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.

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...

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...)


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.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Revolution, Treason, and the Ties that Bind

In case I don't wander back to this one for a while, it deserves to be here. It's #522, of the Sixth Generation, on p231 of the book (abbreviations, punctuation reproduced as printed):

522. "John Stickney was bapt. in First Presbyterian Church, Newburyport, Dec. 28, 1760; m. Elizabeth, the dau. of Moses Moody.
    He enlisted as a private in Capt. Moses Nowell's Co., July 11, 1775, and was stationed Newburyport, from Nov. 1, 1775 , to Jan. 1, 1776. [Mass. Archives.] He sailed from Newburyport, Nov. 15, 1776, in "The Dalton," Capt. Eleazer Johnston. On the 24th of Dec., 1776, she was taken by the British Man of War "Reasonable," and the crew tried for treason. They were committed to Mill Prison, Plymouth, England, June, 1777; finally released and exchanged. John Stickney went to France and shipped with John Paul Jones in the  "Alliance;" continued in his service till August, 1780, when he returned to Newburyport after four years absence and two or three years imprisonment.
    From a deposition made June, 1848; recorded Essex Prob. 114 : 442, by Moses Moody of Newburyport, aged 68 years, who lived in the same house with him, and was a connection of his family, it appears that he died at Newburyport, a mariner, about the year 1788. He also states that he had no doubt of      the fact that he was a seaman in the Frigate Alliance, John Paul Jones Quadron, in the Revolutionary War, and that Nicolas Stickney of Portland, Me., was his son, to whom letters of Adm. on his father, John Stickney's estate, were granted June 13, 1848. [Ibid, 154 : 19.]
                   Two children:-
1321. John, b. Sept. or Nov., 1783; m. Sarah Titcomb.
1322. Nicolas, b. May, 1785; m. Lucy Foss."

Going backwards (it's easier), John #522 was one of seven children born to John #199.
#522 was baptized Dec. 28, 1760; and married Elizabeth Moody. (#520 also m. Elizabeth Moody. Hmm.)
John Stickney #199 married Elizabeth Stickney #98, the daughter of Samuel Stickney #30. (Oh my...).

"199. John Stickney, b. Newbury, March 28, bapt. in Byfield, April 8, 1733; married in Rowley, March 9, 1751, Elizabeth [98], daughter of  Samuel and Susannah (Perley) Stickney [30]. She was b. in Rowley, April 4, and bapt. April 8, 1733. Date of death unknown.
    John Stickney, 3rd, was on the roll of the Fifth Co. of Militia of Newbury, commanded by Capt. Richard Greenleaf, 1757. In Capt. Samuel Peirce's Co., Col. John Greenleaf's Reg., June 8, 1757. [Mass. Archives.] Their children were bapt. in the First Presbyterian Church, Newburyport. Date of his death unknown.
    Seven children:-
519. Moody, bapt. Nov. 13, 1752; probably never married.
520. Jonathan, bapt. June 8, 1755; m. Elizabeth Moody, July 28, 1782.
521. Nicolas, bapt. Apr. 29, 1759; can be traced no further.
522. John, bapt. Dec. 28, 1760; m. Elizabeth Moody.
523. Elizabeth, bapt. June 21, 1761; m. Joseph Poor, Mch. 22, 1781.
524. Sarah, bapt. Apr 3, 1763; m. Ichabod Remick, Sept. 20, 1780.
525. David, bapt. Sept 14, 1766; d. unm. July 4, 1842, aged 75."

I don't have the stomach right now to delve back into the story of #98 and #30, but I will update this later...

1904 Olympic Golf & a Crater on Phoebos

Well, while the 77th Master's starts in the other room, I have been poking around and finding more than I begin to tell you. So I'll start with the golfers and the lady who has a crater named for her.
There is a small clipping from the Boston Herald in the book, with the headline "Stickney Leads Field". I didn't pay it much mind, obsessed with Sarah Stickney Ellis (who was English, but worth knowing about).
According to Wikipedia, two Stickney's played on the 1904 American Olympic Golf team. The team won silver. Stuart Grosvenor Stickney (9 Mar 1877 - 24 Sept 1932) finished 15th in standings. He finished first in individual competition but was eliminated in the 2nd round of match play. He won the Trans-Mississippi  Amateur in 1913. (Article: Stuart Stickney). Also on the 1904 team was William Arthur Stickney (25 May 1879 - 12 Sept 1944). He attained a 17th standing, and finished 4th in individual, also to be eliminated in 2nd round match play.
The clipping reads:
"STICKNEY LEADS FIELD
[Special Dispatch to the Boston Herald]
       Springfield, June 27, 1906. The Springfield County Country Club's open golf tournament opened today. Ninety-eight players started in the qualifying rounds for the Springfield cup, the Country Club cup, the Governor's cup, and the Bunker cup, 16 to qualify for each. The first round will be played tomorrow morning, the second in the afternoon, the semi-finals on Friday and the finals Saturday. S.N. Stickney of the Springfield Country Club today broke the amateur record for the course, doing the 18 holes in 68, in the first round and leading the field in the day's total with 142."

I will have to look up S.N. to see if he was a younger brother or cousin, or. maybe a misprint, assuming wikipedia is correct, which is another question. I'll update later...
Update: > That clipping was a second one, not the one I found first, upping the golfer tally to 3, which states:
"Samuel W. Stickney of Springfield, who is at the Mt. Pleasant with his parents, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Stickney, and Miss Isabel Stickney, broke the record of the Bretton Woods golf course on Wednesday, doing the 18 holes in 71. This is several holes better than the record of Brice S. Evans, who won the recent tournament, and who is entered in the tournament at Deal Beach, N.J., this week." (There is no reference to the newspaper. It looks like a society column entry to me. A handwritten date of either 1907 or 1917 is noted. "Miss Isabel" was my great-aunt, with quite a story of her own. Another research project....).

In honor of my favorite ISS Commander, I have to mention Chloe Angelina Stickney Hall, the astronomer's wife, of whom the largest crater on the Martian moon Phoebos is named. Her biography was written, excellently, by her third son, Angelo Hall. It's public domain, and it's a gem. Her story, as well as the family story in the book, is really special. I'll bring more of that story later, too... Along the way I found a poem by Augustus Snowe (no relation) entitled "There are Hundreds of Them" and had to laugh, stop, and read, thinking the same thing about Stickney descendants. At first glance, I thought he spoke of stars, but it ended up being poets writing under them. My first thought was right, after all. P.S. The Master's is airing very early on the Golf Channel, then on ESPN from 3-7:30 EDT.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

From a Distance: Genealogy via Satellite

From the beginning of the book [Picture in "Meet William" post]:
"William Stickney was the ancestor of nearly all who have since borne that name in America. It is inferred from records procured in England for the author, by Horatio G. Somerby, Esq., that he was the William who is mentioned as baptized in St. Mary's Church, Frampton, Lincolnshire, England, September 6, 1592, and the son of William Stickney of Frampton, who was baptized December 30, 1558, and married, June 16, 1585, Margaret Peirson, and grandson of Robert Stickney of Frampton, who made his will October 3, and was buried October 18, 1582."

Clearly put: Grandpa Robert died October In Frampton, 1582. His son William married Margaret Peirson on June 16, 1585. He had been baptized 30 Dec 1558. Wm & Margaret's son, also named William, was baptized 6 Sept 1592, at St. Mary's Church in Frampton, Lincolnshire, England, PE20. It was this Wm who emigrated to America. (PE 20 is the current postal code. Stickney is also in Lincolnshire, in PE22. I have the link to that site, but I've forgotten which one.)

This blog came about because I got totally drawn into looking at the coast of Ireland on Google Earth thanks to my favorite Canadian, Commander Hadfield, who has been tweeting fabulous pictures and descriptions of Earth from the International Space Station. He had posted a picture of an island at the southern tip of Ireland. The name was Thunder-(something). I never did determine which island he was referring to, but I ended up spending the morning following it around, then crossed the strait to Liverpool, and had trouble locating the Scottish border.
Years ago, family lore and the existence of this book, had sent me searching with a magnifying glass into my oversized book atlas, where I found a town named Stickney. I felt pretty sure there was a connection, but had trouble finding it later on a computer atlas program, and quit trying. But as I wandered around the interesting celtic islands and coast of the UK ... there it was, Stickney! Located in Lincolnshire, near or sometimes in marsh land, depending on the century. (There is a protected area project happening there now, but that's another story.) The first Stickney came to England from France with William the Conqueror in 1066. The Norman invasion. Apparently the last Stickney for whom the town is named had a daughter. She inherited it, but married a Craycrofte, and the property became part of that family name. There are so many John's, Jonathan's, Daniel's, Samuel's and William's that it's hard to tell who's who. The women, although they are largely ignored, are an integral part of the search, be they wives or daughters.
People of past centuries weren't always baptized at birth, so don't assume they are actual birthdays. There is mention of a man who was baptized with his infant son. It's unwise to assume anything when it comes to genealogical searches. There is information in the preface of this book that describes the calendar year of that time beginning in March, not January.
Even though the town of Stickney is ancestral, the American line, (which also stretches to South America), traces back to the William Stickney, of Frampton, mentioned above. There are a couple of English towns with Frampton in the name. This one is just south of Boston (yes, Boston, England). Stickney is north of Boston on the A16 road.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

About Me: the Profile Photo

The 'About Me' photo is of the drawing of William Stickney's Memorial. It sits behind opaque paper, commonly placed over illustrations in books of that era.
The caption reads: "The Monument erected at Rowley over the remains of William Stickney, the emigrant ancestor. See page 11." By Rowley, I assumed he meant Massachusetts, and indeed it was.

More of their story will come soon. I need to wade through this tale of 6 children, but only 3 baptized in America. He bought and sold land. His will starts on page 7, ("I, William Stickney, of  Rowley in the county of Essex in New England, being weake [sic] of body,...."), and is dated 21 January 1664. This is followed by "An Inventory of the Estate of William Stickney", on p9, that includes his boots and red waistcoat, among the sheep, horses, cow and steers... And all that, before page 11. I'll try to make it fun.... Later.

The Stickney Family Title Page

The title page:
"The Stickney Family
A Genealogical Memoir
of the Descendants of William and Elizabeth Stickney, from 1637 to 1869. By Matthew Adams Stickney,"
(In smaller print): "corresponding member of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society, The Vermont and Wisconsin Historical Societies, The American Numismatic and Archaeological Society, Honorary Member of the New England Numismatic and Archaeological Society, Curator in the Historical Department of the Essex Institute, etc., etc."
(And after the line): "Salem, Mass. Printed for the Author. Essex Institute Press. 1869."
(The following page reads): "Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by Matthew Adams Stickney, In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts Edition of 500 copies."

Meet William


Hello Stickney Family

Hello. This new blog will be dedicated to the family line in the United States of the descendants of William and Elizabeth Stickney. A genealogical book of that family was purchased by my great-grandfather Stickney.
After looking in websites of Stickney, England all morning, learning about the Fens (marshes) of that area, searching any number of genealogical websites, and trying without success to learn more about St Luke's church, I returned to this old book for reference, and realized it might be very helpful to others of the Stickney family.
The book is old and has many clippings inserted and yellowing between pages. There is a wealth of information contained within, but I'm not sure that scanning it is wise. I don't want to break its back.
So... I will begin by posting some information about the book, it's origin, the Preface and whatever bits and links of history I can find. If you are a Stickney descendant and can leave names, dates, places of people you would like me to look up in this book, I will be glad to do so, but I offer no guarantees. I am not a professional, just a person with a wonderful old book.