Mentally Ill, Accused, Imprisoned, & Deserted by Her Husband - 52 Ancestors #13

This week's prompt is "Different." Well this is the story of how being different was a dangerous thing in colonial New England. Instead of finding compassion, this poor woman was persecuted for her mental distress. 

Rebecca Andrews was the daughter of Thomas & Rebecca Andrews. She was married first to John Frost on June 26, 1666 in Cambridge, MA. After John Frost's death, Rebecca was married to George Jacobs, Jr. The Jacobs and Andrews families got swept up in the Salem Witchcraft hysteria. Rebecca's father-in-law, George Jacobs, Sr., an old man, was hanged with John Proctor, George Burroughs, John Willard, and Martha Carrier on August 19, 1692. 

When Rebecca's husband, George Jacobs, Jr. and Daniel Andrews (Rebecca's brother) were accused, they both fled to avoid prison and a trial. At the time of Rebecca's arrest the house was searched thoroughly for her husband and brother but they were not located. It astounds me that her husband and her brother just left her in this awful time. In addition, Rebecca (Andrews) (Frost) Jacobs had been described as crazy for a number of years before this stressful event. 

So with her husband & brother accused and on the run, her daughter imprisoned, her father-in-law executed, Rebecca was in prison with little support except for her mother. 

"Rebecca Fox [mother of Rebecca Jacobs] petitioned the court in 1692 on behalf of her daughter, Rebecca (Andrews) (Frost) Jacobs, who was imprisoned for witchcraft. In November she stated that her daughter had been in prison "for (I think) about this half Year" and her "poor Daughter ... is a Woman Craz'd, Distracted & Broken in her mind, & that She has been so these twelve Years & upward." The other petition stated that Rebecca Jacobs "at some time uttered hard words of her self as tho she had killed her Child, which words are much accounted of as is famed."

Fortunately, both Rebecca and her daughter, Margaret are released and George Jacobs, Jr. returned from his exile. 

Children of George & Rebecca (Andrews) (Frost) Jacobs: 

1. Margaret was born in 1675 and married John Foster (or Forster). She was arrested and was the one who gave testimony against her grandfather. 
2. George was born in 1677 and he married twice: 1) Hannah Cousins in 1701; 2) Elizabeth (Donnell) (Harris) Burnham
3. John was born in 1679 and married twice: 1) Abigail Waters in 1704; 2) Lydia Cooke in 1721. 
4. Jonathan was born in 1681. 
5. Mary was born in 1683 and drowned in 1685 when she fell into a well. One has to wonder if her death had something to do with her mother being "Craz'd, Distracted, and Broken in her mind." According to the petition, her troubles had started before this but losing a child certainly could not have helped Rebecca's mental state. 
6. Joseph was probably the baby that was still nursing when his mother was arrested.

Rebecca Andrews
George Jacobs (the third of this name)
Priscilla Jacobs
Lydia Bartlett
Nancy Ripley
Galen Blake
Charles Galen Blake
Harriet May Blake
Clayton L. Blake - my grandfather

52 Ancestors #7 - Samuel Andrews

I have a connection to Samuel Andrews on both my mother's Blake line and my father's Carter line. On both sides, he is my 11th great-grandfather. Samuel Andrews was about 37 years old when he came to Saco, Maine (then part of Massachusetts). He came from London on the Increase in 1635. Records indicate that on April 14, 1635, Samuel, his wife, Jane, a servant, Ellyn Longe, and two daughters, Jane age 3, Elizabeth, age 2,  were examined for passage to New England on the Increase. He was a dyer in England. The Andrews family were part of a larger group coming to Saco on this ship. These included Robert Nanny, age 22, Robert Sankey, age 30, and James Gibbons, age 21. All four of the males have an annotation next to their names "Robert Cordell goldsmith in Limbert [Lombard?] Street sent them away." Samuel Andrews died before August 1, 1638 and his wife Jane remarried about 1641 to Arthur Mackworth of Falmouth (now Portland, ME). The Mackworths lived in Falmouth and Boston. She died in Boston between May and October 1676. 

