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Deliverance Brown, 8th Great-grandfather

November 17, 2014 — 1 Comment

Brown Coat of Arms

Brown Coat of Arms

Deliverance Brown was born in 1656 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut.  His father, Peter Brown, came to America in 1638 and settled in New Haven. In 1647 Peter moved the family to Stamford, Ct, where his wife died in 1657. Young Deliverance was a baby when his mother died. We don’t know much about him, but his brother is also my ancestor.

He owned land in Rye, NY (1678) and in Greenwich.
– In 1691 Deliverance was elected a vestryman in Rye.
– In 1697 Deliverance Brown and Thomas Merrit where sent to Hartford to convince the General Court of CT to take Rye back into it’s juristiction and in 1707 the two men were selected to settle a boundary question between Rye and Greenwich.

Deliverance Brown (1656 – 1727)
is my 8th great grandfather
Rachel Brown (1700 – 1716)
daughter of Deliverance Brown
Mary Mead (1724 – 1787)
daughter of Rachel Brown
Abner Mead (1749 – 1810)
son of Mary Mead
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Abner Mead
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

Vengeance Belongs to God

November 13, 2014 — 4 Comments

My parents

My parents

The idea that both glory and vengeance belong only to God is an often repeated concept. In the bible this is a giant theme that runs throughout both testaments.  This is the keystone of the golden rule, “Do unto others” that we have heard so often in all religious teachings.  Repressing anger and believing God is taking care of your personal earthly pay back is not the essence of this idea.  Truly trusting that justice eventually prevails in ways we can’t imagine or fathom is a relief.  Carrying our own grudges rather than letting go and trusting that the universe will provide both punishment and reward exactly in the perfect portions is senseless.  If you step back and look at a bigger version of any drama on this earth you must notice that every action does have an equal and opposite reaction.  Some understanding is within our reach, and plenty of mystery still abounds.  We actually do not know enough to be effective in this realm.

I have been meditating on the idea that Everything that is the Father’s is mine because the Father and I are one.  This, of course is the big father, not my personal dad, Richard Arden Morse.  The meditation makes me consider that I do have traits, talents, and even possessions from my earthly father that are mine.  I have worked hard not to inherit his anger and greed.  The end of my parents’ lives would have been more peaceful and happy if my father had not considered himself to be righteously wrathful.  He was angry at entire nations and at anyone he suspected of disrespecting him (the list only grew, never diminished).  He used to sing the song “I Have a Little List” from the Mikado which makes fun of this phenomena.  By the time he was old and demented his list was so long it tortured him and everyone around him.

Now that Richard has been dead and in the ground for 10 years I am sure he is over his violent feelings.  He wants me to know that both glory and vengeance are not mine at all.  He warns me with his memory about personally taking on too much anger.  He assures me that the truth does set us free and there is no point in crying over spilled milk (this was a favorite expression of his).  If you have started a list of those you find responsible for all evil, work to eliminate those beliefs before they make you very crazy.  Also, remember, gentle readers, you are on somebody else’s list.

First Hello Kitty cafe to open in California!

November 12, 2014 — 3 Comments

Hello Kitty Cafe in LA!!!! At last, a dining establishment dedicated totally to her image!!!

Hannah Mead, 10th Great-Grandmother

November 11, 2014 — 1 Comment

King's Colors

King’s Colors

My 10th great-grandmother was a midwife who outlived two husbands before she arrived in America.  I am a descendant of her first husband, John Potter who died in England.  Her immigration to America was tragic, and she survived to the  age of 75.  The reason the colonists gave her the land belonging to her dead husband was her profession as a midwife.  Since they needed her services they wanted her to stay.

John BEECHER was born on 28 Mar 1594 in Kent, England. He died in 1637/38 in New Haven, Connecticut. He immigrated on 26 Jun 1637 to Boston Harbor. Arrived April 26, 1637 from Steldhurst County, Kent, England. In Governor Eaton’s Company. The first Beecher to reach New England was John Beecher, who came from Kent, England in 1637. He was in the company led by Rev. John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton who had been the Ambassador to Denmark and Deputy-Governor of India. The company crossed the ocean on the “Hector” and another sister-ship. These two ships, after a two month voyage, dropped anchor in Boston harbor. The company consisted of 50 men and 200 women and children and was the most prosperous that ever arrived in New England. Unfortunately, they landed in the midst of a quarrel about Anne Hutchinson who had set herself up as a preacher, irregardless of her sex. Not wishing to become involved, they sent out a scouting party to find another location to settle. They decided upon Quinnipiack on the Long Island Sound, the site of present day New Haven, Conn. The party built a hut and left seven of their men to hold the post for the winter and to prepare for the arrival of the rest of the company in the spring. John Beecher was one of the seven and he failed to survive the winter. Hannah arrived in the spring with her son Isaac and found her husband in an unmarked grave. Since she was the only midwife among them, and thus relied upon by the others in the company, she was given her husband’s allotment of land for herself and her son Isaac. One hundred and twelve years later, in 1750, when David Beecher was a boy of twelve, workmen who were digging a cellar for a house at the corner of George and Meadow Streets in New Haven came upon human bones, believed to be those of John Beecher.  Hannah Mead  was born in 1600 in Spaldhurt, Kent, England. She died on 5 Apr 1658/59 in New Haven, Connecticut.

Hannah Beecher sailed from England with her son Isaac and was a widow at the time she left England. Husband John Beecher, one of the seven whom Eaton sent to New Haven in advance of the colony ,died before the colony arrived. He did not survive the first winter. It is established that this ship load of people was rather wealthy landowners from Steldhurst County, Kent, England. Since the company was rather young, it was felt that Hannah’s services of midwife would be greatly needed. She therefore was offered her husband’s land right in the new world if she would agree to go and fulfill this need, which she did.

The will of Hannah Beecher was proved April 5, 1659 and is recorded in first part, vol i., p 80 of New Haven Probate Records as follows: “I Hannah Beecher of New Haven, expectying my great change do make this my last will and testament, I bequeath my soul unto the hands of my Lord Jesus Christ by whose meritt I hope to be saved and my body to be burried at the discretion of my Son William Potter my Executor. And for my worldly goods I give unto John Potter my Grand child twenty shillings and to Hannah Blackly, my Grand child twenty shillings to be paid to them within three months after my decease. And for the rest of my estate I give one third part to my son Isaac Beecher and two thirds to my eldest son William Potter, making him my Executor, desiring him to be as a father to his younger brother and his children. And in dividing my goods my will is that my son William should have my feather bed with that belongeth to it, unto his part and that the rest be divided at the discretion of my Overseers with the assistance of Sister Wakeman and sister Rutherford and I desire my loving friends Mr Mathew Gilbert and Job Wakeman to be overseers of this my last will whereunto I have set my hand this 13th day of June, Anno 1657. Witnesses, the mark of Mathew Gilbert, Hannah Becher John Wakeman, Sarah Rutherford. This source also indicates that the inventory of Hannah’s estate following her death in 1659 amounted to 55 pounds, 5 shillings, and 6d.

Hannah (Potter) Beecher appears in early New Haven as a widow with sons: John Potter, William Potter, and Isaac Beecher. She has been considered to be the mother of Isaac Beecher, for she calls him her son in her will and gave him one third of her property, but recent investigations (source unproven ) suggest that Isaac was a step son, the son of her second husband by a former wife.

Note: There was in New Haven, says G.F. Tuttle, as early as 1641, a widow Hannah Potter, known as widow Potter the midwife. In 1643 she had two persons in the family, thirty pounds estate and twenty and one quarter acres of land. She is called “sister Potter the midwife,” in seating the meeting house in 1646. She is supposed to have been akin to the other Potters, but there is no record to show it. She has often been confounded with the widow Hannah Beecher, but the records clearly show that they were two different persons. -Per “Families of Ancient New Haven”

Hannah Mead (1584 – 1659)
is my 10th great grandmother
William Potter (1608 – 1684)
son of Hannah Mead
Hannah Potter (1636 – 1700)
daughter of William Potter
Benjamin Daniel Mead (1667 – 1746)
son of Hannah Potter
Mary Mead (1724 – 1787)
daughter of Benjamin Daniel Mead
Abner Mead (1749 – 1810)
son of Mary Mead
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Abner Mead
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

I am descended from Hannah two different ways.  She is also my 11th great-grandmother.  Two of her second great grandsons, Ebenezer and Benjamin Daniel, have contributed to my DNA.

Hannah Mead (1582 – 1659)
is my 11th great grandmother
William POTTER (1608 – 1684)
son of Hannah Mead
Hannah Potter (1636 – 1700)
daughter of William POTTER
Ebenezer Mead (1663 – 1728)
son of Hannah Potter
Ebenezer Mead (1692 – 1775)
son of Ebenezer Mead
Amos Mead (1730 – 1807)
son of Ebenezer Mead
Abner Mead (1749 – 1810)
son of Amos Mead
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Abner Mead
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

This is always tricky and requires a lot of switching and updating to make the tree accurate.  The Meads and the Potters married each other, and so did the Meads and the Meads.  It is too late now to worry about inbreeding.  This happens more than once in my ancestry.

Ebenezer Mead II, 8th Great-Grandfather

November 8, 2014 — 2 Comments

Ebenezer Mead II

Ebenezer Mead II

Ebenezer Mead II was the son of Ebenezer I, who ran a tavern and served as justice of the peace in Fairfield County during his lifetime.  He did military service and stepped into his father’s shoes as justice of the peace.  His political career also included holding the office of deputy to the assembly.  He is  buried in the Union Cemetery in Greenwich, Connecticut next to many of his family members, and some of my ancestors.  He lived a very long life.  He  married a young wife to spend his last 16 years with him.  I bet she was surprised he made it to the age of  83.  He died the year before the Declaration of Independence.  I really wonder what his politics were, since all his service had been to the crown of England in a technical sense.  His son Amos was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

Ebenezer Mead (1692 – 1775)
is my 8th great grandfather
Amos Mead (1730 – 1807)
son of Ebenezer Mead
Abner Mead (1749 – 1810)
son of Amos Mead
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Abner Mead
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am  the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

Ebenezer Mead II was born in Greenwich on October 25, 1692, the eldest son of Ebenezer Mead and Sarah Knapp. He was married on December 12, 1717, to Hannah Brown, the daughter of Peter Brown of Rye NY, and they had Ebenezer, Silas, Abraham, Jonas, Solomon, Deliverance, Amos, Edmund, Hannah, Jabez, Jared and Abraham.
On May 9, 1728, Ebenezer was commissioned a Lieutenant of the East Company, or Train-band, at Horseneck. On May 11, 1738, he was commissioned a Captain of the same company.
He was a Justice of the Peace for Fairfield County from 1733 to 1758, and was a deputy to the assembly in 1733, 1734, 1737 and 1738.
Late in life, in 1759, when he was approaching 70, he was married for a second time, this time to Naomi Weed, the daughter of Abraham Weed. She was about twenty years old at the time. Ebenezer Mead’s will was dated June 3, 1772, and probated June 15, 1775. In it he mentions his wife Naomi and children Deliverance, Jared, Silas, Jonas, Solomon, Amos, Abraham, Jr.; his grandson Enoch Mead, granddaughter Hannah, and grandson Ebenezer, the children of his son Ebenezer, who had predeceased him. His executor was his son Jared. The witnesses were Daniel Smith, Joshua Smith, and Jesse Parsons.

