"given up by traitors"

 

In my previous post, I wrote about my English royal family connections. This time I'm going to share the stories of two common folk, whose lives were changed tremendously because of their support of the English monarchy--all the more interesting because they were both Scottish.

These men are also notable because they are proper Scots laddies, unlike the many Scotch-Irish families I have in my tree, who lived in northern Ireland for several generations before immigrating on to North America. Readers of this blog will recognize such Scotch-Irish names as Steele, Morrison, Ketchum, and Tolliver.

Even my two closest surnames, those of my mom and dad, Brown and Burnett, are believed to be of Scottish origin, but neither is proven. They continue to be among my highest brick walls. 

My two subjects, Daniel Cone and James Claghorn, share a couple interesting qualities: Scots who were loyal to an English king, and who came to colonial America directly from Scotland. But it's the how and why they came that is the most interesting--along with what came after.

First, though, some historic background. Context is king! But what king, or is there a king at all? That was the real question. The English Civil War raged for almost ten years during the middle of the 1600s. Complex enough to have involved England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland in various combinations, it has been called by different names and even subdivided into three parts. But ultimately it came down to a battle between the Royalists (sometimes called Cavaliers), who favored the monarchy, and the Parliamentarians, AKA the Roundheads, who wanted a republic.

Scotland had long been a separate kingdom from England, and Charles I had ruled over both countries, as had his father, James I before him. When the problems began, the Scots initially supported the Parliamentarians (during the First English Civil War), then switched sides (now we're up to the Second English Civil War) to support Charles I--that is, until his beheading in 1649.

Our fellas show up in the third section, also known as the Anglo-Scottish war, which took place from 1650 until 1652. With the monarchy dissolved, a new republic was formed: the Commonwealth of England. Its head--so to speak--was Oliver Cromwell, who, along with his parliamentary supporters--whatever shape their heads--were wary of Charles I's heir, Charles II coming to power.

Left: Oliver Cromwell, c 1656 by Samuel Cooper
Right: Charles II, c 1653 by Philippe de Champaigne

The Scottish government declared Charles II as King of Scotland in May 1650, then raised an army to fight on his behalf to restore him to the English throne as well. The English army, sixteen thousand men strong, crossed into Scotland that July.

On September 3, 1650, a clash came, and the Battle of Dunbar occurred. It was a resounding defeat for the Scottish Royalists. Outnumbered by over twenty-five percent, many of their best soldiers not present, the Scots were routed. Although only a few hundred died, many more were wounded, and some five thousand Scottish soldiers were taken as prisoners of war, according to accepted history.

A year later--to the day!--was the decisive Battle of Worcester, the end of Scotland as a distinct kingdom, and the end of the "War of the Three Kingdoms," yet another name for the English Civil War. Ultimately, Charles II was restored as King of Britain in 1660, Cromwell having died--in a tremendous, but well-documented coincidence--also on a September 3, this one in 1658.

Where do my ancestors, Daniel Cone and James Cleghorn fit in to all this? They were both at the Battle of Dunbar, and both became Scottish prisoners of war.

Little is known about either of their lives prior to the battle. So little is known about Daniel Cone, one of my 9x great grandfathers, that we don't even know if that is his actual name. Nonstandard orthography accounts for part of it; he is also known as Daniel Mackhoe, or Daniel Colquhoun. There is also a theory that he might have changed his name once in America, as that is where all records show Cone, or, as it appears in his only surviving signature, "Conn." At any rate, he was believed to be born in Edinburgh in 1626, and may have been an officer in the Scottish army. Whatever his rank, he was taken prisoner at Dunbar.

James Claghorn (or Cleghorn), a 10x great-grandfather, provides a bit more detail. He was baptized in Edinburgh on 4 November 1624; his parents are given as Henry and Elspeth Claghorn; her maiden name may have been Herriot or Adamson. The Claghorns of Edinburgh were mostly merchants. James may have been a professional soldier, and may have been living in Yarmouth prior to his capture at the Battle of Dunbar.

So both these men fought, their side lost, they were captured. What next? According to the Scottish Prisoner of War Society,

Captured soldiers traditionally would be ransomed or exchanged, but military leaders feared that healthy men would return to the Scottish army and fight again. The English also did not want to deport Scots to Europe or Ireland, for fear they would join the armies of the Commonwealth's enemies. 

The severely wounded were dismissed, and the remaining prisoners--including Daniel and James--were marched south to Durham. Accounts vary, but it is believed well over one thousand men died en route, and about fifteen hundred were imprisoned at Durham. 

But what happened to the remaining prisoners? Presumably the strongest and healthiest, from Durham they were marched to London, a trip taking almost two months on foot, mistreated and nearly starved along the way. Many died. Once in London, those that were still healthy--perhaps just two hundred or so men!--were sold into slavery or indentured servitude, to be taken to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

One hundred and fifty of those men were put aboard the ship Unity, which departed the port of Gravesend on 11 November 1650 and reached Boston about a month later. Daniel Cone and James Claghorn were two of those unwilling passengers. 

Once arrived, they were sent their separate ways; they had no choice. Daniel Cone was sold to a John Gifford, of "The Company of Undertakers of the Iron Works of Lynn," a business venture founded by John Winthrop the Younger, son of the founding Governor of the Massachusetts Colony, John Winthrop. The first successful iron works in North America had opened in Lynn (now Saugus, Massachusetts) just a few years earlier. The history website MassMoments writes:

There, under oppressively hot, noisy, and dangerous conditions, men turned ore into cast and wrought iron. Although the Saugus Iron Works lasted only 22 years, it laid the foundation for the iron and steel industry in the United States.

It was abandoned and fell into disrepair. In more recent years, it has been restored and open to the public as Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site. Daniel Cone worked there, or possibly another nearby iron works for almost six years. Records of the time are scarce and inexact, the more so as Scots were considered almost less than human. An order from the General Court in May 1652 states, "all Scotchmen, Negroes, and Indians inhabiting with or servants to the English" were to receive military training, presumably to defend--or be cannon fodder for--their betters. 

Your humble blogger at
Saugus Ironworks National Historic Site
in August 2019.

Although alien, they were still part of the community. Historian and genealogist William Saxbe, Jr writes:

Relations with the surrounding Puritan communities were not always smooth: a local observer noted that "At the Iron Works wee founde all the men wth smutty faces and bare armes working lustily.... The headmen be of substance and godlie lives. But some of the workmen be young, and fond of frolicking, and sometimes does frolicke to such purpose that they get before the magistrates. And it be said, much to their discredit that one or two hath done naughtie workes with the maidens living thereabouts."

I cannot vouch for Grandpa Cone's behavior while under indenture. After fighting a bloody battle, imprisonment, and slaving at a foundry, perhaps he deserved a little frolicking. We do know, however, that after being freed (c 1657), he married a young woman from Lynn, Mehitable Spencer (1642 - 1691) in 1661. 

Mehitable was one of the daughters of Gerard Spencer (1614 - 1685). He was born in Bedfordshire, England, and at twenty years old immigrated to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was granted four acres. Within a few years he was married, and living in Lynn, where he operated a ferry. 

By 1662, the Spencer and Cone families moved on, being among the earliest inhabitants of "30 Mile Island," now known as Haddam, Connecticut. They were among twenty-eight families who received this land grant from the Connecticut Colony. I'm glad to say that the land was purchased--not stolen--from the original inhabitants, the Wangunk people.

An early map of Thirty Mile Island, now Haddam, Connecticut.

In 1685, the Cone family, now complete with ten children, moved on again, and were among the earliest inhabitants of East Haddam. Their son, Stephen Cone (1676 - 1 Dec 1758), my 8x gg, went with them, of course, and on 5 February 1702 he married Mary Hungerford (1681 - 17 Mar 1683), daughter of another of East Haddam's founders, Thomas Hungerford (1648 - 11 Jan 1713) and Mary Green (1650 - 1706). 

Below the names of ancestors Daniel Cone and Thomas Hungerford 
are Samuel and William Spencer; they are in-laws of Cone's.

The original Cone home was a log house. The Old Chimney Stacks of East Haddam, by Hosford B Niles, published in 1887, shares this story:

The settlers in those early days used to assemble at times and surround the wolves, starting as far as Middle Haddam, and driving them down on the Neck, where they became good targets for the hunters.

Stephen used to interest his grandchildren by relating how the family often sat on the back door-step and listened to the howling of the wolves as they were driven through the forest. 

I was lucky enough to see the book when visiting the East Haddam Museum & Historical Society in 2019. In a happy coincidence, the docent there who located the book for me was another descendant of Daniel Cone!

Daniel Cone, despite many tribulations, ultimately lived a long, prosperous--and I hope happy--life, dying at age 80 in East Haddam. He is buried in the old cemetery there. Try as I might I could not locate his grave, although I did see those of some of his descendants.

RIP Daniel Cone.

James Claghorn's life took a different path. Upon arriving in Massachusetts, he was indentured to Bernard Lombard, of Barnstable, Massachusetts. Three years later, on 6 January 1654, Claghorn married Abigail Lombard (1634 - 21 Aug 1677). Yes, James married his master's daughter. But the marriage was probably a necessity, as their son, also named James, was born just twenty-three days later. Clearly not Puritans.

