Violating the Sabbath - Elizabeth Eddy

Samuel and Elizabeth (___) Eddy had to put three of their sons out to live and work in other families because they could not afford to bring them up. I wrote about this in 2012: Too Many Mouths To Feed. Here are some other references to the Eddy family.

Samuel Eddy regularly hired one of the cows which were maintained for the town's poor [PTR 1:4, 19, 20, 27, 28]. 

On 7 October 1651 the grand jury presented "Elizabeth Eeddy, Seni[or], of the town of Plym[outh], for laboring, that is to say, for wringing and hanging out clothes, on the Lord's day, in time of public exercise" [PCR2:173]. 

On 1 May 1660, "Elizabeth Eedey was summoned to the Court, and appeared, to make answer for her traveling on the Lord's day from Plymouth to Boston; and affirmed that she was necessitated to go on that day, in regard to Mistris Saffin was very weak and sent for her, with an earnest desire to see her in her weakness, with some other pleas of like nature. The Court considering some circumstances in her answer, although they saw not a sufficient excuse for her fact therein, saw cause to admonish her, and so she was discharged of the Court" [PCR 3:186]. 

Children of Samuel & Elizabeth (___) Eddy include: (There may have been more since both Samuel and Elizabeth are referred to as "senior" but there is no other evidence.)

1. John was born on December 25, 1637. 
2. Zachariah was born about 1639. 
3. Caleb was born about 1643. 
4. Obadiah was born about 1645. 
5. Hannah was born in June 1647. 

Samuel Eddy

John Eddy

Alice Eddy

Giles Leach

Elizabeth Leach

Lucy Shurtleff

Calvin Cole, Sr. 

Calvin Cole, Jr. 

Apphia Cole

George Hayes

Eva D. Hayes

Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

How Do You Spell That? - 52 Ancestors #15

This week's optional prompt for the 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge is to write about an ancestor who one would imagine got asked frequently to spell his or her name or to choose and ancestor with an unusual name that makes researching challenging. Well, my tree certainly has no shortage of odd names and I've already written about a few of them. Most of the time, I find an unusual name makes researching easier. Much easier to find Abishag, Hazelelponi, Balthasar, or Theophilus than trying to sort out all the John Smiths in the colonies. My favorite odd surname is Gawkroger.

So who to write about...unfortunately unless they got into trouble with the law, the females are hard to find much that is interesting beyond their names: Coddeth, Goodith, Urith, Welthian, Wybra, and Wilmot.

How about immigrant Kenelm Winslow? He came from a family of early immigrants to Plymouth. His parents were Edward & Magdalen (Oliver) Winslow. His brothers included two Pilgrims, Edward, and Gilbert. Nice ordinary names. There were two other brothers, Josiah, and John. So where did the name Kenelm come from? Various baby-naming sites say the name is a combination of old English words meaning "bold or keen" and "helmet", an odd combination of words in my opinion. Saint Kenelm (or Cynehelm) was mentioned in The Canterbury Tales,  and the name was popular in medieval times.

Kenelm came from Droitwich, Worcestershire, England to Plymouth and moved to Marshfield by 1643. There is no immigration record for him, but he is listed in 1633 with his brother, Josiah and it is assumed that he arrived in 1631 since that is the date of Josiah's arrival.

Kenelm worked as a joiner and although there are no proven pieces of his furniture surviving today, there are a number of pieces from the period that give an idea of the work he would have done.

Joined chest, probably Marshfield, Ma., 1630-1700. Red oak, pine, iron handles.
H. 33-1/8, W. 44, D. 21-1/8 in.
Lent by Licut Henry Lee Watson. Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Wainscot chair, Plymouth or Marshfield, Ma, ca. 1630-1645.
Red oak. H. 41-1/2, W. 24, D. 16-1/2 in. Gift of Abby Frothingham Winslow, 1882.
Courtesy of Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, Ma. PHM 944. Photography by J. David Bohl.

Table with drawer, probably Marshfield, Ma, 1650-1700. Oak, ash and white pine.
H. 23, W. of frame 34-3/4, D. of frame 18 in.
Courtesy of the National Museum of American History,
Smithsonian Institution, Behring Center, Washington, D.C.

In June 1635, Kenelm married Ellen (Newton) Adams, widow of John Adams. She lived to the age of 83 and was buried in Marshfield on December 5, 1681. 

He had a couple of run-ins with the law. In 1645, he was briefly jailed for fined 10 pounds. However, he quickly dropped his complaint involving his case against John Mynard. The next year, he was sued by Roger Chandler. It sounds like the Winslow family had hired Chandler's daughter but refused to return her clothes when her father refused to give his consent to her working for the Winslows. At the same time as the case involving Roger Chandler, Kenelm Winslow was ordered back to jail "for opprobrious words against the church of Marshfield, saying they were all liars, &c." and then refusing to provide sureties that it would not occur again.

The final two decades of his life were lived without any incidents that made the record books. Kenelm was buried at Salem on September 13, 1681.

Children of Kenelm & Ellen (Newton) (Adams) Winslow

1. Kenelm was born about 1635 and married twice. His first wife was Mercy Worden and his second wife was Damaris Eames. 
2. Ellen was born about 1636 and married Samuel Baker on December 20, 1656 in Marshfield. 
3. Nathaniel was born about 1639 and married Faith Miller on August 3, 1664 in Marshfield.
4. Job was born about 1641 and married Ruth (__)

Kenelm & Ellen (Newton) (Adams) Winslow

Nathaniel & Faith (Miller) Winslow

Nathaniel & Lydia (Snow) Winslow

Nathaniel & Thankful (Winslow) Keene - Cousins, see below

Snow & Rebecca (Burbank) Keene

John & Hannah (Keene) Cox

Timothy & Eunice (Rand) Cox

John Henry & Christiana (Cox) Cotton

Francis Llewellyn & Lizzie (Philbrick) Cotton

Ray Everett & Annie Florilla (Gibbs) Cotton

Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Kenelm & Ellen (Newton) (Adams) Winslow

Samuel & Ellen (Winslow) Baker

Josiah & Lydia (Baker) Keene

Nathaniel & Thankful (Winslow) Keene

May I Have Your Child? - 52 Ancestors #12

William Harlow was born about 1624 and in Lynn, Massachusetts by 1637. He was a cooper by trade and was married three times before his death in 1691. His first wife was Rebecca Bartlett and they had four children before she died in 1658.

His second wife was Mary Faunce and this marriage added five more children between 1659 and 1664. Mary died just days after giving birth to her son, Nathaniel.

William's third wife was Mary Shelley and the family kept on growing, adding five more daughters in ten years.

On April 12, 1667, William entered into an agreement with Nathaniel and Lydia (Cooper) Morton. Nathaniel had lost his father when he was eleven and was raised by his uncle, Gov. William Bradford. Nathaniel and Lydia did not have any living sons and they had lost a married daughter and a young son within two days of each other two months before this deal was made. They asked William Harlow if they could foster his son, Nathaniel and William agreed to the deal. Nathaniel Harlow was raised to the age of twenty-one in the home of Nathaniel and Lydia Morton and received an inheritance when Nathaniel Morton died.

Now it seems odd that one would just give away a son but William Harlow may have seen this as a chance to give his son something he otherwise could not provide. He ended up with 13-15 children in all (conflicting sources). The Mortons were related to little Nathaniel through is mother - Mary (Faunce) Harlow was Nathaniel Morton's niece, the daughter of his sister, Patience (Morton) Faunce.  Or to put it another way, Nathaniel Harlow was the great-nephew of his foster father, Nathaniel Morton.

Still I have to wonder how the conversation got started and how it was explained to the other children. How did Nathaniel Harlow feel about the deal as he grew up? When did he know? Since he seems to have retained the name Harlow, he must have figured it out? Did he have contact with his birth father and siblings?

Family of Nathaniel & Lydia (Cooper) Morton

1. Remember born about 1637 and died July 24, 1707. Married Abraham Jackson.
2. Mercy was born about 1639 and died February 19, 1666/67. Married John Dunham. 
3. Lydia was born about 1641 and married George Elliston. 
4. Hannah was born about 1646 and died after November 25, 1696. Married Benjamin Bosworth and Isaac Cole. 
5. Eleazer - died January 16, 1649/50
6. Stillborn daughter November 23, 1650
7. Elizabeth was born May 3, 1652 and died April 6, 1673. Married Nathaniel Bosworth.
8. Johanna was born November 9, 1654 and married Joseph Prince.
9. Nathaniel - died February 17, 1666/67.
10. Nathaniel Harlow was born September 30, 1664. 

Family of William & Mary (Shelley) Harlow - with step-children from his previous marriages

1. William (with wife, Rebecca Bartlett) born and died in 1650
2. Samuel (with wife, Rebecca Bartlett) born January 27, 1652
3. Rebecca (with wife, Rebecca Bartlett) born June 12, 1655
4. William (with wife, Rebecca Bartlett) born June 2, 1657
5. Mary (with wife, Mary Faunce) born May 19, 1659
6. Repentance (with wife, Mary Faunce) born November 22, 1660
7. possibly John (with wife, Mary Faunce) born 1662
8. Benjamin (with wife, Mary Faunce) born October 19, 1662
9. Nathaniel (see above)
10. Hannah was born October 28, 1666
11. Bathsheba was born April 21, 1667
12. Johanna was born March 24, 1669
13. Mehitable was born October 4, 1672
14. Judith was born 1676

Harlow Line:
William Harlow - 9th great-grandfather
Mary Harlow
Ebenezer Dunham
John Dunham
James Dunham
James Dunham
Florilla Dunham
Nina King Ellingwood
Annie Florilla Gibbs
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Morton Line:
Nathaniel Morton
Mercy Morton
Eleazer Dunham
Mercy Dunham
Mary Kempton
Rebecca Burbank
Hannah Keene
Timothy Cox
Christiana Cox
Francis Llewellyn Cotton
Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Not Far Enough - 52 Ancestors #6

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

Edmund Hobart & Margery Dewey (first wife)

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

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

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

Blacksheep Sunday - Frequent & Abominable Drunkenness!

John Barnes is my 10th great-grandfather. He came to Plymouth in 1632 and was a yeoman and merchant. John Barnes shows up frequently in the court records; often engaged in some practices which the General Court deemed illegal or at least unfair. He was also in court a few times for slandering his neighbors and also for his drunkenness. It got so bad that he was disenfranchised (his right to vote was revoked) for "frequent and abominable drunkenness." Finally in 1661 the court ordered that "ordinary keepers of the town of Plymouth are hereby prohibited to let John Barnes have any liquors, wine, or strong drink at any time" under penalty of 50s. fine. An ordinary is a tavern. 

Plymouth court records show that on 5 March 1671/2 a coroner's jury viewed "the corpes of Mr. John Barnes" and stated that "being before his barn door, in the street, standing stroking or feeling of his bull, the said bull suddenly turned upon him and give him a great wound with his horn on his right thigh, near eight inches long, in which his flesh was torn both broad and deep, as we judge, of which would together with his wrench of his neck or pain thereof (of which he complained) he immediately languished, after about 32 hours he died."

I have to wonder if he was drunk when he was gored by the bull.

DO NOT PET THE BULL!

In 2007, cousin Bill West put his spin on the story and adds some details.

John Barnes & Mary Plummer
Jonathan Barnes & Elizabeth Hedge
Mary Barnes & John Carver
Mary Carver & Moses Barrows
Moses Barrows & Deborah Totman
Asa Alden Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood, Jr.
Asa Freeman Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Nina King Ellingwood & George Gibbs
Annie Florilla Gibbs & Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton

Sources:
http://www.histarch.uiuc.edu/plymouth/BARNES2.htm
http://www.plimoth.org/media/pdf/barnes_john.pdf