The illustrations, below are from the Providence section of Picturesque Rhode Island.  They are no longer under copyright.  Please feel free to use them.  In the future I will post collections from other cities and towns.

View of Providence, from Prospect Terrace, p. 178

The Providence Athenaeum, p. 188, a private library

The Buildings of the Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company, p. 193 – now called The Foundry

The High School, p. 192 – built in 1878 on Summer Street, near the present Classical and Central High Schools

A View of Providence, from Smith’s Hill, p. 162

A View of Crystal Lake, Roger Williams Park, p. 183

The Works of the Nicholson File Company, p. 193, were just west of downtown, between the present Harris Ave and Kinsley Streets, on Acorn Street

The Butler Hospital, p. 198

A View of Exchange Place, p. 184. Providence City Hall is in the center.

The Friends School, now called Moses Brown School

The New Court House, p. 189, was near the spot of the current courthouse, but was obviously facing the East Side, since the street slopes down behind it, towards downtown.

Hoppin Homestead Building, p. 185, on Westminster Street – the top floor was the original home of the Rhode Island School of Design. Several other schools were housed in the building.

A View of Westminster Street, p. 200

For interesting old photographs of Providence landmarks, be sure to visit the Providence City Archives Photo Gallery.

The post you are reading is located at:  http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2013/06/16/views-of-1881-providence/ ‎

The 1802 version of the Jerry Springer Show

Yes, my ancestors participated in this highly un-private activity in 1802.  I found it in the same issue where I had found the husband’s ad a couple of years ago.

This snippet is taken from the Google News copy of the Providence Gazette May 8, 1802 issue.

My ggggg-grandfather Nathan Aldrich paid for the following ad in the Providence Gazette on May 8 and May 15, 1802 (1):

WHEREAS, Marcy, wife of me the subscriber, hath separated herself from me, and at sundry Times has unnecessarily run me into debt : These are therefore to forbid all Persons trusting her on my Account, as I am determined to pay no Debts of her contracting from the Date hereof.

NATHAN ALDRICH

Cumberland, May 5, 1802.

This snippet is taken from the Google News copy of the May 8, 1802 Providence Gazette, p. 4.

My ggggg-grandmother Marcy Aldrich placed an ad in the May 8 and May 15, 1802 issues of the Providence Gazette (2):

My unworthy Husband, NATHAN ALDRICH, having thought proper to stigmatize my Character in a public Paper, a brief Reply seems necessary.  I was reduced to the hard Necessity of making my Escape from the most brutal Treatment; he had threatened my Life, and actually kicked me, and bruised me with his Fist.  Add to this that he left my Bed one year previous to my quitting his Cottage, and neglected to provide for me the common Necessaries of Life.

MARCY BALLOU

Cumberland, May 14, 1802.

Since I have never found any trace of Marcy after her 1803 divorce, this was very interesting.  She was still in Cumberland after leaving him; she may have been at her father’s house.  And I notice that after the separation she seems to be calling herself by her maiden name, Ballou.  In fact, this is now the best source I have for her maiden name, the evidence for which I had painstakingly pieced together indirectly.

Access Rhode Island newspapers

• While spotty, there is a growing collection of Rhode Island newspapers online at the paid site, GenealogyBank.com.  You can link to the page of Rhode Island newspaper titles and years here.  Indexing is automated through OCR, which works if the type is clear and recognizable, and not well at all if the image is blurry, wrinkled, or faded.  I never have found Marcy’s note in any index; I only found it by going page by page.
• If you are a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, you have access to two compilations of early newspapers, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers and Early American Newspapers, Series I 1690-1876.  These can be accessed from the “External Databases” page after logging in at the NEHGS website.
• Rhode Island papers on the paid site NewspaperArchive are limited to Newport.  Likewise, Ancestry.com has very limited Rhode Island newspaper offerings.  Library of Congress’ free Chronicling America site has no digitized Rhode Island content, but does offer a list of 750 Rhode Island newspapers with some holdings information in their Directory of Newspapers (drill down to find libraries where the paper might be held).
• If you are in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Historical Society has a thorough microfilm collection of surviving Rhode Island newspapers.  However, indexing is lacking, and the few indices I’ve found there tend to cover important persons and stories only.  I use the microfilm to look up specific dates only.
• If you know the name of a newspaper you are interested in, you can check out the holdings of the free Google News Archives.  The site works adequately for paging through issues of papers but I haven’t had much luck with searching there.  I should add that while my pictures, here, are from Google News, I first found the article using the indexing at GenealogyBank.  But GenealogyBank does not allow their images to be reproduced.

One more newspaper article about Nathan Aldrich

One Massachusetts article from The Liberator (found on 19th Century U.S. Newspapers) redeems Nathan Aldrich a bit in my eyes (3).  The West Wrentham Anti-Slavery Society met right in Sheldonville, where he lived, and in September, 1839, some members attended a meeting of the county-wide society, the Norfolk County Anti-Slavery Society, which happened to be held in Wrentham.  There was a controversial and extremely close vote about the right of the female members to vote during the meeting.  The votes of each member present were recorded in the newspaper, which is why Nathan’s name was mentioned.  He voted against the right of the female members to vote at meetings.  I find no other Nathan Aldriches in the county during this period; I think it is him.  Of course, he loses points for voting against the rights of the women members.

Sheldonville, Massachusetts Store and Post Office at a much later date

Nathan’s second wife Chloe died in middle age, a fact which is carefully recorded by Nathan in his family bible.  He then married a neighbor, Lois Grant, cousin of Chloe.  Nathan is buried at the Sheldonville Cemetery between Chloe and Lois.  I always assumed that wouldn’t have gone that way if he was quite the person described in the advertisement, above.  I would chalk it up more to he and Marcy not being suited to each other.  If I could ever learn more about Marcy, it might reveal more about the whole sad situation.

In conclusion

I wonder, based on my own research, if unhappy marriages leave more clues behind than happy marriages.  But for sure, newspapers can reveal snippets of the lives of our ancestors.  If you have advice about finding Rhode Island newspapers, please leave it in the comments.

Sources

1. “Whereas, Marcy” (advertisment), Providence Gazette (Providence, RI), 08 May 1802, online archive at Genealogy Bank (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 10 Apr 2011), page 4.
2. “My unworthy Husband” (advertisment), Providence Gazette (Providence, RI), 15 May 1802, online archive at Genealogy Bank (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 8 Jun 2013), page 3.
3. “Norfolk County Anti-Slavery Society,” The Liberator, (Boston, MA) [Friday], [September 20, 1839]; online archive at 19th Century U.S. Newspapers (Article GT3005844982) (accessed through http://www.americanancestors.org/external-databases/ : accessed 9 Jun 2013), pg. 150; Issue 38; col B

The post you are reading is located at:  http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2013/06/10/rhode-island-newspapers/

We have a faded picture of the house:

The house where Eva Murdock was born

Family stories have it that this house was in Seekonk, and belonged to Eva’s grandparents, William and Maggie (Lawrence) Murdock.  And sure enough, Eva’s birth record is from Seekonk:

June 1st Eva Louise Murdock F(emale) L(egitimate) Parents: Lewis & Jessie Murdock

Occupation of Father: Machinist, Birthplace of Father: Providence, RI, birthplace of mother: Nova Scotia, reported by: Grandfather

Eva was born to Louis and Jessie Murdock on June 1, 1884 (1), approximately nine and one half months after her parents married (2).  Louis was working as a machinist at Brown & Sharpe in Providence, but evidently Jessie was staying with his parents when the baby was born.  Jessie was from Nova Scotia and may have had no close family around.  By the 1885 Rhode Island State Census (5), Louis, Jessie and baby Eva were back in Providence.

The Deeds

I explored the deeds for this property a few years ago in the Bristol County Deeds office in Taunton, Mass.  Staff at the deeds office were ill at ease and hovering during my visit.  They kept smiling nervously, asking what I wanted next, and it was clear they would never leave me alone to peruse the volumes, and I seemed to be keeping them from something.  It was incredibly tense. I left not having seen all the documents I intended to see.  I heard on the radio on the way home that someone  had set fire to the nearby city hall, and vanished, shortly before my arrival.  Well, that explained a lot.

