The Christmas Ship Lady Ellen

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

I was "inspired" this morning by an e-mail from Ginnie Johnson--friend, author and historian in Algoma--to write this blog about my uncle, the Christmas tree ship captain, and his scow-schooner Lady Ellen.  Thanks to Fred Neuschel for much of the content which is from his book Lives and Legends of the Christmas Tree Ships . 

From the January, 1875 Sturgeon Bay Expositor:  "John McDonald is setting up frames for a new vessel which will be ready in spring."

One-armed John McDonald, the brother of my great great grandfather Michael McDonald, was the captain of a Christmas tree ship. In its first voyage to Chicago from Ahnapee (Algoma, WI), in 1876, the scow-schooner Lady Ellen, commanded by Captain McDonald, endured a sad fortune. When Captain McDonald reached Chicago with his load of trees he found the market glutted with Christmas trees and to “add insult to injury,” he had to winter Lady Ellen in Chicago because the season made the return to Ahnapee too dangerous.

Captain McDonald was not discouraged however. The next year he was back in Chicago with another load in time for the holiday in his little scow which was described as an “insignificant looking craft.” But her productivity was worthy of praise enough to be mentioned in the big city newspaper. The little vessel earned $650 for Captain McDonald and “she still had her canvas on.” ($650 in 1876 was worth about $13,400 in 2009 using the CPI)

John McDonald lost his arm at the battle at Stones River, TN in the Civil War. Despite his challenge he was the first owner of the scow-schooners Lady Ellen and Whiskey Pete. He had the skills and he took the opportunity to make himself a successful pioneer in the maritime village of Algoma, aligning himself with prominent local businessmen like Charles Boalt and De Wayne Stebbins (husband of my great great great aunt Frances Elliott Newell Stebbins). Captain John McDonald’s enterprises evolved from commercial fishing to playing an important part as contractor in the building of the Sturgeon Bay Lake Michigan Ship Canal.

Captain McDonald’s “maritime odd couple” were his little workhorse ships: Lady Ellen and Whiskey Pete. The schooner lacked the graceful curved lines that we picture of a sailing ship. The vessel was a simple, shallow, slab-sided box, built from the bottom up to assume a shape that was described as “an outsized cement mason’s mud box… with a few masts, deckhouse and rudder.” The bottom was planked from side to side holding together strong timbers that ran longitudinally from fore to aft. What the Lady Ellen and Whiskey Pete lacked in beauty, they made up for with the strength and shallow draft needed to enter the waters around Door County Peninsula under which lay a bed of stone.
    
The Lady Ellen was built by Major William I. Henry, boat builder, fisherman and Civil War hero and was launched into the Ahnapee River to the celebratory huzzahs of the townfolk. The little ship was witness to just about every seminal event in the maritime history of the town. She helped to improve the harbor as a stone hooker, assisted in the building of the Sturgeon Bay Lake Michigan Ship Canal (along side the Whiskey Pete), took building materials and steam engine to Jacksonport for Hall’s new sawmill and brought back the lumber for building a new bridge over the river at Fourth Street in Algoma. She also was used to salvage cargo and equipment from wrecked vessels. She was a pioneer in taking Christmas trees from Ahnapee to Chicago. Lady Ellen was the only commercial sailing vessel to spend its whole career in Ahnapee as its home port.

The end for the Christmas ship Lady Ellen was not as heralded as that of the wreck of Captain Schuenemann’s Rouse Simmons. Today, what remains of the Lady Ellen is at the bottom of the Ahnapee River. At the end, by the 1890s, the schooner simply sat in the river and went to pieces.

Christmas Memories

Friday, December 24, 2010

I wrote this story for a creative writing class many years ago.  It brings back good memories.

When I reflect on all the Christmas seasons of my life, I have to smile.  I always remember Christmas as family time.  My mind's eye sees visions of Christmases past with sparkling clarity and I realize how completely I am a product of my upbringing.

A tiny five year-old, I hop nervously around my mother as she hangs up the Christmas stocking Nonnie made for me.  Have I been good enough?  What if Santa doesn't like peanut butter cookies?  After all, I don't.  Maybe he'll miss our house; there are so many others to stop at. 

My older brother and sister wake me in the middle of the night.  Blurry-eyed in wonder, I sit below a giant Christmas tree which is surrounded by boxes, beribboned and bowed.  I shiver with excitement.  I guess I WAS good.

In the mind of a seven year-old who knows secrets I shouldn't, Christmas eve  brings too much exhilaration to sleep.  The secret it out; the mystery is over.  I know more than they want me to.  From the top of the stairs, I witness Dad orchestrating the decorating of the tree.  As quiet as a mouse, I scamper back to bed, wishing I could be part of Christmas-in-the-making happening in the living room below.  It means so much to Mom and Dad to believe that I'm still naive.  I can't squeak now. 

At 15, I can't understand where parents get their crazy ideas.  "We could use that white aluminum artificial tree in the basement," Mom states as calmly as if she didn't know the kind of reaction it would produce. 

