The Cavendish
Historical Society (CHS) receives requests for genealogy information all the
time, so it wasn’t unusual to receive an e-mail from California. The family
could trace their ancestors back to the union of the Dutton and Proctor
families and included the names of Spaulding and Parker. Did we have
genealogies? Could we meet with them when they would be visiting in June? The
answers were yes and yes. There was a less frequently asked question, “were
there possible descendants still living in the area that they could visit?”
Other than recording
the date, time and place of meeting with the family, mention was made to a CHS
board member whose family included Parkers. “We’re having visitors on Tuesday
that may be part of your family. If it turns out that they are, I’ll call you.”
Arriving at the
Museum, the family was standing by the War Memorial. The man introduced
himself, his wife and young sons. “My Dad is on that War Memorial,” he said. He
went on to describe how his mother and father left Cavendish and moved to New
Hampshire. Periodically they would come to Proctorsville and meet with Aunts
and Uncles. “Who knows if they were really relatives,” he said. Falling on hard
times, the family moved to Florida, with both parents dying in 1969. With no
siblings or a knowledge of family, he was on his own at a relatively young age.
A career as a
leather artist took him to California in 1970, where he has lived ever since.
It was the birth of his sons that prompted his wife to start doing a genealogy
search. “They might want to know where they came from,” she said.
 |
| Greg Roche and Ann Pipkin |
For the first time in 45 years he had met a member of
his family. Not only were they cousins but Gail recalled playing with him and remembered
he was a champion swimmer. Better yet, since Greg only had one picture of
himself, and none of his parents, he was thrilled to hear Gail say, “I have
pictures of you.”
While this alone would have been an amazing story, it
gets better.
As Greg asks about names from his childhood, Gail
pieces together that the Aunt Adie he remembered has a granddaughter-Janet Pipkin-
now living in the old family home on Depot Street.
An e-mail and phone call, resulted in Janet’s posting
the following to Facebook, What a night... Almost 50 years ago, my
mom's cousin [Carmine June Cook]
disappeared and cut ties with the family. So my mom never knew what happened to
her and her son.
One of my strongest childhood memories is my mom
always looking up their names in phone books whenever we were staying at a
motel in another city. "You never know, they might be in here," she
would say.
Today a man from California visited the Cavendish
Historical Society to look up some family history, and thanks to Margo [Margo Caulfield is the coordinator of CHS] he
not only got the history, he got the family! It is my mom's cousin's son. I got
to meet him and we called my mom together.
Mom was so overjoyed to hear from him. She has
wondered for so long how he was. And on Sunday, she will find out when she gets
to see him again after all this time. Just amazing.
Being on speaker phone, we
were treated to the amazing reunion of Greg and Ann Pipkin, Janet’s Mom.
“We use to go to Arlington
to visit Aunt Adie. I had an eye problem and we’d have to go to Boston...”
“Yes, I know all about the issues with your eyes. In
fact, I probably know more about you than you do!”
As luck would have it, Janet’s family is having a
reunion this coming weekend and Greg and his family will be able to take part
in it.
While we’re finding out a lot about Carmine June Cook,
we’re still looking for information about Jim Roche. He came to Cavendish as
part of the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Proctor Piper State Forest. Even
though he was 42, he served in the Navy during WWII in the Pacific. If you have
any information about Jim, please contact CHS margoc@tds.net
or call 802-226-7807.
There are many things an historical society can do for
its members and community but it’s beyond thrilling to give someone back the
family they thought they had lost 45 years ago.
THIS
WEEK IN CAVENDISH HISTORY
One of the worst
tragedies to befall Vermont troops during the Civil War began to unfold on the
morning of June 23, 1864. With Robert E. Lee's Confederate army largely
confined to fortifications that stretched from Richmond twenty-three miles
south to Petersburg, the Union army continued its efforts to encircle the
rebels and cut off vital supply lines, especially railroads. On June 23,
Vermont troops were detailed to reconnoiter the Weldon Railroad, which ran
north to south. This advance was part of a tentative and ill-managed effort by
Sixth Corps Commander Horatio G. Wright to fulfill the order of General George
G. Meade for a general advance. The result was the capture of 412 Vermonters,
including several from Cavendish, who were marched to Camp Sumter, better known
as Andersonville prison. Of the 412 Vermonters in Andersonville, 203 died. One
Cavendish soldier, en route home from Andersonville, died at sea.
THE VERMONT
MOVIE: PART III
On June 29 (Sunday),
at 2 pm, the Cavendish Historical Society will be showing part 3 of The Vermont
Movie: Vermont Movie Refuge, Reinvention and Revolution: In the
mid-20th century, political pioneers like Bill Meyer, a Congressman who challenged
the Cold War, and Governor Phil Hoff, whose 1962 victory set the stage for
historic change, rose to take the lead in state politics. Innovation was
everywhere: in the work of “talented tinkerers” like Snowflake Bentley and
Thaddeus Fairbanks, in the rise of IBM, and in the creation of the Interstate
highways. We see the pros and cons of the highways--the high price of “eminent
domain.” Revolution was in the air—rare archival footage provides a vivid look
at the "hippies," the realities of communal life and the paths of
members of the counter-culture who established roots in Vermont. Who changed
whom?
The film will be
shown at the Cavendish Historical Society Museum on Main Street in Cavendish at
2 pm. FMI: margoc@tds.net or 802-226-7807
CHS AT THE TOWN WIDE TAG SALE
The Saturday closest
to the 4th of July has been the CHS annual plant and tag sale for
more years than many can remember. With the proliferation of Farmer’s Market,
attendance has been declining in recent years and so this year, this event is
being moved to coincide with the Town Wide Tag Sale on July 26, from 9-3 pm.
CAVENDISH HISTORIC TIMELINE NOW ON LINE
Want to know more
about Cavendish history, check out the following timelines:
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