Some Newmarket New Hampshire Genealogy: Joy, Badger, Leavitt and Willey Families

Posted on 14 January, 2016 by Janice Brown
Old postcard of Moonlight Bridge, Newmarket NH and a horse-drawn carriage

Old postcard of Moonlight Bridge, Newmarket NH and a horse-drawn carriage

I purchased some beautiful photographs that connect several of Newmarket, New Hampshire’s early families to each other. Even though I’m not related to them, they have an interesting visual appeal.The three photographs are of Nathan Holt Leavitt (2d), his wife Mary E. (Badger) Leavitt, and their daughter Lizzie C. (Leavitt) Willey.

The partial genealogies of the Joy, Badger, Leavitt and Willey families are shown directly below. It is interesting to note that several generations were united by their profession in the carriage industry, either building them, or painting them. Continue reading →

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Three Photographic Generations of Enfield New Hampshire’s Purmort Family

Posted on 10 January, 2016 by Janice Brown
Photograph: c1904 photograph showing part of the Enfield NH Shaker Community with the Great Stone House in the Center, State Route 4A, Enfield. Library of Congress Prints and Photographic Division.

c1904 photograph showing part of the Enfield NH Shaker Community with the Great Stone House in the Center, State Route 4A, Enfield. Library of Congress Prints and Photographic Division.

I was quite struck (in a good way) by the three photographs of the Purmort Family of Enfield, New Hampshire being sold. The surname Purmort had already been researched quite well in 1907 by Rev. Charles H. Purmort, D.D. of Des Moines Iowa. Though the family seems quite prolific, I had only run across the name a few times in my years of research.

It is not my intention to “reinvent” the Purmort genealogy, as it is already so well presented. There are  descendants and cousins who might still enjoy seeing their ancestor, Phoebe (Dole) Purmort. She turns out to be my 4th cousin, 5x removed thorugh her Dole line. Fancy that! Continue reading →

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Cow Stories: A New Hampshire Toreador of 1920

Posted on 6 January, 2016 by Janice Brown
Photograph: Cows on the train tracks, c1917-1934; Leslie Jones photographer; Copyright Leslie Jones Collection, Coutesy of the Boston Public Library Collection

Photograph: Cows on the train tracks, c1917-1934; Leslie Jones photographer; Copyright Leslie Jones Collection, Courtesy of the Boston Public Library Collection

Bull fights are illegal in New Hampshire, but the animals involved in this story were cows. It happened when a flock of cows with “one track minds” congregated on the Boston & Maine line between here and York Harbor and refused to permit a train to pass.

They were shooed off the track several times, but always returned with bovine complacency. Finally a brakeman armed with a red signal flag assumed the role of toreador. Whirling the flag about his head he started for an open field. Continue reading →

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The Neal Family of Meredith, Belknap County New Hampshire

Posted on 2 January, 2016 by Janice Brown
Old postcard: Road to Meredith Village at Lake Winnipesaukee

Old postcard: Road to Meredith Village at Lake Winnipesaukee.

The Neal Family of Meredith New Hampshire is ancient, and its lineage complicated.  The surname is spelled a variety of ways: Neal, Neale, Nele, etc. This name is found in the earliest records of New Hampshire’s immigration history.

This article is not being written to prove a detailed ancestry of the Neals, but rather to focus on two people — Mrs. Hannah (Smith) Neal, and her son Smith Neal of Meredith. I will let the genealogy below, speak for itself.

Continue reading →

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Cow Hampshire’s Strange But True Blog Statistics for 2015

Posted on 1 January, 2016 by Janice Brown

Victorian New YearsFirst, Happy 2016 to All.  I thought the first post of the year should include offering a few insights into where my readership comes from, and what sort of stories they (and you) prefer.

As far as how viewers arrived here–it was not by stage coach or bullet train.  Instead, it was the traditional search engines, in this specific order:  Google, Bing, Yahoo, Google Image Search, AOL, Ask.  This was followed by readers arriving from Facebook, Searchroots, and Wikipedia. Continue reading →

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