COVER PROVIDED
by Cape Cod Regional Tech Printers
Volume 5, No. 2
Fall 2015
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Cover Note by H. Morse Payne
Seven families from the original Plimoth Colony are known in Cape Cod history
as the Nauset “First Comers” comprising some fifty individuals, all settling at
Nauset in 1644. The existing town line of Eastham and Wellfleet (originally known
as Billinsgate without the first “g”) is the original line from Billingsgate Island to
Hatch’s Creek continuing on a straight line to the sea (Nauset Beach). The other
reference point –“Namskaket” – is today the creek at Cape Cod Bay beginning at
the town line of Orleans and Brewster, just south of Rock Harbor. These two
references formed the fundamental distance from the north to the south of what we
know as the Town of Eastham, with only a very small portion of land in Orleans.
Using the foregoing reference points of the land “lying from sea to sea across the
neck of land,” a simple division of the longer distance (north/south) divided into
seven equal distances from the Billingsgate line to Namskaket Point reveals an
exact layout of the original seven families’ lot lines. A system of order lay over all
the lands of Cape Cod, providing a basic logic for the placement of almost all the
original town lines. The system was based on three basic points of overall
importance.
First: The original town line of Yarmouth and Nauset (today’s existing Brewster
and Dennis town line) extended out into Cape Cod Bay in a continuous line to
Provincetown – more exactly, to Race Point. Remarkably, this line was exactly on
magnetic north.
Second: A line from Race Point to Plymouth, more exactly to “Gurnet Point,”
proves to be at a right angle to the first mentioned Yarmouth town line to Race
Point.
Third: The original town line of Eastham-Wellfleet (the Billingsgate line) and
the town line of Wellfleet and Truro were also at right angles to the first-mentioned
Yarmouth town line to Race Point. The principal town lines of Yarmouth,
Barnstable, and Sandwich, if extended out into Cape Cod Bay, all converged at a
common point in the middle of Cape Cod Bay.
This point is located on the line to magnetic north from the Yarmouth town line
to Race Point – and, remarkably, also the town line of Wellfleet and Truro extended
westward into the Bay to the same point. Still more remarkable – each of these lines
formed pie-shaped segments, all of equal angles, approximately 22.5 degrees. The
west line of Sandwich begins with a similar point on the beach, and this also forms
the same angle. However, the Sandwich line travels erratically, providing the
Plymouth coast access to the south side of the Cape, Falmouth and the “Aptuxet
Trading Post.”
The cover design for the Journal is based on this theory. The recreation of this
map and the rediscovery of the ancient boundary stones is also the subject of the
Cornerstone Project on Cape Cod.
JOURNAL STAFF
OFFICERS 2015-2016
EDITOR
L. Ray Sears, III
[email protected]
President:
Joan Frederici
[email protected]
EDITOR EMERITUS
John Warwick Bower
Vice-President:
Suzanne Benoit
[email protected]
PUBLICATION COMMITTEE
Eleanor D. Darby
Bill Horrocks
Bernice D. Latham
Debra Lawless
David S. Martin
Dorothy Robinson
Wayne Van Buren
Robert Ward
Carolyn Weiss
Mailing: George and Margo
Lewis
Corresponding Secretary:
Melvina Brock
[email protected]
Recording Secretary:
Ellen Geanacopoulos
[email protected]
Treasurer:
Wayne VanBuren
[email protected]
Past President: David Martin
Mission
The mission of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society is to promote
research and education in genealogy and history; to acquire, catalog and
preserve genealogical and historical information emphasizing but not
limited to Cape Cod; and to disseminate genealogical and historical
information by various means.
The Cape Cod Genealogical Society, Inc. was founded on 21 August
1971 and formalized by the adoption of by-laws and the election of officers
on 16 March 1972.
Membership is open to all who have an interest in genealogy, and in
particular of the Cape Cod area, whether or not they can attend the meetings
of the Society. Please write to the membership chairman (address on next
page) for a membership application.
The Society’s genealogical book collection is listed on our website at
http://www.CapeCodGenSoc.org. The genealogy room is available for
research and assistance at the Dennis Public Library, 5 Hall Street, Dennis
Port, Massachusetts.
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http://www.CapeCodGenSoc.org
Table of Contents
President’s Message by Joan Frederici ............................................................................... 163
Journal Themes for 2016 ..................................................................................................... 164
Webinars at Legacy Family Tree by Carolyn Weiss ............................................................ 165
Mass. Moment - Maria Mitchell .......................................................................................... 166
Microfilms From Salt Lake City.......................................................................................... 168
Put Your Data In Boxes and Watch the Clues Appear by Mary Kircher Roddy .................. 169
An Unexpected Find by Joyce Sullivan ............................................................................... 171
American Civil War Articles and Reviews ...................................................................... 174
Patriots In Different Uniforms by Alice Plouchard Stelzer.................................................. 175
Legacy Webinar Review - Your Civil War Ancestors by Carolyn Weiss ............................ 187
Germans In The Union Volunteer Army 1861-1865 by Brenda Collins ............................. 188
Cape Cod Items ................................................................................................................ 199
Crowell's Pier by Robert Kelley ........................................................................................... 200
Colonial Fornication: Hamblin vs Lovell by James Gould and David Martin .................... 206
Eastham Wood Lot Grants of 1715 by Robert P. Carlson ................................................... 211
Eastham Land Records: Mayo, Crosby, Treat by Robert P. Carlson .................................. 221
Eastham Land Records Part II (L-Z) 1650 – 1745 by Robert P. Carlson ........................... 233
A Tale of Two Ladies from Brewster by Robert Lincoln Ward........................................... 244
Ray's Ruminations: Clocks by L. Ray Sears, III .................................................................. 253
Book Reviews
Mastering Genealogical Proof reviewed by David Martin................................................... 255
Ancestral Roots of American Colonists .............................................................................. 256
Guide to Genealogical Writing reviewed by Debra Lawless ............................................... 258
American Ghost reviewed by Debra Lawless ...................................................................... 260
Folk Art of the Cape and the Islands reviewed by Carolyn Weiss ....................................... 262
The Invisible History of the Human Race reviewed by William DeW. Horrocks ................ 263
Meeting Summaries
Where Does the Census Lead Me by William DeW. Horrocks ............................................ 270
Recognizing and Resolving Genealogical Errors ................................................................ 272
Soldiers Spies and Farm Wives ........................................................................................... 273
The Push and Pull of 19th Century Emigration .................................................................... 275
The Civil War – Suggestions for Genealogists .................................................................... 276
Descendancy Research ........................................................................................................ 278
Contributor’s Bios ............................................................................................................... 279
Index.................................................................................................................................... 282
The Journal Of The Cape Cod Genealogical Society
(ISSN 2160-9284) is published semi-annually by the Society. All rights
reserved ©2015 by the Cape Cod Genealogical Society, PO Box 1394,
Harwich, Massachusetts 02645
Printed by PressonGraphics, Kingston, Mass.
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
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President’s Message
by Joan Frederici
n this, my first message to you as President, I want to thank our members
for your confidence in my ability to lead Cape Cod Genealogical Society.
I am quite fortunate that I have had a strong and thriving organization
passed on to me, with a dedicated Board of Directors. Dave Martin has done
an excellent and admirable job of leading CCGS over the last several years,
and I am thankful for his support and guidance as we move ahead.
Volunteers are a crucial part of the success of any non-profit
organization, and I would be remiss if I did not recognize the many
volunteers who work to make all we do so successful. The publication in
your hand is an example -- volunteer members working on the Publication
Committee solicit articles for each issue of the Journal, review submissions,
edit, proofread, and finally mail out the finished product. Articles, written
by many of our members, are often solicited from our Writer’s Special
Interest Group, another volunteer-run program within our Society. We are
very fortunate that there are so many willing to help out and make it all
come together so successfully.
This, the second issue of the year 2015, continues the Civil War theme
that we initiated earlier this year. Information related to necessary records
for research is interspersed with stories of some of the individuals who were
involved in the fighting. Of course, there are also articles of Cape Cod
interest and, in keeping with the twenty-first century, another about DNA.
Finally, our book reviews seem to be growing in popularity, and you will
find several more included here. Have you read a book lately that has
helped you in your genealogical research? Why not submit an article about
it for our next issue?
Articles will be reviewed for the Spring issue, starting at the end of
February.
We hope that you find articles of interest to you in your own
genealogical research.
I
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Journal Themes for 2016
ur CCGS Journal has used a highly productive theme for articles
throughout 2015—genealogical connections to the American Civil
War. This theme has made excellent sense inasmuch as 2015 has been
observed as the sesquicentennial of the end of that War. In fact, that theme
has been so productive that we have a small backlog of articles on the same
theme, and, therefore, we will continue to publish some articles in our
spring 2016 issue within those topics.
However, as a new central theme for the Fall 2016 issue and for at least
one further issue beyond, we will establish a double focus. The first of these
will be on Genealogical Mysteries. Many genealogists, past and present,
have made note of sometimes odd coincidences in their research which led
unexpectedly to answering thorny genealogical problems. Henry (Hank) Z.
Jones in his two works, Psychic Roots: Serendipity and Intuition in
Genealogy and the follow-up volume, More Psychic Roots, has recounted in
considerable detail numerous instances of situations where both
professional and amateur genealogists have solved problems in their
research through other than strictly rational means—prayers, dreams, odd
events which lead to solutions, and other phenomena which are remarkable.
The second focus will be the first of a series on lesser-known religious
sects, which played important roles in immigrant genealogy in the history of
America. Examples would be the various sects of the Anabaptists, the
Mormons, the Shakers, and the Ebenezers; explanations of the beliefs and
immigration patterns of these groups should be useful to those with
ancestral roots with those backgrounds.
If any of our readers have had genealogical mysterious occurrences in
their research or in the research of others whom they have known, and/or
the stories of such religious sects in America, the Publications Committee
would welcome manuscripts for articles about those topics.
Of course we will continue to consider manuscripts on other
genealogical topics for all issues, and so writers still have great latitude. The
timeline for submission of manuscripts for every Spring issue is the end of
February, and for every Fall issue it is the end of September. We strongly
welcome your manuscript!
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
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Webinars at Legacy Family Tree.com
by Carolyn Weiss
he internet is alive with thousands of Webinars on genealogy, but the
very best are available for free at http://www.legacyfamilytree.com.
Every month Legacy offers five or six new webinars, which are free if you
sign up for and view them within a week. There are other options, such as a
monthly fee of $9.95 or a yearly membership of $49.95. CDs of webinars
are also available from Legacy for $9.95 each. In order to get in on the fun,
subscribe to Legacy News emails on the homepage of the above website.
They will send you announcements of all the upcoming webinars and the
information needed to sign up to hear them. If you view the webinar live,
you can submit questions to the presenter. If you opt to subscribe on a
monthly or annual basis, as of August 2015, there are 248 webinars
comprising 367 hours with 1078 pages of handouts for you to print at home,
and all of these are available with the subscription. Also, there are some
webinars that are provided only to paid subscribers.
There are five webinars on “Photographs and Digital Images” featuring
such well-known genealogists as Maureen Taylor and Geoff Rasmussen.
Under “Google” there are six separate webinars on how to use various
aspects of the Google website for genealogical research. There are webinars
on Swedish genealogy, Dutch roots, and every other nationality imaginable.
Also there are some really interesting webinars on using technology for
genealogy, publishing your work, and research methodology. There are
webinars for beginners as well as for more advanced family researchers.
I recently listened to a webinar entitled “Migration Patterns East of the
Mississippi Prior to 1860,” hosted by Mary Hill, and learned a tremendous
amount from her presentation which also included an excellent
bibliography. Another webinar I enjoyed was by one of this issue's authors,
Mary Kircher Roddy, called “Spreadsheets for Genealogy 101;” she has
since added Spreadsheets 201 and 301 to the list. Elsewhere in this Journal
I have submitted a review of the Legacy Family Tree webinar on beginning
research on Civil War ancestors.
If you want to add substance to your knowledge of genealogy, sign up
for a webinar, print out the syllabus and enjoy.
T
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“Mass. Moment”
...in 1847, 29-year-old Maria Mitchell stood on the roof of her parent's
Nantucket home, focusing her telescope on what she believed to be a
faraway star. Suddenly she realized that the blurry light was not a star at all,
but a comet. The first woman to record a “telescopic” comet sighting, she
immediately captured the imagination of America and of the world. In 1865
she was appointed the first professor, male or female, at the newly founded
Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She would live, study, and
teach there for the next 23 years. Aware of her status as a pioneer woman
scientist, Maria Mitchell became an active supporter of the woman's rights
movement. She continued her astronomical research until her death in 1889.
The evening of October 1, 1847 began as most evenings did for Maria
Mitchell. From the small observatory on the roof of her home in Nantucket,
the amateur astronomer “swept” the night sky, as was her habit, searching
for anything new or different. At 10:30 that night, Maria spotted a blurry,
fuzzy body in the upper right hand corner of her telescope's field.
She ran downstairs to tell her father, a cashier at the Nantucket Pacific
Bank and a skilled amateur astronomer himself. William Mitchell followed
his daughter to the rooftop, where he carefully compared the small object in
the telescope with the stars near it and the chart on the table. He confirmed
what Maria had suspected: she had discovered a comet.
Once reported to and acknowledged by leading astronomers, the comet
was named in her honor, propelling her to the forefront of contemporary
astronomy and changing the course of her life dramatically. Almost
overnight, she was transformed from a bookish librarian and amateur
stargazer into “the Lady Astronomer,” a quasi-celebrity whose story was
told and retold in newspapers across America.
The discovery of a comet was not a particularly unusual event in the
nineteenth century, but female astronomers were very rare, and Maria
Mitchell captured the public’s imagination. Frederic VI, the King of
Denmark, presented her with a gold medal to honor her achievement. She
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was the first woman elected to membership in the American Academy of
Arts and Sciences in 1848 and the first admitted to the Association for the
Advancement of Science in 1850.
Maria Mitchell’s achievement would not have surprised her parents.
Born in Nantucket on August 1, 1818, the third of ten children, she
demonstrated from a young age both a love of stars and a talent for
mathematics. Recognizing his daughter's talent, her father gave her the best
scientific education he could.
In 1836 Maria went to work as the librarian at the newly opened
Nantucket Athenaeum, a position she would hold for the next 20 years. She
took advantage of the institution's collections to give herself the equivalent
of a college education; she taught herself mathematics, including calculus,
and the most advanced astronomy of her day. Her discovery of the comet
was due as much to the years she spent studying in the Athenaeum and
working with her father's telescope as it was to good luck.
In 1862 she was invited to join the faculty of Vassar Female College, the
first college in the country exclusively for women. Backed by wealthy
brewer Mathew Vassar, the institution was still in the early stages of
development when Vassar decided that Maria Mitchell should serve as the
college's first professor of astronomy. He was especially eager to add a
woman to the faculty. “My desire is now and always has been,” he wrote in
1864, “to make our College, not only a college to educate Women, but a
college of instruction by women.” The Civil War delayed construction.
Vassar did not admit its first students until September 1865. Maria Mitchell
was one of eight charter professors.
Vassar provided Mitchell with a brand-new, state-of-the-art observatory.
She became known as an exacting teacher, who insisted on accuracy and
was impatient with even the slightest carelessness, often lecturing students
for ignoring one-hundredth of a second in an astronomical calculation. Yet
Maria Mitchell inspired great respect in her students, some of whom
discovered comets and nebulas themselves.
Mitchell understood the significance of her position as a pioneer in
women's education and became an advocate for woman's rights. “I wish,”
she once said, “we could give to every woman who has a novel theory dear
to her soul for the improvement of the world a chance to work out her
theory in real life.” Her circle of friends came to include suffrage leaders
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Julia Ward Howe. In 1875 she was elected
president of the American Association for the Advancement of Women.
Poor health forced Mitchell to resign from Vassar in 1888 at the age of
70. She moved to Lynn and attempted to continue her research there, but the
observatory she had constructed was more of a morale booster than
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anything else. Her condition quickly deteriorated, and she died on June 28,
1889.
Sources
Maria Mitchell: A Life in Journals and Letters, ed. by Henry Albers
(College Avenue Press, 2001).
Sweeper in the Sky: The Life of Maria Mitchell, by Helen Wright (College
Avenue Press, 1997).
T
Microfilms From Salt Lake City
he new system for Cape Codders to borrow genealogical microfilms
from the Latter Day Saints Library in Salt Lake City is now fully
operational. Sturgis Library in Barnstable Village is now the FamilySearch
center for Cape Cod. Patrons may request microfilms online, based on
documentation footnotes that they find in other searches (such as Ancestry),
and then borrow them for viewing at Sturgis.
The procedure is:
1.Go to https://familyserach.org/catalog-search and create an account, or
use your existing account.
2. Search in the catalog for the records that you want.
3. Order the microfilm from https://familysearch.org/films
4. Pay online the $7.50 fee for each microfilm to cover processing and
shipping
5. Select Sturgis Library as the location for mailing the film to you.
6. Once you have been notified by Sturgis that the film has been received,
call Sturgis at
Call 508-362-6636 to reserve a microfilm reader, which is open 6 days a
week. To make paper copies, the Sturgis charge is $0.20 per page.
You may continue to come and go to review your film for at least two
weeks. You can then renew it in order to keep it longer. If you renew a
second time, that film becomes part of the permanent collection of
genealogical microfilms stored at Sturgis. Therefore, before ordering a
microfilm, you should check the holdings already at Sturgis since someone
else may have renewed the very same film twice, and it is therefore already
stored at Sturgis.
For further information, call 508-362-6636 or go to
http://www.sturgislibrary.org
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
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Put Your Data in Boxes and Watch the Clues
Appear!
Mary Kircher Roddy
preadsheets can be a great way to organize our genealogy data. We can
type in our facts and figures and then let the computer massage them,
twist them this way and that, even stand them on their head, teasing out
patterns in these clues to help us understand our ancestors’ lives and
histories.
Before you create a spreadsheet about your ancestor or his community,
spend a little time thinking about where you are going. What is the question
you’re trying to answer? What is your objective? What kinds of data
sources do you have to try to answer your question? What kind of
information is included in those sources – dates? places? names? addresses?
witnesses? A little planning up front will make it easier to create a useful
spreadsheet in which the data is easy to input and read. You’ll be able to
capture all the data on the first pass and not need to return to the well again
and again to gather more information.
If you haven’t worked with spreadsheets before, creating a simple
timeline is a great way to get your feet wet. If you’ve been researching for
any time at all, you’ve probably compiled quite a collection of vital records,
census images, property transactions, city directory entries and perhaps
even a few newspaper articles. You can construct a basic five-column
spreadsheet. Make the first column the year. You might decide to have a
separate column with a more specific date – if we have Grandpa’s actual
birth certificate we know the exact date, but if we haven’t found that
document yet, we may have to rely on a census record which will only give
us the year. If you set up your spreadsheet using a couple of columns to
define the date, it will be easier to capture the information regardless of how
specific it might be. For each event in your ancestor’s life, you probably
have a location where it occurred and what the activity was, so include
columns for location and event. Finally make a column for source. There is
nothing worse than creating a spreadsheet full of data, and then scratching
your head later in puzzlement, “Where did THAT come from?!!”
Pretty soon you will see patterns in your data. Maybe you had a hole
where the 1870 census should be – you just can’t find Grandpa anywhere.
But when you see that he had a child born in Center City in 1869 and
another in the same place in 1871, you realize odds are very high that he
was in Center City when the census taker came knocking in 1870. Now that
you’ve got the location, it’s worth it to browse page by page on the Center
City census or look for every Irish-born man named James in the area.
S
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Your timeline spreadsheet pointed out a pattern or a clue, and you can use
that to further your research.
If you’re feeling especially ambitious you can “fancy up” your timeline
or other spreadsheet by inserting hyperlinks which will allow you to click
on the text in a cell in your worksheet and automatically connect to a
webpage or an image saved on your computer. You might insert a hyperlink
in the cell in the Event column of your worksheet where you have typed
“James Ahern was naturalized” which will take you to the PDF of his
naturalization certificate stored on your computer. Another cell in the
worksheet might link to the Find-A-Grave memorial for him.
To insert a hyperlink in your worksheet click on the cell with the text
string you will use to anchor the link. The “Ribbon,” the strip of buttons and
icons above the work area in your sheet, has a tab titled “Insert.” Click on
the Insert tab and look for the icon image for Hyperlink, which depicts a
globe and chain. When you click on that, a box will appear which will allow
you to browse through files on your computer to find the image you wish to
insert. Alternatively, you can type or paste a URL into the “address” box in
the lower middle section of the pop-up box. Your spreadsheet is now linked
to the image or webpage and when you click on the text in your
spreadsheet, you’ll soon be looking at Grandpa’s naturalization record or
gravestone photo.
Think about how you might put spreadsheets to work to further your
research. It’s not hard, and pretty soon creating a spreadsheet will feel as
natural as composing a letter.
©2015, copyright Mary Kircher Roddy. All rights reserved. Used with
Permission. For more information, please visit MKR Genealogy at
http://www.mkrgenealogy.com
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
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An Unexpected Find:
The Link Between Catherine the Great and My
German Ancestors
by Joyce Sullivan
T
he phrase, “a dead end,” may be the conclusion that is most feared by
genealogists, both professionals and weekend researchers. My “dead
end” had involved the history of my German relatives who immigrated and
settled in North Dakota in the years 1887 and 1893. Where did they
immigrate from? What was their life like? It turns out that during the
summer of 2015, I embarked on a road trip to Bismarck, North Dakota to
visit family, where I unexpectedly discovered a remarkable link between the
Russian Empress, Catherine the Great, and my German ancestors.
The history of the German people that immigrated to the United States in
the late 1800’s is anything but linear, due mostly to the political ambitions
of the Russian Empress, Catherine the Great. She began life as Princess
Sophie Fredericke Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst , the daughter of an obscure
German prince. Through an arranged marriage to a younger cousin, she
married Karl Ulrich, also known as Peter III who was the grandson of Peter
the Great and heir to the Russian throne in 1745. By 1762, she had
displaced her husband and took the now vacant Russian imperial throne,
assuming the name of Catherine II or Catherine the Great.
Catherine the Great inherited the monumental task of filling the empty
Russian state treasury. To deal with this issue, she published manifestos in
1762 and 1763, inviting Western Europeans to immigrate and farm Russian
lands. Russia benefited by improving untilled Russian land and also by
creating a “barrier” between Russia and the invading Asiatic nomadic tribes
to the Volga Region (the present-day “Ukraine”). In return, the settlers were
promised freedom of religion, freedom of taxes, freedom from military
service, and free land. Many Germans and groups from Bohemia (formally
part of the Austrian Empire and now within the area of the present-day
Czech Republic) looked to find new opportunities and land to farm;
consequently they immigrated to Russia, settling along the Volga River,
near Saratov, Russia, and later settled in the Volhynia and the Baltic
provinces.
Early German and Bohemian settlers faced a barren and bitterly cold
Russian landscape isolated from their Russian neighbors. Homes were
initially dugouts with sod, but the first harsh winter left many sick or dead,
and new homes were built in the spring with clay bricks. The settlers
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primarily grew wheat, corn, and potatoes and were able to keep their
German language, religion, and culture.
The settlers prospered, and by 1870 the Russians became jealous of the
lands owned by the settlers; the promises of Catherine the Great then fell
away. The settlers lost their land, the right of self-government, and the right
of native language schools. In the early 1870’s male settlers were being sent
to the now re-established military draft, the women and children became
servants, and the settlers were no longer allowed to speak German nor
educate their children in the German language. The Germans who stayed in
Russia faced terrible conditions during the Russian Revolution and both
World Wars. Due to their German heritage, many during those conflicts
were killed or sent to the Siberian area of Russia.
However, other German settlers sought relief by emigrating to the New
World, attracted by the U.S. 1862 Homestead Act (which provided free land
on certain conditions such as remaining to improve the land for a certain
minimum number of years). These Germans proceeded to settle in
Nebraska, Kansas, North and South Dakota, Montana, and Colorado, while
others went to Canada in the 1880’s, settling in Manitoba, Saskatchewan,
and Alberta (although these Canadian settlers were not benefitting from the
U.S. Homestead Act). In 1877, largely Catholic Germans emigrated from
Russia and settled in Argentina and Brazil. In 1878, a few settled in South
Africa, and in 1923 even in Harbin, China. The remaining Germans were
repatriated back to Germany in 1989.
This tumultuous history of the Russian-German settlers all began
with Catherine the Great and ended with a wave of German immigrants to
the U.S. in the late 1860s. Until my summer trip to North Dakota, my only
known facts about my German ancestors were the dates when they
immigrated to North Dakota in the years 1887 and 1893. Thanks to the
Germans From Russia Heritage Society’s large library of German history in
Bismarck, North Dakota, personal accounts, and death records, including
English-translated articles, I finally uncovered my grandparents’ story of
immigration.
We learned that my mother’s Grandfather, Frank Faiman, immigrated to
America from Zarekwitsch (an area of Crimea, Russia, since renamed) in
1893 on the S.S. Maasdam. Listed along the ship’s manifold with Frank is
his wife, Antonia (Muzhik) Faiman and their three remaining children (one
child died on the voyage). Frank Faiman and his wife, Antonia, had eight
children born in Crimea, Russia, but lost four to diphtheria, a common
bacterial illness. We also found that they decided to leave Russia after
Frank had already served twelve years in the Russian army. Frank prepared
for this dangerous escape by securing a passport (one passport was allowed
for the entire family’s use during this period) and traveling on foot at night,
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173
all the way to Holland. He traveled with only the immediate family
members, since anyone caught deserting the Russian army was sent to
Siberia and certain death. Prior to the night of the Faiman’s escape from
Russia, his wife, Antonia, died of diphtheria, and the family nanny, Helena
Hoerner, took Antonia’s place on the ship to the New World. Since there
was no time to apply for a new passport, Helena traveled under the name
Antonia Faiman. Upon arrival in New York in 1893, the family traveled
west and settled in the New Hradec area, just north of Dickinson, North
Dakota. Frank then married Helena Hoerner and raised their own seven
children, along with the three surviving children of his first marriage!
Surprisingly, my paternal grandparents, the family of Philip Wanner, also
came from the same area in Crimea, Russia and settled in the Sheffield area,
just south of Dickinson, North Dakota in 1887.
My husband and I continue to search for more information and
documentation on my German ancestors with the following sites: Germans
from Russia Heritage Society (http://GRHS.org), the German-Russian
Genealogical Library (http://www.odessa3.org), and the Society for German
Genealogy in Eastern Europe (http://SGGEE.org). As stated by Dr. Eric J
Schmaltz, editor of the Heritage Review, “It remains most important to
preserve and disseminate our group’s compelling story to the wider world.”
I hope my story will help you through your “dead end” or inspire you to
uncover your own history.
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American Civil War Articles And Reviews
The Unknown
by Walt Whitman, 1892
– The Million Dead, Too, Summ’d Up –
“The Dead in this War -- there they lie, strewing the fields and woods and
valleys and battle-fields of the South -- Virginia, the Peninsula -- Malvern
Hill and Fair Oaks -- the banks of the Chickahominy -- the terraces of
Fredericksburgh -- Antietam bridge -- the grisly ravines of Manassas -- the
bloody promenade of the Wilderness -- the varieties of the strayed dead,
(the estimate of the War Department is 25,000 National soldiers kill'd in
battle and never buried at all, 5,000 drown'd -- 15,000 inhumed strangers or
on the march in haste, in hitherto unfound localities -- 2,000 graves cover'd
by sand and mud, by Mississippi freshets, 3,000 carried away by caving-in
of banks, &c.,) -- Gettysburgh, the West, Southwest -- Vicksburg -Chattanooga -- the trenches of Petersburgh -- the numberless battles, camps,
Hospitals everywhere pass'd away since that War, and its wholesale deaths,
burials, graves. (They make indeed the true Memoranda of the War -- mute,
subtle, immortal.) From ten years' rain and snow, in their seasons -- grass,
clover, pine trees, orchards, forests -- from all the noiseless miracles of soil
and sun and running streams -- how peaceful and how beautiful appear today even the Battle-Trenches, and the many hundred thousand Cemetery
mounds! Even at Andersonville, to-day, innocence and a smile. (A late
account says, 'The stockade has fallen to decay, is grown upon, and a season
more will efface it entirely, except from our hearts and memories. The dead
line, over which so many brave soldiers pass'd to the freedom of eternity
rather than endure the misery of life, can only be traced here and there, for
most of the old marks the last ten years have obliterated. The thirty-five
wells, which the prisoners dug with cups and spoons, remain just as they
were left. And the wonderful spring which was discover'd one morning,
after a thunder storm, flowing down the hillside, still yields its sweet, pure
water as freely now as then. The Cemetery, with its thirteen thousand
graves, is on the slope of a beautiful hill. Over the quiet spot already trees
give the cool shade which would have been so gratefully sought by the poor
fellows whose lives were ended under the scorching sun.')
And now, to thought of these -- on these graves of the dead of the War,
as on an altar -- to memory of these, or North or South, I close and dedicate
my book.
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
175
Patriots in Different Uniforms: Women in the
American Civil War
by Alice Plouchard Stelzer
Background
O
n Sunday, 21 July 1861, in the small Virginia town of Manassas
Junction, Union and Confederate soldiers squared off to battle near the
quiet stream of Bull Run in the first major confrontation of the American
Civil War.
On the Confederate side stood Lt. Harry T. Buford, who afterward
wrote:
“At Bull Run, it so happened that I was placed where
the fight was hottest, where the enemy made his most
determined attacks, where the soldiers of the South
made their most desperate resistance, and where, for
hours, the fate of the battle trembled in the balance.
The fiercer the conflict grew the more my courage rose.
The example of my commanders, the desire to avenge
my slaughtered comrades, the salvation of the cause,
which I had espoused, all inspired me to do my utmost;
and no man on the field that day fought with more
energy or determination than the woman who figured as
Lieutenant Harry T. Buford.”1
On the other side of the stream stood Private Franklin Thompson, who
afterward wrote:
“Now the battle began to rage with terrible fury.
