According to family lore my Great Grandfather, Dr Whitman Gibson Stickney, organized people stateside to serve in WW1 (aka The Great War) & went to the front lines as a Doctor. This sent me on a search some years ago and although I found very little compared to WW2, what I did find was profound.
A film worth seeing is airing on C-Span's American History channel this weekend (reel America) showing World War 1 in 1915 footage. It can be also be found at shootingthegreatwar.blogspot.com or go to the Library of Congress (loc.gov).
I will try to relocate the oversized picture book I found in our local library & post some of the pictures. They are graphic, but this war is largely ignored and so very relevent today.
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Just a note
Thought I had lost access to this family research project from 2013.
Hope to resume in the future, but for now am working out glitches on newly created page that uses the same profile.
Hope to resume in the future, but for now am working out glitches on newly created page that uses the same profile.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Good Teachers Live Forever
Out of respect for the events at the Boston Marathon on Patriots Day, it didn't seem right to start telling the tale of the first school in the United States, located there. Time passed and the same feeling applied to the connection I found to Cleveland Ohio. So it seems like I'd better just log in and say hello until a little later on.
For now: I began looking for a Jenny H. Stickney shortly after starting this blog. She had authored or edited some readers for various aged groups, translated tales like 'Swiss Family Robinson' from their original languages, and compiled some wonderful illustrated story books. In one of her introductions she speaks of how the story gets changed, often for the worse, by spectacular publications. I guess not much has changed in that regard. Her first publication was a Teachers Manual for Bartholomew's Drawing Cards. This lead me to London, where the illustrator of some of her books was legendary.
In the family ancestry book, I did find a couple of Stickney teachers, but only Jenny H I found would have been about 5 years old when author/teacher Jenny H began her publishing.
The first American school located in Boston was modeled on a school in the ancestral Stickney area in England. That sent me on a whole new search. Jenny H Stickney got married to someone named Lansing, and copies of her books are scattered in educational library collections all the way to California.
Somewhere along the line the Cleveland connection showed up, and alas, that could be England instead of Ohio also. Our American Cleveland was originally spelled Cleaveland after the first Mayor General Moses Cleaveland. They changed the spelling so that the city name would fit on the top of the newsprint banner when they began their first newspaper.
Even Ben Franklin stuck his nose in all this. Apparently, it was common practice to get books from Europe and reset them for printing here. His characteristically clever thoughts on the practice of starting kids off on Latin and Greek are in his Autobiography, and I think I noted the page. Hopefully, I'll get my act in gear and tell this tale soon. But I may never figure out where Jenny H Stickney lived, married, taught, and wrote. But I can say this about her. She's been dead over a hundred years and she's still teaching. She deserves a posthumous award.
For now: I began looking for a Jenny H. Stickney shortly after starting this blog. She had authored or edited some readers for various aged groups, translated tales like 'Swiss Family Robinson' from their original languages, and compiled some wonderful illustrated story books. In one of her introductions she speaks of how the story gets changed, often for the worse, by spectacular publications. I guess not much has changed in that regard. Her first publication was a Teachers Manual for Bartholomew's Drawing Cards. This lead me to London, where the illustrator of some of her books was legendary.
In the family ancestry book, I did find a couple of Stickney teachers, but only Jenny H I found would have been about 5 years old when author/teacher Jenny H began her publishing.
The first American school located in Boston was modeled on a school in the ancestral Stickney area in England. That sent me on a whole new search. Jenny H Stickney got married to someone named Lansing, and copies of her books are scattered in educational library collections all the way to California.
Somewhere along the line the Cleveland connection showed up, and alas, that could be England instead of Ohio also. Our American Cleveland was originally spelled Cleaveland after the first Mayor General Moses Cleaveland. They changed the spelling so that the city name would fit on the top of the newsprint banner when they began their first newspaper.
Even Ben Franklin stuck his nose in all this. Apparently, it was common practice to get books from Europe and reset them for printing here. His characteristically clever thoughts on the practice of starting kids off on Latin and Greek are in his Autobiography, and I think I noted the page. Hopefully, I'll get my act in gear and tell this tale soon. But I may never figure out where Jenny H Stickney lived, married, taught, and wrote. But I can say this about her. She's been dead over a hundred years and she's still teaching. She deserves a posthumous award.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Prayers for Boston from Earth and Heaven
This blog is for the Stickney family, and from my branch of it, I send prayers out to all in Boston tonight, who have friends or family who ran in today's Marathon. There are so many out here with some sort of connection to Boston. The people in my immediate family who would watch the news tonight have passed away, but I can send them. To all of you with love.
My Great Grandfather Stickney went to Tufts Medical School in it's first or second class. I did some research on it when my Gram, his daughter, was aging. It turned out to be the 100th anniversary of his graduation. It was interesting. The first medical school class was a three year curriculum. The second class could opt out or take the extra year they instituted that year. I never was able to find out if he did three years or four, but was amazed at how many women were in the classes during those first years. Medical schools were in their infancy in America, as were many educational concepts, schools, and methods of teaching.
He was very interested in the kids. He was the Essex County Coroner for many years, as well as the school physician. He was in his 90's, and was concerned about an issue at the school. He was walking home from a school meeting when he was the fatal casualty of a hit and run driver.
My Gram showed me a picture of him when I was small. Her emotion about the photo made me think 'Ah, she just loves her daddy' but when I saw his face, I realized why she loved him so. I send that love to all of you now... And I'll tell you about the teachers after I gather some more data. Prayers for Boston.
My Great Grandfather Stickney went to Tufts Medical School in it's first or second class. I did some research on it when my Gram, his daughter, was aging. It turned out to be the 100th anniversary of his graduation. It was interesting. The first medical school class was a three year curriculum. The second class could opt out or take the extra year they instituted that year. I never was able to find out if he did three years or four, but was amazed at how many women were in the classes during those first years. Medical schools were in their infancy in America, as were many educational concepts, schools, and methods of teaching.
He was very interested in the kids. He was the Essex County Coroner for many years, as well as the school physician. He was in his 90's, and was concerned about an issue at the school. He was walking home from a school meeting when he was the fatal casualty of a hit and run driver.
My Gram showed me a picture of him when I was small. Her emotion about the photo made me think 'Ah, she just loves her daddy' but when I saw his face, I realized why she loved him so. I send that love to all of you now... And I'll tell you about the teachers after I gather some more data. Prayers for Boston.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Aloha to Madagascar and Civil Safety Everywhere
Believe it or not, in the "Diksionary Englisy sy Malagasy", 1875, by Joseph Stickney Sewell, is an entry "ahead, adv. aloha". The book was published by the 'NY Friends Foreign Mission Association', and is a freebie from Harvard College Library, in the "Count of Santa Eulalic Collection, Gift of John B. Stetson, Jr., June 13, 1925". Born in Great Yarmouth, 1819, Joseph was a Quaker missionary active in Madagascar from 1867, and died in 1900. A picture of him and two Madagascar boys sitting around a table comes up easily on search. A thin, white-bearded man with 2 boys dressed in suits. Of course, this sent me searching further. He also edited a few of the "The Annual Monitor, ... or the Obituary of the Members of the Society of Friends in Great Britain and Ireland". Aloha....
The movement that eventually became the Society of Friends, aka the Quakers, began in England in the 1650's. In one story, founder George Fox once told a magistrate to tremble (quake) at the name of God and the moniker stuck. "During the English Civil Wars, George Fox, following 1647, gathered the discontent..."
There was fertile ground in northern England for this endeavor in 1651-2. The 1st meeting was held in Durham in 1653, and by 1656, "Quaker Minister James Naylor was very popular." They held for equality for women, did not celebrate Easter or Christmas, and met in secret. George Fox's was first arrested and imprisoned in 1650, was followed by many more. The reasons varied. Sometimes it was for "disturbance", at other times "Blasphemy". Parliament enacted "The Quaker Act of 1662" for which the crime was not swearing an oath to the King, which the Quakers held was wrong. Their oath to God came first. The came the "Conventicle Act of 1664", to go after those having 'secret meetings'. Aloha... I had to find out more.
King James II was more lenient, and issued a "Declaration of Indulgence" in 1687-8. Sounds very Catholic doesn't it? It was widely rumored that Wm Penn had authored this decree. William Penn had been a favorite of King Charles II, and had received the land grant area became Pennsylvania in 1682.
Amidst all this, the name of Quaker author and poet John Greenleaf Whittier came up. He was mentioned memorably in the book "An Astronomer's Wife: a Biography of Angeline Hall" from 2 posts ago. Aloha...
The "English Civil War" went on, officially, from 1642-1651. A "Committee of Safety" was instituted 5 July 1642 for the day-to-day control of military supplies. "In July of 1647, a new Committee of Safety was appointed. Presbyterians fled from the new model in July 1647." In 1659, political turmoil caused Oliver Cromwell to be overthrown, and on 7 May 1659 a 7 member Committee of Safety was appointed. In October 1659 Parliament was "forcibly absolved by Major-General Lambert, a 23 member Committee of Safety was appointed and remained in effect for nearly two months".
Having noted that some early Stickney men listed in MAS's book served on "Committee(s) of Safety" and wondering what this was, and if they were is Revolutionary or Loyalists, this was welcome history.
In the American colonies, "Committees of Safety existed prior to 1692 and were called by various names. The Committee ... that year, in NY, is significant in that it was created by the militia. The colonists were dissatisfied with the Crown headed by Governor Sir Edmund Andros' representation. Two delegates were selected, by citizenry, for each community. They gathered, exercised their authority, eventually imprisoning Andros for one year."
"A Brief History of Committees of Safety in America" was found on 'committee.org'. "The practice became more common after the French and Indian Wars of 1756-1758. The Crown had imposed new taxes. It felt since the Fr/Ind wars were in defense of the colonies, the burden of expense should be borne by the colonies. Finally, the Coercive Acts of 1774 prompted action. The Coercive Acts closed down Boston Harbor, placed Massachusetts under close British rule and extended Canada's boundaries south into lands which the American colonists believed to be their western expansion."
The colonies essentially did what they had always done, as law-abiding British subjects. They called up delegates, formed committees to the colony or province level in order to respond to the call from the Boston Committee for a Continental Congress. "In Sept 1774, nine colonies responded, met in Philadelphia to join in actions to counter the increasing imposition ... of Britain."
"Although during the course of colonial history many Committees of Safety were formed and operated under British government, frequently their actions were outside of the authority granted. They frequently co-existed alongside the authorized government of the Crown, creating a parallel government which was the direct representation of the people as opposed to the legitimate government of the Crown."
"These 'parallel' governments formed the nexus that would come together again in June 1776, comprised of representatives of all 13 colonies, to form the 2nd Continental Congress. The outcome... was the Declaration of Independence."
There is a small box at the bottom of that page, resembling a concert ticket, that states:
"Cambridge April 29, 1775. This .... is to certify the bearer, Mr. Paul Revere, is Messenger to the Committee of Safety and that all dispatch...." At the bottom: "Jos. Warren, Chair." This entry is not yellowed by 2-300 years of history, it's simply placed there. I don't know who Joseph Warren was, but they did have British watching their every move, so a curfew needing a pass might not be out of line, but I still wonder about it's validity. I can attest to Stickney men serving on Committees of Safety, though. And there is mention of men and their widows receiving military wages and/or pensions for their service in the Revolutionary War, and I believe there are mentions for the War of 1812 and the Civil War also. Aloha...
The movement that eventually became the Society of Friends, aka the Quakers, began in England in the 1650's. In one story, founder George Fox once told a magistrate to tremble (quake) at the name of God and the moniker stuck. "During the English Civil Wars, George Fox, following 1647, gathered the discontent..."
There was fertile ground in northern England for this endeavor in 1651-2. The 1st meeting was held in Durham in 1653, and by 1656, "Quaker Minister James Naylor was very popular." They held for equality for women, did not celebrate Easter or Christmas, and met in secret. George Fox's was first arrested and imprisoned in 1650, was followed by many more. The reasons varied. Sometimes it was for "disturbance", at other times "Blasphemy". Parliament enacted "The Quaker Act of 1662" for which the crime was not swearing an oath to the King, which the Quakers held was wrong. Their oath to God came first. The came the "Conventicle Act of 1664", to go after those having 'secret meetings'. Aloha... I had to find out more.
King James II was more lenient, and issued a "Declaration of Indulgence" in 1687-8. Sounds very Catholic doesn't it? It was widely rumored that Wm Penn had authored this decree. William Penn had been a favorite of King Charles II, and had received the land grant area became Pennsylvania in 1682.
Amidst all this, the name of Quaker author and poet John Greenleaf Whittier came up. He was mentioned memorably in the book "An Astronomer's Wife: a Biography of Angeline Hall" from 2 posts ago. Aloha...
The "English Civil War" went on, officially, from 1642-1651. A "Committee of Safety" was instituted 5 July 1642 for the day-to-day control of military supplies. "In July of 1647, a new Committee of Safety was appointed. Presbyterians fled from the new model in July 1647." In 1659, political turmoil caused Oliver Cromwell to be overthrown, and on 7 May 1659 a 7 member Committee of Safety was appointed. In October 1659 Parliament was "forcibly absolved by Major-General Lambert, a 23 member Committee of Safety was appointed and remained in effect for nearly two months".
Having noted that some early Stickney men listed in MAS's book served on "Committee(s) of Safety" and wondering what this was, and if they were is Revolutionary or Loyalists, this was welcome history.
In the American colonies, "Committees of Safety existed prior to 1692 and were called by various names. The Committee ... that year, in NY, is significant in that it was created by the militia. The colonists were dissatisfied with the Crown headed by Governor Sir Edmund Andros' representation. Two delegates were selected, by citizenry, for each community. They gathered, exercised their authority, eventually imprisoning Andros for one year."
"A Brief History of Committees of Safety in America" was found on 'committee.org'. "The practice became more common after the French and Indian Wars of 1756-1758. The Crown had imposed new taxes. It felt since the Fr/Ind wars were in defense of the colonies, the burden of expense should be borne by the colonies. Finally, the Coercive Acts of 1774 prompted action. The Coercive Acts closed down Boston Harbor, placed Massachusetts under close British rule and extended Canada's boundaries south into lands which the American colonists believed to be their western expansion."
The colonies essentially did what they had always done, as law-abiding British subjects. They called up delegates, formed committees to the colony or province level in order to respond to the call from the Boston Committee for a Continental Congress. "In Sept 1774, nine colonies responded, met in Philadelphia to join in actions to counter the increasing imposition ... of Britain."
"Although during the course of colonial history many Committees of Safety were formed and operated under British government, frequently their actions were outside of the authority granted. They frequently co-existed alongside the authorized government of the Crown, creating a parallel government which was the direct representation of the people as opposed to the legitimate government of the Crown."
"These 'parallel' governments formed the nexus that would come together again in June 1776, comprised of representatives of all 13 colonies, to form the 2nd Continental Congress. The outcome... was the Declaration of Independence."
There is a small box at the bottom of that page, resembling a concert ticket, that states:
"Cambridge April 29, 1775. This .... is to certify the bearer, Mr. Paul Revere, is Messenger to the Committee of Safety and that all dispatch...." At the bottom: "Jos. Warren, Chair." This entry is not yellowed by 2-300 years of history, it's simply placed there. I don't know who Joseph Warren was, but they did have British watching their every move, so a curfew needing a pass might not be out of line, but I still wonder about it's validity. I can attest to Stickney men serving on Committees of Safety, though. And there is mention of men and their widows receiving military wages and/or pensions for their service in the Revolutionary War, and I believe there are mentions for the War of 1812 and the Civil War also. Aloha...
Friday, April 12, 2013
Diamonds, Ermine(s) and Arms
Well, I tried all day to find a good online picture, or any picture at all, of the Stickney Coat of Arms. I finally settled for taking a one of the black and white picture in the genealogy book. It's been sitting under a news clipping for many decades now. I wondered if it had some color, and I did not understand the strange description that Matthew Adams Stickney gave it in the text. No problem. Goto wikipedia "Ermine (heraldry) and all will become clear. Matthew would love the internet.
I found many little details today. Some of the early American Stickney men had the distinction of serving on 'Committees of Safety' and this confused me. It seemed very British. This practice was part of British life, for them and for us. When there was a period of instability, the people could summon 2 delegates from each community, gather in a council, and assume a temporary Marshall law. This was being done in Britain, and became more common here after the French and Indian War. I took some notes. It's one for another day. But thanks to this curiosity, I found that the also French allowed Vikings to settle in Normandy around the 800's and that they assimilated well. I looked in Domesday online and found an Odo in the 'Stichenai', Lincolnshire area. The root 'stich' means prick, stab, sew, and a few other related things in German, but not Norwegian or Norse. The Galts migrated to ancient Normandy, Brittany, and the nearby area called Maine. Odo came from Brittany, and in 1066, he was linked to William, the Conqueror, and vice versa, in ways that a soap opera writer would salivate over. The Coat of Arms ended up being plainly from Bretagne. Even the black and white colors. The Dutchy of Brittany's shield was a white background. The Stickney shield has a sable background for reasons of class and propriety. It's called counter-_____. Check out that article. The nuances of these symbols is deep. Even the fleur-de-lis has an ancient but simple meaning. It's often yellow, like the iris's on the banks of the river Lutz, and literally means flower of the lis (river).
Although the author of the book is convinced that the Stickney's came from Normandy, I respectfully have to disagree. So I'll skip ahead in MA Stickney's narrative about 400 years after 1066:
"In 1422 I find with the Arms of "Styckney," ... "Ermines, three lozenges ermine," ...
Say what? Ermines.... ermine? What are lozenges? But... it came clear. Lozenge translated into French is losange. Diamond translated into French is also losange. Heraldic ermines can be straight or curvy ended. If I understood correctly, Brittany adopted the curvy kind at some point prior to 1066. Ermine is black design on white, and ermines are white on black. It's that counter thing that you really need to see the article for. There are colors that mean certain things, also cadency, stain, background color, pattern and so much more. Interesting, but save it for a rainy day. So... the picture below holds three diamond shapes. The Ermines are white on black. The ermine (inside the light diamond shapes) are black. Simple. (Check out that article...)
I found many little details today. Some of the early American Stickney men had the distinction of serving on 'Committees of Safety' and this confused me. It seemed very British. This practice was part of British life, for them and for us. When there was a period of instability, the people could summon 2 delegates from each community, gather in a council, and assume a temporary Marshall law. This was being done in Britain, and became more common here after the French and Indian War. I took some notes. It's one for another day. But thanks to this curiosity, I found that the also French allowed Vikings to settle in Normandy around the 800's and that they assimilated well. I looked in Domesday online and found an Odo in the 'Stichenai', Lincolnshire area. The root 'stich' means prick, stab, sew, and a few other related things in German, but not Norwegian or Norse. The Galts migrated to ancient Normandy, Brittany, and the nearby area called Maine. Odo came from Brittany, and in 1066, he was linked to William, the Conqueror, and vice versa, in ways that a soap opera writer would salivate over. The Coat of Arms ended up being plainly from Bretagne. Even the black and white colors. The Dutchy of Brittany's shield was a white background. The Stickney shield has a sable background for reasons of class and propriety. It's called counter-_____. Check out that article. The nuances of these symbols is deep. Even the fleur-de-lis has an ancient but simple meaning. It's often yellow, like the iris's on the banks of the river Lutz, and literally means flower of the lis (river).
Although the author of the book is convinced that the Stickney's came from Normandy, I respectfully have to disagree. So I'll skip ahead in MA Stickney's narrative about 400 years after 1066:
"In 1422 I find with the Arms of "Styckney," ... "Ermines, three lozenges ermine," ...
Say what? Ermines.... ermine? What are lozenges? But... it came clear. Lozenge translated into French is losange. Diamond translated into French is also losange. Heraldic ermines can be straight or curvy ended. If I understood correctly, Brittany adopted the curvy kind at some point prior to 1066. Ermine is black design on white, and ermines are white on black. It's that counter thing that you really need to see the article for. There are colors that mean certain things, also cadency, stain, background color, pattern and so much more. Interesting, but save it for a rainy day. So... the picture below holds three diamond shapes. The Ermines are white on black. The ermine (inside the light diamond shapes) are black. Simple. (Check out that article...)
