Henry Bass and Mother Goose

Recently, our researcher has been working on organizing our family files and binders (we are still in the A’s). The Adams’ family binder began with information on Reverend Amos Adams, born in 1728, married to Elizabeth Prentice, born in 1727. Their granddaughter, Elizabeth Bullard, married a guy by the name of Henry Bass from Massachusetts.

The researcher was organizing, not researching, but the name Henry Bass caught her attention because we have a Henry Bass from Illinois. He was a Civil War soldier from Lawrence County, buried in Bell cemetery. Naturally, instinct says, find out if the two are related! The answer is no; they are not. However, more interest in Henry Bass from Massachusetts occurred because Henry Bass and his father, Henry Bass Sr., are both buried in Granary Burial Ground in Boston.

The Granary Burial Ground in Boston is a very famous cemetery where many famous people from Colonial America and the Revolutionary time period are buried. In fact, Granary is on the Freedom Trail. Some of the names are Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, Robert Paine (signer of the Declaration of Independence), Benjamin Franklin’s parents, many victims from the Boston Massacre, and the researcher’s favorite, Mary, a.k.a. “Mother”, Goose. 

It was originally thought that Henry Bass Jr fought in the Revolutionary war because the information is placed on his page on Find A Grave.  This information is incorrect!  Henry was born in 1772! (Not a lot of babies with bayonets in that war.....)

Although you probably didn’t study Henry Bass Sr. in school, he was one of the Loyal Nine of Boston who protested the Stamp Act. The Loyal Nine became the Sons of Liberty and Henry was a participant in the Boston Tea Party.

So, if you are related to the descendants of Amos Adams, you have a famous relative!  Stop by our Research Library and check out what we have!  And, if you have time on your hands, we need volunteers!

(Thank you Marilyn W for this information.)