Over the past day I have been thinking a lot about Boston. Especially as my sister is in Boston this week for work and was only a few blocks from where the bombs detonated. She is OK, but of course is a bit shaken up as most people there are.

The Boston emergency response teams have done a great job in helping the victims of the bombs. This made me think of the long tradition of emergency preparedness in Boston.

Boston was one of the first cities in the world to have an engine that would deliver water to a fire. In 1654 they signed a contract with Joseph Jenckes to build a fire engine. Joseph Jenckes is of great interest to me, as he is my 10th great grandfather. The Braman and Jenks families came together in 1785 when Anna Jenks married Joseph Braman (my 6th Great Grandfather).

This picture is of a much later fire engine. This is a 1905 Metropolitan Steamer that was displayed at the grand opening of the fire station near my house back in 2007. It is the oldest picture of a fire engine that I have though :-). There are no details as to what the fire engine was like that Joseph Jenckes was contracted to build.

Joseph Jenckes was an iron founder who came to Massachusetts from England in 1643. He set up a forge at the Saugus Iron Works which is just ten miles from downtown Boston. He is known for several of his inventions and activities related to his work with metal. Someday I will share more of these with you.

This picture was taken at the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site. The buildings here were reconstructed in the mid 1900’s. Just to the right of this picture is the location of the workshop of Joseph Jenckes. The building has not been reconstructed, but the area has been excavated in the past and many artifacts were found that gave an idea of the work that he performed.

My heart goes out to the people of Boston and our country as we go through this difficult time. I hope that we have answers soon as to what happened so that the healing can begin.

Steven