Star Island - Isles of Shoals NH

 This week I had the amazing opportunity to stay at the Oceanic Hotel on Star Island. I had been there once, around 1990 for a day trip, but never had a chance to go back. I got an email about a three day conference that included yoga and meditation and all forms of self-care, as I approach a big birthday I decided to sign up as my birthday present to myself.

I also had another reason to want to go to the Isles of Shoals. There is a story in my family about a woman who went to work on the island for the summer and "came back pregnant." I'm sure this is not an unusual story, especially for those times. I did a bit of research on Ancestry.com and asked questions of the older family members before I went. What I had found out was that the baby was born 12/26/1896. That seemed to belie the story already - that would mean the baby was likely conceived around March or April of that year, well before anyone would be going to the islands. Then, while I was there I found out that Star Island only became a destination for summer folks in 1897, so that means the Oceanic Hotel on Star Island is not where she worked. I am still doing some research to see if it's possible she worked on Appledore Island? But, so far it seems that that was basically an "artist colony" and was sparsely populated until the 20th century. Well, it's a mystery and I'm okay with that.

Here are some photos of the island:

Test

I have been locked out of this account for many years and I am just trying to see if this works.

Going to Ireland to see where the Carrolls came from

I will be going to Ireland with UNH for a course on comparative studies.  At the end of the course, I am staying a few extra days and traveling to Cork.  My great-grandfather, William Joseph Carroll, came from a small town called Cloughduff. Sometimes it is spelled Cloughduv. It is a few miles west of Cork city.  Also, in that area is the port from which most of the Irish who left during the famine years sailed.  My great-grandfather left from that port many years after the famine, he arrived in Boston in April 1887.  That port was known as Queenstown, but has since been renamed Cobh.  There is a heritage center there where I can learn more about the port and the experience of the people who emigrated in the 19th century.  There is also an exhibit about the Titanic because Cobh was its last port of call before it sank.

Although this is not a New England genealogy post, it is relevant for two reasons. The first reason is that this blog is about my family and my genealogy and Ireland is a big part of that. And, the second reason is that Irish immigrants were a huge influence on Boston and the culture of New England in general. 

I plan to write more and post pictures when I return, or sooner if I can get an internet connection.

Family Health History

When I recently went to get my eyes checked and get a new prescription for glasses, I thought it was going to be a routine eye exam. I was quite shocked when the doctor got all serious and started telling me that because of the shape of my eyes, I am at higher risk for “acute closed angle glaucoma”. It is a congenital thing, having to do with the actual shape of my eyes and the fact that I am far sighted. He had actually told me this two years ago and I blocked it out of my mind. This time, he felt my eyes looked a little worse and scheduled some very intensive tests. My mind was spinning when I left his office because I kept remembering the stories my grandmother (Margaret Howes) told me about her mother (Margaret Peters) going blind: “She cried and cried and cried and then her tears dried up and she went blind.” I asked my mother if she remembered this, but her grandmother died before she was born and she did not remember the stories. She called her last surviving aunt to see what she remembered and Aunt Franny (Frances Hugleman) said her mother was living with her (Fran’s) sister Sal (Sally Ennis) in Medford, Massachusetts, and one morning Sal went in to wake her up. She said “Ma, are you going to get up?” and her mother said, “Why? It’s the middle of the night!” Sal said, “No, it’s bright daylight!” and that is when they knew she was blind. My mother also called her sister Kay (Catherine Reinold) who might be old enough to remember the event, and she said she remembered the same stories as I. The doctor told me that if I had an attack, I would be in excruciating pain and then within hours I would go blind. Since neither of these stories mentions being in pain, maybe my great grandmother had a totally different condition, and in 1940 it might not have been fully diagnosed. However, the doctor did tell me to put warm compresses on my eyes twice a day to “save what is left” of the little pores that allow tears and oil to be secreted and create a film over my eyes when I blink. I think this problem is more related to excessive viewing of computer screens than anything genetic. However, since the risk of glaucoma is a genetic factor and I know of at least one possible case in the family, I was glad to have that knowledge.
I found some interesting articles on the web about recording one’s family history for health reasons. Here is a short and simple 5 step article to explain how to do it: http://amberskyline.com/treasuremaps/family-history/why-you-should-research-your-family-history-and-your-family-health-history.html
I am going to read through the information I have available for my family and see what health conditions show up as trends in the family tree. I want to record this information for my children and grandchildren so they have as much information available to them as they might need.

The Hunt Room at Nashua Public Library

I went to the Nashua Public Library today to use their computers. They have Ancestry.com and Newspaperarchive.com subscriptions, so they are a good local resource for research. I also decided to look for some information about Nashua's history and the computer showed that they had books of Vital Statistics for City of Nashua from about 1875 to 1935. They are kept in the Hunt Room and unfortunately, I could not find any index, so I looked through chronologically, page by page until my parking meter ran out and I had to stop. This is a resource that I did not know existed and I will go back another day to spend more time on it. They also have a book about the history of Nashua's neighborhoods, which I would also like to read. I used the microfilm to look up an obituary in the Nashua Telegraph and was able to eliminate a possible family member. The Telegraph is not really indexed, so I would need to have approximate dates to look up any events or special interest stories, but it is good to know it is available at the library.

Spring in New England

I have decided to make a concerted effort to write in this blog more often. It was a very long, difficult winter for me, but I am feeling the renewal of Spring and have started doing historical research again. First, a friend bought an old house near downtown Nashua, NH, and was wondering about it's true age. I have been researching the house and it's former residents in order to write a little history book for her. Then, I went to a "ghost hunt" at the Country Tavern in Nashua, NH (http://www.countrytavern.org/), hosted by CC the Huntress (http://www.ccthehuntress.com/index.htm) and hearing her presentation on how she researched the history of the tavern was really fascinating. She did the same research a genealogist would do and then compared her notes to the local myths about the property, finally explaining how some of the truths could have morphed into the myths. Very interesting! Also, it gave me some ideas about how to fill in the gaps in the record about my friend's house in order to write a story about it, in the manner of the American Girl stories - historical fiction.

The snow is almost gone and now I can once again go to cemeteries to do research and also get around more easily to facilities that have limited parking. My goal for Monday is to create a "to do" list of research that I want to work on, so that when I have the opportunity, the list is there.

BTW, if anyone has the chance to dine at the Country Tavern, the food is excellent and if you only have time for a drink, the tavern section is very atmospheric! And, CC the Huntress is a total professional, worth every penny for such a nice evening!

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????