Week 29 of the #52 Ancestors Challenge - "Music"

For this "music" challenge entry, I have chosen the "Four Jills", a singing quartet from my (former) home town of Eliot, Maine. Members of, and sponsored by, the John F. Hill Grange, they formed under that name in the spring of 1964 (though they were singing together the year prior). They participated in numerous events in town, including performances at the Grange, the High School, the East Eliot Methodist Church (where 3 of the 4 girls attended services), and the Girl Scouts (of which they were members). They would also enter into Grange contests within York County, as well as the state.

They sung together as the "Four Jills" until the summer of 1965, when ​two of the girls graduated from high school, and moved away due to college and/or marriage. The other two singers graduated from school the following year.

My Aunt Sharon (on left) would pass away in 1977, and Christine (far right) lives in PA, I believe. The two in the center of the photo, my mom and Debbie, both live in the town where they grew up, and actually still sing together, in the church choir.

Below is a clipping from a digitized local paper (dated 20 Aug 1964), with another picture of the quartet.

Week 28 of the #52 Ancestors Challenge - "Travel"

​It was the summer of 1977, and I had just completed 2nd grade. The family home was sold and we had moved the next town over, to stay with my grandparents while the new house was being built. But, before that was all started - ROAD TRIP! 

We were off on an 1800-mile trek to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins out in Lone Grove, Oklahoma, my first time traveling outside of New England.

While in Oklahoma, we visited nearby Lake Murray State Park, taking my cousin's boat over to Tucker Tower for a cool view of the man-made body of water from the top of the structure. My uncle, who had a cattle farm, also had numerous concrete containers on his property which held bait, sold to local fishermen heading here to the lake. 

Our families also took a drive down into Texas, where we spent the day at Six Flags amusement park in Arlington.

Here are some pictures from the farm. Due to an attempt at correcting my "lazy eye", I was stuck with wearing an eye patch that summer. When my uncle took us over to Ardmore to go shopping at this department store called Wal-Mart, I picked up a Planet of the Apes mask. That should hide this embarrassing patch!  

​I also got a new bike for my birthday while out there, which made things a bit tighter in the back of the pick-up on the ride home!

Week 27 of the #52Ancestors Challenge - "Independence"

​On the 14th of March, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution, recommending that all persons "​who are notoriously disaffected to the Cause of AMERICA, Or who have not associated, and refuse to associate, to defend by ARMS, the United Colonies, against the Hostile Attempts of the British Fleets and Armies." be disarmed.

In response to this, the Committee of Safety in New Hampshire passed a resolution on 12 April, 1776, requiring the selectmen of each town to gather signatures from all males above 21 years of age, excepting "Lunaticks, Idiots and Negroes", and to report to the Committee or the General Assembly all those who refused to sign. Those opposing this ASSOCIATION TEST were not necessarily pro-British, but included ministers and Quakers whose religious beliefs were anti-war. Some men who were currently serving in the army may have been missed as well, and the reports for some towns are fragmentary or missing (or never turned in).

Below are the names of my ancestors found in these Association Test lists. Some were already veterans of the war, and others would later enlist. A lack of information and/or common names will prevent me from knowing what, if any, service, the others may have been involved in.
​

BARRINGTON - John Blake (1716-1816), my 7th Great-Grandfather

BRENTWOOD - Samuel Lock (Locke), my 6th Great Grandfather (1740-1818)

HAMPTON - John Taylor (1711-1796)

NEW CASTLE 
Christopher Amazeen, 5th Great Grandfather (1737-1823)
David Mitchal (Mitchell) Jr, 5th Great Grandfather [a "Jr", but his father David isn't seen on the list]
Isaac Pridham, 5th Great Grandfather (1746- )
Benjamin Yeaten (Yeaton), 5th Great Grandfather (ca 1724-1785)
Richard Yeaton and son Richard Junr (under list of refused, but he was serving in the army at the time)
[Missing from the list are 6th Great-Grandfather Henry Tredick, and 5th GGF Joseph Amazeen (ca 1736-1825)]

NORTH HAMPTON - "Frances" (Francis) Page, 6th Great Grandfather (1724-1802). Son Coffin Page would have aged 21 at this time, so should have been a signer. He had already served in the army, and would reenlist.

NORTHWOOD - William Blaake (Blake), 6th Great Grandfather, and son of John Blake (on Barrington list above)

PORTSMOUTH - Nathaniel Lear

WAKEFIELD - Only one "Joseph Leavitt" was found on the list of this town, so the other one (either the father or son) was probably still in Exeter (listing for this town not complete), or was serving in the army.

Sources:
New Hampshire Provincial and State Papers, Volume 30 [on archive.org]
Wilson, Emily S. Inhabitants of New Hampshire, 1776. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993 [on Ancestry.com, this is same data as above NH State Papers, but listed in alphabetical order by surname]