Public Reading

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Looking for pictures of Delano Hardware at 72 Main Street, Fairhaven

Deb Charpentier, archivist at the Millicent Library, is currently researching a property at 72 Main Street, Fairhaven. The business was run by Clarence F. Delano and was known as Delano Hardware (1903-1945). The structure was built in 1887. It housed the Paulding Shoe Co. until it was purchased by Clarence.

She has used all of her local resources to try to locate a photograph of the business. It seems none exist, and she's hoping one of our members may be willing to share a copy of their pictures. Any help that you may be able to provide would be very much appreciated. Her email is dcharpentier@sailsinc.org.

Ancestor Talk on “1620 – The Mayflower Journey” and Mayflower Descendants

Professional genealogist George English talks on a topic that is close to his heart as his Mayflower Ancestor, Richard Warren, actually travelled to the New World on the original Mayflower voyage.

George will deliver a free talk on Zoom "1620 - The Mayflower Journey: Who went, where from, and why did they go?" on Friday 12 March at 6pm (GMT), 7 pm mainland Europe (GMT+1) and 1 pm EST (GMT-5). This talk has been organised by the Society of Mayflower Descendants in Europe.

2020 was the 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower, the voyage that changed the world. Many do not know that two major happenings in other parts of the world more than 100 years before led to the chain of events that caused the Pilgrims to migrate from England.

George’s talk covers the events during the Reformation which led to the Pilgrims’ leaving for the New World; the voyage itself; and the impact the Mayflower has had on Western civilisation ever since. He explores who these people were, the different places that they came from and the reasons that they left their homeland. George will include his Mayflower ancestor, Richard Warren, as well as Alden, Bradford, Brewster, Cooke, Howland, Mullins and Winslow. Philip Delano will also be included.

George has many years’ experience of historical and genealogical research and has published articles in the Mayflower Descendant, Mayflower Quarterly and many other journals.

The link to register for the talk via Eventbrite has been removed.

2020 Annual Meeting and Reunion CANCELLED

Regrettably, the resurgence of the COVID-19 virus has forced us to cancel the 2020 Annual Meeting and Reunion planned for Manassas, VA, on September 25-27, 2020. A virtual membership meeting, likely via Zoom, will will be scheduled to take its place. Notice of that meeting will be posted as soon as plans are finalized.

NL #92, April - May 2020

In this issue of the Bonnes Nouvelles we include information about the 2020 Reunion and the 2020 Annual Membership Meeting in Manassas, Virginia.  The extraordinary situation caused by the Corona Virus-19 has caused our printing establishment to be closed due to the “lockdown” in Northern Virginia. Consequently, this issue of the Bonnes Nouvelles will only be available on the DELANO KINDRED Website (www.delanokindred.us). We hope that threat of this virus will be greatly reduced by September to allow to the 2020 Reunion in Manassas to be held as planned.  Besides the article about the 2020 Reunion and Annual Membership Meeting, we have included a Book Review of “America’s First Visit to JAPAN, April 29-May 8, 1791, Voyage of the Lady Washington and the Grace”, written by Scott Ridley and Hayato Sakurai.  The story is largely based on the information contained in the Logbook of the ship Grace written by Samuel Delano Jr.  You may recall the details of the Logbook and its preservation by the Duxbury Rural & Historical Society (DRHS) was discussed in the November-December Bonnes Nouvelles NL#91 on pages 10 & 11.  Also included are articles about the donations to the DELANO KINDRED Contribution Program, the donation to the Plimoth Plantation and the opportunity to nominate a qualified organization to be a candidate in the Annual Charitable Organization Drawing.  We look forward to seeing you at the 2020 Reunion and Annual Membership Meeting in Manassas in September.

To view and/or print the Charitable Contribution Form, click here.

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Samuel Delano Logbook from the brig GRACE (1791)

Some years ago, the Hoyt Family donated a rare and valuable logbook written by Samuel Delano Jr. to the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society (DR&HS) in Duxbury, MA. This logbook provided a first-hand account of an American vessel trading successfully with Japan in 1791, but being over 200 years old, it was physically in rough shape. The Society lacked the necessary funds to preserve and digitize the book at the time, so they sent out requests for donations. As of September, 2019, they were still far short of what was needed. Learning about the book and the Society's plans to preserve it, DELANO KINDRED members enthusiastically voted to provide the remaining funds at our 2019 Annual Meeting in Hyde Park, NY. Here is a description (shamelessly copied from the DR&HS website) of this amazing book:

The logbook for the brig Grace is the first-hand account of an American vessel trading successfully with Japan in 1791, long before Admiral Matthew C. Perry commanded the entry of American vessels in 1853. The American brig, Grace, sailed into the harbor of Koshimoto and traded with Japanese villagers on May 1, 1791. Onboard was a 22 year-old Duxbury sailor and shipbuilder named Samuel Delano, Jr. As clerk, Delano kept the log of voyage and it is the only English language version of this momentous first meeting between two cultures.

Historian Scott Ridley (author of Morning of Fire about the sister ship Lady Washington) has described the log as "a rare record of America's first visit to the closed nation of Japan in 1791. The historic visit is noted in fragments in Japanese archives, but this book, written day-to-day aboard the brig Grace as it lay in the harbor of Koshimoto, is the only American document to emerge from the voyage. It is a remarkable artifact." The Japan-U.S. Friendship Memorial Museum in Koshimoto is dedicated to this important first contact. Scott Ridley and Hayato Sakurai feature the logbook in their book, "America's First Visit to JAPAN April 29-May 8, 1791: Voyage of the Lady Washington And the Grace."

The project was completed in November, 2019, much sooner than anticipated. The preserved logbook now resides at the Society's Drew Archival Library in Duxbury. In addition, the entire logbook is now available online in digital flipbook form on the Society's web page. Check out the logbook and see what other treasures exist in the DR&HS Delano Family Collection by clicking on the link below:

https://duxburyhistory.org/collection-highlights/logbook-for-brig-grace-1791/

Along with the flipbook, there is a transcription of the events from April 29 to May 10, 1791. Further transcriptions and other site enhancements are ongoing. Congratulations to DR&HS for a job well done! The Delano Kindred is honored to have been a part of this project.