Surname Saturday – CURLESS/CURLISS/CORLISS

This is the first in a series of blog posts dedicated to my female ancestors and their maiden names. Mary Ann Curless Vickers was my 4th great-grandmother. She lived to be more than 100 years old. Born in Smithfield, Rhode Island on 16 August 1797, she also resided in nearby Thompson, CT and Oxford, MA. Her parents were Nancy (Annie) Pollock and Christopher Curless. Christopher … Continue reading Surname Saturday – CURLESS/CURLISS/CORLISS

The Women Before Me

I thank Heather Rojo from Nutfield Genealogy for her post on how she organizes her Surname Saturday posts. I’m going to work on the maiden names of women in my ancestry beginning with my maternal line. Those names include: Ransom, Slocum, Dailey, Curless, Vickers, Williams, Scott, Harry, Foster, Money, Henry, Quow, Jackson, Willett, Romsor, Pegan, Pollock, Brown, Toney, and Hazzard. And, yes, I know these … Continue reading The Women Before Me

Nipmucs in the Civil War

I have several direct and collateral ancestors that served in the Civil War. One of those relations was Christopher Vickers (sometime spelled Vicars). There are several Christopher Vickers that were born and died in the same parts of New England and around the same time periods. I’d like to tell you a little about the Christopher Vickers that was born in Thompson, CT on the … Continue reading Nipmucs in the Civil War

John Milton Earle’s Miscellaneous Indians

What is John Milton Earle’s Miscellaneous Indians list? What tribe or tribes did these families and individuals belong to? And why are we still debating this???? Background Information In 1859, John Milton Earle, of Worcester, MA, was selected to research the number and condition of Indians in Massachusetts. This was in preparation for the enfranchisement of Native peoples in the state. Earle’s report is formally … Continue reading John Milton Earle’s Miscellaneous Indians

Who is Molly Pegan? (Part 2)

Molly Pegan is my sixth great grandmother and a source of much controversy in my small Nipmuc community.  Some of us believe her to be Nipmuc, especially since her maiden name is Pegan – a known Nipmuc name. Others (including nameless BIA researchers) don’t think she is Nipmuc and that the name is simply coincidence. Now her last name is not the only reason folks … Continue reading Who is Molly Pegan? (Part 2)