The Gregory C. Boardmans of Chandler, Arizona:Information about Stephen Carver Boardman
Stephen Carver Boardman (b. 22 Mar 1802, d. 1887)
Notes for Stephen Carver Boardman:General Notes: Stephen Carver was H.C. Boardman when he was helping with the organizing and operating the under ground railroad. The same with Bethany Coit the name she used as she worked with her husband. Stephen Carver Boardman (Nathaniel, Nathaniel, Stephen, Isaac, Samuel) of Norwich, VT., born there March 22, 1802, Married Feb. 12, 1829, Bethania Coit,. She was the mother of his first six children, and died May 18, 1839. He married Feb. 27,1840, Betsey Neal., the mother of his seventh and youngest child, who died Feb. 13, 1841. He afterwards married Nov. 10, 1841, Orra Newton, who died Dec. 28,1842, and March 28, 1843, he married Mary Howard, who survived him. Mr. Boardman carried on the old homestead farm in Norwich for many years, and finally moved to the West, where he died in 1887, at the age of 85,in Boardman, Wisconsin, a town named for one of his sons.Stephen Caver Boardman was one of the old-time Abolitionists, and thoroughly beloved, with Garrison, that "immediate emancipation was the right of every slave and the duty of every master." He was a man of intelligence, and had made good use of the opportunities for reading famished the library of Dartmouth College, near which his home was situated, to become well in history, to which knowledge was added a thorough! Familiarity with the Bible. He was thus able to defend his convictions both in speech and by writing, which he was not slow to do whenever the occasion presented. But was not only so that he showed his erect ness for the cause he had espoused, for he took an active part also in doing all he could to help slaves to their freedom. His home in Norwich was an important station on the" North Star" or "Underground Railroad," and was threescore of thrilling experiences and hair-breadth escape for the many a slave who was helped by Mr. Boardman from this, his last hiding place, across the line to Canada and freedom. An incident of this kind, related by his son, Charles William, who has furnished the facts here given this day is quoted:"When I was a boy of thirteen years of age, there came to our house a man, wife, and child of four years, the parents being about thirty years old, the wife nearly white, intelligent, and able to read and write. She was the handsomest woman of dark complexion I ever saw. The man also was of intelligent appearance, large, and quite black. It was three O'clock in the morning when a well-known abolitionist brought them to us. The slave-catcher with bloodhounds was known to be in pursuit, and my father, after feeding them and providing them with all necessities, took them into a cornfield where was a cellar, hidden by the weeds with which it was overgrown. Old shoes, wet in camphor, had been given them in order to leave no scent upon the ground on their way there. At eleven o'clock the united States marshal, slave-catcher, and several deputies, with two bloodhounds, arrived and demanded to be allowed to make search of the premises. Father questioned their right to search without a warrant, and told them all if they entered his house they did so at their peril.
Strong words were used; the hotheaded slave-catcher, but father’s coolness and fearlessness kept him at bay drew bowie knives and revolvers. The marshal tried in vain to persuade father to yield, fearing there might otherwise be bloodshed, but in the end they departed, leaving deputies and hounds until a search warrant could be procured. When it came towards sundown, having received my instructions, I went as usual to bring home the cows, leaving the gate into the yard open, that the cows might find their way alone to the barn to be milked. As soon as I had turned them toward home, I left them and repaired to the hiding-place in the cornfield. I led the fugitives into an orchard, thence into the woods, and over the hills for a mile and a half to another road. There we waited till my father drove that way about 9 O'clock in the evening. He carried them twenty-five miles, and put them aboard a morning fright train in charge of a conductor who had the same service many times before. The next Twenty-four hours found them in Canada, and on my father's return the next day, when the U.S. marshal, slave-catcher, and party came back with a search warrant, they found themselves too late. some six months later father had an interesting letter from the wife and mother; they had met with success in their new home, and she was than the mother of two children. This is one instance out of many such in father's experience. In this manner he assisted and conveyed to freedom more than 600 men, women, and children." Mr. Boardman's intelligence and ability well fitted to represent his town in important offices, but his strong antislavery views prevented his having any political following, and he was chosen only to such positions as school committee, selectman, highway surveyor, and justice of the peace. General Notes: Stephen Carver was H.C. Boardman when he was helping with the organizing and operating the under ground railroad. The same with Bethany Coit the name she used as she worked with her husband. Stephen Carver Boardman (Nathaniel, Nathaniel, Stephen, Isaac, Samuel) of Norwich, VT., born there March 22, 1802, Married Feb. 12, 1829, Bethania Coit,. She was the mother of his first six children, and died May 18, 1839. He married Feb. 27,1840, Betsey Neal., the mother of his seventh and youngest child, who died Feb. 13, 1841. He afterwards married Nov. 10, 1841, Orra Newton, who died Dec. 28,1842, and March 28, 1843, he married Mary Howard, who survived him. Mr. Boardman carried on the old homestead farm in Norwich for many years, and finally moved to the West, where he died in 1887, at the age of 85,in Boardman, Wisconsin, a town named for one of his sons.Stephen Caver Boardman was one of the old-time
More About Stephen Carver Boardman and Bethania Coit Bethany:
Marriage: 12 Feb 1829, Norwich, Windsor, VT.
More About Stephen Carver Boardman and Betsey Neal:
Marriage: 27 Feb 1840, Norwich, Windsor, VT.
More About Stephen Carver Boardman and Orra Newton:
Marriage: 10 Nov 1841, Hartford, Windsor, VT.
More About Stephen Carver Boardman and Mary Howard:
Marriage: 28 Mar 1843
Children of Stephen Carver Boardman and Bethania Coit Bethany are:
- +Alonzo Clayton Boardman, b. 16 Feb 1831, Norwich Windsor, VT, d. 27 Jul 1884, St. Croix Co. Wi at age 53~.
- James Carlos Boardman, b. 11 Nov 1829, Norwich Windsor, VT.
- Frances Hamilton Boardman, b. 16 Feb 1831.
- George Miron Boardman, b. 19 Nov 1834, d. 15 Aug 1849.
- Philomela H. Boardman, b. Abt. 1845.
- Nathaniel Coit Boardman, b. 21 Dec 1837,d., ~.
Children of Stephen Carver Boardman and Betsey Neal are:
- +Alonzo Clayton Boardman, b. 16 Feb 1831, Norwich Windsor, VT, d. 27 Jul 1884, St. Croix Co. Wi at age 53~.
- James Carlos Boardman, b. 11 Nov 1829, Norwich Windsor, VT.
- Frances Hamilton Boardman, b. 16 Feb 1831.
- George Miron Boardman, b. 19 Nov 1834, d. 15 Aug 1849.
- Philomela H. Boardman, b. Abt. 1845.
- Nathaniel Coit Boardman, b. 21 Dec 1837,d., ~.
- Charles William Boardman, b. 29 Jan 1841.
Children of Stephen Carver Boardman and Orra Newton are:
- +Alonzo Clayton Boardman, b. 16 Feb 1831, Norwich Windsor, VT, d. 27 Jul 1884, St. Croix Co. Wi at age 53~.
- James Carlos Boardman, b. 11 Nov 1829, Norwich Windsor, VT.
- Frances Hamilton Boardman, b. 16 Feb 1831.
- George Miron Boardman, b. 19 Nov 1834, d. 15 Aug 1849.
- Philomela H. Boardman, b. Abt. 1845.
- Nathaniel Coit Boardman, b. 21 Dec 1837,d., ~.
- Charles William Boardman, b. 29 Jan 1841.