Category Archives: Maternal

A Pension Record Goldmine

Maternal, , , ,

As I have continued further and deeper into my research, I have had to leave the cozy world of censuses, vital records and Sons of American Revolution Society applications. The most recent goldmine were the pension applications and records found at Fold3.com. Though I am sure there are very pedestrian applications, the one I found for Emeline (Hunt) Dixon, the widow of Timothy Dixon, contained some priceless testimonies about my 4th great-grandparents.

Lack of Marriage Certificate

State of Vermont, County of Windham, Town of Whitingham … I, H. B. Ballon Town Clerk of said town of Whitingham hereby certify that I have searched the records of said town and that the marriage of Timothy Dixon is not recorded or if it is, I have failed to find it. (8 January 1883)

Though this was quite the problem for Emeline as she attempted to collect her late husband’s pension, it is quite lucky for us as it brought about a reason for people to attest to her marriage and life with Timothy. Her attorney wrote to the Pension Office:

Dear Sir, This is a peculiar case as to the proof of marriage we shall be obliged to furnish. The parties living near the line went over into Vermont in 1827 to be married and were married in Whitingham as she said. No record of it exists in Whitingham. I then tried other adjacent towns in Vermont to see if perchance she was mistaken in the town but am certain she was right. The persons who were present at the marriage I find are dead.

So I send the claim that it may be entered and the rolls examined and soon I shall send proofs of death and as proof of marriage, copies of records of births of children from as many towns where they have lived as I can find they had children born in, also affidavits to show them living together and reports that they were husband and wife. Hope this case so unfortunately delayed will receive attention and be granted as soon as proof is {illegible}.

Following this was some of the evidence he sought out:

  • Death: February 28, 1858, Timothy Dixon aged 65 years, 8 months (Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts)
  • Birth: A Record of Timothy Dixon’s children; Timothy son of Timothy and Emeline Dixon born March 4 AD 1829. (Heath, Franklin, Massachusetts)

Emeline’s own sworn testimony (20 Feb 1883):

I, Emeline Dixon, widow of Timothy Dixon and an applicant for pension depose and say that my said husband at the time of his marriage was a hatter and worked at that trade the early part of his life and the last part of his life he worked at farming, gardening and doing odd jobs … as he got opportunity at no regular trade.

The justice of the peace said of her: “…well known as a very reputable person and of the highest reputation for veracity…”

Charles H. Howland testified:

That he well knew Timothy Dixon and Emeline Dixon of said Plymouth and lived in the same neighborhood with them and was well acquainted with them from the time of their moving to said Plymouth until his death.

That they moved to Plymouth with quite a large family of children about the year AD 1851 and the said Timothy Dixon and Emeline Dixon lived together as husband and wife and were so reputed from the time of their arrival in Plymouth in 1851 to the time of his death and were esteemed as very worthy and reputable people in all respects.

The words of my 3rd great grandfather Comfort Dixon (50) and his brother Edwin (47) of their own father and mother (13 Feb 1883):

That they are the children of Timothy Dixon and Emeline Dixon. That from the time of their earliest recollection of anything their said father and mother lived together as husband and wife. That they remember their thus living together at Belchertown, a short time at Sturbridge, Southbridge, also at Brimfield and Oxford from which place they and we removed to Plymouth where we now reside and where our said father Timothy Dixon died Feb 28th 1858.

That our said father and mother moved to Plymouth in September 1851 and they lived together at Plymouth till his death and our said mother Emeline Dixon has remained a widow since his death.

We remember the birth of our youngest sister Elizabeth.

We have often heard our said father Timothy Dixon speak of having served in the war of 1812 against Great Britain. We have heard him talking the matter over with his brother John Dixon also.

The final included testimony was that of Dr. Alexander Jackson, the family’s doctor:

That he has been a physician in practice is said Plymouth from 1843 to the present time. That he knew Timothy Dixon and his wife Emeline Dixon and was their family physician from the time they moved into Plymouth in the year 1851 till the time of his death in 1858 and know that they lived together as husband and wife and were so reputed in the community and had in their family several children among them Comfort H. Dixon and Edwin Dixon still living in said Plymouth. Said Timothy Dixon and Emeline Dixon were much respected in the community and were very good people. Said Emeline is still living and well known to me. Have heard said Timothy Dixon on several occasions speak of having served in the War of 1812.

