Mug of Flip + George Washington

On January 13, 1803, Theodore Hillyer walked into Viets Tavern in East Granby, Connecticut, put 8 pence on the table and had a cup of flip on a cold winter’s day. The tavern owner, Luke Viets, dutifully recorded the transaction in his ledger. We know this because the original ledger and the tavern survive til this day! (Inn’s Ledger Tells of Meals Long Past – Hartford Courant)

Check out the beautifully done Salmon Brook Historical Society Website for more about Granby, CT.

I have no way of knowing if the flip was purchased by my paternal 5th great grandfather Theodore Sr. (1754–1838) or my 4th great grandfather Theodore Jr. (1780–1845).

Flip was the quintessential tavern drink. Its preparation gave an industrious barkeep a chance to show off his steady-handed pour – transferring the mixture of ale and rum between two pitchers until smooth. Finally, a hot “flip dog” poker was plunged into the pitcher, frothing the drink and providing a burnt taste. Versions varied slightly, with the main ingredients of heat, ale, rum, and sweetener (usually molasses) being constant. Eggs contributed to the characteristically smooth texture, though nutmeg might be accompanied or replaced by ginger or lemon peel. Except from Early Connecticut Drinks: The Quintessence of Public Spirit (edible Nutmeg)

Theodore Sr. served in the Revolution during the New York and New Jersey campaigns. It is noted in his war pension application that he fought at the Battle of White Plains (NY). After British forces failed to trap the Continental Army on Manhattan, General George Washington marched north of Manhattan, withdrawing to the hills of the village of White Plains. Depictions of the battle are conflicting if it was a draw or a defeat for the American forces. 13,000 British and German troops against 14,500 Americans, although only around 4,000 on each side were actually engaged. This was the first appearance of Hessian troops deployed by the British.

Comments, corrections and suggestions appreciated.

Integrity of the Union

1861 Print – Shows American eagle in its nest of the American flag, which holds 34 eggs representing the states; the eggs representing the Southern states are cracked, rotten, or have various animals being hatched from them; the eagle says “Annihilation to traitors.” (Library of Congress)

My 3rd great-grandfather, Abiram Spencer (1812-1871) has been the subject of several posts including one about his election to the Hartford, CT City Council in 1860 on the Republican ticket (Wide-Awakes for Abraham Lincoln!). Abiram was one of the over 1,000 men in Hartford signed this (below) petition in November of 1861. The closing line, “Apologists for secession, and sympathizers with treason are not invited” points to the heated emotions of this country in the early months of the Civil War.

Comments, corrections and suggestions appreciated.

What Cute Kids!

My mother and father had back to back birthdays on April 15th and April 16th. Even with a 50/50 chance, I don’t think we ever got the days right.

Mary Kathryn Grace French 1933 – 2004

Photo (left) of Mary on the Connecticut shore (1936-7)

John Spencer French 1931- 2014

Below – Photos of John. In the picture (upper right), John is sitting with his Uncle Orrin’s children (his cousins) William Spencer, Joan Spencer, Marjorie Spencer, John Spencer, and Orrin Jr. (est. date 1934)

1953-4 John’s Korea Photographs

“You Dog, and Damn You, I’ll Inoculate You With This, With a Pox to You!”

This is the first of two posts about Thomas Walter (1696-1722), a 6th great paternal uncle. Thomas was born and spent his life in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He graduated at Harvard in 1713 was a preacher, as was his father Nehemiah, a 1684 Harvard graduate! His wife was Sarah Mather (1671-1746, daughter of Increase Mather (In Cases of Conscience, Increase Mather), and the sister of Puritan Minister Cotton Mather (my 7^th great uncle).

Small Pox – From spring 1721 through the winter of 1722, a smallpox epidemic afflicted Boston. By the end of 1722, over half of the city’s population of 11,000 had been infected and over 800 had died. At the time the only known remedy for smallpox was to quarantine the infected individuals in their homes, with the hope that this would prevent the spread of the disease.

Cotton Mather learned of the practice of inoculation from his slave, Onesimus. According to his diaries, Cotton received Onesimus in 1706 as “a gift” from his congregation. By embracing a little known and controversial treatment, Mather and Onesimus changed the fate of Boston, and ultimately the future of the British colonies.

But the smallpox epidemic of 1721 was different than any that came before it. As sickness swept through the city, killing hundreds in a time before modern medical treatment or a robust understanding of infectious disease, an enslaved man known only as Onesimus suggested a potential way to keep people from getting sick. Intrigued by Onesimus’ idea, a brave doctor (Zabdiel Boylston) and an outspoken minister(Puritan minister Cotton Mather) undertook a bold experiment to try to stop smallpox in its tracks. How an Enslaved African Man in Boston Helped Save Generations from Smallpox (History.com – Erin Blackmore – Feb. 2021)

One of the first inoculated by Dr. Zabdiel Boylston (after his children) was Thomas Walter who stayed at Cotton Mather’s home while he was treated for smallpox. The debate over Cotton’s support for inoculation became so heated that an explosive device was thrown through a window into Cotton’s house (landing in the room where Walter was staying), luckily the device failed to explode. A note attached to the explosive read, “Cotton Mather, I was once of your meeting, but the cursed lye you told of – you know who, made me leave you, you dog, and damn you, I will inoculate you with this, with a pox on you!”

Thomas’ treatment is noted below in Dr. Boylston’s records.

October 31^st (1721), I inoculated the Reverend Mr. Thomas Walter, Mr. Samuel Aspingwall and Mr. Dana, each between 25, and 30, they all had the Smallpox at the usual Time, and of the distinct Sort. Mr. Aspingwall had several restless Nights, which obliged me to give him an anodyne (narcotic pain medicine) for two or three nights following. The other two Gentlemen laughed at him & said he was troubled with vapors. They all in a short time, were well. These Gentlemen came from Roxbury into Boston to be inoculated, and lay in one Room; and their Recommendation of this Practice, at their return proved to be of great Service to that Town, in carrying the Inhabitants soon thro’ that distemper, and in saving many Lives, if I may be allowed to judge from the Success of the different Ways of Infection, viz. out of the first thirteen men and they chiefly heads of Families who had the Smallpox in the natural way, ten of them died; and in above 40 Men that were inoculated at or near the same Time, in the same Town, not one Man died.

Comments, corrections and suggestions appreciated.

Not Just a Southern Thing

Slavery developed hand-in-hand with the founding of the United States, weaving into the commercial, legal, political, and social fabric of the new nation and thus shaping the way of life of both the North and the South. Myths & Misunderstandings: The North and Slavery (The American Civil War Museum)

Recently, I helped a family friend research her family history in the southern states of Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee and North Carolina. Her understanding was that her father’s forebears were just “hard working, poor dirt farmers” (which they were). Going back past her great-great grandparents, I did identify a handful of families that worked/owned small farms and owned slaves. So we both share the fact that in our distant past, we are the descendants of slave owners, a discovery that we share with President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and countless others.

The truth is that slavery was not just a “southern thing” and that it wasn’t until 1804 that all of the Northern states had abolished slavery or set measures in place to gradually abolish it. The 1754 Massachusetts slave census listed 2,720 slaves (Children under 16 were not counted). The census for Lexington listed 13 men and 11 women as slaves. Slavery was not abolished in Massachusetts until 1783.

In Servants For Life, I wrote about my 6th great paternal grandparents, Jonathan Bowers (1674-1744) and Hannah Barrett Bowers (1679-1765), who were slave owners in Billerica, Massachusetts. In a separate post about my 4th great-grandfather, Bildad Fowler, I noted his witnessing a bill of sale for the purchase of a slave (Pegg) in 1761. (Connecticut “the Georgia of the North” – Witness to Slavery)

I recently discovered that my 7^th great uncle, Francis Bowman Jr. (1662-1744) of Lexington (MA), was the owner of four slaves: Battiss, Phylliss, Pompy and Domini. His biography states, that “he was a prominent man in Lexington, long holding the offices of justice of the peace, assessor, selectman, and assessor.” I was unable to ascertain if his brother (and my 7th g-grandfather), Joseph Bowman also owned slaves.

