It's part of me and I'm part of it

An Ode:

My grandparents were the salt of the earth kind of people, the kind who would literally give you the shirt off their back.  They never had much more than this land but it's all they needed.  It was a part of them and they were a part of it.
I don't have any but it's always been a part of me and I'm part of it.

Memorial Day

Everyone knows you can't rely on my memory but wasn't it Memorial Weekend that we had the Basford Family get-togethers at Manson Park?  (maybe it was July 4th)  Anyway, not that it's the first time but sitting here this morning is the first time in quite a while that I've been struck by how much I miss them still.
Imagine how different but still great it would be to do that again with hopefully all hands on deck.  We have adults in the family now, some with their own kids, who don't remember those.  That's a shame.  No disrespect to my Uncle Wayne's family gatherings -- they're great -- but nothing compares to those days of yore.  Is there any way we could try to do that again, with lots of advance notice, even if it was just once?  This Memorial Day is probably too soon but I would like to stoke this idea while it's fresh, or definitely next year.  Below is a picture of Stanley Jr taken at one of these.

Notice the farm that no longer exists

And just briefly, while I'm on the topic of Memorial Day, let's not forget those loved ones who are no longer with us and try to take a little time out of our busy lives to not only remember them but to ensure that their graves are maintained.
This is a link to a great piece that Aaron wrote on this topic a couple of years ago.  I think it worthy of a reread.
Lastly, since I'm writing this on Mother's Day, maybe it work spark someone to write a short piece about their mother...there are certainly many to choose from in this family.

The Family Cemetery & Isaiah Basford Huff Mysteries

This will be two posts in one.  First off, Kim and Shelly and I went out back yesterday with Kim's metal detector again looking for evidence of the Basford Family Cemetery.  This time armed with  evidence derived from Wayne, who took me to the spot that was shown to him by my grandfather a handful of years before his death.  At that time Grampy was looking for remnants of a page wire fence that he recalled being around the cemetery.  Unfortunately, we found no remnants of page wire, even with the metal detector.  We did find two bent spikes that COULD have been used to nail wire to a tree.  They were found in the ground maybe 30 feet apart, in areas that you could make the argument COULD have been two corners of the fencing...not much to go on as far as proof.
If you have not seen this, I think you'll find it interesting.  The following link is of the deed from Nathaniel Basford to James Basford which mentions the cemetery.  Unfortunately, all of the descriptions are from the grave of his daughter Maryetta, whose headstone is in the barn.  And since it is very difficult to read, I'll translate as best I can as follows:

Note that this is a deed from 1857 transferring the property from Nathaniel to his youngest son James and it mentions that Nathaniel has lived here 32 years.  So he would've bought the first piece of this land in about 1825!

"Reserving however a piece of ground four rods square commencing at the north side of the grave of my daughter Maryetta and extending southerly four rods and easterly two rods from the centre of said grave and extending westerly two rods fromt he centre of said grave, making sixteen square rods of ground for a family burying yard."  (a rod being 5 1/2 yards or 16 1/2 feet)  Four rods equaling 66 feet.

So while coming back to do some more research, Shelly and I notice something that I had only paid minimal attention to before; that being the fact that Nathaniel's eldest son, Isaiah, ends up being adopted by his maternal grandfather, Moses Huff, at the age of seven.  Why in that day in age especially would you "adopt out" your eldest son, at the time still retaining three daughters?  This occurs just a few years before Nathaniel buys the first piece of what becomes the family farm and about a year after his second son, Reuben, is born.

A Different Time

I spent a fair bit of time a couple of weeks ago scanning about half of the deeds that relate to the farm (all that are available predating the 1970s.)   One of the oldest of them indicates that the initial piece of land was bought as early as 1825, although we don't have that particular deed.  As a result of going through those, I also found some other interesting documents.  What follows is a real estate description filled out by Lamont Basford when he (and/or his deceased older brother's wife) was trying to sell the farm.  Thankfully that never happened.  What's more interesting than the fact that they were thinking of and trying to sell the farm is the description of what comprised the farm and what was on it approximately 100 years ago.  Since James and Fernando died in 1915, I'm assuming this was filled out shortly after that.

 

 You'll notice at the bottom "Give reason for selling" "to settle estate" and the asking price was $6,000, $3,000 being the least he would take.  As I'm writing this and looking over this document and the ancestry tree that Aaron has done, it's interesting to note that James Basford, who owned and built much of what we know as the farm today, and his son, Fernando, died in the same year of 1915 (and James' wife having died 9 years previous).  So it's likely the impetus to sell and "settle the estate" is by Addie, Fernando's widow.  Strange that it's her husband's youngest brother who filled out this form.  If this document is from 1915 or 1916, that makes Stanley (Fernando's son) 19 or 20 years old at the time, though it's my understanding he'd never lived "here" growing up. 

