Vale End Cemetery, Wilton, NH

In the spirit of Halloween, I wanted to do something spooky and I had seen an article online about a supposedly haunted cemetery in Wilton, NH. Since it was a beautiful autumn day and Wilton is only about 20 miles away and one of my ancestors (Caroline Gray) was from Wilton, it seemed like an appropriate destination. Unfortunately, research is difficult in Wilton, because all the records were burned in a town hall fire in the 1860's and Caroline was born in 1822, so we have little information about her family besides her father's name (Joseph). The cemetery is called Vale End and since it was small, I walked around reading stones to see if there were any Grays there. I did not see any names from my family tree at all. And, I did not see any ghosts. However, it is a beautiful site, up on a hill, with a small pond visible through the trees. I did get lost looking for the cemetery and then drove past it before I could read the sign. The road was so narrow that I had to drive about half a mile up before I could find a spot to turn around. That was actually fortuitous because the area is so beautiful that when I found a spot to turn around, I parked and got out to take pictures. While I did not find any family information at Vale End, I did see another, much larger, cemetery at the beginning of the road that I would like to check out on a warmer day. On the way back, I stopped at the absolute best nursery in NH – House By the Side of the Road. I got myself a little birthday present, a cute mini African violet.
So, no family found, no ghosts seen, but still a great day.

The website for ghosthunting in NH is:
http://www.hollowhill.com/nh/nh.htm

Tomb of Seth Webber and Joseph Grammer

I had an appointment in Boston on Tuesday so I thought it would be a good opportunity to go back to Copp's Hill and see if I could find the tomb stone of Joseph Grammer, since I now have the maps to guide me. We took the T from Arlington Street to Haymarket and walked the Freedom Trail from Faneuil Hall to the cemetery. It was very warm and sunny, and I was surprised there were no bright fall colors to the trees. When we finally wove through the tourists and reached the gates of the cemetery – they were padlocked shut! There was no sign and neither the tourists nor we knew why they were locked, but I feared it was due to vandalism. So, we walked around to the back of the cemetery, where I knew the stone was located. I could see what I suspected was the stone right up close to the fence, so I found a toe hold in the bricks, grabbed the wrought iron bars and climbed up. I am a big chicken, so I didn't jump over (I could have, but I was still worried about vandalism or something and I didn't want to mess up a crime scene). Anyway, I was able to lean over the fence, upside down, and take a picture of the stone. I'm sure that was a very attractive sight from the road! And, I am the clumsiest person I know, so just picture my poor mother on the sidewalk below, ready to catch me if I fell! The stone seems to be sunken, I could only see Seth Webber's name and the date. But, otherwise it seemed to be in good shape. I am going to use some of the references in the Chauncey Wells book to research who might be buried in that tomb. According to the author, the names of all those buried in a tomb are not always on the stone, and the names were sometimes put on the stone when purchased and many years later that person was buried elsewhere. I stopped at the gift shop at the Old North Church to ask why the gates were locked, because if it was some long term damage or construction or whatever, I wanted to warn other researchers who might be planning the trip. The teenagers working there were all like "Duh, are they locked?" Apparently, the official gatekeeper must have called out sick and no one else thought to unlock them :) They did mention that it is managed by the National Park Service and that is who one should call to confirm that the cemetery is open.

Finally got the Charles Chauncey Wells Book!

Well, I gave up on the library and ordered the book from Amazon. I was ordering a few other books anyway, so I just broke down and spent the $19.95 for it. I found Joseph Grammer, Date 1806/10/11, Conditions (of stone) “sun, soi, ms” = sunken, soiling, mower scars, Location W-68. His stone must be one of the stones that fell and were damaged, because it is along the stone wall on the Charter Street side, according to the map. This photo is the general location. I will be in Boston several times in October, so I plan to make another trip to the cemetery to see if I can find the stone and if it is at all readable. I might try to make a rubbing, depending on if it is readable, if rubbings are not banned and if there is any security around to catch me. I am still reading the book, so there may be more family history in it, such as one name that jumped right out at me was Susannah Gray, died 1798. I know there are Grays in the family, so I will check to see if she is one of them.

Library Book

Still waiting for the Copp's Hill guide from the library. Went to check on it and they had a note that "something" was requested for me, but didn't know what or if the request had actually been processed! Put the request in again and am still waiting. Maybe I should have just ordered it off eBay, but I want to be sure my anscestor is mentioned in the book before I spend the money. Trying to be patient.....

Cotton Mather

I am still waiting for the book on Copp's Hill Burying Ground, so I went to my local library to see what they had on Cotton Mather. I found The Life and Times of Cotton Mather, by Kenneth Silverman. I am only about half way through this huge book, and I admit I have skimmed a few pages here and there, but so far it is very interesting. Cotton Mather was the son of Increase Mather and they were both very famous ministers in early Boston. They are both buried at Copp's Hill. I had a vague negative memory from my past reading of history that the Mathers were pretty brutal to the local Native Americans, mostly in an effort to convert them to the English language so they could convert them to their puritan form of Christianity. This book is very vague on that subject, though. While on the one hand, I think Cotton was a disturbed religious fanatic, on the other hand he tried to do what he thought was right and he did quite a bit of scientific research and wrote about it, those writings still survive as documentation of early New England nature, weather, landscape etc. What bothered me the most was that the fire and brimstone preaching of 300+ years ago is still alive and well in some of the evangelical churches today. I find that very frightening.

Copp's Hill/Who is Etta?

I searched on google and found a library that can get the book Boston's Copp's Hill Burying Ground Guide and I put in a request for it, so I won't have to buy it. Not sure how long it will take, but probably less than a week.

As for who is "Aunt Etta" in the picture: I searched the 1900 and 1910 Federal Census for Massachusetts and found Charles Lund Grammer with his wife Henrietta. He was my grandmother's father (William Dowe Grammer)'s brother. His wife could certainly have been called Etta, but they had no children in either census, so we still do not know if it was her, or who the children were. A mystery.

Copp's Hill Burial Ground - Freedom Trail

I was planning a visit to Boston recently to walk the Freedom Trail, so I included a stop at Copp's Hill Burial Ground. According to family research, my ancestor Joseph Grammer was buried there in 1832. The cemetery is in a beautiful spot, with views of the harbor and the Zachim Bridge and the old brick townhouses nearby. Because the trees were all leafed out, some of the view was obscured, but the spring or late fall would be a great time to visit. The British used this cemetery as a staging ground for their canons to shoot at Charlestown during the Revolutionary War. Unfortunately, the stones are badly deteriorated and most were unreadable. It looked like the city tried to preserve as many as possible, even using the fallen stones as part of the stone walls around the grounds. It is not a very big area, but I had some impatient people with me, so I couldn't read every stone and I did not find Joseph Grammer. However, I saw on Amazon.com that there is a book called Boston's Copp's Hill Burial Ground by Charles Chauncey Wells. Here is the description of the book:

"This work chronicles Boston's 2nd oldest Cemetery on the North End and tells about the famous and interesting personages buried here. It includes a section on The Boston Tea Party of 1773, Revolutionary war soldiers buried here, finding missing North End residents, Boston's North End churches, the development of the modern funeral, 1985 gravestone inventory and detailed maps. It reprints a 1878 work by Wm. Whitemore on Copp's Hill epitaphs and is indexed. "

I am saving my pennies to order this to see if Joseph Grammer is mentioned and also to read about the interesting history of that place and time. Meanwhile, I will also be checking libraries to see if any of them have this book available.

Untitled Pictures of Ancestors

I have a picture of two women and three children in a formal pose, with no writing on it. I is a "tintype" and has deteriorated over the years, however, I had a copy made back in 1978, which is in pretty good shape, so at least the image has been saved. When my grandmother gave me this picture, she told me it was her Aunt Etta, her mother, a cousin, here, another cousin and that it was taken in 1906. When I shared this with my cousin Kevin, who is also researching the family, he asked "Who is Etta?" and "Who are the cousins?" I hadn't really thought about it, so I went to the library to use Ancestry.com and see if I could find out.

Trip to National Archives - Waltham

Had a great visit at the National Archives on Tuesday, what a beautiful place! I hadn't been there in over 10 years, so wasn't sure what to expect, but it is very clean and modern and quiet. The staff were very helpful and I got quite a bit of good research done.

I first looked up Thomas Peters in the census for 1880, 1900, 1910,1920 and 1930. Unfortunately, the 1890 census was destroyed by fire many years ago and there was no backup copy. I checked the censuses for "occupation or trade" and the old writing was VERY difficult to read, so here is my best guess of what they said:

1880 - resided in Framingham, occupation "works in woolen mill"

1900 - resided in Cambridge, occupation Fireman Factory

1910 - resided in Cambridge, occupation [fireman, foreman, fariman?] factory, stationary (?)

1920 - resided in Cambridge, occupation [foreman or fireman?] Rubber shop

1930 - resided in Cambridge, occupation blank, he would have been retired by this point

I then searched for his Naturalization papers, since it showed in the 1900 census that he was naturalized and year of immigration (1862), I went to the Soundex file, found him and with the information on his index card (on microfilm) I requested to see the record. I was a little disappointed to see it was very brief, two half sheets of paper, but I felt like I was entering Fort Knox getting into the room to see it. I had to apply for a "researcher's card" with ID, leave absolutely everything on their counter, and go into the next room where the paper was on the table like the Magna Carta next to a magnifying glass (handy!) and a pencil and a piece of scrap paper in case I wanted to take notes. I read the papers and requested a photo copy ($.75 a page, good deal). The papers, dated October 26, 1887, didn't give much information, though, only his birth date of 15 December 1853, arrival in New York March 25, 1868 and was born in County Tipperary, Ireland.

Well, I didn't know about the County Tipperary part, so that was cool. Also, I had searched the Boston Passenger Lists for him and found one Thomas Peters whose information was close, but not quite the same as ours, now I realize I will have to search New York Passenger Lists, if they are on Ancestry.com at the library ::::fingers crossed::::::

Not sure what the next step will be, I have to process this information first and then decide.

More on Thomas Peters

Well, I actually found some notes from 1995 (!) and the family story is that Thomas went to MIT. A quick search of MIT's website shows they have been in existence since the mid 1800's. First, I want to get the details from the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 censuses that I could not see at the library. I was planning to plant my veggie garden today, but it's raining and I have no other pressing business, so I might take a drive down to Waltham. I want to see what the censuses say about his occupation, that will be a clue to how feasible this whole going to college story is. I like to find out what my ancestors occupations were because I feel like the Irish immigrants working in the mills were a part of the Industrial Revolution and for better or worse, that is something that changed the world.

A Harvard Man?

Well, even though I have been doing genealogy since 1978, my mother JUST recently told me that her great grandfather, Thomas Peters, went to Harvard. I have no idea why this never came up before, but her family was difficult to research, so maybe I just didn't ask her the right questions. On the surface, this story seems farfetched. I know the family lived in Cambridge, but as far as I knew they weren't wealthy, but I do remember my grandmother, Thomas' granddaughter Margaret, telling me the reason she never learned to cook (she was the worst cook I have ever known, to be frank) was that her mother always had servants to cook for her until her father lost the money (maybe gambling? the memory is vague here). So, it's possible, now what? I went online and did some research and discovered that Harvard has a library that is open to the public and I can go there and look up past students.

What do I know about Thomas Peters? He was born in Ireland in 1852. According to 1880 census, age 29, birth year 1851, Ireland, occupation "works in woolen mill". According to the 1920 census, he emigrated to the US in 1860. Boston Passenger Lists, arrival date 22 September 1860, est year of birth 1849, port of departure Liverpool England, port of arrival Boston, Massachusetts.

What I will research: Check out that Harvard library, will be cool even if we don't find anything. Go to National Archives, Waltham, and get more details from census records that were not available on the library's Ancestry.com subscription, in particular the 1920 and 1930 censuses about occupation. Find 1900 and 1910 census info. Also, search for marriage and death records. Thomas' daughter Margaret was born in Framingham, so that is one place to consider. I believe Thomas and Mary Anne died in Cambridge, but not sure where they are buried, ask Mom. We are planning a trip to Mount Auburn in Cambridge, just because it is a beautiful garden style cemetery, but if they are buried there that would be a bonus. However, I seem to remember visiting their graves in a smaller cemetery closer to the Arlington line????