Notes

Note N3021 Index

"Huldah taught in Sandwich, afterward marrying Albert Buffum, a farmer of North Berwick, Maine. The family connection with 'Aunt Huldah' was always warmly maintained. My grandmother Hoag set down in her little note-book that Huldah made 1052 pounds of butter in the year 1883 when she was seventy years old. At the end, lean years came upon the Buffums, and Aunt Huldah, full of traditional piety, once remarked, 'Yes, times are hard for us but we know the lord will provide, so we don't worry,' adding in a timid whisper, 'but we do.' She was a gentle old lady as I knew her" (Boyden, HERE AND THERE IN THE FAMILY TREE [op.cit.], 66).

"From Amy Hoag: Aunt Huldah Buffum's Little Good Night Verse
       Goodnight to all assembled here
       The day is past and gone
       I must to my bed repair
       To rest my weary form."
(Graham, "Family and Descendents of Enoch Hoag and Judith Varney")

Notes

Note N3023 Index

Levi and Elizabeth lived in Minneapolis for several years, until his brother, Charles, convinced Levi to swap his land in Minneapolis (in what is now the heart of the city, on 8th Street between Hennepin Ave. and Nicollet Ave.) for 40 acres of farming land in Howard Lake, a community about 50 miles west of the city. Levi also ran a sorghum mill in Howard Lake.

Levi was a poet, as well. Among his poetic writings are two ("Silent Worship" and "A Mouse") which wrere published in THE FRIENDS REVIEW in 1853, under the pen name of "Rusticus." The first, "Silent Worship," was about the worship service of the Quakers. The second, "A Mouse," is described as "Lines suggested bt seeing a mouse in a Friends' meeting, quietly cogitating in his own manner, until a slight noise frightened him away." The first stanza of the poem is as follows:
       "Fear not, thou tiny little mouse;
       This is a Quaker meeting-house
       And none will do thee harm.
       The Prince of Peace is worship'd here;
       So, then, why need'st thou fear.
       Or, take alarm?"

Two other poems of note are "Ira Beede's Temple," a satirical piece boasting on the new meeting house built by Eli Beede, and "Death of Chocorua," a long epic poem on the legend of the Indian Chief Chocorua, for whom a mountain in New Hampshire is named. In the latter part of that poem, he tells of the natural splendor of the mountain and the incredible view from its summit. Then, he speaks of his despair over those persons living in the valley below who see the mountain as only a source of industrial use.

An interesting part of Hoag Family history is related by Amy Hoag in her letter to Philip Graham, dated November 1969, and recorded in his extensive work, "Family and Descendents of Enoch Hoag and Judith Varney." That letter tells of how the Hoags, being Quakers, were opposed to all forms of war, including the American Civil War. They were also anti-slavery, and they were part of the "underground railroad," the way that many slaves made their way to freedom during the time of that war. Sometimes the children of the fleeing slaves would be stranded. One such was a little girl, named Rachel by Levi and Elizabeth, who took her in. She grew up in the family, and took the name of Hoag. Over time, the family members went their separate ways, and they lost contact with Rachel. One day, several years later, Amy Hoag's father received a telephone call from Rachel, who was advanced in years. She had seen his name in the phone book and called to see if he was of the Hoag family that used to live in Howard Lake. He and his brother, Frank, went to visit Rachel. Sometime later, she told them that she had applied for Old Age Assistance, but had been refused because she did not know where she was born or her exact birth date, nor could she produce a Birth Certificate. The two men went to the Assistance Office, and made out affidavits on Rachel's behalf. These were accepted and she received her benefits. As it happened, she died just a few months later. Several of the Hoag brothers attended her funeral, and were the only white people in attendance.

Notes

Note N3025 Index

Lorenzo was a house painter in Biddeford, Maine. Mehitable was his first wife. His second wife's name was Elizabeth.

Notes

Note N3039 Index

Nathaniel served two months (22 July - 29 Sept 1777) in the Revolutionary War, as a Private in Stickney's Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers.
Mary had been married once before, and was a widow when she married Nathaniel.