"Well you can bet I won't bring anyone I know to this house at Christmastime!" I retort in disbelief.

"Just wanted to know if you were listening," Mom chuckles back.

As a 30 year-old mother, the magic of Christmas for me is in the sparkle in my children's eyes.  We hang up their stockings and put out a plate of peanut butter cookies for Santa.  Mandy reads us Christmas stories; Ryan sets up the Nativity with baby Jesus and the "three wise guys".  We talk about the naughty and nice behavior of children in our house.  I want them to believe.  They'll only be kids once and they're still too young to know the secret.

The years pass by so quickly.  They're already teenagers--15 and 13.  This year, as we sit discussing our plans for the holiday, I can't resist.  "Maybe we shouldn't buy presents this year.  We could save a lot of money that way."

"NOT!  NO WAY!"  Ryan and Mandy retort, sure that their mother has gone off her rocker.

"WAY!"  I shoot back, playing their vernacular against them.

I let the kids gaze upon me in disbelief for a few second.  "Just wanted to know if you were listening."  I chuckle to myself as history repeats itself.

Merry Christmas everyone!  

What Makes Me Smile

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Today I found a copy of the Bonduel Middle School Grizzly Gazette, November 2010 issue, on the kitchen table.  The Gazette is written by eighth grade communication arts students at the school. 

In addition to a nice article about the school's W.E.B. (Where Everyone Belongs) Program, there were two stories about Coach VerBruggen, aka Mr. V., that caught my attention.

8th Grade Football Team
By:  Danny T. and David P.

"The eighth grade football season went pretty well.  The team's record was 5-1 with Witt-Burn as their only loss.  There were about twenty-six boys on the team.  Coaches for them were Coach VerBruggen and Coach Bergsbaken. 

Their first game was against Shiocton in Bonduel, which the Bears won by one or two touchdowns.  It was close in the beginning, but they pulled away with the win at the end. 

Their next game was a blowout against Tigerton/Marion at Marion.

Oconto was their third game at home.  They won that game by about one touchdown. 

The next game was against Witt-Birn.  It was close, but Witt-Birn pulled off the win.

Wega was their last home game, and they won 56-0.

Then their final game was at Manawa, and the Bears won somewhere around 52-8.

In conclusion, the eighth grade boys were pretty successful this season.  They're just hoping they'll do this well, or better, as freshmen.  Good luck with that!"

"Good luck with that!" just hit me funny and made me laugh out loud.

Then, a few pages back...

Algebra
By:  Kevin J and Benjamin R.

"With Mr. VerBruggen, the new 8th grade math and communications arts teacher, it's fun doing algebra.  There is no reason to be afraid of it.  He is very good at teaching and explaining all the details.

This year there are enough 8th grade students who qualified for algebra to fill a class.  Rather than schedule them in a high school class, which had been done for many years, Mr. V. has taken on the challenge of teaching them.

It is fun doing problems once students have learned how to solve them.  Even a/5 X 6/5 = 12/5 isn't very hard really.  All you have to do is divide everything by 5, and then the equation is:  a X 6 = 12.  Divide each side by 6, and you just did algebra.  So try it and join the fun!"

That just cracked me up!  It looks like Mr. V. has indeed taken on a "challenge" teaching them Algebra!  I'm very sure that Mr. V. would NOT tell them to "divide everything by 5" (they would reverse operations and multiply both sides by 5 or 5/1).  Then they can divide both sides by 6.  I think Kevin and Benjamin might need some more fun Algebra practice!  Maybe they should be a little more afraid of Algebra.  :-)

The Tracy Clan

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Martin Tracy was the patriarch of our American branch of the Tracy clan.  He came from County Tipperary around the time of the infamous Potato Famine in Ireland--about 1852.

It is likely that the lure of land available in the young state of Wisconsin encouraged great-great-grandfather Martin to move from New York sometime after 1854.  Prior to leaving New York state, daughter Mary was born.  (Census records show her born in New York and age 16 in 1870.)

Martin and his wife, Elizabeth "Louisa" O'Brien Tracy--who was also born in Ireland--made their homestead a farm in the town of Franklin in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin.

Franklin, Kewaunee County Wisconsin Plat Map of 1876
See M. Treasay below and to the left of the letter F in Franklin in quad 19. 
Note the Dewane properties adjacent in quad 30.

The births of their sons soon followed:  Jacob James about 1858; Patrick in 1861 or 1862; John about 1864; Terrence Ambrose, July 25, 1866; and Martin about 1871.

Martin Sr. was "of a kind, forbearing and charitible disposition, had a good word for everyone and spoke ill of no one; hense he was without an enemy.  The many truly Christian traits of character which he possessed are worthy of emulation" according to his obituary.  Being an exemplary Catholic, he was fervently religious.  The family worshipped at the St. James Catholic Church in nearby Cooperstown, Wisconsin.

Martin was one of the pioneer settlers of the locality described as "one of that sturdy band who made their entrance at this place when it was an inhospitable wilderness, who opened up the dreariness of its primeval forest to the light of day, and by much endurance and industry implanted therein hospitable homes, and laid the foundations for improvement and prosperity, exemplifying the fruitfulness of honest labor, and the blessings of Christian fortitude, thus installing in the hearts of their offspring a sense of the duty which they owe to themselves and to posterity and of their obligation to their country and to God."

Just a few years after the birth of their youngest son, Louisa died (about 1873).  In the 1880 census, only Martin and his sons appear on the family homestead. 

Nothing more is known about the daughter Mary but it could be presumed that she married and moved away.  I don't have any information about what became of their son John either.  Jacob died February 11, 1880 at age 21.

Father Martin died on Friday, November 29, 1889 after a six week illness.  His obituary, published in the Kewaunee Enterprise  on December 6, 1889 poetically described his passing. "One by one the members of that philanthropic band of pioneers are called from the scene of their labors.  They are satisfied; their work is done:  they have lived the full quota; their hair is silver; their sight has grown dim; their voice, feeble; their step inelastic; they are ready to go; and silently, as leaves of autumn fall, the flickering ray is extinguished, and they are gone; laden with the merits of benefactors, they are ushered in to the heavenly atmosphere, where all is peace and love." 

His sons were left alone to make their way in the world.  Patrick married Miss Johanna Finnell, the daughter of James and Sarah Hall Finnell, on May 3, 1892 at St. James Church.

Terrence went to Wausaukee in the northwoods to take up logging.  Martin followed him and lost his life in 1895 when he was killed by a log. 

The Enterprise announced that Mr. Terrence Tracy of Wausaukee married the well-known school teacher Miss Mary DeWane of Franklin on Tuesday, September 10, 1895. 

Go here for my blog about Terrence and Mary Ellen (De Wane) Tracy.

To Mom

Monday, September 6, 2010

Today I'm remembering your wisdom of Sophocles.

"Children are the anchor of a mother's life."


"It is the task of the good to help those in misfortune."


"There is no sense in crying over spilled milk..."


"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life.  That word is love."

...And, your favorite (perhaps Nietzsche?):  

"The dumbest dogs bite themselves!"


I love and miss you Mom.

George W. Wing, the Father of The OWL

Friday, September 3, 2010

I wrote this article for the Kewaunee County Historical Society for their anniversary celebration this year.

George W. (G. W.) Wing

George W. Wing was the “father” of the Kewaunee County Historical Society. He wrote stories endlessly and documented all aspects of life from the earliest pioneer days of Wolf River (Ahnapee, later Algoma) and Kewaunee, Wisconsin.  From “how Ah-ne-pe got its name” to politics to the Indian lore of the Winnebagoes, G. W. Wing wrote about it. His stories also included those of his own family’s history in a newsletter he named The OWL (Our Wing Lineage).

Four Generations:  Left to right: George W. Elliott, George W. (G. W.) Wing, George D. Wing
and Mary (Elliott) Wing

G. W. Wing was the son of a prominent Kewaunee attorney, Rufus Wing, and Mary (Elliott) Wing. Rufus and Mary Wing had followed her father--my great, great, great-grandfather--a surveyor and justice of the peace named George W. Elliott, to Wolf River in 1858 from Chilton, Wisconsin.

G. W. Wing, having had experience at age 15 starting the Ahnapee Record newspaper with Charles W. Borgman in 1873, set up a small printing press in the upper story of his Kewaunee home for his 12 year-old-son, George Dikeman Wing, and called the place The Owlery. There, George W. and his son wrote The OWL as a family newsletter. “We ‘hoot’ monthly for fifty cents a year” advertised young editor George D. Wing in Vol. 1, No. 1., September, 1899.

Initially G. W. and George D. interviewed all of the local relatives in my family—the Elliotts, Halls, McDonalds, Stebbins and Wings—for the paper. Their articles shared tales of overland journeys from New York to the wilds of Wisconsin territory in 1839; first hand accounts of Civil War experiences and Revolutionary War diaries; photos and drawings; and, of course, the begets and begots of each collateral family back to the arrivals of our ancestors to Governor Winthrop’s colony in 1632.


The paper also included newsy updates about new births and who had visited whom sent in by corresponding Wings and members of family branches. These tidbits were chronicled in columns called “Kith and Kin” and “Winglets”. “Our Household Department” featured the favorite family recipes submitted by the ladies. The newsletter caught on. It really caught on.


Soon this “family newsletter” was being subscribed to by the likes of the New York Public Library. Within a year, The OWL was publishing extensive ancestor pedigrees mailed in from Wing relatives living far and wide and others researched by G.W. and George D.  By October, 1900, The OWL was hooting monthly for a dollar a year.


Given the extent to which this project must have occupied the time of young student George D., his father took on more and more of the work of family correspondence. There was an ever-growing interest by Wing relatives and much research to be done.


Then G.W. Wing visited the homestead of the earliest Wing ancestors in Sandwich, Massachusetts. There he met distant Wing cousins and saw the original homestead of the family founders in America. The idea for a family reunion and creation of a Wing Family Association (WFA) was proposed in The OWL in 1901.


George W. Wing was frequently asked how the first family reunion was planned. He wrote: “In the spring of 1901, with members of my family, while upon an eastern tour, we drifted down upon Cape Cod…. We visited and marveled at the rare old patriarchal homesteads and came away filled with the wonder and pride of it all. On the way home…. we tarried for a day (at Chicago) as guests of the hospitable family…John Mansir Wing and his sister, Anna. Around their board in after dinner chat we told of the wonderful things we had seen at Sandwich, of the dignified, proud old ancestral homes there belonging to us, and of the warm and cordial reception of the resident kinspeople. Cousin Anna listened to it all in rapt attention and finally exclaimed, ‘Let us all go back and hold a family reunion there next year.’ The idea took root; we discussed the feasibility; talked of those whom we might interest in the movement; and from that hour the Sandwich reunion of 1902 was a surety.”


Plans were in the works and a date set--June 21-28, 1902. The reunion would be held at the ancient homestead of the Wing family matriarch Deborah and her sons in Sandwich. Addresses by prominent family members and readings of papers and poems were scheduled. A “handsome souvenir badge” was designed. The founding father of the WFA, its first president, was George W. Wing who was affectionately called Col. Wing (based on his role as division colonel in the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War). By March, 1902, The OWL had become “A Genealogical Quarterly Magazine” and a real deal at $1 a year or 25 cents for a single number, still published by George D. Wing in Kewaunee.


The reunion was held, papers of incorporation for the Wing Family of America were filed, and The OWL continued to be published quarterly through June 1934. Eventually its publication was moved to Massachusetts. It became an annual issue in 1936 and, except for a few instances, has been printed yearly as The OWL to this day. And the reunions are still held—nearly every year. The house of The Owlery still stands on Milwaukee Street in Kewaunee today.

George W. Wing, who, in his career, was an attorney by age 21 and became County Judge in 1885, died April 12, 1924 in Kewaunee. The OWL didn’t let the story of G. W. Wing’s impact go unrecognized. Many articles honored the man who started it all with his idea for a family newsletter. In addition to his son George Dikeman Wing, G.W. and his wife Isabel (Dikeman) Wing had two other children: daughter Grace and another son, Charles. Grace became the keeper of the family documents and outlined much of the family’s ancestry and descendants. Some of her family remains in Wisconsin today.


I often wonder what George W. Wing would say (or write) if he could have known that what he began as a little newsletter writing project will celebrate its 109th anniversary this year as one of the oldest family history associations in America and that his OWLs have become one of our family’s most treasured heirlooms.


For more information about the Wing Family of America and the impact of George W. Wing, see www.wingfamily.org .

Home of The Owl, Kewaunee, WI

Dr. James William Tooley

Tuesday, August 31, 2010



Dr. James W. Tooley

His death certificate says that his occupation was "gods."  His business was actually "dogs" and all manner of other creatures--great and small.  My great grandfather, Dr. James W. Tooley, was a well-respected veterinary surgeon and dentist. 

James William Ephraim Tooley was born in Wells in the County of Norfolk in England in November, 1871 to William James Tooley, a farm laborer, and Rebecca (Page) Tooley.  Sometime after his sister Mary's birth in 1873, James and Mary (and perhaps other family members including a half-sister Ethel) emigrated from England to Toronto, Canada.

Dr. Tooley completed his education at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, near Toronto,  in 1896.  On February 7, 1902, he arrived in the United States via the Wabash Railroad at Detroit, Michigan.  He made his home and built a large veterinary and dental practice at Algoma, Wisconsin.  In December, 1903, he was appointed as Assistant State Veterinarian of Wisconsin. 

In Algoma, he met Frances Louise (McDonald) Phillips, the young widow of Professor Elbert M. Phillips.  Frances had one son, Elbert Phillips, Jr.  James and Frances surprised their friends when they were married at the Protestant Episcopal parsonage at Escanaba, Michigan on July 21, 1904.

Elbert Phillips, Jr.

A baby daughter Marjorie, was born in Algoma in 1905 but did not survive.  Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where another daughter, Agnes, was born.  She too did not survive.  Daughters Winifred Helen and Frances were born in Fond du Lac.

Winifired Helen (left) and Frances Tooley

Dr. Tooley, or "Boppo" as he was referred to by family members, later practiced in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  While living in Green Bay, he became a United States citizen. 

Dr. J. W. Tooley is remembered for his love of animals and Frances "Donnie" for her baking--especially her caramel cake.

Frances and Dr. James Tooley

James and Frances lived long and fruitful lives.  Boppo died October 26, 1957 at age 85 in Green Bay.  He was buried at the Rienzi Cemetery in Fond du Lac.  Donnie lived to age 91 and died October 6, 1965 in Green Bay.  She was buried next to baby Marjorie in the McDonald family plot at the Evergreen Cemetery in Algoma.

