Monday, January 24, 2011

5 Envelopes Addressed to the Prescott Family of Maine and New Brunswick, Canada



6 empty envelopes sent to members of the Prescott family of Maine and New Brunswick, Canada.  Although I'd love to have the contents, I'm happy that someone took the time to note some genealogical information on the back of a few of the envelopes.


The envelope above and directly below was sent to Honorable Jessey Prescott, Jr., at Pennfield, New Brunswick.  Apparently Mr. Prescott, who I believe was Jesse, rather than Jessey, was the Postmaster at Pennfield (Pennfield is misspelled on the envelope).   I believe the letter was sent from Eastport, Maine and acquired markings from St. Stephen, Saint John and Pennfield along its way.   Note that someone has written Jesse Prescott along the side, from a more contemporary era.




Three envelopes were addressed to Mr. George D. Prescott, two to Eastport, Maine, and one to Poughkeepsie, New York.  The envelope addressed to Poughkeepsie appears to have the honorifics "Hon" and "Mr." written perhaps as an afterthought.  That particular envelope was mailed from Eastport and marked along the way by Portland and New York.  Another envelope was mailed from, I think, Waterville, Maine, to Eastport. The third was mailed from Poughkeepsie, New York to Eastport, and it has a bit of genealogical information on the reverse, again in that more contemporary hand: George D. Prescott, 16 May 1864, Alice A. Chaffey, Mother.  Jessie McClean, wife, married 8 Dec 1892."  [Actually, Jessie's maiden name was McLean; more on their genealogy below]




The reverse of the above three envelopes, in the same order:






The last two envelopes were addressed to Miss Kate C. Prescott, in care of John Prescott at Calais, Maine.  Both were mailed from Eastport, Maine, one identified as coming from Box 8.  Again, there is some genealogical information on the reverse of one of them in that more contemporary hand: George's Sister. Father Moses 1827 fm Canada, Pennfield, N.B..  Mother Alice A.




Here is the reverse of the envelopes in the same order:



From online research, hopefully correct, and assuming I have the correct Jesse Prescott in Pennfield, New Brunswick, Canada:


Jesse Prescott was born 29 March 1833 at Pennfield, Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada, the son of Jesse and Sarah "Sally" (Knight) Prescott.  His paternal grandparents were Jonathan and Catherine (Marston) Prescott, both born in New Hampshire and died in Maine.  His maternal grandparents were Joshua and Jane (Vernon) Knight, part of a group of families that came to New Brunswick, Canada, from Pennsylvania.


On 26 Aug 1855, Jesse Prescott married Abigail Ann Young, who was born 28 August 1827 at Pennfield, New Brunswick, the daughter of John Bailey Young and his wife Priscilla (Hawkins) Young.  Her paternal grandparents were Isaac and Mary "Polly" (Turner) Young.  Her maternal grandparents were Zadok and Mary (Paul) Hawkins.


Jessie and Abigail Ann (Young) Prescott had a family of, I believe, four daughters and a son.


Regarding the set of three envelopes: George Don Pedro Prescott was born 16 May 1864 at Pennfield, New Brunswick, the son of Moses and Alice A. (Chaffey) Prescott.  His paternal grandparents were Jesse and Sarah "Sally" (Knight) Prescott.  His maternal grandparents were James and Mary (Hurley) Chaffey.


On 9 December 1892, he married Jessie McLean, who was born in 1868, possibly in Nova Scotia, the daughter of Andrew and Susan Jane (McNichol) McLean.  Her paternal grandparents were William and Ann (McCredie) McLean.  Her maternal grandparents were John and Jane (McDiarmid) McNichol.  Many of these names also appear in online resources as Mac.


George D. and Jessie Prescott had a daughter Ethelyn.  There could have been more children, but I haven't yet found a record of the family beyond the 1911 Census of Canada.


For anyone interested in the Knight family [George D. Prescott's grandmother was a Knight], I found an interesting website on the Harding family, one of whom married Amy Knight.  There are many letters of George's great grandfather Joshua Knight transcribed there.  Descendants of William Harding


Finally, regarding the set of two envelopes: George's sister Catherine "Kate" C. Prescott was born 15 July 1862, in Maine, the daughter of Moses Prescott and his wife Alice A. (Chaffey) Prescott.  Her paternal grandparents were Jesse and Sarah "Sally" (Knight) Prescott.  Her maternal grandparents were James and Mary (Hurley) Chaffey.   The John Prescott that she stayed with in Calais, Maine, was her uncle, her father's brother.


In 1885, Kate married Frank Tenney Wadsworth, who was born 28 May 1862 at Eastport, Maine, the son of Samuel Longfellow Wadsworth and his wife Ann (Bibber) Wadsworth.  His paternal grandparents were  and had three sons as of the 1900 Census.  Sadly, she died on  24 October 1904 at Eastport, Maine.   Frank married for the second time on 28 July 1920 to Louise Milliken or Milligan.


If you have any corrections, additions or insights regarding the information provided above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  


For more information on the Prescott family of New Brunswick and Maine, click here for the Maine and Maritime Canada Genealogy network and scroll down to the listings for the surname Prescott.


Map of Pennfield, New Brunswick, Canada:



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Map of Eastport, Maine:



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2 comments:

  1. Hallo,

    It's great to see these envelopes - just a shame you don't have what was inside once!! I've got all sorts of bits and pieces like this so perhaps should show them on my blog. You've given me an idea about these bits and pieces. ;-)

    I find your blog very interesting so have nominated you for an Ancestor Approved Award. You can find more about it at my blog So That's Where I Get It From (http://rootsresearcher.wordpress.com)

    Kind regards,

    Christine (rootsresearcher)

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  2. Thanks for your kind words, especially about your being inspired to highlight the bits and pieces that may sometimes be set aside. I was really hoping there would be some contents in at least one of the envelopes, but I'm happy with the handwriting and the fact that George and Kate and Jesse held these envelopes at one time.

    Interesting about the Ancestor Approved award, from reading your wonderful blog, in that it celebrates/encourages action, introspection and collaboration. Must get cracking - thanks again!

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