This is the second unsolicited email I've received from someone
associated with your site asking me to check out one of your blogposts
and suggesting that I "feature or mention it" here on my blog. The
first one apparently had something to do with Japan, and for the life
of me I couldn't figure out by what stretch of the imagination the
writer thought that had any relevance to New England genealogy.
Mildly annoyed, I did what I usually do with such emails.
I didn't click the link and I deleted the email.
Then this morning I received a second email. I'm sure you're a
nice person. Perhaps you are working your way through online
college by sending out emails to solicit traffic to your website.
So I won't mention your name. But now I am a bit peeved.
Stop sending me emails. I've marked this one as spam so it's
going the way of the first one with link unclicked.
But I AM mentioning it on my blog. Sort of. Just not in the
way I think you had hoped.
And have a NICE Day!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
AN HOUR ON FOOTNOTE.COM
It's Thursday and after a short visit to the doctor for some tests the rest of
my day is free.I prefer to schedule the appointments as early as possible
in the day for just that reason.
I thought I'd revisit Footnote.com to see what databases were new or
updated and found one that was unfamiliar to me, the Final Payment
Vouchers Index for Military Pensions, 1818-1864. These records show
the date of the final payment to a Revolutionary War veteran or his
widow and many have the dates they died.
I found cards for the following ancestors:
John Ames
Asa Barrows
Jonathan Barker
Amos Upton
I also found the records for Jonathan Barker's brothers Benjamin and
Jesse. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know but I downloaded
the images to each of the files I have for them.
I also checked again for pension files for a few of the ancestors I hadn't
found one for as yet. One of these is John Griffith (4Jun 1763 Rochester,
Plymouth, Ma.-8Feb 1840, Livermore, Androscoggin, Me.). I knew that
he'd served as a matross in an artillery company under Captain William
Treadwell in the 3rd Artillery Regiment commanded by Col. John Crane.
And of course not all veterans applied for pensions. But this time around I
checked under the names of the widows and got a hit. On an image from
the pension file of James Rankin I found a letter concerning the cases of
several widows and on it was the following:
"In the case of Mary Griffith widow of John Griffith you inform me
that no papers can be found-it is stated in her application that her
late husband enlisted in Col Crane's Regiment of Artillery and served
til the end of the war, the foregoing are all the particulars we can
furnish you."
The letter's signature is faded but looks like it could be a Levi Bailey. It's
addressed to "J.S. Edwards Commissioner of Pensions, Washington DC"
and was written on 16 Apr 1845 from the Bangor Land Office so Mary
Boyden Griffith might have been applying for a land grant. I've found no
record online that she succeeded so she may have failed. She died in
Livermore, Oxford, Me in 1846. Her granddaughter Arvilla Ames is my
3x great-grandmother Arvilla Ames West.
But not bad for an hour's search on Footnote.com, I think!
my day is free.I prefer to schedule the appointments as early as possible
in the day for just that reason.
I thought I'd revisit Footnote.com to see what databases were new or
updated and found one that was unfamiliar to me, the Final Payment
Vouchers Index for Military Pensions, 1818-1864. These records show
the date of the final payment to a Revolutionary War veteran or his
widow and many have the dates they died.
I found cards for the following ancestors:
John Ames
Asa Barrows
Jonathan Barker
Amos Upton
I also found the records for Jonathan Barker's brothers Benjamin and
Jesse. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know but I downloaded
the images to each of the files I have for them.
I also checked again for pension files for a few of the ancestors I hadn't
found one for as yet. One of these is John Griffith (4Jun 1763 Rochester,
Plymouth, Ma.-8Feb 1840, Livermore, Androscoggin, Me.). I knew that
he'd served as a matross in an artillery company under Captain William
Treadwell in the 3rd Artillery Regiment commanded by Col. John Crane.
And of course not all veterans applied for pensions. But this time around I
checked under the names of the widows and got a hit. On an image from
the pension file of James Rankin I found a letter concerning the cases of
several widows and on it was the following:
"In the case of Mary Griffith widow of John Griffith you inform me
that no papers can be found-it is stated in her application that her
late husband enlisted in Col Crane's Regiment of Artillery and served
til the end of the war, the foregoing are all the particulars we can
furnish you."
The letter's signature is faded but looks like it could be a Levi Bailey. It's
addressed to "J.S. Edwards Commissioner of Pensions, Washington DC"
and was written on 16 Apr 1845 from the Bangor Land Office so Mary
Boyden Griffith might have been applying for a land grant. I've found no
record online that she succeeded so she may have failed. She died in
Livermore, Oxford, Me in 1846. Her granddaughter Arvilla Ames is my
3x great-grandmother Arvilla Ames West.
