Bassett Family Association - , Modern Founder (originally founded in 1897)
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Splinters From The Tree November 2011
(1) Welcome * * * * * Section 2 - Featured Bassett: Photos of Justin H. and Elizabeth Bassett
Springfield Republican, March 16, 1887 Justin H. Bassett, 29, son of the late Joel Bassett of Easthampton, died yesterday from rheumatism of the heart, after but a few days’ sickness. He was a bright, active young business man, employed as overseer at the Mt. Toms lumber mills, and was a member of Ionic lodge of Masons. He leaves a wife and child. Springfield Republican, May 7, 1928 Northampton, May 6 – Mr. and Mrs. Holsey J. Searle of Hadley celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Friday night at the home of Mr. Searle’s brother, C.P. Searle, on Bridge street. Dinner was served to a company of 26, and gold pieces and other gifts were presented to the guests of honor. * * * * * Section 3 - Featured Bassett:Family Photograph of Edward D. Bassett of Blue Earth, Minnesota
Photograph 1 is a family photo taken about 1890 of Edward D. Bassett and family including his wife (Elizabeth Littourneau) and their four oldest children, from left to right, Edward V. Bassett (born 1886), Harry O. Bassett (born 1888), Cleophas Bassett (born 1887) and Henry George Bassett (born 1889). Photograph 2 is a wedding photo taken 21 January 1910 of Henry George Bassett (front left) and Mary Joseph Connelly (front right) with his brother Harry O. Bassett (left rear) and Mary's sister Cecile Connelley (right rear). * * * * * Section 4 - Featured Bassett: William David Bassett of Sonoma County, California History of Sonoma County, California, by Tom Gregory (1891) A few miles out from Petaluma on Rural Route No. 4 may be seen the flourishing ranch property of which William D. Bassett is the proud owner. A visitor here, glancing over the one hundred acre ranch, with its substantial improvements and comfortable residence, feels a thrill of admiration for the man whose ability, unaided by friends, influence of capital, has brought about such results as are here visible. While the ranch is not the largest that one may see in this locality, still it would be hard to find one laid out more advantageously or one whose income per acre exceeded the one of which Mr. Bassett is the owner. Of foreign birth and parentage, William D. Bassett was born near Cardiff, Glamorganshire, Wales, September 9, 1872, the third in order of birth among the six children born to his parents, Daniel and Mary (Evans) Bassett, the former born in 1840 and the latter in 1841. William D. and his brother Thomas were the only sons in the family, the daughters being, Elizabeth, Margaret, Jane and Katie. The eldest daughter, Elizabeth, became the wife of Thomas Day and is the mother of four children. Margaret is the wife of David Thomas and the mother of four children also. All of the children were reared to lives of usefulness by their faithful, God-fearing parents, and on the home farm one and all contributed in some way toward the common good. William D. gave his services to his father until he had attained his majority, and the year 1893 found him setting sail for the United States, his chief assets, in addition to a sturdy frame and stout heart, being a practical knowledge of farming and milling. The ocean voyage completed in safety, as soon as he debarked at the port of New York he secured transportation to the Pacific coast, and in October of the same year in which he left his boyhood home he landed in Marin county. His knowledge of farming as conducted in his own country stood him in good stead, and by applying its principles to conditions which he here found he was able to make a success of his efforts from the first. The ranch upon which he located in that county was well adapted to dairying and poultry raising, and it was therefore along these two lines that he confined his efforts until coming to the vicinity of Petaluma in 1904. Here he has one hundred acres of choice land, of which four acres are in orchard, set out almost exclusively to apples. A small dairy of twelve Jersey cows is also maintained, besides which pasturage is given to three head of heavy draft horses. The crowning effort is undoubtedly the poultry industry in which the owner takes a just pride, and whereas he now has a flock of three thousand White Leghorn chickens, it is his purpose to increase this branch of his ranch enterprise from time to time as he is able, for he is convinced that it is the most profitable line of agriculture in which one can engage in this section of country. Five acres of gum trees add to the beauty of the ranch, which taken as a whole is one of the finest and most productive in the entire country round about. His farm is located about two miles northwest of Two Rock church and only one mile north of the celebrated Two Rocks, from which the valley receives its name. For a life companion Mr. Bassett chose Miss Gertrude Marie Nielsen, who was born in Denmark, one of a large family of eleven children born to her parents. Four of these children were sons, Andrew, Christian, Louis and Jensen, while the remainder were daughters, Gertrude Marie, Catherine, Laura, Anna, Julia, Laura and Christina. Mrs. Bassett has been a resident of Sonoma county since 1904 and since her marriage has made her interest one with her husband in making the ranch all that is possible financially and in every other way, and that they have succeeded in their efforts a casual glance over the ranch will determine. They are both active members of the Two Rock Presbyterian church, of which he is one of the trustees. * * * * * Section 5 - Featured Bassett: Martin Hezekiah Bassett of Illinois, editor and publisher 1905 Coles County, Illinois History BASSETT, Martin H., well-known editor and publisher, Mattoon, Coles County, Ill., was born at Arcola, Ill., June 15, 1867, and there received his education. His parents, William H. and Helen M. (Gruelle) Bassett, are natives of Cynthiana, Ky., and his grandparents, Jonathan and Elizabeth (Discher) Bassett, natives of the same State. Jonathan Bassett, the great-grandfather, was a Virginian. On the mother's side his grandfather, John B. Gruelle, was a native of Kentucky and his grandmother, Prudence (Moore) Gruelle, was born in Macon, Ga., the great-grandfather, William Gruelle, being a native of Lyons, France. William H. Bassett, father of the subject of this sketch, is editor and publisher of the Charleston, Ill., "Plaindealer-Herald." During the Civil War he enlisted at Mattoon as a private in the Seventy-ninth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry and was promoted to be Captain of Company K in that regiment. He later served twenty years as County Judge of Douglas County, Ill. Mr. Bassett learned the printer's trade in the office of the Arcola (Ill.) "Record.," becoming an apprentice therein at the age of eleven. He has since served as city editor of the Springfield (Ill.) "Evening Telegram," and from there he went to Chicago, where he served as police and court reporter on papers of that city. In 1895 he bought the "Arcola Record" in 1899 became connected with the "Mattoon Journal" and in August of that year in connection with Hon. Emery Andrews he bought that paper. On January 1 1905, they sold "The Journal." On September 16, 1891, Mr. Bassett was united in marriage with Mary C. Logan, who was born in Arcola, Ill., where she received her early mental training, afterwards pursuing a course of study in the Oxford (Ohio) Female Seminary. One child resulted from this union: William, who was born in Arcola, Ill., July 17, 1896. Mrs. Bassett is a daughter of Samuel B. Logan, Deputy Sheriff of Coles County, just before Douglas county was created from it, and he was elected the first Sheriff of Douglas County. He enlisted in Mattoon in the Union Army for service in the Civil War; was also a soldier in the Mexican War. In politics Mr. Bassett is a Republican. In fraternal circles he is identified with the Royal Areanum and the A.F. & A.M. The Daily Oklahoman, 28 Jul 1909 Mark Bassett, prospective editor of the Tulsa Evening News, who shot and mortally wounded himself in a local printing plant in this city last Sunday morning, died at Tulsa hospital at 5 o’clock this morning. He was unconscious when found by his son William half an hour after the shooting and he remained in that state until death came. * * * * * Section 6 - Featured Bassett: John Bassette of Ludlow, Massachusetts
John Bassette, who crushed his wife’s head with an ax at Ludlow Thursday morning, is lying comfortably at the city hospital, guarded by a police officer. The wound in the abdomen pierced the lining of the bowels and there is danger from peritonitis. There is a chance, however, of his recovery. The police believe he was shamming Thursday night when he pretended to be unconscious, as he spoke intelligently whenever he wanted anything, but refused to answer questions. He was brought in from Ludlow on a mattress and taken to the jail, but Sheriff Brooks refused to admit him, as no commitment papers had been made out. The Ludlow authorities then made an appeal to the police, and he was sent to the hospital. An officer has thus far been detailed to guard him, but Marshall Southmayd notified