinomians were not welcome in Puritan societies. Any behavior that deviated from the strict, scripture-based laws of these new colonies was punished harshly and publicly. As the 1600s progressed, and more people started arriving from England, inevitably not all of them fit into the world the separatists had created, leading to increased conflict.</p><p>Another issue that festered in the background during these first decades in America was the issue of ultimate authority. Early voyages to America had been organized by religious groups or leaders, with the support of a benefactor, but these organizations did not necessarily communicate with each other or have the foresight to work together. Colonists sometimes arrived to create a community in a particular location, only to find it already taken. There were competing interests, both in England and the colonies, and companies sponsoring immigrants morphed, dissolved, or merged in ways that made governance challenging for those living in disputed areas. The colonies were not one big country with different cities and states, as New England is now. It was essentially a patchwork of small countries, governed by different parties in England, with rules enforced by local leaders, and not necessarily welcoming to new settlers. In short, everyone could not just get along. It was complicated.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwgDySDIw23VYOFFoybZ_xWFEUUFHq0Y-KjmzeX8PFi_xgYR1eCrPolJcYWthPpeOAVbOX5ZYHgBYvTYVSsEgswpNEclZ-maVBolNecmhke78Nz12UnPPt9PSpYQvoRlswEqUgMpF2e9wJSnDHxvuPEqLM954xOnAx-KXbmkLt2ZRu8JsWjVxKWwAiZM/s2000/new-england-1665-ce-13370.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1665" data-original-width="2000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwgDySDIw23VYOFFoybZ_xWFEUUFHq0Y-KjmzeX8PFi_xgYR1eCrPolJcYWthPpeOAVbOX5ZYHgBYvTYVSsEgswpNEclZ-maVBolNecmhke78Nz12UnPPt9PSpYQvoRlswEqUgMpF2e9wJSnDHxvuPEqLM954xOnAx-KXbmkLt2ZRu8JsWjVxKWwAiZM/s320/new-england-1665-ce-13370.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Map of New England printed by John Seller John in 1675 CE, based on William Reed's original survey of 1665 CE.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>When my 9th great-grandfather, Samuel Gorton, arrived in Massachusetts in 1637, the settlements there were reeling from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomian_Controversy">Antinomian Controversy</a>. This controversy set the followers of radical minister John Cotton, namely the strident Anne Hutchinson and her brother-in-law John Wheelwright, against traditional Puritans, like Massachusetts Bay Company Governor John Winthrop. I discussed this moment in history in my post about my 11th great-grandfather <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-moulton-family-of-salem.html">Robert Moulton</a>, who was disarmed in Salem for supporting Anne Hutchinson's right to worship as she desired. Cotton, Wheelwright, and Hutchinson were gathering followers as they evangelized, teaching that strict obedience was unnecessary for salvation, and that faith alone was the answer. The Puritans thought they were heretics and chased them out of Massachusetts. The animosity their proselytizing created was a true crisis for this young colony.</p><p>To further set the stage, in the 1630s, Rhode Island did not yet exist. Scattered communities had been established, largely as outposts for those not welcome in Massachusetts, but there was not yet connective thread between them.</p><blockquote>Although the Puritan British theologian Roger Williams is often given the sole role of founder of Rhode Island, the colony was in fact settled by five independent and combative sets of people between 1636 and 1642. They were all English, and most of them began their colonial experiences in Massachusetts Bay colony but were banished for various reasons. Roger Williams' group was the earliest: In 1636, he settled in what would become Providence on the north end of Narragansett Bay, after he was kicked out of the Massachusetts Bay colony. [source: <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/rhode-island-colony-103880">ThoughtCo</a>]</blockquote><p>The early Rhode Island settlements included Providence, Portsmouth, Newport, and Warwick.</p><blockquote>The settlement at Providence along the Narragansett Bay, established by Williams and his followers in 1636, soon became a haven for religious dissidents. In 1644 Williams obtained a patent for the colony of Providence Plantations, later Rhode Island. [source: <a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/february-05/">Library of Congress</a>]</blockquote><p>Meanwhile, another community was taking shape on an island off the coast, founded by William Coddington.</p><p></p><blockquote>In 1637 he [Coddington] supported the controversial antinomian religious tenets of Anne Hutchinson, and as a result he and his followers were obliged to leave Massachusetts for the island of Aquidneck (Rhode Island) in Narragansett Bay. Coddington established a government based on Old Testament precepts in a settlement that he led at Pocasset (Portsmouth) on the northern part of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rhode-Island-Rhode-Island"></a>Aquidneck. Anne Hutchinson had also settled in Portsmouth after she was banished from Massachusetts, but Coddington became embroiled in a dispute with her and moved his settlement to Newport in 1639. Although Portsmouth and Newport were united the next year, with Coddington elected governor, his hopes to maintain the island of Aquidneck as a separate colony were thwarted in 1644, when the English colonist Roger Williams obtained a patent uniting his Providence plantations with Aquidneck. [source: <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Coddington">Brittanica</a>]</blockquote>For more information on this fascinating period in early America, I recommend listening to The Other States of America History Podcast's episode <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1fJVAh4eaM&list=TLPQMTYwMTIwMjR6KlS4xaxpqg&index=5">Rhode Island Versus Providence Plantations: Shawomet, Portsmouth, Newport and Providence (1643-1663)</a>.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTH4s2sO7cFodl_fNhmlek5UqqYHywOjunXZncK8KFDWRdWprNESBBgUpU9XqHGBGSDzNB-5cZyYo8GDS6f72EIpjCLRoqq3DJUxRaIlaIfvtHzAYeY87BiIDt8KPuF7FeXJVv0QpmfNPrPUntD6_P9CX8STKxuuNmzDOfdaDilUtsz_b_EY-cA3n4Ii4/s1000/Providence_1650_by_Jean_Blackburn.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTH4s2sO7cFodl_fNhmlek5UqqYHywOjunXZncK8KFDWRdWprNESBBgUpU9XqHGBGSDzNB-5cZyYo8GDS6f72EIpjCLRoqq3DJUxRaIlaIfvtHzAYeY87BiIDt8KPuF7FeXJVv0QpmfNPrPUntD6_P9CX8STKxuuNmzDOfdaDilUtsz_b_EY-cA3n4Ii4/s320/Providence_1650_by_Jean_Blackburn.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><i>A painting by artist Jean Blackburn depicting the town of Providence about 1650.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Warwick, the last of the early Rhode Island communities, was founded in 1642 by Samuel Gorton. But let's back up a moment and properly meet Samuel. I'll start this by saying that it has been a thrill to learn of my connection to Samuel Gorton. Ancestors like this, who bucked every convention and blazed their own trail, are my very favorites. Samuel Gorton was smart, driven, and absolutely unwilling to compromise his beliefs or acquiesce to the prevailing rules of the American colonies. Essentially, he helped found Rhode Island after making himself unwelcome anywhere else.<div><br /></div><div>Samuel was born in 1593 in Lancashire, England and baptized in Manchester. His parents are not conclusively known, but they appear to have been affluent, for young Samuel was afforded private tutors and had an excellent education, including training in law. By the late 1620s, he had moved to London where he worked as a "clothier," likely owning a clothing shop. He seems to have done well for himself, as he was able to marry a young woman from a prosperous London family.</div><blockquote>Samuel Gorton was married before January 11, 1629/30 to Mary Mayplet, the daughter of haberdasher John Mayplet. Mary was the granddaughter of the Reverend John Mayplet, Rector of Great Leighs Parish in Essex, Vicar of Northolt in Middlesex, and a writer on the topics of natural history and astrology. Her brother was Dr. John Mayplet, physician to King <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England">Charles II</a>. [source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Gorton">Wikipedia</a>]</blockquote><p>Mary was also educated and could both read and write, skills that were not typically prioritized for women during that time. Samuel and Mary had nine children together, the eldest two born in England.</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Samuel Gorton (b. 1630; d. 1723; m. Susanna Burton)</li><li>Mary Gorton (b. 1631; d. 1688; m. (1) Peter Greene (2) John Sanford)</li><li>Sarah Gorton (b. 1638; m. William Mace (or Mayes))</li><li>John Gorton (b. 1640; d. 1714; m. Margaret Wheaton)</li><li>Elizabeth Gorton (b. 1641; d. 1704; m. John Crandall)</li><li>Mahashalalhasbaz* Gorton (b. 1642; d. 1692; m. Daniel Coles)</li><li>Anna Gorton (b. 1644; d. 1734; m. Daniel Warner)</li><li>Susanna Gorton (b. 1649; d. 1734; m. Benjamin Barton)</li><li>Benjamin Gorton (b. 1650; d. 1699; m. Sarah Carder)</li></ol><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Mahashalalhasbaz is a Bibilical name. Maher Shalal Hash Baz was a child of Isaiah and his wife, the prophetess. The name was a prophecy given by God, literally meaning "In making speed to the spoil he hastens the prey."</span><p></p><p>Samuel's life would come to be defined by his particular religious beliefs, which did not align with any of the prevailing forms of Christianity at the time. In comparing his orthodoxy to other religions, it was perhaps most similar to Quakerism, but definitely unique to Gorton. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">[Gorton] rejected any partnership between religion and the civil authorities and any outward trappings of worship, denied the Trinity, accepted the divinity of Christ, rejected a “hireling ministry” (i.e., a paid clergy), and asserted that he was the mere instrument by which the Holy Spirit spoke to his followers. [source: <a href="https://riheritagehalloffame.com/Samuel-Gorton/ ">RIHeritageHallofFame</a>] </blockquote><blockquote>Gorton also sponsored one of the first laws for the emancipation of slaves. He believed in freedom of worship and even was willing to grant that right to Quakers. He felt that immortality depended on the total character. He opposed rituals and denied the doctrine of the Trinity. Gorton was a compelling lay preacher and a brilliant scholar and dubbed himself ‘professor of the mysteries of Christ.' [source: Robert F. Huber, “<i>Gorton Gets the Boot</i>,” The Howland Quarterly, Vol. 65, No. 4, (December, 2000).]</blockquote><p>Samuel had strong religious beliefs but sometimes little patience for his neighbors. Perhaps due to his high level of education and success in business, and likely owing to his absolute certainty about the divine, he repeatedly engaged in conflicts with those he found ignorant, unlawful, or disrespectful. While these sorts of incidents were not documented until he arrived in Massachusetts, it's fairly certain they occurred before he departed for the colonies, as well. The English did not appreciate the fervor of the Puritans, and they likely felt the same about Samuel Gorton and his proselytizing. Given Samuel's financial security in London, his departure for the colonies seems to have based in a quest for religious freedom, and the opportunity to gather like-minded supporters.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMv_L8uXeGyWcx_uxtzpL-abZKabmmrB5LZd8nTA3tEs3TVi3S3wul0GUpCEbkkrKnkjHU5fmBorcXYUVfcLxZaGsW_P8kuHDITDLZFvg5URmPuxe1OPUA6HPvj0qWifr5LJhIaU3AlH75JdmnrGXGmgmk8oZTCVB7hsSHswmtoqBs0IdjB_jBzwmC0IM/s1280/download.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMv_L8uXeGyWcx_uxtzpL-abZKabmmrB5LZd8nTA3tEs3TVi3S3wul0GUpCEbkkrKnkjHU5fmBorcXYUVfcLxZaGsW_P8kuHDITDLZFvg5URmPuxe1OPUA6HPvj0qWifr5LJhIaU3AlH75JdmnrGXGmgmk8oZTCVB7hsSHswmtoqBs0IdjB_jBzwmC0IM/s320/download.jpeg" width="320" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A depiction of the type of ship that would have brought the Gortons to the colonies</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In late 1636 or early 1637, Samuel, Mary, and their two children sailed from London to Boston. Samuel arrived in Massachusetts with out-of-the-box religious persuasions and a personality that was an acquired taste. Neither went down well with the Bostonians.</p><p>Perhaps my favorite publication about Samuel Gorton is the New England Historical Society's article, <i><a href="https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/samuel-gorton-and-his-gortonites-create-a-church-among-the-jack-an-apes/">Samuel Gorton Insults the Puritans, Goes to Jail, Founds Warwick, R.I.</a></i>, with the tagline, "He believed in equality for all, but he was obnoxious about it." The URL for this article includes, "Samuel Gorton and His Gortonites Create a Church Amongst the Jack an Apes." It is hilarious, and makes light of the many years in which Samuel engaged in rather outrageous conflicts with neighbors, the Massachusetts Bay Company, Roger Williams, and anyone who got in his way. However, recent history has reconsidered the longstanding view of Gorton as the ultimate antagonist in early New England. </p><p></p><blockquote>The "cantankerous", "contumacious" and "obnoxious" Samuel Gorton has been subject to misrepresentation by the historians of four centuries. He is most commonly described as "bewitching and bemadding" not only Providence but the whole of southern New England. Edward Winslow's contemporaneous Hypocrisie Unmasked is the usual starting point for those seeking an introduction to Samuel Gorton, appearing as it does to consist of testimony from several sources, including John Winthrop, of Gorton's "mutinous ...seditious ...uncivil ....riotous" and "licentious" behaviour. But Hypocrisie Unmasked was composed at the specific request of the government of Massachusetts with the expressed purpose of discrediting Gorton before the English government. Gorton's own testimony in Simplicities Defence and elsewhere tells a different story, which whilst not contradicted in his lifetime, or since, has not been thoroughly researched in its own right. Far from being the "dangerous" and "crazed thinker" of tradition Samuel Gorton was in fact a "strenuous beneficent force", whose importance to the independence of the colony of Rhode Island, and his courage in securing it, was matched only by Roger Williams. [source: G. J. Gadman, "<i>A strenuous beneficent force": The Case for Revision of the Career of Samuel Gorton, Rhode Island Radical'</i>]</blockquote><p></p><p>Samuel and his family landed in Boston and soon moved to Plymouth Colony. There, in addition to attending the local church, Samuel began to gather with others in his home to share his own personal theology. These meetings were open to those frequently marginalized in Puritan churches, including women. Having just expelled Anne Hutchinson, Massachusetts religious and civil authorities were wary of another charismatic leader preaching a belief system that differed from theirs. They asked Samuel's landlord to evict him. At the same time, Samuel was testifying in court in defense of his household's maid, who was being threatened with banishment for smiling in church. Since he was there, local officials took the opportunity to enforce his eviction. Samuel "challenged the court for abusing procedure and appealed to the people to 'stand for your liberty'. For this he was accused of "sedition" and "mutiny", fined £20 and banished." [Source: <a href="http://www.famousamericans.net/samuelgorton/">FamousAmericans</a>] Samuel and two of his supporters, John Wickes and Thomas Wickes, were given 14 days to leave Massachusetts entirely. Unfortunately, this eviction occurred during a terrible winter blizzard, and while the men were able to entice neighbors to take in their wives and children, Samuel, John, and Thomas were forced out into extreme weather to find shelter in unsettled wilderness.</p><p>Samuel headed to the colony at Portsmouth that had been founded in 1638 by religious dissenters from Massachusetts Bay Colony, including John Clarke, William Coddington, and the infamous Anne Hutchinson. Samuel and his family settled on some land there, but soon ran into trouble again. Samuel immediately got involved in a simmering feud regarding the separation of Portsmouth and Newport, making no friends in the process. Also, there was apparently a bit of a racket going in Portsmouth, where farmers would cut the fences of other farmers, allowing their neighbors' cattle to roam freely. Then, they would complain that the cows had damaged their property and demand compensation. When this happened to Samuel, did he pay the fine and move on? Of course not. This was exactly the kind of dishonest and unlawful behavior that Samuel hated with a passion (and frankly, this sentiment still runs in the family). He went to court over the matter, made indignant and passionate speeches in his defense, refused to back down, and when the court fined him, Samuel called them "asses." He called his neighbors "jack-an-apes" and "saucy boys." He was not having any of it. For his trouble, he was whipped and banished.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeUJOre2NmtIW2V6nHkTFCH3LeUjPEGo1yw0N1SAF_ztIa0XBnAAw7o_faJcztnMfIythvMcmCUvrsf4KUO2yxMZcwJvIuHQeIOP6Cr1cUWFVy-vmIC1Ydfn1imQKLsXJ8KqGsZxIKRNEiL2CpuAm5DvXIJGmDqDQQfTSUIeZ8UDffIZer6Tsbj6Wto4/s538/Samuel_Gorton_trial.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="368" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeUJOre2NmtIW2V6nHkTFCH3LeUjPEGo1yw0N1SAF_ztIa0XBnAAw7o_faJcztnMfIythvMcmCUvrsf4KUO2yxMZcwJvIuHQeIOP6Cr1cUWFVy-vmIC1Ydfn1imQKLsXJ8KqGsZxIKRNEiL2CpuAm5DvXIJGmDqDQQfTSUIeZ8UDffIZer6Tsbj6Wto4/s320/Samuel_Gorton_trial.jpg" width="219" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>William Coddington sits as judge in the trial of Samuel Gorton in colonial Rhode Island <br />(artwork created in 1876)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Samuel moved on to Providence, founded by Roger Williams, but once there, he refused to accept the authority of the colonial government, as he believed that only England and the King had jurisdiction. Roger Williams refused to grant him freeman status because he would not submit to colonial authority or denounce his behavior in Portsmouth. Tensions grew between Gorton's supporters, who numbered quite a large group at this point, and Providence authorities. It erupted into a street riot in November 1641, at which point Gorton fled south for Pawtuxet, rightly fearing retribution.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJ8A-nlljwrQsiwTSPwglJNsUQn8DRptqZN38zwChGZRawH1pSnDdWAr08kjC1Vb5ZUvSaBg8-vu1NFpl5VmKsCkNZ61lxEtrj2ACsqs6gy5XxZH7Lv9mkAp-hxDi_banO8EzBDg-ufmKLYcOA0JjgkT6f4Si-82_8x5IugU2gAKCiZys2NlqWS8JPCM/s900/samuel-gorton-1592-1677-granger.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="696" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJ8A-nlljwrQsiwTSPwglJNsUQn8DRptqZN38zwChGZRawH1pSnDdWAr08kjC1Vb5ZUvSaBg8-vu1NFpl5VmKsCkNZ61lxEtrj2ACsqs6gy5XxZH7Lv9mkAp-hxDi_banO8EzBDg-ufmKLYcOA0JjgkT6f4Si-82_8x5IugU2gAKCiZys2NlqWS8JPCM/s320/samuel-gorton-1592-1677-granger.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Another rendering of Gorton in court, by Granger</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Pawtuxet wanted nothing to do with Samuel, whose reputation preceded him. Despite being well outside the boundaries of Massachusetts, Pawtuxet officials appealed to the Massachusetts Bay Company to come and get Samuel, offering to allow them jurisdiction in Pawtuxet. Samuel got the message and split, but where was a radical religious leader and his band of followers to go, having been exiled from the entirety of Massachusetts and three separate communities in the future Rhode Island?</p><p>Samuel found a refuge at Shawomet (later Warwick), which was five miles south of Pawtuxet and thirty miles beyond the Massachusetts border, thus theoretically safe from threats. He and his supporters purchased land from the native Narragansett people living nearby, and hoped to set up a permanent refuge, living in harmony with their Narragansett neighbors. However, the officials in Pawtuxet felt Samuel was still too close for comfort. They enticed two Narragansett sachems to complain to the Massachusetts Bay Company that their lands had been stolen, not purchased. Gorton was summoned to Boston to respond to the accusation, but because Samuel did not recognize colonial governments, he refused to go. In September 1643, Massachusetts sent forty soldiers to Shawomet, where they attacked the village, causing panic and the deaths of two women. After a standoff, Samuel and several supporters were arrested and marched back to Boston. "The attack by Massachusetts soldiers on the Gortonists in Shawomet in 1643 has been called one of the greatest crimes of the colonial period." [source: <a href="https://warwickonline.com/stories/samuel-gorton-turbulent-troublemaker-continued,73145">Warwick Beacon</a>]</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lxen8DVL8GoS8MqjLXF2mxcKpsqCimzmeMy-KX07yYr1srCUZsGVP2vaUWgnkO0IUuhmWW58hEHv_F4gJHK37O0GuDE7RvoKduSK7LNOU7Vp6KVa4PnEtre3cJ7bKSQPZq6PJtA0rzHOOyop_X974nxd3gOkkwwDvkDoIdfghTsgCEeQZxTW8bw_FLc/s1744/Gorton.1643_attack_on_Shawomet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1744" data-original-width="1720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lxen8DVL8GoS8MqjLXF2mxcKpsqCimzmeMy-KX07yYr1srCUZsGVP2vaUWgnkO0IUuhmWW58hEHv_F4gJHK37O0GuDE7RvoKduSK7LNOU7Vp6KVa4PnEtre3cJ7bKSQPZq6PJtA0rzHOOyop_X974nxd3gOkkwwDvkDoIdfghTsgCEeQZxTW8bw_FLc/s320/Gorton.1643_attack_on_Shawomet.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><i>Attack on Shawomet by soldiers from Massachusetts in 1643 </i><i>(Scribner's Popular History of the United States, 1898, by William Cullen Bryant, Sydney Howard Gay, Noah Brooks)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In Boston, Samuel was tried and quickly convicted. The magistrates were divided on whether he should get a death sentence, so instead he was shipped to Charlestown, put in irons, and sentenced to work. However, Gorton could not keep quiet. Even as a prisoner, he was still allowed to go to church, and he regaled everyone he encountered there with tales of his mistreatment and the corrupt Massachusetts court. The magistrates were not about to let this spiral into an uprising, so they released Gorton and again gave him 14 days to get out of Massachusetts, but declared he could not return to Providence or Shawomet. And then they changed the amount of time he had to vacate the colony to two hours. </p><p>The colonial leaders in Boston also took this moment to shore up their power in Rhode Island by turning Native American groups against each other in order to weaken their influence.</p><blockquote>The Boston authorities, seeking to make their claim even more secure by dividing the Indians, decided to eliminate Miantonomi [leader of the Narragansett people] as well. They prevailed upon Uncas, chief sachem of the Mohegans, to make war on the Narragansetts, and promised him help and money. Miantonomi and his warriors were led into a trap and Miantonomi was captured. The Mohegan sachem Uncas, seeking to curry even more favor with the English, beheaded Miantonomi, and sent the grisly trophy to Boston. This proved to be Boston’s undoing in Shawomet, for when Samuel Gorton returned to get his belongings, he was greeted by sadder but wiser groups. Indians, angered at the Massachusetts authorities for the part they played in the disgraceful treatment of Miantonomi, felt that any treaties with the Massachusetts authorities were no longer binding on them. Because Gorton was freed, they believed he had more power than the Massachusetts authorities. Gorton easily persuaded the Narragansetts to sign a treaty placing themselves under the protection of the King of England, and to confirm his claims to Shawomet. [source: <a href="https://warwickonline.com/stories/samuel-gorton-turbulent-troublemaker-continued,73145">Warwick Beacon</a>]</blockquote><p>Samuel temporarily returned to Portsmouth, where William Coddington gave him refuge, despite their past conflicts. However, it became clear that Coddington could not truly protect Samuel from his many enemies, and Portsmouth would be no safe haven. Samuel decided his only option was to sail to England, along with several of his followers, and attempt to garner support from someone of importance there.</p><p>In the four years he spent in England, away from his family and followers, who remained at Shawomet, Gorton was productive. He wrote extensively about his faith and his experiences in the colonies, including, in 1646, a tract titled <i>Simplicity's Defence Against Seven Headed Policy</i>, which dealt specifically with the injustices inflicted upon the settlers at Shawomet. Working his connections, Samuel was able to garner support for Shawomet from Robert Rich, the second Earl of Warwick, who wrote him a letter authorizing safe passage back to Shawomet, and endorsed his quest to receive a royal charter for the settlement. In 1648, bearing this letter, Samuel sailed boldly into Boston Harbor. He was immediately arrested.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcielQlhgkQAsSxw3dP5Jn2HKya5jbY70GCBlOY1G7Z8HTFK4OB_hTiB2_j8ZN4uGPd-9czVLPDNO7YjVFuZLw9a3XKEddgoxFgQZTHkfNI-A54IBVX7bM9nSZDNIk0CHU24hzXeW6pVm7aJVSgbrOxPozmo8v0Lr20FAdp2WS9CbTx90JC6byvgAAdFU/s799/1-samuel-gorton-1592-1677-granger.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="544" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcielQlhgkQAsSxw3dP5Jn2HKya5jbY70GCBlOY1G7Z8HTFK4OB_hTiB2_j8ZN4uGPd-9czVLPDNO7YjVFuZLw9a3XKEddgoxFgQZTHkfNI-A54IBVX7bM9nSZDNIk0CHU24hzXeW6pVm7aJVSgbrOxPozmo8v0Lr20FAdp2WS9CbTx90JC6byvgAAdFU/s320/1-samuel-gorton-1592-1677-granger.jpg" width="218" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Artwork depicting the moment Gorton gave Warwick's letter to Massachusetts authorities</i> </td></tr></tbody></table><p>Once the Massachusetts Bay Colony authorities saw Gorton's official order of protection for Shawomet, signed by the Earl of Warwick, they had no choice but to release him and allow him to continue to Shawomet. Samuel returned to Shawomet victorious. He was greeted as a hero by his supporters, and they promptly renamed Shawomet in honor of the Earl who gave them legitimacy and protection, Warwick.</p><blockquote>Gorton's views on the role of government had transformed markedly during his time in England. He became actively involved in roles that he had previously criticized, now that his settlement of Warwick was secured by royal decree. The separate settlements of Providence Plantations, Portsmouth, Newport, and now Warwick all came together under a fragile government, choosing John Coggeshall as its first President in 1647 and calling itself the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_of_Rhode_Island_and_Providence_Plantations">Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations</a>. With his success in England, Gorton was seen as a leader in the colony and he was chosen as the Warwick assistant (magistrate) in 1649 under colonial President John Smith, also from Warwick. Both Gorton and Smith declined their positions but were fined for doing so; they both ultimately served and their fines were remitted. [Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Gorton">Wikipedia</a>]</blockquote><p>Samuel Gorton spent the rest of his life in Warwick, engaging in a number of leadership and regional government roles. In 1651, he was chosen as President of the Rhode Island colony. During this time, he wrote a bold statute that was ahead of its time, an act calling for the emancipation of slaves.</p><blockquote>As early as 1652, Warwick’s founder, Samuel Gorton, then president of the colony, called for a general assembly that ordered that “no slave, black or white, could be held in servitude for more than ten years.” This was one of the first laws in English colonies to provide for emancipation. After a great deal of deliberation and discussion in the press, Rhode Island called for freedom for “all children born of slave mothers” after the first of March 1784. [Source: <a href="https://cranstononline.com/stories/rights-for-roman-catholics-the-gradual-emancipation-act,524">Cranston Herald</a>]</blockquote><p>In the spring of 1677, Warwick was destroyed during King Philip's War. The townspeople, who fled ahead of the violence, returned to a community that had been burned to the ground and had to be completely rebuilt.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_NQIREZGSpzeFq0mxXcXZyN-SBFvv0-8qiD-l5h5kG2GQyedtJmg8zdqu_JcM-wyitPmO1GgJ9kFN04z5-ebcXFZdvdX3kFQTl7zozc0PBISM_blUjBm_j9D-_aPit6_xEGpT11MFWoSC-H5J7eWbMIOV4OXjsRSz9jOY9t87LFxiD1c5LZp0LbAUBX8/s783/samuel-gorton-1593-1677-v0-alvrj1yc1b0b1.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_NQIREZGSpzeFq0mxXcXZyN-SBFvv0-8qiD-l5h5kG2GQyedtJmg8zdqu_JcM-wyitPmO1GgJ9kFN04z5-ebcXFZdvdX3kFQTl7zozc0PBISM_blUjBm_j9D-_aPit6_xEGpT11MFWoSC-H5J7eWbMIOV4OXjsRSz9jOY9t87LFxiD1c5LZp0LbAUBX8/s320/samuel-gorton-1593-1677-v0-alvrj1yc1b0b1.webp" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The grave of Samuel Gorton</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Samuel Gorton died in late 1677, after having returned to Warwick and supported rebuilding efforts. He was about 84 years old. It is not known precisely when his wife Mary died, but she was still alive in April 1670, when her brother John mentioned her in his will. They left nine children, including my 9th great-grandmother, Mahashalalhasbaz Gorton Coles, and numerous grandchildren, including my 8th great-grandfather, Samuel Coles.</p><blockquote>Early Rhode Island historian Samuel G. Arnold would write of Samuel Gorton, “He was one of the most remarkable men that ever lived. His career furnishes an apt illustration of radicalism in action, which may spring from ultra-conservatism in theory. The turbulence of his earlier history was the result of a disregard for existing law, because it was not based upon what he held to be the only legitimate source of power—the assent of the supreme authority in England. He denied the right of a people to self-government, and contended for his views with the vigor of an unrivalled intellect and the strength of an ungoverned passion. But when this point was conceded, by the securing of a Patent, no man was more submissive to delegated law. His astuteness of mind and his Biblical learning made him a formidable opponent of the Puritan hierarchy, while his ardent love of liberty, when it was once guaranteed, caused him to embrace with fervor the principles that gave origin to Rhode Island.” [source: <a href="https://smallstatebighistory.com/john-angell-the-last-gortonist/">Small State Big History</a>] </blockquote><p>I'm also related to another notable figure in the history of Rhode Island, Robert Coles. My 9th great grandfather will be the subject of my next post. In addition to his role in the founding of Rhode Island, Robert was the inspiration for a work of classic American literature.</p><p>(<a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2024/02/bad-puritans-samuel-gorton-robert-coles.html">Continue to Part 2 of this story here</a>)</p></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-84878840561898506192024-01-15T06:00:00.000-08:002024-02-25T08:44:36.845-08:00The Capen Family of Dorchester<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UeZTUSd4D0EchfS7qQ90_WM6BbEnVCwn6rwAom4lcfKFukob0LABGP5TySPsgfylzaPe-3wAW54ZQZ019liUq_efPdkT4xqytnOTdlYjhkHQjjhzqJW_RwEnjIuSVuEptgggJsh6rukW3rYMPS6iQbidGw_QjfJeBnuazJrI7jDka3LVjmRABCk30F4/s2048/Dorchester.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="2048" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UeZTUSd4D0EchfS7qQ90_WM6BbEnVCwn6rwAom4lcfKFukob0LABGP5TySPsgfylzaPe-3wAW54ZQZ019liUq_efPdkT4xqytnOTdlYjhkHQjjhzqJW_RwEnjIuSVuEptgggJsh6rukW3rYMPS6iQbidGw_QjfJeBnuazJrI7jDka3LVjmRABCk30F4/w490-h158/Dorchester.jpeg" width="490" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Modern day Dorchester, England</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>I spent much of last year studying my immigrant ancestors who arrived in Colonial America in the early 1600s. Included in this group are Bernard Capen, my 11th great-grandfather, Joan Purchase Capen, my 11th great-grandmother, and their son John Capen, my 10th great-grandfather. They emigrated from England to America together in 1633. <div><br /></div><div>The Capens lived in Dorchester, which is in Dorset in southwest England. Dorchester has existed since Roman times, and in the late 1500s there might have been about a thousand people living in and around the town. It served primarily as a market town, where surrounding communities would gather to buy and sell goods. These days, Dorchester is admired for its beautiful coastline, and known for being the birthplace of author Thomas Hardy.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6itlBPwRTvvM7AZ8Su7fFYRsHO2SuPs_yxjK1smFoxB3uEzHGLcy2U0qO2YoqgtlxZ4l9JAljlb5-vEw5sUN2CSok-xnaseg7X_AXoRdcuDj3CjhouDoYt3s3YKbrH0XCRN7oe6eXSGecO6vaVM0Q-Z7JLSvsxnB_nRQDi0M3tUm7Mj3tRFcpe14pG4/s677/DorchestermapJohnSpeed1611.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="677" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6itlBPwRTvvM7AZ8Su7fFYRsHO2SuPs_yxjK1smFoxB3uEzHGLcy2U0qO2YoqgtlxZ4l9JAljlb5-vEw5sUN2CSok-xnaseg7X_AXoRdcuDj3CjhouDoYt3s3YKbrH0XCRN7oe6eXSGecO6vaVM0Q-Z7JLSvsxnB_nRQDi0M3tUm7Mj3tRFcpe14pG4/s320/DorchestermapJohnSpeed1611.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i>Map of Dorchester & Fordington in Dorset England by John Speed, dated 1611</i></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><br /></div><div><u>Bernard and Joan Capen and Their Children</u></div><div>Bernard and Joan were married in Dorchester in May 1596. Bernard's origins are not known, but by the time of his marriage, he was established as a a shoemaker in Dorchester. Joan was the daughter of Oliver Purchase and his wife Thomasin Harris, both of Dorchester. Bernard and Joan had nine children together:<div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Bernard Capen (b. 1597; d. 1661; m. Christiane)</li><li>James Capen (b. abt. 1599; d. 1628)</li><li>Ruth Capen (b. 1600; d. 1646)</li><li>Dorothy Capen (b. abt. 1602; d. 1675; m. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Upsall">Nicholas Upsall</a>)</li><li>Susannah Capen (b. abt. 1602; d. 1666; m. (1) <a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rockwell-88">William Rockwell</a> (2) Matthew Grant</li><li>Hannah Capen (b. abt. 1607; d. 1670; m. Robert Gifford)</li><li>Elizabeth (b. abt. 1611; d. 1678; m. Thomas Swift)</li><li>John Capen (b. 1613; d. 1692; m. (1) Redegon Clapp (2) Mary Bass</li><li>Honor Capen (b. 1616; d. 1680; m. William Hannum)</li></ol><div><u>The Puritans in Dorchester</u></div><div>Of the eleven members of the Capen family, seven would ultimately leave England for America in the 1630s. They were not alone in this migration. In the early 1600s, Dorchester was an epicenter of Puritanical fervor, and many residents decided to emigrate to America to create a more godly society. Whole families often departed together and restarted their lives in the colonies.</div><blockquote>Puritans were English Protestants who were committed to "purifying" the Church of England by eliminating all aspects of Catholicism from religious practices. [source: <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/colonial-america/colonial-north-america/a/puritan-new-england-plymouth">Khan Academy</a>]</blockquote><p>The religious atmosphere in England in the early 1600s was complex. Seventy years earlier, determined to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII had broken with the Catholic Church. Parliament made this separation official in 1534 by passing the Act of Supremacy, which established Henry VIII as the head of a new Church of England. Over the century that followed, the English people and clergy battled over competing belief systems, a difficult period known as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Reformation">English Reformation</a>. By the 1600s, most had renounced Catholicism and were committed to the Church of England, but tensions remained. The Puritans felt not enough had been done to totally eradicate Catholicism in England. There were also different degrees of Puritanical belief, with separatists being at the extreme end of the spectrum. Separatists believed that they must separate themselves from government-run churches and gather only in community-based churches. That led to groups of Separatists leaving England and temporarily resettling in Holland, with many later moving on to the American colonies. The dissatisfaction of the Puritans with the Church of England's status quo, and their growing belief that they were called to create a society founded upon God's law, culminated in mass emigration to the new American colonies.</p><div>The fate of the Capen family seems to have been largely shaped by Reverend John White, the rector of Holy Trinity and St. Peter's churches in Dorchester.</div></div><blockquote>John White was Rector of Holy Trinity and St Peter's churches from 1606 to 1648. He was at the centre of the group that took control of the town after the great fire of 1613 and ran it with a vision of a godly community in which power was to be exercised according to religious commitment rather than wealth or rank. Dorchester became briefly a place which could boast a system of education and assistance to the sick and needy nearly three hundred years ahead of its time. White and his parishioners established the Napper's Mite almshouses and a brewery to help maintain them. Work was found for all the fit poor of the parish, and the profits of the brewery looked after the poor and disabled. He sympathised with the struggles of the Puritans for freedom of worship and was involved with the group that sailed on the Mayflower. In 1623 he personally organised a group that established a small trading post at Cape Anne. He worked hard, making many trips to London, not easy in those days, to get a charter for the Massachusetts Bay Company, and to create an alliance between wealthy London merchants and West Country seamen. This enabled a fleet of ships to sail in March 1630 with the first large party of English people to settle in New England. The first ship to sail was the Mary and John, which carried people from Dorset, Somerset and Devon personally recruited by White. In June 1630 they landed and founded the settlement of Dorchester Massachusetts. [source: <a href="https://dorchesteranglican.org.uk/churches/st-peter/john-white/intro#:~:text=John%20White%20was%20Rector%20of,rather%20than%20wealth%20or%20rank.">Dorchester Anglican</a>]</blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WkyVpw18UTmTdBGWtiA-PaoKn2jlqwqWDZYMD4YEt1M_4jrW3PAvrcbAtstAxvlOs2rAfDAX2c6sO0Le-z6diOJb7a_TxLeL7dYeebh67MGspIZejMlwo_g1QIE84oBfOTUghG7Hl3PwlzVYKjezM_0Um9udDVOnmibZj3qYtDjwT-Q9AJ-hkThI2SY/s333/JohnWhiteSketch.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="242" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WkyVpw18UTmTdBGWtiA-PaoKn2jlqwqWDZYMD4YEt1M_4jrW3PAvrcbAtstAxvlOs2rAfDAX2c6sO0Le-z6diOJb7a_TxLeL7dYeebh67MGspIZejMlwo_g1QIE84oBfOTUghG7Hl3PwlzVYKjezM_0Um9udDVOnmibZj3qYtDjwT-Q9AJ-hkThI2SY/s320/JohnWhiteSketch.gif" width="233" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rev. John White</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><u>Susannah and Dorothy Capen Leave England</u></div><div>The Capens were among those in Dorchester who became devotees of White's theology. In 1630, White organized a ship to take believers to the new world. At that time, sisters Dorothy and Susannah Capen were married women living with their husbands and children in Dorchester. They and their families signed on to White's voyage, making them the first Capen family members to emigrate. The <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_and_John">Mary & John</a></i> departed Dorset on March 20, 1630, and arrived at Nantasket Point, which is now the city of Dorchester, Massachusetts on May 30. This was two weeks before the arrival of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winthrop_Fleet">Winthrop Fleet</a>, which carried a number of my other immigrant ancestors from Yarmouth, England to Salem, Massachusetts.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJKZ6siCzvwPTCvIjwVDK16sqRSIESulltJmb2dlmZh70poNUpafu2xmYk9fLSgHVgvy8lWO_xurkdHWitzU9O5DQW5NdbBp2QycNpdehV9PwZH2i94UDzQcCDQTlW_NdXCxz3CY27zPsYzPWr2FZY07ZpE7-EzoEdZTwkTpOd65jEVhqD86DfsCiqV0/s512/unnamed.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="512" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJKZ6siCzvwPTCvIjwVDK16sqRSIESulltJmb2dlmZh70poNUpafu2xmYk9fLSgHVgvy8lWO_xurkdHWitzU9O5DQW5NdbBp2QycNpdehV9PwZH2i94UDzQcCDQTlW_NdXCxz3CY27zPsYzPWr2FZY07ZpE7-EzoEdZTwkTpOd65jEVhqD86DfsCiqV0/w400-h146/unnamed.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An illustration of the Mary & John in 1630</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><u>The Remaining Capen Siblings</u></div><div>There were three Capen sons, Bernard Jr., James, and John. Each had a very different fate. James died in 1628, at the age of 29, before anyone in his family emigrated to America. John, the youngest, went with his parents when they departed England. Eldest son Bernard took over the family shoemaking business in Dorchester from his father, and did not move with his parents and siblings to the colonies. Bernard and his sisters Ruth and Hannah were the only living Capen family members that did not emigrate. </div><div><br /></div><div>I looked to see if any of Bernard Jr.'s children followed their grandparents, aunts and uncles to America in later years, and found a very sad story. Bernard and his wife, Christiane, had six children in Dorchester. In 1646, when those children would still have been young, five of them perished within weeks of each other, presumably from a disease that swept through the family. Only one son survived, along with his parents. It's not known for certain what illness took those young Capens, but Smallpox, being extremely infectious and particularly deadly to children, may have been the culprit.</div><div><br /></div><div>Interestingly, Ruth Capen, one of the other siblings that stayed in England, also died in 1646, possibly felled by the same disease. There seems to be little information about Ruth, and it's not known if she married or had children. Hannah, however, became a well-loved school teacher in Dorchester. She married Robert Gifford and they had at least six children together.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOb3bdZrHZ6EK4LDLE-FW23tKSbZ2qhpDvTeHk9mM3QMRQRM3WSGwRja6OXnMu4x0oI5KCFJmnUpPaU_ytfFxoDK_UiP1MFaGdiO6rty_MvVMBpAMX-GCGaLgq2J3Pw68GSuxe0UrBJ3pCgaVlgK084bipmiM8Q3R9LH035pQXv7xpEl5fPi_w9t8Kmio/s735/bonaventure.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="735" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOb3bdZrHZ6EK4LDLE-FW23tKSbZ2qhpDvTeHk9mM3QMRQRM3WSGwRja6OXnMu4x0oI5KCFJmnUpPaU_ytfFxoDK_UiP1MFaGdiO6rty_MvVMBpAMX-GCGaLgq2J3Pw68GSuxe0UrBJ3pCgaVlgK084bipmiM8Q3R9LH035pQXv7xpEl5fPi_w9t8Kmio/s320/bonaventure.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A rendition of the Elizabeth Bonaventure, a famous warship once commanded by Sir Francis Drake</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><u>A Second Group of Capens Leaves England</u></div><div>In 1633, Bernard, his wife Joan, and their two youngest children, Honor and John, departed Weymouth, England, bound for America. They left behind Elizabeth Capen, who had married Thomas Swift in 1630 and settled in Dorchester. I have read competing claims as to what ship the group sailed on, but it might have been the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_ship_Bonaventure_%281567%29">Elizabeth Bonaventure</a></i> or the <i>Recovery of London</i>. Traveling with Bernard, Joan, John, and Honor were members of Joan's family, including her brother, Aquila Purchase, his wife, and their three children. George Way, Joan's widower brother-in-law, also made the journey to America. In fact, it is believed that up to 10% of the boat's passengers were related to Bernard and Joan. Unfortunately, the voyage was not an easy one.</div><blockquote>The ship they sailed on sprang a leak, which forced them to stay three weeks in the 'Western Islands' (known now as Azores) for repairs. The Portuguese islanders treated them well, but the extreme heat and rain brought disease upon them, and one of the ship's company died. (It is known that Aquila Purchase, brother in law of Bernard, died on the voyage, so it may have been Aquila who died in the Western Islands). They may have been on Flores Island, a sub-tropical location where highs of 85 degrees Fahrenheit in July have been recorded. Coming from cool and temperate England, they would not have been dressed for the weather they could have found there in mid-summer. [source: <i>Reconstructing a Passenger List</i>, Great Migration Newsletter Vol 3, page 9]</blockquote><div><u>The Capens in the American Colonies</u></div><div>The Capens arrived in Massachusetts on July 24, 1633 and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, where Dorothy and Susannah Capen had been living since departing England three years earlier. Elizabeth Capen and her husband Thomas Swift joined them in 1634, sailing on the <i>Discovery</i> to reunite with their family in Massachusetts. Five of the eight living Capen siblings were now in the new world with their parents, Bernard and Joan.<br /><blockquote>He [Bernard Capen] is named
among the first settlers of Dorchester, Mass. He was
granted land in Dorchester 5 Aug. 1633 which is the date
of the first appearance of his name on the records of
Dorchester. He died there 8 d. 9 mo. 1638 aged 76, which
makes his birth about 1562. He built a house, which is
still in existence (1928) and considered by many the oldest
house in New England. The original house, which was
built probably in 1633, had a large addition made to it
about a hundred years later and for upwards of three
hundred years stood on the original site. In 1909 it was
moved to Milton and set up on a hill in what is much
like its original setting. [source: <a href="https://archive.org/stream/capenfamilydesce00hayd_0/capenfamilydesce00hayd_0_djvu.txt"><i>The Capen Family</i></a> by Rev. Charles Albert Hayden and revised by Jessie Hale Tuttle]</blockquote></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6eN9BKVC4-jSg3X6VGj6jxQDliA3y9ye-pfyJUP9X8tSFIpxiLA_bdNP1Er4H6i3KmeuX_UeeMIzGf3E2i_4B5hzH8L3fzAHs-9uNyJ71wLyHsi419Mu_-yBC6RjCgi9C4YgUXAUTvsotYw9SAyFiA9wcwzonNTPylQUO3IieZXRXj7J4bDYeYUysHtA/s1054/Barnard_Capen_House,_Hillside_Street,_Milton_-_DPLA_-_26874eccf45cc9dd896823c0fdcc84f1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1054" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6eN9BKVC4-jSg3X6VGj6jxQDliA3y9ye-pfyJUP9X8tSFIpxiLA_bdNP1Er4H6i3KmeuX_UeeMIzGf3E2i_4B5hzH8L3fzAHs-9uNyJ71wLyHsi419Mu_-yBC6RjCgi9C4YgUXAUTvsotYw9SAyFiA9wcwzonNTPylQUO3IieZXRXj7J4bDYeYUysHtA/s320/Barnard_Capen_House,_Hillside_Street,_Milton_-_DPLA_-_26874eccf45cc9dd896823c0fdcc84f1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Capen House in Milton</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Sadly, in 2006, a new owner decided to have the Capen House dismantled in order to build a modern home on the lot. The city of Milton had not designated the home as a historic property, although it was the oldest house in Milton, and was powerless to stop the demolition. Pieces of the house <a href="https://bostonhistory.typepad.com/notes_on_the_urban_condit/2006/05/one_down_one_to.html">still exist in storage</a>, but there is currently no plan to reassemble them.</div></div><blockquote><div>The first mention of Barnard in the Dorchester records is Aug. 5, 1633 regarding a grant of four acres of land to both he and son-in-law Nicholas Upsall. His homestead was on what is now Washington Street, near Wheatland Avenue. The last land granted him was at South Boston in 1637. He was admitted freeman 25 May 1636 in Dorchester. [source: <a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Capen-106">Wikitree</a>]</div><div></div></blockquote><u>Dorchester, Massachusetts in the 1600s</u></div><div>When Susannah and Dorothy Capen arrived on the land that would be renamed Dorchester in 1630, the area was inhabited by the Neponset people, led by their chief, Chickatabot. Chickatabot died of Smallpox brought to America by English colonists in 1633, the year the Bernard and Joan arrived in Dorchester with two of their children. Chickatabot was succeeded by his brother, Cutshumaquin, but he was not the strong leader that Chickatabot had been.</div><div><div><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;"><blockquote>This chief (Cutshumaquin) appears to have been a mere tool in the hands of the colonial government, used for the purpose of deeding away Indian lands, and acting as a spy upon the movements of neighboring Indians. [source: <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/AKE5680.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext">History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts</a> (Clapp)]</blockquote></span></div><div>The group of colonists that arrived in 1630 aboard the <i>Mary & John</i> toiled to settle the land that became Dorchester, but by 1633, when the rest of the Capen family arrived, it had developed into a prosperous town. In 1633, two members of a visiting delegation described Dorchester as follows:</div><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;"></span><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">The following is Wood's description of Dorchester </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">in 1633. "</span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">Dorchester is the greatest town in New England, but I am informed that others equal it since </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">I came away; well wooded and watered, very good arable grounds and hay ground; fair corn-fields and pleasant gardens, with kitchen gardens. In this plantation is a great many cattle, as kine, goats, and swine. This plantation hath a reasonable harbour for ships. Here is no alewife river, which is a great inconvenience. The inhabitants of this town were the first that set upon fishing in the bay, who received so much fruit of their labours, that they encouraged others to the same undertakings."</span><div><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">The following is Josselyn's description of the town: </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">"Six miles beyond Braintree lyeth Dorchester, </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">a frontire Town pleasantly seated, and of large extent </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">into the main land, well watered with two small </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">Rivers, her body and wings filled somewhat thick </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">with houses to the number of two hundred and </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">more, beautified with fair Orchards and Gardens, </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">having also plenty of Corn-land, and store of Cattle, </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">counted the greatest Town heretofore in New England, but now gives way to Boston; it hath a Harbour to the North for ships." </span></div><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">[source: </span><a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/AKE5680.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext" style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts</a><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;"> (Clapp)</span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;">]</span></blockquote><u>The Deaths of Bernard and Joan Capen</u></div><div>Bernard Capen died five years after his arrival in Dorchester, on November 8, 1638, at the age of 76. He is buried in the Dorchester North Burying Ground. Joan lived another fifteen years. She died on March 26, 1653 at the age of 75. She is buried with Bernard.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_A-MLKh3CKslha3fYU70I5jgMj2u2RSgdsje4hwZS1m5lVubiFaaAgrb0qG88Jb_yQlmi5W5b1FuKgsDk3s9ZIeCVKGHeyrB3YBrE56VA5q4BFRFAU1NzzRoOilu7bHdOJf1sClp0WhIN2StnqeSFftIAlILtofxMYJ8SJoveyTYL19Xa3jWymA85eyc/s4268/Headstone%20Capen2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4268" data-original-width="3201" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_A-MLKh3CKslha3fYU70I5jgMj2u2RSgdsje4hwZS1m5lVubiFaaAgrb0qG88Jb_yQlmi5W5b1FuKgsDk3s9ZIeCVKGHeyrB3YBrE56VA5q4BFRFAU1NzzRoOilu7bHdOJf1sClp0WhIN2StnqeSFftIAlILtofxMYJ8SJoveyTYL19Xa3jWymA85eyc/s320/Headstone%20Capen2.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The grave marker for Bernard and Joan Capen [Source: <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6108090/joan-capen">FindAGrave</a>]</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><u>John Capen and His Children</u><div>My 10th great-grandfather, John Capen, worked as a church deacon in Dorchester, and spent fifty years in the militia, much of that time serving as captain. John also acted as a Selectman in Dorchester for sixteen years (1666-81), and was repeatedly named Deputy to the General Court and Town Recorder. He was elected as a Representative in 1671 and again from 1673-1678.<div><br /></div><div>On October 20, 1637, at the age of 24, John married Radegon Clapp. Radegon was born in Sidbury, Devon, England in 1609. Her parentage is not confirmed, but it is possible that she was the daughter of Nicholas Clapp and his wife Elizabeth Young. Elizabeth died in England in 1631, and Nicholas died in 1632. Their seven presumed children, including Radegon, all died in Massachusetts, so they likely emigrated as a group, or in several smaller groups, in the years immediately following their parents' deaths. <div><br /></div><div>Regarding Radegon's name, I have seen it alternately spelled Redegon, Radigon, Redigan, and Radigan. This is not a common English given name, and I had never actually heard it prior to discovering this ancestor. I was immediately skeptical that it was correct, especially given that her presumed siblings have very traditional names: Jane, Prudence, Barbara, Thomas, Nicholas, and John. However, this marriage and this name are documented in multiple places, including <i>Early New England Families, 1641-1700</i> (Williams), <i>A Sketch from the Early New England Families Study Project: John Capen</i> in American Ancestors Magazine, Volume 14.2, and <i>Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to N.E. 1620-1633, Vols. I-III</i> (Anderson). There is a St. Radegund who is the patron saint of a handful of English churches, and Radegund appears to have had some popularity as a name in Cornwall, as a result. Cornwall is also in the southwest of England, so it's possible the Capens would have met others who gave their daughters this name. However, I'm having difficulty imagining the Capens, staunch Puritans, naming a child after a Catholic saint. This continues to be a mystery.</div><div><br /></div><div>John and Radegon had two children together. Joanna Capen was born in October 1638 and died six weeks later. John Capen, my 9th great-grandfather, was born on October 21, 1639. He survived, and would go on to marry Susannah Barsham and father nine children, including my 8th great-grandmother, Susannah Capen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Radegon died in 1645 at the age of 26. It's not clear whether she and John did not have any more children, or if they did and those children did not survive, but at the time of Radegon's death, John Capen, Jr. was her only living child.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6E0mfYnXSYtygapxxf2U5Pe3LXPOBB6DsewxUzcP9jvJFHM_aswHFmUd_oo1aTk-ah9gW_srqy2Ix_sJpzcZeVqwgoXGOjxKVw068RxqagAMlIbF5GIFDq6cIpbkunjl8F6Iyacba8dGiefwRAcZw8h2-g3dqsUJjGrHvstGAZADMeAvio-iiOPCHrPY/s522/sam.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="522" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6E0mfYnXSYtygapxxf2U5Pe3LXPOBB6DsewxUzcP9jvJFHM_aswHFmUd_oo1aTk-ah9gW_srqy2Ix_sJpzcZeVqwgoXGOjxKVw068RxqagAMlIbF5GIFDq6cIpbkunjl8F6Iyacba8dGiefwRAcZw8h2-g3dqsUJjGrHvstGAZADMeAvio-iiOPCHrPY/s320/sam.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The grave of Samuel Bass in Quincy, Massachusetts</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>In 1647, John, now aged 34, remarried Mary Bass. She was the daughter of <a href="https://www.geni.com/people/Dea-Samuel-Bass/6000000001132804328">Samuel Bass</a>, the first church deacon of Braintree, Massachusetts, and his wife Ann. Mary was born in 1628 in Saffron Walden, Essex, England, and emigrated to Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1632 with her parents and several siblings. John and Mary were married for 45 years, until John's death in 1692. They had nine children together.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Joseph Capen</u></div><div>John and Mary's youngest son, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Capen">Joseph Capen</a>, was born in 1658. In 1682, at the age of 24, he moved from Dorchester to Topsfield, Massachusetts to become the minister of the Topsfield town church. He's a well-known historical figure in Topsfield to this day. His home in Topsfield, now known as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parson_Capen_House">Parson Capen House</a>, was built in 1683 and still stands. Fortunately, it has been preserved by the Topsfield Historical Society. </div><div><br /></div><div>Joseph Capen was involved in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, when his former parishioners <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Eastey">Mary Eastey</a> and her sister <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Cloyce">Sarah Cloyce</a>, who had moved to Salem, were accused of witchcraft, along with their sister, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Nurse">Rebecca Nurse</a>. In a petition to the court, Mary and Sarah wrote that Joseph Capen was <a href="https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n45.html#n45.21">willing to testify on their behalf</a>, as he "had the longest and best knowledge of us being persons of good report." It is not clear that Joseph was given the opportunity to testify, however. Mary and her sister Rebecca were convicted and executed. Sarah was convicted and kept in prison for months, until the governor put a stop to further trials and executions. A number of other Topsfield residents were involved in the witchcraft trials, both as accusers and accused, and Joseph Capen tried valiantly to mediate disputes and ease hysteria. He "appears to have been a calm and reasonable voice during the dramatic and tragic events. He was a contributor to Cotton Mather’s <i>Return of Several Ministers</i> written in June of 1692, written after Governor Phipps consulted the congregational ministers for their input on their legal view of witchcraft under the new charter. The contributing ministers cautioned against the use of spectral evidence and folk tests as proof of guilt." [<a href="https://salemwitchmuseum.com/locations/parson-capen-house/">source</a>] In 1703, Joseph Capen, along with a number of other ministers, signed <a href="https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n172.html#n172.7">an address to the general court</a> that requested that those accused of witchcraft be formally cleared of the accusation. More information about Joseph Capen and his involvement in the events of 1692 can be found at <a href="https://salemwitchmuseum.com/locations/parson-capen-house/">SalemWitchMuseum.com</a>.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgr9q5fLgkgr_t9gy0iKH79KdywF_x9gfu5IDWxwWEKcSdF69QrqLW_xQ1NAzXC0Bos1SiMZWGeDDCK4iOXMkQR9Egk9pRUxE_AmEULUc_MQCxX2C-FklQPBS5NmwgKBkbesdcS0fLOZajtoeYuIWJF7oyUt9fWB8hpFvmwFzSPxuujm3dxDBCOJA5JI/s2560/Parson_Capen_House_-_Topsfield,_Massachusetts.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgr9q5fLgkgr_t9gy0iKH79KdywF_x9gfu5IDWxwWEKcSdF69QrqLW_xQ1NAzXC0Bos1SiMZWGeDDCK4iOXMkQR9Egk9pRUxE_AmEULUc_MQCxX2C-FklQPBS5NmwgKBkbesdcS0fLOZajtoeYuIWJF7oyUt9fWB8hpFvmwFzSPxuujm3dxDBCOJA5JI/s320/Parson_Capen_House_-_Topsfield,_Massachusetts.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Parson Capen House in Topsfield, Massachusetts</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><u>The Capen Legacy</u></div><div>John Capen died on April 4, 1692, at the age of 80. Upon his death the Dorchester church entered in its record: “4th of April 1692 Deacon John Capen a military officer 50 years at length a Capt: & Deacon of ye church 34 years in His fourscoreth Year Rested from His Labors & Slept in ye Lord.” Mary lived another twelve years, dying on June 29, 1704, at the age of 72.<div><br /><div>Given that five Capen siblings settled in Dorchester, and all had many children, the number of Capen descendants at this point in history is vast. Susannah, Dorothy, Elizabeth, John, and Honor Capen are the ancestors of a number of well-known people. Descendants of Elizabeth Capen and Thomas Swift include writer Tennessee Williams (8th great-grandson). Descendants of John Capen and Mary Bass include U.S. President Calvin Coolidge (8th great-grandson). Susannah Capen and William Rockwell win the trophy, though, as their descendants include Admiral George Dewey (5th great-grandson), writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (7th great-grandson), actor Henry Fonda (8th great-grandson), painter Norman Rockwell (8th great-grandson), and actor Rainn Wilson, of <i>The Office</i> fame (11th great-grandson).</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>I descend from John's granddaughter, Susannah Capen. Susannah married Andrew Hall. Four generations later, their Hall descendant married into my Smith line. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's been fascinating to learn about another family in my tree with such an interesting immigration story. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBxn-8xDI_Bk0jTquuyBtv-TNOLlbdWGPU-f8mInNwUJNJxwix8Y7G2SwHJBrcVtbOHBIN2rHXQBDXf_tZEFlxdc5fQD1lFhV9hc0lolaLzRQit3gqfNzPvOEj7MeMbPHm1-KqRzdeqYquYYdeLBuuOvXz8qXzkgOg2wvZMXi6SXMbhbFtYXw-_M5V0Q/s2410/Screenshot%202024-01-10%20at%2012.07.13%20AM,jpg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="2410" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBxn-8xDI_Bk0jTquuyBtv-TNOLlbdWGPU-f8mInNwUJNJxwix8Y7G2SwHJBrcVtbOHBIN2rHXQBDXf_tZEFlxdc5fQD1lFhV9hc0lolaLzRQit3gqfNzPvOEj7MeMbPHm1-KqRzdeqYquYYdeLBuuOvXz8qXzkgOg2wvZMXi6SXMbhbFtYXw-_M5V0Q/w650-h141/Screenshot%202024-01-10%20at%2012.07.13%20AM,jpg.jpg" width="650" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-26834890205780714192024-01-02T09:40:00.000-08:002024-01-02T09:40:58.160-08:00Genealogy Goals for 2024<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUuwI-SAKd1Kmy0SFV3xFEUNeIii4qnsEUB8_8Lie5Obh2QgHyj6_RtYhctEhI7AwXGoS9LiGlaE5e9peF2DOEiGcVjFCzTs4PJFshFT-KO4rJeENNIBnukycEJ267m1EIHZXurUwImVkiFF2W5s1B-YGcXdhBHZl34EB1pcjXPQ8vJU1x-gLyZ_rD2S4/s1544/Screenshot%202024-01-02%20at%209.25.46%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="1544" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUuwI-SAKd1Kmy0SFV3xFEUNeIii4qnsEUB8_8Lie5Obh2QgHyj6_RtYhctEhI7AwXGoS9LiGlaE5e9peF2DOEiGcVjFCzTs4PJFshFT-KO4rJeENNIBnukycEJ267m1EIHZXurUwImVkiFF2W5s1B-YGcXdhBHZl34EB1pcjXPQ8vJU1x-gLyZ_rD2S4/w400-h240/Screenshot%202024-01-02%20at%209.25.46%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />It's a new year and time to set my <a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/search/label/Annual%20Goals" style="color: #333399; text-decoration-line: none;">genealogy-related goals</a> for 2024. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">I accomplished my goal of writing more often in 2023. Finding a bunch of early-American ancestors who <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/search/label/Salem">lived in Salem</a> and were involved in the Salem Witch Trials was exciting, and I had a lot of fun researching them and sharing information about their lives. I also wrote a post about my paternal great-grandmother, <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2018/09/sarah-kilcullen.html">Sarah Kilcullen</a>, and hope to learn more about her in coming years. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">In terms of my 2023 goals, I'd say I'm 2 for 4. I did not compile all my Lacey posts, as I keep promising to do, but still hope to accomplish that. I also still haven't solved my SEO issues, but as I mentioned in my <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/06/blogoversary-10-years-of-know-their.html">10-year blogoversary post</a>, I'm also reconsidering where to share this family information in general, and perhaps a blog doesn't make sense in 2024. On a positive note, I did post more, and I also continued consulting and generally assisting others with family history research. Overall, I feel like I really expanded the family tree and my understanding of certain moments in history, and that's definitely a win.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">Here are my genealogy goals for the coming year:</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">1. Continue compiling my posts about the Lacey family into a small book that I can share with other family members. I'm just going to keep this on my list until it happens.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">2. Continue my consulting work.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">3. Post regularly. I am still working on researching some early-American ancestors and have some fun immigrant ancestor stories coming to the blog soon. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">I also look forward to connecting with my local genealogy society more often in 2024. I've cleared some conflicting commitments from my calendar that should make this possible. I always really enjoy talking with others about their family history work. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">May you have a wonderful 2024!</p>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-55049115008275079842023-12-18T05:30:00.000-08:002024-01-16T21:03:28.314-08:00The Moulton Family of Salem, Massachusetts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoM-5PE7-jOQ0srJoNwesIJFXQvTPEJmEZmbXgKgBtLZot9rSEXe-sY3_rZJC9OUIlGvM0K7CYIQb6uSLxSTXUx9pv7iULNP871IM0A0-tyxS1YLwHRRMuPNymINrUFzxS0jPZUFNYPXYDmDRBeYccdGGyr_Bn00fIjl-Rz4pk7kw_HAhv96yntFb3kWQ/s3328/Puritans.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1664" data-original-width="3328" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoM-5PE7-jOQ0srJoNwesIJFXQvTPEJmEZmbXgKgBtLZot9rSEXe-sY3_rZJC9OUIlGvM0K7CYIQb6uSLxSTXUx9pv7iULNP871IM0A0-tyxS1YLwHRRMuPNymINrUFzxS0jPZUFNYPXYDmDRBeYccdGGyr_Bn00fIjl-Rz4pk7kw_HAhv96yntFb3kWQ/s320/Puritans.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puritans in New England (source: <a href="https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/salem-witch-trials">National Geographic</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I did not expect that I would spend so much of 2023 reading about Salem, Massachusetts and the Salem Witch Trials. It was purely accidental that, early in the year, I stumbled upon a whole group of my early American ancestors who lived in and around Salem and experienced that infamous period in time. It has been fascinating to learn the ways in which my family members, and my husband's family members, endured what transpired in Salem in 1692. </p><p>I've previously profiled a number of different families in my tree that settled in the towns northeast of Boston in the 1600s, including <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-coldham-family-of-gloucester.html">the Coldham family</a>, <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-complicated-norwood-family-of.html">the Norwood family</a>, <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/06/james-stevens-and-salem-witch-trials.html">the Stevens family</a>, and <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-eveleth-family-in-early-america-and.html">the Eveleth family</a>. They were all involved in the Salem Witch Trials. I've also written about my husband's famous ancestor, <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-proctor-family-of-salem.html">John Proctor,</a> whose tragic story is told in the American classic, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Crucible-Play-Four-Acts/dp/0142437336">The Crucible</a></i> by Arthur Miller. Just when I thought I had reached the end of studying this period in time, I found another group of ancestors from Salem, the Moulton family. The events of 1692 are just a small part of their story, which isn't detailed until the end of this post. Let's start much earlier, with my immigrant Moulton ancestor, Robert Moulton.</p><p><u>Robert Moulton</u></p><p>The Moultons were, and continue to be, a well-known family in and around Salem. There is a <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Moulton+Ave,+Salem,+MA+01970/@42.5298784,-70.8979839,16z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x89e31473cba6f411:0x9de665fb7211e9f2!8m2!3d42.5300198!4d-70.8981848!16s%2Fg%2F1thgj0v1?entry=ttu">Moulton Avenue</a> that runs along the North River, just north of downtown Salem. Current <a href="https://moulton.house.gov/">U.S. Representative Seth Moulton</a> hails from Salem. There are many Moulton families still in the area, but they would be distant relatives of mine at this point, since my branch of the Moulton tree left Salem for Connecticut in 1636.</p><p>The Moulton story in America begins with Robert Moulton, my 11th great-grandfather. Much of what is known (and can be proven) about Robert and his family was compiled into a book titled <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Moulton-Family-Ancestors-Immigrants-Salem/dp/1503399885">Moulton Family Ancestors: Immigrants to Salem 1626-1629</a></i> by Graham Cocks. Published in 2015, the book is thorough and well-sourced. Much of what I know about the Moulton family came from this book, and while I will quote anything that comes directly from <i>Moulton Family Ancestors</i>, even my broad summarization of the family's history is based in large part on what I learned from Cocks' work. Anyone who is studying the Moulton family should buy a copy of this book.</p><p>Robert Moulton was born in England around 1587. Cocks begins the chapter about Robert as follows:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>As the chief of a team of shipbuilders sent by the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1629, Robert Moulton was an important man in the early days of Massachusetts. He soon became a freeman, a selectman and a Deputy to the General Court.</p><p>Then, eight years after his arrival in Naumkeag, he was disarmed and excommunicated when he stood against both state and church in a dispute over religious beliefs and religious tolerance. Within a couple years he was rehabilitated, though he played a more limited role in public affairs thereafter. </p></blockquote><p></p><p>It's important to remember why most of the early colonists came to New England. The Puritans were religious hardliners, who believed that the Church of England was not "pure" enough and practiced a very strict and conservative form of Christianity. Their beliefs were not appreciated in England, and feeling marginalized, they left their homeland in the early 1600s to become the first European colonists in early New England. </p><blockquote>They [the Puritans] were religious people with a strong piety and a desire to establish a holy commonwealth of people who would carry out God’s will on earth. In such a commonwealth, they felt, it was the duty of the civil authorities to enforce the laws of religion, thus holding a view almost the opposite of that [later] expressed in the First Amendment. (<a href="https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/puritans/">Free Speech Center, Middle Tennessee State University</a>)</blockquote><p>I've written in previous posts about the rigid, Bible-based society established by the Puritans in America, where communities were monitored to ensure no members stepped out of line. Those that did might suffer banishment and humiliation. Robert Moulton has not been conclusively documented as being a Puritan. He was sent to New England in 1629 by the Massachusetts Bay Colony to build ships for the colonists, and might well have been hired for his skill, not because his belief system completely aligned with the Puritans.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnjSx9mycPmmyOcIAof3wS8KYkXiRWqdJs5MqSn6Un67ntMqbkChR1tBBSqJhuFYdK3KJ_hL4wy0_KDEa1k7tvLHo805DUI248r08qnFp3WQKw3so8ruPd0cqH4GeoeBzDEQ0-TWp9St-AmA7SyfPUV_YoSjxI5hBteUAA2AHHDuftGTSp-Msy-L7LpE/s338/176308928_2843204699264160_6492817407179486508_n.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="338" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnjSx9mycPmmyOcIAof3wS8KYkXiRWqdJs5MqSn6Un67ntMqbkChR1tBBSqJhuFYdK3KJ_hL4wy0_KDEa1k7tvLHo805DUI248r08qnFp3WQKw3so8ruPd0cqH4GeoeBzDEQ0-TWp9St-AmA7SyfPUV_YoSjxI5hBteUAA2AHHDuftGTSp-Msy-L7LpE/s320/176308928_2843204699264160_6492817407179486508_n.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration of either the Higginson Fleet or the Winthrop Fleet</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Robert sailed from England on the ship George Bonaventure with a team of six carpenters. The Bonaventure was part of what was known as Higginson's Fleet, a group of approximately 350 colonists who sailed together on five ships. Details from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Higginson">Wikipedia</a>:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>Higginson led a group of about 350 settlers (including many of his own congregation) on six ships from England to New England. Because of the ever-present pirate threat as well as the undeclared war with Spain all ships carried armament. The Lyon's Whelp and the "Talbot" left from Yarmouth, Isle of Wight 11 May 1629 and arrived in Salem harbor 29 June 1629. The Higginson Fleet brought with them 115 head of cattle, as well as horses and mares, cows and oxen, 41 goats, some conies (rabbits), along with all the provisions needed for setting up households and surviving till they could get crops in. They would have to build their lodgings for the coming winter from scratch. These were some of the first settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the main body who would start coming in 1630 on the Winthrop Fleet. The Higginson Fleet set sail on the 1 May 1629, arriving in Salem harbor on the 24 June 1629, and was greeted by a small group of settlers, led by John Endecott.</p></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><p>The ships in the fleet were:</p><ol><li>Talbot (carried 19 cannon) Capt. Benjamin Gonson/Ganson, whose family had long history with the Royal Navy, Sir Admiral Richard Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake. </li><li>George Bonaventure (carried 20 cannon)</li><li>Lyon's Whelp (carried 40 planters + crew + 8 cannon)</li><li>Four Sisters (carried 14 cannon)</li><li>Mayflower (carried 14 guns); a different ship from the Pilgrim's Mayflower</li><li>Pilgrim (small ship with 4 guns that carried supplies only)</li></ol></blockquote>While they were in route, the Massachusetts Bay Company sent a letter to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Endecott">John Endecott</a>, who was then governor of the colony, stating, "We have sent six shipwrights, of whom Robert Moulton is chief." In another letter a month later, the company gave an inventory of supplies that had been sent with the carpenters, and their goals for the team upon arrival. They wanted a storehouse to be built to house the carpenters' tools and materials, an inventory of those supplies to be taken, and for the carpenters to build three "shallops," small, wooden boats propelled by sails and oars and typically used in shallow waters. Two of these boats would be for company use, and one for company official and future governor, John Winthrop. These boats were to be used for fishing and trading.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4-0iSo9OEPMYa_hMW-pDGZp7abKgF4vkMP3DHNcYWW1ALb0hxwmUWx-yGTaPry-OQ7gO3mN28EGmIUedPh8KCngrFwZLq5HQy4nlXaHdP0qzl5WPknRCBv5N1BrjIIj2Dh34nJquuQdm1il1G5NDgtgCFk8HXFQvplb-zw1X7RnY748vpND_faIEdw0/s864/241326914_4843617662334291_6968132323110580455_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="864" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4-0iSo9OEPMYa_hMW-pDGZp7abKgF4vkMP3DHNcYWW1ALb0hxwmUWx-yGTaPry-OQ7gO3mN28EGmIUedPh8KCngrFwZLq5HQy4nlXaHdP0qzl5WPknRCBv5N1BrjIIj2Dh34nJquuQdm1il1G5NDgtgCFk8HXFQvplb-zw1X7RnY748vpND_faIEdw0/s320/241326914_4843617662334291_6968132323110580455_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of a shallop</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />Robert and the carpenters arrived in Naumkeag, the Native American name for the settlement that was later called Salem, Massachusetts. Naumkeag was also the name of the indigenous people who lived there. More information about the Naumkeag people, how they interacted with the colonists, and their fate can be found at <a href="https://www.salem.org/about-salem/native-history-and-indigenous-acknowledgement/">Salem.org</a>. In <i>Moulton Family Ancestors </i>Graham Cocks describes what Robert and his crew encountered when they arrived at Naumkeag.<div><blockquote>We know a little of what Salem was like when Robert Moulton arrived, for Francis Higginson wrote that there were "about halfe a score Houses, and a faire House newly built for the Governour." Including the approximately two hundred men who came with the Higginson Fleet, there were about three hundred planters, about two thirds of whom were in Salem and the remaining hundred in Charlestown.<br /><br />Housing was clearly inadequate for the population, so building suitable accommodation before the onset of winter would have been a clear priority. With their carpentry skills, Robert Moulton and his team of six shipbuilders may have helped with that task, though their first priority may have been to build the three shallops...</blockquote>John Winthrop, who was to become the next governor of the area settled by the Massachusetts Bay Company, arrived in 1630 with about 1200 settlers. This increased the population of the area significantly, and there was not adequate housing. Graham Cocks quotes from a letter written at the time regarding conditions in Salem:</div><div><blockquote>The multitude set up cottages, booths and tents, about the Town Hill. They had long passage; some of the ships were seventeen, some eighteen weeks a coming. Many people arrived sick of the scurvy, which also increased much after their arrival for want of houses, and by reason of wet lodgings in their cottages; and other distempers also prevailed. And although people were generally very loving and pitiful, yet the sickness did so prevail, that the whole were not able to tend the sick as they should be tended; upon which many perished and died, and were buried about Town Hill.</blockquote></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiskKgNCw2DOymtaaF92zfgHVRharu7JhfU2BskhROvYKtSebYtwiSJnxuASsUiZPIerowWmsT0ljLJe77AKBU3CgU1-Hm_tDgbmnaVOHDQINuv8A08-R4hf4LpBGxIgaE9kgmiDEgYjIFO3DBDpuTk5nab9i1yO-x6AzPGy2P7bUEkEHpowoOqQw_vtUQ/s1200/MTAW-winthrop-bio2-getty.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiskKgNCw2DOymtaaF92zfgHVRharu7JhfU2BskhROvYKtSebYtwiSJnxuASsUiZPIerowWmsT0ljLJe77AKBU3CgU1-Hm_tDgbmnaVOHDQINuv8A08-R4hf4LpBGxIgaE9kgmiDEgYjIFO3DBDpuTk5nab9i1yO-x6AzPGy2P7bUEkEHpowoOqQw_vtUQ/s320/MTAW-winthrop-bio2-getty.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Winthrop</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>During this time, Robert Moulton moved to Charlestown, perhaps because of the overcrowding in Salem, but likely because Charlestown offered a better waterfront area for the building of ships, and it is where the men financing the build were living. There, Robert and his carpenters built the 30-ton ship <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blessing_of_the_Bay">Blessing of the Bay</a> for Governor John Winthrop. It was launched in July 1634 from what is now Somerville. This was the first large ship built by a European in Massachusetts. In <a href="https://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/35087">The Somerville Times</a>, Bob (Monty) Doherty wrote the following about Blessing of the Bay.</div><blockquote>The Blessing, as Winthrop referred to the vessel in his writings, was used to deliver men and soldiers westward, where they built a garrison to protect English settlers from the Dutch and Indians on the Connecticut River. These communities included what would become Chicopee, Springfield, Holyoke and other towns that are still in existence today. If the Governor had not taken these actions, the settlements on the Western Massachusetts border could easily have come under Dutch control. At that time, they held New York and were rapidly extending their reach. In fact, New Amsterdam was the original name of New York City, until the English acquired the island years later. The Blessing of the Bay proved tantamount to settlers’ safety.<br /><br />The Blessing of the Bay was also pivotal to commerce. Trading and bartering of goods became the first industry of New England where fish and fur were the main items of trade. The Blessing enabled settlers to trade with far-off colonies and would sail as far south as Virginia to acquire goods, such as molasses used to make rum, sugar cane and various other products.<br /><br />It was also the first ship that was armed to fight pirates and to protect other merchant ships.<br /><br />There are varying tales illustrating the demise of The Blessing. Some speculate that it was lost in a shipwreck on the inner side of Cape Cod. Others say it sailed off course during a storm on the outer Cape, and still others believe that it mysteriously disappeared off the coast of Virginia.</blockquote><div>Graham Cocks described how Robert assimilated to his new home during the period while he was building Blessing of the Bay:</div><div><blockquote>Meanwhile, Robert Moulton had been active in the civic affairs of Charlestown. He was made a freeman on 18 May 1631 and must have received an allotment of land in that year on the north-east of the peninsula, where the Mystic and Charles rivers join the bay. This area became known as Moulton's Point, and the hill there as Moulton's Hill.</blockquote></div><div>144 years later, in 1775, British troops would land at Moulton's Point when they began their first attack on the breakaway colonies, before the Battle of Bunker Hill.</div><div><br /></div><div>All was going well for Robert Moulton. In Charlestown, he served as an assessor, was selected as a Deputy of the General Court, and sat on a committee to develop a sea fort. In February 1635, he was part of a group of men who gathered to select a government to run Charlestown, which had grown considerably. Eleven men were elected, and Robert Moulton was among them. However, in May of that year, he relinquished his lands, and by 1636, had moved back to Salem. It is unclear why he did this. He immediately reintegrated into Salem's community, however, and in 1636 was elected a selectman in Salem and served as the foreman of a jury. In 1637 he was made a Deputy of the General Court, just as he had been in Charlestown, and was granted 100 acres. Once again, all seemed to be rosy for Robert Moulton, but trouble was on the horizon.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQwppFEz4yOwwQxzHH06juD2O_R3FdofxkhLfkZbAMlJP66J8sglQk8vJ-jR8hgK5fd4K9qhkaL8CnJhMroP27srh9dCMjy9a7OtI5cdmDCTh5VgA21O0F2xk2d24rex2hK-29gpryf02626AiANWELKgkhHNLlF0zqohiEZBEFJ3CbHijc-zvhbNspg/s1068/1.%20Revd%20John%20Cotton-edit.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQwppFEz4yOwwQxzHH06juD2O_R3FdofxkhLfkZbAMlJP66J8sglQk8vJ-jR8hgK5fd4K9qhkaL8CnJhMroP27srh9dCMjy9a7OtI5cdmDCTh5VgA21O0F2xk2d24rex2hK-29gpryf02626AiANWELKgkhHNLlF0zqohiEZBEFJ3CbHijc-zvhbNspg/s320/1.%20Revd%20John%20Cotton-edit.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Cotton</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>In 1633, a controversial preacher named John Cotton arrived in Boston, having been essentially kicked out of England by a disapproving Archbishop. Cotton began preaching in Boston, and was joined in the ensuing years by supporters who had followed him in England, most notably, Anne Hutchinson and John Wheelwright. Anne and John's interpretation of Cotton's theology became strident. Anne was the most vehement of the three in expressing her beliefs. By 1637, this group had attracted a lot of attention in New England with their unconventional religious stance, which was not welcomed by the Puritans. The ensuing conflict became known as the Antinomian Controversy.<br /><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div>...the Puritan majority held the view that an individual's salvation is demonstrated by righteous behavior or "good works," while the Antinomians argued that one's spiritual condition had no bearing upon one's outward behavior. However, the debate quickly changed, as the Antinomians began to claim that personal revelation was equivalent to Scripture, under the influence of Anne Hutchinson's teachings, while the Puritan majority held that the Bible was the final authority, taking precedence over any personal viewpoints.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote>According to R.T Kendall, the doctrines of the Antinomians may be summarized as thus: (1) Faith is the sole evidence of justification. (2) There is no necessary "preparation" for grace prior to salvation. (3) Sanctification is not meant to be a proof of salvation. [<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomian_Controversy">Wikipedia</a>]</blockquote></div><div>The Antinomians' beliefs were very much at odds with the Puritans. Controversy erupted, and although Cotton encouraged Hutchinson and Wheelwright to tone down the rhetoric, their defiance of Puritanical law landed them in court, where Robert Moulton was a deputy. At some point, Robert aligned himself with Hutchinson and Wheelwright's cause, and signed a petition supporting their right to worship as they chose. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpM2VgdUdAebdrpTYV8pl1m2i-j9hzcYTz1qhiu96MXa4REdLgsWhtSgYihr7rM6jo-R2BSjN4HkA4MKNV3Gn41rObzApKZJ4cXAmBx2ds4IVlAvUkwNMlqisSun4dYZYmBhHjrsW591Y6OBqpR7IKQJSWEhtfmFdV-xoxB_qLtA9pfAOhCy_hS97LBBU/s791/1_7BFGujruLdooOIeSJoP_pA.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpM2VgdUdAebdrpTYV8pl1m2i-j9hzcYTz1qhiu96MXa4REdLgsWhtSgYihr7rM6jo-R2BSjN4HkA4MKNV3Gn41rObzApKZJ4cXAmBx2ds4IVlAvUkwNMlqisSun4dYZYmBhHjrsW591Y6OBqpR7IKQJSWEhtfmFdV-xoxB_qLtA9pfAOhCy_hS97LBBU/s320/1_7BFGujruLdooOIeSJoP_pA.webp" width="243" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption">Edwin Austin Abbey (1852–1911) created this famous illustration of Anne Hutchinson on trial in 1901</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>In 1636, Henry Vane, a supporter of Cotton, Hutchinson, and Wheelwright, was elected Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1637, John Winthrop, who had been governor from 1629-1634, ran against Vane and won. Vane, defeated, returned to England. An emboldened Winthrop, who was a vocal opponent of Cotton's theology, banished Hutchinson and Wheelwright from the colony. Shortly thereafter, all those who had signed the petition supporting them were censured. They were stripped of their freemanship and some were disarmed. Robert Moulton was among the five men who were disarmed in Salem.</div><div><br /></div><div>Robert was not banished, but he was humiliated and marginalized. He never held elected office again, and he was excommunicated from the First Church of Salem, which would have isolated him socially. However, he seems to have rebounded from this shame somewhat briskly, because by 1639 he was serving on juries again, and at some point was allowed back to the church.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Antinomian Controversy had a lasting impact on Massachusetts and the development of America. The Puritans had entirely shut down a new and more liberal interpretation of Christianity. Charles Francis Adams wrote in <i>Antinomianism in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay</i>, "The long-term effect of the Antinomian controversy was that it committed Massachusetts to a policy of strict religious conformity." A colony that had been founded upon the idea of religious freedom declared emphatically that such freedom only extended to the Puritans, and not those espousing other doctrines. </div><div><br /></div><div>By 1644, Robert was in good enough graces with his church that he was assigned special duties. The following comes from <i>Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines</i> by Mary Walton Ferris, published 1931.</div><div><blockquote>The church decided to check up on loafers who failed to attend religious service so they planned that each Lord's Day, two men should "walke forth in the time of God's worshippe to take notice of such as either lye about the meeting house... or that lye at home or in the fields" to present them to the Magistrate, and one Sabbath Emmanuel Downing and Robert Moulton were to serve so, while the following Sabbath Robert Moulton and Richard Ingersoll were appointed to the task.</blockquote></div><div>It is likely that Robert continued working as a shipbuilder after completing the initial three ships, although this is not conclusively documented. In Salem, he owned two pieces of land. The first was farmland located west of Salem. Graham Cocks researched the exact location of this plot and determined it lay on the edge of modern-day Peabody and Danvers, in approximately the area circled in red on this map.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY8irGjW1djXWTIKVPOYizd79S_En3UMkvpOhhOBw6ljeGlzTJo87FGADxeDurFBCSZOlrDeeXoLZr-9MVKINHXz_UWaHWmX7vhIrgx2lGsm5ascWw2j8Z2vgUpNc5tXod11s-zn0tDApF_TaRisV1HYrj0_BFxIbAaH1HNdtfCb4saD0XmTkiBsEArqk/s1450/Screenshot%202023-12-14%20at%203.23.24%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1258" data-original-width="1450" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY8irGjW1djXWTIKVPOYizd79S_En3UMkvpOhhOBw6ljeGlzTJo87FGADxeDurFBCSZOlrDeeXoLZr-9MVKINHXz_UWaHWmX7vhIrgx2lGsm5ascWw2j8Z2vgUpNc5tXod11s-zn0tDApF_TaRisV1HYrj0_BFxIbAaH1HNdtfCb4saD0XmTkiBsEArqk/s320/Screenshot%202023-12-14%20at%203.23.24%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Robert did not live on that farm, though. He owned a house in Salem town, and this is where he chose to reside. According to Graham Cocks, "An early history of the Moulton family written in 1905 said that his house stood on the northern side of Essex Street where it meets Boston Street, and the remains of his cellar could still be seen at that time." He adds that this lot ran all the way to the North River, so if Robert was still engaged in shipbuilding, he had direct water access. This lot would have been approximately between the red lines on the map below.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfX1zECZ6sHQc8CWefalN0qzqfABCOjMFZgcO9zDEGGHetCIr90vIH95BY0NHmUG-Ey4aUX-pb_bhtV7uMp2P0VVbALeL5nu6g_bfyBHPMDto0Dm4MBfVh9BeUNbu33-KbLebvMAwx3L0YhT7MA6ucMKzrMIQOloKzWJu2hyphenhyphen4xJ0XAYO_ShI5C_xHbfA/s1320/Screenshot%202023-12-14%20at%203.30.27%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="1320" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfX1zECZ6sHQc8CWefalN0qzqfABCOjMFZgcO9zDEGGHetCIr90vIH95BY0NHmUG-Ey4aUX-pb_bhtV7uMp2P0VVbALeL5nu6g_bfyBHPMDto0Dm4MBfVh9BeUNbu33-KbLebvMAwx3L0YhT7MA6ucMKzrMIQOloKzWJu2hyphenhyphen4xJ0XAYO_ShI5C_xHbfA/s320/Screenshot%202023-12-14%20at%203.30.27%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Robert Moulton died sometime between February 20 and April 26, 1655. His children are both named in his will, but his wife is not, indicating that she died before him.<br /><div><br /></div><div><u>Moulton Family Origins</u></div><div><br /></div><div>There are various suppositions as to where Robert lived in England, from Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, to the town of Moulton in Lincolnshire, to the Bermondsey area of London. There is no proof of his origins at all, though, so we just don't know. Many Moulton historians claim that Robert may have descended from the de Moulton family, descendants of a Norman knight who came to England in 1066 with William the Conquerer. In <i>Moulton Annals</i>, authors Moulton and Moulton also make this claim, naming the knight as Sir Thomas de Moulton. They write that Thomas was granted lands in Lincolnshire for his service, and the area where he settled became a town called Moulton. There is another theory that the family's estate was located in Norfolk, near the village of Moulton St. Mary. </div><div><br /></div><div>There is no concrete proof that Robert emigrated to America with any other Moulton family members, such as brothers or cousins, but many sources have attempted to link Robert to several other Moultons in early New England. The book <i>Moulton Annals</i> by Henry W. Moulton and Claribel Moulton, published in 1906, claims that Robert arrived in Massachusetts with a brother, James, who settled in what is now Wenham, Massachusetts. In <i>A history of the Moulton family; a record of the descendents of James Moulton of Salem and Wenham, Massachusetts, from 1629-1905</i>, author Eben Hobson Moulton makes the same claim. He also suggests that Robert and James may have been the sons of a Robert Moulton, Sr., a Royal Navy officer in England.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LKs_IDXabbuveus155SVqE7HqwbA2m-m76KivaEy-BacX-mL58U46oaX_Si7KJquVk8B_DluajQQ53rcJ0C5AuhBbZC1LXGHTqxfR3GhNgww94y5sltp0TPtH7kmokEWgAPd86ImrElS0hNdpuWq9u_GdbJ7M-FoH-tX4cXbnoUa7hlqUmp36lZfiRI/s1536/Screenshot%202023-12-17%20at%2011.54.29%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1250" data-original-width="1536" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LKs_IDXabbuveus155SVqE7HqwbA2m-m76KivaEy-BacX-mL58U46oaX_Si7KJquVk8B_DluajQQ53rcJ0C5AuhBbZC1LXGHTqxfR3GhNgww94y5sltp0TPtH7kmokEWgAPd86ImrElS0hNdpuWq9u_GdbJ7M-FoH-tX4cXbnoUa7hlqUmp36lZfiRI/s320/Screenshot%202023-12-17%20at%2011.54.29%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The locations of Moulton, Lincolshire (red star) and Moulton St. Mary, Norfolk (blue star)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>There were other Moultons who immigrated to Massachusetts in the early 1600s, including brothers John, Thomas, and William Moulton, of Ormesby St. Margaret in Norfolk. Earlier family histories have suggested that these Moultons were related to Robert and James, but these three Moultons seem to have stayed together in a specific area not near Salem, and there's no evidence of any interactions with Robert or James. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am not sure I am convinced that Robert and James were brothers, although it's certainly possible. If not, they might have been cousins. There is just no real evidence for any claim. </div><div><br /></div><div>This version of events comes from a paper written for the Historical Society of Newburyport by Henry W. Moulton:<br /><blockquote>In 1635, there came to Newbury, from Norfolk County, England, two brothers, John and Thomas Moulton. After remaining with the infant colony two years, they joined a party and proceeded to settle in Hampton, N. H. Their lands joined. In 1637, a lad of 17 years named William Moulton, came from Ormsby, Norfolk County, England, with Robert Page and family. These emigrants stopped two years near Moulton Hill, Newbury, and then proceeded to Hampton, N. H., where William Moulton married Page's daughter, Margaret. This William settled upon a farm, adjoining his two brothers, Thomas and John. Several years later, Thomas proceeded to York, Maine, and there made a permanent settlement.</blockquote>There is no mention of Robert Moulton in this paper, indicating to me that the Moulton families in Newburyport and Salem were not related. If there was any relationship between Robert and the other Moultons living in New England at the time, it hasn't been conclusively documented.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>The Children of Robert and Alice Moulton</u></div><div><br />Not much is known about Robert Moulton's family life. While still living in England, he married a woman named Alice, whose surname is unknown.</div><div><br /></div><div>Robert and Alice had two children:</div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Robert Moulton, Jr. (b. abt 1607; m. Abigail Goode; d. 1665)</li><li>Dorothy Moulton (b. abt. 1618; m. (1) Abraham Finch (2) John Edwards (3) Richard Tousley; d. abt 1680)</li></ol></div><div>Alice, Robert Jr., and Dorothy came with Robert to Massachusetts in 1629. Given the nine year age gap between Robert and Dorothy, it's very possible that Robert and Alice had other children that did not survive to immigrate to the American Colonies. </div><div><br /></div><div><u>Dorothy Moulton and Her Descendants</u></div><div><br /></div><div>In 1636, at about the age of 18, Dorothy Moulton, my 10th great-grandmother, married Abraham Finch. Abraham lived in Wethersfield, Connecticut, and was possibly the son of Daniel Finch, a constable in Wethersfield. It's also been speculated that he was the son of an Abraham Finch, Sr. Abraham, aged about 27, was killed the year after his marriage, in 1637, during an attack on Wethersfield by the native peoples who lived nearby.</div><blockquote>Charles Lyle, executive director of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, says the discovery of wampum suggests that the settlers and natives were trading partners. But, he notes, the natives feared the area’s limited food supply was being threatened by a burgeoning influx of immigrants. “In 1637, Indians attacked Wethersfield and they killed six males, three females and then they abducted the two daughters of the richest guy in town,” he says. Contrary to popular belief, he says, “the Indians weren’t there to slaughter the settlers. They were there to eliminate as much as they could the sustenance of the settlers, their food.” Twenty horses and cattle were also killed in the April 23 attack. “They were trying to send a message to the settlers that maybe they ought to go back” where they came from.<br /><br />Woodward says the kidnapped girls were then taken in canoes down the Connecticut River and “they were paraded in a taunting manner past the [colonists’] fort at Old Saybrook.” They were later ransomed and returned thanks to Dutch intervention. The colonists retaliated violently to the incident, first declaring war on the Pequot on May 1. “It ultimately led,” Lyle says, “to a big army of early settlers attacking the Pequot village and slaughtering (several hundred) men, women and children” a month later in Mystic. That incident was chosen by the <a href="https://www.history.com/">History Channel</a> as one of the “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unexpectedly-Changed-America-History-Presents/dp/0307339343">10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America</a>.”</blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TnXpql9e2u-EzCZIoS0xfojr8wzIY1_z4mCAUJdAH39HHsnVRZ0_J3t_ez5tEgXWFa9Jb2NmVZCyq9TWeg4snztDGId5kcn9VJwl9Y9Dpfc5x62Y1df_0FSJmYnT5K9smTEsfrvB9M_ivQLZTjJ2Xk6vtn8lD6tHrgyE_EHbA9T91ae-ur0k08uaZE0/s1200/ratio3x2_1200.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TnXpql9e2u-EzCZIoS0xfojr8wzIY1_z4mCAUJdAH39HHsnVRZ0_J3t_ez5tEgXWFa9Jb2NmVZCyq9TWeg4snztDGId5kcn9VJwl9Y9Dpfc5x62Y1df_0FSJmYnT5K9smTEsfrvB9M_ivQLZTjJ2Xk6vtn8lD6tHrgyE_EHbA9T91ae-ur0k08uaZE0/s320/ratio3x2_1200.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This engraving depicts an attack by Native Americans on the colony at Wethersfield in 1637. <br />Source: <a href="https://wdsmuseum.org/">Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>In 1638, Dorothy married again, to John Edwards of Wethersfield, a widower with a son from his first marriage, Thomas. Dorothy and John had seven children together. John died in 1664, aged about 64, and Dorothy married for a final time, to Richard Towsley of Saybrook.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dorothy's line of the family never again lived in Salem after she moved to Wethersfield in 1636, but family historians say that Dorothy and her brother wrote letters to each other, keeping in touch despite the distance between them.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am descended from Dorothy Moulton and John Edwards' daughter, Ruth Edwards. Ruth married Richard Norton, a blacksmith, in 1665, and they moved to Hatfield, Massachusetts. There, they had nine children, including Abraham Morton, born in 1676. Abraham, my ninth great-grandfather, married Sarah Kellogg. They had eight children in Hatfield, including Sarah Morton, born in 1707. Sarah married <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2019/01/so-many-samuel-smiths.html">Samuel Smith</a>, my 7th great-grandfather, who was a deacon and fought in the Revolutionary War. Sarah and Samuel lived in Northfield, Massachusetts. I descend from a long line of male Smiths that followed, ending with my mother.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Robert Moulton and His Descendants</u></div><div><br /></div><div>Robert Moulton, Jr. did not follow his father into shipbuilding. He was a minister of the Church of England. Robert Jr. was already an adult of 22 when he came to Massachusetts with his family. He attempted to establish a congregation of the Church of England after settling in Salem, but was barred from doing so by Governor John Endecott and other local leaders, since having churches of other denominations did not meet the approval of the Puritans. This is another reason I suspect that Robert Moulton, Sr. was not a Puritan when he went to Massachusetts. His son being a minister of the Church of England, and attempting to continue in that role in Massachusetts, indicates that this was the Moulton family tradition, rather than being aligned with the breakaway Puritans. Once in Massachusetts, however, the Moultons would have had to assimilate. </div><div><br /></div><div>In 1640, while serving as the rector of the church in Salem, Robert Jr. married Abigail Goode, daughter of John Goade [note the different spelling] and Abigail Downing. Like Robert, Abigail Goode was born in England and came to Salem as a young person, where she lived with her maternal uncle, Emmanuel Downing, who was a lawyer. Emmanuel's wife was Lucy Winthrop, sister of Massachusetts governor John Winthrop, and a <a href="https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/lucy-downing-puritan-wife-harvard-founder/">founder of Harvard University</a>. Robert and Abigail had eight children together in Salem.</div><div><br /></div><div>Robert died sometime between early September and late November, 1665. Abigail died a year later, in 1666. </div><div><br /></div><div><u>Robert Moulton III</u></div><div><br /></div><div>Robert and Abigail's oldest son, Robert Moulton III, was born in Salem in 1644, and married Mary Cooke in 1672. In 1692, Robert was 48 years old and the father of seven children. That year, when the witchcraft frenzy descended upon Salem, Robert was called to give testimony in the trial of Rebecca Nurse, who had been accused of witchcraft by Susannah Sheldon. Susannah, age 18, was one of the group of girls who made most of the accusations of witchcraft, along with Ann Putnam, Elizabeth Booth, Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Warren, and Mercy Lewis. Like several of the other girls, who worked as domestic servants, Susannah was not an affluent townsperson. Her father and brother had died, after losing their Maine farm during King William's War, and the remaining Sheldons were living in poverty in Salem. Susannah was a prolific accuser. According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susannah_Sheldon">Wikipedia</a>, she accused 24 people of witchcraft and testified against 11, including Salem's most prominent and wealthy couple, Philip and Mary English. Philip, the owner of a successful trading company, and his wife were accused and then jailed in Boston while they awaited trial. Due to their lofty status, they were allowed out of jail during the day on the promise that they return at night, but Philip and Mary took this opportunity to flee to New York, where they waited out the hysteria.</div><div><br /></div><div>In June 1692, Susannah accused her neighbor, Rebecca Nurse, of witchcraft. At the time, Rebecca was a 71-year old grandmother and midwife who was well liked in Salem. Rebecca's trial was held on June 29, and Robert Moulton testified about an interaction he had with Susannah Sheldon in which she claimed to be afflicted by Rebecca's witchcraft. In this statement, Robert claimed that Susannah lied, or at least changed her story about what had happened to her, implying that she was untruthful and Rebecca Nurse was innocent. His statement, seen below, is also transcribed here:<div><br />“The testimony of Robart Moulton sener who testifith and saith that I waching with Susannah Sheldon sence she was afflicted I heard her say that the witches halled her Upone her bely through the yeard like a snacke and halled her over the stone walle & presontly I heard her Controdict her former: disCource and said that she Came over the stone wall her selfe and I heard her say that she Rid Upone apoole to boston and she said the divel Caryed the poole”</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmtDSwcPXUpwxwPyQwAJ5WpChDaWtwYrBPjwTsrZeUYQaSBE_hutZjm3drZuUXT3qVXGXic_URG6dhMpjMipp2V1t1lO8rljLbWExn5jOzTb543FofXAW2ATz6G5LofbzR8aNBaRmGIudq4mwEsWTNfK6pssK4CBmHfInO0rfMe2oPeSQIb0DnOFfgio/s400/Moulton-38.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="400" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmtDSwcPXUpwxwPyQwAJ5WpChDaWtwYrBPjwTsrZeUYQaSBE_hutZjm3drZuUXT3qVXGXic_URG6dhMpjMipp2V1t1lO8rljLbWExn5jOzTb543FofXAW2ATz6G5LofbzR8aNBaRmGIudq4mwEsWTNfK6pssK4CBmHfInO0rfMe2oPeSQIb0DnOFfgio/s320/Moulton-38.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /><div>Despite this evidence, Rebecca Nurse was convicted, and then hanged on July 19, the same day as Susannah Martin and Elizabeth Howe, who I mentioned in my <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-proctor-family-of-salem.html">post about the Proctor family</a>. The Hadley family, nieces and nephews of John Proctor, were related to Susannah Martin and testified in support of Elizabeth Howe, their neighbor. Rebecca Nurse plays an important role in Arthur Miller's <i>The Crucible</i>, representing an innocent killed without cause. In 1692, outrage over Rebecca's hanging may have helped turn the tide of public opinion against the young accusers, since Rebecca was beloved by many in Salem.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is another connection to the witch trials in this generation of the family. Robert's brother John, born in Salem in 1654, married Elizabeth Corey in 1684. Elizabeth was the daughter of Giles Corey and his first wife, Margaret. Giles Corey was famously pressed to death in 1692, after refusing to plead guilty to witchcraft. His third wife, Martha, was hanged. Giles was the neighbor of John Proctor, my husband's 9th great-granduncle, who was also hanged after a witchcraft conviction.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Conclusion</u></div><div><br /></div><div>This year of studying my family's roots in Salem and nearby towns has been fascinating. It was a complete surprise to me to discover that I am connected to people who settled this area, and later lived through its most terrible, violent moments. Robert Moulton, my 11th great grandfather, has a different origin story than my other early American ancestors, since he came to Massachusetts specifically because of his trade. There are more records of his journey and his early years in America than most immigrants from this time, as a result. Although he had only two children, the family multiplied, and descendants can now be found all over America. I am so glad to have rediscovered our Moulton connection, and have taken great pleasure in sharing his story with my children, who are just beginning to learn about colonial history. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-79282227101648481752023-10-23T05:30:00.007-07:002023-10-23T16:52:47.451-07:00The Proctor Family of Salem Massachusetts<p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWTblqCOBo_54goI3VBlyZWdiXQYoB-4PFevNBCRRbDhq84sbrybR5GzZFhTgg4DjTVZYTVFP7ocNtunGvki9JI1JP9dI5LMxi58A7nYOmcMfpeFSxUnCdDW3RwPqjTzFAAM8h0DfBkQbbXVXzM0izMR0gtJb_Tyc7cxLxed9JXohQ-MT8AlC-fOfQvrc/s1024/8192px-Salem_witch2-1024x673.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="1024" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWTblqCOBo_54goI3VBlyZWdiXQYoB-4PFevNBCRRbDhq84sbrybR5GzZFhTgg4DjTVZYTVFP7ocNtunGvki9JI1JP9dI5LMxi58A7nYOmcMfpeFSxUnCdDW3RwPqjTzFAAM8h0DfBkQbbXVXzM0izMR0gtJb_Tyc7cxLxed9JXohQ-MT8AlC-fOfQvrc/s320/8192px-Salem_witch2-1024x673.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="text-align: start;">“The Witch No. 1” lithograph by Joseph E. Baker, Library of Congress</span><br style="text-align: start;" /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>While researching my ancestors from Gloucester, Massachusetts in the 1600s, I discovered that several of their families were directly involved in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. This includes the following:</p><p><a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-coldham-family-of-gloucester.html">Clement Coldham</a>, my 11th great-grandfather, who testified in a witch trial in support of accuser Elizabeth Hubbard, one of the primary instigators of the witchcraft hysteria.</p><p><a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/06/james-stevens-and-salem-witch-trials.html">James Stevens</a>, my 10th great-grandfather, who accused three Gloucester women of witchcraft when his sister Mary fell ill in 1692.</p><p><a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-eveleth-family-in-early-america-and.html">Joseph Eveleth</a>, brother of my 10th great-grandmother Susannah Eveleth Stevens, who served on the jury that convicted John Proctor in Salem.</p><p>I have found these stories, and the connection to such a turbulent time in American history, absolutely fascinating. Another element that I find remarkable is that my husband's ancestors were also involved. The Coldham, Stevens, and Eveleth families are down my Smith line, and those ancestors seem to be constantly intertwined with those in my husband's Field line in early New England. This is particularly true in the community of Northfield, Massachusetts and surrounding towns, where both my Smith ancestors and my husband's Field ancestors were early settlers.</p><p>Our connection in Salem is John Proctor. John Proctor is my husband's 9th great-granduncle. My husband descends from John's sister, Mary Proctor Hadley. My 10th great-granduncle, Joseph Eveleth, was on the jury that convicted John Proctor of witchcraft in 1692 and sentenced him to death. While Eveleth soon came to realize the injustice of the witch trials, and signed a letter expressing regret for his involvement in the trials, it was too late to save John Proctor's life.</p><p>This moment in time places my ancestor in direct opposition to my husband's ancestor. In Northfield, 80 years later, the conflict between these families centered around British control of the colonies, something the Smith family, as conservative church leaders, supported heartily. The Fields, who tended to be lawyers and active in town government, opposed British control and encouraged their neighbors to fight for a free America. It is interesting that in most places where I've found the Smiths and Fields living nearby, their perspectives were not aligned. So, too, in Salem, did these ancestors find themselves on opposite sides of an important historical moment.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgF-2vuoO5T_XqJD470quC-onwp5gQgQXkzlJmsUm_pzSbLOjd1d4BZARaV03EOl8zkY2BbSYLEyz4m8B2jvhf_u8q1v9NDicVAie4BpCxl-7Vc3WwhJqfdpMeXFzME98ANmdIVRE7hS2XsqZ8muGBlTwFUf7IzAqgxiHLkeJhK1F2CM743vthvoMFjA/s2000/Proctor-House-featured.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgF-2vuoO5T_XqJD470quC-onwp5gQgQXkzlJmsUm_pzSbLOjd1d4BZARaV03EOl8zkY2BbSYLEyz4m8B2jvhf_u8q1v9NDicVAie4BpCxl-7Vc3WwhJqfdpMeXFzME98ANmdIVRE7hS2XsqZ8muGBlTwFUf7IzAqgxiHLkeJhK1F2CM743vthvoMFjA/s320/Proctor-House-featured.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>348 Lowell Street in present-day Peabody, Massachusetts. The house is called the John Proctor House because generations of the Proctor family lived here, although likely not John Proctor himself. It may have served as the tavern run by John Proctor, but that is not certain. In 2018, the property was sold, and interior photos are viewable <a href="https://www.bostonmagazine.com/property/2018/10/11/proctor-house-salem-witch-trials/">here</a>.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><u><br /></u></p><p><u>John Proctor</u></p>John Proctor was born in Suffolk, England, the son of John Proctor and Martha Harper. The family emigrated to Massachusetts when John Jr. was a young child and settled in Chebacco, a small community on the outskirts of Ipswich. John Proctor's father became a wealthy landowner and was involved in local government. The family prospered.<div><br /></div><div>John was married three times. His first marriage, to Martha in 1653, ended with Martha's death in 1659 and produced one surviving child, Benjamin. In 1662, John married Elizabeth Thorndike, who was the daughter of Ipswich founder John Thorndike. They had seven children together. In 1666, John Proctor left Chebacco and moved to nearby Salem with his wife and children. There, Elizabeth Proctor ran a local tavern with some of the Proctor sons, while John tended to his extensive farmlands. Elizabeth died in childbirth in 1672. In 1674, John married a third time, to Elizabeth Bassett. They would also have seven children together.</div><div><br /></div><div>When the witchcraft hysteria began in 1692, John Proctor was 60 years old and a thriving local farmer and businessman with over a dozen adult children living in and around Salem. Typically, witchcraft accusations were leveled at older women and marginalized residents in New England communities. However, as I wrote in my post about the Stevens family of Gloucester, the targets were sometimes also notable community figures. This was the case with John Proctor. In the course of running a farm and tavern, he had been involved in some disagreements with neighbors and customers. In particular, he had a difficult relationship with his neighbor Giles Corey, and they had variously sued each other over the years. John had once accused Giles of setting his house on fire. This was exactly the kind of environment where personal disputes erupted into witchcraft claims. </div><div><br /></div><div>In March 1692, Elizabeth Proctor was accused of witchcraft. Elizabeth was the granddaughter of Ann Holland, a Quaker who acted as a nurse in their community. Because the Puritans disliked Quakers and were suspicious of anyone who acted a healer, Ann had been accused of witchcraft in 1669. The stigma of this accusation likely attached itself to Ann's family, and made her granddaughter Elizabeth an easy target. The allegations against Elizabeth came from Proctor family servant Martha Warren, aged about 11, and her friends Mercy Lewis and Abigail Williams. These girls were the source of many witchcraft accusations, and were likely just pointing a finger at people they didn't like. Martha, a young orphan with a sad past, did not feel she had been treated well in the Proctor home. John Proctor angrily and loudly defended his wife, having no patience for what he perceived as being clearly nonsensical claims. Then, the accusers shifted their focus to John. Both John and Elizabeth were imprisoned and required to stand trial. The accusations against the Proctors were immediately denounced by their community.</div><blockquote>In April 1692, 31 men from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipswich,_Massachusetts">Ipswich, Massachusetts</a>, filed a petition attesting to the upstanding character of John and Elizabeth and denying that they had ever seen anything that would indicate either of the couple were witches.<br /><br />In May 1692, a similar petition was filed on behalf of John and Elizabeth, containing signatures of 20 men and women, including several of the wealthiest landowners of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topsfield,_Massachusetts">Topsfield, Massachusetts</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_Village">Salem Village</a>. The petition questioned the validity of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_evidence">spectral evidence</a>, testified to the Christian lives that John and Elizabeth had led, said that they "were ever ready to help such as stood in need of their help," and that the petitioners had no reason to believe the couple were witches. [<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Proctor">Wikipedia</a>]</blockquote><p>In May 1692, three of John's children were also arrested amidst a flurry of witchcraft accusations, as were Elizabeth's sister and sister-in-law. Understanding that his family was specifically being targeted, and doubting the possibility of a fair trial in Salem, John sent a letter to state government officials in Boston asking to have his and Elizabeth's trial moved elsewhere, or to have different judges appointed. State leaders were becoming increasingly alarmed by events in and around Salem, and on August 1, 1692, the use of spectral evidence in witchcraft trials was disallowed. This should have made a difference for John and Elizabeth, since the primary evidence against them was the claims from three young girls that they had seen the Proctors' apparitions while in various states of duress, implying that the devil was working via the Proctors to inflict suffering on them. However, it was too little too late. The jury had already heard the claims and on August 5, they found John and Elizabeth guilty and sentenced them to death. John was hanged on August 19.</p><p>Elizabeth was given a reprieve because she was pregnant at the time of her conviction. She gave birth to a son, John Proctor III, in prison on January 27, 1693. At this point, the witch trials had lost some of their steam. On October 29, 1692, Massachusetts Governor William Phips had intervened, legislating an end to the Court of Oyer and Terminer and replacing it with a court that was not permitted to consider spectral evidence. This may have been because Phips' own wife was accused around this time. While accusations and trials continued until May 1693, fewer accused were actually convicted, and all those sentenced to be hanged were pardoned by Phips, along with those lingering in jail and facing execution.</p><div>Elizabeth Proctor was released from jail in May 1693, nine months after her conviction and the execution of her husband. John's lands and possessions had been stripped after he was found guilty, so Elizabeth was now impoverished. She fought for years for restitution. </div><div><br /></div><div><u>Mary Proctor Hadley and Her Descendants</u></div><div><br /></div><div>John's sister Mary is my husband's 9th great-grandmother. John was the first child born to John Proctor and Martha Harper, and Mary was the second, born in England in 1633. The family emigrated in 1635, when John and Mary were very young, and settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sometime between 1651 and 1655, Mary married George Hadley, who may have been the son of George Hadley and Elizabeth Spooner, although this parentage is disputed. George was born in England and brought to the colonies as a child. After George and Mary were married, they moved from their hometown of Ipswich to a farm in Rowley, which is on the Merrimack River near Haverhill, Massachusetts. They came back to Ipswich in 1666 after exchanging farms with Thomas Kimball. George and Mary had somewhere between seven and ten children together. My husband descends from Samuel Hadley, their eldest son, who was born in 1655. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mary Proctor Hadley died in 1667 at the age of 34, so she did not live to see her brother John accused in the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. George remarried Deborah Prince Skilling in 1668, at the age of 40. Deborah would have a small role in the witch trials, testifying in support of her neighbor Elizabeth Howe in July 1692. This testimony was in vain, for Elizabeth was found guilty and hanged on July 19.</div><div><br /></div><div>Samuel Hadley, my husband's 8th great-grandfather, was also affected by the Salem Witch Trials. He was alive when his uncle, John Proctor, was executed in 1692. There was another connection to the trials, as well. In 1676, Samuel married Jane Martin, the daughter of George Martin and Susannah North Martin. Samuel's mother-in-law <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susannah_Martin">Susannah Martin</a> was accused of witchcraft in 1692, found guilty, and hanged on July 19, the same day that Elizabeth Howe was executed. Jane Martin Hadley's father, George Martin, had died in 1686, leaving Susannah a widow with few resources. Older women were a frequent target of witchcraft accusations. Susannah Martin and Elizabeth Howe were two of fourteen women to be executed in Salem after witchcraft convictions. There were five women hanged on July 19, 1692 alone, Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, and Sarah Wildes. </div><div><br /></div><div>Samuel and Jane Hadley's daughter, Esther Hadley, b. 1676, married Richard Goodwin in Amesbury, Massachusetts, in 1702. She is my husband's seventh great-grandmother.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Salem Witch Trials consumed Salem and surrounding communities in 1692 and 1693. Seemingly everyone was connected to the trials in some way, and all felt the impact of the accusations and convictions. It's incredible that my family and my husband's family converged in this moment of great historical importance, with my 10th great-granduncle convicting my husband's 9th great-granduncle in a trial that continues to capture the imagination 331 years later.</div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-24849978710338675432023-09-05T05:00:00.007-07:002023-09-06T10:40:24.370-07:00Searching for the County Sligo Origins of Sarah Kilcullen<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhThc_8-kpHw5ATSuUROWO6oddap8mkKT1EXWLc5pHW5BcSdm1_OmlN_ElThHzKqXeGopt6KCy9kmY629520xDmL0pYu8qlko9L0WToILslQ9bO-I8u_Iq7bgc5ZYKu0yLGZXnOMDx98fHQygizo82NAa_rwzUtLzItDrAfE9LH9d1u-hR0V5_FCbnGqJs/s3008/Mullaghmore,_Co_Sligo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="3008" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhThc_8-kpHw5ATSuUROWO6oddap8mkKT1EXWLc5pHW5BcSdm1_OmlN_ElThHzKqXeGopt6KCy9kmY629520xDmL0pYu8qlko9L0WToILslQ9bO-I8u_Iq7bgc5ZYKu0yLGZXnOMDx98fHQygizo82NAa_rwzUtLzItDrAfE9LH9d1u-hR0V5_FCbnGqJs/w400-h266/Mullaghmore,_Co_Sligo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sligo coastline at Mullaghmore<br /><i>By Aonghus Flynn - originally posted to Flickr as Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, CC BY 2.0, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9416111">Source</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>My great-grandmother, Sarah Kilcullen, has always been an enigma to me. She died in 1939, when her son, my grandfather, <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2013/09/happy-birthday-grandpa.html">David Austin Lacey</a>, was just 21. When I was growing up, forty-some years later, my relatives and I occasionally talked about the Lacey family, the family that Sarah married into, but I don't recall discussing the Kilcullens much. This may have simply been because Sarah had been gone for so long at that point and memories had faded. By the time I became seriously interested in genealogy, my grandfather had passed, and the only person I could ask about Sarah was my father. He told me what he knew, or thought he knew, but I never had any success piecing together a family tree for my great-grandmother based on that information. I've also never seen a photo of Sarah. I feel badly that she appears so lost to history, and that I can't seem to learn more.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>What We Know/ Don't Know</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>This is what I learned about Sarah from my father. She was born in County Sligo, Ireland. My dad thinks she may have been been from Carrowhubbock, but he can't remember if someone told him that, or if he Googled Kilcullens at some point and saw Carrowhubbock as a possible location for the family. He also thinks her parents were named Patrick and Bridget, but this is another tidbit that doesn't appear to have a strong source. My father also has a suspicion that Sarah had a brother named Owen, but it's just a hunch based largely on the fact that Sarah named her youngest son Owen. So, we have a lot of maybes here, and not a lot of certainty.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are a few things that are definitely known to be true, however, and can be backed up with documentation. Sarah was born in County Sligo, Ireland. She arrived in America from Ireland in the early 1900s, met Thomas Lacey in San Francisco and married him there in 1908. They had eight children together. Sarah died in Alameda, California in 1939.</div><div><br /></div><div>Over the years I have run countless online searches looking for more information, but nothing has matched up with what I think I know about my great-grandmother. In searching immigration records, there are many Sarah Kilcullens that are presented in search results, but they're either the wrong age, hail from the wrong location, or have parents with names that are unfamiliar to me.</div><div><br /></div><div>I decided to go back to the drawing board with Sarah, forget what I think I know, and look only for things that I could prove with documentation. I started with trying to learn Sarah's birthdate. Here is what the records indicate:</div><div><br /></div><div>1910 U.S. Census: born about 1883, age 27<br />1920 U.S. Census: born about 1883, age 37<br />1930 U.S. Census: born about 1885, age 45 <br />Death index: born about 1883<br />Gravestone: born 1883</div><div><br /></div><div>It's not conclusive, but it's a strong indicator that Sarah was born in 1883.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next, I looked for Sarah's death date, and this was easy, because <i>The San Francisco Examiner</i> published her obituary on December 4, 1939, stating that she died on December 3 in Alameda. The obituary also says that Sarah was a native of Ireland, and that she had a sister in San Francisco, Annie Duffy. This was new to me. I had never heard anything about a sister named Annie. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>A Surprise Sister</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>I was able to find a number of records for Annie, including census records and a death record indicating that she was born on June 29, 1889 in County Sligo, Ireland. I also found Annie on a passenger list, arriving at Ellis Island on October 10, 1907, on the ship Teutonic. That record states that Annie was 20 years old at the time of her arrival and worked as a servant. She was headed to San Francisco upon her arrival in America, and her last address was Pound Street, Sligo. The relative she listed as her closest was Mrs. James Mulrooney, a cousin. Typically, that column would indicate the closest relative in the immigrant's home country, so this is a hint that Annie's parents may no longer have been living in 1907 and she was apparently staying with the family of a cousin. By 1909, Annie had married Matthew Duffy, also an Irish immigrant, in San Francisco. They would have five children together. Annie was working in a laundry in San Francisco in 1920, per the U.S. Census. She died in 1944.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have run a number of searches for Mrs. James Mulrooney in Sligo without turning up anything helpful. </div><div><br /></div><div>As I mentioned in a <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-children-of-bartley-and-judy-lacey.html">previous post about the Lacey family</a>, we know that Sarah and Annie had a cousin in San Francisco, as well. Elizabeth McCormick King was the wife of Valentine King, who supported Sarah's future husband, Thomas Lacey, when he arrived in America. We believe Valentine was related to Thomas. His wife Elizabeth was the daughter of Patrick McCormick and Margaret Kilcullen. Margaret was from County Sligo, and while I haven't determined her exact relationship to Sarah and Annie Kilcullen, they were definitely family. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLb3kWFwctKIwbosYDBt7IkHIGKJH23-QFdKt3Z7IjnsotB-zN6rTFm4GRbkZZmhy1zIe89NGV3-vBGtO0jBjKwSbkRvFcXMo_7Blhkl6o-z4rUe8SI1lpFOAUe13KKr3UZPlkYW8ZnSVjQRtbz0wZ4FSiCxlf8lCDwFUfI0XHVaj_xXXcDlCKWPHEZE/s1300/5da0ed944af9093e4c61e364.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1300" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLb3kWFwctKIwbosYDBt7IkHIGKJH23-QFdKt3Z7IjnsotB-zN6rTFm4GRbkZZmhy1zIe89NGV3-vBGtO0jBjKwSbkRvFcXMo_7Blhkl6o-z4rUe8SI1lpFOAUe13KKr3UZPlkYW8ZnSVjQRtbz0wZ4FSiCxlf8lCDwFUfI0XHVaj_xXXcDlCKWPHEZE/s320/5da0ed944af9093e4c61e364.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Francisco before the 1906 earthquake<br /><i>Source: Eadweard Muybridge/Bonhams</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Searching Immigration Records</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>My belief is that Sarah immigrated to America either before Annie or around the same time. The U.S. Census records list very different immigration years for Sarah, as seen below, so I'm not sure exactly when she arrived.</div><div><br /></div><div>1910 U.S. Census: 1902<br />1920 U.S. Census: 1907<br />1930 U.S. Census: 1903</div><div><br /></div><div>When I search Ellis Island records for Sarah Kilcullen, I get the following matches</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-Ue4TiOBhgEjgIzlkVnxl8lLmiOLpfyC4TGvQa9BrYdet3izks6e9f0osoCh2Azhu-UuLsMpZpoS2Vtyq-NMLKjZdyM02qcPgRkx7irB1Ph7qHkS0XST7d7an9RhxVRClGG-GLvDks8q6zscaMXh2uALrvK-iHpj_s3MpGPY6DbkmEiW37IEfLOTNWg/s2304/Screenshot%202023-07-23%20at%2012.16.28%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="2304" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-Ue4TiOBhgEjgIzlkVnxl8lLmiOLpfyC4TGvQa9BrYdet3izks6e9f0osoCh2Azhu-UuLsMpZpoS2Vtyq-NMLKjZdyM02qcPgRkx7irB1Ph7qHkS0XST7d7an9RhxVRClGG-GLvDks8q6zscaMXh2uALrvK-iHpj_s3MpGPY6DbkmEiW37IEfLOTNWg/w400-h99/Screenshot%202023-07-23%20at%2012.16.28%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>The Sarah that arrived in 1906 from Ballina was going to Pittsburgh to meet a brother, Thomas. This Sarah was born around 1884. I don't think this is my Sarah, because Ballina is in County Mayo, not County Sligo, and I've never heard anything about Pittsburgh or a brother named Thomas in relation to my great-grandmother. The year of birth is close, though. </div><div><br /></div><div>By 1927, my great-grandmother was married and raising children in Alameda, so the second Sarah isn't her.</div><div><br /></div><div>The fourth Sarah arrived in America in 1879, several years before my great-grandmother was born, so this doesn't appear to be her.</div><div><br /></div><div>The third Sarah is interesting. This passenger manifest lists Anne Kilcullen, age 52 and a widow, traveling with her 20-year old daughter Sarah. Two lines below them is Owen Kilcullen, age 23. They arrived at Ellis Island on October 29, 1901. According to the record, this Sarah was born about 1881, two years earlier than I think my great-grandmother was born. Anne lists that she had last been living with her son, aged 17, in Templeboy, County Sligo. She and Sarah are going to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and it appears they are going to meet Anne's son John Kilcullen there (abbreviated as Jno in the record). Owen is also going to Scranton to meet a brother, but I cannot read the writing of the brother's name. It looks like it could possibly say Pat Kilcullen, but I can't tell for use. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhir_PBvHA84RlhQeuZD_Xq8gEsSQDxzU15zGH6QKjAvjBZDGTjo_00C9ACKu9cPhui1xN0sd1yozvFR7v9xTRVbo4-IpqTxZpGSn8nMFMJ9mlt0EAEBt2WBlyuO-IwhAwjhjIygVJ6bYxVj517LWO5AC2lGuKXSlrpksw8RsaSMpmt9L33mtT0qfJF67c/s2512/Screenshot%202023-07-23%20at%2012.53.09%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1832" data-original-width="2512" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhir_PBvHA84RlhQeuZD_Xq8gEsSQDxzU15zGH6QKjAvjBZDGTjo_00C9ACKu9cPhui1xN0sd1yozvFR7v9xTRVbo4-IpqTxZpGSn8nMFMJ9mlt0EAEBt2WBlyuO-IwhAwjhjIygVJ6bYxVj517LWO5AC2lGuKXSlrpksw8RsaSMpmt9L33mtT0qfJF67c/s320/Screenshot%202023-07-23%20at%2012.53.09%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Of the four Ellis Island records, the last one is the most promising. It's entirely possible that Sarah went on to San Francisco after initially settling in Scranton. However, searches for Anne, John, Owen, and Patrick Kilcullen in the Scranton area have not turned up any records that conclusively appear to be this family, or that connect to my great-grandmother. I am still considering this family a possibility, but at this point there is no proof.</div><div><br /></div><div>Searching under alternate spellings, I also found an Ellis Island record for a Sarah Kilcullon, who arrived in New York from Ireland on September 11, 1902. This Sarah was born in 1880 and hailed from Carraroe, Sligo. She was headed to Los Angeles to see her brother, John Kilcullen. I found John Kilcullen, Sarah Kilcullen, and a Domick (possibly Dominick?) Killcullen living together in Los Angeles in 1903, at 455 E. 3rd Street in what is now Little Tokyo. After that time, I cannot find conclusive records for any of these three individuals. It's possible that this is my great-grandmother, and that she went to Los Angeles before moving up the coast to San Francisco, but again, there's no proof.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's also possible that Sarah did not arrive at Ellis Island, and thus is not recorded there. A records search for a Sarah Killcullen arriving at other US ports in the early 1900s turns up so many records that it is overwhelming, and there's not enough information in any of them to connect them to my great-grandmother.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcUwuGTc-OVye83fLbuPV-PCkoMBrEo-vNpWe9DXO8gEIk0xOt8QTa601xsLCwbfFIGYdVmaEwd2xtFkqHF1_XEUglJpyv5I1TdNA606Ac85UkmeU_8eZcXT5DSk5mHXI04Vfo3DNMFd2K6RZ7QX8MHbPnm_Udn-4gtH9oIPAJCFcgmr0zYhIYcvpbRyg/s720/templeboy.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="720" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcUwuGTc-OVye83fLbuPV-PCkoMBrEo-vNpWe9DXO8gEIk0xOt8QTa601xsLCwbfFIGYdVmaEwd2xtFkqHF1_XEUglJpyv5I1TdNA606Ac85UkmeU_8eZcXT5DSk5mHXI04Vfo3DNMFd2K6RZ7QX8MHbPnm_Udn-4gtH9oIPAJCFcgmr0zYhIYcvpbRyg/w400-h225/templeboy.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Templeboy, County Sligo<br /><i>(source: <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/templeboy-ireland/stays">Airbnb</a>)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><b><u>Searching Irish Records</u></b><div><br /></div><div>I've searched Irish records for Sarah and her family many, many times over the years. As new information is constantly being digitized, I frequently search again, hoping something new will emerge. Very early on in these searches, the record my father and I found online and assumed/hoped was Sarah provided the following information. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sarah Kilcullen</div><div>Born May 22, 1881 in Carrowhubbock North, County Sligo</div><div>Baptised May 26, 1881 in Kilglass, County Sligo</div><div>Parents: Patrick Kilcullen and Bridget Kilcullen (recorded in the church records as Patricius and Brideel)</div><div><br /></div><div>This may be where the birthplace Carrowhubbock and parents Patrick and Bridget became part of what we believed we knew about Sarah. In revisiting this record, however, it really doesn't provide us enough info to tell us it's my great-grandmother.</div><div><br /></div><div>The other mothers listed in this birth registry are recorded with their maiden names, not married names, so this record also provided the suggestion that Bridget's maiden name and married name were the same, Kilcullen.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was able to find this same family in the 1901 Irish Census. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6GurJucj7VYwtGcXXb6RhLo9R6A2C7SHUZZKO_mDRNSctjfKRERLxTWluANnIwYZzitTnK4-G02yAa_yp9Ll_tD3FMuy16MJjkM8074bQQr545k8E95IlCsEtccUr2IabkwNv1qVQuilphMu7Uk30XvTr1bv17H2Gl0_N8KmQ6Njdc9Ozot79XbqRKY/s1626/Screenshot%202023-07-23%20at%203.38.00%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="1626" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6GurJucj7VYwtGcXXb6RhLo9R6A2C7SHUZZKO_mDRNSctjfKRERLxTWluANnIwYZzitTnK4-G02yAa_yp9Ll_tD3FMuy16MJjkM8074bQQr545k8E95IlCsEtccUr2IabkwNv1qVQuilphMu7Uk30XvTr1bv17H2Gl0_N8KmQ6Njdc9Ozot79XbqRKY/w400-h150/Screenshot%202023-07-23%20at%203.38.00%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Unfortunately, this census record does not mention a daughter named Annie or Anna, and we know that Sarah had a sister named Annie Kilcullen. I don't think this entirely rules out this listing, as I have sometimes seen children be left off census records when they were living with grandparents or cousins elsewhere, which certainly happened in Ireland. It's just that, other than the name Sarah Kilcullen and the location of County Sligo, there's nothing here to definitively connect this Sarah to my great-grandmother. Also, this Sarah was born in 1881, not 1883. Again, there can be some wiggle room on the recording of dates in various records, but it's another reason this Sarah Kilcullen can't be proven as my great-grandmother at this point.<div><br /></div><div>The only Kilcullen household I found in Sligo that listed sisters named Sarah and Annie in 1901 is the following.<br /><div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoa-HMjUoxys_SCBt074jRgrmB8oHh6jSQPCXCFLqECt0Ek6ZaEJCGjR2PfaIjxpd8YqjYRjyYNmwSeJFSfWBMdkz_8MmnCRUZYn5N1eXiy_wxkJg_4q-sN3M3r56S90w_FvFrB7oik6E32X78TI1VxhU4lPrklfGuUTeEn7ATPY1j0VI1fpA5KSKuQo0/s2470/Screenshot%202023-07-23%20at%203.42.51%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1506" data-original-width="2470" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoa-HMjUoxys_SCBt074jRgrmB8oHh6jSQPCXCFLqECt0Ek6ZaEJCGjR2PfaIjxpd8YqjYRjyYNmwSeJFSfWBMdkz_8MmnCRUZYn5N1eXiy_wxkJg_4q-sN3M3r56S90w_FvFrB7oik6E32X78TI1VxhU4lPrklfGuUTeEn7ATPY1j0VI1fpA5KSKuQo0/w400-h244/Screenshot%202023-07-23%20at%203.42.51%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>In this record, sisters Sarah and Annie Kilcullen have a 6 year age difference, which I believe was the gap between my great-grandmother Sarah (born 1883) and her sister Annie (born 1889). However, the record indicates that this Sarah would have been born in 1878, five years earlier than what I believe is correct for my great-grandmother. This family was living in Carrownrush, near Dromore West and Easky. I wondered if this could be the same family that emigrated to Pennsylvania in October 1901, and whose Ellis Island record was the most intriguing. The mother in the immigrant family was Anne, aged 52, as is the mother in this Carrownrush family. She was traveling with a daughter, Sarah, age 20 and a son Owen, age 23. The Carrownrush family has a daughter Sarah, age 23, and a son Owen, age 27. In the Carrownrush family, there's also a son named Patt, and the immigrant Kilcullen family may have been going to see a brother named Pat in Scranton. The ages are a little off, but it's possible this is the same family group.</div><div><br /></div><div>At this point, I still cannot conclusively prove where my great-grandmother came from in County Sligo or who her parents were. I would really love to solve this mystery and give Sarah's story more definition. Until I can find an immigration record or Irish census record that is identifiably my great-grandmother, that won't be possible. I will continue to research.</div></div></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-13398140324597559452023-06-26T05:00:00.166-07:002023-09-17T10:14:54.412-07:00Blogoversary: 10 Years of Know Their Stories<p>Happy 10th birthday to this blog! I started writing Know Their Stories a decade ago, on June 26, 2013. Since then, I've written 186 posts about my family's history.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGN3sFzm7d0WyVlcJg7ClLYSagmPiDfZgSk3zcv2Utq1pYp5R0w2uphq4ymhx-RB8tTjNTZI0TC7im4RonP8d7UZjEIeNY5SEnyYVlsukZl_HJlQDKX5ZeLQXyBB52ZQYYfzh91Bq6_nbvHeVHOEn0YHFPd6k8_K87MqySMxl2bPhEjc6s5Q1fQFCkv6Q/s952/Screenshot%202023-06-23%20at%2010.09.20%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="952" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGN3sFzm7d0WyVlcJg7ClLYSagmPiDfZgSk3zcv2Utq1pYp5R0w2uphq4ymhx-RB8tTjNTZI0TC7im4RonP8d7UZjEIeNY5SEnyYVlsukZl_HJlQDKX5ZeLQXyBB52ZQYYfzh91Bq6_nbvHeVHOEn0YHFPd6k8_K87MqySMxl2bPhEjc6s5Q1fQFCkv6Q/s320/Screenshot%202023-06-23%20at%2010.09.20%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>When I began this project, I saw it as an important way to share the stories hidden in my family tree. I didn't want my ancestors to be just names and dates. My grandmothers shared so many wonderful tales about the people in our family, and I wanted to save that information for posterity. This blog has motivated me to dig deeper into my family tree and really flesh out what I know (or in many cases, don't know) about my ancestors. It's been an incredibly rewarding journey thus far.</p><p>In the last ten years, so much has changed... in the world, in the practice of genealogy, and in how stories are shared. When I started this blog, there was a whole community of "geneabloggers," and we regularly read each others' posts and commented on them. I looked forward to updates from certain other bloggers and getting visits from them. That has completely disappeared in the last decade, and I currently have no communication with others who may be writing about family history. The blogs are gone or haven't had updates in years. Blogs just aren't the preferred way of sharing content anymore. </p><p>Some content creation has moved to other long form mediums, like Substack, but the primary way stories are shared currently is via video on social media outlets like Instagram and TikTok. To me, it seems that this hasn't really caught on in the genealogy community. I have just been plodding along with Blogger, fully conscious of the fact that no one reads what I'm writing and it's not the best platform for sharing information. Google isn't always indexing my posts anymore, which means they aren't searchable and I'm really writing in a vacuum. Lately, I've been giving some thought to where else my family's information needs to live in order to be preserved. In a few circumstances, I have copied over complete posts to Ancestry, attaching them as PDF files to family trees. I hesitate to do this for all posts, because sometimes information needs to be edited and updated after the fact. For example, if I had copied over my original posts on the Lacey family to Ancestry, I would have shared a lot of incorrect information, and there's no real way to claw that back. As you know, once people add something to their tree, it's nearly impossible to get them to change it, no matter how obvious the evidence of error. Of all the people I've reached out to in an effort to explain that the information they've linked on my third great-grandmother <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/6830103/person/-1150384385/facts">Temperance Burns</a> is incorrect, approximately zero of them have read my messages or changed anything. I don't want to be responsible for mistakes that live on forever. So, I'm considering various ways to share the information in this blog on other platforms, but haven't settled on a solution yet. </p><p>Ten years in, I still feel that there's a lot to share about my family and the process of researching their lives. There's also a clear opportunity now to diversify where this information gets shared. I'm excited to see what the next ten years of writing will bring, and how much more I'll learn about my ancestors. I also look forward to continuing to meet cousins who discover these stories online. </p><p>These are currently the most-read posts on Know Their Stories:</p><a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2016/11/organizing-your-genealogy-how-i-did-it.html">Organizing Your Genealogy: How I Did It and You Can, Too!</a> - This post went a little viral on Facebook some years ago and got nearly 5,000 views. It is by far my most-read post.<div><br /></div><a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-laceys-part-one.html">The Laceys</a> - This 2013 post about my Lacey family has nearly 2,000 views. Too bad it is full of incorrect information! I left it up because it continues to draw in Lacey cousins, but added corrections at the top and a link to updated family details.<br /><br /><a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-short-family-and-william-penns.html">The Short Family and William Penn's "Welcome"</a> - This post about my Short ancestors and their arrival in Pennsylvania in 1682 has gotten about 1,600 views. The creation of this post was greatly aided by information I found at the <a href="https://library.nehgs.org/">New England Historic Genealogical Society</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2013/08/scandalous-ancestor-alvin-jared-howe.html">Scandalous Ancestor: Alvin Jared Howe</a> - This is one of my earliest and shortest posts, written in 2013, and I have no idea why it has racked up 1,200 views. Perhaps because Howe was an important figure in <a href="https://www.santa-ana.org/">Santa Ana, California</a>?<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-colemans-dwyers-more-australian.html">The Colemans & Dwyers: More Australian Cousins</a> - This is one of the last posts in a 2013 series about my Coleman and Dwyer ancestors, on my paternal line, I think this one has gotten over 1,000 views because it's essentially a long list of names. I hope my Australian cousins are clicking on this and enjoying learning about their American relatives!</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2013/07/military-monday-wallace-partridge-civil.html">Wallace Partridge, Civil War Soldier</a> - I love that this post about Wallace has gotten nearly 1,000 views. The way that his photo and story came into my life is so improbable but wonderful.<br /><div> <div></div></div></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-49431408163413071352023-06-12T05:00:00.010-07:002024-02-25T08:51:00.009-08:00James Stevens and the Salem Witch Trials<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3tzFMMVTY8e_5uqL-BL1aLB3yQ7MnlOL3g79pSHPQ0BPGlJ14_93FaEgYU7ZW5szqxNDKsLwJnDR-tguzo-vw_yC4V1VtdVGX1l9g62j3yC8Xl_rHgLMn0i7E7DE3h3Q73AgfXgPmvzjMtWvlpU511FbbG8W2_wfCvgWCcFrH9J_CKb85f9lbsSk/s1000/cape%20ann.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="1000" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3tzFMMVTY8e_5uqL-BL1aLB3yQ7MnlOL3g79pSHPQ0BPGlJ14_93FaEgYU7ZW5szqxNDKsLwJnDR-tguzo-vw_yC4V1VtdVGX1l9g62j3yC8Xl_rHgLMn0i7E7DE3h3Q73AgfXgPmvzjMtWvlpU511FbbG8W2_wfCvgWCcFrH9J_CKb85f9lbsSk/s320/cape%20ann.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A map of Gloucester harbor drawn in 1613 by explorer Samuel de Champlain</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I've been writing a series of posts about my maternal ancestors in Salem, Gloucester, and Lynn, Massachusetts. This includes the <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-eveleth-family-in-early-america-and.html">Eveleth</a>, <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-coldham-family-of-gloucester.html">Coldham</a>, and <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-complicated-norwood-family-of.html">Norwood</a> families. Another family group living in the area, and deeply interconnected with the others, was the Stevens family.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7qcKZ6P7sRe0Suz7UOPul3lcD6zpw8ESq0dBolyksyT7c5zxluYx9FKLsq3GBVgiTsqu4R_WIRnFgRjZlPGD9PeREVwXq0k5aQFVRnnf88vSTr67lwI0RKbW6D4gEDW_DRn-pIyaPXK58jK9sPKc8yU5p4Ig47L-f3DiyXps4oa5Ecnt_TKvdJaV/s1298/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-05%20at%2011.46.02%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="1298" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7qcKZ6P7sRe0Suz7UOPul3lcD6zpw8ESq0dBolyksyT7c5zxluYx9FKLsq3GBVgiTsqu4R_WIRnFgRjZlPGD9PeREVwXq0k5aQFVRnnf88vSTr67lwI0RKbW6D4gEDW_DRn-pIyaPXK58jK9sPKc8yU5p4Ig47L-f3DiyXps4oa5Ecnt_TKvdJaV/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-05%20at%2011.46.02%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>James Stevens was my 10th great-grandfather. He was born in England in 1631 to William Stevens and his wife Philippa. Philippa's surname is not conclusively known, and I have variously seen Grant, Gaunt, Bitfield/Bitfylde, and Chicke family names associated with her. It is likely, although not absolutely proven, that the Stevens family lived in the Stepney area in east London. James and several other of his family members may have been baptized at St. Dunstan in the East, a church that dates from the 1100s and was ruined during The Blitz in World War II. I visited St. Dunstan in the East with my family last year during a trip to England.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlse6NKLmZscnzzeG3mLrEN41FePBDaKF4PiykOXvivTUAnYO7ypamXgepm4DR6hFb-HT5tdGr5ILNYy_9bMDxWrbgW92bzgg-WkSdGGJue2qdkOgOmfyd4KACzYWy40Q3P9JSxox7IT7KXaX2Q1mcxn-DZw1mywHTUArkD7STKaVgT4OiV2LONRn/s6000/DSC_0072-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlse6NKLmZscnzzeG3mLrEN41FePBDaKF4PiykOXvivTUAnYO7ypamXgepm4DR6hFb-HT5tdGr5ILNYy_9bMDxWrbgW92bzgg-WkSdGGJue2qdkOgOmfyd4KACzYWy40Q3P9JSxox7IT7KXaX2Q1mcxn-DZw1mywHTUArkD7STKaVgT4OiV2LONRn/s320/DSC_0072-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ruins of St. Dunstan in the East, London, 2022</td></tr></tbody></table><p>William and Philippa moved their families to the American colonies sometime before 1656 and settled in Essex County, north of Boston. They were living in Gloucester in 1656, when their son James Stevens married Susannah Eveleth. Susannah was the daughter of Sylvester Eveleth and the sister of <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-eveleth-family-in-early-america-and.html">Joseph Eveleth</a>, who I recently profiled. Joseph famously served as a juror in the trial of John Proctor at the height of the Salem Witch Trials, a moment in history retold in <i>The Crucible</i> by Arthur Miller.</p><p>James was about 24 when he married Susannah, and they went on to have eleven children between 1658 and 1679, eight of whom survived infancy. </p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>William Stevens (b. 1658; m. Abigail Sargent; d. 1701)</li><li>James Stevens (b. 1660; d. 1660)</li><li>James Stevens (b. 1661; d. 1688</li><li>Isaac Stevens (b. 1664; d. 1664)</li><li>Samuel Stevens (b. 1665; m. Mary Ellery; d. 1756)</li><li>Isaac Stevens (b. 1668; d. 1668)</li><li>Ebenezer Stevens (b. 1670; m. Elizabeth Colcord; d. 1746)</li><li>Mary Stevens (b. 1672; m. Francis Norwood; d. 1724)</li><li>Hannah Stevens (b. 1675; m. (1) Joseph Sargent (2) Joseph Harraden; d. 1725)</li><li>David Stevens (b. 1677; m. Hannah Sargent; d. abt. 1709)</li><li>Jonathan Stevens b. 1679; m. Mary Sargent; d. abt. 1709)</li></ol><p>James served his community as a church deacon and a lieutenant in the local militia. He had a sister, Mary Stevens, who was born about 1637 in Salem, Massachusetts. Mary married John Coit in 1652 and they had five children together. John died in 1667, and the widowed Mary soon remarried John Fitch. In 1692, at the height of the witch hysteria in nearby Salem, Mary fell ill. She was 55, and there could have been any number of reasons for her sickness. In the climate of the time, however, witchcraft was instantly suspected.</p><div>The essay <i><a href="https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/">The Geography and Genealogy of Gloucester Witchcraft</a></i>, written by Jedediah Drolet as undergraduate coursework at Cornell University, provides a thorough and helpful account of how Gloucester was enveloped by witchcraft claims in 1692. Some excerpts pertaining to the Stevens family are below.</div><div><blockquote>Gloucester in 1692 was still an isolated farming community, not yet the thriving port and fishing town it would soon become. It had survived a series of factional conflicts earlier in the seventeenth century and attained the kind of stable, harmonious equilibrium Puritans expected of their communities. And yet, this model New England town produced nine witchcraft accusations during the crisis, more than any other community except for Andover, Salem Village and Salem Town.<br /><br />... James Stevens was an important figure in town. He was a deacon of the church and a lieutenant in the militia. His father William Stevens had been one of the early settlers of Gloucester and was a noted shipbuilder. James may have followed in the trade. He married Susannah Eveleth, daughter of Sylvester Eveleth, in 1656 and in 1658 received a grant from the town of land on Town Neck, near Trynall Cove... He probably inherited all of Eastern Point below the Great Pond from his father, who was apparently granted it by the town, since it was in the possession of his son Samuel Stevens in 1697. </blockquote>When Mary Stevens Fitch fell ill, accusations of witchcraft were at a fever pitch in Gloucester and surrounding communities. There had already been six women jailed in Gloucester for supposed infliction of injury via witchcraft. James Stevens enlisted women from Salem Village who had claimed to be affected by witchcraft if they could find out who was harming his sister. One of the women enlisted was 17-year old Elizabeth Hubbard, who I mentioned in a <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-coldham-family-of-gloucester.html">recent post</a> about my 11th great-grandfather Clement Coldham. Elizabeth Hubbard was a primary instigator of the Salem Witch Trials, and Clement Coldham testified in her support during a witchcraft trial.<blockquote>A group of girls ranging in age from 12 to 20 were the main accusers in the Salem witch trials. This group, of which Elizabeth Hubbard was a part, also included Ann Putnam Jr., Mary Walcott, Elizabeth “Betty” Parris, Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Booth, Mercy Lewis, and Mary Warren. [Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Hubbard_(Salem_witch_trials)">Wikipedia</a>]</blockquote><p>Elizabeth Hubbard and the other young women James asked to assist in tracking down the witches harming his sister provided three names: Esther Elwell, Abigail Rowe and Rebecca Dike. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVC2RnA8uZlU6M1gHZZYNXoU3jftQ8YesQ020dVJkPW6T4YoZWdxxheuvkj-WCM9llzdr4Tq3PfJxDg1tqbWJSjJvPqAwtFG8gY2w2Zt1Ioiybss9qXHd_5FU8Vpw4wocN-rRSPugRxhsCNHbiaPpIrNJ2ZP3SwPzD6dj5KBLrJqpEObYJSzk0S2JG/s1537/arrest.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1537" data-original-width="1086" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVC2RnA8uZlU6M1gHZZYNXoU3jftQ8YesQ020dVJkPW6T4YoZWdxxheuvkj-WCM9llzdr4Tq3PfJxDg1tqbWJSjJvPqAwtFG8gY2w2Zt1Ioiybss9qXHd_5FU8Vpw4wocN-rRSPugRxhsCNHbiaPpIrNJ2ZP3SwPzD6dj5KBLrJqpEObYJSzk0S2JG/s320/arrest.webp" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The arrest warrant for Esther Elwell, Abigail Rowe, and Rebecca Dike for "sundry acts of witchcraft against the body of Mrs. Mary Fitch."</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Abigail Rowe was 15 years old at the time of the accusation. Her family, prominent landowners from Good Harbor in Gloucester, had already been impacted by witchcraft hysteria. Her mother and grandmother had both been charged with witchcraft in separate incidents. </p><p>Rebecca Dike and her husband owned substantial land adjacent to the Eveleth family property. Rebecca's father, Samuel Dolliver, owned the largest herd of cows in Gloucester, according to <i>History of the town and city of Gloucester, Cape Ann, Massachusetts</i> by James R. Pringle. Rebecca was in her forties and the mother of ten children. </p><p>Esther Elwell came from a prominent family and had married a wealthy man. Esther's case was featured on the television show <i>Who Do You Think You Are</i>, because she is an ancestor of actress Sarah Jessica Parker. In the 2022 book <i>Esther's Testimony: Accused Witch Esther Elwell of Gloucester, Massachusetts</i>, Esther's descendant Evelyn Elwell states that 53-year old Esther was likely a midwife and herbalist, a person who would have treated the ill in her community. She may have come under suspicion if she had tended to the sick Mary Fitch.</p><p>Jedediah Drolet's paper expands on the accusation of Rowe, Elwell, and Dike. </p><blockquote>Unlike the other cases involving Gloucester residents, the accusation of these three women followed a pattern unique to the events of 1692. In late October or early November Lieutenant James Stevens, a highly-regarded member of the Gloucester community, sent for the "afflicted girls" of Salem Village to find the culprit responsible for the bewitching of his sister Mrs. Mary Fitch, much as Joseph Ballard had done in Andover in July. The girls named Rebecca Dike, Esther Elwell and Abigail Rowe as the witches, and Stevens, his son William, and Mrs. Fitch's son Nathaniel Coit subsequently filed a complaint with the magistrates. A warrant for the three, the last arrest of the crisis, was issued November 5.<br /><br />Among the little surviving evidence in this case is the testimony of Mrs. Fitch's brother James Stevens about his sister feeling a woman sitting on her when he saw nothing, dated November 8. There is also a deposition of Betty Hubbard, one of the "afflicted girls" of Salem Village, against the three women with the same date. These scraps tell little about the subsequent experience of the three suspected witches, but it seems they were probably not indicted, since they would have been tried under the new courts convened in 1693 to replace the dissolved Court of Oyer and Terminer and there would be some record of their trials.</blockquote>Like the witchcraft accusations and trials in other, nearby communities, the arrests in Gloucester seemed to be motivated in part by personal grievances or association with others who had been previously accused. As Jedediah Drolet explains, Esther Elwell, Abigail Rowe and Rebecca Dike, "were tangentially connected to the [Gloucester] women already in jail. Thus the accusation, listing three women not particularly connected to one another but part of the large social group that already had several more prominent members accused." He further expands on why these particular women may have been charged.</div><div><blockquote>Abigail Rowe was probably accused because her mother and grandmother already had been, Esther Elwell's mother Ruth Dutch had been accused of witchcraft together with William Vinson's first wife, and Rebecca Dike seems to have had no clear connection to past suspicions at all, at least from extant records, but she lived near the Eveleths, in-laws of the Stevenses, who may have had their problems with her.<br /><br />One final note about these accusations is that all the people involved were of high social and economic status. The Gloucester accusations involved no singling out of poor, marginal women, as was often true of witchcraft accusations (in Salem Village, for example). All of the estates of these families that were recorded were valued at more than 200 pounds. Furthermore, this is true of both the accusers and the victims. They all had comparatively large holdings of land and held many town offices. From a comparative perspective, this is perhaps the most striking aspect of the Gloucester accusations. The cases seem to have been based on fear and suspicion among the upper class against a backdrop of paranoia throughout the county.</blockquote>Fortunately, the accusation and arrest of Esther Elwell, Abigail Rowe and Rebecca Dike happened in the later stages of the witchcraft hysteria and the women were able to avoid trial and execution.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSMXMkw1CgztMEMchw9hjKgOR8s-RZa4-ZU5rGbBDSleFy-3KhqU1vSHq50-RV0z-fDOQ19qVqSQXei5lMHYjRuVSQEVaetTGn1ncfJryDp9X6Ff1IFS-SMz4dyiXODe83kG35p34L9x64Zu0eknscRaf1yQmuLW9lCOMU-BaUDij7a3xj8VcuCGh/s1500/Trial-of-George-Jacobs-51246069X-56aa22be5f9b58b7d000f8cb-5c48b22e46e0fb00018397bb.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSMXMkw1CgztMEMchw9hjKgOR8s-RZa4-ZU5rGbBDSleFy-3KhqU1vSHq50-RV0z-fDOQ19qVqSQXei5lMHYjRuVSQEVaetTGn1ncfJryDp9X6Ff1IFS-SMz4dyiXODe83kG35p34L9x64Zu0eknscRaf1yQmuLW9lCOMU-BaUDij7a3xj8VcuCGh/s320/Trial-of-George-Jacobs-51246069X-56aa22be5f9b58b7d000f8cb-5c48b22e46e0fb00018397bb.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art depicting the trial of George Jacobs in Salem</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Mary Fitch died of her illness in 1692. Her brother James lived another four years, dying in 1696 at the age of 65. Susannah Eveleth Stevens predeceased her husband, dying in 1688 at the age of 56, four years prior to the witchcraft trials.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am curious if there were any consequences for James Stevens after he initiated a search for witches that led to the arrest of Esther Elwell, Abigail Rowe and Rebecca Dike. The accusation of nine prominent Gloucester women in 1692 must have ripped their community apart. The families accusing and accused were neighbors and business associates; people who saw each other in church and at town meetings. Did James get any blowback for his decision to accuse these women? The historical records do not leave clues. Joseph Eveleth, James's brother-in-law, publicly apologized and expressed deep regret for his role as a juror in the trial that convicted John Proctor. There is no such surviving sentiment from James Stevens.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I started researching the Eveleth, Coldham, Norwood, and Stevens families, I had no idea that they were involved in the witchcraft hysteria of 1692. Because they largely lived in Gloucester and not Salem, it had never occurred to me that they might have been caught up in this moment in history. It wasn't just Salem, however. Many Essex County communities took part in witchcraft accusations and trials, and Gloucester had its own, unique experience in 1692. It forever changed the legacy of James Stevens.</div><div><br /></div><div>I descend from James' daughter Mary, who married Francis Norwood, the son of <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-complicated-norwood-family-of.html">Francis Norwood, Sr</a>. and Elizabeth Coldham, daughter of <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-coldham-family-of-gloucester.html">Clement Coldham</a>. Mary and Francis Norwood's daughter, Hannah Norwood, married Samuel Thompson of Newbury, Massachusetts. Hannah and Samuel's daughter, Elizabeth Thompson, married John Martin of Lunenberg, Massachusetts. From there, my line descends through the Martin family to the Hall family. The Hall and Smith families joined in 1827 when my fourth great-grandparents Mary Hall and <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2018/10/samuel-belding-smith.html">Samuel Belding Smith</a> married in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. From there, the family moved west. Samuel Belding Smith settled in Bunker Hill, Illinois, and his son, <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2018/04/walter-samuel-smith.html">Walter Samuel Smith</a> moved to Los Angeles, possibly following his cousin <a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2013/08/scandalous-ancestor-alvin-jared-howe.html">Alvin Jared Howe</a>'s family to California.</div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b2b2b; font-family: times, serif;"><p> </p><p></p></span></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-28356488796625451782023-03-20T06:00:00.005-07:002024-02-25T08:53:00.465-08:00The Complicated Norwood Family of England and Massachusetts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaHuUdJVl4MmY_sl15mjty67ERcd4sY7cnaORwtvPVMuCeScHQserBcctZkEX--_hiuKiOWtnysnSmG0toB9pvMptL0sK6U4M8-9-knOHJNEjHyc6Bd94MNpHAZjbqK8ufBO7p17RmX-Rk4LVx7NUEPoeETp6roZe-h0GAasFbRsjl11_BGtdtZzdL/s1024/gloucester.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaHuUdJVl4MmY_sl15mjty67ERcd4sY7cnaORwtvPVMuCeScHQserBcctZkEX--_hiuKiOWtnysnSmG0toB9pvMptL0sK6U4M8-9-knOHJNEjHyc6Bd94MNpHAZjbqK8ufBO7p17RmX-Rk4LVx7NUEPoeETp6roZe-h0GAasFbRsjl11_BGtdtZzdL/s320/gloucester.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">698 Washington Street in Gloucester, Massachusetts. <br />This new house stands where the Norwood home once did.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>When I lived in Los Angeles, there was a commonly held idea that a person could arrive in L.A. and completely reinvent themselves. It was a place where one's past didn't necessarily matter. You could create a stage name, an exotic backstory, and remake yourself into whatever persona you desired. This isn't completely true, of course, especially in a modern era with a digital footprint, but the sense of this possibility lingers. I thought of that while researching my 10th great-grandfather, Francis Norwood. After much reading about this man, he remains an enigma to me, and I have no concrete proof of who he was or where he lived before he arrived in Colonial Massachusetts. Was Francis Norwood even his real name? Was he peddling a story about his life that had anything to do with reality, or did he use his emigration as an opportunity to reinvent himself and create mystique?</p>The man known to his neighbors as Francis Norwood was born in England and emigrated to the American colonies in the mid-1600s. He first appears in records in Lynn, Massachusetts in the 1660s. At that time, he was a witness to an indenture, and he apparently ran a tavern. Given this, Francis would seem to be a humble man. However, if you Google Francis Norwood, or search his name in genealogy databases, the stories that pop up suggest he was a nobleman, born to a great and important English family, was possibly the heir to the Leckhampton Court estate in Gloucestershire, and the descendant of Joan Plantagenet, the daughter of King Edward II. Now, I always roll my eyes when public family trees loudly proclaim royal connections, because most of the time they are rubbish and there is no actual proof attached to the claims. The names and titles attached to Francis Norwood's supposed ancestors do raise an eyebrow, however. If Francis was indeed so esteemed, what was he doing running a tavern in Lynn?<br /><blockquote><blockquote>He [Francis Norwood] purchased six acres of land in Gloucester on 23 Mar 1664: “Given unto Francis Norwood at the Towne meeting, six akers [sp] of upland liinge [sp] bye Goose Cove." He built a house there by August, 1664. He would eventually accumulate 170 acres. The family residence at 698 Washington Street was passed down the family line until 1878 when it was purchased by Alpheus Hyatt. Alpheus [a highly regarded zoologist and paleontologist] started a marine biology research center in the house which later moved to Woods Hole. (<a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Norwood-316">source</a>)</blockquote></blockquote><a href="https://ecga.org/Property/Goose-Cove-Reservation">Goose Cove</a> was the childhood home of Francis' wife Elizabeth Coldham, daughter of the much reviled <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-coldham-family-of-gloucester.html">Clement Coldham</a>. Francis and Elizabeth married on October 15, 1663 and had at least ten children together in Gloucester. <br /><p style="text-align: left;">As mentioned in <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-coldham-family-of-gloucester.html">my recent article about Clement Coldham</a>, there has been a suggestion by modern historian Christine Heyrman that Clement was relieved of his militia rank due to negative feelings about his son-in-law, Francis, and the role the Norwood family may have played in the English Civil War. However, it's just as likely that Clement's fellow militia officers just didn't like him, as by all accounts he was a difficult individual. The idea of Norwood political missteps in England seems to swirl around Francis, though. I hoped to get to the bottom of this. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj8tSvMwattsvw9dP3lPBdf27Zzrz5NU9RYX9bm2Up6dxkF-Pk3Qs5Z2jXlTtSueMWNw5YrFwM08MblUix9fUSw5YCh7mHW3Zy7sfA-wdzBlbEYuqLlh1F8boyWJYWUGlj5afLVtqwDti5dNZhQ418JIzFwo1ETgJ7_H6MiTYciHrR_TO4Nc83ORgw/s1167/leckhampton2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="1167" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj8tSvMwattsvw9dP3lPBdf27Zzrz5NU9RYX9bm2Up6dxkF-Pk3Qs5Z2jXlTtSueMWNw5YrFwM08MblUix9fUSw5YCh7mHW3Zy7sfA-wdzBlbEYuqLlh1F8boyWJYWUGlj5afLVtqwDti5dNZhQ418JIzFwo1ETgJ7_H6MiTYciHrR_TO4Nc83ORgw/w400-h326/leckhampton2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An engraving depicting Leckhampton Court, by Johannes Kip, 1712</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Many accounts of the Norwood family suppose that Francis was the son of Francis Norwood, Sr. and the grandson of Richard Norwood, all of whom were born at the Norwood estate, Leckhampton Court. While this is often believed to be true, there's no actual proof of it beyond a surname. Before discussing the possible parentage of Francis Norwood, here is some history related to Leckhampton Court, which looms large in the imagination of Norwood descendants. The earliest version of the house dates to the 11th century, and it passed through the Despenser and Giffard families, while also being used as a monastery for a time, before becoming the home of the Norwoods. </div><blockquote><blockquote>When... John Giffard dies in 1486, the manor passes to his daughter Eleanor, who marries the wealthy John Norwood, who is credited with building the timber-framed southern wing, and possibly the stone cottage-like building at the end of the northern wing, with twisted red-brick Tudor chimneys.<br /><br />The Norwoods retained their wealth and connections, and one Henry Norwood was to marry Katherine Throckmorton, daughter of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Throckmorton">Sir Robert Throckmorton</a> and Muriel Berkeley, the daughter of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Berkeley,_5th_Baron_Berkeley">Thomas Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley</a>. This marriage gave the family connections at court, as the Throckmortons were a powerful family, and were relations of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Parr">Catherine Parr</a>, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII, Catherine, Henry Norwood's wife being a first cousin, once removed, of the queen. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leckhampton_Court">Wikipedia</a>)</blockquote></blockquote><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFd2imrzn2B9ZA9UgseJUl-D95gAWbSR91XeiTI-xSGA2gOJYHP2LzrSp4TQsxGN28DYIHia2R8afkOw6PANzRXtpWeIPguEAfhQbEMCXjw-yi6ffmRxkbGHCNq5I9V9c3AfT7BZ-9CpH_TbLAnSS3nx4E4RbevqK6ff-HL7AkCNLMnDGZIyQpUnQt/s960/leckhampton.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="960" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFd2imrzn2B9ZA9UgseJUl-D95gAWbSR91XeiTI-xSGA2gOJYHP2LzrSp4TQsxGN28DYIHia2R8afkOw6PANzRXtpWeIPguEAfhQbEMCXjw-yi6ffmRxkbGHCNq5I9V9c3AfT7BZ-9CpH_TbLAnSS3nx4E4RbevqK6ff-HL7AkCNLMnDGZIyQpUnQt/s320/leckhampton.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of Leckhampton Court in the modern day</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>These Norwoods were royalists during the English Civil War. When their cause was defeated and King Charles I was executed, they suffered for having chosen the losing side. The family ran into serious financial difficulties. Francis Norwood, Sr. could no longer afford to keep up Leckhampton Court and sold it to his cousin <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Norwood">Henry Norwood</a>. Henry Norwood was a soldier and a staunch royalist during the English Civil War. When the royalists were defeated, Henry continued to be involved in Royalist uprisings, and as a result, spent years imprisoned in the Tower of London before fleeing England for Virginia. He was able to purchase Leckhampton Court from his cousin Francis, and when the monarchy was restored and King Charles II took the throne, Henry returned to England and returned the glory to his family name, becoming the Mayor of Gloucester in 1672, and a Member of Parliament in 1675. Henry had no children, though, and when he died, Leckhampton Court returned to the possession of Francis Norwood Sr.'s branch of the family. Francis had also died in the intervening years, so the estate passed to his sons. My tenth great-grandfather was already in America at that time, so even if he was the son of Francis Norwood, Sr., he would not have been in England to inherit the estate. </div><div><br /></div><div>That is one version of the story. </div><div><br /></div>An English genealogist named G. Marion Norwood Callam wrote a three-volume set of books entitled "The Norwoods," and in it she claimed that Francis Norwood was the son of Captain Thomas Norwood, Thomas was a part of the Leckhampton Court Norwood family, but on a different line than Francis Norwood, Sr. <div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gFwsvMaIvUa-GyijGf1fQIl9t1uoo6VdXs3OG3lIZpjR7b7IgxDH200U3bjzCgyZW6e__UvNkYUcpUHP02UvzgArt-GV7v2nxQQj7EeSUn2ZdV2CspmP278Dl93ol2MR-pLxnxvltifB3IzzE-m4jvbJSpUL-wQ7Byckhw7V2KXBhhjyQeSJBI5J/s2400/The_execution_of_King_Charles_I_from_NPG.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2114" data-original-width="2400" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gFwsvMaIvUa-GyijGf1fQIl9t1uoo6VdXs3OG3lIZpjR7b7IgxDH200U3bjzCgyZW6e__UvNkYUcpUHP02UvzgArt-GV7v2nxQQj7EeSUn2ZdV2CspmP278Dl93ol2MR-pLxnxvltifB3IzzE-m4jvbJSpUL-wQ7Byckhw7V2KXBhhjyQeSJBI5J/s320/The_execution_of_King_Charles_I_from_NPG.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The execution of King Charles I at Whitehall in 1649.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><br /></div><div>There is another possibility, as well.<br /><div><br />In the early 1800s, Francis Norwood's<b> </b>descendant<b> </b>Ebenezer Pool<b> </b>wrote a letter to his grandson explaining the Norwood family's history. In it, he claimed that Francis' father was a judge and a "regicide," a term used for someone involved in the killing of a monarch. This story was that Judge Norwood was one of the advisors who decided to put King Charles I to death after the royalists lost the English Civil War. When the monarchy was restored and Charles II took the throne, Judge Norwood was imprisoned and his Essex estate was confiscated. His family fled England, fearing for their lives, and having lost all their property. If this is correct, then Francis was not the son of Francis Norwood, Sr., for that Francis was a royalist and not a judge. He was also not the son of Captain Thomas Norwood, another royalist associated with Leckhampton Court.</div><div><br /></div><div>This third version of events is supported by author John J. Babson in <i>History of the Town of Gloucester: Cape Ann, Including the Town of Rockport</i>:</div><div><blockquote>Francis Norwood, according to a tradition in the family, fled from England with his father, at the restoration of Charles II, on account of the trouble in which the father feared they might be involved for the part he had taken in the civil wars of that period.</blockquote><p>While this version of events makes sense, there is no direct evidence of it. In fact, no Norwood appears on the official lists of those involved in the execution of Charles I. There were <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regicides_of_Charles_I">59 judges </a>who signed papers condemning Charles I to death, and many associates who also faced consequences when the monarchy was restored. None of them were named Norwood.</p>The arrival of DNA research in modern times has further complicated (or perhaps clarified) the matter. <a href="https://www.geni.com/discussions/151879">This discussion on Geni.com</a> explains the testing that has been done in some detail on groups of Americans with the surname Norwood. Of all the different family groups that were tested, only one, the descendants of William Norwood of Virginia, appear to have a connection with the Norwoods of Leckhampton Court. The result:</div><blockquote>We have several unrelated families and some researchers want to show they have a common ancestor and they do not. At least seven different families in America descend from an ancestor that took the name Norwood independently. But the genetic evidence proves that they are not descended from the same Norwood ancestor and the genealogy is incorrect.</blockquote>Francis Norwood was almost certainly not the son of Francis Norwood, Sr. of Leckhampton Court, given the DNA evidence. So, who was he? It's possible he was the son of a judge with the surname Norwood, but almost certainly not a judge who sentenced Charles I to death. It's possible he was descended from some other, less notable, Norwood. It's also plausible that he simply adopted the surname Norwood and created a tale around it, happy to let his Massachusetts neighbors believe he had a more colorful ancestry than he actually did. At this point in time, there's no way to know. Francis Norwood arrived in Lynn, Massachusetts from England, ran a tavern and raised a family in Gloucester, and his backstory is lost to history.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwRUQrUgT1zDOM2iPmi7_bu2rzWKEVSraBVErAcxnA8s1VChrBt8yjl3ZY9R9B60C5z1XsXkqBs5BRGxmBFfOiUAlPpigvB6q5PsocYV-LfmhAzD14bRn0BZ1nPOfHIyFAoqu-kSXNwFrAFQJvK_Yw4NNsssrJOgKaE7qxiLoR1xm41ps_XZEnQ9c/s4288/e8c40a9998026ae2224178d8bf92b782936cbd97d8fb7e104f25d6f102609b34.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4288" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwRUQrUgT1zDOM2iPmi7_bu2rzWKEVSraBVErAcxnA8s1VChrBt8yjl3ZY9R9B60C5z1XsXkqBs5BRGxmBFfOiUAlPpigvB6q5PsocYV-LfmhAzD14bRn0BZ1nPOfHIyFAoqu-kSXNwFrAFQJvK_Yw4NNsssrJOgKaE7qxiLoR1xm41ps_XZEnQ9c/s320/e8c40a9998026ae2224178d8bf92b782936cbd97d8fb7e104f25d6f102609b34.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A modern view of Gloucester, Massachusetts</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Francis married Elizabeth Coldham on October 15, 1663 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. This would have been a socially advantageous marriage for Francis. His new father-in-law and his family had established strong roots in Gloucester and were serving in leadership roles in their community. For Francis, who had arrived in the New World alone and with questionable roots, marrying a Coldham gave him a little more legitimacy. </div><div><br /></div><div>In 1664, Francis bought six acres of land in Goose Cove and built a house there. He and Elizabeth had ten children between 1664 and 1689.</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Thomas Norwood (b. 1664; m. Mary Brown; d. 1755)</div><div>2. Francis Norwood, Jr. (b. 1666; m. Mary Stevens; d. 1709)</div><div>3. Elizabeth Norwood (b. 1668; m. John Potter; d. 1709)</div><div>4, Mary Norwood (b. 1672; m. Samuel Sargent; d. 1718)</div><div>5. Stephen Norwood (b. 1674; m. Elizabeth; d. 1703)</div><div>6. Deborah Norwood (b. 1677; m. (1) Benjamin Harraden (2) Joseph York; d. 1742)</div><div>7. Hannah Norwood (b. 1679; d. 1679)</div><div>8. Joshua Norwood (b. 1683; m. Elizabeth Andrews; d. 1762)</div><div>9. Caleb Norwood (b. 1685; m. Alice Donnall; d. 1735)</div><div>10. Abigail Norwood (b. 1689; m. Nathaniel Elery; d. 1711)</div><div><br /></div><div>Nine of Francis and Elizabeth's ten children lived to adulthood, and all of those surviving Norwoods married. This means Francis and Elizabeth have many, many descendants. Perhaps the true story of the Norwood origins passed down along one of those branches and will someday be shared. It's also entirely possible that Francis Norwood arrived in America determined to reinvent himself, and the truth of his origins died with him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Francis Norwood passed away on March 4, 1709, at the age of 74. Elizabeth survived him, dying two years later, in 1711. </div></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-20689166807123291652023-02-13T05:00:00.025-08:002024-02-25T08:59:42.716-08:00The Coldham Family of Gloucester, Massachusetts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJ3lfBkcqYZd9TCfwQhMwsPDJ1jKmjmb70jNHExzZYNKQd8a9uTw4Pth4Aj7zrY8xBXahkdd-xw4RLkoVQuawW8S8S9Ft68XrQ5T3beu1TVQPwVP0FbWad_BX5AWQmEAIpROVLgg3F5WQsBqH8oFmbVKXWeJBfqM39GfWWksUvW7whkc9eJ3GbSm5/s1024/gloucester.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJ3lfBkcqYZd9TCfwQhMwsPDJ1jKmjmb70jNHExzZYNKQd8a9uTw4Pth4Aj7zrY8xBXahkdd-xw4RLkoVQuawW8S8S9Ft68XrQ5T3beu1TVQPwVP0FbWad_BX5AWQmEAIpROVLgg3F5WQsBqH8oFmbVKXWeJBfqM39GfWWksUvW7whkc9eJ3GbSm5/w400-h266/gloucester.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of modern day Gloucester, Massachusetts<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While researching the Coldham family of Gloucester, Massachusetts, I came across the following details about my 11th great-grandfather, Clement Coldham. It is perhaps my favorite description ever of a person in my family tree.</p><blockquote>Like his father, he [Clement Coldham] was a miller; he was also a farmer, a constable, a member of Boston's Ancient Artillery Company, and, according to James G. Dempsey (1971, <i>The New England Historical and Genealogical Register</i>), an indefatigable "self-appointed overseer of Gloucester townspeople and their morals." Dempsey's article devotes nearly two pages of tiny type to accounts of Clement Coldham snooping on his neighbors, complaining against them, testifying in court to their perfidiousness, accusing them of disloyalty to the King, suing them for slander, and occasionally being himself admonished in court for telling lies. At one point, he even spied on his own brother-in-law. Despite everything we know about human misbehavior in late 17th-century Essex County, most notably the Salem "witchcraft" madness of 1692, the fact that Clement Coldham lived to a prosperous old age instead of being stuffed down a well is a testimony to the equanimity and moderation of these early settlers. [<a href="http://nielsenhayden.com/genealogy-tng/getperson.php?personID=I34297&tree=nh1">source</a>] <i>(Paragraph edited for clarity and context)</i></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>The Clements were early English emigrants to America on my Smith branch of the family tree. This line is peppered with loyalists, religious fanatics, and generally people not much appreciated by their neighbors. </div><div><br /></div><div>Clement's father, Thomas Coldham is my immigrant ancestor on the Coldham line, and my 12th great grandfather. Thomas was born about 1589 in England, possibly Norfolk, and emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony sometime around 1633. He was married in England (this wife's name is unknown) and had at least three children there:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">1. Clement Coldham (b. 1625; m. Mary Pierce; d. 1703)</div><div style="text-align: left;">2. Enoch Coldham (b. abt. 1630)</div><div style="text-align: left;">3. Martha Coldham (b. abt. 1631; m. Richard Whitney)</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>There were at least two additional children born in or near Lynn, Massachusetts, where the Coldham family settled upon their arrival.</div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div>4. Mary Coldham (b. abt. 1634)</div><div>5. Thomas Coldham (b. abt. 1638; d. 1675)</div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>After the death of his first wife, Thomas married again in America, to a woman named Joanna. Her maiden name is sometimes said to be Rhodes, due to the fact that Thomas mentioned a "brother" Henrye Rhodes in his will, but this is not proven.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhZQB7gn6nWLMmQCDLkWZFY_aMDolXGRLMgs0Zm44A6ogflv5_zbMyawsWvyVYszkEtGIU-KIFq0IHdanPLPqn1nRZzG4I_n_5qihatb1BnNLXUIZ97wkr4z9-LQbDZKg-jXaK-d7zsZAXaQFVB0MMo9-wdO3E1FemKD6aY4bRRe-4oiE49rkFgme/s1676/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-11%20at%2010.07.31%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1676" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhZQB7gn6nWLMmQCDLkWZFY_aMDolXGRLMgs0Zm44A6ogflv5_zbMyawsWvyVYszkEtGIU-KIFq0IHdanPLPqn1nRZzG4I_n_5qihatb1BnNLXUIZ97wkr4z9-LQbDZKg-jXaK-d7zsZAXaQFVB0MMo9-wdO3E1FemKD6aY4bRRe-4oiE49rkFgme/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-11%20at%2010.07.31%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cities of Lynn, Salem, and Gloucester in Massachusetts</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>Thomas' eldest child, Clement, married Mary Pierce in about 1647. Mary was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England, the daughter of John Pierce and his wife Elizabeth. Clement and Mary had three children together:<div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div>1. Clement Coldham, Jr. (b. 1641; d. 1675)</div><div>2. Elizabeth Coldham (b. 1645; m. Francis Norwood; d. 1711)</div><div>3. Judith Coldham (b. 1649; d. 1649)</div></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div>Clement and Mary settled in Gloucester, northeast of Lynn. I have been pleased to recently discover several ancestors from Gloucester in my family tree, including Clement. Gloucester is a place I've always felt a particular connection to, for no reason I can clearly define. When in college in Massachusetts, I loved to visit the Cape Ann beaches, and every time I return to Massachusetts now, I always make sure to stop in Gloucester. </div><div><br /></div><div>Clement quickly set about making a name for himself in Gloucester. He is first mentioned in the Quarterly Court records on September 11, 1649, as a witness to the beating of Richard Stocker by Thomas Farrar. I have not been able to find information about this conflict, but given the report of Clement's character, I am not surprised to hear he was in the middle of it. <div><br /></div><div>In 1651, Clement and his young family settled in a house near Goose Cove, on the north end of Gloucester. In 1653, at the age of 28, he was elected Deputy in Gloucester. He would later be elected Selectman. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHweJgVA_k3sThPJfmNgKdfsnfiGYE3l7MbtgEsdO0glE28FODMeP70O86K1AgG3nQ3602ff-ELkJpnXUBMOaf5ptBL3XKx1ji3dUVDVz1bgO6Rg_GnhqDXI_FNnUIYDUVbXnjJoYau66CRNVyAIqedP2eYucd8PkBZ6d8kn7TIIgLJmBI_h43kqWX/s1024/Colonial-Militia-from-pequotwar.org_-1024x1013.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1013" data-original-width="1024" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHweJgVA_k3sThPJfmNgKdfsnfiGYE3l7MbtgEsdO0glE28FODMeP70O86K1AgG3nQ3602ff-ELkJpnXUBMOaf5ptBL3XKx1ji3dUVDVz1bgO6Rg_GnhqDXI_FNnUIYDUVbXnjJoYau66CRNVyAIqedP2eYucd8PkBZ6d8kn7TIIgLJmBI_h43kqWX/s320/Colonial-Militia-from-pequotwar.org_-1024x1013.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painting of a militia in Massachusetts Bay, 1600s</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><div>Clement served in his local militia in Gloucester. At that time, regional militias were primarily formed to engage with local Native American groups when there were no British military troops nearby to do so. Clement's service began in about 1649, and he earned the rank of ensign. In 1666, Clement was suddenly stripped of that rank, and then quit the militia in protest. I haven't seen any explanation for his demotion. It could be as simple as the fact that he was disliked. I have seen some speculation that his daughter Elizabeth's marriage to Francis Norwood in 1663 was frowned upon locally. I don't know why there would have been a reaction to this three years after the marriage, but it's possible.</div><blockquote>Coldham's fall from grace could have been brought about by his new son-in-law, Francis Norwood, Sr. Norwood had come to New England after the restoration of the Stuart monarchy made England an inhospitable environment for someone with his radical religious and political convictions. He first kept a tavern in Lynn, a center of early Baptist and Quaker enthusiasm, but after a few years, he settled in Gloucester at Goose Cove amidst the Quaker Pearces and Hammonds and the Congregationalist Coldhams. In 1663 he married Clement Coldham's daughter. [source: Christine Heyrman, 1984]</blockquote><div>Francis Norwood is my 10th great-grandfather and I will be discussing his complicated family in an upcoming post.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Clement was a Congregationalist. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Congregationalism">Encyclopedia Brittanica</a> describes this religion as follows.</div><blockquote>[Congregationalism was a] Christian movement that arose in England in the late 16th and 17th centuries. It occupies a theological position somewhere between Presbyterianism and the more radical Protestantism of the Baptists and Quakers. It emphasizes the right and responsibility of each properly organized congregation to determine its own affairs, without having to submit these decisions to the judgment of any higher human authority, and as such it eliminated bishops and presbyteries. Each individual church is regarded as independent and autonomous.<br /><br />Although it was not always true in the early days in America, Congregationalists have generally been distrustful of state establishment of religion and have worked for civil and religious liberty. Their emphasis on the rights of the particular congregation and on freedom of conscience arose from their strong convictions concerning the sovereignty of God and the priesthood of all believers. </blockquote><div><br /></div><div>James G. Dempsey's 1971 article about the Coldham family in <i>The New England Historical and Genealogical Register</i> relates that Clement Coldham was involved in the Salem Witch Trials, like my <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/search/label/Salem">Eveleth ancestors</a>, who lived nearby. In 1692, during the witchcraft hysteria, Clement was about 67 years of age. Dempsey does not describe the breadth of Clement's involvement in the witchcraft trials, but just one moment where he testified in a trial involving Elizabeth Hubbard. Young Elizabeth was an accuser in the witch trials, and she famously pretended to be in a trance during the trial of Elizabeth Proctor, wife of my husband's 9th great-granduncle, John Proctor. </div><div><br /></div><blockquote>Elizabeth Hubbard is best known as the primary instigator of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_Witch_Trials">Salem Witch Trials</a>. Hubbard was 17 years old in the spring of 1692 when the trials began. In the 15 months the trials took place, 20 people were executed.<br /><br />As the trials progressed, Hubbard began instigating more and more accusations. She gave her last testimony on January 7, 1693. Records show that she filed 40 legal complaints and testified 32 times. As a result of her testimonies, 17 people were arrested, 13 were hanged, and two died in jail. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Hubbard_(Salem_witch_trials)">Wikipedia</a>)</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>While it seems evident that Clement enjoyed finding himself in a court room, this was undoubtedly the most consequential of his many appearances there, being an actual life and death situation for many. Dempsey related the following about the occasion, quoting from the <i>Essex Institute Historical Collection</i>:</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>... he deposed that on May 29th 1692, being at Salem Village, carrying home Elizabeth Hubbard from the meeting behind me -- she desired me to ride faster -- I asked her why; she said that the woods were full of Devils and said there they be! but I could see none. Then I put on my horse and after I had ridden awhile she told me I might ride softer for we had outridden them. </blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>May 29th would have towards the start of what was known as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyer_and_terminer">Court of Oyer and Terminer</a>, formalized witchcraft proceedings after some months of less formal hearings and imprisonments. </div><div><br /></div></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;">May 27, 1692: Governor Phips sets up the Court of Oyer and Terminer to try witchcraft cases. Judgement is based on intangible evidence, such as confessions, supernatural attributes like "witchmarks", reactions of the afflicted girls, and spectral evidence- that the Devil could assume the "specter" of an innocent person. (<a href="https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/salem-witch-trials--27">source</a>)</div></div></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div>It is not clear whether Clement's testimony was in support of any party, or whether it merely related an incident supporting the idea that Elizabeth Hubbard could sense the presence of witches.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEino8f48eB5QVIIVnXkTjb0DD7Rv7GBMk3kqe-voaS5wvM3eyCO4M7Hu00Eamgz8-ETyVO0Z9p74nOZ49R2Px65a71xdQfWSAnXR1iDFwviqlfnspk-cyheTvfQJZgfu7ZUp3IuWklB6acjsQU2MgQjjl_OuyAjib8oGU77DcHUsB_sZy-KRgFp-CnB/s780/salem-witch-trial-everett-collection-shutterstock_244388722-1200x854-1.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="780" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEino8f48eB5QVIIVnXkTjb0DD7Rv7GBMk3kqe-voaS5wvM3eyCO4M7Hu00Eamgz8-ETyVO0Z9p74nOZ49R2Px65a71xdQfWSAnXR1iDFwviqlfnspk-cyheTvfQJZgfu7ZUp3IuWklB6acjsQU2MgQjjl_OuyAjib8oGU77DcHUsB_sZy-KRgFp-CnB/s320/salem-witch-trial-everett-collection-shutterstock_244388722-1200x854-1.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An artwork depicting the Salem Witch Trials</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Clement Coldham died on December 18, 1703, at the age of 78. He was a complicated, seemingly unlikeable person living during a dramatic moment in history. He may not have been the best neighbor, but through his daughter Elizabeth, he has many, many American descendants. May we all spend less time in court than Clement did.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-64411209795009272012023-01-07T17:01:00.000-08:002023-01-07T17:01:44.960-08:00A Mysterious Album and the Retallic and Blake Families of Pike County, Illinois<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqbli15qgI96hvBPPUb21LwGkPypWXZAMOZQLf4l-p3yumsFqktcSfoJdY10pi8Jo12riIGobo0PyBLfrBEZyiTjUncxcUHJ8UdY6_nFYqZXZCu_RhbJbG47U1CVadnnHtmZQqcwbn1cuknSZ4iPBnWB-8V-G7Vra39TSTXbbEQk1p_27HFkDkZw4j/s3916/Album.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2937" data-original-width="3916" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqbli15qgI96hvBPPUb21LwGkPypWXZAMOZQLf4l-p3yumsFqktcSfoJdY10pi8Jo12riIGobo0PyBLfrBEZyiTjUncxcUHJ8UdY6_nFYqZXZCu_RhbJbG47U1CVadnnHtmZQqcwbn1cuknSZ4iPBnWB-8V-G7Vra39TSTXbbEQk1p_27HFkDkZw4j/s320/Album.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>This story is not about my family. It's about a family entirely unconnected to mine. In 2021, I found an old photograph album at a local antiques shop. It was behind glass in a cabinet, but the page I could see contained 1800s-era photos, all clearly labeled with names. Scrolling through Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org on my phone, I could see that the people in the photos were easily identifiable. The album was expensive, but I couldn't bring myself to leave it there. It felt important to return it to a family member. I took it home, set up a family tree on Ancestry for the people pictured, added scanned photographs, and then reached out to a woman who had many of those people in her public tree. A short time later, I put the album in the mail to New York, where a very kind and grateful descendant was eager to receive it. That album contained the first photo of her great-grandparents that she'd ever seen.</p><p>While that experience was incredibly gratifying, I wasn't planning to repeat the effort. As fun as it was, it was also expensive and time consuming. Then, while browsing an online auction site for something completely unrelated, I stumbled across another album. Again, it was filled with 1800s-era labeled photos. I couldn't resist. I bought the album. Due to life craziness, it took me many months to actually open the box containing the album, but when I finally did, a mystery unfurled. The contents of this album provided all the highs and lows a genealogist might encounter, from outrageous stories to brick walls to big breakthroughs, and the realization that it's likely every single online tree related to this family is wrong. Come along for this one, it's quite the ride.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXERRzjHm0m5rSpCU_qCEKiCvyLflsA9xRk13J7iExXY_fsO76Bfc6TLfxN7wZ0vy7P-lsHQso_pA6jZRQmJnUOyau_aFkhR6LCBD0P67dSdIWEZI7Y8mtpC6Qi1kkEPI7O65ARcZlRaTzwDaa05ZKOTRcM3hYGukLPQQi_9RvyqP5MEeIjJt5Oerw/s3781/Adelle%20Retallic%20Berry%20-%20Age%203.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3781" data-original-width="2417" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXERRzjHm0m5rSpCU_qCEKiCvyLflsA9xRk13J7iExXY_fsO76Bfc6TLfxN7wZ0vy7P-lsHQso_pA6jZRQmJnUOyau_aFkhR6LCBD0P67dSdIWEZI7Y8mtpC6Qi1kkEPI7O65ARcZlRaTzwDaa05ZKOTRcM3hYGukLPQQi_9RvyqP5MEeIjJt5Oerw/s320/Adelle%20Retallic%20Berry%20-%20Age%203.