SETTLED IN: THE PICTURES

The east side of the living room. That's my part of my pedigree chart and
notebooks with my genealogy research atop the smaller bookcase.

















This is the western side,
See what I meant
about the light?




















The big yard. The right
hand shot is to the
south and what I
see from my
bathroom window
and one of the
bedroom windows.
You can see the
stone wall there.
The left hand photo is the view
I see from the living room.

This is the patio, One of the building entrances is to the left and out of
frame to the right is a private entrance to my apartment.

SETTLED IN

It's been about a month now since I started living here and two weeks
since the last of the packing, moving and unpacking process(although
there's still a few things in the back of my car to bring in.) and I'm
starting to settle in here at the new place. Mornings before I go off to
work I sit here eating breakfast and watch the birds and squirrels through
the three living room windows which let in much more light than my old
apartment had. There's a fairly large open green space behind my
building and between it and the next building, large enough to almost
qualify as a meadow. This street, which includes the town high school,
once was farmland and an old stone wall bordered with a good amount
of trees hides the fact that there's a Lowe's on the other side very well.

There's signs on the bulletin board out in the hallway cautioning residents
not to feed the birds or animals. One has a picture of a fox and warns
that feeding animals could attract some that are dangerous. Another sign
has a photo of a wild turkey and reminds us not to approach them
because they ARE wild and not to feed them because they leave a mess
behind them.(well, most animals do!) So far I haven't spotted anything
larger than a pretty fat squirrel, though. Given the amount of vegetation
out there, I'm pretty sure the birds and squirrels aren't in danger of
starving to death for lack of bird-feeders. There's quite a few male
robins rather loudly proclaiming which part of the housing complex is
theirs and a male cardinal flew right past me the other morning as I went
out to work. I wouldn't be surprised to see a deer or two come trotting
through at some point or another since I've seen them in this area several
times over the years.

I've met a few of my neighbors in the building. The elderly lady across
the hall is a bit hard of hearing and when I step outside into the hallway
I can hear her television which is why I know she watches "Matlock"
every morning. My upstairs neighbor and I have talked several times and
it turns out he's a census taker. He's not into genealogy, though, and
doesn't own a computer.

I've only sat outside on my little patio once so far but that's on my agenda
for this afternoon once I get back from the laundromat.

There's a point when a new house or apartment begins to feel like home,
and I'm well past that point now!

SATURDAY NIGHT GENEALOGY FUN: THE WAYBACK MACHINE

It's time for another of Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenges over at his
Genea-Musings blog. This one involves taking a look back at our blogs as they looked when
they first started:

1. Go to the Wayback Machine at http://www.archive.org/ (it's right in the middle of the web page)

2. Enter the URL (web address) of your first genealogy blog or website into the search field. [If you don't have a blog or website, then enter your favorite blog or website.]

3. Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a comment on Facebook. Show us the image of your web page if you can.

"West in New England" started back on 23Jan 2007 under ummm...slightly embarrassing
circumstances. Originally my geneablog was entitled "West of New England" but somehow or another I had forgotten my password! Luckily I had saved my first five blogposts so I simply
started a new blog, and since the name "West of New England" was already taken, I named the
new one "West in New England".

Unfortunately the earliest post the Wayback Machine has of my blog is this one from 13Aug
2007. I was using the "simple" template at the time but eventually I changed it to the present
one for two reasons. The first was this template had more room for the text so I don't have to
fix sentences as often as I did with the old form. Secondly I wanted to add some color to the
page and I liked this shade blue. It's soothing on the eyes, I think.

I also have a "mirror site" on Wordpress because I'm paranoid and wanted a backup of my
blog "just in case"

So that's my blogstory, some 730 or so posts later!

DOWN ON ASA'S FARM

Before I move onto the 1880 Schedules for Hiram West, I'd like to complete my look at the state of three of the West brothers' farms by discussing that of the oldest, Asa Atwood West.

Asa was born in 1830 and married Matilda Barker Marston in 1854. Instead of waiting to inherit a share of his father John Cutter West's farm, Asa started his own in nearby Andover, Oxford, Maine. As we'll see from the 1870 Agricultural Schedule, he was quite succesful, but life was not without sorrow for Asa and his wife. One daughter, Diantha, died soon after birth and two others, Arvilla (age 8) and Anna Pearl(age 2) died in the diptheria epidemic of 1862. He also was absent from his farm during the Civil War, serving in Company F of the Maine Coast Guard.

But by 1870 things seem to have improved for Asa and his family. By then two other children had been born, a daughter Lizzie (age 7) and a son C.Scott(age 5). As the figures on the 1870 Agricultural Schedule show, Asa's farm was more prosperous than either Hiram's or Jonathan's places. My transcription:

Acres of Land:
improved-100
wood-land-65
other un-improved-0
Present Cash Value:
Of farm-3000 (dollars)
Of farming implements and machinery-200 (dollars)
Total amount of wages paid during year, including value of board-300(dollars)

Livestock June 1, 1870:
Horses-2
Mules and asses-0
Milch cows-3
Working Oxen-2
Other cattle-4
Sheep-10
Swine-1
Value of all livestock-530(dollars)

Produce during the year ending on June 1, 1870:
Wheat:
Spring-0
Winter-0
Rye-0
Indian Corn-20 (bushels)
Oats-80(bushels)
Barley-0
Buckwheat-30(bushels)
Rice-0
Tobacco-0
Cotton-0
Wool-80(lbs)
Peas and Beans- 60(bushels)
Potatoes: Irish-330(bushels)
Sweet-0
Orchard Products-20(dollars)
Wine-0
Produce of Market Gardens-
Dairy Products: Butter-200(lbs)
Cheese-0
Milk Sold-0
Hay-40(tons)
Seed: Clover-0
Grass-0
Hops-1300(lbs)
Hemp-0
Flax-0
Flax-Seed-0
Silk-cocoons-0
Sugar: Maple-0
Cane-0
Molasses-0
Bees: Wax-0
Honey-0
Forest Products-0
Value of Home Manufactures-0
Value of Animals Slaughtered or Sold For Slaughter-177(dollars)
Total Value:Estimated Value of All Farm Production Including Betterments and Additions to Livestock- 950(dollars)

Unlike the Upton, Oxford, Maine 1870 Agricultural Schedule image for Jonathan and Hiram's farms, there is a second page for Asa's. What I noticed immediately was that Asa's farm was about the same size as Jonathan' s but worth more than his brothers' farms combined! It probably was the result of his planting a more diverse range of crops, the most intriguing of which for me was the 1300 pounds of hops. This was something his father John Cutter West hadn't done back in 1860 and because of that missing page in Upton I've no idea as to whether Hiram or Jonathan had tried their hands at hops as well. Asa was also able to pay out $300 to hire help which(given the work involved with all the crops and livestock)he would need. The regular 1870 Census page lists a "domestic servant" named Susie Bigelow and a "farm laborer" named John D. Wood as part of the household. And Asa still had the time to help out Hiram at the grist mill!

That entry on "hops" still fascinates me. Was there a brewery nearby somewhere or did Asa sell and ship the crop elsewhere by rail, perhaps to Boston? Or is there another use for hops other than brewing beer that I'm not aware about?