Treasury Department, Third Auditor’s Office, April 3rd, 1883. Respectfully returned to the Commissioner of Pensions with the information that Timothy Dixon, Private, who served in Captain L. Ripley’s Company of the 37th U.S. Infantry, from April 5th, 1814, to May 10th, 1815: Did not sign. No tracing of the signature can be furnished from the rolls on file in this Office.

The original application:

State of Massachusetts

County of Plymouth

On this third day of January, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and eighty-two, personally appeared before me the same being a Court of Record within and for County and State aforesaid, (1) Emeline Dixon aged 72 years, a resident of Plymouth, in the State of Massachusetts, who, being duly sworn according to law, declares that she is a widow of (2) Timothy Dixon deceased, who was the identical (3) Timothy Dixon, who served under the name of (4) Timothy Dixon as a (5) private in the company commanded by Caption Larry (Terry?) Ripley, in the 37th regiment of U.S. Infantry, commanded by ___ in the war of 1812; that her said husband (6) enlisted at Danbury Conn. on or about the fifth day of April, A.D. 1814, for the term of the war, and continued in actual service in said war for the term of (7) one year, whose services terminated, by reason of (8) an honorable discharge at New London Conn, on the 10th day of May, A.D. 1815. She further states that the following is a full description of her said husband at the time of his enlistment, viz: (9) height about 5 feet 8 inches, complexion light, hair light brown, eyes grayish blue, age then about 22. She further states that she was married to the said Timothy Dixon, at the town of Whitingham, in the county of ___, and in the State of Vermont, on the ___ day of July A.D. 1827, by one (10) ___, who was a (11) Justice of the Peace and that her name before her said marriage was Emeline Hunt; and she further states that (12) neither she nor her said husband had been previously married and that her said husband (13) Timothy Dixon, died at Plymouth, in the State of Massachusetts, on the ___ day of February, A.D. 1858; and she further declares that the following have been the places of residence of herself and her said husband since the date of his discharge from the Army, viz: (14) at Heath, Belchertown, Sturbridge, North Oxford, and at Plymouth, all in the state of Massachusetts.

Photo: Four Generations

Dixon Four Generations

Four Generations (circa October 1915): My grandfather, Wilbur Lewis, is the baby in his mother’s arms. Etta (Dixon) Lewis, her father Charlie Dixon, and her grandfather Comfort Dixon. The Dixons lived in Manomet (Plymouth), and both Charlie and his father Comfort were lobstermen and fishermen for the most part. Charlie was also a sailor at the Mamomet Life Saving Station.

Headstone Poetry

Maternal,

The longest day of mortal life
Is sure to set in Death’s dark night
Farewell vain world, your joy deceive
Pure pleasures lie beyond the grave.

The beautiful poem found on the headstone for Moses Chapin (Aug. 24, 1712 – Nov. 3, 1793), my 5th great grandfather. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and died in Somers, Connecticut. His daughter Elizabeth Chapin Alfred (1766 – 1851) is my 4th great grandmother.  Continue reading Headstone Poetry →

Ralph Hammersley & “Jane”

Maternal, ,

Who is the “Jane” that was married to Ralph Hammersley, and mother to my 4th GGF William Shufflebottom Hammersley? Don’t know yet, but here are two candidates:

  • Stevenson, Jane – Married a Ralph Hammersley on 12 August 1798 in Uttoxeter, Stafford, England (Source)
  • Greatback (or Greatbatch), Jane – Married a Ralph Hammersley on 9 November 1804 in Stoke-Upon-Trent, Stafford, England (Source) (Source)

HAMMERSLEY-GREATBATCH

With William’s birth coming on 23 August 1805 in Hanley, Stafford, England, either of these “Jane’s” could be his mother based strictly on the years of their marriages. The notation that the Ralph that married Jane Greatbatch was a Pot Dealer is a nice link given William’s career path, but still not proof enough. Hot on the trail …

Maria Felicia Spagnuolo – Coincidence or Incorrect Year?

Maternal, ,

Maria Felicia Spagnuolo is my 3rd great grandmother (paternal). Wife to Pasquale Nicola Gaudiosi and mother to Leopoldo E Gaudiosi (1855 – 1922), I know very little about her; in fact, I only know her name. I came upon her name after receiving Leopoldo’s birth record from Italy.

However, while searching the Italy, Births and Baptisms, 1806-1900 (Italia, Nati e Battesimi, 1806-1900)at FamilySearch.org I came across an interesting birth record for a woman of the same name:

Maria Felicia Spagnoli

 

My excitement of finding her and her parents quickly turned to depression as I realized her birth date, 04 Oct 1854, meant that she could not possibly be MY Maria Felicia Spagnuolo. It would mean that she was just one year old when my 2nd great grandfather Leopoldo was born.

