Pages

Sunday, January 04, 2009

JONATHAN BARNES AND ELIZABETH HEDGES

Today is the 344th anniversary of my ancestors Jonathan
Barnes and his wife Elizabeth Hedges, who did considerably
better than their families at being respectful citizens of
Plymouth Colony.

I've written before about Jonathan's father John Barnes
who was a drunkard and appears in the court records
numerous times. John came to an untimely end when
(apparently while drunk) petting his bull which gored
him.

Elizabeth Hedge's father, Captain William Hedge,
remarried after Elizabeth's mother died and his
marriage to Blanche Hull didn't last very long. While Blanche
was herself a widow, she was much younger than Captain
Hedge and deserted him not long after their marriage. This
lead to this bequest to Blanche in his will:

"And whereas Blanche my Wife hath dealt falsely with me in
the Covenant of Marriage in departing from me; therefore I
do in this my Last Will and Testament give her twelve pence..."

which someone commented was "full eleven pence more than
she deserved"


At any rate, Jonathan and Elizabeth's marriage seems to have
prospered. Their daughter Mary Barnes married John Carver,
and their granddaughter Mary Carver married Moses Barrows
from whom I'm descended through my great grandmother
Clara Ellingwood!



No comments: