HICUZ 104

HI CUZ Blog 104

Copyright 1990 et seq, Donald Rowe

Reminder, your acceptance of this newsletter signifies that you will not use its contents to alter, and thus disrespect in any form or way, the historical religious beliefs, no matter what they were – or were not – of family members mentioned herein. This reminder specifically refers to performing LDS ordinances using any of the data in this or other HICUZ newsletters or blog posts.

 

Source Information: Ancestry.com. Manchester, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1573-1812 (Cathedral) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.  Original data: Anglican Parish Registers. Manchester, England: Manchester Cathedral. Images produced by permission of Manchester Cathedral and Manchester City Council. Images may be used only for the purposes of the family history research in accordance with Ancestry’s website terms of use. At the request of the Manchester Diocese it is highlighted that the use of images for retrospective or proxy baptism is not permitted.

Comments from “CUZ” LIZ on the HICUZ Blog – this is what we call networking … I initially thought I was remiss in not noting the comment ages ago, but found I did in HICUZ 90 and 94.

Hello,

My 3rd great aunt Catherine Slattery was married to Michael McCarthy in Ste Catherine De Portneuf, Quebec, Canada in 1833. Catherine was born in Tralee in 1815 according to the 1851 Canadian Census. Her parents were Patrick Slattery and Catherine Pollard. I believe that Patrick Slattery's brother was Stephen Slattery. You have both of their names posted in the Graves’ settlement, Seignory of Neuville, Concessions of St John, St Mary. I did find a birth record for Michael Slattery who was Stephen Slattery and Hanorah Fitzmaurice's son and I did also find Stephen and Hanorah's marriage record in DUNMUNTANE, Kerry.

I have never been able to find any documents for Patrick and his wife Catherine Pollard as to where they came from in Ireland. I do believe that they also came from County Kerry. What is the Graves Settlement? This is the first I have ever heard of it. Thank you for establishing this Blog Spot. Liz on HI CUZ 87

Liz’s blog –     - provided a link for exploring Irish-Canadian roots with very helpful possibilities for serious researchers. Check out -  

          http://freeirishgenebooks.blogspot.com/  

The Graves Settlement … HICUZ 26 - Shanahan research – based on helpful and informative e-mail from cousin Yves Marcotte of St Basil, Quebec. He noted that most of St Basil's early settlers bought their land concessions from a rich tobacco merchant, John Graves, who owned and ran a large lumber mill in St Basil. John Graves bought the land, which became the "Ranges" termed St Jean, Ste Marie, St Charles, and Ste Madeleine, from Joseph Brassard Deschenaux, who was the Seigneur de Neuville as of Feb 10, 1828. The lands were given by France's King to selected clergy and noblemen, who then could sell/settle the land.

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Tales of tolerance in the good ole days??

Marion Littlefield, who later married my Uncle William Rowe, MD, was told not to cross the street, as those Catholic Rowes lived on that side of the street.

My maternal grandfather, Dennis O’Connor went to a labor meeting place and saw a sign outside – Irish need not apply. Later he was the only white who would work with ‘coloreds’ at the Brass works in Bridgeport, CT.

    

              Photo identified as – 198 - Bicknell Photo Service, Feb. 19, 1943, Portland, Maine

Warren (Bobby) Johnson; Ed, Frank and Katherine Greco; ‘Fitty’ Barrett; Dan ‘Dobby’ Rowe; Dennis “Denny’ Rowe – no rt/left or front positions noted on back.

Dennis is behind front wheel and partially hidden; Katherine Greco is behind him; Dan is at far upper right with foot on wagon wheel. Photo from brother Dennis Rowe’s collection.

  

WWII symbology on buggy above – three dots and a dash means V in Morse code for Victory. The code was deciphered by Cuz John Vilcheck.

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Wroe research – July and August searches using local library version of Ancestry.com yielded some interesting finds.

            James Wroe, born 1770 within confines of Manchester, Lancaster County – found his christening record on 09 December 1770 at St Mary, St Denys and St George church. I believe this church later became the Manchester Cathedral. Parents listed as Richard Wroe and Elizabeth (also as Elisabeth). James is my great, great, great grandfather. I additionally found James burial data – 23 April 1837 at St Mark’s Church in Cheetham. The burial records verified James parents as Richard and Elizabeth Wroe, in agreement with my records.

The records for five of his children (there may have been more) were found and are identified below. Two of the siblings, Elisabeth and Ann, were new discoveries. All five siblings, born in Cheetham, are the children of James and Ann (Plant) Wroe. James and Ann were my great, great, great grandparents:

            Richard Wroe, chr 29 June 1800. My great great grandfather

Elisabeth Wroe, chr 4 July 1802

Ann Wroe, chr 8 July 1804

            James Wroe, born 20 Apr 1809, chr 26 May 1809, died Feb 1813

            Thomas Wroe, born 22 Aug 1807, chr 26 May 1809

            Sarah Wroe, chr 27 Nov 1811

John Wroe, chr 3 Oct 1813

            William Wroe, chr 10 July 1816 (a new discovery as a sibling)

As a point of reference, here is our tree –

                        Family Tree, Donald Rowe – data as of August 2013

            Richard Wroe of Kersal, b abt 1680

                        ]

John Wroe, b 12 March 1713, m Mary abt 1687/90, of Salford, yeoman,

]  shopkeeper, d 1769  @ 56

30 Dec 1743

                        ]

2 Dec 1770

Salford

]                      

            Richard Wroe, b Cheetham, bap 29 June 1800, m Margaret Stansfield.

Manchester

]                      

Thomas Wroe/Rowe m Mary Ellen Meagher about 1852. Mailed to Boston in April 1853; enroute their first son William Joseph Rowe was born onboard the vessel Josephus.

MLFHS: Lancashire BMD - New Data (Births, marriages, deaths)

MLFHS member – Every time I see your announcements on the provision of more Parish register BMD, I make a  silent wish for someone somewhere to publish---and maybe they have
all the parish registers entries - for the period 1500 to 1800, in a particular county.

These are the ones that need experience, patience, and very good eyesight to read. I know the Victoria Society covered most of Lancashire, but other counties? I suppose some are not even photocopied?

MLFHS: Lancashire BMD - Response from another MLFHS member –

 New data has been added at www.lancashirebmd.org.uk as follows:
Added 25,610 Births for Manchester RD comprising: Chorlton-on-Medlock (1907-1927);

Rusholme (1924-1929)

Added 10,946 Births for Bolton RD comprising: Farnworth (1887-1896);Turton (1899-1904);

Western Bolton (1878-1879)

Family gatherings

            Rowe (Descendants of my aunt/uncle William and Marion (Littlefield) Rowe MD – in upper NY state at home of and reunion coordinated by First Cuz John Rowe.

            O’Connor – descendants of my grandparents Dennis Joseph and Bridget (Sullivan) O’Connor – coordinated by First Cuzzes Tom and John Carroll in CT.

            Gerhards/Gerharts – descendants of Johann Peter and Elisabeth (Schmidt) Gerhart – central PA – coordinated by Ross Gordon Gerhart III.

Nancy and I attended the O’Connor gathering this year, and saw a great number of cuzzes we had not seen for years. It was great, and I expect to hear from several via the BLOG and to assist a few with research.

Spent a day with older brother Dan in RI, and he shared a few tidbits about aunts, uncles and cousins.

Uncle Joe and Aunt Teresa “Teri (Taborel) Rowe - lived in Norwalk, CT at one time on a spit of land on the water. She was from a wealthy family of Mexico City with lawyers and doctors. Their two daughters, Teri and Elsi attended Hunters College in NY City. Joe and Teri, per Dan, were an ‘avante garde” couple and he overheard them say in conversation over drinks with my parents… telling their daughters “not to come home from college as virgins.” Dan said my straight laced, staid parents were apparently aghast at the idea. 

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Uncle Edwin “Ed” and Aunt Rose (Devine) Rowe – Uncle Ed drove workers to job sites in his pickup, and often came to visit Dad on Sundays. My Mother was unhappy with the family disruption and told Dad to take us out to eat after Church – to avoid Uncle Ed.

First cousin Bill Rowe, son of Uncle Ed and Aunt Rose, ran a well digging company.

First cousin Kathleen (Rowe), daughter of Uncle Francis Stephen “Frank” and aunt Sarah “Sadie’ (Coyne) Rowe, married Tom Dowd who was a RR conductor.

Second cousin Leonard “Lenny” Emery, son of Jane “Jenny” Rowe & Mr. Frank Emery (Jane the sister of my grandfather William Joseph and Catherine Ellen (Shanaghan) Rowe) often came to “the Farm” owned by my parents on Mitchell Road in Cape Elizabeth, ME in his Ford Woody.

Second cousin Jim McBrady, son of Anna (Rowe) & John E. McBrady (Anna another sister of my grandfather William Joseph and Catherine Ellen (Shanaghan) Rowe) served as a football line coach at Cheverus High school in Portland, ME when my brother Dan was a student there. Dan said our second cousin Jim McBrady would regularly knock Dan on his butt during practices.

My older brothers Dan, Dave and Den always bought Italian sandwiches from Mrs. DiBiase’s sandwich shop on Munjoy Hill in Portland, ME. Dan said she used to make fifteen at a time for twenty five cents. I can recall going there as a teenager when the four of us went skiing in Bridgeton, ME. The grandson of Mrs. DiBiase is now married to a cuz in Maine.

My father, Daniel Mannix Rowe MD served as the unofficial family doctor to family in and around Portland. His brother Bill, also a doctor, served the same function in Rumford, ME. The families living near “the Farm” on Mitchell Road used to pay for medical care in produce, this period being the Depression years through WWII.

Dan shared an exciting tale – he, Dave and Den were harassing a stud bull owned by the neighbor Harriman family in the 1940s. The bull treed them and they had to wait in the tree until Archie Harriman corralled the bull and let my brothers out of the tree.

Cousins by Countries

(Needs updating. Please send a Blog comment!)

England – Wroe, Porter, Stansfield, Davies, Plante, Taylor, Dixon, Lawler, Lawless,

                        Newell, Marshall, Hall, Hayes, Holland, Shrum, Brew, Grace, Cheetham, Ravold,

                        Heywood, Markland

Ireland – Meagher, Cleary, Larkin, McCarthy, Shanaghan, Sullivan, Murray, McBrady,

Keeble, Foley, O’Connor, Shea, Fitzgerald, Carroll, Coyne, Redmond,

French, Hanifin, Moloney, Maguire, Murphy, Devine, Caron, Mulcahy,

O’Neill, Curtin, Moriarity, Carmichael, Kindellan, Crotty, Love, McCabe, Landers, McLaughlin, Loughren, Mylar/Miller, Daley, Driscoll, Buckley,

Casey, Riordan, Lyons, Langan, Bowler,

Canada – Genest, Bryne, Cameron, Shanaghan, Cleary, Lawless, LeClerc, Leroux,

Marcotte, Larkin, Mylar, McCarthy, Corcoran, Kindellan, den

Ouden, Marcotte, Contois, Madore, Savard, Tardiff, Gillis,

Fraser, McDonald, MacKinnon, MacInnis, MacLeod, Mackenzie,

Maitland, Gayou, Morrisette, Germain, Hardy, Davies, Jobin, Thibodeau,

Slattery, Picfkford, Buckley, Agan, Power, Donovan, Prendergast,

Kennedy, Flanders,

Brazil – D’Oliveira,

Denmark – Hansen,

Germany – Gerhart, Shimer, Schmidt, Kunkel, Dech, Hertzel, Laundenslager,

Schiffert, Mattern, Der Linde, Stuhler, Jans, Van Gelder, Rotenslager,

Schantz, Bortz, Seib, Nickel,

Sweden – Bengtsson, Tandanaset, Knutsson

Italy – Innocenti, Sassi, Sofri, San Angelo, DiBiase, Bertolucci, Bignotti, Gai,

                        D’Ambrosio,

Mexico – Tamborel, Amador, Casa-Mayor, Diaz, Bermudez, Salazar, Reyes, Pena,

                        Garcia, Padilla, Giron, Chavez, Apodaca, Terrasa, Betancio,

                        Carillo, Candelaria, Fernandez, Delao, Loya, Guarjado, Ramigo, Delgado,

                        Madrid, Lucero, Trillo,

France – Tamborel, Tamborre, Case-Mayor, LaPolice, Arsenault,

Spain – Tamborel, Amador

Poland – Ktuciska, Novakowski,

Czech Republic – Tomusko, (? Bielecki), Vilcheck

Scotland - Gillis, Fraser, McDonald, MacKinnon, MacInnis, MacLeod, MacKenzie,

 Cameron, Gordon, Rawson, Buck, Russell, Byrne, Campbell,

SERENDIPTY (Doo!!!) – Occasionally every genealogist has a moment of sheer discovery. They are rare. I’ve had two thus far in researching roots. The first time occurred when I was reeling really fast through a roll of microfilm of Ste Basile parish records for Portneuf County Québec, Canada. When I stopped I looked at the screen and there was the signature of my great great grandfather Denis Shanaghan. It was an OMG!!

