Wordless Wednesday - Frank Joel and Anna Kinney Family

Kinney Family 1884

This a photo of my husband's great-great grandparents and their family.  It was taken in 1884, probably near Worcester, Massachusetts where this family lived.

Front Row: Henry, Frank Joel, Anna, Sarah, Lorenzo

Rear: Asa, Lillie (Herbert's wife), Herbert, Emma, Clarence

This photo includes all seven children of Frank Joel and Anna.  Frank went on to have three more children by another wife after Anna died in 1890.

I took a picture of this photo some years ago when a cousin of my husband brought it to a family gathering.  

Make sure you don't miss the cat under Lorenzo's chair!  He clearly wanted to be known as a member of the family!

It's a good day,

Kathy

Tombstone Tuesday - Mary Robinson Wells

First Hopkinton Cemetery

Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island

Mary Robinson Wells

b. November 14, 1762 Rhode Island

d. May 23, 1842 Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island

Mary, wife of Thomas Wells, is the daughter of John Robinson and Elizabeth Wells Robinson.  She is my husband's 4th great-grandmother.

Surname Saturday - Robinson

My husband has a line of Robinsons in his ancestry that is different than the one in my family.  Today I present his Robinson line beginning with Edward.

Edward Robinson was born about 1616 in England.  His will was recorded on 18 May 1686 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island. He mentions both his sons by his wife Margaret Hall, Francis and Edward, in this document.

Francis Robinson was born after 1680 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island.  He married Elisabeth about 1712 in Westerly, Rhode Island.

John Robinson was born about 1713.  He married Mary Irish on August 23, 1733 in Westerly, Rhode Island.  They had sons John, Daniel and Rowland.  John died about 1777 in Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island.

John Robinson was born after 1738 in Westerly.  He married Elizabeth Wells about 1762 in Hopkinton, Rhode Island.  He died after 1790.

Mary "Polly" Robinson was born 14 November 1762.  She married Thomas Wells in February 1782.  She died on May 22, 1842 and was buried at First Hopkinton Cemetery, Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island.

Another Treasure from FamilySearch.org

I reported a week or two ago about finding some of my New Brunswick, Canada ancestor's on http://pilot.familysearch.org .  There I found a collection of New Brunswick Death Certificates.  Today I am sharing the death certificate of my great-grandmother Annie Scott Babington Robinson.

The story that my father and aunts have told about Annie is that my grandmother, Annie's daughter, had recently become a school teacher and was living away from her family teaching school.  Her mother died unexpectedly and she left her teaching to go home and be with her family.  This death certificate verifies most of this. 

Annie died on January 15, 1921 after only one week of illness.  The cause of her death is listed as acute encephalitis.  I wonder how accurate that diagnose was given medical knowledge of that time period. 

In January of 1921, my grandmother was not quite 21 years old, just about right to be a new teacher.  Annie died at home in Cambridge, Queens, New Brunswick.  This leads me to wonder just where my grandmother had gone to teach.  I'll need to ask.

The death information was supplied by George Robinson, Annie's husband.  Annie's parents were reported as expected, James and Susana (Coyle) Babington.

The last interesting fact was the undertaker's name, Arnold Dykeman.  He was the son-in-law of George and Annie Robinson, married to their daughter Ethel Blanche.  My parents both remembered that Arnold was an undertaker in Cambridge. 

Annie Robinson died at 52 years old.  Far too young for her and her family.  I know her loss was always felt by my grandmother and no doubt her siblings as well.

Rest in peace, great-grandmother.

Surname Saturday - Welles/Wells

My husband's family includes the surname Welles/Wells.

This line I can trace to Thomas Welles born about 1626 in Colchester, Essex, England.  He came to this country with his parents about 1629.  On February 22, 1655 he married Naomi Marshall in Boston, Massachusetts.  They bought 180 acres in what is now Westerly, Rhode Island. Thomas and Naomi had children Thomas, Joseph, John, Nathaniel, Mary, Ruth and Sarah. He died February 12, 1700 in Westerly.

Son Thomas Welles was born December 4, 1661 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts.  He married Sarah Rogers in 1691 in Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island.  They had children Thomas, Edward and Sarah.  Thomas died June 10, 1716 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island.

My husband descends from both Thomas and Edward.  First I will trace Thomas.

Thomas Wells was born about 1692 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island.  He married Phebe Greene on September 22, 1717 in Stonington, Connecticut.  They had children Thomas, Phebe, Lois, Benjamin, Caleb, Joshua and Nathan.  Thomas died about 1770 in Westerly, Rhode Island.