While that sinks in, let me tell you about Bernard Lombard, an 11 x great-grandfather, however unwilling. Like others of his era, there are many variations on his surname: Lumbar, Lumbert, Lambert, etc.... Future generations settled on Lombard, so I shall too. He was born in Thorncombe, Dorset, about 1608 to Thomas Lombard. His mother's name is unknown, as Thomas had married three times by that point. Ultimately he had one more wife and at least eight more children, one of whom is another of my direct ancestors, making Thomas both my 11x and 12x great-grandfather on different lines. And this, gentle readers, is what is called "pedigree collapse," a topic I will save for another time. 

Thomas' son, Jedediah Lombard (20 Sep 1640 - aft 1683) is a 10x great-grandfather of mine. Ultimately, Jedediah's great-great grandson, John Lombard, married his brother Bernard's 3x great-granddaughter, Priscilla Harding; so their daughter, Mary "Polly" Lombard (11 Feb 1784 - Oct 1843) is a grandmother of mine two ways. As I've written before, the old joke goes "I'm so New England, I'm my own cousin." Indeed. 

But this is really meant to be James Claghorn's story. So, he had married his erstwhile master's daughter, and had a son very shortly after.  A few years later the family relocated to Yarmouth, a nearby town, and more children followed. Over the generations, the Claghorns prospered and were "very high in social standing," according to one account. Another work, New World Immigrants, Volume 1, edited by Michael Tepper, says this:

He [James] was the ancestor of Colonel George Claghorn, who built the Constitution. It was good sturdy stock that lent its sterling qualities to the native New England strain, and they rendered good accounts of themselves in the Indian, French, and Revolution [sic] wars, in defense of the Colonies. 

Alas, the Lombard stock was not quite as sturdy, or stable. James' wife Abigail, also known as Abiah, is believed to have suffered from an unknown mental illness in her later life. She died by suicide, hanging herself from a beam in their attic on 21 August 1677. She was discovered by two of their children. If you're inclined, you can read more about it in the photo below, beginning midway down the page.

James Claghorn never remarried, and died just a few years later.

from Records of Plymouth Colony,
Court Orders, Volume 5, 1668 - 1678

Showing just what a small world colonial New England was--the entire population was less than 120,000 in 1670--two of the names seen at the top of the page above in an unrelated record are also in my family tree. Constant Southworth (1614 - 1685) and Thomas Huckens (1617 -1679) are a 10x great-uncle and 11x great-grandfather, respectively, although those two lines would not come together until a little over two hundred years later, when on 1 September 1879 Charles A Burnett married Ella Swarts in Spring Lake, Minnesota; they are paternal 2x great-grandparents of mine.

Remarkably (or perhaps inevitably) Charles and Ella are also the direct descendants of this post's subjects, James Claghorn and Daniel Cone, respectively. I am deeply curious if James and Daniel ever actually met. Did they speak on the long march to London from Scotland, or on board the Unity, curious about what might come in the new world? And what might they think had they known that their descendants would, generations later, find each other--in Minnesota?

Of course, not every life is full of second chances, or coincidental meetings and marriages. It was just a few years ago that the world learned what happened to the other, unnamed and unknown Scottish prisoners of war, who were confined at Durham.

In 2013, excavations just outside the Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin, and St Cuthbert of Durham, more commonly known as Durham Cathedral (a World Heritage site) revealed a skull, and other bones. As Archaeology tells us:

Further excavation made clear that the remains were part of a mass grave. "A large number of burials were tightly packed on top of each other with absolutely no artifacts at all--not a pin with them," says [Richard] Annis. "It looked like they had been dropped naked into a pit in some disarray. Some were face up. One was face down. A couple were on their sides, tumbled in." A few feet away, separated by an area that had been disturbed in recent times, the archaeologists found another mass grave. In all, they excavated the remains of somewhere between 17 and 28 people, all male and generally aged 13 to 25, with the majority toward the younger end. "There was very little evidence of healed injury, " says Annis, "so they weren't a bunch of battle-hardened soldiers or anything like that." All of this fits in with what was known of the Scots who had fought in the battle of Dunbar.

Durham Cathedral, and remains of an unknown soldier
photo courtesy "The Daily Express" 24 August 2016

I began this post by glibly saying it was going to be about commoners. Reflecting on the extraordinary lives and experiences of Daniel Cone and James Claghorn, the things they lived through, and the amazing coincidence that their descendants would come together, I realize how very uncommon those men really were.

                                    *                *                *                *           

[For those of you who are more visually inclined, below are two charts that will show the interlocking descendancies of both Charles Burnett and his wife Ella Swarts. One shows how James Claghorn, Jedediah and Bernard Lombard, and Thomas Huckens connect to Grandpa Charles. The other shows the connection Daniel Cone and Constant Southworth have to Grandma Ella.]

