The Best Christmas Gift (DAR and Genealogy related, of course)

It was in December, I had only been working at the DAR for about a month, but when she walked in, I was soon in shock. I was presented a large white box about 20" x 14" and tied up in a big red bow. What could it possibly be? It was as light as a feather, and when I shook it, there was a rustling noise inside. With my few quizzical looks at her big smile, I realized it was indeed for me. A quick pull on the ribbon and pushing apart the tissue paper revealed a mass of papers. Some not the least familiar to me. She had done generations of research on my family! A few weeks earlier, I had provided her with a six-generation ancestry chart, done by who knows who in my family, which showed most names and years, but there were also lots of blanks. It was all she needed.

My very new friend had spent a lot of time doing my census look-ups, not on Ancestry.com mind you, not a computer, but by the old fashioned method. She made some actual copies of the censuses and a timeline of censuses for a good many ancestors. Some I never heard of! I can't remember how many sheets she did, but I am showing an example below. I am so glad I saved a few of her original work. I hadn't even gotten to that point yet in my research, so she had to explain the timelines. Where we worked, all the censuses for New England were housed in one room, so she didn't have to leave the building. Except for 1920 for Evanston, Illinois, which showed my father at age 1, that she made a special trip to the NARA in Washington, DC. I was indeed blessed to have this genealogist friend do this for me.

In addition, there was a 27 1/2" x 24" ancestry chart, for nine generations filled in with all the information she found; names, dates, and locations! There were no genealogy software programs back then. Looking back, I marvel at her dedication, and all the time it took to do this. Almost immediately, I made copies of each section of the huge chart, constantly reducing the size, and then taped it together. Eventually, I got the chart to an 8 1/2 x 10 size, which I carried with me for years, as my point of reference, the copy is above.

For many years, I kept the box, but three years ago, it just fell apart. However, I have her original chart, my small reduced one, and several copies of her timeline of census records.

It is indeed the best gift ever, something totally from the heart, and didn't cost much, except for her hours, and hours and hours of time. Thank you, Ann.

In the past 20 years, I have run into her at a national genealogy conference and at least three times at the NEHGS library in Boston. I am sure she has never forgotten that gift to me either.

 

A Bradstreet, A Dudley and Royalty Part 3

Portrait in Westminster Abbey

Thought to be of King Edward I.

Learning about my Royal connection came about rather unexpectedly. My first genealogy related trip to the FHL at Salt Lake City was in 1999 when my husband and I went with the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) tour group.  The days were filled with research and some lectures. We were given a tour of the city, which included seeing where the 2002 Olympics were going to be held, something I enjoyed visiting.

One of the highlights was my one-on-one consult with Gary Boyd Roberts, from NEHGS, whom I already knew.  Armed with my family group sheets, another sheet with my "brick walls"  and a four page listing of my surnames (see example below), all were prepared a good six months earlier. Gary's eyes flew down my list of surnames, and with the fastest hand I had ever seen, he quickly made notations of where I could find additional information.  He rambled off all kinds of facts, and even noted that I had several Royal lines, but I wasn't too impressed, because I had decided to concentrate my research in the states, not in England.  For Anne Bradstreet, he jumped up and ran over to his book, located in the nearby stacks, and opened it to show me my lineage to King Edward I.  Ok, that was nice, was my attitude and still is.

It is a good 10 years since that visit, and I had completely forgotten all about Anne's ancestry, until I went through my file on her for this 3-part blog.   I do remember though, that in that same one hour meeting, he told me that Princess Diana and I shared the same ancestry, and Gary then solved one of my brick walls.  That wall led me to discovering I had a Mayflower ancestor, John Alden.  Now, that I liked, and I will cover it at another time.

With my good fortune to meet with Gary because I was able to save probably hundreds of hours of research time.  It is one of the best reasons to use a qualified genealogist if you can afford one. And a great benefit if it is included as part of a tour package. I am looking forward to using a professional at the NGS conference next year in Salt Lake City to help me solve another "Brick Wall." I hope. (Note: I went three times alone after that first trip.)

Copies of his book, which were made in Salt Lake City.

Below, the Bradstreet and Dudley names with Gary's notations.  The RD pertains to his book, Royal Descents (above), and the AAP refers to his book, Ancestors of American Presidents. 

A Bradstreet, A Dudley, and Royalty Part 2

Anne Dudley was born 1612 at Northamptonshire, England.

She died September 16, 1672 at Andover, Essex Co., Massachusetts.


She married Simon Bradstreet about 1628 in Hardingston, England.


As mentioned in Part 1 Simon Bradstreet and Anne Dudley were my 8th great-grandparents.
And, Randy Seaver's 9th great-grandparents.  So yes, he and I are cousins.

It is unknown where she was buried, but on September 16, 2000 there was a memorial marker placed in the Old North Parish Burying Ground, Andover, Massachusetts.  She lived in Andover at the time of her death. Her husband, now remarried, was buried in Salem, Massachusetts 25 years later.

Anne was an extremely well known poet, and I found this site listing some of her poems Anne's Poems.

I was at this cemetery on Sunday, December 6, 2009 and there were major changes.  Many of the old trees were taken down, and now there is just a field of very old cemetery stones trees in the background.  Since it was bitter cold with snow on the ground, I took a few pictures, but will go back later when the weather is better.  I am very glad they are working on the cemetery, and wouldn't be surprised if they find more stones. Previously, the cemetery was hidden within the trees. I have another direct ancestor buried there.

There are two entries at FindAGrave for Anne Dudley Bradstreet, one is Anne Bradstreet and another for Anne Dudley Bradstreet.  Clearly the same person, but both are listed in different cemeteries.  However, the entrance plaque reads, "This Burying Ground was laid out about 1660 for the First Church of Andover."

Article written by Mass Moments, "Memorial to Anne Bradstreet Dedicated" September 12, 2000.

A Bradstreet, A Dudley, and Royalty Part 1

Simon Bradstreet and Anne Dudley, they were an early original power couple.  Why?  Here is a Massachusetts Governor, 1679 to 1686 and 1689 to 1692, who married into a well connected family, and she became the first American Poetress, and whose ancestor was King Edward I, (and I just found that out the other day).


Simon Bradstreet and Anne Dudley were my 8th great-grandparents.


Simon born abt. March 18, 1603/04 from Horbling, Lincolnshire, England.
He died March 27, 1697 at Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.

Buried at Burying Point Cemetery also known as the Charter Street Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Salem, and the second oldest known cemetery in the country, started in 1637.

Additional photos can be found at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1723  There were many photos already posted, but I thought I would show mine.

A lot has been written about Simon, as he was one of many important men in Massachusetts history.  A quick google check will give you all the facts, 64,000 hits as of today.

My family group sheet for Simon and Anne Dudley is below.

Christmas Card #6 1930s

Another card with a scene in England.  I don't know if they vacationed there during the holiday season.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Dear Genea-Santa

On Saturday, December 5, 2009, Randy Seaver decided to play Genea-Santa.  He wrote (in red) my replies (in green).

"Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission: Impossible music), is to write a nice letter to Genea-Santa Here are the directions:


1) Write a letter to Genea-Santa and ask for only ONE thing. It could be hardware, software, a missing family Bible, a record that you desperately want, etc.

Dear Genea-Santa,

How nice of you to give us an extra day to prepare our reply.  My mind has changed many times while trying to decide on One Thing.  Where was your sympathy?  It is like having one M & M or one chip.  Still it has been fun dreaming of something, even if the wish doesn't come true.  However, it was easy to eliminate all the material items, as they could be attainable.  I want all "brick walls' solved, so I can't just single out one to discuss.  So after a lot of thought Genea-Santa, I would love to have lots of free time to do my research, perhaps an additional six hours a day.

2) Tell Genea-Santa what a good genea-girl or genea-boy you've been this past year and give examples.

Genea-Santa, you already know how good I have been, even tho others might go on and on about how good they were, I was the best.  You already know I don't like competing or hooting my own horn, but I have helped about 100 people this year with their genealogy research, And, I love reading your genealogy posts.  What other qualifications do you want to hear about?  Isn't that enough?  In closing, please grant me my wish for an additional six hours of free time, after all, it is free.

3) Exhibit your posts on your own blog, in a Facebook post commenting on this note, or in a Comment to this blog post." 

Genea-Santa, this was posted on my blog, "Life From the Roots."

Thank you, your little genealogy angel.

Christmas Card -- 1930s

My grandfather absolutely loved England, and went many times.

Christmas Card -- 1928

This card is also a birth announcement for another child.  The sisters are shown with their brother.  My grandfather probably had the cards completed before the birth, and wrote in the name and date.

Advent Calendar - December 3 - Christmas Tree Ornaments

I don't have any memories of the ornaments on my parent's tree. Back in the mid-60s I became interested in the ornament kits I saw in a catalogue. After making a few, I ventured out on my own and did my own designs. Even made frequent trips to NYC to buy a large supply of sequins and beads. I made so many, that I eventually sold some at a craft sale and gave them away as gifts.  My goal was to stop doing them in 2002, during the Olympics at Salt Lake City, and I did. Each of the mid-size ones took three hours, and my largest a little over four hours.

The tree, not the best picture, but I am sure it was up straight. We always got a real tree, and once cut one down.

Christmas Card -- 1926

There are now two children in the family, see in upper window.  I would have loved to have seen 1923, 1924 and 1925, but they weren't in the collection.