My Young Cousin Takes an Interest in Family History

October was Family History and this year it started out in an awesome way. On September 30, my Cousin Lisa messaged me a photo of her oldest son, age 12, reading a family history book that I made for him when he was born. It's a series of brief biographies about our shared branch of his family tree. When a 12 year-old takes an interest in family history, anything really, you have to strike when the iron is hot and so a few days later he and I had a video chat about the family's history.

He seemed especially interested about my grandpa, his great grandpa. Oh I could tell him stories. I used to spend a month every summer with my grandpa at his home in Florida when I was in my teens.

My young cousin also expressed interest in looking at the old documents. Oooh, I've got them too.

I am now in the process of writing up a few more profiles on a handful of our ancestors. I have learned a lot more in the last 12 years and have collected a great deal of documents since then. Thus far, I have sent him one package including an updated biography on my great grandmother, his great-great, Mayme Sharp-Gardner (October 2, 1891 - January 25, 1961). 

I am presently writing about her paternal grandmother's line, the Moores of St. Felix-de-Kingsey, Quebec by way of Londonderry, New Hampshire of Scottish extraction. They are an interesting lot - the had family members who were Early American settlers, who served in the American Revolution (at the surrender of Burgoyne), as well as some who perished in the Glencoe Massacre in Glencoe, Scotland in 1692.

I also encouraged my young cousin to sit down with his paternal grandma and work on building his dad's family tree. I didn't want to say it like this but... grandparents don't last forever. You need to talk to your elder family member while you can. As far as I can tell, his paternal grandma's family stretches back a long way in the area that he presently lives in. I know what that is like; I live a stone's throw from where my father's family settled nearly 400 years ago. Their history is right around you. Perhaps my young cousin and his grandma could even visit a few local cemeteries where his ancestors are buried. 

Again, once their interest is piqued, you have to strike while the iron is hot. I'm excited!! I have more info headed his way this month.

A Visit to My Patriot

This past March, my cousin Pete and I ventured up to Vermont to visit his aunt. On our way home, we stopped into Forest Hill Cemetery, in East Derry, New Hampshire, where my Moor/Moore ancestors are interred. The Moores are on my maternal side, not the side I share with Cousin Pete but he happily joins me on a lot of my cemetery jaunts. In fact we did a cemetery marathon which you can hear more about in this presentation I did for Allen County Public Library's Genealogy Center, called Victor Henry's Headstone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw53oHpcfgA

Anyway...

My great-great-great grandmother, Annie Moore-Sharp (About 1782 - January 14, 1868) was born in this area of New Hampshire. She died in St. Felix-de-Kingsey, Quebec, Canada. 

Her father, my 4th great grandfather, William Moore (About 1763 – July 1817), and her mother, Eleanor Moore-Moore (About 1767 – October 19, 1836), were also born in New Hampshire and died in Quebec. 

Yes, Eleanor's maiden name was also Moore. She and her husband, William, were actually first cousins. Yeah, grosses me out too but whatever... They were the grandchildren on John Moor (About 1683 - January 24, 1774) and Janet Gray-Moor (About 1687 - March 8, 1776). Actually, I am not confident about Janet's maiden name. She may have been a Cochrane. Both she and John were said to be born in Antrim County, Northern Ireland, making them my European immigrant ancestors on this line of my family tree. They arrived in the New World from Northern Ireland in about 1724.

Eleanor was the daughter of Colonel Daniel Moore (February 11, 1730 - April 13, 1811). William was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Moore (May 26, 1726 -  October 25, 1778).  Daniel and Robert were brothers who served in the American Revolution. 5th great grandpa, Robert, is buried in this Forest Hill Cemetery along with his wife, parents, and several children. His brother, Colonel Daniel is buried in Old Bedford Cemetery in Bedford, New Hampshire about 15 miles northwest of East Derry.

Back in June of 2012, when I first discovered these patriots in my family tree, I had some dear friends of mine visit this cemetery to look for my family's headstones for me. An odd request, as I tend to do cemetery visits for myself but it just so happened that at the time my friends, Andrea and Laszlo, were visiting his parents who lived in, guess where? That's right!  Derry, NH. What the heck, right? Such a small world that these friends had family in a town that my family helped to settle.