       

Boppo with J.T.T. and friend



Paul Revere's Ride

Friday, July 30, 2010

Nearly 200 years after his death, Paul Revere, a man whose name was relatively unknown outside of Boston in his time, is widely celebrated for his patriotic ride.   

Born in 1734, Paul Revere was the son of Apollos Rivoire, a French immigrant, and Deborah Hichborn, the daughter of an artisan family in Boston.  Father Apollos, a goldsmith, changed his own name to Paul Revere.  Son Paul was the second of perhaps as many as 12 children and was the oldest surviving son.  Paul Revere's home, in the picture below, is Boston's oldest building. 

Paul apprenticed with his father from whom he learned gold- and silversmithing.  Silversmithing was his primary vocation and he operated a silver shop for more than 40 years, employing many journeyman apprentices.  He created copper plate engraving and silver pieces from spoons to tea sets that are considered outstanding examples of American decorative art.  Perhaps his most interesting work was as a dentist.  He cleaned teeth and wired in false teeth carved from walrus ivory or animal teeth.

Paul Revere was a commissioned second lieutenant in the colonial artillery.  As were many prominent men in American history, he was also a Mason.  He was politically active and gathered intelligence by watching movements of British soldiers.  He was also a courier, riding express messages to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and news of the Boston Tea Party to New York and Philadelphia.

It was the night of April 18, 1775 for which he is perhaps most well known.  Having received directions to ride to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of approaching British soldiers, his "midnight ride" was immortalized by Longfellow in the poem Paul Revere's Ride .  It is not often mentioned that it didn't happen quite that way. 

Paul Revere Statue in Front of Old North Church

 
 

...But mostly he watched with eager search

The belfry-tower of the Old North Church,

As it rose above the graves on the hill,

Lonely and spectral and somber and still.

And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height

A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!

He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,

But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight

A second lamp in the belfry burns!

Although Longfellow's poem is not historically accurate (read the actual accounting in the writings of Revere here), it does present a patriotic tale of the times.  Paul Revere is credited with the IDEA of displaying one or two lanterns in the church bellfry but it is unlikely that he, in fact, saw them displayed in Old North Church.  And, he most certainly did not cry "the British are coming!" as it was "the British" who lived in Boston at the time.  More likely his message was "The Regulars are coming out!"  And, although he did provide many patriotic gratuitous journeys, he fully intended to, and did, submit a bill for his messenger services. 

It still makes a great story, doesn't it?

The Cradle of Liberty

Monday, July 26, 2010

Boston's Faneuil Hall is the Cradle of Liberty. 

A wealthy merchant, Peter Faneuil, built the hall in 1742 as a center of commerce.  Its first floor held shops (and does yet today) but its second floor meeting hall is its true legacy.

It was at Faneuil Hall, in 1764, that Americans protested the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act setting the doctrine known as "no taxation without presentation" and leading to protestations of the Townshend Act and of Redcoat occupation.

The statue in front of the Hall is of Samuel Adams in honor of his great statesmanship.  He created debate at town meetings in the Hall and held the funeral for the Boston Massacre victims here.  

The third floor houses the Headquarters of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts which is the third oldest chartered military organization and the oldest in the western hemisphere.

Atop Faneuil Hall is the most famous weathervane in Boston.  The golden grasshopper weathervane was so well known that it was used during the War of 1812 to spot spies.  If you didn't know what is on top of Faneuil Hall you were suspicious!

Faneuil Hall was rebuilt in 1763 after it burned down and redesigned in 1805.  Today, 24 times a year, 300-500 new citizens take the Oath of Allegiance at Faneuil Hall and are sworn in as new citizens.  There couldn't be a more suitable place to welcome new United States citizens.

Old South Meeting House

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

One of America's most historic sites was once scheduled for demolition and narrowly escaped the wrecking ball.  

Old South Meeting House, the home of some of the most dramatic events leading up to the American Revolution, was built in 1729 as a Puritan meeting hall. 

On December 16, 1773, not wanting to pay the duty on 30 tons of taxable tea that sat on three ships in the harbor and failing to be able to return the tea to England, thousands of Bostonians crowded into Old South Meeting House.  During a heated discussion, the cry rang out "Boston Harbour--a tea pot tonight!" 

Men disguised as Mohawk Indians proceeded to Griffin's Wharf where they destroyed 342 crates of tea.  

As consequences of the "Tea Party" Britain cracked down on the unruly colonists.  The port of Boston was closed, regiments of British soldiers were sent to Boston and Governor Thomas Hutchinson was replaced with British army officer General Thomas Gage.    

This galvanized the colonists against the crown.  Ten months after the Boston Tea Party, the first Continental Congress met in 1774.  The Declaration of Independence followed less than two years after that.  

The rest, as they say, is history.   

 

The Old South Meeting House was saved from distruction by a group of activists in 1877 and incorporated as a museum and historic landmark open to the public.

And, there is a dandy little fruit market outside the front door. 

