52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2017 WEEK 36: RALPH FARNHAM III OF ANDOVER, MA

Normally I would now be starting to discuss  the ancestry of Mary Farnham/Farnum, wife of William Lovejoy, but I've run into a problem establishing the identity of her father. Some sources say her father was Ralph Farnham Jr,. others that he was Thomas Farnham, a brother of Ralph Jr. So until I can establish who it was I will move down to the next generation to the wife of Henry Lovejoy, who as it happens is another Farnham, Sarah. Her parents were Ralph Farnham III and Sarah Sterling, which means she and Henry were second cousins.

I found a brief biography of Ralph Farnham III in another of William Richard Cutter's books:

III) Ralph (3), son of Ralph (2) Farnham, was born June 1, 1662. He married Sarah Sterling, October 9, 1683. Children: Sarah, born May 5, 1685; Henry, September 15, 1687; Ralph, mentioned below; Daniel, January 21, 1691; Abigail, May 3, 1692; William, August 5, 1693; Nathaniel, July 25, 1695; Barachias, March 16, 1697; Benjamin, March 14, 1699; Joseph or Josiah, February 4, 1701. -p319
New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 1  Lewis Historical Publishing Company,  New York, N.Y. 1913

I haven't found a Probate File or much of anything else  so far for Ralph III.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2017 WEEK 28 RALPH FARNHAM JR. OF ANDOVER, MA.

My 9x great grandfather Ralph Farnham Jr was born in England in 1633 and came to Massachusetts with his parents on the James in 1635.The family eventually moved to Andover where Ralph Jr. married his wife Elizabeth Holt, daughter of Nicholas Holt and  Elizabeth Short. Apparently the two families had been fellow passengers on the James.

Ralph Jr and Elizabeth had ten children, all born at Andover. Ma. Four married Holt cousins:

Sarah, b.14 Jan 1661;  married Benjamin Abbott 22 Apr 1685 in Andover; died 10 Feb 1728

Ralph, b. 1 Jun 1662; married Sarah Sterling 9 Oct 1685 in Andover; died 3 Jan 1737.

John, b. 1 Apr 1664; married Elizabeth Parker 10 Apr 1684 in Andover; died 10 Jan 1729

Samuel, b.1665; married Hannah Holt  4 Jan 1698 in Andover; died 20 Dec 1754

Mary, b. 24 Mar 1666; married  William Lovejoy Nov 29 1690 in Andover; died 1739

Henry. b.7 Dec 1666; died 7 May 1683

Hannah, b.7 Dec 1668; married Samuel Holt 28 Mar 1693 in Andover; died 30 Jan 1758

Thomas, b.30 Jan 1758; married Hannah Hutchinson 14 May 1693 in Andover; died unknown

Elizabeth, b. 1672; married George Holt 10 May 1698 in Andover; died 1714

Ephraim, b. 1 Oct 1676; married Priscilla Holt 20 Mar 1700 in Andover; died 1744

Ralph Jr. died in Andover on 8 Jun 1692. The inventory of his estateplaced its value at 233 ppunds,
17 shillings, and 3 pence, half of it being in real estate. There was no will.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2017 WEEK 27 RALPH FARNHAM SR. OF ANDOVER, MA.

Sarah (Farnham/Farnum)Abbott was the granddaughter of my 10x great grandfather and immigrant ancestor Ralph Farnham/Farnum of Andover, Ma. The reliable William Richard Cutter had this to say about him in one of his genealogical collections:

(I) Ralph Farnham, immigrant ancestor, was born in England in 1603. He came with his wife Alice from London in the brig “James”, sailing from Southampton, April 6, 1635. He gave his age as thirty-two, and his wife’s as twenty-eight and they had with them three young children, Mary, Thomas and Ralph. He was a barber by trade but followed husbandry after coming to New England. He settled first in Ipswich, of which he was proprietor in 1639. He settled finally in Andover, Massachusetts. He died January 5, 1692-93, and the inventory of his estate is dated March 29, 1693. Children: 1. Mary, born 1628, resided in Andover, where she died February 3, 1714; married Daniel Poor, of Andover, in Boston, October 20, 1650. 2. Thomas, mentioned below. 3. Ralph, born 1633, died January 8, 1691-92; married Elizabeth Holt, of Andover, October 26, 1658, she died October 14, 1710. 4. Sarah, born at Andover, married John Abbot, April 16, 1658; he was the ancestor of the most prominent Abbots in America. 5. John, born 1640.-p319

New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 1  Lewis historical publishing Company, New York 1913

I'm descended from Ralph Farnham Jr. and his wife Elizabeth Holt.

'EXKSEDINGLY TORMENTED''... BENJAMIN ABBOTT VS. MARTHA CARRIER

(( In my last post I mentioned my ancestor Benjamin Abbott's involvement in  the witchcraft
trial of his neighbor Martha Carrier. Here's his testimony from my 24Oct 2012 blogpost.))



I have some ancestors involved in 17th century witchcraft hysteria in
Massachusetts. Two of them, Rebecca (Blake)Eames and Mary (Towne)Eastey
were among those accused of being witches. Mary was hung ; Rebecca was
pardoned. But I also have relatives among the accusers. So I thought for
Halloween I'd do some blogposts about some of them.

First up are my 8x great grandparents  Benjamin Abbot(t) and Sarah
(Farnham) Abbot(t) of Andover, Ma. They testified against their neighbor
Martha Carrier accusing her of using magic to exact revenge over a land
dispute. If you are a longtime viewer of the PBS show History Detectives
you may have seen the episode they did on Abbott House in Andover and
the dispute with the Abbot(t)s. Here is Benjamin and Sarah's depositions
from Records of Salem Witchcraft: Copied from the Original Documents,
Volume 2  (Priv. print. for W. E. Woodward, 1864) pp60-62:


"Benjn Abbott v. Martha Carier.

The testimony of Beniamin Abbutt aged about 31 years Saith: last march was
twelfe months, then haueing some land granted to me by the Towne of Andover
near to goodman Carriers his land, and when this land came to be laid out goodwiffe
Carrier was very Angery, and said she would stick as Cross to Benjamin Abbut
as the bark Stooke to the Tree and that J mould Repent of it afore seuen yeares
Came to an End and that docter prescott could neuer cure me: These words were
heard by Allin Toothaker she also said to Ralph farnam Junr that she would hold
my noss so Close to the grindstone as Ever it was held Since my name was 
Beniamin Abbut presently after I was taken with a Swelling in my ffoot and then 
was taken with a payne in my side Exksedingly Tormented, wich bred to a sore, 
which was lancit by docter prescott and Seuerall gallons of Corruption did run 
out as was Judged and so Continued about six weeks very bad, and then one other
sore did breed in my grine wich was lancit by doct. prescott also and Continued 
very bad awhile and then another sore breed in my grine which was also cutt and 
putt me to very great misery, So that it brought me almost to Deaths doore, & 
Continued, untill goodwiffe Carrier was Taken and Carried a waye by the Constable,
and that very day I began to grow better, my soers grew well and I grew better 
Every day and so haue been well ever since and have great cause to think that 
the sd Carrier had a great hand in my sickness and misery.

benjamin Abbut. Jurat in Curia Aug1 3d 1692.
 Attest Step. Sewall Cler."

"Sarah Abbott v. Martha Carrier.
The deposition of Sarah Abbott aged about 32 years testifieth that since my
husband had a parcell of land granted by ye Towne, lying near ye land of Thomas
Carrier, (which as I have heard) his wife martha Carrier was greatly troubled att
and gaue out threatning words that my husband Benjamin Abbott has not been
only afflicted in his body, as he testifies, but also that strange and unusuall things
has happened to his Cattle, for some have died suddenly and strangely, which we
could not tell any naturall reason for, and one Cowe Cleaned a fourthnight before
me Calved but ye Cowe died afterwards strangely though she calved well soe far
as we could perceive, and some of ye Cattle would come out of ye woods wth
their tongues hanging out of their mouths in a strange and affrighting manner,
and many such things, which we can give noe account of ye reason of, unless it
should be ye effects, of martha Carrier threatings.

her mark
Jurat in Curia. Sarah f Abbott
Aug13d 1692. attest. Steph. Sewall Cler".

