In laws, no relation

Asa Lowe b. 1825

/ Kirstin Miller

Asa Lowe, no relation, friend of William Flood, great grandpa of Elizabeth Speedy, my grandpa.

Asa Lowe and William Flood were born in Vermont. They appear to have left Vermont together for Delaware County, Iowa. In Delaware County Asa married Amelia Henderson in 1846 and William married Maria Dresser around 1853. By 1854 Asa’s family and William were in Butler County, Iowa. William’s wife had died, he lived with Asa and family until he married Delia Angell in 1857. Asa Lowe is the witness of William and Delia’s marriage record.

On June 6, 1854, Asa made a claim on 80 acres of land in Butler Township. September 15, 1857, he filed a plat for the village of Lowell. “There is no explanation for the origin of the name but one can surmise that Mr. Lowe added the two letters to his name in order to avoid (unsuccessfully) the name of Lowtown. The cemetery, a half mile west, and the nearest country school to the south, were given the official name Lowell.” In 1875 the flour and saw mills fell in to the Shell Rock and “Lowell joined Butler Center as ghost towns with only a cemetery to mark its existence”.

Asa and his family left Iowa for Sacramento, California. In Sacramento, Asa was a fruit grower and a member of the National Grange, “a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and agriculture”.

National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry at Wikipedia

At a July 13, 1885 meeting, “Held at Grangers’ Hall Last Saturday, An Association to be Formed. Another meeting of fruit-growers was held at Grangers’ Hall, in this city, on Saturday. Asa Lowe was elected Chairman of the meeting, and E. Greer, Secretary … forming an association for mutual protection and benefit, and especially with a view to improve the present prices for fruits.”

Asa died on January 1, 1888 and is buried in Elder Creek Cemetery, Florin, California.

Sources

Ezra Shattuck b. 1751

/ Kirstin Miller

Ezra Shattuck husband of Rebecca Connable, 3rd great aunt of Faber Miller, my grandpa.

Ezra Shattuck was born August 5, 1751 in Petersham, Worcester, Massachusetts. Ezra was in Leyden, Massachusetts, 20 miles northwest, where he built a mill. He married Rebecca Connable on January 22, 1778 in Leyden. Bernardston, Deerfield and Leyden are all in Franklin County, Massachusetts, within 5 miles. Ezra and Rebecca with other Connable families lived in this area. Ezra was a shoemaker … for the Dorrellites.
William Dorrell was a 6 foot, 300 pound religious leader, founder of the Dorrellites. His religion “spread from neighborhood to neighborhood, respectable people … cast in their lot with their humanitarian leader”. Dorrell preached against killing living things, and didn’t use animal materials for food, clothing, housewares, anything. The majority of his followers wore wooden shoes made by one of their number, Ezra Shattuck.” My sister Angie and nephew Dallas Hobbs on a visit to Deerfield, Massachusetts saw these shoes and shared this photo. The shoes are at Memorial Hall in Deerfield, MA.

Shoes of the Dorrellites at Memorial Hall Museum‘s

Ezra and Rebecca had 10 children, 2 daughters married Dorrell brothers. Ezra died August 8, 1816, Rebecca died in March, 1816. Both are buried at Beaver Meadow Cemetery in Leyden, MA. Ezra’s son Rufus was in charge of his dad’s estate and putting together an inventory. Ezra’s inventory included boots & shoes, 8 earthen plates, an earthen tea set, 4 large and 6 small spoons, 2 flannel shirts, a brown coat and great coat, blankets and an hour glass.

Sources

Elizabeth Salome Myers b. 1842

/ Kirstin Miller

Elizabeth Salome (Sally) Myers married Henry F Stewart, 1st cousin 4 times removed, in about 1867. In the midst of the Civil War, Sally was a teacher in Gettysburg, PA. Most in Gettysburg understood the war could come closer to their homes, the Confederate Army was close by at Antietam. On July 1 of 1863  school was out for the summer and the battles began in Gettysburg. Sally was 21 and instantly became a nurse to the wounded and dying soldiers.

Alexander Stewart of the 109th Pennsylvania Volunteers was Sally’s first patient. She asked the soldier what he needed, he answered nothing. He understood he was going to die. Maybe Sally helped Alexander write a last letter to his family, she did this for many soldiers. Alexander’s family met Sally when they came to Gettysburg to pick up their son’s corpse. The Stewart family thanked Sally for all she had done. Later that summer Sally had a letter form Alexander’s brother Henry. Henry Stewart was a minister, he and Sally kept in touch. Eventually Henry and his mom moved to Gettysburg. Henry and Sally continued their friendship and then married.

Parts of Sally’s story are here at Civil War Sources and here at GettysburgTimes.com. I’ve just ordered Sally’s Gettysburg diary The Ties of the Past, on Ebay, thank you SeattleGoodwillBooks.

Stewart, Salome M, and Sarah S. Rodgers. The Ties of the Past: The Gettysburg Diaries of Salome Myers Stewart, 1854-1922. Gettysburg, PA: Thomas Publications, 1996. Print.

 

Sarah Towne b. 1658

/ Kirstin Miller

Unrelated (2nd wife of 9th great grandfather) but what a story, Sarah Towne on RootsMagic tree.

Sarah Towne Bridges Cloyes, had 2 sisters Rebecca and Mary, who were tried and  jailed during the Salem witch trials. After defending her sister Rebecca Nurse and being so frustrated by the implausibility or stupidity of the situation, she walked out of the church and purposefully slammed the door– most likely never, ever done before or since? After slamming the church door Sarah is also accused of being a witch.

All three sisters: Sarah Towne Cloyes, Rebecca Towne Nurse and Mary Towne Easty are put in jail. Rebecca, 71 and Mary, 58 were both hanged in 1692.  Ann Putnam, age 13, had accused 62 women of witchcraft. In 1706 she publicly apologized for her lies, her actions and specifically the harm she caused for the Towne sisters and their families. The Towne family forgave Ann Putnam.

Sarah’s husband Peter either helped Sarah escape from jail or he paid for Sarah’s release, details are sketchy. Sarah and Peter went southwest to Danforth’s Plantation, now Framingham. They probably knew this was a safe place and later on received land from Deputy Governor Thomas Danforth who released 800 acres to families fleeing Salem. There is so much history to the Salem witch hysteria. A person could spend years reading the surviving primary documents and research on those involved. 

Author Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book Young Goodman Brown refers to Sarah Cloyes. Word is the author changed the spelling of his name so he wouldn’t be associated with John Hathorne, his great great grandfather and the only judge not to apologize or question his role in the horror of the Salem witch hysteria. screenshot.png

The home of Sarah and Peter Cloyes built ca. 1690 is still standing and currently going through majors restoration. The house is at 657 Salem End Road, Framingham, MA; visit the restoration website.  *update* The restoration site is still there but as of Feb 2019 this house is redone and on the market for $900,000. *update* On the outside the house looks about the same, inside it looks like any other newer home, bright and shiny, but maybe lacking character.

At Wikipedia Salem witch trials:

The episode is one of Colonial America’s most notorious cases of mass hysteria.

It has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a vivid cautionary tale about the dangers of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations, and lapses in due process.