Immigrant Ancestor Jasper Blake

Three of my grandparents connect back to Jasper Blake's family, making Jasper and his wife, Deborah, my 9th great-grandparents on one line and my 10th great-grandparents on two other lines. The most direct is that of my grandfather, Clayton L. Blake.

Jasper & Deborah (Everard) Blake were one early settlers of Hampton, New Hampshire. He probably came to America in 1639-1640. Jasper died there on January 4, 1674 and Deborah died there on December 20, 1678. A 1661 deed for a house, barn, and house lot was transferred between Thomas Warde and Jasper Blake, both of Hampton, calls Jasper a fisherman. Jasper was one of several local men chosen to lay out house lots and roads and locate a meetinghouse and a block house for protection. Jasper's will and other documents were signed with his mark. His will was dated on July 18, 1673 and named his wife as executrix. He left land, given to him by Timothy Dalton, to his sons, Timothy & Israel. His son, John, was to have the lot where he currently lived, and son, Jasper, was given other land in Hampton. The inventory of his estate was taken by Samuel Dalton and Christopher Hussey on January 21, 1673/4. His personal property was only ￡59, 5s and his real property totaled ￡206, 5s.


Jasper and Deborah had seven sons and three daughters; Deborah, Timothy, Israel, Jasper, John, Sarah, Joshua, Samuel, Dorothy, and Philemon. One source lists another daughter, Maria, born in 1673.

Line to Blake - Generations 2-10

John, son of Jasper and Deborah (Everard) Blake, was born in 1656 and died in 1716. He married Frances ________.

John, son of John & Frances (___) Blake, was born at Hampton on September 2, 1689 and married Mary Dearborn. He moved to Sanbornton, New Hampshire.

Benjamin Blake
David Blake
Micajah Blake
Galon Blake
Charles G. Blake
Harriett May Blake
Clayton L. Blake - my grandfather

Line to Yates - Generations 2-11

Timothy, son of Jasper & Deborah (Everard) Blake was born in 1649 and married Naomi Sleeper. Timothy died in 1718. Timothy & Naomi had five sons and four daughters; Moses, Israel, Timothy, Aaron, Deborah, Martha, Naomi, Ruth, and Samuel.

Israel, son of Timothy & Naomi (Sleeper) Blake married Leah Smith. He lived in Nottingham, New Hampshire and died in April 1753. Israel & Leah (Smith) Blake had four sons and three daughters; Deborah, Sarah, Eliza, Jedidiah, Joseph, Israel, and Benjamin.

Deborah (Blake) Tucker
Hannah (Tucker) Rowe
William Rowe
Stephen B. Rowe
Charles H. N. Rowe
Anna (Rowe) Hayes
Eva D. (Hayes) Yates
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Line to Cotton - Generations 2-11

Ruth, daughter of Timothy & Naomi (Sleeper) Blake was born on November 3, 1693 and died on June 6, 1717. She married Oliver Smith.

Mehitabel (Smith) Lyford
Oliver Smith Lyford
Nancy (Lyford) Philbrick
Oliver Smith Philbrick
Benjamin Perley Philbrick
Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Philbrick) Cotton
Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton

Some Blake Sources

Cogswell, Rev. Elliott C. "History of Nottingham, Deerfield, and Northwood." Google Books. John B. Clarke, 1878, Original from Columbia University, 10 Mar. 2009. Web. 10 July 2016.

Cutter, William Richard. "Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts; : Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, Ed : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive." Internet Archive. Google, 2008. Web. 10 July 2016.

"History of Merrimack and Belknap Counties, New Hampshire." Google Books. Ed. D. Hamilton Hurd. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 July 2016.

Hurd, Charles Edwin. "Genealogy and History of Representative Citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts : Hurd, Charles Edwin, 1833-1910 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive." Internet Archive. Boston Public Library, 2008. Web. 10 July 2016.

For information on Deborah (Everard) Blake and her relationship to the Dalton family, see the article published in 2000, by George F. Sanborn, Jr., F.A.S.G. and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, F.A.S.G.,  in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database:AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2013.) Volume 154, beginning on p. 259.

John & Zerviah (Abbott) Ellingwood - Tombstone Tuesday

John Ellingwood, son of Joseph & Sarah (Herrick) Ellingwood, was born on September 19, 1765, and died on June 19, 1847. On December 29, 1798, he married Zerviah Abbott in Andover, Massachusetts. Zerviah was the daughter of Jonathan & Mehitable (Abbott) Abbott. She was born on March 19, 1768, and died on October 18, 1847. They are buried in Riverside Cemetery, in Bethel, Maine. They are my 5X great-grandparents. 

Children of John & Zerviah (Abbott) Ellingwood:

1. Sarah - born September 22, 1790
2. Ann - born March 12, 1792
3. Jacob - born February 23, 1794
4. Joseph - born July 3, 1797 (twin)
5. Benjamin - born July 3, 1797 (twin)
6. John Wesley - born June 12, 1798
7. Daniel - born July 23, 1800
8. Ebenezer - born October 20, 1804
9. George V. - born December 10, 1806

John & Zerviah (Abbott) Ellingwood

John Wesley Ellingwood, Jr. 

Asa Freeman Ellingwood

Nina King (Ellingwood) (Gibbs) Cotton

Annie Florilla (Gibbs) Cotton

Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

2X Great-Grandparents Lifespan - Saturday Night Genealogy Fun!

I haven't done one of Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenges in awhile. I really like this one. 

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:

1)  We each have 16 great-great grandparents.  How did their birth and death years vary?  How long were their lifespans?  
2)  For this week, please list your 16 great-great grandparents, their birth year, their death year, and their lifespan in years.  You can do it in plain text, in a table or spreadsheet, or in a graph of some sort.

First, here is my chart of great-great-grandparents: 

Data analysis: 

• Earliest birth year = 1835 vs. Most recent birth year = 1863
• Earliest death year = 1894 vs. Most recent death year = 1949 - Three men outlived their wives and three women outlived their husbands
• Shortest lifespan = 41 years vs. Longest lifespan = 93 years
• Average lifespan for men = 77 years vs. Average lifespan for women = 67 years
• Two great-great-grandmothers died in their early 40s! One great-great-grandfather died in his late 50s! Two great-great-grandparents died in their 60s and two died in their 70s. Four great-great-grandparents died in their 80s and two died in their 90s!

No matter how much time you have to live your dash*, make the most of it! 

*Your dash is the time between your birth & death dates. 

3)  Share your information about your 16 great-great grandparents with us in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, or on Facebook or Google+.  If you write your own blog post, please leave a link as a comment to this post.

Henry Herrick's Will

Henry & Edith (Laskin) Herrick are my 10X great-grandparents on both my mother's side and on my father's side of the family. They had eight children. This is a copy of Henry's will and his bequests to his wife and children.








The will of Henry Herrick was proved on March 28, 1671 and contained the following provisions:

• to wife Edith, the western half of his dwelling
• to son Thomas, wearing apparel, 20 pounds and the land where his house stands
• if son John live and die single, the land given him to go to testator's sons Ephraim, Joseph, and Benjamin
• to son Zachary, one hundred acres of Birch Plain bought of Francis and Henry Skerry of Salem, sixteen acres where Zachary's house stands
• to sons Ephraim, Joseph, and John, the farm bought of Mr. Alford
• to ??, the two lots bought of Henry Reynolds of Salem and Richard Kimball of Wenham, also two acres in Bunkard's meadow
• to sons Ephraim and Joseph, domestic animals
• to son Benjamin, the pasture on the southeast side of the highway at age 21
• to daughter Elizabeth, 40 pounds
• to son Henry, at wife's death, all the estate bequeathed her

Henry Herrick, Jr., executor

Mr. John Hale & Capt. Thomas Lathrop, overseers

The inventory was completed on March 15, 1671 by John Rayment, Sr. and Isaac Hall, Sr. It totaled 974 pounds, 17 shillings with 804 pounds, 10 shillings being real estate. He also owned a musket, a sword, and a rapier.

Family of Henry & Edith (Laskin) Herrick

1. Thomas
2. Zachariah - 9th great-grandfather
3. Ephraim
4. Henry Jr. - 9th great-grandfather
5. Joseph - He was the Salem constable who arrested the accused witches.
6. Elizabeth
7. John
8. Benjamin

Henry Herrick, Jr. - Samuel Herrick - Joseph Herrick - Sarah Herrick - John Ellingwood - John Ellingwood, Jr. - Asa F. Ellingwood - Nina K. Ellingwood - Annie F. Gibbs - Fern Lyndell Cotton

Zachariah Herrick - Sarah Herrick - Luke Morgan - Luke Morgan, Jr. - Samuel Morgan - Martha Morgan - Moses Yates - Gilbert W. Yates - Estes Yates - Linona Alice Yates

My Newbury Lines

Robert Adams, Elizabeth (Adams) Phelps, Elizabeth (Phelps) Ballard, Joseph Ballard, Elizabeth (Ballard) Abbott, Aaron Abbott, Aaron Abbott, Jr. Sarah (Abbott) Capen, Edward A. Capen, Fannie (Capen) Carter, Thomas Richard Carter. 

#1 - John Bailey, Sarah (Bailey) Cheney, Eleanor (Cheney) Safford, John Safford, Ruth (Safford) Haskell, Martha (Haskell) Houghton, Mary "Sally" (Houghton) Dunham, Florilla (Dunham) Ellingwood, Nina (Ellingwood) Gibbs, Annie F. (Gibbs) Cotton, Fern Lyndell Cotton 

#2 - John Bailey, Rebecca (Bailey) Brown, Ruth (Brown) Rogers, Isaac Rogers, Rebecca (Rogers) Blaisdell, Stephen Blaisdell, Jr., Susanna (Blaisdell) Rowe, Stephen B. Rowe, Charles H. N. Rowe, Anna J. (Rowe) Hayes, Eva (Hayes) Yates, Linona Alice Yates. 

Thomas Brown, Isaac Brown m. Rebecca Bailey - See Bailey #2 line for the rest. 

#1 - Richard Bartlett, Christopher Bartlett, Martha (Bartlett) Stevens, Ebenezer (Stevens) Blaidell, Stephen Blaisdell, Sr. m. Rebecca Rogers - See Bailey #2 line for the rest. 

#2 - Richard Bartlett, Richard Bartlett, Jr., Samuel Bartlett, Samuel Bartlett, Jr., Joshua Bartlett, Lydia (Bartlett) Ripley, Nancy (Ripley) Blake, Galen Blake, Charles G. Blake, Harriet May Blake, Clayton Leonard Blake 

#1 - John Cheney, Daniel Cheney m. Sarah Bailey - see Bailey line #1 for the rest. 

#2 - John Cheney, Peter Cheney, John Cheney, Edmund Cheney, Edmund Cheney, Jr. Mehitable Cheney m. Stephen Blaisdell, Jr. - See Bailey line #2 for the rest. 

Aquila Chase, Priscilla (Chase) Merrill, Nathaniel Merrill, Priscilla (Merrill) Knight, Eunice (Knight) Sawyer, Hannah (Sawyer) Hilton, Catherine (Hilton) Churchill, Loann (Churchill) Rowe m. Charles H. N. Rowe - see Bailey #2 line for the rest. 

John Cutting, Mary (Cutting) Noyes, Hannah Noyes m. Peter Cheney - see Cheney #2 line for the rest. 

John Emery, Eleanor Emery m. John Bailey - see the both of the two Bailey lines above. 

Henry Jaques, Elizabeth (Jaques) Knight, Henry Knight m. Priscilla Merrill - see Chase line for the rest. 

John Knight, John Knight, Jr., Richard Knight m. Elizabeth Jaques - see Jaques line for the rest. 

Robert Long, Rebecca (Long) Rawlins, Rebecca (Rawlins) Rogers, Rebecca Rogers m. Stephen Blaisdell, Sr., Stephen Blaisdell, Jr. - see Bailey #2 line for the rest. 

Hugh March, George March, Sarah (March) Deering, Elizabeth (Deering) Emmons, Eliakim Emmons, Jacob Emmons, Laura (Emmons) Yates, Estes G. Yates, Linona Alice Yates

William Marston, William Marston, Jr., Maria (Marston) Prescott, Samuel Prescott, Jermiah Prescott, Elisha Prescott, Hannah (Prescott) Edgecomb, Mary (Edgecomb) Philbrick, Benjamin P. Philbrick, Mary (Philbrick) Cotton, Ray Everett Cotton, Fern Lyndell Cotton

#1 - Nathaniel Merrill, Susannah (Merrill) Burbank, Timothy Burbank, Timothy Burbank, Jr., Rebecca (Burbank) Keene, Hannah (Keene) Cox, Timothy Cox, Christiana (Cox) Cotton, Francis Llewellyn Cotton, Ray E. Cotton, Fern Lyndell Cotton

#2 - Nathaniel Merrill, Abel Merrill, Nathaniel Merrill, Priscilla m. Henry Knight - see Henry Jaques line

#1 - William Moody, Joshua Moody, Samuel Moody, Joshua Moody, William Moody, Elizabeth (Moody) Ackley, William Ackley, Sarah (Ackley) Abbott, Mary Jane (Abbott) Capen, Fannie (Capen) Carter, Thomas Richard Carter

#2 - William Moody,  Joshua Moody, Samuel Moody, Joshua Moody, Houchin Moody, Josiah Moody, Hezekiah Moody, Dolly (Moody) Blake, Charles G. Blake, Harriet May Blake, Clayton Leonard Blake

Nicholas Noyes, Hannah Noyes m. Peter Cheney - see Cheney #2 line for the rest   

William Titcomb, William Titcomb, Jr., Elizabeth (Titcomb) Bartlett, Samuel Bartlett, Jr. - see Bartlett #2 line for the rest.   

