3 Things They Don't Tell You About Family Tree Research

I'm here to give you the real deal. 

1. Sometimes the facts are just a bummer

I mean, hello, you're researching your ancestors.  SPOILER ALERT: They all died.  Life was tough.  I was heartbroken to learn that one of my great-grandmothers only had three out of her ten children live to adulthood.

Are family trees fascinating? Yes. Sometimes happy and inspiring? Yes.  But if you're expecting rainbows and unicorns every day, genealogy is not for you!

2. You will never be "done"

"Let me just whip up my family tree real quick," said no one ever.  You think you have a small family? So did I!  But guess what? You have no less than 4,096 10th great-grandparents.  That's not including aunts, uncles and cousins.  

But I guess it's the same with every hobby, right?  Musicians always have another song, artists need to create another painting.  

Don't worry, you'll always have another ancestor to find!

3. It's addictive  

In the 4th grade I signed a very official certificate to "Say NO to drugs."  They told me then that they could be addictive from day one.  

Thankfully, I honored my pledge.  But is it possible that genealogy has the same effect on you?  It did for me.

So if you don't want to risk it, just say no to genealogy! 

Call the lawyer

On January 4, 1796 my relative was anxiously awaiting a reply from his lawyer.  My relative was named Jedidiah Morse, Jr.  

Family member name: Jedidiah Morse, Jr.
Years of life: July 23, 1761 - June 9, 1826

Places lived: Woodstock, CT, Charlestown, MA

Tree branch: Pearson
Relation: My 5th great-granduncle (my dad's dad's mom's mom's mom's mom's dad's brother)

My granduncle was the author of geography textbooks used in schools in the newly formed USA.  A few years later, some other guy wrote a geography book and plagiarized dozens of pages of Uncle Jedidiah's text word for word.  So, my granduncle sued him! He was waiting for confirmation by mail that his lawyer would take the case.

Who was the family's lawyer? None other than Alexander Hamilton!

In time, they won their case and it became the very first copyright infringement case in the country, Morse v. Reid.

Here is Jedidiah.

Sources:

Painting of Jedidiah Morse, Jr. painted by his son, Samuel Morse.  Now owned by the Yale University Art Gallery.

Geography book.  Photo taken by me at Samuel Morse's home, Locust Grove, in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Alexander Hamilton Letter.  Online Library of Congress, Alexander Hamilton Papers.

The Puddler

In 1861 my great-great-grandmother Catherine O'Neal was living in what was then known as Conside and Knitsley in the county of Durham.  She was 13 years old and her two of her brothers were already working outside the home.  Patrick was 17 and his occupation was listed in the census as a Puddler.  What is that?!

Family member name: Patrick O'Neal
Years of life: 1844 - probably died before 1890

Places lived: Durham, England

Tree branch: Boyle
Relation: My 2nd great-granduncle (my mom's dad's dad's mom's brother)

See the excerpt below of the census page.

A puddler and his helper manufactured iron in a furnace.  Iron puddlers contributed in a large way to the Industrial Revolution by producing the wrought iron used in railways and bridges.  Puddlers stirred the liquid metal in the furnace with rods that were consumed by the fire in the process.  When the metal solidified, they determined when to remove the "balls" from the furnace for further processing.

Puddling is described as a highly skilled profession and an art. In the Blackhill and Consett area where the O'Neals lived, it was a common profession since the majority of men worked in the iron industry. However, it was also a very dangerous occupation and most puddlers died in their thirties and rarely lived till 50.

Notice in the census above that Patrick's brother, Christopher, may have been his helper, since he is listed as a "Furnace boy" at age 15.

An American Puddler and his helper removing a wrought iron ball in the 1920s.

In the early 1980's, Patrick O'Neal's great-grandniece (my mom) worked in the closely-related steel industry outside Boston, Massachusetts.  However, her profession was a little more comfortable than his since she worked as a manager in a lovely air-conditioned office at Ryerson Steel.

Sources:

1861 UK Census, Conside and Knitsley

Wikipedia: Iron Puddler, and Puddling (metallurgy)

A vision of Britain Through Time

Website: The Small Workshop: Wrought Iron -The Puddling Process

Hastings

The 1940 federal census in Adams, Nebraska was enumerated 81 years ago this month, April 18, 1940.  It showed where my great-grandmother had been living for about 10 years already.  She was sadly referred to as an "inmate" at a place called Hastings State Hospital.

Family member name: Martha E. Goesch Sullivan
Years of life: 1900-1976

Places lived: Nebraska

Tree branch: Goesch
Relation: My great-grandmother (my mom's mom's mom)

See the red underlined row.  Sullivan, Martha | Inmate

This post is about Hastings.  Hastings was originally built in 1889 to house the "incurably insane," which is so sad if my great-grandmother had that diagnosis.  In an upcoming post we will talk about her and her illness.

Where is Hastings State Hospital?  It's in the middle of the country.  However, this part of Nebraska is only about 45 minutes from where Martha was born and less than two hours from where she was raising her three children in Lincoln.  This is what Hastings looked like. 

My great-grandma lived at this hospital in Nebraska for most of her life.

The patients were trained to care for themselves and their surroundings.  Also, Hastings was designed to be self-sufficient in terms of food.  It had surrounding farms with all kinds of animals and livestock for the patients and staff to eat.

Early attempts to treat the mentally ill began in the 1920s.  But the 1950s saw breakthroughs in treatment with psychiatric drugs and rehabilitation therapies.

Hastings State Hospital was my great-grandmother's home for most of her life.  I can only hope that her life there had bright spots.  Perhaps the inside and gardens were pleasant.  