We'll leave Asa and his family for now but there would be changes by the time the 1880 Census rolled around.

WORD VERIFICATION DICTIONARY 8

Once again, definitions for the strange words that we type for
word verification for comments on Blogspot.com blogs:

keisses - What some bosses' keisters get a lot of from employees trying
to get ahead.

accho-Gesundheit!

gengebra- The mathematical equations needed to figure out what
relationships on your family tree. "I needed to do some gengebra 
to figure out how many cousins removed she is from me."

genespoe- A very, very, VERY scary genepool!

nomode- What a two year old goes into when he or she doesn't want
to do something,

"WEST IN NEW ENGLAND" IS ONE OF MYHERITAGE'S TOP 100 WEBSITES!

I've been selected by a judging panel at MyHeritage.com as one of the
Top 100 Genealogy websites and blogs for 2010! The criteria used in
the judging were these:

" 1) high quality content; 2) originality in topic choice, approach 
and design; and 3)frequently updated content."

I'm honored to have been included in such illustrious company and I'd
like to thank Robert Barham and the rest of the folks at MyHeritage.com
for the award. It's been an interesting year so far for me but things like
this make it easier. And thanks to my readers who keep reading and
commenting on my posts. It's much appreciated!

Finally, thank you to my ancestors for supplying me with stories and
material that inspire me to keep blogging, and without whom I wouldn't
exist!

Congratulations to all the honorees!

HIRAM WEST'S MILL IN 1870

As I mentioned at the conclusion of my post about Hiram West's farm on the 1870 Census Agricultural Schedule, even though Hiram had a smaller farm than his brother Jonathan Phelps West, his farm's value was only $50 less and he could afford to have a hired hand. The reason he could was that he had another source of income, two mills.

I found an entry for a "Haraig Y. West" on the 1870 Federal Census Products of Industry Schedule at Ancestry.com. That should give you an idea of how hard to read the handwriting is on the document. But I knew it was Hiram as soon as I saw the name "Asa" as his one employee. That had to have been Hiram's brother Asa West. Here's my transcription:

Name of Corporation, Company, or Individual producing to value of $500 annually:
West, Hiram F.
-Asa

Name of Business, Manufacture, or Product: Starch Mill
Capital(real or personal) invested in the business: 2000 (dollars)
Motive Power:
Kind of Power (steam, water, wind, horse or hand): water
If steam or water, no. of horsepower: no entry
Machines:
Name or Description: Grist Mill
Number: 1
Average Number of Hands Employed:
Males above 16 years:
Females above 15 years:
Children and Youth:
Total amount paid in wages during year:
Number of months in active operation, reducing part time to full time: 7
Materials (including Mill Supplies and Fuel)
Kinds:Potatoes
Quantities:8000 bushels
Value(omitting fractions of a dollar):2000 (dollars)
Production:
Kinds: illegible
Quantities:28 tons
Value(omitting fractions of a dollar): 2520 (dollars)

There follows a note scrawled across the page beneath the entry. I can't
make out the first two words in the two sentences and they seem
disjointed:

"(?) (?) described grist mill grins for owners & receives toll
(?) (?) described starch mill (?) potatoes and make (?) at their own 
risk"

What am I to make of this? Apparently Hiram was paid by those whose
grain he ground at the grist mill by a portion of the end product, but he
allowed those with potatoes to use the mill themselves at their own risk?
Was the profit he made only $520? And Asa must have been a partner,
not an employee. Trying to interpret this one is frustrating!

At any rate, it must have been a profitable operation because, as we'll
see, Hiram's business ventures had expanded by 1880.

A GENEALOGICAL LAUGH FROM BETTY WHITE AND SNL

Betty White hosted SNL last night and I found this clip from it this
morning on hulu.com. Tina Fey is the census taker and Betty is the
resident she is interviewing. Enjoy!

http://www.hulu.com/collections/444/147972

SATURDAY NIGHT GENEALOGY FUN: MATRILINEAL LINES

It's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun time over at Randy Seaver's Genea-
Musings blog, and this one has to do with our matrilineal lines:

"Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:
1) List your matrilineal line - your mother, her mother, etc. back to 
the first identifiable mother. Note: this line is how your mitochondrial 
DNA was passed to you!

2) Tell us if you have had your mitochondrial DNA tested, and if so, 
which Haplogroup you are in.

3) Post your responses on your own blog post, in Comments to this 
blog post, or in a Note or status line on Facebook."

Unfortunately, I can only go back to my great grandmother on my
Mom's side of the family:
Anne M. White(7Jul 1927-28Jul 1999)m Floyd E West Jr
Agnes D. McFarland(11Oct 1898-12Feb 1957)m Edward F White Sr
Anne Kelley(Kelly?) (1Oct1859-15Feb 1945)m John McFarland

I haven't had any genetic tests done. I can't afford the cost!

Now just as an exercise, I can go back a long ways in my Dad's
matrilineal line:
Cora Berthella Barker(27Oct1899-Jun 1987)m, Floyd E.West Sr
Lotte Lovenia Barker(3Aug 1879-3Jan 1944)m Frank W.Barker
Betsy Jane Moore(16Aug 1842-12Mar 1844)m.Amos Hastings Barker
Harriet M. Upton(28Mar 1814-?)m. Cyrus Moore
Sarah (Sally)Bancroft(8Jul 1783-?)m. Francis Upton
Mary Walton(7Mar 1749-?)m. John Bancroft 3rd
Eunice Hawkes (1727-?)m Jacob Walton
Margery Whitford/Lightfoot(12Feb 1691-21Apr il 1758)m John Hawkes
Elizabeth Swasey(?-?) m John Whitford/Lightfoot

Someday I hope to find out more information about great grandmother
Anne Kelley McFarland and extend the family line back to Ireland!

DOWN ON HIRAM'S FARM

((Note-I've since found the missing page and added it to this post. This new material
is in red)


Listed on the same page of the 1870 Federal Census Agricultural Schedule as Jonathan Phelps West is his younger brother Hiram Ferdinand West. Born six years after John in 1838, Hiram's household included his wife "Villa M" (Arvilla Mary Ballard), their daughter Clara M. (2 years old), their son "Winnie H." (Hiram Winfield, 9 months old) and a farm worker, Charles Richards. Hiram's occupation as listed as "farmer/blacksmith". Looking at the Farm Schedule it doesn't seem that Hiram was having as much success at farming as J.P, but again the second page of the document is missing on Ancestry.com so I don't have a complete picture.

