The Brecks of Littleton, Massachusetts

Be it remembered that I, Joseph Breck, of Littleton in the County of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, mariner, being in a weak state of health, but of a sound disposing mind and memory reflecting on the uncertainty of this life, and being desirous to prevent, as much as possible, any perplexity or trouble in the settlement of my worldly affairs after my decease do now think proper to make this my last will and only testament in manner and form following.¹

Joseph Breck signed this on April 10th, 1822 and died on June 27th of the same year.² He was only fifty years old. Though he still listed himself as a mariner on his will, he had been retired for eight years living quietly on a farm outside of Boston.³

His beloved companion and lawful wife, Mrs Lucy Breck, was listed as the executrix of his estate. They had been married for 13 years and had six children. When Joseph died, Lucy was about seven months pregnant with their seventh child.⁴

Lucy was fourteen years younger than her husband and only 36 when he died. The will stated that she was to inherit the entire estate. At least for the length of her widowhood - if she remarried then one third of the estate would go with her and two thirds would remain to be divided evenly among the seven children.⁵

Lucy never remarried. And her widowhood lasted for more than fifty years. Her focus must have been her children. She and her six children mourned their loss at the end of June, and then less than two months later celebrated the birth of Lucy’s last child, Henry Everett Breck.⁶

For the next sixteen years, Lucy must have been able to take solace in her brood, even as the older ones began to move about the country and world. But in 1838, her eldest daughter, Lucy Ann Breck Tilden died in St. Louis, Missouri.⁷ Less than a year later, her son George died in London, England.⁸ In 1843, young Henry died⁹ and less than five months later so did his sister Amelia.¹⁰ Lucy’s son, Robert, passed away in 1858.¹¹

Of her seven children, Lucy outlived all but two of them. Her son, Joseph, and her daughter, Sarah, were each involved in administering Lucy’s estate.¹²

[Respectfully represents] Joseph Breck of the city and state of New York that his mother Lucy Breck died intestate at Littleton, in this the jurisdiction of said county on the eighth day of June A.D. 1873, possessed of personal estate to an amount over $2,000.00, and leaving as heirs himself the said Joseph Breck, and one other, namely Sarah Hagar of Richmond in the state of [Maine], sister of your petitioner...¹³

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This is the fifth post in a set of family history profiles that I am calling #20in2020. I'll post the next one in a couple weeks.

Sources

1 Probate records 1648--1924 (Middlesex County, Massachusetts); Author: Massachusetts. Probate Court (Middlesex County); Probate Place: Middlesex, Massachusetts; Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015: download 24 March 2020

2 Probate records 1648--1924 (Middlesex County, Massachusetts); Author: Massachusetts. Probate Court (Middlesex County); Probate Place: Middlesex, Massachusetts; Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015: download 24 March 2020

3 Genealogy of the Breck Family Descended from Edward of Dorchester and his Brothers in America by Samuel Breck, U.S.A. Historical Society of Pennsylvania; https://www.hsp.org/ FamilySearch International https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/529862-genealogy-of-the-breck-family-descended-from-edward-of-dorchester-and-his-brothers-in-america-with-an-appendix-of-additional-biographical-and-historical-matter-obituary-notices-letters-etc-and-armorial-bearings : download 24 March 2020

4 Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 24 March 2020), memorial page for Henry E Breck (1822–1843), Find A Grave Memorial no. 16532388, citing Old Burying Ground, Littleton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States of America.

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Andrew and Mary

According to family lore, Andrew Provins met his end suddenly in 1871 when he collided with a train. No one ever mentioned what happened to the train. Almost nothing else was passed down about him.

My research has helped me to put him into context, but his story is still fragmented and incomplete.

Comparing the approximate locations of Andrew's home and church based on a modern map.

Andrew was born about 1847 to John Provan and Margaret Scott. According to the one census that I’ve found for him, he was born in Ireland.¹ But the earliest record that I have for him, puts him in Glasgow, Scotland for his wedding in 1867.²

That record of his marriage to Mary Wilson shines one of the very few spotlights on Andrew’s life. For the first twenty years of his life, I know nothing - I’m not even sure what year he was born or in what country he spent those two decades.

Andrew and Mary married on the twenty second day of November, 1867.

Then on the twenty second day of November, 1867, Andrew and Mary became husband and wife (after banns) in the Reformed Presbyterian Church at 35 Abbotsford Place in the District of Tradeston in the Burgh of Glasgow. They were already living together at the same address - 234 Pollockshaws Road - which was just half a mile from the church.³

Andrew was a journeyman mason, as was his father John. His mother, Margaret, had died some time before the wedding. Mary’s father was a journeyman joiner. They were married by the Minister John McDermid, and the witnesses were from Mary's family: Edward and Grace Wilson. And just in case that isn't enough information to get from a single record, the marriage was registered 3 days later in Glasgow by the assistant registrar, James Tait.⁴

Andrew Jr was born on the twentieth day of December, 1868.

Just over a year later on December 20, 1868, Andrew and Mary welcomed their first child, Andrew Scott Provins (a name that honored Andrew’s late mother). At Andrew Junior’s birth his dad was still listed as a journeyman mason, but the family had moved across the River Clyde to 186 Wellington Street.⁵

After seeing Andrew so clearly in Glasgow, I lose sight of him in 1869. That was another big year for 22 year old Andrew. I haven’t found a record to prove it, but is most likely the year that Andrew bundled up his young family and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to build a life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Example of a railroad depot in the late 19th century.

On the 1870 census, Andrew and his family appear to have settled into a distinctly Irish neighborhood of Philadelphia’s 26th ward. Andrew also made sure to get himself into the Philadelphia City Directory.⁶

Then, at some point in 1871, Andrew died and was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery. His headstone is the only record I have found of his death.⁷ Andrew’s daughter, Mary Wilson Provins, was born June 5, 1871.⁸ I don’t know if they ever had a chance to meet.

Andrew is buried with Mary's third husband and a possible relative...

Andrew’s widow was suddenly left in a bustling foreign city alone with a newborn and a toddler.

Mary would prove herself more than a match for this adversity though - she would go on to marry three more times, travel extensively, and run her own store. But that is a tale for another time.

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This is the fourth post in a set of family history profiles that I am calling #20in2020. I'll post the next one in a couple weeks.

Sources

1 Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7163/4278945_00374/6358844 : download 8 March 2020

2 "Statutory registers Marriages 644/9 461" ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk. Statutory registers Marriages 644/9 461 [database on-line]. Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland. (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/view-image/nrs_stat_marriages/1475825 : download 8 March 2020)

3 "Statutory registers Marriages 644/9 461" ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk. Statutory registers Marriages 644/9 461 [database on-line]. Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland. (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/view-image/nrs_stat_marriages/1475825 : download 8 March 2020)

4 "Statutory registers Marriages 644/9 461" ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk. Statutory registers Marriages 644/9 461 [database on-line]. Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland. (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/view-image/nrs_stat_marriages/1475825 : download 8 March 2020)

5 "Statutory registers Births 644/10 2285" ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk. Statutory registers Births 644/10 2285 [database on-line]. Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland. (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/view-image/nrs_stat_births/40119801 : download 8 March 2020)

6 Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7163/4278945_00374/6358844 : download 8 March 2020

7 Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 8 March 2020), memorial page for Andrew Provins (1848–1871), Find A Grave Memorial no. 178948498, citing Mount Moriah Cemeter, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA.

8 " Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration." Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2014. : download 8 March 2020)

Lucy Jane Brooker of Victorian London

Lucy Jane Brooker was born on the 29th of August, 1804 to Henry and Hannah Brooker. They lived in the City of London in a parish known as St Gregory by St Paul’s. Lucy was baptized there when she was five weeks old.¹ St Gregory’s was built along the outer wall of St Paul’s Cathedral, but it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and never rebuilt.²

Lucy's baptismal record shows the names of her parents, Henry and Hannah.

Although they still maintained the parish identity of St Gregory by St Paul’s, Lucy would have actually been dunked into the baptismal waters in nearby St Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street (which was also destroyed in the great conflagration, but rebuilt long before Lucy came along).³

Lucy celebrated her 30th birthday six months before she married Charles Wiggins on the 24th day of February, 1836 at the church of St George Botolph Lane.⁴ That put her about ten years behind the median age of marriage for the mid-19th century.⁵ Charles was a decade older, as well as a widower twice over.

Banns were published before Lucy's marriage on the 7th, 14th, and 21st of February.

Despite her advanced age, Lucy did not seem to have any trouble with producing children. Charles and Lucy would welcome a new child about every two years for the next decade.

They had four sons and a daughter - Frederick Colthurst Wiggins arrived in 1837⁶ (two months before the coronation of Queen Victoria), Henry Wiggins was two years later in 1839,⁷ followed by George Henry Wiggins in 1841,⁸ Lucy Wiggins in 1843,⁹ and finally Walter Brooker Wiggins joined the family in 1846.¹⁰ The family of Lucy and Charles was beginning to grow as the Victorian era began, the Pickwick Papers brought Dickens to national prominence, and London’s industrialization filled the streets with smog.¹¹

On the 1851 census, Lucy was recorded with her Charles and their five children.

Frederick and Henry were baptised at St Katherine Coleman, which was not far from the church where Charles and Lucy were married. But the next three children were baptised at St Mary Magdalen Bermondsey, so the family likely moved across the Thames into Southwark around 1840.

Lucy’s husband passed away in March of 1869 and was buried in Nunhead Cemetery.¹² She moved in with her daughter, Lucy, who had married Thomas John Mossman in 1867. Thomas was a diamond merchant and the growing family employed a team of servants that also grew over the years.¹³ It was likely a very different household to which Lucy (or her daughter) would have been accustomed.

Lucy died in 1893 at the age of 88. She was buried in Nunhead Cemetery, though in a different plot than her husband.¹⁴

Since Lucy's death, Nunhead Cemetery has fallen into neglect, but is beginning to be revitalized.

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This is the third post in a set of family history profiles that I am calling #20in2020. I'll post the next one in a couple weeks.

Sources

1 "London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812" Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1624&h=7061429 : download 17 February 2020)

2 St Gregory by St Paul's. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved 17 February, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Gregory_by_St_Paul%27s

3 St Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved 17 February, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary_Magdalen_Old_Fish_Street

4 "England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973" Ancestry.com. England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=9852&h=6360657 : download 17 February 2020)

5 "Historical Trends in Marriage Formation, United States 1850 – 1990" (http://users.hist.umn.edu/~ruggles/Articles/Fitch_and_Ruggles.pdf : download 17 February 2020)

6 "London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917" Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1558&h=783392 : download 17 February 2020)

7 "London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917" Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1558&h=783427 : download 17 February 2020)

8 "London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917" Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1558&h=4600319 : download 17 February 2020)

9 "London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917" Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1558&h=5060007 : download 17 February 2020)

10 "London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917" Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1558&h=5396116 : download 17 February 2020)

11 Victorian Era. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved 17 February, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era

12 "England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915" FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=8914&h=36630440 : download 17 February 2020)

13 "1871 England Census" Ancestry.com. 1871 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=7619&h=5874893 : download 17 February 2020)

14 DeceasedOnline.com Burial Registry Summary. (https://www.deceasedonline.com/servlet/GSDOImage?sessionid=079089DF8C84911410B3595FED75A7B813504C48&imageid=10123911&type=B : download 17 February 2020)

Joseph and the Grand Army of the Republic

Through most of his life, Joseph K. Norcross, was a salesman - both in shops and traveling door to door. He sold military regalia and souvenirs, spices, and oil, and probably more. He lived most of his life in Philadelphia, but also spent time in the San Francisco area. The central theme of his life though was the fellowship and purpose that he found in fraternal organizations, particularly the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) and the California Volunteer Veterans Association.

When the American Civil War began in 1861, Joseph was living in his home state of Pennsylvania. His father, the Reverend Isaac Norcross, had died young in 1850,¹ and his older brothers had headed west for California around the same period.

Daniel Norcross's emporium carried a wide range of military regalia.

By 1862, Joseph had joined his brothers in San Francisco. He worked briefly as a clerk in the military regalia shop of his eldest brother, Daniel.² Perhaps this was not the life he expected in California, or maybe the call of patriotic service was too strong - on June 8th, 1864 Joseph enlisted in the Second California Infantry.³

Over the course of the next two years, he served as a second lieutenant in Companies H & K, was temporarily in command of Company A,⁴ and was appointed post adjutant.⁵ This took Joseph down across California and into the Arizona Territory to Fort Goodwin. There's no indication that his company join in the Apache War that roiled around the fort in the 1860's. In 1866, he returned to the Presidio of San Francisco to muster out on June 30th.⁶

Joseph was temporarily in command of Company A of the 2nd
California Infantry.

After the war, Joseph returned to Philadelphia and joined his local G.A.R. Post 8. At some of their annual gatherings he was in charge of arranging the music. He also served at different points as the post commander (bef 1900),⁷ post historian (1910),⁸ chairman of the national encampment (1903),⁹ and delegate to the national convention (1907).¹⁰

What talent was on display in this elaborate program?

In 1912, the G.A.R. planned its forty-sixth National Encampment for Los Angeles. The Pennsylvania branch of the organization arranged for a special train to take Joseph and his fellow Pennsylvanian veterans across the country.¹¹ At the national meeting the veterans of the California companies planned for a week-long reunion where it became clear that none of the officers were actually Californians.¹²

The Los Angeles Times noted:¹³

These officers are Joseph K. Norcross of Glenside, Montgomery County, PA. He looks like only one man, but appearances are deceiving, for he is really a president, a corresponding secretary and a treasurer. The two comrades who were elected as secretaries at the last reunion died during the year.

Joseph died the following April. His obituary called on all of his friends and members of the local G.A.R. to attend his funeral services, along with members of the Damascus Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F).¹⁴

Joseph's obituary appeared in the April 17, 1913 edition of the
Philadelphia Inquirer.

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This is the second post in a set of family history profiles that I am calling #20in2020. I'll post the next one in a couple weeks.

Sources

1 "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803–1915." Index. Ancestry.com Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2535&h=1828260 : download 4 February 2020) From originals housed at the Philadelphia City Archives. "Death Records.".

2 San Francisco Directory, 1862. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2469/41199_1220706242_3973-00365?pid=1473211672 : download 4 February 2020)

3 Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009. (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1555&h=3339109 : download 4 February 2020)

4 Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the American Civil War, compiled 1890 - 1912, documenting the period 1861 - 1866 (https://www.fold3.com/image/21/314057695 : download 4 February 2020)

5 Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the American Civil War, compiled 1890 - 1912, documenting the period 1861 - 1866 (https://www.fold3.com/image/21/314057700 : download 4 February 2020)

5 Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the American Civil War, compiled 1890 - 1912, documenting the period 1861 - 1866 (https://www.fold3.com/image/21/314057707 : download 4 February 2020)

5 Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the American Civil War, compiled 1890 - 1912, documenting the period 1861 - 1866 (https://www.fold3.com/image/21/314057717 : download 4 February 2020)

7 "E.D. Baker Post, 8, will hold a public installation of officers", The Philadelphia Inquirer, 30 December 1900, 2nd Sec p. 9, col. 3; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : downloaded 4 February 2020).

8 "The California Volunteer Association", The National Tribune, 8 December 1910, p. 6, col. 6; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : downloaded 4 February 2020).

9 "The following committee of the E.D. Baker Post, No. 8", The Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 October 1903, 2nd Sec p. 14, col. 5; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : downloaded 4 February 2020).

10 "Elected Officers", The Altoona Tribune, 7 June 1907, 1st Sec p. 1, col. 5; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : downloaded 4 February 2020).

11 "Veterans to Travel on Special Train", The Allentown Democrat, 10 July 1912, 1st Sec p. 3, col. 2; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : downloaded 4 February 2020).

12 "California Veterans Mostly Elsewhere", The Los Angeles Times, 10 September 1912, 2nd Sec p. 9, col. 1-2; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : downloaded 4 February 2020).

13 "California Veterans Mostly Elsewhere", The Los Angeles Times, 10 September 1912, 2nd Sec p. 9, col. 1-2; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : downloaded 4 February 2020).

14 Obituary of Joseph Kennard Norcross (d. 15 April 1913), The Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 April 1917, 1st Sec p. 14, col. 4; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : downloaded 4 February 2020).