Mystery Monday: Part Two: The Unidentified Friends and Family of Maria Jane (Peeples) Publicover of Gloucester and Beverly, Essex, Mass.

Two weeks ago I wrote about the lovely autograph book of Maria Jane Peeples of Gloucester, Mass. from the 1890s. Last week I discussed the wonderful but unlabeled photograph collection of Maria Jane Peeples and included the first part of her collection, including unidentified family and friends from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and beyond. Today’s entry will focus on her photographs of unidentified family or friends from Gloucester, Mass., where Maria lived for several years after moving from Nova Scotia. All of her siblings resided either briefly or permanently in Gloucester. Below is a brief genealogical sketch of her parents … Continue reading Mystery Monday: Part Two: The Unidentified Friends and Family of Maria Jane (Peeples) Publicover of Gloucester and Beverly, Essex, Mass.

Mystery Monday: Part One: The Unidentified Friends and Family of Maria Jane (Peeples) Publicover of Gloucester and Beverly, Essex, Mass.

This week Of Graveyards and Things was included in the blogroll from Geneabloggers. Welcome aboard, new readers! Earlier in the week I wrote about the lovely autograph book of Maria Jane Peeples of Gloucester, Mass. from the 1890s. With a few extra pairs of eyes on the blog, let’s see if anyone can help solve a related mystery pertaining to Maria. Based upon her autograph book and stories passed down in the family, it is obvious that Maria had a wealth of friends and family from the North Shore of Massachusetts, friends who worked or lived in and around Boston, … Continue reading Mystery Monday: Part One: The Unidentified Friends and Family of Maria Jane (Peeples) Publicover of Gloucester and Beverly, Essex, Mass.

Autograph Book of Maria Jane Peeples, Gloucester, Mass., 1889-1900

Maria Jane Peeples (nicknamed “Rida” by her family) was the daughter of Thomas Peeples and Jane Rogers of Nova Scotia. She married Willard Binnie Publicover at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Gloucester, Essex, Mass., 24 January 1894, by Rev. John Alvey Mills. From 1889-1900, she kept an autograph book in which her friends, family members – and a presumably courting Willard B. Publicover (he has several signatures and notes over the years) – signed their names and wrote her notes and poems – funny, poignant, sage, or straight to the point. She began keeping the autograph book while a resident of … Continue reading Autograph Book of Maria Jane Peeples, Gloucester, Mass., 1889-1900

Amanuensis Monday: Marriage Records of Barnabas Everson and Deborah (Bates) Howland, 1848, Manhattan

Barnabas Everson of South Hanson, Plymouth County, Massachusetts (4 January 1825 – 22 February 1896) was a prominent citizen of the town, a wealthy businessman with major landholdings. His parents and grandparents were from the town of Hanson (or the part of Pembroke which became Hanson in 1820), and his children and grandchildren were born and raised in the town. It wasn’t until a recent inspection of the record of his marriage to the young widow Deborah (Bates) Howland (4 September 1819 – 16 April 1892), recorded at Hanson, that I noticed that their marriage was performed by an unexpected … Continue reading Amanuensis Monday: Marriage Records of Barnabas Everson and Deborah (Bates) Howland, 1848, Manhattan