My Mom's Mayflower line from William Brewster

For years, I had felt bad that I had numerous Mayflower connections on my Dad's side of the family.  It was through my work on the Maine 1790 Families series on my ancestor, Thomas Paine, I uncovered his baptism in Portland, then Falmouth, Maine in 1755 to make my first connection to the Pilgrims on my Mother's side.  It would be the first of several.

1) WILLIAM BREWSTER was born about 1566 in England. Scrooby England is commonly believe to be the place, but no direct proof of this has been found.  William was an early religious reformer in England and like many of the Pilgrims who went to Leiden, Holland where they were free to practice their reformed religion. In 1619, William and Edward Winslow published a book critical of King James and his bishops and an order for his arrest was issued.  William went into hiding until passage on the Mayflower in 1620 was secured.  Once in Plymouth, William became the senior elder and religious leader of the Colony.  William died April 10, 1644 in Duxbury, Massachusetts.  His wife's name was Mary, her exact surname has not been found in records.

2) PATIENCE BREWSTER was born about 1603, probably in Scrooby, England.  She arrived in New England on the ship "Anne" in 1623.  She married THOMAS PENCE on August 5, 1624 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  Thomas would become Governor the Plymouth Colony.  Patience had only 4 children before her death in 1634.

3) HANNAH PRENCE was born before 1633 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  She married NATHANIEL MAYO on February 13, 1649 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  His will dated December 19, 1661 and proved March 4, 1662 named his surviving children and his wife Hannah.  Hannah remarried to JONATHAN SPARROW before 1669.  She had 6 children with her first husband and three with her second husband. [My mother is a descendant of both of Hannah's husbands]

4) PATIENCE SPARROW was born October 25, 1675 in Eastham, Massachusetts.  She married JOSEPH PAINE on May 27, 1671 in Eastham, Massachusetts.  They would eleven children together.  She died on October 28, 1745 in Barnstable, Massachusetts.

5) JONATHAN PAINE was on December 10, 1710 in Harwich, Massachusetts.  He married MARCY DOANE on February 1, 1733 in Eastham, Massachusetts.  The births of five of their children were recorded in Eastham.  Jonathan and Mercy Paine were admitted to the First Church of Falmouth, Maine (now Portland) in 1750.  Jonathan drowned in Casco Bay in Maine in 1762.  His widow and children remained in Falmouth.  The death notice for Marcy Paine appeared in the Portland Gazette, issue of April 18, 1803.

6) THOMAS PAINE was baptized in 1755 at the First Church of Falmouth (now Portland, Maine).  He appears the Maine 1790 Families, vol. 10, pp 443-8.  I also submitted the biographies for his mother Marcy and any of his children who appear on the 1790 census of Maine.  Thomas married ANNA HASKELL on December 6, 1781 in Portland, Maine.  Thomas was a Revolutionary War soldier.  He died July 11, 1747 in Pownal, Maine.

Gravestone of Thomas Paine
Warren Cemetery, Pownal, Maine

7) THOMAS PAINE Jr. was born January 19, 1791 in Gorham, Maine.  He married ANNA MARSTON on February 18, 1813 in Pownal, Maine.  He lived in Pownal until 1830 when he was living in Guilford, Maine.  He died at age 47 years on March 21, 1838 in Guilford, Maine.  His widow remarried to William M. Robinson on March 12 1843.

8) JACOB PAINE was born Aug 20, 1823 in Pownal, Maine.  He married 1) HANNAH ROBINSON on November 22, 1846 in Guildford.  She would die less than a year after the birth of her 4th child.  Jacob married 2) Elizabeth Smith January 9, 1858 in Guilford, Maine.  Jacob was a farmer in Guilford and moved to Atkinson, Maine before 1870. He died in Atkinson on October 18, 1908.

Jacob Paine, his 2nd wife Elizabeth,
and 4 of their children

9) HENRY BRAGG PAINE was born November 10, 1848 in Guilford, Maine. He married 1) ELSIE LEONA WOODWARD on November 8, 1885 in Atkinson, Maine.  She was the niece of his best friend David Woodward.  They had two children together before Elsie's death in 1891.  Henry then married Iva Moulton on May 27, 1894 in Atkinson, Maine.  They had four children together before Iva's death in 1910.  Henry never remarried and died July 26, 1933 in Atkinson, Maine.

Henry Paine 1885

10) EMMA LEONA PAINE was born September 20, 1886 in Atkinson, Maine.   She married her step-mother's younger brother, CHARLES PRESCOTT MOULTON on April 11, 1904 in Atkinson, Maine.  For more on Emma see my blog 13 Generations of Mothers and Daughters.

Emma Paine in 1887

Walden and Emma Paine
Children of Henry and Elsie Paine

Emma (Paine) Moulton

11) Children of Charles and Emma (Paine) Moulton

Back: Reggie, Bob, Clarence
Front: Myrtle, George, Gladys

Reggie, Gladys, Clarence,Llewellyn, Bob and Ruth

To my cousins who descend from Charles and Emma Moulton, you can determine your descent from William Brewster and are  eligible to join the Mayflower Society.

Family Heirloom: A Child's quilt

Recently, I attended a workshop in Augusta which included a presentation by Deb Nowers, who had inherited some family heirlooms and sharing how these items were passed down through family members with short bios.  It was a great way to pass on information about these items and I realized I also have inherited several family heirlooms, some old and some not so old.  I’ll probably write about these items in future blogs to inspire others to think about writing down what they know about various items they received by inheritance or given by relatives.

I going to begin with a child’s quilt that's just over 100 years old.

I was surprised to learn from one of my father’s cousins, that you can trace the “ancestry” as she called it, of family quilts.  This was due to the fact that often a style or pattern of family quilts was passed generation to generation.  She was disappointed to learn that many of the quilts made by great-grandmother had not survived due to improper storage in plastic bags which caused the quilts to disintegrate.  This cousin had been trying to prove a style of quilting she called the “Sunburst pattern” in quilts passed down by her grandmother, Sarah (Mower) Mosher, sister to my great-grandmother Emily (Mower) Smith, also existed with other descendants.  This would prove that Sarah and Emily’s mother had taught them this same style of quilting, take her back another generation of using this style of quilting. Sadly this existing quilt did not match the style of the “Sunburst” quilts her family received.  This quilt was probably an easy pattern that was used either by the family or used by others.

Emily (Mower) Smith, my great-grandmother was the maker of this quilt.  She was born on May 9, 1871 in Corinna, Maine.  She was one of three girls born to her parents.  All the girls were taught to sew and quilt mostly from their mother and aunts.  

Emily "Emmie" Mower as a child

 Emily attended Corinna Union Academy for her schooling and met her husband, J. Clifford Smith.  Their courtship was a long one as it was three years before he asked her to marry him.  They were married in Corinna, Maine on November 24, 1894 at her parent’s home.  The birth of her first child, Leona followed a year later on October 28, 1895.  This quilt was made for Leona.  I am told it was made from leftover cloth from other sewing or quilting projects. Emily would have two more children my grandfather, Donald in 1897, and his sister, Alta in 1899.  Emily may have made quilts for each child, but only this child’s quilt is known to exist today.  

Emmie (Mower) Smith at the time of her marriage

When Emily was 33 years old she became very ill.  It was decided that the best course of treatment would be at a sanatorium in Greenville, Maine.  Her daughter said Emily developed T.B. and that it was thought could mountain air was best for the lungs at that time.  Emily died on April 30, 1905, just 9 days before her 34^th birthday. 

Leona Golda Smith, was the first person to have this quilt made by her mother. 

Donald and Leona Smith, taken in 1898
The age that Leona would have used the quilt

Leona became a teacher after graduating from Corinna Union Academy in 1913.  She took a teaching job at Belgrade, Maine and boarded with a family named Judkins while there.  The family had a son, Wilbur Judkins who eventually became Leona’s husband.  They married on October 29, 1919 in Corinna, Maine at her father’s house and continued to live there for the rest of their lives.  

Leona about 1920

Leona had one daughter, Alta Lorene Judkins.  Leona was the family historian as noted in the family story about my lost uncle Ezra Smith.  Leona died February 24, 1986 in Corinna, Maine.

Alta Lorene Judkins or Lorene as she is called was born December 27, 1921 in Corinna, Maine. The quilt was used by her as child and she was the second person to inherit the quilt. 

Lorene as a child

Lorene also attended Corinna Union Academy and her best friend and neighbor was Faye Perkins.  Faye’s older brother, George Perkins would escort Lorene home in the evenings after visiting Faye and eventually George and Lorene would marry in 1944.  They had one daughter, Loralee in 1946 whom they called “Poppy”.  I assume Lorene used the quilt with her daughter, but she did say that did. After Lorene’s mother passed in 1986 and her own daughter was grown and married with two boys.  Lorene took the quilt and had it professional stretched and framed and hung it on the wall in the stairwell of her home in Newport, Maine where it remained. 

Lorene and George 1990

In 2010, when Lorene sold her house, to move to Massachusetts and live with her daughter, she gave the quilt to her first cousin once removed, Peter Smith along with a portrait of Emily (Mower) Smith.

Portrait of Emmie done in 1900
I got the quilt and portrait together

The frame was delivered to my brother, Michael who had an ideal location to hang this framed quilt in the stairwell of his home, out of direct sunlight.  Although neither my brother or I ever used this quilt, we are the third generation descendants of our great-grandmother to inherit this.  Eventually, it’s hoped the quilt will be passed on to his children and grandchildren.  For now, it is proudly on display in his home.