Some years back, my husband Steve and I went for a few days to nearby Salem, MA so I could learn more about the Salem Witch Trials. I taught about it in a special workshop for teachers and continue to maintain a Web page about Witch Hunts. The transcripts for the trials are held at the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum. They let me in to look at them. They are under glass, with heavy dark drapes over them in a climate controlled room.
I have not found any ancestors who were accused of witchcraft but I am still looking and I won't be surprised to find someone. I would be delighted.
The Burying Point graveyard is so amazing. I think this is the first gravestone photo I ever took.
When you wake up tomorrow, it will be October, my favorite month.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Midge the French Maid
Today I am participating in a Facebook group event called Scan-fest. I have created a physical file folder to hold items to be scanned and then archived and a folder on my hard drive with today's date. I dusted (get it?) my scanner and cleaned the glass and let it dry completely before scanning this funny photo of myself. (My cousin Thomas and Facebook buddy put me up to this and you don't want to know why!)
I don't remember the ancient family photos on the wall behind me. I am shocked at noticing them as I am a teenager in this photo and should remember these portraits!
They are not in my family collection. I THINK they must be Isaac Denison, Jr. and his wife Levina Fish. I am going to a party at a friends house as it is Halloween, 1961.
Notice the transistor radio I am dusting. If you don't know what that is, you'd better do a Google search. No, I am not linking to it for you.
I don't remember the ancient family photos on the wall behind me. I am shocked at noticing them as I am a teenager in this photo and should remember these portraits!
They are not in my family collection. I THINK they must be Isaac Denison, Jr. and his wife Levina Fish. I am going to a party at a friends house as it is Halloween, 1961.
Notice the transistor radio I am dusting. If you don't know what that is, you'd better do a Google search. No, I am not linking to it for you.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Wild and Wooly
Wild and Wooly
In a undated newspaper clipping, badly photocopied and put in my family Bible was this story of how the Scholfield brothers, John and Arthur, came to this country from England. I used it as the basis of research on this line and found that it is completely true.
I purchased the Images of America book on Montville (CT) by Jon Chase, the town historian and in it found images of the woolen mill there that my ancestors built.
This is annotated by me:
"March 24, 1793, John Scholfield, his wife Hannah, six children, and his brother Arthur who lived at Standish Foot in Yorkshire
Associating themselves with Jedediah Morse and others of wealth of Newburyport , Mass, they built and put into operation at Byfield , Mass.
John and Arthur Scholfield have the honor of being the pioneer woolen manufacturers in the United States 1793 to 1798 at Byfield , Mass.
After five years, in 1798, the brothers sold their interest in Massachusetts and moved to Montville , Conn. Pittsfield , Mass.
This mill was first a saw mill and then an oil mill. Mr. Scholfield operated it for fulling (Fulling is the process of fluffing up an already woven or knitted piece of woolen cloth ) and carding of rolls and manufactured cloth. He operated it in connection with a plant located in Montville , Conn.
The Scholfields were ingenious and able mechanics. In 1808, Arthur Scholfield at Pittsfield , Mass.
The Scholfield satinets (a fabric with a finish resembling satin but made from partially or wholly from cotton or synthetic fibre) were famous."
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Photo Challenge
The Genea-Bloggers Facebook Group poses some interesting challenges that must be considered carefully for genealogists, family historians and history buffs. I recently posted a list of books that I can't live without, set aside time to participate in a scan-fest, and did some thinking about combining these into this special event called the Treasure Hunt Challenge.
Treasure hunts were big in my family. My grandmother always made one for me to find a special toy, puzzle or book "hidden" in her house when I came to visit. I, in turn, made one Easter special for my daughter by making a treasure hunt for her Easter basket one Easter long ago when she was becoming too old to care about the event. She's still talking about it!
I started today to tackle a very large project. I am the keeper of the family photographs. What you see here in this photo is a small portion of the photographs that I own. Sadly, there would be more but my mother discarded two albums of ancient snapshots before she died and her excuse was that she didn't know the people in the photos. I try not to be angry even now. I know you feel my pain.
