Remember: Campbell

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Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Signers of the Exeter Combination

This is the story of how an ancestor from my mother's side of the family and one from my father's side of the family were in the same place at the same time: Exeter, NH, 1638.

Signature page from the Exeter Combination (6)

The Exeter Combination was one of the founding documents of the town of Exeter, New Hampshire. Here is a bit of explanation, written by the curator of the Exeter Historical Society:

"Exeter’s population decided in the spring of 1639 to send notice to the British authorities that they intended to govern themselves by combining together. The document created, called the Exeter Combination, pledged loyalty to the King and God and clearly differentiated themselves from Massachusetts, even though they intended to use Massachusetts laws as their model. This document was signed on “Mon. 5th, d. 4th 1639,” which, when decoded into modern terminology, means it was signed on the July 4, 1639 — a rather happy coincidence with our later national holiday." (1)

Edward Chase, Jr. wrote:

"The government thus set up endured for five years. It never had recognized jurisdiction over the whole of the area covered in the Indian Deed [a 30-square mile piece of land originally granted by the native Indians], but it did control the area of the present-day towns of Exeter, Newmarket, Newfields, Brentwood, Epping and Fremont." (2)

Why am I so interested in this ancient document? Among the 35 freemen of Exeter who signed were two of my ancestors, representing both my mother's side of the family and my father's side. Not only that, but the new 1638 Exeter government controlled the area that included modern-day Fremont, where I served as school librarian for several years.

I would never have realized that two of my ancestors were in the same place at the same time if it hadn't been for that curious document name--Exeter Combination. It showed up twice in family tree research for my ancestors, and I later realized that these many-times great grandfathers were from both sides of my family tree. Here they are:

From Find a Grave memorial (3)

Elder William Wentworth (1615-1697), my 7th great grandfather*

Born in England, William Wentworth came first to Boston and then to Exeter. He later moved to Wells, Maine and to Dover, New Hampshire, where he was an elder in the Dover Church for 40 years. (3)

A Wentworth family history notes about William:

(4)

From Wikipedia:

"Wentworth is notable for the large number of his descendants who reached great prominence in the American colonies and in the United States: His grandson John Wentworth was the Lieutenant Governor of the Province of New Hampshire at a time when the governor was also the governor of Massachusetts. New Hampshire governors Benning Wentworth and Sir John Wentworth are also descendants, as were Judge John Wentworth and his son John Wentworth Jr., a New Hampshire representative to the Continental Congress. Chicago mayor and U.S. Representative John Wentworth was not only a descendant of Elder William, but compiled the extensive genealogy on the Wentworth family, considered one of the best family histories ever written."

From Find a Grave Memorial (3)

Edmund Littlefield (1592-1661). my 10th great grandfather*
Edmund was also born in England, came to Exeter, NH and eventually moved to Wells, Maine, where he died in 1661. An interesting fact: Edmund's daughter, Hannah, married Peter Clayes (1640-1708); after she died in 1680, Peter married Sarah Towne (1639-1703). Peter and Sarah have appeared on this blog in The Persecution of the Towne Family.

[Edmund Littlefield] "signed the combination 5 (4) 1639. His wife Annis, ae. 38, with 6 children, and servants John Knight, and Hugh Durdal, came in the [ship] Bevis in May, 1638. It may be presumed that he either came at that time, (though not named in the passenger list,) or had come before. He rem. to Wells, Me.; had a grant of land from Thomas Gorges 14 July, 1643." (5)

For the complete text of the Combination and a list of those who signed it, see The History of the Town of Exeter, New Hampshire. (6)

*****

Sources

1. Historically Speaking; A Look at Exeter's Founding Documents, by Barbara Rimkunas for Seascoastonline.com: http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20130329/news/303290372

2. Early Exeter History 1638-1887. Written by Edward Chase Jr. In: Exeter, New Hampshire: 1888-1988, by Nancy Carnegie Merrill. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Peter E. Randall, 1988. https://www.exeterhistory.org/exeter-history/2016/6/24/early-exeter-history-1638-1887

3. Find a Grave Memorial for Elder William Wentworth. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82608798/william-wentworth

4. A Genealogical and Biographical Account of the Descendants of Elder William Wentworth, by John Wentworth. Boston, Massachusetts: S.G. Drake, 1850. Available on Ancestry.com.

