Sentimental Sunday :: Mother's Day

Our Adorable Mom!

ca. 1951

1653 :: Marriage of Clemens and Osgood

 
On this date in our family history . . . in 17th century Andover, Massachusetts . . . 

It is the 15th day of November in the year 1653 . . . and a long-ago scribe by the name of Robert Clemens (father of the bride) will record this date as being the day he presided at the marriage of his young daughter (about sixteen years of age) to John Osgood, aged about twenty-two . . . the new bride is Mary, and she has only recently become a resident of Andover, having lived in "the city of Coventry in Warwickshire, Old England" after her father left England about 1642 . . . 

More than two hundred years later, one of Mary's great-grand-nephews would pen the following words regarding the love one would hope this Mary and John had for one another . . . 

Love came at dawn,

when all the world was fair,

When crimson glories’ bloom

and sun were rife;

Love came at dawn,

when hope’s wings fanned the air,

And murmured,

“I am life.”

It is said that both Mary and John were born in "old" England, as were many of their neighbors and fellow settlers in the "New" England . . . 250 years later these early settlers of the Andover in New England were remembered in a poem (which also paid homage to the Andover of "old" England), when the following verse was composed by Annie Sawyer Downs in honor of the 250th anniversary of the settling of the "new" Andover . . . 

And of the proud and noble fame

which through the years comes down

To flush the cheek, and thrill the hearts

throughout our ancient town,

For our own Andover so old,

and yet so young to-day,

Who ever to the mother land

will loving homage pay,

To an old borough on the Ande

is namesake, mental heir,

Which Saxon men called Andover

in English Hampshire fair. . . . 

O, mother land, O, mother town,

when dark days on you fell,

And those you set in places high,

for gold and gauds dared sell,

The freeman's right to name his faith,

the freeman's right to pray,

To seek his God with hymn or psalm

as seemed to him God's way,

The freeman's right to judge the Word,

to teach his simple child

That secret true of holy life

is Gospel undefiled;

And that to follow leaders blind

is weak and wicked thing,

For of the soul no prince, nor priest,

but God alone is king.

Then through thy quiet rural ways, 

O, lovely mother land,

And in thine ancient city streets,

and on the north sea strand

Was heard a sound like wind at night

among the leafy trees,

Or ceaseless break on sandy shores

of never silent seas;

And which in great waves rolled along

to break at last in song.

"We go, we go, across the wave

As Israel went of old,

To seek a home and find a grave,

In strange and distant fold. . . . 

Across the sea, across the sea,

Are valleys fair and lone,

And forests rich, and wild, and free,

Which yet may be our own,

And where, unvexed by bishop's rule,

Or envious tyrant's hate,

We with God's help, in wisdom's school,

May rear a noble state. . . . 

Farewell, farewell, we may not wait,

Our ships are in the bay,

And though to-night the tide is late,

Before the dawn of day,

We shall fare off on shifting wave,

Watch line of fading shore,

The fairest shore God ever gave,

But home for us no more. . . ."

Mary and John survived that journey across the sea . . . and the early days of life in "New" England . . . they had at least twelve children . . . and had been married for almost four decades when, in the year 1692, Mary found herself to be one of the unfortunate residents of Andover who was accused of being a witch . . . and wound up spending almost four winter months in a Salem jail . . . 

Upon her release, Mary would return to Andover, and would live on until October of 1710 . . . sadly, John died shortly following her release from jail in 1693 . . . and it is written that "His death is said to have been hastened by his grief at these sad occurrences." 

Love came at eve,

and when the day was done,

When heart and brain were tired,

and slumber pressed;

Love came at eve,

shut out the sinking sun,

And whispered,

“I am rest.”

This Mary and John are 9th great-grandparents to the Keeper of this family history blog  . . . and still today . . . 

We faintly trace their farm lands' bound,

Their cellars' green and sunken round;

Their meeting house upon the hill,

The stones of their first water mill.

Seek records of their parish wide

Who first was groom, and who the bride;

Whose child first sat on Parson's knee,

Who first paid hated tithing fee.

Yet seek in vain; but one dim page

Is wafted to us from their age;

But one faint name on tombstone gray

Reveals their brief and bitter day. . . . 

But still our loving fancy turns,

To many an ancient road,

Where aged houses lowly bend,

Beneath the centuries' load. . . . 

Click on the following links for more info regarding Grandma Mary and Grandpa John, and their home of Andover . . . 

• Mary Osgood in the BeNotForgot AMT . . . this is free to look at, but if you are not already an Ancestry member, you will need to set up a free account before you will be able to view her page . . 