Recently, FamilySearch.com made over 5 million Massachusetts deeds available online.  That gave me the opportunity to revisit this question.  I am more experienced with deeds now, which helps a lot.

I hadn’t understood why William and Maggie were able to purchase the property for $10 on September 3, 1880 (3):

We Stephen G Easterbrooks and Julia A Easterbooks his wife of the City and County of Providence, State of Rhode Island, in the right of his wife, in consideration of Ten (10) Dollars paid by William Murdock of said Providence and Margaret Murdock wife of said William Murdock the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, do hereby give, grant, bargain sell and convey unto the said William Murdock and Margaret Murdock One certain lot or parcel of land containing two and one half acres 2 1/2 acres more or less, situated in Seekonk in the County of Bristol and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on the southeasterly side of the highway leading from Benjamin Walker’s to Hunt’s Bridge so called, with the dwelling house and all the improvements thereon, and is bounded and described as follows, viz, Beginning at the northeasterly corner of said lot in the line of said Highway … by the land of T.H. Read (formerly) … by the land of Wm H. Hopkins and Leak  … And for the consideration aforesaid I, Julia A. Easterbrooks do hereby release unto the said grantees and their heirs and assigns all right of or to both dower and homestead in the granted premises …

But this time, as I took my time at home, I realized that the next page was a mortgage for this property taken out that same day by William and Maggie Murdock, from David F. Goff of East Providence, Rhode Island for $350.  I guess that’s how they paid for the house, although that payment to the Easterbrooks seems not to have been officially recorded.  Seekonk at that time was a farming community, at an easy distance from the busy industrial city of Providence, Rhode Island.  William had been an “Expressman” in Providence in the 1880 census, just prior to the move to Seekonk.  I wonder if, rather than starting a farm exactly (at age 50) he was engaged in transporting his and others’ products to the Providence market.

William Murdock passed away in 1890.  There are several subsequent deeds relating to the mortgage for the property, and I am guessing the property left the family in 1903 (Maggie had remarried, and lived until 1920), but I am not sure.  The mortgage changed hands so many times that I’m finding it impossible to know for sure.

Examining the Clues

I examined the picture, above, for any clues as to distance from the road, or any other landmarks. I also reviewed the clues found in the deeds (noted in green above, on the first deed) about the location of the house.  All my earlier exploration had really taught me was that the property was on a road leading to Hunt’s Bridge.  I had located Hunt’s bridge but that didn’t tell me much; lots of roads lead to any given bridge.

To check those clues, I would need an old map of Seekonk.  I was able to locate three online:

• An 1858 map available from the Boston Public Library (4) shows an early shape of Seekonk (the border with Rhode Island was frequently disputed and shifted).  Seekonk is just to the east of Providence, over the border in Massachusetts.

• an 1871 Beers map of Seekonk on the HistoricMapWorks website.  Through careful investigation I was able to determine the location of Hunt’s Bridge (which was not specifically marked on the map), and “B. Walker” (to match “Benjamin Walker” from the deed) who apparently owned a blacksmith shop.  The road between them is now called Ledge Road.  I can’t reproduce the old map here, but here are the elements mentioned, and their location today:

Items from 1871 map shown on current map, courtesy of Google Maps

It was about this time that I made the big discovery.  I was looking at the 1895 map, and there was the Murdock house, listed on the road between B. Walker and Hunt’s Bridge:

• an 1895 Everts & Richards Bristol County map on the HistoricMapWorks website (features reproduced here):

Items from 1895 map shown on current map, courtesy of Google Maps

W. Murdock was on the map

The “W. Murdock” house was indicated on the map.  I knew from census records and deeds that there was unlikely to be another W. Murdock in Seekonk (of course, the house belonged to his widow, he was no longer living by 1895).  So this was definitely the house.

I spent quite a bit of time comparing all the maps, and the details I could glean from all the deeds, to see if I could place the Murdock house in an exact spot on that stretch of road.  Clearly, today’s Quarry Street designates the spot of the old Stone Quarry and the J.J. Corbett Quarry marked on the old maps.

Here is the house as I would situate it today:

approximate placement and shape of the house  and barn from the 1895 map

In Seekonk

I headed over the Seekonk to check it out.  I already knew from the Google maps that there was nothing like a 2-1/2 acre lot in that location today.  There are much smaller house lots.

The house was never a fancy house.  I didn’t think it would have survived.  And sure enough, it appears it is no longer there.  As I drove past I took a little video so I could examine it later when I wasn’t driving.  The spot would be around where I marked it on the map:

Probably between this spot …

… and this spot.

I am both happy to know where the house was, and sad that it’s gone.  While I still have some mysteries with this family, specifically with Jessie McLeod Murdock’s roots, I’m not sure there will be much more investigation of the house.

In Summary

One thing I’ve learned from this is to pore over the old house lot maps available online.  These may not be indexed, so some studying is needed.  Knowing “Seekonk” and “W. Murdock” would have been enough to find it on the 1895 map if I had found that earlier, and studied it carefully.  Of course, you do learn a lot from studying deeds, too.  Maps and deeds are a great combination.

Sources

(1) Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts, “Massachusetts Vital and Town Records,” database, Ancestry.com (http:www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 May 2013), entry for “Eva Louise Murdock”, Seekonk Births, 1884, p 1 (pencilled) (p. 451 of 815 online).

(2)Providence, Rhode Island, “Marriages”, v. 14, p. 42 (issued 2010), for “marriage of Louis Rufus Murdock and Jessie Ruth McLeod”, Sept. 6, 1883 ; Office of the City Registrar, Providence.

(3) Bristol County, Massachusetts, Deeds, v. 387, p. 224, Stephen G Easterbrooks & ux to William Murdock & ux, Sept. 3, 1880, FamilySearch.com (http://www.familysearch.com: accessed 25 May 2013) Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986.

(4)Map of the county of Bristol Massachusetts, based upon the trigonometrical survey of the state by Henry Francis Walling. John L. Smith & Co., 1858.  Download from Norman B Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library  http://maps.bpl.org/id/10692 (accessed May 29, 2013).

(5)”Rhode Island, State Census, 1885,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M5XV-6B3 : accessed 01 Jun 2013), Eva Murdock, 1885.

The post you are reading is located at: http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2013/06/02/house-where-eva-murdock/

I really couldn’t believe my luck.  The collection includes deeds and mortgages from all counties of Massachusetts.  Available years vary by county.  According to the website there are 5,766,135 images.  Yup, over 5 million.  And, it’s free.

However, this collection is not yet digitally indexed.  That means you must select the county you want, and select an index volume for a certain time period, look there for a name, note the book and page, and then move on to open that book (actually, it’s like opening a roll of microfilm) and find the page.  It’s just like using Family History Library microfilm, except of course that this is free, and you are using it conveniently from your own computer, where you can easily save the documents you find.

Using the Index

I decided to start with some Townsend, Massachusetts deeds to see if I could learn more about the life of my mysterious  ggg-grandfather, Eli Baldwin, who died in 1833 at the age of 29.  When his young widow made a will and died, six years later, her probate record did not mention any real estate.

I clicked “Browse the 5,700,000 records” – then selected Middlesex County:

Choosing the GRANTEE Index for the years I want:

I found only one entry for Eli Baldwin here in the 1800-1835 Grantee Index:

I copied the entry with Snip-It, started a Word document, pasted it in, and typed a heading to indicate where I found the index entry.  In looked at Grantee and Grantor indices and only found two deeds for Eli.  My Word document looked like this:

Looking at the Purchase Deed

Of course, I have no idea if this is my Eli Baldwin.  The index styles vary from county to county, but in Middlesex, towns are not listed in the index.  You have to go by name only, and find the town on the deed itself.

Back on the Middlesex County page, I pulled up volume 283 from the Deed books.  I found page 478 by guessing, and checking the page numbers that came up.

