Thomas Stafford, the Millwright (my 8th Great Grandfather)

As most of you know our Stafford connection is through Augusta Stafford Baldwin (1828-1891), wife of Henry Clay Baldwin (1828-1887) and mother of our Fredrick Henry Baldwin (1853-1931). What you may not know is that Thomas Stafford, who was a very early American colonist, played a major role in establishing colonial self-sufficiency as a millwright and later participated in the establishment of Rhode Island as a separate colony.

Thomas (1605-1677) came to Plymouth, Massachusetts in about 1626 from Warwickshire, England and is attributed with building the first water powered grist mill in the new colony. This mill would have been used to process grain (wheat, rye, oats, and or barley) into flour and meal and would have been vital in the efforts of the colonists to become more self-sufficient. For a great article about these early mills check out: http://www.angelfire.com/journal/millrestoration/history.html. Thomas went on to build a number of mills in Rhode Island where he is included on the list of first settlers of Newport (20 May 1638) under the employ/indenture of Nicholas Easton, who had been ejected from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for heretical beliefs. For a concise history of Newport see: http://www.newporthistory.org/about/brief-history-of-newport/.

Later Thomas was employed as a millwright and constructed a mill in 1652 in Warwick, Rhode Island. In 1655 in Warwick he became a Declared Freeman. Freeman status meant that he no longer was indentured, was free of debt, could become a member of a church, as well as be a part of a governing body. As he owned land while in Newport, it is likely he was released from indenture before that time but formalised his status as Free for other reasons. It should be noted that indentured servitude did not have a social stigma but was a respectable means of gaining passage to the New World.

During his life Thomas appeared in number of legal documents indicating land ownership and relationships with various people and places in Rhode Island.

Only a little is known of his wife, Elizabeth. She was born about 1614, married Thomas in Plymouth in 1634 and died in 1677 shortly after Thomas. They had 6 children and we are descended from their second son, Samuel (1635-1718). Thomas’ will roughly stated: “To well beloved wife Elizabeth during her natural life, 1/2 of dwelling house, and also 1/2 of orchard, meadow and other lands, and two cows. To son Thomas, the other, 1/2 of lands, etc., and afterwards divided between son Thomas and daughter Deborah Westcott. To daughter Deborah Westcott, 1 cow. To son Samuel, 1 calf. To son Joseph, 1 calf. To Hannah Bromley, 1 calf.” I must admit it seems rather harsh that Samuel and some of his siblings only got 1 calf but such were the customs then.

Some earlier literature on the Staffords indicated Thomas was a descendant of the 6^th Baron Stafford but DNA testing indicates that this not likely. However, testing does show that this family group is probably descended from a Thracian (Romanian) cavalry soldier who served with one of the Roman legions in Britain between 100 and 400 ad.

The Four Brothers and Eisboßeln

The Four Brothers and Eisboßeln

Johann Bielenberg (1833-1884)

Claus Bielenberg (1835-1908)

Peter Bielenberg (1837-1915)

Herman Bielenberg (1840-1929)

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Herman’s letter to the descendants of the Bielenberg brothers:

“We four brothers were great sports when in our prime. We all had unusual and remarkable strength. For instance, we could lift a 100 pound weight with one hand over our head; we could throw a 50 pound weight 25 feet.

There was a great game where we were born called EISBOZELN, meaning an ice ball. The game was played only in the winter.

We four brothers were famous regarding throwing. We generally used a 2lb.ball. A wooden ball 1 1/2 inches in diameter with 5 holes filled with lead. Anyone who could throw 18 rods (313 feet) was considered a good thrower. As brothers we threw: John-363ft., Claus-380 ft., Peter-414ft. and Herman-450ft.

The brothers will all born in Neuenkirchen, Germany on the Stoer River, 30 miles south of Hamburg. Competitions were held town against town in the winter. The Bielenberg brothers won their biggest contest against a team from Hamburg in 1860.

The sport is still in existence or was in 1925 and was played somewhat like cricket wherein they took breaks to have lunch by our old and young ladies followed by music and dancing.

The Bielenberg boys were quite famous EISBOSTLERS in Germany and Herman who visited there in 1913 said they were still remembered for their victories 53 years after beating Hamburg. The brothers all went to the United States in 1865.”

About  Eisboßeln:

According to German Wikipedia (I was assisted by a German friend in finding the article and translating it):  The sport has existed for 4000 years. The form practiced by our ancestors was popular in the northern Germany, southern Denmark and the Netherlands agricultural and marshland areas as a winter team sport because the farmers had more free time then and the fields were cleared and frozen thus facilitating a large playing area. Often a team was made up of most of the men in a village. As Herman described they used wooden balls with lead plugs as pictured below. The distances measured included the roll after impact. From what I can surmise with my limited German is that a form of the sport is still practiced in 2016 and there are some variations and derivations including bowling and what looks a bit like curling.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisbo%C3%9Feln

Thank you, Herman, for leaving us this little glimpse into your lives in Germany so many years ago. 

My connection to the Bielenbergs is through my grandmother, Margarette Anne Bielenberg, wife of H. C. Baldwin. Peter, who threw 414 feet, is my second great grandfather. This post is dedicated to shotputter, Rick Baldwin! 

Visualizing the world of Abel and Catherine

In an earlier post I explained some of what I know about the life of Abel Baldwin and his partner, Catherine Person. I thought you all might enjoy some images that bring their lives a bit more into focus. I do not have any photos of Abel or Catherine (but I am always on the lookout.) There might not be any. If anyone comes across something that might be them please send me a copy or pass them on to me for safe-keeping.

Map of Essex County

In the SE corner of the county just a bit inland from Whallon's Bay of Lake Champlain you will see a red label for the school house and cemetery where Abel's wife, Polly, and eldest son, Philip, are buried. The way the monument is laid out I suspect that Abel was originally intending to be buried there as well...but plans changed. To the SW of the school and cemetery is the original farm, labeled PS Baldwin. There is another Baldwin farm (probably Abel's nephew) in the same block as well as a number of Stafford farms that link with Henry Clay's wife, Augusta Stafford. Our ancestor, Frederick Henry (father of Clay and Calla) was born in the area in 1853 and and would have about three years old when all three generations loaded up the wagons for the newly opened territory in Minnesota.

Above are the house and barn of what is now called Steadfast Farm where Abel and later Philip farmed. They both appear to be the original buildings and have been very well maintained. Most certainly the children raised in the this house would have attended the school just up the road which also still stands.

The photo above is Polly King Baldwin, Abel's legal wife and the mother of his first two children. We may never know for sure why the relationship broke down and she stayed behind in New York with her elder son while the rest of the family became some of the first pioneers in Minnesota.

This is the homestead of Abel and Catherine in Forestville, Fillmore County that according to Alice Jolink was still standing when she and Al were lived in Spring Valley in the 1950s though she never saw it. I have not found the house when I have visited but the original land belonging to Abel and Henry is still beautiful farmland with lovely wooded valleys and fence rows. More on life in Fillmore County and the farm later.

The couple above are Henry Clay Baldwin and Augusta Stafford and below is their son Fred Henry who was between 3 and 4 years old when the family made the move in the Conestoga wagons (according to family lore) from the banks of Lake Champlain the bluffs of the Root River that winds through SE Minnesota.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conestoga_wagon

DNA Ethnicity

For the Baldwins who will probably be checking out this blog first, I have given a link to Dad's ethnicity results to tweak your interest and give you an idea what you got from Halsey Clay Baldwin and Margarette Anne Bielenberg! The mix can vary quite a bit from sibling to sibling.

http://dna.ancestry.com.au/public/ethnicity/2aa48d6a-8692-4c35-aae5-3472dbc3ae96/b5825327-ace6-491d-ab37-40f044f0b789

Who is Catherine Person?

When I initially began researching my family tree my focus was on collecting names on ancestry.com but as I started to branch out and gather more information I began to see the people behind the names and dates and one woman practically jumped out at me, Catherine Person. Who was this woman who kept showing up on censuses with my 4th great grandfather, Abel Baldwin, and his family? Was she a servant as she was initially listed or as I came to suspect someone much more intriguing?

What I do know is that Abel Baldwin was born on 20 Jul 1791 in Langdon, Sullivan, New Hampshire, USA as the first child of Joshua Baldwin Jr. and Elizabeth Spaulding. He had one sibling, Harry. He died on 15 Aug 1869 in Forestville, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA. When he was 22, he married Polly Mary King, daughter of Samuel King and Betsy Jones, in about 1814 in New Hampshire, USA.

Abel Baldwin served in the military on 07 Sep 1813 in New York, USA in the War of 1812. He was living in Essex, Essex, New York, USA in 1830 and at that point Abel seemed to be maintaining two homes, possibly one with his wife, Polly and one with the much younger Catherine Person. He was still living in Essex, New York, USA in 1840 and in 1850 Abel was living with the much younger Catherine and his younger children and was farming land worth $14000. In 1855 at the age of 64 Abel handed the beautiful farm in Essex, New York over to his eldest son, Philip and loaded up the Conestoga wagons bound for Minnesota. He was accompanied by his other children (including our direct ancestors, Henry Clay and his son Fredrick Henry) and Catherine, not his wife, Polly King. Philip, remained in Essex on the farm there, and his family cared for Polly for the rest of her long life.

The pioneering family members relocated to SE Minnesota to farm. On 02 May 1855 Abel obtained the title to Section 5 in Forestville Township, Fillmore County.

He lived and farmed with his family in Fillmore, Minnesota until he passed away on the 15^th of August 1869. He signed his will a month earlier on 13 Jul 1869 in Forestville witnessed by: R.C. McCord and Michail Mahony. His estate was probated on 04 Oct 1869 in Preston, Fillmore, Minnesota. He was buried in Fillmore County in the Duff Cemetery located on his neighbor’s property.

Upon reading the will it is clear that Philip and Frederick are Abel’s only legitimate children. The rest of the children including our Henry are listed in the will as natural and adopted which was a formal way of acknowledging illegitimate children so they could inherit. In my genealogy research before I found the will at the Fillmore Historical Society I had already come to the conclusion that Emma, Josephine, Eliza and Zac were Abel’s and Catherine’s due to census records but had assumed Henry Clay was a late life baby for Polly. It turns out that either there is another unknown mother or Catherine gave birth to Henry when she was about 15. In Abel’s will after first covering his debts and funeral expenses he secondly, “I give and bequeath to Catherine Person (who has for many years lived with me and assisted me in my family affairs) the sum of two thousand and five hundred dollars.” He looked after all of his children one way or another in the will and also goes on to thank Philip with three thousand dollars for the “consideration of the care, attention and affection he has for many years shown his mother.”

At the time of Abel’s death, the three oldest sons all owned their own farms and were successful and respected members of their communities. I have not been able to track down what happened to Catherine and Zac after 1875 and the girls have also been difficult to track, possibly because they ended up remarrying or moved into states like Nebraska that do not have a lot of online records…yet.

Abel Baldwin and Polly Mary King had the following children:

1.    Philip S. Baldwin was born on 24 Jun 1815 in Stark, Coos, New Hampshire, USA. He died on 15 Sep 1885 in Essex, Essex, New York, USA. He married Abigail Spaulding on 02 Jul 1840.

2.    Frederick Baldwin was born in 1818 in Langdon, Sullivan, New Hampshire, USA. He died about 1871 in Forestville, Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA. He married Diana E. Yarnes in 1863 in York, Fillmore, Minnesota, USA.

Abel Baldwin and Catherine Monroe Kimball Person had the following children:

1.    Henry Clay Baldwin was born on 03 Mar 1828 in Essex, Essex, New York, USA (He is described in Abel Baldwin's will as his natural and adopted son.) He died on 03 Nov 1887 in Spring Valley, Fillmore, Minnesota, USA. He married Augusta C Stafford in 1851 in Essex County, New York, USA.

2.    Emma C. Baldwin was born in 1843 in Essex County, New York, USA. She married James K. McDermott on 25 May 1861 in Carimona, Fillmore, Minnesota, USA.

3.    Josephine Bonapart Baldwin was born in 1845 in Vermont, USA. She married John H. Tucker on 10 Jan 1877 in Fillmore, Minnesota.

4.    Eliza Baldwin was born in 1847 in United States. She married Diamond E. Runals on 01 Jan 1867 in Fillmore County, Minnesota, USA (Major D. E. Runals was a revered civil war veteran and probable owner of the antique drum that Clay Baldwin and James Baldwin looked after until it was passed onto the Edgerton Historical Society.).

5.    Zachariah T. Baldwin was born in 1851 in Essex County, New York, USA.

Welcome

Genealogy has become one of the most popular hobbies in the world, surpassing other collecting hobbies as we collect relatives. The Internet has made it possible for us to scour records more efficiently and in the comfort of our own homes. Aunt Calla's paper tree provided the foundation for tracing my father's family and the internet is allowing me to see glimpses of the stories behind those names and dates. It has also led me to many new names and is allowing me the opportunity to better document the women hidden in the  branches of my ever expanding family tree. So welcome to the many branches of my family tree and my musings as I climb amongst the branches.