• Andover - In the Neighborhood . . . besides the above mentioned Grandma Mary and Grandpa John, this article mentions numerous kith 'n kin, including these ancestors of ours . . . Ralph Farnum (1601-1648) . . .  Mary Farnum (1628-1713) . . . Ralph Farnum (1633-1691) . . . Elizabeth Holt (1636-1710) . . . Nicholas Holt (1602-1685) . . . John Osgood (1595-1651) . . . Sarah Osgood (d. 1667) . . . Daniel Poore (b. 1624) . . . Elizabeth Short (1606-1656) . . . most of these are said to have been born in England . . . 

• Death of Mary Osgood

This blogpost was researched and prepared specifically for The Seventh Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge over at cousin Bill's family history blog which is known as . . . West in New England . . . 

Sentimental Saturday :: The 10th day of October

Sixty-five years ago today . . . on an autumn's Tuesday . . . which was the 10th* day of October in the year 1950 . . . Miss Roberta Mae Henry became the bride of Mr. Forrest Lee Pounders in a small ceremony held in Freeport, Brazoria County, Texas . . . exactly one year and one month later, I came along as the first of their four children . . . the following photos were taken near the beginning of their journey together . . . 

The Rockdale Reporter

Thursday, October 19, 1950

Roberta Mae Henry

Becomes Bride of

Forrest L. Pounders

A marriage of interest to a wide circle of friends here is that of Miss Roberta Mae Henry and Forrest Lee Pounders, both of Rockdale. The ceremony took place Tuesday, October 10, at 6:45 o'clock in the evening at the First Methodist church in Freeport, with the Rev. Houser reading the double ring service.

The bride chose for her wedding a suit of royal blue gabardine with which she wore gray accessories. In keeping with tradition she also wore something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

Attending the couple were Miss Georgia Faye Henry and Robert Henry, cousin and brother of the bride.

Immediately following the ceremony the couple left for Galveston where they spent a brief honeymoon and later went to Houston to visit with relatives of the groom.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. Robert E. Henry of Sinton. She has made her home here with her grandparents, Mrs. Edgar Henry, and the late Mr. Henry. She graduated from Rockdale High School in 1949 and during her high school career she was popular and took part in all activities of the school. Since finishiing she has been employed in the local office of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company.

The bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jake Pounders. After finishing from Rockdale High School in 1945 he entered the U.S. Army where he remained for some time, seeing service in Japan. He is employed at the Fred Pounders Service Station.

Mr. and Mrs. Pounders will continue to make their home in Rockdale.

*P.S. . . that 10th day of October in 1950 was also the 23rd anniversary of the birth day of my Dad . . . he would have been 88 today . . . 

Wordless Wednesday :: 1936 Death of Eva M. Smith

Sentimental Sunday :: Ancestor Appreciation Day

In grateful appreciation

of those who came before.

Our ancestral surnames

as seen in this wordle are . . .

Anthony

Barker

Bass

Brackett

Brown

Carter

Davis

Dunaway

Farnum

Fears

Ford

Fulton

Fretwell

Gill

Goodwin

Gregg

Griggs

Henry

Hobbs

Holcomb

Holland

Hooker

Jordan

King

Kirtley

Lakin

Lemaire

Lewis

Mason

Merrill

Muston

Nettles

Newsom

Olive

Porter

Pounders

Quinn

Roberts

Saunders

Sharp

Smith

Thurston

Waring

Weaver

West

I hear the voices of my grandmas

Calling out from a distant past

"Please do not let us be forgot.

Record our stories that we may last."

Tell the children of our wanderings

Let the kinfolk hear the tales

How we braved the new horizons

How we blazed the olden trails.

How we buried too many babies

How we struggled to keep them fed

How we caressed the hands of our loved ones

As they lay dying on their beds.

How we endured many a hardship

With an eye to the future goal

To create a more promising future

And to keep our family whole.

They were as different from each other

As the scraps in a crazy quilt

Yet once the pieces were sewn together

Another generation they had built

I can sense them calling out to me

From the gloaming of my past

"Please do not let us be forgot.

Record our stories that we may last."

 

Original poem by BeNotForgot

 

1834 :: Howl Fir Tree for the Cedar is Fallen

On this date in our family history . . . the 8th day of November . . . in the year 1834 . . . Grant Davis dies in Morgan County, Georgia . . . although his death occurs almost eight years before her birth, he is the paternal grandpa of Josephine Wingfield Henry nee Davis . . . who is a 2nd great-grandma to the Keeper of this family history blog . . . 