Nothing could be heard save the thunder of artillery, the
clash of steel, and the continuous road of musketry. Oh,
what a scene for the bright sun of a holy Sabbath
morning to shine upon! Instead of the sweet influences
which we associate with the Sabbath—the chiming of
church bells calling us to the house of prayer, the
Sabbath school, and all the solemn duties of the
sanctuary, there was confusion, destruction and death.2
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Still the battle continues without cessation; the grape
and canister fill the air as they go screaming on their
fearful errand; the sight of that field is perfectly
appalling; men tossing their arms wildly calling for
help; there they lie bleeding, torn and mangled; legs,
arms and bodies are crushed and broken as if smitten by
thunder-bolts; the ground is crimson with blood; it is
terrible to witness.”3
The individuals fighting around them did not know that these dedicated
soldiers were indeed women. We know of Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton,
Louisa May Alcott, and Dorthea Dix, but what about the hundreds of other
women, who risked their lives defending what they believed, and remain
virtually unknown?
Lt. Harry T. Buford, a native Cuban, now staunchly dedicated to the
new Confederacy, was in reality Loreta Janeta Velazquez, while Canadianborn, Pvt. Franklin Thompson was in reality Sarah Emma Evelyn
Edmonds.
This article, in
looking at how and why
these two women
donned men’s clothing
and fought in the
American Civil War,
tries to separate the chaff
from the wheat in their
recorded history to
determine, where
possible, what is fact
and what is fiction.
The Stories
From their published
autobiographies and
numerous published
profiles, we gathered
Velazquez / Buford
that these two women
came from radically different backgrounds, (Loreta a wealthy family with
doting father, Emma a poor farming family with a brute for a father), but
their stated life philosophies and goals were similar. They both had a desire
for an adventuresome life, courage to take part in a war, and an intense
patriotism for their opposite causes, even though neither was born in the
United States.
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
177
Judging from some of the reaction to their books, it seems that it is hard
for some individuals to understand that women are as fiercely patriotic as
men. History shows us that women have proven their patriotism by standing
fast to their beliefs, and being willing to die for them as they helped
establish this country, followed by the women who fought in every war
since to keep the country free.
When we look at the historical context of the Civil War, it is not
surprising women were very involved since women (especially those from
the northern states) were very active in the Abolition movement, which was
one of the issues that brought about the war.
Both women from childhood anchored their dreams on strong heroinetype females; for Loreta, it was Joan of Arc; for Emma, it was Fanny
Campbell, the pirate; both Joan and Fanny dressed as men. Being careful to
not resort to generalizations about the motivating factors of the hundreds of
women who donned men’s clothing and fought in the Civil War, this article
only focuses on the stated motivations of these two women.
Certainly, these women were comfortable in men’s clothing. In fact,
Loreta said,
“I was especially haunted with the idea of being a man; and the more I
thought upon the subject, the more I was disposed to murmur at
Providence for having created me a woman. While residing with my
aunt, it was frequently my habit, after all in the house had retired to bed
at night, to dress myself in my cousin's clothes, and to promenade by
the hour before the mirror, practicing the gait of a man, and admiring
the figure I made in masculine raiment.”4
Much has been written about both of them and they have both authored
fanciful, exaggerated books chronicling their exploits, which Loreta
admitted writing from memory without notes. Emma does quote from diary
notations but dilutes her story with a lack of credible specifics and an excess
of religious fervor and embellishments, under two titles: Unsexed; or the
Female Soldier and Nurse and Spy in the Union Army.
Many authors examining the lives of Emma and Loreta have, instead of
looking for official evidence, only used their books as proof for their
participation in the Civil War, making it very difficult to find reliable
information.
Both authors and their editors acknowledge writing the books in a style
to attract the readers of the day, not necessarily as historical memoirs. The
challenge lies in filtering the abundance of materials to ascertain what is
believable and verifiable.
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
The editor of Woman in Battle, C. J. Worthington, feeling a seven-page
“Prefatory Notice” necessary to prepare the reader, said, “Owing to the loss
of her diary, Madame Velazquez was compelled to write her narrative
entirely from memory, which will account for the errors to which allusion
has been made.”5
Loreta freely admitted writing her book to raise money she needed.
“…am much more anxious for the money that I hope this book will bring in
to me than I am for the praises of either critics or public. The money I want
badly, while praise, although it will not be ungratifying, I am sufficiently
philosophical to get along very comfortably without.”6
Sarah Emma
Let us start this search for truth with Sarah Emma Edmonds
(Edmondson) (Pvt. Franklin Thompson). Emma was born in December
1841 to Isaac Edmonson (or Edmundson) and Elisabeth Leeper
Edmondson in York,
New Brunswick,
Canada.
According to the
many records that
chronicle Emma’s
sojourn into wearing
male clothing, in
1860, at the age of 19
she ran away
disguised as a boy
and crossed the
border into the
United States
because her father
was
forcing her to
Sarah Emma Edmonds
marry an older
neighbor. In Hartford, Conn., Emma stilled dressed as a male, calling
herself Franklin Thompson, took a job as a Bible salesman. As a farm girl,
her young body would have been developed into a lean figure that easily
disguised her femininity.
Her Bible-selling work took her to Flint, Michigan, where she was when
the American Civil War broke out. She enlisted in Company F of the 2nd
Michigan Infantry Volunteers, commanded by Colonel Israel B.
Richardson.
Emma did not say she enlisted but rather “employed by the
Government,” and many writers have stated that Emma attempted to enlist a
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
179
number of times before she was accepted, but there are no sources for that
information. It is a proven fact that the admitting doctors were not too
particular, and Emma had been living as a man for some time and was
seemly quite comfortable in her disguise. Below is Emma’s description of
the beginning of her journey as a soldier/nurse.
“Ten days after the President’s proclamation was issued, I was ready to
start for Washington, having been employed by the Government, and
furnished with all the necessary equipments. I was not merely to go to
Washington and remain there until a battle had been fought and the
wounded brought in, and then in some comfortable hospital sit quietly
and fan the patients, after the Surgeon had dressed their woundes; but I
was to go to the front and participate in all the excitement of the battle
scenes, or in other words, be a ‘Field Nurse.’”7
Elizabeth Leonard’s assertion in All the Daring of the Soldier that Emma
enlisted primarily for economic reasons does not correspond with the facts.
She is basing her opinion on a Fort Scott Weekly Monitor article where
Emma is quoted as saying, “I greatly preferred the privilege of earning my
own bread and butter.” Emma was discussing her very successful pre-war
career with the publishing company for which she sold Bibles. Rather than
her motivation for enlisting, Emma probably was alluding to the fact she
could earn more dressed as a man.8
In her book, Emma quotes liberally from speeches and dispatches among
generals and between generals and President Lincoln. If these are to be
believed, she either had an incredible memory or she copied dispatches that
she carried as a mail carrier into her diary.
Emma describes in detail her dangerous position as mail carrier, having
to travel twenty-five miles at a time between camps and often coming under
enemy fire. “Franklin Thompson’s military record also showed letter
carrier service from April to July 1862.”9
Emma often writes of a chaplain Rev. B. and his wife, who befriended
her. She cites them as being her entrance into the spy business:
“Mr. and Mrs. B. accompanied me. We were ushered into
the presence of Generals Mc., M. and H., where I was
questioned and cross-questioned with regard to my views of
the rebellion and my motive in wishing to engage in so
perilous an undertaking.”10
Emma describes in detail the disguises she came up with, such
as a black woman and an Irish peddler, in order to penetrate into
enemy territory without being caught. The official records say
nothing of her as a spy.11
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
National Archives and Records Administration. U.S., Civil War Pension Index:
General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Original data: Washington, D.C.: National
Archives and Records Administration. T288, 546 rolls
In April 1863, Emma came down with another serious case of malaria
that she had contracted at an earlier time. There are many different stories
about Emma leaving the Army. Emma’s version is:
“I sent for the surgeon and told him I was not able to remain longer—
that I would certainly die if I did not leave immediately. The good old
surgeon concurred in my opinion, and made out a certificate of
disability, and I was forthwith released from further duty as ‘Nurse
and Spy’ in the Federal army.”12
What happened to this supposed certificate, if it existed, is unknown, but
as far as her superiors were concerned, she had deserted as of 22 April
1863.
Emma fled to Ohio to recover her health, after which she, now in female
clothing, went to serve as a nurse until the end of the war. Sometime later,
Emma went to a reunion of the Company F and told those attending that she
had been Franklin Thompson. She needed their help to get the charge of
desertion removed from her record.
There is more verifiable information on Emma because she had to use
muster rolls and affidavits from other 2nd Michigan soldiers when she went
through the pension application process. She and her comrades testified
before a Senate committee to prove Emma’s service and have the charge of
desertion removed from her record. Her comrades were only too happy to
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
181
help. They remember Frank and some said they had been suspicious. Emma
is listed on the official roster of Company F, 2nd Michigan Volunteer
Infantry Regiment as Thompson, Franklin or Seelye, Sarah, E. E.13
Major Byron Cutcheon of the 20th Michigan Infantry disagreed with the
statement that no one suspected that Thompson was a woman. Cutcheon
said that some did suspect but no one talked about it. Cutcheon’s
description of Emma was a “small and delicate appearing boy of apparently
eighteen years of age.”14
"William Shakespeare [sic] testified that he had known
‘Thompson’ prior to the spring of 1863 to be a strong and
healthy soldier who never shirked his duty but who during the
Peninsula campaign had indeed contracted bad chills from
which he never quite recovered. Similarly, James Brown, F.
Schneider and Sylvester Larned all maintained that
Thompson’s health had been debilitated by hard service, and
that she had left the army after her leave of absence was
refused.”15
As the attached documents show, Emma’s desertion charge was removed
and she received a monthly pension of $12.
Emma was the only woman ever to become a member of the George B.
McClellan post.
“In 1883, the Charles T. Foster Post of the Grand Army of
the Republic (GAR) in Lansing, Michigan, under the
command of Col. Frederick Schneider, invited Emma to be a
daughter of their Post, and then on April 22, 1897, Emma
became a member of the George B. McClellan GAR Post in
Houston, Texas.”16
In 1992, Sarah Emma Edmonds was inducted into the Michigan
Women’s Hall of Fame.17
In her own words Emma Edmonds said of her adventures:
“I am naturally fond of adventure, a little ambitious, and
a good deal romantic-but patriotism was the true secret
of my success.”18
Emma died on 5 September 1898 in La Porte Texas.
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Loreta
Not as much verifiable information on Loreta Janeta Velazquez is found,
by comparison with that for Sarah, but more recent research is bringing
forth a few more facts. Her memoir, The Woman in Battle, came out in
1876.
From then to now, many have questioned the authenticity of Loreta’s
stories. Her biggest critic was Confederate General Jubal Early, who came
across Woman in Battle in 1878 and was so outraged that he wrote to his
Congressman. He contended that there was no way that Loreta ever could
have had the adventures about which she wrote. Moreover, Early felt
strongly that the book was full of inconsistencies and impossibilities.
My search of veteran records was unsuccessful in finding any record of a
Buford who could have been Loreta. The same is true for Benford, which
was offered as a second possibility due to local newspaper accounts at the
time of women of various names being female soldier dressed as men.
For my research of Woman in Battle, I also used the newer reprint by the
University of Wisconsin, which is an exact reprint, but has a new
Introduction by Jesse Aleman.
“Early targeted several factual errors in particular to
question the book’s veracity: Loreta describes her first
husband in a Confederate uniform before the Confederate
Army adopted standardized dress; she mistakenly
identifies Robert E. Lee as a general before he gained that
rank; and she claims to have traveled north from
Columbia, South Carolina to Richmond, Virginia on a
railroad line that did not exist at the time of her
adventures.”19
“Loreta’s plan was to raise a battalion at her own expense and then
present the men to her husband and offer him their command.” She says she
gathered 236 men and calls them the “Arkansas Grays,” and takes them to
Pensacola, Florida.20
Loreta does not seem to understand that a battalion is made up of from
400 to 1000 soldiers and she continued to use the word “battalion” for her
236 soldiers.
She writes, “My quota was easily filled in four days, and I then
proceeded to get my battalion organization complete….”21
Loreta seemed to have unlimited funds as she was busy purchasing
everything which this complement of men she had recruited would need,
including a horse for herself. “Among my other purchases was a fine horse,
which I obtained from Dr. Elliott on Union Street. No finer body of men
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
183
ever went out of New Orleans than the Arkansas Grays, as my battalion was
called.”22
An exhaustive search for information on the Arkansas Grays, both in
book titles and online provided the following information. In the William
and Mary College Library online catalog, I found two government
document Ebooks published in 1894 and 1897 entitled, Gray’s Battalion of
Arkansas Volunteers. The listed author is United States Congress
Committee on Pensions. With no opportunity to access these records, their
only value to this article is to verify that such a group of soldiers did exist.23
When Loreta did arrive in Pensacola, Florida, her husband was very
upset with her and ordered her to go to New Orleans to get supplies. While
she was gone, he had a training accident and died.
The following is part of an 1876 Pennsylvania broadside, held in the
Rare Book Manuscript and Special Collection Library of Duke University,
advertising Woman in Battle:
“The following are but a few of the many unsought
testimonials received from gentlemen of high character,
identifying the person and vouching for the character of
Madame Velasquez, also that she was Lieut. Harry T. Buford
C. S. A., the heroine of this book.”24
One of those men offering unsought testimonial was George Anderson,
Brigadier General, C.S.A., Atlanta, who said: “It affords me great pleasure
to certify to the fact that Madame L. J. Velasquez is the person known
during the late war as Lieut. Harry T. Buford, C. S. A.”25
A search of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies in
Ancestry, shows several George Andersons, two of which come from
southern states.26
Another of those men offering testimony for Madame Velasquez and
Woman in Battle was Major John Newman of the 21st Regiment of
Louisiana Volunteers. His remarks are especially important because he
actually says she served under him for three months:27
“Madame L. J. Velasquez is a lady of the most
unblemished character. I have been personally acquainted
with her for the past thirteen years. She has served under
me with distinction as a soldier for three months and was
afterwards promoted for her great efficiency and integrity
to the position of 1st Lieutenant in the Confederate
Service….”28
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
The records of the Confederate Secretary of War contain a reference to a
request for an officer’s commission, received on 27 July 1863, from a
soldier named H. T. Buford.29
Her story is probably loosely based on facts, but Loreta’s use of different
names and many husbands makes it almost impossible to substantiate
anything.
Conclusion
Whether everything can be proven according to today’s standards or not,
it is quite evident that these two women, Sarah Emma Edmonds and Loreta
Janeta Velasquez, were part of the fighting in the Civil War.
House of Representatives bill
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
185
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/civil-war/preview/we-were-there/, accessed September 27,
2015.
1
Loreta Janeta Velazquez. The Woman in Battle. (Hartford, Conn: Belknap, 1876) 105, 116;
Anita Silvey, I’ll Pass for Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War. (New York:
Clarion Books, 2008), 2.
2
S. Emma E. Edmonds. Nurse and Spy in the Union Army. The Adventures and Experiences
of a Woman in Hospitals, Camps, and Battle-Fields. (Hartford, Conn.: W.S. Williams & Co.,
1865), 40, 43; Anita Silvey, I’ll Pass for Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War.
(New York: Clarion Books, 2008), 4.
3
Edmonds, op. cit., 43.
4
Velazquez, op. cit., 42.
5
Ibid, 5.
6
Ibid, 6.
7
Edmonds, op. cit., 19.
8
Elizabeth D. Leonard. All the Daring of the Soldier. (New York: W. W. Norton &
Company, 1999), 170.
9
Bonnie Tsue. She Went to the Field: Women Soldiers in the Civil War. (Guilford,
Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press, 2003), 18.
10
Edmonds, op. cit., 106; S. Emma E. Edmond. “A Female Spy Changes Her Color”: Philip
Van Doren Stern. Secret Missions of the Civil War. (New York: Wings Books, 1987), 121.
11
Edmonds, op. cit., 147.
12
Edmonds, op. cit., 359-360.
13
http://www.migenweb.org/michiganinthewar/infantry/2compf.htm, accessed September 27,
2015.
14
DeAnne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook. They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the
Civil War. (New York: Random House, Inc., 2003), 52.
186
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
15
Leonard., op. cit., 177.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txseeduv/html/sarah.html, accessed September 27,
2015.
17
http://hall.michiganwomen.org/honoree.php?C=0&A=85~261~181~134~111~71~45~121
~95, accessed September 27, 2015.
18
http://www.civilwarhome.com/edmondsbio.html, accessed September 27, 2015.
19
Jesse Aleman, “Introduction: Authenticity, Autobiography, and Identity.” Loreta
Velazquez. The Woman in Battle. (Madison: Wisconsin, The University of Wisconsin Press,
2003) ix-x.
20
Leonard, op. cit., 253.
21
Velazquez, op. cit., 84.
22
Ibid., 86.
23
https://catalog.libraries.wm.edu/Record/2600059, accessed September 27, 2015.
24
Aleman, op. cit., xx.
25
Ibid., xx.
26
Ancestry.com. Official records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1861-1865 [database
on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
Original data: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1861-1865; (National
Archives Microfilm Publication M262, 128 rolls); National Archives, Washington, D.C.
27
http://www.louisianacivilwar.org/search/label/21st%20Louisiana, accessed September 27,
2015.
28
Aleman, op. cit., xx.
29
Leonard, op. cit., 257.
16
NOTE: In 2013, PBS released Rebel: Loreta Velazquez, Secret Soldier of the American Civil
War, which I have not seen, but it boasts of evidence that confirms Loreta was a soldier who
served in the Civil War.
Photo of gravestone
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6843300, accessed September
27, 2015.
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
187
Review of a Legacy Webinar “Your Civil War
Ancestors, Beginning Your Research”
Presented by Michael Hait, CG
Reviewed by Carolyn Weiss
egacy offers a variety of webinars on American Civil War issues,
among them “Your Civil War Ancestors, Beginning Your Research”
presented by Michael Hait, CG. This is a 94-minute video with a three-page
downloadable syllabus. Hait is a professional genealogist with fifteen years
experience, primarily in Maryland research and Civil War records. This is
one of six webinars Legacy currently offers on Civil War research. See my
article elsewhere in this issue on how to view Legacy webinars.
Hait starts with the age-range for ancestors who may have been active in
the Civil War. The ages run from eighteen to forty-five for the years 1861
through 1865. Indications that these individuals were active in the war
would be found in the 1910 and 1930 U.S. censuses. An eighteen-year-old
in 1861 would be sixty-three in the 1910 census and eighty-three in the
1930 census. If the schedules are available for your area of interest, these
men would also appear in the 1890 veteran's schedule. Other sources would
be tombstones, obituaries, and oral or written family tradition. Once it is
established that an ancestor served in the Civil War, the researcher must
consult the compiled service records, which are made from original service
rolls. These are held at NARA in Washington, D.C. Hait further lists the
specific NARA roll numbers for the “Alphabetical Card Name Indexes” and
the “Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914.” The latter
group includes regular Army enlistees who joined during peacetime.
He refers to several online databases, including the Civil War Soldiers
and Sailor System, which is free, Ancestry.com, and Fold3.com (which
website he says is a "must" for Civil War research).
After that, Hait discusses the Union pension files, how to obtain them,
and what they contain.
He then recommends how to obtain all the Civil War records including
ordering online or through the mail (expensive at $75 for the first hundred
pages), or by hiring a researcher who can directly access the files
(recommended if you have more than one ancestor who served in the Civil
War.)
This is a highly informative and systematic webinar, useful to the
beginning Civil War researcher, and I highly recommend viewing it.
L
188
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Germans in the Union Volunteer Army 1861-1865
by Brenda Collins
By the numbers
H
ow many Germans served the Union in the Civil War? The truth is that
nobody knows. Actuary Benjamin Apthorp Gould attempted to
compile statistics on the nativity of white Union soldiers by correspondence
with regimental officers. Published by the Sanitary Commission in 1869,
statistics relied on recollection. According to his findings, out of a total of
2,018,200 union volunteers, 176,817 were born in Germany, 144,221 in
Ireland, 45,508 in England, 53,532 in British America or Canada, and
1,523,267 were born in the United States. Approximately 74,855 were
listed as unknown nativity.1 The fact that the survey depended on written
responses made Gould’s statistics shaky at best. From 1830 to 1860,
German immigration had been especially heavy, so the Army undoubtedly
included many ethnic Germans whose parents were German-born. Using
the 1860 census as a base, Gould calculates that of a pool of 118,402
eligible men of German heritage 176,817 volunteered or were drafted as
opposed to 1,660,068 available native born men of whom 1,523,267
volunteered. 2 That would be 149% participation for the Germans and 92%
for the natives.
Whole German speaking regiments were organized: eleven from New
York, two from Pennsylvania, three from Ohio, one each from Indiana and
Illinois and two from Wisconsin. In addition, ten three month regiments
were raised from Pennsylvania in 1863. 3
Though sixth in size of German-born population, Missouri ranked
second to New York in the number of troops recruited for the Union.4
Germans distinguished themselves as leaders as well. Some 500 Germans
held the rank of Major or above and ninety-six of that number were killed in
action. Seven of the nine Germans who attained the rank of General were
Major Generals: Henry W. Halleck (actually born in New York to German
parents), Carl Schurz, Godfried Weitzel, Johann Wilhelm August Ernst
von Willich, Friederich Salomon, Baron Adolph Wilhelm August Friedrich
von Steinwehr, Julius H. Stahel and August Valentine Kautz. 5
There were of course approximately 70,000 soldiers of German nativity
who fought for the Confederacy of whom close to 15,000 lived in New
Orleans. There were six German companies engaged, five of which were in
Louisiana regiments.6
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
189
Early German immigration
Germans had long been in America. It is said that Captain John Smith
brought over seven “Dutch” craftsmen and carpenters with him to
Jamestown in 1607, one of whom was identified as a Switzar.7 Authorities
agree that Peter Minuit, the “Dutchman” who bought Manhattan for New
Netherland was a Protestant German from Weser on the Rhine.8
Religious persecution, war, famine and poverty prompted most early
German emigrants to seek a new life in America. Most had lived along the
Rhine and from Southwestern Germany, which had long been the
battleground between the Holy Roman Empire and later Prussia in wars
with the French. Following the Reformation many sects arose. Swiss
Calvinists and Anabaptists fled to Germany. Huguenots fled across the
Rhine following the Revocation in 1685 of the 1598 Edict of Nantes, which
had guaranteed religious freedom to French Protestants.9 The first
permanent German settlement in the United States was at Germantown,
Pennsylvania in 1683. German Pietists from the Palatine and Rhineland
were invited by Quaker William Penn to settle followed by numbers of
Anabaptists: Mennonites, Hutterites and Amish who live still in Eastern
Pennsylvania.10 Famously up to over 15,000 “Palatines” made their way
down the Rhine to be “rescued” by the English Queen Anne, who supposed
the suffering persons from the war torn Palatinate which had suffered
plague and famine, to be Protestants, and as a Protestant Queen felt it was
her duty to save them. 11 In fact, many came from throughout the Rhineland
to England, there to be sent to Ireland, New York, South Carolina and
Pennsylvania.
German military tradition benefited Americans long before the Civil
War. The American Revolution attracted considerable attention in Europe
where Benjamin Franklin famously championed the American cause in
Paris. There he chanced to meet Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von
Steuben, an accomplished Prussian military officer and veteran of the war
of Austrian Succession and Seven Years War. Baron Steuben arranged to
offer his services, traveled to Valley Forge and met with General
Washington. He soon instituted regular drills and discipline and within a
month, American troops were able to execute the maneuvers of a regular
army.12
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The German Revolutions of 1830 and 1848 and the Flood of
immigration to America
Neighboring France had been the site of turmoil ever since the
Revolution of 1789. In 1794, France invaded German lands west of the
Rhine. The Confederation of the Rhine was established with principalities
joining beginning in 1806 under Napoleon’s protection. The Confederation
collapsed in 1813 after Napoleon’s defeat in Russia. The 1814 Treaty of
Paris restored the independent principalities, but the 1815 Congress of
Vienna redrew the map to abolish such Napoleon creations as the Kingdom
of Westphalia, and reinstate others such as Hanover and Hesse-Cassel. The
Prussians and Austria then formed the German confederation. Germans saw
the Prussians as just one more conquering power.13
The French insurgency of 1830 was mirrored across the Rhine. The
1830s brought industrial expansion. Suddenly, cottage industries such as
linen weaving were replaced by factories. Land scarcity also convinced poor
and oppressed Germans to seek a better life.
German immigration continued modestly until 1830. In the 1820s fewer
than 600 Germans arrived, however, by the 1830s over 12,000 annually
streamed. By the 1840s immigration swelled to almost 60,000 per year,
peaking in 1854 at over 130,000.14 Residents of German nativity grew by
123% in the 1850s, which was more than triple the growth rate in the entire
US population.15
The German Enlightenment and Romantic movements flourished in the
German Universities. Philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, the
Hambacher Fest
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Father of Idealism, influenced many of his day with concepts of freedom,
spirit and nature.16
It was a time of cultural development as well in music, poetry and
drama. These were the days of Haydn, Schiller, Goethe, Heine and
Hölderlin. Students formed organizations and attempted to influence the
political situation.
The radical liberal political movement demanding popular sovereignty
gained great popularity also among the educated emerging middle class. In
May 1832, 25,000 to 30,000 people gathered at the Hambach Castle in the
Rhineland Palatinate to call for religious freedom, national unity and
popular sovereignty at the so-called “Hambacher Fest.” Though the
gathering brought no immediate reforms, the liberal movement gained
strength in the minds of the German populace. 17
Almost immediately following the French Revolution of February1848,
which toppled King Louis Philippe, the situation in Baden became intense.
Baden had in fact been part of the Confederation of the Rhine and was
granted Grand Duchy status as a reward for supporting French rule. In 1818,
Grand Duke Karl of Baden began a constitutional experiment granted a
liberal constitution, two chambers whose assent was necessary for
legislation and taxation. Duke Karl however was soon succeeded by the
hated Grand Duke Ludwig who proved an inept and unpopular ruler. Even
though his successor in turn, Grand Duke Leopold was more liberal and
some popular elections were held and a few reforms were some reforms
instituted, Badeners had tasted freedom. An 1848 National Assembly met in
Frankfurt to establish a constitutional monarchy based on liberty,
democracy and national unity. Badeners wanted a new constitution. In
February 1848, revolutionary fever swept from France, students rioted and
the army sympathized with the Liberals. A series of armed insurrections
ensued. Exasperated Grand Duke Leopold begged Prince Wilhelm (later
Wilhelm I, King of Prussia) to send the Prussian army. Baden was invaded,
the revolution failed and many revolutionaries fled including several
talented military men who luckily came to America. 18
In contrast to the poor economic refugees, the Forty-Eighters were well
educated and articulate. German language newspapers sprang up as did
many Turnvereine, gymnastic clubs, which were hotbeds of republican
thought and idealism. These Germans flocked to the Republican Party, and
were extremely anti-slavery, remembering their country’s own harsh history
of oppression. Though only a small percentage of German immigration,
these highly educated individuals were influential. More prosperous and
educated than their Irish counterparts, Germans settled heavily in the
Midwest, in Wisconsin, Ohio and Missouri. 19
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Despite the wave of highly educated Forty-Eighters, most of these
Germans were impoverished, Catholic, poor unskilled workers who fled
their homelands for American cities, primarily in the North. Overpopulation
and the resultant land shortage made emigration a necessity. Displaced by
the industrial revolution, suffering a potato blight as well, and suffering
years of abuse by their rulers, these Germans nevertheless were literate and
tended value individual rights. Of course, they deplored slavery.
Overpopulation and the resultant land shortage made emigration a necessity.
Anti-immigrant sentiment rose. For the first time, German immigrants were
more likely to be Catholic than Protestant.
Germans in the Civil War
It has been said that Germans saved the state of Missouri for the Union.
St. Louis was the second largest port in the United States, strategically
located on the Mississippi. In 1860, more than half the population of
160,000 was German and anti-slavery. 20 St. Louis was still officially slave
territory. It was here that Dred
Scott had sued for his freedom
and lost. The St. Louis Arsenal,
defended by a mere forty men, a
munitions repository for Army
posts between New Orleans and
the Rockies, was the largest cache
of federal arms in a slave state.
Governor Claiborne Jackson was
pro-slavery, to the point that he
had led terrorist raids into
neighboring Kansas. Following
the bombardment of Fort Sumter,
Jackson requested troops from
Jefferson Davis to reinforce his
“Minute Men” to allow him to
take the arsenal. Meanwhile, the
Germans formed their own
organization, the “Wide Awakes.”
Franz Sigel
Under the supervision of the
popular Baden General Franz Sigel supported by Republican Congressman
Blair, they drilled. Sharps rifles were supplied from secret sources, and a
plan was hatched. The Union dispatched Capt. Nathaniel Lyon and a few
dozen troops to St. Louis to reinforce the arsenal. Fighting broke out but
neither side yielded. The announcement of the surrender of Fort Sumter
encouraged Jackson to decide to enforce the city’s blue laws, shutting
down German beer gardens. Within days, 4,200 Union volunteers
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comprising the Missouri First, Second and Third Volunteer Infantries (all
but 100 were Germans) were encamped on the arsenal grounds. Lyon
spread a rumor that arms would be smuggled out on trolley cars. The
Minute Men fell for the ruse and attacked a convoy of cars. Meanwhile the
steamboat, the City of Alton left the arsenal quay loaded with the precious
ammunition. 21
Most German regiments were part of the Eleventh Corps commanded
primarily by Oliver O. Howard. Of the Forty-Eighters. I will highlight
three: Major General Franz Sigel, Brigadier General Alexander
Schimmelpfennig, and Major General Carl Schurz.
Major General Franz Sigel was educated at the Military Academy at
Karlsruhe and studied Law at the University of Heidelberg. He served in the
Baden army from 1843 to 1847. In the 1848 Revolution, he led a group of
inexperienced soldiers against the monarchy and was defeated. He fled
Germany in 1849 and relocated to St. Louis where he saw early action. The
very popular Sigel was promoted to Major General after his victories at Pea
Ridge in Missouri. Over the winter of 1862, Sigel briefly commanded the
entire Eleventh Corps, but was held in reserve at Fredericksburg and saw no
action. He was replaced by Major General Oliver O. Howard in early 1863.
22
Brigadier General Alexander Schimmelpfennig commanded a Brigade
in the Third Division of the Eleventh Corps. A Prussian officer, he fought
with the liberals in Baden. A competent general, he was placed
unfortunately in the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. His division was
forced to retreat through the town during which his horse was shot from
under him and he was struck in the head with the butt of a rifle. He regained
consciousness and under cover of darkness, he was nursed for two days by a
German family. He never lived down the rumor that he hid in a pigsty
during the battle. 23
Major General Carl Schurz
commanded the 3000 men of the
Third Division. Educated at
universities in Cologne and Bonn,
Schurz was a natural politician
and orator, becoming a leader in
the revolutionary liberal
movement in Bonn. After the
defeat of the revolution, he fled to
Switzerland only to return to
German in disguise to rescue his
beloved mentor from prison. Later
Carl Schurz
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writing for a newspaper in Paris, he settled in Wisconsin where he launched
a political and oratorical career as an anti-slavery man. In 1860, he headed
the Wisconsin delegation to the Republican Convention. Briefly
Ambassador to Spain, he asked for and received an Army commission. At
the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, Schurz's division was poorly
supported, though Schurz himself had tried to alert new corps commander
Major General Oliver O. Howard that there was a dangerous gap at his
flank. “Stonewall” Jackson’s troops used the gap as an opportunity to rout
both the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps. 24
To make the situation worse, the New York Times reported on the 3 May
1863 front page that in the battle then raging at Chancellorsville, Virginia,
the field position of “Fighting Joe” Hooker’s Federals had been badly
compromised by “Stonewall” Jackson’s Confederates. The reason for this
frightening setback was that the Germans in the Federal Eleventh Corps had
turned and run as soon as they were fired upon. By the time the Federals
were definitively defeated a few days later, the story of “the flying
Dutchmen” had spread throughout the North.25
Engineer Captain Cyrus Comstock had warned General Howard that
the Western line under Schurz was at risk because of a wide gap, which
would attract the enemy, but Howard rebuffed him. In the heat of battle,
Commanding General Hooker even sent a warning dispatch to Generals
Howard and Schurz urging Howard to bring up reserves to strengthen
Schurz’s position, but Howard refused. Years later, Howard claimed
never to have received any such dispatch from Hooker. 26
James T. Miller of the 111th Pennsylvania wrote in a letter that the
Eleventh Corps “ran like a parcel of scart sheep.” I can tell you for the
present that we think but very little of the Dutch sons of bitches that used to
brag that they ‘Fights mit Sigel’,” a reference to the denigrating ditty of the
same name sung to “The Girl I left Behind Me,” Usually sung in
“Germlish” one stanza reads: 27
“Dere's only von ting vot I fear, Ven pattling for de eagle,
I von't get not no lager bier, Ven I goes to fight mit Sigel”
Clearly the “Dumb Dutchmen” were dismissed by both Howard and
Hooker as expendable, beer swilling, inferior troops. After
Chancellorsville, Schurz declared, “The spirit of this Corps is broken.”28
Surely, German enthusiasm for the Union cause suffered a blow in the face
of this prejudice.
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
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Two Examples of opposite types who fought in the Civil War
Johann Georg Link of Ostdorf, Balingen, Württemberg, born 1809, may
have either been widowed or left an unhappy marriage in 1850 to elope with
his very pregnant girlfriend, Elisabetha Fischer, thirteen years his junior.
They made their way to Le Havre and boarded the Lebanon, bound for New
York. While at sea, she gave birth to their first child. They were married in
Philadelphia where they embraced and became devout members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. From there, Georg toiled in the iron works at
Danville, Pennsylvania, he eventually arrived in the solidly German
neighborhood of “Birmingham,” South Side Pittsburgh where he worked as
a gatherer at a glass family. He became naturalized in 1856. A social and
economic refugee, despite his age of fifty-two and probably prompted by
both patriotism and poverty, Georg enlisted in the German speaking
Seventy-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers, Company I, the Hoeveler
Zouaves. Following the defeat at First Bull Run Private Link was sent to
Judiciary Square
Hospital in Washington,
D.C. where he was
discharged for disability
in 1862. In 1870, he
died from a lung disease
contracted while a
soldier. His grave, at
South Side Cemetery in
Pittsburgh is unmarked.
His widow struggled to
raise their six children
working as a cleaning
lady.
Julius Edouard
Daniel Kelber, on the
other hand, received a
superior education. Born
in 1828, son of a
Stadtpfarrer, or town
pastor, who in those
Edward Kelber, Rochester PA in 1869 with wife Christiane days served as the
Friedericke and daughter Elnora and Luise. Photo taken in
town’s spiritual leader as
their home.
well as local judge and
jury, “Edward” earned his law degree at the University of Tübingen and
was politically active. While there, he was a member of an elite Corps.
These Corps were exclusive fraternities named for regions or towns.
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Edward, like Alois Alzheimer, was Franconian Corps, identified by a green
cap. Otto von Bismark was Corps Hannovera and wore a red cap. Other
Corps members were: Karl Marx, Robert Schumann and Gottlieb
Daimler. Fencing was the common activity among these students, and he
was evidently an excellent swordsman. Edward was a young lawyer in
Lorch with a wife and baby girl in 1861 when he returned to Tübingen
while there was a demonstration in progress. In the fracas, he killed a man.
His family lost no time spiriting him to Bremen where he took the first ship
to New York. He enlisted immediately and served in different units, some
English speaking, some German, until the end of the war. In June 1864,
with the Seventh New York Veteran Infantry, Steuben Rifles, at Weldon
Station, he was captured and imprisoned at the notorious Salisbury Prison in
North Carolina. Miraculously, he escaped that fall, lived somehow in the
shadows and presented himself at Appomattox to claim his back pay. In
short order, he sent for his wife and daughter and settled into a long and
happy career as an accountant, later a banker in Beaver County,
Pennsylvania.
Afterthought
Why was it that the Germans were disrespected, held in reserve, put at
risk and made scapegoats? For one thing, they were easily identifiable by
language and they tended to settle together. In their neighborhoods, they
enthusiastically formed their own singing and gymnastic societies. German
language newspapers abounded. Hardly ethnic inebriates, Germans
nonetheless readily established breweries wherever they settled.
Another reason could be the anti-immigrant sentiment that permeated
American society. In 1854, “Know Nothing” sentiment was strong in the
United States, especially in areas settled by newly arrived Irish and German
immigrants. 29 Former Whigs who disagreed with the anti-slavery
sentiments of Northern Whigs formed the nativist, American Party and ran
for public office. Millard Fillmore was once one of the Party’s candidates.
The “Know Nothings” were vehemently anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic.
Many also supported temperance causes. For the first time, German
immigrants of the mid-nineteenth century were more likely to be Catholic
than Protestant. Though by the end Civil War, the Know Nothings had
completely dissolved, anti-Irish and German prejudice remained strong. 30
Sadly, anti-German prejudice did not end with the Know Nothings. AntiCatholic prejudice did not weaken until the election of President John F.
Kennedy in 1960. Anti-immigrant, xenophobic sentiment is sadly very
much alive and well in our United States today.
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
197
Internet Guides for the Civil War Genealogical Researcher
Family Search Guide to Civil War Research
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/United_States_Civil_War_1861_to_1865,_Part_1
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/United_States_Civil_War_1861_to_1865,_Part_2
New York in the Civil War
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/New_York_in_the_Civil_War
The only Family Search state research guide devoted to the Civil War. Many other states do
include Civil War resources tucked inside their larger collection.
Cyndi’s List Civil War Resources
http://www.cyndislist.com/us/civil-war
Includes sources for Grand Army of the Republic, forts, prisons etc.
The Genealogy on Facebook publication
https://moonswings.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/genealogy-on-facebook-list-6-oct2015.pdf Numerous United States State and German Land Facebook groups as well as those
of civil war lineage organizations provide an opportunity to interact with other researchers.
1
Benjamin Apthorp Gould, .Investigations in the Military and Anthropological statistics of
American soldiers, (New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1869), 27.
2
Ibid, 28.
3
Theodore Huebener, The Germans in America. (Philadelphia: Chilton, 1962),133.
4
Walter D. Kamphoefner and Wolfgang Johannes Helbich, Germans in the Civil War: The
Letters They Wrote Home, (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 2006), 8.
5
Howard B. Furer, The Germans in America, 1607-1970; A Chronology & Fact Book.
(Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana Publications, 1973), 54.
6
Ibid, 54.
7
Albert Bernhardt Faust, The German Element in the United States, (New York: Arno
Press, 1969), 1: 7.
8
Ibid, 1:10.
9
James S. Pula, The French in America, 1488-1974: A Chronology & Factbook. Dobbs
Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana Publications, 1975), 30.
10
Faust, op. cit., 30.
11
Philip Otterness, Becoming German: the 1709 Palatine Migration to New York. (Ithaca:
Cornell University Press, 2004), 8.
12
Faust, op. cit., 323.
13
Mary Fulbrook, A Concise History of Germany. (Cambridge [England]: Cambridge
University Press, 1990), 97-104.
14
Bruce C. Levine, The Spirit of 1848: German Immigrants, Labor Conflict, and the Coming
of the Civil War. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992), 1.
15
Oscar Handlin, The Uprooted: the Epic Story of the Great Migrations that Made the
American People, (Boston: Little, Brown, 1951), 3.
16
Fulbrook, op. cit., 110.
17
Fulbrook, op. cit., 109.
18
Mark Traugott, "The Crowd in the French Revolution of February, 1848," American
Historical Review, 93, no. 3, (1988): 638-652.
19
Kamphoefner, op. cit., 2.
20
Huebener, op. cit., 113.
198
21
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Adam Goodheart, “Civil Warfare in the Streets,” American Scholar, 80, no. 2, (Spring
2011): 20-32.
22
Kamphoefner, op. cit., 11.
23
James M. McPherson, Dianne Stine Thomas, and Ronald H. Bailey, Brother against
Brother: Time-Life Books History of the Civil War. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Silver Burdett
Press, 1990), 70-71.
24
Stephen W. Sears, Stephen W. 1996. Chancellorsville, (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1996),
237.
25
Christian Keller, Chancellorsville and the Germans Nativism, Ethnicity, and Civil War
Memory, (New York: Fordham University Press, 2010), 92.
26
Sears, op. cit., 237.
27
Ibid, 432.
28
Ibid, 433.
29
Tyler Anbinder, Nativism and Slavery: The Northern Know Nothings and the Politics of
the 1850's, (New York: Oxford University Press. 1992), 1.
30
"The Know-Nothing Party," in The Reader's Companion To American History, ed Foner,
Eric, and John A. Garraty (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin. 1991), 622.
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
199
Cape Cod Items of Interest
Cape Cod
by Henry David Thoreau, Oct 1849
did not see why I might not make a book on Cape Cod, as well as my
neighbor on “Human Culture.” It is but another name for the same thing,
and hardly a sandier phase of it. As for my title, I suppose that the word
Cape is from the French cap; which is from the Latin caput, a head; which
is, perhaps, from the verb capere, to take,—that being the part by which we
take hold of a thing:—Take Time by the forelock. It is also the safest part to
take a serpent by. And as for Cod, that was derived directly from that “great
store of codfish” which Captain Bartholomew Gosnold caught there in
1602; which fish appears to have been so called from the Saxon word
codde, “a case in which seeds are lodged,” either from the form of the fish,
or the quantity of spawn it contains; whence also, perhaps, codling (pomum
coctile?) and coddle,—to cook green like peas. (V. Dic.)
Cape Cod is the bared and bended arm of Massachusetts: the shoulder is
at Buzzard's Bay; the elbow, or crazy-bone, at Cape Mallebarre; the wrist at
Truro; and the sandy fist at Provincetown,—behind which the State stands
on her guard, with her back to the Green Mountains, and her feet planted on
the floor of the ocean, like an athlete protecting her Bay,—boxing with
northeast storms, and, ever and anon, heaving up her Atlantic adversary
from the lap of earth,—ready to thrust forward her other fist, which keeps
guard the while upon her breast at Cape Ann.
On studying the map, I saw that there must be an uninterrupted beach on
the east or outside of the forearm of the Cape, more than thirty miles from
the general line of the coast, which would afford a good sea view, but that,
on account of an opening in the beach, forming the entrance to Nauset
Harbor, in Orleans, I must strike it in Eastham, if I approached it by land,
and probably I could walk thence straight to Race Point, about twenty-eight
miles, and not meet with any obstruction.
I
200
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201
Crowell’s Pier
by Robert Kelley
C
aptain Silvanus6 Crowell [1755-1814] [Abner5 John43 Thomas2 John1
Crowell], although possessed of little formal education, was a
successful merchant engaged in significant businesses along the western
banks of Bass River at South Yarmouth during the Federal Period [1775 –
1830]. His home was located near the river at what is now Willow Street,
not far from where the Judah Baker windmill sits today. He bought lands
from his uncle Benjamin4 Killey, which gave him ownership of all the land
along Bass River to the ocean, then ran westerly along the ocean to the Run,
and northerly along the Run through the middle of Crowell’s Pond and
beyond, then easterly back to the river. In 1797 he owned the pier closest to
the mouth of Bass River upon which sat a large store; this place is where
Crowell conducted his business. He was in possession of a grist mill and a
large fish flakes and fish house, all of which can be seen on the 1795
Yarmouth Survey map.2 Crowell owned brigs, schooners, and sloops, and
was heavily engaged in the freighting business in the late 1780’s until his
untimely death in 1814.
About a mile southeastward of the mouth of Bass River there was a
sandbar called Dogfish Bar, which in 1800, ran about six miles westward to
Point Gammon on the edge of Yarmouth. The location of the bar created a
natural depression in the ocean floor 3 easterly of the mouth of Bass River,
between the bar and the shoreline that was about 12 feet deep at low tide.
This deep water area was called Bass River Harbor, or Deep Hole.
A captain unfamiliar with the river, and owing to the tricky nature of the
channels around Stage Island, would have difficulty navigating Bass River
to deliver its payload. These various freighters would anchor in Bass River
Harbor as a staging area and wait their turn to be loaded or to have their
cargo discharged.
The loading and unloading process of a freighter anchored in the harbor
involved a network of smaller vessels, or scows. These smaller vessels that
were shallow in construction could easily navigate the river, and were
known as lighters. These lighters were stationed at the various wharves on
both shorelines along the river. A lighter would bring a load of cargo to an
empty freighter moored in Bass River Harbor, and then bring a load back
into the river from another freighter. This operation must have employed
many local folks, and one can imagine the river teeming with lighters
carrying cargoes to and from the numerous riverbank wharves. The crew of
the freighter would provide the labor for loading or discharging of the
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cargo. The transferring of cargo from one ship to another, both free standing
in the harbor, must have been a difficult and dangerous process.
Silvanus Crowell had a notion to build a pier in the ocean at Bass River
harbor. The pier could provide a stationery structure where a freighter could
fasten itself for ease of loading and discharging cargo, acting as a crossdock operation, where cargo would be loaded into the lighters. Crowell,
who owned and maintained many freighters, must have believed that reengineering the loading and discharging operation of these freighters
anchored near Bass River Harbor would create a safer and more efficient
operation, and that he would profit from the enterprise.
About 1790 Silvanus Crowell built such a pier, located westerly in the
harbor. It was stated on the 1795 Yarmouth Survey map as Crowell’s Pier.
The foundation of the pier was built with pilings set deep into the sand on
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203
the ocean floor, and the foundation was supported with large boulders that
could withstand the harsh nature of wind and water. The nearly one hundred
foot pier was a built on top of this foundation, with a store structure thirtyseven feet long by thirty-one feet wide erected upon it. Crowell could
clearly see this pier from his house at the mouth of Bass River.
The tide at the ocean pier would rise and fall about four feet, so at low
tide the structure was quite visible to approaching freighters sailing to Bass
River from the east. The captains would use the visibility of the pier to
judge the tide. Freighters were too heavy to enter the river and would
anchor at the harbor, waiting their turn to unload at the pier. This pier must
have been a very busy place.
A business agreement in 1797 between Silvanus Crowell and David
Killey gave each a half interest in the pier.4
The Breakwater
In order to preserve the depth of water at the ocean pier and at the
harbor, Crowell attempted to confine the movement of the river channel at
the mouth of the river from cutting eastward across the marsh, which would
cause the shifting sands of the marsh to affect shoreline and the depth of the
natural deep harbor area. A plan was developed by Crowell to make a sort
of jetty extending from the eastern bank of the river at the mouth to the
Dogfish sandbar. Accounts of this endeavor say that it was a failure.5 Over
the years the Dogfish Bar sands swept seaward into deeper waters, Bass
River harbor was filled in, and a new channel on the shore side was made
by the currents. The pier was removed, the pilings disintegrated, and the
rock structure that remained became known as the Old Pier.
According to Daniel Wing in 1837 there was a second attempt to
construct a breakwater to confine the channel. This breakwater was built out
of rock, which came mostly from Dinah’s Pond, off Bass River, the rocky
shore. Scows would navigate to and from Dinah’s Pond to the construction
site at the mouth of the river. The breakwater followed the path from the
mouth of the river to the Dogfish Bar -- the same as Crowell’s attempt. A
continuous rope, which was four and a half inches thick, ran from the mouth
of the river to Dogfish Bar, and the scows would pull themselves along this
hawser to their destination. This process must have been an amazing
operation. Before the project was completed to plan, the work was
suspended. Sand began to accumulate on the shore side, which is the present
West Dennis. A wooden structure was erected on top of the unfinished jetty
at about the halfway point of the finished portion. This structure was
apparently destroyed by fire some years later. Over 170 years the rock
formation at the river’s mouth has disappeared. The rock formation from the
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Old Pier is still visible in the ocean at low tide.6 A description of the Pier is
given by the Rev. James Freeman in 1802:
…A mile, east south east from the mouth of Bass River, begins a
bar, called Dog-fish Bar, which extends six miles west to Point Gammon in
Yarmouth. It affords to vessels which lie within it a harbor, called Deep
Hole. From the end of this bar, on which is a buoy, the course into the river
is west northwest. Half way between the river’s mouth and the end of the
bar stands a pier, thirty-seven feet long, and thirty-one broad, on which is a
store. There is good anchorage two cables’ length east of it, in twelve feet at
low water. Common tides rise here four feet…Mr. Sylvanus Crowell, who
lives on the Yarmouth side, and who also built the pier, has endeavored to
confine the water of the river within the main channel, and to prevent it
from flowing through the marsh on the eastern side, but his laudable
attempts have hitherto failed of success.7
We wish other genealogists well in this never-done pursuit of
establishing relationships and descendancies.
1
Mathews, Benjamin, Jr., surveyor, Map No. 1849; 1830 Yarmouth Coastal Map; 1830
series, Vol. 15; p.17; and Map No. 1837; 1831 Dennis Coastal Map; 1830 series, Vol. 14;
p.13; Massachusetts Archives at Columbia Point, 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA.
Combined depiction of the 1830 Coastal Maps of Yarmouth & Dennis showing the location
of Silvanus Crowell’s Pier, or Old Pier, located southeast of the mouth of Bass River.
Robert D. Kelley drawing close to scale, 2011.
2
Town of Yarmouth re-recorded deeds, Benjamin Killey to Sylvanus Crowell, 3 March 1797,
Vol. 1:69; Town of Yarmouth re-recorded deeds, Benjamin Killey to David Killey and
Sylvanus Crowell, 10 October 1797, Vol. 3: 68; Town of Yarmouth re-recorded deeds,
David Killey Quit Claim deed to Sylvanus Crowell [all rights to property given to David
Killey by Benjamin Killey 10 October 1797], 18 April 1805, Vol. 3:60, transcribed by
Robert Dudley Kelley 2013.
3
Thacher, Thomas, & Matthews, Isaac, Yarmouth Selectmen & Surveyors, Plan of 1795
Yarmouth Survey Map, 1794 series, 27 May 1795, Vol. 12; p.4, Map No. 1036,
Massachusetts Archives at Columbia Point, 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Mass. Color
copy obtained by Ben Muse Jr. of Juneau, Alaska. Showing the mill, fish flakes, fish house,
on the western bank of Bass River area at the mouth of the river. Crowell’s Pier can be seen
in the ocean southeasterly of the mouth of the river.
4
Personal Records Collection R. Dudley Kelley, Original Business Agreement between
David Killey and his cousin Capt. Sylvanus Crowell, 20 February 1797, Memphis, TN
2010. Original hard to read so was transcribed by author.
5
Freeman, Rev. James, editor, Description of Dennis, September 1802; p.131; 1802,
Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume VIII (first
series)[hereinafter: Freeman].
6
Wing, Daniel, author, Some of the Older Landmarks in South Yarmouth, Article Seven, The
Old Pier; 19 October 1901; Dennis-Yarmouth Register on microfilm roll number 22,
Sturgis Library, Yarmouthport, Mass. (Transcribed by Robert Dudley Kelley @ Sturgis
Library 1995)
7
Freeman, op. cit. Description of Dennis, September 1802; p.131; 1802, Vol. VIII (first
series).
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
205
Colonial Fornication:
The Marstons Mills Case Of Hamblin vs. Lovell
by James Gould and David Martin
The Historical Context
ex prior to marriage was deemed a crime in colonial America. In fact,
Massachusetts law at the time defined “fornication” as a male having
sex “with any Single woman.” The guilty parties were forced to marry, or
be fined, or even whipped. Women were more frequently found guilty than
men, although the accused man was theoretically a criminal also; but by the
1750s, men were seldom actually prosecuted.1 When we reviewed this
fascinating published historical article by Prof. Ryan, we quickly found a
Cape Cod example, which would be of local historical interest. In addition,
the details as they are available on this case provide an excellent case study
of the times. Our investigation beyond what the original author provided
was at times frustrating because of the lack of available data, due to several
factors, which we explain. The case is also an illustration of how, in spite of
some missing data, one may still provide a reasonably credible skeleton of
the actual story.
The Case
This story involves a Cape Cod couple where the woman “won” in the
end, thanks to the legal skills of a future President of the United States—
John Adams. The couple also had surnames which were among the most
common in the southwestern part of the Town of Barnstable (today’s
Marstons Mills): Hamblin (with several varying spellings), which gave the
name to the Plains of Marstons Mills, and Lovell which was given to
“Lovell’s Neighborhood” and which later was renamed Osterville.
Although we have been unable to find the location of the original homes of
these two individuals, the Hamblin and Lovell families were among the
most prominent in Cotuit, Osterville, and Marstons Mills as large
landowners and holders of civic offices. Some of their descendants live
nearby today.
The Accusation
On 19 March 1766 Elizabeth Lovell, a single woman who was pregnant,
stood accused in court of fornication. She was brought before a public
hearing, probably in the Old Colonial Courthouse, which still stands in
Barnstable Village.2
Colonel David Gorham (1712-1786), Justice of the Peace, asked her in
court, “Are you with child?”
S
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
In a “loud and audible voice,” she replied, “Yes, I am.”
Gorham: “Who is the father of it?”
Lovell: “Seth Hamblen, Junior.” (Note that several variations of spelling
are found with this surname, frequently within the same family – Hamblen,
Hamblin, Hamlin, Hamelin, etc.)
Gorham: “How long have you been with child?”
Lovell: “About six months.”
Gorham: “When and where was the child begot?”
Lovell: “On the 18th day of September Last on board B. Chipman’s
Vessell Coming from Nantuckett Within the County of Barnstable.”
Gorham: “Had he Carnall Knowledge of your Body more than once?”
Lovell: “Yes, twice the Same Night.”
The “Vessell” referred to above appears to be a packet boat (usually a
sloop or small schooner), which regularly carried mail, freight, and
passengers to Nantucket from ports on the south side of Cape Cod.
Chipman’s Narrows, located between Grand Island and the village of
Cotuit, was the residence of Barnabas Chipman (1748-1794), located near
Cedar Tree Landing—the packet port for the village of Marstons Mills.
We can find no record of birth for Elizabeth Lovell. In June 1766 when
her child may have been born, no record of illegitimate births exists for this
period. Elizabeth subsequently found a husband, and on 11 October 1766
married John Marow in Barnstable; Marow was of Southold, Long Island,
New York.34
Another Court Case
As a result of the first court case, apparently Seth Hamblin was
convicted of fornication in a Barnstable Court of General Sessions because
he later complained that he had been imprisoned for his behavior (we are
not sure for how long). The records of the Court were destroyed in the
disastrous fire of the Courthouse, which occurred 22 October 1827.
Next, this “Hatter” Seth Hamblin, designated as “Jr.” to distinguish him
from his father of the same name, then sued Elizabeth Lovell for libel. We
assume that among the several persons of this name, he was the one born 20
July 1744, the only son of Lieutenant Seth Hamblin; the lineage is Lt. Seth
(4), Joseph (3), Eleazer (2), and James (1). This birth date would make him
22 years of age at the time of this second case.5
This suit, which is preserved in the Massachusetts State Archives, shows
Seth indignantly accusing Elizabeth of “Wickedly and Malliciously”
testifying against him originally, as a result of which he “hath Suffered
much of his Good Name and Reputation and Peace of Mind.” The maligned
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
207
hatter then demanded 200 pounds—a huge sum which is equivalent to
$37,000 in today’s currency.
The Circuit Court ruled on 2 December 1766 in Seth’s favor, but
awarded him only ‎£20 in damages. Still indignant, he then appealed to the
Massachusetts Supreme Court at the Superior Court of Judicature. This
appeal was obviously Elizabeth Lovell’s desire, too. At the next session of
the Court in early 1767, she was out of state, perhaps in her husband’s town
on Long Island; thus the case was continued until 30 June 1768.6
Seth then hired one of the state’s most prominent attorneys who is well
known for his various achievements—Robert Treat Paine (1731-1814), a
later signer of the Declaration of Independence who was then living in
Taunton, Mass. In turn, Elizabeth then hired Paine’s legal rival, future
President John Adams (1735-1826).7
A Final Decision
These accusations now escalated. The case was tried in the Superior
Court of Judicature. Attorney Paine presented all the same evidence from
Elizabeth’s prior testimony, as evidence of her malicious and wicked
accusations. Adams’ defense of Elizabeth is not recorded, but the jury
agreed with Adams that she was not guilty and instead reversed the libel
conviction. Elizabeth was awarded ‎£10 pounds and 9 shillings in court
costs—about $1850 in today’s currency.
Seth Hamblin’s Story
Meanwhile, Seth had found a wife in a neighboring village, and on 17
December 1767 married Chloe Fish, daughter of Simeon Fish of
Forestdale.8 They were married in Barnstable, probably at the 1717
“Rooster” Church, named for its weathervane, and which stands today as a
tall white colonial Congregational Church on Route 149 in West
Barnstable—clearly visible on the north side of Route 6 at Exit 5. Their first
child, a son Consider Hamblen (note the varying spellings of the surname),
was born 20 September 1768 but died at age nine months on 3 July 1769,
according to his gravestone in the West Barnstable Cemetery.
Their next child, Seth Jr., was born 12 September 1770 and survived.9
However, three more children were later born in Sandwich. The father of
Seth of this case, previously referred to above as Lieutenant Seth Hamblin,
had been an officer in the French and Indian Wars, died 16 May 1771, and
is buried in the West Barnstable Cemetery.10 The old soldier, Seth’s father,
left all of his property to his son Seth of this case, but with life tenancy for
his wife and Seth’s mother, Sarah Blish.11
No record was found that Seth of this case served in the Revolution. His
last child, Polly, was born 12 September 1783. Then Seth disappears.
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
We found no
record of his
death in either
Barnstable or
Sandwich. Was
he perhaps lost at
sea, as was the
case with so many
Cape Cod sons?
The Census of
1790 lists his wife
Chloe Hamblin
as “single” with
four children,
living between
the homes of two
Fish relatives in
Sandwich.12
On 5 May
1795 the widow
Chloe Hamblen
and her 25 yearold mariner son
Seth (we see the
forename Seth
Gravestone of Consider Hamblen, West Barnstable,
repeating for
Mass. Cemetery
multiple
generations) are
recorded as “warned out” of Sandwich, presumably because the town would
not bear the expense for their support as long as she was legally a member
of another town—Barnstable.13
This family was rescued when on 15 April 1797 son Seth declared his
intention to marry Abigail Howland, a Mayflower descendant, whose father
had moved to Sandwich from Barnstable.14 Then, fully rehabilitated, Chloe
was admitted to the Sandwich church in 1808.15
Seth and Chloe Hamblin’s daughter Mercy Freeman suffered the loss of
her husband Martin Freeman, who was killed by a close relative, who
mistook him for a deer when they were hunting in South Sandwich in
1826.16
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
209
The Search Process
We were fortunate to find the two court cases in the Massachusetts
Archives at Columbia Point. These were supplemented by the town records
of Sandwich and Barnstable, but they leave large gaps in family records for
the second half of the eighteenth century, especially for illegitimate births
and individual deaths. Gravestones sometimes make up for lack of death
records. We searched the West Barnstable church records at the
Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston, but found no record of the
church’s censure of Elizabeth Lovell, or even of her membership or
subsequent dismissal—an action that was common at the time for members’
pregnancy out of wedlock.
We are at a loss to know exactly where people lived because the
Barnstable Courthouse fire of 1827 burned all previous copies of deeds,
only a few of which were re-recorded. The fire also destroyed the initial
legal proceedings in general court sessions and the jailing records.
Barnstable County Probate records gave us only the bare bones about
inheritance, but no inventories or sales of property. Secondary sources such
as family histories and genealogies yielded basic dates but without
documentation. We are most grateful to genealogists Prof. Kelly A. Ryan
and Michael F. Dwyer, who gave us our initial clues, to which we return
with this article.
Conclusion
Thus, we are left without exact knowledge of the age of our main
character, Elizabeth Lovell “Junior,” and even of her senior namesake,
whether it would have been her mother or her aunt. We do not know
whether a child was actually born, nor if so, what its name was. Nor do we
know where John Marow and Elizabeth Lovell went when they left Cape
Cod—perhaps for the new West, as so many Cape Codders went at this
time: to New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio, or beyond. And her
partner in fornication, Seth Hamblin, also disappears, perhaps lost at sea.
For genealogists, colonial paternity cases can be difficult to research.
Cape Cod is particularly frustrating because all lower court cases and most
of the deeds were destroyed in the courthouse fire. In other Massachusetts
counties there may exist similar suits in the court of general sessions by
women desiring to establish a man’s responsibility. Church records may be
the source of a community’s response, rather than the courts, but even if
those church records survive, the attention of the minister to record events
carefully does vary widely.
