THE 50th CARNIVAL OF GENEALOGY : FAMILY PETS

Welcome to the 50th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy!
This edition we're sharing stories and pictures of the beloved
pets that have become part of our families. We have 29
authors and 30 stories, and I think when you read them
you'll find as I did that some of our pets shared characteristics,
such as the uncanny ability to find their way home across long
distances or the fear of thunderstorms.

All of them claimed a place in our hearts.



First, David Bowles over at Writing the Westward Sagas
tells us about his friend and companion Lulubelle with "Whos'
Training Who?" David's post confirms my suspicions that
we're the ones being trained!


Then visit Robert Lord's "Pets in Our Family History" at
Lord and Lady for a poignant story about an incident
during the Depression that shows how people helped each
other out in those hard times and how Robert got the only
pet he had during his childhood.

Chery Kinnick's mom grew up on a farm in Minnesota and
Chery shares family photos of pets and farm animals in
"Animal Friends on the Johnson Farm." She also tells us
about how one of the farmhands taught her mother and
some cousins manners by using their pet dog. I don't know if
I like how he did it very much, though! See for yourself over
at Chery's Nordic Blue blog.


Our first story about feline friends comes from Donna
Pointkouski of What's Past is Prologue who tells about
Lou C., Tigger and Stanley in "Cats Ruled This Family".
Some of the things they did made me grin and reminded me
of the cats we had in our family!


For many of us our dogs and cats are more than just friends.
Wendy Littrell at All My Branches Genealogy writes of her
"Furry and Feathered Family Members-Carnival of
Genealogy". Her stories show just how much a part of our
family our pets become, a tradition carried on in her family
now by Oreo.


CoG founder Jasia tells us about her friend Penela Pooh Pooh
Penela Cougar Poober Penn Noonie Poop, aka "Pennie the
Wonder Dog" over at Creative Gene. Jasia had to overcome
her Mom's dislike of pets to get her dream dog but it was
definitely worth it. I related to this story because like Jasia
I wanted a collie when I was a kid. Check out that great
photo tribute to Pennie, too. Jasia also contributes a story
about a family's pet crow in "A Most Unusual Pet".

One of the other things I've enjoyed about the entries for
this edition of the CoG is the names of the pets. Susan J.
Edminster writ"es about her family's dog, "Beans", at her
Echo Hill Ancestors Weblog and tells us about his favorite
game: tug-of-war !

Janice Brown has some great photos of pets from various
generations of her family in her post "Pets in My Family Tree"
at Cow Hampshire. Her present dog, "Ladie Di" is a real cutie.


Sharon Klein at her Genealogy has some stories of family
dogs as well in "Our Four-Legged Family Members". She
mentions that one of her dogs, Whiskers, was afraid of
thunderstorms, which as I've mentioned seems to be a fear
some other geneablogger's pets shared.


We head north to Canada next for M. Diane Rogers'
CanadaGenealogy, or Jane's Your Aunt. She writes in
"Carnival of Genealogy-Family Pets" of how her family
preferred cats to dogs and a reason why her Dad wouldn't
eat chickens!


Janet Iles doesn't own any pets of her own but her parents
did as children as her pictures in "Pets-Carnival of Genealogy"
show at Janet the Researcher.

Jewelgirl of Searching for Family Branches is another cat
lover and doesn't believe that superstition about black cats as
the pictures prove in "Beloved Pets-50th CoG".


Laura at The Virtual Dime Museum has a unique entry
about her granduncle Charlie and a cat in "Charlie Doctors
The Cat".


Becky Wiseman talks about "Buster, Rover, and Bootsie" at
Kinnexions. I think her Bootsie wins the prize for the most
unusual "trophy"brought home to show the humans!


Ken Spangler's "Rocky the Hound Dog" was another dog afraid
of thunder and that fear led to a remarkable feat. Read about
Rocky at Beyond Fiction.


Next up is Terry Thornton at Hill Country of Monroe County,
Mississippi. Terry's a cat person as he attests in "One little,
two little, three little kittens... " and his present companion is
the well named Hattie La Rue Thornton!


Terry also sent along a "guest column" by Johnie Sugg West
about "Bo Diddle", who was a feist, a breed of small hunting
dogs. The story of how Bo protected his family is a moving one.
Thanks for sending it in, Terry!


Jessica Oswalt of Jessica's Genejournal recently posted
about her two dogs Ben and Casey who are Schnauzer/Terrier
mixes and tells us more in "They May Look Cute...". Are they
named after the tv character, I wonder?


John Newmark of Transylvania Dutch had six pets: three
dogs and three...well, read his post "Pet Sounds" to find out
what they were and their names.



Then swing by Thomas MacEntee's Destination: Austin
Family to read "Minyo and Princess: A Clown and A Doll".
Like myself, Thomas doesn't have any pets in his life right
now but he has great memories of two unique dogs.


The footnoteMaven posed for a photograph as a child on
her noble steed and tell us more about the horse in "Daughter
of Lone Ranger-Make That Little Abner!" That was one pet
I always wanted, but I couldn't quite figure out how we could
get it up the stairs to our third floor apartment! I'm envious,
ftM!


Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is in the cat lover's column
and his recollection of the cats he's known and loved shows
why in the post "Rootie Toot Toot, Lickety Split, Softie and
Squash/Mira". Great names, Randy, for some great cats!


Amanda Erikson over at Random Ramblings contributes the
story of her pet rabbit in "My Little Munchkin" . Munchkin
certainly sounds much smarter than any of the rabbits I've
owned or cared for when I was younger.


Most families choose what pet they will take into their hearts
but sometimes the animal makes the choice for us. Steve
Danko at Steve's Genealogy Blog tells about how Smoky the
black cat became "The Family Cat" for the Dankos.


At Looking4Ancestors Kathryn Lake Hogan remembers
Specs, "The Dog Who Could Tell Time" and who also had
quite a bit of skill in dealing with locks.


Elizabeth O' Neal is allergic to cats but that hasn't stopped her
from always having some other sort of pet around! See some
pictures of the furry members of her family in "Creatures
Great and Small(Mostly Small)" at Little Bytes of Life.


Lori Thornton's home now from her visit to the Boston area,
including "Qwin-zee", just in time to tell us about the cats
and dogs in her life and includes a picture of her cat Brumley.
I imagine he's very glad to see Lori is back home. See the
picture of him in "Pets" at Lori's Smokey Mountain Family
Historian.

Lori's story prompted Chris Dunham of The Genealogue to
post "When Pets get Political." He didn't enter it for the CoG
but it's short and unique, so I'm including it!

Craig Manson's mother was no fan of cats, but gradually was
won over by the cat that was named "Top Cat" after the
television cartoon character. TC more than lived up to the
name and you can read how over at Craig's GeneaBlogie


Finally, some guy named Bill West of West in New England
tells stories about the canine characters his family owned,
especially the dog named Brownie in "The Family Pets1:
Brownie"

Thanks to all our contributors for sharing their pets with us!

And now it's time for the call for submissions to the 51st Edition
of the Carnival of Genealogy from Jasia:

"The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be: Independent Spirit. With the upcoming July 4th holiday, there is no more perfect time to honor someone from your family whose life can be summed up in one word – INDEPENDENT! Do you have a relative who was feisty, spoke their own mind, was a bit of a free spirit? Anyone who most people might consider a “nut” on the family tree but you know they really just followed a “different tune?” We all have at least one person whose character and habits may have made them seem “ahead of their time” and now is the chance to tell us their story. The host for the next edition of the COG will be the very free spirited, Thomas MacEntee. Thanks T!

The deadline for submissions will be July 1st."

Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of
Genealogy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and
future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

I hope you've all enjoyed this 50th Edition of the
Carnival of Genealogy.

PHEW!

It's been one of those days. Ping didn't start this morning,
which was probably for the best since I wasn't feeling too well
and it's better to be here at home when I feel lousy than to
be stuck somewhere in a stalled out car. If Ping doesn't start
up tomorrow I'll take the train into work and have the car
repaired next week when I'm on vacation.

This was on top of a near disaster, blog-wise. I had been
visiting each entry for the Carnival of Genealogy and
bookmarking them into a Blog Carnival folder. Around 6pm
Sunday night as I was writing up the final version of the
introductions, there was some sort of very brief power failure.
The lights flickered and the computer shut down but
everything was back on immediately. The computer seemed
ok and I shut it off while I watched the Celtics-Lakers game.

