Joseph Nye "Minuteman"

My 5th Great Grandfather, Joseph Nye was born April 18 1735 in Sandwich Massachusetts to Caleb Nye and Hannah Bodfish. Joseph moved to Hardwick Massachusetts with his parents around 1752 and would live the rest of his life there.
On the 19th of April 1775,the day the British marched on Concord and Lexington, Joseph was called to duty as a Minuteman with Simeon Hazelton's company of Hardwick. This service was to last for 8 days.
Joseph was to serve 6 more times between the period of June 1775 and Feb 1777 under Regiments led by Colonel John Fellows (8th Regiment Continental Army)and Colonel Samuel Brewers
Joseph died May 11 1804 in and is buried in Hardwick Massachusetts

Etienne LeBlanc a Revolutionary War Soldier

My 4th Great Grandfather, Etienne LeBlanc, was born about 1753 in Grand-Pre Acadia. He was in Quebec in 1776, when he was recruited into the United States Continental Army to fight the British.
With the threat of Ex-communication by the Bishop of Quebec, Etienne served on and off with the 2nd Canadian Regiment led by a Col Moses Hazen. The 2nd Canadian Regiment was known as "Congress's Own" as it was unaffiliated with any State Unit. The units major battles were in Quebec, Brandywine, and at Yorktown.
While in service, Etienne returned on and off to Yamachiche Quebec, where he married Amable Rivard in 1778, and sired 3 children between the years 1779 and 1883.
At the end of the war, 1784-1786, the family was temporally in exile in Albany NY living on rations and quarters from the American government. Etienne's 4th child was born in Albany while in exile. The family returned permanently to Quebec sometime in the years 1786-1787.
For further information on The 2nd Canadian Regiment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Canadian_Regiment

George Clarke where are you?

My Great Grandfather, George F Clarke, was born possibly in NY in 1871 to William Clarke and Jane Busch. George worked for the railroad as a machinists.
On Oct 21 1902 in Superior Wisconsin, George married Josephine Weber. The marriage produced one daughter, Eloise Pauline, born on August 18 1903.
On September 27 1904 George supposedly went to work and was never seen again. His wife divorced him on grounds of desertion on 12 April 1911.
What happened to you George?

Mary E Smith

Great Grandmother, Mary Smith, was the first of 6 generations to be born in California. She was born in San Francisco on the 23rd or 24th of July 1867 to Irish immigrant parents. She grew up on Church Street in San Francisco and was educated in Catholic Schools.
She first married a Louis Webber in 1887 and had 2 children with him. Louis and one of her children died around 1893 in San Francisco.
Shortly after the death of her first husband, Mary married Walter John Phillips, a co-worker of her brother. Mary and Walter first lived in Oakland California then moved to San Francisco around 1901. Mary and John had 4 children together, one dying at the age of 2 and another dying at birth. The child who died at birth on April 28 1904 caused complications with Mary and she died 28 days later on May 24 1904
Mary was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma California and is buried with her parents and brothers.

Execution in the family

Jacques Bertault and Gilette Banne and daughter Isabelle (9th g-grandparents and 8th Great Aunt) murdered Julien de la Tousche on 17 May 1672 in Trois Rivieres, New France. LaTousche was Isabelle's husband who had a reputation as being lazy and a wife abuser. They attempted to poison him and when that failed they held him and beat him to death with a hoe and threw him in a river by their farm. They were quickly caught and tried in Quebec City. They were found guilty, Jacques and his wife being sentenced to death and their daughter sentenced to witness the execution. Jacques was sentenced to be broken on the wheel but this was changed to being hanged, then broken on the wheel. They appealed 9 June, lost the appeal that morning and were executed at 4pm. Jacques was hanged and mutilated first, then his wife was hanged. All this time Isabelle was made to watch, wearing a noose around her neck.

Listings concerning Jacques Bertault and Gillette Banne include

their date of death, June 9, 1672, but their burial is not included in the Church Vital Records repertory. They were not accorded a christian burial. Most likely their remains were carried off to the town refuse dump and left there

Mayflower Ancestors

The following relations were passengers on the Mayflower:

1.(My 10th Great Grandfather)John Howland John Howland sailed on the Mayflower as a servant to Gov John Carver. During the voyage, John Howland was swept overboard and only saved himself by grabbing a rope dangling in the water. John Howland married fellow passenger Elizabeth Tilley (#2) in Plymouth on August 14th of 1626. John Howland died at the age of 80 in 1672-1673.

2.(My 10th Great Grandmother)Elizabeth Tilley was a member of the Separatist Church of Leiden. She sailed on the Mayflower with her parents John (3) and Joan Tilley (4). Elizabeth died in 1687-1688.

3-4.(My 11th Great Grandparents) John Tilley and his wife Joan (Hurst)(Rogers) Tilley were members of the Separatist Church of Leiden. Both died the first winter in Plymouth.

5-6 (My 11th Great Uncle and Aunt) Edward Tilley, brother of John(3) and his wife Alice Cooper were members of the Separatist Church of Leiden. Both died the first winter in Plymouth.

Albert LeBlanc Jr. (War Service)

My father, Albert LeBlanc Jr. entered the service in 1944 and attended torpedo school. Upon graduation he was assigned to the Submarine USS Pogy (SS266) and went on her last 4 war patrols in the Pacific, the last being in the Sea of Japan.
In an ironic twist of fate, the Submarine suffered her greatest damage by being mistakenly bombed by the US Army Air Corp.
After the war, Albert remained in the Navy Reserves, and was again called to active duty during the Korean War, serving on the Destroyer USS Abbot (DD629)

Aldrich Jackson Reynolds

My gg-Grandfather, Aldrich "Jack" Reynolds was born in Forestville Iowa in 1849. He followed his elder brother to Fort Dodge Iowa around 1875 and operated a store for his brother.
Jack was an accomplished gunsmith, expert hunter and won numerous shooting contests. He served briefly in the Spanish American War.
The irony of Jack's life is in the manner of his death; At 2:15 pm on the 11th of August 1898, Jack was inspecting a 32 caliber Smith and Wesson pistol. While the pistol was supposedly empty, a round in the chamber discharged and struck Jack in the heart, instantly killing him.
Jack was buried in Fort Dodge on the 14th of Aug 1898, in what was the largest funeral up till that time in the city.

Monte

Introduction

My aim with this blog is to introduce my ancestors. I have been doing family research since 1980 and hope to spread what I have found on my family.
Monte