Facebook to the Rescue: 52 Ancestors 2022 Prompt “Social”

 

Social Media Post Helps Solve Photo Mystery

Ragnhild Olsdatter Ve Syverson: 1848-1933

 

I have been weaning myself from social media, and rarely post anything on Facebook anymore. However, I still check my Facebook feed a couple days a week, swiftly scrolling past the ads, political posts and memes in search of the few items that interest me. That’s how I found a post last week that answered questions my family had about an old photo.

Ole Syverson and Ragnhild Olsdatter Ve Syverson in front of Syverson farm house--Linden Township circa 1920s

I belong to a Facebook group that focuses on my tiny Minnesota hometown of Hanska. Often people post old family photos from the early 1900s. This past week, a gentleman posted a series of photos related to his great-grandmother Jorgine Syverson Ahlness, who was my grandaunt. The photos included Jorgine’s wedding photo—a delight because until then I had no confirmed photo of her—and a photo of Jorgine’s mother and brother, Ragnhild and Ole Syverson, in front of their farmhouse in Linden Township. This was an exciting find, as my brother has a photo that he thought might show Ragnhild’s family on their front porch. We’d never been able to verify his hunch, as the faces in the photo were tiny and indistinct. But now there was a new way to prove or disprove the identification: Were the houses in the two photos the same?

My brother's photo of Syverson family, now confirmed. Likely year 1896, after death of daughter Anne Sirine Syverson--youngest son Syver looks to be about 14 years old

The photos were taken from different angles. My brother’s photo shows the front of the house, with the front door and front porch facing the camera. Mr. Trodahl’s photo shows the side of the house—the front is visible, but at a sharp angle. However, blowing both photos up showed the placement and shape of the windows, the rails and gingerbread trim on the porch, and the roof shape were all identical. The only difference I could detect was the trim under the two peaks of the roof: the paint pattern on the shingles had been changed.

Peterson photo of Syversons--porch and window area 

Trodahl photo--porch and window area

So my brother was correct: his photo shows Ragnhild Olsdatter Ve Syverson and five of her children on the front porch of their house. And we have social media to thank for the verification!

Blow-up of family on porch. Tentative identification: Ole Syverson, Syver Syverson, Jorgine Syverson Ahlness, mother Ragnhild, daugther Ragnhild Syverson Oren, Regina Syverson Peterson.

What is a Pointmaker? 52 Ancestors 2022 Prompt “Textiles”

William Chandler’s Unconfirmed But Fascinating Occupation

William Chandler: 1595-1641

 

While I have persuasive genealogical records for my ninth-great-grandfather William Chandler once he arrived in the Massachusetts Colony in the 1630s (see previous post for the prompt “Worship”), I have been unable to verify details about his earlier life in England. I was intrigued to read the biography that accompanies his memorial on Findagrave. The author provided information about that period of William’s life which I am still trying to verify. One particularly fascinating item was the assertion that “William was a point maker (lace tags used before buttons).”

I had never heard of points or pointmakers. Even though I can’t yet prove this was William’s pre-emigration occupation, I wanted to learn more. How were points used with textiles? What did they look like when used to fasten clothing? And how were they made?

At first I imagined points as made from lace, because the Findagrave writer called them “lace tags”. However I realized that was a mistake once I found a couple definitions of “pointmaker”. According to the table titled “Occupations and Crafts in Medieval London” on Fordham University’s Medieval Londoners website (see No. 1 below), a pointmaker “made points, which were ornamental cords, often ending in a metal point, used in clothing.” The Family Tree Researcher website has another definition in their Dictionary of Old Occupations: “Pointmaker: made the tips of shoe and boot laces.” (See No. 2 below)

Points fastening man's hose to his doublet

But probably the best resource I found was a blog called “A Damsel in This Dress”, which described points in detail and provided some illustrations of their use in clothing from period artworks. The explanation, from No. 3 below, is as follows:

“Ties and points are, in a way, a variation of lacing as in principle the idea is similar – using a strip or two of fabric or a cord to tie garments together. Points were introduced first in medieval times, 11th-13th century, as a means of attaching a single hose to the braies. In the following centuries, as hose extended up and covered more and more leg and buttock, more points were needed, as was a more robust garment to which they could be laced. Late medieval doublets, pourpoints, etc, sport pairs of eyelets at the hem to which another pair on the hose corresponds – a cord with metal ‘aguillettes’ was passed through the eyelets and tied on top – a ‘point’. Similar method could also be used to fasten doublets in front. Holding up hose and later britches by attaching them to a doublet survived until about the mid 17th century – at the end, these were mainly a decorative item, often fashioned from silk ribbons and sporting pretty bows.”

Painting of Marie of Burgundy with points fastening sleeves to shoulder of dress

I wish I could find some sort of illustration of a pointmaker at work, so I could truly understand what was involved in William’s profession. If the point tips were made of metal, similar to the aglets or plastic tips of modern shoelaces, were they made by dipping the cord into molten metal, or were the metal end pieces pounded onto the cord? And did William make the cord himself, or did he just assemble the finished product from cord he purchased? I have so many questions, and have failed to find the resources that could answer them.

Renaissance Fair re-creation of points--braided cord with metal tips

When William Chandler came to colonial America, he apparently abandoned the pointmaking business for the more practical business of tanning. Leather was probably a more useful material in the rugged New World than textiles, no matter how they were fastened.

Sources:

1.     Medieval Londoners. Fordham University website. https://medievallondoners.ace.fordham.edu/occupations/

2.      Family Tree Researcher website. https://www.familyresearcher.co.uk/glossary/Dictionary-of-Old-Occupations-jobs-beginning-P5.html

3.     A Damsel in This Dress website. https://adamselindisdress.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/fastenings-across-the-ages/

4.     https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16059896/william-chandler

Killed in King Philip’s War: 52 Ancestors 2022 Prompt “Conflict”

Conflict Between English Colonists and Native Americans Lead to War Casualties

William Cleaves: 1638-1676

 

While William Cleaves isn’t my direct ancestor—he was married to my eighth great-grandaunt Sarah Chandler who I wrote about in the previous post—the Vital Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts record of his death caught my eye:

“Cleave, Wm, under the command of Capt. Samell Wadsworth, slain by Indians at Sudbury, Apr 21, 1676.”

That was a story I wanted to pursue, despite the lack of blood relationship. William was obviously serving as a soldier, but why? This was a full century before the Revolutionary War. I wanted to learn what led up to William’s death. I was unfamiliar with this piece of American history.

From my research, I discovered that William Cleave was killed in one of the battles of King Philip’s War, a conflict between the indigenous people of New England and the colonists. After repeated broken promises and treaties between the colonists and the Wampanoag tribe who had been their allies, a war broke out, with atrocities on both sides. The indigenous people were led by the Wampanoag chief Metacom, who was also known as Philip by the colonists, hence the conflict’s name of “King Philip’s War”.

Illustration of fighting in King Philip's War

Wikipedia describes the significance of King Philip’s War as follows:

“The war was the greatest calamity in seventeenth-century New England and is considered by many to be the deadliest war in Colonial American history.[11] In the space of little more than a year, 12 of the region's towns were destroyed and many more were damaged, the economy of Plymouth and Rhode Island Colonies was all but ruined and their population was decimated, losing one-tenth of all men available for military service.[12][a] More than half of New England's towns were attacked by Natives.[14] Hundreds of Wampanoags and their allies were publicly executed or enslaved, and the Wampanoags were left effectively landless.[15]” (See 1 below)

As tensions escalated with the indigenous people, the colonists put together armed militias of soldiers to defend the frontier communities. William Cleave probably volunteered to fight out of a desire to protect his family and fellow colonists. He was one of several men from Roxbury, Massachusetts under the command of an experienced officer, Captain Wadsworth.

There are several accounts of the Battle of Sudbury where William Cleave was killed. Probably the best can be found in the George M. Bodge book on the war (See 3 below). An officer who served in the war, a Major Gookin, wrote about what he witnessed. Bodge used the Gookin account to describe how Wadsworth and his men discovered a small group of soldiers being attacked by a large group of native warriors. Bodge wrote that Wadworth’s men “rushed forward with the usual impetuous haste, and were caught in the usual ambuscade, for when within about a mile of Sudbury they were induced to pursue a body of not more than one hundred, and soon found themselves drawn away about one mile into the woods, where on a suddun they were encompassed by more than five hundred, and forced to a retreating fight towards a hill where they made a brave stand for a while (one authority says four hours) and did heavy execution upon the enemy…”

Illustration of the attack on Capt. Wadsworth's company

Here is a summary from the Sudbury Senior Center of the action on April 21, 1676 after Wadsworth engaged the enemy:

“The largest battle of the "Sudbury Fight" took place when hundreds of Native American warriors ambushed a combined force of roughly fifty English Colonial soldiers from the Boston area under the command of Captain Samuel Wadsworth, plus roughly twenty soldiers from the Marlborough garrison under the command of Captain Samuel Brocklebank, in the valley between two hills now called Green Hill and Goodman's Hill.

It is surprising that the combined force of Colonial soldiers would be easily ambushed, since both Captains were highly experienced and used to the ambush tactics of their enemy.

The Colonial soldiers fought their way to a more defensible position at the top of Green Hill, but they remained completely surrounded by large numbers of Native American warriors.

The Native American commanders dislodged the Colonial soldiers from their defensive position at the top of Green Hill by setting fire to a line of dry brush and trees upwind of them on the side of the hill.

The wind-driven flames and smoke from this forest fire forced the Colonial soldiers into a hasty and uncoordinated retreat down the hill toward a mill building in what is now the Mill Village shopping center south-west of the top of Green Hill.

Captains Wadsworth and Brocklebank and most of their soldiers who had survived the earlier phase of the battle were killed during this hasty retreat; some of their bodies were later recovered on the western side of Green Hill.

A few soldiers were captured, tortured, and then killed by Native American warriors.

A few Colonial soldiers made it to the mill building and were rescued that night by other Colonial soldiers most of whom were with the Watertown Company.” (See 2 below).

I surmise from this description that William Cleave was killed when Wadsworth’s company retreated toward the mill. It is believed that 32 soldiers were killed from Wadsworth’s company of about fifty to sixty men. Cleave was listed among ten Roxbury men killed at Sudbury under Wadsworth’s command.

Crest of Green Hill today: site where William Cleaves' company made a stand

The hill where William died is now part of a quiet residential area in Sudbury. It’s hard to believe that a fierce battle was waged there almost 350 years ago. I am so glad I was able to learn about this important piece of American history.

Sources:

1.   1.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Philip%27s_War

2.   2.   King Philip's War and The "Sudbury Fight" by The Sudbury Senior Center. http://www.sudbury01776.org/saved_pages/SudburySeniorCenter_KingPhilipsWar.html

3.  Soldiers in King Philip’s War: Being a Critical Account of that War, With a Concise History of the Indian Wars of New England from 1620-1677, Official Lists of the Soldiers of Massachusetts Colony Serving in Philip's War, and Sketches of the Principal Officers Account. George Madison Bodge. Leominster Mass. 1896. Pg. 229-231. 

“Corruption” in Puritan Massachusetts: 52 Ancestors 2022 Prompt “Wrong Side of the Law”

Ancestor Punished for Offering a Sympathetic Ear to a Slave in 1681 Massachusetts

Sarah Chandler Cleaves: 1638-1689 or 1638-1713

 

On three prior occasions I have run across enslaved people in my genealogical research, and to my horror, my ancestors were their enslavers. But this time I was relieved that my ancestor, Sarah Chandler Cleaves, was not the slaveholder. Instead, it appears she treated a slave more like a friend than an unequal, and listened to the woman’s complaints with sympathy. Sadly, this behavior got Sarah into trouble with her community, and didn’t help the tragic enslaved woman either.