My plan for this treasure hunt challenge is:
Treasure hunts were big in my family. My grandmother always made one for me to find a special toy, puzzle or book "hidden" in her house when I came to visit. I, in turn, made one Easter special for my daughter by making a treasure hunt for her Easter basket one Easter long ago when she was becoming too old to care about the event. She's still talking about it!
I started today to tackle a very large project. I am the keeper of the family photographs. What you see here in this photo is a small portion of the photographs that I own. Sadly, there would be more but my mother discarded two albums of ancient snapshots before she died and her excuse was that she didn't know the people in the photos. I try not to be angry even now. I know you feel my pain.
My plan for this treasure hunt challenge is:
- Go downstairs and put all the photos in one place.
- Choose the most important photos to be scanned for "Scanfest" (this Sunday)
- Check the "Scanned items" folder on my USB-based portable hard drives and make a list of photos I have scanned previously (and do some in TIFF format that I haven't done)
- Read (re-read) Maureen Taylor's book, Preserving Your Family Photographs
- Read Sally Jacob's document on archiving
- Order an archival safe box and some acid-free envelopes to store the photos
- Place the photos in order of importance in the envelops and container.
- Take a follow-up photo of the progress for others to see
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Prudence B. DEAN
Wife of Asa Fish
Died December 24, 1873
Aged 74 Years
& 6 Months
Wheeler's History of Stonington (page 333 #35) indicates that Prudence was an only child. Her grandparents on the Brown side (Wheeler page 268) were Joshua Brown and Joanna Rogers. This is the same Brown family whose family members are buried in the Denison plot not far from this area where Prudence is resting.
Died December 24, 1873
Aged 74 Years
& 6 Months
Wheeler's History of Stonington (page 333 #35) indicates that Prudence was an only child. Her grandparents on the Brown side (Wheeler page 268) were Joshua Brown and Joanna Rogers. This is the same Brown family whose family members are buried in the Denison plot not far from this area where Prudence is resting.
Prudence B. DEAN (top of gravestone)
This is the curved top of the gravestone for Prudence Brown Dean. She was the daughter of James Dean and Prudence Brown who are buried at the Whitehall Burying Ground in Mystic.
Asa FISH
This is the front of the gravestone for Judge Asa Fish. I think it reads:
Died
April 20, 1861
Aged 70 Years
9 Months & 3 Days.
I used the "calculate dates" in my genealogy software to figure out if the time between his birth on July 1, 1790 and his death on 20 Apr 1861 matched what I thought I could see.
From the Fish genealogy:
"1984 HON. ASA8 FISH (Sands7, Nathan6, Nathan5, Samuel4, John3, Alice2, John1), eldest son of (1885) Dea. Sands and Bridget (Gallup) Fish, was b. at Groton, Conn., July 17, 1790, and d. at Stonington, Conn., Apr. 20, 1861, at 70. He settled at Mystic Bridge, Conn., in 1815. He was a man of superior talents and winning manners, a good scholar, an excellent school teacher, a successful merchant, called to fill nearly every public office; went to State Assembly in 1820-1821, 1833 and 1843; State Senator in 1838, 1840 and 1849; Judge of Probate from 1831 to 1860. He was an active member of the Congregational Church, and a director of Bank at Stonington and Insurance Company at New London, Conn. On Sept. 30, 1818, he m. Prudence B. Dean, dau. of James and Prudence (Brown) Dean, who was b. June 23, 1799, and d. at Mystic, Dec. 24, 1873, at 74. They are buried on Pequot Hill.
Children:
+1992 James Dean', b. Aug. 7, 1819; d. Mar. 24, 1912, at 92; m. Mary
Esther Blodgett; m. (2) Belle Rogers; m. (3) Sally Laing Reber.
+1993 Sands Helme, b. Sept. 19, 1821; d. Nov. 5, 1899; m. Emeline Beebe.
1994 Hannah, b. June 6, 1823; d. July 25, 1899; m. Elias Perkins Randall.
+1995 Silas, b. Oct. 23, 1825; d. Nov. 8, 1906; m. Mary Dorrance Stoddard.
+1996 Asa, b. Apr. 11, 1828; d. Apr. 1, 1909; m. Elenor Hoxie Peckham.
1997 Prudence, b. Aug. 1, 1830; d. Mar. 8, 1904; m. Uriah Hayden
Dudley.
1998 Benjamin b. Sept. 2, 1834; d. 1922.
1999 John Dean, b. Feb. 23, 1837; d. Aug. 29, 1838.
2000 Fanny Dean, b. Sept. 5, 1839; d. Sept. 24, 1928, m. Caleb Smith
Woodhull.
The resource of CT History Online is a wonderful place to see photographs of people who lived in this area. They are copyright restrictions on what you can take and use for yourself but it is interesting to see photos of the houses lived in and even sometimes photos of people. I found Asa Fish's house photograph (121 Main St. Mystic) and a photograph of him!
Died
April 20, 1861
Aged 70 Years
9 Months & 3 Days.
I used the "calculate dates" in my genealogy software to figure out if the time between his birth on July 1, 1790 and his death on 20 Apr 1861 matched what I thought I could see.
From the Fish genealogy:
"1984 HON. ASA8 FISH (Sands7, Nathan6, Nathan5, Samuel4, John3, Alice2, John1), eldest son of (1885) Dea. Sands and Bridget (Gallup) Fish, was b. at Groton, Conn., July 17, 1790, and d. at Stonington, Conn., Apr. 20, 1861, at 70. He settled at Mystic Bridge, Conn., in 1815. He was a man of superior talents and winning manners, a good scholar, an excellent school teacher, a successful merchant, called to fill nearly every public office; went to State Assembly in 1820-1821, 1833 and 1843; State Senator in 1838, 1840 and 1849; Judge of Probate from 1831 to 1860. He was an active member of the Congregational Church, and a director of Bank at Stonington and Insurance Company at New London, Conn. On Sept. 30, 1818, he m. Prudence B. Dean, dau. of James and Prudence (Brown) Dean, who was b. June 23, 1799, and d. at Mystic, Dec. 24, 1873, at 74. They are buried on Pequot Hill.
Children:
+1992 James Dean', b. Aug. 7, 1819; d. Mar. 24, 1912, at 92; m. Mary
Esther Blodgett; m. (2) Belle Rogers; m. (3) Sally Laing Reber.
+1993 Sands Helme, b. Sept. 19, 1821; d. Nov. 5, 1899; m. Emeline Beebe.
1994 Hannah, b. June 6, 1823; d. July 25, 1899; m. Elias Perkins Randall.
+1995 Silas, b. Oct. 23, 1825; d. Nov. 8, 1906; m. Mary Dorrance Stoddard.
+1996 Asa, b. Apr. 11, 1828; d. Apr. 1, 1909; m. Elenor Hoxie Peckham.
1997 Prudence, b. Aug. 1, 1830; d. Mar. 8, 1904; m. Uriah Hayden
Dudley.
1998 Benjamin b. Sept. 2, 1834; d. 1922.
1999 John Dean, b. Feb. 23, 1837; d. Aug. 29, 1838.
2000 Fanny Dean, b. Sept. 5, 1839; d. Sept. 24, 1928, m. Caleb Smith
Woodhull.
The resource of CT History Online is a wonderful place to see photographs of people who lived in this area. They are copyright restrictions on what you can take and use for yourself but it is interesting to see photos of the houses lived in and even sometimes photos of people. I found Asa Fish's house photograph (121 Main St. Mystic) and a photograph of him!
Asa FISH (top of gravestone)
This is the top of the gravestone of the patriarch, the Honorable Asa FISH, who is buried with his descendants in this section of the Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic, CT.
Mny of the gravestone purchased in this era have this curved top with the person's name carved in block letters. I think it is a good thing too since the face of this gravestone is very hard to read. Without the sources of the Fish and Chesebrough genealogies at my fingertips I would not be sure what this reads.
