Funny 1870 Newspaper Clip

I love old newspapers as they wrote about everything! This mentions the fat men of Athol, along with their weights. LOL! My ancestor is on the list--1 year before his death.

Genealogical Research Resources

Everyone, please get senior family members to fill out a Biographical form. It's important for future generations!

Biographical Form

Basic Charts and Worksheets by Family Tree Magazine (Also, more free forms here)

101 Best Websites

For historical local area books, go here: http://archive.org/

Massachusetts, Deaths and Burials, 1795-1910

Massachusetts Vitals

• Vital Records (1841 - 1910)
• Vital Records: Pre 1841: City and town clerks in Massachusetts are the custodians of pre-1841 vital records for their respective towns. A list of all the city and town clerks in Massachusetts can be found at: Massachusetts City and Town Directory
• Vital Records: Post 1920: Vital records after 1920 are located at the municipal clerks' offices and the Department of Public Health, Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (150 Mount Vernon Street, Dorchester, MA 02125). Researchers may contact the Registry of Vital Records at 617-740-2600, or through the DPH website:
  http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/vital-records.html
  Indices of the DPH vital records volumes through 1971 are available at the Archives, although there are no copies of the actual records at the Archives. These indices can be used by visitors to the Reading Room.

Mystery Photos

These two photos came from a Lamb/Mann relation. These ladies probably lived in Athol or Orange, MA. If anyone knows their identity, please contact me at newfiescott@gmail.com.



Lamb Family of Athol

ADDENDUM: Updated Info/findings

Lineage

1. Samuel Lamb: Birth 10 March 1721 in Framingham, MA Death 25 March 1793. Married Sarah Atwood.
2. Joshua Lamb: Birth abt 1748 Death 14 Nov 1830 in Phillipston, MA. Married Martha Kendall
3. James Lamb: Birth 6 Jan 1809 in Phillipston, Worcester, MA. Death 28 Mar 1871 in Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts. Married Sarah Hubbard

Children: Charles S. Lamb (1834-1921); Abby Maria Lamb (1838-1859); Sarah Elizabeth Lamb (1840-1900); Martha Elvira Lamb (1842-1890)

Charles S Lamb

Sarah E. Lamb

Martha E.Lamb

No photo found of Abby. As far as I can tell, there are no descendants of Charles and Abby. I descend from Martha.

---

A few months ago I got a "genealogist's high" when I made a profound discovery. It's a long story, but I found a Mann relative in Athol a couple of years ago who had a very strong resemblence (one photo in particular) to my grandmother. What baffled me is that they seemed too distantly related to share such similar features. This got me highly interested in DNA and solidified my passion for family research. Anyway, what I accidentally discovered was that although they shared the last name of Mann, they were more closely related by another family--the Lamb family of Athol! Ba-da-Bing! There you have it--2 bloodlines.*

Now I have a great interest in James & Elizabeth (Hubbard) Lamb and their descendents. James (1809-1871) and "Eliza" are buried in Highland Cemetery. I can find very little documentation on their son Charles S. Lamb who married Abbie Fay. He was born in 1834, but I have no death info. I would VERY much like to see photos of these people**, including their daughters Abby Maria Lamb who married John Howard Lee, and Martha Elvira Lamb who married Horace Mann. This is a photo of daughter Sarah Elizabeth Lamb and her husband Joseph B. Cardany. They lived in Athol and Orange, MA.

1870 Athol Properties



*I think this must be very common in earlier centuries when there wasn't as much choice in mates as we have today, and people didn't do a lot of moving. They settled in one area and stayed--generation after generation. I think there are a lot of branch crossovers in my Mann chart--currently at 15 pages of descendents.

** Email me at newfiescott@gmail.com

Source: Athol, Past and Present, Caswell, 1899





Famous Educator Horace Mann VS. Horace Mann of Athol/Petersham

I keep forgetting there is confusion in the identity of my 2nd great grandfather Horace Mann and the "great educator." First, shame on their parents for not giving them middle names! These two men came from Massachusetts, but were NOT related. My 2nd great grandfather, also an educator among other things, was young enough to be the famous one's son. In the 1960s, a school was built on the land my 2nd great grandfather donated to the church, but those poor people thought it was the famous Horace Mann--as was written in a church publication. I hate to burst bubbles. For the first time, I spoke to relatives today in California, and I believe they also were under the impression that they were related to Horace Mann, the famous educator. Sorry!