House on Parmenter Road

Photo by Midge Frazel, 15 Oct 2013

Ancestor's Home, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Amos Parmenter & wife Mercy Wood

Diane and I thought it might be fun to take a ride down Parmenter Road (in Framingham) and while we were driving slowly on this very windy road, she reminded me that there was mention of a house on this road in the Parmenter genealogy.

I was reaching for my notebook when we saw this house. Because it had a plaque on it I was pretty sure that this is the one mentioned. Steve pulled into the driveway but stayed at the end while I grabbed my camera and Diane and I got out of the car. I framed the house with the stone wall and snapped this shot. It was such a New England looking scene. It is what we all dream of when we think of how our ancestors lived.

Honestly, I expected to see Amos or his wife Mercy any minute. It was one of those odd psychic moments. I stood still for a few seconds. Since this couple was one of hubs 5th great grandparents, it was highly unlikely, but New England descendants feel very close to the land where their people lived. 

Not seeing a house number, I took a photo of the mailbox which reads, 15 Parmenter Road. (I won't show that here even though it did not have any present owner's name on it.). 

Using my telephoto zoom on my camera, I was sure I got a clear enough photo of the plaque. Upon arriving home, I used software to get close enough view to read the plaque. It was placed on this house by the Framingham Historical Society. Circa 1713 does seem to fit since many men built a house just before they married. Amos and Mercy married on 21 Dec 1715.

Photo by Midge Frazel, 15 Oct 2013

Amos Parmenter (Parmenter genealogy #86, pps. 20-21) Information given was by a descendant but doesn't list a death date for Amos. I will continue to search for more information. Their son Joshua is hubs descendant. 

Trip Down Parmenter Road

Family History Trippin'
(Thomas MacEntee's Book)

Photo by DMB, used with permission

The information presented in Thomas's book about preparing for a family history research trip gave me the idea about locating a present day map of the area. It paid off. I would not have noticed this road as it is set in from another road. As Steve drove, Diane and I were looking at the GPS on our phones to see where the intersection of the roads led us. He opened the window and she took this snap of the granite town marker (for Framingham) and the street sign.

I am going to write a short review of Thomas's ebook later this week. It really gave me focus for this local adventure. 

Researching Adventure

Outside Library, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

This past Tuesday (15 Oct 2013), fellow geneablogger, Diane M. Boumenot, (One Rhode Island Family) who is a Parmenter descendant, like hubs, came to our house and we had a mini adventure going to the library in Sudbury, called the Goodnow Library. In their historical room, they have the only copy of the Parmenter genealogy that we can find. We spent a pleasant two hours working with it and the bound copies of the Sudbury and Framinham Vital Records. Since I can come to this interesting library at any time, I let her work on what pages she wanted and I focused on a silver book about Mayflower passenger George Soule since hubs and I are both Soule descendants.

It was then that I noticed the Goodnow book section and photographed it for a future visit. There was a bound copy of the Goodnow genealogy as well as the Goodnow family newsletters, amusingly called "Goodenow's Ghosts". [Goodnenow Family Association Web site] Since those are online, I didn't pull them down to look at. It pays to investigate everything you can that is online before going to a historical society or library.  Hubs took several photos of us, like the one above, so we can remember our adventure and share it with our readers and our Facebook community.

Before she arrived, I plotted a course "through the wilderness" so that she could see that we weren't going very far from the library since she had to get back through Providence, RI before the massive traffic. She is employed and took a vacation day to drive up and check out our area. Just by luck, I noticed that near the Wayside Inn, there was a Parmenter Road and we decided to drive there and check it out. Am I glad we did....

[adventure  posts to be continued...]

Parmenter

Parmenter, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Parmenter Monument at Evergreen Cemetery 

 

I will return to working on the gravestones in the Evergreen Cemetery that are of the surname Parmenter when I can get back to the Goodnow Library in Sudbury to look up the other name in the Parmenter genealogy.

Stay tuned....

Parmenter Children Verse

Parmenter Children Verse, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

This the the verse for Althea and Ezekiel Parmenter's gravestone.

"Sweet babes no more, but seraphs now.
Before the Throne, behold them bow.
Their souls enlarged to Angel's size,
Join in the praises of the skies."

Parmenter Children

Parementer Children, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

 Siblings: Althea and Ezekiel Sidney Parmenter 

 

This is the double grave of two of Ezekiel and Keziah (Parmenter) Parmenter's children who died very young.

Sometimes small children's birth records are hard to find especially if they were not given a first name right away. Althea has a death record and it is indicated that she is buried in this cemetery, which at that time was the Wilson St. cemetery in Marlborough. (GR#5)

Ezekiel Sidney Parmenter was the last child born to this couple and he also has just a death record which indicates this cemetery. Since twenty years passed between the death dates of these siblings, this stone was probably put here in 1823. 

These are in this family to be buried in the Evergreen Cemetery. There were many other children born to Ezekiel and Keziah but they lived to adulthood and are buried elsewhere.

Beloved Daughter, pleasant Child

Beloved Daughter, pleasant Child, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

The verse at the bottom of Emeline's gravestone reads:

Beloved Daughter, pleasant Child,/ Inoffensive, virtuous, mild;/ For Earth too good, to Heaven has flown,/ And left her Friends, their loss to mourn.

Emeline PARMENTER

Emeline PARMENTER, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Emeline Parmenter

Buried in the Wilson St. older section of Evergreen Cemetery is the grave of Emeline Parmenter, another daughter of Ezekiel and Kezia Parmenter.

In memory of/ Emeline./Daughter of Ezekiel &/Kezia Parmenter,/ who died/July 13, 1834./AEt 23 yrs. 11 mos,/ and 27 days. She was called "Emily".

Location of Gravestone

Ezra Parmenter [Arrow], a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Locating Ezra Parmenter's gravestone

The location of a gravestone in a area of family is important. This is what is difficult to judge when you are looking at gravestones online taken by volunteers.

Standing behind the first row of gravestone near the Parmenter monument, I took this photo of the location of Ezra and Susannah's gravestone (and those next to it).

Because many women have their maiden names on their gravestones or their married name, it may not be obvious to be able to find all the family members.

Tombstone Tuesday: Ezra PARMENTER

Ezra PARMENTER, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Ezra Parmenter was one of my husband's third great grandparents. 
 

Buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Marlborough, MA, this Ezra PARMENTER and his wife Susanna BROWN. [photo by Emily Brady of Marlborough. Used with permission]

As you can see here, Susanna shares a gravestone with her husband and is listed as Susan. Her maiden name is BROWN as you can see by the marriage record listed below.

The Vital Records of Framingham, MA list Ezra's birth as:
PERMENTER: Ezra, s. of Joshua and Pearsis, Jan. 31, 1767. Framingham
Listed in Sudbury, MA, the Vital Records of Sudbury list his marriage as:
PARMENTER: Ezra and Susanna Brown of Sudbury, Aug. 11, 1791. In Sudbury.
 The Vital Records of Framingham, MA list his death as:
PARMENTER: Ezra, Nov. 30, 1834. Framingham

As great as the vital records are in Massachusetts, family name spelling can really confuse things. Notice that his birth is recorded as PERMENTER, his parents as Joshua and Pearis (her name was probably Persis) and his year of death as 1834 not 1833 as listed on the gravestone.

I think this gravestone was erected at a later date, don't you?