So, just how are suspected murderers Jonathan Ames Jr.
and his mother related to me?
I checked the Vital Records of Boxford Ma. 1685 to 1849
page at the Essex County Ma USGenWeb Site. Under the
births I found nothing under Ames but under Eams I found
a baptism for “Jonathan, s. Jonathan, bp. Sept. 11, 1743”.
In the marriages I found under Eames a marriage for Jonathan
and Elisabeth Blunt of Andover, at Andover, Apr. __, 1738.
The older Mrs. Ames or Eames was referred to as Elizabeth in
the Essex Antiquarian Article, so it seemed likely this was her
and her husband Jonathan (E)Ames Sr.
Next I Googled “Jonathan Ames”+ “Elizabeth Blunt”+ Boxford.
I got only 5 hits, two from the Payne-Joyce Genealogy Website.
It lists Elizabeth as the daughter of William Blunt and Sarah
Foster and her date of birth as 26 Sept 1714 in Andover, Ma.
On 10 Apr 1738 she married Jonathan Ames, the son of Joseph
Ames and Jemima Hoyt at Andover, Ma.
This was interesting. I have Hoyts in my lineage. I moved up
another generation.
Elizabeth’s father William was the son of William Blunt and
Elizabeth Ballard. And Elizabeth Ballard was the daughter of
William Ballard and Grace Berwick, and so sister to several
figures in the Salem Witch events, such as Joseph Ballard.
And finally, Joseph (E)Ames was the younger brother of my
ancestor John (E)Ames, son of Robert (E)Ames and Rebecca
Blake, the accused witch. His wife Jemima Hoyt might be a
relative in my line through her grandfather William Barnes.
As I suspected, while not a direct ancestor Jonathan Ames was
a relative and it turns his mother Elizabeth Blunt was as well.
I’ve some other points on this which I’ll go into next time.
11 comments:
Very interesting! I'll return to read more. :)
And the Grace Berwick Line goes back to a noble English one, Bill, via her mother and the Blounts who go right back to the Norman Conquest:
"Sir Robert le Blount had the command of the Conqueror's ships of war and is styled "Dux Navium Militarium." His portion of the spolia opima embraced thirteen manors in Suffolk, in which county he was the 1st feudal Baron of Ixworth (the place
of his residence), and Lord of Orford Castle. He m. Gundreda, youngest dau. of Henry, Earl Ferrers, and had a son and heir, Gilbert le Blount."
Those are our ancestors through Grace Berwick. I believe you and I can join the Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of England (aka The Royal Bastards) based on some of the collateral branches in this pedigree!
The irony of that is that having
a degree in history, I am a total
medieval nut. But the Plantagenets
have always especially fascinated
me. I have Thomas Costain's 4vol
History of the Plantagenets within a few feet from where I am sitting as I type this!
Ok, so which one of us is going to be the Pretender to the Throne?
I claim the title "Master of the Revels." Greensleeves, don't ya know.
Hugh Despenser (father and son, if memory serves) are both ours in this line. If you haven't had the pleasure yet, pop over to Rootsweb and search family trees for Grace Berwick. Pick the first entry and follow the Blount Line and its collateral branches and see who is swinging out there (hopefully not drawn and quartered like Hugh Sr).
Hmm..not to mention Emperor Isaac
Comnenus through the Spanish wife
of Sir Walter Le Blunt.Her father
was a Mayor of Toledo. I like seeing those Hispanic names among the ancestors!
But of course this is something I'd have to wonder about the reliability of medieval records.
Sure fun to discover and speculate about though, isn't it?
But just as much fun to see we have another tangled root, too!
My 7th ggrandfather is William Blunt (Elizabeth Ballard). You probable already know this next fact. His father, William, is the brother of Anne Blount who is the mother of Grace Berwick (Elizabeth’s mother).
Hi Patti!
Nice to meet another cousin!
I'm just starting the research on my family tree and come from the Blount/Blunt line too. I live in the Boston area and was very interested to learn about the connections to Andover, MA. I'm so thrilled I"ve foudn your site. I that that makes us some version of Long Lost cousins!
Folks seeking info on Ames may wish to contact President@AmesSociety.org.
There are dates out there that seem to have a need to be reviewed per other findings.
Stafford-Ames
www.AmesSociety.org
My 8th ggrandfather is William Blunt (Elizabeth Ballard). I am glad I found this site. I will be back to read more very soon.
Hi there cousin Dena!
Post a Comment