Heritage trails: Sandwich MA

Traffic signs in Cape Cod warn that the area is "thickly settled"--but for us, it is thickly settled by our tangled roots and many family tree branches here. Along with our Mayflower ancestors, we also have many who came a generation later from old England to New England. 

We're related on several lines from this era (Fish, Eastman, Freeman, Swift) in Sandwich/Barnstable, Massachusetts, particularly the Nathaniel and Lydia Fish connection that was exciting to discover as newlyweds. Matt's Tupper line is also prominent in town, and his cousin Sidney Skidmore used to attend Tupper family reunions here.

my 1995 chart showing our common ancestors-- pre-computer when I just recognized similar names and did research...

With less than 24 hours to visit in a torrential downpour, we explored the local history. The Benjamin Nye home and museum is from the same era (he married our Tupper relative's daughter/sister), so we toured there. The upstairs schoolroom setup there reminded us of Silas Tupper's schoolteacher background, and this portrait caption made us laugh ("second wife's face painted on top of first wife's face"). 

Benjamin Nye home from 1678

the erstwhile Tupper stone, on Thomas Tupper's former property,
now with an N for Nye and info about Benjamin Nye & Katharine Tupper

We stayed at the Dan'l Webster Inn and were delighted to learn (from a book the librarian pulled out for us) that it was built on Nathaniel Fish's very property!

Saugus is a Boston area from whence ten men were asked to settle Sandwich, including our ancestors we're pointing to on the Town Hall sign
(which the lady on site graciously unlocked for us on a Saturday)

crossing the muddy river in the cemetery was one thing,
but the rain made the tombstone inscriptions impossible to read

Sandwich is a charming town whose motto means:
Safe harbor after many a shipwreck

Tupper Road!

We're glad it was their safe harbor, and feel a deep connection to the area. Come back for the glass museum and July hydrangea festival and summertime beaches!