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adelle Retallic</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><b>Adelle Retallic</b></p><p>When you first open an album with notations, it's important to determine who wrote those notes. If photos are listed "Dad" and "Aunt," it helps to know who was calling those individuals their father and aunt. The owner of this album became obvious pretty quickly. The very first photo was of Adelle Retallic, who figured prominently in the rest of the album, too. Adelle was born in December 1884 in Pike County, Illinois. It was immediately clear from records searches that her family lived in Barry, Illinois for several generations. The second photo was of Adelle's father, Thomas A. Retallic, and was helpfully labeled, "Dad (T.A. Retallic)." Other relatives I could see in online trees also featured in the album. I started building a Retallic tree from scratch based on records found primarily on Ancestry.com. Quickly, I had some issues. The album was filled with photos of family members with the surname Blake, including a woman Adelle identified as her mother. Online trees listed Adelle's mother as any of three or four women, none of whom were Blakes. In fact, there wasn't a Blake to be found in any of the online trees related to the Retallic family. Why did I have an album full of Blake and Retallic photos if the families were not connected? Something was not adding up properly.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJRW2xgABWbBCTwYYt06OS-9luSTqTzpj9B9PyWF-9vdVUb0lRTcrEv-iiYDs1-UTXsR2owNlLOSn25-11w1DNb-t02taG4eGvfI4WHAjXCd9NjNrWrMFO4zfBNawXl2gkwSe9QEDpK4zO6RUoOMI7yQ3MXglRzj_mE9c5d3g01yjHDX4T757THTU/s3165/Thomas%20A%20Retallic%20Age%2036.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3165" data-original-width="2283" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJRW2xgABWbBCTwYYt06OS-9luSTqTzpj9B9PyWF-9vdVUb0lRTcrEv-iiYDs1-UTXsR2owNlLOSn25-11w1DNb-t02taG4eGvfI4WHAjXCd9NjNrWrMFO4zfBNawXl2gkwSe9QEDpK4zO6RUoOMI7yQ3MXglRzj_mE9c5d3g01yjHDX4T757THTU/s320/Thomas%20A%20Retallic%20Age%2036.jpg" width="231" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas A. Retallic</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><b>Thomas A. Retallic</b></p><p>Thomas Retallic was married multiple times. Users on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org reported that he had 4-6 children, depending on which family tree I reviewed, and anywhere between 4-7 wives. Three of those wives might have been named Mary. At first glance, it was a huge mess. None of the trees agreed with each other. Actual sources, such as census records and marriage registrations, seemed to conflict. There are two FindAGrave.com listings for Thomas, each of which identifies different spouses and in-laws. I could tell there was going to be a significant amount of sleuthing required with this family.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiogN4dqEQVQK3OJBy_Zp_ll93lFRw68rZLLtyt69ssBO3zs4oX4vXppedXxXmcUn3vV1z22xDu-UoslVfjSrc1qFaYTCbqT-J_liKKtzHk4nNmkZzOVuX44b2AEivp56Me27qfZjVZ2SY4wbkFxKftJaXoUGvTXRyQjOnWRMzulwjTTZoi6X6YPL4U/s3275/Frank%20Retallic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiogN4dqEQVQK3OJBy_Zp_ll93lFRw68rZLLtyt69ssBO3zs4oX4vXppedXxXmcUn3vV1z22xDu-UoslVfjSrc1qFaYTCbqT-J_liKKtzHk4nNmkZzOVuX44b2AEivp56Me27qfZjVZ2SY4wbkFxKftJaXoUGvTXRyQjOnWRMzulwjTTZoi6X6YPL4U/s3275/Frank%20Retallic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpn6KqLbCcKe-zeHttRDoEVwmAzbRsOd1hWPPZpNOiaCFU9rl5eQ9otjA0d3GiYH0-ZoVGnwvXGYFJnS729msNcvXIBjycnXUkTGymLgqYHkrRCZ6Cty_JyZeikNs-wTWDqyZoGGbX8WtQbPD8paynFCsT3e7ParAJNdCmCXbBq-27ghDHjqi9N7Q/s3086/Leland%20and%20Lavin%20Retallic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3086" data-original-width="2306" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpn6KqLbCcKe-zeHttRDoEVwmAzbRsOd1hWPPZpNOiaCFU9rl5eQ9otjA0d3GiYH0-ZoVGnwvXGYFJnS729msNcvXIBjycnXUkTGymLgqYHkrRCZ6Cty_JyZeikNs-wTWDqyZoGGbX8WtQbPD8paynFCsT3e7ParAJNdCmCXbBq-27ghDHjqi9N7Q/s320/Leland%20and%20Lavin%20Retallic.jpg" width="239" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="3275" data-original-width="2385" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiogN4dqEQVQK3OJBy_Zp_ll93lFRw68rZLLtyt69ssBO3zs4oX4vXppedXxXmcUn3vV1z22xDu-UoslVfjSrc1qFaYTCbqT-J_liKKtzHk4nNmkZzOVuX44b2AEivp56Me27qfZjVZ2SY4wbkFxKftJaXoUGvTXRyQjOnWRMzulwjTTZoi6X6YPL4U/s320/Frank%20Retallic.jpg" width="233" /></div></div><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span>Leland and Lavin Retallic<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> Frank Retallic</span></span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUC0nr1Kg89nql7R3h20WHaq3esmCgyUPRHDaCxfnPPzZzCeWW786MWMaS68VdcehyIvpReurj9wZ6RTY9d-8deQev8VYJrlg0p4gSbp3ELfGiCGSG4mboZhqVzeQisLQoyGhFDkTixX9jEyX8NWN5zeX3IEDCfLkL0WKbfUFXID5ebpOsLPb7q0e5/s2914/Roscoe%20Blair.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2914" data-original-width="2281" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUC0nr1Kg89nql7R3h20WHaq3esmCgyUPRHDaCxfnPPzZzCeWW786MWMaS68VdcehyIvpReurj9wZ6RTY9d-8deQev8VYJrlg0p4gSbp3ELfGiCGSG4mboZhqVzeQisLQoyGhFDkTixX9jEyX8NWN5zeX3IEDCfLkL0WKbfUFXID5ebpOsLPb7q0e5/s320/Roscoe%20Blair.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roscoe Blair</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Frank, Lavin and Leland Retallic -- plus Roscoe Blair?</b></p><p>There are multiple photos in the album of young children. At first, I just noted their names to see if I could locate them in existing family trees with Adelle and Thomas. There are enough photos of them that they were clearly important to Adelle, and likely closely related. However, online sources were a jumble when it came to how these children were connected to Adelle. It seemed clear that Frank Retallic was Adelle's brother. Multiple trees listed them as the children of Thomas Retallic and Nancy Ella Hoyt, but some claimed their mother was Mary Blair or Mary Blake. Lavin and Leland Retallic were typically listed as the twin sons of Thomas Retallic and Dora Blair, and they sadly died in 1887 aged about eight months. The only connection to Roscoe Blair was found on FindAGrave, where he was listed as the firstborn child of Dora Blair, from a previous marriage. Roscoe also died before his first birthday. The actual relationship of these children to each other, if any, seemed to be a bit of a mystery.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-It0FLhMGubW53_ZIvyVv0K6SzLMW4IQxtzz9__HlGYARoq_idu3HG7ER_by7GKkDeaIsFNyJPWegisKDnca0Jn8Sa_0a5IFoUgJiI3JMT_CHfKtrf9NyvI_dMqDE8YbADXJWdTZeq9L5aCCTSWxUKeaGJRBicjk9Ncmv6LPORwjgECnFfRFlMFJI/s3872/Frank%20Retallic%20and%20sister%20Adelle%20Retallic.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3872" data-original-width="2527" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-It0FLhMGubW53_ZIvyVv0K6SzLMW4IQxtzz9__HlGYARoq_idu3HG7ER_by7GKkDeaIsFNyJPWegisKDnca0Jn8Sa_0a5IFoUgJiI3JMT_CHfKtrf9NyvI_dMqDE8YbADXJWdTZeq9L5aCCTSWxUKeaGJRBicjk9Ncmv6LPORwjgECnFfRFlMFJI/s320/Frank%20Retallic%20and%20sister%20Adelle%20Retallic.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank Retallic and sister Adelle Retallic</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><b>The Many Marriages of Thomas Retallic</b></p><p>These are the documented marriages of Thomas Retallic:</p><p>1- Mary Radcliffe - Mary and Thomas were married on May 16, 1878 in Fayette, Ohio according to <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/1043250?mark=c27f5a50b8a30ac731ff80233d40fe62545980ed058932b4add7d184c3850701">Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 (Fayette 1874 - 1888)</a>. It appears that Mary was about 21 years old, and Thomas was 24 when they wed. Mary died two years later in 1880, at the age of 23. They had no children. Thomas and Mary appear together in the <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/1043266?mark=593e69cd3dd23920c4b40f1cd5e0bdba01a5005d07d5d82a1977267486cf5b21">1880 U.S. Census</a>, living in Barry, Illinois, prior to her death.</p><p>2- <u>Mary M. Blair</u> - Thomas married again on September 18, 1881. <a href="https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=61370" style="background-attachment: revert; background-clip: revert; background-image: revert; background-origin: revert; background-position: revert; background-repeat: revert; background-size: revert; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; text-align: center;" title="Learn more about the Illinois, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1800-1940">Illinois, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1800-1940</a> lists his spouse as Mary M. Blair and the location as Pike County, Illinois.</p><p>3- <u>Mary Anna Carroll</u> - This spouse's name may have been Maria Anna, as she is listed in <br /><a href="https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=61682&h=231474&tid=187148654&pid=162443061621&hid=1007614463919&usePUB=true&_phsrc=OIo877&_phstart=default&usePUBJs=true&currentPageIsStart=">llinois, U.S., Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield Sacramental Records, 1853-1975</a> or<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span>Mary Anna, as she's listed in Illinois, <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/1043331?mark=473047bef274b226fc9a6167d2d50039149e8975e6ecc02dff90c2fd2d575aaa">U.S., Marriage Index, 1860-1920</a>. Mary, the widow of a man with the surname Carroll, married Thomas Retallic on March 5, 1889. This marriage was also brief, as Thomas' next marriage took place in 1892, just three years later.</p><p>4- <u>Nancy Ella Hoyt</u> - Nancy went by her middle name, Ella. She married Thomas Retallic on July 12, 1892, according to <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1822385:60984?ssrc=pt&tid=187148654&pid=162443063567">Illinois, U.S., County Marriage Records 1860-1920</a>. Thomas was age 38 and Ella age 31 at the time of this marriage. Ella was the widow of Charles E. Mayes, whom she had <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/1048951?mark=d25c2841f8bb773883e4b5a1858ff999759b0fe7a655d741e8d9c90553b5a3e6">married in 1881</a>. The <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/1048970?mark=3552cbb0d60c1d8c70250e38e1e26603a51e05fa232278e7b941ce1d3883c403">1900 U.S. Census</a> shows three children living with Thomas and Ella, Adelle Retallic, Frank Retallic, and Vie Mayes. Vie was not pictured in Adelle's album, so this was a new addition to the tangled Retallic web. Ella can also be found in the <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/1048988?mark=5c0b082ba491323158766b9ac316bec8ccd39d8026b51ad0f925308ee92ebc69">1910</a> and <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/1048995?mark=7bb6d497c17ae505a3bffc044373bf412a747e4525650399ea7d9890130543ae">1920 U.S. Census</a> in Thomas' household. Ella died in 1921, after 29 years of marriage, making this the longest of all the Retallic unions.</p><p>5- <u>Anna C. Richards</u> - In 1923, Thomas married Annie Richards, the widow of William Wassill and Ezekiel Blades, according to records found in <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/1049174?mark=70f98164b70411671aa007ecebb0f883eec0b48c078f87b18dd7db842d80b2b0">Illinois, U.S., County Marriage Records 1800-1940</a>. Thomas was 69 and Annie was 68 when they married, so Annie’s only child, Harry Wassill, had long since moved away and started his own family. Thomas and Annie appear in the same household in the <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/1049228?mark=920f88df255b527dd91bc97844c84a60e4d502279e60b3450779fe17a5ace0aa">1930</a> and <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/census-search/discoveries?matchdbid=2442&matchrecordid=141136718&matchrelative=relative&share=1&matchgid=WKqB8rBeo7u5v41k9yw1fl4Y4eWyjAsmO0&matchfirstname=Anna%20C%20Retallic">1940 U.S. Census</a>. Thomas died in 1944 at the age of 90, after 21 years of marriage to Annie. Annie died three years later, in 1947.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgZDZNjuQ-FJ_aINr6UmKibytOFiOvpO4TdGzSxlODA0jotmq7_MgjviGJB1ENRuPHyVFagHaBJHQLbBjuXhQgU7PpOr_E18CtkkgeqV0mbxh2L-2ohzMeB0WxAEq-kf2rBVUt1dRjaM5wPJQ4fG962Lez8Nr8SZI2m4KGGuInENeTfKRbtxERIyF/s857/tree.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="857" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgZDZNjuQ-FJ_aINr6UmKibytOFiOvpO4TdGzSxlODA0jotmq7_MgjviGJB1ENRuPHyVFagHaBJHQLbBjuXhQgU7PpOr_E18CtkkgeqV0mbxh2L-2ohzMeB0WxAEq-kf2rBVUt1dRjaM5wPJQ4fG962Lez8Nr8SZI2m4KGGuInENeTfKRbtxERIyF/w400-h260/tree.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><b>Dora, Dora, Dora</b></p><p>If that isn't enough wives to give one pause, online trees also featured another wife named Dora Blair, who is clearly listed as the wife of Thomas Retallic and mother of Lavin and Leland Retallic on her tombstone. FindAGrave and innumerable online trees listed her as the daughter of Theophilus Blair and Rebecca Farthing, and sometimes the mother of children named Roscoe Blair and Gracie Holloway. I couldn't find documentation of this marriage, nor a gap between Thomas' other marriages that seemed plausible for Dora to insert herself, however. Nothing about Dora made sense. </p><p>Having hit a point where the records were spinning me around in circles, I abandoned my search and went back to my source of truth, Adelle's album. I had looked at it rather hastily at first, simply jotting down names that appeared in the album and then turning to the internet. This time, I looked more carefully. I removed photos from their places to see what was on the back. I got out a magnifying glass to clearly identify old handwriting on torn pages. This is who Adelle labeled in her album:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>T. A. Retallic (Dad) - Age 36</li><li>Medora Blake Retallic (Mama) - Age 28</li><li>Leland and Lavin Retallic - Twin Brothers</li><li>Roscoe Blair - Half Brother</li><li>Frank Retallic </li></ul><div>Retallic family members pictured included Uncle Jim Retallic, Grandma Retallic, Aunt Mary Retallic, and Kate Retallic Winemiller.</div><div><br /></div><div>Blake family members pictured and labeled included Grandma Blake, Grandpa Blake, Milo Blake, and Randall and Troy Blake.</div><div><br /></div><div>Adelle had indicated that she Frank, Leland and Lavin were all the children of one mother whose surname was Blake. In noting that Roscoe Blair was her half-brother, Adelle told us that her mother had an earlier marriage to a man named Blair, which resulted in a child named Roscoe Blair. Like the twins, Roscoe died in infancy. Perhaps finding information about this marriage would unravel the mystery of Adelle's mother.</div><div><br /></div><div>I located a 1875 marriage record for a Calvin Blair and Dora Blake. <i>[Source: Illinois, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1800-1940.]</i> Calvin was the son of Samuel and Eliza Blair of Pike County, and he died in 1880 at the age of 28, not long before his infant son Roscoe. This meant that his widow, Dora Blake Blair, would have been able to marry Thomas Retallic in 1881. However, Thomas Retallic's marriage registration in 1881 had said his bride's name was Mary M. Blair, not Dora. Could Dora and Mary be the same person? To figure this out, I looked more carefully at the name Adelle had handwritten for her mother on a torn edge of the album: Medora Blake. Not once in perusing online trees and records had I seen the name Medora, but Adelle's note turned out to be the key to unraveling this family mystery. Adelle would certainly have known her mother's name. I ran a search for a Medora Blake in Pike County.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the 1860 U. S. Census, Leander and Mary Blake can be found in their Barry, Illinois home with six children, including 2-year old Mary Blake. Ten years later, in the 1870 U.S. Census, 12-year old Medora Blake is listed in their household. Mary Medora Blake shared a first name with her mother, and as was common, did not use that name, but went by her middle name, Medora. She was called Dora for short. This Dora married Calvin Blair in 1875, becoming Dora Blair. She provided her legal name in 1881 when she married Thomas Retallic, Mary M. Blair. This means that Medora Mary "Dora" Blake was the mother of Roscoe Blair, Adelle Retallic, Frank Retallic, and the twins Leland and Lavin Retallic. </div><div><br /></div><div>Working my way up the Blake family tree, I found the other individuals featured in Dora's album. Milo Blake was Dora's cousin, the son of her father's brother, Jeremiah Blake. Randall and Troy Blake were Dora's youngest brothers, from her father's second marriage. All the pieces fit together now.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_o4-0rqv8M1b85VIbt_nVrXC9aW1RYqvjYay3UEveRFl0R2tiQHw7UU7nGjSuwcj9VAKgG2aeoixHuJC6R0vO9zVXE7lrlctIp8cyUOOhJDd6LWkIRozNflUH81AfgBfswpcAPHfODE40Q5zaK5crivBjNmg-R0vziJdSr-dpMDtiKKk_olQbacFu/s3776/Medora%20Mary%20Blake%20Blair%20Retallic%20Age%2028.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3776" data-original-width="2369" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_o4-0rqv8M1b85VIbt_nVrXC9aW1RYqvjYay3UEveRFl0R2tiQHw7UU7nGjSuwcj9VAKgG2aeoixHuJC6R0vO9zVXE7lrlctIp8cyUOOhJDd6LWkIRozNflUH81AfgBfswpcAPHfODE40Q5zaK5crivBjNmg-R0vziJdSr-dpMDtiKKk_olQbacFu/s320/Medora%20Mary%20Blake%20Blair%20Retallic%20Age%2028.jpg" width="201" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Medora Blake Blair Retallic -- "Dora"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><b>Gracie and Vie</b></div><div><br /></div><div>While I was now confident about the identity of Adelle's parents and siblings, there are a couple of names that appear frequently in related family trees that I excised from mine. Some online trees show Dora Blair marrying a John Holloway and having a daughter named Grace. This Dora Blair is not the same person who married Thomas Retallic. While I'm not entirely certain, I believe that John Holloway's wife was Dora, the daughter of Theophilus Blair and Rebecca Farthing. That Dora was born about 1862, making her 4-5 years younger than Dora Blake Retallic. I believe the younger Dora married John Holloway in 1880, when the U.S. Census shows her living in the Holloway household in Spring Creek, Illinois. Their daughter, Grace Mae Holloway, was born in 1883. It appears that Dora died in 1885, at the age of 28. That was three years before Dora Blake Retallic died and was buried with her twin sons. Sadly, it appears that John Holloway also died around that same time, and young Gracie went to live with her grandmother, Rebecca Farthing Blair. The 1900 U. S. Census finds them living together in Pearl, Illinois. Grace later married Otis Sowers. She was not related to the Retallic and Blake families.</div><div><br /></div><div>Vie Mayes, who appears in the 1900 U.S. Census with Thomas Retallic and his wife Ella, was born Elvira Mayes, the daughter of Nancy Ella Hoyt and her first husband Charles Mayes. When her widowed mother married Thomas Retallic, Vie, who was then about 10 years old, moved into their household. The census clearly states that Ella had one child, and that Vie was the stepdaughter of Thomas, the head of household. Vie later married Charles Johnson, a prominent local doctor. Johnson was murdered in 1922, shot by a deranged patient. His funeral was said to have been the largest funeral ever held in Pike County, with 1500-2000 citizens attending.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85GaLW8s3hUB-mAArnFsDBXFLypeQ1_7jTzpjkhTKYP8_PdA6S_jMGGLIejqciLcBACSetPA6xOcgL5HaIQQLlxo--PGDenCY1Gg6Ojl5l5Yxk0t7i8pf7FfVp12gPyQAZ6HAH-mvRWsCll7ERihHHQwEqb23jee72i94ggRJb4EAAx_0zfs9S0vh/s912/tree2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="912" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85GaLW8s3hUB-mAArnFsDBXFLypeQ1_7jTzpjkhTKYP8_PdA6S_jMGGLIejqciLcBACSetPA6xOcgL5HaIQQLlxo--PGDenCY1Gg6Ojl5l5Yxk0t7i8pf7FfVp12gPyQAZ6HAH-mvRWsCll7ERihHHQwEqb23jee72i94ggRJb4EAAx_0zfs9S0vh/w400-h323/tree2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Album</b></div><div><p>I had started with a tangled web and now had a Retallic and Blake family tree that made sense and was well sourced. The problem? The other Retallic and Blake trees tell a different story, and Dora is misidentified in all of them. I feel a little overwhelmed at the prospect of reaching out to so many people and sharing updated information about this family. </p><p>I'm not sure how to determine who should have this photo album. These were Adelle's photos, so my first inclination is to find one of her descendants to contact. Adelle married George C. Berry in Pike County in 1904. They had two children, Marjorie Berry and Thomas Retallic Berry. Marjorie married Charles Neuberger and they had two children. Their daughter, Joan Neuberger, did not marry or have children. Their son, Thomas Neuberger, married Shirley Hardin. They had five children, four of whom are still living, and all or most of whom have children of their own. </p><p>Adelle's son, Thomas Retallic Berry, married Alice Boyd and they had a daughter, Nancy Jane Berry. Nancy married Robert Delaney, and they had six children, all of whom may still be living. This means there are a number of Neuberger and Delaney family members out there who may be interested in this album. However, I suspect someone in these families also discarded the album, which is how it ended up at an auction house and then in my possession. I want to ensure I locate someone who is interested in their family history and will find the album meaningful. There are so many descendants that I'm not quite sure where to start. Like the last album, I have full faith that this one will make its way back to a family member, and I am honored to be a part of that process. I am not related to the Retallic and Blake families, and I have no idea how this album ended up in California, so far from its Illinois origins. Looking at the carefully written inscriptions next to well-kept photos, I feel I owe it to Adelle to help this album find its way home.</p><p><br /></p></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-33050541779476060442023-01-01T04:30:00.004-08:002023-01-01T04:30:00.166-08:00Genealogy Goals for 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgfHr0Krk94u19OA7qw5Rk5oaocOe54NI06ShSpNVCdua-tujuyOKlWbgfyc9M-mGJXpibKekRk3OQLD1Y0Vx-lvfvILQAS8aqvVlK8Jraf48XJ3Ld-41l3wGBw81KBWn8CriQhLeXb78MrN90-8BeOUx5v36FW0C3t4xhW9l5pvPgX9G06BATFaZ/s1300/90949682-happy-new-year-2023.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1300" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgfHr0Krk94u19OA7qw5Rk5oaocOe54NI06ShSpNVCdua-tujuyOKlWbgfyc9M-mGJXpibKekRk3OQLD1Y0Vx-lvfvILQAS8aqvVlK8Jraf48XJ3Ld-41l3wGBw81KBWn8CriQhLeXb78MrN90-8BeOUx5v36FW0C3t4xhW9l5pvPgX9G06BATFaZ/s320/90949682-happy-new-year-2023.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />It's a new year, and time to set my <a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/search/label/Annual%20Goals" style="color: #333399; text-decoration-line: none;">genealogy-related goals</a> for 2023. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">I wrote very little in 2022, but somehow still managed to address most of the goals I set at the end of 2021. In the past year, I've continued genealogy consulting and plan to extend that work into 2023. This is the time of year when friends are buying DNA tests on sale, so I hope to help them with their corresponding family trees once their results arrive. I also just rescued another old family album full of identifiable photos, and look forward to researching those pictured and returning the album to a family member. While this blog was largely neglected last year, I did write a three-part series about notable relatives that I had hoped my children would find interesting. They didn't, really, being young and generally uninterested in family stories at the moment, so I will happily return to writing about the wonderful "average Joes" in our tree.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">In 2022, I also pulled all my Lacey family posts from this blog and started compiling it into a sourced document that could be emailed to relatives. This is taking a long time. Everything needs to be reformatted, and I'm trying to expand and add more detail wherever I can. This has led to some additional research and the need to create graphics and mini-trees. The project will definitely extend into 2023.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">Here are my genealogy goals for the coming year:</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">1. Continue compiling my posts about the Lacey family into a small book that I can share with other family members. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">2. Continue my consulting work and my hobby of rescuing old family albums.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">3. Post more often. I may be using some prompts from <a href="https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52ancestors52weeks">Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks</a> to try to write shorter, more frequent posts and address some as-yet-unmentioned ancestors.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">4. Figure out my search engine issues. It turns out that Google is not indexing this blog and most of it doesn't appear in Google searches. I've done a deep dive into SEO and acquainted myself with the Google Search Console, but the issue remains. It may just be that this little blog doesn't get enough traffic to register, but it's also not very useful if people can't find it when they search for family names. If anyone reading this has any tips, I'd be very appreciative. Resolving this issue is a big 2023 priority.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">I have high hopes for 2023 and look forward to lots of travel and family fun. My local genealogy society is meeting in person again, so I'm excited about seeing them face to face after far too long. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">May you all have a wonderful year!</p>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-29535627136093595682022-10-10T05:00:00.032-07:002022-12-30T10:19:50.844-08:00Finding the Parents of Thomas Church<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmix_6IoVvqudoWIXWSV5lqLF_UylPky7Z0LlsZ2Q-vQTQ4BFUkt5GMHI7RiB1FpnGzJ2HkOEaNpse8XFjAsCVj53BY4B40EiPsYDgX8vgRUJVjV32Vj7ZfAExZQXFKK1LyM0lUpOx7XdLcBodkXtWveWEpS2VcSq5DGH705nGOPp6noDV1IYPx03l" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="1200" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmix_6IoVvqudoWIXWSV5lqLF_UylPky7Z0LlsZ2Q-vQTQ4BFUkt5GMHI7RiB1FpnGzJ2HkOEaNpse8XFjAsCVj53BY4B40EiPsYDgX8vgRUJVjV32Vj7ZfAExZQXFKK1LyM0lUpOx7XdLcBodkXtWveWEpS2VcSq5DGH705nGOPp6noDV1IYPx03l" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A contemporary view of South Royalton, Vermont [<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Royalton,_Vermont">Wikipedia</a>]</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>It's mid-October and I think it's safe to say that in 2022 I've achieved a new record for fewest posts on this blog and least overall genealogy research done. Life is busy. I've had very little time to work on family history this year. However, just recently, I opened up my Ancestry tree to look at my husband's Church line. This Vermont family has always been somewhat elusive, which I find unusual given how easy many of his early New England ancestors have been to trace. I checked some other genealogy sites to see if any new clues had emerged, and found a tree that connected this family to the Church family of Rhode Island. This idea was new to me, and I wanted to see if it could be proven.</p><p>My husband's Church line begins with his second great-grandmother, Isabel Dana Church. Isabel married Harris Goodwin in Chelsea, Vermont in 1869. They had four daughters, including my husband's great grandmother, Carrie Edith Goodwin. Carrie wrote an informative autobiography that talks at length about her mother's death at age 31 from an accidental laudanum overdose. </p><p>Isabel's parents were John M. Church and his second wife, Wealthy Root. The family lived in Tunbridge, Vermont, where John was a farmer. Wealthy was raised in nearby Royalton, the daughter of John Root and Polly Eastman. John's death record, signed on May 23, 1861, lists his parents as Thomas Church and Mary Chambers. Finding information about Thomas and Mary has been challenging. </p><p>There is a Thomas Church in Royalton in the 1810 census, with seven total people in his household. Three of them are over age 25, a white male aged 26-45, a white female aged 26-45, and a white female over age 45. This could very well be Thomas, Mary, and an elderly mother or mother-in-law. John was born in 1807, so he could be the white male age 0-9 seen on that census. There are three other children listed, a white male age 10-15, and two white females age 0-9. If this is the right Church family, then in 1810, John was the youngest of four Church children likely living in a home with their father, mother, and a grandmother. This all fits in terms of time, location, and ages, but it's not enough on its own. I'd like some corroboration. </p><p>In the 1800 U.S. Census there is a Thomas Church in Putney, Vermont, an hour's drive south of Royalton. There are four people in that household: a man and woman each age 16-25, and a girl and a boy each under age 10. This could be the same family, but it's not enough to know for sure. I looked again at Royalton to see if there were any other Church family members listed in the 1800 Census. The only one I found was Ebenezer Church. A little research revealed that Ebenezer was born in East Haddam, Connecticut in 1750, the son of Samuel Church (son of Samuel Church and his wife Elizabeth of East Haddam) and Elizabeth Fuller. Could Ebenezer have been a brother of Thomas Church? </p><p>For Thomas to have been under age 45 in the 1810 Census, he would have been born no earlier than 1765, but my suspicion is that he was born later than that, given how young his children were in 1810. Ebenezer does appear to have had a brother named Thomas, but that brother was born around 1754 and died in Connecticut, so that isn't the right person. However, Ebenezer also appears to have had a son named Thomas. We know this because Ebenezer named Thomas in his will, dated September 16, 1808. In this will, he leaves one third of his Royalton farm and assets to his wife, Abigail, and one third to his son Thomas Church. If the Thomas Church found in Putnam in 1800 is the son of Ebenezer Church, it would make sense that he was also found in Royalton in 1810, because he'd inherited part of his father's farm and was now living there with his young family and his widowed mother. The question is whether this Thomas is also the father of John M. Church, my husband's third great-grandfather.</p><p>Ebenezer is buried in Dewey Cemetery in South Royalton, Vermont. The only other Church surnames I've found in that cemetery are a baby named John F. Church who died in 1803, and a woman named Elizabeth Church, whose gravestone notes that she died in 1801 at age 71 and that she was the wife of Samuel Church. Elizabeth would have been born in 1730, and she is almost certainly Ebenezer's mother. Ebenezer's father, Samuel, is not buried in this cemetery. He died in Gilsum, New Hampshire in 1776, where he and Elizabeth had settled and raised their children.</p><p>I've found a couple of online family trees that claim Thomas Church is the son of Samuel Church and Hannah Rogers, and that he was born in Rhode Island in 1750 or 1770. None of those trees demonstrated proof for this idea, so I wanted to see if I could prove it. Samuel Church was born in 1738 in Westerly, Rhode Island, the son of Caleb Church of Watertown, Massachusetts and Rebecca Brand of Westerly, Rhode Island. Samuel married Hannah, the daughter of Thomas Rogers and Zerviah Woodmansee, in 1756. They had eight children together, including one named Thomas, born in 1770. Unfortunately, while many sources mention the existence of Thomas, there is no further information beyond his birth. At this time, I have no idea what happened to this Thomas after he was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, nor why some trees connect him to Thomas Church of Royalton, Vermont. I cannot do so.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVuwOmBwX-G54bokCAK5R56IzH_bxXtpxJUzbPVK5jtvdIQKwoFg5ufipc_x9pXKxvaGRkvgOSypmCUPxa3quRLv3BmLDDmxwvkwmjE-pE8Ss_pFuLV9C2eJ-iBJ7ROgkkebH66LVHN2Xnd1zMLc5JkLygZyRVa4J0HxqKQw5ZGViKmfKfcTjVgzlK" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1236" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVuwOmBwX-G54bokCAK5R56IzH_bxXtpxJUzbPVK5jtvdIQKwoFg5ufipc_x9pXKxvaGRkvgOSypmCUPxa3quRLv3BmLDDmxwvkwmjE-pE8Ss_pFuLV9C2eJ-iBJ7ROgkkebH66LVHN2Xnd1zMLc5JkLygZyRVa4J0HxqKQw5ZGViKmfKfcTjVgzlK" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><p></p><p></p><p>At this time, I cannot prove the parents of Thomas Church. I do think it's more likely that Thomas was the son of Ebenezer Church of Royalton than Samuel Church of Rhode Island, just due to proximity, but some additional clues would be needed to definitely make this assertion. I welcome any tips from readers or others researching the Church family of Vermont.</p>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-32782799643014257132022-07-11T04:30:00.009-07:002023-12-22T23:21:41.068-08:00When Your Hamilton Connection Is... Samuel Seabury?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHTyXrEtbTFb5-sxiY936x69LS3m0YHRPX2eqiH3mOmIo0fvfQzkGUNo9CcHDJrHNpPSh15f2bak7U0PZJ2fJAXeibr-GOgmWInzD43kUYvx7uYL0EUuuF9tflWLW3eE0Ul0iKjFeLH7kAG1RtO0BwMSgLOwOekc5npiIQf4YgWjGfyil_EUPig8L/s1278/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-10%20at%209.05.35%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1278" data-original-width="1012" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHTyXrEtbTFb5-sxiY936x69LS3m0YHRPX2eqiH3mOmIo0fvfQzkGUNo9CcHDJrHNpPSh15f2bak7U0PZJ2fJAXeibr-GOgmWInzD43kUYvx7uYL0EUuuF9tflWLW3eE0Ul0iKjFeLH7kAG1RtO0BwMSgLOwOekc5npiIQf4YgWjGfyil_EUPig8L/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-10%20at%209.05.35%20PM.png" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="text-align: start;">Portrait of Samuel Seabury by Ralph Earl, 1785</span><span style="text-align: start;">. National Portrait Gallery.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I've been doing some research on early American lines that branch off from my Smith tree. Those surnames include the following:</div><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Hall (immigrant ancestor: Edward Hall, 1636 arrival in Massachusetts)</li><li>Capen (immigrant ancestor: Bernard Capen, abt. 1633 arrival in Massachusetts)</li><li>Barsham (immigrant ancestor: William Barsham, 1630 arrival in Massachusetts)</li><li>Seabury (immigrant ancestor: John Seabury, bef. 1639 arrival in Massachusetts)</li></ul><p></p><p>As I was working on these lines, I thought to myself, "Where have I heard the name Seabury?" It rung a bell but I couldn't quite place it. Then, as my daughter was singing along to the <i>Hamilton</i> soundtrack in the car the other day, it hit me. Oh no. Of all the heroic, larger than life personalities featured in that brilliant musical, is our connection the pompous loyalist Hamilton derides in <i>The Farmer Refuted</i>? With some level of disappointment, this turned out to be the case. Samuel Seabury is my second cousin 9x removed. Our common ancestors are my 11th great-grandparents, John Seabury and his wife Grace. They were Samuel's second great-grandparents. When I told my mother she laughed and said it wasn't really such a surprise. Our Smith line is full of loyalists, colonists who sided with England during the Revolutionary War. </p><p></p><blockquote><p>John Adams wrote that approximately one-third of the American
population supported the move for independence (Patriots), one-third of the population supported the king (Loyalists), and one-third
supported neither side (neutral).</p><p>There were many reasons for people to remain loyal to the
government of King George. Some of the Loyalists expected to be
rewarded at the end of the war. Some wanted to protect their vast
amounts of property. Many were professionals such as clergymen
(who were dependent on the Church of England for their livelihood),
lawyers, doctors, and teachers. [<a href="https://www.nps.gov/_cs_upload/kimo/learn/education/classrooms/508269_1.pdf">nps.gov</a>]</p></blockquote><p>Our loyalist ancestors tended to be wealthy and religious. It seems to be those things that caused them to cling to the crown. They feared the loss of their position in a free America. At the time of the Revolutionary War, Samuel Seabury was a prominent religious leader, on his way to becoming the first American Episcopal bishop. He was a conservative with deep ties to the Church of England.</p><blockquote>Born in Connecticut in 1729, Seabury was the fourth and final Church of England minister who presided over the St. Paul’s parish through appointment by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) in Foreign Parts, the missionary wing of the Anglican Church in the colonies. Honoring his oath to the King, a pivotal commitment of Anglican ministers, Seabury was a strident Loyalist, providing political and religious leadership to the Crown’s cause in New York, and was partially responsible for the sizable number of Tories in the St. Paul’s parish. Seabury followed his father, also named Samuel Seabury, into the church, and shared his commitment to the Anglican faith. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/rev-samuel-seabury-st-paul-s-controversial-minister-of-the-era-of-the-american-revolution.htm">nps.gov</a></blockquote><a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/rev-samuel-seabury-st-paul-s-controversial-minister-of-the-era-of-the-american-revolution.htm"></a><p></p><div>The elder Samuel Seabury, who had begun life as a Presbyterian, renounced this faith while a student at Yale University and joined the Episcopal Church. This was seen as so radical that Yale threw him out, and he finished his education at Harvard. After graduating, he sailed to England, where he was ordained as a minster of the Church of England by the Bishop of London. </div><div><br /></div><div>His son, Samuel Seabury the younger, was raised with the religious fervor of his father, and grew to be an even more impassioned church leader. He was a talented writer and orator. In his church, he had a captive audience with whom he could share his loyalist message. He also expressed his feelings in writing, with a vehemence that brought him to the attention of revolutionary leaders.</div><blockquote>Seabury was one of the signatories of the White Plains Protest of April 1775 against all unlawful congresses and committees and, in many other ways, he proved himself a devoted Loyalist. He wrote "Free Thoughts on the Proceedings of the Continental Congress" (1774) under the pen name A. W. Farmer (standing for "a Westchester farmer"), which was followed by "The Congress Canvassed" (1774). Alexander Hamilton responded to these open letters in "A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress, from the Calumnies of their Enemies". Seabury wrote a third "Farmer's Letter" entitled "A View of the Controversy between Great Britain and her Colonies" to answer Hamilton, and Hamilton completed the exchange by writing "The Farmer Refuted" (1775). The three "Farmer's Letters" are forceful presentations of the Loyalist claim, written in a plain, hard-headed style. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Seabury">wikipedia.org</a></blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLt4m0fcGjpgMim9TGsWlWNdLSPZEPXpgUL_ovCJV2qMuSPro0nJrKgv5nlLZtCNpC8vOYR32DjQIOyt8LUfEJYoQXsmVjkwlDFyNvCwFvGHK_mML5jZMROpRKeRkaqxAdlXf0xUT46BI9YVn9Kr7nsaD6haVWwFXbkvyNMWnxvq9pKFKRbDlD9aWq/s1202/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-10%20at%209.19.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1202" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLt4m0fcGjpgMim9TGsWlWNdLSPZEPXpgUL_ovCJV2qMuSPro0nJrKgv5nlLZtCNpC8vOYR32DjQIOyt8LUfEJYoQXsmVjkwlDFyNvCwFvGHK_mML5jZMROpRKeRkaqxAdlXf0xUT46BI9YVn9Kr7nsaD6haVWwFXbkvyNMWnxvq9pKFKRbDlD9aWq/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-10%20at%209.19.29%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lin-Manuel Miranda, left foreground, as Alexander Hamilton and Thayne Jasperson as Samuel Seabury in the musical “Hamilton” at the Richard Rodgers Theater. Credit: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/arts/music/hamilton-music-lin-manuel-miranda-los-angeles.html">Sara Krulwich/The New York Times</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In November 1775, with tensions at a fever pitch, Seabury was arrested by revolutionary forces and spent six weeks in prison. Undeterred, Seabury returned to New York City after his release and volunteered to serve as chaplain to the The King's American Regiment, a militia of loyalists who later joined the British Regular Army. In April 1783, just months before the war ended, Seabury was named bishop of the Episcopal church in America.</p><div>When the British lost the war, many loyalists returned to England or escaped to Canada, still a British colony. They faced the loss of status, wealth, and respect in America, having backed the losing side in the war, and potentially even execution as traitors. Samuel Seabury did not leave. He moved to New London, Connecticut, where he became the rector of St. James Church. In 1790, he also took over leadership of the Diocese of Rhode Island. It is not clear why Seabury was spared the loss of status that other loyalists endured, especially when he had been such a prominent opponent of American independence. Perhaps his status in the church protected him. After the war, Seabury proved loyal to his new country.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I will also add that the Seaburys were slave owners, a reality that never fails to send my heart into my stomach. This is our history; we must not look away. </div><blockquote>Samuel Seabury grew up in a colony and family shaped by the slave economies and human enslavement. Seabury’s father owned at least one slave, named Newport, whose existence is marked in his father’s will. Two weeks before Seabury married Mary Hicks on October 12, 1756, his eventual father-in-law gifted Mary the slave who had served and would continue to serve as her personal servant. The Seabury-Hicks marriage, therefore, meant that yet again Samuel Seabury lived in—and this time managed—a household bound to human enslavement. <a href="https://dsp.domains.trincoll.edu/TrinityAndSlavery/samuel-seabury/">Trinity College - The Primus Project</a></blockquote><div>We rewatched <i>Hamilton</i> after making this discovery and my daughter said, "Mom, are we related to anyone better in this movie?" I grimaced and said, "Well, on your father's side you're related to British Admiral Howe, the guy with all the troops on the water." This did not go over well. I tried again. "I'm distantly related to John Jay." She said, "The one who bailed out after only writing five Federalist Papers?" "Well, he was sick," I reminded her. She was unimpressed. "At least we aren't related to Aaron Burr," I said. We were both satisfied with that.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-73857580193288601962022-02-28T05:00:00.004-08:002024-02-25T09:20:24.245-08:00More Notables: The Brits & Scots<p>This post concludes a series I've been writing for my children, highlighting notable ancestors in their family tree. It turns out that my kids aren't actually more intrigued by these accomplished ancestors than they are by the more humble relatives, at least at this moment in their young lives. They appear largely disinterested in all aspects of family history, to be honest, but I hope they'll develop a curiosity about it as they grow.</p><p>Here, I will provide brief summaries of some of our noteworthy ancestors of English and Scottish descent. My family is largely English, Scottish, and Irish. My husband's family is largely English and German, so there are a wide variety of early English and Scottish notables to choose from in our trees. Once again, a lot of these connections are very far back in history, and I'm never entirely comfortable with records that old, so let's consider all of this for entertainment purposes only.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_DUtcTn4zs8CfxCypM9CmTySeT-GK5ihGFkldZypNKYAdb7SlXfOvx1XRmTTP3v3aD9TFFrYra1r3hUhbS3f6YearXTMbGKzOQ-bmDjvTMc-y6ayrrYItDDcooAuUvc7G5TpJrxbDawO5vuLCJb7kY5vNT_XWQeOA-pYMZFioFHpRPOhuQjrTkmtD=s1094" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1094" data-original-width="739" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_DUtcTn4zs8CfxCypM9CmTySeT-GK5ihGFkldZypNKYAdb7SlXfOvx1XRmTTP3v3aD9TFFrYra1r3hUhbS3f6YearXTMbGKzOQ-bmDjvTMc-y6ayrrYItDDcooAuUvc7G5TpJrxbDawO5vuLCJb7kY5vNT_XWQeOA-pYMZFioFHpRPOhuQjrTkmtD=w216-h320" width="216" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King James IV of Scotland</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>King James IV of Scotland, my 12th great-grandfather</b></p><div><div>Yes, children, you are directly descended from kings... on an adoptive line with some questionable sources and illegitimate descendants. My great-grandfather George Rutherfurd's adoptive father, Malcolm Oliver Rutherfurd, definitely descended from a multitude of Scottish nobles, most likely including King James IV. I am always leery of such early records, so I put a big asterisk by all of them, but this connection is actually pretty plausible. Of all the kings to be related to, James IV is a pretty good one. </div><div><br /></div>"James IV is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs. He was responsible for a major expansion of the Scottish royal navy, which included the founding of two royal dockyards and the acquisition or construction of 38 ships, including the Michael, the largest warship of its time. James was a patron of the arts and took an active interest in the law, literature and science, even personally experimenting in dentistry and bloodletting. With his patronage the printing press came to Scotland, and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the University of Aberdeen were founded. He commissioned the building of Holyrood Palace and Falkland Palace, and extensive building work at Linlithgow Palace, Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle. The education act passed by the Parliament of Scotland in 1496 introduced compulsory schooling. During James's 25 year reign, royal income doubled, the crown exercised firm control over the Scottish church, royal administration was extended to the Highlands and the Hebrides, and by 1493 James had overcome the last independent Lord of the Isles. Relations with England were improved with the Treaty of Perpetual Peace in 1502 and James's marriage to Margaret Tudor in 1503 (the marriage led to the Union of the Crowns in 1603)." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_IV_of_Scotland">Wikipedia</a>)<div><br /></div><div>King James IV was killed at the Battle of Flodden, after an ill-fated alliance with the French and invasion of England. His son, King James V, was crowned king after his father's death. James V was the father of the famous Mary, Queen of Scots. We descend from King James IV's illegitimate daughter Margaret Stewart, his child with Margaret Drummond. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Thomas Rutherfurd "The Black Laird," my 11th great-grandfather</b></div><div><br /></div><div>There are many, many fascinating Rutherfurds in our tree. They include John Rutherfurd, my 6th great-grandfather, who was twice elected member of Parliament for the shire of Roxburgh in Scotland. He was also the son of a knight and Parliamentarian. After trading his seat for an Army company, he moved to New York and was killed in action at the battle of Fort Ticonderoga. However, my favorite Rutherfurd has always been Thomas (1550-1615), because being known as "The Black Laird" is just awesome. </div><div><br /></div><div>"Thomas Rutherfurd, commonly styled the “black laird” of Edgerston, was the terror of the borders, his exploits against the English being numerous and daring. At the battle of the Red Swire, 7th July 1575, -- the last skirmish of any consequence fought on the borders, -- at the head of his followers and the men of Jedburgh, he was mainly the cause of the victory being secured to the Scots." (<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Bp-uP3hDnVgC&pg=PA391&lpg=PA391&dq=THOMAS+RUTHERFURD+%27the+Black+Laird%27&source=bl&ots=yhQU-0jyYV&sig=bPbKyl9zXV31wwqDcXxv66QJ0QQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiw2Jj-3sXWAhUO72MKHXLPBXc4ChDoAQhSMA0#v=onepage&q=THOMAS%20RUTHERFURD%20'the%20Black%20Laird'&f=false">The Scottish Nation, Vol. 3</a>)</div><div><br /></div><div>The Rutherfurd family seat was at Edgerston, south of Jedburgh, just across the border from England. The Rutherfurds, like other border clans, were in the unique position of having to constantly deal with the English, whether that be in defense of Scottish lands from the English, the brokering of fragile peace deals with the English, or just in outright looting of English persons and estates due to a myriad of offenses. Those engaged in these back-and-forth skirmishes were called Border Reivers.</div><div><br /></div>"The story of the Reivers dates from the 14th century and continued through into the late 17th century. It concerns the border between the two sovereign countries of England and Scotland. In those days, this Border displayed all of the characteristics of a frontier, lacking law and order. Cattle rustling, feuding, murder, arson and pillaging were all common occurrences. It was a time when people owed their tribal or clan loyalty to their blood relatives or families. And it was common for these families to straddle the Border. The Reivers were the product of the constant English-Scottish wars that would often reduce the Border area to a wasteland. The continuing threat of renewed conflict offered little incentive to arable farming. Why bother planting crops if they may be burned before they could be harvested? The reiving (raiding or plundering) of livestock was however a totally different matter, and so it became the principal business of the Border families." (<a href="https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-Border-Reivers/">historic-uk.com</a>)<div><br /></div><div>Thomas Rutherfurd was notorious enough in his day to earn a very cool nickname, which is something to which we all should aspire.<br /><br /><b>George Cubbitt, 1st Baron Ashcombe, husband of my 1st cousin, 5x removed</b></div><div><br /></div><div>George Cubitt (1828-1917) was the son of Thomas Cubitt, a British master builder, notable for developing many of the historic streets and squares of London, especially in Belgravia, Pimlico and Bloomsbury. George was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. He later became a Conservative Member of Parliament for West Surrey. In 1892, he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Ashcombe, of Dorking, in the County of Surrey and of Bodiam Castle, in the County of Sussex. He also served as Honorary Colonel of the 5th Battalion, Royal West Surrey Regiment, and Deputy Lieutenant of the counties of both Surrey and Middlesex. He was a founder and lifelong benefactor of St. Catherine's School in Bramley, Surrey. </div><div><br /></div><div>George married Laura Joyce of Hitcham, Buckinghamshire, my 1st cousin, 5x removed. Laura was the granddaughter of Robert Brakspear, the founder of the Brakspear Brewery in Henley-on-Thames. Robert is my 5th great-grandfather, and I've been to Henley and toured the brewery, which remained a family business until just a few years ago.</div><div><br /></div><div>George Cubitt and Laura Joyce had nine children, from whom descend another very famous British relative, Camilla Shand, now known as Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the English throne. Per the current queen's wishes, Camilla is likely to be known as the Queen of England in the near future. Camilla is my 5th cousin 1x removed. Despite this, we are unlikely to be invited to the coronation.</div><div><br /><b>Sir Edward Neville, my 13th great-grandfather</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div>Edward Neville (1471-1538) was the son of George Neville, 4th Baron Bergavenny, and was descended from a long line of barons. "The story of the Neville family is a fascinating one. From their inconspicuous beginnings in Lincolnshire after the Norman Conquest, by the fourteenth century the Nevilles of Raby were among the most influential groups in the north of England, virtually ruling the area by means of the royal offices they held, and their political power reached its zenith in the fifteenth century with Richard de Neville, earl of Warwick, the so-called Kingmaker." (<a href="https://boydellandbrewer.com/9780851156682/the-making-of-the-neville-family-in-england-1166-1400/">Boydell and Brewer</a>)</div><div><br /></div><div>Edward was a courtier and good friend of King Henry VIII. The Nevilles and their cousins the Courtenays supported Catherine of Aragon's marriage to King Henry VIII and the Pope's authority in England, which threatened to alienate them from King Henry VIII when the king sought a divorce from Catherine and started the Church of England in defiance of the Pope. </div><div><br /></div><div>Edward managed to stay on Henry's good side despite their differences, but he couldn't survive Thomas Cromwell. Early in 1538, Henry VIII's chief minister Thomas Cromwell was warned that Edward Neville was secretly trying to obtain the estates of Moatenden Priory, which had been recently dissolved. Cromwell wanted the property for his own. He had Neville arrested for conspiracy and charged him with high treason. Neville was sent to the Tower, tried at Westminster, and beheaded at Tower Hill in 1538.<div><br /></div><b>Walter Devereux, 8th Baron Ferrers of Chartley, my husband's 15th great grandfather</b></div><div><br />Walter Devereux (1432-1485) was a member of the English peerage and a loyal supporter of the Yorkist cause during the Wars of the Roses. He was the son of Sir Walter Devereux (1411-1459), who was Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1449-1451, represented Hereford in Parliament over many years, and served as sheriff of Herefordshire in 1447. His mother was Elizabeth Merbury, the daughter of Sir John Merbury, Chief Justice of South Wales.</div><div><br /></div><div>Walter was appointed knight of the shire for Herefordshire in 1450. As a Yorkist, he held many offices under Edward IV, with whom he was close. Among other posts, Walter was made commissioner of array for Herefordshire, Shropshire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire.</div><div><br /></div>"In December 1460 Walter Devereux accompanied Edward, Earl of March, to Wales to raise an army to counter a Lancastrian rebellion led by the Tudors. On 30 December, Richard, 3rd Duke of York, was killed at the Battle of Wakefield, and a Lancastrian army moved south towards London. Devereux fought on behalf of Edward, now the 4th Duke of York, at his victory in the Battle of Mortimer's Cross on 2 February 1461, and commanded his left wing. He remained at the side of the future Edward IV on his advance from Gloucester to London. The Lancastrian army marching south was again victorious at the Second Battle of St Albans on 17 February, and recovered Henry VI here. On 3 March 1461, Walter Devereux was present at the council held at Baynard's Castle where it was resolved that Edward would be made King, and rode at his side to Westminster where Henry VI was deposed in absentia and Edward IV proclaimed King of England." (<a href="https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Walter_Devereux,_8th_Baron_Ferrers_of_Chartley">Wikiland</a>) Walter Devereux fought at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 and was at the king's side when he entered London in triumph afterward. He was one of the Lords who swore in the Parliament Chamber at Westminster on 3 July 1471 to accept Edward, Prince of Wales, as heir to the crown. Walter later became a supporter of King Richard III, and was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, fighting for his king. <div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirpaQCH64S2slJ7XIDRzvHxNhu_P_CwVaHzxo3OX8f0qroArmm20kcDfqfYGbJChLPBL8mwlB7Vomzp8XKLTbESRDpIEzkxayboy7qiedfBrRgCc_oF8kRSDFs3nmHETffy3iMi4XmPUcUIEOjltjFz68C-7fkn51_sB0kd1Y3qEtLNcqLryWm2dLh=s1280" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="977" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirpaQCH64S2slJ7XIDRzvHxNhu_P_CwVaHzxo3OX8f0qroArmm20kcDfqfYGbJChLPBL8mwlB7Vomzp8XKLTbESRDpIEzkxayboy7qiedfBrRgCc_oF8kRSDFs3nmHETffy3iMi4XmPUcUIEOjltjFz68C-7fkn51_sB0kd1Y3qEtLNcqLryWm2dLh=s320" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption">Lord Howe on the Deck of the 'Queen Charlotte', 1 June 1794, by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mather_Brown">Mather Brown</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyB8i0iOUFv4QzkLwErS8kZDAIXhRaZPfFWhfW-Mnsote_2Ah-w8eboMkv67V8faZ7WgjE2kEa54grrWDLIWtWlD1f4N0r6lvLEKoQxZiLcj5hfq7vjZqcxSXKICEWZBGNXcpTNPpHNCyOtaLAKXur8Vw9dpCGUh6aRPDuZvsMMialXWsjGXsA_6rn=s1500" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1088" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyB8i0iOUFv4QzkLwErS8kZDAIXhRaZPfFWhfW-Mnsote_2Ah-w8eboMkv67V8faZ7WgjE2kEa54grrWDLIWtWlD1f4N0r6lvLEKoQxZiLcj5hfq7vjZqcxSXKICEWZBGNXcpTNPpHNCyOtaLAKXur8Vw9dpCGUh6aRPDuZvsMMialXWsjGXsA_6rn=s320" width="232" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">General William Howe, 1777</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Admiral Lord Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, and General William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, my husband's 3rd cousins, 9x removed</b></div><div><br /></div><div>In the musical <i>Hamilton</i>, the characters gather on stage to mark the beginning of the Revolutionary War with the song <i>Right Hand Man</i>, in which they sing, "British Admiral Howe’s got troops on the water. Thirty-two thousand troops in New York Harbor." Admiral Howe was Richard Howe, my husband's 3rd cousin, 9x removed. He was a great naval commander who led fleets in multiple wars, including the American Revolution, the Seven Years War, and the French Revolutionary Wars. </div><div><br /></div><div>Richard's brother, General William Howe (5th Viscount Howe), was Richard's equal in military prowess, and while Richard commanded the seas for the British forces, William was on land leading the Redcoats against the American Colonists as the Commander in Chief of the British forces. While he had many great victories, including the Battle of Long Island and the capture of Philadelphia, William did not succeed in subduing the Americans and was eventually forced to resign his post. </div><div><br /></div><div>Richard Howe did indeed have about 32,000 troops in New York Harbor. Captaining the largest assembly of British Naval might in history, Admiral Howe was able to overpower New York and temporarily take control of the city. "In 1778, France had entered the war on the colonists’ side and a French fleet, commanded by the Comte d’Estaing, sailed to New York where it came to blows with the British. Outnumbered, Howe achieved a stunning victory over the French. When reinforcements arrived in the form of Admiral John Byron, Howe headed back to England." (<a href="https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/richard-howe">Battlefields</a>) </div><br />Richard and William were two of the sons of Emanuel Scrope Howe, 2nd Viscount Howe, a prominent public official who served as a Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire, and later the Governor of Barbados. Their mother was German-born Mary Sophie Charlotte von Kielmansegg, Countess of Darlington and Countess of Leinster, who was a half-sister of King George I.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQPQ2hk-cT8erniPfK53iu6D66WZBMqMYoa3j2JO28j4gTAFhipyfMqHQLgD_oryYHd7rYxj2hdl03VMXILxS-lFlSVJzPBDzKJtoM4E9ozUveAgG1l_XZ2XspW3VpoqYoMummJ9_cxtpdbwS_XuQgZZaqE4Qy2NXA_UpmYmw7nak6kkb_bhjP37qg=s639" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="509" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQPQ2hk-cT8erniPfK53iu6D66WZBMqMYoa3j2JO28j4gTAFhipyfMqHQLgD_oryYHd7rYxj2hdl03VMXILxS-lFlSVJzPBDzKJtoM4E9ozUveAgG1l_XZ2XspW3VpoqYoMummJ9_cxtpdbwS_XuQgZZaqE4Qy2NXA_UpmYmw7nak6kkb_bhjP37qg=s320" width="255" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption">A 16th century portrait of Edward North, 1st Baron North of Kirtling, Cambridgeshire</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><b>Edward North, first baron of Kirtling, my husband's 13th great grandfather</b><br /><br />Edward North, 1st Baron North (1504-1564) was an English peer and politician who served as Clerk of the Parliaments and Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire. He was the stepson of Sir Ralph Warren, Lord Mayor of London. He was also a lawyer of much renown, and after being made 1st Baron North, he took a seat in the House of Lords.<br /><br />"In 1546 he was made a member of the Privy Council of England, received some extensive grants of former abbey lands, and managed by prudence to retain the favour of his sovereign, although on one occasion towards the end of his reign Henry VIII was induced to distrust him, and even to accuse him of peculation, a charge of which he cleared himself. North was named as one of the executors of King Henry's will, and a legacy of £300 was bequeathed to him. On the accession of King Edward VI, North was induced, under pressure, to resign his office as chancellor of augmentations. He continued as a Privy Councillor during the young king's reign, and was one of those who attested his will, but his name does not appear among the signatories of the deed of settlement disinheriting the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. North was among the supporters of Lady Jane Gray." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_North,_1st_Baron_North">Wikipedia</a>)</div><div><br /></div><div>Edward's sister, Joan North Wilkinson, was the silkwoman to Anne Boleyn, importing silk and fine threads and turning them into garments fit for the future queen.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGCwTg8IUm5QObCofbmvCOEXwRjc-7jEk9iH_mAw3LlfW665YEMyJvZXEt5Lt4zMmC-l3akg8h3yg6D3w3vioiwT3vkWThhdhDII02XTkXWmYwKm6HCrQZGUxVjmcaJeESNnkV9ind3DLkmIKK66AyR9Eaya8rBh94QliwnMgIkj28eykdC7_rmu0T=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGCwTg8IUm5QObCofbmvCOEXwRjc-7jEk9iH_mAw3LlfW665YEMyJvZXEt5Lt4zMmC-l3akg8h3yg6D3w3vioiwT3vkWThhdhDII02XTkXWmYwKm6HCrQZGUxVjmcaJeESNnkV9ind3DLkmIKK66AyR9Eaya8rBh94QliwnMgIkj28eykdC7_rmu0T=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diana, Princess of Wales</td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><br /></div></div><div><div><b>Diana, Princess of Wales, my 11th cousin, my husband's 14th cousin</b></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Born Diana Frances Spencer at Althorp in Northamptonshire, Princess Diana (1961-1997) captured the world's imagination upon her marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales, becoming one of the most famous women in modern history. In addition to being the ex-wife of the future king, Charles, she was also the mother of the future king, William. </div><div><br /></div><div>While I have long known of my relation to Diana's nemesis, Camilla Shand, now the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, I did not realize I was also related to Diana until recently. Our common ancestor is Sir George Neville, 4th Baron Bergavenny, the father of Sir Edward Neville mentioned earlier in this post. My husband is also connected to Diana via his Goodwin line. The Goodwins married into the Spencer family in the 1500s.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKky3i_2OubVmr7JLoQdbfX23D3X-ST72vGDJlBXf6bBHRC0-FTPirB23BJXvCJ06WKAqNg9SWAJGswbB0d3lwmTVAj3IhwOd7aQKPCvhSJKZ5Wogs7RByQ44RS0Nb2iSrQepcZTzBJAnFV3LilHl0hmA1JpJslOmVcKAYMuZSbITiUC7IQzqeBQ5h=s926" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="926" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKky3i_2OubVmr7JLoQdbfX23D3X-ST72vGDJlBXf6bBHRC0-FTPirB23BJXvCJ06WKAqNg9SWAJGswbB0d3lwmTVAj3IhwOd7aQKPCvhSJKZ5Wogs7RByQ44RS0Nb2iSrQepcZTzBJAnFV3LilHl0hmA1JpJslOmVcKAYMuZSbITiUC7IQzqeBQ5h=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption">Winston Churchill in 1946, by Douglas Granville Chandor<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Winston Churchill, my husband's 8th cousin, 1x removed</b></div><div><br /></div>"Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965) was a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Best known for his wartime leadership as Prime Minister, Churchill was also a Sandhurst-educated soldier, a Boer War hero, a Nobel Prize-winning writer and historian, a prolific painter, and one of the longest-serving politicians in British history. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an economic liberal and imperialist, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.<br /><br />Widely considered one of the 20th century's most significant figures, Churchill remains popular in the UK and Western world, where he is seen as a victorious wartime leader who played an important role in defending Europe's liberal democracy against the spread of fascism. He is also praised as a social reformer." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill">Wikipedia</a>)<br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div>My husband is connected to Winston Churchill via his Wheeler/ Sherman line.</div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-12584311483163356612022-01-31T05:00:00.004-08:002024-01-07T18:40:16.166-08:00More Notables: Ancestors in the Military and Politics<p>This is a follow up to my last post about notable relatives in my family tree. It was written for my children, since they seem to be primarily interested in famous ancestors. I read the post to my kids, and they deemed it fairly interesting, but too long. In my daughter's words, it was a "seven out of ten, and it would have been an eight if it was shorter." Note taken.</p><p>In this post, I'll highlight a few politicians and American military notables in my children's family tree.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWqmWUk585J-NLy_nG56dbrVI0mV0_216etnrjxfyq8_FsN3jq8DCO-Bg9H61RNUZ1R4kXyowLw4WvycB5XGzhraFnx9RRXRUuSdYODmyEFxzeNviXdwctWw9csZnvpbbwWaBnSqD5umAiqaGxoNqlJGe4j-xZ1pwSHjRrBJyYnfsxCxqA1kBP2tCO=s733" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="490" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWqmWUk585J-NLy_nG56dbrVI0mV0_216etnrjxfyq8_FsN3jq8DCO-Bg9H61RNUZ1R4kXyowLw4WvycB5XGzhraFnx9RRXRUuSdYODmyEFxzeNviXdwctWw9csZnvpbbwWaBnSqD5umAiqaGxoNqlJGe4j-xZ1pwSHjRrBJyYnfsxCxqA1kBP2tCO=s320" width="214" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Commodore Robert F. Stockton<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Robert Field Stockton, 4th cousin 7x removed</b><div><br /><div>"Robert Field Stockton (August 20, 1795 – October 7, 1866) was a United States Navy commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-powered navy. Stockton was from a notable political family and also served as a U.S. senator from New Jersey." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Stockton">Wikipedia</a>) </div><div><br /></div><div>Robert was the grandson of <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2014/07/richard-stockton-signer-of-declaration.html">Richard Stockton</a>, signer of the Declaration of Independence. The cities of Stockton (California), Fort Stockton (Texas), and Stockton (Missouri) are all named after Robert Stockton. Robert's son, John P. Stockton, also became a U.S. Senator representing New Jersey. Robert was offered the role of U.S. Secretary of the Navy by President John Tyler in 1841, but he turned down the appointment in order to manage construction of an advanced steam warship, the USS Princeton, which he later captained with great success during the Mexican-American War. He was a delegate to the Peace Conference of 1861 that unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the Civil War. When that war began, he commanded a Union militia in New Jersey.</div><div><br /></div><div>Robert's 3x great-grandparents, Richard and Abigail Stockton, are my tenth great-grandparents. I descend from their son John Stockton (b. 1674). The Stocktons married into our Bellangee line in the early 1800s.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiS4S-3C_9DFP80uQ70lGdPRx44KW7a3u3IpqhG4yJ12Q1HEGUJSIvJKAJFuadeuj7XbPhRaXDR1ZmKq0fJ9QxJAYlWNN_vHxRh3ACdKbEaN0McjR33ZHKZ3SYWjqTr3rY00Jn-DVl_EsDPaKhGxH46tVKzD2r0BI7l5pAzbZoILoARS5dcvJYcewR_=s2101" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2101" data-original-width="1627" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiS4S-3C_9DFP80uQ70lGdPRx44KW7a3u3IpqhG4yJ12Q1HEGUJSIvJKAJFuadeuj7XbPhRaXDR1ZmKq0fJ9QxJAYlWNN_vHxRh3ACdKbEaN0McjR33ZHKZ3SYWjqTr3rY00Jn-DVl_EsDPaKhGxH46tVKzD2r0BI7l5pAzbZoILoARS5dcvJYcewR_=s320" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption">Portrait of Matthew Clarkson by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Stuart">Gilbert Stuart</a> (ca. 1794)</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Major General Matthew Clarkson, husband of 1st cousin 7x removed</b></div><div><br />Matthew Clarkson "entered the Army to serve in the Revolutionary War, first on Long Island, subsequently under Benedict Arnold. He was at Saratoga and, later, on the staff of General Benjamin Lincoln, was present at the surrender of Burgoyne, at Savannah (1779) and at the defense of Charleston (1780). He was also present at the surrender of Cornwallis. After the war, Clarkson was commissioned brigadier general of militia of Kings and Queens Counties in June 1786 and Major General of the Southern District of New York in March 1798. For a time, he was engaged in merchant business with John Vanderbilt under the company Vanderbilt & Clarkson." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Clarkson">Wikipedia</a>) </div><div><br /></div><div>When the war ended, Clarkson became the assistant to General Benjamin Lincoln, who had been named the Secretary of War. He served as a Federalist member of the 13th New York State Legislature in the New York State Assembly, where he introduced a bill for the abolition of slavery in the state. He was presented at the court of the French King Louis XVI, served as State Senator representing both the 17th and 18th districts in the New York State Legislature, and as president of the New York City hospital. He ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate but was defeated by DeWitt Clinton. "Clarkson was married to Mary Rutherfurd (1761–1786), the daughter of Walter Rutherfurd and Catherine (née Alexander) Rutherfurd and the sister of U.S. Senator John Rutherfurd. Through her mother, she was the niece of William Alexander, Lord Stirling, and the granddaughter of James Alexander and Mary Alexander Provoost." (Wikipedia)</div><div><br /></div><div>Clarkson's wife, Mary Rutherfurd, is my 1st cousin, 7x removed. Her grandparents, John Rutherfurd and Elizabeth Cairncross of Edgerston, Scotland, are my 7th great-grandparents, on the adoptive line belonging to my great-grandfather, <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-adoption-of-george-roscoe-griffin.html">George Roscoe Oliver Rutherfurd</a>. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwR4EYrzce-UX62-eX-n-2moRqYb2L2A-MMMEIpOpAa613C5ralxNMH06iAxFIep_nXL63SakRSOaHywU_0L-SJnPAnKyjsJ10-eE57caE92PSmr-YAtpESKQxkjcV0jxW8f1-pzyJczVgLeit_kzilRq0O5G1oX5I4OLDzFjV1gOeZHv3Nct847k2=s8864" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="8864" data-original-width="6551" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwR4EYrzce-UX62-eX-n-2moRqYb2L2A-MMMEIpOpAa613C5ralxNMH06iAxFIep_nXL63SakRSOaHywU_0L-SJnPAnKyjsJ10-eE57caE92PSmr-YAtpESKQxkjcV0jxW8f1-pzyJczVgLeit_kzilRq0O5G1oX5I4OLDzFjV1gOeZHv3Nct847k2=s320" width="236" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Honorable Ogden Livingston Mills</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Ogden Livingston Mills, husband of 5th cousin 3x removed</b></div><div><br /></div>"Ogden Livingston Mills (August 23, 1884 – October 11, 1937) was an American lawyer, businessman and politician. He served as United States Secretary of the Treasury in President Herbert Hoover's cabinet, during which time Mills pushed for tax increases, spending cuts and other austerity measures that would deepen the economic crisis. A member of the Republican Party, Mills also represented New York in the United States House of Representatives, served as Undersecretary of the Treasury during the administration of President Calvin Coolidge, and was the Republican nominee in the 1926 New York gubernatorial election." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogden_L._Mills">Wikipedia</a>) </div><div><br /></div><div>Mills was highly critical of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, and campaigned for President Hoover when Roosevelt ran against him for President. Ironically, Mills and Roosevelt were college friends and neighbors, so their differences appear to have been largely political. Mills was also the owner of Wheatley Stable, which raised race horses. His stable produced the champion Seabiscuit, as well as Bold Ruler, the father of Secretariat. Mills married his first wife, Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherfurd in 1911. She is such a fascinating character that she receives her own paragraph below, despite not being a politician herself. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEja0VDqLJaQXler0N-iqhdVQvVzUbRkYrDZkd0F0rZ_9XiHlStyi-UT2XBtz8ivmVYIRU4uzy5MVILIHHnZVh3kUtxl0iBOb0L3MWEQhfdXEGgm85Lz9joWzsdk5B-0yuTeHgjw5NkDy3ZzdkGrXmukllo6t6bBpLb4yanScg5DeVsUWAfHQLtHgosC=s648" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="319" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEja0VDqLJaQXler0N-iqhdVQvVzUbRkYrDZkd0F0rZ_9XiHlStyi-UT2XBtz8ivmVYIRU4uzy5MVILIHHnZVh3kUtxl0iBOb0L3MWEQhfdXEGgm85Lz9joWzsdk5B-0yuTeHgjw5NkDy3ZzdkGrXmukllo6t6bBpLb4yanScg5DeVsUWAfHQLtHgosC=s320" width="158" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherfurd</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherfurd, 5th cousin 3x removed</b></div><div><br /></div><div>"Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherfurd Murat (November 11, 1891 – February 10, 1976) was an eccentric American heiress, dancer and sometime actress. Margaret was born on November 11, 1891 in Manhattan. She was the second daughter of Lewis Morris Rutherfurd Jr. (1859–1901) and Anne (née Harriman) Sands Rutherfurd (1861–1940). After her father's death in 1901, her mother remarried to William Kissam Vanderbilt, the first husband of Alva Erskine Smith. From her mother's marriage to Vanderbilt, she was a stepsister of Consuelo Vanderbilt (wife of Charles Spencer-Churchill, the 9th Duke of Marlborough), William Kissam Vanderbilt II (husband of Virginia Fair Vanderbilt), and Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (wife of Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt). Her paternal grandparents were astronomer Lewis Morris Rutherfurd and Margaret Chanler (née Stuyvesant) Rutherfurd, the niece and adopted daughter of Peter Gerard Stuyvesant. Her paternal uncle was Winthrop Rutherfurd. Her maternal grandparents were Oliver Harriman and Laura (née Low) Harriman." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Stuyvesant_Murat">Wikipedia</a>)</div><div><br /></div><div>Margaret's exploits are so numerous that it's difficult to condense them into a short paragraph. She was married six times to four different men. One of the men she married twice was Prince Charles Michel Joachim Napoléon, a direct descendant of the former King of Naples, who was also the brother of Napoléon. She was a devotee of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Bernard_(yogi)">Oom the Omnipotent</a>. She danced on stages in New York, London, Paris, and Monte Carlo. She lived in Morocco. She dyed her hair pink.</div><div><br /></div><div>Margaret is not to be confused with her aunt, Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherfurd (b. 1854), who married American diplomat Henry White, settled with him in London, and was a popular socialite there. She was a favorite of Queen Victoria and was immortalized in a portrait by John Singer Sargent.</div><div><br /></div><div>The common ancestors in this line are, again, John Rutherfurd and Elizabeth Cairncross of Edgerston, Scotland, my 10th great-grandparents.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgu_oNkdZLL_-CMcCfXFgSJrXapEZiHMrm9Bwz1U5CkBaTTlq46SscKYCTdFW5a8TOfFMITsCALLdGMJPs6YnFyGo-5p3RZZ81886EWaR6h5YfBipv1Oh5BfkNs5VaIOl_A1OhVoPCKUbY1MViDcjElh6lTbe_XAkPXrAkSkrp-0ftQT46HzG1yPm0E=s4096" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="2611" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgu_oNkdZLL_-CMcCfXFgSJrXapEZiHMrm9Bwz1U5CkBaTTlq46SscKYCTdFW5a8TOfFMITsCALLdGMJPs6YnFyGo-5p3RZZ81886EWaR6h5YfBipv1Oh5BfkNs5VaIOl_A1OhVoPCKUbY1MViDcjElh6lTbe_XAkPXrAkSkrp-0ftQT46HzG1yPm0E=s320" width="204" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherfurd White, in a portrait by John Singer Sargent, which hangs in the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><div>I am not doing a good job of making this post shorter than the last. Apologies, kids! The mention of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt above made me think that I should include another relative here, who was not a politician, but had a huge impact on the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEii-vREv7Dvws6sBw_HJyZ_x0XNaBb3P2DiEnnE3ovFMzBF53RzoKIWGQt-mxyZS99ICBZUXKC4LMfTTi0XvmRJWlRVH_XfRRMODBoZZM2_SCMFyfq5H7cd8mxbJoW6gRTRtI0nZ8U3UyRsuKc-jvz2H8VFvBH_wKQdmzWJ8yxjgVqV1KSnp7aHstN9=s415" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEii-vREv7Dvws6sBw_HJyZ_x0XNaBb3P2DiEnnE3ovFMzBF53RzoKIWGQt-mxyZS99ICBZUXKC4LMfTTi0XvmRJWlRVH_XfRRMODBoZZM2_SCMFyfq5H7cd8mxbJoW6gRTRtI0nZ8U3UyRsuKc-jvz2H8VFvBH_wKQdmzWJ8yxjgVqV1KSnp7aHstN9=s320" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucy Page Mercer Rutherfurd</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Lucy Page Mercer, wife of 4th cousin 4x removed</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Lucy Page Mercer (1891-1948) is known primarily for being the longtime mistress of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She was born in Washington, D.C. and in 1914 became Eleanor Roosevelt's social secretary. Her affair with Franklin Roosevelt likely began in 1917, and continued for the rest of his life. She was with him at his death in 1945. Much has been written about the toll this took on the Roosevelt marriage, and how it may have propelled Eleanor into the social and political work for which she is revered. Lucy married Winthrop Chanler Rutherfurd, who is best known for being the true love of Consuelo Vanderbilt, who was forced into an unhappy marriage to the ninth Duke of Marlborough and became the grandmother of Winston Churchill. Winthrop is my 4th cousin 4x removed, on the same Rutherfurd line descending from John Rutherfurd and Elizabeth Cairncross of Edgerston, Scotland.</div><div><br /></div><div>Last but not least, kids, let's turn to your father's line. While the trees we saw at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City predicted many presidential connections on my side of the family, the only one I'm somewhat close to proving is our relationship to John Adams, second President of the United States. On your father's side, you have a proven Presidential connection.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhK4BNMhj4xS-w1EHiGNbytX9uF3XZL_ud02H-c1KEjYmzk4acQwthsegxraKpD3-WL6nOh9QP0iyCwae6F9d-BJwxuIBptjvM9x6vDZqQHprWYYgfkWr8iOfUfwii-RgCsiU5Sa69_I2RTVqXEuhrjnX6wNF0cdXOQ9GT-zRkjIR-DkB7Un8tabUK1=s1707" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1707" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhK4BNMhj4xS-w1EHiGNbytX9uF3XZL_ud02H-c1KEjYmzk4acQwthsegxraKpD3-WL6nOh9QP0iyCwae6F9d-BJwxuIBptjvM9x6vDZqQHprWYYgfkWr8iOfUfwii-RgCsiU5Sa69_I2RTVqXEuhrjnX6wNF0cdXOQ9GT-zRkjIR-DkB7Un8tabUK1=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Calvin Coolidge</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>John Calvin Coolidge, Jr., my husband's 3rd Cousin 5x removed</b></div><div><br /></div>Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. A Republican lawyer from New England, born in Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of Massachusetts. His response to the Boston Police Strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight and gave him a reputation as a man of decisive action. The next year, he was elected the 29th vice president of the United States, and he succeeded to the presidency upon the sudden death of Warren G. Harding in 1923. Elected in his own right in 1924, he gained a reputation as a small-government conservative and also as a man who said very little and had a dry sense of humor, receiving the nickname "Silent Cal". He chose not to run again in the 1928 election, remarking that ten years as president was (at the time) "longer than any other man has had it—too long!" (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Coolidge">Wikipedia</a>) </div><div><br /></div><div>Coolidge was opposed to Prohibition and in favor of giving women the right to vote. He was pro-business and a fiscal conservative. "He signed into law the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, which granted US citizenship to the indigenous peoples of the United States, and oversaw a period of rapid and expansive economic growth in the country, known as the "Roaring Twenties", leaving office with considerable popularity." (Wikipedia). However, it is quite possible that Coolidge's conservative policies set in motion the stock market collapse of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression, one of the most challenging periods in the history of America.</div><div><br /></div><div>Calvin Coolidge's mother, Sarah Almeda Brewer, was the great-granddaughter of Jonathan Brewer (1689-1752) and Arabella Goulding (1693-1774) of Framingham, Massachusetts. They are my husband's 7th great-grandparents. He descends from their son Moses Brewer. Sarah Almeda Brewer was the daughter of Moses' brother, Eliab Brewer.</div><div><br /></div><div>My children are not going to be happy about the length of this post, but I hope they'll find the stories interesting. There are more to come!</div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-85193873750373331672022-01-17T05:00:00.002-08:002022-02-27T10:02:27.463-08:00Notable People In Our Family Tree<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicWQ-FkYmn6vNw2pscFvcrw2Nopq5pzbIIkujtkBl-TCDr_wtyjtTMm-sxDvtqYxzgZvE9dNaiJ18Q3rlxEtdyRWkapTiFkJToEcNp8lWM8LQkWMQPfUm1E_fJWm-3qtyCsGy3beAYFc-nyO0axp8SPotvxosIJqFrf4Lr-vIC0C_u0aagHRk01DGl=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicWQ-FkYmn6vNw2pscFvcrw2Nopq5pzbIIkujtkBl-TCDr_wtyjtTMm-sxDvtqYxzgZvE9dNaiJ18Q3rlxEtdyRWkapTiFkJToEcNp8lWM8LQkWMQPfUm1E_fJWm-3qtyCsGy3beAYFc-nyO0axp8SPotvxosIJqFrf4Lr-vIC0C_u0aagHRk01DGl=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>This series is for my children. My family history research has never been about finding connections to famous ancestors. I fell in love with genealogy while sitting with my grandmother, listening to her tell stories about her parents. For me, this has always been about knowing who the people who came before me were, and honoring all the paths that they took in life. I have never been much concerned with whether my ancestors were born wealthy or became famous. The relatives that interest me the most tend to be the ones with humble origins who made interesting decisions when challenged by a particular moment in history. I share their stories with my kids all the time.<br /><br />Last summer, we visited Salt Lake City and the Family History Library. My kids, whose eyes typically glaze over when I try to engage them in family history, were suddenly dazzled by the multimedia displays connecting them to notable ancestors. My 8-year old daughter asked me to take photos of her in front of some of the more illustrious family lines illuminated on large screens. I looked at the long list of famous people FamilySearch suggests I'm related to and was puzzled. These connections were largely unfamiliar to me. Am I really related to 10+ American presidents? I do not have any of these individuals sourced and confirmed in my tree. The glee with which my kids greeted the possibility, however, made me think a little about famous relatives. Is it so wrong if a notable relative is the one that initially attracts someone to genealogy? If my children get excited about being related to a president, might it guide them to an interest in our less celebrated ancestors? <br /><br />After that trip, I tried to track down some of the notables the FamilySearch database had suggested are my kin. When I could make the connections, they were typically pretty distant, down lines of my tree that go beyond what I feel can be proven and sourced. I have not added all these individuals to my tree because I'm not completely comfortable with those relationships yet, but clearly FamilySearch users think they're a match. I did find many "famous" ancestors, on both mine and my husband's sides of the tree, that are reasonably well proven, and so I also made a list of those people for my kids. Most of them are fairly distant relations, or in-laws of those distant relations, so I'm not entirely sure I see a lot of value in the connection. My kids find it interesting, though. I'm going to share a bunch of those names here in hopes that those larger-than-life stories provide a gateway to curiosity about all the other, fascinating stories contained in our tree. I will begin with my side of the tree.<br /><br /><b><u>The Early Americans</u></b><br /><br /><b>Ethan Allen, Revolutionary War Hero, 3rd cousin 8x removed</b><br /><br />"Ethan Allen was a farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga early in the Revolutionary War." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Allen">Wikipedia</a>) Allen was also the leader of an attack on Montreal which led to him being captured and imprisoned on a British Naval ship. He was known far and wide as one of the most dedicated American patriots during the Revolutionary War era, and remains an oft-referenced hero in the state of Vermont. Yes, the furniture store is named after the man.<div><br /></div><div>This connection is on our Smith line. Our common ancestors are Henry Burt, Jr. (b. 1595, Harberton, Devon, England; d. 1662, Springfield, Massachusetts) and Eulalia Marche (b. 1601, Sherford, Devon, England; d. 1690, Springfield, Massachusetts). They were Ethan Allen's 2nd great-grandparents and they're my 10th great-grandparents. Henry and Eulalia's daughter Elizabeth Burt married Samuel Wright, Jr. The Wrights married into my Smith line in the mid-1700s.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitLt_D0-xFOdmskUUMN0QRE43VSzkIamdRbr4_kCZUfWdxtAcl0ufzoJNTj_7k_0_PCp9lFLyNDdYQ6kk-ojF0z7ry4aTb7rODlwigPPShOhkHwiksJxu-ph2a8lxFh_6aRzRx3SkLUAfkDCJkpREaAeClk3yagG6XTcUMoYQgEPzLsLhsrvO6CZpz=s319" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitLt_D0-xFOdmskUUMN0QRE43VSzkIamdRbr4_kCZUfWdxtAcl0ufzoJNTj_7k_0_PCp9lFLyNDdYQ6kk-ojF0z7ry4aTb7rODlwigPPShOhkHwiksJxu-ph2a8lxFh_6aRzRx3SkLUAfkDCJkpREaAeClk3yagG6XTcUMoYQgEPzLsLhsrvO6CZpz=w251-h320" width="251" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ethan Allen</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><b>John Jay, American Founding Father, father-in-law of 2nd cousin 6x removed</b></div><div><br /></div><div>"John Jay was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, Founding Father, abolitionist, negotiator, and signatory of the Treaty of Paris of 1783. He served as the second governor of New York and the first chief justice of the United States." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jay">Wikipedia</a>) Fans of the musical <i>Hamilton</i> will also remember the mention of John Jay in the song <i>Non-Stop</i>. In 1788, Jay joined forces with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison to write a series of articles encouraging New York state convention members to ratify the proposed Constitution. Jay wrote five of these articles, which became known as The Federalist Papers. I should also note that despite his work on behalf of abolition, John Jay was in fact, a slave owner, a paradox that is confusing and infuriating. We cannot discuss the good Jay did for our country without also acknowledging his abhorrent decision to enslave human beings. He is not the only slave-owning Founding Father in our tree (see also <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2014/07/richard-stockton-signer-of-declaration.html">Richard Stockton</a>), unfortunately. </div><div><br /></div><div>We are connected to John Jay via our Rutherfurd line, which begins with my great-grandfather George Rutherfurd's adoptive father, Malcolm Rutherfurd. Mary Rutherfurd Clarkson (1786-1838) married Peter Augustus Jay, the son of John Jay, in 1813. Mary was the great-granddaughter of John Rutherfurd and Elizabeth Cairncross of Edgerston, Scotland. They are my 7th great-grandparents.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdDqeqZ2STqRY_uMtJnl15JbPv20aQy4V3281Q9nsXkdmPEU3yNbdHKcfh0KoNBkqauc-GAHBCleeKEf03J4SwZgMmR0JvIwn1eg0DzKlyT_yIWK-uU05qSKRHQ81e-MbFaV38yBQmQr4A8wVp97nvUCh2lIF9C-IMbmRsWgsV1ruZ7a3RuYDb0cfP=s1553" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1553" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdDqeqZ2STqRY_uMtJnl15JbPv20aQy4V3281Q9nsXkdmPEU3yNbdHKcfh0KoNBkqauc-GAHBCleeKEf03J4SwZgMmR0JvIwn1eg0DzKlyT_yIWK-uU05qSKRHQ81e-MbFaV38yBQmQr4A8wVp97nvUCh2lIF9C-IMbmRsWgsV1ruZ7a3RuYDb0cfP=s320" width="247" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Jay</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Lewis Morris, American Founding Father, father-in-law of 1st cousin 7x removed</b></div><div><br /></div><div>"Lewis Morris was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continental Congress from New York." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Morris">Wikipedia</a>) We have two other signers in our tree, <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2014/07/richard-stockton-signer-of-declaration.html">Richard Stockton</a> and <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2020/04/benjamin-rush-and-yellow-fever-outbreak.html">Dr. Benjamin Rush</a>. Upon being warned of how dangerous it would be to sign the Declaration of Independence, Morris famously replied, "Damn the consequences. Give me the pen." There were, in fact, a lot of consequences. The Morris family lost much of their wealth and property during the war, and struggled to rebuild after America's victory.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lewis' daughter, Helena Morris, married <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rutherfurd">John Rutherfurd</a>, my 1st cousin 7x removed. Rutherfurd was a lawyer in New York City who was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1788 and then to the United States Senate in 1791. The Rutherfurds, originally from Edgerston, Scotland, are my maternal grandmother's line. As with John Jay, the common ancestors here are John Rutherfurd and Elizabeth Cairncross, my 7th great-grandparents, and the grandparents of John Rutherfurd, who married Helena Morris.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIOsHLcgXaekvduhqpDGlcmQuM_ww8KwjUUFGTkf58kxtKby4JpuTDG1OrHmHFcnlvbsKio8qbY0lC2ReabL91LGAPiDll5dd1Bov08LS1rWEepZ-ZPWoAwu2ts6y6cTu6c61yF8eCVmjHcbtSs_fRp4hoxrEUwntqQlipklYpJpfxHxV5hxgPuiPa=s1280" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1071" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIOsHLcgXaekvduhqpDGlcmQuM_ww8KwjUUFGTkf58kxtKby4JpuTDG1OrHmHFcnlvbsKio8qbY0lC2ReabL91LGAPiDll5dd1Bov08LS1rWEepZ-ZPWoAwu2ts6y6cTu6c61yF8eCVmjHcbtSs_fRp4hoxrEUwntqQlipklYpJpfxHxV5hxgPuiPa=s320" width="268" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lewis Morris</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />These connections are both distant and, in the case of Jay and Morris, on an adoptive line and involve in-laws, and are thus not biological relationships. I've never set much store in them, but they may be interesting to my children.</div><div><br /></div><div>FamilySearch also says we're related, on my side of the tree, to American Presidents George Washington, James Polk, John Adams, Millard Fillmore, William Howard Taft, Richard Nixon, William McKinley, Franklin D. Roosevelt, James Buchanan, Franklin Pierce, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. I can find no substantiation of any of this.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I have not yet written much about my husband's family tree, which is fascinating and includes a great cast of characters, including many interesting early Americans. My husband's paternal line is English, and many of his ancestors arrived in America in the early-to-mid 1600s. They were often the founders of New England towns and held leadership roles in local governance. Here is one standout ancestor from that time.</div><br /><b>Philip Sherman, Founding Father of Rhode Island, my husband's 10th great-grandfather</b><div><br /></div>"Philip Sherman (1611–1687) was a prominent leader and founding settler of Portsmouth in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Coming from Dedham, Essex in southeastern England, he and several of his siblings and cousins settled in New England. His first residence was in Roxbury in the Massachusetts Bay Colony where he lived for a few years, but he became interested in the teachings of the dissident ministers John Wheelwright and Anne Hutchinson, and at the conclusion of the Antinomian Controversy he was disarmed and forced to leave the colony. He went with many followers of Hutchinson to establish the town of Portsmouth on Aquidneck Island, later called Rhode Island. He became the first secretary of the colony there, and served in many other roles in the town government. Sherman became a Quaker after settling in the Rhode Island colony, and died at an advanced age, leaving a large progeny." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Sherman">Wikipedia</a>) Wheelwright and Hutchinson were devotees of Puritanical minister John Cotton, and their beliefs, which came to be known as Antinomian or Anabaptist, argued that one's spiritual condition had no bearing upon one's outward behavior. The established religious conventions of the time centered around the Holy Spirit, and the idea that an individual's salvation is demonstrated by righteous behavior and the good they do for others. Philip Sherman was dedicated to the Antinomian beliefs, which led to his ostracization and the co-founding of Rhode Island.<div><br /></div>The Shermans married into my husband's Wheeler line in the mid-1700s. Many of Philip's descendants were, by that point, back in Massachusetts, specifically in Berlin, where my father-in-law was born a couple centuries later.<div><br /></div><div>Among the many descendants of Philip Sherman and his wife Sarah Odding are former United States Presidents George H. W. Bush (9th cousin 1x removed of my husband) and George W. Bush (9th cousin 2x removed of my husband). Other descendants include James S. Sherman, US Vice President in the administration of President William Howard Taft (6th cousin 3x removed of my husband), Susan B. Anthony (5th cousin 4x removed of my husband), Janis Joplin (9th cousin of my husband), Sir Winston Churchill (8th cousin 1x removed of my husband), Mamie Eisenhower, Taylor Swift and possibly even Marilyn Monroe. This is a very interesting line that is peppered with well known names.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9xt4-qQ7NEW1385U5TFvRD0Rq5ZMq3XTrKPIvEsULWHh0D6rIOgBnvPYELfTa20f4tzkLXDAICgLDSfMpMIM0DWzxZbORTydh4BAAiI76V7OOhC5mICqwPeSRbaeaG7EPvhDBjFqUKT5z6Nl5IBGGUxKICNtgdYWfwKekdDLJje2z90whdyBKj-Bm=s845" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="845" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9xt4-qQ7NEW1385U5TFvRD0Rq5ZMq3XTrKPIvEsULWHh0D6rIOgBnvPYELfTa20f4tzkLXDAICgLDSfMpMIM0DWzxZbORTydh4BAAiI76V7OOhC5mICqwPeSRbaeaG7EPvhDBjFqUKT5z6Nl5IBGGUxKICNtgdYWfwKekdDLJje2z90whdyBKj-Bm=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Philip Sherman House in Portsmouth, Rhode Island</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In future posts, I'll share notable names from other moments in American, British, and Scottish history. We will see if my kids find any of this compelling.</div></div><div><br /></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-8983847282181632592022-01-03T05:00:00.012-08:002022-01-03T05:00:00.187-08:00Genealogy Goals for 2022<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpKcF41eqmrVtsJSTVlaYCLAed4LDiZNtyh5nDlwvRtvq7eHWmgoB-xW2DJysgtEMUw9CZdYCA8_ZG1ioO6uRrt42vhkp48a7MiF0yOOG1BRGp3_X2Z6k3AV-BEXUl-TTyWoGjwlprzIE9SddiwYPfavmoeSR3E-jkmwQ-z5KlGSEHv6l7mk4H-om4=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpKcF41eqmrVtsJSTVlaYCLAed4LDiZNtyh5nDlwvRtvq7eHWmgoB-xW2DJysgtEMUw9CZdYCA8_ZG1ioO6uRrt42vhkp48a7MiF0yOOG1BRGp3_X2Z6k3AV-BEXUl-TTyWoGjwlprzIE9SddiwYPfavmoeSR3E-jkmwQ-z5KlGSEHv6l7mk4H-om4=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>It's a new year, and time to set my <a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/search/label/Annual%20Goals">genealogy-related goals</a> for 2022. </p><p>In 2021, I wrote a series about my Dutch ancestors, the Beukenkamp family, and their experiences in The Netherlands during World War II. I also worked on scanning and organizing some of my Lacey photos. However, I didn't accomplish my 2021 goal of compiling my posts about the Laceys into a book. I'll roll that over for 2022.</p><p>In 2021, I started a small side business consulting on family history matters. Thus far, I've helped the husband of a colleague get started with Ancestry.com and learn some best practices for future genealogy research. I've supported a friend from my local genealogy society in organizing her digital files and creating storage systems that work for her. It's really rewarding to help others with their research in any small way that I can.</p><p>Another fun project I started in 2021 was rescuing family albums that have been abandoned in resale stores. For several years, I've been digitizing and sharing old photos found in junk shops and in online auctions, hoping that relatives will eventually discover them online. This project, <a href="https://foundphotographs.blogspot.com/">Found Photographs</a>, has not been a primary focus for me. However, this summer, I stumbled upon an incredible family album in our local antiques store and couldn't resist buying it in hopes of returning it to family. I was able to locate the great-granddaughter of one of the couples in the album and send the album off to her in New York. She was incredibly grateful and sent me heartfelt emails thanking me, which was so lovely. I really enjoyed researching that family and tracing the path the album had taken from New York to California. A couple of weeks ago, I found another album of a similar vintage in an online sale and snapped it up to see if I could replicate my previous success. This is not an inexpensive hobby, but it's fun and feels meaningful. </p><p>One disappointment in 2021 was that our local genealogy society continues to meet on Zoom instead of in person. I totally understand that this has been necessary, but do hope it will change as we emerge from the pandemic. While I appreciate how virtual meetings increase the reach of a group, I deeply miss seeing these genealogy friends in person and catching up with them on their lives and their work. Maybe my biggest genealogy wish for 2022 is to once again eat windmill cookies in the hallway with the MCGS group, while they regale me with their latest victories and we commiserate about our brick walls. It's been nearly two years since I've seen them, and I miss that group a lot.