When I turned it back on after the game ended, I went back
to working on the CoG and found that not only were most of
my bookmarks for genealogy gone, so was the "Blog Carnival"
folder. Luckily I had saved all the email entries and hadn't
lost the intro, so I was able to finish it today. The 50th CoG
is stored on Blogger and I tried setting a timer on the post.
We'll see if I did it right come tomorrow night!

Putting together this CoG edition has given me a greater
appreciation of the hard work Jasia has put in it month
after month!

THE FAMILY PETS1:BROWNIE

As I mentioned in my post on family cars, the history of our
family pets is an epic in itself. Most of our dogs and cats
were "characters" and I still remember most of them with
a grin and a shake of my head. The dogs are the most
memorable for me.


"Saddles" was the first family pet and I barely remember him
but for many years he was the benchmark the family dogs
were compared against. He was a small fox terrier type and
died after a fight with a larger dog, a boxer that lived across
the street from us. My Dad and Uncle Ed drove from Malden
to the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital hoping they could help
the dog there but it was no use. Mom told me when I was older
that I was outside and they thought perhaps the dogfight
started because Saddles was "protecting" me.

Saddles was followed by some rather er...unique....successors.


There was the Irish Setter a coworker gave my Dad. The dog
was beautiful, but the previous owner was Polish American
and the dog only obeyed commands given in Polish. Since
neither of my folks spoke Polish, the setter was eventually
returned to the original owner.


When we moved to the first apartment in Dorchester the
landlord didn't allow pets so there was a period of three years
or so without them. But when we moved to the second
apartment and were on the first floor, we had pets once more.


There was Flipper, a small mongrel dog that Dad said was a
"Sooner": the dog would sooner go to the bathroom inside
than outside. One day Flipper ran out into the street and
was struck by a car.


Our next dog was another that a coworker of Dad's gave us.
Peppy was a full grown part Alsatian but seemed to have...
issues. One day one of the neighbor kids teased him and
Peppy grabbed hold of the sleeve of the girl's winter jacket
and wouldn't let go until he'd pulled the entire sleeve off!
Luckily for Peppy, he hadn't bitten the girl. He was exiled to
our cousins in Hanover where he amused himself by chasing
cars and running headlong into their side doors.


At that point, my folks decided we were done with dogs.
Other relatives had nice, normal dogs: Aunt Peggy had Lady,
Uncle Tommy had Mr. Chips, Uncle Ed and Aunt Emily had
their Boxer, Missy. We seemed to have no luck with dogs and
about this time we got our first cat, Mittens, so there would
be no more dogs, or so we thought.


Then we moved out to Abington. One of our former neighbors
in Boston had already moved out to the country and a relative
had some puppies needing a home. They were part Boxer,
part Spaniel and the hope, I think, was that the puppy we
took would be as good a dog as Uncle Ed's dog Missy.


We got lucky. Brownie was the best of all our family dogs.
She had a great disposition and was smart. She was one of
those dogs who look like they understand what you are saying
and then make little noises like they are trying to answer you.


Brownie was Dad's favorite dog, I think. When we moved to
Abington our house was built near a large field and we could
see Brownie chasing rabbits around it. Another time she very
nearly caught a wild pheasant that wandered across the front
lawn, and actually had a tail feather in her mouth before the
bird pulled loose and got away. She brought it inside and
showed it off to Dad.


Somehow or another my folks miscalculated and one day we
there was a small pack of male dogs outside our back door. A
few months later Brownie had a litter of eight puppies. the
first of which was born on the foot of my bed. We kept one of
the puppies and named it Saddles and found homes for the
others, one of whom ended up with one of our neighbors and
was named Bella. Saddles the Second was a good dog but was
what Dad called a "dumb mutt" and eventually we gave
him to another family friend. And Bella barked....a lot. Mom
said it must have been their fathers because they certainly
didn't take after Brownie.


We had Brownie for 5 or 6 years. One day a neighbor's kid
banged on the door to tell me our dog was lying at the end of
the driveway bleeding. When I went outside it was obvious
Brownie was very badly hurt. She'd been up at the golf course
at Rte 18 and ran out into traffic chasing something. The
driver who struck her stopped and tried to help her, but
Brownie made it the quarter of a mile back to the house
before she fell and did not get up. The driver had followed her
home and was very upset.



I was in my late teens at the time and the only one home that
day. I asked a neighbor to call the police, but Brownie died
before the Dog Officer arrived.

Eventually we would have other dogs, and they were good
pets and we loved them.

But to my mind, at least, Brownie was the best of all our pets.

REMINDER: CARNIVAL OF GENEALOGY DEADLINE!

Just a reminder that this Sunday June 15th is the deadline
for your submissions to the 50th Carnival of Genealogy! Do
you have some memorable pets that belong to your family
or have stories about pets that belonged to your ancestors?

Submit your entries here to the CoG submissions page by
midnight Sunday night, then read all the submissions here
on June 18th!

OF SODA POP AND HAM,

I've been talking with my coworkers about my "Speak Like a
Native New Englander" series and one of them told me how
when she was a child and her family was on vacation in Florida
she ordered a "tonic" and was teased by the waitress about
drinking hair tonic. I was going to do a post on the soda/pop/
tonic terms for soft drinks but I wisely checked Janice
Brown's Cow Hampshire first and sure enough, she did a
post on it two years ago on it, and there's a reference to
hair tonic. Go check that out here!

I will note, however, that while we in the Boston area call it
tonic, my cousins from Milan N.H. were calling it "soda pop"
or at least were some fifty years ago when I first noticed the
difference.

And the other night one of the ABC commentators referred to
the Celtic's training facilities in Waltham and pronounced it
"Walthum".

Tsk, tsk. It's Walth-ham! Obviously, he's not a native New
Englander!

SPEAK LIKE A NATIVE NEW ENGLANDER 7

Back in the 1960's Mr. Peabody was the Governor of
Massachusetts.

No, his boy Sherman was not Lt. Governor, nor did he own
a "Wayback Machine"

This Mr. Peabody was Gov. Endicott "Chub" Peabody . Gov.
Peabody came from old New England stock and was a
descendant of John Endecott, who was governor of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century.

There is another difference from the other Mr. Peabody

The time traveling hound's name is pronounced "Pea-body",
while Gov. Peabody's name is said the same way the North
Shore town of Peabody is pronounced: "Pea-ba-dee", although
the "ba-dee" is said quickly: "Pea-b'dee".

So to get to "Pea-b'dee" from "Baw-ston", don't warm up the
Wayback Machine.

Take your "cah"!

SPEAK LIKE A NATIVE NEW ENGLANDER 6

In honor of Lori Thornton of Smoky Mountain Family
Historian who's up this way attending a conference and doing
some genealogy research as well, we will discuss the correct
pronunciation of the city of Quincy, where Lori's conference
is being held.

I'm told some folks in other parts of the country pronounce it
"Kwin-see"(perhaps in Quincy, Illinois?). But around here,
it's commonly spoken as "Kwin-zee".

Lori's been enjoying the restaurants and cuisine of New
England. Hopefully she'll have a chance to sample some
"steamahs" or "chowdah" on her visit to "Kwin-zee"!

PRIDE

We got a new book in at Borders last week for my "All
Things Local" section and the minute I saw it I knew I'd be
buying a copy. It's Peter F. Stevens' "Hidden History of the
Boston Irish" (trade paperback, $19.99 from History Press)
and a quick scan of the back made me grin. There was a
reference to Barney McGinniskin, who in 1851 became the
first Irishman on the Boston Police force. Barney announced
his arrival with: "Barney McGinniskin from the bogs of
Ireland!"

I could picture him roaring that out, an "in your face"
declaration of his presence despite the opposition to his hiring
that Stevens details. Many of the objections against him were
all too familiar to the Irish immigrants of the early 19th
century: he was taking work away from native born
Americans, American culture was threatened by the influx
of low born, poorly educated foreigners, and worst of all,
they were Catholic!


Barney lost his place on the force three years later during the
era of the aptly named "Know Nothing" Party's reign of anti-
Catholic terrorism, but the Irish kept coming, carving out
lives for themselves and their families in New England.