  

Since this piece is about a document relating to family history, I wanted to let you know I updated a prior post that had several obits posted.  At the very bottom of that post you'll find the update.  You can get to that post by continuing to scroll down to the post entitled My Great Grandparents (plus one) or click the link.  And this is as good a place as any to update you about my (and now Kim's) ongoing search for the family cemetery out back, near where the original cabin was.  After being out there this past weekend with my mother and Uncle Wayne, I'm feeling pretty good about where both of those were.  As soon as Kim can come back with her metal detector, we'll hopefully find some confirmation of the spot of the cemetery.  I'll keep you updated.

My Ancestors' Graves

On Saturday, July 30, Dad and I went to the Roger's Road cemetery in Troy, as well as the Detroit Village cemetery. We cleaned up a couple of the stones in the Troy cemetery and took photos of them.  We took photos of the stones in the Detroit cemetery as well.  I wanted to share the photos of the stones of the ancestors in my direct line.  Another time I will share the photos from all of the other Basfords in the Detroit cemetery.


These first two photos are of my great-great grandparents, buried in Troy.

These next two photos are of the gravestone of my great-great-great grandfather and his in-laws, parents of Addie Merrill (my great-great-great grandmother).

These next photos are the graves of my great grandparents and the other set of my great-great grandparents, buried in Detroit.

This next photo is the grave of my great-great-great grandparents, buried in Detroit.  Notice how young Rosa was when she died, a year after my great-great grandfather was born.

The next stone is of my great-great-great-great grandparents, buried in Detroit. It's pretty cool to have found the grave of my four times great grandparents.

I also took many photos of other Basfords buried in the Detroit cemetery that are not in my direct lineage.
And finally, the last two photos are of the headstone of my five times great grandfather.

A Tale of Two Brothers

Merrill Temple was my Grandmother Basford's Great Great Grandfather, he is circled in red in the image above. There are several things that make his story interesting and warrant a post. He was born in 1827 in Montville, Maine the third or fourth child of 14 children. The uncertainty of his birth order is that he may have been a twin. His sister, Clarissa, appears to have been born in the same year. I haven't been able to determine their exact birth dates so it's possible that one was born in late 1826 and the other in late 1827.

By 1850 he had moved to Troy and married Diana Bickmore, where he begain working as a farmer. When the census taker came to Troy on 13 June 1860 he and Diana had four children and were living next door to his brother in-law. He had no personal wealth, nor owned any property that had value, and the column entitled "Whether deafened, dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict" has "pauper" entered. Even though his occupation was listed as farmer. From the research I've done, "pauper" indicates that he was working but needed aid from the local parish. This by it's self isn't all that interesting, but then when the census taker came to Detroit, Maine on 18 July 1860 he and Diana are listed again. This time his personal worth is listed as $50 and his occupation is "Lumberman" and they are living next door to a different brother in-law. He still owns no property, but it's clear he got a break from some one. The brother in-law, Riley, has an occupation of "Day Laborer" so he's not working with him. But it does go to show the difference a month can make.

About 18 months later Merrill enlisted in the Army to go fight in the Civil War, 13 Jan 1862. He enlisted as a Private in Company G of the 14th Infantry Regiment. The first real action his unit saw as at the Battle of Baton Rouge on 5 Aug 1862, a Union victory. The regiment was fighting against battle hardened Confederate troops and got pushed back. The battle was a street to street battle with the Union forces in a controlled retreat. But the Union Navy was able lay on cannon fire and break the Confederate advance and force them to retreat, leaving the city under Union control. Merrill's G Company was involved in the fighting, though to what extent is unclear. He lived through the battle, only to die of disease at Camp Carrolton Louisiana on 12 Oct 1862. For details about the Battle of Baton Rouge visit: The Battle of Baton Rouge