Benjamin Franklin

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Some consider him to be one of the most notable high school dropouts in American history.
 

Whether Benjamin Franklin could be considered a high school drop out or not is questionable.   What is unquestionable is that Benjamin Franklin was one of America's greatest minds.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston in 1706.  He was christened in the original wooden Old South Meeting House across the street from his home.  The statue of Ben Franklin, above, marks the spot of the original Boston Latin School which he attended.  Unlike three other signers of the Declaration of Independence who attended Boston Latin School--Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Robert Treat Paine--Franklin did not graduate.  His father pulled him out of school to make candles to help support the family.

Benjamin Franklin was a self-taught man.  A printer, publisher, statesman, philosopher and inventor, he created the Franklin stove, the post office, bifocal lenses and wrote Poor Richard's Almanac. 

He wrote at least one of his sayings--one I consider a personal favorite--in a rebus.  Solved it reads: 

The Art of Making Money Plenty in Every Man's Pocket

"At this time when the general complaint is that money is so scarce it must be an act of kindness to inform the pennyless how they can reinforce their pockets.  I will acquaint all with the true secret of money catching, the certain way to fill empty pockets and how to keep them always full.  Two simple rules well observed will do the business.

1st.  Let honesty and labour be thy constant Companions.  2nd.  Spend one penny everyday less than thy clear gains;  Then shall thy pockets soon begin to thrive, thy creditors will never insult thee, nor want oppress, nor hunger bite, nor nakedness freeze thee; the whole hemisphere will shine brighter, and pleasure spring up to every corner of thy heart.

Now therefore embrace these rules and be Happy."   

Truer words were never written.   

On the Freedom Trail

Monday, July 12, 2010

On land that was originally John Hancock's cow pasture sits the beautiful Massachusetts State House.  Its gold dome shines brightly on Beacon Hill.  The dome which is made of wood was overlaid with copper by Paul Revere and later covered with 23 karate gold leaf.  This building is the "new" State House (having been completed in January of 1798) differentiating it from the Old State House (next photo below) on State and Congress streets.

Massachusetts State House

Old State House

The steeple of Park Street Church (seen in the photo above behind and to the left of the water fountain in Boston Common) was once the first landmark travelers saw when approaching Boston.  It was built atop the site of the town's grain storage building thus giving the name to the adjacent cemetery, Granary Burying Ground.  Jacob Eliott and the father of Paul Revere are buried here as well as three signers of the Declaration of Independence:  John Adams, John Hancock and Robert Treat Paine.  Granary Burying Ground is the final resting place of Boston's most famous sons. 

One of the most fascinating things about old grave yards is the ornate headstones.  Because Puritans did not believe in religious imagery, people used tombstones for artistic expression of their beliefs.  Notice the Soul Effigy on the very top front of the stone.  A Soul Effigy is a skull or "death's head" with a wing on each side.  It represents the soul flying to heaven after death.  Jacob Eliott's headstone reads:

JACOB ELIOTT

LATE DEACON OF Ye 3d

CHURCH OF CHRIST IN

BOSTON DEC D  Ye 17TH

OF AUGUST 1693 

BURIED Ye SAME DAY

AETATIS.SUAE 61 

Aetatis.suae refers to "of the age" of 61.  He died August 16th, 1693.  His death was likely from Yellow Fever (Malaria) as there was an epidemic in Boston in 1693.  This would explain why he was buried the day he died.  Yellow Fever often hit port cities like Boston very hard. 

What appears to be stone on the exterior columns of King's Chapel (left) is actually painted wood.  The church is considered to be one of the finest examples of Georgian church architecture in North America.  Next to it sits Boston's oldest burying ground.  It is as old as Boston itself. 

Massachusett's first governor, John Winthrop, is laid to rest in King's Church Burying Ground as well as Mary Chilton, the first woman off the Mayflower.

The burying grounds of Boston are truly laden with history but there is much, much more to see on the Freedom Trial. 

Walking the Freedom Trail

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

For years I looked forward to visiting Boston--the home of my earliest ancestors to arrive in the new colony from England.  Recently, on a cruise to the east coast and Canada, my wish was fulfilled when my husband and I walked Boston's Freedom Trial.

The Freedom Trail was established in the 1960's to preserve the story of about 16 historical sites of the American Revolutionary era on a thee-mile urban walking trail marked with bricks or painted lines on the streets of Boston. 

We sailed into Boston harbor in a ship far more comfortably than Jacob Eliott and John and Abigail Benjamin did back in the 1630's.  On a warm and somewhat humid morning, Thursday, June 24, 2010, we disembarked early from Enchantment of the Seas for a quick taxi ride to Boston Common.

We walked west to reach the statue of George Washington, a stately figure on the Common.

Boston Common is America's oldest public park.  Once referred to as the Common Land, it has been used to graze livestock, hang witches and pirates, encamp Redcoats and celebrate the end of the Revolutionary War.  Today, it hosts festivals and lovely walks.  It is a beautiful place and marks the start of the Freedom Trial.  Join me over the next few posts as I "walk" the trail with you.  

In Honor of My Ancestor

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Many years ago I read the following article when doing family research.  I am always reminded of this on Independence Day.  It was written 7/15/1880 and published in the Record Herald newspaper in Algoma, Wisconsin. 

"It was a bloody, a terrible war of seven years duration.  The struggle of a handfull of poor, scattered colonists against the richest and most powerful nation on the face of the globe.  A war not only of bloodshed, but of privation and starvation and of suffering.  Where the blood shed in the battle indicated only a small fraction of the misery caused; where the soldiers in the field went barefoot, lived on parched corn, suffered through the bleak and dreary winter, and the almost unbearable heat of summer, for the want of proper clothing; destitute alike of food and raiment, and with knowledge that their families were in like destitute circumstances.   Imagine the state of things.  No railroads, telegraphs, steamboats, with common roads that were mere trails through a wilderness; a handfull of men, driven hither and thither, half famished and half naked, their families barely existing at home, the women at work in their little fields and the children gathering nuts in the woods for their winter's bread, and this to last for seven long dreary years.  And all for what?  That you and I, my friends, might live in a free country, where life and liberty were acknowledged rights; where every man was born equal to every other man, with right to aspire and right to hope and become independent by industry and by economy."

My ancestor, Jesse Benjamin, served six years of faithful service in the Revolutionary War.  He was honored with the Badge of Merit by His Excellency, George Washington, Esq, General and Commander in Chief of the Forces of the United State of America.  (George Washington's signature appears below and to the right of the words "GIVEN AT HEADQUARTERS")

 Jesse Benjamin was born October 28, 1758 and he died September 6, 1851.  His grave is at Clayton, New York.

Thank you Grandfather.

Elliott Evidence

I believe my ancestor was Jacob Eliott of Boston.  I think Ella Zerbey Elliott was confused and linked the wrong Chester to our family.

Here's the evidence:

1.  A sketch of the life of George W. Elliott, son of Chester Elliott, was published in Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Brown, Kewaunee and Door, Wisconsin, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Chicago, 1895 by J. H. Beers and Co.  It reads:  "Hon. George W. (G. W.) Elliott, one of the prominent and honored pioneers of Ahnapee and the State of Wisconsin, is a native of New York State, born February 13, 1804, in Martinsburg, Lewis county.  His grandfather, Joseph Elliott, who was a native of Massachusetts, born of English parentage, became a Baptist preacher of no little renown.  He (Joseph) died near Utica, N.Y., when over eighty years of age, the father of a large family by his wife whom he married in Massachusetts.  Of his (Joseph's) sons, Chester, the eldest, was born in that State (Massachusets) whence he came to Lewis county, N.Y., where he followed farming, and was highly honored and esteemed; he (Chester) died of cholera, in 1832 at the home of his (Chester's) son Joseph in Canada...."  This was published when G.W. Elliott was alive and was probably based on a personal interview of him.  G. W. Elliott was the son of Chester and the father of Charles D. Elliott thus he was closer to the generation of his father Chester and grandfather.  So, he should have had better knowledge of the family history than Charles would have. 

 2.  George W. Elliott died in 1897.  His obituary in the Algoma, Wisconsin newspaper says "...His family trace their lineal descent from Deacon Jacob Elliott, who was among the first English settlers to establish themselves at Boston in 1630..."

3.  G. W. Wing, grandson of George W. Elliott wrote in his family history newsletter, The OWL, (page 68, "Where the Elliotts Lived"):  "The late George W. Elliott, who died, July 1, 1897, in his 94th year, stated that his grandfather Elliott was a Free Will Baptist minister, who lived at a place called Bowman's Creek, not far from Utica, New York.  He was uncertain as to the christian name of his grandfather, who he had never seen but on one occasion, in early youth, when the latter came up from Bowman's Creek to visit his son Chester and family at their house in Lewis County.  He described the grandfather, as he remembered seeing him upon this occasion, as 'a man of large frame', and that he believed that his given name was Joseph." 

4.  George W. Elliott's son Irving's obituary (Friday, December 26, 1941 in the Algoma, Wisconsin Record Herald newspaper) states "The Elliott family traditions were intertwined with American history.  The first Elliott came to Swampscott, Mass., in 1628, seven years after the landing of the Pilgrims in Plymouth Rock."  Swampscott is Boston and these early comers would be the brothers Jacob and Rev. John Eliott. 

Conclusion:  Chester's father was probably Joseph Elliott, deacon of the Ames Baptist Church in Conajoharie, New York.  But he most certainly WAS a descendant of Deacon Jacob Elliott who was one of the first new colonists born in Boston, Massachusetts.  Case closed.

Tomorrow we celebrate Independence Day, one of my favorite holidays!  Happy 4th to you all!

