euphemia anna fish mcconihe (part 1 of 5)

childhood

Euphemia Anna Fish (3rd great grandmother) was born in Leeds, Maine around May 17, 1839; calculated from her death record online at familysearch.org. (note 1)  She was born to John Calvin Fish and Cynthia Fish according to this death record.  I do believe that her mother's maiden name was also Fish as stated, as I found a marriage record on ancestry.com of a John Fish and a Cynthia Fish marrying in Leeds, Maine. 

The 1840 Census shows John C. Fish's household; which consists of Euphemia at age 1, living in Leeds, ME with her parents and her brother Lee.  A sister, Philene, and brother, Almond, died as babies before Euphemia was born. 

1840 Census John C Fish household Leeds, ME

From euphemia ann fish macconney blog post

By 1850, Euphemia's family had moved to the neighboring town of Turner, Maine. The household consists of Euphemia, her sister Nancy, and their parents.  Her brother Lee looks to have moved into a household of a carriage maker, probably learning this trade; although the 1860 census has his occupation as cordwainer and by 1870, Lee is a shoe maker.  Euphemia's maternal grandfather, Benjamin Fish, is also living in Turner, ME in 1850 until his death in 1864.  I am not sure if his wife, Euphemia's grandmother, Fear Bump Fish, is still living at this time. (note 2)  Euphemia's paternal grandfather, Seth Fish is still living in Leeds, ME in 1850 until his death in 1859.  Seth's first wife, Euphemia's grandmother, Lillis House Fish, died before 1824; which means Euphemia never knew her.  She did have a step-grandmother, Seth's second wife, Abigail Carver Fish, who died in Leeds in 1860.  Euphemia may have lived close enough to her living grandparents in both Leeds and Turner, ME to be able to visit, either by carriage or walking. 

  1850 Census John C Fish household Turner, ME

From euphemia ann fish macconney blog post

During my last blog post, I had experimented a bit with overlaying an historic map onto a current Google map, locating the land that my ancestors may have lived on.  I did this again with a map of Turner, ME, locating Euphemia's parents on the 1873 map (see kmz file with overlay here).  Euphemia's father is listed as CJ Fish (on some records he went by Calvin J) on the map, near a road the goes over a bridge over the Twenty Mile River, now called Nezinscot River.  This part of the road and the bridge no longer exist.  Even though Euphemia is not living with her parents in 1870, this could be the location of the house she grew up in.  I also looked at the1873 Leeds, ME map and found some of her Aunts and Uncles (some changed name to Morris, see note 3) who were living there in 1873. This may have been the area Euphemia was living in before her family moved to Turner, ME. (kmz file for google earth of Leeds and Turner, ME overlays)

google map of Turner and Leeds, ME with possible locations of JC Fish and siblings 1873

View John Calvin Fish Turner Maine in a larger map

From euphemia ann fish macconney blog post

I would love to explore the part of Turner where Euphemia may have lived, near the Nezinscot River; but it does not look too accessible by foot.  I am not sure whose land this is now.  I did a bit of googling, and there is a lot of information about fly fishing in this area, probably accessed by canoe or kayak.  There is a state park, The Androscoggin Riverlands State Park, a little south of this area along the western side of the Androscoggin River which would be fun to go to someday; but I would love to access the land that John Calvin Fish and family resided on.  The house is no longer there on the above google map, maybe it is used for farming or perhaps it just gets flooded and is not useable land.  I will have to look at some deeds to see who owned the land after John died. (note 4)  The 1880 Census has Euphemia's mother Cynthia living with her daughter Nancy, Euphemia's sister, and husband Uzza Thomas, maybe at this location.

(continues...)

links:
1. Sun Journal article on things to do in Turner, ME
2. Androscoggin Land Trust

notes:
1. Since I have not been able to locate a birth certificate for Euphemia, I calculated her birth from her death certificate.  However, the 1900 census states Euphemia's birth as May 1840.  The place of birth stated on her death certificate is Leeds, ME, but her marriage record states Turner, ME as her birth town. Four of her children's birth records state Euphemia was born in Leeds, ME though, just like her death record.  Since her family is living in Leeds when she was 1, I would guess Leeds would be more likely as a birth location than Turner, ME. 

2. Benjamin Fish is lised in the 1850 census with a wife Elithea.  I am not sure if this is suppose to be Fear, or if Benjamin remarried.  I could not find a death record for Fear.  The gravestone for them on findagrave.com has Benjamin and Elithea carved on stone, not Fear.  So either she is buried somewhere else or Elithea is Fear.  All of the children's birth records state mother as Fear, not Elithea.

3. Some of Euphemia's paternal Uncles changed their names from Fish to Morris. By 1860 her Uncle Samuel Lane changed his name to Samuel Lane Morris. Also, Euphemia's half uncle - Silas Fish changed his name to Silas Morris.
I have the following from a note on someone's tree from ancestry.com:
"State Law enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, Chapter 627, page 683:
22 Mar 1856 Samuel Laine Fish, of Veazie, shall be allowed to take the name of Samuel Morris;
and Adelaide C., wife of said Samuel Laine Fish, shall be allowed to take the same
name of Adelaide Morris; John Fairfield Fish, Francis N. Fish, George W. Fish and
Edward M. Fish, minor children of Samuel L. and Adelaide C. Fish, shall be allowed
to take the names of John Morris, Francis Morris, Edward Morris and George W.Morris."
Most of Euphemia's maternal Aunts and Uncles moved to other towns in Maine, away from Turner and Leeds. Some I could not track past their birth dates. I am not sure where they went and why they are difficult to locate.

4.  Leeds and Turner Maine are both in the county of Androscoggin (formed in 1854), so I looked to see where I could access these deeds.  The Androscoggin County Registry of Deeds has many indexes and images of deeds online!!!  I love when that happens.  I was able to locate some deeds for John C. Fish and Cynthia Fish.  Both deeds talk about land in North Turner, near Mill Pond.  I have not been able to find Mill Pond on the 1873 map of Turner or on the current google map.  The deeds state this land is on the south side of a country road that leads from Turner Center.  One deed mentions a John C Young's land which borders to the North.  I believe I found Young's property, on the 1873 map, north of the current Howe's Corner Road (rt 219) close to North Turner Center.  This property is not near the property of John C Fish where I thought Euphemia grew up.  Perhaps I have the location of the land near the river incorrect, or maybe John Fish owned property in more than one area of Turner.  There are earlier deed records that are referenced in the index that do not have images online - maybe they talk about the land near the river. (see to do list)   Deeds are from the Index 1877-1889: Cynthia L Fish (97, 435) (109, 458) (both deed images online); John C Fish (97, 435) (deed image online)


Turner, ME 1873 - possible area from deed near Young property and location of CJ Fish (lower right)

From euphemia ann fish macconney blog post

to do:

1. search deeds for Euphemia's grandparents to see if they were living near her family in Turner, ME
2. obtain the following deed records from Androscoggin Registry of Deeds
Index 1854-1877 (book, page number)
Cynthia L Fish (57, 240) (59, 442) (55,119)
John C Fish (3, 70) (9, 12) (13, 157) (15, 285) (22, 107) (29, 219) (55, 119)
3. locate will of John Calvin Fish and Cynthia Fish
4. look into why some of Euphemia's uncles changed name from Fish to Morris.
5. locate more of Euphemia's maternal Aunts and Uncles.

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.

lucy ann holbrook torrey (part 1 of 4)

childhood

Lucy Ann Holbrook was born May 15, 1827 in Weymouth, MA to James Holbrook and Hannah Bates. She was the youngest of 11 children. When Lucy was born, her mother was about 40 years old, and her dad 48.

When Lucy was 3 in 1830, her household from the census probably consisted of the following family members. (note 1)

From lucy holbrook blog post

2 males 5-10 (brothers Jeremiah and Cornelius)
2 males 10-15 (brothers James and William)
1 male 40-50 (father James)
1 female under 5 (Lucy)
1 female 5-10 (sister Lindsay)
1 female 10-15 (sister Hannah)
1 female 40-50 (mother Hannah)

Her two oldest brothers, Oran and Minot, had already married and moved out.  Also, an older brother and sister, Edmund and Louisa, had died in 1827; when Lucy was only months old. They probably died of an illness, which would have been frightening for Lucy's mother to worry about her newborn also becoming sick.

In 1840, when Lucy was only 13, she experienced the loss of her father, James. The 1840 census shows Lucy's mother, Hannah, as head of household; living with what seems to be a younger family. (note 2)

From lucy holbrook blog post

2 males under 5 (nephews Charles and George)
1 male 10 thru 14 (nephew Oran)
1 male 15 thru 19 (brother Cornelius or Jeremiah - both not married yet)
1 male 30 thru 39 (brother Oran (died in 1840))
2 females 10 thru 14 (Lucy, sister Lindsay)
1 female 30 thru 39 (sister-in-law Lydia (Oran's widow))
1 female 40 thru 49 (Hannah - although probably around 53 years old?)

This younger family living with Lucy and her mother most likely is Lucy's brother Oran's family. Oran may have been sick as he also died in 1840, leaving a wife and 3 children. Maybe the family moved in with Hannah for support. Lucy probably helped take care of her nephews, although the oldest, Oran, was actually a couple of years older than she.

continued...

notes:

1. 1830 US Federal Census : 1830 US Census; Census Place: Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Page: 179; NARA Series: M19; Roll Number: 60; Family History Film: 0337918. accessed on ancestry.com

2. 1840 US Federal Census : Year: 1840; Census Place: Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: 192; Page: 287; Image: 586; Family History Library Film: 0014679. accessed on ancestry.com

children of william holbrook and elizabeth pool (part 2 of 2)

According to the History of Weymouth  book on ancestry.com (3_273), the following are the children of William Holbrook and his first wife, Margaret Torrey :

children born at weymouth by first wife:

• william b. 20 Oct. 1734; d. 21 July, 1736
• Samuel b. 2 Dec. 1735

The same book lists the following as the children of William Holbrook and his second wife, Elizabeth Pool, all born at Weymouth:

• William b. 16 Mar. 1739; d. at Lake George, 10 Sept. 1756, about 19 yrs.  A soldier under General Winslow
• Abner b. 9 Mar. 1741
• Cornelius d. 14 Dec. 1742
• Nathaniel b. 7 Mar 1744
• Margaret b. 16 Feb. and d. 30 June 1747
• Adam b. 4 Aug. 1750, d. 13 or 19 Sept. 1832 ae 82 yrs.  He was non compos and never married
• Margaret b. 18 Apr 1754, d. unm 17 jan 1816, ae 62 or 65 yrs
• Mary, m. ____ Hunt of Cummington
• William, bp. 5 Mar. 1758; resided in East Abington

As mentioned in my last post, not all of these births are recorded in the Weymouth Vital Records;  Cornelius and Mary are both not found in the above Record Book.  Looking quickly, it may be that Cornelius was not a son of William and Elizabeth, but actually William's father Cornelius, who died in 1742.  I will have to look closer at these dates and records.

Looking at William and Elizabeth's family with the information from the Weymouth book, they had at least 8 children, 7 of which survived to adulthood.  Also, most likely in their household was Samuel, from William's first marriage. 

The Weymouth book also states that William and Elizabeth resided in South Weymouth.  The first federal census of 1790 shows the following Holbrook families living in Weymouth, MA : Ab, Jon, Elisha, Nathan, Silvanus, and widow Holbrook.  It looks like at least Abner and Nathaniel stayed in Weymouth.  I will have to do a little more research to find Adam, Margaret, Mary and William.  Perhaps some of them are living together and are not listed indivually in the census.  It is likely that William and Elizabeth had died before this census was taken, William would have been 81 and Elizabeth about 75 years old in 1790.  The Weymouth Vital Records book does not have an obvious match for the death of Elizabeth or William; but according to the History of Weymouth book, William made his will in 1767, and it was distributed 20 years later in 1787 (3_273). 

The book also has a couple of paragraphs of the location of the house of William's grandson, James Holbrook, on Union Street (2_933).  I have been to this area of South Weymouth to locate the gravestones of James and his wife Hannah Holbrook. Perhaps this land was handed down to James through his grandfather William.  The earliest map I have found from Weymouth, MA (Historic Land Ownership database on ancestry.com) is from the late 1800's, so I am not able to see where William owned property.  I will have to check the suffolk deeds to see where exactly he lived.  I also was not able to find where Elizabeth and William were buried.  Maybe they were also buried at the Elmwood Cemetery on Union Street, like their grandson James, if their house was located in this area.

To do:
1.  Locate probate in Suffolk index and order probate. at NEHGS
2.  Locate any deeds of William in suffolk deed books. at NEHGS
3.  Trace children of William and Elizabeth to see which towns they settled in.

books:
1.  Representative men and old families of southeastern Massachusetts ... on google books

william holbrook and elizabeth poole (part 1 of 2)

William Holbrook and Elizabeth Poole,  6th great-grandparents of mine, recorded their intent to marry in Weymouth, MA. The entry is noted in the book,

Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850: Marriages and deaths

for May 11, 1738. The annotation next to their marriage of CR2 stands for the church record of the First Church of Christ, South Precinct.

 

According to the History of Weymouth book, this was William's second marriage, and Elizabeth's first. (3_273) Most of the information I have on this couple is from this book, which I was able to access on ancestry.com.  The weymouth book lists 9 children of William and Elizabeth, although I was only able to find 4 (including my 5th great grandfather Abner) in the Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850: Births. Perhaps the other children are listed in church records from the town. I had looked into locating church records from their church while researching another ancestor, Hannah Canterbury White, and found that the NEHGS library holds,

The book of records of the Second Church of Christ in Weymouth, Massachusetts : baptisms and marriages/ by John J. Loud. F74.W77 W76 1900.

I am not sure if this is the same church, but definitely worth looking at. The book is only 36 pages, but the notes state the records extend from 1722 to 1818; which may include William and Elizabeth's marriage in 1738, and their children's birth dates.

Another source of information for William and Elizabeth's children could be William's will and probate records.  The History of Weymouth book states the following...

He made his will 23 Nov. 1764, and his estate was distributed to his heirs 6 July, 1784.

Weymouth was still a part of Suffolk County at this time (until 1793), so I will need to locate William's probate from the following source:

Probate: George, Elijah, "Index Probate Records, Suffolk Co., MA 1636-1893" Boston, MA: 1895 3 Vol.'s

(to be continued...)