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Reflecting on this particular case, it may be said that it was an early
small victory for women. We hope that this record illustrates the frustrations
and rewards for those who seek to investigate similar cases in the future.
1
Kelly A. Ryan. “Fornication and Paternity Suits in Massachusetts, 1740-1800.” American
Ancestors, Winter 2015, pp. 37-41.
2
Hamblen v. Lovell 1766, Supreme Court of Judicature, Suffolk files, Document 1444231,
p. 93.
3
Barnstable Town Records, Vol. II: 262. It is possible that Marow was a whaler who she had
met on Nantucket. Nothing more is known of him, although a Henry Marow was living in
Southold in 1711—possibly John’s father.
4
Southold Town Records (The Town, 1884), Vol. II: 103.
5
Amos Otis, Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families, 1888, Vol. I: 534; Barnstable Vital
Records, Mayflower Descendant, Vol. 6: 137.
6
Lovell v. Hamblin, Supreme Court of Judicature, Record BookVolume 1767-1768, pp. 176178, 4 Jun 1768. Appreciation is expressed by the authors to Massachusetts State Archivist
Elizabeth Bouvier for providing a copy of this important record book
7
Legal Papers of John Adams
8
Sandwich Vital Records, Vol. I: 220; Barnstable Town Records, Vol. III: 262.
9
Barnstable Town Records, Vol. II. A fine photograph is found on the website kept by
Robert P. Carlson at http://www.capecodgravestones.com/barnwest3.html
10
Paul Bunnell, Cemetery Inscriptions of Barnstable. Heritage Books, 1995, p. 202; Carlson,
op. cit.; Barnstable Town Records, Vol. III: 369
11
Barnstable Probate XII: 434-435. Sarah Blish lived until 6 Nov 1773, after which son Seth
evidently sold the property, since the family did not return to the family home again
12
1790 U.S. Census, Sandwich, Massachusetts
13
Sandwich Town Records, Vol. II: 214
14
Sandwich Vital Records, Vol. I: 553; married 23 Nov, Sandwich Vital Records, I:248;
Amos Otis, Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families, Baltimore, 1979, Vol. II:51
15
Sandwich Church Records, copy in Sandwich Town Archives, cited by Dwyer, note 64
16
Dwyer, op. cit., p. 8.
Note: This article first appeared in the Fall 2015 issue of THE GRIST, the periodic
publication of the Marstons Mills (Mass.) Historical Society, and is reprinted here with
permission of the Society
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
211
Eastham Wood Lot Grants of 1715
by Robert P. Carlson
his series of 156 wood lot grants is the largest one time distribution of
land found in the Eastham digitized records covering the period 1650 to
1745. Thousands of acres of wood lots were granted.
These wood lot grants are found in the Eastham record book “Land
Grants 1711 – 1745.” For reference purposes, this record book has been
assigned the letter “T” as was used in the separate Land Grants Index.
The page references are the PDF page numbers in the digitized records.
If a record extends to two pages, both pages are given in the PDF page
reference. Sometimes the pages are out of order.
This report presents the grants in alphabetical order by owner and gives
the lot number and the Eastham records PDF page number. Some of the
grants in the names of deceased persons are for the heirs of those persons.
Lot dimensions while often incomplete are included to give an idea of
the size of the wood lots. Acreage is included only if stated in the records.
Actual lot location and better definition of lot size requires study of the
actual records including surrounding lots. For many lots only one or two
dimensions are given with other bounds defined in relation to adjoining lots
or to features such as trees, rocks and stakes in the ground.
Dimensions are given in pole. A pole is 16.5 feet. Three hundred twenty
pole equals one mile. Acreage can be determined by calculating square
footage of the lot and then dividing by 43,560. For example, a lot 16 pole by
320 pole is 32 acres.
Alphabetical Listing of Wood Lots
Atkins, Joseph
Lot 103
T289
Pole - north 32, east 320
Atwood, Daniel
Lot 33
T270
Pole - north 20, (probably east 320)
Atwood, David
Lot 98
T290
(shared with John Doane)
Pole - north 29, east 320
Atwood, Ebenezer (2 parcels) Lot 138
T300
(shared with Joshua Atwood)
Pole - west 28, north 36, east 32, south 28
Pole - southeast 48, west 8, southwest 16
Atwood, Isaac
Lot 113
T291
Pole - north 32, west 160
Atwood, John
Lot 100
T290
Pole - north 25, east 320
T
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Atwood, Joseph
Lot 16
T265
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Atwood, Joshua (2 parcels)
Lot 138
T300
(shared with Ebenezer Atwood)
Pole - west 28, north 36, east 32, south 28
Pole - southeast 48, west 8, southwest 16
Atwood, Modad
Lot 99
T290
Pole - north 29, east 320
Atwood, Stephen
Lot 11
T266
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Baker, Isaac
Lot 116
T294
Pole - north 28, west 160
Brown, George
Lot 155
T303
Pole - north 40, east 80
Brown, George Jr. (3 parcels) Lot 150
T276
Pole - southeast 28, northeast 32, northwest 11
Pole - northwest 20, southwest 24, southwest 36
Pole - southeast 32, west 40, northwest 32, east 44
Brown, James
Lot 154
T303
Pole - north 40, east 80
Brown, James Sr.
Lot 139
T299
Pole - northwest 20, northeast 56, southeast 28
Brown, John
Lot 80
T283
Pole - east 36, north 120, west 20, south 120
Brown, Joshua (2 parcels)
Lot 82
T283, T286
Pole - east 40, north 28, west 16, southwest 34
Pole - south 32, southwest 8
Brown, Samuel
Lot 142
T302
Pole - east 100, southeast 40, south 40
Brown, William (3 parcels)
Lot 86
T285
Pole - west 108, southeast 20, east 108, north 20
Pole - south 24, northeast 56, northwest 13, south 20, south 28
Pole - southeast 35, west 26, north 20
Cole, Daniel
Lot 27
T267
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Cole, Daniel (heirs)
Lot 149
T304
Pole - north 54, east 22, south 54, west 20
Cole, David
Lot 111
T291
(shared with Ebenezer Cole)
Pole - north 64, west 160
Cole, Ebenezer
Lot 111
T291
(shared with David Cole)
Pole - north 64, west 160
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
213
Cole, Elisha
Lot 147
T301
Pole - north 54, east 20, south 54, west 20
Cole, Israel
Lot 31
T270
Pole - north 17, (probably east 320)
Cole, Israel Jr.
Lot 81
T283
Pole - northwest 20, north 24, southeast 48, south 10, west 28
Cole, James
Lot 1
T264
Pole - south 92, east 82, northwest 124
Cole, John Sr.
Lot 23
T268
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Cole, John Jr. (5 parcels)
Lot 38
T269, T272
Pole - south 88, east 20, north 48, west 14
Pole - west 24, north 38, east 32, south 30
Pole - east 16, north 36, west 28
Pole - north 18, northwest 120
Pole - southwest 12, southeast 15, east 20, north 13, northwest 12
Cole, Joseph
Lot 55
T278
Pole - north 28, southeast 48, southwest 68, northwest 32
Cole, Joseph
Lot 68
T279
Pole - south 64, east 20, north 35, east 28
Cole, Thomas
Lot 26
T267
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Cole, Timothy
Lot 132
T297
No dimensions given.
Cole, Timothy Sr.
Lot 143
T302
Pole - west 40
Cole, William
Lot 148
T301
Pole - north 54, east 24, south 54, west 20
Collins, John
Lot 58
T278
Pole - east 72, north 32
Collins, Joseph Jr.
Lot 36
T269
Pole - north 56
Cooke, Benjamin
Lot 83
T286
Pole - north 28, east 36, south 40, west 48
Cooke, Joshua
Lot 85
T286, T285
Pole - north 10, southeast 64, southwest 76, northwest 20
Cooke, Josiah
Lot 42
T271
Pole - west 140, north 36, east 135, southwest 32
Cooke, Richard (4 parcels)
Lot 39
T272
Pole - east 40, southeast 20
Pole - west 140, south 13
Pole - north 106, north 13
Pole - west 104, north 32
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Crowell, John
Lot 60
T277
Pole - west 100, north 28, east ?, south 24
Doane, David
Lot 10
T266
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Doane, Isaac
Lot 63,
T280
Pole - northeast 28, east 44, north 40
Doane, Israel
Lot 67
T279
Pole - south 48, east 14, northwest 54, north 40, west 14
Doane, John
Lot 96
T287
Pole - east 188, north 32
Doane, John
Lot 97
T287
Pole - east 320, north 29
Doane, John
Lot 98
T290
(shared with David Atwood)
Pole - east 320, north 29
Doane, Joseph
Lot 22
T268
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Doane, Joseph Jr.
Lot 108
T292
(shared with Samuel Higgins)
Pole – east 320, north 32
Doane, Nathaniel
Lot 65
T280
Pole - east 36, south 36, west 32, north 40
Doane, Samuel
Lot 9
T266
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Doane, Thomas (3 parcels)
Lot 53
T275
Pole - southeast 13, east 72, north 8
Pole - north 12, west 113, south 21
Parcel defined by landmarks and fence – about 4 acres
Eldridge, Elisha (3 parcels)
Lot 140
T299
Pole - southeast 92, west 120, north 100
Pole - northwest 12, north 44, east 32
Pole - northeast 16, southeast 20
Eldridge, Elisha Jr.
Lot 94
T287
Pole - east 320, north 32
Freeman, Ebenezer (2 parcels) Lot 128
T298
Pole - north 12, west 44
Pole - southwest 110, north 24
Freeman, Edmond
Lot 126
T295
Pole - north 16, east 112, south 8
Freeman, Isaac
Lot 64
T280
Pole - northeast 28, east 44, east 72, west 40
Freeman, John
Lot 88
T288
Pole - north 56, east 320
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
215
Freeman, Nathaniel
Lot 71
T282
Pole - east 20, south 36, northwest 64
Freeman, Nathaniel Jr.
Lot 151
T304
(shared with Titus Wixam)
Pole - north 54, east 40, southwest 54, west 8
Freeman, Samuel
Lot 20
T268
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Freeman, Samuel Jr.
Lot 19
T268
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Harding, Abiah (2 parcels)
Lot 78
T284
Pole - south 120, southeast 52, north 120
Pole - northwest 44, northeast 5, southeast 44, south 5
Harding, Joshua
Lot 73
T281
Pole - southeast 92, south 12, northwest 92, northeast 68
Harding, Josiah
Lot 52
T275
Pole - north 64, northeast 20, southwest 20, south 20, southeast 11,
south 20, northeast 27, southeast 36, northeast 39, northwest 6
Harding, Maziah
Lot 74
T281
Pole - southwest 32, northwest 92, east 20, east 92
Harding, Samuel (3 parcels) Lot 77
T281
Pole - east 72, southwest 36, northeast 19, northeast 16
Pole - west 8, south 33, east 28, east 32
Pole - east 20, south 24
Harding, Samuel
Lot 156
T306
Pole - east 80, north 40
Hedge, Samuel
Lot 41
T271
Pole - north 24, east 145, southeast 36
Higgins, Benjamin
Lot 129
T298
Pole - northwest 16, west 36
Higgins, Elisha
Lot 34
T270
Pole - north 20, (probably east 320)
Higgins, Ichabod
Lot 118
T294
Pole - west 160, north 32
Higgins, Isaac
Lot 54
T278
Pole - east 24, south 32, southwest 56, northwest 48, northeast 48
Higgins, James
Lot 17
T265
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Higgins, John
Lot 119
T293
Pole - west 160, north 24
Higgins, Jonathan
Lot 117
T294
Pole - west 160, north 24
Higgins, Jonathan Jr.
Lot 45
T274
Property defined by landmarks and other property bounds.
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Higgins, Joseph
Lot 59
T277
Pole - west, 58, northwest 72, north 8, south 8, west 28,
northwest 20, east 100, south 36
Higgins, Joshua
Lot 72
T282
Pole - southeast 64, south 36, northwest 36, northeast 16
Higgins, Richard
Lot 130
T298
Pole - west 44
Higgins, Samuel
Lot 32
T270
Pole - north 20, (probably east 320)
Higgins, Samuel
Lot 108
T292
(shared with Joseph Doane Jr.)
Pole - east 320, north 32
Hopkins, Elisha
Lot 106
T289
Pole - east 320, north 32
Hopkins, Joshua
Lot 105
T289
Pole - east 320, north 36
Horton, Samuel (3 parcels)
Lot 70
T282
Pole - northeast 4, south 60, northwest 20
Pole - northeast 20, south 60, east 20
Pole - north 32, west 16, northwest ?, north 20, west 48, southeast
80
Knowles, Edward (4 parcels) Lot 51
T276
Pole - north 23, southeast 9, south 24
Pole - north 4, west 28, south 20
Pole - west 20, south 30, west 8, southeast 28, north 42
Pole - west 30, north 10
Knowles, John
Lot 21
T268
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Knowles, John
Lot 75
T281
Pole - southeast 80, northeast 52, northwest 92
Knowles, Richard
Lot 3
T264
Pole - north 16, east 320
Knowles, Samuel
Lot 48
T273
Pole - east 40, north 8, mostly defined by landmarks and other
bounds
Knowles, Samuel Jr.
Lot 150
T304
(shared with Judah Mayo)
Pole - north 54, east 24, south 54, west 20
Linnell, Jonathan
Lot 127
T295
Pole - east 60, north 16
Luis, Thomas
Lot 29
T267
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Mayo, Daniel
Lot 102
T290
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
Pole - east 320, north 32
Mayo, Judah
Lot 150
T304
(shared with Samuel Knowles Jr.)
Pole - north 54, east 24, south 54, west 20
Mayo, Nathaniel
Lot 28
T267
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Mayo, Nathaniel
Lot 109
T292
Pole - east 320, north 24
Mayo, Samuel
Lot 30
T270
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Mayo, Samuel
Lot 101
T290
Pole - east 320, north 24
Mayo, Theophilus
Lot 95
T287
Pole - east 320, north 52
Mayo, Thomas
Lot 5
T263
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Mayo, Thomas Jr.
Lot 92
T288
Pole - north 48, east 320
Mulford, John
Lot 25
T267
Pole - north 16, east 320
Myrick, Joseph
Lot 6
T263
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Myrick, Joseph Jr.
Lot 79
T284
Pole - east 32, north 120, west 20, south 120
Myrick, William (2 parcels)
Lot 144
T302
(shared with Nathaniel Smith)
Pole - north 16, west 60, south 72
Pole - north 8, west 120
Newcome, Simon
Lot 131
T297
Pole - west 44, south ?
Newcome, Simon Jr.
Lot 134
T297
Pole - west 32, south ?
Paine, Ebenezer
Lot 76
T281
Pole - south 9, (probably northwest 320)
Paine, John (2 parcels)
Lot 44
T274
Pole - south 28, northwest 10, northwest 12
Pole - south 48, northwest 6
Paine, John Jr.
Lot 46
T273
Property defined only by landmarks and
adjoining property bounds
Paine, Nicholas
Lot 107
T292
Pole - east 320, north 20
Pepper, Isaac
Lot 49
T273
217
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Pole - west 18, southwest 60, southeast 72, north 64
Rich, John
Lot 120
T293
Pole - west 160, north 20
Rich, Richard
Lot 133
T297
Pole - west 40, south ?
Rich, Thomas
Lot 12
T266
Pole - north 18, (probably east 320)
Rogers, James
Lot 145
T301
Pole - south 48, east 52
Rogers, Joseph (2 parcels)
Lot 69
T279
Pole - south 36, east 20, north 36
Pole - north 20, west 56
Rogers, Nathaniel
Lot 110
T292
Pole - east 320, north 20
Shaw, George
Lot 7
T263
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Smith, Daniel
Lot 4
T263
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Smith, Daniel Jr.
Lot 14
T265
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Smith, James
Lot 15
T265
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Smith, Jeremiah
Lot 2
T264
Pole - north 16, east 320
Smith, John
Lot 8
T266
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Smith, Jonathan
Lot 125
T295
(shared with Isaac Young)
Pole - east 320, north 44
Smith, Joseph
Lot 18
T265
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Smith, Nathaniel (2 parcels)
Lot 144
T302
(shared with William Myrick)
Pole - north 16, west 60, south 72
Pole - north 8, west 120
Smith, Ralph
Lot 121
T293
Pole - east 320, north 24
Smith, Samuel
Lot 135
T300
Pole - west 36, south ?
Smith, Thomas
Lot 24
T268
Pole - north 16, (probably east 320)
Smith, William (2 parcels)
Lot 66
T280
Pole - east 36, south 36, west 40, north 36
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
Pole - northeast 12, northeast 20, east 14, north 4, west 35
Snow, Benjamin
Lot 62
T277
Pole - west 116, north 24, east 116, south 20
Snow, Ebenezer
Lot 91
T288
Pole – north 48, east 320
Snow, Jabez (2 parcels)
Lot 43
T271, T274
Pole - southeast 60, northeast ?
Pole - south 120, east 56, north 120, west 52
Snow, Jonathan
Lot 47
T273
Property defined only by landmarks and
adjoining property bounds
Snow, Joseph
Lot 37
T269
Pole - north 104, (probably east 320)
Snow, Miciah
Lot 90
T288
Pole – north 48, east 320
Snow, Nicholas
Lot 89
T288
Pole – north 48, east 320
Snow, Stephen
Lot 84
T286
Pole - north 40, east 84, south 48, west 20, north 12
Sparrow, John
Lot 122
T296
Pole - west 160, north 24
Sparrow, Jonathan
Lot 104
T289
Pole - east 320, north 48
Sparrow, Richard
Lot 123
T296
Pole - east 320, north 24
Sweat, John
Lot 112
T291
Pole - west 160, north 24
Treat, John
Lot 124
T296
Pole - east 160, north 40
Treat, Samuel
Lot 57
T278
Property defined only by landmarks and
adjoining property bounds
Twining, William (2 parcels) Lot 61
T277
Pole - west 40, north 52, east 40, south 40
Pole - southwest 12, south 48, east 24, northwest 55
Waker, Jabez
Lot 13
T265
Pole - north 17, (probably east 320)
Walker, John
Lot 153
T303
Pole - east 40, northwest 27, north 8, east 80
Walker, William
Lot 35
T269
Pole - north 24, (probably east 320)
Witheril, John
Lot 40
T271
Pole - west 140, west 20, north 18, east 150, south 24
219
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Wixam, Barnabas
Lot 115
T294
Pole - west 160, north 28
Wixam, Titus
Lot 151
T304
(shared with Nathaniel Freeman Jr.)
Pole - north 54, east 40, southwest 54, west 8
Young, Barnabas
Lot 114
T291
Pole - west 160, north 32
Young, Benjamin
Lot 137
T300
Pole - west 24, south ?
Young, David (2 parcels)
Lot 87
T285
Pole - north 40, east 80, south 40, west 80
Pole - north 4, west 20, northwest 15, southwest 28
Young, Elisha
Lot 56
T278
Property defined only by landmarks and
adjoining property bounds
Young, Henry
Lot 149
T304
Pole - north 54, east 22, south 54, west 22
Young, Isaac
Lot 125
T295
(shared with Jonathan Smith)
Pole - east 320, north 44
Young, Israel
Lot 152
T303
Pole - east 88, south 32, southwest 34, southwest 36, north 44
Young, John
Lot 136
T300
Pole - west 32, south ?
Young, Jonathan
Lot 141,
T299
Pole - northeast 12, southeast 92, southwest 140, northeast 24
Young, Nathan
Lot 146
T301
Pole - south 48, east 44
Young, Robert
Lot 93
T287
Pole - east 320, north 44
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
221
Eastham Land Records
For
John Mayo 1598 - 1676
Thomas Crosby 1634 - 1702
Samuel Treat 1648 – 1716/17
by Robert P. Carlson
T
his article is based on land record information found using the Index to
Eastham Land Records. The second of two installments of the index is
included right after this article in this issue of the Journal.
The indexed records are PDF files containing scanned images of the
record pages. Five out of thirty six PDF files contain land records. These
five PDF files contain about 1,350 handwritten pages of land records.
For index purposes, the five PDF files have been assigned letters as
follows:
A. Births, Marriages, Deaths 1649 - 1755, Land Grants 1659 – 1710
M. Land Grants 1659 - 1710, Militia 1865
P. Meetings c 1600 – 1700
S. Land Grant Transcriptions Book 1 C. 1654 -1743
T. Land Grants 1711 – 1745
These are the same letter designations as used for the previously
published indexes to early Eastham birth, marriage and death records.
Files A and P were transcribed up to 1692 by Jeremy Bangs in his book
The Town Records of Eastham during the Time of Plymouth Colony 1620 –
1692.
Confirm the Index Information By Inspecting the PDF Pages
Some of the years are uncertain because of the organization of the
records and most pages are difficult to read. There will be some errors in
the index. Confirm the index information by viewing the referenced PDF
file pages.
Records Availability
The Eastham digitized records can be purchased from the Eastham Town
Clerk. Land was granted by decision of Town Meeting. These meetings
consisted of a small group of men. There were 29 freemen recorded in
Eastham in 1655, 62 freemen in 1670 and 113 freemen in 1695.
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Brief descriptions of the land grants for the Church and for each
individual are presented in chronological order by year with PDF file and
page references. If both old style and new style year are given in the
records, new style year is used here. Modern spelling is used for names and
places. For reference, an acre in the 1600’s is about the same as an acre
today. A pole is 16.5 feet.
John Mayo
(1598 – 1676)
John Mayo arrived in Plymouth in the 1630s. He was described as a
quiet person and a godly and able gospel preacher. He was teaching in
Barnstable in 1639. He had held political offices including assistant to Gov.
Bradford. He was ordained in 1640 in the Barnstable church where Rev.
Lothrop was pastor.
Rev. Mayo moved to Eastham about 1646. He left Eastham about 1655
to become pastor of the Second Church in Boston. He served in Boston until
1672. He moved to Barnstable in 1673 and died in Yarmouth in 1676.
1644 (before Eastham had a minister)
The Plymouth Court granted to the Church and to all those who go to
dwell at Nauset all land from sea to sea from the Purchasers bounds at
Namskaket to the Herring Brook at Billingsgate including all meadows on
both sides of the brook and the Great Bass Pond. PDF A107, M267.
1658
Granted to John Mayo the swamp next to his land and house provided he
clear the swamp in two years. PDF P19
1659
Granted to John Mayo half an acre of meadow lying next to Mark
Snow’s land at the head of the meadow at Billingsgate. PDF A110, M237,
S27.
Granted to John Mayo eight acres of land for a house on the northwest
side of land belonging to John Mayo Jr. Five acres of the property are now
lawfully possessed by Henry Atkins. Some of the property is fenced.
PDF A110, A168, M64, M236, S13, S14, S26.
Granted to John Mayo four acres on the south side of the Cedar Swamp.
It borders common land which is reserved for a highway. The land is now
lawfully possessed by Henry Atkins. PDF A110, S13, S14, M65.
Three quarters of an acre of meadow at Billingsgate now lawfully
possessed by John Mayo is granted to Thomas Paine. PDF A110.
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
223
Granted to John Mayo one and one half acres of meadow at Boat
Meadow at the Common Cove next to land of Richard Higgins. The land is
now lawfully possessed by Henry Atkins. PDF A168, S13, S14, M65.
Granted to John Mayo three acres of meadow in the Great Meadow next
to land of Richard Higgins and next to a marsh and a creek. The land is now
lawfully possessed by Henry Atkins. PDF A168, S13, M65.
Granted to John Mayo fifteen acres at Pochet now lawfully possessed by
Thomas Roberts. The land is southeast of land owned by Richard Higgins
and it is bounded with marked trees. PDF M119, S12.
1660
Granted to John Mayo one and one half acres of meadow at the south
side of the harbor’s mouth towards Rock Harbor now lawfully possessed by
Henry Atkins. The property is next to property of Nathaniel Mayo and
Ralph Smith. PDF A156, A168, M65, M221, S13, S14. (Note – the same
grant is recorded as 1665 in PDF A111.)
1662
Josiah Cooke purchased from John Young for public benefit including
use by the Ministry property forty pole (660 feet) by 16 pole (264 feet) plus
a small addition of three quarters of an acre of meadow at the waterside.
The property was next to property of Richard Higgins and William
Bradford. PDF A190, M97.
After Gov. Bradford died, his parcel of land and meadow was lawfully
possessed by Manaseth Kempton of Plymouth. Mr. Kempton donated the
property to the Eastham Church. A transcription of his 1662 donation letter
is in the records. PDF A190, M97.
1669
John Mayo sold one half acre of meadow at Billingsgate to Ralph
Smith. The meadow is next to property of Steven Atwood and property of
John Young. PDF A156, M221, S32.
1673
Granted to John Mayo a parcel of upland at the Mill Timber Neck lying
between Pochet swamps and Nicholas Snow’s land. PDF A110, M237, S56.
A parcel of upland containing ten acres on the northwest side of Duck
Creek at Little Billingsgate now lawfully possessed by John Mayo granted
to Thomas Prence. PDF A110, M237.
A parcel of upland on the northeast side of Long Pond now lawfully
possessed by John Mayo is granted to Thomas Prence. PDF A167, M235.
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
A parcel of meadow containing four acres on the hither side of the first
river at Little Billingsgate now lawfully possessed by John Mayo is granted
to Thomas Prence. PDF A167.
A parcel of upland containing twenty acres where Billingsgate River
joins Duck Creek now lawfully possessed by John Mayo is granted ten
acres each to Thomas Prence and John Doane. PDF A167, M235.
1674
John Mayo purchased from Thomas Cole one and one half acres of
upland on the westerly side of a swamp and next to land belonging to Henry
Atkins and next to a highway. PDF A120, S35.
1677
John Mayo sold to John Young for eight pounds ten acres of upland on
Pochet on the westerly side of Young’s Cove and near Thomas Paine’s
land.
PDF A245, M244, M245, S45, S46.
The land grants and purchases described here for John Mayo amount to
about fifty acres. By 1745 twenty two more Mayos had received Eastham
land grants.
Thomas Crosby
(1634 – 1702)
Thomas Crosby arrived in Boston from England in 1635. He graduated
from Harvard College in 1653. He became religious teacher in Eastham
about 1655 and served until about 1670.
Like John Mayo before him, Mr. Crosby was university educated, mild
mannered, peace loving and preached excellent sermons. While Mr. Mayo
moved on to Boston, Mr. Crosby was satisfied to remain on Cape Cod.
As the Eastham congregation grew, the Town wanted a full-time pastor
rather than a part-time preacher. Mr. Crosby refused to be ordained. This
led to a call for a new minister, which was answered by Samuel Treat.
In the late 1690’s Mr. Crosby moved to what is now Brewster where he
continued his mercantile business. He was one of the founders of the
church in the Brewster area. He died in Boston in 1702 while there on
business. Thomas and his wife Sarah had twelve children.
1666
Thomas Crosby purchased a dwelling house and four acres of adjacent
upland near the meetinghouse and the cemetery. The property was
purchased from Jonathan Sparrow and his mother Pandora Sparrow. They
had inherited the property from Richard Sparrow, deceased husband of
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
225
Pandora. Jonathan and Pandora moved to property owned by Jonathan at
Pochet where Jonathan gave Pandora four acres and a house. PDF A140,
M268, M269.
1673
Granted to Thomas Crosby six acres of upland next to where he lived
and next to land of William Walker. Bounds were indicated by marked
trees at the four corners. The property was about 40 pole (660 feet) by 24
pole (396 feet). The property was on the highway to the meetinghouse. PDF
A120, M240, S61.
1682
The same six acres granted to Thomas Crosby in 1673 were sold by Mr.
Crosby to John Mayo in 1682. PDF A120, M240, S61.
1703
Granted to Thomas Crosby a parcel of meadow on Pochet flats. It was
the 27th lot of thirty lots laid out the previous year. It was next to the 26th
lot belonging to James Rogers. The Crosby lot was about 11 pole (182
feet)by 54 pole (891 feet) which would be about four acres. PDF A140,
M268, M269.
The land grants and purchases described here for Thomas Crosby
amount to about fourteen acres. No other Crosby family land records were
found in the Eastham land records.
Samuel Treat
(1648 – 1716/17)
Samuel Treat graduated from Harvard College in 1669. He was the
eldest son of Robert Treat who became governor of Connecticut. He was
the husband of Elizabeth Mayo who was the granddaughter of John Mayo.
Samuel Treat came to Eastham in 1672 where he was ordained in 1675.
In daily life it was said he was friendly and jolly but on the Sabbath he
preached hell fire and damnation and his voice could be heard at great
distance from the meetinghouse. He was hired by Eastham as a young man
and he served the same congregation for his entire preaching life.
He learned the Indian language and taught in several Indian villages
from Yarmouth to Truro. There was a severe snowstorm when he died in
1717. The Indians carried his remains from his house at Fort Hill through
deep snow to Cove Burying Ground.
Samuel Treat had eleven children with his first wife Elizabeth Mayo
who died in 1696 and two children with his second wife Mrs. Abigail
Easterbrook.
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
1670
Land for public benefit and the Church should be kept reserved for use
of any approved person or persons engaged by the Town in the work of the
Ministry. The properties should never be sold or given away to any person
or their heirs or assignees. PDF A192, M100, M101, S10.
1673
Twenty acres of upland were laid out at the head of the Town Cove for
the public benefit awaiting a minister. The bounds were defined by marked
oak trees. There was reference to the brow of the hill, the meadow at the
bottom, woods and corner of a swamp. (This area now is known as Fort
Hill). PDF A190, M98, S9.
Samuel Treat agreed to become Town Minister. Use of the twenty acres
at the head of Town Cove was granted to Mr. Treat. It was agreed that a
house would be built on the twenty acres for his use. PDF P30.
The town owned a parcel of upland and meadow lying on the other side
of the brook between Nicholas Snow and Steven Atwood. If Mr. Treat
would prefer to dwell on that land and build a house on that land at his own
cost, he would be granted that land and dwelling as his own. PDF P30.
Several pieces of land were made available to Mr. Treat for his support
and the support of his widow and children in the event of his death. This
land included a parcel of upland and meadow bought by the town from John
Young, three acres of meadow at the Mill Meadow and meadow and broken
marsh at Lieutenant Island at Billingsgate. PDF P30.
1677
Granted to Samuel Treat all the broken meadow unlaidout in Great
Meadow. The Town retains right of refusal if Mr. Treat or his heirs decide
to sell the property. PDF A191, M100, S10.
Granted to Samuel Treat twenty acres of upland at the head of Town
Cove. The Town retains right of refusal if Mr. Treat or his heirs decide to
sell the property. (Mr. Treat became owner of the Ministry land at Fort
Hill where he was living). PDF P29.
1678
The Town chose Deacon Twining and Deacon Freeman to take care
about underpinning the house where Mr. Treat now lives. PDF P39, P40.
The Town voted to build a new meetinghouse. The location selected
was “above the head of Goodman Williams’ old field near where he now
lives.” The Town chose Mr. Freeman, Lieutenant Sparrow, Thomas Paine
and John Doane Jr. to act in the Town’s behalf building the new meeting
house. PDF P39, P40.
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
227
1681
The Town chose Capt. Freeman and Capt. Sparrow to agree with a
workman to build a belfry for the meetinghouse to hang the bell. Four
pounds were put in the country rate to cover the costs. PDF P43
1683
Granted to Samuel Treat a piece of swamp called Wolves Den Swamp
and a slip of upland beside the swamp next to property of Daniel Cole. The
bounds of the property are marked by stones. PDF A123, M174, S83.
1691
Ten pounds were added to Mr. Treat’s annual salary by the Town in lieu
of the wood that formerly was promised to him. PDF P59.
The Town ordered John Doane Sr. to get a pair of stocks and a whipping
post made for the Town. Other records indicate the stocks and whipping
post were installed next to the meeting house. PDF P60.
The Town granted liberty to Larrance Indian on behalf of the
Potanomaquit Indians to set up a meeting house for their use near the head
of the Salt Water Pond. Daniel Doane, Thomas Mayo and John Paine were
appointed to set out land for this purpose on the western side of the cartway.
The boundaries were indicated by marked trees. PDF P60.
1695
Manaseth Kempton gave to the Eastham Church five acres of upland
and one and one half acres of adjoining meadow at Fort Hill. The bounds
are marked by stones set in the ground. The five acres parcel runs easterly
31 pole (512 feet), northerly 24 pole (396 feet), westerly 32 pole (528 feet)
and southerly 25 pole (413 feet). The property is next to property of
Nicholas Snow. PDF M118.
1700
The Town decided that the meetinghouse should be enlarged sixteen feet
in breadth to make it square. Israel Cole and John Paine were appointed to
hire a workman, provide materials and oversee the project. PDF P88.
1703
Granted to Samuel Treat and his heirs forever all the upland and
meadow belonging to the house lot where he now lives. Also granted to Mr.
Treat and his heirs forever three acres of meadow at Mill Meadow at
Billingsgate. If Mr. Treat should leave the work of the ministry and move
out of Town, then as a condition of this grant the Town reserves the
privilege to purchase the property at a price the Town and Mr. Treat should
agree or at a price that “indifferent” persons should judge to be a fair price.
PDF A210, M125, M126, M127, P106, S50, S51.
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Granted to Samuel Treat, Samuel Paine and Thomas Smith two
adjoining parcels of meadow which are lots fourteen and fifteen lying on the
middle flat of the Town flats. Each lot runs westerly 6 pole (99 feet) and
southerly
104 pole (1716 feet) which is about four acres for each lot. The shares
for Samuel Treat and Thomas Smith are “as seven and one half is to
twenty” and the share for Samuel Paine is “as five is to twenty.” PDF
A279, M166.
1704
Granted to Samuel Treat a small piece of land to set his house on near
the western corner of the land where he now lives and near the entrance to
the lane, which goes to the house where he now lives. Stones mark the
bounds. The land is six pole (99 feet) by four pole (66 feet). PDF M100,
P113, S10.
1710
The Town voted to make null and void the 1703 requirement that if Mr.
Treat leaves the Ministry and moves out of town then he must sell his
property back to the Town. This 1710 vote grants to Mr. Treat, his heirs
and assignees ownership of the property without any condition or reserve
whatsoever. PDF A178, M80, S105, S106.
1711
Granted to Samuel Treat about four acres adjoining the north side the
land where he now lives. The parcel starts next to his barn and runs easterly
42 pole (693 feet), northerly 20 pole (330 feet), westerly 40 pole (660 feet)
and southerly 20 pole (330 feet). Bounds are marked by stones. There is a
cartway two pole (33 feet) wide through the land down to the water. PDF
T19.
Granted to Samuel Treat a parcel of land at Nauset for his wood lot
containing an estimated six acres. It is on the northerly side of John
Knowles wood lot and south of Wolf Trap Swamp. Marked trees defined
the bounds. The bounds indicate an irregular five sided lot. PDF T19.
Granted for use of the Ministry a parcel of five acres by the side of the
way that goes from Fresh Pond to the head of Namskaket. It runs westerly
40 pole (660 feet), northerly 20 pole (330 feet), easterly 40 pole (660 feet)
and southerly 20 pole (330 feet). PDF T36.
Granted for use of the Ministry five acres of woodland at Rock Harbor
Meadow. The bounds defined by marked trees were approximately 52 pole
(858 feet) by 15 pole (248 feet). PDF T36.
Granted for use of the Ministry a parcel of land containing about ten
acres at Pochet lying above the northern end of the Dry Swamp. From the
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
229
southeast corner of the property by the highway the property runs westerly
26 pole (429 feet), northerly 68 pole (1,122 feet), easterly 24 pole (398 feet)
and southerly 64 pole (1,056 feet). The bounds are marked by stones. PDF
T36.
Granted for use of the Ministry ten acres lying at Herring Pond. Bounds
are indicated by marked trees and Lt. Snow’s fence. The property runs
northerly by the highway 30 pole (495 feet), westerly 44 pole (726 feet),
southerly 23 pole (380 feet) to Lt. Snow’s fence, southeasterly by the pond
and easterly 24 pole (396 feet). The land could be used to settle a minister in
that part of Town. (Note – A meeting house was built on this land in 1720 at
the current location of Bridge Road Cemetery and a house for Rev.
Benjamin Webb was built nearby). PDF T36.
The Town divided land at Great Island at Billingsgate into twenty four
lots each four acres. The thirteenth lot was granted to a joint and equal
partnership of Samuel Treat, Samuel Paine, Daniel Cole, Isaac Pepper and
Jabez Walker. The bounds were defined by stakes. PDF T86, T88.
Granted for use of the Ministry for possible use to settle a minister ten
acres of ordinary land and ten acres of woodlot at Little Billingsgate at a
place called Chequesset. Bounds were defined by marked trees and run 64
pole (1,056 feet) northwesterly, 14 pole (231 feet) southerly, 4 pole (66
feet) southwesterly, 10 pole (165 feet) northwesterly, 12 pole (198 feet)
southwesterly, 6 pole (99 feet) southerly and 75 pole (1,238 feet)
northeasterly. (Note – This land was near the current Chequesset Neck
Cemetery in Wellfleet.) PDF T133.
Granted for use of the Ministry at Little Billingsgate another parcel of
land bounded by the land already laid out for the Ministry and by the land
of Lt. John Doane. PDF T133.
Granted for use of the Ministry a five acre wood lot 19 pole (314 feet)
westerly, 52 pole (858 feet) northerly and 19 pole (314 feet) easterly. It was
next to woodlots of Nathan Young and Jabez Snow. PDF T178.
Granted for use of the Ministry five acres of woodland on the
southeasterly side of Long Pond. Bounds were defined by marked trees and
were 7 pole (116 feet) easterly and 72 pole (1,188 feet) southwesterly. PDF
T178.
1712
Granted to Samuel Treat a four acre lot beginning at the northwest
corner of his dwelling house running 37 pole (611 feet) westerly and 14
pole (231 feet) northerly next to the lot of Jabez Snow. There is a twenty
foot way through the property. Bounds were defined by stones. PDF T19.
1715
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The Town agreed three parcels of land should be laid out for the
Ministry. One parcel should be north of Blackfish Creek, one between
Blackfish Creek and the Meeting House and one somewhere in the
southerly part of Town. PDF T178.
Granted for use of the Ministry about twelve acres in the southerly part
of Town at Pochet. The parcel is on the northwest side of land formerly laid
out for the same use and it is between land of Lt. John Knowles and Town
Cove. It is bounded on the north side by land of Deacon Daniel Doane.
Bounds are marked by stones. The boundary descriptions are not complete
but indicate a parcel about 80 pole (1,320 feet) by 24 pole (396 feet)
running south to the way that runs on the north side of the Dry Swamp. PDF
T178, T316.
Granted for use of the Ministry about seventeen acres in the middle part
of Town. Bounds are indicated by stones and marked trees. The parcel is on
the westerly side of the roadway that goes towards Billingsgate and near the
southeast side of Herring Pond. It starts near the land of Widow Paine and
goes northwest 84 pole (1,386 feet) to the northeast boundary of John
Witherill’s land, north 20 pole (330 feet) and east 108 pole (1782 feet). The
boundary descriptions are not complete but indicate a parcel running
northwest about 100 pole (1,650 feet) by 25 pole (413 feet). PDF T178,
T316.
Granted for use of the Ministry twenty one acres of land at Billingsgate
on the southwestern side of the way that goes from Daniel Mayo’s land to
Chequesset. Bounds are indicated by marked trees. The east side of the
property runs north through a swamp. The boundary descriptions are not
complete (e.g. the property runs north thru the swamp to a marked tree but
the distance is not given) but suggest a parcel approximately 58 pole (957
feet) by 56 pole (924 feet). PDF T179, T316.
Granted for use of the Ministry two and one half acres at Little
Billingsgate at the northerly side of John Atwood’s barn. Daniel Mayo’s
land is to the east. Bounds are indicated by marked trees and stones.
Starting at a stake 4 pole (66 feet) from Atwood’s barn the property runs
northwest and west 22 pole (363 feet), northeast and east 40 pole (660 feet)
and south and southwest thru a swamp. The boundary descriptions indicate
a parcel approximately 35 pole (560 feet) by 15 pole (248 feet) running
northeast. PDF T179, T316.
Granted for use of the Ministry four and one half acres at Billingsgate
north of the land of John Atkins. Bounds are indicated by marked trees. The
property runs northwest 4 pole (66 feet), southerly 44 pole (726 feet) to the
way that comes from Israel Young’s towards Town, easterly 16 pole (264
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
231
feet), northeasterly 20 pole (330 feet) to the Atkins western boundary and
24 pole (384 feet) back to the first marked tree. PDF T179.
Granted for use of the Ministry about two acres near the mouth of Silver
Spring River and north of Isaac Doane’s land. Bounds are indicated by
marked trees. The boundary measurements indicate a long, narrow lot
running northerly about 35 pole (578 feet) by 10 pole (165 feet). PDF T179.
Granted to Samuel Treat about 16 acres near other Treat property
towards Nauset. This was the ninety first lot in a series of land grants. The
property is on the northwest side of the way that goes from Stephen
Atwood’s land towards Billingsgate. The property runs southwest 84 pole
(1,386 feet) to a marked tree which is two pole (33 feet) from a corner
bound stone which marks land owned by Mr. Treat. Then the boundary
runs northwest 36 pole (594 feet), northeast 88 pole (1,452 feet) and
southeast 30 pole (495 feet). PDF T238.
Granted to Samuel Treat the fifty seventh woodlot near the head of
Blackfish Creek and near Great Cedar Swamp and Little Cedar Swamp. The
dimensions and acreage are not given but adjoining woodlots are in the 15
to 20 acre range. PDF T278.
1719
Granted for use of the Ministry three parcels of meadow totaling about
four acres. All are in the Chequesset Neck area of Billingsgate. One parcel
is on the southerly side of Chequesset Neck. The parcel is bounded on the
east by meadow of Thomas Lewis and runs south to the Creek. Another
parcel of meadow is on the southerly side of Chequesset Neck and runs
north to Herring River and east to the corner of other Ministerial land.
Another parcel of meadow lies between the land of Samuel Mayo and the
land of John Doane. PDF T321.
Granted for use of the Ministry about five acres of ordinary meadow at
the southern part of Town on Pochet Flats. Bounds are indicated by stakes.
The parcel runs southwesterly 24 pole (396 feet), northwesterly 32 pole
(528 feet), northeasterly 24 pole (396 feet) and easterly 32 pole (528
feet). PDF T322.
Granted for use of the Ministry about five acres on the little flat called
Nauset. Bounds are marked by stakes. The parcel begins at the southeast
corner of the flat at the mouth of the creek and runs southwesterly 28 pole
(462 feet), northwesterly 36 pole (594 feet), easterly 22 pole (363 feet) and
southerly 36 pole (594 feet) to the first specified bound. PDF T322.
1740
Granted for use of the Ministry about three acres of meadow at Little
Billingsgate in the North Precinct. It is located on the southerly side of
232
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Herring River on the back side of Cole’s Neck next to meadows of John
Sparrow and Benjamin Sweat. Bounds are indicated by marked trees.
Dimensions are about 25 pole (413 feet) by 20 pole (330 feet). PDF T138.
During the time of Rev. Treat’s ministry, the land grants to him and to
the Ministry amount to about 200 acres. By 1745 five more Treats had
received Eastham land grants.
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
233
Eastham Digitized Vital Records
Land Records Index 1650 to 1745
Part II (L-Z)
by Robert P. Carlson
Introduction
This is the second of two installments of a land records index covering
1650 to 1745. This installment indexes surnames L – Z. Surnames A-K
were in the previous issue of the Journal.
See the Introduction to the previous section for details of the PDF files
from the Eastham Digitized Vital Records that make up these land records.
Some of the years are uncertain because of the organization of the records
and most pages are difficult to read. There will be some errors in the index.
Confirm the index information by viewing the referenced PDF file pages.
Name
Year PDF Page
Linnel/Linnell
David
1715 T210, T273
Elisha
1743 T341
Jonathan 1698 A213, M130
1699 A213, M130
1703 A271, A278, M24,
M149, M163, S86
1711 T87
1715 T189, T192, T196,
T295
1721 T324
1743 T341
Lewis/Luis
Josiah
1734 T191
Thomas 1711 T109
1715 T267
Mayo
Daniel
1703 A283, M32,
S102,T181
1711 T86, T154, T175,
T181
1712 T181
1713 T181
1715 T252, T290
Name
Year PDF Page
Mayo (cont’d)
Daniel
1743 T345
Daniel Jr. 1743 T345
Ebenezer 1743 T344
Elisha
1716 T305
Isaac
1743 T341, T344
Israel
1743 T341
James
1683 A121, M239, S57
1703 A121, M239, S57, S61
1711 T180
1743 T346
Jeremiah 1743 T345
John
1658 P19
1659 A110, A168, M64,
M65, M119, M236,
M237, S12, S13, S14,
S26, S27
1660 A156, A168, M65,
M221, S13, S14, S29
1665 A111
1669 A156, A191, M99
John
1673 A110, A120, A167,
M235, M237, M240,
S56, S61
1674 A120, S35
234
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Name
Year PDF Page
Mayo (cont’d)
John
1677 A245, M244, M245,
S45, S46
John Jr. 1659 A110, M236, M237
1682 A120, M240, S61
1693 A169, M67
1703 M235, M239, M240,
S56
Jonathan 1711 T61
1743 T341
Joseph
1743 T346
Judah
1715 T304
Widow Marcy 1711 T169
Nathaniel 1659 A158, A205, M119,
M221, M222, M223, M224,
S17, S24
1678 A159, M224, S55
1681 P45
1686 A133, M188
1694 M218, S60
1700 A133, M188, M189,
S81, S92
1703 A276, M145, M158,
M169, S88, S97
1706 A286, M47, M48
1711 T68, T87, T185
1715 T192, T234, T267
1716 T313
1743 T341
Nathaniel Jr. 1700 M135, P93
1703 A123, A281, M173,
S83
1711 T44, T89
1715 T217, T292
1743 T346
Samuel
1678 A117, 159, M224,
M274, S49, S55
1681 P45
Samuel
1702 S90, S91
1703 A267, A274, M155,
M158, S88, S98
1706 A286, M47, M48
1710 A178, M79, S105
1711 T31, T62, T86, T89,
T182
1715 T211, T270
Name
Year
Mayo (cont’d)
Samuel
1716
1743
Samuel Jr. 1711
1715
Theophilus1703
1711
1715
1743
Thomas 1700
(son of John)
PDF Page
Thomas
A159, M224, S55
P45
A259, S65
A157, M222, P91, S54
A269, A278, M143,
M164, S85
A286, M47
T10, T17, T43, T82,
T86, T87
T43, T82
T218, T263
T34
M250
M282
A276, M149, M160,
S87
T188
T210, T288
P40
A151, M214, S59
T346
1678
1681
1696
1700
1703
1706
1711
1712
1715
1743
Thomas Jr. 1695
Thomas Jr. 1696
1703
William
1711
1715
1679
1686
1743
T312
T345
T50, T89
T251, T290
M146
T12, T87
T219, T287
T341
P91
Merrick/Mayrick/Meyrick/Myrick
John
1710 A250, M250
1711 T158
Joseph
1700 A216, M21
1703 A278, M165
1710 M83, M84
1711 T89, T117, T149,
T150
1715 T224, T263
Joseph Jr. 1711 T89
1715 T230, T284
Reuben 1743 T341
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
Name
Year PDF Page
Merrick/Mayrick/Meyrick/Myrick
(cont’d)
William 1656 P7
1659 A160, M116, M225,
M226, S11, S24, S25
1674 M125
1695 M121
1703 A181, M86
1711 T158, T338
1715 T235, T302
1722 T328
1743 T346
1745 T347
William Jr. 1743 T346
1683 A129, M183, S81
Mitchel
Experience1655
1659
1662
1665
1675
1677
1680
1696
A215
A207
A215
A229, M43, M44
S58
A237
A227
A280, S64
Morton
Nathaniel 1644 M267
Mulford
Widow Hannah
John
1699
1700
1702
1703
1711
1713
1715
1716
Josiah
1716
Thomas 1677
1681
1694
1695
1711 T183
M284, S66
A260
M138
A129, M183, M184
T156
T187
T227, T267
T187
T187
P38
P45
M245, S62
A224, A251, M29,
M30, M250,M254,
M260, P68, S72, S77
Name
Thomas
235
Year
1696
1700
1702
1703
PDF Page
A257
S81
M138
A129, A205, M120,
M143, M164, M183,
S82, S99
Thomas Jr. 1703 M31
Thomas Jr. 1704 P111
Newcome/Nucome
Simon Jr. 1711 T171
Simon
1711 T78
1715 T297
Pain/Paine
Benjamin 1743
Elisha
1700
1704
1710
Ebenezer 1715
John
1689
1699
1703
T344
A221, M26, P93
P114
M82
T238, T281
A116, M274, S68
A264, M132, P86, S94
A269, A276, M144,
M160, S87
1705 P116
1706 A283, M34, M35,
M51, M52, S103
1711 T10, T11, T63, T87
1715 T212, T274
1716 T310, T313
1743 T344
John Jr. 1712 T170
1713 T170
1715 T210, T273
Jonathan 1743 T344
Joseph
1692 A142, M278, P61, S49
1696 A142, M278, S50
Joshua
1743 T346
Mary
1676 M242
(wife of Thomas)
Nicholas 1670 M77
1700 P93
1701 S40
1703 A176, A275, M77,
M156, S89
1704 P114
236
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Name
Year PDF Page
Paine/Paine (cont’d)
1706 M53
1711 T86, T167
1715 T209, T292
Richard 1743 T343, T346
Samuel
1681 A116, M274, P45
1689 S68
1700 P88
1703 A279, M166, S51
1711 T21, T88
1715 T238, T281
1743 T344
Theophilus1743 T341
Thomas 1658 P19
1659 A110, A185, A193,
M91, M102, M237,
S6, S10, S11, S27
1660 A193, M102, S11
1669 M38
1670 M38, M39
1672 M39
1673 A110, A193
1677 A244, M40, M263,
P40, S44, S105
1680 A123
1684 A193, M103, S101
1689 M38
1700 P93
1703 A270, A275, A279,
M147, M157, M165,
M187, S51
1706 A289, M53
1707 S104, S105
Thomas Jr. 1679 A119, M277, S49
1680 A119, M277, S49
1691 M104
William 1743 T344
Pepper
Isaac
Isaac Jr.
Joseph
Robert
1688
1711
1715
1743
1715
1743
1743
A196, M107
T16, T67, T88
T242, T273
T346
T237
T346
T346
Name
Year PDF Page
Solomon 1743 T344
Prence/Prents/Prince
Thomas, Governor 1653 A226
1658 P19
1659 A132, A134, A148,
M187, M188, M189,
M209, S16, S17, S21
1662 A131
1665 A134, M189, S17
1670 A228
1672 A228
1673 A110, A167, M235,
S55
1676 M281, M282
1677 A239, M263, S79
1680 A227, M37, M38
Purchasers
(Old Comers) 1680 A227
1682 A108
1707 M36
Remick
Christian 1743 T346
Rich
John
1711 T97
1712 T97, T293
Richard 1686 A151, M214, S59
(Rich of Dover) 1691 A194, M104,
S101
1711 T96
1715 T297
Thomas 1701 M137, P96, S92
1702 P100
1710 M82, M83
1711 T106
1712 T106
1715 T219, T266
1716 T309, T313
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
Name
Year PDF Page
Robards, Roberts
Thomas 1654 P8
1659 A110, A158, A205,
M119, M223, M236,
S12, S26, S27
1665 A140
1692 A169
Rogers
Elkenah
Isaac
James
1743
1743
1682
1694
1695
1698
1699
1703
1711
1715
James
1743
James Jr. 1743
John
1673
1674
1694
1695
1696
1698
1699
1703
1711
Jonathan 1665
1695
Joseph
1658
1659
1661
1662
1665
1666
T341
T341
M267, M286
A222, M27, M28,
M97
M259
A220, M25, M131,
M286, S67
A262, A263
A272, A275, A277,
M150, M157, S89
T24, T32
T217, T301
T341
T341
S3, S70
A241
A222, M27, M28,
M97, M245, S62
M254, M259
A257
M131, M286, S67
A262, A263
A273, A274, M155,
M161, S87, S97
T76, T87,
M269
S75
P19
A112, A152, A158,
A164, M200, M215,
M224, M230, M231,
S20, S22, S24, S26
A152
A164, M231, P23
A164, M231
A229, A230, M40
237
Name
Joseph
Year PDF Page
1669 A163, M229, M230
1674 A140, A165, M232,
M269
1677 A231, A235, A236,
A238, A239, M40,
M208, S58, S105
1680 A242, A243
1683 A243, M241
Joseph Jr. 1659 A213, A259, M129,
P20, P21, S15
1665 A259, M129
1671 A240, M264
1673 S70
Joseph Jr. 1675 M265
1680 A227, S104
1688 M128
1694 M27, M28
1703 A268, A270, A272,
M33, M142, M145,
S87, S98, S103
1711 T89
1715 T201, T279
1716 T311
Judah
1703 M145, M161
1743 T344
Nathaniel 1715 T201, T292
Thomas 1671 A240, M264
1673 S2, S70
1674 A140, A241
1675 M265
1679 M114
1682 M267
1694 A222, M27, M28
1700 M78
1703 A278, M142, M165,
S89
1743 T341
Sears
Richard
Shaw
George
1667 A144, M271, S33
1703 A270, A276, M147,
M158, S88
1708 A225, M31
1711 T89, T92
1715 T214, T263
238
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Name
Year PDF Page
Small/Smale/Smaly/Smalley
Goodman 1677 A231, M41, S105
John
1658 P10, P19
1659 A112, A114, A148,
A190, M97, M98,
M196, M197, M200,
M202, M210, S9, S18,
S19, S20, S21, S30
1662 A138, A139, P23, S30
1667 A139, M196, S30
1669 A139, M196
1677 A231, M40, M41,
S105
Smith
Daniel
1700 M21
1703 M169, S96, T330
1711 T23, T89, T90, T128
1715 T223, T263, T323
1743 T346
Daniel Jr. 1715 T226, T265
David
1743 T341
Widow Hannah 1711 T163
James
1711 T90, T177
1715 T228, T265
1743 T346
Jeremiah 1703 A278, M165, T330
1711 T29
1723 T330
Jeremiah Jr. 1712 T116
1715 T223, T264
1743 T346
Jeremiah 3d. 1743 T346
John
1673 A281
1692 M169
1700 M21, S63
1710 M70, M71, T339
1711 T90, T107
John
1712 T107
1715 T225, T266
1743 T339
1745 T347
John Jr. 1677 P38
1703 M168, S84, S96
1710 A172, A280, M70
John 3d. 1743 T346
Jonathan 1715 T235, T295
Name
Year PDF Page
Jonathan 1743 T341
Joseph
1715 T237, T265
1743 T346
Joseph Jr. 1743 T344
Joshua
1743 T346
Levi
1743 T346
Nathaniel 1711 T23, T88, T177
1715 T235, T302
1723 T330
1743 T346
Nathaniel Jr. 1743 T344
Ralph
1657 P6
1659 A114, A136, A154,
A156, A183, M88,
M191, M202, M220,
M221, S5, S20, S23
1660 A156, M221
1661 A136, A155, M192,
S29
1666 A156, S32
1667 A156, A181, S32
1669 M99, S9
1703 M86
1711 T160
1715 T221, T293
Samuel
1669 A211, M127
1674 M125
1684 P50
1686 A151, M214
1691 M104
1696 P75
1700 A111, M25
1703 A280, S56
1711 T163
1712 T166
1715 T257, T300
1743 T344
Samuel Jr. 1743 T346
Seth
1743 T346
Simeon 1743 T346
Thomas 1694 M219, S60
1695 A155, P72
1696 M219, M220, S61
1703 A279, M166, S51
1711 T90, T159
1715 T119, T268, T307
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
Name
Year
Smith (cont’d)
Thomas 1743
1745
William 1700
1703
Zoeth
1707
1711
1715
1743
Snow
Abner
1743
Benjamin 1700
1711
1715
1743
David
1743
Ebenezer 1703
1711
1715
1743
Edward 1709
Elisha
1743
Elkins
1743
Jabez
1683
1700
1702
1703
1711
1715
1716
Jabez. Jr. 1743
James
1711
1715
1721
1743
Jesse
1743
John
1662
1665
1692
1743
Jonathan 1715
Joseph
1672
1677
1678
PDF Page
Name
Joseph
239
Year PDF Page
1680 P43
T344
1691 M104
T347
1693 S49
M238, P93, S57
1711 T86, T118, T135
A272, A276, M151,
1715 T229, T269
M160, S87
1738 T340
M62
Joseph Jr. 1693 A119, M277, P64
T33, T89
1743 T344
T204, T280
Josiah
1743 T346
T345
Mark
1656 P6
1659 A176, M76, M77, S28
1665 A230, M76
T344
1670 M77
A253, M253, P93, S74
1673 A175, M76, S40
T90, T94
1677 M40, M257, M262,
T229, T277
S79
T346
1680 A242, A243
T341
1682 A243, M241
A278, M164, S85
1694 M245, M246
T88, T103
1695 A175, M76, M254,
T200, T288
M257, S76
T341
1696 A255
M63
Micaijah 1691 S94
T341
1698 A212, M129
T346
1702 M139
M198
1703 A280, M169, S96
M198, S53
1711 T73, T87
M139
1715 T196, T288
A280, M167
1743 T341
T26, T86
Micaijah Jr. 1743 T341
T231, T271
Nathaniel 1721 T326
T309
1743 T344
T346
Nathaniel Jr. 1743 T344
T86, T88, T121
Nicholas 1659 A166, M209, M232,
T229
M233, M234, S26, S58
T326
1663 M198, S30
T346
1665 A165, A166, M44,
T341
M207, M231, M232,
P23
M234, S31, S32
A221, M26
1666 A229, M44
M177
1668 M106, S33
T344
1677 A238, M40, M41,
T210, T273
S105
S35
1678 A185, M92
P40
1680 A227
A145, M272, S48
1683 M198, S53
240
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Name
Year PDF Page
Snow (cont’d)
Nicholas 1702 M139
1705 M36, S104
1709 A291
1711 T59
1715 T194, T288,
1716 T305, T307
Robert
1743 T346
Samuel
1743 T346
Silvenus 1743 T345
Stephen 1674 M269
1702 M139
1703 A280, M169, S96
1704 P114
1711 T55, T88
1715 T242, T286
1743 T346
Stephen Jr. 1743 T341
Stephen 3d. 1743 T346
Susannah 1674 A140, M269, S69
(wife of Stephen)
Thomas 1743 T341
Thomas Jr. 1743 T346
Sparrow
Hannah 1678 A57, M222
(wife of Jonathan) 1681
M222
Jabez
1743 T341
John
1681 P44
1684 A169, M66
1695 A171, M69, P72
1702 P102
1703 A171, A243, A273,
M69, M157, M242,
S61, S89
1704 P111
1706 A286, A287, M47,
M49
1711 T22, T89, T153
1712 T153
1713 T153
1715 T208, T296
1721 T324, T326
1722 T325
1732 T331
1743 T341
Name
Year PDF Page
John Jr. 1743 T344
Jonathan 1655 M68
1659 A172, S15
1664 A219, M112
1665 A140, M268, M269
1659 M70
1669 1M10
1674 A169, M66, M70, S15
1675 P33, S54
1681 M68
1682 S3
1692 A169, A170, M66
1694 P65
1700 P100
1702 M140
1703 A272, A277, M150,
M162, S86, S89
1705 P116
1711 T40, T172
1715 T195, T289
1743 T341
Jonathan Jr. 1703 A269, A275, M144,
M157
1706 A286, A287, M47,
M49
Joseph
1743 T341
Pandora (Pamela) 1665 A140, M268,
(wife of Richard)
S4
Richard
1656 P3
1659 A169, A170, M67,
M68, P20, S13, S14,
S15
1665 M268, S4
1674 S38
1692 A169, M67
1703 A269, A271, A277,
M145, M149, M162,
S86
1706 A286, A187, M47,
M49
1711 T39, T88
1715 T202, T296
1732 T331
1743 T341
Widow Sarah 1711 T170
Stephen 1743 T341
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
Name
Year PDF Page
Sparrow (cont’d)
Thomas 1743 T341
Name
William
Steward
Daniel
1672 A124, A125, A178,
S37, S38
Sweat
Benjamin 1720 T324
John
1700 A248, M248
1711 T155
1715 T291
1720 T324
Taylor
John
1714 T188
Thorpe
Zebulon
1691 A194
Treat/Treate
John
1715
1743
Joshua
1743
Nathaniel 1734
1743
Samuel
1670
S10
1673
1677
1683
1703
T296
T345
T341
T336
T345
A192, M100, M101,
241
Year PDF Page
1656 P7
1659 A201, M114, M194,
S11
1664 A200, A201, A203,
M112, M114, M117,
S29
1668 A203, M117, S34
1677 M262, S79
1680 A242
1682 A243, M241
William
1703 A273, A274, A275,
M24, M152, M154,
M156, S89, S97
1711 T48, T89
1715 T203, T277
1716 T310
1743 T341
William Jr 1659 A203, M116, M117,
M226
Walker
Jabez
1703 A269, M166
1711 T88, T105
1715 T228, T265
1743 T346
John
1711 T87, T137, T138
1715 T246, T303, T306
A190, M98, P30, S9
1743 T345
A191, M100, P29, S10
John
Jr.
1743 T345
A123, M174, S83
Joshua
1743 T345
A210, A279, M166,
Nathaniel
1743 T344
P106
Richard 1743 T344
1704 M100, P113, S10
Samuel
1743 T345
1710 A178, M80, S105,
William 1659 A185, A193, M91,
S106
M101, S7, S9
1711 T19, T86, T88
1663 A185, M92
1712 T19
1675 P33
1715 T238, T278
1678 A184, A185, M90, S6,
Thomas 1659 S15
S42
1665 M44
1680 P43
?
M186, S95
1681 P45
1683 A184, M92, S42
Twining
1691 M104
Barnabas 1743 T341
1699 A208, M123, S99
William 1654 P8
242
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Name
Year
Walker (cont’d)
1703
1704
1711
Walker (cont’d)
William 1715
1743
William Jr.1715
1743
PDF Page
S99
P114
T87, T119
T232, T237, T269
T346
T306
T346
Name
Titus
Year
1694
S62
1695
1696
1703
PDF Page
M216, M245, S59,
M254
A259, M283, S65
A268, A273, M142,
M161, S87, S99
1711 T88, T110
1715 T199, T304
1737 T109
Williams
Yates/Yeats
Goodman 1694 A151, M214, S60
John
1656
Thomas 1659 A152, M215, S22, S23
1659
1661 A152, M215
1694 A152, M216, S59
1710 M71
1670
1700
Wing
John
1667 S33
Young
Barnabas 1715
1743
Witherel/Witherill
John
1711 T129
Benjamin 1711
1715 T225, T271
1715
1743
David
1702
Wixam/Wixon/Wickson
Barnabas 1703 A273, A276, M152,
1703
M160, S87
1711 T88, T104
1711
1715 T217, T294
1715
Robert
1654 P8
1743
1659 A162, M227, M228,
Elisha
1743
S25, S26, T327
Elisha Jr. 1711
1662 P24
1712
1665 A162, M228, S31
1713
1669 A161, M226, M227,
1715
S35
1743
1671 A240, M264, S69
Elkenah 1743
1672 M227, S35
Enos
1743
1679 M114, M115
Henry
1703
1680 A201, A202
1711
1684 A159, M225
1715
Robert
1694 M216
1743
1698 M25
Isaac
1711
1703 A273, M24, M152
1715
Thomas 1679 M114
Israel
1711
1715
P7
A146, A156, M204,
M220, M221, S20,
S23, S24
M72
P93
T291
T345
T60, T88
T254, T300
T345
M285, S67
A262, A269, A273,
M144, M164, P107
T51, T89
T203, T285
T341, T344
T341
T87, T91
T91
T183
T197, T278
T341
T341
T345
A280, M167, S84
T163
T195, T304
T341
T45, T87
T295
T88, T152
T235, T258, T303
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
Name
Year PDF Page
Young (cont’d)
1743 T345
Israel Jr. 1743 T345
John
1659 A110, A190, A191,
M97, M99, M237, S8, S9
1666 S32
1676 A244, M242, M244
1677 A245
1711 T88, T139, T180
1715 T254, T300
1743 T345
Jonathan 1711 T88, T165
1715 T192, T245, T299
1743 T345
Jonathan Jr. 1743 T345
Joseph
1692 A145, M273, S68
1693 A145, M273, S68
1703 A271, A277, M148,
M162
Name
243
Year PDF Page
1743 T344
Judah
1743 T344
Levey
1743 T345
Nathaniel 1703 A274, A275, M154,
M156, S89, S97
1711 T28, T87
1713 T186
1715 T200, T301
1743 T341, T345
Nathaniel Jr. 1743 T344
Robert
1703 A280, M168, S84
1711 T38, T87
1715 T196, T287
1732 T331
1743 T341
Stephen 1743 T345
Zebulon 1743 T341
244
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
A Tale of Two Ladies from Brewster
by Robert Lincoln Ward
he Cape Cod Genealogical Society has been fortunate in that for the last
several years the society has been able to hold its monthly membership
meetings in the spacious auditorium of the Brewster Ladies’ Library in
Brewster. The large meeting room has been the site of many interesting and
informative talks and workshops sponsored by the society.
The Brewster Ladies’
Library, whose library
edifice stands at 1822
Main Street, was opened
to the public as a
subscription library on 29
January 1853 in the store
and home of Capt.
Jeremiah Mayo, 1772
Main Street. In her
manuscript diary
published by the library in
2003, Sarah Augusta
Mayo, Capt. Mayo’s
daughter, describes
canvassing during the fall
of 1852 for a library,
which had been started by
the girls of the
neighborhood. Books
T
purchased in Boston were
delivered to the Mayo
home, where the girls met
to organize the new library. The first library room was in the east parlor of
the Mayo home. A Library Association was organized in the schoolroom of
the Brewster Academy. Among these young Brewster ladies were Augusta
Mayo, her good friend, Mary Louisa Cobb, sisters Frances and Caroline
Berry and Sarah Pratt.
In 1868, a small library building was erected at 1822 Main Street with a
$1000 contribution from Captain Joseph Nickerson. This building forms
the nucleus of the present library, which was expanded with an addition in
1877, and another in 1976. The expansion of 1997 doubled the size of the
building and created the beautiful auditorium where The Cape Cod
Augusta Mayo
Courtesy of Brewster Ladies Library
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
245
Genealogical Society holds is monthly meetings, as well as two small
meeting rooms.
At the present time there stands in the basement hallway, a portrait cutout of Sarah Augusta Mayo and Mary Louisa Cobb standing together.
These two young women have long been considered the chief among the
young Brewster ladies who organized and founded the Brewster Ladies’
Library. It shows them wearing the ladies’ fashions of the 1850s. The
portrait is affixed to the wall where it remains except during fundraising
campaigns when it
assumes a prominent
part in the fund-raising
campaign.
Mary Louisa Cobb
and Sarah Augusta
Mayo grew up in
Brewster during a time
when the town was
acquiring the moniker
of, “the sea-captain’s
town.” The families of
both young women
were long-standing
residents of the town
and had close ties of
family and friendship
among the other
inhabitants of Brewster.
Mary Louise Cobb’s
father, Elijah Cobb,
was a merchant and
Mary Louisa Cobb
Courtesy of Brewster Ladies Library
farmer, the son of
Captain Elijah Cobb, a
well-known Brewster mariner and ship-builder. Sarah Augusta Mayo was
the daughter of Captain Jeremiah Mayo, well-known as a sea-captain and
postmaster. Both were among several young women who had studied under
schoolteacher James Atherton Dugan, who would marry Mary Louise’s
older sister, Helen Cobb. It was to some extent through Dugan’s influence
that the library was conceived and organized, though after they had ceased
to attend school at the academy where he taught.
Mary Louisa Cobb was born 27 February 1833 to Elijah Cobb and his
wife Caroline Snow. Mary Louisa grew up in Brewster, in the house which
246
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
her grandfather, the well-known ship-builder Elijah Cobb, built at 739
Lower Road. This house, known as the Captain Elijah Cobb House, will
soon be the new home of the Brewster Historical Society.
Elijah Cobb, Jr., father of Mary Louisa Cobb and her brothers and
sisters, was born 1799 in Brewster, the son of Elijah Cobb and his wife,
Mary Pinkham. He died 2 September 1861, aged 62 years, 2 months, and 6
days, of heart disease. Caroline Snow, Mary Louisa’s mother, was born 25
September 1803 in Brewster, the daughter of Sylvanus Snow and his wife,
Olive Bangs, and died 20 August 1871 in Brewster. They married 5 April
1825, in Boston with marriage intentions published 21 March 1825 in
Brewster.
In the first census enumeration in which Mary L. Cobb is found by
name, the 1850 U.S, census, she is listed in the household of her father,
Elijah Cobb, at seventeen years of age, born in Boston. In the 1855
Massachusetts state census, she is again listed in the household of her father
Elijah Cobb, along with her brothers and sisters, at the age of twenty-two.
In the 1860 census, she was, at the age of twenty-six, a private literature
teacher, living with her parents, Elijah Cobb, aged 61, a farmer, and
Caroline Cobb, aged 56, her sisters Caroline O. Cobb, aged 33 and her
younger sister Emily C. Cobb, aged 18 a music teacher. In 1870, the Cobb
household was headed by Adaline Cobb, aged 66--no doubt the
enumerator’s error for Caroline. Mary L., aged 47, is present with her sister
Helen C. Dugan and Helen’s three children, including Caroline Atherton
Dugan. The Cobb household was headed by Helen C. Dugan, aged 50, in
1880. It included not just Helen and her three children, but Mary L., aged 67
and Emily C., aged 40, but also their sister, Annette T. Cobb, aged 42 and
her three children. The passing of their parents, Elijah and Caroline Cobb,
as well as James A. Dugan, husband of Helen, and Freeman Cobb, husband
of Annette T., brought the remaining female members of the family together
in one household. In 1900, the household was headed by Annette Cobb,
after the passing of her sister, Helen Dugan. In the household were Annette
Cobb, aged 61, Mary L. Cobb, aged 68, Emily C. Cobb, aged 58, and a
boarder, Addie Crosby, aged 52, and an Irish servant, Anna Simmons, aged
35.
Just six years later, Mary Louisa Cobb died at the age of seventy-two
years, seven months, of a cerebral hemorrhage and hemiplagia, at 26
Glendale Street, in Boston. This address is in the Dorchester neighborhood,
but the site is now a vacant lot. Mary L. was buried in the Lower Road
Cemetery in Brewster.
Elijah and Caroline Cobb’s family was a large one. They had seven
children, the first four born while they lived in Boston. They were:
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
247
1. Caroline Olive Cobb, born 5 June 1829, Brewster, died 8 November
1898, at 330 Shawmut Avenue, Boston, of a fatty heart, four years.
2. Elijah Winslow Cobb, born 24 November 1827, Boston, died before
1871, married 20 September 1854, Plymouth, Massachusetts, Mercy R.
Jackson. Winslow was then a merchant residing in Melbourne, Australia.
3. Helen Cobb, born 11 November 1827, Boston, died 21 August 1896,
Brewster, married 5 August 1852, Brewster, James Atherton Dugan.
4. Mary Louisa Cobb, born 27 February 1833, Boston, died 17 March 1906,
26 Glendale Street, Boston, aged 72 years, 7 months,18 days, of cerebral
hemorrhage, and hemiplagia.
5. Alfred Silvanus Cobb, born 18 July 1836, Brewster, died Arapahoe,
Cheyenne, Colorado, married 26 September 1874, Arapahoe, Cheyenne,
Colorado, Isadora (Cobb) (Bird) Atherton.
6. Annette Theresa Cobb, born 20 July 1838, Brewster, died 12 April 1921,
Brewster, married 6 May 1858, Brewster, Freeman Cobb, her cousin.
7. Emily Cunningham Cobb, born 3 December 1840, Boston. Emily died 7
February 1918, Brewster, of valvular heart disease, aged 77 years, 2
months.
The paternal ancestry of Mary Louisa Cobb begins with her parents:
1. Elijah Cobb, born 27 January 1799, Harwich, Barnstable, Mass., died 2
September 1861, Harwich, married 5 September 1825, Boston. Caroline
Snow, daughter of Sylvanus Snow and Olive Bangs, born 25 September
1803, Harwich, died 20 August 1871, Brewster.
2. Elijah Cobb, born 4 Jul 1768, Harwich, died 2 November 1848, Harwich,
married Mary Pinkham, daughter of Theophilus Pinkham and Abigail
Freeman, born 1778, died 1835.
3. Scotto Cobb, born 2 May 1743, Harwich, died 14 Feb 1775, Harwich,
married 25 October 1763, Harwich, Mary Freeman, daughter of Barnabas
Freeman and Mary Stone, born 18 August 1744, Harwich, died 30 October
1817, Harwich.
4. Jonathan Cobb, born 24 Apr 1720, Harwich, died 1774, Harwich,
married 18 Oct 1740, Harwich. Sarah Clark, daughter of Scotto Clark and
Mary Haskell, born 18 September 1721, Harwich, died 1775, Harwich.
5. Jonathan Cobb, born 25 December 1694, Barnstable, died 3 August
1773, Harwich, married 20 October 1715, Harwich, Sarah Hopkins,
daughter of Stephen Hopkins and Sarah Howes, born 1694, Eastham,
Barnstable, Mass., died 24 July 1753, Harwich.
6. Samuel Cobb, born 12 October 1654, Barnstable, died 27 December
1727, Barnstable, married 20 December 1680, Barnstable, Elizabeth
248
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Taylor, daughter of Richard Taylor and Ruth Wheldon, born 1656,
Yarmouth, died 4 May 1721, Barnstable.
7. Henry Cobb, son of Henry Cobb and born 1596, Southwark, Surrey,
England, died 3 June 1679, Barnstable, married (2) 12 December 1649,
Barnstable, Barnstable, Mass., Sarah Hinckley, daughter of Samuel
Hinckley and Sarah Soule, born 22 Nov 1629, Hawkhurst, Kent, England,
died 16 Feb 1686/87, Barnstable, Barnstable, England.
The maternal ancestry of Mary Louisa Cobb also begins with her parents.
1. Caroline Snow, born 25 September 1803, Harwich, died 20 August 1871,
Harwich, married 5 September 1825, Boston, Elijah Cobb, son of Elijah
Cobb and Mary Pinkham, born 27 January 1799, Harwich, died 2
September 1861, Brewster.
2. Sylvanus Snow, born 17 December 1774, Harwich, died 30 August 1804,
Brewster, Barnstable, Mass., married April 1797, Harwich, Olive Bangs,
daughter of Elkanah Bangs and Susanna Dillingham, born 19 January
1774, Harwich, died 3 July 1847, Brewster.
3. Joseph Snow, born 17 Sep 1740, Harwich, Plymouth, Mass., married
Priscilla Berry.
4. Joseph Snow, born 14 Sep 1718, Harwich, died 30 Apr 1761, Harwich,
married 30 Nov 1738, Harwich, Mary Sears, daughter of Samuel Sears and
Ruth Merrick, born 9 Aug 1718, Harwich, died 20 Oct 1759, Harwich.
5. Edward Snow, born 26 Mar 1672, Eastham, died 1757, Harwich, married
1700, Eastham, Sarah Freeman, daughter of John Freeman and Sarah
Merrick, born September 1676, Eastham, died 23 August 1759, Harwich.
6. Jabez Snow, born 4 September 1642, Eastham, died 27 December 1690,
Eastham, married September 1669, Eastham, Elizabeth Smith, daughter of
Ralph Smith and Elizabeth Hobart, born 16 September 1649, Hingham,
Plymouth, Mass., died, after 2 April 1677, Eastham.
7. Nicholas Snow, son of Nicholas Snow and Elizabeth Rolles, born 25
January 1599/1600, Hoxton, Middlesex, England, died 15 Nov 1676,
Eastham, married 1 Jun 1627, Plymouth, Plymouth, Mass., Constance
Hopkins, daughter of Stephen Hopkins and Mary Kent, born 11 May
1606, Hursley, Hampshire, England, died 25 November 1677, Eastham.
Sarah Augusta Mayo was born 24 August 1830, Brewster, to Jeremiah
Mayo and Mary P. Clark, his wife. She was the youngest of the three
children of Jeremiah and Mary. She was known throughout her lifetime as
Augusta Mayo. Jeremiah Mayo was a sea-captain, justice of the peace,
militia general, postmaster and merchant in Brewster. He and his wife
raised their family in a house, which was replaced by the present house at
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
249
1722 Main Street, Brewster. It was in the front room of this house that the
Brewster Ladies’ Library was formed and began its operation.
Jeremiah Mayo was born 29 January 1786 in Harwich, and died 20 June
1867 in Brewster, of heart disease. Jeremiah married Mary Paddock Clark
on 2 May 1824 in Brewster. Mary, called Molly during her childhood, was
born 27 May 1791, in Brewster, and died 11 April 1877, in Boston at the
home of her daughter, Mary Bangs and her husband, William Bangs, in the
Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.
The children of Jeremiah Mayo and Mary Paddock Clark were:
1. Mary Catherine Mayo, born 1 April 1826 in Brewster, and died 7
August 1875, in Boston. She married 27 November 1844, in Brewster,
William Henry Bangs, son of Elkanah Bangs and Reliance Berry.
2. Charles Edwin Mayo, born 26 October 1827, died 23 April 1899, St.
Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, age 71. He married 7 May 1861, Westfield,
Chautauqua, New York, Elizabeth Caroline Fitch, daughter of Timothy
Fitch and Niery Eliza Beecher.
3. Sarah Augusta Mayo, born 24 August 1830, Brewster, and died 7 April
1886, Boston, of cancer of the bowels. She never married.
Jeremiah Mayo had been married previously, on 30 April 1809, in
Brewster, to Sally Crosby. Sally Crosby was born about 1788, and died 24
September 1823, in Brewster. She was the daughter of Elkanah Crosby and
Mary Cobb. Jeremiah and Sally did not have any known children.
Augusta Mayo attended Brewster Academy in company with her sister,
Mary and her brother, Charles. She continued her education at Leicester.
Augusta and eleven other young women of Brewster formed the Brewster
Ladies’ Library Association in 1852, for the purpose of organizing a library
in Brewster and raising funds to build a library building. She and Mary L.
Cobb organized and took part in theatricals and benefits to raise funds to
build a library building. These fund-raising efforts were rewarded with the
construction of the library, now the oldest portion of the present structure in
1868.
When her father, Jeremiah Mayo passed away in 1867 at the age of
eight-one, her mother sold their home to Captain Elijah Knowles, who
extensively remodeled the home. She and Augusta removed to the home of
Augusta’s sister Mary Bangs in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.
Mary Clark Mayo died in 1871. Augusta turned her attention to the
manuscript memoir of her life, which was published as, Looking Back, the
Manuscript of Sarah Augusta Mayo, in 2003 by the Brewster Ladies’
Library. Sarah Augusta Mayo died 7 April 1886, in the home of her sister,
Mary Bangs, in Boston, of cancer of the bowels, aged 55 years, 7 months,
and 13 days. She was laid to rest in Lower Road Cemetery, Brewster.
250
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
The paternal ancestry of Sarah Augusta Mayo begins with her parents.
1. Jeremiah Mayo, born 29 January 1786, Harwich, died 20 January 1867,
Brewster, Barnstable, Mass., married 2 May 1824, Brewster, Mary Paddock
Clark, daughter of Isaac Clark and Temperance Sears, born 27 May 1791,
Brewster, died 11 Apr 1877.
2. Asa Mayo, born 7 Feb 1755, Harwich, Barnstable, Mass., died 04 Dec
1823, Harwich, married 23 Aug 1778, Harwich, Sarah Seabury, daughter
of Ichabod Seabury and Temperance Pearce, born 2 Aug 1760, Tiverton,
Newport, R. I, died 14 Jul 1835, Brewster.
3. Thomas Mayo, born 1 Apr 1725, Harwich, died 1778, Newport,
Newport, R. I, married 5 Oct 1752, Harwich, Barnstable, Mass., Elizabeth
Wing, daughter of Elnathan Wing and Hannah Allen, 28 February 1728/29
Harwich, Barnstable, Mass., died 11 Feb 1816, Harwich.
4. Joseph Mayo, born 22 Dec 1696, Hingham, Plymouth, Mass., died bet.
1772 and 1774, Harwich, Barnstable, Mass., married 20 Feb 1717/18,
Harwich, Abigail Merrick, daughter of Benjamin Merrick and Rebecca
Doane, born about 1699, Harwich, died aft. September 1773, Harwich.
5. John Mayo, born 1656, Oyster Bay, Nassau, N. Y, died 1 February
1725/26, Harwich, married 14 Apr 1683, Eastham, Hannah Freeman,
daughter of John Freeman and Mary Prence, born say 1654, Eastham, died
15 Feb 1743/44, Harwich.
6. Samuel Mayo, born 1625, England, died bef. 26 April 1664, Boston,
Suffolk, Mass., married say 1644, Thomasine Lumpkin, daughter of
William Lumpkin and Thomasine [--?--], born 1626, England, died 16 Jun
1709, Eastham.
7. Rev. John Mayo, son of John Mayo and Katherine [--?--], born 16 Oct
1597, Fotheringhoe Parish, Northamptonshire, England, died May 1676,
Yarmouth, married 21 Mar 1617/18, Hannah Crowell, Leiden, Holland,
Tamisen Brike, died 26 Feb 1681/82, Yarmouth.
The maternal ancestry of Sarah Augusta Mayo also begins with her parents.
1. Mary Paddock Clark, born 27 May 1791, Brewster, died 11 Apr 1877,
married 2 May 1824, Jeremiah Mayo, son of Asa Mayo and Sarah
Seabury, born 29 Jan 1786, Brewster, died 30 Jan 1867, Brewster.
2. Isaac Clark, born 10 Oct 1761, Harwich, died 11 February 1819, Lost at
sea off the coast of Africa, married 28 April 1789, Yarmouth, Temperance
Sears, daughter of Edmund Sears and Hannah Crowell, born 9 Aug 1764,
died 12 Oct 1859, Yarmouth.
3. Kimball Clark, born 20 June 1734, died 20 November 1801, married 4
Dec 1760, Mary Paddock, daughter of Ebenezer Paddock and Mary Sears,
born 23 Aug 1739, Yarmouth, died 11 Augist 1789.
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
251
4. Seth Clarke, born 09 May 1708, died 07 Mar 1795, Harwich, Barnstable,
Mass., married 14 Feb 1726/26, Huldah Doane, daughter of Isaac Doane
and Margaret Atwood, born 15 Jan 1706/07, Eastham, Barnstable, Mass.,
died 043 Oct 1790, Harwich, Barnstable, Mass.
5. Thomas Clarke, born 1672, Boston, died 18 Nov 1759, Harwich, married
1699, Harwich, Sarah Grey, daughter of John Grey and Hannah Sturgis,
born Jul 1672, died 24 Apr 1743, Harwich.
6. Andrew Clarke, born say 1639, Plymouth, died 1706, Harwich, married
Mehitable Scottow, daughter of Thomas Scottow and Joan Sanford, born
14 Dec 1648, Plymouth, died 24 Apr 1712, Harwich.
7. Thomas Clarke, son of Thomas Clarke and Rose Kerrich, [Keridge],
born 31 Mar 1605, Great Westhorpe, Suffolk, England, died 2 Dec 1674,
Newport, Newport, R. I, married 1634, Plymouth, Plymouth, Mass.,
Susannah Ring, daughter of Andrew Ring and Mary Durrant, born say
1612, England, died 28 Jun 1698, Plymouth.
It was with some pride and a little amazement that the author, during his
research, discovered that he is a distant cousin of both Mary Louisa Cobb
and Sarah Augusta Mayo. His great-great-grandmother, Emily E. Mayo
(1830-1917), who married George Hull Ward in 1851 in Worcester, shares
a number of ancestors with the two ladies, more directly with Augusta
Mayo, but also with Mary Cobb. Augusta Mayo and Emily E. (Mayo)
Ward share as their common ancestors, their great-great-grandparents,
Joseph Mayo and Abigail Myrick, and likely others. Mary L. Cobb and
Emily E. (Mayo) Ward share a common ancestry with Nicholas Snow and
Constance Hopkins, Constance being also a Mayflower passenger. As both
Augusta and Mary were fifth-generation Cape Codders from Harwich and
Brewster, they, no doubt, have other ancestors in common. Emily’s
grandparents, Peter Mayo and Bethia Smith, left Cape Cod for greater
opportunities off-Cape, but she, too, likely shares other ancestors with the
two ladies.
Sources
Dudley, Dean, The Bangs Family in America, with genealogical tables and
notes (Montrose, Mass.: the author, 1896).
Dugan, Caroline Atherton, Painting a time in text and photographs /edited
by Kay Dorn (Brewster, Mass.: The Brewster Ladies’ Library, 2014).
Massachusetts. State Census for Brewster, Barnstable County,
Massachusetts for 1855, 1865 http://www.ancestry.com
Mayo, Sarah Augusta, Looking back; the manuscript of Sarah Augusta
Mayo on the history of her family and their life in Brewster, Massachusetts,
252
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
circa 1830-1870 /edited by Janine M. Perry (Brewster, Mass.: The Brewster
Ladies’ Library, 2003).
Mayo-Rodwick, Jean (May), Rev. John Mayo and his descendants (Los
Cruces, N. Mex.: Blood Ties, 2000).
RootsWeb WorldConnect Project https://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com
United States Federal Census for Brewster, Barnstable County,
Massachusetts, for 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900 http://www.ancestry.com
Family Relationship of Sarah Augusta Mayo and
Emily Elizabeth Mayo
1.Sarah Augusta Mayo, born 24 Aug
1830, Brewster, Barnstable, MA; died
07 Apr 1886, Boston, Suffolk, MA;
Never married.
1.Emily Elizabeth Mayo, born 28 Oct
1830, Dudley, Worcester, MA; died 24
Sep 1917, Worcester, Worcester, MA;
married George Hull Ward, 05 June
1851, Worcester, Worcester, MA.
2. William Mayo, born 30 Nov 1803,
Harwich, Barnstable, MA; died 12 Dec
1884, Worcester, Worcester, MA;
married Sarah Dennis, 21 Jun 1825,
East Webster, Worcester, MA.
3. Peter Mayo, born bef. 03 Jul 1774,
Harwich, Barnstable, MA; died 27 Jan
1857, Hardwick, Worcester, MA;
married Bethiah Smith, 30 Jan 1798,
Harwich, Barnstable, MA.
4. Nathan Mayo, born 5 Apr 1735,
Harwich, Barnstable, MA; married
Hannah Atwood, 27 Oct 1763,
Harwich, Barnstable, MA.
2. Jeremiah Mayo, born 29 Jan 1786,
Harwich, Barnstable, MA; died 20 Jun
1867, Harwich, Barnstable, MA;
married Mary Paddock Clark, May 2,
1824, Brewster, Barnstable, MA.
3. Asa Mayo, born 07 Feb 1755,
Harwich, Barnstable, MA; died 04 Dec
1823, Brewster, Barnstable, MA;
married Sarah Seabury, 23 Aug 1778,
Harwich, Barnstable, MA.
4. Thomas Mayo, born 1 Apr 1725,
Harwich, Barnstable, MA; died 1778,
Newport, Newport, RI; married
Elizabeth Wing, 5 Oct 1752, Harwich,
Barnstable, MA.
5. Joseph Mayo, born 22 Dec 1696, Hingham, Plymouth, MA; died bef. 3 Jun
1775, Harwich, Barnstable, MA; married Abigail Myrick, 20 FEB 1717/18,
Harwich, Barnstable, MA.
6. John Mayo Born 1656, Oyster Bay, Nassau, NY; died 1 Feb 1725/26, Harwich,
Barnstable, MA; married Hannah Freeman, 14 Apr 1681, Eastham, Barnstable.,
MA
7. Samuel Mayo, born 1625, England; died bef. Apr 1664, Boston; married
Tamsen Lumpkin, about 1644;
8. John Mayo born about 1597, England; died May 1676, Yarmouth, Barnstable,
MA; married Tamisen Brike, 21 Mar 1617/18, Leiden, Holland; immigrated about
1639 to Yarmouth, Barnstable, New Plymouth Colony.
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
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Ray’s Ruminations
Clocks
by L. Ray Sears, III
locks have been on my mind lately. Mainly because two of them
stopped running and required intervention from the guy at the TickTock Shop. Those mechanical bearings and winding mechanisms only last
about 40 years. Clocks are becoming lost artifacts in our modern world. We
hired a new college graduate recently, and when informed he could not
bring his cellphone into the workplace he remarked, “How will I know what
time it is?” Me, I quit wearing a watch about 30 years ago. It was my
rebellion against being a slave to time. Yes, I still wear a watch when I go
rowing because coach says, “We will meet at the start line at 7:30,” and I
don’t want to be late. But otherwise, I really don’t want to know what time
it is. Tempus fugit after all. A kid came up to me in the airport, held out his
analog watch (with hands, not the digital sort), and asked me to tell him
what time it was. He couldn’t decipher his own watch!
In our home we have two old-fashioned clocks: a tall grandfather clock
that my Dad built from a kit for our wedding present and a clock that used
to sit on the mantle in the parlor of “The Cedars,” my grandmother’s old
Cape house at 1661 Main Street, East Dennis on the Old King’s Highway
across from Stage Coach Village. When I was a kid, I thought the house
number, 1661, was one of those “circa boards” and that we spent summers
in a really, really old place. Come to find out, that little Cape Cod cottage
wasn’t even built until 1790! Well, the house smelled wonderfully old to
me, and if I open up the back of that mantle clock, the faint smell of
kerosene and the old parlor will waft into the room.
The fireplace in the parlor didn’t seem to have a very good draft. It was
always a little smoky when we started a fire in there. My grandfather once
said, “Now, the fireplace in the living room, that one has the best draft on
the Cape. You see those scratch marks on the hearth? The cat walked by
one day in front of a roaring fire and almost got dragged off his feet and
right up the flu!” So I guess it is an old wood-smoke / kerosene smell
trapped inside that mantle clock. Kerosene you ask? Well, my grandfather,
Leslie Sears, had the notion that a little shot-glass of kerosene in the bottom
of a clock would vaporize and coat the clock works to keep them lubricated.
Here’s a little puzzle for you. The mantle clock chimes a count of the hour
on the hour and chimes once on the half-hour.You walk into the parlor and
hear the clock chime once, 30 minutes later, one more chime, 30 minutes
later, one more chime, and finally, 30 minutes later, one more chime. You
might say, “Time to call the man from Tick-Tock, no clock chimes once,
four times in a row,” unless you walked into the parlor and heard only “the
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last and final bong” of the twelve chimes for noon, then the single 12:30
chime, the 1:00 PM chime, and finally, the single 1:30 chime. Originally it
sounded like four single chimes over a period of an hour and half! Maybe
you thought it was of those crazy ship’s clocks that chimes eight bells?
My favorite clock on Cape Cod is the steeple clock in the Grace Church
on Quivet Neck. This is a four-faced steeple mounted church clock with a
black circular face with Roman numerals, minute markings and hands in
gold. There appears to be no maker’s name on the clock face. There is a bell
mounted in the steeple above the clock.
The History of Barnstable County says, “In April, 1847, Edmund Sears,
David Crowell, Christopher Hall, and Anthony Smalley, as a committee,
contracted with Thomas Crocker to build the present Methodist church in
East Dennis.” Those are some of the same fellows who built Jacob Sears
Memorial Hall across the street from the church, which we read about in the
last issue of this Journal. Grace Church is affiliated with the Evangelical
Free Church, and I hope the clock is still working. I remember fondly that I
was sketching some of the tombstones in the Ancient Sears Cemetery on a
sunny day in May fifteen
years ago and heard the clock
start its countdown to noon.
Of course, it is only 1,500 feet
between the old cemetery on
the south side of Rte 6A and
the church on Center Street,
but I was quite surprised to
hear those bells pealing so
clearly just to the north of me.
The church steeple is also a
perfect landmark when lining
up your return from Cape Cod
Bay to Sesuit Harbor by sea.
My Dad always had us “look
back” as we left the harbor so
that when we returned, we
would know what we were
supposed to be looking for.
Have you looked back lately?
Courtesy Carolyn Weiss
“I want to turn the clock back to when people lived in small
villages and took care of each other.” --Pete Seeger
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
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Book Reviews
Mastering Genealogical Proof
by Prof. Thomas W. Jones
A Review by David Martin
rof. Thomas W. Jones has authored an excellent guide for both
professional and amateur genealogists around the topic of the
Genealogical Proof Standards (another meaning for the abbreviation
“GPS”). Published as part of the National Genealogical Society’s Special
Topic Series, Jones takes the recently updated Standards and expands on
each, with valuable suggestions for genealogists to follow in meeting those
Standards.
The Standards include: thorough research, complete and accurate
citations, analysis and correlation, resolution of conflicts and assembling
evidence, and development of a cogent written conclusion. He includes
eight helpful tables, six helpful figures, and a series of questions and
exercises at the end of each chapter (with answers at the back of the book).
As a former university colleague of Jones in the field of teacher-education, I
can easily relate to these learner-centered activities, which are the hallmark
of good teaching that ensures a chance for the learner to confirm her/his
learning.
The book will lead to strong understanding and use of the Standards;
while it is a textbook, in the Preface the author makes the point that an
unusual feature is that it is written in the first person. Another strong point
of the book is its basis in real records and problems in the examples cited.
He shows examples in context to illustrate the connections among research
activities. A glossary at the end sheds light on a number of terms that
genealogists see frequently but may not fully comprehend. Also included
are an annotated bibliography and appendixes of two previously published
articles to indicate methodologies.
As a firm rationale, Jones points out the clear advantage of observing
standards (something which twenty-five years ago and more, very few
genealogists adhered to)—the possibility of a “shared framework for
understanding genealogical methods and reasoning.”
In the ground-setting chapter, he indicates that most genealogical
research questions fall into one of three categories—a relationship of some
kind (e.g., parents), an identity (e.g., which of several persons with the same
name were really the one being discussed), and an activity (e.g., what an
ancestor did during some period in her/his life). Another useful inclusion is
a bulleted list of suggestions for clear writing, presuming that the
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genealogist upon completing any research may plan to record the findings
in writing for the benefit of others.
After the explanation and expansion on each of the five standards, the
author provides eleven questions about a genealogical conclusion; a
conclusion, which passes the test of these questions will have definite
credibility for others.
Written in easy-to-understand language with ample examples for
clarification, this paperback volume should be “must” reading for anyone
embarking on either serious genealogical research or informal research in
which the researcher plans to have her/his work be credible and stand the
test of time.
Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists
Who Came to America before 1700; Lineages
from Alfred the Great, Charlemagne, Malcolm of
Scotland, Robert the Strong and other
Historical Individuals.
Created by Frederick Lewis Weis,
Continued by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr. Eighth edition.
Edited with additions and corrections
by William R. Beall and Kaleen E. Beall
Published in 2004 by Genealogical Publishing Co, Baltimore, Md.
he first edition of this venerable and authoritative work was published
in 1950 as Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists. The compiler, Frederick
Lewis Weis (1895-1966), was a Unitarian clergyman with a doctorate in
theology from the University of Strasburg. He was a graduate of the U.S.
Naval Academy, and a veteran of the First World War. Following that war,
he became an ordained Unitarian clergyman and in a nearly thirty-year
career as the pastor of churches in Dorchester and Lancaster, Massachusetts.
During that time, he also was deeply involved in genealogical studies. He
founded the Society of the Descendants of the Colonial Clergy, and
compiled four volumes on the colonial clergy of the British colonies, among
other books.
Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists, which was followed by a companion
volume Magna Carta Sureties, 1215, went through three editions during
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Weis’ lifetime, adding and correcting information published in previous
editions. After Weis’ death in 1966, Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr. continued the
work, through three more editions, again adding and correcting. When
Sheppard retired, it was decided to replace the two volumes of Ancestral
Roots and Magna Carta Sureties, 1215 with a series of volumes presenting
the ancestry of seventeenth-century colonists from the Plantagenet kings,
the Magna Carta sureties and the Emperor Charlemagne. Plantagenet
Ancestry of Seventeenth-Century Colonists by David Faris was published in
1996. Updated, multi-volume editions of Plantagenet Ancestry and Magna
Carta Ancestry, edited by Douglas Richardson, were published in 2011.
William Beall and Kaleen Beall, who had assisted Sheppard while he
was editing the seventh edition of Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists, have
put forth an eighth edition of this important and seminal work in 2004,
reprinted here for 2008. The ancestral lines covered in the book have been
checked and revised. Ninety-one have been extensively revised, a few have
been eliminated, and sixty new lines have been added, chiefly those of
continental European lines. Many of the lines of immigrant ancestors to
America have been connected to articles exploring them in contemporary
genealogical journals. Approximately 275 ancestral lines have been
included in the book; additional associated lines derived from a numbered
line have been denoted with a number and a letter designation. This brings
the total number of ancestral lines and associated lines to 398.
Each individual described in an ancestral line is fully identified with
birth, death and marriage data, as well as any nicknames and titles of
nobility. Source references have been included at the end of each
individual’s entry. The scholarship in this compilation has been of very
thorough and rigorous.
For genealogists this is an important reference work showing ascent
from the early Middle Ages in Europe to the immigration of British
colonists coming to America in the seventeenth century. Historians of the
Middle Ages may find benefit too from seeing the family associations of
English participants in the War of the Roses and the conflict between the
French and the English during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
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Guide to Genealogical Writing
How to Write and Publish Your Family History
by Penelope L Stratton and Henry B. Hoff
Published in 2014 by New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston
A Review By Debra Lawless.
Publishing Family Histories for Dummies
ateline: Hollywood.
The camera zooms in for a close-up of an old black typewriter with
a single sheet of half-typed paper rolled around the cylinder. Under
the book’s final words, our heroic author types “THE END.”
And so a book is finished.
Or is it?
It is not. Anyone who has waded through the slog either of selfpublishing a book or preparing a manuscript for a publisher knows that
these days an author’s tribulations do not end, as they do in the movies, with
typing “the end” on the final page of a manuscript. In some ways, the
author’s work is just beginning.
After completing the text, many publishers now ask authors to dive into
what used to be the realm of editors and publishers. Authors may be asked
to place properly-scanned and sized electronic photos into text, write heads,
sub-heads and captions, and even prepare indexes. In fact, authors now
routinely produce almost camera-ready copy. And how does an author do
this if he or she has little or no training? Penelope Stratton, who is
NEHGS’s publishing director and Henry Hoff, editor of the NEHGS
Register, will lead you through everything you need to know in their
indispensable Guide to Genealogical Writing: How to Write and Publish
Your Family History. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society,
2014).
This 192-page book is a revision of a 1990 booklet that grew to book
size in subsequent editions. The 2014 edition brings us to the cutting edge
of the publishing business that changed dramatically during the past quarter
century.
A word to genealogists: This guide is not about genealogical research but
about how you prepare a manuscript. As the authors write, “This book is
intended to walk you through the publication process.” The authors
encourage you to begin writing even before you have finished your
research, advising that you can go back and fill in gaps—gaps which may
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only, in fact, become apparent once you begin writing. “For now, set aside
your research tools and organize yourself for writing,” they advise. Begin
by asking yourself who your audience might be—your grandchildren or a
wider readership of those interested in Colonial New England? Your
potential audience will dictate the format of the book-- sound advice for a
writer of any project.
Guide to Genealogical Writing is divided into four parts that guide both
first-time and veteran authors through various stages of manuscript
preparation. Take images. What kind of images does a publisher prefer? Do
you need permission from the persons shown in the photos? How do you
scan them? Where do you place them in the text?
And what about indexing? Should you hire an indexer or do it yourself?
This guide will help you either way.
While parts I through III are invaluable to anyone putting together a
book—many of the rules apply to all non-fiction works, not just works of
genealogy-- part IV is geared to article writers who will work with the
editors of periodicals. Throughout the book, with short sidebars labeled
“TIP,” the authors present much complex material in a style reminiscent of
the For Dummies series of books.
The book ends with a “Genealogical Manual of Style.” A style manual’s
primary function is to promote consistency in writing things such as dates
and numbers. It also offers examples on stickier issues, such as writing
lineage lines and citing various types of references such as books, articles
and online publications. As a reference, Guide to Genealogical Writing is
worth its price for this 24-page style manual alone. The style manual
condenses, in an easily consulted form, the hefty tomes of The Chicago
Manual of Style, sixteenth edition, and two standard works on genealogical
citation by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
Having done a fair amount of editing myself, I offer this piece of advice
to writers: Do not do things to your manuscript that will set your editor’s
teeth on edge. Instead, buy a copy of Guide to Genealogical Writing: How
to Write and Publish Your Family History (available for $19.95 through
NEHGS online at www.americanancestors.org), master it, and then submit
or publish your manuscript.
Your editor will love you. Your readers will love you. Believe me.
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American Ghost
A Family’s Haunted Past in the Desert
Southwest
by Hannah Nordhaus
Published in 2015 by Harper, New York
A Review by Debra Lawless
A Trip Through Genealogy and the Paranormal
“I didn’t think I believed in Julia’s ghost, but she was nonetheless starting to
haunt me,” Hannah Nordhaus writes about her great-great grandmother in
American Ghost.
This book is both a memoir of a German immigrant family and a ghost
story. It touches upon both the Holocaust and the supernatural in what is
sometimes an uneasy morphing of two stories, two approaches to the past.
Its interest to genealogists lies in the author’s first-class research through
the many sites and places with which genealogists are familiar, from
Ancestry.com to repositories in Germany.
Nordhaus’s family had long heard tales of its ghostly ancestor Julia
Schuster Staab, who is said to haunt the Santa Fe hotel that was once her
home, and is where she died in 1896 at age fifty-two.
“Everyone was intrigued by Julia’s ghost story,” Nordhaus writes. While
the older generation joked about it, the younger planned visits to her room.
Julia Schuster grew up in a small village in northwestern Germany and
in 1865, when she was twenty-one, wed twenty-six-year-old Abraham
Staab. Abraham then took his bride to rough-and-tumble Santa Fe, where
he was an up-and-coming dry goods merchant.
The author, a journalist, finds a photocopied family history written in
1980, and soon after that, she meets a genealogist named Lynn. (Nordhaus
omits most last names of living people in her book.) Soon Nordhaus
develops a plan: “Like an archaeologist, I could burrow into the layers of
evidence my relatives had left behind… And perhaps by reassembling the
confused fragments, I could make Julia whole.”
She interviews the relative who wrote the family tree. She delves
through ships’ records and census records for New Mexico in 1870, 1880
and 1885. She finds an online blog by a previously-unknown third cousin,
and she visits the archives at the New Mexico History Museum.
“Every time I saw the Staab name in a newspaper, in a ship’s log, or in
the index of an old book, a chill scuttled up my neck: the dead came alive
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for a moment,” she says, describing a feeling familiar to many a
genealogist. Nordhaus also obtains a DNA kit and sends her swab to Texas.
Ultimately she learns she is 68.75 percent Jewish, which means that she is
6.25 percent less Jewish than what she had believed herself to be. This
signifies that one of her great-great grandparents was not Jewish, a mystery
that she writes off as having to do with the long, tangled history of Europe,
and perhaps an affair, or a rape.
Eventually, she comes upon a
diary written between 1891 and
1892 by Bertha, Julia’s daughter.
For many years the diary was
stowed forgotten in a box in a
cousin’s storeroom. Accompanied
by her mother, Nordhaus follows
Julia’s route in Germany to the
spa town of Bad Pyrmont, where
Julia took a cure. Nordhaus also
traces the family members who
did not immigrate to New
Mexico. Julia’s sister Emilie died
in the World War II concentration
camp Theresienstadt, which
Nordhaus also toured.
Now, that is the part of the
story to which we can all relate as
genealogists. Here’s where the story becomes weird. At the same time that
Nordhaus was pursuing her logical quest, she was also seeking out
mediums, psychics, tarot card readers, a dowser and an intuitive. She signed
up for a Santa Fe ghost tour and also took a nighttime ghost tour of the
Stanley Hotel, said to be the model for Stephen King’s hotel in The Shining.
She made several attempts to communicate directly with Julia, once by
ingesting medical marijuana, which only made everything look pink, and
once by staying in the room where Julia died in the hotel. This part of the
story is not as satisfying as the straightforward research, perhaps because
information Nordhaus gleans from the world beyond the veil is
contradictory. Even her night in Julia’s room is ambiguous—she sees a
vision of moving green lights that turn orange and red. Or does she?
Yet the ghost story tantalizes. “Ghosts connect us both to memory and to
the world we cannot fully know,” Nordhaus writes. “Ghost stories make
visible the forgotten, the repressed, and the discarded.” This is, after all, a
living woman’s journey into the past—the story becomes as much
Nordhaus’s as Julia’s.
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If you are looking to be spooked, you would do better to read The
Shining. If you are looking for a sensitive tale of how one woman used a
variety of means, both genealogical and occult, to flesh out the story of her
great-great grandmother’s life, you would do well to read American Ghost.
After all, “it is the truths between the facts that tell us who we are,”
Nordhaus tells us.
Folk Art of Cape Cod and the Islands
by Jeanne Marie Carley
Published in 2014 by Schiffer Publishing Co., Ltd./Atglen, Pa.
Reviewed by Carolyn Weiss
ape Cod Genealogical Society member, Jeanne Carley has written a
wonderful book on the folk art created on Cape Cod and the Islands
from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries The book has over 500 color
photos in 304 pages of history. Jeanne explains that to understand folk art,
one must understand the artist/artisan, his history, and lifestyle. Folk art on
the Cape represents both its maritime experience as well as the rural nature
of the area.
Interesting chapters include “Painted Portraits - Faces of the Past,”
including miniature portraits and keepsake portraits of sailors and whalers
and loved ones left behind. Also included are silhouettes, which were very
popular in the eighteenth Century. Of interest to genealogists are the
“family registers,” depicting marriage, birth, and death using the “tree of
life,” hearts, vines, and wild roses as illustration. These were fancy and
illuminated family trees.
Other chapters cover “Maritime Art - Down to the Sea in Ships,” which
includes figureheads, ship models, scrimshaw, knickknacks and whimsy,
lightship baskets, and shell art. I particularly enjoyed her biography of
Nancy H. Devita, who painted all eight clipper ships produced in Sesuit
Harbor (Dennis) by Shiverick Shipyards. She is the only female maritime
artist in this volume. There is also another wonderful chapter on “The Art of
the Carousel - Remembering the Past.” Jeanne covers quilts and coverlets
and weathervanes and whirligigs, carved birds, and early gravestones in
other chapters. Finally, there is a directory of museums and institutions that
hold these treasures.
I cannot imagine anyone who would not find joy in reading this
marvelous book. Jeanne has kindly donated a copy to our Genealogy Room
at the Dennis Public Library in Dennis Port.
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The Invisible History of the Human Race: How
DNA and History Shape Our Identities and
Our Futures.
by Christine Kenneally
Published in 2014 by The Penguin Group, New York
A Review by William DeW. Horrocks, Jr.
hristine Kenneally’s excellent book is a many-faceted work. It is both
the personal story of her attempts to identify her own ancestors as well
as a penetrating look at the interfaces of the genealogy of family trees,
historical and cultural influences on our heritage, forays into paleoanthropology and a discussion of the impact that modern DNA analyses
have on many aspects of our search for the past and information about our
possible futures.
With her background in journalism and linguistics, Kenneally comes at
these subjects as an outsider and gains much of her information by means of
interestingly-described interviews with experts and leaders of various
scientific or historical studies. While there are no formal numbered
footnotes or endnotes, at the end of the book is a list, by chapters and pages,
of notes documenting where she obtained her information or quotes.
Part I of the book (chapters 1- 4) is concerned with the practice and
consequences of genealogy as we know it. The first chapter starts with a
description of a genealogy road show in Australia and how puzzled the
author was about what people were doing there or why they were interested.
On page 19 we are told that “tracing one’s family lineage does not have a
great reputation.” Who knew? A purported offense of genealogy was that it
had all the real-world verifiability of astrology. Many other put-downs of
genealogy follow. One journalist offered the opinion that genealogy is the
academic equivalent of endlessly Googling yourself.
Kenneally thoughtfully rebuts most of the unwarranted skepticism about
the worth of genealogical research, and she proposes the following analogy
for those who accuse the genealogist of being “proud” or taking satisfaction
in their lineage for which, of course, they cannot claim credit. For instance,
a sports fan can take no credit himself for the success of, say, the Boston
Red Sox, but he still feels proud when his team wins. When confronting a
sports fan who is contemptuous of anyone interested in their ancestry, a
genealogist could point out that the “team” for which he “roots” consists of
his ancestors, who have the decided disadvantage, compared with
ballplayers, that most or all of his team members are dead.
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Later in the first chapter Kenneally describes how she became hooked on
searching for her own past while still trying to figure out why such an
endeavor was so important to her as well as it is to many others.
Chapter 2, “The History of Family History,” begins with material
gleaned from an extensive interview with David Allen Lambert of the New
England Historical Genealogical Society at the Society’s Newberry Boston
establishment. Lambert tells of how his childhood interest in his family
history evolved into a career in genealogy and why he and others are
fascinated by the subject. We learn that the formal study of genealogy in
America was delayed by the egalitarian spirit abounding in the early
republic, which was generally hostile to such endeavors. There were
exceptions; for instance, Benjamin Franklin researched his family tree
extensively. More typical was the attitude of Ralph Waldo Emerson who
wrote, “When I talk with a genealogist I seem to sit up with a corpse.”
Following the Civil War, interest in genealogy grew steadily, although it
was only in 2013 that the first extensive study of genealogy in this country
was published. Francois Weil, a Frenchman, wrote “Family Trees: A
History of Genealogy in America,” which provided the basis much of the
information in this revealing chapter.
In chapters 3 and 4 the topics of animal breeding, Mendelian genetics,
Darwin’s theories of evolution, and eugenics are introduced. The last topic
is anything but benign, and the chilling use of genealogical records in Nazi
Germany and elsewhere is discussed.
Part II of the book (Chapters 5 – 12), “What is Passed Down?” consists
of descriptions of a lengthy series of topics and case studies, most of them
fascinating. Chapter 5, “Silence,” is devoted to the difficulty often
encountered in finding information about one’s ancestors and is illustrated
by Kenneally’s search for information about her own convict ancestor in an
Australian penal colony and examples of the difficulties encountered by
people with orphan or adoptive forebears.
Chapter 6, “Information,” is very rich and important. It begins with how
records, when they exist, are preserved and stored in various archives and in
places such as the Granite Mountain Records Vault maintained by the
Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. A subterranean vault
consisting of four huge chambers contains millions of paper and microfilm
records of genealogical data on people throughout the world, gathered
starting early in the twentieth century and continuing today. Information
equivalent to thirty-two times the content of the Library of Congress is
stored there and, although the records were obtained for religious purposes
(postmortem baptism of individuals into the LDS faith), it is available to
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genealogists worldwide through the church’s Family Search enterprise and
through its more than 3,400 Family History Centers.
Archival records, wherever stored, are subject to gradual degradation or
catastrophic loss. Modern media are not exception. “The Domesday Book,”
the 1086 census and survey of the 13,000 subjects in the realm of William
the Conqueror, survives today, recorded in Latin on sheepskin. A BBC
project in 1984-1986 to generate a modern equivalent a millennium later
involved an informational survey of over a million Britons with
accompanying photographs and videos. It was recorded on laser disks
(predecessors of CDs) using a special Acorn BBC Master computer and
associated components. Less than twenty years later there was no way to
read the laser disks as the apparatus to do so no longer existed. The material
appeared to be lost; however, with much effort starting in 2004 at least part
of the modern book has been retrieved. The lesson here is that records can
only be preserved by continuous use and re-recording by contemporary
methods. A current CD will degrade within a few years and, in any case,
would be unreadable a few decades hence because of advances in
technology. The written word is potentially understandable across
millennia but only provided that the necessary translations are available
along the way, cf. the Rosetta Stone.
Masses of genealogical information are stored in the electronic databases
of commercial family tree organizations such as Ancestry.com, Geni,
MyHeritage, and FindMyPast. The Internet has revolutionized data storage,
and today 94 percent of all stored information is digital. The existence of
genealogical information as “big data” has allowed much more than family
tree research. For instance, a collaboration between Yanev Erlich of MIT’s
Whitehead Institute and Geni took all the Geni data on birth years and birth
places for all 43 million ancestors in the Geni database, which go back to
the sixteenth century. The data are displayed graphically in a time-lapse
video on a map of the world for births in each decade from the earliest
recorded to the present. The results map the migrations of people from
Western Europe to the New World, South Africa, India, and Australia. The
subsequent migration westward in North America is clearly visible. It is
quite impressive [http://wi.mit.edu/news/archive/2012/new-video-depictshuman-migration-across-generations].
The insular country of Iceland has gathered extensive genealogical data
on its entire population in one electronic database known as Islendingabok
or the Book of Icelanders. It includes data on the about 1.3 million people
born in Iceland since the first Norse settlement in 874. This is a goldmine of
material, which is available for a variety of studies.
A similarly ambitious Canadian project gathered data from 1,000,000
immigrants to French Canada and their descendants in the BALSAC
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database, from which they were able to show that the early pioneers moved
out of the cities to the frontier where they had larger families than those
who remained behind and later-comers who lived in more densely
populated areas. Thus, they dominate the ancestry of present day
Quebecois.
A University of Melbourne social historian established the Founders and
Survivors program wherein a group of amateur historians was recruited to
“crowd-source” a study of data on nineteenth century Tasmanian convicts,
with each researcher gathering data on a different ship bringing the
prisoners to Australia. The purpose was to track the variety of paths each
convict took both before and after incarceration. The individual researchers,
most of whom had convict ancestors, benefited greatly from participating in
the project.
Evidence that ideas and feelings are passed down in families is described
in chapter 7. It is shown that the quality of distrust is greatest in descendants
of inhabitants of areas in Sub-Saharan Africa that were most devastated by
the North Atlantic slave trade. To survive the abductions into slavery,
people learned to be very vigilant and not to trust even friends and relatives,
lest they be carried off. Studies have shown that even today descendants of
individuals from those areas show more distrust than those from other
regions in Africa.
In the mid-fourteenth century the Black Death plague killed sixty percent
of the population of Europe. Many people blamed it on Jews, and over twothirds of the towns in what is now Germany carried out pogroms which
killed or drove out their Jewish inhabitants. Six centuries later a strong
correlation exists between the cities that carried out the medieval pogroms
and those, which most exhibited virulent anti-Semitism in the Nazi era. It
appears that feelings such as ethnic hatred and distrust of neighbors are
passed down vertically over the centuries more efficiently than they are
spread contemporaneously within communities.
Kenneally introduces the use of DNA data for population genetic studies
in chapter 8, “The Small Grains of History.” Such investigations have been
possible only recently with the availability of the entire genomes of many
people throughout the world. Concentrating on the population of Great
Britain, researchers expert in statistics and genetics have devised a way of
classifying DNA samples of individuals by comparing many markers on
each genome so that it is possible to identify genetically similar populations.
By choosing the genomes from people who had four grandparents born near
where the DNA donors currently live, these DNA samples can be expected
to be fairly representative of earlier inhabitants of the same place. The
classes of genome were color-coded and plotted on a map of Great Britain.
These studies show clusters of like-classified (and like-colored) genomes.
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For instance, the isolated population of the Orkney Islands and other
relatively stable local populations elsewhere in Britain clearly show up on
the map. The genetic make-up of the population of southeast England was
shown to be twenty-five percent Saxon and seventy-five percent native
Briton, which confirms some historical ideas about the population of
England. Genetic studies also confirm the story of a sixteenth century
shipwreck of a Spanish galleon on one of the Orkney Islands where the
sailors married local women and established a local population which
thereafter, for reasons unclear, did not intermarry with the rest of the
population in the area. Studies of this type represent a powerful method to
discover or confirm ideas about past immigrations and other populationaffecting events. Although the Romans conquered Britain in the first
century and governed it for 400 years, there is no ancient Roman DNA in
the current population, showing that the Roman conquerors did not marry
locally and settle with the population they found there.
The power of Y-DNA analyses is explored in chapter 9 “DNA +
Culture,” where it explains that Y-DNA is passed down only from father to
son, thereby tracking the male line. Y-DNAs are identified by specific
chosen markers in their sequences and are classified in terms of the natures
of these markers in terms of sequences known as short-tandem repeats. The
findings that sixteen million men mostly living in Asia likely descend from
Ghenghis Kahn or that seventeen percent of the male population of
northwest Ireland descend from a non-Catholic fifth century warlord known
as Niall of the Nine Hostages, come from detailed Y-DNA studies.
Information about Scottish clan membership or descendancy from Norse
invaders is among the fruits of these studies along with insights into the
evolution of surnames in England and Ireland.
The first large-scale applications of genetic genealogy are described in
chapter 10,”Chunks of DNA,” where the genomic data on thousands of
people are coupled with their family-tree data obtained by standard means.
This combination, pioneered by the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy
Foundation, allows all sorts of interesting correlations to be made and led to
the establishment of the DNA analysis industry embodied by Family Tree
DNA, 23andMe and AncestryDNA.com, as well as the National Geographic
Genographic Project. Data from these projects, when analyzed and shared,
provide individuals with insight into who their forbears were and who might
or might not be a relative. The field is advancing rapidly, and we are on the
cusp of “deciphering the deep history of the world.” Kenneally goes on to
describe the very complex process by which genomes are cut, split, and
shuffled across generations and the implications of this process on what we
can learn of our personal history and the larger history of world population.
An interesting fact is that our genetic and ancestral trees are not identical,
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and it is quite possible that a particular ancestor contributes no DNA to our
personal genome. To obtain an in-depth understanding of these processes,
additional study would be necessary and diagrams, not supplied in the book,
would be helpful.
A brief chapter 11, “The Politics of DNA,” concerns itself with the
nebulous and controversial concept of race. It starts with the very recent
revelations from Y- DNA studies that Thomas Jefferson did indeed sire
children with his black slave, Sally Hemings. Eston and Madison Hemings
were sons of the third president; however, Thomas Woodson, the founder of
a successful and accomplished family, was not. Sadly, this finding
devastated the Woodson family, which had a long oral tradition maintaining
that they were presidential descendants.
This chapter goes on to describe the reluctance of many individuals and
groups, especially those from developing native populations, to cooperate
with genetic researchers. This hostility has many causes, which are
examined in this chapter. Feelings about race and knowledge of one’s
genetic roots are emotional issues.
“The History of the World,” chapter 12, describes the rapidly advancing
use of genomics to reveal a fairly detailed picture of our past from our
origins in Africa to the present. The migrations out of Africa 60,000 years
ago are followed, as are the less well-known earlier migrations by the subhuman species, Neanderthals, and the newly-identified (2010) Denisovians.
Pieces of the genomes of these non-human species are incorporated in
modern genomes, proving that there was interbreeding. Neanderthal DNA
makes up one to three percent of modern DNA, but none is found in
present-day inhabitants of Africa. Details of genetic bottlenecks (which
homogenize the genomes of small static populations) and migrations to the
New World 16,000 years ago are evident in the genome record. Even the
DNA from other accompanying species, e.g., mice, lice, and bacteria, yield
clues to early human migrations.
The final section of the book, Part III, consists of two short chapters.
These are concerned with manifestations of genome structure in present-day
populations. Chapter 13 provides a case-study of the Melungeons, a group
or extended family, one of the “little races” of the South (others are the
Guineas, Croatans, and Wesorts), living in Virginia and Tennessee. Their
inherited characteristics include dark skin color, unusual shovel-like incisor
tooth shape, and characteristic palate and skull structure. In the nineteenth
century and later they were subject to discrimination. Their ancestry is
probably part Black and Native American as well as white, but definitive
genetic studies have not been completed. The question of what genetic
characteristics and gene mutations are responsible for physical
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characteristics such as facial structure (a very actively researched area
today) and skin color are discussed in some detail.
Chapter 14 is concerned with genetically-inherited health issues. Again,
an interesting case-study follows a man whose mother died of Huntington’s
Disease. This disease is invariably fatal and comes from a mutation of a
recessive gene, which means that inheriting it from a single ancestor will
doom a person to getting the disease. The person involved decided to study
for a Ph. D. in molecular biology and work on the genetics of the disease.
The offending gene, called Huntingtin, was discovered in 1993 together
with the particular mutation, which caused the disease (having more than
the normal seventeen repeats of the nucleic acid bases, CAG). The age at
which a carrier comes down with the disease depends on the number of
these repeats.
This chapter concludes with a discussion of the manifestations of
intensive inbreeding. One example is that of the Samaritans who married
only into their own community and even into only their own family name
group. They have been doing this since the Solomonic Period around 1000
BC. The health consequences for this population have been catastrophic.
There are only about 750 Samaritans remaining today. The cohort of
Ashkenazi Jews is large and less inbred; nevertheless, one in twenty-seven
carries the mutated gene for Tay-Sachs disease.
Kenneally’s book concludes with an Epilogue containing her personal
musings regarding some of the people she met during her research for the
book and on the importance, consequences, and potential of DNA studies
for everyone.
This book brings together masses of important information from
different fields. Genealogists, anthropologists, historians, genetics
researchers, and anyone wishing to experience the excitement of current
research in these interdisciplinary areas will benefit from reading this book.
I would have liked the book to have less-obscure chapter titles. Also
some sub-headings within chapters as a guide to what was coming next
would have been helpful, but these are minor quibbles about this important
and fascinating book.
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Meeting Summaries
Where Does The Census Lead Me?
Presentation by Seema Kenney
Summary by William Horrocks
eema Kenney, a professional genealogist and evaluator for the 2015
NERGC conference in Providence, gave a talk entitled: “Where Does
the Census Lead Me?” at the May meeting. Her presentation assumed that
the researcher has accessed the census data for the individual(s) of interest.
Her main purpose was to illustrate the variety of information that can be
gleaned from census data and especially how the findings in the census lead
one to examine other sources for further investigation. Her emphasis was on
how to fill out the life of the ancestor in question beyond the basic data on
birth, death, and marriage. For instance, if one has census data for a
particular family over a series of decades, Kenney advocated using this
information as the basis of a written narrative for that family. Having this
history written down often suggests further questions to ask and points to
other sources to be investigated.
Among the auxiliary sources mentioned were cemetery records, church
records, city directories, immigration records, fraternal organizations,
historical photograph collections, local histories, maps, military unit
histories, mortgage records, newspaper articles, naturalization records,
passenger lists, pension records, probate records, property deeds, school
reports, tax lists, town histories, town records, town reports, union records,
and vital records.
Federal Census records are publically available from 1790 through 1940,
with the exception of the 1890 census, which was mostly destroyed in a fire.
Prior to 1850 only the head of the household was listed by name (85% were
male). Names of all individuals were recorded in all censuses starting in
1850, and the census-takers asked a variety of questions which varied from
census to census.
An important website, https://usa.ipums.org/usa/, The Integrated Public
Use Microdata Series which was established by the Minnesota Population
Center of the University of Minnesota, was mentioned during the talk. This
site contains databases covering censuses from 1850 to 2000 and American
Community Surveys from 2000 to 2010. On this site can be found the
questions asked each year by the census-takers and the detailed instructions
on how the enumerators were to conduct each survey. Facsimiles of the
headers of the census form for each census year are also shown. This
material provides valuable insight into what information can be gleaned
from each of the census entries and can suggest lines for further
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investigation. IPUMS data, which are available to the public free of charge,
are not for genealogical research, mostly because each census database
contains only about one percent of the total census data (see below*). The
IPUMS databases are meant primarily for scholarly statistical demographic
and health studies.
Among the other sorts of information that may be available about
persons or families found in a census record are citizenship status, years
since immigration, occupation, unemployment, literacy, marital status, years
married, ability to speak English, school attendance, country or state of
birth, and this same information for the parents of those enumerated.
Depending on the census year, information on a person’s condition or health
may be determined from check marks in boxes for various (mostly
unappealing) categories such as: “blind, deaf & dumb, idiotic, insane,
maimed, crippled, bedridden, or disabled.” Certain censuses asked about
home ownership and value of property. Racial information (white, black,
mulatto, Chinese, Indian [Native American]) was inquired about in some
cases. It would be useful to check the IUPMS site for the questions asked
whenever analyzing data from a particular census.
The major take-home lesson from Kenney’s lecture was that in order to
gain maximum value from census data, a researcher should examine each
census record for as many clues to a person’s life as possible and then
follow up the found leads by searching other sources of information that are
suggested by the census findings.
Question and Answer:
*Can I use IPUMS for genealogy? (from IPUMS website’s FAQs)
You are welcome to work with the IPUMS data, but you should be
aware of its severe limitations for genealogical purposes. Only the 18501880 and 1920 samples contain names of individuals. Moreover, the 18501870 and 1920 samples are 1-in-100 samples of the population, meaning
there is a 1 percent chance of finding any particular person in the data.
The data extraction system is not suited for genealogical research. The
system is not a search engine. You cannot search for any particular name in
the data, and the system will not select out cases on the basis of name.
If you wish to try your luck with the data, you should also be aware, if you
are not already, that the data are "raw" (i.e., it is just strings of numbers with
names and addresses embedded). Each line represents an individual or
household. The IPUMS codebook is required to interpret the numbers. Most
software - especially word processors - is unable to handle files as large as
these. SPSS or SAS are the most frequently used programs to deal with the
data.
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Data for the complete 1880 census are available on two web sites, which
contain programs to search the data by name
(http://Ancestry.com and http://FamilySearch.org). These sites also help
genealogists search other historical census databases and are far better
suited to genealogical research than the IPUMS is.
Recognizing and Resolving Genealogical Errors
Presentation by Barbara Mathews
arbara Mathews, professional genealogist, provided insights into how
to deal with possible errors in one’s genealogy, at the Annual 2015
Meeting of the Society in June. She began by discussing sources of error.
We should evaluate data that we find by doing a wide search of both
published and non-published records, along with examining the reliability
of each source. We should also try to correlate the source with other known
information. She strongly recommended using the definitions contained in
the Thomas Jones publication, Mastering Genealogical Proof, which is
reviewed elsewhere in this issue.
She explained that there are three different kinds of records—original,
derivative (for example, an index to a list of births), and authored sources.
Information found can be either primary (written by someone who
witnessed the event), secondary (from someone who learned about the
event), indeterminate (coming from an unknown source such as the census
enumerator), and negative.
Evidence can be direct, indirect, or negative (evidence which should be
present, but is not). She recommended that the standards of the Board for
Certified Genealogists (BCG) be applied. Barbara then provided examples
of misleading information, drawn from birth certificates, marriage
certificates, death certificates, obituaries, probates, deeds, family Bibles,
and gravestones—all of which can contain errors. For example, the
recording of a birth long after the event should raise concerns about
accuracy. She reminded the audience that transcribers also make errors and
advised “clicking through” to the original image in order to get around those
possible errors. In addition, not all printed sources have been proofread. She
advised being vigilant about finding two or more heads of households in the
same community with the same name—this situation may or may not be
referring to different families. Parent names on a death certificate should
also be verified, since the person filling out the death certificate is probably
providing parent information about parents who have died some time ago.
Obituaries are submitted but are not verified; so-called “mug books”
(biographies of prominent citizens in published form) frequently embellish
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the truth. Some individuals flipped their first and last names on documents
around the turn of the twentieth century. Genders can become confused in
the listing of individuals in families. Handwriting also presents challenges
of interpretation. Colonial genealogists used Junior and Senior in different
ways than at the present time—Junior could mean simply the youngest
person within a community with the same name, rather than a blood
descendant.
She also advised trying to obtain a true copy of a deed rather than a
transcription, but never throw anything away because although it may seem
irrelevant at the moment, it may be useful later.
In all, the presentation provided a highly useful summation of traps to
avoid.
Soldiers, Spies, and Farm Wives:
Women in the Civil War
Presentation by Jill Morelli
n general, wars have proven to be “game-changers” for the role of women
in society, and the American Civil War is an example of that principle.
It is possible to track prisoners-of-war with some accuracy because good
records were kept daily. Prisoners on both sides of the conflict were
regularly exchanged until March 1864 when Union General Grant noticed
that those exchanges were resulting in more soldiers being available to the
South than the North since in many cases Northern prisoners, when
released, just went home.
Before the Civil War, women were identified with their husbands or
fathers. Little opportunity for education was available to either poor or
wealthy women because their roles were considered to be associated with
the home. Some exceptions are found in the Revolution, when a few women
served with their husbands.
In 1806, Dower Rights were provided for women in terms of property
ownership. In 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention on the place of women
passed a Declaration of Sentiments saying that women should have more
rights—except the right to vote, which came much later. Clara Barton was
the first female government employee.
Women who served as soldiers in the Civil War for the most part did so
in disguise. They did so because there may have been no other way to
support a family other than soldiers’ wages; the desire to be more
independent or patriotism or an interest in excitement were all possible
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added reasons. Between 250 and 1000 women served as soldiers, although
as late as 1906 the government declared that no women had served—in
spite of the fact that a number of these women actually received pensions.
Some of these women were protected by husbands or brothers who were
also serving. They wore padded clothes; the lack of a beard was not a
problem since younger boys served also. And there was no required
physical examination for soldiers.
Women who served as spies have been identified. One was a servant for
Jefferson Davis and was able to obtain information from others just by
listening. Harriet Tubman had a spy network in the Carolinas. Many people
could simply not imagine a woman doing such work. However, women felt
strongly on both sides about their respective causes, North vs. South.
Women who served as nurses were pioneers in one of the then few
“professions” for women. Clara Barton got supplies for the North to
Washington, D.C. warehouses, but then had to develop a way of getting
those to field hospitals. Her plan was to use the ambulances that brought
wounded Northern soldiers to the hospitals in Washington, to then take
supplies when the ambulances returned to the battlefield areas and deposit
those in the field hospitals. The concept of medical triage was also
developed during the Civil War. Dorothea Dix recruited 3500 women for
remote hospitals; Hannah Ropes was an example of a recruit. Louisa May
Alcott served under Hannah Ropes. And the Red Rover Hospital Ship,
captured from the Confederacy by the Union, moved up and down the
Mississippi River following battles and treating the wounded. Even AfricanAmerican women served as nurses.
Women who remained at home when their husbands went to war became
farm wives and took care of the children and the farm at the same time.
They had to write letters sometimes to their serving husbands to find out
when and how to plant or harvest the next crops.
Women in service in various roles in the Civil War became associated
with what was becoming an industrialized economy, and were able to open
up new professions and expand women’s opportunities. The stage was then
set for the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries’ Women’s Suffrage
Movement.
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The Push and Pull of 19th Century Emigration
by Jill Morelli
he understanding of nineteenth century immigration to America is
better understood by considering their reasons for leaving their places
of origin to come to America. Some definitions are first useful:
Migration—permanent or semi-permanent change of residence, not
necessarily of country
Push—factors connected with the country of origin
Pull—factors connected with the receiving area
Impediments—those factors causing difficulties or barriers to
resettlement
Personal Factors—individual factors related to the personal choices of an
individual
Migrations can be internal, and fall into several types: out-migration, inmigration, progressive migration from a low-density area to a high-density
area, regressive migration going from high density to low density, and
interchange or circular in which persons move from the same density to the
same density.
Migrations can also be external and again fall into several types:
emigration, immigration, boomerang in which people remigrated without
returning to their parish of birth, stage migration in which a person moves
step-by-step from a lower density to a higher density area, and chain which
involves movement only by a group rather than an individual.
We can observe both internal and external migrations as attempts to
improve oneself in some way or to avoid a problem in one’s original place.
For example, in the 1880s a survey was done by the police in Sweden of
people boarding ships to come to the New World found that four factors
were given: avoidance of heavy taxes, avoiding class distinctions, seeking
higher salaries as civil servants, and avoiding military service. Other
reasons outside of that survey included: economic improvement in the New
World, receiving a pre-paid ticket, seeking land, and advertisements.
External impediments to these movements deserve explanation. If the
government in the country of origin felt that an individual had value, the
government imposed a high cost for emigration such as the cost of a
passport. If the government felt that one’s labor had little value, the
government encouraged emigration. If the government needed a specific
skill possessed by an individual, the government imposed specialized
restrictions on leaving. An important historical note is the in the latter 18th
century, smallpox vaccinations became more and more widely used and
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were successful; the result was that the supply of available labor in some
countries increased because survival was improved. Thus, by 1840 many
survivors then were without land and in that case, the government reduced
the cost of a passport to encourage more people to leave. The Irish actually
paid individuals to leave. The English sent people to Australia except for
badly needed miners who were needed to stay in England.
Personal choices for emigration would include getting married, having
wanderlust, and an attitude of “why not?”
An 1819 American law requiring passenger lists has made the tracking
of immigrants highly successful in that period, as opposed to Canada that
did not make such a requirement until the 1860s. The New York Shipping
News daily publication provided records of ship departures and arrivals, and
is useful to the researcher.
A number of immigration myths need to be eliminated. For example, no
names were changed at Ellis Island. Poor crops actually discouraged
emigration because of no money to pay for passage. Advertisements about
the new country actually had relatively little effect. Except for Mormons
from Denmark and Baptists from Sweden, religious oppression was not a
large factor.
The Civil War - Suggestions For Genealogists
Presentation by Fred Wexler
red Wexler, formerly of Cape Cod and a leader in organizations dealing
with Civil War history, provided an engaging set of suggestions for
genealogists who are researching their Civil War ancestors, in addition to
some lesser-known facts about the Civil War at the September 15 meeting
of the Society.
Past President Robert Ward wore his full officer uniform from the Civil
War at the meeting, and Wexler pointed out some useful details about the
meanings of different aspects of the uniform.
Background information
On the reasons for the Civil War, the primary purpose was the
preservation of the Union—more important than the issue of slavery. It was
also related to the economics of Southern plantation owners who were
seeing the possibility of their fortunes disappearing if slavery were
abolished. West Virginia was the final state to join the Union; the flag with
the thirty-five stars flew at Gettysburg, even though some of those states
had seceded (Lincoln never accepted the secession). The value of a slave in
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1836 was $800, which exceeded the value of some entire farms. Not all the
slave states seceded at first.
For naval service, some soldiers were assigned to ships; a captured
ship’s goods were auctioned. Women were “matrons,” assisting in hospitals.
Several instances of women serving as soldiers, some in disguise, are now
known (see the summary elsewhere in this issue of the presentation given
by Jill Morelli in June 2015 on this subject).
Additional background information to know is that the upper echelons of
officers were often politically appointed. There was no draft until 1863,
after volunteers turned out to be not enough; during the draft, it was
possible for a draftee to pay someone else to serve in his place ($300 was
one of the typical prices). See the publication of the Cape Cod Genealogical
Society, Cape Cod Men in the Civil War, obtainable at regular meetings of
the Society and through the Society’s website.
A side note is the definition of the term “Galvanized Yankees.” A soldier
who was captured as a Confederate sometimes then chose to fight for the
Union and was labeled with that term.
An interesting sidelight on the matter of recruitment of Union soldiers,
an Irishman, Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Donehy, was hired by the
government to recruit Irish immigrants as they disembarked on arrival in
America; records of this recruitment may give the birthplace of the
immigrant, which can be very useful for those who are researching their
Irish heritage.
Genealogical Recommendations
For genealogists, several points are important. First, look for the rank of
the ancestor; the higher the rank, the more likely that there are records of
him. Second, when visiting the several national cemeteries, ask the
personnel there to help you search for the appropriate grave. Third,
approach the task as the search for support for an assertion, locate the false,
eliminate the false, and try to follow clues.
It is also important to not accept the paper assertions of others—always
try to find a second source for confirmation. Reports written by officers at
the time could be biased because they were often trying to protect their
reputations; and some reports were written well after the event, when
memory can become not so precise. When using the files at the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA), be careful about
interpreting the term “deserter”; while indeed some soldiers simply walked
away, many others had been sick, went to a hospital, may have been
transferred to another hospital, and missed rejoining their unit by just a day;
doctors in the hospitals wrote “deserter” on the muster sheet, with the result
that the Civil War pension would be denied (until 1888 when the
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government changed the rules to allow another person to prove that the
soldier did not in fact desert, leading to perhaps being able to collect a
pension after all).
For searching, obtaining the full Pension File from NARA can be a “gold
mine” of information—pay the extra money for the entire file. Service
records are also useful. On-line searching on Ancestry and Fold3 are also
productive. It is useful to note that not everyone from a particular state
would have served in a unit from that state; for example, the call for
volunteers from Massachusetts received an overwhelming positive
response, with the result that Massachusetts units were filled up; many of
the excess number of volunteers were then recruited to serve in a New York
unit instead.
Important print resources are: Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors,
printed in eight volumes in 1837, and the U.S. War Department’s War of the
Rebellion: Complete official records of Union and Confederate Armies,
1880-1901, published in 127 volumes by the Government Printing Office.
Ohio State University has the official records of units on-line. Another
useful source is the 1890 Veterans’ Census, which provides the name, the
unit served, the years served and the rank
For background research, genealogists should identify the name of the
individual, the unit that he served in (including if possible the branch—
cavalry, engineer, infantry, light artillery, heavy artillery), the company, and
his rank. If the name is not in the records, at least try to follow the events of
his unit—thereby enabling you to at least tell some probable information
about where he went during the War.
Descendancy Research
Presentation by Michael Brophy
n October 15, 2015, genealogist Michael Brophy provided an
informative presentation for the Cape Cod Genealogical Society on the
topic of Descendancy Research—the less conventional way of representing
families on paper, going from past to present (rather than the widely
accepted Pedigree Chart approach in which the genealogist starts with him
or herself, and gradually builds backward by generations). Why would one
carry out this approach to genealogy—going from the past to the present
instead of the opposite? A fundamental reason is the ability that it provides
for locating and proceeding along collateral lines—through siblings to all
manner of cousins, aunts, and uncles.
As a licensed private investigator who is also a genealogist, Michael
combines those two skill sets to provide helpful information to family
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history researchers. He recommends beginning with a recent census and
then proceeding backward in time, using immigration records and other
resources. A next step is then to proceed forward to find the collateral lines.
He strongly recommended taking advantage of the probate packet of an
ancestor, which is available as a matter of public record in county offices.
The packet can contain a will, a bond, the person’s worth at the time of
death, inventories of possessions, proportions of the estate given to heirs,
accounts owed, vital records (often with official certificates), statement of
relationships, religious affiliation, professional life, military service, list of
residences, record of guardianship, record of divorce, and record of
adoption. If there was no probate on an individual, then the courthouse
should have a record of the distribution of the person’s goods, which also
will give general information about relationships. A divorce decree gives
the names of children and their birthdates in Massachusetts. One should also
carry out interviews with the survivors.
Obtaining a driver’s license and the social security registration card (if
the person has been deceased for three or more years) are also helpful.
Some birth certificates can be used to get the social security number. Deeds
and newspaper stories may include additional information such as ethnicity.
He recommended using http://www.newsbank.com. For New York State,
these records are on microfilm. City directories are another potentially
useful source for address, neighborhood, and profession information. Credit
reports are sold to database companies, which can be obtained by a licensed
investigator or lawyer, whose services the genealogist might want to
engage.
Finally, certain other websites can also help to track down individuals,
such as “Skip Smasher,” which can track down a person’s cell-phone
number, Veroni as a search tool for databases, Linkpendium, and
http://www.genealogybuff.com for information on recent individuals.
Contributor’s Bios
Robert P. Carlson has been interested in genealogy and old gravestones
for many years. His direct Paine ancestors go back nine generations on
Cape Cod, and he has located most of their gravestones. His website,
www.capecodgravestones.com, records most of the gravestones dated
before 1900 in the fifteen towns of Cape Cod. He has chaired the Eastham
Cemetery Commission since it was established in 2004, and he is currently
creating indices to the Eastham birth, marriage, and death digitized records
from 1650 to1900. [email protected].
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The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Brenda Collins is an active member of CCGS and the German SIG. She
holds a Master’s Degree in Library Science from SUNY Albany and
practiced, mostly as an academic and academic medical librarian, for over
40 years. She has been interested in family history since the 70’s and is also
lucky enough to have current German relatives. She is married to a software
developer who is also a Civil War scholar. She is currently involved with
the Harwich Historical Society, doing tours & presentations, etc., and is a
part-time first year German tutor at Cape Cod Community College.
[email protected]
James W. Gould's first article for the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
was published in 1978, a new history of Quakers on Cape Cod, republished
in 1987. He has been a speaker, docent and editor for the Society. Professor
Emeritus of History and International Relations at Claremont, Calif., he
began his genealogical search in Boston 80 years ago and is still hunting
William (Bill) Horrocks, Jr. resides in Chatham, having summered there
since 1975. He is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Penn State University
where he directed a research program in bio-inorganic chemistry. Currently
he is working with the maps and charts collection of the Chatham Historical
Society at the Atwood House Museum. His genealogical interests include
his 17th century American and English ancestors (Pease, Collins, Horrocks)
and the Scottish ancestors of his wife, Joan (Allan, Walker). [email protected]
Robert D. Kelley graduated in 1975 from Glassboro State College; he
worked eighteen years as a Director of the Slim Fast Foods Company, and
seven years as Vice-President of Stein World Operating Company. His
studies are concentrated in the history of South Yarmouth. He wrote a threegeneration article, David Okillea of Yarmouth, Massachusetts, and Some of
his Descendants, which appears in the 1997 NEHGR, April and July,
volume 151; he was a contributing author to Images In Time, 2003
Debra Lawless holds a certificate in Boston University's Genealogical
Research Program as well as degrees from Stanford and Boston
Universities. A freelance writer, she is the author of four books on Cape
Cod’s history published by The History Press and a co-author of Three
Centuries in a Cape Cod Village: The Story of Chatham. She works for the
Nickerson Family Association in Chatham. [email protected].
David S. Martin of Marstons Mills is immediate past CCGS President;
he has been an active genealogist for more than thirty-five years,
investigating family lines in New England and the U.K. He chairs the
Society’s Education Committee and coordinates one of the two annual
issues of this Journal. He is a member of the Mayflower Society and the
Sons of the American Revolution. [email protected]
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
281
Mary Kircher Roddy, trained and practicing as a Certified Public
Accountant, has a Certificate in Genealogy and Family History from the
University of Washington. To her genealogy is like a Sudoku, or crossword
puzzle with a big, juicy payoff at the end.
L. Ray Sears, III has been researching the Sears Family history since
1976 and published the Sears Genealogical Catalogue in 1991. His family
has lived on Quivet Neck in East Dennis since the original Richard Sears
arrived in 1639. He has edited the Society’s Bulletin and now the Journal
for ten years. His website, http://www.SearsR.com, documents 30,000
descendants of Richard Sears. [email protected].
Alice Plouchard Stelzer, through her Creating Word Power business, has
been writing for over 25 years as a publisher, magazine editor, newspaper
editor, columnist, and journalist. She has produced hundreds of newsletters
for clients and been a public relations consultant. Alice has also been a
mentor/coach for writers. She has taught writing workshops on journaling,
creativity, autobiography/memoir, and turning memoir into fiction. Alice is
currently “living in the seventeenth century” while she researches and
writes Female Adventurers who Helped Colonize Connecticut.
[email protected]
Joyce Sullivan was born in North Dakota and zig-zagged across the US
to finally settle on Old Cape Cod. She is a do-it-yourself Genealogist with a
passion for travelling, tasting exotic foods, and spending time with family.
As a volunteer at the town library and a Barnes and Noble Bookseller, she
has always been interested in people, their stories, and where they came
from. Thanks to fellow CCGS member, Sue Benoit, she has a renewed
passion for research and wants to pass her knowledge on to her family and
anyone who wants to learn. She and her husband will continue to research
their family’s history and heritage, which includes the areas of West Meath
and Galway in Ireland, Northern and Southern Germany, Russia, and
Bohemia.
Carolyn Shane Weiss is CCGS past Vice-President. She grew up in the
Midwest, graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in Philosophy, and
has worked as an RNA Lab Researcher at MIT. She began her genealogy
research in the mid-1980s, following in the footsteps of her mother and
great uncle; she has taken numerous genealogy courses, attended
conferences, and taught genealogy with an emphasis on computers and
genealogy. [email protected].
Robert L. Ward is a past President of CCGS. He is a professional
genealogist, with a Master’s Degree in American history from Indiana State
University. He completed the Genealogical Research Certificate Program at
Boston University in 2009. He lives in Orleans. [email protected].
282
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Index
Note: The Eastham Land Records on pages 211-243 are already in alphabetical order and are
not indexed here.
Alcott
Louisa M, 176
Allen
Hannah, 250
Alzheimer
Alois, 196
Anderson
George, 183
Atherton
Isadora, 247
Atkins
Henry, 223
Atwood
Margaret, 251
Stephen, 226
Baker
Judah, 201
Bangs
Elkanah, 248, 249
Mary, 249
Olive, 246, 247
William, 249
William H, 249
Barton
Clara, 176
Beecher
Niery E, 249
Berry
Reliance, 249
Blish
Sarah, 208
Bradford
William, 223
Brike
Tamisen, 250
Brown
James, 181
Buford
Harry T, 175
Campbell
Fanny, 177
Chipman
Barnabas, 207
Clark
Isaac, 250
Kimball, 250
Mary P, 248
Clarke
Andrew, 251
Seth, 251
Thomas, 251
Cobb
Adaline, 246
Alfred S, 247
Annette T, 246,
247
Caroline O, 246
Elijah, 245
Elijah W, 247
Emily C, 247
Freeman, 247
Helen, 245
Henry, 248
Jonathan, 247
Mary L, 244
Samuel, 247
Scotto, 247
Cole
Daniel, 227
Israel, 227
Thomas, 224
Comstock
Cyrus, 194
Cooke
Josiah, 223
Crosby
Sally, 249
Thomas, 224
Crowell
Hannah, 250
Silvanus, 201
Cutcheon
Byron, 181
Daimler
Gottlieb, 196
Dillingham
Susanna, 248
Dix
Dorthea, 176
Doane
Daniel, 227, 230
Huldah, 251
Isaac, 251
John, 227, 229
Rebecca, 250
Dugan
Atherton, 245
Helen C, 246
James A, 246, 247
Durrant
Mary, 251
Easterbrook
Abigail, 225
Edmonds
Sarah E, 176
Faiman
Antonia, 172
Frank, 172
Fischer
Elisabetha, 195
Fish
Chloe, 208
Simeon, 208
Fitch
Elizabeth C, 249
Freeman, 214, 215,
220, 246, 247, 252
Barnabas, 247
Hannah, 250
James, 204
John, 248, 250
Mary, 247
Mercy, 209
Sarah, 248
Gorham
David, 206
Volume 5, No. 2 [Fall 2015]
Gould
Benjamin, 188
Halleck
Henry W, 188
Hamblen
Consider, 208
Haskell
Mary, 247
Higgins
Richard, 223
Hinckley
Samuel, 248
Sarah, 248
Hobart
Elizabeth, 248
Hoerner
Helen, 173
Hopkins
Constance, 248,
251
Sarah, 247
Stephen, 247, 248
Howes
Sarah, 247
Howland
Abigail, 209
Jackson
Clairborne, 192
Kautz
August V, 188
Kelber
Julius E, 195
Kempton
Manaseth, 223
Kent
Mary, 248
Kerrich
Rose, 251
Killey
Benjamin, 201
David, 203
Knowles
Elijah, 249
Larned
Sylvester, 181
Lewis
Thomas, 231
Link
Johann G, 195
Lovell
Elizabeth, 206,
210
Lumpkin
Thomasine, 250
William, 250
Marow
John, 207
Mayo
Asa, 250
Charles E, 249
Jeremiah, 245, 248
John, 222
Joseph, 250
Mary C, 249
Nathaniel, 223
Peter, 251
Samuel, 250
Sarah A, 244
Thomas, 227, 250
Merrick
Abigail, 250
Benjamin, 250
Ruth, 248
Sarah, 248
Miller
James T, 194
Mitchell
Maria, 166
Nickerson
Joseph, 244
Paddock
Ebenezer, 250
Mary, 250
Paine
John, 227
Robert T, 208
Thomas, 222
Pearce
Temperance, 250
Pinkham
Mary, 246, 247
Theophilus, 247
Prence
Mary, 250
283
Ring
Andrew, 251
Susannah, 251
Roberts
Thomas, 223
Rogers
James, 225
Salomon
Friedrich, 188
Sanford
Joan, 251
Schimmelpfennig
Alexander, 193
Schumann
Robert, 196
Schurz
Carl, 188, 193
Scottow
Mehitable, 251
Thomas, 251
Seabury
Ichabod, 250
Sarah, 250
Sears
Edmund, 250
Mary, 248, 250
Samuel, 248
Temperance, 250
Sigel
Franz, 192
Simmons
Anna, 246
Smith, 217, 218, 220,
238, 252
Bethia, 251
Elizabeth, 248
Ralph, 223, 248
Snow
Caroline, 245, 248
Edward, 248
Jabez, 229, 248
Joseph, 248
Nicholas, 223, 248
Sylvanus, 247
Soule
Sarah, 248
Sparrow
284
The Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
Jonathan, 224
Pandora, 224
Richard, 224
Stahel
Julius, 188
Steinwehr
Adolph W, 188
Stone
Mary, 247
Sturgis
Hannah, 251
Taylor
Richard, 248
Thompson
Franklin, 175, 176
Treat
Samuel, 225
Tubman
Harriet, 176
Velazquez
Loretta J, 176
von Willich
Johann E, 188
Walker
William, 225
Wanner
Philip, 173
Ward
Emily E, 251
George H, 251
Webb
Benjamin, 229
Weitzel
Godfried, 188
Wheldon
Ruth, 248
Williams
Goodman, 226
Wing
Daniel, 203
Elizabeth, 250
Elnathan, 250
Witherill
John, 230
Young
Israel, 230
John, 223
Nathan, 229
Documented articles in the Journal of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society
are not verified for accuracy; we are thus not able to take responsibility for
the accuracy of the citations and conclusions beyond ensuring that
appropriate citations are provided by the authors