The Nickerson Family Association, Inc
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SPRING 2016 Newsletter The Nickerson Family Association, Inc. Signature of William1 Nickerson Explore Your Roots During History Weekend! On Saturday, June 18 we will host a Family Genealogy Day in conjunction with Chatham History Days Open House. Caleb House artisans will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. demonstrating their Colonial arts. See page 3 for details. Plan to Attend the NFA Reunion Sept. 9 to 11 in Falmouth! Join us as we explore the history of beautiful Falmouth. From walking tours to sunset harbor cruises, this reunion is sure to be memorable. See pages 4 and 5. Click here to register: http://nickersonassoc.com Calling All Samuel Line Descendants! If you are descended from the Samuel line, we want to hear from you. Do you have genealogical information, photographs, Bible inscriptions? Search your files and please let us know if you can help by contacting Nancy Nickerson Corey at [email protected]. See pages 10 and 11 for genealogy volunteer profiles. Discover Caleb House’s Forgotten Arts This Season! Love open hearth cooking? Heirloom gardening? Colonial carpentry? Explore the many programs offered at the Caleb Nickerson House this year. Calendar on page 3. Hear Nickerson stories behind The Finest Hours! Nickersons reveal the inside story on the new Disney film shot in Chatham. See pages 12 and 13. Found! From the pages of history: A 1921 letter from genealogist J. Gardner Bartlett researching Nickerson roots in England. Visit www.nickersonassoc.com to read the letter in its entirety. ...being, in a sense, the printed voice of the Nickerson Family Association “Nickerson House.” Recent donors to the 2015-16 Thank You! “We’re Fixin’ Up the Houses” Capital Campaign.* Grand Benefactor Friends William J. Nickerson Jr. & Joy Nickerson Kimberly Herber Dennis Langley Conservators Jahneene M. Nickerson Ken & Valinda Bilbrey, in memory of Roger Alan (Pete) Nickerson Lin Webber Carolyn Granston, in memory of Andrew E. Granston, son of Arnold & Edna Nickerson Granston Supporters Preservationists Lois Mowry Compo, in memory of Esther Nickerson Ahlin Edward M. Grotkowski, in memory of Dorothy Nickerson Grotkowski David M. Nickerson Phyllis Nickerson Power, in memory of Willard H. Nickerson Donors Friends Plus Pam Bailey James Pafford, in memory of grandfather John Martin Nickerson Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Snow, in memory of Carl Nickerson *Donations received after 19 Nov. 2015 Caleb House: before Caleb House: after Welcome 1st Canadian Board Member Debra Sweetman We welcome to the Board of Directors Debra Sweetman of Canada, our first international board member. Many of you are already familiar with Debbie as she accompanied the Nickersons on the tour to Norfolk, England and later to the Chicago reunion at the Driehaus Museum. Many of you also know Debbie’s 11-year-old son Davis Stanko, who often travels with her and was most lately at the reunion in Plymouth last fall. Debbie’s home is Courtice, Ontario, Canada which is part of the Municipality of Clarington and is just east of Toronto between Oshawa and Bowmanville. She is a lawyer whose practice mainly consists of real estate, business law, wills and estates. Debbie also taught business law courses at Durham College as well as a real estate law course for the Ontario Real Estate Association. She was the President of the Whitby Chamber of Commerce and served for several years as Vice President of the Oshawa Chamber of Commerce. Debbie has been an Assessor for the Business Awards of Excellence for Durham Region. She was the first female member of the Whitby Rotary Club and now she is excited to be the NFA’s first Canadian board member! Debbie is a member of numerous local, national, and international genealogical societies and is the Administrator for the Sweetman DNA Project. Debbie is particularly interested in the research that has come to light on the Nickersons in Norfolk and the origin of the Nickerson name. She has learned in her research is that Allen was the married name and not the birth name of Bridget(t) (COCKE) NICKERSON’S mother Margaret. Debbie’s brick wall is her ancestor Phalyphal READE, wife of Benjamin NICKERSON. 2 Caleb Nickerson House Calendar of Events, 2016 Open Wednesdays, May 25 to September 21 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 16: Build a candle box. With its decorative slid- ee what life in the early 19th century was like as you ing lid this is great storage for remotes or CDs. Fee Stour the historic Caleb Nickerson House, a classic $60 plus $10 for materials. Cape with period kitchen gardens and a post & beam out- July 25: Build flower boxes. From simple to elab- house. Early craft demonstrations weekly. orate, flower boxes have dressed up New England homes for the past two centuries. Fee $60 plus $15 Sunday, May 1: for materials. Beehive Oven Baking July 30 & 31: New this year—build a six-board chest Noon to 3 p.m. Join open hearth during a two-day class. This classic blanket chest is cook Maureen Leavenworth as sized to fit your home. Fee $130 plus $30 for materials. she fires up the beehive oven for a day of baking 18th and 19th cen- Sunday, October 9 tury recipes. Bring a dish to cook. Harvest Celebration Come at 9 a.m. to see what it takes 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Join the Caleb Nickerson House artisans to fire up the oven or come at noon as we harvest the summer’s crops and serve up a sumptu- ready to bake. Please call Maureen ous buffet cooked on the open hearth by Maureen Leav- at 508-255-8821 for reservations. enworth. Period gardener Anne Firth will be on hand to explain methods of drying and storing the harvest. Come Saturday, June 18: early to help with the harvest and food preparation. The Chatham History Days Open House buffet is $20 per person and served from noon to 2. Please Sponsored by Historic Chatham. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. call Maureen at 508-255-8821 for reservations. artisans from the Caleb Nickerson House Forgotten Arts Programs will be on hand to demonstrate Colonial crafts Sunday, December 4 and to answer questions about clothing, kitchen life, 13th Annual Holiday Hearthside Open House gardening and early woodworking and home building. 1 to 4 p.m. Ring in the season with what has become one Tour this classic Cape to see life in the early 19th century. of Chatham’s most beloved holiday events. Enjoy refresh- This is alsoFamily Genealogy Day, a time to explore ments made from 19th century recipes, the warmth of the your Nickerson roots in our genealogy center. Come and open hearth fires and music of the period. delve into your family genealogy and enjoy the at- mosphere of our living history campus. June 25 through July 31: Woodworking for Women This is a series of classes for women who always wanted to try woodworking but never had the opportunity. Using traditional hand tools, each student completes a project to take home. Taught by resident artisan Richard Noyes, these classes run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and are limited to five students. Reservations are required. For more in- formation contact Richard at 508-255-9810 or email him at [email protected]. June 25: Build a classic country bench or a small stool. The large version works well in front of a couch or in your mudroom. Fee $65 plus $15 for materials. July 9: Build a timeless Shaker hanging shelf that fits any décor. Fee $65 plus $15 for materials. 3 Nickersons look forward to exploring Falmouth Sept. 9-to-11 What could be more fun that exploring Cape Cod with Village of Woods Hole, once a whaling port. Here you your Nickerson cousins? might visit the Woods Hole Science Aquarium, the During this fall’s “Togethering” on September 9 and 10 Woods Hole Historical Museum, or the world-famous the Nickersons will visit the lovely Town of Falmouth, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, the premiere the second largest town on Cape Cod. And on Sunday, research facility “at the frontiers of ocean science.” If September 11 we will return to our home base in Chatham you care to work on your genealogy, mosey over to the at the Nickerson Family Association campus. Old Burial Ground off Mill Road where gravestones date back 300 years. Nearby is Great Hill, the highest spot of Here’s a roundup of activities we have arranged to date: land on Vineyard Sound, which offers a spectacular ocean On Friday afternoon do- view and quaint gingerbread cottages. cents from the Museums on Saturday evening we will dine at the Sea Crest Beach the Green will lead us on a Resort. If you are looking for a place to stay in Falmouth, walking tour of Falmouth. you can’t beat Sea Crest. It is right on the beach with We will meet at the Historical views across Buzzards Bay. (It is also one of the few ho- Society of Falmouth on the tels on Cape Cod to offer multiple banquet and meeting Village Green, one of seven rooms.) After a cocktail hour we will enjoy a three-course National Historic Districts in Museum on the Green dinner. Our evening speaker will be Dick Flegenheimer, town. This is a lovely old New England area of historic a captain of The Lulu, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti- houses and buildings. From here we will see some of the tute ship which transported the undersea research subma- highlights of Falmouth including the statue of Falmouth’s rine Alvin around the world.