This Maria was born in San Severo, Foggia, Italy. Leopolodo was born and raised in Colliano, Salerno, Italy. The two locations are 156 km from each other, or just under 100 miles. Not close, but not unrealistically far away either.

So the questions I now must answer is: Is this Maria my ancestor and the year is simply incorrect, or does this woman have the exact same name as my ancestor but no relation? Are Gerardo Spagnoli and Maria Leonarda Forte my 4th great grandparents, or complete and total strangers?

Who were Polly Smith’s parents?

Maternal,

polly-smithI had long thought that the parents of Polly Smith, my 3 GGM, were Zadoc Smith and Mary “Polly” Babcock. I believe this parentage originally came from Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, and therefore should have been treated as such. However, I was a young man trying to go back as far as possible, so onward I went with this assumption (which conveniently led to an American Revolution patriot ancestor). This parentage is also part of the genealogical file that was prepared by a relative, so it does carry some credence. However, I had some doubts about it in the last year or so, and so the following discovery is intriguing to say the least.

However, I recently found this listing on Find-a-Grave. Her parents are clearly shown here to be Ira Smith and  Obedience Martindale. With Vermont records pre-1850 being what they are, I have had little success in the brief (read: Googling) research I’ve done into the family. And, as always, the surname “Smith” doesn’t lend itself to helping my efforts.

This post is another “open” post that will be updated as I am able to find out more details. It is also open in the hopes of someone with definitive proof to post and help a brother (or, more accurately, distant cousin) out!

UPDATE (8/22/14): In reviewing the book Isaiah Babcock, Sr. and his descendants
By A. Emerson Babcock, I noticed that Elias Babcock and Huldah Kinne (or Kenney) had several children, including a “Polly” born in Dalton, MA 29 Jun 1782. However, this Polly is said to have married a “Robert Smith” in Sandy Lake, NY before settling in Sheldon, VT. This would contradict the SAR application showing this Babcock marrying a “Zadoc Smith.”

Mining and Marketing Clay

Maternal,
Photo: Gay Head Cliffs, Martha's Vineyard, for Fortune Article "Clay: The Commonest Industrial Raw Material", Walker Evans (American, St. Louis, Missouri 1903–1975 New Haven, Connecticut)
Photo: Gay Head Cliffs, Martha’s Vineyard, for Fortune Article “Clay: The Commonest Industrial Raw Material”, Walker Evans
(American, St. Louis, Missouri 1903–1975 New Haven, Connecticut)

I received an email from the NEHGS today, and in it they mentioned the addition of the 1865 Massachusetts census to their collection. So I took some time to see what it might hold for additional information about some of my MA ancestors. One of those that I looked up was my 3 GGF Leander W. Mayhew of Chilmark (Martha’s Vineyard). He had been listed as a “Farmer” in the 1860 and 1870 Federal Census, so I was very intrigued with the small and slightly illegible occupation listed: Mining + Marketing Clay.

So I took to my trusty Google search to find out more about this, and came upon a post titled The Clay Industry of Massachusetts. Here is just one excerpt:

The manufacture of many varieties of fancy brick is carried on in South Boston, where the most important plant in the State is situated. The South Boston company turns out several grades of face brick, both of Roman and standard sizes, using for this purpose a mixture of New Jersey and Gay Head (Martha’s Vineyard) clays. The product, consisting of pale yellow and brown bricks, with various effects produced by iron oxides, derived from common pyritic impurities that exist in many of the seashore clays, and the addition of manganese dioxide, will compare favorably with similar bricks from New Jersey and elsewhere. Another concern in the same city produces white, glazed bricks and tiles also made out of New Jersey clays, for which there is a growing demand. Large quantities of these enameled tiles have been used in the Boston subway and in the Southern Union Station just completed. In the town of Somerset an enameled brick similar to that used in the subway is manufactured.

I look forward to continuing to research this new occupation for one of my ancestors, and will update this post as that research continues. Though it was fun to research names, dates and various other vitals, it is now in the “creating context” stage of my genealogical research that the real fun is being had!

UPDATE: I like this quotation from a post in the MV Times titled “Exploring the brickyard in Chilmark“:

The brickyard chimney stands out against the winter-gray wooded hills of Chilmark’s north shore. It is a lone, crumbling reminder of a far different time, when these quiet hills were home to thriving industries. Docks extended off the rocky shores, and schooners from the mainland loaded up on paint, clay, iron ore, and bricks; all produced in an area that is now dominated by summer houses and conservation land.

More from the Vineyard Gazette on the Harris lands.

Chilmark_Gayhead

S H Lewis in all his sepia glory (finally!)

I write this post with such great excitement. I knew so much about the my second great grandfather Stephen Henry Lewis (a lot of times written S H Lewis), the first of my “Lewis” line to come to the United States from Nova Scotia. This is a man who built dozens of houses in Somerville, Massachusetts, as well as four homes at the “Cottages at South Duxbury,” including one that is still in our family. But until this past weekend, I had never seen a picture of him. And then my brother, digging through a box of “stuff” in the family house over Easter, found a picture and said, “Ryan, you aren’t going to believe what I just found…”

Stephen H Lewis sm

I would guess the picture is just before the turn of the century, as my great grandfather, Wilbur Fletcher Lewis, was born in 1889 and he is the young boy in this photo.

 

Where did Emeline Hunt come from?

Maternal, , , ,

A woman named Emeline Hunt is my 4th great grandmother on my maternal side. She was the husband of Timothy Grim Dixon (b. 4 Jul 1792 in Danbury, CT; d. 28 Feb 1858 in Plymouth, MA). Here is what I know about her:

  • She was apparently born in Williamsburg, Massachusetts around 1809.
  • She married Timothy Grim Dixon on 2 July 1827 in Whittingham, Vermont.
  • In 1850 she was living in Thompson, Connecticut.
  • From 1860 to her death she lived in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
  • She died 6 May 1893 and is buried in the Chiltonville Congregational Church Cemetery in Plymouth. (Find-a-Grave)

Timothy and Emeline had the following children:

  • Alanson Dixon (1831 – )
  • Comfort H Dixon (1832 – ) My 3rd great grandfather
  • Graham Dixon (1833 – )
  • Edwin Dixon (1836 – )
  • Walter S Dixon (1838 – )
  • Mary Jane Dixon (1839 – 1922)
  • Lyman F Dixon (1842 – )
  • Adeline Dixon (1844 – )
  • Dixon (1845 – )
  • Elizabeth Dixon (1846 – )

Who were her parents? Why did they get married in Vermont? What is her actual birthdate?

Was she born in May 1809 in Westhampton, Massachusetts to Elihu C Hunt and Sinai Hunt? (Source: Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988)

Updates (10/15/2014): According to the 1860 United States Census, Emeline was a seamstress and was born in New Hampshire! The census lists here age at 51, confirming her birth around 1809.

According to her son Alanson Dixon’s death record, his mother was indeed Emeline Hunt, and that the “Birthplace of Mother” was Stow Mass. HOWEVER, I just searched “The Vital Records of Stow, Massachusetts through 1850” and found no Emeline Hunt, and almost no Hunts at all. ::sigh::

Richard, Lois (Goodrich) and Mary (Sage) Butler

Maternal,

I have seemingly broken down a somewhat persistent brick wall by determining that Richard Butler (b. 6 March 1761, Westfield, CT; d. 2 January 1839, Busti, NY – Source) was married twice, and that my 4th great grandmother Calma Butler was his third child with his second wife.

Richard Butler married Lois Goodrich 5 February 1784 in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. Lois (b. 27 December 1765) is the daughter of Ebenezer Goodrich and Lydia Deming.

Lois (Goodrich) Butler died on 23 April 1784, less than 3 months after her Wedding Day, and at the young age of only 18.

Richard and Lois had a daughter, Lois Butler, who was baptized on 4 May 1784. If this date is correct then she was pregnant before she married Richard.

The logical next step is to assume that Lois (Goodrich) Butler died in childbirth. Tragically, her daughter Lois would pass away 15 June 1790 at the age of 6.

Richard would marry his second wife, tying the knot with Mary Sage on 31 January 1788. Mary Sage (b. 9 June 1768) is the daughter of Solomon Sage and Hannah Kirby.

Richard and Mary would have three children: Hervey (Harvey?), Lois and Calma.

Mary (Sage) Butler died 2 April 1852 at the age of 83. (Source)

I will note here that my research is ongoing into Richard’s lineage. Right now I am going on the assumption that his parents are Charles Butler, Jr. and Azubah Ranney. “Lieutenant Charles Butler (1732-83) served as sergeant at the Lexington Alarm and, 1777, was lieutenant in Capt. Charles Wells’ company, Col. Thomas Beden’s regiment. He was born in Wethersfield; died from effects of exposure in the field.” (Source) I will update this post, or write a new one, as my research progresses.