5. Maine Pioneers 1623-60. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com, 1999.

6. The History of the Town of Exeter, New Hampshire, by Charles Henry Bell. Exeter, New Hampshire, 1888. Available online from the Internet Archive at
https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofe00bell

7. Wikipedia: William Wentworth (Elder). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wentworth_(elder)

*How we are related

Elder William Wentworth, 7th great grandfather on my father's side of the family

Relationship between William Wentworth & Clair Marie Harris.

William Wentworth (1615 - 1697)
7th great-grandfather

Benjamin Wentworth (1670 - 1728)
son of William Wentworth

Edmund Littlefield, 10th great grandfather on my mother's side of the family

Relationship between Edmund Littlefield & Clair Marie Harris.

Edmund Littlefield (1592 - 1661)
10th great-grandfather

Hannah Anne Littlefield ( - 1680)
daughter of Edmund Littlefield

Sarah Clayes (1666 - 1700)
daughter of Hannah Anne Littlefield

Samuel Cunnabell (1689 - 1746)
son of Sarah Clayes

Preserved (Persund) Cunnabell (1727 - 1793)
son of Samuel Cunnabell

Esther "Hester" Campbell (1751 - 1819)
daughter of Preserved (Persund) Cunnabell

Edward Campbell (1795 - 1851)
son of Esther "Hester" Campbell

Tamberlane Campbell (1813 - 1892)
son of Edward Campbell

Elizabeth Campbell (1851 - )
daughter of Tamberlane Campbell

William Giberson (1856 - ) My great grandfather
son of Elizabeth Campbell

Edith Rae Giberson (1880 - 1946) My grandmother
daughter of William Giberson

Elva Myrtle Crabtree (1914 - 1998) My mother
daughter of Edith Rae Giberson

Clair Marie Harris: Me
I am the daughter of Elva Myrtle Crabtree

Sunday, March 23, 2014

My Great Uncle Randolph Giberson: A Sad Life?

I suppose that some future family historian looking at my life through civil records might think that it had been an unhappy one. It's hard to see the death of a child and ensuing divorce as anything but tragic, but there is, of course, another side to the story. There are other children who bring much joy; and divorce can sometimes lead to lifelong friendship and to another future marriage that brings much happiness. When I think about my life so far I always think of that lovely phrase "surprised by joy," that was used by both William Wordsworth and C.S. Lewis.

Although because of my own experience I know that civil records don't tell the whole tale, the day that I traced the life of my great uncle Randolph Giberson, I was saddened by what I found. After I entered all the records that I could find, Ancestry.com gave me a brief summary of Randolph's life:

When Randolph Giberson was born in 1874 in [Victoria], New Brunswick, Canada, his father, William, was 18 and his mother, Martha, was 17. He married Viola C. Lindsey on June 22, 1897, in Maine. They had one child during their marriage. Randolph died on September 14, 1898, in Easton, Maine, at the age of 24.

Through family correspondence and stories, I happen to know a few more things about Randolph. Sometime around 1881-1883, when Randolph was 6, his brother Hanford was 3, sister Edith (my maternal grandmother) was 2, and the baby Stanley was just a year old, their father William left the family and was never heard from again. Their mother Martha was only 23 or 24 years old and left on her own with four small children. In those days of big families--Martha was one of 12 children herself--I hope that there was plenty of family nearby to help out.

A search of the New Brunswick Newspaper Vital Statistics Index for William turns up a William Giberson who felled a tree that landed on his father and killed him; another William Giberson who was "instantly killed by a brow of timber;"and a third William Giberson who "was run over by the train on the Branch Railroad near the Meadows Station on Thursday afternoon." None of these was our William as the dates were wrong, but it looks as though the outlook for any William Giberson in that part of New Brunswick in those years was particularly grim.

We don't know exactly what happened to Martha either, but the family stories tell that she had some sort of breakdown and died some time before 1890, when her daughter Edith was around 8 years old.

The dates and ages are hard to pin down as people seemed to give varying birth dates to the census takers--for example, Edith's date of birth was given as 1880, 1881, and 1882, so I am giving my best estimates.

After Martha's death, the four children were sent out to different families as servants, which I'm guessing was a sort of unofficial foster care system at best, and a sad life for a child at worst. I found Randolph's brother, Hanford, in the Beveridge household in the 1901 Canada Census of Gordon, Victoria, New Brunswick--age 24, single, and still a servant. Note: I discovered in April 2018 that the Beveridge household was the family of Hanford's great aunt. It makes me feel so much better to know he was with family.

