52 Ancestors Week 35: A Spot on the Map

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 35:

The theme for Week 35 is “A Spot on the Map.” Knowing an ancestor’s location does more than let us find more records. It can give insight into the life of that ancestor. This week, consider a place that has special meaning for your family. Whether it’s a big city, small town, or out in the middle of nowhere, consider how that location helped shape those who lived there. 

Where in the world is Carmen Sandigeo?

    While I have talked about Haverhill more than a few times in the blog, it's easy for me and readers here to forget there's another equally important city in my family tree. This city is right at the mouth of the mighty Merrimack river and it's called Newburyport. I admit I haven't really talked about it that much and it's really no fault of my own. Let's be honest. Most of my family tree in America ended up in Haverhill and that's why this blog is called "All Roads Lead to Haverhill". If I called it "All Roads Lead to Haverhill and Newburyport", it just wouldn't have the punch I was looking for. Short names are better and catchier!

    Now then. What can I tell you about Newburyport? My mother and my grandfather were born there along with my great-grandmother Clara Laplante. My great-grandfather Alfred Hamel had a Fix-It shop and Clara's parents Joseph and Georgianna called the city their home for many years. Like Haverhill, many of my other relatives also lived in the city. Because of this I created a one place study and while it doesn't get a lot of traction like my other three studies, it's still an important one and the city is still an important place.

So that's where I got those ears.

    As I said earlier my grandfather Robert was born there and in the 1930 Census the Hamels were living at 25 Franklin Street.  The house still stands today!  When my grandfather talked about growing up in Newburyport, he often talked about how great it was being close to the ocean. He loved to fish and being near the ocean really fostered his love for fishing. 

    Robert always told me how he loved to catch flounder right in the mouth of the Merrimack and decades later I would do the exact same thing! He never really saw me reel in any fish, but, I would often tell him about what I caught and everything. Of course in his day the regulations weren't as tight as they are now. When I was fishing for flounder, you could only reel in ten flounder per person and they all had to be a specific size.

    He did love the fact that I caught more fish than my brother. Jim just didn't really have the patience to fish. Patience is key if you want to land a big one. Or in this case a dinner plate sized fish. Let's be honest. Flounders aren't that big.

    Fishing expeditions weren't the only things Newburyport had to offer my grandfather and various relatives. Plum Island was a quick drive away from the city and from there you could easily hit the beach like my second great-grandparents Joseph and Georgianna.

So much swagger!

    I don't know why but I just really love this picture of Joseph, Georgianna and Georgianna's sister Anna. Clearly Joe had a lot of swagger and from what people told me he used to be quite a character. I think everyone has at least one or two running around in their family tree. They make life interesting for the rest of us. And who knows. The person reading the blog could be that person!

    Clearly the picture was taken at the beach in the summer of 1926. I know the date as my grandfather graciously labeled it and the people in it for me. He labeled everything and it made collecting information so much easier. I still wonder why he felt the need to keep a few things, though. Eh, it is what it is. 

    As I've said in an earlier blog, Salisbury beach and Cranes beach were the places to go in Newburyport if you wanted to get out of the sun and enjoy the cool ocean air. The beach also played host to various hotels, restaurants and an arcade or two. By the time my brother and I came around that arcade was home to some top-tier video games.

    You might be thinking to yourself  "Chris, your grandfather's hometown sounds like a place that attracts a ton of tourists" and that's actually true. I'm not going to lie. History has shown us that if a city is near the ocean and is by an important waterway people are going to come from all over to see the sights, fish and take in whatever the city has to offer. Newburyport is no exception. People have flocked to the city from nearby Haverhill and all over the Merrimack valley. Centuries ago it was a key shipbuilding town and it simply evolved into a place where locals and people from all over can enjoy the city life and that salty sea air.

Still has swagger with the grandkids.

        Living in a close to the ocean likely changed my grandfather in a good way. I think being there helped him to appreciate just how big our planet is. When you look out into the vast ocean from the mouth of the Merrimack, you're not just looking at the horizon. You're looking at Europe. My grandfather told me that a long, long ago.

    He was worldly well before he traveled the world as part of the US Air Force. The city attracted people from all corners of the globe and from the beach you can really get a sense of how awesome the scale of our world is. When I was growing up, I'd get the same sense of the scale. Anyone living near the ocean can tell you that's how it is. The sea takes a hold of you and never lets go. It's a romantic notion, sure. That doesn't mean it isn't true. Everyone living in the greater Merrimack valley who has been to the ocean will tell you the same thing.

    As you can tell Newburyport is just as an important city as Haverhill in my family tree. While Haverhill undoubtedly had most of my relatives living in the city limits, it's Newburyport that played a role in their recreation. It's also where a good portion of my mother's side of the family ended up if they weren't also in Haverhill. The two cities played an important role in the lives of my ancestors and everyone around them for many reasons and Newburyport still stands as a place where people of all races and cultures in the valley can experience  the world without ever having to leave home.

See ya next time!