As I start this journey, I can think of many ancestors that I could dedicate the blog to, but one particular person comes to mind. It's funny how in the course of researching family history, you sometimes seem to make a stronger connection to certain ancestors than to others, often not for any particular rational reason, and for me it seems to be always be a grandmother (perhaps indicating a need for therapy on my part). On my maternal side, it's my 3rd-great-grandmother, Ann Maidstone (Hillman) Grant, mother of 23 children according to family lore, of which 16 survived to adulthood). On my paternal side, Betsey (Gibbs) Vickery, one of my 2nd-great-grandmothers, is my go-to favorite as I have her photograph and she just looks like a sweet, kind, loving person. So for the Mower line, even though she is a Mower by marriage, I'm going to have to pick my 5th great-grandmother, Elizabeth (Bemis) Mower, as the person I will dedicate this blog to. The Mowers loved marrying women named Elizabeth, she is one of my 5 grandmother Mowers with that name.
 |
| Gravestone of Elizabeth (Bemis) Mower, |
|
Elizabeth Bemis was reportedly born in Spencer, Massachusetts, about 1735, the 7th of 8 children born to Samuel and Sarah (Barnard) Bemis. She comes from strong colonial stock. Her father was the second settler of Spencer, purchasing 400 acres of woodland and began the process of clearing timber before moving his family to their new home. William, their third child, was the first to be born after the move. Sarah, fearing the Indians that lived in the area and frequently made their presence known, removed herself to Sudbury near the end of her pregnancy and when her baby was two weeks old returned home on horseback covering a distance of 50 miles through wilderness in one day, carrying little William in her arms.
Like many women of this period, not a lot is known of their lives, but we can acknowledge the large contribution they made to their families, let alone birthing numerous children. Elizabeth married Jonathan Mower, son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Sprague) Mower on 10 Jul 1755 in Spencer. Jonathan and Elizabeth settled in Charlton, Massachusetts. Together, they had 10 children, all born in Charlton:
- Elisabeth, b. 7 May 1756, d. 15 Jan 1784 in Charlton.
- Jonathan, b. 25 Oct 1757
- John, b. 26 Mar 1759
- Samuel, b. 17 May 1761
- Abigail, b. 26 Mar 1763
- Sarah, b. 14 Feb 1765
- William, b. 16 Mar 1767
- Ebenezer, b. 23 May 1769
- Marshall, b. 1 Sep 1773
- Jemima, b. 25 Oct 1777
Elizabeth (Bemis) Mower departed this life on 1 Mar 1802 in Charlton, Massachusetts. She is buried there in a beautiful spot - Northside Cemetery, where her grave is marked with an old slate gravestone on which is inscribed "In Memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Mower, wife of Mr. Jonathan Mower, deceased March 1st, 1802, Aged 67 Years and 2 Months."
After his wife's death, Jonathan moved north to Greene, Maine, where several of his children had already relocated. It is through this couple that the majority of the Mowers found in Maine are descended. So for that, we dedicate this blog to the woman who literally gave birth to this branch of the family.
- - - - - - - - - -
Sources:
- Mower, Walter L. Mower Family History: A Genealogical Record of the Maine Branch of This Family together with Other Branches of the Family Tree. Portland, Maine: The Southworth Press, 1923.
- Draper, Thomas Waln-Morgan. The Bemis History and Genealogy: Being An Account In Greater Part Of The Descendants of Joseph Bemis of Watertown, Mass.. San Francisco, California: The Stanley-Taylor Co., Printers, 1900.
- Systemic History Fund. Vital Records of Charlton, Massachusetts, To the end of the year 1849. Worcester, Massachusetts: Franklin P. Rice, Trustee of the Fund, 1905.
