Three Great Dames - Happy Thanksgiving

When I was a child, I don't really have a memory of a bad Thanksgiving.  I know that the day had to be very stressful for my mother...but it was a good kind of stress.  She had four little kids running around and eventually we learned to not bother her.  Usually my Mom's parents would join us and my grandmother would make the pies and a salad.  For a few years, we had three of the grandest old ladies for the dinner.

Mom Friddle (Sophie Dollar Friddle), Aunty Jones (Glenthora Stranahan Jones) and Granny (Nettie Moody Shearer) used to sit on the couch and visit.  I can remember sitting on the floor listening to them tell stories.  One that sticks out in my mind was about them taking the stagecoach.  Mom Friddle didn't move to the area until a bit later, but Aunty Jones and Granny lived in the region since the 1890's.  There first stop out of Lewiston was the 21 Ranch which is about 22 miles south of town, then they would stay the next night at Winchester and by the third night they would make it to Grangeville.  This is a trip that takes about an hour now...but back then it was three days.

These three ladies helped inspire my love of history and they have been topics for me for my blog.  Today on Thanksgiving - I would like to remember these three grand dames of my childhood.

Granny was born in 1890 in Missouri and was actually my step great grandmother.  She was sure a special lady and when I see little Christmas trees, I will always think of her.

My Beloved Granny

My sister, Gwenda and Aunty Jones.

Aunty Jones was my mother's godmother...at least that was what she claimed.  She had a long history here in the Lewiston - Clark Valley and lived to be probably the oldest person that I knew when she died at 99 years old.  Every years she would give each of us kids a $5 and a bag of oranges.  She was a fascinating woman to talk to...I only wish I would have been a little older so I could have asked her more questions and could remember the answers.

Uncle Henry & Aunty Jones

I have probable told more stories and have learned more about Mom Friddle than any other person from my childhood.  She was my mother's hero and everyone in the family has a great story about her.  She is another person that I wish I could have asked more questions.  There is no question that she has had an impact on my life and I can't help thinking that I wish I was more like her.  The word "can't" wasn't in her vocabulary.

119 Years Ago...today!

Miner, Palmer,Avery - Interesting Connection

I have spent a lot of time looking at a lot of allied families of the Gallup family.  Possibly because it was probably one of the first families that I felt that I had pretty good sources to reference…primarily the Gallup family genealogy.  During my research, there are several allied families that I became quite familiar with such as Avery, Denison, Stanton, Palmer, Chesebrough, and Miner.  While I don’t seem to have direct connections to these families through my Gallup family…my interest in these lines has provided some unseen benefits for some of my other family lines.

Nathanial Swan and his wife Mahitable Brown would be my 7^th great grandparents.  Both were born in Stonington, New London Co., CT in the early 1700’s.  Nathanial was born in 1709 and Mehetable was born in 1712.  Their son, Jesse Swan was married to Elizabeth Baldwin, and they were the family that moved from Stonington, New London Co., CT to New York and their granddaughter Cynthia married Potter Gage and are my 4th great grandparents. (Cynthia Swan & Potter Gage).  While taking this family back a few more generations I found some interesting tie in’s with my Gallup family.  Which make me fascinated with some of the marriage patterns within my larger family tree.

Thomas Miner Grave

Grace Palmer Grave 

Thomas Miner - Memorial

I ran into one of those first interesting names when trying to find the ancestry of Mehetible Brown.  She married Nathaniel Swan on 13 Jan 1730 in Stonington.  She was the daughter of John Brown and Elizabeth Miner…and this is where the connections really became interesting.  John Brown was a second generation immigrant to the New World and while they were interesting – John Brown’s parents Thomas Brown and Mary Newhall didn’t really strike any familiar chords with me.  However, to find out that Elizabeth Miner was the daughter of Ephraim Miner and Hannah Avery – those were very familiar family names in my research.

Ephraim Miner was the son of Thomas Miner and Grace Palmer.  Thomas was born in Chew Magna, Somerset, England in 1608 and immigrated to the America on the “Lion’s Whelp” a ship that arrived in 1629.  By 1634, he had married Grace Palmer.   Grace Palmer was the daughter of Walter Palmer who emigrated with this family in 1629 from Gravesend England on the “Four Sisters” arriving in Salem, MA.  Not too long after he arrived, he along with a few other settlers moved to a new area and helped build the community of Stonington, CT and his considered as a founder of the town along with William Chesebrough, Thomas Minor, and Thomas Stanton.  These are families that are predominant with any family that you research in the region.  Walter Palmer must have been an impressive man.  He was reputed to be an unusually larger man of about 6 ‘5 which must have been quite impressive. 

