A Clock Face

Posting about the gunpowder certificate auction has prompted me to check and realize that I never shared about the other item from Isaac Doolittle which I was able to procure.  About a year ago, I got an alert for a new listing on eBay for this pewter clock face:

 
Since it was listed for immediate purchase rather than auction, and at a very reasonable price, I went ahead and became its proud owner!  I've seen a similar clock face offered on eBay since then, and also tracked down a few listings of past auctions of entire Doolittle clocks.

I'm not sure whether he would have crafted this clock face himself.  I've seen a number of very similar pewter pieces, with different names at the top and slight design differences.  There may have been a shop producing parts like these for the various clockmakers in Connecticut, or it may have been made in his shop by an assistant.  I really like it, regardless.

Inspecting Saltpeter for Gunpowder in 1776

One of my auction alerts recently lit up, for an item connected to my 6x great-grandfather, Isaac Doolittle (1721-1800).

It was a document related to inspecting saltpeter for gunpowder, which was then sold to the Continental Army.  The saltpeter was produced by Enos Hemingway, inspected first by Doolittle (who had himself constructed a powder mill to supply the war effort) on 11 Dec 1776, and reinspected by Dr. Eneas/Aeneas Munson (1734-1826) on 18 Dec 1776.

I checked on each of the individuals named in the document.  Dr. Munson seems to have been a grandson of my 9x great grandparents, Esther Mix (1678-1746) and Capt. Theophilus Munson (1675-1747).  I found no connection to the Hemingways or the others mentioned.

I bid on this auction lot but did not win, which I'm okay with.  I still have the scans of the item and the details that go with it - a fascinating snapshot into one moment of the Revolution: 

The front reads:

This may Certifie A quantity of Salt Petre offered for Inspection by Enos Hemingway the maker thereof amounting to five Hundred and Eight Pound and three quarters is well and carefully Inspected and acording to my best judgment and skill the same is found to be Pure Clean and Dry free from any Corrupt mixture the said Enos Hemmingway Having made oath acording to the Direction of the Law in such made and Provided whitch Salt Petre is Raised for the use of this State Dated at New Haven this Eleventh Day of December 1776.

Isaac Doolittle Selectman.

And on the reverse: 

This may Certify that a Quantity of Salt Peter offer for Reinspection by Enos Hemminway of New Haven the Maker thereof amounting to five hundred & Eight pound & three quarters which is well and carefully Reinspected & according to my best Judgement & Skill the same is pure clean & dry free from any corrupt mixture.
Dated at ye Powder Mill New Haven this 18th Day of December 1776.

Eneas Munson Reinspector

Dec. 20. 1776
Rec'd on order o Treas. in full the Purchase + Premium for said Eno. 

Abraham Hemingway 

Mayflower Passengers: The First Year

I recently took an online course from American Ancestors titled "Beyond the Mayflower: History, Culture, and Encounter in Plimoth Colony."  It was comprised of five lectures that offered deep dives into specific topics, all of which I found very interesting and engaging.

One of the more intriguing thoughts that came out of this for me was in the fourth class, discussing the Women of Plimoth, presented by Donna Watkins.  She made the points that Mary Brewster was one of very few adult women to survive the colony's difficult first year - and the oldest of those that did.

I have long been interested in getting a better sense of my ancestor Elizabeth Tilley's life and experiences, since all of that was (sadly, but unsurprisingly) not as well documented as her husband's.  Ms. Watkins' remarks got me thinking about things in terms of who survived that harsh first winter and first year, and who didn't.  How did it impact women differently than men?  Children differently from adults?

I've done some data collection and processing, and even found an excellent poster available from Pilgrim Hall Museum which provides a visual aid for who survived the first year and who didn't.  Here are some excerpts for the Tilley families... 

Passengers during the crossing:

Elizabeth came over with her parents (John and Joan), her aunt and uncle (Ann and Edward), and their two wards.

 

And after the first year... 

All four adults perished in the first winter, leaving the children to be raised by others.  Perhaps in the case of Henry Sampson, he simply had to finish growing up and act as one of the adult males in the struggling colony.  Elizabeth was taken in after her parents' death by the colony's first Governor and his wife (John and Catherine/Katherine Carver), but they both died in the spring of that first year. 

Of 18 adult women (21 or older) who made the crossing, only 4 survived the first year: Mary Brewster, Ellen/Eleanor Billington, Susanna White, and Elizabeth Hopkins.  All five teenage girls survived that year, and 5 out of 7 younger girls who made the crossing also survived.

The infographic is available from Pilgrim Hall Museum as a poster or as a large brochure.  When seen in full, it definitely makes an impression!

I'll have more to share about my Mayflower findings, soon.