"No Irish Need Apply?' Fine, some of them started their own
businesses while others took on menial jobs that put roofs
over their heads and money in the bank. If they had to work
as maids or ditch diggers, they did; their children would have
the chance for better jobs as clerks or teachers. Bit by bit
they worked their way to their dreams. Among them were
my Mom's grandparents.


One of her grandfathers, John McFarland, started out as a
laborer in 1880 and was working for the Boston City Street
department by the 1910 census and as a gardener for the
City in 1920. At the time of his death he owned two houses.
By 1940, his sons were employed by shoe factories, a bottler,
and a diamond cutting company and each of them owned
their own homes. His grandchildren include three Boston
firemen. It's an American success story that's repeated in
many other families whose ancestors arrived here with very
little and achieved so very much through hard work and
perseverance.

I recently heard a conservative declare we make too much
of being "hyphenated" Americans, of being Irish-American,
or Italian-American or Polish-American. If he had his way,
there'd be no celebration of Columbus Day or St. Patrick's
Day or any other ethnic group festivities.

I was astonished as a historian, as a genealogist, as well as,
yes, an Irish-American. We should be proud of being
Americans but we should also be proud of where our
families came from and the contributions their cultures have
made to American culture as a whole. When I hear the debate
raging over immigration today I hear some of the same
arguments used against the immigrants of other times,
including my Irish ancestors. If those arguments had
prevailed then, what a much poorer country America would
be today!

And as a historian I am proud of the contribution Ireland itself
has made to music and literature, and in its role the Irish
monasteries played in preserving much of the Greek and
Roman literature duringthe Middle Ages.

So that's what I feel about being Irish and Irish-American:
pride in my ancestors for what they overcame, and grateful
to them for what they have given back to America in return!

Written for the 6th edition of The Carnival of Irish Heritage
and Culture at the Small-Leaved Shamrock.

THE 49th EDITION OF THE CARNIVAL OF GENEALOGY IS OUT!

The 49th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, the Swimsuit
Edition is up over at Jasia's Creative Gene and is full of posts
on beaches, bathing suits, and memories of summer fun.
There's some great reads, so take a look and enjoy!

I'll be hosting the next CoG and the topic will be Family Pets:

"And now it's time for a call for submissions! The topic for
the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be: family
pets! Bring out those old photos of Snoopy, Garfield, Rex
and Bob! Tell us the funny, charming, and cute stories about
the pets you remember or remember hearing about.
Introduce us to the furry, feathered, and scaly members who
have a place on your family tree! The deadline for the next
edition is June 15, 2008..."

I'm looking forward to a lot of well written memories!

HE WAS SO THIRSTY HE GULPED DOWN THE WHOLE CABINET!

With this entry we widen the scope of how to speak New
Englandese to include the words and terms peculiar to the
area. So let's start with food, and in this case, the milk shake.

According to the Wikipedia, the classic milk shake is made by
handmixing any flavor ice cream and additional flavors,
although it's more commonly done with a machine. The
"shakes" served at the fast food restaurants for the most
part are made from a frozen premade mix without ice
cream (although some chains still serve ice cream based
milkshakes.)

Of course, this being New England, we have our own spin on
the drink. It's often called a "frappe" (rhymes with ''lap")
and Janice Brown at Cow Hampshire has previously written
about the term. (Go read it here for extra credit!)

Some forty years ago when I was a camp counselor on Cape
Cod, several of us went to a local restaurant and ordered
hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes. But one of us came from
Rhode Island and when he stepped up to the window he asked
for a "cabinet" which was a frappe...which was a milkshake.
The rest of us had no idea what Jerry was talking about but
the restaurant worker did and served up a "cabinet" in a
minute.

Basically, in New England, if you want ice cream in your
milk shake, order a frappe. Personally, the best I ever
tasted are served at the Brigham's Restaurants. Get
one with a grilled cheese sandwich and a side order of fries
or onion rings!

Hmm. I'm suddenly hungry....

HOUGHS NECK

When I was a kid "going to the beach" meant we were going
to visit my grandaunt and granduncle Peggy and Leo McCue
at their cottage on Hough's Neck. (pronounced How's Neck).
"The Neck" is part of Quincy, Ma. and juts out to form the
southern boundary of Quincy Harbor.


There were other nearby beaches but they were crowded
and the water wasn't too safe on some days, so for most of
my childhood we would drive out to see Aunt Peggy and
Uncle Leo. Their cottage sat at the end of the seawall on a
little dirt road named Nut Island Ave. but one of my earliest
memories of the place is of walking down a long flight of
wooden steps to the cottage from Island Ave which ran
along the hillside above it. There was brush on either side of
the stairs and walking down towards the building must have
made an impression on me because I've never forgotten it.

Aunt Peggy (Margaret) was the only surviving sister of
my grandmother Aggie. She and Uncle Leo had five
children, three boys and two girls. Four had already married
and started their own families so there were usually some
cousins around to play with when we visited. It was also great
when Peggy's youngest son Bobby was around because he was
my idea of a very cool guy: good looking, athletic, and he had
a driver's license. He was about 7 or 8 years older than me so
it was a classic case of a younger kid idealizing an older one!

The first picture is of my second cousin Margie, my Mom
on the right and oh, yeah, that's me in the middle. It's a bit
ragged like some of the old photos I have and one of these
days when I can afford the cost of Photoshop Elements I
hope to be able to fix this and others like it.

The dirt road ended at the cottage and beyond that was a
rocky beach. We used to toss rocks at the ground and watch
for the "squirt" of the steamer clams and dig them up. If you
went swimming, you either had really tough soles on your
feet or you wore old sneakers into the water.


One incident at the cottage I dreamed about for years. There
was a raft in the water made out of old planks and oil drums
and somehow or another I fell off it into the water. I must
have been around 5 or 6 years old and I swallowed a LOT of
water. The end result was that for years after, right into
college, I never put my face under the water while I swam.
We had swimming class as part of gym at college and that's
where I finally got over that fear, but I still prefer to keep my
head above water!

I have other memories of the cottage. One involves my first
taste of beer. The grownups were sitting around drinking
what I thought was ginger ale but when Uncle Leo gave me
a sip of his I didn't like it at all. My Mom told me I made
quite a face.


I've never forgotten the family dog, Lady, who was crawled
over, tugged at and pestered by grandchildren and cousins
and was always patient about it.

And the first place I ever saw "The Ernie Kovacs Show" and
The Nairobi Trio was on a tv at the cottage.

As you can see from the picture of the building, the cottage
wasn't some grand building and the atmosphere was laid back.
If you look closely, you can see somebody's leg resting on the
railing of the porch.

Uncle Leo passed sometime in the 1960's and Aunt Peggy in
1988. At some point the ownership of the cottage changed
hands but I don't know the particulars. Two of their children
had cottages in other Massachusetts towns and so my
younger brother (who is 17 years younger) has memories of
the visits to the Marshfield cottage.

I haven't been out to Hough's Neck in years and I think the
original cottage no longer stands.

But the memories live on.

SPEAK LIKE A NATIVE NEW ENGLANDER 5

Scituate is a nearby town on the coast of Massachusetts with
some nice scenery and a name that gives newcomers pause.
As usual with many names around here, it's not said as it's
spelled.

It's not "Skit-u-ate"

The 'c' is a soft c, the `tu' becomes 'chew' and the 'ate' is
pronounced as 'it': "Sit-chew-it". But it's also often
pronounced as "Sit-chwit".

It's another one of those tricky New Englander situations!

WHILE YOU'RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

When I got the idea to do a series of posts about
some of the place names of New England and
another series on pronunciations, I found two very
useful sites on Google.


One is a list of "Archaic Community, District,
Neighborhood, Section and Village, Names in
Massachusetts" on the Citizens Information
Services website run by the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. It gives an alphabetical list of old
place names organized in the following fashion:

"place name/located in/County of/a.k.a."

So Assinippi is listed this way:

"Assinippi / part of Hanover & Norwell / Plymouth
/ Post Office in Hanover, a.k.a. Snappy".

A second site is a 1890 Gazetteer of Massachusetts
by the Rev. Elias Nason. It has a list of towns and
villages from Abbott Village in Andover to Zylonite
in Adams with other fascinating names like
Donkeyville, Dragon's Corner, Egypt, and Wyoming
along the way.

It's fascinating to see these old place names and it
made me wonder if some of my Abbott ancestors
from Andover lived in Abbott Village for example.