But not bad for an hour's search on Footnote.com, I think!
Monday, May 24, 2010
PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF.
I had intended to summarize what I'd learned about my great great
grandfather Jonathan Phelps West and his brothers from the 1850-1880
Nonpopulation Census Schedules. But I hadn't found the 1880
Agricultural Schedule for JP yet and I wanted to take a last shot at it over
at Ancestry.com. Searching by name hadn't turned up anything so I
decided to search every image for every town in Oxford County, Maine.
The 1880 images show two pages and theorizing that the missing page
with JP might be a right hand page indexed under the name of the town
on the left hand page, I narrowed my search by looking at the last image
for each town. Sure enough, after starting alphabetically with the town of
Albany, I found the missing Upton, Maine image at the end of the images
for Grafton, Maine.
I discovered why the name search hadn't worked when I added the
record to JP's profile: he'd been indexed just as "Jonathan P." with no
last name!
Figuring I was now on a roll, I decided to try my luck with the same
method for the missing second page of the 1870 Agricultural Schedule.
This presented a different challenge. The images show two pages, the
right hand one being the front page of a record and the left hand page
being the second page of the previous record. Reasoning this time that
the missing second page might be indexed with the first page of the
following town, I decided to search the first image for each town. The
main trouble with this was that those pages don't have the names of the
towns or citizens on them; that information was on the front page. So
how could I tell if a page was the missing Upton page?
I looked at the image I had of the front page for anything that might be
dark enough to show through onto the second page. Nothing. Then, I
counted the number of entries on the page. There were 33, so logically,
there should be a corresponding number on the missing second page. I
started looking at the images for the 1870 Schedule and once again I
lucked out! The page preceding the page for the town of Gilead had 33
entries! But not taking any chances, I went through all the towns to see if
there was another image with the 33 entries, but there were no others.
So I have a few more posts to write before that summary.
And that's why it pays to be persistent!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
DOWN ON ASA'S FARM 1880
While Hiram West had abandoned farming by 1880 in favor of the
lumber and mill business, brother Asa West was still at it, albeit at a
smaller scale than in 1870. Sometime over that decade, Asa's farm
shrank by 35 acres, 20 of it farmland and the other 15 woodland.
Consequently the total value of the farm was down over a thousand
dollars to 2600 dollars.The flock of ten sheep was gone. Asa still grew
corn and oats but no longer buckwheat but he had made more use of
his woodland, drawing 30 gallons of maple syrup and cutting 10 cords
of wood valued at 10 dollars.
He'd also cut back on expenses by not hiring any help, a savings of
300 dollars from 1870.By now daughter Lizzie and son C. Scott were
teenagers and able to help out around the farm.If Asa was working
for Hiram at the sawmill, the pay or profit there would more than
makeup the monies that might have been made by growing more crops.
So here's my transcription from the 1880 Schedule 2-Productions of
Agriculture for Andover, Oxford, Maine, page 9:
Tenure:
Owner:yes
Rents for fixed money rental:
Rents for shares of crops:
Acres of Land:
Improved:
Tilled, including fallow and grass in rotation (whether pasture or meadow):30
Permanent meadows, permanent pastures,orchards, vineyards:50
Unimproved:
Woodland and forest:50
Other unimproved, including "old fields" and growing wood:
Farm Values:
Of farm, including land, fences and buildings:2200(dollars)
Of farming implements and machinery:100(dollars)
Of livestock:300(dollars)
Fences:
Cost of building and repairing in 1879:
Cost of fertilizers purchased in 1879:
Labor:
Amount paid for wages for farm labor during 1879, including value of board:
Weeks hired labor in 1879 upon farm (and dairy),excluding housework:
Estimated value of all farm productions (sold, consumed or on hand) in 1879:400(dollars)
Grass Lands:
Acreage 1879
Mown:30
Not Mown:
Products Harvested in 1879:
Hay:30(tons)
Clover seed:
Grass seed:
Horses of all ages on hand June 1, 1879:2
Mules and asses all ages on hand June 1, 1879:
On hand June 1, 1879:
Working oxen:2
Milch cows:2
Other:
Meat Cattle and Their Products:
Calves dropped:1
Movement 1879:
Purchased:3
Sold living:
Slaughtered:
Died, strayed and at (indecipherable word)and not recovered:
Milk sold, or sent to butter and cheese factories in 1879:
Butter made on the farm in 1879:100(lbs.)
