--- title: Surrounded by family description: I trace my interest in genealogy to my early childhood. We lived surrounded by family... image: https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Anne-Ayer-for-VB-230x300-1.jpg --- # [Vita Brevis A resource for family history from AmericanAncestors.org](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. # Surrounded by family [November 23, 2016](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2016/11/surrounded-by-family) [American History](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/american-history), [Brick Walls](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/brick-walls), [Family papers](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/family-papers), [A Genealogist's Diary](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/a-genealogists-diary), [Object Lessons](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/object-lessons), [Family stories](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/family-stories) [Scott C. Steward](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/author/ssteward) [![anne-ayer-for-vb](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Anne-Ayer-for-VB-230x300-1.jpg?width=230&height=300&name=Anne-Ayer-for-VB-230x300-1.jpg)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Anne-Ayer-for-VB-1.jpg) Anne Beekman Ayer I trace my interest in genealogy to my early childhood. We lived surrounded by family – my paternal grandparents and uncle and aunt lived across the Ipswich River from us, and more distant cousins lived in nearby towns in Essex County, Massachusetts. But while my parents and grandparents knew that they were related to these kinsmen – and my grandfather probably knew *how*, since he was closer to their common forebears – no one could explain the connection, at least at a child’s eye level. It made for an interesting mystery to solve. Researching my paternal grandmother’s Ayer forebears was one way to get answers, since my great-grandfather’s older sister and younger half-siblings had lived near us on the North Shore; in general, it was their descendants whom we knew as “Cousin.” Another way, of course, was to trace my own ancestry, since some of these kinships were more distant (and, I’m sure, at a certain point neither party knew such a connection existed). [![pauline-revised-for-vb](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Pauline-revised-for-VB-231x300-3.jpg?width=231&height=300&name=Pauline-revised-for-VB-231x300-3.jpg)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Pauline-revised-for-VB-3.jpg) Pauline Glidden So now I know that my parents were (distant) cousins, as were my paternal grandparents (who were slightly more closely related through [the Beekman family](http://vita-brevis.org/2015/09/beekman-family-cookbook/)); interestingly enough, I can find no way in which my maternal grandparents were related to one another. I have also since learned that our house, on Perkins Row in Topsfield, stood on land that had once belonged to a collateral Howlett relative. Both of my grandmothers were descended from the Perkins family. (Another, probably unrelated Perkins family of Topsfield, is ancestral to my paternal grandfather.) On my paternal grandmother’s side are several witch connections: Mary (Perkins) Bradbury, who was accused but outlived the witchcraft delusion; Katharine (Towne) Perkins, a niece of Rebecca (Towne) Nourse; and Mary (Wildes) Perkins, a granddaughter of Sarah (Averill) Wildes, who perished. The land on which our house stood had once belonged to Thomas Howlett, Jr., Mary Wildes’ great-uncle, a fact I’m pretty certain my parents did not know when they bought the property! [![perkins-chart-2](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Perkins-chart-2-3.jpg?width=4579&height=4525&name=Perkins-chart-2-3.jpg)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Perkins-chart-2-3.jpg) My grandmothers' Perkins lines. Click on the image to expand it. While my Grandmother Steward’s Perkins forebears went early to Maine, moving on to New York and New Jersey during the nineteenth century, my maternal grandmother’s Perkins family moved out to western Massachusetts during the eighteenth century before heading north to Newcastle, Maine, just in time for [the Ilsleys to leave Portland](http://vita-brevis.org/2014/08/musicians-in-the-family-1/). My great-great-grandfather, William Pierce Harrington Glidden, followed his brother to Cleveland, Ohio; his son, the architect [Edward Hughes Glidden](http://vita-brevis.org/2014/03/object-lessons/), began his career in Baltimore and, finding a wife there, remained in Maryland until his death. [![bbs-and-tree-2-for-vb](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/BBS-and-tree-2-for-VB-300x254-3.jpg?width=300&height=254&name=BBS-and-tree-2-for-VB-300x254-3.jpg)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/BBS-and-tree-2-for-VB-3.jpg) Barbara Bell Steward near Perkins Row in Topsfield, 1962. My parents, who met at a street fair in Georgetown (D.C.) in 1958, probably had no idea that they had these relatives in common – or that, when they moved to Topsfield in 1962, they were in many ways coming back to a place of common origin. ### Share this: - [mailto:?body=https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2016/11/surrounded-by-family](mailto:?body=https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2016/11/surrounded-by-family) - - - More - - ![Scott C. Steward](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported%20images/f0ca00236a2eb95f2a42a6692ce1ee9c%3Fs=96%26d=identicon%26r=g.jpeg) ## About Scott C. Steward Scott C. Steward has been NEHGS’ Editor-in-Chief since 2013. He is the author, co-author, or editor of genealogies of the Ayer, Le Roy, Lowell, Saltonstall, Thorndike, and Winthrop families. His articles have appeared in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, NEXUS, New England Ancestors, American Ancestors, and The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, and he has written book reviews for the Register, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, and the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.