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

A Friend Delivers a Warning - 52 Ancestors #8

A Good Deed - Indeed! 

John Perkins was the son of John & Judith (Gater) Perkins. He was baptized on September 14, 1609 in Hillmorton, Warwickshire, England and died in Ipswich, Massachusetts on December 14, 1686. 

Hillmorton, Warwickshire, England

In September 1633 was living on a island that belonged to his father when he was warned by a friendly Indian, named Robin, that he was being targeted for an ambush. A small group of Indians were planning to come to see him as if they wanted to trade with him. However, there were forty canoes of Indians just waiting for him to come forward so they could attack. 

John decided that he didn't want to face this alone and sought the advice of John Winthrop. Winthrop told John that when the small group arrived, John should "carry it roughly towards them, and threaten to shoot them, if they would not be gone, and, when their backs were turned, to strike the drum he had with him, besides his muskets, and to discharge them; so that six or eight young men, who were in the marshes hard by a mowing, having their guns ready charged, might take alarm, and the Indians would perceive their plot discovered, and hast away to sea again." 

And it worked! He did as instructed and was happy to see the forty canoes go "fast as they possibly could to sea..." (History of Ipswich).

I guess he was pretty happy that Robin gave him a warning of what was supposed to happen. I hope he was able to repay the favor in some way. 

John Perkins

Mary Perkins

Abigail Wells

Joshua Bartlett

Lydia Bartlett

Nancy Ripley

Galen Blake

Charles Galen Blake

Harriet May Blake

Clayton Leonard Blake - my grandfather

Not Far Enough - 52 Ancestors #6

I'm going to stretch the meaning of the prompt again this week to tell the tale of a bad man who tried to outrun his past but it caught up with him anyway! 

The bad man in this case was the Rev. John Lyford and he wasn't my ancestor but connected to my ancestor's family (I'll explain later). 

On the surface, Rev. John Lyford appeared to be a Godly man who traveled to the Plymouth Colony to minister to the Pilgrims in that community. However, the colonial leaders soon discovered that he was allied with the Church of England and maligning the Separatists in his letters to England. Once Governor Bradford found out, Rev. Lyford apologized. A little while later, it became evident that he hadn't changed his ways and he was banished. 

But that was just the start of Lyford's secrets. His wife, Sarah, came forward to tell of his infidelity, even fathering a child out of wedlock with another woman before she married him. She couldn't keep any maids because of his sexual harassment and molestation of them. 




Eventually, the BIG secret was revealed. The reason Rev. John Lyford had to leave his previous ministry in Ireland and come to the colony was that he had raped a girl in the parish while she attended pre-marital counseling with him! The woman's husband "tooke some godly friends with him, to deale with Liford for this evill" (Bradford's Journal). He had to leave in fear of even greater punishment. 

After leaving Plymouth, Lyford bounced around from Nantasket (Hull, MA) and Cape Ann to Virginia, where he died in 1638. He was a truly evil and despicable man! He could run but he could not go far enough to outrun his bad behavior! 

So what's my connection to this scoundrel? His wife, Sarah, married as his second wife, my 11th great-grandfather, Edmund Hobart. 

Edmund Hobart & Margery Dewey (first wife)

Line 1:
Nazareth Hobart - daughter of Edmund & Margaret (Dewey) Hobart
Martha Beals
Samuel Dunham
Ebenezer Dunham
John Dunham
James Dunham
James Dunham 
Florilla Dunham
Nina King Ellingwood
Annie Florilla Gibbs
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Line 2:
Rev. Peter Hobart - son of Edmund & Margaret (Dewey) Hobart
Elizabeth Hobart
Joshua Ripley
Hezediah Ripley
Joshua Ripley
Joshua Ripley
Nancy Ripley
Galen Blake
Charles Galen Blake
Harriet May Blake
Clayton Leonard Blake - my grandfather

NEHGR 1848
Wikipedia
http://minerdescent.com/2012/01/19/17th-century-premarital-sex/

52 Ancestors #43 - Thomas Cousins - Attack at Black Point

In the late 17th century, settlers on the frontier suffered greatly from Indian attacks. Those settlers on the Maine coast were not part of the spread of settlers from Massachusetts and the Indians were seeking to halt the expansion and maintain their lands. The area that is now Scarborough encompassed a number of settlements including Black Point and Dunstan. From October 10-13, 1675, the settlers battled with the Wabanaki. Those at Dunstan were critical of the lack of support from Joshua Scottow's garrison at Black Point. Mary Beth Norton notes that several key figures in the Salem Witchcraft hysteria had connections to the area (see In The Devil's Snare, p. 141-143). 

My grandfather, Clayton Blake descends from Thomas Cousins who was serving in the company of Captain John Wincoll and gave the following deposition accusing Joshua Scottow of cowardice and failure to help those under attack. 

"The deposition of Thomas Cousens aged about 30 yeares makes oath that being with Capt. Winckoll when he was ingaged with the Indians neere Blackepointe and faire within sight of the garrison. Capt. Winckoll sent two men to Mr. Scottow for some reliefe, being then likely to have bene overthrowne, by the enimy, but the said Scottow would not send any help to us, he had at that time upward of forty men in his garrison, but from Mr. Foxwels garrison, which was as farr from us as Mr. Scottows garrison was, we have five men which did us a great pleasure, and they left but two men in the garrison, which if we had had releife from Mr. Scottows garrison, in an ordinary way with gods blessing, we might have given the enimye a great overthrow, and after the fight was over, this deponent went to Mr. Scottows garrison, and heard Souldiers generally say, that they see Capt. Winckoll ingaged with the enimy, and would have gone to have releived them. but Mr. Scottow would not suffer them, but charged them to Keepe the garrison, and further this deponent saith that it was generally reported at Blackpoint, that in theire great distress they could have no help from Mr. Scottows garrison, he being the comander thereof, and further saith not. 

Taken upon Oath the 16th January 1679

before me Sam'l Wheelwright

Comiss.

In answer to the charge, Capt. Joshua Scottow accused Thomas Cousins of perjury and although Thomas was acquitted, he was found guilty of a different charge, "presumptuous and reproachfull expressions" against Scottow. 

Thomas Cousins & Hannah Goodale
Hannah Cousins & George Jacobs
Priscilla Jacobs & Joshua Bartlett
Lydia Bartlett & Joshua Ripley
Nancy Ripley & Micajah Blake
Galen Blake & Dolly Moody
Charles G. Blake & Isabelle Brown
Harriet May Blake & ?
Clayton Leonard Blake - my grandfather


Sources: 
Norton Mary Beth, In The Devil's Snare
Davis Walter Goodwin, The Ancestry of Lydia Harmon