Monday, December 24, 2018
Friday, November 30, 2018
Meet Capt. Daniel Merritt (died 1849) and Sarah Lyon Merritt (died 1846)
Meet Captain Daniel Merritt (died April 30, 1849) and Sarah Lyon Merritt (died July 8, 1846)
As seems to be the case with me these days, it all started with an email I received in Hawaii.
A museum collections professional contacted me with news of an unexpected discovery. No, not wayward, lost or misplaced gravestones -but two 19th century portraits of a Greenwich couple found in of all places Orrington, Maine.
Originally thought to be Mead family ancestral portraits, we discovered that the above-pictured portraits were of Captain Daniel Merritt of Greenwich, who died April 30, 1849, aged 64 years, and his wife Sarah Lyon Merritt also of Greenwich, who died July 8, 1846, aged 62 years.
The portraits were slightly damaged. The Collections Committee met and decided it was unable to accept the repatriation of Mr. and Mrs. Merritt's likenesses to Greenwich -a decision that I concurred with and still do.
Yet what was to be done? It was clear to me that the portraits of Captain Daniel Merritt and Sarah Lyon Merritt needed to come home to Greenwich. Generally, museums do not give away items like these to individuals, but to other organizations. Even after locating descendants it was by some evasive consensus that I, the host of the Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons Show on 1490 WGCH Greenwich, Connecticut and WGCH.com anywhere, would be the one to make the calls and facilitate their return.
Among those I contacted was Jo Conboy, the head of the Greenwich Preservation Trust (GPT). A GPT board meeting was held with the decision made to bring them back. But then what? Who would ascertain the restoration of the portraits -some damage was identified.
Enter Andrew Melillo, head of the Acacia Lodge No. 85, otherwise known as the Greenwich Free Masons.
It turns out that Captain Daniel Merritt was a Greenwich Free Mason. Furthermore, if you think you've heard his name before you're probably right. He is the uncle of Captain Daniel Merritt Mead of Greenwich, author of the town's first compiled and published history.
It turns out that Captain Daniel Merritt and his wife Sarah Lyon Merritt are the maternal grandparents of Capt. Daniel Merritt Mead, who wrote the first published history of Greenwich. All of them are interred in the cemetery next to Second Congregational Church. Both men were members of the Acacia Lodge Free Masons.
Around the 2018 Thanksgiving holiday the Merritt portraits were returned and sent to a restoration expert in the Town of Darien, just up the coast from Greenwich.
More mysteries were resolved. From Andrew Melillo I and others on the email-chain received the following news dated November 19, 2018:
I met with Blaikie Hines (art restorer) this past Friday and we sat down and viewed and discussed the portraits.
It was a really interesting conversation. We spent about an hour and a half in front of the portraits figuring them out.
The frames are clearly plaster molds from the 1870's-1880's.
Upon first inspection/glance it was determined that they were probably pastels, and not oil paintings. However, upon a closer inspection they were actually manipulated or blown up photos of original Daugerrotype glass slides. This is likely the type of photo that was used as Captain Daniel Merritt died in 1849, which was ten years after the first daugerrotypes were being taken all over the world. Sarah Lyon Merritt died in 1846, so these glass dauggerotype slides were taken before 1849, and sat with the family for some time until by the 1880's the technology existed to enlarge them (as Dauggerotype glass slides are small). It is presumed this was done by their children or grandchildren...difficult to know for sure. I will have to dig up some files at the Greenwich Historical Society to see if we can get a clearer historical picture.
Therefore, the belief is that the daugerrotypes were taken at an earlier date and then in the 1870's or 1880's (based on the framing) the family took them and blew them up to make them larger and then hired an artist or some person to go over them with pastel's to add color and accents, etc. You can see how the artist/person used the pastels to add accents to Sarah's bonnet and her clothes, etc and pastels were used to add in accents and features to Daniel Merritt's hair and clothes as well.
There are areas in the background of the portraits that need to be cleaned up which are "patchy" and there is a small tear in the bottom left corner of Daniel's portrait which is going to be fixed. Other than that there are a few dings and nicks here and there on the portraits that are easy to clean up.
With frame repair and portrait cleaning and restoration, the cost is quite manageable and they should be finished before Christmas.
Stay tuned.
Stay tuned.
Acacia Lodge No. 85 Donating Christmas Trees to Families in Need Via Neighbor-to-Neighbor Until December 10
What could be better than spreading hope, joy and good cheer? Out of the darkness comes light, and in Greenwich's tradition of giving it is possible to light the world with smiles.
I just received word that Acacia Lodge No. 85 -the Greenwich Free Masons- is donating Christmas trees to families in need through Neighbor-To-Neighbor.