Sarah Chandler, my eighth-great-grandaunt, was born in Roxbury in the Massachusetts Bay Colony around 1638 to parents William and Annis Chandler (my ninth-great-grandparents). Her parents had arrived in the colony only a year earlier with their four older children. William Chandler died when Sarah was three years old, and she was raised by her stepfather, John Dane.

Sarah married another Roxbury man, William Cleaves, November 4, 1659. She appears in her mother’s will of 1672, and she, along with her sister Hannah, received household goods and livestock. Sarah and William had several children before William was killed by Native Americans during King Phillip’s War on April 29, 1676. Sarah was left a widow with six young children ranging from an infant to a sixteen year old.

Sarah apparently had been a bit of a rebel in the eyes of her Puritan neighbors. The records of her church, kept by the minister, Rev. Eliot, state that she was censured for some sort of misbehavior in 1670. She was only “restored to full communion” a full five years later, so the sin must have been serious, or she must have been stubbornly unrepentant.

As a result, it probably wasn’t all that surprising that in 1681 she found herself in trouble again, this time for chatting with a young enslaved woman who worked for one of her neighbors. Probably most Puritan women would have ignored the slave rather than talk to her, but not Sarah. The young African woman, Maria, was apparently unhappy with her mistress; perhaps Sarah offered a sympathetic ear. No one knows what was said, but one night afterwards Maria set fire to her owners’ house and to a neighboring house. The community sought to punish Sarah along with the young arsonist.

Here is the account of the proceedings against Sarah, who by now was remarried, as recorded in Rev. Eliot’s church records:

“1681 M[onth] 7 day 4 Sister Cleaves (alias Stevens) was publically [sic] admonished for unseasonably entertaining and corrupting other folks servants & children, & hath corrupted Mr. Lams neger who is discontent and her Mrs. House on fire in the dead of night and also Mr. Swans. One Girl was burned & all the rest had much ado to escape with their lives. “

Please note that the use of the “n” word was in the original text. I will be charitable and assume Rev. Eliot was referring to the woman’s place of origin along the Niger River in Africa. However, in present-day America the word--no matter what spelling was used or what the original intent or meaning of the reference was in the historical text--is a slur. Therefore, I will use “n____” for any subsequent quotes in the remainder of this post.

It sounds as if the final incident with Maria was not the only one leading to Sarah’s charge—she is accused of “unseasonably entertaining and corrupting” servants in the plural, and people’s children as well! I cannot imagine what sort of behavior these rigid Puritans considered “corrupting.” Was she talking too freely? Was she joking with them? Criticizing their owners or parents? Offering them alcoholic drinks? Offering sexual favors? Other mentions of “unseasonable entertainment” in colonial court and church records refer to such disparate actions as playing music and prostitution—not quite equal sins in my estimation!

I have been unable to find out how severe a punishment public admonishment was—whether physical punishment usually accompanied a verbal tongue-lashing, or was just occasionally used. (I have found references to young men being publicly admonished by whip, but don’t know if whipping was always part of the public spectacle.)

Whatever the admonishment involved, Sarah does not appear to have been isolated or cut off from the community as a result. She was already twice a widow when this charge of corruption occurred in 1881, and it appears she went on to marry two more times before her death. Her spouses’ names and marriage dates all still need confirmation, as does the date of her death. Some sources say she died at age 51 in 1889, just eight years after her admonishment. Other sources list a death date of December 1713, which would mean she was over seventy years old.

