Birthplace of the US Navy

TL;DR -- Where was the U.S. Navy born? Several sites have reason to make the claim. there was a discussion this year about the topic. Turns out, though, that the U.S. Navy has decided. It was not in New England, proper, though Philapelphia is close enough. 

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In 2015, there was continued discussion of a controversy in New Hamphsire history, who was first? That is, which site could claim the earliest settler? This question might have been resolved for the 2023 commemoration that did not get the attention given to the arrival of Cape Ann's crew (Gloucester 400). 

• Rev. Hubbard (2 May 2015): In the Remarks for 4 May 2015, we mentioned that Dover and Portsmouth were candidates. 
• Evidently, Portsmouth came into the lead. 

Coming up is the 250th of the U.S., so comparative themes of this sort will continue. This year, in May, discussion of a "great debate" was sponsored by the Essex Heritage Society pertaining to who could be touted as the birthplace of the Navy. This graphic shows some detail about the occasion. 

We can use the Navy's opinion for the answer: Birthplace of the U.S. Navy. The official answer is Philadelphia, PA since that is where the Continental Congress was in session, making decsions, and providing for funds. In their write up, the Navy diplomatically mentions the other towns and their contributions. 

Early on, while looking different categories of descendants of Thomas and Margaret (Fryer) Gardner, we considered the Sarah Balch family (see post, See Descendants of Sarah). Her descendants were Chaplains of both the Continental Navy and the U.S. Navy.  

Remarks: Modified: 09/30/2024

09/30/2024 --  

Current status

TL;DR -- Two major things happened last year. Both dealt with technology. One had to do with the future as it might be influenced by computing. The other had to do with the influence of the computer on the past in terms of records. Then, we have all sorts of other themes at hand to consider. 

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This post has the purpose to get the current status of the Thomas Gardner Society, Inc. on the table. There were two major things that happened last year. Then, we reacted to another change in the on-line environment. 

Caveat: This will replace the "In summary" post of last spring. 

First, the two things, as in order with respect to our focus, of note last year were: 

• We became aware of the xNN/LLM maneuvering in late January and did a post on Febuary 1: ChaptGPT. Prior to that time, we had taken a hands-off approach to AI for reasons that are documented in later posts last year and before (actually). We knew that there was money involved with big names getting into action. But, it's a mess, folks, which we intend to bring to the fore as our major project. Let's table that for a bit. Too, there was the 400th of Gloucester last year (next bullet). Then, there is the upcoming 250th as noted by D.A.R. and S.A.R. which we spend a lot of time supporting. With respect to our research, see our category of the "Long reach of New England" which as been a theme for almost a decade. It got more attention when we considered that those on the Oregon Trail (some of them) had passed by the foot of Mount Oread which hosts the University of Kansas. And, that there had been a major effort on the part of New England to keep Kansas slave-free. Col. T. W. Higginson was out here. So was John Brown; we just had a post on his armed conflict with some people of out the south who were using Missouri as a staging ground for creating havoc with pioneers. Stay tuned on that. The other theme can be found after the next bullet.   
• Okay, we were getting ready to write about Margaret Fryer the wife of Thomas Gardner. This was due to the fact that the 400th was collecting stories. And, our research had been effective is getting Margaret on the map. Anderson, and friends, had dissed her, essentially. But, then. We ventured to WikiTree which has been our research vehicle (for many reasons) and saw that someone had gone through the digital files of Sherborne, Dorset and found records for about all of the kids of Thomas and Margaret. Except, we might add, for Sarah who was known to have been born here in Salem in the mid-1630s. And, we saw that the WikiTree folks had split Thomas into two people. The one Thomas was the husband of Margaret. The other is an unknown. To us, we see these ones as the same. Thomas was here and went back. Hubbard suggested that. And, he was of the time and talked to the principals. Whatever turns out to be the fact, we'll adapt. But, right now, Thomas was at Cape Ann. Nothing really shows otherwise. But, how did we miss this? See the first bullet. Besides putting ChatGPT through its hallucinatory paces, we looked at others. Frankly, Bard of Google excels. We'll explain. The gist of the matter is that we can research from Salem to now. And, origins? Full of open issues which it is time for us to tackle. 

Another theme had been the west coast, principally San Francisco as we were looking at the quake and the aftereffects. But, Los Angeles got into the mix due to seeing that Butterfield (and others) had stopped in the Bunker Hill area to reprovision for further effort going north to San Francisco. Arriving there, they turned around and headed back to St. Louis by a long, arduous route. But, lots and lots of photos from various times started to crop up which made this theme even more important. 

This is cursory by purpose, as we'll have this research as a regular theme from now on. 

So, origins, for the most part, were not followed closely by us. We had concentrated on the generations from Thomas and Margaret until now. There are reaons for this. One dealt with the fact that research in the Old World was ongoing and best handled there. We, over here, have our own axes to grind. 

That was okay until now. We are henceforth taking origins to be a regular feature of our work. 

Remarks: Modified: 07/12/2024

02/13/2024 --  Added image. 

07/14/2024 -- Why is 2024 so quiet? 

Ten years ago

TL;DR -- We will start with marking by category, put in a header about the coming changes, figure some reasonable modification to apply, and get them into place. At the same time, we will reconfigure with technology updates in mind. 

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Ten years ago, we were four years into this medium exercising our reading intake. Sometimes this was via expressing opinion (see this post in December of 2023 - Opinions count?) which is everywhere. Papers have the OpEd (we added this category) for a purpose. Other times, we were reporting results that we had no reason to doubt. Thanks to the good work of Bob Dunlop we know more about Thomas and Margaret and the family than was known before. 

To recap, we have been using this post (In Summary) as a reminder that our websites will be updated and that we'll keep using the blogs for information with respect to what we know (our first post on What we know was in November of 2012). In the next few weeks, we will have more information on what needs to be changed. In terms of some of the OpEd type, we'll put in a header with respect to the status as we will keep the information for future reference. 

One thing that we noticed when we started is that there was a lot about Thomas Gardner on the web which was 19 years old at the time. One could see the different generations (web evolving) of these. So, from the start, we captured URLs and, as one would expect, is a huge collection. One a recent review, many of these have disappeared or merely moved. This is the same problem as we get generally and which there have been solution attempts. One example if archive.org who also provides access to on-line books. In terms ot we pages, one can see the page. But, links are not pointing to active sites. 

As an aside, many have gone from static pages to a wholely database approach. That goes back to an old argument of compute or store. Remember, we have a technology focus. It is becomeing clear that we have to know the history. Some things under the covers are old. Perhaps, we would use many if talking the infrastructure that is reliable. Be that as it may, there is a use of the static page. Our sites use this method with some database facilities, like WordPress. This discussion comes under Content versus Configuration which we will continue with the focus having a priority on Content though we dabble with Configuration. 

Back to the subject, notice in March of 2014, we had some OpEd posts dealing with Cape Ann. Some of those may have been conjectures based upon the work done so far. At the time, the basis was minimal which was offputting. By this time, the internet was changing too. Search parameters had been altered by those who provide such (user input to these changes was minimal - let's talk requirement - the current uproar will get that back on the table). 