Children:

1. James Andrews was born on February 21, 1625/6 and baptized at St. James, Garlickhithe, London on March 5, 1625/6. He married two times. His first marriage was to Dorcas Mitton. On August 6, 1696, intentions were published in Boston for a marriage between James Andrews and Margaret (Phips) Halsey. 
2. Rebecca Andrews was born on April 1, 1628 and baptized at St. Peter's, Paul's Wharf, in London on April 16, 1628. She was buried at St. James, Garlickhithe, London on October 6, 1629. 
3. Jane Andrews was born on February 21, 1630 and baptized at St. James, Garlickhithe, London on March 7, 1629/30. She married Francis Neale. 
4. Elizabeth Andrews was born on May 4, 1632 and baptized at St. James, Garlickhithe, London on May 13, 1632. She was married three times. Her first marriage was to Richard Pike about 1653. Her second was to Thomas Purchase about 1657. Her third marriage was to John Blaney in November 1678 in Lynn, Massachusetts. 
5. Samuel Andrews was baptized at St. James, Garlickhithe, London on August 16, 1634 and buried there on September 16, 1634. 
6. Philippa Andrews was born about 1636 and married three times. Her first marriage was to George Felt, son of Great Migration immigrant, George Felt. They married in Falmouth (now Portland, ME) on November 25, 1662.  Her second marriage was to Samuel Platts on December 19 1682 in Rowley, MA. Her third marriage was to Thomas Nelson on April 9, 1690 in Rowley, MA. 

I was intrigued by the name of the area where most of the baptisms were performed. A little research indicates that the word "hythe" refers to a landing place and in that area on the Thames, garlic was sold in medieval times. The church of St. James, Garlickhithe was destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London. It's facade was rebuilt by the famous architect, Christopher Wren. St. Peter's, Paul's Wharf (where Rebecca was baptized) was not rebuilt after the Great Fire. 

Rebuilt facade of St. James, Garlickhithe

Another interesting note is that the James Gibbons who came with Samuel Andrews in the Increase is my 9th great-grandfather on my father's Cotton line.  Another connection to this group of men "sent away" by Robert Cordell. 

Carter Line
Samuel Andrews
James Andrews
Dorcas Andrews
Tabitha Davenport
Tabitha Cox
William Moody - brother of Houchin Moody
Elizabeth Moody
William Ackley
Sarah Ackley
Mary Jane Abbott
Fanny May Capen
Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather

Blake Line
Samuel Andrews
James Andrews
Dorcas Andrews
Tabitha Davenport
Tabitha Cox
Houchin Moody, brother of William Moody
Josiah Moody
Hezekiah Moody
Dolly Estes Moody
Charles Galen Blake
Harriet May Blake
Clayton Leonard Blake - my grandfather

Romance in Rockport - Updated

The legend of Mary Andrews and Stephen Knutsford of Rockport. When I first wrote about this, I     thought I was a direct ancestor of Mary but then I found a mistake in my research. I was very disappointed that my connection to this story was broken. However, I recently discovered that Mary is my 4th cousin 7 times removed...hey, it's a connection and I'll take it.  

Andrews Point

Mary is described as dreamy and intuitive; a girl who liked to use her imagination. She had one daydream that came over and over. It involved her husband coming to her from across the sea. In some dreams he was lying injured and exhausted on the shore of Andrews Point. It was such a powerful dream that she turned away other suitors choosing to wait for her dreams to come true. She frequently wandered down to the shore to look for him. Finally one day, she saw him - a young man in a foreign uniform lying injured on the shore - just as she pictured in her dream. She revived him and helped him up the path to her father's home where he was nursed back to health. On November 5, 1778, Mary became his bride. 


The name of Mary's dream man was Stephen Knutsford and his background adds to the romance of the story. It is unknown how he ended up in the British Navy but in a deposition he gave in 1805, he stated that he came to this country during the Revolutionary War; was taken prisoner when General Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga, October 17, 1777; called himself a "seaman" and said he was born in Ireland. Others have speculated that he was the second son of a Lord Knutsford whose estate was in Cheshire or the son of an Irish lord. Eleanor Parsons wrote that he was from a titled Danish-English family; on a British ship sailing off Straitsmouth Island when he was tossed overboard by the rolling sea. Unfortunately, he died in 1807 without ever revealing any information about his family background. 

Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga

Adding to the mystery is the fact that he was not typical of seamen of the day. He could read and write quite well. His handwriting is described as beautiful and his conversation as brilliant. He was secretive about his former life and there is no evidence he communicated with his family or friends in the British Isles. Of course, he was not an American citizen and risked capture by the British who would consider him a deserter and a traitor. He lived a quiet life, teaching school at Lanesville and Pigeon Cove on Cape Cod. He and Mary had eight children. 


Common ancestors for Mary Andrews are Nathaniel & Lydia (Huckstep) Andrews. It comes through the Ellingwood line to my grandmother, Fern Lyndell Cotton, for the descendants of Asa Freeman Ellingwood who read my blog.  


Sources: 
Ancestry.com. Alluring Rockport : an unspoiled New England town on Cape Ann : an irregular, rocky shore with ledges and sandy coves, quarries [database on-line]. Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.


Rockport: The Making of a Tourist Treasure
 By Eleanor C. Parsons, 1998