We Sail Tonight with our Famous Cousin, Admiral Robert Blake

Admiral Robert Blake
Our 1st Cousin, 11 Times Removed

From the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Valley of the Pleasant Grove

Hello Clan,
Ready for a sea adventure tonight? Prepare yourselves for we board one of His Majesty’s Ships and sail under the banner of our 1st Cousin, 11 times removed, the famous Admiral Robert Blake (1599 to August 17, 1657).

Genealogy Tie:
Admiral Blake's Uncle was Giles Blake, our 11th Great Grandfather. His Grandfather, John Blake, is our 12th Great Grandfather.

Cousin Robert was one of the most famous English Admirals of the 17th Century. He was one of 13 children born to our 11th Great Uncle Humphrey Blake. He attended the Bridgwater Grammar School for Boys as a youngster. In 1638 he decided to run for the British Parliament. In 1640 he was elected to Parliament fro Bridgwater.

The English Civil War broke out. Robert failed to win reelection and entered the military career on the side of the Parliamentarians - standing against the Monarchy. He fought on land during the Siege of Bristol in 1643, the Siege of Lyme in 1644, and the Siege of Taunton (1645). At Taunton he famously declared that he would eat three of his own four pairs of boots before he would surrender.

Robert Blake was appointed General at Sea (Admiral) in 1649, and is often referred to as the “Father of the Royal Navy”. As well as being largely responsible for building the largest navy the country had then ever known. In 1652 he produced the Royal Navy’s first ever set of rules and regulations, listing 39 offences and their punishments - mostly death. He was also the first to repeatedly successfully attack despite fire from shore forts.

Blake led his navy to important sea victories during the English Civil War, working hard to protect Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England and preventing the Monarchy from reestablishing itself in Great Britain. For this service he was honored by Parliament and made a member of the Council of State.

Blake’s next adventures were during the first Anglo-Dutch War. During this war Blake demanded that the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty enact major reforms. They complied by enacting Articles of War to reinforce the authority of an Admiral over his captains. Eventually Blake helped in bring peace with the Dutch.

In 1655 Blake was sent to the Mediterranean to obtain compensation from the pirate states that had been attacking English shipping. The Bey of Tunis refused to offer compensation, and with 15 ships, Blake destroyed the 2 shore batteries and 9 Algerian ships in Porto Farina, the first time shore batteries had been taken out without landing men ashore.

In 1656 war broke out with Spain. In 1657 Blake won against the Spanish West Indian Fleet over the seizure of Jamaica in the West Indies. Cromwell have Blake an expensive diamond ring for his command of the battle at Tenerife. Blake destroyed 16 Spanish ships despite being under fire from shore batteries and attacking and withdrawing on the tide. Lord Nielson ranked Blake as one of the greatest naval Generals ever known, even when compaired with his own reputation.

Admiral Robert Blake 1599 - 1657

Bridgwater Town Centre

Blake died from old wounds while sailing home. He laid in state in the Queen’s House, Greenwich and was buried in Westminster Abbey. After the Monarchy was restored his body was exhumed and dumped in a common grave on the orders of the new king, Charles II.

Simply,
Victor

Witches in Our Family?! The Shockingly Sad Story of our 9th Great Grandparents.

The Salem Witch Trials, Now An Important Part of our Family History

From the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Pleasant Grove Valley
Valentine’s Day 2010

Dear Family,

• Today I report on a family tragedy.
• Today I report unjust accusations, false imprisonment, torture and murder.
• Today I report Indian attacks and kidnapping.
• Today I report on the hanging of a Great Aunt, accused by her own nephew!
  
• Today we uncover confessed Witches in our family line! Halloween will Never be the Same Again.

I've uncovered confessed witches in the family line. This leads me to believe there could be others in our family today, still practicing the 'old ways'; aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces or nephews. Who are they? Any information as to their identity will be kept strictly confidential although proof would be nice, such as a broom stick, wand or large black iron cauldron.
Where did this all begin you ask? Read on....

In 1692, 19 innocent men and women were hanged for witchcraft. An old man was pressed to death under heavy rocks for refusing to stand trial. Four others, Including our 9th Great Grandfather Dr. Roger Toothaker, died in prison as they awaited trial.

Our 9th Great Grandfather, Roger Toothaker was born in 1634 in England. He came to America with his family on the ship “Hopewell” and settled in Billerica, Mass near Salem. At 31 years old he married Mary Allin at Billerica on June 9, 1665. Roger was a doctor, although possibly more of a herbalist by today’s standards. There is no record of proper medical training. His wife, Grandmother Mary was a midwife.

It seems Roger was away from home and neglected the care of his wife and growing family. Town records show that on March 12, 1682/3 and on December 15, 1684 the town Selectman (Council) wrote and demanded that Roger return and care for his family. It seemed the order was ignored because town records show the family received charity from the town.

In 1692 a wave of witchcraft hysteria swept through Salem. Nine year old Betty Parris and her 11 year old cousin started having seizures or “fits”. Of course, in the days before modern medicine such fits might be thought of as devil induced because doctors couldn't find cures or remedies.

Grandfather Roger and his family lived in Salem, Mass. at the time. During questioning, Roger claimed to many that his daughter (Martha) killed a witch. On May 18, 1692 Salem filed a complaint against Dr. Roger Toothaker for witchcraft. He was taken to Boston Prison because all local jails were full of witches waiting for trial. Roger was accused by Elizabeth Hubbard, Ann Putnam and Mary Walcott. I should note that Elizabeth Hubbard’s father was a rival doctor in the community. I’m sure with our grandfather behind bars his practice increased. It seems Dr. Hubbard was a witchcraft conspirator, using his 17 year old servant Elizabeth to accuse many of witchcraft.

The story now continues down its sad path. On May 28th Roger’s wife Mary (our 9th Great Grandmother), their 9 year old daughter Margaret and Mary's sister Martha Carrier were arrested for witchcraft. One month later, Grandfather Roger died in Boston Prison. Many believe he was tortured.

Grandmother Mary was examined by John Hawthorne on July 30, 1692. She told the court that she was afraid of Indian attack and made a secret pact with the devil to protect her. Of course the confession was either fabricated or coerced. Her fear of Indians was justified however; the area had been attacked by Indians many times in the preceding few years. Mother and daughter stayed in prison. Two days later, Indians attack Billerica, Mass. burning down the Toothaker house. At the end of January 1693 they were freed and returned to the burned out house. Mary went on working as a midwife. Martha Carrier, our Grandmother’s sister was hanged as a witch on the testimony of her nephew, our 9th Great Uncle Allin.

A Witch being escorted to her Hanging

On August 5, 1695 Indians attacked their small town of Billerica. Grandmother Mary was killed. Great Aunt Margaret was captured by the Indians and was never seen again.

The Children of Roger and Mary Toothaker

1. Nathaniel b. 27 April 1666 d. 18 May 1683 Billerica
2. Martha b. 23 July 1668 d. 14 January 1725/6 Haverhill, Mass. m. Joseph Emerson 16 July 1690 Haverhill, Mass.
3. Allin b. 17 September 1670
4. Roger b. 27 November 1672
5. Sarah b. Circa 1674
6. Mary b. 7 June 1675 d. 14 October 1675 Billerica
7. Mary b. 28 September 1676 d. 5 December 1683 Billerica
8. Andrew b. 4 October 1679 THIS IS OUR 8TH GREAT GRANDFATHER.
   
9. Margaret b. 31 January 1682/3 Captured by Indians 5 August 1695 at Billerica

HERE LIES TH BODY OF
DOCTr ROGER TOOTHAKER
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE
DECEMBER ye ?????
????????????????
Our Grandfather's Tombstone.

EXTRA INTERESTING READING:
The case against Dr. Roger Toothaker is described in Russell's article as follows:

"Thomas Gage, aged thirty-six, testified on 2[0] May 1692 that sometime the previous spring Dr. Toothaker was at Gage's house in Beverly, where they discussed a child of John Maston of Salem and a child of Philip White of Beverly, who were strangely sick or having fits. Toothaker stated that he had seen both children and concluded they 'were under an Evill hand' and that his own daughter [Margaret] had killed a witch. [El]ias Pickworth, aged thirty-four, testified to the same story."

This is the actual Court Testimony of our 9th Great Grandmother taken during her trial as a witch:

30 July 1692 The Examination and confession of widow Toothaker Taken before Major Gidney Mr Hauthorn Mr Corwin & Cap'n Higginson.
After many questiones and negative answers returned and her Stricking Down of severall of the afflicted persons with her looks, she was Desyred to tell the truth in this matter She then said that this May last she was under great Discontentednes & troubled w'h feare about the Indians, & used often to dream of fighting with them. Being asked what was the Devils temptation under her discontent
t she said she would confess if she could But that there was something at her breast that hindered her. she said she had often prayed but thought she was the worse for praying and knows not but that the Devil has tempted her not to pray, for her breath has been often Stopt as it was just now; Being asked if the Devil did not Desier her to renounce her baptisme, she answered that she had thoughts she was rather the worse for her baptisme and has wished she had not been baptised because she had not improved it as she ought to have done she saith she used to get into a corner alone and Desryed to prey but her mouth would be Stopt but sometymes she had been helped to say Lord be merce full to me a sinner. Being again asked how far she had yeilded to Satan she said the Devil promised her she should not be discovered and if she was discovered & brought down that she should goe home Innocent & cleare but now find he has deluded her. Being again asked how long it is since saten furst wrought with her in this manner she said she could not well tell how long but thinks it is not two years. And confesses that she went In her Spirit [to Timo' Swans] and did often think of him & her hands would be clinched, and that she would grip the dishclout or anything else and so think of the person; And by this & afflicting of others since She came down she is convinced she is a witch -- she saith now, the Devil appeared to her in the shape of a Tawny man and promised to keep her from the Indians and she should have happy dayes with her sone -- she was asked if she did not signe the Devills book; answered he brought something which she [took] to bee a piece of burch bark and she made a mark with her finger by rubbing off the whit Scurff. And he promised if she would serve him she should be safe from the Indians (she was then a litle stopt again & believed it was the Devil that did it)// Being asked if the Devil did not say she was to serve him Answered Yes, and signed the mark upon that condition and was to praise him w'h her whole heart, and twas to that appearance she prayed at all tymes for he said he was able to delyver her from the Indians And it was the feare of the Indians that put her upon it. she confesses she hurt Timothy Swan and thinks she was twice at salem Village witch meeting and that Goody Bridges was one of her company -- she said as she came along in order to examination she promised herself twenty tymes by the way (but [seald] it was to the Devil) That if she should Dye upon the Gallowse yet she would not say any thing but that she was Innocent. & rejoyced In the thought of it that She Should goe home Inocent -- she saith that Goody Green and Goody Broomage were also her companions and that Broomage afflicted Swan by squeezing his arms, And is afrayd that she the s'd Toothaker squeezed his throat -- she said further that when Goody Bridges (who had confessed before) urged her also to confess she had then no remembrance of this but with the justices Discourse and the help of god it came into her mind. she saith she thought that that appearance was God her creator & being asked if she did not know otherwise answered The Devil is so subtel that when she would confess he stops her and deludes also by scripture and being asked what scripture he made inser of to her she mentioned that in the Psalmes where it is said Let my enemies be confounded, And so she had wished them all Destroyed that raised such reports of her she confesses that her sister was with her at all the meetings & particularly at Salem Village & there went with her Goody Bridges Goody foster Goody Green & Goody Broomage Several afflicted persons said they saw the black man before her in the tyme of her examination And she now, her self confesses she saw him upon the table before her. She sayes further there was a minister a litle man whose name is Burroughs that preached at the Village meeting of witches, and she heard that they used read & write at these meetings And, that they did talk of 305 witches in the country. she saith their discourse was about the pulling down the Kingdom of Christ and setting up the Kingdom of satan, and also Knew Goody How emong the rest. Being asked if there was not a woman that stirred them up to afflict Swan Answered yes there was a pretty [Elderly] woman that was most busie about him and encouraged the rest to afflict him. she thinks she set her hand to that book at Salem Village meeting. And thinks the [End] of all their setting their hand to that book was to come in, and afflict & set up the Devils Kingdome. she being asked if her husband did not speak to his daughter to Kill one Button a reputed witch answered yes, and that they used to read many historyes, especially one book that treated of the 12 signes, from which book they could tell a great Deale. -- she saith she never knew her daughter to be in this condition before this summer, But that she was at Salem Village meeting once with her, she cannot tell that her daughter did then signe the book but a great many did. Being asked how many were of her Society she said Goody Broomage, foster, green, the two Mary Laceyes older and younger, Richard Carrier, her sister Carryer and another aged woman -- she saith she heard the Beating of a drum at the village meeting And think also heard the sound of a trumpet.
I underwritten being appointed to take the above & within examination in wryting Doe testify upon oath taken in Court That this is a true coppy, of the substance of it, to the best of my knowledge
6't Jan'ry in 1692/3

Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States. Our Cousin.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Valley of the Pleasant Grove

Dear Clan,
Our Saturday evening journey though the Way Back Machine begs us to pause and consider a famous, distant cousin of ours. You may recognize the name, Richard M. Nixon.

President Nixon was our 10th cousin once removed. Amazing isn’t it? The Rev. Stephan Bachiler (see an earlier post in this blog) our 10th Great Grandfather was President Richard Nixon's 9th Great Grandfather through our 9th Great Aunt Theodate Bachiler. The following information on our cousin is given through the White House's Web Site.

Richard M. Nixon

Reconciliation was the first goal set by President Richard M. Nixon. The Nation was painfully divided, with turbulence in the cities and war overseas. During his Presidency, Nixon succeeded in ending American fighting in Viet Nam and improving relations with the U.S.S.R. and China. But the Watergate scandal brought fresh divisions to the country and ultimately led to his resignation.

His election in 1968 had climaxed a career unusual on two counts: his early success and his comeback after being defeated for President in 1960 and for Governor of California in 1962.

Born in California in 1913, Nixon had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School before beginning the practice of law. In 1940, he married Patricia Ryan; they had two daughters, Patricia (Tricia) and Julie. During World War II, Nixon served as a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific.

On leaving the service, he was elected to Congress from his California district. In 1950, he won a Senate seat. Two years later, General Eisenhower selected Nixon, age 39, to be his running mate.

As Vice President, Nixon took on major duties in the Eisenhower Administration. Nominated for President by acclamation in 1960, he lost by a narrow margin to John F. Kennedy. In 1968, he again won his party's nomination, and went on to defeat Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace.

Nixon talking to the just returned Apollo 11 Astronauts, First Men on the Moon.

His accomplishments while in office included revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. As he had promised, he appointed Justices of conservative philosophy to the Supreme Court. One of the most dramatic events of his first term occurred in 1969, when American astronauts made the first moon landing.

Top, Nixon Opens China by Visiting Chairman Mao. Bottom, Nixon and Soviet Leader Brezhnev meet.

Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in his quest for world stability. During visits in 1972 to Beijing and Moscow, he reduced tensions with China and the U.S.S.R. His summit meetings with Russian leader Leonid I. Brezhnev produced a treaty to limit strategic nuclear weapons. In January 1973, he announced an accord with North Viet Nam to end American involvement in Indochina. In 1974, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, negotiated disengagement agreements between Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria.

In his 1972 bid for office, Nixon defeated Democratic candidate George McGovern by one of the widest margins on record.

Within a few months, his administration was embattled over the so-called "Watergate" scandal, stemming from a break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee during the 1972 campaign. The break-in was traced to officials of the Committee to Re-elect the President. A number of administration officials resigned; some were later convicted of offenses connected with efforts to cover up the affair. Nixon denied any personal involvement, but the courts forced him to yield tape recordings which indicated that he had, in fact, tried to divert the investigation.

As a result of unrelated scandals in Maryland, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned in 1973. Nixon nominated, and Congress approved, House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford as Vice President.

Faced with what seemed almost certain impeachment, Nixon announced on August 8, 1974, that he would resign the next day to begin "that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America."

Nixon Leaving the White House after Resigning as President of the United States

In his last years, Nixon gained praise as an elder statesman. By the time of his death on April 22, 1994, he had written numerous books on his experiences in public life and on foreign policy.

Daniel Webster, Congressman. Senator. Secretary of State. Our 8th Cousin Twice Removed.

Daniel Webster. Our 3rd Cousin 5 times Removed.
Daniel Webster's Great Grandfather (Benjamin Batchelder) was our 7th Great Uncle.
His Great Great Aunt was our 7th Grandmother Mercy Batchelder.

From the Fortress of Solitude

Overlooking the Pleasant Grove Valley

Dear Clan,

Tonight we learn of a famous cousin from American History, Daniel Webster. The following biography was taken from the US Senate's web site.

One of the nation's greatest orators, Daniel Webster was both a U.S. senator from Massachusetts and a U.S. representative from Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Webster was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, and gained national prominence as an attorney while serving five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He successfully argued several notable cases before the Supreme Court of the United States that helped define the constitutional power of the federal government. In Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, the Court declared in favor of Webster's alma mater, finding private corporation charters to be contracts and therefore protected from interference by state legislative action. In McCulloch v. Maryland, the Court upheld the implied power of Congress to charter a federal bank and rejected the right of states to tax federal agencies. Webster also argued the controversial Gibbons v. Ogden case, in which the Court decided that federal commerce regulations take precedence over the interstate commerce laws of individual states.

A Statue of Daniel Webster in Washington DC

After his election to the U.S. Senate in 1827, Webster established his oratorical reputation in the famous 1830 debate with Robert Young Hayne of South Carolina over the issue of states' rights and nullification. Defending the concept of a strong national government, Webster delivered on January 26 and 27 his famous reply to Hayne. “We do not impose geographical limits to our patriotic feeling,” he insisted, arguing that every state had an interest in the development of the nation and that senators must rise above local and regional narrow-mindedness. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, he warned, and any doctrine that allowed states to override the Constitution would surely lead to civil war and a land drenched with “fraternal blood.” The motto should not be “Liberty first, and Union afterwards,” Webster concluded, but “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!” Within weeks of the debate, Webster had become a national hero. His Senate oration was in greater demand than any other congressional speech in American history. Webster then served a distinguished term as secretary of state from 1841 to 1843, negotiating the Webster-Ashburton Treaty that settled a dispute over the boundary between the U.S. and Canada. He later returned to the Senate, where he championed American industry and opposed free trade.

Daniel Webster Speaking in the US Senate

If Webster's impassioned oratory was legendary, it was intensified by his unforgettable physical presence. Dark in complexion, with penetrating eyes–often likened to glowing coals–he had an electrifying effect on anyone who saw him. Nineteenth-century journalist Oliver Dyer wrote: “The God-like Daniel . . . had broad shoulders, a deep chest, and a large frame. . . . The head, the face, the whole presence of Webster, was kingly, majestic, godlike.” [1]

Daniel Webster as Secretary of State

Increasingly concerned with the sectional controversy threatening the Union, Webster supported Henry Clay's Compromise of 1850. On March 7, 1850, he delivered one of his most important and controversial Senate addresses. Crowds flocked to the Senate Chamber to hear Webster plead the Union's cause, asking for conciliation and understanding: “I wish to speak today not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern man, but as an American. . . . I speak today for the preservation of the Union. Hear me for my cause.” Webster's endorsement of the compromise–including its fugitive slave provisions–helped win its eventual enactment, but doomed the senator's cherished presidential aspirations. Webster became secretary of state again in 1850, and he died two years later at his home in Marshfield, Massachusetts.

Daniel Webster ran for president three times, never winning. This is from one of his campaigns

The following are quotes taken from our cousin, one of America's greatest speakers

• A country cannot subsist well without liberty, nor liberty without virtue.
• A disordered currency is one of the greatest political evils.
• A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures.
• An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, the power to destroy.
• Every unpunished murder takes away something from the security of every man's life.
• Failure is more frequently from want of energy than want of capital.
• Falsehoods not only disagree with truths, but usually quarrel among themselves.
• God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it.
• He who tampers with the currency robs labor of its bread.
• How little do they see what really is, who frame their hasty judgment upon that which seems.
• I mistrust the judgment of every man in a case in which his own wishes are concerned.
• I was born an American; I will live an American; I shall die an American.
• Inconsistencies of opinion, arising from changes of circumstances, are often justifiable.
• It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God it shall be my dying sentiment, independence now and independence forever.
• Justice, sir, is the great interest of man on earth. It is the ligament which holds civilized beings and civilized nations together.
• Keep cool; anger is not an argument.
• Let it be borne on the flag under which we rally in every exigency, that we have one country, one constitution, one destiny.
• Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other arts will follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization.
• Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable.
• Liberty exists in proportion to wholesome restraint.
• Man is a special being, and if left to himself, in an isolated condition, would be one of the weakest creatures; but associated with his kind, he works wonders.
• Mind is the great lever of all things; human thought is the process by which human ends are ultimately answered.
• No man not inspired can make a good speech without preparation.
• On the diffusion of education among the people rest the preservation and perpetuation of our free institutions.
• One country, one constitution, one destiny.
• The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power.
• The law: it has honored us; may we honor it.
• The materials of wealth are in the earth, in the seas, and in their natural and unaided productions.
• The most important thought that ever occupied my mind is that of my individual responsibility to God.
• The people's government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people.
• The right of an inventor to his invention is no monopoly - in any other sense than a man's house is a monopoly.
• The world is governed more by appearance than realities so that it is fully as necessary to seem to know something as to know it.
• There is always room at the top.
• There is no refuge from confession but suicide; and suicide is confession.
• There is nothing so powerful as truth, and often nothing so strange.
• We are all agents of the same supreme power, the people.
• We have been taught to regard a representative of the people as a sentinel on the watch-tower of liberty.
• What a man does for others, not what they do for him, gives him immortality.
• Whatever government is not a government of laws, is a despotism, let it be called what it may.

• Many books have been written about our famous cousin.

And many of us have heard of this family short story, play and movie.

Rev. Stephan Bachiler; Our Rebel 10th Great Grandfather. Excommunicated Twice!

Our 10th Great Grandfather's Signature and Seal.

A Dispatch from the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Pleasant Grove Valley

Dear Clan,
I'm hoping this parchment finds all in good spirits and well in health. In tonight's readings I found information about our 10th Great Grandfather, through Violet Mattson's Mother's line.
The historical question is, Was he a Saint or a Sinner? Isn't that the question about many whose blood flows through our veins?

"Among many remarkable lives lived by early New Englanders, Bachiler's is the most remarkable."
--The Great Migration Begins

Stephen Bachiler was born in 1561, and according to World Family Tree, his birth took place at Wherwell, Hampshire, England.
Stephan Bachiler entered St. John’s College Oxford on November 17, 1581 when he was 21 years old. He received his Bachelor of Arts in 1585. In 1587 he was appointed Vicar (Priest/Pastor) of The Church of HolyCross and St. Peter by William West, Lord De La Ware. He remained there until 1605. Apparently he was very opinionated and was fired as Vicar.

The next time his name pops up is 1593. It is reported in court documents that Stephan Bachiler “uttered in a sermon at Newberry, very lewd speeches tending sedulously to the derogation of Her Majesty’s Government” This of course refers to the government of Queen Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth passed a law against the Puritans in 1593 which gave the authorities the right to imprison the Puritans for failure to attend the Church of England.

Stephan was excommunicated from the Church of England. It is thought he travelled from place to place preaching to different congregations when he could avoid the persecution of the church people.

Some time before 1632 we locate Grandpa Stephan again. A certain Sir Robert Paine, Sheriff of Hampton and Church Warden of Barton Stacy reports that several of his parishioners were misled by Stephen Bachiler, a “notorious nonconformist”. It seems he “had demolished a consecrated chapel at Newton Stacy, neglected the repair of the parish church, maliciously opposed repairing the church at his own expense and executed many things in contempt of the canons and the Bishop.”

King James VI worked to rid Great Britain of Puritans. In 1605 he was fired as a pastor at Wherwell. Stephen was the among the first of hundreds who lost their pastorates because of the King’s order. Grandpa Stephen embraced the Puritan doctrine. He was considered a liberal Puritan, zealous of human rights.

Between 1607 and 1620 is seems Grandpa Stephen hid from the English authorities in Holland.

On March 9, 1632, Stephan Bachiler and his family boarded the ship “William and Francis” from London. The crossing was difficult. They were at sea for 88 days. Stephan was 71 years old. With him on the journey was his third wife, Helena; his widowed daughter, Deborah Wing, and her three sons, Daniel, John and Stephen.
The ship’s register recorded the following cargo brought by Rev. Bachiler:

Four hogsheads of peas,
Twelve yards of cloth,
Two hundred yards of list,
Oaken furniture,
and a collection box.

Upon arrival in New England, Mr Bachiler and his family moved to Lynn Massachusetts. On his first Sunday in Lynn he baptized four children. After preaching for 4 months in Lynn he came under “suspicion” of having independent ideas, which he was not willing to yield to the dictates of others. The General Court passed the following order against him on October 3, 1632,
“Mr. Bachiler is required to forebear exercising his gifts as a pastor and teacher....... for his contempt for authority and until some scandals be removed.” After 5 months the prohibition was removed and he was free to form a church in Massachusetts.

The Rev. Bachiler's Chair, now on display at the Hampton Museum.

The History of Hampton , N.H. records the following about the Rev. Bachiler:

Mr. Bachiler was a tall and sinewy man, with prominent features. Especially his nose, a very dark complexion, coarse black hair in his younger days, white in age, mouth large and firm, eyes as black as sloes, features long rather than broad, a strong clear voice, rather slow of motion and speech, simple in dress, obstinate and tenacious of his opinions to a marked degree, a powerful preacher drawing largely from scripture, impress the hearers with the uncommon power and sanctity of his sermons, strong in his friendships and in his hates

The Rev. Bachiler's Church in Hampton.

The Rev. Bachiler founded the city of Hampton, New Hampshire. The church he organized at Hampton is now the oldest Congregational Society n New Hampshire and the second oldest continuous church in the United States.

The plaque on the stone in Hampton's
Founder's Park commemorating the
founding of the town in 1638.

Between 1638 and 1644 he and his parishioners fell out. He was once again prohibited from preaching and Excommunicated again!

Shortly afterwords her moved to Stawbery Bank. He was a widower and hired a housekeeper, a young widow whom he called “an honest neighbor”. His neighbors thought it “unseemly” so he married her. He was 86. She was 60 years younger than him. Her name was Mary Bailey. Strangely, he performed the marriage himself and failed to publish it.

Mary had an affair with their young next door neighbor George Rogers. When it was discovered she was sentenced to be flogged and branded with the letter “A”. The court ordered Stephan and Mary to live together after her punishment “or else”. Instead he fled to Hampton and lived with is grandson. Many believe that Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Letter" was inspired by Mary's punishment.

He wanted to escape Mary and going back to England seemed the best thing to do. The King had been beheaded and Oliver Cromwell was Lord Protector of the land. It seems our Grandfather and Oliver Cromwell were friends. In 1654 he sailed back to England.

Stephen Bachilder was buried in the church yard of Allhallows Staining on 31 October 1656, having lived nearly 100 years.

In summary.

"Rev. Bachiler 'had a real genius for opposing the majority,' and in consequence his character has been much maligned. The truth is he was a reformer, with the strength and weakness of his kind. He was among the first to refuse conformity to the English church and 'suffered much at the hands of the Bishops.' He came to America in his old age, hoping to find here that liberty which was denied at home; he rebelled at the union of church and state, which the strong Puritan covenant enforced, and in consequence found himself opposed to the party in power, the Massachusetts authorities." Pierce, Batchelder Genealogy, p. 95.

Two Pictures from the Albums for Your Consideration.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Valley of the Pleasant Grove

Dear Clan,
Tonight I present two photographs for your consideration. The first comes with questions.

In this photograph, taken around 1976/7 we see Grandma Violet Mattson. I believe the young boy standing in front of Grandma is Forrest DelGrosso. Notice Forrest is packing heat. This is South Dakota mind you. In Dakota Territory we arm them young. Its every man, woman and child at the windows shooting if them injuns attack.
If I'm not mistaken, the young lady next to Forrest is Lisa Willamson. I'm waiting to be corrected. Now, who is the lady in the background holding the baby? Anyone related to us? The young lady with the bleached face in the lower left corner of the photograph is another mystery . Any help on this would be appreciated. This looks like it could have been taken in Grandma's trailor, parked in Rapid Valley.

Our Second Photograph comes from 1975/76. Kevin looks to be about 13/14. Luckily for us, Kevin wrote the following on the back of this picture.
Brad Bishop, top. Scott Bishop top right. Randy Weeks top left.
Middle Row: Carry Gilles, Jim Lamphere, Bruce Middleton.
Bottom Row: Brad Haugen, Rick Olmstead, Kevin Williamson and Jeff Gilles.

Kevin also wrote the following: "Picture taken at Casper, Wyo. We won. Now we go to Denver. Unfortunatly we lost at Denver. We played Friday the 13th. Then on the 14th we lost because Jeff was there Ha Ha.

There you have it, a picture of the Rapid City 2nd Ward Youth Basketball Team and there in the center, our Kevin.

Simply,
Victor

Henry Fiddler and Francis George, Our 3rd Great GrandParents.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Pleasant Grove

Dear Clan,
In my search to find information on famous ancestors I feel I tend to neglect our great grandparents who lived lives similar to our own. I'm talking about simple folks that get up every day and do their best to put bread on the table and shoes on the kid's feet. These are the people that built America one homestead or farm at a time. Tonight we take a minute to celebrate the life of one such American.

Family, I’d like to introduce you to our 3rd Great Grandfather and Grandmother Henry Fiddler and Francis George. Henry and Francis were the Grandparents of Grandma Mattson’s Father, Walter Edwin Pierce.

Grandpa Henry was a native of Pennsylvania. He was born on 23rd of Nov. in 1823. His parents were Abraham Fiddler and Susan Keller. We know little of the the Fiddlers until 1838 when the family moved to Richland County, Ohio, where in 1846 Henry Fiddler married Francis George, daughter of Jacob George. In 1853 the family came to Iowa, stopping to winter in Muscatine County.

On March 24, 1854 he traveled to DesMoines to make a payment on 129 acres of land on Section 29. He only had one dollar in money. It was just enough to pay the fee at the land office. He relied on the charity of other pioneer settlers along the way as he travelled home. On the trip home he picked up three passengers who paid him $1.50 each. That money paid his expenses and he felt, with that money in hand, to be in good financial circumstances when he got home.

Grandpa Henry improved his land, and in 1855 resumed his work as a trained carpenter. They continued to live at Eldora where he built the third framed house in the town. He was elected Sheriff of the County in 1856 and served as Sheriff for four years. In 1859 he took his first prisoner, Eli Osbourn. Eli was convicted of stealing bacon. Henry took him to Ft. Madison. The trip took one month, which was a sixth of Eli’s prison sentence. In 1856 he arrested two men for the attempted murder of a Mr. Marryweather. Henry took them to Des Moines - home of the nearest jail. In August of 1856 he took another prisoner to DesMoines as well. He was arrested for stealing four hundred dollars at Hazel Green.

The locals wrote that Henry Fiddler was a conspicuous character in the pioneer history of Hardin County. He and Francis had 10 children. Eldora E. is our second Great Grandmother.

Robert McCrillis, Our 5th Great Grandfather.

With the Information Below the Males in our Family (Grandma Mattson's Line)
can Join the Sons of the American Revolution.

With the Information Below the Females in our Family (Grandma Mattson's Line)
can Join the Daughters of the American Revolution.

With the Information Below the Children and Teens in our
Family (Grandma Mattson's Line)
can Join the Children of the American Revolution.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Pleasant Grove

Dear Clan,
Once again in my newly undertaken quest to highlight the lives of our departed ancestors I took it upon myself to search the truth behind another old family story. My mother told me that we had ancestors that fought in the Revolutionary War. Of course who that or those ancestors were was the mystery.

Today I proclaim another Victory in my research. I found an ancestor that fought in the Revolutionary War. Family, may I introduce you to Robert McCrillis, our 5th Great Grandfather and soldier in the American Revolutionary Army. Information on Robert is sketchy at best but this is what I know.

Robert was born in 1740 in Lebanon, York Maine and died on the 9th of June, 1819 in Corinth Vermont. He is buried at the McCrillis Cemetery, Family Farm in Corinth, Orange County Vermont. He was the son of Daniel and Elizabeth McCrillis of Lebanon. According to town records, Robert's father (Daniel) "was the original McCrillis to settle in town, is said to have been a Scotch/ Irish emigrant who came to Lebanon, Maine from the north of Ireland soon after 1745"

Mother (Luella) remembers a family story about 3 McCrillis brothers who came to America from Northern Ireland. This story says that the three brothers moved from Scotland to N. Ireland to help bolster the protestant population in their attempts to free northern Ireland from the Catholics. The Scottish immigrants were given the best land to farm. The story goes on to say that the three brothers decided to leave N. Ireland for American and settled somewhere in the East. Well, I found that somewhere. The McCrillis family settled in Maine.

The family was probably living in Lebanon before 1750, for on July 30, 1749, the Rev. Amos Main entered upon the records of the First Parish of Rochester, N.H. the following: “Also baptized, Robert McCrelis.” At that time he Rochester church was located about four miles from where the McCrillises lived.

Here You See Robert McCrellis's Name and Pay from a Revolutionary War Roll.

Robert McCrillis was a private in Captain David Place’s Company, stationed on Seavey’s Island, being named on a return dated 5 November 1775. On July 14, 1776, the Rev. Isaac Hasey of the First Parish Church of Lebanon recorded in his diary the following:
“Bill up by Rob’t McCrellis for himself bound into ye Army.”
His name occurs on a roll dated at Charlestown on July 27, 1776, in Captain John Drew’s Company raised for Canada out of Col. Evans’s and Col. Badger’s Reg’ts.

Of course, with the information above all of us can join the organizations listed above. It is good to note that membership in the Children of the American Revolution could bring with it scholarships. Something to look into.

Now enjoy your read and I'll continue to bring our family's past into view. Remember, A family is stronger when it knows its roots. Our ancestors and their stories are the blood in our veins.
Please share this information with your children. Give them a sense of pride, knowing who they descended from and what their possibilities are as members of one of America's Great Families.

Simply,
Victor

The Rev. Thomas Carter. Our 9th Great Grandfather. A Humble and Pious Man.

A Painting of our Great Grandfather's Ordination as the First Minister
Ordained into the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1642.

From the Fortress of Solitude.
Overlooking the Pleasant Grove

Dear Clan,
Tonight I want to introduce you to our 9th Great Grandfather, the Rev. Thomas Carter (1608 to Sept. 5, 1684). He was a Puritan Minister and the first minister ordained in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1642. He was a humble and honest man that was loved by his community.

A Biography of our 9th Great Grandfather:

The Rev. Thomas Carter was a admitted to St. John's College, Cambridge University, April 1, 1626. He received his Bachelor of Arts in January, 1629/30, and his Master of Arts in 1633.

It is interesting to note that our Great Grandfather, the Rev. Thomas Carter was for several years (1628-1633) a fellow student at Cambridge University with the Rev. John Harvard, the founder of Harvard College. They both came to America and settled in neighboring towns. It is probable that they were well acquainted while at the university. Both entered the ministry. Both were made freemen of the Colony of Massachusetts in the same year, 1637. The next authentic information on Thomas Carter is the fact of his being admitted a freeman of Dedham, Mass., March 9, 1636/7 . . . being "presented" by Philemon Dalton. (Dedham Records.)

From the records it seems that Thomas Carter was preaching in Dedham, and at this time was filling the office of Elder in the church at Watertown. In Watertown, Thomas Carter was granted a homestead of ten acres and, in 1642, a farm of 92 acres and a lot in the town plot.

Thomas Carter preached in Woburn for the first time Dec. 4, 1641. This was the second service of public worship ever held in the new town. His sermon was based on a passage in Gen 12. The town records wrote of the sermon "incouraging to trust in the Lord for the Means." This sermon or his previous reputation seems to have impressed the people of Woburn, for the Town Records state: 1641, Dec. 19.

“They now all at Mr Carter, who was very backward to promise anything, but only to bee helpful to them at sum tims which was very seldom."

The ordination of Mr. Carter as a minister came about as follows:

Aug. 14. A Church gathered at Woburn. Mr. Knowles, (assistant pastor of Watertown) Mr. Allen, (pastor of Dedham) Mr. Symes, Mr. Carter and divers other godly and faithful ministers of Christ held out the wright hand of fellowship in the name of the other Churches." After much persuasion, Mr. Carter finally yielded a reluctant consent and became the first minister in Woburn, being ordained November 22, 1642.

In Winthrop's "History of New England from 1630 to 1649” you can read the following account of the ceremony:

The village at the end of Charlestown bounds, was called Woburn when they gathered a church, and this day Mr Carter was ordained their pastor with the assistance of the elders of other Churches; some difference there was about his ordination; members fit to solemnize such an ordinance, they would desire some of the elders of the other Churches to have performed it; but others supposing it might be an occasion of introducing a dependency of Churches, etc., and so a presbytery, would not allow it, so it was performed by one of their own members, but not so well or orderly as it ought.

Capt. Edward Johnson, one of the principal founders both of the church and the town, was present on this occasion, and described the ordination in his "Wonder Working Providence" (published in 1654):

After he (Thomas Carter) had exercised in preaching and prayer the greater part of the day, two persons in the name of the Church laid their hands upon his head and said, We ordain thee Thomas Carter to be Pastor of this Church of Christ: then one of the elders present, desired of the Church, continued in prayer unto the Lord for his more especial assistance, of this his servant in his work, being a charge of such weighty importance as is the glory of God and the salvation of souls, that the very thought would make a man to tremble in the sense of his own inability to the work.

At his ordination, the town presented him with a house, which they built for his use, and also gave him a salary of £80 per year, one-fourth of which was to be in silver, the remainder in various necessaries of life, at current prices. This compensation was increased in 1674 by the grant of twenty cords of wood annually, to be delivered at his door. From the time of his ordination, Mr. Carter ministered constantly to his people without the help of an assistant for thirty-six years, when the Rev. Jabez Fox was chosen assistant pastor. He continued in the service with Mr. Fox for six years more until his death in 1684, thus making the entire period of his ministry at Woburn more than forty-two years.
Johnson, in his "Wonder Working Providence," speaks of Thomas Carter as a "reverend Godly Man, apt to teach the sound and wholesome truths of Christ" and one who had "much encreased with the encreasings of Christ Jesus."

Sewell, in his History of Woburn, says:

Mr. Carter appears to have lived secluded in great measure from the world; and hence he is seldom if ever named in history among the eminent clergymen of his day. Still there is abundant evidence that he was a very pious, exemplary man, an able and sound preacher of the gospel, and one whom God honored and prospered in his work. Under his ministrations, the church was greatly enlarged and built up, and the town flourished, and was for the most part in peace.

In the following lines addressed to him in the "Wonder Working Providence", Mr. Carter is represented as a plain, but faithful and successful minister; a pastor of distinguished humility and meekness, and in gentleness toward his flock:

"Carter, Christ hath his wayes thee taught, and thou Hast not withheld his Word, but unto all With's word of power dost cause stout souls to bow, And meek as lambs before thy Christ to fall: The antient truths, plain paths, they fit thee best, Thy humble heart all haughty acts puts by; The lowly heart, Christ learns his lovely hest, Thy meekness shews thy Christ to thee is nigh. Yet must thou shew, Christ makes his bold to be As lions, that none may his truths tread down; Pastoral power he hath invested thee With; it maintain, leest he on thee do frown. Thy youth thou has in this New England spent, Full sixteen years to water, plant and prune Trees taken up, and for that end here sent; Thy end's with Christ; with's saints his praises tune."

Family, I give you our 9th Great Grandfather, The Reverend Thomas Carter.

Simply,
Victor

Bob Coronato's 1st Painting for the 2010 Masters of the American West Show

Here are a few shots of my brother in law's new painting of Russell Means for 2010 Master's of the American West Art Show. Bob has an Amazing Talent. He and Lisa are heading to the show this weekend. Mom and Dad are in California watching their kids.