ESSEX-ROOTS-L Archives

From: Bob Bamford <>
Subject: [ESSEX-ROOTS] Essex Roots - June Newsletter
Date: Fri, 01 Jun 2001 06:15:23 -0400

ESSEX-ROOTS The Newsletter for MAEssex List Members
JUNE 2001 Edition
"Never ask a person if their
ancestors came from Essex County,
if they did, they will tell you,
if they didn't... why humiliate
them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This newsletter is now available
in HTML format (best for printing)
at:

www.essexcountyma.org\archives

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLEASE send articles and
suggestions to:
Bob Bamford
Please put Essex-Roots on the
subject line.

Do not reply to this message.
This is a post-only mailing.
=====================================================

IN THIS ISSUE:

-ESSEX BOOKS News - ESSEX ANTIQUARIAN IX, PRICE CHANGES
-Essex's Past - SHOEMAKING IN ESSEX COUNTY
-Tips and Tricks - RACE CHANGE
- Research Resources - VITAL RECORDS AND TOWN INFORMATION
NAMING PATTERNS
-List Member Web Sites - SIGNIFICANT ESSEX SITES
-Family Reunions - TOWNE, MORSE
-Humor - THE CENSUS TAKER IS HOME!
-Ancestor Profiles - DAVID WHARFF OF
GLOUCESTER AND CALIFORNIA

========================================================
MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The intent of the Essex-Roots Newsletter
to allow MAEssex list members to share and
showcase their information, tips, web sites, etc.
We have received some great input which is
reflected in the quality of this month's issue...
BUT can still use more we continue to welcome
(beg) submissions from you, the readers.

==============================================================
ESSEX BOOKS NEWS
(Formerly distributed only to members
of Essex-Books-L)
==============================================================

THE ESSEX ANTIQUARIAN Volume IX

Volume IX (1905) of the Essex Antiquarian is at
the printer and will be shipped to subscribers
the week of 6/11.

The full Table of Contents for all 13 Volumes, as
well as the surrname index to volumes I through IX
is on line at:

www.essexbooks.com\antq

For those who missed the initial subscription in
1999, we will be re-serializing the Antiquarian
beginning with Vol. I in September. Details will
be available in July.
________________________________________________

COMING PRICE INCREASES

Due to increased printing and mailing costs, Essex
Books will be forced to raise prices on those
items that WE PUBLISH OURSELVES *.
he changes are relatively small (6% or less) and
WILL NOT be announced to the general public.
They will take effect with all orders received after
6/30/01.
To avoid the increase, place your order in June.

*Books from other publishers and CDs are not
affected, at this time.
________________________________________________

Master Charge/Visa or Check US funds.
* Inquire re shipment outside USA.

The above books are available with the many other Essex County
research publications at:

www.essexbooks.com

ORDER ON-LINE:
You may enter your credit card order directly on our secure server at:
http://www.essexbooks.com/order.htm

==============================================================
STORIES FROM ESSEX'S PAST
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SHOEMAKING IN ESSEX COUNTY

Shoemakers began to ply their trade in this county
in its first settlement. They were generally
called cordwainers or cordwinders, though those
terms are not sufficiently descriptive of their
occupation, as a cordwainer was one who sewed
leather, but included the making of breeches and
other articles of clothing made of leather.
The journeymen shoemakers, and most of them were
journeymen in the early days, travelled from house
to house, and from village to village, and stopped
in a family long enough to make up a year's supply
of footwear. His habits were similar to those of
the weaver and tailor, and he worked in the house
and boarded with the family while he remained.
From the hide of the cow or ox that the farmer had
killed for a supply of beef, which had been turned
into leather by the tanner, the shoemaker shod the
family, fitting the boots and shoes to each foot.
Sizes, we dare say, were unknown in those earlier
days.
About the middle of the eighteenth century many of
the farmers, from sides of leather tanned from the
bides of their own animals, and from leather they
had purchased, spent their dull winters in making
shoes, the wives and daughters doing the binding
and closing, and the sons helping with the sewing
and in pegging after pegs began to be used. Some
worked by the fireplace in the living room of the
house, but generally a small building was built
near the house in which the men worked. These
little shops were scattered all through Essex
county, and some are still to be seen in the
country.
These shops, and they were nearly all of the same
size and style, measured about ten by twelve feet.
The neighbors frequently dropped in, and
discussions in politics and all current topics
often be came animated. Gossip found here its
readiest promoters.
When the winter's work was done, or the leather
was all made up, the farmer carried his shoes to
some trade centre and sold or bartered them.
Later, some of the men in towns be came
manufacturers. That is, they had a shop in which
they stored their hides and stock and the
manufactured goods. There they cut the
stock,-soles, vamps, quarters, counters, tongues,
lifts, welts and rands : but the boots and shoes
were made in other places. The makers came and
took away the stock, returning the finished goods,
being paid for their labor by the pair. It is said
that the first shop of this kind was in Danvers,
being that of Zerubbabel Porter. His business was
established in 1786, and he made heavy brogans for
the wear of Southern slaves.
About 1812, pegs, and a score of years later the
pegging machine, were invented, and then the
workmen were consolidated. Gangs did the work.
Instead of one man making the whole of each shoe,
each man did a part only, one lasting, another
pegging, and so on. The small shops were gradually
abandoned, and the work was done, from the cutting
of the stock to the packing for the market, in one
place. Eventually the business congregated,
forming such shoe centres as Haverhill and Lynn.
Lynn has been noted for its shoes since its early
days, no other town in the county showing so many
men of this trade, according to the county
records. The earliest shoemakers there were Philip
Kert land and Edmund Bridges, who came as early as
1635. In 1767 eighty'thousand pairs of shoes were
made there, and in 1770 Lynn-made shoes were
advertised in London. The journeyman shoemaker of
the early day, and the later shoe shop, which had
more to do in shaping the affairs of the region
than we know, long since be came a matter of
history only.

From: The Essex Antiquarian Volume V (1901)

==============================================================
TIPS AND TRICKS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[One would think the information below would not
apply to Essex County but the number of slaves
that existed in New England, the number of Freedmen
who resided there and the fact that Newburyport
was the home of the well known abolitionist
William Llyod Garrison makes this an interesting
item to add to an Essex Genealogist's knowledge. ed.]

RACE CHANGE:

While following a family back through the census
you might find a person who had always been
classified as white, listed as mulatto, meaning a
mixture of white and African ancestry. While we
know the census taker often made mistakes, this
might mean there is African-American ancestry in
that line. Appearance played a big part in racial
designation and when possible, many people of
mixed ancestry would "pass" for white when they
could. The children of Sally Hemings are a good
example. (Whether or not you believe Thomas
Jefferson was the father, it is generally accepted
that the father of the Hemings children was
white.)
Sally herself was 1/4 black, as her father and
maternal grandfather were both white. Her children
were only 1/8 black. They all drifted off, with or
without permission, and settled elsewhere. Eston
at first settled in Ohio and in 1852 moved to
Wisconsin where he changed his name from Hemings
to Jefferson and his race to white. Eston's
descendants did not even know of their black
ancestry. Beverly (a son) and Harriet apparently
disappeared into white society. Thomas became a
minister in the African Methodist church and
Madison stayed in the black community.
Many people, especially in the south, have both
white and black ancestry. Given the conditions and
disadvantages under which blacks, even free ones,
had to live, it made sense to be classified as
white if at all possible. It made their lives and
the lives of their families much easier.

==============================================================
RESEARCH RESOURCES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VITAL RECORDS AND TOWN INFORMATION - Massachusetts

Search and Research Publishing has updated their
site to provide information on their vital records
CDs, Although this is basically a commercial site
there are at least two areas worth visting and
being aware of:
"Town List" - List all the towns in Massachusetts,
the date established, the parent town and county
and, most importantly whether that towns VR are on
CD.
"Sources" - Gives the actual sources of the VR for
each town that were used to compile the CD.

NAMING PATTERNS

This page is interesting as it describes
traditional naming patterns for families from the
UK which, of course, would apply to a large extent
to American families of the same period.

[Careful, the URL may wrap to two lines. ed.]

http://www.graham-wilson.co.uk/genealogy/Reference/Childrens%20names.htm

==============================================================
FAMILY REUNIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Is your ESSEX family having a reunion? We'd be happy to announce
it here. ed.]

The TOWNE FAMILY ASSOCIATION, INC. is now around five hundred in
membership. We just enjoyed our yearly meeting in Ft. Wayne, Indiana with
around one hundred in attendance. Next year we will be meeting in Portsmouth
NH on the 20th of September. More information is on our website at:
http://hometown.aol.com/brbaylis/myhomepage/index.html
We have over 60,000 names, descendants of William Towne of Salem and
Topsfield,in our database at the present time. We publish a quarterly
Newsletter and an Associate Genealogist for each of the children of William
Towne.
I will be happy to answer any questions about the organization.
Sincerely, Barbara Baylis, Genealogist, Towne Family Association, Inc.
Barbara Baylis - 9835 Elmcrest Dr. - Dallas TX 75238-1831 - 214-348-7737
home page:
http://hometown.aol.com/brbaylis/myhomepage/index.html
_____________________

MORSE SOCIETY 2002 REUNION - OCTOBER 2002 IN Newburyport.

GO TO: http://morsesociety.org/

To keep apprised of details

==============================================================
LIST MEMBERS WEB SITES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
USGenWeb Gateway to Essex County

http://www.essexcountyma.org/

Some new towns on line, more in the works.