Reynor - The Whipping of the Quaker Women

The Dover Public Library has a nice section of historical information on their website.  In the essay, The Whipping of the Quaker Women, I found a few genealogical connections. This incident took place in 1662.

My first connection is to "Dover's powerful Congregational minister John Reynor." The three Quaker women who had come from England to minister to the people of Dover, NH were in frequent conflict with Rev. Reynor and challenged his authority.

After petitioning the local magistrate, Capt. Richard Walderne (Waldron), local constables were ordered to remove "these vagabond Quakers, Ann Coleman, Mary Tompkins, and Alice Ambrose" from their towns. The punishment was to be painful and humiliating: "make them fast to the cart's tail, and driving the cart through your several towns, to whip their naked backs, not exceeding ten stripes apiece on each of them, in each town; and so to convey them from constable to constable, till they are out of this jurisdiction." This trip was made in winter and over a distance of eighty miles.

My next connection is to John and Thomas Roberts, constables of Dover, who were responsible for arresting the women.

After they were whipped and tied to the cart in Dover, the women were delivered to Hampton and the constable there carried out the order, next it was on to Salisbury, where Sergeant Major Robert Pike refused to carry out the order.

Dr. Walter Barefoot treated the women's torn backs and the women were then taken to the Maine side of the Piscataqua River and stayed at the home of Major Nicholas Shapleigh of Kittery.

Rev. John Reynor (9th great-grandfather), Anna Reynor, Anna Lane, Jemima Foster, Joseph Spurr, Enoch Spurr, Roxanna Spurr, Mary Frances Stanley, Edward M. Carter, T. Richard Carter - my grandfather.

Thomas Roberts (11th great-grandfather), constable, Anna Roberts, James Philbrick, Ebenezer Philbrick, Ruth Philbrick, Philemon Rand, Lydia Rand, Tryphenia Lunt, John Henry Cotton, Francis Llewellyn Cotton, Ray Everett Cotton, F. Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother.

John Roberts (11th great-granduncle), constable

Gloucester Intrigue

An interesting story unfolds in early 1663/1664. The wife of Thomas Prince* was seen doing a variety of strenuous activities, such as daubing clay on her house just before she gave birth to a stillborn child. It appears that William Browne was also blamed for frightening Goodie Prince just before she gave birth. Debrow Skilling deposed that she came to Goodie Prince's house and found her trembling and shaking and saying that Browne had been there and spoken such words to her "that her time was but short and the deuece (?) would fetch her away speedily." The commissioners of Gloucester, Sylvester Eveleth and William Vinson took this sworn testimony. It was feared that Goodie Prince might not survive and local women were taking turns tending to her.

Then there was the possibility that one of the girls caring for Goodie Prince, Mary Davis, spent the night in the bed of John Megus/Meagers a servant in the Dutch household. Some testimony seems to hint at scandal while another testimony seems to suggest that while Mary slept in his bed, he was in another room or another building.

Hanna Verry, aged about twelve years, deposed that she was at Goodman Prince's house when his wife lay in. Mary Davis being her nurse, and Goodman Prince at that time was at deponent's father's house, Thomas Verry's. Goodwife Prince desired her husband to be sent for and deponent went with Mary Davis, it being very late in the night about eleven or twelve o'clock, and when Mary returned instead of going home, she desired her to go in the opposite direction to Goodman Duche's house. Deponent said she must go home and go to bed, but Mary told her that she would go back with her. Said Mary knocked and called at the door, and Goodman Duch did not make any answer, but John Meagers asked who was there. Mary answered "a maide." Then Meagers came to the door and whispered a while with her and Mary pushed deponent away and went into the new room. Deponent stood at the door and called for Mary to go home with her, but the latter said she would stay with Mary Duch so Hannah went home alone. 

Osmond Dutch deposed, Jan. 19, 1663, that his daughter Mary saw Mary Davis in John Megus' bed in the morning and that Megus told deponent that he went into his other cabin. Sworn before Samuel Symonds. 

On Jan. 21, 1663, John Megus was bound for appearance at Ipswich court, William Canning, surety, and John Davis was bound for his daughter Mary Davis' appearance before Samuel Symonds. 

Grace Duch, aged about fifty years, testified that she was called in the night to a woman who was not well and when she came home in the morning, her husband told her what happened. Meager said he wondered that his landlady Duch did not hear Mary Davis, etc. The later had been around with the "Showlers" that night. (Any ideas on what the "Showlers" are?)

The testimony of Mary the wife of John Roe --
She saith that she did heare Mary Davis say that John Megus did let her in, & that he did lye in one Cabbyn & she in an other. This taken upon oath 28th of March 1664.

I haven't found any more information on the outcome of the story, but old court records are definitely interesting.

For more information:
Essex Court files
The Essex Antiquarian - volume 11, pp. 128-9.

*Margaret (Skillings) Prince, her daughter, Mary (Prince) Rowe, and her granddaughter, Abigail Rowe were all accused of witchcraft during the hysteria of 1692.

Osmund & Grace Dutch
Esther Dutch
Robert Elwell
John Elwell
Rhoda Elwell
Thomas Edgecomb
Mary Edgecomb
Benjamin P. Philbrick
Mary Elizabeth Philbrick
Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

My Grandfathers - The Selectmen Who Rewrote the Book

On January 13, 1653, a meeting of Selectmen was held at the tavern of George Walton on Great Island in Portsmouth. In attendance were Brian Pendleton, Renald Fernald, John Pickering, Henry Sherburne, and James Johnson. As fate would have it, I am related to all except James Johnson. Frank W. Hackett, in his 1645-1656. Portsmouth Records, called them "men of force and character and all of them prominent in the records."




It seems that not everyone was happy with the extension of Puritan-controlled Massachusetts Bay authority over the Piscataqua region. Supporters of the Church of England and other religious non-conformists had attempted to break away from this control and been arrested. So the Selectmen decided to tighten the grip by looking at the old Town Book and crossing out the items that did not meet their approval. Then the approved items were copied into a new book. This eliminated evidence of conflicting land claims and allowed the Puritans to distribute the land as they saw chose. Obviously, they would favor those who agreed with their views and could use the land as rewards or to benefit their own interests.

Brian Pendleton continued to be active in extending Puritan control over the New Hampshire and Maine frontier. In England, Cromwell and the Puritans were in control and those who disagreed with their beliefs found little relief from the mother country.

On November 16, 1652, Pendleton and other commissioners met at the home of William Everet in Kittery. There the settlers agreed to submit to the authority of the Massachusetts Bay colony. On November 22, York also agreed to this arrangement. Brian Pendleton was made a justice of a County Court at Kittery. Other areas also fell into line; Wells, Saco, and Cape Porpoise in 1653. The towns gained representation in the General Court but they had other freedoms that those in Massachusetts did not. There was no religious test for voting rights and the local military groups were not required to join with others beyond their own town.




Lines to my dad's mother - Fern Lyndell Cotton
Brian Pendleton - 11th great-grandfather, Mary Pendleton, Pendleton Fletcher, Pendleton Fletcher, Jr., Sarah Fletcher, Gibbins Edgecomb, Thomas Edgecomb, Mary Edgecomb, Benjamin Perley Philbrick, Lizzie Philbrick, Ray Everett Cotton, Fern Lyndell Cotton

Renald Fernald - 10th great-grandfather, William Fernald, Margaret Fernald, Benjamin Cotton, William Cotton, William Cotton, William Cotton, Jr., John Henry Cotton, Francis Llewellyn Cotton, Ray Everett Cotton, Fern Lyndell Cotton

Henry Sherburne - 11th great-grandfather, Elizabeth Sherburne, Elizabeth Langdon, Margaret Fernald - see above

Lines to my mom's mother - Linona Alice Yates
George Walton - 11th great-grandfather, Abishag Walton, Grace Taprill, Dorothy Hoyt, Alice Babb, Lydia Waterhouse, Alice Garland, Richard Hayes, Sydney Hayes, George Hayes, Eva Delphinia Hayes, Linona Alice Yates

Renald Fernald - 11th great-grandfather, Mary Fernald, Mary Partridge, John Blaisdell, Stephen Blaisdell, Stephen Blaisdell, Jr. , Susannah Blaisdell, Stephen Blaisdell Rowe, Charles H. N. Rowe, Anna J. Rowe, Eva D. Hayes, Linona Alice Yates

Renald Fernald - 10th great-grandfather, Sarah Fernald, Timothy Waterhouse, John Waterhouse, Lydia Waterhouse - see above

John Pickering - 9th great-grandfather, Thomas Pickering, Mary Pickering, Elizabeth Fabyan, Temperance Downing, Molly Wildes, Jacob Emmons, Laura Emmons, Estes Gilbert Yates, Linona Alice Yates

Henry Sherburne - 10th great-grandfather, Ruth Sherburne, Ruth Moses, John Waterhouse, Lydia Waterhouse - see above


Source:
from Brian Pendleton and His Descendants, 1599-1910, With Some Account of the Pembleton Families of Orange County, N.Y., Ostego County N.Y., and Luzerne County, Pa., and Notices of Other Pendletons of Later Origin in the United States, Everett Hall Pendleton, compiler; accessed on Openlibrary.org.

