When I first thought about the prompt HARVEST I looked to see if we had anyone in our family tree named Autumn.
Nope!
Then I remembered a branch of my tree that included early Puritan settlers of Massachusetts. I knew there were many Thankfuls and wondered about anyone named Bounty or Blessing - None! Feeling disappointed I kept looking through the unusual names. I found Preserved Strong. Born to Jebediah & Freedom (nee Woodward) Strong.
"He was born March 29, 1680, and is said to have received
his name from the fact that he was born in a great snow storm, and preserved,
'notwithstanding its severity, and the extreme cold weather following.'" 1
The early Puritan settlers viewed it differently when naming children.
"PRESERVED m & f English (Puritan) Name given to a child when spared from certain death during childbirth." 2
Preserved Strong's Grandparents
Abigail Ford (sister to my 10th great grandmother Hepzibah Ford)
BIRTH 8 OCT 1619 • Bridport, Dorset, England
DEATH 6 JUL 1688 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
at the age of 16 she married widower
John Strong (Elder in the Puritan Church)
BIRTH 1610 • Taunton, Taunton Deane Borough, Somerset, England
DEATH 14 APR 1699 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
Abigail & John's first born (of the 14) was
Jedediah Strong
BIRTH 7 MAY 1637 • Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States
DEATH 22 MAY 1733 • Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA
who married
Freedom Woodward
BIRTH JUL 1641 • Dorchester Suffolk County Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 17 MAY 1681 • Northampton Hampshire County Massachusetts, US
Abigail Bartlett (widow of John Stebbins, 10 children)
BIRTH 1637 • Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 15 JUL 1689 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
Mary Hart (widow of John Lee, 6 children
BIRTH 14 AUG 1630 • Hartford Hartford County Connecticut, USA
DEATH 10 OCT 1710 • South Hadley Hampshire County Massachusetts, USA
Jebediah & Freedom 12th child (of 14) was
Preserved Strong
BIRTH 29 MAR 1680 • Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 26 SEP 1765 • Coventry, Tolland County (Tolland), Connecticut, USA
On October 23rd 1701 he married his step-sister
Tabitha Lee (Mary (nee Hart) Lee's daughter)
BIRTH 11 NOV 1677 • Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut, USA
DEATH 23 JUN 1750 • Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA
They were married 9 years after Jebediah's father and Tabitha's mother were married.
Preserved & Tabitha had 8 children
Noah Strong
BIRTH 20 SEP 1702 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 23 JUN 1771 • Addison, Addison County, Vermont, USA
Elizabeth Strong ***
BIRTH 27 SEP 1704 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 4 MAY 1792 • Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA
*** (7th great grandmother of Princess Diana who married her not so distant cousin
Joseph Strong, but that is a tale for another time )
Moses Strong (Twin)
BIRTH 14 MAY 1708 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH Unknown
Aaron Strong (Twin)
BIRTH 14 MAY 1708 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 1764 • Southampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
Tabitha Strong
BIRTH 13 AUG 1710 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 20 NOV 1730 • Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA
Mary Strong
BIRTH 10 JUN 1714 • Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 9 JUL 1754 • East Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
John Strong (a General)
BIRTH 25 FEB 1715 • Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, USA
DEATH Prob. Coventry, Tolland, Connecticut, USA
Enoch Strong
BIRTH 16 JUL 1720 • Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA
DEATH 1790 • Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA
Returning to the topic of fall harvest and preserving the bounty!
The first time my husband said he wanted to try canning I argued with him that the process was subject to explosions in the kitchen and if he wasn't careful the food he made could kill us. I have repeated a variation of this sentiment for 25 years.
Luckily for our family he doesn't listen to me. All winter long we enjoy HIS jams, pickles, salsa, canned fruit, and frozen vegies. I take no credit for any of the harvested preserves. My fear is still solidly in place. There are times I suspiciously look at the jar to see if it looks like it holds my impending death. I avoid the kitchen (or crane my neck suspiciously from the doorway) while he is processing his preserves. I am visualizing explosions that involve goo dripping down the walls with ginormous shards of glass embedded everywhere. Now that he wears glasses I no long discreetly place safety goggles on the counter. I am only slightly exaggerating my fear of the preserving process.
Childhood fears taken into adulthood!
This is why I search -
Cause ...
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***
Related Previous Blogs:
Somehow Related Blog Spot,
This lady in waiting --- too late to meet my famous cousin
somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/01/this-lady-in-waiting-too-late-to-meet.html
Footnotes:
1 JOHN LEE: Of Farmington, Hartford County, Conn., and His Descendants
written by Sarah Marsh Lee, 2nd edition compiled by Leonard Lee & Sarah Fiske Lee, Norwich, 1897, p. 467 retrieved October 1st 2019 from
https://books.google.ca/books?id=I-q3AE_JbngC&pg=PA467&dq=%22he+was+born+march+29,+1680,+and+is+said+to+have+received+his+name%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj4h-jxt_7kAhXVIDQIHVJ2DQ8Q6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=%22he%20was%20born%20march%2029%2C%201680%2C%20and%20is%20said%20to%20have%20received%20his%20name%22&f=false
2 Behind the Name, Puritan Names, Preserved, retrieved October 1st 2019 from
https://www.behindthename.com/submit/names/usage/puritan
Sources:
Ancestor Biographies Blog Spot, Father or Step-father to 32 Children — Jedediah Strong, Retrieved October 2nd 2019 from
http://ancestorbios.blogspot.com/2012/03/father-or-step-father-to-32-children.html
Ancestor Biographies Blog Spot, Pregnant Each Year of Married Life – Freedom Woodward, Retrieved October 2nd 2019 from
http://ancestorbios.blogspot.com/2012/03/mother-of-fourteen-children-freedom.html
Ancestry Island, Monday Is for Mothers : Freedom Woodward (1642 - 1681), Retrieved October 2nd 2019 from
http://ancestryisland.blogspot.com/2015/08/monday-is-for-mothers-freedom-woodward.html
Find A Grave, Mary Hart Lee Strong, Retrieved October 2nd 2019 from
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36254936/mary-lee_strong
Find A Grave, Preserved Strong, Retrieved October 2nd 2019 from
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36164159/preserved-strong
John Lee and His Descendants 1634--1878, Sarah Marsh Lee, Norwich, 1878, retrieved October 1st 2019 from
https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/john-lee/27342962
Links:
Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/
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My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.
All rights reserved.
Please & Thank you!
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