Mumblings - Simeon Dewey, William Dewey, and some Witchcraft

Although it is not a Monday, here is my next post concerning the 5th and 6th generations of my Dewey family.

Simeon Dewey (5^th generation)

Simeon was born May 1, 1718 at Lebanon, CT and died there March 2, 1751.  Simeon was a farmer.  He married Anna Phelps March 29, 1739.  Anna was born August 6, 1719 at Mansfield City, CT and died September 25, 1807 at Hanover, NH.  On November 27, 1765, she remarried Noah Smith who died February 1776.  Soon after Noah’s death, she moved to Hanover with her living children.  Anna was the great granddaughter of George Phelps and Francis Randall.  When George Phelps died, Francis remarried Thomas Dewey.  So this would make Simeon and Anna distant cousins several times removed.  Little else is known of Simeon and Anna.

Simeon and Anna had six children:

Theoda (1740 – 1750)

William (1742 – 1744)

Simeon (1745 – 1830)

William (1746 – 1813)*

Amy (1748 - ?)

Benoni (1750 – 1823)

William Dewey (6^th generation)

William was born on January 11, 1746 in Lebanon (Columbia), CT and died June 10, 1813 in Hanover, NH.  William served as a corporal during the Revolutionary War for 21days.  He with a company from Hebron, CT answered the call from Lexington in 1775.  He fought under General Benjamin Gates at the Battles of Saratoga on September 19 and October 7, 1777.  The company marched from Concord in September 1777 to join General Gates near Saratoga in the fight to defeat the British General Burgoyne. [Career and triumphs of Admiral Dewey, Robert L. Blagg, The Crowell & Kirkpatrick Co., Springfield, Ohio, 1899, page 17.]

William lived in Hebron, CT until 1776 when he moved to Hanover, NH, four miles above Dartmouth College where he farmed.  William appears in the First Census of the United States (1790) on page 32, living in Grafton County, Hanover, NH.

William married Rebecca Carrier June 10, 1768 in Connecticut.  Rebecca was born March 19, 1747 in Colchester, CT and died July 6, 1836 in Hanover, NH.  Rebecca’s great grandmother Martha Allen Carrier (my 8^th great grandmother) was accused of being a witch and was hanged on Gallows Hill on August 19, 1692 in Salem, MA.  Click here to read the transcript of her trial.  Martha's children Andrew (Rebecca's grandfather), Richard, Thomas and Sarah were also accused of witchcraft in 1692 in Essex County, MA.  On July 21, 1692 a warrant was issued for Andrew's arrest.  Click here for a transcript of his testimony.  I have not found a record of sentencing for Martha's children.  Their testimony was used against their mother, so they may not have been sentenced.  On November 1, 2001, three centuries after they were hanged as witches, five women were officially exonerated by the state of Massachusetts.  The legislative act was signed on Halloween by Governor Jane Swift.  The five: Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Wilmot Redd and Margaret Scott were among 20 men and women put to death during the witchcraft hysteria of 1692. To my knowledge, Martha Allen has not been exonerated.

Martha's husband Thomas (my 8th great grandfather) was quite an interesting man.  He was said to be over seven feet tall and may have lived over 100 years.  Carrier family tradition states that Thomas Carrier's may have been the executioner of King Charles I of England (For more on Thomas, click here and search for " The Strange Story of Thomas Carrier").

William and Rebecca had 14 children:

Anna (1769 – 1841)

Simeon (1770 – 1863)*

William (1772 – 1840)

David (1773 – 1847)

Asa (1775 – 1850)

Israel (1777 – 1862)

Lydia (1778 – 1841)

Henry (1779 – 1875)

Parthenia (1781 – 1846)

Oliver (1782 – 1871)

Eunice (1784 – 1851)

Elias (1785 – 1838)

Andrew (1789 – 1865)

(child) (1791 – 1791)

Friday Fotos - Aikman Photos

I didn't get a chance to get out and take pictures this week, so I thought I would look through my scanned photo files.  I decided I would post the below photos of the Aikman/Isaacs families, from my wife's side of the family.  Some photos need identification of the people.  Lou, can you help?  Kris needs to renew her interest in the genealogy of her side of the family so that it too can be posted.