How about you? You may know the name of the
town or city one of your ancestors lived in, but do
you know if they lived in a specific village or district
of that town that you don't know about?

Maybe a search in a gazetteer will help!

SPEAK LIKE A NATIVE NEW ENGLANDER 4

One of the town names that newcomers to Massachusetts
initially mispronounce is Haverhill, birthplace of my ancestors
Amos Hastings and Abigail Mitchell.

The furthest off is to say the first syllable like the verb "have"
and then pronounce the 'r' as the second syllable before
ending with a"hill" so it comes out "Have-r-hill". I've heard
this once or twice from reporters new to the area.

'Have' actually has a long 'a' as in "hay" and some people get
that first part right but still fall into the 'hill' trap.

There's no hill in Haverhill. Basically, the 'h' is silent and the
name has two syllables:

"Hayv + rill"= "Hayvrill".

So remember, if you are going to Haverhill, keep the 'h' out
of it!

SPEAK LIKE A NATIVE NEW ENGLANDER 3

When I was a child, our family often would vacation in Berlin
and Milan.

No, not the cities in Europe. These are in New Hampshire and
as you might expect, we in New England pronounce them
differently than the way the original cities are pronounced.

Milan(where some of my Ellingwood ancestors were born)
sounds like "My lan". Berlin sometimes is pronounced the
same way as the German city(mostly by reporters from
down here in the "flatlands") but when my Dad or my Aunt
Flossie and her family up in Milan said the name it was
"Burlin" as in "Merlin".

Think of it this way. Merlin from Berlin is stylin' in Milan!

WITH A NAME LIKE THAT, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE COUNTY SEAT

Like most everywhere else in the USA, Massachusetts once
had many smaller towns or villages that were absorbed into
larger towns. I learned of one of them shortly after the family
moved out of Boston down here to Abington. We had visited
our cousins in a neighboring town and on the drive home as
we went through a small intersection, Dad announced that
we were in "Ass-i-nippi!'


Mom thought he was kidding but a few days later when we
went through the same area during the daylight hours Dad
pointed out a sign on a building that read "Assinippi General
Store."


Assinippi Village is now part of Hanover, Ma. and got its
name from an Indian word meaning "rocky water". I suspect
its proper pronunciation might be "Ah-sin-ippi".


But in our family it's always been pronounced as Dad did, and
so, alas, Assinippi has been the...(cough)... butt of many
family jokes.

SPEAK LIKE A NATIVE NEW ENGLANDER 2

Today's lesson in New Englandese is in honor of Terry and all
of the H.O.G.S. bloggers: ham.

No, not the kind you eat. This "ham" is the ending of many towns'
names in Massachusetts and other New England towns.

To paraphrase Mr. Rogers, "one of these 'hams' is not like the
others." Can you guess which one?

Gorham
Wilbraham
Chatham

Here's another three:

Framingham
Dedham
Wareham.

In the first group, the answer is Wilbraham (Will bra ham) and in
the second, Framingham. (exactly as it looks...Framing ham)

In the others, "ham" becomes "em" or "um":

Gorham (Gor um)
Chatham (Chat em)
Wareham (Ware em)
Dedham (Ded um)


And I've no idea why it's one way for some and the other way
for others.

I just speak it, I don't explain it!

SPEAK LIKE A NATIVE NEW ENGLANDER!

Along with funny place names, New England has many names
with easy looking names that have tricky...for outsiders...
pronunciations.It's often a cause of amusement to hear a
newly hired reporter mangle one of the local town names.

So, I'll be posting a series of short posts to help people learn
how to speak New England-ese.

First up, Leominster, in honor of Randy Seaver who often
mentions it.

Looks like "Leo-minster", right?

Nope.

It's "Leh-minster", at least as pronounced in Eastern
Massachusetts.

It might have a slightly different accent "west of Worcester."

I'll get into that another time!

WHEN YOU SAY CHARGOGGAGOGGMANCHAUGGAGOGGCHAUBUNAGUNGAMAUGG, YOU'VE SAID IT ALL.

Massachusetts and New England has some interesting
geographical names and I thought I'd occasionally write about
some of the more unique ones. And if I'm going to do that, I
might as well start right at the top:

Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.

No, I'm not gargling.

That is the original Nipmuc Indian tribe name as well as the
offical name for a lake that is also known as "Lake Webster"
because of the town where it is located. When I was a kid and
we drove by it once my folks told me the name meant "You
fish on your side, we'll fihs on our side, and nobody fishes in
the middle." but according to the Wikipedia article here,
that definition was a humorous attempt by a local writer to
resolve the arguments over the meaning of the word.

The Nipmuc Indian Association of Connecticut (Webster is
close to the Connecticut-Massachusetts border) website says
the name incorporates the name of a local Nipmuc village of
Monuhchogok but there also seems to be some reference
to a "meeting place" in the name.

The word has several distinctions. It is often cited as the
longest place name in the USA and the 6th longest in the
world. The letter "g" is used 16 times which is the most
times any letter is used in any word in the English language
and the letter "a" is used 9 times, again the most times for
that letter in the language.

I think the Nipmucs would have preferred to keep their
beautiful lake and forego the linguistic distinctions.

It is a mouthful, though, isn't it?

Do any of you fellow geneabloggers have a unique place name
near you? Write about it on your own blog and let me know
and I'll post the link here!

UPDATE:

Randy has commented with "Funny Place Names"

Jessica has as well with "Speaking of Funny Place Names..."

THE 48th CARNIVAL OF GENEALOGY IS OUT

Well, the 48th Carnival of genealogy is out and this one had a
Mother's Day theme, "Mom, How'd You Get So Smart?".
Jasia gathered together articles from 22 contributors for
another great collection of reading!

The theme for the 49th CoG is just in time for warm weather:

The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy
will be: Swimsuit Edition! Why should Sports Illustrated
have all the fun? This is your chance to show off the bathing
beauties in your family. Pull out the old photos of Grandma
Moses in her seaside bloomers, Auntie Mae in her pin-up
girl suit from the 1940s or 50s, cousin Paula in her
psychedelic bikini from the 1970s, or even yourself in your
Speedo! Let's have some fun here! Memorial Weekend is
knocking on the door and that means the start of the
summer sun, sand, and seaside season so let's get in the
mood with summer fun photos.

What? You don't have any swimsuit photos you dare to
share? No problem! Tell us your best family beach stories
instead! The deadline for submissions is June 1st.

Submit an article from your blog here and join the fun!

THE OBITUARY OF FLOYD EARL WEST SR.

From the Norway, Me. Advertiser-Democrat February 5,
1970:


"Floyd E. West


UPTON--- Floyd Earl West, 76,
died at his home, Wednesday, January
28.

He was born April 14,1893 at South
Paris, the son of Philip J. and Clara
(Ellingwood) West.

He married the former Cora Barker.
Mr. West lived most of his life in Up-
ton and Wilsons Mills and was a re-
tired woodsman. He was a veteran of
World War I.

Surviving are his widow of Upton;
three daughters, Mrs. Malcolm Harvey
Wentworth Location, Mrs. Charles
Bargar, Uhrichsville, Ohio, Mrs. Her-
bert Balser, Milan, N.H; two sons,
Floyd E. Jr., of Abington, Mass, and
Stanley R. of Molan, N.H.; two broth-
hers, Clarence P. West of Wilsons Mills
and William Tidswell, Turner; 15
grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

Funeral services were held Satur-
day, January 31 at 2 pm from the
Greenleaf Funeral Home, Bethel, Rev.
Bertha Burris officiating.
Burial in the spring at the Lincoln
Plantation Cemetery."

I found this clipping tucked away in the top drawer of the
dresser the other night while trying to find my old school
report cards. I immediately scanned it and saved the image,
but it wasn't until I was discussing finding the obituary with
a co-worker at the bookstore that I realized that it was
incorrect, genealogically speaking. My father did indeed have
a brother named Stanley, who was born before Dad but he
died in infancy. The Stanley R. West in the obituary is actually
his nephew, the son of my Aunt Hazel who is the "Mrs.
Malcolm Harvey" in the list of children. I was told by my
parents that Stanley's father had died and that when Hazel
married Malcolm Harvey, my grandmother raised Stanley.
A researcher might assume that there was only the one
Stanley unless they already knew the family history or had
seen the death record of the infant Stanley.

Another error but a minor one is the typo in Stanley's
residence which should be Milan, not Molan, N.H. And finally
there is how my Aunts are listed, not by their own names but
by their husbands.

