52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 7: JOHN HOWARD OF BRIDGEWATER, MA.. PT1

My 8x great grandfather John Howard was another of the founding fathers of Bridgewater and West Bridgewater. In 1903 a man named Heman Howard, another of John Howard's descendants, wrote a family history and began with this:

JOHN HOWARD, with his brother George, came from England, and settled in Duxbury. He was among those who were able to bear arms there in 1643. He was about fifteen years old when he came to Duxbury. He lived in the family of Capt. Miles Standish, who came from Shorely, Lancashire, England. He soon removed to Bridgewater, and was one of the original settlers and proprietors of that town. Judge Mitchell, in his history of Bridgewater, says that John Howard, the first Howard to settle in Bridgewater, was a man of much influence in the new plantation.

In 1645 his name appears as one of the fifty-four original proprietors of the grant of land afterward known as Bridgewater. In 1656 he was one of the two surveyors of highways for his town. In 1657 he had taken the Freeman's oath. He was one of the fourteen men whose allotment of land was in the easterly part of the grant. He was one of the first military officers, and was appointed Ensign, Sept. 27, 1664. In May, 1676, during King Philip's War, Ensign John Howard, with twenty others, fought with some Indians and took seventeen of them alive with much plunder, and all returned without serious injury. June 5, 1678, he was a deputy to the General Court of Massachusetts; also on the same date was appointed a selectman of his town. In 1683 he, with Thomas Hayward, was a representative to the General Court. Oct. 2, 1689, he was promoted, and received his commission as a lieutenant. Mr. Howard was a carpenter by trade. He spelled his name Haward, and so did his descendants until after 1700. He m. Martha, a dau. of Thomas Hayward, one of the original proprietors of Bridgewater, who came on the ship Hercules, in 1635, from Sandwich, County of Kent, England, with five children and three brothers.

Mr. Howard lived in a house which he built near the first meeting house. It stood directly north of the house where B. B. Howard now lives, on the corner of Howard and River streets. The accompanying picture shows the spot of ground as it now appears; the well curb seen in the picture is over the well that was used with Mr. Howard's house. This was the first public house in Bridgewater, as Mr. Howard was licensed to keep an ordinary or tavern, in 1670, at this place. It would probably be difficult to find, in the history of all the taverns that have existed in Massachusetts, another of which it can be said, as Judge Mitchell says of this original Howard House, that " He (John Howard), was licensed to keep an ordinary or tavern, as early as 1670, and it is remarkable that a public house has been kept there by his descendants ever since, till within a few years." This house was owned and managed by John Howard and his direct descendants for a period of 151 years. John Howard opened the tavern in 1670, and kept it 30 years, until his death in 1700. His oldest son, John, then became proprietor, conducting it 26 years, until 1726. His son, Maj. Edward, was proprietor from that date to 1771, for 45 years. His son, Col. Edward, owned and conducted the house for 38 years, from 1771 to 1809, when he d. Then his widow and son, Capt. Benjamin Beal Howard, kept the house open 12 years, until 1821. The house was taken down in 1838. A list of the distinguished guests of this tavern, could we know their names, would make exceeding interesting reading. Without doubt, one of the early distinguished visitors was Mary (Chilton) Winslow, (the first lady who came on shore from the Mayflower), who was grandmother of the wife of the second proprietor, John Howard. An occasional guest was John Reed, D. D., who was a member of congress during Washington's administration. Oakes Angier, a young lawyer, Hon. William Baylies and Judge Howard, were other prominent and frequent visitors. Lieut. Howard d. in 1700. His property was appraised in October, the next year. It consisted of about 450 acres of land, and his estate was valued at about 840 pounds. Following is a copy of the division of his estate and of that of his widow, who d. before 1703 pp2-3

The Howard Genealogy: Descendants of John Howard of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, from 1643 to 1903 Standard printing Company, Brockton, Ma  1903

To be continued.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 6:REUBEN PACKARD OF HEBRON, ME.

My 5x great grandfather Reuben Packard was a Revolutionary War veteran (as were several other relatives). He was a sergeant in the company from Bridgewater led by Captain Hayden. He was one of the leading citizens of the town when the war broke out, married to Anne Perkins and by age 38 the father of eight children. After the war he and his oldest son Ichabod had moved to Sheperdsfield, Me. which is now Hebron, Me.

Reuben  followed the family tradition of being active in the formation of a new town. He built a sawmill and a gristmill on his property and led church services in his home until a Conregationalist church was built of which he became a deacon.

He and Israel were also among those who signed this petition:

To the Assessors of the plantation of Shepardsfield:
We the subscribers, being ten of the inhabitants of the said plantation, request you to call a meeting of the freeholders and other inhabitants of the said plantation, on Wednesday the twenty-eighth day of December current, at the dwelling house of John Greenwood, at nine o'clock A. M. for the following purposes, viz:

First, To chose a Moderator.

Second. To see if the inhabitants are of opinion to petition the General Court for an incorporation, also to see if they will agree to petition the General Court to have their taxes abated, and to act on any other business they may think proper at said meeting.
   REUBEN PACKARD   STEPHEN GURNEY.
   CALEB CUSHMAN     ZACKEUS ROWE.
   JOSIAH CHURCHILL  THADDEUS PRATT.
   EBEN’R DRAKE.         ICHABOD PACKARD.
   JOHN BICKNELL         THOMAS CARMAN.
Shepardsfield December 19, 1791.
Agreeably to the foregoing request, the freeholders and other inhabitants of the plantation of Shepardsfield are warned to meet at the time and place, and for the purposes before mentioned. JOHN GREENWOOD
 JAMES DONHAM
 DANIEL BULLEN.
Assessors of Shepardsfield
Shepardsfield December 20, 1791.
-p12
Annals of Oxford, Maine   New England History Press in collaboration with the Oxford Historical Society, 1903 - Hebron (Me.


Reuben Packard died on 6Dec 1820 in Hebron, Me. I'm descended from his youngest child, Cynthia, who married James Dunham/Donham.

JAMES PACKARD'S WILL PT2

Just a few quick thoughts about James Packard's will:

The document appears to be a copy of the original. It's part of a book and the handwriting is the same as on other wills. I wonder when the copy was made and what happened to the original?

I'm puzzled by the use of the name "Packard" as a place name. I wonder why it would be used that way. Does it refer to the original family farm?

I live right next to Brockton and never heard of the Salisbury Plain River before. Looking at a map, the river runs through the heart of the city parallel to Belmont St, a busy road. I suspect much is it is enclosed.

Finally, with a sawmill, grist mill and forge James was a wealthy man by the standard of his times. I wish I could find the estate inventory, 

BLOGIVERSARY: NOW WE ARE 12.

I was so wrapped up in doing research last week I missed my 12th blogiversary! Time flies when you're having fun! So this is where it stands as of 31Jan 2019{

A few stats: This is post 2485. I've had 1,064,815 pageviews (most of which were likely by webcrawler bots) and  I have 278 followers. So I've lost 2 of the 280 followers I had last year!

These were my All Time Top Ten Posts on last year on 23Jan:

And this is the list as of today:

The post on Malden where I lived as a child still tops the list. The two 52 Ancestor posts are for Caleb Benson and John Benson.



Thanks again to cousins Tim Abbott, Chris Dunham, and Randy Seaver whose geneablogs inspired me to start one of my own.

And as always, a big thank you to those who read my blog and to those who leave comments

I've found a bunch of new relatives to write about, so I'll keep on blogging!

.

JAMES PACKARD'S WILL PT1

I found my 6x great grandfather James Packard's probate file and will on the FamilySearch website. Here's  my transcription:

 
In The Nname of God Amen.
The twentyfourth day of September in the year of our Lord one thous
-and , seven hundred & sixtyfive; I Jjames Packard of Bridgewater in the
colony of Plimouth & Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England
yeoman, being in declining state of bodily health, but of perfect mind
& memory thanks be to God therefor, and calling to mind the mort
-ality of my body, knowing that it is appointed to all men once to
die, do make & ordain this my last will & testament, that is to say,
principally & first of all, I give & recommend my soul into the hands
of God that gave it, and my body I recomend to the earth to be bury,
in decent christian burial., at the discretion of my executor hereaft
-er named, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall
receive the same again by the mighty power of God; And as touching
such worldly estate wherein with it hath pleased God to bless me in this
life, I give, demise & dispose of the same in the followg of manner of (?)
Imprus I give to my welbeloved son James one eighth part of a sawmill
standing a few rods from Packard, & forge, so called, in Bridgewater &
one half of my right & interest in the old cedar swamp (so called) in
in Bridgewater, and a certain piece of meadow lying on the west side
of Salisbury Plain River, between meadow of Lieut. Henry Kingman,
& meadow formerly belonging to my brother John Packard dec'd. & all
my right in the common or undivided lands in Bridgewater aforesd,
all that is before demised to my said son James I give to him, his
heirs and asigns forever, also I give to my said son James one half
of my wearing apparel, one half of my husbandry tools, & implements,
& one half of my great iron kettle, to be at his dispose.

Item. I give to my well beloved son Reuben (I likewise cons
-spire(?), make & ordain sole executor of this my last will & testament)
one eighth part of a sawmill standing a few rods from Packard, & forge
abovesd, & all my right in the Grist mill standing on or near Salisbury
Plain River abovsd, together with my privileges belonging to said
right. Also I give to my sd son Reuben one half of my right & interest
in the old cedar swamp abovesd & all my right in Packard, & forge
aforesd with my privileges belonging to sd right,  also my dwelling ho
-use & other buildings not otherwise herein disposed off. All the est
-ate that is afore demised to my sd son Reuben, I give to him his heirs &
assigns forever. Also I give to my sd son Reuben, all my quick stock of every
kind, & one half of my wearing apparel, & one half of my husbandry tools
& implements, & all my household goods & indoor moveables (excepting what
I have herein bequeathed to my son James before named). Also all my estate
whatever, not in this my last will & testament otherwise disposed off I
give to my sd son Reuben, his heirs & asigns forever.

Page 2:
Item I give to my three wellloved daughters Kezia, Jemima and
Rebecca twenty four pounds, five shillings  and four pence to be
paid to them in cattle or barr iron at the market price in cash, by my
aforenamed executor in four years next after my decease at four equal
payments. That is to say, to each & every of my sd three daughters the
value of six punds one shilling & four pense in cattle or barr iron
at cash price annually during the said term of four years.---
Also I give to my aforenamed three daughters all the money due
to me from Luke Perkins on his note of hand, also all the money
due to me from Nehemiah Lincoln on his note of hand to be equally
divided between them --- It is also my will that my just
debts be paid, & my funeral charges defrayed by my aforenamed
executor out of the estate I have given him, & I do hereby utterly
disallow, revoke & (?) all & every other former testaments,
wills, legacies, bequests & executors by one in any ways before unamd,
willed & Bequeathed, ratifying & confirming this & no other to be ny
last will & testament. For witness thereof I have hereunto set my
hand & seal the day & year first aforewritten.

Signed, sealed  & declared by the
sd James Packard as his last will &
testament in presense of us the subs.
Constant Southworth. Josiah Snell Junr. Shepard Fisk

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 5: JAMES PACKARD OF NORTH BRIDGEWATER, MA.

My 6x great grandfather James Packard came from a family that was very active in the local church. Several of  his brothers were ministers while James was a deacon and is usually referred to as Deacon James.He owned several mills and a farm.

Here's his entry in  Bradford Kingman's History of North Bridgewater...":

55 JAMEs (son of Zaccheus 14) married Jemima, daughter of Joseph Keith, June 7, 1722; lived on the place now occupied by Marcus Holmes. Children : —
56 James, b. Sept. 23, 1724 [169]; m. Mary Thayer, of Braintree, 1747. 57 Keziah, b. Oct. 29, 1727; married Nehemiah Lincoln, Nov. 24, 1748. 58 Jemima, b. Aug. 8, 1729; married Ichabod Edson, July 19, 1759. 59 Rebecca, b. July 1, 1732; married Luke Perkins, Aug. 24, 1749. 60 Reuben, b. Nov. 8, 1737 £) ; married Anne Perkins, Oct. 3, 1759. The wife died Dec. 8, 1763. The father died Nov. 24, 1765. He was one of the first deacons in the North Parish.p687


History of North Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts: From Its First Settlement to the Present Time, with Family Registers Self-Published, Boston, Ma 1866


As i said James was active in church life. He and other Packard relatives helped in the building of the first church. Many of the men listed in the following excerpt from Kingman's book are related to me:

At the time of the incorporation of the parish the house was “Erected and Inclosed,” but not finished. At a meeting held March 12th, 1739, “Timothy Keith, Benjamin Edson, David Packard, Daniel Howard, Edward Curtis, were chosen a committee for the finishing the meeting house in sq Precinct,” also “voted to raise two Hundred and fifty pounds for the finishing of the same, to be paid by the last of August,” chose Abiel Packard, “Recever of stuf and meterels,” March 26th, 1739. “The committee appointed to finish the meeting-house made demand of the several inhabitants how they would pay their Reats, or what they could percure tords the prosecution of the work of finishing the meeting-house. In order to pay their Raits Whare upon a number subscribed what they would percure, as first:” –

James Packard to do the Glazing of the House, and what it amounts to more than his Reats Come to, to take his pay at the forge, In Iron ore or Cole next fall Insewing. John Johnson and John Kingman, to do the masing work, and nails, and to take his pay over and Abuv, his Raits at the formes or forge, In Labour, or Cole, or Iron ore the next fall Insewing. David Packard, Solomon Packard, and Jacob Allen, to find Lime.
Robert Haward, to find one thousand of pine Bords,
Zacheus Packard, to find one thousand of oak Bords,
Solomon Packard, to find one thousand of pine Bords,
Benjamin Edson, to find one thousand of pine Bords,
Abiel Packard, to find one thousand of pine Bords,
Timothy Keith, to find one thousand of oak Bords,
Daniel Haward, to find one thousand of pine Bords,
Theofilus Curtis, to find five hundred of pine Bords,
Edward Curtis, to find five hundred of pine Bords,
James Barret, to find one thousand of pine Bords,
Joshua Warren, to find Henges,
Timothy Keith, David Packard, Solomon Packard, Jacob Allen, Benjamin Edson, Daniel Haward, to find all the sheet work.-p85 ibid

 He was on the commitee that hired the first minister for a new church in North Bridgewater:

Aug. 25, 1740, “voted to chuse Samuel Kingman, David Packard, and James Packard, a committee to Give Mr. Porter a Call in behalf of the precinct;” also voted that the 18th of September should be kept as a day of fasting and prayer, before the ordaining of Mr. John Porter.  -p21 ibid

I've found James Packard's will and will transcribe it/.
James' son Reuben Packard is my 5x great grandfather

FINDMYPAST PUBLISHES 700,000 NEW SCOTTISH RECORDS

 I received this email Friday morning:

 

Findmypast publishes 700,000 new Scottish records in celebration of Burns Night 2019

Leading British & Irish family history website, Findmypast, is marking the 260th Anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland, with the release of almost 700,000 new Scottish records.

Many of these new additions have been made available online for the first time and cement Findmypast’s place as the home of the fastest growing online collection of Scottish Records.

Over 275,000 brand new records have been added to Findmypast’s collection of more than 2 million Catholic Sacramental Registers records. Covering all eight Scottish Dioses, fully indexed and scanned in full colour, these important documents can’t be found anywhere else online.

Almost 75,000 records from the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745 have been digitised from The National Archives and are now searchable for the first time, forming an expansive collection of assorted documents including lists of prisoners and those banished or pardoned along with correspondence, commission records, briefs of evidence and more.

Over 30,000 records of Glasgow smallpox vaccinations from 1801-1850, indexed for the first time and available with images of the original documents have been added from the library of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. These cover the very poorest parts of the city, and may be some of the only records that survive for many of the individuals found within these pages.

From the same archive, come documents relating to almost 2,000 newly indexed names taken from class rolls of those who studied Anatomy under Professor George Buchanan at Anderson’s College, Glasgow from 1860-1874.

Over 280,000 new burials from cemeteries across Glasgow have joined our Glasgow & Lanarkshire Death & Burial Index. These valuable records have been supplied by the latest Scottish family history society to partner with Findmypast, the Glasgow & West of Scotland Family History Society.

Andrew Eadie, chairman of the GWSFHS said of the release;

‘As one of the oldest family history societies in the country, Glasgow & West of Scotland Family History Society has been assisting those with Scottish roots for more than 40 years. We are delighted that, by partnering with Findmypast, our records have taken their place among a growing and vibrant collection that people across the world can enjoy, discovering their ancestors and, fittingly on this day, making new connections to the homeland of Rabbie Burns.’

Myko Clelland, licensing manager for Findmypast said;

‘Findmypast has always been well regarded as the home of British & Irish family history, and with our Dundee headquarters, it’s only fitting that that Scottish records are one of our crown jewels. We’re working with so many wonderful people to build a collection that really stands out as something truly unique and powerful, where Scotland comes to life and in the spirit of the ploughman poet himself, new stories can be discovered and retold for generations. Keep checking the Findmypast Friday blog for news of the millions of other Scottish records that we’re excited to be publishing every month, throughout 2019.’

These newly released additions sit alongside millions of other records from family history societies, archives and repositories holding records that cover the whole length and breadth of the country. If you have Scottish heritage, Findmypast is an indispensable tool for discovering your ancestors.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 4: ZACCHEUS PACKARD OF WEST BRIDGEWATER, MA.

The subject this week is my 7x great grandfather Zaccheus Packard. He was a farmer but six of his sons were were very active in church affairs in North Bridgewater (now Brockton) Ma. Here's a short biography by William Richard Cutter:

II) Zaccheus Packard, son of Samuel Packard (r), was born in Hingham, and died in Bridgewater, August 3, 1723. He married Sarah, daughter of John Howard, of West Bridgewater. Children, born in Bridgewater: 1. Israel, mentioned below. 2. Sarah, born August 19. 1682: married. July 27, 1704, Captain Josiah Edson : died 1754. 3. Jonathan, born December 7, 1684; married first, December 24, 1719. Susanna Hayward; second, Abigail. 4. David, born February 11, 1687;married, December 17, 1712, Hannah Ames; died November 3, 1755. 5. Solomon, born March 20, 1689; married, November 16, 1715, Sarah Lathrop; second, Susanna Kingman; third, October 5, 1760, Dorothy, widow of Mark Perkins. 6. Deacon James, born June 2, 1691 ; married, June 7, 1722, Jemima Kieth; died November 24, 1765. 7. Zaccheus, Jr., born September 4, 1693: married, October 21, 1725. Mercy Alden; died 1775. 8. John, born October 8, 1695; married, 1726, Lydia Thomson ; died June 3, 1738. 9. Captain Abiel, born April 29, 1699; married January 11, 1723, Sarah Ames; died 1776.
-p1880-1

Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 4 Lewis historical Publishing Company,  New York, NY      1908

I've found Zaccheus' probate file at AmericanAncestors.org.
His son James is my 6x great grandfather,

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 3: SAMUEL PACKARD OF WEST BRIDGEWATER, MA.

The exploration of my Packard family line begins with my 8x great grandfather and immigrant ancestor Samuel Packard. This is the entry about him and the origin of the family from the book Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts:

 PACKARD. The grant of the plantation of ancient Bridgewater was made in 1645, but the actual settlement was not commenced until after 1650, the first lots being taken up in West Bridgewater, and there the first house was built and the first improvements made. This was the first interior settlement of the Old Colony. Since the coming to this Bridgewater settlement of Samuel Packard, as early as 1664 (which was the year of the ordination of the first minister of the town,. Rev. James Keith), to the present time, for nearly two hundred and fifty years, the Packard family has been one prominent and influential in the region of the old town, out of which have since come a number of towns. And it has become a most numerous family, too, many of its members both at home and abroad having given a good account of themselves, their names being enrolled as distinguished educators, clergymen, physicians, authors, soldiers, merchants and manufacturers, all of whom descended from Samuel Packard. This article is to treat in main with the branch of the family which has continued its residence in the North Parish of ancient Bridgewater. a parish that so continued until 1821, when it became the town of North Bridgewater, the name of which in 1874 was changed to Brockton. There were no permanent settlements in the North Parish until after the year 1700, the first settlers being principally descendants of the first settlers of Bridgewater.

 (I) Samuel Packard, which name in the early records of both Hingham and Bridgewater was spelled "Packer," came from Windham, near Hingham, in England, with his wife and child, in the ship "Diligence," of Ipswich, in 1638, and settled in Hingham, Mass., where he was a proprietor in the same year. He later removed to West Bridgewater, where he was constable in 1664, and licensed to keep a tavern in 1670. From his will, probated March 3, 1684-85, it appears the Christian name of his wife was Elizabeth. His children were: Elizabeth, Samuel, Zaccheus, Thomas, John, Nathaniel, Mary, Hannah, Israel, Jael, Deborah and Deliverance.
-p1214

Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts: Containing Historical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families .. Vol3  J.H. Beers & Company, Chicago, Il., 1912

I'm descended from Samuel's second son Zaccheus Packard

MY PERKINS LINE

Here is the Perkins family line of my 4x great grandmother Cynthia (Packard) Dunham, daughter of Reuben Packard and Anne Perkins.  It goes back to immigrant ancestor John Perkins, but also includes the Conant, Long, Walton and Whipple families.

MY PACKARD LINE

Starting next week in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series I'll be writing about  the family of my 4x great grandmother Cynthia (Packard)Dunham, wife of James Thomas Dunham. Cynthia is one of my ancestors who has relatives from both Plymouth and Essex Counties. On her father Reuben Packard's side she is descended from some of the founders of all three Bridgewater towns:Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, and West Bridgewater. These are towns only about ten miles away from where I live. In fact, I graduated from Bridgewater State College nearly fifty years ago.

On her mother Anne Perkins' side she is descended from prominent citizens of Ipswich, Beverley, and Salem.

Here's Cynthia's Packard line

The associated families are Edson, Fobes, Hayward, Howard,  and Keith who arrived in Massachusetts after the Great Migration so the line isn't as long as some of my other families.















I'll discuss the Perkins line in the next post.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 2: STEPHEN GATES OF HINGHAM, LANCASTER AND CAMBRIDGE, MA.

John Lazell's wife Elizabeth (Gates) Lazell was the daughter of my 10x great grandparents Stephen Gates and Anne Veare. Stephen seems to have around a bit after originally settling in Hingham, Ma.
Here's a brief biography from William Richard Cutter:

(I) Stephen Gates, the first of the name in New England was a native of England, born at Norwich, in the county of Norfolk, the son of Thomas Gates. Stephen Gates came to New England in the ship "Diligent," in 1638, from Hingham, England, and settled first at Hingham, Massachusetts. He was accompanied by his wife and children. In 1652 he located at Cambridge, and later at Lancaster, where he was one of the largest proprietors of the town, and was one of the petitioners for its incorporation in 1654; he was also constable there in 1657. Returning to Cambridge he spent the remainder of his life there where he died in 1662. His family consisted of seven children as follows: Elizabeth, born in England, was married in Hingham, in 1647, to John Lasell; Mary, who married at Hingham, in 1658, John Maynard, of Sudbury; Stephen, mentioned below; Simon, who was born in England and baptized in Hingham in 1646; Thomas, baptized in Hingham, May 3, 1646, married, in 1670, Elizabeth Freeman, of Sudbury; Isaac, baptized in Hingham, in 1646, died in 1651; Rebecca, baptized in 1646, died in 1650.-p1846

New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 4  Lewis historical publishing Company, NY, NY 1914

I've found Stephen's will and estate inventory. The latter is on two pages with two columns of possessions on each so he must have been very well off. Transcribing the will may be difficult because the handwriting is a bit hard to decipher.

JONATHAN BARNES AND ELIZABETH HEDGES

 ((first posted on 4Jan 2009)

Today is the 354th anniversary of my ancestors Jonathan Barnes and his wife Elizabeth Hedges,
who did considerably better than their families at being respectful citizens of Plymouth Colony.

I've written before about Jonathan's father John Barnes who was a drunkard and appears in the court records numerous times. John came to an untimely end when (apparently while drunk) petting his bull which gored him. The wound proved fatal.

Elizabeth Hedge's father, Captain William Hedge, remarried after Elizabeth's mother died and his
marriage to Blanche Hull didn't last very long. While Blanche was herself a widow, she was much younger than Captain Hedge and deserted him not long after their marriage. This led to this bequest to Blanche in his will:

"And whereas Blanche my Wife hath dealt falsely with me in
the Covenant of Marriage in departing from me; therefore I
do in this my Last Will and Testament give her twelve pence..."

which someone commented was "full eleven pence more than she deserved" 

At any rate, Jonathan and Elizabeth's marriage seems to have prospered. Their daughter Mary Barnes married John Carver, and their granddaughter Mary Carver married Moses Barrows from whom I'm descended through my great grandmother Clara Ellingwood!

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 1: JOHN LAZELL OF HINGHAM, MA.

Information about my 9x great grandfather John Lazell has been a bit of a humt because of the various spellings of his family name. Three of them have been Lazell, Lasell, and Lassell. Finally I found this in History of the town of Hingham, Massachusetts on the Internet Archives:

LASELL (Lazell; Lassell).
1. John, an early settler, and the ancestor of all who have borne this surname by birth in Hing., m. Nov. 29, 1647, Elizabeth, dau. of  Stephen and Ann Gates. She was b. prob. in Eng., and d. in Hing.
3 Aug. 1704. He d. 21 Oct. 1700. In his will of 2 Sept. 1695, proved 16 Jan. 1700-1, mentions four sons living, besides grandchild Joshua, the s. of Joshua deceased (2, iii.) ;and the two ch. of Isaac and Abigail, "both the fathers, Joshua and  Isaac, being dead." Mentions also dau's Hannah Turner, Mary Burr, and Sarah Ripley. Constable  1677. " Freeman," 1678. Resided at Hing. Centre, " over the river."
Ch., all b. in Hing., were —
i. John, bt. Sept. 8, 1650, d. 14 May, 1665.
ii. Thomas, Sept. 15, 1652 ; prob. m. 1685, Mary Allen.
2. iii. Joshua, Nov. 17, 1654.
3. iv. Stephen, Oct. 6, 1656.
V. Elizabeth, Feb. 28, 1657-58, d. 7 Apr. 1676.
4. vi. Isaac, July 10, 1660.
vii. Hannah, Aug. 31, 1662. m. Turner.
viii. Mary, Sept. 2, 1664. m. Aug. 1690, Simon Burr, Jr.
ix. Sarah, Nov. 29, 1666. m. Apr. 17, 1693, Peter Ripley.
5. X. John, Apr. 25, 1669.
6. xi. Israel, Sept. 24, 1671.
-pp423-424

I'm descended from John's son Joshua Lazell

2018 BY THE NUMBERS

Looking at the numbers for my 2018 genealogy activities I didn't do very well in blogging  or in my Find A Grave  efforts but had a good research year.

Database:
My research numbers as shown by RootsMagic7:
2018-32,385 people, 122,535 citations, 635 sources
2017-31,296 people, 112,296 citations, 589 sources
So I added 1089 people, 10,239 citations and 46 sources.

Find a Grave
2018-614 memorials, 1005 photos, 188 volunteer photos taken
2017-616 memorials, 1006 photos, 188 volunteer photos taken

Blogging
2018 (143)

2017 (211)

2016 (237)

2015 (220)

2014 (199)

2013 (179)

2012 (170)

2011 (248)

2010 (196)

2009 (254)

2008 (214)

2007 (208)

On my Old Colony Graveyard Rabbit blog, I only posted 5 times for the third year in a row.

DNA
I'm adding a new category this year based on my Ancestry.com DNA test results summary:
 240 Shared Ancestor Hints
 240 Starred matches
 919 4th cousins or closer
 21   DNA Circles

MY 2019 GENEAPLANS

Given how poorly I did with my 2018 geneaplans,  I'm just going to recycle the 2018 list instead of writing a new one:

1.Continue adding more of my ancestors siblings and their lines to my database.

2. Get off my butt and actually visit the places my ancstors lived and are buried here in Massachusetts. I didn't do any road trips in 2018. Getting out of my apartment oncethe weather turns warm is better for my health, too.

3.This year I'm  going to set a more praactical goal for my blogging: to reach at least 200 posts in this blog and to post anything, anything at all, in my Graveyard Rabbits  blog.

4. Take and post more photos for Find A Grave. Another way toi get me off my butt and out of the apartment.

5. Continue to stay organized:  Keep putting images  I download into  the folder they belong in immediately,

6. Transcribe more of the wills and probate files I've downloaded already.

7. Find and download the wills and probate files of female ancestors.

8.  Keep working  on  the timeline for my ancestors who were involved in the Colonial New England Indian wars, including those who were captured.

9. Go back and finish the series about the "Hot Mess" probate file of ancestor Nathaniel Stowe which I forgot to finish in May 2015. (Probably because it's such a "hot mess").

10. Write more  about my ancestor Gov. John Endecott. I keep pushing it aside, I think, because he did somethings that were nasty.

11.Keep having fun with genealogy!

There they are. I hope I do better in 2019 than I did in 2018!

MY 2018 GENEAPLANS: HOW WELL DID I DO?

2018 was not my best year as far as my genealogy plans are concerned. I started out lagging in my blog writing and spent most of this last month trying to catch up on the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series. (Luckily I finished it yesterday). I didn't do any roqad trips or photo requests for Find A Grave. Part of that is due to car trouble, and the rest to a lack of ambition. This last Spetember was the low point with only three blogposts for the entire month.


1.Continue adding more of my ancestors siblings and their lines to my database.

This is one of the things I did get accomplished this year.


2. Get off my butt and actually visit the places my ancstors lived and are buried here in Massachusetts. I didn't do any road trips in 2017. Getting out of my apartment oncethe weather turns warm is better for my health, too.

Failed. My car was in need of repairs this summer so I didn't make any road trips. And afterwards I just didn't have the ambition to get out for long drive.

3.This year I'm  going to set a more praactical goal for my blogging: to reach at least 200 posts in this blog and to post anything, anything at all, in my Graveyard Rabbits  blog.

Failed. This has been my least productive year of blogging. I won't even make 150 posts here this year and I only posted once or twice on the Gaveyard Rabbit blog.
4. Take and post more photos for Find A Grave. Another way toi get me off my butt and out of the apartment.

Nope, didn't do it.

5. Continue to stay organized:  Keep putting images  I download into  the folder they belong in immediately,

This is another one of the few plans I follwed through on.

6. Transcribe more of the wills and probate files I've downloaded already.

I did do some of this as well.

7. Find and download the wills and probate files of female ancestors.

Nope, failed.


8.  Keep working  on  the timeline for my ancestors who were involved in the Colonial New England Indian wars, including those who were captured.

Failed.

9. Go back and finish the series about the "Hot Mess" probate file of ancestor Nathaniel Stowe which I forgot to finish in May 2015. (Probably because it's such a "hot mess").

Big fail. Didn't even look at the file.


10. Write more  about my ancestor Gov. John Endecott. I keep pushing it aside, I think, because he did somethings that were nasty.

Another fail.

11.Keep having fun with genealogy!
While there were many things I didn't accomplish this year, I did still have fun doing what little I did. 

And I hope to do better this coming year.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 52: JOSEPH WORMALL OF SCITUATE, MA.

Hester (Wormall) Dunham's father was Joseph Wormall. I don't have much information about my 9x great grandfather. He settled originally at Rowley in Essex County and moved  to  Boston where Hester was born.in 1648. But by 1651 he had left Boston to live in Scituate, Ma.
This is how he disposed of his Boston holdings:

17 2 1650
Joseph Wormall of Boston granted to Henry Sandis of Boston his house & wharfe in Boston —'Scituat neere to Val: Hills house lately purchased of Leonard Buttles, & this was by way of mortgage, wth pviso that if he pay vnto the sd Henry twenty foure pounds eighteene shillings nine pence in merchantable wheate at price current at or before the last of 7her. next then this grant to be void, otherwise the sd Henry to receiue the rents of the said house & wharfe & the same to sett or sell, paying himselfe the aforesaid summe wtt due damages & returning: the overplus to the sd Wormall. This was dated & acknowledged 16(2) 1650 before mr Wm Hibbins.
This mortgage was discharged to mr Jeremy houchin as Administrator to the estate of Henry Sandis and by him desired to be Cancelled. 27.  11mo. 1651:
Edward Rawson Recorder.
-p 217

Suffolk deeds. , Volume 1 Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers, Boston, Ma. 1880 

He and his wife Mariam had four children: Mark, Josias, Sarah and Hester.

Joseph's will was written  on 4 Feb 1661 butwasn't filed until 24Jun 1662

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 51: JOSEPH DUNHAM OF PLYMOUTH, MA.

My 6x great grandmother Abigail (Dunham) Thomas is my second line of descent from immigrant  ancestors John Dunham and Abigail Barlow through their son Joseph.   

Joseph Dunham's entry in Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts is brief:
Joseph Dunham, born Nov. 18, 1637, married (first) Nov. 18, 1657, Mercy, daughter of Nathaniel Morton, and (second) Hester Wormall, daughter of Joseph. Wormall, of Rowley. His children, born in Plymouth, were: Eleazer, born in 1058; Mercy, born in 1660; Nathaniel, born in 1665; Micaiah, born about 1680; Joseph, born in 1682; Benaiah, born in J683; Daniel, born in 1689.-p.1691

Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts: Containing Historical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families  J.H. Beers & Company,  Chicago, Ill. 1912

While you might think by that brief biography that my 8x great grandfather was a upright citizen, he seems to have had a bit of a naughty side which the Plymouth court records described as "lascivious":

5Mar 1660-1
Josepth Dunham. for diuers laciuiouse carriages, was sentanced by the Court to
sitt in the stockes, with a paper on his hatt on which his fact was written in
capitall letters, and likewise to find surties for his good behauior.
Joseph Dunham oweth vnto our sou lord the Kinge the sume of 20:00:00 shillings
John Dunham. Senir, the sume of                                                     10:00:00
Nathaniell Morton the sume of                                                        10:00:00

The condition, that if the said Josepth Dunham shalbee of good behauior towards
our sou lord the Kinge and all his leich people. and appeer att the Generall Court
to bee holden att Plymouth the first Tuesday in June next, and not depart the said Court without lycence ; that then, &c.

It was ordered by the Court, that Mary, the wife of Edward Cobb, of Taunton, should
bee sumoned to appeer att the Court to bee holden att Plymouth the first Tuesday in
May next, to answare for her miscarriages, as appeers by a deposition giuen in to the
grand enquest against Josepth Dunham. Vol3 p210

It looks like Joseph's father and his father- in- law Nathaniel Morton paid his fine.

Seventeen years later the by now forty something year old Joseph still had a bit of
a wild streak but the Court was a bit more lenient on this occasion:

5Mar 1677-8
Joseph Dunham, for laciuouse carriages vsed toward Elizabeth Ringe. fined
twenty shillings, to the vse of the collonie. Vol5 p253

One wonders how many other "lascivious carriages" Joseph may have committed without being brought into court.

I'm descneded from Joseph's son Micajah.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 50: RICHARD WARREN OF PLYMOUTH, MA

I have two lines of descent from Mayflower passenger Richard Warren; from his daughter Ann (Warren) Little he is my 10x great grandfather and from his daughter Mary (Warren)Bartlett he is my 11x great grandfather.

A fellow Warren descendant, Emily Warren Roebling, wrote a family history back in 1901 and this is what she wrote about our common ancestor:

Richard Warren, the first of the Warren name in America, sailed from Plymouth, Eng., in the historic "Mayflower," 6 September, 1620 (O. S.). He was not of the Leyden Company, but joined the Pilgrims from London,* and he was one of the signers of the Compact framed in the cabin of the " Mayflower" while in Cape Cod Harbor, which was the first plat, form of civil government in the new world, and which converted the band of unknown adventurers into an immortal Commonwealth. Morton, in his New England's Memorial, prints his name as twelfth in the list of signers, and Prince in his New England Chronology adds the honorable prefix of "Mr." from the Register at the end of Bradford's folio manuscript. He was one of the third exploring party which was surprised by the Indians,! 18 December, 1620, at the spot since known as "The First Encounter,"} and, technically speaking, he was one of the first to land at Plymouth, 21 December, 1620, on what might be called the birth-day of New England.

Under the land division of 1623, Richard Warren's apportionment, as one of the "Mayflower" passengers, fell in the north side of the town with William White, Edward Winslow, John Goodman, John Crackston, John Alden, Marie Chilton, Captain Myles Standish, Francis Eaton, Henry Sampson and Humilitie Cooper§; and under those who came in the "Ann," his lands were "on the other side of the towne towards Eele River," where he made his home, in the section later known as Wellingsley or Hobshole, and where he died in 1628. He also owned land along the shore of the present Warren's Cove.||

He was one of the nineteen signers of the Compact who survived the first winter. A cotemporaneous authority described him as "grave Richard Warren," "a man of integrity, justice and uprightness, of piety and serious religion," and as "a useful instrument during the short time he lived, bearing a deep share in the difficulties and troubles of the plantation."

He married in England, Elizabeth —,* who followed him to Plymouth in the "Ann" in 1623, accompanied by her daughters. Mrs. Warren was rated in the Plymouth tax list of 1632-3, and was one of the first purchasers of Dartmouth. A study of the early Plymouth records leads to the conclusion that she was a woman of force and social position in the community, and she is therein usually spoken of as "Mistress" Elizabeth Warren, a designation by no means common

Children of Richard and Elizabeth Warren:
2. i. Mart Warren,* m. Robert Bartlett.

3. ii. Ann Warren, m. Thomas Little.

4. iii. Sarah Warren, m. John Cooke, Jr.

5. iv. Elizabeth Warren, m. Richard Church.

6. v. Abigail Warren, m. Anthony Snow.

7. vi. Nathaniel Warren, b. in 1624; d. 1667.

S. vii. Joseph Warren, b. before 22 May, 1627; d. 1689.
-pp. 3-5

Richard Warren of the Mayflower and Some of His Descendants  David Clapp & Son,  Boston, Ma 1901

The second line of descent from daughter Mary (Warren) Bartlett is comes down to my 3x great grandmother Arvilla (Ames)West

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES: OH APPLE TREE, OH APPLE TREE!

(originally published in Dec. 2007)


My family was fortunate in that we never lived in the sort of place
where Christmas outdoor decorations becomes a blood sport.
Yes, people strung lights in their shrubbery or along their house
gutters but there was never anyone determined to turn their
front yard into the North Pole’s Southern Branch Office.

Now for light shows back then you went to someplace religious,
like Our Lady of La Sallette Shrine in North Attleboro or the local
cemetery with it’s entrance lit up, or even just cruised a stretch
of highway to look at the neighborhood lights that might be seen
from a distance as you drove by.


We didn’t really have outside lights ourselves until we left Boston
for Abington. Up until then the only lights other than on our
Christmas tree were the electric candles we put on windowsills.
But at the house Dad did the obligatory shrubbery and gutter
displays as well as one other spot: the apple tree in the front yard.


Dad had experience both with wiring and tree climbing so putting
a string of lights up in a small apple tree was a piece of cake. It
was the taking down part that didn’t seem to work at least for
the tree. One year, long after the other outside lights were down
and packed away, the lights still were hanging in the apple tree.
I’m not sure exactly when he took them down but I do know it
was well after Spring had sprung. I think they were even plugged
in one or two nights. I don’t know the reasons why they were
still there: my Dad’s sense of humor, perhaps? Or maybe an
instance where Dad’s Maine stubbornness and the Irish
stubbornness of my Mom brought about some impasse on the issue?


On my way home the other night from work I noticed at least
three of those large hot air snow globe scenes on front lawns.

Those families must have big electricity bills!



2010 Update: As I discovered in 2008, the apple tree  in
the front yard of the house is long gone. But a news report
the other night made me think of Dad. The holiday
lighting ceremony at Braintree has been postponed a week
because squirrels had eaten through the wires.

The lights had been left up all year since last Christmas!


2011 Update: The big snowstorms last winter had one
interesting effect. Some of the homes with heavily
decorated outside yards remained that way until
the snow melted. One home in particular had an inflatable
Santa and other decorations buried under snow drifts
and you could  just see the tops of them as you drove by
the house. I think they were there until mid-March!


2013 Update: It's a bit early yet apparently for the lights
to go up for Christmas around here. I don't work anymore
and haven't driven around much after dark so I haven't
seen any houses lit up yet. I did, however, spot two of
those big inflatable figures on someone's front lawn yesterday
afternoon.


2014 Update
 I'm not sure there be many houses lit up this year, or that they
will be many elaborate displays. The electric companies in the
New England area have raised their rates over 30% and that
may be too much for many people to afford to put up Christmas
lights.


2015 Update
There's only a few homes along the main streets in the area that have put up
their outside lights so far this year. But there are some in specific neighborhoods
and I've noticed word gets out via Facebook on where the best displays are to take
your kids to see them.


2016 Update:
Since my retirement I don't drive much after dark any more, so I haven't seen
any houses decorated so far. But there's a contest for best decorations going on,
and a Christmas Tree lighting going on at Island Grove as well,



2018 Update: 
There's a really good Christmas display over on Lake Street by Island Grove that gets a lot of  visitors every year. It looks like a lot of work to put together. But unfortunately some unusually high winds knocked over the big Christmas tree at Island Grove after it was lit just the week before.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 49: THOMAS LITTLE OF MARSHFIELD, MA.

9x great grandfather Thomas Little was another of the early settlers of Marshfield, Ma. Since he was a lawyer he was appointed to several town offices, including constable in 1662.

Marcia Abiah Thomas wrote this brief biography of Thomas in her book Memorials of Marshfield and Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor;


                                                                               LITTLE.

Thomas Little was in Plymouth after 1630, where he m., 1633, Ann, one of the daus. of the Pilgrim Richard Warren. He removed to Marshfield about 1650, settled in the easterly part of the township, a locality since known as Littletown, in the surrounding region.

He had Thomas, killed by the Indians at the Rehoboth fight, 1676; Samuel, who m. Sarah Grey; Ephraim, who m. Mary Sturtevant, 1672; Isaac; Hannah, who m. Stephen Tilden; Mercy, who m. John Sawyer, 1666; Ruth, and Patience.

Thomas Little was probably a lawyer. He deceased, 1671 -p85

Memorials of Marshfield and Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor    Printed by Dutton and Wentworth, Boston, Ma. 1854


Thomas and Ann Little are the last of my ancestors on the First Settler Monument at Winslow Cemetery in Marshfield, Ma:

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 48: STEPHEN TILDEN OF MARSHFIELD, MA.

I haven't found much yet about 8x great grandfather Stephen Tilden. William Richard Cutter has a very brief description:

Stephen Tilden, son of Nathaniel Tilden (1), born in England about 1630-34; married, 1661, Hannah, daughter of Thomas Little, of Marshfield. He resided most of the time at Marshfield. Children: 1. Hannah, born 1662. 2. Stephen, 1663. 3. Abigail, 1666. 4. Mary, 1668. 5. Judith, 1670. 6. Joseph, 1672. 7. Mercy, 1674. 8. Ruth, 1676. 9. Isaac, 1678.10. Ephraim, born 1680. 11. David,-p. 1927

Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume 4 Lewis historical publishing Company,  New York, New York 1908

I learned from several other online sources that Stephen Tilden made several land purchases in what is now Lebanon, Connecticut, where two of his sons settled. A third son moved to Hebron, Connecticut.

Stephen's wife Hannah Little was the granddaughter of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren.

Stephen and his wife Hannah are among the names on the First Settler Monument at Winslow Cemetery in Marshfield, although Hannah's name is given as Ann.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 47: NATHANIEL TILDEN OF SCITUATE, MA.

 My ancestor Mary (Tilden) Thomas was the granddaughter of my 9x great grandfather  Nathaniel Tilden. Judging from this written by William Richard Cutter, Nathaniel was a wealthy man when he arrived in the colony:

Nathaniel Tilden, immigrant  ancestor, came in the ship "Hercules," of Sandwich, England, from Tenterden, England, in March, 1634, with wife Lydia, seven children and seven servants. He settled at Scituate, where he was living and had his house built, according to Parson Lothrop, as early as September, 1634. He was the first ruling elder of the Scituate church, indicating that he was one of the foremost citizens. He held many town offices. His was the third house on Kent street, south of Greenfield Lane. He also had lands at Long Marsh, and in 1640 land on the east side of North river, below the Gravelly Beach. His will, dated May 25, 1641, proved July 31,1641, bequeathed to wife; sons Joseph, Thomas and Stephen; daughters Judith, Mary Sarah, and Lydia; servants Edward Ginkins and Edward Tarte; his wife to have a house at Tenterden. His son Joseph was made executor of the will of his father's brother, Joseph Tilden, citizen and girdler by trade, of London, February i, 1642. The widow Lydia and daughters Mary and Sarah were the legatees, and Lydia afterwards married Richard Garrett. Children: i. Joseph, married Elizabeth Twisden; had the homestead. 2. . Thomas (a Thomas came to Plymouth in 1623 and had three lots assigned to him—perhaps the same). 3. Mary, married March 13, 1630, Thomas Lapham. 4. Sarah, married March 13, 1630, George Sutton. 5. Judith, married Abraham Prebles. 6. Lydia, married Richard Garrett. 7. Stephen, mentioned below-p 1927

Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume 4
Lewis historical publishing Company,  New York, New York 1908

Having seven servants certainly would make Nathaniel a man of means! He also has the distinction of being the first recorded beekeeper in the colonies. The inventory of his estate includes mention of ten swarms of bees. I'm not sure if those were in hives!

I'm descended from Nathaniel's son Stephen Tilden of Marshfield.

 

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 46 JAMES PITNEY OF MARSHFIELD, MA.

 My 9x great grandfather James Pitney is another of the early settlers of Green Harbor which is now the town of Marshfield, Ma. As is sometimes the caselater generations may have fudged some of the details of his life, or may have just not known about them.

First, here is a brief biography from Marcia Abiah Thomas' book Memorials of Marshfield and Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor;

                                                                           PITNEY.

James Pitney, a freeman of the Colony 1643, was a felt-maker. He had a number of tracts of land granted him in the township; one at Mt. Skirgo, which he sold to Baker and Adams, 1647; another at Green Harbor, sold to James Lindall, 1646. He removed to Boston after 1650. His will is found on the probate records of the Old Colony, of which he appoints his daughter, Sarah Thomas, executrix. It is probable he returned to his daughter's, at Green Harbor, prior to his decease. His wife Sara, aged 22; and his children, Sara, aged 7, and Samuel, aged 1J years; together with Margaret Pitney, probably a sister of James, aged 22; were passengers to New England in the ship Planter. They were from Sudbury, Suffolk County, England. -p48-49

Memorials of Marshfield and Guide Book to Its Localities at Green Harbor    Printed by Dutton and Wentworth, Boston, Ma. 1854 

 Now  that was researched and written in 1854. But research since then has determined that prior to coming to Marshfield in 1643 James Pitney lived in Ipswich, Ma. He arrived in Boston, Ma.in 1635 with his wife and two children before going to Ipswich. On 26 Mar 1640 he and another man  made an agreement with the town to keep a herd of pigs. (This information is from The Great Migration pp473-475) 

Since no mention is made in the Memorials of Marshfield book of any of the Ipswich information I'm thinking  Ms.Thomas wasn't deliberately ignoring it but just didn't know about my ancestor's life before his move to Marshfield. 

 James Pitney died in March 1663. He and his wife Sarah are the third couple from the bottom on this side of the monument to the First Settlers at the Winslow Cemetery in Marshfield, Ma.:
 

 

 

 

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 45 JAMES THOMAS OF DUXBURY, MA.

 7x great grandfather James Thomas is another one of my ancestors that I've had trouble finding information for him online. Luckily some of his other descendants were involved with shipbuilding and it was in a book by Lloyd Vernon Briggs that I found this brief biography:

James Thomas, 4th son of the ancestor John, and Sarah Pitney, settled in Duxbury, near Marshfield; mar. Mary • They had : 1. Mary, b. Sept. 27, 1693; 2. James, b. Feb. 10, 1696; 3. Hannah, b. Aug. 30, 1698, mar. Wrestling Brewster of Kingston, 1722; 4. John, b. Nov. 4, 1700, mar. Hannah Spofford and settled in Lebanon, Conn; 5. Ebenezer, b. Sept. 30, 1703, mar. and settled in Norwich, Conn.; 6. Ezekiel, b. Sept. 29, 1706, mar. and moved to Lebanon, Conn.- p160


History of Shipbuilding on North River  Norwell Historical Society, Coburn Brothers, Printers, Boston, Ma 1889

James' wife was Mary Tilden, who he married in Duxbury, Ma. on 3 Jan 1692. He died intestate
there in 1718, and I've found the probate file which I will transcribe soon.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 44: JOHN THOMAS OF MARSHFIELD, MA.

About forty years ago or so our family was living in Marshfield, Ma., a coastal town south of Boston and one town to the north of Plymouth. At that time I hadn't started researching the family tree so I wasn't as aware of our connection with some of the founding town families: Thomas, Pitney, Tilden and Little.

The connection comes through my 5x great grandmother Mary (Thomas)Dunham who married John Dunham in 1755. She was a descendant of immigrant ancestor John Thomas, whose story I found in a genealogy book about New London County, Ct. where members of the Thomas family were prominent:

The history of the American branch of the family begins with John Thomas, an orphan boy of fourteen years of age, who was a passenger in the ship “Hopewell,” in 1635, to New England, presumably coming from W'ales. He was kindly taken under the care and protection of Gov. Edward \\’inslow, and was long the faithful steward at Careswell. In 1649 he received a tract of land in Marshfield, probably indirectly through his benefactor, and upon it he resided. For generations it remained in the Thomas name. On Dec. 21, I648, he married Sarah Pitney, daughter of James and Sarah Pitney, natives, respectively, of Marshfield and Boston. John Thomas died in 1676, and his widow survived until 1682. Their eight children were: John, Elizabeth, Samuel, Daniel, Sarah, James, Ephraim and Israel, all born between I649 and 1670.-p.472

Genealogical and Biographical Record of New London County, Connecticut: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Early Settled Families  J.H. Beers & Company, 1905 - New London County (Conn.)

I'm descended from  John's son James Thomas.

There is a memorial at the Winslow Cemetery in Marshfield to the first settlers of the town, The names of John and Mary Thomas are at the bottom of the list of names on this side:

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 43: JOHN SMITH OF MIDDLEBORO, MA

My 6x great grandmother Abigail (Smith) Dunham's father is one of two John Smiths in my ancestry. This John Smith was originally from Essex County, Massachusetts, where he married my 7x great grandaunt Mary Ellingwood.

Here's an excerpt from COREY (CORY), CLEAVES AND SMITH FAMILY LINES. By Prof. Arthur Adams, Trinity College, Hartford, Conn. that I found online in National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volumes 6-11 :

The earliest certain mention found of the John Smith, progenitor of the Smith family in which we are interested, is in connection with the estate of Ralph Ellenwood, of Beverly, (Salem Wills), proved 3 of 5 mo., 1674, the inventory was taken Jan. 30, 1673-4. He speaks of his wife Helen (called Elenor in the inventory) , and makes her executor. Five sons are named: Ralob. Torn Joseph, Benjamin, and David. The two daughters are Mary and Elizabeth. Evidently the daughter Mary was not yet married.

The date of birth of Mary Ellenwood, as given in Salem Vital Records, is 3 of 2 mo. 1664 so that at the time of her father's death, she was about ten years old. We also find her age given as 14 years in a deposition taken June 4, 1673 (Essex County Court Papers, Vol. 29, JuneNov., 1678, p. 15).

We find John Smith joining in an agreement of division of the Ellenwood land under date of April 17, 1695, in right of Mary, his wife—how long he had been married does not apppear. (Salem Deeds, Vol. II, p. 192).

Nov. 19, 1702, John Smith of Beverly, with consent of his wife, Mary, sells his house and lot in Beverly to Robert Hale for £100. His brother, Benjamin Ellenwood, is mentioned as an abutting property owner. (Salem Deeds, Vol. 15, p. 261).

In the Beverly Vital Records the births of the following children of John Smith and his wife Mary are recorded—since the first child was born in 1686, it is probable that they were married about 1685, when Mary was twenty-one years old. That she was a widow at the time is made probable by the fact that in the Beverly Church Record, the Smith children are baptised in right of their mother, Mary Herrick. We find that a John Smith and Mrs. Mary Herrick were married in 1784—intention published May 23, 1784 (Beverly Vital Records, Vol. 2, p. 159). Can this be in error for 1684?

1. Mary, b. Sept. 5, 1686, m.____ Jackson.
2. Jonathan, b. Sept. 24, 1688.
3. James, b. May 3, 1692, d. Sept. 9, 1763, aged 72.
4. Abigail, b. Feb. 10, 1693-4, m. Ebenezer Dunham.
5. Annes, b. Nov. 18, 1695, bapt. Nov. 24, 1695 (Ch. Ree. says dau. of John and Mary Herrick Smith) m. Ephraim Dunham.John and Mary, bapt. April 3, 1698.
6. Hannah, bapt. 3 Apr, 1697 (dau. of John and Mary (Herrick) Smith), m. John Cox.
7. John, b. Feb., 1703, m. Deborah Barden in 1736. He d. Dec. 13, 1748. aged 46. She d. Jan. 9, 1801, aged 93. (Middleboro Church Record).
8. Melatiah, b. July 31, 1705, m. Gersham Cobb. (Middleboro Church Record).
9. Elizabeth, not married in 1727, named in dist. of Estate.
About—1702, John Smith removed from Beverly to Middleboro, in Plymouth County, Mass. We find of record at Plymouth, the following deed: John Doggett and Samuel Doget, both of Marshfield, sell to John Smith, late of Beverly, in the County of Essex, Marriner, for £55, lot No. 26, in the 26 Men's purchase on Whetstone Brook, containing 100 acres. The deed is dated Feb. 11, 1702-3. (Plymouth Deeds, Vol. 6, page 127).

Oct. 6, 1712, John Smith sold onehalf of this lot to his son Jonathan.

According to the stone in the Old Cemetery, in Middleboro, John Smith died May 16, 1727, in his 69th year. He was born, therefore, about 1658. His widow Mary was appointed administrator July 3, 1727 (Plymouth Probate Records, Vol. 5, p. 266). Since he died intestate, the estate was divided among the heirs by agreement (Plymouth Wills, Vol. 12, p. 222.) This distribution mentions the following persons: the widow Mary; sons Jonathan, James, and John Smith; daughter Mary Jackson, widow, of Middleboro; daughter Abigail Donham and her husband, Ebenezer Donham, of Plymouth; daughter Annes Donham and her husband, Ephraim Donham, of Middleboro; daughter Hannah Cox and her husband, John Cox; dau. Melatiah Cobb and her husband, Gersham Cobb; and daughter Elizabeth Smith—all of Middleboro. -pp4-5

National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volumes 6-11 Washington D.C. 1917


I must point out that the articlewas written in 1917 and since then it has been determined that Mary Ellingwood was not a widow when John Smith married her. The error came from a misreading of the Salem church records.



I've found a copy of the probate file which I will be posting about sometime in the future.

DEAR GENEA-SANTA 2018

Dear Genea-Santa,
I've had another good year research wise. I've had success finding lots of information about my West ancestors so I really am all set for the coming year. But there are just two things I'd like this Christmas for the coming year.

One is something I mentioned last year and has to do with my DNA connection cousins on the Ancestry DNA site. It's so frustrating to see all the people who either have private trees or don't have family trees at all. Some of them I've been able to figure out but most of them I've had no luck. I understand that not everyone is into genealogy and they just want the novelty of an ethnicity estimate. But that's all it is, an estimate. There's so much more they could learn by setting up a family tree and connecting their DNA test results to it. Please do something to motivate more of my unknown cousins to do that!

Speaking of motivation, I need you to give me more of that, too. I've been lagging with my blogging and now I'm trying to catch up with the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks posts and I only have a week now to get that completed.

So that's it for me this year, Genea-Santa! Thanks again!

Bill

VISITING THE HARLOW OLD FORT HOUSE

 ((Originally posted in August 2012))


A week ago I learned that the house built by my 8x great grandfather William
Harlow in Plymouth, Ma. still exists and was open for tours on Thursday afternoon.
Now I live about twenty miles from Plymouth and except for visiting Plimoth
Plantation about forty-five years ago I haven't visited the historical sites down
there. Considering how much of our family history took place in Plymouth and
the adjoining towns I decided it was time I fixed that. So yesterday I drove Ping
the Wonder Car down to visit the Harlow Old Fort House.

It was a nice day and I took one of the backroads, Rte 36, most of the way. I'm
glad I went now because in a week or so when people start visiting Plymouth
on vacation the traffic will be heavier. The Harlow House is located at 119 Sandwich
House just past Plymouth Center and right across from the Plymouth Fire Dept.
headquarters. I arrived twenty minutes before the start of the tour so I looked
around a bit and took a picture of one of the rooms through a window. I also
looked around the gift shop and the workshop where events and educational
programs are held. Pat, the young lady in charge, asked me to sign the visitors'
book and when I told her I was a Harlow descendant she asked if I could add
the details of my lineage. Luckily, I just happened to have a relationship
chart with me that I had printed out that morning.

The tour started at 2pm and there was only myself and an elderly couple from
Colorado.  Our guide was a gentleman named Ron who was very good. He
demonstrated the steps William Harlow would have taken in constructing a
wooden barrel(my ancestor was a cooper by trade) and then led us into the
common room for a discussion of what life was like for the Harlow family in
the late 1600's. The discussion continued in a third room and I was impressed
with how knowledgeable and enthusiastic Ron was talking about the history
of the house.

I won't go into specifics of Ron's tour; after all, if I did that there'd be no
reason for you to go and hear him yourself, and you really should do it if
you are in the Plymouth area on a Thursday afternoon. But I do want to
paraphrase something Ron said: how many people can say they've stood
on the same floor, in the same house, in the same location(the house has
not been moved) that their ancestors did centuries before?


Thanks to the Plymouth Antiquarian Society and their volunteers, I can say that!

((Admission for adults is $5.00, $2.00 for children. You can read more about the
Harlow House and the two other houses maintained by the Plymouth Antiquarian
Society here at their site.))

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 42: WILLIAM HARLOW OF PLYMOUTH, MA.

William Harlow's  Old Fort House

Starting  now with the families of Florilla Dunham's female ancestors, I'll begin with Mary (Harlow) Dunham's father William Harlow, my 8x great grandfather.  William Richard Cutter has this to say about him:

(I) Sergeant William Harlow, the immigrant ancestor in America, came from England to Lynn, Massachusetts, where his name appears on a list of residents in 1629-30. In 1637 he was one of the men from Lynn who settled the town of Sandwich in Plymouth colony. In 1637 he was a witness and legatee in the will of Thomas Hampton, of Sandwich. In 1639 he was proposed for freeman and took the oath of fidelity. He had a lot of four acres assigned to him in 1640. Afterward he removed to Plymouth. He was a cooper by trade and also a carpenter, and built several houses in Plymouth. One of them built in 1667, on a lot granted to him by the town, on the road to Sandwich, still stands; it was framed with the old timbers from the Pilgrim Fort on Burial Hill, purchased after King Philip's war, Sergeant Harlow having charge of the old fort for many years; Sergeant Harlow, a member of the South Company, served under Captain William Bradford. In 1882, when the house was repaired, a ponderous iron hinge from the fort was found and is now in Pilgrim Hall. Another house, built by Sergeant Harlow, known as the Doton House, was taken down in 1808. Sergeant Harlow was admitted a freeman in 1654; was juror, assessor, deputy to the general court, selectman fifteen years, and was active in the church. He died August 26, 1691, aged sixtyseven years. Sergeant Harlow married (first) at Plymouth, December 30, 1649, Rebecca Bartlett, who died in 1657, daughter of Robert and Mary (Warren) Bartlett, and granddaughter of Richard and Elizabeth (Juat Marsh) Warren; Richard Warren came over in the "Mayflower." Sergeant Harlow married (second) July 15, 1658, Mary Faunce. who died October 4, 1664. He married (third) January 15, 1665, Mary Shelley, who survived him. Children by first wife: William, born and died in 1650; Samuel, mentioned below; Rebecca, born June 12, 1655; William, June 2, 1656. Children by second wife: Mary, born May 9, 1659; Repentance, November 22, 1660; John, October 19, 1662; Nathaniel, September 30, 1664. Children by third wife: Hannah, born October 28, 1665; Bathsheba, April 21, 1667; Joanna, March 24, 1669; Mehitable, October 4, 1672; Judith, August 2, 1676-p808

New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 2 Lewis historical publishing Company,  New York 1914

I was able to visit William Harlow's house a few years ago and blog about it. I'll repost that blog entry next.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 41: JAMES THOMAS DUNHAM OF PARIS MAINE

My 3x great grandfather James Thomas Dunham Jr was born in Hebron, Maine on 22Jun 1805. He married Sarah "Sally" Houghton sometime before 1830 which was when their first child was born.

James bought some land in Paris. Maine  from his brother-in-law Samuel Houghton in 1832, paying $150 dollars. His occupation on the 1850 Census was wheelwright and on the 1860 Census it is given as mechanic.

James and Sally had eleven children:

Hiram b.1830
Octavius, b 1832
Florilla, b. 29Aug 1832
Sarah b. 1834
Mary A, b.1837
John, b. 1838
Franklin,  b. 1840
Charles, b. 1848
Martha J, b. 1846
George, b.27Apr 1851
Augusta, b. 1853

Sally (Houghton) Dunham died on 1 Dec 1852 after the birth of their daughter Augusta. James sold his land 1853 and moved to another location in Paris. On 23Mar 1854 he married his second wife, Polly Lowe, in Buckfield, Me.

James and Polly eventually moved to Bangor, Me where they apparently lived with James' youngest child Augusta (Dunham) Steward. James died on 8Nov 1888, and Polly on 13Apr 1896. James, Sally and Polly are all buried in West Paris, Me.