Here's my transcription:

Acres of Land:
improved-50
wood-land-50
other un-improved-0
Present Cash Value:
Of farm-600 (dollars)
Of farming implements and machinery-25 (dollars)

Livestock June 1, 1870:
Horses-1
Mules and asses-0
Milch cows-2
Working Oxen-2
Other cattle-7
Sheep-0
Swine-1
Value of all livestock-315 (dollars)

Produce during the year ending on June 1, 1870:
Wheat:
Spring-25(bushels)
Winter-0
Rye-0
Indian Corn-0
Oats-0
Barley-0
Buckwheat-25(bushels)
Rice-0
Tobacco-0
Cotton-
Wool-5(lbs)
Peas and Beans-2 (bushels)
Potatoes: Irish-100(bushels)
Sweet-
Orchard Products-
Wine-
Produce of Market Gardens-
Dairy Products: Butter-225(lbs)
Cheese-
Milk Sold-
Hay-35(tons)
Seed: Clover-
Grass-
Hops-
Hemp
Flax
Flax-Seed
Silk-cocoons-
Sugar: Maple-
Cane-
Molasses-
Bees: Wax-
Honey-
Forest Products-
Value of Home Manufactures-
Value of Animals Slaughtered or Sold For Slaughter-160(dollars)
Total Value:Estimated Value of All Farm Production Including Betterments and Additions to Livestock-715(dollars)





So Hiram's farm was smaller than J.P.'s by 90 acres, yet the land itself was worth only $50
less than his brother's. The value of livestock is less as well, probably reflecting the fact that while J.P. had eleven sheep, Hiram had none. As for crops, Hiram raised smaller amounts of two, Spring Wheat and Buckwheat. And yet he had a hired hand where J.P. didn't!

Why?

The answer to that might be the entry for Hiram West on the 1870 Federal Census Industrial Schedule which I'll discuss next.

THOUGHTS ON THE FIRST SEASON OF "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

I was able to view the Spike Lee episode season finale of "WDYTYA?"
online last night. Another fascinating show, even though not my
favorite one of the season. (My favorites were the SJP, Mathew Broderick
and Susan Sarandon installments; the least favorite was Brookes Shields).
I agree with Thomas MacEntee that more investigation into whether
slave owner Griswold was indeed Spike's ancestor would have been good,
but I'm not surprised that he didn't look further. It seemed to me that
Spike was uncomfortable at times with what he learned, and that's
understandable. Many people, both black and white, have difficulty with
the slavery issue and their family's involvement in it. And people should
be aware that sometimes there are unpleasant chapters in our family
histories when we start looking into them.

All in all, I was quite pleased with the first season. I expect to see the
show stick to the same formula of highlighting celebrities. I know some
of my fellow geneabloggers would like to see ordinary people as
subjects, but the producers know celebrities attract viewers. I believe
the original BBC version hasn't used ordinary people either.

But the best thing about Season 1 is that it IS Season 1! I'm happy the
show has been renewed and look forward to Season 2. Hopefully we'll
see it this fall and not have to wait until 2011 to enjoy it.

Congratulations to Lisa Kudrow and her fellow producers!

SATURDAY NIGHT GENEALOGY FUN: DID YOU ADVANCE TODAY?

It's Saturday and time for another Saturday Night Genealogy Fun
challenge from Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings:


"Your mission, if you decide to accept it, is to:

1) Answer the question: How did I advance my genealogy research
today? [Or, this past week? Or this past month?]


2) Answer the question: How did I advance my genealogy education 
today? [Or past week? or past month?]


3) Share your answers on your own blog post, on a comment to
this post, or on a Facebook status or comment on this note on 
Facebook."

Well, this is an easy one, and it's thanks to Randy himself! His post about
using the "Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 
1850-1880" over at Ancestry.com advanced my genealogy education and
prompted me to check them out for myself earlier this week.

And THAT advanced my genealogy research when I found documents
on my West, Barker, Coburn and Dunham ancestors up in Oxford
County, Maine!

So thanks Randy for a very educational post,and for another Saturday
Night Genealogy Fun Challenge!

THE LETTER: FACT OR FICTION?

My cousin Yvonne (she's descended from my 2x great granduncle Leonidas West) out in Washington State was going through some family papers the other night and found this letter mixed in with them. She sent it along to me with the comment that she and her husband thought it had to be a joke but wanted my opinion. I read the transcript she sent and then looked at the image of the letter and knew what I thought.

How about you?

The text:

Dear Son, Your paw has a good job now for the first time in 48 years We are a grate deal better off than we war. Your paw gets $14.95 every Thursday so we thought we would do a little fixin up. We wint to the catalog house fer one of them thar new fangled things they call bathrooms we ad heard tell about. It has to be put in shape by a man called a plummer. One side of the room is a big long white thing like the critters drink outter only you git in it when you want to wash all over. On the other side is a little white thing they call a sink. This is far light washin such as your face and hand. but in the corner now son I'll tell you we've got somethin thar. This little contraption you put your foot in and wash it clean and then you pull a little chain and you git clean water for the other foot. Two lids come with the thing and we ain't got no use fer them in the bathroom so I'm usin one fer a bread board and the other that had a round hole in it, we took and framed grandpaw's pitcher. Those catalog folks was awfully nice to deal with. They sent us free a big roll of written papers. Take kur of yourself your loving mom

So what do you think? Fact or Fiction?

DOWN ON J.P.'S FARM

((Note-I've since found the missing page and added it to the post. The new material is
in red.))


By 1870 there had been drastic changes on John Cutter West's farm. In 1860 there had been ten people living on the farm, nine of whom were old enough to help out around the farm with the chores. Then came the Civil War and sons Hiram and Leonidas joined the Union Army. More devastating was the epidemic of 1862 in which three of the younger children had died, follwed by the death of John Cutter West himself later that Spring. Asa Atwood West, the oldest son, was already married with a farm of his own, so my great-great grandfather Jonathan Phelps West inherited the farm.

So by 1870 there were four residents of the farm listed on the Federal Census: J.P, his wife Louisa, and two sons, three year old John C. and nine month old George P. With that much of a reduction of people able to work the farm, a change in how the farm was run would have had to occur. Unfortunately, Ancestry.com is missing the second page of the 1870 Federal Agricultural Schedule for Upton, Oxford County, Me. but there's enough information from the first page to show that indeed there had been changes:


Acres of Land:
improved-40
wood-land-150
other un-improved-0

Present Cash Value:
Of farm-650 (dollars)
Of farming implements and machinery-25 (dollars)

Livestock June 1, 1870:
Horses-1
Mules and asses-0
Milch cows-2
Working Oxen-2
Other cattle-2
Sheep-11
Swine-0
Value of all livestock-475 (dollars)

Produce during the year ending on June 1, 1870:
Wheat:
Spring-35(bushels)
Winter-
Rye
Indian Corn
Oats-200(bushels)
Barley
Buckwheat-60(bushels)
Rice-
Tobacco
Cotton-
Wool-)
Peas and Beans-
Potatoes: Irish-100(bushels)
Sweet-
Orchard Products-
Wine-
Produce of Market Gardens-
Dairy Products: Butter-300(lbs)
Cheese-
Milk Sold-
Hay-25(tons)
Seed: Clover-
Grass-
Hops-
Hemp
Flax
Flax-Seed
Silk-cocoons-
Sugar: Maple-
Cane-
Molasses-
Bees: Wax-
Honey-
Forest Products-
Value of Home Manufactures-
Value of Animals Slaughtered or Sold For Slaughter-60(dollars)
Total Value:Estimated Value of All Farm Production Including Betterments and Additions to Livestock- 873(dollars)




The first change I noticed from 1860 is that the total value of the farm is down to $1150 from the $1600 dollars of ten years before with less equipment and it is ten acres smaller with the loss being in the "wood-land." Could it have been sold off to pay a debt or to raise cash for some other purpose? There is also less livestock: only two working oxen, two "milch-cows" and two "other cattle". J.P.'s brother Hiram Ferdinand West's farm is listed a few lines below on the same page and there are two oxen and seven "other cattle" on his farm so there might have been a division of livestock between the two brothers after their father's death. But there is one addition to the West farm: there are now eleven sheep!

