Accentuate the Positive - Celebrating 2015!

Jill Ball who writes the blog, GeniAus, has issued her annual reminder to genealogy researchers to focus on all you have accomplished in the past year. I did this last year and really enjoyed it!  Those who participate in this challenge delete or modify the prompts depending on their personal circumstances so check out all her original ideas of things to celebrate! 

Here's a toast to 2015! It was a great year of genealogy!
On to 2016 and all the new things it will bring! 

A precious family photo I found was this picture of my grandmother, Fern Lyndell (Cotton) Carter (1922-2002), holding my father, Thomas Robert Carter (1939-__).

An ancestor's grave I found: I actually did more cemetery visits this year than previously. However, locating the Capen Cemetery was a highlight of my year. I knew my grandfather used to visit this small cemetery on private land. My dad lives nearby and talked to the landowners to find the cemetery and get permission to visit. 

An important record I found was the obituary for a student's father. This student had no connections to his family and knew very little about his family's story. He thought he would never be able to find anything because his father was dead and he was estranged from his mother and he had no extended family connections. Starting with his father's obituary, we were able to find 183 records and document 70 relatives. 

A geneasurprise I received was my Christmas present again! My family is sending me to NEHGS at the end of February for the Winter Research Workshop. 

My 2015 blog post that I was particularly proud of was One Maine Farm in 1860. The reason is that the prompt from Amy Crow inspired me to dig deeper into the agricultural schedule of the census and gain a greater understanding of what life was actually like for my ancestors. 

My 2015 blog post that received a large number of hits or comments was Five Daughters Suddenly Gone. I think many people related to it because of similar family stories of hardship and loss in their own trees. 

A social media tool I enjoyed using for genealogy was Facebook. Genealogists and bloggers especially are a great group. I enjoy all that is shared - personal stories of everyday life and the challenges of fitting our passion for research around the other demands of life, struggles and successes of research, tips and hints, and many great ancestor stories. 

A genealogy conference I attended and gained much from was NERGC 2015 in April. I saw great speakers, got to meet D. Joshua Taylor, Carol McCoy, and Judy Russell, and connected with many of those I "see" online. 

I am proud of the presentation email interviews I did for NERGC 2015. I was fortunate to get responses from two excellent presenters, D. Joshua Taylor and Casey Zahn.

I taught a friend a group of my students how to research their ancestors. You can read about their findings on my blog here.

A great repository/archive/library I visited was The New England Historical and Genealogical Society. It was an unexpected visit that came about when a school group needed another chaperone for the train trip to Boston. Just ride the train and the day in Boston was mine to do with what I pleased. I chose to spend it at NEHGS. 

A new genealogy/history book I am enjoying is The Great Migration Directory by Robert Charles Anderson. 

It was exciting to finally meet the New England Geneabloggers who attended the bash in September. It was a renewing of acquaintances with most. However, I had not met Pam Seavey Schaffner or Barbara Mathews in person until the bash. It was the first time I was able to attend and I look forward to more meetings in the future. 

Photographer: Vincent Rojo

A geneadventure I enjoyed was a road trip to Massachusetts in June. In one day, my husband and I visited The Balch House, the Saugus Iron Works, the Golgotha Memorial in Amesbury, and the Old Newbury Burying Ground and Founders Memorial. 

Another positive I would like to share is I am looking forward to making more connections with other genealogists and bloggers in 2016. I am going to work on Dear Myrtle's Finally Get Organized Challenge and Thomas MacEntee's Genealogy Do-Over.  

A big thank you to Jill Ball for this annual tradition! 
Jill Ball's blog, GeniAus Accentuate the Positive Challenge

2015 Year-In-Review

The end of 2015 and beginning of 2016 have not been good times for my blog. I got busy...I got sick...I have taken on too many projects...

However, I am going to attempt to get going again. Let's start by reviewing 2015. I participated in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge and managed to get to 49. With that said, I did post the most stories ever - 109! My previous three years included 79, 76, and 77 stories so I'm declaring 2015 a success. The 52 Ancestors theme has been retired so I will need to find new inspiration. I am working on Dear Myrtle's Finally Get Organized and a modified version of Thomas MacEntee's Genealogy Do-Over. Both of those things involve more tasks related to becoming a better researcher and fewer blogging tasks. I'll need to work on balancing the behind the scenes research and organization with the blogging about ancestors.

Let's look back on 2015:

My Top Ten Stories based on number of views:

1. Petition of the Poor, Distressed Widow 
2. Pigs and Bacon 
3. The Crime of Fornication 
4. Jane Walford: Accused Witch 
5. Drummer Eleazer Cole 
6. Passion over Perfection
7. Five Daughters Suddenly Gone 
8. A Horrible Crime
9. Everyone Has A Story
10. The Balch House 

The 3 most shared stories turned into 6 as they all had the same number of shares. 

1. So Close Yet So Far Away
2. The Carter Homestead
3. First Chief Justice of Maine's Supreme Court
4. He Died Easy and Happy
5. Stormy Weather
6. Embarking on a Journey of Discovery

Don't Be A Dirty Bird - Friday Funny

I found this funny snippet while searching for my ancestors. It is from the Portland Press Herald on Wednesday, November 23, 1949.

"Milwaukee. (UP) - Mrs. Frances Sweet was puzzled when her automatic washer splashed soap suds over the basement floor, even though she had the lid down. When she lifted the lid, a very clean pigeon emerged." 

Newspapers.com, 

Passion over Perfection - NERGC2015 Final Thoughts

D. Joshua Taylor

My final day of NERGC2015 was spent on two presentations by Josh Taylor and one on DNA. I was excited to see Josh in person since I did a blog interview with him prior to the conference. 






The first presentation was focused on Engaging the Next Generation of Genealogists. I thought he really hit the nail on the head when he urged societies to look beyond their four walls & meetings and instead go to where the "kids" are. One of his points was that the next generation is not used to interacting in a traditional way, preferring to follow and collaborate on the go - the way they can using social media. I couldn't agree more! I have very little interest in monthly meetings. I prefer a more dynamic, real-time interaction and I'm hardly a "kid" at 51. He shared some of his ideas for how to make this happen by starting with each individual and their personal goals. What brings them to the table in the first place? What is it that they want to find out? Scandal? Celebrity connection? Finding a Mayflower or Revolutionary War ancestor? 

The other big takeaway for me was the idea that igniting the passion was much more important than striving for perfection among those dabbling in genealogy and family history. Don't squash their passion by overwhelming them with rules. He told how his grandmother purposely let him make mistakes and chase down leads that she had already discarded because it's the thrill of the hunt that gets the genealogical imagination going. As he pointed out, who hasn't had to trim their tree when erroneous information leads you to the wrong ancestor? It made me feel a lot less guilty about my family history project that I do with my students. They are far from perfect and sometimes I know they've got something all wrong, but I've been careful about balancing the research and documentation rules with nurturing the thrill of the hunt. 

Between presentations

Presentation number 2 by Josh focused on the compiled genealogies of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. While their lack of sources can make some people discount their value, he pointed out how, with a little careful reading, one can make an educated guess and figure out where to look for the documentation. Again, I liked the theme of looking at them as clues and one piece of the genealogy puzzle that is your family tree. 

Worrying about getting it right was also a topic of conversation amongst the geneabloggers attending the Special Interest Group on Thursday night. In the end, I think we were able to allay some fears and encourage more writers to try it out. I found the bloggers in the genealogy community to be wonderfully kind and encouraging when I was starting my blog. The one big positive, beyond finding cousins, was that blogging does make you pay attention to your research and documentation. We all agreed that blogging has made us better genealogists. 

New England Geneablogger Table

I'm not ready to blog in detail about Blaine Bettinger's talk on Third Party Tools for Analyzing DNA. Let's just say that I found it very helpful but DNA still boggles my mind a bit. I would highly recommend checking out Blaine's blog, The Genetic Genealogist. He is very knowledgeable and is capable of bringing the science down to a level where you don't have to be a scientist to understand it. 

Here are my final thoughts: 

• If you're interested in genealogy or finding out about your family, just dive in and do it. You will learn as you go so follow your passion!
• Don't worry about making mistakes. Everyone makes them and worrying won't stop it from happening. Just do the best you can and keep learning. 
• Network, network, network! I've connected with two new people just this weekend. They are working on the Lyford family and that is one of my lines that I haven't yet given enough attention. You never know who will have the answers you are seeking. 
• Whether you're interested in blogging in general or New England, in particular, check out these awesome blogs. Please let Heather Rojo know if you have a blog to add to the New England Geneabloggers list. Help and inspiration are also available at Geneabloggers.com.

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! 

From Bull-Riding to Blogging, NERGC Day 1

John McNiff, as William Blackstone
Photo by Marian Pierre-Louis

Well, the first day at NERGC started off with unusual flair. Conference attendees were treated to a first-person account of the life of William Blackston (Blaxton), the first settler of Boston and later Rhode Island. Historical re-enactor, John McNiff did a wonderful job transporting the listener back to the 17th century and the first settlements in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It helps that William was quite a colorful character. He reportedly trained a bull to saddle and rode him as one would a horse. Except, of course, that bringing a horse to the colonies would be silly since cows give milk and cream to make butter and cheese and bulls mean there will be more cows, which means more...well you get the picture. After hearing him speak, I definitely want to do some research of my own on his interesting life. 

The day was packed with meeting new friends and catching up with Facebook acquaintances from the genealogy community, attending wonderful presentations by Judy Russell and Lisa Louise Cooke, and ending with a great special-interest group session on blogging. It was a busy day and I learned so much. I'm having a blast at NERGC. 

Everyone Has A Story & Why NERGC Is A "Must Attend" Event

Photo courtesy of https://djoshuataylor.com

I had the opportunity to conduct an email interview with D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS. This interview is part of a series of interviews conducted by New England geneabloggers promoting the New England Regional Genealogy Conference. You may have seen Josh on the NBC & TLC series, Who Do You Think You Are? or the PBS series, Genealogy Roadshow. He is also the president of the Federation of Genealogical Studies and works for the Preserve the Pensions - War of 1812 Project. At NERGC, he is offering a variety of presentations including using social media, the westward migration from New England, making sense of compiled genealogies, and encouraging future family historians. Here are my questions and his answers. 

Because I work with many students about to go off to college, I hear them discussing career choices. I don't think most even know that a career in genealogy is an option. What attracted you to the field of genealogy as a career choice? 

For me, it was the chance to combine a passion with a career. There is always something new to learn in family history (which is one reason that I love attending conferences like NERGC). I also always loved history and love the chance that I have to see history through the lens of real people on a daily basis. 

Your biography says that you have degrees in library science and history. What skills did you gain from your education that help you the most in your day-to-day work? 
The ability to analyze records and interpret sources through the historical viewpoint is something I find myself doing on a day-to-day basis. From the library perspective, the ability to catalog (and understand the cataloging process) helps me to tackle online library catalogs and finding aids in ways I didn't realize was possible. 

What part of your work do you enjoy the most? 
Everyone has a story - and you never really know what you are going to find. In the morning, I might find myself working with records from Rhode Island and by the afternoon am knee-deep in church records from Italy, you just never know!

What part of your work do you find the most challenging or difficult? 
Well..that everyone has a story! There isn't any one single way to "do genealogy" and we all hit roadblocks as research progresses. It can be discouraging to have the empty spaces on the family tree and even more frustrating when they remain empty after a great deal of research. 

One of your sessions is about attracting the next generation of genealogists using technology. As a history teacher and genealogist, I am very interested in this topic. Could you share one important reason for a young person to start researching their genealogy or family history? 

One reason? We don't talk about it enough - and that is the chance to discover more about yourself and your place within the world. We are part of a much longer history than most realize. Understanding where you came from is a great way to help determine where you want to go. 

I'm curious whether you find time for your own personal genealogy or do you find that you are like the cobbler's shoeless child and never get to work on something specifically for you? 

It gets harder and harder, but I try and make it a goal to still work on my own projects. When we are filming and working on Genealogy Roadshow that time quickly slips away (but I have found there is always a way to spend an hour or two hunting down a cemetery). 

Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or about the New England Regional Genealogy Conference? 
I have loved going to NERGC for a few years now. The unique combination of societies from around the New England area makes it a "must-attend" event for anyone who has New England roots. 

I Hope to See You There!

I am so excited to attend the New England Regional Genealogy Conference in Providence, R.I. in April! The dates are April 15th-18th and you can attend one day or the whole conference. My registration and hotel were a Christmas gift so I'm all signed up and set to go. However, the early-bird registration deadline is February 28th so if you haven't registered and you like to save money (who doesn't?), you should submit your registration now. You can find all you need to know here. 

This year's theme is awesome! There are so many wonderful speakers and really something for everyone, regardless of your research experience or areas of interest. You can see all the hard work of the volunteers and get the latest updates on their Facebook page. They also send out e-zines with all the latest info. 

I learned at the last NERGC in 2013 that one of the best experiences was getting to meet all the other people crazy about all things related to New England history, genealogy, and family stories. Networking is a great resource and I have stayed in touch with many people I met in Manchester, N.H. in 2013. So I'll be networking and blogging about the conference this spring. I hope to see you there! 

One Lovely Blog

I am excited to be included in this award. I was nominated by Heather Wilkinson Rojo, author of Nutfield Genealogy, one of my favorite bloggers. Thank you for thinking of me, Heather! 

The rules for the "One Lovely Blog Award":

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to that blog. 
2. Share seven things about yourself
3. Nominate 15 bloggers you admire (or as many as you can think of!)
4. Let your bloggers know that you've tagged them for the One Lovely Blog Award

Seven things about myself:

1. I credit my Carter and Cotton family lines for helping me grow up with a sense of history. The farm settled by my 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Timothy Carter, has been in my family for seven generations. I grew up surrounded by my family's history. I could wander around the house and meetinghouse he built and see the names of my ancestors on stones in the cemetery behind the meetinghouse. My Cotton line is linked into the Ellingwood surname. There was a book about the genealogy of the Ellingwoods that was updated after I was born so I could peruse a book of ancestors while visiting my grandparents. I thought it was fascinating. 
2. I teach U.S. History and psychology at Windham High School and this is my twenty-first year of teaching. I love the teaching part but could do without the work that comes before and after my classes. I've even found some cousins amongst my students as they work on family history projects. 
3. I have four sons from my first marriage and my husband has two daughters from his first marriage. Together we have children spanning the ages of 22 to 32 - one every two years. Nick 22, Katie 24, Rachel 26, Ben 28, Josh 30, and Steve 32. The middle names of my sons are all in honor of family members: Stephen (for my favorite uncle), Thomas (for my father and grandfather), John (for my only male Carter cousin and my former brother-in-law), and Carter (my maiden name). 
4. I was lucky enough to know three of my great-grandparents and many great-aunts and great-uncles. 
5. I love horses and learned to ride using the saddle that my 2nd great-grandfather, Augustus Carter, used in the Civil War. My family still has his uniform, spurs, and sword too. 
6. I love to travel. I'd love to be able to go more often. England is my favorite and I'd like to see more of Scotland. I've never been to Ireland or Wales and I'd love to go there too. 
7. I really like to cook and I credit my grandmothers. My dad's mom made the best rolls, biscuits, baked beans, and molasses cookies! My mom's mom worked as a pastry chef at resorts in Florida and New Hampshire. Her cakes were amazing! 

Many of my favorite bloggers have already been tagged but figuring that some of my readers may not have seen them, I will list some of them again. Here are a baker's dozen to check out. 

1. Shakespeare's Mom by Kate Parlin is not a genealogy blog but a parenting blog written by a good friend and amazing writer! She has three girls under the age of 5, including a set of twins! She's starting to gain national attention for her writing and I have no doubt that someday she will write a great American novel. 
2. Some Pig by my friend Caroline is another parenting/teaching/modern woman blog written by one of the best writer's I've ever met. If you like snarky, wise-cracking, wit, this is a blog for you. 
3. Life from the Roots by Barbara Poole is a great blog with awesome photography. 
4. Digging Down East by Pam Schaffner
5. Boston 1775 by J. L. Bell is a great place to dig around and learn more about the American Revolution. I've found several ancestor stories here. 
6. Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog by Jana Last in awesome in many ways but it's one of my favorite sites to check out for her Fab Finds posted every Friday with great topics I might have missed. 
7. Acadian Ancestral Home by Lucie Constantino is not only and interesting blogger but a great speaker. Check out her blog to see if she is speaking in your area. 
8. Granite In My Blood by Midge Frazel is a great collection of all things genealogy and Midge is a great inspiration to always keep learning. Some day I might be half as organized as she is! 
9. One Rhode Island Family by Diane Boumenot. I especially enjoy the posts where she elaborates on her process as she searches for information about her ancestors. 
10. Of Loons and Lady Slippers by T. K. Eldridge is a blog I discovered through the 52 ancestors challenge. I love the name too! 
11. Maine Genealogy by Chris Dunham has been a great resource for me. Not only the blog but the entire site with many features. 
12. West in New England by Bill West has already been nominated but Bill is my inspiration and the person most responsible for starting my blog so I can't leave him out. 
13. Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver is a blog I always check out and a previous nominee. 

I will be contacting the bloggers above but don't expect those who have already done the challenge once to do it again. 

Tombstone Tuesday - Carroll E. Yates

Carroll Estes Yates, son of Estes Gilbert & Eva Delphinia (Hayes) Yates, was born on June 25, 1918 and died April 28, 1992. He was my great uncle, brother to my grandmother, Linona Alice Yates. His grave is in the Middle Intervale Cemetery, on Intervale Rd. in Bethel, Maine. This cemetery is located behind a meetinghouse built in 1816. For much of my life, the meetinghouse was in the possession of the Carter family. When the upkeep became too much, the family donated it to the Middle Intervale Meetinghouse Association. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. 

I knew him as "Uncle Tom" because all of my grandmother's siblings had nicknames that did not match their given names. I didn't see him often because he lived in Colorado while I was growing up. He had both arms covered in tattoos - which was fascinating to me as a kid. He was the only person I knew with tattoos - what a different world today! He enlisted in the army on February 19, 1941. His enlistment record shows he had graduated from high school, was single with no dependents, had worked as a lumberman, and was 5 ft. 9" tall and weighed 157 pounds. He enlisted as a private but as his gravestone shows, he was promoted over time to T. Sgt. (Technical Sargeant). His Veteran's Death File record shows an enlistment date of January 29, 1941. I'm not sure what explains the discrepancy between the two records. It's quite interesting to see what kinds of things one can learn from different records. 

Wordless Wednesday - Tuck Museum

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - How Many Cousins Do You Know You Have?

From Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:

1) Take both sets of your grandparents and figure out how many first cousins you have, and how many first cousins removed (a child or grandchild of a first cousin) you have.

2) Extra Credit: Take all four sets of your great-grandparents and figure out how many second cousins you have, and how many second cousins removed you have.

3) Tell us the grandparents and great-grandparents names, but don't give the name of living cousins unless you want to.

4) Are there any of those lines that you don't know all of the cousins names? Do you care? 

5) Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a Facebook or Google+ post of your own. Be sure to drop a comment to this post to link to your work.

Here is my entry: 

I struggled to come up with respectful terms for non-biological children. It is something that is tough to describe but easy in real life because they are just considered part of the family and equal to all other family members. For simplicity's sake, I will refer to all children the same but understand that a few of these relationships are based on love, not DNA. 

Part 1: 
My Carter grandparents were Thomas Richard & Fern Lyndell (Cotton) Carter. They had four sons. My father is the oldest. 

Son #2 has two daughters and one son. Child #1 (female) has one daughter; Child #2 (male) has no children; Child #3 (female) has one son and one daughter. 3 first cousins, & 3 first cousins, once removed. 

Son #3 had three daughters. Child #1 two daughters; Child #2 has one daughter and one son; Child #3 does not have children yet. 3 first cousins & 4 first cousins, once removed

Son #4 had three daughters. Child #1 has three daughters and one son; Child #2 has one son and one daughter; Child #3 has no children. 3 first cousins & 6 first cousins, once removed

My Blake grandparents were Clayton Leonard & Linona Alice "Peggy" (Yates) Blake. They had three daughters. My mother is the oldest. 

Daughter #2 has two daughters. Child #1 has three daughters; Child #2 has no children. 2 first cousins & 3 first cousins, once removed

Daughter #3 has two sons and 1 daughter. Child #1 (male) has no children; Child #2 (female) has two daughters; Child #3 (male) has three daughters. 3 first cousins & 5 first cousins, once removed

I have 14 first cousins and 21 first cousins, once removed. None of my first cousins have grandchildren. I am the oldest of the Carters and I have the first grandchild - born in October 2013. 

Extra Credit:
My great-grandparents:
1) Edward Mellen & Fanny (Capen) Carter - Had 5 children but only two had children and one of those was my grandfather. 

• Edward Augustus Carter had one son & one daughter. The son had three daughters and the daughter had no children. Of the three daughters, only one has children - two boys and one girl. 
• Rebecca Williamson (Carter) Bailey
• My grandfather, Thomas Richard Carter had four sons.
• Stanley Capen Carter
• Paul Albert Carter 

Total = 2 second cousins & 3 second cousins, once removed & 3 second cousins, twice removed. I know everyone in this line. 

2) Ray Everett & Annie Florilla (Gibbs) Cotton - Had 8 children but only three had children.  

• Albert Francis Cotton had one daughter. She had a son & a daughter. There are at least 4 grandchildren for Albert and at least 3 great-grandchildren. 
• Nina Mae (Cotton) Laflin died at age nineteen without children.
• Marion Elizabeth Cotton died young.
• Ray Everett Cotton, Jr had one daughter and five sons. I know of 12 grandchildren of Ray, Jr. and I'm sure there are some great-grandchildren but I do not know their names. Yes, I wish I did. 
• Thelma Jane Cotton died young. 
• Leonard Henry Cotton died young. 
• Ada Lillie Cotton had one son and two daughters. The son had 3 daughters & the daughters had 2 sons and a son and a daughter, respectively. I know all their names but I lose track of some at the next generation. I know of 4 great-grandchildren of Ada. 
• My grandmother Fern Lyndell (Cotton) Carter had four sons. 

Total = 4 second cousins & 11 second cousins, once removed and bunch of second cousins, twice removed. I feel pretty good that I at least know a few of the second cousins, twice removed names. 

3) Harriet Blake - never married and had only my grandfather. No second cousins here. 

4) Estes & Eva Delphinia (Hayes) Yates - Had 8 children and these are harder for me. 

• Lawrence Yates had at least two sons and two daughters and then I lose track. I know one of his daughters has one son and two daughters. 
• Georgie Anna (Yates) Haines had at least three daughters and one son. I know the two children of the son. 
• Carroll Yates had two sons but nothing further on this line. 
• My grandmother Linona Alice (Yates) Blake had three daughters. 
• Russell Yates had no children. 
• Viva (Yates) Whitman had one son (no idea if he has children) and one daughter. I know the daughter has two daughters and several grandchildren. I know the names of her daughters but not Viva's great-grandchildren. 
• Laura (Yates) (Adams) Hutchins had one son and one daughter. I know the daughter has one son and two daughters and several grandchildren. 
• Bryce Yates had one daughter and two sons. I believe that both sons have not had children and the daughter has at least one daughter, one or two sons. 

Total = at least 17 second cousins & an unknown number of second cousins, once removed.  

At least 23 second cousins, and 27+ second cousins, once removed. 

Geography seems to play a part in this. Some lines I know more of the descendants because they lived nearby, went to the same schools, and family got together more often. On my mother's side, the extended family did not have the same get-togethers that my father's side did. I know more of the families of my mom's cousins who lived in the towns in our school district but not those who lived just a little bit further away. I wonder what it will be like for my children because the family is becoming increasingly separated by geography but increasingly connected by social media. 

http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/05/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-how-many.html

Wordless Wednesday - Pine Grove Cemetery

Tombstone Tuesday - Philip & Florence (Bertilson) Carter

Philip Lawson Carter, son of John Herbert & Verna (Kilgore) Carter, was born December 14, 1915 and died December 26, 1980. He was my second cousin, twice removed. However the family ties always seemed closer than that because of the strong friendship he and his wife had with my grandparents, T. Richard & Fern Lyndell (Cotton) Carter. Phil and Flo had five children and my grandparents had four sons. 

Florence (Bertilson) Carter, his wife, daughter of Oscar & Grace Bertilson, was born April 8, 1914 and died December 20, 1981. 

They are buried in the Middle Intervale Cemetery, on Intervale Rd. in Bethel, Maine. This cemetery is located behind a meetinghouse built in 1816. For much of my life, the meetinghouse was in the possession of the Carter family. When the upkeep became too much, the family donated it to the Middle Intervale Meetinghouse Association. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. 

Family memorial services were held in the meetinghouse two consecutive springs to celebrate the lives of Phil and Flo. They stick in my memory because they were informal and primarily consisted of their children and others telling stories of their adventures or misadventures growing up. The stories were punctuated with lots of laughter as they remembered all the happy times they spent together as a family. 

Common Ancestor - Elias Mellen Carter m. Rebecca Williamson

Their sons included Augustus Mellen Carter - grandfather of Thomas Richard Carter and John Herbert Carter - grandfather of Philip Lawson Carter. 

Tombstone Tuesday - Frances (Freeland) Carter

This stone is pretty weathered and hard to read but it marks the grave of Frances Freeland who married Dr. Timothy Carter on July 7, 1793 in Sutton, Massachusetts. She and Dr. Timothy came to Bethel in 1799. Her husband had studied medicine under her father, Dr. James Freeland, a Revolutionary War surgeon. Dr. Timothy Carter became the first doctor in Bethel. I wrote about them and their journey to Maine in a previous post. Frances was the daughter of James & Mehitable (Mellen) Freeland. She was born on September 4, 1771 in Sutton, Massachusetts and died November 14, 1815 in Bethel, Maine. 

Dr. Timothy Carter and Frances, or Fanny as she was called (and is recorded on her headstone), were my 4th great-grandparents and had the following children:

Rev. Lawson Carter 1793-1868 - Findagrave memorial
Galen Carter 1795-1870
James Freeland Carter 1797-1840
Timothy Jarvis Carter 1805-1838 - blog post about his death - Congressman from ME
Luther Cullen Carter 1805-1875 - Findagrave memorial - Congressman from NY
Frances Carter 1809-1902
Elias Mellen Carter 1811-1880 - My 3rd great-grandfather

She is buried in the Middle Intervale Cemetery, on Intervale Rd. in Bethel, Maine. This cemetery is located behind a meetinghouse built in 1816. For much of my life, the meetinghouse was in the possession of the Carter family. When the upkeep became too much, the family donated it to the Middle Intervale Meetinghouse Association. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. 

Elias M. Carter married Rebecca Williamson, an Irish immigrant. Their son, Augustus Mellen Carter married Mary Frances Abbott. Their son, Edward Mellen Carter married Fanny May Capen. Their son, Thomas Richard Carter, was my grandfather. 

Friday Funny - Not My Ancestor - First Installment

One comes across a lot of names when researching one's family tree. Occasionally, those names ring a bell or bring certain image to mind and it makes me smile. Here are a few from my tree to start you off.

Isaac Hayes, son of William & Olive (Garland) Hayes, was born in 1774 and died in 1812. Not be be confused with Isaac Hayes, the musician, although I feel certain my 5th great-grandfather had a lot of soul!

Robert Barker, my 10th great-grandfather, was born about 1616 in England and died between February 18, 1689 and March 14, 1692, in Duxbury, Massachusetts. He came to Plymouth in 1632 and worked as a ferryman and innkeeper. I wonder if he ever went by "Bob" Barker or if his price was right?

Mary Buckett was the wife of Pilgrim George Soule and my 10th great-grandmother. Of course, her mother was Mrs. Buckett or was her mother a Mrs. Bouquet, like Hyacinth?

William Wallis was the husband of my first cousin 9X removed, Comfort Cotton (can't make this stuff up). I wonder if he was brave like William Wallace or looked like Mel Gibson?

Tombstone Tuesday - Edward Augustus "Gus" Carter

Edward Augustus Carter, son of Edward Mellen & Fanny May (Capen) Carter, was born on August 22, 1911 and died December 27, 1997. He was my grandfather's brother. He is buried in the Middle Intervale Cemetery, on Intervale Rd. in Bethel, Maine. This cemetery is located behind a meetinghouse built in 1816. For much of my life, the meetinghouse was in the possession of the Carter family. When the upkeep became too much, the family donated it to the Middle Intervale Meetinghouse Association. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. 

I have many fond memories of Uncle Gus from my childhood. He lived just a short distance from my grandparent's farm in Bethel on the Intervale Road. My sister and I loved to go visit him because he always gave us a snack - usually milk and cookies and we would listen to his stories...the Carter men are well known for their storytelling ability. Uncle Gus was divorced and his grown children lived in California. He saw them and his grandchildren on visits but between visits, my sister and I filled in for them. Uncle Gus worked for the town of Bethel on the road maintenance crew until he was forced to retire at the age of 70. 

Obituary Sunday - Augustus Mellen Carter

The Carter Farm - Middle Intervale, Bethel, Maine

On August 17, 1923, my 2nd great-grandfather, Augustus M. Carter, died at his home at the age of 83. His son, my great-grandfather, Edward M. Carter, had been hit by a car and killed just a few weeks before. It must have been hard for my great-grandmother, Fanny (Capen) Carter to lose her husband and then her father-in-law in such a short time. I found two entries from the Google News Archive in the summer of 1923. The first notes that Augustus had fallen and broken his arm and the second is his obituary.

The Lewiston Daily Sun - Jun. 13, 1923
EAST BETHEL
...Augustus Carter of Middle Intervale had the misfortune to fall and break his arm last Friday...


The Lewiston Daily Sun - Aug. 20, 1923
AUGUSTUS CARTER
Bethel, Aug. 19 - Augustus Carter passed away Friday afternoon at his home on the Middle Intervale road. He had been in ill health for some time. He was 83 years of age. He has been quite a prominent lumber man having had charge of the buying for the Berlin Mills Co., for nearly 40 years, and had also done some logging for himself. He married Mary F. Stanley and to them two children were born, Edward M., and Frances A. Carter. The son, Edward, was hit by an auto a few weeks ago and died from the injuries. The daughter Frances has cared for her father during his long period of ill health. He was a member of the Baptist church. He is survived by his daughter, Frances, one brother, Herbert Carter, a sister, Mrs. Mary Wiley, five grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. The funeral was held from his late home Sunday afternoon, interment in the Middle Intervale cemetery.

Our family is fortunate to have a number of items belonging to Augustus Mellen Carter. I have written about his surveying work before. He also served in the Civil War and my connection to him is that I used his saddle when I was first learning to ride a horse.

 

Augustus Mellen Carter married Mary Frances Stanley.
Edward Mellen Carter married Fanny May Capen.
Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather