Plimpton, Plumpton and BeckwithA Genealogy and Historical Notices of the Family of Plimpton or Plympton in America and of Plumpton in England (on microfiche)
by Levi B. Chase, pub. 1884.
The first 22 pages concerns the family of Plympton in England. The majority of this book contains the descendants of John and Thomas Plympton. John Plympton, the first to come to America, served as an indentured servant to pay for his passage. He later married Jane Dammin at Dedham, Massachusetts in 1644. The stories of new settlements, encounters with the Indians, anecdotes of the first settlers, biographies, along with wills, inventories, passenger and other lists, make this a valuable history. There are 240 pages on 3 microfiche.
Plimptons and Plumptons from the Boyd House genealogy page. Note the Knaresborough reference.
Elizabeth Plumpton (born circa 1424) married Sir William Beckwith also of Yorkshire, England. She was the daughter of either Sir William Plumpton, knight, or Sir Dennis Plumpton.
A personal remembrance of this ancient soul who has just passed from us:
George Plimpton, among other things, was a great fan of pyrotechnics...and it was in this context that I first made my acquaintance with the lofty old soul.
It was in the early 1980s in Boston, and Mr. Plimpton was to host an international fireworks festival. George introduced each country's firework presentation, describing the subtleties and techniques employed. And while the display was taking place, an orchestra would feature that country's music.
The French were really good with pastels; the English were good at causing the fireworks to sort of park themselves in the air, then branch off in different directions, then repeat the process. The Japanese fireworks were most similar to viewing a computer screen, and the fireworks seemed to directed at the stationary viewer. Palimpsests were also quite excellent. The Chinese had perhaps the strangest. A dozen strings of glowing red apples that slowly drifted across the sky, in time with the music. Very subtle. Very different from the American fireworks that finished off the evening...and, by the way, won the competition. To me they merely looked like a battleship had pulled up to the shore and just starting opening fire on the crowd. Huge white fireballs.
Goodness gracious!
For his myriad interests which he shared with the world, George Plimpton will be missed and remembered. I shant expect to have a more scintillating experience of the world of pyrotechnics, literary or otherwise. The world of letters owes him a debt of honor.
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