Wordless Wednesday: Unknown Wedding Group Including Mr. & Mrs Barnes

My mother's collection of photographs contained this gem, but I do not know who the people are, with the exception of "Mr. & Mrs. Barnes." Can anyone help?

Christmases Past - Trees I Have Loved

I've been using this photo as my profile picture on Facebook recently because it represents the magic I always felt as a child at Christmas. This was taken in 1959 when I was four. It was after Christmas because the gifts had been opened. It is the only photo I have of myself at Christmas, ever. In reality I think the occasion was actually the annual screening of The Wizard of Oz on TV. They always showed it on the Sunday night between Christmas and New Year's.

I used to get revved up in a complete frenzy of anticipated delight. It was the only children's movie I had ever seen and I loved, loved, loved it, even though the Wicked Witch of the West scared the wind out of me. I don't think I dared uncover my eyes until I was about eight or nine years old! Anyway, you can see the big upholstered chair near the fireplace. My father sat in that religiously, but abandoned it for the Wizard of Oz. Part of the evening's thrill was that I got to sit in Daddy's chair. We'd always have a big fire in the fireplace on Sundays, and that night we'd re-light it for the show. They probably took this photo of me because I was already psyched for it to start. This particular night, my mother stoked a bunch of logs and got a rip-roaring fire going. I don't know what happened to the fireplace screen, but at some point, a tiny ember made its way onto the big chair so that when I climbed into it, I got a stinging pain in my bum!  I must have screamed and cried, but all I remember is being highly insulted that the chair had bitten me, and then laughing with teary relief when I found out what it was and put my finger through the hole it left. My poor parents.

At the moment the photo was taken, I was gazing upon the tree with loving wonder. You have these childhood memories of big glorious trees with bright lights, shiny ornaments sparkling and glistening. Not quite what the photo reveals. Looking back on it now, we had some pretty pathetic trees. I just didn't realize it. My frugal father was not into wasting money on a tree when we could just go out in the woods and get our own. Problem was, living on the South Shore of Massachusetts meant there was not an abundance of what we think of as Christmas trees. Not quite the scrub pines of Cape Cod, but no great majestic evergreens of Northern New England or Canada, where most of us now get our Christmas trees imported from.

Instead, what we ended up with was a spindley white pine that could barely hold ornaments. I didn't even notice when I was little, but probably about the same time I figured out the Santa deception, when I looked to the trappings to produce the magic for me instead of Santa, the white pines didn't cut it. Ever stuck in the middle, my mother would buy a tree and tell my father she had paid only a quarter of the price she had actually paid, just so I could have a wondrous tree to behold. They got better and better in reality over the years, but the ones I saw in my early childhood can never ever be topped, except by an angel!

Tombstone Tuesday - One Litchfield Couple

Mt. Hope Cemetery, in the West End of Scituate, Massachusetts, is my favorite cemetery, and someday I hope to have my ashes buried there, beneath the soft pines. I have lots of ancestors and other relatives buried there, from parents and brother to GGGG grandparents, two of whom I discuss here. I just love how by researching a little bit a few scant letters carved into a piece of stone two hundred years ago can open up a window into your own past. My GGGG grandparents, James and Elizabeth (Litchfield) Litchfield are buried in the oldest part of the cemetery, towards the back.

In memory of

Mr. James Litchfield,

who died

Oct. 10, 1786:

aged 48 years.

In memory of

Mrs. Elizabeth.

wife of

Mr. James Litchfield:

who died

Dec. 29, 1835:

aged 91 years.

About the Stones

Despite the 49 years difference in their ages at death, these stones appear to have been carved by the same carver. They are the same size and have the exact same willow and urn decoration at the top of the stone, s well as exact side borders. And this stone carver was punctuation-happy! Not only is he rather free with commas, but he loved him a good colon! He uses capitals and italics in exactly the same way, so we are sure it's the same fellow.

About the Urn and Willow

This is motif that was most commonly depicted in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when classicism was at it's height, and death was thought of in a more secular way, as opposed to the old deaths heads and cherubs used earlier. The willow and urn was popular for quite a long period, so precise dating by gravestone symbols is not possible. It is unlikely that James' gravestone was erected at the time of his death, though, because that was quite early for the urn and willow, even in Boston, and Scituate is a good 30 miles away. It took some time for the designs to spread out into surrounding communities. It is more likely that at Elizabeth's death, someone had both stones carved and erected.

