Author: mblauss

Cemeteries4 Comments

Tombstone Tuesday: Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, Washington

mblauss

Advertisements   Incorporated on October 16, 1872 as the Seattle Masonic Cemetery, it later changed its name to Lake View Cemetery in 1890. The cemetery is located on the top of Capitol Hill with stunning views of the Cascade and Olympic Mountains, and Lake Union and Lake Washington. Although the cemetery was incorporated in 1872, it soon became the home of several reburial projects from smaller earlier cemeteries throughout the city. One of the earliest stones located here is the following curious marker: Members of the Denny Party had moved from Alki Beach [today’s West Seattle] to the western shore … Continue reading Tombstone Tuesday: Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, Washington

Cemeteries1 Comment

Travel Tuesday: Saxon Cross in Follifoot, Yorkshire, England

mblauss

Advertisements   Several years ago, while visiting family in Knaresborough, we briefly stayed in the small and beautiful village of Follifoot.  Follifoot is believed to derive from a Norse phrase meaning “Place of a Horse Fight” which was popular in the medieval era. The village is believed to have been a place where horses were trained and fights were staged. The village was not listed in the Doomsday Book of 1086. The earliest written record of Follifoot referred to it as “Pholifet” in the twelfth century. According to a conservation appraisal of the town, several Saxon remains have been unearthed in Rudding Park and in … Continue reading Travel Tuesday: Saxon Cross in Follifoot, Yorkshire, England

Artifacts, CemeteriesLeave a comment

Military Monday: 2nd Lieutenant Roy Edwards of the Rifle Brigade, 10th Battalion

mblauss

Advertisements After writing a post the other week about Sydney Henry Payne’s service in World War I, I found myself wondering what happened to Syd’s commander, 2nd Lt. Roy Edwards [no relation to Syd’s brother in law, William James Stephen Edwards, the husband of Syd’s sister Ida Edith (Payne) Edwards, who also served in WWI]. You may recall that he sent Syd’s mother, Edith Jane (Scarrott) Payne Burns Hart the following letter, assuring her of Syd’s safety: “Oct. 26 1917.  Dear Mrs. Payne, No doubt your son has told you he is servant to me in France and as I … Continue reading Military Monday: 2nd Lieutenant Roy Edwards of the Rifle Brigade, 10th Battalion

Cemeteries2 Comments

Tombstone Tuesday: “Chief Seattle’s Grave” and Suquamish Cemetery, Suquamish, Wa.

mblauss

Advertisements We recently visited Suquamish Cemetery beside St. Peter’s Catholic Mission in Suquamish, Kitsap County, Washington on a cold and rainy day. The cemetery is well-known as the burial site of “Chief Seattle” [so-called by Midwestern settlers who founded the city of Seattle and named it in his honor in the 1850s, the title “Chief” was an American title, he was named si?al in Lushootseed]. It is also the burial site of numerous Catholic Suquamish tribe members and related families. In the early 19th century, Catholic French Canadian trappers were working along the waters and forests of Puget Sound, and … Continue reading Tombstone Tuesday: “Chief Seattle’s Grave” and Suquamish Cemetery, Suquamish, Wa.

Cemeteries4 Comments

Tombstone Tuesday: WWI Rifleman Sidney Henry Payne

mblauss

Advertisements Sidney Henry PAYNE was born on 21 July 1898 in 125 Blackfriars Rd., Southwark, London, England, the son of Thomas Samuel Henry Payne and Edith Jane Scarrott. His name was also spelled as “Sydney”. He was the brother of Ida Edith (Payne) Edwards and the half-brother of Lucy Lilian Burns. He was baptized on 16 December 1900 in St. Mary’s, Lambeth, London, England. At the age of 18, he enlisted for World War I at Southwark on 7 September 1916, and was assigned service number S/25413. From then until August 1917, he was stationed at Minster West, North Sheerness, … Continue reading Tombstone Tuesday: WWI Rifleman Sidney Henry Payne

Artifacts, Mysteries7 Comments

Treasure Chest Thursday: The Hidden Sword Blade Guard in a Secret Compartment of Grace McClellan’s Sideboard

mblauss

Advertisements In 1969, after the passing of Nana Grace (Hanson) McClellan, a large wooden sideboard from her house was moved next door to her granddaughter Edna’s home, where it has sat by the kitchen table for 43 years. This month, Edna gave the sideboard to her daughter Debbie, and a small group of family members gathered to help maneuver the heavy piece of furniture. As they cleared out the sideboard of possessions that had accumulated over the years, they uncovered a false back in one of the drawers, which was moved to reveal a small hidden compartment. Neither Edna nor … Continue reading Treasure Chest Thursday: The Hidden Sword Blade Guard in a Secret Compartment of Grace McClellan’s Sideboard

Cemeteries1 Comment

Wordless Wednesday: The Gravestone of the Children of Andrew Neal, Granary Burying Ground, Boston, Mass.

mblauss

Advertisements The gravestone reads: The children of Andrew & Melicen Neal TEMPUS EDAX RERUM (Time, devourer of all things) Elizabeth Neal Elizabeth Neal Andrew Neal Aged 3 Dayes Dec’d 1666 Aged 2 weeks Dec’d June ye 12 1671 Aged 18 months Dec’d As Also ye body of Hannah Neal is here inter’d The carver of this stone has been identified as the “Old Stone Cutter” in the Farber Collection. This is one of the more memorable and dramatic stones in the graveyard, I often stop by it when I am passing by. Continue reading Wordless Wednesday: The Gravestone of the Children of Andrew Neal, Granary Burying Ground, Boston, Mass.

Artifacts1 Comment

Travel Tuesday: Connecting Hurricane Island, Maine to the San Donato Val di Comino Diaspora

mblauss

Advertisements Loreto Salvucci, a granite stonecutter from San Donato Val di Comino, Italy, left his home in the Comino Valley – and his usually pregnant wife Carmela (DiBona) four times to come to the U.S. to work in American quarries in 1899, 1904, 1905, and 1909. In 1906, his younger half-brother, Gaetano Salvucci, had moved permanently to the U.S., settling in Quincy, Massachusetts where he worked as a granite polisher. Additionally, Loreto’s mother-in-law Carmela (Paglia) DiBona, and several DiBona in-laws were also living and working in the granite industry Quincy, Mass. by 1900 – along with numerous extended friends and … Continue reading Travel Tuesday: Connecting Hurricane Island, Maine to the San Donato Val di Comino Diaspora

ArtifactsLeave a comment

Amaneunsis Monday: Inventory of the Estate of Capt. Henry Josselyn of Pembroke, Mass., 1787

mblauss

Advertisements Below is a transcription of the inventory of Capt. Henry Josselyn of Pembroke, Mass. He was born at Scituate, Mass., 24 March 1696, the son of Henry Josselyn and Abigail Stockbridge. He married at Pembroke, 23 September 1718, Hannah Oldham. He died at Pembroke by 26 June 1787, when his probate was filed, at the age of 91 years. His eldest child, Hannah Josselyn, married Henry Munroe Sr. at Pembroke on 16 November 1738. The unknown origins of Mary Miller, the wife of their son Henry Munroe Jr., were recently discussed in this blog. From Plymouth County, Massachusetts Probate … Continue reading Amaneunsis Monday: Inventory of the Estate of Capt. Henry Josselyn of Pembroke, Mass., 1787

Artifacts7 Comments

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

mblauss

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

Artifacts5 Comments

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

mblauss

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

Artifacts13 Comments

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

mblauss

Advertisements 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 … Continue reading Autograph Book of Maria Jane Peeples, Gloucester, Mass., 1889-1900