Category: Research

Artifacts, Plymouth, Research1 Comment

Amanuensis Monday: The Broken Indenture of Ezekiel Sprague Jr. of Scituate, Mass.

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Advertisements While performing research in Scituate, Massachusetts town records, I came across an unusual record from a town meeting (edited slightly for spelling):  25 May 1767 Upon the Petition & Request of Ebenezer Mott setting forth that he about four years ago took by indenture an apprentice named Ezekel Sprague to learn the trade of a cordwainer & to provide for him til he should arrive to the age of twenty one years he being now about 13 years old but so it is that yt Ezekel has been for some time troubled with uncommon fits and it is doubtful … Continue reading Amanuensis Monday: The Broken Indenture of Ezekiel Sprague Jr. of Scituate, Mass.

DNA, Research1 Comment

Matrilineal Monday: My Father’s Matrilineal Line Featured On Who Do You Think You Are?

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Advertisements I was a researcher for several seasons of the American version of Who Do You Think You Are? It was an absolute blast performing the research, and then very interesting to see how the findings were later used for the filming itself. The focus of WDYTYA? and other genealogy programs tends to focus on celebrities discovering their past (although some shows now have started to feature segments on “everyday” folks who have interesting ancestors too), although I always thought it would be fun to see some of my ancestors featured in a similar way. So imagine my surprise when … Continue reading Matrilineal Monday: My Father’s Matrilineal Line Featured On Who Do You Think You Are?

Artifacts, Plymouth, Research2 Comments

Treasure Chest Thursday: Framing the Past: Identifying Crapo Family Ambrotypes

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Advertisements I recently had an article published in American Ancestors (published by NEHGS) which explored my journey of identifying a mysterious set of ambrotypes which were found in my grandfather’s workshop. These were the ambrotypes that were discovered tucked away in my grandfather’s desk, placed out of sight for years, which had never been seen by my grandmother: Click on the image below to read the full article and discover how this mystery was solved! As I stated in the article,  Henry Emerson Crapo and Isabella Frances Lannigan’s daughter Ada Marion (Crapo) Howland had three children. So if any cousins have labeled duplicates of these … Continue reading Treasure Chest Thursday: Framing the Past: Identifying Crapo Family Ambrotypes

Research1 Comment

Mini-Genealogical Biography of Elizabeth Ann (O’Reilly) Mahon

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Advertisements Elizabeth Ann (O’Reilly) Mahon (1852-bef1920) Elizabeth Ann O’Reilly was born in November of 1852 to Thomas and Eliza O’Reilly, the fourth of nine children. In 1860, the O’Reilly family was living in Fairfield, Franklin County, Vermont. Fairfield is in northern Vermont, slightly to the east of St. Albans, and to the south of the Canadian border. Thomas and Eliza O’Reilly had immigrated from Ireland, and had probably entered the United States through Canada. Franklin County, Vermont was full of many Irish and Scots that had immigrated first to Canada, and then crossed the border to America. Probably a younger … Continue reading Mini-Genealogical Biography of Elizabeth Ann (O’Reilly) Mahon

Research1 Comment

Mini-Genealogical Biography of Adelia Deborah Everson

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Advertisements Adelia Deborah Everson (1849-1867) Adelia D. Everson was born on June 3, 1849 in the town of Hanson, MA. Her parents, Barnabas Everson and Deborah Bates, had married the previous August of 1848. Adelia was Barnabas’s first child, but the second for Deborah. 1846 had been a terrible year for Deborah, in which she first lost her husband Warren in January of consumption, and then lost her 9 month old son, also named Warren, of “cholera infantum”. The widowed Deborah lived next to Maquan Pond, and she remarried Barnabas Everson, a neighbor who owned a large property across the … Continue reading Mini-Genealogical Biography of Adelia Deborah Everson

BIPOC, Research2 Comments

Erastus Everson and the Laurens County, SC Riot

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Advertisements In 1871, Massachusetts-born Erastus Watson Everson was summoned by a government committee which was investigating the “Ku-Klux Klan conspiracy”. Erastus had worked for the Freedman’s Bureau after the Civil War throughout South Carolina. In particular, he was summoned for an experience he had after his duty in the Freedman’s Bureau, when he was working again for the army as an assessor. Erastus was an inadvertent witness to the Laurens County, SC riot in October 1870. He testified his belief that the riot was planned in advance in part by the Ku Klux Klan. He testified that he had traveled to Laurens … Continue reading Erastus Everson and the Laurens County, SC Riot

Research2 Comments

Mini-Genealogical Biography of Erastus W. Everson

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Advertisements Erastus W. Everson (1837-1897) Erastus W. Everson was the eldest child of William F. Everson and his wife, Salome B. Crocker. He was born about 1837 probably in Hanson, MA. Three years later, his brother Frederic O. Everson was born, followed by his sister Sylvania Everson. They grew up on Pleasant Street in Hanson. In 1850, at the age of 13, Erastus was living in Hanson with his family, and a 17 year old servant (or boarder) named Fidelia Hunt. He and his siblings were attending one of the small schoolhouses in South Hanson. Next door to them, extended … Continue reading Mini-Genealogical Biography of Erastus W. Everson

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Musings of the blog…

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Advertisements The blog format can serve many purposes, and is ever-evolving. Some post about politics, religion, or a variety of their interests. Blogs can be very personal, or just focused on world events. Recently my father has been writing about his childhood memories . One of my friends simply posts about dreams. My mother, a writer, uses hers for both the pleasure of writing, and also as a useful exercise in writing daily or weekly. My colleagues often use theirs to discuss current events in history, archaeology, museums, cemeteries, or genealogy. This blog itself is a variety of styles and … Continue reading Musings of the blog…