Transcribing or Translating? 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Translation”

 

Transcribing a Late 1600s Handwritten Text Can Almost Feel Like Translating

The Commonplace Book of Francis Dane: Book Written Between 1648-1697
Francis Dane: 1615-1697 (Maternal 8^th Great-Grandfather)

 

I first wrote about Francis Dane’s Commonplace book three years ago, shortly after I had discovered that it had been digitized and uploaded online by the NEHGS. I had originally intended to begin transcribing it immediately, overconfident of my ability to read his tiny cursive letters formed by a quill and brownish-colored ink. However, I quickly became discouraged and didn’t return to the project until this year. I’m sure there are more experienced scholars working on a complete transcription, but as yet they have not made their work accessible online, so I have started my own transcription, with a goal of one image per week.

Image 72 from the Commonplace Book shows Rev. Dane's cramped handwriting

          

I know that this doesn’t quite fit the prompt of “translation”, but often I feel I am a translator—Rev. Dane used symbols and abbreviations that are no longer in use, such as a circle with a dot over it, or an upside-down heart shape.

"K squiggle h" means Kingdom of Heaven. 

 Spelling was prone to change and often included extra letters that we no longer use—such as a terminal “e” after alle sortes of wordes. He used “Jesus x” to mean Jesus Christ.

Center line reading "Ada. Jes x dying" translates to "Adam, Jesus Christ dying"

I have also learned several things that call into question the prevailing school of thought about Dane’s use of the book. It was originally described as a compilation of quotes from other writers, but I find that many of the passages appear to be Dane’s own compositions, including numerous poems. Most of the poetry features religious themes—he may have read them to his congregation in lieu of sermons. He used both a traditional abab rhyme scheme, but also employed the Shakespearean “Venus and Adonis” rhyme scheme of abab cc. Rev. Dane didn’t always use Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter, but he was obviously familiar with that type of poetry.

I tried googling passages from his poems to see if they truly were someone else’s work that Dane was merely copying. I only was able to find one immensely long poem that appears to be a copy. And this piece offered its own curiosities.

Verses 7-10 in the 1677 printed publication of Urian Oakes' Elegy to Rev. Shepard.

In 1649, one of the most renowned ministers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Rev. Thomas Shepard, died at the young age of 44 of quinsy, a serious infection that can arise from tonsillitis. He was minister both of the First Church of Cambridge and of the newly formed Harvard University. His friend and president of Harvard, Urian Oakes, wrote a long elegiac poem in his honor. The poem is a passionate ode to friendship and heaps great praise upon the lost Rev. Shepard. Rev. Dane copied the entire poem into his Commonplace Book, properly crediting the author.

Rev. Dane's copy of verses 7-10 from Oakes' poem

I was left with several questions. The poem was published in print in 1677, presumably years after Oakes originally wrote the poem. Rev. Dane kept his commonplace book between 1648 and his death in 1697. It appears he copied Oakes’ Elegy in 1677, as he included that date near the heading of the poem. Also, the poem begins on Image 147, about halfway through his book, so midway between 1648 and 1697. How did Rev. Dane come across the poem? I doubt he owned the printed booklet of the poem himself, otherwise why copy it in full into his commonplace book? Someone else must have shared the booklet with him. Someone in his community of Andover?

Year of 1677 visible in lower left of Dedication section of Dane's copy of Oakes' poem

Did Rev. Dane personally know Rev. Shepard or Mr. Oakes? Could that be why he made the effort to copy this long work? Did Rev. Dane ever correspond Rev. Shepard since they shared a profession? Did Rev. Dane travel from his home in Andover to Cambridge—a distance of 23 miles-- at all? How often did colonists travel between towns in the late 1600s? What sort of relationship did the educated colonists have with one another?

Attribution of the poem's authorship to Rev Urian Oakes, written just below last line of Verse 52

Attribution of poem to author Urian Oakes written next to the poem's preamble

Sadly, I likely will never be able to answer my questions. All I know with any certainty is that Rev. Dane admired Mr. Oakes’ poem enough to copy all 52 verses along with the five-verse preamble, and that he did it with great accuracy.

