"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 

The Key to the City

I have a great-aunt who was described as "famous" many times in early 20th century newspapers.  She was even given the Key to the City of Boston in 1924.  Why?

Family member name: Fannie H. Titus Hazen
Years of life: 1840-1930
Tree branch: Pearson

Places lived: Vermont; Massachusetts
Relation: 3rd great-aunt (my dad's, dad's, mom's, mom's sister)

Fannie Titus Hazen was famous for being four things:

* An Army nurse during the Civil War under Dorothea Dix

* Founder and President of the Massachusetts Army Nurses' Association for more than 25 years

* President of the National Association of Army Nurses of the Civil War for two years

* One of the last living Civil War Army nurses

In my possession is an original 97-year old photo from that day.  Here it is. Isn't it fabulous?

Also, a Titus family scrapbook had an article about the occasion. Here is the cutting. It states "In return for a gold key to Boston, Mrs. Fannie T. Hazen, 84 years old, president of the Massachusetts Army Nurses Association, yesterday presented Mayor Curley with a history and record of Civil war nurses."

From Vershire, Vermont scrapbook of Titus family.

Sources:

* Titus family scrapbook photos and articles

* The Cambridge Chronicle - August 9, 1924 (link to Cambridge Public Library website)

* Vermont in the Civil War (link to Fanny's page)

400 years since the Mayflower: Oceanus

I learned about my 11th great-uncle in elementary school.  I never forgot his name.  But at the time I had no idea we were related.

Family member name: Oceanus Hopkins

Lifetime: 1620 - before 1627

Places lived: The Mayflower; Plymouth, MA
Tree branch: Smith
Relation: My 11x great-uncle (My my dad's mom's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's mom's dad's brother)

My 11th great-grandfather's wife was pregnant when she stepped foot on the Mayflower.  Her name was Elizabeth Fisher Hopkins and she and her husband Stephen and her two step-children were starting a new life in America.

Elizabeth famously gave birth to the only baby born aboard the Mayflower.  They appropriately named him Oceanus.  His exact date of birth is not known, but had to have been between September 16 and November 21, 1620.  Records indicate that Oceanus unfortunately passed away in childhood sometime before June 1, 1627.

Since Stephen Hopkins is my 11x great-grandfather, then his son Oceanus is my 11th great-uncle.

This picture of the Mayflower II was taken by Oceanus' 9x great-grandniece, Charlotte Smith Webber.

Source:

American Ancestors

400 years since The Mayflower: The Cooper

What did my 10x great-grandfather do for a living? Where did that profession lead him?

Family member name: John Alden
Tree branch: Smith
Lifetime: 1598 - September 12, 1687
Relation: My 10x great-grandfather (my dad's mom's dad's mom's mom's mom's mom's mom's dad's mom's dad's dad)

John Alden was 21 years old when a group of families approached him to join the crew of the ship that would take them across the ocean.  He met them in Southampton, England. Little did he know they were to be called the Pilgrims, and they were inviting him on a historic journey on the Mayflower that would change his life.  

Why did the Pilgrims want him to come along? He was a cooper.

coop·er

/ˈko͞opər,ˈko͝opər/

Learn to pronounce

noun

1. a maker or repairer of casks and barrels.

The cooper was a necessary position on any ship. He maintained all barreled supplies and provisions.

* Do you want your food to stay fresh and airtight, and therefore, not die of hunger?

* Do you want your precious beer to stay in the barrel and not leak out?

If the answer is yes, you need a qualified cooper.  They made many different containers from small buckets to large barrels, or casks.  The casks were made of wood planks and metal hoops that bound the planks together.

As a crew member of the Mayflower, and not a Pilgrim, he was expected to return to England when the ship went back in the spring.  However my 10x great-grandfather decided to remain in Plymouth and on April 5, 1621 watched the boat sail away.  He may have made his decision early on, since he was a signer of the Mayflower Compact, which was written when they arrived in November 1620.

The cooper would establish himself as a valuable member of Plymouth Colony. He and his wife Priscilla would have 10 children, of which I am one of tens of thousands of descendants.

Sources:

Wikipedia: John Alden
Colonial Coopers

Visiting the cemetery in Duxbury, MA with my dad.

