Never Heard From Again

I didn't purposefully leave this gravestone until last but wouldn't you know that this is the one that a reader emails me about! I would not have thought that this would be the man who left descendants who were interested in their family history!

Capt. Charles H. Gates's family has photos AND a family Bible to share information with me. It is hard to contain my interest and excitement. But, it is summer's end and this project will take some time to work on, so this series on Sea Captain's will not be over with just this summer of 2013. Instead of waiting until we long for the ocean again, I will blog about this as he and I uncover new information.

It will be a lovely winter investigation. So, stay tuned. Sadly, this father and son will never be buried here but we will remember them.

I have enjoyed writing about the men who went to sea and the women and children who were left behind. I hope you enjoyed it too.

Back to the Problem: RI State Census

Defining the Problem

Imagine this scenario. You are a Civil War hero and you return home to marry the woman you love. On 14 March 1865 you marry her and on 2 April 1866, you welcome your first son, James Frederick Barber. Six more sons quickly follow: Albert (1868), Howard (1870), Elmer (1873), Raymond (1875), Herman (1876) and William (1879). 

Suddenly, your wife dies (1881) (possibly in childbirth) leaving you with all these boys! Your mother is dead and your father remarried a long time ago and raised you, your sister and ten more children of their own. Your father is 66 and still a farmer. You don't want to be a farmer and have started a harvesting seaweed business [1880 census: boatman]. You can't be on a boat and still take care of children. 

Then, thirteen year old Albert dies (1882). Your oldest son, James Frederick Barber is a servant in Capt. Palmer Hall's household across town "at India Point". He want to be a barber not a boatman or farmer. (Doesn't this sound like it could happen today?)

The 1880 census for James Frederick Barber's family is multi-generation. Grandfather Matthew is 65, and his second wife Rhoda is 61. Oldest unmarried son, Ellery is 34. He marries Fannie Emeline HALL (yes, a Hall) in 1888 after his father dies. 

Brother Charles is 23 and the youngest child of Matthew and Rhoda is 20 and listed as Matthew S. Barber. (We call him Junior.)

There is a Benjamin Barber listed at 23 as a son is not found in any other census and I suspect is a nephew. He's not buried in River Bend that I can find or is listed in the River Bend Cemetery Book.

Daughter Agnes has married her (first) husband Stanton Thompson and they live in the household with their 7 year old daughter Grace. Daughter Phebe Eliza is also living with them with her husband Benjamin Maryott and their two children Eliza (5) and Lewis (3). It is a full house as you can imagine.

The 1885 Rhode Island census lists each member of a household separately. Young children are not always enumerated. But, I am sure that James Frederick Barber is never part of his father's extended household again.

He's listed as Frederick, in the 1885 Rhode Island census and I would not be surprised if he is still living with Capt. Palmer Hall.

More research needs to be done but at least I have a better understanding and feeling about him living in Capt. Palmer Hall's spacious home!

A reader suggested that he may have been an assistant to Capt. Hall working the animals, tending the boats and keeping the grounds. Maybe he even cut Capt. Hall's hair?

Hall family Relationship Chart

Relationship Charts can help you think more clearly about complicated or distant ancestors. A long time ago, I researched my Hall family back from the mother of James Albert Barber, Phebe Eliza Hall. I was lucky, there are some vital records, graveyard records and known women's maiden surnames that helped me out. 

But, I wondered about the larger overall picture of the Hall family of Portsmouth and Westerly, RI in relationship to Phebe's descendents. It had taken a lot of work to find out more about Sarah Babcock who married James Hall to be able to get the middle generations in between Henry Hall, Jr, son of Hennery Hall, Sr., the immigrant ancestor that they had in common.

This will need a lot of work as yet, but at least I have some idea if Capt. Palmer Hall may have known that Phebe Eliza Hall, about 10 years younger than himself, was a member of his extended Hall family.

In the 1880 census for Westerly, RI, Capt. Palmer Hall has James Frederick Barber, living as a "servant". 

Tombstone Tuesday: Carolyn Langdon

Nancy Bowler Smith Hall, mother of Harriet, grandmother of Carolyn, (Bowler Genealogy)

Photo by Brian Zoldak, 2013, used with permission

Pickering/ Carolyn B. [Belle] Langdon,/ wife of J. Winslow Pickering,/ grandaughter of Nancy Bowler Hall/ Aug. 25, 1863- June 27, 1946 (River Bend Cemetery, Westerly, RI.)

The wedding at India Point of Carolyn to J. Winslow Pickering "was very simple, amidst the surrounding of the old family homestead" (Bowler genealogy) and took place on 22 June 1886. But, it is described as high society weddings are right down to the flower arrangements, the ribbon decorations created by the bride and names two officiating clergy. I am imagine the guests, drinks in hand, strolling the grounds or sitting on the lovely porch looking out to sea.

Carolyn was educated at "the Buffalo Academy" and met J. Winslow Pickering out West. They had two sons, Nelson Winslow Pickering and Langdon Pickering. The man who is a descendant mentions Nelson Pickering as his grandfather. He tells me that Carolyn sold it to another family whose wife hated the water and she planted vegetation to hid it. They tired of it and sold it back to Nelson Pickering and then it was in the family again.

There is still so much to know about this "House at India Point" but I will leave you to think about summer days, sailing vessels and house lotteries for now.

But, wait, I am still trying to solve the original research question! Why was my great grandfather living in the house? 

India Point in Lotteryville

"Four Papers" of the Westerly Historical Society found at Ancestry.com
link below

India Point in Lotteryville

For several weeks, I have been researching Capt. Lyman Hall and his son Palmer and you would not believe how much I have found considering that both men's names went searched for, yield results about "places" named Hall. Capt. Lyman Hall's pension record contains more genealogical information than I was expecting. (Fold3)

So, I turned to Frederic Denison's Westerly & Its Witnesses and learned that it was a land lottery and not a "gambling" lottery. Rev. Denison, being a Baptist clergyman, made that very clear in the text by stating, "Thus the place derived its singular and unfortunate name, --the evil of lotteries not then being comprehended as at present." [p. 186]

Col. (Capt.) Joseph Pendleton lost his brigantine vessel, with a heavy cargo of rum and molasses (in about 1749-1750) and since he had no insurance, couldn't pay his debts, The RI General Assembly made up a grant to sell off, in 126 house lots, his land reserving a small farm for himself. The money earned from the sale of the land, allowed him to pay up his creditors and to buy him a new vessel.

In the northeast point of land, Capt. Lyman Hall, a Revolutionary War veteran, made his home (abt 1787). According to the family that recently sold it, Capt. Palmer Hall, son of Capt. Lyman Hall called it "India Point" because directly beneath his feet in the house was straight down to India. (I love family history tales.)

Capt. Lyman Hall, was a tall and strong man and sailed to the East Indies as a young man, and he asked the captain of the vessel for better conditions for the crew. He lifted a cannon from the vessel and moved it and told the captain that if three men could not move it back he would "withdraw" his appeal. They couldn't do it, so more food and better conditions were won. (Old Time Lotteryville chapter, p. 7-9 in the "Four Papers" manuscript linked below.)

Nine of the house lots were built upon by captains of whaling ships and one was Capt. Lyman Hall. The house was torn down by his son, Capt. Palmer Hall and rebuilt about 1837. (The Bowler genealogy gives us this photo.) I love the turrent tower which is no longer there.

I immediately went looking, via Google Maps for this point of land (10 India Point, Westerly, RI) was was rewarded with a recently sold presentation by a real estate agent in the Westerly area. She put me in touch with the man who sold it and he is going to tell me more when he and his wife are settled in a new home.) It still amazes me how quickly these events did unfold.
From Lori Joyal, that real estate agent,comes this must-watch video presentation. It is an 8 bedroom, 4 and 1.2 bathroom house presented by Lila Delman Real Estate, 52 Bay St. Westerly, RI. Thank you for sharing it with me and for allowing me to use it in my blog.

copyright Lila Delman Real Estate

I want you to remember that for a period of time, my great grandfather was a servant in this amazing house!

Ancestry.com. Four papers delivered before the Westerly Historical Society of Westerly, Rhode Island : during the years 1915, 1916, and a lis [database on-line]. Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.
Original data: Four papers delivered before the Westerly Historical Society of Westerly, Rhode Island : during the years 1915, 1916, and a list of the members.. Westerly, R.I.: Utter Co., printers, 1916.

Sea Captain's Lambs

Photo by Brian Zoldak, 2013, used with permission

Photo by Brian Zoldak, 2013, used with permission

Recording the Lost Sheep of Infancy

Even the smallest gravestone can bring significant information to the study of a family.

Little Nathan and Sarah Hall, children of  Capt. Palmer  Hall and his first wife Mary Ann DUNBAR are adorned with the tiny lamb on the top which is a classic gravestone for the period. When you approach these baby gravestones, you must remember the heartache of the loss by the parents. Many do not have as much information on them as these do. I am writing a presentation called "Comfortable Silence" about cemetery research and stones like these will be part of that talk. 

Their dated birth and death places can tell us where a family was living at that moment in time. As Capt. Palmer Hall may have been at sea for these events of birth and death, it is important to remember the place little children have in a family.

These siblings are very close in age. Calculating from the dates of death and years/months attained, he was born in February of 1850 and she in December of 1850. The 1850 census record list a very large household for this family (not a surprise from looking at the house itself) and as it was 1 July 1850, Nathan (as 5/12 months) is listed but Sarah is not. With closer examination, I discovered that grandmother, Phebe (Palmer) Hall, wife of Lyman is living with them as a widow. 

I love the 1850 census with all the people listed. This one makes me want to dig more into this family!

Second Sea Captain's wife: Nancy Bowler

Photo by Brian Zoldak, 2013, used with permission

Nancy B.  BOWLER

Bowler Genealogy found at Archive.org, (out of copyright)

Second wives are always interesting and there certainly have been enough of them in my family who have played a large part in the family history picture.

Nancy's is a long story! She was married to William Smith before she married Capt. Palmer Hall and had two children (Harriet and Albert) by him. She was born in New York but moved to Ohio with her parents and married him there. After William died in a railroad accident, she married at her daughter Harriet's home in Buffalo, NY, Capt. Hall. Harriet was the wife of George Langdon. Harriet must have liked her new step-father because she named her last living child, Palmer Hall Langdon. 

It states in the Bowler genealogy, that Nancy's marriage (in 1865) to Capt. Palmer Hall was "unusually happy" and that they led a busy life of social parties at India Point and that they traveled a lot. (I have found India Point. It is amazing.)

In 1904, the genealogy states that Nancy's daughter, Harriet Smith Langdon lived in the house on India Point.  She died in Illinois in 1916. The house "at India Point" then inherited by Harriet's daughter Carolyn Belle Langdon.

The son Albert, never married and was interesting in all "sporting matters", traveled abroad and went to the California gold fields!

The Bowler genealogy gives us a good description of Nancy's character and temperament which is quite rare in these complied genealogies of the time period. It is do interesting that it kept me going to find out more!

Tombstone Tuesday: Capt. Palmer Hall's Monument

Photo by Brian Zoldak, 2013, used with permission

Tombstone Tuesday: Capt. Palmer Hall

Born at India Point in Westerly, RI, [Bowler genealogy] on 11 Nov 1810 [NEHGS: RI Vital Records Vol. 4 : Pg. 115] to Lyman Hall and his second wife Phebe Palmer. 

Sadly, a previous child name Palmer Hall was born and died before him but I guess Phebe was determined to have her maiden surname used for one of her children and this was her last chance since she was 44 years old at the time of Capt. Palmer Hall's birth.

The real estate listing for Palmer Hall, dated 1837, lists him as the person living in the house at age 27. 

Brian Zoldak, photographed this monument and added it to Find a Grave as well as giving me permission to blog about it.

Of course, the anchor tells us he was a sea captain. The census records consistently tell us about his occupation as a mariner.

Sometimes, the interesting information comes from the wives of a man and that's just where the story leads.

Palmer Hall, married first, Mary Ann Dunbar (1815-1864) and her name is one side of the plaque of the monument. 

Photo by Brian Zoldak, 2013, used with permission

They had four children. Two are buried nearby and two lived to adulthood. I can't find a marriage record for Palmer and Nancy but they could have married in nearby Connecticut and not in Rhode Island. This was supposed to say, Mary Ann and Palmer Hall's marriage date

But, Palmer Hall's second wife was Nancy Bowler and I know you are not surprised by that since I keep referencing the Bowler genealogy! 

Making the Most of Summer

Sailing Away!, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Summer's Heat

Here in New England, weather is always a topic of conversation and certainly those past, present and future who make their living from the sea are no exception. My ancestors in New England experienced several hurricanes starting with the very early settlers.

An interesting article at Wikipedia lists many and you might be surprised at the years. My great grandfather's teenage newspaper clipping reports on a ship where he was mate. That was 1787!

I am transcribing that article and it is slow going because I can't seem to find the source of the clipping but I think it was from a local Mystic, CT newspaper. 

I am taking this upcoming week off to work on that article and to work on the fascinating story of Capt. Palmer Hall. Granite-in-MY-Blood will be on vacation from 7/28 to 8/6. It's a working vacation!

Adventure with the Sea Captain

Capt. Palmer Hall from the Bowler Genealogy  p. 83 (out of Copyright)

Adventure with the Sea Captain
Summer of the Sea Captains

This summer didn't start out to be about sea captains. It started out with a research problem I have. To solve my problem I am convinced that I have to know more about my Hall family because this surname (from Rhode Island) keeps surfacing and isn't directly solvable with vital records. It goes around and around like the Flying Horse Carousel at the Watch Hill beach. My head is spinning.

My maternal great grandfather, alive in my lifetime, (shown in this photo at my parents wedding in Dec 1946, third from left) mysteriously lived with Capt. Palmer Hall and his 2nd wife Nancy Bowler plus another woman (who I expect was a housekeeper). He's 14 years old in this 1880 census and a SERVANT in this household. I wasn't convinced it was him for years and years. But, now I have more sources to work with and  I am better at searching for the right information. A few months ago, I decided to work that census record and figure out if Capt. Hall is part of my family.

You know how it goes, I found a tree at Ancestry.com with the above photo in it (with no attached source). I left a message for the tree owner and oh, so, ever patiently waited. During this time, I decided that because Capt. Hall's mother was a Palmer, that this was going to somehow fit into my tree so that I could figure it out. It meant that I also had to find out how my existing Hall line fit into the genealogical puzzle since it meant I had to investigate all the early Hall men in that line (again!)

The 1940 census tells me that great grandpa Barber completed the 8th grade. So, that would be about 1879. I also know that his mother, Hannah Josephine Tourgee Barber, died in 1881, leaving her husband, the Civil War Hero and mariner, James Albert Barber  with seven sons. One is an infant (born in 1879) and one dies in 1882. I have new evidence that tells me that James Albert Barber's step-mother must have rushed in to help out as I expected. She already had her hands full with a bunch of kids of her own. Yikes.

If this is correct then I can see why my great grandfather went to work and found a place to live. He was the oldest. Capt. Palmer Hall and James Albert Barber must have known each other. They shared a love of the sea and life-long ties to Westerly, Rhode Island. James's mother, Phebe Eliza Hall was the line I'd already worked on. Everybody in Westerly knows each other.

Finally, the person with his photo told me he got it "from the Bowler genealogy".  Ah, the second wife of Capt. Hall. I located it easily at Archive.org. That's when it got interesting but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's go back to the graveyard and do our research.

The Bowler Genealogy at Archive.org

Sailing Away!

Sailing Away!, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Sailing Away for a Few Days

While Granite in my Blood is on vacation this upcoming week, you can think about me "sailing away on a journey". 

OK, so this is a plastic boat on a journal, but you get the idea. The boat is for the grandsons wading pool. 

See you after July 21. On that day, my late father would have turned 96 years. I try every year to take that day off and after that I will be back....

Happy Birthday, Capt. Jim

Photo of this postcard was given to me but I don't own the original.

Happy 173rd Birthday!

My second great grandfather was born on 11 July 1840 and I'd like to remember his birthday with this photo of the Watch Hill Light in Westerly, RI that he mailed in 1906. They called him Capt. Jim because of his love of the sea and he could be found in his boat called the Triumph gathering seaweed for manure. 

Although he was not a sea captain, he is pivotal in the "Summer of the Sea Captains" because his family is the reason I decided to blog about this for my summer postings.

(I recently have new information about his son who mysteriously lived with Sea Captain: Capt. Palmer Hall of Westerly) 

One of his diaries during the Civil War is held in the Special Collections at the Providence Public Library. It is transcribed here.

Very little of it is personal information but it is very valuable for the dates and places he was during the War.  But, today, I would like you to see what he wrote on his 22nd birthday. 

Friday July 11th 1862

The weather is pleasent [pleasant] and this is my bearth day [birthday]  the 22d one that ive [I’ve] seen and it is pleas [pleasant] day to me the birds are singing sweet and gay every thing is quiet here we have no news from the enemy.

The Cabinet Maker and the Sea Captain

Photo by Brian Zoldak, 2013, used with permission

The Cabinet Maker and the Sea Captain

Sea Captain's Row Gravel St., Mystic, CT

Photo by Brian Zoldak, 2013, used with permisson

I would not have expected to discover two people that I have been researching to have lived in the same house! They were not closely related and did not have the same occupation. I am still blown away by the coincidence. (They are both Denison descendants.)

My friend, Brian Zoldak, took these excellent photos for me on his recent adventure to Mystic. I love how the house is all decked out with red, white and blue. Since I just wrote about the sea captain, Gurdon Gates, I think it appropriate for me to take this opportunity to show your Daniel Edgecomb's gravestone for the next Tombstone Tuesday. I love the overcast sky to represent the not so smooth sailing of sea captains. You must also remember that Daniel made coffins in his basement. It doesn't get gloomier that that!

Brian took several great photos of the houses on this street. Many fit into my family tree. Maybe it is not as fun as gravestones but for those readers who have never been to New England, it is with delight that I plan to show you all of them (eventually). 

Anchor and Spyglass

Cap't Sylvester KEENEY, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Capt. Sylvester Keeney
and wife Phebe Ann Coffin

Summer of the Sea Captains

Not to be missed is this lovely gravestone from Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic, CT.

Not any member of my family, this eye-catching gravestone features the anchor and an upraised hand holding a telescope, I think. I really wonder who he was....

His wife outlived him by so long, I guess the family did not opt for the "Civil War" era lettering and took advantage of the large space at the bottom for her name, dates and relationship.

The Sea Captain's Sons

sons of Gurdon GATES, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

The Sea Captain's Sons

Summer of the Sea Captains
"They will bloom in a field of light"

Capt. Gurdon Gates had a number of children but this gravestone is of significance since the sons who are listed here have different mothers. 

As you read in a previous post, Ester D. Miner Gates died leaving behind her young son. He followed (sadly) in his father's footsteps and went to sea. The History of New London County (p. 480) lists this son as lost off Cape Horn in a storm when he was 19 years old. Since this gravestone states "died at sea" and confirms this, he is not buried here.

Joseph Phelps Gates son of Capt. Gates and his second wife Martha Phelps Gates, died at the age of 5 years and 2 months. He is probably buried here and Capt. Gates probably decided to list his lost sons together.

Tombstone Tuesday: Esther D. MINER

Esther D. MINER, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Esther D. MINER

"Summer of the Sea Captains"
first wife of Capt. Gurdon GATES
"Devoted wife & mother. We loved her"

Esther D. MINER, first wife of Capt. Gurdon Gates was the daughter of Isaac Denison MINER and his wife Esther DENISON, who are buried at Elm Grove Cemetery in nearby Mystic, CT. Her mother was the daughter of Isaac Denison, Sr. and his wife Eunice Williams, who were my fourth great grandparents. 

Esther was born 22 Feb 1821 and was married to Capt. Gurdon Gates when she was eighteen years old by Rev. Erastus Denison. on 13 June 1839 (Barbour Index for Stonington, 5:76). The 1850 census for Gurdon and Esther is the only one in which she is named. In addition to her husband, Gurdon, listed as a "sailor", her unmarried sister Eunice (transcribed as "Bunion Miner") and a 14 year old male child named Gurdon Niles lived in the household. There is a woman who is 21 who might be a housekeeper or nanny for Gurdon and Esther, only child, Henry who is ten years old. His full name is William Henry Gates.

This is significant because Esther dies at the age of 31 years leaving behind her son who was only 12 years old. 

Capt. Gates marries his second wife Martha PHELPS in 1853, so she, as a second "sea captain's wife", becomes William Henry Gates' step-mother. Of course, Martha and Gurdon begin to have more children and the story continues....

Foggy Day

Mystic Seaport (2004), a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Fog Ahead

Sometimes I take the chance that a photo will come out clearly enough to be used as a "mood" photo.

This is one of those photos. Fog can be very dangerous to those who sail. I found a blog about the ship Morgan.

Make no mistake. Sailing is dangerous business...

Martha PHELPS

Martha PHELPS, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Martha A. PHELPS

Wife of Sea Captain Gurdon Gates
"Our Dear Mother"

Martha, daughter of Jonathan PHELPS and his wife Nancy BROWN has this lovely flower on her gravestone. It could be a pitcher plant or a morning glory. I looked up both flowers and there are a lot of varieties of each. Generally, flowers on gravestones are a symbol of love lost since flowers are glorious for only a short time. Martha lived to be only 55. 

Martha was Capt. Gurdon Gates second wife and the mother of all but one of Capt. Gates's children. I have identified 7 children born to this couple. She was the mother of Nathan Stanton Gates, whose wife was Ann Borodell Denison, founder of the Denison Society and lived in the Denison Homestead.

Tombstone Tuesday: Capt. GURDON GATES

Capt. GURDON GATES, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Cap't Gurdon Gates
(1814-1892)
Summer of the Sea Captains
Clipper Ship Twilight

Hurd's History of New London County, p. 480 (out of copyright)

http://mystichistory.org/digital_publications/tour_gravel_street.pdf

Capt. Gurdon Gates was the brother of our previous sea captain, Capt. George Washington Gates. His parents, Zebediah Gates and Mercy Denison are also buried in this "Fishtown" or Lower Mystic Cemetery in West Mystic, CT. He and his second wife wife, Martha Phelps are delightfully photographed here.

Amazingly, Gurdon bought a house once owned by Daniel Denison Edgecomb, cabinet and coffin-maker, whose "cherry sewing table" is in my possession. This house is on Sea Captain's Walk, which is Gravel Street in Mystic, CT. It is a wonderful house, isn't it? [Notice that the text under each photo is linked.]

I will leave you to look at this listing for Capt. Gates rather than repeat the information so that you get an idea of what a county history is like. I quickly became entranced with this man despite his rather plain gravestone.

Hurd's History of New London County, p. 480 (out of copyright)

Boys and Boats

Mystic Seaport (2004), a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Boys and Boats

One of the first toys I bought for my older grandson was a plastic boat to zoom around in the bathtub or pool. I think that my younger grandson will need one too so I will be going out to buy one soon.

My younger grandson was impressed that my husband owned a canoe. My son-in-law came over to help us put the canoe in an overhanging garage contraption so that my hubs can lower it onto the roof of the car and go fishing. Anthony was so excited that he came and got me to show me the canoe. "Grandpa's gots a boat", he said to me, like I didn't live here and didn't see it everyday. Toddlers can be so funny.

Working with some of these sea captains, mariners and boat builders has made me think about how much men like boats in general. I have more ancestors that liked boats than I realized even in 2004 when I took this photo.