Cheese made on the farm in 1879:
Sheep:
On hand June 1,1879:
Lambs dropped:
Movement 1879:
Purchased:
Sold living:
Slaughtered:
Killed by dogs:
Died of disease:
Died of stress of weather:
Clip, Spring 1880, Shorn And To Be Shorn:
Fleeces:
Weight:
Swine:
On hand June 1, 1880:2
Poultry On Hand June 1, 1880, Exclusive Of Spring Hatchlings
Barn-yard:8
Others:
Eggs Produced In 1879:30(doz.)
Cereal:
Barley 1879:
Acres:
Crop:
Buckwheat 1879:
Acres:
Crop:
Indian Corn 1879:
Acres:1
Crop:15(bushels)
Oats 1879:
Acres:3
Crop:100(bushels)
Rye 1879:
Acres:
Crop:
Wheat 1879:
Acres:
Crop:
Pulse:
Canada Peas (Dry) in 1879:
Beans (Dry) in 1879:9 (bushels)
Fiber:
Flax-1879:
Area in crop:
Seed:
Straw:
Fiber:
Hemp:
Acres:
Tons:
Sugar:
Surghum-1879:
Area in crop:
Sugar:
Molasses:
Maple-1879
Sugar:
Molasses:30(gallons)
Broom Corn-1879
Acres:
Lbs.:
Hops-1879:
Acres:
Crop:
Potatoes(Irish)1879:
Acres:1
Crop:200(bushels)
Potatoes(Sweet)1879
Acres:
Crop:
Orchards-1879:
Apples:
Acres:2
Bearing trees:100
Bushels 1879:200
Peaches:
Acres:
Bearing trees:
Bushels 1879
Total value of orchard products of all kinds sold or consumed:24(dollars)
Nurseries:
Acres:
Total value of produce sold in 1879:
Vineyards:
Acres:
Grapes sold in 1879:
Wine made in 1879:
Market Gardens
Value of produce sold in 1879:
Bees:
Honey:
Wax:
Forest Products:
Amount of wood cut in 1879:10(cords)
Value of all forest products sold or consumed in 1879:10(dollars)
I'll have some thoughts about what I've learned from all this in another post.
lumber and mill business, brother Asa West was still at it, albeit at a
smaller scale than in 1870. Sometime over that decade, Asa's farm
shrank by 35 acres, 20 of it farmland and the other 15 woodland.
Consequently the total value of the farm was down over a thousand
dollars to 2600 dollars.The flock of ten sheep was gone. Asa still grew
corn and oats but no longer buckwheat but he had made more use of
his woodland, drawing 30 gallons of maple syrup and cutting 10 cords
of wood valued at 10 dollars.
He'd also cut back on expenses by not hiring any help, a savings of
300 dollars from 1870.By now daughter Lizzie and son C. Scott were
teenagers and able to help out around the farm.If Asa was working
for Hiram at the sawmill, the pay or profit there would more than
makeup the monies that might have been made by growing more crops.
So here's my transcription from the 1880 Schedule 2-Productions of
Agriculture for Andover, Oxford, Maine, page 9:
Tenure:
Owner:yes
Rents for fixed money rental:
Rents for shares of crops:
Acres of Land:
Improved:
Tilled, including fallow and grass in rotation (whether pasture or meadow):30
Permanent meadows, permanent pastures,orchards, vineyards:50
Unimproved:
Woodland and forest:50
Other unimproved, including "old fields" and growing wood:
Farm Values:
Of farm, including land, fences and buildings:2200(dollars)
Of farming implements and machinery:100(dollars)
Of livestock:300(dollars)
Fences:
Cost of building and repairing in 1879:
Cost of fertilizers purchased in 1879:
Labor:
Amount paid for wages for farm labor during 1879, including value of board:
Weeks hired labor in 1879 upon farm (and dairy),excluding housework:
Estimated value of all farm productions (sold, consumed or on hand) in 1879:400(dollars)
Grass Lands:
Acreage 1879
Mown:30
Not Mown:
Products Harvested in 1879:
Hay:30(tons)
Clover seed:
Grass seed:
Horses of all ages on hand June 1, 1879:2
Mules and asses all ages on hand June 1, 1879:
On hand June 1, 1879:
Working oxen:2
Milch cows:2
Other:
Meat Cattle and Their Products:
Calves dropped:1
Movement 1879:
Purchased:3
Sold living:
Slaughtered:
Died, strayed and at (indecipherable word)and not recovered:
Milk sold, or sent to butter and cheese factories in 1879:
Butter made on the farm in 1879:100(lbs.)
Cheese made on the farm in 1879:
Sheep:
On hand June 1,1879:
Lambs dropped:
Movement 1879:
Purchased:
Sold living:
Slaughtered:
Killed by dogs:
Died of disease:
Died of stress of weather:
Clip, Spring 1880, Shorn And To Be Shorn:
Fleeces:
Weight:
Swine:
On hand June 1, 1880:2
Poultry On Hand June 1, 1880, Exclusive Of Spring Hatchlings
Barn-yard:8
Others:
Eggs Produced In 1879:30(doz.)
Cereal:
Barley 1879:
Acres:
Crop:
Buckwheat 1879:
Acres:
Crop:
Indian Corn 1879:
Acres:1
Crop:15(bushels)
Oats 1879:
Acres:3
Crop:100(bushels)
Rye 1879:
Acres:
Crop:
Wheat 1879:
Acres:
Crop:
Pulse:
Canada Peas (Dry) in 1879:
Beans (Dry) in 1879:9 (bushels)
Fiber:
Flax-1879:
Area in crop:
Seed:
Straw:
Fiber:
Hemp:
Acres:
Tons:
Sugar:
Surghum-1879:
Area in crop:
Sugar:
Molasses:
Maple-1879
Sugar:
Molasses:30(gallons)
Broom Corn-1879
Acres:
Lbs.:
Hops-1879:
Acres:
Crop:
Potatoes(Irish)1879:
Acres:1
Crop:200(bushels)
Potatoes(Sweet)1879
Acres:
Crop:
Orchards-1879:
Apples:
Acres:2
Bearing trees:100
Bushels 1879:200
Peaches:
Acres:
Bearing trees:
Bushels 1879
Total value of orchard products of all kinds sold or consumed:24(dollars)
Nurseries:
Acres:
Total value of produce sold in 1879:
Vineyards:
Acres:
Grapes sold in 1879:
Wine made in 1879:
Market Gardens
Value of produce sold in 1879:
Bees:
Honey:
Wax:
Forest Products:
Amount of wood cut in 1879:10(cords)
Value of all forest products sold or consumed in 1879:10(dollars)
I'll have some thoughts about what I've learned from all this in another post.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
SATURDAY NIGHT GENEALOGY FUN: THE TIME CAPSULE
It's Saturday night, time for Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy
Fun over at his Genea-Musings blog. Here's tonight's challenge:
"1) Go to the dMarie Time Capsule Website - http://dmarie.com
/timecap/
2) Select a date in your family history that you want to know about.
You might pick a birth date or wedding date of your parents or
grandparents.
3) Enter the date into the search form, and select the news, songs, toys,
books and other things that you want to feature.
4) Share the date, why you picked it, and the results of your Time
Capsule study on your own blog, in a comment to this post, or in a
comment or post on Facebook."
After thinking a bit I decided on 19Oct 1924, the wedding date of my
Mom's parents, Edward F. White Sr. and Agnes Dorothy McFarland.
I chose that because 1924 was also the year my Dad was born(17Jul).
Out of curiosity I searched for online performances of the top songs of
1924 and found them for all save one. Click on the links to check them
out, including Jeanette MacDonald singing "Indian Lovecall" to Nelson
Eddy as he leads away his prisoner, a very young Jimmy Stewart. There's
also a performance of "June Night" by Buster Keaton of all people,
accompanying himself on ukuele!
I also found a Tootsietoys collectors website with pictures of the models
popular in the 1920's and 1930's!
So, here's what I found:
Headlines for that week:
Oct 19 - General Christian Worker's union demands 8 hr work day in Belgium
Oct 20 - 1st Negro League World Series: KC Monarchs shuts out Hilldales, 5-0
Oct 21 - KLM Fokker's F7 H-NACC departs to Dutch East Indies
Oct 23 - W Baade discovers asteroid #1036 Ganymed
Oct 24 - Christian Gen Feng Joe Siang occupies Beijing
Oct 24 - Nobel prize for fysiologie/medicine awarded to W Einthoven
Top Sings of 1924:
Serenade by Dorothy Donnelly Indian Love Call by Otto Harbach
O, Katherina! by L. Wolfe Gilbert The Prisoner's Song by Gus Massey
All Alone by Irving Berlin Jealous by Tommie Malie
June Night by Cliff Friend Spain by Gus Kahn
Prices in 1924:
Bread: $0.09/loaf
Milk: $0.53/gal
Eggs: $0.43/doz
Car: $265
Gas: $0.21/gal
House: $7,720
Stamp: $0.02/ea
Avg Income: $1,244/yr
DOW Avg: 121
Calvin Coolidge was the President of the United States but there was no
Vice-President.
Tootsietoys were the hot new toys.
And the top books in 1924 were:
The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes
A Passage to India by E. M. Forster
The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain
This was a lot of fun. Thanks, Randy!
Fun over at his Genea-Musings blog. Here's tonight's challenge:
"1) Go to the dMarie Time Capsule Website - http://dmarie.com
/timecap/
2) Select a date in your family history that you want to know about.
You might pick a birth date or wedding date of your parents or
grandparents.
3) Enter the date into the search form, and select the news, songs, toys,
books and other things that you want to feature.
4) Share the date, why you picked it, and the results of your Time
Capsule study on your own blog, in a comment to this post, or in a
comment or post on Facebook."
After thinking a bit I decided on 19Oct 1924, the wedding date of my
Mom's parents, Edward F. White Sr. and Agnes Dorothy McFarland.
I chose that because 1924 was also the year my Dad was born(17Jul).
Out of curiosity I searched for online performances of the top songs of
1924 and found them for all save one. Click on the links to check them
out, including Jeanette MacDonald singing "Indian Lovecall" to Nelson
Eddy as he leads away his prisoner, a very young Jimmy Stewart. There's
also a performance of "June Night" by Buster Keaton of all people,
accompanying himself on ukuele!
I also found a Tootsietoys collectors website with pictures of the models
popular in the 1920's and 1930's!
So, here's what I found:
Headlines for that week:
Oct 19 - General Christian Worker's union demands 8 hr work day in Belgium
Oct 20 - 1st Negro League World Series: KC Monarchs shuts out Hilldales, 5-0
Oct 21 - KLM Fokker's F7 H-NACC departs to Dutch East Indies
Oct 23 - W Baade discovers asteroid #1036 Ganymed
Oct 24 - Christian Gen Feng Joe Siang occupies Beijing
Oct 24 - Nobel prize for fysiologie/medicine awarded to W Einthoven
Top Sings of 1924:
Serenade by Dorothy Donnelly Indian Love Call by Otto Harbach
O, Katherina! by L. Wolfe Gilbert The Prisoner's Song by Gus Massey
All Alone by Irving Berlin Jealous by Tommie Malie
June Night by Cliff Friend Spain by Gus Kahn
Prices in 1924:
Bread: $0.09/loaf
Milk: $0.53/gal
Eggs: $0.43/doz
Car: $265
Gas: $0.21/gal
House: $7,720
Stamp: $0.02/ea
Avg Income: $1,244/yr
DOW Avg: 121
Calvin Coolidge was the President of the United States but there was no
Vice-President.
Tootsietoys were the hot new toys.
And the top books in 1924 were:
The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes
A Passage to India by E. M. Forster
The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain
This was a lot of fun. Thanks, Randy!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
NOTHING VENTURED.....
The other day my friend and co-worker Laura Vona posted over on her
blog about the success she'd had obtaining records of her grandfather's
employment as a Boston police officer. It got me thinking that perhaps I
should find out if there were any records about my maternal
great-grandfathers who had worked for the City of Boston and if there
was a way I might get copies of them.
So I went to the official City of Boston website which is at
http://www.cityofboston.gov/ and in the "Departments" droplist found
the "Archives and Records" page. Along with the description of the
duties and responsibilities of the department, I found a link to the Guide
to the Records in the City of Boston Archives but couldn't find
anything there in regards to records of city employees. So I made use
of the "Contact Us" link for Archives and Records. In the message box
I included the names of my great grandfathers and the information on
them being city employees that I had gleaned from the 1910, 1920 and
1930 Federal Censuses along with their home addresses as given on the
censuses.I asked if the city kept records form employees from that far
back, and if so, how would I be able to obtain copies of them.
I did all this last night but don't expect to get a reply today. It might not
pan out but it was worth asking, wasn't it?
After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained!
blog about the success she'd had obtaining records of her grandfather's
employment as a Boston police officer. It got me thinking that perhaps I
should find out if there were any records about my maternal
great-grandfathers who had worked for the City of Boston and if there
was a way I might get copies of them.
So I went to the official City of Boston website which is at
http://www.cityofboston.gov/ and in the "Departments" droplist found
the "Archives and Records" page. Along with the description of the
duties and responsibilities of the department, I found a link to the Guide
to the Records in the City of Boston Archives but couldn't find
anything there in regards to records of city employees. So I made use
of the "Contact Us" link for Archives and Records. In the message box
I included the names of my great grandfathers and the information on
them being city employees that I had gleaned from the 1910, 1920 and
1930 Federal Censuses along with their home addresses as given on the
censuses.I asked if the city kept records form employees from that far
back, and if so, how would I be able to obtain copies of them.
I did all this last night but don't expect to get a reply today. It might not
pan out but it was worth asking, wasn't it?
After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
HIRAM WEST'S SAW-MILL IN 1880
As we saw in the last post, my great great granduncle Hiram F. West
had abandoned farming in favor of operating a grist mill and a saw mill.
The images of the 1880 Federal Census Non-Population Schedules for
Maine at Ancestry.com have provided me with a snapshot of Hiram's
two businesses that show him to be successful. Both mills were located
on the Cambridge River in Upton, Oxford, Maine, probably close-by
each other.
The saw-mill was the more profitable operation, especially when you
consider that it only operated full-time for five months. This probably
was due to a combination of winter weather(this was Maine, after all)
and harvest season when more time would be spent at the grist mill.
During those five months, Hiram employed five workers, the three who
boarded with him, another adult male and one "child or youth". I'm just
speculating here but those latter two could have been his brother Asa
and Hiram's ten year old son Hiram W. West.
Another fact revealed on this schedule is that half of the logs that went
through the saw mill had been cut by Hiram and his crew within the
boundaries of Upton. From visits over the years, I can tell you there's
still plenty of timber up there today!
So here's my transcription of the 1880 Federal Special Schedules of
Manufactures-Nos 5 and 6 Lumber Mills and Saw-Mills --Brick Yards
and Tile Works for Hanover and Upton:
Name of Corporation, Company, or Individual producing to value of $500 annually:
Hiram F. West
Capital(real or personal) invested in the business:3000
Greatest number of hands employed at any one time during the year:5
Average Number of Hands Employed:5
Males above 16 years: 4
Females above 15 years:
Children and Youth: 1
Wages and Hours of Labor :
Number of Hrs. In Your Ordinary Day of Labor:
May to Novemb'r: 12
Novemb'r to May: 10
Average day's wages for a skilled mechanic: 1.50
Average day's wages for an ordinary laborer: 1.00
Total amount paid in wages during year: 200(dollars)
Months in Operation:
On full time:5
On three-quarter time only:
On half time only:1
Idle time:6
Saws:
Number of gangs: 1
Number of saws in gangs: 3
Number of circular saws:1
Number of muley saws: 1
Number of band-saws:
Materials:
Value of logs: 2710
Value of mill supplies: 75
Total value of all materials (including value of logs): 2785
Proper Saw Mill Products:
Number of thousand feet of lumber: 325
Number of thousand laths:
Number of thousand shingles: 200
Number of thousand staves:
Number of thousand sets of headings:
Number of thousand feet of bobbin and spool stock:
Total value of all products heretofore named:
Total value of all other products: 3500
Manufactures:
Do you remanufacture any sashes, doors, blinds, frames,
portion of your own cut into clapboards {Yes or No}: Yes
If so, give total value of such manufactures: 100
Give average number of hands employed in such remanufacture: 1
From what region do you procure your logs? :Upton
Do you do your own logging? {Yes or No} : Yes
If so, what proportion of your logs do you bring in?: One half
Do you ship your product in your own vessels? {Yes or No} : No
Power Used in Manufacture:
If Water-Power Is Used:
On what river or stream? (see note below): Cambridge River
Height of fall, in feet: 14
Wheels: 2
Kind: 1 Bradbury 1 Center Vent
Breadth,in feet: 4
Revolutions per minute:100
Horse-power:15
If Steam-Power Is Used:
Number of Bellows:
Number of Engines:
Horse-power:
Next, we'll pay a return visit to Asa West's farm.
had abandoned farming in favor of operating a grist mill and a saw mill.
The images of the 1880 Federal Census Non-Population Schedules for
Maine at Ancestry.com have provided me with a snapshot of Hiram's
two businesses that show him to be successful. Both mills were located
on the Cambridge River in Upton, Oxford, Maine, probably close-by
each other.
The saw-mill was the more profitable operation, especially when you
consider that it only operated full-time for five months. This probably
was due to a combination of winter weather(this was Maine, after all)
and harvest season when more time would be spent at the grist mill.
During those five months, Hiram employed five workers, the three who
boarded with him, another adult male and one "child or youth". I'm just
speculating here but those latter two could have been his brother Asa
and Hiram's ten year old son Hiram W. West.
Another fact revealed on this schedule is that half of the logs that went
through the saw mill had been cut by Hiram and his crew within the
boundaries of Upton. From visits over the years, I can tell you there's
still plenty of timber up there today!
So here's my transcription of the 1880 Federal Special Schedules of
Manufactures-Nos 5 and 6 Lumber Mills and Saw-Mills --Brick Yards
and Tile Works for Hanover and Upton:
Name of Corporation, Company, or Individual producing to value of $500 annually:
Hiram F. West
Capital(real or personal) invested in the business:3000
Greatest number of hands employed at any one time during the year:5
Average Number of Hands Employed:5
Males above 16 years: 4
Females above 15 years:
Children and Youth: 1
Wages and Hours of Labor :
Number of Hrs. In Your Ordinary Day of Labor:
May to Novemb'r: 12
Novemb'r to May: 10
Average day's wages for a skilled mechanic: 1.50
Average day's wages for an ordinary laborer: 1.00
Total amount paid in wages during year: 200(dollars)
Months in Operation:
On full time:5
On three-quarter time only:
On half time only:1
Idle time:6
Saws:
Number of gangs: 1
Number of saws in gangs: 3
Number of circular saws:1
Number of muley saws: 1
Number of band-saws:
Materials:
Value of logs: 2710
Value of mill supplies: 75
Total value of all materials (including value of logs): 2785
Proper Saw Mill Products:
Number of thousand feet of lumber: 325
Number of thousand laths:
Number of thousand shingles: 200
Number of thousand staves:
Number of thousand sets of headings:
Number of thousand feet of bobbin and spool stock:
Total value of all products heretofore named:
Total value of all other products: 3500
Manufactures:
Do you remanufacture any sashes, doors, blinds, frames,
portion of your own cut into clapboards {Yes or No}: Yes
If so, give total value of such manufactures: 100
Give average number of hands employed in such remanufacture: 1
From what region do you procure your logs? :Upton
Do you do your own logging? {Yes or No} : Yes
If so, what proportion of your logs do you bring in?: One half
Do you ship your product in your own vessels? {Yes or No} : No
Power Used in Manufacture:
If Water-Power Is Used:
On what river or stream? (see note below): Cambridge River
Height of fall, in feet: 14
Wheels: 2
Kind: 1 Bradbury 1 Center Vent
Breadth,in feet: 4
Revolutions per minute:100
Horse-power:15
If Steam-Power Is Used:
Number of Bellows:
Number of Engines:
Horse-power:
Next, we'll pay a return visit to Asa West's farm.
HIRAM WEST'S GRIST-MILL IN 1880
By 1880 Hiram F. West was 41 and had given up farming. On the 1880
Federal Census his occupation is given as "Owner Saw and Grist-Mill".
Of the two mills, the saw-mill must have been the busier because there
are three men boarding with Hiram and his family who are listed as
"works in saw-mill":
William Mitchell, age 60
Albert F. Upton, age 41
Leonard York, age 25
The mills are listed on two different "Special Schedules of Manufacture"
with the grist-mill on "Flour and Grist Mills - Cheese, Butter and
Condensed Milk Factories". Happily, Hiram didn't dabble in the dairy
factories trade, so his entry is confined to solely grist-mill on this
form. Both mills were situated along the banks of the Cambridge River
at two different waterfalls with the grist-mill located at the larger of the two.
I'm going to post the two transcriptions seperately, starting with this one
on the grist-mill. The handwriting on this schedule is legible with the
exception of the two entries I've marked with (?). Here's my transcription:
Name of Corporation, Company, or Individual producing to value of $500 annually:
Hiram F. West
Capital(real or personal) invested in the business:1000
Greatest number of hands employed at any one time during the year: 1
Average Number of Hands Employed:
Males above 16 years: 1
Females above 15 years:
Children and Youth:
Wages and Hours of Labor :
Number of Hrs. In Your Ordinary Day of Labor:
May to Novemb'r: 10
Novemb'r to May: 10
Average day's wages for a skilled mechanic: 1.00
Average day's wages for an ordinary laborer:
Total amount paid in wages during year: 312(dollars)
Months in Operation:
On full time:10
On three-quarter time only:
On half time only:
Idle time:
Number of runs of stone:2
Estimated maximum capacity per day, in bushels: 50
Do you custom work or make only for market? If the former, what proportion of your
product is custom grinding? : Whole
Is there an elevator connected with your establishment? If so, give capacity in bushels:
Power Used in Manufacture:
If Water-Power Is Used:
on what river or stream? (see note below): Cambridge River
Height of fall, in feet: 18
Wheels:
Kind: Center Vent
Breadth,in feet: 5
Revolutions per minute:100
Horse-power:15
If Steam-Power Is Used: Number of Bellows: Number of Engines:
Horse-power:
Materials:
Number of bushels of wheat:1000
Value: 1250
Number of bushels of other grains: 820
Value: 600
Value of mill suppplies: 10
Total value of all material: 1860
Products:
Number of barrels of wheat flour: 200
Number of barrels of rye flour:
Number of pounds of buckwheat flour: 3500
Number of pounds of barley meal:
Number of pounds of corn meal: 40. (?)
Number of pounds of feed: 168(?)
Number of pounds of hominy:
Value of all other products:
Total value of all products: 2460
I'll post my transcription of the sawmill schedule next.
Federal Census his occupation is given as "Owner Saw and Grist-Mill".
Of the two mills, the saw-mill must have been the busier because there
are three men boarding with Hiram and his family who are listed as
"works in saw-mill":
William Mitchell, age 60
Albert F. Upton, age 41
Leonard York, age 25
The mills are listed on two different "Special Schedules of Manufacture"
with the grist-mill on "Flour and Grist Mills - Cheese, Butter and
Condensed Milk Factories". Happily, Hiram didn't dabble in the dairy
factories trade, so his entry is confined to solely grist-mill on this
form. Both mills were situated along the banks of the Cambridge River
at two different waterfalls with the grist-mill located at the larger of the two.
I'm going to post the two transcriptions seperately, starting with this one
on the grist-mill. The handwriting on this schedule is legible with the
exception of the two entries I've marked with (?). Here's my transcription:
Name of Corporation, Company, or Individual producing to value of $500 annually:
Hiram F. West
Capital(real or personal) invested in the business:1000
Greatest number of hands employed at any one time during the year: 1
Average Number of Hands Employed:
Males above 16 years: 1
Females above 15 years:
Children and Youth:
Wages and Hours of Labor :
Number of Hrs. In Your Ordinary Day of Labor:
May to Novemb'r: 10
Novemb'r to May: 10
Average day's wages for a skilled mechanic: 1.00
Average day's wages for an ordinary laborer:
Total amount paid in wages during year: 312(dollars)
Months in Operation:
On full time:10
On three-quarter time only:
On half time only:
Idle time:
Number of runs of stone:2
Estimated maximum capacity per day, in bushels: 50
Do you custom work or make only for market? If the former, what proportion of your
product is custom grinding? : Whole
Is there an elevator connected with your establishment? If so, give capacity in bushels:
Power Used in Manufacture:
If Water-Power Is Used:
on what river or stream? (see note below): Cambridge River
Height of fall, in feet: 18
Wheels:
Kind: Center Vent
Breadth,in feet: 5
Revolutions per minute:100
Horse-power:15
If Steam-Power Is Used: Number of Bellows: Number of Engines:
Horse-power:
Materials:
Number of bushels of wheat:1000
Value: 1250
Number of bushels of other grains: 820
Value: 600
Value of mill suppplies: 10
Total value of all material: 1860
Products:
Number of barrels of wheat flour: 200
Number of barrels of rye flour:
Number of pounds of buckwheat flour: 3500
Number of pounds of barley meal:
Number of pounds of corn meal: 40. (?)
Number of pounds of feed: 168(?)
Number of pounds of hominy:
Value of all other products:
Total value of all products: 2460
I'll post my transcription of the sawmill schedule next.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
SETTLED IN: THE PICTURES
The east side of the living room. That's my part of my pedigree chart andnotebooks 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 offrame 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!
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, May 15, 2010
SATURDAY NIGHT GENEALOGY FUN: THE WAYBACK MACHINE
It's time for another of Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenges over at hisGenea-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!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
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.
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,
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,
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
"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.
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.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
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
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, May 08, 2010
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!
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!
Thursday, May 06, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, May 02, 2010
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!
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, May 01, 2010
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!
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!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
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-0
Flax, 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.
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-0
Flax, lbs of-0Flaxseed, 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.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
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!
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!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
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!
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!
Monday, April 12, 2010
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!
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!
Sunday, April 04, 2010
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!
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, April 03, 2010
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!
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!
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!
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