Family Bible of Reuben & Sarah (Currier) Hills to their son Josiah who married Mehitable Peabody - Union, Maine

Family Bible of Reuben and Sarah (Currier) Hills of Union, Maine, passed to their son Josiah, who married Mehitable Peabody in 1815.   

The Bible also has a page listing Mehitable's parents, Stephen and Mercy (Webber) Peabody and their children. 

No place names are mentioned in the Bible, but online research places the families in Knox and Waldo Counties in Maine, including the towns of Union, Warren and Searsmont.

The Bible is approximately 11-1/2" x 9-1/2" x 3-3/4".  It was published by Holbrook and Fessenden and printed at Brattleborough, Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1822.

The record pages contain the following information:

• Reuben and Sarah (Currier) Hills and their children
• Stephen and Mercy (Webber) Peabody and their children
• A copy of a page pasted inside listing Reuben and Sarah and their children, done in calligraphy by Joseph Homan Kingston on 18 April 1790
• Josiah Hills (son of Reuben and Sarah Hills), and his wife Mehitable (Peabody) Hills (daughter of Stephen and Mercy (Webber) Peabody) and their children
• Marriages of some of the children of Josiah and Mehitable (Peabody) Hills; no place names or names of spouses

• Reuben Hills, born 25 August 1752; died 28 September 1828.  
• Sarah Currier, born 18 January 1759; died 1 November 1835.  
• Their marriage: 10 January 1778
• From other sources I found the Reuben and Sarah were natives of Chester, New Hampshire, who moved to Knox County, Maine

Children

1. Samuel Hills, born 18 November 1779; died 16 May 1853 [or 1858]
2. Sarah Hills, born 27 January 1782; died 3 May 1862
3. Nathan Hills, born 17 July 1784; died 28 August 1858
4. Reuben Hills, Jr., born 2 March 1786; died 3 October 1874
5. Josiah Hills, born 2 April 1788; died 28 March 1875
6. Isaac Hills, born 12 February 1790; died 7 January 1840
7. Anna Nancy Hills, born 24 January 1793; died 25 May 1862
8. Betsey Hills, born 2 March 1795; died 8 May 1796
9. Cyrus Hills, born 16 January 1797; died 26 October 1860
10. Alden Hills, born 14 July 1800; died 17 July 1807
11. Charlotte Hills, born 29 June 1802; died 30 June 1802
12. Louisa Hills, born 6 July 1804; died 6 June 1850

• Stephen Peabody, born 16 July 1763; died 1 March 1853
• Mercy Webber, born 12 November 1765; died 23 April 1850
• Their marriage: 22 December 1789

Children

1. Ruth Peabody, born 9 May 1791; died 9 February 1797
2. Mehitable Peabody, born 31 August 1793; died 2 November 1868
3. Stephen Peabody, Jr., born 30 July 1795; died 25 December 1876
4. Jonathan Peabody, born 16 November 1797; died 9 March 1798
5. Ruth Peabody, born 16 December 1798; died 25 May 1835
6. Hannah Peabody, born 1 February 1801; died 30 April 1801
7. Mary Peabody, born 6 April 1802; died 22 February 1831
8. Belcher Peabody, born 5 September 1803
9. John Peabody, born 7 October 1806; died 13 October 1845
10. Cornelius Peabody, born 25 April 1809
11. Rebecca Peabody, born 23 September 1811

One record page has a family register for Reuben Hills and Sarah (Currier) Hills pasted on.

• Josiah Hills, born 2 April 1788; died 28 March 1875
• Mehitable Peabody, born 31 August 1793; died 2 November 1868
• Married 20 November 1815

Children

• Sarah Currier Hills, born 26 July 1816; died 21 June 1900
• Stephen Hills, born 19 September 1817; died 18 September 1855
• Lorenzo Hills, born 16 April 1819; died 16 January 1841
• John P. Hills, born 31 July 1821
• George Hills, born 9 April 1823; died 24 March 1907
• Ward Hills, born 27 June 1825; died 4 July 1903
• Alden Hills, born 13 September 1827; died 25 May 1854
• Enoch Hills, twin born 29 September 1829
• Joel Hills, twin born 29 September 1829
• Warren Hills, born 23 December 1831
• Ruth Minerva Hills, born 26 March 1837; died 15 December 1860

Marriages of the children of Josiah Hills and Mehitable (Peabody) Hills

1. Sarah C. Hills, 25 January 1848
2. George Hills, 22 November 1846
3. Enoch Hills, 8 November 1855
4. Warren Hills, 17 September 1854
5. Ward Hills, 16 September 1865
6. Joel Hills, 10 October 1859

The Bible has a scrap of paper listing the people who presented "This Chair"

Names above:
Mrs. Jack Young
Mr. and Mrs. Silas Hills
Mrs. A. L. Bartlett
Mrs. Lewis Robbins
Mr. Seldon Dunton
Mrs. George Stone
Mr. Benjamin Eastman
Mrs. Elias Bartlett
Mrs. Emeline Cummings
Mrs. Mary White
Minnie L. Albee

If you have corrections to the information above, in case someone recalled an entry incorrectly or I made a transcription error, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!

Family Bible of Ebenezer and Sarah (Dean) Smith; to daughter Sally (Smith) Foster and to her daughter Laurinda (Foster) Smith; Connecticut and Massachusetts

Family Bible of Ebenezer Smith and wife Sarah (Dean) Smith of Connecticut and Massachusetts, passed on to their daughter Sarah (Smith) Foster and husband Ezekiel Foster, and in turn to their daughter Laurinda (Foster) Smith, wife of Henry Smith

The Bible is approximately 11" x 9" x 3" and has suffered water damage.  The Bible is H. & E. Phinney's Stereotype Edition, printed in 1829 at Cooperstown, New York.   A few of the pages are detached but present; there may be some pages that are missing.  

The difference in the photographs results from the use of a scanner for the detached pages and outdoor photographs for the others, which have a gray appearance.

The Bible has four pages of Family Records plus other handwritten entries, including a page of handwriting describing Sally (Smith) Foster's tombstone.

The Bible was presented to Ezekiel Foster by his daughter Laurinda (Foster) Smith, with the provision that it be passed on to her.  The poem describes the worth of the Bible as greater than gold or gems; the worth of a Family Bible to descendants is also priceless.

See more information on Ezekiel Foster and his descendants here.

Researching online for Ebenezer and Sarah (Dean) Smith, I found several online trees that gives different dates of birth and place of birth for Ebenezer.  Many trees give his birthdate as June 22, 1746.  The Bible, however, definitely shows Jan'y 22, 1846, but I can't be sure that the person who wrote that entry in the Bible was correct.

The marriages pages gives the following:

•  Ebenezer and Sarah (Dean) Smith
• David Smith and Betsey Marsh
• Aaron Addams and Betsey Smith
• Ezekiel Foster and Sally Smith, married February 19, 1795
• Walter D. Smith and Mary Waterman, married September 27, 1798 
• Rev. Pitkin Cowles and Fanny Smith, married May 25, 1808
• Elisha Lewis and Lucy P. Smith, married November 1811
• Joseph Catlin and Laura Smith, married September 16, 1813
• Richard P. Stevens and Sally Foster, married March 31, 1818
• Smith Foster and Darcy Clarke, married September 4, 1825
• Henry Smith and Laurinda Foster, married January 18, 1821
• Chauncey Gaylord and Paulina Foster, married November 14, 1827
• Josiah W. Cannon and Almira Smith, married September 1806
• David Smith and Catherine Goodrich, married September 1799
• Walter D. Smith and Hetty Hosford, married September 7, 1806 at Berlin, Connecticut
• Ichabod P. Stevens and Susan Maria Stevens, married November 8, 1838
• Chauncey Dean and Adele D. Stevens, married [no date entry]
• Nelson Haight and Darcy E. Stevens, married [no date entry]
• Chauncey S. Foster and Laura C. Smith, married December 25, 1849
• David C. Camp and Laura C. Smith, married December 18, 1850