The Possessions of Lt. John Ellis - 52 Ancestors #48

What did people own in the 17th century? I know from looking over inventories that possessions varied greatly from family to family, much like today.

Here is the inventory of one of my ancestors, Lt. John Ellis, my 9th great-grandfather. He lived in Sandwich, Massachusetts from the 1640s until his death. His inventory was presented to the court by his widow, Elizabeth (Freeman) Ellis on March 23, 1677. The fact that he was a soldier, the date of his death, and some other evidence led the authors of a 1965 article in the New England Historic Genealogical Register to hypothesize that he may have been a casualty of King Philip's War.

Clothing: £5
Furniture: £10 13s.
Household Items £6 23s. & Books 12s.
Powder, bullets, etc.:  £1 10s.
Livestock: £20 10s.
Corn & iron: 5 s.
Timber for a 30'X18' home: £3


I'm not sure what a cobber is or why it would be at Mr. Freeman's house.

Lt. John Ellis

Elizabeth Ellis

Elizabeth Briggs

Caleb Benson

Content Benson

Rachel Barrows

Asa Freeman Ellingwood

Nina K. Ellingwood

Annie F. Gibbs

F. Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

For more information, see NEHGR volume 119.

The Mary Conant Balch Room

One of the upstairs bedrooms at The Balch House is identified as the Mary Conant Balch Room. She was born on Christmas Eve in 1631. When she was about twenty years old, she married John Balch, Jr., the second son of the immigrant John Balch. John and Mary had only one daughter, Mary, who died in infancy. Mary was widowed in 1662, when John Jr. drowned while crossing on the ferry between Salem and Beverly during a violent storm. Mary's father, Roger Conant, is considered the founder of Salem and there is a statue of him in Salem. Mary lived until 1688 and was survived by her second husband, William Dodge, Jr. (1640-1720). Mary Conant is my 9th great-grandaunt; John Balch is my 9th great-granduncle; William Dodge, Jr. is my first cousin, 11 times removed. 

Roger Conant - Lot Conant (brother of Mary Conant), Martha (Conant) Perkins, Mark Perkins, Ann (Perkins) Packard, Cynthia (Packard) Dunham, James Dunham, Jr. Florilla (Dunham) Ellingwood, Asa F. Ellingwood, Nina (Ellingwood) Gibbs, Annie (Gibbs) Cotton, Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

John Balch - Benjamin Balch (brother of John Balch, Jr.), Mary (Balch) Stone, Ruth (Stone) Morgan, Luke Morgan, Jr., Samuel Morgan, Martha (Morgan) Yates, Moses Yates, Gilbert W. Yates, Estes G. Yates, Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

John Dodge - Richard Dodge (brother of William Dodge), Mary (Dodge) Herrick, Sarah (Herrick) Morgan, Luke Morgan, Luke Morgan, Jr. (same as line above). 

John & Rachel (Barrows) Ellingwood - Tombstone Tuesday

John Wesley Ellingwood, Jr., son of John Wesley & Zerviah (Abbott) Ellingwood, was born on June 12, 1798, and died on January 25, 1835. He married Rachel Barrows, daughter of Asa Alden & Content (Benson) Barrows. Rachel was born on August 3, 1795, and died on May 9, 1832. They are buried in Riverside Cemetery in Bethel, Maine. They were my 4X great-grandparents.

John & Rachel (Barrows) Ellingwood
Asa Freeman Ellingwood
Nina K. (Ellingwood) (Gibbs) Cotton
Annie Florilla (Gibbs) Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Possible Pilgrim Ancestry

I will begin this post with a major caveat; I have not gone through the process to prove my connection to these lines with the Mayflower Society in an official way. Furthermore, some lines are still in the preliminary research stages when new evidence could easily break the connection I believe is present. It is interesting that both of my grandmothers have significantly more Mayflower ancestors than my grandfathers.

