Why Do I have This?

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about my efforts in helping a friend with their family history research. In that post I made the point that not all information can be found on the internet. Yes the internet is a vast data bank of easily accessible information, but not EVERYTHING is there. There is a lot of really important documentation, particularly pertaining to family histories, that hasn’t be digitized yet or is written in an old letter sitting in someone’s attic somewhere. Little did I know three weeks ago that I was writing about myself!

I’ve recently moved, but before doing so I thought I did a pretty good job of culling items so as not to move unnecessary things. I weeded out all of my books, which was a monumental task. I made the hard decisions on things that were nice to have but not really vital to my survival. I made a lot of donations to my local thrift stores before everything was packed. However, this week, as I was still unpacking boxes in my new home, I came across a cardboard flat that not only contained items that I can’t believe I brought with me, but that I have no recollection of packing in the first place. Heck I don’t even remember ever buying them!

For those that might not understand, a cardboard flat is like the bottom of a cardboard box. It’s only about 2 or 3 inches high. Usually used in retail stores, these would have held three six packs of canned beverages. Or maybe a dozen or so of canned vegetables or something like that. In this case my cardboard flat is from Anheuser-Busch, which I find very funny as I don’t drink beer! So this must be the original flat these items arrived at my house in. But how that happened, or when that happened I have zero memory of! And I’m still amazed that these passed the “important enough to take to the new house” test. When I mentioned this odd situation to a friend it was pointed out to me that my life lately has been just one odd situation after another anyway! Why should I be so surprised that a mysterious box has decided to attach itself to me? Point well taken! So what is the reason for this box? My friend said “There must be something in there that you need to write about.” Interesting concept!

I found this cardboard flat in the box full of my old journals. Again I have no memory of saving it when I was deciding what was coming with me and what wasn’t. Obviously my journals were important enough to be brought to the new house, but this cardboard flat was laying on top of all of the journals. Like I had placed it in the box last. The flat is full of old handwritten letters most dated in the 1860’s. There are also hand written deeds, like the ones in the photo above, that date to the 1840’s!! There are also pages of someone’s family history, hand written on the most delicate of paper. Clearly very important family history items, but here’s the thing, it’s not my family!!! In fact I have no idea whatsoever who’s family this would even be!!! All of these records and letters come from the town of Canaan, Maine. A town I have absolutely no ancestral connection to, in a county that I have no ancestral connection to, in an area of Maine that I have never even lived in myself! Why in the world would I have a box of historically important documents from Canaan?

A slight hint comes from a typed sheet of paper that the deeds from 1848 were folded inside of. It says “Lot #1 - This auction includes four original documents from the Moore estate. Please read the descriptions carefully and email me with any questions before bidding. All items come from my smoke free home. Please check out my other auctions as there are multiple original documents and genealogy from this estate.” Clearly these items were purchased from an online auction. But did I purchase them? If I did I have no memory of it. And even if I did, why would I? Again not my family history! Did someone else purchase them and give them to me knowing my love of history? Possibly, but given my love of history and the fact that I was living only about 30 minutes away from Canaan for the past ten years, and that I’ve spoken at the Canaan Library regarding my book The Gathering Room, I would have thought I would have had ample opportunity to deposit these items in their rightful home!! It still makes no sense why I brought them with me while moving away! If you know me you know how meticulous I am, trust me when I tell you my packing and moving was just as meticulous as everything else in my life. This mystery box is mind boggling!

As my friend noted, there must be something in here that I need to write about, so I randomly chose a few of the letters and will share some of them with you. Because maybe, just maybe, my purpose in all of this is to get this information on the internet!! Maybe something in one of these letters is exactly the missing piece another researcher is looking for sitting with their laptop on the couch scouring the internet until midnight looking for the answer! Who knows! Anything is possible right?

Dec 10, 1864

Dear Mother & Father,

I want you to come down here just as soon as it comes sleighing, for I want to go home with you and stay until Charley comes up after me. I want Father to get my furniture ever so much. I have to sleep up in an open chamber for want of a bedstead to put downstairs and it is cold enough to freeze the tail off a brass monkey. And then I want you to come and make me a visit. I want you to leave things so as to stay a day or so if not more. I want you to bring my page and eardrops and that yarn you were going to spin for me. I am going to learn to spin next summer and then I am coming home to weave it with you. We will see who will make the best cloth and suppose you think you can. But I will give you a try, I’ll be now what do you think of that old lady? I must close now, come just as soon as you can in the sleigh. — Mary (unknown author it was in the papers belonging to the Stephen Moore estate)

Canaan, October 28, 1867

To Mr. Silas M. Barrett,

Dear Grandson, your kind letter of May the 12th is now before me the contents of which affords me much consolation in this distressing hour. To hear of your own and your beloved wife and son enjoying good health without which a profession of other earthly things would be much depreciated. Also to know that your beloved Mother with her family connections were well. We had written to Stephen in Kentucky, a letter dated April 1, 1866 and this letter was returned to Elder Parsons which he…….

Letter written by Stephen Moore to his grandson Silas Barrett, it was never finished and never sent.

South Natick, Massachusetts October 14, 1863

Dear Brother, Sister & Friend,

It is long since we have had communication yet I hope these few lines will reach you and find you all enjoying comfortable health at this time. Mr. Dredge is quite unwell, with a severe cold, but through the summer he has been well as usual. Taken care of the farm, gathered in the harvest and got through with ——ing, so I think we have been much favored. His cold is getting better, I think will be well in a few days. We received a letter from sister Martha which I enclose for your perusal. It is altogether so good and so acceptable. I forward it to you knowing you will derive much satisfaction in it. And as I could not have the satisfaction of seeing you this summer I enclose my representative, they tell me it is a good likeness. It was taken last week. I intend sending one to England that our friend there might be enabled to discern the difference between now and then. My health has been very good this summer. Mrs. Dredge is much the same as usual. She sometimes complains of increasing infirmities, but I think we are all wonderful blest. We are all advanced in life. We have large and long experiences to communicate and I am thinking it will take an eternity to recollect and repeat all the goodness and mercies our God has bestowed on us all along through our long lives. We as a family are scattered far and wide yet I believe in answer to the prayers of our dear departed parents that we shall be gathered in to the fold of Christ. I have been accustom to think of and look to you as an elder brother who has large experience and well qualified to instruct and enlighten and guide the inquiring mind. I had hopes Brother Philip would have vistied us before this. I have not yet given up thoughts of seeing him this season and yet hope he will come. If he comes he will visit you in Maine.

With kind regards your affectionate sister,

H.M. Greenwood

This letter was written to Stephen Moore in Canaan Maine from his sister Hannah (Moore) Greenwood in Massachusetts. Hannah was born October 29, 1791 and was 72 years old when she wrote this letter. The reference to Mr. and Mrs. Dredge is another sister Mary (Moore) Parafit Dredge. The reference to sending a photo to England is because most of the family were still residing in England. Of the thirteen children that included Stephen Moore and his brother Philip and his sisters Hannah, Mary and Martha, all were born in England and about half of them immigrated to America in the early 1800’s.

It always fascinates me to read old letters. You learn so much with just a few words. Like there really was a thing as “sleighing season”. Since the letter was written in December, I’m guessing there still wasn’t enough snow on the ground to use sleighs. That’s interesting!! And in October 1867 Stephen Moore must have had some stress in his life as he called it his “distressing hour”. I think I’m going to use that term more often! And I find it very interesting that at the beginning of commercial photography someone would refer to a photo of themselves as a “representative”.

I will be taking these items to the Canaan Library the next time I am in Central Maine, for this is where they rightfully belong. Maybe someday the mystery will be solved as to how they came to be in my possession in the first place or why I didn’t part with them when I moved. But for now, I”m just going to add this to the long list of weird things that keep happening to me!