The information in death notices and obituaries is usually
provided by the surviving family or family friends and often
reflects their viewpoint of the deceased and the family. So
while obituaries are a great source of family information, it's
still important to check the facts!

MOM

My Mom, Anne Marie White, never graduated from high
school. The only school I recall her mentioning was the Mary
E. Curley School in Jamaica Plain, which today is a middle
school, grades 6-8, and I haven't been able to determine as
yet if it was a high school in her day. And the only story I
remember her telling about her school days was one about
how she'd been made to sit under the teacher's
desk once for acting up in class back in elementary school.

Mom dropped out of school sometime during WWII and went
to work at an A&P Supermarket. Uncle Ed had enlisted in the
Navy and so there was just Mom and my Grandmother Aggie.
I'm not sure how old she was when she went to work, but
Mom was born in 1927 so she'd have had to have at least 14
or 15 years old. Years later when we living in Malden she'd
shop at the A&P in Linden Square and I remember her using
the coffee grinding machine which impressed me!


Mom was a very intelligent woman and I'm quite sure that if
she'd stayed on in school she would have done well. She was
well-spoken, a good conversationalist, and liked to read. She
liked historical novels and some of her favorite authors were
Taylor Caldwell, John Jakes, and Susan Howatch, but she
also enjoyed Sidney Sheldon and Jackie Collins. She also
read historical romances such as Beatrice Small's books, and
mysteries. Occasionally she'd surprise me by reading one of
the books I'd been reading, such as a Stephen King novel, and
then asking me if the author had written anything else. The
only type of books I do not recall her ever reading were the
science fiction and fantasy books I loved other than Marion
Zimmer Bradley's Arthurian fantasy "The Mists of Avalon" .


Over the years Mom held a variety of jobs most of which
were of the light assembly or warehouse variety, although
her last one was as a switchboard operator/receptionist.
That one required using a computer for the first time and
once she got over her initial unease she did it well.

She was the Red Headed Witch of Evans Street and
taught me how to ride a bike in her own unique style.

My mother had style too, and dressed as well as family
finances and the budget allowed. When my sister and I were
working in the garment business at Collegetown and had
employee discounts we had no trouble figuring out what to
get Mom for her birthday, Christmas, and Mother's Day.


I'm firmly convinced that given her intelligence Mom might
have done quite well if she'd finished high school and maybe
gone on to college if circumstances had allowed it and if she'd
been a little more self confident. She never got over her
father's estrangement from the family.

I'm proud of both my parents. Neither of them graduated
from high school but they raised three kids to adulthood and
did it through good times and some very tough times but
did their best to keep a roof over our heads and food in our
bellies. They weren't perfect but they kept at it.


And they are missed.


Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

A MOTHER AND CHILD REUNION

A moving story of how genealogy reunited a 72 year old man
with his 90 year old birth mother!

A VERY GOOD YEAR!

I was digging through some of the dresser drawers tonight
hunting for some old report cards I had kicking around for
years. I didn't find them as yet, but I did find this Merit
Award from June of 1959 which was, I think , for fourth
grade. Third grade was a nightmare as I tried to switch
from one school system's (Malden) way of teaching math
to the more traditional math taught in Boston. So I KNOW I
didn't get an A or B in Math that year, despite Mom's
vigorous attempts to get me up to speed on the higher
numbers in the multiplication tables.

So, yeah, this must have been fourth grade and the zenith of
my school career at the Frank V. Thompson. I don't recall
making the Honor Roll there very much and math was always
the bane of my young existence. Heck, it was all the way
through college graduation! I still occasionally have a dream
in which a request for my college transcript leads to the
discovery that I hadn't graduated after all because of some
bad grade in math or chemistry.

I haven't found the report cards yet. When I do, I'll scan
them and post them here, and then challenge my fellow
geneabloggers to show theirs.

I bet we all got good grades for "Works Well With Others"!

BOSTON ARCHDIOCESE ARCHIVES CLOSED FOR REST OF 2008

The Archdiocese of Boston is closing its Archives to
researchers for the rest of 2008 while they are moved to
a new location in Braintree , Ma.

Sacramental records needed for official purposes will be
temporarily unavailable from "Jun 1st to about Aug.4"

Records for genealogical purposes will not be available to
next year.

The full story is available here at the Boston Pilot website.

JONATHAN BARKER'S PENSION FILE4

In my last post about my 4x great grandfather, Jonathan
Barker, I mentioned that after seeing his Revolutionary War
Pension file there were some things that puzzled me. How
had he gone from being a a cofounder and landholder of
Newry, Maine with a wife and family to being penniless and
alone at the time of his pension petition?

I downloaded his file from Footnotes.com in September of
last year, but his was one of many that I found at that time.
At twelve images his was one of the smaller files, while his
brother Benjamin's was nearly 5 times larger. It took awhile
to finish finding as many of my ancestors' files as I could and
I only managed to transcribe one, Asa Barrows' file, before
the Christmas rush at work and other matters pushed the
transcriptions aside for a bit.


Then in January I mentioned the Barkers again in my blog
and shortly after I received an email from Howard Kaepplein
who is a fellow descendant of Jonathan Barker. His letter
cleared up the questions about Jonathan's situation at the
time of the petition. Howard has been kind enough to grant
me permission to quote here from his email:

"Bill,
I have read about your Barker genealogy with great
interest, since I am also a descendant of Jonathan Barker
3rd. In fact, I am writing an historical novel about his
father, Jonathan Barker Jr. The book was originally
planned to be about Jonathan 3rd until I took a writing
course and my teacher suggested that the primary
character should be a heroic figure, or at least one that the
reader could empathize with. Jonathan Barker doesn't
qualify, since, after his children were grown and married,
his wife, the former Nancy Swan, left him and went back
to Methuen. Jonathan had become an alcoholic and, in a
drunken stupor, burned his house down. He became an
embarrassment to his children and grandchildren. My
great grandmother, Marcia Barker Saunders, daughter
of Amos Barker and granddaughter of Jonathan
3rd, became a staunch member of the Women's
Temperance Movement, and often spoke about her
grandfather's drunkenness. She moved to Cambria County,
PA with her husband, Nathan Saunders, and cousin,
Abraham Andrews Barker (who became a congressman
during Lincoln's term). Marcia's husband was killed in a
train accident in the Galitzin Tunnel, after he had survived
two of the bloodiest Civil War battles. My grandmother,
Laura Saunders Hysong, continued living in Marcia's house
until her death, but her husband, who fathered six of her
children, was not allowed to live in the house because he
opposed Prohibition. Eventually, when it became law, he
was allowed to move in.

Jonathan Barker 3rd is buried in an unmarked grave at
the back of the old Newry cemetery, while his brothers and
co-founders of Newry, Benjamin and Jesse and their wives
have prominent stones on a hill near the front of the cemetery

There are two anecdotes about Jonathan Barker in "History
of Bethel, Maine" by William B. Lapham. One is about
Jonathan encountering some Indians (probably three) who
challenged him to wrestle with them. He took them on, one
by one, starting with the smallest, and layed each one on his
back. The other is about Jonathan's great strength in pulling
a sled loaded with all his belongings eight miles through the
snow in March, from Fryeburg to Newry. There are also
anecdotes about James Swan, father of Jonathan's wife,
Nancy. One is that James was impressed into the English
Navy in 1768 and placed on a ship heading out of Boston
Harbor. However, he and two crewmen overtook the
English officers and sailed the ship back into Boston
Harbor. James then fled to Methuen and took his family
to Fryeburg, ME where his brother, Caleb Swan had
been one of the first settlers with his brother-in-law,
Joseph Frye.

There is more information about the Barkers in "Sunday
River Sketches". Also, "A History of Newry" by Carrie
Wight and "Newry Profiles" by Paula Wight. All of this
material is available at the Bethel Historical Society, where
I am a life member..."

The men who filed for their Revolutionary War pensions
were men who were in need of help. Jonathan Barker
was one of those men. Some of us when starting our
genealogy research want to believe that our ancestors
were extraordinary people.

The truth is that they, like ourselves, were human
beings, trying to get through life the best way that they
could.

VATICAN BARS LDS FROM DIOCESES RECORDS

I routinely Google for news stories involving history or
genealogy and today was taken aback by reports that the
Vatican has instructed Catholic dioceses worldwide not to
allow LDS members access to copy diocesan records.
Obviously, this is a blow to those of Catholic descent who
might find information and images on FamilySearch.

The issue is the rebaptism controversy but I must confess
to a certain amount of skepticism as well. I have to wonder
if the recent boom in genealogy might not have called
attention to the fact that if Church records are available free
from the LDS, the Church loses out on the fees they charge
for making copies of the records for researchers.

Here's a link to the Catholic News Service story. After
rereading it just now, I noticed the order from the Vatican
was issued before the Pope's visit to America but wasn't
made public until now.

And for the record, I'm Catholic myself. Another Church
policy I disagree with, I'm afraid.

THE CARNIVAL OF GENEALOGY IS UP!

Jasia posted the latest CoG earlier tonight and it's a doozy!
Over thirty geneabloggers represented, some with more
than one post, so there's plenty of good reading.

The next Cog will be the 48th and will have a Mother's Day
theme:

The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is:
Mom, how'd you get so smart? We'll examine our mothers'
education. What schools did your mom attend? Did she
graduate high school or attend the school of hard knocks?
Did she attend a one room school house or was she home-
schooled? Was she the first in the family to attend college?
Maybe your mom took self-study courses or was an avid
reader. Tell us all about how a mother figure (mother,
grandmother, mother in law, godmother, etc.) in your life
became so brilliant! The deadline for submissions is May
15th.

IN TOUCH WITH MY INNER THWENG

I was buying my lunch at the cafe at work today and was in
a good...alright, silly...mood when I reached the cashier. Now
it's routine for the cashier to ask for the customer's first name
so they can let them know when their order is ready, but they
already knwo mine so they never ask.

As I said, I was in a silly mood..so after I placed my order, I
added "And my name is Marmaduke Thweng."

The cashier laughed

I added "I come from a long line of Thwengs!" (alright, just
one.)

And that cracked her up.

Nothing like an possible ancestor with a unique name for a
few laughs at work.

And of course, as we all know, it don't mean a thing if you
ain't got that Thweng!

JONATHAN BARKER'S PENSION FILE3

For some reason, even though Jonathan Barker's Pension
application had been approved and submitted by Judge
Albion K. Parris, he didn't receive his pension right away.
In fact he appeared before Judge Parris again nearly a year
later:

"UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DISTRICT COURT OF MAINE, ss.

At a District Court of the United States begun and
holden at Portland within and for the District of
Maine, on the first Tuesday being the sixth day of June
and by adjournment from day to day, on the twenty
ninth day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and twenty, before the Honorable
ALBION K. PARRIS, Judge of said Court.

ON this twenty ninth day of June in the year above
written, personally appeared in open Court, the
same having "the power of fine and imprisonment",
and being a Court of Record for said Maine District,
Jonathan Barker, aged sixty six years, late of Newry now
resident in Portland in said District, who being first
duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath
declare that he served in the Revolutionary War as
follows, viz. as a Private in the company commanded
by Capts. Davis and Carr in the Regiments commanded
by Colonels Frye and Wesson in the line of the State of
Massachusetts on the Continental Establishment, as
is more particularly mentioned and described in his
original declaration, made on the 24th day of April
A.D.1818, and on which said declaration his
Certificate of Pension, numbered 7704 was granted.
And I do solemnly swear that I was a resident citizen
of the United States on the 18th day of March 1818;
and that I have not since that time by gift, sale, or
any manner disposed of my property, or any part
thereof, with intent thereby so as to diminish it as to
bring myself within the provisions of an Act of
Congress, entitled "An Act to provide for certain
persons engaged in the land and naval service of
the United States, in the Revolutionary War",
passed on the 18th day of March 1818: and that I
have not, nor has any person in trust for me, any
property or securities, contracts, or debts due to me;
nor have I any income other that what is contained
in the schedule hereto annexed, and by me
subscribed; that my occupation and ability to pursue
the same, together with the number and other
particulars of my family, are in fact and in truth as
is particularly described on the back hereof, also
subscribed by me.

Jonathan Barker

sworn to and declared on the twenty ninth day of June ,
A.D. 1820 before Albion K. Parris, U.S> District Judge
for the District of Maine."

Jonathan's "signature" is in different handwriting than on his
initial affidavit and it appears to be identical to Judge Parris'
signature.

The other side of the page has the "schedule" of Jonathan's
relatives and possessions:

"SCHEDULE of the real and personal estate, (
necessary clothing and bedding excepted) belonging
to me the subscriber, viz:
Real estate___ I have none___ Personal estate__ none
I have no family, nor have any income____ I am by
occupation a laborer.
Jonathan Barker

Sworn to June 29 1820
Before Albion K. Parris
U.S. District Judge. "

The following page is a statement by the Court Clerk, and it
would seem he was the person who signed Jonathan Barker's
name to the statement:

"MAINE DISTRICT, ss.
I, John Mussey, Junr. Clerk of the District Court of
the United States for the Maine District, do hereby
certify, that the foregoing oath, and the schedules
thereto annexed, are truly copied from the Record of
the said Court; and I do further certify, that it is the
opinion of the saidCourt that the total amount in
value of the property exhibited in the aforesaid
schedule, is one cent and no more.

In Testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand
and affixed the seal of the said Court, on this twenty
ninth day of June A.D. one thousand eight hundred
and twenty.

John Mussey Junr,
Clerk of the U. States District Court for the Maine
District."

And so now Jonathan Barker received his pension.:

"7704
Maine
Jonathan Barker
of Newry in the Dist of Maine
who was a private in the regiment commanded by
Colonel Wesson of the Massachusetts
line, for term of nine months.

Inscribed on the Roll of the District of Maine
at the rate of 8 Dollars per month, to commence on
the 24th of April, 1818

Certificate of Pension issued 16th of Nov 1819
and sent to A.K. Parrish, Esq,
Paris, Maine.

Arrears to 4th of Mar 1819 (illegible) 82.89
Semi-anl. all'ce ending 4th Sept 1819 48.00
_____
$130.89

Revolutionary claim,
Act 18th March 1818"

The page had been folded in half and it might have been used
as a folder to hold the other documents. Written vertically
along the fold to the left is the following:

"Died July 11th, 1824" (in dark ink)
"Notification sent to John Mussey Jr. Esq.
Portland, Maine." (all in lighter ink)

Several questions arise from reading Jonathan's pension file.

How did he go from being an original settler and landholder
in Newry to being penniless?

What was he doing in Portland in 1820?

And how could he say he had no family when , since I am one of
his descendants, he obviously did?

I'll discuss the answers in the next post on Jonathan Barker.

JONATHAN BARKER'S PENSION FILE2

Benjamin Barker's testimony confirmed that of his brother
and Joseph Jackson:

"I Benjamin Barker of lawful age do testify and say that I am
personally acquainted with Jonathan Barker and knowing to
his serving as a private Soldier in the Revolution was against
the common enemy in the continental establishment in the
eight months servis and knew him to Serve the full term in
Capt John Davis' Company and Col James Fry's Reg in
Massachusetts lineI being in the same company with him at
the time and know that the said J Barker entered said service
in April AD 1775 and I also know that the said J Barker
entered into the nine months service in June AD 1778 in Capt
Samuel Carrs' Company and Col James Wesson's Regt and
General Learned's Brigade in said line and served as a private
soldier the full term of nine months as last mentioned I being
in the same company with him at the same time and knowing
to his being honourably discharged the said last term was on
the Continental establishment as afore said.
Benja. Barker

Oxford
On the 22nd day of May AD 1818
The aforesaid deponent was examined and cautioned and
sworn agreable to law to the truth of the above Deposition
by him subscribed taken at the request of Jonathan Barker
and by virtue of a Dedimus potestatem to me directed from
the Hon Albion K Parris Judge of the United States for the
District of Main to be used in said court now holden at
Parris within said District I have reason to believe the
above statement being aquainted with the deponent.
James Eames Justice of the Peace"


So, having obtained Benjamin Barker's testimony on his
brotherJonathan's behalf, James Eames returned to the
court and Judge Parris ruled on Jonathan Barker's petition:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
MAINE DISTRICT, ss.

BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the twenty fourth
day of April in the year of our Lord, one thousand
eight hundred and eighteen, personally came
Jonathan Barker the applicant named in the papers
hereunto annexed, and after being duly cautioned
and examined, made oath that the several
statements by him made in the annexed application,
signed in my presence, are. wholly true.

And the said applicant offered in evidence the affidavit of
Joseph Jackson, made and signed in my presence; and the
depositionof Benjamin Barker, taken before James Eames,
a respectable magistrate appointed by Dedemus for this
purpose, both fellow soldiers with said applicant in the
revolutionary war, all which are here unto annexed.

And it appearing to me in the examination here
had, that the several persons above named are
credible witnesses, I do hereby admit the annexed
declarations as evidence, and certify the same as
being satisfactory proof to me that the said Jonathan
Barker the applicant, served as a private soldier in the
revolutionary war, against the common enemy,
for the term of nine months in continuation on the
continental establishments. And I do further certify,
that from the declaration of the applicant made
before me, under oath as aforesaid, it does appear
that in consequence of his reduced circumstances
in life, he is in need of assistance from his country
for support; all of which I do hereby certify and
transmit to the Secretary of the Department of War,
agreeably to the provisions of an Act of Congress,
passed March 18,1818, entitled "An Act to provide
for certain persons engaged in the land and naval
service of the United States in the revolutionary
war."

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereto set my
handand caused my Official Seal to be affixxed the
day and year first mentioned.

Albion K. Parris

Judge of the United States in and for the District of Maine."


The next image appears to be something written on half of a
foldedpiece of paper. It reads:

"Jonathan Barker
(Private)
Weston's Regt.
Masts. Line-
June 1778 for 9 months.

24th April 1818-

Below that in a different hand and written lighter is the word:

"Correct"

So Jonathan Barker's pension application had been filed and
been approved in a little over a month after the passage of
the Act of Congress establishing the Pensions.

But the story was not over yet.

A GREAT REUNION STORY

Many of us have discovered relatives as a result of posting our
genealogy online. A local man, Walter Ely of Scituate, Ma.
recently made contact with his late father's 91 year old
sister.

The story is here.

NO BONES ABOUT IT!

Ok, I've heard of skeletons in the closet but on the family
(sort of) tree?

This is just plain spooky!

BRIDGEWATER

I've mentioned the irony that before I began my genealogy
researching I didn't know that some of my ancestors lived in
nearby towns before they moved north to Oxford County,
Maine. I even attended college in one town, Bridgewater,
unaware that several ancestors were buried in a cemetery
not far away.


Bridgewater, Massachusetts was originally part of town of
Duxbury and at that time was known by the Indian name of
Nunkatateset. It broke off as Bridgewater in 1656. As is the
case with many of the original Massachusetts towns, over
the years various areas have broken away as new towns,
such as East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, Abington,
Pembroke, Hanson, and Brockton(which was originally known
as North Bridgewater.) The main industry of the town
historically is brick making and it remains so today,
although the presence of Bridgewater State College,
Bridgewater Correctional Facility, and the Bridgewater
State Mental Hospital contribute greatly to the town
economy.


Of these the College is the most important. Founded by
Horace Mann in 1840 as the Bridgewater Normal School, it
was the first college established for the express purpose of
training teachers. Among its alumni are the founder of
Antioch College in Ohio and Edwin P. Seaver, ancestor of
Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings.


Bridgewater also is known for a number of strange and eerie
events which has resulted in the area known as the
Bridgewater Triangle. I've written a bit about that last
Halloween.


Bridgewater also boasts a few distinguished sons in sports:
Hall of FameDetroit Tiger catcher Mickey Cochrane and former
NFL linebackerJim Cheyunski.


My ties to the town and the other Bridgewaters, East and
West, are through my Edson, Keith, Packard, Howard and
Forbes lines.


Deacon Samuel Edson settled in Bridgewater circa 1646-1648
and built the first mill there. Earlier genealogies say he was
married to Susannah Orcutt but more recent researchers
dispute this and some say she was a Susannah Bickley. Both
are buried in the Old Graveyard in West Bridgewater.


Their daughter Susannah married the Rev. James Keith, the
minister of the church where Samuel Edson was deacon. His
parsonage was built in 1662 and is still standing, possibly the
oldest one in the United States. While researching this article
I found information that according to Wampanoag Indian
oral tradition, Rev. Keith pleaded for the lives of the son and
wife of the slain Indian leader King Philip when they were
captured. The Keiths are interred in the Old Graveyard as
well.


Their son Joseph married Elizabeth Forbes, daughter of
Edward Forbes and Elizabeth Howard.


Their daughter Jemima Keith married Deacon James
Packard. And their great granddaughter Cynthia Packard
married James Dunham in Hebron Maine(which is where I
connect with Chris Dunham!).

Finally, Cynthia and James' granddaughter married Philip
J. West.


I went to Bridgewater State College, and have driven through
East and West Bridgewater many times past places where
those ancestors lived and died. Now I'm planning to take my
camera and visit the cemeteries and the Keith Parsonage. I'll
be going to the other local towns that I have connections with
as well.

Who knows, maybe I'll find where my West ancestors lie
buried as well!

HIT THE BOOKS!

I was struck with a sudden realization today and had one of
those "DUH, why didn't I think of that sooner?" moments.

I know for many of us the term "bibliography" brings back
painful memories of slaving over term papers and reports
and keeping 3x5 index card lists of the books we'd used in
ourresearch to be organized into our bibliographies.


But fellow geneabloggers, I'm here to tell you: bibliographies
are our friends!


Try this. Go to your bookcase and take out any book you
might have on some period of history.(And I'm pretty sure
most of us have at least one book dealing with some part
of our ancestral history, if not many.) Then do something you
probably rarely have done (I know I haven't): turn to the
rear of the book and look for a bibliography. Besides the other
books the author has used in his or her research, there also
often is a list of magazine articles, or even better, first hand
accounts such as letters, diaries or journals. You might find
something that pertains to an event your ancestors were part
of such as a battle in the Revolution or a description of the
conditions and everyday life in the town they lived in.

Where did the author find these sources? Might that
historical society or museum or library that you didn't know
about before have more material that might help in your
research? Make a list of the titles and sources that interest
you and then try searching online. Who knows what
helpful information you might discover?


And if you don't have any pertinent books at home, then
borrow them from the local library or buy one at the local
bookstore. A good history book can help you to better
understand the challenges your relatives faced in their lives.


Yes, computers are great. But here somebody has already
gone and made lists of things for their books that can help
your genealogy research. Take advantage of it! I plan to do
it!

BEDTIME GENEALOGY 24

I'm having one of those spells where I'm coming up dry on
Carnival topic posts. I haven't been able think of anything on
the Gaelic language edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage
and Culture and I can't decide on an ancestral hometown to
spotlight for the next CoG. What's a grumpy old geneablogger
to do?

On another note, I set aside a book at work about the Battle
of Saratoga, since some of my Revolutionary War ancestors
had some sort of connection with it. I'll pick it up later today
(Saturday).

And then there's pictures to scan and records to organize and
properly cite...

Ah well... booksellers work from sun to sun but a genealogist's
work is never done!

JONATHAN BARKER'S PENSION FILE1

As I've said previously, the Barker family history is an
interesting one, but at the moment I will concern myself with
the three Barker brothers who filed for their pensions. For a
short overview of the rest of it, I recommend Mitch Barker's
page here on his Newry, Maine Website.

In the following transcriptions, preprinted sections of
forms are boldfaced and handwritten portions are
italicized.


The first page of Jonathan Barker's file lists him as having
served in units from Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
His file number is S.37571.

Congress passed an Act on 18 March, 1818 establishing the
Pension Fund for Revolutionary War veterans. A little over a
month later, Jonathan Barker appeared in Judge Albion
Parris' court to file a petition for his:

"I, Jonathan Barker, a resident citizen of the United States of America,
an inhabitant of Newry in the County of Oxford and the State of
Massachusetts, do testify and say, that on the nineteenth day of April
A.D. 1775, I joined the army of said United States on the continental
establishment at Cambridge in said state for the term of eight months
as a private soldier in Capt. John Davis’ company, Col James Frye’s
regiment, who was soon after our Brigadier General in the Massachu-
-setts line, which term of eight months I served at Cambridge aforesaid
and at the expiration thereof I again enlisted into said army for three
months as a private soldier in Capt. John Allen’s company, Col John
Waldron’s regiment, and Gen Sullivan’s brigade in the New Hampshire
line, which term of three months I served at Charlestown in Massachu-
-setts and was then verbally discharged. In June A.D. 1778, I again
enlisted into the same army on the continental establishment, at
Methuen, Mass. and I joined the army at White Plains, N. York, as a
private soldier for the term of nine months in Capt. Samuel Carr’s
company, Col. James Weston’s regiment and Gen Lerned’s brigade
in the Massachusetts line, which term of nine months I fully served,
principally in the state of N. York and at the end thereof I received,
at Stony Point, an honorable discharge, which has since been
burned with my house. I further testify that I am sixty four years of
age,worship a few days, that by reason of my reduced circumstances
in life I stand in need of assistance from my country for support and
that I am not borne on any pension list of the United States.
Jona. Barker"

On the other side of the sheet of paper is the testimony of
a Joseph Jackson:

"I, Joseph Jackson of Newry aforesaid, do testify and say, that I was
in the continental service in the revolutionary war with the above
named Jonathan Barker during his periods of service of eight months
and of nine months above mentioned and to my certain knowledge
saidBarker served these several periods as he has above stated.
Joseph Jackson "

Apparently Judge Parris felt further evidence as to Jonathan's
service was necessary, and he appointed someone to go about
finding it:

"Maine District , ss.
To James Eames of Newry in the District of Maine, esq.
Whereas, at a special District Court of said United States
for the Maine District holden at Paris in said District, on the
twenty fourth day of April in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighteen Jonathan Barker of
Newry in said District presented an application to the Judge
of said Court, setting forth that he served as a private soldier
in the war of the revolution, on the continental
establishment against the common enemy, and requesting
that an enquiry may be instituted into the circumstances of
his case, and that such further proceedings may be made
touching the premises as are prescribed by An Act of
Congress passed March 18th,1818,entitled "An Act to provide
for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service
of the United States in the revolutionary war," in order that
he may be places on the Pension List of said United States:-
and whereas in the course of the examination here had, it
appears that the testimony of sundry persons, who served
with the applicant in the revolutionary army, at present
residing in or near to the towns of Newry or Bethel in the
Districts aforesaid, is necessary and material in support
of said application:-

THEREFORE, to the end that the testimony aforesaid may
be had, and by virtue of the power vested in this Court by the
laws of the United States, you or either of you are hereby
appointed or authorized, at the proper expense of the
applicant, to take depositions of such persons as he may
cause to come before you, touching the application
aforesaid, and in particular as to the time when the
applicant entered the service, the time and manner of his
leaving it, the company, regiment and line to which he
belonged, and whether the service was performed on the
continental establishment or the militia of either of
the States; and such depositions, when taken, and your
certificate of the administration of the usual oath and of
the credibility of the deponents, together with this Dedimus
Potestam, you will certify and return to the Judge of said
Court without unnecessary delay.

GIVEN under my hand and seal at Paris in said District, the
day and yea r first mentioned.

Albion K. Parris
Judge of the United States in and for the District of Maine."

James Eames found a witness to testify who knew Jonathan
Barker very well.

He found Benjamin Barker.

BILL AND PING RIDE AGAIN.

Well, the road to Hingham is paved with good intentions, so
to speak, so although I'd intended to return to the FHC last
Thursday, I wasn't able to steer Ping over that way until
today, two weeks later.

I seached the microfilm drawer for "States" but although
there were 2 rolls of the 1900 Census for Plymouth there,
there was no vital records or church records for the early
19th century that might have information on the elusive
John Cutter West. So I ordered in the church records for
the Second Church of Plymouth. The lady at the desk took
a quick look on her computer for John Cutter West and
gave a soft "oh my!" when I explained that there was no
record yet found of John Cutter's birth or parents. One thing
I will remember for future ordering is to bring smaller bills
than a $20 bill to pay for the ordered film.

So it wasn't an overly successful trip. The rest of the early
afternoon was spent at the laundromat. If I couldn't clean
up a genealogy mystery, at least I could clean my jeans!

THE BARKER BROTHERS

One of the warnings I've seen given several times to
beginning genealogists is this: if you have heard stories
about how your ancestor and his siblings were the first
settlers and founders of some town, it's probably not
entirely true.


What then am I to make of the Barker brothers? There is
the "Petition for Grant of Land Later Newry" that can be
viewed over at Chris Dunham's Oxford County Genealogy
Notebook. Jonathan Barker Sr and five of his sons are among
the signers. And numerous editions of Oxford County
histories and Maine Registers credit Benjamin, Jesse, and
Jonathan Barker 3rd as being first settlers of the future
Newry in 1781 along with Ithiliel Smith.

Apparently in some cases there are exceptions to the rule
about legendary stories!

But I'm not surprised. The Barker brothers and their
ancestors are an interesting bunch and in the next few
weeks I will be posting transcriptions of the Revolutionary
War Pension Files of Jonathan, Benjamin, and Jesse Barker
and discussing some of the family history they reveal. I'd like
to acknowledge the help given and research of my Barker
family cousins Mitch Barker, Nancy Downey, and Howard
Kaepplein.

I hope those who read their stories will enjoy them as much
as I've enjoyed researching them!

A THOUGHT ON PATRIOTS DAY

Most of what I know about my Revolutionary War ancestors
comes from their Pension Application Files images. While this
is fortunate for me, it was not a happy circumstance for them.
Those who applied were elderly and poor and in some cases
were the widows of deceased veterans. They needed help
and a grateful country provided it to the men who'd helped
bring it into existence.

It's ironic, to say the least, that 233 years later some men and
women who have served their country in the present action
in the Middle East have in some cases been treated with less
care than they deserve. Stories of VA hospitals in disrepair,
of soldiers having difficulties in receiving treatment or
disability checks have called attention to that fact. If these
Americans have done their duty in their country's armed
forces at the behest of our government, shouldn't our
government do its duty by them?

We can show our respect for our Revolutionary War era
ancestors best by ensuring that those who follow in their
footsteps today are given the respect and care they deserve.

"THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD"

Thomas McEntee over at Destination:Austin Family asked
his fellow geneabloggers to join him in posting about our
Revolutionary War ancestors as a way to observe the 233
anniversary of the Battles of Concord and Lexington. These
are my direct ancestors who took part along with a few of
their siblings. Most of the information I have comes from
the Revolutionary War Pension Files images on Footnote.com
and my Barker cousins Howard Kappelin and Nancy Downey
helped sort out the Jonathan Barkers.

I'll have some more thoughts on these folks in the next post.
For now here's just the list:

Jonathan Barker Jr.
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 tol April 1778 guarding
the captured troops of General Burgoyne.


Jonathan Barker 3rd
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
Was a Minuteman under Capt. Asa Parker on April 18th,
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.
For a more detailed account of his service see my posts
about his Revolutionary War Pension File starting here.


Asa Barrows
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. I posted about his
Revolutionary War Pension File starting here.


Moses Coburn
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
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
Amos was 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
Enlisted at Harvard Ma as a Private in May of 1777in 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
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 for 8 months. He was at the Battle
of Bunker Hill. He was discharged in October of 1775.


John Griffith
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
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 nearly8 months duty.


Jonathan Abbot
Served as a Sergeant in the Militia under Captain Henry
Abbott and responded to the Lexington Alarm

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.


There may be more but that’s all I’ve found so far and I
don't know about John Cutter West's father or grandfathers
as yet.

THE 46th CARNIVAL OF GENEALOGY IS OUT!

Well, the 46th Carnival of Genealogy is up over at Creative
Gene and Jasia's done it again, gathering together some
great posts about the personal or physical traits we might
(or might not in my case!) have inherited from our ancestors.
Once again a mix of the usual geneablogging suspects and
some first timers that will keep me busy reading. And I need
to add some more new links from the last two CoG's to my
link list!

As with every new CoG, there's a call for submissions to the
next one:

"The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy
is: A Place Called Home. It's time for a geography lesson.
Pick out a city/town/village where one of your ancestors
once lived and tell us all about it. When was it founded?
What is it known for? Has is prospered or declined over
the years? Have you ever visited it or lived there? To a
certain extent, we are all influenced by the environment
we live in. How was your ancestor influenced by the area
where they lived? Take us on a trip to the place your
ancestor called home. The deadline for submissions
is May 1, 2008.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of the
Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form."

Hmm. I'll have to give some thought to that one My
ancestors lived in a lot of different places here in New
England!