This photograph, taken by my father John Spencer French, shows his buddies Louis Zieminski and Patsy Ruggiero. John passed away in 2014, Pasquale “Patsy” died in Florida in 2013 and Louis in 2004 in Wallingford, CT.
Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.
Part II – This post offers several more newspaper clippings from the Hartford Courant about life on the farm in Bloomfield, Connecticut featuring my second great-grandfather, John William Spencer (1834-1896). The topics of the articles range from corn and pumpkins to snakes and rabid dogs!
Part I – I’ll Say it Again, Those are My Nuts!
If you are interested in researching your family history, newspaper accounts can provide a wealth of information. The above referenced clippings were discovered through Newspapers.com by Ancestry.
Above is a probate notice from 18 July 1878 that notes a bequest of $2,000 from Jason Goodwin (J.G.) Eggleston to his grand-niece Anna Eggleston Spencer. Anna is my second great grandmother. $2,000 in 1879 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $51,351.80 in 2019. Thank you great-uncle! Jason was the co-owner of Eggleston & Rowley Grocery located at 286 Main Street in Hartford, Connecticut.
Link to a previous post about Anna: Introducing Annie and John Spencer
Another benefactor in the will is the Reverend Nathaniel Eggleston who received $1,000. I wrote an earlier post (Rev. Eggleston’s Woods) about Nathaniel who was appointed chief of the Bureau of Forestry (now the United States Forest Service) from 1883-1886.
If you are interested in researching your family history, newspaper accounts can provide a wealth of information. The above referenced clipping was discovered through Newspapers.com by Ancestry.
Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.
With genealogical research, it is often a case of feast or famine. With my 2nd great-paternal grandfather, John William Spencer (1834-1896), I have discovered a wealth of material. In a previous post, Introducing Annie and John Spencer, I described the joy of having someone share John and Annie’s wedding photograph with me.
Recently, researching Hartford newspapers, I came across several wonderful articles that shine a light on the lives of John and Annie.
The article below from 1869 describes a party celebrating John and Annie’s 10th wedding anniversary! Couldn’t they just have mentioned Annie by name?
These “true crime stories” that occurred in Bloomfield Connecticut, involving John W. Spencer, are separated by 26 years!
If you are interested in researching your family history, newspaper accounts can provide a wealth of information. The above referenced clippings were discovered through Newspapers.com by Ancestry.
Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved by David R. French
While I hate to admit it, I believe my paternal great-grandmother, Mary “Minnie” MacEachern French, might be viewed as a gold digger. The evidence comes from a sensational series of articles that played out in Boston newspapers from 1916-1918. What is amazing is that a jury found in her favor, although it appears the judge felt greater sympathy for the defendant. Another perspective is that she was just a tough woman who immigrated to the U.S. from Canada and found a way to make life more bearable.
Mary MacEachern was born on April 25. 1877 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. In April 1897, she married Walter Abraham French, a carriage driver, in Boston, Massachusetts and from this union, my grandfather George Bradley French was born in 1898. Mary and Walter were separated in 1901. At the time of the court case, George was serving in France – Pvt. George B. French – WW1.
Previous Post – Hello Minnie
For the sake of brevity, below are excerpts from numerous stories in Boston newspapers that followed the case of Mary French v. John A. Emery:
Denies He Gave
Promise to Wed – Boston Post · Aug 18, 1916 · Page 7
“I may have put my arm on her shoulder in a friendly way,
but I have no memory of having done so.” John Alvin Emery, 70 years old, the
man who built Boston’s first subway, to a question as to whether he ever hugged
Mrs. Mary R. French, who has brought an $80,00 breach of promise suit against
him.
Sympathy Kiss Figures
in Suit – The Boston Globe · 18 Aug 1916 · Page 1
Subway builder remembers she called him a “dear thing.”
Calls His Relations
Platonic – Boston Post · 24 Sep 1916 · Page 2
He admitted he had loaned her various sums and said she was
continuously wanting money, he loaned it in some cases and declining in others.
Says Aged Builder
Called Her “Sis” – The Boston Globe · 14 Feb 1918 · Page 5
Back Bay Woman Claims She Secured Divorce to Marry Him
Asks $800,000 in Love
Lost Suit – The Boston Globe · 26 Mar 1918 · Page 8
Mrs. French was the first witness call. “I have been a dressmaker since 1906. April 13, 1897, I married Walter A.
