The Great Debater

Rebecca Williamson "Becky" Carter was the daughter of Edward M. and Fannie May (Capen) Carter. She was my great-aunt. She was fiercely independent and self-reliant. Her father died when she was only ten and she helped her mother raise her four brothers. She not only graduated from high school; she graduated from Bates College in 1933. She would later earn a Master's degree from the University of Wyoming. She married Bruce B. Bailey on October 10, 1942 in a bright red wedding dress. They settled on a relatively isolated farm and happily lived without running water, electricity, or a telephone, cooking and heating with wood stoves for their adult lives. I remember that they even rolled their own cigarettes. Finally, after Uncle Bruce died, the family convinced Aunt Becky that she had to get a telephone in case of emergency. Although they chose to live frugally, they did indulge in the things they really enjoyed. Aunt Becky practiced her French to stay fluent and took a few trips to France. She continued to engage in educational pursuits whether it was a national institute or an adult education class. She & Uncle Bruce were avid readers and subscribed to national newspapers and owned many books. Uncle Bruce and Aunt Becky never had children, but upon her death, she set up a scholarship fund to help her great-nieces and great-nephews and their children pay for higher education. To say that she was unconventional, would be an understatement. 

Rebecca Williamson Carter - graduation photo from The Mirror, 1933

Anyone who encountered Becky or one of her brothers will attest to their ability to debate issues. Therefore, I was not surprised to find the following in the Bates yearbook, The Mirror, for 1933. Becky won awards for debating and was inducted into the forensic honor society, Delta Sigma Rho. 

Freshmen Winning Team and Best Individual Speaker Awards

Women Debaters - Becky is second from the left in the front row

National Honorary Forensic Society

 Source Information: Ancestry.com.U.S.,School Yearbooks, 1880­-2012 [database on­line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data:Various school yearbooks from across the United States. 

My Newbury Lines

Robert Adams, Elizabeth (Adams) Phelps, Elizabeth (Phelps) Ballard, Joseph Ballard, Elizabeth (Ballard) Abbott, Aaron Abbott, Aaron Abbott, Jr. Sarah (Abbott) Capen, Edward A. Capen, Fannie (Capen) Carter, Thomas Richard Carter. 

#1 - John Bailey, Sarah (Bailey) Cheney, Eleanor (Cheney) Safford, John Safford, Ruth (Safford) Haskell, Martha (Haskell) Houghton, Mary "Sally" (Houghton) Dunham, Florilla (Dunham) Ellingwood, Nina (Ellingwood) Gibbs, Annie F. (Gibbs) Cotton, Fern Lyndell Cotton 

#2 - John Bailey, Rebecca (Bailey) Brown, Ruth (Brown) Rogers, Isaac Rogers, Rebecca (Rogers) Blaisdell, Stephen Blaisdell, Jr., Susanna (Blaisdell) Rowe, Stephen B. Rowe, Charles H. N. Rowe, Anna J. (Rowe) Hayes, Eva (Hayes) Yates, Linona Alice Yates. 

Thomas Brown, Isaac Brown m. Rebecca Bailey - See Bailey #2 line for the rest. 

#1 - Richard Bartlett, Christopher Bartlett, Martha (Bartlett) Stevens, Ebenezer (Stevens) Blaidell, Stephen Blaisdell, Sr. m. Rebecca Rogers - See Bailey #2 line for the rest. 

#2 - Richard Bartlett, Richard Bartlett, Jr., Samuel Bartlett, Samuel Bartlett, Jr., Joshua Bartlett, Lydia (Bartlett) Ripley, Nancy (Ripley) Blake, Galen Blake, Charles G. Blake, Harriet May Blake, Clayton Leonard Blake 

#1 - John Cheney, Daniel Cheney m. Sarah Bailey - see Bailey line #1 for the rest. 

#2 - John Cheney, Peter Cheney, John Cheney, Edmund Cheney, Edmund Cheney, Jr. Mehitable Cheney m. Stephen Blaisdell, Jr. - See Bailey line #2 for the rest. 

Aquila Chase, Priscilla (Chase) Merrill, Nathaniel Merrill, Priscilla (Merrill) Knight, Eunice (Knight) Sawyer, Hannah (Sawyer) Hilton, Catherine (Hilton) Churchill, Loann (Churchill) Rowe m. Charles H. N. Rowe - see Bailey #2 line for the rest. 

John Cutting, Mary (Cutting) Noyes, Hannah Noyes m. Peter Cheney - see Cheney #2 line for the rest. 

John Emery, Eleanor Emery m. John Bailey - see the both of the two Bailey lines above. 

Henry Jaques, Elizabeth (Jaques) Knight, Henry Knight m. Priscilla Merrill - see Chase line for the rest. 

John Knight, John Knight, Jr., Richard Knight m. Elizabeth Jaques - see Jaques line for the rest. 

Robert Long, Rebecca (Long) Rawlins, Rebecca (Rawlins) Rogers, Rebecca Rogers m. Stephen Blaisdell, Sr., Stephen Blaisdell, Jr. - see Bailey #2 line for the rest. 

Hugh March, George March, Sarah (March) Deering, Elizabeth (Deering) Emmons, Eliakim Emmons, Jacob Emmons, Laura (Emmons) Yates, Estes G. Yates, Linona Alice Yates

William Marston, William Marston, Jr., Maria (Marston) Prescott, Samuel Prescott, Jermiah Prescott, Elisha Prescott, Hannah (Prescott) Edgecomb, Mary (Edgecomb) Philbrick, Benjamin P. Philbrick, Mary (Philbrick) Cotton, Ray Everett Cotton, Fern Lyndell Cotton

#1 - Nathaniel Merrill, Susannah (Merrill) Burbank, Timothy Burbank, Timothy Burbank, Jr., Rebecca (Burbank) Keene, Hannah (Keene) Cox, Timothy Cox, Christiana (Cox) Cotton, Francis Llewellyn Cotton, Ray E. Cotton, Fern Lyndell Cotton

#2 - Nathaniel Merrill, Abel Merrill, Nathaniel Merrill, Priscilla m. Henry Knight - see Henry Jaques line

#1 - William Moody, Joshua Moody, Samuel Moody, Joshua Moody, William Moody, Elizabeth (Moody) Ackley, William Ackley, Sarah (Ackley) Abbott, Mary Jane (Abbott) Capen, Fannie (Capen) Carter, Thomas Richard Carter

#2 - William Moody,  Joshua Moody, Samuel Moody, Joshua Moody, Houchin Moody, Josiah Moody, Hezekiah Moody, Dolly (Moody) Blake, Charles G. Blake, Harriet May Blake, Clayton Leonard Blake

Nicholas Noyes, Hannah Noyes m. Peter Cheney - see Cheney #2 line for the rest   

William Titcomb, William Titcomb, Jr., Elizabeth (Titcomb) Bartlett, Samuel Bartlett, Jr. - see Bartlett #2 line for the rest.   

An Independent Streak - 52 Ancestors #27

Memorial Stone for John Emery in the Newbury First Settlers Burying Ground

John and his brother, Anthony, came to America in 1635 on the James. He settled at Newbury, where he worked as a carpenter and an innkeeper. John was married twice. His first marriage was to Alice Grantham of West Dean, Wiltshire, England. There is no record of Alice in New England. In Newbury, on October 29, 1647, John married for a second time. His second wife was Mary (Shatswell) Webster, widow of John Webster. Mary had three siblings who had immigrated to Ipswich, Massachusetts - brothers John and Theophilus Shatswell and sister, Margaret (Shatswell) Curwen, wife of Matthias Curwen.

Despite the fact that he sometimes got in trouble (often for standing up for his beliefs), he also contributed his service to the local officials in a number of different offices. He was a member of quite a few petit juries and grand juries over the years. He was the Newbury constable in 1655 and clerk of the market in 1656. 

His independent streak is well documented through the court system. 

His first recorded brush with the law makes one question whether his first wife was still alive since he seems to have gotten a little fresh with a married woman. The part at the end makes me wonder if she was a willing participant in the interaction. On September 29, 1646, "John Emery, for miscarriage with the wife of Henry Travers, fined £3 or to be whipped, and pay witness fee to Christopher Bartlett. Bound to good behavior and not to frequent the company of the wife of Henry Travers. 

In 1654, John joined with other town leaders to sue John Merrill for selling the town's lands without order. Also in 1654, there was a controversy regarding a petition in support of Lt. Robert Pike of Salisbury. That is a story for another blog post. All of his dealings on behalf of his step-children will also be told later. 

In 1658, John, his son John Jr., his step-son John Webster, and Solomon Keyes were admonished by the court for disturbing the peace and acting disrespectully. They were told to "beware of the like sinful practices for time to come, which this Court will not bear; and that they pay the several charges of their neighbors the last Court & this, in coming for relief from such under courses."

On May 5, 1663, John Emery appeared before the court for entertaining Quakers. 

In another church controversy in 1669, John Emery was one of those opposing Rev. Mr. Parker. He appears on a 1671 list of Newbury church members presented as part of this discontent. 

In 1678, John submitted a bill to the local militia for "a new saddle & bridle" 28s.; a "sword & belt," 12s; 2 pounds powder & bullets," 4s.; and "saddle & cloth," 23s. 

John died on November 3, 1683 and was buried in the First Burying Ground in Newbury. 

For more on John Emery - 

John Emery - lists his children and some testimony about his entertaining Quakers. 

Connections to the TV show Downton Abbey - Maps the areas in England where the family lived near the town of Downton. 

John Emery

Eleanor (Emery) Bailey

Sarah (Bailey) Cheney - Sister of Rebecca Bailey (below)

Eleanor (Cheney) Safford

John Safford

Ruth (Safford) Haskell

Martha (Haskell) Houghton

Mary "Sally" (Houghton) Dunham

Florilla (Dunham) Ellingwood

Nina King (Ellingwood) Gibbs

Annie Florilla (Gibbs) Cotton

Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Rebecca (Bailey) Brown

Ruth (Brown) Rogers

Isaac Rogers

Rebecca (Rogers) Blaisdell

Stephen Blaisdell

Susannah (Blaisdell) Rowe

Stephen Blaisdell Rowe

Charles H. N. Rowe

Anna J. (Rowe) Hayes

Eva Delphinia (Hayes) Yates

Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Golgotha Memorial - First Settlers of Amesbury

In 1903, the Amesbury Improvement Association placed a marker at the site of the first settlers' burial ground and called the site Golgotha. The memorial plaque lists eighteen first settlers, although not all were buried on this site. I recently visited the site to see it for myself. It's hard to imagine all the wilderness that existed in the 17th century where there are now so many buildings and so much traffic. I tried to get some photos that cropped out the modern elements.

Golgotha (in Aramaic) or Calvary (in Latin) refers to the hill resembling a skull cap just outside the old gate of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified, buried in a tomb and rose in the Resurrection.  The dictionary definition includes "place of great suffering" or "place of burial."

My ancestors are John Bailey, John Hoyt, Henry Blaisdell, and Jarret Haddon.

John Bailey, Rebecca Bailey, Ruth Brown, Isaac Rogers, Rebecca Rogers, Stephen Blaisdell, Jr., Susannah Blaisdell, Stephen Rowe, Charles H. N. Rowe, Anna J. Rowe, Eva Hayes, Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Jarret Haddon, Mary Haddon m. Henry Blaisdell, Henry Blaisdell, Jr. John Blaisdell, Stephen Blaisdell, Stephen Blaisdell, Jr. - see above for the rest of the line.

John Hoyt, Thomas Hoyt, Israel Hoyt, Dorothy Hoyt, Alice Babb, Lydia Waterhouse, Alice Garland, Richard Hayes, Sydney Hayes, George Hayes, Eva Hayes, Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother


Learn More

Stormy Weather - 52 Ancestors #10

Surf at Pemaquid - 2014 

I've written before about the hurricane that struck in 1635 and destroyed the Angel Gabriel off the coast of Pemaquid, Maine. For this week's prompt regarding stormy weather, I thought I would highlight another family who was on the same ship and add a bit more information. 

Surf at Pemaquid 2014

An interesting tidbit is that the Angel Gabriel was commissioned by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1617 for a voyage to Guiana. Five ships set out from England. The three were headed to Newfoundland were smaller and faster and landed before the hurricane struck. The James and the Angel Gabriel traveled together were caught by the storm. The James weathered the storm off the Isle of Shoals on the Maine-New Hampshire border and the Angel Gabriel stopped to ride out the storm at Pemaquid. When the ship was dashed against the rocks and destroyed, it was fortunate that only a few people lost their lives. Most of the passengers and crew escaped with their lives although they lost their possessions.

Surf at Pemaquid - 2014

John Bailey was a weaver. He settled with his son, also named John, in Salisbury and had a fishing grant in the Powwow River. When he and John sailed for New England, they left behind the rest of the family assuming they would return and fetch them later. However, the violence of the storm scared him enough that he would never agree to make the ocean crossing again. His wife and other children were also too afraid to make the crossing to join him. 




Couples were not supposed to live apart in Puritan society and the court had ordered him to reunite with his wife. Finally in 1649, the court decided that he "having used sufficient means to procure his wife over from England, and she utterly refusing to come," should not be required to go back to England. However, he was expected to continue to try to persuade her to come live with him. 

When he died in 1651, he left money for his wife and children in England but they would only get the full amount if they came to New England. The executor was to pay for the passage of those who would come to New England. His legacy to his wife was 6 pounds per year, to his son, Robert, 15 pounds, to his daughters, 10 pounds each. However, if they stayed in England, they would only receive 5 shillings each. We only know the name of one of his daughters, Joanna, who married William Huntington, came to New England. 

Surviving A Hurricane

Pemaquid Museum

John Bailey - my 11th great-grandfather

John Bailey, Jr. 

Sarah Bailey

Eleanor Cheney

John Safford

Ruth Safford

Martha Haskell

Mary "Sally" Houghton

Florilla Dunham

Nina K. Ellingwood

Annie Florilla Gibbs

Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

2014 Veterans Among My Ancestors

I have more that I haven't written about yet but here are some of my ancestors who served our country. A heartfelt thank you to all who have served our country! 