Charles Wainwright has made several changes in his
Wainwrighty web site.
In addition to his Wainwright line, he has
material on the Rowe, Lurvey and other families of
Gloucester and Rockport as well as some material
on the Green family of Salem and Halifax Nova
Scotia.
The URL is:
http://members.tripod.com/wainwrights

D. James has started a new website for the Thurston
family. He is transcribing the contents of the
1892 edition of Thurston Genealogies 1635-1892 by
Brown Thurston and adding and correcting info from
other sources.
The URL is:
http://www.envy.nu/thurston/

Paula Stephens has developed a great web site with
pictures and inscriptions from the Ancient Burial
Ground in Essex, MA.
The URL is:

www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/8805

Lords of Ipswich:

http://www.geocities.com/bwlord1

On-line Guide to Essex County Research

http://www.essexbooks.com/research.htm

Essex County RootsWeb page:

http://resources.rootsweb.com/USA/MA/Essex/

==============================================================
HUMOR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE CENSUS TAKER IS HOME!

Well, I'm surely glad to be home, that I am. I
tell you another day like this one and I am good
mind just to fill them papers out on memory and be
done with it. Here, put these socks over there
next to the fire to dry out, will you? Got down
yonder this mornin' and everyone in Household 451
through 486 was gone. Some big shindig goin' on
down there. Good thing the folks in 441 could tell
me who they all was.
Here, reckon you could go over some of the writin'
on this here page? Got smeared a bit in the rain.
I think you can 'cipher most of it out. Then them
folks down in the holler got suspicious over a
census. Said, and derned if they had a point, what
difference did it make who they was? Was them
guvment folks down in Warshington going to come down
here to say howdy do? So they finally let me write
down they last name and first initial, but I think
they wuz havin' a bit of fun with me when they
listed who lived in the house. Saw some winkin'
goin' on and I believe I got the same house a
youngins in two or three places.
It been a day, woman. Honey, git that paper out of
Johnny's mouth, will ya? I worked all day on that
thing, and no call to let him go chewin' it up.
Went up the river a piece and tried to get that
done 'fore it come a downpour, but run into
trouble there, too. Ole Man Jenkins' cur dog run
me off and I tell you, ain't no call to get eat up
over such a thing as this. They ort to be a limit
what a man does for his country. Was lucky a man
down the road mostly knew Jenkins was nigh on
sixty years old and was living there with his
woman and five youngins from his first marriage
plus a passel from the second. We give em good
Christian names. Best be doin' something 'bout
this pen. It give out on me halfway through. See
you havin' trouble, too. Johnny! Hand that here,
boy! And I tell you I would ruther fight
grandpap's British than mess with that feller out
on the ridge. He got out his shotgun soon as he
seen me comin' and I went t'other direction. Had
Jones tell me about him instead, and he didn't
rightly know the feller's first name. Said they
called him "Squirrel", and it was ok just to put
that cause wasn't nobody around here claimin' him
no how, and they for sure didn't want the guvment
knowin' there was any relationship. That coffee
done?
Then got over to Smiths, and ole Hoss was in a
nervous fit so wasn't no getting information
there. His woman havin' another youngin and he
looked like he could run right through me when I
went to askin' how many youngins he had now.
Hightailed it out of there, and Miz Hart helped me
straighten that household out. Think we got most
of the names straight, and as he has had a youngin
a year for the last ten, ages purty close too. Now
look what Johnny went and done!
I tell you, next time this come around I ain't
gonna be no where in sight. Farmin's a heap
easier, and I figger they're folks 'round here
what can read and write and 'cipher and ain't no
good fer nothing else we can spare for this
foolishness. Pass me another 'tater, will you?"

Hope he didn't do your ancestors : >)

==============================================================
ANCESTOR PROFILES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David Wharff - Gloucester native and
California Pioneer

