Judge Amos Morrill and Miranda Dickson

Amos Morrill (1809-1894) son of Abraham Morrill (1776-1862) and Mary "Polly" Bagley (1778-1847) born in Salisbury, Massachusetts. From the Bartlett family collection Salisbury MA

Mary Dickson Morrill from the Bartlett family collection Salisbury MA

He married Nov. 2, 1843 Miranda Dickson (1826-1906) daughter of Joseph Dickson ( - 1830) and Sally Lattimer (1803-1891). 
Morrill graduated Bowdoin College in 1834 and began practicing law in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in 1836. He partnered with Miranda's brother, Joseph J. Dickson until he moved to Austin, and formed a partnership with Gov. Andrew J. Hamilton.
On January 18, 1872, Morrill was nominated by President Ulysses Granta United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Source: Texas Jurists Collection, Rare Books & Special Collections, Tarlton Law Library

Photos from blog Flash Back Dallas The Morrill's home and Jordon Moore who worked for Mrs Morrill. An amazing article by Paula Bosse

Obit for Sally Lattimore Dickson Moore

George Williamson Kingsbury and Medfield Massachusetts

These Photographs are from my grandmother Mildred Mabel Phelps (1909-1995) d. of Frederick Winsor Phelps (1877-1947) and Melissa Cross Davenport (1847-1910). Mildred married Robert Levi Berry (1907-1988). 
Mildred grew up on Spring Street Medfield, Massachusetts in the Kingsbury homestead. She came to live them with when at 9 months of age after her mother died.  
Her Uncle Allan Alanzo Kingsbury (son of George Williamson Kingsbury) and his wife, Lillian Phelps. The photo of Mildred and one of the Kingsbury relatives was in Medfield, MA. Please contact me if you have any ancestors connected to these family lines and photos. Thank you! 

George Williamson Kingsbury (1838-1912) son of Amos Plympton Kingsbury and Almira Williamson. He married Olive Atra Smith (1839-1925) daughter of Clark Smith and Carolina Morse. Children: Alan Alanzo Kingsbury (1865-1952) married Lillian Lord Phelps (1861-1951), 2. Waldo Emerson Kingsbury (1869-1917) married Chilla Murtin Byrd (11873-1900) and 2nd Wilma Eva Bowden (1872-1957) 

Alan Alanzo Kingsbury (1865-1952) s. of George Williamson Kingsbury and his wife Lillian Lord Phelps (1861-1951) daughter of Francis Henry Phelps and Esther Antoinette Hall  Children: Captain Francis Henry Kingsbury (1889-1969) married Effie Louis Holder (1892-1984), 2. Amos Clark Kingsbury (1897-1955) married Blanche Louise Marcionette (1896-1987), 3. Carlton Winsor Kingsbury (1893-1963) married Mildred Florence Atwood (1893-1967), 4. Margaret Pearl Kingsbury (1891-1979) married Harry Mirick Rowell (1881-1968)

Kingsbury Homestead Medfield, Massachusetts

Kingsbury Homestead Medfield, MA 1931

Photo of Carlton Winsor Kingsbury (1893-1963), Priscilla Kingsbury (1917-2002), George Kingsbury, Allan Alanzo Kingsbury (1926-2013), Lillian Phelps Kingsbury (1861-1951), and Esther A Hall Phelps (1846-1938)

Priscilla Kingsbury with Robert Levi Berry, JR Medfield MA

Robert Levi Berry SR and son Robert Levi Berry JR in Medfield MA Kingsbury homestead

Jean Berry and Robert Levi Berry at the Kingsbury homestead in Medfield, MA

Jean, Robert, and Carlton Berry in Medfield, Ma at Kingsbury homestead

Priscilla Kingsbury with Robert Berry JR 1932

Esther A Hall Phelps in Medfield, MA

Photo from The Mystery of Medfield's 'Lady of Route 27' by Richard DeSorgher: For 61 years she has stood guard over Spring Street and Route 27. Except for a brief move to the property behind the Sewer Treatment Plant off Bridge Street in 1990-1991, she has constantly observed the travelers heading north on Route 27.
She has no official name, she is uniquely Medfield and she remains a mystery in the conversations people have while driving by; “Who is that a statue of?”  “Is she a famous Medfield person?"  “Why is she located there on the former Kingsbury Homestead property?”  “Was she a Kingsbury?” 
She clearly remains the most visible Medfield mystery. The above description is, of course, referring to the statue that sits on the knoll above Preservation Way, on the side of Spring Street and Route 27 and across from Kingsbury Pond. What is the story behind the majestic lady that looks out inquisitively from her stone perch, always watching and waiting year after year?
The story begins in 1950 when Amos Clark Kingsbury, owner of the Kingsbury Homestead and antique shop on 145 Spring St., notices the statue sitting high above a granite quarry while visiting the town of Addison, Maine.
Addison, Maine is located in Down East Maine’s Washington County. Addison was known for shipbuilding and quarrying. There were 83 vessels built there between 1800 and 1900 and four major granite quarries in operation. By 1958 both industries had disappeared and with the closing of the last quarry, the population reached a low point of 744. Right away Amos took a liking to the statue.
“It resembles my mother (Lillian Phelps Kingsbury),” he exclaimed. Purchasing the statue, he had it moved from high above the Addison Quarry to his property in Medfield. Who was the lady turned statue? Why was she placed overlooking the quarry in Addison, Maine? This we will never know. Once she arrived in Medfield, she was placed outside the antique shop, which in earlier times, was the homestead’s slaughter house.
Amos Clark Kingsbury was a Medfield native and graduate of the Medfield High School Class of 1916. During WWI he served in the U.S. Marines, American Expeditionary Force, and fought in literally all the major battles in France. Returning home after the war, he became a charter member of Beckwith Post 110, American Legion.
After the death of his parents he inherited the family 75-acre Homestead on 145 Spring St. Here he founded the Medfield School of Art, which was located in the main barn. The School later became the Medfield Art Galleries, an early forerunner resembling today’s Zullo Gallery. It attracted artists and crowds from throughout New England. Kingsbury also served the Town of Medfield for 35 years as our tax collector. He married Blanche Marcionette on June 25, 1955. Diagnosed with cancer, he died on Dec. 15, 1955. Blanche continued to run the homestead and now antique shop until her death on March 15, 1987.
With the marriage to Blanche Marcionette, the property left the hands of the Kingsbury family and having no children, her nephew Phil Ford inherited the homestead. The property was subdivided, with the Town of Medfield buying Kingsbury Pond and developer Ralph Costello the land and homestead across from the pond.
In 1990 Ford then donated the statue to the Town of Medfield and it was moved to the rear of the Sewer Treatment Plant waiting the town’s decision as to its next location. However, developer Costello told the town that he would welcome the statue back on the land and would donate the land the statue stands on to the town so that it would remain public property. It is today the only statue owned by the citizens of Medfield and it continues to look out over Rt. 27, watching and waiting, as it has for the past 61 years.

Photo

Below is the Genealogy of the descendants of Isaac Stearns* of Watertown, Massachusetts. Issac Stearns arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony on the Arabella, the first of the Winthrop Fleet (June 1630). He settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. Mary Barker was daughter of John Barker and Margaret Walker.
These photos are from the collection of  the family of Ruthie Stearns daughter of Rev. Howard Stearns. Ruthie contacted me after reading my blog post on her 2nd great grandparents Joseph Oliver Stearns and Helen Louise “Nell” Dennett of Amesbury, Massachusetts. Photo of Joseph Oliver and Helen Louise below Please keep Checking Back More Photos will be added on the GOULD, SWETT, WELCH, JONES, and EASTMAN lines and the families they married into. Please contact me for permission to republish photos or material. Thank You!




A NOTE FROM RUTHIE STEARNS:  About a year and a half ago, I began  going through the photographs, notes, papers, diaries, and letters belonging to many of the lines of our family, which were saved by many of my recent ancestors, and organized by my parents, Howard and Barbara Stearns.    My goal at that time was to  catalog the collection in the family and scan the photos.  I happened to be googling family names, and stumbled on Melissa’s blog post on Joseph and Nell, only days after she wrote it.   What a surprise, and what a wonderful time we’ve had emailing and calling and visiting since then.  I’ve learned so much about local Amesbury/Salisbury history, and have shared many of the photos with Melissa since that time.  
 
 
Likely the most illuminating and valuable part of the collection, are the diaries of Helen (Nell) and Joseph.   Helen’s diaries covered 1858 to around 1870, (she died rather suddenly just before her 31st birthday in 1874) and Joseph’s from 1857 to 1870, and then picking up again in late 1880 and ending with his death in 1917.  I am attempting to transcribe them all, a task begun decades early by my late sister Anne.   She had done many of the diaries of Helen, along with her “Love Letters” which she wrote to Joseph during his 90 day service during the Civil War.  I wanted to continue the effort with Joseph’s diaries, and have transcribed about 15 years of his life thus far.  It’s been a fascinating task, and I enjoy sharing bits and pieces of the lives of these two ancestors of mine, whose life together was cut short.   Photo above of Ruthie Stearns and her Great Aunt Helen Rachel Stearns. Photo below The Diary of Joseph Oliver Stearns.

Many of the families that the Stearns line married into trace back to original settlers of New England. The POOR/POORE, STICKNEY, PEABODY, GOULD, CHASE, KILLAM, POTTER, EASTMAN, DENNETT, FROST, PERKINS, HALL, MORRILL, PILSBURY, OSGOOD, BROWN, BURBANK, PARKER, & Others. See Genealogy and memoirs of Isaac Stearns and his descendants

• Gr. Grandparents Nettie Florence Gould Stearns and William Dennett Stearns in Haverhill
• 2nd Great Grandparents Joseph Oliver Stearns and Helen Louise Dennett Stearns in Salisbury/Amesbury
• 2nd Nathaniel Gould  (husband of Rachel Peabody Gould daughter of Jacob Peabody and Elizabeth Perkins) in Topsfield
• 3rd Great Grandparents Adeline Eastman Stearns and Charles Oliver Stearns in Salisbury/Amesbury  
• 3rd John Dennett son of William Dennett and Betsy Morrill and husband of Louisa Frost Dennett daughter of James Frost and Hannah Linscott in Salisbury/Amesbury
• 3rd Mary Ann Potter Gould daughter of Benjamin Potter and Anna Kinsman married Allan Gould son of Nathaniel Gould and Hannah Killam in Topsfield (Parent of Nathaniel Gould)
• 4th Great Grandparents Dorcas Varnum Stearns  daughter of Parker Vernum (son of John Varnum and Phoebe Parker) and Dorcas Brown daughter of Timothy Brown and Hannah Osgood . (wife of Oliver Stearns) in Dracut and Amesbury. Parker Vernum married 2nd Abiah Osgood of Andover
• 4th Elizabeth Chase Eastman daughter of Jeremiah Chase and Hannah Pilsbury (wife of Jonathan Eastman son of Jeremiah Eastman and Edna Poore)  West Newbury and Amesbury

Adding some of the next generations of family lines

• John Varnum s. of John Parker (son of Samuel Varnum and Dorathy Prescott)
• Oliver Stearns s.of Josiah Stearns and Marey Corey
• Josiah Stearns s. of Thomas Stearns and Abigail Reed
• William Dennett s. of William Dennett and Mary Greenough
• Besty Morrill d. of Moses Sargent Morrill (s. of Jacob Morrill and Dorothy Bagley) and Abigail Worthen (d. of Jonathan Worthen and Elizabeth Dresser)
• Jeremiah Chase s. of Abel Chase (s.of Thomas Chase and Emma Kent) and Hannah Morse. Abel served in Revolutionary War – Captain Jonathan Poor’s Company from Newbury, Essex, MA.
• Hannah Pilsbury d. of William Pillsbury (s. of Moses Pilsbury and Abigail Rolfe) and Mary Poore (d. of Benjamin Poor and Dorothy Pilsbury)
• Jeremiah Eastman s. of  Jonathan Eastman (s.of Joseph Eastman and Abigail Merrill) and Martha Allen
• Edna Poore/Poor d. of John Poor (s. of Samuel Poor and Hannah Morse) and Edna Stickney (d. of John Stickney and Mary Poor)
• Hannah Linscott d. of Theodore Linscott (s.of Jonathan Bane and Sarah Nowell) and Dorcas Bane
• Jacob Peabody s. of Jacob Peabody (s.of  Joseph Peabody and Elizabeth Bradstreet)    and Sarah Potter (d.of Ezekiel Potter and Mary Cummings)
• JUST ADDED ON MAY 24, 2016
• Fannie Ora Stearns b. March 8, 1854 Youngest (7th) child of Charles Oliver Stearns and Adeline Eastman Stearns m. John Francis Swett son of Timothy Swett (s. of Arron Sweet and Molly Colby) and Polly Osgood (d. of Nathaniel Osgood and Hannah Smith) from Salisbury Point, born December 1, 1849.  Fannie and John were married February 9, 1881.  Fannie d.  July 19, 1948, aged 94.   John died October 9, 1915, aged  65.  They had four daughters, Florence, Ethel, Mabel and Marian.
• Florence Helen Swett, b. February 15, 1882 m. Roland Carter Chisholm September 20, 1911  m. George Morrill April 1928 Children: Dorothy Varnum Chisholm b. July 25, 1916  d. May 16, 1930 aged 13.
• Ethel Stearns Swett b. June 11, 1885 m. Carl Leslie Williams June 11, 1913.  Ethel died November 1, 1935, aged 50. Children:
  1. Francis Paul Williams b. February 9, 1916
  2. Ralph Leslie Williams b. August 1, 1917
  3. Kenneth Stearns Williams b. September 2, 1919
• Mabel Francis Swett  b. July 1, 1888   d. November 1888 infant.
• Marian Eastman Swett b. February 14, 1895 m. Roy Hugo Richards December 20, 1923 died November 1981 age 86. Children:
  1.  Robert Eastman Richards b. April 11, 1925
  2.  Pauline Swett Richards b. December 9, 1926
   3.  Roy Hugo Richards Jr. b. April 23, 1932

Vital Records and Descendants

• Adeline Eastman Stearns March 12 1813 – July 13 1893 (80 years) Wife of
  Charles Oliver Stearns, born November 8, 1813.  Adeline Eastman born March 12, 1813.  They married September 10, 1833.  She died July 13, 1893.  He died October 19, 1906. They had Eight children
  1.  Sarah Elizabeth Stearns October 16, 1834 – March 31, 1866.
  2.  Susan Adeline Stearns July 3, 1836 – January 7, 1923.
  3.  Joseph Oliver Stearns born June 14, 1838, died September 7, 1917.  married Helen Louise Dennett  January 1, 1867, who died March 25, 1874.  One son, William Dennett Stearns born October 25, 1867, died October 27, 1947.
  4.  Harriet Ann Stearns Feb 2, 1841 – September 12, 1911  (Hattie)
  5.  Mary Augusta Stearns August 18, 1843 – May 1832   (Gustie)
  6.  Ellen Dorcas Stearns  October 30, 1845 – Feb 2, 1945   (Nell)
  7.  Fannie Ora Stearns March 8, 1954-Dec 1, 1949 She married John Francis Swett, February 9, 1881.  Four daughters, Florence Helen Swett, Ethel Stearns Swett, Mabel Frances Swett, Marion Eastman Swett.
  8.  Laura Ann Stearns, twin to Mary Augusta Stearns, birth recorded at Salisbury but nothing more.
• Charles Oliver Stearns  November 8, 1813 – October 19, 1906  (92 years)
• Dorcas Varnum Stearns   June 15, 1788- September 18, 1865  (77 years)  Married Oliver Stearns   March 4, 1786 – June 7, 1826  (40 years)
• Elizabeth Chase Eastman   April 2, 1794 – October 9, 1882  (88 years)  Married Jonathan Eastman   October 23, 1888 – July 6, 1861  (72 years)
• Helen Louise Dennett Stearns  March 31, 1843 – March 25, 1874  (30 years)
• Joseph Oliver Stearns   June 14, 1838 – September 9, 1917  (79 years)
• John Dennett  January 1, 1811 – May 16, 1891  (80 years) husband of Louisa Frost Father of Helen Dennett
• Louisa Frost Dennett  August 16, 1818 – March 29, 1897  (78 years) Mother of Helen Dennett
• Mary Ann Potter Gould  December 5, 1804 – Feb 26, 1900  (95 years) Married Allen Gould born September 15, 1785 – August 5, 1862  (76 years)
• Nathaniel Gould   April 22, 1831 – January 10, 1898   (66 years)  Married  Rachel Almira Perkins Peabody Gould    b. June 10, 1830 – April 6, 1874   (43 years)
• Nettie Florence Gould Stearns   July 26, 1863 – September 16, 1948  (85 years)
• William Dennett Stearns   October 25, 1867 – October 27, 1947   (80 years)
• “Fanny” Frances Anne Huggins born July 19, 1833 d. of Anne Dorcas Stearns and Freeman Huggins wife of Leonard E Burbank. Her mother Anne was born August 2, 1811 and died January 21, 1838, and was the oldest child of Oliver Stearns and Dorcas Varnum Stearns. See Burbank Collection Photos and Art
• Etta Stearns daughter of William Henry Stearns of Springfield, Mass.  She was born Jan 7, 1860;   married George Orson Hall of Willimantic, CT.   Etta’s father William was the sixth child of Oliver and Dorcas Varnum Stearns.
• May Stearns daughter of William Henry Stearns of Springfield, Mass.    William Henry Stearns was the sixth child of Oliver and Dorcas Varnum Stearns.  May was born May 21, 1858;  she married George Watson Clark of Northampton, Mass.
• Photos of the siblings of Charles Oliver Stearns.
  Chronology:  Oliver Stearns  married Dorcas Varnum March 15, 1810 in Dracut (Per Genealogy, however the vital records for Dracut says March 15, 1811).
   Eight Children
• 1.  Anne Dorcas Stearns – married Freeman Huggins, one child,  Frances Anne Huggins who married Leonard E Burbank.   Anne was born August 2, 1811 and died January 21, 1838.   Frances (Fanny) was born July 19, 1833.  Freeman died when Fanny was a month old.
• 2.  Charles Oliver Stearns Listed above
• 3.  Susan Maria Corey Stearns born December 29, 1815, married Joseph Chandler, one son Charles Chandler born May 14, 1849.  Susan died April 18, 1862.  Lived in Winthrop ME.
• 4.  George Parker Stearns born Sept. 22, 1817, manager of the Lowell Journal and Lowell Courier, died April 20, 1845, unmarried.
• 5.  Luther Stearns.  Born August 17, 1820, died September 17, 1907.  Luther lived in Springfield, Mass, an engineer for the railroad.  Married Mary Alvord.  Six children.  George Luther Stearns,  Edward Alvord Stearns,  Albert Henry Stearns,  Mary Stearns,  Charles Ashley Stearns, James Parker Stearns, who had two children, Dorothy Nelson Stearns and Scott Monteith Stearns.
• 6.  William Henry Stearns, born March 29, 1822, died July 10, 1899.  An engineer for the railroad, residing in Springfield, Mass.   Wife, Sarah Ann Durant.  Three children.  Charles Laurens Stearns, wife Ellen C. Foley, one daughter, Grace May Stearns.  May Estella Stearns and Georgietta Edwards Stearns.
• 7.  Laurens Stearns born January 7, 1825, died May 21, 1896.
• 8.  Mary Elizabeth Stearns born January 7, 1825, died November 15, 1900.   Married William Harlow Hull, four children, Frank Laurens Hull (he’s buried in Omaha, Nebraska), Fred Stearns Hull,  Kate Florence Hull, and Harry Harlow Hull.
  The only formal portrait I have of any of COS siblings is that of his youngest sister, Mary Elizabeth Stearns Hull, her husband Harlan Hull and her daughter Kate Hull.
   Included here are pictures of Charles Ashley Stearns and his brother James Parker Stearns, along with the wife of Charles (Carrie Cooley) and the children of James (Dorothy and Scott).   Also photos of May Stearns (Clark) and Etta Stearns (Hall)
  Sources & References:

• The Stearns Family Project
• Stearns Documents & Great Migration Papers from American Ancestors,
• Genealogy and memoirs of Isaac Stearns and his descendants published in 1901 Avis Stearns Van Wagenen
• Genealogy Bank News Clips and News clips Amesbury & Danvers Archival Center
• George Cogswell School Class 1908 Haverhill MA
• Salisbury High School Graduation June 25 1883
• Rocky Hill Meeting House
• Rev Samuel Parris site excavation and sermons transcribed Danvers MA
• Gallows Hill, or Proctors Ledge Memorial

Special Thanks to Archivist and Author of Legendary Local of Amesbury, Margie Shepard Walker at the Amesbury Public Library, Amesbury Historian Steve Klomps, the Macy-Colby House in Amesbury, Newburyport Daily News, Cheryl Follansbee of Newbury, MA and Newburyport Genealogy Group, Archivist Richard Trask at the Peabody Institute Public Library, The Bartlett Farm and Bartlett Family of Salisbury, Gordon Harris of the Ipswich Historic Commission, and Paul Turner of the Salisbury Historical Society and Professor Emerson Baker author of A Storm of Witchcraft
The Charles Oliver Stearns Family Bible copy of a Marriage, Death, and Birth page.

The Stearns Home in Amesbury, Massachusetts before it was moved

Helen Rachel Stearns, Ruthie’s Gr Aunt Helen in the Elmwood Cemetery Amesbury. Clothes for doll made by Ruth’s grandmother, Nettie Florence Gould Stearns and hair belonged to Ruth’s grandfather, Howard Oliver Stearns Sr.

Dorcus Varnum Stearns (1788-1865)

John Dennett father of Helen Dennett Amesbury, MA

Mary Ann Potter Gould (1804-1900) m Allen Gould

Helen Dennett Stearns (1843-1874) m Joseph O Stearns

Louisa Frost Dennett (1818-1897) mother of Helen Dennett

Elizabeth Chase Eastman (1794-1882) mother of Adeline Eastman

Joseph Oliver Stearns (1838-1917) m Helen Dennett

Nathaniel Gould (1831-1898) father Nettie F Gould

William Dennett Stearns (1867-1947) m Nettie Florence Gould

Nettie Florence Gould Stearns (1863-1948)

Stearns Men Four Generations Howard, William, Joseph, and Charles Oliver

Fannie Ora Stearns Swett Amesbury, MA

Rocker interior of Stearns Home Amesbury, Massachusetts

Joseph Oliver Stearns Home 315 Elm Street Amesbury/Salisbury moved to Bartlett Farm

Sarah Elizabeth Stearns 1834-1866

The Shell Picture: A Collection of Stearns Family Photos*

*The “Shell” picture.  Charles, Adeline, Sarah, Susan, Joseph, Hattie, Gustie, Nell and Fannie.   Ruthie Stearns notes that her parents always thought the shells came from Salisbury beach, but the diaries of Helen Louise Dennett Stearns provided a possible clue.   It’s  1862, and Helen (Nell) writes often of the Stearns girls around her age  (Hattie and Gustie and Susan mostly) who seem to be boarding at the Dennett home when they are either in school or working at a hat factory.  Ruthie suspects this is how Helen Dennett and Joseph ended up meeting.   Helen Dennett’s diary notes that Mr Stearns returned home from California, and that a few days later, she went to visit him with some of the Stearns girls, and he showed her this collection of shells he had brought back from California, after working there over two years.   Here’s what Helen  wrote, April 16th;  “…in the evening Gustie, Hattie and I went down to Rocky Hill; Gustie introduced to Miss Fowler; did not stop there long; it was very dark when we got down to Mr. Stearns’, spent the evening looking at the shells; Mr. Stearns brought home a great many from California;  they are the most beautiful shells that ever I saw, we staid till nearly 10 o clock waiting for the moon to rise;  came home on the railroad,had a very pleasant walk.”

Another Four Generation Stearns Joseph, William, Charles and Howard

Ellen Dorcas Stearns 90th Birthday

Rocky Hill Meeting House Amesbury, Massachusetts

Stearns Family photp labeled Playing croquet with Uncle Joe’s set he made. Signed by Marion Eastman Swett

Joseph Oliver Stearns in uniform

Joseph Oliver Stearns

Stearns Home 315 Elm Street Amesbury/Salisbury Massachusetts

Mary Augusta Stearns “Gustie” 1843-1932

Joseph Oliver Stearns Amesbury, MA

Adeline Eastman Stearns Amesbury, MA

Charles Oliver Stearns 90th year Amesbury, MA

Adeline, Fannie, Ellen, Gustie, and Charles Oliver Amesbury MA

Mary Augusta Stearns “Gustie”

William Dennett Stearns

Susan Adeline Stearns 1836-1923

Harriet Ann Stearns “Hattie” 1843-1911

Stearns Home Winter 315 Elm Street Amesbury/Salisbury Massachusetts

Three troublemakers Ellen Dorcas Stearns, Marion Eastman Swett Richards, Fannie Orna Stearns Swett

Stearns Family Gathering Nell’s 90th in Amesbury, MA

This photo of the extended Stearns family was taken in 1935, at Nell’s 90th birthday celebration at the Elm Street house. Shown here, first row, Florence Swett Chisholm Morrill, Polly Richards, Ellen Dorcas Stearns, Howard Oliver Stearns, Jr. and Howard Oliver Stearns, Sr.  Back row, Roy Richards, Ethel Swett Williams, Roy Richards Jr., Nettie Florence Gould Stearns, Fannie Stearns Swett, Mr. Morrill, Marion Swett Richards, Mr. Williams, William Dennett Stearns.  Ethel, 50, in the back row holding Roy Jr., looks in the peak of health, but died four days after the photo was taken.

Charles Oliver Stearns

Joseph Oliver Stearns Outside his Man Cave Shed

Stearns Home 315 Elm Street Amesbury/Salisbury Massachusetts

Stearns Home 315 Elm Street Winter

Uncle Joe’s (Joseph O Stearns) Old Shop Amesbury

Adeline Eastman Stearns

Adeline Eastman Stearns

Fanny Burbank

Mary Elizabeth Stearns  (1825-1900) wife of William H Hull

Mary Elizabeth Stearns 1825-1900

Howard Oliver Stearns circa 1897

Harlem Harlow Hull

Mary Elizabeth Stearns Hull 1825-1900

Charles Ashley Stearns Springfield, MA

Charles Ashley Stearns Springfield, MA

Carrie Cooley Stearns Springfield MA

Charles Ashley Stearns Springfield MA

James Parker Stearns Springfield MA

James Parker Stearns Springfield,  MA

Dorothy Nelson Stearns Springfield MA

Scott Monteith Stearns Springfield MA

Scott Monteith Stearns Springfield, MA

Scott Montheith Stearns Springfield, MA

Etta Stearns Hall Springfield, MA

Etta Stearns Hall Springfield, MA

May Stearns Clark Springfield, MA

Kate Hull b. 1860 Lowell, MA d. of Mary Hull

Three Generations of Stearns Howard SR, Howard, JR and William Dennett

Helen, sporting a cool hat with brother Howard

Howard Oliver Stearns, SR. Haverhill

Howard Oliver Stearns circa 1897

Howard Oliver Stearns with sister Mildred Florence*

*Mildred Florence Stearns was born in Jan. 1893 and died of scarlet fever in March 1897.

Nettie with Helen 1896

Nettie, Howard, and Helen Stearns

William and Nettie content in their old age

Stearns Family House 7 Shamut Ave Haverhill, MA

Helen Stearns at her loom in Haverhill, M

Helen Stearns Mount Holyoke College 1916

Ethel Stearns Swett Amesbury, Massachusetts

Baby Photo of Dorothy Varnum Chisholm

Florence Swett Chisholm and Dorothy V. Chisholm

Marian Swett with Pooch

Family Photo taken October 27, 1935 According to Stearns Family Bible Ethel Stearns passed away November 1, 1935. Aunt Nell’s 90th birthday party, taken at the Stearns home on Elm Street.  Front row Ethel Swett WIlliams, Polly Richards (Marian’s daughter), Aunt Nell and Howard Oliver Stearns Jr.  Back row, Roy Richards Jr. (Marian’s youngest son) either George Morrill Florence’s husband or Roy Richards, Marian’s husband, Florence Swett Morrill, Nettie Florence Gould Stearns,  Fannie Stearns Swett, either George Morrill or Roy Richards, Marian Richards, Carl WIlliams, William Dennett Stearns and Maybelle North Stearns. Florence is holding Roy Jr., and Howard Oliver Stearns Sr. is in the front row next to HOS Jr.    I really suspect the man on the far left is George Morrill, and the man next to Fannie and Marian is Roy Richards Sr. 

Florence Helen Swett m. Roland Carter Chisholm

Sweet Sister Photo of Florence and Ethel Swett

Ethel Stearns Swett m. Carl Leslie Williams

Sons of Ethel Stearns Swett Williams Kenneth, Paul, and Ralph

Swett Family, Fanny, John, Florence, and Ethel 

Ethel Stearns Swett m. Carl Leslie Williams

John Francis Swett Amesbury, Massachusetts

Fanny Ora Stearns Swett Amesbury, Massachusetts

Group Photo at Shamut Ave House Stearns*

Nettie is on R, with Helen in her lap, and Howard and Mildred in front of her, standing.

A view of the Merrimack River Amesbury and Salisbury *

“Building new bridge across Merrimack R by Chain Bridge & Salisbury point  Nov 11, 1951.  Salisbury Pt in distance” labeled by Helen Stearns

Helen Rachel Stearns and Howard Oliver Stearns, early 1900’s.

Helen Stearns Haverhill at Bradford Academy

Trolley Station

Group Photo  Taken in Washington DC. Howard Oliver Stearns in back seated row, fourth from the right.

John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace  Haverhill, Massachusetts

Group Photo  Helen Rachel Stearns third from left in back row.

Salisbury Beach Outing  Helen Rachel Stearns and her mother Nettie Florence Gould Stearns in photo.  Nettie is near the back under the window with the large wrapped hat, Helen is below her and to our left, under the infant.

Group Haverhill, Massachusetts

Photo  Helen Rachel Stearns in back row, second from left.

Downtown Havehill, Massachusetts

Haverhill, Massachusetts Armistice Day

Group Photo Haverhill National Bank.  William Dennett Stearns second from end on the right in the back row.

Haverhill National Bank Haverhill, Massachusetts

Haverhill National Bank Haverhill, Massachusetts

John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace Haverhill, Massachusetts

John Greenleaf Whittier House Haverhill, Massachusetts Fire

Haverhill, Massachusetts Flood 1936?

Haverhill, Massachusetts Flood

Haverhill, Massachusetts Flood 1936

Haverhill, Massachusetts Flood 1936?

Rye Beach, in New Hampshire.  Standing is Nettie Florence Gould Stearns.  Her daughter Helen Rachel Stearns on the far right.  Helen’s father WIlliam Dennett Stearns in the front.  Sitting with a coffee cup, is likely Melvin Gould, Nettie’s brother.  I don’t know who the couple on the far left is, but the man is not a Gould, making me suspect the woman could be Annie Kinsman Gould Jones, Nettie’s sister, and the man Annie’s husband Forrest Jones of Plaistow, NH.  1920’s.

*  Isaac Stearns and Great Migration Papers from American Ancestors


Josiah Stearns of Lunenburg, Massachusetts was an officer in the Revolutionary War, Worcester North District. Hon. Josiah Stearns, Esq. of Lunenburg Tuesday, October 23, 1804 Federal Spy Springfield MA

Photo of Helen Stearns from Mount Holyoke College Archives

A clip from “The Parker Family of Andover” By Charlotte Helen Abbott published by The Andover Historical Society on Phebe/Phoebe Parker who married John Varnum.

Varnum Family in New England News Friday, February 26, 1875  St. Albans Advertiser

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A Leaf from the Past Tuesday, July 5, 1859  Lowell Daily Citizen and News (Lowell, Massachusetts)


Grave Dorcas Brown Varnum Woodbine Cemetery Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
Children (b. in Dracut, MA)
John, Jan. 12, 1773 – Feb. 20, 1776
Polley, Sept. 30, 1774 – Aug. 17, 1798
Dorcas, Sept. 28, 1776 – Mar. 10, 1787
John, June 25, 1778
Dolley, Mar. 12, 1780 – May 21, 1796
Clarissa, Jan. 27, 1782
Sarah Bowdoin, Jan. 16, 1784
Phebe, Dec. 15, 1785
Dorcus, June 15, 1788
Parker, May 19, 1790 – Dec. 18, 1824
Sukey, May 7, 1792
Charles, Jan. 1796 – Feb. 1, 1796
Charles, Sep. 1797 – Jan. 13, 1798
See “The Varnums of Dracutt (in Massachusetts) a history of George Varnum, his son Samuel who came to Ipswich about 1635, and grandsons Thomas, John and Joseph, who settled in Dracutt, and their descendants”  John Marshal Varnum