Person Page

     Jean McKinney was born on 31 October 1899, probably in Bakersville Twp., Mitchell Co., North Carolina.^4,3 She married Thanes C. Bowditch, son of Joseph Bowditch and Martha Elizabeth Anderson, on 15 January 1926.^1,5 She died on 28 October 1972 at age 72.⁴ She was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Section 3 Masonic, Lot 582, Grave 2) in Millcreek Twp., Erie Co., Pennsylvania.⁴
     After their marriage she and her husband Thanes lived for a few years in Erie, Erie Co., Pennsylvania.⁶ In 1927 she worked as a sales rep for Real Silk Hosiery Mills selling silk hosiery door-to-door.⁷ They moved back home to Mitchell Co., North Carolina, by May 1929, when their daughter Jean was born there in Grassy Creek Twp.⁸ They are listed in the 1930 census living with Thanes's parents in Bakersville Twp., Mitchell Co.⁹ They moved to Knoxville, Knox Co., Tennessee, where Thanes's brother Roy was living, sometime before 1935, and remained there until at least 1938.¹⁰ They were back in Erie, Pennsylvania, by 1940, and lived there the rest of their lives.^11,12

     Joseph Bowditch was born on 11 May 1776 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^4,5 He was baptized in April 1783 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.¹ He married first his cousin Lois Bowditch, daughter of Habakkuk Bowditch and Mary Ingersoll, on 22 or 28 September 1806 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^6,7,8 He married second Lucinda Morse, daughter of Anthony Morse and Huldah Taylor, on 31 December 1811 in Lebanon, Grafton Co., New Hampshire. They met when Lucinda was attending an Academy in Boston.^9,10,11 He died on 30 August 1824 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts, at age 48 from chronic diarrhea.^12,13,14
     He was mariner, and master of the ship Eliza in 1812, the brig Neva in 1816 and 1818, and the brig Centurion in 1822.^15,16,5 During the War of 1812, as captain of the merchant ship Eliza, he was sailing from Sumatra back home to Boston with a cargo of pepper. On 25 November 1812, about 380 miles southeast of New York, his ship was captured by the British warship Tartarus. They were taken to Bermuda, arriving 3 December. Capt. Bowditch left there on 10 December on a British man-of-war, and four days later was transferred to a Spanish ship heading for New York. That ship became partially disabled, and landed in Charleston on 17 January, where he could report the incident. The Eliza had been at sea for many months, and he was unaware that there was a war until being captured.^15,17
     In November 1820 he was admitted as a member of the East India Marine Society in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts. This was an organization "composed of persons who navigated the seas beyond the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, as masters or supercargoes of vessels Belong to Salem."¹⁸
     He is listed in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts, in the 1820 census, with one male under age 10 (his son Joseph), one male 26-44 (himself), one female under 10 (daughter Helen or Sarah), and one female 26-44 (wife Lucinda). Why only one female under 10 was enumerated is unknown.¹⁹
     He died intestate, and on 5 October 1824 his widow Lucinda was appointed administratrix of his estate. The inventory was filed on 16 November 1824, and valued the estate at $7405.72. His real estate consisted of his house on Monroe St. in Salem worth $2000, and a pew in St. Peter's Church worth $15. His personal estate included furniture, carpets, curtains, household goods, bedding, sextant, trunks, lamps, books, 18 silver spoons and 3 silver cups ($26), clothing, notes to various people (totaling $3055.96), two shares in India Marine Insurance Corp. ($100), and cash in the Commercial Bank in Salem ($717).
     The final account, filed 4 October 1825, listed the personal estate as having assets of $5690.72 ($5390.72 per the inventory, plus $300 interest paid on one of the notes), and debts of $642.42 ($200 of which was allowance to the widow for necessities), for a final personal estate value of $5048.30. His widow Lucinda was to have as her share $1682.76 (1/3), and each of his children were to have $841.38.²⁰

More Information / Background

• East India Marine Society.
  

     Lucinda Morse was born on 26 April 1786 in Sharon, Windsor Co., Vermont.^1,5,4,2 She married Joseph Bowditch, son of Thomas Bowditch and Sarah Bancroft, on 31 December 1811 in Lebanon, Grafton Co., New Hampshire. They met when Lucinda was attending an Academy in Boston.^6,7,8 She died from paralysis on 18 August 1858 in Springfield, Hampden Co., Massachusetts, at age 72.^2,5
     Joseph died on 30 August 1824, and on 5 October 1824 she was appointed administratrix of his estate. The final account, filed 4 October 1825, listed the personal estate as having assets of $5690.72, and debts of $642.42 ($200 of which was allowance to the widow for necessities), for a final personal estate value of $5048.30. Lucinda was to have as her share $1682.76 (1/3), and each of her children were to have $841.38.⁹
     Also on 4 October 1825, at her request, Richard Wheatland, a Salem merchant, was appointed guardian of her children's financial interest in the estate. Lucinda officially replaced him as guardian on 4 April 1826. Wheatland's guardianship report filed that same day valued each child's share of their father's personal estate at $802.38 ($841.38 from the administrator's account filed 4 October 1825, less $39 to Lucinda for board, etc., from then to 4 April 1826 at $1.50/week). An inventory was then ordered for each child's share of the estate, and was filed in court on 4 October 1826. It valued each share at $1191.26 ($388.88 for their share of their father's house and land on Monroe St. in Salem, and $802.38 from his personal estate), and was approved on 3 Apr 1827.¹⁰
     She is probably the Lucinda A. Bowditch listed in Salem in the 1830 census, with one male age 5-9, one male 10-14, one female 5-9, two females 15-19, and one female 40-49.¹¹ She moved to Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts, for a time; she was living there on 1 April 1834 when she requested permission from the court to sell the real estate in Salem that was part of her husband's estate. Permission was granted on 6 May 1834¹⁰, but she apparently didn't sell for several more years. She is listed at 5 Munroe St. in the 1837 and 1842 Salem city directories, and is probably the Mrs. L. Bowditch listed in Salem in the 1840 census, with one male age 5-9, one male 15-19, one female 5-9, one female 20-29, and one female 40-49.^12,13
     She moved to nearby Beverly, Essex Co., Massachusetts, in the spring of 1843¹⁴, but was back in Salem by 1850, when she was listed there, along with her daughter Sarah and son Frank, in the 1850 census.¹⁵ She is listed at 19 Summer St. in the 1850, 1851, and 1853 Salem city directories.¹⁶ She then moved back to Beverly, probably with her daughter Sarah in the early 1850s when Sarah moved there to care for the children of George and Nancy (Stickney) Abbot after their deaths. She was listed there in the household of Patty Gage in the 1855 state census, probably living as a boarder, very near Sarah and her new husband George W. Abbot.¹⁷
     She was deeply affected by Sarah's death in childbirth on 14 May 1856, and probably moved shortly afterwards to Springfield, Hampden Co., Massachusetts, to live with her daughter Helen and her husband Luther Upton. On 18 May, in a letter to Sarah's and Helen's brother Joseph Henry Bowditch, Luther wrote:

     Lois Bowditch was born on 29 March 1781.^3,4 She was baptized on 1 April 1781 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁵ She married her cousin Joseph Bowditch, son of Thomas Bowditch and Sarah Bancroft, on 22 or 28 September 1806 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^3,1,6 She died of consumption on 29 July 1809 at age 28.^3,4

     Helen Maria Bowditch was born on 30 September 1814 (based an inscription in her family bible dated 30 September 1836 saying it was given to her by her mother on her "twenty second birth day") in Keene, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire.^1,5 She was baptized with her sister Sarah and brother Joseph on 5 June 1822 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁶ She married Luther Upton, son of Robert Upton and Lucy Doyle, on 29 September 1836, the day before her 22nd birthday, in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^7,1 She died "after a long illness" from brain disease on 1 November 1889 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts, at age 75.^8,1 She was buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁹
     Her father died on 30 August 1824 when she was just nine, and on 4 October 1825 Richard Wheatland, a Salem merchant, was appointed guardian of her financial interest in the estate, and of the interests of her siblings Sarah, Joseph, and Francis. Their mother Lucinda officially replaced Wheatland as guardian on 4 April 1826. On 4 October 1826 a court-ordered inventory valued each child's share of the estate at $1191.26 ($388.88 for their share of their father's house and land in Salem, and $802.38 from his personal estate).¹⁰
     She and her husband Luther lived in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts, probably from the time of their marriage in 1836 until at least 1852.^11,12,13,14 They moved to Springfield, Hampden Co., Massachusetts, sometime between 1852 and 1856, where they lived until at least 1860.^15,16 They then moved to Lynn, Essex Co., Massachusetts, sometime before 1865, where they remained at least until Luther's death in 1879.^17,18,19
     Her mother Lucinda probably lived with them in Springfield the last two years of her life, from 1856 to 1858. She had been living in Beverly, Essex Co., Massachusetts, near Helen's sister Sarah. Sarah died in childbirth on 14 May 1856, which deeply affected Lucinda. On 18 May, in a letter to Sarah's and Helen's brother Joseph Henry Bowditch, Luther wrote "There remains one thing to be done, if possible (and I think it is) and that is to bring her to Springfield and make remaining days comfortable as we can. We think the change may be of great benefit to her ... and [I] am still happy to offer her a home, with her only daughter, for life."^20,21,22
     The family was wealthy enough to have servants. In 1840 a black female age 24-34 was living with them, probably as a servant. In 1850 there were two people living with the family, again probably as servants - a black woman Matilda S. Richardson (age 23), and an Irish girl Sarah Foley (16). In 1860 they again had an Irish servant, Bridget Donely (21). And in 1870 Elizabeth Merrill (49) was living with them, keeping house.^11,13,16,18
     She continued to live in Lynn after her husband's death, at least for a time. She is listed there in the 1880 census, in the same house as the widow Rebecca Chase (age 66) and her niece Effie Dodge (25), but listed as a separate family.²³

     Sarah Morse Bowditch was born on 20 January 1816 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^3,4 She was baptized with her sister Helen and brother Joseph on 5 June 1822 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁵ She married George William Abbot, son of George Abbot and Nancy Stickney, on 17 July 1855 at Grace Church in New York, New York.⁶ She died in childbirth on 14 May 1856 in Beverly, Essex Co., Massachusetts, at age 40. The baby, a nine-pound boy, also died.^4,7 She was buried with her baby at Central Cemetery (Sub Division 8, Lot 207) in Beverly, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^3,7
     Her father died on 30 August 1824 when she was just eight, and on 4 October 1825 Richard Wheatland, a Salem merchant, was appointed guardian of her financial interest in the estate, and of the interests of her siblings Helen, Joseph, and Francis. Their mother Lucinda officially replaced Wheatland as guardian on 4 April 1826. On 4 October 1826 a court-ordered inventory valued each child's share of the estate at $1191.26 ($388.88 for their share of their father's house and land in Salem, and $802.38 from his personal estate).⁸
     She is probably the female age 20-29 listed in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts, in the 1840 census with her mother Mrs. L. Bowditch.⁹ In 1850 she and her brother Francis were listed with their mother in Salem.¹⁰
     In June 1851 Nancy (Stickney) Abbot, the mother of her brother Joseph's wife Elizabeth Blanchard Abbot, died, apparently by suicide, in nearby Beverly, Massachusetts, about two years after the death of her husband George. She left behind three minor children - Martha (age 15), Ellen (13), and Frederick (9).^11,12,13 From comments in letters written by Martha and Ellen to their sister Elizabeth in North Carolina, it appears that the children remained in their family home in Beverly, and that Sarah moved there, presumably to care for them. (The children had two older brothers, George W. Abbot (25, who Sarah would marry in 1855) and John E. Abbot (19), but both were unmarried, and as mariners were often away at sea.)^{14,15,16,17,18,19}
     She and her new husband George are listed in Beverly, Essex Co., Massachusetts, in the 1855 state census, along with his siblings John, Martha, Ellen, and Frederick. Living with them were servants Julia Corbett (age 21, born in Ireland) and Mariano Mastin (25, born in Manila). Her mother Lucinda was living nearby, probably as a boarder, in the home of Patty Gage.²⁰

     Francis Morse Bowditch was born in January 1823 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^4,5,6 He was baptized on 6 October 1824 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.¹ He may have been engaged in late 1843 to Mary Page. Elizabeth Abbot, in a letter to her brother George dated 13 December 1843, wrote "Ask Elisha if he ever suspected that his friend Frank Bowditch and Mary Page would make a match of it. ... He was at home about six weeks. In that time he was introduced, made up his mind, and gave his heart to Miss Mary in exchange for hers. It is a match, and he has gone again with greater reluctance to sea." They never married, however.⁷ He was married by Rev. R. C. Mills to Rebecca Leavitt, daughter of Oliver Leavitt and Eunice Batchelder, on 11 July 1855 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.² They separated sometime before August 1859.⁸ He died on 8 October 1864 in Manhattan, New York, New York Co., New York, at age 41. (The Morse genealogy by Henry Dutch Lord erroneously says he died "during the war aboard a Naval Ship.")^9,10 He was buried in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts.⁹
     He also went by the name Frank.¹¹
     His father died on 30 August 1824 when he was just a year old, and on 4 October 1825 Richard Wheatland, a Salem merchant, was appointed guardian of his financial interest in the estate, and of the interests of his siblings Sarah, Helen, and Joseph. Their mother Lucinda officially replaced Wheatland as guardian on 4 April 1826. On 4 October 1826 a court-ordered inventory valued each child's share of the estate at $1191.26 ($388.88 for their share of their father's house and land in Salem, and $802.38 from his personal estate).¹²
     He was a mariner, starting as early as age 14. He was listed as a crew member on the bark Chalcedony, that left Salem bound for Cape de Verdes and Buenos Ayres on 20 September 1837. He is listed on various other crews from then until 1844, on the bark Chalcedony, the schooner Vigilant, and the bark King Philip, usually traveling to Buenos Ayres, but also to Montevideo and to Valparaiso. By 1844 he had the rank of second officer.¹³ Various letters to Elizabeth (Abbot) Bowditch, wife of his brother Joseph Henry Bowditch, show that he continued going to sea, at least until 1856 (and probably until the outbreak of the Civil War).^{14,15,16,17,18}
     When he wasn't at sea, he lived with his mother and sister Helen, mostly in Essex Co., Massachusetts. He is probably the male age 15-19 listed with Mrs. L. Bowditch in Salem in the 1840 census.¹⁹ They moved to nearby Beverly, Essex Co., Massachusetts, in the spring of 1843²⁰, but were back in Salem by 1850, when they were listed there in the census.¹¹
     He and his new wife Rebecca are listed twice in the 1855 Massachusetts state census, both times in Salem - once on 8 August living with Rebecca's sister Harriet and her husband Isaac Foster, and again on 22 August living with Rebecca's mother Eunice.^21,22
     He traveled to Tarboro, Edgecombe Co., North Carolina, at least twice to visit Joseph and Elizabeth and their family, in 1846, and again in 1848 or early 1849.^23,24
     He was apparently quite charming and funny as a young man. In late 1843 in a letter to her brother George, his future sister-in-law Elizabeth Abbot wrote "He is the funniest fellow I have met with for a long time. Amused the boys very much telling them what poor sailors fare was and how the biscuits run away and hid behind the chest, and how all sailors had to shut their eyes for fear of seeing huge animals in their food. He went round to call, it was about Thanksgiving time, and all the ladies gave him a pie, and he had in all nine." Four years later, in 1849, Elizabeth's sister Georgiana wrote "He has improved very much both in manner and appearance. ... He and George propose going down or up (I don't know which) Tar river next summer. They think that they shall astonish the natives. He comes here quite intimately, and is very pleasant."^7,25
     However, he seems to have changed over the years, perhaps due to a troubled marriage, and the deaths of his sister Sarah in 1856 and his mother in 1858. On 29 August 1859 Elizabeth's sister Martha wrote "Frank Bowditch called a few days since to say that he had separated from his wife. Ellen saw him, said he did not seem to care at all. He is more disagreeable than ever, and probably more disipated."²⁶
     He served during the Civil War in the Union Navy, enlisting on 15 July 1861 in New York, New York Co., New York, for a three-year term as a seaman in the General Service.⁵ He re-enlisted on 19 December 1863, again in New York, this time for a one-year term.⁶ His enlistment records describe him as about 5' 11" tall, with blue eyes and brown hair, and a fair complexion (in 1861) and dark complexion (in 1863). In 1863 he was noted as having had the initials "L. M. B." (his mother's initials) tattooed on his left arm, two ships on his chest, and two hearts with darts on his right hand.^5,6
     In 1864 he was serving on the USS Proteus, an armed heavy steamer commissioned on 10 March of that year. The Proteus was part of the Union blockade in the south Atlantic, primarily on duty off the coast of Florida. She left New York on 11 April, arriving at Key West eleven days later. In May she guarded against blockade runners from Cuba, and in June from the Bahamas. She captured the British schooner R. S. Hood on 9 June, and the Jupiter on 27 June.^27,28,29
     On 13 July 1864 he was placed on the sick list with an ulcerated scrotum. He was moved to the USS Huntsville, another steamer in the blockade that was being sent home due to an outbreak of yellow fever on board. The Huntsville arrived in New York on 3 August, where she was quarantined.^28,30 He was admitted to the Naval Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, on 13 August 1864. Although his general health was described as "very good," his condition was determined to be "of long standing, the result of an old inflammation, and will probably be of long duration." After nearly a month in the hospital, he was discharged from the Navy on 8 September on a "C. O. D." (Certificate of Ordinary Disability), and died a month later.^27,28,9

More Information / Background

• USS Proteus (1863)
• USS Huntsville (1857)
• Union blockade

     Luther Upton was born on 16 March 1815 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^4,2 He married Helen Maria Bowditch, daughter of Joseph Bowditch and Lucinda Morse, on 29 September 1836 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^5,1 He "fell dead at his home" (probably a heart attack, as his death record says he died from "heart disease") while walking in his garden in Lynn, Essex Co., Massachusetts, on 16 October 1879. His obituary describes him as "an elderly gentleman," although he was just 64.^2,1,6 He was buried at Pine Grove Cemetery (Hazel Path, Lot 908, Grave 10) in Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁷
     He and his wife Helen lived in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts, probably from the time of their marriage in 1836 until at least 1852.^8,9,10,11 They moved to Springfield, Hampden Co., Massachusetts, sometime between 1852 and 1856, where they lived until at least 1860.^12,13 They then moved to Lynn, Essex Co., Massachusetts, sometime before 1865, where they remained at least until Luther's death in 1879.^14,15,2
     His wife Helen's mother Lucinda probably lived with them in Springfield the last two years of her life, from 1856 to 1858. She had been living in Beverly, Essex Co., Massachusetts, near Helen's sister Sarah. Sarah died in childbirth on 14 May 1856, which deeply affected Lucinda. On 18 May, in a letter to Sarah's and Helen's brother Joseph Henry Bowditch, Luther wrote "There remains one thing to be done, if possible (and I think it is) and that is to bring her to Springfield and make remaining days comfortable as we can. We think the change may be of great benefit to her ... and [I] am still happy to offer her a home, with her only daughter, for life."^16,17,18
     He was a merchant (although in the 1860 census his occupation was listed as "Gentleman").^10,13,2 The family was wealthy enough to have servants. In 1840 a black female age 24-34 was living with them, probably as a servant. In 1850 there were two people living with the family, again probably as servants - a black woman Matilda S. Richardson (age 23), and an Irish girl Sarah Foley (16). In 1860 they again had an Irish servant, Bridget Donely (21). And in 1870 Elizabeth Merrill (49) was living with them, keeping house.^8,10,13,15
     Late in his life he "devoted much of his leisure time to literary pusuits," and was especially interested in "national philosophy," and often wrote articles for local newpapers.⁶

     Joseph Bowditch Upton was born "Wednesday noon quarter past one o'clock" on 5 July 1837.¹ He and his sister Helen were both baptized on 31 March 1847 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^2,3 He died in September 1891 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts, at age 54.¹