Since the second page is missing I don't know if J.P. had a potato crop or not but from the first page there is one difference with what his father chose to plant and grow as J.P grew spring wheat instead of rye. And with eleven sheep I think it's a safe assumption that there would
have been more than the 30 lbs of wool listed on the 1860 schedule.

Without seeing the second page of the Schedule I can't be absolutely sure but I'm guessing the changes reflect a farm that would be a little less labor intensive and more manageable for just two adults.

Since I haven't found an 1880 Agricultural Schedule yet for J.P.West, I'll turn next to his brothers Asa Atwood and Hiram Ferdinand West.

DOWN ON J.C.'S FARM

When I finally got back online after a week-long absence I made it a
point to check out what my favorite geneabloggers had been up to while
I was gone. One of the blogs I visited was Randy Seaver's always
informative Genea-Musings and one post caught my attention,
Devier J. Smith in 1880 Agricultural Census. Looking at the wealth
of information the Agricultural Schedule had given Randy, I wondered if
a search for some of my ancestors in Maine might do the same for me.
So following Randy's tip, I searched Selected U.S. Federal Census 
Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 at Ancestry.com. After all,
Maine was one of the states covered.

Well, I hit the jackpot! I found quite a bit about my West, Barker, and
other ancestral lines there and I'll be sharing what I found here on my
blog over the course of time. Tonight I'm starting with my 3x great-
grandfather John Cutter West on the 19Jun 1860 Agricultural
Schedule for Upton, Oxford County Me, pp11-12. There are 48
questions on the Schedule and they give a good picture of what seems
to me to have been a moderately successful farm:


Acres of land: Developed-40 acres
Undeveloped-160 acres

Cash value of Farm- 1000 (dollars)
Value of farming Implements and Machinery- 100 (dollars)
Livestock:
Horses-1
Mules and Asses-0
Milch Cows-3
Working Oxen-4
Other cattle-12
Sheep-0
Swine-1
Value of Livestock-500 (dollars)

Wheat, bushels of -0
Rye, bushels of- 40
Indian Corn, bushels of -0
Oats, bushels of-150
Rice, lbs of-0
Tobacco, lbs of-0
Ginned Cotton, bales of 400lbs ea-0
Wool,lbs of-30
Peas and Beans, bushels of-5
Irish Potatoes, bushels of-300
Sweet Potatoes, bushels of-0
Barley, bushels of-0
Buckwheat, bushels of-40
Value of Orchard Products, in dolls.-0
Butter, lbs. of-0
Cheese, lbs of-0
Hay, tons of-80
Clover Seed, bushels of-0
Grass seeds, bushels of-0
Hops, lbs. of-0
Hemp:
Dew Rotted, tons of-0
Water Rotted, tons of-0
Other prepared Hemp-0Flax, lbs of-0
Flaxseed, bush. of-0
Silk Cocoons, lbs, of-0
Maple Sugar, lbs of-100
Cane Sugar,hhds of 1000 lbs,-0
Molasses, gallons of and from what made-0
Beeswax, lbs. of-0
Honey, lbs.of-0
Value of Homemade Manufacture-10 (dollars)
Value of Slaughtered Animals-125 (dollars)

So John Cutter West owned a 200 acre farm the value of which (not
counting the money earned from any crops sold) was $1600. His main
crop was "Irish Potatoes" followed by hay, oats, buckwheat and rye,
and he produced 100 lbs of maple sugar, probably from trees on that
160 "undeveloped" part of his property. I was puzzled how he could
have produced 30 lbs. of wool with no sheep until I saw that last
column. Perhaps the sheep were slaughtered? Or to be more optimistic
for them, perhaps they were sold off for some reason. And the presence
of "4 working oxen" confirms for me the story I posted in 2008 about
John Cutter West and two companions using a team of oxen to find
shelter in a snowstorm (See "The Value of an Ox")

I hope John Cutter West was happy with his life on that day in Jun
1860 because a year and a half later disease would strike his family
and change it forever.

We'll be looking at the same farm on the 1870 Schedule next.

BACK AGAIN!

Well it took awhile but the Gods of Verizon have been appeased
and I'm once more back online. Hopefully this will the last extended
absence for the forseeable future. The move is nearly over thanks
to all the work my sister Cheryl and her husband Peter did, along
with my niece Sarah and her husband Steve and my nephew Mike.
I'm grateful for they have done.

Healthwise, I'm following the doctors' orders because two week
long hospital stays were way too much and I'd like to avoid
another visit for a good long while!

I'll try to catch up on reading my fellow geneabloggers' posts of the
past week, although it may be hard if they are as rewarding as
Randy Seaver's recent post about the 1880 Agricultural Census.
I checked it out and found a mother-lode of information on my
West and other family lines which I'll be blogging about here.

So I'm back, and raring to get some research and blogging done!

TIMES SIX

I'll be going offline for a bit after tonight because of The Move
but I wanted to acknowledge being awarded the Ancestor Approved
Award from the following six people:

Mary Warren
Lisa Swanson Ellam
Terri O' Connell
Mary from "Me and My Ancestors"
Heather Rojo
Tim Abbott

Thank you all so much for thinking so highly of my blog. I hope
you'll forgive me for putting off presenting my list until after
I've settled into my new place!

See you all in 10 days!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!2

The second important April birthday is today and belongs to my
sister Cheryl. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have had been able to
take the road trip out to Ohio to visit our Aunt Dot or to go to the
Ellingwood Family reunion up in Maine last year. (She drives, I repeat
the GPS directions.) She is also currently my interior designer for my
new apartment.

Happy Birthday,Cheryl, and thank you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

April has some birthdays of significance to me and the first of these is
today! My Aunt Dorothy, my Dad's younger sister, is celebrating hers
today. Longtime readers of my blog will recall that it was Aunt Dot who
got me started on genealogy by sending us copies of her research years
ago. They helped me when I began my own research online.

She also wrote out a thirteen page memoir of growing up with my Dad
up in Oxford County Maine during the Depression. And two years ago
she gave me the West Family Bible.

I won't say which birthday this is (a gentleman never discusses a lady's
age!) but it isn't relevant in Aunt Dot's case because she's very active
and often cares for a very energetic group of great grandchildren.

So thank you, Aunt Dorothy, and may you have many many more
Happy Birthdays!

SATURDAY NIGHT GENEALOGY FUN: SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION

It’s time for Randy Seaver’s “Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.” at his
Genea-Musings blog . This week it’s “Six Degrees of Separation”.:


1) Find an ancestral line that atretches back to the time of the US Revolutionary War (1775-1783), about 230 years. Define your person-to-person connection (the person actually met the next person on the list) back to a historical figure from that time.