French. In 1901, he separated from me”
she said. I first met Mr. Emery in
1906.
…In the latter part of 1906, I noticed a change in his
attitude about me. He seemed to want to
be in my company.
Engagement Party One
Witness Says/Plaintiff Rest in the French-Emery Case – The Boston Globe · 26
Mar 1918 · Page 2
“O’ she does work, but that won’t be for long and when
affairs are settled, I intend to marry her.”
“Never Saw Any
Improper Conduct” – The Boston Globe – Mar 27, 1918 · Page 2
And you never kissed her, or put your arm around her, or
maintained toward her the closest relations a man may maintain towards a
woman?” “I did not.”
Love Letters in Suit
for $80,000 – Boston Post · 27 March 1918 · Page 5
Letters from Mary French to John Emery
(April 11, 1911) My Dear – Just let me call you that just
once. Don’ look cross. You must think I am a queer little
monkey. Well. I suppose I am, to a
certain degree. The Lord meant me for a
good, sweet woman, and although fate has made it pretty hard, as much as I try
to get away from my beginning, it is simply impossible.
(July 8, 1913) …Please see about my electric bill and send
me that stove. I am still short that
$10. Will you send me a letter with that
amount like dear. I am anxious to get
the stove to cook with.
…You won’t turn me out surely. Thanks ever so much, dear. Bless your dear old heart. Good night.
MF
(March 5, 1915) How if I had sued you for breach of promise,
and you know I would win in any court of justice. And really it is not too late, so maybe when
you think it over you will feel different about things.
…I need a great deal of money to meet expenses with, and
this time of year it comes slowly.
(September 11, 1915) Dear Friend – I have waited anxiously
to hear from you. Now you gave me to
understand that I would hear from you on Friday at the latest. Now I am awfully in need of money and you
promised you would help me the Lord knows you are getting off easy with a few
dollars once in a while which you can well afford and a great many more and not
feel the loss of it. If I were like some
women it would cost you thousands and a lot of notoriety, as I don’t think it
is necessary for me to tell you where you stand, and instead you make promises
you don’t intend to keep.
Didn’t Ask Mrs.
French to Wed Him – Boston Post · 28 Mar 1918 · Page 4
Mr. Emery is now 73 and Mrs. French is 41. According to her contention the proposal of
marriage was made 10 years ago.
Mrs. French Gets
$17,000 Award – Wins breach of promise suit against J.A. Emery.
The Boston Globe · 29
Mar 1918, P. 16
She said she called frequently and on Nov 22, 1907, when she
was at his home, 111 Boyston St., to
consult him about buying dressmaking stock, he proposed marriage. At the time she was married to Walter A.
French and he said it was easy to get a divorce.
Mrs. French Asks New
Trial After Her $17,000 Verdict – The Boston Globe · 30 Mar 1918, P. 14
(Mrs. French) …has filed through her counsel, Fletcher
Ramsey, a motion for a new trial on the ground that the verdict was not
warranted based on the evidence.
Mrs. French’s Award
Held Up – Boston Post · 2 Apr 1918 · Page 3
$17,000 Verdict
Reduced to $5,000 – The Boston Globe · 3 Apr 1918 · Page 16
Judge White then set the sum at $5,000 and gave Mrs. French
one week in which to accept that ruling.
Obituary – John Emery
– The Boston Globe · 29 Mar 1919 · Page 12
Mrs. Mary R. French (Obituary) Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut) · 22 Apr 1932, Fri · Page 4. Mrs. Mary R. French died Thursday at the home of her son. George B. French, 15 Euclid Street. She was born in Nova Scotia. Besides her son, she leaves behind a grandson, J. Spencer French of Hartford.
If you are interested in researching your family history, newspaper accounts can provide a wealth of information. The above referenced clippings were discovered through Newspapers.com by Ancestry.
Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.
As a boy growing up in Wethersfield, Connecticut, I recall two distinct images about our backyard. The first was a weeping willow tree and the second were the massive bloodhounds kept by our neighbor directly behind our yard. What I just discovered was that my father had the neighbor charged and brought to court for “creating a nuisance by harboring barking dogs!” Read the full tale below:
Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut) · 20 Aug 1965
Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.