An interesting twist is with the LLM (xNN), we can work with a coPilot to reconfigure the site. Or not. Basically, my attempt would be to sandbox changes or try enhancements. Then, the sites would be redone manually. Why? I'm more custom than not. There is too much on the web where mutal admiration societies build monolithic sites that go against the dreams of people in general. And, one huge aspect of that is the American dream whatever that might mean. With respect to our view, the 400 years of effort by some families still here has to have some meaning. And, quite frankly, that has been visible to me since I started this. 

The redo of Dr. Frank's work is an example. We'll not throw stones as some on WikiTree might. Actually, I don't see that genealogy by itself is of much use. We need history plus a whole lot of science to come to bear and that means more than genetics. Look at our technology writeups for some notion of the issues at hand. 

So, we'll be using the OpEd category. First, when we identify pages that need to be updated, we'll put it in the category with a header. Then, as we dive further into the research, we will start a new series of pages. BTW, going back to set a proper basis will include an errata listing for Gardner's Beacon and The Gardner Annals. 

So, we will be doing this all year. Right now, let's see what is involved and get some notion of the changes needed. 

BTW, it was in September of 2014 that we did this post: Marriage of Thomas and Margaret. It's our most-read post and note OpEd. However, the images involved had been indexed. Only the first few of the sons were mentioned. We were waiting for further transcription and indexing, and time ran away. There is always more to do than can be done. So, the 2023 surprise was quite nice, actually. 

Our position (OpEd): Thomas was here. Rev. Hubbard didn't mention that he was referring to other than the one of Salem. We'll reconfigure here and expect further work to fill in the pieces. Or not. 

Aside: Over this 10 year period, we did not ignore AI or AIn't. In a sense, there is much ado about not much. Weeding out the hype will leave how much edible stuff? Do we know that a priori? 

Remarks: Modified: 01/13/2024

01/13/2024 -- 

Boston Tea Party

TL;DR -- This party got its name later. But, the event was 250 years ago. We know specifics about the event and its participants. Modern folks have an organization to fete these folks by identifying descendants. Overall, though, the times leading up the Revolution need more attention using the resources and technology of the modern age. 

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The motivations for this post are several. For one, we're only nine days late. Then, we have been watching the approach of the 250th of the U.S. As well, since our start, we have had lots of posts dealing with D.A.R. and S.A.R. which are organizations, for females and for males, respectively, whose focus is the descendants of those who supported the Revolution. Dr. Frank's sister, Marion Gardner, was a member of D.A.R. through her Gardner great-grandfather. 

Of late, we have been distracted by technology but are back to the history and lineage focus. As well, we have spent time since the start of the pandemic on researching the other countries who were here: Spain, France and more. As we close out this year and start the next, we will be summarizing our work, recent and before. Then, we'll have categories of activities. This blog will continue as will our portal: TGSoc.org. 

Aside: Since April, we have quietly researched the topic discussed in the "In summary" post. As mentioned, WikiTree's profile on Thomas Gardner starts from 1636 when Seeth was born here. She was the last child. Lots of work needs to be done which we will help lead and get things resolved as we determine what the data shows. Otherwise, we'll adjust the narrative to illustrate unknowns needing attention. That seems to be an appropriate bit of work in 2024 as we commemorate the Cape Ann effott which was feted this year in Gloucester. Based upon our research, we have not real reason to declare that Thomas was not in Cape Ann in the early period as mentioned by  Rev. Hubbard in his book written in the latter half of the 1600s. 

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Boston Tea Party

So, what and when was the Boston Tea Party? It was a protest about taxes in which a group poured tea in the water on 16 Dec 1773. There has been much written over the past 250 years. Now, we can look back and see how descendants of those who took part fared. Who were the participants? As expected, Samuel Adams was one. We will look at this topic later. For now, there is an organization aptly named Participants in the Boston Tea Party that we will pay attention to. 

The Daughters of the American Revolution held a tea in Washington, DC on the 16th of this month. We support this group's effort for over 125 years, in particular their focus on the upcoming 250th. 

Following are a couple links from organizations who provide good information. 

The Coming of the American Revolution: 1764 to 1776 -- Massachusetts Historical Society - This post is part of a regular series that started to look at the earlier situation. Also, it provides links to associated documents. The Port of Boston was closed for a while by London because of this incident. But, later, in Mar 1774, a brig came into Boston on the way to London. Turn out that it was carring tea. When the Sons of Liberty found out, they had another party and destroyed the shipment which was smaller but helped make the point clear.  

The Many Myths of the Boston Tea Party -- Smithsonian Institution - Not every one was happy with the event and its unfolding. It did make an impression as over 300 chests of tea were dumped. In today's dollars, the value would be about 1.5 million of U.S. dollars. 

One thing that we will consider over the next two plus years will be the state of the colonies prior to 1776. We can look at the general scope. But, family concerns will be addressed, as well. 

Remarks: Modified: 12/25/2023

12/25/2023 -- 

What do we know?

TL;DR -- So, what happened in 2023? Lots. The world has changed, and it has not. People showed their seemingly limitless capacity to bow to the machine. 

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This post serves two purposes. For one, it looks at AI (usual sense) over the past year and collects material pertinent to ongoing discussion and work. The first list contains links with some commentary for each of item. This collection points to different periods over the last year. OpenAI made their announcement on 30 Nov 2022. At that time, we had these two posts which pertained to our continuing topics of research which includes technology.

• Family Search (29 Nov 2022) - we have used this site form the beginning. It represents the efforts of descendants of those who went west. Over the past few years, our focus was on the Interior of the country for several reasons.   
• Perspective, a necessity (1 Dec 2022) - the post looked at veterans from Ipswich, MA (after the Revolution) who went out to Ohio and created a settlement. The trip was well-documented and even repeated later in the 1900s. At the time, that was Michigan Territory. It was only 40 years later that the Santa Fe Trail was formed out of St. Louis, MO. A mere half-century after that, the railroad allowed easier coast to coast travelling. 

The image shows a copy of the "All time, popular" count by post. The topmost, related to the marriage of Thomas and Margaret, comes from the 2014 timeframe. The next one is 2021 as is the one titled "St Louis MO to San Francisco CA" which has spawned several of posts and discussions. The "San Francisco" post is from 2023. 

So, we will continue this area of research as there is plenty questions that are open. Our FAQ will be updated in 2023 to account for new information. In the post titled "A(rtificial) I(Intelligence) researched properly", we go through our own work over the past decade and make some predictions about the future. Given that this work carries on prior research allows a longer time frame that seems to be normal now. So, we will continue to describe things from the historical viewpoint, both technolically and phenomenonally (which is how we view the U.S.). 

Disclosure: We did not get involved with the xnn/LMM, generative material until after a couple of months had elapsed.  As noted above, our timeframe is much longer than normal; and, we need to slow things down in order to establish a little bit of maturity. All of this will be discussed. 

