The Hell of my Auld Age

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

October 13, 2022

“The Heall of my Auld Age”

Number of pages in Outline Descendant Report: 121 (up from 121 last chronicle)

Number of pages in basic Descendant Report: 181 (up from 181 last chronicle)

 

Francis Holmes is # 1. I am now # 286. # 286, where I was last week, is now Margaret Rose Holmes.

Matthew Williams, Jane William’s grandson, is last at # 402, up from # 398, and his son is # ii.

#4398 is now Melissa Grace Wellman.

This should change weekly, if I’m doing my job.

It didn’t change this week. I’m doing my job, just doing something different.

 

 

Click on the photos to enlarge.

I apologize for the reflection, but as you can see, this family Bible is very old and fragile and must be kept under glass. This is the Stieff family Bible. Some of us descend from the Stieff/Steeves family, who emigrated from Germany to the US and then to Atlantic Canada in the 1700s. They brought with them, on two perilous journeys, an old clock and their Bible. The Bible is the property of the New Brunswick archives, and is displayed in the Moncton Museum in Resurgo Place.

I had a wonderful visit this week with four of my genealogical society peers and Mike Proctor, a professional genealogist from Massachusetts and now North Carolina, on Thursday. Catherine and I took him to Resurgo Place and The Free Meeting House; then on to Settlers Landing and a walk along the trail by the Petitcodiac River; lunch at Classic Burger where I was covered with a ketchup mustard melange; then an afternoon visit in the Heritage Room at the Moncton Public Library where Thelma, Sherrill and Debbie joined us. There was not an idle moment – we talked a blue streak. You don’t need to remember those names as they are not related except for waaaaaay back to those German settlers. Mike shares DNA with at least Debbie and I. I am trying to write a brief recap of our visit for the next issue of “News and Notes.” As you know, “brief” does not come easily to me.

Left to right: Thelma, Debbie, Sherrill, Catherine, Mike, and Peg.

~

“. . . his calling [was] one of the most highly respected colonial occupations.

Besides this, he was probably the head of the iron-ware establishment of the period.

The Holmes’ of America may be proud of their Norwalk kinsman.

He was a brother of the Stamford and Bedford families . . .”

Saturday evening, on a Thanksgiving weekend. Playing Mah-jong on my tablet. “Enough of that nonsense,” I said to myself. Turned off the game and clicked on Ancestry. I have completed the article on Israel Smith and his wife, Deborah Holmes Smith. It has been released to the reading public in “News and Notes,” and is scheduled for the winter issue of “Generations.” The article about John Holmes and his wife, Marcy Bell Holmes Hait Ferris Barnum, is almost ready for the editor of “News and Notes.” It is time to choose another will. I really want to stick to people who appear in our family tree, as that way I can include or adapt the articles for “Colossal Collection of Cousins.” “Whom shall I choose?” I asked myself. After seeking for a good while, I chose the will, inventory, probate and complications of many times grand Uncle Richard Holmes, son of Francis, our immigrant ancestor. Perhaps I bit off more than I can chew.

 Oh my. It goes on and on and on. He was wordy enough in his will, but then his executor died and it had to go to the Prerogative Court in order to find new administrators. Then, one of the appointed administrators died. Plus, I have a hunch that it was contested and had to be found legitimate.

The first paragraph of an old will done in Fairfield County, CT, was generally thanks to God, whose name was not often capitalized; a description of their physical and mental state – physically usually being poorly and mental always being perfect; and their wish to have a decent burial. I’m sure there must have been a template to use as a guide and dress it up as they saw fit.

Here’s my start: the first paragraph. It is my initial attempt, with one revision.

Norwalk October 31^t day in y^e year of o^er Lord 1704.

In the name of god amen know y^e y^t I Richard Holmes of Norwalk being by y^e Good hand of god arrived at y^e (hell) of my old age of sixty years & upwards & now being under y^e afflicting hand of god at present and being sensable of my mutability and mortallity y^t may overtake me god only knows therefore & for good Consideration ____thereunto while (yet) I have through gods favour the use of my Right ____ & of my perfect memory I do see Cause and good reason to make my will to y^e End I may dispose of my worldly Estate before death so as may be to gods glory and my own peace and y^e Comfort of those y^t I shall leave behind: therefore this I declare to be my last will and Testament as followeth

 Imp^r I freely give and bequeath my poor Immortall Soul into y^e hand of my great and Good God that Gave it to y^e armes of my great redeemer (y^t to deerly) brought it and my own poor and Crazy body to y^e dust from whence it Came by a Comly and decent buriall and as for my worldly Estate I dispose of as followeth y^t which god hath Given me as follows . . .

____ means I haven’t figure it out yet. (is my best guess so far).

Monday morning: I have finished my first rough draft transcription of the Last Will and Testament of Richard Holmes, late of Norwalk. Phew. I won’t include it all here this week, as I need to print it off and mark it with my red pen as I compare it to the original. I need to go to an old book, “Norwalk,” by Rev. Charles M Selleck, AM, published by himself in 1896, to make sure I have the places that he mentioned deciphered correctly.

Tuesday morning: Uncle Richard is growing on me, although I have one bone to pick with him. He seems to me to be a blend of Puritan piety and a “tellin’ it as I sees it” kind of man. What ailed him? I wonder. “My own poor and Crazy body.” “Under the afflicting hand of god (sic).” And, “the hell of my old age.” He died when he was younger than me.

I am working on the “heall” word. I used both the Ancestry and the Familysearch copy. It looks like “heel” in FS (first picture), but “heall” with the “a” blotted out in Ancestry (second picture). Did you ever hear the expression “the hell of my old age?” Google doesn’t come up with much. I cannot figure out what other word it would be – so I am going with Ancestry’s “heall.”

I cannot copy and paste these pictures into the blog – it won’t allow me. If you want to see them, ask, and I will email you a copy of this week’s chronicle.

What is available in these two sources may be original or may be transcriptions, and I’m not sure which one would be a transcription if only one of them is. But, when I saw the inventory at Ancestry, which I’m positive is a transcription, I loved the calligraphy. It also gives the total, which the Familysearch copy doesn’t. Isn’t it lovely!

 I’ll be busy doing other things for the next week or two, so there won’t be a chronicle next week, and if there’s none the week after that, worry pas, I will be back.