What We Did On Our 1994 Summer Vacation
Linda and I left San Diego on Thursday, July 7, 1994 and flew into Boston. We stayed one night at the Boston Park Plaza (which used to be the Statler-Hilton), which had a special $109 per night rate with free parking. On Friday, Randy went to the New England Historic Genealogical Society and did research for five hours, while Linda went on the Boston Trolley ride visiting historical sites, and spent a lot of time at Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall. That afternoon we drove to Salem NH.
In Salem we stayed with cousin Diana, who lives with her husband Chuck, three wonderful kids and the dog in a beautiful home on 6 acres, across the road from my cousin Virginia, who is Diana's mother, and lives in an 18th century saltbox house; unfortunately, she's in the process of rebuilding since a fire in February damaged the house.
On Saturday, we drove with Virginia to North Attleborough MA to visit her daughter, Beth Ann and her husband Larry and their 8 month old baby, Corey.
On Sunday, Virginia's daughters Debbie (with her daughter Laurie, her husband Paul, and 4 month old daughter, Carly) and JoEllen (with her husband Roy, and children Sarah and Benjamin) came over for a visit, swim and barbecue. We had a great time! Randy got all the additions to the family tree!
On Monday, July 11, we drove from Salem NH through Nashua to Brookline NH, and then to Townsend MA. After lunch, we went to the town hall to look for Hildreth and Sawtell data there. Before we got inside, a man yelled "Linda," jumped out of his car, and ran up the steps to greet us - it was Allen, a friend from Westford who was passing through Townsend and saw us goig into the building. The town clerk was very helpful - she let us see the correspondence files, and Randy made notes. She said Randy looked just like a Don Hildreth. We went to the three Townsend cemeteries, and found the Sawtell (one generation) and Hildreth (two generations) ancestors buried there. We also found some graves of Kidder folks for cousin Donna (found on Prodigy) who shares the Sawtell and Hildreth lines. From Townsend, we drove to Leominster and checked into the Motel 6.
Tuesday saw Randy off bright and early to Worcester to search for Seaver probate and land records in the courthouse. He had tremendous success ordering probate packets and getting copies made, then fighting the ancient microfilm machine to find land records and writing abstracts. Linda spent the day shopping at the nearby mall and relaxing by the motel pool. Randy stopped at Evergreen Cemetery in Leominster and visited all of his ancestors there.
That night, we went to the Old Mill Restaurant in Westminster with Allen and his wife Cora (a lontime friend of Linda's) from Westford.
On Wednesday, Randy drove to Westminster in the morning in search of more Seaver gravestones. He stopped at Woodside Cemetery and found they had cards for all marked graves in all of the Westminster cemeteries. He found all the Seaver graves, including those of three ancestral families. He returned to Leominster, picked up Linda, and drove to Sudbury for lunch at Longfellow's Wayside Inn. After lunch, we stopped at a Sudbury graveyard (looking for early Seaver's - no luck) and then to Concord for shopping and a visit to the North Bridge. From there, we drove to Westford for dinner and sharing with Peter and Barbie (Randy's cousin) at their new home in Hildreth Heights in Westford.
On Thursday we drove into Boston. Randy went to the NEHGS again for more research (mostly finding Seaver VR volumes and pages in the Massachusetts Vital Records to access on microfilm), while Linda went to the Hancock Center and again to Faneuil Hall. We drove to Framingham and checked into the Motel 6 there for one night. That evening, we met Ron and Linda (Linda was a Prodigy cousin of Randy's) at a restaurant in Framingham, and had a great time sharing family news and genealogy.
We drove to Cape Cod on Friday, staying in the Southfleet Motel in South Wellfleet. We browsed through the town, Randy stopped at the Wellfleet Historical Society for Dill family data (with no luck!), while Linda hunted for angels in the gift, curio and antique shops. A trip to Cahoon Hollow Beach followed, with the purchase of two T-shirts for cousin Paula Jo in San Diego. Linda won a radio station contest while we were there at the beach club, and we talked to a wild and crazy guy from Brooklyn. We ate dinner at the harbor, went out to Sunset Beach at sunset, and found a great ice cream place in Wellfleet.
On Saturday, we took off for Barnstable and Randy looked for Dill family data (no luck!) at the Sturgis Library, while Linda shopped at a store up the street. We drove back and went in the motel pool. We ate dinner again at Wellfleet Harbor, and had more ice cream.
