Capt. Hermon Roberts Case & Paulina Elizabeth Minor

Tim’s 3rd-great-grandfather, Capt. Hermon Roberts Case, son of Aaron Newton and Laura Amanda (Roberts) Case, was born 10 April 1818 in Simsbury (Hartford) Connecticut, and died 17 February 1890 in (Lenawee) Michigan. He married (as his second wife), 5 March 1848, Paulina Elizabeth Minor, who was born 2 April 1822 in Mendon (Monroe) New York, and died 9 March 1898 in Cambridge Township (Lenawee) Michigan, daughter of William and Naomi (Reniff) Minor.

Paulina came to Ohio with her parents in 1831, settling near Cleveland. She and Herman lie buried in Cambridge Junction Cemetery in Cambridge.

Herman married (as his first wife) 28 December 1841, Mary Doty, who was born about 1820 in Euclid (Cuyahoga) Ohio, and died 16 March 1845 in East Cleveland (Cuyahoga) Ohio, daughter of Asa Doty. Mary lies buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.

The following is from History & Biographical Record of Lenawee County, Michigan, Vol. I, by WA Whitney & RI Bonner, 1879:

Capt. Hermon R. Case was born in Simsbury (now Broomfield), Hartford county, Connecticut, April 10th, 1818. His father, Aaron N. Case, was born in the same place, in 1785, where he lived, and owned a farm, until 1832. He then moved to Windsor, Ashtabula county, Ohio, and purchased a new farm. He lived there on his farm until 1867, when he came to Cambridge, this county, where he died, in February, 1869. About 1813 he married Miss Laura Roberts, daughter of Lemuel and Roxey Roberts, of Windsor (now Broomfield), Hartford county, Connecticut, by whom he had five children, Hermon R. being the third child and second son. Mrs. Laura Case was born in Broomfield, Connecticut, in 1793, and died there in 1829. Her mother’s name was Roxey Goodwin, and her ancestors were English.

Capt. Hermon R. Case lived with his father until he was fourteen years old, and received but very little education. In 1833 he, with his brother Galusha, started from Broomfield, Connecticut, with packs on their backs, and walked to Ashtabula, Ohio. Hermon had seventeen dollars, and Galusha had about twenty-five dollars, which they had saved from their work the previous year. Hermon worked by the month until the spring of 1834, when he engaged as a sailor, on the schooner Morning Star, and sailed the great lakes until 1849. In 1838 he was promoted to captain, and commanded the schooner Hiram during that season. In 1841 he was mate of the steamer Eagle, on the Mississippi and confluent rivers. In 1835, while lying in the port of Milwaukee, unloading a cargo of provisions for the settlers, he, with his shipmates, assisted in raising the first frame building erected in Milwaukee. The last vessel he commanded was the schooner General Houston, which sailed between Toledo and Oswego for about three years.

In 1848 he purchased a new farm, in Cambridge, this county, on section nine, and moved his family upon it. He followed the lakes until the fall of 1849, since which time he has resided in Cambridge, on his farm. He now owns three hundred and twenty acres, on sections eight, nine, sixteen and seventeen and one hundred and sixty acres, on section twenty-five. He has erected two good frame houses, and five large barns, and has four hundred and thirty acres under cultivation. Where his present fine residence stands, was formerly a Shawnee Indian camping ground, it being between two beautiful little lakes, on an elevated spot. It was afterwards used as a camping ground by the pioneers, who traveled over the La Plaisance Bay turnpike, en route for their new homes. It was also used as a camping place by the men who constructed the turnpike.

December 28th, 1841, he married Miss Mary Doty, daughter of Asa Doty, of Euclid, (now East Cleveland,) Ohio, by whom he had one child, Laura, born in East Cleveland, Ohio, January 17th, 1845, now the wife of Frank Gray, of Franklin. Mrs. Mary Case died in East Cleveland, March 16th, 1845. March 5th, 1848, he married Miss Paulina Minor, daughter of William and Naomi Minor, of Cleveland, Ohio, by whom he has had four children, as follows: Marion, born in Cambridge, June 10th, 1851, a farmer, of Cambridge; Elona N., born in Cambridge, July 7th, 1853, now the wife of William Raven, a farmer, of Cambridge; two children died in infancy.

Mrs. Paulina Case was born in Mendon, Monroe county, New York, April 2d, 1822. She came to Ohio with her parents in 1831, and settled near Cleveland. Her father was born in New London, Connecticut, May, 25th, 1788. He died in 1856. His ancestors were English. His father commanded a vessel in the American navy, and took part in the seven naval conflicts, during the Revolutionary war. Her mother, Naomi Reniff, was born in Massachusetts, December 6th, 1790, and died in August, 1871. Her parents were natives of Massachusetts, and, in 1811, settled in Western New York, in what was then known as the Genesee Valley.

Hermon & Mary were the parents of a daughter:

1. Laura Josephine Case, born 17 January 1845 in East Cleveland, died 6 December 1924 in Clinton (Lenawee) Michigan. She married 28 August 1878 in Adrian (Lenawee) Michigan, Franklin Gray, who was born 21 October 1849 in Franklin Township (Lenawee) Michigan, and died 28 April 1916 in Clinton, son of John and Catherine (Ferris) Gray.