Births:

• Ebenezer Smith was born January 22, 1746
• Sarah Dean was born May 30, 1745
• David Smith was born December 13, 1767
• Betsey Smith was born June 6, 1769
• Sally Smith was born August 20, 1771
• Walter D. Smith was born October 12, 1773
• Lucy P. Smith was born February 18, 1779
• Almira Smith was born September 21, 1781
• Fanny Smith was born June 2, 1784
• Laura Smith was born October 26, 1788
• Ezekiel Foster was born October 24, 1767
• Smith Foster was born January 29, 1796 on Friday
• Sally Foster was born September 11, 1797 on Monday
• Junius Foster was born October 15, 1799 on Tuesday
• Laurinda Foster was born September 23, 1801 on Wednesday
• Paulina Foster was born March 22, 1804 on Thursday
• Junius Foster was born July 7, 1807 on Tuesday
• Lucia Foster was born February 13, 1810 on Tuesday
• Smith and Sally Foster was born in Canaan, Connecticut
• Laurinda, Junius and Lucia Foster was born in New Marlborough, Massachusetts
• Paulina Foster was born in Norfolk, Connecticut

• Grandchildren to E. F. [Ezekiel Foster]
• Sarah Esther Stevens was born July 10, 1819
• Sarah M. Stevens was born January 2, 1821
• Adela Dulana Stevens was born October 16, 1822

• Chauncey Smith Foster was born September 12, 1826 Tuesday
• Sarah Ann Foster was born June 16, 1828 Tuesday

Births

• Sally F. Smith was born October 4, 1823 on Thursday
• James C. Smith was born April 15, 1826 on Saturday
• Laura C. Smith was born October 13, 1828 on Monday
• John T. Smith was born March 11, 1831 on Friday
• Ellen B. Gaylord was born February 1, 1831 on Tuesday
• Lucia Ann Gaylord was born February 26, 1833 on Tuesday
• Emily Irena Foster was born May 2, 1836 on Monday
• George Henry Smith was born January 12, 1837 on Thursday
• Alfred Ethelbert Gaylord was born November 27, 1838 on Tuesday
• Edward P. Smith was born May 13, 1844 on Monday 

Deaths

• Ebenezer Smith Esq. died September 8, 1816
• Sarah Smith, wife to E. S., died August 5, 1819
• Betsey, wife to David Smith, died August 11, 1789
• Mary, wife to W. D. Smith, died September 5, 1805
• Sally, wife to Ezekiel Foster, died June 15, 1816
• Junius Foster died October 15, 1799
• Sally, wife to R. P. Stevens, died December 18, 1822
• Rev. Pitkin Cowles died February 8, 1833 in the 56th year of his age
• Laura Catlin, wife to Capt. Joseph Catlin, died May 24, 1835, age 46
• Ezekiel Foster died December 18, 1835, age 68
• Alfred E. Gaylord died December 11, 1845, age 7 years
• John Smith died June 4, 1846, aged 75
• Susan, wife of John Smith, died September 8, 1846, aged 75
• Harry Smith died May 1875 (born December 1797
• Laurinda Smith, born September 23, 1801, died January 15, 1886 [or June]
• E. P. Smith died Saturday, October 28, 1916 in Bridgeport Hospital

Other handwritten pages

If you have corrections to the information above (in case the person making the entries was recalling in error or I erred in transcribing) or if you can share information on these families, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  

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1884 Letter sent by Edward Francis McIntosh at Concord, New Hampshire, to his Wife at Globe Village, Massachusetts

1884 letter sent by future New Haven, Connecticut gastro-enterologist, Edward Francis McIntosh, using stationery from the Young Men's Christian Association at 26 School Street, Concord, New Hampshire, to his wife at Globe Village, Massachusetts.

I found at least two places in Massachusetts called Globe Village, one at Southbridge and the other at Fall River.  However, since the couple were married at Southbridge, I'm presuming that Mrs. McIntosh was at Southbridge at the time the letter was written.

The writer appears to be working with the Temperance movement.  Some years later, he would enter Yale Medical College where he received his medical degree in 1897.

A transcription follows each page.  If you're able to fill in the blanks or if you feel that I interpreted a word incorrectly, please leave a comment or contact me directly so that I can correct it.

Transcript:

May 2nd/84
My Dear Wife, 
I feel to much the privilege - "I am monarch of all I survey" from the parlor all through to the cellar, "my right there is none to dispute", and that is the worst of it.  "I would not prevail against you" this morning.  The house seems large and empty, especially when I came home last evening at 10:30.  I spent the evening after the Young Men's meeting with Mr. Fiske and was greatly interested in old manuscripts of old colonial times which he showed us.  They once belonged to Rev. Timothy Walker.  Mr. Fiske invited me to

tea with him last evening but I had already had supper.  Robert McKay was at the meeting last evening and took part.  It happened on this wise.  I called at Mr. Fiske's after six and told him how much I had worked with R. and that now I wanted him to call at his house and persuade Robert to come, which he succeeded in doing.  It was the best meeting we have yet had.

Yesterday afternoon I called upon Rev. Mr. Garner and the trustees of that church and secured it for our mass meeting a week from Sunday.  He seemed very well disposed toward our work.  I telegraphed Mr. Watkins the result of the interview.

Mr. Marden was at the Young Men's meeting and spoke so sincerely of Resisting and

____ the spirit.  Mr. Fiske partially broke down with excess of feeling, while making prayer, and two others could hardly in testimony and prayer finish their work, there was such an overwhelming sense of the presence of the spirit, it was indeed one of the richest experiences of my Christian life.

"Though absent not forsaken".  Mrs. Sanders supplied me with a bountiful supply of breakfast, and I am receiving such things as she can supply.  I didn't sleep very well last night and awoke early this morning with no back comforts or any 

other kind of comfort (except lowly ones).  I will send papers with trial in them so you can see how they are coming out.

Tell mother that her wish is the only thing on earth that would persuade me to allow you to be drawn from me in this way, but I think I can get through if you don't stay too long.  I look for a letter today.  Have a good time and then come back to Ted.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections and additions welcome!]

Edward Francis McIntosh was born 2 March 1860 at Dorchester, Massachusetts, son of William Francis McIntosh and Betsey Avis (Bowen) McIntosh.

I believe that Edward's paternal grandparents were William Briggs McIntosh and Matilda G. (Bowen) McIntosh, and that his maternal grandparents were Zenas and Betsey (Hopkins) Bowen.

On 27 November 1883 at Southbridge, Massachusetts, Edward married Harriet "Hattie" Lucretia (Hyde) Moulton, daughter of John, Jr., and Sarah Brigham (Mosman) Hyde.    Hattie was born 24 September 1849 at Winchendon, Massachusetts.  Hattie's age difference with Edward shrank as time went on.

I believe Hattie's paternal grandparents were John and Abigail (Hyde or Hude, possibly, unless she had been married before) Hyde; and that Hattie's maternal grandparents were Samuel, Jr., and Betsey (Brigham) Mosman.

Hattie had previously been married to photographer Horatio Davis Moulton, son of Joseph C. and Susan (Park) Moulton of Fitchburg, Massachusetts.  Horatio and Hattie had a son George D. Moulton born in 1873.  Apparently the marriage of Hattie and Horatio ended in divorce.

Edward and Hattie had three daughters:

1. Ruth, born 17 August 1885 when the couple was still at Concord, New Hampshire.  Ruth married Clarence H. Cogswell
2. Elizabeth, born about July 1888 after the family had moved to Connecticut.  Elizabeth married Russell E. Chatfield.
3. Etta, born about November 1890 in Connecticut.  Etta married Rufus F. Blount.

At the age of 37 in 1897, Edward F. McIntosh received his medical degree from Yale Medical College.  He practiced at New Haven and specialized in gastro-enterology.  For several years he taught courses in that specialty at Yale Medical College.

See more information on Edward Francis McIntosh here.

If you have corrections to the information above, or additions to it, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!


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Family Bible of Daniel and Mary Davis of Wales to Daughter Margaret who, with Husband James Wilks, moved to Pennsylvania

Family Bible with information on the Davis and Wilks/Wilkes families.  

There are no place names in the Bible but Census records indicate the Davis and Wilks families originated in Wales.   The Wilks family later emigrated to Pennsylvania.

The Bible is approximately 11" x 7-1/2" by 3" thick.  Four of the Family Record pages have entries.  

The Bible was published by the American Tract Society of New York in 1861.  Apparently Margaret Davis, daughter of Daniel and Mary Davis, who married James Wilks, filled in some of the information after the fact, perhaps upon settling at Pennsylvania.

The first Family Record page details the birth dates of Margaret's parents Daniel and Mary Davis and those of her own, her husband James and their children, which extend to the next page.

On the page above:

Daniel Davis born December 26th, the year 1797
He departed this life November 19th in the year 1876

Mary Davis born December 26th in the year of our Lord 1807

Margret Davis born March 15th in the year 1839
James Wilks born December 8th in the year 1833
Elizabeth Wilks born December 11th in the year 1856
Mary Wilks born November 26th in the year [1863, crossed out] 1861
William Wilks born May 12th in the year 1859
Annie Wilks born 1867 [1867 in pencil as if added at a later time]

Daniel Wilks born May 20th in the year 1864.  died of typhoid fever
Samuel Wilks born January 10th in the year 1870
William Wilks born October 2nd in the year 1873
Isabella Wilks born August 3rd in the year 1877
Benjamin Wilks born April 3rd in the year 1879
James Wilks born in the year of our Lord 1881 December 6th
John Wilkes [At this point, the name changes to Wilkes], son of James and Mary Wilkes was born August 17th on Thursday at 8 o'clock in the year 1883
James and Margaret Wilkes married Dec. 23rd 1855

William Wilkes died January 10th 1860 at 12 o'clock at night.
Samuel Wilks died December 5th 1867
Annie Wilks died

James B. Wilkes died October 8th 1907, Friday morning 9:25.  Funeral Friday October 11th 1907.

The Find-a-Grave listing for James B. Wilkes shows that he was born in 1833 and died in 1907, so the James B. Wilkes mentioned above was the husband of Margret, not their son.

I found James and Margaret Wilks and their children in the 1880 Census of Sharon, Pennsylvania.  James gave his occupation as grocer.  James and Margret indicated that they were natives of Wales.

See a 1901 certificate from the Wilkes Rolling Mill Company signed by James B. Wilkes here.  The information at this site mentions that James was born at Monmouthshire, England [Wales] in 1833 and came to the United States in 1861.  It appears that James and Margret (Davis) Wilks/Wilkes were born in Wales and married before coming to the United States.  Some of their children were born in Wales.

If you have additions and/or corrections to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!

Sharon, Pennsylvania


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Photograph of the Caribou, Maine, High School Glee Club of 1923-1924, identified

Photograph of the 1923-1924 Glee Club of Caribou High School, Caribou, Maine.

The women are identified on the reverse, in a handwriting difficult to interpret.  

Front Row, Left to Right: Leola Peterson, Marion Keyes, Eula Stetson, Ethel Sarah, Grace Anderson, Margaret Harmon, Hazel Merithew
Second Row, Left to Right: Lois Hight, Fern Johnston, Leophile Bouchard; Evelyn Bell, Audrey Johnston, Mary Vose, Hazel Hedman, Rena Mills
Third Row, Left to Right: Helen E____, Helen Gould, Pauline Dudley, Celia Frisbie, _____________, Margaret Hale, Dorothy Pratt, Pauline Smith
Back Row, Left to Right: Louise, Pendell, Laura Andrews, Beatrice L____, M____ Noyes [possibly Susie Minelva Noyes], Ada Doyle, Josephine Lyons, Margaret Mooers, Lucy Stitham

If you have corrections to the women's names and/or have information to share on any of them, please leave a comment for the benefit of other seekers.

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Family Bible of the Balch and Trefethen Families of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Rye, New Hampshire, Area

Family Bible with genealogy of the Balch and Trefethen families that was presented later on to Ruth Mabel Trefethen (1893-1974) by her mother Martha Ellen (Balch) Trefethen.   

The Bible was accompanied by a booklet detailing the Trefethen genealogy, which will be the subject of a future post.  The booklet contains information on the Trefethen family, starting with Charles F. and Dorothy Berry (Marden) Trefethen, many obituaries clipped from newspapers, mementos, the 1846 tax bill of Nathaniel Balch of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and an original scrap of the multiplication tables of Elizabeth Moses Tucker, who married Nathaniel Balch.

Sorry for the poor quality of the images.  When I have a chance to take better photographs, I'll replace them.

The earliest entries in the Bible are the birth dates of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Moses (Tucker) Balch.  Their daughter Martha Ellen Balch married Charles Elvin Trefethen.  Ruth Mabel Trefethen was the youngest child of Charles Elvin Trefethen and Martha Ellen (Balch) Trefethen.

The Bible is approximately 11-1/2" x 9" and about 2-3/4" thick and contains 4 Family Record pages, all of them with entries.  The earliest year mentioned is 1808, the year of Nathaniel Balch's birth.  The latest year mentioned is 2005, the year of the death of Phyllis Mabel (Trefethen) Grunert.

Family Record

Marriages

Nathaniel Balch married Elizabeth M. Tucker, Apr. 8, 1835

Edward H. Balch married Julia H. Philbrick Nov. 13th [no year written]

Charles E. Trefethen married Martha E. Balch Sept. 24, 1877

Family Record

Births

Nathaniel Balch, born Sept. 9, 1808

Elizabeth M. Tucker, born March 9, 1812

Children

William Wallace Balch, born March 30, 1839 [not sure of the 9]

Edward Henry Balch, born Dec. 24, 1840

George Frederick Balch, born Feb. 20, 1846

Martha Ellen Balch, born March 30, 1851

[Martha's husband] Charles Elvin Trefethen, born Oct. 18, 1849

Deaths

Nathaniel Balch, died June 3, 1876

Elizabeth M. Balch, died Oct. 13, 1889

William W. Balch, died at sea, July 21, 1858

Edward Henry Balch, died [no date filled in]

George Frederick Balch, died March 1, 1869

Martha Ellen Balch, died July 2, 1915

Charles Elvin Trefethen, died Dec. 15, 1921

Births

Susie Ellen Trefethen, born July 1, 1878

Austin Wallace Trefethen, born Sept. 5, 1880

George Chester Trefethen, born Feb. 15, 1882

Arthur Elwyn Trefethen, born April 24, 1883

Elmer Balch Trefethen, born July 10, 1885

Willie Marshal Trefethen, born Dec. 23, 1886

Julia Alice Trefethen, born Feb. 5, 1888

Deaths

Susie Ellen Trefethen, died Jan. 6, 1880

Austin Wallace Trefethen, died April 4, 1963

George Chester Trefethen, died July 26, 1957

Arthur Elwyn Trefethen, died Nov. 25, 1924

Elmer Balch Trefethen, died July 7, 1973

Willie Marshal Trefethen, died Oct. 24, 1919

Julia Alice Trefethen, died Aug. 23, 1971

Births

Raymond H. Trefethen, born Aug. 10, 1889

Marcia Elizabeth Trefethen, born April 19, 1891

Ruth Mable [Mabel] Trefethen, born May 11, 1893

Phyllis Mabel Trefethen, born January 20, 1918

Married Karl Frank Grunert, Jan. 17, 1941

Born May 28, 1916

Jeane S. Trefethen, born 7/8/1922

Richard L. Trefethen, born 10/12/1927

Deaths

Raymond Hall Trefethen, died April 12, 1974

Marcia Elizabeth Trefethen, died Nov. 25. 1918

Ruth Mabel Trefethen, died Sep. 27, 1972

Phyllis Mabel Trefethen Grunert, died July 9, 2005

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information provided above, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!

Rye, New Hampshire

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