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

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 Naughty Wife - 52 Ancestors #49

Frances, the wife of immigrant William Hilton, had a fiery streak. She appeared in court in a number of times. Her relationships with her husbands and her neighbors seem especially tumultuous.

Frances first shows up in court in October 1649 when she was admonished for fighting and abusing her neighbors with her tongue. William Hilton was also in trouble for violating the Sabbath by carrying wood from the woods and also for failing to have food and drink on hand for strangers and inhabitants.

June 28, 1655: Frances was found guilty of "railing at her husband and saying he went with John his bastard to his three halfe penny whores and that he carried a cloak of profession for his knavery." Her accusation and language resulted in her sentence to be whipped - "twenty lashes upon the bare skin." This would be set aside if she remained on good behavior until the next country court and no more complaints were brought against her. However, if she had other complaints against her, the authorities would carry out the original sentence. Her husband died within the next year.

After William Hilton died, Frances married Richard White. Richard was the administrator of the estate of William Hilton. Richard and Frances had some conflict with Rice Jones. In 1656, Richard sued Jones for slandering Frances. Jones countersued Frances White for "causelessly abusing" the wife of Rice Jones with "opprobrious and disgraceful speeches." In 1657, Joan Andrews was presented for "threatening Goody White (Frances) at York in a profane manner saying that she would swear herself to the devil but she would be avenged of her."

This might have to do with the accusations of adultery leveled against Frances. Magdalene (Hilton) Wiggin was presented to the court for saying that she saw "William Moore and her mother Frances White" in an act of adultery. Magdalene was either the oldest daughter of Frances or perhaps the youngest daughter of William Hilton and his first wife.




In 1658, Richard & Frances White were back in court because they were fighting with one another. Then in 1660, they were in trouble for allowing men to be drunk in their home on the Sabbath and for not attending public meeting. They were also accused of "common lying and backbiting of their neighbors and slandering them and for their great disorder in falling out and fighting one with another and for beating company in their house and for beating Mistress Gunnison and Joseph Davesse, his servants and Richard White for being drunk several times." Richard White paid a fine for this case and they seem to stay out of court records for a long time. In 1675, they were once again in trouble for not attending public meeting.

William & Frances Hilton
William Hilton, Jr. - two lines from him

Mainwaring Hilton - brother of Hannah (below)
Ebenezer Hilton
Ebenezer Hilton, Jr.
Samuel Hilton
Catherine (Hilton) Churchill
Loann (Churchill) Rowe
Anna (Rowe) Hayes
Eva D. (Hayes) Yates
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Hannah (Hilton) Shepard - sister of Mainwaring (above)
Thomas Shepard
Robert Shepard
David Shepard
Sarah (Shepard) Emmons
Laura (Emmons) Yates
Estes G. Yates
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Standing Up to Persecution - 52 Ancestors #2 Thomas Spencer

The theme of the second week of the 52 Ancestors Challenge is "King." This can be interpreted in a couple of ways, including an ancestor who reminds you of Martin Luther King, Jr. I decided to write about a Quaker (or at least a Quaker sympathizer) ancestor who stood up in the face of persecution and lost a basic civil right (the right to vote) for holding firm to his beliefs. African Americans were also disenfranchised and the victims of violence, intimidation, and even lynching for standing up for their rights. There is a difference in that the persecution was based on skin color in one case and based on religion in the other but both groups faced intense hatred and persecution by certain elements of society. 

Thomas Spencer was my 10th great-grandfather and an early immigrant to the Piscataqua region. He was married to Patience Chadbourne, daughter of William, before 1629. Thomas was born in England about 1596 and died in York County, Maine (probably Berwick) in 1681. Thomas first came to Piscataqua in July of 1630 but he returned the England three years later and came back to settle in 1634. He was on the ship, the Pied Cow in 1634. It is unclear whether Patience came with him in 1630 or came later in 1634. Like many immigrants, he had a variety of occupations, from planter to lumberman to tavernkeeper. 

Thomas and Patience lived in Strawberry Bank (Portsmouth), Piscataqua (Kittery Point), and finally in Newichawannock (South Berwick). They also lived for awhile in Saco but ended their lives in Berwick. Patience died on November 7, 1683. 

The Quaker religion, or the Society of Friends, was established around 1647 by a man named George Fox. Quakers did not practice baptism, formal prayer, and had no ordained ministry. This quickly put the Quakers in conflict with the Puritan clergy in New England. Quakers were put in stocks and lashed with whips, some even had their ears cut off. In 1658, a law was passed in Massachusetts (which had authority over the province of Maine), that banished Quakers from the colony and instituted death by hanging for those who were found in violation of the law. In 1659, three Quakers were arrested and sentenced to hang. They were William Robinson, Marmaduke Stephenson, and Mary Dyer. The two men were hanged first and Mary was given a reprieve. Mary Dyer refused to be deterred from her evangelism and returned to Massachusetts the next year and she too was then hanged. I wrote about her death and my ancestor, Humphrey Atherton in this post. 

In 1659, Thomas lost his right to vote for entertaining Quakers. He was part of a larger group of Quakers and Quaker sympathizers who lived in the Berwick area. At one time, they gave shelter to three Quaker women who were driven out of Dover, New Hampshire after being stripped to the waist and whipped until bloody. 

The couple was frequently in trouble with the courts regarding their religious practices. In 1663, they were presented for "neglecting to come to the publique meeteing on the Lords day to heare the word preached for about the space of 3 Moenths." In July 1675, they were presented for the same offense. Thomas and Patience are not listed as being Quakers but they lived in an area with a large Quaker population, were obviously not interested in the local church, and were willing to sacrifice their own rights and comforts for the Quakers. 

Children of Thomas & Patience (Chadbourne) Spencer:

1. William b. abt 1630
2. Margaret b. abt 1632
3. Susanna b. abt 1636
4. Humphrey b. abt. 1638
5. Elizabeth b. abt 1640
6. Moses b. abt 1642

My Line: 
Thomas Spencer
Margaret Spencer
Elizabeth Goodwin
Elizabeth Emery
Benjamin Tarbox
Jedidiah Tarbox
Patience Smith
Sarah Shepard
Laura E. Emmons
Estes Gilbert Yates
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Sources: 
Chadbourne.org

52 Ancestors #40 - Two Murderers - One Gallows

While looking for records relating to my 9th great-grandfather, John Capen, I found a minor notation that he served on the jury in the murder trials of John Williams and and William Schooler. This intrigued me to investigate further and I came across a post by Robert Wilhelm on the blog, Executed Today. 

William Schooler was a man with a checkered past. He was an admitted adulterer who had fled to Holland to escape the law after wounding a man in a duel in England. He came to New England without his wife and lived on the outskirts of the town of Newbury, by the banks of the Merrimack River. 

Mary Scholy was a servant girl who for some unknown reason had come to Newbury from the area called Pascataquack (now Portsmouth, NH) and needed a guide to help her return to her master. 

Google Maps shows that it would be an 8-9 1/2 hour trip walking from Newbury to Portsmouth on modern roads - It would obviously have been more challenging in colonial times. 

When William Schooler heard that Mary needed a guide, he offered his services for fifteen shillings. She accepted without knowing he had never made the trip before. Schooler returned to Newbury suspiciously early with a scratch on his nose that he blamed on walking into some brambles and blood on his hat that he attributed to killing a pigeon. However, there was no evidence to contradict his story so nothing happened until her body was found in the woods north of Newbury by an Agawam Indian. She had been exposed to the elements for several months so not much could be told from her body except that her clothes had been removed and found in a pile nearby. Schooler continued to protest his innocence and refused to confess but in the end was convicted of ravishing and killing Mary Scholy. 

John Williams was a recent immigrant to the colonies who had been imprisoned in Boston for theft. he escaped with another prisoner, John Hoddy. As they traveled near the east end of the Wenham Great Pond, they had a fight that left John Hoddy dead. There are conflicting stories of how this came to be discovered - one blames John Hoddy's dogs for drawing the attention of neighbors and the other says Williams was recognized as a criminal arrested in Ipswich. Either way, the body of John Hoddy was located when a farmer's cows started bellowing and an investigation led to the discovery of Hoddy's naked body covered by stones. Unlike Schooler, Williams confessed to the murder but to protect his rights of due process, his case was tried before a jury and he was sentenced to death. 

Both men were found guilty of murder and hanged together on the same gallows on Boston Common on September 28, 1637. 

Photo by mlhradio/CCBY

For more information see this source: http://www.executedtoday.com/2012/09/28/1637-william-schooler-and-john-williams/ 

John Capen - on jury for both trials

James Capen & Hannah Lawrence

James Capen & Elizabeth Call

James Capen & Sarah Pinson

Thomas Capen & Mary Wyman

Thomas Capen & Mary Abbott

Timothy Capen & Sarah K. Abbott

Edward Abbott Capen & Mary Jane Abbott

Fanny May Capen & Edward Mellen Carter

Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather

Edward Abbott Capen & Mary Jane Abbott were second cousins - Timothy Capen's sister, Deborah was Mary Jane's grandmother. Deborah married William Ackley - their daughter, Sarah Ackley married John Abbott and they were the parents of Mary Jane. 

52 Ancestors #17 - William Ham

William Ham is my 11th great-grandfather on my dad's side and my 12th great-grandfather on my mother's side.

William Ham came from England and settled in Exeter, New Hampshire. In 1652, he moved to Portsmouth (Strawberry Bank) and had a grant of 50 acres of land in the area called Freeman's Point. When he died in 1672, he had already lost his son Matthew so his property went to his daughter, Elizabeth, and her sons, William, Thomas, and John Cotton. It is likely that he had more than two children but no other children have been identified.

On June 28, 1636 a letter was written by John Winthrop to Robert Trelawny and it tells of a group of men who were upset with the way Winthrop was handling the finances of the colony. It goes on to say "some of them fell into such mutiny, & they are gone away from the plantation, & do purpose to fish for themselves. They went westward by land, & where they are going I know not... The parties which are gone is Lander, which I doubt is the leader of them all, & William Ham, Oliver Clarke, John Bellin, William Freythey, & John Simmons, 6 in all, & whether they will come again or no I know not."

In 1656, William Ham was one of three men accused by Elizabeth Row of being a witch. Nothing seems to have come of this accusation. I've looked a few places but haven't come up with any more information.

William Ham
Elizabeth Ham
John Cotton
Solomon Cotton
Benjamin Cotton - Brother of Elizabeth Cotton
William Cotton
William Cotton
William Cotton
John Henry Cotton
Francis Llewellyn Cotton
Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Elizabeth Cotton
Margaret Cate
William Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Richard Hayes
Sydney Hayes
George Hayes
Eva Delphinia Hayes
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother



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.)

52 Ancestors #14 - John Hayes of Dover

Tradition says that John Hayes came from Scotland about 1680. He is one of my Piscataqua Pioneers - He settled in Dover, New Hampshire. His estimated date of birth is 1660 and he died on October 25, 1708, "seized of a malignant fever four days after he was taken sick; began with a violent pain in his shoulder" (Richmond, 28). He married Mary Horne, probably the daughter of William & Elizabeth (Clough) Horne. William Horne was killed by Indians on June 28, 1689 and Elizabeth (Clough) Horne was killed by Indians on September 30, 1707. Ironically, just months before his father-in-law's death, John Hayes joined 370 other New Hampshire residents in petitioning the colonial government for more protection from the Indians. In March 1693/94, John Hayes was granted twenty-five acres of land near the Tole-End or Tolend and Barbados sections of Dover, New Hampshire, adjacent to John Ham, Jr. Family tradition says John Hayes, the immigrant, was buried on family land and his grave marked by stacked field stones. I found a picture of a memorial plaque placed by his descendants near where his farm was located on Findagrave with the inscription, "John Hayes, the Scotsman, came to Dover about 1680, married Mary Horne, and established a family on the surrounding acres. Their integrity and industry are held in memory by their descendants. 1934."

Signature from 1689 petition

 Children of John & Mary (Horne) Hayes: 

1. John born about 1687 and died July 3, 1759. He was buried in the Pine Hill Cemetery in Dover, New Hampshire. John married Tamsen (Wentworth) Chesley, widow of James Chesley. Her first husband was killed by Indians on September 17, 1707. She died December 30, 1753 and he married second, Mary (Roberts) Wingate, widow of Samuel Wingate. His profession is listed as housewright and carpenter in deeds. he was a deacon of the First Church of Dover from March 1731 to his death in 1759.
2. Peter born about 1688 and died 1757. He married Sarah Wingate. 
3. Robert 
4. Ichabod born March 18, 1691/92 and died June 1, 1734. He was killed by a mill log. His widow, Abigail (Evans) Hayes, married second, William Twombley. 
5. Samuel born March 16, 1694/95 and died 1770. He married Leah Dam. 
6. William born September 6, 1698 and married Hannah Sanborn on November 23, 1720. 
7. Benjamin born September 6, 1700 and died May 16, 1756. He married Jane (Snell) Heard, widow of Tristram Heard, Jr. 
8. Abigail married Nathaniel Fitts on May 10, 1720 and died on June 12, 1738. 
9. Mary married Henry Ambrose.
10. Elizabeth married John Ambrose. 

Used by permission of 1_might_b_1 at findagrave.com

Although the stone is sunken, the inscription is recorded in Richmond's book as follows: "Dea. John Hayes the 1st born of the pilgrim fathers of the N.E. Hayes family Died July 3rd 1759 aged 73 years."

From John, my line of descent is:
John Hayes & Tamsen Wentworth
Hezekiah Hayes & Margaret Cate
William Hayes & Olive ? 
Isaac Hayes & Alice Garland
Richard Hayes & Rebecca Greenwood
Sydney Hayes & Apphia Delphinia Cole
George Hayes & Anna Rowe
Eva Delphinia Hayes & Estes Gilbert Yates
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Sources:
Piscataqua Pioneers: Selected Biographies of Early Settlers in Northern New England.Portsmouth, NH: Piscataqua Pioneers, 2000. Print.

Richmond, Katharine F. John Hayes, of Dover, New Hampshire; a Book of His Family... Vol. I. Tyngsboro, MA: n.p., 1936. PDF.

Surname Saturday - Jasper Blake of Hampton, NH

Jasper Blake was a mariner and a fisherman. It is surmised that he came from the family owning land in Wimbotsham, Norfolk, England because there is a line of Jasper Blakes there. He appears in New Hampshire in 1647 when he is a witness to a deed for his relative, Timothy Dalton. It is possible he came with Timothy Dalton in 1637. Quite a few sources list Jasper's wife, Deborah, as the sister of Timothy Dalton but in NEHGR Vol. 154, pp. 259-289, the case is made for her true identity as Deborah Everard, niece of Timothy Dalton, daughter of Richard & Sarah (Dalton) Everard.

This is a very interesting immigrant ancestor for me because it appears that three of my main lines trace back to Jasper.

Children of Jasper Blake & Deborah Everard:

1. Timothy was born October 16, 1649 and married Naomi Sleeper on December 20, 1677. 

2. Deborah was born January 15, 1651/52 and married Eleazer Elkins after October 1671. 

3. Israel was mentioned in his father's will but no other records have been found. 

4. John was born October 31, 1656 and died March 29, 1716. He married Frances _____.

5. Sarah was born February 14, 1658/59 and died September 29, 1660. 

6. Sarah was born June 30, 1661 and married Alexander Magoon. 

7. Jasper was born November 16, 1663 and died December 19, 1678. 

8. Samuel was born June 6, 1666 and died before the coroner's inquest was filed on June 27, 1666.

9. Dorothy was born September 17, 1668 and died September 28, 1737. She married Nathaniel Locke. 

10. Philemon was born May 23, 1671 and married Sarah Dearborn on January 20, 1698. 

11. Maria was born on March 1, 1672/73.

Line 1:

Jasper & Deborah (Everard) Blake

John & Frances ( _ ) Blake

John & Mary (Dearborn) Blake

Benjamin & Molly (Connor) Blake

David & Hannah or Joanna (Messer) Blake

Micajah & Nancy (Ripley) Blake

Galen & Dolly (Moody) Blake

Charles Galen & Isabelle (Brown) Blake

Harriet May Blake

Clayton L. Blake - my grandfather

Line 2: - research on this line needs more sources to confirm 

Jasper & Deborah (Everard) Blake

Timothy & Naomi (Sleeper) Blake

Israel & Leah (Smith) Blake

Ebenezer & Deborah (Blake) Tucker

William & Hannah (Tucker) Rowe

William & Susannah (Blaisdell) Rowe

Stephen & Elizabeth (Hilton) Rowe

Charles & Loann (Churchill) Rowe

George & Anna (Rowe) Hayes

Estes & Eva (Hayes) Yates

Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Line 3: - research is very preliminary on this line and more sources are needed 

Jasper & Deborah (Everard) Blake

Timothy & Naomi (Sleeper) Blake

Oliver & Ruth (Blake) Smith

Moses & Mehitable (Smith) Lyford

Oliver Smith & Elizabeth (Johnson) Lyford

David & Nancy (Lyford) Philbrick

Oliver Smith & Mary (Edgecomb) Philbrick

Benjamin & Jane (Matthews) Philbrick

Francis Llewellyn & Lizzie (Philbrick) Cotton

Ray Everett & Annie Florilla (Gibbs) Cotton

Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Surname Saturday - William Cotton of Portsmouth

William Cotton, immigrant, settled in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In 1673, he said he was 60 years old, so he was born about 1613. About 1650, he married Elizabeth Ham, daughter of William Ham. About that time, he settled at Strawberry Bank and was constable in 1651, and selectman in 1654 and 1671. In 1674, he bought a tavern from Walter Abbott, one of my ancestors from my mother's side and he ran it until he died in 1678. 

Children of William & Elizabeth (Ham) Cotton:
1. John was born about 1652 and died in 1714. He married Sarah Hearle/Earl, daughter of William Hearle of Portsmouth. His will names his wife and twelve children. He was a farmer in Portsmouth. 
2. William was an innkeeper and farmer who married Abigail Pickering and had eight children. 
3. Solomon was granted lands by his grandfather, William Ham but apparently died before his father and without leaving any children. 
4. Sarah married Edward Beale of New Castle. 
5. Thomas was a minor in 1678 when his father died and Anthony Nutter was apointed his guardian. Thomas died before September 27, 1706. 
6. Benjamin was also a minor in 1678 when his father died. Administration fohis estate was handled in 1724 by four sons-in-law. His wife was named Elizabeth and she married John Golden of Kittery as her second husband. 

Solomon Cotton, son of John & Sarah (Hearle) Cotton, was a shipwright. He kept an ordinary at Greenland until 1727 when he moved to Stratham and was an innkeeper there until the end of his life. He married Margaret Fernald, daughter of William & Elizabeth (Langdon) Fernald of Kittery. She was born March 27, 1681 and died January 12, 1719/20. He married his second wife, Judith Cutt, on December 3, 1721. The final few years of his life Solomon spent back in Portsmouth. His will was proved March 27, 1755. 

The next generations:
Benjamin Cotton married Elizabeth Leavitt
William Cotton married Ruth Cram
William Cotton married Margaret Green
William Cotton married Tryphenia Lunt
John Henry Cotton married Christiana Cox
Francis Llewellyn Cotton married Lizzie Philbrick. In an interesting twist, his third wife was Nina (Ellingwood) Gibbs, the mother of Annie Florilla Gibbs. 
Ray Everett Cotton married Annie Florilla Gibbs
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother


NEHGR Vol. 58 p. 294-299. 
The Cotton Family of Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Piscataqua Pioneers: Selected Biographies of Early Settlers in Northern New England

Society Saturday - Piscataqua Pioneers

While attending NERGC, I stopped by a table showcasing the Piscataqua Pioneers Historical and Genealogical Society. I knew I had a fairly large number of ancestors from this region so the name caught my eye. They were offering a discount on their book: Piscataqua Pioneers: Selected Biographies of Early Settlers in Northern New England. It is regularly $40 and I got it for $30 - either way it is a bargain! It includes a cd of  the entire book in a searchable pdf! The maps and history of the area are very interesting and then the book goes on to provide short biographies of the early families. I've been neglecting my blog because I'm spending every minute I can with the book. I've found some great stories for future blog posts. I am in LOVE! 

As with any of the early colonial settlements, the families intermarried frequently making an complex web of relationships. I have ancestors on all four of my grandparents' lines in the book and I've been adding large amounts of information to my tree! I think I will be applying for membership in the society this year. The big question is which of the many families will I use for the basis of my membership...

Here are just the A and B surnames in the book that are direct ancestors. 

Dad's Side: 
John Alcock
William Berry
Nathaniel Boulter

Mom's Side:
Walter Abbott 
John Bean - Scottish prisoner - I wondered if I had one of these in my tree! 
Ralph Blaisdell
Anthony Brackett

Both: 
Rev. Stephen Bachiler/Batchelder
Jasper Blake


The web site: http://www.piscataquapioneers.org/index.html
To purchase the book: http://www.piscataquapioneers.org/bookPP.html