ON THIS DATE: MARCH 29TH

 ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
29 Mar 1726 5x ggf Thomas West was born at Kingston, Ma.
29 Mar 1638 8x ggf Thomas Rogers died at Duxbury, Ma.

DEATH:
29 Mar 1671 9x ggf George Hayward died in Concord, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MARCH 24TH

 0N THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
24 Mar 1689 7x ggm Zerviah Holt was born at Andover, Ma.
24 Mar 1684 7x ggf Jeremiah Dean was born at Dedham, Ma.

MARRIAGES:
24 Mar 1645 10x ggp Robert Ware & Margaret Hunting were married at Dedham, Ma.
24 Mar 1919 gp Floyd Earl West Sr. & Cora Bertha Barker were married at Errol, N.H.

 DEATHS:
24 Mar 1671  10x ggf Edmund Greenleaf died at Boston, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MARCH 23RD

 

ON THIS DATE:

BIRTH:

23 Mar 1821 3xggm Regine Xiane Frederika Kaufman was born in Wurtemburg, Germany

 

MARRIAGE:

23 Mar 1718 6xggp Ebenezer Ellingwood and Sarah Tuck were married at Beverley, Ma. 

 

DEATHS:

23 Mar 1678 9x ggf Gamaliel Beaman died at Dorchester, Ma

23 Mar 1676 9x ggf John Ellis died at Plymouth, Ma.

23 Mar 1698 10x ggf Thomas Brewer died at Hampton, N.H.

ON THIS DATE: MARCH 18TH

 ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
18 Mar 1657 7x ggf Ralph Ellingwood Jr. was born  at Salem, Ma
18 Mar 1648 8x ggm Hannah Lewis was born at Roxbury, Ma.
18 Mar 1667 7x ggf Luke Perkins was born at Charlestown, Ma.


DEATHS:
18 Mar 1676  7x ggf Moses Simmons died at Duxbury, Ma.
18 Mar 1693 8x ggf Richard Barker died at Andover, Ma

PRIDE

 

My Irish immigrant great grandparents John and Anna (Kelly) McFarland

 
((I wrote this back in 2008 when Borders Books was still in business))

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

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


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


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


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

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

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

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

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

ON THIS DATE: MARCH 15TH

 ON THIS DATE
BIRTH:
15 Mar 1735 6x ggf Jonathan Williamson was born at Georgetown,Me.

DEATHS:
15 Mar 1646 10x ggf Rice Cole died at Charlestown, Ma.
15 Mar 1641 9x ggm Isobel (Denton) Halstead died in Concord, Ma.
15 Mar 1708  7x ggf John Doane died at Eastham, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MARCH 14TH

 ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
14 Mar 1721 5x ggf James Swan was born at Methuen, Ma

MARRIAGE:
14 Mar 1655 8x ggp Ralph Ellinwood & Elenor Lynn were married at Beverley, Ma.

DEATH:
14 Mar 1663 9x ggf James Pitney died at Marshfield, Ma.
14 Mar 1697  9x ggf William Barnes died at Salisbury, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MARCH 13TH

ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
13 Mar 1830 2x ggf Nathaniel Swan Barker was born at Newry, Me.
13 Mar 1648 8x ggf John Abbott was born ar Andover, Ma.
13 Mar 1667 8x ggm Abigail Lakin was born at Groton, Ma,

DEATHS:
13 Mar 1676 10x ggf John Nutting died at Groton, Ma
13 Mar 1672 10x ggf Adam Hawkes died at Lynn, a

ON THIS DATE: MARCH 12TH

 ON THIS DATE:


MARRIAGE:
12 Mar 1766 6x ggp John Laughton & Jane Adams were married at Pepperell, Ma.

DEATH:
12 Mar 1671 9x ggf Thomas Little died at Marshfield, Ma.
12 Mar 1924 2x ggm Betsy Jane (Moore) Barker died at Newry, Me.
12 Mar 1691 9x ggf Samuel Ward died at Quebec, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: MARCH 7TH

 0N THIS D ATE
BIRTHS:
7 Mar 1749 5x ggm Mary Walton was born in Reading, Ma.
7 Mar 1643 8x ggf John Pierce was born in Woburn, Ma

MARRIAGE:
7 Mar 1722 6x ggp Joseph Herrick & Mary Woodbury were married at Beverly, Ma.


DEATHS:
7 Mar 1662 10x ggf William Mann died at Cambridge Ma
7 Mar 1693 10 ggm Mary Wight (Ellis) died a Medfield, Ma.
7 Mar 1716 9x ggf John Bumpas died at Rochester, Ma.
7 Mar 1718 7x ggm Sarah Beaman (Sawyer) died at Lancaster, Ma.
7 Mar 1760 6x ggf John Spaulding died at Chelmsford, Ma

ON THIS DATE: MARCH 2ND

 ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH
2 Mar 1693 6x ggf Elisha West was born at Duxbury,Ma.

DEATHS:
2 Mar 1669 8x ggf John Dunham died at Plymouth, Ma.
2 Mar 1651 9x ggf John Crow died at Yarmouth, Ma.
2 Mar 1688 9x ggf Benjamin Butterfield died at Chelmsford, Ma.
2 Mar 1718 7x ggf Joseph Tuck died at Beverly, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEBRUARY 28TH

 0N THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
28 Feb 1668 7x ggm Hazadiah Fairbanks was born at Lancaster, Ma.
28 Feb 1639 8x ggf John Moore was born at Sudbury, Ma.
28 Feb 1744 5x ggm Betty Whitcomb was born at Bolton, Ma.

MARRIAGES:
28 Feb 1683 9X ggp George Adams & Martha Fiske were married at Arlington, Ma.
28 Feb 1827 3x ggp Wesley Coburn & Lucy Stowe were married at Newry, Ma.

DEATHS:
28 Feb 1687 9X ggf John Hoyt died at Amesbury, Ma
28 Feb 1708 8x ggf Richard Feith died at Marble head, Ma

ON THIS DATE: FEBRUARY 21ST

 

On This Date:

BIRTH:

21 Feb 1724 5x great grandmother Sarah Herrick was born at Beverly, Ma.

 

DEATHS:

21 Feb 1779 6x great grandfather William Buswell died at Kingston, NH

21 Feb 1917 2x great grandmother Florilla (Dunham) Ellingwood died at Paris, Me.

ON THIS DATE: FEBRUARY 20TH

 On This Date:
BIRTH:
20 Feb 1696 6x great grandmother Susannah Hoyt was born at Amesbury, Ma.
20 Feb 1668 7x great grandfather David Whitcomb was born at Bolton, Ma.

MARRIAGE:
20 Feb 1634 George Giddings and Jane Lawrence were married at St.Albans, Herefordshire, England.

DEATHS:
20 Feb 1666 9x great grandfather Thomas Safford died at Ipswich, Ma.
20 Feb 1669 9x great grandfather William Bachelder died at Charlestown, Ma.
20 Feb 1712 8x great grandfather Nathaniel Gay died at Dedham, Ma.
20 Feb 1638 8x great grandfather Paul Sears died at Yarmouth, Ma.
20 Feb 1721 7x great grandfather Peter West died at Plymouth, Ma

ON THIS DATE: FEBRUARY 17TH

 

On This Date:

 

BIRTH:

17 Feb 1642 9x great grandmother Elizabeth Kendall was born at Reading, Ma.

17 Feb 1743 5x great grandfather Abel Moore was born in Bolton, Ma.

 

DEATHS

17 Feb 1696 9x great grandfather Francis Dane died at Andover, Ma

17 Feb 1700 8x great grandfather Edward Colborne died at Chelmsford, Ma.

17 Feb 1732 9x great grandfather George Adams died at Lexington, Ma.

17 Feb 1745 8x great grandmother Hannah (Poor) Dane died at Andover, Ma.

17 Feb 1776 5x great grandfather Jonathan Crowell died at Liverpool, Nova Scotia

ON THIS DATE: FEBRUARY 17TH

 

On This Day:

BIRTHS:

16 Feb 1746 6x great grandmother Elizabeth Green was born at Worcester, Ma.

16 Feb 1652 9x great grandmother Mary Lakin was born at Reading, Ma.

16 Feb 1667 7x great grandmother Hannah Marston was born at Andover, Ma.

 

MARRIAGE:

16 Feb 1664 9x great grandparents Richard Reith & Elizabeth Gorge/George were married at Lynn, Ma.

 

DEATHS:

16 Feb 1750 6x great grandfather Samuel Totman died at Plymouth, Ma

16 Feb 1804 5x great grandfather Thomas West died at Liverpool, Nova Scotia.

ON THIS DATE: FEBRUARY 15TH

 

On This Date:

BIRTHS:

15 Feb 1675 7x great grandfather Joseph Keith was born at Bridgewater, Ma

15 Feb 1780 4x great grandmother Martha Haskell was born at Harvard, Ma.

15 Feb 1693 7x great grandmother Abigail Gay was born at Dedham, Ma.

 

DEATHS:

15 Feb 1806 5x great grandmother Abigail (Mitchell)Barker died at Methuen, Ma.

15 Feb 1846 5x great grandmother Mary (Boyden) Griffith died at Livermore Falls, Me.

15 Feb 1655 10x great grandmother Eleanor (Sharp) Phelps died at Salem, Ma.

JONAS PRESCOTT & MARY LOKER

 

((This was first posted on 7Jul 2008. It's a nice story with probably a
little truth to it, but true or not it makes a good Valentine's Day story)).


