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. 

A Business Deal

They were not related, but they're both related to me.  I found their business contract in the Woodstock, Connecticut Town Hall labeled "Morey to Morris".  Let's read it.

Date

February 24, 1775 and in the 15th year of his Majesty's reign

What was Purchased

"A certain tract or parcel of land... by estimation thirty acres be the some more or less with the dwelling house and barn thereon standing and shop adjoining"

Where

"Woodstock in the County of Windham and Colony of Connecticut in New England"

The Seller

Family member name: Ephraim Morey

Lifetime: 1710-1794
Tree branch: Pearson
Relation: My 6x great-grandfather 

The Buyer

Family member name: William Morris

Lifetime: 1740-unknown date of death (after 1790)
Tree branch: Pearson
Relation: My 5x great-grandfather

Price
"The sum of One Hundred Pounds"

I love that my ancestors knew each other!

I scanned this document from a book of land records from the Woodstock Town Hall in 2016.

How I am related to the buyer and seller. You can see that William is from the Morris side and Ephraim is from the Titus side (both from my paternal line).

Here is the book.  There was an index at the front where I saw their names so I didn't have to look through every single page.  But I did end up looking through as many books as possible that day. This picture was taken in the 2 seconds that the lady left the room.  No pictures were allowed, but scanners were allowed. (huh?)

Source:

Woodstock Land Records, Vol 6, 1743-1787

The Lexington Alarm

Today is April 19.  245 years ago today the Battle of Concord and Lexington began the American Revolution.  A newspaper article written in 1902 about my family said that one of my ancestors fought in those battles.  Did he?

Family member name: William Morris
Tree branch: Pearson
Lifetime: 1740 - died sometime after 1794
Relation: My 5x great-grandfather (my dad's dad's mom's mom's mom's dad's dad)

See my previous blog post with a full transcription of the article. The article stated,

"Mrs. Titus, too, seems to have come from a family as patriotic as that of her husband, for her paternal grandfather, William Morris, was in the battle of Concord and Lexington and rose in the service until he became a first lieutenant."

Wow! Imagine that, what are the odds?!  Upon reading it, my emotions went from awe to disbelief in about one minute.  (But it was a fun minute!)  I had to investigate this William Morris person.

William Morris was born and lived in Woodstock, Connecticut, not to be confused with Woodstock, New York of music festival fame.  Woodstock is 68 miles from Lexington, Massachusetts.  In April 1775, William could not have fought in the Battle of Concord and Lexington because those battles were fought by Minutemen who lived in those towns and who mustered to Lexington Green in a minute after being awakened by Paul Revere.  Grandpa Morris was simply not there.  The article was incorrect.

However, here is the excerpt from William Morris' military service which may be the cause of the confusion.

"William was clerk of the company which marched from Woodstock in response to the Lexington Alarm."

What is the Lexington Alarm? Once Paul Revere stopped riding, other messengers got on their horses to pick up where he left off.  They rode to other towns to give them the news about Lexington and Concord.  Town militias had already been organized all over New England and the other colonies.  When these volunteer soldiers heard of the fighting, they marched "for the Relief of Boston," including 34-year-old William.  The Lexington Alarm began with Paul Revere's ride and continued with the colonies' response to the beginning of the war.  The Lexington Alarm is not the name of the battle on April 19.  (See timeline on nps.gov)

About 10,000 men marched for days to help defend Boston from the British.  Besides the Rhode Island volunteers, who were somewhat equipped and organized, the rest of the men could hardly be described as "in the military." After reading firsthand accounts of the situation, the camps in the fields and meadows around Boston can only be described as makeshift shelters full of filthy, drunk men. (OK, now you can think about Woodstock the music festival, but with no women or music.)

Since Grandpa Morris only served six days in the Lexington Alarm, they probably marched to Boston, saw they were not needed, then went home to Connecticut. He later served in other regiments.

Here is the link to his page on the Daughters of the American Revolution website: Ancestor #A080956

Researching family history in Woodstock, Connecticut, 2016.

Don't touch the headstone

Yes, I love hunting through cemeteries for my relatives. (Shout out to my husband and mom who come with me and are amazing finders of headstones, which can be needles in haystacks.) Yes, I seek dead people.

This is a quick post with a helpful trick I have found for documenting headstones.

Gravestone rubbings are so 20th century. Some people consider this not only a way of preserving the information on a headstone, but of preserving the art of the actual headstone.  This was ok when every human didn't have a camera in their back pocket  Also, unfortunately, rubbing the stone may cause more deterioration.  Please let it be.

But there are drawbacks when using a camera to document the wording on a headstone.  Moss, weathering and bad lighting are not your friends.  For example, I took this picture of my 8th great grandmother's headstone that has been in Woodstock, CT for over 260 years.

Can read the words? Are you sure??  Argh! After traveling for hours, the last thing you want is for your pictures to be unclear.  So here's my trick.

1. Take the best picture you can.
2. Then take a video of the same headstone and of your voice while reading the words out loud.

Simple but effective. Watch this clip.

Then when I get home and I want to document the dates and wording, I'm not second guessing myself. So, just for the record:

"In memory of Mrs. Hannah Peake, ye wife of Mr. Jonathan Peake, Dec'd October 16, 1756, in ye 90th year of her age."

Family member name: Hannah Leavens Peake
Tree branch: Pearson
Lifetime: 1666-1756
Relation: My 8x great grandmother (my dad's dad's mom's mom's mom's mom's dad's dad's mom's mom)