In no particular order, here are some of the photos I have scanned.  Hope you enjoy.

Aikmans: Agnes, Inez, Lucy, Luis (Billings Montana 1926)

Aikmans: Louis, Olin, Gordon, Orville, Forest

CC Aikman Family

Who are these men?

Isaacs: Abe, Clint, Leonard, Joe, William

Issacs: Daisy, Lucy, Gloria, Verna

Louis Pearl Aikman (back)

Louis, Louis, Agnes, Lucy, Inez?

"Worthwhile" Club, Bono, Indiana

Who is this man and woman?

Who?

Louis Aikman (center)

Monday Mumblings - Josiah Dewey Sr., Josiah Dewey Jr., and William Dewey

    As reported in previous posts, our Dewey ancestors arrived in Dorchester, MA in the early 1630s and moved to and lived in Windsor, CT from 1635 until 1660.  From 1660 until 1669 our ancestors lived in Northampton, MA and then moved to Westfield, MA (1670 – 1699).  In 1700, they moved back to Connecticut.  They first moved to the northerly part of Lebanon which in 1804 was incorporated as the town of Columbia.   Many references to our Dewey ancestors are to Lebanon.  I assume the actual area is Columbia because Columbia was Lebanon until 1804.  (In a later post when I talk about Francis Osman Dewey, records say he lived in South Reading, MA.  South Reading later became Wakefield, MA, so he actually lived somewhere within what is now Wakefield.  He later did move to Reading.)  After Columbia, they moved to Hebron.  Our Dewey ancestors left Connecticut for New Hampshire and later Vermont between 1775 and 1776.

Josiah Dewey (2^nd Generation) (cont. from prior post)

    Josiah Dewey, Sr. was at Lebanon, CT as early as 1695 assisting in the distribution of home-lots and in making the first division of the common undivided land.  The original Dewey lots in Lebanon (according to Genealogies of Connecticut Families, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD, 1998, page 58) were part of “the list of 22 Lebanon home-lots laid out on the east side, south to north, of the highway, includes No. 7 to John Dewey, 9 to Dea. Josiah, 10 to Nathaniel, 18 to Josiah Jr.”  John, Nathaniel, and Josiah Jr. were all sons of Deacon Josiah Dewey.  On September 25, 1699, Josiah along with William Clark bought land from Thomas Buckingham and John Clarke of Saybrook.  Buckingham and Clarke were acting on behalf of Mohegan Abimelech, the young son and heir of Joshua.  (Buckingham and Clarke were also involved in the purchase and settlement of the land now known as Hebron, CT, for more on the settlement of Hebron, click here.)  Joshua was son of Uncas and brother of Mohegan Sachem Oweneco.  The tract was conveyed to Dewey and Clark a second time on May 2, 1700 by Oweneco who claimed that it was his land.  This section of land was to the northerly side of the Ten Mile River and part of the town of Lebanon, CT.  This transaction, called the Clark and Dewey purchase, has been known as the North Society or Lebanon Crank at this time of history.  It is now the town of Columbia.  (The name, Lebanon Crank, may have been descriptive of the bent or crooked outline of the parish boundaries.  The northeast town border between Lebanon and Columbia is Ten Mile River.  Perhaps Crank meant Creek.)  Lebanon was a farming community during the colonial period.  Josiah and Hepzibah Lyman Dewey are buried at the Old Cemetery located in Lebanon, Connecticut.

Josiah Dewey (3^rd generation)

    Josiah was a farmer at Westfield, Massachusetts until his removal to Lebanon, Connecticut around 1696. He was one of the first settlers and was elected constable in 1700 and 1707. He owned a sawmill at Lebanon which he gave to his son Josiah through deed on February 17, 1719/20.  Benjamin Woodworth sold his rights to the sawmill to Josiah on November 10, 1724. (The prior history as well as several other land transactions of Josiah are taken from Dewey Family History by Louis Marinus Dewey).  Josiah’s marriage to Mehitable Miller and children from that marriage were listed in a previous post.  Little else is known of Josiah.