Moons of Mars - Lady of Stars
For those descended from Chloe Angeline Stickney and Asaph Hall, you have at your disposal the most engaging family memoir I have have ever found. For the rest of us, we have the most wonderful story of life in the 1800's of America. If you ever wondered how 'opposites attract', if your girls have ever loved the American Girl Series, if you have ever had an interest in the Civil War and want a snapshot of life in DC during those years, if you want to know about the early origins of Cornell University, if you love sky, clouds, flowers and trees, if you want to know about the black lady named Moses and the 'bloomers' the suffragists wore, if you follow the Mars rovers, ... if ...
Angelo Hall is the third son of Angeline and Aspaph. He wrote this memoir, "An Astronomer's Wife: the Biography of Angeline Hall", copyrighted by Angelo in 1908, but public domain now. It can be found in many places. I like the one from archive.org, it's through Cornell. The other sites for public domain books seem to be glitching up these days. I'm glad they have this put up so nicely. It's definitely worthy.
Angelo deserves credit for his writing. He tells of life in that time in a way that transports you back there, and describes religion in surprisingly modern ways for a Minister. They were a lot broader and narrower than we take them for, these 'ancient' ones. One of my favorite parts is the story in Washington DC during the time of Lincoln, who visits the Naval Observatory, speaks with Asaph, then returns a while later to ask why the Moon is upside down in the telescope. Methods of saving wounded soldiers are (tastefully) described. The mentality of those times come through in his writing. After all, he lived and died then. These are his memories of life and of his parents. The genealogical book, dated 1869, actually stops in 1868, so kids, like my grandfather, born then, had to be added in via hand or news clippings. The same goes for the descendants of the four children of the two who found the moons of Mars. I can tell you that they descend from the second child of the original William Stickney. I traced it back. Later for those bits of boring. The book was published through Nunn & Co, Baltimore, MD, printed by the Lord Baltimore Press. The Epilogue is a poem by Angelo. It holds only a candle to the newspaper eulogy that a precedes it, and that, even less than the prologue, written to Angelo's daughter Peggy, which says so much about the early 20th century. And then, the story begins, 1806, prior to her birth, which is listed as 1829 & 1830, depending on the source... A Granddaughter of the Revolution... through the eyes of a son who loves her. The book ends with her death in 1892, but the story doesn't. The seal resurrects the The Halls of Goshen, the Sons of Mars 1775, the Moons of Mars 1877... She is one for the ages, one for all of us, and she would have wanted it that way. It was her way.
Angelo Hall is the third son of Angeline and Aspaph. He wrote this memoir, "An Astronomer's Wife: the Biography of Angeline Hall", copyrighted by Angelo in 1908, but public domain now. It can be found in many places. I like the one from archive.org, it's through Cornell. The other sites for public domain books seem to be glitching up these days. I'm glad they have this put up so nicely. It's definitely worthy.
Angelo deserves credit for his writing. He tells of life in that time in a way that transports you back there, and describes religion in surprisingly modern ways for a Minister. They were a lot broader and narrower than we take them for, these 'ancient' ones. One of my favorite parts is the story in Washington DC during the time of Lincoln, who visits the Naval Observatory, speaks with Asaph, then returns a while later to ask why the Moon is upside down in the telescope. Methods of saving wounded soldiers are (tastefully) described. The mentality of those times come through in his writing. After all, he lived and died then. These are his memories of life and of his parents. The genealogical book, dated 1869, actually stops in 1868, so kids, like my grandfather, born then, had to be added in via hand or news clippings. The same goes for the descendants of the four children of the two who found the moons of Mars. I can tell you that they descend from the second child of the original William Stickney. I traced it back. Later for those bits of boring. The book was published through Nunn & Co, Baltimore, MD, printed by the Lord Baltimore Press. The Epilogue is a poem by Angelo. It holds only a candle to the newspaper eulogy that a precedes it, and that, even less than the prologue, written to Angelo's daughter Peggy, which says so much about the early 20th century. And then, the story begins, 1806, prior to her birth, which is listed as 1829 & 1830, depending on the source... A Granddaughter of the Revolution... through the eyes of a son who loves her. The book ends with her death in 1892, but the story doesn't. The seal resurrects the The Halls of Goshen, the Sons of Mars 1775, the Moons of Mars 1877... She is one for the ages, one for all of us, and she would have wanted it that way. It was her way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)