Tuesday, December 30, 2014

From Ancestry on Ipswich and Newbury MA

My son's father's family has a connection to the Mayflower.  First we discovered his ancestor Frances O. Heym (who came to America from Germany) married Mary Ann Allen in 1866 in Massachusetts.  She lived till 1930.


Somewhere on her tree were folks who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 or so, as well as someone on the Mayflower.  And on Ancestry, the following information was also posted.  I have ancestors also from Newbury, Salem, and Ipswich...so this is good information to know.
MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY In 1633, Thomas Parker and James Noyes, both nonconformist ministers, with a like-minded group of British subjects, decided to emigrate to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, with the sanction of the Council of New England at Whitehall. At the same time, Richard and Stephen Dummer, Richard Saltonstall, and Henry Sewall and others in Wiltshire had organized a company to establish a stock-raising plantation in the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of the high prices in England for horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs. These men persuaded Parker and his group to join them. Most of these emigrants arrived at Ipswich (then Agawam) and spent the winter of 1634 there before moving farther east. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was then extending its inhabited frontier as far as possible as a bulwark against the "Papist French."

THE LANDING In May of 1635, this small group of immigrants rowed shallops to the mouth of the Parker River (then Quascacunquen) and landed on the north shore east of the present Parker River bridge, at a spot now marked by a commemorative boulder. All was wilderness about them, and the settlers spent the first summer clearing land, building shelters, raising crops, and gathering the natural bounty of fish and berries for the winter. Each man was allotted land for a house, with a planting lot and salt meadow, the size depending on the amount of money the individual or family had invested in the venture. Mr. Dummer and his group had the largest acreage, more than a thousand acres, up river near the falls for their stock raising. Mr. Dummer was granted the right to erect a sawmill on the Newbury falls, and was given fifty acres of woodland to supply the mill. He was allowed to grind corn if he would grind "all the grain the residents might bring him." Later there were two mills in this area, one of which continued operation into the 1980s.

The First Settlers
  • from http://newbury.essexcountyma.net/history.htm

The settlers of Newbury were much like those of much of what is now northern Essex county. They were not religious enthusiasts or pilgrims who fled from religious persecution in England. They were substantial, law abiding, loyal English tradesmen, of that staunch middle class that was the backbone of England.

Those that settled Newbury came at different times and on different ships, between the end of April, 1634 and July, 1635 ... On May 6, 1635, before the settlers had moved from Ipswich to Newbury, the House of Deputies passed a resolution that Quascacunquen was to be established as a plantation and its name was to be changed to Newbury. So Newbury was named before the first settlers arrived, interestingly Thomas Parker had taught school in Newbury, Berkshire, England before coming to America.

There is no record of how many families arrived in the first year. Houses were erected on both sides of the Parker River. The principal settlement was around the meeting house on the lower green. The first church in Newbury could not have been formed before June, as some of those recorded at its formation are not recorded as having arrived until June.

In the division of land the first settlers recognized the scripture rule, "to him that hath shall be given," and the wealth of each grantee can be estimated by the number of acres given him.

The reason for establishing Newbury, as stated above, was not in fleeing from religious persecution but to utilize vacant lands and to establish a profitable business for the members of a stock-raising company.

Founders
This listing was extracted by Joshua Coffin from the proprietor's book of records, folio forty-four. The record is dated December 1642 and is the first known list of the first Settlers of Newbury. (2)

  1. Walter Allen
  2. Nathaniel Badger
  3. Richard Badger
  4. Giles Badger
  5. Christopher Bartlet
  6. Richard Bartlet
  7. John Bartlet
  8. Nicholas Batt
  9. William Berry
  10. Thomas Blumfield
  11. John Bond
  12. Mr. John Browne
  13. Richard Browne
  14. Thomas Browne
  15. George Browne
  16. Joseph Carter
  17. John Cheney
  18. Mr. John Clarke
  19. Robert Coker
  20. Thomas Coleman
  21. Thomas Cromwel
  22. Mr. John Cutting
  23. Thomas Davis
  24. Thomas Dow
  25. Mr. Richard Dummer
  26. Mr. Stephen Dummer
  27. John Emery
  28. Richard Fitts
  29. William Franklin
  30. John Fry
  31. Samuel Gile
  32. John Goff
  33. Mr. Edmund Greenleaf
  34. Thomas Hale
  35. Nicholas Holt
  36. Abel Huse
  37. John Hutchins
  38. William Ilsley
  39. John Kelly
  40. Stephen Kent
  41. Richard Kent, Jr
  42. Richard Knight
  43. John Knight
  44. Richard Littlehale
  45. Mr. John Lowle
  46. Mr. Percival Lowle
  47. Henry Lunt
  48. John Merrill
  49. Mr. John Miller
  50. William Moody
  51. William Mors
  52. Anthony Morss
  53. John Musselwhite
  54. Mr. James Noyes
  55. Nicholas Noyes
  56. Mrs. John Oliver
  57. John Osgood
  58. William Palmer
  59. Henry Palmer
  60. Mr. Thomas Parker
  61. Joseph Peasley
  62. John Pemberton
  63. John Pike Jr
  64. John Pike, Sr
  65. Francis Plumer
  66. John Poor
  67. Mr. Edward Rawson
  68. Henry Rolfe
  69. John Russ
  70. Samuel Scullard
  71. Mr. Henry Sewall
  72. Anthony Short
  73. Henry Short
  74. Thomas Silver
  75. Thomas Smith
  76. Anthony Somerby
  77. Henry Somerby
  78. Mr. John Spencer
  79. Wid. (William) Stevens
  80. John Stevens
  81. John Swett
  82. William Thomas
  83. Daniel Thurston
  84. William Titcomb
  85. Abraham Toppan
  86. Henry Travers
  87. Nathaniel Weare
  88. William White
  89. Mr. John Woodbridge
  90. Mr. Edward Woodman
  91. Archelaus Woodman

I would imagine that the Newbury historical web site is accurate.  Apparently my Heym sons aren't very interested in their ancestry, but had heard for years that they could be traced back to the Mayflower.  So in my new post I'll delineate the rest of the tree so they can see it if ever they are interested...perhaps their children will be.

Monday, December 29, 2014

basement gymnastics





What fun to see girls who all know how to use the bar and challenge each other to expand their skills!

Sunday, December 28, 2014

A bit of playfulness



A young gentleman decides to play with his daughter's new sleeping bag...which has a wonderful hood with ears even!

Yes every dad has a lighter side to him.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Dead leaves and chip dip

We went for a short hike this afternoon.  As far as I could pant pant up a ridge nearby.  My son was patient as I had frequent stops to catch my breath.


I will be adding some pictures here soon.

But when we spoke of the decaying process of trees, I mentioned (while looking at some woodpecker holes in a tree nearby)  the process that led to the production of humus.

We laughed, because everyone knows hummus is now made for dipping various things into it, made from chickpeas and lots of variations of seasonings.

Ingredients
4 garlic cloves
2 cups canned chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons water or liquid from the chickpeas
8 dashes hot sauce

Directions
Turn on the food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop the garlic down the feed tube; process until it's minced. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Taste, for seasoning, and serve chilled or at room temperature.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/hummus-recipe.html?oc=linkback


Hummus

But all during our walk, I was fairly certain that humus was the product of decaying trees and leaves.  I tried asking Google our lord and master, but he was out to the woods.  So when we got back home I did another search.  It's all in the double "m" in the middle of the word.

That makes it a dip.

Single "m" makes it dirt.
Humus is dark, organic material that forms in soil when plant and animal matter decays. When plants drop leaves, twigs, and other material to the ground, it piles up. This material is called leaf litter.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Twas the night before

Not only all the presents to prepare for an extended family, but a dinner at a family member's home nearby, with lots of people to take presents for that occasion!

Fortunately this year, this household is going to grandma's for Christmas dinner.  So today's cooking was just a batch of gingerbread cookies (for Santa of course.)  That was after my 10-year old granddaughter made waffles for breakfast!









The house where tonight's party was held!

Our hostess
Our host holding his youngest son while oldest looks on
A right Jolly old Elf

She trimmed the carrots for the reindeer

And arranged them in an "R" on the front porch
While the littlest peeled the paper off the candy cane

Which promptly melted in the hot cocoa that had been prepared by sister number 2
Yes there are the gingerbread men for Santa as well.

Hair and teeth brushed and ready for...
A shared reading of the Night Before Christmas...then to bed for the kids, and you know the other little mice tiptoed around late into the night, aka parental Santa impersonators.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Flight rain


 Took off in the afternoon and climbed above the clouds...dull but pretty.


Sometimes flying between layers of clouds, but then before landing, we had to go through lots of cloud.

Landing gear had been lowered and we approached the airport before we could see a thing.

 The next bit of fun was hiking through Atlanta's various escalators, trains and terminals to find the right gate for the next plane.

The view out my window didn't look too promising for picture taking.

But by the time we were 3rd or 4th in line for take off, I'd tried a few settings on the camera...and could do this.
We would see one plane land, then in a minute another would take off


Saying goodbye to Atlanta




Coming through the clouds to see our Connecticut destination.
On the ground, and the weather was still cloudy, but no more rain, for now!
And now I am in the arms of my loving family!