Guildhall

Imagine finding a physical description of your 6th great-grandfather living in London back in 1725. Fascinating.  Samuel Wethered: “He is a thin Man, of a smooth Face, pale Complexion, dark Eye-brows, about five Foot eight Inches high, and appears to be 23-24 Years old, speaks French, and generally wore a light Wig and light colour’d

English Entanglements

With 512 7th Gr-grandparents, we’re bound to find something upsetting about our forebears when we dig deep. For me, it’s the Wethereds that are the most troubling. Before coming to Boston, the Wethereds lived in London, by the very center of its civilian power: Guildhall. The affiliated church, St. Lawrence Jewry, designed by Christopher Wren, is

Following Back

Long gravel roads wind through the hills around River Philip, Nova Scotia. My ancestors had plots of land up here that are easy to find on old maps, but hard to reach in reality. Rocks and black flies kept me from driving or walking to my destinations — turning me back around. While my great-grandparents

The End of Him

A cannon was fired from here at Fort Cumberland that killed my 5th great grandfather in a nearby bar. The wild story is told in the book The Siege of Fort Cumberland 1776, by Ernest Clark.  Samuel Wethered was born in Boston, the son of a prominent tavern owner. In 1758, following service with the

Abandoned

In 1784, Richard Colburn was granted 200 acres around here in North Wallace, Nova Scotia — compensation for his military service at Fort Cumberland, New Brunswick. Back then, this area was called Remsheg, and Richard, who was a 4th great-grandfather of mine, had served as a private for the Royal Fencible American Regiment. There were

Afraid to Look

In the heart of downtown Boston, on State Street, close to the iconic Old State House, there’s a plaque on the wall of an office building marking the former location of the celebrated Bunch of Grapes Tavern. That tavern, which was in operation for most of the 18th century, was full of history, including my

A Shock from Fort Cumberland

The iconic facade of King’s Chapel in Boston is hidden now under construction tarps. All you can see is a rainbow flag and a Black Lives Matter banner. The view is better from the Old Burial Ground next door—the oldest cemetery in Boston. It was here that I came, soon after I found the upsetting