DAD

 A lot of times when I think of Dad the mental picture I have of him is of the way he looked nearly everyday, dressed in work clothes, mostly in green but sometimes gray and wearing low cut tan work boots with white sox. A pack of Camels would be in the shirt chest pocket and he’d be sitting at the kitchen table, coffee mug in hand as he looked out the window. That’s how I usually found him when I got up for breakfast in the morning or when I came out to the kitchen just before dinner to help set the table. It’s appropriate that I see him in my minds eye dressed for work because except for the last month of his life Dad was a worker. As I’ve said before, he was born up in Bethel, Oxford County, Maine and grew up in Upton and Wilson’s Mills. He left there to enlist in the Army during World War 2 and ended up living the rest of his life down here in Massachusetts. But I think he was still a Mainer at heart. He listened more than talked in conversations, nodding or smiling at whatever someone said, then would finally make a comment or ask a question before going back into listener mode. A typical taciturn Mainer. Dad worked hard all his life at various jobs: landscaping; a stint in the fledgling electronics industry at Atlas Engineering, and LFE: Railway Express; and the Post Office. But for most part he worked in the glass business installing windshields, mirrors, and windows. He was good with his hands at building and repairing things. When we moved into the house in Abington he extended the concrete front steps of the house, converted the breezeway into another room complete with sliding glass doors, and built a playroom in the cellar that became my new bedroom after my little brother was born and my old bedroom was turned into Phil's nursery. He was not much for a display of emotions but he was there for us kids to put together toys and bikes and as we grew older to help us when our cars broke down. When Phil came along Dad almost acted out the joke about the nervous expectant father. Mom told him it was time and he got the suitcase in the car and was out the driveway before he realized he that had left Mom standing on the breezeway. If Dad had any regrets I think one might have been washing out of the Air Corps back during the war; he couldn’t take high altitude. When we were living in Malden he’d sometimes bring Cheryl and I over to the small Revere Airport to watch the planes land and take off. Maybe he was thinking of what might have been while sitting there in the car? Dad and Mom were quite active in the VFW from the mid 1960’s on and they were fixtures at the Saturday night dances at the Hall. Dad usually wore his blue blazer or tan sport coat for those. I don’t recall him as dancing to many fast dances when I saw him dance but slow songs would find him out there dancing with Mom. Life was never all that particularly easy for my folks financially. Like a lot of folks they had ups and downs and often were working more than one job. But they kept us fed and clothed and healthy. They were just ordinary people raising their family as best they could. One day after Dad died the song “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” came on the radio and Mom teared up. That's how I found out it was one of Dad’s favorite songs and that when they played it at the Saturday Dances Dad would actually sing it along with Mom as they danced. Dad? Singing? But I’ve thought about the lyrics to the song a few times since then and the more I thought about it I realized how that song fit my Dad: Raindrops keep fallin' on my head But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red Cryin's not for me' Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin' Because I'm free Nothin's worryin' me -words by Hal David, music by Burt Bacharach @1969

OUR HOWLAND MAYFLOWER DESCENT

 

About a year ago I discovered my West family may be descended from Mayflower passenger John Howland. But I hadn't had a chance to dig deeper . Looking into Probate files from AmericanAncestors.org. I found Mary West receiving part of the estate of James Bearce Sr. in 1728. 

 

Then I found a James Bearse (Jr?)taking guardianship of three sons of Elisha West's sons in 1738/9 after Elisha's death. 

 

Elisha West was married to Mary Bearce.

 

Mary Bearce was the daughter of James Bearce. and Experience Howland, whose grandfather was John Howland of the Mayflower.

 

That's all I could find so far that isn't behind a paywall.

 

ANOTHER HOPKINS MAYFLOWER CONNECTION

 

 Now that the John Cutter West brickwall has come down, I have new branches of the family to explore. Recently I took advantage of the week of free access to all the databases at the AmericanAncestors.org website to fill in some gaps. Many of my early West ancestors came from Barnstable County, Massachusetts and so far I hadn't found many documents online for them, but there were databases on AmericanAncestors that I was able to see during that free access week.

So I started in on investigating the family of my 5x great grandmother Sarah (Hamilton) West, tracing it back with vital records, probate files and town and family histories. Much to my surprise and delight, I found another connection to Mayflower passenger Stephen Hopkins. I had previously discovered one with his daughter Constance (Hopkins) Snow; this new one was was with his son Gyles/Giles Hopkins. Here's a relationship from Gyles/Giles to my Dad:

As I said, there are vital records and probate files for many of the people in this line, and I'll be discussing them  here as I go along. But I found other family lines that I will list in the next posts.