David Wharff was born in Gloucester December 29th,
1828, the second child of Nathaniel and Mary
Elizabeth (Davison) Wharff. David and his sister,
Mary Jane (born in Gloucester 3 July 1826) were -
according to Gloucester Historical records -
raised by their Aunt Betsy Tucker, given their
mother's early death in 1829 at the age of 22.
When David was just past his 20th birthday, he
left Gloucester and sailed aboard the
"Christiana", out of Boston, to seek riches in
California. The "Christiana's" voyage around Cape
Horn to San Francisco and Sacramento totalled 186
days, including a 10-day stop at St. Catherine,
where David wrote "oranges sold for $1 per
thousand, and wine was ten cents per gallon."
Another 55 days from St. Catherine, the
"Christiana" stopped for 5 days at Valpariso,
where David noted he "saw those Spaniards betting
the gold on the horses; plenty of money."
"Christiana" arrived in San Francisco August 16th,
1849, despite the first mate's assessment that
"she was just like a duck on the water." The next
day, "Christiana" arrived in Sacramento. David,
having been a carpenter's apprentice in Gloucester
when he was 15, was amazed to earn $20 per day in
Sacramento, although the pay was in "gold dust,
sixteen dollars per ounce." David described
Sacramento "...in those days all excitement. I
have seen $25,000 on one table in Sacramento and
table crowded for a chance to gamble. Plenty of
sacks of gold dust everywhere. Everybody happy. If
they lost all went back to the mines."
Soon, David realized real fortune lay in the
mines, and he "went up on Weaver Creek sixty miles
from Sacramento. Paid a teamster Eighty Dollars
to take our provisions up there. Next day after
we arrived we went mining for gold. I remember
the first piece I dug was about as big as the head
of a pin. I stood looking at it for it was the
first gold I had ever dug. The Indians were bad
up there, then they were all naked as they were
born. They used no guns, always used poisoned
arrows; if they hit any one it was sure death."
David later reported that on his "best days work I
ever dug out was One Hundred Dollars."
Then, in 1851, David decided he "was tired of
California", and purchased passage to Boson,
arriving 17 January 1852. Returning to
Gloucester, David reported "no one knew me for I
came just as I left the mines", with Western garb,
full beard and flowing hair. The next day, David
"got a suit of clothes, shaved and primped up to
see the girl I left behind." That girl was Olive
Densmore, a native of Maitland, Nova Scotia. David
and Olive got married February 19, 1852, in
Boston, before they - along with David's sister
Mary Jane - returned to California aboard the
steamer Sam Appleton, arriving 144 days later on
July 22, 1852.
David and Olive eventually purchased a 1,000 acre
ranch in Petaluma, an area called Penngrove, that
had once been "government land". David and Olive
lived on the Wharff ranch in Penngrove from 1852
until November 1910, raising cattle, chickens,
harvesting potatoes and wheat, as well as selling
"thousands of cords" of wood from the thick trees
that dotted the ranch. There, David and Olive had
seven children - Nathaniel Prentice Banks,
Belinda, Lucy, Hattie, Carrie, Mary Lizzie, and
Eppie, the latter four of whom all died in
childhood. They were sometimes confronted by
Indians, who came "along in the night...and wanted
to get in to the house."
Belinda, the youngest surviving daughter of David
and Olive, reminisced in 1942 - at the age of 82
and just two years before her own death - about
life in pioneer California. "She spent her
girlhood on her parents' ranch, and loved the big
rambling ranch house which replaced the floored
tent of pioneer days". Belinda pointed out that
her father "was not the adventurous, harum scarum
type of Argonaut, but a family man, of quiet,
tenacious courage whose feet, like thousands of
others who filled the land and added to
California's greatness, were firmly placed on the
soil."
Postscript:
David - and sister Mary Jane - were children of
Gloucester natives Nathaniel and Mary Elizabeth
(Davison) Wharff. Nathaniel's parents were David
and Jenny Wharff, also Gloucester natives. David,
in turn, was son of Thomas and Dorcas (Lane)
Wharff from Gloucester, then back to Nathaniel and
Anna (Riggs) Wharff - and finally back to
Nathaniel and Rebecca (Mackworth) Wharff, the
first Wharff's to settle in Gloucester.

Quotations above from Sacramento Bee Sunday
Magazine article dated September 12, 1942 entitled
"From Sedate Boston to the Wild Gold Country of
California: New England carpenter made trip to
West Coast twice, then settled down as a rancher"
and from a letter authored by David Wharff to
friend William Farrell, April 10, 1914, when he
was living in San Francisco with daughter Belinda
and her husband Elias Augustus Copeland.

[To be continued next month]

Submitted by Rich Wharff, California
native and Great-Great-Grandson of David
and Olive Wharff.

=============================================================
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"Essex County's Bookstore on the Web"

Visit us and place your secure order on-line at:
http://www.essexbooks.com

mailto:
Phone (CC) Orders: 11 AM - 4 PM EST - Mon-Fri
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Bob

||||||||||||||||||||||~~~~~~~~~~ ESSEX BOOKS ~~~~~~~~~||||||||||||||||||||||
"Essex County's Bookstore on the Web"

Visit us and place your secure order on-line at:
http://www.essexbooks.com

mailto:
Phone (CC) Orders: 11 AM - 4 PM EST - Mon-Fri
P.O. Box 811 Lecanto, FL 34460-0811
(352) 527-2270 Fax 24 hrs.
Serving Genealogists Since 1989
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

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• [ESSEX-ROOTS] Essex Roots - June Newsletter by Bob Bamford <>