"...HAD SOLD STRONG LIQUORS TO THE INDIANS..." PT2

((First posted Oct 2015))



A few things about my previous post about Thomas Johnson being charged and convicted
of selling liquor to the Indians:

One of the things that struck me reading the court files was how Nicholas Holt referred
to Thomas Johnson as his son-in law. It was common back in Puritan New England to refer
to in-laws as son, daughter, father, or mother to show you considered them as close to you
as your own parents or children by blood.  So I think by using the term"son -in-law" Nicholas
is trying to show his displeasure with Thomas Johnson and distance himself from his actions.
Conversely, Thomas'  father John Johnson refers to Mary (Holt) Johnson as "his daughter".
Was their a break between Nicholas Holt and his daughter Mary over the actions of her husband? Sometimes I wish there was a way to go back in time to question the people in
these storie to get their thoughts and opinions of each other.

 Another thought I had was about the people involved in the case. It may have been a sign
of changes in Andover, Ma. where they all lived. Here's a list of the original settlers of
Andover. The ones with an asterisk after their names are my ancestors or relatives, the
names in red were witnesses in the case:

Mr. Bradstreet
John Osgood
Joseph Parker
Richard Barker*
John Stevens*
Nicholas Holt*
Benjamin Woodbridge
John Fry
Edmond Faulkner
Robert Barnard
Daniel Poor*
Nathan Parker
Henry Jaques
John Aslett (or Aslebe)
Richard Blacke(Black)
William Ballard*
John Lovejoy*
Thomas Poore
George Abbott*
John Russe
Andrew Allen
Andrew Foster
Thomas Chandler*
pp20-21
Abbot, Elinor, Our Company Increases Apace: History, Language, and
Social Identity in Early Colonial Andover, Massachusetts.
(Dallas, Texas: SIL International, 2007)

Nicholas Holt, Willam Ballard, John Lovejoy and Thomas Chandler are all my 9x great grandfathers.  Thomas Johnson was someone who came to Andover after the original
settlers.One can only speculate if my ancestors regarded such activities as selling
liquor to the local Indians as a sign that Andover was straying from the Christian
principles of its beginnings.

"...HAD SOLD STRONG LIQUORS TO THE INDIANS..." PT1

((A story involving my ancestor Nicholas Holt and his family, First posted in Oct.2015))

Yet another Essex County, Massachusetts court case involving my ancestors and  their
relatives. This one concerns my 9x great grandfather Nicholas Holt, his daughter Mary,
and her husband Thomas Johnson, all of Andover, Ma. Among the witnesses are my
ancestors Thomas Chandler, William Ballard, and John Lovejoy

Court held at Ipswich, Apr.18, 1671
Thomas Johnson, presented by the grand jury upon a common fame for selling strong waters to the Indians, pleading not guilty and putting himself upon trial by jury, whether he did sell or no. He was found guilty of selling two quarts to the Indians, and was sentenced to pay 8li. for selling. Also fined for perjury, bound to good behavior and disabled for giving evidence. John Perly and Edmond Bridges, jr., sureties.*

*Nicholas Holt, aged about sixty-three years, deposed that sometime in October or November last, hearing of a rumor in the town that his son-in-law Thomas Johnson had sold strong liquors to the Indians and had taken an oath to clear himself, he went to his house to speak with him about it, but he not being at home, deponent discoursed with his wife about it. He told her that he heard her husband carried bottles of liquor to the Indians. She replied that there was a great deal more made of it than there was cause, and that she knew of only two or three quarts that he sold them. Sworn, 11:2:1671, before Simon Bradstreete.t

Ens. Tho. Chandler, aged about forty-three years, deposed that about the time that Thomas Johnson was at Cambridge about his selling strong water to the Indians, deponent was speaking with John Johnson, father of said Thomas, who told him about what Thomas's wife Mary said. Also that Thomas told deponent that he carried up two bottles to the Indians, and that there was nothing in them, but he carried a bottle of liquor in his pocket and gave the Indians a dram and they gave him another. Sworn, 11:2:1671, before Simon Bradstreete,* assistant.