Tuesday saw Randy off bright and early to Worcester to search for Seaver probate and land records in the courthouse. He had tremendous success ordering probate packets and getting copies made, then fighting the ancient microfilm machine to find land records and writing abstracts. Linda spent the day shopping at the nearby mall and relaxing by the motel pool. Randy stopped at Evergreen Cemetery in Leominster and visited all of his ancestors there.
That night, we went to the Old Mill Restaurant in Westminster with Allen and his wife Cora (a lontime friend of Linda's) from Westford.
On Wednesday, Randy drove to Westminster in the morning in search of more Seaver gravestones. He stopped at Woodside Cemetery and found they had cards for all marked graves in all of the Westminster cemeteries. He found all the Seaver graves, including those of three ancestral families. He returned to Leominster, picked up Linda, and drove to Sudbury for lunch at Longfellow's Wayside Inn. After lunch, we stopped at a Sudbury graveyard (looking for early Seaver's - no luck) and then to Concord for shopping and a visit to the North Bridge. From there, we drove to Westford for dinner and sharing with Peter and Barbie (Randy's cousin) at their new home in Hildreth Heights in Westford.
On Thursday we drove into Boston. Randy went to the NEHGS again for more research (mostly finding Seaver VR volumes and pages in the Massachusetts Vital Records to access on microfilm), while Linda went to the Hancock Center and again to Faneuil Hall. We drove to Framingham and checked into the Motel 6 there for one night. That evening, we met Ron and Linda (Linda was a Prodigy cousin of Randy's) at a restaurant in Framingham, and had a great time sharing family news and genealogy.
We drove to Cape Cod on Friday, staying in the Southfleet Motel in South Wellfleet. We browsed through the town, Randy stopped at the Wellfleet Historical Society for Dill family data (with no luck!), while Linda hunted for angels in the gift, curio and antique shops. A trip to Cahoon Hollow Beach followed, with the purchase of two T-shirts for cousin Paula Jo in San Diego. Linda won a radio station contest while we were there at the beach club, and we talked to a wild and crazy guy from Brooklyn. We ate dinner at the harbor, went out to Sunset Beach at sunset, and found a great ice cream place in Wellfleet.
On Saturday, we took off for Barnstable and Randy looked for Dill family data (no luck!) at the Sturgis Library, while Linda shopped at a store up the street. We drove back and went in the motel pool. We ate dinner again at Wellfleet Harbor, and had more ice cream.
Sunday morning found us up bright and early for a nature walk and birdwatching through the Audubon sanctuary in South Wellfleet. We hiked through the marshes and trees out to the beach, with a guide helping us identify birds along the way. We drove through Eastham, and stopped for lunch and shopping there. That afternoon we sat by the pool, watched the World Cup final, and went out to eat in Eastham.
On Monday we drove to Provincetown at the tip of the Cape and visited the Pilgrim Memorial tower (Randy climbed to the top, whew!) and the Whydah Museum (the Whydah was a pirate ship that wrecked on Cape Cod in the 1700's). Then shopping in the maze of P'town, ending up with lunch on the dock. Then back to Wellfleet, and more pool time!
Tuesday, July 19, found us driving to Putnam CT via Hyannis MA, Taunton MA, Providence RI and Killingly CT. On the way, we stopped at the graveyard in East Killingly and found one ancestor buried there, Jonathan Oatley. We went to Putnam, checked into the King's Inn, and drove around the Grove St. graveyard next door, finding two generations of Richmond's there. Then out toward Woodstock for shopping at various country shops and stores.
On Wednesday, Randy dropped Linda in downtown Putnam for shopping, then drove to Killingly to the Bugbee Library to find a cemetery list. The library was closed, but a man loading his car asked what he needed, and it turned out the man had written a book on the cemeteries of Killingly, and led him to the town hall where a copy of the book was. Randy searched through the cemetery books and the vital records books for our Richmond, White, Oatley and Wade families, and found one family we had missed at the East Killingly cemetery, so he drove out there to find Henry White's grave. Randy met Linda back in Putnam, and we took off to Woodstock for more shopping. At 3 PM we went to the farmhouse of cousin Russell and Helen Richmond in Putnam, and visited with them into the evening; we went out to dinner, and came back to their home and watched the deer play in the field below their house.
Thursday, July 21 was our last day in New England, so we drove from Putnam to Sturbridge MA where Linda shopped at a special store (right next to a graveyard). From there we took the Mass Pike into Boston and to the airport. We got home to San Diego that evening.
It was a fun, rewarding and relaxing two week trip. We got to see cousins and friends, Linda brought back a suitcase of angels, and Randy visited 28 dead relatives in 11 graveyards, not to mention the research time in libraries and courthouse.
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