Ancestor Hunting Season

For genealogists, it's ancestor hunting season all year long. Ancestors with common names pose a particular challenge. I'm a big fan of Robert Charles Anderson's Great Migration Begins series and found his newsletter article, "How Many John Jacksons?" very helpful in walking through the process of disentangling men with the same name.

I have this clue for John & Katharine Jackson as the parents of Elizabeth Jackson who married Capt. Thomas West. Based on this, I can conclude that Elizabeth Jackson, and probably her parents, emigrated prior to 1661 and lived in Beverly. It is possible that they came earlier and lived in other Massachusetts towns. She was born about 1642 so her parents were likely born between 1597-1622. 

The West family from The History of Chester:

"Capt. Thomas West married in Beverly, Mass., 12 Dec. 1661, Elizabeth Jackson, dau. of John and Katharine Jackson. She died in Beverly, Mass., 12 Oct 1708, aged 66 y., 9m. Capt. Thomas West died there 28 Mar 1723, in the 81st year of his age."

The Great Migration newsletters are a great source of information, but even better, many articles give insight into the process of developing the sketches. This process is something genealogists can put into practice in their own work to help cut down on errors. I highly recommend reading the newsletter to discover not only information about your ancestors, but also to pick up tips on analyzing the information you find. The article "How Many John Jacksons?" was of particular interest because I have an immigrant John Jackson in my tree. 

There are four John Jacksons who arrived in 1635.

1. John Jackson, aged 27, came on the Elizabeth and Ann.
2. John Jackson, aged 30, who came on the Defence.
3. John Jackson, aged 40, who came on the Blessing. with his wife, Margaret, and son, John Jackson, aged 2.

Looking at marriages yields more John Jacksons...some may be the same as those above...

1. John Jackson and wife Eleanor were married by 1630 and lived in Gloucester. Further inspection revealed that there is no record that places this John Jackson in New England before 1653. 
2. John Jackson and wife Margaret were married by 1633 and lived in Salem. He was in Salem records in 1636 and is "aged about twenty-one years" in 1639. He has a son, John Jr. and a wife, Margaret, according to the will of Bethia Cartwright. Same as #3 above.
3. John Jackson and wife Catherine were married by 1635 and lived in Ipswich. He is living in town by 1635 as a neighbor of William Fuller. There aren't enough records to say whether this is one of the men listed above. This family is possibly the John & Katharine who were the parents of Elizabeth. 
4. John Jackson and wife Joanna were married by 1635 and lived in Portsmouth, NH. He doesn't appear in records until 1651. From 1651 to his death in 1666, he appears frequently. The lack of records prior to 1651 suggests that he did not emigrate in 1635. 
5. John Jackson and wife unknown were married by 1639 and lived in Cambridge. He had a brother Edward Jackson who also lived in Cambridge. Although several writers have said this man came to Massachusetts in 1635, there are no records of him prior to 1639. His two oldest children were not recorded in Cambridge. 
6. John Jackson and wife Abigail were married by 1639 and lived in Boston. He appears in records in 1637/8 and is called a carpenter. There aren't enough records to positively conclude whether he was or was not one of the John Jackson's above.

The Great Migration sketch of John and Katherine suggest that John was born about 1614 and married Katherine by about 1637. Their children include five likely daughters and one son, but there are not enough records of the daughters to link them to husbands with only one exception. Hannah Jackson who married William Averill is a probable daughter of this couple. So the hunt continues for records and proof of parentage for Elizabeth Jackson.

John & Katherine Jackson
Elizabeth (Jackson) West
Mary (West) Woodbury
Mary (Woodbury) Herrick
Sarah (Herrick) Ellingwood
John Ellingwood, Sr.
John Ellingwood, Jr.
Asa Freeman Ellingwood
Nina (Ellingwood) Gibbs
Annie (Gibbs) Cotton
Fern Lyndell (Cotton) Carter - my grandmother

Source:

Great Migration Newsletter Volume 12 No. 3. July-September 2001. "How Many John Jacksons?"

Capen Cemetery in Bethel, Maine - Wordless Wednesday

October 24, 2015

Aaron & Sarah (Abbott) Abbott - Tombstone Tuesday

Aaron Jr. & Sarah (Abbott) Abbott were my 4X great-grandparents. They were second cousins. His parents were Aaron Sr. & Lydia (Abbott) Abbott. Her parents were Stephen & Mary (Gile) Abbott. The Abbotts seemed to have a quite a few cousin marriages. They are buried in a small private cemetery in Bethel, Maine, It is known as Capen Cemetery and located at the top of Capen Hill on Intervale Road. They were married on January 1, 1800. Aaron was born on April 11, 1778, and died on September 8, 1856 and Sarah was born on June 26, 1780, and died on October 23, 1853.  Included on their stone are at least two of their children, Samuel and Lydia. I have two lines of descent from the children of Aaron & Sarah.

Children of Aaron Jr. & Sarah (Abbott) Abbott:

1. Aaron III - born on December 20, 1802 and died on August 15, 1878. 
2. Sarah K - born on March 12, 1806 and died on April 14, 1874.
3. Lydia - born on July 18, 1809 and died on January 1, 1834.
4. Stephen - born on February 18, 1812.
5. Samuel - born on August 1, 1815 and died on July 18, 1823.
6. John - born on April 27, 1819 and died in 1902. 

Line #1

Sarah (Abbott) Capen

Edward Abbott Capen - married his first cousin, Mary Jane Abbott - see what I mean? 

Fannie May (Capen) Carter

T. Richard Carter - my grandfather

Line #2

John Abbott

Mary Jane (Abbott) Capen

Fannie May (Capen) Carter

T. Richard Carter - my grandfather

The First Chief Justice of Maine's Supreme Court - 52 Ancestors #42

"PrentissMellen" by John Brewster, Jr. -
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Licensed under Public Domain via Commons

The first Chief Justice of the Maine State Supreme Court was my 1st cousin, 7X removed.

Prentiss Mellen, son of Rev. John & Rebecca (Prentiss) Mellen, was born on October 11, 1764, in Sterling, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard College with his brother, Henry, from 1780-1784. After graduating from Harvard, he worked as a tutor and studied law with Shearjashub Bourne. He was admitted to the bar at Taunton in October 1788 and practiced in Sterling and Bridgewater, Massachusetts. However, he was still struggling to find his place. In July 1792, he moved to Biddeford, Maine and began his rise through the ranks of Maine's top lawyers, eventually settling in Portland and joining an active group of lawyers.


The Biographical Encyclopedia of Maine of the Nineteenth Century states that:
      When pleading at the bar, Mr. Mellon was fervid and impassioned. His countenance gleamed with bright intelligence. His intuitions were quick, and of necessity not always accurate...His client's cause he made his own. He never forgot or neglected it, nor failed to avail himself of an antagonist's errors or weakness to achieve a victory. His musical voice, tall and imposing appearance, and fascinating manner were all elements of professional power that he well knew how to utilize.

In addition to his work as a lawyer, Prentiss Mellen was involved in the political arena. He served on the Executive Council of Massachusetts in 1808, 1809, and 1817. In 1817, he was also Elector-at-Large to the Electoral College. He was a Representative from Massachusetts from 1817-1820. In 1820, he was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court. He served as Chief Justice until October 1834 when he was constitutionally forced to retire at the age of 70.

"Official medallion of the British Anti-Slavery Society (1795)"
 by Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) and either William Hackwood or Henry Webber;
Licensed under Public Domain via Commons 

In 1833, he became the president of the newly formed abolitionist society of Portland. The vice-presidents were Samuel Fessenden and Rev. Gershom Cox.

Prentiss wasn't done, though. In 1838, the Governor of Maine appointed him to be the chairman of the committee overseeing the revision and codification of state laws. This work produced 178 chapters under twelve titles. Once adopted by the Maine Legislature, it became the first volume of the Revised Statutes.


Again The Biographical Encyclopedia of Maine of the Nineteenth Century gives a glimpse into his character.

     Deeply religious, devoutly attendant upon public worship, faithful, and conscientious in the performance of every duty, and true in every relation of life; of cheerful and gay temperament, overflowing with wit and anecdote, social and benevolent - he was a welcome guest in every company, and one of the brightest ornaments of the society in which he lived. Possessed of vivid imagination and nice literary taste, he himself cultivated a seidisant acquaintance with the muses. Poetry, or rather rhyming, was the sport of leisure hours to the very evening of his life...Judge Mellen met death with all the composure that might have been expected from one of his sincere faith and firm religious principles. Perfectly submissive to the Divine will, he was wishful to depart, and yet content to stay. When the silver cord was at last loosened, the golden bowl broken at the cistern, his spirit triumphantly ascended to its celestial home.

Prentiss Mellen married Sarah "Sally" Hudson in May 1795 and they had six children.

Children of Prentiss & Sally :

1. Caroline A. was born on February 24, 1796, and died on August 25, 1800.
2. Augusta S. was born on December 27, 1797.
3. Grenville was born on June 19, 1799, and died on September 5, 1841. He was a lawyer and a poet. He married Mary Southgate. 
4. Caroline M. was born on March 26, 1801. 
5. Sally S. was born on January 14, 1803, and died in 1874. She married Nicholas Gilman. 
6. Frederick was born on December 3, 1804, and died in 1834. He was a graduate of Bowdoin College and practiced law. 

Sally (Hudson) Mellen died on September 10, 1838. Prentiss Mellen died on December 31, 1840. They are buried in Western Cemetery in Portland, Maine. His Findagrave Memorial

Henry & Abigail (Pratt) Mellen
Thomas Mellen - brother of Rev. John Mellen, uncle of Prentiss Mellen
Mehitable (Mellen) Freeland
Frances (Freeland) Carter
Elias Mellen Carter
Augustus Mellen Carter
Edward Mellen Carter
T. Richard Carter - my grandfather

Sources:
Findagrave.com
Wikipedia
Biographical Encyclopedia of Maine of the Nineteenth Century. Boston: Metropolitan Pub. and Engraving, 1885. print. Accessed on Internet Archive, 25 Oct. 2015.

The Accidental Death of Edmund Ingalls - 52 Ancestors #43

Edmund Ingalls died at the age of 60 from injuries sustained when he fell through a bridge. In March of 1648, he was crossing the bridge over the Saugus River on horseback and somehow fell through the bridge. The town of Lynn spent £20 to repair the bridge and Edmund, fearing he would not recover, wrote his will. Edmund's will was proved on September 14, 1648, and his inventory came to a little over £135.


After his death, the family petitioned the town for compensation for the loss of their father. These damages were granted to the family on October 18, 1648.

"The humble petition of Robert Ingalls, with the rest of his brethren and sisters, being eight in number, humbly showeth that whereas your poor petitioner's father hat been deprived of life by the insufficiency of Lynne Bridge, so called, to the great impoverishment of your poor petitioner's mother and themselves and there being a court order that any person so dyeing through such insufficiency of any bridge in the countrye, there should be an hundred pounds forfeit to the next heire, May it therefore please this honorable Court to take your poore petitioner's case into consideration." 

Edmund and his wife, Ann, had the following children:

1. Elizabeth was born about 1619 and married Rev. Francis Dane. 
2. Robert was born about 1620 and married Sarah Harker.
3. Faith was born about 1622 and married Andrew Allen. 
4. John was born about 1624 and married Elizabeth Barrett. 
5. Sarah was born about 1626 and married William Bitner.
6. Henry was born about 1627 and married Mary Osgood. 
7. Samuel was born about 1632 and married Ruth Eaton. 
8. Mary was born about 1634 and married John Eaton. 
9. Joseph, nothing further is known.

Information from The American Genealogist, Volume 52.

Edmund Ingalls
Elizabeth (Ingalls) Dane
Francis Dane
Hannah (Dane) Phelps
Hannah (Phelps) Abbott
Mehitable (Abbott) Abbott
Zerviah (Abbott) Ellingwood
John W. Ellingwood, Jr.
Asa Freeman Ellingwood
Nina (Ellingwood) Gibbs
Annie F. (Gibbs) Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Newbury Burying Ground of the First Settlers - Wordless Wednesday

Drowning Death of Lydia Pickering

From the New England Historic Genealogical Register, Volume 46, page 179. Daniel Epps, Jr. is my 11th great-granduncle. He was the son of Daniel and Martha (Reade) Epps. In 1702, he was the coroner who led the investigation into the death of Lydia Pickering.  Poor Lydia fell into a well and drowned. There's a lot to pick through before you get to the actual findings of the coroner's inquest (emphasis mine).

Inquest Upon the Body of Lydia Pickering of Salem, 1702. - (Communicated by Grenville H. Norcross, LL.B., of Boston) - Ess. sc. An Inquisition Indented Taken at Salem within ye said County of Essex ye 16th Day of October Anno 1702, In ye first year of ye Reigne of our Sovereign Lady Anne by ye grace of God of England, Scotland, France & Ireland Queen, defender of the Faith etc. Before Daniel Epes Gent. One of ye Coroners of our said Lady ye Queen within ye County of Essex aforesaid upon ye View of ye Body of Lydia Pickering Lying dead at ye house of mr. Jno Pickering of Salem aforesaid By ye Oaths of Edward Flint Samuel Phippen, Stephen Ingolls, Daniel Grant, Jno Orne Samuel Sibley Samuel West Jno Cook Samuel Shattock, Henry West Joseph Duglas Wm Reeves, Ephr. Kempton & Jno Priest, Good & Lawfull men of Salem aforesaid within ye County aforesaid, Who being charged & Sworne To Inquire for our said Lady ye Queen, when by what means & how, Lydia Pickering came to her death Upon their Oaths do say, That she came to her End or death by falling into a well & being drowned & so, came to her End by misfortune - In Witnes whereof, as well I ye Coroner aforesaid as ye Jurors aforesaid To this Inquisition have put our hands & seals ye Day & Year abovesaid -
Daniel Epes Coroner (Seal)
The mark of
Jno F Cook (Seal)                          Edward flint Foreman (Seal)
Samuel Shattock (Seal)                Samuel phippen (Seal)
Henry West (Seal)                        Stephen Ingalls (Seal)
Joseph Duglas (Seal)                    Daniel Grant (Seal)
William Reeves (Seal)                  John Orne (Seal)
Ephraim Kempton (Seal)            Samuell Sibley (Seal)
John Priest (Seal)                          Samuel West (Seal)