About the Litchfields

There were billions of them, mostly congregated in the area near this cemetery. I haven't even begun to delve deeply into mine, but they are the ones who cause the most pedigree collapse in my tree. Elizabeth, wife of James Litchfield, was also a Litchfield: they were second cousins. Then, their daughter Hannah Litchfield, married Capt. Daniel Litchfield in 1806 and here we have the explanation of any odd traits in our family tree! We have the Litchfield hump, the Litchfield twitch, the Litchfield flinch... just kidding! The Litchfield wandering eye, the Litchfield stutter...

My aunt, Abbie Herberta (Barnes) Thompson, recently loaned me a most precious book. She had it bound herself, in 1981, from five incredibly detailed, accurate and useful pamphlets on the Litchfields written by Wilford Jacob Litchfield from 1901-1906. I promised my poor Auntie that I would index this tome and got started on it before going for certification, then I put it aside, but I must take it up again, because it's an incredible volume. Anyway, in it can be found transcriptions of all sorts of supporting documentation such as wills, deeds, warnings out, vital records, correspondence, diaries and more! It's a treasure trove. I just want to give a few tidbits here about my gggg grandparents.

About Joseph

He was born in Scituate 10 February 1738. He was sometimes called Joseph Brine or Joseph Jr. to distinguish him from his cousin Joseph, born 1734. The brine part I'm not sure about, but suspect either he spent time at sea or drank too much! . Not a lot is known about his first wife, Anna Gordon who he married in 1760. They probably had two daughters, Susanna and Anna, but the author had only just learned of them, and I'd like to study that a bit.

James served in the Revolution and on town government (Highway Surveyor 1771, Hog Reeve 1773 and 1776) and in the Litchfield pamplets [p. 376] is described by a descendant as being: "a man of temperate and industrious habits, of mild and retiring disposition, but much beloved. He was a farmer and a carpenter... It appears that he did not take an active part in local affairs, the care of a large family occupying his attention and strength until his untimely death." Regarding his death, the pamplet also states on p. 377, "It was upon this property that James was building a new house when overtaken by his fatal sickness." Oh, sickness? Really? Because later we find this tidbit of a footnote: "It is a common saying that his early death was caused by an illness resulting from an injury to his head made by his brother, Lothrop Litchfield, while the latter was in an intoxicated condition. James was engaged in building his new house at the time of the alleged assault." I love this author because he clearly tells us it is just gossip, but hmmmmmmm. Maybe it should have been Lothrop Brine!

Finally, we find that "At his grave there was placed in 1897, through the efforts of a great-grandaughter, Mrs. Mandana (Clapp) Morris of North Scituate, a bronze marker of the Sons of the American Revolution. All descendants of James Litchfield are entitled to join a society like the S.A.R." Mandana happened to live next door to my GG grandparents, Israel Merritt Barnes and his wife (Olive Litchfield) Barnes, who named one of their daughters Mandana after their neighbor and Olive's cousin.

About Elizabeth

Elizabeth was James' second wife. Elizabeth was baptized at Scituate on 4 November 1744, and she and James were married on 7 January 1770. On page 380 we read: "She is described by her grand-daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Litchfield (Merritt) Merritt (born 1812, died in 1905), as a woman of sedateness and hospitality, and very highly patriotic. When the tea was thrown overboard in Boston harbor, it is said that Mrs. Litchfield threw her tea-pot against a stone-wall, breaking it, thus manifesting her displeasure at the levying of the hated tea-tax. After the death of her husband, leaving a large family and unfinished home on her hands, she had a part of the structure made habitable and there she brought up her family in an industrious and frugal manner. Lawrence, her eldest son, lived in the same house, and cared for his mother in her declining days. It is said that she was a remarkable woman for her time."

Of course this warrants much more research, but I think I'd need a lifetime to corroborate everything in the Litchfield pamplets. You can find it digitized now, at http://ia311318.us.archive.org/3/items/litchfieldfamily11sout/litchfieldfamily11sout.pdf

As a matter of amusement, look at this, available only in India! And you get a 61 Rupee discount:

The Litchfield Family In America

 (Paperback - Aug 2008)
by 

Unknown

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Wordless Wednesday, Library of Congress American Memory Collection

I love the Library of Congress American Memory Collection (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html). Here are a couple of knitting photos I downloaded years ago.

[Women knitting, as they are sitting outdoors on wooden chairs]

From "Photographs from the Chicago Daily News, 1902-1933"

Chicago Daily News, Inc., photographer.

CREATED/PUBLISHED

1917.

SUMMARY

Group portrait of three women knitting as they are sitting outdoors on wooden chairs in Chicago, Illinois.

NOTES

This photonegative taken by a Chicago Daily News photographer may have been published in the newspaper.

Cite as: DN-0068504, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum.

-------------

Tulalip woman named Magdeline Whea-kadim knitting, Tulalip Indian Reservation, 

Washington, 1906

From "American Indians of the Pacific Northwest"

Created/Published

1906
United States--Washington (State)--Burton

Notes

Older woman sits on woven rug on grass knitting with 4 needles; several balls of yarn sit in front of her. She wears a scarf wrapped headband-style around her forehead.
Note from unidentified source: Chief William Shelton's mother, Magdaline Whea-kadim, Tulalip Washington, 1906
photographer's reference number: [2]

Korean War Honor Roll, Shrewsbury, MA

The last list of soldiers listed in the Book of Remembrance held by the First Congregational Church in Shrewsbury is from the Korean War.

HONOR ROLL – KOREAN WAR

Lloyd Hill*
Thomas H. Ross
Gilbert Harrington
Robert Olson
Archie Horton
Bradford Francis
David Wright
Alan Daniels
Wayne Daniels
Robert Schultz
Paul Clark
Thornton Farnsworth
Lawrence Bartlett
Richard B. Proctor
Jean Boodell
Robert Goodell
William Webb
Russell Webb
John B. Sequin
Joseph S. Fleming
Russell Eaton
Richard Dean
Richard Green
Richard Williams

Compare the church's "Honor Roll" to the Central Massachusetts Korean War Veterans Memorial Honor Roll. Online at http://www.sbsb.com/korea/index.html there is a rather dated description of the memorial. Seems it was a long time in the making. According to the website, there are only two Shrewsbury names on it:

     Dana A. Curtis, USA and

     Lloyd E. Hill, USMC

Note that only Lloyd Hill is listed in the FCC book. Maybe Dana A. Curtis was not a church member.   A 21 October 2007 article in the Worcester Telegram describes the dedication of the memorial, saying it had taken many years and $1.8 million to complete.

Photo courtesy of the Telegram.

World War II Honor Roll, Shrewsbury, MA

More from the Book of Remembrance at the First Congregational Church in Shrewsbury.

Albert H. Allard
Abbott P. Allen
Howard C. Allen
Roger E. Allen
Gordon R. Allen
Robert W. Anderson
Rexford H. Avery
Winthrop B. Avery
Wallace N. Bailey
David S. Bath
James S. P. Beck
John Berg
Robert E. Bergstrom
George D. Blakeslee
William H. Boyce, Jr.
George A. Brigham
Thomas R. Brooks
Crawford A. Burgess
R. Cutler Burgess
Herbert J. Butler
Walker F. Caniff
Alfred G. Carr
William G.Carruth
Edwin H. Casten
Lois I. Chamberlin
Norman K. Channin
Carl Chapman
Clifford A. Coe
Norman E. Cortis
Ethel Costel
Paul Cotting
Alvah M. Crooker
Bruce E. Dean
Randall L.. Dean
I. James Donahue, Jr.
G. Frank Drinkwine
Randall V. Dufresne
Roger J. Dufresne
Alan E. Duke*
James E. Duke
John E. Dunn
Arthur G. Empie
Leslie C. Empie
Douglas S. Fairbanks
Harold L. Farnsworth
Robert W. Farnsworth
Richard D. Fipphen*
Edward H. Fletcher
Clayton M. Fowler
Harvey C. Friars
Donald T. Gelley
Richard C. Gelley
E. Kendall Gleason
Bernard E. Green
Frances Green
Harold E. Green
James A. Green
J. Alfred Grocut, Jr.
Henry E. Gunnerson, Jr.
Norman C. Gunnerson
Raymond A. Gunnerson
John J. Hadley
A. Frank Hale, Jr.
Richard H. Ham
Henry J. Harlow
Everett W. harrington
Frederick S. Haskell
harlan P. Herbert
Ruth E. Hirchert
Edward H. Holland
Elwood V. Horne
Sidney E. Horton, Jr.
Clayton R. Huckins
Gordon E. Huckins
Lyman E. Huckins
Thomas Hunter
Russell D. Ireland
John Jacobs
Richard Jackson
Carl A. Jefts, Jr.
Howard T. Jensen
J. Edward Jensen
Franklin C. Judson
Reginald A. Judson
Wilbert E. Keddie
Theodore O. Kuhl
Paul E. Langhill
Robert T. Leach
Charles B. Lewis
John S. Loring
Laurence Lougee
Ralph F. Lumb
Rodney E. Marston
James M. Martin
Chester W. Maynard, Jr.
Lora H. MacDonald
Horace D. McCowan, Jr.
Vernon D. McVickar
Malcolm C. Merrill
Robert L. Miller
Forrest C. Miner
Paul E. Mitchell
Richard F. Nash
Jay Raymond Needham
Alan C. Morris
David S. O’Brien
George H. O’Brien
W. Stewart Paul
Helene H. aulsen
Charles Pellcok
Walter R. Porter
O. Stanley Porter, Jr.
Douglas W. Pow
Marson E. Pratt
Robert S. Pride
Arthur F. Raymond
Rockwood F. Reed, Jr.
Donald F. Ricker
Everett H. Robie
Earl F. Rodgers
John S. Rose, Jr.
Chauncey L. Russell
Robert W. Russell
Robert Sanborn
Roger Sanborn
George Schunder
Donald Sieurin
Randolph C. Smith
George T. Sophos
Carletan W. Sprague
Duane O. Sprague, Jr.
Donald W. Sweet
Wilbert E. Taylor
Howard C. Towne
Belton S. Wall
Bruce B. Ward
Donald B. Ward
Paul P. Warren
Irving E. Washburn
Ervin E. Weagle
Alice E. Williams Weatherly
David H. Webb
Russell D. Webb
William H. Webb
Frederick W.White’Howard B. White
Henry Whittemore
Robert H. Whittemore*
James L. Wood
Ralph C. Wood
William W. Wood
Edward Bartlett
Stanley Bartlett

