ELISHA HOUGHTON HAD A GUN,,, AND THEN HE DIDN'T

    ((Today is the 249th Anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. Several of my ancestors took
part in the battles, including my 5x great grandfather Elisha Houghton. I first posted this on 21
August, 2012:)) 

I mentioned my ancestor Elisha Houghton the other day and
that he was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. I found this
story about him in History of the Town of Harvard, Massachusetts
1732-1893 by Henry Steadman Nourse (p323):

"Coliney of the Massachusetts Bay.

To the Honnorabel General Coart seting at Watertown the Petion
of Elisha Houghton a Solder under Comand of Captan Hastings in Conl
Whitcomb's Rigement in the year 1775 and I was in the fight on Bunkers
hill So Called in Charlston on the 17 of June in the year 1775 as above
sd and on my Return I and others Lited on one Jacob Davis who was
wounded who requested our help and in tacking Care of the sd Davis
Caused me your Petinor to take Mistick Road to convey the sd Davis to
where he thought he could be tacken Care of and in so Doing 1 came
acros by Winter hill to go to head Quater at Cambridge and in Coming
by the Gard of Connal Starks which was set on sd hill they took away
my Gun which I and others that Knew sd Gun Judged to be worth teen
Dolers. I Endevuered to Recover my Gun again but was Denied the
Same which may be made Evident to this Coart by Reading the Paper
acompining this Petition. 1 also Sertify this Coart that I have Never
Reseved my Gun since Nor any Consideration for the same. I therefore
your Poor Petitioner Humbly Pray that this Coart would be Pleased to
take my Case into your Consideration and alow me Pay for my Gun
and your Petitioner as in Duty bound Shall Ever Pray. Bolton Jan. the —
1776 Elisha Houghton

This may Certify that Elisha Houghton of Col Whitcomb's Regiment
in Capt. Hasting's Company was in the Action on Bunker's hill and
helping bringing the wounded men off to Cambridge went mistick Road over
Winter hill and the Guard that was set on winter hill took away the Guns,
and this sd Houghton's Gun was among the Rest, the next Day with [a]
number of others sd Houghton went in order to Get his Gun with an officer
with him, but could not find it and have Never heard of it since—as I know of.

Josiah Whitney, Lt. Col. of sd Rgmt.
Dorchester Camp Febury 29th. 1776"

I don't know if Elisha ever got recompensed for his lost gun, but I suspect he
was one of the earliest victims of "requisitioning" in the American military tradition.

FATHERS DAY 2024

 

 In honor of Fathers Day I'm posting pictures of some of the fathers on my family tree. From the Wests:

Our Dad, Floyd E West, Jr.

 

Great grandfather Philip J. West, Cousin Stanley & Grandfather Floyd E West, Sr.

2x great grandfather Jonathan P.West & wife Louisa Almata (Richardson)West

3x Great grandfather John Cutter West

Some of the maternal grandfather's from Dad's family:

2x great grandfather Asa F Ellingwood & wife Florilla (Dunham)Ellingwood.

2x Great grandfather Amos Hastings Barker & wife Betsy Jane (Moore) Barker.

3x Great grandfather Philip Richardson

4x great grandfather Moses Coburn

 And the only pictures I have from Mom's side of the family:

Great grandfather John McFarland & wife Annie (Kelley)McFarland.

Great Grandfather Edward J White.

Happy Fathers' Day!

MOTHERS DAY 2

 In honor of Mother's Day, here are pictures of our Dad's female ancestors.

First, on his mother's side:

Amos H Barker & Betsey J (Moore) Barker

Our 2x great grandmother Betsey Jane Moore was born on 16 Aug 1842 at Waterford,
Oxford, Me. She married Amos Hastings Barker in 1856 and they raised a family of
12 children, 11 of whom survived to adulthood. Betsey died 12Mar 1924 at age 82.

My great grandmother Charlotte Lovenia Barker is the lady on the right.

 Our great grandmother Charlotte Lovenia Barker was youngest of  Amos & Betsey's
12 children. She was born on 3 Aug 1879 in Albany, Oxford, Maine and was known as
":Lottie". She married her first cousin Frank W. Barker on 16Oct 1898 and they had
4 children before Frank died in 1905 from pneumonia caused by "La Grippe" (the flu).
She was married three more times before her death on 3Jan 1944 at Bangor, Maine.   

Cora Berthella (Barker) West & her great granddaughter Mindy Sue West

Our grandmother Cora Berthella (Barker) West was born 27Oct 1899 and was the eldest
child of Frank and Charlotte. She preferred the name Bertha, although it was given as
Cora on her marriage certificate. Bertha married Floyd E.West Sr on 24Mar 1919 and
had 5 children, one of whom was our Dad.

 On his Dad's side of the family:

Arvilla (Ames)West

Our 3x great grandmother Arvilla Ames was born in Livermore, Androscoggin, Maine
on 25Jan 1810, one of 10 children. She married John Cutter West on 23Sep 1827
at Sumner, Maine, and five years later they moved to Letter B Plantation (later renamed
Upton), Oxford, Maine. She had 10 children, 3 of whom died in a diphtheria outbreak
in 1862. She died at age 97 at Hermon, Maine.

Louisa A.(Richardson) West

Louisa Richardson, our 2x great grandmother was born in Wilton, Maine on
23Jun 1837 at Wilton, Maine.  She was the second wife of Jonathan Phelps West,
whose first wife had died in the 1862 diphtheria outbreak. Louisa and Jonathan
married on 31Jan 1865 and had 4 sons. She died 4Oct 1925 at age 88.

Florilla (Dunham) Ellingwood & Asa F Ellingwood

Our other paternal 2x great grandmother was Florilla Dunham who was born 29Aug
1832 at North Paris, Oxford, Maine. She married Asa F. Ellingwood on 10Aug 1850
at Woodstock, Oxford, Maine and 11 children.(She was one of 11 children herself.)
She died in Paris, Oxford, Maine on 21Feb 1917.

Clara (Ellingwood) West

Finally, our great grandmother  Clara Ellingwood was the 8th child and youngest
daughter of Florilla and Asa Ellingwood. She was born 6Mar 1865 in Dummer, Coos,
NH. Her first marriage with Charles Tidswell ended in divorce and she married our
great grandfather Philip J West on 25May 1894 at Shelburne, Coos, NH. She had
three children by her first marriage and two by her second, including our grandfather
Floyd E West, Sr. Sadly, Clara died young after an illness in Augusta, Maine on 10Apr
1901. She was only 36 years old.

And those are the pictures we have of the mothers in our family.

Happy Mothers Day! 

MOTHERS DAY 1

 

 Once again for Mothers Day I'm posting photos of our family's mothers, starting with the maternal line of my family..

For our Mom's side we don't have very many since her grandparents immigrated
here from Ireland and Germany in the 19th century.

 

John McFarland & Annie (Kelley) McFarland

First there's Anna Kelley, born 1Oct 1858 in Kiltrustan, Roscommon, Ireland. She married
my great grandfather in Edinburgh Scotland on 16May1879 and shortly after they came
to America and settled in Boston. She had 17 children, 10 of whom survived to adulthood.
Anna died 15Feb 1945 at Boston, Ma. at age 86.

Pauline (Offinger) White

Our other maternal great grandmother was Pauline Offinger, born 17Dec 1873
in Cambridge, Massachusetts to German immigrant parents. She married Edward J.
White on 27Nov 1895 in Boston, Ma. and had 9 children.          

Agnes (McFarland) White

Our grandmother Agnes (McFarland) White was born 7Oct 1898 in Boston, Ma, the
14th of John & Annie's 17 children. She was known as "Aggie" in the family.
She married Edward F.White, Sr. and had two children, our Uncle Ed and our Mom
Anne Marie. She died 12Feb 1957 in Malden Ma.

Anne M. (White) West

Finally, our Mom, Anne M. (White) West. She was born 7Jul 1927 at Boston, Ma and
married our Dad on 29Jun 1947, also at Boston. To her McFarland cousins she was
known as "Red White". She died on 28Jul 1999 at Weymouth, Ma and she is missed by
my brother, my sister, myself and the rest of the family.

ON THIS DATE: APR. 24th

 

ON THIS DATE:

MARRIAGE:

24 Apr 1669 8x ggp Philip Brown & Mary Buswell were married at Salisbury, Ma.

 

DEATHS:

24 Apr 1666 8x ggm Mary Parker died at Scituate, Ma.

24 Apr 1656 11x ggf John Tidd died at Woburn, Ma.

24 Apr 1676 8x ggf Simon Willard died at Charlestown, Ma.

THE SHOT HEARD 'ROUND THE WORLD

  Today is the 249th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington & Concord which
started the American Revolution on 19Apr 1775.

These are our colonial ancestors from our Dad's family lines for whom I have
so far been able to discover records that they took part in those battles and served in the
Revolution:



Jonathan Barker Jr. My 5x great grandfather
Was a Minuteman from Methuen Ma with rank of Sergeant.
He responded to Lexington and Concord with his sons
Served in Captain Samuel Johnson's Company in
Colonel Titcomb's Regiment for 2 months in 1777 in Rhode
Island and then with Nathaniel Gage's Company in Colonel
Jacob Gerrish's guards from Dec 1777 to l Apr 1778 guarding
the captured troops of General Burgoyne.


Jonathan Barker 3rd  My 4x great grandfather
Enlisted on 19 Apr 1775 in Continental Army, Capt. John
Davis' Company, Col. James Frye's Regiment, in the
Massachusetts line for 8 months in Cambridge, Ma. At the
conclusion of the term, he reenlisted for another 3 months in
Capt John Allen's Company, Colonel John Waldron's Regiment,
General Sullivan's Brigade in the New Hampshire Brigade at
Charlestown, Ma. He then enlisted a third time in June 1778
at Methuen, Ma., joining Captain Samuel Carr's Company, Col.
James Weston's Regiment, in General Lerned's Brigade at
White Plains, N.Y. and serving for another 9 months.

John Ames   My 5x great grandfather
Was a Minuteman under Capt. Asa Parker on April 19th,
1775. He then enlisted in the Continental Army under Captain
Oliver Parker, Col. William Prescott's Regiment and
in the Brigade that was commanded in turn by Generals
Putnam, Lee, and Washington and served for 8 1/2 months.

 

Asa Barrows    My 4x great grandfather
A member of the militia from Middleborough , Ma. (south of
Boston) in the Company of Captain Joshua Benson, in Colonel
Cotton's Regiment, and General William Heath's Brigade for
8 months during the siege of Boston. In December 1776 he
joined a militia Company commanded by Captain Joshua
Perkins and marched to Barrington, R.I. and was stationed
there for 6 weeks. In July 1780 he again enlisted, this time
in a militia company commanded by Captain Perez Churchill
that marched to Tiverton, R.I. .

Moses Coburn  My 4x great grandfather
Moses Coburn got into the War late and by reason of being
"hired by a certain class of men in the then town of Dunstable
to go into the Continental Army in the summer of 1781."
When he reached Phillipsburgh in New York he was placed in
Captain Benjamin Pike's Company, in the Regiment of the
Massachusetts line commanded by Lt. Colonel Calvin Smith in
which he served for nearly two years until it was broken up.
He then transferred to the Company of Judah Alden in the
Regiment commanded by Colonel Sprouts until his discharge
in 1783.

Samuel Haskell   My 5x great grandfather
Samuel served in Captain Joseph Elliott's Company in Colonel
William Turner's Regiment and then under Captain Hezekiah
Whitney in Colonel Josiah Whitney's Regiment.


Amos Hastings   My 5x great grandfather
Amos  responded to the Lexington Alarm as part of
Captain Richard Ayer's Company and Colonel William
Johnson's Regiment. He later served in Captain Timothy
Eaton's Company in Colonel Edward Wigglesworth's Regiment
and was at the taking of the British General Burgoyne at
Ticonderoga.

Elisha Houghton   5x great grandfather
Enlisted at Harvard Ma as a Private in May of 1777 in the
Massachusetts militia and was at the Battles of Bunker Hill
and Stillwater. He then enlisted for three years in the infantry
company commanded by Captain Joshua Brown in Colonel
Timothy Bigelow's 15th Regiment of the Massachusetts line.
and took part in the Battles of Monmouth and Newport and
was at Valley Forge. He twice was promoted to Sergeant and
twice was busted back down to the ranks.

Amos Upton    My 5x great grandfather
Responded to the Lexington Alarm and marched there from
his home in Reading. He later joined the militia company
commanded by Captain Asa Prince as an orderly sergeant
and then enlisted for eight months in the Continental Army
under Colonel Mansfield. He was at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
He was discharged in October of 1775.

John Griffith  My 5x great grandfather
Enlisted in 1781 as a Matross (he swabbed out the barrel of
the cannons after they fired, or so I've been told) in Captain
William Treadwell's Company in Colonel John Crane's
Artillery Regiment.


Reuben Packard   My 5x great grandfather
A Sergeant in Captain Josiah Hayden's Company in Colonel
Bailey's militia. They marched to Lexington at news of the
Alarm. He also responded several more times as a Minuteman
for a total of nearly 8 months duty.


Jonathan Abbott   My 5x great grandfather
Served as a Sergeant in the Militia under Captain Henry
Abbott and responded to the Lexington Alarm


Samuel Stowe  My 5x great grandfather
Minuteman from Sherborn, Ma. Served in Capt. Benjamin Bullard's
Company in Col. Asa Whitcomb's 5th Massachusetts Bay
Provincial Regiment.


Besides those direct ancestors, these other relatives fought
in the Revolution:

Moses Barrows, brother to Asa Barrows.

Samuel, Jesse, and Benjamin Barker, sons of Jonathan
Barker, Jr. and brothers to Jonathan Barker 3rd.

James Swan, brother in law to Jonathan Barker.

ON THIS DATE: APR. 3rd

ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
3 Apr 1665 6x ggm Elizabeth Briggs was born at Sandwich, Ma.
3 Apr 1712 6x ggm Keziah Shuttleworth was born at Wrentham, Ma.

DEATHS:
3 Apr 1693 10x ggf Edward Bumpas died at Marshfield, Ma.
3 Apr 18385x ggf Amos Upton died at Norway, Me.

ON THIS DATE: APR. 2nd

 ON THIS DATE

 BIRTHS:
2 Apr 1678 7x ggf Henry Haskell was born at Gloucester, Ma.
2 Apr 1637 9x ggf Jonathan Morey was born at Plymouth, Ma.

DEATHS:
2 Apr 1697 8x ggf John Ellis died at Sandwich, Ma
2 Apr 1833 5x ggf John Ames IV died at Canton, Me.

ON THIS DATE: APR. 1st

 ON THIS DATE:

BIRTH:
1 Apr 1646 8x ggm Deborah Barnes was born in Salisbury, Ma.

MARRIAGE:
1 Apr 1639 9x ggp William Parker & Mary Rawlings were married in Scituate, Ma.

DEATH:
1 Apr 1688 9x ggf John Beal died in Hingham, Ma.
1 Apr 1777 5x ggf Abel Moore died in Bolton, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 31st

ON THIS DATE:

MARRIAGE:
31 Mar 1727 7x ggp John Nutting & Mary Spaulding were married in Chelmsford, Ma.

DEATHS:
31 Mar 1657 9x ggr John Ayer died in Haverhill, Ma.
31 Mar 1687 9x ggf John Tuttle died at Rumney Marsh, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MAR.30TH

ON THIS DATE:

DEATHS:

30 Mar 1703 8x ggf Benjamin Abbott died at Andover, Ma.

30 Mar 1665 10x ggf Richard Linton died at Lancaster. Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 29th

 ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
29 Mar 1726 5x ggf Thomas West was born at Kingston, Ma.
29 Mar 1638 8x ggf Thomas Rogers died at Duxbury, Ma.

DEATH:
29 Mar 1671 9x ggf George Hayward died in Concord, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MAR.25TH

 ON THIS DATE:
ARRIVAL:
25 Mar 1880 ggp John McFarland & Anna Kelly arrived in New York from Ireland.

;MARRIAGES:
25 Mar 1691 7x ggp Samuel Herrick & Sarah Leach were married in Salem, Ma.
25 Mar 1727 6x ggp Samuel Hamilton & Bethiah Stewart were married in Chatham, Ma.

DEATHS:
25 Mar 1797 6x ggm Eve (Hawke) Bancroft died in Lynn, Ma.
25 Mar 1720 8x ggp John Pierce died in Woburn Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 24th

 

ON THIS DATE: MARCH 24TH

 0N THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
24 Mar 1689 7x ggm Zerviah Holt was born at Andover, Ma.
24 Mar 1684 7x ggf Jeremiah Dean was born at Dedham, Ma.

MARRIAGES:
24 Mar 1645 10x ggp Robert Ware & Margaret Hunting were married at Dedham, Ma.
24 Mar 1919 gp Floyd Earl West Sr. & Cora Bertha Barker were married at Errol, N.H.

 DEATHS:
24 Mar 1671  10x ggf Edmund Greenleaf died at Boston, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 23rd.

 

ON THIS DATE:

BIRTH:

23 Mar 1821 3xggm Regine Xiane Frederika Kaufman was born in Wurtemburg, Germany

 

MARRIAGE:

23 Mar 1718 6xggp Ebenezer Ellingwood and Sarah Tuck were married at Beverley, Ma. 

 

DEATHS:

23 Mar 1678 9x ggf Gamaliel Beaman died at Dorchester, Ma

23 Mar 1676 9x ggf John Ellis died at Plymouth, Ma.

23 Mar 1698 10x ggf Thomas Brewer died at Hampton, N.H.

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 15th

ON THIS DATE

BIRTH:
15 Mar 1735 6x ggf Jonathan Williamson was born at Georgetown,Me.


DEATHS:
15 Mar 1646 10x ggf Rice Cole died at Charlestown, Ma.
15 Mar 1641 9x ggm Isobel (Denton) Halstead died in Concord, Ma.
15 Mar 1708  7x ggf John Doane died at Eastham, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MAR.14th

 

ON THIS DATE:

BIRTH:

14 Mar 1721 5x ggf James Swan was born at Methuen, Ma

 

MARRIAGE:

14 Mar 1655 8x ggp Ralph Ellinwood & Elenor Lynn were married at Beverley, Ma.

 

DEATHS:

14 Mar 1663 9x ggf James Pitney died at Marshfield, Ma.

14 Mar 1697 9x ggf William Barnes died at Salisbury, Ma

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 13th

 ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
13 Mar 1830 2x ggf Nathaniel Swan Barker was born at Newry, Me.
13 Mar 1648 8x ggf John Abbott was born ar Andover, Ma.
13 Mar 1667 8x ggm Abigail Lakin was born at Groton, Ma,

DEATHS:
13 Mar 1676 10x ggf John Nutting died at Groton, Ma
13 Mar 1672 10x ggf Adam Hawkes died at Lynn, a

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 12th

 ON THIS DATE:

MARRIAGE:
12 Mar 1766 6x ggp John Laughton & Jane Adams were married at Pepperell, Ma.
DEATH:
12 Mar 1671 9x ggf Thomas Little died at Marshfield, Ma.
12 Mar 1924 2x ggm Betsy Jane (Moore) Barker died at Newry, Me.
12 Mar 1691 9x ggf Samuel Ward died at Quebec, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 7TH

  0N THIS D ATE
BIRTHS:
7 Mar 1749 5x ggm Mary Walton was born in Reading, Ma.
7 Mar 1643 8x ggf John Pierce was born in Woburn, Ma

MARRIAGE:
7 Mar 1722 6x ggp Joseph Herrick & Mary Woodbury were married at Beverly, Ma.


DEATHS:
7 Mar 1662 10x ggf William Mann died at Cambridge Ma
7 Mar 1693 10 ggm Mary Wight (Ellis) died at Medfield, Ma.
7 Mar 1716 9x ggf John Bumpas died at Rochester, Ma.
7 Mar 1718 7x ggm Sarah Beaman (Sawyer) died at Lancaster, Ma.
7 Mar 1760 6x ggf John Spaulding died at Chelmsford, Ma

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 6th

ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
6 Mar 1709 6x ggf John Safford was born in Ipswich, Ma.
6 Mar 1865 ggm Clara Ellingwood was born in Dummer, Me.

MARRIAGE:
6 Mar 1744 6x ggp Jacob Walton & Eunice Hawkes were married in Reading, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 5TH

ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
5 Mar 1704 7x ggm Eleanor Estey was born in Rochester, Ma.

DEATHS:
5 Mar 1768 8x ggf John Laughton Sr. died in Harvard, Ma.
5 Mar 1735 7x ggm Hannah (Challis) Dow died in Seabrook, NH.

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 4TH

 ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
4 Mar 1676 7x ggm Mary West was born in Beverly, Ma.
4 Mar 1664 8x ggm was born in Ipswich, Ma.
DEATH:
4 Mar 1688 9x ggf John Gay died in Dedham, Ma.
4 Mar 1670 8x ggm Elizabeth (Sutton) Safford died in Ipswich, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 3RD

 ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
3 Mar 1656 8x ggf John Bancroft Sr. was born in Reading, Ma.
3 Mar 1689 7x ggm Zerviah Holt was born in Andover, Ma.

DEATHS:
3 Mar 1691 9x ggf John Giddings died in Ipswich, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 2nd

  ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH
2 Mar 1693 6x ggf Elisha West was born at Duxbury,Ma.


DEATHS:
2 Mar 1669 8x ggf John Dunham died at Plymouth, Ma.
2 Mar 1651 9x ggf John Crow died at Yarmouth, Ma.
2 Mar 1688 9x ggf Benjamin Butterfield died at Chelmsford, Ma.
2 Mar 1718 7x ggf Joseph Tuck died at Beverly, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MAR. 1st

ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
1 Mar 1708 7x ggf Daniel Boyden was born in Dedham, Ma.

MARRIAGE:
1 Mar 1642 10x ggp William Green Sr. & Hannah Carter were married in Charlestown, Ma.

DEATHS:
1 Mar 1785 6x ggf John Laughton 3rd died in Norridgewock, Me.
1 Mar 1676 10x ggm Ursula (Scott) Kimball died in Ipswoch, Ma.
1 Mar 1646 9x ggf William Learned died in Woburn, Ma.
1 Mar 1696 10x ggf Richard Holden died in Groton, Ma.
1 Mar 1902 2x ggf Patrick J. White died in Malden Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 28th

 ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
28 Feb 1668 7x ggm Hazadiah Fairbanks was born at Lancaster, Ma.
28 Feb 1639 8x ggf John Moore was born at Sudbury, Ma.
28 Feb 1744 5x ggm Betty Whitcomb was born at Bolton, Ma.

MARRIAGES:
28 Feb 1683 9X ggp George Adams & Martha Fiske were married at Arlington, Ma.
28 Feb 1827 3x ggp Wesley Coburn & Lucy Stowe were married at Newry, Ma.

DEATHS:
28 Feb 1687 9X ggf John Hoyt died at Amesbury, Ma
28 Feb 1708 8x ggf Richard Reith died at Marble head, Ma

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 27th

ON THIS DATE:
MARRIAGE:
27 Feb 1639 8x ggp Francis West & Margery Reeve were married in Duxbury, Ma.

DEATH:
 27 Feb 1877 3x ggf Wesley Coburn died in Albany, Me.   

ON THIS DATE: FEB.26th

ON THIS DATE:
MARRIAGES:
26 Feb 1730 7x ggp Seth Ellis & Mary Bumpus were married in Rochester, Ma.
26 Feb 1767 5x ggp Samuel Stow & Abigail Dana were married in Dedham, Ma.

DEATHS:
26 Feb 1670 8x ggf Edward Spaulding died at Chelmsford, Ma.
26 Feb 1715 8x ggf John Tuthill died in Ipswich, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 23rd.

ON THIS DATE:

BIRTHS:
23 Feb 1656 7x ggf Nathaniel Tay was born in Woburn, Ma.

DEATHS:
23 Feb 1795 5x ggf Moses Barrows Jr. died in Cornish, NH.
23 Feb 1692 10x ggf Richard Hildreth died in Chelmsford, Ma.
23 Feb 1642 9xggm Frances (Tuxbury) Hoyt died in Salisbury, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 22nd

 ON THIS DATE:
MARRIAGE:
22 Feb 1787 4x ggp John Laughton IV and Lydia Ann McGraugh were married in Norridgewock Me.

DEATH:
22 Feb 1672 9x ggf John Howland Sr. died in Plymouth, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEB.21st

 On This Date:
BIRTH:
21 Feb 1724 5x great grandmother Sarah Herrick was born at Beverly, Ma.
 
DEATHS:
21 Feb 1779 6x great grandfather William Buswell died at Kingston, NH
21 Feb 1917 2x great grandmother Florilla (Dunham) Ellingwood died at Paris, Me.

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 20th

  On This Date:
BIRTH:
20 Feb 1696 6x great grandmother Susannah Hoyt was born at Amesbury, Ma.
20 Feb 1668 7x great grandfather David Whitcomb was born at Bolton, Ma.

MARRIAGE:
20 Feb 1634 10x ggp George Giddings and Jane Lawrence were married at St.Albans, Herefordshire, England.

DEATHS:
20 Feb 1666 9x great grandfather Thomas Safford died at Ipswich, Ma.
20 Feb 1669 9x great grandfather William Bachelder died at Charlestown, Ma.
20 Feb 1712 8x great grandfather Nathaniel Gay died at Dedham, Ma.
20 Feb 1638 8x great grandfather Paul Sears died at Yarmouth, Ma.
20 Feb 1721 7x great grandfather Peter West died at Plymouth, Ma

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 19th

ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
19 Feb 1723 6x ggm Sybil Willard was born in Gloucester, Ma.
19 Feb 1679 9x ggf Benjamin Shuttleworth was born in Dedham, Ma.

DEATHS:
19 Feb 1728 6x ggf John Hasting Sr. died in Haverhill, Ma.
19 Feb 1717 9x ggf Joseph Morse Jr.died in Sherborn, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 17th

On This Date:

 

BIRTH:

17 Feb 1642 9x great grandmother Elizabeth Kendall was born at Reading, Ma.

17 Feb 1743 5x great grandfather Abel Moore was born in Bolton, Ma.

 

DEATHS

17 Feb 1696 9x great grandfather Francis Dane died at Andover, Ma

17 Feb 1700 8x great grandfather Edward Colborne died at Chelmsford, Ma.

17 Feb 1732 9x great grandfather George Adams died at Lexington, Ma.

17 Feb 1745 8x great grandmother Hannah (Poor) Dane died at Andover, Ma.

17 Feb 1776 5x great grandfather Jonathan Crowell died at Liverpool, Nova Scotia

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 15th

On This Date:

BIRTHS:

15 Feb 1675 7x great grandfather Joseph Keith was born at Bridgewater, Ma

15 Feb 1780 4x great grandmother Martha Haskell was born at Harvard, Ma.

15 Feb 1693 7x great grandmother Abigail Gay was born at Dedham, Ma.

DEATHS:

15 Feb 1806 5x great grandmother Abigail (Mitchell)Barker died at Methuen, Ma.

15 Feb 1846 5x great grandmother Mary (Boyden) Griffith died at Livermore Falls, Me.

15 Feb 1655 10x great grandmother Eleanor (Sharp) Phelps died at Salem, Ma.

JONAS PRESCOTT & MARY LOKER

 

 ((This was first posted on 7Jul 2008. It's a nice story with probably a

little truth to it, but true or not it makes a good Valentine's Day story)).


I mentioned in my previous post about John Prescott that
there is a romantic (and probably romanticized) story about
his son Jonas Prescott's courtship of Mary Loker. I've found it
recounted in several different books on Google Books, and
while I'm not entirely sure it's true, it does make for another
interesting family tale.

The story is that Jonas and Mary fell in love but her parents
John Loker and Mary Draper had other plans for their
daughter. They wanted her to marry a lawyer, a man of
prospects, not the son of a blacksmith who was following his
father in the family trade and they forbade Mary from any
more contact with Jonas. One version told by Caleb Butler in
"The History of the Town of Groton" says the Lokers even
went so far as to install gratings on the windows of her room
and would lock her inside if Jonas was nearby. But even this
drastic measure didn't stand in the way of love:

"He (Jonas) took opportunities when the cold wind blew
and the pelting storm raged when no listener could overhear
the soft whispering of true lovers to place himself beneath
her grated window and there enjoy sweet communion
with his dearly beloved ."

But eventually Mary's parents found out about this trickery.
Perhaps Jonas' idea of a whisper in a storm was a bit too loud?
At any rate, Mary's parents next decided to send her away to
a secluded village so Jonas could not find her while they looked
for a more suitable prospect for Mary's hand in marriage.
They sent her off to the small frontier town of Chockset which
is now Sterling, Massachusetts.


