A Facebook friend, Cheryle Hoover Davis, found this quote from
one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, at the City of Lights Bookstore
site. I had the good fortune of meeting Neil at the Lauriats Bookstore
at the Silver City Galleria in Taunton, Ma where he signed copies of
Neverwhere. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.
Anywhere, it's a great quote, and what I wish for all my friends and
family in the coming year:
"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good
madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who
thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write
or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere
in the next year, you surprise yourself." -Neil Gaiman
And a Happy, Healthy New Year to all of us and our families!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
A FAMILY REUNION OF SORTS10
I haven't forgotten my new discovered Dunham cousins buried here in
Abington's Mt. Vernon Cemetary. I've been reseaching them on the
internet with success in some cases and not so much in others.
I discovered a few things about General Henry Dunham. Apparently
he was a successful merchant here in Abington and worked his way up
as an officer in the Massachusetts Militia until he achieved the
rank of Brigadier General of the Second Brigade of the First Division of
the Third Regiment of the Light Infantry in the late 1840's. He retired
from that position in 1850.
One interesting note was the discovery of another connection with the
Gurney family. Henry's wife Mary Cushing was the daughter of Sarah
Gurney.
I had more luck researching their son Henry Jr. (He's listed erroneously
as "Hervey Dunham" in The History of the Town of Abington). In a
continuation of the ties between the Dunham family with Charleston,
S.C., he married a girl from there named Ella Bristol and a history of her
ancestry contained the following:
"Ella Bristol, born May 18, 1845. She married, March 31, 1869,
Henry Dunham of Abington, Mass., an inventor of leather machinery.
He died Sept. 22, 1884.
From the Abington Herald:—" In the death of Henry
Dunham, which occurred Monday morning at his home on
Center Avenue, of inflammation of the bowels, the town
of Abington loses one of its most prominent, widely
known, and esteemed citizens. Mr. Dunham was one of
twelve children. His father was Gen. Henry Dunham,
son of Ezra, whose grand-father was Cornelius Dunham,
born in Plymouth in 1724. The name is among the
oldest and most distinguished of the Old Colony names.
The mother of the deceased, still living at the age of eighty-
one, was Mary Cushing, daughter of Col. Brackley Cush-
ing — another old and honored Old Colony family name.
Mr. Dunham began business life as a shoe manufacturer
in the large factory on Lake Street that bears his name.
He retired in 1873, and turned his attention to shoe
machinery, and has given to the world some very important
inventions and improvements in this direction. The
three most important are the Dunham riveting machine,
the toe nail machine, and the Dunham quilting, machine;
a detailed description of all these appeared in the Herald
of Sept. 5. Mr. Dunham made the first quilting nail
ever produced, and is believed to be the originator of
the idea of inserting nails into the sole while off the boot.
The funeral took place at his late residence Thursday
afternoon, Rev. Messrs. Pettee and Warren officiating, with
music by the new church choir. The esteem in which the
deceased was held was attested not only by a profusion
of flowers, but also by the presence of many prominent
citizens of this and other towns. Mr. Dunham leaves a
wife and three children, two boys and a girl."
John E Morris The Bontecou genealogy: A record of the descendants
of Pierre Bontecou, a Huguenot refugee from France, in the lines
of his sons (Hartford, Conn. Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard
Company, 1885) pp179-180
After Henry Dunham Jr's death his widow became involved in several
lawsuits involving infringements on his patents by other shoe
manufacturers.
In the Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910, the cause of his death
is listed as peritonitis and his occupation as "Inventor".
To be continued....
Abington's Mt. Vernon Cemetary. I've been reseaching them on the
internet with success in some cases and not so much in others.
I discovered a few things about General Henry Dunham. Apparently
he was a successful merchant here in Abington and worked his way up
as an officer in the Massachusetts Militia until he achieved the
rank of Brigadier General of the Second Brigade of the First Division of
the Third Regiment of the Light Infantry in the late 1840's. He retired
from that position in 1850.
One interesting note was the discovery of another connection with the
Gurney family. Henry's wife Mary Cushing was the daughter of Sarah
Gurney.
I had more luck researching their son Henry Jr. (He's listed erroneously
as "Hervey Dunham" in The History of the Town of Abington). In a
continuation of the ties between the Dunham family with Charleston,
S.C., he married a girl from there named Ella Bristol and a history of her
ancestry contained the following:
"Ella Bristol, born May 18, 1845. She married, March 31, 1869,
Henry Dunham of Abington, Mass., an inventor of leather machinery.
He died Sept. 22, 1884.
From the Abington Herald:—" In the death of Henry
Dunham, which occurred Monday morning at his home on
Center Avenue, of inflammation of the bowels, the town
of Abington loses one of its most prominent, widely
known, and esteemed citizens. Mr. Dunham was one of
twelve children. His father was Gen. Henry Dunham,
son of Ezra, whose grand-father was Cornelius Dunham,
born in Plymouth in 1724. The name is among the
oldest and most distinguished of the Old Colony names.
The mother of the deceased, still living at the age of eighty-
one, was Mary Cushing, daughter of Col. Brackley Cush-
ing — another old and honored Old Colony family name.
Mr. Dunham began business life as a shoe manufacturer
in the large factory on Lake Street that bears his name.
He retired in 1873, and turned his attention to shoe
machinery, and has given to the world some very important
inventions and improvements in this direction. The
three most important are the Dunham riveting machine,
the toe nail machine, and the Dunham quilting, machine;
a detailed description of all these appeared in the Herald
of Sept. 5. Mr. Dunham made the first quilting nail
ever produced, and is believed to be the originator of
the idea of inserting nails into the sole while off the boot.
The funeral took place at his late residence Thursday
afternoon, Rev. Messrs. Pettee and Warren officiating, with
music by the new church choir. The esteem in which the
deceased was held was attested not only by a profusion
of flowers, but also by the presence of many prominent
citizens of this and other towns. Mr. Dunham leaves a
wife and three children, two boys and a girl."
John E Morris The Bontecou genealogy: A record of the descendants
of Pierre Bontecou, a Huguenot refugee from France, in the lines
of his sons (Hartford, Conn. Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard
Company, 1885) pp179-180
After Henry Dunham Jr's death his widow became involved in several
lawsuits involving infringements on his patents by other shoe
manufacturers.
In the Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910, the cause of his death
is listed as peritonitis and his occupation as "Inventor".
Monday, December 27, 2010
2011 GENEALOGY PLANS
It's time once again for those of us looking into the past to look into our
future. So here are my genealogy resolutions and my plans on how to
achieve them:
1 Continue researching my maternal White, McFarland, Offinger,
and Luick lines.
Plan: I need to make trips into Boston and find what resources might be
available from the Boston municipal records, and the Boston Public
Library. I also want to search the National Archives records for any
other documentation.
I might take out a World membership from Ancestry for a month or
two to seach for records from Ireland and Germany.
2. Continue researching my paternal West, Barker, Ellingwood,
Dunham and other family lines.
Plan: I need to visit the local FHC more oftren than I have in the
past to search for records. Visits are also in order for the NEHGS
and the Massachusetts State Archives. I also need to start making
more use of court records (wills, deeds, etc) in my research.
Continued exploration of the local cemeteries and of the distant cousins
buried there is also on my to do list.
I'd also like to attend the Ellingwood Family Reunion again in August.
3. Break down that John Cutter West brick wall.
Plan: A series of visits to the town halls and historical societies of towns
here in Plymouth County seems to be the only approach possible to
this mystery. The cemetery visits might also prove useful in this.
4. Join a local genealogy or history society
Plan: I'm going to join the Historical Society of Old Abington. "Old
Abington" included the present town plus the districts which eventually
became the towns of Whitman and Rockland, areas in which collateral
branches of my paternal lines lived and also where my brother in law's
family lived. The meetings are four times a year on Sunday which I
should be able to make.
The South Shore Genealogical Society might be doable but they meet
on Saturdays when I am working and the membership link on their
website is not working. Still, I'll try to join and get to some meetings.
I also want to attend some of the regional genealogy conferences and
perhaps meet some of my genealogy blogger friends.
5.Write more.
Plan: Continue blogging and sharing what I find. Maybe publish it in
bookor ebook form.
6. Organize, ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE!
Plan: Just do it!!
7. Scan, SCAN SCAN!!
Plan: See Plan #6
All of these are dependent on my health. I planned to get out and do
more this year but my health prevented it for much of the year. So
Priority #1 is to stay healthy this winter so that once the weather
improves I can hit the ground running...well...sort of running....
And above all else, I plan to HAVE FUN doing all of it!
((Written for the 101st edition of the Carnival of Genealogy!))
future. So here are my genealogy resolutions and my plans on how to
achieve them:
1 Continue researching my maternal White, McFarland, Offinger,
and Luick lines.
Plan: I need to make trips into Boston and find what resources might be
available from the Boston municipal records, and the Boston Public
Library. I also want to search the National Archives records for any
other documentation.
I might take out a World membership from Ancestry for a month or
two to seach for records from Ireland and Germany.
2. Continue researching my paternal West, Barker, Ellingwood,
Dunham and other family lines.
Plan: I need to visit the local FHC more oftren than I have in the
past to search for records. Visits are also in order for the NEHGS
and the Massachusetts State Archives. I also need to start making
more use of court records (wills, deeds, etc) in my research.
Continued exploration of the local cemeteries and of the distant cousins
buried there is also on my to do list.
I'd also like to attend the Ellingwood Family Reunion again in August.
3. Break down that John Cutter West brick wall.
Plan: A series of visits to the town halls and historical societies of towns
here in Plymouth County seems to be the only approach possible to
this mystery. The cemetery visits might also prove useful in this.
4. Join a local genealogy or history society
Plan: I'm going to join the Historical Society of Old Abington. "Old
Abington" included the present town plus the districts which eventually
became the towns of Whitman and Rockland, areas in which collateral
branches of my paternal lines lived and also where my brother in law's
family lived. The meetings are four times a year on Sunday which I
should be able to make.
The South Shore Genealogical Society might be doable but they meet
on Saturdays when I am working and the membership link on their
website is not working. Still, I'll try to join and get to some meetings.
I also want to attend some of the regional genealogy conferences and
perhaps meet some of my genealogy blogger friends.
5.Write more.
Plan: Continue blogging and sharing what I find. Maybe publish it in
bookor ebook form.
6. Organize, ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE!
Plan: Just do it!!
7. Scan, SCAN SCAN!!
Plan: See Plan #6
All of these are dependent on my health. I planned to get out and do
more this year but my health prevented it for much of the year. So
Priority #1 is to stay healthy this winter so that once the weather
improves I can hit the ground running...well...sort of running....
And above all else, I plan to HAVE FUN doing all of it!
((Written for the 101st edition of the Carnival of Genealogy!))
Sunday, December 26, 2010
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
I've spent the past two days enjoying the holidays so I'm a bit late
with this, but I hope all of my geneablogger friends have had a great
holiday season so far, and here's to a Happy and Healthy New Year
to us and all our families!
with this, but I hope all of my geneablogger friends have had a great
holiday season so far, and here's to a Happy and Healthy New Year
to us and all our families!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
ADVENT CALENDAR: CHRISTMAS EVES 2010
Christmas Eve was sometimes hectic in our family, especially
those years when we lived in Dorchester, because Mom and Dad
would drive around to Mom’s cousins’ houses to drop off gifts for
the kids. Sometimes my sister and I went along but as we got
older and more responsible we’d stay home while the gifts run
was made.
Then there where Christmas Eves where we were all home
and spent the night wrapping presents for each other or other
relatives. I think I liked those quieter nights best.
The past two decades or so Christmas Eve is spent at my sister
and brother-in-law’s house. Gifts are given out and opened and
my sister’s youngest son Mike(now in his twenties) often ends
up with the handing out the gifts duties since he’s the youngest
family member. Then there’s food served buffet style. At that
point, I am just trying to stay awake because I’ve been dealing
with the last minute shoppers at the store all day and a good
meal on top of that makes me want to take a nap. And next
day I go back over for dinner.
All in all Christmas Eves over the years have been good ones,
sometimes saddened by losses of loved ones but we all enjoy
being together and relaxing after the end of the Christmas rush.
2009 Update: A new tradition began last year with the Christmas
Eve festivities moving to the home of my niece Sarah and her
husband Steve. And this year I am actually having a day off on
Christmas Eve, so I won't be so tired and sleepy!
2010 Update: Christmas Eve will be at my sister's this year and I'm
looking forward to some lasagna. I expect that Michael will be helped
with giving out gifts this year by my 2 year old grandnephew Noah!
those years when we lived in Dorchester, because Mom and Dad
would drive around to Mom’s cousins’ houses to drop off gifts for
the kids. Sometimes my sister and I went along but as we got
older and more responsible we’d stay home while the gifts run
was made.
Then there where Christmas Eves where we were all home
and spent the night wrapping presents for each other or other
relatives. I think I liked those quieter nights best.
The past two decades or so Christmas Eve is spent at my sister
and brother-in-law’s house. Gifts are given out and opened and
my sister’s youngest son Mike(now in his twenties) often ends
up with the handing out the gifts duties since he’s the youngest
family member. Then there’s food served buffet style. At that
point, I am just trying to stay awake because I’ve been dealing
with the last minute shoppers at the store all day and a good
meal on top of that makes me want to take a nap. And next
day I go back over for dinner.
All in all Christmas Eves over the years have been good ones,
sometimes saddened by losses of loved ones but we all enjoy
being together and relaxing after the end of the Christmas rush.
2009 Update: A new tradition began last year with the Christmas
Eve festivities moving to the home of my niece Sarah and her
husband Steve. And this year I am actually having a day off on
Christmas Eve, so I won't be so tired and sleepy!
2010 Update: Christmas Eve will be at my sister's this year and I'm
looking forward to some lasagna. I expect that Michael will be helped
with giving out gifts this year by my 2 year old grandnephew Noah!
ADVENT CALENDAR: STOCKING STUFF-ERS 2010
((First posted in 2007. I've added a bit to this that is in italics))
It’s been a long time since the last time my Christmas stocking
was hung up for Santa.
When I was small we didn’t have a fireplace so I’m not sure
where we hung them. Perhaps stuck to a doorframe with
thumbtacks? Although one year we had a cardboard red brick
light-up fireplace that I hadn’t thought about in years until just
now. And on Capen St. in Dorchester I think we hung them on
the “windowsill” of the wall mural my Dad made. Mom picked
out some large picture of Cypress Gardens and it was hung on
the wall, framed by a wooden picture window frame so it
looked as if you were looking out at all those flowers! ((Dad
even wired it with a lightbulb inside the frame to light it up
at night. This worked well until the plastic model of a bird
I'd placed on the sill fell in and melted against the lightbulb.))
The house in Abington had a real fireplace (and a real picture
window) so the stockings were hung by the chimney, etc. and a
new one was added for my kid brother. A year or so after that
we hung one for the pets as well. But over the years as we
moved one place or another there would be Christmases where
no stockings were hung at all because we couldn’t figure out which
box they’d been packed away in during the last move.
As for what was inside, as I mentioned once before, there was
one year I got a lump of coal, but for the most part it would be
candy canes and an orange or apple. One year there was the new
wristwatch my folks bought me.
I’m not sure where those stockings are these days. My best guess
is that they are downstairs in my storage bin packed away with
the few Christmas tree ornaments that have survived!
Update 2010: The Christmas stockings and those few old
Christmas ornaments have gone to the great storage bin in the sky
during my latest move.
It’s been a long time since the last time my Christmas stocking
was hung up for Santa.
When I was small we didn’t have a fireplace so I’m not sure
where we hung them. Perhaps stuck to a doorframe with
thumbtacks? Although one year we had a cardboard red brick
light-up fireplace that I hadn’t thought about in years until just
now. And on Capen St. in Dorchester I think we hung them on
the “windowsill” of the wall mural my Dad made. Mom picked
out some large picture of Cypress Gardens and it was hung on
the wall, framed by a wooden picture window frame so it
looked as if you were looking out at all those flowers! ((Dad
even wired it with a lightbulb inside the frame to light it up
at night. This worked well until the plastic model of a bird
I'd placed on the sill fell in and melted against the lightbulb.))
The house in Abington had a real fireplace (and a real picture
window) so the stockings were hung by the chimney, etc. and a
new one was added for my kid brother. A year or so after that
we hung one for the pets as well. But over the years as we
moved one place or another there would be Christmases where
no stockings were hung at all because we couldn’t figure out which
box they’d been packed away in during the last move.
As for what was inside, as I mentioned once before, there was
one year I got a lump of coal, but for the most part it would be
candy canes and an orange or apple. One year there was the new
wristwatch my folks bought me.
I’m not sure where those stockings are these days. My best guess
is that they are downstairs in my storage bin packed away with
the few Christmas tree ornaments that have survived!
Update 2010: The Christmas stockings and those few old
Christmas ornaments have gone to the great storage bin in the sky
during my latest move.
A FLUTAPHONE FANFARE, PLEASE!
The flutaphones are to celebrate the return of Janice Brown to her
Cow Hampshire blog. She's been absent far too long from the
genealogy blogging community and we've missed her wit and humor.
Having her come back now is, as footnoteMaven put it, a geneablog
Christmas Miracle.
Welcome back, Cousin Janice!
(Now if we can only get Chris Dunham to post new entries for The
Genealogue.....)
Cow Hampshire blog. She's been absent far too long from the
genealogy blogging community and we've missed her wit and humor.
Having her come back now is, as footnoteMaven put it, a geneablog
Christmas Miracle.
Welcome back, Cousin Janice!
(Now if we can only get Chris Dunham to post new entries for The
Genealogue.....)
DORCHESTER
View Larger Map
This is 101 Capen St in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. We
lived there from approximately 1956 to 1960. Our apartment was on
the top floor and out landlords were Mr and Mrs Wittlestein . Back
then, the building was grey with white trim and there was a lawn
instead of gravel. But all in all, the Google map street view shows
a well kept neighborhood in 2010. The only major change I could
see was that the apartment building across the street from us is
gone and replaced by a smaller yellow building on the corner of
Selden and Capen Sts.
View Larger Map
I wish I could say our other address in Dorchester fared as well as
Capen St. But it didn't. The empty area behind the fence is where
18 Evans St used to stand. We rented the first floor apartment
from Phil and Alice Pais. It appears the building perhaps burned
down.
Google Street View is amazing, letting me visit places I knew as
a kid but at times, like tonight, it can also be a reminder of the
passage of time.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
ADVENT CALENDAR GRAB BAG: JIMMY FALLON AND JACK BLACK
Last night I happened to catch this on Jimmy Fallon's show and it
cracked me up.
cracked me up.
TO ALL MY READERS
There's been some interesting comments about my post about the worth
of a genealogy blog. I've enjoyed the discussion but at this point I'm
asking everyone to refrain from remarks of a personal nature and
respect each other's positions. Otherwise, feel free to continue
commenting,
I'll be the first to admit I'm not the brightest light bulb on the chandelier
but I like a good civil debate over ideas. Besides, this past year has
made me realize that life's too short to waste it in negative things.
Martin, I hope you do not retire your blog. I don't always agree
with what you say or how you say it, but it would be a pretty damn
boring world if we all thought alike.
of a genealogy blog. I've enjoyed the discussion but at this point I'm
asking everyone to refrain from remarks of a personal nature and
respect each other's positions. Otherwise, feel free to continue
commenting,
I'll be the first to admit I'm not the brightest light bulb on the chandelier
but I like a good civil debate over ideas. Besides, this past year has
made me realize that life's too short to waste it in negative things.
Martin, I hope you do not retire your blog. I don't always agree
with what you say or how you say it, but it would be a pretty damn
boring world if we all thought alike.
ADVENT CALENDAR: IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR 2010
((originally posted in 2007))
Every Christmas Mom would break out the Andy Williams
Christmas Album to play on the stereo. There was also a Nat
King Cole album and a Mitch Miller “Sing Along With Mitch”
Christmas edition. But for me, even rock and roll dinosaur
that I am, it’s the Andy Williams album that “feels” like
Christmas to me. I need to hear that "It's the Most
Wonderful Time of the Year."
As I’ve gotten older and my musical tastes expanded, I find
myself listening to New Age and Celtic Christmas music. And
Josh Groban just put out a holiday album that we’ve played at
the bookstore since Thanksgiving and it’s easy on the ears.
As for caroling, well, there are some things that one should
never do in public and in my case, singing is one of them!
2010 Update: I splurged this year for the "Now That;s What
I Call Christmas Essentials Collection." It has the Andy Williams
song and Nat King Cole's version of "Christmas Song" on it,
and I plan to play it Thursday afternoon on my day off!
Every Christmas Mom would break out the Andy Williams
Christmas Album to play on the stereo. There was also a Nat
King Cole album and a Mitch Miller “Sing Along With Mitch”
Christmas edition. But for me, even rock and roll dinosaur
that I am, it’s the Andy Williams album that “feels” like
Christmas to me. I need to hear that "It's the Most
Wonderful Time of the Year."
As I’ve gotten older and my musical tastes expanded, I find
myself listening to New Age and Celtic Christmas music. And
Josh Groban just put out a holiday album that we’ve played at
the bookstore since Thanksgiving and it’s easy on the ears.
As for caroling, well, there are some things that one should
never do in public and in my case, singing is one of them!
2010 Update: I splurged this year for the "Now That;s What
I Call Christmas Essentials Collection." It has the Andy Williams
song and Nat King Cole's version of "Christmas Song" on it,
and I plan to play it Thursday afternoon on my day off!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
ADVENT CALENDAR: COOKIES 2010
My Mom was a working mother for much of her life so she wasn’t
one for major cooking projects except on weekends. Most times
cookies were created with the help of the Pillsbury Dough Boy a
lthough I do recall some forays into Christmas tree shaped sugar
cookies.
Cookies at Christmas time usually meant the Italian cookies
served at my Aunt Emily’s with that light frosting and the red and
green sprinkles. As an adult I buy them at the supermarket only
around this time of year.
But while my mom wasn’t really into cookie baking, she did like to
make coffee cake and sponge cakes. And when we were living in
Dorchester she learned how to bake mundel bread from our
Jewish neighbors. She also made cupcakes and cornbread.
There was one other dessert dish Mom made and I’m not sure
if it was something that her mom Aggie had done during the
Depression. Mom would send me down the street to the store
on Milton Ave to buy a box of Jiffy Bake Mix and she’d make
biscuits, then would top them with strawberries and whipped
cream. I didn’t care for the taste of the biscuit so I’d make sure
the strawberries had really soaked it before I ate it!
2010 Update: Due to my medical needs I don't eat cookies
much anymore. However, I may cheat a little if there are any
served over the holidays!
one for major cooking projects except on weekends. Most times
cookies were created with the help of the Pillsbury Dough Boy a
lthough I do recall some forays into Christmas tree shaped sugar
cookies.
Cookies at Christmas time usually meant the Italian cookies
served at my Aunt Emily’s with that light frosting and the red and
green sprinkles. As an adult I buy them at the supermarket only
around this time of year.
But while my mom wasn’t really into cookie baking, she did like to
make coffee cake and sponge cakes. And when we were living in
Dorchester she learned how to bake mundel bread from our
Jewish neighbors. She also made cupcakes and cornbread.
There was one other dessert dish Mom made and I’m not sure
if it was something that her mom Aggie had done during the
Depression. Mom would send me down the street to the store
on Milton Ave to buy a box of Jiffy Bake Mix and she’d make
biscuits, then would top them with strawberries and whipped
cream. I didn’t care for the taste of the biscuit so I’d make sure
the strawberries had really soaked it before I ate it!
2010 Update: Due to my medical needs I don't eat cookies
much anymore. However, I may cheat a little if there are any
served over the holidays!
ADVENT CALENDAR: CHRISTMAS ENTERTAINMENT 2010
((Originally posted in 2007))
As far as I can recall, none of the family ever attended a
professional entertainment event during the holidays.
I’m sure there were school events for my sister and brother but
the only one I recall that I was involved in was in the first or
second grade. It was some sort of Christmas lights event at the
Linden Elementary School in Malden that was held outside the
main entrance at night. We sang carols and yes, played some on
our flutaphones.
The next year we had moved to Dorchester and I was at the
Frank V. Thompson School. I don’t remember any holiday shows
there and I certainly didn’t go around playing a flutaphone in
that neighborhood!
As far as I can recall, none of the family ever attended a
professional entertainment event during the holidays.
I’m sure there were school events for my sister and brother but
the only one I recall that I was involved in was in the first or
second grade. It was some sort of Christmas lights event at the
Linden Elementary School in Malden that was held outside the
main entrance at night. We sang carols and yes, played some on
our flutaphones.
The next year we had moved to Dorchester and I was at the
Frank V. Thompson School. I don’t remember any holiday shows
there and I certainly didn’t go around playing a flutaphone in
that neighborhood!
LEVI'S POSTCARDS
I mentioned in a previous post that I'd recently spent an afternoon with
my brother in law Pete looking through some old family albums. They
were full of beautiful greeting cards, calling cards, business cards and
postcards, and they were all addressed to Peter's granduncle Levi
Newcomb.
Levi Newcomb, the younger son of George Henry Newcomb and
Agnes Isabelle Merritt, was born in Scituate, Plymouth, Ma, on 16Feb
1893. At some time in young life he developed a rheumatic heart which
limited his physical activities and left him housebound for most of his life.
And so his friends and family would send him postcards, some with
humorous pictures, others with paintings or photographs of various
places. The latter ranged from places as close as North Abington
Square to as far away as Guantanamo Bay where a former schoolmate
was stationed on a warship.
The messages on the back of most of the postcards are still legible.
There are comments about the weather, or snippets of family news, and
optimistic talk about what the sender and Levi might do when he was
well enough to come visit.
These messages hopefully helped keep Levi's spirits up. His mother
Agnes had passed away in 1895 just two years after Levi's birth. He,
his father George and brother Paul were living on West St in North
Abington next to the railroad tracks near one of the factories in town
at that time.Except for occasional trips to visit with relatives in
Scituate or Lakeville Levi spent his entire life there in that house,
And it was there that he died on 3Jan 1911, a month shy of his
18th birthday. That night when I came home I put his name in over
at FamilySearch Record Search and found Levi's death certificate.
It lists cause of death as endocarditis with articular rheumatism as
the secondary cause. He was buried in Granland Cemetery in
North Scituate three days later on 6Jan 1911.
The postcards are now a century old, preserved in their albums,
a window into a past where thoughtful people took the time to
send them to a young invalid living in a house next to the railroad
tracks in North Abington, Massachusetts.
my brother in law Pete looking through some old family albums. They
were full of beautiful greeting cards, calling cards, business cards and
postcards, and they were all addressed to Peter's granduncle Levi
Newcomb.
Levi Newcomb, the younger son of George Henry Newcomb and
Agnes Isabelle Merritt, was born in Scituate, Plymouth, Ma, on 16Feb
1893. At some time in young life he developed a rheumatic heart which
limited his physical activities and left him housebound for most of his life.
And so his friends and family would send him postcards, some with
humorous pictures, others with paintings or photographs of various
places. The latter ranged from places as close as North Abington
Square to as far away as Guantanamo Bay where a former schoolmate
was stationed on a warship.
The messages on the back of most of the postcards are still legible.
There are comments about the weather, or snippets of family news, and
optimistic talk about what the sender and Levi might do when he was
well enough to come visit.
These messages hopefully helped keep Levi's spirits up. His mother
Agnes had passed away in 1895 just two years after Levi's birth. He,
his father George and brother Paul were living on West St in North
Abington next to the railroad tracks near one of the factories in town
at that time.Except for occasional trips to visit with relatives in
Scituate or Lakeville Levi spent his entire life there in that house,
And it was there that he died on 3Jan 1911, a month shy of his
18th birthday. That night when I came home I put his name in over
at FamilySearch Record Search and found Levi's death certificate.
It lists cause of death as endocarditis with articular rheumatism as
the secondary cause. He was buried in Granland Cemetery in
North Scituate three days later on 6Jan 1911.
The postcards are now a century old, preserved in their albums,
a window into a past where thoughtful people took the time to
send them to a young invalid living in a house next to the railroad
tracks in North Abington, Massachusetts.
Monday, December 20, 2010
WHAT IS THE WORTH OF A GENEALOGY BLOG?
I read this quote over on Martin Hollick's Slovak Yankee blog the
other day and it's been gnawing away at me in the back of my mind
ever since. It's from page 157 of The American Genealogist magazine:
"The only qualifications for a Fellow are the quality and quantity
of his or her published genealogical work, usually compiled
genealogy, not abstracts or methodology. At the meeting this
year, it was proposed that "publications" include those online.
The Society had decided quite a few years ago that digital/online
publications did not qualify as permanent contributions to the
field. At this year's meeting, much was said on both sides of the
question: Online publication is becoming increasingly common
and increasingly excellent, but it remains fluid and its permanence
is uncertain."
The 'Fellows' are the Fellows of the American Society of Genealogists.
I might be off by a few years but I believe the Internet has now been
around for nearly twenty years, so I think the question of how
permanent it is has been answered. There's quite a few personal
or family genealogy websites out there, and while there are many
of dubious distinction, there are also many that are well documented
with citations and sources. Is a scholarly, accurate work of
genealogical research to be discounted as a proof of a person's
qualifications to join a genealogical organization simply because it
appears online rather than in print?
This seems rather shortsighted to me. True, websites can disappear
but so can books and articles. But in this age where nearly everyone
writes with word processor programs it's commonsense practice
to backup your work and it's easy to provide a printed copy of a
site's content. In an age where many genealogy societies are faced
with aging, shrinking memberships, it might be more prudent to take
a case by case approach rather than to employ a blanket condemnation
of a commonly used medium.
Which brings me to the question posed in the title to this post: what is
the worth of a genealogy blog? There are several programs out there
now that can turn blogposts into book form. If I were to take selected
posts from "West in New England" and print them into a book for my
family and friends and had some copies leftover, would a genealogy
society accept them for their library? Would the purists and traditionalists
recoil in horror that printed geneablogs were being added to collections
simply because they are blogs?
Now understand, I'm not saying I'd be upset if a society politely refused
my proposed contribution. I already know what my blog is worth to me
personally. It's a creative outlet for me to explore and discuss my
family history and to make contact with relatives and other members of
the genealogy community.
But I do wonder how the geneabloggers' efforts are viewed by the
wider genealogy community.
How about you?
other day and it's been gnawing away at me in the back of my mind
ever since. It's from page 157 of The American Genealogist magazine:
"The only qualifications for a Fellow are the quality and quantity
of his or her published genealogical work, usually compiled
genealogy, not abstracts or methodology. At the meeting this
year, it was proposed that "publications" include those online.
The Society had decided quite a few years ago that digital/online
publications did not qualify as permanent contributions to the
field. At this year's meeting, much was said on both sides of the
question: Online publication is becoming increasingly common
and increasingly excellent, but it remains fluid and its permanence
is uncertain."
The 'Fellows' are the Fellows of the American Society of Genealogists.
I might be off by a few years but I believe the Internet has now been
around for nearly twenty years, so I think the question of how
permanent it is has been answered. There's quite a few personal
or family genealogy websites out there, and while there are many
of dubious distinction, there are also many that are well documented
with citations and sources. Is a scholarly, accurate work of
genealogical research to be discounted as a proof of a person's
qualifications to join a genealogical organization simply because it
appears online rather than in print?
This seems rather shortsighted to me. True, websites can disappear
but so can books and articles. But in this age where nearly everyone
writes with word processor programs it's commonsense practice
to backup your work and it's easy to provide a printed copy of a
site's content. In an age where many genealogy societies are faced
with aging, shrinking memberships, it might be more prudent to take
a case by case approach rather than to employ a blanket condemnation
of a commonly used medium.
Which brings me to the question posed in the title to this post: what is
the worth of a genealogy blog? There are several programs out there
now that can turn blogposts into book form. If I were to take selected
posts from "West in New England" and print them into a book for my
family and friends and had some copies leftover, would a genealogy
society accept them for their library? Would the purists and traditionalists
recoil in horror that printed geneablogs were being added to collections
simply because they are blogs?
Now understand, I'm not saying I'd be upset if a society politely refused
my proposed contribution. I already know what my blog is worth to me
personally. It's a creative outlet for me to explore and discuss my
family history and to make contact with relatives and other members of
the genealogy community.
But I do wonder how the geneabloggers' efforts are viewed by the
wider genealogy community.
How about you?
Saturday, December 18, 2010
REVIEWING MY 2010 GENEALOGY RESOLUTIONS
Before I post about my research goals and plans for next year, I
thought I'd look back at this year's list. Due to my medical problems
and then moving I didn't get much accomplished genealogy wise for
first third of the year. However it's been a pretty active fall for me
and I picked up some ground.
So here's the list in italics followed by the results:
Organize! Organize! ORGANIZE! Cite those sources and trim the
tree of duplicate entries!
Well, this is still VERY much a work in progress.
Scan! Scan! SCAN! Get that Rubbermaid tub of pictures done!
While I've done slightly more on this than the organizing, I really
need to get cracking on this too.
Research! Research! RESEARCH!
I've had more success with this than any other of my plans.aided
by records I've found at Ancestry.com and FamilySearch Record
Search.
Share what I've found with anyone who needs help tilting at
their own genealogy "windmills".
This was one of the most rewarding things I was able to do this
past year. I helped several friends get started on tracing their
family trees.
Get out of the apartment more and visit the NEGHS, the Family
History Center and some of the places my ancestors lived and
where they are buried.
I didn't really start to do much on this until this Fall. While I haven't
made it back to the NEGHS or the family Center yet, I've gotten out
and explored the local cemeteries with good results as recent blogposts
can attest.
Do more work on my maternal lines, the Whites, Offingers, McFarlands
and Kelleys.
Thanks to FamilySearch Record Search I found new information on the
Whites and Offingers, and some on the McFarlands. The Kelleys still
remain an enigma.
Keep chipping away at that John Cutter West brickwall.
I chipped. It's still there, but someday, somehow, it's coming down!
And most of all to keep having fun doing all of the above!
Now THAT was the easiest gena-resolution for me to keep! It was
ALL fun!
thought I'd look back at this year's list. Due to my medical problems
and then moving I didn't get much accomplished genealogy wise for
first third of the year. However it's been a pretty active fall for me
and I picked up some ground.
So here's the list in italics followed by the results:
Organize! Organize! ORGANIZE! Cite those sources and trim the
tree of duplicate entries!
Well, this is still VERY much a work in progress.
Scan! Scan! SCAN! Get that Rubbermaid tub of pictures done!
While I've done slightly more on this than the organizing, I really
need to get cracking on this too.
Research! Research! RESEARCH!
I've had more success with this than any other of my plans.aided
by records I've found at Ancestry.com and FamilySearch Record
Search.
Share what I've found with anyone who needs help tilting at
their own genealogy "windmills".
This was one of the most rewarding things I was able to do this
past year. I helped several friends get started on tracing their
family trees.
Get out of the apartment more and visit the NEGHS, the Family
History Center and some of the places my ancestors lived and
where they are buried.
I didn't really start to do much on this until this Fall. While I haven't
made it back to the NEGHS or the family Center yet, I've gotten out
and explored the local cemeteries with good results as recent blogposts
can attest.
Do more work on my maternal lines, the Whites, Offingers, McFarlands
and Kelleys.
Thanks to FamilySearch Record Search I found new information on the
Whites and Offingers, and some on the McFarlands. The Kelleys still
remain an enigma.
Keep chipping away at that John Cutter West brickwall.
I chipped. It's still there, but someday, somehow, it's coming down!
And most of all to keep having fun doing all of the above!
Now THAT was the easiest gena-resolution for me to keep! It was
ALL fun!
Friday, December 17, 2010
THE ROSE BLOGGER AWARD
My day got off to a wonderful start this morning when I received
an email from fellow geneablogger Lucie LeBlanc Consentino
notifying me she was presenting me with one of two Rose Blogger
Awards. Lucie gives it to bloggers who are keeping the memory
of their ancestors alive, and she named it in memory of her late
mother, Rosanna Levesque LeBlanc. Heather Wilkinson Rojo
of Nutfield Genealogy is the other recipient of the award.
In addition to her two blogs Lucie's Legacy and The Acadian
and French-Canadian Ancestral Home, Lucie has three
websites devoted to Acadian and French-Canadian history
genealogy and culture. In fact, I first made Lucie's "e-quaintance"
when I asked her permission to use some of her research in a
blogpost I was doing on my ancestor Jonathan Abbott's dealings
with displaced Acadians in colonial Andover, Massachusetts.
That was three and a half years ago.
I'm honored to be given an award that Lucie named after
someone she loved, and I highly recommend all her sites if
you wish to learn more about Acadian and French-Canadian history.
(By the way, you can vote for the Acadian and French-Canadian
Ancestral Home at the FamilyTree Top 40 Genealogy Blogs. She's
in the Heritage Groups).
Thank you, Lucie!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
HURRAH...AND DRAT!
I checked in over at the Maine Genealogy Network tonight and
saw Chris Dunham's (formerly of The Genealogue) notice that
Ancestry.com had added images of Maine's Vital Records through
1922 to their site. So I immediately signed in over at Ancestry and
started searching the images for my various Maine ancestors,
including my biggest brickwall, John Cutter West and his children.
I was hoping that there might be a mention of John's birthplace on
something that might narrow it down to a specific town in
Massachusetts or that confirm it was the town of Plymouth rather
than Plymouth County.
Alas, I had no luck.
Nevertheless, I found other records and information that I didn't
have before. I learned great grandfather Frank Wesley Barker died
from pneumonia after having "la grippe" six months after his mother
Lucy Colburn had died from her bout with "la grippe", in other words,
the flu. And of course I added everything to my tree as sources.
So, a hurrah for that, and a drat for not finding a chink in that brickwall.
I'll keep chipping away at it, though!
saw Chris Dunham's (formerly of The Genealogue) notice that
Ancestry.com had added images of Maine's Vital Records through
1922 to their site. So I immediately signed in over at Ancestry and
started searching the images for my various Maine ancestors,
including my biggest brickwall, John Cutter West and his children.
I was hoping that there might be a mention of John's birthplace on
something that might narrow it down to a specific town in
Massachusetts or that confirm it was the town of Plymouth rather
than Plymouth County.
Alas, I had no luck.
Nevertheless, I found other records and information that I didn't
have before. I learned great grandfather Frank Wesley Barker died
from pneumonia after having "la grippe" six months after his mother
Lucy Colburn had died from her bout with "la grippe", in other words,
the flu. And of course I added everything to my tree as sources.
So, a hurrah for that, and a drat for not finding a chink in that brickwall.
I'll keep chipping away at it, though!
AN UPDATE ON THE OTIS V GRAY HISTORY MYSTERY
Ok, I can't keep this to myself any longer.
Remember how at the end of the first post I wondered if we should
submit the mystery of Otis v Gray to the History Detectives show?
Well, they contacted us! I don't know how they heard about it. Could
somebody from the show have actually seen the blogpost? Or did one
of my readers who knows someone who knows someone pass it along
to them? However it happened, I am still astonished!
Now this doesn't mean it will be a segment of the show. There may not
be enough there to justify a segment. So we'll have to see what
they find out and what they want to do.
Can you tell how excited I am by the way I'm babbling?
Anyway stay tuned for further developments.
Remember how at the end of the first post I wondered if we should
submit the mystery of Otis v Gray to the History Detectives show?
Well, they contacted us! I don't know how they heard about it. Could
somebody from the show have actually seen the blogpost? Or did one
of my readers who knows someone who knows someone pass it along
to them? However it happened, I am still astonished!
Now this doesn't mean it will be a segment of the show. There may not
be enough there to justify a segment. So we'll have to see what
they find out and what they want to do.
Can you tell how excited I am by the way I'm babbling?
Anyway stay tuned for further developments.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
OTIS V. GRAY: A HISTORY MYSTERY
A few Sundays ago I spent an enjoyable Sunday afternoon with my
brother in law Pete looking over some family heirlooms. Pete like myself
is of two heritages, one side of the family descended from immigrants,
the other from colonial New England stock. The items he showed me
come from the second side and included albums of beautiful century-old
postcards, greeting cards, and calling cards, and I'll relate the story
behind them in a later post. Another item is a legal document with a bit
of a mystery behind it, and we're hoping someone reading this can help
us solve it.
Many of Pete's ancestors came from the coastal town of Scituate, Ma.
and among them are members of the Otis family.The most famous
member of the family was James Ois, a mercurial figure who was
prominent in Boston in the days leading up to the American Revolution.
He battled mental illness which included violent outbursts of temper.
That, coupled with his sarcastic comments led to many confrontations
with the Tories of Boston.
The document Pete showed me is an indication of how heated those
confrontations became. It's a court wit for Lewis Grant, a prominent
Tory who'd been the target of some of Otis' tirades. According to the
writ Gray had broken into Otis' house and assaulted him on November
11th, 1771 and "beat wounded & evil intreated" Otis. Just how badly
Otis was beaten is unknown but he was able to file charges. Gray was
arrested and released the next day after promising to appear in court.
The question is, how did the trial turn out?
With Pete's permission I started searching the internet to try to discover
the outcome but had no luck. Then I turned to J L Bell of Boston 1776
but he had never heard of the case either. He suggested I contact Jeff
Purcell who is writing a biography of James Otis. Although Jeff hadn't
heard about the court case he did share some fascinating information
about Otis and I'm looking forward to reading his book when it's
published.
So at this point, we're at a dead end. I've attached a transcription Peter
sent me of the writ so you can read it, and if any of my readers have any
suggestions on how to further research this I'd appreciate hearing from
you. I know there are resources not available on the Interenet; I just
need some idea of where to start looking.
Or perhaps we should submit it to the History Detectives?
What do you all think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)