Grant Davis is laid to rest in a small family cemetery near Brownwood (southwest of Madison) in Morgan County . . . and on his tomb is inscribed the following . . . 

In memory of

GRANT DAVIS.
Born July 18th, 1785.
Died Nov. 8th, 1834.

A righteous man is here inter'd.

Whose faith in all his works appear'd.

A husband and a father dear.

Belov'd by all who knew him here.

Redeem'd by Christ, among the just.

His spirit waits its rising dust.
 

Howl fir tree for the cedar is fallen.

Exactly thirty years later . . . and exactly one hundred fifty years ago today . . . Sherman is notifying his army that soon they will be leaving Atlanta to make a "March to the Sea" . . . beginning in mid-November, this military action will continue until Sherman's troops have cut a swath of destruction across Georgia and beyond . . .

The Josephine mentioned above was born and raised in Morgan County, Georgia . . . which is located just a short distance east of Atlanta . . . and directly in Sherman's path . . . although she was already living in Texas by the time of the war between the states, Josephine had many kith and kin still living in the Morgan County area when Sherman began this trek . . . including her own paternal grandma, Nancy S. Tate Davis nee Anthony (1783-1871) . . . 

Regarding this land of my ancestors . . . according to a book by Louise McHenry Hicky . . . entitled Rambles through Morgan County, Georgia . . .

While these were trouble filled times, [most of] Madison was spared from the ravages of Sherman's raid, because of an act of Representative Joshua Hill, later distinguished U.S. Senator, who resided here. Riding out from Madison, in quest of a wounded son, he made a point of meeting Sherman on the way to plead with him to spare the town. He had known Sherman in Washington, and due to the fact that he was one of the few southern congressmen who did not believe in secession, his plea had weight with the General, and [most of] Madison was bypassed. . . . 

The closing chapter of this same book says that . . . 

This is Gone With the Wind country . . .

The world is still beautiful,
filled with wonders;
the sky is blue,
the flowers still bloom,
and birds warble in the magnolia trees. . . .

There was a time when peace reigned
and life was leisurely,
and beautiful
and romantic.
Then came a war between the States,
when all this beautiful living
was gone with the wind. . . .

This is a time for remembering. . . .

This blogpost was researched and prepared specifically for The Sixth Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge over at cousin Bill's blog which is known as . . . West in New England . . .

Ode to Job

On this date in our family history . . . the 7th day of November . . . in the year 1760 . . . 38-year-old Ruth Porter nee Foster dies in Boxford, Massachusetts . . . the following day, the 8th of November, would be the 16th anniversary of the day she had married Benjamin Porter in Andover, Massachusetts . . . this Benjamin and Ruth are 6th great-grandparents to the Keeper of this family history blog . . .

Benjamin's family history in Andover traces back to his 3rd great-grandpa, Job Tyler, who is said to have been living in Andover as early as 1639 . . . it has been said of this Job that . . .  

"He was a rude, self-asserting, striking personality" . . . and that . . . He did not . . . "learn prudence very fast, but he was himself. . . . He did not shape his words to suit sensitive ears. He resented dictation and found it hard to restrain himself from what he wanted to do through any prudential policy. . . . From this old canvas there gazes steadily out, not an ideal but a very real personage, an out and out Yankee type."

At a Tyler Family Reunion held in Andover on Wednesday, September 2nd, 1896, the gathering was called to the old North Parish Church, where Job Tyler anciently paid "minister's rates," and where his sons, Moses, Hopestill and John, were early communicants.

At this gathering, songs were sung, organization business was taken care of, and genealogies and letters of regret, as well as poems were read . . . including the following excerpts from a lengthy poetic composition written in honor of our Job . . .

In Newport, quaint Rhode Island town,

way down upon the coast.

There landed from old England's shore,

of whom we can now boast

A "Tyler"; from o'er the sea came he

to the woods and lofty hills.

To found a home and family,

and 'scape old country's ills.

"Sixteen Forty," or thereabout,

he stepped upon the strand

And pitched his tent in an ancient town

now known throughout the land

As Andover, of scholastic fame,

whose influence is known

In Forum, Pulpit, Rostrum,

where Knowledge it is shown.

"Job" was his appellation,

a patient man, 'tis said.

This horny-handed ancestor,

now numbered with the dead,

Who delved from early morn till night,

he strove to make a name,

Respected, loved, esteemed by all,

but yet, unknown to fame.

To gratify his longing

he went from town to town,

To Roxbury, Mendon, Arundel,

before he settled down.

But he came back to Andover,

and here resolved to stay.

Where we revere his memory

on this September day.

The supposition is,

his bones a grave doth fill

In the little old-time burial yard,

not far upon the hill;

No stone doth mark the sacred spot

or record can be found,

But one, his first born,

who lies there beneath historic ground.

The trees do wave their requiem

above the sacred dead,

So we should grant our meed of praise

for the spirits that have fled,

And add our mite of reverence for

those who went before,

And visit, each and all, the spot,

before the day is o'er.

As is stated in that poem, Job's final resting place has been lost to the sands of time . . . thanks to those involved in the referenced gathering, our Job is now memorialized with a bronze tablet attached to a boulder in the Old North Parish Burying Ground in North Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts . . . that boulder was relocated from the old Tyler farm in West Boxford . . . and placed near the gravestone of his son, Moses . . . the memorial was dedicated five years following the above reunion . . . on the 4th day of September in 1901 . . . 

This blogpost was researched and prepared specifically for The Sixth Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge over at cousin Bill's blog which is known as . . . West in New England . . .

1850 :: The Census Taker

On this date in our extended family history . . . the 21st day of October . . . in the year 1850 . . . T.J. Allen is acting as "the census taker" and is busy visiting residents of Milam County, Texas . . . this particular Mr. Allen just happens to be the third husband of Matilda Connell Allen Allen nee Roberts . . . who is an older sister of our Mahala . . . who is a 3rd great grandma to the Keeper of this family history blog . . . regarding the job of "the census taker" it has been written that . . . 

It was the first day of census,

and all through the land;

The pollster was ready,

a black book in hand.

He mounted his horse

for a long dusty ride;

His book and some quills

were tucked close by his side.

A long winding ride

down a road barely there;

Toward the smell of fresh bread

wafting up through the air.

As an enumerator for Milam County, one of the households Mr. Allen documented on this date contained the following family members . . .

Charlotte Dougherty 47

Lucinda Dougherty 3 [sic]

Elijah Goodnight 17 [sic]

Elizabeth Goodnight 16

Charles Goodnight 14

Cyntha Goodnight 12

The woman was tired,

with lines on her face;

And wisps of brown hair

she tucked back into place.

She gave him some water

as they sat at the table;

And she answered his questions

the best she was able.

He asked of her children

Yes, she had quite a few;

The oldest just turned nineteen,

the youngest is still two.

He noted the sex,

the colour, the age.

The marks from the quill

soon filled up the page.

They came from Illinois,

of that she was clear;

But she wasn't quite sure

just how long they'd been here.

They spoke of employment,

of schooling and such;

They could read some and write some,

though really not much.

When the questions were answered,

his job there was done;

So he mounted his horse

and he rode back toward home.

We can only imagine

his voice loud and clear -

"May God Bless you all

for another ten years."

As it turned out, by the time the next census is taken (1860), T.J. Allen has died of yellow fever while working as editor for The Galveston Journal . . . most of the members of this branch of the Goodnight and Daugherty family have moved on to other parts of Texas . . . and the above mentioned "Charlie Goodnight" has been a member of the Texas Rangers (1857) . . . 

Before another census comes around in 1870, Charlie has been involved in a near state-wide round-up of feral Texas longhorn cattle that have been roaming free during the years of the war between the states . . . he has invented the "chuck wagon" . . . 

and he has used that early version of a "food truck" when he and Oliver Loving drove their first herd of cattle northward out of Texas along what would become known as the Goodnight-Loving Trail (1866) . . . 

Now picture a time warp -

it's now you and me;

As we search for the people

on our family tree.

We squint at the census

and scroll down so slow;

As we search for that entry

from long, long ago.

Could they only imagine

on that long ago day;

That the entries they made

would effect us this way?

If they knew, would they wonder

at the yearning we feel;

And the searching that makes them

so increasingly real.

We can hear if we listen

the words they impart;

Through their blood in our veins

and their voices in our heart.

Slightly adapted

from

original poem

by

Darlene Stevens

This blogpost was researched and prepared specifically for The Sixth Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge over at cousin Bill's blog which is known as . . . West in New England . . .


P.S. . . . as an additional tidbit . . . on this date in the year 1899 . . . Noah Smithwick dies in California . . . but back in 1850 he was also living in Milam County, Texas . . . and on the 11th day of September in that year, he was also enumerated by T.J. Allen . . . this Noah Smithwick is the author of Recollections of Old Texas Days . . .

See also . . .

A 92-Year-Old Trail-Blazer and Ex-Ranger