</p><p>One victory in 2021 was finally getting to visit the <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/en/family-history-library/">Family History Library</a> in Salt Lake City. I have wanted to go there for so long! I was just passing through Salt Lake City with my kids, and didn't have time to actually do any research, but we enjoyed all the interactive exhibits on the ground floor, and I got the lay of the land, so that when I go back (which I will!), I am ready to get to work.</p><p>Here are my genealogy goals for the coming year:</p><p>1. Compile my posts about the Lacey family into a small book that I can share with other family members. I'd like to add more details and get facts properly footnoted, so this will be a significant project. I would also like to reach out to some descendants from other Lacey lines to share this information.</p><p>2. Continue my consulting work and my new hobby of rescuing old family albums.</p><p>3. Start a fun series about notable relatives that I think my children will enjoy. As my kids get older, I am really trying to engage them with family stories that they will find interesting. Right now, they seem to primarily be intrigued by the famous ancestors, or the ones with really remarkable stories, so I'm going to write down as many of those as possible for them.</p><p>I am hopeful that things will improve dramatically in 2022, and that we'll all be in a much better place shortly. Take care of yourselves!</p><p><br /></p>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-77130026348760251972021-12-23T05:00:00.011-08:002023-06-11T10:20:26.701-07:00The Eveleth Family in Colonial America and Joseph Eveleth, Salem Witch Trials Juror<p> I've <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2018/06/who-do-you-think-you-are-connections.html">written previously</a> about my husband's 8th great-grandmother, Rebecca Addington Chamberlain, who was imprisoned and died during the witchcraft trials of the late 1600s in Massachusetts.</p><p>Recently, while researching a branch of my Smith line, I came across a whole group of family members who settled near Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s, after immigrating from Exeter, Devonshire, England. My 11th great-grandparents were Sylvester Eveleth and Susan Nubery of Exeter. The surname Eveleth is also known as Everleigh in Devon, and Sylvester and Susan's surname is sometimes spelled Evely on historical documents. Sylvester was born in 1603. He married Susan on 21 September 1630 at Exeter St. David. It is believed that they emigrated to Boston in 1642, when they are mentioned in the records of the First Church in Boston. Sylvester's occupation was recorded as baker.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEQDeYCSVkSsvMTl2zlAaOq07xYjUbdDW9mS523EE4OF5dvuaPl9Xp6f669XTZZdMKq-g0EjzA9-rERY18GJcDDsqWaOEVNHLiiE8Qw0Wbz8yJsnQZ5xqh5gLOxWQwN7vA7WxF8q_cJJhp4zcPbLRCYiOSyBvX4N5IFl2f28gw4HI3kvbaFRkoreS1=s1024" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEQDeYCSVkSsvMTl2zlAaOq07xYjUbdDW9mS523EE4OF5dvuaPl9Xp6f669XTZZdMKq-g0EjzA9-rERY18GJcDDsqWaOEVNHLiiE8Qw0Wbz8yJsnQZ5xqh5gLOxWQwN7vA7WxF8q_cJJhp4zcPbLRCYiOSyBvX4N5IFl2f28gw4HI3kvbaFRkoreS1=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. David's Church in Exeter. This building dates to 1900, but there has been a church on this site since the Middle Ages.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Perhaps the best source of information about the Eveleth family is the research published by Jonathan B. Butcher in the <i>New England Historical Genealogical Register, 134</i> in 1980-1981. The section entitled <i>Eveleth Family of Colonial New England </i>indicates that Sylvester and Susan lived in Boston only briefly before moving north to Gloucester, on Cape Ann. Sylvester quickly established himself in Gloucester. He was made a selectman in 1647 and granted a parcel of land. He was made a freeman and a chosen constable on 29 June 1652, then served again as constable in 1656 and 1669, and on grand juries in 1652, 1662, 1663, and 1666. <i>Eveleth Family of Colonial New England </i>contains the following details.</p><p></p><blockquote>In 1666, Sylvester was licensed to establish an inn, or ordinary, in Gloucester. The license was renewed through 1670, and the inventory of his estate shows ample evidence of this activity. He also must have ben involved in brewing, for he gave oath that "he would abide by the order of the Generall Court of Oct., 1667, concerning four bushels of barley malt to be put in one hogshead of beer." This fairly sedentary occupation was perhaps occasioned by attacks of gout or arthritis, for he was excused from common military training in 1666, "being detrebed in his limes."</blockquote><p>Sylvester and Susan had six children together, four daughters and two sons.</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Margaret Eveleth (b. abt. 1631 in Exeter, England; m. in 1652 Nathaniel Gallop)</li><li>Susannah Eveleth (b. abt. 1632 in Exeter, England; m. in 1656 James Stevens; d. 1688)</li><li>Mary Eveleth (b. abt. 1633 in Exeter, England; m. Thomas Millett; d. 1687)</li><li>Joseph Eveleth (b. abt. 1641 in Exeter, England; m. in 1668 Mary Bragg; d. 1745)</li><li>Hannah Eveleth (b. 1643 in Boston; m. in 1669 Nathaniel Kettell; d. 1670)</li><li>Isaac Eveleth (b. 1645 in Massachusetts; m. in 1677 Abigail Coit; d. 1685)</li></ol><div>We descend from Susannah, whose daughter, Mary Stevens, married Francis Norwood, Jr. in Gloucester in 1692. This line continues through the Thompson, Martin, Partridge and Hall families until Mary Hall (b. 1803) marries Samuel Belding Smith in 1827, connecting Eveleth descendants with our Smith line.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzTGZkffpj6w99JKv9A4mbuiwhxBtmeEC5giw-LPqIWk2ootrAAS_V7bCaZ2l4UR2ZX4TIocV2Wx4qO9Bf-XT_zuvHjMcNgNTExaFFd4GPdtD9K2nL8U68Nkh9920SWuoVRsYC8ZV_DEFfpeNRyLW5dEy_KrYGuvJD_gWDY-uBgnEuHbG-8eN-Fozx=s2594" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="2594" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzTGZkffpj6w99JKv9A4mbuiwhxBtmeEC5giw-LPqIWk2ootrAAS_V7bCaZ2l4UR2ZX4TIocV2Wx4qO9Bf-XT_zuvHjMcNgNTExaFFd4GPdtD9K2nL8U68Nkh9920SWuoVRsYC8ZV_DEFfpeNRyLW5dEy_KrYGuvJD_gWDY-uBgnEuHbG-8eN-Fozx=w400-h153" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><p></p><p>In 1668, Sylvester's eldest son, Joseph Eveleth, married Mary Bragg, the daughter of Edward Bragg of Ipswich. They settled in the Chebacco community just outside Ipswich, northwest of Gloucester. There, they had 11 children, 9 of whom survived to adulthood. Joseph retained the farm in Gloucester that he had owned prior to his marriage, and he also inherited his father's lands, meaning he had substantial landholdings. Later, he was granted additional property by his father-in-law. According to <i>Eveleth Family of Colonial New England</i>, "by the summer of 1695, Joseph possessed over 200 acres of land." Over the next decade, Joseph would leverage that land to boost the fortunes of his sons, and distributed all his property and assets to them by the time of his death in 1745, at the age of 104. Joseph and his sons were men of wealth and influence in their community.</p><p><i>Eveleth Family of Colonial New England </i>describes Joseph's early days in Ipswich and how he ended up involved in the notorious Salem Witch Trials of 1692.</p><p></p><blockquote>Despite settling in Ipswich, Joseph did not become involved in town government. This is partially attributable to his status as a newcomer in the town: indeed, his interests probably continued to focus on Gloucester and his lands there, particularly after his father's death. Another factor was the peculiar position of Chebacco which, geographically removed from Ipswich proper, early identified itself as a community with separatist feeling. Joseph was a prime mover in the establishment of Chebacco's own church in 1683 and, "his is the first name on the list of those who joined the... church after its organization...". Such a position could have placed Joseph in opposition to the established hierarchy of Ipswich proper, although we know nothing of his actual political views. In the town histories he is noted chiefly for his piety and longevity, and seems not to have sought any political offices to which his social standing might have entitled him. </blockquote><p></p><p>In 1692, the year that anti-witchcraft hysteria engulfed Salem, Ispwich, and surrounding New England communities, Joseph was about 51 years old. Had this historical moment not occurred, Joseph would have been known to us only as a prosperous and devoutly religious man who lived to be an incredible 104 years of age. However, this was not to be his only legacy.</p><p>John Proctor was born in Suffolk, England, and emigrated to Massachusetts as a young child. His family settled in Chebacco. John Proctor's father was a wealthy landowner, and it is certain that the Proctor and Bragg families would have known each other well. In 1666, two years before Joseph Eveleth married Mary Bragg and moved to Chebacco, John Proctor left Chebacco and moved to nearby Salem with his wife and children. There, Elizabeth Proctor ran a local tavern with some of the Proctor sons, while John tended to his extensive farmlands. There were some disagreements with neighbors and customers in Salem, and in 1692, Elizabeth Proctor was accused of witchcraft. John Proctor angrily and loudly defended her, and then he was also accused. Anyone who has read <i>The Crucible</i> knows the rest of this story. Elizabeth and John Proctor were imprisoned, tried, and found guilty of practicing witchcraft. John was hanged and his property taken, leaving his children destitute. Elizabeth was given a reprieve because she was pregnant, and she remained in jail until the hysteria had passed. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFBX88O34fxn9RpwarlH2W14P9FWC6WptJfrex7Xlj7nSsamdN6Yu2mJ46TqmTnS2cP8ahq9wg8iO4vJj3ehGNLXY2eP81TfGpcrclYyJmvKv6Zqu0bIOypbv34sfDM_avV_byg7qVyD7pxmv0SxBZ07ld21Pdw3oVOKaaQStlbpBOJSbYHU3ye-S7=s1280" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1280" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFBX88O34fxn9RpwarlH2W14P9FWC6WptJfrex7Xlj7nSsamdN6Yu2mJ46TqmTnS2cP8ahq9wg8iO4vJj3ehGNLXY2eP81TfGpcrclYyJmvKv6Zqu0bIOypbv34sfDM_avV_byg7qVyD7pxmv0SxBZ07ld21Pdw3oVOKaaQStlbpBOJSbYHU3ye-S7=w400-h283" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: start;">The Trial Of A 'Witch' At Salem In 1692: American Engraving, 19th Century</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><i>Eveleth Family of Colonial New England </i>describes how Joseph Eveleth was caught up in these events.</p><p></p><blockquote>His only political notoriety came quite unwelcomed: in 1692, at the height of the witch scare, he was chosen as juror in the jury that tried John Proctor. Joseph, however, came to recognize the insanity and danger of these proceedings and was one of the thirty-two that subscribed to Reverend John Wise's petition to the court which testified on the Proctor family's behalf: "That we never had the least knowledge of such a Nefarious wickedness in our said neighbors since they have been within our acquaintance... but as to what we have seen or heard of them, upon our consciences we judge them innocent of the crime objected." This petition was an act of courage in hysterical times; it was also an act of self-defense, for the Proctor case represented a dangerous extension of the accusations to persons of respectable social standing. After the witch hysteria died down and recriminations set in, the jurors were left in an uncomfortable position, and Joseph was one of those who signed a petition of regret for his participation in the proceedings. </blockquote><p>The text of this petition is below. </p><p></p><p></p>"We, whose names are underwritten, being in the year 1692, called to serve as jurors in court in Salem on trial of many who were by some suspected guilty of doing acts of witchcraft upon the bodies of sundry persons, we confess that we ourselves were not capable to understand nor able to understand the mysterious delusions of the power of darkness and Prince of the air, but were for want of knowledge in ourselves, and better information from others, prevailed with to take up with such evidence against the accused, as on further consideration and better information we justly fear was insufficient for the touching the lives of any whereby we fear we have been instrumental with others, though ignorantly and unwittingly to bring upon ourselves and this people of the Lord the guilt of innocent blood, which sin the Lord saith in scripture He would not pardon, that is, in regard to His temporal judgments. We do therefore hereby signify to all in general, and to the surviving sufferers in special our deep sense of, and sorrow for our errors in acting on such evidence to the condemning of any person, and do hereby declare that we justly fear that we were sadly deluded and mistaken, for which we are much disquieted and distressed in our minds and do therefore humbly beg forgiveness first of God, for Christ's sake, for this our error, and pray that God would not impute the gilt of it to ourselves nor others, and we also pray that we may be considered candidly and aright by the living sufferers as being then under the power of a strong and general delusion, utterly unacquainted with and not experienced in matters of that nature. We do heartily ask forgiveness of you all, whom we have justly offended, and do declare, according to our present minds, we would none of us do such things again, on such grounds for the whole world ; praying of you to accept of this in way of satisfaction for our offence, and that you would bless the inheritance of the Lord, that He may be entreated for the land."<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" id="table1" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; width: 75%px;"></table><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="table1" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td colspan="3" style="text-align: center;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote></td><td colspan="3" style="text-align: center;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote></td><td colspan="3" style="text-align: center;"><hr /></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="text-align: center;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">Signed,</blockquote></blockquote></td></tr><tr><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">Thomas Fisk, foreman of the jury</blockquote></blockquote></td><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote></td><td></td><td></td><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"> Thomas Peasley Sr.,</blockquote></blockquote></td></tr><tr><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">Wiliam Fisk,</blockquote></blockquote></td><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote></td><td></td><td></td><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"> John Peabody,</blockquote></blockquote></td></tr><tr><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">John Bacheler,</blockquote></blockquote></td><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote></td><td></td><td></td><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"> Thomas Perkins,</blockquote></blockquote></td></tr><tr><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">Thomas Fisk Jr.,</blockquote></blockquote></td><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote></td><td></td><td></td><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"> Samuel Sawyer,</blockquote></blockquote></td></tr><tr><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">John Dane,</blockquote></blockquote></td><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote></td><td></td><td></td><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"> Andrew Elliott,</blockquote></blockquote></td></tr><tr><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">Joseph Evelith,</blockquote></blockquote></td><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote></td><td></td><td></td><td><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"> Henry Herrick Sr.</blockquote></blockquote></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote></td><td colspan="3"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote></td><td colspan="3"><hr /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Joseph Eveleth lived for 52 years after his involvement in John Proctor's trial, so in many ways this was just one awful moment in an otherwise long and successful life. Given the historical importance of the Salem Witch Trials, however, it is not a moment that can be overlooked. </div><div><br /></div><div>When I was in college in Boston, I visited Salem on Halloween and saw a performance of <i>The Crucible</i> there. Little did I know that my 10th great-granduncle played a critical role in the proceedings. Learning about the Eveleths has been fascinating. Also, of note is the fact that John Proctor is my husband's 9th great-granduncle. He is descended from John's sister Mary Proctor (1633-1667). His Field ancestors and my Smith ancestors are consistently intertwined in early New England.</div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-44543337244274919672021-11-29T05:00:00.003-08:002021-11-29T05:00:00.204-08:00My Lacey Grandparents During World War II<p>I recently finished scanning some photos of my Lacey grandparents from the early years of their marriage. David Austin Lacey and Jeanette Mary Beck met in 1943 and were married on April 24, 1944 at <a href="https://www.missionscalifornia.com/missions/san-luis-rey-francia/">Mission San Luis Rey</a> in Oceanside, California.</p><p>My grandfather was serving in the U.S. Navy when he met my grandmother. He had grown up in Alameda, in Northern California, but was sent to San Diego County after enlisting in the Navy in February 1942. David was assigned to the <a href="https://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrsw/installations/nws_seal_beach/about/installations/fallbrook.html">Naval Ammunition Depot</a>, located on the east side of Camp Pendleton Marine Base, in Fallbrook. My grandmother also found herself in Fallbrook when, in 1943, her father, <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2013/07/just-how-many-times-was-george-beck.html">George Beck</a>, bought an adobe house on eleven acres on Olive Hill Road. Jeanette took a clerical job on Camp Pendleton Marine Base, and that's where she met David.</p><p>This photo is labeled, in my grandmother's handwriting, "first photo together." It was taken in November 1943. I am guessing this is at the Beck home in Fallbrook.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ILCuxujgQaY/YXYcRrNLHTI/AAAAAAAAaaY/hetiStqpzWcRKyyUBGnRC-Pi28tRPFsegCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/David%2BA%2BLacey%2Band%2BJeanette%2BBeck-%2BNovember%2B1943-%2Bfirst%2Bphoto%2Btogether.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1379" data-original-width="2048" height="215" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ILCuxujgQaY/YXYcRrNLHTI/AAAAAAAAaaY/hetiStqpzWcRKyyUBGnRC-Pi28tRPFsegCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2BA%2BLacey%2Band%2BJeanette%2BBeck-%2BNovember%2B1943-%2Bfirst%2Bphoto%2Btogether.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>This photo of my grandmother is labeled "on honeymoon with Tommie" and was taken in May 1943. I'm not sure where David and Jeanette honeymooned or who Tommie was, but it's a sweet photo.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WviQ0Awx9-E/YaLS2gTE2XI/AAAAAAAAag0/XlPURIiP44ABwNjJlqTHP2AnSm8xd8JtwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Jeanette%2BBeck%2BLacey-%2BMay%2B1944-%2Bon%2Bhoneymoon-%2Bwith%2Bchild%2BTommie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1342" data-original-width="2048" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WviQ0Awx9-E/YaLS2gTE2XI/AAAAAAAAag0/XlPURIiP44ABwNjJlqTHP2AnSm8xd8JtwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Jeanette%2BBeck%2BLacey-%2BMay%2B1944-%2Bon%2Bhoneymoon-%2Bwith%2Bchild%2BTommie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><div><br /></div><div>Several of the photos of David and Jeanette during 1944 and 1945 are labeled "the projects," which was a reference to the military housing built for U.S. Navy workers on the east side of Camp Pendleton. They lived in this housing until 1955, when Jeanette's father sold them the adobe house on Olive Hill Road. Their first house on base appears rather modest in photos, but my father says that he remembers living in two-story officers' quarters before they moved off the base, so they must have upgraded at some point between 1944 and 1955. It is curious that David and Jeanette lived in officers' quarters, as my grandfather was never an officer. My father wonders if his parents may have been given better housing due to my grandmother's bout with polio and her resulting partial paralysis, which occurred in 1949.<div><br /></div><div>Photos of my grandparents at their first home together in April 1944.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hLxagrZUdn8/YaLSN3nJ2rI/AAAAAAAAagQ/c-Wkip0pcEkqK4TE4RuytsbiNAjvEhJvQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/David%2BA%2BLacey-%2BApril%2B1944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1379" data-original-width="2048" height="215" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hLxagrZUdn8/YaLSN3nJ2rI/AAAAAAAAagQ/c-Wkip0pcEkqK4TE4RuytsbiNAjvEhJvQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2BA%2BLacey-%2BApril%2B1944.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-75E749v3YL8/YaLSN8jMDlI/AAAAAAAAagY/VFEL-2cz1dsi2Byu863HZ9rHCGsG6jMtACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/David%2BA%2BLacey-%2BMay%2B1944-%2Bhousing%2Bproject-military%2Bhousing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1359" data-original-width="2048" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-75E749v3YL8/YaLSN8jMDlI/AAAAAAAAagY/VFEL-2cz1dsi2Byu863HZ9rHCGsG6jMtACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2BA%2BLacey-%2BMay%2B1944-%2Bhousing%2Bproject-military%2Bhousing.jpg" width="320" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RyZ6xdcAqmY/YaLSa2Ei-rI/AAAAAAAAagg/dKe4FcOtzY0R-E7-4NoA1K004TW_xZ3wwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/David%2BA%2BLacey%2Band%2BJeanette%2BBeck%2BLacey%2B1945-%2Bmilitary%2Bhousing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1375" data-original-width="2048" height="215" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RyZ6xdcAqmY/YaLSa2Ei-rI/AAAAAAAAagg/dKe4FcOtzY0R-E7-4NoA1K004TW_xZ3wwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2BA%2BLacey%2Band%2BJeanette%2BBeck%2BLacey%2B1945-%2Bmilitary%2Bhousing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: #0000ee; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>There are a number of photos of David and Jeanette from around this time, often posing with their dog, Candy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C7ZfB9J1rf0/YaLUXf62tTI/AAAAAAAAag8/UVUvq0DkvsY8nZKtGfF_j2BS8N2fAY3UgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/David%2BA%2BLacey%2Bwith%2Bdog%2BCandy-%2BApril%2B1944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1369" data-original-width="2048" height="214" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C7ZfB9J1rf0/YaLUXf62tTI/AAAAAAAAag8/UVUvq0DkvsY8nZKtGfF_j2BS8N2fAY3UgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2BA%2BLacey%2Bwith%2Bdog%2BCandy-%2BApril%2B1944.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LqxiOztXots/YaLUXVXBs8I/AAAAAAAAahA/NBOE7ypIRhURN8buoEhtSMQRfHZCWmGdACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Jeanne%2BBeck%2BLacey%2Bwith%2Bdog%2BCandy%2B-%2BApril%2B1944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1369" data-original-width="2048" height="214" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LqxiOztXots/YaLUXVXBs8I/AAAAAAAAahA/NBOE7ypIRhURN8buoEhtSMQRfHZCWmGdACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Jeanne%2BBeck%2BLacey%2Bwith%2Bdog%2BCandy%2B-%2BApril%2B1944.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">David and Jeanette took these photos at Mission San Luis Rey in August 1944. They had been married at the mission five months prior.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1nq8L-UJbAI/YaLWR-YHLLI/AAAAAAAAaho/YQkwsjGSVxklrHzHnMyEKNNgKM8IO8QeACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/David%2BA%2BLacey%2B-%2BAugust%2B1944-%2BOld%2BMission%2BSan%2BLuis%2BRey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1342" data-original-width="2048" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1nq8L-UJbAI/YaLWR-YHLLI/AAAAAAAAaho/YQkwsjGSVxklrHzHnMyEKNNgKM8IO8QeACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2BA%2BLacey%2B-%2BAugust%2B1944-%2BOld%2BMission%2BSan%2BLuis%2BRey.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EDfYjqKI5-Q/YaLWR3p5LaI/AAAAAAAAahk/usLt4JL0m-MB5WDXkfpmT7HEMgaII8BRACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Jeanette%2BBeck%2BLacey-%2BAugust%2B1944-%2BMission%2BSan%2BLuis%2BRey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1327" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EDfYjqKI5-Q/YaLWR3p5LaI/AAAAAAAAahk/usLt4JL0m-MB5WDXkfpmT7HEMgaII8BRACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Jeanette%2BBeck%2BLacey-%2BAugust%2B1944-%2BMission%2BSan%2BLuis%2BRey.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In early 1945, David received muster orders from the Navy and was assigned to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wateree_(ATF-117)">USS Wateree</a>. In April 1945, one year after David and Jeanette were married, he shipped out for service in the South Pacific. These photos were taken at the adobe house in Fallbrook before his departure. Jeanette was seven months pregnant when he left.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0EYd9jSt518/YaLVNFmP_JI/AAAAAAAAahQ/h97Xd6relu0HKCAGQ1psKo4ULCPDFRNCACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/David%2BA%2BLacey-%2BApril%2B1945-%2BLast%2Bleave%2Bbefore%2Bshipping%2Bout%2Bon%2BUSS%2BWateree-%2BFallbrook%2BCA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1375" data-original-width="2048" height="215" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0EYd9jSt518/YaLVNFmP_JI/AAAAAAAAahQ/h97Xd6relu0HKCAGQ1psKo4ULCPDFRNCACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2BA%2BLacey-%2BApril%2B1945-%2BLast%2Bleave%2Bbefore%2Bshipping%2Bout%2Bon%2BUSS%2BWateree-%2BFallbrook%2BCA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kF1ZS9FqoVQ/YaLVNHwqlMI/AAAAAAAAahU/k4mjyO5FeN45i_5xiJJCcQwbYbGwaw_8QCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/David%2BA%2BLacey-%2BApril%2B1945-%2BLast%2Bleave%2Bbefore%2Bshipping%2Bout%2Bon%2BUSS%2BWateree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1395" data-original-width="2048" height="218" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kF1ZS9FqoVQ/YaLVNHwqlMI/AAAAAAAAahU/k4mjyO5FeN45i_5xiJJCcQwbYbGwaw_8QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2BA%2BLacey-%2BApril%2B1945-%2BLast%2Bleave%2Bbefore%2Bshipping%2Bout%2Bon%2BUSS%2BWateree.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>David and Jeanette's first child was born in June 1945, while David was away serving on the USS Wateree. David returned from his service in September 1945, less than a month before the USS Wateree was sunk by Typhoon Louise in Okinawa, Japan. This photo of David and his daughter was taken in November 1945. They are labeled "Alameda," so David and Jeanette must have been visiting David's father, Thomas Lacey. He was living in the family home on Pearl Street in Alameda at that time. In November 1945, they also attended the wedding of David's brother <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2016/03/wedding-wednesday-herb-florence-lacey.html">Herbert Lacey</a>, likely in nearby Fremont, California.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X8K6k_WDYQQ/YaLXf-j8qXI/AAAAAAAAah0/5aEaXHM5-QgGffH7YEk0IAOp-bZY1HRDgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/David%2BA%2BLacey%2Bwith%2Bdaughter%2BSharon%2BNov%2B1945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1388" data-original-width="2048" height="217" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X8K6k_WDYQQ/YaLXf-j8qXI/AAAAAAAAah0/5aEaXHM5-QgGffH7YEk0IAOp-bZY1HRDgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2BA%2BLacey%2Bwith%2Bdaughter%2BSharon%2BNov%2B1945.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>These photos of David were taken on that same visit to Alameda.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TRAGm0VejQM/YaLX4RV7bwI/AAAAAAAAah8/WTP1KfsU6vYATOyDfIVx_2w_8sBh252uACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/David%2BA%2BLacey%2B-%2BNov%2B1945%2Bin%2BAlameda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TRAGm0VejQM/YaLX4RV7bwI/AAAAAAAAah8/WTP1KfsU6vYATOyDfIVx_2w_8sBh252uACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2BA%2BLacey%2B-%2BNov%2B1945%2Bin%2BAlameda.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NHzNyVk0m74/YaLX4ax30uI/AAAAAAAAaiA/8jDFfId1JJQXf_b1wJJ_DazskIr_atzoQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/David%2BA%2BLacey%2B-%2BNov%2B1945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NHzNyVk0m74/YaLX4ax30uI/AAAAAAAAaiA/8jDFfId1JJQXf_b1wJJ_DazskIr_atzoQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2BA%2BLacey%2B-%2BNov%2B1945.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div><p>After World War II, my grandfather left the Navy but continued to work on Camp Pendleton Marine Base as a civilian. He was a warehouse foreman, a job he never particularly enjoyed. After the war, to keep former servicemen employed, the base hired multiple people for roles that could have been done by one person. My grandfather was essentially doing the same job as another person, and that person was a Marine. It made for a frustrating experience. David was an outgoing and fun-loving person, though, and my grandparents had a wide circle of good friends. My father recalls that most of them were commanders and ranking Navy officers. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8bE2SE3w-_k/YaMToQ-QxmI/AAAAAAAAaiU/aYPkHCffhdo1tahw0TXOnQ-wPS2ciLz0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/David%2BA%2BLacey%2Band%2BJeanette%2BBeck%2BLacey-%2BMay%2B1944-%2Bwith%2Bfriends%2BShel%2Band%2BJeanne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1426" data-original-width="2048" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8bE2SE3w-_k/YaMToQ-QxmI/AAAAAAAAaiU/aYPkHCffhdo1tahw0TXOnQ-wPS2ciLz0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2BA%2BLacey%2Band%2BJeanette%2BBeck%2BLacey-%2BMay%2B1944-%2Bwith%2Bfriends%2BShel%2Band%2BJeanne.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David and Jeanette, at right, with friends Shel and Jeanne in 1944</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>In 1955, David and Jeanette settled into the house on Olive Hill Road, where they raised their three children and lived the rest of their lives. These photos of their early years together are a treasure.</p></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-3630677381909368552021-10-25T05:00:00.061-07:002022-12-30T10:26:49.987-08:00The Children of Adriaan Beukenkamp and Alida von Gorcum: Lourens Beukenkamp (Part 2)<p>This story is the last in a series about the children of Adriaan Beukenkamp and Alida von Gorcum. Adriaan was the eldest brother of my great-grandfather, Gerhardus Beukenkamp (later George Beck), so Adriaan's children were my great-grandfather's niece and nephews. </p><p>Adriaan Beukenkamp married Alida Johanna van Gorcum in Amsterdam on August 22, 1907. They had four children together.</p><ol><li><a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-children-of-adriaan-beukenkamp-and.html">Marinus Gerhardus Beukenkamp</a>, b. 1910 in Vienna, Austria; m. Anna Elisabeth Keur; d. 1971 in Leipzig, Germany</li><li><a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-children-of-adriaan-beukenkamp-and.html">Janna Gerhardina Beukenkamp</a> b. 1911 in Vienna, Austria; m. Hendrick Coenraad Nienhuys; d. 1993 in Suffield, Connecticut, USA</li><li><a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-children-of-adriaan-beukenkamp-and_01769218342.html">Radboud Lourens Beukenkamp</a>, b. 1914 in Graz, Austria; m. Jantina Ette Mensinga; d. 1993 in Shalimar, Florida, USA</li><li>Lourens Jacobus Beukenkamp. b. 1920 in Zaandam, The Netherlands; m. Margaret Smit; d. 2007 in Dothan, Alabama, USA</li></ol><div>In my <a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-children-of-adriaan-beukenkamp-and.html">previous post</a>, I shared what I know about the youngest Beukenkamp child, Lourens. This is all thanks in large part to the autobiography Lourens wrote. Here, his story continues.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Lourens Jacobus Beukenkamp</u></div><div><u><br /></u></div>Lourens married Margaret "Greetje" Smit on May 18, 1943. They were elated to finally be wed, but the war and all its related hardships were at their peak. Shortly after the newlyweds moved into their home in Veenendaal, Lourens received an alarming notice. Here, I quote from Lourens' autobiography:<br /><blockquote>Although the Allied air forces became more noticeable by bombing the harbors and ships and shooting at the trains, Veenendaal remained relatively quiet. The German occupation forces were there but did not interfere with daily life too much until... one day I was advised that I and many other young men had to report to the "commandantur," the German headquarters. And from what was happening elsewhere I knew that it meant that they would enlist and order me to go to Germany and work in their war industry. This industry was depleted of the German workers who were all in uniform and fighting at the Russian fronts.<div><br /></div><div>That was a shocker. Quick acting was needed. I knew a fellow with a truck who still had a permit for moving. The next day our furniture was loaded and we took off for Rotterdam (Hillegersberg) and moved in with father and mother Smit again.</div></blockquote><div><br />Employment was difficult to find. Lourens took a job as a ticket seller at a circus. He and Greetje spent some months traveling around in a circus car with the circus as it moved from city to city, but eventually the Germans ordered an end to performances. Lourens and Greetje returned to Rotterdam. The war ground on and every night there were sirens as allied planes flew overhead. Citizens had to stay indoors to avoid falling shrapnel. Shortages increased, as did hunger.</div><div><blockquote>Food, clothing, coal, gasoline, coffee, tea, soap, flour and a lot of other things were not available anymore. People would travel by bicycle to the farmlands to trade with the farmers for eggs, flour, a chicken, a bottle of milk, vegetables, beans for soup, etc. They would trade with money, golden rings, a can of kerosene, blankets, you name it. Anything they hoped a farmer could use was being offered for food.</blockquote>The conscription of Dutch men and Jews intensified in Rotterdam.</div><div><blockquote>One morning Pa Smit left the house to go to his office and returned immediately. He had discovered that the Germans put a ring of soldiers around the city and rounded up every man between 18 and 55 years of age. These people were put on transports to Germany for work in the industry or on farms. In addition, all Jews had been ordered to wear a yellow star with the word "Jood" (Jew) printed on it on the breast of their clothing. This round-up or as we called it "razzia" also served to catch Jews not complying with this order and it was also hoped that they could catch a good number of the ever growing resistance numbers.</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>Mr. Smit and Lourens evaded capture by placing a sign on the house door indicating there was severe illness inside, and then rowing out onto the lake behind the Smit house and hiding in the reeds on a small island. 55,000 men were rounded up and sent to forced labor in Germany. After that, any men that remained needed a special document issued by the Germans demonstrating that they were allowed to remain in Rotterdam. Mr. Smit helped fabricate printing plates to create false documents, and he and Lourens distributed them around town. Lourens' brother Radboud was deeply involved with resistance activities in Rotterdam, and Lourens assisted with tasks like this. Despite the resistance, the Germans continued to tighten their grip, and hunger grew worse for the Dutch. Lourens and Greetje became desperate for anything that would pass as food.</div><div><blockquote>We started to look for abnormal sources of food and found it by eating tulip bulbs, some kind of weeds I picked, and making bread from spinach seeds. Especially this last one did not taste too well, it became a lump in your stomach, but it was food. On our coupons we could get one small loaf of bread per week. I became an artist in slicing this loaf so that we had over thirty thin slices. We put some of the "home made" beet syrup on it, or a bit of surrogate honey which we had and that had to last us through the week.</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jfk5fTrdTRQ/YXX5pmTY69I/AAAAAAAAaaQ/jGinsteSpyIj0X9xgsn5ivJKGVUN6imoQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/hunger.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="400" height="228" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jfk5fTrdTRQ/YXX5pmTY69I/AAAAAAAAaaQ/jGinsteSpyIj0X9xgsn5ivJKGVUN6imoQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/hunger.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dutch citizens in line at a soup kitchen, winter 1944. <a href="http://niod.knaw.nl">Source</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>Most of Rotterdam no longer had electricity or gas, and water pressure was only available occasionally. Bikes and boats had been confiscated. Lourens' downstairs neighbor, a mother of two young children, was also desperate for food, and Lourens would take her out into the country to beg at farms while Greetje watched the children. They knocked on the doors of farms and asked for food. They hid in barns, evading Germans, and were sometimes able to get vegetable soup or milk from the farmers and bring it back to the city.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the midst of this near-starvation, Greetje became pregnant and then had a miscarriage. She became pregnant again in the winter of 1944, at the height of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_famine_of_1944%E2%80%931945">Dutch famine</a> that had resulted from German blockades. Then, Greetje's parents announced plans to divorce and asked Lourens and Greetje to move elsewhere, which was a stressful and emotional situation for all of them. The young couple managed to find another place to live, and carried on searching not only for food, but for cloth and yarn that could be used to make baby clothes. On February 16, 1945, Greetje went into early labor and gave birth to twin boys. The eldest, Roderik, was allowed to go home from the hospital after a few weeks, but the other child struggled, and eventually died on April 6th. Lourens and Greetje were heartbroken, but also consumed with caring for Roderik, and struggling to provide enough nourishment to Greetje so she could feed him. However, good news was finally on the way.</div><div><br /></div><div>In March 1945, American forces captured the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, a critical moment that signaled the impending defeat of the Germans. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jQ7Uumn0lzc" width="320" youtube-src-id="jQ7Uumn0lzc"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>In April 1945, Canadian and American forces pushed into The Netherlands. German soldiers began deserting, some trying to buy civilian clothing before fleeing Rotterdam, according to Lourens' autobiography. At the beginning of May, rumors began to fly that the Germans were going to surrender. British bombers were able to fly over the north of Rotterdam and drop food bales to civilians. The war was coming to an end.</div><div></div><blockquote><div>May 5, almost exactly 5 years after the war started in Holland, the end was there and the Germans in Holland capitulated. Canadian and American jeeps, small tanks, Harley-Davidsons rolled into town and were soon followed by convoys of trucks with more food, medical help, and believe me they were welcomed with open arms. It is not possible to describe the feeling everyone had. There were a number of Dutch Nazis or collaborators with the Germans and if caught by the people they would not be treated too friendly. Men and women would be shorn bald and beaten up.</div><div><br /></div><div>The elation was unbelievable. Young people were climbing on the armored cars and tanks with flags and flowers. The soldiers were handing out cigarettes, chocolate bars and the streets were filled with happy people. German soldiers stayed in their camps and were rounded up and brought to internment areas.</div></blockquote><div></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-flWtlpfpaqA/YXX3uRyI-ZI/AAAAAAAAaaI/E4WW8jaegzIMExPfo2GJW97Lopx83z3OgCLcBGAsYHQ/s770/Tank%2BVeenendaal.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="770" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-flWtlpfpaqA/YXX3uRyI-ZI/AAAAAAAAaaI/E4WW8jaegzIMExPfo2GJW97Lopx83z3OgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Tank%2BVeenendaal.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A Canadian Sherman tank in Veenendaal, 1945. Photo: The Utrecht Archives</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>Peace did not necessarily mean more stability for Lourens and Greetje. Lourens still did not have regular employment, and finding housing was difficult. They moved in with friends, and then with Lourens' father, Adriaan. However, Adriaan's wife, Tante Stein, did not want them in her home and was cruel to Greetje, who was now pregnant again and on mandated bedrest. Lourens' eldest brother, Marinus, rescued them from Tante Stein, and allowed Lourens and Greetje to live with his family in Helmond until they were able to move into their own home. At six months, Greetje miscarried their baby girl, another devastating blow for the couple.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lourens got a job as a textile mill regulation, working for the Dutch government. Then, in Spring 1946, as the economy improved, he became plant manager of a new textile plant in Veenendaal. It was a good job, but it meant moving again. Due to a housing shortage, Lourens and Greetje were separated for several months while he worked and looked for a home in Veenendaal, and she cared for Hendrik in Helmond. In August 1946, they were reunited and moved into a fixer-upper in Helmond.</div><div><blockquote>... we made ourselves comfortable in our new surrounding and with a reasonable salary the future looked good. Christmas was approaching and we bought a small tree and together cooked and baked all day to prepare a luscious dinner. We made a Profiterol, a dessert made of a lot of small cream puffs which were built in a cone-shaped mount, glued together with caramel (burnt sugar) and filled with cream. Little Roderik was much interested in all the lights on his first Christmas tree. And we consumed the results of our many hours hard work by candlelight in about 40 minutes. We had it good.</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>It was not that easy, however. Greetje was struggling. Having lost two babies and suffered through miscarriages, endured the acrimonious divorce of her parents and resulting loss of a relationship with her mother, all while constantly moving and caring for a baby, she was in a fragile mental state. She became seriously depressed and often unable to function. Lourens and Greetje's relationship deteriorated and he left their home and moved in with Marinus. Fortunately, Greetje's father convinced her to see a psychiatrist and after months of regular therapy, her condition improved remarkably. Lourens came home and by the summer of 1947, Greetje was pregnant again. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lourens had started his own textile business during this time, focused on hand weaving. By the fall of 1947, he had some 10 people working for him, and prospects were strong. On February 22, Lourens and Greetje welcomed a daughter, Janna Marina, whom they called Marjanneke. Less than a month after her birth, Janna contracted meningitis, and she died on March 17. </div><div><br /></div><div>Life went on, despite their sorrow. Lourens and Greetje moved again. Roderik started Kindergarten. Lourens started a band, eager to once again play an instrument. Greetje became pregnant again. On May 25, 1948, she gave birth to a boy, who she and Lourens named Boudewijn. Despite some initial struggle with jaundice, Boudewijn thrived and was healthy and strong.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lourens' company encountered growing pains. As it became more successful, larger textile competitors began to block access to materials, and then demand bribes to secure necessary supplies. Lourens closed the business, having made a profit. In the Spring of 1950, Lourens' brother Radboud helped him get a job at a woolens factory in Leiden. The family moved again. </div><div><br /></div><div>In 1953, Lourens and Greetje began to seriously consider moving to America. Lourens' brother Radboud was now living in Washington, D.C. with his family. His sister Janna was living in Massachusetts with her family. Political tensions at Lourens' factory heightened, and it became clear that there would be layoffs and restructuring. In May 1955, Lourens and Greetje informed Greetje's father that they were leaving The Netherlands. When the day came, Pa Smit drove his daughter and her family to the Rotterdam Harbor to see them off.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lourens, Greetje and their two boys arrived in New York aboard the ship Black Falcon on August 30, 1955. They settled in Suffield, Connecticut, where Lourens' sister Janna lived with her husband, Hendrick Nienhuys and their four daughters. Lourens took work as a textile engineer at the Bigelow Sanford Carpet Company and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1961. He joined the Masons fraternal organization, and served as master of the Apollo Lodge in Suffield. In retirement, he moved to Dothan, Alabama, likely to be closer to his sons, who had moved south. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lourens died on November 30, 2007 in Dothan. He was 87 years old. Greetje survived him by a decade, dying in Hendersonville, Tennessee on September 27, 2017 at the age of 98. For two people who lived through horrific deprivation during World War II to survive to such advanced an advanced age is truly remarkable. I am so grateful that Lourens recorded his life's story, and grateful that his grandson shared it with me. Knowing his story, and its happy ending, is wonderful.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><br /></div></div></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-63228094975980221412021-10-04T05:00:00.015-07:002022-12-30T10:27:24.799-08:00The Children of Adriaan Beukenkamp and Alida von Gorcum: Lourens Beukenkamp (Part 1)<p>This story is the last in a series about the children of Adriaan Beukenkamp and Alida von Gorcum. Adriaan was the eldest brother of my great-grandfather, Gerhardus Beukenkamp (later George Beck), so Adriaan's children were my great-grandfather's niece and nephews. </p><p>Adriaan Beukenkamp married Alida Johanna van Gorcum in Amsterdam on August 22, 1907. They had four children together.</p><ol><li><a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-children-of-adriaan-beukenkamp-and.html">Marinus Gerhardus Beukenkamp</a>, b. 1910 in Vienna, Austria; m. Anna Elisabeth Keur; d. 1971 in Leipzig, Germany</li><li><a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-children-of-adriaan-beukenkamp-and.html">Janna Gerhardina Beukenkamp</a> b. 1911 in Vienna, Austria; m. Hendrick Coenraad Nienhuys; d. 1993 in Suffield, Connecticut, USA</li><li><a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-children-of-adriaan-beukenkamp-and_01769218342.html">Radboud Lourens Beukenkamp</a>, b. 1914 in Graz, Austria; m. Jantina Ette Mensinga; d. 1993 in Shalimar, Florida, USA</li><li>Lourens Jacobus Beukenkamp. b. 1920 in Zaandam, The Netherlands; m. Margaret Smit; d. 2007 in Dothan, Alabama, USA</li></ol><div>In previous posts, I've shared what I have learned about Adriaan and Alida's children. We've now come to the youngest Beukenkamp child, Lourens.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lourens is the Beukenkamp child we know the most about, thanks to his autobiography. I am thankful to his grandson Chris for sharing that wonderful document with me, as it contains so much personal information about the family, their lives in The Netherlands, and what they all experienced during World War II. Each of the four Beukenkamp children had very different and harrowing war experiences, and the tragedy that Lourens experienced during that time is particularly heartbreaking. I will be sharing multiple posts about Lourens' life, since there is so much material in his autobiography.