Mny of the gravestone purchased in this era have this curved top with the person's name carved in block letters. I think it is a good thing too since the face of this gravestone is very hard to read. Without the sources of the Fish and Chesebrough genealogies at my fingertips I would not be sure what this reads.
The Great Hurricane of 1938
Seventy years ago tomorrow, a Category 3 hurricane that forecasters failed to predict ripped through New England. It was the autumnal equinox, full harvest moon and high tide. Death and destruction reigned.
I grew up hearing about this awful, but intensely fascinating event. I have a Web page about this with links to many Web sites that have information and photographs.
Remembrance of the event was covered last night on the Boston news. This is the memorial plaque and rock on the waterfront in Watch Hill, Rhode Island.
I grew up hearing about this awful, but intensely fascinating event. I have a Web page about this with links to many Web sites that have information and photographs.
Remembrance of the event was covered last night on the Boston news. This is the memorial plaque and rock on the waterfront in Watch Hill, Rhode Island.
Following Your Heart
I didn't know how many people were reading this blog, until I put a counter on it during the Summer Genea-Blogger Games and then to read that I am listed in many of the "I Love-Heart your Blog". It's very rewarding, a bit scary and I am wondering how I can point people to blogs "worth a look"?
Writing a blog is not for everyone. I learned to blog during graduate school for Lesley University where I began a blog I called, "Beyond the Horizon". It was hard to set up a blog that connected directly to my Web site but with the help of my tech-guru friend Kathy Schrock, I got it started. I put a bit of family history in it because I wrote a book for teachers on working family history and the research needed to meet curriculum. But, mostly it is about educational technology.
I read my blogs in Bloglines only because it is faster. You don't get to look at the design that people work so hard on using this RSS newsreader, so I have to click through that to see the posting with the photos etc. So reading them in Facebook's Blog Networks is a bit better.
Until now, I found blogs to read through the Genealogy Blog Finder and podcasts to listen to in iTunes. I think if I focus on providing a list of the more informational blogs I read, it will be better than "heart-ing" people who have alread been picked on! These do not need a return nod.
The Genealogy Blog Finder
Diane Haddad's Family Tree Magazine's Genealogy Insider (which includes Maureen Taylor's PhotoDetective)
Ancestry.com's Official Blog
David Lambert's Blog
Cyndi's List Blog
Family Roots Radio
Roots Television Og's Blog
Genealogy Web sites I Don't Hate
24/7 Family History Circle
I still believe in Web sites and use many of them daily. Many people, like me, are crazy enough to do both.
Writing a blog is not for everyone. I learned to blog during graduate school for Lesley University where I began a blog I called, "Beyond the Horizon". It was hard to set up a blog that connected directly to my Web site but with the help of my tech-guru friend Kathy Schrock, I got it started. I put a bit of family history in it because I wrote a book for teachers on working family history and the research needed to meet curriculum. But, mostly it is about educational technology.
I read my blogs in Bloglines only because it is faster. You don't get to look at the design that people work so hard on using this RSS newsreader, so I have to click through that to see the posting with the photos etc. So reading them in Facebook's Blog Networks is a bit better.
Until now, I found blogs to read through the Genealogy Blog Finder and podcasts to listen to in iTunes. I think if I focus on providing a list of the more informational blogs I read, it will be better than "heart-ing" people who have alread been picked on! These do not need a return nod.
The Genealogy Blog Finder
Diane Haddad's Family Tree Magazine's Genealogy Insider (which includes Maureen Taylor's PhotoDetective)
Ancestry.com's Official Blog
David Lambert's Blog
Cyndi's List Blog
Family Roots Radio
Roots Television Og's Blog
Genealogy Web sites I Don't Hate
24/7 Family History Circle
I still believe in Web sites and use many of them daily. Many people, like me, are crazy enough to do both.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Maria, wife of John
This is the gravestone of Maria, one of my 3rd great grandmothers. I am so glad to have found her gravestone next to her husband John TOURGEE. Yes, I know it reads, Maria, wife of John TAUGEE but the TOURGEE family's name is spelled so many ways, I honestly don't know how people ever found any records at all! [Tourgee, Tourjee, Taugee being the most used]
Even though John married again, and had more children and was step-father to his second wife's sons, they buried him next to his first wife Maria and with [his named but dead] babies behind them.
Maria was the mother of Hannah Josephine TOURGEE, her only surviving child, who was the wife of my Civil War ancestor, James Albert Barber [Medal of Honor]. Because of naming conventions, Hannah Josephine must have been named Hannah because her grandparents on the Tourgee side were John TOURGEE, Sr. and Hannah GOULD.
Sadly, Hannah Josephine Tourgee, wife of James A. Barber has no gravestone and according to the cemetery records, her burial was paid for by her father. When I asked why Hannah was not buried with her ("famous") husband, the cemetery didn't know he'd had a wife! They had to go back to the old handwritten ledgers to find her and they showed me the spot where she was buried.
I guess we will never know any more about Maria. All I have is a church record of she and John from a South Kingstown Church.
Makes you want to cry.....
Even though John married again, and had more children and was step-father to his second wife's sons, they buried him next to his first wife Maria and with [his named but dead] babies behind them.
Maria was the mother of Hannah Josephine TOURGEE, her only surviving child, who was the wife of my Civil War ancestor, James Albert Barber [Medal of Honor]. Because of naming conventions, Hannah Josephine must have been named Hannah because her grandparents on the Tourgee side were John TOURGEE, Sr. and Hannah GOULD.
Sadly, Hannah Josephine Tourgee, wife of James A. Barber has no gravestone and according to the cemetery records, her burial was paid for by her father. When I asked why Hannah was not buried with her ("famous") husband, the cemetery didn't know he'd had a wife! They had to go back to the old handwritten ledgers to find her and they showed me the spot where she was buried.
I guess we will never know any more about Maria. All I have is a church record of she and John from a South Kingstown Church.
Makes you want to cry.....
Thursday, September 18, 2008
I Heart Your Blog
I was just peacefully sitting here at my desktop computer transcribing gravestones when BOOM, I got an email telling me that Diane Haddad of Family Tree Magazine put me on her list of seven favorite blogs.
I had what I thought was a "senior moment" because I think that one of my fellow genea-bloggers at Facebook already nominated me for this award and I never got around to picking seven people for a list.. "Wasn't that just a couple days ago?", I thought. I think I am working way too hard. Having two careers just might kill me yet. [Yes, I know, then I will need my own gravestone!]
I so hope this other person doesn't think that I am ignoring them. Could they please let me know who they were? Does this mean I have fourteen blogs to nominate? UPDATE! I found out who this is, it is:
Miriam Robbins Midkiff, my friend on Facebook, author of AnceStories blog.
Diane listed me with my friend Maureen Taylor, the "rock-star" of family photography. I was watching her be interviewed by Dick Eastman and thinking about the series of coincidences that have brought us together. Maureen and I are NOT related, are NOT the same age, are NOT the same height and weight, are NOT both blonde but we DID go to the same college in Rhode Island, we both write and she wrote a book about MY ancestors. There are more "same-ness" but you get the idea....
Maybe this is a sign that I should make family history my main career?
I had what I thought was a "senior moment" because I think that one of my fellow genea-bloggers at Facebook already nominated me for this award and I never got around to picking seven people for a list.. "Wasn't that just a couple days ago?", I thought. I think I am working way too hard. Having two careers just might kill me yet. [Yes, I know, then I will need my own gravestone!]
I so hope this other person doesn't think that I am ignoring them. Could they please let me know who they were? Does this mean I have fourteen blogs to nominate? UPDATE! I found out who this is, it is:
Miriam Robbins Midkiff, my friend on Facebook, author of AnceStories blog.
