james torrey (1613-1665)

I have spent some time trying to figure out where and how my immigrant ancestor, James Torrey of Combe St. Nicholas, Somerset, England, settled in Scituate, MA.  The first place I go to look for information for an ancestor from this time period (1600's) is the Great Migration Series from NEGHS; unfortunately he is not included in this series.  However; there are many local history books which include James Torrey, some with conflicting or unsourced information.  My goal is to try to sort out the information I found in these sources with primary documentation of land deeds and probate records.

birth
We know the approximate year of birth from the will of his brother in law William Hatch Jr. found in the Plymouth County Probate Records of Massachusetts (Vol 2 p 44).  In this document, James testifies that he is 44 years old in 1657; which would make his birth year around 1613.  There are also many written histories which include the Torrey family's lineage to England.  A transcription of the wills for the parents of James Torrey are included the ancestry database, North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000, (originally from the book, Captain John Grout of Watertown and Sudbury...p 97).  This source states that James and his siblings William, Phillip, Joseph, Anne, Mary and Sarah are from Combe St. Nicholas, England.  Their father is Phillip Torrey and mother is Alice Richards.

immigration
In the Plymouth Colony Records (New Plymouth 111), James Torrey gives testimony that he was on the same ship as John Ames.  After doing a quick google search for John Ames genealogy, some histories have John Ames (of Duxbury and Bridgewater) arriving on the ship Hercules in 1634/1635.  However; he is not listed on the Hercules passenger list.  I have not found any documentation as to when John Ames arrived in New England.  In the book, The Seventeenth-Century town records of Scituate, Massachusetts, Volume 1, (Scit R) the author (Jeremy Bangs) lists 171 people living in the town of Scituate (names that were in town records and Lothrop's church records) between 1633-1639, and James Torrey is not listed (p 24).  Looking through the Plymouth Colony records, I find that James Torrey starts showing up in the Scituate records in 1643. 

land
Whenever I research a New England ancestor, I am always most interested to see where their homestead was; perhaps because I am local to the area.  Looking through the records of Plymouth Colony and The Seventeenth-Century town records of Scituate, Massachusetts (Scit R), there are land transactions involving James Torrey that give some identifying information which may be helpful locating his homestead on a map. 

hobart's landing:
The first record of James Torrey owning land in Scituate comes from a deed dated 1643 listed in the book, The Seventeenth-Century town records of Scituate, Massachusetts where James purchases 8 acres of upland from John Stockbridge.  This land is bounded by a "swamp to the north; Thomas Robinson's land to the south; the highway between it and James Torrey's land to the east; Thomas Chambers' land to the west."  (Scit R p.209) This is not enough information for me to place the land on a map.  Looking further through the records in this book; however, I came across another transaction which involves James' sister in law, Abigail Hatch (his wife Anne's brother's wife).  Abigail sells 13 acres in 1657, that is bounded by the highway and Thomas Robinson's land on the west, James Torrey on the north, William Witherell on the east, and the North River on the South. (Scit R p.155)   Although the North River is large, we now have a general area of Scituate to place James.  We get another clue though from another transaction when Thomas Robinson sells some of his land to John Otis in 1660.  The record states this land is near the North River and Stony Brook, and bounds Thomas Chambers to the west, to the east and north to James Torrey's land.  (Scit R p.158).  So James Torrey's land is north of the North River and near Stony Brook.  Then in 1664, the town grants to James Torrey, all the common land on the southerly side of his field in front of his house, which is between the field and the land James Torrey bought from Walter Hatch to the north and south, Rotten Marsh Swamp to the east and the way to the west.  (Scit R p. 253-254)  According to The History of Plymouth County, Massachusetts... on ancestry.com, Rotten Marsh Swamp is between Stockbridge's Mill and Little's Bridge (p438).

This location coincides with the description given in the North America, Family Histories database on ancestry, which states his house "stood 10 rods south of the gate that leads to Hobart's Landing".  Below is a map of Hobart's Landing from the book, History of Shipbuilding on North River....,  which includes the North River, Little's Bridge, and Stony Brook.

Looking through the later deeds in Plymouth County, it seems James' son James was eventually in possession of this land, which was then handed down to his children (immigrant James' grandchildren). (see note 1).  James' other sons were granted land elsewhere from the town of Scituate.  (see note 2)

two mile grant:
There is another area of land in Scituate that James Torrey owned.  There are two land transactions recorded for James that do not seem to be from the Hobart's Landing area described above.  One is in 1654, when James Torrey sells 40 acres of upland and meadowland to his brother-in-law, Walter Hatch.  (Scit R p.151).  This land is described as bounded to the west, south and north to Walter Hatch's land and to the east to common land.  This transaction also mentions land near Richard Curtis and Thomas Byrd and a little creek.  Another transaction between Walter Hatch and James Torrey occurred in the same year, this time with James Torrey purchasing 1.5 acres from Walter.  This land is described as bounded to the south to Walter Hatch's meadow, the north to marsh of James Torrey, east to Walter Hatch and west to the North River.  (Scit R p.289) With the North River to the west of this land, it seems it is not in the same location as James' homestead.

