BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN FRIENDS OF PUTTENHAM
VOLUME IX, NUMBER 3
JULY, 1992
IN MEMORIAM
Member Wayne Putnam of Lexington, Ky., died suddenly of a heart attack on Sept. 22, 1991. He is survived by his wife, Joan, who writes,
"He was a happy man and proud to be a Putnam. He had-completed his Putnam search and shared it with all who were interested, especially his grandchildren."
The Rev. Lynwood Putnam, 64, of Hodgdon, Me., uncle of member Deane Putnam of Blackwood, N.J., died on June 19, 1992 at his residence. He is survived by his wife, Betty Hutchinson Putnam, of Hodgdon, three daughters and two brothers, Ervin and Glen, both of Cary, Me. Rev. Putnam was a staff member of the New Brunswick (Canada) Bible Institute for the past 25 years where he also served on the board of directors.
PUTMANS AND PUTNAMS IN CALIFORNIA DURING THE GOLD RUSH
The relationship between the Putman and Putnam families in America is complex and still remains to be clarified in many cases. We can say with some certainty that the following cases exist:
(1) A Putnam who can trace his or her descent to 17th century New England is almost certainly a descendant of John Putnam of Aston Abbotts, Bucks, and Salem Village, Mass.
(2) A Putnam who can trace his or her descent to England at any date is almost certainly a descendant of the same de Puttenham family as is the above John.
(3) A Putnam who can trace his or her descent to New York State in the 17th or 18th centuries is almost certainly a descendant of John Putnam but also might be from the Dutch Putman family who settled in New York at an early date. This change in spelling, though quite unusual, might have occurred as a result of the fame of the two Revolutionary War Generals, Israel and Rufus.
(4) A Putman who can trace his or her ancestry to New York is almost certainly a member of the Dutch family but might also be a New England Putnam who changed the spelling of his name either by choice or because of ignorance of the correct spelling.
(5) A Putnam who can trace his or her ancestry to Virginia, North or South Carolina, Alabama, West Virginia or Kentucky in the 17th, 18th or early 19th centuries may be a descendant of Thomas Putnam of Chesham, Bucks, and Gloucester County, Va. A positive assignment, however, depends on certainty that the name never was spelled Putman. Early records are of limited value in establishing this point since the spellings Putnam and Putman were used interchangeably, just as they are in more recent records.
(6) A Putman who can trace his or her ancestry to Virginia, etc., as indicated in item 5 may be a descendant of Thomas Putnam as a result of the spelling change noted therein. However, he or she may just as likely be a descendant of the Zachariah Putman who appears to have arrived in Virginia in the 18th century from Guadaloupe, French West Indies.
Now what does all this have to do with the California Gold Rush? The answer lies in the California Census Records kindly supplied by Warren T. Putman of Rio Linda, Ca. (Warren is a Dutch Putman of the New York variety). Warren has searched the records for all 27 California counties for the years 1850, 1852 (special state census), 1860 and 1870 and provided lists of all the Putmans and Putnams appearing in these years. Most and perhaps all of these individuals arrived in California as a result of the discovery of gold in 1848 and the gold fever was over by 1870. An examination of these lists, keeping in mind the generalizations listed above, provides some interesting observations.
According to the 1850 census there were six Putnams and 9 Putmans in 24 of the 27 counties; the records for the other three have been lost. The six Putnams all were born in New England (3 Mass. and one each for Maine, Conn. and N.H.) and we can be sure they were John's descendants. Of the 9 Putmans, two were born in New England and so were probably Putnams, three were born in New York (real Putmans or perhaps Putnams) and only one was from the South (Alabama). In the special state census two years later there are 14 adult Putnams and 7 Putmans, none of whom are the same as in 1850! San Francisco, one of the missing counties for 1850 is now well represented. Of the seven Putmans, five are from New England (really Putnams), one is from England (could be either family) and again only one is from the South (North Carolina - probably a Virginia Putman). This shows clearly how frequently Putnam can come to be spelled as Putman. Of the 14 Putnams only 3 came from New England, three more came from New York and one came from Arkansas (probably the son of a New England land-grant veteran of the War of 1812). One Putnam also appears to have come from Chile, spelled Chilli.
With the influx of "49ers" really underway the 1860 census reflects the growing population. There are now 18 adult Putnams and 11 Putmans. Of these, 8 Putnams came from New England, 3 came from Canada one of whom was from the well-known Nova Scotia Putnam family, one came from England and one young woman (Adelaide, age 18) came from Ireland (the 1852 census has her from Mass., a more lilely case). The Putmans continue to show evidence of poor spelling with 4 born in New England. Only one New York Putman is listed.
By 1870 California has become civilized and those individuals keeping the census records now seem to be able to tell the difference between a Putman and a Putnam. None of the 16 adult Putmans came from New England, no less than 5 came from New York (very likely of Dutch ancestry) and five more came from the South (probably Virginia Putmans). On the other hand of the 21 adult Putnams, 19 were from New England, one was from Nova Scotia and one had no birthplace listed. When these data are compared to those of the three earlier listings the conclusion is obvious that the earlier the record the more likely it is that Putnam will be spelled Putman - at least outside of New England.