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Lourens Jacobus Beukenkamp</u></div><div><br /></div><div>Lourens was born on May 15, 1920 in Zaandam, just north of Amsterdam. His family had recently returned to The Netherlands from Austria, having struggled in Austria's damaged post-World War I economy. While Adriaan Beukenkamp got re-established in his banking business, Alida and the children stayed with Adriaan's cousin, Lourens Visser, in Zaandam. Perhaps this is the reason that their youngest child was named Lourens. By the time Lourens was two, the family was on solid footing, and they moved into a home in Haarlem. Lourens was a typical boy, running around the neighborhood with friends, playing pranks on neighbors, and attending the local grammar school. However, when Alida had a stroke, followed by deteriorating health, and ultimately a permanent move to a sanitarium, things changed drastically in the Beukenkamp home. </div><div><br /></div><div>As mentioned in previous posts, a former girlfriend of Adriaan's, known to the children as Tante Stein, moved into their home to help take care of them. Unfortunately, it appears she did not actually like the children very much. Also, during this time, a cousin joined the household. Adriaan's sister, Catharina "Trine" Beukenkamp was divorcing her husband, Hendrik Krom, and they sent their son Eddie Krom to live with the Beukenkamps temporarily. Lourens and Eddie were frequently up to no good, to the great dismay of Adriaan and Tante Stein. Here is one story from Lourens' autobiography.</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>Father bought a sailboat, a "boerier" which was named Beyaard. He felt that this was a healthy activity and kept his boys off the street. Father and Radbout did the sailing and at that time I had the use of a 12-foot sailing dingy and became an accomplished little sailor myself. During one vacation day Eddie and I bicycled to the club, rigged the sails of Beyaard and took off for a grand sail, with everything from top. Did we have a ball!!! We brought the boat safely back and put her securely at her dock and put everything in ship-shape order. The next Saturday we all went sailing, and while we went aboard the old harbormaster walked by and said to my father, "Amazing sir, how those two youngsters handled that big boat last Wednesday." Boy oh boy, if i think about it again I still have trouble sitting on a hard chair.</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>Lourens was part of a local swim team and practiced nearly every day with them. He often medaled at swim meets. However, his academic efforts did not proceed as well as his athletic pursuits.</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>Eventually Eddie went back to his mother and I finished grammar school. I passed the entrance exam for high school and after the summer vacation went to my new school. Radbout had also attended this school and flunked immediately. During my first class the teacher read off the list of names to acquaint himself with the new pupils and when he saw Beukenkamp he asked "are you a brother of Radbout?" He made some nasty remarks about him and this immediately ruffled my feathers. Radbout, after flunking, was sent to the Kennemer Lyceum where he had no problems at all and graduated with honors. Well, I felt so miserable in that school that I flunked every subject badly, except for phys. ed. and art. I thought I would now also go to the Kennemer Lyceum. </blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>Tante Stein had other ideas. The other Beukenkamp children had graduated and left home by then, and Tante Stein wanted Lourens out, too. Adriaan arranged for Lourens to live with the Dijksterhuis family in Oisterwijk, a province bordering Belgium. Mr. Dijksterhuis was the science and math teacher at a school in nearby Tilburg, a city with about 50 textile factories and a textile college. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J02Di_2BLPw/YVniWPk1pHI/AAAAAAAAaWE/Kz9Tz7nezi4AJ8Nj_skNW6J7E6iXwBvgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Nieuwlandstraat.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J02Di_2BLPw/YVniWPk1pHI/AAAAAAAAaWE/Kz9Tz7nezi4AJ8Nj_skNW6J7E6iXwBvgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Nieuwlandstraat.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tilburg (photo by <a href="https://tilburgdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2011/11/nieuwlandstraat.html">tilburgdailyphoto.blogspot.com</a>) </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As mentioned in previous posts, Adriaan had a financial interest in a woolens factory, and Lourens' eldest brother, Marinus, was pursuing a career in the textiles field. Before sending Lourens to Oisterwijk, Marinus and Adriaan arranged for a summer internship with Theodor Froehner, who ran the woolens factory, and "Uncle Theo" also took Lourens on his family vacations during that time. After that happy summer, Lourens proceeded to Oisterwijk, where he joined the Dijksterhuis family, which included three young children.</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>I had a few very pleasant years with them. Mrs. Dijksterhuis played tennis with me. I was a good swimmer and was immediately picked up by the local swim club. I swam in many regattas and played in the water polo team all over the Southern part of Holland.</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>Mrs. Dijksterhuis helped Lourens create a field hockey league and practices were held on the Dijksterhuis family's large property. In his final year of high school, Lourens moved to live with his best friend, Jaap Nieveen, who lived closer to the high school, so that he wouldn't have to bicycle as far to school while balancing his cello, which he'd begun playing in the school orchestra. Then, with school completed, he began to make plans for a professional life.</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>I hoped to go to the merchant naval academy. However, when my eyes were checked I was told that they were borderline. If at the end of three years at the academy my eyes would be a bit less, I would not pass eligibility for naval service. So, that was the end of that dream. Now, I lived in a textile town, in the house of an executive of a textile factory. My father was financially tied to a textile mill in Cottbus, Germany, and you put all this together and stir it up a bit and what do you get? So, I went to the Tilburg Textile College.</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>Lourens moved into a boarding house at the college. He quickly made new friends and established a robust social life. He went to parties, played guitar in a band, began playing ice hockey, and ended up playing a thrilling game with members of the Dutch national team. However, world events were soon to disrupt Lourens' happy college years. In his autobiography, he recalled the events of May 10, 1940.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><blockquote><div>I was awakened at 3 or 4 in the morning by some fellows who were calling to each other from the open windows, rooftops and balconies of their houses.</div><div><br /></div><div>The sun was not up yet, but the sky was already lightening. Then I was told to turn on my radio and to look at the sky. While my old tube set was warming up I became aware of a funny sound up in the air and looking up I saw swarms of planes flying by. Then the radio told me that paratroopers from Germany were being dropped near the Hague and Rotterdam and that German forces had crossed the Dutch border. In other words, Holland was in the war.</div></blockquote><div></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LWJMTKpZm8I/YVnl44kAGvI/AAAAAAAAaWU/2zEk6URnWe8sSH6DIfEJ846p76eSN8bpACLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/IMG_1289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="1280" height="216" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LWJMTKpZm8I/YVnl44kAGvI/AAAAAAAAaWU/2zEk6URnWe8sSH6DIfEJ846p76eSN8bpACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_1289.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">German paratroops dropping into The Netherlands on May 10, 1940 (source: <a href="http://wikipedia.org">Wikipedia</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>The Netherlands had hoped to avoid entanglement in the war, but had mobilized its comparatively small military forces to hold back German incursion at its borders. After the invasion on May 10, 1940, the Germans and Dutch engaged in a series of battles, including a multi-day struggle for control of Rotterdam, The Netherlands' second-largest city. On May 14, 1940, the German forces decided to end the back-and-forth clashes and demonstrate the superiority of their military. They bombed the city of Rotterdam, completely flattening it. Lourens' brother Radboud was living in Rotterdam with his wife. Lourens was in Tilburg, about an hour's drive southeast. Lourens describes this time in his autobiography.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><blockquote><div>During those 5 days I was in Tilburg. When I heard the news and saw the planes flying over, I dressed in a hurry and took to the street. Under some of the larger buildings arrangements had been made for bomb shelters. Not too extensive as the Dutch did not believe they would get involved, but "just in case." I reported to one of the shelters and with a few other fellows we checked the first aid equipment, fire extinguishers, axes, etc. And then we went on the sidewalk to look up at the over flying planes and saw little white puffs around them. These resulted from the Dutch anti-aircraft guns. They were not very effective as we did not see one hit. Soon more people came out in the open and rumors started to fly.</div><div><br /></div><div>All at a sudden a small military type vehicle showed up, and then another one followed by motorcycles with side cars. At the front of those carriages were machine guns. They stopped and some soldiers got out. They were not Dutch... they were French. We were standing in the open, but these soldiers immediately walked under trees and close along the buildings. One of them addressed me and advised me to tell everybody to take cover. The possibility existed that the Germans would send fighter planes over the city and machine gun anything that moved. In addition, it would be safer to stay indoors as debris from the anti-aircraft shells could fall all over the place.</div><div><br /></div><div>This went on for two days. The second day trucks with wounded Dutch soldiers came down from the East and we could hear the rumble of the war coming nearer. The small French contingent took up a defensive position along the canal on the East side of the city. </div></blockquote><div></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1UbNdi4G4ho/YVnk207WeLI/AAAAAAAAaWM/RaHVCtiYRQYQvSKLTc9JVK8w9NagWD-BwCLcBGAsYHQ/s513/IMG_1290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="513" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1UbNdi4G4ho/YVnk207WeLI/AAAAAAAAaWM/RaHVCtiYRQYQvSKLTc9JVK8w9NagWD-BwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_1290.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Dutch anti-aircraft team (source: <a href="http://wikipedia.org">Wikipedia</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>The Dutch and French efforts were to no avail. The Germans quickly took Tilburg, and those five days concluded with the destruction of Rotterdam and the Dutch surrender. The Netherlands was in German hands. As mentioned in my previous post, Lourens bicycled from Tilburg to Rotterdam to check on his brother, Radboud, and finding him safe, they went together to visit their father. The eldest Beukenkamp, Marinus, was with the Dutch army but had sent a telegram to his father indicating that he was safe. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lourens went back to school and graduated in July 1940. With a war having just begun, it was difficult to find work, so Lourens enjoyed a great summer vacation, borrowing a sailboat and sailing with friends around local lakes. He and his friends brought along their musical instruments, and they had a summer of music and fun. The shadow of the war was always present, though. The Germans had instituted a curfew, and they had to be careful to be anchored with lights off after sundown. That summer, Lourens met a young woman named Margaret "Greetje" Smit in Warmond, and they spent happy days dancing and flirting on the sailboat. The summer eventually came to an end, and it was time for Lourens to find work.</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>Marinus had a position with Raymakers in Helmond, a large factory producing all kinds of textile products. Due to the economic situation they were not hiring personnel, but I was engaged as a volunteer. No salary, but an opportunity to put into practice what I had learned. So, I moved to Helmond and became part of the Beukenkamp family there. Again I was something like an older brother to their children, Adriaan, Hanneke and Paul. I also traveled to Rotterdam (Hillegersberg) from time to time to visit with Radbout. I also had found out that Greetje Smit lived in Hillegersberg and tried to call her.</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>Lourens spent the next year living with his brother, volunteering at Raymakers, and spending time with Greetje. The war ground on, with the biggest impact on Lourens being the curfew, blackouts, and food and gasoline rationing. In July 1941, he was able to get a paying job, at a textile factory called Regenboog. The pay was so poor that Lourens' father, Adriaan, had to help him financially. Lourens continued to look for better work, but the war had made good employment difficult to find.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><blockquote><div>At one of my visits to my father he showed me an advertisement in the paper of a company wanting to acquire larger buildings for expansion. He had the idea that such an expansion also meant additional opportunity for work. Thus I went to The Hague and applied for an interview. I was hired! It was a hand weaving factory. I do not recall what the salary was and whether that was enough to live on, but it was an improvement. They produced table covers, sofa covers, and other decorative textiles.</div><div><br /></div><div>As Hillegersberg is not too far from the Hague and a local train passed close to Margaret's house, I was invited by her parents to stay with them. This was around October of 1941 and thus did I move to the Schiebroekse Singel 41. It was very nice to be with Margaret. She went to school and I traveled back and forth to the Hague. Being so close with her, we started to dream up plans. Father Smit insisted that Margaret finish her studies and my salary was definitely not sufficient to think about marriage. But, we made plans to get engaged and during the next few months set the date for January 18, 1942.</div></blockquote><div></div><div>The Germans tightened their grip on the Netherlands, severely rationing food and creating shortages and hunger among the Dutch. Lourens started smuggling food to help Greetje and her family. Radios and bicycles were confiscated by German troops and the Dutch were miserable in their oppression. A Dutch resistance sprung up, bombing German train transports, and generally making life for difficult for the occupiers. </div><div><br /></div><div>Greetje's family wanted the young couple to wait until after the war ended to get married, when it might be easier for them to start a life together, but Lourens and Greetje were eager to marry and did not want to delay. Greetje passed her final exams on May 15, 1943, and then married Lourens on May 18. They had struggled, with all the rationing, to get supplies to host a wedding, but ultimately managed to pull together a small celebration.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><blockquote><div>Margaret again prepared most of the food and a beautiful wedding cake.</div><div><br /></div><div>I stayed the night at Radbout's house and early the next day dressed up in my formal tails. With silk hat and the bridal bouquet with Lilies of the Valley in hand, I entered the horse and buggy and was driven to her house. There I entered the house filled with relatives and close friends and kissed the bride who was gorgeous in her white wedding gown with a veil cluttered with Lilies of the Valley.</div></blockquote><div></div><div><br /></div><div>After a honeymoon in Holten, in the eastern countryside, Lourens and Greetje rented a room in a home in Veenendaal and began their lives together.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>(To be continued)</i></div><div><br /></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-24468989093978540912021-07-12T05:00:00.006-07:002022-12-30T10:28:54.544-08:00The Children of Adriaan Beukenkamp and Alida von Gorcum: Radboud Beukenkamp<p>This post continues a series about the children of Adriaan Beukenkamp and Alida von Gorcum. Adriaan was the eldest brother of my great-grandfather, Gerhardus Beukenkamp (later George Beck), so Adriaan's children were my great-grandfather's niece and nephews. </p><p>Adriaan Beukenkamp married Alida Johanna van Gorcum in Amsterdam on August 22, 1907. They had four children together.</p><ol><li><a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-children-of-adriaan-beukenkamp-and.html">Marinus Gerhardus Beukenkamp</a>, b. 1910 in Vienna, Austria; m. Anna Elisabeth Keur; d. 1971 in Leipzig, Germany</li><li><a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-children-of-adriaan-beukenkamp-and.html">Janna Gerhardina Beukenkamp</a> b. 1911 in Vienna, Austria; m. Hendrick Coenraad Nienhuys; d. 1993 in Suffield, Connecticut, USA</li><li>Radboud Lourens Beukenkamp, b. 1914 in Graz, Austria; m. Jantina Ette Mensinga; d. 1993 in Shalimar, Florida, USA</li><li><a href="https://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-children-of-adriaan-beukenkamp-and.html">Lourens Jacobus Beukenkamp</a> b. 1920 in Zaandam, The Netherlands; m. Margaret Smit; d. 2007 in Dothan, Alabama, USA</li></ol><div>In this and following posts, I'm sharing what I have learned about Adriaan and Alida's children.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Radboud Lourens Beukenkamp</u></div><div><u><br /></u></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MgSv9nZjyb8/YM5doEfh94I/AAAAAAAAZrM/KOuhoFeBEnM_dYL_rcu4cFqktMhU-MamwCLcBGAsYHQ/s975/radboud.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="975" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MgSv9nZjyb8/YM5doEfh94I/AAAAAAAAZrM/KOuhoFeBEnM_dYL_rcu4cFqktMhU-MamwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/radboud.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Radboud Beukenkamp and his wife Jantina, 1954. Photo for Forbes Magazine.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>Radboud was born on March 2, 1914 in Graz, Austria. His parents, Adriaan and Alida, moved from The Netherlands to Austria soon after their marriage, and their first three children were born there. They lived first in Vienna, then moved to Graz, where Radboud was born. In 1920, in the wake of World War I and due to ongoing financial difficulties, the Beukenkamps returned to The Netherlands, and in 1922, settled in Haarlem. There, Radboud attended <a href="https://www.kennemerlyceum.nl/">Kennemer Lyceum</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Radboud was an aspiring agronomist, an expert in the science of soil management and crop production. This was also the field that his brother-in-law, Hendrick Nienhuys, was pursuing, and I can't help but wonder if Hendrick was an early inspiration to Radboud. Radboud's brothers, Marinus and Lourens, both spent their careers in the textile industry, where their father had contacts, but Radboud was on a different path. In 1938, he graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wageningen with a degree in agricultural engineering. In 1945, he earned a Ph.D. in agricultural economics.</div><div><br /></div><div>On March 18, 1939, at the age of twenty-five, Radboud married Jantina "Tineke" Mensinga. Born January 28, 1915 in Rotterdam, Tineke was the daughter of Jan Mensinga and his wife Alida. Tineke was an athlete who rowed crew and competed in ice skating. The young couple spent their honeymoon in Austria, revisiting places that Radboud had lived as a child, and then rode a motorcycle through Germany. Just months after this idyllic period, the world was turned upside down. In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland and World War II began. On May 10, 1940, the Germans invaded The Netherlands. </div><div><br /></div><div>Radboud's eldest brother, Marinus, had been conscripted into the Dutch Army, and when the Nazis invaded, Marinus fought in the Battle of the Grebbeberg, a desperate attempt by the Dutch to hold off far superior German troops. Radboud had not been compelled to join the military, but he soon found himself in the midst of perhaps the most shocking part of the German invasion, the destruction of Rotterdam. </div><div><br /></div><div>Radboud's younger brother, Lourens, described those first days of Nazi aggression in his autobiography. Note that Lourens spells his brother's name "Radbout," while all the documentation I have for Radboud, including immigration documents and obituaries, shows the spelling "Radboud."</div><div></div><blockquote><div>I stepped on my bike and decided to ride to Hillegersberg, a suburb on the Northern border of Rotterdam, where Radbout lived. I did not know what the situation would be on the road. It was May 15, my birthday. During the first part of the trip there was not too much excitement. Sure German trucks and cars and marching soldiers, but no big destruction. So, via Breda I peddled North towards the river and found that the long Moerdijk bridge was heavily damaged. It was still possible to cross by bicycle, but motorized traffic was impossible. So, I passed and continued on my way. About one hour out of Rotterdam I encountered other bicycle riders who shouted to me that Rotterdam did not exist anymore. I did not understand what they were talking about. I peddled on and saw a huge cloud ahead of me. The closer I came to Rotterdam, the larger the cloud. And then I crossed one of the bridges leading to the center of the city.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was horrible, the fires, the stench, the confusion and I had to find a way to the Northern end of the city. I did not know what I would find there. Passing through the city was not possible. I had to detour eastward around town, through Kralingen and thus find my way to Hillegersberg. I was relieved to find that the Northern part of the city had not been bombed and happy to find Radbout and Tineke safe.</div><div><br /></div><div>They were happy to see me alive and after exchanging our experiences we tried to call father Adriaan in Haarlem. But telephone connections were disrupted. So, we decided to go to Haarlem by bike. A friend of Radbout owned a bicycle for two, a "tandem" and we set out. To go to Haarlem we had to take the highway to the Hague. As I described earlier this road had been selected by German transport planes for landing troops and equipment. I am not kidding, but there were virtually hundreds of planes on and alongside this road. All of them had holes in the cockpit windows and were riddled by machine gun [fire] along the length of the fuselage. Of course German soldiers everywhere. We did not see bodies anymore. These had already been removed. But a lot of equipment was still in the planes and we were stopped several times to help unload equipment.</div></blockquote><div></div><div>Nearly 900 people were killed in the bombing, and Rotterdam's city centre was completely destroyed.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dNrb7KsnNUw/YNgEFYp8u7I/AAAAAAAAZs0/qxKAGlldFy8m8ZVJ9e6PXgvyUUIgKJqPQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/blitz.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1241" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dNrb7KsnNUw/YNgEFYp8u7I/AAAAAAAAZs0/qxKAGlldFy8m8ZVJ9e6PXgvyUUIgKJqPQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/blitz.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rotterdam after the bombing. <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/8HjpT">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </div><div>With the advent of war, Radboud and Tineke became involved the in Dutch Resistance. From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_resistance">Wikipedia</a>:</div><div><blockquote>The Dutch resistance developed relatively slowly, but the February strike of 1941 (which involved random police harassment and the deportation of over 400 Jews) greatly stimulated resistance. The first to organize themselves were the Dutch communists, who set up a cell-system immediately. Some other very amateurish groups also emerged, notably, De Geuzen, set up by Bernardus IJzerdraat, as well as some military-styled groups, such as the Order Service (Dutch: Ordedienst). Most had great trouble surviving betrayal in the first two years of the war. Dutch counterintelligence, domestic sabotage, and communications networks eventually provided key support to Allied forces, beginning in 1944 and continuing until the Netherlands was fully liberated. </blockquote></div><div><br /></div>Lourens, in his autobiography, describes needing a work permit to avoid arrest by German occupying forces, and that he was able to obtain one through Radboud's resistance connections. Tineke's obituary states that Radboud and Tineke "were active in 'The Resistance' (the organized underground force fighting the Nazis). These life stories are legendary among family and friends." Lourens detailed the following story in his autobiography.<div><blockquote>Radbout was also deep into resistance activities. The story goes that he and a couple of others dressed as German officers and drove a German truck (stolen by the underground) to a camp just across the border of Germany. In this camp were a number of Dutch resistance workers and civilians who had been arrested by the Germans. They drove to the gate and showed their "orders" and Radbout at once became a real "Nazi." He shouted orders, produced lists of names of prisoners and told the guards to load them in the truck. He would take care of those dangerous prisoners, etc., etc. They drove away and turned back across the border into Holland where the "criminals" were relocated with farmers in Friesland and Groningen, two provinces in the North of Holland. </blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>This story also appears in Lourens' autobiography.</div><div><blockquote>One day, I returned to Radbout's house and saw a German staff-car parked close to his front door. I did not think anything of it, rang the bell and went up to their apartment. Entering the room, I almost fainted when I saw a fully uniformed German colonel sitting in a chair, conversing with Radbout. I was introduced, his name was Anton von Daatz, he was not only a true baron, but also the "orts-kommandant" or military commander of Rotterdam. I now learned that he was not a "Nazi" and was in frequent contact with people in the Dutch resistance. He would warn them if the Germans had plans for a raid in town, or, inform them when Germans would transport members of the resistance who had been caught. With this information, the "underground" could take action. I do not know what they had talked about, as he left soon after I arrived.</blockquote><div><div>In early 1945, the Nazis became suspicious of von Daatz. Lourens related the following story.</div><div><blockquote>Sometime during those 6 weeks the German colonel became suspect by German security. He was relieved of his post in Rotterdam and put in charge of a military camp near Amersfoort. But, he was afraid that this was a temporary assignment and that the Gestapo was getting information of his illegal actions on behalf of the Dutch resistance. He contacted Radbout, who went to Amersfoort. "Tony" von Daatz left his room as if he had taken a walk around the block and stepped on a "bicycle-built-for-two" which Radbout had arranged for. They peddled to Hillegersberg and Radbout provided Tony with civilian clothing. His uniform was cut in small pieces and went up in flames in the open fireplace. His leather boots were filled with stones and deposited in the lake. Then Radbout brought him to our house where we installed him on the top floor.</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>Tony von Daatz's wife and young daughter were also smuggled in from Germany. The wife was brought to live with Tony at Lourens' home, and the daughter was taken to a neighbor. Tony and the wife, who had not known each other long before the war had separated them, discovered that they hated each other and they fought constantly. However, Tony kept up his efforts for the resistance from Lourens' home, with assistance from Radboud.</div><div></div><blockquote><div>Although we had a 6 o'clock curfew, one evening someone knocked on the door. After carefully investigating we opened the door to a few fellows from the resistance. We went upstairs and had a meeting with Tony. He provided them with a sketch and completed details of the Amersfoort camp he had briefly been in charge of. This provided exact placement of anti aircraft equipment, etc. Two nights after this meeting the camp was attacked from the air.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tony would also look through a peep hole and point out some of the real dirty Nazis who were directly responsible for killing Jews and captured resistance members. Obviously this was of interest to the resistance group and they could take care of these Krauts.</div></blockquote><div></div><div><br /></div><div>I wish I knew more of these stories, but I'm not in touch with any of Radboud's descendants. I have checked various lists of Dutch resistance members online without finding any details about the Beukenkamps, but really hope to one day learn more about how Radboud and Tineke pushed back against the Nazis. </div><div><br /></div><div>During the war, Radboud and Lourens joined an amateur symphony group and played together once a week, which helped relieve some of the stress of the ongoing war and personal struggles. Amidst all of this, Radboud and Tineke became parents. They had three children during the war years, two daughters and a son, born in 1940, 1941 and 1944. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pu-dJ1RflRY/YNgHZ11xEHI/AAAAAAAAZs8/vTe-zGSrvkYpn_2uekIpydO2y-bIQ-ElACLcBGAsYHQ/s483/Liberation-Celebration-on-Near-Rotterdam-GS.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="483" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pu-dJ1RflRY/YNgHZ11xEHI/AAAAAAAAZs8/vTe-zGSrvkYpn_2uekIpydO2y-bIQ-ElACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Liberation-Celebration-on-Near-Rotterdam-GS.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;">Dutch citizens welcome liberating Canadian soldiers near Rotterdam at the war's end, May 1945. <a href="https://www.waybacktimes.com/history/celebrating-75-years-of-freedom-the-liberation-of-the-netherlands-by-the-canadian-army-in-spring-1945/">Source</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><div><br /></div><div>After the war, Radboud's many influential connections helped change the shape of his future. He and his family were sent to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Radboud served as a Dutch diplomat. In 1950, Radboud, Tineke and their children moved to Washington, D.C., where Radboud took up the post of Agricultural Counselor of the Dutch Embassy. Radboud and Tineke became Bob and Tina in America, and their fourth child was born there, in 1953. Radboud continued in his role at the embassy until 1956, when he took a job in the private sector that moved him to Portugal. For a year, served as the Managing Director of Fabrica Portuguesa de Fermentos Holandeses, a subsidiary of the Royal Dutch Yeast and Alcohol Works in The Netherlands. In 1957, Radboud and his family returned to Washington, D.C., where he assumed the role of Chief, U.S. Office of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration.</div><div><br /></div><div>In 1959, Radboud applied for U.S. citizenship. Congressman Francis E. Walter introduced a private bill to expedite citizenship proceedings for Radboud, and the paperwork that was filed in support of this bill makes for fascinating reading. The affidavits submitted on Radboud's behalf note that he spoke six languages (Dutch, German, English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish), and list his impressive educational and career accomplishments. The impetus for this citizenship push was the fact that American Machine & Foundry Co. wanted to hire Radboud and then send him to Europe to work in their foreign operations division. Frank X. White, Vice President of International Operations for American Machine & Foundry Co. wrote the following in a statement to Congress:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>Dr. Beukenkamp, with a masters degree in engineering and a PH.D. in economics, has an outstanding record as an international trade expert, as well as a fine record as a diplomat for his country of origin, The Netherlands.</div><div><br /></div><div>AMF wants to send Dr. Beukenkamp to Europe to be employed in our international operations, which at the same time are in the interests of the U.S. economy.</div><div><br /></div><div>The possession of U.S. citizenship by Dr. Beukenkamp would render him considerably better qualified to perform his functions, which AMF has in mind for him, now and in the future.</div><div><br /></div><div>As an individual, Dr. Beukenkamp is a man of highest character and I believe would be a definite asset the country as a whole.</div></blockquote><div></div><div><br /></div><div>Radboud was granted American citizenship. In the following years, he and his family lived in Geneva and Mexico City. In the 1960s, they returned to Washington, D.C., when Radboud accepted a role with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was sent on diplomatic postings to Italy and Brazil in the years that followed, and lived in New Orleans for a time before retiring in Florida. </div><div><br /></div><div>Radboud died in Shalimar, Florida on January 5, 1993, at the age of 78. Tineke died in Shalimar on September 8, 2018, at the age of 103. They left behind children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and undoubtedly a lot of amazing stories.</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216409583942688947.post-91364060415644737532021-07-05T05:00:00.006-07:002023-02-19T22:02:17.253-08:00The Children of Adriaan Beukenkamp and Alida von Gorcum: Janna Beukenkamp Nienhuys<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLKMTMcqEovh6Ywlzk4mzSzPb7yoOOLVg9gS0DuBRYnESX06rXqGaiDjdqgVPx-oGRanxDpqaJjlnW3CTEOgIffzQEOgc7E1GWWGNLkkfjIUZln2jHS0GTOg0--Ap-eKJ2a3gE2rBfdEdCai6axi2yFCX3Sv_630_fXbxA-CrgKAZY-hcNa20NZTkH" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="518" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLKMTMcqEovh6Ywlzk4mzSzPb7yoOOLVg9gS0DuBRYnESX06rXqGaiDjdqgVPx-oGRanxDpqaJjlnW3CTEOgIffzQEOgc7E1GWWGNLkkfjIUZln2jHS0GTOg0--Ap-eKJ2a3gE2rBfdEdCai6axi2yFCX3Sv_630_fXbxA-CrgKAZY-hcNa20NZTkH=w148-h320" width="148" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>This post continues a series about the children of <a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-children-of-marinus-beukenkamp-and.html">Adriaan Beukenkamp</a> and Alida von Gorcum. Adriaan was the eldest brother of my great-grandfather, Gerhardus Beukenkamp (later George Beck). While George was beginning a life in the United States, his brother Adriaan was raising a family in The Netherlands. </p><p>Adriaan Beukenkamp married Alida Johanna van Gorcum in Amsterdam on August 22, 1907. They had four children together.</p><ol><li><a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-children-of-adriaan-beukenkamp-and.html">Marinus Gerhardus Beukenkamp</a>, b. 1910 in Vienna, Austria; m. Anna Elisabeth Keur; d. 1971 in Leipzig, Germany</li><li>Janna Gerhardina Beukenkamp b. 1911 in Vienna, Austria; m. Hendrick Coenraad Nienhuys; d. 1993 in Suffield, Connecticut, USA</li><li><a href="http://knowtheirstories.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-children-of-adriaan-beukenkamp-and_01769218342.html">Radboud Beukenkamp</a>, b. 1914 in Graz, Austria; m. Jantina Ette Mensinga; d. 1993 in Shalimar, Florida, USA</li><li>Lourens Jacobus Beukenkamp. b. 1920 in Zaandam, The Netherlands; m. Margaret Smit; d. 2007 in Dothan, Alabama, USA</li></ol><div>In this and following posts, I'm sharing what I have learned about Adriaan and Alida's children.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Janna Gerhardina Beukenkamp</u></div><div><br /></div><div>Janna was born in Vienna on July 13, 1911. She was the second child of Adriaan and Alida, and their only daughter. The family returned to The Netherlands in 1920, following World War I, and settled in Haarlem in 1922. There, Janna attended <a href="https://www.kennemerlyceum.nl/">Kennemer Lyceum</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, Janna's brother Lourens barely mentions her in his autobiography, likely because she was nine years older than him, and left The Netherlands after her marriage, but it's a shame to not have the sort of personal recollections about Janna that Lourens shared about his brothers. Luckily, Janna's life story was told in the book <i>Heroic Nurses</i> by Robin McKown (published 1966) and was digitized on <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nienhuys-janna">Encyclopedia.com</a>. Here is an excerpt from Encyclopedia.com about Janna's early years:</div><blockquote>[Janna] was raised in the Dutch town of Haarlem, where she met and fell in love with her future husband Hendrick Nienhuys, the grandson of Jacobus Nienhuys, the founder of the Dutch Sumatra tobacco industry. They planned to marry and settle in Sumatra, where Hendrick intended to follow in his grandfather's profession. While Janna waited for Hendrick to finish his advanced agricultural studies and to serve in the Dutch military, she studied for a year at the Sorbonne in Paris, then returned home to attend teachers' college. Thinking that she might face some medical problems in the tropical climate of the East Indies, she impulsively enrolled for nurses' training and after three years earned an R.N. from the Binnen Gasthuis in Amsterdam.</blockquote><p>Born in Amsterdam on October 22, 1912, Hendrick was the son of Jan Willem Nienhuys and Alida Maria Versteegh. Hendrik received his Masters Degree in Agronomy, the study of soil chemistry and economics, from Wageningen University, Holland in 1937. Janna and Hendrick were married on December 3, 1937, after his graduation. Encyclopedia.com provides more details about the events following Janna and Hendrick's marriage.</p><blockquote>[Hendrick and Janna] immediately left for Sumatra, settling on a tobacco plantation outside of Medan, where Hendrick was employed as an agricultural consultant. Their first house was primitive, without electricity or running water, but they had five dedicated Sumatran servants to take care of their every need. The couple had a daughter and enjoyed an idyllic life until 1939, when Hitler invaded Poland. </blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_whwMc6SR_s/YNd65TASufI/AAAAAAAAZss/PPUoEAjlzD0kSP7A7j_gZU4wLOPHIB6eACLcBGAsYHQ/s1174/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-06-26%2Bat%2B12.06.40%2BPM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="840" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_whwMc6SR_s/YNd65TASufI/AAAAAAAAZss/PPUoEAjlzD0kSP7A7j_gZU4wLOPHIB6eACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-06-26%2Bat%2B12.06.40%2BPM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The location of Medan, in North Sumatra (Indonesia), where Janna and Hendrick lived.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>From 1937-41, Hendrick was a member of the research department of Deli Maatschappy, Indonesia, involved in research and development, breeding, fertilization and testing of tobacco, palm oil and rubber. He and Janna were happily settled in Sumatra, but the war was about to upend their lives. From Encyclopedia.com:<blockquote>Initial concern gave way to true alarm in May 1940, when Rotterdam was bombed, and the Nienhuyses realized that they were cut off from Holland entirely. In 1941, they traveled to the United States to visited Hendrick's parents, who had fled there from occupied Holland. When they returned, they took up residence in a more modern house in Medan. By that time, it was clear that Sumatra would figure highly in Japan's quest for territory, and to prepare for possible invasion, the Dutch women of Medan organized a Civil Defense Corps for which Janna, who had just given birth to her second daughter, taught a first-aid course.</blockquote><div>Given how horrific the war years were in The Netherlands, you might assume that Janna and Hendrick were very lucky to have left their homeland before World War II began. Unfortunately, moving to Sumatra put them squarely in the South-East Asian Theatre of the war, part of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_War">Asia-Pacific War</a>, and they ended up suffering perhaps more than any of the Beukenkamps.</div><div><blockquote>The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast Pacific Ocean theater, the South West Pacific theater, the South-East Asian theater, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Soviet–Japanese War. <br /><br />The Pacific War saw the Allies pitted against Japan, the latter aided by Thailand and to a lesser extent by the Axis allies, Germany and Italy. Fighting consisted of some of the largest naval battles in history, and incredibly fierce battles and war crimes across Asia and the Pacific Islands, resulting in immense loss of human life. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_War">Wikipedia</a>)</blockquote></div><div><br /></div>Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Dutch East Indies declared war on Japan. Hendrick enlisted in the Dutch Army on December 7, 1941. Janna remained in Medan with her two young daughters. Encyclopedia.com explains what happened next.<blockquote>Janna, the only trained nurse in the area, continued her Civil Defense work, readying the women of Medan for what appeared to be inevitable attack. They had their first hands-on experience in the wake of a Japanese air raid, during which a number of young Sumatran soldiers were injured. They performed magnificently, treating the wounded and keeping them comfortable until the Red Cross arrived to transport them to the hospital.<br /><br />The small armies of the Dutch East Indies were helpless against the invasion of the Japanese, and on March 11, 1942, Janna was confronted by several Japanese soldiers stealing supplies from her kitchen larder. Days later, several officers entered her house without knocking and ordered her to pack her things and move out. Janna collected what household supplies she could carry and with her young children took refuge in the house of a friend. A month later, the entire town—now only women and children—was rounded up in the town square and then taken to a deserted rubber plantation, where they were interned under Japanese guard.</blockquote><p>The rounding up of civilians was taking place all over Asia, as explained by novelist Isabel Wolff for the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29665232">BBC</a>.</p><blockquote>Once Japan had conquered South-East Asia, the Europeans, Americans and Australians who had been living there as planters, teachers, missionaries and civil servants were rounded up and trucked away to the 300 "civilian assembly areas" - in reality concentration camps - that the Japanese had created. Ten thousand British were interned in China, Singapore and Hong Kong, while 3,000 Americans were interned in the Philippines, at Santo Tomas.<br /><br />By far the largest group were the 108,000 Dutch civilians, 62,000 of them women and children, who were sent to camps on Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Timor. Their ordeal was to last three and half years and would claim the lives of 13,000, due to starvation, exhaustion and disease.</blockquote><p>These civilian camps were horrifying, and the women and children confined in Sumatra were subjected to overcrowding and brutality. Encyclopedia.com relates what Janna experienced during her imprisonment.</p><blockquote>Placed in dozens of small houses originally built for Sumatran workers, the women and children lived six to each 9×9 room. They slept on the floor, and the able-bodied chopped trees and cleared land for planting, under the careful watch of their Japanese guards. Food, though scarce, was adequate for the adults, but not for the children, although the Sumatran women were expert at utilizing native plants for spices to enhance the bland food. Nienhuys quickly assumed the position of camp nurse, using what few medical supplies she had thought to pack with her household goods. She treated cuts and scrapes, tended to the malnourished children, and even delivered the babies of women who had conceived before their internment. Without a doctor to consult, she frequently relied on intuition and common sense, which worked in most instances, although a number of the younger children died during their first year in camp.<br /><br />By the end of the first year, food rations were cut and hunger became an ever-present problem, and Janna feared more and more for her own children. She also knew nothing of her husband's plight, as news from the outside never reached the camp. The women were eventually ordered to pack up and once again march to the train, which transported them deep into the jungle. They were then marched through the rain and thick mud to yet another converted rubber plantation, surrounded by barbed wire. This time, they were housed in long wooden barracks with earth floors and wooden benches along the sides, providing them with no privacy. Sanitation was primitive and as the level of the wells sank, water was rationed. What food was available was inedible, and Janna was eventually forced to trade the treasured diamond she had hidden in one of the children's rag dolls for a single cup of rice. She continued to tend the sick and injured, although she was now completely out of supplies and there was little she could do but make her patients comfortable and see to it that they did not die alone.</blockquote><p>What Janna did not know was that her husband, Hendrick, was also a prisoner of war. His unit surrendered to the Japanese Army in March 1942, and Hendrick was imprisoned at a different camp in Sumatra from that date until March 1946. In his POW camp, Hendrick contracted beriberi, a disease caused by vitamin-B deficiency, due to the meager food rations given to the prisoners. He also struggled with malaria.</p><p>In September 1945, Janna received a note in her husband's handwriting asking for her whereabouts. She replied, but never got a response. At that point, it was becoming clear to the detainees that the tide of the war was changing, and that perhaps the war might actually be over. Of course, the war in Europe had ended on May 8, 1945, but the Japanese fought on. Allied victory was declared in Asia on August 15, 1945. British planes dropped food and supplies on Sumatra, and British doctors were allowed to enter the civilian detainee camps. It was then that the imprisoned women and children learned that the war was over. From Encyclopedia.com:</p><p></p><blockquote>The women prisoners were not immediately released, as the English occupation army had to arrange transportation and a place for them to stay. They left camp in small groups, but Janna stayed on to tend the sick until the camp was emptied.</blockquote><p></p><p>After Janna and her daughters were freed, she was able to locate Hendrick and nurse him back to health. The Nienhuyses left Sumatra, briefly returned to The Netherlands, and then settled in White Plains, New York. They later moved to Massachusetts and then Connecticut. Once recovered, Hendrick resumed his work. He and Janna had two more daughters, in 1948 and 1953. In 1951, Hendrik was named Vice President of H. Duys Co., Connecticut Valley, managing all aspects of shade grown wrapper tobacco. He did research and development for the control of blue mold on the Connecticut Valley grown crops. Later, he became the General Manager of Duys Nurseries, in charge of all aspects of starting and developing a container grown nursery. Janna traveled the East Coast, giving speeches about her war experience.</p><p>Janna died in Suffield, Connecticut on August 3, 1993, at the age of 82. Henrick died in Suffield on October 27, 2001, at the age of 89. Their descendants largely remain on the East Coast.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k7TMMbECbbk/YM672eNe67I/AAAAAAAAZrY/bzzfMeVG-hwX2JBqnG23lNzIhmaKGPWAACLcBGAsYHQ/s1837/Janna%2BNienhuys%2Bobitu.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1837" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k7TMMbECbbk/YM672eNe67I/AAAAAAAAZrY/bzzfMeVG-hwX2JBqnG23lNzIhmaKGPWAACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h223/Janna%2BNienhuys%2Bobitu.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obituary for Janna Nienhuys in the Hartford Courant, August 4, 1993</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17084306881984142254noreply@blogger.com0