MY ALLERTON AND WARREN ANCESTRY

 

  Whenever I am talking or writing about my Mayflower descent, for some
ironic reason I always forget about Remember Allerton. The reason for the
irony is that both my Dad's parents were Allerton descendants: Pop from
Remember Allerton and Grandma Bertha from Mary Allerton.:


Allerton #1 through Ellingwood Line

Isaac Allerton & Mary Norris
Remember Allerton & Moses Maverick
Abigail Maverick & Samuel Ward
Martha Ward & John Tuthill(Tuttle)
Martha Tuthill(Tuttle) & Mark Haskell
Martha Haskell & John Safford
Ruth Safford & Samuel Haskell
Martha Haskell & Moses Houghton
Sally Houghton & James Thomas Dunham
Florilla Dunham & Asa Freeman Ellingwood
Clara Ellingwood & Phillip Jonathan West
Floyd Earl West Sr  & Cora B Barker
Floyd Earl West Jr &  Anne Marie White



Allerton #2 through Barker Line


Isaac Allerton & Mary Norris
Mary Allerton & Thomas Cushman
Sarah Cushman & Adam Hawkes
John Hawkes & Mary(Margery)Whitford
Eva Hawkes & John Bancroft         Eunice Hawkes & Jacob Walton
John Bancroft & Mary Walton
Sally(Sarah)Bancroft & Francis Upton
Hannah Upton & Cyrus Moore
Betsey Jane Moore & Amos Hastings Barker
Charlotte Lovenia Barker & Frank W Barker
Cora B, Barker & Floyd Earl Wesrt Sr
Floyd Earl West Jr and Anne Marie White.

My Warren ancestry comes through my Ames line

Warren #1 Through Ames Line

Richard Warren  &  Elizabeth (?)
Mary Warren & Robert Bartlett
Mary Bartlett & Jonathan Mowrey(Morey)
Hannah Mowrey(Morey) & John Bumpas
Mary Bumpas & Seth Ellis
Mary Ellis & Ephraim Griffith
John Griffith & Mary Boyden
Polly Griffith & Jonathan Phelps Ames
Arvilla S. Ames & John Cutter West
John Cutter West & Louisa Richardson
Phillip Jonathan West & Clara Ellingwood
Floyd Earl West Sr & Cora B Barker
Floyd Earl West Jr and Anne Marie White.



Warren #2 Through Dunham Line:

Richard Warren & Elizabeth (LNU)
Ann Warren & Thomas Little
Hannah Little & Stephen Tilden
Mary Tilden & James Thomas
John Thomas & Abigail Dunham
Mary Thomas & John Dunham
James Dunham  & Cynthia Packard
James Thomas Dunham & Sally Houghton
Florilla Dunham & Asa Ellingwood
Clara Ellingwood & Philip J West
Floyd E West Sr & Cora Bertha Barker

MY ELLINGWOOD MAYFLOWER ANCESTRY

 

 Back when I first started researching the family genealogy online I was
thrilled to discover we were descended from several Mayflower passengers.
At one point I even carried around a small folded up piece of paper
in my wallet with the lines of descent to show when discussing genealogy
with some customer at the bookstore. But I lost that some time ago, so I
thought I'd post them here for other family members.

The first three lines come down through my Ellingwood ancestry from
Stephen Hopkins, Thomas Rogers, and James Chilton.

Hopkins Line
Stephen Hopkins and Mary____
Constance Hopkins & Nicholas Snow
Elizabeth Snow & Thomas Rogers
Eleazer Rogers & Ruhamah Willis
Experience Rogers & Stephen Totman
Deborah Totman & Moses Barrows Jr.
Asa Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood Jr
Asa F. Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Clara Ellingwood & Philip West
Floyd West Sr & Clara Barker
Floyd West Jr & Anne M White

Rogers Line
Thomas Rogers & Alice Cosford
Joseph Rogers & Hannah___
Thomas Rogers & Elizabeth Snow
Eleazer Rogers & Ruhamah Willis
Experience Rogers & Stephen Totman
Deborah Totman & Moses Barrows Jr.
Asa Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood Jr
Asa F. Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Clara Ellingwood & Philip West
Floyd West Sr & Clara Barker
Floyd West Jr & Anne M White

Chilton Line
James Chilton & ?
Isabella Chilton & Roger Chandler
Sarah Chandler & Moses Simmons
Moses Simmons Jr & Patience Barstow
Patience Simmons & George Barrows
Moses Barrows & Mary Carver
Deborah Totman & Moses Barrows Jr.
Asa Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood Jr
Asa F. Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Clara Ellingwood & Philip West
Floyd West Sr & Clara Barker
Floyd West Jr & Anne M White