William Dewey (4^th generation)

    William was born in January 1692 at Westfield, MA.  He died November 10, 1759 at Lebanon (now Columbia), CT of small pox caught while at Albany, NY.  On July 2, 1713, William married Mercy Saxton at Lebanon (now Columbia), CT.  Little else is known about William.  Mercy was born in Stonington, CT on May 30, 1686 and it is unknown when she died.  Some on line sources say she died November 10, 1759 which is when her husband died others say in 1791 which would make her 105 years old. Mercy is descended from William Copp (Joseph Saxton, Thomas Saxton/Ann Copp, William Copp) of Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in Boston.  Thomas Edmund Dewey (1902-1971) Governor of New York and Republican presidential candidate descended from William and Mercy Dewey. 

William and Mercy had nine children (all born at Lebanon (now Columbia), CT):

Mercy (1714 – 1744)

William (1716 – 1717)

Simeon (1718 – 1751)*

William (1718 – 1718)

Jerusha (1720 – 1752)

Hannah (1723 – 1785)

Zerviah (1726 – 1749)

Elijah (1728 - ?)

Ann (1730 - ?)

Friday Fotos - Seals at Manomet Point

I did not take any artistic pictures this week, but seals are always fun to see.  With the warmer days and low tide around 1PM, the seals were out basking (if they can bask on cloudy days) at Manomet Point.  Manomet Point is right next to White Horse Beach, about 4 miles from our home.  It is amazing how many seals there were this week.

The Best Picture I Could Get with my Telephoto Lens

Almost Every Rock Above the Waterline Had a Seal On It

More Seals

And More

Some of Those Objects Are Seals, not Rocks, Many Rocks had Multiple Seals

The rocks off this point have always been a hazard to ships.  Three men lost their lives trying to rescue passengers on the steamship Robert E. Lee in March 10, 1928.  In a couple of weeks it will be the 94th anniversary.

My one attempt at creativity on this post.  This is the relief on the monument shown in the previous photo.

Dewey family from 1670 to 1700 (Westfield, MA)

Dewey Settlement in Westfield, MA

The first Dewey post talked of Thomas’ years in England, Dorchester, MA, and Windsor, CT.  The next Dewey post discussed Josiah’s (2^nd generation) years in Northampton, MA.  As I continue with the Dewey family, consider what it must have been like for these colonial families to move from one settlement to the next.  We don’t know what motivated them to move, but obviously, each move created new hardships, necessitating: constructing new housing, clearing land, establishing crops, joining or starting new churches, and potentially facing hostile Native Americans.  George Phelps, step father of Thomas Dewey’s children, was among the first settlers of Westfield.  George, Thomas Dewey (2nd), and others were assigned house lots in January 1668 in Westfield. 

Josiah and Hepzibah (Lyman) Dewey (continued from prior post)

Josiah was granted land in Westfield on Feb. 5, 1667 “on condition … of building the ministers house.”  Josiah and Hepzibah moved to Westfield about 1670.  Eight of their twelve children were born here between 1673 and 1685 (see previous post for list of children).  They and many of their children lived in Westfield during King Philip’s War.  Josiah was a sergeant of the guard during King Philip's war (1675 – 1676). 

Many of the remote settlements near Westfield were attacked by Indians during the war.  In September of 1675 the town of Hadley, MA was attacked by Indians and the Battle of Bloody Brook took place in Deerfield, MA.  In Deerfield, the colonial casualties were about 60.  In October the Pocomtuc tribe attacked Springfield, MA and destroyed more the half the town.  John Miller, brother of Mehitable Miller (wife of Josiah Dewey Jr., see below) was killed in the October 5, 1675 attack on Springfield.  Hatfield and Northampton were also attacked in October.  The English settlers organized militias and fought back.  Many of the early militia attacks on Indian tribes were in the Narragansett Bay area, home to King Philip.  Closer to Westfield, in April and May of 1676, the militia defeated the Indians in the vicinity of Turner’s Falls, MA.  By August 1676, the war was over and Philip had been killed in the Rhode Island area.  Both sides were guilty of slaughtering the aged, women and children.  (For more on the events of King Philip’s War, click here.)