Diane listed me with my friend Maureen Taylor, the "rock-star" of family photography. I was watching her be interviewed by Dick Eastman and thinking about the series of coincidences that have brought us together. Maureen and I are NOT related, are NOT the same age, are NOT the same height and weight, are NOT both blonde but we DID go to the same college in Rhode Island, we both write and she wrote a book about MY ancestors. There are more "same-ness" but you get the idea....
Maybe this is a sign that I should make family history my main career?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Family of Asa FISH Monument
This is a monument for the Honorable Asa Fish and family. Asa was the son of Deacon Sands Fish and his wife Bridget Gallup. They are buried in the Old Fish Burying Ground in Groton.
Asa Fish was brother to my direct line ancestor, Levina Fish. This makes him my 3rd great grand uncle.
Levina was a "force" to be reckoned with in my family. I am thinking that she may have "moved" Asa and his wife Prudence to Elm Grove. The evidence for this is that I know she had other gravestones (and their remains) to this beautiful cemetery in Mystic and the fact that the Fish genealogy says Asa and Prudence are buried in the cemetery on Pequot Hill, which is the Old Fish Burying Ground.
In Levina's day, status in the community was everything. She wanted it and she got it. There is a newspaper account of her lavish Thanksgiving dinners, her son the Rev. Frederic Denison, a prominent Baptist minister and writer, openly adored her and also, she never missed an opportunity to remind her family how important they were. Now, this may sound pretentious, but because she did this, I have been able to find out more about my Denison, Fish and Gallup families, and the Mystic and Stonington area history.
Imagine how button-busting proud she would be to have me write about her and find all these gravestones. I can feel her cheering me on from heaven.
I took this photo last July, and in a few minutes snapped almost 20 photos of this families gravestones. JE Rowley, a fellow Fish descendant, gave me a list of his direct line "Fish folk" and guess what, most of them are right in this section. That makes taking their photographs worthwhile.
Asa Fish was brother to my direct line ancestor, Levina Fish. This makes him my 3rd great grand uncle.
Levina was a "force" to be reckoned with in my family. I am thinking that she may have "moved" Asa and his wife Prudence to Elm Grove. The evidence for this is that I know she had other gravestones (and their remains) to this beautiful cemetery in Mystic and the fact that the Fish genealogy says Asa and Prudence are buried in the cemetery on Pequot Hill, which is the Old Fish Burying Ground.
In Levina's day, status in the community was everything. She wanted it and she got it. There is a newspaper account of her lavish Thanksgiving dinners, her son the Rev. Frederic Denison, a prominent Baptist minister and writer, openly adored her and also, she never missed an opportunity to remind her family how important they were. Now, this may sound pretentious, but because she did this, I have been able to find out more about my Denison, Fish and Gallup families, and the Mystic and Stonington area history.
Imagine how button-busting proud she would be to have me write about her and find all these gravestones. I can feel her cheering me on from heaven.
I took this photo last July, and in a few minutes snapped almost 20 photos of this families gravestones. JE Rowley, a fellow Fish descendant, gave me a list of his direct line "Fish folk" and guess what, most of them are right in this section. That makes taking their photographs worthwhile.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
My Parents Tickle My Funny Bone
6th Edition Smile For The Camera
No matter how old you get there are just some photographs that you can't get out of your head, like this one of my parents taken in the Summer of 1952. [Correction! another envelope of photos says 1951 and these photos must have been taken by the Miller family]
Judging from the other photos in the envelope, my mother's friend, Virginia and her husband Steve and their two young sons invited us to this house that may have been a family summer home in Maine. [on China Lake]
I would say that this photo shows my parents just goofing around. It was so unlike my mother to be like this that it just tickles my funny bone. She was known to destroy any photos that did not portray her in a glamorous light so I am impressed that this survived.
I do remember this trip as I was four years old. Outdoor plumbing (yuck) and very cold water to swim in are all I really remember as happening to me. I do remember that it seemed the parents were having fun. I couldn't figure it out!
It is good to remember that your parents were once young and impulsive!