[View all posts by Scott C. Steward →](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/author/ssteward) [← Thankful for our volunteers](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2016/11/thankful-for-our-volunteers) ['Day from night' →](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2016/11/day-from-night) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ### Recent Posts [Sailor Bill and His Forgotten Wife](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/sailor-bill-and-his-forgotten-wife) [Professor X](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/professor-x) [Part I: Malaga Island, Maine](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/part-i-malaga-island-maine) [The Norwegian folge](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/the-norwegian-folge) [Research…in a Miniskirt? A ‘Style Guide’ to a Genealogist’s Wardrobe](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/research-in-a-miniskirt-a-style-guide-to-a-genealogists-wardrobe) ### Archives - [October 2014 (27)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/10) - [December 2015 (24)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/12) - [July 2020 (24)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2020/07) - [April 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/04) - [July 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/07) - [December 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/12) - [July 2015 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/07) - [March 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/03) - [May 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/05) - [August 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/08) - [January 2018 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2018/01) - [March 2014 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/03) - [August 2014 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/08) - [April 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/04) - [September 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/09) - [October 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/10) - [March 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/03) - [June 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/06) - [August 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/08) - [September 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/09) - [November 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/11) - [December 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/12) - [January 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/01) - [June 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/06) - [November 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/11) ### Categories - [Family stories (1260)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/family-stories) - [American History (1137)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/american-history) - [Critical Analysis (1126)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/critical-analysis) - [Research Methods (881)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/research-methods) - [Brick Walls (674)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/brick-walls) - [Object Lessons (617)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/object-lessons) - [Spotlight (617)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/spotlight) - [Genealogical Writing (554)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/genealogical-writing) - [Research tips (510)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/research-tips) - [Serendipity (479)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/serendipity) - [Road Trips (393)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/road-trips) ### Recent Posts [Sailor Bill and His Forgotten Wife](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/sailor-bill-and-his-forgotten-wife) [Professor X](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/professor-x) [Part I: Malaga Island, Maine](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/part-i-malaga-island-maine) [The Norwegian folge](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/the-norwegian-folge) [Research…in a Miniskirt? A ‘Style Guide’ to a Genealogist’s Wardrobe](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/research-in-a-miniskirt-a-style-guide-to-a-genealogists-wardrobe) ### Meta - [Log in](https://vita-brevis.org/wp-login.php) - [Entries RSS](https://vita-brevis.org/feed/) - [Comments RSS](https://vita-brevis.org/comments/feed/) - [WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/) ### Subscribe to Blog via Email Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. ### Archives - [October 2014 (27)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/10) - [December 2015 (24)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/12) - [July 2020 (24)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2020/07) - [April 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/04) - [July 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/07) - [December 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/12) - [July 2015 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/07) - [March 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/03) - [May 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/05) - [August 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/08) - [January 2018 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2018/01) - [March 2014 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/03) - [August 2014 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/08) - [April 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/04) - [September 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/09) - [October 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/10) - [March 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/03) - [June 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/06) - [August 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/08) - [September 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/09) - [November 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/11) - [December 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/12) - [January 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/01) - [June 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/06) - [November 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/11)