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

52 Ancestors #15 - James Cole

John Sprague spent several hours in the stocks on at least one occasion for "highly misdemeaning himself in the house of James Cole of Plymouth near unto or on the evening before the Sabbath Day, in drinking, gaming and uncivil reveling, to the dishonor of God and the offense of the government, by his gaming and the bringing of his mare uncivily into the parlor of James Cole, aforesaid." 
(Saints and Strangers by George Willison)

James Cole is my 10th great-grandfather. He was a sailor and opened the first inn or public house in Plymouth and one of the earliest public houses in all of New England. His son, also named James, bought the public house in 1668 and James sold it to William Shurtleff in 1689. William Shurtleff is my 9th great-grandfather. Lucy Shurtleff is also my 4th cousin 7 times removed on my grandmother, Fern Lyndell Cotton's line. 

This raises a number of questions in my mind. What does it mean that he brought the mare uncivily into the parlor? Does that mean that he created a ruckus and if he had lead her in civilly it would have been okay? What happened that caused him to bring the mare into the parlor? 

What's the funniest story you've come across while researching your ancestors? 

James Cole & Mary 
James Cole & Mary Tilson
John Cole & Susanna Gray
Joseph Cole & Mary Stevens
Eleazer Cole & Lucy Shurtleff - great-granddaughter of William
Calvin Cole & Elizabeth Swan
Calvin Cole, Jr. & Betsy Judkins
Aphia Delphinia Cole & Sydney Hayes
George H. Hayes & Anna J. Rowe
Eva Delphinia Hayes & Estes Yates
Linona Alice Yates

Cotton connection to the Shurtleffs - 
John Dunham - common ancestor - Lucy's 3rd great-grandfather and my 9th great-grandfather. His descendant, Florilla Dunham, married Asa F. Ellingwood, Nina Ellingwood m. George Gibbs, Annie Gibbs m. Ray Cotton, Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Sources:
Cole, Earnest Byron, The Descendants of James Cole of Plymouth, (New York, The Grafton Press: Genealogical Publishers, 1908.) pp. 21-22

Who's Your Daddy?

I found this story while looking for information on my ancestor, William Pinson. While some online trees have Edward and Sarah (Dexter) Pinson as the parents of William, I have been unable to find any documentation to back up that claim. Still, it's a good story so I thought I would share.

Edward Pinson was a "seafaring man" according to his burial record. He was the son of William and Mary Pinson and from this record it appears that he was buried 17 March 1701 in St. Martin, Ludgate, London.

Sailors have a reputation of being risk-takers of questionable morality and Edward seems to have lived up to that stereotype. Sarah Dexter was engaged or expected to marry Obadiah Bridges when Edward came into her life. It is likely that Sarah was enticed by Edward's money and the promise of a life in London. Sarah's father, Richard Dexter, warned Edward to stay away from her but the determined couple put up marriage banns which were later torn down. Then while her parents were at Sunday meeting, Edward and Sarah eloped. When they returned four days later as a married couple, Richard called Edward a "rogue, bastard dogg and son of a whore" and Sarah's mother, Bridget, beat her out of the house. It was later revealed that the couple used a forged letter of parental consent to convince the magistrate in Lynn to conduct the marriage. All that seems scandalous enough but...

Edward was not Sarah's first sailor lover...she had "lost her virginitie being overcome in Boston by a man who promiseth her marriage but afterwards went off to sea and since she heard he had a wife in England." Sarah, it turns out, was pregnant when she married Edward...with this other man's child....


Sources:
Sex in Middlesex: Popular Mores in a Massachusetts County, 1649-1699 by Roger Thompson, pages 60-61.

Black Sheep Sunday - Slaves in the Family

Usually I find the blogs of other genealogists intelligent, thoughtful and interesting. Yesterday I found one that disturbed me. The blogger offered a critique of the PBS show Finding Your Roots, hosted by Henry Lewis Gates, Jr. The author of this critique found the show "boring" and speculates that it would not appeal to a wide audience because it seems Gates has an "agenda" to make every show about slavery or find black ancestry of white people or vice versa. I do agree that the show could focus more on how the information is found but I suspect more people tune in for the family stories than the how-to's of genealogy. 


As a historian, I find this idea that connecting New England families to slavery is "digging up dirt" or connotes the bias of Gates disturbing because the author doesn't seem to understand that slavery is not just about the South and not just about black people. Slavery is deeply intertwined in the history of New England and white people. Slavery was legal in all colonies and tied to the occupations of shipbuilders, merchants, and sea captains, key components of the New England economy. As a U.S. history teacher in Maine, I struggle every year to convince students that slavery is part of the history of New England. In addition, I find the show fascinating because it shows that race is not clearly defined and, pardon the pun, history is not black and white - rather we are all human no matter what color our skin may be. As a genealogist, I wonder why one would expect that Gates would not showcase his area of expertise, the ancestry of African-Americans. Personally, I find it fascinating to see how a genealogist works to put together information about a group of people who are difficult to document. 


So far, I have found several indirect links between my New England ancestors and slavery. Today I present two of those stories. 

Samuel Maverick was born in 1602 and is the brother of my 11th great-grandfather. Their father was Rev. John Maverick who brought his family from Beaworthy, Devonshire, England in 1630 and became the one of the first ministers in Dorchester, MA. Samuel settled at Noddle's Island (currently part of Logan Airport after the strait separating it from the mainland was filled in the 1940s). Samuel purchased several slaves who were natives of Tortuga. My cousin and fellow genealogist, **Bill West, wrote about an appalling incident describing how Samuel, wishing to breed more slaves, ordered a male slave to force himself on one of the female slaves. Then one has to consider the contrast of the account by John Winthrop commenting on Samuel's kindness to Indians during a smallpox epidemic. "Among others, Mr. Maverick of Winnesemett is worth of a perpetual remembrance. Himself, his wife, and servants went daily to them, ministered to their necessities, and buried their dead, and took home many of their children." He reportedly buried 30 Indians in one day and took in many orphaned children. Now the question becomes, did he take in those orphans as slaves? 

Noddle's Island

**Bill's post includes information about another interesting story of slavery and the Upton family in New England. 


Ebenezer Ellingwood Jr. (6th great-granduncle) and his brother William were business partners. They were sea captains who sailed to Barbados among other places. Tax records reveal the brothers suffered some losses in their business and in the 1750s he was a hogreeve (overseer of pigs) for Beverly and applied for a license to operate a tavern and inn. Later court records and his estate list him as a yeoman suggesting he had retired from operating a tavern and inn shortly before his death at the age of 53. This is condensed from a posting at dougsinclairarchives.com. A longer explanation of Ebenezer's life with additional sources can be found at his site as well as information on other Ellingwood relatives. Part of the information he shares are stories about the slaves of Ebenezer Ellingwood. 


Ebenezer was abated part of his taxes for the "loss of his negro" in 1758, who is undoubtedly the unnamed slave of Ebenezer in Rev. Hale's Beverly death records who drowned in that year. Those records also mention the death of a slave infant in 1757. The tax list for 1760 includes two slaves. One may have been Jethro, who is known to have been with Ebenezer in 1763. Jethro is the only slave named in Ebenezer's estate inventory. It is very likely Jethro who was beaten by Thomas Diall in 1764. Ebenezer brought him to court for the offense and for trespass and won a judgement of 9 shillings and court costs.

Grave of Ebenezer Ellingwood 

While neither of these are in my direct line of ancestors, they are close relatives of my many times great-grandparents and it is likely that they had contact with each other. I can't help but wonder what others in the family thought about slavery, equality, and the humanity of native and African people. 


http://www.celebrateboston.com/disasters/smallpox-epidemics.htm
http://dougsinclairsarchives.com/ellingwood/ebenezerellinwood.htm


Rev. John Maverick (father of Samuel) - 12th great-grandfather
Moses Maverick (brother of Samuel) - 11th great-grandfather
Abigail Maverick - 10th great-grandmother
Martha Ward - 9th great-grandmother
Martha Tuttle/Tuthill - 8th great-grandmother
Martha Haskell - 7th great-grandmother
Ruth Safford - 6th great-grandmother
Martha Haskell - 5th great-grandmother
Sally Houghton - 4th great-grandmother
Florilla Dunham - 3rd great-grandmother
Nina King Ellingwood - 2nd great-grandmother
Annie Florilla Gibbs - great-grandmother
Fern Lyndell Cotton - grandmother


Ebenezer Ellingwood (father of Ebenezer Jr) - 7th great-grandfather
Joseph Ellingwood (brother of Ebenezer Jr) - 6th great-grandfather
John Ellingwood - 5th great-grandfather
John Ellingwood Jr - 4th great-grandfather
Asa Freeman Ellingwood - 3rd great-grandfather & husband of Florilla Dunham (above)