I mentioned in my previous post about John Prescott that
there is a romantic (and probably romanticized) story about
his son Jonas Prescott's courtship of Mary Loker. I've found it
recounted in several different books on Google Books, and
while I'm not entirely sure it's true, it does make for another
interesting family tale.

The story is that Jonas and Mary fell in love but her parents
John Loker and Mary Draper had other plans for their
daughter. They wanted her to marry a lawyer, a man of
prospects, not the son of a blacksmith who was following his
father in the family trade and they forbade Mary from any
more contact with Jonas. One version told by Caleb Butler in
"The History of the Town of Groton" says the Lokers even
went so far as to install gratings on the windows of her room
and would lock her inside if Jonas was nearby. But even this
drastic measure didn't stand in the way of love:

"He (Jonas) took opportunities when the cold wind blew
and the pelting storm raged when no listener could overhear
the soft whispering of true lovers to place himself beneath
her grated window and there enjoy sweet communion
with his dearly beloved ."

But eventually Mary's parents found out about this trickery.
Perhaps Jonas' idea of a whisper in a storm was a bit too loud?
At any rate, Mary's parents next decided to send her away to
a secluded village so Jonas could not find her while they looked
for a more suitable prospect for Mary's hand in marriage.
They sent her off to the small frontier town of Chockset which
is now Sterling, Massachusetts.


Jonas searched for Mary until one day while traveling near
Chockset he met some men of his own age and asked if they
knew of any pretty girls in the area. They told him there was
a quilting and a dance that night in Chockset and invited him
to come along.

You can see where this is going, I bet!

Jonas found Mary Loker and they continued to meet in secret
for some time until her parents once more found them out.
Mary's stubborn insistence that she would never marry any
man but Jonas Prescott at last forced her parents to give in,
although they did so with the angry condition that they would
provide no dowry for the bride. Legend says that the young
couple set up their household with so few essentials that
Mary used a large hollowed out pumpkin shell for a washpot!

I'm a bit skeptical about that pumpkin part but I think the
opposition of the Lokers to Jonas Prescott pressing his suit for
their daughter might have some truth to it. After all, although
Jonas' father John was well off, he was not exactly in the good
graces of the Puritan government, and the Lokers might have
had their hearts set on young Mary marrying someone who
could eventually rise to a position of power. Ironically, the
Prescotts eventually became one of Massachusetts' most
distinguished families.

I am descended from Elizabeth Prescott b 23Jan 1676,
d. 18Mar 1744.

She married Eleazer Green about 1694 or 1695. Their daughter
Elizabeth married John Ames(Eames), and their descendant
Arvilla Ames married my ancestor John Cutter West

ON THIS DATE: FEBRUARY 14TH

 

Big Valentines Day list:

 

What better day for one of my Lovejoy ancestors to get married? And the other ancestors married today had a Valentine's Day baby three years later!

 

It's a significant date in the Barrows family, too.

On This Date:

BIRTHS:

14 Feb 1635 9x great grandfather Zerubabbel Endicott was born at Salem, Ma.

14 Feb 1654 7x great grandmother Hannah Jefes(Jefts) was born at Chelmsford, Ma.

14 Feb 1678 7x great grandfather Stephen Abbott was born at Andover, Ma.

14 Feb 1697 5x great grandfather Moses Barrows was born at Carver, Ma.

 

MARRIAGES:

14 Feb 1694 6x great grandparents George Barrows & Patience Simmons were married at Carver, Ma.

14 Feb 1711 7x great grandparents Henry Lovejoy & Sarah Farnum were married at Andover, Ma.

14 Feb 1734 6x great grandparents Ephraim Abbott & Hannah Phelps were married at Andover, Ma.

 

DEATHS:

14 Feb 1671 10x great grandmother Sarah (Wyeth) Fiske died at Watertown, Ma.

14 Feb 1672 9x great grandmother Agnes (Napper)Woodbury died at Salem, Ma.

14 Feb 1692 8x great grandfather John Barrows died at Plymouth, Ma.

ON THIS DATE: FEBRUARY 12TH

 

 

My Grandmother, Agnes McFarland taken in 1954 or 1955.

This was taken at the house in Malden. I still remember the colors of that wallpaper:white and silver leaves on a maroon background.

 

 

On This Date:

DEATHS

11 Feb 1661 9x great grandfather Anthony Colby died at Salisbury, Ma.

11 Feb 1697 7x great grandfather Robert Swan died at Haverhill, Ma.