52 Ancestors #29 Henry Herrick

Henry Herrick was my 10th great-grandfather. He came from England about 1630 and settled in Salem and then Beverly, Massachusetts. His birth is estimated as about 1598 based on when he was released from training for defense and he died between November 24, 1670 and March 15, 1671. 

Henry was active in the community and was made a freeman on May 28, 1631. He was the constable in 1656. The job of the constable in colonial times was to collect the taxes. He signed with his mark but his inventory included "Four Bibles and Other Books," making it difficult to determine whether he was literate or not. He is called a "yeoman" in records.

Around 1634, Henry married Edith (or Editha) Laskin, daughter of Hugh Laskin. She was born in England about 1612 and is show in records as late as March 27, 1677. 

Henry & Edith had eight children: 

1. Thomas born about 1634, married Hannah Ordway (but they divorced soon after citing his "impotency"). She is called his "reputed wife" in the court notes. 
2. Zachariah was baptized on December 25, 1636 in Salem, married Mary Dodge, daughter of Richard, about 1654, and died in Beverly on May 20, 1695. The will of Richard Dodge, Sr. mentions "my daughter Mary Herrick's five daughters." 
3. Ephraim was baptized on February 11, 1638 in Salem, married Mary Cross, daughter of Robert & Anna (Jordan), on July 2, 1661 in Salem, and died September 18 1693. 
4. Henry was baptized on January 16, 1640 in Salem, married first Lydia (possibly Woodbury, not proved), married second Sarah (Alcock) Giddings, widow of John Giddings, daughter of John Alcock of York. 
5. Joseph was baptized August 6, 1645 in Salem, married first Sarah Leach on February 7, 1665 in Beverly, married second Mary _____ bef 1686, married third on January 29, 1707 in Salem, Mary (Folsom) March, widow of George March, daughter of John Folsom.
6. Elizabeth was born about 1647, married Philip Fowler on January 23, 1672 in Ipswich. 
7. John was born about 1650, married Mary Reddington on May 25, 1674 in Beverly. 
8. Benjamin was born before 1656 and died before March 27, 1677. His estate was divided among his siblings, except Thomas, who was curiously omitted and provided an income for his mother. 

There are a number of secondary sources for the Herrick family and many have tried to link Henry Herrick to Sir William Herrick of Beau Manor, Leicestershire, England but Robert Charles Anderson dismisses the claims in his Great Migration sketch of Henry Herrick. Anderson also dismisses claims that Henry Herrick came to New England in 1629 as a misinterpretation of the first list of Salem church members. These claims highlight the need to examine sources for oneself and attempt to locate primary sources whenever possible. 

My Herrick line is:
Henry Herrick & Editha Laskin
Zachariah Herrick & Mary Dodge
Sarah Herrick & Samuel Morgan
Luke Morgan & Ruth Stone
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

52 Ancestors #8 - James Gibbons

James Gibbons is my 9th great-grandfather on my father's mother's side. He came from London in 1635 on the Increase and settled at Saco. He later moved to Kittery. He was a yeoman farmer and was made a freeman on July 5, 1653. Based on his listed age of 21 in the ship's passenger list, James Gibbons was born about 1614. He died sometime after July 17, 1690. James Gibbons and Judith Lewis were married about 1648. He was associated with another ancestor, Samuel Andrews. They came on the same ship, both lived in Saco, and both had a notation beside their name that they were "sent away" by Robert Cordell, goldsmith, of Lombard Street. 

Judith Lewis was from a wealthy family and deeds indicate her consent on records regarding the selling lands that James acquired from her inheritance. Since she was the only member of her immediate family to remain in Maine, she inherited all of her father's land in the area. 

Children

1. James Gibbons was born on March 19, 1648/9 in Saco and married Dorcas Seeley (Cilley) in December 1668. 
2. Elizabeth Gibbons was born on April 23, 1652 in Saco and married John Sharp on November 14, 1667 in Saco.
3. Thomas Gibbons was born on November 23, 1654 in Saco and apparently never married. 
4. Rebecca Gibbons was born on January 30, 1656/7 in Saco and died on January 3, 1658/9. 
5. Charity Gibbons was born on January 5, 1658/9 and there are no further records for her. 
6. Rachel Gibbons was born on October 23, 1660 in Saco and married Robert Edgecomb (Edgecome) on May 30, 1682. Robert Edgecomb was the son of Nicholas and Wilmot (Randall) Edgecomb. They lived in Marblehead from 1690 to 1718 after losing a son to Indian attack. However, they returned to Saco after the Second Indian War. Rachel (Gibbons) Edgecomb died on January 13, 1724 and Robert Edgecomb died on June 1, 1730. They are buried in the Rendezvous Point Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Saco. According to Maine Provincial Court records the couple were presented on May 30, 1682 for "committing fornication." 
   
7. Esther Gibbons was born on August 16, 1664 in Saco and there are no further records for her. 
8. Anthony Gibbons was born on October 14, 1666 in Saco and there are no further records for him. 
9. Hannah Gibbons was born about 1668 and married twice. Her first husband was named ____ Hibbert and her second husband was Robert Mace. She married Robert Mace about 1700. 

James Gibbons
Rachel Gibbons
Thomas Edgecomb
Gibbins Edgecomb
Thomas Edgecomb
Mary Edgecomb
Benjamin Perley Philbrick
Lizzie Philbrick
Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Ancestry.com. The ancestry of Charity Haley, 1755-1800 : wife of Major Nicholas Davis of Limington, Maine [database on-line]. Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.

Original data: Davis, Walter Goodwin,. The ancestry of Charity Haley, 1755-1800 : wife of Major Nicholas Davis of Limington, Maine. Boston, Mass.: Stanhope Press, 1916.

Ancestry.com. New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Original data: Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Volumes 1-3; The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volumes 1-6. Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1996-2011.

52 Ancestors - John Dwight #6

John Dwight came from Woolverstone, Suffolk, England to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635. He moved from Watertown to Dedham in 1638. Based on the date of his first marriage, it is estimated that he was born by 1601 and he died on January 24, 1660/1 in Dedham, Massachusetts. His first wife was named Hannah and she died at Dedham on September 5, 1656. John and Hannah Dwight are my 9th great-grandparents. 

John is described as a yeoman, which means someone who farmed their own land. His brother, Timothy Dwight, was another Great Migration immigrant and in Woolverstone he lived alongside Reverend Timothy Dalton and Richard Evered who also emigrated and settled in Dedham.  Timothy Dalton is my 10th great-uncle and Richard Evered is another of my 10th great-grandfathers. 

All of John's children were with his first wife, Hannah

1.  Hannah was baptized on September 3, 1626 in Woolverstone. She married Nathaniel Whiting on November 4, 1643 in Dedham. 
2. John was baptized on July 16, 1629 in Woolverstone and died on March 24, 1638/9 in Dedham. 
3. Timothy was born about 1631 and died in Dedham on January 31, 1717/8. He married five times - 1) Sarah Pennan (called Sibley in his father's will) on November 11, 1651; 2) Sarah Powell on May 3, 1653 in Dedham; 3) Anna Flint on January 9, 1664/5 in Dedham; and 4) Mary (Poole) Edwards on January 7, 1686/7 in Dedham; and 5) Esther (Hunting) Fisher on July 31, 1690 in Dedham. 
4. Mary was born August 25, 1635 and married Henry Phillips shortly after June 24, 1653. 
5. Sarah was born June 17, 1638 in Dedham and married Nathaniel Reynolds in Boston on December 30, 1657. 

John's second wife was Elizabeth, the widow of Thomas Thaxter and William Ripley. John married her at Dedham on January 20, 1657/8.  She died just a few years later when she "drowned herself." 
"About the 6th month last, there was likewise another woman, well reputed of, drowned herself at Dedham, - one Go[ody] Dwite. Two awful strokes unto all that knew them; and no little scandal, by accident, to religion; and a great brand of infamy upon themselves. This is not the death of the righteous" [Hull 196 (entry dated 24 October 1660)]. - Taken from The Great Migration Sketch of John Dwight. 

John Dwight
Hannah Dwight
John Whiting
Jemima Whiting
Joseph Wight
Abigail Wight
Roxanna Spurr
Mary Frances Stanley
Edward Mellen Carter
Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather
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.)