So, going forward, the second list deals with the major change in 2023. We will also use this to start a summarization of our positions on the subjects. The list follows a sequential timeline and uses posts from this blog and related material. 

• Introducing ChatGPT (30 Nov 2022) - there is a thorough overview of the motivation and what was being offered. But, access to the OpenAI system was announced. It did not take long for millions of people to sign up. We did see references to this activity on sites like Quora (who offered POE, later; the head of this organization is on the Board of OpenAI - mentioned them, in yesterday's post - Little Exeter NH).
• ChatGPT (2 Feb 2022) - we heard of the system from a colleague (a linguist) in late Jan and finally got around to doing a query on the 2nd (Groundhog Day). We asked about Thomas Gardner and thought that we were enlightening the thing with a suggestion. In this post, we mentioned that the output did not read correctly. That is a result of the techniques used and can be controlled, somewhat. On the other hand, there is a "omni" and "know-it-all" nuance that is obvious. The New York Times review, How ChatGPT Kicked Off an A.I. Arms Race (3 Feb 2023), looked at some of the issues which were to get increasing attention over the year.  
• Square one? (19 Mar 2023) - Gloucester MA had kicked off their 400th. We were supporting from a distance without bringing in the crew as that would be a 2024 issue, we thought. Our thought was, too, to emphasize Margaret (Fryer) Gardner's contribution. We had not been paying attention to the feeds from WikiTree, however a researcher in Feb of 2023 went through the load of images from the digitized files of Sherborne, Dorset. In doing so, he discovered birth records for about all of the Gardner children, as having been born in the old country. Seeth was born in Salem. So, the family did come over. Did Thomas come over to support the Cape Ann effort? Rev. Hubbard suggested such. Remember, he talked to the principals. But, one thing noticed a while ago was that the Conant family's book did not mention Gardner. Nor did the Woodbury writeup. This feat of technology is interesting in itself, for various reasons. The current state of affairs? There are two Thomas Gardner profiles on WikiTree. One is our Thomas; the other has no information about him. So, one or two? It's like being back at the questions of two or three wives. We settled that in 2012 using the same records. So, Gardner Research opened the door. In the meantime, we did research on California families (the long reach of New England). 
• Research notes (2 Apr 2023) - using our new WP site, we summarized the situation and provided a copy of the list of names and births. There is a gap between the birth of John and Samuel which might show Thomas being away. John was born in December. Thomas could have left without knowing that Margaret was with child. Supported conjecturing will be allowed and supported by technology. Note: at some point, let's discuss how an imaginary basis (of several types) supports science.  
• Technology, computing (May 2023) - after some reading and discussion, I contacted the head of the former Sperry Univac Knowledge Systems Center. He wrote a brief article on how Univac got involved with the effort in the mid-1980s. Lately, one hears more of this, but our contention then and now was that the machine learning solely approach is unbalanced. Hence, we see that the output is not to be taken without some bit of salt (perhaps, a whole lot). But, that is not how it ought to be. Stay tuned. There are several other approaches that can bring maturity. A recent survey points to the diminishing in trust which has been ongoing for a while. But, ChatGPT and its ilk are accelerating the downward slide. Fact? Not there. Fiction? Have at it. Except, one caution (rule) would suggest that "fake" results be tagged as such (analog, truth in advertising). 
• Intro to Bard (7 Jul 2023) - after some time with ChatGPT and looking at issues all around, we finally tried Bard. That activity was all research including things like evaluating how the generative approach performed with mathematical problems. One thing to note is that Wolfram tied this approach to his mathematics system early one, mostly to have more full interchange with users. We need to see how this work is progressing. But, there is a lot more. Bard, basically, was more palatable as it did not try to be argumentative nor did it spout out just to hear itself speaking, so to speak. The post, To Bard or not, summarized some of the issues. For instance, we ran into a PhD thesis that looked at concepts from Kant (the philosopher) being brought bear during training. A known downfall is that the xNN, as being used, squashed nuance. One cannot expect to retract either input or its influence; definitely, there is a need to honor the requirements for footnotes and other referencing modes. In Dec of 2023, Bard was updated significantly. We tried it, but the issue of more fiction than fact remained. One noted improvement was that Bard now stresses teaming, human and machine (rather the "omni" status mentioned above). That was significiant as it changes the tone of the interchange. 
•  ChatGPT a year on: 3 ways the AI chatbot has completely changed the world in 12 months (30 Nov 2023) - we don't agree with the list, as a huge result is trust and its diminishing. What to believe? All of these purveyours suggest checking the results give by their system. Oh, we all have time and energy for that? 
• AI not solely ML (4 Dec 2023) - this is our retort and focus for the future. We need to bring to awareness the knowledge work done in the industrial world. There are many varieties. But, the focus needs to be on humans and their abilities. Enhancements would not be of the machine and its dominance; no, human would obtain an extremely useful tool if this were to be done right.  

So, themes abound. But, what is America about? The dream? Technology can be both a boon and a bane. Why has the latter been more prevalent? We still say AIn't about the emergence of "intelligence" of note. On the other hand, phenomenal mathematical processing has been done by the computer. That could be and ought to be our focus going forward. 

We have a super abacus and slide rule at our disposal now. That is, if only we can understand the need for maturity and the capabilities that it brings. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/04/2025

12/22/2023 -- Dartmouth '99; New Frontier, 21st Century Type. ... THE FUTURE OF AI IN SCIENCE AND MEDICINE, talk at Gairdner Foundation, Oct 25, 2023. 

12/28/2024 -- See updates in GB, XIV, 1 for 2024 updates. 

04/04/2025 -- David T. Gardner has been exercisting Grok with prompts and reports finding documents that support his claim about Wyllym Gardynyr (see King Slayer Court blog). ... We have begun to incorporate changes into the structure and context of the blog. See Restart, somewhat. 

Gloucester, 2nd year

TL;DR -- Gloucester did their 2023 lookback. Now, we're heading toward 2024. We have more information and will be taking a re-look at research. Were there two Thomas Gardners? Some have suggested this, over the years. But, that notion never shuffled up in attention. This and other questions are on the table for Gardner Research. 

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Of course, we know that there was a party that over-wintered in the winter of 1623/4. Then, there were parties who came over in 1624. Plus, there would have been regular traffic from here to there. This year, Gloucester 400 looked at the original arrival. Except, it was not as there had been regular fishing expeditions sent here for several years before that. 

This year, fishing was a large focus, especially as it pertains to generations over the years since 1623. We expect that this will continue with the second year, as the 1624 party is recognized with less hoopla as is expected after the exhilaration of the the first year. In other words, now, let's get down to business. For one thing, we will be scrutinizing our posts (this blog) and editing/'updating with the new information. As well, as research continues, we will point to the work of others. 

Looking forward, by 1626, the failure of the effort was known. By then we will be looking at Roger Conant's move over to Naumkeak with part of his crew where he overwinterd at Massey's Cove. This was when the first controversies about Thomas Gardner cropped up, according to our records. He was not on the list of Roger Conant's for the old planters which we called Old Planters, Beverly.  

