Ruth was known throughout her life in census forms and in her obit as "Ruth Peach" and never married. Her son was known as "John W. Blaney" throughout his life, and seems to have adopted his grandmother's maiden name, and for whatever reason, Ruth was buried with the "Blaney" name as well. She died at 102 years old.
_____
Just over the line that divides old Barnegat from newer Marblehead there lives today not only one of the oldest inhabitants of the town but also the oldest representative of the Peach family, who were among Marblehead's earliest settlers.
Miss Ruth E. Peach at 96 is the oldest of five generations who are today living together under one roof at 19 Orne street, where she herself has lived for more than 60 years. When she moved to her present home there was a slender elm tree growing in the yard near the sidewalk fence, and she recalls how at that time there was ample room to pass between the tree and the fence.
Years have passed, as if to testify to the length of time that has elapsed, that tree has grown to tremendous height, towering high above ancient Orne street, alone in its majesty, for not another such tree is there nearby. Trees grow slowly in diameter, yet the giant elm, planted by her father in 1824 for a Mr. Woolridge who then owned the property, has completely closed the gap between itself and the fence, and even usurps space on town land for its great trunk.
Under the same roof overhung by this beauteous elm there reside today, besides Miss Ruth E. Peach, John Blaney, her grandniece, Mrs. Harold B. Litchman; Mrs. Cora Connor, her great-grandniece, and little eight months old Carolyn Conner, Mrs. Connor's daughter.
The elder of the five generations recalls easily events of nearly a century ago, for she has a remarkably keen memory. She is among the few residents of Marblehead who recall the gold strike of 1849, and her brothers, Stephen and Lot, were among the 'forty-niners' who struck out for California in those exciting days to make their fortune.
Only one of them returned to Marblehead. Lot was drowned as a result of an accident on a boat, but Stephen, who sailed for California around Cape Horn when his sister was but a girl of 14, returned in a few years. His claim was somewhere on the site of the present city of San Francisco. After his return, accompanied by William Orne, who he met out West when Orne was very ill and whom he nursed back to health, Stephen Peach declared that had he only stuck it out longer he would have become wealthy.
Among her interesting recollections, Miss Peach relates how half a century ago an old lady told her a terrific storm which for a time isolated the home of one of her ancestors, John Peach, from the rest of Barnegat.
While the storm raged, the occupants of the wind-swept house on what is known as the Grace Dane estate, opposite the entrance to Gingberbread road, kept themselves warm before a roaring fire of driftwood just gathered off the beach. They feared any moment that their abode would come tumbling down about their ears.
They were saved from such a catastrophe, however, but the fury of the storm was such that the waters of Little Harbor were swept from cove to cove, shutting the Peach home completely off from the rest of the mainland. At that time there was no wall to check the rising water, and the road was not built as it is today. At that time there were "bars" near the waterfront through which the cattle were driven. The house was known as the "green bank house."
Miss Peach's father, Lot, and her grandfather, John Peach, were farmers--her grandfather was also a "carter," teaming cord wood and other necessities for the inhabitants of the town--and she recalls that they used to drive their cattle in times of poor grazing on the town pastures across from the Neck to Tinker's Island.
In the early days of the town when the inhabitants were either fishermen or farmers, the original settler of the Peach family came over from England and settled on what is now known as Peach's Point. In fact, it is said that the entire area known as the Point was once owned by the early member of the Peach family, besides a large tract extending westward along the West shore.
Her great-grandfather, Thomas Peach, Miss Peach believes came from England, bringing with him the oxen with which he carried on his farm work. There were three brothers, Thomas, William and John. John, "the vester", remained in Marblehead and was unmarried. He lived in Barnegat. Thomas, who also stayed in Marblehead, lived in the old house which still stands on Green street near the entrance to Naugus Head, on the Curtis farm. It is said that the frame for this house was built from timber obtained on nearby woodland.
William Peach, the third brother, set out one day on horseback with his wife and baby for New Hampshire, where he settled. He carried with him a willow shoot, Miss Peach related, which when he had found a place to his liking, he planted, and it is said that today descendants of William Peach in New Hampshire point out the willow tree planted more than a century ago.
The records of the earliest settler of the Peach family in Marblehead are very few, but there is authentic account of one John Peach being among the few here in 1648.