At this time in Scituate, there is an area which has the North River to the west.  In 1640, the Plymouth Court granted to the people of Scituate more land to the east of the North River because there were general complaints about the quality of the current land in Scituate. This was known as the Two-Mile Grant. (Scit R 31).  According to the book, The Red House, Walter Hatch did build a house in this area.  This book also discusses the land that Walter Hatch bought from James Torrey as being in the area of the Two-Mile Grant.  (Another book also discussed this area, The North River: Scenic Waterway of the South Shore).  The map below is from the book The Seventeenth Century Town Records of Scituate..., and delineates the Two-Mile Grant, which now lies in Marshfield, as number 61.  The area is now a Reservation that is accessible to the public known as the Two Mile Farm.

As with the Hobart's Landing area, this land also seems to have been handed down to James' son, James; who then handed it down to his children through deeds before his death.  (see note 3)

The Google Map below shows where I have marked both areas of James Torrey's land.  The smaller northern area is the Hobart's Landing area where I believe James resided.  The larger shaded area is an estimation of the entire Two-Mile Grant where James owned and sold land.







Notes:

1. Some of James' 2nd children (James, Joseph, William and Eunice) received the land in Hobart's Landing area in the early 1700's.  (Plymouth County Deeds 14,271; 14,240). James 2nd also sold some of this land to Joseph Neal (Plymouth County Deeds 14,159) and gave some to his wife Eunice and his daughter Eunice (Plymouth County Deed 9,415).  It seems likely to me that this is where my immigrant ancestor, James Torrey, resided. 
2. The immigrant James Torrey had 5 sons, James, William, Joseph, Jonathan and Josiah.  Looking at the deeds, his eldest son James seems to have received most of his land; which was then handed down to most of his children - see note above.  Immigrant James died unexpectedly in an explosion accident, and left no will. After James' death, in 1665, the town granted to James' four youngest sons 200 acres lying above Weymouth.  (Historical Sketch of Abington p 16).  One of those sons, Jonathan, is my direct ancestor who removed to Weymouth. Two of these sons also granted or bought land in Scituate.  Josiah resided near Dead Swamp; which is Torrey Pond now, north of the Two Mile Grant.  Joseph resided near Hooppole Hill, which is to the west of his brother Josiah's residence in Dead Swamp.  There is currently a Hoop Pole Lane in this area of Scituate.  At Joseph's death, he gives his brother Josiah his house and 2 acres in Scituate.  There is not much information on the other son, William.  He is not mentioned in his brother Joseph's will, when all the other siblings are mentioned; so he may be deceased by then, 1714. 
3. James Torrey 2nd, also handed down the land in the Two - Mile Grant area to his sons.  James Torrey 3rd had land to the east of the North River (Plymouth County Deed 8,183).  Nathaniel Torrey may have had two areas of land, one probably to the east of the North River, near his brother Joseph Torrey (Plymouth County Deed 11,257), which Nathaniel sold to Isreal Hatch (14,205).  Nathaniel also received land west of the North River and west of James Torrey 3rd land (Plymouth County Deed 12,22), which he sold to Ebenezer Pinance in 1715 (16,8). There was a creek above the first area of Nathaniel Torrey's land (maybe hatch mill creek) and then above the creek was land that Joseph Torrey received (Plymouth County Deed 11,257).  Joseph also sold his land to Isreal Hatch in 1716 (14,205).  To the south of Joseph and Nathaniel Torrey's land was the meadowland of Walter Hatch; which is probably the general area where Walter built his historical house in 1647, the Red House at 385 Union St., now part of Marshfield.  

lucy ann holbrook torrey (part 4 of 4)

civil war

The civil war began when Lucy was about 35 years old, which means she probably had family members that fought in the war.  I did a search on the U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles database on ancestry.com for anyone that lived in Weymouth, MA with Lucy's maiden name of Holbrook, her married name of Torrey, and her mother's maiden name of Bates; leaving the first name blank.  The following is a list of the names that came up that I also had in my family tree related to Lucy. (note 1) 

Lucy’s brother Jeremiah Holbrook

• Enlisted in Company G, Massachusetts 4th Heavy Artillery Regiment on 09 Aug 1864.
• Mustered out on 17 Jun 1865 at Washington, DC.

Lucy's brother-in-law (Nathaniel's brother) Franklin Sumner Torrey

• Enlisted in Company G, Massachusetts 4th Heavy Artillery Regiment on 09 Aug 1864.
• Mustered out on 17 Jun 1865 at Washington, DC.

Lucy’s cousin George A Holbrook (Uncle Oran Holbrook’s son)

• Enlisted in Company H, Massachusetts 12th Infantry Regiment on 26 Jun 1861.
• Mustered out on 08 Jul 1864 at Boston, MA

Lucy’s cousin Charles E Holbrook (Uncle Oran Holbrook’s son)

• Commissioned an officer in Company B, New Hampshire 14th Infantry Regiment on 09 Oct 1862.
• Promoted to Full 1st Lieutenant on 04 Apr 1863
• Mustered out on 23 Apr 1864
• Lived in NH and Vermont

Lucy’s cousin Quincy Holbrook (Uncle Daniel Holbrook’s son)

• Enlisted in Company A, Massachusetts 60th Infantry Regiment on 18 Jul 1864
• Mustered out on 30 Nov 1864 at Indianapolis, IN

Lucy’s cousin William Augustus Holbrook (Uncle William Holbrook’s son)

• died in war
• Enlisted in Company E, Massachusetts 4th Cavalry Regiment on 27 Jan 1864.
• Mustered out on 22 Aug 1864 at David's Island, NY Harbor.

