Gardner's Beacon, Vol. I, No. 4

Popular culture likes to equate Salem with witches, especially this time of the year. The events behind the stories are about the lives of real people. Some of them met tragic endings.

See Vol. I, No. 4 of Gardner's Beacon for one perspective on the phenomenon.

Expect that there will be a continuing threads on this, and related, topics.

References: Emrys, Wendilyn  A Preliminary Examination of the People of Salem ... paper; Hill, Frances  Such men are dangerous: the fanatics of 1692 and 2004; Wikipedia, Rebecca (Towne) Nurse

Remarks:

12/15/2018 -- Added image to TGSoc.org, our new site. Also, will be reorganizing the witch-related information. Today, found another 'accused witch' in Dr. Frank's tree.

09/19/2018 -- Pulling together the posts related to the witch trials for future discussion.

09/04/2013 -- Again, the scene is built as follows. Those who came over are from the 10th to 13th generations back (for the most part) for someone alive now. By the time of 1692, lots of the earlier arrivals had passed on. So, that left the second generation (again, for the most part) as the elders. Now, taking a cohort mix (generational cut) round or about 1692 would give us someone on the current person's tree who would have about three generations living (including the level of their own cohorts). So, we would see siblings/cousins, parents/aunts/uncles, and the greats. In other words, it's a composite person that is built from that cohort mix (meaning, of course, that being on the tree implies ancestry) for which we can identify relationships blood (including 1/2 blood), in-law, and even friends. What Marjorie's chart does is to take someone who is in the mix and look at extended relationships. Now, consider what we would have if we did that for a large part of the composite mix. Would it not be an interesting view?

02/10/2013 -- Fan-in from the turmoil of all types of ancestors.

10/29/2012 -- See Afterthoughts & Modifications.

10/28/2012 -- 1692, again. Errata (for Vol. I., No. 4 -- will add a method to add corrections at the Newsletter site): where it says sons of Giles, it ought to be sons-in-law (he saved his daughters' property from the State).

03/03/2012 -- Nice little school project (7M hits, not bad).

12/29/2011 -- This Beacon does not get into the subject, but here is an article that does. We'll be getting back to the history and the sociology and all of that, at some point. Much to read, first. 

12/19/2011 -- Added source listing from this page (scroll down). Will do this for all issues. 

12/17/2011 -- Reformat right column, 2nd page, to allow missing text to be seen: Whatever turns out to be the factors, can we take comfort that the Gardners, and friends, remained sane during the period?

12/17/2011 -- Tim Lambert's A World History Encyclopedia will be used much in this blog and in related material. Here is his take on the Salem turmoils. 

11/19/2011 -- Much is left to be said.

10/22/2011 -- The Beacon issue looks at a few of those who can be related closely with Thomas' kids and grand-kids. However, the whole mania would not have happened without the support of those who were in leadership roles. On the spiritual side, Cotton Mather can be shown to have meddled, such as in ensuring that Susannah Martin was hung. So, we can look at Cotton (et al) in depth. By the way, Susannah was a widow, as was Mary Parker. One motive was to strip widows of property, it seems. At least, Mary's kids were able to set some things right when they grew up.

On the political side, the Crown was involved. William Stoughton, for one, tried his best to be a Cromwell, do you not think? See Frances Hill on William. In regard to whether Samuel Gardner, or John Corwin who was the brother of Jonathan, could have any moderating influence, the approval (even if implicit) of those in power would have been difficult to overcome (as we all know, if it stinks at the top, so too does it trickle down -- or, does OWS show something otherwise?).

Modified: 12/15/2018

The pond

Some see it as the pond. Earlier, it required a long trek over water with a lot of unknowns. It? Yes, the big ocean over which came the great bunch of migrate'rs who became the basis for U.S. of A.

Now, we are dealing, here, with genealogy. One adage is this: we handle things over here, and let those over there handle their part. That is, or as in, don't conjecture without a proper foundation upon what went on over there before the immigrant showed up here.

Some families have made the link twixt here and there. Kudos to them. Many others have not.

Our intent has always been to work on the bridging. How (the operative question)? Well, visits will be in order, at some point. For this post, let's start a list of resources.

• The 1923/24 crew (and Margaret's house) was sponsored by the Dorchester Company. Recently, I ran across this list of the funders. These were the bosses of Thomas and John and the others. So we ought to get to know them. Many, of them, turn up in various family trees, anyway, so they'll get attention. The John White page mentions his siblings. The list for Elizabeth's children does not mention Thomas. That needs to be looked at. As well, how was Thomas introduced into the Company's rolls (and roles - see the Aside)?
• The Dorset Parish Clerks pages provide information that comes from a lot of work by a lot of people. How many others, of this type of site, are there for us to use? It was said that John mentioned Sherborne as a place of origin for Thomas. This site might be a place to start to look at that issue.
• A U.K. site relates to the work of one researcher; the organization is superb. Really like the display by counties in the New England states. Use this site a lot for reading about collateral families.
• ...

Remarks:

04/26/2012 -- Last month, I was reading about Alan Turing and the 100th celebration. Sherborne School was mentioned. One thing to do is check whether, or not, they have records back to the early 1600s. I know that they can identify the headmaster from that period. As well, what other schools are in the area?

Modified: 04/30/2012

Ruth Gardner

While reading a 2004 book (Such men are dangerous: the fanatics of 1692 and 2004), by Frances Hill, I saw this: John Hathorne married, at the age of 33, a girl of 14. Ironically, she was the daughter of Quakers who had been so mercilessly persecuted in Massachusetts they had moved to Connecticut. ... Probably Hathorne's domineering personality made only a very young girl, whose confidence had been undermined by her parents' persecution and her own subsequent abandonment, the kind of consort he could tolerate.

---

Strong words. There are several points in the book to discuss, but who was this 'very young girl' who married John Hathorne? We have already looked a little at one of John's descendant who was a descendant of Thomas, namely Nathaniel Hawthorne (The early times, Family traditions).

We had noted that John Hawthorne had married Ruth Gardner, daughter of George. Is that true? Also, was George hounded into going to Connecticut?

Nathaniel Hawthorne,
descendant of
Ruth Gardner

Ruth (#28 in Dr. Frank A.'s book) did marry Hathorne around 1674 when she was fairly young. Was she still alive during the madness of the early 1690s?

Now, George, her father, did go to Hartford around 1670. Dr. Frank A. doesn't have a motivation in his 1907 book. The Gardner Memorial might have some more information.

Did George leave little Ruth behind? What is the story here?

---

Frances Hill has studied, and written about, the Salem trials in which John had a very major part. His buddy, Jonathan Corwin, figures into the Thomas Gardner picture, to boot, as Samuel Gardner, son of Thomas, was married to their 1/2 sister (their mother was Samuel's mother-in-law, who had remarried after her husband, John White, died).

The madness was after Thomas' death. However, most of his kids went through those times. Hence, expect more about the topic in this blog as it is one of the many examples of then vs now and how we still haven't learnt some necessary lessons.

---

John Hathorne's sisters married Porters who tried to protect people, such as Rebecca Nurse. All types of stories have been told about the ordeals, and there is a lot of public interest.

One of our interests is to collect the stories that tie to Thomas' family; they ought to be a very interesting, eclectic mix.

---

We'll have to feature the other figures in Frances' book, such as Cotton Mather: And, running off after abstracted chimeras as we have seen the past decade, or so, is not effective for the commonweal. Perhaps, someone in Harvard has already figured this out. Do I see shades of Cotton Mather here (kidding, of course)?

Remarks: Modified: 09/19/2018

10/19/2011 -- Need to mention Jonathan's son, George, as seen from the Corey side: The only person who seemed to profit from the witchcraft hysteria was Sheriff George Corwin who confiscated property and pocketed fees collected from the accused and their relatives.

10/19/2011 -- One motivation for interest is that these Corwin guys are great-1/2-uncles (however it is written). Hathorne, on the other hand, is a full great-uncle.

12/02/2011 -- More in the 4th issue of Gardner's Beacon.

12/29/2011 -- This post does not get into the subject, but here is an article that does. We'll be getting back to the history and the sociology and all of that, at some point. Much to read, first.

02/10/2013 -- Fan-in from the turmoil of all types of ancestors.

03/13/2013 -- In regard to the connection with the Corwins, Samuel Gardner was 1/2 brother-in-law of Jonathan Corwin. George Corwin, Sr, was married to Samuel's mother-in-law, Elizabeth Herbert White.

09/04/2013 -- Again, the scene is built as follows. Those who came over are from the 10th to 13th generations back (for the most part) for someone alive now. By the time of 1692, lots of the earlier arrivals had passed on. So, that left the second generation (again, for the most part) as the elders. Now, taking a cohort mix (generational cut) round or about 1692 would give us someone on the current person's tree who would have about three generations living (including the level of their own cohorts). So, we would see siblings/cousins, parents/aunts/uncles, and the greats. In other words, it's a composite person that is built from that cohort mix (meaning, of course, that being on the tree implies ancestry) for which we can identify relationships blood (including 1/2 blood), in-law, and even friends. What Marjorie's chart does is to take someone who is in the mix and look at extended relationships. Now, consider what we would have if we did that for a large part of the composite mix. Would it not be an interesting view?

10/30/2013 -- I am in the process of reading Katherine Howe's book, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. Dane, as in being related to Francis, of course. I wondered if there would be motivating ideas for a Beacon issue (we did have 1692 as a theme in 2011 and 2012 - we'll pick up the theme in a time other than Halloween). Katherine's book has an interesting plot, especially the balancing of the characters, and their interactions, in two time periods is nice. The description that Katherine provides of little Dorcas Good in the underground cell surely depicts the poor, young thing's misery and shows Katherine's grasp of the horror. One wonders, from some of the modern views and comments, if people really understand the dire situation. Too, the main hypothesis might have some truth, in a slightly altered sense. You see, science has not shown as much light on human matters as some might think. But, then, for any knowledge that our western mind has gained, we have also seen that the set of the unknowns does not diminish (more than mere choice). Is it just that we get better able to cover (as in, remove from awareness) the holes in which lurk the demons (until they come back and bite us at inopportune times)? ... And, Ruth? Her tale needs to be brought forth. We will have to look into that. For instance, what did Nathaniel write of his g-grand-mother?

10/30/2013 -- Being of the third generation, Ruth ought to be given some attention with the upcoming 400th events. The early time, and its people, set the stage for the later.

11/13/2013 --  Phippen would be part of the slate fill.

05/01/2014 -- Put a caption on Nathaniel's photo. Of course, John Hathorne was of a pre-photo time, but it is better to have the caption. ... This post has been popular.  

11/10/2015 -- Ran across this site: historyofmassachusetts.org. Interesting work, very detailed. Put in a comment about John and Ruth and their kids. Dr. Frank is a descendant of John's sister, Elizabeth, who with her husband, Israel Porter, was a supporter of Rebecca Nurse. Ruth was daughter of George.

06/30/2016 -- "daughter Hathorne" is mentioned in George's will, as quoted by Dr. Frank in his 1933 book, pg 41. 

09/19/2018 -- Pulling together the posts related to the witch trials for future discussion.

Gardner's Beacon, Vol. I, No. 3

Some of the early arrivals, such as Higginson, wrote about their experiences. Then, there were the later lookbacks by others, like Conant.

The first researcher who wrote about the early times of Massachusetts was Rev. William Hubbard. And, he mentioned both Thomas Gardner and John Tylly. Was he the first? The Reverend wrote in the late 1600s. Luckily, the only copy of his work was saved by those who knew how.

Later, there were other lookbacks, such as Felt's who went through the records of towns, such as Salem and Ipswich and others.

Then, with the advent of organized work on records about mid-1800s, families started to put together their stories. We have the works of Frank A. Gardner, MD in this category. As well, there was a flurry of activity around the 300th anniversary of the Cape Ann venture.

Now, we're almost 400 years out. It's time for another go-around. See Vol. I, No. 3 of Gardner's Beacon for our view of Margaret's perspective.

Expect that there will be a continuing threads on this, and related, topics.

Remarks:

12/17/2011 -- Tim Lambert's A World History Encyclopedia will be used much in this blog and in related material. Here is his take on the life in the colonial times. 

06/04/2019 -- Added image and put this on our image list at the portal to truth. 

Modified: 06/04/2019

Miriam (Gardner) Hill

Thomas and Margaret had three daughters. We have detailed some information on Sarah, the oldest daughter. The next two daughters were Miriam and Seeth.

Miriam married, around 1657, John Hill of Salem. Whereas Miriam was born in New England, John was from Bristol, England.

Miriam and John had two daughters.

• Miriam married William Haskell (WikiTree: Haskell-411) who was a descendant of Roger Haskell (Haskell Family Association). Their descendants (Haskell tree) are many. William and Mariam in the Haskell database. 
• Susannah married Thomas Dow (descendants) who was the son of Henry Dow (Sanborn tree).

There is another Miriam Gardner who was the niece of this Mariam and was the daughter Miriam's brother, Richard Gardner. This Miriam Gardner married John Worth of Nantucket.

---

Children (according to the NEHGS and the Great Migration Project - as represented by WikiTree): Thomas, George, Richard, John, Sarah, Samuel, Joseph, Miriam, Seeth.

List of descendants of Miriam. 

Remarks: Modified: 07/29/2022

11/27/2019 -- Removed stale pointers. We are working the 2nd generation through the 5th generation. John Hill remarried when Miriam died and had children. Also, added in Miriam's niece, Mariam (Gardner) Worth.

12/13/2020 -- Added link to list of descendants. 

07/29/2022 -- Added WikiTree link for William Haskell, spouse of Miriam Hill. Today, showed that Wally (Tony Lee Dow) is a descendant of Susannah Hill as is Charles Henry Dow. Added link to the Haskell database record for William Haskell and Miriam Hill. Dudley Chase Haskell (found of the Haskell Indian institute in Lawrence KS is a descendant). 

True gentleman

About a hundred years ago, there was an effort to recognize a 'forgotten' man who had been overlooked since he was overshadowed by the 'gentlemen' of the times. Ah, to whom does that refer?

Well, it could apply to many, as 'forgotten' is probably more apropos in the contexts being discussed here than not. Only a few rise to the level of general awareness. By doing so, are they of a better sort? Ah, philosophy coming to fore here?

Now, if we limit the context to the Cape Ann venture, Dorchester Company, we could think of many. In fact, only a few of the 'old planters' have been looked at. John Tylly is still a mystery, as we see from the 'Great Migration' effort of late. The fact is that he was a 'lead' in the effort, for a year, and then cast'd aside. Getting that position has some implications that bear study; the subsequent times still need a good look or two.

And, we'll be doing that.

But, there was one gentleman who got recognized a hundred years ago. He has a statue in Salem, plaques in various places (like Gloucester), and the story of this ancestry filled in.

There is another who is still under the radar who is the subject of this blog. Thomas. I have been pondering what would be the proper way to address what Thomas' life means. 'backbone' of the economy came to mind. 'forerunner' is another, as one hundred and fifty years after his time, we had the major shift, that was permanent, called the American Revolution.

Yes, both Thomas and Margaret were ahead of their time having to bear the shackles of the theocracy so desired by some of those who flitted across the skies.

But, what exactly are gentlemen? We can look at various classes of men or perhaps just realize that these pertain to role. Yet, are not effective actions within a role associated back toward the individual's characters?

This is a brief introduction, as we'll go into this more. The gentleman is not by necessity aristocratic. That is mere pretension, even if it is followed by the sword. Nor, ought the property rest solely on those of the military elite. For now, there is an efficacy that comes from this; however, one has to think that somehow the masses of those who really serve (mostly of the enlisted variety) need recognition, to boot. How about adequate pay, for starter?

Nor ought the property relate to the clergy. Oh no. Thankfully, we had the likes of Reverends Stephen Bachiler and John Wise countering that theocratic trend. Yes, we must not forget Anne Hutchinson and many others.

---

Therefore, we need to, after 400 years, find some way to honor Thomas and his contributions. This blog can be considered a start.

Remarks:

11/06/2013 -- While working on the next Beacon issue, I ran across some books. The one by Staloff was timely; imagine, I was wondering why the backbone series? Has the talented set ever allowed the lessors to have some semblance of a good life? Oh, you say yes? Winthrop, et al, were against this from the beginning. The stalwart of what could be (or could have been)? Thomas Gardner, of course.

12/24/2012 -- Thomas, unlike Conant, was not overshadowed in the world of being. We'll spend some time characterizing this fact and what it means to reasonable folks.

11/27/2012 -- Let's itemize what we know, re-iterate some basics, and the proceed constructively.

09/13/2012 -- About Margaret. We'll honor her as the ancestor, with Thomas, of the Gardner family.

05/01/2012 -- Backbone, in particular, this overview. Two things to be thankful for: Rev Hubbard's look back (his brief mention is sufficient) and the fact that the manuscript was not lost (otherwise, would Thomas had been even more unknown?).

12/02/2011 -- Start a category, Backbone, which will be used for historical comment.

Modified: 11/05/2013

John Tylly

John deserves recognition for several reasons, not the least of which is that no account of Thomas' and Margaret's arrival and subsequent time at Cape Ann can be complete without mentioning John. We'll look at his background which seems to be as unknown as Thomas' might be. We also know that John was killed in 1636 at the time of the Pequot War.

John was in charge of the fishing effort. There has been much written about Cape Ann, including White's little Plea. Some, including White, cast aspersions on those who were there. Others have offered a more reasoned view, as we see depicted in this chapter on the Fisher Plantation and this report to the US Treasury, 1853.

Rev. Hubbard on
Tylly and Gardner

By the way, William Hubbard (1621-1704), in his retrospective, was the first to mention John and Thomas. One can envision those in that later 17th century time asking what happened; that is, what were the real people doing during the time; that is, those who did not spawn off countless words during their time here.

---

John and Thomas were part of the movement from Cape Ann to the Naumkeag area. Then, John seems to disappear. The Great Migration look (pg 1823) tries to make some sense. John was in the Dorchester area in the mid-1630s. He had a wife but no offspring.

John was active in coastal trade, seemed to go as far as Bermuda, and was killed in Connecticut as he tried to venture, despite warnings by Lion Gardiner, up the river to Hartford.

---

All sorts of questions remain to be answered, and old Rev White isn't here to say. How did these two men become leads in an effort that had such importance? And, then be pushed aside so easily? Ah, many, many more questions.

As said before, 'speculation' requires magical gains. In less than a decade, Massachusetts was shipping tons of fish to Europe. How could this happen in a year's time? Even with the Plymouth help (as they were there in Cape Ann, to boot, hence the conflict that Conant is supposed to have avoided), how could one expect for gains to accrue so quickly?

So much to deconstruct here. Thankfully, some have already started. Winthrop, and perhaps Rev White, wanted theocracy as a way of life. Though they were ahead of their time, John and Thomas were seen as 'irreligious' according to some. Actually, events 100 years in the future showed these two to be on the right path.

Hopefully, time and resources will get some of these types of things better answered.

Remarks: Modified: 03/21/2022

05/01/2012 -- Interest in the Old Planters is being assessed. Also, we'll do a sketch of John at this site. 

12/22/2012-- We need to differentiate between Old Planters of Beverly (see The Old Planters of Beverly in Massachusetts, 1930, Alice Gertrude Lapham, The Riverside Press) and the Old Planters of Massachusetts. One could even talk, Old Planters of New England.

10/11/2018 -- Some argument over who was first, in New Hampshire. Rev Hubbard was mentioned. As mentioned, he was the first one to mention Thomas Gardner. Too, his manuscript, though written in the 1600s, was not published until about one hundred and thirty years later. And, we almost lost it due to the mob rioting and doing damage to Hutchinson's dwelling, which, btw, was the Governor's mansion. So,  the good Reverend the Rodney Dangerfield of his time?

01/07/2019 -- Add snip from Rev. Hubbard's history that mentioned Tylly and Gardner.

03/21/2022 -- Our first post on John Tylly was on 22 Aug 2011 when we were newbies. We just did another post today under the name of John Tilley which is how the NEHGR identified him in an article in their Winter 2022 issue. In that post we link to research on the other Cape Ann families.