That's right, my ancestors helped to settle Derry, NH. In April 1719, sixteen Presbyterian Scotch-Irish families settled there. Then known as Nutfield, the settlement became Londonderry in 1722, shortly before my Moores arrived. Then in 1827 it became Derry. The Moores arrived there in about 1727, only a few short years after their arrival on this continent. One reason the settlement is noteworthy is that in the first year, 1719, a field was planted, known as Common Field, where it is said that the first potato was grown in North America. Nom, nom, nom!

East Derry was also home to Alan Shepard, yup, first American to travel into space. Anyway... we were in East Derry. Well, we were AT East Derry; my ancestors are IN East Derry...buried in it.

Initially, my friends weren't so sure they'd be able to find the graves of my ancestors. Sometimes it does take a lot of time to find graves in a cemetery, especially if it lacks a directory or someone on the staff present to help you find the headstone.

Nine out of 10 times my relatives don't even have headstones. They were generally poor people who couldn't afford stones. In any case, Andrea and Laszlo were kind of astonished that the headstones from the late 1700s were still there. I was kind of astonished that they were astonished. In Hungary, though, where Andrea and Laszlo were raised, gravesites must be financially maintained by the family in order to stay intact. A very foreign concept to Americans who own their family plots for perpetuity.

In any case, Andrea and Laszlo found my family's graves right away because they are the very first grave as you come through the cemetery's main gate. They had told me that but I didn't quite believe it until I visited and sure enough - they haven't moved. My 6th great grandparents, John Moor (About 1683 - January 24, 1774) and Janet Moor (About 1687 - March 8, 1776), are the first grave as you come through the gate.

John's headstone of the left reads:

HERE LYES THE BODY

OF MR JOHN MOOR

HE DEPARTED THIS 

LIFE JAN 24 1774

AGE 91 YEARS

Janet's headstone on the right reads:

HERE LYES THE BODY

OF MRS JENIT MOOR

WED TO MR JOHN MOOR

SHE DIED MARCH

THE 8TH 1776 IN

THE 89TH YEAR OF

HER AGE

Not far from them lies their son Lt. Col. Robert Moore (May 22, 1724 - October 25, 1778), my 5th great grandfather:

My 7th great grandfather's headstone, Samuel Moor (1655 - 1734), also known as Charter Samuel Moor I:

You can see Samuel was born in Argyll, Scotland and his son, John, above, was born in Northern Ireland. The family was part of the Clan McDonald of Glencoe. In fact, Samuel's nephew, Charter John Moore II (February 13, 1692 - 1741), not to be confused with Samuel's son John, is said to be born on the night of the infamous Massacre of Glencoe; the same night his father, also named John Moor, was slaughtered. So yeah, 7th great grandpa Samuel had a brother, son, and nephew, all named John Moor. Not real creative with the names, these Moors, which makes for some real confusion in one's research.

This is Charter John Moore II's headstone, first cousin to my 6th great grandfather John Moor:

You can tell the stone above is a modern day headstone. I assume it replaced an older stone or maybe it was never marked at all.

 

Below is the headstone of my 7th great grandmother, Mary Partridge-Moor (1660 - 1733), wife of "Charter" Samuel Moor 1:

I like her flying skull. Classic iconography of the time. Also called "death's head", it is thought to symbolize one's physical death and their spiritual regeneration.

There are actually about 80 Moors and Moores listed on FindAGrave buried in Forest Hill Cemetery. I am sure most, if not all of them are connected in some way. I'd love to examine the cemetery closer and unpuzzle the connection between them all, especially those buried so close together in the oldest section of the cemetery. Maybe some day I'll have the time to do that. Time is fleeting though, isn't it? Isn't that what cemeteries remind us?

Sadly, my friends' father-in-law/step-father, who they had been visiting in East Derry back in 2012, passed away in October 2016. He too is buried in this cemetery, not far from where my Moors are. So I got to visit his grave as well. I love that Michael is so close to my family. Just feels right. 
 

52 Ancestors Challenge Week 29: "Fun Facts" - A list of 10

Here are some fun facts I have in my family history:

1. My parents grew up next door to each other. 

That's not an expression. They literally lived next door to each other.

2. I come from a long line of seafaring men yet just looking at the ocean can make me seasick. 

Both my grandpas served in the navy in WWI. My great grandpa, Abram Earle (January 13, 1891 - November 18, 1973) started building his own boat. His father, my great-great grandfather, Abraham Earle (About 1849 - Fall 1890), died at sea abroad a ship called The Rise and Go in Newfoundland. Abraham's father-in-law, my 3rd great grandfather, Reuben Samms (About 1830 - October 7, 1869), also died at sea during a seal hunt. Another of my 3rd great grandfathers, John M. Losee (August 17, 1841 - February 10, 1918), had a brother, Leander L. Losee (November 8, 1846 - April 23, 1917), who served in the Navy during the American Civil War and was captain of a life saving station along the south shore of Long Island. And yet another 3rd great grandpa, John Aloysius Joyce (February 11, 1829 - September 30, 1910), served in the U.S. Navy during the Mexican-American War (mid-1840s) at 16 years-old as a cabin boy on the U.S.S. Potomac. Boat people! I'm queasy just writing this.

3.  My family has multiple children born on their parent's birthday. 

My grandmother was married on her 20th birthday and then had her 3rd child on the same date 5 years later, February 27. That son's ex-wife had their second child on her birthday, June 2. My grandma's brother, Robert, had his first child on his birthday, October 21.

4. My mother, my paternal aunt, and my step-mother were all in the same graduating class at the same high school.

5. My father's sister married his best friend from high school. 

6. Both my brother-in-laws were best friends in high school too. 

And get this, those boys when to the same high school as mom, Aunt Jane, and my step-mom.

7. I have a pair of aunts who married brothers.

Also, my great-great grandmother, Flora Smith-Losee (Mar 1875 - September 1, 1920), and her a sister, Melinda Smith-Losee (November 1, 1869 - August 19, 1955) married brothers; John M. Losee Jr. (March 25, 1870 - May 24, 1940) and Oliver Combs Losee (May 3, 1868 - February 10, 1937), respectively.

8. I have two 5th great grandfathers who served in the American Revolution; Colonel Daniel Moore (February 11, 1730 - April 13, 1811) and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Moore (May 22, 1724 - October 27, 1778).

And... they were brothers whose children married. Yeah my 4th great grandfather, William Moore (1763 - July 1817), and 4th great grandmother, Eleanor Moore (1767 - October 19, 1836), were 1st cousins.

9. William and Eleanor Moore helped settled the area of St. Felix-de-Kingsey, Quebec, Canada in 1803.

"Settler" is just a term for people showing up and building a house, typically to colonize the area and thus, typically European white people were settlers.

10. I descend from the man who settled Freeport, Long Island in 1659; Edward Raynor (1624 - 1685). 

52 Ancestors Challenge Week 7: "Landed" - great-great grandpa, Daniel Sharp's Moore Line

It is very common for American's to hyphenate their ethnicity. We're kind of obsessed with it and, dare I say, hung up on our ethnic identities. The irony of American culture, if you ask me, is that while we pride ourselves on being an immigrant nation, and yet, historically we are not very fond or accepting of the newcomers, also known as immigrants. 

I don't really identify as a hyphenated American. I don't say I am Irish-American or German-American, etc., although I am. I descend from a bunch of ethnic groups. I don't feel especially any ethnicity. I just say I am an American because I am. It's where I was born and my people have been here a long time. A long time. I'm just American.

I do not know when all of my ancestors arrived on this continent, or "landed" as it were. If I reflect on my most recent immigrant ancestors, though, I am Canadian-American. Canada, though, is also a nation of immigrants, although Americans really do not think of our neighbors to the north as equal in that way. If I didn't do genealogy research I would know little to nothing of Canadian history. Before researching my Canadian ancestors I thought of Canada as the place where the un-American went; 1970s draft dodgers, British Loyalists who lost the Revolution, people who couldn't get into the U.S. because of immigration quotas.

All of my grandparents were born in the U.S.; a stone's throw from where I live now. All of them were born in New York. Only two of my great grandparents weren't born in New York; they were born in what is now Canada. Great grandpa Abram Thomas Earle was born in Twillingate, Newfoundland. At the time of his birth, Newfoundland was a British colony so technically he was never Canadian. Which brings me to my maternal line and my great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Sharp-Gardner, who has frequently been recorded as "Mayme" and who is my most recent immigrant arriving in Lowell, Massachusetts in about 1919.

Mayme was born October 2, 1891 near Drummondville, Quebec to Lydia Ann McLean-Sharp and Daniel Sharp. Although they lived in Quebec, an area dominated by French inhabitants, records (and her maiden name) identify this family as being of Scottish origin. With my very American mindset of believing those who live in Canada are "un-American", you will understand my awe when I discovered that this line links me to 2 American Patriots. Yes! Two! Two men who served in the American Revolution, not as British Loyalists but as American Patriots.

So how did this line wind up in Canada? I'll get to that.

My great grandmother Mayme's father, Daniel Sharp (1822-1898), was named after his great grandfather, Daniel Moore (1730-1811). Make that Colonel Daniel Moore.

Here is a little snippet of my tree to help you follow who I am writing about:

You will notice that Daniel Sharp's mother, Annie Moore-Sharp (1782-1868) was the offspring of William Moore (1763-1817) & Eleanor Moore-Moore (1767-1836) (and Moore and Moore and Moore - hee hee). William and Eleanor were first cousins. Their father's were brothers. Robert Moor (1724-1778) - correction: Lieutenant Colonel Robert Moore and Colonel Daniel Moor (1730-1811) both served in the American Revolution and both were sons of John Moor (1683-1774) & Janet Gray-Moor (1685-1776). You will also probably notice that the spelling of Moore also appears as Moor. But whatever, people, spelling is fluid, we just need to accept that.

John Moor (1683-1774), my 6th great grandfather, was born in Colerain, Antrim, Ireland but his father, my 7th great grandfather, Samuel Moor (1655-1734), was born in Glencoe, Argyle, Scotland and is from the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe. Samuel's brother, also named John, was killed in the infamous Massacre of Glencoe on February 13, 1692.

It was my 7th great grandfather, Samuel Moor, who settled in Londonderry, New Hampshire, now Derry, New Hampshire in the 1720s. His son John followed a few years after him. Robert and Daniel were both born in New Hampshire. So I guess that makes me Scottish-Irish-American-Canadian-American. Anyway - -

There is that kind of "landed," when Samuel and John stepped off the ships onto the earth of the New World and then there is being granted land which, I suppose, is an odd interpretation of the theme "landed" but exactly how my Moore family wound up in Canada. They received a land grant. Now I can't actually find any documentation of a land grant but I have several published family histories that state such.

These include:

Moore, George Washington. 1925. Genealogy of the Moore family of Londonderry, New Hampshire and Peterborough, New Hampshire, 1648-1924.

History of Bedford New Hampshire from 1737: Being statistics compiled on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, May 15, 1900.

And my favorite: 

Moore, J. Clifford. 1996. The life and times of a high school principal in rural Quebec. 

The consensus is that in 1802, when William and Eleanor were in their mid-to-late 30s, they left their home in Londonderry, New Hampshire and settled in Kinsey, Quebec. As French families moved into the area, the town's name was changed to its present day name, St. Felix-de-Kinsey. French Catholics like to slap a saint on to the places they live.

All that remains of their once beautiful farm and homestead is the Moore Family Cemetery across the road, along the east bank of the St. Francis River. In 1996, Clifford Moore noted in his book that the cemetery was still well maintained by the community. On my visit there in August of 2019 it did not appear to be well maintained.

However, it was an incredibly beautiful piece of land they lived on. This is the view of the St. Francis River from the grave of my great great grandfather, Daniel Sharp, and his mother Annie Moore-Sharp.

52 Ancestors Challenge Week 8: "Courting" - great-great grandparents, Daniel Sharp and Lydia McLean-Sharp

Last week I wrote about my great-great grandfather, Daniel Sharp (1822-1896), and his maternal line, the Moore Family of Londonderry, New Hampshire. This week's theme of "Courting" brings me back to Daniel.

Daniel Sharp was born on March 18, 1822 to Annie Moore-Sharp (1782-1868) and Peter Sharp (1783-unknown). His second wife, my great-great grandmother, Lydia McLean-Sharp was born on September 15, 1868. Oh yeah, that's not a typo. When they married on July 25, 1891 Daniel was 69 years old; Lydia was 22. Three months later their first child, my great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth "Mayme" Sharp-Gardner, was born. You do the math.

The Moore line is where my American Revolutionary War soldiers are; Colonel Daniel Moore and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Moore. When I applied to become a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), I did so primarily to have a reputable lineage organization validate my research. No one on my line had gotten into the DAR before. Many members enter the organization based on the fact that their mother, or grandmother, were members. When you apply that way, you just have to document your connection to a previous member. I had to document my lineage all the way back to Colonel Daniel Moore. He was already an accepted Patriot but I had to document the birth, marriage, and death of 8 generations of my family.

1. Colonel Daniel Moore (1730-1811) married Ann Cox (1729-1804) begat

2. Eleanor Moore (1767-1836) m. William Moore (1763-1817) begat

3. Annie Moore (1786-1867) m. Peter Sharp (1783- unknown) begat

4. Daniel Sharp (1822-1898) m. Lydia McLean (1868- unknown) begat

5. Mary Elizabeth "Mayme" Sharp (1891-1961) m. Albert Gardner (1891-1946) begat

6. Clarence Albert Gardner (1927-2004) m. Marilyn Irene Fay (1931-1972) begat

7. my mom who married my dad 

8. and then me

Again, I had to include birth, marriage, and death record for every individual named above. Even with the marriage registration in hand the DAR questioned the validity of Daniel and Lydia's marriage. 

What young woman marries someone 47 years older her? 

Well, Lydia did. 

And they had 2 children together; my great grandmother Mayme and her younger brother, Daniel Sharp (1895-1974). 

My great-great grandfather, Daniel, had been married once before to a woman named Mary Ames. Little is known about her. She appears in the 1861 Census of Canada married to Daniel, as well as in the 1871 and 1881. She appears to have been approximately 9 years older than Daniel. She died on July 6, 1890 at the age of 78. 

In the 1891 Census of Canada, Daniel is living with Lydia but she is listed as his "niece". WHAT?!?! I'll explain. It should be noted first though, that on the date that census is taken, April 28, 1891, Daniel and Lydia are not yet wed and great grandma Mayme is not yet born.

So did Daniel marry his niece? Well, kind of.

Daniel's first wife, Mary Ames-Sharp (1812-1890), was the daughter of John Ames (1790-1819) and Hannah Lester-Ames (1796-unknown). After John died in 1819, Mary's mother Hannah remarried to Archibald McLean (1792-1884). 

See that McLean name? 

Yeah. 

Well, Archibald McLean and Hannah Lester-Ames-McLean are the grandparents of Lydia McLean-Sharp. Daniel Sharp, my great-great grandfather, married his first wife's half-brother's daughter. 

Such an arrangement, in my mind, was likely just that, an arrangement. Lydia, who was the daughter of Donald McLean (1821-unknown) and Elizabeth Walker-McLean (1842-1871), probably went to live with her uncle (well, half-uncle by marriage), after he was widowed. At that point Daniel was well into his 60s and Lydia was probably, initially, his caregiver. The one child he had with his first wife, also named Mary Sharp (1844-1869), died very young. Note that Lydia was significantly younger than Daniel's daughter would have been. Sheesh.

What was that courting like? 

Daniel would have been alone after his first wife died. Perhaps he married Lydia so that she could inherit his property. That being said though, she would have been about 6 months pregnant when they married. And they did have 2 children together. One would hope there was a loving relationship there. I hope there was but there are no accounts of the life they lived together. It is indeed a relationship I wonder about and I struggle to find out what happened to Lydia after Daniel passed in October 1896.