Immortality (March 27, 2020) -- Sarah Etta (Freeman) Carpenter

Today's post reprises a post first published on March 24, 2014 (with slight modification to reflect the correct anniversry date).

"Immortality Lies in Being Remembered by Family and Friends." -- John D. Tew 

Sarah Etta (Freeman) Carpenter [1858 - 1945]

Today is the 162nd anniversary of the birth of my great grandmother, Sarah Etta Freeman. Sarah married my great grandfather, Samuel Eber Carpenter, on June 15, 1887 when she was 29 years old. Sarah's first granddaughter (my mother) was born on March 28th, the day after Sarah turned 69.

Sarah Etta Freeman was born on March 27, 1858 in East Douglas, Massachusetts to Mason Freeman (1820 - 1898) and his wife, Martha Amanda Shearman (1830 - 1870). Sarah was the third of five children born to Mason and Martha Freeman: Ellen Frances born 1852; Edward Mason born 1854; Sarah Etta born 1858; Caleb Everett born 1862; and Otis Mason born 1868.  By the time Sarah turned 17 her family had moved to Lincoln, Rhode Island and it was while living there that Sarah met Samuel Eber Carpenter.

Sarah had some hard experiences in her life.  Her mother died when Sarah was only 12 years old. Sam and Sarah had two children -- my maternal grandfather, Everett Shearman Carpenter (1891 - 1962), and his older sister, Ruth Ann Carpenter (1889 - 1920). Ruth Ann died at age 31 just twelve days after giving birth to her only child, Richard Carpenter Knight (the first of Sarah's four grandchildren).

Sarah is especially intriguing to me because she is the first ancestor where I have actual documentation to show that she had an active interest in genealogy. Sarah wrote letters to town clerks and other officials seeking proof of her ancestors' births, deaths, and life experiences -- particularly with regard to military service. She was successful in some respects because she was able to obtain C.A.R. membership for both of her children in 1905. [See the post of July 3, 2013 here on The Prism.]

Today I raise a glass in memory of my great grandmother, Sarah Etta (Freeman) Carpenter!

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Photographs from the personal collection of the author.
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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew
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Photographs Across The Generations -- How Far Can You Go? (October 16, 2014)

L to R:  Molly, Eulalie, Doreen and Jonathan (May 19, 1984)

Each week The Weekly Genealogist, newsletter of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), asks a survey question of its readers. This week the question is . . .

"What is the largest number of generations of your family pictured in a single photograph?"

The question led me to the photograph above, which shows four generations from our family in a single photograph. The snapshot was taken on May 19, 1984 -- just one week to the day after the birth of our first child, Jonathan. Pictured are Jonathan's great grandmother, Eulalie Jeffs; his grandmother, Doreen (Jeffs) O'Kane; and his mother, Molly (O'Kane) Tew. This photograph is the most recent of three such four-generation photographs I have been able to locate in our family photograph collection; the others involve earlier generations than depicted here.

On a related matter, this survey question led me to ponder another question, "What is the greatest number of generations back that I can go and still have a photographic depiction of an ancestor?" 

After a little research (and the very recent discovery of the photograph of an ancestor), I have determined that in eight instances our family can presently go back seven generations to photographs of: my sons' 4x great grandparents, Russell Cooke (b. 1810) and his wife Mary Vinal [Otis] Cooke (b. 1806); my sons' 4x great grandmother, Nancy Mason [Bullock] Carpenter (b. 1793); my sons'  4x great grandmother, Abby [Hunt] Miller (b. 1807); my sons' 4x great grandfather, William Wood (b. circa 1820); my sons' 4x great grandfather, Nathan Walker (b. 1808); and my sons' 4x great grandparents, John Bowen Shearman (b. 1799) and his wife Ann Eliza [Patt] Shearman (b. 1803). *

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Scan of the original snapshot in the family collection. 

*  And with the birth of our first grandchild within the next three weeks or so, the photographs of the named ancestors above will soon be extended back eight generations!

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Copyright 2014, John D. Tew

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Happy May Day (May 1, 2014) -- May Baskets Reprised. . .

The following is a reprise of a post from May 1, 2013 about an all but lost May Day tradition. 

In the minds of many people today (perhaps especially Baby Boomers and their parents), the 1st of May has come to be more associated with images of the huge military parades of the former Soviet Union through Moscow's Red Square -- and with International Workers' Day celebrating the international labor movement in more than 80 countries -- than with the ancient roots of the day as a  festival signaling the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the rebirth, renewal, romance and reproduction associated with the warm growing season.

Many northern cultures around the world have festivities and traditions related to early May and the marking of the beginning of summer.  The celebrations and traditions go back millennia to pagan holidays such as the Celtic Beltrane, but they are also expressed in rites and traditions such as Morris dancing, the Maypole and the crowning of a May Queen.  For more about the variety of May Day celebrations and traditions, go here. 

In the United States, May Day traditions and celebrations have fallen into disfavor among many groups because of associations with the May Day parades of the USSR and/or association with perceptions of socialism and unions.  But, there was a time when the tradition of May Day baskets was widely practiced in America and the tradition survives in some areas of the country today.  The tradition most widely followed was the making of baskets to be filled with flowers (usually by children), which were then delivered to friends and neighbors -- especially adults and the elderly -- through a ding-dong-ditch method.  Ding-dong-ditch involved hanging the basket on the front doorknob, ringing the doorbell (or delivering a loud knock) and then running away quickly before being discovered or caught.  In the more romantic version of this tradition among young people, the recipient of the basket tried to catch the messenger and, if successful, a kiss could be exchanged.

Back in 1849 New England the tradition of May Day baskets was apparently widely known and seems to have been part of a rather staid courting tradition that might or might not have included such public displays of affection as kissing among the young participants.  Below is a nice example of the use of May Day baskets in young flirting or courting traditions in the early part of the 19th Century.  It is from my 2x great grandmother, Martha Amanda Shearman, to her future husband and my 2x great grandfather, Mason Freeman, on May 1st, 1849.  

Martha Shearman's May Day Basket note to Mason Freeman, her future husband.

The trasncription of Martha's note is as follows . . .

          Friend Mason

       This Basket Please except [sic] and flowers as a token of highest esteem from one that is your friend.  I know not in what light it may be considered or how it may be received but if it is acceptable please return it in your possetion [sic] as a token of acceptance and remember that she who hangs it wishes you health happiness and every other blessing which earth can afford and now friend I must bid you good night and as often as you look upon this basket cast one thought upon her who hangs it upon your door.

                                              May 1st 1849

              To Mr. Mason Freeman

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Photograph of the original note and envelope in the collection of the author.

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Copyright 2013, 2014,  John D. Tew

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Immortality (March 27, 2014) -- Sarah Etta (Freeman) Carpenter

"Immortality Lies in Being Remembered by Family and Friends." -- John D. Tew 

Sarah Etta (Freeman) Carpenter [1858 - 1945]

Today is the 156th anniversary of the birth of my great grandmother, Sarah Etta Freeman. Sarah married my great grandfather, Samuel Eber Carpenter, on June 15, 1887 when she was 29 years old. Sarah's first granddaughter (my mother) was born on March 28th, the day after Sarah turned 69.

Sarah Etta Freeman was born on March 27, 1858 in East Douglas, Massachusetts to Mason Freeman (1820 - 1898) and his wife, Martha Amanda Shearman (1830 - 1870). Sarah was the third of five children born to Mason and Martha Freeman: Ellen Frances born 1852; Edward Mason born 1854; Sarah Etta born 1858; Caleb Everett born 1862; and Otis Mason born 1868.  By the time Sarah turned 17 her family had moved to Lincoln, Rhode Island and it was while living there that Sarah met Samuel Eber Carpenter.

Sarah had some hard experiences in her life.  Her mother died when Sarah was only 12 years old. Sam and Sarah had two children -- my maternal grandfather, Everett Shearman Carpenter (1891 - 1962), and his older sister, Ruth Ann Carpenter (1889 - 1920). Ruth Ann died at age 31 just twelve days after giving birth to her only child, Richard Carpenter Knight (the first of Sarah's four grandchildren).

Sarah is especially intriguing to me because she is the first ancestor where I have actual documentation to show that she had an active interest in genealogy. Sarah wrote letters to town clerks and other officials seeking proof of her ancestors' births, deaths, and life experiences -- particularly with regard to military service. She was successful in some respects because she was able to obtain C.A.R. membership for both of her children in 1905. [See the post of July 3, 2013 here on The Prism.]

Today I raise a glass in memory of my great grandmother, Sarah Etta (Freeman) Carpenter!

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Photographs from the personal collection of the author.
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Copyright 2014, John D. Tew
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Friday Fotos (December 13, 2013) -- John Bowen Shearman

John Bowen Shearman (1799 - 1881)

John B. Shearman is my 3rd great grandfather.  He was born in Tiverton, Rhode Island on November 25, 1799 and he died on October 2, 1881 in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

John and his wife, Ann Eliza Patt (1803 -1887), had fifteen children together -- nine girls and six boys. The seventh child and fifth girl was my 2nd great grandmother, Martha Amanda Shearman, who married Mason Freeman on July 29, 1851.

          John B. Shearman     m.     Ann Eliza Patt

          Martha Amanda Shearman     m.     Mason Freeman

          Sarah Etta Freeman     m.     Samuel Eber Carpenter

          Everett Shearman Carpenter     m.     Ruth Eaton Cooke  [my maternal grandparents]

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Original photograph in the personal collection of the author.

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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew

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Military Monday (November 25, 2013) -- Mason Freeman's Civil War Draft Registration

Mason Freeman is my 2x great grandfather.  He was born in Mendon, Massachusetts on June 14, 1820 and died on April 10, 1898.  He is buried in Moshassuck Cemetery in Central Falls, Rhode Island along with his wife, my 2x great grandmother, Martha Amanda Freeman, nee Shearman (July 10, 1830 -  August 28, 1870).

Mason Freeman (1820 - 1898)

On June 25, 1863, Mason Freeman was among the men registered in "Class II" as "subject to do military duty" in the First Congressional District in Rhode Island.  That district consisted of the counties of Newport, Bristol, and part of Providence. 

"Class II" registration was for persons who were not in Class I.  Class I consisted of men between the ages of twenty and thirty-five and all unmarried men above the age of thirty-five but under age forty-five.

At the time of Mason's registration, he was living in the 21st District of North Providence, Rhode Island.  He was 43 years old and the father of four children ranging in age from 11 months to 11 years old.  His occupation (as stated on the last line of the registration page  shown above) was "merchant."

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Original photograph of Mason Freeman in the collection of the author.

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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew

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Three Family Daguerreotypes (November 19, 2013)

Ann Eliza Patt (1803 - 1887), wife of John Bowen Shearman

John Bowen Shearman (1799 - 1881), husband of Ann Eliza Patt

Samuel Carpenter (1828 - 1904)

Yesterday was the birthday of Louis-Jacques-Mande' Daguerre (November 18, 1787 - July 10, 1851). Daguerre was an artist and a physicist.  He is best known for his invention of an early method of photography that took his name as the daguerreotype.  

The process Daguerre developed took advantage of the light sensitivity of silver salts. It involved exposing copper sheets having a layer of silver plating on it to vapors given off by iodine crystals.  This procedure left a very thin layer of light-sensitive silver iodide that could then be exposed in a camera.  The big problem with this late 1830s photographic process was that it required long exposures to produce a decent image and so early subjects were buildings and things that could not move.  Human subjects had to stay as still as possible for a long time for portraits and that is one reason the poses look so wooden and frozen.  

Millions of daguerreotypes were produced when the process was refined and portrait sitting times were reduced from as much as thirty minutes to just a few seconds, but when paper-based processes replaced the metal daguerreotypes beginning in around 1855, the expense and difficult viewing of the daguerreotype photograph spelled its demise; by the late 1860s few photographers were still using the daguerreotype process.

The above daguerreotypes are of my 3rd great grandparents, John and Ann Shearman, and my 2nd great grandfather, Samuel Carpenter, in his Civil War uniform.

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Daguerreotypes in the personal collection of the author.

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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew

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Caleb Everett Freeman (1862 - 1904)

Caleb Everett Freeman was born in Rhode Island in July 1862.  He was the son of Mason Freeman (1820 - 1898) and his wife Martha Amanda Freeman nee, Shearman (1830 - 1870). Caleb was a brother of my great grandmother, Sarah Etta (Freeman) Carpenter, and so Caleb is my great grand uncle.

Caleb E. Freeman was a bookkeeper.  He and his wife Carrie had four children before Caleb died rather young on August 3, 1904 at age 42.  Their children were:

     1.  Mason Freeman born in November 1888.

     2.  Gladys R. Freeman born in September 1889.

     3.  Elsie Freeman born in October 1892.

     4.  Arnold R. Freeman born in 1903.

My maternal grandfather, Everett Shearman Carpenter (son of Samuel Eber Carpenter and Sarah Etta Freeman), got his first name from the middle name of his Uncle Caleb and his middle name from his maternal grandmother Martha Amanda (Shearman) Freeman's  maiden surname.

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Photograph in the collection of the author.

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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew

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Wedding Wednesday (July 17, 2013)

1851 marriage certificate for Mason Freeman and Martha A. Shearman

My 2x great grandparents, Mason Freeman and Martha Amanda Shearman, were married on July 27, 1851 in  Smithfield, Rhode Island by Warren Lincoln, Minister of the Gospel, as shown on the above certificate of holy matrimony.

Mason was born on June 14, 1820 in Massachusetts and died in Lonsdale, Rhode Island on April 10, 1898.

Mason Freeman (1820 - 1898)

Martha was born on July 10, 1830 and died on August 28, 1870.

Martha Amanda Sherman (1830 - 1870)

Mason and Martha had at least five children:  Ellen Frances Freeman (1852 - 1947); Edward Mason Freeman (1854 -    ); Sarah Etta Freeman (1858 - 1945), my great grandmother; Caleb Everett Freeman (1862 -    ); and Otis Mason Freeman (1868 - 1949).

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Scanned images of the original certificate and photographs in the collection of the author.

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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew

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Tombstone Tuesday -- A Mystery

Ebenezer Freeman is my 3x great grandfather.  Ebenezer was born in 1776 -- probably in Mendon, Massachusetts.  He married Sally Legg on November 13, 1803 in Mendon.  Sally was born on March 3, 1783 in Mendon, Massachusetts.

The photograph above is from an original in my possession.  The date, location and photographer are unknown and this is the mystery of this photograph.  I have no idea where the graves of Ebenezer and Sally Freeman are located, though I presume they are buried in Mendon because Ebenezer died in Mendon on September 15, 1828 and Sally died in 1857 most likely in Mendon also.

                    My descent from Ebenzer Freeman and Sally Legg  . . .

                    Their son, Mason Freeman m. Martha Amanda Shearman

                    Their daughter, Sarah Etta Freeman m. Samuel Eber Carpenter

                    Their son, Everett Shearman Carpenter m. Ruth Eaton Cooke (my grandparents)

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Original photograph of the graves of Ebenezer and Sally Freeman in the collection of the author. 

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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew

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The May Day Basket Tradition -- A Reminder From May 1, 1849

In the minds of many people today (perhaps especially Baby Boomers and their parents), the 1st of May has come to be more associated with images of the huge military parades of the former Soviet Union through Moscow's Red Square -- and with International Workers' Day celebrating the international labor movement in more than 80 countries -- than with the ancient roots of the day as a  festival signaling the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the rebirth, renewal, romance and reproduction associated with the warm growing season.

Many northern cultures around the world have festivities and traditions related to early May and the marking of the beginning of summer.  The celebrations and traditions go back millennia to pagan holidays such as the Celtic Beltrane, but they are also expressed in rites and traditions such as Morris dancing, the Maypole and the crowning of a May Queen.  For more about the variety of May Day celebrations and traditions, go here. 

In the United States, May Day traditions and celebrations have fallen into disfavor among many groups because of associations with the May Day parades of the USSR and/or association with perceptions of socialism and unions.  But, there was a time when the tradition of May Day baskets was widely practiced in America and the tradition survives in some areas of the country today.  The tradition most widely followed was the making of baskets to be filled with flowers (usually by children), which were then delivered to friends and neighbors -- especially adults and the elderly -- through a ding-dong-ditch method.  Ding-dong-ditch involved hanging the basket on the front doorknob, ringing the doorbell (or delivering a loud knock) and then running away quickly before being discovered or caught.  In the more romantic version of this tradition among young people, the recipient of the basket tried to catch the messenger and, if successful, a kiss could be exchanged.

Back in 1849 New England the tradition of May Day baskets was apparently widely known and seems to have been part of a rather staid courting tradition that might or might not have included such public displays of affection as kissing among the young participants.  Below is a nice example of the use of May Day baskets in young flirting or courting traditions in the early part of the 19th Century.  It is from my 2x great grandmother, Martha Amanda Shearman, to her future husband and my 2x great grandfather, Mason Freeman, on May 1st, 1849.  

Martha Shearman's May Day Basket note to Mason Freeman, her future husband.

The trasncription of Martha's note is as follows . . .

          Friend Mason

       This Basket Please except [sic] and flowers as a token of highest esteem from one that is your friend.  I know not in what light it may be considered or how it may be received but if it is acceptable please return it in your possetion [sic] as a token of acceptance and remember that she who hangs it wishes you health happiness and every other blessing which earth can afford and now friend I must bid you good night and as often as you look upon this basket cast one thought upon her who hangs it upon your door.

                                              May 1st 1849

              To Mr. Mason Freeman

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Photograph of the original note and envelope in the collection of the author.

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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew

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Genealogy Research 1904 Style

Randy Seaver’s January 4, 2013 post at Geneamusings regarding the task of researching genealogy before 1999 reminded me of the documents I have showing the efforts of my great grandmother, Sarah Etta (Freeman) Carpenter, back in the early years of the 20^th Century.

Sarah Etta (Freeman) Carpenter 

Sarah was clearly interested in her family genealogy and went to the effort of enrolling her 16-year-old daughter Ruth and 14-year-old son Everett [my grandfather] in the National Society of the Children of the American Revolution.  It appears that their 1905 enrollment was the culmination of Sarah’s genealogy research into the war service of her ancestors.

Before the digital age of the computer and the Internet, and even before the use of microfilm and microfiche, genealogists – amateur and professional alike – had to consult original documents like vital records, family histories, land records and the like where they were kept – in the archives, courthouses and historical or genealogical societies.  There was no Ancestry.com or other on-line service to collect and make available digital copies of the documents.

When my great grandmother was doing her genealogical investigations, her principal tools were paper, pen and a stamp for correspondence with family members, town clerks, state offices, etc.  There was nothing like instant gratification by finding a document using one’s computer and printing it out.  One had to send letters of inquiry, wait for a reply, and then patiently move on to the next suggested source.  And of course, like today, there was often a fee for getting answers to inquiries from government agencies as is shown in the documents below.  But more importantly from the viewpoint of today’s standard of careful documentation, correspondence inquiries back in the days before copiers and scanners did not result in a nice photocopy of the original document being sent to the inquirer.  What one got was usually a handwritten letter reply citing to the information the clerk could find and decided to excerpt.  What follows are some examples of the replies Sarah got in her efforts to track down her family roots during the early years of the last century. 

Sarah’s father’s name was Mason Freeman (1820 – 1898), son of Ebenezer Freeman (1776 – 1828) and his wife Sally Legg (1783 – 1857).  In the fall of 1904, Sarah was trying to find information about her great grandfather, Caleb Legg, who she had been told served in the Revolutionary War.  Sarah wrote to the Mendon, Massachusetts Town Clerk inquiring about Caleb and got the handwritten reply shown here.

Notes in lighter ink are those of Sarah E. Carpenter

From the Mendon Clerk’s reply, it seems Sarah might have learned for the first time that her great grandfather had possibly been married twice and that her grandmother, Sally Legg, was a child of his second marriage to Susannah Taft.

Sarah next corresponded with the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in December 1904 in order to obtain information on the Revolutionary War service of Caleb Legg.  The careful, typed reply she received (for which she was charge $1.00) indicated two men named Caleb Legg (one age 35 and the other age 24) with service in the war.  After cautioning Sarah she could use the service records of both Caleb Leggs to establish “eligibility to membership in any of the patriotic societies,” the official noted that the difference in the recorded ages for the Caleb Leggs of record “could not be ignored and the question of identity will crop up every time the certificate is examined.”  Sarah was asked to decide if she wanted a certificate for the war service of both men named Caleb Legg and to send her reply.

Sarah decided to get the certificate from the Office of the Secretary and it probably arrived in her mail sometime in early 1905.  The first and last pages of the six-page certificate are pictured here.

Sarah also made inquiry about her paternal great grandfather, Ralph Freeman, to the Town Clerk of Wrentham, Massachusetts in late November or early December 1905.  The handwritten reply dated December 12, 1905 is pictured here (and note that the clerk’s fee was 25 cents).

My lineage from Caleb Legg [my 4X great grandfather]

Generation 1:                        Caleb Legg m. Susannah Taft

Generation 2:                        Ebenezer Freeman m. Sally Legg

Generation 3:                        Mason Freeman m. Martha A. Shearman

Generation 4:                        Samuel Eber Carpenter m. Sarah Etta Freeman

Generation 5:                        Everett Shearman Carpenter m. Ruth Eaton Cooke

                                             [my maternal grandparents]

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Copyright 2013,  John D. Tew

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