Lucy's cousin once removed Samuel Addison Bates (Uncle Elijah Bates grandson)

• Enlisted in Company H, Massachusetts 12th Infantry Regiment on 26 Jun 1861
• Mustered out on 02 Jan 1863
• Enlisted in Company F, Massachusetts 2nd Heavy Artillery Regiment on 10 Sep 1864
• Mustered out on 26 Jun 1865 at New Berne, NC

Lucy's cousin once removed George E Bates (Uncle Elijah Bates grandson)

• Enlisted in Company K, Massachusetts 24th Infantry Regiment on 14 Mar 1864
• Mustered out on 20 Jan 1866 at Richmond, VA.

Lucy’s cousin James Lawrence Bates (Uncle Elijah Bates' son)

• Commissioned an officer in Company H, Massachusetts 12th Infantry Regiment on 26 Jun 1861.
• Promoted to Full Major on 05 Aug 1862
• Mustered out on 05 Aug 1862
• Commissioned an officer in Company S, Massachusetts 33rd Infantry Regiment on 06 Sep 1862.
• Promoted to Full Colonel on 09 Sep 1862
• Mustered out on 18 Sep 1862
• Commissioned an officer in Company S, Massachusetts 12th Infantry Regiment on 19 Sep 1862.
• Mustered out on 08 Jul 1864 at Boston, MA
• Promoted to Brevet Brig-General on 13 Mar 1865

James Lawrence Bates

notes:
1.  This is not an exhaustive list as I limited my search to only three surnames, leaving out any sisters with children of a different name.  I also limited my search to those living in Weymouth.  I just wanted a quick list of those that Lucy may have had close contact with.

lucy ann holbrook torrey (part 3 of 4)

Lucy's illness

Lucy's life takes a turn for the worse by the time of the 1870 census, at age 44, when she is listed as insane. The only clue I have to her insanity is from the 1880 Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes. (note 1)

From lucy holbrook blog post

This census lists Lucy as being in the following asylums; Taunton, South Boston and Worcester. By 1880 she had spent 12 years of her life in asylums according to this census, and was last discharged in 1879. There is also a checkmark in the column of homicidal. It sounds as if Lucy had some serious mental health issues, and probably did not have the best of life living in asylums during this time period. I would very much like to obtain her health records, and have read online that some people have had success getting records from the Worcester Hospital.

I do not know how long Lucy stayed at home after her 1879 discharge, but by the 1900 census, her husband had died and she is a patient at the Worcester Insane Asylum again. She is also a resident of this asylum in the 1910 Census.

There are some probate records for Lucy listed in the Norfolk County, MA Probate Index on ancestry.com during this time of illness.  I ordered these documents some time ago, hoping to find some more information on Lucy's medical condition. The documents did not provide any detail in this respect, but did show when Lucy was declared insane along with some guardian information and land ownership information.  The following is a breakdown of her probate records:

• May 12 1869 : Lucy is declared insane and her husband, Nathaniel R. Torrey, is declared her guardian of person and estate
• May 12 1869 : Nathaniel possesses "certain real estate...in which his said wife is entitled to a jurisdiction right of dower and homestead and that he is desirous of selling from time to time...he prays that he may be authorized to release all said jurisdition rights of dower and homestead of his said wife that he may sell or mortgage within the next 5 years." (includes a "schedule A" which documents location of land (note 2 and map below).  The court grants Nathaniel's request to release authorization to him.
• Oct 6 1874 : Nathaniel petitions the probate court and is granted that he be authoized to sell to Alveh Raymond... "real estate with a dwelling house and / Barn thereon, situated in said Weymouth, / On the corner of Park Avenue and Pleasant / Street, and occupied by Alveh Raymond Jr" (highlighted on map below)
• September 13 1882  case number 18598 Nathaniel petitions the probate court and is granted that he be authroized to sell to J. Shores...  "John F Shores of / Said Weymouth holds against him a / Bond for a deed of about five eights of / An area of land situated on Union / Street in said Weymouth with a small / Dwelling house and barn thereon" (J Shores lives next to Nathaniel and Lucy Torrey on the 1876 weymouth map above)
• March 1898 case number 33415  new gaurdianship, as Nathaniel R. Torrey is deceased.  Gaurdianship granted to Nathaniel A. Torrey and George W. Torrey, sons.
• August 1899 Nathaniel A Torrey petitions court to sell land of his deceased father..."
  That an advantageous offer has been made to your petitioner for said estate to wit, the sum of / Six hundreddollars over and above an existing mortgage of sixteen hundred dollars,
  That theinterest of all parties concerned will be best promoted by an acceptance of said offer, and / That it will be for the benefit of said ward that her interest therein be sold, and the proceeds / Thereof putout on interest or invested in some productive stock, for the reason that she is / Now without other means of support at the insane asylum."

Lucy probably resided at the Worcester Insane Asylum until her death in 1912, as her death record is from Worcester. The cause of death is listed as dementia praecox, with a contributory cause of broncho-pneumonia.  While she was in Worcester, three of her children passed away.  George Wilbur Torrey died of pneumonia in 1901, Lucy Jenny Torrey died at the Westborough Insane Asylum in 1903 of tuburculosis, nepritis, and pneumonia, and Nathaniel Austin Torrey died of heart disease in 1909. 

Lucy's death record states that Lucy was buried in South Weymouth.  Her two remaining children, Lydia and Henry (my 2nd great grandfather) must have been responsible for making sure she was brought back home and buried with her husband at Elmwood Cemetery on Union Street in South Weymouth. 

From lucy holbrook blog post

websites of interest:
1. Worcester insane asylum pictures from 1948 Life Magazine article on Opacity website.
2. Wikipedia article on Worcester Insane Asylum

notes:
1.  U.S. Federal Census - 1880 Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes : National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Nonpopulation Census Schedules for Massachusetts, 1850-1880: Supplemental Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes; Year: 1880; Roll: 35; Publication Number: T1204. ancestry.com

2.  Schedule A of Lucy's probate describes land that Nathaniel wants authorization over, but Lucy has rights to according to dower and homestead.  " One undivided fifth part of all the real estate which I inherited from my father Josiah Torrey late of Weymouth deceased intestate..."

• "being about seven acres of land with the buildings thereon and bounded as follows mainly / Northerly by land of Alvah Raymond and Park Avenue / Easterly by land of Alvah Raymond and Pleasant Street / Southerly by land of Elijah Bates, westerly by land / of George Holbrook and widow Noah Torrey" (highlighted on old Weymouth map of 1876 below - after Nathaniel sells to Alveh Raymond, looks like Jospeh Emmons Torrey, Nathaniel's cousin, is living next to this property)
• "Also 1 piece of land continuing one and half / acres bounded as follows / Northerly by Prescott Torrey and Land of R. S. White / Easterly by land of Jacon Holbrook / Southerly by Park Avenue / Westerly by Pleasant Street" (highlighted on weymouth map below : near ps torrey)
• "Also / 1 piece wood bottom containing about 7 acres / in south Weymouth on what is called mosquito plan"
• "Also / eight aces wood bottom on pine hill in Hingham / bounded as follows northely by land of heirs of David Whitman / Easterly by land of Daniel Holbrook / Southerly by land of Abner Curtis / Westerly by land of Jason Holbrook" (I have not been able to find this land on the 1879 Hingham map - Pine Hill is the southern most hill of World's End in Hingham - but none of the above names are on the Hingham map in that area)
• "Also / 1 pew in the congregational Church / South Weymouth"

some of Nathaniel Torrey's land in Weymouth as noted in Schedule A of Lucy's Probate records

From lucy holbrook blog post

to do:
1. Obtain Lucy's medical records. (Shirley Burchfield posted on an online forum about obtaining records from the Worcester Insane Asylum : "[you need to be]appointed a "volunary executor" for medical records only. This entailed driving to the City Hall, getting the death certificate, walking next door to the courthouse and filling out the paperwork, handing over $120 and within minutes, I was appointed her voluntary executor. I then just needed to mail a copy of the death certificate, together with the court order to Worcester State Hospital and within 6 weeks I had most of her records. ") Sounds promising!  I have already ordered a certified copy of Lucy's death certificate online through Worcester Vital Records department.

lucy ann holbrook torrey (part 2 of 4)

family life

Lucy Ann Holbrook married Nathaniel Rodney Torrey when she was 18 years old in Weymouth, MA on November 23, 1845. The 1850 census shows that the newly married couple may have stayed in the same house that Lucy grew up in, as they are listed in the same household as her mother Hannah Holbrook, age 63. (note 1)

From lucy holbrook blog post

By this date, Lucy and Nathaniel had already suffered the loss of their first child, Nathaniel, at the age of 1 year and three months from dysentery. (note 2)  Having her mother with them probably provided Lucy with some support during this difficult time.

Lucy and Nathaniel had six more children after the loss of their first child. I have found some confusing information on two of their daughters, Mary and Lydia.  The different records show they were born in the same year, only three months apart.(note 3)  The 1860 census lists Lydia, but not Mary.  Lucy's mother Hannah is also not listed on the 1860 census, as she died in 1852.  In 1870, Lucy is 43 years old and is living with her husband Nathaniel and all of her children, except Mary who again is not listed.  The oldest, Nathaniel, is 19 years old, and the youngest, Henry, is 10.  Considering the time period, Lucy stopped having children at a fairly young age of 33.   

Ancestry.com has two helpful databases which show where Nathaniel and Lucy's house may have been located. The Massachusetts City Directories and the Historic Land Ownership map database. The 1873 directory for Weymouth shows Nathaniel living on Union Street in South Weymouth, near the Abington Line. I do think this is the house that Lucy grew up in, as her mother's death record states that Hannah was born and died on Union Street. The map for Weymouth lists the landowners in 1876. Nathaniel is marked as R Torrey for Rodney Torrey, on Union Street, very close to the Abington line, as the directory also stated.

I experimented with Google Earth a little, using the historical Weymouth map as an overlay to find the location of Nathaniel Rodney Torrey and Lucy's house on Union Street.  I did not want to embed the kmz file onto this page, as I thought it would slow down the loading of the webpage.  If you would like to see the overlay on Google Earth, just click on this file to open it.  The Google Earth program must be on your computer first.

The Weymouth map from 1876 shows that Nathaniel and Lucy lived in an area which later became the Weymouth Naval Air Station.  It is still labeled as such on the google map below, but the Air Station has since closed.  The marker I have placed is the approximate location of Nathaniel and Lucy's house, using the map as an overlay to pinpoint the location.  The old Weymouth map shows Union Street branching off a little bit to the southwest, where the blue marker is.  This part of the road no longer exists, probably removed with the houses when the Air Station was built.

Google Map with approximate location of Nathaniel and Lucy Torrey's house 1876

View Nathaniel Torrey and Lucy Ann Holbrook Torrey in a larger map

The 1876 weymouth map also shows that Lucy lived on the same street as some of her relatives, mostly on her father, James Holbrook, side.  Her cousin Ann Payne (Aunt Lydia Holbrook's daughter), who married Jeremiah Stoddard, lives across the street from Lucy and Nathaniel.  Also, a little up the street I believe is Lucy's sister Hannah who married Alanson Cushing.  On the 1870 and 1880 census Hannah and Alanson are enumerated near Lucy's family, so perhaps the L Cushing is Alanson Cushing.  A little further up Union Street is Lucy's nephew, George A Holbrook, one of the boys that was probably living with Lucy and her mother in the 1840 census.  A couple of houses up the street from George, is Lucy's cousin Minot Holbrook (son of her Uncle Minot Holbrook).  Just across the street from Minot is Lucy's Uncle Jeremiah Holbrook and Uncle William Holbrook.  (note 4)  Judging by all the Holbrook's on Union Street, it seems that Lucy and Nathaniel are living on land from Lucy's father, James Holbrook; who probably had land from his father Abner.  Most of the relatives on Union Street are cousins who probably all inhereted land from their parents; which probably came from their grandfather Abner Holbrook also.  Even though Lucy's siblings are not living on Union Street; with the exception of Hannah, most of them did stay in Weymouth.  One sister, Belinda, did move to Norwell (South Scituate) and one brother, Cornelius, looks to have moved to California for the gold rush.     

1876 Weymouth Map

From lucy holbrook blog post

There is a lot of information on this map, including a school right up the street on Union Street, close to Minot's house. There is still a school located in this general area today, not the same building of course, but interesting that the location stayed the same. If Lucy grew up in this area, I am sure this is the school she would have attended.

The History of Weymouth book on ancestry.com also states that Lucy's father, James, lived at 573 Union Street, across from the Elmwood Cemetery; which describes where the marker is on the google map above.  I did search zillow.com for this address, but the number of the house does not seem to  be present on Union Street; which offers some proof that the house no longer exists and probably was removed when the Naval Air Base was built.  The Weymouth book also states that James' brother Abner lived next door, and that house was probably built by their father, Lucy's grandfather, Abner Holbrook (2_933).  The 1876 Weymouth map above shows a J. Shores living next to Nathaniel and Lucy, which probably was bought from a Holbrook at some point. (Note 5)  I also noted earlier that Lucy's mother Hannah's death record stated that Hannah Bates Holbrook was born and died on Union Street, so the Bates must have also had land in this area.

My next post will focus on Lucy's older years and some of the breakdown of Nathaniel Torrey's land and where his family probably resided.


continued...

notes:

1. US Federal Census : Year: 1850; Census Place: Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: M432_329; Page: 230B; Image: 461. ancestry.com

2. U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.  National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Archive Collection: T1204; Archive Roll Number: 9; Census Year: 1850; Census Location: Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Page: 861; Line: 4. ancestry.com

3. I did not find a birth record for Lydia in the Massachusetts Birth Records on familysearch.com, but Lydia's marriage record states parents as Lucy and Nathaniel Rodney and the 1900 census shows oct 1857 as her birth. However; there is a birth record for Mary G for Jul 1857, but no census records for her. Did she die before 1860? I could not find a death record in the Massachusetts database. Maybe they changed Mary's name to Lydia, but this would be odd. Lydia is in 1860 census with family.  Maybe Lydia's birth year is wrong on the 1900 census. 

4.  The 1870 census has jeremiah stoddards family enumerated a couple of families above lucy's, and the weymouth map lists a j. stoddard across the street.  The rest of the Holbrooks are enumerated on adjacent pages, and listed a little further up the street on Union Street on the Weymouth map.

5. Some quick research using the weymouth vital records and census databases show that the only direct adult ancestor of Lucy's Uncle Abner (James' brother) living in 1876 is Abner's grandson Joseph W. Holbrook. I located him on the 1876 Weymouth map as living in the Lovell's Corner part of Weymouth. Joseph's father Abner married a Lovell, so perhaps he sold his land next to James to live on his wife's land after he married.

everett linwood torrey and ethel french stoddard

When I first started this blog, I would write about my direct line ancestors on their anniversaries or birthdays. I quickly found out that I did not have the time to keep up with all the ancestors. I had to make a decision wether I would skip writing about people if I passed their date or simply write the person's name as the title and save the post as a draft to write about them later. I decided to do the latter, and I went forward a couple of months with ancestors to write about. I think it is at least a year later and I still have not gone through the second month of anniversaries and birthdays. I started with April 2010 and am now just in May 2010. The next date in line is the anniversary of my great grandparents, Everett Torrey and his wife Ethel French Stoddard.  Their story is a sad one, one that I really did not look forward to writing.