I am glad that my “translation” work led me to the poem and the story of Urian Oakes’ friendship with Rev. Shepard. It gave me greater understanding of the thoughts of educated colonists like Oakes, Shepard, and Rev. Dane, along with a greater understanding of their deep faith. I look forward to further discoveries as I progress, page by page, through my eighth-great-grandfather’s far-from-common Commonplace Book.

 

Sources:

Description of the conservation and digitization of the Commonplace Book of Francis Dane. “Compiling Knowledge” by Timothy Salls. https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2017/12/compiling-knowledge/

An elegie upon the death of the Reverend Mr. Thomas Shepard, late teacher of the church at Charlstown in New-England:Oakes, Urian, 1631-1681. Cambridge [Mass.],: Printed by Samuel Green., 1677. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2/B09610.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext

List of works by Thomas Shepard, often with Urian Oakes as co-author. https://ota.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/repository/xmlui/browse?value=Shepard,%20Thomas,%201635-1677.&type=author

Stout, Harry S. “University Men in New England 1620-1660: A Demographic Analysis.” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 4, no. 3 (1974): 375–400. https://doi.org/10.2307/202483..

Neuman, Meredith Marie. “The Versified Lives of Unknown Puritans.” The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 107, no. 3 (2013): 355–66. https://doi.org/10.1086/680808.

 Fuess, Claude Moore. “Witches at Andover.” Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society 70 (1950): 8–20. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25080438.

Ancestors Sharing My Birthday: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Birthdays”

 

Tracking Down People in My Tree Who Share My Birthday

Henry Ballard: 1768- 1826   (Second Cousin 6x Removed)
James Wayne Randall: 1855-1942 (Second Cousin 2x Removed)
Everett Powell Bradley: 1900-1983 (Third Cousin 2x Removed)
Joyce Beverly Ford: 1940- Living     (Second Cousin 1x Removed)

When I saw that the prompt for the week of my birthday was “Birthdays”, I decided to find ancestors in my tree who had the same birth date as I do. I foolishly thought this would be easy—after all, Ancestry informed me of ancestors’ birthdays each week on my home page. Unfortunately, I was busy on my birthday and didn’t log in to Ancestry for a few days, so I missed the notifications for July 20. But surely there must be a way to search my tree by birthdate, right? I couldn’t find information on the Ancestry website, so I googled the question “Is there a way to search your tree on Ancestry by birthday?” Several people on Reddit said no, although all agreed it would be a great feature.

However, one person suggested a clever workaround: go to the Tree Search tab and select List People, which provides a list of all the people in your tree along with their birth and death dates. He suggested copying the list to a Google doc and somehow searching that by the date. However, I have 8000 people in my tree, and had no desire to create such a large, unwieldy document. I decided to search the list the old-fashioned way, skimming it page by page, one hundred names at a time, looking for a July 20 birthdate.

I got tired and quit halfway on page 40 of my 80 page list, but I had found four ancestors who fit the bill. I now have a custom tag on them so I can find them again. None are close ancestors, but here are quick sketches of these four people who share my birthday.

Henry Ballard: My Second Cousin 6x Removed

Henry was born July 20, 1768 in New Salem, Massachusetts to parents Daniel Ballard and Ruth Houlton. Our common ancestor was my 7^th Great-grandfather Francis Dane. Henry’s grandmother, Mary Dane, was Francis’ daughter and sister to my ancestor John Dane. She married Jeremiah Ballard, and their son Daniel Ballard was Henry’s father. Henry Ballard married Anna Sabin, and the couple had at least six children. In 1792, the family moved from New Salem to the town of Georgia in Franklin, Vermont. There is little information on Henry—it appears he was a farmer. He died February 2, 1826 and was buried in the Sabin Cemetery in Georgia, which seems to have been a family cemetery for his wife’s family. This family connection probably explains why the couple moved to Georgia, Vermont.

Henry Ballard Headstone from Findagrave

James Wayne Randall: My Second Cousin 2x Removed

James and I share a common ancestor, my third great-grandfather David Dane. David Dane was James’ great-grandfather, and his grandmother Lucy was my second-great-grandfather Jerome Dane’s sister. James was born July 20, 1855 in Fond Du Lac County, Wisconsin. He was the oldest son of David and Lucy Randall. By 1880, James was married to Gertrude Hopkins and had moved to Janesville, Minnesota, quite near his great-uncle Jerome Dane’s family. He and Gertrude raised six children, and he worked as a laborer, a farmer and a mechanic over the years. He died at age 86 in Northfield, where he was living at the Odd Fellows Home for the Aged.

         

Everett Powell Bradley: My Third Cousin 2x Removed)

Everett Powell Bradley and I share my great grandfather John Mills as a common ancestor. Everett was born July 20, 1900 to parents Arthur Bradley and Gertrude Sophia Powell. Gertrude was the granddaughter of John Mills’ daughter Jemima Mills, who was my ancestor Joel Mills’ sister. Everett was born in Virginia, but his family moved to New Jersey. Everett married Lillie Reeve, and they had a son and daughter. He was a high school teacher in Mount Holly, teaching industrial arts or shop classes. In addition, he operated Holly Hill Apiaries and Nursery for forty years, following in his beekeeping grandfather’s footsteps. In a 1974 news article, Everett stated that, “”I used to rent out 400 or 500 colonies” of bees to farmers to pollinate their crops. He said there were about 30,000 bees per colony. Each colony could produce about 100 pounds of honey per year. In the 1973 article below, he estimated he had between 450,000 to 750,000 bees at that time, with the bees collecting nectar from the blooms of his 100 holly trees. What a fascinating business! Everett died April 26, 1983 at the age of 83.

Joyce Beverly Ford (Second Cousin 1x Removed)

I discovered Joyce when she turned up as a DNA match on Ancestry. She was the daughter of my first cousin twice removed Dorothy Haslip and her husband Leland Ford. Dorothy was the daughter of Laura Hoffman, my great-grandfather William Hoffman’s sister. Our shared common ancestors are Laura and William’s parents Johannes Hoffman and Sophia Streu Hoffman. Joyce was born on my birthdate in 1940. She is married and lives in North Carolina.

It was fun finding these four individuals in my family tree who share my birthday. Happy birthday to all of them!

350 Years and Still Standing: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Last One Standing”

 The History of the John Whipple House

John Whipple: 1625-1685 (Ninth Great-Granduncle)

 

I love historic homes—and when I find one that has a connection to an ancestor, I’m delighted. When I first read about Ipswich Massachusetts’ John Whipple House, I assumed it was originally built by my 10^th Great-grandfather John Whipple. He was an Ipswich resident, and several other trees on Ancestry attached photos of the house to his records. I pulled up the Wikipedia page on the house, and immediately realized my mistake. The article said the first iteration of the house was built in 1677—eight years after my tenth great-grandfather had died. But John Whipple had a son also named John, born in 1625. Research showed he was the probable builder and original owner of the home. So although the house wasn’t built by my direct ancestor, it still holds ancestral ties—John was my ninth great-grandmother Susannah Whipple Worth’s brother, so my ninth-great granduncle.

Photo from National Archives of John Whipple House

So who was John Whipple, and where is his house? John was born in Bocking, Essex, England on December 21, 1625 to parents John Whipple and Susan Clarke. At some point in his teens, John emigrated with his parents to the Massachusetts Colony, where the family settled in the town of Ipswich around 1637-38. His father was sworn as a freeman in 1640 and became a respected businessman, and upon his death in 1669, he left a sizable estate, most of which John inherited after the distribution of specific bequests to his father’s widowed second wife and John’s sisters. [2]

Transcript of John Whipple Sr. will leaving most of estate to son John 

John married Martha Reynor around 1656. [1] The couple had eight children, including three sons who survived to adulthood. According to Carol Clark Johnson’s A Genealogical History of the Clark and Worth Families [4], John was a “maltster in 1665 and in 1673 built at the lower falls a fulling-mill for finishing homespun cloth.” She reported that he held several community positions, serving as a General Court deputy and on juries. He also served in the military, first as a “cornet” in 1668, then a lieutenant in King Philip’s War, and became a captain of the Ipswich Horse Troop in 1676. [3, 4]

Marriage records for both John Whipples--father and son [1]

As for the Whipple House, there are conflicting stories about when the first section of the house was built. John’s father left him a house in his will, but was this the same building? According to old National Park Service material (see full citation below), the house may have been built as early as 1638, but there are no documents that mention the house until a 1650 record of the sale of the property from a John Fawn to John Whipple Sr. The NPS materials state,

“The original portion of the house was a two-story, two room structure, which had casement windows and a thatched roof. At one end of the lower room are the entrance door, great chimney, and stairway to the large sleeping chamber on the upper floor…The original building was the lifetime home of the first John Whipple, a leader of some distinction in the settlement of Agawam, later Ipswich…”[5]

However, later materials referenced scientific studies that proved the present Whipple house could not have been constructed before 1677. Core samples from the house’s wooden beams were extracted, and the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory conducted measurements of the tree growth rings to determine the year the trees were felled. The report stated:

“Primary Phase Felling dates: Summer 1676, Winter 1676/7. Addition Felling dates: Summer 1689, Winter 1689/90. The Whipple House, which faces south, began as a single cell house with chimney bay on the east end. The original house, built in 1677, was two-and-one-half stories in height and featured a facade gabble. In 1690, the house was enlarged by a substantial addition twenty-four feet in length east of the chimney that included a second facade gable. The crossed summer beams in the east room suggest that the room was partitioned along the transverse summer beam originally. The eastern part of the lean-to may have been constructed at the same time. On the east wall, both the main range and the lean-to were given hewn overhangs with substantial ogee moldings. The lean-to was later extended to the west and raised to two stories.” [6]

Another historian noted that the 1690 addition, built by John’s son, my 8^th first cousin Major John Whipple, added a flue to the chimney, and the present chimney has a line of bricks that shows where the addition began. See the photo below.

Front of house--photo from National Archives

The house passed through several family members over the years. The National Park Service noted, “On the death of Capt. John Whipple, the executors of his will appraised the house, as well as 2-1/2 acres of land, kiln, and outhouse, at £330; even at that early period, the house was an unusually valuable property.” [5]

Part of the inventory from John Whipple Jr.'s estate

The house originally stood at the corner of Saltanstall and Market Streets in Ipswich. The Historic Ipswich site noted, “Typical of First Period houses, it faced south to take advantage of warmth from the sun.” [6]

John Whipple House being moved to South Green Street in 1927--photo from National Archives

Wikipedia noted that “Circa 1710, the west roof of the primary house was raised and extended over the lean-tos creating 4 additional slope-ceiling rooms. The total room count was then 14, not including the fully usable 3rd-floor attic above the primary structure. This was a very large house then (and now), with high ceilings in all rooms except the lean-tos, a prominent location near the mills and with land abutting the Ipswich River. It became known as "The Mansion", a title it retained for more than a century.” [8]

Vintage postcard showing kitchen fireplace in John Whipple House

The house fell into disrepair early in the 20^th century. It was purchased by the Ipswich Historical Society and was moved in 1927 across the Choate Bridge to 1 South Green Street, where it was restored and turned into a museum. The Historic Ipswich website states that the house “has the original frame, large fireplaces, summer beams, wide board floors, and gun-stock posts… Wall sheathing and clamshell ceiling plaster retain their first period charm. Seventeenth and 18th century furnishings and decorative arts by local and regional craftsmen fill the home.”[6]

Reproduction furniture in the parlor of the John Whipple House

The Historical Society’s rehab work exposed the original wattle and lath walls beneath the exterior siding. Reproduction diamond-paned casement windows were installed so that the house looks as similar as possible to how it probably appeared around 1710.

National Archives photo of the house before restoration work began

The home has been beautifully restored inside and out, and the yard features a “colonial style ‘housewife’s garden’” [6]. The John Whipple House is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is considered a fine example of a First Period home—one of the last ones still standing.

Wikimedia Commons photo of John Whipple House present day. 

It is hard to believe that John Whipple’s home still exists in 2023. I look forward to visiting it at some point. It would be thrilling to stand in the rooms where my ninth great-granduncle and his family once ate, worked and entertained in the 1670s.

Sources:

1.      Marriages of John Whipple Sr., and John Whipple Jr., New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1568/i/21176/1643/426909615

2.      Will of John Whipple Sr., 1669. Essex County, MA: Early Probate Records, 1635-1681.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1652/i/33912/166/891371011

3.      Colonial Soldiers and Officers in New England, 1620-1775. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013). https://www.americanancestors.org/DB494/rd/13255/249/236053239

4.      Ancestry.com. A genealogical history of the Clark and Worth families : and other Puritan settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.Original data: Johnson, Carol Clark,. A genealogical history of the Clark and Worth families : and other Puritan settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Cygnet, Ohio: Priv. print., 1970.

5.      https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/explorers/sitec30.htm

6.      https://historicipswich.net/the-whipple-house-south-green/

7.      https://catalog.archives.gov/search?page=1&q=john%20whipple%20house

8.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Whipple_House

9.      https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Whipple_House.jpg

Farm Dogs and Cats: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Pets”

My Memories of Our Farm Pets

1960s and 1970s on Juhl Peterson Farm

 

When I look at my pampered indoor cat, I sometimes reflect on the far-less-pampered pets my family had when I was a child in rural Minnesota. They were outdoor animals, relegated to the barn and not the house. They were our pets and we loved them, but they had a sort of job or function as well. The dogs were guard dogs of a sort—they would bark whenever anyone drove or walked into the yard, and they would scare off stray dogs or wildlife that might threaten the livestock. The cats were mousers, expected to keep the rodent population in the barn under control.

Their outdoor life left them at higher risk. Our dogs often amused themselves by chasing cars, skulking in the ditch by the house until a vehicle passed, and then they would shoot out, barking and racing alongside until the car had passed. They also liked to dart across the road to ramble in Uncle Oscar or Cousin Sidney’s fields. Eventually, they would make an error in timing that led to their getting struck by a car. They rarely lived longer than a couple years, sadly.

And the cats tended to be sickly. Feline distemper was rampant among all the farm cats in the area. Since no one, including my parents, had the money to spay and neuter, there were always litters of kittens. And since vaccinations also cost money, most of these kittens would die before they reached adulthood. As a result, my brother and I were a little jaded when it came to pets—we didn’t let ourselves get too attached, because our pets had short lifespans.

Here are some of the pets from my childhood. I loved to take photos, so had a couple of cheap cameras over the years that took appallingly bad photos. Despite their blurriness, they bring back memories from the late 1960s to early 1970s, when I was about 10-13 years old and my brother about 7-10 years old.

Bitsy on the front step, waiting for her dinner. She was outdoors even in winter, sleeping in the barn

My dad had a rat terrier named Trixie when I was very small. Trixie hated me and would snap, so I didn’t get close to her and saw her as my dad’s pet. As a result, my first “doggie” was little Bitsy, a black and white terrier mix. She was very sweet and loved attention and pets from sweaty little hands. We had her for several years until she had an unfortunate run-in with the Minneapolis Tribune newspaper truck.

My brother Kent with Bitsy, with our barn in the background. Bitsy slept in the barn at night. Photo probably 1968-69. 

After Bitsy, we got Goldie, who was a golden retriever mix. She was super sweet, clumsy and goofy. She was always up for a ramble with my brother and me on long summer days. Sadly, she ran under the wheels of the truck carrying the Hanska ice rink to town.

Goldie as a puppy with my brother. About 1970. 

After Goldie, we acquired our first pure-bred since Trixie, a black, tan and white collie we named Lady. She was far more regal than goofy Goldie. She was also more a one-man dog—she adored my dad and followed him wherever he went. 

Lady with Kent about 1971

We vied for Lady’s attention. She was super sweet, and actually enjoyed eating windfall apples!

Lady laying in the ditch, waiting for a car to chase. 

I also have a photo of three kittens I had doted on one summer. I always came up with names for all the kittens, and this trio got tagged with the monikers Sweetie, Tiger and Columbus. Columbus got his name because he was the most adventurous, falling out of the barn hayloft where they were born when he was very young. We found him toddling around the farmyard, exploring his own New World like Christopher Columbus. Sadly, his adventurous nature didn’t help him survive distemper. I don’t believe any of the three lived longer than a year.

Columbus, Sweetie and Tiger, drowsing in the door to the barn loft. They used the ladder (wood beam at left)  to get up and down, as did we. 

Perhaps the short lives of my childhood pets led me to overcompensate with our children’s pets, all of who have lived long and pampered lives.

Dementia in a Colonial Ancestor: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Surprise”

Losing His Reason in Colonial America

Nathaniel Hill: 1659-1741 (Maternal 8^th Great Grandfather)
 

While dementia in the elderly is a common concern in today’s world, we rarely consider that our ancestors also had to deal with dementia. Dry records from the past usually don’t refer to the mental status of our long-dead ancestors. Occasionally a will found in probate records may state that the will’s testator was of “sound mind and body”, which indicates that some people were not sound of mind, but otherwise historical records rarely mention either mental or physical illnesses. As a result, I was startled to find a history of the Hill family that stated that a 17^th century New Hampshire family member, Nathaniel Hill, suffered from what sounds like dementia.

My eighth-great-grandfather Nathaniel Hill was born in the Oyster River Plantation in the New Hampshire Colony on March 16, 1659. This area is now part of the city of Durham, New Hampshire. Nathaniel was the son of immigrants Valentine Hill and his wife Mary Eaton Hill. Valentine Hill was a merchant with extensive real estate dealings. He built up great wealth, and then lost most of it in the years before his death in 1660. Nathaniel was barely a year old when his father died.

As a result of his father’s bankruptcy, Nathaniel, his mother and some of his siblings grew up in near poverty. He must have had some of his father’s business sense, however, for he built up his own holdings and had considerable property to leave to his own children. Nathaniel married Sarah Nutter around 1690. He was respected in his community, serving as a church deacon. He and Sarah had several children, at least five of whom survived into adulthood and were named in his will.

However, records state that “He gradually lost his reason and spent the last six months of his life at the residence of his son-in-law, Captain Benjamin Mathes.” Mathes was the husband of Nathaniel’s daughter Abigail.

This brief description sounds like he was suffering from Alzheimers or some other form of dementia, which would not be unusual in a man over eighty years in age. I wonder how his friends and family reacted to his affliction. In the 1700s, doctors had no clue as to the cause of dementia, and certainly no treatments. It was fortunate that Nathaniel’s daughter and son-in-law were willing to take him into their home and care for him once he was unable to care for himself. I am sure it was a difficult situation for them all.

Nathaniel died in 1741. The exact date is unknown, as is the place of his burial. His will left his properties, money and possessions to his sons Samuel (my ancestor) and Valentine, and daughters Sarah and Abigail, and to the husband and four sons of his daughter Mary Hill Burnam who had pre-deceased him.  

Sources:

Jones, William Preble, b. 1869. Four Boston Grandparents: Jones And Hill, Preble And Eveleth And Their Ancestry. Somerville, Mass., 1930.

History of the town of Durham, New Hampshire : (Oyster River Plantation) with genealogical notes. by Stackpole, Everett Schermerhorn, 1850-1927; Thompson, Lucien, b. 1859; Meserve, Winthrop Smith, 1838-