William Kelsey, my 9th great paternal grandfather, arrived in New England in 1632 and was one of the original founders (proprietors) of Hartford, Connecticut. He was a member of the Braintree Company (Congregation) and a follower of Reverend Thomas Hooker.
Note: William Goodwin, mentioned above, is the brother of my 9th great-grandfather Ozias Goodwin (1595-1683). Ozias was also a Hartford founder.
Bits and Pieces about William Kelsey:
Great Resources for information on William Kelsey and Rev. Hooker:
The Digital Puritan – Thomas Hooker
Janet and Robert Wolfe Genealogy – Notes
Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.
Bigod (Beget/Begatt/Beggett/Baggett) Eggleston was a man with a mysterious name, mysterious origins, and a mysterious marital history… One estimate suggests that Bigod Eggleston is the ancestor of more than 12 million Americans. Founders Series: Bigod Eggleston – Windsor Historical Society
Bigod Eggelston (Egelston), my paternal 9th great-grandfather, was one of the residents of ancient Windsor, Connecticut who took shelter in the Palasado (Palisades) during the Pequot War.
Great information on the history of Windsor, CT. and the Pequot War:
Exploring and Uncovering the Pequot War – Connecticut Explored, 2013
John Mason and His Statue – Windsor Historical Society
Windsor’s Palisade – Friends of the Office of State Archaeology
‘Connecticut’s Jamestown’? An Incident in Wethersfield Nearly 400 Years Ago May Rewrite Early American History – Connecticut Magazine, Mar 2019.
Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.
The Episcopal Parish of St. Gabriel was organized December 14 1842. Its original members were Isaac Underhill, George Spalding, Fitch Bissell, John Spencer (my 2nd great-grandfather), Alonzo M. Smith, Quarles Bedorthy, Samuel Loomis and Henry A. Bliss. The corner stone for the church edifice was laid on the 6th of November 1843 and it was consecrated January 15, 1845. The building is about 48 feet long by 28 feet wide with transepts on each side. The posts are 20 feet high and the body of the church is entirely free from any cross timbers except short hammer beams the roof is very steep and high and its internal finish corresponds therewith being lathed and plastered so as to bow the plates principal rafters arches curves etc., which are of a mahogany color in bold relief and with a very pleasing effect. The cost of the church exclusive of the organ was about $2000 and is said to be unsurpassed for ease of speaking and singing.
Source: (p.58) The History of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut: including East Windsor, South Windsor: By Henry Reed Stiles.
Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.
Eight U.S. Presidents (Barack Obama. George W. Bush, John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt, Rutherford B. Hayes, John Quincy Adams and John Adams) walked through this yard to attend classes at Harvard University. The oldest part, and center of the Harvard University campus, is Harvard Yard.
In 1669, my 9th great paternal grandfather, Richard Champney, referred to as Elder Richard Champney, bequeathed 40 acres of land in Cambridge, near the Falls of Charles River, “as an expression of his willingness to further the education of youth in all godly literature.” A History of Harvard University (1833)
These lands were part of what was called “Cow-yard Row”, where the residents of the Newe Town (renamed Cambridge) kept their cattle at night. Cow-yard Row became known as College Yard and are located in the southern half of present-day Harvard Yard.
It is ascribed that Richard was descended from Sir Henry Champney, “one of the thirty brave warriors who fought at the battle of Hastings, October 14, 1066, under William the Conqueror.” Despite definitive statements that Richard has this important historical credence, there are no sources noted for this assertion. New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial (1913)
Coming as he did in the first decade of the settlement of Massachusetts Bay Colony there is no room to doubt that the first of the Champneys in New England was a sturdy strong willed man whose love of personal liberty far outweighed his regard for personal comforts and sent him across the ocean to worship God as he chose in spite of the hardships his act entailed.
Elder Richard Champney came from Lincolnshire England in 1634 or 1635 (research identifies that he arrived in 1635 on the Ship Defense), and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in 1636 was made a freeman. He was a man of “good understanding and great piety,” and was made a ruling elder in the church, which was organized there. Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire (1906)
This post is best described as a bit-and-pieces story. It was pieced together from the history of Harvard University, New England family histories and Cambridge church histories. Therefore, I apologize, in advance, for any inaccuracies and welcome corrections.
Comments, corrections and and suggestions appreciated.
Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.