Jos. Ballard, aged about twenty-six years, deposed that if he gave a dram or two to the Indians, what was that to any man? Sworn, 12 :2 : 1671, before Simon Bradstreete.*

Joseph Wilson, aged about twenty-six years, deposed that some time the last harvest, he sold two bottles to some Indians whose names he knows not, which bottles they left at Thomas Johnson's. Some time after, deponent went to borrow a bottle of said Johnson, who lent him one of those bottles. He also gave deponent another "which his brother made to bring him some strong liquors from Ipswich, whither hee was goeing but getting noe liquors there, hee left one of the sd bottles wth his brother for his owne use, & there it remaines still for ought hee knowes the other hee sold to yong Tho. Burage att his returne Tho. Johnson was pvoked & angry that hee brought him no liqrs & sd hee should not haue had his horse but vpon yt acct the next day as hee thinks it was the said Johnson came to him to borrow a bottle & sd hee was in great want of it & must haue some, soe not haueing one of his owne hee lett him haue one of his Fathr Loveioyes & wth wch & another hee went to Newbury as hee sd to fetch liquors the next day hee mett him comeing home not farr from his shopp & being something in a sack behinde him knocked on the head of a bottle, wch hee pceiued was full & further sayeth yl one of the bottles found wth the Ind. & now brought to Andour is yt bottle w*h hee sent him." Sworn, 12 :2 :1671, before Simon Bradstreete,* assistant.

John Lovejoy, aged about forty-nine years, deposed that the said Johnson being very angry that he had brought him no liquors from Ipswich said it would be 40s. out of his way for they stayed for it, "cliping his words as it were in yl speech," etc. Sworn, 12 :2 : 1671, before Simon Bradstreet.*

Willm. Ballard, aged about fifty years, deposed that being at Mr. Hinchman's and discoursing about Tho. Johnson, said Hinchman said he did not question that he sold to the Indians, and sat upon and delivered to this deponent a bottle which he said he had from the Indians to see whether it would be owned at Andover. As yet he had found no owner, etc. Sworn, 12: 2 : 1671, before Simon Bradstreete.*

John Johnson, aged sixty-seven years, deposed that he never heard his daughter Mary Johnson say that her husband sold to the Indians, etc.pp370-372

Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts: 1667-1671 (Google eBook) VOL IV, Essex Institute, Salem Ma. 1914

ANDOVER MASSACHUSETTS:THE FAULKNER LIST

((I first posted this back on 20Oct 2009.Since I'm now blogging about my Abbott lines
I thought it beared reposting.))


In her book Our Company Increases Apace: History, Language and Social Identity in
early Colonial Andover Massachusetts, distant cousin Elinor Abbot includes an image and
a transcription of a document known as the Faulkner List, which is a list of men who
were "free houlders" in Andover. These were colonists who were not servants and could
own land and build an estate for their heirs to inherit. I'm guessing that the term might be a
shortening of "free landholder".

I wrote a short post back in January of this year about the terms "Covenant" and "Freeman".
In her transcription of the Faulkner List Ms Abbot italicized the names of those men who
were the "Covenanters", the original founders of Andover. Among the names is that of
Edward Faulkner who was the first Andover town clerk and whose handwriting is believed
to be that on the list. I've added asterisks after the names of those men who are my
ancestors:

" house
The order of all the freed ^ holders
in order as they came to town:

Mr. Bradstreet
John Osgood
Joseph Parker*
Richard Barker*
John Stevens*
Nicholas Holt*
Benjamin Woodbridge
John Fry
Edmond Faulkner
Robert Barnard*
Daniel Poor*
Nathan Parker
Henry Jaques
John Aslett (or Aslebe)
Richard Blacke(Black)
William Ballard*
John Lovejoy*
Thomas Poore
George Abbott*
John Russe
Andrew Allen
Andrew Foster
Thomas Chandler*"

At some point the "house" was inserted to reflect possibly a change in how the right to vote
was established.

You might recognize some of my ancestor's names from previous posts. You'll be seeing
more about them as I explore the relations between the families that continued in some
cases from Andover, Massachusetts up into Oxford County, Maine.

Source:
Abbot, Elinor, Our Company Increases Apace: History, Language, and
Social Identity in Early Colonial Andover, Massachusetts.
(Dallas, Texas: SIL International, 2007) pp20-21

"...HAD SOLD STRONG LIQUORS TO THE INDIANS..." PT2

A few things about my previous post about Thomas Johnson being charged and convicted
of selling liquor to the Indians:

One of the things that struck me reading the court files was how Nicholas Holt referred
to Thomas Johnson as his son-in law. It was common back in Puritan New England to refer
to in-laws as son, daughter, father, or mother to show you considered them as close to you
as your own parents or children by blood.  So I think by using the term"son -in-law" Nicholas
is trying to show his displeasure with Thomas Johnson and distance himself from his actions.
Conversely, Thomas'  father John Johnson refers to Mary (Holt) Johnson as "his daughter".
Was their a break between Nicholas Holt and his daughter Mary over the actions of her husband? Sometimes I wish there was a way to go back in time to question the people in
these storie to get their thoughts and opinions of each other.

 Another thought I had was about the people involved in the case. It may have been a sign
of changes in Andover, Ma. where they all lived. Here's a list of the original settlers of
Andover. The ones with an asterisk after their names are my ancestors or relatives, the
names in red were witnesses in the case:

Mr. Bradstreet
John Osgood
Joseph Parker
Richard Barker*
John Stevens*
Nicholas Holt*
Benjamin Woodbridge
John Fry
Edmond Faulkner
Robert Barnard
Daniel Poor*
Nathan Parker
Henry Jaques
John Aslett (or Aslebe)
Richard Blacke(Black)
William Ballard*
John Lovejoy*
Thomas Poore
George Abbott*
John Russe
Andrew Allen
Andrew Foster
Thomas Chandler*
pp20-21
Abbot, Elinor, Our Company Increases Apace: History, Language, and
Social Identity in Early Colonial Andover, Massachusetts.
(Dallas, Texas: SIL International, 2007)

Nicholas Holt, Willam Ballard, John Lovejoy and Thomas Chandler are all my 9x great grandfathers.  Thomas Johnson was someone who came to Andover after the original
settlers.One can only speculate if my ancestors regarded such activities as selling
liquor to the local Indians as a sign that Andover was straying from the Christian
principles of its beginnings.

"...HAD SOLD STRONG LIQUORS TO THE INDIANS..." PT1

Yet another Essex County, Massachusetts court case involving my ancestors and  their
relatives. This one concerns my 9x great grandfather Nicholas Holt, his daughter Mary,
and her husband Thomas Johnson, all of Andover, Ma. Among the witnesses are my
ancestors Thomas Chandler, William Ballard, and John Lovejoy

Court held at Ipswich, Apr.18, 1671
Thomas Johnson, presented by the grand jury upon a common fame for selling strong waters to the Indians, pleading not guilty and putting himself upon trial by jury, whether he did sell or no. He was found guilty of selling two quarts to the Indians, and was sentenced to pay 8li. for selling. Also fined for perjury, bound to good behavior and disabled for giving evidence. John Perly and Edmond Bridges, jr., sureties.*

*Nicholas Holt, aged about sixty-three years, deposed that sometime in October or November last, hearing of a rumor in the town that his son-in-law Thomas Johnson had sold strong liquors to the Indians and had taken an oath to clear himself, he went to his house to speak with him about it, but he not being at home, deponent discoursed with his wife about it. He told her that he heard her husband carried bottles of liquor to the Indians. She replied that there was a great deal more made of it than there was cause, and that she knew of only two or three quarts that he sold them. Sworn, 11:2:1671, before Simon Bradstreete.t

Ens. Tho. Chandler, aged about forty-three years, deposed that about the time that Thomas Johnson was at Cambridge about his selling strong water to the Indians, deponent was speaking with John Johnson, father of said Thomas, who told him about what Thomas's wife Mary said. Also that Thomas told deponent that he carried up two bottles to the Indians, and that there was nothing in them, but he carried a bottle of liquor in his pocket and gave the Indians a dram and they gave him another. Sworn, 11:2:1671, before Simon Bradstreete,* assistant.

Jos. Ballard, aged about twenty-six years, deposed that if he gave a dram or two to the Indians, what was that to any man? Sworn, 12 :2 : 1671, before Simon Bradstreete.*

Joseph Wilson, aged about twenty-six years, deposed that some time the last harvest, he sold two bottles to some Indians whose names he knows not, which bottles they left at Thomas Johnson's. Some time after, deponent went to borrow a bottle of said Johnson, who lent him one of those bottles. He also gave deponent another "which his brother made to bring him some strong liquors from Ipswich, whither hee was goeing but getting noe liquors there, hee left one of the sd bottles wth his brother for his owne use, & there it remaines still for ought hee knowes the other hee sold to yong Tho. Burage att his returne Tho. Johnson was pvoked & angry that hee brought him no liqrs & sd hee should not haue had his horse but vpon yt acct the next day as hee thinks it was the said Johnson came to him to borrow a bottle & sd hee was in great want of it & must haue some, soe not haueing one of his owne hee lett him haue one of his Fathr Loveioyes & wth wch & another hee went to Newbury as hee sd to fetch liquors the next day hee mett him comeing home not farr from his shopp & being something in a sack behinde him knocked on the head of a bottle, wch hee pceiued was full & further sayeth yl one of the bottles found wth the Ind. & now brought to Andour is yt bottle w*h hee sent him." Sworn, 12 :2 :1671, before Simon Bradstreete,* assistant.

John Lovejoy, aged about forty-nine years, deposed that the said Johnson being very angry that he had brought him no liquors from Ipswich said it would be 40s. out of his way for they stayed for it, "cliping his words as it were in yl speech," etc. Sworn, 12 :2 : 1671, before Simon Bradstreet.*

Willm. Ballard, aged about fifty years, deposed that being at Mr. Hinchman's and discoursing about Tho. Johnson, said Hinchman said he did not question that he sold to the Indians, and sat upon and delivered to this deponent a bottle which he said he had from the Indians to see whether it would be owned at Andover. As yet he had found no owner, etc. Sworn, 12: 2 : 1671, before Simon Bradstreete.*

John Johnson, aged sixty-seven years, deposed that he never heard his daughter Mary Johnson say that her husband sold to the Indians, etc.pp370-372

Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts: 1667-1671 (Google eBook) VOL IV, Essex Institute, Salem Ma. 1914

THE AMES MURDER PT3

((Originally published in March 2007))

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.

ANDOVER MASSACHUSETTS:THE FAULKNER LIST

In her book Our Company Increases Apace: History, Language and Social Identity in
early Colonial Andover Massachusetts, distant cousin Elinor Abbot includes an image and
a transcription of a document known as the Faulkner List, which is a list of men who
were "free houlders" in Andover. These were colonists who were not servants and could
own land and build an estate for their heirs to inherit. I'm guessing that the term might be a
shortening of "free landholder".

I wrote a short post back in January of this year about the terms "Covenant" and "Freeman".
In her transcription of the Faulkner List Ms Abbot italicized the names of those men who
were the "Covenanters", the original founders of Andover. Among the names is that of
Edward Faulkner who was the first Andover town clerk and whose handwriting is believed
to be that on the list. I've added asterisks after the names of those men who are my
ancestors:

" house
The order of all the freed ^ holders
in order as they came to town:

Mr. Bradstreet
John Osgood
Joseph Parker
Richard Barker*
John Stevens*
Nicholas Holt*
Benjamin Woodbridge
John Fry
Edmond Faulkner
Robert Barnard
Daniel Poor*
Nathan Parker
Henry Jaques
John Aslett (or Aslebe)
Richard Blacke(Black)
William Ballard*
John Lovejoy*
Thomas Poore
George Abbott*
John Russe
Andrew Allen
Andrew Foster
Thomas Chandler*"

At some point the "house" was inserted to reflect possibly a change in how the right to vote
was established.

You might recognize some of my ancestor's names from previous posts. You'll be seeing
more about them as I explore the relations between the families that continued in some
cases from Andover, Massachusetts up into Oxford County, Maine.

Source:
Abbot, Elinor, Our Company Increases Apace: History, Language, and
Social Identity in Early Colonial Andover, Massachusetts.
(Dallas, Texas: SIL International, 2007) pp20-21

BEDTIME GENEALOGY 14: BENJAMIN ELLENWOOD, PRIVATEER

I was googling about on my Ellingwood line the other evening and
stumbled across another distant relative with an interesting story.
I found this one at http://www.balcro.com/#anchor_genealogy
which belongs to D. La Pierre Ballard, and the relative is one
Benjamin Ellenwood of Nova Scotia, a privateer for the British
during the War of 1812!

My greatgrandmother Clara Ellingwood is a descendant of Ralph
Ellingwood (Ellenwood/Ellinwood)of Salem and Beverly through
his son Ralph Jr. Another of his sons was Benjamin Ellenwood
whose family and descendants lived in Beverly. Then (as I posted
earlier) after the French and Indian Wars some Essex Co. colonists
migrated to Nova Scotia to take up the lands once held by expelled
Acadians and among these was another Benjamin Ellenwood, the
grandson of the first Benjamin, who went north to Yarmouth,
Nova Scotia in 1764 with his wife Susanna Corning.

Their son Nathaniel Ellenwood married Margaret Freeman on
14 Nov 1781 and two years later their son Benjamin was born on
14 Mar 1783. Nathaniel was a successful sea captain and there’s an
excerpt on the website from a book with entries concerning the
activities of a Captain Ellenwood.


Apparently Benjamin followed in his father’s footsteps and an
excerpt from another book, "Under the Red Jack: Privateers of
the Maritime Provinces of Canada in the War of 1812" by Charles
H.J. Snider details just how successful he was when he turned to
privateering:

“On April 3, 1813, [Captain] Benjamin [Ellenwood] succeeded
Thomas Freeman in charge of the privately armed schooner
"Retaliation". By July he had brought in nine prizes, besides
those which he had driven ashore. On September 2, 1813, he
was promoted to the schooner "Shannon", also out of Liverpool,
Nova Scotia. With perhaps one exception, he was the most
successful privateersman out of Nova Scotia in the War of 1812,
and only thirty years of age. The "Shannon" measured 146 tons
and had a crew of 50 men with five guns. He had only six men
left when he manned out her sixteenth prize two months later.”


But Benjamin Ellenwood’s success and life was short lived. After
the war he returned to commercial shipping and docked at Dolby’s
Wharf in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 31 Jan, 1815. Sometime after
docking and selling his cargo he was stabbed to death by one of his
own crew, a man named James Archibald who was later tried,
convicted and executed for the murder.


His widow remarried and left Nova Scotia with her new husband
and family, leaving her children by Benjamin with his father
Nathaniel Ellenwood. He moved the family back to the United
States and in a final irony, the grandsons of Benjamin Ellenwood
the Canadian privateer fought in the Civil War for the United
States!


D. La Pierre Ballard is a descendent of Benjamin and also is related
to two more of my ancestors, Simon Stone and William Ballard.
He credits Suzanne Ballard Sell and his Cousin Patricia for some of
the information I’ve used in this post.


It’s an interesting website. Check it out!

BEDTIME GENEALOGY 6: THE AMES MURDER 3

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.