East Street Cemetery, Petersham

William Mann and many of his descendants are buried in the East Street Cemetery and a friend recently took photos of a few of the graves. View here.

William Mann (1809-1892) and Abigail Cook (1808–1890) had 7 children. Descendants recorded here (so far) are as follows:

• Daughter Mary Sanderson Mann Wilder, husband (Deacon) George Kirk Wilder and their descendants
• Son Horatio who committed suicide in Boston, his wife and at least 1 of his 2 unmarried daughters who were born, raised and remained in Boston
• Daughters Jane and Lydia (unmarried)
• Great granddaughter Rachael Ruth Mann Begor Coolidge

Generations of Mann Men

These are descendants of William Mann (1809-1892) of Petersham. Proof is in the forehead and nose! ;-)

Son #1, George Sumner Mann

Son #3, Horace Mann with his son James and James' son Marvin

To the best of my knowledge, George Sumner has no living descendants, and neither does his brother Horatio, son #4 of William Mann. Son #2, Wilson Mann, definitely has no descendants.

William Mann had 3 daughters born after the boys. I believe only one daughter married and had children. So, out of William's 7 children, only 2 have living descendants.

18th Century Boston

I am currently working on a non related project for NEHGS (New England Historical Genealogy Society) and I just have to share the funny names I come across. Check these out!

Love Thing
Silence Barnard
Hepzibah
Zebah
Oxenbridge Thatcher
Erasmus
Desire Ye Truth Thorn
Experience
Lately Gee
Thankful
Waitstill
Mehitable
Submit
Deliverance
Hazard
Relief

Family Dysfunction

Today is my Dad's birthday and I sent him the funniest card...
OUTSIDE: You know how every family has that one person who seems normal?
INSIDE: We need to get us one of those!

HA! It is my belief that every family has dysfunction--some are just better at hiding it than others. ;-) The Mann family definitely has a history--I won't go into details. But one thing I have noticed that I find quite odd is the fact that MANY (Ensign) Mann descendants never married or had kids. I'm no historian, but think this is a little bizarre. I've contemplated dysfunction and I've contemplated the fact that maybe there weren't a lot of options in the area. Maybe they weren't really into marrying their cousins? (Although some did. HA)

Then there were those who only had 1 or 2 children when my ancestors in Newfoundland were spitting them out by the dozen! And believe me, all the Newfies married cousins! HA

Poor ol' wealthy Wilson Mann of Orange...He only had one daughter, and when she died unmarried at the age of 31, he died of a broken heart walking home from visiting her grave.

Boston Tea Party and Sons of Liberty

I was just watching the latest version of Mysteries at the Museum with a special segment on the Boston Tea Party, and it is quite possible our Mann ancestors were involved in that historical event. Ensign Mann II* (Jr.), who graduated from Harvard, was a known Patriot and leader of the Sons of Liberty in Petersham. It is believed the Sons of Liberty, along with Samuel Adams, were responsible for the event. Ensign II would have been 33 at the time. Ensign is listed in a book of Registered Members of the American Revolution.

*In some entries, this Ensign is referred to as "Jr." However, his son Ensign is also known as Jr., so I named this Ensign, born in 1740, "II." There were 3 in a row, so it can be quite confusing.

Sons of Liberty

Ensign stepped down from his position as Chapter President of Sons of Liberty (Petersham) in order to marry a Tory's daughter. This was just a few months before the Boston Tea Party.

Harvard

Ensign graduated from Harvard in 1764, the year Harvard Hall burnt down. He lost items in the fire and was compensated.

Ensign Mann Memorial

Read at length about Ensign and his political dealings here. Book is "An address delivered in petersham massachusetts." Page 36-41

Genealogy Quote

Manns Buried at Harvard Cemetery in Petersham

North Main Street (Route 32) 
View internments
News article featuring the cemetery

Children of Samuel Mann (Sr.):

• Samuel Mann (Jr.) with wife and son Eugene (and wife)
• Caroline Mann
• Asaph Mann
• Richard Baxter

also

• Thomas Mann (1780-1853) with wife Esther and their children:
• Clark Mann
• Josiah Mann
• Elizabeth S.

 

Newfound Athol Branch

In reading more thoroughly the Mann Memorial today, I discovered there was another branch of Manns in Athol, but they were distantly related. To recap, the branches that have been the focus of this blog are descendants of Ensign Mann II (& Alice Whitney.) His lineage is: Richard, Thomas, Ensign Sr., Ensign II.

This new branch descends from Rev. Cyrus Mann, 1785-1859. His lineage is: Richard, Richard, Nathaniel, John, John. Reverend Cyrus had a brother Joel*, also a Reverend. They were born in Orford, NH and attended Dartmouth.

Cyrus had 3 children--Cyrus S., Ann Maria, and Adelia Porter. They were all born in Westminister, but the girls ended up living in Athol. I don't see any record of Cyrus living there. Ann Maria (1823-?) married Rev. John F. Norton who was "the successful and beloved pastor of the Congregational church at Athol, MA." They had a son, Lewis Mills Norton, born in Athol who married the daughter of a Reverend. He studied in Germany and taught at MIT.

Second daughter Adelia Porter Mann (1826-?) married in Athol John Q.A. Johnson of Charlestown. Their son, John Norton Johnson, was born in Boston and graduated from Harvard.

*Rev. Joel Mann compiled the book "Genealogy of the Mann Family." Unfortunately, his information about Richard Man of Plymouth Colony is filled with error. But, you can probably trust the info. about his branch.