Thomas Wells was born April 5, 1723 in Hopkinton,  Rhode Island.  He married Sarah Thompson on April 3, 1745 in Westerly.  Thomas served in the Revolutionary War as a Captain in Col. Richmond's Regiment, 4th Company.  He also served in the State Assembly and State Senate.  He was a member of the Council of War and Justice of the State Supreme Court.  He died August 31, 1796 in Hopkinton.

Thomas Wells was born  April 22, 1755 in Hopkinton.  He married Mary "Polly" Robinson on February 21, 1782.  He was a lawyer like his father.  He died April 20, 1829 in Hopkinton.

Thomas Robinson Wells was born about 1784.  He was a banker.  He married first Maria Potter on March 15, 1808 in South Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island.  They had children Thomas, John, Mary, Hannah, Sarah and Elizabeth.  He married 2nd Emma Palmer.  Thomas died August 21, 1853 in South Kingstown. 

Thomas Potter Wells was born April 28, 1809 in South Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island.  He married first Sarah Clarke and had children Thomas and Frances.  He married 2nd Clarissa Sherman and had children George and Theodore.  He married 3rd Julia Esther Johnson and had children Helen and Herbert.  He died August 21, 1884 in South Kingstown.

Daughter Helen May Wells is my husband's great-grandmother.

Back to Thomas Welles and Sarah Rogers Welles.  My husband also descends from son Edward Wells.  Edward Wells was born about 1694 in Westerly, Rhode Island.  He married Elizabeth Randall on January 12, 1726 in Westerly, Rhode Island.  He died December 1765 in Hopkinton.

Elizabeth Wells was born October 13, 1733 in Westerly, Rhode Island.  She married John Robinson on November 12, 1762 in Hopkinton.  She died June 12, 1819.  Elizabeth and John's daughter Mary "Polly" Robinson is the same woman who married Thomas Wells, see above.

Wordless Wednesday - First Day of School Remembered

First Day of School

September 1995

The kids and their school teacher dad!

Tomstone Tuesday - Thomas Wells

First Hopkinton Cemetery

Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island

Thomas Wells 

b. April 22, 1755  Rhode Island

d. April 20, 1829 Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island

Thomas Wells was the son of Thomas Wells and Sarah Thompson Wells.  He was married to Mary "Polly" Robinson.  Thomas is my husband's 4th great-grandfather.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Otters

My treasure for today is a pair of otters.  My grandfather, Ross Hannon, was an avid outdoorsman.  He made his living outside - farming, hunting, fishing.  He owned the ceramic otter shown below (on left) and sometimes carried it in his pocket.  I was lucky enough to receive it when he died.  My daughter created me the one on the right one day when she was about about 12.  She knew I cherished my otter and wanted him to have company in the display cabinet.

Now I am lucky enough to have two otters to cherish! 

It's a good day.

Tombstone Tuesday - Salvatore and Congetta Nocito

Saint Francis Cemetery

Wakefield, Rhode Island

Salvatore "Sam" J. Nocito

b. November 24, 1912

d. October 25, 1975

Congetta "Connie" T. Faella

b. July 6, 1915

d. July 20, 1980

Uncle Sam and Aunt Connie were my husband's paternal aunt and uncle.  Congetta was one of the twelve children of Gaetano and Pasqualina Faella. Salvatore served in the Army during WWII.

Rest in Peace.

Family Search Gold!

Inspired by somebody's blog post about the number of records that have been indexed on the Family Search website (unlike most of you, I was not organized enough to remember who posted the article), I went surfing on over the other day.  From the Pilot Family Search home,  I clicked on Search or Browse our record collection.  From there I chose North America to see what databases were available.  One that caught my eye, marked by a red star indicating that it was New or updated, was the New Brunswick, Canada, Death Certificates.

Quite a few members of my father's family were originally immigrants to the US but were loyalists to the British Crown during the Revolutionary War and consequently moved on to Canada when the war ended.  I have found the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick to be quite helpful for searching out these ancestors.  However, in the Family Search collection were actual copies of the death certificates for two time periods, 1920-1934 and 1935-1938.  No index is yet available but I was unable to resist just searching the whole database.

I was lucky in that for the 1920-1934 time frame, for Queens County, there were only 1,086 records to peruse.  In no time at all (well it did take some time, but it flew by!), I had located three ancestors death records. One that I found quite exciting was for my great-grandfather George Byron McKiel.