Walter Palmer Wolf Stone

Walter Palmer Memorial - Erected much later

Walter Palmer died in 1661 and the age of 78 and a large Wolfe stone covers his grave to this day.  Close by is the his son in law, Thomas Minor buried with his wife. 

These four men established the town of Stonington despite what must have been a great deal of hardship and certainly required lot of fortitude.  Through Mahitible Brown’s mother, Elizabeth Miner, I can count Thomas Minor as my 9 great grandfather, James Avery as my 10^th great grandfather and Walter Palmer as my 11^th great grandfather through his daughter, Grace was married to Thomas Minor.  So in Wequetequock Cemetery, their ancient gravestones dating back to the late 1600’s remain as a tribute to these families who chose to be pioneers and build a new home in Stonington, Connecticut away from the closest thing that those settlers had to a comfort zone. Everyone once in a while, I spend some time looking at the Avery’s, Miners, Palmer’s and remember how these men helped build a new settlement.  Their descendants are scattered amongst many of the New England families that connect to many of my other New England families and it is certainly interesting to learn that some of my ancestors of long long ago, helped establish communities that are still thriving to this day!.  

Remembering Gettysburg

Dad and I watched a wonderful program on PBS the other night called "The Story of Gettysburg."  It was narration and some fabulous photography that took you through the battle step by step.  It reminded me at how significant a turning point in the Civil War it was and how easily it could have gone the other way.  In that little peaceful town in Pennsylvania, the war that has shaped this country ever since it happened probably had it's most significant battle.

The number killed during the battle is mind boggling especially those killed during Pickett's Charge.  I think they said that 13,000 made the charge and less than half returned.  There are characters from history like Robert E. Lee and Abraham Lincoln who are certainly memorable but there were other men who are memorable to me. Col Joshua Chamberlain up on Little Round Top preventing the Confederates from taking the flank with bayonet charge or General Longstreet knowing that he was sending his army to their deaths on Pickett's Charge.  He was following the orders of his commander but he knew what was about to happen...or the friendship of General Winfield Scott Hancock and General Louis Armistead on different sides and one laying wounded several feet away while the other lay dying.  Neither one knew they were that close to each other.

I was very young when we visited Gettysburg and there are a lot things that I don't remember well.  I can remember driving through the park but not really knowing what the statues signified.  I understood about the Gettysburg Address because I just memorized it that school year so when we came across the monument about the recitation of the address by Abraham Lincoln - that meant something to me.

Today is the 150th Anniversary of the dedication of the cemetery where Abraham Lincoln made his famous address.  I can honestly say that I have stood on that spot and have recited the Gettysburg Address myself...click below to read the the story:

A Trip to Gettysburg

Thomas Pope and Sarah Jenney

I have always found the idea of journeying across the ocean in a ship with multitudes of people, a minimum of space and the little knowledge of what you might face a daunting prospect.  Perhaps that is why I have a fascination with my ancestors who made that trip in the early 1600's.

Thomas Pope was born in England around 1608 around Kent, England to John Pope and Mary Haisnoth.  He traveled to the New World during the great migration arriving sometime around 1630.  I have read that he and his father, John, might have been passengers on the Mary and John, but I have never seen proof of that.  He married on 28 Jan 1637 to Ann Fallowell and I know that they had at least once child together, Hannah Pope b. 17 Aug 1739 in Plymouth, MA d. 12 Mar 1710 in Plymouth, MA m. to Joseph Bartlett.  However, Ann must have died sometime before 29 May 1646, because Thomas Pope married Sarah Jenney at that time.   Thomas Pope was a cooper by profession which is something that probably doesn't make a lot of sense to us today.  However, during the early colonial days, a man who could make a barrel to store food or other produces was a valuable commodity.  Most entries about Thomas Pope concern the buying and selling of land.  During his lifetime, he served during the Pequot War, surveyed highways and served as a constable in Plymouth.  He died sometime before between 9 Jul 1683 when his will was dated and 4 Aug 1683 when an inventory of his estate was taken.

