Historical Society -- Windsor, Connecticut

Windsor Historical Society, Windsor, Connecticut

Please see my post about the Founders of Windsor.

Joseph Mullin and a Ten Eyck Connection -- Tombstone Tuesday

JOSEPH MULLIN.

DIED

MAY 17, 1882.

AGED 70 YRS.

LYDIA MARIA TEN EYCK.

HIS WIFE

DIED OCT. 14, 1884.

AGED 69 YRS.

BROOKSIDE CEMETERY

WATERTOWN, NEW YORK

Recently, I received a number of photos of cemetery stones for two individuals. Since I didn't ask for them, I was delighted when they appeared in the inbox from David Derrigo. The ones shown here were for the husband of my 5th cousin, 4 times removed...a quite distant cousin, but when you are trying to enter all things related to the Ten Eyck family, everything is note worthy. In addition, I had already found the death notice for Judge Joseph Mullin which appeared in the New York Times (see below) and his bios in Wikipedia and FindAGrave.

From FindAGrave: US Representative from New York. Immigrated to the United States in 1820 with his parents, who settled in Watertown, Jefferson County, New York. He graduated from Union College, Schenectady, in 1833, was principal of Union Academy, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1837. In 1841 he was appointed examiner of chancery, supreme court commissioner, and commissioner in bankruptcy and was prosecuting attorney of Jefferson County, 1843 to 1849. He was elected as a Republican to the Thirtieth Congress, March 4, 1847 to March 3, 1849, president of the village of Watertown in 1853 and 1854. His last public service was associate justice of the supreme court 1857 to 1881 and served as it's presiding justice till his death.  (bio by:John "J-Cat" Griffith, permission granted to use.)


From the New York Times, published Sept. 3, 1897.
SENATOR MULLIN IS DEAD; Stricken by Heart Disease in His Room in the University Clubhouse. BODY FOUND BY A SERVANT He Was Lying, Almost Fully Dressed, Across the Bed, with His Spectacles On -- Watertown's Representative in the Senate Since 1891.

State Senator Joseph Mullin was found dead in his bedroom at the University Club yesterday morning by the servant who went to awaken him. He retired about 1:15 A.M. He was known as an early riser, and when he was not seen at breakfast a servant was sent at 10:50 o'clock to learn the cause of his tardiness.  Continuation of the New York Times article seen HERE.

Two Soldiers Connect

There have been many wonderful stories on Memorial Day about our American soldiers. This one happened recently, and I had a part in it, so I am rather emotional writing about it. I am just afraid I am not doing this story true justice. There are four people involved; Jo, Bob, Gary, and Larry. Jo is the sister of Bob (soldier, still living, and who held dying soldier and buddy Gary in his arms). Jo is trying to locate Gary's brother as a favor to her brother Bob. The story began on May 02, 1967 in Vietnam when Gary died in the arms of Bob. Last month, I received a letter from Bob’s sister Jo.

What would you do if you received a letter like this, "Barbara. My name is Jo ___. My brother (Bob) served in the service with Gary. They were good friends and he, Bob, wants to connect up with his (Gary) family. Could you contact me. JO"

I wrote back, and the outcome was the most rewarding thing I have ever done. It turns out that Jo wrote me because I had the brothers, Gary and Larry in my genealogy program. The brothers are my 5th cousins. Jo googled their names and came across my information.

From Jo, I learned, "My brother Bob, served in the Vietnam War with Gary. He was there when he died. They were really close friends. I think they trained together and went over together. He talks about Gary after all these years and still grieves over his death. He grieved terribly when Gary died. He has been trying to find his family for years. He asked me to help find them. He knew that Gary was from Detroit, Mich. My brother was from Ohio. My brother has Agent Orange. He got it in Nam. He is under constant medical care from the VA."

There were very few facts, but I was up to the challenge. Once I realized this was a real life situation of a soldier trying to find another soldier's family, this was my priority until all the pieces came together. Was I ever in luck Or I should say, we were all in luck.

I located Larry, via internet, but didn’t want to write him, because if this was a true event, I thought an email stating, “I know who the person is who held your dying brother” would be too painful. Fortunately, Larry and Gary’s cousin, also found via internet, is a movie director / producer, so I wrotePamela Peak for information and to see if the story was true.

An immediate reply came from her, and yes, the story was true. Being a writer in addition to her director / producer roll, Pamela had a lot to say. “WOW! I was 10 when Gary died and we, as family, always wanted even more clarification about his death. Gary was such a patriotic person and received many more medals than what we could comprehend based on what was told to the family about his death. I attended many of those medal ceremonies.” Pamela and I wrote many letters and everything came together.

From Jo (the sister of Bob):
“My brother Bob was only about 17 or 18 when this happened and Gary was only a couple years older. Bob said he cried for his mother when he was dying and that memory was burned in my brothers mind as he was so close to our Mom. What happened in the last minutes of his death was important to him and helped him get closure also.”


A week or so later, I received this message from Jo. “My brother and Gary’s brother talked a long time on the phone and my brother got some closure on Gary's death. My brother held Gary in his arms when he died. They were best friends in Vietnam. My brother has grieved over his death for years and talking to Gary's family has helped them all. The war was really bad for my brother and when he came home he was a mess. I am glad we finally found someone who knew Gary that he could talk to about him. We wish to thank you for all the help you gave us in finding this family. Barbara, again we thank you so much. You were a life saver for my family."

From Pamela (the cousin):
“Of course you can write about this on your blog. I am a writer and I totally want you to write about it. In fact, I'm due to give a speech at the foot of the Polar Bear Monument on Memorial Day in Troy, Michigan, just a short step away from where Gary is buried. The speech is about my film dedicated to the Polar Bears, and I will now be telling this incredible story about how you contacted me and how we found Bob so he could deliver his communication after all these years. It's quite a story isn't it? (I still have chills and tears in my eyes as I am writing this).”

“Thank you for all the work you do and for being the wonderful person you are to put us all in communication. Please let me know when you write about this on your blog. I would love to see it and I love knowing that others will now share this incredible story and pass it on.”

Bob, Larry, Jo, Pamela this is for you, and for Gary who will forever be in our hearts. Pamela, I am sorry I waited so long to write this, it was extremely difficult, but at last, I quote you, “I love knowing that others will now share this incredible story and pass it on.”

Note: This was originally posted, May 30, 2010.

Seeing the Bridge and Some Babies -- Wordless Wednesday

The Old North Bridge at Concord, Massachusetts.

Read and Reed of Lowell, Massachusetts -- Tombstone Tuesday

ELIJAH M. READ

DIED

DEC. 31, 1878.

AGED 79 YEARS.

 _____

BETSEY P.

HIS WIFE

DIED

FEB. 13, 1873

AGED 81 YEARS

 RUFUS REED

1818 --  1886

 ____

MARTHA S. DODGE

HIS WIFE

1924  --  1902

Left side of monument.

ELIZABETH

REED

1850  - 192_

WILLIAM

REED

1862 - 1905

WILLIAM I.

SON OF

W. L. AND M. P. REED

1885 - 1886

Buried at the Lowell Cemetery, Lowell, Massachusetts

(They are not related to me.)

Heritage Museums and Gardens -- Sandwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

My photos were taken at Heritage Museums and Gardens, Sandwich, Massachusetts on May 22, 2012.

Even though we had a rainy day, the weather was warm and all the rhododendrons were in full bloom. There was a special exhibit by Norman Rockwell. In addition we saw a collection of antique cars.

 

Pollard / Lowell Memorial Library, Lowell, Massachusetts

Pollard Memorial Library
401 Merrimack St.
Lowell, MA. 01852

(978) 674-4120 (press 5)

Genealogy overview: https://lowelllibrary.org/research/genealogy/

All reference materials are located on the second floor.

Genealogies are located in this section. Reference books are in another area, and the city directories are near the reference librarian. There is a genealogist librarian, and if you are lucky, she might be working the time you are there. On September 17, 2017, the Lowell Sun newspaper wrote an article about the above painting, Lee's Surrender.

Hallway and stairs.

There is a separate room with readers, I believe there are 2-3.
(Reflection on screen shows the street behind.)

The film is located in the above file cabinets.

Permission granted to take the photos above. (April 2012, June 2014)

Birth index from 1915-1955; Marriage Index from 1901-1950; Death Index from 1876-1934 from local newspapers were prepared by a dedicated genealogist/volunteer Shirley E. (Johnson) Rathbun in 1999 and are stored on the above shelf.

Stained glass window looks quite different with light shining on it at night.

Photos below taken from the 2nd floor.

In 2016 I wrote another blog about doing Lowell research at another location in the city. I wrote: "Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center) is maintained by the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The building is owned by the Lowell National Historical Park. In the building are also office space, restrooms, and the entrance to the Mill Girls and Immigrants Exhibit (see 3rd picture for a full picture of the building). There is no close parking, but a block away there is on-street parking with meters and a parking garage on John Street. During the summer and class breaks is the very best time to use this library because school is out (a 4,000 student high school is a block away), and parking could be tight." To see my photos and read more information, see: Doing Genealogy in Lowell, Massachusetts? Here is Help.