TGA III and IV, print of

At long last (early discussion, June) and with the summer being over, we have completed the compilation for print of The Gardner Annals, Vols. III and IV, and Gardner's Beacon, Vols. IV, V, VI, and VII. This is a preview look (see Table of Contents, below), from the publisher. 

We have ordered both color and black/white copies and expect to receive our shipment from the printers within the week. Instructions for ordering can be obtained from the publications page. 

The issue contains all of the Table of Contents for The Massachusetts Magazine. Too, we have articles concerning history and genealogy. As well, future topics are discussed, briefly. 

Remarks: Modified: 12/29/2024

10/14/2018 -- We have the printed copies in house, reading for shipping.

12/29/2024 -- Changed pointer from email to the publications page. 

Comment and Criticism

We will have our second print (TGA Vol III and IV) soon as preparatory activities are drawing to a close. We recently got notice of an error in one of the early articles (TGA Vol II No 1 - Henry D. Gardiner and the barque Bostonian). Before that, I noticed some minor errors in the first print edition. For example, in TGA  Vol I No 1, I typed 1935 rather than 1933 (twice) while referencing Dr. Frank's Gardner Memorial book. Then, I noticed that the footnotes ought to have refreshed across major sections. This is corrected in the second print.

But, we had already run into some issues with Gardner's Beacon. In that case, we created Afterthoughts and modifications to handle those. For example, in GB Vol III, No 4, I had used something read on the web without verifying the thing (tsk). The implication that I read was that Damaris' first husband had been discovered. Well, it was not true, and I was too much of a newbie to know the difference. In any case, we later heard from an excited Shattuck descendant wanting to know more. So, I traced my steps which is crucial and found out that the website was gone. Ah.

Incidentally, this happens a lot on ancestry (pity those poor folks) and carries even into WikiTree. It's not the bloom off the rose, but it is tiring. How can we make it better? Well, be more careful. And, there are ways to do this. Too, one sees it in Wikipedia, especially when someone writes an erroneous page to begin with.

So, this from an entry in What's new (general one for TGS, for now).

• 08/17/2018 -- The 2nd wife of H.D. Gardiner, owner of the barque Bostonian that wrecked off of Oregon in 1850, was Caroline B. Turner (see note this day at this post) of Maine and not Caroline C. Turner of Nantucket.

It points to a post on Nantucket and the wonderful work of Eliza Starbuck Barney. The Nantucket site exults on their being true to Eliza's work. Yes. But, as I have seen all over, no one seems to have a way to present corrections. The proverbial tale is that a correction is in small print on page 15 in a 40 page paper. But, we need to do better; and, the TGS does have an interest in this.

So, we will keep with the afterthought approach with Gardner's Beacon. What to do with TheGardner Annals? We'll follow Dr. Frank, hence the title of this post. In his The Massachusetts Magazine, he had a section that was titled, usually, Comment and Criticism. See the TOC of Vol. VII (example from No 4). The sub-heading is "On books and other subjects" which is more broad than handling errata. However, any correction ought to be more than mere overwriting.

So, in the case of H.D. Gardiner, we will write an article on this. Turns out that this wife was a Thomas Gardner descendant, too. And, it involves movement from New England. Ah,  yes, the western migration.

So, there is a page on TGSoc.org dealing with Publications. It will point to this post, however we will be introducing changes to ThomasGardnerSociety.org that will include the facility to meet this requirement.

Remarks: Modified: 09/15/2018

09/15/2018 --

Pressing day

See update 09/21/2021, below, as we reflect on this theme which is recurrent. 

---

This post is timely in that Giles Corey died on the 19th of September in 1692. Three days later, his wife (Martha Corey) was hanged with others. Two of these are ancestors of Dr. Frank (Wikipedia -- Samuel Wardwell and Mary Ayers Parker) -- (WikiTree -- Samuel Wardwell and Mary Ayers Parker) through his grandmother, Lucy Foster (Wilson) Gardner.

Now, the title? Giles was pressed for a couple of days before he succumbed. His friend, John Gardner son of Thomas and Margaret, was there.

The topic of 1692 events will come up for discussion in the near future. To facilitate this discussion, here are related posts for reference:

• Great Salem Fire of 1914 (4 Jun 2014) -- Started on upper Boston Street and ran down to the shore. 
• Andover ordeal (28 Apr 2014) -- While researching Samuel and Mary, we were following the Wilson line of Lucy. There were two generations that married and doubled down on the witch connections. Samuel's granddaughter lost twelve of fourteen of her children in their childhood. 
• Essex recollections (3 Sep 2013) -- About the extended family and friends of Francis Dane who were impacted by the Salem madness.   
• Meeting, again (10 Feb 2013) -- More background. 
• Imagine a meeting (28 Oct 2012) -- Provides some background and builds a table of participant who were not victims and who are related to Dr. Frank. 
• Gardner's Beacon, Vol. II, No. 5 (27 Oct 2012) -- John Goff, Salem antiquarian, wrote of the Witch House. The theme of this post was a continuation. 
• 1692 theme, again (24 Oct 2012) -- Comments while getting Gardner's Beacon Vol. II, No. 5. ready for release. 
• Salem's madness (19 Nov 2011) -- The English had been mad before. 
• Gardner's Beacon, Vol. I, No. 4 (21 Oct 2011) -- Got into the theme early. First look at how the incident related to the Gardner family. 
• Ruth Gardner (18 Sep 2011) -- Daughter of George Gardner, wife of John Hathorne. 

The next issue of Gardner's Beacon will go into this subject a little more. Namely, the commercially exploited look at the witches who were not while 150 graves were disturbed from which event we need to know how many were just stone moves with the remains moved without due notice. One thing to do would be to get a list of people, as best we can, who were buried on Gardner Hill. 

Remarks: Modified: 09/21/2021

10/10/2018 -- Added Essex recollections, and others. Now that we have Dr. Frank's pedigree in WikiTree, we can use it for articles.

09/21/2021 --  Tomorrow is the day of remembrance for several persons, including Samuel Wardwell and Mary Ayers Parker. This article in The Essex Genealogist was motivated, in part, by an article that they produce with regard to Rev. Francis Dane and his association with several persons on the various sides of this event. The first effort was the post titled "Imagine a meeting" with a similar table showing some of parties who were there in various roles.  

Trials of the Wilson Family, TEG 34:3, by J. M. Switlik

Dr. Frank and WikiTree

Earlier, we mentioned that we had Dr. Frank's notes about his heritage from around the 1907 timeframe. The first exercise was to use his notes to check his Gardner pedigree against what Gardner Research had come up with starting from scratch almost 100 years later. The two views matched up. Of course, we had his books as reference. But, we have filled in the entire tree with the collateral families. In this day and age, we have a lot more information available since the www has forced things to an on-line mode. Too, communication is much faster (albeit, still errorful due to many reasons).

But, the question came up about public presentation since Gardner Research information is in a private, personalized environment, at the moment. Well, about the time that the marriage notice of Thomas and Margaret came up, we had gone to Wikitree to put in a link on the Thomas Gardner page. That was 2014. There had been a bit of discussion now and then, but, this year, the focus came back. So, this was accomplished: Margaret, anew. Essentially, we can declare that Thomas and Margaret were the parents of the children (notice that the first two nodes have the same information; the idea will be to merge these so that there are two spouses: Margaret and Demaris).

So, while that was going on, it seemed like a good time to try out WikiTree (what else? Not ancestry, for several reasons). If you look at the Profile of JMSwitlik (section on WikiTree), you will see the projects that are ongoing. Some of this was done by using ahnentafels from articles written in The Essex Genealogist or in The Gardner Annals to make profiles. In all cases, we got back to a Profile that already existed. In many cases, that Profile listed the known children. All we did was link in and bring up-to-date information related to a descendant.

But, Dr. Frank seemed to be a good subject (Frank Augustine Gardner (1861-1938)). The image is of his Profile and includes the first page of his ancestors graph ('Ancestors' button). To note is that we have 13 of 16 of his 2nd-great-grands. We have information about the others, however this needs checking before filling out the Profile.

With regard to the referenced projects, there are a lot more in process. However, with these, the focus was on Profiles in order to get familiar with the WikiTree ways (that is, get nodes into the tree). On each Profile, there is minimal source material; however, we have many sources and will be going back to fill in additional source material.

In doing Dr. Frank's biography (brief), we noted his sister, Lucie M. She picked up his work when Sidney Perley retired and published her work in The Massachusetts Magazine. Also, we noted that they were descendants of Nathaniel Eaton (as is Ann, TGS Secretary/Treasurer), and the link is there (pick Rebecca Knapp, wife of Simon Stacey Gardner). However, in doing his mother's line, we see that he is a descendant of Damaris Shattuck. So, he descends from both wives of Thomas. Lots more stuff coming.

For instance, taking Rebecca Knapp, we know her pedigree. For instance, she has Edward Woodman who was early into Newbury. This exercise tried to stay within things that have been proven by having been bumped up against a genealogist from one of the Heritage Society Community's groups that meet in D.C. each spring. That, folks, is about the best way to test these things. Our continuing issue? Even WikiTree has flim-flam. How to mark these would be something to figure out. In the meantime, note that the TGS will only put out things that have been scrutinized.

All and all, the work of the past few months has been a very good exercise. WikiTree has constraints in place that really help the genealogists. I like that. Too, they are Wiki in scope which is real nice (will discuss).

Remarks: Modified: 03/14/2019

03/14/2019 -- Added information about Dr. Frank's first wife: Caroline Louisa Read who was the daughter of John Franklin Read and Caroline Louisa Chase. Changed burial for Pauline Gardner Donnell, his daughter, to Newcastle, ME.

How close is close?

In the last post, we summarized several queries concerning the current state of Thomas (The remains of Thomas). What does state mean? Well, the norm would be for the remains to be in the ground under the stone. If they are not, usually there is some explanation.

The following is the start of some sleuthing that is needed to establish the 'state' of many others, not just Thomas Gardner (planter).

Modern (left), earlier (right)
Where is Thomas? III

1. In his earlier book, Dr. Frank (1907) wrote that court records indicated that Gardner Hill was around Main and Grove in Salem (lower red line, image). That means, too, the old burial ground. In other places, I have seen arguments that Harmony Grove touches where the Gardner plot was. Well, we will see. One opinion talked about a few yards of movement from the old plot to the corner where stones were thrown. Well, how few might few be? Of note, we have to consider the North River.

Then, Dr. Frank (1933) wrote that Samuel Pickering Gardner, ancestor of the John Lowell Gardners, had visited the place (1830s?) and noted that Samuel had written his observations which Dr. Frank got to read. The place was being used for tanning operations which caused some stones to have already been thrown aside, including that of Thomas, the planter. In this image, I rotated the old and the new views to almost agree. The markings map to a few landmarks. Notice that this has the hill on the other side of the river from Harmony Grove Cemetery. That is, looking up river, to the left. So, we do have to consider the river. Too, we have to look at Trask's property and burial site as it is germane to the topics to discuss.

Perley's view
Nutfield Genealogy

2. So, I have been poking around. We can start with Perley's map that shows Salem in 1700 based upon Sidney's study of the documents (Sidney Perley 1858-1928). Also, we are talking about Frank A. Gardner, MD (1861-1938). So, these two are cohorts. When Sidney got ill, Lucie, Dr. Frank's sister, picked up his work (Lucie following Sidney). Lucie and Dr. Frank published a whole lot of material in this regard in The Massachusetts Magazine.

The image comes from the Nutfield Genealogy post on Trask (see prior paragraph for link). Notice that Gardner's Hill is next to the Trask cemetery. That is, on the same side of the river. Note, too, the bulging of the river at that point.

3. Now, if we jump ahead to a view that is later, we can see Harmony Grove on the other side of the river which has been reconfigured. If you follow the history of the river, it has been encroached upon, and polluted, to support industry. And, tanning of leather for shoes turned out to be a huge deal (for a while). Samuel, above, saw the beginning of this. In the below image, I put a red circle about where Trask's (South) burying place was. Notice the difference in the shape of the river?

Trask, now and then

All of this is preliminary to a greater study that we will do. What happened to the bones of the 150 or so souls who were buried? It is a subject worth digging into (no pun). And, Gardners have to do this work with help.

4. Finally, let me show what a little sleuthing does. We need to do a lot more. I found a map at a Brit source that was with an article on glass making in the colonies, namely in Salem: Glass blower at Salem. The article is not very old; the map seems to be of the time (however, I do not know its provenance - if it was done in 1985, then that's worse than what Sidney (who was quite thorough) did a hundred years ago).

Salem, 1692? 

There is a lot more to learn. However, we intend to push to get this settled in the sense of the most reasonable answer that we can do given what we can gather as data. There are 150 souls, perhaps, looking from some type of recognition.

We ought to, as well, get a list of the names of those buried at Gardner's Hills.

Remarks: Modified: 05/16/2019

08/16/2018 -- Added a virtual cemetery to findagrave: Gardner's Hill. With this, we can have people put memorials for those who were known to have been buried at Gardner's Hill and, at the same time, reference where they or their stones were moved. MHC Report: some hills approached 200 feet.