"irretrievable" updates

In 2014, I posted a list of vexing brick walls in my family tree. Here is that list, but with more updates. Anyone out there in cyberland who can contribute (or refute) any information about these folks, especially their parents, would be appreciated!

Isaac Burnett (1780? - May 1860), lived most of his life in Newport, Penobscot, Maine. He married Deborah Grindle (25 Feb 1784 - aft 1860) on 23 Dec 1802. I have written about his garbled ancestry elsewhere.
UPDATE: Although no further along with his ancestors, despite some interesting leads, I have at least been able to identify by name all ten of his children, and with the help of a cousin learned that the "S" of his son (and my 3x great-grandfather) Nathaniel's middle name stands for Spalding.
UPDATE: Still nothing new here, despite some interesting leads. I was contacted by a distant cousin--who found me through this blog!--and we are collaborating. In a happy coincidence, he is also a metal-worker, like our common ancestor, who was a blacksmith.

Samuel Squire (1773 - aft 1830); his wife was perhaps named Mary Ann LKU (abt 1775 -  aft 1830). He appears on the U S Federal Censuses from 1800 through 1830, primarily in Madison, Somerset, Maine.
UPDATE: This Samuel has become a lot clearer. His birth and death dates are now known (18 Jul 1768 - 17 Mar 1832), as well as the name of his wife: Rhoda Perham (24 Jul 1772 - 20 Nov 1847). His parents are Samuel Squire (abt 1740 - 3 Apr 1780) and Mary Hildreth (17 Dec 1732 - aft 1770); thus, I have Samuel Squires as 4x, 5x, and 6x great-grandfathers. Although still working on his ancestors, the chain of Samuels appears to be broken, as his father may be a John Squire. Mary's line has opened up several more generations.

Aaron Colman (abt 1783 - aft 1830 15 Jan 1838), and his father, Aaron Colman (? aft 1756 - aft 1820); both residents of Maine, appearing on the U S Federal Censuses from 1800 through 1830 and 1820, respectively. Aaron Colman, junior, was married to Mary "Polly" Lombard or Lumbar.
UPDATE 2025: After many years sifting through garbled data and speculation, new evidence has surfaced proving the wife of Aaron Sr as Eleanor Boynton (4 Feb 1746 - aft 1820) opening up a new branch of my tree.

John Swarts (28 Nov 1795 - 24 Oct 1874), born in Pennsylvania, but living most of his life in Brighton, Kenosha, Wisconsin; and his wife Mary McDonald (abt 1799 - 1893), also born in Pennsylvania.

Anna B. A. "Annie" Miller (Jan 1867 - aft 1920), was born in Germany and arrived in the U S about 1870. She married Dor Henry Eaton (May 1869 - 31 Dec 1945) on 27 Jan 1890, in Minnesota.
UPDATE: Annie was born 28 Jan 1865, in Szczecin, Poland. At the time, it was part of Germany/Prussia. Her parents are August Miller (Aug 1833 - Apr 1924) and Amelia LKU (May 1831 - aft 1910).

Willard Brown (abt 1806 - aft 1860), born in New Hampshire. He married Mary "Polly" Rasey (21 Oct 1808 - 12 Dec 1868) on 17 Nov 1826 in New York.

William Carter (1800 - 30 Mar 1849) and Melinda Johnson (1813 - 1902). Complicated by both a scarcity of information and fairly common names, they were both believed born in Tennessee; she died there, while he died in Missouri.

William Kinman (abt 1830 - aft 1858), born in New York and died in Illinois, and Sarah R Moore (abt 1826 - aft 1875). She was probably born in Ohio (I have one U S Federal census to back that up), and the only reason I have "Moore" is that my maternal grandmother provided it, although she was occasionally wrong about these details. Sarah later married a Walter Reading or Redding (abt 1825 - aft 1875); they lived in Illinois.
UPDATE: Grandma was right: Sarah's last name is "Moore." But almost everything I thought I knew about "William" was wrong, starting with his name. Apparently this 3x gg was actually--for now--Seaborn G Kinman (abt 1816 - abt 1862). I learned all this through an article about his son (and my 2x gg), William Edwin Kinman (17 Mar 1858 - 13 Jun 1925). But nothing is settled yet: for starters, I have found no other records or mentions of a Seaborn G Kinman, although the Illinois Marriage Index does have a Greeham Kinman (G for Greeham?) marrying Sarah Moore on 25 Apr 1852. It could be our guy, although searching "Greeham Kinman" yields no other results either. And to further complicate things, William's brother, Francis Augustine Kinman ( 2 Jul 1853 - 14 Dec 1927), has their father listed as a "Fred" Kinman on his marriage record.  Another example of one document changing everything.

