"The Ultimate Volunteer" -- My Mother's Newspaper Obit. 36 years ago, She Died This Day

Thursday, April 26, 1990 (My mother died April 16, 1990)
The Beacon (Acton, MA)

"'The Ultimate Volunteer' leaves behind smiles, warm memories

Acton -- 
Jane Poole was not the type of person to sit home and knit sweaters after she retired. She was always moving -- athletic, giving, involved in her community. It was not unusual to spot Poole out on her bike, tooling around town doing errands, going to aerobics classes, organizing social events.

She died April 16 of a heart attack, at the age of 70, doing what she loved, leading a group of bicyclists on an annual Patriot's Day bike ride in Lincoln [sic] (should be Lexington).

Poole, a retired Westford kindergarten teacher, was an active member of the Nashoba Valley Pedalers, a group of bicyclists who go on monthly trips all over the state. She also contributed her boundless energies to the American Association for Retired People, the Concord Piece makers (a quilting group) and the First Parish Unitarian Church in Chelmsford, among other organizations.

A mother of three, Poole will be missed by the many diverse groups who knew her. 'She was the ultimate volunteer,' said Jean James, a fellow pedaler and friend of Poole's for over 10 years. 'She wasn't willing to become inactive. She definitely wanted to stay active for as long as she could.' Poole did nothing halfway, putting 100 percent of herself into any project. When she decided to start biking during the gas crisis of 1973, she didn't stop at a few miles a day. She averaged 350 miles a month at one point in her bicycling career, logging several 100-mile day trips with her fellow bikers.

She even went overseas, making several European biking trips including one 2 years ago to the Soviet Union.

While Jane Poole was always an outdoor person, her daughters said they don't remember her as an avid athlete while they were growing up They do remember the tireless giving of her time to such things as girl scouts, the church, and making crafts for charity fairs.

She taught kindergarten at the Robinson School in Westford for 15 years, and later was a substitute teacher for the Acton school systems in her semi-retirement. 'She was a friendly, giving person. She was the type of person that if her students didn't have bags to carry their books in, she would have them make book bags.'

Poole grew up in New York City and went to Skidmore College for a degree in textiles. She received her master's in education from Northeastern.

She also devoted time to her alma mater, helping Skidmore alumni club organize a reunion of the class of 1942. 'She was always a great planner, always looking ahead.'

Donations in Poole's memory can be made to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, suite 300, 1400 Sixteenth St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.

Poole worked hard in her life to turn the railroad tracks which start in Lowell and go through Chelmsford, Westford, Carlisle, Acton, Concord, and Sudbury, into a bike path. Her daughters said they will be working with a lawyer to ensure any donations made in Poole's memory will go to the Lowell-Sudbury bike path."

Note: She was planning a bike trip in France just 6 weeks before her death. She also biked in China, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, England and many states in the United States. 

The above-mentioned Bruce Freeman bike trail opened almost two years ago. More than 19 years after death! Had she still been alive, she probably would have ridden on it at age 90.

Personally, I know she was a Girl Scout leader and for several years the Sunday School volunteer administrator.

Her revised will dated 1 March 1990, was just 6 weeks prior to her death and a few months before a scheduled trip to France, replaced her original one prepared in ca. 1955. She thought so much about her love of the Church, Rails to Trails, New England Quilt Museum, Friends of the Acton Council on Aging, Northfield Mt. Hermon School (where she attended a private high school), and Skidmore College that she left each of them 1/6 of 1/4 of her estate. She volunteered for all of them, and probably right to the end. (Note: she wasn't into genealogy, but sent me her DAR membership certificate, my great-grandmother's, and gg grandmothers' certificates. She was thrilled that I was working in the DAR.) From below I highlighted, "In her retirement, she often rode over 5000 miles a year."

I wrote about her in my Fearless Females Blog  --  Tragic or Unexpected Deaths last year in March.

I just found this online on April 14, 2021 (written 29 years after her death).

"Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, NVP and Jane Poole update

posted Jun 17, 2018, 3:21 PM by Lindy King   [updated Mar 16, 2019, 11:02 AM by Howard Davidson]

For some of us long-time members of the NVP, the Groundbreaking for Phase 2A of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail has a special significance in addition to the opportunities provided by having another place to ride that's free of motorized vehicles. Back in the 1980s one of our most popular and enthusiastic members was a retired schoolteacher called Jane Poole. At various times, she was a board member, ride leader, club President, organizer of the Century and a great ambassador for the club that recruited many members.  In her retirement, she often rode over 5000 miles a year. Many of them were on club business; she would use her bicycle to deliver copies of Pedalings to all members in Acton where she lived. The Pedaler used to be called Pedalings in those days, of course it was all on paper then and mostly delivered by USPS.  Before retirement, Jane taught first grade in Westford. I bet that some club members remember her from their earliest days, even if they do not remember her from the club. I first met her in 1987 at NEAR (New England Area Rally). This was the year that the event was at UNH in Durham  Jane was one of our most energetic ride leaders. The wallpaper on the hallway to Jane’s kitchen was a set of USGS maps of our area and she would use them to show her routes to you. My wife Betsy Taylor-Kennedy lived in an apartment in Bolton in the late 1980s and she remembers how Jane explained the best way for Betsy to commute to work in Acton by running her fingers along the lines on this wall. Jane rode a red Georgena Terry with straight handlebars. The bike had the trademark Terry small front wheel and was built when Georgena’s bikes were still handmade in upstate New York. It must have been one of the first Terrys to be sold in Massachusetts and definitely one of the first Terrys I had ever seen. When Jane was not using her bike for transport she did not use a gas-guzzler. She drove a small Geo. All of this brings me to the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail because Jane was also an early supporter of efforts to convert what was then called “the Sudbury to Lowell Railway line” to non-motorized transport. This was at a time when there were still occasional freight trains making deliveries to the lumber yards on Route 27 in Acton. Jane led a number of hikes along the railway bed in about 8-mile increments. Of course, she did this at times when there were no trains! I can remember one hike in particular that took us by what has been one of the most contentious sections of the planned trail; the section adjacent to White's Pond in Concord. Jane died of a heart attack while leading her annual Patriots’ Day ride in April 1990. She was about 70 years old. She knew that she was weak and was waiting for heart surgery at the time. I wasn’t on that ride, but it's possible that some of our current members were there. Jane had been a general inspiration to us all. A large contingent from the NVP attended her memorial service in Chelmsford. Afterwards the club raised money and paid for a memorial to her in the form a stone bench and small garden in the Acton Arboretum, but a condition of installation of the seat was that when the railway bed was converted through Acton it would be moved to a suitable place next to the trail. Some of the money was raised at the Jane Poole Metric Century in the spring following Jane’s death. The start point was near her home in Nagog Woods and her daughters were there to see us off. I am pleased to tell you that the Town of Acton has committed to move it in to place when Phase 2A is completed. Gordon Taylor"

Dorothy Ann Koenig, March 18, 1933 - May 28, 2018

When I read of Ms. Dorothy Ann Koenig’s passing a few days ago, from the California Genealogical Society and Library facebook page, I knew I had to write something about Dorothy.

Let me take you back to how and when we connected. Fortunately, Dorothy replied to a query on RootsWeb in 2001, and I found it in November 2008, when I was looking for some information. Her email didn’t work for me, and I was determined to find her so, how did I get it? I am sharing some of our letters to give you insight into what a wonderful generous lady she was. If you’ve never written a genealogist for help, you might be missing out. She helped me solve a major brick wall, the ancestry of my 3rd great-grandfather, I couldn’t have had a better person to guide me along. Dorothy will always be in my heart and memory for as long as I do genealogy, so, in other words, a very long time. I'm sharing some of our letters, and you can see the fun we had.

11/14/08

Dear Dorothy,

Back in 2001 you replied to several RootsWeb queries and sourced the book, "A Genealogy of the Reyniersen Family" and that is the purpose of my email to you. I can't locate it in my area (Massachusetts) and wondered if you had a personal copy of it?  My line is, I believe, Simon Anderson, then his son George who married Violetta Ten Eyck.

I do know the book is in Salt Lake City, but as is always the way, I was there three weeks ago, but then, didn't know that Anderson was in the book.

On another note, I see we both know Steve Danko, as a matter of fact, he gave me your email, as the 2001 address didn't work and this email was returned to me.  Thank goodness for your name + genealogy I found you through Google and Steve.

When you wrote the below, is that all that there is in the book that pertains to the Anderson line?

Dorothy, you wrote to Rootsweb stating:

"-- The authors list 6 children for Simon Anderson and Mary Van Anglen; the dates are birth dates:

4 Jun 1783 Mettje/Martham. 16 Oct 1803 Hendrick Suydam

25 Aug 1785 Sarahm. 18 Sep 1803 Garret Stothoff

8 Aug 1787 Dinah

8 Nov 1789 Jemima

8 Mar 1796 George

2 Mar 1799 Cornelius

There is a *possibility* that the George born in 1796 could be the one who married Violetta Ten Eyck in 1816,..."

Sincerely,

Barbara Poole

-----

The next day, she wrote back

Sat, Nov 15, 2008

subject Re: "A Genealogy of the Reyniersen Family"

Dear Barbara,  I'm glad that you were able to locate me!  The book in question is "A Genealogy of the Reyniersen Family", by Peter M. Rinearson and Arthur P. Rynearson published in 1997. It is page 67 that has the information about the family group of Simon Anderson and his wife Maria/Mary Van Anglen. Maria was the daughter of Cornelius Van Hengelen and Sarah Reyniersen.  Simon was the son of George Anderson and Mettie Van Wickle (sic). The birth and death dates for individuals in the family are given.  For your George (the son) the birth date of 8 March 1796 is given. He was baptized on 3 April 1796 in the First Dutch Reformed Church in New Brunswick, NJ.

These New Brunswick baptisms have been published in the Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society. I can confirm that little George's baptism took place on 3 April 1796. The parents' names were recorded as "Simon Aderson (sic) and Mary Van Hengler.

If you want to email me your postal address, I will xerox the page from the Reyniersen book and mail it to you so that you can have all the dates and places.

Dorothy

-----

Dear Barbara,

The book has 660 pages of rather small, dense print. I will be happy to look at the information you have compiled on your George, son of Simon. Try as I might, I was unable to open the "X-Attachment-Id: 330@goomoji.gmail" in your last message.

I use a Macintosh computer. Is there a way you could append a "normal" attachment or imbed your timeline in the body of your next email message?

I am the editor of a genealogical quarterly, "New Netherland Connections".  When the Reyniersen book was published on 1997, one of the authors contacted me, and I immediately purchased a copy. I guess the print run was rather small, and now I own a treasure :-).

Dorothy

-----

From:  Dorothy Koenig

        Dear Barbara,  Yes, I think you are on the right track.  My basic impression is that your George Anderson, son of Simon, either didn't know exactly when he was born OR that as time went by he exaggerated his age. The ages of George and his siblings as presented on page 67 of the Reyniersen Genealogy come from a handwritten copy of a family Bible record. (See pages 831-833 of volume 2 of "Genealogies of New Jersey Families" [1996]). The whereabouts of the original Bible is unknown today:

"In the year 1755 was Simon Anderson Born on the 10 Day of December.

In the year 1761 was Mary Van Anglen Born On the 30 Day of November.

In the Year 1783 was Martha Anderson Born on the 4 Day of June.

In the Year 1785 was Sarah Anderson Born on the 25 Day of August.

In the Year 1787 was Dinah Anderson Born on the 8 Day of August.

In the Year 1789 was Jemima Anderson Born on the 8 Day of December.

In the Year 1796 was George Anderson Born on the 8 Day of March.

In the year 1799 was Cornelius Anderson Born on the 2 Day of March.

In the year 1806 December 21 then Simon Anderson Departed this Life in the fifty second [year] of his age."

From the same source we also learn:

"In the Year of Our Lord 1802 in Martha [Anderson] Married to Hendrick Suydam October the 16th Day.

In the Year of Our Lord 1803 is Sarah Anderson married to Garret Stothoff on the 18th of September.

In the Year of Our Lord 1804 the 9th of September Jarominah Anderson Departed this Life in the 15th Year of her Age."

There is more on the earlier generations of this ANDERSON family on pages 371 and 372 of the same volume.

On page 5 of "New Jersey Marriage Records, 1665-1800", by William Nelson, 1990, we learn that "Simon Anderson, Somerset" and Mary Van Hauglin" received a license to wed on 11 October 1781. (I am sure that the "u" in Mary's surname is a mis-transcription of an "n" that was in the handwritten document.)

Then I found an abstract of Simon Anderson's will on page 9 of New Jersey "Calendar of Wills,1806-1809". He wrote his will on 10 November 1806, and we know from the Bible record (above) that he died on 21 December 1806. The will was proved in court on 7 January 1807.

"Simon Anderson, of Raritan River, Somerset County, yeoman, will of. Wife, Mary, use of real estate and residue of personal estate, while my widow; should she marry, then 30 Pounds yearly, during her life. Sons, George and Cornelius, lands whereon I now live that my father bought of Albert Voorhees (325 acres). Son, George, negro man, Nene, my silver hilted sword, silver watch and 6 silver tea spoons. Son Cornelius, negro man, Will; should he die underage and without issue, 1/2 of his share to my son George, and the other half to be divided among my daughters.  Daughters, Martha and Sarah, each 250 Pounds. Daughter Dinah, 300 Pounds; should she died without issue her share to be divided between all my children. Sons, George and Cornelius, cattle and farming utensils.

Executors -- wife, Mary, and son-in-law Hendrick Sedam [Suydam].

Witnesses -- Richard Rappleye, James Rappleye, Cornelius Rappleye"

There is something particularly poignant about this will when you consider that Simon Anderson's two sons -- George and Cornelius -- were only about 10 and 7 years old when their father wrote his will and died.

What exact volume and page of the "Somerset County Historical Quarterly" shows the first marriage of your George Anderson to Violetta Ten Eyck?

I definitely think you are on the right track!

Dorothy

-----

Dear Dorothy,

Did you hear me scream with joy?

I would like to pay you a little something, say $10, for your time and wonderful input. Also for copies of the 3 sources you mentioned below. For some reason, I tend to think you have the other books as well.

This morning, I was looking at your New Netherland Connections books through the NEHGS site, how easy it that, on a cold Sunday morning. The first volume explains what New Netherland means, I never knew, and always wondered. And, my TenEyck line, I always thought they were Dutch, but similar to your example (but in reverse), later discovered that they were German.

Do you think Anderson is a Dutch name? Of course what was written about the family in the Genealogies of New Jersey Families, may give some information on that.

You asked me about Violetta and George's marriage, the below came from Mary Hobein.

"Somerset County Marriages (Somerset Co. LDS microflim 1023875 also in Somerset County Historical Quarterly)

George Anderson and Violetta Ten Eyck Nov 31, 1816 (John Boggs)"

And from a webpage (person contacted, but no reply) Alletta Teneick (daughter of Jeremiah Teneick and Jane) was born September 22, 1797, and died 1840 in Dane Co., WI. She married George Anderson on November 28, 1816.

NOTE: If you would like, you could scan the pages instead of mailing them. But, I would like your address anyway.

You have really helped me, I had no idea who I was writing to at first. I gather you know Henry Hoff?

Again thank you.

Barbara

-----

Dear Barbara,

I am not a professional genealogist, i.e. I don't accept money for what I'm able to do. But I will be happy to xerox the sources mentioned. I will need your street address!

I have the highest regard for Henry Hoff. I have worked with him, talked to him over the phone, but I have never had the pleasure of meeting him in person.

I'm glad you had an occasion to scream with joy :-).

-----

Dear Dorothy,

The envelope arrived yesterday, what a nice surprise. Of course I tore into it, and got to reading it immediately. I liked not having to wait until Monday for it as well. Thank you so much.

What an undertaking to do such a large book of 600+ pages, and then a second book. For now, I will wait on writing Mr. Rynearson, as I know the book will be at least $60 or more. Of the four libraries that I contacted, the first two replied with a no, but one said yes, and the other NYPL said to send request to another place. So, I will continue with the inter-loan process for now.

You will be receiving a little thank you from me, it goes out tomorrow.

I've enjoyed my time with you these past two weeks. I usually do all my own research myself, but in this case, it was almost a necessity to have help from you. Thank goodness I found you!

Most sincerely,

Barbara Poole

-----

Dear Barbara,

That was fast! I am glad that your curiosity has finally been satisfied, and now you have all those collateral lines to research as well. It's been a pleasure for me too.  Dorothy

Dear Barbara,

Many thanks for your thank you note with the enclosed postage stamps. It was a very thoughtful gesture and just the right touch!  Dorothy

(I believe I sent her $25.00 worth of stamps.)

I have decided not to use the Comment feature for my blog. If you would like to leave a comment for me or ask a question, please write me at my email: BarbaraPoole@Gmail.com. Thank you.

My reason is because since November 2017 to May 2018, I received no comments, but upon investigating I found that I had indeed received 167 legitimate ones and 1,000 were in the spam folder. Google Blogger had made some changes that I was unaware of.

Would Jump of Happiness if We Could Find a Photo of Him -- The Words from a Swedish Researcher

A few weeks ago, I received a message from Christer, a gentlemen from Sweden who was researching Mr. Paulson, a family member, in Lowell, MA, where I live. The writer found me by seeing my post, Doing Genealogy in Lowell, Massachusetts? Here is Help. I don't have ancestors or family from this city, but since I had just written the post about Lowell research, I wanted to be put to the test with my knowledge. We corresponded several times, and he told me all that he knew about Mr. Paulson, proving to me, he is an accomplished researcher.

Below are a few things he wrote:
"I've found .... - him in the census' 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940. - his lodge membership card. (mason lodge) - his social security number: 004-07-3168 - out he died in Feb 1978, in Lowell - his WW1 and WW2 registration cards - I have also found him in several city directories. I would really love to find out if he had any children! And of course if you can find an obituary, maybe that will give me some more information!? Somewhere, I don't remember where and can't find my notes about it, I saw he were politically active. Maybe that's could be a way to go.... And most of all I would jump of happiness if I could find a photo of him or his relatives. I guess it is to ask for too much but as we say here in Sweden - Frågan är fri! (The question is free of charge!)"

Christer sounds just like all of us, it doesn't matter where a researcher lives, we get excited, and know we too "would jump of happiness if we could find a photo of him". Actually, he now knows more then he ever expected to. All it takes is locating somebody in the same town/city as the person you are researching and is willing to help out. 

During several days, I took photos of where his Famagust Paulson lived in 1940, found the exact death date from the Social Security Death Index (he had just the month and year), got a certified death certificate an obituary and went to the cemetery for tombstone photos. In other words, almost a complete package.

Getting a vital record from a city or town hall, is always easier for you and the clerk if you provide the correct date. Your wait won't be too long, and the clerk isn't frustrated by not being able to find it. Lowell record books are huge and heavy, and I'm quite sure they don't want to carry one back to the safe to get the "correct" one. At the city hall I quickly got a copy of his death certificate with all lines filled in, including the father's name, which was unknown to Christer.

I have gotten many certified copies of records for various people, including my husband and his family. I'd wait and wait, and listen to the old typewriter make it's noise, and once in a while, a report would have to be retyped. But not today! I noticed immediately, that the clerk was typing on a computer! I asked a few questions and discovered that no longer will a record have to be typed twice or more times, for once the original is saved it will be used for anybody looking for that particular individual. If you need 10 death certificates for a person, you won't have to wait for each be typed. Lowell had entered the modern age for researchers needing these records. I doubt if they will be online though. (If you look at the death record below, you'll see it has a Date of Record of February 21, 1978, a few days after the death.)

The city library is next door, and that is where the newspapers are kept. The four seats for the microfilm readers were empty, and I found the roll I needed. Famagust's death was February 17th, but the obituary was printed the following day and, it's far larger than I expected, plus there was a photo, very good news for Christer!

In addition, I went to the Lowell Cemetery and found the burial site for Famagust and his wife. Photo shown below.

Obituary was transcribed, see below.

Obituary taken from The Sun, Lowell, MA

February 18, 178

Famagust, S. Paulson

dies at 93

"Famagust S.Paulson, of 117 High Street, died Friday morning, at a local nursing home, after a brief illness, aged 93 years.

He was born in Denmark, the son of the late Franz and Bernhardina (Bengston) Poilsen but had come to this country at the age of eight years, having lived in Provincetown and Springfield, before establishing his residence in Lowell, 40 years ago. For a period of twenty years, he had been a salesman for the former Brockelman's Market, having retired in 1950. Prior to that, he had been a chauffeur in the Washington, D. C. area, for many years, having left there in 1930. Very active in local politics, he was a member of the Republican party and was widely known for his work on various campaigns. He had been a delegate to the conventions of both Senator Brooke and former President Nixon.

He is survived by his wife, the former Evelyn Hill; his step-son, William Carter of Naples, Florida; his sister, Mrs. Florence Larson, of Fairhaven; two brothers, Bernard Paulson, of Fairhaven and Frederick Poulsen, of Chino, California.

He was a member of the First United Baptist Church of Lowell. Active in Masonry, he held membership in William North Lodge, A.F. and A.M. of Lowell; as well as Mt. Horeb, Royal Arch Chapter and Aleppo Temple, Order of the Mystic Shrine, of Boston. He was also a member of the Father Norton Friendship Club."

Lowell Cemetery, Lowell, Massachusetts

Catalpa Avenue in the Range ER1

 PAULSON

Famagust S.

1884   ---   1978

Pray For Us

Evelyn L.

His Wife

1894   ---   1982
(His wife's dates are August 12, 1894, she died July 20, 1982 in Tewksbury.)

This area, called the Range, is the prettiest section in the

Lowell Cemetery.

Did You Hear About the Great New Features From GenealogyBank.com?

Photo from pinterest.

This painting of A. Bronson Alcott, father of Louisa May Alcott and has nothing to do with GenealogyBank.com, other than I wanted to read his obituary and the best place to go for that is GenealogyBank. I was fortunate to be informed that some major changes were coming to this program, and when two recently appeared, I wanted to write about them. Bronson Alcott is my example, since I saved three obituaries about him in the My Folder box.

If you don't know about the new feature, My Folder, it's quite easy to understand, because it's simply a folder where you save your findings. The tab shows on your home page when you sign on to GenealogyBank, if you have already saved something. If you want to see what is in there, click on it. If nothing is displayed, that shows that you haven't saved anything. To begin with GenealogyBank (provided you are a subscriber),  go ahead and write in your Ancestor's Last name and First Name, find something to save (instructions below), and it will be saved in your My Folder.

When I clicked on My Folder, I see my three saved obituaries for A. Bronson Alcott.

To look at the last obituary, click on it then it opens to the screen below. My red arrows show a new option, Email, and the recently discussed option, Saved in My Folder.

If you want to Email this obituary to somebody, click on that option, shown above, and it opens to Share This Image. I love both new features, and look forward to the other new changes, especially one that I've complained about. Keep tuned.

Tribute to my Childhood Best Friend, Mary Bea Lingane of Lexington, MA

I recently found out that my former best friend passed away. I contacted her brother and he was kind enough to write and give me the details as well as other bits of information about the family. I am posting this in case anybody in cyberspace happens to google her name. I would like them to find this blog post and read about Mary Bea.

There aren't enough adjectives to describe the wonderful qualities of my former best friend. Smart, very pretty, talented, fun, nice and loyal. She and I were like glue soon after I moved 2 houses away from her in Lexington, Massachusetts in 1954. There were no other children our age, so we shared our early days together on the weekend and after school. We often took the bus to Boston, joined a very active Girl Scout troop (in my blog post about My Life as a Girl Scout, I wrote her name hoping she'd see it one day), and did what we could together because our stay-at-home mothers didn't work nor drive. She went to a private catholic school for several years, but we went to the same high school. There, she took college courses, went to college, became a teacher (at the same school my mother taught), left teaching, took more college courses, had a few different jobs, her last was about 30 years of working in several departments at Northeastern University, one as the Director of Personnel and her last position as Executive Assistant to the Provost.

During our almost 60 years, we often kept in contact the best we could but hadn't spoken to each other in maybe 10 years. Years after college, she bought a house with her boyfriend in Arlington and invited me for a weekend visit. I then moved to Virginia and lived there for 20 years, but saw her a few times on my return...always meeting up in Lexington. During one lunch, she spent a good deal of time talking about her very good friend, Candy, who had just passed away. I am doing the same for her, although more publicly. Mary came to my mother's funeral in 1990. And, I called her after I heard her mother passed. Soon, our Christmas cards stopped being sent, her postcards from afar, birthday as well. Later, I always knew how busy she was at Northeastern, and didn't want to bother her....I wish I had.

On November 22, 2015, I gathered a stack of Boston Globe newspapers to dispose of. I hadn't read any, but on a whim, something told me to flip through the obits (I never do that, as a matter of fact, especially this time as I could hardly see, never mind read anything because I had cataract surgery three weeks prior. Right there, on the very last bottom of one of the 4 or more full pages of obituaries was Mary's name, age, and date of death. I read it clearly. A short gasp and tears formed when I read it over and over. I called the University quite a few times, but nobody knew anything about her death. So, months later, I decided to write to her brother.

April 1967 in front of her apartment in Watertown, later she moved to Woburn. Mary on the right, me on the left.

February 3, 2023, I am sharing the letter her brother wrote to me. I'm hopeful he won't mind.

"Hi Barbara. How nice to hear from you, despite the circumstances. Perhaps you know that Mary Bea was living for many years in Woburn, and had retired about a year earlier from Northeastern University where she was an administrator. Last spring and summer she started developing symptoms of headaches, vision issues and occasional falls, which turns out were the result of a brain tumor called a meningioma. Though not malignant it was in a difficult location, and last August she went in for surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Despite world-class specialists in this condition there were complications, and she never awakened from the 15 hour procedure, remaining in what was essentially a coma. As time went on our optimism gradually faded, and we finally decided to move her to hospice in early November. She was very clear in her living will under what circumstances she wished to continue her life if disabled, and it was clear that the chance of meeting that standard had been reduced to nil. She died at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers, which is an excellent and caring facility. Mary Bea had no children or significant other in the last few years, and she was very generous to her nieces and nephews in her will, such that it will have significant positive impact on their lives.

We had originally planned on a Celebration of Life this spring, but various complications with that plan arose and we decided to just have a family gathering and distribution of ashes in the sea at Cathy’s vacation home in Bar Harbor.

So that is the story. Cathy and her husband John live in Topsfield, MA, and my brother Peter (and his wife, daughters and grandkids) and I live in California. I am married, have one adult son who is an engineer (like his father) in upstate New York and one son who is finishing his freshman year at George Washington University in DC. We will probably be retiring once we stop paying for college tuition!

If you have a spare moment I would enjoy hearing your story.

with best regards,

Paul

p.s. make sure all your estate planning documents are up to date - it really makes a difference."

Two quick stories. When we were in the 4th or 5th grades, I remember being on the grass in her yard talking about love, marriage and white picket fences. Then we decided to kiss each other on the lips to see what that felt like.

The other story was much later, perhaps in the 10th or 11th grade. On a whim, we decided to walk 8 miles to Harvard University to see her dad. He was an instructor or professor (I don't know), but anyway we did, and didn't tell our parents what we were going to do. Her dad was shocked, and shortly after we arrived, he drove us home. My parents punished me. Both are wonderful memories.

Two Andrew Ten Eycks and the 1793 Move to Canada

Two different articles pertaining to, two Andrew Ten Eycks' of Dunham, Quebec, Canada were located and transcribed. The first was was done circa 1999 by a 5th cousin and the second was done in 1941 by my grandfather. In the first article, Andrew talks about his great-grandfather Andrew Ten Eyck leaving Albany in 1793, carrying his possessions to Canada. The second article is a death announcement of the great-grandson, but there is more information about the great-grandfather than the newly departed.

"Mr. Andrew Ten Eyck has in his possession several articles of household furniture and farm implements that his great-grandfather brought from Albany in 1793, at the time he settled in Dunham.  Among the articles of interest we noticed an armchair, the history of which dates back to the early days of the colonists, previous to the Revolutionary War.  This ancient heir-loom has been handed down from father to son for five generations and is held by the family as a relic of priceless value.  Mr. Ten Eyck has a broad axe with which his grandsire hewed the logs into shape previous to building his first residence in the woods; also a red coat* formerly worn by his predecessors at the time New York was besieged by the Continental forces.  The coat is one of the "swallow tail" pattern, with the usual amount of yellow braid and gilt buttons.

The above articles are well preserved. Another memento of the past held by our worthy friend is a copy of the London Times, bearing the date of November 7th, 1805, containing a full account of the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Lord Nelson.  The battle was fought on Monday, October 21st, the news of which was 16 days in reaching England.  Mr. Ten Eyck has also many articles equally interesting to the antiquarian and geologist, with a well kept library, containing the works of nearly all the poets and leading historians of the present age."
* I wrote about the red coat, post was titled: Was it a Revolutionary War Red Coat, or Made Before?

The above was from The Waterloo Advertiser, Friday, February 10, 1893, Waterloo, Shefford Co., PQ (National Library of Canada N-66948) -- Sent to me by Jim Johnson, a 5th cousin through our Westover line.

The obituary of Andrew Ten Eyck (above), died Nov. 24, 1898 (from The Waterloo Advertiser, Dec. 9, 1898 newspaper) was copied by Earle K. Bishop, Nov. 17, 1941 (my grandfather and husband of my grandmother, Sarah Ten Eyck).

"It is with a feeling of sadness that I announce the death of Mr. Ten Eyck of Dunham, who died November 24, 1898, at the age of 80 years. Mr. Ten Eyck was a great grandson of Andrew Ten Eyck, an early pioneer who emigrated after the Revolutionary War and settled near Albany, NY, where he remained until 1795 or 1796 when he removed to Dunham with his family, where with other United Empire Loyalists at that time received a grant of land from the British government, a gift of which he was doomed not long to enjoy, his death taking place in 1799. Hendrick Ten Eyck, a son of the pioneer, came into possession of his father's property after his death, but not for long.  He died in 1816. Andrew Ten Eyck, the father of the late Andrew Ten Eyck lately deceased, fell heir to Hendrick Ten Eyck's property and remained on the homestead until 1831, the date of his death, leaving two sons and two daughters to inherit his wealth, all of whom are now dead, Andrew being the last one of the family.  Of the many hardships endured by the Ten Eyck family during the Revolutionary War a volume might have been written, as they were persecute from place to place by the enemies of Great Britain, who claimed the honor of having established a government where all men were made free and equal.  At one time, Andrew Ten Eyck the pioneer and another man were arrested and carried on board an American craft that was lying off New York harbor and was ready to sail on the following morning as a privateer.  During the night the two men with the aid of ropes let themselves down into the water and started to swim to the New Jersey shore three-fourths of a mile away, but were quickly discovered by the ship's crew, who commenced firing at them at close range tearing up the water around them.  Ten Eyck escaped to the shore, where he sat down and waited for his companion, whose fate was never known.  The Ten Eycks were true men who would sacrifice everything but honor in behalf of a friend in trouble, and the world of today is made better of their having lived."