Any qualified family in need of a tree is eligible to request one. The deadline is Monday, December 10. Call (203) 622-9208.
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Acacia Lodge No. 85 and Neighbor-To-Neighbor. What they say is true: For it is in giving that we receive.
This announcement will be featured on my upcoming broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons on Wednesday, December 5 at 9:00 a.m. on 1490 WGCH Greenwich, Connecticut and WGCH.com anywhere.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Coming Up in December 2018: Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons 1490 WGCH & WGCH.com Anywhere
You're invited to tune in to Greenwich, A Town for All Seasons on 1490 WGCH Greenwich, Connecticut and WGCH.com anywhere.
On Wednesday, the 5th of December I will be welcoming Rabbi Mitchell Hurvitz of Temple Sholom. As Senior Rabbi since 2001, Hurvitz is a scholar, teacher, community activist and preacher who is recognized as one of Greenwich's prominent religious leaders and guest speakers. His teachings have been published in Greenwich Time, Greenwich Sentinel and Greenwich Jewish News.
It was in 1916 that ten Jewish families gathered to establish a Jewish house of worship in Greenwich. One year later they formally established the Greenwich Hebrew Institute. We'll hear about the history of Temple Sholom and reflect on the upcoming Chanukah holiday season.
On Wednesday, the 19th of December I invite you to tune in as I welcome Stephen Bishop, chair of the Greenwich Historic District Commission. The sustained preservation of Greenwich's physical heritage, streetscapes and concerns over demolitions have been a prominent source of conversation by town residents and expats for years. I asked Stephen Bishop to talk to us about the Historic District Commission, its origins, mission, activities and more.
*We do not receive funding from the Greenwich Historical Society, other historical organizations of from government sources. All funding and in-kind services come exclusively from private sources.
For the month of December 2018 we have reduced the rate for Basic Supporters from $40 per show to $30 per show -or $60 for the entire month. Your name will be featured on the show.
For the month of December 2018 I will send those who contribute $100 a bag of authentic Hawaiian coffee -a bit of aloha-inspired warmth as Winter approaches.
*If you wish to pledge support for the entire month of December at $60 send us an email with the word PLEDGE DECEMBER in the subject box. Payment is due on or before the close of business on Monday, December 3. We accept
*I am accepting pledges of $30 for the Wednesday, December 5 show until 5:00 p.m. Monday, December 3. Send us an email with the word PLEDGE DEC. 5 in the subject box. Payment is due on or before the close of business on Monday, December 3.
*I am accepting pledges for the Wednesday, December 19 show for $30 until 5:00 p.m., Monday, December 17. Send us an email with the word PLEDGE DEC. 19 in the subject box. Payment is due on or before the close of business on Monday, December 17.
Make your check out to Jeffrey Bingham Mead and send it to:
Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons
The Pacific Learning Consortium
P.O. Box 184
Greenwich CT 06836
*Electronic payment transfer is available upon request.
Questions? Comments? Anyone can contact me at anytime by email at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Coming Up Next: Missy Wolfe, Author of Hidden History of Colonial Greenwich on November 21
We're delighted to announce that Missy Wolfe, author of Hidden History of Colonial Greenwich will be our guest on the Wednesday, November 21 broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons.
Greenwich in the seventeenth century was a lost world of tythingmen and meeting warners, wild horse hunters, herdsmen, townsmen, pounders and planters. Faced with an ever-changing environment, citizens set many new-world boundaries.
Farmers created common fields along the coast and redesigned wilderness. They balanced religious and civic authority, private and common interests and financial inequities across communities. The first comers found it more challenging to please their own than it was to please their God.
Their departure from the past fashioned an idealized, yet still imperfect, new society the Puritans proudly called the Greenwich Plantation.
Author Missy Wolfe details the strategies and setbacks of creating community in colonial America's First Period.
Missy Wolfe has always loved nonfiction, and she read history throughout college at Columbia Business School, during her marketing career, while raising a family, while pursuing fine arts studies at New York University and during her time serving on the board of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.
Her own research reveals the romantic, lost world of Connecticut in the 1600s.
Her study of the life of Greenwich founder Elizabeth Winthrop Feake Hallett, Insubordinate Spirit: A True Story of Life and Loss in Earliest America, won the Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence.
She lives in Greenwich with her husband, Scott Wolfe, and three children.
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 21, 2018. Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons with host Jeffrey Bingham Mead starts 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Radio 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com Greenwich, Connecticut anywhere via live audio-streaming on the Internet.
Can't listen in real-time? We have you covered. Go to our archival site where all shows are posted and freely available at your convenience, anytime and anywhere.
