52 Ancestors Challenge ~ Week 21 A Mystery Solved

Visiting Fayette Corner Cemetery all those years ago, I found my 3rd great grandparents and some of their children, including their son Charles Foster Kent who served in the Civil War.   The inscription on his tomb stone indicates that he was a member of the 14th Massachusetts Battery, fought in the battles near Petersburg, sickened and died at L.I.N.Y. July 10, 1864, aged 20 years 11 months.

At the time, I found a book in a library "Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the Civil War" which lists him as a Private, a resident of Fayette, Maine, enlisting in Feb 1864 and mustering that same month.  It indicates that he died of disease July  10, 1864 at Long Island, Boston.  I did not have a problem with this discrepancy.  Long Island is a harbor island in Boston that has been home to many things, at one time a hospital during the Civil War. 

Now that more records have become available through Ancestry, I recently came across the following two records.   He did indeed die at Long Island, New York at Grants Hospital.

In the following record, it is listed as Grant's General Hospital Willet's Point, Long Island NY.

I am proud of this brother to my Great great grandmother for enlisting.  I can only imagine the grief his parents and siblings experienced. The blow to his father to lose a son who helped with the livelihood of the family.  I am grateful that communities still recognize and honor those who have lost their lives serving their country, long after their families have gone as well.

52 Ancestors Challenge ~ Week 23 A Wedding

Frank Eugene Temple and Annie Schandelmeyer.  These would be my Great Grandparents on my father's side.  My uncle tells me this is their wedding photo, November 1892,  Hopkinton, Massachusetts.  Frank was born in 1872 and his occupation is listed as Bootmaker.  Annie was born in 1870 to German immigrants.  Her father died in 1880 and she is listed as a Domestic on the marriage record.  Frank was the oldest of 12 children.  He and Annie had 7 sons and 1 daughter.  My dad is named for him and grew up in the house next door.

I wish I could verify if this was a wedding photo or not.  I do know that it is unmistakably my Great Grandparents standing in the center of the photo.

52 Ancestors Challenge ~ Week 19 ~ Finding Family When I Least Expected To

I am still so far behind, but trying to catch up.  The optional theme for this week.....There's a Way.

My interest in genealogy began around 8th grade, visiting cemeteries with my parents near Memorial Day and putting geraniums on graves.  My grandmother was living with us at the time and so we went to a cemetery in Foxboro, Massachusetts, to visit the grave of her mother.  There we found a headstone with her grandfather and his wives and children listed on it.  No one had ever mentioned her grandparents before, other than her grandfather had red hair like she did, and no one mentioned he had wives and children other than her mother!  After my grandmother died, we found a family bible, listing his other wives and children.   I decided I wanted to try to research my ancestry through the women, which is not terribly easy and I wasn't completely successful.   Internet searching was a start and led me to the library in Harvard, Massachusetts which led to an inquiry through the Historical Society in Harvard, Mass. where a genealogist for the society provided me with transcriptions of all kinds.  A will from 1779, an inventory of his Estate, the settlement of his Estate, a pedigree chart, and an excerpt from Mayflower Families through Five Generations, indicating that through two ancestors I descend from Pilgrim Edward Doty.  Fascinating!  And I am grateful for the response of the Historical Society.

In the family Bible, my 2nd great grandmother is listed as Sarah Jane Kent from Fayette, Maine.  I held onto that piece of information but had a hard time even finding Fayette on a map.   About 20 years since discovering that line in the bible, my brother invited my sister and I to go camping in Winthrop, Maine.  This was a campground he had been visiting for a number of years.  I jumped at the chance to take my young children camping with extended family.  I put the location into Mapquest and just about fell off my chair when I saw Fayette was a neighboring town!!   Not only that, but also a town named Kent's Hill.  We drove around and found a few cemeteries.  My 4th great grandparents, Bethiah Turner and Warren Kent, are buried in a small cemetery in Kent's Hill.  In Fayette Corners Cemetery, behind a church, we found my 3rd great grandparents, Martin (son of Warren and Bethiah) and Almira with several of their children, buried in a row.

My attempt to trace my line through the women hopped around a bit......
Grandmother Jesse Olive (Whittemore) Franz (1898-1984)
Greatgrandmother Mabel Scott (Whittemore) Whittemore (1879-1962)
2nd Greatgrandmother Sarah Jane (Kent) Whittemore (1838-1894)
3rd Great grandfather Martin Holman Kent (1807-1889)
4th Great grandmother Bethiah (Turner) Kent (1768-1829)
5th Great grandmother Bethiah (Foord) Turner (1723-1773)

52 Ancestors Challenge ~ Week 18 Finding a Connection to Louisa May Alcott

I fall further behind, as this week should be #21!!  The theme for week #18 is Where There's A Will.  I managed to come across a will and inventory of an ancestor's estate close to 15 years ago thanks to a genealogist with the historical society in Harvard, Massachusetts.

The most exciting find in this packet of documents she sent to me is that Captain Simeon Turner, my 5th great grandfather, owned the property and farmhouse that Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane rented in 1843 for their Utopian experiment and named "Fruitlands."  Simeon Turner purchased the property in 1773, moving north and west from Marshfield, Massachusetts.  His first wife died within their first year here.  Fruitlands has been restored and is now a museum with artists in residence, a beautiful spot for weddings and events.  I need to visit to see how much if any of my ancestors' original home is still there.
  

In the pages detailing the settling of his estate, there is a listing of his heirs.  This provides me with several more avenues to explore if I'd like to.  It also confirmed my line, indicating that his daughter Bethiah is the Bethiah Turner who married Warren Kent from Marshfield, Massachusetts and moved to Readfield, Maine and Kent's Hill.  (I had been attempting to trace my line through women, which can be rather tricky as they are just tick marks and not named in early Census records)  Through these documents, I also discovered the real name of one of Warren and Bethiah's sons.  According to Census transcriptions, their son's name was "Duvelle," which really puzzled me.  Reading these documents, I discovered that Simeon Turner's mother's maiden name was Dwelly.  He had named two sons Dwelly, one dying very young and the second being one of his two sons by his second wife. That makes so much more sense for their son's first name than "Duvelle."

"In the fourth year of American Independence," Simeon Turner gives "one half the Real Estate Farm Land premises in said Harvard on which farm I now dwell"   "in consideration of the love and good will which I have and do bear towards my son Consider Turner of said Harvard.......and also in consideration of $6000.00."  This document was written in November 1779 and recorded in December 1781.  As he nears the end of his life, the other half of his farm and buildings is divided into thirds between his second wife and the heirs of some of his sons.

On May 17, 1802, Simeon Turner, 84 years old, writes his last will and testament.  By this time, . three of his sons are deceased leaving four sons and two daughters.  He leaves his second wife as much of his estate as is necessary for her support and also his great bible while she remains his widow.  He also leaves her all the household furniture she brought with her at the time of their marriage.   He bequeaths $20 to the heirs of his son Prince Turner.  He bequeaths $1 to his son Elisha Turner.  To his daughter Bethiah, wife of Warren Kent, he bequeaths $20.  To his daughter Rachel, $125 as well as his side saddle, six silver tea spoons and his three green dining chairs. Rachel is unmarried at this time.  He bequeaths $16 to his granddaughter Nancy Newman, daughter of his deceased son Luther.  To his sons Dwelly and Caleb and the heirs of his deceased son Simeon, he bequeaths all the rest and residue of his estate to be equally divided.  His son Consider is not mentioned, but he had purchased one half of the farm twenty years earlier.

There are pages detailing the selling of his property and the settlement given to all his heirs, including the heirs of his son Elisha who is also deceased by this time.  The selling of the divided parts of the property  to Samuel Sprague took place from 1806 through 1818!  It appears that Simeon's widow remarried and had purchased a portion of the house and property from Dwelly and Caleb (Simeon's sons born to her).  I cannot tell definitively from these pages, but it appears that Sprague still owned the property when it was rented to Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane.

52 Ancestors Challenge ~ Week 17

Oh I'm terribly late but trying to catch up!

On this date in 1898, my grandmother was born, the oldest of two girls.  I've been told she was named for her uncle; that two brothers James and Jesse named their children after each other.  As I look over records, I would more think she was named for her aunt, my great grandmother's sister who died at the age of 26 when my great grandmother was 14.  Jessie Almira died 8 months after her mother.  It is hard for me to fathom that my great grandmother lost her mother and sister in such a short span at such a tender age.

My grandmother had red hair like her grandfather.  My mom tells me she wanted to be a teacher like her namesake.  Instead, she married at 18, gave birth to 9 children, raising 7 to adulthood.  Her sister and sister-in-laws only had one or two children. She and her husband lived with her parents until roles were reversed and her parents lived with them.  While my mother and her siblings went to public school, my grandmother had a large burlap cloth tacked on a wall that changed with each month while her children were growing.  She would cut out letters and decorate it for the seasons as a teacher in school would.  Papers and projects from her children would be tacked here as well.  My grandmother was "editor-in-chief" of a family newspaper.  It was a delight to see she had saved some of these in a suitcase with old letters and photos.  Her children were to write stories, poems, draw cartoons or pictures, and submit articles.  It was great reading.

Gramma Jessie had a sweet and gentle disposition.  I never heard her raise her voice and I think my mother will vouch for that as well. She had such a love for children.  As I read through some of her journals written when her husband took a job at a Christian college in New York, she is always having people in for coffee or supper, and very often watching children for other faculty members. In their 70's, she and my grandfather took care of a little girl a few days a week while the little one's  mother worked.

Paul and Jessie with the beginnings of grandchildren.  They would end up with 36!  My oldest brother is the chubby little one on my grandfather's lap.

 Her husband cherished and adored her and when she had her first major heart attack in the 1960's, he took her to Florida and monitored her diet, cooking salt free and giving her plenty of fruit and vegetables.   I remember a few visits we were able to make in the early '70's, the long drive from Massachusetts, pulling into their driveway and seeing my grandfather brushing her hair and braiding it into two braids for the night.   She kept her red hair long and swept up in a bun until she died.  He watched over her so carefully it was a shock that he died first, suddenly in their home in Florida of a heart attack.   She lived six years without him spending her last few with my parents.

She exemplified the love of Jesus Christ.  Self-sacrificing, giving, loving, patient, gentle and kind.  Her heart's desire was that her children and grandchildren would know her Savior and she prayed over them daily.

52 Ancestors Challenge ~ Week 16

The optional theme for this week was "Live Long."   That leaves me no choice but Mary Estella Whittemore McDonough.  Mary was born in March of 1863 in Londonderry, NH.  She was the first born of Henry Joshua Whittemore and his wife, Esther M. Goodwin.  She had four brothers and one sister.  At some point the family moved to Hyde Park, Massachusetts, where her father was a music teacher.

 Mary married Charles McDonough, a lawyer, in 1896.  She was 33 and a teacher, he was 24 and a lawyer. She and Charles lived most of their married life in Brookline, Massachusetts.  I found a public family tree on Ancestry.com with pictures of Charles and Mary and a death date listed for Charles as November 1960.  I found Mary still living in a city directory in 1963 but I cannot find her after that.  I have not been able to locate any record of her death nor a cemetery where Charles is buried....hoping that I would find a picture of a headstone perhaps with her information on it as well.  It seems as though she lived to be 100, at least.  I found someone else on Ancestry who had also attached these pictures to their tree.  This individual's father-in-law was Mary's nephew and he lived to be 101!!  I am guessing these genes for longevity must be from Mary's mother's side of the family.  Amazingly, her picture is below on the right.  She and Charles' mother are seen visiting Plymouth Rock.  Mary's mother, Esther, was widowed in 1903 and from family records I believe she died in 1927 living with Mary and Charles for those remaining 24 years.

Mary and Charles had no children of their own but Mary had a heart for children and a desire to see them come to know their Heavenly Father and be saved for eternity.  She wrote child evangelistic material for the Christian Missionary Alliance church.  My great grandmother was a camp director for inner city youth during the 1920's and 30's.  She would go in to Cousin Mary's for Bible Study and preparations for the camp program.  My mother remembers riding the train from Wilmington, Massachusetts in to Boston to visit Cousin Mary.   I still have many questions unanswered for Mary but I feel incredibly fortunate to have stumbled upon these pictures of her, her spouse, and her mother and mother-in-law.  I wish I had a picture of Mary with my great grandmother.

