RESEARCH
FINDINGS
Our
ancestor Benjamin Wiser was born about 1743 and was probably the son of Ruth
Bowman and James Wiser of Natick, Massachusetts. Ruth was the daughter of Samuel Bowman
Sr. of Natick and Worcester.
A
possible relative of our Benjamin would be Hepsibeth Bowman/Crosman
Hemenway. She was the great
granddaughter of Samuel Bowman. She
would the first cousin of our Benjamin Wiser, once
removed.
Information
about Hepsibeth was taken from the website, www.hemingway.net/heps.htm.
“Hepsibeth
Bowman/Crosman Hemenway, 1763-1847; According to the catalog for the
Worcester Historical Museum's Present and Persistence: Nipmuc Indians in New
England exhibit (March 28-December 5, 1999), Hepsibeth Bowman/Crosman
Hemenway was part of the Nipmuc community at Pakachoag, now Worcester,
Massachusetts. Pakachoag was an
ancient Nipmuc homeland adapted into one of John Eliot's praying
towns.
Hepsibeth's
grandfather [probably great grandfather] Samuel Bowman (1698-1748) returned from
the praying town of Natick to Pakachoag homelands about 1719 and resided there
with his family in a wigwam and hired out his labor to his English
neighbors.
Hepsibeth's
father (Crosman) died in the Revolution.
From her marriage to the probably tri-racial Jeffrey Hemenway in 1789
until his death thirty years later, they lived on the outskirts of
Worcester. Jeffrey Hemenway and his
descendants represent one of the four major Hemenway lines in America.
In
conjunction with the Worcester Historical Museum's Present and Persistence:
Nipmuc Indians in New England exhibit, a portrait of Hepsibeth Hemenway that
has been displaced at the museum for over a century was permanently installed in
the museum.
The
minutes of the Worcester Society of Antiquity's meeting on 1 December 1895
noted: "Librarian reported seventy-one additions, making special mention of...a
portrait of Hepzibah [sic] Hemenway, mother of Aunt Hannah Hemenway, [donated]
by F.F. Hopkins." Since the
portrait is hardly a recent acquisition, why all the fuss now? Because Hepsibeth Hemenway was a Nipmuc
Indian, the people upon whose homelands Worcester was built.
The
portrait, which dates to the 1840s, offers visitors a tangible reminder of the
continued presence of Native Americans in Worcester. Hepsibeth's portrait was painted at a
time when Worcester was transforming from town to city. How did Hepsibeth fit into the economic
and social world? Why was she
painted? Who painted her? Why did the portrait come to the
museum? The answers (or hints of
them) are found in memories, antiquarian publications, and public records. Late nineteenth century newspaper
articles on Hepsibeth's daughter Hannah reveal that both women enjoyed local
fame for making wedding cakes.
One
reporter who interviewed Hannah in 1890 explained: "Mrs. Hemenway was well known
in her day and is remembered yet by the older families as a great cook and an
excellent hand at making wedding cakes for the prominent people in those days
and her services were always in demand...Miss Hemenway for a long time followed
in the footsteps of her mother."
Aunt
Hannah, as she was familiarly known by more than two generations of
Worcesterites, had ties to high-society industrialists, and through her stories
she provided connections to earlier times and people. The portrait was in Hannah's possession
when she died in 1891 or 98. She
had bequeathed it to her brother Ebenezer, but as he predeceased her, it was
included in the residue of her property, which was sold at auction. While there is not irrefutable proof,
since the executor's account of settling Hannah's affairs was never filed, it is
very likely that Frederick Hopkins purchased the painting and donated it to the
Society to preserve it for posterity, a memorial to Aunt Hannah and her
mother.
Hepsibeth's
and Hannah's special niche in high-society industrial Worcester explains why the
painting was preserved. But why was
Hepsibeth painted, and who was she, really? The portrait, an extremely rare find,
suggests this Native American woman enjoyed middle- or even upper-class
status. The reality, however, was
very different, as the records reveal.
Hepsibeth
was born in 1763, daughter of Lydia Bowman, a Nipmuc, and a white man whose
surname was Crosman. Hepsibeth's
father died in the Revolution, and her mother died a pauper in 1784. She supported herself by living and
working as a servant in Timothy Paine's family until 1789, when she married
Revolutionary War veteran Jeffrey Hemenway. The couple had eight children. To help support the family, Hepsibeth
cared for indigent women at town expense and worked as a laundress, the least
desirable and lowest-paying occupation available to women. Salisbury family letters indicate that
for more than 20 years, in all seasons, Hepsibeth traveled the several miles
from her house on May Street to Lincoln Square to wash or iron. She did the same for many other
households as well.
When
Hepsibeth was widowed at 56, she rented out her small house and moved to an even
smaller one adjoining the burial ground on Mechanic Street. This placed her in the commercial
center, where work would be easier to obtain. She spent the rest of her days
there. Although local memories
center on her celebrated cakes, city directories indicate that until the last
year of her life (1847), her primary occupation was taking in laundry. In the 1840s, a dispute arose over the
future of the Mechanic Street burial ground, which may explain who painted
Hepsibeth Hemenway, and why.
Those
who wanted to remove the graveyard and its adjoining house to use the land more
profitably complained that children played among the headstones, men socialized
on its perimeters, and "it is seldom that one can pass along the lower end of
Mechanic street without seeing clothes lines heavy laden swinging in all
directions over the graves." Artist
Henry Woodward, who painted the Mechanic Street cemetery in 1846, depicted
Hepsibeth's offending laundry in his sketches and on the final canvas. It seems probable the young artist
became intrigued with Hepsibeth as he worked on these sketches. Her laundry, after all, was the subject
of local ire and she was an Indian.
