The Carter Homestead - 52 Ancestors #25 Dr. Timothy Carter

The Carter Family Farm/Middle Intervale Farm

In 1799, Dr. Timothy Carter and his wife, Frances (Freeland), made the trek from Massachusetts to Maine. They settled in Bethel in an area, along the Androscoggin River, known as Middle Intervale. There they built "The Brick End House" and a farm on land that later encompassed a meetinghouse across the road and another house on the other side of the barnyard. These four buildings are my family homestead. All but the meetinghouse have been in my family for seven generations. My cousin John lives in the Brick End House now and his father, my Uncle Timmy, lives in the other house. In the late 1970s, the meetinghouse was turned over to the local historical society and was renovated, in keeping with the period. 

Aunt Becky & friend in front of the Brick End House
Notice the long shed that at one time connected a stable
and then connected to the barn. 

View of the barn and the other house - taken
from the pasture and cornfield across the road

The old barn and stable

When I was very young, my parents and I lived in the house with the green roof and my grandparents lived in the Brick End House. Later we moved away from the farm and my grandparents moved into the house on the left and my uncle and his family lived in the Brick End House. Still, this place has always felt the most like home.

                                      

                                   The Middle Intervale Meetinghouse

The meetinghouse and cemetery

Meetinghouse sign

The meetinghouse from the front
I have many relatives buried in the cemetery

The Brick End House

Not sure of the date on this picture 

Sometime in the 1970s

Me in front of the Brick End House

The massive stand of lilac bushes, roof of my
grandparents' house & view of the Brick End House 

My Grandparents' House

 

My grandparents' house
approaching on the road

Closer and in summer

I always loved these beautiful
doors - Back: Me & my sister, Lorna
Front: Cousins Becky & John 

The old stone steps - notice that the height varied
from step to step

  Other pictures around the farm

Back of the barn

Me and my cousin, Nancy
on Patches

Grammie's Flowers

The Sand Pasture

The Brook

Seated: Gus Carter holding his daughter, Ann, Fanny (Capen) Carter holding Teddy (son of Gus & Dora, Dick Carter holding sons, Timmy and Tommy
Standing: Stanley Carter, Becky Carter, Paul Carter, Frances Carter, Dora (wife of Gus), Lyndell (wife of Dick)

Fanny (Capen) Carter was the mother of Gus, Rebecca, Dick, Stanley, and Paul. Frances Carter was her sister-in-law who never married. Fanny's husband, Edward, was killed in 1922. She raised her children on the farm. 

Dr. Timothy & Frances (Freeland) Carter

Elias Mellen & Rebecca (Williamson) Carter

Augustus Mellen & Mary Frances (Stanley) Carter

Edward Mellen & Fanny (Capen) Carter

T. Richard "Dick" & Fern Lyndell (Cotton) Carter

Timothy & Jodi (Reue) Carter

John Richard Carter - current owner/operator of the farm

Tombstone Tuesday - Estes & Eva (Hayes) Yates & son, Russell

Estes Gilbert Yates, son of Gilbert William & Laura (Emmons) Yates, was born on March 11, 1884 and died April 27, 1977. 

Eva Delphinia (Hayes) Yates, daughter of George & Anna (Rowe) Hayes, was born on September 27, 1897 and died September 19, 1982. 

Russell Frank Yates, son of Estes & Eva (Hayes) Yates, was born on February 1, 1922 and died July 8, 2007. 

They are all buried in the same plot 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. 

Middle Intervale Meeting House and Common

 The Brick End House - In the Carter family for 7 generations! 

 Cemetery where many of my ancestors are buried from the 1790s to the 2000s. 

Center Meeting House and Common - Bethel | The Cultural Landscape Foundation: This was in the hands of my family for most of my childhood. The Middle Intervale Meetinghouse Society has done a phenomenal job restoring it and keeping it true to the time period. It is used for cultural events like concerts and quilt shows and of course, for the occasional wedding. The first Carter to come to Maine had a farm directly across the street and that farm is still in the family - run by my cousin, John and his partner Cynthia, who run a farm stand with fresh produce and organically raised beef. 

'via Blog this'

My Genealogy Time Capsule

A cousin of mine, Bill West writes a blog called West in New England and he is running this genealogy challenge. The deadline for submissions is March 15th. 

What I would put in my time capsule and why: I would use multiple formats for these items where possible - USB drive, DVD and hard copies. 

1. A letter to my descendants about the importance of family and genealogy in my life - Just because I wish I had one from my ancestors. 
2. A copy of my genealogy research so far. This way future family members could find new leads based on my research or compare (and maybe laugh at my mistakes).  My husband found a book on his ancestors that ended with a 3 times great-grandfather's name and said "nothing further is known about this line." It was fun to then fill in the rest of the story. 
3. I would include a narrative of my memories of my life, my parents, grandparents, and the three great-grandparents I got to know. I have been so fortunate to have so much time with grandparents and I know many people never get to make memories with their grandparents. I have a book about my Yates ancestry and the author included his own observations about the character of the people he personally knew. I love finding stories that give insight into the personalities of my ancestors rather than just having dry vital statistics. 
4. I would include copies of pictures (clearly labeled) of important people, places and moments in my life. I love finding pictures to go with my genealogy and it's so frustrating when there is no information to identify the people, places or events describing the picture. 
5. Favorites - songs and recipes including Cooking Downeast by Marjorie Standish (my grandmother's favorite cookbook). 
6. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - My great aunt, Rebecca Williamson Carter, gave me this book with a note that her mother read this to my grandfather and his siblings. 
7. Anne of Green Gables - My grandmother, F. Lyndell Cotton Carter, gave this book to me after she went to visit her relatives on Prince Edward Island. Her grandfather, George Gibbs, came from PEI. 
8. Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton and Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion - My favorite books from childhood. 
9. Pink Dove soap - My grandmother always used it and I use it too. It smells like her...
10. Lindor truffles, Nesquik, Wint-o-green Life Savers and Diet Coke with Lime - some of my favorites things.

What would I put it all in and where would I keep it? 

• This is much more difficult...I think the answer is to make multiple copies of the original time capsule (at least the stuff on DVD and USB drives) - Maybe get a safety deposit box at a bank and seal the USB drive & DVD in an envelope with instructions written on the outside, definitely leave info about the time capsule in my will and tell my sons to put it in their wills too to keep the information available for whoever is interested 100 years from now. 
• I would get a sturdy box from Sentry for the time capsule. I would bury the original time capsule just outside the Middle Intervale Cemetery in Bethel, Maine. This cemetery started with my ancestor, Dr. Timothy Carter. The farm he started is across the street and still in the family. The meetinghouse in front of the cemetery belonged to my family until it was made a nonprofit in 1978. This spot has deep personal connections for me.