52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week #51 theme is  "Perseverance". 

My siblings and cousins can tell you that one of my genealogy traits is "Perseverance".  In fact I think I've been accused of being like a "dog on a bone".  When we first began our ancestral search in the 1970s, all I had to go on were family rumors and a few names and dates in a sketchy tree. This was before internet, and grandparents were gone, so my research began in libraries... checking out old family and county histories and viewing microfilms and microfiches. I also, wrote lots of letters and discovered that you had to send SASEs to get replies.  Gerry's grandpa printed a little family history booklet which was a great start. He even "commissioned" Gerry to carry on his work, which we did, once we moved from Oklahoma to Georgia.  I bought the "Handybook for Genealogists" to study the formation of counties, and a huge fold out pedigree chart which could go on and on into the past generations.  So proud when I could conquer one more generation or branch.  

Over the years, and with the help of siblings and cousins, and the internet, we have gone a long way with our discoveries.   We have traveled to the locations where these ancestors lived, some as far back as the 1600s. And best of all, we met online and in person, many cousins we never knew of, and have been able as a group to collect photos, letters, and stories.   

There are still new discoveries to be made, but we will do it... with Perseverance .

KIDNAPPING AND RECOVERY

posted by Christy Griffin Thomas, a descendant of Canada Waite

 Between 1675 and 1678, a confederation of Indians led by King Philip (Metacom) waged war against the New England colonists. The goal was to stop the expansion of colonial settlements into Indian territory. King Philip's War, as it is known, took place throughout the New England colonies (RI, CT, MA, NH, VT, ME). The Indians had been successful during the first two years, forcing colonists out of small remote towns, essentially capturing all of Rhode Island, burning Providence and Springfield, and even attacking Plymouth Plantation on the coast. Eventually, the colonists' greater numbers and ability to buy supplies from England caused the tide to turn. King Philip's War was one of the most deadly in American history with about 5% of the entire population (colonist and Indian) being killed. One long lasting effect of the war was the formation of the colonial militia - the Minute Men who 100 years later fought the British at Lexington and Concord. Benjamin Waite (or Wait) and his wife Martha lived in Hatfield, MA. Benjamin was a Sergeant in the militia.

On September 19, 1677, a band of Indians attacked Hatfield, MA while most of the men were gathering crops. The Indians killed many but carried off 17 people, including Martha Waite. The Indians intended to trade the captives for arms and food to officials in New York or Canada (both of which disliked the New England colonies). At the time of her capture, Martha was pregnant and had three children at home ranging from 3 to 6 years old. The children were not taken in the raid. A few days after the raid, Benjamin Waite and Stephen Jennings left Hatfield to follow the Indians and free their wives.

The Indians and their captives initially walked from central Massachusetts to Albany in upstate NY.   New York Gov. Andros refused to meet with the Indians and sent them on their way. When Waite and Jennings arrived in Albany, Gov. Andros had them imprisoned as potential troublemakers. Eventually they were released. Benjamin Waite continued to follow the Indians. At some point, Jennings returned to Hatfield. The Indians and their captives then walked to Quebec City arriving in December or January. The French officials reluctantly swapped a small amount of supplies for the captives.

After the journey, Martha Waite gave birth to a daughter whom she named Canada. Benjamin Waite arrived in Quebec sometime later and negotiated the release of his wife and daughter. They returned to Hatfield in the spring or summer of 1678. * It is about 500 miles from Hatfield to Albany to Quebec. Martha and Benjamin walked the entire distance during fall and winter weather. Martha was pregnant for most of the journey and carrying a newborn baby for the rest. * Canada Waite was obviously a healthy baby. She died at 71 having outlived all but one of her seven brothers and sisters. *

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In the Pease genealogy, Benjamin and Martha are grandparents. Canada is an aunt. Benjamin was in the Falls Fight and, in 1678, went to Canada to recover his family and others who had been captive there. He is often referred to as the "Hero of the Connecticut Valley". He was killed in the attack on Deerfield the 29th of February 1703/4, his body stripped and mutilated. Husband of Martha Leonard Waite, married at Hartford, CT on Jun 8,1670. Son of Thomas Waite and Eleanor ?Paine? Waite of Portsmouth, RI.

The Canada babes--- The two babes born in Canada were females. One was a daughter of Benjamin Waite born January 1678 the other a daughter of Stephen Jennings born March 14 1678. To commemorate the captivity in Canada, Waite's child was named Canada and Jennings child Captivity and these names they ever retained. . 'History of the Town of Whately, Mass'

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.  Week #49 theme is "New Horizons".

As our families arrived on the Atlantic Coast, some as early as the 1640s, they must have been anxiously waiting for the view of the new land on the horizon. They were so brave and ready for new experiences. 

Choosing just one of these many early families, I would like to chronicle our Frost family through more than two centuries of seeking "New Horizons."  The immigrant John Frost, our 9th great grandfather, was born 1614 in England. He came first to New York with his father, John, and then to New Haven CT by 1660s.  His son, John, married Mercy Paine there, and was the father of our 7th gt grandfather, Samuel Frost.  (We will find the surname of Paine again in this family line.)  But first, three generations of "Grandpa Samuels" lived in and around New Haven. They would have lived through the struggles of clearing lands and surviving the elements of a new world, including the French and Indian Wars.   Then in 1754, our 4th gt grandfather, Isaac Frost, was born.  His father fought in the Revolutionary War, and they saw the new nation on the horizon.

Soon after the war, a Connecticut investment company made plans to populate the Western Reserve which would include the new city of Cleveland, Ohio.  Isaac and his family would be among the first to make this venture.  In fact, we believe that one of Isaac's sons, Elias, surveyed the plats for the city of Cleveland. Another son, Johnson LymanFrost, our 3rd Gt Grandfather, married Oriana Paine, daughter of Seth Paine (see, I told you that name would show up again). Oriana Paine Frost was the first teacher in the Brecksville, OH area, and her name shows up in streets and institutions. Oriana’s mother, Hannah Nash Paine, descended from a most interesting line including Canada Waite, born in captivity in Canada when her mother was kidnapped by Indians.

Old Isaac, and sons, Elias, and Lyman helped establish the town of Olmstead, OH.  The Frost name is still seen in the area. But even further horizons beckoned, and in 1820, Johnson Lyman and family are found in St. Clair, Michigan. Both Elias and Lyman had studied medicine, and although Lyman was not a doctor, he used his knowledge to assist a doctor there. Then in 1830, he and his family, including our 2 Gt Grandfather; Elias Carlos Frost, have moved further into the frontier to Lacon County Illinois, near Peoria.  As a side note here, while in Lacon County, the Frosts lived about a mile from the Graves family who went west as part of the Donner party.  New horizons were difficult if not impossible to conquer for many in that era.

When the wilds of Iowa opened for settlement, Lyman, whose wife had died in Illinois, took his children, and traveled to Iowa City.  As we look back, it had been 200 years since the first Frost immigrants had arrived in North America, and they had lived in 6 states, always moving westward.  Iowa in the 1840s was a new frontier, with forts and Indian confrontations. Many settlers came with very little furniture and belongings, as they had to travel by wagons pulled by oxen. But Iowa City grew up quickly into an area of businesses, a militia, and academics. The University and debating societies were established by 1847.

It was in Iowa City that our Frosts, Herringtons, Shafers, and McGills came together through marriage. In the 70s, Elias and family, including daughter, Eva, who married Daniel McGill, moved on to the western part of the state. Our grandma, Harriett “Hattie” McGill, and her siblings were born in Audubon County.  According to family lore, farming was difficult due to the weather and the plague of locusts or grasshoppers.  And at one point, the general store in Audubon County, owned by Elias (also called Carlos) was robbed by the "Crooked Creek Gang".

The brother-in-law of Elias (D.P. McGill's foster father), Daniel Shafer, had helped to survey the state line of Nebraska; so Elias and Lucinda, along with the elderly Lyman, moved on to Stuart, Nebraska.  Lyman died there according to the family Bible. His life alone had stretched from Connecticut to Nebraska, and his very interesting personality has been recorded... another story.

After a few years near Keya Paha County, Elias and family moved on west again, to Chadron, Dawes County, Nebraska, around 1888.  The McGills, still in Iowa, headed for the newly opened territory of Oklahoma, with Daniel making the Run of 1889. And Elias also moved his family to Oklahoma, where they lived and died in Perry, Noble County. 

Many descendants and relatives of these Frost families followed their dreams even further west in the U.S.   Their stories include California during the gold rush days and later years, as well as other states. We have so many families who made similar treks, but this is an example of the pioneer spirit…seeking New Horizons.

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.  Week # 48 is "Overlooked".

My "overlooked" item was a scrapbook, probably begun at Christmas 1880, when it was presented to Bonny Lotta Vaughn, a six year old girl, in St. Louis Missouri.  Bonny was not kin to our family, and died of dipthiria, when she was only 9 or 10 years old.  But her mother, Margie Downer Vaughn, began filling every page completely with poems and news items cut from newspapers of the day.  Margie continued to do so after her husband died, and she married my husband's great grandfather, John McCool, in 1894.  Margie was John's second wife and may not have gotten on well with his children by his first marriage.  But she carried the scrapbook with her to homes in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado,  inserting clippings about John and his family members when events took place in their area. She even pasted the obituary of John's first wife, which we had never seen.  All the while, she filled every nook and cranny with poetry found in newspapers until the book was thick and aging.  Both John and Margie passed away in Colorado, so I have no idea how the scrapbook ended up with John's grand daughter, Mildred, in Oklahoma City.  Mildred was one of my husband's favorite aunts, and we found the scrapbook in a box in her home, along with a couple of very old Bibles and some letters.  I don't think she ever turned over the pages in the book or she would have found items about family members.  (Maybe because it belonged to "that step mother".)  So after it was overlooked in her home,  it was overlooked, still in a box,  in a cabinet in our home.  But nearly 100 years after Margie's death, her scrapbook is no longer overlooked.  We have digitized  many of the pages to share with interested persons found on line, found the gravesite of her only child Lotta Vaughn on Find A Grave, and still the scrapbook waits in a box for its next life.