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.   

Left for Dead at Bloody Brook

"Bloody Brook Monument. South Deerfield, MA" by Tom Walsh - Own work.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons 

On September 17, 1675, a band of Indians attacked a train of wagons traveling from Deerfield to Hadley and loaded up with the wheat and corn harvest. This attack was part of King Philip's War. The colonists were led by Capt. Thomas Lothrop. When the news reached Deerfield, Capt. Mosely rushed to the scene with reinforcements and they engaged the Indians for about five hours with little progress. Only the arrival of Major Treat from Connecticut with his force of 100 men and 50 Mohicans turned the tide. 

From The History of Deerfield, George Sheldon, 1895:

"The soldiers crossed the brook and halted, while the teams should slowly drag their heavy loads through the mire; 'many of them,' says Mather, 'having been so foolish and secure as to put their arms in the cart and step aside to gather grapes, which proved dear and deadly grapes to them' ... 'This was a black and fatal day, wherein there was eight persons made widows, and six and twenty children made orphans, all in one little Plantation.'  Of the seventeen men of Pocumtuck who went out in the morning as teamsters, not one returned to tell the tale." 

The battle actually resulted in the deaths of between sixty and seventy men. Many were buried in a mass grave and a memorial marker was erected in Deerfield. The stream which was previously unnamed became known as Bloody Brook. 

Only a handful of men survived the attack at Bloody Brook. One of the survivors was Robert Dutch, son of Osmond Dutch and my 9X great-granduncle. 

Robert Dutch - only surviving child of Osmond Dutch's first marriage 

"As Mosely came upon the Indians in the Morning, he found them stripping the Slain, amongst whom was one Robert Dutch of Ipswich having been sorely wounded by a bullet that rased to his Skull and then mauled by the Indian Hatchets, was left for dead by the Salvages, and stript by them of all but his skin..."

In 1838, after confirming the location of the remains, a flagstone with Lothrop's name was put in place to mark the mass grave and a monument was erected nearby. Killed in the battle was my 8X great-granduncle, Joseph Balch. 

Osmond Dutch - father of Robert                         Osmond Dutch - father of Robert

Esther Dutch - half sister of Robert                     Grace Dutch - half sister of Robert
Robert Elwell                                                            Samuel Hodgkins
John Elwell                                                               Jonathan Hodgkins
Rhoda Elwell                                                             Rachel Hodgkins
Thomas Edgecomb                                                  Elizabeth Moody
Mary Edgecomb                                                       William Ackley
Benjamin Perley Philbrick                                     Sarah Ackley
Lizzie Philbrick                                                         Mary Jane Abbott
Ray Everett Cotton                                                  Fannie May Capen
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother              Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather

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

Fitter To Be A Chambermaid Than A Preacher - 52 Ancestors #36

Grace (____) Dutch was my 10th great-grandmother for two lines. She worked as a midwife, making her the perfect subject for a post about occupations. When Grace married Osmund Dutch on March 20, 1629, he was a widower with a young son. Osmund was in Newport, Rhode Island in 1638/9, but he moved quite soon to Cape Ann. He entered into the fishing trade with a Thomas Millwood of Noodle's Island and sent for his wife and children.


In 1653, there was some controversy involving William Perkins, the minister in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Grace and William & Sarah Vinson gave witness before the court regarding remarks made by a Mrs. Holgrave about Mr. Perkins. According to them, Mrs. Holgrave said, "He was fitter to bee a Ladies Chambermaid than a Preacher, & if ye Church had knowne as much as shee, they would not have Called him to office."

During this time, Grace (Pratt) Dutch and three others were accused of witchcraft. However, the accusations ended with Edmund Marshall being forced to go into three area meeting-houses in Gloucester, Ipswich, and Salem, and make acknowledgment of his sin of defamation.

"Edmund Bridges, attorney of John Caldwell, testified that, being in Goodman Bridges' shop, Goodman _______ being present, he heard him say that a woman and her daughter, gathering berries, saw four women, Mrs. Perkins, Goody Evens, Goody Dutch, etc. As they approached them, the four women sat upon the ground, but when they came near, the women had vanished. He could not say that they were witches."

