JONATHAN BARNES AND ELIZABETH HEDGES

 ((first posted on 4Jan 2009)

Today is the 354th anniversary of my ancestors Jonathan Barnes and his wife Elizabeth Hedges,
who did considerably better than their families at being respectful citizens of Plymouth Colony.

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

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

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

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

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

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 16: WILLIAM HEDGE OF YARMOUTH MA.

My 8x great grandmother Mary (Hedge) Barnes was the daughter of William Hedge and his first wife who may have been named Ann. William is best known for his bequest to his second wife Blanche Hull.

Here's  the entry for William Hedge in Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts:

William Hedge, "gentleman," of Lynn, 1634, settled in Sandwich and was a proprietor in 1640, freeman in 1651; was town officer. He removed to Yarmouth. He married (second) Widow Blanche Hull. His children were: Elizabeth, born May 21, 1647, who married Jonathan Barnes, of Plymouth; Mary, born in 1648, who married a son of Edward Sturgis; Sarah, who married a Matthews; Abraham; Elisha; William; John; Lemuel, and Mary. His will was probated Aug. 11, 1670.-p1168

Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts: Containing Historical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families . J.H. Beers & Company,, Chicago, Il, 1912

Apparently the second marriage was an unhappy one, because Blanche Hull deserted William, and in his will he left her only 1 shilling which he said was "11 pence more than she was worth."