American Ship Phineas Pendleton

In 1866 in the small town of Brewer, near Bangor Maine, a new American sailing ship, the Phineas Pendleton, was built at the Dunning shipyard on the lower Penobscot River. This ship was destined to have a mere lifespan of 19 years. Per the book titled Brewer by Richard Shaw, the Phineas Pendleton sailed the China Trade and, per legend, only entered an American port once during 19 years. Shaw also noted that her lower masts were painted black as memorials to the death of three of the captain’s children following a diphtheria outbreak off the Peruvian coastline.


The owner and captain till 1873 of the sailing ship was Phineas Pendleton, Jr. and Company. His company had named the ship in honor of Phineas Pendleton, Sr.

Capt. Phineas Sr. is my 4th Great Grandfather and was born in Stonington, New London, CT in 1780 on September 26th.  He died February 26th in 1873 in Searsport, ME.  Searsport is the town famous for its China Trade sea captains and the home of many of my sea captain ancestors.  I descend from Phineas Sr. through his daughter Esther Houston Pendleton.

His son, Capt. Phineas Jr. is my 3rd Great Grand Uncle and was born in on August 29 in 1806 and died on the 19th of July in 1895, the same year as my husband's grandfather Charlie Cator was born. 

Jr's pic is right, Sr's is left.

   
The ship's dimensions were 185 feet long on deck, 37 feet breath of beam, 23 feet depth of hold and 1332 tons registered, with fastenings of copper and iron.


In 1885 she was scheduled for sale from Hong Kong to New York under Captain Blanchard of Searsport. On August 7^th, the Ship Phineas Pendleton was scuttled to extinguish a fire that began while she was lying in port in Manila. When a ship is scuttled due to fire, it is deliberately sunk. Water is introduced into the ship’s interior by means such as valves being opened, hatches being flooded, and even by setting explosives.

The Phineas Pendleton was a total loss.

In 1869 the ship was immortalized in an oil painting by Irish-born artist Charles Waldron of Liverpool, England. His studio was located in Seacombe from which he was able to observe the many vessels entering and leaving Liverpool Harbor.

Painting:  http://penobscotmarinemuseum.org/pbho-1/collection/ship-phineas-pendleton

                                                                                      Donna Cator

My 9th Great Grandmother Wore the Scarlet Letter "A" (Part II)

Mary Magdalene Baily Bachiler May Well Be the Inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's Novel, the Scarlet Letter, Published in 1850

I was emotionally captivated in high school with The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Never did I realize then that my own 9th Great Grandmother, Mary Bachiler, was likely the source of the novel's protagonist and heroine, Hester Pyrnne. In a book written in 1910 Mary was revealed as the woman inspiring Nathaniel Hawthorne's account of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter. She is not the only possible inspiration, but highly possible.

THE GRAVES OF HESTER PYRNNE AND ELIZABETH PAIN 
The grave of Hester Pyrnne as described in The Scarlett Letter is that of Mrs. Elizabeth Pain at King's Chapel Burying Ground in Boston, Massachusetts, the same cemetery mentioned in the novel. Her grave had a crest upon it which could be perceived as a letter "A", a great scene for a movie. She gave birth to an illegitimate child by Samuel Pain, whom she later did wed. The child died in 1692 and Elizabeth was tried for murder in 1693. She was found not guilty of murder but was guilty of negligence in failing to get help to save the child. She was fined and flogged twenty times. I have found no information that she was charged with adultery and flogged and forced to wear the letter A.

THE LIFE OF HESTER CRAFORD AND HESTER PYRNNE 
Writer Laurie Rozakis has written that the inspiration, or an additional source of inspiration, for Hester Pyrnne is that of the life of Hester Craford who was flogged for adultery with John Wedg with whom she had a baby. Major John Hathorne was a magistrate in Salem in 1688, knew Hester Craford, and ordered her to be flogged publicly after the birth for her sin against society. I do not know what happened to Wedg for his punishment against society.

THE LIFE OF MARY BACHILER 
So we have two potential people inspiring Nathaniel Hawthorne's book. There is a third, Mary Bachiler, whom I have written about in My 9th Great Grandmother Wore the Scarlet Letter A Part 1. Briefly Mary Magdalene Baily Beedle Bachiler Turner had an affair while married to the excommunicated Rev. Stephen Bachiler, 60 years her senior. The affair was with her next door neighbor, George Rogers; they had a child together. Their relationship did not survive the social mores of the 1600s in the Massachusetts Bay Colony of Puritan intolerance. George and Mary were each given 40 lashes and she was forced to wear the Letter A emblazoned upon her clothing.

THE CASE FOR MARY BACHILER AS HESTER PRYNNE 
Eleanor Campbell Schoen in a presentation on the Reverend Stephen Bachiler, stated that "A book written in 1910 states that Mary Magdalene Bailey Beedle Bachiler Turner was the woman upon whom Nathaniel Hawthorne patterned Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter." This book was published at the time of the week-long Town of Eliot's Centennial of Incorporation. Eliot was part of Kittery until 1810. On page 25 of this 1910 book it states"The home of Mary Batchelder, wife of Samuel [Stephen] Batchelder, said to be the original of Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter." On page 35 it states that Mary Bachellor, "said to be the original of Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, signed the document" in 1652 along with the male landowners of Kittery acknowledging Kittery as subject to Massachusetts and its protections, rather than Maine.

Hawthorne's description of Hester Prynne's cottage was similar to the Staple property, the land and home of my ancestor, Mary's daughter Elizabeth Beadle who married immigrant Peter Staple. Mary is my grandchildren's 11th great grandmother.

The Staples Family History Association wrote in their newsletter volume 3, number 2 in January of 1980 that Nathaniel Hawthorne's ancestor, Captain William Hathorne, a Massachusetts Bay Colony commissioner, owned 870 acres of land just three farmsteads north of Mary's land in Kittery. Nathaniel made many long visits to Kittery and knew of the story of Mary Bachiler. Nathaniel was fascinated with colonial history and journaled the history of Mary, though not by name. He wrote extensive historical notes for his novels, such as The Scarlet Letter. According to the newsletter, Nathaniel wrote in his journal of a young woman "doomed to wear the letter A on the breast of her gown under an old colony law as punishment for adultery." Nathaniel had an very broad knowledge of Kittery and its people. The newsletter declares that the evidence is "strong" that Mary is Hester in the novel.

Significance can also be gained in realizing that Nathaniel knew Thomas Waite and his wife Maria Staples who was a descendant of Mary's. Thomas ran the Province House Tavern in Boston, one of Nathaniel's hangouts before 1838, the year he published Legends of the Province House, later republished as Twice Told Tales. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850. Nathaniel treasured history and used historical accounts in his stories. From the Waites he likely heard of Mary Bachilir.

In the Critical Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Literary Reference to His Life on page 214, there is a section devoted to the possibility of Mary Bachilir being the inspiration for Hester Prynne.

PARALLELS: Hester and Mary were strong women who were too often self-reliant. Both were strong willed. Both overcame public humiliation. Both had missing husbands. Both bear a child of adultery. Both wear the letter A. Mary was one to stand up to a battle, while Hester's acceptance was more low key and calmly reserved. Both accepted their punishments. Both found ways to support themselves; Hester did needlework and Mary did housework. Mary was bold in managing her property. Both were steadfast. Both married again. Both were memorable and even heroic. Both earned community respect.

A QUOTE FROM CHAPTER 2: "On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold-thread, appeared the letter A."

PROOF: Is the proof unshakable? No, but it definitely bears consideration. At the very least Mary's history is another support of the life of Hester Pyrnne and was known to the Hawthorne family personally. Perhaps Hester Pyrnne may well have been inspired by my intriguing 9th great grandmother. Remarkable.

Book Sources: 
History of the Centennial of the Incorporation of the Town of Eliot, Maine, August 7-13, 1910. Ed. Aaron B. Cole & J. L. M. Willis, (1912), pp 25, 31, 35.

The 'Staples Family History Association Newsletter' (SFHAN), Jan 1980, ed. James C. Staples, with Martha S. Dildilian, Ross P. Staples, and Mrs Burton Murdock 

Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins Victor C Sanborn ; Stephen Bachiler and Unforgiven Puritan; Excerpt from "History of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire" page 589-590; Excerpt from the "Press Reference Library, Notables of the Southwest" page 13 

Old Kittery and her Families by Everett S. Stackpole, author. 1903.

Schoen, Eleanor Campbell. Our Fascinating Ancestor, Stephen Bachiler - A Presentation by Eleanor Campbell Schoen, Record Type: Presentation, Location: Solomon and Naom. (May 22, 1999). 

Batchelder, Batcheller Genealogy, Author: Frederick Clifton Pierce Call Number: CS71.B366

Critical Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne: a literary reference to his life and work, by Sarah Bird Wright 

My 9th Great Grandmother Wore the Scarlet Letter "A" (Part I)

                             Did Mary Magdalene Baily Bachiler Inspire Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 Novel the Scarlet Letter?

As a longtime genealogy buff, I decided to research the Staples surname, part of my maternal lineage. My grandmother Esther Eaton of Searsport Maine was the granddaughter of Hiram Eaton and Nancy A. Staples. I knew a lot about Captain Eaton, but very little about Nancy. My research led me to the Massachusetts Bay Colony town of Kittery, which is now part of Maine, and to the family of Peter and Elizabeth Beadle Staples. Elizabeth's mom was Mary Baily Beadle Bachiler Turner. Other ways to spell these surnames, for example, would be Bailey, Baley, Beedle, Batchelder. Mary made my breath catch. 

Of all the books I read in my high school's literature class, The Scarlet Letter was and is my favorite. The struggle of Hester Pyrnne was my struggle to understand her life and the society of her generation. Never did I imagine my ninth great grandmother could be the catalyst for Hester Pyrnne. In a book written in 1910 Mary was revealed as the woman inspiring Nathaniel Hawthorne's account of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter.

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE AND THE SCARLET LETTER 
Captain William Hathorne, as the name was originally spelled, was an immigrant and a Massachusetts Bay Colony commissioner. Captain Hathorne was an ancestor of writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. For his valued service to the Colony, Hathorne was granted 870 acres of land along the Piscataqua River, just three farmsteads north of that of my ancestor Mary in Kittery so Capt. William Hathorne knew the story of Mary and Stephen. On his later visits to the area, Nathaniel Hawthorne, an avid follower of colonial stories, learned about Mary Beadle Bachiler of Kittery. Hawthorne's journal does not name Mary specifically, but does "note a young woman doomed to wear the Letter A on the breast of her gown under an old colony law as punishment for adultery."

THE LIFE OF MARY BAILY BEADLE BACHILER TURNER 
Mary Baily's first husband was fisherman Robert Beadle, lost at sea in 1648. Widowed, her second husband was Reverend Stephen Bachiler, who was in his 80s, about sixty years her senior. Stephen had been excommunicated in England and in America he was punished for allegedly attempting to seduce the wife of a neighbor in Hampton, NH, which took him to Kittery as a missionary. Oliver Wendell Holmes described him as "that terrible old sinner and ancestor of great men"; i.e. President Nixon and Daniel Webster. Mary was hired as his housekeeper. The townsfolk buzzed about her being in the same house as the tainted reverend, forcing them to marry on April 1, 1650. Stephen conducted their marriage but failed to file a record of the marriage within a few days and was forced by the Colony to do so. In 1651, while married to the elderly Stephen, Mary was convicted of adultery with her next door neighbor, widower George Rogers by whom she became pregnant. George received flogging of "forty stripes save one" and, following the birth of their child which adulteress Mary named as Mary Bachiler instead of Mary Rogers, Mary was flogged with 40 stripes and was forced to wear the letter A on her gown. The reverend was ordered to live with his wife Mary. The reverend tried and failed to get a divorce, was pursued by many religious enemies, and ultimately returned to London where he died at 95 years of age. The child of George and Mary grew to up to wed William Richards and led a respectable life in Portsmouth, NH.

Adulteress Mary Bachiler, on the other hand, was further involved with the law on 14 October 1652 when the Kittery District Court charged her with "entertaining idle people on the Sabbath." Despite her run-ins with the governing law, just a few days later on November 1, 1652 Mary signed a Certificate of Submission turning Kittery over to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Mary, who was a principal land owner in Kittery after she was granted the land of her former husband, Robert Beadle, was eligible to sign the document, and did. Mary knew how to write her signature; many men did not. It is interesting that the town put the property of Robert Beadle in her name and did not follow the custom of her current legal husband, the Reverend, being granted the land. Mary received additional land in 1653 and 1654 because she had signed this certificate.

Thomas Turner worked at the Hansom Shipyard in Kittery and wanted to marry her, but was not able to as the Reverend failed in his divorce request. So, the resilient Mary appealed to the Massachusetts General Court for divorce in 1656. To support her position she stated that she did not wish to live on charity of others and needed to be free to marry and care for two ailing children who were in her charge and to preserve her holdings. Also she alleged that Reverend Stephen was married again in England. Add possible bigamy to his list of sins. She married Thomas in 1657 when she was 34 and led a respectable and quiet life thereafter. Ironically, 17 days after her divorce was granted, Stephen died in England on October 31, 1656.

Mary's life does, in fact, fit with the fictional account of Hester Pyrnne, the Puritan protagonist in The Scarlett Letter. In Part II of this article, I will share what I found about Mary inspiring Hawthorne to write his novel.  Read on....

Photo of an A:  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/ScarletLetter.svg

Drinking and Driving and Oops!

August 8, 1915 Washington Post:

In the summer of 1915, Charles Conrad Cator, Sr., proudly purchased a Baby Grand Chevrolet, a touring car, from Henderson- Rowe Auto Company.  It was truly a grand touring car. 

As the family tale goes...

Charles Jr. and his dad used to go drinking together, often.  Charlie Jr., or Buck, as he was often called, would drive them home after their lively evening on the town.

Since neither really was alert, Charles Sr. would repeatedly command his son at every intersection to "Watch it!"  These intersections came at a slow pace as Buck drove slower and slower, the drunker he got.

At one such intersection, Dad told his son to "Watch it!"  He may well have watched, but not well enough. Their vehicle was struck.  Guess Buck failed to stop at the intersection.  Immediately following the sound of the crash, Charles Conrad Cator, Sr., boisterously stated, "God Damn It! I told you to watch it!"

Oh, well.  Didn't really stop them.  They went drinking again and driving, very slowly always.

Henderson-Rowe Showroom

Antique cars of today couldn't get up Good Hope Road in their heyday!

As boy Granddaddy (Charles Cator Jr.) used to push cars up Good Hope Road in Washington DC because many of the cars simply just didn't have enough umpff to make it up the hill back in the olden days. 


He charged a nickel which evidently drivers thought was well worth it!

Mom and Riverside in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Mom, Marjorie Fuller, did the hand coloring of photographs for dad's photography copying and photographic enlargement business. She really liked to work on the pictures when sitting outside in Fort Lauderdale, FL, enjoying balmy breezes and sunny days. Mom grew a small garden along the porch canopy and railings and garden beds surrounding the porch. Chameleons visited her regularly and watched her color.

One day the Miami Herald stopped by to see if she would chat with them for an article about her neighborhood, Riverside...along the New River.  This photo was snapped for the front page of the Broward section of the Miami Herald dated Friday, July 12, 1974.

Below is the section of the article that resulted from her interview with the reporter.  In the article "Rehard" is the owner of Rehard's Grocery store in Riverside.  

Mom was a history buff and read much about Florida's history when we all first moved to Ft. Lauderdale from Connecticut.  It is interesting that she is quoted in the article about the roads in Riverside originally being Indian paths. I did not remember this.  
  

Eddie and Jane

Grammy, Alice Southworth Healey, our Aunt Jane Southworth, and Eddie Dionne lived just a house or two from the swing bridge that the article mentions.  Many enjoyable memories were created here in our teenage years.  After we married and moved away, Mom and Dad moved to the cottage and she took pleasure in time spent on the porch everyday.

Alice Healey (Grammy...Nanny)

The Anatomy of an Obituary

Charles Conrad Cator, Jr., also known as Charlie, Buck, and Granddaddy, was a character.  He was a small in stature man who lived a brimming life. When I met him for the first time, I expected to greet a man who would cuss while commanding the room. Interestingly, he was so sweet to me, so kind, and very interested in me, the woman who married the grandson he raised, Patrick.  He was in command of the room, of that there was no doubt. I was delighted by Granddaddy immediately. My husband loved and loves him deeply.  

Did I see the true character of Charlie Cator? 

I have always honored his care for his family, his raising of six daughters and two grandsons.  Since then, I have heard many spirited family narratives about Granddaddy and have a clearer picture of how others saw him.  The stories are fascinating, as was the man who was dearly loved by many despite his being blunt, cantankerous, and bold.

When he passed away, his obituary did not tell of the depth of his character either.  His accomplishments in life were many, but not quite as written.  So, here is my exploration of his obituary's structure or anatomy.  

On January 17, 1987 Granddaddy died.

Charlie Cator had several interesting jobs, but he never retired from any of them.  

His last job, prior to "retirement" was with Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company in Washington, DC.  He was on two weeks of vacation from Pepsi and the day before he was to return to work from his vacation, his wife Florence, Grandmother, had a mild stroke.  Charlie asked for more time off due to this, but Pepsi refused. Charlie quit and moved to Colonial Beach, VA.  

He had worked for Potomac Electric at one point. While there he got hit by 2400 volts twice and 4800 volts once.  One hit actually burned his pants leg off, so he got off that pole!  He got into his truck and went to a bar.  He needed a drink!  The police looked for him and found him in the bar.  He had survived.

Another near miss was when he fell off a light pole at the 14th Street Bridge at night and landed half on the bridge and half off the bridge.  He told everyone that "you can find my fingerprints in the bridge."  He had survived.

So, he did not retire from anywhere, but he could have retired from the railroad.  He was severely hurt when coupled by a train while working as a dispatcher.  After a year in the hospital, they offered him a lifetime job with the railroad but he would "not take handouts."  But, he had survived.  

Thelma Sizemore was his live-in caregiver companion, but not his nurse.  After all, Charlie was cleaning out the gutters in his 90s.  

He and Florence personally raised two grandsons also, Patrick and Tommy Hill.  His daughter that predeceased him was Evelyn Cator.  Four daughters have passed away; not sure about Jerri. 

We love you, Granddaddy!