Sarah Jenney was the daughter of John Jenney and Sarah Carey.  She truly was from true Puritan stock.  Her parents married in Leyden, Holland on 1 Nov 1614.  They made the decision to travel to the New World and sailed on the Little James in 1623.  Sarah was born in July 1623 on the ship during its passage across the ocean.  It seems to be bad enough to make that trip on your own or with children - but to be pregnant and near giving birth, that was certainly a courageous undertaking. (Her mother, Sarah Carey, lived to be about 66 years old)  On 29 May 1646, the 22 year old, Sarah married the 38 year old widower, Thomas Pope.   Between the years 1647 and 1665, Sarah and Thomas Pope had eleven children.  I would imagine that Sarah Jenney's family was probably well thought of in Plymouth.  Her father was one of the early Puritan separatists who moved to Leyden Holland and when he came to the Plymouth colony, he was granted the permission to build a grist mill that would produce enough meal and flour for the community.  The Pilgrims had been taught by the Indians to plant, harvest corn but their methods to mill the corn wasn't productive enough, so John Jenney build a grist mill in 1636 that remained in services until it was destroyed by a fire in 1847.  A replica was built and serves as a museum that demonstrates the milling of corn from the time of the Puritans.

Sarah Jenney outlived her husband by a few decades and died on 12 March 1709 in Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA.  Sarah Jenney and Thomas Pope are my 8th great grandparents through my great grandmother, Shirley Louisa Pope.  Most of the eleven children of Thomas Pope and Sarah Jenney lived to adulthood and here is a list of their known children:

• Seth Pope b. 13 Jan 1647 d. 17 Mar 1726 m. Deborah Perry (7th Great Grandparents) - Their son married his 1st cousin, Margaret Pope.
• Susannah Pope b. 1649 d. Jul 1675 m. Jacob Mitchell
• Thomas Pope b. 25 Mar 1651 d. bef 1700
• Sarah Pope b. 14 Feb 1652 d. 1727 m. Samuel Hinckley
• John Pope b. 15 Mar 1653 d. Jul 1675 (He and his sister, Susannah and husband were killed by Phillip's warriors while they were fleeing the Dartmouth garrison)
• Mary Pope b. 1654 d. 1730 m. Stephen Peckham
• Patience Pope b. 1655 d. 1675
• Deborah Pope b. 1658 d. 1658
• Joanna Pope b. 1660 d. 1695 m. John Hathaway
• Isaac Pope b. 1663 d. 1733 m. Alice Freeman (7th Great Grandparents) - Their daughter, Margaret, married her first cousin, Elnathan. 
• Jacob Pope b. 1665 d. 17 Dec 1751

Veteran's Day - Celebrating my Military Relatives

Ora Silas Gage - Military 1912

Don Gage - Korea

John Bernard Gage - WW II

Orland  Gage - WWII 

Claude and Jack Friddle - WW II

Byron Gage & Orland Gage - Korea

Claude Dollar - WW I

George William Shawver - WW I

I have been privileged to know many of the veterans who have served during war and peace within my family.  Many of them have passed, but they have all left an enormous imprint on my life.  For the most part, I didn't hear about their service from themselves...but rather their stories were communicated to me by others.

There are a few cousins in my generation that have served in Iraq as well as peacetime during the 1980's.  I have an aunt and cousin who served in the National Guard as well as another who served during the Vietnam war.  I know of three of my great uncles who served during Korea and six who served during World War II. There are even a few who served during World War I and even a few relatives who were active during the Spanish American War.  I don't think that there has been a war that a relative has not served in through this nation's history from its time as a collection of colonies through the Revolutionary War, Mexican American War or the Civil War.  Their service is part of the very fabric of this country.

I have spent some time writing about some of these veterans within my family...and here are some of their stories:

Goodbye Aunt Mary Kay - My Dad's younger sister who served in the National Guard

A Tinkerer at Heart - This is about my Great Uncle - John Bernard Gage and Our Gage Veterans - Highlighting Orland & Bernard and about Orland and Bernard in WW II

Claude & Jack - WW II Veterans - My mother's uncles and two of my favorite people

Civil War Stories - My four Civil War ancestors - John Lyons Tannahill, Moses T Friddles, Jasper L Bailey and Alexander Monroe Dollar - Interesting to note that the three from the south - only one of them fought for the Confederacy - the other two fought for the Union.

My Friddle Brick Wall - My great great grandfather who served with the 14th TN Calvary for the Union in the Civil War.

Levi Pennington Family & the Civil War - Story of the sons of Levi Pennington and the Civil War - Levi was my 4th Great Grandfather

On that Fateful Day - Asa Wheelock was in the militia that there on the fateful day of the Battle of Lexington and Concord during the start of the Revolutionary War

Gallup Represents More than Just a Poll  - A list of the Gallups who fought during some of the earliest battles during colonization through the Revolutionary War

An Epitaph to Remember - This is about General Adamson Tannahill who served as George Washington's secretary during the Revolutionary War

John Macomber & Mary Brownell Davol - John Macomber served on the Massachusetts line during the Revolutionary War.

Revolutionary War Veterans - Some of the Revolutionary War Veterans that I am directly descended from.

John Macomber & Mary Brownell Davol

Macomber is one of those names that I came across fairly early in my genealogical research.  Ruth Macomber was married to William Gage and the mother of Potter Gage of whom I wrote about earlier.  She was one of 16 children and was the daughter of John Macomber and Mary Brownell Davol. 

 

John Macomber was born on 26 Dec 1734 in Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA to William J. Macomber and Lydia Tripp.  John Macomber married Mary Brownell Davol probably around 1759 as the first of their children were born the next year.  He served in the Revolutionary War on the Massachusetts line.  You might say that John Macomber lived during possibly one of the most important time periods of United States history in possibly one of the most active historical locations. His ancestors had been among the earliest settlers in America, from the Macombers in the early 1600’s in Massachusetts or the Tripps in Rhode Island.   After the Revolutionary War, John Macomber is still recorded in Massachusetts in the first national census of 1790.  However, a short time later, he left Massachusetts for New York State.  John Macomber died at the family farm in Dutchess Co., NY on 13 Apr 1802, living just nine days longer than his wife.

Like her husband, Mary Brownell Davol was born in Massachusetts.   She was born about 1745 probably around Dartmouth, MA.  She was the daughter of Silas Davol, Sr and Mary Wilbore.  The Davol name is spelled several ways…sometimes it is Devol and sometimes Duel.  It makes it an interesting line to research.   Her earliest Davol ancestor, William, probably arrived sometime after his marriage to Elizabeth Isabel Anderson in 1639.  Mary’s earliest Wilbore ancestor in America was William Wilbore who probably arrived sometime before 1653 when he married Martha Holmes in Rhode Island.  Mary died on 4 Apr 1802 in Dutchess Co., NY.

Mary Brownell Davol and John Macomber are another one of the examples of my family lines that originated in New England and moved to New York.  All of these New England families moved from places like Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island and arrived in New York sometime around 1790 – give or take a few years. 

I have no idea where John and Mary are buried for sure…the family farm in Dutchess Co., NY is an ambiguous location at best.  Perhaps a cemetery still exists…and perhaps not.  After 200 years, it is unlikely that I will ever know.  It is obvious that when they moved to New York that they lived in close proximity to a few families.   The surnames of Gage, Mosher, and Hammond are prominent in the Macomber spouses. Here is a list of their children:

• Patience Macomber b. 29 Apr 1760 d. 10 Aug 1833 m. Caleb Palmer
• Child Macomber b. 14 Dec 1761 d. 28 Feb 1763
• Child Macomber b. 19 Mar 1763 d. 14 Apr 1763
• Wesson Macomber b. 12 Mar 1764 d. 1814 Grand Isle, VT m Mary Mosher
• Hannah Macomber b. 18 Nov 1765 d. 30 Apr 1816 m. Moses Gaige (brother of William Gage)
• John Macomber b. 6 Oct 1767 d. 28 Jul 1842 m. Mary Briggs
• Mary Macomber b.  2 Jul 1769 d. 12 May 1801 m. Simeon Gage (brother of William Gage)
• Lydia Macomber b. 14 Nov 1771 d. ? m. Abraham Mosher
• Ruth Macomber b. 9 Oct 1773 d. 1844 m. William Gage (my 5^th Great Grandparents)
• Benjamin Macomber b. 2 Jun 1775 d. 1857 m. Mercy Gage (sister of William Gage)
• Zilla Macomber b. 6 Mar 1777 d. Feb 1860 m. Perry Potter
• Sarah Macomber b. 11 Oct 1778 d. 27 Apr 1864 m. Esock Wilbore
• Jeremiah Macomber b. 31 Mar 1781 d. ? m. ? Allen
• Joseph Macomber b. 14 Jun 1783 d. 21 Nov 1859 m. Maria Hammond m2. Elizabeth Thompson
• Margaret Macomber b. 8 Sep 1785 d. ? m. Eliakim Hammond
• Phebe Macomber b. 19 Jul 1787 d. abt 1846 d. Abraham Davis

 

Grave of William Gage and Ruth Macomber at Knox Cemetery, Knox, NY

Cynthia Swan & Potter Gage

Cynthia Swan and Potter Gage are my 4th great grandparents.  I first saw their names in a Gage genealogy that my great grandparents had.  I think that they got the book in the late 1960's and as a child, the book drew me in to doing my first genealogical pursuit through the pages of a book.

Cynthia Swan Gage's gravestone - Knox Cemetery, Knox, NY

Cynthia Swan was born 26 July 1801 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  She was the daughter of Nathaniel Swan and Harriet Shutter.  Nathaniel Swan was born in Stonington, New London Co., CT and probably came to the New York area sometime before 1800 as that was when he married Harriet Shutter.   Since his father, Jesse Swan died in 1803 in Berne, Albany Co., NY - I think that I can make the assumption that they moved to New York sometime after 1787.  I know that my Gallup family immigrated from Connecticut about the same time, so it leads me to believe that they probably immigrated around the same time.  On the other hand, Harriet Shutter was born about 1779 in New York.  She was the daughter of Abraham Shutter and Geetruy or Catharina Salsbury.  Those names suggest a Dutch ancestry which is not unexpected.  So, like most of my New York ancestry...there is a mix of those originally from New England and Dutch and German.

Potter Gage's gravestone - Knox Cemetery, Knox, NY

Potter Gage was born 25 Dec 1798 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  He was the son of William Gage and Ruth Macomber.   William Gage was born in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY and he was the first generation of the Gage's who had left Dutchess Co., NY and perhaps their Quaker heritage.  The story is that there was a falling out in the family and some supported the Tories during the Revolutionary War and other supported the colonists...and this is why the name change occurred.  There are some who added an "i" in their name so the spelling was changed to Gaige.  Potter's mother, Ruth Macomber, was born 9 Oct 1773 in Dutchess Co., NY as the daughter of John Macomber and Mary Brownell Davol.  Both of Ruth's parents came from Massachusetts and both maternal and paternal lines had been in New England for multiple generations.  Ruth was one of 16 children who were born from 1760 to 1787.

Cynthia Swan and Potter Gage married about 1822 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  She and Potter Gage were the parents of eleven children from 1823 to 1840, including a set of twins, one of whom was my 3rd great grandfather.  Cynthia and Potter were the first of their families to have been born, married and lived their lives in Knox, NY.  Cynthia died at the age of 62.  Five years later, Potter Gage married Elizabeth Potter (name similarity is kind of ironic) and Potter lived to the age of 84 when he died on 16 Mar 1883 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.

My Great grandfather, Ora Silas Gage left New York state in 1908 at the age of 15 when his parents died within days of each other.  During the entire of the 19th century, the Gage family lived in Knox, Albany Co., NY.

Here is a list of the family of Cynthia Swan and Potter Gage:

• Emily Gage b. 4 Jun 1823 d. 17 Nov 1893 m. Peter Swan
• Charles Gaige b. 8 Dec 1824 d. 7 Jul 1914 m. Hannah M. Tompkins
• Gilbert Gage b. 8 Dec 1824 d. 8 Aug 1894 m. Phoebe Allen
• Harriet Gage b. 12 Jan 1826 d. 12 Aug 1874 m. Jacob Auchenpaugh
• Mary Ann Gage b. 15 Apr 1830 d. aft 1910 m. William Van Allen
• Susan Gage b. 14 Feb 1832 d. 24 Dec 1914 m. Edward M VanAuken
• Ezra Minor Gage b. 18 Apr 1833 d. 26 Mar 1823 m. Nancy Van Auken
• Jane A Gage b. 27 Jun 1834 aft 1900 m. John E Soley
• Hiram Potter Gage b. 25 Aug 1835 d. 10 Sep 1894 m. Martha Bronk
• William Gage b. 19 Sep 1837 d. 8 Mar 1910 m.. Julia Davis
• Juliette Gage b. 28 Aug 1840 d. 18 Dec 1876 unmarried

Gage Trio - Potter and Cynthia's gravestone with their unmarried daughter, Juliette