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The Life From The Roots blog topics have changed several times since I began this blog in 2009. I initially wrote only about the family history I had been working on for 20 years. Years later, I was into visiting gardens, historical homes, churches, libraries that had genealogical collections, historical societies, war memorials, and travel/tourism places. I also enjoy posting autographs and photos of famous people I've met or have seen.

Along with my New England roots, other areas include New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.

Please check out the labels on the right side for topics (please note, they need work). Below the labels and pageviews is a listing of my top nine posts, according to Google. Four of them pertain to Lowell, MA. These posts change often because they are based on what people are reading.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Those Places Thursday -- Historical Societies

Fitzwilliam Historical Society, Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire

Carlisle Historical Society, Carlisle, Massachusetts
Many more photos are available in past blogs, seen at Historical Societies.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Edith Wharton Estate -- The Beautiful Mount, House and Garden

Lenox, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts

Estate and Gardens of Edith Wharton

Telephone box

"THE AGE OF INNOCENCE"
Exhibits my favorite movie and others













Excellent post,, "Writer Edith Wharton Builds in Lenox,  June 7, 1902" by  Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities 





Monday, June 27, 2011

Hint for Taking Cemetery Photos

If you see a stone on Find-A-Grave and want to locate it in a cemetery, print a copy to take with you. If you are lucky, the photographer took both a close-up and one from about 10 feet away. A wide shot gives you more of an idea where she or he found it in that cemetery. With your printed copy, you can see what the shape of the stone is, don't rely on your memory, if you are looking for a lot of them.


Be sure to check and see if the FindAGrave site has additional photos not shown on the home page, which has a limit of three. My second photo clearly gives you an idea of where this stone is.




Solomon Glezen (also spelled Gleason)
Born:  March 14, 1734, Worcester, Worcester Co., Massachusetts
Died:  August 10, 1810, Lenox, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts
and his wife
Lydia Whittelsey
Born:  September 10, 1739, Wethersfield, Hartford Co., Massachusetts
Died: September 6, 1810, Lenox, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts

They are my 5th great-grandparents.

They died within a month of each other and are buried, along with their son, Amasa Glezen, who died in 1808.
Lenox, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Munson of Connecticut -- Surname Saturday

The Munson line is another old Connecticut line. My direct ancestors are in green. Previously, I covered more recent generations, they can be found here.


Generation No. 1



1.THOMAS MUNSON (JOHN MUNSON1) was born ABT 13 SEP 1612 in Rattlesden, Suffolk, England, and died 7 MAR 1685 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married JOANNA MEW BEF 1643 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. She was born ABT 1611 in England, and died 13 DEC 1678 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
Children of THOMAS MUNSON and JOANNA MEW were:
2  i.Elizabeth MUNSON died 18 DEC 1706 in Stamford, Fairfield Co., Connecticut. She married Timothy COOPER 19 OCT 1664 in Springfield, Hampden Co., Massachusetts. She married Richard HIGGINSBOTHAM BEF 1682 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
+3  ii.SAMUEL MUNSON was born ABT 6 AUG 1643 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 10 JAN 1693 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
4  iii.Hannah MUNSON was born ABT 11 JUN 1648 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 30 NOV 1695 in Guilford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. She married Joseph TUTTLE 2 MAY 1667 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, son of WILLIAM TUTTLE and ELIZABETH w\o WILLIAM TUTTLE. He was born ABT 22 NOV 1640, and died SEP 1690 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. She married Nathan BRADLEY 21 AUG 1694.


Generation No. 2



3.SAMUEL MUNSON (THOMAS MUNSON2, JOHN MUNSON1) was born ABT 6 AUG 1643 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 10 JAN 1693 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married MARTHA BRADLEY 26 OCT 1665 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, daughter of WILLIAM BRADLEY and ALICE PRITCHARD. She was born ABT OCT 1648 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
Children of SAMUEL MUNSON and MARTHA BRADLEY were:
5  i.Martha MUNSON was born 6 MAY 1667 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 24 APR 1728. She married Thomas ELCOCK1690 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
+6  ii.SAMUEL MUNSON was born 28 FEB 1668 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 23 NOV 1741 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
7  iii.Thomas MUNSON was born 12 MAR 1671 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 28 SEP 1746. He married Mary WILCOXSON 15 SEP 1694 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, daughter of OBADIAH WILCOXSON and Lydia ALLING. She was born 11 DEC 1676 in Guilford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
8  iv.John MUNSON was born 28 JAN 1673 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died BEF 1752. He married Sarah COOPER 10 NOV 1692 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, daughter of John COOPER and Mary THOMPSON. She was born 26 APR 1673 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died BEF 1736. He married Elizabeth ABT 1736.
9  v.Theophilus MUNSON was born 1 SEP 1675 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 28 NOV 1747 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married Esther MIX 1695 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
10  vi.Joseph MUNSON was born 1 NOV 1677 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 30 OCT 1725 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married Margery HITCHCOCK 10 MAR 1699 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
11  vii.Stephen MUNSON was born 5 DEC 1679 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died ABT 1768. He married Lydia BASSETT 23 DEC 1703 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
12  viii.Caleb MUNSON was born 19 NOV 1682 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 23 AUG 1765 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married Elizabeth HERMON 26 MAR 1706 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married Hannah PORTER 10 JAN 1740 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
13  ix.Joshua MUNSON was born 7 FEB 1685 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 9 DEC 1711 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married Katherine STREET 20 DEC 1710 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
14  x.Israel MUNSON was born 6 MAR 1686 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died BEF 1697.


Generation No. 3



6.SAMUEL MUNSON (SAMUEL MUNSON3, THOMAS MUNSON2, JOHN MUNSON1) was born 28 FEB 1668 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 23 NOV 1741 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married MARTHA FARNES 1687 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, daughter of SAMUEL FARNES and Unknown. She was born ABT 1670 in New Haven or Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 7 JAN 1708 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married MARY PRESTON 10 MAR 1708 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, daughter of ELIASAPH PRESTON and MARY WILCOXSON?. She was born 28 APR 1674 in Stratford, Fairfield Co., Connecticut, and died 28 NOV 1755 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. She was buried in Center Street Cemetery, Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
Children of SAMUEL MUNSON and MARTHA FARNES were:
15  i.Solomon MUNSON was born 18 FEB 1690 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 1773 in Morristown, New Jersey. He married Tamar . He married Mary MOSS 28 JAN 1714 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
16  ii.Samuel MUNSON was born 25 AUG 1691 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died ABT 1710 in Port Royal.
+17  iii.Marlo MUNSON was born 15 FEB 1694 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 1 JUL 1739 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
18  iv.William MUNSON was born 13 OCT 1695 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 21 JUL 1773. He married Rebecca CURTIS.
+19  v.WAITSTILL MUNSON was born 12 DEC 1697 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 6 MAR 1789 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
20  vi.Eunice MUNSON was born 13 SEP 1700 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 29 NOV 1793. She married Stephen HART 29 DEC 1720 in Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut, son of Thomas HART. He was born 30 JUL 1693.
21  vii.Obedience MUNSON was born 13 OCT 1702 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. She married Amos HOTCHKISS.
22  viii.Katherine MUNSON was born 3 JUN 1704 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. She married John MITCHELL 27 OCT 1720 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
23  ix.Tamar MUNSON was born 5 DEC 1707 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 2 OCT 1788. She married James HOTCHKISS 23 JUL 1728 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, son of Samuel HOTCHKISS. He was born 8 DEC 1684.

Children of SAMUEL MUNSON and MARY PRESTON were:
24  i.Lemuel MUNSON was born 5 FEB 1709 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 1 JUL 1741 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
25  ii.Merriman MUNSON was born 30 NOV 1710 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 9 SEP 1782 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married Esther JOHNSON 24 JAN 1733 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. She was born 4 MAY 1712, and died 23 MAY 1790. He married Thankful PECK 23 JAN 1758 in Wallingford, New Haven, CT.


Generation No. 4



17.Marlo MUNSON (SAMUEL MUNSON4, SAMUEL MUNSON3, THOMAS MUNSON2, JOHN MUNSON1) was born 15 FEB 1694 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 1 JUL 1739 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. She married John HITCHCOCK 21 NOV 1712 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He was born 18 OCT 1685.
Children of Marlo MUNSON and John HITCHCOCK were:
26  i.Peter HITCHCOCK was born 14 OCT 1713.
27  ii.Martha HITCHCOCK was born 1 APR 1715.
28  iii.John HITCHCOCK was born 11 MAY 1717. He married Elizabeth CHATTERTON 29 NOV 1739.
29  iv.Eliakim HITCHCOCK was born 7 SEP 1719, and died 5 APR 1723.
30  v.Jotham HITCHCOCK was born 4 FEB 1722. He married Mary.
31  vi.Dan HITCHCOCK was born 14 MAR 1724. He married Esther MILES 17 AUG 1743.
32  vii.Eliakim HITCHCOCK was born 13 JUN 1726, and died 19 JUN 1788. He married Esther HITCHCOCK.
33  viii.Titus HITCHCOCK was born 31 JAN 1729. He married Hannah MUNSON 20 JUL 1759.
34  ix.Catharine HITCHCOCK was born 10 JUL 1731.

19.WAITSTILL MUNSON (SAMUEL MUNSON4, SAMUEL MUNSON3, THOMAS MUNSON2, JOHN MUNSON1) was born 12 DEC 1697 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 6 MAR 1789 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married PHEBE MERRIMAN 10 DEC 1719 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, daughter of CALEB MERRIMAN and MARY PRESTON. She was born 16 SEP 1699 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 11 DEC 1772.
Children of WAITSTILL MUNSON and PHEBE MERRIMAN were:
+35  i.Reuben MUNSON was born 9 MAY 1721 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 9 JUN 1780 in Southington, Hartford Co., Connecticut.
36  ii.Hannah MUNSON was born 20 FEB 1723 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. She married Benjamin COOK 20 JAN 1741 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
37  iii.Samuel MUNSON was born 7 DEC 1724 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 11 OCT 1801 in Northford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married Jerusha JOHNSON. She was born 1725, and died 17 NOV 1817 in Northford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married Rachel COOK 14 MAY 1747 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. She was born 19 NOV 1724 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 22 DEC 1748.
38  iv.Phebe MUNSON was born 14 JUN 1726 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 25 JAN 1746 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. She married Phineas PECK 25 DEC 1744 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
39  v.Solomon MUNSON was born 19 MAR 1729 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 15 OCT 1802 in Windham, New York. He married Sarah PECK 14 JUN 1753 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married Sarah MUNSON 11 OCT 1759. She was born 6 SEP 1740 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 1 JAN 1761. He married Hannah BALDWIN 19 NOV 1761. She was born 8 JUN 1739, and died 1831.
+40  vi.WAITSTILL MUNSON was born 24 NOV 1729 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died ABT SEP 1786.
41  vii.Medad MUNSON was born 31 AUG 1731 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 14 MAY 1777 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. He married Desire CARRINGTON 15 OCT 1761 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
42  viii.Mamre MUNSON was born 20 JAN 1734 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 5 JUL 1787. She married Timothy CARRINGTON 26 SEP 1751 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
43  ix.Martha MUNSON was born 11 JUN 1738 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 27 JAN 1739 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.
44  x.Martha MUNSON was born 16 JAN 1740 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut, and died 26 JAN 1740 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

I WOULD LOVE TO BUY THESE BOOKS

Because of my proximity to many local libraries and the New England Historic Genealogical Society's Library (NEHGS) in Boston, I don't purchase many books. I do have a collection, but I wouldn't call it large. However, there are some I would really love to own, to read cover-to-cover, and would like to buy these displayed below. Anybody wanting to sell their gently used copies?
Many years ago, I met Robert Charles Anderson, the author of  the series of books, while he was working on  one of the early volumes in this series. I couldn't wait for them to be published because they cover the time frame 1620-1633, and I hoped some of my ancestors would be included. (Book title: Anderson, Robert C., The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vol. III, P-W, (Boston: NEHGS, 1995)
Three of these books are used almost every time I go to the library. Two pertaining to cemeteries in Connecticut are new to me as of this past week.
  • Jones, Henry Z., Jr., The Palatine Families of New York (A Study of the German Immigrants Who Arrived in Colonial New York in 1710) (Universal City, CA: 1985)
  • Duemyer, Louis, Intro. by, Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Albany, NY 1683-1809 (Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., Inc. 1978)
  • Hosley, William, By Their Markers Ye Shall Know them: A Chronicle of the History and Restorations of Hartford's Ancient Burying Ground (Hartford, CT: The Ancient Burying Ground Association, Inc., 1994)
  • Barlow, Claude Willis, John Steevens of Guilford, Connecticut, (Rochester, NY: John M. Stephens, 1976).
  • Tillotson, Edward S., compiler, Wethersfield Inscriptions : a complete record of the inscriptions in the five burial places in the ancient town of Wethersfield , (William F.J. Boardman, Hartford, Conn.1899), (reprinted Whitefish, MT] : Kessinger Publishing, [2008?])
The last book, is a set of two, referred to Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines compiled by Mary Walton Ferris in 1931. I absolutely love this book. One book covers many of my Massachusetts Ancestors, the other the Connecticut lines. This was the first book a genealogist told me to look at when I began.  If you have Ancestry.com, you can find it here and a listing of names from Vol. 1 is below. Maybe take a peek at my Balch line (in red) and see why I'm excited, and there are 43 sources. Vol. 2 isn't displayed like Vol. 1, so I typed the names, they are at the bottom.
Vol I. Antrobus
The books are huge, and there are over 900 pages in each book.


MARY BEMAN (GATES) DAWES
GATES, GEORGE
ACKLEY, NICHOLAS
ANDREWS, NICHOLAS
BANGS, EDWARD
BARTLETT, JOHN
BATCHELDER, JOHN
BEAMAN, SIMON
BEAMON, WILLIAM
BLISS, THOMAS
BRAINERD, DANIEL
BREWSTER, WILLIAM
BULL, ROBERT
BUSHNELL, FRANCIS
CHALKER, ALEXANDER
CHAPMAN, EDWARD
CHAPMAN, ROBERT
CLARKE, JOHN
CLARKE, WILLIAM
COE, ROBERT
CONANT, ROGER
CONE, DANIEL
COOKE, FRANCIS
COREY, JOHN
DANFORTH, NICHOLAS
DEVEREAUX, JOHN
DOANE, JOHN
DODGE, RICHARD
DODGE, WILLIAM
ELIOTT, ANDREW
FOOTE, NATHANIEL
FOX, MARGARET
FREEMAN, EDMOND
GODFREY, GEORGE
GRANT, MATTHEW
GRAVES, GEORGE
GRISWOLD, EDWARD
GUNN, THOMAS
HAWLEY, JOSEPH
HAYWARD, ROBERT
HERRICK, HENRY
HOPKINS, STEPHEN
HULL, GEORGE
HULL, ISAAC
HUMPHREY, MICHAEL
HUNGERFORD, THOMAS
JOHNSON, JAMES
KILBOURN, THOMAS
KIRTLAND, PHILIP
LASKIN, HUGH
LITTLE, JOHN
LOOMIS, JOSEPH
MARVIN, MATTHEW
MERRICK, WILLIAM
MITCHELL (MATTHEW OR THOMAS)
NICHOLSON, EDMUND
OBER, RICHARD
OLMSTEAD, JAMES
PALGRAVE, JOAN (HARRIS)
PARSONS, JOSEPH
PETTYJOHN, JAMES
PINNEY, HUMPHREY
POST, STEPHEN
POTTER, HANNAH
PRATT, WILLIAM
PRENCE, THOMAS
RAYMOND, JOHN
RAYMOND, WILLIAM
ROBERTS, JOHN
SAXTON, RICHARD
SCRUGGS, THOMAS
SEYMOUR, THOMAS
SHIPMAN, RICHARD
SPENCER, GERALD
STILLWELL, JASPER
TAYLOR, JOHN
THRALL, WILLIAM
TRACY, STEPHEN
VENTRES, WILLIAM
WHITE, ROBERT
WOODBURY, WILLIAM
WOODWARD, HENRY