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Tuesday, November 24, 2015

The Balch House of Beverly, Massachusetts Celebrated Many Thanksgivings

This house was built in 1636 by John Balch and is located in Beverly, Massachusetts and is maintained by the Beverly Historical Society. It is one of the oldest wood-frame houses in the United States. My photos show the various rooms.
The above guest book for visitors has been used since 1969. I first signed it about 16 years ago, and then On July 11th of this year. A facebook and blogger friend, Pam Carter signed it about a week before I did. She also did a more detailed blog post, which is excellent, so if you would like more information, I suggest you visit her site HERE.



1826 Balch water bucket.





Below is a 1640 chest that held a 1814 Bible.

Front of the house.
BALCH HOUSE

BUILT IN 1636 BY JOHN BALCH,
WHO CAME OVER IN 1623 WITH
CAPTAIN ROBERT GORGES. THE
"OLD PLANTERS" RECEIVED THIS
LAND IN EXCHANGE FOR THEIR
SETTLEMENT AT SALEM.
Back view of the house.
Side corner view. Parking in the back.

2 Blanchard Brothers, First Buried, 14 Tiffany Windows, Stone Bridge, Jay Leno's Parents, Andover and Medford, Massachusetts



When I discovered I had an 8th great-granduncle buried not too far from where I live, I knew I would have to visit the West Parish Cemetery in Andover, Massachusetts. The cemetery is huge and although I knew what the stone looked like, thanks to FindAGrave, I didn't know where it was located. Fortunately, I knew there was a small sign next to the stone, so that made the search easier. Within a short time, my husband found it. Written on the small Corian sign was, "Samuel Blanchard, April 23, 1707 First Burial in West Parish Cemetery and Oldest Stone in Andover."
HERE LYES Ye BODY OF
SAMUEL BLANCHARD
WHO DEPARTED THIS
LIFE ON Ye 22d OF APRIL
1707 IN Ye
78th YEAR OF HIS AGE
Ye MEMORY OF Ye JUST IS BLESSED

A few cemetery stones from this sign is the burial site for Jay Leno's parents. (See below.)

Site where Samuel Blanchard is buried is behind the 3 tall fur trees on the left.

Stone bridge on the property of West Parish Cemetery.

Chapel at West Parish, Andover, Massachusetts
(Photo taken in August.)

The lovely 1909 chapel has 14 Tiffany windows! "This chapel is one of only two churches built in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with all of its windows made by the Louis Comfort Tiffany Studios of New York." *
Both of these rose windows are 10' in diameter.


Below are the six side windows (see the link above for the 14 Tiffany windows for an explanation of these pictorial windows).






The brother of Samuel (above) was George Blanchard and the following day, I went out to find out where he was buried.

My 8th great-grandfather, George Blanchard, was buried in the Salem Street Cemetery in Medford, Massachusetts. This line is new to me, and I was pleased that I could visit his grave as well. George Blanchard's daughter Rachel married John Smith and they settled in Killingworth, Connecticut. It is a town where I have the most events for my ancestors, the total is over 1,537.

HERE LYES Ye BODY OF
GEORGE BLANCHARD
AGED 84 YEARS DIED 
MARCH 18 1700
There are five ancestors buried in three different plots shown above. George Blanchard, Caleb Brooks, Nathaniel Wade, Mercy Bradstreet, and Samuel Wade. In addition, I have quite a few others buried here.

Unlocked gate to the cemetery.

*  http://westparishchapel.org/history.htm  History of the Chapel at West Parish including information about the Tiffany Windows.



Friday, November 20, 2015

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."

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

THE LIBRARIAN'S EPITAPH, a Poem

The other day, I wrote a post called, I Googled POEM and FITCH POOLE and came up with This. I mentioned that every year I try to find an appropriate poem to use in Bill West's 7th annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge. I wanted my poem to have something to do with history or was written by an ancestor or family member. I knew exactly what I wanted when I found it...a poem by Fitch Poole, the first Librarian of the Peabody Institute Library and my 2nd great-granduncle.

Below is the article that came up and from reading it, I saw a poem that interested me, called "The Librarian's Epitaph." A simple click on the active link gave me the poem, but I had to increase the size to 500% in order to transcribe it for easier reading. A nice poem that met my criteria. I hope you enjoy it, although it's long, there is a message for us all. In addition, I posted his cemetery stone below.


For the Wizard
THE LIBRARIAN'S EPITAPH

Here lie the bones of one who lived
In converse with the Sages,
His books he ranged in goodly rows,
And conn’d their title pages,
As in his life with dusty tomes,
His days with book-worms passed,
So now in death by other worms,
He is consumed at last.

The book of Nature he had scanned,
And then pronounced it “Good,”
His loving heart rejoiced to meet
His human brother “Hood,”
He often sought the Hawthorne bower,
Twas ther “Young” life began,
Though still a “Child,” he found the “More
His growing love for “Mann.”

With “Raikes” he oft was hand and glove,
Yet never felt a strain,
And when he roamed would always take
His “Taylor” and his “Kane.”
And often he in merry mood,
Amidst his pond’rous romes,
His “Saxe”-horn blew that he might cheer
Our fireside and our “Holmes.”

O’er history’s varied page he pored
With mingled hopes and fears,
And “Motley” scenes of peace and war,
Oft moved his eyes to “Theirs,”
While vivid “Sparks” of modern days
Before his vision float—
Of earlier times of Ancient Greece
He did not care a “Grote.”

He never felt inclined to “Crowe,”
But had a cheerful hope,
No Romanist—but much revered
Both “Abbe,” “Church” and “Pope,”
Like other men he dreaded “Paine,”
Nor groped he in the dark,
But used to “Illnt” the truth to find
In “Bush” and “Hedge” and “Park.”

Though “Sterne” and “Savage” in his moods,
He yet was often “Gay,”
And kept his pets in “Moore” and “Hall,”
His ”Fox,” and “Drake” and “Jay,”
He’d knowledge from a “Mason” gain
And delve in “Cooper’s” chips,
But, prudent man, he always kept
A “Locke” upon his lips.

He kept a “Black-stone,” on his shelf,
But had no love for “Law,”
And if one told a “story” well,
He only answered—“Shaw!”
He ground his logic in a “Mill,”
Hard by a sandstone grot,
His “Miller” was a Scottish bairn
Who always paid his “Scott.”

Of all the “Smiths” who “Bellows” blow,
With scarcely time to rest,
From “Hudson’s” banks to wand’ring “Poe,”
He loved his “Goldsmith” best.
His “Baird” was cut in comely trim,
His “Head” was turning “Gray,”
His “Combe” he valued for its age,
And used it every “Day.”

His “Chambers” where he kept his books,
Were cleaned with nicest care,
And why the “Dickens” should they not?
He kept two “Trollopes” there.
And there he kept a might “Brougham
To sweep away the dust,
That he might Stowe his precious Ware,
And keep it bright from rust.

He kept His “Baker” and his “Cooke,”
His “Kidd” he loved to cram,
Though “Crabbe” could never “Tickell” him
He had a taste for “Lamb,”
He loved to Frye his Pollock brown,
His “Pike” with “Hook” was taken,
He kept his “Hogg” in Attic salt,
But could not save his “Bacon!”

His life was passing “Swift” away
His pulse was like the wave,
No doctor’s skill could now delay,
His drumbeat to the grave.
His “Quincy” had the nursing care,
Which kindly friends provide,
Alas! No friends could cure his “Burns,”
Or help his “Akenside!”

Beneath this stone the “Sleeper” lies,
Himself now bound in boards,
This narrow “Trench” is all the space,
His dwelling now affords.
Ye men of Science! cease to mourn,
(His better part endures)
But, up and doing, strive to learn
That greater work of “Ure’s!”

 Fitch Poole, librarian and author of the above poem. He and his wife Mary Ann Poor had 9 children.
Harmony Grove Cemetery, (my FAG site)
Salem, Massachusetts.
Family plot.

Patten Free Library, Bath, Maine -- Sagadahoc County History and Genealogy Room


The Patten Free Library in Bath, Sagadahoc Co., Maine is the last library I visited this year. I'd been looking forward to seeing it for several months, and it didn't disappoint me.
Facing the library from the library park, you see the original building and the Kennebec River.
 Two charming readers greet you at the entrance.
Three photos below show the original rooms, the first picture with the four windows overlooks the river.


The above, looking into the original section. and below photo are both in the newer section.
When we visited the library at 11:00 A.M., I was well aware the History Room was not open (Hours: 12:30 - 4 P.M., Tuesday thru Saturday). Fortunately, I was able to ask the director if she would show me the room after I explained I would be posting a small report to my blog. She was more than happy to take me upstairs, and answered my questions. It's a rather large room, packed full with books, file cabinets and technology items. Yes, I was very lucky she had the time to do this for me.





These two pictures show the library from the outside. It was built in 1890 for $15,000. Two additions were later added in 1961 and 1998.

View from the library, the 1843 Winter Street Church. located at 880 Washington Street.
Photo taken by Barbara Proko, facebook friend

From a bridge, I took a photo of the USS Zumwalt. Much has been written about it, and I was quite excited to see it docked at the Bath Iron Works plant. My husband's uncle was and a cousin are draftsmen there.

From Wikipedia: "USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is a guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy. She is the lead ship of the Zumwalt class and the first ship to be named for Admiral Elmo Zumwalt. Zumwalt has stealth capabilities, having a radar cross-section akin to a fishing boat despite her large size. On 7 December 2015, Zumwalt began her sea trial preparatory to joining the Pacific Fleet. She is to be homeported in San DiegoCalifornia. The ship will be commissioned in Baltimore on October 15, 2016."

http://whdh.com/news/local/stealthy-destroyer-ready-to-set-sail-to-join-us-navy/