Genealogy as part of Local History

 I wrote a post for my personal blog a few weeks ago about genealogy as local history, noting that I was involved in various genealogy projects as a result of my volunteering with the Flint Memorial Library in the Local History room.  Whenever my own genealogy research hits too many brick walls, I turn to other families and North Reading has a number of very early families for me to research.  Of course, many of the early families have had genealogies compiled for them, or for some branches of the family.  However,it is also not uncommon for someone to request information about a specific family line from the Library or from the North Reading Historical and Antiquarian Society, which I might then be asked to help research. 

Charles F. Flint

Harriet N. Flint

Almost from the first day I "adopted" the Local History room, I have said (to anyone who was listening or even in the vicinity) that I wanted to do a family tree for the Charles F. and Harriet N. Flint family, since they are the benefactors who made Flint Memorial Hall possible and supported the library in town for years.  Actually, it was Harriet N. Flint who was the longstanding benefactor, since her husband Charles died as a relatively young man.  My goal is to research and produce a chart for both Charles and Harriet, to be available in the Local History room.  

I have made a beginning on this branch of the Flint family tree, having found parents and three out of 4 sets of grandparents.  I would like to have all their grandparents, and also their great grandparents for this project, so I'm not done yet.  The great grandparents date to the early part of the 1700s so this may be a somewhat tricky goal.  The women, in particular are likely to be more difficult to identify, especially by birth family.

Here is the beginning I have made:  Charles Fredrick Flint was born 18 Jan 1808 in what was at the time Reading, Massachusetts to Peter and Molly Burns Flint, although their home was in the North Parish that later was incorporated as the town of North Reading.  Charles was the second son, and second child of seven born to them.  Harriet Newell Evans was born 29 Aug 1815 in Wakefield, Massachusetts to Thomas and Phebe Cummings Evans.  She was the sixth of nine children born to them, and the third daughter.