This past week I had another OMG moment. I was looking up the record of burial at St Mary’s parish near Manchester, England for a Wroe ancestor in 1768. There on the same page were recorded the burials for John Wroe, son of John Wroe – 21 Jan 1768; William Wroe, son of John and Mary Wroe – 24 Nov 1768, and Mary Wroe, dau of James and Elizabeth Wroe (James the son of John and Mary. John and Mary Wroe are my great, great, great, great grandparents. So John and Mary lost two children and a grandchild in one year.

Before sharing some Wroe discoveries I must acknowledge the TREMENDOUS contributions to our Rowe/Wroe family knowledge as the result of long hours and days of research by Wendy Wroe of England. While a family connection is not yet proven to her line Wendy discovered a HUGE amount of data on our line. Her efforts are the basis of my further work. Thanks Wendy!!!

New Wroe discoveries – a fuller accounting of the family of the above John and Mary Wroe –

some family members in plot 201, St Mary’s (**) Manchester

   Cathedral MC

                                                James, chr 1741, married 1761 to Elizabeth Heyes at MC. He d

                                                            1810 @ 76; she buried 27 May 1801 **

                                                Richard, chr 30 Dec 1743, marr Elizabeth Holland 2 Dec 1763 MC

                                                John chr 1747, d 21 Jan 1768 **

                                                Thomas chr 1752, d 3 Mar 1776 **

                                                Mary chr 1755

                                                Joseph chr 1758, d 16 Jan 1780 **

                                                William chr 1760, d 24 Nov 1768 **

                                                Elizabeth marr William Chapman 23 Sep 1790

                                                Alice chr 17 Apr 1750 marr Bromley

                                                Ann marr Thomas Seddon 29 Mar 1791

a fuller accounting of the family of James and Elizabeth Wroe – some family members in plot 200, St Mary’s (**) Manchester                                                             Cathedral MC

James, chr 1741, married Elizabeth Heyes 1761, d 1810 @ 76 **

(James’ wife) Elizabeth bur 27 May 1801**

Ann – chr 17 Jan 1768, d 13 Jan 1776 **

John chr 5 Mar 1762, d 1829 @68

Richard chr 1774, d 1786, bur 23 Mar 1786 **

Mary d 9 Sep 1768

Martha b 1782 MC                                        

Elizabeth chr 10 Jan 1773

Ann chr 3 Oct 1781 MC (second dau named Ann)

-          Possibly the baptism 3 October 1680, of Richard Wroe, son of John and Elizabeth Wroe. This Richard would be my great, great, great, great, great grandfather, and John and Elizabeth would be his parents – taking us back another generation. This remains to be verified.

-          a fuller accounting of the family of Richard and Elizabeth Wroe

(brother of the James just noted) – some family members in plot 202,

   St Mary’s (**) Manchester Cathedral MC

Thomas chr 1764, d 7 Aug 1766 @ 2Y 9M**

Richard chr 1765, d 18 Jan 1766

Elizabeth chr 1767, d 12 June 1771 @ 3Y 7M **

James chr 9 Dec 1770, marr Ann Plant 25 Apr 1799 MC. D 19 Apr

1837

-          Possibly the marriage record for the Richard Wroe above to Mary Oldham on 11 April 1705 of Broughton at St Mary’s parish. St Mary’s parish (located in Radcliffe) has at least three family plots (200, 201, and 202) where our Wroes are buried.

-          A fuller accounting of the family of James and Ann Wroe. They were my great great grandparents. Burial locations unknown.

Richard Wroe chr 29 June 1800

                                    Elisabeth Wroe, chr 4 July 1802

Ann Wroe, chr 8 July 1804

                                                James Wroe, born 20 Apr 1809, chr 26 May 1809, died Feb 1813

                                                Thomas Wroe, born 22 Aug 1807, chr 26 May 1809

                                                Sarah Wroe, chr 27 Nov 1811

John Wroe, chr 3 Oct 1813

                                                William Wroe, chr 10 July 1816 (a new discovery)

I copied the source data for each of these siblings’ christenings, as well as the burial record for this James. Data I captured includes a photocopy of the original church entries (not shown). I will try to locate burial records, which may be more uncertain.   

Data for Elisabeth Wroe christening –

Name:	Elisabeth Wroe
Event Type:	Baptism
Baptism Date:	4 Jul 1802
Parish:	Manchester, St Mary, St Denys and St George
Father's Name:	James Wroe
Mother's Name:	Ann Wroe
Archive Roll:	755

Data for Ann Wroe christening –

Name:	Ann Wroe
Event Type:	Baptism
Baptism Date:	8 Jul 1804
Parish:	Manchester, St Mary, St Denys and St George
Father's Name:	James Wroe
Mother's Name:	Ann Wroe
Archive Roll:	755

Data for Thomas Wroe christening -

Name:	Thomas Wroe
Age:	1
Event Type:	Baptism
Birth Date:	22 Aug 1807
Baptism Date:	26 May 1809
Parish:	Manchester, St Mary, St Denys and St George
Father's Name:	James Wroe
Mother's Name:	Ann Wroe
Archive Roll:	756

Data for James Wroe christening -

Name:	James Wroe
Age:	0
Event Type:	Baptism
Birth Date:	20 Apr 1809
Baptism Date:	26 May 1809
Parish:	Manchester, St Mary, St Denys and St George
Father's Name:	James Wroe
Mother's Name:	Ann Wroe
Archive Roll:	756

Data for Sarah Wroe christening –

Name:	Sarah Wroe
Event Type:	Baptism
Baptism Date:	27 Nov 1811
Parish:	Manchester, St Mary, St Denys and St George
Father's Name:	James Wroe
Mother's Name:	Ann Wroe
Archive Roll:	756

Data for John Wroe christening –

Name:	John Wroe
Baptism Date:	3 Oct 1813
Parish:	Manchester, St Mary, St Denys and St George
Father's Name:	James Wroe
Mother's Name:	Ann Wroe
Archive Roll:	756

Data for William Wroe christening –

Name: William Wroe Baptism Date: 10 Jul 1816 Parish: Manchester, St Mary, St Denys and St George Father's Name: James Wroe Mother's Name: Ann Wore Archive Roll: 757

St Mary’s (St Denys and St George) became Collegiate Church and then the Manchester Cathedral (Anglican). Finding additional family members helps to sort through the many, many Wroes in and around Manchester, and identify (or disprove) connections to other Wroe lines with more distant relationship.

One source, “The history and associations of Altham and Huncoat” by Alan Ainsworth, FSA Scotland, states that the “Manor of Altham in 1784 passed to the Wroe family on the decease of the last male of the original line of Waltons. The family of Wroe have been in the Radcliffe parish for centuries … the name has the following variants Wro, Wroe, Wrooe, Roe, Rowe, and Rooe.”

Future Wroe puzzles to resolve –

Plot 198 at St Mary’s parish in Radcliffe has a J.B. Wroe noted, but my record

            only identifies that J.B. Wroe “buried … died at 30.” Are there other

            Wroes in plot 198 and are they related?

“The Great Meadow” – Will of James Wroe, tallow chandler of Manchester,

dated 1762 (probated 20 May 1765, but only resolved in 1835 (due my assessment the incompetence of beneficiaries and several successive executors). The lands in question were leased for a period of 500 years in 1724 and included over thirty acres of prime lands including the Bare Arse Meadow and the Great Meadow.

The above will conflicts with that below

Will of John Wroe, Yeoman of Salford, dated in Sep/October of

1769 mentions ‘two fields calld and known by the Name or names

of the “Great Meadow” as lands under his lease. John’s executors were his son Richard Wroe and his brother Thomas Wroe. The land went to his eldest son James.

What relationship was James Wroe, tallow chandler of Manchester, to James Wroe, son of John Wroe? I expect these James Wroes were related, but how???

                        The Reverend Richard Wroe, Warden and  … He was a very noted clergyman and

 orator and extremely well connected to Manchester society. Some

acreage leased by our Wroe ancestors was     leased from this Wroe

line, suggesting a family connection. 

                        Salford, a section of Broughton bordering Kersal and other place names near

                                                Manchester – Marx and Engels lived in Salford, and Charles

                                                Dickens lived in and wrote of life in Manchester.

HICUZ 103

HI CUZ Blog 103

Copyright 1990 et seq, Donald Rowe

Reminder, your acceptance of this newsletter signifies that you will not use its contents to alter, and thus disrespect in any form or way, the historical religious beliefs, no matter what they were – or were not – of family members mentioned herein. This reminder specifically refers to performing LDS ordinances using any of the data in this or other HICUZ newsletters or blog posts.

 

MLFHS: Irish publication 
There is a fairly new publication which may be of use to our members with Irish ancestors I have just read the latest edition which has articles about Roscommon which I have found very interesting and useful It can be downloaded and is free. As many of our members are not on the e-mail list please pass this on to any who have Irish Ancestry. 
http://www.irishlivesremembered.com/

MLFHS: Deane Burial Records (Manchester England sources)
Generally, churches will record burial services in a burial register, arranged in date order and they will have a separate grave register arranged by grave plot.  The grave register will list each interment in each grave, and will often show the name and probably the address of the
owner of the grave.  It might also contain notes by the sexton about special considerations relating to the grave such as the need for timber reinforcements or foundations for elaborate memorials, etc. There will usually also be a separate map showing the physical location of each grave identified by the reference numbers in the grave register.

The grave register is usually more informative than the burial register, mainly because as well as giving the name and usually the age of each individual it tells you who else is sharing the grave.  That's often a big help and it's much more reliable that the MI, which may not list all
the interments or it might be illegible or the headstone may lying butter-side-down or be missing altogether.  Unfortunately the grave registers are often the least accessible because the churches usually need to keep them if there is any possibility of further interments or other maintenance or developments in the church yard.

In most cases the burial register will record the date of the service, the name of the individual, their age and possibly their parish of residence, and the vicar's signature.  Anything more than that, such as a full address, date of death and grave reference number are entered on the whim of the vicar and not very frequently.

As you say, there will be a delay in being able to access the records held at MCL but it's very likely that anything that's been microfilmed for Deane St Mary will also be available in Bolton Archives.

Here's what Bolton Archives lists for Deane St Mary:

Baptisms 1604-1812 Printed LPRS 53* 54* 79*
Baptisms 1636-1886 Microfilm A6:25-28
Baptisms 1604-1886 Transcript
Marriages 1604-1812 Printed LPRS 53* 54* 79*
Marriages 1637-1890 Microfilm A6:25, A6:27, A6:29-35
Marriage Transcript 1840-1886 Microfilm A6:39
Marriages 1604-1886 Transcript
Burials 1604-1812 Printed LPRS 53* 54* 79*
Burials 1637-1887 Microfilm A6:25, A6:36-38
Burials 1604-1886 Transcript
Burial Transcript 1813-1886 Microfilm A6:39
I.G.I.: Baptisms 1604-1829
I.G.I.: Marriages 1604-1812
Monumental Inscriptions Transcript B929.5 DEA
Monumental Inscriptions Microfiche LPRS H:H21
Baptism Index 1813-1859 Transcript B929.3 DEA
Marriage Index 1813-1886 Transcript B929.3 DEA
Marriage Index 1813-1837 Microfiche LPRS B:D5

I’ve just looked at the Deane Church website and there is a new Vicar:

http://www.deanechurch.co.uk/pg/p173.asp

Here's the equivalent list for MCL:

Baptisms-1636-1784- MFPR 899
Baptisms-1785-1833- MFPR 900
Baptisms-1833-1846- MFPR 901
Baptisms-1846-1886- MFPR 1300
Baptisms Transcript-1604-1605- 929.3272 D6
Baptisms Transcript-1613-1812- 929.3272 D6
Burials-1637-1784- MFPR 899
Burials-1781-1844- MFPR 905
Burials-1844-1862- MFPR 1305
Burials-1862-1887- MFPR 1306
Burials Transcript-1604-1605- 929.3272 D6
Burials Transcript-1613-1812- 929.3272 D6
Marriage Index- 1813-1837- Rossendale Fiche D5
Marriages-1637-1754- MFPR 899
Marriages-1754-1797- MFPR 901
Marriages-1798-1824- MFPR 902
Marriages-1824-1837- MFPR 903
Marriages-1837-1839- MFPR 904
Marriages-1839-1846- MFPR 1301
Marriages-1846-1855- MFPR 1302
Marriages-1855-1871- MFPR 1303
Marriages-1871-1890- MFPR 1304
Marriages Transcript-1604-1605- 929.3272 D6
Marriages Transcript-1613-1812- 929.3272 D6

There are no grave registers on either list, so if MCL have them they're
likely to be the original registers rather than films of them.

MLFHS: Oldham Historical Research Group

This recently-created site might be of interest to those of you with Oldham connections. http://www.pixnet.co.uk/Oldham-hrg/

Rowe family stories to share – find and share some of your own.

My Dad’s tales about WWI aviation training … Daniel Mannix Rowe trained as an aerial observer close to the end of WWI, to spot and adjust artillery from the air … at Army airfields in Oklahoma (Fort Sill) and in Texas. He said that the pilot instructing their group did not know how to “bank” an airplane, and so when airborne they skidded around turns with wings level. They used the JN-4 “Jenny” aircraft. Check one out using Google.

He said that someone in the squadron caught a German-American cutting the guy wires that held the wings together (He was training in bi-planes). A Court Martial was held, the man was convicted of treason and he was shot. I have been unable to confirm through US Army Air Corps, Texas or Oklahoma records that this occurred, but believe it based on the very grave nature of such an event and my father’s age of roughly mid-twenties at the time.

My Mom’s told tales about the Spanish Flu impact in Bridgeport, CT … She told me that she recalled that all roads in and out of Bridgeport, CT were closed and controlled by posted guards. This was in 1918, 1919.

From my brother Dan – about the Harriman’s, who owned a farm across Mitchell Road from the Rowe farm.  They had six milk cows, one bull and lots of chickens. In a field behind their home Mr. Harriman raised pumpkins and squash, and grazed the cows and bull. About the start of WWII, when my brothers were about ten, nine, and eight years old, after getting upset with Mr. Harriman for some reason … in the Fall, they snuck into his field, cut holes in the bottom of about a dozen pumpkins, inserted cow pies, re-inserted the holes and secured the plugs with tooth picks.

Mom and Dad gave them Hell as Dan said … I expect their punishment was more direct.

From my brother Dennis Rowe.

A story from his youth (1950s), when my brothers were Boy Scouts back in Maine. I’ve titled brother Den’s story -  UP A CREEK …

It has always been thus and thus it will always be (the newest is always subjected to the “treatment”.)

Part of the prior summer I had been a camper (= Boy Scout) at the Wm M Hinds Boy Scout Summer Camp in Raymond, Maine 25 miles NW of Portland.

As a camper you get to know the names of staff & where they fit in; some more than others. You know who runs swimming, boating, canteen, dining areas, etc. You live in one of six respective camps – Pershing was mine.

That first summer Dave was also a fellow camper. He had earned more merit badges – needed to qualify for Star, Life, and Eagle Scout. Beyond sheer numbers you needed certain badges – swimming and life saving – for Eagle. Dave got both; I got neither. That mainly was why I went back the following summer as a 10 week staff person (Scouts came for eight).

Being staff (2^nd summer) we all arrived a week before the kids. In age I was closer to most of the kids than the staff of professional scouting or perennial summer staff.  Den’s Assistant Scoutmaster was “Sturdy” Farrington whose brother Frank (or another) was boats & canoes.

Den and Dave had helped – unofficially – as nature gatherers and helped stock the nature study area. One reptile we caught was a hard-to-snag snapping turtle, a nasty beast, a vicious predator to all kinds of water creatures. They caught the turtle as it lay in the mud at the edge of the river running past amp Hines to the lake. Den says the turtle wiggled its long pink tongue to attract, and eat fish. The turtle was returned to the environment at the summer’s end.

So, what did we do after a hard day’s work setting up the whole camp?  There sure was nothing to do around a camp out in the woods adjacent the lake. We crossed the lake to Raymond Center where there was one juke box joint with food, music, some local girls and – if you were old enough – beer.

We crossed the lake (about a mile) by canoe. The first group usually went together then others – like we went later – alone in a canoe.

I was probably the last to arrive – and the same when leaving to come back.  That was my big mistake though I didn’t realize it at the time. It seems the others, leaving collectively but with no preplanning decided they’d have a little “fun” with the new guy. So they went home with my paddle.

A canoe without a paddle is a rather useless thing. If its loaded with gear or supplies it tows easily enough. An empty canoe well-shoved coasts a long way. Not much else.

So there I am, stranded without a paddle, Or as commonly the less politely said “Up the proverbial aqueduct but lacking adequate means of propulsion.”  I looked around but my paddle wasn’t hidden, it was gone1

While I was trying to think through to a solution I must have gazed at the shape of the bow & stern of the canoe – both ends were tapered and that gave me an idea. If you depress one end sharply, suddenly and forcefully, the canoe squirts away.

So, standing knee deep alongside my canoe, I tried it.  And it worked!  Would it work if I tried it standing inside the canoe? Let’s try it. So I climbed aboard, scooted* down and stood up vigorously. VOILA the canoe self propelled as it were. I had my “paddle.”

I had to control my excitement and my balance (If I scotch-paddled subsequently I would tie a lanyard from my wrist to the canoe lest it escape).

It was tiring – those aren’t muscles you exercise regularly – but scootching and straightening up became my propellant. With a little bit of balancing you could actually steer.  I figured – correctly – that the only things that wouldn’t help were wind gusts catching the upward lifted bow and excess water needing to be bailed.

I made it back across Raymond Lake without benefit of my “stolen” paddle. I earned a little bit of fame and mystery as I never shared just how I paddled home that night.  And, try as they might, no one discovered how I did it.

All I would confess was “I used my head.” I had wanted to say “scotched” but no one seems to understand the term and – especially the blockheads – asked themselves “How could he use his head as a paddle?

I didn’t do it for notoriety; I did it out of necessity. I could do it again – so could anyone. But no one ever screwed around with my paddle again across the lake. Thus it has always been & thus it will always be. 

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MLFHS: Calendar of Irish Wills

Further to recent postings about the Calendar of Wills site http://www.willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie/search/cwa/home.jsp

They have now resolved the layout problem and the pages display correctly. The site is now on the toolbar under both the Probate and Ireland menus.

MLFHS: Calendar of Irish Wills
Thanks for this site.  I have found several entries for my Irish relatives and got quite a lot more info.  I read on the site that many of the actual wills were destroyed in the 1922 fire. In the hope that a will might have survived, does anyone know if it is possible to apply for a will and if so where. 

There seems to be a problem with the new calendar of wills page:  http://www.willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie/search/cwa/home.jsp

The left margin setting seems to be adrift resulting in the left hand side of the page being partially undisplayed. This problem appears with both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox browsers on the PC and the following search screen.

MLFHS: Calendar of Irish Wills  RESPONSE

Dear MLFHS member

Thank you for your further feedback below, before which I raised the sizing issue with our IT Unit - a fix has been implemented which I hope has resolved the matter.

Best wishes.

Elizabeth McEvoy, Archivist, National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin 8,
Ireland.
T: +353 (0)1 4072 382   F: +353 (0)1 4072 333
E: emcevoy@nationalarchives.ie
W: http://www.nationalarchives.ie

Since mailing you, I found that the page size can be adjusted smaller with CTRL- to fit the page to the screen width. However, if the page is over-sized, scroll bars should appear to allow the page to be scanned horizontally and these do not appear at default size. if the page is considerably enlarged with CTRL+ then the horizontal scroll bar DOES finally appear, but only allows you to scroll part of the screen, still leaving the left edge hidden.
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MLFHS: 17th Century Map of Ireland Goes On-line - Mon May 13,2013

Dear All, a most interesting piece of information courtesy of County 
Down Genealogy web site. The following was reported today (13 May) in the Irish Times [http://www.irishtimes.com]:

"A 300-year-old map detailing the gradual transfer of landownership from Catholics to Protestants went online today. The Down Survey of Ireland, which has been uploaded by the history department in Trinity College, was undertaken by the Cromwellian regime between 1656 and 1658.

"The survey introduced Ireland to methods of modern mapping and created the first recognisable maps of the country. The survey was the first ever detailed mapping project on a national level and measured all estates that were forfeited by Catholic landowners.

"The original map collection was burned in fires in 1711 and in the Four Courts in 1922. It is made up of counties, baronies and parish maps. The details mark townland boundaries, churches, roads, bogs, rivers, woods and settlements."

Take note that the term 'Down' doesn't refer to 'County Down' (although this county is included in the maps), but refers to the chains that were "put down" on the ground to measure out the land.

The Trinity College website for "The Down Survey of Ireland" can be found at: http://downsurvey.tcd.ie/ A video describing the project can be viewed at: http://tinyurl.com/d9uknt3

Calling all CUZZES – Consider sharing stories of family members who served in combat during WWII, the Korean and Vietnam wars.  Think about it.

  

MacKenzie family research - It looks like Gloria C. MacKenzie, recent winner of Power Ball millions, is only a very distant cousin. I can now shred my loan application. 

HICUZ 102

HI CUZ Blog 102

Copyright 1990 et seq, Donald Rowe

Reminder, your acceptance of this newsletter signifies that you will not use its contents to alter, and thus disrespect in any form or way, the historical religious beliefs, no matter what they were – or were not – of family members mentioned herein. This reminder specifically refers to performing LDS ordinances using any of the data in this or other HICUZ newsletters or blog posts.

 

An Irish B&B near where my Mom was born referred to a “White Strand” beach.

Source: Welcome to Castlecove Heights Bed & Breakfast Family run B&B with a very personal touch AND FREE WiFi! Skehanagh, Castlecove/Caherdaniel, County Kerry, Ireland  +353 87 2867674 castlecoveheights@gmail.com This is not a commercial endorsement, but merely a reference to a link describing a beach which has O’Connor/Rowe family significance. My parents named the Log Cabin my father built in Cape Elizabeth, Maine as “White Strand” at my mother’s request to remember a beach by that name near her birthplace in County Kerry, Ireland. I believe the reference in the B&B ad above is that beach.

Excuse my mental sloppiness if I included some of the following before. It notes the costs of burials in England, and the fact that due to limited burial sites several people were buried in the same grave ... as in much of Europe.

MLFHS: Catholic Burials
For those who are not so familiar with the Burial Acts, it may be useful to explain the background.

City burial grounds were becoming overcrowded and unsanitary in the 19th century and eventually, after a 10 year struggle by reformers, a series of Acts was passed to regulate city burials. The first of these covered London and by 1854 the same rules were extended to other cities. The main features were:

Closure of the worst graveyards
Restrictions on the remaining ones
Authorisation of municipal authorities to establish public cemeteries.

The restrictions could include deferred closure, restriction on the number of bodies in a single grave, special conditions for interments in vaults and minimum depth for the final burial in a grave.

The Acts named no names and it was left to the Home Office to issue 'Orders in Council' which identified the individual burial grounds and specified the closures and restrictions. It is the first of these which was the subject of the newspaper article.

Looking at the individual cases:

St Mary, Mulberry Street
This had possibly been closed nearly 20 years by the time of the Acts. There are surviving registers and the last burial recorded was in 1837. If it had still been open this burial ground under the church would certainly have been immediately closed.

St Augustine
When this was cleared, it was found that the coffins were crammed into almost every available inch - with as many as 10 or more layers and infant coffins filling the gaps between adult ones.

St Wilfrid
The registers seem to have been lost, but it was clearly well used. Lawrence reminded me of a case where there was to be an exhumation and the records were so bad that the grave could not be found.

St Patrick
The burial registers survive and were indexed by CFHS. This is probably the best record of early Catholic burials in Manchester

St Chad
Almost nothing seems to be available concerning burials - if it were not mentioned in the Order in Council it could be missed as a burial place!

Immaculate Conception
These notes are very interesting. 20 a day would contribute significantly to the numbers looking for burial, though would be still barely a third of the total. I had not heard of irregularities, but these would not be surprising, particularly if they were under pressure to take a large number of burials. Almost every cemetery seems to have attracted suggestions of breaking the rules. St Patrick’s was one case where a one-per-grave restriction was bent to the point of breaking. All the private cemeteries found ways to cheat and even Philips Park municipal cemetery was subject to an inquiry into irregularities.

MLFHS: Catholic Burials
I discussed this issue with Fr Lannon last week and today he has provided me with some information that may shed light on the issue.

He showed me a print-out from Pro-Quest Historic Newspapers, The Manchester
Guardian (1828 - 1900) Mar 25 1854"Burial Grounds and Cemeteries in Manchester"

This gives details of the restrictions placed on burial grounds and cemeteries at that time and the closure dates in 1855.  It lists all the graveyards affected, the RC ones being

The Burial Ground of St Chad's RC Chapel, York Street, Cheetham (York St

became Cheetham Hill Road).
The Burial Ground of St Patrick's RC Chapel, Livesey St
The Burial Ground of St Augustine's RC Chapel, Granby Row, and the vaults

under the chapel
The Burial Ground of St Wilfrid's RC Chapel, Bedford Street

this shows that St Augustine's, Granby Row, did not only have vaults under the church, but had a graveyard.   Similarly, the reference to St Chad's shows that there was a graveyard there.  The absense of St Mary, Mulberry Street, shows that burials there had already ceased.

There was another note from the Manchester Guardian about the same time stating that work on the foundations of a new school for St Augustine's. Granby Row, was disturbing the graveyard and that remains were to be seen lying on the surface -further confirmation of St Augustine's graveyard.

Fr Lannon also had some notes about the establishment of Our Lady, Failsworth.  This mission was established by a religious order, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, hence the alternative name of the church.  Initially, four of these priests came to east Manchester around 1846 to serve the area of Moston and Newton Heath.  They established themselves in Fairfield. In 1849, they obtained land on Mill Lane where they transformed some cottages into a chapel and school.  They obtained more land on which they proposed a magnificent church.  The head of the order laid the foundation stone in 1850 bur progress was very slow. In the mid 1850s, the Catholic graveyards in the city were closed and Fr Daly was induced to offer his site as a Catholic burial ground for the city.  The notes state that as many as 20 burials took place each day - there is also a suggestion that burials even took place on a Sunday.  Eventually, this graveyard was closed by order of the Home Secretary because of 'alleged' abuses in the laying out of
graves.  The notes do not indicate when this happened but Gandy ("Catholic Missions and Registers 1700 - 1880, Volume 5, North West England" compiled and published by M. Gandy, 2nd Edition, 1998 (ISBN 0 9528879 2 4) states that St Mary's was the main place for Catholic burials until St Joseph's Cemetery, Moston opened in 1875.

MLFHS: Catholic Burials

Thanks for these prices. This confirms the differential in prices between residents and non-residents as well as providing another marker in terms of overall prices.

Their prices are a little lower than Southern's (though the prices I have are for 1880 so not really comparable) but their premium for non-residents is somewhat smaller - 50% on an adult public burial as opposed to 60% and 50% on a stillborn as opposed to 100%.

These prices are particularly useful as they show the pricing at the opening of the cemetery.

Another MLFHS member response
I spotted the following in the M/c Courier of 12th Sept  1857:

Fees  for private graves at Eccles New Rd cemetery: Salford Borough residents First Class- £3  3s 0 Second class- £2 2s 0 This class £1 1s 0   Others 1st- £4 4s 0 2nd- £3 3s 0 3rd- £1  11s 6d  Single interments in public graves for Salford residents  16 yrs of
age & over- 8s 7 yrs of age -16yrs - 6s under 7- 5s still-born infants- 2s 6d   Others 16+- 12s 7-16 yrs- 9s under 7- 7s 6d still- born- 3s 9d   Headstone inscriptions - 5s   

Another MLFHS member response
My information on burial charges is quite patchy and so even isolated figures such as this one provide some markers.

 ?3 in 1900 was not expensive to purchase a grave. Prices seem to vary between about £2 and £6 according to cemetery and class of grave. £1 for an interment seems also in line with Southern's prices.

Another MLFHS member response

I can't give you the fees for the 1889 burial in the RC section at Weaste that I mentioned.  However I can give you the cost of two burials which took place within six weeks of each other in 1900. The first was my gt.granddmother (the other one!) on 16th
April. Undertakers bill (Fyans & Gordon of Mcr):  £12-2-6 of which £3.3.0 was the cost of the new grave and £1 for "opening". The second was my grandmother on 26th May. Same undertaker £9-1-6 which included an unspecified amount for reopening the grave.

Another MLFHS member response
Thanks for this. Weaste would probably have been closer for his funeral than Philips Park, even though the latter would have been open for 3 years before his death. It was only recently I came across the discrimination in fees for non-residents and so I am not sure how widespread it was. There was a lot of friction between Manchester and Chorlton (before the latter was incorporated into Manchester) as Southern Cemetery was on their turf but their residents were required to pay 21 shillings for burial of an adult in a public grave as opposed to 13 shillings for a Manchester resident. They negotiated the premium down over about 20 years and eventually it disappeared when the borough was incorporated.

 If  26th can come up with a list of fees for Weaste or Philips Park I would certainly be interested.

Another MLFHS member response
 With regard to your paragraph re Weaste, my husband's ancestor was buried there in 1869 in the RC section in a common grave.  I doubt very much that they had money as he was living at a wharf in Castlefield at the time he died and there's no trace of money anywhere else in the family.  So perhaps Weaste were not so strict re non residents of Salford.  I've no idea why Weaste was chosen for this burial as no-one else in the family has been found there - yet.

Apologies for the trailing messages but as they are relevant for anyone coming into this topic late I have decided to leave them there.

Another MLFHS member response
Thanks for this additional information. The dates would be interesting. It is the period c1854 to 1866 which is of particular interest.

Before 1854, I think that the most likely reason why a Catholic would be buried in a CofE churchyard would be because they were paupers who the parish was required to bury. Geoff's  point about St Wilfred caused me to look again at the London Gazette and this  shows at http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/21875/pages/1540  a new Order in  Council in 1 April 1856 which lifted the previous closures of St Patrick and St  Wilfred and permitted further burials in existing walled graves subject to  conditions and in new graves subject to a limit of one per grave (a condition  applied to other burial grounds but which was eased in 1860 to allow up to four  in a grave).

Elaine's mention of Weaste is also, I am sure, relevant. I know nothing of Weaste's terms of business, but am sure it would have been open to non-residents of Salford. However, Southern Cemetery charged a premium price for outsiders (about 80% on the purchase of graves and 50% on interment) and the same may have applied at Weaste, which would have been a disincentive for the less well off.

St Wilfred was finally closed in 1865 (London Gazette 10 Oct 1865 page 4786). The lack of registers makes it difficult to know how many burials were accommodated in these latter years.

I have not yet found the Order in Council closing St Patrick’s but the end of burials in 1858 shown by the  registers makes it pretty clear that it would have been published around this  time.

 The restrictions on burials from 1856 are difficult to with the large numbers of burials recorded at St Patrick’s and the Manchester Courier 23  Jan 1858 has a report on infringements of the one-per- grave limitation and this refers to previous complaints by local residents.

     Brother Dan passed along these memories verbally, while Den wrote them.

WWII notes - from my brother Dan - March 2013

He related about some childhood friends, Fiddy and Buddy Barrett, neighbors of my older bothers. The Barrett family had four boys and one girl and lived nearby on Mitchell Road in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Both parents worked at the shipyard during WWII, building Liberty ships of about 10,000 tons. There were two shipyards (East and west) with about four ways each, where Liberty ships were churned out at a rate of one per four weeks (after learning curve). Dan said it was a welder’s paradise because of all the jobs welding. The Barrett boys had a huge comic book collection, several hundred books, and Dan, Dave and Den went over to read them.  Among those mentioned were “Green Hornet”, Blue Beetle.”

WWII Ration cards - from my brother Dan - March 2013

There were apparently several categories of ration cards. Dad as a Doctor had those allowing him greater access to tires and gasoline. Dan recalled that Cards A, B, C and D existed.  An A card let you receive up to 6 gallons of gas a month, while B got more and so on.  “Dad had all three.” Butter, eggs, bacon and everything else was rationed for the War effort – fats were collected to use in manufacturing explosive compounds. Our family had up to 150 chickens by the barn and a huge garden to grow vegetables. Dan said the Harriman’s, a neighborhood family, had up to 150 pigs. He recalled that local bakeries brought their rotting products to Mr. Harriman for his pigs, but that Dan, Dave and Den would steal some of the rotting pies, skim off the mold on top and eat them anyway.  He also confessed to helping Dave and Den throw rotten eggs at the pigs.

From my brother Den on WWII gasoline rationing - March 2013

Den recalled that one neighbor came up with a way to get around the rationing of gasoline. He would get a little gasoline in the fuel line to the carburetor, but fill the tank with kerosene (not rationed). After he started the car with the gasoline it would run, but smoke horribly as it ran on kerosene.

Racing on Higgins Beach – 1949 from my brother Dan - March 2013

Dan, Dave and Den and first cousin Buddy LaPolice from Stamford, CT decided to take a spin. It was either late fall, or early spring and the scene was Higgins Beach, with the tide out and the hard sand exposed. Dan said they raced three or four others cars. Beaches along Maine’s coast had been used for years by adventurous aviators for takeoffs.  Anyway, as the race ended the Ford they were in (1946 four door sedan) flipped on its side and Dave or Den’s head went through a side window.  Evidently there were no injuries and my brothers and Buddy tipped the car right side up, and raced again … until the local police showed up and ran them off.

From my brother Dan - March 2013 Dad had many patients, many of whom couldn’t pay in cash for medical care. Dad as the shipyard Doctor had to examine and verify each worker was fit and up to the rigors of hard physical work.

After the war one of Dad’s patients gave him a four door 1946 Ford sedan as payment. At the time gasoline cost just $.18 a gallon.

From my brother Dan - March 2013 Dan worked at the shipyard one summer after the war. This would have been after a year at Villanova University. Dad was really upset about Dan’s flunking out and the next year sent him off to St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Dan possibly got the job because the company’s owner, Mr. Walsh, was a friend. The shipyard had a contract to fabricate a new form of bomb, roughly 800 to 1,000 pounders, which were used in Korea and probably in Vietnam. The Walsh Construction company won the contract, which involved cutting long segments of 18 inch diameter steel pipe as the feeder stock. Dan explained the fabrication process as follows.

The pipe was cut into four to five foot lengths with huge cutting wheels, then the lengths  were put on carriages with rollers and heated in a furnace. After heating the segments they were removed, moved to a stamping machine, and pounded on/beat with huge presses to reshape the end into a point or cone. The ends were machined to allow insertion of fuzes of various sorts. Dan made $1.50 an hour, which was a large amount in that day. This would have been about 1951 or 1952.

From my brother Dan - March 2013 Catholic Diocese of Portland’s Youth Summer Camp – Camp Gregory. Dan went, or was sent perhaps, there one summer. The youth stayed in tents with open sides, six or eight youth to a tent with an adult counselor in the center.  As a member of the Cheverus High football team Dan had been to Camp Gregory before, with Coach Bill Curran and other football team members for pre-season conditioning.

From my brother Dan - March 2013 The Tryon sisters – They lived nearly across the street from the “Yellow House” on Shore Road. Dan said they were like 140 years old and owned about thirty acres, with a hill behind their home where the boys used to slide or ski in the winter.

The boys (Dan, Dave and Den) found a stray dog somewhere and brought it home, but one of the Tryon sisters said they shouldn’t have a dog. Dan said this “pissed them off” especially after Mom said “Tut … Tut … Tut!”

Dan said their barn was filled with “stuff” which included a 1927 sedan. Dan said the boys tried to buy it but they wouldn’t sell. (This was an era when licenses, car insurance, and highway safety were perhaps in their infancy.) Dan said they also wanted to mow her lawn, but that was turned down also.

Den separately said that the boys cut down (stole) Christmas trees from the Tryon’s farm and were selling them until one of the sisters came over to see Mom and demand the trees back.

From my brother Dan - March 2013 Dan said that the boys got their buggy, at least the one they used to collect WWII scrap metal, from the Lydon family. Mr. Lydon had a son John who was a friend of Dan, Dave and Den. The Lydons gave the boys one of the three buggies they owned.

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Dan said Dad bought the 32 acre Mitchell House Road home …“The Farm” for roughly $6,000.00. It included the home, a barn and about three to four acres of cleared land.

From my brother Dan - March 2013 Skating on Mrs. Beyer’s pond – The entrance was along shore Road, opposite a cove as I recall. The pond formed at a small dam and the boys and others used to skate there in the winter. On one occasion Dan, Dave and Den were out on the ice on bikes and Dan went through. It took the others a half hour to get him out of the water. The bike was later retrieved, cleaned up and was “eminently usable.”

Ice Bicycling … By brother Dennis Rowe … 3/19/2013 “Here’s another one you asked for – keep the requests coming. 

No one ever called it that – back when we did it – or even thought of it in those terms. But ice bicycling it was and we immersed (no pun intended) ourselves in it.

Here’s how to ice bicycle – our version. In the middle of the winter when it’s really cold, cold like it got in Maine, and water in the local pond is frozen over, you set out.

After the streets (actually, Mitchell Road which ran by the farm) had been plowed and the small amount of traffic had hard packed whatever remained of the snow on the road, we’d venture forth.

Bundled up against the cold, we’d make our way half a mile up the road to Conelly’s pond across from the Plantation Stables.

Now Conelly’s pond came out almost to the road so it was just a matter of up & over the plowed snow to get to the frozen ice.

Then we’d cautiously proceed – the boldest and the biggest first – (Dan, the oldest, was the biggest while Dave and I were younger and smaller) on to the edge.

Conelly’s pond was maybe half a mile long and in places a third of that wide – but not everywhere. And you had to find spots where bushes parted enough for entry onto and exit from the ice’s surface. We always looked for choice spots where the openings faced one another.

The thing was, even though it was cold as hell out, you never knew just how thick and supportive the ice was. And three small kids on bicycles weren’t all that heavy.

So someone would always “go first.”  And, invariably, as that first rider rode across, you’d hear the sharp snap of the ice’s thin surface cracking.  It would crack through then progressibly radiate into larger cracks.  Sometimes you could almost notice the surface rippling.

But, because whoever ** (** whomever) was ice bicycling across the ice didn’t stop or go too slowly, he managed to get across. We never tried it over the length of the pond – just across. And we rode fast enough it didn’t seem to matter. Talk about tempting fate.

Unconsciously we must have all known what was inevitable – crash through! And then, sure enough the unlucky rider would end up crashing through the ice into the frigid water – I know, it was me one time.  And we thought the air was cold.

Luckily, the pond was only about waist deep at its deepest so there was no chance of drowning.  But the bicycle would fall over and disappear. Being kids we didn’t know how to retrieve a bike but a dried up pond next summer would help.

The cruelest part of ice bicycling was the unlucky rider having to get peddled home on your brothers’ bike while soaked through, you just shivered uncontrollably.

Were we back at it the following year?  You bet. And we dedicated ice bicyclists would’ve gone right out then if we thought the ice somehow might be thicker – and we had three bikes. (And if, Mom, the resident party-pooper didn’t intervene.)