His Loathsum and Beastly Demeanor

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

August 31, 2023

“His Loathsum and Beastly Demeanor ”

 

This photo made me smile this week. This is my nephew, Joseph Booth, taking a deployment break in Jerash, Jordan. Joseph is in the Charles R Holmes line.

 

I am grateful to Jane Williams for sending me a copy of a document which is, for now, anonymous, at least until I can find the source. I have seen it before but couldn’t find it in my papers (understandable). Perhaps Fen sent it to me. The document and transcription are down a few pages. I’m also grateful to Jeanni Worster and Celia Anklesaria for their pancake replies. And, glad to know that Celia makes buckwheat pancakes, too. Neither of them tasted Mum’s, though.

 

Featured this week are Kristin Holmes and David MacKillop.

I’ve known about Kristin for many years, and I was pleased to meet her at our 2016 family gathering. In corresponding with her uncle, Fen Holmes, he gave me lists of his nieces and nephews, and recommended Kristin to me as one who was interested in our family history. She still is. Kristin is owner of Swan Interiors, an interior design gallery and studio in Maui. And yes, her shop is intact after the recent devastation of Maui, although friends, acquaintances and clients were certainly affected by it. Kristin is in the William Holmes line; she is the daughter of Jerome K and Alma K (Vincent) Holmes and sibling of eight.

I’ve known about David’s family for many years, as my mother was close to his grandfather, Raymond L MacKillop, and as you know, Mum had a great memory and a great many stories to tell. Raymond David MacKillop is in the Charles R Holmes line, the son of Ray MacKillop and Brenda Miller. He is married to Autumn Rene and they have a six-year-old daughter who must be in grade one now. They also have a young fluffy, curly-haired standard poodle named Gus. David and I share a birth date – but not the same year. In June, Autumn wrote of David on Facebook, “he is now a two time special place finisher of his age group in two different 5ks. This year his goal is to run one 5k a month from April – October. I believe he works in insurance, is a volunteer fire-fighter, and preaches part-time.

~

My genealogy goals for this week were:

 

• Chronicle several times, and publish on Thursday morning.
• Keep writing my next article for Generations, which is about the will of William Lotham. Francis Holmes is mentioned in his inventory both as owing money and being owed money.
• Continue indexing old New Brunswick obituaries and death notices for the NBGS website project.
• Spend a bit of time on Moore family research.
• Think about and make lists for a welcome back in person party for our genealogy society branch in October. It will have a book theme – old genealogy/history books on a popup library display, and a for sale table for books we longer need. Two short speakers, five to ten minutes each tops. Leftover time will be for reacquainting and meeting new people, and looking at books.
• In the evening, after chores are done, edit the Fanny Holmes Ballantyne family (first daughter of Daniel and Charlotte) the same way I did the Louisa, William and Carrie lines. No rush on that.
• Plan a cousin visit.

 

William Lotham’s story is coming along. Although he is not in our family, he has no descendants, so why not Peg to tell his bit of a story? After all, he and Francis Holmes were at least associates, if not friends. I am currently working on the criminal element of Puritan society. Punishments were harsh. Bedle was sent for a time to Fisher’s Island. I cannot locate much information about early Fisher’s Island, and whether or not criminals were sent there. Perhaps Roger and Bonnie can tell me.

Robert Bedle was a criminal. A record of Hartford County says of Bedle in March of 1644, “for his loathsu[m] and beastly demeanor is adiudged to be brought forth the next lecture day to be seurely scourdged and to be keept in the House of correctio[n] a fortnight longer and then brought forth againe to be publiquely whipped, and then to be bownd to appeare at euery quarter Court to be whipped vntill the Court see some reformation in him & shall see cause to release him.”^[1] In December, 1644, shortly before Lotham’s death, he was sentence to restore double for his thefts to Mr. Blakman for gunpowder; to Widow Foote; to Thomas Welles for two sacks; to Richard Myles, for a blanket; and to Thomas Tracy, for a sack. He was also branded on the hand.^[1] This is the person who Mr. Robins transported to Fisher’s Island before Lotham’s death. In later years, he is found in company with other seemingly unsavory characters. I did not see much reformation in him. (See also Latha[m] and Mr. Robins.)

~

I worked on the James and Fanny Ballantyne family. As it’s a review, it is coming right along. As I researched, I found a cousin on Ancestry and contacted him. For you, Marvin, I did some digging into past emails. You have two closer cousins in our Facebook group, Brenda and Leanne, although I don’t know that either of them is working on genealogy right now. Back in 2017, I asked Paula to assist me to research Charles Rex Goodenough – a great grandson of Daniel and Charlotte Holmes. Paula is not in your Ballantyne line, but she enjoys a good, deep, challenging research, including rabbit trails. I had already been in touch with Brenda about him, so I am including some info from both of them. Our Facebook group is private, so this information does not go awry. I made a few changes – omissions of what did not relate, and punctuation.

From me to Paula in 1917:

“Hi Paula,

I wonder if you have some time to do a bit more digging. This is a nephew of Jessie Ballantyne who we sort of figured out a couple of years ago. No hurry.

Charles Rex Goodenough, born c. 1892 in Hardy, Iowa, to Charles Henry Goodenough and Anna Louise Ballantyne. (Twin of Jessie). Death unknown. We think he is aka Rex Gordon Goodenough. 