The Tambourer

My 3x great-grandmother, Agnes Gilchrest Crosser, was a tambourer by trade.  What's that?

Family member name: Agnes Gilchrest Crosser

Lifetime: 1820 - 1895
Tree branch: Anderson
Relation: My 3x great-grandmother (My mom's dad's mom's mom's mom)

How do we know she was tambourer?  The 1871 Scotland Census mentions her occupation.  See it highlighted in red.

In French, le tambour means the drum.  It's where we get the word tambourine.  But was my 3x great-grandmother a drummer? No, probably not.  Here is the definition of the word tambour.

a: an embroidery frameespecially : a set of two interlocking hoops between which cloth is stretched before stitching

b: embroidery made on a tambour frame

She most likely was an embroiderer.  Throughout the centuries, when fine clothing with embroidery or beading was made, it was done by hand.  Even though machines have been invented to add beads to fabric, upscale, haute-couture clothing even today is still embroidered by hand.

The tambourer uses a tambour hook tool and fabric stretched tightly across a frame to create beautiful designs.

Here is an example of a fancy Victorian dress that was made around the time of this Census.  Perhaps Grandma Agnes was commissioned to add the detailed embroidery to dresses like this.

Sources:

1871 Scotland Census for Bothwell, Holytown

London Embroidery School - A brief history of tambour

Dream With my Hands

You Tube - Tambour Embroidery: Basic stitch

Warleigh Manor

Do you like British historical TV shows about upstairs/downstairs stories like Downton Abbey?  It turns out my ancestor was part of the "downstairs" staff in a grand English country manor.

Family member name: Charles King

Lifetime: 1775 - 1868
Tree branch: Bromley
Places lived: Near Bath, England

Relation: My 5x great-grandfather (my dad's mom's mom's dad's mom's dad's dad)

An Ancestry.com member kindly posted this scan of some old King family notes.  Notice the area I highlighted in red.  It mentions Charles King, born in 1775, was "for over 50 yrs. valued servant of Skrines, Warleigh M[anor]."

Warleigh Manor is just outside of Bath, England.  It was built in 1815.  If Grandpa Charles was hired as a servant at Warleigh as soon as it was built, he would have been 40 years old at the time.  

I have questions!!!  

What were his duties? Was he the butler? Did he live on the grounds? Or were there servants quarters inside the Manor House? He must have been very "valued" if the family kept him on for 50 years.  He would have been 90 years old when he retired!  Maybe the Skrines thought of him as part of the family, like Carson on Downton Abbey.

Whatever his profession in "service", he did it well.  Congrats Grandpa Charles!

PS: More about Warleigh Manor

* Warleigh is a small parish outside of Bath with a population of 1,759

* The Skrine family bought the land in the 1600s 

* Henry Skrine finished building the current Manor house in 1815 

* It is a lovely early example of a Tudor villa with Victorian additions

* It remained in the Skrine family for seven generation, until the early 1960s

* From the 1960s until the late 1990s it was a reform school for the most emotionally troubled pre-teens in England

* Around 2000, it was sold and underwent a fabulous restoration and now is broken up into luxury "apartments", one that is 4,500 square feet

Links to sources and pictures:

The Bathford Society

Video: Flying around Warleigh Manor, Bath

2018 pics of renovated interior

Descendant of Kings

Yes! I finally found a British King in my family tree!  I am a descendant of Kings!

Family member name: Charles King

Lifetime: 1775 - 1868
Tree branch: Bromley
Places lived: Bath, England

Relation: My 5x great-grandfather (my dad's mom's mom's dad's mom's dad's dad)

Sorry to get your hopes up, but he's not a member of the royal family. heehee. His last name is King.  But, this post is NOT just about a play on words.

Charles was born in Bath, England in 1775 and lived for 93 years, long enough for photography to be invented.  Another descendant of Mr. King generously shared his family photo online for others to see.

This post is simply to say:

* I can't believe that we have a photo of someone born in 1775.  

* And that person is my 5x great-grandfather.  

Here he is!  What do you think?? Is he a sweet grandpa or a curmudgeon?  Please leave a comment below!