New England Roots
September 24-oct 7, 2023
It’s no wonder I have an affinity for France – my ancestry traces back to Eloi Gregoire Charpentier, who was born in Quebec, Canada in 1808. My great-great-grandfather, Gregory Carpenter, was also born in Québec but by 1880 was residing in Keene, NH with his wife Bridget Lahiff (born in County Clare Ireland) and their six sons. The Carpenter roots in Keene are deep, as succeeding generations were born, died, and buried in this small southern New Hampshire city. An exception was my grandfather, Edward Joseph Carpenter. Though born in Keene, he relocated to Fitchburg, MA where he met and wed Anna Marie Serena Anderson, who had emigrated with her family from Gothenburg, Sweden. My father, Frederick George Carpenter, was born in Fitchburg in 1923 and died in Carefree, AZ in 1997.
Small bits of the Carpenter family history were told to me by my father, grandmother, and cousins, but it was not until my sister Jeanie did some genealogy research that vital details of my forebears were revealed. In celebration of turning 70 last May, Jeanie proposed a sister trip to explore our family roots and do a little cycling and hiking in New England.
Connecticut and Massachusetts
The trip was planned for late September to coincide with Jeanie’s reunion in Vermont with her high school pals. I had just moved into a new apartment, and was nervously awaiting the final closing on the sale of my condo. The sale and move had been quite stressful so I was looking forward to getting away and having some quality sister time. Jeanie and I drove from North Carolina up to Hartford, Connecticut where we met our younger sister Ann who had flown in from Dallas. We had all lived in West Hartford during the 60s and 70s, so we made a short detour down memory lane visiting our old house and former high school before heading north to Fitchburg.
Jeanie had done quite a bit of research and had the address/locations for places where my father lived, went to school, and played football for the Fitchburg Red Raiders. We spent the afternoon tracing the path of my father’s early life in this former mill town located on the Nashua River and then made our way to Keene, NH.
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New Hampshire
Our primary mission in Keene was locating Carpenter family burial sites in Keene’s St. Joseph’s Cemetery. There was uncertainty as to whether our grandfather Edward Joseph was interred there, but we were hoping to at find some grave markers from our line of the Keene Carpenters. Remarkably, we found not just a gravestone for our grandfather Edward, but also those of our great-grandmother Sarah Gately, our great, great-grandparents Gregory and Bridget, and several of their children, our great-great uncles.
As I stood amongst multiple generations of Carpenters, I experienced a powerful emotional draw to both the town and the cemetery - it seemed it was a place I belonged.
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The following morning, we left our heritage behind and set off to pursue some current passions: biking and hiking. Jeanie had booked two nights at B&B outside of Andover, NH, located on the 59 mile Northern Rail Trail. I’d brought Vivien George along for trip and after picking up rental bikes for Jeanie and Ann we spent the afternoon on a 30 mile OAB along on the eastern end of the trail. It was a nice leisurely ride and although the leaves had not yet peaked, there were plenty of reds and golds to warm the heart of a former New Englander.
The next morning brought sunshine, a hearty breakfast, and multiple stories from our long-winded host. We finally tore away and headed west toward the Danbury Country Store and points beyond. Our first stop was the Potter Place Railroad Station, which dates from 1874 and houses the Andover Historical Society Museum. Potter Place is on the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, honoring Richard Potter, an early 19th century magician and ventriloquist who gained national fame touring throughout the US and Canada with his wife Sally before settling in this small community. We spent quite a bit of time in Potter Place, visiting the small Potter family graveyard as well as the vestiges of their homestead and garden.
We stopped for lunch at the Danbury Country Store, a general store and gas station that once offered rooms to let, then continued west for a few miles before turning back to our lodging. Though we were a bit let-down in not riding the whole trail, we were thankful for two great days of sister cycling.
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Vermont
Stowe, Vermont was a somewhat randomly chosen destination on our Sister’s Heritage tour. It is a popular Vermont ski and tourist town near to both Jeanie’s reunion location and the hometown of two of my college pals. We took the scenic route from Andover to Stowe, stopping in Hanover, NH for coffee and a look-about. Plans for an afternoon hike in Stowe were scrapped in favor of laundry, a bit of Stowe sightseeing, and perusing options for tomorrow’s hike.
Stowe village sits in a broad valley in Vermont’s Green Mountains and the area offers a wide range of hiking options that vary in length and difficulty. We were looking for a moderate hike with views and decided on Stowe Pinnacle. It was on the short side but promised one of best views in the area, two features that contribute to its popularity. And the hike delivered – winding up through the woods before opening onto a broad outcropping with views of the valley and surrounding hillsides. The colors were popping, capturing some of what is best in a New England fall.
Our trio split up the next day. We all met my college friends David and Alice for breakfast in Middlesex VT and then dropped Jeanie off near Woodstock VT where she would meet up with friends from high school. Ann and I headed to Maine for more biking and hiking in Acadia National park.
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Maine
Located on Mount Desert Island along the Maine Coast, Acadia National Park, was the first national park established east of the Mississippi River. In addition to its natural beauty and diversity of flora and fauna, the park is renowned for the historic 59 mile network of Carriage Roads built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. - he desired car-free roadways on which to travel by horse and carriage, and he possessed means to finance their construction.
Ann and I had booked an apartment for three nights in Bar Harbor in the hope of indulging ourselves in lobster, blueberries, cycling, and hiking. Our first day was spent exploring Acadia on two wheels. After picking up Ann’s rental bike, we cycled into the park and followed the Carriage Roads down the west side of Eagle Lake, past Bubble Pond and up Day Mountain before stopping to enjoy our picnic lunch on the lawn looking over Jordan Pond. It was fantastic cycling - miles of wide, crushed-rock, car-free roads that wound up, down, and around the contours of the land.
Our route after lunch took us through the western section of the Carriage Roads where we encountered fewer cyclists, more rolling terrain, and Ann got a flat tire. Curiously, the rental bike did not include a repair kit, only a phone number to call for help. Luckily, we were not far from the nearest road access where help arrived with a new bike for Ann. Back en route, we ascended to the highest point of the day and had a wonderful three mile descent to the western shore of Eagle Lake. The Carriage Roads had exceeded all my expectations and I highly recommend a cycling trip to Acadia. Unfortunately, the lobster roll I had for dinner was hugely overpriced and very mediocre.
Our second day in Maine began with blueberry pancakes at our small inn. I was hoping for fresh blueberries, the small Maine variety that I remembered from my graduate school days at UMASS. Instead, the pancakes were smothered in a blueberry compote – leaving me with two strikes in my quest for quintessential Maine cuisine. But it was a minor setback – after all, I was spending a beautiful fall weekend on the coast of Maine with my youngest sister. And this morning we were going sailing!
We’d cycled most of the 59 miles of Carriage Roads our first day, so the plan for our second day was a morning sail around Frenchman Bay and an afternoon of cycling new sections of the park. The Windjammer Cruise was on a 5-masted schooner packed with folks from a Princess cruise ships anchored outside the bay. Cruise ships remain a sensitive topic in Bar Harbor – welcomed by Main Street, but disfavored by residents. Their numbers have been greatly reduced in recent years, both in the number of ships as well as passengers per ship. Nonetheless, it was a bit of a shock to Ann and I when we came ashore after our cruise and found swarms of tourists overcrowding the streets, shops, and park benches. We escaped to Acadia for more cycling, covering almost all of the remaining Carriage Road network. And we scored a great meal at dinner – I opted for halibut rather than lobster and had no regrets.
The goal for our final day in Maine was the ascent of Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on the US Atlantic Coast. The hike was neither long nor strenuous, but I did manage to strain my knee while navigating a fairly high step. It bothered me a little at the time, but was completely forgotten by the time we were at the top, looking out over the small islands dotting the bay and the Atlantic Ocean visible in the distance. We descended fairly rapidly as we’d decided to head back to Connecticut directly after our hike. Ann caught an early flight the next morning and Vivien George and I headed back to North Carolina, dreaming of our next adventure.
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3 months ago
3 months ago
Too bad about the lobster roll. A good one is a treat.
Wishing you safe and stress-free travels!
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