Wordless Wednesday - Tuck Museum

52 Ancestors #17 - William Ham

William Ham is my 11th great-grandfather on my dad's side and my 12th great-grandfather on my mother's side.

William Ham came from England and settled in Exeter, New Hampshire. In 1652, he moved to Portsmouth (Strawberry Bank) and had a grant of 50 acres of land in the area called Freeman's Point. When he died in 1672, he had already lost his son Matthew so his property went to his daughter, Elizabeth, and her sons, William, Thomas, and John Cotton. It is likely that he had more than two children but no other children have been identified.

On June 28, 1636 a letter was written by John Winthrop to Robert Trelawny and it tells of a group of men who were upset with the way Winthrop was handling the finances of the colony. It goes on to say "some of them fell into such mutiny, & they are gone away from the plantation, & do purpose to fish for themselves. They went westward by land, & where they are going I know not... The parties which are gone is Lander, which I doubt is the leader of them all, & William Ham, Oliver Clarke, John Bellin, William Freythey, & John Simmons, 6 in all, & whether they will come again or no I know not."

In 1656, William Ham was one of three men accused by Elizabeth Row of being a witch. Nothing seems to have come of this accusation. I've looked a few places but haven't come up with any more information.

William Ham
Elizabeth Ham
John Cotton
Solomon Cotton
Benjamin Cotton - Brother of Elizabeth Cotton
William Cotton
William Cotton
William Cotton
John Henry Cotton
Francis Llewellyn Cotton
Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Elizabeth Cotton
Margaret Cate
William Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Richard Hayes
Sydney Hayes
George Hayes
Eva Delphinia Hayes
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother



The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database:AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2013.)

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

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

How Did You Get Your Name?

In a Facebook post, Footnote Maven (geneablogger extraordinaire) recently told the story of how her daughter, Heather, was named. It spurred a great set of comments about names. It got me thinking about the decisions parents make about naming their children. I thought I would share some stories from my family. 

Augustus Mellen Carter  

My great-grandfather was Edward Mellen Carter. His father was Augustus Mellen Carter and his grandfather was Elias Mellen Carter. Elias Mellen Carter's grandmother was Mehitable Mellen. That is how the surname entered the lineage as a middle name. Edward Mellen Carter did not give the middle name to any of his sons. I always though "Mellen" was an odd name until I found out its origin. My grandfather, Thomas Richard Carter and his brother, Edward Augustus Carter, both went by their middle names. Their sister, Rebecca Williamson Carter was named for their grandmother, Rebecca Williamson, our most recent immigrant ancestor. Stanley Capen Carter got his middle name from his mothers maiden name. The youngest child, Paul Albert Carter has no obvious connections to any other family names. 

Back: Bruce & Rebecca Williamson (Carter) Bailey, Paul Carter, Frances Arabella Carter, Medora (Baker) Carter, and Fern Lyndell (Cotton) Carter. Front: Gus Carter holding Ann (Carter) Grove, Fannie (Capen) Carter holding Teddy Carter, Dick Carter holding Timmy & Tommy Carter. 

My grandmother, Fern Lyndell Cotton, went by her middle name too. She always said her mother had a flower garden because of her sisters, Ada Lillie, and Nina Mae (she always called her Nina Mayflower). Fern Lyndell (Cotton) Carter had four sons. She used to say that she wanted four boys - Tommy, Timmy, Johnny, and Jimmy. However, after the Tommy (my dad) and Timmy, she named her younger sons, David and Stephen. 

Thomas Richard "Dick"  & Fern Lyndell (Cotton) Carter

Russell "Joe" Yates & Linona "Peggy" (Yates) Blake

My other grandmother, Linona Alice (Yates) Blake came from a large family and their names always confused me. Why was my Uncle Joe's name really Russell? My mom told me that a family member (I think an uncle) gave them all nicknames and some of them stuck so - Georgie became Becky, Lawrence became Rat, Linona became Peggy, Viva became Pilly, Russell became Joe, Carroll became Tom, Laura became Sis, and Bryce became Bud. In adulthood Lawrence, Viva, Laura, and Bryce reclaimed their birth names but I knew my great uncles as "Uncle Joe" and "Uncle Tom" and my grandmother was "Peggy" to most people. My grandmother named her three daughters, Myrna, Kaye, and Loretta for actresses - Myrna Loy, Kaye Francis, and Loretta Young. 

Myrna, Kaye, Loretta in back and Linona Alice "Peggy" seated. 

My middle name is Lyn for my grandmothers' names, Lyndell and Linona. My four sons all have middle names for family members. The oldest is Cameron Stephen for his father, Cameron and my favorite uncle, Stephen. Next is Joshua Thomas for his grandfather, Thomas Robert and great-grandfather, Thomas Richard. Next is Benjamin John for my only male cousin, John Richard Carter, and my ex-husband's closest brother, John Albert Holmes. The youngest is Nicholas Carter for my maiden name. Nicholas is because when we were discussing name, Ben was six and loved the idea of a brother named Nick because his favorite shows were on Nickelodeon. Ben said he was calling the baby "Nick" whether it was a boy or a girl! When Nick was born at 8:20 pm, his brothers thought he was perfect - Nick at Nite. 

My sons (mid-90s) & grandparents

What's the story behind your family names? 

52 Ancestors #14 - John Hayes of Dover

Tradition says that John Hayes came from Scotland about 1680. He is one of my Piscataqua Pioneers - He settled in Dover, New Hampshire. His estimated date of birth is 1660 and he died on October 25, 1708, "seized of a malignant fever four days after he was taken sick; began with a violent pain in his shoulder" (Richmond, 28). He married Mary Horne, probably the daughter of William & Elizabeth (Clough) Horne. William Horne was killed by Indians on June 28, 1689 and Elizabeth (Clough) Horne was killed by Indians on September 30, 1707. Ironically, just months before his father-in-law's death, John Hayes joined 370 other New Hampshire residents in petitioning the colonial government for more protection from the Indians. In March 1693/94, John Hayes was granted twenty-five acres of land near the Tole-End or Tolend and Barbados sections of Dover, New Hampshire, adjacent to John Ham, Jr. Family tradition says John Hayes, the immigrant, was buried on family land and his grave marked by stacked field stones. I found a picture of a memorial plaque placed by his descendants near where his farm was located on Findagrave with the inscription, "John Hayes, the Scotsman, came to Dover about 1680, married Mary Horne, and established a family on the surrounding acres. Their integrity and industry are held in memory by their descendants. 1934."

Signature from 1689 petition

 Children of John & Mary (Horne) Hayes: 

1. John born about 1687 and died July 3, 1759. He was buried in the Pine Hill Cemetery in Dover, New Hampshire. John married Tamsen (Wentworth) Chesley, widow of James Chesley. Her first husband was killed by Indians on September 17, 1707. She died December 30, 1753 and he married second, Mary (Roberts) Wingate, widow of Samuel Wingate. His profession is listed as housewright and carpenter in deeds. he was a deacon of the First Church of Dover from March 1731 to his death in 1759.
2. Peter born about 1688 and died 1757. He married Sarah Wingate. 
3. Robert 
4. Ichabod born March 18, 1691/92 and died June 1, 1734. He was killed by a mill log. His widow, Abigail (Evans) Hayes, married second, William Twombley. 
5. Samuel born March 16, 1694/95 and died 1770. He married Leah Dam. 
6. William born September 6, 1698 and married Hannah Sanborn on November 23, 1720. 
7. Benjamin born September 6, 1700 and died May 16, 1756. He married Jane (Snell) Heard, widow of Tristram Heard, Jr. 
8. Abigail married Nathaniel Fitts on May 10, 1720 and died on June 12, 1738. 
9. Mary married Henry Ambrose.
10. Elizabeth married John Ambrose. 

Used by permission of 1_might_b_1 at findagrave.com

Although the stone is sunken, the inscription is recorded in Richmond's book as follows: "Dea. John Hayes the 1st born of the pilgrim fathers of the N.E. Hayes family Died July 3rd 1759 aged 73 years."

From John, my line of descent is:
John Hayes & Tamsen Wentworth
Hezekiah Hayes & Margaret Cate
William Hayes & Olive ? 
Isaac Hayes & Alice Garland
Richard Hayes & Rebecca Greenwood
Sydney Hayes & Apphia Delphinia Cole
George Hayes & Anna Rowe
Eva Delphinia Hayes & Estes Gilbert Yates
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Sources:
Piscataqua Pioneers: Selected Biographies of Early Settlers in Northern New England.Portsmouth, NH: Piscataqua Pioneers, 2000. Print.

Richmond, Katharine F. John Hayes, of Dover, New Hampshire; a Book of His Family... Vol. I. Tyngsboro, MA: n.p., 1936. PDF.

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. 

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