The Tip of the Little Iceberg

Mary Woods Little, My “Nana”

Your great-great-great-great grandfather Woodworth came from England (what part not known) fought with General Wolf at Quebec (in what capacity not known).  He retired from the army and settled in Nova Scotia where his son William was born and married.  His wife died leaving him with five sons, most of whom settled in Nova Scotia.  He then married a young widow with one daughter and came to New Brunswick where they had seven children.  Your great great grandfather was the second child of the second marriage.

Thus, began a letter from my Grandmother Little to my father, William Woodworth Little.  (So, when applied to me, add another great.)  She commented that it was a rainy day in Boston – their first since May – and the letter was dated October 8th.  No year.  But it was probably in the 1950s since she mentions my grandfather (Dad’s asleep) and he died in 1960.

“The Death of General Wolfe” by Benjamin West

Apparently, my grandmother wasn’t much on dates or names.  Her genealogical information falls more within the ‘oral history’ category – fascinating stories but not enough concrete data to help fill in the family tree without a lot of research.  I do remember – not from my history books but from our trip to Quebec last fall – that General Wolfe died from wounds received in the battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759.  I wonder if my five-times-great-grandfather was on that battlefield with him.  Maybe I was walking in his very footsteps and didn’t know it!

A Well-Read Copy

Your great-great-great-great grandfather Palmer came from Newbury Port Mass, when U.S. was a British possession.  There were three brothers Palmer.  They were Loyalists, and fled to Canada from New York Harbor, as refugees, fleeing from the Rebels.  They settled St. John New Brunswick (read Kenneth Roberts’ “Oliver Wiswell.”)  A stone may still be seen (1949) in St. John’s old cemetery with the name Palmer on it.  One of the Palmer brothers married Mary Branch who came from Kennebec, Maine. The had 13 children and your great-great grandmother was the 12th child.        There are some books published containing accounts of the early settlers of New Brunswick and among the names of the prominent men is that of Joseph Palmer.

Yikes!  Too much information.  Or not enough.  Maybe I’ll just settle for reading some of Kenneth Roberts’ novels.  He was a favorite of my father’s (now I know why) when I was just beginning to learn to decipher the “Dick and Jane” books.

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