No matter how old you get there are just some photographs that you can't get out of your head, like this one of my parents taken in the Summer of 1952. [Correction! another envelope of photos says 1951 and these photos must have been taken by the Miller family]
Judging from the other photos in the envelope, my mother's friend, Virginia and her husband Steve and their two young sons invited us to this house that may have been a family summer home in Maine. [on China Lake]
I would say that this photo shows my parents just goofing around. It was so unlike my mother to be like this that it just tickles my funny bone. She was known to destroy any photos that did not portray her in a glamorous light so I am impressed that this survived.
I do remember this trip as I was four years old. Outdoor plumbing (yuck) and very cold water to swim in are all I really remember as happening to me. I do remember that it seemed the parents were having fun. I couldn't figure it out!
It is good to remember that your parents were once young and impulsive!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Year Book Yourself
You can't say that the Facebook group called "Genea-Bloggers" is boring. I have worked with a lot of crazy folks over the years but this bunch of people "takes the cake".
This is one of those Web 2.0 apps that has been designed just for fun. I have two more of these types of things in my bag of tricks that I must introduce them too, since they obviously need a break from searching for ancestors!
It seems that I was really unique being blonde, so to keep my individuality, I left my blonde bangs in this photo. I made it sepia toned and added a frame using Picnik
This is one of those Web 2.0 apps that has been designed just for fun. I have two more of these types of things in my bag of tricks that I must introduce them too, since they obviously need a break from searching for ancestors!
It seems that I was really unique being blonde, so to keep my individuality, I left my blonde bangs in this photo. I made it sepia toned and added a frame using Picnik
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Captain Thomas H. Broadfoot
It is hard to believe that my Dad, who everybody called Tom, has been gone for ten years. He was born 21 July 1917 in Westerly, Rhode Island and died, after suffering with lung cancer, peacefully at home, on 12 September, 1998. My mother bravely lived without him for about four years. Both of my parents, born in Westerly, now are resting at River Bend Cemetery in Westerly.
This week, due to the genealogical kindness of a friend, I have photos of the gravestone of my Dad's youngest sibling, his brother. My father's sisters and their husbands are buried with my parents and my father's parents. I never knew those grandparents and only recently have learned more about them from meeting other family members through my tree at Ancestry.com. He would be thrilled to see that I have more information on his Scottish family!
Tom was always smiling, as in this photo here. He loved sports, especially golf. A decorated World War II Vet, his medals live here with me now in my home office.
Miss you, daddy.
This week, due to the genealogical kindness of a friend, I have photos of the gravestone of my Dad's youngest sibling, his brother. My father's sisters and their husbands are buried with my parents and my father's parents. I never knew those grandparents and only recently have learned more about them from meeting other family members through my tree at Ancestry.com. He would be thrilled to see that I have more information on his Scottish family!
Tom was always smiling, as in this photo here. He loved sports, especially golf. A decorated World War II Vet, his medals live here with me now in my home office.
Miss you, daddy.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Slate & Sandstone: New England Books
Like many genealogists, I own a number of useful books to help me with my work but still, the majority of books on my bookshelf are about technology. Instead of buying two books I needed, I bought the CD of the Genealogical Dictionaries of New England & Rhode Island (Savage & Austin) instead and have searched Google Books for treasures like the Chesebrough genealogy too.
One of my ancestors, Thomas Minor, kept a journal [The Diary of Thomas Minor 1653-1684] of daily life in Connecticut and it is considered primary source material. I think that's very cool but it's hard to read due to the creative spelling and abbreviations of the era.
One of my ancestors, Thomas Minor, kept a journal [The Diary of Thomas Minor 1653-1684] of daily life in Connecticut and it is considered primary source material. I think that's very cool but it's hard to read due to the creative spelling and abbreviations of the era.
- How to Do Everything with your Genealogy by George G. Morgan is one of the best beginner genealogy books I have owned because it is not really for beginners. It's a must have...
- Preserving Your Family Photographs by Maureen Taylor (my friend) is something everyone who is lucky enough to have family photos to cherish should read.
- A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries by David Lambert (who tells me a new edition will be out soon)
- AGS (Association of Gravestone Studies) Field Guides are a series of pamphlets for those of us working with gravestones and cemeteries.