Miss Peach is the daughter of Lot and Bethiah Blaney Peach; her grandfather was John Peach, who married Elizabeth Conant at Beverly on January 6, 1761. Her grandparents on her mother's side were William and Ruth (Bessom) Blaney. Her great-grandfather was Thomas Peach, on her father's side, and on her mother's side, Philip Bessom, whose wife was formerly Sarah Bubier. The Conants were Ipswich people.
Miss Peach was born December 31, 1833, in the old house on Water street, opposite the wharf; she is the last survivor of ten children. Her father lived in the Peach house at Naugus Head on the Curtis farm which he tilled. She has 114 nephews and nieces now living, all but one of them in Marblehead.
Through the Bubier family Miss Peach is related to the former owners of "Bubier Plains," as a large section in Devereux extending to Massachusetts Bay was known. As a boy her father drove the cattle across the "plains" to Tinker's Island when feeding was poor. Her mother, who was born in 1789 and who married her father in 18184, during the War of 1812, sued to walk from the farm to the mill at Forest River with a peck of corn to be ground. From the mill she went to Peabody with wool which she had carded for a factory there, returning with more wool to card. On the return trip she stopped at Forest River for the ground corn. For carding the wool she was able to add a little to the family earnings. Like her daughter, she lived to a very great age; passed away in the house now occupied by her daughter at about 95 years.
(Published Friday, March 14, 1930 in the Marblehead Messenger)
_____
Just over the line that divides old Barnegat from newer Marblehead there lives today not only one of the oldest inhabitants of the town but also the oldest representative of the Peach family, who were among Marblehead's earliest settlers.
Miss Ruth E. Peach at 96 is the oldest of five generations who are today living together under one roof at 19 Orne street, where she herself has lived for more than 60 years. When she moved to her present home there was a slender elm tree growing in the yard near the sidewalk fence, and she recalls how at that time there was ample room to pass between the tree and the fence.
Years have passed, as if to testify to the length of time that has elapsed, that tree has grown to tremendous height, towering high above ancient Orne street, alone in its majesty, for not another such tree is there nearby. Trees grow slowly in diameter, yet the giant elm, planted by her father in 1824 for a Mr. Woolridge who then owned the property, has completely closed the gap between itself and the fence, and even usurps space on town land for its great trunk.
Under the same roof overhung by this beauteous elm there reside today, besides Miss Ruth E. Peach, John Blaney, her grandniece, Mrs. Harold B. Litchman; Mrs. Cora Connor, her great-grandniece, and little eight months old Carolyn Conner, Mrs. Connor's daughter.
The elder of the five generations recalls easily events of nearly a century ago, for she has a remarkably keen memory. She is among the few residents of Marblehead who recall the gold strike of 1849, and her brothers, Stephen and Lot, were among the 'forty-niners' who struck out for California in those exciting days to make their fortune.
Only one of them returned to Marblehead. Lot was drowned as a result of an accident on a boat, but Stephen, who sailed for California around Cape Horn when his sister was but a girl of 14, returned in a few years. His claim was somewhere on the site of the present city of San Francisco. After his return, accompanied by William Orne, who he met out West when Orne was very ill and whom he nursed back to health, Stephen Peach declared that had he only stuck it out longer he would have become wealthy.
Among her interesting recollections, Miss Peach relates how half a century ago an old lady told her a terrific storm which for a time isolated the home of one of her ancestors, John Peach, from the rest of Barnegat.
While the storm raged, the occupants of the wind-swept house on what is known as the Grace Dane estate, opposite the entrance to Gingberbread road, kept themselves warm before a roaring fire of driftwood just gathered off the beach. They feared any moment that their abode would come tumbling down about their ears.
They were saved from such a catastrophe, however, but the fury of the storm was such that the waters of Little Harbor were swept from cove to cove, shutting the Peach home completely off from the rest of the mainland. At that time there was no wall to check the rising water, and the road was not built as it is today. At that time there were "bars" near the waterfront through which the cattle were driven. The house was known as the "green bank house."
Miss Peach's father, Lot, and her grandfather, John Peach, were farmers--her grandfather was also a "carter," teaming cord wood and other necessities for the inhabitants of the town--and she recalls that they used to drive their cattle in times of poor grazing on the town pastures across from the Neck to Tinker's Island.
In the early days of the town when the inhabitants were either fishermen or farmers, the original settler of the Peach family came over from England and settled on what is now known as Peach's Point. In fact, it is said that the entire area known as the Point was once owned by the early member of the Peach family, besides a large tract extending westward along the West shore.
