Part of Stacy's family came from Ireland and are descendants of King Brian Boru. Others came over on the Mayflower and settled in Massachusetts. Still others help found the town of Stratford, CT. This page will display some of Stacy's roots and provide some hints as to how you can also trace your family origins. My search started years ago. I began to ask my mother about her family but since she was the youngest her family, she said she had never paid any attention to "the stories of the old folks." She had three sisters, all older than my mother, so I asked each of them about their roots. Each told the same story but with a different twist. I took the clues given to me and began to write and gather information. Somehow I started a correspondence with a woman in Wisconsin. Her husband was related to the Beardsleys and she sent me a package. Inside, I found photos of my mother's grandmother and her sisters and brother. I now had a collection to hang on the wall and suddenly the names that I had been researching became "real" people. As if they had not actually existed until I found them. That was the inspiration I needed to contine my search. Since then, I have added many names and families to my file but none will ever be as meaningful or precious to me as those first black and white photographs of my relations in Wisconsin.

• Stacy's link to William Beardsley (21 KB)
  Stacy's family can be traced back to William Beardsley, one of the founders of Stratford, Connecticut. The settlement began in 1639 and William Beardsley was among the first settlers. He came from London on the ship "Planter" and was described in the Custom House records as a mason. Tradition has it that he originated from Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare but this has never been proven.
• Stacy's link to the Stoddards (14 KB)
  Nancy Stoddard married Hiram Beardsley. A Richard Stoddard who was probably her brother was in the Civil War and fought alongside the Beardsleys. Most of the Stoddards came from England to Connecticut, then to New York, Massachusetts and finally Wisconsin where Stacy's family settled in and around Rice Lake.
• Stacy's link to the Wheelers (22 KB)
  Joseph Wheeler was a soldier in the Civil War. His family settled in CT and married into the Beardsleys.

• State House in Hartford, CT (11 KB)
  Many of Stacy's ancestors settled in Connecticut. Sergeant John Curtiss for example was born in Nazing, County of Essex, England where he was baptized Feb. 26, 1614. He settled in Stratford, CT with his mother who was a widow and his two young brother, William and Thomas. He married Elizabeth Welles (sister of Thomas Welles, Governor of CT) and had 7 children. He was a prominent citizen and took an active part in the work of settling the town, although his brother William was more of a public man than John. He was elected Town Treasurer on Dec. 29, 1675 and served as a soldier in King Philip's War, attaining the rank of Ensign (2nd Lieutenant). He died in Stratford Dec. 6, 1707, aged 96 years. His son John became a proprietor of Neward, NJ and held many prominent positions there and in the State of NJ until his death in 1704. Another son, Lieut. Israel Curtis, was among those who removed to Woodbury in 1672 and another son, Thomas Curtis was an early settler at Wallingford. William Beardsley's daughter, Rebecca, married Israel Curtis so Stacy is indirectly related to them both.
• Union Soldiers (62 KB)
  Stacy's ancestors Hiram and George Beardsley (brothers) were in the Civil War. They both were privates from Wisconsin. Hiram was captured and held at Andersonville Prison Camp, during which time he developed chronic health problems. He received a pension from the Army because he was unable to work steadily after the war. In order to obtain a pension, an ex-soldier was required to file papers with the government, including the testimony of witnesses closely aquainted with the applicant. Hiram's friends and neighbors wrote affidavits stating that he "had not been able to work more than one fourth of the time and that he has complained of chronic diarrhea, piles and lame back (which he aquired when he fell on a Confederate prison ship), and have seen him a good many times during our acquaintance when he was so so bad he could not stand erect."
• Cradle of Peregrine White, Stacy's Ancestor (7 KB)
  This cradle is kept at the Pilgrim Hall Museum. At the link for Peregrine White, you can find information on this Museum.
• Wounded Civil War Soldier (108 KB)
  Medical treatment during the Civil War was crude and many servicemen developed lifelong problems after being wounded or incurring illness. Here is one eyewitness account of such an injury: Surgeon General's Office Army Medical Museum Photograph No. 79 - Shell wound of the face with great destruction of the soft parts. Private Joseph Harvey, C, 149th New York, was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863, by a fragment of shell. The right eye was destroyed, the right superior maxilla was fractured, a fragment was chipped off the lower jaw, and the right cheek was frightfully lacerated. The patient fell into the hands of the enemy and remained a prisoner eleven days. In the middle of June, 1863, he was admitted into Mansion House Hospital at Alexandria. In August, portions of exfoliated bone were removed. A ferrotype, representing the appearance of the wound at this date was forwarded to the Army Medical Museum. On May 7, 1865, Harvey was discharged from service on account of physical disability. He was subsequently employed as night watchmen at the Commissary Hospital in Alexandria. The photograph was taken June 22, 1865. A loss of substance in the cheek was still unrepaired, and liquid and saliva escaped from it. There was slight deafness and a partial facial paralysis on the right side. The soldier was pensioned and his death, from cause not known, was reported December 9, 1868. Photographed at the Army Medical Museum. By order of the Surgeon General: George A. Otis, Assistant Surgeon, U.S.A., Curator, A.M.M.
• Wild Bill Hickok - One of Stacy's Ancestors (1 KB)
  AMES BUTLER HICKOK, the renowned "Wild Bill," remains perhaps the most famous of all Western gunfighters. His exploits as a Civil War operative, frontiersman and peace officer have been celebrated often in print, in movies, and on television. But, despite all this attention through the years, we know very little about the man himself. Vintage photographs, haunting and mysterious, span the mist of time. We wonder, who was Wild Bill Hickok?
• Lynde Point (Saybrook Harbor) Lighthouse (1803) (18 KB)
  This is named after another of Stacy's ancestors. The first Lynde Point Lighthouse was built in 1803 to mark the entrance to the Connecticut River. The 35-foot octagonal tower was made of wood with a whale-oil lantern placed on top. By 1832, Congress appropriated funds to build a replacement, which is the lighthouse we know today. The 71-foot white octagonal, brownstone tower has a lantern room with 12 glass panels and a red roof. The light is sometimes referred to as the "Inner Light," while the Saybrook Breakwater Light is referred to as the "Outer Light." Among the New London Harbor Light, Falkner's Light, and Lynde Point Light all with the same masonry style, Lynde Point demonstrates superior stonework and is the best constructed of the three lighthouses. Strong river currents and storms threatened to undercut the foundation of the lighthouse. In 1829, a seawall was built to counter the erosion. By 1831, the seawall had to be reinforced and widened.
• Reverend Cotton Mather (1 KB)
  COTTON MATHER: b. Feb. 12, 1663, Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony [U.S.] d. Feb. 13, 1728, Boston American Congregational minister and author, supporter of the old order of the ruling clergy, who became the most celebrated of all New England Puritans. He combined a mystical strain (he believed in the existence of witchcraft) with a modern scientific interest (he supported smallpox inoculation). The son of Increase Mather and the grandson of John Cotton and Richard Mather, Cotton Mather lived all his life in Boston. He entered Harvard at the age of 12, easily passing entrance requirements to read and write Latin and to "decline the Greek nouns and verbs." He devoted himself unremittingly to study and prayer. At 18 he received his M.A. degree from the hands of his father, who was president of the college.
• Witch Trials (Cotton Mather presided) (60 KB)
  Salem by Douglas Linder (c) 1998 From June through September of 1692, nineteen men and women, all having been convicted of witchcraft, were carted to Gallows Hill, a barren slope near Salem Village, for hanging. Another man of over eighty years was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial on witchcraft charges. Hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft; dozens languished in jail for months without trials until the hysteria that swept through Puritan Massachusetts subsided.
• Castle of High King Brian Boru of Ireland (20 KB)
  Dromoland is one of Ireland's most famous baronial castles. Dating back from the 16th century, the Castle is the ancestral seat of the O'Briens, direct descendants of the High King Brian Ború.
• Anne of Green Gables (11 KB)
  This is not related to geneology but of interests of our family. Lucy Maude Montgomery books continue to delight and inspire readers both young and old. The Anne of Green Gables series both in print and the series made for television are favorites of ours. There is a link on this page for those who would like to know more about "our Anne" (spelled with an "e", of course!)
• Byron in Albanian Dress (122 KB)
  One of our family obsessions is the study of George Gordon, Lord Byron. The movie "Haunted Summer" inspired us to find out more about Byron, his works, his life, his circle. Tom Holland wrote "Lord of the Dead" - a fictional account of Byron's death (he really did not die but lives on as a vampire). The book is wonderful and resulted in the formation of a role playing game on the internet called "The Haunted Chateau." There is a link on this page to Mary Shelley's page which tells about the game and how to join if anyone is interested. Stacy has read the book and seen the movie and never tires of finding out more on one of the most intersting and controversial characters in history.

• More about Wild Bill Hickok (24 KB)
  He represents our wild west heritage. A gunfighter and a ladies man but very different from the portrayal in the old movie starring Doris Day, "Calamity Jane."
• More on Cotton Mather (1 KB)
  Cotton Mather was a brilliant scientist, linguist, evangelist, and judge. His controversial legacy still effects us to this day.
• Pilgrim Events (45 KB)
  This contains a bit of history from the Pilgrim files. It shows how differently they lived from the way we live today. I wonder, would we choose to go back to that time if we could?

• Information on Irish Nobility
• Gods and Goddesses of Ireland
• Castles in Ireland
• The Death of Brian Boru
• The Clan O'Brien
• The trial of Henry Wirtz (tried for war crimes he committed)
• Civil War Medicine
• Nathan Booth House in Stratford, CT (Stacy's ancestor)
• The Castle of King Brian Boru
• The Byronic Sisterhood (site about Lord Byron)
• Click here to see our family file at Rootsweb.com
• More on Anne of Green Gables
• Information on a role playing game re: Byron
• A comprehensive site concerning Lord Byron
• A good place to start in your search for your roots
• About Stacy's Ancestor, Peregrine White

sline81253@yahoo.com

Edit Your Page