The first deed was for a purchase by Eli Baldwin in 1827 (recorded 1828) Book 283, p. 478-9:

Know all men by these presents that I Abigail Durant of Concord in the County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts widow in consideration of three hundred dollars paid me by Eli Baldwin of Townsend in said county carpenter the receipt hereof I hereby acknowledge do hereby give grant sell and convey unto the said Eli Baldwin his heirs and assigns the following parcels of real estate situated in said Townsend to wit so much of the real estate whereof Isaac Durant late of Townsend died as was assigned to me as dower in said estate the reversion therein was conveyed to me by Henry Hoar administrator to said Estate by deed dated June 11 1825 and for a particular description of said premises reference may be had to said deed and to the Report of the Commissioners who assigned said dower and to the record thereof in the Probate Office in said County and also one eighth of an acre of land be the same more or less and has thereon a barn the other half thereof was and is a part of said dower and the said eighth of an acre is bounded as follows to wit on the west or southwest by said dower on the south or southeast by the road leading from the harbor to Lunenburg and on all other points on land late of Wallis Little deceased with all the privileges and apurtanances thereto belonging …  the twentieth day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty seven … in the presence of Luther Lawrence and Henry Hoar … before me Luther Lawrence Justice of the Peace. — Middlesex Co. Oct 7, 1828.

Sure enough, the property was in Townsend.  Eli was listed as a carpenter.  Since I have a record that Eli made coffins and was paid by the town (2), this is really fitting my Eli Baldwin.  Another clue is that the land was on the road from “the harbor” (that is, near Harbor Pond) to Lunenburg, which is near the area I have identified for Eli’s in-laws, Isaac and Lucy Spaulding.

The location (map below courtesy of Google Maps) might be the road I have marked in red.  In an 1875 map, there is a “J. Durant” nearby (which could be the remaining Durant property, since the widow was only selling a portion of her dower).

Eli married Polly Spaulding in Townsend on 28 May 1829.  Daughter Catherine was born in 1831 (birth registered in Shirley (1)) and son Edward (my gg-grandfather, birth date from 1860 census only) in 1833.  The property purchased may just be a workshop, or a workshop and home, but only a barn is specifically mentioned.

I would say at this point, the deeds are very likely to be my Eli Baldwin, but I don’t think it is proved.

Looking at the Sale Deed

In 1831 Eli and Polly sold the property.  Polly’s presence on this deed makes me now quite certain that this is my family.  It’s sad to think of them selling the property, when I have no record of a subsequent purchase, and Eli died in 1833.   Book 307, p. 531-2:

Know all men by these presents that I Eli Baldwin of Townsend in the County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Carpenter, of Townsend,  in consideration of one hundred dollars paid by James L. Walton of said Townsend, Esquire, the receipt whereof I hereby acknowledge do hereby give grant sell and convey unto the said James L. Walton his Heirs and Assigns the following parcels of Real Estate situated in said Townsend Harbor, so called, and bounded as follows, to wit: The first piece containing one eighth of an acre more or less with a part of a house on the same, bounded southerly on the road, Westerly, Northerly and Easterly on land and house of James Wilson, Esquire.  The second piece contains one acre more or less, and bounded Southerly on the road Westerly on land of Joseph Stearns, Northerly on the Mill Pond, Easterly on land of James Wilson, Esquire. – The last described piece has a barn on the same, meaning by this deed to convey all the real estate conveyed to me by Abigail Durant by her deed dated the twentieth day of June A.D. 1827 and recorded in the Registry of Deeds for the County of Middlesex Book 283, Page 478 for a particular description reference may be had to said deed.  – the above Real Estate is subject to a Mortgage deed to said Abigail Durant for the sum of two hundred dollars, about the twenty eighth day of October A.D. 1827 or whenever the same may be dated.  …  In witness whereof the said Eli Baldwin and Polly wife of the said Eli in token of her full release of dower in said premises have hereunto set our seals this twenty eighth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty one.  …  Eli Baldwin (seal)  Polly Baldwin (seal)  [Witness] Paul Gerrish, Asa W. Baldwin.  [October 29, 1831]

“The Mill Pond at Townsend Harbor, Townsend, Massachusetts” from an old postcard

I expect that the witnesses Paul Gerrish and Asa W. Baldwin are significant, although I don’t yet know who they are.  I am not familiar with the Durants, but I expect we have no connection to the buyer, James L. Walton.

Now I can see there was part of a house included in the property, and that there was a mortgage.  This must have been where Eli brought his bride Polly after their marriage in 1829. The property was sold in October, 1831 and their first child, Catherine, was born in late December, 1831, in Shirley(1).  Shirley is the next town, just south; I wonder if they were with family, or renting. Perhaps a child would not have fit into the living arrangement on the property described in these deeds.  These deeds have moved my understand of Eli and Polly’s brief and perhaps troubled marriage further along.

Next Steps

• Investigate all names mentioned on the deeds and compare them to the probate records I have.  I recognize the name Paul Gerrish but I cannot find it in Edward or Polly’s probate records.
• Compare the property boundaries further to any existing maps; look at the probate record cited for the Durants for a further description.
• Look at the many Spaulding deeds to learn more of their exact location and story; Polly grew up nearby.
• Investigate (Eli’s father) Abiel Baldwin’s  deeds.
• Continue to explore Middlesex County deeds and also many deeds in Norfolk County (Wrentham) of the Aldriches and Darlings, as well as other isolated deeds that may answer other questions.  I expect I will be looking at dozens or even hundreds of deeds.
• Save the deeds used to my own files.

Sources

(1) Vital Records of Shirley Massachusetts to the Year 1850. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1918. p. 14 “Baldwin, —-, d. Eli, Dec 29, 1831, B.R.”

(2) Hallowell, Henry C., ed.  Vital Records of Townsend, Massachusetts, Town Records to 1850 with Marriage Intentions to 1873 and Cemetery Inscriptions.  Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1992, p. 464.

The post you are reading is located at: http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2013/05/22/new-massachusetts-deeds/

“The Falls, Harbor Pond, Townsend, Massachusetts” from an old postcard.

The Midwife’s Revolt

This historical novel by Jodi Daynard came to my attention in the Wesleyan University e-newsletter; apparently Jodi and I were in the same class.  The book is a mostly – but not completely – fictional account of the lives of women left in their small Massachusetts town during the Revolutionary War, whose husbands were fighting, had died in the war, or were pursuing other work.  Lizzie Boylston, a local midwife, is married to a young man from a wealthy Cambridge family, and together they started a small farm in Braintree.  Nearby is a distant cousin, and soon to be friend, Abigail Adams.  The story begins in May, 1775 as Jeb Boylston leaves his bride behind and sets off to join Colonel Prescott’s regiment in Cambridge … just as several of my ancestors in Middlesex County did.  We think we know something about this war, but the story reminds us that we seldom think of the day to day problems faced by everyone during that time; food shortages, disease, questions of class, race and gender in an emerging society, price inflation, and the inability to discern friend, foe, and spy during what was, essentially, a civil war.  This intriguing tale would make a terrific vacation read.

Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State and the Birth of Liberty

Anyone who knows Rhode Island history knows that founder Roger Williams is a deeply complex character whose sense of personal responsibility and humility have shaped the formation of American ideals.  Freedom of religion?  That did not start in Massachusetts, not by a long shot.  It started here, among those thrown out of Massachusetts for daring to follow their own religious principles.  John M. Barry’s book explores Williams’ remarkable story and the political and religious turmoil in England that helped to shape his priorities, and the principle of personal obedience to God that made Williams unable to follow the strict mandates of the Massachusetts leaders.  Williams’ early life in England offered him an outstanding legal education in the service of the great attorney Edward Coke, and a broad exposure to the social unrest in England that encouraged resettlement in New England.  The book is not especially filled with the kind of details genealogists seek: locations, family members, financial details, records left behind.  But Williams’ story features many poignant and courageous moments, for instance, his respect for all mankind which prompted him to learn the language of some of the neighboring native American populations, which probably saved his life during the months he spent wandering the southern New England wilderness after escaping a death sentence in Massachusetts, and also his political and legal abilities which secured the charter for the colony of Rhode Island at just the right moment, and at great personal cost.  This book was suggested in a blog post by genealogist “Dr. Bill” Smith.