Thank you for listening to Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons with Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Support Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons Show with Jeffrey Bingham Mead 1490 WGCH/WGCH.com
My name is Jeffrey Bingham Mead, a descendant of one of the founding families of Greenwich, Connecticut. I am the creator, producer and host of the Greenwich, A Town for All Seasons Show on 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere via live audio-streaming.
This is the first time in Greenwich's history that a radio show dedicated to the town's history and culture has ever been broadcasted before.
The show broadcasts every-other Wednesday morning 9:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m. The first show aired on Wednesday, September 26, 2018.
We are off to a good start. We see audience interest and listenership increasing as the word spreads of this first-of-its-kind show.
BASIC SUPPORTERS
(Limited to 15 per show)
(Limited to 15 per show)
$50 for the entire month. Your name or business (your choice) will be featured on the show.
TITLE-SPONSOR
-$1000/month; this can be divided among several sponsors.
-The title sponsor(s) is given two (2) minutes of commercial advertising time.
-I work with the title-sponsor(s) on writing and producing the commercials. You are also welcomed to submit your own.
-The title sponsor(s) is acknowledged ("Talk of the Town" is brought to you by NAME of Sponsor(s), for example).
-The title sponsor(s) is also promoted through social media platforms, email notifications to the show's audience.
TALK OF THE TOWN
-$250 for appearance on Talk of the Town Conversation Segment.
TALK OF THE TOWN
-$250 for appearance on Talk of the Town Conversation Segment.
STAND-ALONE 30-SECOND COMMERCIAL
-A customized commercial spot that runs once per show (2-3 shows monthly every-other Wednesday morning 9:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m.).
-It features the name and nature of the business, benefits, customer references (if any available), contact information.
-I write the text of the spot and record it, usually with background music.
-The rate for this option is $100/month.
SEGMENT SPONSORSHIP
-A customized segment spot that runs once per show (2-3 shows monthly every-other Wednesday morning 9:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m.).
-Features a brief "Brought to you by" with name and contact information. I write the text of the spot and record it, usually with background music.
-$60/Show.
-$60/Show.
You can listen to our archived shows by clicking this link.
PAY OR DONATE THROUGH OUR GOFUNDME CAMPAIGN
PAY OR DONATE THROUGH OUR GOFUNDME CAMPAIGN
Questions? Comments? Anyone can contact me at anytime by email at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@
Jeffrey Bingham Mead
and send them to:
Jeffrey Bingham Mead
Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons
P.O. Box 184,
Greenwich CT 06836
Questions? Please contact me here at
or
Phone: (808) 721-0306
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Coming Up Next: Matt Bernard, Author of Victorian Summer: The Historic Houses of Belle Haven Park Greenwich, Connecticut
At the height of the Gilded Age America’s wealthiest families begin to cluster in Newport, Southampton, Bar Harbor and Tuxedo Park. In these idyllic locales they built luxurious “summer cottages” away from the grit and grime of New York, Boston or Philadelphia. The Belle Haven peninsula in Greenwich, Connecticut is home to one of America's first planned residential parks.
My Talk of the Town guest on Wednesday, November 7, 2018 is Matt Bernard, author of Victorian Summer: The Historic Houses of Belle Haven Park, Greenwich, Connecticut. This meticulously researched and richly illustrated book focuses on the great flowering of Belle Haven from 1884 to 1929.
You can purchase copies at your favorite online book source, at the Greenwich Historical Society's gift shop in Cos Cob, and Diane's Books of Greenwich.
Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons broadcasts from the studios of 1490 WGCH Greenwich, Connecticut and anywhere via audio-streaming on WGCH.com.
Join the fun and support Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons. Go to this link and learn how.
Join the fun and support Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons. Go to this link and learn how.
Tune in at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Can’t listen in real-time? All shows are freely available and archived on Podcasts.com via a special channel. Listen on your time, anytime from anywhere.
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Coming Up Next: New York-based Architect Norm Davis and a Tale of a Wayward Gravestone
Does this happen to you? I'll bet not.
Picture this: You open up your email box in Honolulu to find a message from someone you've never met before. This gentleman tells you that he is in possession of a brownstone grave marker dated from the late 18th century.
The woman it memorializes is interred somewhere in Greenwich -but where?
It has been in the basement for many years. The house in the market, and the stone must be repatriated to its proper place.
You've enlisted the help of far-flung historians and genealogists in the Pacific Northwest and Scotland -and the Greenwich Historical Society.
Time is not necessarily on your side.
Join me for the next broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons on Wednesday, October 24, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. My guest is New York-based architect Norm Davis.
With all-things Halloween in the air, Norm -who is a descendant of some of Greenwich's founding families- tells us the story of a that wayward early Greenwich gravestone circa 1799 that was found in his father's Port Chester NY backyard. Stored in the house for many years -and with the house on the market- the grave marker needed to be repatriated to its proper place.