PUTNAMS IN THE NEWS
Congratulations to Senora Martha Pineres de San Clemente and her husband, Guillermo San Clemente, on the birth of their son, Guillermo Antonio San Clemente. Guillermo is the nephew of member Isabel Pineres de Henao of Cartagena, Colombia, the 11th grandson of Martha and Isabel's mother, Leonor Putnam de Pineres and the 3rd great-grandson of Dr. Charles Israel Putnam who immigrated to Colombia in the early part of the 19th century.
Member Constance Putnam of Concord, Ma., has passed on the following item from the Boston Globe of June 15, 1992: "Harold E. Putnam has been named chief financial officer and treasurer of HARVARD COMMUNITY HEALTH PLAN. He has been acting chief financial officer for the past eight months." HCHP is the largest health maintenance organization in New England.
MISSING PERSONS
An on-going program of the American Friends is the creation of a computerized record of the family relationships of the "extended" Putnam and Puttenham families around the world. This record now contains over 7000 names with several thousand more yet to be added. While most of the data for the file are provided by members who contribute details of their own descent, periodically we get news of other Putnams from various sources. One example of this is the item about Harold E. Putnam found in the previous section. Since we have no information that allows us to connect an individual such as Harold with Putnam lines already in the computer, we have to depend on our membership to help accomplish this task.
Recently three other cases have arisen as the result of the contribution of old newspaper clippings concerning Putnams of varying degrees of fame. These items are summarized below because of their inherent interest as well as in the hope that one of our members will be able to help us make a family connection.
While a number of present-day descendants of General Rufus Putnam are known, none of these individuals bears the Putnam name since they trace their descent to the general's numerous daughters. During the Second World War the Washington County (Ohio) Pioneer Association learned that Lt. Col. Rufus W. Putnam of Chicago was such a descendant and that he had a son. Lt. Benjamin Olney Putnam serving with the U.S. Army Air Corps in India. At the time Col. Putnam was serving as U.S. District Engineer in Los Angeles, Ca. Contact with this family has since been lost and we are anxious to renew it so as to record their relationship to Gen. Putnam.
James C. Putnam, the founder and first commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, grew up in West Plains, Mo., and claimed to be a direct descendant of General Israel Putnam. He served with the 6th Cavalry along the Colorado-Utah border and in Northern New Mexico during the settlement of the Ute Indians and also was involved in the 1890 Sioux uprising that culminated in the tragic Wounded Knee, S.D., massacre. He was wounded in the Spanish-American War during fighting in Cuba and later participated in the surrender of Manila in the Philippines. After the war he lived in Columbus, Ohio, and it was there on Sept. 29, 1899, that he and 12 other veterans created the VFW, an organization that now numbers over 2 million overseas veterans. Surely one of our members can help trace James Putnam's lineage!
And this brings us to one of the most unusual cases of lost Putnams that we've seen. Member Richard Putnam of Hanover, N.H. has sent in the following clipping from the Boston Journal of Aug. 19, 1905. As is the case with many a wishful Putnam all the ladies claim to be descendants of Gen. Israel. Hopefully a little detective work will turn up some present day descendants and even establish the lineage of one or two of the ten! The text of the newspaper article goes as follows:
Nashua, N.H., Aug. 18.-0ne of the most unique reunions ever held within the borders of New Hampshire is the reunion of "The Graces," which is now being held at the home of Miss Grace Ella Putnam, 76 Amherst St., in this city. There are six young women in the party with the given name of Grace and the surname of Putnam.
The origin of this gathering is unique. There are at the present time ten young ladies who have similar first and last names, and who are known to each other; they are not closely related, although they can all trace their ancestors back to that sturdy soldier of the Revolution, Gen. Israel Putnam.
The acquaintances of "The Graces" was made in the following manner: Miss Grace Laura Putnam of Weedsport, N.Y., received a letter, which proved to be the property of Miss Grace Ella Putnam of this city. Correspondence resulted, and Miss Putnam of this city went to Weedsport to visit her newly-found friend. While there two other "Graces" were located, and a meeting was planned for this year.
The guests of Miss Putnam are: Grace Mae Putnam of Ashtabula, Oh.; Grace Sophia Putnam, Towanda, Pa.; Grace Edebel Putnam, Sutton, Ma.; Grace Laura Putnam, Weedsport, N.Y.; Grace Emma Putnam, Concord, N.H. Those who could not be present, but who have accepted invitations for the reunion next year, are: Grace Alles Putnam, Lyons, N.Y.; Grace Aurilla Putnam, Franklinville, N.Y.; Grace A. Putnam, Moline, Il.; Grace M. Putnam, Stony Creek, NY. The place of holding the next reunion, which is the third, has not been decided upon as yet.
'The Graces" Hold Unique Reunion At Nashua
SIX PUTNAM GIRLS WITH SAME FIRST NAMES GATHER AT H0ME OF ONE
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