April Wedding Showers

Well there’s no shortages of weddings this month. It seems the ancestors loved the month of April for their nuptuals! Here’s the list:

• Mary Lyon & Jacob Hatfield were married on April 1st, 1753 in Essex Co., NJ.
• Elizabeth Bull & James Smith were married on April 1st, 1793, in Kings Co., NB.
• Susanna Hanners & David Grant were married on April 6th, 1748, in Kings Chappel, Boston, MA.
• Gertrude Schultz & Hinrich Bosch were married on April 11th, 1596, in Holland.
• Elizabeth Green & Thomas Abbot were married on April 18th, abt.1662, in Kittery, ME.
• Mary Dodge & Zacharie Herrick were married on April 19th, 1653, in Beverly, MA.
• Agnetta Budder & Richard Wright were married on April 28th, 1572, in Enfield, Middlesex, UK.
• Alice ? & Hugh Laskin were married on April 30th, 1630, in the UK (probably Dorset).

With so many couples to choose from, it was a challenge to choose just one as this months focus. However, I’ve decided that David Grant and Susanna Hanners, regardless of minimal information, is worth investigating . Actually all I have that indicates their exsistence is the Nova Scotia census records of 1769.

“David Grant, one man, one boy, one woman, all protestants, one a Scot and 2 Americans, 2 cows, and a calf, one pig” [Bk1/37, Annapolis County, 12 Nov 1752-21 Jan 1769].

It is not certain which person in the family is an original Scot. My guess, based on the structure of the sentence, is that the Scot is David Grant. If Susanna Hanners was, indeed, the Scot, I believe the sentence would change to “2 Americans and one Scot“, indicating the male dominated society of the times. It also just makes sence that the “one Scot” indicates the first person mentioned (”one man”), and the 2 Americans are the following two people (”one boy” and “one woman”).

More clarifying is the fact that Grant is a common Scottish surname, whereas Hanners is more English (although the name concentration seems to be in Northern England, just across the Scottish border).

Clan history of the Grant name shows a family that strongly supported the Scottish royal family and that settled in the Highlands, mostly around Loch Ness. For a more complete history of the Grant family check out this site: http://www.clangrant.org/history.php

I have not been able to locate the names of David or Susanna’s parents. The marriage records from the 1898 Record Commissioners Report, 150, lists the April 6th, 1748, wedding date of David and Susanna and lets us know that they were married in the Anglican Kings Chappel of Boston MA. Three other Grant marriages are listed. Christopher Grant married Mercy Stratton in 1739 and Sarah Grant married John Dwight in 1746. That would make three Grant marriages in 9 years. It could be that David, Christopher, and Sarah were siblings and were married in their family church. With this hypothesis I could be one step closer to finding “their” parents!

The history of the Kings Chappel Church (http://www.kings-chapel.org/history.html) indicates that the small wooden structure, dedicated in 1689, was in bad need of renovation by the mid 1700’s. In 1749 construction began on a new stone building in the same location. David and Susanna were married in 1748, the last year standing for the old wooden church.

The Marriage of March…

Well, surprisingly there’s only one March wedding (that I have the dates for):

Hinrick Bosch & Pauline Boeck were married on 18 March 1520/21 somewhere in Germany (possibly Meissenheim). They had four children:

• Diderick born 7 January 1521/22
• Henrich born 17 January 1523/24
• Paulina born 11 October 1524
• Rosina born 10 July 1525

I am descended from Diderick, whose descendants, a few generations later, settled in Harlem NY. What a different world that has become now! I imagine I would look a little out of place if I tried to make a claim there now!

Love in February…

So, this month I have a proper Anniversary list for you to see.  I was somewhat surprised to see so many February weddings.  Weddings today seem to concentrate around the summer months, with the warm sun and good driving weather. Perhaps in an era where the population was more farm-centric, spring, summer and autumn had other priorities. It will be intersting to see what kind of annual pattern is produced by looking at anniversaries. But I’m getting off topic here. So, without delay, I bring you to this months Anniversary list:

• ? February 1528/29: John Turney & Alice Sheppard in Hollingdon, UK
• 2 February 1641/42: William Filley & Margaret ? in Windsor, CT
• 2 February 1830: Barnet Manzer Dykeman & Sophia Beyea in NB
• 3 February1590/91: Anthony Maria Browne & Jane Sackville in Wiltshire UK
• 4 February 1816: James Beyea & Mary Smith in Lakeside NB
• 20 February 1649/50: Jacob Jans Schermerhoorn & Jannetje Egmont in NY
• 25 February 1701/02: Jonathan Batchelder & Ruth Raymond in Salem/Beverly MA

The final couple, Jonathan Batchelder and Ruth Raymond, lived during a turbulent time in MA… a time of witch trials, Indian raids, and battles with French of Quebec.

Jonathan’s father, John, was a juror during the Salem witch trials and ended up sending innocent people to their death. He lived with that guilt and eventually signed the Declaration of Regret, for the part he played in the trial, and recanted his judgement/decision as juror.  Jonathan would have been 14 when his father served as a Juror during the witch trials.

Ruth’s father, William Raymond, was an active military man during King Philip’s War and fought in the infamous Great Swamp Fight on the 19th of December 1675 (322 years later, to the day, I married Kevin). The Great Swamp fight was against the Narragansett Indians. It is estimated that 600 Natives died that day and about 70-80 Colonists died. Ten years later, in 1685, William became the Deputy of Beverly MA and 5 years after that, in October 1690, he took up his military duty once again and commanded a company in William Phip’s Expedition to Canada. It was more than an unsuccessful attempt to take over Quebec. The Expedition  was a complete failure. Frontenac held the Quebec fort and about 1000 of Phip’s men died. Only a small amount died during battle. The rest died from a fleet epidemic of smallpox and ship accidents. William, however, survived and returned home to his family.

Ruth was possibly born the same year her father fought in the Expedition to Canada.  I can imagine William thinking of his small infant daughter, and his numerous other children, as he face the daunting fort at Quebec. 

In 1700 Ruth’s older sister, Mary, was wed to Josiah Batchelder. Josiah’s older brother was Jonathan.  Ruth and Jonathan may have met throught their siblings, but it is more likely that they were well known neighbours and perhaps grew up together. Looking at some old town planning records for Beverly and Salem might support this hypothesis… I’ll add it to my to-do list.

It seems to be popular theory that Ruth was born in 1690. I suspect that this birthdate isn’t accurate and is really a few years earlier. If she was born in 1690 then she married and became a mother very young and died early at the age of 57.  If the date of 1690 is correct, Ruth would have been 12 years younger than Jonathan (aged 24) and only about 12 years old at the time of their marriage. Their first child together, Ruth “Jr.”, was born in December 1703 when Ruth would have been around 13 years of age.

Jonathan and Ruth would go on to have four children: Ruth, Abigail, Lydia and Jonathan. I am a descendant of their youngest daughter Lydia, born about 1713.

Canadian Blog Awards

I’m very happy to announce that I’ve been named a double bronze medalist at the Canadian Blog Awards! I even beat out CityNews! Actually I’m really just hoping this gets me a larger readership! I love sharing the stories of my ancestors and gaining a greater understanding of the history of becoming Canadian!

Here’s my glitter for you all to enjoy!

                            

Thank you to EVERY one of you who voted for this blog! Your kindness and support means everything to me! My wish is that someday your descendants will tell your story too! We all have a story worthy of telling…

A new year, a new theme and some poetic pragmatism.

Well, last year it was birthdays… so this year it’s (drumroll, please)…

…wedding anniversaries. In honour of celebrating my own 10th wedding anniversary (well I guess it’s not my own cuz I shared it with Kev), I thought this would be an appropriate theme.

I haven’t had a chance to compile a January list… could be some work considering my Family Tree Maker doesn’t organise this info in one nice neat list, that I’m aware of… so I will start with a focus on one lovely couple, Jacob H. Gavel and Sarah E. Hurlburt, married 172 years ago this month.

Jacob and Sarah were young lovers in early Nova Scotia.  They were married on the 11th of January 1836. Jacob was 21 and Sarah was 18.  The family Bible of Jacob & Sarah is still in existance and confirms the date of their wedding day.

Jacob’s father, John, grew up to be a Deacon, likely at the Gavelton Meeting House, in Nova Scotia, where he is buried along with his wife Phoebe. Jacob’s grandparents, on both sides, were United Empire Loyalists who left New York at the end of the Revolutionary War and landed in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. In fact Jacob’s maternal grandfather fought for the British Army during the Revolutionary War and acted as an expedition guide into New Jersey (he was born in Elizabethtown, NJ).

Sarah was also descended from a strong line of Loyalists. Her father, Titus, would have been seven years old when he came to Shelburne, Nova Scotia, with his parents. Sarah’s paternal grandfather, also Titus, fought on the side of the British as well.

Now here’s what I find really interesting:

• Jacob and Sarah were married on 11 January 1836.
• Sarah’s father was born on 11 January 1790. He was 46 when his daughter got married.
• Sarah’s great great grandparents, Thomas Hurlburt & Rebecca Meekins, were married on 11 January 1704/05.

Assuming this isn’t just a misprint, January 11th seems like an auspicious date for this family. As an aside, it’s uncanny how many times I see this kind of date sharing in genealogy. It makes me think that God has a poetic sense of pragmatism.

Sarah was the 2nd born in a family of 8 children (7 girls and 1 boy). Jacob was the 8th born out of 12 children. Together they had 10 children: Joseph, Jacob William, John, Adophus, James Wellington, Phoebe, Harris Harding, Sarah, Andrew, and Abram Smith Gavel. 

I am descended from their second son Jacob William Gavel, born 17 January 1839. On that same day, 83 years later, my Gramma was born (pragmatically and poetically).

December birthday list

This months birthday ancestors:

• Mary Ann Lester: 1 December 1751
• Henry Best: 2 December 1552
• Tacy Burdick: 2 December 1667
• Joseph Clarke: 9 December 1618
• James Smith: 9 December 1772
• James Smith: 10 December 1827
• John Ormsby: 12 December 1641
• John Marshall Fisher: 12 December 1947
• Timothy Knapp: 14 December 1632
• Nicholas Mosher: 19 December 1596
• Bethiah Hubbard: 19 December 1646
• Dorothy Cotton/Cornish: 24 December 1606
• Zacharie Herrick: 25 December 1636
• Dorcas Manzer Dykeman: 25 December 1832
• William Henry Beyea: 29 December 1888

I am trying to piece together the life of Dorothy Cotton/Cornish. Even her maiden name is an uncertainty. Most agree that she was born in Norwich, England on 24 December 1606.  I love that she was born in Norwich. I lived there for 5 months in 1995, but I had no idea, at the time, that my ancestral grandmother was born and raised there. Had I known I would have walked around the streets of the cobbled city imagining the past in a very different, and more personal, light.

Dorothy found love in Norwich. Her husband to be, Rev. Henry Smith, was also likely born in Norwich. The two of them married sometime before 1622.  Henry was a very learned man. He was educated at Cambridge University, as a theologian, and was ordained as a minister on 8 June 1623.

Sometime between 1636-1637 Dorothy and Henry and their four daughters (Philippa, Mary, Rebecca, and Dorothy) and their one son (Peregrine) (and possibly a John as well) made the long and arduous journey from England to Waterdown, MA, New England. Some of these children may have been from Henry’s first marriage. 

On route to the New World, in 1637, a child named Preserved was supposedly born on ship to Dorothy and Henry.  With the infamous ship conditions this was likely the last place Dorothy would have wanted to give birth. There is no mention of this child in Henry’s will so the child likely died younger and without heir.

Dorothy and Henry’s first child born in New England was Samuel, my ancestral grandfather. He was followed by at least three more children, Joanna, Noah, and Elizabeth. An Elijah is often associated as one of Dorothy’s and Henry’s children as well.

Henry’s time as Reverend of the Wethersfield Church was wrought with controversy. The Church was split on many issues and one man in particular, Mr. Clement Chaplin, had something against Henry and demanded his dismissal. Henry refused to leave and a court-appointed committee was forced to step in and solve the problem. In 1643 the court decided that, “Mr. Smith was much wronged, both by false reports and unjust surmises.” Mr.Chaplin, a prominent elder in the Church and a wealthy and influential land owner was charged 11 pounds for libelling against Henry. Henry himself was dismissed of the charges he was accused of, and given full pardon to continue his preaching. Dorothy must have been a constant support to her husband, giving him strength throughout his ordeal.

In the year 1648 the town of Wethersfield was plagued by a sickness of epidemic proportions. Henry died on 9 August 1648, likely from this sicknes. Sixteen days later, on August 25th Dorothy gave birth to their final child Elizabeth.   Some researchers indicate that Elizabeth lived long enough to marry and have children, other reseach claims that Elizabeth died young. With the plague, I imagine that the latter is more likely. What great sadness to lose a husband and a child within the same month. That same year the frightening and superstitious obsession with witchcraft overtook the town and official witch trials began in Westerfield.

Henry, in his will, expresses his admiration for his wife Dorothy:

the prudence and faithfullness of my deare wife, who shall, in parting with me, parte with a great parte of her livelihood, I give to my wife full power to dispose of all my estate in howses, Lands, Cattell and Goods whatsoever, within dores and without, only providing if she marry again, or otherwise be able comfortably to spare it from her owne necessary maintenance

On 16 February 1681/1682 Dorothy made her will but her will was not proven until 22 December 1694, so we know that she died sometime shortly before that date. She would have been 88 years old.  She had married once again, after Henry, but she had no more children after Elizabeth. Her descendants, however, are numerous. Indeed I have an aunt who unknowingly carries her name.

November Birthdays

The November birthday list:

• Thomas Clark: 1 November 1570
• Richard Curry: 4 November 1709
• Eunice Ann Hatfield: 9 November 1739
• Rachel Elizabeth Bullis: 19 November 1664
• James Henry Beyea: 19 November 1852
• Joanna Davis: 21 November 1740
• Richard Martin: 22 November 1609
• Elizabeth Bull: 26 November 1777

Joanna Davis was  born probably in the area of Monmouth, New Jersey. She married James (Isaiah) Smith in approximately 1762 and had thirteen years of marriage before the Revolutionary War began.

Joanna’s father, James Davis, owned a shipyard in Shrewsbury, NJ, before the war began. It was burned during the revolution and following that event James publically proclaimed his Colonist support (leading one to believe that the burning of his shipyard had something to do with the British).

Joanna, however, had married a supporter of the British in James Isaiah Smith. How difficult it must have been to be caught between a father and a husband with opposing political views in such turbulent times.

In September 1778 Joanna’s father rode out to watch the Battle of Monmouth, one of the quintessential Revolutionary battles. He was shot by a stray bullet and killed.

Joanna must have been heartbroken, but she chose to be a Loyalist and travelled to Saint John, New Brunswick with the Spring Fleet in 1783. Her husband died 12 years later and she remained a widow until she died, on the 18th of May 1822, at age 81.  Joanna and James Isaiah are buried in a beautiful corner of New Brunswick. They are flanked by a river and a mountain and although their stones have disappeared, a lovely memorial stone is erected in their honour. I have seen the stone and know there is peace where they rest.

October Birthdays

Well I’m a little late on October birthdays, but considering today is the first day a birthday lands on I think I’m “eh.ok”. Actually two people of my past would have celebrated today as their birthday. Mary Herrick & Elizabeth Spavold were born 185 years apart. Mary’s husband John Batchelder was a juror in the Salem Witch Trials. Until last month I did not know Elizabeth’s maiden name was Spavold. (How I LOVE the NS online archives!).

 Following the birthday list I will re-print last years post (from the de-funct blog) on John Batchelder and his signature on the declaration of regret. It was originally posted on the 31st of October 2006.

• Mary Herrick: 10 October 1654
• Elizabeth Spavold: 10 October 1849
• William Sabin: 11 October 1609
• Rev. John Maxon: 12 October 1666
• Judith Clarke: 12 October 1667
• Hepzibeth Doty: 18 October 1791
• Richard Smith: 24 October 1802
• Phoebe Beyea: 27 October 1802
• William Brooks: 30 October 1612

“Witches” and the guilt of innocent blood.

Gentle readers… in honour of this spooky date I have a gruesome tale to tell……it involves witches, or the accusation of witchcraft, in that very famous town of Salem, MA. In just a few short months in 1692,  25 lives were snuffed out beneath a shadow of hysteria & religious fervour. Five people, including one infant, died in prision, one was crushed to death in torture, and 19 were found guilty by trial and hung on Gallows Hill. One of those accused was Rebecca Nurse. See: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_BNUR.HTM. Rebecca was a 71 year old woman, strong in her faith, and determined to be true to herself and her God. My Great9 Grandfather, Israel Porter and his wife Elizabeth (Hawthorne) were advocates for Rebecca Nurse. They started a petition to save her life, signed by 39 community members, and were witnesses at her trial, supporting her innocence. It, sadly, did not help her. She was excommunicated, and hung on the 19th of July 1692, along with four other women  (Sarah Wildes, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe, and Sarah Good). While  Israel and Elizabeth’s brave actions (and it was brave, considering how quickly one could be accused), are worth bragging about, it is with humility that I mention the actions of my great9 Grandfather, John Bacheler. John was on the jury of the infamous Salem witch trial. He was responsible for condemning Rebecca Nurse, and so many others, to death. It was a burden he lived with, but not without remorse. Later he, along with many others, signed a Declaration of Regret. It stated:  “We whose names are under-written, being in the year 1692 called to serve as jurors in court at Salem, on trial of many who were by some suspected guilty of doing acts of witchcraft upon the bodies of sundry persons, we confess that we ourselves were not capable to understand, nor able to withstand, the mysterious delusions of the powers of darkness and Prince of the air, but were, for want of knowledge in ourselves and better information from others, prevailed with to take with such evidence against the accused, as, on further consideration and better information, we justly fear was insufficient for the touching the lives of any (Deut. xvii) whereby we fear we have been instrumental, with others though ignorantly and unwittingly, to bring upon ourselves and this people of the Lord the guilt of innocent blood; which sin the Lord saith in Scripture he would not pardon (2 Kings xxiv. 4)–that is, we suppose, in regard to his temporal judgments. We do therefore hereby signify to all in general, and to the surviving sufferers in special, our deep sense of, and sorrow for, our errors in acting on such evidence to the condemning of any person; and do hereby declare, that we justly fear that we were sadly deluded and mistaken–for which we are much disquieted and distressed in our minds, and do therefore humbly beg forgiveness, first of God, for Christ’s sake, for this our error, and pray that God would impute the guilt of it to ourselves nor others, and we also pray that we may be considered candidly and aright by the living sufferers, as being then under a strong and general delusion, utterly unacquainted with, and not experienced in, matters of that nature. We do hereby ask forgiveness of you all, whom we have justly offended, and do declare, according to our present minds, we would none of us do such things again, on such grounds, for the whole world–praying you to accept of this in way of satisfaction for our offense, and that you would bless the inheritance of the Lord, that he may be entreated for the land.Thomas Fisk, Foreman. William Fisk John Bacheler Thomas Fisk John Dane Joseph Evelith Thomas Pearly, Sr. John Peabody Thomas Perkins Samuel Sayer Andrew Eliot Henry Herrick, Sr.”John Bacheler’s granddaughter Lydia would eventually marry Israel & Elizabeth’s grandson, William Porter… but by that time (1733) the Salem Witch Trials were deemed unlawful by the General Court and monitary restitution had been made to the heirs of the condemned. The horror of Salem was becoming the history of Salem. In 1957, the State of Massachusett formally apologised for the events of 1692. There is another ghost story… this is not the only chapter of my ancestor’s involvement in the New England witch trials… but i’ll have to tell that tale another time.

September birthdays… and some dirty laundry.

Okay. i’m abit late on this… but here’s September’s birthday list:

• John Nason: 1 September 1585
• Edmund Lockwood: 2 September 1574
• Christian Penn: 2 September 1613
• Abigail Aikin: 9 September 1721
• Jan Bosch: 12 Septemer 1599
• Cpt. Joseph Winchell: 13 September 1670
• Judith Maxon: 17 September 1720
• David Aikin: 19 September 1689
• Mary Smith: 26 September 1796

Three hundred and seventy-seven years ago this month Mayflower passenger, John Billington, was hung for murder. He was, in fact, the first white man hung in North America. He was also my great12  grandfather.  He was know as a ruffian and a “knave” fond of brawling and social turbulence.  The governor at the time, William Bradford, had an obvious distaste for the Billington family and wrote the following about John Billington in The History of Plymouth Colony:

    This year John Billington the elder, one of those who came over first, was arraigned, and both by grand and petty jury found guilty of willful murder by plain and notorious evidence, and was accordingly executed. This, the first execution among them was a great sadness to them. They took all possible pains in the trial, and consulted Mr. Winthrop, and the other leading men at the Bay of Massachusetts recently arrived, who concurred with them that he ought to die, and the land be purged of blood. He and some of his relatives had often been punished for misconduct before, being one of the profanest families among them. They came from London, and I know not by what influence they were shuffled into the first body of settlers. The charge against him was that he waylaid a young man, one John Newcomin, about a former quarrel, and shot him with a gun, whereof he died.

 Four years after John’s death, his son Francis married Christian Penn, who was born on September 2nd, 1613. It has been suggested that Christian’s cousin was Admiral William Penn, whose son, William, founded Pennsylvania. When Christian married Francis she was already a widow. Her new husband was likely not well received in the community, being the son of John the murderer, which makes one wonder why she would chose to marry him. Perhaps it was love? or perhaps a necessity to not be a widow supporting four children without support? We’ll never know. Here’s what we do know about her:

• she came to Plymouth aboard the “Anne” in 1623

• she was first married to Francis Eaton in 1624/25

• she married Francis Billington in 1634

• into her new marriage she brought 3 of her own children and one step-child from her deceased husbands first marriage.

• She had nine children with Francis Billington. Seven survived into adulthood.

• On December 4th, 1638 her husband Francis was fined for “drinking tobaccoe in the heighway”.

• In 1642, according to the records of the town of Plymouth, several (at least 5) of her children were “bound out” to other families.  This included Mary, my great10 grandmother at age five, and Joseph, who apparently ran away from his foster parents to return to his birth parents, Francis & Christian. It is written that they turned him away quite sternly. According to court documents of the time, Francis and Christian and step-son Benjamin were to be put into the stocks if they received run-away Joseph into their home.

• Between the years 1644-1650 death took two of her young children in a row (one is un-named or unknown, the other was Rebecca).

• In February 1665  her house burned down. Necessities were “collected for the Releife of ffrancis Billington hee haveing lately suffered great lose by the burning of his house“. Records of the Town of Plymouth, Vol. 1, p. 83.

• On June 7th, 1672 Christian’s daughter, Dorcas, was whipped for committing fornication (probably for being pregnant and unmarried). She had an illegitimate son that same year.

• In 1676 Christian’s  son-in-law, Robert Beere, was killed by Indians. (Her daughter Elizabeth’s next husband, Thomas Patey, drowned in the Seekonk River in 1695).

• In 1680 Christian’s daughter-in-law, Grace (wife to Joseph), was brought to stand before the courts, a second time, for theft. Joseph was ordered numerous times to find a job and support his family. He had the reputation of being a “lay-about”. Perhaps this was fueled by his anger at being “bound out” to another family.

• The final thing we know about Christian Penn Billington was that she died in 1684 at Middleboro, MA.

I can’t help but think that Christian’s story is a sad one. It started out with such grand adventure… leaving England for worlds unknown. I doubt she could’ve imagined how her life would end up. I hope there was some happiness in it. But happiness probably didn’t come easy when you married into, what Govenor Bradford called, “one of the profanest families among them“.

 

Bethelda Hannah Gavel

So, for a very long time now, I’ve been searching for the parents of Bethelda Hannah Gavel… my great great Gramma. I’ve had leads, but there was no certainty in them… until last night.

Searching through the Nova Scotia online archival database I found nothing by way of the name Bethelda Hannah Gavel… so I decided to just put the name Gavel in and sift through countless entries. It paid off. She was listed as Bethuld. And her parents, my newly discovered great great great Grandparents are Jacob William Gavel and Elizabeth Spavold (although the in the hand written archives it looks more like Spavil….).

This has opened up a whole barrage of new ancestors… a great many of them named Sarah, not surprisingly.

There will certainly be more to follow…