Some Family Photos

Richard Rockwell/ Dad

Dad was a handsome man. He attended Kingswood School in West Hartford, CT. The family attended Asylum Hill Congregational Church. Mom and Dad were married there on September 14th, 1957. Dad had attended Washington and Lee for undergraduate and Yale Law School. He worked as a Real Estate Attorney at Day, Berry and Howard in Hartford, CT for his entire career.

Rick, Janet, Linda and Jeff
Weekapaug, RI approximately 1992

Mom rented a house at Weekapaug for several summers and we all loved to gather at the beach. This particular year was really special because Jeff and his wife, Annie, had added the fourth grandchild - Will - to the family the previous summer. It was a good excuse to take a few family photographs, for which she hired a real photographer. This is a picture of Mom with her three kids (we didn't know about the fourth or first kid at this point.)

Janet and Rick - 25th Anniversary
9 Thicket Lane, West Hartford,  CT

Mom and dad didn't know that we'd planned a party for their 25th anniversary at their house in Sunset Farm in West Hartford. My Aunt Judy (Janet's younger sister) and I had driven from New York City to West Hartford to get everything ready. It was a fun party and I think mom and dad were duly celebrated. (Interesting note, this photo was taken at the party and they look so happy. What we didn't know is that Dad wasn't very happy and he moved out the following November. He bought himself a house and moved right after Thanksgiving. He died the following March.)

Linda - 1 year

Linda - Brownie Girl Scout
440 Deercliff Road, Avon, CT

Linda - 1961?
3 years old?

Jeff and Sam
Avon, CT

Sam was Dad's first child. Dad loved that dog! If you look closely, Sam had a bell on his collar - that's because (according to stories that I heard) Dad refused to have Sam neutered and, as male dogs do, Sam was a horrible wanderer. Thus the bell ... so we could hear him! Jeff loved dogs (and cats and other animals) from the time he was a little, little kid. I am guessing that he's about 6 or 7 here. This is at the house on Deercliff Road. We had such wonderful snowy winters there! Dad had a snow blower that he used to clear the snow off our very long driveway which was totally up hill from the house to the street. Dad would be out first thing on snowy mornings clearing the driveway so he could get out and go to work. He would come into the house covered in snow - despite being able to direct the snow blower to blow the snow just about anywhere, Dad always seemed to be in it's way.

Linda and Rick
Avon, CT 1961?

Linda, Jeff and Ricky
1963 or 1964

 Ya know, my mother always complained about how I had my girls' hair cut - and maybe it's because she did such a bad job of having mine cut! Look at the awful short bangs!

Janet Ann Barnard Rockwell/Mom

 I have no idea when this photo was taken but perhaps it was after Mom graduated from high school. Or when she got engaged to Dad. I have no way of knowing any more. Mom lived in Manchester, CT. Her mother and father were hard-working Irish immigrants. Gram (Mom's mother) was a single mother of two girls - Mom and Judy - after her husband died in a tragic accident caused by a heart attack ... or that's what we were told. Grandfather Jack was a milk man when he died. He was also a raging alcoholic. Mom used to be sent on her bike to get Grandfather Jack out of the bars to come home for dinner. He died when Judy was 4 and mom was 14. Mom had to help take care of Judy and Gram worked at the Aetna Insurance Company as a secretary. It seems to me that she worked for the President of the company. I remember going down to her office a couple of times. She would get all dolled up for work, including wearing a hat ... and they were allowed to smoke in the office. A big difference from the current day where casual Fridays have become the norm and you can't smoke within a hundred feet of a public building.

Ricky - 2 years?

Ricky - 1 year?

Janet

Ricky 1 year

Linda
Kingswood-Oxford Yearbook photo 1976

Julia L. Rockwell's Search for Documentation - part deux

In October of 1907, Julia takes the advice of Mr. Ainsworth, The Military Secretary, and writes to the Adjutant General of the State of Connecticut. Dated October 15, 1907, here is the letter:

It reads:

930 P. Street N.W.

Washington, DC

October 15, 1907

The Adjutant General of Connecticut

Hartford, Conn.

Dear Sir:

I have been told to apply to you for official data regarding the service of my great-grandfather, Elijah Rockwell of Colebrook, Conn., in the war of the Revolution.

Will you kindly give me such information as is customary, and oblige.

Very truly yours,

(Miss) Julia L. Rockwell

Pinned inside this letter with a straight pin (was this before paperclips?) was a response Dated October 16th - and considering that Julia's letter was posted (post marked) October 16th, I don't know if it's possible that this is the response from this letter or an earlier one. BUT, then followed another letter dated October 24th.

These papers were all found inside a collection of Dow and Rockwell genealogy books, remember? I'm not sure if any of these are for sure responses but it was interesting that the first thin piece of paper was pinned inside Julia's letter. The second thin piece of paper in red was separate. BUT it has a similar red ink to the extra comments on the first piece of paper.

Here is the full response: 

It reads:

State of Connecticut Military Department, 

Adjutant-General’s Office.

Hartford

Oct. 24,1907

Miss Julia L. Rockwell

Washington, DC

Dear Madam

Enclosed find corrected certificate. a clerical error in former records at best are somewhat meagre, Troops were hastily summoned from the floors and the workshops and in this particular case company with other was raised to serve “until the exigency was over” In summer of 1776. Washington was in need of a large force to meet the enemy’s threatened attack upon New York.

Very Rightly, (?)

William EF Landers

Adjutant General

There is no certificate in the papers. Bummer. But it's fun to see what they had to say ... regardless!

A very interesting piece of our family history and American history!

Julia L. Rockwell's Search for Documentation

Julia L. Rockwell was searching for her Great-Grandfather's military records. The sequence of which is rather interesting. Imagine a government today, 2011, where any person employed by the government wrote a hand-written response in a day or two? No, I can't imagine that either.

Julia was looking for documentation of the service of Great-Grandfather Elijah Rockwell. Here is the letter:

 Dated March 26, 1906 and in the hand of Julia L. Rockwell, it says,

Dear Sir:  

Having been advised to write you, I beg to ask that you will kindly inform me if the records of the War Department confirm the following: "Elijah Rockwell, son of Joseph and Anna (Dodd) Rockwell, was born in East Windsor, Conn. Nov. 14, 1744. Served in War of Revolution and was commissioned Lieutenant of the Company of Conn. Militia by Gov. Jonathan Turnbull. Married Lucy Wright in 1775. An early reply will be highly appreciated.

Very Truly yours,

Miss Julia L. Rockwell

930 P Street, NW

And, here, is the speedy response! This one is typed and dated March 28, 1906 - TWO, count them TWO, days later: If you click on the picture, it will become larger (for easier reading!)

Interestingly, soon after signing this letter to Julia L. Rockwell, in May of 1906, Ainsworth was given control of the War Department (not the Chief of Staff) in the absence of the Assistant Secretary and Secretary of War (William Howard Taft). Ainsworth became the force of the War Department after 1907 when in March of that year, he became the Adjutant General and his rank was lifted to Major General by Congress so he could assume that position. (This according to a Google book online entitled
Building a new American State: The expansion of national administrative by Stephen Skowronek.

Merry Christmas from Horace and Elizabeth

This is the outside photograph of a Christmas card from my grandparents, Horace and Elizabeth (Sheldon Dow) Rockwell.

They lived on Scarborough Street in Hartford, CT. The homes were still there when I used to visit my mother in Connecticut and they were still grand homes. Grandfather Rockwell was a patent attorney in Hartford.

It seems that there is one small child outside the door of the house - and if we're going by this as a recording of their life at the time, one could guess that this would be their first child, Connie. Unfortunately the photo is taken from way back and the child is very small.

I'm going to check the genealogy book and see when the Rockwell children were born and then maybe also check with the one remaining sibling to see if she has any knowledge of this card.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas wishes to you ... in October!

A Few Family Photos

This is my grandfather, Horace Lewis Rockwell.  He was a patent attorney in Hartford, Conn. He was married to my grandmother, Elizabeth Sheldon Dow Rockwell. They had five children: Connie, Betty, Ricky, Rock and Henry (though not necessarily in that order.

My father, Richard Rockwell is sitting on this cute little pony. At left, in the had, is Uncle Rock (Horace) and Aunt Connie (Constance). Uncle Henry is behind the horse's head. Missing is Aunt Bet. 

The girls were all educated at Oxford School in West Hartford.

The boys all attended Kingswood School in West Hartford.

More on that to follow!

The Sunday Star, Washington - December 16, 1906

Mrs. Gainford Dead.

The significance of this article was lost on me because "Gainford" isn't a family name that I'd heard of ... however, upon reading the article, it became more interesting!

It seems that Mrs. Gainford (nee, Phebe Rockwell) was the daughter of Jabez Rockwell and Elizabeth Mulford. Jabez was born on October 3, 1761 and at the ripe old age of 15, he enlisted in the 7th Regiment, recruited in Connecticut under the supervision of Gen. Benedict Arnold, under whose command he fought and was wounded at the battle of Saratoga in 1777. He was later transferred to a division of the army under Gen. Putnam and went under the direction of Gen. George Washington with whom he passed the memorable winter of  1777-1778 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Jabez was in the boat with General Washington on December 25th, 1777 when he crossed the Delaware river at Trenton.

Pretty cool to have as a part of our family history, I'd say!

Phebe was the third child of seven children born to Jabez and his second wife, Elizabeth, who were married in September 1799 in Milford, Pennsylvania. His first wife, Sarah Rundell had died on May 24, 1798. They had been married in 1784 and had seven children who were left with Mr. Rockwell.

Phebe Rockwell Gainford had been married once before as well. Her first husband, Mr. John L. Kimble died about two years after their marriage.

I'll look for Jabez in the Rockwell book when I return to Florida but for now, let's all assume this is a legitimate ancestor! Cool beans!

Ephraim Hatheway - A Soldier of the Revolutionary War

I have a letter (or copy of) from the O.W. & N. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions, Washington, D.C. dated November 1, 1895.

It seems that a J. E. Rockwell, Esq. (address: So. States Passenger Ass'n, Atlanta, GA) was looking for information doubt this man who may or may not be a member of the family.

The letter states that Mr. Hatheway's widow had applied for a pension with the Bureau ib Nart 23, 1818. At that time, she lived in Buckfield, Maine and the age at date of application is listed as 61 years. At enlistment, the residence of soldier was Taunton, Mass. In part, her application stated:

"In the fall of 1775 he enlisted for one year in Capt. Oliver Soper's company, Col. Reed's Mass. regiment, and marched from Roxbury, Mass to New York City, where he was appointed Orderly Sergeant and transferred to the company of Artificers commanded by Capt. Phineas Ford in the regiment commanded by Col Brewer; was stationed at New York City until it was evacuated when he marched to White Plains and thence to Peekskill, where he was discharged."

The letter is "signed" by Wm. Lehren, Commissioner.

Here's a scan of the letter: