Oblong Boy marries Normal Girl
Some years ago, someone told me the story of going to Illinois and picking up a newspaper that had an article with the title "Oblong Boy Marries Normal Girl." The article recounted the wedding of a young man from Oblong, IL, marrying a young woman from Normal, IL. The person's point was that context determines meaning. In a moment you will see the connection with Timothy Dakin's family and that odd names seem to be a theme of this part of the Dakin story.
Maybe Not Completely in Concord
In Hulda's 54th year (1723), Timothy was born in Concord, MA. We can assume that he grew up in Concord and in 1744 was married to Lydia Fish. The religion of Timothy is list in a little used line of the vitals as "Society of Friends (Quakers)" and to re-enforce the importance of that notation, the couple's first (for whom we have birth record) child, Thomas, was born in Quaker Hill, NY.
If There Is Anything I Can't Stand It Is An Intolerant Person
So how did Timothy become a Quaker? The only clue I've turned up is that Lydia was from Portsmouth, RI. The irony that Rhode Island was the only colony that provided religious freedom for its residents when all of New England was filled with those who had come to New England to escape religious perscution seems to have been totally lost on Puritans in general and probably those in Concord. Many a Quaker had been convicted of witch craft so Rhode Island was an oasis of sorts. Though it is far from certain, it could be that Lydia came from a Quaker family and was instrumental in converting Timothy. How Timothy met Lydia and, even more, how he could have left the watchful eye of his parents at age 20 to become entangled with a woman of another faith is yet a mystery. What is not a mystery is that once he became part of the Society of Friends, Timothy (and Lydia) left Concord or perhaps never lived in Concord at all for friendlier climes.
More Contention
The next step has a couple of interesting twists. The child after Thomas, was born in Oblong, NY. Oblong was not a town, but rather the description of a section of land under despute between Conneticut (English) and New Amsterdam (Dutch) later called New York, colonies. Oblong is in Putnam County, NY, on the other side of the state line from Danbury, CT.
A Name Preserved
If that were not curious enough. The child's name was "Preserved Fish." It is difficult to imagine a more cruel misuse of parental power than to name one's child Preserved Fish. Coming to the defense of the parents one might argue, well Lydia's maiden name was Fish so the middle name could be explained as keeping the family name alive. Perhaps, "preserved" had a spiritual connotation. Maybe, the child had been miraculously spared death during child birth. A little more looking provides another explanation, at least for Timothy & Lydia's child. Lydia's father's name was Thomas. His father's name was "Preserved Fish." Lydia appears to have had some some serious influence in religion and names in the family.
Strong Women
It was somewhat unusual for the mother's family names to be given to the first two male children, especially one that one which rather than being preserved deserved extinction after its first use. It appears that in the last two Dakin generations, moms were a considerable force within the family.
The children of Timothy and Lydia came along about every 2-3 years between 1745 and 1771: Ruth, Thomas, Preserved Fish, Worster, Mercy, Phebe, Mary, Paul, Timothy, Joshua, Zebulon, and Ebenezer.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Dakin Immigrants
Dakins Arrive in North America
Now that we know a little bit about the most recent Dakins, let's go back a ways to Henry's roots as the Dakins move across the pond and to the United States. Henry's parents and their people stretch in a line back to those living in the British Isles in the early 1600's. Sorry, no pictures of the folks in England, but when our new computer arrives I'll post pictures of Concord, MA, taken on a visit there. Back in England and into their days in New England, their memory is often summarized in lines of names and places, dates of births, marriages and deaths. So it will not take long to recount that history, though it lasted some 200 years (1635 to 1826). There some interesting twists to it. And here we will also speculate on some odd names, follow the line into, out of and back into the US, and try to account for some strange dates.
Concord, Massachusetts
It is easy to find the beginning point. Thomas Dakin was born at an undisclosed location in England on May 6, 1624. Thomas and his parents, John and Alice (?) came to America in 1635 on the ship "Abigail" and made their home in Concord, MA. It is difficult to tell whether the family came directly to Concord. Concord was established in 1635 by Rev. Peter Bulkley and Simon Willard. It was called Concord in acknowledgement of the peaceful acquisition of the 6 square mile area purchased from local Indians. The soil was rich for farming and the confluence of two rivers, the Sudbury and Assebet Rivers, provided a bounty of fish. "He (Bulkley) was noted even among Puritans for the superlative stiffness of his Puritanism. "
Puritan Settlement
It is likely, then, that the town Bulkley established followed his lead and that the Dakin family were not only Puritans, but that, like the Puritan experiment in Boston, the town was seen as a religous enclave whose market, government and culture were dominated by Puritan directives.
Thomas was 36 when he married Susan in Concord. The two had four children John (named for Thomas' father), Simon, Mary (who died as a child) and Joseph. The entire family continued to live out their lives at Concord, MA. Simon Sr. was born in approximately 1663. Simon's wife, Elizabeth, introduced 7 children to the world, all in Concord, MA. The first of the children was named Simon (born May 20, 1694) in the (almost) universal practice of naming the first son after his father. Simon Sr. was 31. Inexplicably, the next two children, Ebenezer and Samuel are born in "the Carolinas" in 1696 and 1700. Whether the family went on a short busines venture or what is difficult to tell. Since we don't know Simon Jr.'s occupation it is difficult to tell what would have drawn them to live in the Carolinas for 4-5 years.
Simon Jr's mother, Susan, died during this time away on February 26,1698. Simon Jr's father, Thomas lived another 10 years dying at age 84.
Unusual Marriage
Simon Jr married Hulda Cheney from Newbury, MA (some 35 miles to the noretheast and just above Boston) in 1718. Here we run into sa curious and almost unbelievable set of numbers. Hulda, the record says, was born in 1669, about the time that his mother was probably born! Which would make her 49 when she was married (25 years older than Simon Jr) and 54 when the second of 4, Timothy, was born (the last child we have birth records for). But, since there were two live births after, Hudah was pregnant at 56. It seems like a typographical error, except births and marriage of Hulda's parents seem to substantiate her age. Hulda's parents were married in 1663 and she was the 4th of 13 children, making the timing for her birth in 1669 about right.
When I first saw her birth date, I had speculation that numbers had been transposed and she was actually born in 1696, 3o years later. In 1696 her parents would have been 57 and 53 and her father had been dead for 2 years. Oh well.
Loyalists or Patriots
To this point, the Dakins have been in the new world (not yet the United States) for almost 100 years. The whole time (as far as we know) they lived in Concord, MA. All indications are that the clan that came from Thomas & Susan in 1635 would have been sizable in 1723. So far as week know all continued to live in Concord. Concord continued to grow and support adequately its residents and provide the kind of community life for which the will soon fight to protect against the British. It seems all the more likely that if those in Concord including the Dakins were prepared to violently sever relations with the country of their cousins, they were not feeling all that close to Britain in the first place. Perhaps, they still felt the remnant feelings of resentment for religious persecution that motivated their immigration.
We are a 100+ years from our friends Isaac Dakin & Laura Jameson who lived in Soquel. We'll get to them in the next post or two.
Now that we know a little bit about the most recent Dakins, let's go back a ways to Henry's roots as the Dakins move across the pond and to the United States. Henry's parents and their people stretch in a line back to those living in the British Isles in the early 1600's. Sorry, no pictures of the folks in England, but when our new computer arrives I'll post pictures of Concord, MA, taken on a visit there. Back in England and into their days in New England, their memory is often summarized in lines of names and places, dates of births, marriages and deaths. So it will not take long to recount that history, though it lasted some 200 years (1635 to 1826). There some interesting twists to it. And here we will also speculate on some odd names, follow the line into, out of and back into the US, and try to account for some strange dates.
Concord, Massachusetts
It is easy to find the beginning point. Thomas Dakin was born at an undisclosed location in England on May 6, 1624. Thomas and his parents, John and Alice (?) came to America in 1635 on the ship "Abigail" and made their home in Concord, MA. It is difficult to tell whether the family came directly to Concord. Concord was established in 1635 by Rev. Peter Bulkley and Simon Willard. It was called Concord in acknowledgement of the peaceful acquisition of the 6 square mile area purchased from local Indians. The soil was rich for farming and the confluence of two rivers, the Sudbury and Assebet Rivers, provided a bounty of fish. "He (Bulkley) was noted even among Puritans for the superlative stiffness of his Puritanism. "
Puritan Settlement
It is likely, then, that the town Bulkley established followed his lead and that the Dakin family were not only Puritans, but that, like the Puritan experiment in Boston, the town was seen as a religous enclave whose market, government and culture were dominated by Puritan directives.
Thomas was 36 when he married Susan in Concord. The two had four children John (named for Thomas' father), Simon, Mary (who died as a child) and Joseph. The entire family continued to live out their lives at Concord, MA. Simon Sr. was born in approximately 1663. Simon's wife, Elizabeth, introduced 7 children to the world, all in Concord, MA. The first of the children was named Simon (born May 20, 1694) in the (almost) universal practice of naming the first son after his father. Simon Sr. was 31. Inexplicably, the next two children, Ebenezer and Samuel are born in "the Carolinas" in 1696 and 1700. Whether the family went on a short busines venture or what is difficult to tell. Since we don't know Simon Jr.'s occupation it is difficult to tell what would have drawn them to live in the Carolinas for 4-5 years.
Simon Jr's mother, Susan, died during this time away on February 26,1698. Simon Jr's father, Thomas lived another 10 years dying at age 84.
Unusual Marriage
Simon Jr married Hulda Cheney from Newbury, MA (some 35 miles to the noretheast and just above Boston) in 1718. Here we run into sa curious and almost unbelievable set of numbers. Hulda, the record says, was born in 1669, about the time that his mother was probably born! Which would make her 49 when she was married (25 years older than Simon Jr) and 54 when the second of 4, Timothy, was born (the last child we have birth records for). But, since there were two live births after, Hudah was pregnant at 56. It seems like a typographical error, except births and marriage of Hulda's parents seem to substantiate her age. Hulda's parents were married in 1663 and she was the 4th of 13 children, making the timing for her birth in 1669 about right.
When I first saw her birth date, I had speculation that numbers had been transposed and she was actually born in 1696, 3o years later. In 1696 her parents would have been 57 and 53 and her father had been dead for 2 years. Oh well.
Loyalists or Patriots
To this point, the Dakins have been in the new world (not yet the United States) for almost 100 years. The whole time (as far as we know) they lived in Concord, MA. All indications are that the clan that came from Thomas & Susan in 1635 would have been sizable in 1723. So far as week know all continued to live in Concord. Concord continued to grow and support adequately its residents and provide the kind of community life for which the will soon fight to protect against the British. It seems all the more likely that if those in Concord including the Dakins were prepared to violently sever relations with the country of their cousins, they were not feeling all that close to Britain in the first place. Perhaps, they still felt the remnant feelings of resentment for religious persecution that motivated their immigration.
We are a 100+ years from our friends Isaac Dakin & Laura Jameson who lived in Soquel. We'll get to them in the next post or two.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Part of Something Bigger
Laurel Glen Fruit Farm circa 1890. What follows is the 1955 Santa Cruz Sentinel article referred to in the last post. The article included the picture above and described the Soquel area in general and Laurel Glen in particular.
Ever since the earliest explorers sailed along the coast of California and wrote in their records impressions of the forest-crowned mountains adjacent to Monterrey bay, the Santa Cruz hinterland has been noted for its verdure and fertility.
With the coming of the early settlers, scattered Indian "rancherras"Became the ranchos of the Dons, whose Spanish background was apparent with the picturesque adobe casas, Where often grew "roses of Castile.
The interim between the era of Mission life and the advent of Americans and other foreigners was the day of large and influential Californian families, a time of picturesque and romantic life. These families received large grants of land through the county. In 1833, Martina Castro, a sister of Rafael, who was granted the Aptos rancho, Received the Soquel, And in 1844 the Augmentation.
When the carefree days of the fandango and 'los rodeos' finally faded, the American gringos gradually replaced the earlier ranchos with their farms and New England type dwellings.
Over the Grade
Time was when the "old San Jose road," winding up the canyon of Soquel creek, was a main highway to the Santa Clara valley, "over beyond Loma Prieta. "Up through the rolling hills there appeared many a vineyard and orchard, with smiling homesteads - houses and barns and orderly rows of orchard trees between.
On the forested slopes of the 'hills of Santa Cruz' decayed vegetation had for centuries enriched the soil. To this recurring enrichment is due the marvelous fertility of the mountain acres.
In succeeding years, the thrifty farmer, where had grown vast forests, developed fruit farms, enriching their owners and improving the country. The mountain slopes and glens had sufficient exposure to the sun and with rich, well moistened soil were adapted to the growth of fruits and vegetables.
Finest Farm Produce
Famous vineyards produced best grapes from which award-winning wines were made. Mountain apples, still on the finest, peaches, prunes, plums, vegetables of all kinds have long come from the adjacent hills.
Ferns still raise their fronds among the crested heights, And intervening patches of redwood forest are diversified with madrone, Oak, maple, spruce and many other woodland natives.
Today's picture of the well --watered acres of the famous Dakin ranch, known for many years as Laurel Glen Fruit Farm, with its neat orchards, buildings and open acreage, was taken about 65 years ago. Located four miles from Soquel, On Laurel Glen road, off the Old San Jose road, it was an outstanding example of the farms thereabouts which heralded the present era. (Note scattered stumps in foreground, indicating recently cleared ground.)
Laurel Glen was founded by Isaac M. Dakin, A native of Maine, who married a Vermont girl and brought a touch of New England to the Soquel region by way of Knight's Ferry, California, where their children were born.
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