I never have found where any of the other siblings lived during that time, although another family letter indicates that the youngest brother, Stanley, was drowned at an early age, and one of my aunts told me that her mother Edith "kept house" in various places until she married my grandfather when she was 18 or 19.

This 1940s photo shows one use for child labor on a potato farm.
School didn't open in Aroostook County, Maine, until the potato harvest was in.
(image from Wikimedia Commons).

Things took a cheerier turn for Randolph in 1897. He married young Viola Lindsey, the daughter of a farmer from Easton, in Aroostook County, Maine. Randolph was 23 and Viola is just 16. Within a year, they welcomed a son, Merle, into their family.

Randolph's sister, Edith, had been living in Maine since 1895 (per the 1900 U.S. Census). She married later in Easton, so I am hoping that she was nearby when Randolph and Viola were starting their family. Viola's parents were also living in Easton during this time. I like to think of the young couple with lots of supportive family living in the neighborhood.

This map shows the location of Easton, Maine and its proximity to parts of New Brunswick.
The Gibersons came from Lower Perth in Victoria County.

Just as things seemed to be going so well, tragedy struck again. Randolph was only 24, presumably working as a farm laborer as he had done all his life, when he died suddenly due to "heart disease." His death left another young Giberson widow on her own with a four month old baby, a sad echo of Randolph's early life.

from Maine Death Records, 1617-1922, Maine State Archives, Ancestry.com

Viola's story has a happier-sounding outcome. Within a few years, after living back at home with her parents, she married Ari Thompson, who worked as a chef in a sanitarium. Together they had two boys and two girls, Ari raised Randolph and Viola's boy Merle, as his own, and they eventually provided a home for Viola's aging and widowed father as well.

In spite of the overall sad tone to Randolph's life, as gleaned from official records, I hope that he, too, had moments when he was "surprised by joy."

embeddable family tree updated live from WikiTree

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Progress Report: My Mother's Family

The first chart below shows several generations back for my mother's family. A lot has been added since I first posted her family tree on this blog. Of course, each of these people has many more pages showing relatives of their own, which you can see by clicking on any name.

When I first started this research, it was difficult to know where to begin, as there were so many blank generations to be filled in. I knew my mother's parent's and grandparent's names, but my knowledge stopped there. This chart shows both the progress and the places where more research is needed. Clearly, I will need to be concentrating on my great-grandmother, Martha Grant, and her ancestors.

This chart doesn't tell the whole story, however. There just isn't enough room on this page to represent all the known generations. If you will scroll down to the second chart, which starts with my great great grandfather, John Shepherd Kinney (1802-1872) who is in the fourth column from the left in the first chart, you will see that there is more to the story.

Elva Myrtle Rodriguezformerly Crabtree Born 27 Dec 1914 Died 29 Sep 1998 Sister of Alma Adelia Nickerson , Clifford Alden Crabtree, Beecher Henry Crabtree, Jesse Howard Crabtree, Hope McLeod, Bess Lelia York, Anna Avis Middleton, Sarah Norma Ariel, Gladys Laversa Hudgins, Lois Carrow Stockson, Muriel Evelyn Blakely and David Jewett Crabtree Jr. Wife of Daniel Lawrence Harris Wife of Ernest Rodriguez Mother of Clair Marie Zarges and Jean Lee Harris	David Jewett Crabb Sr. 20 Jun 1875 - 17 Apr 1954	William Henry Crabb Jr. 1837 - 28 Jun 1890	William Henry Crabb Sr. 1802 - 1868	John Crabb Jr. 1770 - Nov 1853
				Elizabeth Mary Cram abt 1759 - aft 1803
			Elizabeth Nason abt 1805 - aft 1840	[Great-Great-Grandfather?]
				[Great-Great-Grandmother?]
		Sarah Ann Kinney 03 Oct 1842 - abt 14 Aug 1935	John Shepherd Kinney 1802 - 15 Dec 1872	Stephen Kinney 1771 - 03 May 1837
				Merab Ives 1776 - 23 May 1843
			Sarah Crabtree 1820 - abt 1887	Richard Arnold Crabb 30 Nov 1789 - 12 Jun 1867
				Mary Giggey 02 Nov 1788 - 26 Dec 1863
	Edith Rae Giberson 10 Mar 1880 - 26 Sep 1946	William Giberson 1856 -	Samuel Giberson 10 Aug 1826 -	James Giberson 03 Jul 1791 -
				[Great-Great-Grandmother?]
			Elizabeth Campbell 1837 -	Tamberlane Campbell Sep 1813 - 05 Nov 1892
				[Great-Great-Grandmother?]
		Martha Grant abt 1858 - bef 1890	[Great-Grandfather?]

			[Great-Grandmother?]

This second chart takes us back to my ggggggg grandparents, if I've counted correctly. WikiTree's concept of a "worldwide collaborative family tree" makes this chart possible. The further back we get in family history research, the more genealogists have worked on our common ancestors and the more information we have to share.

But wait, there's more! If you will locate Daniel Kenney (1705-1780) in the chart below, we can take a look at his ancestors as well. Just scroll down to the third chart. I hope you'll be surprised to find out just how far back we can go. I certainly was!

John Shepherd "Sugar John, Praying John"Kinney Born 1802 Died 15 Dec 1872 Brother of Israel Kinney,Israel Kinney , Stephen Kinney, Daniel Kinney, Josiah Kinney , James Kinney,Elijah Kinney, Ruth Kinney,Esther Kinney, Susan Kinney,Abigail Kinney and Eunice Kinney Husband of Sarah Crabtree Father of John Shepherd Kinney , Aaron Kinney ,Sarah Ann Kinney , Susan Kinney , Adelia M. Kinney ,Richard Wayman Kinney and Charles Allen Kinney	Stephen Kinney 1771 - 03 May 1837	Israel Kinney 23 Oct 1739 - 24 Dec 1791	Daniel Kenney 19 Oct 1705 - abt 1780	Daniel Kinne 23 Jul 1682 - 28 Mar 1766
				Mary Richards 1684 - 28 Mar 1766
			Elizabeth Stockwell 1706 - abt 1795	William Stockwell - 1747
				Elizabeth Shaw - 1716
		Susannah Hood 27 Oct 1745 - 14 Jan 1812	Nathaniel Hood 1707 - 08 Jun 1755	Nathaniel Hood 09 Jun 1669 - 30 Oct 1748
				Joanna Dwinnell 05 Jul 1685 - 01 Mar 1732
			Abigail Potter 06 Sep 1713 -	Samuel Potter 1657 - 02 Aug 1714
				Sarah Chilson 04 Jun 1673 - 05 Oct 1737
	Merab Ives 1776 - 23 May 1843	Capt. David Ives -	[Great-Grandfather?]

			[Great-Grandmother?]

		[Maternal Grandmother?]

I have to send out thanks to all the genealogists who have spent many thousands of hours compiling this information. Perhaps, working together, we actually can build a collaborative family tree for the entire world's population. Anything is possible, I suppose.

One last note: It's almost an embarrassment of riches, but if you click on Henry Kinne's (1623-1696) name below, then on "family tree" on his page, you can see that his information reaches back for at least another four generations.

Daniel Kenney Born 19 Oct 1705 Died about 1780 Brother of Israel Kenny and Mary Kenny Husband of Elizabeth Stockwell Father of Daniel Kenney andIsrael Kinney	Daniel Kinne (23 Jul 1682 - 28 Mar 1766)	Thomas Kinne Sr. (11 Mar 1655 - 01 Jun 1687)	Henry Kinne (08 Jul 1623 - 19 Jun 1696)	John Kinne (1602 - 1670)
				Sarah Cheever (abt 1600 - 1663)
			Ann Putnam (1637 - 1680)	Edmund Putnam (1603 - 1675)
				Anne Compton (1607 - 1680)
		Elizabeth Knight (07 Apr 1658 - 06 Feb 1694)	Joseph Knight (abt 1624 - 13 Aug 1687)	John Knight (abt 1595 - 22 May 1674)
				Mary Pickering (1598 - 16 May 1676)
			Hannah Lamb (17 Dec 1633 - 13 Jan 1695)	Edward Lamb (bef 1608 - bef 1650)
				Margaret French (1610 - 1650)
	Mary Richards (1684 - 28 Mar 1766)	Joseph Richards (1653 - 24 Feb 1695)	William Richards (23 Jan 1619 - 25 Jul 1682)	John Richards (1578 - )
				Grace Weightman (08 Oct 1592 - )
			Grace Shaw (15 Aug 1621 - aft 1682)	Abraham Shaw (14 Nov 1585 - 10 Oct 1638)
				Elizabeth Best (09 Apr 1592 - abt 1649)
		Susan Richards (1654 - 1680)	____________________ [Great-Grandfather]	____________________ [G-G-Grandfather]