"The winter New England storms" of 1716-17, 1802 and 1876, as remembered in 1891(Week 35: Disaster)

Winters to Remember---1778, The North Shore certainly has seen its share of "Winters to remember," and many of these were chronicled by historian Sidney Perley in his "Historic Storms of New England." (1891) (Photos have been added by the blogger.)

"One of the most devastating snowstorms in local history occurred in a few-month period beginning in December 1716 & ending in late February the following year.  A series of December snowstorms left five feet of snow on the ground, & by mid-Feb. a base of three feet still blanketed the area.  But the worst was yet to come.  On Feb. 18, a heavy  snowstorm enveloped New England & lasted for four days.  It abated briefly on the 22nd. & 23rd., but resumed on the 24th. with a vengeance.  By the end of the storm, the North Shore lay under 10 to 15 feet of snow.

A modern snow storm!

"Many single-story homes were covered.  Residents dug tunnels beneath the snow between their homes & their barns or neighbors' houses.  Those wishing to walk on top of the snow needed snowshoes to do so.The impact of the storm on livestock & wild animals in the area was devastating.  Flocks of sheep & herds of cattle & horses were buried under the deep snow & suffocated.  Miraculously, nearly a month after the storm ended, two sheep were found alive under 16 feet of snow.  They had survived by eating the wool of their dead companions.Starving bears, foxes & wolves hunted down equally hungry deer & ate them. Perley notes that 19 out of every 20 deer in the region were killed in this period.

The great snow hurricane of 1804

"Snowstorms were equally treacherous to mariners.  In a terrible blizzard in Feb. 1802, three Salem ships--The Brutus, the Ulysses, & the Volusia were aground in the shallow waters off Cape Cod.  The crew members of the latter two vessels were fortunate enough to be rescued by local inhabitants.  The seamen on the Brutus were not so lucky as nine of the 14 crew members perished.  One of the survivors, Benjamin Ober of Manchester, came to be buried up to his neck in sand & snow.  He was too weak to dig his way out & his voice was way too hoarse to yell to potential rescuers.  Finally after 36 agonizing hours, he was rescued.  Sadly, he expired shortly thereafter.

"Perley recounts the plight of two Marblehead men, Thomas Hooper & Valentine Tidder Jr; during a blizzard that hit New England in early Dec. 1876.  The men left Salem on foot for home after dark on a Saturday night despite the fact that it had been snowing heavily for nearly 24 hours.  The two became disoriented & eventually got separated from each other.  Their bodies were found in open fields far from the Salem-Marblehead road.

"Two other area men fared better during that same storm, Samuel Pulsifer & Samuel Elwell were trapped near Hog Island in Ipswich & took refuge in the middle of a haystack.  The hay kept them warm & dry for a time, but eventually the haystack was carried away by rising waters.  The terrified pair floated for hours atop the pile, & were headed out to sea.  Eventually, though, they were able to summon enough strength & courage to jump onto a passing cake of ice which eventually took them to an island very close to shore.  There they were rescued by Maj. Charles Smith of Ipswich.

At Ancestry.com this is the source listed..Geneology of the Swasey Family 1910 by Benjamin Swasey an ebook that is available on line.

I was caught by the name Samuel Pulsifer, because a few generations before, some of the Pulsifer family moved to Louisiana and Texas...and Lucy Pulsifer, who was born in 1807 in Newburyport, MA moved to the area that would become Beaumont Texas.  Well, I don't know how she was related to the poor man in the haystack in 1876 near Ipswitch. There were still family members in Massachusetts so they could have been relatives.

I am reminded that storms are a force of nature, which make humans feel so small and insignificant.  And there are many that happen and aren't recorded and noticed by humanity.  I wonder if in pre-historic days there were ever cave-paintings or carvings to indicate these forces.  I have never heard of them if they existed.

Originally on my blog on Monday, September 30, 2013.

NOTE: 2023. I spent hours looking for a Samuel Pulsifer on Ancestry, going back to the first immigrant, Benjamin Pulsifer. Nobody had a son named Samuel. So perhaps he also was an immigrant.

The girls wore swastikas on their hats in 1933-34

Repost, more high school uniforms in the 1930's.

From - Thursday, October 23, 2014

More uniforms

I continue sharing old yearbook pictures of young people in uniforms.

Ft. Worth Texas, 1931  My dad's best friend (Earl Truelove) is in the Central High School band.
He's listed at the top of members as the Major.  (See my post about him HERE .)  Since then I've heard from my cousin about her family members who were in bands that being the major means he didn't play an instrument.

My father's older brother, Chauncey, was in an ROTC uniform also, right column in photo below, 3rd from bottom.

By 1933 my father had met my mother probably, in Jefferson High School in San Antonio, TX.  She signed her name (Mataley Munhall) by her picture below, the right column at the bottom of portraits.  Is she in Company C's group picture?  Yes, front and center (well, to the right of the tall young man in the very center.)

I don't think my father (George Rogers) was in Company C until 1934.  Then he was listed among the members, but I can't find him in the crowd (photo below).  But where is my mother in 1934?

 

Mataley went to the newly formed Company D in 1934...and she was then listed as a sponsor.  I think George missed his chance, (that time) since she changed her marching company.  Incidentally, like many yearbooks, the group picture below does not have my mother located in the place that is indicated by her name.  She is actually the girl in the middle of the front row, with her eyes closed.  I know you were wondering about that!

I mentioned before  how these young people wore a swastika on their hats...(HERE).
When I remember Hitler's youth troops, it is even possible that his influence came into south Texas through the German connection.  These high school students certainly appeared to have enjoyed wearing uniforms. Here's another post about The Girls who liked to March. And another one with similar photos HERE.

Yes the club was made of young women who met "as a social aid to the Battalion"...and were called the Swastika Club.  I'm sure the young women stopped using that insignia in the early 40s.

1934

The highschool band also had great looking uniforms in San Antonio.

Sharing with Sepia Saturday.

Week 34 (Aug. 20-26): Newest Discovery

 I just discovered another ancestor who was a militiaman in the War of 1812.

Frederick A. Williams had moved from his home county of Orangeburg, South Carolina between 1790 and 1810 to Somerset, Pulaski County KY.  In 1800 he was actually on census reports for both residences. It is possible he'd moved with his family, but hadn't been able to sell his land in South Carolina, so continued to be counted there, probably along with other family members.

With a last name like Williams, it is hard as can be to figure out who was related to whom.  But Frederick did take part in the War of 1812, according to a microfilm of US War of 1812 Soldiers. I could not find Mitchisson's 14th Regt on any Kentucky militia lists, but I'm pretty new to this. So the question becomes, did he fight northward toward Detroit, or southward toward New Orleans? Kentucky militia was active in both battle areas. No answer at this point. In 1812 he would have turned 48. Many other militia men were past their youth as well.

Name	Frederick Williams
Company	14 REG'T (MITCHISSON'S) KENTUCKY MILITIA.
Rank - Induction	PRIVATE
Rank - Discharge	PRIVATE
Roll Box	227
Microfilm Publication	M602

I am also very fortunate to have his marriage certificate (from South Carolina) to Cassandra Elizabeth Tate, in 1785.

Confusion may follow when we see a North Carolina land grant in 1799 in Orange County there...not South Carolina. OK, here's even more confusion, as South Carolina has Orange County as well as Orangeburg County. 

So the North Carolina land grant in 1799 in Orange County may have been for service rendered during the Revolutionary War, or perhaps belongs to another man of the same name. There's no other record linking him there that I've found.

But an ah-ha can be found that he was serving jury duty in Saxe-Gotha, Oangeburgh District of South Carolina in 1780...

Name	Frederick Williams
Gender	M (Male)
State	South Carolina
County	Orangeburgh District
Town	Saxe-Gotha
Residence Year	1780
Household Remarks	He is on the Petit Jury List for the "District of Orangeburgh" [name found on the reverse side of page 12].

Orangeburgh County is close to Charleston SC, see the tiny outlined county.

By 1800 he appears in Pulaski KY...nowhere near North Carolina!

And just to finish the geography of his life... he died in McMinn County TN...southwest of Knoxville on the map below, probably the residence of one of his children. I'm now going to go through the names he lists in his will, some of whom might be granchildren actually.

The greatest new discovery is his own will, written Aug. 27, 1831, several months before his death on Nov. 18, 1831 at 67 years of age. It confirms his wife was Casandra. And appoints executors of Richard Williams and Robert Williams. Interestingly enough, he starts by saying he's Frederick Williams, but then his mark is for Andrew Williams. He was Frederick Andrew Williams (1763-1831).

I've verified all the names of his descendants to receive equal portions of his estate, except the last one, Cosain Baker.  At this point his wife, Casandra Williams had given birth to 13 children...all of whom apparently lived to adulthood. Most married and had more children, including my 3rd great grandfather who moved from KY to Missouri.  Some of his children moved to Texas and were part of my mother's family around San Antonio.

Oh, here's the transcription of the above will, with several misspellings.

Sharing with 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks, Generations Cafe on FB.

School days from my dad's family

Finally I've got some old pictures on the right topic (School Days) for Sepia Saturday. (I do admit to having posted some of them before.)

 From yearbooks of  Central High School in Fort Worth, Texas in the early 1930s.  Both my father, George Rogers, and his older brother Chauncey, were in Company A of the ROTC at Central High.

probably 1930, Central High School, Fort Worth, Texas

This photo may have felt really imposing for someone, but it doesn't show the faces of about a third of the cadets in Company A.  Proper military formation however, and someone has cut and pasted the two adjacent pages from the yearbook together for this panoramic shot.  I believe my uncle Chauncey Rogers is second from right on front row.  Can't recognize my dad anywhere.

1931, Central High School, Fort Worth, Texas

  Chauncey was the First Lieutenant, then Captain, and my dad moved from Private to Corporal in these two pictures.  In the above photo, Chauncey is in front row next to the woman.  I'd like to think my dad is the one holding the flag in the back, but I really don't know. In the past I thought he was right behind Chauncey.

But in reality, these pictures were taken when my father was between 15 and 17 years old.  His brother was 2 years older than he was.  And don't forget, many times young people didn't finish high school at exactly the same age.  It wasn't until my parents were both dead that I found their San Antonio high school graduation programs and that my father graduated a year after my mom.  He was 3 years older than she was. When I asked the surviving Rogers brother, he said he was so much younger than they were that he knew nothing about why that happened.

I did share many other high school photos of my mom and dad from yearbooks on my post HERE.

Have a great week, and go enjoy what other Sepia Saturday folks are posting at the bottom of this site where their names are, and maybe you'll feel like joining in one of these days!

Today's Quote:

Never be so focused on what you're looking for that you overlook the thing you actually find.

Ann Patchett

 

Week 33 (Aug. 13-19): Strength

 A repost of an interesting blog!

Notes:52 Weeks 52 Ancestors gives a suggested meme of Strength.  As I often do, I spent some research time on family ancestors (some of whom were still alive when I was younger...and now I'm turning into an ancestor!) The Attaway sisters were my first cousins three times removed.
This blog includes the comments made by 4 readers...a couple of whom would read and contribute to Sepia Saturday.  The most interesting story is in a comment by Gail, about how she got in touch with her husband-to-be in a town in California, and she noticed the town's name in the obituary of my cousin! Good reading there Gail!  Original posting:Friday, September 23, 2016 Shared with Sepia Saturday then and again this week, since I was a school girl in the following photo. I know the rest of this post isn't about me or school days...but it fits into the Ancestry theme of Strength (Strong women) so well!

Cousins called Aunt Alice and Gertie

I'm going to start from the following picture in front of our home in Houston.  I mentioned our blouses had been hand embroidered by the first woman dentist in El Paso, TX, who I never met, and her sister.




OK,  my maternal grandmother was Mozelle Booth Miller Webb Munhall. (1897-1960)

Her mother was Eugenia Almeda Booth Miller (1873-1936), and her mother was ...
Eugenia Almeda Whitty Booth (1852-1875) She married Richard R. Booth.