Everett and Ethel are my great-grandparents. I was not fortunate enough to meet them as they died before I was born. They lived during hard times, and their story reflects the difficulties of their lives.

From Pictures

They were married in Hanover, MA by Melvin S. Nash, clergyman, on May 1, 1906.   Everett was 21 years old and Ethel was only 18 years old. I am not sure how they met; my grandmother never spoke of her mother or father, and I did not have the interest to ask when she was alive. Even if my grandmother were still living, I am not sure I would even now have the courage to ask her about her parents, as I always felt there was this hush about them. My mother does speak sometimes of her grandmother Ethel, always praising how she was such a hard worker, that she managed a farm and her family mostly by herself.

At the time of their marriage, Ethel was living in Norwell, MA and Everett was living in the neighboring town of Rockland, MA.  As I mentioned above, I am not sure how Everett and Ethel met.  The only connection I have found is that both Ethel's father and Everett were shoe workers; which was very common during this time in MA.  Ethel's father most likely worked in Norwell or a neighboring town.  In 1902, four years before their marriage, Everett was living in Hanover, which is close to Norwell.  Perhaps Ethel's father and Everett worked together and that is how he met Ethel. 

I knew I had some additional information on Everett from family papers I have in my file that my mother gave me a while back.  Looking through these files, I found a piece of paper which looks like it came from, or was photocopied from, a small book.  It must have been from a book written for, or about, the Emerson Shoe Company. The Chaper title from the page I have is "Who's Who in the Factory", and on the top of the page is handwritten 1918. The subtitle of the chapter is "Everett L. Torrey, Dressing Department". The entire page is written about Everett. I wish I had a copy of the entire book or pamphlet, but I am happy to at least have this page about my great-grandfather. I did a quick search on google books for the book, but had no luck.  From this excerpt, I did learn that Everett, at the age of 14 (around 1898), worked for the J. E French Company in Rockland, MA.  If the handwritten date on the paper is correct, Everett worked at J E French until 1905, as the article states he left there 13 years ago to work for Emerson Shoe Company in Rockland, MA.  Maybe Arthur Stoddard, Ethel's father, was also working at J E French, as his mother-in-law was a French.  I will have to see if Lydia French was connected to J E French, which would make this scenerio more likely.   I did a quick search on who J E French may have been, but I did not find any additional information.  There does not seem to be a J E French In Lydia's immediate family tree.

From Pictures

About two years after their marriage, Ethel and Everett had a son, born March 9, 1908.  Unfortunately, they also experienced their first loss, as the child was born ill with kidney problems and died 6 days after he was born.  He remained unnamed, and is buried with Ethel and Everett as "baby boy".  The cause of death on his certificate from familysearch.org states he died of uremia.

Their next son, Kenneth, was born in June 1909.  He stayed in the Norwell and Weymouth area until his death in 1973.  I do not have a record of any children that he and his wife had, I will have to ask my mother to confirm. 

After Kenneth, another unnamed son was born; this time prematurely, in December of 1910.  The death record shows he died of atelectasis, collapse of a lung.  He died the day he was born, December 21, 1910; which would become a significant date for this family.  Three of Everett and Ethel's children died on December the 21st, including my grandmother.  Also, another close person to my grandmother, her husband's sister, (we called her Auntie), also died on December 21st.

Getting back to Ethel and Everett, they had their 4th son (second son that lived past infancy), Linwood (aka Ben).  Linwood also stayed close to home in Massachusetts throughout his life. The Social Security Death Index states he lived in Norwell, MA when he died in 1979.  I do not have any information on a spouse or possible children for Linwood. 

Some months after Ben was born Ethel experienced more grief in her life.  Her sister, Carrie, at the age of 23, committed suicide in November of 1913.  I am sure this was difficult for Ethel to deal with.  The newspaper article that I found on the matter explained Carrie was having some difficulty with her students in Brockton, MA, which led her to committ suicide.  A later article discounts this theory saying 300 students attended a memorial for Carrie.  The article states that Carrie committed suicide by gas inhalation.  According to the 1910 census, Carrie was living with her parents in Norwell on High Street.  I am not sure if Carrie was living there three years later at the time of her suicide. Ethel's other sister, Nellie, also lived on High Street with her husband and family.    At that time, Ethel and Everett were living close in Norwell on Main Street.

According to Everett's WWI draft registration card, by 1918, Ethel and Everett had moved to High Street in Norwell also.  The 1920 Census enumerates Ethel and Everett, Ethel's sister Nellie and family, and Ethel's parents all on High Street living next to each other.  Ethel and Everett had not had any more children up to this point after having Ben in 1913; perhaps she was trying to deal with the loss of her sister.  In 1921 however, they had their first daughter, Ruth.  Ruth is one of my grandmother's siblings that I do remember.  We would visit her and her husband in Duxbury near the beach when I was younger.  They had two children, but they were older by the time I remember Ruth and John, and I did not know their children.  Ruth died from a car accident with her husband on that ominous day of December 21, 1994. 

From Pictures

Ethel with her son Ben (Linwood) and daughter Ruth

Ethel and Everett had a 5th son, Russell, who also stayed close to home.  His obituary of 2006 states he was from Norwell, MA.  Russell was married, and had at least three children who stayed close to the Norwell area, according to his obituary.