Maternal Lines: Yates & Blake

John Alden - Yates - Elizabeth Alden - Mary Pabodie - Mercy Southworth - Alice Soule -Diman Perry - Abigail Perry - Betsy Judkins - Apphia Delphinia Cole - George Hayes - Eva Delphinia Hayes - Linona Alice Yates

William Mullins - Yates - Priscilla Mullins - Elizabeth Alden (See Above)

George Soule - Yates - John Soule - Moses Soule - Alice Soule (See above)

Edward Doty - Yates - Mary Doty - Mary Churchill - Mary Stevens - Eleazer Cole - Calvin Cole - Calvin Cole - Apphia Delphina Cole - George Hayes - Eva Delphinia Hayes - Linona Alice Yates

William Bradford - Blake - William Bradford - Hannah Bradford - Hezekiah Ripley - Joshua Ripley - Joshua Ripley - Nancy Ripley - Galen Blake - Charles G. Blake - Harriet Blake - Clayton L. Blake 

Paternal Lines: Cotton & Carter

Isaac Allerton - Cotton - Remember Allerton - Abigail Maverick - Martha Ward - Martha Tuthill (Tuttle) - Martha Haskell - Ruth Safford - Martha Haskell - Mary "Sally" Houghton - Florilla Dunham - Nina K. Ellingwood - Annie Florilla Gibbs - Fern Lyndell Cotton 

Stephen Hopkins - Cotton - Constance Hopkins - Elizabeth Snow - Eleazer Rogers - Experience Rogers - Deborah Totman - Asa Alden Barrows - Rachel Barrows - Asa Freeman Ellingwood - Nina K. Ellingwood (See Above) 

Thomas Rogers - Cotton - Joseph Rogers - Thomas Rogers - Eleazer Rogers (See Above) 

Richard Warren - Cotton - Ann Warren - Hannah Little - Mary Tilden - John Thomas - Mary Thomas - James Dunham - James Dunham - Florilla Dunham (See Above) 

James Chilton - Cotton - Isabella Chilton - Sarah Chandler - Moses Simmons (Simonson) - Moses Simmons - Patience Simmons - Moses Barrows - Deborah Totman (See Above) 

Serious Mental Imbalance - 52 Ancestors #44

Mary Shard was married twice. Her first husband was John Gove and they had six children before he died. Mary and John Gove are my 11X great-grandparents. Her second husband was John Mansfield. John Mansfield came from a good family, but he seemed to have conflicts with most of his relatives. He is described in his Great Migration sketch as demonstrating “serious mental imbalance throughout his adult life…” Among other things, he accused his brother-in-law, Robert Keaynes, of cheating him out of his rightful inheritance. John Mansfield had two sisters in Massachusetts. His sister, Elizabeth, was the wife of the Rev. John Wilson and his sister Anne was married twice, first to Capt. Robert Keayne and second to Samuel Cole.

John Mansfield was born about 1601 and died on June 26, 1674. He married Mary (Shard) Gove after her first husband, John Gove, died in January 1648. The family lived in Charlestown. Shortly after their marriage, Mary gave birth to twins, John Jr. and Elizabeth. Mary died on March 4, 1682. John's frequent petitions to the courts document his obsession with obtaining an inheritance from the estate of Robert Keayne. 

However, this obsession is not the only evidence of his "serious mental imbalance," John proved himself incapable of caring for his family.  In the Middlesex Court records, he says of that his home is "all open above and rotten under." Eventually, the two children of John & Mary (Shard) (Gove) Mansfield were removed from the household. They were only eight years old.

John Jr. was placed with his aunt, Anne (Mansfield) Keayne, for a period of ten years. He was to be kept in school for the first three years and then to spend seven years in an honest trade or employment. Elizabeth was placed with the family of Mr. Samuel Whiting, Jr. of Lynn. “John Mansfield, their father, is not capable by reason of misgovernment of himself and wife to educate and bring them up as they ought to be…”

I wonder what was going on in the lives of Mary's children from her first marriage and what they thought of their mother's household. Her son, Edward Gove, my 10th great-grandfather, was getting married about the time his half-siblings were removed from her care. Did the twins have a relationship with their mother after they reached adulthood and after their father died?

John & Mary (Shard) Gove

Edward & Hannah (Partridge) Gove

Joseph & Mary (Gove) Sanborn

Samuel & Mary (Sanborn) Prescott

Jeremiah & Mary (Hayes) Prescott

Elisha & Mary (Marston) Prescott

Thomas & Hannah (Prescott) Edgecomb

Oliver & Mary (Edgecomb) Philbrick

Benjamin P. & Jane (Matthews) Philbrick

Francis Llewellyn & Mary Elizabeth (Philbrick) Cotton

Ray Everett & Annie Florilla (Gibbs) Cotton

Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Deborah Bachiler Poem

This poem was written by Mrs. Elizabeth Hoxie and read in 1903 when a bronze tablet was placed at the Sandwich home of Deborah (Bachiler) Wing. Deborah was the daughter of the Rev. Stephen Bachiler and the wife of Rev. John Wing. I have several lines of descent from Deborah's father so she is my 1oth or 11th great-grandaunt depending on the line. 