Martha Carrier was executed on 16Aug 1692. Modern historians now hold that it
was Benjamin Abbot(t) who was landhungry and who engineered the accusation
of witchcraft to gain ownership over the coveted piece of land where Abbot(t)
House was later built about 1711. Benjamin died in 1703.

'EXKSEDINGLY TORMENTED''... BENJAMIN ABBOTT VS. MARTHA CARRIER

I have some ancestors involved in 17th century witchcraft hysteria in
Massachusetts. Two of them, Rebecca (Blake)Eames and Mary (Towne)Eastey
were among those accused of being witches. Mary was hung ; Rebecca was
pardoned. But I also have relatives among the accusers. So I thought for
Halloween I'd do some blogposts about some of them.

First up are my 8x great grandparents  Benjamin Abbot(t) and Sarah
(Farnham) Abbot(t) of Andover, Ma. They testified against their neighbor
Martha Carrier accusing her of using magic to exact revenge over a land
dispute. If you are a longtime viewer of the PBS show History Detectives
you may have seen the episode they did on Abbott House in Andover and
the dispute with the Abbot(t)s. Here is Benjamin and Sarah's depositions
from Records of Salem Witchcraft: Copied from the Original Documents,
Volume 2  (Priv. print. for W. E. Woodward, 1864) pp60-62:


"Benjn Abbott v. Martha Carier.

The testimony of Beniamin Abbutt aged about 31 years Saith: last march was
twelfe months, then haueing some land granted to me by the Towne of Andover
near to goodman Carriers his land, and when this land came to be laid out goodwiffe
Carrier was very Angery, and said she would stick as Cross to Benjamin Abbut
as the bark Stooke to the Tree and that J mould Repent of it afore seuen yeares
Came to an End and that docter prescott could neuer cure me: These words were
heard by Allin Toothaker she also said to Ralph farnam Junr that she would hold
my noss so Close to the grindstone as Ever it was held Since my name was 
Beniamin Abbut presently after I was taken with a Swelling in my ffoot and then 
was taken with a payne in my side Exksedingly Tormented, wich bred to a sore, 
which was lancit by docter prescott and Seuerall gallons of Corruption did run 
out as was Judged and so Continued about six weeks very bad, and then one other
sore did breed in my grine wich was lancit by doct. prescott also and Continued 
very bad awhile and then another sore breed in my grine which was also cutt and 
putt me to very great misery, So that it brought me almost to Deaths doore, & 
Continued, untill goodwiffe Carrier was Taken and Carried a waye by the Constable,
and that very day I began to grow better, my soers grew well and I grew better 
Every day and so haue been well ever since and have great cause to think that 
the sd Carrier had a great hand in my sickness and misery.

benjamin Abbut. Jurat in Curia Aug1 3d 1692.
 Attest Step. Sewall Cler."

"Sarah Abbott v. Martha Carrier.
The deposition of Sarah Abbott aged about 32 years testifieth that since my
husband had a parcell of land granted by ye Towne, lying near ye land of Thomas
Carrier, (which as I have heard) his wife martha Carrier was greatly troubled att
and gaue out threatning words that my husband Benjamin Abbott has not been
only afflicted in his body, as he testifies, but also that strange and unusuall things
has happened to his Cattle, for some have died suddenly and strangely, which we
could not tell any naturall reason for, and one Cowe Cleaned a fourthnight before
me Calved but ye Cowe died afterwards strangely though she calved well soe far
as we could perceive, and some of ye Cattle would come out of ye woods wth
their tongues hanging out of their mouths in a strange and affrighting manner,
and many such things, which we can give noe account of ye reason of, unless it
should be ye effects, of martha Carrier threatings.

her mark
Jurat in Curia. Sarah f Abbott
Aug13d 1692. attest. Steph. Sewall Cler".

