Faith Jewett - 52 Ancestors #40

This week's 52 Ancestors optional theme is "October" and it was suggested to choose an ancestor who was born in October.

Faith Jewett was the daughter of Maximillian & Ann (___) Jewett and she was my 8X great-grandmother. She was born in Rowley on October 8, 1652 and died on February 26, 1737. She married Samuel Dowse on March (or January, depending on the source) 7, 1677 in Newbury. She was his second wife. Samuel was the son of Lawrence & Martha (___) Dowse and was a deacon in the Charlestown church. Samuel died on February 26, 1735, and left an estate totalling £347.

Like most women of the time, Faith doesn't show up in many records. She is mentioned in her father's will. He left her £40 that he had already paid her and also half of his ninety-six acres of land in Bradford, about two and a half acres of salt and rough marsh in the place called Cowbridge, and an additional £10 to be paid to her by her brother, Joseph.

Children of Samuel & Faith (Jewett) Dowse - All the children were born in Charlestown.

1. Anna was born on December 19, 1677. 
2. Samuel was born on November 19, 1679. 
3. John was born on November 10, 1681, and died of fever on January 30, 1703. 
4. Martha was born on November 18, 1683.
5. Mary was born on April 17, 1686, and married Thomas Harris. 
6. Maximillian was born on October 12, 1688, and married Sarah Fosdick. 
7. Sarah was born on March 19, 1691, and married William Pinson. 
8. Ebenezer was born on September 10, 1693, and died in 1781. 

Samuel & Faith (Jewett) Dowse
Sarah (Dowse) Pinson
Sarah (Pinson) Capen
Thomas Capen
Thomas Capen, Jr.
Timothy Capen
Edward Abbott Capen
Fannie May Capen
T. Richard Carter - my grandfather

52 Ancestors #42 - Isaac Cousins

Isaac Cousins was the 7th great-grandfather of Clayton Leonard Blake. He seems to have been a wanderer. I don't have any other colonial era ancestors who lived in as many places as he did. His occupation is listed as gunsmith and locksmith. Tracing his steps we find him in: 

Rowley in 1651, Haverhill in 1652, Ipswich about 1654, Boston in 1656, Portsmouth in 1659, Great Island in 1661, Boston in 1668, North Yarmouth, Maine in 1678, Dorchester in 1691, Boston in 1696-1702

Isaac Cousins married three times. His first wife was named Elizabeth and we don't know her maiden name. His second wife was Ann Hunt, whom he married in 1657. His third wife was Martha Priest. He seems to have been seeking to better his lot in life as he moved around and perhaps his best chance was when he became associated with the proprietors in North Yarmouth in Maine. However, Indian attacks doomed this settlement and the he moved back to the Boston area. In 1691 he was warned out of Dorchester and in 1696 he stated in a lawsuit against Richard Priest that he was "an ancient inhabitant of this country...fallen much into decay and waxen so poore." He claimed Richard Priest was withholding his household goods. By the time he died on July 23, 1702 he was a ward of the town. 

Isaac & Elizabeth Cousins

Thomas & Hannah (Goodale) Cousins

George & Hannah (Cousins) Jacobs

Joshua & Priscilla (Jacobs) Bartlett

Joshua & Lydia (Bartlett) Ripley

Micajah & Nancy (Ripley) Blake

Galen & Dolly (Moody) Blake

Charles & Isabelle (Brown) Blake

Harriet May Blake

Clayton Leonard Blake - my grandfather 

Thanks to the research of Walter Goodwin Davis, The Ancestry of Lydia Harmon, for the basic information in this post. 

52 Ancestors #13 - Ellen Pell, Marriage Trifecta

It's difficult to find information about female colonial ancestors. However, Ellen Pell is very intriguing because of her three marriages. That is not unusual for colonial times given the illnesses and accidents that befell those trying to make a life in the colonies. What is unusual is that all three of her husbands are connected to my family lines.


Her first marriage was to a tailor, John Boynton, an early immigrant to Rowley, Massachusetts. She and John had seven children. Their oldest child, Capt. Joseph Boynton was born in 1645. John Boynton and Capt. Joseph Boynton are my 11th and 10th great-grandfathers, respectively.

Her second husband was Maximillian Jewett, another early immigrant to Rowley. He was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England and died in Rowley on October 19, 1684. They were married on August 30, 1671. Maximillian and his first wife, Ann, are my 9th great-grandparents through their daughter, Faith. This is the signature of Maximillian Jewett from an early deed.

Third time's a charm?

After Maximillian's death, Ellen married Daniel Warner, son of Great Migration immigrant, William Warner. They were married on June 1, 1686. Daniel's sister, Abigail Warner, is my 9th great-grandmother.






Maximillian Jewett & Ann
Faith Jewett
Sarah Dowse
Sarah Pinson
Thomas Capen
Thomas Capen, Jr.
Timothy Capen
Edward Abbott Capen
Fannie May Capen
T. Richard Carter - my grandfather on dad's side

William Warner & unknown wife
Abigail Warner - Sister of Ellen's third husband, Daniel
Thomas Wells
Joshua Bartlett
Lydia Bartlett
Nancy Ripley
Galen Blake
Charles Galen Blake
Harriet May Blake
Clayton Leonard Blake - my grandfather on mom's side

John Boynton & Ellen Pell
Joseph Boynton
Sarah Boynton
Susannah Tenney
Sarah Bailey
Sarah Emerson
Hannah Messer
Micajah Blake
Galen Blake
Charles Galen Blake - see above