2) Tell us about it on your blog, in a note or comment on Facebook, or in a comment on this post.

This one has me gobsmacked!

1. I knew my grandfather Floyd E. West, Sr (1893-1970)

2.He had to know his great-grandmother Arvilla Ames (1810)-(1907)
since he was 14 years old when she died.

3. And her grandfather was Private John Ames Jr .(1756-1833).
I can’t imagine him not visiting his grandchildren or missing Arvilla’s
wedding to John Cutter West in 1827!

John was a Revolutionary War veteran who in his pension request
affidavit told of seeing Generals George Washington and Israel Putnam
in Cambridge, Ma. during the siege of Boston.

So I have three degrees of separation from somebody who saw
George Washington at the start of the American Revolution!

I'VE GOT A LOT OF GALL!

So I'd been doing alright since coming home from the hospital back in
Feb.,sticking to the diet, losing over 20lbs and all. Then about a week
and a half ago I began to feel queasy in the morning which I chalked up
to one of the more....er...unpleasant effects of my meds. And the
backache that I'd had since my hospital stay got worse. Then Monday
at work I suddenly felt like I was going to pass out. My boss called the
fire dept and it turned out my blood pressure was very low. So I got my
first ambulance ride and back to the hospital I went. This was especially
galling since I'd just signed the lease and picked up my keys to the new
apartment that very morning,

That wasn't all that was galling me. Turned out the back pain is from gall
stones which the surgeon who consulted on my case doesn't feel can be
removed surgically due to my heart condition. So I'm just going to have
to learn to live with the occasional flareups. They've adjusted my meds
which hopefully will prevent anymore ambulance rides for awhile and
I'm still following the diet.And I plan to make the move to the new place
by the end of this month instead of by the 15th which had been my
original plan.

Obviously I haven't been researching or blogging much lately and with
the move I can't predict how much time I can do either until after I'm
settled into the new place. I think I might have to start sitting in the chair
in the parlor while I'm online for longer periods so my back doesn't
bother me. But I'll be around!

My thanks to everyone who sent prayers and good wishes to me!

THE OXFORD ALABAMA INDIAN MOUND ONCE MORE ENDANGERED

Last July, Terry Thornton alerted us to a post at the Deep-Fried Kudzu blog about the
partial destruction of a 1500 year old Indian mound in the town of Oxford, Alabama. It
was being destroyed so that the dirt could be used for the foundation of a new Sam’s
Club store. Despite protests raised over the loss of a site that could have significance
to Native Americans, the mayor of Oxford remained adamant on continuing with the
project. Quite a bit of damage was done to the mound and only an offer from a local
farmer to provide dirt saved what was left.

Now comes word that the mayor is planning to level off the top of the hill to build a
new restaurant or hotel.

When I read this article yesterday I immediately thought about Emitt Smith’s segment
of “Who Do You Think You Are?” where he looks over the fence at the cemetery where
his slave ancestors are buried in unmarked graves in the woods. What if that area had
been cleared for a building or paved over for a parking lot?

Please spread the word about this disregard of Indian cultural history .If you
are a geneablogger, alert your readers with a post or with a link here to this article.
If you belong to a historical or genealogy society, tell your fellow members and urge them
to email or snailmail the Oxford, Alabama officials to protest the mayor’s plans.

The address is:
145 Hamric Drive East, PO Box 3383, Oxford AL 36203

The email address is
cityhall@oxfordalabama.org

You can read the article about the new plan in this weekends edition of the N.Y. Times.

Let’s use the surge of interest in genealogy to save this site and others like it
that are important to all our heritages.

CATCHING UP IS HARD TO DO

One of the problems of my recent medical problem is that I’ve fallen behind on researching
and writing articles for upcoming editions of the Carnival of Genealogy and the Carnival of
Irish Heritage and Culture. I was optimistically thinking I could turn out entries for both
today but came to the realistic conclusion about ten minutes ago that it wasn’t going to
happen. So Jasia and Lisa, to quote Jethro Tull(since I’ve already paraphrased Neil Sedaka
in the article title) “hope you don’t mind if I sit this one out.”

On the other hand I’ve been able to catch up on posts from other geneabloggers and
just this morning read Randy Seaver’s post over at Genea-Musings from his Amanuensis
Monday series which this week is the will of our mutual ancestor John Prescott. I thought I
hadn’t known of that connection between Randy and myself but now I’m wondering if
I might have forgotten a previous mention, At any rate, if you’ve been following my series
on my Lancaster, Massachusetts ancestors you should go to Randy’s blog to see John
Prescott’s will.

MY "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" PROGRAM

It’s taking me a bit to get back into the swing of things since I came home and my late
night genealogy blogging and research have been on the backburner in favor of sleeping.
But it’s my day off today so I am hoping to get a post or two done today!

I’m starting off with a late(nearly a week!)response to Randy Seaver’s latest Saturday Night
Genealogy Fun challenge over at his Genea-Musings blog:

1) Pretend that you are one of the subjects on the Who Do You Think You
Are? show on NBC TV.

2) Which of your ancestors (maximum of two) would be featured on your
hour-long show? What stories would be told, and what places would you visit?

3) Tell us about it on your own blog, in comments to this blog post, or in
a Note or Comment on Facebook.

Well, this a no-brainer for me; I’d have them tackle my two big brickwalls.

First off, we’d have the experts research my ancestor John Cutter West. We’d start off
visiting the places in Maine that were important in his life:

Sumner Maine where he married Arvilla Ames in 1827.

Upton Maine where they and their family lived.

The roadside cemetery where he and several of his children are buried, The story of the
terrible diphtheria epidemic of 1862 would be told.

Then we’d travel to the NEHGS to meet with experts who will have found at long last
records of John Cutter West’s place of birth in Plymouth County Massachusetts and
the names of his parents.

The segment would end with a visit to whatever town where John was born and perhaps
the graves of his parents.

The other segment would be a search for my maternal grandfather Edward Francis White
Sr. This would take place mostly in the Boston area and look for the answers to:

Where did his parents come form?

Who did he marry after his marriage to my grandmother Aggie was over?

How many children did he have in his new family? What were their names and do I have
any cousins living near me? Do they even know about Edward’s first family? Would they
want to meet his other grandchildren, my sister, my brother and myself?

When did Edward die and where is he buried?

The program would end with a visit to his grave.

There it is. Not so far to travel but it would answer so many questions for both sides of
my family!

WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

Like most of my geneablogging colleagues I was waiting for the premiere
of the new NBC genealogy program "Who Do You Think You Are?" with
great anticipation and hopes it would do a good job making genealogy
interesting to the general public. After watching the first episode last
night, I think the answer is a resounding yes.

I liked the fact that the search for Sarah Jessica Parker's Hodge
ancestors began where any family history research should start if
possible with a conversation with family members who might have
information. And then other sources were shown as useful for
tracing your family, such as census records, obituaries, and best of
all, historical and genealogical societies. I wish more had been said
about how long such searches usually take for the average person,
however.