Her great-grandfather, Thomas Peach, Miss Peach believes came from England, bringing with him the oxen with which he carried on his farm work. There were three brothers, Thomas, William and John. John, "the vester", remained in Marblehead and was unmarried. He lived in Barnegat. Thomas, who also stayed in Marblehead, lived in the old house which still stands on Green street near the entrance to Naugus Head, on the Curtis farm. It is said that the frame for this house was built from timber obtained on nearby woodland.
William Peach, the third brother, set out one day on horseback with his wife and baby for New Hampshire, where he settled. He carried with him a willow shoot, Miss Peach related, which when he had found a place to his liking, he planted, and it is said that today descendants of William Peach in New Hampshire point out the willow tree planted more than a century ago.
The records of the earliest settler of the Peach family in Marblehead are very few, but there is authentic account of one John Peach being among the few here in 1648.
Miss Peach is the daughter of Lot and Bethiah Blaney Peach; her grandfather was John Peach, who married Elizabeth Conant at Beverly on January 6, 1761. Her grandparents on her mother's side were William and Ruth (Bessom) Blaney. Her great-grandfather was Thomas Peach, on her father's side, and on her mother's side, Philip Bessom, whose wife was formerly Sarah Bubier. The Conants were Ipswich people.
Miss Peach was born December 31, 1833, in the old house on Water street, opposite the wharf; she is the last survivor of ten children. Her father lived in the Peach house at Naugus Head on the Curtis farm which he tilled. She has 114 nephews and nieces now living, all but one of them in Marblehead.
Through the Bubier family Miss Peach is related to the former owners of "Bubier Plains," as a large section in Devereux extending to Massachusetts Bay was known. As a boy her father drove the cattle across the "plains" to Tinker's Island when feeding was poor. Her mother, who was born in 1789 and who married her father in 18184, during the War of 1812, sued to walk from the farm to the mill at Forest River with a peck of corn to be ground. From the mill she went to Peabody with wool which she had carded for a factory there, returning with more wool to card. On the return trip she stopped at Forest River for the ground corn. For carding the wool she was able to add a little to the family earnings. Like her daughter, she lived to a very great age; passed away in the house now occupied by her daughter at about 95 years.
(Published Friday, March 14, 1930 in the Marblehead Messenger)
Ruth was known throughout her life in census forms and in her obit as "Ruth Peach" and never married. Her son was known as "John W. Blaney" throughout his life, and seems to have adopted his grandmother's maiden name, and for whatever reason, Ruth was buried with the "Blaney" name as well. She died at 102 years old.
_____
Just over the line that divides old Barnegat from newer Marblehead there lives today not only one of the oldest inhabitants of the town but also the oldest representative of the Peach family, who were among Marblehead's earliest settlers.
Miss Ruth E. Peach at 96 is the oldest of five generations who are today living together under one roof at 19 Orne street, where she herself has lived for more than 60 years. When she moved to her present home there was a slender elm tree growing in the yard near the sidewalk fence, and she recalls how at that time there was ample room to pass between the tree and the fence.
Years have passed, as if to testify to the length of time that has elapsed, that tree has grown to tremendous height, towering high above ancient Orne street, alone in its majesty, for not another such tree is there nearby. Trees grow slowly in diameter, yet the giant elm, planted by her father in 1824 for a Mr. Woolridge who then owned the property, has completely closed the gap between itself and the fence, and even usurps space on town land for its great trunk.
Under the same roof overhung by this beauteous elm there reside today, besides Miss Ruth E. Peach, John Blaney, her grandniece, Mrs. Harold B. Litchman; Mrs. Cora Connor, her great-grandniece, and little eight months old Carolyn Conner, Mrs. Connor's daughter.
The elder of the five generations recalls easily events of nearly a century ago, for she has a remarkably keen memory. She is among the few residents of Marblehead who recall the gold strike of 1849, and her brothers, Stephen and Lot, were among the 'forty-niners' who struck out for California in those exciting days to make their fortune.
Only one of them returned to Marblehead. Lot was drowned as a result of an accident on a boat, but Stephen, who sailed for California around Cape Horn when his sister was but a girl of 14, returned in a few years. His claim was somewhere on the site of the present city of San Francisco. After his return, accompanied by William Orne, who he met out West when Orne was very ill and whom he nursed back to health, Stephen Peach declared that had he only stuck it out longer he would have become wealthy.
Among her interesting recollections, Miss Peach relates how half a century ago an old lady told her a terrific storm which for a time isolated the home of one of her ancestors, John Peach, from the rest of Barnegat.
While the storm raged, the occupants of the wind-swept house on what is known as the Grace Dane estate, opposite the entrance to Gingberbread road, kept themselves warm before a roaring fire of driftwood just gathered off the beach. They feared any moment that their abode would come tumbling down about their ears.
They were saved from such a catastrophe, however, but the fury of the storm was such that the waters of Little Harbor were swept from cove to cove, shutting the Peach home completely off from the rest of the mainland. At that time there was no wall to check the rising water, and the road was not built as it is today. At that time there were "bars" near the waterfront through which the cattle were driven. The house was known as the "green bank house."
Miss Peach's father, Lot, and her grandfather, John Peach, were farmers--her grandfather was also a "carter," teaming cord wood and other necessities for the inhabitants of the town--and she recalls that they used to drive their cattle in times of poor grazing on the town pastures across from the Neck to Tinker's Island.
In the early days of the town when the inhabitants were either fishermen or farmers, the original settler of the Peach family came over from England and settled on what is now known as Peach's Point. In fact, it is said that the entire area known as the Point was once owned by the early member of the Peach family, besides a large tract extending westward along the West shore.
Her great-grandfather, Thomas Peach, Miss Peach believes came from England, bringing with him the oxen with which he carried on his farm work. There were three brothers, Thomas, William and John. John, "the vester", remained in Marblehead and was unmarried. He lived in Barnegat. Thomas, who also stayed in Marblehead, lived in the old house which still stands on Green street near the entrance to Naugus Head, on the Curtis farm. It is said that the frame for this house was built from timber obtained on nearby woodland.
William Peach, the third brother, set out one day on horseback with his wife and baby for New Hampshire, where he settled. He carried with him a willow shoot, Miss Peach related, which when he had found a place to his liking, he planted, and it is said that today descendants of William Peach in New Hampshire point out the willow tree planted more than a century ago.
The records of the earliest settler of the Peach family in Marblehead are very few, but there is authentic account of one John Peach being among the few here in 1648.
Miss Peach is the daughter of Lot and Bethiah Blaney Peach; her grandfather was John Peach, who married Elizabeth Conant at Beverly on January 6, 1761. Her grandparents on her mother's side were William and Ruth (Bessom) Blaney. Her great-grandfather was Thomas Peach, on her father's side, and on her mother's side, Philip Bessom, whose wife was formerly Sarah Bubier. The Conants were Ipswich people.
Miss Peach was born December 31, 1833, in the old house on Water street, opposite the wharf; she is the last survivor of ten children. Her father lived in the Peach house at Naugus Head on the Curtis farm which he tilled. She has 114 nephews and nieces now living, all but one of them in Marblehead.
Through the Bubier family Miss Peach is related to the former owners of "Bubier Plains," as a large section in Devereux extending to Massachusetts Bay was known. As a boy her father drove the cattle across the "plains" to Tinker's Island when feeding was poor. Her mother, who was born in 1789 and who married her father in 18184, during the War of 1812, sued to walk from the farm to the mill at Forest River with a peck of corn to be ground. From the mill she went to Peabody with wool which she had carded for a factory there, returning with more wool to card. On the return trip she stopped at Forest River for the ground corn. For carding the wool she was able to add a little to the family earnings. Like her daughter, she lived to a very great age; passed away in the house now occupied by her daughter at about 95 years.
(Published Friday, March 14, 1930 in the Marblehead Messenger)
_____
Just over the line that divides old Barnegat from newer Marblehead there lives today not only one of the oldest inhabitants of the town but also the oldest representative of the Peach family, who were among Marblehead's earliest settlers.
Miss Ruth E. Peach at 96 is the oldest of five generations who are today living together under one roof at 19 Orne street, where she herself has lived for more than 60 years. When she moved to her present home there was a slender elm tree growing in the yard near the sidewalk fence, and she recalls how at that time there was ample room to pass between the tree and the fence.
Years have passed, as if to testify to the length of time that has elapsed, that tree has grown to tremendous height, towering high above ancient Orne street, alone in its majesty, for not another such tree is there nearby. Trees grow slowly in diameter, yet the giant elm, planted by her father in 1824 for a Mr. Woolridge who then owned the property, has completely closed the gap between itself and the fence, and even usurps space on town land for its great trunk.
Under the same roof overhung by this beauteous elm there reside today, besides Miss Ruth E. Peach, John Blaney, her grandniece, Mrs. Harold B. Litchman; Mrs. Cora Connor, her great-grandniece, and little eight months old Carolyn Conner, Mrs. Connor's daughter.
