Birthday Sunday - September 30th - Esther Barnhill, Isaac Brown, Teresa McCabe Harrigan, Margaret Symons

If you were born on September 30th, you share a birthday with many of our relatives and ancestors.  These include:

Esther Logan Barnhill was born in Chiganois, Colchester County, Nova Scotia on September 30, 1819 to James Barnhill Esq. and Esther Putnam. On her mother's side, she was a descendant of Rebecca Towne Nurse who was hanged for witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.  In December 1939, she married Alexander Boyle William McNutt.  Alexander could trace his roots back to the original Alexander McNutt, who orchestrated the settlement around Cobequid Bay on the Bay of Fundy, by the Ulster Scots from Northern Ireland and New England.  Esther and Alexander had seven children who grew up in Onslow, near Truro.  Esther died in 1898 in Truro and is buried in the Robie Street Cemetery there.

Grave of Isaac Brown
Wallace Bay Cemetery

Isaac Brown was just a baby when his life changed forever.  His mother, Amy Ann Wilson,  died when he was born on September 30, 1789, and the following year he lost his father and older sister during a thunder storm when they were both struck by lightening.  His father, John Brown was originally from England and after emigrating to Long Island, New York sided with the British during the American Revolutionary War.  The family relocated to Nova Scotia in 1783 at the end of the war.  Baby Isaac was taken in by the family of Alexander Peers and Mary Bolding (my 5th Great Grandparents) and raised as their son.  In young adulthood, he married Mary Peers, the daughter of Alexander and Mary.  Isaac became a farmer and the couple raised nine children on their Wallace Bay farm.  Isaac died on September 28th, 1864 at Wallace Bay and is buried in the Wallace Bay Cemetery.

Teresa McCabe
Harrigan

Dan Harrigan's farm
Caledon

Teresa McCabe came into this world on September 30, 1869 in Adjala Township, Simcoe County, Ontario.  Her parents, Peter McCabe and Ellen Keenan were just a generation away from County Cork, Ireland and part of an active Irish Catholic Community in and around Caledon.  In February of 1890, she married Daniel Joseph Harrigan (1st cousin, 3 times removed) and the pair had five children.  Teresa lost her husband Daniel, in 1918 from Liver Cancer but she carried on, living with her family and taking part in church and charitable activities until 1936.  The Harrigans had come to Caledon in about 1832 from Cork, Ireland and by 1850, half the family had relocated to Kinkora, near Stratford.  Caledon was not a particularly easy place to farm, as it is hilly and rocky but Dan and Teresa persevered and eventually passed the farm on to their sons.  Both are buried at St. John the Evangelist Cemetery at Albion, Ontario and many of their descendants still live in the area.

Margaret Wood Symons

And September 30th is the birthday of my favourite daughter-in-law, Margaret.

The Woeful Tale of Dr. John Leander Peppard

Main Street - Great Village 1907

John Leander Peppard was the second of 12 children born in 1840 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, to John Peppard and Sarah Davis.  He was my 2nd cousin, 4 times removed, my 3rd cousin 4 times removed and the husband of my 3rd cousin, 3 times removed.

The family had 4 generations of roots in the Great Village area of the Fundy Shore in Colchester County, Nova Scotia.  His father was a carpenter who thought he'd give New Brunswick a try, but soon returned to their home to raise their growing family.

John went to school in Truro and then completed his medical training at the Dartmouth Medical College and Harvard Medical School.  After a short time practicing in Boston, he returned home to tend to the folks of Great Village.

Now Great Village is a charming town of 500 with winding roads, ancient trees and charming Victorian architecture.  There, on a lovely 150 acre plot of land, John developed "Derry Farm" - his pride and joy.  He lovingly established orchards of plum, apple, cherry and pear trees, bountiful vegetable gardens and meadows of hay and oats.  When not practising medicine, he spent almost every spare moment working on his land and beautifying his flower beds.  The view from the front porch looked down over Economy Point onto the rich red sands of the Cobequid Bay.  Life was good.

John married 3 times - each time to someone much younger and as a result enjoyed a happy household of 9 busy children who tumbled over the lawns and fished in the little pond.

Great Village

On September 27, 1907, John and his friend Sam Lindsay were mowing hay under an unusually hot autumn sun.  They decided to go up to the house and enjoy a glass of cold buttermilk before continuing with their work.  Arriving in the kitchen, John suggested they have a "Wee Dram" rather than the buttermilk and he reached for a bottle on the shelf.  Both men took a good long draw on the bottle and then returned to the field to get back to their mower.

Shortly, however, John fell from the mower and before assistance could arrive, the man was dead.  His friend lingered for a few days before succumbing himself.    Upon investigation, it turned out that the bottle they had drunk from contained Strychnine, rather than whiskey.

The irony was that Dr. John Leander Peppard was the chairman of the Great Village Temperance Society.  I'm told, locals still recount the tale as they drive by the still productive orchards.

The Salem Witch Trials - Our Connection

Home of Rebecca Towne Nurse
Salem Village, Massachusetts

Ernest Raymond McLellan of Bass River (3rd Cousin - twice removed) married one. So did Amos Geddes Peppard of Great Village (3rd Cousin, 3 times removed). William O'Brien Esq.  (Husband of 1st cousin, 4 times removed) of Noel, Hants married one too.  So who were all these ladies?  Each one and a few more in our family tree are descendants of Rebecca Towne Nurse - also known as Goody Nurse, who was hanged for witchcraft at Salem on July 19, 1692.  Here is a bit of her story.

Rebecca was 70 years old when she went before the Court of Oyer and Terminar (Hear and Determine) court.  She was a fragile elderly woman who had lived a good life, even if on her own terms to some extent, was 'cried out' upon and hung at the Gallows Tree.


She was considered intelligent, pious and devout. She bought some land in 1678 and had to go to court to fight for it against one Zerubabel Endicott, where he lost.

This incurred his hostility. Part of the disputed land was made a portion of Ipwich, MA and controversies about boundries of Salem and Ipwich arose. John Putman and others of his large family met the Nurses and the Esteys  on the land and angry words were exchanged. This controversy was long and bitter.

Memorial stone at the site of the
Witch Hangings
Salem

The charge was for afflicting Ann Putnam Jr. and Abigail Williams. Ann Putnam, Sr. testified that the ghosts of Benjamin Houlton, Rebecca Houlton, John Fuller, and her sister Baker's children (6 of them) as well as her sister Bayley and her three children came to her at various times in their winding sheets and cried for justice of being murdered by Rebecca Nurse.


Rebecca stoutly denied this. Asked if she believed the afflicted persons were bewitched, she said they were. She remained in jail until June 1. On June 2, 4 indictments were returned against her for afflicting persons.

The trial was delayed until June 28.

Several witnesses testified they were afflicted by her, that her apparition pinched and chocked them and were threatened by death. Rebecca's body was examined for a "witchmark" which one was found.


Rebecca's two sisters were also accused for many of the same reasons. Several years earlier Rebecca's mother had been accused of witchcraft. She was, however, never tried.  Mary Towne Easty, Rebecca's sister was also hanged on September 22, 1692.

Local gossip during the trials suggested the profession was passed down from mother to daughters.

The trial itself was a sham and a virtual mockery of the judicial system. The complaint was signed by Edward and Jonathan Putnam.

At her trial, testimonials regarding her Christian behavior, care, and education of her children brought a verdict of not guilty.

William Stoughton then politely asked the jury to again retire and reconsider their verdict. So much for not being tried twice for the same offense.

Rebecca's Grave

On July 3, 1692, the Reverend Nicholas Noyes had Rebecca brought from her prison cell to the church. When she arrived, the Reverend excommunicated her before the congregation. How shattering would this be to such a deeply religious person as she was known to be?

A petition was drawn up and signed on May 14, 1692 by most of the richest and most influential people such as Israel Porter (his name appears first), Daniel Andrews, even John Putnam, Sr. and his wife along with 35 other were cosigners of the petition. The petition was sent to Governor Phipps who responded with a temporary reprieve.

The reprieve ran out and Rebecca, along with four other ladies, was carted to the summit of Gallows Hill and hanged on July 19th.

Grave charges have been made against the chief of justice in this case as he practically forced the jury to reverse their not guilty verdict.

She was buried in such a shallow grave on that rocky hill that some body parts remained exposed. Her family came in the dark of night, collected her remains, and reburied her on the family's property.

EPITAPH:

Rebecca Nurse

Yarmouth, England 1621

Salem, Mass. 1692

O Christian Martyr who for truth could die

When all around thee owned the hideous lie!

The world redeemed from Superstition's sway

Is breathing freer for thy sake today.

Rebecca's house still stands and is now under the care of Salem Historical Society.

Descendants of Rebecca Towne Nurse at the
dedication of a monument in her memory
Danvers, Massachusetts
July 1855

William James Moore - Cargo Master and Pioneer

Grave of William James Moore
and Rebecca Nicholson,
Economy Cemetery

Relationship to me:
William James Moore & Rebecca Nicholson (5th great grandparents)
   Margaret Moore & James Charles Campbell
      John Scott Campbell & Janet Chisholm
         John William Campbell & Sarah Simmonds
            Flora Ann Campbell & John  Gamble
               Julia West Gamble & John  Bragg
                  Russell Bragg & Dorothy Harrigan
                     Me

William James Moore was born in 1741, near Coleraine, Northern Ireland.  We have no information on his parents, but do know of a brother, George, who was born in 1747 and accompanied William to North America in about 1761.

Coleraine is a picturesque town about 55 miles northwest of Belfast, Northern Ireland. and 30 miles east of Derry.  In the days of St. Patrick, the town was named after the luxurious ferns that grew along the banks of the River Bann.  In the mid 1700s the area became home to many of the Scots who settled there and it is likely William's family were among this group of 250,000 Presbyterian Ulster Scots.

In the late 1760s, he was said to make his living as a cargo master on ships that delivered flax seed to Philidelphia.  On one such trip he was was aboard the vessel, Eleanor and was shipwrecked near Sable Island. Fortunately he and other survivors were picked up by a passing ship and delivered back to Halifax.

The story goes that he asked a fellow seaman, Thomas Durning, where he might find a good Irish family to stay with.  Thomas sent him to the home of his girlfriend, Rebecca Nicholson, in Portaupique where it is said that he "stole the girl and married her in 1772".  Rebecca's parents, William Nicholson and Lady Janet Smith had eloped from Ireland themselves in 1749.  We don't know if Lady Janet was a member of the aristocracy or if her given name was "Lady", but it's fun to speculate!

It is interesting to note that William and Rebecca's son George, married Elizabeth Durning, daughter of jilted suiter, Thomas Durning.  Thomas married Sarah Jane Cook who is also related to us - but that's another story.

Thomas Headland near
Economy, Nova Scotia

William and Rebecca eventually settled on a farm in nearby Economy.  William maintained ties to the sea by keeping interests in several ships that plied their trade up and down the Bay of Fundy.  The couple raised 9 children.  Their youngest son, another William, died as a small child and was the first person buried on the land which would become the Economy Cemetery -  land that William Senior had donated to the town.

William James Moore died on the 14th of June, 1820 in Economy and Rebecca in 1829.  Both are buried with their little son at the Economy Cemetery.

I often wonder what the early settlers must have thought of their new homes.  Many came from tiny tennant farms in Ireland to receive grants of 500 or more acres and for many of them, supplies and provisions to take them through their first year.  Although the work must have been hard and the trials, many - they must have had such hope for the future.