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

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/

Divorce Court - Adultery with Certain Lewd Women

Last weekend, I wrote about my 2X great-grandmother who was married 4 times. Chris Dunham of the Maine Genealogy Network sent me a link to this record of the divorce of Lizzie M. Philbrick from Francis Llewellyn Cotton. Interestingly, my grandmother always claimed her father, Ray Everett Cotton (referred to as the child, Everett R, in this proceeding), was quite the ladies man and not a faithful husband. I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree. 

No. 205

Lizzie M. Cotton

Lbt.

vs.

Francis L. Cotton

Lizzie M. Cotton of Farmington within our 

County of Franklin Libellant

versus

Francis L. Cotton of Norway in the County of 

Oxford, Libellee

In a plea of divorce from the bonds of

matrimony as herein set forth, viz:

To the Honorable Justices of the Supreme

Judicial Court next to be holden at Farmington

within and for the County of Frankin, State 

of Maine, on the first Tuesday of March A.D. 1893.

Lizzie M. Cotton of Farmington in the 

County of Franklin and State of Maine, re-

spectfully libels and gives this Honorable Court 

to be informed that her maiden name was

Lizzie M. Philbrick; that on the twenty first day

of September A.D. 1887, at Norway in the County 

of Oxford in the State of Maine, she was law-

fully married to Francis L. Cotton (whose legal

wife she now is) by Caroline Angell, a minis-

ter of the gospel duly authorized to solemnize

marriages, that she has one  child as the re-

sult of said marriage, named Everett R. Cotton, 

aged four years. That ever since said intermar-

riage your libellant has always considered her-

self as a faithful, chaste, and affectionate wife

toward her said husband, yet the said Fran-

cis L. Cotton, wholly regardless of his marriage

covenant and duty on the first day of July

A.D. 1889, and on divers other days and times 

between that day and the date of this libel

committed the crime of adultery with certain lewd

women to your libellant unknown. 

Wherefore she prays that the bonds of mat-

rimony between her and her said husband may                Mar. 5, 1893

be dissolved, and that the care and custody of

her said Child, Everett R. Cotton may be de-

creed to her.

Dated this twenty sixth day of January A.D. 1893

Lizzie M. Cotton

This libel was inserted in a writ of attach-

ment and served on the libellee as appears by

the following return of service thereon:

“Oxford as. February 2, 1893.

I attached a chip as the property of the within de-

fendant and I have this day summoned the

within named defendant for his appearance at 

Court by giving him a summons writ in hand, 

and also a true and attested copy of the within

libel for his appearance at Court. 

Jonathan Blake

Deputy Sheriff”

This libel was entered in this Court at the

present term when and where the defendant 

failed to appear and although solemnly called

made default; and on the seventh day of the term

after a full hearing it was adjudged and decreed

that the said Lizzie M. Cotton be granted a divorce

from Francis L. Cotton for the cause of adultery; 

and it was further decreed that the custody of the

minor child be given to the mother. 

Attest

E. E. Richardson  Clerk

Desperate Housewives - Turn of the Century Maine Edition

First I'll confess that I've never actually watched an episode of Desperate Housewives - any edition. But it seems that my 2X great-grandmother would be a good candidate based on the documents of her life. We can start with her name. 

Mary Lizzie - age 4

The first census she appears on is in 1870, age 4, Mary Lizzie Philbrick, daughter of Benjamin P. & Jane A. Philbrick of Mount Vernon, Maine. Ten years later, she is listed as Lizzie A. Philbrick, daugher of Perlie B. & Jane A. Philbrick of Mount Vernon, Maine and on her marriage records and subsequent census records, she is either Lizzie M. or Lizzie May. 

Next let's assess her marriages - all four of them! 
She married Francis Llewellyn Cotton sometime before their son, Ray Everett Cotton, was born in 1888. I cannot find the marriage record for this one. It is Ray's marriage record that led me to the identity of his mother. On Ray's marriage certificate his mother is identified as Lizzie M. Philbrick of Readfield and born in Mount Vernon, Maine. 

Next, she married Hiram B. Stoyell (Stowell is handwritten on the top of the marriage record) in Farmington, Maine on March 21, 1893. It is listed as the groom's first marriage and the bride's second marriage. Francis Llewellyn Cotton goes on to marry twice more so they were divorced before March 1893. 

On June 27, 1903, Lizzie May Stowle, daughter of Perley Philbrick and Jane Matthews Philbrick, married John E. McGavin in Dover, N.H. Her age is listed as 33 which would make her born about 1870 - four years younger than she actually was. Her husband was 32. So now she's lying about her age. I can find no census records or death records that for that allow me to concretely identify this John E. McGavin. However, by 1909, Lizzie was no longer married to Mr. McGavin and had returned to using the name of her previous husband. That and the fact that there were no children from this marriage pose some interesting possibilities. Perhaps her husband died within a few years of marriage or the marriage was annulled. I guess the third time wasn't the charm!

And for the finale, on July 8, 1909, Lizzie M. Stayell, daughter of Perly Philbrick and Jane A. Matthews, married Eugene D. Wakefield in Berlin, N.H. She is still fudging a bit on her age because she is listed as age 40 and her husband is age 36. She had her second child, Charles M. Wakefield in 1909. There is a marriage record for Eugene marrying a Myrtle Green on July 25, 1899 in Bath, Maine. The parents' names are the same as they are for Eugene who married Lizzie so this would be marriage number 2 for him and marriage number 4 for Lizzie. 

In the 1910 census, Eugene D. & Lizzie M. Wakefield, are living in Hallowell, Maine and their ages are listed as 32 and 44, respectively. So he has gotten magically younger and she is magically older (back to what is consistent with her first census records). 

The only two children I can find born to Lizzie are Ray Everett Cotton born in 1888 and Charles M. Wakefield born in 1909. On the World War I draft card for Eugene D. Wakefield, dated September 17, 1918, his nearest relative is listed as Arthur L. Wakefield of Bath so it seems unlikely he was married to Lizzie at that time. I have found no trace of Lizzie after the 1910 census so in the absence of a death record, I am making the preliminary determination that she died between 1910 and 1918. I have found no other records for Charles M. Wakefield either so I am not certain that he lived to adulthood. 

So great-great-gram...changed her name around, married 4 times, divorced 2 or 3 times, and lied about her age to make herself seem younger. Sounds a bit scandalous to me. I'd love to know how her family reacted to her choices. 

Francis Llewllyn Cotton & Lizzie M. Philbrick
Ray Everett Cotton & Annie Florilla Gibbs
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Murder In Agamenticus

Catherine Cornish and possibly Thomas Footman and/or John Hull, Jr. murdered Richard Cornish, Catherine's husband. He was found in the river with a head wound and a pole stuck in his side. His canoe had been filled with clay and sunk. He bled to death. My 12th great-grandfather, Roger Garde, presided over he trial. Thomas Footman is my 10th great-grandfather and her suspected lover. (See disclaimers below)

Catherine was indicted, tried, and hanged for her husband's murder. Catherine had been in trouble with the law before this incident. In 1634 she was brought before the court and then in 1638, she was charged with "incontinency." That's indulging in lust or having an uncontrolled sexual appetite. Catherine accused two men of committing adultery with her. The first, Edward Johnson, confessed. The second, Roger Garde, was a the mayor of Agamenticus (Old York, Maine) and she accused him after he presided over her trial and found her guilty. He denied it although John Winthrop still suspected him.

563-4 (10/4/1644):  "One Cornishe dwelling sometyme in weymouthe removed to Accomenticus, for more outward accommodation, & in the month last was taken up in the river, his head brused & a pole stickinge in his side, & his Canoe laden with Claye fonde sunke: his wife (beinge a leud woman & suspected to have fellowshippe with one Footman) comminge to her husbande, he bledd abundantly, & so he did also, when footman was brought to him: but no evidence could be fonde against him: then somethinge was discovered against the sone of mr Hull their minister & the woman was arrayned before the maior mr Roger Garde, & other of the Province of maine, & stronge presumptions came in against her whereupon she was condemned & executed:  she persisted in the denyall of the murder to the deathe, but confessed to have lived in Adulterye with diverse, she charged 2: specially: the said Gard the maior, & one Ed: Johnson [had been licensed by JW as an Indian trader in Aug. 1632, had lived in York since the early 1630s] , who confessed it openly at the type of her execution: but the maior denyed it: & it gave some likelyhood, that he was not guilty, because he had carried himselfe very zealously & impartially in discovery of the murder, but there might be skill in that, & he was but a Carnall man, & had no wife in the Contrye: & some wittnesse came in against him, of his acknowledgment to the woman &c:  (JW is John Winthrop)

Part of the evidence of her guilt is based on an old superstition that if the body of a murder victim was visited by the murderer, it would bleed profusely. 

The book, The Early Background of the Gard Family in America, says that the last days of Roger Gard's life "were made intolerable by the slanderous statements of his enemies." He died not long after the trial but "in despair" and suffering from a "broken heart." 

Old York Gaol - this one wasn't built until 1719 but no images of the original gaol exist and this one can still be visited if you're into old historical buildings like I am.

My preliminary research indicates that Roger Garde is my 12th great-grandfather. But it's a good story even if the documentation doesn't hold up to closer scrutiny in the future. 

Mary Garde & Arthur Bragdon

Arthur Bragdon, Jr & Lydia Twisden

Lydia Bragdon & Philip Babb

Joshua Babb & Deborah Bickford

Alice Babb & John Waterhouse

Lydia Waterhouse & Richard Garland

Alice Garland & Isaac Hayes

Richard Hayes & Rebecca ? 

Sydney Hayes & Aphia Delphina Cole

George H. Hayes & Anna Rowe

Eva Delphinia Hayes & Estes Yates

Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Thomas Footman - also based on preliminary research

Abigail Footman & Benjamin York

Elizabeth York & Job Judkins

Josiah Judkins & Hannah Huntoon

Philip Judkins & Miram Hunt

Moses Judkins & Aphia Perry

Betsy Judkins & Calvin Cole

Aphia Delphina Cole - see above for the rest of the line

Thriller Thursday - A Head Full of Drink

Hugh Stone, an immigrant living in Andover, Massachusetts, appears multiple times in the Essex County records for drunkenness. 


"Capt. Nath. Saltonstall, Esq., give in Hugh Stone of Andover fined for being drunk, 10s., to be paid in or as money, and John Page, of Haverhill 20s money for disorderly selling drink." 

"Hugh Stone sentenced at Haverhill, April 6, 1683 to pay 12s. 6d. in money or com. Said Stone apprehending that upon a presentment witnesses would testify that he was drunk at Osburne on the day before the last public Thanksgiving in 1682, he came from Andover and confessed." 


"Hugh Stone of Andover, Sept 24, who acknowledged that he was distempered with drink at his own house in April and seemed very pentitent, was fined." 


Hugh Stone was married to my first cousin 12 times removed, Hannah Foster. They had 7 children and Hannah was pregnant with her eighth child in 1689. On April 20th, Hugh and Hannah argued about selling a piece of land. Hugh, as usual, was drunk. He "barbarously reachid a stroke at her throat, with a sharp knife; and by that one stroke fetchid away the soul of her who had made him a father of several children, and would have yet brought another to him if she had lived a few weeks longer in the world." (Cotton Mather)


Hugh was quickly apprehended and hanged in January 1690.



His statements after the murder include:
"It was Contention in my Family."
"I will tell you that I wish I never had had the opportunity to do such a muder. If you say when a Person has provoked you 'I will kill him,' 'tis a thousand to one but the next time you will do it..."


"When thou hast thy head full of drink, remembrance of God is out of thy heart. I have cause to cry out and be ashamed of it, that I am guilty of it because I gave way to that sin more than any other and then God did leave me to practice wickedness and to murder that dear woman whom I should have taken a great deal of commitment in; which if I had done, I should not have been here to suffer this Death." 


Hannah Foster's mother was Ann Alcock, the sister of John Alcock. 
According to the Stone Family Association, the children went to live with a Nathaniel Stone whose relationship to Hugh is unknown. However, the Nathaniel Stone who raised the orphaned children is my 9th great grandfather. 


John Alcock & Elizabeth
Sarah Alcock & John Giddings
Elizabeth Giddings & Mark Haskell
Mark Haskell & Martha Tuttle
Martha Haskell & John Safford
Ruth Safford & Samuel Haskell
Martha Haskell & Moses Houghton
Sally Houghton & James Dunham
Florilla Dunham & Asa Freeman Ellingwood
Nina Ellingwood & George Gibbs
Annie Gibbs & Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother


Nathaniel Stone & Remember Corning
Nathaniel Stone & Mary Balch
Ruth Stone & Luke Morgan
Luke Morgan & Martha Pulcifer
Samuel Morgan & Judith Dennen
Martha Morgan & William Yates
Moses Yates & Martha Whittle
Gilbert Yates & Laura Emmons
Estes Yates & Eva Hayes
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother


Historical Sketches of Andover - accessed 
http://archive.org/stream/historicalsketch00bail#page/78/mode/2up
Stone Family Association
http://www.stonefamilyassociation.org/index.php?pr=Hugh_Of_Andover_MA

Black Sheep Sunday - I Did It My Way!

Bachiler Monument - Founder's Park, Hampton, NH

Stephen Bachiler (variously spelled Batchellor, Batchelder etc) was a minister in Wherwell, Hampshire, England and then in the nearby village of Newton Stacy. He married and began a family and settled into life. His six children, by his first wife, were all born in Wherwell - a nice balance of three sons and three daughters. His first wife was a close relative of Rev. John Bate and many sources give her name as Ann Bate, but the documentation is lacking. His ministry spans a time of ecclesiastical strife as Puritans challenged the Church of England and leveled accusations of corruption and abuse. Despite the optimism among the Puritans that accompanied the ascension of King James I to the English throne, he proved no friend of the Puritan point of view and instead sided with the established church. King James I declared that he would "make them conform or harry them out of the land."  Rev. Stephen Bachiler was one of those who was removed from his pulpit for nonconformity. His son, Stephen Jr., was expelled from Magdalen College, Oxford University in 1610 and in 1613 father and son were sued by a clergyman for slander because they had allegedly written ""some scandalous verse" and were "singing them in diverse places." At the age of 44, he began a nomadic life that would take him to the colonies and eventually back to England. 

The Great Migration profile for Stephen Bachiler states that he came to the colonies in 1632 on the William and Francis. Before he immigrated, he was twice widowed and when he crossed the ocean he was married to his third wife, Helena, age 49. He was unusually old for an immigrant at age 71. Based on records, it is believed that Helena died sometime before May 1647. He moved frequently starting in Lynn, then possibly to Ipswich, was in Yarmouth in 1637/8, Newbury in 1638, Hampton, NH in 1639 and Portsmouth, NH in 1644. He left Lynn because he and some of his loyal followers were at odds with the rest of the congregation. In Yarmouth at age 76, he began his ministry yet again. An entry in John Winthrop's journal states that the group was very poor and taken over by others. Wherever he went dissension seemed to follow. In 1644, Winthrop remarked that  "Mr. Bachellor had been in three places before, and through his means, as was supposed, the churches fell to such division, as no peace could be till he was removed." In 1639, Bachiler moved to the new settlement at Hampton, NH. The Rev. Timothy Dalton was to share the pulpit with him - presumably because of his advanced age. 

 The final conflict with his congregation is reported in Winthrop's journal: Bachiler despite  "being about 80 years of age and having a lusty comely woman to his wife, did solicit the chastity of his neighbor's wife." This "lusty comely" wife would be Helena at age 58. She must have been a pretty sexy 58 as most women I know would not fit that description although they might aspire to it. There is no record of how this situation was resolved but in 1643-4, the town of Exeter invited Rev. Bachiler to be their minister and he hit the road again.

In 1648, he married for the fourth time, Mary, the widow of Robert Beedle. She had been living with him as his housekeeper and the community seems to have suspected that it was more than a working relationship prior to their marriage. Apparently, Rev. Bachiler at the advanced age of 87, was no longer quite able to keep up his end of the bargain and his wife left and went to live in Kittery with George Rogers. In April 1650 the court "ordered that Mr. Bachelor and Mary his wife shall live together, as they publicly agreed to do, and if either desert the other, the Marshall to take them to Boston to be kept until the next quarter Court of Assistants, to consider a divorce."  They did not live together or divorce. Sometime in the early 1650s, he returned to England. Mary became pregnant by George Rogers and was sentenced to receive 39 lashes at Kittery's town meeting and be branded with the letter "A." Some believe this story was the inspiration for the novel, The Scarlet Letter. 

Rev. Stephen Bachiler died in London at nearly 100 years old! Whether you find him an inspiration or an idiot, he lived the sentiment expressed by Frank Sinatra:

And now, the end is here 

And so I face the final curtain 

My friend, I'll say it clear 

I'll state my case, of which I'm certain 

I've lived a life that's full 

I traveled each and ev'ry highway 

And more, much more than this, I did it my way

This blogger has provided an even more detailed account of his life

Other sources of information:
http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/biog/bachilerunforgiven.htm
http://o.mfcreative.com/f1/exports/7/76c42563-6769-4cc3-a652-f834df871431/Stephen%20-%20adulterous%20wife1.pdf
The Great Migration Begins by Robert Charles Anderson accessed at www.newenglandancestors.org

Connections to my family:
9th great-grandfather of Clayton Leonard Blake - my grandfather
9th great-grandfather of Linona Alice Blake - my grandmother
9th great-grandfather of Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother
AND grandson Nathaniel married my 7th great aunt, Mary Carter - completing a connection to all 4 of my grandparents!

Who's Your Daddy?

I found this story while looking for information on my ancestor, William Pinson. While some online trees have Edward and Sarah (Dexter) Pinson as the parents of William, I have been unable to find any documentation to back up that claim. Still, it's a good story so I thought I would share.

Edward Pinson was a "seafaring man" according to his burial record. He was the son of William and Mary Pinson and from this record it appears that he was buried 17 March 1701 in St. Martin, Ludgate, London.

Sailors have a reputation of being risk-takers of questionable morality and Edward seems to have lived up to that stereotype. Sarah Dexter was engaged or expected to marry Obadiah Bridges when Edward came into her life. It is likely that Sarah was enticed by Edward's money and the promise of a life in London. Sarah's father, Richard Dexter, warned Edward to stay away from her but the determined couple put up marriage banns which were later torn down. Then while her parents were at Sunday meeting, Edward and Sarah eloped. When they returned four days later as a married couple, Richard called Edward a "rogue, bastard dogg and son of a whore" and Sarah's mother, Bridget, beat her out of the house. It was later revealed that the couple used a forged letter of parental consent to convince the magistrate in Lynn to conduct the marriage. All that seems scandalous enough but...

Edward was not Sarah's first sailor lover...she had "lost her virginitie being overcome in Boston by a man who promiseth her marriage but afterwards went off to sea and since she heard he had a wife in England." Sarah, it turns out, was pregnant when she married Edward...with this other man's child....


Sources:
Sex in Middlesex: Popular Mores in a Massachusetts County, 1649-1699 by Roger Thompson, pages 60-61.