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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, 2016

A Fourth Cousin Wrote Because my Two Cemetery Posts Pertained to Her Ancestors!

"Hi, I was doing my semi annual google search for my natural grandfather's name, and your April 13 blog post was all about him." (This was about the great cemetery database for the Brookdale Cemetery in Dedham, MA.) She continued, "And a previous one (post) was about my great grandmother Annie Ward Poole." That post was about the three databases for the South Church Cemetery / South Parish in Andover, MA.

So, when I heard from my fourth cousin last week, I was quite surprised, because I had no information about her nor her parents! This is a case where writing a genealogy related blog doesn't always have to be about your immediate family. Often, readers doing their own research often find their way to my blog, one thing leads to another and wow, there we are discussing our shared ancestors. Case in point, are the statements in the first paragraph.

The photos were taken during several months, late winter and late spring. Winter was the best for taking photos because when I returned for additional pictures, the grass was way too high.
South Church / South Parish Cemetery
Central Street, Andover, Massachusetts
HIGGINS LOT
Photos below are for my cousin, and anybody who might be interested. I will be posting them to FindAGrave soon.
NATHANIEL J. BARTLETT
1834   ___   1902
NATHANIEL E. BARTLETT
1866   ---   1924
ANNE P. BARTLETT (Anne Poole)
1865   ---   1961
Nathaniel J. Bartlett
Apr. 23, 1834   ---   May 3, 1902
Ellen M. Bartlett (wife to Nathaniel J. Bartlett)
Sept. 19, 1831     Dec. 5, 1909
Nathaniel E. Bartlett
July 27, 1866     Apr. 23, 1924


Anne P. (Poole) Bartlett (wife to Nathaniel E. Bartlett)
Sept. 3, 1865     Apr. 16, 1961
SOLOMON H. HIGGINS
BORN
Aug. 29, 1803
DIED
Jan. 23, 1863
-----
PHEBE H. HIGGINS
Born Mar. 16, 1803
Died Jan. 1, 1892
GEORGE HIGGINS
BORN
18 April 1833
DIED
7 December 1880
MARY A. HIGGINS
BORN
Mar. 28, 1830
DIED
Feb. 17, 1895
MARY O. BARTLETT
1899   ---  1960
MARY A. HIGGINS
1830     1895
Mary Osgood Bartlett
Jan. 11, 1899     Nov. 24, 1960

I may have missed taking a few pictures, (maybe because I couldn't read them, so I'll have to return when the grass is cut).
You can see the snow in the parking lot. In the spring, you wouldn't be able to see the steeple.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Doing Genealogy in Lowell, Massachusetts? Here is Help.


The city of Lowell first hit a population of little over 106,000 people in 1910 and we have a few more thousand in population now, so there have been a lot of people born here or just passed through. So, where are the records kept? I wasn't born here, nor do I have relatives, except for my born and bred Lowellian husband. Therefore, even though I spend a lot of time on my genealogy, I have often been confused as to where people doing research should go for reference material.

During the past week, I've spent time in the Lowell Library, also known as the Pollard Memorial Library, and at the Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center. It is the later that has always puzzled me...does this belong to the Lowell National Historical Park? The city of Lowell? University of Massachusetts?  I've seen park rangers in the building a lot, but knew there was a university connection, so what it this place all about?

If you are doing Lowell research, I believe you have two options, first the Lowell / Pollard Library and second is the Cultural center. I did a Lowell Library blog post in 2012 and just updated it. In a nutshell, it has a typical reading room, with a section for genealogies, reference materials, computers, and a separate room for looking at microfilm, mostly newspapers. Parking can be limited (since it's next to the city hall), but they do have a free small parking lot next to the library (in the back).

For all parking, either the Lowell Library free parking lot or on the street using meters, the limit is two hours. Parking garages aren't too far away and you can stay much longer, but the cost is rather high.

One nice thing about the library is if you discover you need a vital record, you could easily walk next door to the city hall and have them type one up for a fee. My link for the Lowell Library is HERE.

The remainder of this post is about the Center for Lowell History (located in the Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center) and 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 full-sized parking garage. 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.
This is where  you enter.
The Boarding House Park is on the right side (see below photo).

Boarding House Park
(The free Mill Girls and Immigrants Exhibit is through the middle door showing the young girl.)

The Center for Lowell History at  40 French St, Lowell, MA 01852
 web page for Genealogy Resources may be found at

Phone: 978-934-4997

I selected a few of the links from above to give you an idea of what is located in this facility. City directors, which aren't online, provides useful information. The Lowell's Civil War Soldiers and Sailors has over 3,000 names and was a project which I participated in along with a few other people. The entire list is alphabetical. The third section regarding Vital records, taken from newspapers.

CITY DIRECTORIES: LOWELL 
     Lowell Directories are available from 1832 to 1990.  They include Resident Directory arranged by name, listing work address, occupation, and home address; Business Directory arranged by-product; and Advertisements.  In 1836 they had a Female Supplement City Directory. After 1881, dates of death are noted.  Beginning in 1883, most directories contain a ward and street map.  Beginning in 1917, wives' names are listed and there is a section arranged by street address. 

LOWELL’S CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS AND SAILORS
     A small group of volunteers have transcribed the 4 volumes that
contain the 3,525 names of the Soldiers and Sailors mustered from Lowell
that served in the Civil War (1861-1865). Many of these men were from
Lowell and the surrounding towns. They are listed alphabetically.


LOWELL - VITAL RECORDS 1865-1970
     As part of an ongoing effort to document the City's History, a small
but determined group of volunteers in conjunction with the Center
for Lowell History staff are gathering Lowell Vital Records (Birth, Marriage, Death)
from local newspapers.  The indexes are far from complete but new
information is added frequently.

As you can see, there are plenty of tables, and a copy machine.

The file cabinets contain reels of film, a lot of early Lowell newspapers (Lowell Advertiser dated 1838, and Lowell Sun papers), early census film (1790-1855 (for all states), and Massachusetts birth records from 1841-1891, and the index from 1841-1905. Maps and other materials are located in the long drawers shown below on the right side.

Some archived material is located here, some upstairs.

The majority of the books are about Lowell, and yearbooks are also here, as well as a selection of the Massachusetts Vital Record books to 1850.
Six of these old city directories are being replaced because I had copies stored in my cellar for 15 years. A genealogy club member got them when a library was tossing them, so several of us took them to store at home. Our club disbanded and after various discussions about them, we just kept them. Because I decided to write this post, I figured it was a good time to get rid of some of my books. There are two sets of city directories in Lowell; one here at this location and the other in the Lowell / Pollard Library. The dates are circa 1892 - 1987, more or less and depending where you look.
This google earth photo shows the locations and distance between the two libraries.

I recently found this web page with a lot of Lowell information. Felt it was important enough to share.
https://www.accessgenealogy.com/massachusetts/lowell-massachusetts-genealogy.htm



Thursday, June 23, 2016

Art, Antiques, and A Whistler Room Fill this Lovely Old House

"There is A Lot to Like About Lowell" is the city slogan.

(See tab on right side called "Lowell Series" for many more articles about Lowell.)

The Whistler House Museum of Art has changed since I first visited 20 years ago, and it is now what I consider a major gem in Lowell. You step into a beautiful past and spend as much time as you want to look at the art by New England artists, silver, furniture, or enjoy the views from the windows like I did. Outside, you must stroll around the park.

Tourists think the city is all about the Industrial Revolution, as described in the Boott Cotton Mills Museum or Mill Girls and Immigrants Exhibit both presented by the Lowell National Historical Park, but there is something else...THIS MUSEUM. The American Textile History Museum is now closed, and I think this Art Museum should be in your plans. If you live in the Lowell area and haven't been here, you are missing  out. 





“'Apres James McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black' 1906, Oil on canvas, by Edith Fairfax Davenport, a cousin of Whistler. This is an exact scale copy of the original painting which, it is said, heralded modern art. The original hangs in the Musee D’Orsay in Paris." Information taken from their information pamphlet.
I've never seen a copper bathtub.
The painting on the left is View of Merrimack, c. 1875 by William Preston Phelps.
(The Merrimack River flows through Lowell, and many other towns.)

Down the hall or up two floors, art is everywhere.

 The period kitchen was recently renovated.

Studio on the third floor.
Note: The studio photos (above and below) have been changed. Please read recent (9/21/17) newspaper article about the improvements.

View of Parker Gallery, City Hall, and Whistler Park.

The entire room is devoted to James McNeill Whistler.

Whistler in Lowell
     "James McNeill Whistler was born in 1834 in the Paul Moody House now known as the Whistler House Museum of Art. The first born son of George and his second wife Anna Mathilda, he was baptized as James Abbott Whistler at St. Anne's Church on Merrimack Street, Lowell.
     In 1843 the family left Lowell and moved to Russia, where Whistler's father was a consulting engineer for a railroad to be built by Czar Nicholas I. After her husband's death in 1849, Mrs. Whistler and her children returned to America, moving first to Stonington, Connecticut and then to Pomfret, Connecticut.
     In later years, Whistler would deny being born in Lowell, claiming instead that he was born in Baltimore, Maryland or in St. Petersburg, Russia."

The encased fan was autographed on the back, one signature is by James McNeill Whistler.

  


 
243 Worthen Street
Lowell, MA 01852
978-452-7641
Views from upper windows showing the Lowell / Pollard Library on the left and the City Hall on the right.

Paintings by Walter Franklin Lansil were displayed at the Whistler House Museum of Art. All the paintings were so beautiful, so I chose a few to share here.



Closeup, shown below.


Linda Hall Little's grandmother's great uncle was
Walter Lansil, artist of the paintings in this exhibit. She is a genealogist and was very qualified to write an excellent blog post about Mr. Lansil.
Please see her blog: https://passagetothepast.wordpress.com/2013/09/01/a-trip-to-venice-by-walter-franklin-lansil/