I will have to post this story in several chapters.
(edited 10-23-2014 last 2 children of Gershom Tufts Jr. added)
Check each post often as I will also edit them when new
information is added and note it at the top of the post.
It is lengthy because I have tried to list details for
families into the tenth generation of Tufts descended from Peter Tufts of
Charlestown Massachusetts. I have also and will continue to post stories about
descendents as I find them. Details of generations eleven, twelve or even
thirteen may be included later or by the persons themselves in the comments
section as they could be living today and I want to respect their privacy.
Much of the information here comes from Tufts Kinsmen by Herbert Adams and The Tufts Kinsmen Association
and is referenced here as allowed by copyright with full credit given to the
hard work of Mr. Adams and others. I recommend any serious researcher of Tufts
and other families’ related buy this book or find it in a library near you. The
book may be purchased by sending an e-mail to tuftskinsmenbook@comcast.net
I also want to help people make cousin connections so please
message me privately if you need to find a living descendent. Please feel free
to just post your name and where your family lives today and ancestors. Readers
can use the Tufts Family Genealogy Facebook page to make connections as well.
Tufts families may have come to Nova Scotia from America as
early as 1749. The first of those to came from America was Gershom Tufts, one
of the first settlers of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Gershom obtained a British
Crown land Grant of close to one thousand acres. Gershom left many descendents which I will
detail below, including some lost in the horrible Halifax explosion of 1917.
The next migrant was Reverend Joshua Tufts in 1761. He was
born in 1716 in Newbury, Massachusetts, the son of Reverend John Tufts. He
preached in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and many of his descendents lived in
those provinces as well.
There were also Tufts immigrants to Nova Scotia from Ireland,
including Moses Tufts and Hugh Kearns Tufts.
Chapter 1, Gershom
Tufts story and children 1-3, Mary, Elizabeth, and Gershom Jr.
Gershom Tufts
Gershom Tufts was born July 2, 1728 in Medford.(previously
believed to be January 2, and listed in Medford records as June 23, 1728) You
can believe whichever date you wish. I am going on the newest record available
on ancestry.com which appears to be straight from the family bible.
Gershom was the son of James Tufts and Lydia (Hall) Tufts. James was a brick maker, born in Charlestown
and the first of many Tufts to work in the brick business in Medford. James was
fourth generation from Peter the immigrant. Gershom died 11 May, 1797 in
Medford, Massachusetts. The details of his ancestry are abbreviated here from Tufts Kinsmen:
JAMES TUFTS, Jr.
(1703-1769)
LYDIA HALL (1705-1753)
JAMES TUFTS (1681-1733)
RUTH GRIMES (1681-1721)
JONATHAN TUFTS, (1660-1722)
REBECCA WAITE (1662-1755)
PETER TUFTS, The immigrant ancestor
b. 1617 in Tibenham, {Norfolk}
England
d. 13, May 1700 in Charlestown MA
MARY PIERCE
b. 1626 in England
d. 10 Jan, 1702/3 in Charlestown
In 1749 the British
decided to settle Halifax Nova Scotia and settlers were brought there and given
land. I thought it would be more likely he went there in 1750 as the 1749 settlers
all sailed from England but perhaps some came from Massachusetts as well.. Various
history references and researchers state however that it was 1749. The 1750
settlers came on the Alderney and had
353 immigrants, which established Dartmouth. (History of the townships of Dartmouth, Preston, and Lawrencetown,
County of Halifax, Nova Scotia Lawson, 1893.)
Gershom’s first 5
children were recorded in Charlestown and Medford until 1756. There are also
miscellaneous tax records up to 1761. Those would need to be investigated
closer. The last one is an abatement paid to him so it could have been after he
had moved to Dartmouth. (Later records there would be for his second cousin
Gershom born in 1767.) It is entirely possible he went before his wife and
children as they were young and he had to build a home for them. The book Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867 by
Leonard H Smith states he came with Cornwallis in 1749 and his wife came in
1760. This is perhaps the reference that Herbert Adams used for Kinsmen.
(Gershom)obtained a Crown land grant commencing along the shore of the
Narrows near the old windmill that still bears his name, Tufts Cove. It
extended for a thousand acres to the eastward and extended straight across the
Dartmouth Lakes. On an 1815 plan there is an area marked Tufts house, the
location of which could have been on the level ground overlooking Lake Micmac
about 350 yards distant from the later Town limits on Crichton Avenue.
Tufts Kinsmen 2010
Wikipedia link to Tufts Cove
Halifax explosion site
Advertisement for settlers in Halifax
This was a
pioneer
settlement in 1750. Louisburg was still being conquered and traded back to the
French, LeLatour’s war was the current French and Indian conflict, and the northeastern
weather and terrain were their own obstacles to survival. But they survived and
built several homesteads. Gershom is described as a ships carpenter and farmer.
He married Mary (Baldwin) Waugh, widow of Richard Waugh, and daughter of James
and Mary (Stower) Baldwin.
Kinsmen
states they were married in Aylesford, Nova Scotia July, 2 1750 but I have not
found that record. Some online family trees say he was married to Mary at St.
Paul's Church in Halifax and there is a record in St Paul’s’ Halifax records
available on line at
http://dwaynemeisner.com/index.php
That record state her names as Mary Baugh. Mary died 20 Dec, 1806 in Dartmouth,
NS.
The families he left appear to have had a probate conflict
of epic proportions of which there must be numerous records of court
proceedings. This quote from Tufts
Kinsmen details it briefly:
Undoubtedly over the years certain portions of the forest in Gershom’s
grant were gradually cleared and cultivated by members of his family who after
a time occupied their own homes and were able to fend for themselves. His
children apparently assumed that they were the possessors of their respective
holdings but by the year 1791 they found such was not the case. Apparently
their father had no desire to reward them for their labors on the lands they
had possessed, and, suffering from some sort of a rift in family relations, in
1791 announced that he was going to dispose of his property, including the
parts on which his children had settled, and move back to Massachusetts,
selling the thousand acres to strangers, thereby disfranchising his children of
their homesteads. A case in court developed for the members of his family to
reclaim their lost real estate. All this is inferred from a 1791 petition to
Gov. Sir John Parr that declared three of his sons had made considerable
improvement to the lands in Dartmouth assigned by warrant to their father, but
the Government could do nothing about the matter. Records have not been found
as to how the recovery was accomplished or whether Mary accompanied her husband
back to Massachusetts but she evidently died in Dartmouth and is buried in
Tufts Cove Cemetery. Her gravestone in evidence when this compiler first visited
the cemetery in the 1960’s has been missing since.
The Tufts cove cemetery is currently being restored. Many
pictures can be found at their facebook page. “Tufts Cove Cemetery”That page has some excellent maps and pictures and family trees of the Tufts and Wright families.
I welcome any ideas or true stories about the family “rift”
that caused Gershom to return to Massachusetts and sell the land out from under
his children. I have found no record that his wife returned to Massachusetts.
There may be records undiscovered in Nova Scotia that give more insight into
this story. Perhaps they were divorced or she is recorded in a census document
in Dartmouth. There is always more to the story.
More research about the land conflict was undertaken over
the years. Sandi Bellefeuille, the able and exhaustive assistant of Kinsmen author Herb Adams is a direct
descendent of Gershom and with other cousins discovered that the land grant was never approved. The
records exist of only his application. It appears over the years of land sales,
the government decided to honor the original grant as if it were approved. It
appears that Gershom did sell the land out from under his sons but nobody ever
tried to remove them. Gershom sold it to a Thomas Cochrane who died with no
will, as did his wife. Their estate was so disrupted that the Tufts land was
never dealt with. So the families lived in Dartmouth and bought and sold land
as it were their own and much of it eventually was held by the Gay family, many
of whom were descendents of Tufts daughters. This was a complicated issue and I
have only presented it in brief. There is probably more that can be discovered
about the land sales and deeds.
This website has some great church records from Nova Scotia.
It requires registration and approval but they have transcribed many early
church records.
http://dwaynemeisner.com/index.php
Children of Gershom and Mary:
1) Mary, 2) Elizabeth, 3) Gershom Jr, 4) Susannah, 5)
Richard, 6) Sarah, 7) Lydia, 8) Samuel, 9) Francis, 10) James B., 11) William,
12) Abigail, 13) Edward, 14) Margaret
It is difficult to
track down where and when each child was born and where and when they were
baptized. It appears they returned to Massachusetts often for the birth of
children or for the winter months and baptisms occurred or were recorded when
convenient. I will not try to set those records for each child. I will quote Tufts Kinsmen and allow for further
research by interested persons or direct descendents. Please post corrections
or additions in the comments section of this entire post. A lot of the births
and baptisms are available on ancestry.com
1) MARY TUFTS
(1752-1826)
married 20, Oct. 1774 in Halifax, NS to Alexander Yosition (changed to Alexander
Austin)
had 1) John Gershom Austin
bp 25, Jan. 1776 in Halifax, N. S.
2) William Austin bp 24, Sep. 1778
in Halifax, N. S.
3) Elizabeth
Austin bp 28, Aug.
1780 in Halifax, N. S.
4) Alexander
Austin bp 15, Oct. 1782 in Halifax, N. S.
5) Mary Austin bp 2, Dec. 1784 in Halifax, N. S.
Please
forward any information on the further descendents of this family
2) ELIZABETH TUFTS (1753-1833)
married first 18, Apr. 1771 in Halifax, N. S. to SAMUEL FERGUSON of Halifax
who died at sea in 1778. had 1) Henry,
Jr. FERGUSON
married secondly 22, May 1787 to JACOB ALBRECHT GETCHENS, Capt. St Paul’s
church transcripts record Getchens/Getshouse as his last name.
had 2) Elizabeth May GERTZEN
b. 27, Mar. 1789 in Halifax, N. S.
married thirdly; JOHN PEEBLES, Capt.,
shipmaster, wid of Mary Robertson
had no issue.
Please forward any information on
the further descendents of this family
3) GERSHOM TUFTS, Jr.
(1754-1815)
married 3, Nov. 1777
in Halifax, N. S. at Saint Paul’s Church to SARAH BURCH WISWELL and had 1) Mary, 2) Elizabeth, 3) Sarah, 4)
Abigail, 5) John, 6)Lydia,7)Hannah
MARY TUFTS (1778-1808)
married 8, Apr. 1798 in Halifax, N. S. to THOMAS JOHNSTON had ? MARY died due to
a beating by her husband for which he was arrested [NSRG 13/Dec/1808] (quote
from Kinsmen states Nova Scotia Royal
Gazette as the reference)
SARAH TUFTS (1778-?)
married first; 31, Dec. 1806 in
Wilmot, N. S. to ANTHONY EATON, had:
1) Caleb Eaton, b. 2, June 1808 in
Annapolis Royal, N. S.
2) William Eaton b.
30, Aug. 1813 in Annapolis Royal, N. S.
Anthony is recorded in Annapolis
census in 1827 with one female and two males.
Married secondly; to ? KELLEY, had
? There must be descendents of the Eaton’s but I have not found their family.
There are many Eatons of the era.
ELIZABETH TUFTS, Betsey, (1782-1846)
married 2, June 1802 in Halifax, NS.
to JOHANN HEINRICK KOHLER
(changed to JOHN HENRY KEELER)
had 11 Keeler children in Dartmouth.
There
is more information about these families in Tufts Kinsmen
ABIGAIL TUFTS (1785-1856) in Little Nemaha, Nebr.
married 7, Sep. 1811 in Halifax, N. S. to JAMES PHILLIP PRIESTLY, widower of
Susannah Wiswall
I
find no record of this family or children. I cannot figure how she died in
Nebraska but trust that Herb Adams did.
JOHN TUFTS (1787-1867)
m
20, Dec. 1809 in Halifax, N. S. to CATHERINE
FITZMAURICE
had: 1) Sarah, 2) Margaret E., 3)
Margery A., 4) Henry G., 5) Mary A., 6) Abigail H., 7) John, 8) Benjamin, 9) James
P., 10) William, 11) Charles
1) Sarah Tufts (1810-1873)
Married
to MICHAEL DOYLE
Michael Doyle was a Free Will
Baptist minister and preached in Ontario and Michigan. They had a large family
in Michigan. There is a wealth of information in family trees on ancestry.com
about this family.
2) Margaret Elizabeth Tufts (1812-1892)
Married JOHANNES FREDERICK WOLF changed to JOHN FREDERICK WOLFE (1802-1888)
John Frederick Wolf He was possibly of German origin from Lunenburg
NS. They had 11 children and passed in Dartmouth (according to ancestry.com
family trees). There must be descendents and families there today.
3) Margery A., Tufts, twin of Margaret, died in 1828, (age 16) not
verified.
4) Henry Gershom Tufts (Gershom) Gershom was a farmer in Nova
Scotia and listed his occupation as laborer in the Westborough census.
b. 10, Sep. 1814 in Dartmouth, NS
d. 25, Oct. 1891 in Westborough,
MA
Married first 2, June 1842 in
Sackville, NS to HARRIET ELLIS (1817-1852)
had: 1) Theodore W., 2) Katherine J., 3)
George M., 4) James E
THEODORE WILLIAM TUFTS, mason (1842-1889)
Married ELIZABETH HUTCHENS MANN
had 1) William M., 2) Winnifred ?
I need
information on this family
married secondly to ELIZABETH CATHERINE HILTON (1851-1895) had
1) Ella M., 2) Elizabeth M., 3) Harriet B., 4) Theodore H., 5) Luella M. Tufts
I
need information on this family
KATHERINE JANE TUFTS (1845-?) in Malden MA?
Married ARCHIBALD MONTGOMERY WRIGHT
had 5 children in ? and
Massachusetts.
GEORGE MALCOLM TUFTS, carpenter (1847-1930)
Married first MARY
S GOSBEE (1847-1907)
had 1) Alice M., 2) George E., 3)
Lillian M. in Massachusetts.
I
need information on this family
Married secondly 30, Nov. 1916 in
Boston, MA to ELLA MARY PELTON, had
no issue.
JAMES ELLIS TUFTS, shoemaker, canvasser, lamplighter and wood
dealer (1849-1915) Married SARAH
JOSEPHINE SWAIN (1845-1928)
had 1) Clara V., 2) Ernest N., 3)
Grace S., 4) Elsie J., 5) James O. A., 6) Adeline F. Tufts in Massachusetts(?)
I
need information on this family
(Henry G. Tufts-continued)
married secondly; MARY
ANN COLLISHAW (1830-1888)
had 1) Melburn W., 2) John M., 3)
Harriet E., 4) Leander E., 5) Annie S., 6) Grace M., 7) Clara M., 8) Charles
C., 8) Josephine N.
MELBURN W. TUFTS (1852-1869)
single.
JOHN HENRY TUFTS
(1855-1929)
married 22, Mar. 1882 in Salem,
Mass. to SARAH ELVIRA CUMMINGS (1861-1934)
had 1) Jennie M., 2) Etta L., 3) Henry
E., 4) ? 5) Lena Cummings Tufts in Massachusetts.
I
need information on this family
HARRIET ELIZABETH TUFTS (1856-1931)
married 25, June 1874 in Halifax,
N. S. to GEORGE FRANCIS CROSSKILL(1852-1894
had 4 Crosskill children in Halifax NS
LEANDER EUGENE TUFTS (1858-1915)
married 15, May 1884 in Salem,
Mass. to SUSAN ELLEN (STEINSBRECHER)
BARNETT, had no issue.
ANNIE F TUFTS (1860-1939)
m 16, May 1894 in Boston, MA to GEORGE E FRENCH
had 1) ?
I
need information on this family
GRACE ROSE TUFTS (1863-1924)
Married FRED ORVILLE BULLARD, (1854-1922), carpenter
had 1) Eva May Bullard in
Westborough, Mass.
CLARA MAY TUFTS (1867-1953)
married 11, June 1902 in
Westborough, Mass. to CALVIN ABIJAH
CHAMBERLAIN (1868-1931)
had no issue.
CHARLES CAMPBELL TUFTS
(1870-1944)
married 20, June 1902 in
Westborough, Mass. to CORA ELIZA COLLINS
(1873-1953), had no issue.
JOSEPHINE NAOMI TUFTS (1874-1951)
married 19, Aug. 1898 in
Westborough, Mass. to GEORGE OSCAR STONE
(1872-1961), had 4 Stone children
in Framingham, MA.
I
need information on this family
(John Tufts family-continued)
5) Mary Ann Tufts, (1816-1904)
married 25, Dec. 1839 in Halifax, NS to JOHN MARTIN GAETZ, (changed to JOHN
MARTIN GATES) (1815-1901), had 9 Gates children in Dartmouth NS.
6) ABIGAIL MARIA TUFTS (1819-?) married to GEORGE
FIELDING
had ?
7) JOHN TUFTS (1821-1905)
married 17, Mar. 1852 in Wilmot, NS
to MARIA DOWNEY (1824-1886) in
Stronache Mountain, NS
had
JOHN
EDGAR TUFTS, of Stronach Mountain. N. S. 1852-1907
m. MARY H ? Had 1) OWEN
DeFOREST TUFTS 1895-1895
infant. 2)
LeForest ? in Margaretsville NS.
MARGARET ANN TUFTS 1854-1922 in Margaretsville, N.
S.
m JOHNSON
JOSEPH DOWNIE 1840-1905
I need information on this DOWNIE
Family.
JAMES WILLIAM TUFTS 1857-?
BESSIE TUFTS-1870-1907 in
m OSCAR CHUTE HULSEMAN
Information needed.
8) BENJAMIN TUFTS, Capt., Ben (1823-1883)
married 19,
Nov. 1862 to KATE MATTHEWS
In the mid-1800s Captain BEN and KATE lived near the beach where he had
a landing wharf. He is said to have sailed the first fishing shallop out of Tufts
Cove, Dartmouth which was then a very romantic spot with greenwood trees
reaching down to the shore at the Narrows, Often the Micmac Indians, who also
lived on the land, could be seen on fine nights gliding up and down Tufts Cove
with torchlights spearing fine large lobsters. The Indians were literately blown
away in the Halifax Explosion of 1917 and the survivors moved inland to the Shubenacadie
reservation
NOTE: A Kate Matthews, b. abt. 1826 in TRURO, N. S. is said to have
married a Luther Stearns. (Kinsmen)
9) JAMES
PRIESTLY TUFTS [TUFFS], (1824-1906) in Grants Pass, Ore.
married 11, May 1854 in Ten Mile,
Ore. to MARGARET CROXTON (1838-1914)
had: Harriet A., 2) Lydia H., 3)
Margaret J., 4) Mary M., 5) James T., 6) Minnie L., 7) William G.
HARRIET
A TUFTS [TUFFS] 1856 -1889 m. ? WHITE
LYDIA H TUFTS [TUFFS] 1857 -?
M. ROBERT H DEAN (died in Oregon?)
MARGARET JENNIE TUFTS
[TUFFS], 1859 m.? SESIONS or SESSIONS (died in Oregon?)
MARY MAUD TUFTS [TUFFS]1860 -1941 in Woodland, Yolo Co., Calif. m. LAWRENCE M
KANE
had 1) Estelle M
JAMES T
TUFTS [TUFFS] 1861-? m. ADDIE
SMITH
had 1) William
G., 2) Rex L., 3) James H. Tufts in Oregon.
MINNIE L TUFTS [TUFFS] 1865 -? in
Grants Pass, Ore.
single.
WILLIAM GRANT TUFTS [TUFFS] 1868- d. 1889 in Grants Pass, Ore. single.
10) WILLIAM TUFTS (1826-?) in Montréal,
Qué. m. MARGARET ?
had 1) DAVID TUFTS (1850-1907)
married 18, Oct. 1874 in Huntington, MA to CELINDA SAVOIE (1857-1930) had 1) Mary,
2) Charles E., 3) Rozanna, 4) Mary J., 5) Margaret, 6) Thomas A., 7) Joseph D.,
8) Ellen, 9) Charles E., 10) - 11) Charles? 12) Evelyn L. Tufts in Huntington MA(?).
I
need information on this family
11) CHARLES TUFTS (1835-1871)
single.
(children of Gershom Tufts Jr.-continued)
LYDIA TUFTS (1790-?)
married 15, Jan. 1822 in Halifax,
N. S. to GEORGE SLADE BELLOWS,
HANNAH TUFTS (1792-1845)
married 23, Sep. 1815 in Halifax,
N. S. to RICHARD SEXTON
had William Henry, George Richard, and James Sexton
There
is more about these families available from Tufts Kinsmen
