December 5, 2023
Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry writes about exploring the photos she found in an old Nantucket scrapbook, and discovering that many of the families shown have direct lines to the Plymouth Pilgrims. Melissa is a genealogist who has a blog, AnceStory Archives, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
Recently I came across a scrapbook digitized by the Nantucket Historical Association. Many of the subjects referenced in the collection descend from Plymouth Pilgrims who came here on the Mayflower.
The book was compiled by Dr. George Danford Richmond (1875-1939), a successful dentist born to George Frederick Richmond and Emma Augusta Plimpton. He married Dorothy Sharp (1882-1960), daughter of Dr. Benjamin Sharp and Virginia May Guild. Dorothy was a direct descendant of Mayflower passengers Richard Warren, John Alden, and Isaac Allerton.
Dr. Richmond and Dorothy were members of the Nantucket Historical Society.
Dorothy’s family summered in Nantucket at 8 Center Street, at “Meerheim,” located at Pump Square in Sconset, rented by Dorothy’s grandmother Hannah Ballenger Leedom Sharp, wife of Benjamin Sharp Sr.
The Sharp’s were members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) of the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dorothy’s father, Dr. Sharp, owned a home on Nantucket located on Gorham’s Court.
Below are two photos of Dorothy’s family with friends on Nantucket.
In this first photo, we see: (standing in back, left to right) Mrs. Cook; Mrs. Hannah Ballinger Sharp (Dorothy’s grandmother); (in front, left to right) Dr. John Alban Kite; Mrs. Benjamin Sharp [Virginia May Guild], Dorothy’s mother, holding Dorothy’s baby brother Karl Sharp; Miss Cox; Miss Field; and the little girl in the wagon is Dorothy (Sharp) Richmond.
In this next photo, we see: (left to right) Dorothy’s mother Virginia lounging on the far left; (front row) famous artist Annie Barker Folger; Rebecca Wyer; (middle row) Mr. Song; Virginia Guild Sharp (touching her hat); and (back row) Lucy Peabody; Susan E. Brock.
Among the scrapbook’s treasures is a photograph of one of Nantucket’s cherished couples back in the day.
In this photo, we see: Captain Alden Hammond Adams (1820-1910), son of Alpheus Adams and Abigail Winslow Wing, and his wife Electra. He descended from Mayflower passengers William Brewster and Thomas Rogers (through his son John Rogers of Duxbury). Electra Morton Hinckley Adams (1822-1910), born to Heman Hinckley and Prudence Bourne. She has a double line to Mayflower passengers John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley.
I found an article on the couple’s 65th wedding anniversary by searching GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives.
This article reported:
Capt. and Mrs. Alden H. Adams of Nantucket observed the 65th anniversary of their marriage on Sunday. The event was the occasion of much good cheer in the home of the venerable couple on Fair Street, many relatives and friends calling during the day with congratulations and well wishes.
Both are natives of Cape Cod, but have made their home at Nantucket since early life. Capt. Adams was born in Cotuit 89 years ago. Mrs. Adams is a native of Centreville and is 87 years of age. She was Miss Electra Morton Hinckley. They were married at Nantucket by the Rev. Charles Rich, pastor of the Congregational Church. They have been blessed with five children, four of whom are now living: Wallace [Nelson] Adams [married Anna Barnard Cathcart and left descendants], Miss Lizzie Adams, Miss Geneva [Abbott] Adams of Nantucket, Miss Ellouise Adams of Providence. They have two grandchildren, Walton H. and Minette Adams, of Nantucket.
In this next photo, we see: (standing in the doorway) Wallace Nelson Adams (son of Alden and Electra Adams); (sitting from left to right) Charles Paddock; Alden Adams; and John Rand, 1880s.
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Note on the header image: Electra Morton Hinckley Adams. Courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association.
To be continued…