Had I known this information about my great-grandma, I definitely would have stopped by Hastings on our cross-country drive in 1999 just to see the outside of the buildings.  Hastings is right off of Route 80, which is the route we took at that time.  However, we wouldn't be able to stop by now because after 131 years, Hastings was torn down in 2020.

Sources:

1940 US Federal Census - Adams, Nebraska

Asylum Projects - Hastings State Hospital

Should I stay or should I go?

What happens when farm land is running out in your area and your livelihood is threatened?  How will you support your family?

The town of Roxbury, Massachusetts was founded in 1630.  Just 50 years later, farm land was getting tight.  The town of Roxbury bought land that was 70 miles southwest as an outlet for its "crowded" population and called it New Roxbury, later renamed Woodstock.  Who should populate New Roxbury? The would-be residents voluntarily divided into two groups: the Goers and the Stayers.

Goers

The Goers would move to New Roxbury as soon as arrangements could be made.  They were given the southern half of the town and were promised £100, to be paid by the Stayers over the first few years as funds for the first meeting house and public improvements.  The Goers would divide up the land among themselves.

Stayers

True to their name, the Stayers would stay in Roxbury for a time.  Land lots were assigned to them and set aside in the northern half of New Roxbury from the outset.   The size of their lots were at the rate of ten acres for each shilling contributed toward the £100 promised to the Goers.  

What would you do? Are you a Goer or a Stayer?  

My 8x great-grandfather, Henry Bowen, was a Goer.  

Family member name: Henry Bowen
Years of life: 1633 - 1723
Tree branch: Pearson
Lived in: Wales, UK; Roxbury, MA; Woodstock, CT

Relation: My 8x great-grandfather (my dad's dad's mom's mom's mom's dad's mom's dad's dad's dad)

Grandpa Henry is listed on the town sign in Woodstock, Connecticut as one of the original 13 Goers who settled the town.

The Stayers didn't inhabit their side of town until 15 years later.

Woodstock is a beautiful New England town and sparsely settled today. It indeed gave the Roxbury families room to spread out.  The Goers arrived April 5, 1686 - 335 years ago today.

Sign in Woodstock showing the 13 original Goers.  Henry Bowen is third.

Roxbury Road in the center of town in Woodstock, CT

I took a selfie with my 8x great-grandfather's headstone.

PS: During the COVID pandemic, I've definitely been a Stayer.  But outside of those circumstances, I'm an unintentional Goer.

Sources:

Woodstock Historical Society

Dividing the Land: Early American Beginnings of Our Private Property Mosaic, page 62

Woodstock, An Historical Sketch by Clarence Winthrop Bowen, PHD

Street Signs

Sometimes when a family is well-known in the community and lives there for several generations, a street gets named after them.  Here are some street signs named after my family members that I've come across in my ancestry road trips around New England.

1. Webber Road, Brimfield, Massachusetts

Charles Arnold Webber and family lived on this property in Brimfield for many years in the 1800s.  I'm holding his picture under his street sign and he is my 2x great-grandfather.

2. Morse Street, Putnam, Connecticut

Just over the border of Woodstock, Connecticut is Morse Street.  The Morse family lived in Woodstock since the 1600s. Peter Morse, my 8x great-grandfather, was one of the original settlers of Woodstock.  

3. Peake Brook Road, Woodstock, Connecticut

Sarah Peake is my 7x great-grandmother she was one of the first generation of settlers born in Woodstock whose parents were originally from Roxbury, Massachusetts.  Sarah Peake lived to be 99 years old (1702-1801).  Peake Brook Road was named after their family.

4. Harris Road, Cumberland, Maine

The huge Harris family lived in Cumberland and North Yarmouth, Maine for several generations in the 18th and 19th centuries.  Harris Road is just a couple miles from Turkey Lane and Gray Road, where other Harris family members lived. Amos Harris was my 5x great-grandfather. 

"Captured by the Indians"

Living in newly settled territories in the 1600s was not without danger. John Harris and his wife, Amy, were some of the early settlers of North Yarmouth, Maine after moving there from Charlestown, Massachusetts.  That area of Maine, which is just north of Portland, was already known for raids by Native Americans.  John became a victim.  

Family member name: John Harris
Years of life: 1630 - 1695
Tree branch: Pearson

Places lived: Charlestown, MA; North Yarmouth, ME
Relation: My 8x great-grandfather (my dad's dad's mom's dad's mom's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad)

See the highlighted section of the Harris Family portion of the book "Old Times in North Yarmouth, Maine".

Yes, my 8x great-grandfather was captured by Native Americans in 1688 when he was about 58 years old.  At that same occurrence, a prominent citizen named Capt. Walter Gendall was killed.  Grandpa Harris was not the only one captured that day, it seems he was one of many.  

What was it like to be captured?  We don't know what it was like for Grandpa John.  At that time, Native Americans killed the majority of their victims.  Many were held for ransom or sold.  But interestingly, many captives were adopted by the tribe.  Adoption was practiced on a large scale by Native Americans in order to produce peace between the tribe and others. Part of the adoption ceremony stated "you are now one of us" and they were treated as family from then on.  Several firsthand accounts of captured colonists relate that, when given the opportunity to return to their English family, they actually preferred to stay with their new Native American family.

We don't know if Grandpa John was ransomed, let go, escaped or rescued by force.  We don't know how long he was in captivity (days? months?) or how much suffering it involved.  But it is possible that his captivity with the Native Americans in Maine was not torturous, but instead peaceful.

Grandpa Harris passed away seven years later in Rowley, Massachusetts in March, 1695, which is 326 years ago this month.

Sources:

Book "Old Times in North Yarmouth, Maine" by Corliss

Captured by the Indians: 15 Firsthand Accounts, 1750-1870