My Great Grandmother, Laura, died leaving 6 children under 10 years old. Upon researching, I discovered that her mother, Mary Hutchins, died leaving her children at young ages as well. Mary Hutchin’s mother died in the Great Boston Fire, leaving her child motherless. Unable to identify Mary’s mother, we don’t know if that is where…
Willie E. Balentine
My Great Grandfather was Bill Balentine. He told numerous tales that found their way into oral history. Apparently he had a grand sense of humor. I have heard that he changed his name to Balentine to be named after his favorite beer. I also heard he was married to an Indian woman in Maine and…
The Bedford Flag
I have always said that it is an amazing gift to have tangible pieces of our past preserved for us. My Great,Great,Great,Great,Great,Great Grandfather Nathaniel Page carried the first flag into an American battle and that flag is preserved in the Bedford, Massachusetts Library where he lived. After decades of wanting to see it for myself,…
Page Family Homestead Article in The Sunday Herald, 1901.
Discovered in the Parker/Allen Bible was found this newspaper clipping. It is from The Sunday Herald-Boston, dated August 11, 1901. It is entitled, Historic House at Bedford and is rich with details regarding the Page Family homestead in Bedford, Massachusetts. What I find worth noting is that the presence of this article demonstrated that he…
History according to Gramp.(Alfred T. Balentine)
I have learned a lot from doing family history. One thing that I have learned is to assess a body of work. In other words, when I asked Grampy to write down a historical picture of his life, what is important is not only what he wrote, but what he didn’t. The silence of topic…
Baileys
Today I thought to do another round of paper diving within the Parker Family Bible published 1849. There are dozens of letters, newspaper clippings, and notes. My scanner is sooo achingly slow, it really removes the enthusiasm of scanning anything. But the responsibility of acquiring family papers is in their preservation. Family history, if you…
Old Burial Hill and Rev.Walton
Last fall, on my history tour, I went in search of Old Burial Hill in Marblehead, Massachusettes. Through my Grandfather, Alfred Balentine, I descend from Rev. Walton, the first minister here in Marblehead’s first church. Although this is a line specific to my Grandfather, I feel it is also notable to my Grandmothers side as…
Marblehead
No, not a driveway, this is one of the roads that line the neighborhood of Marblehead village. I have never seen roads lined with stone walls. I was quite impressed. My search for Rev.Walton took me to Marblehead, Massachusettes. What a beautiful town!The streets are lines with gorgeous old homes that I have seemingly stood…
Aunt Eunice
Yesterday my Aunt Eunice passed away at age 90. There is heartbreak and relief. Relief because the last thing she would want for her proud, intellectual self would be to live in a nursing home with dementia. Heartbreak because I did have a bond with her that was important. She had expectations for me. She…
Duxbury Cemetary
My Goodness How did I miss the Oldest Cemetery in the country? Do you know how many times I have been to Duxbury? How many times I was at The John Alden house? And yet somehow this cemetery slipped through my hand….ACK!…. Maybe I will win the lottery and will be able to spend the…