Byron, as he was known, was born on March 31, 1868 to Eliza Eva McKiel.  He died on November 25, 1925 in Wickham, Queens, New Brunswick, Canada.  The death certificate told me that he had been sick for only 3 days when he died from Lobar Pneumonia.  (Lobar meaning of, or pertaining to, one or more of the lobes of the lungs)

Although at least three of his children were still alive and living in the area, the informant for the death certificate information was a non-relative.  Why does this matter?  Byron was born to Eliza, along with another son, while she was still single.  She later married Jacob Van Wart and went on to have more children.  However, Byron and his brother Melvin, retained the McKiel surname.  One of my aunts who had done lots of genealogy work and visited and talked with many of our canadian ancestors, has not been able to determine who Byron's father was.  Although she believes that some of the older relatives know the answer, no one has been willing to tell.  The death certificate lists the father as John McKiel.  Could this be the one?  Eliza did have a brother John who was 7 or 8 years older than she.  Could he have been the father?

It would be a shame if those who know the answer to this question, however shameful they feel the information to be, were to let the answer stay hidden now when Eliza, Bryon and Melvin have all died.  I hope that by writing about it here, someone, somewhere, who knows the truth will be inspired to tell.

In any case, I found Byron's death certificate.  It was a good day!!

I have indexed records for the Family Search project for quite some time.  Now I am inspired to continue and hope that some of you may be as well.  Just go to the FamilySearch Indexing home page to learn how.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Flying the Coop!

Our daughter Katie is off to graduate school in Charleston, South Carolina. She is also recently engaged.  So this move might just signal the end of her years of living at home with us.  It is rather sad, but also what we hope for with our children - that they find their way in the world and start to build their own lives.  So it is with sadness and thanksgiving that I say good luck to my first child, my treasure, Katie.

First day of kindergarten

Katie off to South Carolina with Hershey her dog

Be happy, be safe, have fun!   

Love, 

Mom

Wordless Wednesday - Boy Scout Camping

In the spirit of summertime, I share this photo of the family picking up my brother, the scout on the left, after a week at Boy Scout Camp Yawgoog in Rockville, Rhode Island.

Tombstone Tuesday - Lucy Maria Turner Hannan

Hannan Cemetery

Palermo, Waldo, Maine

Lucy Maria Turner Hannan

b. June 19, 1824  Liberty, Waldo, Maine

d. April 13, 1915  Liberty, Waldo, Maine

Maria was the wife of Richard Hannan.  She was the daughter of Daniel and Sardine (Jackson) Turner.  She was the mother of Daniel, George, Newell, Charles, Bertha, Rozilla and Ulmer. 

Maria is my great-great-grandmother.

Rest in Peace.

Lucy Maria Turner Hannan on findagrave.com

Wordless Wednesday - Endless Summer Enjoyment

Me with my bike in front of my childhood home

Summers lasted forever when we were kids!  I never remember them being too hot or too rainy.  I was lucky to grow up in a neighborhood full of kids, on a dead end street where we could ride our bikes in the road, or play kickball, or tag without fear of being runover.  We built forts, we played marbles, we had games of all kinds with very little help from the grown-ups. We were outside from morning till night.  It was a great time in my life! I wish more kids today had the freedom and opportunity to experience summer like I did.

Here's hoping you can remember some fun summer days from your childhood!

Wordless Wednesday - Hannan Family Campout

The Hannan Family camping out at Green Valley Campground in Vassalboro, Maine.  

I don't know the year.  That is me in the middle with the glasses and my grandfather's arm around me.

I think we did this only one time but we had a grand time!

Tombstone Tuesday - Harry & Elsie McKiel

Maple Grove Cemetery

Albion, Kennebec, Maine

Harry Redvers McKiel

b. July 30, 1900 New Brunswick, Canada

d. October 22, 1962 Waterville, Maine

Elsie Marie Robinson McKiel

b. April 4, 1900 New Brunswick, Canada

d. October 11, 1993 Norway, Maine

Elsie and Harry McKiel were my paternal grandparents.

Sentimental Sunday - Camping

To carry on a little with my post of last Wednesday "We Did That Too! Plus Cookies and Mosquitoes", I will be telling about the camping I did as a child with my family.

Along with some shorter trips, my parents took us on two quite lengthy camping trips when I was young.  The first was in the summer of 1969 when we travelled from our home in Rhode Island to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.  Why Saskatoon you might ask?  My father had some meetings there for his job.  So in early July, we packed up our tent trailer, plus grammie McKiel, my father's mom, and headed out.  Grammie was going with us as far as Niagara Falls where her brother Gordon lived.  Here we are, ready to go, with Grammie already safely in the back seat. 

I don't believe that grammie had ever camped before but she was always game and with a great sense of humor and lots of stories, she kept amused for much of the trip.  Here she is, enjoying a meal at our campsite.

Two summers later, we were off to California for 6 weeks.  More meetings for my father and lots of scenery for us all.  I remember more about this trip including stops at Universal Studios, driving through the California Redwoods Forest, a stop at the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and much more.

In front of the Grand Canyon

As with the 1969 trip, we stayed every night in our camper.  We probably ate no more than two or three meals that were not prepared by my mom, unless we were visiting friends or relatives.  In fact, one thing I remember very well is stopping at rest stops for lunch and my parents pulling out the cooler and my mom making sandwiches.

We saw many of the beautiful sights of the US.  We had lots of family time.  We had lots of laughs.  We were hot, we were cold.  We argued and played.  We got rained on, we saw snow (in July).  I think as kids it was mostly a great time.  We didn't have to worry about driving or cooking.  We were very lucky to see all that we did.  Thanks Mom and Dad.

Treasure Chest Thursday - A Blog Book

Just yesterday I received a book with most of my blog postings for the first six months of this blog.  I made it using the software from blurb.com and the "download from your blog" option.  Basically, the blurb software downloads all the posts from your blog and loads them into some default book page templates.  You can then edit to your hearts content - adding and removing pages, pictures and text.

After a few days of editing, I used my 20% off coupon (always got to have a coupon!) and sent the book off for publishing.  A little over a week later my book arrived.  It is a 7" x 7" format, softcover with premium paper.  All 108 pages for only $18.36 plus $6.99 shipping.  I couldn't be happier! 

Go to www.blurb.com for more information, ideas and pricing.  Kathy

FYI,  I have no affiliation with blurb.com

We Did That Too! Plus Cookies and Mosquitoes!

This past weekend, July 16-18th, 2010, President Obama and his family took a vacation to Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine.  We got to see them climbing up Cadillac Mountain and taking in all the beautiful scenery!

Back in the summer of 1995, we took a trip to Acadia for our summer vacation.  We didn't stay in a nice hotel or have the secret service clear the way for us. However, we have very fond memories of our time there.

We visited Acadia in late June 1995.  We setup our tent as the biggest mosquitoes I have ever seen swarmed at us from all directions.  The kids, 6 and 8, don't remember that part.  They remember telling us they were hungry, and me handing them a bag of Chip's Ahoy cookies.  When they asked how many could they have (usually the limit was two apiece), I said "As many as you want!  Now go play while we set up this tent!"  Only years later did I learn that they took that permission to heart and each had 6 or 8 cookies!

Like the Obamas, we went to the top of Cadillac Mountain

We enjoyed a few hours at wonderful Sand Beach 

We sat around a good camp-fire

where it wasn't too cold for marshmallows.  However, even the smoke couldn't keep the mosquitoes away!

Mosquitoes were the bane of the trip!  Either you were warm by the fire with mosquitoes or cold in the screen room without.  That left us going to bed at about 8 pm.  We coped for a couple of days, saw all the main views and packed up for home earlier than we had planned.  We braved a few more tent camping trips before my husband declared that renting a house or a condo for the week would be more to his liking.  Since then that has been our way!  Beds, sofas, TVs, showers, rugs, kitchens and SCREENS have been part of our motto!  But as always, the trials of life seem to bring the most vivid memories. 

I hope the Obamas enjoyed themselves.  I hear they stayed in a hotel (with screens no doubt)!  Acadia National Park is a wonderful place where mountains meet islands and the sea.  Cadillac Mountain is the tallest peak on America's North Atlantic seaboard at 1532 feet. The view is magnificent. There are also many hiking paths, lakes and other vistas to enjoy. One caveat, the water is cold! It rarely gets above 55 degrees, even in the summer.

All and all, I have buzzing great memories of my stay there!

Tombstone Tuesday - Maria Campbell Megginson

Hollywood Cemetery

Richmond City, Virginia

Maria Campbell Hening Megginson

b. April 30, 1846  Jefferson, Powhatan, Virginia

d.  June 12, 1922 Virginia

Maria is my husband's great-great grandmother.  She was the 2nd wife of Benjamin Cabell Megginson.