Prisoner Exchange - Samuel Denning

Samuel Dennen/Denning served on a privateer in the Revolutionary War. He had the misfortune to be taken prisoner and sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, my search for additional information has not yielded much. The best information comes from a listing that tells of his return in a prisoner exchange on September 30, 1778.  The Revolutionary War, by Charles Patrick Neimeyer, notes that privateers who were captured by the British posed a real dilemma. Normally, pirates were sent to the gallows, but these enemy combatants were different. Many were pressured to join the British navy and doing so would increase the chance of surviving the war. The British were reluctant to consider them prisoners-of-war because that would be admitting that the United States was an independent nation. However, executing all those captured on the land and at sea was not practical either. It would greatly inflame the passions of the already highly motivated Patriots. In the end, several hundred American sailors were taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia and kept in a sugar house. I have no idea what happened to Samuel from his return until the end of the war. Did he continue his activities? 

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors, Vol. 4

A descendant applied for a veteran's gravestone and seems to have struggled to prove his service. It does appear that both the Sons & Daughters of the American Revolution have awarded membership to his descendants. His grave can be viewed on Findagrave.com here. 

Samuel Dennen married Keziah Bray on March 14, 1754 in Gloucester, Massachusetts and at some point they moved to Maine. Thier children were: 

1. Judith born in 1754
2. Abigail born in 1756
3. Job born in 1760
4. Mary born in 1762
5. George born in 1767
6. Simeon born in 1771

Samuel Dennen

Judith (Dennen) Morgan

Martha (Morgan) Yates

Moses Yates

Gilbert W. Yates

Estes G. Yates

Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Sources:
DunhamWilcox

In Genealogy Heaven - NERGC 2015 - Day 2

Today was another whirlwind day at NERGC in Providence.

Creating Maine Towns

I started my day with a great presentation, "Creating Maine Towns: How the Wilderness was Tamed" and was so impressed with the dynamic speaker, Carol Prescott McCoy, that I went to see another of her presentations in the afternoon. She talked about all my favorite places, like Sudbury, Canada, which isn't really Canada at all but Bethel, Maine and New Marblehead, which is now the town of Windham, Maine, where I live and teach. She even referenced my ancestor, William Cotton of Woodstock. Carol lives in Brunswick and has a genealogy business called Find Your Roots.

The second presentation was a fascinating case study where she outlined her process in trying to identify the mother of Mary Drummond.  Mary's father was quite easy to find, but her mother is a bit of a riddle. Thomas Drummond was an escaped slave who became a clothes dresser (tailor) and town crier in New Bedford, Massachusetts. His story is pretty fascinating as he came to own about $1500 worth of property, a sizable amount for any person in the early 19th century, much less a person of color. He was married twice and the second marriage took place just before or just after his daughter, Mary's birth. The records are conflicting, but the story is really interesting. 

In between Carol McCoy's presentations, I went to see Judy Russell's presentation on Women & the Law and although I thought I knew quite a bit about the topic, I definitely learned a lot more. As usual, she had really great examples to illustrate her points. I also went to see Diane Gravel's presentation, "Women in the World of Piracy". 

Of course, there was also all the networking, meeting new people, checking out exhibitors, and visiting with my favorite geneabloggers. By the end of each day, my brain is full! 

52 Ancestors #44 - Butcher Pirate and Ghost or Respected Fisherman

The Isle of Shoals is a group of very small islands between Maine and New Hampshire. It is rumored that they were a hangout of pirates including the infamous Blackbeard. During this time southern New Hampshire and Maine were under the control of Massachusetts Bay colony. Appledore (formerly known as Hog Island) is the largest of the islands that make up Isle of Shoals. It is here that the ghost of Philip Babb was said to have haunted. Here is the legend of my alleged pirate ancestor. 

Philip Babb is "supposed to have been so desperately wicked when alive, that there is no rest for him in his grave. His dress is coarse, a striped butcher's frock, with a leather belt, to which is attached a sheath containing a ghostly knife, sharp and glittering, which is his delight to brandish in the face of terrified humanity." ~ Celia Thaxter, local historian





Philip Babb made his fortune from dunfish, cod that has been thinly sliced, salted, and dried. His house was on the south side of the island, near a cove. It is generally agreed upon by historians that he and his friend, Ambrose Gibbons (another ancestor) dug a large pit. Legend has it that it is where he found a treasure chest but it was too heavy to lift. "Smoke came from its lid when they tried to beak the lock." ~ Oscar Laighton, local historian. 

Some even name Philip Babb as the pirate in the legend of Ocean-Born Mary. Heather Wilkinson Rojo has written two excellent posts about the true story of Ocean-Born Mary and her haunted house (the one she didn't live in...but hey, who cares about the truth when there's money to be made). See links below for Heather's posts. 

On the other hand, I found these sources...
Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire says:
Philip Babb took the oath of allegiance to the Massachusetts government on November 16, 1652 and served as constable for Isle of Shoals (except for Starr Island) also in 1652. He was one of the commissioners for settling minor cases. He died on April 24, 1671 and his wife died not long after his death. 

This hardly makes him sound like a notorious criminal. 

Genealogical Dictionary of Maine & New Hampshire
Babb, Philip, prominent fishing master at Isles of Shoals (Hog) from 1652 or earlier until his death. Local magistrate. In 1668 Roger Kelly was bonded for abusive carriages toward Mr. Babb and his wife; in 1671 Lawrence Carpenter for cruel usage of Mary Babb's servant. 

And of his son
Babb, Sampson (2), Portsmouth. Lists 334a, 335a. 339. Will 1736-1739. Perh. m. 3 wives: 1st "Elizabeth," in list of church [p.72] members bef. 1708, likelier the minister's error for Sarah (wife of (2); Sarah, named as mother of Esther; Grace, named as mother of Benjamin and in will, prob. Grace (Taprill), widow of Israel Hoit, dau. of Robert and Abishag (Walton) Taprill. Ch. Sampson, m. Dorothy Hoit, dau. of Israel and Grace (Taprill).

This line needs a lot more work to solidify the documentation. Still, I think it's safe to say that Philip Babb was more likely a respected member of the Isle of Shoals community than a blood-thirsty pirate turned ghost. 

Philip Babb
Sampson Babb & Elizabeth? or perhaps Sarah? 
Sampson & Dorothy (Hoyt) Babb
John & Alice (Babb) Waterhouse
Richard & Lydia (Waterhouse) Garland
Isaac & Alice (Garland) Hayes
Richard & Rebecca (Greenwood) Hayes
Sydney & Apphia (Cole) Hayes
George & Anna (Rowe) Hayes
Estes & Eva (Hayes) Yates
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Sources:
http://www.shoals.org/history-myth-lore-and-legend/secrets-of-the-shoals/
http://www.founderspatriots.org/articles/babb.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isles_of_Shoals
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/ocean-born-mary-londonderry-character.html
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/10/ocean-born-mary-born-on-her-way-to.html

A Pirate's Life & Ironic Death

Thomas Pound and Thomas Hawkins were indicted by a grand jury for piracy. Among the grand jurors was my 9^th great-grandfather, John Capen. 

Pound had initially hired Hawkins to take him on a fishing vessel to Nantasket but soon after they were under sail, revealed his true purpose of becoming a pirate and invited Hawkins to join him in his venture. Hawkins agreed. They abandoned the fishing vessel and confiscated a ketch, the “Mary.” Sailing into Casco Bay (Portland, Maine), they sent a man ashore with a fictional tale that they had been attacked and needed assistance. They stole the arms and clothing of the soldiers who came to help them and also took a calf and three sheep. As they sailed for Cape Cod, they “traded” ships for a larger sloop, the “Good Speed,” owned by David Larkin. 

Pound taunted the governor of Boston and said that anyone who dared to come after the pirates would die. Near the New Hampshire border they relieved another ship of its cargo of flour, sugar, rum, and tobacco. Eventually a Nor’easter forced the ship away and it sailed to Virginia. Hawkins and Pound had a falling out and Hawkins attempted to escape on a Portuguese whaler but the captain, Jacobus Loper, decided that turning Hawkins over to the authorities in Boston was a better idea. Shortly thereafter, Pound and fourteen other pirates were captured after a battle with authorities that left both sides with casualties. 

The pirates were found guilty of piracy and murder and sentenced to be “hanged by the neck until they be dead.” At the last possible moment, word came that Governor had postponed the hanging and eventually Pound and Hawkins were exiled rather than executed.

Now for the ironic twist, the “Rose,” carrying Pound and Hawkins into exile was attacked by a French privateer armed with thirty guns. Hawkins would die from his wounds after this battle near Cape Sable Island (off Nova Scotia).  Pound faired much better and ended up a country gentleman in England and died in 1703.

John Capen - on grand jury for Thomas Hawkins

James Capen & Hannah Lawrence

James Capen & Elizabeth Call

James Capen & Sarah Pinson

Thomas Capen & Mary Wyman

Thomas Capen & Mary Abbott

Timothy Capen & Sarah K. Abbott

Edward Abbott Capen & Mary Jane Abbott

Fanny May Capen & Edward Mellen Carter

Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather

Edward Abbott Capen & Mary Jane Abbott were second cousins - Timothy Capen's sister, Deborah was Mary Jane's grandmother. Deborah married William Ackley - their daughter, Sarah Ackley married John Abbott and they were the parents of Mary Jane. 

Source: http://www.museeacadien.ca/english/archives/articles/45.htm