The Accidental Death of Edmund Ingalls - 52 Ancestors #43

Edmund Ingalls died at the age of 60 from injuries sustained when he fell through a bridge. In March of 1648, he was crossing the bridge over the Saugus River on horseback and somehow fell through the bridge. The town of Lynn spent £20 to repair the bridge and Edmund, fearing he would not recover, wrote his will. Edmund's will was proved on September 14, 1648, and his inventory came to a little over £135.


After his death, the family petitioned the town for compensation for the loss of their father. These damages were granted to the family on October 18, 1648.

"The humble petition of Robert Ingalls, with the rest of his brethren and sisters, being eight in number, humbly showeth that whereas your poor petitioner's father hat been deprived of life by the insufficiency of Lynne Bridge, so called, to the great impoverishment of your poor petitioner's mother and themselves and there being a court order that any person so dyeing through such insufficiency of any bridge in the countrye, there should be an hundred pounds forfeit to the next heire, May it therefore please this honorable Court to take your poore petitioner's case into consideration." 

Edmund and his wife, Ann, had the following children:

1. Elizabeth was born about 1619 and married Rev. Francis Dane. 
2. Robert was born about 1620 and married Sarah Harker.
3. Faith was born about 1622 and married Andrew Allen. 
4. John was born about 1624 and married Elizabeth Barrett. 
5. Sarah was born about 1626 and married William Bitner.
6. Henry was born about 1627 and married Mary Osgood. 
7. Samuel was born about 1632 and married Ruth Eaton. 
8. Mary was born about 1634 and married John Eaton. 
9. Joseph, nothing further is known.

Information from The American Genealogist, Volume 52.

Edmund Ingalls
Elizabeth (Ingalls) Dane
Francis Dane
Hannah (Dane) Phelps
Hannah (Phelps) Abbott
Mehitable (Abbott) Abbott
Zerviah (Abbott) Ellingwood
John W. Ellingwood, Jr.
Asa Freeman Ellingwood
Nina (Ellingwood) Gibbs
Annie F. (Gibbs) Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Wordless Wednesday - The Saugus Iron Works

The Blast Furnace

The Blast Furnace

The Blast Furnace

The Blast Furnace Water Wheel in Action

The Forge

The Forge

The Warehouse and Dock

Barn Swallow Fledglings

Barn Swallows under the Blast Furnace

Bog Iron

Flat-bottomed boats for transporting iron

 A beautiful national park!

52 Ancestors #38 - Depositions of William Dixey

William Dixey is my 1oth great-grandfather. He came from England to Lynn in 1629 and later lived in Salem and Beverly. He operated a ferry from Salem to Beverly for both people and animals. He served on a variety of juries and was a fenceviewer (1637), lotlayer (1644), and highway surveyor (1645) for the town of Salem. He rose through the ranks of those defending the community until he acquired the title of Captain. He was married to a woman called Ann or Hannah but it is not known if she was the mother of all his children. 

Both from The Great Migration Begins (see citation below)

"In a deposition taken on July 1, 1657, Ens. William Dixey, aged about fifty years, deposed that about twenty-eight years ago, Mr. Isaac Johnson, his master, wrote to the Hon. Mr. Endicott 'for a place to sitt downe in,' whereupon Mr. Endicott gave them leave to go wherever they would. They went to Saugus, now Lynn, where they met with Sagamore James and some other Indians, who gave them leave to dwell thereabouts, and they and the rest of his Master's company cut grass for their cattle, keeping them on Nahant, and had quiet possession."

Gov. John Endecott

In a deposition taken in February 1680, William Dixey described his arrival in New England:

"William Dixy of Beverly in New England aged about 73 years testifieth that I came to New England and arrived in June 1629 at Cape Ann where we found the signs of buildings & plantation work and saw no English people. So we sailed to the place now called Salem where we found Mr. John Endecot Governor & sundry habitants besides some of whom said they had been servants to the Dorchester company & had built at Cape Ann sundry years before we came over. When we came to dwell here the Indians bid us welcome & showed themselves very glad that we came to dwell among them & I understood they had kindly entertained the English that came hither before we came & the English & the Indians had a field in common fenced in together & the Indians fled to shelter themselves under the English oft times saying they were afraid of their enemy Indians in the country, in particular I remember sometime after we arrived the Agawam Indians complained to Mr. Endecott that they were afraid of other Indians called as I take it Tawateens. Hugh Browne was sent with others in a boat to Agawam for the Indians' relief & at other times we gave our neighbor Indians protection from their enemy Indians. Taken upon oath this 16th of February 1680."

Children:

1. Mary Dixey was born about 1634 and married Hugh Woodbury, son of William Woodbury. 
2. Abigail Dixey was baptized on December 25, 1636 in Salem and married John Stone.
3. Anna Dixey was baptized on June 17, 1638 in Salem and married first Nehemiah Howard on August 11, 1657 in Salem and second Thomas Judkins on November 25, 1665 in Gloucester. 
4. John Dixey was baptized on December 19, 1639 in Salem and married Elizabeth Allen on November 6, 1668 in Swansea. 
5. Elizabeth Dixey was baptized on October 17, 1641 in Salem and married Samuel Morgan on December 15, 1658 in Salem. 
6. Sarah Dixey was baptized on July 2, 1643 in Salem and married Edmund Gale by 1666. 

William Dixey
Elizabeth Dixey & Samuel Morgan
Luke Morgan & Ruth Stone
Luke Morgan Jr. & Martha Pulcifer
Samuel Morgan & Judith Dennen
Martha Morgan & William Yates
Moses Morgan & Martha Whittle
Gilbert William Yates & Laura Emmons
Estes Gilbert Yates & Eva Delphinia Hayes
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother 

Source: Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins: Immgrants to New England, 1620-1633, Vol 1-3 (Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995.).

52 Ancestors #35 - The Price of Desertion

William Hedges married first in England and the name of his first wife is unknown. He emigrated to America and settled first in Lynn, where he was made a freeman on May 14, 1634. He moved to Sandwich and then to Yarmouth. He was involved in a number of court cases during his lifetime involving everything from keeping a hog unringed to letting an Indian have a gun. His will was dated June 30, 1670 and his executor, son Elisha, was called to appear at Plymouth to prove the will on July 5, 1670. 

When Captain William Hedges of Yarmouth, MA drew up his will, he left his second wife only 12 pence. It seems that Blanche, widow of Tristram Hull, had deserted Captain Hedges. His inventory estimated the value of his estate at four hundred eighty-seven pounds and sixteen shillings, of which, Blanche was given twelve pence! All other beneficiaries start with "To my beloved..." but here is the part referring to Blanche.  

"And whereas Blanche my Wife hath dealt falcly with mee in the Covenant of Marriage in departing from mee, therefore I doe in this my Last Will and Testament give her twelve pence, and alsoe what I have Received of hers my will is shal be Returned to her againe." 

William Hedges & First Wife
Elizabeth Hedges & Jonathan Barnes
Mary Barnes & John Carver
Mary Carver & Moses Barrows
Moses Barrows & Deborah Totman
Asa Alden Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood, Jr. 
Asa Freeman Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Nina King Ellingwood & George Gibbs
Annie Florilla Gibbs & Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Surname Saturday - Ellingwood

What's in a name? Well, my Ellingwood immigrant ancestor is variously recorded as Ralph Elwood, Ellwood, Ellenwood and then his descendants have continued the variations with Ellinwoods and Ellingwoods. To continue the confusion his second wife is recorded as Ellen or Eleanor or even Helen...surname Lyn or Lynn. Ralph came to America in 1635 on the Truelove. His occupation is listed as planter. He was married twice - first to Elizabeth (last name unknown) - by whom he had at least one child, Josiah, who was baptized in Salem on May 26, 1644. No one has found a record of the death of his first wife or any further records for Josiah. The first child of Ralph and Eleanor (Lynn) was baptized on March 16, 1655/56 in Salem. Eleanor was almost thirty years younger than her husband. As you will see below, I have a double line of descent from this immigrant.

Line 1:

Ralph Ellingwood II was born on March 18, 1656/57 and married Martha Rowlandson. His first wife, Katherine, had their marriage annulled for "insufficiency." How embarrassing! Bill West wrote about Ralph's troubles - pointing out that Ralph and Martha had seven children so his problem was limited to his marriage with Katherine. 

Ebenezer Ellingwood married Sarah Tuck. He received an allotment of land because of his father's service in King Philip's War and the moved to Souhegan West, later called Amherst, New Hampshire. Three of his sons, James, Jedidiah, and Joseph, served in the Revolutionary War. 

Joseph Ellingwood married Sarah Herrick (Bill West has been documenting the estate settlement of Joseph in a series of blog posts that started here.)

John Ellingwood married Zerviah Abbott. They lived in Bethel, Maine, my hometown. (Bill West has been transcribing his estate in a series of posts that started here.) His occupation is listed as shoemaker. He is buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Bethel, Maine - Findagrave memorial.

John Ellingwood, Jr. married Rachel Barrows. (Rachel's ancestors also came on the Truelove) He is buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Bethel, Maine - Findagrave memorial.

Asa's Signature from Pension File

Florilla's Signature from Pension File

Asa Freeman Ellingwood married Florilla Dunham. Asa served in the Civil War and was injured in the First Battle of Bull Run. His pension file makes very interesting reading! After he was injured he enlisted in the Veterans Reserve Corp and served as a cook. Bill West did a great job transcribing the long pension file. They are buried in the Wayside Cemetery in West Paris, Maine - Findagrave memorial.

Signature from Asa's Pension File

Nina King Ellingwood - my 2nd Great-grandmother married George Albert Gibbs.

Grave of George & Nina (Ellingwood) Gibbs - photo used by permission of DJ Larson

Annie Florilla Gibbs married Ray Everett Cotton

Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother 

Line 2

Mary Ellingwood was born on April 3, 1664 and married John Smith. 

Abigail Smith married Ebenezer Dunham

John Dunham married Mary Thomas

James Dunham married Cynthia Packard

James Dunham married Mary "Sally"Houghton

Florilla Dunham - see above

The descendants of Asa Freeman & Florilla (Dunham) Ellingwood have been holding family reunions since the early 1900s. I remember attending some of these as a child. Recently, I reconnected with the reunion organizers and hosts through a Facebook page. Although it is primarily focused on the descendants of Asa Freeman Ellingwood, anyone who is related to the Ellingwoods (and its various spellings) is welcome to join and participate in the discussions. The reunion is still held every year on the second Saturday in August - rain or shine. If you have Ellingwood connections, we hope you join the page and try to attend the reunion.