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S M O S id NEWSLETTER of hethe SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. 1650-1700 Vol. 15, No. 1 www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ctsmfsd/Index.html Spring 2015 MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW ‘Cousins’ far-and-wide to explore Middletown roots at SMFSD Triennial Meeting set for Oct. 8-10, 2015

Hitch up your team and Maybe you’ll find your ‘needle-in-a-haystack’ ancestor! visit the ancestral town for research, exploration, discovery, and fun By R.W. Bacon Editor, The Middler

The SMFSD Triennial Meeting – The 2015 Triennial Meeting the gathering of Middletown “cousins” will be packed with research every three years in the old ancestral opportunities and social town – will be October 8-10, 2015. activites. You might even find The always eagerly-anticipated your “needle-in-a-haystack” ancestor! (Top photo: Main gathering draws attendees with St., Middletown, c. 1907) Middletown ancestors from distant points across the U.S. for research, the Middler publication date, but Meeting Committee Chairperson networking, exploration, and socializ- subject to change) is on page 11. Barb Stenberg. Barb has worked at ing. If you haven’t attended before, Once again this year, the headquar- long-distance from Arizona to make we hope to see you this year – 2018 is ters hotel is the Marriott Residence arrangements and line up guest a long way off! Inn, Rocky Hill, Conn. Behind-the- speakers, with the assistance of her The Triennial Meeting registration scenes planning during the past year committee and SMFSD members form and schedule of activities (as of has been directed by Triennial who happen to live in Connecticut. continued on page 12 In this issue . . . WHERE THEY WENT Triennial Meeting Preview ...... 1 Where They Went: Western . . 1, 6-7 From Middletown to : Member Notes & SMFSD News ...... 2 The story of the Can You Hear the Braying?...... 2 N.E. Regional Genealogical Conference . . . . 3 By R.W. Bacon dants remain today. Some stayed for A Notable Genealogist: Editor, The Middler just a generation or two before the Charles Collard Adams (1836-1925) ...... 4 It is clear from the SMFSD mem- family’s more adventurous souls Book Review: Hubbard Family: Pioneers in America . . . . . 7 bership rolls that a great percentage moved on to points farther west. Book Review: N.Y. Family History of membership descends from In the Fall 2007 issue of The Research Guide & Gazetteer ...... 8 ancestors who left Middletown for Middler, your editor tackled the story Book Review: greener pastures – or at least more of Hugh White (1733-1812) and his Elements of Genealogical Analysis ...... 9 expansive ones – in central and promotion of the 1784 settlement in Membership Information ...... 10 western New York. Some families what became known as Whitestown, Triennial Meeting Registration Form . . . . . 11 stayed for generations, and descen- continued on page 6 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA SMFSD NEWS A warm welcome to five new members, and a report on the New England Regional Genealogical Conference • Welcome new members. NERGC, the 2015 event being at the members we would have preferred. SMFSD welcomes five new members Rhode Island Convention Center in There were, however, enough inter- since the last issue of The Middler: Providence, R.I. The four-day event ested folks to keep us busy chatting Victor Lee Pritchett, AM-349, was April 15-18, but the SMFSD and getting brochures and surplus Methuen, Mass. (1st settler George booth exhibit presence was for one Middler copies in their hands. We Hubbard); Linda L. (Bowe) Wilgus, day only, April 16, at the event’s talked up the Triennial Meeting to AM-350, Lincoln City, Oregon (1st “Society Fair” for family associations, prospective members who live within settler Alexander Bow); Katherine hereditary organizations, and genea- easy striking distance of Middletown. Doolittle May, AM-351, Fort logical societies. Converging from (See page 3 for photos of the SMFSD Lauderdale, Fla. (1st settlers Samuel various points to staff the booth were booth and the main exhibit hall.) Doolittle and William Cornwell); SMFSD members Laura Hobbs The next day was devoted to taking Nancy (Hollis) Philipps, AM-352, (from Connecticut), Don Brock in a few educational sessions, scouring Anna, Texas (1st settler Daniel (from Maryland), and Reg Bacon the exhibit hall, and connecting with Harris); and Arthur Edward (from ). friends old and new. Webster, AM-353, Cromwell, Conn. In comparison to previous confer- The conference, held every-other- (1st settler Robert Webster). ences, the foot traffic at this year's year, features speakers, educational • A report on the New England Society Fair was underwhelming. sessions, and vendors. The 2017 event Regional Genealogy Conference: There was a stream of lookers, just will be in Springfield, Mass. For SMFSD once again exhibited at the not the tidal wave of prospective information, visit www.nergc.org.

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S The Middler may have noticed gets caught in the stirrup. Go figure. 1650-1700 another one of the editor’s humbling For those who gave the last issue of oversights – in a boldface headline, The Middler only a cursory read, e no less. My apologies. Human perhaps you are wondering exactly he Mid fallibility surfaces once again. what and where the blunder was. NEWSLETTER of the In my work these days, even the I’m happy to point it out, because I SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS rare typographical error is especially would not want to deprive you of a 1650-1700 – Middletown, Connecticut, U.S.A. irritating, as in the past year I have hearty laugh, even if it is at my www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ctsmfsd/Index.html turned two new books on editing and expense. (Be warned, though. The typography onto the market: The louder you laugh, the more likely you Vol. 15, No. 1 Spring 2015 Cranky Typographer’s Book of Major will be haunted by Murphy and his Annoyances: Helpful Graphics Tips ever-lurking law.) Please send articles, letters, news items, and corrections to: for Do-It-Yourself Designers, and The The typo was on page three of the The Middler Cranky Editor’s Book of Intolerable fall 2014 issue, in the headline for the c/o R.W. Bacon, Editor Fox Paws (Oops! Faux Pas!): Helpful article about the Middletown DNA P. O. Box 489 Newburyport, MA 01950 Writing & Style Tips So You Won’t project: “Middletown DNA project (E-mail: [email protected]) Look Stoopid. When working on last hass potential to identify early settler descendants to prospective members.” SMFSD OFFICERS fall’s Middler issue, I had just spent the previous 15 months boiling down So that’s it. One stupid extra letter. President ...... Margery Piersen Vice President ...... Sue Welles 50 years as an editor and typogra- I can say that since I began as a Secretary ...... Cynthia Nicewarner pher into two books that badger young journalist 50 years ago, I have Treasurer ...... Mike Campbell today’s do-it-yourself practitioners made usage and spelling errors from Historian...... Don Brock about dumb mistakes. So of course time-to-time, but this is the very first Registrar...... Hal Whitmore Middler Editor ...... R.W. Bacon Murphy’s Law almost ensures that time I have made a hass of myself. the expert on his high horse will – R.W. Bacon

2 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA

SMFSD exhibits at New England Regional Genealogical Conference April 16, 2015 at Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, R.I.

Top left: R.I. Convention Center. Top right: SMFSD’s display at the conference’s “Society Fair.” In the next row, SMFSD members Don Brock and Laura Hobbs engage attendees. Lively presence by Godfrey Library at 4-day conference A substantial exhibit hall presence, on- site book sales, an informative education session, and the promotion of the Godfrey Scholar program kept the team from the Middletown-based library busy. Above left, library director Beth Mariotti and volunteer Laura Hobbs chat with a visitor. Above right, librarian Sharon Dahlmeyer- Giovannitti enrolls a new “scholar.” Wish you were there? Miss the conference? At left are photos of the teeming crowds … and a program room ready for the rush.

3 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA GENEALOGIST OF NOTE Middletown Upper Houses is a cherished source, so let’s meet the author, Charles Collard Adams

Editor’s Note: Ten years ago, 1859. His introduction to Cromwell upon assuming editorship of The began shortly after his arrival, when Middler, one category of potential he was hired to teach the winter term content was profiles of those who at the town’s Brick Schoolhouse. (His made extraordinary contributions to recollections of a particularly severe Middletown local history and geneal- winter, his first in New England, still ogy. Since then, feature articles have survive, and call to mind the winter profiled Frank Farnsworth Starr, just passed.) Fremont Rider, and Jessie Alsop. After graduation from Wesleyan, This issue profiles the author of Adams became a Methodist minister, Middletown Upper Houses (1908), and a year later, married Elizabeth Charles Collard Adams. Gridley Ranney (1836-1925) at her parents’ house on Pleasant Street in By R.W. Bacon Cromwell. Editor, The Middler During the Civil War, Adams served Every serious researcher probing as chaplain of the 22nd Regiment of the history of early Middletown Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. He families will eventually consult was active in veterans organizations Middletown Upper Houses, the 847- like the GAR throughout his life. page genealogical compendium Middletown After his military service, Adams compiled over 100 years ago by Upper Houses by served as a minister to various Charles Collard Adams. Even though Charles Collard congregations in Connecticut, New the book concentrates on the Ranney Adams (1836-1925) has been a valued York, Massachusetts, Michigan, resource for genealogical research on family and related families in the early Middletown families since its Wisconsin, and Iowa. Along the way “North Society” of Middletown (now publication in 1908. Above is the 1983 he changed denominations twice, was Cromwell, Conn.), its inclusion of reprint. Inset is the author in 1910. ordained as an Episcopal minister, intertwined families is such that served as a rector in several Catholic even if the subject family of your ment. A look into the background of churches in various states, and research lived only in the South the accomplishment, however, paused long enough to accept an Farms section of Middletown, your reveals that the author was working continued on page 5 work is not done until you have at on his wife’s genealogy, not his own. least combed through the index of He had no Middletown ancestors, Middletown Upper Houses. and was in fact a “Southern boy” All it takes is the initial encounter with his family roots extending below with this book for anyone to recog- the Mason-Dixon line. So who was nize it as a monumental accomplish- this Charles Collard Adams? Charles Collard Adams was born in Washington, D.C. in 1836, the son of George Adams (1781-1844), a merchant, and Jemima Collard (1798-1852). His respective immi- grant ancestors, both from England, were Francis Adams (1642-1698), who acquired land in Charles County, Md. in 1663; and Samuel Collard (1726-c. 1776), who acquired land in Above are the spine and title page of one Maryland in the 1750s. of the 600 copies of Middletown Upper Above are Charles Collard Adams (1836- Adams came to Middletown to Houses printed in 1908. In 1983 a hard- 1925) and his wife, Elizabeth Gridley cover reprint of the 847-page, 3-inch Ranney Adams (1833-1925). They attend Wesleyan University, from thick book was financed by the Ranney married in 1860 and raised four children. which he graduated in the class of Genealogical Fund.

4 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA At far left is the view “society,” responded to this pressure of the c. 1761 Sage- and kicked in five bucks. His mugshot Ranney-Adams house pictured in is opposite page 472.] the 1908 publication Despite the fund-raising efforts for of Middletown Upper the book, its publication after four Houses. At near left years of intense work left Adams is an undated view from later in the $4000 in debt. To add insult to injury, 20th century. the publisher, Grafton Press, which printed the short run of 600 copies, At right is a map soon went out of business and the showing the location CROMWELL, School Street manuscript and plates were lost. of the c. 1761 Sage- CONN. Ranney-Adams house formerly Thanks to the Ranney Genealogical on the corner of “Middletown Location of Fund, Middletown Upper Houses was Pleasant and South Upper Houses” Sage-Ranney-Adams RIVER reprinted in an attractive, robust Sts. in Cromwell, or the “North Society” House (c. 1761) Conn. The house South Street hard-cover edition in 1983, and can suffered damage in Pleasant Street be found on the shelves of major the Connecticut The area from the river genealogy libraries. Middletown River flood of March up to Main Street was under water Upper Houses is in the public 1936. The house on during the Connecticut River flood of 1936. River Road CONNECTICUT the lot today bears Main Street (Rte. 99) Elizabeth (Adams) Kincaid and her husband domain, and is also easily and freely no resemblance to were forced from the family home, moving to downloadable in digital form from the the 1761 house. the house they owned next door on South St. NORTH Internet Archive (www.archive.org). The impact of Charles Collard continued from page 4 was his organization of the Ranney Adams on his adopted community of honorary master’s degree from Memorial and Historical Association Cromwell is still evident today. He Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. and the Society of Middletown Upper was the driving force in the develop- Particular career strife for Adams Houses. These efforts not only ment of Patriots Corner that honors began in 1881, when the Episcopal brought people together for histori- war veterans, an extension of his Bishop sent him to Escanaba, cally-themed reunions and celebra- earlier initiative to care for the Michigan to head a congregation. He tions, but they also built a network of gravesites of Revolutionary and Civil discovered he had been misled: There potential supporters for the book War veterans. In Middletown to the was no church, and the hall where project. He was not shy about leaning south, he was active in the Grand the tiny congregation met had been on his wife’s Ranney “cousins” for Army of the Republic, and he leased to a Roman Catholic group. He support, as evidenced in this “pitch” attended every reunion of the was similarly disappointed with from the 1905 reunion bruchure: Wesleyan University Class of 1859 church leadership after postings in “The undersigned has now entered through 1924. (He was a frequent Menominee, Wisconsin and Fort on his seventieth year and is anxious reunion speaker – the transcription Dodge, Iowa. In 1883 he left the to hasten the completion of the of his often hilarious remarks and Episcopal Church, entered the preparation, and to see the publica- shaggy anecdotes is good reading.) Catholic Church, and returned to tion of this work. … He, therefore, His articles on history, education, Connecticut. He had his fill of being a signifies his desire that any so and town affairs were published in minister, and began a second career disposed should now send part or full local newspapers, as were his fre- as a newspaper journalist working for payment for the volume, and thereby quent letters to the editor on envi- publications in the Naugatuck Valley hasten the work of preparation for continued on page 10 and in Hartford. the printer. Two hundred and fifty At right In 1888 he moved with his family dollars are needed for this purpose. is the headstone to Cromwell, residing in his wife’s While he greatly desires to live to of Charles family home, the house on the corner meet you in person at our next Collard of South and Pleasant Streets that celebration, his present desire is to Adams was originally built for John Sage see the volume issued from the press. located at You will hasten the realization of this Old Center (1727-1805) and Ann (Ranney) Sage Cemetery, (1723-1778) in 1761. desire if you weigh well these final Cromwell, In the last decade of the 19th words. – Charles Collard Adams.” Conn. century Adams’ interest turned [Full disclosure: Your editor’s 2nd- When he increasingly to local history and great-grandfather, Samuel Wilson died he was the town’s genealogy. Leading up to the publica- Clark (1838-1920), a Ranney descen- oldest male tion of Middletown Upper Houses dant and charter member of the resident.

5 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA Far western New York was a destination for those seeking more ‘elbow room’ in the early 19th century continued from page 1 The Holland Land Company also N.Y., a vast expanse of the New York purchased land in nine counties in frontier, but centered around the northwestern Pennsylvania, which present-day Utica region. The focus was also a landing place for those of this article, another in a series on moving west from Connecticut. the post-Revolutionary War exodus The map on the facing page shows from Middletown, is on the move to the early 19th-century routes from the far western New York and central Connecticut to western New Pennsylvania lands promoted by the York. Whatever the route, whether Holland Land Company. belongings were in a wagon or on the The Holland Land Company was a Above is the Holland Land Co. land office in Batavia, N.Y., active from 1802 to 1846, back of an ox, it was an arduous group of 13 Dutch investors who when the company was dissolved. It is now journey through wilderness and wanted to invest in the new United home to the Holland Land Office Museum. newly-cleared, stump-strewn farms – States. Because non-citizens were not a story oft-recorded in family lore. permitted to own land in the U.S., this Apparently the timing was right, for A look at surnames in the early group of investors engaged representa- the bustling activity in the ensuing 19th-century federal census records of tives to purchase land in western New years was the origin of the phrase, western New York counties turns up York and Pennsylvania in the 1790s. “doing a land-office business.” many names that suggest Middletown The machinations of this company (1760-1826), who led roots: Bowe, Clark, Cotton, Gipson, were complex, and comprehensive a team in surveying the vast purchase Hall, Higby, Hubbard, Miller, Prior, explanation is beyond the scope of this (1798-1800) and marking out town- Sage, Stanclift, Stocking, Ward, article. In short, the representatives ships and 320-acre and 120-acre Wetmore, and Wilcox. More detailed seized the opportunity to acquire lands tracts, was appointed the company’s tracking of surnames in the census of the defaulted Phelps & Gorham agent, and directed sales until 1821. may reveal more about this migration. Purchase. In 1788 and Handbills, newspaper advertisements, Published genealogies of selected Nathaniel Gorham had purchased six and word-of-mouth attracted interest Middletown families also tell the story million acres from Massachusetts(!?) of potential land-owners, who for the of the move to western New York. and the original owners, the Six most part had roots in New England. Many of these families moved directly Nations of the Confederacy. Over the years, tensions between from Middletown, but it appears that Upon defaulting on payments in 1791, landowners and the company were just as many had previously moved to Phelps and Gorham sold some land to high, as contracts and credit terms western Massachusetts, Vermont, or Revolutionary War financier, U.S. were adjusted repeatedly, and prom- central New York before moving on to senator, and signer of the Declaration ises of improved roads were not kept. western New York or Pennsylvania. of Independence, Robert Morris of When the land office in Batavia was Highly recommended for western . Soon after, discrepancies closed in 1846, none of the Dutch New York research is the New York with land surveys came to light, and in proprietors had ever set foot on their Family History Research Guide and 1793 Morris sold 3,350,000 acres to western New York investments. Gazetteer, which is reviewed on page the Holland Land Co., retaining his 8. Neophytes and veteran researchers “reserve” of 500,000 acres. alike will find it to be a valuable The Holland Land Co. aimed to turn reference when tracking ancestors in over the land rapidly, but that goal western New York. was not realized. It became clear that proper surveys, roads, and canals were Sources Turner, Orsamus. History of the Pioneer Settlement of needed in order to entice new settlers. Phelps & Gorham’s Purchase, and Morris’ Reserve. Another issue was securing clear title Rochester, N.Y.: William Alling, 1852. Mathews, Lois Kimball. The Expansion of New England: to all the land from the Six Nations. The Spread of New England Settlement and Institutions In late 1797 the company negotiated to the Mississippi River 1620-1865. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1909. an agreement with , chief Brooks, Charles E. Frontier Settlement and Market of the Seneca nation, that included a Revolution: The Holland Land Purchase. Ithaca, N.Y.: Above is the Holland Land Company Cornell University Press, 1996. 200,000-acre reservation. vault in Mayville, N.Y. The company Silsby, Robert W. “The Holland Land Company in Western In 1802 a sales office was opened in required that all of its records be stored New York,” Adventures in Western New York History, Vol. VIII. Buffalo, N.Y.: Buffalo and Erie County Historical Batavia, N.Y., in Genesee County. in a bank vault, or a vault of its own. Society, 1961.

6 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA

Feature Graphic #19: Destinations in Western New York SCALE OF MILES: Those choosing to leave Middletown in the decades after the Clinton N Revolutionary War had among their choices new lands opening 25 miles WRENCE RIVER Franklin up in western New York and Pennsylvania. The map below shows . LA (1) the counties in 1810, (2) the various land company purchases, ST St. Lawrence and (3) routes taken to get to them. (Custom map by R.W. Bacon) A Essex VERMONT Jefferson CANAD NEW YORK (showing counties as of 1810) Lewis Shaded area at far west indicates Holland Land Co. purchases (1792-1793).

LAKE ONTARIO Washington Oneida Montgomery HAMPSHIRE Rochester ERIE CANAL Sodus -1825 Herkimer Niagara Saratoga Genesee Ontario Utica Batavia Onondaga ROAD - 1798 Buffalo PHELPS NEW & GREAT GENESEE Madison CONNECTICUT RIVER ANY Schenectady LAKE -1792 GORHAM Albany

TH Cayuga Otsego Rensselaer A COMP PURCHASE MASSACHUSETTS ERIE Extension Cortland Schoharie (1788) Seneca Chenango Albany TURNPIKE -1804 Pittsfield

AND RESERVE CATSKILL SHORE P L -1806 TURNPIKE TSKILL (1669) CA Unadilla ALBANY AKE Extension L AND Ithaca D UL POST ROAD GREENWOOD PURCHASECattaraugus EL ST ROAD (1792-1793) (after 1793 sale) Bainbridge A E Allegany W R & Catskill Bath A Greene (1799) Salamanca RE T HOLL UR to Erie, Pa. Tioga Broome NP Steuben Delaware IKE - 1A Columbia Chautauqua MORRIS 8 “Preemption Line” 04 N. Canaan McKean Potter Kingston Hartford Erie Warren Salisbury Smethsport Coudersport Tioga Luzerne Sullivan Ulster ANCRAM

arren TURNPIKE (1805) Middletown W Dutchess PENNSYLVANIA CONNECTICUT

(showing counties as of 1810) Orange HUDSON RIVER enango

V Shaded areas in Pennsylvania indicate Wayne Jefferson Lycoming Holland Land Co. purchases (1792, 1796). -

Rock Clearfield land estchester

Centre NEW W Suffolk

Butler Northumberland Northampton JERSEY Queens Armstrong Indiana Kings Berks New York City TLANTIC Indiana Huntingdon Mifflin A Allegheny Dauphin Richmond OCEAN

narrative form, interweaving the New book on the Hubbard family threads of history from the time before Middletown, to the present. This is no is a narrative of 13 generations dry genealogical tome, as the family By R.W. Bacon project – first-class education (two stories, letters, and photos add life to Editor, The Middler master’s degrees), broad career and the details of the moves to western A few weeks ago your editor was business experience, four years of New York, to the Midwest, and finally pleased to receive a review copy of project-specific research, and a to California in Gold Rush days. Hubbard Family: Pioneers in America, lifetime of soaking up family stories. The forward-moving narrative is a by Elizabeth Grace Branstead. The Hubbard Family tells the story of 13 strength. Readers familiar with the author’s excellent conception, organi- generations of the author’s family in subject will tolerate a few smooth zation, research, and writing came elisions here-and-there when exact together to produce a book that will Hubbard Family: details are unknown. This tendency is remain a treasure for the family for Pioneers in America, by counterbalanced by the forthright generations to come. Elizabeth Grace Branstead, details about more recent generations. The author, a descendant of George is a well-produced 6"x9", Hubbard Family will always be a 314-page paperback. Hubbard (1601-1684) and Elizabeth The book is available treasure to the author’s family, but for Watt (1618-1702) of Middletown, for purchase online at those planning a similar project, the brought plenty of resources to the www.amazon.com. book can also serve as a fine model.

7 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA RECOMMENDED REFERENCE If you research New York ancestors, you need the New York Family History Research Guide

By R.W. Bacon The New York Family History Research Editor, The Middler Guide and Gazetteer, a publication of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Upon arrival at the New England Society, rolled off the press in early 2015. The 840-pages, 8.5"x11" book is available Regional Genealogical Conference in directly from the publisher (NYG&B) at Providence, R.I. this spring, there 36 West 44th St., Ste. 711, New York, NY was so much chatter about the newly- 10036 (www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org). published New York Family History The cost is $85 plus shipping. (NYG&B members pay $65 plus shipping.) Research Guide and Gazetteer that your editor had to have a look and see what all the fuss was about. Historic Genealogical Register; and The verdict in brief: All the fuss Harry Macy Jr., FASG, FGBS, who about the book is justified. In fact, it served as consulting editor. In four is so remarkable that now your full pages of credits, there were six editor will add to the chatter. managing editors, seven design and The New York Family History production staff, 16 contributing Research Guide and Gazetteer is a authors, 95 contributors and advi- massive compendium, over three sors, six research associates, and 35 years in the making, of narrative research assistants. Compilation of summaries, research repositories, information for the county guides online sources, and bibliographies for Should this book receive the called upon 171 public historians, every conceivable category of genea- recognition it deserves in the form of genealogists, archivists, and research logical inquiry, and for every county, awards, the honors will be shared by librarians from across the state. The city, and town in the state. hundreds: A veritable army labored total: 347 credited individuals. Since publication, buzz generated to make this book a reality. The 11- Despite the dry title, the book is by the book has come from leading member review committee included also very browseable. Even if you are genealogists, scholars, librarians, and four former editors of the New York not immersed in tracking down your archivists, including D. Joshua Genealogical and Biographical Middletown-to-New York ancestors, Taylor; Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; Ann Record: Laura DeGrazia, CG, FGBS; you will find much that fascinates. If Thornton, Director of the New York Karen Mauer Jones, CG, FGBS; you are researching New York Public Library; and David S. Ferriero, Henry B. Hoff, CG, FASG, FGBS, ancestors in any part of the state, Archivist of the United States. current editor of the New England this book is indispensable. Part I includes 17 encyclopedic chapters on Colonial-era governmental records, vital records, census records, immigration & naturalization records, court records, probate records, land records, military records, cemetery records, business & organizational records, tax records, city directories, newspapers & periodicals, population records, and church records. Part II bulges with information on all the counties, cities, towns, villages, hamlets, crossroads, and defunct places in the state, with maps, time- lines, and corresponding information Above left is a typical county map in the New York Family History Research Guide on records locations, research reposito- and Gazetteer, in this case Oneida County, showing the cities and towns within it. Above right are pages that follow the map. The left column on each page lists the ries, libraries, archives, online sources, cities and towns, with a time-line of divisions and name-changes for each. The center and old-school hard-copy books. column list villages within the towns, while the right column adds historical notes.

8 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA RECOMMENDED READING New book by Robert Charles Anderson, FASG, shares his methods as a master investigator By R.W. Bacon “linkage” of evidence leads to reliable Editor, The Middler genealogical conclusions. Part II of the book is devoted to The contemporary genealogist genealogical problem-solving, and the researching New England ancestors, author’s five-step sequence used in unless they have been working under the Great Migration Study: (1) the a rock – or buried under a pile of identification of the problem to solve, 19th-century doorstop-sized family (2) the determination of the data histories – has almost certainly needed to solve it, (3) the collection of encountered the masterful work of accurate data, (4) the analysis and Robert Charles Anderson, FASG. His linkage of the data, and (5) the ongoing Great Migration Study resolution of the particular problem Project, which aims to profile every and the testing of the conclusion. one of the 20,000-plus settlers Throughout the book are case arriving in New England 1620-1640, studies that clarify the application of has thus far produced 10 massive Anderson’s method, and diagrams volumes (up to 1635), a quarterly that clarify the relationship of the newsletter, and separate books on steps in analysis and problem-solving. early settlers of the Plymouth Colony Appendices include a glossary of and arrivals on the Winthrop Fleet – terms; a comparison of the legal, a total of 9,915 pages of genealogical scientific, and historico-literary scholarship … and still counting. models of evaluating evidence; the Middler readers who have con- Elements of Genealogical Analysis by Robert Charles Anderson, FASG, GENTECH genealogical data model; sulted the SMFSD website may note published in late 2014, is available and forged or fabricated records. similarities between the Great directly from the New England Historic Robert Charles Anderson came to Migration Study profiles and the Genealogical Society, 99-101 Newbury genealogy in the 1970s from a diverse approach to profiling Middletown’s Street, Boston, MA 02116; 888-296-3447 (www.AmericanAncestors.org). background. With a graduate degree in early settlers, as Anderson’s work molecular biology, his first career was was the model for that undertaking his two “Fundamental Rules of as a biochemist. That was followed by as well as the model for the subse- Genealogy”: (1) that all statements a specialization in electronics intelli- quent compilation in book form. Your must be based on the exhaustive gence for the U.S. Army. In his preface, editor is only one of many research- analysis of records (i.e. analyze the he writes: “These two pursuits, ers and compilers who have followed validity of evidence), and (2) that seemingly quite distant from geneal- the exemplary lead of the Great there must be an explicit reason to ogy, provided both the basis for my Migration Study Project. claim that any two records refer to genealogical skills and the impetus for With the new book, Elements of the same person (i.e. have proof for the writing of a book on methodology.” Genealogical Analysis, Anderson now each conclusion). The author’s Great In 1983 he earned a master’s degree in presents his methods of evidence Migration Study Project method – colonial American history from the analysis and genealogical problem- and the book derived from it – grew University of Massachusetts – several solving in a crystal-clear and digest- from these two fundamental rules. years after election as a Fellow of the ible form for anyone working on The organization of the 168-page American Society of Genealogists. His their own family history. 6"x9" paperback is just as logical as research and writing has flowed The author states in the preface Anderson’s methodology. After a brief steadily for over 40 years. that he had this book in mind ever preface and a slightly longer introduc- The author states at the outset since he was beginning his research tory overview, Part I of the book is that his research approach is not the in the 1970s, when he noticed that devoted to analysis and the use of only system, and it is neither new most how-to books on genealogy analytic tools. The author differenti- nor magical. But anyone serious concentrated on finding sources ates between “sources” and “records,” about genealogy will appreciate his rather than methodology, analysis, or discusses the rigorous evaluation of clear presentation of comprehensive procedures. In 1982 he formulated each, and explains how proper and proven methodology.

9 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA SMFSD Membership Information If you descend from a pre-1700 settler, we welcome you to join us The following are individuals (and presumably spouses & families) said to have settled in Middletown, Conn. before 1700. The list is from The History of Middlesex County (Henry Whittemore, Beers Co., 1884), derived in part from the List of Householders & Proprietors, Middletown, March 22, 1670. Names in boldface are the original 1650-54 settlers. N.B.!: This list is known to be incomplete! If you descend from a pre-1700 settler not on this list, including a Native American or African-American ancestor, please contact our Registrar about submitting lineage and references. Not a descendant? Join us in the Friends category! Josiah Adkins . . . . . 1673 Samuel Cotton. . . . . 1697 Edward Higby . . . . . 1667 Daniel Pryor ...... 1696 Samuel Stow . . . . 1651 Obadiah Allyn . . . . . 1670 Samuel Doolittle . . . 1693 Thomas Hill...... 1678 Thomas Ranney . . . 1660 Thomas Stow...... 1669 Thomas Allen. . . . 1650 George Durant. . . . . 1663 Thomas Hopewell . . 1662 William Roberts. . . . 1680 William Sumner . . . 1687 Nathaniel Bacon . 1650 Samuel Eggleston . . 1663 George Hubbard . 1650 Joseph Rockwell . . . 1693 James Tappin . . . . . 1662 William Briggs . . . . . 1677 John Elton ...... 1677 John Hulbert ...... 1669 Alexander Rollo . . . . 1697 Matthias Treat . . 1659 John Blake...... 1677 Thomas Ferman . . . 1679 Isaac Johnson . . . . . 1670 Noadiah Russell. . . . 1696 Edward Turner . . . . 1665 William Blumfield1650 Edward Foster . . . . . 1670 Francis Jones...... 1672 David Sage ...... 1662 John Ward ...... 1664 John Boarn ...... 1677 Jonathan Gilbert. . . 1672 John Jordan...... 1678 John Savage . . . . 1650 William Ward...... 1659 Alexander Bow . . . . 1660 John Gill ...... 1676 John Kirby...... 1653 Arthur Scovill . . . . . 1671 Andrew Warner . . . . 1667 Nathaniel Brown. . . 1655 Richard Goodale . . . 1671 Isaac Lane ...... 1664 Edward Shepard . . . 1687 Robert Warner. . . . . 1655 Thomas Burk...... 1670 George Graves . . . . 1650? Thomas Lewis . . . . . 1687 Joseph Smith ...... 1675 Robert Webster . . 1650 William Cheney . . . . 1655 John Hall ...... 1650 William Lucas . . . . . 1667 William Smith . . . 1650 Benjamin West. . . . . 1698 Samuel Clark...... 1676 Richard Hall . . . . 1650 Daniel Markham . . . 1677 William Southmayd. 1674 Thomas Wetmore 1650 Jasper Clements . . . 1670 Samuel Hall . . . . . 1650 Anthony Martin. . . . 1661 Comfort Starr . . . . . 1673 Nathaniel White . 1650 Henry Cole ...... 1650? Giles Hamlin . . . . 1650 John Martin. . . . . 1650 James Stanclift . . . . 1686 Francis Whitmore . . 1674 Nathaniel Collins . . 1664 Benjamin Hands . . . 1678 Thomas Miller . . . 1650 Samuel Stocking . 1650 John Wilcox ...... 1654 Samuel Collins. . . . . 1665 Daniel Harris. . . . 1653 John Payne ...... 1676 John Stow ...... 1667 James Wright...... 1690 William Cornwell 1650 William Harris. . . 1650 George Phillips . . . . 1680 Nathaniel Stow . . . . 1676 Membership benefits . . . Membership is a simple 1-2-3 procedure . . . When you join the Society of Middletown First If you are a descendant of any pre-1700 Middletown settler, and would like to join SMFSD, here is Settlers Descendants, you will receive: the easy procedure: • Two issues per year of The Middler, the (1) Send an outline/worksheet of your lineage to the Registrar. The applicant shall do their own SMFSD newsletter full of information useful genealogical research, and the resulting lineage should be accompanied by copies of reference for research about Middletown’s first settler material by generation. The Registrar seeks to verify submitted information, but does not families and local history. research family lines. • Access to the SMFSD web site which includes (2) Send a check payable to the Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants (1650-1700) for first settler profiles, genealogy resources, local the non-refundable $10.00 application handling fee. history articles, a custom-prepared annotated (3) The Registrar will review the application for approval. Documentation is required only bibliography for Middletown research, and an through the line of descent from the 1650-1700 settler. If needed, guidelines will be sent that help archive of past Middler issues. document descent by generation. (The Society will return an application if more documentation • The annual membership roster enabling you to is needed. It is the applicant’s responsibility to complete any gaps in the records.) When network with Middletown “cousins” and approved, the new member can choose to pay annual or lifetime dues: researchers across the country. (A) Annual dues (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31) are $20.00 (in addition to the initial $10.00 handling fee). • The opportunity to attend SMFSD meetings (B) A new member may elect to pay lifetime dues (instead of annual dues) based on age: Age 0-50, (every three years) in Middletown that include $300; Age 51-70, $200; Age 70+, $100. Life Members receive a certificate suitable for framing. genealogy research, cemetery tours, library/ Friends of SMFSD. Are you a history enthusiast? Would you like to receive The Middler? Join museum visits, networking, and social events. us at $20 per year! • The opportunity to participate in the Please send membership inquiries & lineage information to: Hal Whitmore, Registrar, organization, suggest/plan meeting activities, Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants, 1301 N. Harrison St., Apt. 201, Wilmington, and vote on SMFSD business. DE 19806; or via e-mail to: [email protected].

Charles Collard Adams … American flag; and (4) Arthur Adams Delta Chi Press, 1905, 1908, 1912. continued from page 5 The Sixth Catalogue of Theta Delta Chi Fraternity. (1870-1893). Boston, Mass.: Chapple Press, 1911. ronmental, tree-planting, and town The author of Middletown Upper The Journal of the Proceedings of the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of beautification issues. Houses is buried in Cromwell’s Old Massachusetts (1871 & 1874 editions). Boston, Mass.: A. Charles Collard Adams and his Center Cemetery. Williams Co., 1871 & 1874. wife, Elizabeth, had four children: (1) The Journal of the Proceedings of the Convention of the Sources Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Western Elizabeth (Adams) Kincaid (1861- Michigan. Hasting, Mich.: Episcopal Diocese of Western Adams, Charles Collard. Middletown Upper Houses. New Michigan, 1884. 1952), a school teacher and later a York, N.Y.: Grafton Press, 1908. Minutes of the Annual Conferences of the Methodist local historian; (2) James Adams Adams, Charles Collard. Reunion of the Society of Episcopal Church for the Year 1860. New York, N.Y.: Middletown Upper Houses, Inc. Cromwell, Conn.: C.C. Carlton & Porter, 1860. (1863-1939), a newspaper composi- Adams, 1905. www.AmericanConverts.org. (Database of converts and tor; (3) C. S. Gridley Adams (1867- Decker, Robert Owen. Cromwell, Connecticut 1650-1990: conversions in American history by Lincoln Mullen of The History of a River Port Town. West Kennebunk, Brandeis U. and Erin Bartram of the U. of Connecticut.) 1958), a magazine journalist who Maine: Phoenix Publishing, 1991. www.TownGreens.com. (history and background of gained notoriety as a promoter of the The Shield: Official Publication of the Theta Delta Chi Cromwell’s town green and Patriots Corner.) Fraternity (Vol. 21, 24, & 28). New York, N.Y..: Theta

10 MARK YOUR CALENDAR & REGISTER NOW! Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants Triennial Meeting – October 8-10, 2015 Meeting Headquarters: Marriott Residence Inn, Rocky Hill, Connecticut Join us for three days of events & research The 2015 meeting of the Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants presents an opportunity to gather with Middletown cousins, genealogists, and local history enthusiasts in our ancestral hometown. Complete the registration form below, return it with your check, and then join us for a genealogy-rich program of research, stimulation, and fun. (Want to learn more about SMFSD and past Triennial Meetings? Google-search “Middletown First Settlers” and visit our information-packed web site.) SMFSD Triennial Meeting Schedule (subject to change): Wednesday, October 7: For Early Arrivals 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Registration for early arrivals (at hotel) Accommodations … More destinations of 7 p.m. SMFSD Board Meeting Make your hotel reservations genealogical interest Thursday, October 8: Middletown Research Day independently by contacting our In addition to scheduled activities, 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. Registration at hotel meeting headquarters, the Marriott Residence Inn, 680 Cromwell Ave. here are destinations of genealogical & 8:30 a.m. Orientation to research destinations historical interest you may want to add Afternoon Lunch (on our own) (Rte. 3, off Rte. I-91), Rocky Hill, CT 06067, at 860-257-7500. Mention the to your Triennial Meeting checklist*: 9 a.m.-12 noon Research in Middletown (your choice!) SMFSD meeting for our group rate. 1 p.m. Lecture Presentation by Mel Smith • Godfrey Memorial Library of the Connecticut State Library History & • Middlesex County Historical Society Genealogy Unit (topic TBD) (Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown, Conn.) • City Clerk’s Office, Middletown 3 p.m. SMFSD Business Meeting (at Russell Library) • Middletown Heritage Trail 5 p.m. Wine & Cheese Social at the hotel hosted by Don & Lyn Brock • (self-guided 20-station walking tour) Evening A free evening and/or dinner on our own with friends and cousins old & new. • Exploration of ancestral properties Friday, October 9: Hartford Research Day In the Hartford area . . . 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Research in Hartford [Connecticut State Library, Connecticut Historical Society Library, Connecticut Society of Genealogists Library (Glastonbury)] • Connecticut State Library 6 p.m. Banquet at Dakota Steak House, 1489 Silas Deane Highway, Rocky Hill, Conn. • Connecticut Historical Society Guest speaker: Dr. Lucianne Lavin, Director of Research & Collections at the • Connecticut Society of Genealogists Institute of American Indian Studies in Washington, Conn. An archaeologist, • Ancient Burying Ground, Hartford researcher, educator, and award-winning author, Ms. Lavin will speak on Native Americans in Connecticut both before and after the arrival of English settlers. • Wadsworth Atheneum • (Wallace Nutting Collection Saturday, October 10: Free Choice Day • of Early American Furniture) 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Self-Directed Research & Exploration. Libraries, museums, cemeteries, • Wethersfield, Conn. ancestral landscapes, and a walking tour of historic Middletown await you! • (mid-18th-century architecture) Evening Informal Dinner – A farewell evening on our own with friends old & new. *Admission charges may apply. For more information contact Mike Campbell at [email protected] REGISTRATION FORM

Name: Event Registration ...... # @$35...... = Fri. Lunch (TBD?)...... # @$?? (TBD)...= Address: Fri. Banquet at Dakota SH .# @$40...... = (Cost includes tax and gratuity; excludes beverages) Banquet at Dakota Steak House in ??????? includes City/Town State Zip Code choices from their special menu of appetizers, entrées, and desserts.

TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED...... $ Telephone: E-mail: Please make check payable to The Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants. Date arriving: Date departing: Do you need transportation to & from our events? Y N Please note that the registration fee DOES NOT include Please check events you will attend (for planning purposes): other restaurant meals or lodging. Please make hotel reservations ___Thursday Middletown Research Day ___Friday Hartford Research Day by calling our meeting headquarters hotel, ___Thursday Lecture at Russell Library ___Friday Dinner at Dakota Steak House the Marriott Residence Inn, Rocky Hill, Conn., at 860-257-7500, and mentioning ___Thursday Wine & Cheese Social ___Saturday Free Choice Day the SMFSD meeting to get our group rate. Send this form with check to: Mike Campbell, SMFSD Treasurer, 3570 Willow St., Bonita, CA 91902 MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER of the SOCIETY of MIDDLETOWN FIRST SETTLERS DESCENDANTS he Mid e CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. CONNECTICUT, USA Triennial Meeting … followed at 3 p.m, by the SMFSD Connecticut both before and after the continued from page 1 business meeting. At 5 p.m. back at arrival of English settlers. This year’s schedule allows for the hotel is the Wine & Cheese Social Saturday, October 10 is Free more free choice in research destina- hosted by Don & Lyn Brock. Dinner Choice Day, devoted to self-directed tions and self-directed explorations, on Thursday evening is a chance to research and exploration. This is a though attendees reconvene as a explore restaurants on our own. good day to explore cemeteries, group for meetings, speakers, and Friday, October 9 is Hartford ancestral homes and landscapes, or go the Friday banquet. Research Day, with 9 a.m. to 4:30 back once more to your favorite For early arrivals, registration is p.m. devoted to visiting the libraries, library. The self-guided walking tour of open from 3-5 p.m. at the hotel on cemeteries, and historic sites of one’s downtown Middletown, with informa- Wednesday, October 7. The SMFSD choice. The Connecticut State Library tive interpretive panels at the various board meeting is at 7 p.m. and the Connecticut Historical Society stops, is a fine introduction to Thursday, October 8 is Library are sure to be popular Middletown’s history. Dinner on Middletown Research Day, which destinations. At 6 p.m. is the Triennial Saturday is on our own, but it will be begins with an orientation to the Meeting Banquet at Dakota Steak a fine time to gather, compare notes various nearby research destinations. House in Rocky Hill, Conn., followed on any new research findings, and From 9 a.m. to 12 noon, attendees by guest speaker Dr. Lucianne Lavin, raise a toast to all the ancestors that, can visit the library of their choice. Director of Research and Collections for all their triumphs, tribulations, After lunch, at 1 p.m. is a lecture at at the Institute of American Indian faults, or follies, persevered with Middletown’s Russell Library by Mel Studies in Washington, Conn. Ms. enough life-force to beget the next Smith of the Connecticut State Lavin, an archaeologist, researcher, generation – leading ultimately to us. Library’s Genealogy Unit. (The topic educator, and award-winning author, I hope to meet you in October in is not yet determined). The lecture is will speak on Native Americans in Middletown. See you there!

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