Merrill wasn't the only "Detroit Temple" to serve in the Civil War, his older brother Levi also served. Levi's military carreer is much more complicated than Merrill's. He originally enlisted on 15 June 1861 as a Corporal in I Company of the 4th Maine Infantry Regiment. He is then granted a pension of $6 a year on 26 Sep 1861 and musters out of the Army the next day. He got one pension payment in September of 1861, then re-enlisted for three years on 25 Aug 1862. The interesting thing here is that a Levi Temple from Detroit also enlisted in M Company of the 1st Maine Cavalry on 9 Feb 1862. On 2 Sep 1862 the Adjudent General's report for the Cavalry Regiment records that Levi was "Detached with invalid corps". The most recent military record indicates that Levi mustered out of the Cavalry on 15 June 1864. I can't find any record of there being two Levi Temples living in Detroit in 1860. This leads me to believe the Levi who joined the Infantry is the same one that joined the Cavalry. I think it's possible the "re-enlistment" record is actually referring to a transfer from the Infantry to the Cavalry. Especially when in 1850 Levi's occupation was listed as "Blacksmith".

The other interesting fact about Levi, is that he legally divorced his first wife in April 1859. I don't have any
information as to the circumstances of the divorce, only that it happened. This was a fairly rare event in rural communities in the 1850's. It appears that he got married in Brooks, which is in Waldo county, in 1848 but the divorce was granted in Penobscot county. In 1860 the Census lists a different wife, and he was living in Troy, again in Waldo County.

I do find a Levi Temple living in Knox, Maine but he was born in 1821 and appears to have lived past 1880. The Levi who is Merrill's brother died in 1867. The only other Levi that is a direct relative to Merrill and his brother is their grandfather who died in 1821.

The stories of the Levi and Merrill give us a glimpse into the struggles and challenges that average people over came while living in central Maine before and during the Civil War, while adding to our family's history of military service. It also brings up questions we may never answer. Like how and when did Levi hear of his brother's death? Levi's unit was on the East Coast for all of the war and he didn't return home until 1864. Where was Merrill buried? I can't find him listed in any military cemeteries, nor is he listed as being in the Detroit Village Cemetery where his siblings are buried.

Basfords: Colonial Warriors

For Memorial Day Zeb and I put together some information about our recent relatives that we knew had served in the military. I've recently started filling in some details about our direct ancestors beyond Nathaniel and Keziah. It turns out that the further back I went the more interesting it got. There are several more veterans to add to the Basford Rolls. As before you can use the tree above to see the connections.

I'll start with Jacob Basford (1655-1735). He was the first of our ancestors to be born on this continent. The first, well unsurprisingly surprising, fact was that he was involved in an anti-government protest in 1684. It seems that the Governor had appointed a sheriff that the local citizens thught wasn't acting professional enough. Seems he was over enjoying his authority. So when the sheriff arrived in Hampton, New Hampshire to collect a fine from one of the townsmen, they ran him out of town. Jacob was one of the men that tied him to a horse and lead him out of town. His first military service was during The Second French and Indian War, or King William's War. It's not clear exactly which years he served but the war began about 1689 and lasted until about 1698. He then served in The Third French and Indian War also known as Queen Ann's War. We know that he served under Capt. Samuel Chesley, but not which years. There maybe more details if I looked for him, but I haven't done that yet. He then served on an expedition to Canada under Capt. Mathew Austin from 21 July 1710 to 14 Nov 1710; and then again in 1712, only this time under Capt. Phips. The unit rolls show he served 15 weeks and was paid 4 Pounds 10 Shillings.

Jacob's son James (1686-~1756) also served during The Third French and Indian War. His service was in Capt. Shadrack Walton's Company from  15 Dec 1710 to 9 April 1711. He was paid 4 Pounds, 17 Shillings and 8 Pence. It appears his enlistment was done in what is today Kittery Maine, as he entered into a one year "apprenticeship" there on 30 Oct 1710 to repay a debt of 50 Pounds. The unsurprisingly surprising fact about James? He owned and operated a sawmill in Chester New Hampshire in the 1730's.

James's son was named after his Grandfather, Jacob (1715 – 1760). His unsurprisingly surprising fact is that he was a Selectman for Chester, New Hampshire in 1758. His military service came in 1760 when he served in Capt. Hazzen's Company from 12 Mar 1760 until he died of wounds sustained in battle on 17 Nov 1760. His service was during an invasion of Canada that apparently took him through Albany, New York as a report filed by the Adjutant General places him there on 23 Oct 1760.

Which brings us to Ebenezer (1742 – 1816), Jacob's son. His military career started early, at only 18 or so. He joined his father in Capt Hazzan's Company for the expedition into Canada in 1760. Since both of their service time ended on 17 Nov 1760, Jacob's date of death, it's safe to assume he brought his father's body back to Chester, New Hampshire. Ebenezer was one of the men who signed Chester's "Association Test" on 14 Mar 1776. This document read:

"We, the subscribers, do hereby solemnly engage and promise, that we will, to the utmost in our Power, at the risk of our lives and fortunes, with ARMS, oppose the hostile proceedings of the British fleets and armies against the United American Colonies"

It seems that this document was signed in many towns in the Colonies as a way to ascertain who was loyal to the cause of the revolution. On 14 May 1777 Col. John Webster by order of Brig. Gen. Folsom was to recruit men to join the New Hampshire Regiments of the Continental Army. Ebenezer was one of the 14 that Col. Webster recruited. Col. Webster assigned Lt. John Lane to be the Ensign for the new recruits. Lt Lane was to lead the recruits to Portsmouth NH where they were to "guard the seacoast" for one month and then "Receve Such Further orders which May be give him from such as have a Rite to give them:...". I can find no further mention of Ebenezer in any of the New Hampshire Regimental Rolls. The next record I have of him is in 1780 when he marries Mehitable Young in Chester NH.

One outside possibility is that he served on the USS Ranger out of Portsmouth. The USS Ranger was built in Kittery, Maine and set sail from there on 10 May 1777. That would have put the ship in Portsmouth during Ebenezer's time there as it sailed for France in November of 1777.The original rolls for the ship have been lost, though there have been some attempts to reconstruct it from the ships logs and various petitions that were signed by the crew. Ebenezer doesn't show up on any of those documents, but these reconstructed rolls only hold about 100 of the 140 men that served on its' decks. The USS Ranger arrived back in Portsmouth from France in Oct of 1778. In plenty of time for Ebenezer to get married. What makes it doubtful that he was on the ship is that the USS Ranger appears to have had only one crew, and it left Portsmouth again in Feb of 1779 to patrol the Atlantic. It was captured in May 1780 by the British. It's possible that he was released from service in Portsmouth, but there are no records that confirm that. We may never know Ebenezer's exact role in the Revolution, but we do know that he went to fight and being an experience soldier it's unlikely he deserted.

So as it turns out the Basfords have a long history of military service that dates back to at least the early Colonial period. We can also see some common "Basford traits" in what I've dubbed unsurprisingly surprising facts. We have a long history in the woods business from Jacob owning a saw mill, to Stanley Sr. planting the apple trees to the last three generations having independent lumbermen in them. With Dad and Joan's activity in local politics it's neat to see that James was a town Selectman. Along that same vein, but less official, Jacob's involvement in the demonstration in Hampton and his Grandson signing the "Association Test" ties in nicely with our more recent generations being so opinionated.

So when we say it's in our genes, we mean it...

Sergeant Stanley Basford of the Quartermaster Corps

Thanks for "finding" this, Kim, a great document in our family's history.   She found this in a box full of photos, newspaper clippings, etc, that was up at the farm a few weeks ago.  Since she's been doing some research and looking at a lot of pictures and articles, maybe we can get her to share something with us.

Sorry about the fact that it's cut off on the edges; it's an inch or so too wide for my scanner...darn military documents!

The Basfords, generations of Red Sox fans

For those of you who pitched in on the family brick at Fenway Park but have yet to see it, thank you and here you go.  Hopefully you'll get to see it soon.  It's at the bottom of one of the new staircases on the back part of the concourse near  Gate B.

For those who have already seen it, here you go again!  But this brick was purchased as a celebration for the five generations of Basfords who were and are Red Sox fans and have been to Fenway Park.  I think it would be fun if everyone who's been to Fenway at least once to leave a comment on the blog saying something like "Zeb's been there" or however you'd like to say it or maybe better yet, if you've been more than once, tell us a little about your first trip.
My first trip there was, I believe, 1971, when I went to Boston with my Grandparents and my Uncle Bruce.

Margaret Stephenson, Hung as a Witch in Salem

Margaret Stephenson is my 10th Great Grandmother on the Basford side, on September 22, 1692 she was convicted of being a witch and hung. You can see how she is related to me (Aaron) in the tree above. Stanley Basford is my Father's Grandfather. Click to see a larger version of the image.

She was born in England around 1616, and married Benjamin Scott in 1634. They lived in the town of Braintree, and then later moved to Rowley, next to Salem. There doesn't appear to be any record of her arrival in the colonies. Benjamin wasn't a prominent member of the town. He couldn't afford to purchase land, so in 1664 the town donated land to the Scott family. In 1665 Benjamin was convicted of theft for which he was punished with a fine and "admonishment". However 6 months later he was sworn in as a Freeman. A Freeman was a person that swore an oath to the Puritan Church and thus became an official member of the Church and town. A Freeman is the next lowest class in Puritan Society, higher statuses would be Goodman and Mister. So when Benjamin died in 1671, he left a very small inheritance to Margaret. They had 7 children together though only 3 lived to adulthood.

These circumstances are the major factors in why she was accused of practicing witchcraft. A common factor among those accused were a high mortality rate among children. Only 7 of the 62 accused witches had large amounts of children. Another common factor was being unmarried. When Benjamin died she was about 55 years old, making it hard for her to find a second husband. She only had one child living in Rowley, and apparently he was not able to give her any aid. Having no means for earning money, she soon turned to asking town members for hand-outs. Robert Briggs is credited with coining the phrase "refusal guild syndrome."  This seems to be another common factor among witch accusations, and there are clear examples of this in Margaret Scott's story.

One such example is Captain Daniel Wycom. He refused to aid her and within a few days his daughter got sick. So he accused her of maleficium. His accusation led to her being officially accused and arrested. She spent 45 days in jail before her execution.

Some excerpts from articles and primary sources I've found:

Frances Wycom was the first to accuse Margaret Scott of witchcraft, followed by Phillip and Sarah Nelson and 4 other false testimonies. Margaret spent 45 days in jail before being executed as a witch, by hanging on Gallow's Hill with 7 others. According to this article, reports show that Margaret professed her innocence all the way until the execution.

Francis Wycom testimony: "margerit Scott whom I very well knew: or hir Apperance came to me and did most greviously torment me by choaking and almost presing me to death: and so she did continue affleting me by times tell the 5'th August 1692"

Philip and Sarah Nelson testimony: "say that for Two or Three years be fore #[the said] Robert Shilleto dyed we have often hard him complaining of margerit Scott for hurting of him and often said that she was a wicth [sic]..."

From a broadsheet of the period: "...Rev. Nicholas Noyes, of Salem, turned toward the suspended bodies of the victims, and said: "What a sad thing it is to see eight firebrands of hell hanging there."

Basford Veterans

On this Memorial Day of 2012 I'm finally getting around to doing a little post regarding the armed forces veterans of my direct line of the Basford family, with the assistance of Aaron who has done so much work on the geneology side of things.  (By the way, you should post a little piece regarding Margaret Scott)
My intention with this is to post a picture in uniform, outline their service in a short form and then invite folks to add a related anecdote in the comments if this sparks a particular memory.

Stanley Basford Sr, U.S. Army
Enlisted on 23 May 1917
Discharged on 20 May 1919

Served in Northern Germany as a baker.

Hershel Basford, U.S. Navy
Enlisted on Oct 1942
Seems that I remember he retired, but I can't find a record for his discharge or retirement. Maybe your mother can confirm that fact. What information I have is from a newspaper article from 1 Dec 1942.
Served as an Aviation Mechanic
Basic Training in Newport R.I.
Aviation mechanic training in Jacksonville Fla.
(It is my understanding he retired after 30 years, stationed on several occasions in San Diego.  Zeb)

Claire Gerry, U.S. Army
Enlisted on 21 Nov 1945
Discharged on 5 Dec 1946
Enlisted at rank of Private First Class (PFC)
Served in the Infantry.
Assigned to Camp Swift Bastrop, Texas for training.
Enlistment record shows occupation as "Skilled occupations in manufacture of electrical machinery and accessories, n.e.c."

Lemont "Bud" Gerry, U.S. Army
15 December 1954 to 24 August 1959.

Everett Pike, Jr, U.S. Marine Corps, Oct 1980 to Nov 1988,
attained the rank of Sergeant and served as a court-martial stenographer.
Stationed at Parris Island, SC; Camp Lejeune, NC; Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, DC, and Camp Pendleton, CA (twice); awarded the Navy Achievement Medal, the highest peacetime award in the Marine Corps.

Aaron Basford, U.S. Army, Sep 1988 to Aug 1991
Attained rank of Specialist, served as a combat communications specialists (wireman, radio systems repairman)
Stationed at Fort Jackson, SC; Fort Gordon, Ga; Kelly Barracks, Darmstadt, Germany, HHC 547th Combat Engineer Battalion
Maine National Guard Sept 1991 to Feb 1996
Stationed at the Stevens Ave Armory, Portland Me; Western Ave Armory, Augusta, Me


I don't have a picture of Uncle Bill in uniform, but here is the information. He isn't a blood relative, but not sure where the line is for this. Just including the info in case you wanted it.
William Chambers, U.S. Navy
Enlisted on 6 Dec 1960
Discharged on 26 Feb 1962

If I were to look, I might be able to find one of my father, Everett Sr, who served in the Army from roughly 1958-1960 and he was stationed at Fort Dix, NJ; but again, as Aaron said above, not a Basford -- mostly certainly not LOL.

This piece was put together by myself and Aaron.  I hope this was informative and entertaining, showing some of our loved ones in a very different light.  If there is anything you'd like to add to this, or anyone, please feel free to do so in a comment.  I'll encourage my mother to put in what she knows of Dick's service.

The Heirloom Ring and the Farm Foreclosure

Dad related a story told to him by Herschel about a family ring that belonged to Keziah. The ring had been passed down to James W and his wife. The ring should have then passed to Fernando and Addie, but some how ended up in the possession of one Harold Prince. The story that Herschel told Dad was that Stanley Sr. went to confront Harold about it, taking Herschel along. Herschel remembered Stanley getting very angry, the angriest that Herschel had ever seen him. This was also one of Herschel's earliest memories, he being only 4 or 5.

So who is Harold Prince and how did he come to possess the ring?

He was born on 14 Sept. 1877 in Detroit, the first Detroit census he appears in is 1900. He is single and his occupation is listed as "farmer". He married Caro Dell Springer in 1908, his occupation listed as "Telephone B(unreadable)". By 1920 he and his wife had 2 children, Mabel and Anita. His WWI Draft Registration card (1917) lists his occupation as "Electrician" and his employer as "F.R. Blake". The 1920 Census has them living in the village on the River Road with his wife, two kids and his brother Herbert. His occupation in 1920 was listed as "Electrician" and his employer is listed as "Light and Power Co". In the 1930 census his occupation is listed as "Sales Man" and his industry is "Electrical".

The 1930 Census has him married to Pearle P. with his two daughters, afore mentioned, and a son, Elbert M. who was 8 at the time of the census taking. I found a marriage record that has a Pearl Basford marrying a Harold Prince in 1928, both from Detroit. The 1930 census also states she was born in 1885. I then found a marriage record from 1924 where Lamont Basford married a Pearle Porter who was born in 1885. Lamont died in 1927. I think that Pearle married Lamont and when he passed away, married Harold Prince. Since this is the only apparent connection, I think that Pearle had the ring and that's how Harold came to possess it. Lamont's brother Willie who was running the farm, died sometime between 1920 and 1930. His wife Maggie is listed as a widow in 1930. However I can't find any record of his death, so the timing is unknown. If he died before Lamont, then Lamont and Pearle would have lived in the farm. At this point Pearle could have taken possession of the ring, with Maggie forced to move.

In 1910 Willie was living with James W (his father) on the farm in Detroit. Willie is listed as single, he gets married in 1915 to Maggie M. Fulton and has two daughters, Flora and Vera. So in 1910 Willie is helping his father on the farm, but Lamont isn't in the area, at least according to the census reports. I've looked at the Detroit, Pittsfield, Burnham, Troy and Plymouth reports with no luck.

In 1920 Willie and Mag M. are listed as living on Basford Road and owning a farm. I assume this is the family farm. Lamont is listed as living at the farm as well and is divorced. Willie is listed as head of house and thus still controlling the farm. Lamont's occupation is listed as carpenter.

The 1930 Census has Maggie M. Basford widowed, but living in the village on the River Road. It's at this point where we lose who has control of the farm. All of James W. Basford's kids are deceased except Livilla Amy Basford. She is listed as living in the village on Main Street. So she isn't living at the farm. Furthermore on the 1920 census there is a Basford Road entry, but in 1930 no such road is listed. We know that in the early 1930's Stanley Gerry, my Great Grandfather (Geneva's Father) tried to buy the farm because it was being foreclosed on. That was when Stanley James Basford Sr. returned home from Massachusetts and bought the farm out of foreclosure. We know that the Gerry's lived at the farm, but they rented. It's unclear at this point who officially owned the farm. The real curiosity here is that Maggie didn't appear to inherit the farm, it would have been her right by law. Unless as stated above Willie died before Lamont and left the farm to Lamont in order to keep it in the Basford family. If that is the case then Pearle would have inherited the farm when Lamont passed, and thus Harold Prince would have influence over the property when he married Pearle in 1928. Neither he nor Pearle were farmers so they would have had to rent it out.