Trivia – Joseph Bowman is the 6th great grandfather of actor John Lithgow, which makes him a distant cousin of mine!

Comments, corrections and suggestions appreciated.

Ho Ho No? Christmas in New England

The latest podcast by Jake Sconyers and Nikki Stewart at HUB History, The Original War on Christmas, is a well-researched story that prominently features the sermons of Increase and Cotton Mather. Definitely a must-listen this holiday season for history buffs.

Celebrating Christmas was against the law for decades, and it was against cultural norms for a century or more. What were the Puritans’ theological misgivings about Christmas? (The Original War on Christmas)

Puritan Minister Increase Mather (1639-1723) is my 8th great paternal grandfather and his son, Cotton, would be my 7th great-uncle. (My post about Increase Mather’s role in the Salem Witch Trials and his service as president of Harvard College – In Cases of Conscience, Increase Mather)

Quotes from Increase Mather expressing his beliefs about Christmas:

Christmas occurred on December 25 not because “Christ was born in that month, but because the heathens’ Saturnalia was at that time kept in Rome, and they were willing to have those pagan holidays metamorphosed into Christian [ones].”’
He referred to December as Mensis Genialis, ‘the Voluptuous Month.’

Grace Defended, A Censure on the Ungodliness

A Sermon Preached on the Twenty-Fifth Day of December 1712, by Cotton Mather:

“Can you in your Conscience think, that our Holy Savior is honoured,” he lectured, “by Mad Mirth, by long Eating, by hard Drinking, by lewd Gaming, by rude Revelling; by a Mass fit for none but a Saturn, or a Bacchus, or the Night of a Mahometan Ramadam?” “You cannot possibly think so!“

Comments and suggestions appreciated.

Rowdiness in Massachusetts Bay Colony

Nathaniel Bowman, my 9^th great grandfather (paternal) was born in Leek, England in about 1605 and immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in I630. Nathaniel, a yeoman, was one of the original settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts. In 1652, Nathaniel moved to the Shawshine division in Cambridge (Lexington) where he farmed on 20 acres. Descendants of Nathaniel resided in Lexington for over 250 years and his g-g-grandson Ebenezer Bowman was one of the militia that stood on Lexington Common (only 17 years old) and witnessed the “shot hear round the world.” (Check out this previous post: The Shot Heard Round Buckman Tavern)

“There is also no evidence that (Nathaniel) Bowman ever joined the church in Watertown or Cambridge; this is partly indicated by the fact that he applied for freemanship in 1630, but never became a freeman, which after May 1631 required church membership.” (Great Migration Study Project)

Nathaniel’s story, while remarkable in his decision to risk venturing across the ocean to start a new life, was largely uneventful with little actual documentation. What makes him interesting is the mystery of a court confession attributed to him and sold at auction for $2,000 in 2016.

However, the true culprits appear to be his son Nathaniel Jr. (1641-1707) and his daughter Johanna (1642-1682), Cambridge “townies,” who were caught carousing with Harvard University students in 1662. They were ordered to appear before the Middlesex Court, as described below, that later resulted in a signed confession by Nathaniel Jr. I was unable to uncover a record of any fines or other punishment by the court against Nathaniel or Johanna.

An edited version of the document reads: “The humble acknowledgment of Nathaniel Bowman humbly confesses in answer to what is charged against him by this Honored Court that he desires heartily to be sorrowful that he was so far overtaken in being in both such company & whereas so much dishonor came to God; and so much ca[u]se of offence to his people and trouble to this Honored Court; with thankfulness to the Honored Deputy for his good advice, which through the grace of God I hope will work a better change in my heart. So craving humble pardon from the Honored Court, for the offenses done.”

Comments, corrections and and suggestions appreciated.

A Sordid Tale – George Mitton

I have been fortunate in the exploration of my family history to uncover individuals who bravely faced the British on the Lexington Common and documented others who served in World War I and II, the Korean War and Spanish-American War. I have shared stories about individuals who worked as midwives, farmers, tavern owners, tailors, preachers, teachers, and many who were elected to serve their communities or faith.

My family tree consists of well over 1,000 individuals and a couple branches extend over 10 generations. Until now, I never crossed paths with an individual whose actions were so abhorrent that I wish I could just shake from my family tree. The person that I am referring to is George Mitton, my 10^th great grandfather, who was born 25 August 1617 in Shrewsbury, England and died in 1660 in Falmouth, Maine.

George Mitton was married to Elizabeth Cleeve (1619-1691). Elizabeth’s father, George Cleeve, came to New England in 1630 and in 1632 established a settlement called Casco, later to be named Portland, Maine. George was also commissioned as Deputy President of the Province of Lygonia. A statue of George Cleeve stands on the Eastern Water front on private land in Portland. The statue was not accepted by the city council who claimed, without evidence, that Cleeve may have owned a slave.

The Great Migration Begins by Robert Anderson, pp. 385-6

The following is the sordid tale of George Mitton and his betrayal of his neighbor Richard Martin, which led to the death of a child and the hanging of Mary Martin. Richard Martin, a destitute merchant, returned to England and placed his daughter Mary in service as a servant to his neighbors, George and Elizabeth Mitton. Mary was 22 at the time and George (29) proceeded to “seduce” her, resulting in her becoming pregnant and later taking the life of her own child. There is no record of George Mitton suffering any consequences for his adultery, the death of his child or actions that led to the death of Mary Martin.

Portland in the Past by William Goold (1886)

Comments, corrections and and suggestions appreciated.

Walter and Minnie – 2 Peas in a Pod

How is that to catch your attention? The person making the declaration was my great grandmother Mary “Minnie” MacEachern French who was calling out her husband, Walter A. French, for being a bigamist. The irony in all of this is that Minnie was, just a few years later, involved in a sensational court case against a wealthy Bostonian for breach of promise – to wed! Into the Breach-Promises, Promises. The newspaper articles highlighted in this post can be viewed in their entirety below. They are a great read!

Walter’s Tale

Walter Abram French was born in January 1877 to Horace and Laura Foster French in Medford, Massachusetts.
May 1896, his mother, Laura French, passed away.
April 1897, Walter marries Minnie MacEachern. (Hello Minnie)
January 1898, Walter has a son (my grandfather), George French, in Boston with Mary “Minnie” MacEachern. Minnie, originally from Nova Scotia, was working as a dressmaker in Boston. Walter was employed as a wagon maker.
June 1899 – Birth of Horace French to Walter and Minnie. No additional record of Horace has been discovered, he likely died as an infant.
1899/1900 – Walter abandons Minnie and Walter and moves to New York.
1903 – June – Walter marries Sadie Elizabeth Thayer in New York. They have a son, Walter Cornelius, born in November 1903.
1907 – Walter, Sadie and Walter Jr. move to Hartford, Connecticut. (1907/8 – at some stage they board at home of Dr. Froelich)
1908 – In Hartford, Walter files for bankruptcy with business partner James Tilden (d.b.a. Auto Body and Top Manufacturing Company). Walter claimed that Tilden had assumed all financial responsibilities and he did not respond to additional court inquiries.
1909 – Sadie separates from Walter.
April 1910 – Walter is living in Red Bank, New Jersey with his son, Walter Jr. Walter files a $25,000 lawsuit against Dr. Charles Froelich for “alienation of his wife’s affections.” Walter skips town in dark of night without paying his rent.

May 1910 – After being requested by the court to clarify the date of his “marriage” to Sadie Thayer and if he was legally divorced from Minnie, Walter drops the case.

The last trace of Walter was a September 1918 WW I draft registration card that lists him living in New York City and working as an oil operator.

What about Sadie? By 1915, Sadie had returned to Brooklyn with her son Walter C. and was running a boarding house with 14 tenants. In 1918, she married Michael Schroeder, an immigrant from Luxembourg and they had a daughter (Dorthy) together. Sadie passed away in 1944.

Notes/Questions:

While the article (Declares Red Bank) closes by stating that Sadie and George have a little daughter, all evidence points that it should have stated they had a little son, not a daughter.
Did my grandfather, George, ever know he had a half brother?

Comments, corrections and and suggestions appreciated.