Hermon & Paulina were the parents of four children:

1. Doremus A. Case, born about 1849, died 18 April 1852.

2. Marion Case, born 10 June in Cambridge, died there 18 November 1893. He married (as her first husband) 10 June 1874, in Tecumseh (Lenawee) Michigan, Mary Sterling Ladd, who was born in June 1854 in Cambridge, and died 20 March 1929, daughter of Ira and Ann (Bigham) Ladd. Marion & Mary were the parents of two children.

3. Elona Naomi Case (Tim’s 2nd-great-grandmother), born 7 July 1853 in Cambridge, died 22 January 1929 in Badaxe (Huron) Michigan. She married 5 March 1878, in Cambridge, William Franklin Raven, who was born 12 July 1852 in Macomb (St. Lawrence) New York, and died 14 September 1917 in Escanaba (Delta) Michigan, son of Henry Charles and Clarinda (Sweet) Raven. Elona & William were the parents of seven children.

4. Anna Case, born about 1864, died 17 October 1866.

Draken Harald Hårfagre

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10.8.16 ~ Draken Harald Hårfagre ~ Mystic Seaport ~ Mystic, Connecticut

Over time, I have come to realize that our culture has made valuable contributions to our world heritage at large. For me, it’s important to turn the spotlight on these contributions, and not just the more recent ones, but also our fantastic contributions to craftsmanship and technology. Shipbuilding was the rocket science of the Viking era.
~ Sigurd Aase
(Draken Harald Hårfagre ~ Expedition America 2016)

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10.8.16 ~ Draken Harald Hårfagre ~ Mystic Seaport ~ Mystic, Connecticut
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On a gray, misty Saturday we went over to Mystic Seaport to see the Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre. Draken means dragon and Harald Hårfagre refers to Norwegian King Harald Fairhair. I didn’t get to see her sail into Mystic with her red silk sail because we had been in North Carolina visiting the little one. But much to my delight, the ship will be wintering here at the Seaport. She will be covered over, though. If I keep my eye on the newsletters from Mystic Seaport, a living history museum, I hope to catch her sailing away in the spring.

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10.8.16 ~ costumed Viking enthusiasts who were also waiting in line

Draken Harald Hårfagre is the end result of a daydream of the ship’s owner, Sigurd Aase. After our tour I bought a lovely souvenir guidebook, full of stunning pictures of the journey here from her home port in Haugesund, Norway. Stops were made at the Shetland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland and cities along the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes. Then it went through the New York State canals to the Hudson River and finally down the river to New York City and then Mystic.

The ship has a lovely website: Draken Harald Hårfagre

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10.8.16 ~ Draken Harald Hårfagre

It’s a big challenge to sail a ship of this old variety, and to prove that it is possible to sail a large open Viking ship across the seas.
~ Capt. Björn Ahlander
(Draken Harald Hårfagre ~ Expedition America 2016)

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10.8.16 ~ Draken Harald Hårfagre
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notice the fika (coffee) “machine” near the entrance to the galley ~ our guide assured us that modern-day coffee was very important to the crew members!
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personal items were stored in these chests which fit in the deck of the ship ~ the lid becomes part of the deck itself ~ our guide explained that no part of the ship is water tight so they wrapped their belongings in plastic before putting them in these narrow chests
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notice the little dinghy with a sail tethered to the longship
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“King Harald Fairhair” as portrayed by Peter Franzén on the History Channel’s television drama “Vikings”

And now for a pet peeve of mine. There were several visitors wearing “Viking” helmets with horns who were approached by other visitors asking them where they could get a helmet for themselves. Of course they weren’t for sale on the ship or at the museum gift shop! The guide book, if they cared to read it, debunks the myth of the horned helmet:

One of the most widespread myths in history is the one about the Vikings wearing horned helmets. Their helmets had no horns. The popular image dates back to the 1800s, when Scandinavian artists like Sweden’s Gustav Malmström included the headgear in the their portrayals of the raiders. When Wagner staged his Der Ring des Nibelungen, commonly refers to as the “Ring cycle” in the 1870s, costume designer Carl Emil Doepler created horned helmets for the Viking characters, and an enduring stereotype was born.
~ Draken Harald Hårfagre guidebook ~ Expedition America 2016

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10.8.16 ~ Draken Harald Hårfagre ~ Mystic Seaport ~ Mystic, Connecticut

The line to tour the ship, which only took a few minutes, was very long and stretched around other exhibits at the Seaport. Fortunately we were near the beginning and were marveling at how long the line still was two hours later. In spite of the rain!

The Gokstad ship we saw in Norway last year was one of the inspirational sources for the design of this ship: Viking Ship Museum.

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This is a fantastic opportunity to create history by reliving the challenges our Viking ancestors overcame. An adventure one wouldn’t miss for the world. It is thrilling to bring the Sagas to life and do something a little crazy and down to earth at the same time.
~ Arild Nilsen
(Draken Harald Hårfagre ~ Expedition America 2016)