Honor Roll Project: Norwalk, CT – Civil War

In recognition of those who have served our country in the military, Heather Wilkinson Rojo of the Nutfield Genealogy blog started the Honor Roll Project. It’s an opportunity to publicly document the names on military memorials around the world, thus making them easily searchable on the internet for people who are looking for them!

Norwalk, CT has a lot of memorials. They are located near the beach, in parks, even at City Hall. There is one obscure memorial that I came across recently on the front lawn of the Norwalk Public Library on Belden Avenue:

Civil War memorial at Norwalk Library. Author’s collection.

It reads:

IN MEMORY OF
WILLIAM A. BUCKINGHAM
WAR GOVERNOR OF CONN. 1861-1865

AND IN HONOR OF OUR DEPARTED COMRADES
OAK TREE PLANTED IN 1909 BY
BUCKINGHAM POST NO. 12 G.A.R.

TABLET ERECTED BY SURVIVING MEMBERS NOV. 11 1926

GEORGE W. RAYMOND      G.A. FRANKE
NICHOLAS KLINE      GEORGE A. WHITE      SAMUEL W. MCGOWAN
ANDREW GEDDES      CYRUS RUSCOE           WILLIAM B. DOUGLAS

I would like to document more of the memorials here in town, but that is going to take some time, as I believe there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of names to transcribe! So stay tuned during the Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day seasons.

Dissecting Ivory Goodwin’s Probate Record

I could have included Ivory Goodwin’s probate details in my post about him and Jerusha, but I thought it would be a good idea to go through the exercise of analyzing the probate file itself. The file is fourteen pages long, and a number of those pages are undated envelopes to hold the other documents in the file. The pages appear to be out of chronological order, so I will try to review them in order.

As we know, Ivory passed away on February 19, 1866 in Berwick, York County, Maine. His survivors included his wife Jerusha, and their children Ivory H., Lucy Colomy Foss, Ada Jane Goldsmith, Charles W., and John M. (and perhaps Mary F., if alive). All the children were adults except for John, who was about 13.

The first document, dated February 23, 1866, appears to be Jerusha’s petition to have Ivory H., who was living in Dover, Strafford County, New Hampshire, be administrator of his father’s estate. The reason was “there being no son or daughter of age nearby in this state”. This tells me that all the children (except John, of course) have moved away. Perhaps Ivory H. lived closest to Jerusha; after all, Strafford and York counties are only separated by Salmon Falls River. Jerusha signed this document with an “X” (“her mark”). This appointment was approved on May 1 by Judge E.E. Bourne in Saco, Maine.

Also dated May 1 is a bond, signed by Ichabod G. Jordon and George Moore of Berwick, pledging themselves as sureties for Ivory H. to perform his duties as administrator. It seems that the first duty was to inventory the estate within three months. The document is signed by both men and by Ivory. The sureties were bound $1600 to the court. We also learn that the judge’s full name is “Edward E. Bourne”.

Ivory H. makes a statement dated October 2, 1866 that his father died intestate (without a will), and that Ivory’s personal property was not sufficient to pay the court fees, so a sale of real estate would be necessary. The judge signed off on this document.

On October 2, 1866 – Ivory H., who now lives in Wolfeborough, Carroll County, NH, signs a new bond with sureties Ichabod G. Jordon, and Alonzo B. Wentworth. bound to Judge Bourne for $1600. Connected with Ivory being licensed to sell the real estate.

October 3, 1866 Administrator’s Sale – to sell Ivory’s real estate at public auction at the store of Walker & Farmington in Berwick on November 10. Includes description of his land: two acres and buildings bound Easterly by Sullivan Lane, Southerly by Ivory M. Nute’s land, Westerly & Northerly by Samuel W. Fox. Also part of the sale: the family pew at Cranberry Meadow Meeting House. (through a little internet research, I found that Cranberry Meadow Meeting House was the early incarnation of Berwick’s current Methodist Church, so now I know the family was Methodist.) Ivory H. signed two statements, which were sworn before Ichabod G. Jordon, Justice of the Peace (remember, he was one of the sureties). One statement was regarding posting notifications for the sale, and the other was regarding the payment of $200 for the debts and charges of the sale. This page with its statements was returned to Judge Bourne, who signed on January 1, 1867. This page gives some very specific information about where Ivory and Jerusha lived in Berwick. Although Sullivan Lane no longer exists, there is a Sullivan Street. More on the land later.

There is a small, undated handwritten document that states “Alexander Junkins appointed guardian ad litem”, initialed “EEB”. After some research, I found out a guardian ad litem is appointed by the court to look after the interests of any minor children (this case being John). Alex signed a brief statement stating “I have had notice of [this petition] and see no objection to the sale as negotiated. Alex Junkins”

November 6, 1866 – petition by Jerusha for an allowance from Ivory’s estate. She was granted ninety-seven dollars and seventy-eight cents.

January 1, 1867 – First account of Ivory’s estate. Basically, a balance sheet. Amount of personal estate plus sums received = $630.78 (outlined on Schedule A). Amount of sums paid on Schedule B, plus publication of notices = $694.41.

Schedule A: rent received from Real Estate from John S. Marsh & Abel Baxter; sale of church pew ($1), and sale of real estate to Henry Clements. Schedule B: various bills; some seem to be amounts owed to the sureties and others, some to family members: Jennie Goldsmith, Jerusha, Lucy A. Colomy AND Lucy A. Foss (did Lucy lend money to Ivory during her then two marriages?), taxes, and some money lent to Ivory by Ivory H. The name of the gentleman who bought the real estate was a big clue for me in locating whereabouts Ivory and Jerusha lived. On the website [Historic Map Works], I found an 1870 map of Berwick, and I followed Sullivan Lane. Then I found Henry Clements–this was where the Goodwins had lived! I compared that map to a modern map, and was able to ascertain approximately where the land is!  (It seems that this location is now on Knox Lane.)

Approximate location of Ivory Goodwin’s land. Courtesy Google Earth.

To conclude, the probate packet may not have answered all my questions about Ivory Goodwin, but it sure lent more information to color my picture of him.

Fourth Great-Grandparents Ivory Goodwin and Jerusha Taunt

Now we’ve come to my fourth great-grandparents, Ivory Goodwin and Jerusha Taunt. I’m awfully curious about this couple who raised the thrice-married bigamist Lucy Goodwin and her alcoholic brother John, as well as the other siblings who I know even less about. What was it about this family? In the next couple of posts, I’ll share what I have been able to find about them, but unfortunately there isn’t much in the way of explanation of character.

Ivory and Jerusha’s marriage started on January 25, 1824 in Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. I always wondered how in the world they met, since Ivory was from Berwick, York County, Maine and Jerusha was from Braintree. Was Ivory in Boston, selling farm products? Regardless, the two made their home up in Berwick.

See the distance between Ivory + Jerusha? Courtesy Google Earth Pro.

Now let’s look at each one individually:

Ivory

Ivory was the third child of four and second son of Emery Goodwin and Mary “Polly” Hamilton. He was born on December 28, 1803 in Berwick, York County, Massachusetts. (Maine did not become a state until 1820.)

By the 1850 Census, Ivory was an established farmer who owned twelve acres of land valued at $1,000, which was on par with his neighbors. According to the Agricultural Schedule, it seems that his farm was a little smaller than the surrounding farms.

By the 1860 Census, however, Ivory’s fortunes seemed to take a turn for the worse. He was now working as a shoemaker and land was valued at $600 (judging by the names of his neighbors, this does not seem to be the same twelve acres that he used to own).

It seems that Ivory may have been involved in the local Democratic Party. On August 19, 1863, an Ivory Goodwin is listed as one of the secretaries of the Democratic Assembly in Alfred, York County, Maine.

Ivory passed away in Berwick at the age of 63 on February 19, 1866.

Jerusha

Jerusha B. Taunt was born on May 28, 1807 in Braintree, MA. I suspect that her middle initial stood for Billings, as she was the sixth of the eight children of Seth Billings Taunt and Anna Capernaum. (In fact, she was the second Jerusha born to them).

As I stated in telling her grandson Frank Colomy’s story, I suspect that Frank went to live with her, Ivory and John sometime around 1865, when his mother Lucy married Benjamin Foss.

Once Ivory died, I believe that Jerusha, John and Frank went to live with Lucy and Benjamin. (John later moved in with his brother Charles.)

By 1870, Jerusha, Lucy and the family were living in Lynn, Essex County, MA. Jerusha passed away on October 20, 1870 of paralysis. I’m not sure if it was a deteriorating condition, or the result of an accident or sickness.

Both Ivory and Jerusha are buried in Pine Hill Cemetery at Dover, Strafford County, NH.

Fourth Great-Uncle Ivory H. Goodwin

Ivory H. Goodwin was born November 26, 1825 in Berwick, York County, ME. He was the oldest child of Ivory Goodwin and Jerusha Taunt. I’m not sure what his middle initial stood for, but my guess is that it might be “Hamilton”, after Ivory Sr.’s mother’s maiden name.

As an adult, Ivory became a shoemaker and married Mary Elizabeth Amazeen on November 20, 1848 in New Castle, Rockingham County, NH. Their children were:

• Penelope Virginia (sometimes called Nellie) born July 17, 1851 in New Castle
• William E., born 1853 in New Castle
• unnamed twin daughters who were stillborn on December 23, 1858 in Farmington, Strafford County, NH

Sometime between 1858 and 1860, the family moved to Dover, Strafford County, NH, where Ivory continued to work as a shoemaker. According to the 1860 Census, he did not own any land.

Ivory’s father Ivory had died on February 19, 1866, so on May 1, Ivory H. was appointed the administrator of his father’s estate. (Jerusha had waived her right as executrix, I assume because she may have been in poor health, to be discussed in a later post.) Since Ivory Sr. died without a will, it took some time (until early 1867) for the estate to be settled.

Ivory H. Goodwin’s signature on his father’s probate record. Courtesy FamilySearch.

It seems that barely any time had passed when Ivory himself died on June 8, 1868 at the age of 43 in Wolfborough, Carroll County, NH, where the family had moved in 1866. I have no idea how he died or where he was buried.

Mary went on to remarry Eli Sherman on June 30, 1877. They went on to live in Portsmouth, Rockingham County, NH and have children of their own. Eli died in 1900 and Mary followed much later in 1920.

Penelope ended up marrying twice. The first time was to George Hale on October 28, 1871 in Lynn, Essex County, MA (why was she in Lynn?), and he and Penelope were no longer together as of the 1880 Census (she is shown as still married but living with her mother as of 1880). She remarried to George M. Ayers on January 8, 1883 in Portsmouth. They were together but childless until George’s death prior to 1900. Nellie herself passed away at the Portsmouth home of her half-sister on June 21, 1931.

William’s story seems most tragic to me. He lived away from home by 1870 (at age 16), boarding with Ebenezer Wentworth’s family in Milton, Strafford County, NH (I wonder why?); then in 1880, he was boarding with the Henry Redlington family in Abington, Plymouth County, MA. On November 28, 1883, he and Henry’s daughter Nellie were wed in New Castle, NH. He died only three years later on November 23, 1886 in Abington of what looks like “alithisis”.