The elder of the five generations recalls easily events of nearly a century ago, for she has a remarkably keen memory. She is among the few residents of Marblehead who recall the gold strike of 1849, and her brothers, Stephen and Lot, were among the 'forty-niners' who struck out for California in those exciting days to make their fortune.
Only one of them returned to Marblehead. Lot was drowned as a result of an accident on a boat, but Stephen, who sailed for California around Cape Horn when his sister was but a girl of 14, returned in a few years. His claim was somewhere on the site of the present city of San Francisco. After his return, accompanied by William Orne, who he met out West when Orne was very ill and whom he nursed back to health, Stephen Peach declared that had he only stuck it out longer he would have become wealthy.
Among her interesting recollections, Miss Peach relates how half a century ago an old lady told her a terrific storm which for a time isolated the home of one of her ancestors, John Peach, from the rest of Barnegat.
While the storm raged, the occupants of the wind-swept house on what is known as the Grace Dane estate, opposite the entrance to Gingberbread road, kept themselves warm before a roaring fire of driftwood just gathered off the beach. They feared any moment that their abode would come tumbling down about their ears.
They were saved from such a catastrophe, however, but the fury of the storm was such that the waters of Little Harbor were swept from cove to cove, shutting the Peach home completely off from the rest of the mainland. At that time there was no wall to check the rising water, and the road was not built as it is today. At that time there were "bars" near the waterfront through which the cattle were driven. The house was known as the "green bank house."
Miss Peach's father, Lot, and her grandfather, John Peach, were farmers--her grandfather was also a "carter," teaming cord wood and other necessities for the inhabitants of the town--and she recalls that they used to drive their cattle in times of poor grazing on the town pastures across from the Neck to Tinker's Island.
In the early days of the town when the inhabitants were either fishermen or farmers, the original settler of the Peach family came over from England and settled on what is now known as Peach's Point. In fact, it is said that the entire area known as the Point was once owned by the early member of the Peach family, besides a large tract extending westward along the West shore.
Her great-grandfather, Thomas Peach, Miss Peach believes came from England, bringing with him the oxen with which he carried on his farm work. There were three brothers, Thomas, William and John. John, "the vester", remained in Marblehead and was unmarried. He lived in Barnegat. Thomas, who also stayed in Marblehead, lived in the old house which still stands on Green street near the entrance to Naugus Head, on the Curtis farm. It is said that the frame for this house was built from timber obtained on nearby woodland.
William Peach, the third brother, set out one day on horseback with his wife and baby for New Hampshire, where he settled. He carried with him a willow shoot, Miss Peach related, which when he had found a place to his liking, he planted, and it is said that today descendants of William Peach in New Hampshire point out the willow tree planted more than a century ago.
The records of the earliest settler of the Peach family in Marblehead are very few, but there is authentic account of one John Peach being among the few here in 1648.
Miss Peach is the daughter of Lot and Bethiah Blaney Peach; her grandfather was John Peach, who married Elizabeth Conant at Beverly on January 6, 1761. Her grandparents on her mother's side were William and Ruth (Bessom) Blaney. Her great-grandfather was Thomas Peach, on her father's side, and on her mother's side, Philip Bessom, whose wife was formerly Sarah Bubier. The Conants were Ipswich people.
Miss Peach was born December 31, 1833, in the old house on Water street, opposite the wharf; she is the last survivor of ten children. Her father lived in the Peach house at Naugus Head on the Curtis farm which he tilled. She has 114 nephews and nieces now living, all but one of them in Marblehead.
Through the Bubier family Miss Peach is related to the former owners of "Bubier Plains," as a large section in Devereux extending to Massachusetts Bay was known. As a boy her father drove the cattle across the "plains" to Tinker's Island when feeding was poor. Her mother, who was born in 1789 and who married her father in 18184, during the War of 1812, sued to walk from the farm to the mill at Forest River with a peck of corn to be ground. From the mill she went to Peabody with wool which she had carded for a factory there, returning with more wool to card. On the return trip she stopped at Forest River for the ground corn. For carding the wool she was able to add a little to the family earnings. Like her daughter, she lived to a very great age; passed away in the house now occupied by her daughter at about 95 years.
(Published Friday, March 14, 1930 in the Marblehead Messenger)
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Ruth Eliza Blaney
1833 – 1936
John W. Blaney
1852 – 1933
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