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.