----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Kilham <rkilham@snet.net> To: <RHarriot@aol.com> Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2001 10:17 AM Subject: Re: Thinking > Ruth: > > I am on the mend. You are completely right about the source of the Daniel > tombstone picture. It is only me alone in the grave yard with his camera. > Hope you do not mind, but I am going to share this message and my reply with > the Kellam RootsWeb board. It has some new facts and interesting > observations that can take the individual researcher's mind of the > frustration of locating a particular individual for a moment. This is the > neat thing or privilege of knowing what one is going to say before hand. > > *Excerpts from "Austin Kilham, Progenitor of the American Family named > Kilham/Killam", first draft, by L. F. "Rick" Kilham, copy rights, 2001. > > [I have hit upon a small cache of information about Austin Kilham that > others have never mentioned in detail or completely reported in their > chronologies of this individual. It has to do with Austin's time spent in > Dedham. (The new direction for my research of Austin's tenure in Dedham is > thanks to Joseph Smith, a occasional contributor to the Killam RootsWeb > page, who lives in Dedham, Massachusetts. He set forth some new facts from > the Dedham Historical Society regarding Austin's life in the new town of > Dedham. The creation of Dedham had been ordered by the General Court of > Colonial Massachusetts. Even though it is hard to believe, land was getting > scarce in the late 1630's, and there was also a notion that the colony > needed to develop lands to the west of Boston as a safeguard against > perceived Indian problems. Thusly, the towns of Dedham and Concord were > formed.) What these new facts do is round out the picture of our many ggf > Austin Kilham. > > Until recently it was my thinking that Austin could neither read nor write. > Wrong!!!!!! Those who have specifically focused on Austin Kilham's life have > held the same conclusions based on his two signatures or his "markes" found > on Wenham town records. If one looks at his "marke" a bit more carefully, > without a preconceived notion that this was the efforts of an illiterate > man, you will notice that the "markes" actually do resemble a crude letter > "K". There is no doubt that it is a "K" and it is not a stretch of an over > eager genealogist's imagination. And why should it not be a crude effort? > Was there a Staples Office Supply store in the neighborhood to buy pencils > or pens and paper? No. Life was centered on an agrarian survival economy > where the need to use ones writing skills were minimal at best. Given the > choice between buying something for the farm or a writing instrument, the > farm won out. Thus if one does not use a particular skill such as writing > frequently nor has right at hand the instrumentation to write, then what > ever limited talent one has never gets the chance to develop or refine > itself or even can diminish. Even if you can read or write and these > disciplines are not required to be used on a regular daily basis then, for > example, penmanship is going to appear crude. Remember the old adage, "use > it or loose it." > > This observation alone is not sufficient evidence that Austin could read or > write, even though I think the facts direct us to more carefully examine > some of Austin's other life endeavors beyond farming. Amongst others > recorded duties in Wenham, Austin was the measurer for the town, he was > responsible for the laying out of the new main road to Salem, plus he was > in charge of the weights and measures for the town's grain mill. In Dedham > he was also the measurer for the town. These jobs clearly indicate that the > holder must be able to do some fundamental math, create or keep some sort of > basic records, and thusly be able to perform some basic reading skills. > Still not convinced? Try this fact on for size. Dedham built the first hand > dug canal in the America, the Mother Brook Canal. Under whose watch as > measurer was this task started? You are right, it was our many ggf, Austin > Kilham! Are these positions held by Austin those of an illiterate man? I, > for one do not think so. Let me make it clear that these conclusions are > conjecture by me based on the history of Austin's life accomplishments and > as such are open to further discussion by other researchers. > > Keeper of the goats in Salem is one thing, but to be the man in charge of > laying out of a canal project is quite a big step up the skill ladder. I am > not implying Austin was closet intellectual held back from developing his > talents by the need to maintain a farm, but what I am stating is that Austin > did have skills beyond what we as genealogical researchers have given him > credit for. From a speculative point of view, the knowledge that reading > and writing were important talents might account for Austin's larger than > required by law support for Harvard College, and possibly it could be > concluded he placed a premium on education. Both he and his son's, Corporal > Daniel Kilham, contributions to Harvard College placed them at the top of > the donors list in Wenham.] > > > When there is more time I will expand on Austin's removal from Wenham to > Chelmsford and back to Wenham. Also the I think the mystery of Austin's > short stay in Ipswich has been cleared up. > > Rick Kilham > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <RHarriot@aol.com> > To: <rkilham@snet.net> > Sent: Friday, January 26, 2001 9:10 PM > Subject: Thinking > > > > Rick, > > How's it going? Hoping you are feeling ok and that you have > completely > > recovered from the pneumonia. > > A Barbara Carlson told me in e-mail today that she had a picture of > the > > headstone of Daniel Kilham, husband of Sara Fairfield. I got to thinking > of > > you and that she had probably received it from you, --- unless there is > > someone else out there also taking pictures of Kilham headstones. > > You take care. I have been fortunate to be in the part of CA that > hasn't > > had to deal with "on and off power", not yet anyway, and it looks as > though > > things are on their way to recovery, thank the good Lord. > > More cousins are popping up everywhere!!! > > Ruth > > >