Their next and final son, Arthur, was born in 1926.  He was the only child that moved out of Massachusetts to New Hampshire.  He was married and had at least one child, who I have spoken to through email.  She had bought and was living in Ethel's house on High Street until 2001.  The Social Security Death Index has her father Arthur Torrey's death in Nashua, NH.  He died on December 23, 1995, only a couple of days after the infamous December 21st date!

The last child Ethel and Everett had was my grandmother, Helen, in 1929.  Ethel was 41 years old, Everett was 45 when they had her.  Soon after my grandmother was born, her father Everett moved to Millford, MA. Perhaps one of the reasons that my grandmother never talked about her father was that she really did not know him. The census records show that he was living in Millford as a boarder working in a shoe factory in 1930. Ethel and all her children were still living in Norwell at this time with her father, Arthur on High Street. My grandmother was only 1 year old at this time. It was obviously a tough time during this period with the stock market crash and the depression, so Everett probably went looking for work wherever he could find it.

I am not sure if Everett came back to visit and support his family, but I am sure it was a very difficult time for Ethel and her children.  I have been told that she eventually had to sell off most of her family farm in Norwell to support herself.  I will want to check the deed records to see whose land it originally was before Ethel was there and if she did sell some of it off.  My mother remembers visiting her grandmother Ethel, along with some unmarried older women who lived next door.  My mother believes these women were Ethel's sisters.  As mentioned above, her sister Carrie had died in 1913.  One of the women could have been Nellie, although she was married with at least 7 children.  At the time my mother would have visited though, her husband could have passed and her children moved away; therefore, my mother may have assumed she was an umarried woman.  The women could also have been some of Nellie's daughters, so they would have been my grandmother Helen's cousins.    About 20 years before my mother was born, the 1930 census shows that Nellie and her husband were living next door to Ethel and their farther Arthur.  I do not recognize the other names neighboring them. 

From Pictures

Ethel? at the Farm and House on High Street, Norwell,MA

It was fortunate that Ethel's father and sister were so close, as she would soon need their support when her husband, Everett, committs suicide in 1938.  I found some conflicting information about the location of Everett's death.  The death certificate states he hung himself near his home on High Street in Norwell, but the body was not found for about 4 months.  Another newspaper article states his body was found under a tree in  Saylesville, RI.  I cannot find a connection of him to that area of Rhode Island.  If he was still living in Milford, MA at this time, Saylesvill, RI is about 25 miles from there.  Everett did have a sister and a brother living in Rhode Island in 1930, but about 18 miles away in Warwick, RI.  I am not sure how to proceed to find the most accurate information on Everett's death.

From Pictures

Ethel's 75th birthday with children, Helen, Russel, Ben (Linwood), Ruth, and Arthur

Ethel lived for another 26 years after her husband Everett died. She stayed on High Street in Norwell, MA until her death in 1964. Ethel was buried with her husband at the Washington Street Cemetery, along with three of her sons.

From Pictures

To do list:

1. Find deeds to farm on high street in Norwell to see how land changed hands. Who bought the land first.
2. Find more about Everett's death location.
3. Fix picture of Ethel's 75th birthday
4. Find more living cousins - nellies children and grandchildren.

henry torrey and amy frances mcconney

My great-great grandparents, Henry A. Torrey and Amy Frances McConney (McConihe), were married April 16, 1884 in Weymouth, MA, by Jacob Baker, Clergyman. Jacob Baker was the clergyman for the church in South Weymouth at the Second Universalist Society of South Weymouth, according to the book, Historical Sketch of the Town of Weymouth, page 119-120.

Henry and Amy had 3 boys and 3 girls by 1895. I could only find a couple of the birth records for their children online at newenglandancestors.org. Accroding to the records, Henry and Amy and their family lived in Weymouth up until at least 1892, when their daughter Eva was born there. Their next children, Henry and Lottie, do not seem to have a record of birth in the newenglandancestros vital records database, so I am not sure which town they were born in. By the 1900 Census, Henry and Amy's family is living in Hanover, MA. They are also found in a 1902 directory on Webster Street, in Hanover, near the Rockland Line. Henry is listed as a shoe-treer.


They did not stay on Webster Street long, as the 1910 Census has this Torrey family living at 66 Church Street in Rockland, MA. There are two other families also living at this address, the Lowell family and Meara family. This house must have been a 3 family residence, most likey the Torreys were renting at this time. Their oldest daughter, Grace, was still living with them at the age of 22, along with their youngest son and daughter, Henry and Lottie, ages 19 and 14. Their middle daughter, Eva was married in 1908, living with her husband at this time. Their oldest son, Everett, my great-grandfather, was also married living with his wife Ethel. I am not sure where their second son, Fred, was at this time. I did not find him listed in the MA Census for 1910.


Henry and Amy moved again, as listed in the 1916 Rockland directory, to 119 Spring Street in Rockland, listed as boarders. Henry is still listed as a shoe worker. By the 1920 Census though, they are now living at 323 Albion in Rockland. This is the last known residence I have for Henry, as he dies in 1923. Amy; however, is listed in the 1930 Census living as a boarder with Florence Myra at 373 East Water Street in Rockland. Amy's occupation was listed as a housekeeper to a private family. Wether that private family was the Myra family, I am not sure. It seems unlikely though, as one of the Mrya daughters is also listed as a housekeeper to a private family.


In 1930, Amy was about 69 years old, which shows she was a very hard worker to support herself at this age as a housekeeper. This time in American history was difficult for everyone, during The Great Depression. I am sure it was lonely for Amy to be without her husband and struggling on her own. Amy's children seemed to have been scattered and probably could not offer her much support. Her oldest son Everett seems to have been working and living in Milford in 1930, while the rest of his family was in Norwell. I am not sure what happened to Amy's daughter Grace (married to Minot Somers) or her son Fred. Her second daughter Eva is living in Warwick, RI in 1930 with her husband and children. I also could not find information on Amy's youngest son Henry. The child living closest to Amy in 1930 would have been her youngest daughter Lottie. Lottie is married and taking care of her 4 children in Hanover, MA on King Street. According to Google maps, this is only a little over 3 miles from where Amy is living. Hopefully they were able to spend time together and support each other during this difficult time in History.

New Approach

I would like to find the time to do more genealogy research, so I have come up with a new approach that hopefully will let me do a little every day. I created a calendar of birthdays and anniversaries for all our ancestors using reports in Legacy software. Every day that there was an event, I will try to find a little bit of information on that person or couple, even if it is to only create a to do list of things I would like to find and places I would like to look when I actually get the chance to go to a library or court. So, today is the anniversary of Josiah Torrey and Jane Shaw, married 188 years ago in Weymouth, MA on Feb. 3, 1822. Since I no longer have a subscription to any genealogy databases, I looked at some free resources, such as google and pilot familysearch. On the latter database, I found the 1865 Massachusetts census for Josiah and his second wife Mary Bailey. They also had living with them Josiah's son Prescott Torrey and his wife Lizzie and son Otis. This record did not really add more information to my tree, other than the fact that his son was living with him in Weymouth, MA in 1865. The one piece of information that I have been wanting to prove for this couple is that Jane Shaw's parents are Capt. Nathaniel Shaw and Jane Tirrell, as stated in the History of Weymouth book. I am sure that this parentage is correct, but I would love to obtain Nathaniel Shaw's probate as referenced in this book, which is my next step in proving her parents.

To Do List:
1. obtain Nathaniel Shaw's probate record : Norfolk Probate 16474
2. obtain Jane (Tirell) Shaw's probate record: Norfolk Probate 16451
3. obtain Jane Shaw (daughter) gaurdianship probate record : 1813 Weymouth Guardianship 16450 - Norfolk Probate

Torrey Family

The line I first started working on way back when are the Torreys from Weymouth, MA. This family, among many others, is documented in History of Weymouth, Massachusetts... by George Walter Chamberlain. This book is very helpful with much information and documentation; however, I like to start researching on my own before I look to this book for guidance.

I have documented back to Deacon Samuel Torrey (my 5th Great Grandfather), born around 1760 according to his gravestone in Highland Cemetery, South Weymouth, MA. He died December 22, 1819, in his 59th year. I also know that Samuel was born in Weymouth, according to his son Joseph's death record. Knowing that Samuel Torrey was born around 1760 in Weymouth, I searched in the Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 database on the NEHGS website. There was a Samuel Torrey born to a David and Elizabeth Torrey on February 13, 1761 in Weymouth. This date and place matches well to the approximate birth date on Samuel's gravestone. Also, out of Samuel's eight children with his wife Dolly Blanchard, they named a son David and a daughter Elizabeth (perhaps after Samuel's parents). Although this evidence is not conclusive, it is a start in the right direction.

Next I head to Chamberlain's book to see who he has written as Samuel's parents. According to him, David and Elizabeth are Samuel's parents. Chamberlain states that the probate record of David Torrey mentions a son Samuel (norfolk probate 18581). We do already know from the vital records that David and Elizabeth have a son Samuel, so it is not surprising there is a Samuel mentioned in David's will. The question is though, is this Samuel the one we are looking for. If David's will mentions a Deacon Samuel we would have more proof of his parentage.

Next, I looked at the 1790 census (David's will written in 1792) and found that there was only one Samuel Torrey living in Weymouth at that time. Therefore, if David's will mentions Samuel, living in Weymouth, it would be strong evidence that indeed David is Samuel's father, as Chamberlain states in his book. The number of children from the 1790 census also match our Samuel, as having 2 boys under the age of 16 (which would be Samuel and Noah) and two females living with Samuel. The two females would be his wife, and his daughter, Elizabeth. Also on the census, there is a parenthetical mark linking David and Samuel - perhaps which means they were living on the same land.

UPDATE: Familysearch.org now has the Norfolk County Probates online.  David Torrey's will does mention his late wife Elizabeth and four sons, Samuel, David, Jacob and Reuben.  It also mentions a 4th son, Noah, who is lost at sea and presumed dead.  The will also mentions his daughter Margaret Joy.  I am confident that this is the father of Samuel Torrey in my direct line.

To Do:
1. Obtain David's probate record - Norfolk 18581- UPDATE - now online.
2. Search for land records for David and Samuel. Once I find record numbers, files are online at Norfolk County Registry of Deeds.