He may have asked her to sit for him, and then given her the
painting. Or, one of her patrons
may have asked him or another artist to paint her portrait in return for
services, or as a gift. It is
impossible to know for certain.
What is clear, however, is that she did not commission the painting, as
portraiture was far beyond her economic means. Her clothing, too, was above her means,
and was probably handed down to her from patrons.
The
portrait, and the life behind it, tell a story that illustrates and reinforces
the local Nipmuc experience, and the northeast Indian experience in general:
persistence and endurance through adaptation and accommodation to ensure
survival. Hepsibeth's is just one of the myriad specific histories that, woven
together, make up the complex tapestry of the region's
past.
At the
installation ceremony, descendant Richard Massey, President of the New England
Native American Institute and Secretary of the Nipmuc Tribal Council gave the
following speech Sunday, March 28, 1999:
As a
Nipmuc Tribal Council Member, President of the New England Native American
Institute, and as a descendant of Hepsibeth Hemenway, I would like to take this
opportunity to thank the Worcester Historical Museum and its staff of quality
people for the restoration and installation of Hepsibeth Hemenway's portrait in
the Fletcher Auditorium. This
museum has become my most favorite place.
It has
been my pleasure to work with two people whose efforts were responsible for this
event: Holly Izard, Research
Historian, and Mykael Cassidy.
Their efforts are greatly appreciated. I would like to say a few words on
Native Nipmuc Women. The month of
March is Women's History Month. I
find no better way to honor the native women from this area, who for centuries
kept the spirit of the Nipmuc Nation alive. Women like Hepsibeth, Zara and Sarah
Cisco, Annie Vickers, and my grandmother Addie Johnson as well as many others in
each family. They passed on to us
their rich heritage and history.
When
most of the culture and language was lost through years of assimilation it was
one of the factors that kept us intact as Native people. I have found them to be hard working
industrious and independent women.
They were truly thinking of the seven generations to come. They left us a legacy and spirit which
we must honor. There are people in
the community who say that we are not Native American because of intermarriage
with other ethnic groups.
An old
saying goes "If there is but one drop of Indian blood in your veins, one day it
will cry out for expression." It is
our duty to our ancestors to remind this Nation of what happened in the past to
them [and ensure that it] does not happen again. As descendants of these people we must
tell their story. Thank you.”
OBITUARIES
Raymond "Ray" Russell Walker,
84, longtime Moses Lake resident, passed away Friday, March 31, 2000 at
SunBridge Care and Rehabilitation Center. Funeral services will be held at 10:00
AM, Tuesday, April 4, 2000 at the Rose Street Chapel, Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints with Craig Palmer presiding. Interment will follow at Pioneer
Memorial Gardens. Family will greet
friends at the funeral home on Monday evening from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM and at
the church on Tuesday from 9:OO AM until
9:30 AM. Arrangements are in
care of Kayser’s Chapel of
Memories, Moses Lake.
Raymond was born August 13,
1915 in Rigby, Idaho, son of the late Albert H. and Annie (Livingstone) Walker
. He was raised and educated in
Aberdeen, Idaho, graduating from Aberdeen High School in 1934. He was married to
Marie Ethel Babb in the mid l930's.
They continued to live in Aberdeen where Ray worked for the local
irrigation district as a ditch rider.
For many years he rode his horse as he inspected the canals. He belonged to a posse in Aberdeen and
they enjoyed riding their horses on trips and in area parades. In 1951 they
moved to Moses Lake where Ray continued to work as an irrigation specialist for
the Bureau of Reclamation and later the Columbia Basin Irrigation District. He
also worked at the Mobil Service Station that was located on 3d and Holly for
many years.
Ray was married to Alice L.
Bergeson (Venus Wiser, Samuel
Frost, John McCormick, Samuel, Benjamin) on January6, l970 in 0akland,
California. Following his
retirement from the irrigation district in 1982 they enjoyed traveling, taking
several extended trips in their "many" motorhomes and R. V 's. Ray enjoyed many activities, but among his
favorites were horseback riding, fishing, camping, hunting and working on cars.
He was a true "people person”. It was said of him that he had never met a
stranger since he considered everyone a friend and loved all those he met. He was never afraid to try something new
and at the age of 79 began piano lessons and enjoyed entertaining family and
friends alike with his playing.
He
was a longtime active member of the Moses Lake First Ward of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-dav Saints where he held various positions over the years. Ray and Alice served a mission in the
early 1980's in the Florida Tallahassee Mission. He was also a member of the Basin
Horseless Carriage Club, member and past president of the Community Concert
Board, member and past president of the 4 X 8 Square Dance Club and member and
past president of the Evergreen Campers.
He
is survived by his loving wife, Alice L. Walker, Moses Lake; four children and
spouses, Peggy and Emmett Soden, Moses Lake, Roger and Maggie Walker, Anderson
Island, WA, Keith and Rhonda Walker, Moses Lake, Vicky and Frank Nailor, Moses
Lake; five step-children and spouses, Wallace and Martha Bergeson, Moses
Lake. Anne and Allen Hyatt, Kent,
WA, Sandra Rietz, Seattle, WA, Kaye and Don Cook, Issaquah, WA, Patti and Debra
Bergeson, Royal City, WA; three sisters, Thelma Robinson, Aberdeen, 1D, Jean and
Francis Fox, Aberdeen, ID, Margaret Brado, Lewiston, ID; 37 grandchildren and 47
great grandchildren. He was
preceded in death by one son, Royce Walker and two sisters, Ida Mae Nungesser and Phyllis
Steinlicht.
POSTSCRIPT
Thank you for your interest and help with this newsletter.
My Email address is: 
My mail address is:
Ron Wiser, 6 Baton Rouge, Roswell, NM 88201.