the Ludlow selectmen yesterday that he would not be responsible for the prisoner after this morning. They must also provide for watchers and other expenses of his keeping at the hospital. A search was made of the Bassette house in Ludlow yesterday, and a most important piece of evidence was found in the knife with which the man stabbed himself. The weapon is a large jack-knife which was tucked carefully away under the commode. The large blade, which bore evidence of a recent whetting, was stained with blood. Constable Trombly also brought in the bloody ax, a hatchet and a hammer which he found concealed in the house. The officer had with him Horace Bassette, the married son of the murderer, who had been arrested on suspicion. Horace was submitted to a careful examination and then discharged. He said that his father appeared at his door about 3 o’clock in the morning and asked him to watch with his mother while he went for a doctor, as she was ill. Horace went down to the bedroom where his parents slept and found it dark. He called his mother in low tones two or three times, but as she did not answer, he supposed she was asleep and went into the kitchen where a lamp was burning. He fell into a doze and was awakened by the arrival of Constable Trombly. He got made when the office said his mother was dead, but soon found that it was true. From the gash on the head he believed that an ax had been used, and he immediately searched the premises, finally discovering the bloody weapon on the cellar stairs. He had no intimation that his father had stabbed himself until he went out to look for him. Horace said the old folks were the only members of the family who slept on the first floor. He was married and had two children, his married brother had one child, there were three sisters and a 11-years-old brother all sleeping in the same house. After hearing the particulars, Judge Bosworth declined to issue a warrant for the man’s arrest. Should J. Bassette, the murderer, live, he will tried in the Springfield police court, which has jurisdiction in Ludlow. The justice in Ludlow will, however, conduct the inquest. Officers are now satisfied that there is only one plausible theory – that Bassette killed his wife and attempted suicide before he dressed himself to go out. Medical Examiner Shepard’s report on his autopsy of the murdered woman was sent to the Ludlow justice yesterday and in substance is as follows: I found a contused void-shape wound on the right side of the head above the temple, 2 ½ inches long, and a longitudinal wound 1 ½ inches to the left of the larger wound. There was an extensive fracture of the skull just under the contused wound of the scalp. The fracture involved the outer fourth of frontal bone, right side, the squareous of the right temple bone and lower border of the right parietal bone; also a transverse fracture between the frontal and parietal bone, extending over the top of the skull from right to left. The cranial cavity contained seven blood clots. The cause of death was a fracture of the skull form a blow of some blunt instrument. Dr. Shepard says further that the women bled most profusely; the left side of the body was covered with blood and the sheets and other bedding completely saturated with it. The wound bled freely even after his arrival – eight hours after the murder. Only one blow was struck, he says, the second or transverse fracture being consequence upon the major fracture. * * * * * Section 7 - Featured Bassett: Family Photo of Charles Bassett of Ightham, Kent, England
* * * * * Section 8 - New family lines combined or added since the last newsletter: The following family lines have been added since the last newsletter. 219B. John Thomas Bassett of Brooklyn, New York (b. 1881) * * * * * Section 9 - DNA project update
Donations of any amount can be made to the Bassett DNA project by clicking on the link below. Any funds donated will be used to fund select Bassett DNA tests that will further our project as a whole and benefit all Bassetts worldwide. http://www.familytreedna.com/group-general-fund-contribution.aspx?g=Bassett This is just a reminder that the DNA portion of the Bassett Family Association can be found at: http://www.bassettbranches.org/dna/ A current spreadsheet of results can be found at: http://www.bassettbranches.org/dna/BassettDNA.xls If you don't have Excel and can't open the spreadsheet above, you can now see the DNA test results at the following website. http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Bassett/ Jeffrey Bassett | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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