Jonas searched for Mary until one day while traveling near
Chockset he met some men of his own age and asked if they
knew of any pretty girls in the area. They told him there was
a quilting and a dance that night in Chockset and invited him
to come along.

You can see where this is going, I bet!

Jonas found Mary Loker and they continued to meet in secret
for some time until her parents once more found them out.
Mary's stubborn insistence that she would never marry any
man but Jonas Prescott at last forced her parents to give in,
although they did so with the angry condition that they would
provide no dowry for the bride. Legend says that the young
couple set up their household with so few essentials that
Mary used a large hollowed out pumpkin shell for a washpot!

I'm a bit skeptical about that pumpkin part but I think the
opposition of the Lokers to Jonas Prescott pressing his suit for
their daughter might have some truth to it. After all, although
Jonas' father John was well off, he was not exactly in the good
graces of the Puritan government, and the Lokers might have
had their hearts set on young Mary marrying someone who
could eventually rise to a position of power. Ironically, the
Prescotts eventually became one of Massachusetts' most
distinguished families.

I am descended from Elizabeth Prescott b 23Jan 1676,
d. 18Mar 1744.

She married Eleazer Green about 1694 or 1695. Their daughter
Elizabeth married John Ames(Eames), and their descendant
Arvilla Ames married my ancestor John Cutter West

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 14th

 

Big Valentines Day list:

 

What better day for one of my Lovejoy ancestors to get married? And the other ancestors married today had a Valentine's Day baby three years later!

 

It's a significant date in the Barrows family, too.

 

On This Date:

 

BIRTHS:

14 Feb 1635 9x great grandfather Zerubabbel Endicott was born at Salem, Ma.

14 Feb 1654 7x great grandmother Hannah Jefes(Jefts) was born at Chelmsford, Ma.

14 Feb 1678 7x great grandfather Stephen Abbott was born at Andover, Ma.

14 Feb 1697 5x great grandfather Moses Barrows was born at Carver, Ma.

 

MARRIAGES:

14 Feb 1694 6x great grandparents George Barrows & Patience Simmons were married at Carver, Ma.

14 Feb 1711 7x great grandparents Henry Lovejoy & Sarah Farnum were married at Andover, Ma.

14 Feb 1734 6x great grandparents Ephraim Abbott & Hannah Phelps were married at Andover, Ma.

 

DEATHS:

14 Feb 1671 10x great grandmother Sarah (Wyeth) Fiske died at Watertown, Ma.

14 Feb 1672 9x great grandmother Agnes (Napper)Woodbury died at Salem, Ma.

14 Feb 1692 8x great grandfather John Barrows died at Plymouth, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEB.13th

 Amos and Edith were cousins.

ON THIS DATE:
MARRIAGE:
13 Feb 1766 5x ggp Amos Upton & Edith Upton were married in No. Reading, Ma.

DEATH:
13 Feb 1686 8x ggf John Doane died in Eastham, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 11th

 

On This Date:

DEATHS

11 Feb 1661 9x great grandfather Anthony Colby died at Salisbury, Ma.

11 Feb 1697 7x great grandfather Robert Swan died at Haverhill, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 12th

 ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
12 Feb 1670 7x ggm Ann Ordway was born in Newbury, Ma.
12 Feb 1691 7x ggm  Mary Whitford was born in Lynn, Ma.

MARRIAGE:
12 Feb 1706 8x ggp John Laughton Sr. & Sarah Swain were married in Reading, Ma.

DEATHS:
12 Feb 1689 8x ggf Joshua Lazell died in Hingham, Ma.
12 Feb 1778 6x ggm Anne (Wetherbee) Stow died in Framingham, Ma.
12 Feb 1957 gm Agnes (McFarland) White died in Malden, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 9th

ON THIS DATE:

MARRIAGE:

9 Feb 1778 5xggp Johannes Krehwisch & Christine Wenner were married at Evangelisch, Neckarwestheim, Neckarkreis, Wuerttemberg, Germany

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 8th

ON THIS DATE:

BIRTH:
8 Feb 1664 10th ggm Hannah Badcock was born in Sherborn, Ma.

MARRIAGE:
8 Feb 1855 2xggp Patrick Kelly & Anne Byrne were married in Stokestown, Ireland

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 6th

 

On This Date:

MARRIAGE:

6 Feb 1705 6x great grandparents John Spaulding & Mary Barrett were married at Chelmsford, Ma.

 

DEATHS:

6 Feb 1675 9x great grandmother Elizabeth (Sawtelle) Sterling died at Haverhill, Ma.

6 Feb 1698 10x great grandfather Thomas Flagg died at Watertown, Ma.

6 Feb 1735 7x great grandfather Joseph Dow died at Hampton, NH

6 Feb 1680 9x great grandmother Ann (Linton) Waters died at Charlestown, Ma.

6 Feb 1742 8x great grandfather Jonathan Moore died at Bolton, Ma

HOW I DID IN 2023

 I didn't do one of these posts last year. My energy had been low the last few years and my blogging was the lowest point since I has begun. But I had a renewal thanks to someone stealing my Facebook account. 

For years I had been posting the daily Births, Marriages and Deaths of my family, and when I lost the FB account I decided to post them here on West in New England. That decision resulted in 132 posts here in 2023; I'd only posted 146 times from 2020-2022. 

It also resulted in some of those "On This Date" posts making the yearly top ten viewed posts:

ON THIS DATE: JAN. 17th 162
MY ALLERTON & WARREN MAYFLOWER ANCESTRY 157
THE INDIAN ATTACK ON RUTLAND,MASSACHUSETTS, 14 AUGUST,1723 144
ON THIS DATE: NOV. 30th 135
ON THIS DATE: JAN. 5th 133
LOCAL HISTORY - THE NORTH ABINGTON RIOT 128
CHRISTMAS MEMORIES: I WAS THE GRINCH'S HENCHMAN  123
THE BATTLE OF LOVELL'S POND BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 120
ON THIS DATE: JAN 6th 114
ON THIS DATE: SEPT 16TH 114

The all time viewed list has changed markedly from two years ago. The ways of web crawl ers are beyond my ken.

MEMORIES OF MALDEN
3.25K
THE FIFTH ANNUAL GREAT GENEALOGY POETRY CHALLENGE POSTS
2.47K
MY 2020 GENEAPLANS
1.73K
52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 52:WILLIAM LONGLEY. OF GROTON, MA.
1.58K
53 ANCESTORS #5:JOHN SAFFORD .OF HARVARD, MA.
1.09K
THE SHOT HEARD `ROUND THE WORLD
1.09K
FINDMYPAST LAUNCHES SIX COUNTIES IN SIX MONTHS
1.08K
53 ANCESTORS #9:GEORGE GIDDINGS. OF IPSWICH, MA.
1.06K
MY GREAT MIGRATION ANCESTORS
1.05K
53 ANCESTORS #8:MARK HASKELL JR. OF IPSWICH, MA.
1.03K

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 4th

 ON THIS DATE:
CHRISTENING:
4 Dec 1643 8x ggf Isaac Woodbury was christened in Beverly, Ma.
DEATH:
4 Feb 1717 8x ggf Joseph Herrick died in Salem, Ma.
4 Feb 1772 8x ggm Sarah (Swain) Laughton died in Harvard, Ma,

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 3rd

 On This Date:

BIRTHS:
3 Feb 1683 7x great grandmother Mary Clarke was born at Lynn, Ma.
3 Feb 1757 4x great grandfather Amos Hastings was born at Haverhill, Ma.
 

DEATHS:
3 Feb 1635 10x great grandfather John Maverick died at Dorchester, Ma.
3 Feb 1693 10x great grandfather Edward Bompasse/Bumpus died at Marshfield, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 2nd

 

On This Date:

BIRTHS:

2 Feb 1683 8x great grandmother Mary Flagg was born in Watertown, Ma.

2 Feb 1647 9x great grandfather George Adams was born in Watertown, Ma.

 

DEATH:

2 Feb 1776 7x great grandfather Henry Lovejoy died at Andover, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 1st

On This Date:

BIRTHS:

1 Feb 1717 9x great grandfather Nathaniel Dana was born at Cambridge, Ma.

1 Feb 1656 8x great grandfather Samuel Parker was born at Chelmsford, Ma.

1 Feb 1642 9x great grandmother Mary Bartoll was born at Salem, Ma.

1 Feb 1640 8x great grandmother Rebecca Waters was born at Dorchester (now Boston) Ma.

17TH BLOGIVERSARY: LOOKING BACK

 I first posted this blog 17 years ago on 23Jan 2007. I'm surprised it's still here, especially after the last few years when my enegy lagged a bit due to health issues. But I seem to have gotten my second wind back and I've repurposed the blog a bit, and so I had a resurgence in 2023.

Anyway, I thought for this year's blogiversary I'd reprint that very first post:

BEGINNING

Well, this is a bit more serious minded a blog then I've done before.It will deal with my thoughts on researching my family lines, the Wests and Whites, and the times in which they lived. I hope also to comment on books that might be of use.

A bit of information at the start. I'm a late middle aged guy with a computer and time on my hands at night,and I've a limited income. I suppose I'm closer now to upper lowerclass than lower middleclass these days. I work in a book store and my salary is less than some teens working close shifts at McDonald's make per hour. On the other hand I like working the bookbiz, having worked in it now for close to 17 years. And working in a bookstore gives me access to a lot of books that provide at least background information on history and culture.

I have a B.A. in History and my interest in the field has never lagged,although until recently most of my reading has been mostly on ancient and medieval times.But over the past few years I've become more and more interested in early American history for reasons you'll see shortly.Some years back one of my father's sisters sent us pedigree charts that she'd made based on her own research into the family line. This was before the age of computers, mind you. We'd also bought a copy of Frances O'Connor'sbook on the Dunham and Ellingwood lines who we are related to through the marriage of Clara Ford Ellingwood to my great-grandfather. These were pored over when we first got them but eventually given over to me as the historian of our family and packed away in a desk drawer. Time, as they say,passed. My parents passed away, my younger brother and sister married and now have families of their own.


A few years back prompted by a conversation with an online friend who was talking about her own climb up her family tree, I dug out those pedigree charts and set about climbing up my own.Given my income I downloaded the Personal Ancestry File program from the Family Search site run by the Church of Latter Day Saints and filled in as much information as I could from what I already had and then went hunting on their site and elswhere for more. I found a lot, but so far I have not been able to verify anything beyond what my aunt had already sent us.


So to those looking at these pages, do NOT accept the information here as the last word on your search. Verify! I hope to be able to do it myself when time, money, and a car in need of repair allow.


And I think that's enough to begin with for now.

ON THIS DATE: JAN. 31st

 

Nathaniel Barker was born on Jan.31, married on Jan 31, and his son also married on Jan31. Coincidence? I think not.

On This Date:

BIRTHS:

31 Jan 1685 7x great grandfather John Walton was born at Reading, Ma.

31 Jan 1794 3x great grandfather Nathaniel Barker was born in Newry, Me.

 

MARRIAGES:

31 Jan 1681 8x great grandparents Joshua Lazell & Mary Trott were married at Hingham, Ma.

31 Jan 1819 3x great grandparents Nathaniel Barker & Huldah Hastings were married at Bethel, Me.

31 Jan 1858 2x great grandparents Nathaniel S. Barker and Lucy Coburn were married at Albany, Me.

31 Jan 1865 2x great grandparents Jonathan P West and Louisa Richardson were married at Upton, Me.

ON THIS DATE: JAN.30th

 

.One is the ancestor of all the Ellinwoods, Ellingwoods, and Ellenwoods in the USA, the Maritime Provinces and Quebec. The other was one of the founding fathers of Andover, Ma.

On This Date:

 

DEATHS:

30 Jan 1673 8x great grandfather Ralph Ellinwood died at Beverly, Ma.

30 Jan 1685 9x great grandfather Nicholas Holt died at Andover,Ma.

ON THIS DATE: JAN. 29th

 

Caleb Benson was a twin; his brother was Joshua Benson. There were a number of twins in several of Dad's ancestral families but not many since the 19th century.

 

On This Date:

 

BIRTH:

29 Jan 1704 5x great grandfather Caleb Benson was born at Rochester, Ma.

 

DEATHS:

29 Jan 1662 10x great grandfather Thomas Dickinson died at Rowley, Ma.

29 Jan 1679 10x great grandmother Mary (Johnson) Mowrey died at Rehoboth, Ma.

29 Jan 1782 7x great grandfather Daniel Boyden died at Auburn, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: JAN. 28th

 

On This Date:

BAPTISM;

28 Jan 1620 8x great grandfather James Davis was baptized at Thornbury, Gloucester, England

 

BIRTH:

28 Jan 1765 4x great grandfather Paul West was born in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada

 

MARRIAGE:

28 Jan 1689 7x great grandparents Eleazer Rogers & Ruhama Willis were married at Plymouth, Ma.

 

DEATHS:

28 Jan 1686 10x great grandfather Moses Maverick died at Marblehead, Ma.

28 Jan 1689 8x great grandfather John Crowe/Crowell died at Yarmouth, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: JAN. 26th

 

On This Day:

BIRTHS:

26 Jan 1708 7x great grandfather John Laughton Jr. was born at Reading , Ma.

26 Jan 1654 9x great grandmother Hannah Kendall was born at Woburn, Ma.

MARRIAGE:

26 Jan 1728 6x great grandparents Jonathan Barker & Mary Abbott were married in Andover, Ma.

26 Jan 1710 7x great grandparents Jeremiah Dean & Mary Fisher were married at Dedham, Ma.

DEATH:

26 Jan 1746 8x great grandfather Samuel Phelps died at Andover, Ma.

26 Jan 1709 8x great grandfather Joshua Fisher died at Dedham, Ma,

26 Jan 1680 10x great grandfather Nicholas Rockwood died at Medfield, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: JAN. 25th

 

Interesting date today: two ancestors born on the exact same day & year, and another who was killed by Indians in an attack near York, Maine.

On This Date:

BIRTHS:

25 Jan 1682 7x great grandmother Sarah Beaman was born at Lancaster, Ma.

25 Jan 1643 8x great grandmother Mary Barnes was born at Salisbury, Ma.

25 Jan 1682 7x great grandfather John Bancroft Jr was born at Lynn, Ma.

25 Jan 1810 3x great grandmother Arvilla Ames was born at Livermore, Me

 

MARRIAGE:

25 Jan 1662 8x great grandparents Stephen Tilden and Hannah Little were married at Marshfield, Ma.

 

DEATHS:

25 Jan 1692 11x great grandfather Peter Weare was killed by Indians at York, Me.

25 Jan 1787 7x great grandfather Mephisobeth Adams died at Pepperell, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: JAN. 23rd

 

0n This Day:

BIRTHS:

23 Jan 1717 5z great grandfather John Hastings was born at Haverhill, Ma.

23 Jan 1676 8x great grandmother Elizabeth Prescott was born at Lancaster, Ma.

23 Jan 1680 7x great grandfather Martin Herrick was born at Salem, Ma.

 

DEATH:

23 Jan 1780 6x great grandmother Hannah (Ayer) Mitchell died at Haverhill, Ma.

ON THIS DATE : JAN. 21st

 

On This Day:

MARRIAGE:

21 Jan 1709 7x great grandparents Mark Haskell & Martha Tuthill were married at Gloucester. Ma.

DEATHS:

21 Jan 1730 7x great grandmother Hannah (Jefes) Spaulding died at Chelmsford, Ma.

27 May 1833 5x great grandfather Samuel Stow died at Oxford, NY

ON THIS DATE: JAN. 17th

On This Date:

BIRTH:

17 Jan 1730 5x great grandfather Amassa Dow was born at Kingston, NH

MARRIAGE:

17 Jan 1725 6x great grandparents Thomas Stow & Ann Weatherbee were married at Stow, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: JAN. 16th

 

BIRTHS:

16 Jan 1640 8x great grandfather Henry Herrick was born at Salem, Ma.

16 Jan 1834 2x great grandfather Jonathan Phelps West was born at Letter B Plantation, Me.

 

 

 

 

Front L-R Leslie Fuller, P.J. West, Phonce West, Louisa + Jonathan

West, Winfield West

 

2nd row Mary Chase, Lettie Douglas, Mrs, Hall, Aunt Villa West, Lillian

Ripley, Ripley girl, Margery Abbott, Eva West, Lewellin Hall, Charles

Chase.

 

3rd row Alice Marquis, Phila Marquis, Mabel Warren, Ethel Warren, Georgia

Pratt, Kate Coolidge, Carrie Lane, Ina Enman, Ida Warren, Mabel

Goodwin, Asa West.

ON THIS DATE: JAN. 14th

 

 Two ancestors named Sarah: one born and one died in the same year on this date:
On This Date:
BIRTHS:
14 Jan 1755 4x great grandmother Elizabeth Wiley was born in Andover, Ma.
14 Jan 1661 8x great grandmother Sarah Farnum was born at Andover, Ma.

MARRIAGE:
14 Jan 1702 7x great grandparents Samuel Upton & Abigail Frost were married in Salem, Ma.

 
DEATHS:
14 Jan 1719 8x great grandmother Deborah (Barnes) Davis died at Haverhill, Ma.
14 Jan 1733 7x great grandmother Hannah (Marston) Barker died at Andover, Ma.
14 Jan 1661 10x great grandmother Sarah (Parker) Converse died at Woburn, Ma.