Summary, 2016

Recaps: 2019, 2018, 2017 (missing), 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011.

Remarks: Modified: 12/29/2019

12/15/2018 -- Added link to an interim view this year. Somehow, missed this task at the end of 2017.

The Gardner Annals, Vol III, No 1

This post introduces the fifth issue of The Gardner Annals (Volume III, Number 1). This issue covers several topical areas in order to provide status of ongoing research. As well, we look at future work directions.

The following is a snapshot of the Table of Contents.

The Gardner Annals (list view) supports the interests of the Thomas Gardner Society, Inc.'s purpose: to honor the accomplishments of the Cape Ann party and to promote, and to sponsor, scholarly research of a cultural, biographical, historical, and genealogical nature, with an emphasis on, but not limited to, the origins and the lives of New England immigrants.

Submissions of articles for consideration are encouraged: algswtlk[at]aol[dot]com.

Remarks: Modified: 12/07/2016 

12/07/2016 --

Gardner's Beacon, Vol. VI, No. 2

This issue of Gardner's Beacon briefly looks at research that will be reported in the next issue of The Gardner Annals (to be published, Dec 2016).

• In particular, there will be detail provided about Gardiner and the Battle at Bosworth. David T. Gardner will give us an overview of what he has discovered. This material relates to our interest in the whence issue.
• In Flyover Country, we follow families from Massachusetts and Virginia as they move west. In other words, this is an example of the pathways that were described in Albion's Seed. From a lonely grave site out west, we follow back the generations for the preceding 200 years to early New England (north and south). 
• The Massachusetts Magazine will be featured regularly. TMM was published by Dr. Frank and his sister, Lucie M. Gardner, whom we introduce. Lucie was a graduate of Tufts in 1897 and active in a lot of areas. She contributed to all of the issues of the TMM. This Gardner's Beacon issue provides the Table of Contents for Volumes I through V and discusses some of the articles. We also introduce R.A. Douglas-Lithgow, M.D., LL. D. who submitted several articles. This preeminent researcher and author came over here late in his life. He wrote the definitive history of Nantucket.  

Additionally, a guest writes in this issue about the Magna Carta and the celebration that occurred in the summer of 2015. Then, we start a series on DNA and its issues as they relate to general subjects such as what we know and admissibility of such.

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See Vol. VI, No. 2 of Gardner's Beacon for a review of research to date.

Remarks: Modified: 03/01/2019

03/01/2019 -- We're building an index via images for our portal to truth.

Lucie M. Gardner

Note: Gardner pedigree for Dr. Frank and his sister, Lucie M. 

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We are remiss. I cannot believe that we have not had anything yet about Lucie.

She was a sister of Dr. Frank and co-editor of The Massachusetts Magazine. As well, she was active in the Salem/Boston area. She was a graduate of Tufts College.

Lucie was a founding member of Alpha Xi Delta in Boston.

We will be doing a more thorough biography of her as we cover both the editors and contributors of the periodical. Lucie in the 1915 Who's Who (Dr. Frank is on the preceeding page).

Here is an example report that Lucie did on the Old Planters Society (TMM Vol II). This was not that one whose focus is Beverly. Notice the officers and councillors.

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In 1913, as part of the 300th, there was a pageant (Google books) given in Salem. Dr. Frank, and his wife, played Roger and Sarah Conant. Ann's grandfather played Thomas Gardner. Lucie played Mrs. Jeffrey.

Remarks: Modified: 06/06/2018

12/05/2016 -- Lucie contributed to all of the issues of the TMM. We introduce her in the Gardner's Beacon and will list some of her work in The Gardner Annals.

12/18/2016 -- Lucie mentioned in article published in The Gardner Annals, Vol. III, No. 1.

06/06/2018 -- The Pageant of Salem (1913).

John Gardner, again

Earlier, we briefly looked at John's experience with the crew that mapped the Merrimack. He was not of the Harvard experience.

Later, John would go to Nantucket on an invitation (we first learned of this in 2011). R.A. Douglas-Lithgow had a few things to say about John in his book on Nantucket. It is nice that the little island had such a illustrious author writing its history.

We will be looking more at R.A.'s work.

Remarks: Modified: 03/01/2019

03/01/2019 -- John's record at WikiTree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gardner-49. We are building a index by images at our portal to truth.

RA Douglas-Lithgow, MD, LLD

In preparation for publishing an new issue of The Gardner Annals, I have been reviewing the 11 years (1908-1918) of The Massachusetts Magazine that was founded by Dr. Frank and friends. There is an author who appeared in Vols III through V. Who was he? R.A. Douglas-Lithgow, M.D., LL. D.

In several of RA's books, the cover page had a photo and brief summary of his associations. This is an example from his book on American-Indian place names (archive.org).

He wrote a book on Nantucket (archive.org). RA wrote a lot. But, again, who was he? I found this at a discussion site related to the Lithgow family (see boards[.]ancestry[.]com).

Despite the extended time lapse since your request for information regarding the ancestry of your grandfather, Robert Philip Augustus Douglas Lithgow, I have a few items regarding the extant British branch of the family which may be of interest.

Very briefly, your great grandfather was Robert Alexander Douglas Lithgow, born in Ireland, a physician in England, who emigrated in later life to Boston USA. He died there whilst your grandfather was still a child (at school in England?). He wrote poetry and several books on American history.

RAD Lithgow (born Belfast) had four surviving younger siblings, Margaret, Douglas, Elizabeth (b 1855) and James (all born in Downpatrick, Ireland). Their father, Robert Thomas Lithgow was a very well respected coach builder as evidenced by several newspaper articles. ...

The male line of our earlier Lithgow ancestors is documented (without dates) in the Northern Ireland Record Office and is frequently referred to in these Ancestry community postings by other descendants now living in America and Australia. Thomas Lithgow came from Lanarkshire in 1610 and settled in County Derry.

I can fill in more details regarding this British branch of the family but have not yet thoroughly researched the early Lithgows who emigrated to America and Australia and about whom you requested information.

After much searching, I found one biography that deals with his work in England (Men and women of the time). RA was born in 1846 in Belfast. He settled in London for medical work. And, he came to American later in life. But, none of this looked at his literary work. The American Historical Association (1912) noted three articles on New England houses.

So, on further search, the New England Journal of Medicine mentioned an obituary. On looking further, I found it in The Boston Medical and surgical journal (pg 442).

We will get a full list of RA's publications plus gather more information about his work.

Too, we will be looking at all of the authors in Dr. Frank's publication.

Remarks: Modified: 10/30/2018

12/05/2016 -- R.A. to several issues of the TMM. We introduce him in the Gardner's Beacon and will add a little more about his work in The Gardner Annals.

12/18/2016 -- Article about the TMM published in The Gardner Annals, Vol. III, No. 1.

04/23/2017 -- The Gardner Annals, Vol. III, No. 1 provided the Table of Contents for the first five volumes of The Massachusetts Magazine.

10/30/2018 -- The Gardner Annals, Vol. IV, No. 1 provided the Table of Contents for the last five volumes of The Massachusetts Magazine. These have been printed in one bound volume.

Flyover country

Last post, we mentioned a lonely grave. It is in Nebraska. This is a photo. As suggested, it's out in the middle of nowhere. And, the type of cemetery is a common thing in this part of the country. People drive by, at a high rate of speed. The stones sit.

But, this is not entirely wilderness. It is highly productive farm land.

Back east, settlement was dense, in terms of area being covered. Essex country in Massachusetts has no really open areas. That is, everything is identified by one of the communities. Granted, through time the boundaries of those communities changed, say as new ones were defined. But, no place was left untouched by human feet. 

Out here, it's wide open. The past century plus, things have been mapped. We have counties that cover the territory. These collect into states. And, given the recent situation (for instance, look at the red/blue map by county), these areas, and their residents, need some attention. You know, the "red" folk love it out here. Americans really ought to know this part of the country better. And, we can use New Englanders as the main thread in order to do this. 

As an aside this area is near the Oregon Trail as it wound its way from Gardner, KS to the Platte River. So, this area saw the travelers going by. Lots to tell, there. 

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Now, the grave is of a descendant of John Porter of Salem. Buried here was Lyman (d 1898) who was born in Wendell, MA (he is also a descendant of John Alden - his offspring, who precipitated the work, is also descendant of old guy Brewster and others). Why, and how, Lyman ended up here is a story that will be told, in part, in the next issue of The Gardner Annals. The story has more appeal in that his children represent a merge of lines from northern and southern New England (that part which we know as Virginia and its neighboring states - see Albion's Seed). This happened post the revolution, however the Virginian folk were from the very early times, to boot. In this case, the joining up was via Kentucky.

In terms of the Society, Lyman's ancestor (Joseph) married a daughter of William Hathorne. Joseph's brother married another daughter. These two lines merge in a descendant of Lyman. As well, one of William's sons (Joseph's brother-in-law) married a granddaughter of Thomas Gardner. That couple gave us Nathaniel Hawthorne. Joseph's sister married a granddaughter of Thomas Gardner. Joseph's niece (daughter of his brother) married a grandson of Thomas Gardner. And, this is not the whole shebang. So, you see, all of this relates from the beginning to what we are interested in. 

And, that little bit is only one of several other (actually, very many) threads that we can follow.  

Before, we mentioned the long arm of New England. Lawrence, KS ( Final migration, remember that, Jayhawk'ers) was formed in order to bring anti-slavery settlers out west. There were armed Quakers out here having fun. There were Quakers in Virginia (and other southern states). In short, a whole lot of American History was not (has not been) told, properly. New England researchers can help fill in. 

So, we get a chance to add to the mix. And, having these long threads of 100s of years are going to be important. All along, new folks were coming in, just as we see now. So, the fabric of the American people is a lot more than has been described.

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Aside: I have an interest due to being born in the west, having attended KU (whose students do not, for the most part, realize that their hill overlooked the major campground of the Oregon-bound trains), living all over the country, working in all aspects (government, business, non-profit) of our economy, seeing the interplay twixt us and the world (especially Europe), following the mischief of finance, and then falling into the opportunity to see the fleshed version of the long American experience.  

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It is interesting that Lyman's brother is already in the Mayflower organization roll. Too, one of his daughter's is in the roll. The thread that we researched was the eldest daughter of Lyman and his wife, Caroline. That daughter (d 1872) is the 3rd-great-grandmother of root of the thread being used for the study.  

Remarks: Modified: 11/01/2021

11/22/2016 -- Discussions (questions) on another forum brings up just how much this relates to the red/blue split that is dividing the country. So, we need to get to that, at some point next year.

12/18/2016 -- Article published in The Gardner Annals, Vol. III, No. 1.

11/20/2017 -- We will be looking more closely at the south.

11/01/2021 -- So, now the MF people have a database of those in applications to 1900. And, guess who is there? Lyman and his daughter, Anna. These are the father and sister of Chloe. And, the applicants who were in their 90s? Deceased.