Surname Saturday - Ackley of Boston

On March 20, 1760, a great fire swept through the city of Boston. According to this site, the 1760 fire was called the "Second" Great Fire of Boston. It destroyed 349 buildings and left 220 families homeless. Many businesses were lost and the Quaker Meeting House on Congress Street was consumed by the flames. It even destroyed some ships in the harbor. My 6X great-grandfather, Francis Ackley was among those who unsuccessfully petitioned the House of Commons for relief after the fire.

Francis Ackley participated in the Boston Tea Party. There are several online accounts that say Francis Ackley was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill but I have not seen enough proof to elevate this story out of the realm of folklore. If anyone has a source for this information, I would appreciate hearing from you.

Francis married Tabitha Bull on June 8, 1751. They are the parents of Samuel Ackley. He was born on July 17, 1763.

Samuel Ackley served three years in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He enlisted in Boston on the day he turned eighteen and joined his regiment at West Point and served until the army was disbanded and he was discharged, again at West Point. His pension was filed while he was living in Halifax, Vermont but in 1830, he moved to Rumford, Maine and was still living in 1855, aged 93. Samuel married Elizabeth Moody on November 18, 1791. They were the parents of William Ackley. 

William Ackley married Deborah Capen on March 4, 1814. They were the parents of Sarah Ackley. 

Ancestry.com. Rumford, Oxford County, Maine: Town History [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. 

Sarah Ackley married John Abbott and they were the parents of Mary Jane Abbott. Mary Jane married Edward Abbott Capen and they were the parents of Fannie May Capen - my great-grandmother. Fannie married Edward Mellen Carter and they were the parents of my grandfather, Thomas Richard Carter.

The Real Tea Party

On December 16, 1773, a group of colonists participated in one of the most significant protests in American history. They dressed up like Indians and dumped 342 crates of tea belonging to the British East India Co. into Boston harbor. Contrary to what many believe (including those who have co-opted the name of this event to label their political philosophy), this was not a protest over taxes. It was protesting a British Law, the Tea Act, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea for less than the colonial smugglers. This would help save the company from ruin because few colonists were buying tea from this company when they could buy it cheaper from colonial merchants. The company's investors were not happy with all the unsold tea piling up in warehouses. This is the aspect of the revolution that is rarely discussed. The real issue was not the taxes. Most of the the taxes, such as the tax on sugar, were significantly reduced after the French & Indian War. The issue was freedom of trade and the restrictions placed on the colonies under the mercantile system. For decades the British had turned a blind eye to enforcing their laws but the debt from the war with France ended this period of salutary neglect. This Tea Party movement was protesting a law that gave tax cuts to the wealthy and big businesses and hurt the average working-class family by raising the prices on the goods they needed. Hmmm....

http://ushistoryimages.com/boston-tea-party.shtm

Back to the Boston Tea party...fearing punishment, many of the participants fled to avoid arrest and their families tried to keep their involvement a secret. According to this web site, 116 have been identified. The first name on the list is that of my 6th great-grandfather, Francis Ackley. He was captured and imprisoned but at some point he escaped and found his way back to Boston. He fought and died in the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 19, 1775. That's quite a story. I'm still trying to find more details and to track down any connections I have to other names on the list of participants.

http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/participants-in-the-boston-tea-party

Francis Ackley & Tabitha Bull
Samuel Ackley & Elizabeth Moody
William Ackley & Deborah Capen
Sarah Ackley & John Abbott
Mary Jane Abbott & Edward Abbott Capen
Fannie May Capen & Edward Mellen Carter
Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather

Simpler Times

The ready availability of Revolutionary War pension records online gives us a glimpse of life in the early 19th century. Pension applicants were required to submit an inventory of their belongings and show they had no other sources of income. One thing I find quite striking is the limited amount of personal possessions these pensioners list in their inventories. My 6th great-grandfather owned 7 things other than the clothes on his back and possibly some bedding. The inventory of Elisha Houghton equals $43.38 in 2012 dollars! He was awarded a pension of $48 semi-annually and back pension pay of $31.76.  The semi-annual amount is $893.72 in 2012 dollars. 

So how did Elisha Houghton earn his pension? He fought in the Revolutionary War and was at Bunker Hill and Stillwater. Then he re-enlisted for three years in the 15th Massachusetts (Bigelow's regiment) under the command of Capt. Joshua Brown. He took part in the battles of Monmouth and Newport and was at Valley Forge. The Battle of Monmouth is where Molly Pitcher gained fame. 

Engraving of Molly Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth

Apparently he lost his gun at Bunker Hill because it is reported that he petitioned for remuneration for loss of a gun taken from him while assisting wounded men from the field June 17, 1775. I have no idea if he got the money for the gun or not. 

"And I do solemnly swear, that I was a resident Citizen of the United States on the 18th day of March 1818, and that I have not since that time by gift, sale or in any manner disposed of my property, or any part thereof with intent thereby so to diminish it, as to bring myself within the provisions of an Act of Congress entitled "An Act to provide for certain persons, engaged in the land and naval service of the United States, in the Revolutionary war," passed on the 18th day of March 1818, and that I have not, nor has any person in trust for me any property or securities, contracts or debts, due to me, nor have I any income, other than what is contained in the schedule, hereto annexed, and by me subscribed - schedule of property, necessary clothing and bedding excepted to wit: 1 Tub .33; 1 Iron pot .75; 1 salt mortar .12; 1 teakettle .75; 1 sugar box .19; 1 tin tumbler .6; and 1 old Pail .13 = 2.33.

That I am by occupation a labourer that I am not able to labour that the number of my family residing with me is none

Bunker Hill Monument

Battle of Monmouth

Battle of Bunker Hill

Elisha Houghton - 6th great-grandfather

Moses Houghton - 5th great-grandfather

Sally Houghton - 4th great-grandmother

Florilla Dunham - 3rd great-grandmother

Nina King Ellingwood - 2nd great-grandmother

Annie Florilla Ellingwood - great-grandmother

Fern Lyndell Cotton - grandmother