Groton, NH Archivist Finds Links to Civil War Diary and Salem Witch Trials
Louise Traunstein has spent years learning all of the history she could find about a little town in New Hampshire called Groton. The town is “off the beaten path” so to speak. At one time, the founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, lived just down the road from the building that now houses the Groton Historical Society, a building that Louise herself donated to the town, as a former resident there.
We appreciate the fact that Louise is a regular reader of this blog and enjoys all the information offered here. From time to time, she has some great details of her own to add, and sends me personal letters.
After having just listened to the song I recorded this week, “Tenting on the Old Camp Ground,” and after having discussed the Salem Witch Trials with me, on the phone, Mrs. Traunstein sent the following note.
She says, “Here is what I wrote (for the GHS newsletter) about the Civil War Diary, of which we have copies.”
Mrs. Geraldine Dearborn Gould Chase (now deceased) gifted us with two copies of a diary written by Valorus Dearborn, a member of Co. A,
2nd Regiment, Massachusetts Calvary, while he was in the Civil War. His diary was small enough to fit in his shirt pocket and was with him when he was wounded on Sept. 12, 1864. He died in a hospital at Opequan Creek, Virginia on the 13th.
The diary became the property of his brother, who gave it to his daughter, Edna Dearborn Gould, who then gave it to her daughter Geraldine. Geraldine had it copied and printed so it could be shared with family and friends. She did a great deal of research on it to verify the information. Edna Gould, her mother, was a teacher at School #4 (our Groton Historical Society Museum), circa 1930.
One of our members shares this information in her genealogical searches. She is the 14th generation descended from John Perkins, who came to MA from the town of Newent in Gloucestershire, England in 1631. His wife was Judith Gater. They had six children, one of whom was a daughter named Mary Perkins, born in 1620 in England. She came with the family to America.
In 1637 she married at Ipswich, MA to Thomas Bradbury and removed with him to Salisbury. Mary Perkins Bradbury was one of those unfortunate people who, in the dark days of witchcraft delusion, was among the accused. She was convicted, but through the efforts of her family and friends, her execution was delayed, the horrid delusion passed away, and she was discharged. The papers connected with her trial, as well as those of the others who were some of the more unfortunate, have been preserved and are to be seen in the files in the Clerk of Courts Office in Salem, MA.
These were the two cases I spoke to you about concerning the Civil War and the Salem Witch Trials that had a connection to descendants of Groton residents. History is amazing.
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Thanks for this note, Louise. History is, indeed, amazing, and not the boring subject that I used to think it was while memorizing battle plans in school. Before recent times, the full thrust of the teaching of history seems to have been about men. Women were in the background, pro-creating, and engaging in their seemingly non-important womanly things, while the hunters/soldiers/politicians all had a “greater” agenda, supposedly.
We have come to know that the study of the accomplishments of women is a worthwhile undertaking. Women are at least half of the population and deserve to be recognized. I would go so far as to say that women, inherently, have some superior qualities to men, as witnessed in my last post, See the quoted statement by Kimberly Wulfert, Ph.D.
More than ever, now is the time to celebrate Womanhood! To do so is not any sort of male-bashing. Rather it is a celebration of the best qualities of both genders.
My book about Ellen Webster has generated quite a few comments about the Salem Witch Trials, due to her mention of a quilt that had been used on the bed of Sarah Goode, the first woman hung as a witch. Reader comments led me to watch a recommended movie, “Three Sovereigns for Sarah,” already mentioned in a previous blog post.
Have a terrific day! I’ll keep writing, if you’ll keep reading. How is that for a deal?
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications – our main website