New England’s Generation: The Great Migration and the Formation of Society and Culture in the Seventeenth Century

Virginia DeJohn Anderson’s book was first published in 1991.  It traces the story of groups of immigrants to Massachusetts in the 1630′s.  I read this several years ago, and probably no book clarifies my thinking about my ancestor’s motivations more than this little volume.  She weaves together scanty details to make the reader understand the kind of relationships that formed in England, re-formed in the early settlements along the coast of Massachusetts, and allowed communities to be started in the wilderness of the Massachusetts colony.  Her examples help me understand, for instance, the advantages of being an early arriver in a new settlement, the complexity of bringing a middle class lifestyle to a wilderness; and the importance of community-building.  It focuses on many material details of interest to family historians: what was the ocean journey like?  What did they bring?  What were their occupations, and how did that change in the New World?  What were their real motivations for leaving England behind? From this book I truly began to understand the middle class status – neither higher nor lower – that typified my early Massachusetts ancestors.

American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, The Woman Who Defied the Puritans

I heard an interview with author Eve LaPlante on Marian Pierre-Louis’ Blog Talk Radio show, Fieldstone Common, concerning her book Marmee and Louisa.  As I looked through her many other works I was drawn to this book, published in 2005.  Genealogists will be interested to know that Eve is a direct descendant of the woman she is writing about. Anne Marbury Hutchinson was born  in England, where she learned midwifery (which also involved the secrets of herbal medicine for many purposes) from her mother, and free thought and literacy from her father. She and Williams Hutchinson married, and began a family. Inspired by new religious teachings (particularly of Rev. John Cotton), and hoping to pursue them more freely in Massachusetts, Anne and her husband William arrived in Boston in 1634.  A competent, strong woman, Anne was a deeply conscientious person whose belief in service and obedience to God surpassed her loyalty to civil authorities, both in England and Massachusetts.  The story of her trial in Massachusetts is moving and revealing of the times.  Although a legendary Rhode Island founder (who settled in Portsmouth, Rhode Island), Anne spent relatively little time in Rhode Island; continuing harassment and threats from Massachusetts forced her to move on to a settlement at the western edge of Long Island, near New York City.  I never knew the circumstances of her death until I read the sad details in this book.  This and several other works by Eve LaPlante are enormously helpful for understanding the circumstances of our female ancestors in the New World.

A New Magazine, Going In-Depth

I really enjoy this magazine, which you can subscribe to for free. The description below is provided by the magazine:

Rev. John Cotton (Library of Congress)

This photo of the library entrance gives you an idea of the massive scale.

I had mentioned to some genealogy buddies on Facebook that I was thinking of visiting the Newberry, and a couple of people tried to discourage me.  Harold Henderson, the well-known genealogist with the Midwestern Microhistory blog mentioned that it might not be a great destination for a one-day-only visit; that maybe the Newberry could not be “blitzed.”  I thought that was probably a very good assessment.  Despite my careful examination of the card catalog, visitors information, and genealogy page, I wasn’t finding many materials that jumped out at me.  This is probably because my ancestors never really got farther west than Connecticut.  All in all, probably no one has ever approached a repository with lower expectations.

View of Washington Square Park across the street from the Newberry

Still, I was excited to go on this visit.  I decided to take advantage of the Newberry’s strengths and focus on local history and bibliographic tools.  I took the long train ride in from O’Hare Airport early in the morning, enjoying the commuters with their iphones, the young woman who gave up her seat to an elderly woman, and the rows of trim storefronts and shops showing their untidy backsides to the train, kitchen doors flung open to the spring sunshine.  I was thrilled to walk up to the library; it certainly is an imposing site.

Stairway at the Newberry

Inside, I was greeted cheerfully, stored my bag in a locker, and made my way upstairs to the third floor, where I applied for a reader card.  I was surprised that people seemed to know I was a genealogist, until I realized I had my “FamilySearch” lanyard on as a camera strap.  I took my reader card down to the second floor, which contains more genealogy materials, and was assigned a desk.

William Frederick Poole, founding librarian of the Newberry

On the second floor I talked to the librarian about Barbara Poole’s great-great-grandfather, William Frederick Poole, founding librarian of the Newberry.  As you can read in Barbara’s blog post on Life From the Roots, Mr. Poole was an enormously accomplished and ground breaking librarian who guided the library’s opening in 1887, and its early years of growth.  They showed me his portrait, proudly hung in the center of the second floor wall, and his bust placed next to a set of “Poole’s Index to Periodical Literature.”

A bust of Poole next to his Index on the top shelf

I perused the indices, bibliographies and reference books on the shelves of the second floor.  I pulled out my list of books, and used the card catalog to find some more.  Books are requested on slips, and they are pulled from the stacks and brought to you.  After the first few I realized this would not work well for me.  I’m the kind of person that has to look at everything, examine every possibility.  I usually use libraries to find books that I might want to buy.  Yes, it was hard to “blitz” at this deliberate pace.

A corner of the second floor

I went through some bibliographies and took photos of pages (which is allowed for individual use only). I really enjoyed the huge collection of periodical indices.  I found the famous Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library, v. 1 – 4.  My link, here, is to the Hathitrust version, and if people can get that to work for any parts of volumes 1 – 4, this book provides a variety of older sources for beginning work on family names. I looked over my research notes in Evernote and tried those ideas on some online subscription sites.

Newberry Library Genealogical Index, v.1

Just doing all those things clarified my thinking about one or two problems. Some unsuccessful searches made me think more clearly about new research plans for certain questions.  Plus I have some bibliographic leads to follow up on.  It was pleasant at the library, but in the end I’m not sure I am right for a library where the books are stored away – I like to look at everything.  I suspect those looking for materials relevant to Chicago or the midwest would have a more productive time.  The extensive book, map, periodical and newspaper collections are extremely valuable, and the library itself is a tribute, and a shrine, to the book, language, humanities, and art.  Some of my favorite things.

So, I enjoyed my visit with Mr. Poole, and only wished that Barbara could have been along and taken much better pictures.

Plaque on a front pillar: This Library stands on the site formerly occupied by the Mahlon D. Ogden Residence, the only house in the path of the great fire of 1871 which was not burned.

The post you are reading is located at:  http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2015/05/09/the-newberry-library/

Photographs by Diane Boumenot.

Buckley Parmenter

My gggg-grandfather, Buckley Parmenter, was born on March 31, 1798, in Framingham, Massachusetts (1).  His parents, Elias Parmenter and Eunice Brown, were descended from the founding families of Sudbury and Framingham.  He was the oldest of seven children.  Buckley is related to me in the following way:  his daughter Susan Maria Parmenter -> Addison Parmenter Darling -> Russell Earl Darling -> Edna May Darling Baldwin -> my mother.

Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, Sudbury, Massachusetts

Early Life

Since there has never been any hint of this in my family, I was surprised to learn recently that Buckley Parmenter began employment at “Howe’s Tavern” or “The Red Horse Inn” (later known as The Wayside Inn) as a boy and continued in that role until late in life.  This surprising story was first uncovered by using the Million Short Search Engine which allows you to omit, say, the 1000 most popular web sites, or 10,000, or up to 1,000,000.  It’s useful in genealogy for accessing content from historical societies, blogs, towns, and other small sites.  The search brought up this sentence from from a book (2) excerpted on the Sudbury Archives site:

Squire Howe [Lyman Howe, the last Howe innkeeper] was there and had a housekeeper and Buckley Parmenter was the man of all work. The old bar room could tell of wonderful times if it could speak.(2)

I immediately realized it was the right Buckley Parmenter, since census records referred to him as a “laborer” and in 1860 the location “Hotel” was specified, with owner Lyman Howe.  Further books and web resources confirmed it.  Buckley was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, and is sometimes listed in the Sudbury census, sometimes Framingham – the inn is on the southern edge of Sudbury, near Framingham – I suspect his family lived on the inn’s farmland.  The inn, established by the Howe/How family in the 1600′s, has been in its current building since 1716.  Somehow, I never put it together before.

Photograph of Howe’s Tavern, around 1860, from 1914 House Beautiful article

The Parmenters had been in Sudbury since the beginning of the English settlement.  As land grew scarce for later generations of Parmenters, did they begin working on the farm associated with the inn?  Did Buckley’s father work at that farm?  Being the oldest, it’s possible Buckley helped on the farm and was gradually entrusted with more and more work at the inn. I feel like I know the end of this story, but it will take future research to discover the beginning.

Buckley Marries and Has a Family

Buckley was 22 when his marriage banns with Persis Hunt were read on 26 August, 1820 in Framingham.  Buckley and Persis eventually had five children (4):

• Mary Elizabeth Parmenter 1822 – 1905 (married Luther Fuller)
• Susan Maria Parmenter 1826 – 1910 (my ggg-grandmother; married Ellis Aldrich Darling)
• Eliza Jane Parmenter 1828 – 1908 (married Wilson Darling, the brother of her sister’s husband, above)
• Lyman Hunt Parmenter 1829 – 1887 (Lyman Hunt Parmenter was blind.  He moved to Boston as an adult and worked as a musician and music teacher, and married twice.  He has descendants who research genealogy.)
• Almira Parmenter 1839 – 1913 (married Charles Fish)

Tap Room, Wayside Inn. Note the barred gate above the bar, ready to swing down during closed hours.

Did the children grow up nearby the inn?  The 1850 census (similar to 1830 and 1840) shows Buckley and Persis living with Lyman, age 21, and Almira, age 11, still at home (3).  In the households on either side were daughters Susan and Eliza Jane, with their husbands and a couple of young children each – no property value given for any of them (so likely no real estate owned). Buckley and the two sons in law were listed as “Laborers.” There was another Howe family, owners of the farm, nearby, separated by a few other farm laborer households.  When I visited the inn I heard about some farm housing which was (later) rented out, and I suspect the nearby farm may have been where the family was located when the children were growing up.  I think this Framingham location is what kept me from realizing he worked over the line in Sudbury.

The era of the 1830′s – 1860′s is perhaps best captured by Adeline Lunt in her article “The Red Horse Tavern” in an 1880 issue of Harper’s Magazine (6).  She was one of the many guests who made the inn their home for some part of the year. She described Buckley as follows:

Then there was Buckley – Buckley Parmenter – a faithful male servant of the Squire, and who had a home with him as long as he lived, and who would have laid down his life to serve him.  He was near seventy, but nimble as a squirrel, and as spasmodic in his movements.  He had a remarkable accomplishment, which was to take a board nail between his teeth and bite it in two!  Yet he was vulnerable, for one summer night he set to work to demolish a hornets nest from the corner of the house, and after getting it down he put it quietly under his arm and strolled toward the brook to deposit it there.  But the hornets were not disposed to take things thus quietly, and before he had half reached the spot, out they flew in every direction, stinging him fearfully.

The silly, boyish story about the nail makes me think of a story about Buckley’s great-grandson, my great-grandfather Russell Darling.  He died when I was a baby, but my older brother has a funny memory of him – Jay must have been about 5 or so – and the elderly Russell said to him “Go on, boy, punch me in the stomach as hard as you can!  I can take it!  Go on!”

Tap Room at the Wayside Inn, perhaps c1900

The Red Horse Inn and the Squire

The inn belonged for many generations to the Howe family.  It is truly an historic inn, with roots going back to the 1600′s, on the main road leading west from Boston.  During stagecoach times, there was a good business in dining, drinking and accommodations for travelers and horses.  The house was expanded over the years to 18 rooms.

Lyman Howe was the last of the direct line of four Howe tavern keepers; he took over from his father, Adam, perhaps around 1830.  Buckley would have grown up with Lyman and his sister, Jerusha, and two additional siblings, one of whom was running the grist mill while Lyman ran the inn.  Jerusha Howe was an educated and refined woman who owned the first piano in that part of Massachusetts.  Engaged to a British soldier, after he returned to England to make arrangements for his new life and was never heard from again, she remained single for the rest of her life and died at 45 in 1842.  According to the stories I heard on a visit to the inn this weekend, her spirit haunts the inn.

Jerusha’s piano was later re-purchased and placed in the front parlor.

Like his sister, Lyman never married.  Known as “Squire”, cultivated and intellectual, he pursued some scientific and civic interests.  As railroads took the stagecoaches off of the Boston Post Road, business at the inn shifted from hurried stops to lengthy stays in the lovely country setting of the aging inn.

The history of the “Howe’s Tavern” or “The Red Horse Inn” is a fascinating one.  The inn played a prominent role at various critical times in American history, including the Revolutionary War.  The rooms are reminiscent of travelers downing cider, horses impatiently stamping out front, soldiers marching on the old Boston Post Road.  But that’s not why it’s famous.

Center hallway at the Wayside Inn

Buckley’s Later Years

The 1860 census shows Buckley and Persis living at the “Hotel” with owner Lyman Howe and four employees (5).  Lyman’s fortunes had declined in the previous 20 years, and debts had built up.  Business at the inn was unprofitable and perhaps Lyman Howe was not an ideal manager.

When Lyman Howe died March 26, 1861, it was the faithful Buckley that found him the next morning (7).  The estate went to a distant elderly relative, and there were many debts to pay.  There was an auction and many of the family belongings were sold, although according to Lunt’s article (6) the inn had been only sparsely furnished for decades. The elderly relative died in six months, and her sons maintained the property as a kind of long-term rooming establishment.  It was during this transition, in 1862, that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow decided on the inn as a setting for some narrative poems he was forming into a volume.

Longfellow had been familiar with the inn for decades, and the Squire and Longfellow were familiar with each other, although there is no direct evidence of a meeting.  Apparently, Longfellow’s visit that inspired the setting for his book occurred in 1862, after the Squire’s death, and the book was published in 1863.  Longfellow was urged by editors to go with the name “Tales of a Wayside Inn” and his volume assembles a set of characters, fashioned after his own friends and various devotees of the inn, including the Squire, to spin poetic tales while relaxing in front of the fire at the inn.

Tales of a Wayside Inn, 1863

The book of beautiful poems was a huge success, and inspired many to want to get a look at the “Wayside Inn”, although The Red Horse Inn no longer operated as an inn after Lyman’s death. Its use varied in these years from long term guests or rentals to parties, outings and special functions only. It was a marketing plan that took 30 years to form, and involved some twists and turns, but eventually the inn was purchased by individuals with the money and imagination to turn the historic inn into the “Wayside Inn” which so captivated Americans.  And yet, as you can see in my photos, the inn manages to remain true to its actual past as a significant historical landmark.  Few buildings, when you walk through them, maintain so much of an eighteenth century simplicity.  Today “Longfellow’s Wayside Inn” is owned and managed by a historic trust.

Was Buckley still present during Longfellow’s visit in 1862?  By 1865, Buckley and Persis had moved in with daughter Susan and her family in Wrentham, Massachusetts.  Buckley died 28 April 1871 in Wrentham, and he and Persis are buried at the Burnt Swamp Road Cemetery in the Sheldonville section of Wrentham, just behind the house where Susan and Ellis Darling lived.

Longfellow’s friend, Thomas William Parsons, (called the “poet” in the Tales), penned a poem after the death of the Squire and, in a sense, after the death of the well-beloved inn.  It ends with:

Grave marker of Buckley Parmenter, Sheldonville, Massachusetts

Next Steps

• Learn more about whether Buckley’s father Elias Parmenter had any connection to the inn
• Re-investigate Persis’ death date
• Work to carefully uncover more of Buckley and Persis’ grave markers in Sheldonville
• Research all of the Sudbury lines including the Goodnows, Browns, Hunts and Parmenters.
• Investigate the presence of the name “Buckley” in the Howe family (a young Buckley Howe was noted nearby in the 1860 census).  Was Buckley Parmenter given a name common in the Howe family, or was the later Howe named for Buckley Parmenter?