Ruth Sieurin, WWI Army Nurse Corps Veteran

I went in pursuit of an answer as to why Ruth Sieurin was listed as a World War I veteran in the records of the First Congregational Church in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Simple answer is that she was a nurse. I found an informative listing on the Arlington National Cemetery Website, under an entry for her husband, Willard Stewart Paul, a US Army Lieutenant General (http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/wspaul.htm : 21 November 2009).

The webmaster Michael Robert Patterson does not cite any sources (except for the gravestone photos), but he seems to have given careful consideration to ascertaining his facts. Willard S. Paul married Ruth M. Sieurin 14 April 1919. Ruth passed away 4 February 1953, and Willard married 2nd Luella Musselman. Willard passed away 21 March 1966. Luella passed away in 1978. Though she is not shown on the gravestone, Patterson says that Luella is also buried there.

PAUL, WILLARD S
LT. GEN. USA
VETERAN SERVICE DATES: Unknown
DATE OF BIRTH: 02/28/1894
DATE OF DEATH: 03/21/1966
DATE OF INTERMENT: 03/29/1966
BURIED AT: SECTION 30  SITE 1074 RH
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
PAUL, RUTH M SIEURIN
RES NURSE ARMY NURSE CORPS USA
VETERAN SERVICE DATES: Unknown
DATE OF BIRTH: 03/01/1893
DATE OF DEATH: 02/04/1953
DATE OF INTERMENT: 02/09/1953
BURIED AT: SECTION 30  SITE 1074


[Gravestone photo courtesy of Russell C. Jacobs, January 2006]

World War I Honor Roll, Shrewsbury, MA

The First Congregational Church in Shrewsbury has a "Book of Remembrance." It is a large volume that was created in 1956 and presented to the church by Elsie G. Cook. The occasion for this was a large building project, including the erection of a three-story addition which added a chapel, parlor, kitchen, offices and classrooms. The minister at that time was Rev. Robert Merrill Bartlett, D. D. Minister. Having just stumbled upon a transcription it that I did in 2004, I realized it's useless just sitting in my computer, hence my post. Mostly it's lists: of renovations to the church, of ministers, of legacies, of veterans of three wars, and of gifts, ranging from early gifts of silver up to gifts given in 1982.

One list is of soldiers who served in World War I from Shrewsbury. Though it is not an original source it is useful to use for comparison.  Since the Shrewsbury World War I memorial is now practically crumbling, the VFW and the Town have agreed to rebuild it, and are about to start solliciting donations. The memorial lists the eight men who died, whereas these are probably either all Shrewsbury men, or church members who served.  If I get a break with client work, I'll look into this, especially the one woman mentioned, Ruth Sieurin.

Honor Roll – World War I

• Edward S. Ross
• Raymond Stone*
• W. Steward Paul
• Henry O. Eaton
• R. Lisle Marston
• Robert E. Marston
• Oke Sieurin
• Albert J. Daniels
• Harold Daniels
• Herbert H. Gates
• Herbert M. Bartlett
• Carl F. Vaughan
• James Schouler
• Malcolm C. Midgley
• Harry E. Gray
• Harlow A. Shepard
• Everett E. Winch
• Irving E. Clapp
• John A. Boyce
• Alf E. Sieurin
• Ward G. Keegan
• Bernard N. Knowlton
• Bruno P. Haas
• Wells E. Daniels
• Bryon Stone*
• William L. Keddie
• Everett C. Woodard
• Ralph E. Christie
• Harris G. Field
• Rockwood F. Reed
• Ralph B. McKenzie
• Ruth Sieurin
• Ernest Bisson
• Philip H. Prouty
• Frederick L. Stone
• Jay R. A. Morton
• Clarence A. Crooker
• Clarence E. Dunn
• John MacDuff
• Charles F. Abbott
• Whitney Hastings
• F. Harold Holland
• Henry Vaughan
• Carlton R. Dean
• Harold W. Green

Rest in Peace, Soldiers.

Honor Bestowed

Sound the trumpets!! I have just received the Kreativ Blogger Award from Family Curator, aka Denise Levenick, from www.thefamilycurator.com. In keeping with the mutual support bloggers always give one another, it is a means of spreading the word about interesting blogs. In that vein, I'm supposed to share seven (obscure) things about myself and then recommend seven of my favorite blogs.

Seven things about me that you may not know:

1) I lived in Rome, Italy for three and a half years and spoke fluent Italian even though I was a French major and had not studied Italian.

2) In college I almost majored in music (flute). Instead I joined the UMass Marching Band and the Umass Chorale.

3) My grandfather was born in 1867! If he had lived, he would have been 88 when I was born.

4) I spent three weeks in India in the early 1980s, traveling around visiting sites like the Taj Mahal on my own.

5) In Rome I worked in an international law firm that did research for United Nations Working Groups.

6) I came very close to death after my third son was born at 11 pounds, 2 oz on New Year's Day.

7) I've spent my life battling with my weight––sadly, to no avail. And I just HATE being large.

Seven blogs I love. I don't follow too many because I don't have the time to read them, but I love stumbling upon a fine post. I therefore award the Kreativ Blogger Award to (drum roll):

1) Newly discovered Family Curator who has an intelligent and well organized blog that is so informative and apparently just what I need! I love the Blogger's Almanac with writing prompts. Visit www.familycurator.com.

2) Footnotemaven.com has a beautiful and interesting blog that is a pleasure to peruse. Visit footnotemaven.com.

3) Nationally-known professional genealogist Paul Stuart-Warren is a dear person as well as an amazing genealogist. I love her blog, too. Paula's Genealogical Eclectica can be found at paulastuartwarren.blogspot.com.

4) We have a natural teacher in Ol' Myrt who is passionate about passing on her tremendous knowledge to other genealogists. I remember reading her words of wisdom in the very early days of the internet, when it seemed like nobody was out there. I love that she's still there, still helping and teaching. Check out her blog at blog.dearmyrtle.com.

5) Chris Dunham, as the Genealogue offers tantalizing, sometimes quirky historical tidbits at www.genealogue.com.

6) Geneabloggers taught and keeps me in the know about what bloggers actually do. Since I'm so new to this it really helps me be creative and not stagnate in the same old ideas. There are calendars, prompts, how-tos, technical assistance, and just about anything I need. The gentle handholding and guidance are much appreciated. Visit geneabloggers.com.

7) Miriam Robbins Midkiff has a fine blog at AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors at ancestories1.blogspot.com. I love it!

Keep up the great work, fellow bloggers. I'm looking forward to exploring more and more blogs every day.

A Beauty, In-Deed!

Plymouth County, Massachusetts, original quitclaim deed, Thomas Stetson, Sary Stetson, John Peirce,  Patience Peirce, John Booth,  Mary Booth, Jonathan Dodson, Eunice Dodson, Rodulphus Ellmes and Bethiah Ellmes to Nathaniel Tilden, 5 January 1696/7; digital image, Ebay (www.ebay.com : 2 February 2009)

I found this beautiful quitclaim deed on EBay earlier this year. Despite bidding what felt like an extravagant amount of money, I lost it in the last seconds of the auction. Some of the signers were my ancestors, so I was sad not to win, but at least I have the image. First I'll transcribe, then I'll talk a bit about it. I'm being very brave doing this, because the hidden meanings in early legal documents scare me. Things can seem obvious but these old transactions have a plethora of implications that I do not always catch. I suspect I'm not alone in that, still it makes me reluctant to look at this publicly! I'm not able to print superscript in this blog's text editor, so I will write out the words I believe they are intended to represent. There was no source given. I suppose I'll find it in the deed books, but here it is in raw format.
-----------
Know all men by these presents that we Thomas Stetson and
[S]ary Stetson John perce and patience perce John booth
and Mary Booth : Jonathan Dodson Eunice Dodson Rodulf
is Elms and Bethiah Elms Have Remised, Released and forever
quitt Claimed and by these presents do for us our hairs Exsecutors
and administrators and Jointly and severaly for every of us our
hairs Exsecutors & administratours do fully freely and forever also
[lately] quitt Claime unto Nathaniel Tilden of Sittuate in the County
of plymouth in New England Exsecutor to the Last will and Testament
of our Honored Mother Marah Dodson of Sittuate aforesaid do
ceased him his hairs and assigns of and from all Leggacies Gifts bequests
som and soms of mony and demands whatsoever bequethed and giv
en unto us the said Thomas and Sary Stetson John perce and patience
perce John booth and Mary booth Jonathan dodson Eunice dodson
Rodulfis Elms and bethiah Elms in and by the Last will and testament
of our honored Mother Mary dodson aforesd Deceased and of and
from all manour of actions and Suts Cause or Causes of [actions] or Suts Som and
Soms of mony debts dutys Recknings accounts and demands whatsoever which
against the sd Nathaniel Tillden we Ever had Now have or which nead our hairs
Exsecutors or administratours shall or may have Claime Challenge or Demand
for or by reason of any mater Caus or thing from the beginning of the world unto
the day of the date of thes presents in wittnes whare of we have here unto
sett our hands and Seals this fift day of January one thousand Six hundred
Ninety Six : or seven 1696/7 Jonathan Dodson (signature and seal)
Signed Sealed and delivered John Peirce (signature and seal)
in presents of Wittnesses John booth (signature and seal)
"the mark of Abraham Barden" Rodulphus Ellmes (signature and seal)
Thomas Turner (signature)
witnes "the mark eunice (signature) dodson" (seal)
Benjamin Stetson (signature)
Bethia Stetson (signature) Thomas Stetson (signature and seal)
---------

Before examining this deed closely, I had a look at the Vital Records of Scituate, Massachusetts to 1850, and Deane's History of Scituate to get acclimated with the family. Deane isn't always accurate, but used in conjunction with the VRs provides a good springboard. Of course, this information would need to be verified in original sources before determining anything conclusive, but for our purposes, they provide enough background information.

Anthony Dodson and Mary Williams were married 12 Nov 1651 in Scituate, Plymouth Colony. They had eight children. One, Gershom, died in Rehoboth during King Phillip's War. There remained six daughters and one son.

Sarah m. Thomas Stetson 1671
Margaret m. Nathaniel Tilden 1693
Jonathan
Mary m. John Booth jr. 12 Dec 1687
Patience m. John Peirce 12 Dec. 1683
Bethia m. Rodolphus Ellmes 20 Feb 1695/6
Eunice m. Simon Delis 1 Jan 1717

A quitclaim is executed to relinquish any right of ownership, whether actual or only implied, meaning the grantor may or may not have had title to begin with. People had a variety of reasons for executing quitclaims, but I think it was mostly a safety measure, a way to ensure that a title was clear, just in case...

When Mary Dodson died (sometime before 5 January 1696/7), she left a will. In this quitclaim, six of Mary's children are handing over their claim to any inheritance to the seventh child. Mary's one son, Jonathan, signed in his own right, as would be expected. The only unmarried daughter, Eunice, did the same. But for the rest of Mary's children, all married daughters, the laws of coverture govern how the ownership is determined. Once they married, they gave up their right of ownership to their husbands. For this reason we do not see their names at all, even though they were the main characters.

So why are Nathaniel and his wife (Margaret) the lucky recipients? I just don't know! This would require some study and I've already spent a load of time just getting this far. I suspect that there are probably other deeds conveying property for payment, and that this is just a clearing of title. Feel free to chime in, if you know, and I'm being stupid, which, sadly, is entirely possible.