One review I've seen refers to the program as "Ancestry with the
Stars" and some bloggers have said they wish the program would
use everyday people as subjects, but let's face it, folks, first and
foremost this is an entertainment program. If it is to have any
chance of ratings success it needs a Sarah Jessica Parker rather
than a Mary Jones to attract viewers.

One point that had some of my Fb friends concerned was that neither
SJP and the archivist were wearing gloves when handling the original
warrant for witchcraft against SJP's ancestor. But the use of gloves
seems to not be a universal rule. I recalled that the History Detectives
show mentioned this and found this link on Facebook about why they
are also occasionally shown not using gloves:

http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=22490894413#!/note.php?note_id=126856096153

While I eventually tired of SJP's reactions I don't doubt they were genuine.
The show was filmed before the birth of her twins and she used the Hodge
and Elwell surnames as part of her childrens' names.

Finally, during the show my brother called. He and his fiancee were
watching and wondered if SJP's Elwell ancestor was one of the witches
in our own family tree. I told him no, that ours were Mary Eastey and
Rebecca Blake. Then after the commercial when SJP was visiting a
memorial to the victims of the Witch Hysteria, the second marker she
brushed the snow off was for Mary Eastey! What are the odds?

Overall, I give the premiere an A-. What did the general public
think? I haven't seen any ratings yet, but after the show aired,
traffic at the Ancestry.com site seems to have suddenly become
quite heavy!

So, what did you think of "Who Do You Think You Are?"

A SHOT IN THE DARK PT2

I haven't been able to find a description of Andrew Gardner's garrison house
but from what I've found about the circumstances of his death there was a wall
with some sort of watchtower around the house. During times of heightened
of Indian activities in the area Rev. Garner's garrison was manned by his neighbors
and likewise sheltered their families. Since his house had originally been part of
John Prescott's lands, it's unsurprising to find Prescott relations among the 9 men
in the garrison list:

"on ye west side of Nashuway River
Mr, Andrew Gardner & Thomas Sawyer Jur a Garison
Thomas Sawyer Comander -3
Mr. Gardner -1
Jabez Fairbank -1
Nathl. Sawyer -1
John Harris -1
Daniell Rugg -1
Saml Prescott -1--9"

So on that October night in 1704 there were nine men and their families within the
garrison. The men would have taken shifts on sentry duty, and it was this which led to
the circumstances of Rev. Gardner's death:

"I now return to the westward, where, on the 25th of October the enemy did some mischief. Lancaster was alarmed, and the alarm was the means of the untimely death of the Rev. Mr Gardiner their worthy pastor. Several of the inhabitants who belonged to the garrison, were wearied by hard travelling the day before, in pursuit of the enemy. This caused this good
man out of pity and compassion to watch that night himself: accordingly he went into the
box which lay over the flanker, where he staid till late in the night; but being cold (as was supposed) he was coming down to warm himself, when one between sleeping and waking,
or surprised through excess of fear fired upon him as he was coming out of the watch house where no man could rationally expect the coming of an enemy. Mr Gardner, although he
was shot through the back came to the door and bid them open it for he was wounded. No sooner did he enter, but he fainted away: As he came to himself, he asked who it was that
shot him, and when they told him, he prayed God to forgive him, and forgave him himself, believing that he did it not on purpose; and with a composed frame of spirit, desired them
that bewailed him not to weep, but pray for him and his flock. He comforted his sorrowful spouse, and expired within an hour.

[Samuel Penhallow's History of the Indian Wars.]"


The name of the man who shot Rev. Andrew Gardner was Samuel Prescott.

An account in the November 30th 1704 issue of the Boston News Letter added
that three of the defenders were away. The Early Records of Lancaster tells how
a coroner's inquest was held and that contrary to the accounts above, Samuel Prescott
stated he was the sentinel on duty. When he saw someone climbing down from the
sentry box, he challenged the person twice but receiving no reply fired.

The jury exonerated Samuel Prescott but apparently he was unable to forgive himself.
He left Lancaster and moved to Concord, Ma.

As I said in the first part this article, life under such circumstances had to have been
extremely stressful for our ancestors. The story of Andrew Gardner's death is just one
instance we know about in which those circumstances led to tragic mistakes. I wonder
how many more there might have been that were never recorded.

SOME THOUGHTS ON "FACES OF AMERICA"

I haven't seen all three episodes of "Faces of America" as yet. I missed
all of Part 2 and half of Part 3 due to my umm...vacation. But I do have
some impressions I'd like to share before the final episode is shown.

Like some others I'm not entirely pleased with the format. Ideally
there'd be an episode or a half episode for each of the celebrities and
more details given of the actual research. But this is PBS with less
money to spend and a limited number of episodes so I understand
the decision to go with a sort of theme approach. There's been some
criticism of Prof. Gates' style but he's not a tv host by trade, he's a
professor and he presents the information in a professorial manner.

That being said, I've enjoyed what I've seen. The expressions on
the faces and emotional reactions of the celebrities as Prof. Gates
shows them some pictures or documents are touching. Many of us
have experienced that moment ourselves when we discover things
we didn't know about our families. And as a historian I like how
the program shows how events around them shape the history and
fortunes of families.

So is "Faces of America" perfect?

No, but it's a fine program anyway and well worth viewing!

THANKS TO EVERYONE!

While I was recuperating at the hospital I got some great
news. I made the Family Tree Magazine Top 40 Genealogy
Blogs list! Boy, was that a shot in the arm!

I want to thank the people who voted for me and the editors
of Family Tree Magazine for this honor and for putting me in
with such a great bunch of bloggers. Congratulations to
all my co-winners !

Thanks so much!

SO ABOUT THAT VACATION!

Alright, so it wasn't really a vacation.

As some of my friends (FB and otherwise) know, I'd been
fighting what I thought was a bad chest cold.About 2 weeks
ago I got laryngitis but instead of clearing up it got worse
and I felt drained. Stubbornly (and stupidly) I tried to work
my way through it, figuring it was pneumonia. Last Wed,
when I left for work I was having difficulty breathing so I
stopped in a doctor's office on the way and they had me
drive myself immediately to the emergency room at the
South Shore Hospital.

Turns out I had congestive heart failure.

I came home yesterday after a week's stay. There was
some heart damage but I'm alive and making the
necessary changes to ensure I stay that way.

I'd like to thank my family, especially my sister Cheryl
for seeing me through this.

Thanks also to everyone for their good thoughts sent
my way,

And thanks to the ladies of the 5th Floor Pratt wing at
the South Shore Hospital for taking such good care of me!

Unexpected Vacation

This week has brought an unexpected vacation....and not one that involves a road trip.

I have been admitted to a local hospital. While the "contintental breakfast" compares to that of the economy lodgings to which I have become so accustomed, they pale to those I am used to preparing at home.

However... I am gathering material on which I hope to blog in the near future.

Stay tuned.

A MAN NAMED OPPENHEIM

I posted on FB yesterday that I'd finally figured out how to set
up a wireless connection with my new laptop and received some
congratulatory comments. Among them was one from fellow
geneablogger Terry Thornton who sent along lines from a poem
by James Oppenheim. He also emailed the complete poem
to me here and now I'm sharing it with you. I've never heard
of Oppenheim before but I'm going to look for more of his work.