Other siblings: Grant (died young); Frances/Fanny (1889 - ?), married Arthur Davis; Nellie June (1985 - 1981), did not marry; Myrne (1897 - 1994) married Waldo F Seiler.

He married Edna Rachel Malin c 1910, a prim and proper lady. They had two daughters:

1 Frances Patricia, known as Patricia, 1916 - 1999

2 Rachel Louise 1917 - 1922

They (Rex and Edna) never divorced to my knowledge. But, divorce records are few and far between.

In 1924, he allegedly left a suicide note and disappeared. His wife said that she had a secret and would take it to her grave.

I find a California marriage certificate between Rex Gordon Goodenough (son of Charles Goodenough and Anna Ballantyne) and Vera Rozelva Meyers in 1934, Los Angeles. In 1940, I find a California marriage certificate between Vera and a Hastings. 

Brenda (a Ballantyne descendant) and I are trying to figure all this out and find some newspaper articles and sources and a death date, and anything else. She attached these notes to her ancestry page. We'd appreciate any help with this mystery.”

 

From Brenda’s ancestry page (back in 2013 – I haven’t looked lately).

 

 “The run off to California was my gr. Grandfather . . . he did not commit suicide - he left his family. My gr. grandmother came from a predominate family and to avoid shame, they said they believed he committed suicide. So, my grandmother never knew her father but kept in touch with her aunts who moved to California; when my grandmother went out to visit is when she learned that he was alive. When he went out to California, he ended up marring eventually a woman that was the age of his daughter (my grandmother). Brenda M”

Added later:      

“Charles left wife and daughters . . .a newspaper article in Iowa states that Charles Rex Goodenough, after threats of suicide, has disappeared and has not been found. The Goodenough family all removed to California. My grandmother/his daughter said she will go to her grave with a secret. I believe when my grandmother and grandfather traveled to California in 1940 to visit the Aunts Myrna and June, she found her father. As I was searching documents, I came across one I believe is the same man: a marriage license for a Rex Gordon Goodenough and a Vera Rozelva Meyer listing Charles H Goodenough and Anna Ballantyne as parents of the groom. Records were not electronic and harder to verify so it would be easy for him to switch up his name. I believe this is the secret my grandmother took with her to her grave.”

Paula’s research recap: email dated March 7, 2017.

“My conclusion is that Rex did not die, he was just abducted by aliens.

 

I don't think that I have ever run into a person who just cannot be traced by some means.  I tried using his wives' names, his three sisters, his surviving daughter-- I can't find one obituary for any of these people, and I know pretty much about where they were living and when they died.  Anyway, I don't know how much of the rest of the family you want to know about, so I will focus on what I have for Rex, and I am sure this will duplicate what you already have.

Charles Rex Goodenough, b. Hardy, Iowa, 5 Sept. 1892.

Sisters are Frances A "Fanny" 1889-?  m. Arthur E. Davis; Nellie June b. 1895 or 1898, d. 1981 in Los Angeles; Myrna (Mina or Myrne) E. b. 1897, m Waldo F Seiler, d. 1994 in Los Angeles.

Rex married twice that I could find: (1) Edna Rachel Malin (1889-1960), born and died in Iowa; two daughters with Rex.  (2)  Vera Rozelva Bachman (1915-1998). 

Wife 1) Edna Goodenough:  1925 Iowa State Census, "Widow", servant boarding in a house and she had 2 yr. of college; 1930 Census, "Married", teacher, boarding in a house in Missouri; 1940 Census, "Divorced", teacher, boarding in a house in Nebraska.  Seems that she thought he was dead, found out he was not, then either got a divorce or declared herself divorced.  Their younger daughter Rachel (1918-1922) died from scarlet fever, and Rex was still around when Rachel died.  Other daughter, Francis (ces) Patricia was born in 1916 in Iowa and died in 1999 in Minnesota, married Donald Wayne Wilson in 1940.

Wife 2) Vera.  Vera was married very young to a FNU Meyers and was divorced quickly.  Possibly had an annulment.  Her second husband was "Rex Gordon" Goodnough (that is the spelling on the marriage certificate), and they married in Los Angeles 17 June 1934, so she was only 19.  Then in 1940 she married Gilbert Hastings in Los Angeles.  On this marriage certificate she said she was a widow, but this might not be true.

In 1934, Rex Gordon is listed as living at 139 Burger Avenue, Los Angeles.  On his marriage application, he said this was marriage #2 and that he was divorced.  Vera said that she was single and this was marriage #1.  So, it is possible that her first marriage was annulled, or she lied.  As noted in the previous paragraph, on the occasion of marriage #3, she said she was widowed and that this was marriage #2. 

Please go to the following web page and you can read about Vera and see why I said she might not have been a widow.  https://gatheringgardiners.blogspot.com/2013/01/vera-rozelva-bachman-hastings-1915.html.  On this page she stated that she and Rex/Charles were divorced.  So, clearly she was mistaken or was lying at the time of marriage #3. 

I cannot find any of the sisters in the 1930 census, nor can I find their obituaries, which I hoped would mention Rex.  He just vanished after 1934.  I am not convinced that he died before Vera married for the third time.  I think he could have changed his name again, although I have tried various iterations of the Charles, Rex, and Gordon, as well as just a dummy 'blank' variable, using his birthdate plus or minus a few years.  I have tried various spellings:  Goodenough, Goodnough, Goodenough.  Nothing works. 

There is one more final thing that I want to check. There was a "story" written by the same person who wrote Birdman of Alcatraz that was published in a paper in California.  The story is about a person who assumed a false identity, strangely enough it was someone named "Charles Goodenough".  I could only pull up Part 2, so I couldn't tell if this was written purely as fiction or if this is somewhat of a real account of someone who was in prison.  I have to find Part 1 because it should have an explanation at the beginning. 

 

Paula”

 

That blog post link is still available.

Here’s the genealogies of our two Fanny descendants. You know to draw some charts to see the relationships, if you so desire.

Brenda – Carol – Patricia Goodenough – Charles Rex Goodenough – Anna Ballantyne – James W Ballantyne and Frances Holmes.

Brenda – Carol – Patricia Goodenough – Edna Rachel Malin – Dr. Edgar Malin and Susanna E Glasgow.

Marvin – Merle – Frances Goodenough – Anna Ballantyne – James W Ballantyne and Frances Holmes.

Leanne, another descendant of James and Frances (Holmes) Ballantyne, descends from Jessie, twin of Anna.

 

I haven’t done much research on that family since 2017, although I do check every family line once in a while to see if anything new pops up. I am currently working on the twelve children of Daniel and Charlotte (Hoyt) Holmes. The genealogies of Louisa Holmes Ballantyne, William Holmes, and Caroline Holmes Steeves are complete for now, as I worked on them for the Lincoln, Maine, Historical Society. I decided to start my review with child number one, Frances Ann (Fanny) Holmes Ballantyne, wife of James W Ballantyne, to make it standard with the others. More information in general is added online all the time.

This week, I located some newspaper reports on someone in that line – a child of an ancestor of Brenda. It is most gruesome and although I have read many sad things about our family and collateral family, it is one of the two saddest thing I have learned; the other was deliberate, this was accidental. As is typical of newspapers of days gone by, the articles didn’t leave much to the imagination. I will share more information with those who are interested, but I won’t share it unless you ask, due to the horror of it. Not everyone can stomach such information. I had tears.

Here is the most basic article. The child who was injured was Edna Rachel Malin, daughter of Dr. E. C. Malin and Susanna E Glasgow, and future wife of C. Rex Goodenough. Her sister, Alice, was the child who died in the accident: 

~

The following document is a handwritten family history; for now, anonymous. I have transcribed this as best I can. If you see a transcription error, let me know. (Misspellings are not transcription errors.) The phrase “Daniel & ? burned in a pit” has annotation beside it which I cannot read, but perhaps it is a correction of some sort. In the sentence, “Daniel Holmes was born on L. I.” the L. I. is struck through and an annotation provided but I don’t know what the annotation says. Could be W. C. or N. S., but I can’t tell. Along the right side of the letter is printed “This was written in pencil – This must be the letter you ____. On the bottom, “(Grandma)” and “˄the poem I sent?)” are annotations.

Daniel Holmes’ mother was Elizabeth Fountaine.

     “          “          father     “    Samuel Holmes.

Daniel Holmes brothers were named James,

Stephen, John, Samuel, Zoribbaal. Daniel & ____

burned in a pit. ­­­­____ ____ ____

His sister’s names were Nancy, Liddy, Phoebe,

Lizzie, Debby and Sally.

Maria Holmes ^ ^{formerly Marie Antoinette McElmon}  brother’s names were Benjamin, Spiller,

Dobson, Robert, James and William.

Her sisters were Elizabeth, Abby, Peggy, Pamelia, Leah (?).

Daniel Holmes’ father was a blacksmith & came

with family from L. Island   ^ ^{Westchester NY}  to Nova Scotia. His name

was Samuel Holmes and his wife was Elizabeth Fountaine.

Daniel Holmes was born on L. I.  His wife’s father was

Peter McElmon. Came from North of Ireland & was Scotch,

when 9 days old. He married Margaret re Peggy Fillmore in

Nova Scotia. Her parents the Fillmores came from the States.

Daniel Holmes’ brother Stephen was a doctor and lived &

died in Boston. His brother Samuel married Betty Mc-

Elmon’s sister to Marie Antoinette McElmon, in Nova Scotia

and went to Lake Ontario to live. The brother John

lived in Minudie, N.S. His sister Debby married John

Boss. Sally married Fawcett & lived in Parrsboro.

Stephen Holmes married Sarah ____ a friend of

____ Buffam ____ ____ ____

(Grandma)                             (the poem I sent?)

 

 

 

~

From last week’s chronicle: “Looking forward to brunch/lunch on September 7 with our distant cousin . . . Who is she? That’s your first clue – she! The second clue is that we have never met. She is in our Holmes group. Anticipate.”

This week: Third clue is that she lives in Ottawa, Ontario. Fourth, is that we share hair genes. Fifth, she descends from Zorobable, brother of Samuel Jr. I do like saying that name, which is spelled many different ways.

We must get a photo.

~

This week’s chronicle is sad. Bedle may have been a criminal, and what he stole was probably quite dear in the 1600s. Oh my, the punishment. And Edna Malin had a sad life. The accident must have traumatized her. But, she was a trooper. After her youngest daughter died and Rex left her, she went to teacher’s college and got her degree, and made a career of teaching. She did not remarry.