On the other hand, we did a recap of what we knew (based upon twelve years of browsing the material with respect to Thomas Gardner) in December 2022. We mentioned our FAQ and the work related to "whence" which was still open. We delayed digging further until March of this year when we had decided that Thomas' wife (Margaret, equal partner;  Margaret (Fryer) Gardner) was to be the focus. 

Why the delay? Our initial thrust in the year was historic (see January 2023). Then, we found out about ChatGPT which had been released by OpenAI in Nov of 2022 (our first post on the subject was 2 Feb 2023). While we were getting familiar with the new AI and discussing issues, Bob Dunlap who is a Thomas and Margaret descendant, was wading through scores of images that were the digitization of the records of Sherborne, Dorset, UK. In doing this work, he found interesting information. We summarized this in a post: New not old planter. In summary, he found records about Thomas and Margaret plus all of their children, except for Seeth who was born in Salem, MA in 1636. 

After looking at the material, we proposed this: Old, and new, planter. We have many reasons for this point of view. Rev. Hubbard was the source for Thomas Gardner being involved with the Cape Ann venture. His reference does not suggest that it was not the Thomas extant in Salem when Hubbard was doing his work. Too, Thomas could have come over a couple of times. One of these would have been in 1624. In the records, there are gaps between children that would have allowed Thomas to have been away. But, the issue is open. 

Margaret, and the children at the time, would not have come over. Or, "may not" as we have to dig into this. In the meantime, we will report the determination of the Great Migration project at WikiTree. They pulled out another node and created two "Thomas Gardner" records. Here are a few words from each of the profiles. 

• Thomas Gardner (abt. 1592 - 1674) - Thomas Gardner has recently been proven to be from Sherborne, Dorset, England with the discovery of the baptism of seven of his children.[1] He was baptized on 30 October 1591 in Sherborne.[2] This fits well with his deposed age of "about 69 years" on 26 November 1661.[3][4] Anderson states that Thomas Gardner's origins are unknown, but that was of course before the discovery of the baptism of his children.[5] Anderson also equates him with the Thomas Gardner who immigrated in 1624, though this is certainly incorrect as this Thomas Gardner had children born at Sherborne continuously until 1633. ... 
• Thomas Gardner (1600 - aft. 1625) - Thomas came to New England as part of the Dorchester Company's failed attempt to establish a fishing colony on Cape Ann. The effort was funded by the Dorchester Company of Adventurers whose chief advocate was the Rev. John White of Dorchester, England.[1] Gardner was appointed as one of the overseers of the fishing colony.[2] It is not known if Thomas Gardner was among the first 14 men who arrived in Cape Ann in the fall of 1623; it is more likely he was in the group of 32 that arrived in 1624. ...

In short, we will start a major update in 2024 of our records and posts. Many issues remain to be researched. Until those are resolved, we will assume that there was one Thomas. That he was here more than once will be looked at thoroughly. 

On the other hand, that there were two Thomas Gardners in early Salem is not a new subject (Two Thomas Gardners in Salem; Back to DNA). What happened was that technology allowed access to the records. Bob Dunlap ought to be congratulated for wading through the non-indexed material. 

Remarks: Modified: 07/14/2024

07/14/2024 -- See updated comment: Why is 2024 quiet?

Transition year, 2024

TL;DR -- We have records to study; we need to take this further; we need to assess the situation and rework the story of Thomas and Margaret; also, Dr. Frank did wonderful work given the limitations of his time; this post announces that the directions will modify but not drastically; rather, we can firm up the basis for future researchers. 

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Gloucester which is at Cape Ann where the crew positioned themselves in 1623 has done a great job with their 400th anniversary year and its events. We have remotely supported that theme while continuing our research. 

About nine years ago, we started to look at digital copies of records at Sherborne, Dorset, UK. At the time, the index for these records had included the marriage of Thomas Gardner and Margaret Fryer. So, we took that to WikiTree and got the Great Migration Project to switch their view of Thomas with three wives to him with two, Margaret and Demaris. At the same time, we saw images of records of the early sons' birth. 

Then, this year, a Gardner descendant took the time and expended the energy to look through loads of digital images, currently not indexed, for Gardner, And, lo and behold, he found records for the rest of the children, minus one. That was Sarah who was born here in 1636. So, questions arise about Cape Ann as we have lots of information about Thomas in Salem. 

Okay, was Thomas here in the early days? Rev. Hubbard suggested that he had been here for the first year. It turns out that two sons had some extra markings on their record. One was John. He would have been born while Thomas was away. Okay, conjecture? Yes. Families can do that. 

Right now, the genealogists of WikiTree have records for two Thomases. The one of this organization's interest though we actually are interested in all things Gardner. The other is for an unknown fellow who was here since there are various references to Thomas Gardner involvement with Dorchester Company. 

In 2024 (actually starting this year; we'll recap what we have done so far), we will put more focus on origins than we have in the past. As in, thirteen years ago, we heard this: Americans worry about this side; leave the other side to the Brits. Well, we're announcing to the Brits that the Yanks are coming, somewhat. 

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This is preliminary. The post will be edited with links. It's being posted as a reminder. With respect to research, we want to hear from all of the families about their knowledge. We have used WikiTree due to its support for projects that we think are important: GPM; Magna Carta: Gateways; ... 

.... When the post is done, this line will change. ...

Remarks: Modified: 11/08/2023

11/08/2023 --

Year to date, 2023

TL;DR -- We have looked at Bard and ChatGPT. The latter had our interest while records at Sherborn were scrutinized. We found out unexpected data about Thomas and Margaret that was sufficient to raise questions about what we know. We had already started the FAQ way back. So, with these two subjects for work, we can deal with technology as we adjust the story to account for the new information. In short, that is not something to moan about; no, it's right in line with how work ought to proceed. 

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This is a continuation of the last post (Intro to Bard).  Bard is the generative LMM approach being tested by Google. As we have said, technology is our interest which is a broad field. Of late, interest has gone with unbounded enthusiasm toward what we call AIn't; in particular, though, we will look more at ChatGPT which came on the scene in November of 2022. 

This post recaps activity in two areas, but, first, here is a brief summary of posts related to the subject:

• How dumb is AI? -- this 2021 post reported on an article that was in the IEEE Spectrum. The IEEE.org is a technical organization that is over 100 years old and deals with the core of technology (namely, power and its meaningful use). AI and knowledge processing rely upon the work of IEEE folks to provide computational resources. 
• Current challenge -- this 2022 post discussed several topics; one of these was the Harvard Business Review's look at AI. Too, at the time, the ACM.org which consists of folks from academia and from technical management was paying attention. 
• A(rtificial) I(intelligence) researched properly - this 2021 post did a recap on the technology use of the TGS, Inc., since the beginning. This bullet is here as it is a parallel activity to what is discussed below.
• Two searches to support future work as references: AI (the theme of today's news); truth engineering (principles from engineering services related to computational systems and their issues).   

Having set the framework for the next items, we can look at what happened this year. Then, we will discuss some next steps with Bard.  

• In February of 2023, we were asked about  ChatGPT since there was a lot of discussion by educated folks about its abilities. By that time, the enthused had already run down the road with uses even to the extent of introducing packages using the system. On the other hand, we were more cautious as there had already been issues made known. There was a clever little phrase associated with the issue: hallucination. To us, the underpinnings are mathematics which we can lift to general awareness. So, some of the behavior is due to the way that the conversational aspect is tuned. Then, we have a positive tone that was assumed to be the right one for this type of interface. Know-it-all is what I think. Technically, we are talking a type of 'interpolation' and will be explaining what we see. But, there is another issue. The push to have unsupervised learning which is motivated, somewhat, by omniscience considerations (look at the Singularity arguments as a huge factor in this discourse). But, the input was crap for several reason. So, why would not the system trained on the bad data has issues, too? Somewhat, one could talk "liar" as the resulting paradoxical behavior except that there is no consciousness involved nor the choices related to that ability of humans. Frankly, it's a mess. Crap cannot be trained out after it pollutes the thing. The method dropped the limitations that might have been brought by supervised learning. Lots to discuss. 
• At the same time that we were looking at ChatGPT and being involved in discussions, a researcher stepped through the Sherborne records and found that all of the children of Thomas and Margaret had been baptized in England. There were two things for us to look at. One had to do with Gloucester's 400th. If Thomas and Margaret were there, we needed to write this up. We had expected to use 1624 and were waiting for material that supported that year. The researcher reported his findings on WikiTree. Their response was to split the Thomas Gardner profile into two persons. The father of the children was married to Margaret Fryer. He was written up by Dr. Frank. The other profile has little information except for reporting the data and the two profiles. Research will fill in the pieces. How did we miss this work? Well, the involvement with catching up on ChatGPT took some time and attention. We were only a couple of weeks late to the show and made our remarks about the state of affairs. 

We are working on the issues. Rev. Hubbard wrote (1680) that Thomas Gardner was at Cape Ann early. And, the Rev gave no indication of two people. Dr. Frank (and others) noted that there was talk of two gentlemen. But, Thomas could have come back and forth. 

Now, an interesting twist is that both ChatGPT and Bard have erroneous data. How do we make this known so that there is a change with supporting remarks left behind? We need to look at the whole affair and the technical details. So, we're working on that, too. 

But, what to train it as being correct? There's the rub. We have put remarks in various places with respect to the current work and the coming changes with no timeframe specified yet. That seemed to be the reasonable stance. 

You know, that has been our approach from the beginning (see the FAQ, link above). We are trying to establish the proper basis. All of the current literature cannot be just cast off. We need to look at motivations and at the basis for decisions made in the past. After all, that would pertain to future decisions. So, we'll hold steady as research proceeds. We already have posts with regard to this work. 

Expect, that technology will play a part, too. After all, it will be the future that is impacted with what we do today. Let's do it right, or as right as we can given our situation and resources. 

Remarks: Modified: 08/06/2023

08/05/2023 --  The post on reseraching AI (3rd bullet, 1st list) has risen, of late, to being on the top-watched list. Too, we are working on GB XIII, 1 which will cover our work so far this year. ... With respect to Thomas and Cape Ann, we will adopt "new directions" as the theme. 

08/06/2023 -- Pointed to the Getting Technical post which references work with Bard. Recently, we have give Bing's little thingee a run through. We want to do a little technical bit, on a subject that is newly framed, at each of these and do a comparison. One future theme will address how to get these things to settle down in order for them to help us hone our reason and understanding (ala Kant, for one). Right now? It's a mess, quite frankly. 

 

Memorial Day, 2023

TL;DR -- Memorial Day represents many things. We will have this as a focus along with other themes as we go forward. This post looks at our thoughts, in May, for the past XII years. 

--

We have had a regular postings about Memorial Day since 2019 when we matched up a grave site of a Civil War veteran with his family. That is, using the new means, we got links in place to support further work. As we mentioned in the last post (Three years ago), we are in the post-Covid period where recovery looks to have started, many uncertainties still remain, and we all are watching how the future will develop. 

Normal human affairs, one might add. Carrying on with the review of the past decade's activities, we will look at a post from the month of May for each year. 

• Memorial Day, 2022; Memorial Day, 2021; Memorial Day, 2020; Memorial Day, 2019; 
• Old friends, 2018 -- we wondered what led to the demise of The Massachusetts Magazine which ceased publishing in 1918. We saw two possible factors: WWI; Spanish flu. In two years, we were to find out more about the latter from personal experience. 
• May, 2017 -- we had a couple themes to look at. For one, Dr. Frank's sister, Lucie took over for Sidney Perley who had been involved in Essex County research. As well, we looked at the beginning of The Atlantic in Boston. 
• Virginia, 2016 -- we called the settlement, New England south. There are interesting parallels including the emphasis on the west which was to become a regular focus in a couple of years. 
• May, 2015 -- we had several research themes going from the Magna Carta, to the activities involved with the War of Roses. Finally, Rev. Hubbard got some attention. 
• May, 2014 -- we incorporated and kept origins in mind. 
• May, 2013 -- we considered an early writer, John Farmer. 
• May, 2012 -- we looked at Col. Worth, namesake of a city in Texas, plus Hawthorne's Merry Mount. 
• May, 2011 -- we had seen Prince William and Catherine marry which motivated looks at England. Who were the Gardners? But, a visit to Salem had us asking this question: where was Thomas? 

Before 2019, we had plenty of catching up to do with respect to Essex County of Massachusetts and the families involved in its founding. We expect to recognize the patterns of life as we continue our work adjusting the view to meet new data. 

Was Thomas at Cape Ann? See "In summary" for a discussion. 

Remarks: Modified: 05/23/2023

05/23/2023 -- 

Research and consequences

TL;DR -- Research in February found records for all of the children born in Sherborne, Dorset except for Joseph. But, Seeth was born here, in the mid-1630s. How is this? Right now, the solution is to split the Thomas Gardner record into two. The first deals with the father of the children and the husband of Margaret Fryer. The second is for the Dorchester Company's man who participated in the venture in 1623/24. Same guy? Other questions abound. This is a status.  

--

The "In summary" post pulls together an overview of recent events and our status. Our response to the findings of a record search was one month late. How did this happen? We look at that below. But, we did get the research going as this image shows. It can be found in the "Research Notes" section of the Thomas Gardner profile on WikiTree. The original find was in 2014 by John Cook who was browsing ancestry[.]com's report on digitization. 

At that time, we did the post and redid the commentary in this blog as well as noting that we were expecting more data as transcription work progressed. Our next involvement was to argue that Margaret ought to be the mother of the children. That was done via a G2G where people discuss matters after looking at the data. Once things settle on an action, the change is done. See "Should all of the children of Thomas Gardner-159 be detached from his second wife, Margaret ____? [closed]" on WikiTree. Yes, that discussion was about the 2nd wife who was Margaret and her status as mother.  

About Margaret, wife
and mother of the children

That was settled. Then, in February of this year, we had this G2G: Comments on Thomas Gardner of Salem 1591-1674. Bob Dunlap had taken the time to browse transcribed records by the 100s. Earlier, we had records for the first three boys. After that, did the family come over to Cape Ann as Dr. Frank and many others thought? 

Well, Bob's search found records for the other children, except for Joseph and Seeth. The time of the baptism of Joseph had smudgy records. But, the following child was recorded. On the other hand, Seeth was not there, but she has records in Salem MA. So, they came over later? 

The WikiTree project in charge of the profile of Thomas Gardner decided to split out into two profiles. One is for the father of the children and husband of Margaret. The other profile is mostly without information awaiting more information on the Cape Ann adventure. 

For us, Rev. Hubbard's reference to these being the same guy has some credence. So, we will see. 

But, why the month's delay?  In November of 2022, OpenAI let loose ChatGPT upon us. John did not pay attention to that until February since there are plenty of other areas needing attention. Besides, he has established a position on AI and its current status as well as weighed in on the abundance of hype that is mostly unsupported. 

The Society had adopted technology as a focus for several reasons. One of the important ones is the growing influence, good and bad, of computing: technology search on this blog. ChatGPT came at a time of bifurcation and has acted as a Rorschach test: toy or tool. That is, what is this thing? John has been involved in research and discussion with respect to the OpenAI release and its aftermath. 

This post allows those two themes to be looked at together. The former deals with Origins which has been part of our quest from the beginning. One of our first steps will be to get back to the review of "What do we know?" with the additional information part of the research. 

Remarks: Modified: 05/11/2023

05/11/2023 -- 

In summary

Note (02/27/2024): See Current status. 

---

TL;DR -- Research continues on origins with a different focus. Now, we can look over the waters and see what happened over there during the time of the Dorchester Company. 

--

Recently, we found more information about 'origins' that shuffled the stack a little. As noted in the FAQ, we have found records about the baptism dates and place for more of the children of Thomas and Margaret. The indications are that most were born in Sherborne, Dorset, England. 

Earlier, we were able to settle the marriage issues. The Great Migration Project of NEHGS had proposed that Thomas had three wives with the mother of the children being UNKNOWN. In our research, we found that child John had noted that his father had told them about Sherborne being their prior home. Too, researchers had noted that Margaret Fryer had been mentioned over the years. 

As this icon shows, the marriage record had been digitized and indexed. A U.S. researcher found the record on AOL in 2014. See the post (Margaret, anew) which was written in the 2018 timeframe when WikiTree discussions led to having Margaret as the first wife and Damaris as second. 

We have changed the header graphic to remove Cape Ann. 

Thomas and Margaret
Planters of Salem, MA

Due to the recent work, there are now two profiles on WikiTree for Thomas Gardner. One is for the Salem family who seemed to have come over after the birth of Miriam who was born in Sherborn and that of Seeth who was born in Salem. 

The other profile is blank but for the Thomas Gardner who was here. Rev. Hubbard, and others, suggested that this was the same person. The Rev. is important as he talked to the principals and wrote of his findings, albeit his manuscript was two centuries in peril (went through the Revolution) prior to its publication. Too, some researchers in England noted that there was a relationship between the Thomas Gardner involved with the Dorchester Company's effort and a sister of Rev. John White. 

Many questions will be formulated and answered. If there were two Thomas Gardners, were they related? If so, how? 

Remarks: Modified: 12/28/2024

05/11/2023 -- A few typos corrected.  

12/27/2023 -- Add link for WikiTree Profile which has the details of this work. Don't agree with the interpretation nor the language of Joe. But, for now, we can work with the two records. 

02/27/2024 -- Added link at top for the "Current status" post. 

12/28/2024 -- See updates in GB, XIV, 1 for 2024 updates. 

Research notes

TL;DR -- Too short for a TL;DR? Not. 

--

See our tech blog for our post summarizing our status: Research notes.  

We look forward finally get into the family before the move. When we started, the adage was this: Americans, work your side; let those over there take care of that side of things. 

Well, the Mayflower anniversary brought forth cooperative effort that was interesting to see. COVID interrupted the event's unfolding, but both sides organized events and tours. 

Too, there are many examples of work being done on both sides, so that adage can be forgotten. In any case, there was a lot to learn.

Our intent is to update the "What do we know?" list, the FAQ, the bibliography and more. Too, we will be gathering what tales came from where. We have already mentioned the Paine book. And, Rev. Hubbard had contemporaries.   

Remarks: Modified: 04/02/2023

04/02/2023 --

Square one?

TL;DR -- Hubbard was there. Talked to people. We need to research him. He mentioned that Thomas Gardner might have been there only one year. His tone seemed to indicate that he had talked to extant persons from what I have read. We can go back through the church records. Recheck. There were other earlier books, some of which have been digitized. We'll look at those. In the meantime, we can sketch out what is known and not. Anything not known, yet, can be considered (as long as it's noted to be conjectural). Even fiction will be welcomed. Square one? Not quite. What did we know of origins before? 

---

A week ago, we were considering how Margaret and the other ladies of Cape Ann could be featured in the 400th pages where they were asking for stories. There was a deadline with regard to getting into their book. Well, a day later, we saw the work at WikiTree where Bob Dunlap reported the results of his diving into the images of the early records of the Sherborne parish that were available on ancestry (we haven't seen these, yet). So, we will relook and extend the view to the region. 

Here are two links from the past week: Margaret (Fryer) Gardner; New not old planter. Bob's work changes the scope but in ways that are not the knee-jerk type. After some review of where we have been the last decade plus reflecting on the new information, we put this post: Old, and new, planter. We have barely started our reviews so patience is the virtue required. 

Too, we have researched all of our working lives in different contexts. We'll do this right with the help of those who would like to see some resolution. How long will this take? Who cares? That notion of schedule goes along with the ca-pital-sino's false predictions (show John that he is wrong) which have caused havoc on the economy's need for sustainability. 

So, we are almost (might appear to be) back to "square one," but not. Or, as the saying goes, back to the drawing board. But, before we relook at what we know and what we need to find out, we need to recognize some existing work that seemed to offer hints. 

And, our promise? We'll cover all of the bases. Our request? No leaping to decisions. Conjecturing, as long as it's noted as such? Bring it on (our take: paleoichnology - see discussion about 2/3 way down the page). 

This post looks at a few of those and discusses their importance.

Sarah Cushing Paine, Charles Henry Pope - in a blog post (Where was Thomas? - 27 Jan 2012), we noted that these ladies had been quoted in the Paine Ancestry book (from 1912) with respect to their Gardner Ancestry (see graphic). The book was on the family of Robert Treat Paine (WikiTree: Paine-195), Signer of the Declaration of Independence.

In this book, there is mention that Thomas may have gone back in 1626. Of course, when it was written 300 years later, and in the midst of celebrating Roger Conant, who would have been vocal about that. 

On WikiTree, there is some editorializing which ought not be. People, let's report what is known. Then, anything else is conjecture. Which we ought to love. Cannot live without them. 

Hubbard on Gardner 

Rev. Hubbard (from 2015) -- This post has a link to the Rev's manuscript as published 200 years later in the mid-1800s where he mentioned Tylly and Gardner. The latter? Hubbard noted that Gardner was here for "at least for one year's time" which comment needs to be put on the decision enabling list. Also, there are images from NEHGS' publication and from the Rev.'s manuscript with regard to who's first in New Hampshire.

The Rev. (we read somewhere) had talked to the principles. So, he would have talked to the Gardner extant during his research. That seems significant. 

Let's do one more as he is mentioned by Rev. Hubbard, too. 

Last year, John Tylly was featured in the NEHGR, finally. We had an earlier post on him in 2011 and noted that one of our interests is all of the families at Cape Ann.  

So, time can be a healer, so to speak. But, not necessarily. Having spent about three years now looking at the wide interior of the U.S. and considering the people who moved into the area, or through it, or who came back and forth, our thought goes toward a lost generation or two. We took two years to prove one person's heritage from the east coast (several place) to the Mississippi regions and then further west. Plenty remain open. The mother of one guy (who is gone now) was dropped off at a home in the mid-lands by her father who said that his wife had died and he would be back for her. Well, he never returned. The man searched all over. Prior to the modern mischief maker (the computer), he wandered and looked. DNA finally provided some possible hits. We have to check upon how that has gone with the family. 

But, like Thomas was unkown for along while, so are many more of that era and after. And, that still happens. Oh yes, cabbage patch comes up. Kid dropped in the middle of nowhere by magic. 

Our put is that technology might be great. But, it is not due to being a human affair. Doubt this with regard to computing? The reason that we picked technology as a focus is due to the problems that get over looked for cultural/social reasons. We can't trust. Verify? Not always possible without having a hand in all of the levels that pertain to some computational state.    

Doesn't matter? Well, from time to time, we get reminders that things are not copacetic. Do we pause and look? Not really. A decade later, lessons get unlearnt; things not supposed to happen again do. Won't mention the recent case as it's too new to really know. 

Which gets us back to the theme at hand. We're starting our relook. Want to help? Great. We'll begin by looking at what we know now and why. Then, anything thought known that isn't will be reviewed. Some of these have substance behind them which might give hints about an approach. But, some will remain unknown. 

And, the stories? Some of these may go way back. Blaming intermediate authors is not what to do. Can we approach this is a mature, research-oriented manner? There is no competition except, perhaps, against truth if we can pull it out of the hat. 

This site will be reorganized so as to emphasize research and progress (or not). Now, we have a focus with some support behind it. The stories over the years. Still of interest. Why? Humans and science.  

Remarks: Modified: 03/21/2023

03/20/2023 -- What we know? and FAQ will be updated. Too, we will be updating the Research posts and pages. Watch Sherborne research. 

03/21/2023 -- Mark up the image related to Hubbard's remark about 1 year. Emphasis added to the text. 

Margaret, equal partner

TL;DR -- 100 years ago, Margaret got some attention. Then, modern research threw her out. We got her back. Now, we'll make her presence ubiquitous (normally used for computing, of late). Too, the women of Cape Ann will get attention this month to establish a basis for future work. The order goes, Cape Ann --> Essex County --> Massachusetts --> New England, and then a long reach across the U.S. over time and a huge interior. All having been noted here will be further explored. 

---

As time goes by, so too do the Awareness Months. March is Womens History Month. So, this month, we are continuing that theme as we started last year by bringing women into the discussion. We will be looking at another mathematician later, as we did last year with Emmy Noether. Too, we will be adding a post about a Native American tribe that Yankees going west encountered. 

Today, we think that it's time to bring Margaret some attention. Hence, we have changed our header at both sites (traditional, portal) to read as this image says. 

It notes that the Society is "For ... Thomas Gardner (implied &) Margaret Fryer ... Planters (Cape Ann, Salem)" as both were instrumental in getting the thing done. We're here. Also, we will be looking deeply at the history of Cape Ann and its families (many modern sites with photos of paintings done in the area of Gloucester will be linked below - coming soon).  

Too, after looking at Gloucester's 400th commemoration activities this week, we started to research possible topics to represent what the Society is about. And, per usual, Roger Conant's theme came up which was the focus 100 years ago. He is mentioned in a huge plaque plus some smaller ones in the Gloucester area. Too, he is in lots and lots of write ups as the first name of the effort. There was the theme of Beverly Planters as an example.

That is, in terms of history, we pinpoint a few to carry forward the message. But, some, like Rev. Hubbard, actually talked to Thomas Gardner and mentioned him and John Tylly. Lots of the pruning was due to technology and other limits. 

So, our theme being technology, we have to think about how we can tame the beast for the future where a sustainable mode is left for the progeny. Can we do it? Yes. But, pondering all of the possible stories, we settled on featuring Margaret, mother of the children. BTW, there is no issue with Conant taking the heat. That let's us do our own truth assessment using means outside of the normal. 

After all, Roger is on Ann's ancestors' list. Too, Seeth married a son of Roger and had a child. He married a daughter of Richard More, that puzzle of the Mayflower mindset. Other stories abound some of which we have covered in posts, like James Bryant Conant of Harvard. 

But, back to Margaret, she had another wife on board with her. Roger was here, single. Thomas Gardner and John Balch brought their families. Margaret, the mother of nine children (start with Thomas and follow the links), eight of whom had progeny. Sarah (Gardner) Balch's mother-in-law came with Margaret on the same ship in 1624. 

We are researching progeny of each child, for Sarah:

• Benjamin Balch (c. 1730s) – first Chaplain, Continental Navy; William Balch (c. 1770s) – first Chaplain, U.S. Navy. His father was first chaplain of the Continental Navy; his grandfather had been a chaplain in the Royal Navy; Adolphus Greely (c. 1840s) – American Polar explorer, recipient of the Medal of Honor; John Henry Balch (c. 1890s) – United States Navy, World War I, Medal of Honor, Lieutenant, World War II. 

Seeth (Gardner) Grafton married (first) Joshua Conant, son of Roger Conant. Their sister, Miriam (Gardner) Hill married twice. One of her progeny was the namesake of the Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS about which we have written a lot. 

There were later arrivals in time before Endicott came over. Some of these families went over with Salem. We'll be looking more thoroughly of pre-and-post-Massey's Cove in more ways than merely noting that Cape Ann was close to paradise or the Glory of Cape Ann. 

Remarks: Modified: 03/13/2023

03/13/2023 -- See "New not old planter" post with regard to research findings. Thomas and Margaret have children registered in England until 1633. 

 

New Hampshire

TL;DR -- ME has been in sight since the beginning. NH only has had passing reference as we studied Cape Ann in relation to 400 years. They have 2023 for their commemoration, as does Gloucester. We look at a few of the posts over the years that mentioned our scope. In our future research, we will balance the view across the local territory and further, in this context: the long reach of New England.  

--

We have had a 400th focus for a while as we watched other celebrations (Plymouth - 2020, Weymouth - 2022). Gloucester comes up in a few days. Our start was with a focus on Cape Ann and Essex County. 

Then we extended our view to MA and New England. Incidentally, ME was involved due to its association with MA. After looking at the long reach of New England in the interior and the west of the U.S. and around the world, we now have a U.S. focus through the 400 years where we consider details through time of the other colonies (like New Spain) as well as the events related to populating the interior (Frontier century).  

Recently, while looking at the Northwest (as seen in the time of the Revolution), we saw Rhode Island being represented out west, in the form of a Governor of the Territory of Michigan. Having looked at the family involved and tying things back to Massachusetts, we thought to fill in the gap by looking at a family that had long been in RI (see H.P. Lovecraft). We had mentioned that we needed to bring in the surrounding States, such as CT (a little later), NH (which we had already touched upon), ME (which we have covered many times) and VT (already noted in looking at western movement). We will get these posts better categorized and related as we work the 400s going forward. RI and CT do not come up on the 400th list yet, that we know of. We should have looked north, again. 

Today, we saw (on FB) that the northern neighbor whom we associate with Rev. Bachiler is on the 2023 list. That was good to find out. We will spend more time researching the Rev. and his cohorts, but he was mentioned recently in this post (see Two Houses) which was motivated by research on New Hampshire families where it was noted the Gilman family was of interest with regard to the Revolution (both sides, plus the Society of Cincinnati). Nathaniel Ladd was one of the builders. We also had looked at the Dudley family who hung out there. 

Rev. Hubbard, friend of the family, weighed in on the controversy of when did NH start. John B. Sanborn (several posts) was born in NH. Sam Webber, Head of Harvard, was born in Essex Co, MA, but his family moved up north. Lots of Ann's folks did the same. 

Hence, in a few days, we'll have another commemoration to add to the list. As well, we need to find a time line for NH similar to the one for MA. 

This was a great reminder as it expands the scope at a good time, that is, when Essex County starts its long-awaited commemorations. 

Remarks: Modified: 12/25/2022

12/25/2022 --

400th, finally

TL;DR -- It's been a long time coming, that is, the 400th, albeit Florida (New Spain) had its 500th. So, we do a little recap. Technology now differs tremendously from when the Salem group did their little pageant. We can jump the waters to research. Interesting articles are popping up. Veracity? Provenance? Those are continual issues needing constant attention. The days of dreaming of internet heaven might have produced somethings of note but not as much as we would like. Chimeras abound. Despite all of that, the 400ths (across the board in MA, we are talking decades of partying) ought to be fun and full of promise of better things to come. 

-- 

Our first post on the 400th was early on our website: Recent 400th Anniversaries. That had been motivated by reading about the 300th anniversary. And, of course, we had to mention Florida's 500th. Then, as time went along, the Pilgrim's 2020 came along. 

With that, there was cooperative efforts between those here and those in the older realm. Earlier, we saw Virginia with it look back. But, the difference now is technology. So, expect a much wider variance in activities, analysis, and reports. An example is the post at Enduring Gloucester by Mary Ellen Lepionka who is researching the history of the Cape Ann endeavor. That post gave us a chance to make comment in which we pointed to Gardner Research and its efforts. 

One thing that we did was try to establish some notion of what we know. That effort started in 2012 after we got a little bit of experience. There was lots of ground to cover. By 2014, we had attention brought to Margaret as mother of the children that we know. At the same time, we made contributions on WikiTree to Thomas Gardner's profile and that of his descendants. Too, we attempted a FAQ that needs updating. 

As said, there is a lot to do. One task will be reviewing work over the past decade and firming up the material due to the changes that occur as one studies a topic. Some of the earlier references are not longer of the same identifying scheme (results of what can be called refactoring) or are missing (or perhaps moved). 

So, it is the first day of summer and 1/2 of the year is gone. Weymouth's 400th was this year. According to some, Cape Ann (via Gloucester) will be next year. There may have been people there before; definitely, we have seen 1624 used, as well. So, that is something that will be firmed up this time around. As in, the 200th was of the time of the period between the Revolution and the 1812 conflict. Going back, the 100th was just post the Salem madness associated with witches. 

Then, the 300th? WWI and the Spanish Flu. For the Gardners, Dr. Frank's works stand tall. His The Massachusetts Magazine was phenomenal and will get more attention. He got a lot of old Salem to participate and contribute to that effort. But, 1917/8 was the last issue after a decade of continual work. As we go forward from here (after a brief pause that was not a hiatus), we will attempt to be several things including a clearing house for research, note counsel on things Cape Ann and Gardner, at the forefront of using technology to close information gaps, and more. Part of the regular activity will be looking at current themes. 

Here are two that came from the same search related to "Dorchester Company - Cape Ann - arrival" a (reminder: this is Google'ish; results will differ by the search facility or parameter mix). There are so many hits to wade through, that we'll have to figure out a newer method (hint, ML might be of interest - without the AIn't baggage). 

So, on Roger Conant, we have a new site and a recent post: 56. ‘A whirlwind and wonderful trip’ to Roger Conant’s birthplace. With photos galore, this deals with the visit by a descendant to Roger's stomping grounds. Okay, the Mayflower group had done that. One thing that came from the effort was coordination with regard to what was worth seeing as well as historically established veracity (have to use that as Harvard will play heavy in our future schemes). 

Roger Conant
the Peacemaker

But, there was, too, this gem: Roger Conant on Cape Ann -- Part I: The Dorchester Company. It is from 2019 and by Mary Ellen Lepionka (noted above). It mentions the relationship between Rev. John White and Thomas Gardner which is an open issue in the sense of several views are extant, none of which have entirely proven their case. But, not to bother too much, as this is what John does; he has no ax to grind being of late-coming families (post the Civil War). Too, Ann has both Conant and Gardner (and many others) on her bundle of ancestors. 

Our conundrum, having looked at years of research and writing (all the back to Hubbard and before - plus the later stuff, say Anderson's work), what framework is there for dealing, more or less (and point in time - btw, that's not a waffle) permanently with regard to various factors such as provenance, with the subjects of such interest. You know, when we started there were lots of sites from the older days that looked to have interesting data. Well, wayback modes might apply. 

Otherwise, we are facing no more of a problem than any other discipline that has gone through adjustments brought by technology. 

BTW, the Conant site has some interesting pictures that we will use, with attribution. We have a recent example of a photo (western railroad theme) taken by the father of a member of a FB group for which we make full declaration of source; yet, he tells me that his father's photos have been used without any notice all over the place. Not on the topic? Wrong. We have messes that need attention in order to have a sustainable future, such as the one set by the likes of Thomas and Margaret Gardner. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/21/2022

06/21/2022 --