Yes, this does turn out well.
Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons broadcasts from the studios of 1490 WGCH Greenwich, Connecticut and anywhere via audio-streaming on WGCH.com.
Can't listen in real-time? All shows are freely available and archived on Podcasts.com via a special channel. Listen on your time, anytime from anywhere.
Monday, October 8, 2018
Andrew Melillo, Acacia Lodge #85 of the Greenwich Free Masons
Free Masonry is the world's oldest and largest fraternity. Comprised of men of good character and other attributes across international lines, the Free Masons have been organized and active for centuries in many places -including the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut.
Joining me by phone on the Wednesday, October 10 broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons is Mr. Andrew Melillo, the head of the Acacia Lodge No. 85.
Many of us have a limited knowledge of the role of the Free Masons in Greenwich's history. Greenwich Free Press featured a story in its February 8, 2017 edition. Learn more by clicking here. You can also connect online via Facebook with the Connecticut Freemasons here.
I've invited Andrew Melillo to explain what Masonry is, its history and origins, local Greenwich luminaries associated with its founding, what it means to be a Free Mason, programs, projects and more.
He'll also talk to us about the David Noble Theis Memorial Scholarship. Go to this link on Greenwich Free Press to learn more.
On Amusements you'll hear news of a famous -or infamous- turn-of-the-century Halloween party at the Holley Inn, then headquarters of the Cos Cob Art Colony of American Impressionism, what's happening on the Community Calendar, and more.
Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons broadcasts from the studios of 1490 WGCH Radio in Greenwich, Connecticut and on WGCH.com anywhere via live-audio streaming every other Wednesday morning 9:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. You'll also find archived broadcasts on the Shows & Hosts section of WGCH.com and on a special channel freely available on Podcasts.com.
On the September 26 Inaugural Broadcast: Greenwich Historical Society CEO/Executive Director Debra Mecky
At last! The time has come!
The inaugural broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons was on Wednesday, September 26, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Listen to the show at the link above or here.
My first guest was Greenwich Historical Society CEO/Executive Director Debra Mecky. She was on the phone with me from the Bush Holley House Historic Site and Society headquarters in Cos Cob.
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Announcement: Greenwich, Town For All Seasons on Radio 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com Anywhere
Historian and town native Jeffrey Bingham Mead, a descendant of the founders of the town, is the host of an upcoming new show on NewsTalk AM 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere.
Greenwich, Town For All Seasons is scheduled to air every other Wednesday morning 9:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Its inaugural broadcast date will be announced shortly.
The show’s creator and host, Jeffrey Bingham Mead, is no stranger to Greenwich history. Born and raised in Greenwich, he as a direct descendant of one of its founding families. His background and interests are varied and ever-evolving. Mead is a former board member and trustee of the Greenwich Historical Society; former local history contributing writer at Greenwich Time in the 1980s and 1990s; a member of the Capt. Matthew Mead Branch of the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution; a university professor and lecturer in the states of Hawaii and Connecticut; president and co-founder of History Education Hawaii, Inc., the Hawaii Council of the National Council for History Education (since 2006); president/founder of the Historic Mead Family Burying Grounds Association, author of Chains Unbound: Slave Emancipations in Greenwich, Connecticut, and more.
Mead is also the creator, producer and host of the highly successful Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim show on WGCH. Now in its third year, the show has an international audience and its heard in China. with plans for national syndication across the USA in the near-future.
“We’re planning on having a lot of fun with this,” said Mead. “The textures of Greenwich’s history make it interesting, so we’ll be featuring lively perspectives of the town’s heritage encompassing its 378-plus years. Greenwich: A Town for All Seasons is a first-of-its kind show on WGCH. The show seeks to build bridges between past and present; feature local business, historical news and cultural events for long-time residents and newcomers alike; entertain, contribute to and heighten knowledge of the history of Greenwich, Connecticut and ultimately do its part in its sustained preservation.”
Mead was one of the early pioneers of featuring Greenwich history on the Internet. These include:
The show has a Facebook site that all are invited to join at https://www.facebook.com/
The first show will feature special guests from the Greenwich Historical Society as it prepares to celebrate the public reopening of its reimagined campus on October 7.
“We’re looking forward to establishing long-term strategic partnerships with the town’s historic preservation organizations. Greenwich is a town for all seasons and all people -everyone is invited to our celebration of the town’s culture and heritage,” Mead added.
Sponsors and Potential guests can contact Jeffrey Bingham Mead at JeffreyBinghamMead@gmail.com, GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@
Best,
Jeffrey Bingham Mead
Host
Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons Show
1490 WGCH/WGCH.com
P.O. Box 184,
Greenwich, CT 06836
808.721.0306
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