I wish I only had “lived happily ever after” stories about our ancestors, but life is not like that. Some did live happily ever after, but not most. Life is full of ups and downs. We can be proud of most of our ancestors, but some didn’t leave wonderful legacies.

Question – what did you like best about going back to school? Or, did you like anything about going back to school?

Me? New blank notebooks and writing utensils. Hated to make that first mistake in them. But, it was also an intimidating experience for me, as I was once upon a time shy.

His Bag of Magic Tricks

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

August 24, 2023

“His Bag of Magic Tricks “

 

This photo made me smile this week. I’ll be there – anyone care to join me? This is news to me. When they created the sign for the Holmes Burnham Sawmill Trail, they involved me in the process, but that was because the family fundraised and contributed towards the cost. The sawmill of Daniel Holmes sat near the Holmes Brook, so named for our Daniel. If you live in the area, you might like to come to the ribbon cutting ceremony and join me in the bouncy castle. Just kidding about the castle for me, but why not make an outing of it and bring the grandkids along to learn some of our history.

~

New this week are Derek Sylvestre and Mary Davis. They were both at the 2016 reunion.

Derek Sylvestre is the son of Roger and Betty (MacKillop) Sylvestre, and he is in the Charles R Holmes line. I had no idea he was coming to the reunion – he just showed up with his bag of magic tricks and charmed young and old alike. His parents were all set to come to the reunion when Betty stuck her foot under the foot of the horse and ended up in surgery and a cast, just days before. But, Derek lived in the area and the rest is Holmes family history. Derek met his wife, Joanna, soon after the reunion, so we didn’t get to meet Jo. They have two toddlers, a boy and a girl, and they all have lots of family fun together. Facebook may be a nuisance at times, but I sure do appreciate it for watching cousin stuff.

I was so tickled to meet Mary (Holmes) Davis, and I enjoy seeing her trips on her daughter Amy’s Facebook. They love to travel and try new adventures and food. Mary lost her husband, Richard, back in 2015. Richard had a musical gift which he passed on to Amy, and I’m sure her music memories live on. She’s an encouragement to me as I write these weekly chronicles. Mary is the daughter of Richard and Dorothy (Lynk) Holmes, and she is in the William N Holmes line.

~

I am grateful to John McElmon this week. John is in the McElmon Family History group, and invited Jane and I to join the group. It’s open, so anyone can join. He’s passionate about DNA research. We’ve had some discussion threads in the group.

My genealogy goals for this week were:

 

• Chronicle several times, and publish on Thursday morning.
• Keep writing my next article for Generations, which is about the will of William Lotham. Francis Holmes is mentioned in his inventory both as owing money and being owed money.
• Continue indexing old New Brunswick obituaries and death notices for the NBGS website project.
• Spend a bit of time on Moore family research.
• Think about and make lists for a welcome back in person party for our genealogy society branch in October. It will have a book theme – old genealogy/history books on a popup library display, and a for sale table for books we longer need. Two short speakers, five to ten minutes each tops. Leftover time will be for reacquainting and meeting new people, and looking at books.
• In the evening, after chores are done, edit the Fanny Holmes Ballantyne family (first daughter of Daniel and Charlotte) the same way I did the Louisa, William and Carrie lines. No rush on that.

 

I did most of those things, and a bit more. I have given our October welcome back party a theme: “Y^e SEB Booke Faire.” SEB stands for Southeastern Branch (of the New Brunswick Genealogical Society.) I’m going to make a bristol board sign with those words. We’ll have a book donation table (people can bring their no longer needed books to sell). And we will have a popup library – we will bring books to display, but people can browse and/or chat with old friends and new. We haven’t met in person since the pandemic began. There will be a draw for a Chapters gift card. I am making two doilies – a ghostly one and a spider web one complete with button spiders – also names to be drawn. There will be two short speakers at the start. There might be a wee, quick craft to make.  And, there will be cookies, cupcakes, squares and/or sweet breads along with tea and coffee.

 

~

I worked on my Lotham article, but it is a BIG MESS. Here is a sneak peek – do not attempt to revise it yet. It’s plain as day in my head but my hand-eye coordination has not kicked in. Burchwood’s paragraph is almost complete; I am working on Stephen Post(e), one of the 27 characters mentioned in Lotham’s will.

 

        “Thomas Burchwood and Stephen Poste appraised and witnessed the inventory of William Lotham, so they probably lived in the same vicinity as the decedent.         Check the probate book, especially for Poste.                                     

Thomas Burchwood spelled Birchwood on the Founder’s Monument in Hartford, was an original proprietor of Hartford. He was baptized Bycharde in England. He journeyed from England to Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he was made freeman in 1637; to Hartford by 1640; to the Saybrook Colony, Connecticut, by 1651, where he served as deputy to the General Court. He still owned land in Hartford. He then appeared in the records of Edgarton and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts; and was in Norwich, Connecticut by 1682, where he died c. 1684.       Burchwood appraised and witnessed Lotham’s inventory in 1645. From the few details I found, he could have lived in Hartford in 1645.                                                 Stephen Poste was baptized in England, and lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1634. A carpenter by trade, he was a proprietor of Hartford, where he served as constable in 1642. He removed to the Saybrook Colony by 1649, and was a proprietor of that town. He died there in 1659. See two paragraphs back.        On 20 March 1649/50 the Connecticut Court chose Stephen Post and Thomas Tracy to complete the “Forte and dwelling house to bee erected for the use of the Country”. See endnote xx.  He is mentioned in a court record with Thomas Traisy of Seabrook.

https://www.cga.ct.gov/hco/books/Memorial_History_of_Hartford_County_Vol_1_1886.pdf

Image 275.

Find a grave number for Stephen Post 37340298.”

Thursday morning right before going to press . . . it now looks a bit better.

~

Here is my list of the children of Samuel Holmes and Elizabeth Fountain. I do not guarantee that it is 100% correct. Many of their dates are circa, but that doesn’t show in the ancestry summary, only when you go into their profiles.

I also included the children of Peter McElmon and Margaret Fillmore. It is from another person’s family tree as I’ve only studied the two that apply to our family, so I make no guarantees whatsoever as to its correctness.

In our group, we have descendants from Zorobable Holmes and Samuel Holmes Jr, and Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ McElmon.

A bit more here about the McElmon Family History Group, as in: who in the world was McElmon? Peter McElmon settled in the midst of Loyalistists in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. He was born at sea on the voyage to Canada from Ireland. He had several children – including two who married into the Holmes family. They were his daughters, Marie Antoinette and Elizabeth called Betsy. They married sons of Samuel Holmes Sr and Elizabeth Fountain. He was acquainted with Samuel Holmes and Samuel Holstead.

Marie Antoinette McElmon married Daniel Holmes, uncle to our Daniel. Perhaps our Daniel was named for his uncle. I haven’t done too much work on them.

And, of course you remember that Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ McElmon married Samuel Holmes Jr.

 

~

Looking forward to brunch/lunch on September 7 with our distant cousin . . . Who is she? That’s your first clue – she! The second clue is that we have never met. She is in our Holmes group. Anticipate. I am on the hunt for mango chutney. Googled and I think Wheaton’s has it. Now, what does mango chutney have to do with our visit?

~

Last week, I mentioned that fall is around the corner. As I polish off this latest chronicle, I shiver. For the first time in a few months, the morning temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius. We call these mornings “crispy,” for the heat that humidity brings is quite unpleasant and definitely uncrispy. Great for sleeping, invigorating for crawling out of bed into slippers and a sweater. These mornings are harbingers of a good weather day to come. From now to about October, here in Atlantic Canada, our mornings will be either crispy or humid – depending on tropical storms and hurricanes or the lack thereof. Give me a crispy every day of the year! Oh my, that made me think of Mum and her

Crispy pancakes!

Question for you – how many of you have eaten Mum’s buckwheat pancakes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Labour of Love

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

August 17, 2023

“A Labour of Love “

 

This photo made me smile. The reason I haven’t been writing my chronicles for three weeks or so is because of this little guy, Winston, who came for a visit in late July and early August. Here, he’s playing with stickers. Didn’t do much with the crayons, but had fun with paints. Brush and fingers, followed by a bath in Grandma’s tub.

 

 

~

 

This has been a summer of weather events, hasn’t it. They seem to be all over. Kristin Holmes, of the William N Holmes line, lives in Maui, and I’ve been following her posts. She and her home and business are okay; but she is sad, for she has acquaintances and clients who are not okay. Kristin is the owner of Swan Interiors Maui. You may like to check it out on Facebook.

 

~

 

New this week are Jennifer Bell and Judy Phillips. One, I know well; and one I never met. Jennifer and Judy are both in the Charles R Holmes line.

 

Jennifer (Lutes) Bell is my first cousin and the youngest of my cousins. Funny, the things you remember. Her teenaged sisters were at my house while their mother was at the hospital, and the call came, “you have a sister.” Oh, the squealing and jumping for joy. Jen missed out on some of our shenanigans at the farm, but, needless to say, makes up for it now. She is a musician – you may remember she played the piano for us at the 2016 reunion, and she toots her flute occasionally. She is the daughter of Ralph and Nancy (Holmes) Lutes and is in the Charles R Holmes line. She is married to Jon Bell and has two grown daughters, Allison and her husband, Derek Sherman; and Madeline.

 

I’m not personally acquainted with Judy (Bannister) Philip, but I know who she is, and we have just become Facebook friends. Judy is the daughter of Russell and Nancy (Watson) Bannister, and she and her late husband, Gregory Philip, have three adult children, Elizabeth, Daniel, and Benjamin. I’m pretty sure she has some grandchildren, as well.

 

~

 

My hearty thanks to my daughter, Julie, who is also my computer guru, for restoring my Family Tree Maker. Even my books are still there. I sort of know what she did to fix it: she adjusted my antivirus to let me download it. What a relief! Now, I see, they want to do another major revision to their website. Do I bite the bullet?

 

So, I had to do a little bit of stats, just to show my pleasure.

 

This applies to all of us in the group who descend from Samuel Holmes Sr. You get the endogamy from Captain Isaac Ketchum and his wife, Mary Elizabeth (Ketchum) Ketchum, if you descend from Samuel Holmes Jr and his first wife, Phoebe Holstead, but no endogamy if you descend from Samuel Holmes Jr and his second wife, Elizabeth McElmon. Not to worry, it was all a couple of centuries ago. Of course, I am not through adding people to the tree, so it will grow.