Long years ago in England,

When England yet was young,

Where the River Test flows softly,

Twixt banks of brightest green,

And Queen Elfrida's convent,

through the arching trees is seen.

Softly she sang her childish thoughts,         

As the daisies her small feet pressed;

Softly she touched the fragrant flowers,

Or watched the wild birds nest.

And this is the song the wee maid sang:

"There's never a day without a cloud

Or a joy without a sorrow:

And the sun that sets in the rain tonight

Will shine for me tomorrow."

The preacher prayed inside the church

For a conscience freed from sin,

While the little child in innocence

Caught the heavenly voice within--

"Father I stood by the river

just as the moon went down,

And it lighted the church of Wherewell

As if with a golden crown.

And Father, I saw a vision;

Dost thou think that children may?"

"And what was the vision daughter?

Tell it to me, pray."

Her dark eyes grew more earnest,

While steady and strong was she;

"I saw four boys and a woman

In a vessel upon the sea.

And she was sad and lonely;

And a man that looked like thee

Stood near; and there was sound of weeping,

And the woman looked like me."

"Didst see aught else, my daughter?"

And he thought of the threatening storm

Of church and state and conscience,

And his weary heart grew warm.

For might not his little maiden

Be chosen of God to warn

Benighted, priest ridden England

Of the rise of a brighter dawn?

Earnest and still that fair child stood,

As Deborah stood of old,

And God's grace shone upon her

While she her vision told.

It came again unto her,

The same foreshadowing truth;

And with a tiny hand extended,

She saw through the bounds of youth.

"Father, I see the vessel,

And many are there, who make

The air resound with prayers

For God and conscience sake."

Scarce eighteen summers now have come and gone,

With each clouds of sunshine on the way;

Life's story glimmers bright with youthful song,

And earnest hours have changed from foolish play.

The little child unto a maiden fair has grown;

A strong souled man has looked into her eyes,

And from her heart her girlhood's song has flown.

While in it's place thoughts strange and sweet arise

Across her sunny pathway

With young love's wooing came

Young John, the stalwart preacher,

With words of sweetest flame.

"Deborah, beloved maiden,

Thou art dear, and unto thee

Give I all my heart; now answer,

Givest thou thine to me?"

Deborah, the gentle maid,

With her eyes of dusky brown,

Answered softly, "John, I love thee"

With her fair face drooping down.

Think ye then that John the preacher

E'er remembered priestly gown,

With that sweet faced maid before him

With her hair of burnished brown?

Nay, for in his arms he gathered

Her love unto his heart;

"God do ill and more to me, love

If I fail to do my part."

Came there then no thought or vision?

Forgotten was the prophesy

Of the sad-eyed lonely woman

Out upon the stormy sea.

A few more years have come and gone

While joy and sadness into life have grown.

We see the blessings of the children five,

We hear the sadness of the widow's moan.

The vision given in the fleeting years long gone,

Seems nearing now it's strange, sad truth to prove.

the woman on the stormy sea forlorn,

In spirit hath no confines to her love.

Ah rare indeed that company

The Lord did send out that day!

Did the little ship The Francis

Sail calmly on it's way?

Sail, stately ship, more proudly;

Thy banners all unfurled;

Thou carry'st wondrous tidings

Unto an unknown world.

Oh, Shawme Lake, by Indians called, how fair!

We greet thee now, unknown to world and fame.

Oh Sandwich! Unto thee we give our love--

For in her longing heart she gave thee name.

Rev. Stephen Bachiler                                  Rev. Stephen Bachiler
Ann Bachiler                                                  Theodate Bachiler
John Sanborn                                                Hannah Hussey
Joseph Sanborn                                            Mary Smith
Mary Sanborn                                               Elisha Marston
Jeremiah Prescott                                        Mary Marston
Elisha Prescott                                             Hannah Prescott - Same as on left
Hannah Prescott - same as on right
Mary Edgecomb
Benjamin Perley Philbrick
Lizzie Philbrick
Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Rev. Stephen Bachiler
Nathaniel Bachiler
Nathaniel Bachiler
Abigail Bachiler
Elizabeth Dearborn
John Garland
Richard Garland
Alice Garland
Richard Hayes
Sydney Hayes
George Hayes
Eva Delphinia Hayes
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother