It was my first reunion, and I did so enjoy meeting you all."

In other letters she pictures her life in Greenfield contrasting it with the years before, when she was young and the house was full of young life. They speak with great affection of the niece and nephews who were left to her care in their childhood, and all throughout they breathe a satisfaction and greater interest in life because of her newlyfound Wing kin. During the years she kept in touch with the Association and contributed much valuable information to The Owl, notably at page 473.

Writing before the reunion at Albany in 1914 she says: "I am anxiously waiting the time in August when we shall all be together again." And then after the reunion: 'I was glad so many met at Albany and, among so many, new ones that came in for the first time. New interest is sure to be aroused. I did enjoy it so, every bit of it."

Miss Alice Wing was the daguhter of Elihu and Weltha (Gleason) Wing, and her line of Wing descent ran thus: Elihu, Daniel, Prince, Jedediah, Elisha, Stephen, Rev. John, Matthew. She died in Saratoga Springs in March, 1918, in her sixtieth year. Those who had come to know her in 1906 felt that they had lost a valued friend.

Roger Braley and His Children

The Wing Genealogy notes the marriage of Deborah Wing (Samuel, Daniel, Daniel, Rev. John, Matthew) to Roger Braley, May 4, 1750, and the marriage of Deborah Wing (John, John, Daniel, Rev. John, Matthew) to the same Roger Braley May 3, 1754. Roger Braley and wife, Deborah, deed land June 16, 1760, but from a deed dated Nov. 30, 1763, it is evident that he then had a third wife, Priscilla. Roger Braley died July 7, 1797, and from the order of the children mentioned in his will and from the evidence given below it is possible to assign his nine children with considerable certainty to their respective mothers.

Children of 1st wife:

Zacheus (over 45 in census of 1800 Falmouth, Mass.) died Falmouth, Mass., Dec. 14, 1821. Married Jane

Their

Deborah (under 45 in 1800, over 45 in census of 1810) died probably June 11, 1847. Married Sylvanus Scott.

Lydia (under 45 in census of 1800, Bellingham, Mass., under 45 in census of 1810, Franklin, Mass.) married Hopkins Shippee.

Roger Braley's will gives the names of his sons in the above order and then the names of his daughters in the above order. If assigned to the wives as indicated, the children of the 1st wife received $33 each, the children of the 2nd wife $1 each (Hannah's dollar going to her children), and the children of the 3rd wife received the rest of the estate after the death of his widow Priscilla.

The first wife, Deborah Wing, was the daughter of Samuel Wing and Dorothy Clifton.

The second wife, Deborah Wing, was the daughter of John Wing and Exper

ience Gifford.

Considering now the children in the order given:

I. Zacheus Braley.

The name Zacheus and the names of two of his children, Peace and Silas, all point to the first wife, for she had an uncle Zacheus Wing, a half-brother, Silas Hoxsie; and Hannah Wing, the daughter of Zacheus, had a child, Peace.

II. John Braley.

He was probably named after his uncle John Hoxsie. John Braley probably named a child Silas after Silas Hoxsie brother of John Hoxsie. The fact that Zacheus Braley and John Braley are the only children of Roger, so far as known, to use the name Silas again suggests that they were the children of the first wife. Moreover Zacheus and John each named a son Joseph, but no other children of Roger, so far as known, named a child Joseph, and it should be noted that descendants of the first wife would have had a cousin, Joseph Swift, and finally, the name Clifton appears in the name of John Braley's grandson, Alden Clifton Braley (son of Joseph). III. Lemuel Braley.

His age in 1800 definitely excludes the first wife as his mother. The name Lemuel was probably after Deborah Deborah Wing's first husband, Lemuel Claghorne.

Old Cape Cod Windmills

Mr. Daniel Wing of Hingham Center, Mass., has been writing a series of historical sketches of "Old Cape Cod Windmills", for the Yarmouth Register, one of which, "The Scorton Windmill,' is here given; together with a description of the Farris Windmill of South

Yarmouth; which description, Mr. Wing says applies in most respects to the wind grist mills he has known, although the details of the interior arrangements may have varied somewhat.

These mills belong to a day that is past, and were associated with the lives of our early ancestors. The Owl presents these records especially for the benefit of those who live at a distance

and have never been able to visit these ancestral homes, and see for themselves these and other relics of the long ago. Following is Mr. Wing's sketch, copied from the Yarmouth Register:

Living, as the writer of this article did, for almost fifty years quite near this interesting structure-the Farris Mill-and often as a boy having visited it for its products or for play, it is not strange that he became interested in its operation, its architecture and history, and ultimately in other mills as well.

"The boys of sixty odd years ago found great pleasure at times when the wind was light, in grasping the end of

a mill arm near the ground, and holding on until their courage failed; and they came to earth always ready to "stump" their companions to go to a greater height.

The experience of the writer which cured him of taking part in that dangerous sport came at a time when he feared to go higher and was almost as much afraid to let go his hold.

I have known some of the more reckless boys to braid themselves between the slats of a mill arm and make the entire circuit, with their heads downward when at the highest point, which must have been fifty or more feet above the ground level; hastily untangling themselves in order to escape a blow from the following arm, and then earnestly inviting others to do likewise.

The frame of this old building was of heavy timbers well secured by firmly driven trenails of the same material. There were two doors so placed that one or the other of them would always be accessible, free from danger from the revolving arms.

ty), as he sat upon his elevated seat at the farther end of the trough, occasionally allowing the meal to run between the thumb and fingers of one hand to ascertain its degree of fineness, while the other hand grasped the lever for controlling the same by elevating or lowering the upper millstone as conditions required.

On the wall, within his reach, was a sort of little wooden windlass having several short spokes but no rim, around which were wound a few turns of codline, with a weight attached to the free end, I believe, "to hold the slack". This was to control the flow of grain as it passed from the hopper on its way to the space between the millstones.

The other end of the codline was carried over several pulleys on the second floor and attached to the lower end of a narrow trough, which, by its downward pitch passed the grain along with greater or less speed as controlled by the miller below.

There was an opening some six or eight inches in diameter through the chamber floor nearly over the miller's seat through which several substantial ropes came down and were belayed to cleats upon

the wall. These ropes tightened or released an immense wooden friction clutch which passed around the main driving wheel and were used in bringing the revolving mill arms to a standstill. Through the opening the miller could see by the position of the main driving wheel whether the arms were in position for shortening sail, or were "crotched," which was the signal for notifying the villagers that all grists had been ground and the mill was awaiting further business.

At the left end of the big meal trough was an opening with hooks on its margin for holding bags, into which the miller, from time to time, pushed the meal by use of a broad wooden paddle made for the purpose. Behind a wooden partition and back of the big meal trough, stood the heavy oak frame which supported the weight of both millstones, the vertical shaft and the wooden lantern pinion near its upper end.

I remember that at one time power

was taken from the lower end of this shaft to run a jig saw for sawing plank for wheelwright's use.

At the right of the miller's seat was the winding stairway which led to the second floor. On that level stood the octagonal woodwork which surrounded the millstones, and which in turn supported the hopper and narrow trough already referred to. At the level of the latter the upright shaft was of iron, somewhat flattened rather than round, and when the mill was in action the trough, which was so suspended as to lean against it, was made to shake from side to side, thus helping the grain onward with greater speed. The octagonal surroundings of the millstones was made more nearly circular by wooden blocks fitted into the angles, thus leaving a uniformly narrow space, which, when filled with meal, made the long spout the only available exit.

One of the interesting features of the second story was the arrangement for raising the upper millstone and swinging it to one side so that the grinding surface of each stone could be reached and sharpened whenever necessary.

Inasmuch as the upper millstone, sometimes called the "runstone", probably weighed more than five tons, the apparatus for handling it had to be correspondingly solid and secure. A derrick made of oak and strapped with iron was permanently placed in position to lift the stone and swing it outward over an opening or hatchway in the floor.

Two long, heavy iron cant-hooks which fitted into holes drilled into opposite sides of the stone were suspended from this derrick in such manner as to allow the stone to be turned over, and the grinding surfaces of both made accessible for the sharpening process.

In each of these surfaces eight shallow channels were cut, diverging from the center, with shorter channels in the intermediate spaces so arranged that, when in motion, the meal resulting from the grinding would be forced outward, clear from the stone itself, and, as the only place of egress was at the upper end of the long spout leading to the big trough below, it found its way there as already described.

The sharpening was done by the use of highly tempered picks, the channels being made a little deeper, and the flat surfaces between, roughened; care being taken to keep the same as a whole perfectly level.

The shape of the mill was hexagonal; but, as the sides sloped inward, each floor space was smaller than the next lower.

There was a marginal gallery at the third story, which was seldom used I think except as a platform when lubricating or repairing the runway on which the revolving roof rested. The roof itself was elongated, had two gables, and

the circular track on which it moved allowed it to be turned in any direction from which the wind might blow.

The shaft which carried the mill arms was projected from one gable, and from the other a long spar extended nearly to the ground with a heavy cart wheel attached for the purpose of turning the vanes to the wind by revolving the whole roof. The track on which the roof rested had to be lubricated freely; and, ultimately, in its old age, it became so difficult to turn that wooden rollers were put in; but these proved to be of little advantage, I believe.

The vanes of the mill arms were of slats arranged ladderlike, and when the wind blew very strong no further surface was needed. Strips of canvas were provided however, two for each arm, which were fully spead when the wind was light by hooking them over pegs at the top, and by weaving them in and out between the lower cross bars and securing them by stout strings to the lowest

one.

Shortening sail was accomplished by twisting the lower half or more of each canvas so as to expose less surface, and securing as before.

There was a chain for securing the mill arms from turning; but sometimes the miller depended upon lowering the upper millstone upon the lower for that purpose, and upon one occasion when he had climbed part way up, a gust of wind started the mill into action and he fell to the ground and was lame ever after.

direction the wheel at the end of the long spar was manned, and the right direction was determined when a person standing there could feel the breeze coming on both sides of the mill with equal force.

About the year 1796, Bennet Wing, my great-grandfather, built a mill of the usual type not far from his residence in that part of Sandwich known as Scorton, quite near the road which led to and faded out among the sand dunes of Sandy Neck.

The fact that there were few trees and fewer houses in that vicinity goes to show that the location was favorable for the vanes of the mill to catch the full force of the winds; from whatever points of the compas they might come.

The writer has but few dates in the

history of this structure or in that of

the owner; but the record shows that the latter was born in 1758, was married As the mill was built when the proin 1782, and died comparatively young. prietor was 38 years old; and as he died comparatively young we may reasonably infer that it was subsequent to his decease, in the early part of the last century, that Isaac Bassett purchased it and moved it to a spot in the lower village of South Yarmouth.

Later, it was owned and managed by Roland Lewis, a resident of that section, and still later, by Freeman Crowell, 2nd, and Seth Collins, who moved it to West Dennis and placed it in an open field near the old road which led to "Uncle Elihu's Ferry.

There it was tended by the owners for some years; but men and mills grow old together; time passed on, and in 1884, the mill which had done its duty well for nearly a century, was purchased and dismantled by Uriah H. Sears, and the mill stones, later purchased by the writer of this article, now rest upon the grounds of the Owl Club, his former home, in South Yarmouth, the upper supporting a large bomb picked up on Morris Island, Charleston Harbor, just after the close of the Civil war; and the nether mill stone still doing duty in holding the foot of the club's flag