The only time I recall my mother saying anything that sounded like an interest in genealogy was in 1977 when she asked me to drive her from Massachusetts up through the area of New Hampshire where she was born and raised. She wanted to show us the house she was born in and the foundations of the farm houses that had belonged to her grandfather and great grandfather. I don't recall her mentioning the fact that she had gotten some coaching on the whereabouts of our ancestor's cellar holes but this letter from my mother's sister Alice makes it pretty clear she had some help.
Alice was definitely into genealogy. Her letter states she was "going through the Currier history box." She also mentions her interest in knowing what condition "Hillside Farm" is in. I believe she's referring to the farm house my mother was born in. I'm not sure if Alice was born there too but the fact that she was interested in the home's condition leads me to think that's a good possibility. In any case the 1977 search was successful in finding both the farmhouse and at least one of the cellar holes. When we arrived at the house it was in beautiful condition situated in a clearing at the end of a winding dirt road and surrounded by huge trees. It appeared to be freshly painted, white with black shutters. We met the owners who had turned it into a summer home and who graciously allowed us to tour inside. My mother showed us the room designated as her nursery, having no problem locating it on the second floor over 70 years after she lived there. For some reason I never took a photo of the house. Dumb but true. I did take photos of one cellar hole. I don't recall if we found two cellar holes or just the one. I'm hoping I can go back to New Hampshire and take another look. I'm fairly certain I can find the farm house. Whether or not I'll have the same success with the cellar hole(s) is another story but I hope to give it a shot in the near future.
I treasure both of these letters. They were written by aunts that I knew and loved. I interacted with them in my life and their lives and they knew me. Each time I read them I can hear their voices and picture them clearly. The letters are fairly "recent" documents when compared to most genealogy records my research focuses on. Often the first question I hear after confessing my interest in family research is, "how far back have you been able to trace your ancestors?" While that's an interesting issue it's not what excites me about genealogy. Admittedly it's easier to find documentation of ancestors' lives within the last 150 years or so than it is trying to go back further in history to the 18th or 17th centuries and beyond. From what research I've been able to find, record keeping virtually flourished in the 19th century, both public records and private. So the "fishing" is better in the 19th and 20th centuries, sometimes with "fish" (clues) jumping into my boat without me having to even bait the hook! (I'm not a fisherman but the analogy seems appropriate). And to answer the standard inquiry of how far back?....James Currier (1590 - 1616) on my mother's side and Robert King (1639 - 1680) on my father's side. And that's just the Currier and King surnames. I've been able to trace my grandmothers' families back to similar time periods. My grandmother Currier was apparently bitten by the genealogy bug as evidenced by the next letter from a gentleman named Ballard Crockett in 1926. Both Ballard and my grandmother shared connection to the Webber family tree. Reading the letter reveals Mr. Crockett to be a fastidious researcher and lacking no confidence in his genealogy abilities. I have no clue what my grandmother's "letter and contents noted" he refers to in his reply letter but he obviously felt obligated to set the record straight!
Ballard was my second cousin 1 x removed. That's how Ancestry.com calculates it. And he died in 1975 at the age of 82. But our physical paths never crossed so his letter does not have the same personal connection as those of my Aunt Nellie and Aunt Alice. Nevertheless, we are obviously fellow comrades in research and the letter itself serves as testimony that my grandmother may well have belonged to the same club...genealogy nuts! I've only recently come across this letter and haven't really dug into the facts Cousin Ballard cites. But I will, in time. He may be my cousin but that doesn't mean I have to buy into the names and dates he listed without trying to corroborate with other records.
Ballard Crockett was already in my family tree base I've constructed on the Ancestry.com website. While doing some research on the site pertaining to the Webbers I became connected with a descendant of Ballard and we have shared notes and records data for the last couple of years. But the next letter in my collection of old letters was from someone in the Currier family called Edwin Martin Currier. I had no such name in my website base. In reading the clues Edwin included in his letter to identify himself, I was able to "branch out" on my tree and find the connection.
The date of this letter, November 2nd in what I now believe was the year 1871, was the first of two I have in the collection my mother left me. I also believe the "Dear Sir" he addresses was my great great grandfather, John Currier. I base that on Edwin's reference to "your cousin, James H. Currier...I am his younger son." (Thank you Edwin for that statement which serves as another fish leaping out of the water into my genealogy boat)! James Hale Currier (1808 - 1893) was the son of Jonathan Currier (1787 - 1863). Johnathan was a brother, one of six, of Joseph Currier (1773 - 1854). Joseph was the father of my great great grandfather, John Currier of Langdon, NH. Joseph and his son John had homes in Langdon, remnants of which are the cellar holes my Aunt Alice described. So there's the connection. Edwin Martin Currier is another cousin! This time, my second cousin, 3 x removed. (Ancestry.com did the math, not me). But aside from all that and the wealth of information I've been able to add to my tree is the fact that Edwin states, "I have formed the plan of writing a genealogical record of the Curriers." TA-DAHHH !! Another genealogy nut in the family! And this guy wasn't messin' around, either! His request is the full Monty of genealogical data..."Will you be at the trouble to collect and send to me, all needful information that you can get respecting the members of your fathers family, names of all his descendants, births, deaths, marriages, etc, giving dates as much as you can, places of residence and whatever else you may think best."
I wish I knew what my great great grandfather's response to this was. He did reply as evidenced by another letter from Edwin dated November 10th, giving thanks for the interest "you take in my contemplated work." Apparently John asked a few questions of his own that Edwin attempts to answer. And more clues swim on board with that letter, too, citing relocation of part of the Curriers to Ohio.
The letters are interesting and informative to work with, not to mention enjoyable to work alongside my cousin of so many years ago. Edwin and his family migrated from New Hampshire to Lowell, Massachusetts where, thanks to City Directory listings I was able to trace his life and work up to 1920 where he was listed on the Federal Census as an "inmate" at a home for aged men. Born in 1844, Edwin was 76 at the time. His occupations according the the city directories show him progressing from at first, a wire worker, briefly an insurance agent, then for many years a clerk. A brief stint as a packer was followed by many years with the job title of shipping clerk. What intrigued me most was a 1916 listing of occupation as a writer. And sure enough, I discovered that Edwin M. Currier was indeed a writer, and a published writer at that! The January 1913 edition of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register lists under "Recent Books" a publication by Edwin M. Currier of an "Address or historical sketch delivered at a Currier Family Reunion, Toledo, Ohio, October 31, 1910." In 1913 the 19 page, 8 chart publication was selling for $1.00. There is a copy of this work at the library of the New England Historical Society in Boston but nothing available on line. As soon as I can I will be visiting the library to utilize my membership benefits to photocopy Edwin's work.
I'm in awe of the volume of work it would take for my ancestors to compile information on their family history. Johnathan and Joseph Currier, the brothers who formed the link between the Curriers in my family and those in Edwin's were two of the eleven children of Nathaniel Currier (1741 - 1826). Edwin's "contemplated work" was a gigantic endeavor. I wonder how much and the quality of responses he was able to generate from letters to all the branches. I've also seen record of his notices in the NEH &G Register citing findings as well as inquiries over the late 1800's as he compiled his work. And all I have to do is plug in to the Internet websites that deal with genealogy. My hat's off to Edwin. I may have landed more fish in a short period of time than he could have hoped to compile in a lifetime. But you know what? He was probably a better "fisherman" than I'll ever be. Way to go, Edwin!! With your work along with Ballard's and my mother and both my Aunts Nellie and Alice, I feel inspired to keep looking...so my search goes on.
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