Age and birthdays were not of importance during colonial times and ages given were often estimated. We see this in the testimony of Grace Dutch, midwife.  Her name appears in the court records from time to time and in 1658, she was forty-two years old, and "about 50" in 1660 and 1664.




Children of Osmund & his first wife, Margaret:

1. Robert was born about 1621 and married Mary Kimball of Ipswich. 
2. Margaret was buried in Bridport on February 13, 1629. 
3. Marie was baptized December 1, 1627 and buried January 7, 1629. 

Children of Osmund & Grace (Pratt) Dutch - order uncertain

1. Grace was baptized December 6, 1629 and died young.
2. William was buried on February 9, 1632. 
3. Susanna was buried on June 11, 1633. 
4. William was baptized on September 21, 1635 and was buried on July 16, 1636. 
5. Samuel was born about 1645 and died in Salem about 1695. His wife, Susanna More, was the daughter of Mayflower passenger, Richard More. 
6. Alice was married three times: 1) John Newman; 2) Dr. John Dane; and 3) as his second wife, Jeremiah Meacham. 
7. Grace married William Hodgkins of Ipswich. They had twelve children. 
8. Esther married Samuel Elwell on June 7, 1658 and died on September 6, 1724. 
9. Mary married Joseph Elwell on June 22, 1669. 
10. Hezekiah was born on March 29, 1647 and his will lists two daughters. 

Grace (Pratt) Dutch                                                 Grace (Pratt) Dutch
Esther Dutch                                                             Grace Dutch
Robert Elwell                                                            Samuel Hodgkins
John Elwell                                                               Jonathan Hodgkins
Rhoda Elwell                                                             Rachel Hodgkins
Thomas Edgecomb                                                  Elizabeth Moody
Mary Edgecomb                                                       William Ackley
Benjamin Perley Philbrick                                     Sarah Ackley
Lizzie Philbrick                                                         Mary Jane Abbott
Ray Everett Cotton                                                  Fannie May Capen
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother              Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather

Petition of the Poor, Distressed Widow - 52 Ancestors #33

Grace (Pratt) Dutch came from England to Gloucester, Massachusetts to join her husband, Osmund. Osmund died in 1685 and Grace found herself in dire circumstances. She needed money to support herself. Although she lived with her daughter and son-in-law, Samuel & Esther (Dutch) Elwell, there are indications that they did not treat her well. There were no social programs to provide for her and she needed to petition the court for permission to sell off some of the lands of her late husband. 




"The Humble Petition of the Poore distressed widdow Grace Duch of the towne of Gloucester to the honoured General Courte now setting at Boston this 21st July 1685

Yoer poore humble and distresed petitioner sheweth that whereas it pleased God to take away my deare husband out of this live in December last past with whome I lived above fifty yeeres with whome I Lived very poore in the Later parte of his Life and underwent a great deale of Sorrow and trouble hee being very ancient: by his owne relation above a hundred years of age & was very helpless for several yeeres before hee dyed and but Little wherewith all to mayntayne him and my Selfe but I Laboured for only sume cattle which wee ware Little the better for and Land which have Layed wast with out fences severall yeeres soe that it have not beene any wise benificiall to us while hee Lived nor to mee since his death and which the honoured county Court holden at Ipswich last March when the inventory of his Estate was regestered was informed of at the county court holden at Salem last June and [written over] made my addreses that there might bee some of the Land Sold for my maintenance in my old age haveing nothing to helpe my Selfe neither for ffood nor rayment of which I have not [conveniences?] and now am by Gods providance taken sicke and am in very great want which doth make mee humbly crave of this honoured courte to take into yer serious consideratione and grant mee the favour that there my bee an acre or two of Salte marsh sold for my prsent relieufe which is the only thinge that will yield money without which youer petitioner cannot bee supplyed in the tyme of my great distress I should not have made soe bold with yoer honours but that I was informed by the honoured county Courtes above mentioned that they could not grant the sale of any of the Land or else yoer poore petitioner had not made soe bold with yoer Honours therefore pray pardon on the bldnesse and grant the humble & needy request and desires of yoer Humble and needy petioner whoe prayeth for yoer Honours wealfare  Grace Duch

The Court gave her permission to sell the land belonging to the estate if her children should not provide for her. In June, she sold an acre and a half to her grandson, Christopher Hodgkins and another acre and a half to her son-in-law, Samuel Elwell. The sale to Elwell notes that she was in great want of clothing, meat, drink, and attendance. 

