Favorite breakfast reading?

A REPORT of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston containing the Selectmen's Minutes from 1754 through 1763 printed in Boston by Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers, No 39 Arch Street. 1887. 

Riveting. If you are into that sort of thing.

I have been reading the minutes because I am searching for information regarding my ancestors in Boston. I'm looking for Stoddards (haven't found any mention so far) and Deans (I have).

Excerpt from the minutes- 1761 page 163.

" Capt. James Dean of Schooner Endeavor belonging to Casco Bay was sent for, and Bonds demanded of him to indemnifie the Town from any Charge that may arise on Account of Margaret Hominia, brought by him into this Town from Hallifax."

I'm not sure what that is all about, but I think that is my relative. I do have a James Dean, brother to my known Ephraim Dean in my family tree...they were sons of Thomas and Lydia Dean. Ephraim was born in Barnstable, MA and James was born Scarborough, ME. Ephraim, James and their brother William were all Captains of ships, sailing between Boston and Nova Scotia or Newfoundland. I need to do some more sleuthing to fill in some rather large gaps, but I do think this is "my" James Dean. William Dean lived in Boston on Milk Street with his wife Mary (Snow). Wish I could find some more references to William...

Sometimes the quiet ones slip through the cracks of time. It's a quandry... do I wish my relatives were more famous - or infamous - that they would be mentioned more often? Every time I see their name in print I feel that they are reaching out to me in an enticing way ... follow this clue and find out who I am.

More from the City of Boston Selectmen's minutes next time.

Synchronicity... you have to love it.

I scanned some more photos yesterday. This batch came from Mom's desk. Again, most are identified, but some are not. I sat down this morning to look them over and rename the photos - somehow I don't think scan0013 is going to be descriptive enough.

I picked out a photo at random, which turns out to be a picture of Amelia and Henry Stoddard having a meal at the dining table. Breakfast I think, since Henry appears to be reading the newspaper, and there is a lot of light streaming in from the outside.

Henry and Amelia Stoddard's dining room

I was looking at the picture, noticing that Amelia didn't look all that happy about having her picture taken, then the chandelier caught my eye ... lovely shaped glass covers... and the bas relief frieze above the fireplace mirror. Traveling around the picture my eyes settled on the chair by the window. Oh! I've seen that chair before!

A couple of days ago Alex's issue of Fine Woodworking came and guess what is on the back cover?

How is that for coincidence? The article is about a student of Boston's North Bennet Street School (known for producing very fine woodworkers) and his reproduction Federal-era heartback chair. The article continues to describe how Steve Brown found the chair in a book, tracked it down to the Philadelphia Museum of Art where he was permitted to take measurements and trace the original. Heartback chairs were popular in Philadelphia around 1800.

You just never can predict where you will find something interesting about your family.

The next photo may the one we will never figure out. Let me know if you have any ideas...

If all else fails, there is a woman, Maureen Taylor, who specializes in identifying old photographs. Maybe I will send it to her to help us figure it out.



Cheers!