Martha Carrier was executed on 16Aug 1692. Modern historians now hold that it
was Benjamin Abbot(t) who was landhungry and who engineered the accusation
of witchcraft to gain ownership over the coveted piece of land where Abbot(t)
House was later built about 1711. Benjamin died in 1703.

A HOLT OF MY FAMILY TREE

After my last post about spotting a reference to my ancestor Nicholas
Holt on television last night, I wanted to do a post on just how he
figures into my family tree. It's another case of where two of his
descendants ended up marrying each other, in this case, my paternal
great great grandparents Asa Freeman Ellingwood and Florilla Dunham.

Here's a relationship chart first for Asa and Nicholas:

As you can see, Asa had a double line of descent from Nicholas Holt. first
through daughter Elizabeth Holt who married Ralph Farham(Farnum)II,
and then through Zerviah Holt. Zerviah was Nicholas' granddaughter through
his son Henry. who was eight years younger than sister Elizabeth.

Florilla Dunham was descended from Nicholas' son Henry:

Now the Holts, Abbotts, Ballards and Farnhams were among the original
settlers of Andover, Ma.(I blogged a bit about this once before here two
years ago) and the small population resulted in quite a few connections
between those founding families. The same situation occurred a few generations
later when Revolutionary War veterans from Essex County Massachusetts
took land grants in Oxford County Maine.

In the case of Asa and Florilla, they were double cousins through the Holt
ancestry: fifth cousins through Henry Holt and Sarah Ballard, and sixth
cousins once removed through Nicholas Holt and Elizabeth Short. They
were also fifth cousins through a mutual descent from Ralph Ellingwood:

While I've done work on the Abbott and Ellingwood branches of my family
tree, I haven't done as much on the others, so I expect that to be the next
area I concentrate my research on!

THE CASE OF RALPH FARNHAM JR.

My 10x great grandfather Ralph Farnham (Farnum, Farnam, Varnum) left Southhampton
England on 6Apr,1635 on the ship "James" along with his wife Alice and three children:
Mary, Thomas, and Ralph. They first settled in Ipswich but eventually moved to Andover
where a good many of my other ancestors also settled.

I believe the Ralph Farnham Jr in the following transcription to be the grandson of the
first Ralph. For one thing, Ralph the I was reportedly 32 years old when he arrived in the
New World. The events here take place in Sept 1682, and Ralph II who was born
around 1633 is a far more likely candidate for the "Ralph Sr." of the transcript. His son
Ralph III was born in 1662 which would put him at 20 years old when the accusation
against him was made.

Ralph Farnham Jr. was accused by Elizabeth Gould, a servant girl, of being the father
of her child. Such incidents were of course frowned upon in Puritan New England and
penalties ranged from whippings and/or imprisonment to fine and marriage. It looks
like Elizabeth Gould's pregnancy caused a bit of a stir in the area, judging by the
testimony given by witnesses in the case. Two other men seem to have been among
those Elizabeth insinuates fathered her child.

Interestingly enough, Ralph apparently never testified in his own defense:


"Andrew Allen, aged about sixty-six years, deposed that having heard of
Elizabeth Gold's condition and he being at work one day, Elizabeth's
master Andrew Foster, sr., came to deponent's house and he told him he
was sorry to hear of what had happened in his family. About three days
after, the old man came again to his house and told him privately that
Ralph Farnums was the father of the child, as she said. Foster's son
Abraham desired him to go to Farnums and ask him if he would own it.
Toward evening deponent went to Foster's to speak to the maid first and
they called her into the room where "they kept" and she confessed.
Deponent heard Hester, wife of Abraham Foster, say that her father-in-law
detected the trouble before they sent said maid to Chelmsford.
Sworn June 16, 1682, before Daniel Denison.

Elizabeth Allen, aged about eighteen years, testified that Elizabeth Gold
told her that Ralph Farnum was not the father and she did not know who
was, but that Deacon Frie had spoken to him about it and Farnum did not
deny it, and she would have him as sure as his name was Ralph. Deponent
heard her say at her mother's house, etc. Sworn June 16, 1682, before
Daniel Denison.

Joseph Barrett, aged about thirty-two years, testified that sometime in
November last, being at the house of Samuell Foster, sr., of Chelmsford,
Abraham Foster, son-in-law of said Samuel, desired him to take Elizabeth
Gold into his house and if she proved chargeable he would satisfy him for
all expense. Deponent asked as to her condition and hesitated about taking
her. Last spring deponent came with some others to Andover and going to
Abraham Foster's house told him privately that Elizabeth charged him with
being the father. He did not deny it, but stood pale and trembling for nearly
a quarter of an hour and said he would not answer until he had spoken with
Betty. Deponent told him he was going to the selectmen to have a place
provided for her, her apprenticeship being out, and Foster said they would not
do it, but he had provided a place at Hugh Stone's. They went there, but
Stone refused to receive her. Sworn in court.

Bridgit Chandler, aged about forty years, testified she was asked to determine
as to Elizabeth's condition, so she went to the house of Andrew Foster, sr.,
etc. Deponent's sister Allen desired to come into the room, but Elizabeth
would not allow her, etc. Sworn June 16, 1682, before Daniel Denison.

Susanna Ossgood, aged about thirty years, testified that she told Elizabeth
that her sin was aggrevated by her not telling who was the father and asked
her how she could clear John Allen, etc. Sworn June 16, 1682, before Daniel
Denison.

Dudley Bradstreet, aged about thirty-three years, testified that Ralph Farnum,
sr., told him that his son Ralph had so solemnly denied it that he could not
believe him guilty. Later he questioned Elizabeth and from what passed
between them he was convinced that she lied notoriously.

Faith Allen, aged about sixty years, deposed that she chided Elizabeth for
what she had done, etc. Deponent's sister Chandler, etc. Sworn June 16,
1682, before Daniel Denison."

Not a very flattering picture of Elizabeth Gould, is it? But keep in mind, as
my Mother used to say, it takes two to tango, and Elizabeth seems to have
had more than one dance partner. That seems to have swayed the court in its
decision:

"Ralph Farnam, jr., charged with being the father of Elizabeth Gould's
child, was discharged, there being no evidence that she charged him
with it. Several testified that she denied it and said she did not know
who the father was."
-Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts
Vol VIII
1680-1683 (pp381-383)



So the case was dismissed, although I have a few questions, such as why Ralph
was brought to court in the first case? Was the rumor causing so much trouble that
the town officials filed the charge to clear the air? Or was it some enemy of the
Farnhams hoping to embarrass them in a public arena?

And of course, I'd really like to know what happened to Elizabeth Gould and just
who was the father of her child?

BY ANY OTHER NAME...

So last night I took that list of spelling variations of the name Haskell and when a-hunting
for legal case records on Google, using " (the name) +Essex+ court" as search parameters.
I didn't find anything that I hadn't already seen. So I switched over to some of the ancestral
names I hadn't tried yet, and found a few things that were blogging material:

Woodbury: A case between a Thomas Woodberry and a Richard Stackhouse over sails
and another between Thomas Woodberry and a Thomas Patch over rent. Thomas appears
to be the brother of my ancestor Isaac Woodbury.

Farnham/Farnum: The case of Ralph Farnam Jr. accused in Sep 1682 of fathering the child
of a servant, Elizabeth Gould. This one is rather interesting. I'm working on this for my next
post!

Besides those three cases, I also found several wills that I'll add to my records here.

I also relearned that it's not just last names that have spelling variations. In one record I
spotted the name Mighill. I blinked at that one, then realized the name was Michael!