After the war, around 1680, Josiah co-owned a saw and corn mill (map showing the Dewey lots) at Two Mile Brook (Great Brook) with his brothers Thomas and Jedediah Dewey and with Joseph Whiting.  Two Mile Brook was so named because the brook was two miles from the town center.  The brook itself is called Little River.  Josiah took the Oath of Freeman Sept. 28, 1680 and he was ordained the first deacon December 28, 1692 at First Church.

Josiah (3^rd Generation) and Mehitable Miller Dewey

Josiah Dewey Jr. was born in Northampton and would have been a child when his father and mother moved to Westfield about 1670.  Josiah Jr. married Mehitable Miller in Westfield on January 15, 1691.  Mehitable, daughter of William and Patience (Bacon) Miller, was born on July 10, 1666 in Northampton, MA.  Josiah was a farmer in Westfield. 

Josiah and Mehitable had six children:

Born at Westfield, MA:

William (1692 – 1759)*

Josiah (1697 – 1771)

Joseph (1697 - ?)

Born at Lebanon, CT:

John (1700 – 1773)

Mary (1704 – 1735)

Mehitable (1708 – 1796)

Friday Fotos - 3-Way Creativity Meetup and Post Processing Workshop

I joined the Plymouth Digital Photographers Meetup on Saturday Feb. 4 to take photographs in Plymouth Harbor area and afterwards, post process the pictures creatively.  The objective was to post the original photo and then post process those photos two creative ways.  I was happy with my results and will post several of them.  First in each series of 3 is the original, then 2 processed variations of the original using Adobe Photoshop Elements.

This first photo is of a amusement park type ride on the pier.  I was talking with an former fishing boat captain and he told me that in the summer, tourists line up and pay $25 to ride this machine.  You crawl into the frame, your feet get strapped in the boots on the bottom, and you grab the pipes at the eleven and one o'clock position.  Then, you hang on for dear life as the operator spins the contraption.  The captain says that most people get sick.  In the two processed photos, I tried to capture what the motion and after ride sensation must feel like.

Spinning Wheel Ride - Original

Processed Photo to Add Blurred Motion - During Ride?

Used the Liquify Effect to Show How the Rider Must Feel After the Ride

This fisherman and his boat are located on top of a building on the pier.  In this next photo, the original was cropped to hide the building and most of the boat. 

Original Cropped Photo

Processed Using Layers - Made the Top Layer Black and White, then "Erased" the Hat and Pipe so the Yellow of Original Comes Through

Added the Plastic Wrap Effect to Simulate Stormy Weather

 I liked the colors of this pub sign (I also liked the name).

Original Photo

I Cropped and Added Lighting Effect in Elements

Added Polar Effect in Elements

There were several dingies tied up at the various piers.  It was difficult to isolate them in the photos, but I was mostly successful in this photo.

Original photo

I changed the tones in this version. I think the colors of the boat stand out better with darker water.

Added Vignette Effect

Monday Mumblings - Colonial Settlers Interaction with Native Americans

The presence of Native Americans in and around our early New England settlers had an important impact on their settlements.  Therefore, it is appropriate to spend one posting discussing some of their impact.  By 1600, Native Americans and European traders (French, Dutch, and English) had established beneficial relations through trade throughout New England.  The Native Americans provided the colonists with produce and furs and received hatchets, knives, cloth, and guns from the Europeans.  Both sides were satisfied with the price paid for the exchanges.  These preexisting relationships certainly benefited the English settlement colonies in New England as there were friendly tribes upon their arrival and since trade had been established, settlers soon began to trade goods for land.  In many settlements, Native Americans were still allowed to hunt, fish, and grow crops as well live on the land.  However, the main benefit to the English settlers was the unintended but highly consequential introduction of European diseases.  The traders brought with them diseases such as small pox and measles to which the Native Americans had no immunity.  (See NativePeoples in New England for more on the native inhabitants in this time frame.)

The Native American population was decimated by these diseases.  Nathaniel Philbrick says in Mayflower, A Story of Courage, Community, and War “from 1616 to 1619, what might have been bubonic plague … [killed] in some cases as many as 90 percent of the region’s inhabitants.  So many died so quickly that there was no one left to bury the dead.”  The diseases spread so rapidly that those natives who did not quickly die evacuated the impacted area without burying to the dead, while perhaps leaving behind stores of corn.  John Bradford wrote “skulls and bones were found in many [villages] lying still above the ground.”

NativeAmerican tribes often switched loyalties and alliances with or against the English.  In the early stages of English settlement, the Pokanokets led by Massasoit in Plymouth sustained the English through the first few years.  After Massasoit’s death, his son Metacomet (later named Philip by the English) led the same Pokanokets and other tribes in King Philip’s War (1675 – 1676) against the English.  The Pequots led by Sassacus originally fought against the English in the Pequot War (1637).  Later, the Pequots supported the English during King Philip’s War.  The Mohegans led by Uncas in Connecticut were instrumental in helping the settlers gain a foothold in Connecticut in the early colonial years.  Thomas Dewey was likely impacted by the Pequot War and Josiah Dewey was a sergeant in King Philip’s War.  A future posting will discuss Josiah Dewey’s later dealing with the Mohegan tribe.

Windsor, Thomas Dewey, and the Pequot War of 1637

The history of Windsor according to Wikipedia says that “during the first part of the 17th century, the Pequot and Mohegan Nations had been at war. The Podunk were forced to pay tribute [to the Pequot] … the Podunk invited … settlers from Plymouth, Massachusetts to settle.” In 1634 about 30 people from Plymouth settled in the Windsor area.  In 1635, 60 or more people from Dorchester, MA including Thomas Dewey arrived in Windsor.  As more settlers arrived from Dorchester, most of the Plymouth settlers returned to Plymouth.  A short two years later, the Pequot War erupted in 1637.  Although Windsor itself was not attacked, Wethersfield, 13 miles to the south, was attacked on April 23, 1637.  Several settlers were killed and taken captive.  As a result of this attack, the Connecticut General Court ordered that a 90 man army be assembled consisting of 42 men from Hartford, 30 from Windsor, and 18 from Wethersfield.  The three towns at the time contained about 250 settlers total.  70 Mohegan warriors, led by Uncas, sided with and fought alongside the English in the Pequot War.  Thomas Dewey may have been one of the 30 men from Windsor as he was not married at the time.  Windsor settlers built the palisado as a precaution to an attack.  Dewey’s home was adjacent to the palisado.

Two future Josiah Dewey postings will provide more on King Philip's War and his interaction with the Mohegans.

Friday Fotos - Long Beach, Plymouth, MA

The weather was so warm this week at the end of January (60 degrees) that we decided that Tuesday, January 31 was a good beach day.  We packed Greta into the car and headed for Long Beach, Plymouth's town beach.  Long Beach is a 3 mile narrow peninsula that protects Plymouth Harbor.  In the winter, you can drive on the one sandy road if you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle.  However, we tried driving it last year and almost got stuck in the sand.  On this day, we saw a women who was so stuck in the sand that she had to have a tow truck pull her out.  We parked at the public beach parking lot and walked most of the entire beach, probably over 2 miles (one way).  Here are some pictures of our day at the beach.

Start of Long Beach

Can I be let off my leash?

This section of beach had a lot of flat rocks - fun to walk on

There are only about 15 -20 houses on the beach, no electricity and no running water

There are dunes on the beach but you aren't allowed on them

Greta is off her leash and looking for sea shells

Kris is looking for sea shells?

Sea gulls looking for clams?

Greta after wading through a deep pool of water

Low tide