Another Elliott Family

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Charles Doty (C. D.) Elliott was the son of George Washington Elliott and the grandson of Chester Elliott.  C. D. Elliott's obituary (d. July 19, 1899) claimed that his ancestor was Andrew Elliott, one of the 12 jury men for the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts.  If this is accurate, then our family's Elliott line did not begin with Jacob coming to America in 1631 because that Andrew is not part of Jacob's line.

Charles D. Elliott's information should be credible.  He was a newspaper publisher and editor most of his life--a man who would be aware how to dig into a story and gather facts.  Furthermore, his wife, Ella Zerbey Elliott, was an author, assistant to the editor of a newspaper, and proprietor of a newspaper for many years in addition to writing short stories and researching for articles.  In 1916, Ella Zerbey Elliott published the Blue Book of Schuylkill County.  In it, she outlined "The Elliott Line of Descent".  ( pages 246-249)

Based on Ella's outline of descent, the father of Chester Elliott was John Elliott.  This John Elliott married Rebecca Parker it reads and had children:  Chester, David, George Washington, Zylphia and perhaps others.  He came from Easthampton, Mass., moved to Bowman's Creek, N.Y., and ultimately to Cayuga County, Ohio.  This John Elliott served in the Revolutionary War from Massachusetts.

This John Elliott did exist.  According to his Revolutionary War Pension File, he married Rebecca Gardner, not Rebecca Parker.  John's pension file mentions only one child, a son named Lewis. The Elliott Line as described by Ella Zerbey Elliott resembles other published lines of descent for this family (see page 436, The Elliott Line, IV Nathaniel, 3 John).  But, more than ten people registered on Ancestry.com claim Chester Elliott, the son of John and Rebecca Elliott, was married to Abigail Ellis in 1812 in Ohio and that this Chester Elliott had two daughters, Independence and Abigail, and that he died in Ohio. 

That doesn't fit our family bio for our Chester Elliott who married Betsey Benjamin on July 6, 1797 and died at his son Joseph's home in Canada around 1832.   

Now stay with me people.  More clues next time....      

            

My Family in America -- From England to Wisconsin and Nearly 400 Years in Between

Monday, June 28, 2010

My daughter suggested that I write a blog.  "You could put all that stuff you know about our family history in it and share it with me and the family, and, maybe someone would read it who knows something you want to know," she said.  Well, maybe.  Yes, maybe.  With nearly 25 years of genealogy research on my bookshelves, in my archives and in my noggin, I think I'll give it a whirl.  It might be fun!

The first thing I needed was a little inspiration about where to start.  The blog background my daughter added "fits the bill".  In fact, the signs for locations in England and the map of Wisconsin inspired me.  I decided to wind my way through nearly 400 years of tales of our family heritage.  So, let's begin....

There is a mystery in my family's history. 

In 1632, my ancestor John Benjamin and his wife, Abigail Eddy Benjamin, sailed from England on the ship "Lion" to join Governor Winthrop's colony.  The lineage is easy to follow and the documentation is clear.  No controversy exists with the Benjamin Family ancestors.  I'll share more about them--much more about them--later. 

But then there are the Elliotts.  The Elliotts are problematic.  Who were our Elliotts?  The variations in the spelling of the name are just one of the many challenges in unraveling the thread of this family line.  I believe our Elliott ancestors were from the Elliott Hill Line--the family line that begins in America with the first Jacob Eliott. 

Jacob Eliott (1606-1651), the father, came to Governor Winthrop's colony in 1631 (perhaps even as early as 1628) aboard the ship "Lion"--the same vessel that brought the Benjamin family a year later.  Jacob was the brother of John Eliott, the famed Apostle to the Indians.  Jacob's son, who was also named Jacob (1632-1693), was a yeoman and became deacon of South Church in Boston.  The son Jacob was among the first children born in the colony.  Upon Deacon Eliott's death, Samuel Sewell, (a judge of the Salem witch trials who later expressed his deep regret for the injustices of the witch trial hysteria) called Deacon Jacob Eliott, (see page 382, August 16, 1693 entry of Sewell's journal) one of his dearest friends and one of the most Serviceable men in Boston.  I found Deacon Jacob Eliott's grave on my recent trip to Boston.  His remains are in Granary Burying Ground surrounded by his wife and children. 

Grave of Deacon Jacob Eliott at Granary Burying Ground, Boston

The lineage of this Eliott family beginning with the father Jacob is this:  Jacob; Deacon Jacob; Jacob (b. 1673 who was first to move to Preston, Connecticut); Andrew (b. 1721); Rev. George Elliott (1757-1845) and George's brothers: Deacon Joseph, Jacob, Gidian and Jonathan.  This is where the mystery lies.  Were either Rev. George, Deacon Joseph or one of their brothers the father of our Chester Elliott?  Through process of elimination, I suspect Deacon Joseph is Chester's father.   

Reverend George Elliott's and Deacon Joseph Elliott's Baptist Church in Ames, New York was the same church that Jesse Benjamin, our ancestor who served in the Revolutionary War, attended.
 

Others believe Chester Elliott's father is from another Elliott line.  That doesn't seem likely.  More to come....