Between former vice president, artist from Maine, a kinship exists

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When I talk about my collection of cousins, I often mention my distant kinship to both Vice President Hannibal Hamlin of Bangor and artist Waldo Peirce of Searsport.

The thing is, Hamlin and Peirce are cousins to each other, as well. Like me, they are descended from Ichabod Bonney and Elizabeth (Howland) of Pembroke, Mass.

Hamlin’s grandmother was Ichabod’s daughter, Lydia Bonney – mother of his father, Cyrus Hamlin.

Peirce descended from Ichabod’s daughter, Betty Bonney, through Arvida Hayford, Arvida Hayford Jr., William Hayford and then his mother, Anna Hayford Peirce.

So how are they related? Hannibal Hamlin and Waldo Peirce were second cousins, three times removed.

That is, Hamlin and Arvida Hayford Jr. were the actual second cousins, and Peirce was one, two, three generations removed from that cousinship.

Those who are Hamlins or descendants of Hamlins may be interested to know that they have an orange in the family, says my colleague Ardeana Hamlin.

In a recent edition of the Bangor Daily News, Ardeana noticed a photograph on the business page of a man near Florida assessing the damage to his grove of Hamlin oranges, which had been devastated by Hurricane Charley.

Hamlins, including John and Nathaniel, sons of Theophilous Hamlin of Augusta, Maine, founded the town of Magnolia, Fla., north of Tallahassee, in the 1920s. John and Nathaniel were businessmen, along with their cousins, the Ladds, of Bangor and Augusta.

In 1879, George Hamlin, perhaps a cousin of John and Nathaniel, a lawyer who lived in DeLand, Fla., discovered an orange cultivar that had grown by chance near Glenwood, Fla. That orange was named “Hamlin” in his honor.

The Hamlin orange rose in importance in the citrus industry after the great Florida freeze of 1894-95 and is now a major variety in Florida. One of the earliest to mature, it has a sweet flavor lacking in acid and has few seeds.

We are not surprised!

Lt. Ralph Robinson, historical director, and Lt. Frank Coombs, assistant director, are compiling a history of the Hampden Fire Department.

They need additional material, and would like assistance from anyone who may have pictures, newspaper articles or other items to share.

In particular, they are interested in material pertaining to the 1924 McCann-Reo Chemical Car the department once owned.

Robinson has found articles about the motorized car responding to fires in the 1925 and 1926 Bangor Daily News. He and Coombs are interested in finding other articles relating to fires, accidents or parades where the vehicle was used.

“We hope that someone may have pictures of the chemical truck in a box tucked away in a closet, attic or cellar that may have been passed down by a relative,” Robinson explained.

The department would like to borrow photos or other items to copy. Robinson may be contacted at 223-4497, or leave a message at the fire department at 862-4586.

Eagle Scout Joseph Rizza of Winterport chose a very fine Leadership Service Project.

Rizza, the son of Susan and Charles Rizza and a member of Troop 234, restored the gravesites of the Stubbs Family near the shore of the Penobscot River.

These included the graves of Benjamin Stubbs, Revolutionary War soldier, and Ambrose Stubbs, Civil War soldier.

A senior at Hampden Academy, Joe has been in scouting since age 6.

Old Fort Western in Augusta will host the first in its Sunday program series 1-3 p.m. Nov. 7. The focus will be traditional New England Thanksgiving preparations, with staff demonstrating the making of mincemeat pies using an authentic 18th century recipe.

Brief tours of the fort’s National Historic Landmark and now 250-year-old main house also will be conducted.

The fort will be open the first Sunday afternoon each month through April. Admission is free.

The Aroostook County Genealogical Society will meet at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 in the Caribou Room at the Caribou Public Library. The topic will be “double dating” and helping one another with problem ancestors. For queries or donating material, the address is P.O. Box 142, Caribou, ME 04736-0142.

This may seem like a day late and a dollar short, but I have a corrected address for e-mailing for a button to Vote in Honor of a Veteran. It is www.maine.gov/sos/veterans/order.html

3297. HANSON-REED-KNOWLES. Am seeking information on a Stephen Hanson who married my great-grandmother, Emily Reed, in 1905. He was b. Oct. 23, 1848, in Charleston, to Moses and Ruth (Knowles) Hanson. He d. Nov. 9, 1922, and is buried in Dexter. Cecil Reed, 62 Maple St., Dexter, ME 04930; telephone 924-3851; clreed37@midmaine.com.

Send genealogy queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or send e-mail to familyti@bangordailynews.net.