08/17/2018 -- Gardner's Hill on findagrave is now Gardner's Hill Burial Ground (Defunct). It points to Harmony Grove Cemetery with a few words. Also, the rule is there will be no memorials connected to this. So, we'll need to figure out another method to have a virtual view of who was buried there. For starters, we can start with a page here on this blog and improve as we go. Gardner's Hill was in the same family through seven generations. It was sold at the eighth generation. We'll be writing more about this. However, it's a gain, as when one looks at cemeteries in Salem, MA, they will see Gardner's Hill.

11/13/2018 -- With a new twist, as bodies and stones were also moved to the Trask site. Add in Sidney Perley's map of Gardner Hill.

01/04/2019 -- This topic will be followed more regularly this year (344th of 29 December 1674). We will initiate a discussion on WikiTree (see link in sidebar) in support of the research.

02/28/2019 -- Gardner's Beacon, Vol. IX, No. 1 gives an overview of what we know after looking at the issue of missing graves. Then, there are more missing graves, we see.

05/16/2019 -- The map that compares Sidney's walk-about with Google is way off. That is because I was looking at landmarks and not paying attention to details, like distance. So, see this update: How close is close ? II. Here is the updated graphics.

Oh yes, we are now honing into the area. 

The remains of Thomas

Yesterday, finally, I learned the real state of the remains of Thomas. Or, let's say, we can use the observation of Samuel Pickering Gardner to establish some notion prior to the road work of the 1840s. Then, what might have happened post that bears some attention. To me, the least that we can do is build some type of 'virtual' view of Gardner Hill with its grave sites. To that, then, can be attached the large set of data points that will accrue to analysis.

For starters, we need to see overlays of old and new maps so that we can point out what might have happened over the period of the first raking off of the gravestones until now. Essentially, it is unclear how many gravestone were moved, whose bodies may have been re-interned, or just how many graves were left to be scraped by the road work or to be covered over by the progress of building. More research is to be done. Dr. Frank talked to George Augustus Gardner about, and read the, notes that George had that had been written by Samuel Pickering Gardner who had visited Gardner's Burial Ground sometime prior to the period of the road work and reported his observations.

You see, and I verified this yesterday, lots of references on-line mention words like 'graves moved' or 're-interned' or any other of the number of things that a civilized society does to its cemeteries (from my perspective which can be explained, as needed). On the other hand, after yesterday, I thought of the Salem Fire (retribution - after all, we're talking Salem) which came out of an industrial area related to shoes. The first desecration of the grave sites relate to the push for commerce in that industry. As such, by the time the roadwork was done in the 1840s, graves had already been disturbed with stones scattered about. 

Dr. Frank did see Samuel's notes and made a brief comment (see pages 17 and 18 of Gardner Memorial - 1933). That is a good place to start. In the meantime, here is a history of posts of the Thomas Gardner Society, Inc. devoted to the subject. 

• Where is Thomas? - (Oct, 2010) On a visit to Harmony Grove, we got familiar with the layout and found the graves of Ann's Gardner ancestors. Dr. Frank is buried in the same plot as her grandfather and great-grandfather. Also, we saw the area where people are directed. It didn't make sense. Later I called and heard 'graves were moved' (but there was no clear indication where Thomas' remains were). 
• Where is Thomas? II  - (May, 2011) Not hearing from anyone any story that made sense, I continued to search. Notice that there is an aerial view of the area where the stones were, supposedly. I did not see that myself. Too, in 2015, I noticed that Dr. Frank, in the 1933 book, does not mention 'move.'
• Where is Thomas? III - (Aug, 2015) Motivated by a Wikipedia edit, I did further looking. One addition was a map by Perley put next to a modern aerial view where landmarks can be identified. I noted that the 'burial issue' was open and needs to be resolved. In my mind, that involved, mainly, finding where bones may have been thrown in Harmony Grove and identifying this. 

But, now I see that it is going to be more involved. Yes, bones were cast to the wind, if you would. There are many things that could be done, so expect that we will continue this discussion. Today's purpose was merely to set the record straight.

We do not know the status of the remains of a whole lot of people. Too, stones were thrown about. Well, the argument is that they broke. Okay. At least, Seeth was given some notice. Also, Buffum is noted as having the earliest stone over grounds that do not contain his remains. 

Remarks: Modified: 02/22/2019

08/28/2018 -- After some research, the fact that the stones were moved arose. So, we added a page for this cemetery, now defunct, on findagrave. Also, we can plan several tasks related to important issues, such as who was buried there, what stones stand, how many were broken, etc. As well, we can model the area as of 1640s, to get an idea of the size.

01/04/2019 -- This topic will be followed more regularly this year (344th of 29 December 1674). We will initiate a discussion on WikiTree (see link in sidebar) in support of the research.

02/22/2019 -- Gardner's Beacon, Volume IX, Number 1 addresses the problem of "Where is Thomas?" that has been needing attention, now, for a couple of hundred years, almost. 

Margaret, anew

From the beginning, we have used Thomas and Margaret, following Dr. Frank. An example is looking at the 'great house' that John Endicott had brought over to Salem from Cape Ann: Thomas' house. About the same time, Gardner's Beacon, Vol I, No. 3, looked at Margaret, in particular, and I used "Margaret's house" in terms of that structure.

We were newbies, back then, but I had noticed that some later genealogist actually agreed with Dr. Frank, too. However, the Great Migration Begins of R.C. Anderson suggested another wife who was the mother of the children. I got several emails pointing that out to me. So, I dug in and pulled out those things being referenced. Someone has to do this now and then, as many citations follow someone else (many times, without doing their own verification).

Gardner Research will go back to first principles, if you would.

• My first response (Sep 2012) - About Margaret - as the next bullet shows, the argument mentioned a 1639 entry in the church record. But, to me, it was Margaret; Thomas didn't align himself until 1637. Their kids were growing up, so they had to smooth the way.
• My second response (Nov 2012) - How many wives? This post puts TAG side-by-side with the Great Migration material. The conclusion was that the NEHGS was looking at 1000s of people. The Gardners would dig into one or two, with regard to this issue. And, in the meantime, we would honor good old Dr. Frank. 

Now, in 2014, John Cook came across the marriage record of Thomas and Margaret at which point we put out the blog post. Too, I went to WikiTree as there was a profile for these two (Thomas Gardner) or should I say three? As, 'unknown' was there. At that time, I did a few things and went on as I was writing several articles (The Essex Genealogist) which have given us ahnentafels for Dr. Frank (his father's side, I now have his hand-written lineage on his mother's side which I'll key in) which includes Benjamin Brown Gardner and Lucy Foster Wilson. We're first cousins, in that sense. 

Too, I got involved in getting further informed about England and that whole environment. Of late, I got back to looking at Sherborne, for several reasons (son, John; Folger; Dr. Frank, and others). Or, I ought to say Dorset. King John loved his Corfe Castle. Queen Elizabeth is shown in a painting being carried by noblemen at Sherborne Castle (the painting is there). 

I also stopped by WikiTree to see what was happening. Well, a query had been made in 2016 as to whether the kids ought to be taken from Margaret's profile and moved to that of the unknown. So, I weighed in and mentioned the marriage record from 2014. And, I mentioned the arguments for this: Sherborne, Dorset. I mentioned the Peirce family (for more than Charles Sanders Peirce) as many families have been poking around. We are trying to gather all of this stuff. Like that of the Paine sisters. This will all be documented, and we'll put a link to the material (shortly).

As well, we need to look at references to Thomas and Margaret. One known first reference is 1827 by Felt, working in Salem, who talked to a lot of people. We may find more. Too, records are being scanned in all of the time, transcribed, and indexed. So, that will help.

Margaret Friar, baptism

After seeing the discussions, I went back to look at my records and found that John Cook had sent to me a baptism record for Margaret (see image), the marriage record of her parents (close enough in time to be her parents), and the will of Margaret's father which mentions her plus a few other things. However, her father died in 1610 so the will mentions Margaret Friar not Gardner. But, we also have birth/baptism records for the first three kids with the names matching. As an aside, we will be looking further at (introducing here) Walter Friar and Grace Mullins of Sherborne. 

About WikiTree. I found out that the genealogists hang out there. Too, they are trying to stay true to the NEHGS work plus newer stuff, as the entry on Thomas dates from the 1980s. So, the Gardner Research work is considered to be after that. 

Essentially, there was an agreement that this is the Margaret and Thomas. But, there are lots of other questions to look at. I set a time frame of five years or sooner as that would match up with the 400th of the 1623 entry. A major researcher noted that first year over 100 years ago. That is, a boat arrived in 1623 with a crew that overwintered; another came in 1624. Margaret was on the later one, according to Dr. Frank. 

Still things to settle. 

But, the purpose for this post? Well, it has been decided to merge unknown and Margaret together. So, the profile for Thomas will have Margaret and Damaris as his wives.

Again, everyone. Use, please, Thomas and Margaret without worrying about being dumped on. 

That is a first step. One of many to come. So, please stay tuned. 

Remarks: Modified: 09/23/2018

09/23/2018 --  Recently, the profile changed to having only two wives. The profile is managed by the Puritan Great Migration Project which is sponsored by NEGHS.