Things of Interest – To Me January 13, 2018

  old gravestone – this one is for Mary Parsons, 1688-1769, in the cemetery in Sunderland Franklin County Massachusetts.  She is my 6X Great Grandmother.

Interested In Maine History? July 4, 2017

  Here’s the book for all history enthusiasts.  In a book store in Mystic Connecticut, I found this book about the history of Maine – titled The Lobster Coast, Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier, by Colin Woodard.  As one would expect, there’s quite a bit of detail about fish and the fishing industry, particularly  lobsters.  But there is also a lot to make one think about the rights of Native Americans and the rights and relationships between the original settlers and the subsequent waves of  “newcomers”, right up to the present day transformations of land use and the questions of distribution of wealth.

In my genealogy research I have been able to trace most of my ancestors back many generations.  At present I am trying to concentrate/focus on the immigration experiences of these branches in my family tree.  These would be the 6th-9th great grandparents.  About 90% of these forebears came to New England.  I have one case of an abrupt end of the trail with my 3rd great grandparents Joseph Reed and Sarah Maddox.  They were each born in Maine in the late 1700’s.  Joseph died in Maine in 1850.  Their daughter Abigail was my great great grandmother.  She was born in Gloucester in 1804.  But I do not have any information re Joseph and Sarah’s forebears, my 4th great grandparents etc.  Did they come to Maine as immigrants?  What happened to them in this remote and harsh part of the American frontier.  Did they perish in an encounter with one of the many tribes of Native Americans who raided the settlers villages and isolated dwellings.   I wonder.

Current Reading – June 2017 June 6, 2017

  Non fiction – full of footnotes – fascinating reading!   Increasing my knowledge and understanding of the early settlers of Essex County Massachusetts.  And I’m finding a number of familiar names which I will follow up and see if they are actually my ancestors.

I Could Write A Book…….. March 28, 2017

   1930’s postcard from Ogunquit Maine

I could write a long book about the memories stirring in me as I view this postcard from Ogunquit Maine.

1619 Marriage In Cambridge England March 5, 2017

  This is All Saints Church in England where my 9X Great Grandparents were married in 1619.  They emigrated  to North America in 1623 on the ship “Anne & Little James”.  They were early settlers in Plymouth Colony.

My Ancestor Myles Standish March 1, 2017

  Yes this is Myles Standish of Mayflower fame.  He is my  8th  Great Grandfather.

Captain Myles Standish was an English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military advisor for Plymouth Colony.  He was one of the passengers on the Mayflower.

Myles Standish was not a Pilgrim but it was in his capacity as a military man that he was in the Low Countries to help the Dutch in their war against Spain.  And it was in Leyden in Holland that he got to know the Pilgrims there.  It was through his acquaintance with the Pilgrim Pastor John Robinson that he came to be hired as their military captain to command and train their militia.  Thus Myles and his first wife Rose were among the passengers, the original settlers,  on the Mayflower.

After the Mayflower made landfall on the tip of Cape Cod in late October 1620, he led most of the exploratory missions looking for a place to settle.  Many of the settlers who arrived in the Mayflower were weakened and ill after their voyage across the Atlantic.  Sadly, Myles wife Rose was among those who did not survive those early months.  She died in late January 1621.

Myles remarried in 1623.  His 2nd wife, Barbara, arrived on the ship “Anne” in July 1623.  Myles and Barbara had 6 children, 4of whom survived infancy.  The most important of whom from my standpoint was their surviving son Josiah, who became my 7th Great Grandfather.

 

Church of Saint Nicholas Great Yarmouth Norfolk England January 29, 2017

Back to my genealogy research.  This church was the place of worship for my 8X Great Grandmother Susanna Felton.  Susanna left Norfolk to come to Salem Massachusetts in the 1630’s.  She was part of The Great Migration.

Essex County Massachusetts 1643 January 6, 2017

A number of my ancestors were early settlers in this area of New England north of Boston.

Laces of Ipswich January 4, 2017

A great find – this book, The Laces of Ipswich, The Art and Economics of an Early American Industry by Marta Cotterell Raffel is perfect for combining my interests in history, genealogy, and economics.  I am only marginally interested in lace making in that it relates to weaving…..but this is a thoroughly researched picture of an industry in early New England and just maybe some of my ancestors!

    The Laces of Ipswich

 

  Whipple House, Ipswich Massachusetts – some of the work highlighted in this book are displayed in Whipple House.

 

Roots Of The Family Tree December 24, 2016

I am currently researching the Bushnell family.   My 14th Great Grandparents were born and died in Tilehurst.