Jesse Toliver (1756 - 4 Mar 1838) and his sister, Lucy Toliver (23 May 1868 - 1832), are both 5x ggs; I have written about them before. There ancestry is confused and unlikely to ever be sorted out, despite many generations trying.
UPDATE: More cousins have surfaced, again through the help of this blog; two of them are other descendants of Jesse, the first I have been in contact with. DNA is helping to crack this family's mystery. We'll see.

Frederick Dillazone Ketchum (6 Apr 1811 - 21 Jan 1888), about whom I have written often. I believe I have discovered his father as Elisha Ketchum (abt 1771 - aft 1840), but yearn to know more about these two, including the identity of Frederick's mother. I would also love to know if "Dillazone" is in fact correct (I no longer know where I first saw it; it may have been another Grandma Brown error), and from where it derives. He was most often referred to as "Capt F D Ketchum."

And speaking of Captains, there is Samuel Cherry (15 May 1756 - 27 Oct 1825), about whom I have also written in one of my earliest posts. His parents, and even his place of birth are a great mystery. It is generally agreed that he was born in Londonderry--but which: Ireland or New Hampshire?

Finally, there is Clarissa Adams (31 Jan 1791 - 7 Feb 1872), daughter-in-law of Capt Cherry, above. She was born in New York, and died in Delaware, Delaware County, Ohio. I have visited and photographed her grave site, which perhaps explains in part her particular appeal for me; that and her potentially historically rich last name! The Cherrys were great patriots, after all....
UPDATE: Another one-document wonder, my lead coming from someone else's query in a genealogy publication, it seems likely that Clarissa is the daughter of a William Adams (dates unknown) and either Polly or Molly Roby (30 Oct 1763 - bef 1855); there are marriage records for them dated 4 Nov 1785 with both variations of her name, and a location of either Chelmsford MA or Dunstable NH. I believe the intentions, which were posted 31 Oct 1785 (and are often erroneously seen as the marriage date) are from Massachusetts, while the wedding itself occurred in New Hampshire.
UPDATE: I was contacted by a possible cousin, who was trying to tie himself to the Adams family. (Snap! Snap!) If his DNA matched mine, we might both have proof of our connection. Alas, nothing was conclusive, and he did not have any information beyond what I already "know."

I have uncovered almost nothing  else about Adams himself, except a few land records of upstate New York, although there was one thrilling tidbit. In 1806, William Adams, a 5x gg, purchased land in what is now Scriba NY, from the estate of Alexander Hamilton. Another brush with greatness.... 

But research is it's own reward, famous kin or not, and you can bet I'm not throwing away my shot at finding more ancestors, and, of course, writing about it.

"These so, these irretrievable"

'Tis the season! We celebrate a birthday on 25 December, ostensibly, and although not expecting messiahs (nor even anyone of Levantine birth), I was curious to see who in my family tree shared that birth date, a similar exercise about which I have posted previously.

Running a quick report, I discovered that Christmas births in my family were not many, and those few that did turn up were usually neither verifiable nor even very likely.

There was undoubtedly Ephraim Davenport (25 Dec 1708 - 11 Dec 1789), a paternal seventh great-father, born in Rhode Island, died in Connecticut. Unfortunately, that is the sum total of what I know about him. He does has a nice headstone, however.

South Street Cemetery, AKA Silver Street Cemetery,
Coventry, Tolland, Connecticut.
photo: VCEastman

After Ephraim, things get sketchy and dubious. For instance, John Maxwell (25 Dec 1775 - 12 Nov 1824), a theoretical maternal sixth great-grandfather, is fairly well-documented. But his son, William Maxwell, from whom I am descended, is generally reported as having been born in 1765, ten years before his father. Or take Richard Gay (25 Dec 1580 - 1693), a purported paternal eleventh great-grandfather. He is seen everywhere online with these undocumented dates, without anyone seeming to question how the old coot lived to be one hundred and thirteen years old....

Anyway. Those of you who pay close attention to details may notice that this post, with its Christmas theme, was in fact published 1 January, my resolution about not procrastinating failing even before the new year began. Which means I will need to focus that much harder on two additional genealogical resolves (none of you reading this having any interest in my more personal goals, I hope): first, to make sure I am documenting and double-checking information as I receive it, so as not to perpetuate these too common, well-meaning familial falsehoods; second, to find a way over some of the most vexing brick walls in my research.

Here is the list, focussed primarily on Americans. Anyone out there in cyberland who can contribute (or refute) any information about these folks, especially their parents, would be appreciated!

Isaac Burnett (1780? - May 1860), lived most of his life in Newport, Penobscot, Maine. He married Deborah Grindle (25 Feb 1784 - aft 1860) on 23 Dec 1802. I have written about his garbled ancestry elsewhere.

Samuel Squire (1773 - aft 1830); his wife was perhaps named Mary Ann LKU (abt 1775 -  aft 1830). He appears on the U S Federal Censuses from 1800 through 1830, primarily in Madison, Somerset, Maine.

Aaron Colman (abt 1783 - aft 1830), and his father, Aaron Colman (? - aft 1820); both residents of Maine, appearing on the U S Federal Censuses from 1800 through 1830 and 1820, respectively. Aaron Colman, junior, was married to Mary "Polly" Lombard or Lumbar.

John Swarts (28 Nov 1795 - 24 Oct 1874), born in Pennsylvania, but living most of his life in Brighton, Kenosha, Wisconsin; and his wife Mary McDonald (abt 1799 - 1893), also born in Pennsylvania.

Anna B. A. "Annie" Miller (Jan 1867 - aft 1920), was born in Germany and arrived in the U S about 1870. She married Dor Henry Eaton (May 1869 - 31 Dec 1945) on 27 Jan 1890, in Minnesota.

Willard Brown (abt 1806 - aft 1860), born in New Hampshire. He married Mary "Polly" Rasey (21 Oct 1808 - 12 Dec 1868) on 17 Nov 1826 in New York.

William Carter (1800 - 30 Mar 1849) and Melinda Johnson (1813 - 1902). Complicated by both a scarcity of information and fairly common names, they were both believed born in Tennessee; she died there, while he died in Missouri.

William Kinman (abt 1830 - aft 1858), born in New York and died in Illinois, and Sarah R Moore (abt 1826 - aft 1875). She was probably born in Ohio (I have one U S Federal census to back that up), and the only reason I have "Moore" is that my maternal grandmother provided it, although she was occasionally wrong about these details. Sarah later married a Walter Reading or Redding (abt 1825 - aft 1875); they lived in Illinois.

Frederick Dillazone Ketchum (6 Apr 1811 - 21 Jan 1888), about whom I have written often. I believe I have discovered his father as Elisha Ketchum (abt 1771 - aft 1840), but yearn to know more about these two, including the identity of Frederick's mother. I would also love to know if "Dillazone" is in fact correct (I no longer know where I first saw it; it may have been another Grandma Brown error), and from where it derives. He was most often referred to as "Capt F D Ketchum."

And speaking of Captains, there is Samuel Cherry (15 May 1756 - 27 Oct 1825), about whom I have also written in one of my earliest posts. His parents, and even his place of birth are a great mystery. It is generally agreed that he was born in Londonderry--but which: Ireland or New Hampshire?

Finally, there is Clarissa Adams (31 Jan 1791 - 7 Feb 1872), daughter-in-law of Capt Cherry, above. She was born in New York, and died in Delaware, Delaware County, Ohio. I have visited and photographed her gravesite, which perhaps explains in part her particular appeal for me; that and her potentially historically rich last name! The Cherrys were great patriots, after all....

Detail of the Cherry family marker, Oak Grove Cemetery,
Delaware, Delaware, Ohio.
photo: Robert Burnett

Will anyone contribute facts about these ancestral ciphers of mine? One hopes so, and wishes that 2014 will bring you each what you are looking for as well!

"...stuff'd with the stuff that is fine"

Alfred Nathaniel Burnett (19 Aug 1883 - 31 Jul 1959), a paternal great grandfather, was by all accounts a very average man. His World War I Draft Registration card states that he was of medium height and medium build, with blue eyes and brown hair. The third of six children, he attended school, worked on his father's farm, and for most of his life lived just a few hours away from where he was born. His mother died when he was fifteen; he was not married until he was twenty-six, to Jennie Arleta Eaton (14 Mar 1891 - 15 Apr 1979).

Jennie Arleta Eaton Burnett & Alfred Nathaniel Burnett,
probably in the late 'forties or early 'fifties.
 It is the only picture I have of him.

He was hard-working all his life. After his marriage, he worked variously as a liveryman, machinist, farmer, and gasoline salesman. It was not until his forties that he could afford to buy, rather than rent, a home for his family. Even into his fifties, he was working sixty hours a week. His final job was as a night watchman.

He was the father of eight children. Like many of his generation, he lost one child, Irvin Claire Burnett (1919- 29 Apr 1922), very young; another son, Charles Victor Burnett (27 Oct 1914 - 7 Feb 1945) was killed in active duty in the Philippines.


Hewitt Cemetery; Hewitt, Todd, Minnesota.
 Photo by Phyllis.

Fort Snelling National Cemetery;
Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota.
Photo by Steve Edquist

Not particularly well-off, not especially educated, his life was not exactly exceptional. There was, at least, one bit of minor glory: his daughter Ella Jane Burnett (1 Jan 1927 - 15 Oct 2012) was the first baby born in 1927 in Todd County, Minnesota, although perhaps some of the credit show go to my great-grandmother....

Researching my great-grandfather, I did not find anything especially compelling about him. He was no doubt a fine and good man, but there was nothing that stood out; nothing, certainly, that would make him an interesting blog post subject. (Although that in itself might make for an interesting rumination; there are, by definition, far more mundane people and stories out there than otherwise: the quotidian as exemplar.... But I digress.)

So poor, ordinary Alf seemed unlikely to ever make it to this blog. Then just a few days ago, with the help of a cousin (thanks, Caralee!), I was able to knock through one of those brick walls that too often occur (especially in my Burnett line), and was able to push past one of his paternal second great grandmothers, Mary Polly Lombard (11 Feb 1774 - Jun 1822).

The key.

And that is when Alfred Nathaniel Burnett became interesting. Knowing who Mary Polly Lombard's parents were led me back several more generations, deep into Maine, then Massachusetts. Soon I was discovering Hamblins, Dunhams, Linnells.... But wait!--these names were already oddly familiar. As well they should be: they were surnames I already knew from Alfred's maternal side. Some (seated) legwork, lots of scribbling and flipping between pages, and at last it all became clear. Sort of.

Take a look: the first group of names are ten generations of Alfred's newly-discovered ancestors on his father's side; the next grouping shows ten generations on his mother's side.
                                                                                        
10. Robert Linnell & Jemimah Howse   James Hamblin & Ann Scott    John Dunham & Dorothy Day   James Hamblin & Ann Scott
9.  John Davis & Hannah Linnell           James Hamblin &                   Mary Dunham                          John Hamblin & Sarah Bearse
8.  Joseph Davis & Mary Claghorn         Jonathan Hamblen &                                                            Esther Hamblin
7.  Capt Simon Davis &                         Priscilla Hamblen
6.  Zephaniah Harding & Mary Davis
5.  John Lombard & Priscilla Harding
4.  Aaron Colman & Mary Polley Lombard
3.  Samuel Squire & Lovina Colman
2.  Nathaniel Burnett & Rachel Squire
1.  Charles Burnett & Ella Swarts (see #1 below)

10. John Dunham & Dorothy Day
9.   John Dunham & Mary Smith               James Hamblin & Ann Scott                    Robert Linnell & Jemimah Howse
8.   Ebenezeer Dunham & Anne Ford        Eleazer Hamlin & Mehitabel Jenkins       Henry Atkins & Bethiah Linnell  
7.   John Doty & Lydia Dunham                Joseph Hamlin & Mercy Howland            Sam'l Atkins & Emmeline Newcomb
6.   Ebenezeer Doty & Mercy Whiton        Southworth Hamlin &                             Tabitha Atkins
5.   Amaziah Doty &                                Bethiah Hamlin
4.   Stephen S Doty & Polly Holmes
3.   Stephen Addison Davenport & Alma Holmes Doty
2.   Charles Swarts & Henrietta Davenport
1.   Ella Swarts & Charles Burnett

As we can see from the admittedly somewhat confusing chart above, Hannah (♂ side) and Bethiah Linnell (♀ side) are sisters; James (♂), John (♂), and Eleazer Hamlin (♀) are brothers; and Mary (♂) and John Dunham (♀) are siblings as well. Alfred has three couples who do double duty as his seventh or eighth great grandparents twice over.

Almost four hundred hundred years ago in Barnstable, Massachusetts--before the U S was even a nation--these various English families married and had children. Over two hundred years--and nine or so generations--later, with no apparent connection in between, two of their descendants met, fell in love, and had children of their own in Minnesota, not long after it became our thirty-second state. One of those kids was my great-grandfather. Wow.

Alfred Nathaniel Burnett: farmer, father, American... and a very special man.


Charles A Burnett (Feb 1856 - 17 Jan 1930) married Ella Swarts (1 Sep 1861 - Apr 1899) on 1 Sep 1879 (her eighteenth birthday!), at Spring Lake, Minnesota.

Alfred Nathaniel Burnett (19 Aug 1883 - 31 Jul 1959) married Jennie Arleta Eaton (14 Mar 1891- 15 Apr 1979), daughter of Dor Henry Eaton (May 1869 - 31 Dec 1945) and Anna B A Miller (Jan 1867 - aft 1920), in 1909 in Minnesota.

Leroy Stanley Burnett (31 Aug 1910 - 11 May 1980) married Hazel Lucille Erickson (6 Sep 1910 - 6 May 2002), daughter of Erick Albert Erickson (28 Aug 1864 - 27 Nov 1948) and Johanna Maria "Marie" Svard (5 Feb 1875 - 28 Apr 1914), on 21 Jun 1933 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Curtis Wayne Burnett (30 Dec 1938 - 3 Aug 2021) married Beverly Alane Brown (8 Aug 1934 - 7 Mar 2010), daughter of Dana Earl Brown (26 Jan 1910 - 10 Sep 1984) and Myrna Margaret Severin (6 Nov 1907 - 12 Jun 1997), on 4 Mar 1961 in Long Beach, California.

Your humble blogger.

"making a fetich of the first rock"

It has been too long since my last post, also timed to a national holiday. Since then, there have been family visits (always nice to spend time with living relatives), a vacation, and a career change. There are two longer posts nearly ready for publication, but I wanted to get this up, brief as it is, reminded by a newly found (albeit distant) cousin--thanks, Heather!

Through Ella Swarts (1862 -1899), a paternal 2x great grandmother, I am descended from four Mayflower families. Her maternal great-great grandparents, Amaziah Doty (1756 – 1833) and his wife Bethiah Hamlin (1758 – 1830) provide the links.

Amaziah’s father was Ebenezer Doty, and through his paternal line we can claim three of those Mayflower folks: Edward Doty, a paternal great-great grandfather; Francis Cooke, father of another paternal great-great grandfather (Jacob Cooke); and Stephen Hopkins, father of a paternal great-great grandmother (Damaris Hopkins, wife of Jacob Cooke).

Edward Doty (? – 1655, one of my 11x great grandfathers)  was one of two indentured servants to Stephen Hopkins, below. Once at Plymouth, he was known as a trouble –maker, involved in numerous disputes and lawsuits in the new colony, which he usually lost. He probably took great joy in the fact that his son married the granddaughter of his former master.

Francis Cooke (1583 – 1663, a 12X great grandfather) was an actual Pilgrim Separatist. His wife’s sister married Jan Lano, whose son Philippe De Lannoy was the progenitor of the Delano family in the U.S. Besides us, other descendants of Stephen Hopkins include Grandma Moses, Orson Welles, and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.

Stephen Hopkins (about 1582 – 1644, also a 12x great grandfather) was not a Pilgrim, but was hired by them to assist in governing the new colony; as such, he was one of the signers of the “Mayflower Compact.” Hopkins was shipwrecked off Bermuda in an earlier expedition, and spent time with the Jamestown colony prior to his boarding the Mayflower. It is believed that his shipwreck experience was the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Tempest. The Hopkins are considered one of the First Families of Virginia.

Amaziah Doty’s wife, Bethiah Hamlin connects us to the last of our Mayflower quartet: John Howland (? - 1672, a 10x great grandfather). Howland was another indentured servant (to John Carver, the first governor of the Plymouth Colony), but became a freeman after Carver’s death. The Howlands had ten children, and founded one of the three most prolific Mayflower progenies. Alongside us, their other descendants include Franklin D Roosevelt, George Bush, Sarah Palin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Brigham Young, and Humphrey Bogart. Others we may count as more distant cousins are Winston Churchill, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford, all of whom are descendants of John Howland’s brother Arnold.

Happy Thanksgiving!


Edward Doty and Faith Clarke
John Doty and Elizabeth Cooke
John Doty and Mehitable Nelson
John Doty and Lydia Dunham
Ebeneezer Doty and Mercy Whiton
Amaziah Doty and Bethiah Hamlin
Stephen S Doty and Polly Holmes
Alma Holmes Doty and Stephen Addison Davenport
Henrietta Davenport and Charles Swarts
Ella Swarts and Charles A Burnett
Alfred Nathaniel Burnett and Jennie Arleta Eaton (great grandparents)

Francis Cooke and Hester Mathieu
Jacob Cooke and Damaris Hopkins
Elizabeth Cooke and John Doty... (see above)

also

Francis Cooke and Hester Mahieu
Jacob Cooke and Damaris Hopkins
Mary Cooke and John Rickard
Johanna Rickard and Elisha Whiton
Mercy Whiton and Ebeneezer Doty... (see above)

Stephen Hopkins and Elizabeth Fisher
Damaris Hopkins and Jacob Cooke... (see above)

John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley
Joseph Howland and Elizabeth Southworth
Mercy Howland and Joseph Hamlin'
Southworth Hamlin and Tabitha Atkins
Bethiah Hamlin and Amaziah Doty... (see above)