52 Ancestors Challenge ~ Week #15

This week's "How Do You Spell That?" theme is a bit tricky for me.  For the most part, my ancestors have fairly straightforward names.  There are a few that have sent me creatively searching, switching first and middle names.  My 3rd great grandmother's name is Sylvania Amanda (Jenness) Whittemore, or perhaps it is Amanda Sylvania.  She married Charles Foster Whittemore in 1868 and died in Manchester, New Hampshire in 1906.  Her son, James Lyman, married my great grandmother, Mabel Scott Whittemore.  (Her father, Alfred, was a younger brother to James' grandfather, Jesse)

In looking through census records, I found my great grandmother Mabel listed in the 1910 census as Maybelle.  I chalked that up to the whim of the census taker.  A few weeks ago I came across my grandmother's wedding book and was so very surprised to see this

Under Witnesses, the bride's mother has written her name as Maybelle!  So, perhaps for a time in her 30's and early 40's, she fancied a different spelling of her name!  

52 Ancestors Challenge ~ Week 14

Thinking of Alfred Whittemore this week.  He was born April 9, 1830 and died April 12, 1903.  He was the youngest of 6 brothers and a few sisters.  This is a picture of the 6 brothers, Alfred is back row on the left.

 He buried 3 wives.  The first died shortly after childbirth with their son.  I believe he had one daughter from his second marriage who lived to marry and have at least one child of her own.  He had 6 or 7 children with his 3rd wife.  Two of the girls lived into their 20's, and one daughter and son lived full lives.  He moved from Foxboro, Massachusetts into Charlestown and Malden Massachusetts.  He was a candy salesman for Schraffts and ran a bakery.  He was also a deacon in Maplewood Baptist Church when it was established in the late 1800's.

This is a picture in front of his bakery in Malden.  His daughter, Mabel, is beside him with Carl, the baker, beside her.  I think Mabel is about 15 in this picture.  She is my Great Grandmother!   She will be the topic for another post.  Her dad, I am told, had auburn red hair.  Mabel had two daughters, one having his color red hair.  She was my grandmother.  Alfred died when my grandmother was 5 years old, but my mother always tells the tale that Alfred was tickled that she had his color hair.Alfred is buried in Foxboro, with his parents and sisters and some of his brothers.  There was a stone with Alfred and his wives and children all listed on it, but I am not sure it is still standing.   I wish there were more pictures of him but I am grateful for these two.

Pulling a Thread ~ 52 Ancestors Challenge Week 12

I am ridiculously late joining the 52 Ancestors Challenge!  Here I am with my first post at Week 12!!!  The theme is SAME and I chose the althernate theme....going with two ancestors with the same first name.  

It all started with a little book.

 My mom let me have this book years ago and it was packed away in a box of children's books when we built our home in 1998!  I forget what I was looking for that led me to that box recently, but I came across these little books.  I had always assumed this book belonged to my mom and her sisters as it was inscribed "to the little Franz girls, with love Aunt Lydia."   Looking at it this time, I realized the date was completely wrong for it to be my mom and her sisters.  I wondered if her Aunt Lydia had an Aunt Lydia.  The thread pulling began.

Searching at Ancestry.com I began to look for Lydia Franz without success.  I changed my thinking, and looked for Lydia Stotz, my mom's Grandmother's maiden name.  The thread came easily!  I found her in census records and passport applications!  She was sister to my German Great Grandmother.  I showed my mom her passport application and picture  and my mom was amused.  When my mom was about 13, her aunts commented that she was going to be  "big like Aunt Lydia."  On her Naturalization petition, she is 39 years old, 5'9" and 190 pounds.  At 13, my mom was broader shouldered than a few of her brothers.

I discovered Lydia in the 1910 census as a servant in the home of Brooks Adams (grandson of John Quincy Adams) and his wife Evelyn. They were living in the Beacon Hill section of Boston and five servants are listed in the census: three Irish women, one English woman, and Aunt Lydia who is German and employed as the seamstress.  She is 30 years old.  Her sister Pauline is married and living not far from Boston with three boys ages 16, 13, and 12 (my grandfather), and four girls ages 10, 8, 5, and one month old.  The baby in 1910 is named Lydia!  One more girl would be added to the family in 1912.

In the 1920 census, Lydia is now seamstress for the Koshland family, a merchant in the Wool industry.  This family has a home on Beacon Street in Boston as well as a summer home on the coast in Beverly, Massachusetts.  She accompanies them on their travels and I was thrilled to find a picture of her on her passport application in 1924.  She is 44 years old and 5'9".

 The Koshlands are German and were from California before coming east to Boston.  They leave their homes after the crash of '29 and live briefly in a hotel in Boston and then in a hotel on 5th Avenue in New York City during the mid 1930's through 1940.  At some point they return to California and in 1944 she and her employer die within a few months of each other.