Obituary: Dan Davison

Transcribed from the newspaper Vermont Republican of Windsor, Vermont.  It was the 5 March 1821 issue on p. 3.  Accessed with GenealogyBank.com

DIED --  At Hartland, on the 31st Jan Deacon DAN DAVISON in the 85th year of his age.  It may truly be said of him, 'He came to his grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in, in his season.' He was a soldier in the last French war in America, and when the struggle commenced between Great Britain and America, he was a warm friend to his country, and had two tours in the Revolutionary Army.  He was a member of the Legislature of Vermont several years.  He was a kind neighbor and a faithful friend.   The order and regulations of his family, were exceeded by few, if any in the present age; and great spiritual blessings has he enjoyed in his family.  He was a Deacon in the Baptist Church in Hartland, from its first constitution, and one of its main pillars.  We think we shall not exaggerate if we say, he lived and died a Christain, in the consciences of all classes of people.--His funeral was attended on the 3d inst. by a great concourse of people.  A discourse was delivered on the occasion, by one whom he had appointed, from the words of Elisha when his master was taken away, recorded in II Kings, 11th chap, and a part of the 12th verse 'My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.'

'Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of theta man is peace.' 

The death notice immediately following was, coincidentally, one sentence for one of his grandsons, Paul Davison, who died at age 26 in Waterford.

It saddens me that the memory of this man did not survive to my generation.  When I began my research, I did not know that any of my ancestors had lived in New England, or that they had fought in wars, or that they were Deacons or even Baptist.  Deacon Dan Davison was one of my 4th-great-grandfather on my mother's side.

Thomas Bascom and Martha Boltwood Field

Thomas Bascom and his wife, Martha Boltwood Field, are two of my fourth-great-grandparents, through their son David.  This image is from Amherst town records and shows a family listing of their first five children.

Such a record does not prove the children were born in Amherst, but most certainy the family resided there for a time.  Given that David is the last listed, it is more likely that he was born there.  Town histories uniformly name Thomas Bascom as one of the early settlers of Amherst and there is no record of him returning to Warren, Worcester, Massachusetts prior to 1880.  Consequently, I believe it is fairly safe to say that David was born in Amherst.

The baptismal note added to the first Nathan's birth listing would seem to imply that he was at least baptized in Amherst.  It's probably also safe to list Martha and the second Nathan as born in Amherst.

Four more children were more probably born in Warren: Solomon, Asa, Absalon, and Simon.

Line of Descent
Thomas Bascom = Martha Boltwood Field
David Bascom = Lydia Palmer
Titus Davison = Hannah Field Bascom
Celim Homer Porter = Clara Evelene Davidson
my Grampa Porter


SOURCE

FHL186126 / online browse images / Amherst
Amherst, Hampshire: Births, marriages, deaths 1747-1836 vol 1 / clip from image 7 

Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1627-2001 at Familysearch.org

Obituary: Walter H. Hegwer

Thank you, thank you, and thank you again to the Mesa County Libraries!!

My goodness, I'm having a great summer finding obituaries!! This time it's not a subscription website but is a free service of a public library: Mesa County Libraries in Colorado.

Luckily for me, one of my great-grandmothers spent her last years in Grand Junction, Colorado. I know my great-grandmother is buried there and that Hegwer grave(s?) were purchased at the Orchard Mesa Cemetery in Grand Junction.  I know I've looked before but, this time, something went right and I stumbled into the Genealogy section of the library system's website.

I was shocked to find that they had four entries for "Hegwer" or related "Danes" surnames in their files. I was even more shocked to see that it appeared that they have a free service of providing e-copies of the related obituaries.  I filled out the form and now I have copies of obituaries from the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel for:

• Margaret Lavina (Richardson) (Hegwer) Danes, my great-grandmother
• Albert Wentling Danes, her second husband
• Walter Hegwer, one of her children who died young
• Myrtle "Mamie" May (Foltz) Hegwer, widow of Raymond Dudley Hegwer, another of Margaret's sons

The biggest news here is the info about work, residence, and illness for grand-uncle Walter.  And, I have his birthplace as Laveta, Costilla, Colorado rather than Pueblo.  The clipping is from the 18 Feb 1908 issue on p. 8.

The moral of the story is to always check the library where family lived and to recheck it periodically...the digital world is changing...!

Great Goodness: Sixth Blogiversary, 2009 to 2015

Wow...I almost missed it!  I sat down to send a note to Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers and High-Definition Genealogy (among others) and suddenly flashed on 'what date is this?!'

State of the Blog  --  Writing
I haven't posted annual goals for  GreatGreats for ages.  Considering I only blogged once in all of 2014, my unstated goal this year was just to get back in the rhythm.  I'm feeling pretty good about 2015: eighteen posts since last (uncelebrated) blogiversary.

On the other hand, I haven't done as many as I'd planned on DNA in my genealogy research.  I have to do better with my DNA research in general.

I resumed First-Friday-Folder posts, but I've missed a couple.  It's really hard when the first of the month is Thursday or Friday...I must plan ahead!!  I'm very happy that I've scheduled regular review of existing folders and the related family group sheet.  The biggest thing I saw recently is that while I have always written source citations, many  of the earlier ones are lacking any written, specific explanation of specifically what my thought process had been.

State of the Blog  --  Cosmetics
I'm feeling a serious urge to redecorate, ie redesign the blog.  Ideas?  Comments?  My husband says my font size is too small.  With the ease of manipulating screens nowadays, is that an issue for anyone?  Anyway, the next time you visit GreatGreats, don't be surprised if it has a new look!

First Friday Folder: David Bascom & Lydia Palmer

David Bascom and Lydia are third great-grandparents on my mother's side.  I selected this folder for review because, if I decide to participate in NEHGS' new database project  Early Vermont Settlers to 1784, Lydia's father, Zenas Palmer, is a viable candidate.  Before working on Zenas, I better make sure the more recent generation is in good shape….   (Read the very first one here to review what I mean by First Friday Folder.)

The Couple
Lydia PALMER was born in 1789 in Fairfax, Franklin, Vermont, the daughter of Zenas Palmer and Lydia Marshall.   David BASCOM, son of Thomas Bascom and Martha Field, was born 8 Aug 1780 in Amherst, Hampshire, Massachusetts.  David was in Fairfax by 5 Dec 1805 when he married Lydia.  They lived there the rest of their lives and had nine children.  David died 21 May 1859 and Lydia died just three months later, 29 Aug 1859. They, and many members of their families, are buried in Sanderson Corners Cemetery in Fairfax and most are listed at Find A Grave.

The Folder
The folder's contents were is relatively good shape, organized and nicely grouped.  There were even three unnecessary duplicate pages to remove and file in the trash!  I was feeling pretty good until I reviewed the family group sheet. While my citations were thorough enough to find the related source, I could not tell what-in-the-world I had been thinking…what did that page have to do with the event to which I had linked it?!  I probably thought the link was obvious…something I'd "never" forget...

The Plan

• FHL #28213 has been on my to-do list for some time: Now is the time to order these early Fairfax Town Records and write really thorough citations and proof statements as appropriate!
• Review all citations for this couple and re-research and/or rewrite as needed.
• Investigate two very promising DNA match in this line at Ancestry.com and another at FTDNA

Conclusions

•  I need to remember that I am writing citations not for me today, but for me later when I am not in the midst of solving that problem and I no longer remember what I was thinking at the time.  My  new dream is to someday review a folder that does not embarrass me….
• I have to figure out a rationale or procedure on how to prioritize and rank which DNA matches to pursue.  There are just too many to do them all justice.