December, 2004 Letter from Sister Eleanor Joyce

 

 Thanks to Mike Seeman for providing this letter. In it, S. Eleanor does a bit of interesting reminiscing.  My notes are in [].

This is Gary's side of the family - Sister Eleanor was the daughter of Raymond and Mildred (Knox) Joyce.  Raymond was the grandson of our immigrant ancestors, Michael and Catherine (Finnerty) Joyce.

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Dec. 23, 2004

Dear Brothers, Sisters, Cousins and Friends:

... [omitted]

Then on Sunday all the Joyce cousins were together for the day - Thomas, Shirley, Mary and Dorothy to remember old times at Redfield, Rockham and Burdette [South Dakota].  Since July we have become acquainted with many relatives whom we had never met before.  The reunion at Willmar hosted by Jack and Mary Seeman, (Mary Joyce's and Earl Seeman's son), brought families together from Minnesota and Iowa who had not been with us at former reunions in the Black Hills.  2007 is the next tentative date for a get-together, but the place has yet to be decided.

Recently I found a list of the members of Dad's uncles.  Besides John, Pat, Joe and Frank there were Tom, Jim and Peter who never came to Dakota, either stayed in Wisconsin or went back East.  [note: These are sons of Michael and Catherine Joyce; Tom and Jim stayed in WI and Peter died young, buried at St. Mary's cemetery near Ripon, Wisconsin.]

In 2003 there were two Sisters here from New York who belonged to the newly amalgamated Community from Fitchburg, MA and Newburgh, NY that now make up the New Windsor Presentation group.  They have a S. Eleanor Joyce in their community, and gave me her address in Kingston, NY, so last week I finally went on a search!  Might she have some knowledge about the three lost uncles?  If so, there could be other cousins on the East coast whom none of us have ever met!

I was glad to have seen S. Ramona Fallon at the Willmar reunion of the Michael Joyce-Catherine Finnerty clan.  That reminds me of the renowned threshing crew employed by Jim Fallon in the early 1920's - Joe (Pat's) and Gene (Mike's) Joyce were part of the force, who must have had a hilarious time on the job!  Stories that came out of those early years when their generation was growing up would fill books - Murphy, E. Fry and J. Brown were characters oftentimes, and we kids wondered?

... [omitted]

Sister M. Eleanor Joyce

Martin Adams, Patriot

 (This is an ancestor of Earl Seeman as follows: Earl Seeman--> Eva Adams Seeman -->John Q. Adams --> Abial Adams --> Martin Adams)

Martin Adams was born in 1764 in Canaan, Connecticut, to James Callender Adams and his wife Submit Purchase.  At the age of 17 he voluntarily enlisted in the Vermont Militia (also known as the "Green Mountain Boys") during the Revolutionary War.  In Vermont, any able-bodied man aged 18-45, with some exceptions, was required to join the Militia.  This group was particularly known for their strength and courage in battle.

Martin was a drummer with both of his units in the year he served.  The purpose of the drummers, which often were younger, were to use their instruments to signal commands and keep morale up.  Their rhythms would help the soldiers keep pace while marching, plus they could usually be heard over the noise of battle, thereby keeping open an important line of communication.  On a day-to-day basis the fife and drum corp communicated the orders of the day, when meals were served and when the day closed.

After his service, he, along with his parents and brothers, left their home in Springfield, Massachusetts sometime between 1783-1785.  They traveled over the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers.  They stopped in what they thought was Littleton, New Hampshire, but it was not - they ended up founding the town of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. They decided to stay there and were the original grantees of the settlement.

St. Johnsbury, Vermont

It was in St. Johnsbury that he married Mercy Ryder in 1785, the daughter of Elder and Betsey Ryder.

In 1793, Martin and his brother, James and their families left for a new settlement, "Duncansborough" (Newport) Vermont, with their young wives and children.  They made their way  through the forests by way of marked trees to Barton Landing.  It was here that they constructed rafts or canoes, loaded them with their family and possessions, and sailed the Barton river to Lake Memphremagog.  They were impressed with the area and decided to make it their homes.  They initially built a log cabin, but in 1800 they built the first frame house in the area on the west side of Lake Memphremagog.  By this time, there were 11 families in the area. The Clyde River furnished power for their grain and saw mills.  

Lake Memphremagog

Martin and his family moved to Canada for a short time, but were back in Newport by 1802.  Martin and Mercy had 12 children. Martin died in 1839 and Mercy in 1847.  They are buried in Holbrook Cemetery on Lake Road in Newport, Vermont.

Signature of Martin Adams, from his Pension Application

Only In Case of Emergency

 

The opened envelope left by my great uncle Flight Officer Raymond Christensen saying, "Notify in case of emergency.  I guess you know these names and addresses inside as secret material only to be used in an emergency.  A card is sufficient."

 

It must have hurt my grandmother indescribably to have to tear open that envelope.