Sources

(1) “Massachusetts, Births and Christenings, 1639-1915,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F4XC-VJV : accessed 05 May 2013), Buckley Parmenter, 21 Mar 1798.

(2) Curtis F. Garfield. Sudbury, 1890-1989, 100 years in the life of a Town, a 256-page sequel to A.S. Hudson’s History of Sudbury. Porcupine Enterprises, 106 Woodside Road, Sudbury, MA 01776.

(3) Year: 1850; Census Place: Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: M432_323; Page: 454B; Image: 249.  Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]

(4)Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.  Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).

(5) Year: 1860; Census Place: Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: M653_510; Page: 994; Image: 575; Family History Library Film: 803510.  Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]

(6) “The Red Horse Tavern” by Adeline Lunt, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, v. LXI, June to November 1880, p. 608-617.

(7) As Ancient Is This Hostelry: The Story of the Wayside Inn by Ridley, Alison and Garfield, Curtis.  Porcupine Enterprises, 1989.

Other sources:

History of Framingham, Massachusetts by J.H. Temple. Published by the Town of Framingham, 1887.

A History of Longfellow’s Wayside Inn by Brian E Plumb.  The History Press, 2011.

The History of Sudbury, Massachusetts 1638-1889 by Alfred Sereno Hudson. Published by the Town of Sudbury, 1889.

The Old House at Sudbury by Thomas William Parsons. Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1870.

Tales of a Wayside Inn by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1863.

“The Wayside Inn” by Joseph S. Seabury, The House Beautiful, v. XXXVI, no.2, July 1914, p. 33-39.

Photos by Diane Boumenot.

The post you are reading is located at: http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2013/05/06/buckley-parmenter-wayside-inn/

Cover of the probate packet 8929, Reuben Gassett, 1822

Before examining the file in depth I researched Reuben’s family more thoroughly. Reuben was the son of Daniel and Hannah (Walker) Gassett, born 1 Sep 1754 in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.  “Vital Records of Townsend, Massachusetts”  (transcribed and edited by Henry C. Hallowell, Boston: NEHGS, 1992) has birth records for Reuben’s 10 children (p. 251), and records Reuben’s entry into Townsend around 1777 from Northborough (p. 443).  The 1777 marriage of Reuben to Cate Witt is found on page 120 of “Vital Records of Northborough, Massachusetts” (Worcester: Franklin P. Rice, 1901).  Some marriage and death records were not hard to find, although the wife, Cate, is a continuing challenge.  From some dependable sources I pieced together Reuben and Cate’s children:

• Sybil Gassett 1778-1859 m. James Adams
• Daniel Gassett 1781-1850 m. Betsey Spaulding
• Lucy Gassett 1780-1841 m. Abiel Baldwin
• Joel Gassett 1783-1820
• Submit “Mitty” Gassett 1785 – 1870  m. Eliphas Davis
• Jonas Gassett 1786 – ?
• Nahum Gassett 1788-1842 – perhaps never married
• Elizabeth “Betsey” Gassett 1790-1864 m. Timothy Snow
• Catherine Gassett 1795-1863  m. Joseph Winn
• Walker Gassett 1797-1878  m. Betsey Hall

One thing I learned during the research of this branch was that the youngest son, Walker, and Lucy’s second oldest son, Minot Baldwin, married sisters, Betsey and Sophronia Hall.

What was in the probate packet

The packet provides solid evidence of a successful agricultural life.  I notice that my southern New England ancestors were doing much better around 1800 than they were by 1900.

Cate asked Judge Samuel Fay to appoint her son, Jonas Gassett, as administrator of the estate.

Cattey Gassett her mark

The appointment of Jonas Gassett was also requested by “we being the children and heirs of Reuben Gassett late of Townsend deceased.”

James Adams, Abiel Baldwin, Timothy Snow, Joseph Winn, Walker Gassett

[page 2] “Reuben Gassett, yeoman, who has dwelt in said Townsend, within three months last past died intestate possessed of goods & estate remaining to be administered, having a widow & several children…”

[page 5] “The following is An Inventory of the estate of Reuben Gassett late of Townsend in the county of Middlesex yeoman deceased, appraised upon oath by the subscribers … “

• “(Viz) The homestead of said deceased estate in Townshend aforesaid containing about 75 acres with the buildings thereon”    $900.00
• About 25 acres of plain land so called    175.00

Personal estate

• Live stock
• 1 pair of oxen $55.oo one cow $16.00
• 1 old cow $13.00
• 1 farrow cow $13.00
• 2 calves $9.00
• three swine $12.00

Produce of the real estate

• Hay on the north scaffold    $18.00
• ” & husks in the bay  $30.00
• ” on the south scafford  $3.00
• ” and stalks in the shed  $4.00
• 50 bushels of Indian corn  $33.50
• 20   “  “  oats  $7.00
• 12 “  “  rye  $9.00
• 2 “  “  white beans  $1.75
• 50   “  “  potatoes  $10.00

Farming Utensils

• [here are listed chains, fetters, plows, traces, shovels, hay fork, hay knife, rakes, wheelbarrow, ox bows, ox cart, ladders, harrow, sythes, axes, measures, wedges]

Household furniture

In north room

• one bed, bedding, stead & cord  $15.00
• 2 bed quilts  $3.00 / 8 1/2 yds cotton & linnen cloth  $2.83 / 20 1/2 yds woolin cloth  $11.25
• 1 1/2 yd cloth $0.25 / 8 towels $1.00  /  4 new sheets $3.50
• 8 old sheets  $2.20 / 10 pillow cases $1.50
• 3 table clothes  $1.00  /  3 woolen blankets  $1.50
• 1 chest with drawers  $0.75  /  1 trunk  $0.50
• 1 looking glass  $1.50  /  3 windsor chairs  $1.25
• 1 Arm chair  $0.50  /  1 table  $2.50
• Crockery & glass ware in closset  $1.75
• 1 Pr of hand Irons & trammel

In the south room

• 1 brass kittle  $5.00 / 1 frying pan  $0.50 / 1 iron pot  $1.00
• 1 iron pot $0.50  / 1 tea kettle  $0.50  / 1 toast iron  $0.25
• 1 grid iron $0.50  /  1 dish kettle $0.25  /  1 spider $0.25
• 2 brass skimmers $0.50  /  1 Pr large hand irons $0.75
• 1 Pr shovel & tongs $1.00  /  1 hammer & nippers $0.50
• 1 Pr old shears $0.50  /  1 crane, hooks & trammel $1.50
• 1 Pr. steelyards $0.75  /  1 handsaw & 1 stave $0.50
• 1 cane $0.25  /  2 pewter dishes $1.50
• 2 small pewter plates & one bason $0.40  /  1 lot of tine ware $1.00
• 1 lot of old crockery $1.00  /  1 morter $0.25
• 1 looking glass $0.20 18 spoons $0.50
• old knives & forks $0.75  /  gimblets & awls $0.25
• 1 bed, bedding, stead & cord $10.00  /  clock & case $7.00
• 1 Pine table $0.50  /  1 bible $0.50  /  1 Pr sad irons $0.50
• 1 cheese press $0.50  /  1 foot wheel $1.00  /  2 large wheels $2.25
• 1 Pr snow shoes $0.35  /  1 Riddle seive $0.25  /  5 old sickles $0.50
• 1 old saddle & bridle $0.75  /  1 barrell & 2 kegs with vinegar $1.00
• 13 dry casks & boxes $2.00

In the back room

• 1 bed, bedding, stead & cord $8.00
• 2 chests $1.75  /  1 warming pan $1.50
• 7 meal bags $1.33  /  6 butter boxes $1.00
• 10 milk pans $0.75  /  1 firkin & tub $0.50
• 2 casks with salt & [p?a?] $0.50  /  9 dry casks $1.12
• 1 churn $0.25  /  3 small tubs $0.35  /  1 bread trough & 2 seives v $0.50
• 8 old baskets $1.00  /  4 cheese hoops [?]
• 1 lot of old iron $0.75

Articles in the cellar

• 1 barrell & pork $17.00  /  50 lbs beef & barrell $2.50
• 35 lbs butter & tub $6.00  /  125 lbs cheese & barrell $5.00
• 9 barrells & cider $13.50  / 4 barrells cider $4.00
• 3 cider barrells $1.00  /  1 tub of pickles $1.00
• 8 lbs tallow $1.00  /  1 cask of apples $1.50  8 dry casks $1.00
• 1 meat tub $1.00  /  1 half barrell $0.25  /  2 pots of lard $3.25
• 1/2 barrell soap $2.00  /  fresh pork $3.00

Deceased wearing apparrel

• 1 Great coat $2.00  /  2 strait coat $3.00
• 4 Pr pantaloon $5.00  /  5 vests $3.00  /  3 handk’ffs $0.50
• 5 shirts $4.00  /  1 Raisor & box 1 Pr spectacles & case $0.50
• 1 Pr boots & 1 Pr shoes $0.50  /  1 Pr boots $1.50

• [total]  $482.48
• Townsend, January 4th, 1822
• Wallis Little, Wm. W Bancroft, Nathl Cumings, Appraisers

[page 13] “… And having perfected the inventory have set off to Catherine Gassett Wife of said deceased the following parcels, namely,

• the North end of the house and cellar under the same, beginning at the center of the porch door there in a straight line to the center of the chimney inclining to the north side of the house so as to include the remaining part of the north room and northeast bed room
• and the chamber and garrett over the same
• together with a privilege of baking in the oven in the south room when necessary, also a privilege in the south room to enter to pass and repass into her part of the cellar and a privilege in the chamber stairs to pass into her part of the chamber,
• and a piece of land joining said house bounded as follows …  the road leading from Joseph Wagner to John F. Shepherd’s,  … $55.00
• and the East end of the barn and barnyard … $15.00
• a certain piece of mowing and pasture land …  to land set off to the widow Mary Serles as her third … thence southerly on said Mary’s land to Oliver Read’s to land belonging to the heirs of Walter Hastings, thence easterly on land belonging to the heirs of said Walter and Joseph Simonds … $160.00
• about six acres of pine plain … $43.34
• about eight acres of [?] land … in the line of land claimed by Wallis Little … with the privilege of passing through the heirs land to the above said lot where it is most convenient, … $85.00

Purchasers’ Names [at auction, Townsend, Massachusetts, Jan'y 21, 1822]

• Abiel Baldwin
• William A Bancroft
• Nathl Cummings
• Jonas C Davis
• Catherine Gassett
• Jonas Gassett
• Walker Gassett
• Joseph Haynes
• Edmund Jewett Jn
• Henry Jewett
• Aaron Keyes
• James Lakin
• Abijah Lawrence
• Clough N. Miles
• David Pitts
• Daniel Prentice
• Abner Proctor
• Oliver Reed
• Josiah Sawtell
• Giles Shattuck
• Henry Shattuck
• David Shed
• Joseph Simonds
• Benjamin Spaulding Jn
• Quincy Sylvester
• Benjamin Wallis
• Fred A Walton
• Andrew Wilson
• John Withington

What I learned from the probate file

The neighbors (highlighted in green above, in the descriptions of Cate’s property) are valuable clues to the location of the Gassett property in Townsend.

I have a map from 1856.  In previous reviews of that map I had noticed that “J. Emery” (possibly, Joel or John Emery, sons of my 5th g-grandfather, John Emery) and “D. Spaulding” (possibly, my 4th g-grandfather Isaac Spaulding’s son, Daniel) lived on the road leading south from “Townsend Harbor.”  The location that has some matching surnames, from the property details, is in Townsend Harbor itself, near Harbor Pond.  The names I matched were Searles and Read.  Names in that neighborhood that I recognized from the auction customer list (30 years earlier) were A. Lawrence and N.F. Cummings.

The probate records refer to the property of the “heirs” so there was clearly an effort to keep that property.  Deeds would be needed to tell the story of what happened after that.

Catherine Gassett lost many of her belongings in the auction.

Although her lot may have been cheerfully accepted by Catherine, as she watched neighbors purchase her property, it haunts me.

That day, she bought:

• two calves
• one grind stone
• one iron bar
• 1 butte and 3 wedges
• one bed bedding stead & cord
• 2 bed quilts
• 8 1/2 yds cotton & linen cords
• 1 1/2 yd cloth
• 8 towels
• 4 new sheets
• 3 table clothes
• 3 wollen blankets
• 1 chest with drawers
• 1 trunk
• 1 looking glass
• 3 winsor chairs
• 1 arm chair
• 1 table
• crockery and glassware
• 1 pr hand irons & trammel
• one brass kettle
• 1 frying pan
• one iron pot
• 1 tea kettle
• one crane hooks stramel
• 20 or all [?] pewter plates & basan
• col. – tin ware
• lot old crockery
• 1 morter
• 18 spoons
• old knives & forks
• 1 bed bedding sted & cord
• 1 bible
• 1 pr sad irons
• 1 cheese press
• 1 foot wheel
• 1 furkin & tub
• 2 casks with salt -op[?]
• 1 china
• 3 small tubs
• 1 bred trough & 2 s[?]
• 50 lb Beef & barrell
• 1/2 barrell soap
• fresh pork

Clearly, her clothing was not part of this sale.   But with a bible, looking glass, beds, linens, etc included in the sale, I wonder if any other personal possessions were exempted.

Many things – perhaps 70% of all items – were purchased by others.  I was surprised she let much of the food go, including potatoes, butter, cheese, cider, apples, and also a looking glass and clock.

Next Steps

• It would be interesting to follow the deeds for this property and determine its location.
• Learn more about the rest of Catherine’s life.  I do not even know when she died; I do not see a family in the 1830 census that appears to have her with them; I do not see Jonas Gassett in the 1830 census.  I suspect it may have been Jonas who took over the house, but don’t know; the deeds would tell. Gassett is subject to a variety of spellings, and very poor indexing, so I suspect that is why I have not found a death record for her yet.  A page by page look at the Townsend vital records for the next 10 years should pull something up.
• Reuben may have served in the Revolutionary War, I will investigate that.
• Continue to explore the children’s lives.
• I wonder what caused Reuben and Catherine to move to Townsend in 1777, around the time of their marriage.  I wonder if Reuben was able to purchase property there.
• Look for more clues that may help me make sense of the many, many payments that were reported in the probate records.  For instance, Reuben has a nice headstone.  Was Shipley & Stevens a firm that may have provided that?  They were paid $116.65.

Erected in Memory of Reuben Gassett who died Dec 18, 1822 Ae 69. at the Old Burying Ground, Townsend, Mass.

The post you are reading is located at:  http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2013/04/25/reuben-gassett-1822

Illustrations are from Dover 1565 Spot Illustrations and Motifs, Electronic Clip Art.  Photo by Diane Boumenot.

Since I found Eye-Fi, the life of my camera has now been extended.

The Eye-Fi package

I purchased the cheapest version of Eye-Fi ($35) I could find on Amazon.   It consists of a 4 GB SD card:

Eye-Fi 4 GB SD card

and a USB Card Reader that plugs into your computer:

The Eye-Fi card reader plugs into the USB port on your computer

How It Works

• You allow Eye-Fi to access your home wi-fi by logging in once
• You use the Eye-Fi SD card in your camera, like a normal SD card
• You take pictures
• Within a minute or two, the picture auto-uploads to your computer.  If you are farther away than, say, 20 feet, the picture stores on your SD card and auto-uploads as soon as the camera gets within range of the computer.
• If you have the Eye-Fi Center open, you can see the pictures upload on your computer monitor:

pictures auto-uploading to the computer as they are taken

• If you do not have Eye-Fi Center open, a tiny screen pops up in the corner of your monitor showing each picture upload:

pictures show in corner when you don’t have Eye-Fi software open

• You can control the folder where the photos should be placed on your computer through your Eye-Fi setup (the default setting on a PC is MyPictures/Eye-Fi/folder-by-date).
• You can, optionally, allow the pictures to ALSO upload to a private web page on the Eye-Fi website, and remain there for one week (longer if you pay for storage). That requires wi-fi, either your own or public.
• You can, optionally, also allow the pictures to upload to a wide choice of social media or photo storage sites.  This will happen once wi-fi is in range.

Why this is useful

• EDITING - I can tell already that this improves picture selection and the need for editing.  Seeing the picture immediately, without removing the card, allows you to re-take as you go, with the camera still loaded with the card and ready to go.  This is especially useful for people who do photography near their computer.
• AUTO-UPLOAD – For photography done away from home, it’s nice to think that the photos will upload, and be sorted into folders by date, automatically the next time the camera is turned on near the computer.
• CLOUD STORAGE - For those using picture services like FLICKR, Picasa, or Facebook, again, upload to the account of your choice will automatically happen as soon as the camera is back in range of wi-fi, and turned on.  I have chosen not to use that yet.
• NO SD MAINTENANCE NEEDED – If you are, for instance, taking 200 pictures per day at a repository or on vacation, you can allow the pictures to upload every night near your laptop.  You can chose a level (for instance, 50%) at which the SD card will start deleting automatically as long as the images have already been successfully uploaded.  So you would never need to make space on the card by deleting images.
• RELAY TRANSFER – if you have a hotspot or access to wi-fi away from home, and you use a cloud storage service mentioned above, the pictures can upload even when you are away from your computer. I believe they may then automatically relay themselves to your computer as well, at some point, but I am not set up to test this.
• ADD GEOTAGGING – if you pay for an upgrade, this system will add location information (geo-tagging) for each photo (something my camera will not do otherwise).
• WORKS FOR VIDEOS - as far as I can see, these features all apply to videos, too.
• WORKS ON IPHONE, TOO – I was able to add my iPhone to my network, so now pictures I take on my iphone also upload to my computer.  This worked when I took pictures elsewhere, got the iphone back to the house, and with Eye-Fi plugged into my computer, opened the Eye-Fi app on the iphone.
• SELECTIVELY MOVE OR EMAIL – whether or not you auto-upload to web storage in addition to your computer folder, you can always open Eye-Fi Center on your computer and slide selected images into the “tray” for emailing or placement on the web storage of your choice.

Learn more, or check out the compatibility of Eye-Fi with YOUR camera model, here.

My cat, Mr. Darcy, agreed to pose during the Eye-Fi testing.

The post you are reading is located at: http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2013/04/21/using-eye-fi-with-camera

Thursday
I arrived early Thursday morning to have breakfast with some Facebook friends. That was really nice and I met a woman from Concord Mass and someone from Nova Scotia, as well as Facebook friend Jennifer Zinck. They had some French Canadian roots. I don’t have that but I do have lots of Nova Scotia connections.

Reg Desk at NERGC

NERGC relies on volunteer help so I did my bit at the reg desk for a while on Thursday.  Then I attended a session sponsored by the Massachusetts Genealogical Council, “Access to Records for Genealogists: An Open Forum”.  Recent confusion about SSDI (Social Security Death Index) access was presented as an improv skit, and panelists answered many questions after that.  The point was stressed that methods of identity theft are constantly shifting and changing, and in fact the biggest danger recently has been theft through details copied illegally from medical records.  Branches of the federal government should be responsible to check the SSDI (and not be fooled) and ultimately, identity theft of living people is far more common and damaging.   Massachusetts remains one of only a few completely open vital-records states, and this group works to keep things that way.  From time to time, supportive genealogists may be called upon to contact their legislators on certain issues. After the session, I asked some questions I had about access to family medical records, and it was the most helpful discussion I’ve had on the subject, and I was given a contact in Rhode Island which I will follow up.

The exhibits opened at 6 p.m., and I enjoyed some special pricing on used books.  I found several books I have wanted for a while, plus two old books on Fitchburg, Massachusetts I’ve never seen before.

Maia’s Books in the exhibit area

Friday

On Friday morning I attended a session by Craig R Scott on “Researching Your French and Indian War Ancestors in New England”.  Craig is an entertaining speaker.  I don’t know of any ancestors of mine who participated in that war, but I now have a better idea of the chronology and geography of this complicated war, as well as an overview of the literature available.  I have heard Craig speak before, and he likes to help the audience understand the issues behind the conflicts, for instance, in this case, by showing us contemporaneous maps of eastern North America, one by the French, one by the colonial British settlers.  It was pretty obvious from the maps that the two sides had very different views of the territory. The books I plan to find next time I’m in a genealogy library are the set “In Search of the “Forlorn Hope”: a Comprehensive Guide to Locating British Regiments and Their Records (1640-WWI)” by John M. Kitzmiller II.  Apparently the book contains some FHL microfilm numbers to help you find the original records you need. I will also look at the compiled red Massachusetts Officers and Soldiers books.

The busy registration area

I was able to have lunch with fellow Rhode Islander Barbara, and Jennifer Zinck.  Jennifer was generous enough to answer a lot of questions I had about DNA testing.  One piece of advice, which I hadn’t really considered before, was to use testing on the earliest DNA possible, for instance, my mom and dad. If I ever get started on that, I now have some specific recommendations to explore.  Thanks, Jennifer!

Next, Jolene Mullen presented “Town Meeting Records of Connecticut and Rhode Island during the American Revolution”.  Jolene has made a study of these local records for the period of the Revolutionary War and had a lot of insight to offer on how to find the records and what information they may reveal.  It was a reminder of the wealth of information held in early town records, which I have heard before, and I think any difficult problem from these early New England towns could benefit from a reading of several years of town council records.

“Digging Up the Dirt on Your Farmer” by Lori Thornton came next, in which she reviewed a wide range of record sources for agricultural settings.  One resource that Lori mentioned, available in some libraries, is the Evans Early American Imprints.  Other sources mentioned included special census schedules, tax lists, patents, and sources for newspapers, particularly newspapers aimed at the farming community like “The Farmer’s Wife”.

Meanwhile, back in the exhibits, I purchased the first 11 volumes of the periodical “The Mayflower Descendant” for $11.  I visited the findmy past.com booth where I was able to search for records (in my case, from Surrey, England) on the laptop they had set up.  I also got a coupon for 40 credits which I can use at home to do some further searching, and decide about subscribing.

I loved this booth in the exhibits:

The Gravestone Girls make casts of actual gravestone art. Each piece comes with the details of the actual marker.

I think there would be many uses for these pieces, which were beautiful.

The day ended with dinner with two genealogists followed by a bloggers’ Special Interest Group meeting.  Many bloggers attended – some of whom I met for the first time.  Heather Rojo was very involved in planning the event, assisted by several long-time bloggers including Midge Frazel.  Some people new to blogging also showed up, with questions.  It was a very interesting session.

Marian Pierre-Louis and Heather Rojo before the blogging event

Saturday

On Saturday I was interested in the session “Immigration Records at the National Archives” presented by Jean Nudd. This was an area I am not very familiar with and since there are few records for Canadian immigration, I really only have one person I will be hunting for. I took many notes about resources to pursue.

Queries board in the Registration area

I checked the Queries board one more time before leaving.  I would like to have attended the Saturday lunch, sponsored by the New England Chapter of the Association for Professional Genealogists which features tables on focused genealogical topics, for discussion, but I hadn’t been aware of it in advance, and didn’t purchase a ticket.

I think some of my discussions in between sessions and events were just as enlightening as the events themselves.  It was great to meet so many genealogists for the first time, and to catch up many genealogists I already know.

The post you are reading is located at:  http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2015/04/18/at-the-nergc-conference/ ‎