Francis Ackley - Boston Tea Party Participant
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2013/08/surname-saturday-ackley-of-boston.html
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-real-tea-party.html

Dominicus Smith - Revolutionary War - Crossed the Delaware with Gen. George Washington
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2012/04/holy-history-jackpot.html
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2012/04/remembering-our-veterans.html

Asa Alden Barrows - Revolutionary War - Responded to alarm at Lexington and Concord
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-shot-heard-round-world.html

Samuel Ackley - Revolutionary War Artillery
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2014/06/52-ancestors-22-samuel-ackleyakley.html

Dr. James Freeland - Revolutionary War Surgeon
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2014/09/52-ancestors-35-revolutionary-war.html

Enoch Spurr - Revolutionary War - Discharged by General Henry Knox
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2013/03/military-monday-enoch-spurr.html

Elisha Houghton - Revolutionary War - Was at Bunker Hill
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2012/05/simpler-times.html

Uriah Thayer - Revolutionary War Minuteman
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2012/04/aftermath-of-shot-heard-round-world.html

Oliver Philbrick - Aroostook War
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2012/04/aroostock-war.html

Asa Freeman Ellingwood - Civil War - Injured at First Battle of Bull Run But Returned to Serve
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2012/04/first-battle-of-bull-run-or-first.html

Simeon Brown - Civil War - Died in Louisiana
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2013/06/military-monday-he-died-easy-and-happy.html
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2013/04/military-monday-affidavit-for-widows.html
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2013/02/tombstone-tuesday-where-is-body.html
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2013/02/surname-saturday-simeon-f-brown.html

John H. Cotton - Civil War - Lost an Arm at the Battle of the Wilderness
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2013/01/surname-saturday-john-h-cotton-wounded.html

Octavius Yates - Civil War - Witnessed Lincoln's Assassination
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2014/04/witness-to-assassination.html

Julia F. Carter - World War I - Worked for Red Cross in France & Germany
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2013/09/obituary-sunday-julia-f-carter.html

Carroll Estes Yates - My great-uncle - World War II
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2014/06/tombstone-tuesday-carroll-e-yates.html

Rebecca Williamson Carter Bailey - WAVE in World War II

http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2012/03/strong-women-part-1.html

52 Ancestors #16 - John Emery

John Emery is my 11th great-grandfather on my dad's side and my 12th great-grandfather on my mother's side. He came from Romsey, Hampshire, England on the James in 1635 and settled in Newbury, Massachusetts. He was a carpenter and an innkeeper. I wrote about John Emery, his wife Alice Grantham, and Downton Abbey in March 2013. John Emery married second, Mary (Shatswell) Webster, daughter of John & Judith Shatswell and widow of John Webster. 

On May 5, 1663, John Emery was in court because he was accused of entertaining Quakers . He was presented by the constable, Henry Jaques, "for as much as John Emerie, Sr. is one of our grand jury men this last year for our town of Newbury and he himself having broken the law as I do understand in entertaining of travellers and quakers into his house and and one Mr. Greenland in all which disorder he have boldly insisted whereby reproach and scandal is to come upon our town to the dishonor of God and damage and hurt to some of your neighbors." 

Quakers were banished from Massachusetts and faced serious consequences if they returned. One of the more famous cases was that of Mary Dyer. I wrote about my ancestor, Humphrey Atherton's role in her case in March 2012. The tension between Quakers and Puritans is explained on this web site.

The children of John & Alice (Grantham) Emery:

1. Alice Emery was born about 1622 and married John Chater. 
2. Eleanor Emery was baptized on November 7, 1624 in Romsey and died in 1700. She married John Bailey and had ten children. I have lines of descent from two daughters.
3. John Emery, Jr. was baptized on February 3, 1628/29 in Romsey and died November 3, 1683 in Newbury, Massachusetts. He married my 9th great-aunt, Mary Whipple. 
4. Anne Emery was baptized on March 18, 1632/33 in Romsey and married James Ordway. 

The children of John & Mary (Shatswell) (Webster) Emery: 

1. Ebenezer Emery (a girl) was born on September 14, 1648 and married John Hoag. 
2. Jonathan was born on May 13, 1652 and married Mary Woodman. 

John Emery

Eleanor Emery

Sarah Bailey - Sister of Rebecca Bailey

Eleanor Cheney

John Safford

Ruth Safford

Martha Haskell

Mary "Sally" Houghton

Florilla Dunham

Nina King Ellingwood

Annie Florilla Gibbs

Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Rebecca Bailey

Ruth Brown

Isaac Rogers

Rebecca Rogers

Stephen Blaisdell

Susannah Blaisdell

Stephen Blaisdell Rowe

Charles H. N. Rowe

Anna J. Rowe

Eva Delphinia Hayes

Linona Alice Yates