 

I compared the number of pages if I was to print out the Outline Descendant Reports for Francis Holmes and for Edward Ketchum, two of our many immigrant ancestors. This is the report that is not fancy, only births, marriages, and deaths – no bells and whistles attached. The reason for the large difference in the number of pages is that we descend from two grandchildren of Francis Holmes, and three grandchildren of Edward Ketchum. There is a lot of repetition, as we get thrown into the mix two or three times. When I finally say “enough is enough,” there will be lots of pages, as I don’t know how to eliminate the repetition.

 

Francis Holmes – 166 pages.

Edward Ketchum – 372 pages.

~

 

My genealogy goals for this week were:

 

• Chronicle several times, and publish on Thursday morning.
• Keep writing my next article for Generations, which is about the will of William Lotham. Francis Holmes is mentioned in his inventory both as owing money and being owed money.
• Continue indexing old New Brunswick obituaries and death notices for the NBGS website project.
• Spend a bit of time on Moore family research.
• Try to reinstall Family Tree Maker. (Waiting for Julie for that.) Scared because I need to do it again soon.
• Think about and make lists for a welcome back in person party for our genealogy society branch in October. It will have a book theme – old genealogy/history books on display, and a for sale table for books we longer need. Two short speakers, five to ten minutes tops. Leftover time will be for reacquainting and meeting new people, and looking at books.
• In the evening, after chores are done, edit the Fanny Holmes Ballantyne family (first daughter of Daniel and Charlotte) the same way I did the Louisa, William and Carrie lines. No rush on that.

~

 

I had this list in my article about the will of Edward Ketchum, but it did not contribute to my purpose statement so I removed it. On the bottom line is the record of the marriage of Edward Ketchum (my 7^th and 8^th great-grandfather) and his first wife, Mary Hall. Many of you are of the same number of generations. We do not descend from Mary Hall, though, but from his second wife, Sarah Salmon. I think it’s incredible to find these old documents.

England, Cambridgeshire Bishop’s Transcripts, 1538 – 1983. Image 68.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L96D-939B?cc=1465708

 

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Three people edited and beta read my Ketchum article. I will attach the pdf copy to the email so you can read it if you like. The importance of editors and readers to the writer is beyond description. I haven’t the words. If they were closer, I’d give them big squishy hugs. I thought I’d share with you what they told me about my article.

From Paula:

“Peggy, I have gone through your article, and have only a few comments . . . First of all, I want to say good job!  People who don't do this kind of research can't imagine the time, patience, and passion that go into an article like you have written.  It definitely goes into the category of a labor of love.  I hope your readers not only enjoy it, but that some other researchers will benefit from the gift you are giving them . . . That's it!  It was a good read, and thanks for the little project. “

 

From Jeanni:

“I made a . . . review of your article and found it so very interesting.  The amount of work you did is amazing.  How long did you work to get to Edward and how long to find so many connections to him? It's quite confusing and I am so impressed that you were able to untangle it to that extent. And to find those details on an ancestor born in 1590, and died in 1655.  Since someone in the home appeared to be literate, I wonder why he waited so long to make a will; he had sizeable items in his home, even if less than his peers (neighbors?).  How did he die and was it sudden?  And why was the inventory and acceptance carried out so quickly? I think others you've done have taken quite a while if I'm remembering it right.  If he had been in an accident or such, it seems it would have been mentioned.  Maybe it was but is lost in the ‘lacuna.’  You did send me to my computer dictionary quite a few times.  I wondered if the terms were common ones for those who research and write at your level.  They certainly were new to me.

 

Love your comment that you will never again have coffee near any precious papers!  Add ‘computers’ and ‘notes’ and I agree!  Also, the pencils only rule in archives.  It surprised me when I was investigating going to the NH Historical Society in Concord and saw that restriction.  Makes complete sense now.  We don't think of pens leaking but a lot of other damage can be done.

 

I wondered if all those connections to Edward indicated some endogamy but then I saw that it was a great-grandson and a great-great-granddaughter of another relative . . . so I'm guessing it was a large enough community to not involve the complication of endogamy as well . . .

 

. . .  And how wonderful that someone special had just recently cleaned up and righted the stones in the Portage Vale Cemetery.  How wonderful (and sad too) it must have been for you to be able to see all of it having been cared for like that.

 

Best wishes on this section of your article for Generations. You must be a major contributor to that journal .  . . Quite impressive.”

 

From Annmarie:

“Your Edward Ketchum article was very interesting and well written. I couldn't get to it until today to really get a good look at it, as we were on Cape Cod and I only had my phone. However, today I enjoyed reading it fully and I am positive all your readers will too when it gets published. I am sure the other ladies alerted you to any editing needs but I didn't see any. Congratulations on a job well done.

By the way, the appraiser's name, Thomas Fairchild, seemed familiar to me. I checked Byron's tree and sure enough found a Thomas Fairchild 1610 England, 1670 Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut. Must be him don't you think? He was a father-in-law to one of Byron's 8th great grandaunts on his Kimball side of the family. So many connections!”

People see different things!

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I’m well into my William Lotham article, and for your reading pleasure, I’ll attach a portion of it. Still needs revision, so you don’t need to use your red pen yet unless you want to. What is in italics is creative writing. What is in red will be removed or fixed in some way. The endnotes will be correct in the copy I send to the editor. The lines in go kerfluey during the transfer. For a better copy, request an email.

William Lotham

C. 1600 – 1645

“My boat, you need to go to my boat at the Waterside. Do not forget.” As William Wells squeezed his hand and assured him that they would tend to his boat, William Lotham relaxed. “It will not be long now. I feel it. My boat should take care of my debts and leave enough for an inheritance.”

 

“A p^rticuler of his goods, as followeth:

“Imp^rs: 3500 of Planke, 6000 Trunnels, 500 of iron, part att Frances Homes, part att Mr. Tappings, the rest in a grapnel lying att the Waterside.”^[1] That is a lot of wood and treenails (slang for trunnels). I am not sure about the iron. 500 pounds wouldn’t be much; 500 tons would be.

William Lotham is not my ancestor, and I cannot locate much information about him. As far as I can see, he left no family. He bequeathed his estate to John Clarke and John Ogden. Why, then, did I select William Lotham as a subject for my series of articles about wills? I believe his probate provides a clue to the whereabouts of my immigrant ancestor, Francis Holmes, prior to 1648. Applying the fan method of genealogical research to Lotham’s scanty records, I hoped to locate the residence of Frances Holmes in 1645.                

I - Holmes

 

Much of what I have found on the internet about Francis Holmes either does not make sense or is not sourced. What is true is that there is no mention of my Holmes ancestor in Stamford town records before 1648. Although there were records of several men by that name in England, I am not satisfied that any of them applied to my ancestor. It is well known from Connecticut court and probate records that he lived and died in Stamford, Connecticut, but he did not appear in the original lists of early settlers of that new town in the early 1640s. I have not found him and his family on passenger lists or in the early cities and towns of New England, although others indicate that he lived in Wethersfield (Geni, for example)^[1] without sources. I cannot locate any part of a journey from when and where he left England, landed in the colony, and arrived in Stamford, although Find a Grave gives birth details that are putative.^[1]  The first town record mentioning Francis was a court record in 1648.                                                                                                   In a nutshell, what do I know about Francis Holmes? Nothing is known about his first wife and mother of his four children. He married, second, Ann (Unknown) Stephens, widow of Thomas. He lived on the south side of East Street in Stamford.^[1] He was a blacksmith. His will was written in September, 1671; probated in March, 1676.^[1] And, he was assaulted during his night watchman duties.

“December 3^rd, 1648. Robert Penoyer was complained against for misdemeanor, first, that on the last day of the week within night the 30^th November 1648, the said Robert, being overcome with wine, in so much as did most [  ] himself and abused the watchman, both in words and blows, as is witnessed by Francis Holmes and appeared upon Francis Holmes, his face, and Francis Bell see the wound, and also the said Robert doth acknowledge the same. Sentence: that the said Robert is fined to Francis Holmes, twenty shillings, and to the town, twenty shillings, to be paid within eight days and that the said Robert stands bound to his good behavior for one whole year, in the sum of ten pounds forfeiture.”^[1]                                                                                       That was in 1648, but Lotham died in 1645. I believe I have located an earlier reference to Francis Holmes in the probate of William Lotham. Although it was only three years earlier, it is a step backwards in his timeline. I have not located any other Francis Holmes in New England in this time frame, which is important to my hypothesis.                                                                                                                                                                      What references were made to Francis Holmes in William Lotham’s will? Under debts owed to Lotham: “Ite[m]: fro[m] Frances Homes 36 pownd of Iron.” Unlike the other men in the list, no value was given for Holmes’ debt. Under debts owed by Lotham: “To Frances Homes 6 shillings.” Under Particulars of his Goods: “500 of Iron, part att Frances Homes, part att Mr. Tappings, the rest in a grapnel lying att the Waterside.” What relationship was there between Holmes and Lotham? I don’t think they were family, but I do believe they were friends, associates, and neighbours. Unless the document was illegible at that spot, and there is no symbol to indicate that, why would Lotham have forgiven his debt unless perhaps he was a friend? As there were records of debts owed to and by Lotham, I assume there was a business relationship between Lotham and all of these men. Maybe there was a ledger. They were associates. Lotham kept his iron at the homes of Mr. Holmes and Mr. Tappings, as well as at the Waterside, indicating to me that they were likely neighbours.

II - Lotham

 

The Probate of William Lotham:

a transcribed document written in the third person.^[1]

 

https://www.cga.ct.gov/hco/books/The_Public_Records_of_the_Colony_of_Connecticut_1665.pdf

 

 

William Lotham was sick, and he must have believed his death could be nigh. Trumbull transcribed his will: “. . . being now visited by the hand of the almighty Jehouah, w^th sicknes . . . declared his mynd and will to be, that in case a period be put to his days before alteratiō hereof . . .”

 

“Wheras on the other side herof ther is p^rticulers of the debts & creditts and goods of Williā Lothā, w^ch apeares best vnder ech p^rticuler matter, and therunto as his memory may be [    ] being now visited by the hand of the almighty Jehouah, w^th sicknes, haueing in p^rsence of vs whose names are hereunder subscribed, declared his mynd and will to be, that in case a period be put to his days before alteratiō  hereof, then his just debts being defrayed out of his p^rsonall estate, the remaynder hereof is by him giuen & bequethed to John Clarke and John Ogden, whō he maks joynt executors of this his last will and Testament, equally to be deuided betwixt thē. Witnes my hand the day and yeare w^thin written.^[1]

What was Lotham’s occupation? I believe he had several trades.                                                                He delivered the prisoner, Robert Bedle, to Fisher’s Island for Mr. Robins. Seargeant Bryan, on behalf of Mr. Leches, owed him money for transporting two butts of sacke (barrels of wine). Mr. Mitchell owed him for carrying unspecified goods. It appears that he provided a delivery service with his boat.                               Goodman Comstocke and Walter Baker owed him for tobacco; Seargeant Bryan, for soap; and Francis Holmes, for iron. He could have been a trader.                                                                                                            Based on his inventory, Paul Kebabian calls him a shipbuilder. In addition to learning a bit about Lotham, I also learned nautical terms from this inventory. He had 3500 planks and 6000 wooden nails, as well as tar and pitch.                                                                                                                                                                                In his book, American Woodworking Tools, Kebabian wrote this paragraph about the drawing knife and treenails, items that were in Lotham’s inventory. (Still under copyright, Dave.)                        “Although the drawing knife may not have been illustrated prior to the late seventeenth century, it appeared somewhat earlier among tools listed in the estates of Plymouth and other colonial craftsmen. The will of William Lotham, a shipbuilder and probably a resident of Saybrook, Connecticut, who died in 1645, included a ‘draweing knife.’ (Significantly, Lotham, in addition to all sorts of lumber, pitch, and other nautical construction materials, had on hand 6000 treenails. Like nail-making at the home forge and anvil, and sap-bucket-making in the lean-to, treenail-making was probably an indoor, winter occupation.)”^[1] The author footnoted Lotham’s will as his source, which piqued my curiosity to revisit the inventory. As I have found so few references to Lotham, and as I had initially considered him to be a trader, this compiler of a book including information about early tools brought to my attention the fact that he was a shipbuilder. What was in Lotham’s inventory? There were two parts to the particular of Lotham’s goods – what was not in his boat and what was on his boat; and a third part, the inventory for the probate, as a summary for the distribution. It appears to me that likely he was a bachelor who spent much time on his boat.                            The personal items at home or on land were:                                                                                                      A sow, kept at Mr. Sticlins; several items of clothing, including a new suit of clothes; an iron pot; a gun; and a boat with oars, an anchor, a grapnel, a mainsail and foresail.                                                            The carpentry items at home or on land were:                                                                                                             Planks, trunnels (treenails); iron (some at Mr. Holmes, some at Mr. Tappings, and some at the Waterside); tar and pitch; picks (Kebabian - possibly spikes); an auger; and a drawing knife.                               The personal items on the boat were:                                                                                                                     Dishes for cooking and eating; a sack with biscuit in it and a sack used for a bed; two Indian bags, an old kettle in which to make a fire; a little box and a chest; a candlestick; an eel spear; a pocket compass; setting poles (Kebabian – for poling his skiff in shallow waters), oars, and a skiff.                                                               The carpentry and nautical items on the boat were:                                                                                         Chisels; caulking irons (Kebabian – to drive oakum into the seams of the planking to make the ship watertight); heads for clink work (Kebabian – small sledge hammers for clinching, or turning back, the points of spikes); a scraper, a wimble, an iron wedge, an axe, pincers, hammers, a gimlet, a file, a mallet, and a gouge. (Augers, gimlets, and wimbles were for boring holes of varying sizes.)                                                   These lists were dated March 20, 1645. On September 27, 1645, the appraisers, Thomas Burchwood and Stephen Poste, provided the inventory. I would like to know what happened to the new suit of clothes, as clothes were dear back then. Did they bury him in his new suit? Also not mentioned was all the planks and iron.                                                                                                                                                                   The personal items were a coat, a cap, a doublet, britches, shoes and stockings, a hat, and other old clothes; an iron pot.                                                                                                                                                                               Related to his nautical items were a boat of about eight tons, more or less; a grapnel and an anchor; a mainsail, foresail, rigging, oars; a skiff; old tools and nails and a chest. Kebabian noted the absence of an adz and saws, essential items to a shipbuilder. He speculated that they may have been in the chest.                                                                                                                                                                                              These items, especially the nautical things, intrigued me. For further reading about shipbuilding in the colonial era, see Kebabian’s book, noted in the endnotes.^[1]                                                                                      Do these lists contribute to my question about the relationship between Holmes and Lotham? Shipbuilding is not something I am knowledgeable about, so I speculate. I see that Lotham stored iron at Holmes’ location. Frances Holmes, blacksmith, perhaps newly arrived in the Connecticut colony, may have been in his employ. Lotham may l have required the services of a blacksmith.

To be continued . . .

That’s my introduction and parts one and two of my outline, which consists of three parts: I Holmes, II Lotham, and III Others. I am currently working on others – which is five men from the twenty-seven men mentioned in the will. And then, the conclusion, and move on . . .

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As I walk the road and the path at the pond, I see crabapples and chokecherries; tansy and black eyed susans. As I scroll Facebook, I see your American children and grandchildren in their first day of school new clothes and holding little signs indicating what grade they are going into. (Canadians will wait until after Labour Day weekend.) Summer marches along to fall. I am grateful for our four seasons, but I wish they would slow down a bit.