Amanuensis Monday: John Bishop of Guilford, Connecticut 1639

Transcriptions continue for hand-written notes found in the BISHOP family file at the New York State Library in Albany.

John Bishop, one of the founders of Guilford 1639.

Probably born in England and was at least 45 years old when he came here.  He married Ann before coming.  Died in Guilford Jan 1660.  She in April 1676.  His son was

John Bishop Jr.  Died in Guilford Oct 1683.  His son was

Nathaniel Bishop.  Born in Guilford 1666.  Died in Guilford May 1, 1717.  His son was

Ebenezer Bishop.  Born in Guilford Sept 22, 1701.  Died Jan 26, 1788.  His son was

James Bishop.  Born in Guilford Jan 3, 1745.  Died Jan 16, 1832.  He was a Rev. Army Soldier.  His son was

Jonathan Bishop.  Born in Guilford Aug 28, 1783.  Died in Guilford Dec 20, 1852.  His son was

David C. Bishop.  Born in Guilford May 7, 1814.  Died in Branford Nov 18, 1884.  My grandfather.

Thanks to Jan Franco for posting headstones at Find A Grave.

Amanuensis Monday: Bishop lines 1600s

Continued transcriptions of the hand-written notes in the BISHOP family file at the New York State Library in Albany.

Branches of the Bishop Family

John Bishop, Guilford Conn  1639

Rev. John Bishop, Stamford Conn  1644

Gov. James Bishop, New Haven Conn  1647

Richard Bishop, Salem Mass  1635

Edward Bishop, Salem Mass  1639

Thomas Bishop, Ipswick Mass  1686

Nathaniel Bishop, Boston Mass  1634

Henry Bishop, St. Marys Maryland  1634

John Bishop, Jamestown Va  1642

Eleazur Bishop, New London Conn  1667

Stephen Bishop died 1752

Great Grandfather's Music Across the Ocean and a Century

Today we visited the Pianola Museum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Our great grandfather was Howard Lutter.  In Newark, New Jersey and New York City he created piano rolls at Welte Mignon and other companies in the 1910s through the 1930s.  The staff at the Museum were very knowledgeable and shared their time and skills with us.  The Museum's collection of piano rolls does not contain any by Howard Lutter, so we will have to send them some.  We learned that Welte rolls were created in Europe and the United States, but they cannot be played on the same player pianos.

The Director, Kasper P. J. Janse with Jody Lutter and Kim Lutter.

Mr Janse filling the air with music.

Thank you to Kasper P. J. Janse and Marijke Brekelmans for sharing their insights and time with us.

Amanuensis Monday: Doolittle married Andrews 1893

Transcriptions continue for hand-written notes found in the BISHOP family file at the New York State Library in Albany.

John H Doolittle, born April 6, 1863.

Elizabeth E Andrews, born June 13, 1872.

Married Nov 2, 1893.

Children:

Ralph Andrews, born Jan 19, 1894.

Harry LeRoy, born July 21, 1896.

Arnold Bertram, born Jan 6, 1902.

The author of this note used whatever paper she or he could find to write the family history.

1910 United States Federal Census
Wallingford, New Haven County, Connecticut
Having the names of the children helps us be sure that this is the correct family.
Note that the years of marriage as well as the individual's ages in the census differ from the hand-written note.

De Oude Kerk, Amsterdam

Today I visited De Oude Kerk (The Old Church) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  The building was constructed around 1300 and is still in use as a church, among other pursuits.  Currently the Church houses an art exhibit from the Gerrit Rietveld Art Academy.

The floor is comprised of gravestones.  Wealthy people paid to be buried inside the Church.  A computer database exists of the burials for your use within the church or online.  Stones and records can be found for burials from the 1500s through the 1800s.

Floor of gravestones, with the buried underneath.

Backer Family side by side for centuries.

You can look up graves by their location within the Church.

You can also browse or search names.  Keep in mind that spellings were not uniform.

Gravestones could be used again by scratching off someone's name.

Close-up of removed inscription of a prior occupant.

The room of the Graeff grave is occupied by this piece of artwork.

Art display:  an unmade bed.

Partial gravestone.

Dangling art.

More art.

Note written on napkin on side of kiddie pool.
I do not know if this is part of the art.

Art display.

Art display of dirt, not a fresh burial.

Me on the stairs inside the Church.  No heat.

Copper plaques from coffins.

Plaque from coffin.
Ida Cornelia Deutz, wife of
Robbert Jan Neel
died 4 March 1807

Amsterdam of Yesteryear Today

Today I toured the canals of Amsterdam on a boat.  Created in the 1600s, the canals helped Amsterdam grow in population and trade, enabling merchandise and people easier access to the area.  Narrow structures were built along the canals as warehouses to hold goods and to house sailors and their families.  Amsterdam requires that the front facades of these buildings be preserved, enabling us to envision how the area looked hundred of years ago.

Houses are narrow but long and tall.  The wider the house, the higher the tax.
A hook at the top of the house is used to pull up or lower down heavy items through the large windows,
a method still used to this day.

Houses did not have numbers until the 1800s.
Residences were distinguished by the design of the glass above the front door.
The lower door in the middle was for servants.

Before houses were numbered, a tradesman could distinguish his residence by a plaque.

The houses along the canals have been esthetically maintained over the centuries.
Amsterdam is below sea level.  The houses shift and lean.

Visit to the Anne Frank House

Today I visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  The museum is next to the actual building where Anne Frank, her family, and four others hid from the Nazis during World War II until their discovery in August of 1944.  You can walk through the front house, which was used as a warehouse and offices by Anne's father, Otto, and then through the small door, covered by a bookcase, to enter the secret second house where the eight people lived to avoid transportation to concentration camps.  Anne wrote her now famous diary and other stories while in hiding.  Some of the actual pages, written in Dutch, are on display.  The papers were not seized by the Nazis during the raid and an employee of Anne's father safely kept them and returned them to him.  Only Otto survived.

Pictures are not permitted to be taken inside the buildings.

Knowing the fate of Anne and her family, the mood inside was sombre.  Rooms contained clips of Anne's writing, telling of the stress of the situation and Anne's fear of being discovered, which we knew became reality.

The rooms of refuge no longer contain furniture, but magazine and newspaper clippings that Anne used to decorate the walls remain.  The interior is dim and the windows blacked out to replicate the darkness and seclusion incurred by needing the drapes closed at all times.

The set-up of the house into a front and back amazes me.  The rear of the front house has windows that overlook a courtyard.  There is really no indication that several more rooms exist in the back of the house, accessible by only a tiny door, easily concealed.

Me in front of 263 Prinsengracht, Amsterdam

Anne Frank Huis

Anne wrote about the bells of the church in the background.

A memorial for Anne Frank at the church.

Another memorial for Anne Frank in her neighborhood, Merwedeplein.

Pilgrim Museum in Leiden

Today I visited the Pilgrim Museum in Leiden, The Netherlands.  Much thanks to the director, Mr Jeremy Dupertuis Bangs, for his time and vast information that he shared with us.

Sign on the door of the Pilgrim Museum.

The corner door is the entrance to the new room.  The next door to the right is the Pilgrim Museum.

Here I am seated at a table with books older than the United States.

This is a plat book from the 1500s showing property owners in Leiden.

This book contained a copy of the marriage record of Francis Cooke to Hester Mayieu in 1603.

A jack screw was utilized to make repairs on the Mayflower.
A jack screw was recently located and is displayed in the Museum.

An identical bowl is found on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean at the Pilgrim Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
I will have to visit there as well.

This is a bed.  It's so small and short because people slept sitting up in the 1600s.

People had to sleep sitting up because they burned peat for heat,
which emitted lots of black smoke, making breathing difficult.

The room next door was renovated, revealing a floor and fireplace from the 1400s.
I am sitting in a chair from the 1200s.

This floor is made of gravestones of priests buried at the church across the way.
Burials and cemeteries are not popular in The Netherlands.

This floor tile/former gravestone still displays a marking.

We walked to nearby Levendaal, the street where Francis Cooke lived before sailing on the Mayflower.
It is a short street with just a few structures standing on one side.

The middle of Levendaal.

The other end of Levendaal.

The modern corner structure is a synagogue.

This seems to be the oldest house left standing on Levendaal.
It is not known which house Francis Cooke lived in, as houses were not numbered until the 1800s.