I really like this. Thanks, Terry!

A MAN NAMED MILLENER

by James Oppenheim

A man named Millener sits up all of an April night in Omaha

Trying to signal the planet Mars and get a reply . . .

It is the time when Mars is nearest Earth

And now the two coasting planets in the Old Black Sea

May hail one another and break those two silences

We call Infinity and Eternity.

Millener has a giant wireless which sends waves so long that sound goes silent

And the waves search through interstellar space

And wash the shores of planets . . .

His wireless is a mouth speaking to the stars . . .

It speaks: and becomes an ear . . .

An Earth-ear so great it cannot hear the flying wireless words of Europe and Ameria

But is tuned only to the heavens. . . .

"We shall soon know," thinks Millener, "whether there are others beside ourselves
in the universe"

So he sends the signals.

Then all night long he waits, watching and listening . . .

His ear is to the void, to the abyss. . . .

But there is no answer . . . the Silence remains Silence.

from A Miscellany of American Poetry 1920. New York: Harcourt,Brace and Howe.
1920. Page 104.

A SHOT IN THE DARK PT1

By the time John Prescott died in 1681 he owned over 700 acres of land in and
around Lancaster, Ma. which passed into the hands of his various children and
grandchildren. But as I've shown in a series of posts last year his descendants
didn't have an easy time of it due to the constant clashes with the Native American
of New England. Lancaster was still very much a frontier town with its garrison-houses
and sentries. And despite their vigilance the citizens occasionally still fell victim to
sudden attacks.

Here is one instance that took place on 11Sept 1697::

"In Massachusetts Archives, n, 257, is a letter from Governor William Stoughton to
the Governor and Council of Connecticut, from which this is an extract:

"Boston Sept. 14, 1697.

Upon ye it"' instant a party of Indians to y* number of about Forty as was judged,
about twelve o clock the same day, Surprized and kild about 26 persons at Lancaster,
of which the minister of the Town was one, burnt two Garrison houses and two Barnes,
the Garrisons being left open and y* Inhabitants surprized in their Fields: there is a
party of men out in pursuit of y* Enemy"
-Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts 1643-1725 (page 133)

Among the dead were Jonathan Fairbank and his children Grace and Jonas. Jonathan
was a grandson of John Prescott and the son of Jonas Fairbanks who'd been killed in
the siege of Lancaster in 1676.

By the beginning of the period known as Queen Anne's War there were eleven
garrison-houses in Lancaster. One of these belonged to Lancaster's minister
Andrew Gardner and was manned by his neighbors during times of Indian
activity in the area. I can't imagine living under the constant tension the families of
Lancaster endured. Nearly thirty years of warfare that must have touched nearly
everyone, with homes destroyed, relatives killed, and loved ones carried off as captives.

On 30Jul 1704, Lancaster was once more attacked, its meetinghouse burned and
three people killed. Then in October a colonist was killed in the woods near Groton
and Lancaster went on alert. The expected force of Indians did eventually appear,
but they were preceded by a tragic death caused in part by their approach:

"On Thursday night the Reverend Mr Gardner Minister of Lancaster was unfortunately
shot by the Sentinel on the Watch, supposing him to be an Indian climbing over the
Walls of the Fortification: of which wound he died in an hours space or little more.

[Boston News Letter, October 30, 1704.]"
-(p 149)

I'll discuss the details in the next post.

POST #700

I've been coming up on blogpost #700 for awhile now and
debated with myself whether or not I should make mention of it
or just let it pass unnoticed.

Then last night as I was watching "Faces of America" (excellent, btw)
I noticed an email had come in on my computer with the subject
of "Leonidas West". It turned out to be a letter from a young lady
who is Leonidas West's great granddaughter and so is my
third cousin once removed. That makes three West cousins in the
last two months, including Betty(another third cousin once removed)
and Mark(a fourth cousin) and all three descended from different
children of John Cutter and Arvilla Ames West.

So it occurred to me this morning: what better way to mark the
700th post than celebrating hearing from a new cousin?

And that's what I've done!

"HEE SAID SHEE SAID": A LITTLE BUTTERY CONVERSATION

As much as Mary Gates' outburst at Sunday meeting must have been the subject of
much conversation, I think it must have paled in comparison to the following
incident. It's a classic case of "he said she said" on a subject that might outrage
people even in 21st century America. And there were my ancestors John and
Mary Prescott as witnesses right in the middle of it.

A few notes: Lancaster was known by the Indian name Nashaway originally and
the buttery referred to in Cambridge was a store room for kegs and caskets of
wine and liquor, not dairy products.

And I've boldfaced the statement Goodwife Hall was accused of making:


"1651. Declaration of Elizabeth the wife of John Hall of Nashaway against George Whaley of Cambridge. [MS. torn] Sheweth vnto this honored Court that about foure moneths since
George [Whaley] Steuen Day & Samuell Rayner of Cambridge were at Nashaway and
[MS. torn] the house of John Prescott there fell out a discourse betweene John Prescott & Steuen Day in W* discourse John Prescott did speake against John & his wife Steuen Day
did vindicate the cause of Goodwife Hall in her absence against John Prescott till at length George Whaley bade Steuen Day that he should not goe about to justify the woman for
Whaley [MS. torn] that when Sr Phillips came from Nashaway he came into the buttery at
the College in Cambridge where the said George Whaley demanded of Sr. Phillips how all
their friends at Nashaway did, to wch Sr Phillips answered they were all well. Mr Whaley
further demanded how he liked the place, he answered uery well. It is a desirable place as
any was in the country as he conceaved. Mr Whaley further asked how he liked the people,
he answered he liked them uery well only there were some that held this opinion, that all
things were common & said he came one morninge to goodwife halls house & as soon as he
was come goodwife hall demanded of him whether all things were not common now as in the apostles tyme, & before that Sr. Phillips could give answer she did further say that this is my judgment, that all things are common, mens wiues alsoe, at wch speech Steuen Day was much troubled and grieued & had not one word more to say, & in the morning after, the said Day & Reynor [went] to goodwife halls house & being sad at the report he there expressed his in these words. I feare there is an (word illegible} amongst you, I wish he may be found out, to wch' goodwyfe hall answered if any of them gave any thinge against me if they will tell mee of it I will give them satisfaction, Steuen Day said he was glad to heare it for out of thy owne mouthe they will judge thee, for thus Mr Whaley [says] that Sr. Phillips hath reported of thee as is before expressed goodwife hall denyed that euer she spake any such thinge, nor did she hold any such opinion, herevpon Steuen Day demanded of Samuel
Rayner whether Mr Whaley did not speake as he had then related, to wch Samuel Rayner answered yt was soe & he would take his oath of it, This relation of Steuen Day in goodwife halls house & Samuell Rayners [relation] of it was in goodwife halls house Richard Smith present. Goodwife hall much greived at it that such a scandall should be raysed against her, knowinge herself free & cleare, desired to speake with Mr Whaley & on the next day after, in the morninge did take Richard Smith and Lawrence Waters with her wch sd Smith & Waters cominge to Mr Whaley desiringe to speake w"' him he bade them take heed how they did
speake anything for the woman, yet promised to speake wth her after breakfast at wch
tyme Steuen Day, Richard Smith & Lawrence Waters & goodwife hall came to Mr Whaley; goodwife hall demanded of Mr Whaley what he had against her Whaley answered that
Sr Phillips in the buttery at the College had spoken as before expressed, only he did then
leaue out _ mens wiues. this testified Richard Smith Lawrence Waters & Steuen Day"

Goodwife Hall apparently was not going to take this lying down and brought George
Whaley to court:

"To Steuen Day & Samuel Reyner of Cambridge. You are hereby required to appeare at the
next Court held at Cambridge the 7"' day of y' eight moneth next to wittnes for the wife of
John Hall of Nashaway in a case in difference betweene her & George Whaley of Cambridge
— & hereof you are not to fayle at your perill."

dated the 12th day of the 7th mo 1651. By the Court
Hugh Griffyn C."

First to testify were my Prescott ancestors:

"The testimony of Goodman Prescot & his wife After that Mr Phillips came from Goodwife
Halls hee told mee and my wife that goodwife Hall did aske him what he thought by y
judgment of those that hold that all things are common. Mr Phillips asked her how shee
[meant] all things common whether as it was in ye' Apostles tyme, her answer was all
things without any exception, and Mr Phillips said it was a damnable opinion; yea indeed
(shee said) I have knowne sad effects come of it, and in further discourse hee said shee
said shee kept one in her house which was of that opinion.

Attested uppon oath by John Prescot in Court
John Prescott
The mark X of Mary Prescott
Th . Danforth Record"

Next came the statements of Smith and Waters:

"The Testimony of Richard Smith & Lawrence Waters concerning the speeches of George
Whaley against hall.

Cominge to Mr Whaley in the next morninge after the relation of Steuen day at goodwife
halls the said Smith & Waters desired to speake with Mr Whaley, he bade them take heed
how they did speake any thing for the woman, yet promised to speake with her after
breakefast at wch time. Steuen day beinge alls'oe present goodwife hall demanded of Mr
Whaley what he had against her, to wch Mr Whaley made this answer that Sr Phillips in the buttery at the College in Cambridge cominge into the buttery answered to him as
followeth . Mr Whaley demanded first how did all freinds at Nashaway. Sr. Phillips answered they are well. Whaley further demanded how he liked the place, he answered very well,
it was a desirable place as any was in the country, as he conceived . Mr Whaley further demanded how he liked the people, he answered he liked them well only there was some
that held this opinion that all thinges were common, Mr Whaley demanded who they were,
he answered John Hall's wife."

Finally Samuel Raner and Stephen Day added their testimony:

"The Testimony of Samuel Raner is that he heard Lieft. George Whaley say yt Sr Phillips
told him yt Goodwife Hall asked whether all things were comon. Attested uppon oath in
Court.
Tho Danforth Rec.

The Testimony of Stephen Day is that he heard Lieft George Whaley say y' he received by report of Sr Phillips that Goodwife Hall had proposed a question of this import whether all
things wr common. Attested"

So now would come Goodwife Elizabeth Hall's chance to refute what she claimed were
slanderous statements by George Whaley. Or would it?


"The foregoing documents in the case of Elizabeth, wife of John Hall, vs. Lieut. George Whaley,
for slander, are in the Court files of Middlesex County. Lawrence Waters had sold his first house-lot of about seventeen acres, and the house upon it, to John Hall. Elizabeth Hall was
living there, while her husband at this time was in England. He soon sent for her to come to
him, and the estate was sold to Richard Smith. The suit against Whaley never came to
judgment."

So Goodwife Hall left Massachusetts under a bit of a cloud of scandal. She never had the
opportunity to question George Whaley or this Mr Phillips who supposedly was Whaley's
source. (And why hadn't his testimony been taken as the others had been?). On the other
hand, the townsfolk of Nashaway had more important things than a minor scandal to
keep their minds busy, such as simply surviving!

THE THIRD ANNUAL WEST IN NEW ENGLAND GENIE AWARDS

Once again it's the time of year when awards are handed
out, even in the geneablogging community. As a member of
the AGFH(Academy of Genealogy & Family History) it;s my
pleasure to select the best blog posts in five different
categories So without further ado, here are my picks for the
2009 West in New England Genie Awards!



Best Picture-The gravestone of John Cutter West (1802-1862).
I didn't post very many pictures to the blog in `09 but even if I had
I'd choose this one. It reminds me of the location beside the
highway and of the nearby headstones of his granchildren who had
died in the diptheria outbreak of 1862.

Best Screen Play-The Haskell Inheritance.
This is actually a series of posts recounting the legal battle between
the children of Roger Haskell and their stepfather Edward Berry
over their inheritance. I'd like to see Ted Danson play Berry, Glenn Close
play Elizabeth (Hardy) Haskell Berry, Robbie Coltrane as Uncle William
Haskell, and in the epilogue, Betty White as Beatrice Berry,

Best Documentary- Cyprian Stevens' Letter
The text of Cyprian Steven's letter to the governor and his council
asking for aid for the citizens of Lancaster, Ma who were under siege by
Indians. If this were ever turned into a screenplay it would be part
of a documentary series on Lancaster in the 17th century!


Best Biography-The Jeremiah Swain Series
I was extremely fortunate to find a lot of material on Jeremiah, including
his correspondence with the Governor's Council. This is a prime example
of the value of Google Books in genealogical research. Oh, and I'd cast
John Hamm in the movie version.


Best Comedy-Geneablogger Blues
I was tired and struggling to come up with a blog topic, and for some
reason I started composing this. It tickled my funnybone and from the
comments I got about it, it seems it did the same for some of my readers.
In fact, what better way to close out the awards?

"I've got the Geneablogger Blues
Have some mercy if you please
And that will conclude
The Third Annual Genies!"

Thank you. Thank you very much!

((written for the 90th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy))

THE CARNIVAL OF GENEALOGY IS UP!

The 89th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is up over at Jasia's
Creative Gene blog and the assignment was to write a poem
suitable for use as an introduction to a book or video on your family's
history. Eighteen geneabloggers took the challenge and the results
are outstanding. Be sure to check them out!

As per usual, Jasia then issued the call for submissions to the next
COG:

"The topic for the next edition (#90!) of the COG will be: The
Third Annual iGene Awards, The Best of The Best! It's
Academy awards time... time for the Academy of Genealogy and
Family History, aka AGFH, to honor their best blog posts of 2009
in the following 5 categories:

• Best Picture - Best old family photo that appeared on your blog in 2009.
  Tell us which you liked best and why.
• Best Screen Play - Which family story that you shared in 2009 would
  make the best movie? Who would you cast as your family members?
• Best Documentary - Which was the best informational article you wrote about a place, thing, or event involving your family's history in 2009?
• Best Biography - Which was the best biographical article you wrote in 2009?
• Best Comedy - Which was the best funny story, poem, joke, photo, or video
  that you shared on your blog in 2009?"

"The deadline for submissions is February 15th, 30 submissions
will be accepted.

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


This one is always fun and I'm looking forward to reading it!