JOHN AMES(EAMES) AND LYDIA PHELPS

((Recent discoveries have cause me to reexamine the conclusion
of this post and I'll discuss that next. But I thought I'd reprint this 
for background. Originally posted 22April 2007))



I mentioned earlier that I’d recently found information that
disproves the belief that my ancestress Lydia Phelps was the
daughter of Jonathan Phelps and Beulah Parker. I’d googled
around with intentions of doing a post about ancestors who’d
been called to arms at Concord and Lexington when I found
this at “The Ancestry of Overmire, Tifft, Richardson, Bradford,
Reed,” by Larry Overmire, RootsWeb World Connect Project,
2000-2007 on John Ames, Lydia Phelp’s husband.


The line that caught my interest right away was one concerning
John teaching his stepson Sampson the blacksmith’s trade. This
was the first I’d ever heard of stepchildren, so I then read Larry’s
entry on Lydia Phelps:

“OF SCOTTISH ANCESTRY

GREAT GRANDMOTHER OF CIVIL WAR HERO AXEL HAYFORD
REED

Lydia was of Scottish descent, her parents born in Scotland. She
was known as a "remarkably vigorous woman." She and her
second husband John Ames migrated to the wilds of Maine about
1793-5.” -Larry Overmire, The Ancestry of Overmire, Tifft,
Richardson, Bradford, Reed.


There followed two quotes:

"My father was John Ames, who was born in Groton, Mass., and
mother was Lydia Phelps, who was born in Hollis, Mass... When
father married second wife, the widow of Sampson Read, she had
three children, Sampson, Lydia and Amy, then children by John
Ames were: John, Jonathan, Zekiel, Polly, Betsey, and Ralph;
all born in Groton, Mass., except Ralph, who was in Merrimac,
Mass., and myself in Hollis." --Aunt Betsey Putnam, as told to Axel
H. Reed, Genealogy, p. 17.

"Lydia Phelps, my mother, was of Scottish decent [sic], whose
parents were born in Scotland, and from whom the Reads got
their light eyes, so father Ames used to say."
--Aunt Betsey Putnam, as told to Axel H. Reed, Genealogy, p. 17.

((The source for the quotes is: "Genealogical Record of The Reads,
Reeds, the Bisbees, the Bradfords of the United States of America"
in the line of Esdras Read of Boston and England, 1635 to 1915.
Thomas Besbedge or Bisbee of Scituate, Mass. and England, 1634
to 1915. Governor William Bradford, of Plymouth, Mass., and
England, 1620 to 1915." By Axel Hayford Reed, Glencoe, MN,
1915))


The list of children given for John and Lydia by Betsey Putnam is
what I had already in my records but the information that Lydia’s
parents were Scottish-born was new and negates the supposed
descent from the Phelps of Andover. This is a personal account of
one of John and Lydia’s own children, after all.


And now I’m left with another question: if Lydia was the second
wife of John Ames, who was the first?

My thanks to Larry Overmire for permission to use his research!

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS#38: JOHN HOYT PT3

Before I move on to the next post in this part of my family tree, I want to
post a chart of my descent from William Barnes, ending with my father:

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS#38: JOHN HOYT PT2

A few more things from David Webster Hoyt's family genealogy:

On the records  of the Hampton Court, 3, 8m, 1650, we find: "John Hoyt tooke 
the oath of fidelitie, att this prsent Court." He was one of the "Grand Jurie" in 
1652, and several times afterwards served in the same capacity, and also as 
one of the "Jurie of Tryalls." A "Jn° Hoyt of Salisbury tooke ye fFreemans oath" 
before the Salisbury Court, 2m, 1663, but it was probably (3) John2, especially 
as there was a John Hoyt on the grand jury at the same court.

John1 Hoyt was a Sergeant of the Salisbury Military Company, and was frequently 
called "Sargent Hoyt." From the Massachusetts Records, we learn that in May, 
1658, the General Court answered the "request of Sarjant Hoyte & Sarjt Stephens, 
that Phillip Challice might be confirmed left. to ye ffoote company in Salisbury," 
by referring "the determination thereof to ye next County Court of that county." 
"Sargent Jn° Hoyt" was freed by the Salisbury Court, 9, 2m 1667, "from all traynings, allowing to y° Millitary company of Salisbury: tenn groats p annii." "John Hoyt 
senr" was also one of "the Commissioned and other officers of the Militia in the
County of Norfolk," who signed a petition to the General Court in May, 1671, 
complaining of Capt. Pike's appointment over them the year previous as Sergeant
Major.

He had two wives, both named Frances. He probably married his first wife about 
1635 (2), though we have found no record of it. She died Feb. 23,1642-3, and he 
married his second wife in 1643 or '44 (7). His second wife survived him, and 
was living in 1697. The town records of Amesbury state that "Sargent Jn° Hoyt 
sen. died on ye 28th day & was buried on ye 29 day of Feb. An. Dom. 1687-88." 
The county records at Salem state that he died on the 29th of February, but the town records are probably correct. p19
Hoyt family: A genealogical history of John Hoyt of Salisbury, and David Hoyt of Deerfield, (Massachusetts,) and their descendants: with some account of the earlier Connecticut Hoyts, and an appendix, containing the family record of William Barnes of Salisbury, a list of the first settlers of Salisbury and Amesbury, & c (Google eBook) by David Webster Hoyt (C. Benjamin Richardson, Boston, Ma. 1857)



I've not been able to find any record of John Hoyt's marriage to the second Frances in either the Salisbury or Amesbury vital records.  David Webster Hoyt lists the Hoyt children:

Children of (1) John1 Hoyt and Frances, his first wife.

(2) I. Frances,2 b.___
 ;m. 1st., John Colby, Jan. 14, 1655-6, and 2d, John Barnard, Dec. 27, 1676. She d. in Amesbury, Jan. 2, 1720-1, probably aged about 85 years.

(3) II. John,2 b. about 1638; m. Mary Barnes, dau. Wm. and Rachel Barnes, June 
23, 1659 ...

(4) III. Thomas,2 br Jan. 1, 1640-1; m. Mary Brown, dau. of William and Elisabeth Brown of Salisbury

(5) IV. Gregorie,2 b. Jan. 1, 1640-1; d. Jan. 1, 1641-2.

(6) V. Elisabeth, 2 b. Feb. 23,1642-3.

Children of (1) John1 Hoyt and Frances, his second wife.

(7) VI. Sarah 2 b. Jan. 16, 1644-5; d. Feb. 26, 1644-5.

(8) VII. Mary, 2 b. Feb. 20, 1645-6; probably m. Christopher Bartlet,
of Newbury, Dec. 19 [or 17 ?], 1663.

(9) VIII. Joseph, 2 b. May 13, 1648; d. April 19, 1648, according to the records. 
Probably a mistake in the month of one of the dates.

(10) IX. Joseph,2 b. Nov. 27, 1649; d. Jan. 24, 1649-50.

(11) X. Marah,2 b. Nov. 24, 1653; d. Dec. 1, 1653.

(12) XI. Naomi,2 b. Jan. 23, 1654-5; probably m. John Lovejoy,
Andover, March 23, 1677-8.

(13) XII. Dorothie,2 b. April 13, 1656

(14) XIII. Mehetabel 2 b. Oct. 25, 1664.
 -pp21-25

I've written previously about Dorothy Hoyt being brought to Court for dressing in
mens clothes. (Scandalous!!)

To be continued...

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS#38: JOHN HOYT

Fellow geneablogger Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued the
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Basically, we have to post something every
week on a different ancestor, whether a story, picture, or research problem. For
this prompt I've tried to concentrate on ancestors I haven't researched as much
as I have others in my family. This week's subject is John Hoyt, my 9x great
grandfather. I've actually posted a little in the past about John but since I will be
posting about how the Barnes, Davis' and Hoyts became entwined I thought it
a good idea to start with John.

Once again, I've found a Hoyt family genealogy online at GoogleBooks and it
had quite a bit of information on John Hoyt's role as an original settler of the
town of Salisbury, Ma. which will take a few posts to go over:

 First Generation.

(1) JOHN1 HOYT.

The earliest information concerning (1) John' Hoyt, which has yet been obtained, is 
that he was one of the original settlers of Salisbury, Mass. His age at that time can 
not be accurately determined, but, from the fact that he had at least two children born previous to 1639, it seems probable that he was born about 1610-15. He was chosen selectman, March, 1681-2, and moderator of town-meeting, April, 1687 (the same year
 he died), hence he could not have been very aged and infirm at that time. Whether he came directly from England, or had previously lived in other towns in America, is uncertain. His name does not appear among the passengers on any of the early emigrant ships of which we have seen any record, and is not found on any of the lists of freemen contained in the Massachusetts Records. He may have come into the country when a minor. It is, perhaps, possible that he may have been either a son or brother of the Simon Hoyt who was in Dorchester quite early, and who "took the oath of freemen" in 1631; but there seems to be nothing to warrant our assuming the probability of any relationship between them. The name Simon does not occur among John's descendants for over a century. There was a John Hoyt in Connecticut as early as 1650, and, as Simon removed to Windsor, Ct., it is quite probable that John was his son; if so, John of Salisbury, Mass., could not be. Simon was some years older than John of Salisbury, and it hardly seems probable they were brothers.

From the Massachusetts Records, we find that permission "to begin a plantation at Merrimack" was granted Sept. 6, 1638,—plantation named "Colechester," Sept. 4, 1639,—name changed to "Salsbury," Oct. 7, 1640. On the Salisbury records is found the following entry:—
From the Massachusetts Records, we find that permission "to begin a plantation at Merrimack" was granted Sept. 6, 1638,—plantation named "Colechester," Sept. 4, 1639,—name changed to "Salsbury," Oct. 7, 1640. On the Salisbury records is found the following entry:—

"1639, the third month.
"At a meeting at merrimack of Mr Simone Bradstreet, Mr Samuell Dudly, Mr Danniell Dennisonn, Cristopher Batt, Samuell Winsley, John Sanders:

It was ordered that there shall be 2 divisions of Meadow, the one nerrer, the other farther, the nerrest shall haue fower Acres to Each 100 [£], the other left to farther Consideration.

It was further ordered that vpland for planting lotts shall be divided so as he that hath vnder 501' shall haue 4 Acres, and he that hath aboue 50li to 150li shall haue 6 Acres, and all aboue shall haue 4 Acres to Euerie 100".

Allso, it was ordered that all lotts granted to singlemen are on Condition that they shall inhabit here before the 6 of may next, and such as haue families that they shall inhabitt here before the last of October next." pp15-16

"According vnto the first division of the Towne of Salisbury there was granted vnto Jn° Hoyt a House Lott conteining p estimacon one acre more or lesse, lijng betweene the house Lotts of Willi Holdred & Jn° Dickison, butting vppon the streett & Anthoney Sadlers house Lott. Also there was granted vnto him a planting lott conteining p estimacon 4 acres more or less, lijng between the planting lotts of Willi Holdred & Anthoney Sadler, butting vppon the mill way, wth ye Northermost end, & the other end vppon the great Swamp: leading to ye fferrie. Also ther was granted vnto him twenty acres for a great Lott conteining p estimacon 20 acres more or less, lijng between the great Lotts of Willi Holdred & Josepth parker, butting vpon the river merimack, & the comon. Also ther was granted vnto him a meddow lott conteinjng p estimacon two acres more or less, lijng between the meddow lotts of Rob ffitts & Tho: Barnett, butting vppon ye Necke & the great Creeke, before ye Towne.

Also ther was granted vnto him a farr meddow Lott conteinjng p estimacon two acres more or less, lijng beyond ye Elders coue towards Hampton, butting vppon ye meddow Lott of Tho: Carter & so is incompassed wth the little River: All the abouesayd grants were confirmed by mr Cristopher Batt, mr Sam': Winsley, mr Sam: Hall, Tho: Bradbury, & Isack Buswell, according to the order of ye Towne pvided in thatt behalfe." pp16-17.


Hoyt family: A genealogical history of John Hoyt of Salisbury, and David Hoyt of Deerfield, (Massachusetts,) and their descendants: with some account of the earlier Connecticut Hoyts, and an appendix, containing the family record of William Barnes of Salisbury, a list of the first settlers of Salisbury and Amesbury, & c (Google eBook) by David Webster Hoyt (C. Benjamin Richardson, Boston, Ma. 1857)

The "Isack Buswell" mentioned in the last line of the excerpt is another of my 9x
great grandfathers.

So plainly John Hoyt owned a lot of land in Salisbury.

To be continued.

THE NUTTS IN MY FAMILY TREE PT3

Before I move on, I'd thought I'd share my line of descent from Miles Nutt.
As you can see from the RM6 Relationship Chart below it through six
generation of women before Amos Hastings Barker, then another two
women before my father Floyd E West Jr.

  

THE NUTTS IN MY FAMILY TREE PT2

 I have done a number of transcriptions now and usually am able to read most
of the documents I've worked on in the past. Having been taught three different
styles of penmanship in different school systems growing up helps. But occasionally
I do run into something where I can tell right off the bat I'm going to have trouble.
It's usually something to do with what I think of as the writer's "hand", the little
out of the ordinary manner of their writing. In this case there are two different
documents in the will of Miles Nutt: the first is dated 4 Jan 1658:

It has some parts I am still puzzling over. There is mention of his wife Sibsa and
her daughter Anna, but no mention of a daughter Sarah, at least that I could make
out from it. I noticed Anna is referred to as "her daughter", not "our daughter" so
I think Sibsa was a widow when she married Miles.

The second version of the will is dated 1Feb 1660 and the handwriting is different
and easier to read.

Sibsa is mentioned again but Anna is not. But about halfway down the page there it
is, mention of "my daughter Sarah {?} now wife of John Wayman"!

So now I knew that Miles had made two wills, written two years apart, but they
they weren't filed until 1674. Using his name and the probable death year of 1674
I Googled him, and found this:

NUTT. Myles was made freeman, 1637; was a proprietor of Watertown 1636-7, and in
1642. In Woburn, he was taxed in the first town rate on record, levied 22 Dec. 1646;
and order also was given about the same time for enlarging his house lot. He was Selectman in Woburn, in 1647, and during seven of the nine years immediately succeeding. In 1644, November 5th, his daughter Sarah, whom he had brought with 
him from England, was married to Lieut. John Wyman; and after Mr. Wyman's death, May 1684, she was md. to Thomas Fuller 25 Aug. of the same year. Mr. Nutt died 
at Malden, 2 July, 1671, aged about 73 years. [Bond's Watertown: Woburn Town Records, Vol. I., p. 97. Records of Marriages, etc., etc., in Woburn.

-History of Woburn by Samuel Sewall  Wiggen &  Lunt Publishing Co. Boston 1868 pp627-628

So from the wills I was able to learn (so far) that besides his daughter Sara, Miles Nutt had a wife named Sibsa and a stepdaughter named Anna. He made out two wills over a decade before his death, which makes me think he'd been seriously ill on both occasions. Sometime between the first and second wills something happened to cause him to remove Anna's name from the second will. And why was Sarah mentioned only in the second will?  I still have to work on transcribing both documents completely.

I learned from the History of Woburn that Miles and Sarah had come from England together apparently after his first wife had died, and that Sarah remarried after her husband John Wyman's death. I'd pushed that branch of the tree back a generation. dding a father, a stepmother and stepsister, and a second husband to what I already knew about Sarah Nutt.

I LOVE Probate files!

THE NUTTS IN MY FAMILY TREE PT1

When I read Randy Seaver's blogpost about the Middlesex County, Massachusetts Probate Records, 1648-1871, being up over at the AmericanAncestors.org website
the first thing I did was go to my RootsMagic6 database and run a "Who Was Where
List" from the Reports menu. I made it for anyone who had lived, died, or was
married in Middlesex County from 1600 to 1800. I didn't know exactly when all of
my ancestors came there but I felt using 1600 (30 years or so before the probable date)
would do for the start point and by 1800 my Dad's ancestral lines had moved up to
Maine and New Hampshire. One of my hopes using the Probate Files website was not
just to find records for names on the list but to find those that would help push some of
my lines a generation or two further back. One of those I was looking to that with was
the family of Sarah Nutt.

Sarah Nutt is my 8x great grandmother from my paternal grandmother Cora Bertha
Barker's side of the family. I knew she was born in England but she married John Wyman
in Woburn, Middlesex, Ma. in 1644 so it was possible her parents had brought her over
to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I decided to run a search on the Middlesex County
Probate Records for anyone named Nutt living there from 1600-1700.

And this is what the result was:

Well, just one file, for a Miles Nutt, filed in 1674. Could this be Sarah Nutt's father?
I opened the file and then looked at the three images...

A will! Fantastic! I did the genealogist's Happy Dance (silently, in my
head, so as not to wake my neighbors. I've been doing a lot of those silent
Happy Dances because of these Middlesex County Probate Files).
Then I took a closer look, and realized I had a problem,


To be continued.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS#37: JAMES DAVIS

Fellow geneablogger Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued the
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Basically, we have to post something every
week on a different ancestor, whether a story, picture, or research problem. For
this prompt I've tried to concentrate on ancestors I haven't researched as much
as I have others in my family tree. This post my subject is my 9x great grandfather
James Davis, father of Samuel Davis in my previous post in this series.

Again, from William Richard Cutter:
James Davis, immigrant ancestor, was born in England about 1583-88, and was among the early settlers of Haverhill, Massachusetts, whence about 1640 he removed to Haverhill, where he was one of the first board of selectmen in 1646. He was probably a brother of Thomas Davis, lawyer, born about 1602, who came from Marlborough, England, in the ship "James", April, 1635, and settled in Newbury; was admitted a freeman June 2, 1641; removed to Haverhill where he was a proprietor and town officer; his wife Christian died April 7, 1668, and he died July 27, 1683, having no descendants of the male line, as far as we know. James Davis was excused from training by the county court at Hampton (New Hampshire) in 1650, on account of his age. His sons James Jr. and John were also proprietors of Haverhill. His wife Cicely died there May 28, 1673, and he died, aged about ninety-six years, we are informed, Januuary 29, 1676. His will was dated March 17 1675 with codicil of July 22, 1675, and proved 1680, naming sons John, Ephraim, Samuel and James; daughter Sarah Page; grandchildren, James, son of John; Stephen and Ephraim Davis, sons of Ephraim; James Guild or Gile, son of Samuel. Children: 1. James Jr., the eldest, married, December 1, 1648, Elizabeth Eaton. 2. John, born about 1623, married, December, 1646, Jane Peaslee. 3. Judith, married, September 1, 1647, Samuel Gile (Guild). 4. Ephraim, died September 25, 1679; married, December 31, 1659, Mary Johnson, who married again November 1, 1682, Edward Clarke. 5. Samuel, mentioned below. 6. Sarah, married, June 18, 1683, John Page -p2166

Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 4(Google eBook) Lewis Historical Publishing Company,
1910 Boston (Mass.)

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS#36: SAMUEL DAVIS

Fellow geneablogger Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued the
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Basically, we have to post something every
week on a different ancestor, whether a story, picture, or research problem. For
this prompt I've tried to concentrate on ancestors I haven't researched as much
as I have others in my family tree. This post my subject is my 8x great grandfather
Samuel Davis.

I have a double descendancy  from William Barnes of Salisbury and Amesbury, Ma. One
line is through his oldest daughter Mary who married John Hoyt; the other is through
his third daughter Deborah who married Samuel Davis. Two generations later the two
lines came together. So I'll discuss the Davis' first and then the Hoyts.

The following is once again from one of William Richard Cutter's collections of
genealogical biographies:

Samuel, son of James Davis, was born about 1640. He married, December 17 (Haverhill record) or December 19 (Salisbury record), 1663, Deborah Barnes. He was in Haverhill as early as 1672; took the oath of allegiance and fidelity at Amesbury, December, 1677. He died September 10, 1696, at Haverhill. His will dated at Amesbury, September 7, 1696, was proved September 29, following. His widow Deborah died January 14, 1718-19, at Haverhill. Children: 1. Samuel, born January 26, 1666-67, received land in Amesbury by will of his father. 2. Deborah, born about 1668, died September 25, 1669. 3. Rachel, born August 3, 1670. 4. Joseph, born May 3, 1673, mentioned below. 5. William, born February 20, 1674-75, married, December 31, 1700, Mary Kelly: inherited land from father at Haverhill. 6. Rebecca, married, January 5, 1696-97, Abiel Kelly. 7. Ephraim, born November 8, 1679, inherited land at Haverhill.8. Sarah, born November 8, 1679 (twin). 9. Amos, born June 15, 1683, died April 25, 1686. I0. Mary, born May 16, 1685. p2166
Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 4(Google eBook) Lewis Historical Publishing Company,
1910 Boston (Mass.)

Rebecca Davis and Abiel Kelly are my 7x great grandparents. Their child Richard
would marry his cousin Susannah Hoyt.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS#35: WILLIAM BARNES

Fellow geneablogger Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued the
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Basically, we have to post something every
week on a different ancestor, whether a story, picture, or research problem. For
this prompt I've tried to concentrate on ancestors I haven't researched as much
as I have others in my family tree. This post my subject is my 9x great grandfather
William Barnes.

I have two different Barnes families in my ancestry. One is from John Barnes of
Plymouth Plantation. who I've blogged about previously. The other is from William
Barnes of Salisbury and Amesbury, Ma., north of Boston in Essex County. I found
this information in the Appendix of a Hoyt family genealogy:

William Barnes * was one of the original settlers of Salisbury, Mass. At the first division of land, he received a house lot and a planting lot of four acres. In Jan., 1640-41, he received the "Rockie Island" in the meadow, and other grants. On the list of freemen contained in the Mass. Records, under date of June 2, 1641, we find the name of William Barnes, in connection with two or three other Salisbury names. He was one of those who removed to the west side of the Powow River, and settled that part of the town afterwards called Amesbury. On the Amesbury records he is frequently mentioned as constable, moderator, &c. His name also occurs several times on the Old Norfolk records, as juror, one of the "comission" to end small causes" in Amesbury, &c. His grants of land in the new town correspond very nearly in number and amount with those of (1) John1 Hoyt. His trade was that of a house carpenter. Wife Rachel died Feb. 9, 1685-6. He died March 14, 1697-8. Will dated April 7, 1696, proved Sep. 28, 1698. His homestead was bequeathed to his daughter, Rebecca Morrill.

Children of William and Rachel Barnes.
I. Mary, b.____ ; m. (3) John9 Hoyt, June 23, 1659. By her father's will she received his "great farm or lott." [See (18) Mary3 Hoyt.]

II. William, b.______ ; d. June 11, 1648.
 
III. Hannah, b. Jan. 25, 1643-4; m. John Prowse. She d. May 27, 1688.
 
IV. Deborah, b. April 1, 1646; m. Samuel Davis, Dec. 19, 1663; lived in Amesbury.
 
V. Jonathan, b. April 1, 1648; probably died young. He is not mentioned in his father's will. 

VI. Rachel, b. April 30, 1649; m. Thomas Sargent, March 2, 1667-8; lived in Amesbury.
 
VII. Sarah, b___ ; m. 1st, Thomas Rowell, Sep. 8, 1670, and 2d, John Harvee; lived in Amesbury.
 
VIII. Rebecca, b.___ ; m. Moses Morrell, and lived in Amesbury. They had a son William Barnes Morrell, an early instance of a middle name. He was probably so named because there was no descendant in the male line to bear the name of Barnes

*In the Hist. Geneal. Register, July, 1s50, p. 2s1, is found the name of Wm. Barnes, aged 22, among the "Passengers for Virginia," August, 1635, " in the Globe of London Jeremy Blaekman Mr." We also find the names of Wm. Browne and Richard Wells on the same list.p123-124

A genealogical history of the Hoyt, Haight, and Hight families  By David Webster Hoyt Providence Press Co.  Boston, Ma. 1871 .S

William seems to have led a more sedate life than John Barnes who'd been somewhat of
a problem to the authorities at Plymouth.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS#34: THOMAS SAFFORD

Fellow geneablogger Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued the
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Basically, we have to post something every
week on a different ancestor, whether a story, picture, or research problem. For
this prompt I've tried to concentrate on ancestors I haven't researched as much
as I have others in my family tree. This post my subject is my 9x great grandfather
Thomas Safford. There is a connection between him and the subject of my last
post, Thomas Low, as their children Joseph Safford and Sarah Low married each
other.

William Richard Cutter doesn't have much information on Thomas Safford:

Thomas Safford, the immigrant ancestor, was born in England and settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts, before 1641. He was on the list of proprietors of the town, April 6, 1641, and was admitted a freeman, December 19, 1648. He bought a farm at Ipswich, thirty-two acres, February 8, 1648. He was a subscriber to Denison's allowance in 1640, and had a share and a half in Plum Island. He died in February, 1666-67. His will was dated February 20, 1666-67, and approved March 26. 1667. He gave his farm to his son Joseph on condition of care of father and mother and paying certain amounts to daughters Elizabeth, Mary and Abigail. He married Elizabeth, who died March 4, 1667, at Ipswich.

Children: Joseph, born 1631-32; John, mentioned below; Elizabeth; Mary; Abigail. One daughter married Kilum.- pp1523-1524

Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 3 (Google eBook) Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1908 - Boston (Mass.)

Another mystery to look into: what was Denison's allowance? Googling it only brought up
mention of it in other genealogical biographies, many of them using the same reference to
it used by Cutter in his Thomas Safford entry,

But I also found Thomas' will, which I will add to the others in my database.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS#33: THOMAS LOW

Fellow geneablogger Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued the
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Basically, we have to post something every
week on a different ancestor, whether a story, picture, or research problem. For
this prompt I've tried to concentrate on ancestors I haven't researched as much
as I have others in my family tree. This post my subject is my 9x great grandfather
Thomas Low(Lowe)

Once again I turned to GoogleBooks and William Richard Cutter:
Thomas Low (1), of Chebacco Parish, Ipswich, now Essex, Massachusetts, was born
in England, and is believed to have been a son of Captain John Low, master of the ship "Ambrose," and viceadmiral of the fleet that brought over Governor Winthrop's colony in 1630. The cane and bible which are said to have been the property of Captain John have been handed down in the families of the Essex Lows, and are still owned by 
one of them. The Bible was "Imprinted at London by Christopher Barker, Printer 
to the Queenes most excellent Majestie, dwelling in Pater Noster Rowe at the 
signe of the Tigreshead Anno 1579." Thomas Low was in Ipswich as early as 1641, 
and according to his own deposition was born in 1605. He was a malster, and died September 8, 1677, when his son John succeeded to the business and continued it 
until 1696. Thomas Low married Susannah, who died in Charlestown. August 19, 
1684, aged about eighty-six years. Their children: Margaret, born in England, 
married, April 8, 1657, General Davidson: Thomas, born 1632; Sarah, born 1637, married Joseph Safford; John, born probably in Ipswich, married Sarah Thorndike. p1008

Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 2 (Google eBook) Lewis Historical Publishing Company,
1908 Boston (Mass.)

Interesting. While some of my ancestors had "ordinaries" and probably made their own
beer, this is the first one I know of whose primary occupation was brewing beer. Also, I
hadn't known about the possible connection to John Low until I read this.

I am descended from Thomas Low through his daughter Sarah and her husband Joseph
Safford.

JONATHAN JOHNSON'S WILL PT2

My 10x great grandfather Jonathan Johnson was married to Mary Newton
so when I went looking for a transcription of his will I found it in a Newton
family genealogy on Googlebooks. One of the things I've noticed in the images
of wills I've found is that some are very organized with each bequest listed
seperately; others have "run-on paragraphs".  Jonathan's will is one of the
latter type.

After reading this, I'm left wondering why Jonathan makes a point of"wiling"
my 9x great grandfather William Johnson to take "good care of his sun Thomas
whil he lives..". Was Thomas an invalid or sickly? I need to see what I can find
out about that.

From Pages 29-30 of Newton Genealogy, Genealogical, Biographical, Historical: 
Being a Record of the Descendants of Richard Newton of Sudbury and Marlborough, Massachusetts 1638, with Genealogies of Families Descended from the Immigrants, 
Rev. Roger Newton of Milford, Connecticut, Thomas Newton of Fairfield, Connecticut, Matthew Newton of Stonington, Connecticut, Newtons of Virginia, Newtons Near Boston (Google eBook) Compiled by Ermina Newton Leonard, (pub. by Bernard
Ammidown Leonard, De Pere Wisconsin 1915)


In the name of God Amen the eighteenth of March 1711 I Jonathan Johnson of Marlburough in the County of Middlesex in new england yeoman being aged and somewhat infirm in body but sound and perfect and memory thanks be to god for it and calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is anointed for al men once to dye do make and ordain this my last will & testiment that is principly and first of all I give and Recommend my soul into the hands of god that gave it mee hoping throug the death and merits of Jesus christ to obtain pardon of all my sins and to inherit eternal life and my body I commit to the earth to be decently buried at the discrestion of my executrix & executor Herafter named nothing doubting but at the jenarall resurection I shall rescive the same again by the mighty power of god and as toucing my outward estate where with god hath pleased god to bless mee with in this life I give demis and dispos of as followeth. Item that all my debts be truly paid by my executrix a executor In conveniant time after my death. Item I doe give and bequeth to mary my beloved wife all the lot or Lands I now dweel on both fenced and unfenced with -all the priveleges thereof to Hur withall the building theron and all my cattle hors and swin and all my mouvable goods of all sorts and all the mony I have in hand or in bonds in whos hands so ever it is and all my lands within the cow common excpt about seven and twenty Acres that I have in a deed give to my sun William near Stony brook to settle his sun wllliam on. all which I give to hur for Hur comfortable subsistence during Hur Widdohood: with free leave for acts of charyty and if all the above said will not suffise I further give Hur leave with the advice and consent of the minnister and decon to sell of the outland for Hur comfort and if she should marry then the above said estate to be restored to my sun william and he if she should be in want to tak a filial care of Hur: and as for my sun Jonathan Johnson I gave him good part of his porshon before be dyed and the remainder of what I did intend for him of his whole porshon I haue given to his wife in a bond: and in Land and meadow which I haue sinc his decece have given to Hur and bis children: but still my fatherly love is so to his children that in this my Last will that I do give to each of them, that is to say Timothy Jonathan Jotham and Joseph six shiling apec to be by my Executer given to them that is to say to Timothy Johnson his six shilings won year after my decease and Jonathan three yers after end to Jotham and Joseph when they shall be above won and twenty years old and as for his Daughters Sarah Martha Mary and Hanna I give to each of them five shilings apiece to be paid when they are of the age of eighteen yers old apeece by my executer. and as for my Daughter Mary Mathes though shee be dead yet I do remember Hur and I have given to Hur in hur lifetim part of hur porshon in a deed of gift in land and medow to Hur and Hur children and now I have completed what I intended for their porshon in a deed of lands to Hur chilldren: Item I give to my grandaughter Hanna that now lives with mee twenty pound ten wherof shee shall have betwen this and hur mariag and the other ten pound within three years after my decece. Itim I give to Hulda Whitny six pound if she live with my wlf whil shee is eighteen years olid: to be paid to her within won year after: Itim I give to my sun in law Joh mathes my coopring tools to be delivered to him within three month after my deceac. Item I give to my sun William all my Lands without the cow common to him and his Hairs executers and asign for ever wiling him to take good care of his sun Thomas whil he lives and that he may be comfortably provided for. when he is dead all the rest of my Lands and and estate whatsoever that is not menshoned and disposed of before after my wives decece I give to my sun William Johnson to him and his hairs Executers and asigns forever

Also I do order, will constitute and ordain and make my beloved wif and my sun William Johnson Executrix and Executers to this my last wil and testiment;

Further I Give unto my Grandson Joseph Jonson (He being the youngest son to my Late son Jonathan Jonson Deceased) my Cedar Lott Lying and being near Chaucy Meadows: Further I make my well beloved son William Johnson overseer Trustee and Keeper of a Deed of Gift of Lands made unto my Grandchildren to John Daniell and Liddia Mathews and Ruth Matheus which sd Deed is to be by him my sd son Kept untill such time as they my sd Grandchildren Pay unto me or my Heirs or Exec the sum of Ten Pounds to witt that John Mathews afforesd Pay four pounds Daniell Liddia and Ruth Mathews pay each and every of them Respectively the full and Compleat sum of Forty shillings a Peace; at yc payment of all and every of the sums afforesd, my will is that sd Deed shall be Delivered to them; the Lawful! Interest of ye sd ten pound being by each person above named to be paid together with the Principal! according to each persons proportion therein In wfttness whereof I have Hereunto affixed my Hand and seal this eighteenth Day of march in the eleventh year of the Reign of our Soverain Lady Anne over England &c Queen year 1712

Declared signed and sealed
In presence of us wittnesses
Peter Rice
James Taylor
Benjamin Rice

Jonathan Johnson

[Reverse Side]

Midsex Camb 13"1 May 1712 This Will was this day Exhibited by the Widow & Son Execut". herein named for probate & y« three witnesses were psent and made Oath that they see the testator Jonathan Johnson Signe & Seal & heard him declare this Will to be his last will & Testatm— & that at same time he was of sound memory to the best of their understanding And the same is proved & allowed. And ye Administation thereof is Comitted to Mary Johnson & William Johnson ye Widow & Son of ye Testat & Execufr in sd Will named as aforesd well and Faithfully to Execute the Same according to the true Intent & Meaning thereof & bond is taken for ye paymnt of the Debts & Legacys In Testimonie hereof I have hereunto set my hand & the Seal of the Office Dated as Above sd £100 Bond

JONATHAN JOHNSON'S WILL PT1

Before moving on to another ancestor, I thought I'd discuss Jonathan Johnson's
will. I found it at the NEHGS  AmericanAncestors.org website. It consists of
five images in the Middlesex County, Massachusetts Probate Records, 1648-1871 file:

Image 1

Image 2:The front page of Jonathan Johnson's Will

Image 3 The back page of the Will

Image 4

Image 5

A few things about these images. One, the writing fades in and out, sometimes
on the same page. When I tried to sharpen the images what looks like a
large watermark became visible on several pages.  I could probably do a
transcription myself but that will take time. But luckily I found one already
online on Googlebooks, and I'll share that in the next post.


Citation Information:
Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.)

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS#32:JONATHAN JOHNSON

Fellow geneablogger Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued the
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Basically, we have to post something every
week on a different ancestor, whether a story, picture, or research problem. For
this prompt I've tried to concentrate on ancestors I haven't researched as much
as I have others in my family tree. I started exploringe my Johnson line, but the
have fallen behind the last few weeks. So this week I'll try to make up lost time.
This post is on my 10x great grandfather Jonathan Johnson.

My source once again is the article William Johnson and His Descendants by G.W.
Johnson. It's from the The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume
33 published in January 1879, pp134-136:

Jonathan3 Johnson, third son and fifth child of William Johnson of Charlestown, was baptized there August 14, 1641, and doubtless was born a few days before. By occupation he was a farmer, schoolmaster and  ironsmith. He probably learned his trade of his uncle, Lieut. John, of Haverhill. Before his marriage he went to reside in Marlboro', first settled iu 1654, in the southerly part of the town which in 1727 fell into Southboro'. On settling therein, he received from the town "a house lott," 30 acres "on a hill south side of the meeting-house." half of which he sold May 25, 1663, but bought it back Feb. 15, 1678—9. Besides educating him and giving him a trade, his father made him a legatee in his will. He received, about 1687, as his share of his father's and mother's estate, twenty pounds in about "an acre and a half of land in ye East ffield," which in 1707 he sold for thirty pounds to his nephew, Capt. Eleazer Johnson, of Charlestown, son of his brother Isaac, who witnessed the deed. I find of record seven conveyances of real estate to and from him.

In his twenty-third year he married, Oct. 14, 1663, Mary Newton, his sole wife, by whom he had three children. Jonathan acquired a competence, was well educated, wrote a fine hand, was selectman, and for several years in the latter part of his life he taught the town school. He wrote his will March 18, 1711-12, and died on the 21st of the following month, aged about 71 years. His wife died Dec. 28, 1728, in her 85th year.

In his life time Jonathan gave his children and grandchildren portions of his property, and disposed of the rest by his will, of which he makes his wife and only surviving child. William, executors, and the latter residuary legatee. No inventory was returned, and there is no schedule of his personal property, nor of his real except what is mentioned in his will. Therein he says: "I recomend my soul to the hands of God that gave it me, hoping, through the Death and merits of Jesus Christ, to obtain pardon of all my sins and to inherit Eternal Life, and my Body I cornit to the Earth * * * nothing doubting but at the Generall Redirection I shall receive the same againe by the mighty power of God." He gives his homestead and all his personal property to his wife *• for her comfortable subsistence during her widowhood with free leave of acts of charity," and if more is needed he gives her leave. "with the advice and consent of the Minister and Deacon, to sell of the out land for her comfort; and if she should marry," then what he has given to her is to go to his son William, who "if she should be in want to take a flilial care of her." He says he had given Jonathan while alive and his wife since his death, his portion; "but still," he says, " my ffatherly love is so to his children,"' &c, whom he names and to whom he gives small sums. To Mary's husband he gives his "Coopering Tools" (it seems he had more than one trade), and to Joseph, Jonathan's youngest son, a lot of land. "As for my daughter Mary Mathes," he says, "though she be dead yet I remember her "; he says he had completed her portion by a deed of land to her children. To his granddaughter Hannah, who was living with him, he gives twenty pounds, and to Hulda Whitney six pounds if she remain with his wife till eighteen years old. He "wills" William to take good care of his, William's, son Thomas while he lives, and appoints him trustee of a deed to Mary's children.

He then lists the children of Jonathan Johnson:
i. Mary b. Sept. 9, 1664; m. 1686, John Matthews, M.D. She d. June 22, 1710, aged 46 years, leaving issue.

ii. William, b. Dec. 15, 1665 ; m. first, about 1688, Hannah Larkin, who d. Dec. 18, 1696; he m. second, Hannah Rider. He d. June 5, 1754, in his 89th year, leaving issue by both wives.

iii. Jonathan, b. Jan. 2, 1667-8; m. 1689, Mary Kerley. She d. 1741, aged 75 years. He was slain by the Indians, Oct. 12, 1708, in his 41st year, leaving issue.

I'm descended from William Johnson and Hannah Larkin.

THE SIXTH ANNUAL GREAT GENEALOGY POETRY CHALLENGE

It's time to start thinking about the Sixth Annual Great Genealogy Poetry
Challenge!


This year I'm really giving everyone a lot of lead time.  As in the past , I'll
be posting the links to the submissions on Thanksgiving Day, which this
year falls on Thursday, November 27th. Deadline for submissions will be
a week before, on Thursday, November 20th. That gives everyone nearly three
months to find (or write) and share their poem or song. If you
find one long before that deadline, you can post it on your blog now if you
wish, just don't forget to send me the link to it before November 20th!
    
These are the Challenge rules:

1. Find a poem by a local poet, famous or obscure, from the region
one of your ancestors lived in. It can be about an historical event, a
legend, a person, or even about some place (like a river)or a local
animal. It can even be a poem you or one of your ancestors have written!
0r if you prefer, post the lyrics of a song or a link to a video of someone
performing the song. 

2. Post the poem or song to your blog (remembering to cite the source
where you found it.).  If you wish to enter an older post, you may as long
as long as it has not appeared here in an earlier Poetry Challenge.
 
3.Tell us how the subject of the poem or song relates to your ancestor's
home or life, or the area of the country where they lived.

4.Submit your post's link here to me by midnight Thursday, November 20th
and I'll publish all links to the entries on Thanksgiving Day, November 27th!

If  you submit a humorous poem or song that will be entered under the
"Willy Puckerbrush" division. Willy was the late geneablogger Terry
Thornton's alias for some humorous posts and comments.


There you have it, and with nearly three months to work with, I'm hoping that
gives everyone plenty of time to take part this year!