Sadly, poor enslaved Maria’s death date was quite clearly recorded. Maria was transported to nearby Boston (Roxbury eventually becomes a Boston neighborhood) for trial. Increase Mather noted the results in his diary:

“[1681 September] 22. There were 3 persons executed in Boston[.] An Englishman for a Rape. A n___ man for burning a house at Northampton & a n___ woman who burnt 2 houses at Roxbury July 12 — in one of wch a child was burnt to death.* The n____ woman was burned to death — the 1st yt has suffered such a death in N.E.”

Map of Massachusetts Bay Colony in late 1600s

The Massachusetts Bay Colony court records provide more detail:

“Maria, a n___ servant to Joshua Lambe of Roxbury, in the county of Suffoike in New England, being presented by the Grand Jury was indicted by the name of Maria N____ for not having the feare of God before hir eyes and being instigated by the devil at or upon the eleventh of July last in the night did wittingly, willingly and feloniously set on fire the dwelling house of Thomas Swann of said Roxbury by taking a Coale from under a still and carried it into another roome and laide it on the floore neere the doore and presently went and crept into a hole at a back doore of thy Masters Lambs house and set it on fier also taking a live coale betweene two chips and carried it into the chamber by which also it was consumed. As by uour Confession will appeare contrary to the peace of our Souevaigne Lord the King his croune.

The prisoner at the bar pleaded and acknowledged herself to be guilty of said fact. And accordingly the next day being again brought to the bar and sentenced of death pronounced against her by the honorable Governor, yet she should go from the bar to the prison from whence she came and thence to the place of execution and there be burnt.

Thy Lord be merciful to thy soul.”

I wonder what Mr. Lambe had done to the unfortunate Maria that led her to set fire to his house. Another enslaved man executed along with Maria, also for committing arson, had suffered brutally under his master. The court record states that the man, Jack, had:

“Run away from Mr. Samuell Wolcot because he always beates him sometimes with 100 blows so that he hath told his master that he would sometime or other hang himself”.

This is proof that no matter how rigid Puritan morals seemed to be, they had little respect for the basic rights of people of a different race or religion. Poor Jack’s master should have been executed along with him for beating a human being so viciously that he wanted to kill himself to escape the cruelty. But the court seemed unconcerned with this abuse of Jack. The Puritans appear to have been a brutal group who believed they were doing the Lord’s work despite committing acts that we now see as inherently evil.

Running afoul of the law in seventeenth century Massachusetts Bay Colony was a hazardous thing. While Sarah Chandler Cleaves escaped with admonishment for her sins, Maria and Jack paid for theirs with their lives.

Sources:

Records Relating to the Early History of Boston ... Boston (Mass.). Registry Department

The Town of Roxbury: Its Memorable Persons and Places, Its History and Antiquities, with Numerous Illustrations of Its Old Landmarks and Noted Personages.  Francis Samuel Drake. Municipal Printing Office, Oct 1878, reprinted 1908 - Roxbury (Boston, Mass.)

English Origins of New England Families, Vol. II . https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=FLHG-EnglishOrigins1Vol2&h=190079&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

A Godly Man’s Example: 52 Ancestors 2022 Prompt “Worship”

A Colonial Era Life and Death Anchored by Faith

William Chandler: 1595-1641

 

I truly love New England records. I am always amazed at how far back in time they extend, and how vivid they often are. The first colonists lived in small communities. Everyone knew their neighbors intimately, and the records often reflect that intimacy. They are far from the dry, factual records of our modern age, often including biographical and personal details and references to faith. One of the most striking examples I found were the records of the life and death of my ninth-great-grandfather William Chandler.

William was born, according to most secondary sources and limited primary sources, on October 12, 1595 in Hertfordshire, England. His parents were probably Henry and Anne Chandler. He married Annis Agnes Bayford in 1625, and they had four children by the time they set sail for New England.

The family settled in Roxbury (now a part of Boston) in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637. William Chandler is listed among the early householders of Roxbury, and was admitted as a freeman of Massachusetts on May 13, 1640. (Records of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, printed, vol. 1, p. 377.) Sadly, William’s health deteriorated just a few years later; his condition was labeled consumption. He died November (or January—sources disagree) 26, 1641.

Here is the death record from the Roxbury church led by William’s minister, Rev. Eliot:

“William Chandler, a Christian, Godly brother, died of a Consumption month 11, day 26, 1641, and was buried 29 11 1641, in Roxbury.”

The Roxbury city records (as printed in the Norfolk County Journal) are even more richly detailed, and resemble an obituary:

“William Chandler came to N. E. about the year 1637. He brought four small children: Thomas, Hannah, John, William; his fifth child Sarah was born here; he lived a very religious and godly life among us, and fell into a Consumption to which he had, a long time, been inclined; he lay near a year sick, in all which time his faith, patience & Godliness & Contention So Shined that Christ was much glorified in him—he was a man of Weake parts but Excellent faith and holiness; he was a very thankful man, and much magnified Gods goodness. He was poor, but God prepared the hearts of his people to him that he never wanted that which was (at least in his Esteem) Very plentiful and Comfortable to him—he died—in the year 1641, and left a Sweet memory and Savor behind him.”

Roxbury visisble on map at Marking pt. 

What an amazing record of a man of faith! He worshipped God even as lay abed ill for an entire year. The description gives us some idea of how these pious colonists worshipped: he gave thanks, he exhibited faith and patience no matter how poorly he felt. This type of worship went far beyond the weekly attendance at church services—he lived and exhibited faith in his everyday life.

The record also indicates that his worshipful life inspired his neighbors to provide support while he ailed: “God prepared the hearts of his people to him that he never wanted”: his neighbors helped to care for his family when he could not.

We often think of worship as only happening in a church, but as this record shows, seventeenth century colonists incorporated acts of faith in every aspect of life unto death. The final sentence of the Roxbury record provides a vivid glimpse of my ancestor’s nature: “he left a Sweet memory and Savor behind him.” A person exhibiting a rigid, priggish faith would not have inspired that sentence. William Chandler must have been a kind and decent man. This type of faith is probably what led William and his family to risk traveling to Massachusetts, despite his less than hearty constitution. He had trust that God would provide in this new country.

While God may not have provided quite as William had expected, another man stepped in to care for his family. John Dane, another of my ninth great-grandfathers, married William’s widow, Annis Chandler, in 1643. Dane took charge of the twenty-plus acres of land William Chandler had owned, along with the care of Chandler’s children. As the following records note, the land was poor compensation:

“'1649. At a Gen'all Co'te at Boston, the 17th of the 8th Mo. Upon the petition of John Dayne, the house & land w'ch was Wm Chamb'rs [sic] is settled upon he said Dayne, he haveinbg paid more debts of Chamb'rs [sic] then he house & land was worth, & also brought up ye children of Chandler, w'ch have bene chargable to him.'”

“19 Oct. 1649. In ans'r to the peticon of John Dajne ffor the settling the howse and lands of Wm Chandler (whose wyddow he marryed, & children brought up) on him, the said John Dajne, his request was graunted, & ye said howse and lands confirmed on him by this Courte.' (Records of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, printed, vol. 2, p. 283, vol. 3, p. 177.)”

Monument in New Hampshire for Chandlers

Annis outlived John Dane, who died in 1658. She then took a third husband, John Parmenter, before her own death March 16, 1683 at the age of 79.

While William Chandler’s dream of a new life in Massachusetts was short-lived, his faith was rewarded through his children, who survived, married, and whose descendants can now be found across the nation.

Sources:

Records of the governor and company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England. William White, printer to the Commonwealth. Vol. 1, pg 377; Vol. 2, pg 283; Vol. 3, pg. 177.

The Chandler Family: The Descendants of William and Annis Chandler, Who Settled in Roxbury, Massachussetts 1637. By George Chandler. Worcester, Massachusetts : C. Hamilton, 1883. Accessed on FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/317521?availability=Family%20History%20Library