- A Graveyard Preservation Primer by Lynette Strangstad is a small book but the definitive reference for preservation and conservation of graveyards
- Researching your Colonial New England Ancestors by Patricia Law Hatcher
- Your Guide to Cemetery Research by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack
- Old Homes of Stonington by Grace Denison Wheeler (as discussed in this blog post)
- The Denison Genealogy (both versions) as I am assistant Denison genealogist and have five lines to Cap't George Denison of Connecticut. [Also, the genealogy of Thomas Stanton]
- The History of Stonington, Connecticut by Richard Anson Wheeler (the best $125 I ever spent as it may not be completely accurate but I don't know how any book like this was created before computers)
Monday, September 08, 2008
Seashell Seashore Summer
I'm back from vacation at Cape Cod. Weather was not as perfect as usual but not awful either. I resisted the Cape cemeteries as I did take some photos last year and haven't even transcribed them or done the research. (Wow!)
My parents both loved the beach. I still walk up and down picking up seashells and small pebbles. I have set aside a few to put at their gravestone when I visit again.
Sadly, summer is over, I guess.
My parents both loved the beach. I still walk up and down picking up seashells and small pebbles. I have set aside a few to put at their gravestone when I visit again.
Sadly, summer is over, I guess.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Frederick DENISON [Sr.]
Frederick DENISON youngest child of Capt. Daniel DENISON and his wife Esther WHEELER was born 23 Sept 1762 and died 4 September 1832.
He married Hannah FISH, 19 August 1789 in Groton. They were the parents of 11 children.
The next gravestone to the left is Hannah FISH, his wife.
Source:
Denison Genealogy #512 p. 19, 43
He married Hannah FISH, 19 August 1789 in Groton. They were the parents of 11 children.
The next gravestone to the left is Hannah FISH, his wife.
Source:
Denison Genealogy #512 p. 19, 43
Learning Footnote
Yesterday, I began to work on the proofs that I will need to prove that my ancestor, Isaac Denison, served in the American Revolution. To do this I needed to spend some quiet time working with Footnote.com where I have a paid, premium subscription.
I found, a few months back, that the book [yes, that's right, a book in print] transcribed the name of my ancestor incorrectly. They list his name as Israel. The material for that book which is called, Connecticut Men in the Revolution, was taken from the images of the handwritten rolls of Revolutionary service records. It did not make sense to me that my direct line ancestor did not serve some time when Grace Denison Wheeler's book lists his service as opening his home in Mystic to the needs of the Revolutionary War men in the area. In the attic of the old Homestead, a cloak was found that is of the right era that was marked as belonging to him.
I learned to read the Revolutionary War Service Records and when I found the right regiment and year, I discovered that I could do a one-to-one correspondence with the names. Footnote has annotated the names, which makes the task easier. Of course, I must print out this information to send to the DAR so I will have to make sure that it is clearly visible to them.
The Footnote blog had a blog entry on how you can put images from these rolls to your Web site or blog so following the information given, I tried it. See my next post down for the clearly visible name.
I found, a few months back, that the book [yes, that's right, a book in print] transcribed the name of my ancestor incorrectly. They list his name as Israel. The material for that book which is called, Connecticut Men in the Revolution, was taken from the images of the handwritten rolls of Revolutionary service records. It did not make sense to me that my direct line ancestor did not serve some time when Grace Denison Wheeler's book lists his service as opening his home in Mystic to the needs of the Revolutionary War men in the area. In the attic of the old Homestead, a cloak was found that is of the right era that was marked as belonging to him.
I learned to read the Revolutionary War Service Records and when I found the right regiment and year, I discovered that I could do a one-to-one correspondence with the names. Footnote has annotated the names, which makes the task easier. Of course, I must print out this information to send to the DAR so I will have to make sure that it is clearly visible to them.
The Footnote blog had a blog entry on how you can put images from these rolls to your Web site or blog so following the information given, I tried it. See my next post down for the clearly visible name.
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