Even More Genealogical Ramblings...

A home in Coxsackie, New York, built in 1860.  This is probably
Similar to my ancestors' home in this town

Before my Aunt Ethel (my father's sister) passed away, I tried to pick her brain for genealogical information.  She was sort of a self-appointed keeper of the Mead family history, especially because she had traced our lineage back to my fourth great-grandfather, David Mead (1762-1836), a soldier of the revolution.  She had put forth a lot of effort to qualify for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution, in which she remained active for many years.

By the time I was interested in the family history, Aunt Ethel was well into her dotage and some of what she passed to me was so romantic or serendipitous that it seemed highly unlikely.  Nonetheless, I wrote it all down, hoping that in time I would be able to segregate fact from fiction.

One such seemingly far-fetched tale was that I had an ancestor who had been the captain of a whaling vessel.  Not only that, he had married a girl who died quite young and subsequently had married her twin sister.  Quite a yarn, but I had trouble believing it.  Until today it remained nothing more than a family fantasy.

This morning I was working on the genealogy and trying to fill in some details on my great grandfather, Richard Henry Mead.  I knew that he had been born in 1837 in Greene County, New York.  My notes informed me that he had married a woman, Margaret Elizabeth Mosher, around 1863.  This would have made him about 26 at the time of his wedding.  I decided to use census records to pinpoint his whereabouts every five or ten years (The federal census is conducted on the 10-year cycle 1850-1860-1870, etc, whereas the New York State census was conducted in 1865-1875-1885 etc,).

The Roscoe II was almost identical in design and displacement
to the Charles W. Morgan, shown here at Mystic Seaport, CT

In the course of my searching, I discovered a whaling ship crew roster with a "Richard Henry Mead" as a crew member.  This was part of a digital database housed at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in Massachusetts.  The record lists his full name and his home town of Coxsackie, New York, his age (17).  This was certainly my Richard Henry Mead!  The listing includes the fact that he is a blacksmith.  He left New Bedford in 1853 aboard a whaling bark, the Roscoe II.  A little further research revealed that the Roscoe II, displacing a little over 300 tons, made voyages in 1842, 1846, 1849, 1853, and 1856.  She carried a crew of 24 men.  These whalers made long voyages, typically 2-3 years, so this was quite a commitment for a young man.

On this 1853 departure, the Master was a gentleman named Asa R. Gifford, whose age is not given.  I located Asa Gifford's genealogical information on Ancestry.com and determined that he was 40 years old in 1853 when young Richard Mead embarked on his seagoing adventure.  I did discover an article dated July 2, 1869, in the Martha's Vinyard Gazette, published in Edgartown, stating, "Capt. Asa R. Gifford, of this town has built a fine grocery store just opposite the Picture Gallery of Shute & Sun. He has not yet occupied it but will soon have a choice assortment of Camp Meeting articles."  This is very likely the same individual.

The crew of the Roscoe II on its 1853 voyage ranges in age from 17 (Richard Mead) to 36 (Weston Briggs, the First Mate).  This was a young man's game.  In addition to a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Mate, ratings included Greenhand, Seaman, Boatsteerer, Cook, Carpenter, and Blacksmith (my ancestor).  The crew came from all over Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, and New York.  On these 2-3-year voyages, the crews must have gotten to know each other most intimately.  They must have become the closest of friends or the most bitter enemies after being cooped up on a small sailing vessel for months at a time.  Having learned this information, I concluded that Aunt Ethel had been partly right.  My direct ancestor had been aboard a whaling ship, but he was the ship's blacksmith rather than its Master.

Coxsackie in the 1870s

Next, I turned my attention to the legend of marrying a twin sister -- almost too far-fetched to be believable.  I began examining census data surrounding Richard Henry Mead for every five years beginning in 1850, when he's a 13-year old living with his parents.  In 1863, when he registers for the Civil War draft, he's still single and living in Coxsackie.  Soon thereafter, he marries Margaret Elizabeth Mosher and they begin a family.  In the 1865 State Census, we find Richard and his wife and a 6-month old baby, Rachel, living with her parents, Robert and Rachel Mosher.  Richard's occupation is shown as "butcher."

In 1870, the Meads continue to live in the Mosher household, but now they have a second child, William (8 months old) who is to become my grandfather.  Another daughter, Edith, is born in 1872.  Then tragedy strikes.  Richard's wife Margaret Elizabeth Mosher dies on 1 November, 1873, at the age of 29 years, 2 months, 28 days, according to her tombstone.  I have been unable to find her death record, but I would speculate that either influenza or smallpox or some other infectious disease took her life.

1875 Census entries show that the widower Richard and the three children,
Rachael (age 11), William M. (age 5) and Edith (age 3), are all living with
Grandfather Robert, Grandmother Rachael, and Sister-in-Law Mary Ann.

In 1875, Richard is still living with his in-laws.  But we note that his sister-in-law, Mary Ann Mosher, age 25, is also part of the household.  And then the story unfolds.  By the 1880 census, Richard and Mary Ann have gotten married and she is expecting.  They are soon blessed with a son, John Bogardus Mead, born 4 August, 1880.  So the myth about Richard marrying a twin sister was mistaken, but he did marry his first wife's younger sister.  And that's the rest of the story!