This year we celebrated Thanksgiving here in Massachusetts, just 5 of us: Paul, LP, me and Paul's parents, Grammy and Papa. We had dinner at their house and were asked only to bring appetizers which meant that we had the least amount of holiday cooking to do that we've ever had (we usually cook quite a bit of the meal- we even had Thanksgiving at our house just 10 days after LP was born). And so, we relaxed!
Thanksgiving morning we picked up Paul's father and drove down to Plymouth, MA where a bunch of LeBaron ancestors are buried on Burial Hill, right in the town center.
Thanksgiving morning we picked up Paul's father and drove down to Plymouth, MA where a bunch of LeBaron ancestors are buried on Burial Hill, right in the town center.
I'd actually never been before, and was warned by Paul's mother that it's quite a hike to the top of the hill (the cemetery is located to the right of the church in this photo).
It wasn't too bad (except for the cold! brr!), although those of us with shorter legs needed some assistance.
The view from the top. That's the ocean out there in the distance....
And here's the grave of Dr. Francis LeBaron. Dr. LeBaron would be LP's 10th great-grandfather and there's quite an interesting story about him....
Dr. LeBaron was one of the earliest physicians in Plymouth. He was born in France in 1668, and then given by his birth father to a French surgeon named Louis Pecton to be raised as his own (the rumor is that the mother had died and the father was being hunted by some men who wanted to kill him- and should be given up for dead if he didn't return for his son in a year). Story has it that after the death of his adoptive father (who trained him to be a surgeon), Dr. LeBaron was on a French privateer's ship, serving as the ship's surgeon when they were wrecked off of Cape Cod. The crew was brought to Boston as prisoners with the exception of Dr. LeBaron who managed to escape. He somehow made his way to Plymouth where he convinced Mary Wilder to hide him from the men who were in pursuit of him. She did so, and several weeks later the town selectmen petitioned the Lieutenant Governor for his freedom, in exchange for which he would stay in Plymouth and serve as the desperately needed town doctor. When Dr. LeBaron was granted his freedom he married Mary Wilder and together they had 4 sons before he died in 1704, at the young age of 36, thus starting the line of LeBarons here in Massachusetts.
Dr. LeBaron was one of the earliest physicians in Plymouth. He was born in France in 1668, and then given by his birth father to a French surgeon named Louis Pecton to be raised as his own (the rumor is that the mother had died and the father was being hunted by some men who wanted to kill him- and should be given up for dead if he didn't return for his son in a year). Story has it that after the death of his adoptive father (who trained him to be a surgeon), Dr. LeBaron was on a French privateer's ship, serving as the ship's surgeon when they were wrecked off of Cape Cod. The crew was brought to Boston as prisoners with the exception of Dr. LeBaron who managed to escape. He somehow made his way to Plymouth where he convinced Mary Wilder to hide him from the men who were in pursuit of him. She did so, and several weeks later the town selectmen petitioned the Lieutenant Governor for his freedom, in exchange for which he would stay in Plymouth and serve as the desperately needed town doctor. When Dr. LeBaron was granted his freedom he married Mary Wilder and together they had 4 sons before he died in 1704, at the young age of 36, thus starting the line of LeBarons here in Massachusetts.
This whole area of Burial Hill is full of LeBarons.
But LP was much more interested in a huge pile of leaves!
After our trip back in time we went home and relaxed a bit and then headed over to Grammy and Papa's for the Thanksgiving meal.
Dinner was delicious. In true LeBaron style we had WAY too much food (2 different kinds of stuffing, 4 vegetables, 3 kinds of potatoes, 2 different desserts and a GIANT turkey). In the photo above I asked Paul to smile at me in the mirror so I could take a photo of him carving the turkey. Instead I got a shot of what just might be the creepiest turkey carving face ever.
We're STILL eating turkey around here (seriously- who buys a 23 pound turkey for 4 adults and a 2 year old??) but it was a great day!
Hope you all had great Thanksgivings too!
We're STILL eating turkey around here (seriously- who buys a 23 pound turkey for 4 adults and a 2 year old??) but it was a great day!
Hope you all had great Thanksgivings too!
That was such a nice day! I LOVE the picture of Paul carving the turkey in the mirror!
ReplyDeleteMy wife is also a descendant of Francis Lebaron. I would be interested in exchanging information about our branches of the tree.
ReplyDelete