Grace died on October 10, 1694. 

(Not stone of Grace Dutch)

Grace (Pratt) Dutch                                                 Grace (Pratt) Dutch
Esther Dutch                                                             Grace Dutch
Robert Elwell                                                            Samuel Hodgkins
John Elwell                                                               Jonathan Hodgkins
Rhoda Elwell                                                             Rachel Hodgkins
Thomas Edgecomb                                                  Elizabeth Moody
Mary Edgecomb                                                       William Ackley
Benjamin Perley Philbrick                                     Sarah Ackley
Lizzie Philbrick                                                         Mary Jane Abbott
Ray Everett Cotton                                                  Fannie May Capen
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother              Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather

Tombstone Tuesday - Hezekiah Moody & Hannah R. Estes Moody

My grandfather, Clayton Blake's 2x great-grandparents in East Bethel Cemetery, Bethel, Maine

52 Ancestors #24 - Rev. Joshua Moody

Rev. Joshua Moody was the son of immigrant, William Moody and his wife, Sarah. His family came from England to Newbury, Massachusetts when he was about a year old. He is my ninth great-grandfather on two different lines. He was educated at Harvard College and graduated in 1653. He married twice - first to Martha Collins, sister of Rev. John Collins of London, and second to widow, Ann (Wall) Jacobs of Ipswich. 



In 1658, he went to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and started the First Congregational Church. His time in Portsmouth came to an end when he came into conflict with the Lt. Governor, Mr. Cranfield in 1684. After refusing to administer the sacrament (in the manner of the Church of England rather than in the manner of the Puritans) to Lt. Gov. Cranfield, Rev. Moody was indicted on February 5, 1684 and spent thirteen weeks in jail. His sentence was for six months but his supporters appealed and gained his freedom but if he started preaching again, he would be put back in jail. He moved to Boston and preached under Rev. Cotton Mather at the Old Church (First Church) in Boston until 1692. Rev. Josiah Moody was elected President of Harvard College on July 2, 1684. He declined, however, in favor of continuing his post as assistant minister of the First Church. 



During the witchcraft hysteria in 1692, Rev. Joshua Moody did not support the measures being taken to identify, try, and execute the alleged witches. He did all he could to support and free Philip & Mary (Hollingsworth) English - both accused witches. He helped them flee to New York in defiance of the popular sentiment. He was very lucky that he was not arrested for his actions and in the end, he also chose to leave Massachusetts and return to Portsmouth. He had remained in contact with his congregation there and the contentious Lt. Gov. Cranfield was gone. Rev. Josiah Moody died on July 4, 1697 at the age of 65 after a brief illness. Dr. Cotton Mather preached at his funeral. Two of his daughters married ministers and his son, Samuel was for several years a preacher at New Castle (Great Island), New Hampshire. 

Published works: 
" A Practical Discourse concerning the Choice Benefit of Communion with God in his house, witnessed unto by the experience of saints as the best improvement of time, being the sum of several sermons on Psalms 84:10, preached at Boston, on Lecture Days." Printed in Boston by Richard Pierce in 1685. 
"Sin of Formality in God's Worship, or the Formal Worshipper proved a liar and deceiver, preached on the weekly lecture in Boston, from Hos. 2:12." Published in 1691. 

The library of the Massachusetts Historical Society has 93 volumes of his sermons. The last is numbered 4070 and dated 30th September 1688. That is an average of two and a half sermons a week for thirty years! He had more sermons after that in Portsmouth. 

Rev. Joshua Moody
Rev. Samuel Moody
Joshua Moody
William Moody
Elizabeth Moody
William Ackley
Sarah Ackley
Mary Jane Abbott
Fannie May Capen
Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather

Rev. Joshua Moody
Rev. Samuel Moody
Joshua Moody
Houchin Moody
Josiah Moody
Hezekiah Moody
Dolly Estes Moody
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

Surname Saturday - Ackley of Boston

On March 20, 1760, a great fire swept through the city of Boston. According to this site, the 1760 fire was called the "Second" Great Fire of Boston. It destroyed 349 buildings and left 220 families homeless. Many businesses were lost and the Quaker Meeting House on Congress Street was consumed by the flames. It even destroyed some ships in the harbor. My 6X great-grandfather, Francis Ackley was among those who unsuccessfully petitioned the House of Commons for relief after the fire.

Francis Ackley participated in the Boston Tea Party. There are several online accounts that say Francis Ackley was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill but I have not seen enough proof to elevate this story out of the realm of folklore. If anyone has a source for this information, I would appreciate hearing from you.

Francis married Tabitha Bull on June 8, 1751. They are the parents of Samuel Ackley. He was born on July 17, 1763.

Samuel Ackley served three years in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He enlisted in Boston on the day he turned eighteen and joined his regiment at West Point and served until the army was disbanded and he was discharged, again at West Point. His pension was filed while he was living in Halifax, Vermont but in 1830, he moved to Rumford, Maine and was still living in 1855, aged 93. Samuel married Elizabeth Moody on November 18, 1791. They were the parents of William Ackley. 

William Ackley married Deborah Capen on March 4, 1814. They were the parents of Sarah Ackley. 

Ancestry.com. Rumford, Oxford County, Maine: Town History [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. 

Sarah Ackley married John Abbott and they were the parents of Mary Jane Abbott. Mary Jane married Edward Abbott Capen and they were the parents of Fannie May Capen - my great-grandmother. Fannie married Edward Mellen Carter and they were the parents of my grandfather, Thomas Richard Carter.

The Real Tea Party

On December 16, 1773, a group of colonists participated in one of the most significant protests in American history. They dressed up like Indians and dumped 342 crates of tea belonging to the British East India Co. into Boston harbor. Contrary to what many believe (including those who have co-opted the name of this event to label their political philosophy), this was not a protest over taxes. It was protesting a British Law, the Tea Act, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea for less than the colonial smugglers. This would help save the company from ruin because few colonists were buying tea from this company when they could buy it cheaper from colonial merchants. The company's investors were not happy with all the unsold tea piling up in warehouses. This is the aspect of the revolution that is rarely discussed. The real issue was not the taxes. Most of the the taxes, such as the tax on sugar, were significantly reduced after the French & Indian War. The issue was freedom of trade and the restrictions placed on the colonies under the mercantile system. For decades the British had turned a blind eye to enforcing their laws but the debt from the war with France ended this period of salutary neglect. This Tea Party movement was protesting a law that gave tax cuts to the wealthy and big businesses and hurt the average working-class family by raising the prices on the goods they needed. Hmmm....

http://ushistoryimages.com/boston-tea-party.shtm

Back to the Boston Tea party...fearing punishment, many of the participants fled to avoid arrest and their families tried to keep their involvement a secret. According to this web site, 116 have been identified. The first name on the list is that of my 6th great-grandfather, Francis Ackley. He was captured and imprisoned but at some point he escaped and found his way back to Boston. He fought and died in the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 19, 1775. That's quite a story. I'm still trying to find more details and to track down any connections I have to other names on the list of participants.

http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/participants-in-the-boston-tea-party

Francis Ackley & Tabitha Bull
Samuel Ackley & Elizabeth Moody
William Ackley & Deborah Capen
Sarah Ackley & John Abbott
Mary Jane Abbott & Edward Abbott Capen
Fannie May Capen & Edward Mellen Carter
Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather

Unsolved Murder

My 10th Great Grandmother was murdered in New Hampshire in May or June of 1648. Her name was Hannah (or Annah) Willix. She was traveling from Dover to Exeter when she was attacked, robbed and her body "flung" into the river. I found a document online called "New Hampshire Homicides 1630-1774" that contains this information: Hannah "was founde in the [Piscataqua] River dead; her necke broken, her tounge black and swollen out of her mouth & the bloud settled in her face, the privy partes swolne &c as if she had been muche abused &c." 

It is not known whether her murderer was ever caught. Her husband Balthasar did file a breach of contract suit against Robert Hithersay "for raising an evil report of his deceased wife, and for breach of promise in carrying his wife to Oyster River in a canoe and not bringing her in a canoe again." Hithersay seems to have been a wandering character whom Balthasar suspected of harming his wife. Hithersay and Balthasar Willix had cross suits for defamation. I could not find any records describing the resolution of this case. The Oyster River is speculation from some who interpreted the O.R. to mean Oyster River.  After her death, Balthasar moved to Salisbury, Massachusetts and married a widow named Mary Hawksworth. He is called a man of "more than ordinary education" by Bell. I will definitely continue looking for information on this crime. 

In 1996 a book was loosely based on this case - The Strange Death of Mistress Coffin by Richard Begiebing. 

Balthasar Willix & Hannah/Annah
Hazelelponi Willix & John Gee
Hannah/Annah Gee & Samuel Hodgkins
Jonathan Hodgkins & Mary Stockbridge
Rachel Hodgkins & William Moody
Elizabeth Moody & Samuel Ackley
William Ackley & Deborah Capen
Sarah Ackley & John Abbott
Mary Jane Abbott & Edward Capen
Fannie Capen & Edward M. Carter
T. Richard Carter & F. Lyndell Cotton

Sources: 
NEHGR Vol. 50 p. 46-47
History of the town of Exeter, New Hampshire by C.H. Bell

Balthasar and Hazelelponi!

Balthasar and Hazelelponi??? What odd names! Balthasar Willix is my 10th Great Grandfather. Balthasar is one of the names of the three magi along with Caspar and Melchior. While looking for references to the name I learned Saint Balthasar is the patron saint of playing card manufacturers...seriously? There is a patron saint of playing card manufacturers! He is also the patron saint of those with epilepsy and sawyers. That's a diverse group! 


Balthasar's daughter, Hazelelponi Willix is my 9th Great Grandmother. So where does the name Hazelelponi come from? Like many names of the era (she was born abt 1636), it comes from the Bible. First Chronicles 4:3: "And these were of the father Etam: Jezreel and Ishma and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi " The meanings vary according to source. Some think it might be the name of a clan or town rather than a personal name. Its meaning is also varied according to source but the overall consensus is that it refers to shade or shadow over a face. "The Shadow Looking at Me" or "Give Shade, Thou Who Turnest to Me" 


So what leads one to name a daughter Hazelelponi? Hazelelponi receives only passing reference in the Bible so what made them pick this obscure name?  Did her parents want her to stand out in a sea of Marys, Sarahs, Hannahs, and Rebeccas? Her sisters were Anna or Hannah and Susanna. Hazelelponi married first John Gee and second Obadiah Wood. One of her daughters was named Hazelelponi but she named her other daughters common names; Mary, Martha, Hannah. Hazelelponi Willix Gee Wood is buried in the Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich, MA. 

These images come from ancestry.com - tree of Joan Jordan.

Balthasar's wife and Hazelelponi's mother was murdered and thrown in the Oyster River and I will write about that in a future post. 


Other posts on unusual names:  Soranus Shaw
Balthasar Willix & Hannah/Annah
Hazelelponi Willix & John Gee
Hannah/Annah Gee & Samuel Hodgkins
Jonathan Hodgkins & Mary Stockbridge
Rachel Hodgkins & William Moody
Elizabeth Moody & Samuel Ackley
William Ackley & Deborah Capen
Sarah Ackley & John Abbott
Mary Jane Abbott & Edward Capen
Fannie Capen & Edward M. Carter
T. Richard Carter & F. Lyndell Cotton


http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Balthasar
http://saints.sqpn.com/saintb35.htm
http://bibleencyclopedia.com/hazzelelponi.htm
http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Hazelelponi.html#.T1zNNDGPng0
http://www.studylight.org/dic/hbd/view.cgi?number=T2633