Richard's sister was Annie Booth, who married H.F. Attaway.  And with my searching today I found out H. F. stood for Henry Franklin.  So Annie and H. F. had three children, all girls, same generation as my great-grandmother Eugenia A. Booth Miller, or perhaps closer in age to my grandmother, within 10 years)

These girls were
Alice Fredonia Attaway, (1881-1964)
Ethel Booth Attaway (1885-1966)
Gertrude Attaway (1891-1979)

So they were some level of cousins of my grandmother. Did she know them as a young lady? I think she must. How else would she and they do our beautiful clothes? We were the ages their grandchildren might have been.  But Alice and Gertie didn't have children.  Though Ethel did have children, she had married and moved to California, so we had no contact with them.

But was Aunt Alice really the first female dentist in Texas?  Oh yes!

I guess she didn't make much of a splash, like most dentists don't. Her death certificate 31 Aug 1964, give cause as Senility, without any other causes.

She had the same office in downtown El Paso from 1913 till 1948.
It was in the famous Mills Building.  Suite 212.

Mills Building Directory (Alice Attaway, suite 212)

The Anson Mills Building today

The caption says,
"Most Significant Achievement of El Paso's pioneering architectural firm, Trost and Trost, was the 12- story 138,000 square foot Anson Mills Building that dominated the downtown landscape for many years following its construction in 1911-1912.

"At the time of its completion, the Mills building was the largest "monolithic" concrete structure in the world.  Every part -columns, walls,  ceilings, floors -  was made from poured concrete reinforced with steel rods, a more economical approach than importing steel beams from Pennsylvania. The original cost was $1.80 a square foot, and General Anson Mills was pleased that the building would have no need for repairs and no deterioration.  El Paso was a town of 15,000 at that time, with no paved streets when the building was completed."

So Dr. Alice Attaway was one of the original occupants of the famous building.

Inside the entrance to the Mills Building.

I have another distant cousin, of about my generation, who had the same ggg grandfather with a different mother.  She posted in Ancestry back in 2010, a copy of the Booth Family Bible.

Alice and Gertrude Attaway are on the right column

Both Aunts Alice and Gertie were listed in the El Paso business directory in the years 1935, 38, 45 and 48. They lived at the same home address throughout their lives, first with their mother Anna Booth Attaway, with her listed as head of the household, then after she turned 70, Gertrude became the head of the household.  I wrote my thank you notes to this address as they sent us pretty hand embroidered or smocked clothing. (probably from when I first could write in 1948 till 1958 or so)

Recent photo of the Attaway home in El Paso

The 1900 census has an intact family with father H.F. as a painter, wife and 3 daughters, living in Hillsboro, Texas (where the two younger daughters were born, and even where the Booth families were headquartered.)  Oldest daughter, Alice was born in Waco.

H. F. Attaway moved with the family to Houston, where he died in 1906.

In 1910 mother Anna Booth Attaway and the three daughters lived in Houston, where they took in 6  boarders and Anna  called herself a masseur.  Youngest sister Gertrude (19) was still a student, but Ethel said she was an artist, and Alice had no occupation at that census.

Gertrude Attaway may have married after she retired from being a draftsman for the Bureau of Reclamation, and before she died in 1979.  Someone added Ellis to her name on her death certificate. She died of cerebral hemmorrhage and deep thrombosis with gangrene in her left leg, according to that record. Who was this fellow Ellis? He was not the informer for the certificate, who was a man named Philip Jacobs.  I'm guessing the informant was someone in a nursing home or hospital, since Gertie had outlived her other relatives that I know of in El Paso. 

I have enough questions to continue to search for more days and weeks.

How did the Attaway girls come in contact with the Miller girls (4 sisters, daughters of their cousins who lived in San Antonio? I think the grandmother sisters, Eugenia Booth Miller and Anna Booth Attaway must have corresponded between San Antonio and El Paso. And maybe they visited each other by train at that time. Eugenia's husband was a conductor on passenger trains at that time.

What is/was the Bureau of Reclamation anyway? It was neat to see the early feminism in my family when Gertrude gave her occupation as a drafts-woman at that Bureau for the 1950 census. By that time she was declared the head of household with just her older sister Alice living at home, retired from dentistry.

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