Abner Morse at the Vega Cemetery

November 6, 2014 — 2 Comments

Abner Morse grave

Abner Morse grave

Vega, Delaware County, NY

Vega, Delaware County, NY

My 3rd great-grandfather was Abner Morse.  He lived a short life in Delaware County, New York.  He is buried in the Vega Cemetery which is right across the road from Batavia Kill, where Abner’s  ancestors had established themselves in a homestead.  His parents are also buried there, and maybe more generations, I am not sure.  This place would be very significant to me, I know. I don’t know the cause of Abner’s death, but the date is tragic. He died when his young son Daniel Rowland ( my 2nd great) was only 4 months old.  His wife did remarry and take care of Daniel and his older brother in New York.  Daniel took off for Illinois when he was less than 20 years old with his wife-to-be’s parents.  Before the Civil War it was a difficult trip, hard to survive all the way from New York to Illinois.  The young family returned to New York to farm in the same place they had left a few years earlier.  Many generations of Morses farmed the area around Roxbury and are buried there.  I think it is a super Morsey place that I want to visit and see if I can feel the Morses.  Vega Cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places, so it will not be disturbed…good news.  This will be a very specific trip to arrange and manage, all about dead Morses in New York, not of much interest to most people, but for me it will be a blast.  These are the adventurers who made my life possible.  Thanks Abner, and all my relations.

Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
is my 3rd great grandfather
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

The Beaver’s Moon #FullMoonEngageMe Social Media Event N°7 #EmpireAvenue #SocialNetworking

November 6, 2014 — 1 Comment

Frost Moon Fun on Empire Avenue this weekend. Join the Gangstas for some socially acceptable lunacy.

Spooky

November 5, 2014 — 1 Comment

What is spooky to you? I find that old cities are full of ghostly remnants. I am not sure if the spirits of people, or just the weight of history is what makes a place feel haunted.  There are those places that capitalize on their haunted nature.  Jerome, Arizona is such a place.  With a haunted hotel and tours of the old ghost town for visitors, spooks are a real value to the business people.  The history of the mining town is fascinating and easily lends itself to ghost stories.  Today artists and services catering to tourists keep the economy thriving.

 

My own feeling there was not so haunted by the dead but by the living.  I like the architecture and only stayed a short time, walking around and eating at a Mexican restaurant where I disliked the food and service.  Something felt great about leaving the town and driving off the hill.  Later I reflected on that whole experience.  I do plenty of planning when I travel, and then allow instinct to guide me when I arrive as much as possible.  I went up to Jerome on  a whim,  just to see it.  I bought a beautiful glass from an artist, walked around town and bought a 15 minute psychic reading in the basement of the Jerome Historical Society building.  I have not often done readings.   This was the 5th time in my life.  I was allowing my gut feeling to operate since I had no agenda and was not expecting a reader to be sitting in the history museum with a little tent for privacy.  I thought, “Why not?  This is as good a way as any to get in touch with the spooks of the area.”  Her price was reasonable and she did not try to put me on in any way.  A good psychic insight sinks in over time, and that is how her reading is working for me.  Leaving and pondering the message I wavered about making a decision to eat in a restaurant.  I was not sure I wanted to stay.   I entered a Mexican place that really suited my taste in decor.  I was instantly put off by very unfriendly service and a feeling this was not the place for me to eat. The server ignored me for a full 5 minutes while talking and joking with locals at the bar.  I sat through that clear message and ordered food anyhow.  I liked nothing about the food and felt the service deserved an F.  That was one reason I felt good leaving the town.  I ended Jerome on a bad note, and had only myself to blame.  I blatantly ignored my own intuition.

Spooks always have the exact same message for me, in a few different forms.  I have the ability to size up situations accurately and much more quickly than most people.  I don’t say this to boast, but it is a gift I have.  I instantly know if someone is lying, even before they say the words.  I believe we all come with assorted psychic gifts or talents that we may ignore or develop as we go through life.  Our own trust is all we need to check the accuracy of our gut feelings. Upgrade yourself to a belief in your own instincts.  If ghosts are around, that is where you can find them.  If you are looking for a great view and some possible paranormal activity I highly recommend you go to Jerome, AZ.

 

Officer Evo, My Dream Cop

November 2, 2014 — 4 Comments

Yesterday I met Canine Officer Evo of the Tucson Police Department. He and his human trainer were at the Cops and Rodders Car Show.  This free annual event is sponsored by the Tucson Police Foundation.  My partner Bob always brings his antique VW bug to be in the show and I always attend.  This year was graced with perfect weather and some really artful vehicles of every kind.  My favorite collection this year was old firetruck and cop car toys that a regular exhibitor brought just do try something different.  It was also especially lucky because the restored firetruck that normally sits in the lobby at station one permanently happened to to out for some kind of repair, so the retired firefighter who works on this beauty drove it over to the park to be in the show.  I love all the firetrucks. They are spectacular works of mechanical art.  I was thrilled to have a chance to meet and ask questions of the retired firefighter who has done the body work on these antiques and is rightfully proud of his work.

The police are set up to meet the public and answer questions all day.  They are divided into specialties according to training and equipment they use.  The SWAT team is very popular because the robots interact with kids and pass a bottle of hand sanitizer, etc.  They dress up in jumpsuits and stand next to their big vehicle.  The helicopter lands and the crew hangs out all day.   People love looking inside the cockpit and meeting the cops on our local beat, since they are usually flying over us shining big obtrusive lights around our hood.  There is a booth with their heavy military artillery, a place with TPD recruiting information.  At the end of the display I spotted a woman wearing a walking patrol uniform.  I asked where she gets to do that, and the answer was downtown and 4th Avenue, a more urban part of town.  The same officers do bike and walking patrols.  We had a few in midtown and really wanted more on duty here, but they were canceled.  Now we have no boots on the ground in midtown, which we regret because air support can only accomplish so much without a coalition on the ground to hold the territory.  We have the helicopter on a very regular basis, but are not comforted by our relationship with it.  It does not make any sense to us to cancel bike cops because the budget is too tight, and use the helicopter instead.  There is such a thing as efficiency.  I was feeling annoyed, as I often am, at the priorities (or total lack thereof)  of government spending when I saw him, everything I have ever wanted in a police officer.

Evo rules

Evo rules

The canine unit has only 10 dogs.  Not all of them are social, and therefore would not be brought out to meet and greet the pubic. Evo, however, is a total party animal.  I had no idea they were loving, or that they even were allowed to party with the public.  Imagine my surprise and delight when I came down to his level to say hi to him and was given big fat kisses all over my face.  He just would not stop with the kissing while he showed me his tummy.  We played for a minute and I fell deeply in love with him while his other fans waited to meet him.  From little kids to adults, he charmed the humans as no other cop there had the power to do.  His trainer opened the back of his car so his fans could see how he rides and answered the millions of questions we had.  A very loud and aggressive lemonade vendor came by shouting out his wares.  He meant no harm, but his shouting voice was out of place.  Officer Evo did not bark to react like a pet dog might, but you should have seen him come to attention.  His ears went shooting up and he left his PR job completely to focus on the risk the lemonade guy might pose.  At that moment he displayed situational awareness the humans just can’t achieve.  He had been there winning hearts and minds since 7:30 am when I met him about 2 in the afternoon.  He showed infinite patience and stamina.  Of course he is much younger than the human cops.  He is only 4.

I learned a lot yesterday even though I just went to see the vehicles.  I came away with the following impressions:

  • Bike cops would fit into the budget if we just get rid of a bunch of their cars and make them ride bikes in the hood
  • We need well trained expensive bomb squads and assault rifles and helicopters, but not for primary care law enforcement
  • If we put cameras on cops, sent them out on bikes, and deputized them to do code enforcement, they could do double duty working eliminate the slummy conditions that make the crime so endemic in the first place.
  • If we hired more dogs and fewer humans we could get a lot more bang (or bark) for our tax buck.

I would like to see more paws and boots on the ground in midtown.  Can I get an Amen?? If you don’t live in Tucson, gentle reader, then this may not seem to apply to you.  Your city may also do inappropriate law enforcement stuff rather than more effective stuff just because they can.  If they don’t, you are fortunate.

Tokyo’s Shibuya holds its first Halloween costume contest aboard a train, we ride along

October 28, 2014 — 3 Comments

Japanese Halloween costume contest on a train