COTTON MATHER EULOGIZES MY ANCESTOR JAMES KEITH

((First posted in 2011))

I've written here before about my 8x great grandfather the Reverend
James Keith of Bridgewater, Plymouth, Ma. Apparently he was a
friend and colleague of the famous Cotton Mather, who gave this sermon
on the occasion of my ancestor's death. I found it in a free Google
edition of "New-England historical and genealogical register, Volume 
19, page 245:

EXTRACTS FROM SERMONS BY COTTON MATHER.

On The Death or Rev. James Keith, From The Text

"O Man GREATLY BELOVED."*

*' Alas, The Angel of the Church of BRIDGWATER has this Last Week

heard that Voice from Heaven unto him, Come up hither! And he's flown!

A Desirable Man, if any among us were worthy to be Esteemed so !

Yea, you now know, whom I had in my Eye, while I was describing, A

Man Greatly Beloved: It was HE who Satt, for my Pencil to take the

Features from him! The Desireable and very Venerable JAMES KEITH,

who Preached his First Sermon in the Place where I am now* Standing,

more then Fifty Years ago, and sweetly Entertained - us again a Few

Months ago, is this Last Week Expired: That Silver Trumpet has done

Sounding. And it were a Fault in me, if I should not in this Place take

Notice of a Man who had so much of GOD in Him, and who deserves

so much to be had in Everlasting Remembrance." .... "Discharging

both Publickly and Privately, the Work of his Ministry, even to the Last,

and for Seven Years after he had passed thro' a Jubilee." ....

"He was the First Pastor of Bridgwater;" .... "'Twas then a Sett of Pious

and Praying People: A Town that stood in a Land of Unwalled ' Villages,

when there were Armies of Bloody Indians, destroying round about them,

not very long after their KEITH was come to be, their Decus ae Tutamen;

a Glory and a Defence unto them. It was Remarkable that tho' the Town

was often Assaulted by formidable Troops of Salvages, yet in all the sharp

Assaults it never lost so much as one of its Inhabitants. They wanted not

for Solicitations to desert their Dwellings; But having a KEITH to animate

them, they Resolved, that they would keep their Stations; and Stand still

to see the Salvation of God. Once the Indians began to Fire the Town;

but, they had a KEITH, with his Faith, to Turn to Flight the Armies of the

Aliens. The People with a noble Courage issued forth from their Garrisons,

to Fight the Enemy. But God at the same time Fought for them, with a

Storm of Thunder and Lightning and Rain, whereby a considerable part

of their Houses were preserved. 0 Man Greatly Beloved! Of whom it

might be said Cui Militat Aether!—After that Memorable Time, the Town

went on, Prospering and Flourishing under the Care of their Faithful

Shepherd; until anon they became Two Bands; Their Pastor did

generously Approve and Assist, the Peaceable Swarming of a New

Assembly from him; and on the Day when they First Met in their New

Edifice, he preached unto them, that Savoury Sermon, which was

afterwards Published under the Title of, A Case of Prayer, handled

on a Day of Prayer. A Sermon worthy to be their Perpetual Monitor.

And, which Two Years before his Death, he Concludes with minding them,

This Exhortation is given you, by your Aged Pastor, who hath served

you in the Gospel now full Fifty-Four years, and I hope, by the Grace

of God in some measure of Sincerity, tho' attended with much Weakness,

great Infirmities, and manifold Temptations."

TRACKING DOWN JAMES KEITH

In 2012 on the 344th anniversary of my 8x great grandparents Rev,
James Keith and Susanna Edson of West Bridgewater, Ma,  I
decided to celebrate by finally tracking down the location of
their tomb. Imagine how chagrined I was to find I'd visited the
Old Burying Ground in West Bridgewater the previous year and hadn't
found it there back then!  So I was bound and determined to
locate iton this visit.

When I arrived at the cemetery on South St there was some
roadwork being done and I had to drive past it, then turn
around and drive back to find a safe parking spot on that side
of the street. Then I walked back to where there was an entrance
through the stone wall. From pictures I'd seen online I thought
the grave would be a large vault which is probably why I
missed it on my first visit.(That, and the fact that there is no
sign with the name "Old Burial Ground"  there which on my
first visit made me think I had gone to the wrong location. Duh!)
Since then I've seen many family tombs which are under small
mounds so I knew better what to look for this time around.
 
And there it was, at the front of the cemetery behind the stone
wall, right next to the street. I'd have seen it earlier if the
view hadn't been blocked by the construction truck.

The inscriptions read:



Here lies the                                          Here lies the
body of the Rev.                                     body of Mrs          
Mr. James Keith                                    Susanna Keith
Died July 23, 1719                               Died Oct. 16 1705
Aged 76 years                                        Aged 65 years

                                  Mr. James Keith  
                       First Minister in Bridgewater
                    Educated in Aberdeen Scotland
                   and laboured in the Ministry in this
                                       town 56 years

Just to the left of the Keiths' tomb is the one belonging to Susanna's
parents(and my 9xgreat grandparents) Samuel Edson and  Susannah
Orcutt(?).

So, mission accomplished!

A GENEALOGY ROADTRIP FROM 2010

((This was first posted back in August 2010> I found the graves a bit later and will repost
that story next. I  also have found some new information about the house which I will write a 
new post about.))

Now that I'm in better shape and the same true for Ping the Wondercar,
I decided to try to get out of the apartment more on my days off and do
some genealogy legwork. Today's inaugural adventure was a trip down
to West Bridgewater to try to find some of my ancestors' final resting
places. I'd made a unsuccessful try at this last Thursday but had left the
Googlemaps I'd printed out at home but this week I brought them with
me and set out optimistically.

After a short stop at CVS in Whitman to get some prescriptions filled
I continued down Rte 18 to East Bridgewater and then cut across to Rte
106 in West Bridgewater. I turned left on Howard St, drove past the
West Bridgewater Historical Society building, and then turned right onto
River St. According to the directions, the parsonage of my ancestor
Reverend James Keith should have been a little ways down on the right
but I drove to the end of River St without spotting it. A quick turnaround
in a driveway and I went back down the way I'd come, and there now on
my left, was the building. 

 

I pulled over to the side of the road and took a picture with my digital
camera(which once more insists it's October). It was a beautiful, warm
afternoon. The parsonage seems to sit in the middle of farm property,
with a barn on the left and a field with cows seeking shade under some
trees to the right. Across the street, on the other side of my car, a flock
of Canadian geese were foraging along the banks of a small river. Except
for the occasional car passing by on the blacktop road, it could have been
a typical summer day from Rev. Keith's time in the 17th century.

The building was closed so I resolved to find out when it might be open
and come back to see the inside. Then I drove on down River St, crossed
the bridge by the Canoe Club and continued on until I came to the Alden
Cemetery on my left. I parked across the street on Cross St and walked
over to the graveyard.

I was dismayed by what I found. While most of the markers are upright
and intact, some of them are beginning to lean over or sink into the grass.
And with the exception of perhaps fifteen or twenty markers, most are
unreadable. Inscriptions have worn away from the weather or obscured
by fungus. The stonewall at the front is so close to the first row of
markers that it surely must run over the graves themselves.The grounds
were obviously cared for and the grass mowed, but I had to wonder how
long  it would be before all the gravemarkers were unreadable and Alden
Cemetery was no longer cared for.

I have no ancestors at Alden Cemetery(that I know of, anyway) and I'd
intended to try to find the graves of Reverend Keith and  Deacon Samuel
Edson but it was already late afternoon and I knew the traffic on Rte 18
would be getting heavy. So I decided to call it a day and return to find
them another day.

So ended my first genealogy daytrip of the year.

NEATNESS COUNTS

 ((This was originally written in February 2015, during the winter we called Snowmageddon))


It's been a somewhat exciting month of February here in New England  weatherwise
as we're setting all sorts of regional records for snowfall. Since road trips and Find A
Grave activities are not possible for awhile I've been keeping myself busy working on
my family tree and uploading photos I already had taken to Find A Grave.  I've also
been looking for more family documents  on Americanancestors.org and FamilySearch,
and last night I found a pair of wills belonging to my ancestors James and Joseph Keith.

James Keith is my 8x great grandfather, He was born in Scotland, attended the University
of Aberdeen, and came to Massachusetts around 1662, becoming the first minister at
Bridgewater, Ma.  He married Susannah Edson, the daughter of his deacon. I'm descended
from them through their son, Joseph. Last night I found the Probate Files for both James and
Joseph in the Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Estate Files, 1686-1915 collection on
FamilySearch I've got to say both wills are probably the most legibly written I've found so far
for my ancestors from that era of colonial history.

Here's James' will. Looking at the signature and comparing it to the body of the document
it is obviously the same handwriting. it's very neat, and the lines across the page mostly straight. 

Joseph married Elizabeth Forbes and had a very large family. One of their children was
Jemima Keith, my 6x great grandmother, who married James Packard. Joseph Keith was a
farmer, soldier, and a town Representative to the colonial government. The signature to
his will is different handwriting from the will itself so someone else wrote it for him.
Still, it's neat and readable, and on the second page Joseph leaves Jemima one sixth
of the fifty acres he was dividing up among his children.   

I'm very grateful to grandfather James and to whoever wrote Joseph's will because when
trying to read the writing on colonial documents a legible hand makes my life easier.

In handwriting, neatness counts!

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 9: REV. JAMES KEITH OF BRIDGEWATER, MA..

My 8x great grandfather the Reverend James Keith is one of my ancestors who, while not a major figure in New England history in general, is of some note in history of this part of Massschusetts. He was a protege of Increase Mather who recommended him for the first church position in Bridgewater, Ma.

Here's what Nahum Mitchell wrote about him in History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater in Plymouth County, Massachusetts:

KEITH.—Rev. James Keith, a Scotchman, was the first Minister of Bridgewater; was educated at Aberdeen, in Scotland; came over 1662, at about 18 years of age; ordained Feb. 1664; m. Susanna, D. of his deacon, Samuel Edson, and had James, Joseph, Samuel, Timothy, John, Josiah, Margaret, Mary, Susanna. He m. a 2d wife, Mary, wid. of Thomas Williams of Taunton, 1707; d. July 23, 1719, as. 76.—Margaret m. a Hunt. —Mary m. Ephraim Howard.—Susanna m. Maj. Jonathan Howard, and d. young without children. It is said that his first sermon was delivered from a rock in Mill Pasture, so called, near the river.-p214

History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater in Plymouth County, Massachusetts,  Henry T. Platt, Printer Bridgewater, Ma 1897


I'm descended from James' son Joseph Keith.

I've written earlier postd about Reverend Keith and will now be reposting them.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 8: THOMAS HAYWARD OF BRIDGEWATER, MA..

On 14 Aug 1878 some descendants of my 9x great grandfather Thomas Hayward gathered in Easton, Ma. to celebrate the centennial of the construction of a Hayward family mansion. George Washington Hayward gave a commemorative address in which he had this short description of our common ancestor:

Thomas Hayward and his wife Susanna were born in England; were last there at Aylsford in the county of Kent; came over in the ship Hercules of 200 tons, John Weatherby, master, with 5 of their children, in the early part of the summer of 1635. He first settled in Duxbury, and was one of the original proprietors, and one of the earliest and eldest of the settlers of Bridgewater. His will is dated in 1678, and he died in 1681, his wife not living at the date of his will. His children were Thomas, Nathaniel, John, Joseph and Elisha, born in England, and who came over with their father in 1635 ; Mary and Martha, probably born in Duxbury. Mary married Ensign Edward Mitchel; Martha married her cousin John Haward, (Hayward). -p5

Centennial Gathering of the Hayward Family with Address, John S. Sampson,  Printer, 1879, Taunton, Ma

Now Thomas' daughter Martha married my 8x great grandfather John Haward, which family name later became Howard. I don't know for sure if they were cousins.It might simply be another instance of the confusion between the various spellings of the Hayward and Howard family names.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 7: JOHN HOWARD OF BRIDGEWATER, MA.. PT4

John Howard and his wife Martha (Hayward) Howard had seven children. It is with them that the
complicated  relationships with the Packard, Fobes and Keith familes start:

JOHN m. Sarah Latham. John Jr. owned land in an area of Bridgewater known as Joppa, which is now part of East Bridgewater. It is near Route 18 and there was a restaurant located there called the Joppa Grill. When I went to college in Bridgewater I went through that area every day and never knew it was connected to my family.

JAMES. m. Elizabeth Washburn. James died in 1690 during the New England colony's attack on Canada.

JONATHAN. m. Susannah Keith

ELIZABETH, m. Edward Fobes. Their daughter Elizabeth would marry Joseph Keith.

SARAH, m. Zacheus Packard. Their son James married Jemima Keith, daughter of Elizabeth Fobes  and Joseph Keith

BETHIAH, m. Henry Kingman

EPHRAIM, m. Mary Keith


I'll be discussing Martha (Hayward) Howard's father Thomas Hayward next.
 

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 7: JOHN HOWARD OF BRIDGEWATER, MA.. PT3

I'm descended from two  of John Howard's daughters: Sarah, who married Zacheus Packard, and Elizabeth, who married Edward Fobes. I'll be dicussing the Fobes line later. Both they and their husbands are mentioned in the division of John Howard's estate. Heman Howard's book has a transcription of the document:

A true copy of the division of the estate of Lieut, John Howard, late of Bridgewater, who died intestate, as it was mutually agreed and consented to by all the several heirs apparent to said estate, on the fifteenth day of Oct., Anno Dom. 1701, which division is made according to the appraisement in the inventory taken of the said estate:—

To the widow, one hundred and seven pounds out of the moveable estate, and her thirds in the improved lands and housing.

To John Howard, the eldest son, as followeth :—Ninety-one acres of land, lying part of it at John's bridge where he now lives and near thereunto, (£45, 0 s., 0 d.), and the rest at Satucket river and Black brook; more, the house and barn and the land between the river and the highway that goes directly toward the meeting house, and ten acres joining to the said highway, on the north side, lying the whole breadth of the said lands, (£60, 0 s., 0d.) ; more, ten acres toward West meadow, (£05, 0 s.,0d.); half a lot of meadow in Flag meadow, (L04 Os., 0d.); the land at Tetaquat, (£02, 0s., 0d.); more, a quarter part of the undivided lands, and a quarter part of his right in the Cedar swamp, (L1, 07 s., 06 d.); more, a quarter part of a purchase right in the North purchase, (£5, 0 s. 0 d.) ; more, two lots of meadow, one of them in Poor meadow and the other at Black brook, (£10, 0 s., 0 d.). His whole proportion being 146 pounds, he hath given out of it also.. —£5 to his brother Jonathan, and £5 to his brother Ephraim.

To Jonathan Howard, the second surviving son, the land where his house stands, 49 acres, (£30, 0 S., 0 d.); more, 35 acres in the neck of land beyond James Keith's, (£17, 0 s., 0 d. ); more, 35 acres at Lathrop's swamp, (£17, 0s., 0d.); more, 25 acres near the same place, (£12, 10 s., 0d.); more, a quarter part of undivided lands, and a quarter of his right in the Cedar swamp, (£01, 07 s., 06 d.); more, a quarter of a purchase right in North purchase, (£5, 0 s., 0 s.).

To Ephraim Howard, the youngest son, the land on which his house stands, (£60, 0 s.  0 d.); more, 35 acres in the neck (£17, 10 s., 0 d.); ten acres near Bimeleck's hill, (£05, 0 s., 00 d.); one lot of meadow in Flag meadow, (£08, 0 s., 0 d.) ; more, ten acres at Lathrop's swamp, (£05, 0s., d..); more, a quarter part of undivided land, and a quarter part in the Cedar swamp, (£01, 7 s. 0 d) ; more, a quarter part of a purchase right in North purchase, (£05, 0 s., 0 d. ); more, a share in the north lands, (£02, 0 s., 0 d.).

To James Howard, the only son of James Howard, deceased, to be divided, the one moiety to him and the other moiety to his two sisters. The land where his house stands, and the land adjoining thereunto, being 45 acres, (£45, 0 s., 0 d.) ; more, half a lot of meadow in Flag meadow, (£04, 0 s., 0 d.) ; more, 40 acres of land above the stone house, (£08, 0 s., 0 d.); more, in moveables as per inventory, or 
money, (£14, 12 s., 06 d.); more, a quarter part of undivided land in Cedar swamp, (£01, 07 s., 06 d.).

To Edward Fobes, his wife, in money and moveables, (£68, 0s, 0d.); to Zacheus Packard's wife, in money and moveables, (£68, 0 s., 0 d.); to Henry Kingman's wife, in money and moveables, (£68, 0 s ., 0 d.); the said three daughters to have their part as appraised and as set in the inventory; and for as much as the above-mentioned lands divided to Ephraim, amounts to one hundred and three pounds, seventeen and six pence, he is to return to the estate £18, 07 s., 0d 

This above written is the mutual agreement of the sons, sons-in-law, and daughters of the above-named Lieut. John Howard, late of Bridgewater, deceased, made and agreed on the sixteenth day of October, 1701. In testimony whereof they have hereunto sealed and subscribed.
Signed, sealed and declared by the subscribers to be their agreement, in the presence of  

Elisha Wadsworth.
Thomas (T. S.his mark) Snell

Martha^ Howard, [Seal.]
John Howard, [Seal.]
Jonathan Howard, [Seal.]
Ephraim Howard, [Seal.]
Edward Fobes,
E. mark of Elizabeth Fobes, [Seal.]
Zacheus Packard,
In behalf of himself and Sarah his wife, [Seal.]
Henry K1ngman,
In behalf of himself and Bethiah his wife, [Seal.]
 Edward Mitchell,
As guardian of the children of James Howard, deceased. [Seal.]
 
Memorandum, that on the sixteenth day of October, 1701, the abovenamed parties to this agreement, who have hereunto sealed and subscribed, all of them came personally before me, the subscriber, Judge of Probate for the County of Plymouth, and acknowledged the before written instrument to be their act and deed.

William Bradford. Recorded, October 24, 1701.
Per Samuel Sprague, Register. 

-p2


The Howard Genealogy: Descendants of John Howard of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, from 1643 to 1903 Standard printing Company, Brockton, Ma  1903

To be continued ...

JONAS PRESCOTT & MARY LOKER

((This was first posted on 7Jul 2008. It's a nice story with probably a
little truth to it, but true or not it makes a good Valentine's Day story)).


I mentioned in my previous post about John Prescott that
there is a romantic (and probably romanticized) story about
his son Jonas Prescott's courtship of Mary Loker. I've found it
recounted in several different books on Google Books, and
while I'm not entirely sure it's true, it does make for another
interesting family tale.

The story is that Jonas and Mary fell in love but her parents
John Loker and Mary Draper had other plans for their
daughter. They wanted her to marry a lawyer, a man of
prospects, not the son of a blacksmith who was following his
father in the family trade and they forbade Mary from any
more contact with Jonas. One version told by Caleb Butler in
"The History of the Town of Groton" says the Lokers even
went so far as to install gratings on the windows of her room
and would lock her inside if Jonas was nearby. But even this
drastic measure didn't stand in the way of love:

"He (Jonas) took opportunities when the cold wind blew
and the pelting storm raged when no listener could overhear
the soft whispering of true lovers to place himself beneath
her grated window and there enjoy sweet communion
with his dearly beloved ."

But eventually Mary's parents found out about this trickery.
Perhaps Jonas' idea of a whisper in a storm was a bit too loud?
At any rate, Mary's parents next decided to send her away to
a secluded village so Jonas could not find her while they looked
for a more suitable prospect for Mary's hand in marriage.
They sent her off to the small frontier town of Chockset which
is now Sterling, Massachusetts.


Jonas searched for Mary until one day while traveling near
Chockset he met some men of his own age and asked if they
knew of any pretty girls in the area. They told him there was
a quilting and a dance that night in Chockset and invited him
to come along.

You can see where this is going, I bet!

Jonas found Mary Loker and they continued to meet in secret
for some time until her parents once more found them out.
Mary's stubborn insistence that she would never marry any
man but Jonas Prescott at last forced her parents to give in,
although they did so with the angry condition that they would
provide no dowry for the bride. Legend says that the young
couple set up their household with so few essentials that
Mary used a large hollowed out pumpkin shell for a washpot!

I'm a bit skeptical about that pumpkin part but I think the
opposition of the Lokers to Jonas Prescott pressing his suit for
their daughter might have some truth to it. After all, although
Jonas' father John was well off, he was not exactly in the good
graces of the Puritan government, and the Lokers might have
had their hearts set on young Mary marrying someone who
could eventually rise to a position of power. Ironically, the
Prescotts eventually became one of Massachusetts' most
distinguished families.

I am descended from Elizabeth Prescott b 23Jan 1676,
d. 18Mar 1744.

She married Eleazer Green about 1694 or 1695. Their daughter
Elizabeth married John Ames(Eames), and their descendant
Arvilla Ames married my ancestor John Cutter West

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 7: JOHN HOWARD OF BRIDGEWATER, MA.. PT2

One of the cool things in Heman Howard's book about the family history is this letter and his transcription. It's from my 9x great grandmother to her son, my 8x great grandfather John Howard:

This letter is a photographic reproduction of the original, which is in the possession of a member of the Howard family. It is supposed to have been written to John Howard, the progenitor of this family, by his mother, who spelled her name Hayward, which was not an uncommon way of spelling the name. As it is very difficult to read the letter, the following is printed as an aid:

London, Aug. 16, 1652. Lov1ng Son :—
Having a fitt opportunity by a friend to send to you, I could not, out of my motherly care to you and your brother, do less than write these few lines to you to certify you that both I and your sister are in good health, praysed be God, and that I earnestly desire to hear from you both, how you do and how and in what condition you are both. Your sister desires to be remembered to you both, and she and I have sent you some small tokens of our love for you. I have sent George 3 bands and a handkerchief, and an handkerchief to yourself, and I have sent you a shilling to you to pay for writing of a letter, if by long silence you have forgott. I wonder, son, you should so forgott your mother, whose welfare she tended more than anything in the world. Your sister hath sent you a book of your father's to you and a bible to George. Did we conceive you were alive, we would have sent you better tokens. Child, with my blessing to you both, desiring to hear from you and whether you ever intend for England, and how your cousing Sarah doth, with my daily prayer to the Lord for you, I rest.
Your Loving Mother,

Mary Hayward. For her loving son, John Hayward,
this :— In case he be dead, to George Hayward in New England.

-pp xvi-xvii



The Howard Genealogy: Descendants of John Howard of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, from 1643 to 1903 Standard printing Company, Brockton, Ma  1903


Somethings are universal and timeless. A mother worrying about her sons is one of them.





To be continued...

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 7: JOHN HOWARD OF BRIDGEWATER, MA.. PT1

My 8x great grandfather John Howard was another of the founding fathers of Bridgewater and West Bridgewater. In 1903 a man named Heman Howard, another of John Howard's descendants, wrote a family history and began with this:

JOHN HOWARD, with his brother George, came from England, and settled in Duxbury. He was among those who were able to bear arms there in 1643. He was about fifteen years old when he came to Duxbury. He lived in the family of Capt. Miles Standish, who came from Shorely, Lancashire, England. He soon removed to Bridgewater, and was one of the original settlers and proprietors of that town. Judge Mitchell, in his history of Bridgewater, says that John Howard, the first Howard to settle in Bridgewater, was a man of much influence in the new plantation.

In 1645 his name appears as one of the fifty-four original proprietors of the grant of land afterward known as Bridgewater. In 1656 he was one of the two surveyors of highways for his town. In 1657 he had taken the Freeman's oath. He was one of the fourteen men whose allotment of land was in the easterly part of the grant. He was one of the first military officers, and was appointed Ensign, Sept. 27, 1664. In May, 1676, during King Philip's War, Ensign John Howard, with twenty others, fought with some Indians and took seventeen of them alive with much plunder, and all returned without serious injury. June 5, 1678, he was a deputy to the General Court of Massachusetts; also on the same date was appointed a selectman of his town. In 1683 he, with Thomas Hayward, was a representative to the General Court. Oct. 2, 1689, he was promoted, and received his commission as a lieutenant. Mr. Howard was a carpenter by trade. He spelled his name Haward, and so did his descendants until after 1700. He m. Martha, a dau. of Thomas Hayward, one of the original proprietors of Bridgewater, who came on the ship Hercules, in 1635, from Sandwich, County of Kent, England, with five children and three brothers.

Mr. Howard lived in a house which he built near the first meeting house. It stood directly north of the house where B. B. Howard now lives, on the corner of Howard and River streets. The accompanying picture shows the spot of ground as it now appears; the well curb seen in the picture is over the well that was used with Mr. Howard's house. This was the first public house in Bridgewater, as Mr. Howard was licensed to keep an ordinary or tavern, in 1670, at this place. It would probably be difficult to find, in the history of all the taverns that have existed in Massachusetts, another of which it can be said, as Judge Mitchell says of this original Howard House, that " He (John Howard), was licensed to keep an ordinary or tavern, as early as 1670, and it is remarkable that a public house has been kept there by his descendants ever since, till within a few years." This house was owned and managed by John Howard and his direct descendants for a period of 151 years. John Howard opened the tavern in 1670, and kept it 30 years, until his death in 1700. His oldest son, John, then became proprietor, conducting it 26 years, until 1726. His son, Maj. Edward, was proprietor from that date to 1771, for 45 years. His son, Col. Edward, owned and conducted the house for 38 years, from 1771 to 1809, when he d. Then his widow and son, Capt. Benjamin Beal Howard, kept the house open 12 years, until 1821. The house was taken down in 1838. A list of the distinguished guests of this tavern, could we know their names, would make exceeding interesting reading. Without doubt, one of the early distinguished visitors was Mary (Chilton) Winslow, (the first lady who came on shore from the Mayflower), who was grandmother of the wife of the second proprietor, John Howard. An occasional guest was John Reed, D. D., who was a member of congress during Washington's administration. Oakes Angier, a young lawyer, Hon. William Baylies and Judge Howard, were other prominent and frequent visitors. Lieut. Howard d. in 1700. His property was appraised in October, the next year. It consisted of about 450 acres of land, and his estate was valued at about 840 pounds. Following is a copy of the division of his estate and of that of his widow, who d. before 1703 pp2-3

The Howard Genealogy: Descendants of John Howard of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, from 1643 to 1903 Standard printing Company, Brockton, Ma  1903

To be continued.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 6:REUBEN PACKARD OF HEBRON, ME.

My 5x great grandfather Reuben Packard was a Revolutionary War veteran (as were several other relatives). He was a sergeant in the company from Bridgewater led by Captain Hayden. He was one of the leading citizens of the town when the war broke out, married to Anne Perkins and by age 38 the father of eight children. After the war he and his oldest son Ichabod had moved to Sheperdsfield, Me. which is now Hebron, Me.

Reuben  followed the family tradition of being active in the formation of a new town. He built a sawmill and a gristmill on his property and led church services in his home until a Conregationalist church was built of which he became a deacon.

He and Israel were also among those who signed this petition:

To the Assessors of the plantation of Shepardsfield:
We the subscribers, being ten of the inhabitants of the said plantation, request you to call a meeting of the freeholders and other inhabitants of the said plantation, on Wednesday the twenty-eighth day of December current, at the dwelling house of John Greenwood, at nine o'clock A. M. for the following purposes, viz:

First, To chose a Moderator.

Second. To see if the inhabitants are of opinion to petition the General Court for an incorporation, also to see if they will agree to petition the General Court to have their taxes abated, and to act on any other business they may think proper at said meeting.
   REUBEN PACKARD   STEPHEN GURNEY.
   CALEB CUSHMAN     ZACKEUS ROWE.
   JOSIAH CHURCHILL  THADDEUS PRATT.
   EBEN’R DRAKE.         ICHABOD PACKARD.
   JOHN BICKNELL         THOMAS CARMAN.
Shepardsfield December 19, 1791.
Agreeably to the foregoing request, the freeholders and other inhabitants of the plantation of Shepardsfield are warned to meet at the time and place, and for the purposes before mentioned. JOHN GREENWOOD
 JAMES DONHAM
 DANIEL BULLEN.
Assessors of Shepardsfield
Shepardsfield December 20, 1791.
-p12
Annals of Oxford, Maine   New England History Press in collaboration with the Oxford Historical Society, 1903 - Hebron (Me.


Reuben Packard died on 6Dec 1820 in Hebron, Me. I'm descended from his youngest child, Cynthia, who married James Dunham/Donham.

JAMES PACKARD'S WILL PT2

Just a few quick thoughts about James Packard's will:

The document appears to be a copy of the original. It's part of a book and the handwriting is the same as on other wills. I wonder when the copy was made and what happened to the original?

I'm puzzled by the use of the name "Packard" as a place name. I wonder why it would be used that way. Does it refer to the original family farm?

I live right next to Brockton and never heard of the Salisbury Plain River before. Looking at a map, the river runs through the heart of the city parallel to Belmont St, a busy road. I suspect much is it is enclosed.

Finally, with a sawmill, grist mill and forge James was a wealthy man by the standard of his times. I wish I could find the estate inventory, 

BLOGIVERSARY: NOW WE ARE 12.

I was so wrapped up in doing research last week I missed my 12th blogiversary! Time flies when you're having fun! So this is where it stands as of 31Jan 2019{

A few stats: This is post 2485. I've had 1,064,815 pageviews (most of which were likely by webcrawler bots) and  I have 278 followers. So I've lost 2 of the 280 followers I had last year!

These were my All Time Top Ten Posts on last year on 23Jan:

And this is the list as of today:

The post on Malden where I lived as a child still tops the list. The two 52 Ancestor posts are for Caleb Benson and John Benson.



Thanks again to cousins Tim Abbott, Chris Dunham, and Randy Seaver whose geneablogs inspired me to start one of my own.

And as always, a big thank you to those who read my blog and to those who leave comments

I've found a bunch of new relatives to write about, so I'll keep on blogging!

.

JAMES PACKARD'S WILL PT1

I found my 6x great grandfather James Packard's probate file and will on the FamilySearch website. Here's  my transcription:

 
In The Nname of God Amen.
The twentyfourth day of September in the year of our Lord one thous
-and , seven hundred & sixtyfive; I Jjames Packard of Bridgewater in the
colony of Plimouth & Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England
yeoman, being in declining state of bodily health, but of perfect mind
& memory thanks be to God therefor, and calling to mind the mort
-ality of my body, knowing that it is appointed to all men once to
die, do make & ordain this my last will & testament, that is to say,
principally & first of all, I give & recommend my soul into the hands
of God that gave it, and my body I recomend to the earth to be bury,
in decent christian burial., at the discretion of my executor hereaft
-er named, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall
receive the same again by the mighty power of God; And as touching
such worldly estate wherein with it hath pleased God to bless me in this
life, I give, demise & dispose of the same in the followg of manner of (?)
Imprus I give to my welbeloved son James one eighth part of a sawmill
standing a few rods from Packard, & forge, so called, in Bridgewater &
one half of my right & interest in the old cedar swamp (so called) in
in Bridgewater, and a certain piece of meadow lying on the west side
of Salisbury Plain River, between meadow of Lieut. Henry Kingman,
& meadow formerly belonging to my brother John Packard dec'd. & all
my right in the common or undivided lands in Bridgewater aforesd,
all that is before demised to my said son James I give to him, his
heirs and asigns forever, also I give to my said son James one half
of my wearing apparel, one half of my husbandry tools, & implements,
& one half of my great iron kettle, to be at his dispose.

Item. I give to my well beloved son Reuben (I likewise cons
-spire(?), make & ordain sole executor of this my last will & testament)
one eighth part of a sawmill standing a few rods from Packard, & forge
abovesd, & all my right in the Grist mill standing on or near Salisbury
Plain River abovsd, together with my privileges belonging to said
right. Also I give to my sd son Reuben one half of my right & interest
in the old cedar swamp abovesd & all my right in Packard, & forge
aforesd with my privileges belonging to sd right,  also my dwelling ho
-use & other buildings not otherwise herein disposed off. All the est
-ate that is afore demised to my sd son Reuben, I give to him his heirs &
assigns forever. Also I give to my sd son Reuben, all my quick stock of every
kind, & one half of my wearing apparel, & one half of my husbandry tools
& implements, & all my household goods & indoor moveables (excepting what
I have herein bequeathed to my son James before named). Also all my estate
whatever, not in this my last will & testament otherwise disposed off I
give to my sd son Reuben, his heirs & asigns forever.

Page 2:
Item I give to my three wellloved daughters Kezia, Jemima and
Rebecca twenty four pounds, five shillings  and four pence to be
paid to them in cattle or barr iron at the market price in cash, by my
aforenamed executor in four years next after my decease at four equal
payments. That is to say, to each & every of my sd three daughters the
value of six punds one shilling & four pense in cattle or barr iron
at cash price annually during the said term of four years.---
Also I give to my aforenamed three daughters all the money due
to me from Luke Perkins on his note of hand, also all the money
due to me from Nehemiah Lincoln on his note of hand to be equally
divided between them --- It is also my will that my just
debts be paid, & my funeral charges defrayed by my aforenamed
executor out of the estate I have given him, & I do hereby utterly
disallow, revoke & (?) all & every other former testaments,
wills, legacies, bequests & executors by one in any ways before unamd,
willed & Bequeathed, ratifying & confirming this & no other to be ny
last will & testament. For witness thereof I have hereunto set my
hand & seal the day & year first aforewritten.

Signed, sealed  & declared by the
sd James Packard as his last will &
testament in presense of us the subs.
Constant Southworth. Josiah Snell Junr. Shepard Fisk

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 5: JAMES PACKARD OF NORTH BRIDGEWATER, MA.

My 6x great grandfather James Packard came from a family that was very active in the local church. Several of  his brothers were ministers while James was a deacon and is usually referred to as Deacon James.He owned several mills and a farm.

Here's his entry in  Bradford Kingman's History of North Bridgewater...":

55 JAMEs (son of Zaccheus 14) married Jemima, daughter of Joseph Keith, June 7, 1722; lived on the place now occupied by Marcus Holmes. Children : —
56 James, b. Sept. 23, 1724 [169]; m. Mary Thayer, of Braintree, 1747. 57 Keziah, b. Oct. 29, 1727; married Nehemiah Lincoln, Nov. 24, 1748. 58 Jemima, b. Aug. 8, 1729; married Ichabod Edson, July 19, 1759. 59 Rebecca, b. July 1, 1732; married Luke Perkins, Aug. 24, 1749. 60 Reuben, b. Nov. 8, 1737 £) ; married Anne Perkins, Oct. 3, 1759. The wife died Dec. 8, 1763. The father died Nov. 24, 1765. He was one of the first deacons in the North Parish.p687


History of North Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts: From Its First Settlement to the Present Time, with Family Registers Self-Published, Boston, Ma 1866


As i said James was active in church life. He and other Packard relatives helped in the building of the first church. Many of the men listed in the following excerpt from Kingman's book are related to me:

At the time of the incorporation of the parish the house was “Erected and Inclosed,” but not finished. At a meeting held March 12th, 1739, “Timothy Keith, Benjamin Edson, David Packard, Daniel Howard, Edward Curtis, were chosen a committee for the finishing the meeting house in sq Precinct,” also “voted to raise two Hundred and fifty pounds for the finishing of the same, to be paid by the last of August,” chose Abiel Packard, “Recever of stuf and meterels,” March 26th, 1739. “The committee appointed to finish the meeting-house made demand of the several inhabitants how they would pay their Reats, or what they could percure tords the prosecution of the work of finishing the meeting-house. In order to pay their Raits Whare upon a number subscribed what they would percure, as first:” –

James Packard to do the Glazing of the House, and what it amounts to more than his Reats Come to, to take his pay at the forge, In Iron ore or Cole next fall Insewing. John Johnson and John Kingman, to do the masing work, and nails, and to take his pay over and Abuv, his Raits at the formes or forge, In Labour, or Cole, or Iron ore the next fall Insewing. David Packard, Solomon Packard, and Jacob Allen, to find Lime.
Robert Haward, to find one thousand of pine Bords,
Zacheus Packard, to find one thousand of oak Bords,
Solomon Packard, to find one thousand of pine Bords,
Benjamin Edson, to find one thousand of pine Bords,
Abiel Packard, to find one thousand of pine Bords,
Timothy Keith, to find one thousand of oak Bords,
Daniel Haward, to find one thousand of pine Bords,
Theofilus Curtis, to find five hundred of pine Bords,
Edward Curtis, to find five hundred of pine Bords,
James Barret, to find one thousand of pine Bords,
Joshua Warren, to find Henges,
Timothy Keith, David Packard, Solomon Packard, Jacob Allen, Benjamin Edson, Daniel Haward, to find all the sheet work.-p85 ibid

 He was on the commitee that hired the first minister for a new church in North Bridgewater:

Aug. 25, 1740, “voted to chuse Samuel Kingman, David Packard, and James Packard, a committee to Give Mr. Porter a Call in behalf of the precinct;” also voted that the 18th of September should be kept as a day of fasting and prayer, before the ordaining of Mr. John Porter.  -p21 ibid

I've found James Packard's will and will transcribe it/.
James' son Reuben Packard is my 5x great grandfather

FINDMYPAST PUBLISHES 700,000 NEW SCOTTISH RECORDS

 I received this email Friday morning:

 

Findmypast publishes 700,000 new Scottish records in celebration of Burns Night 2019

Leading British & Irish family history website, Findmypast, is marking the 260th Anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland, with the release of almost 700,000 new Scottish records.

Many of these new additions have been made available online for the first time and cement Findmypast’s place as the home of the fastest growing online collection of Scottish Records.

Over 275,000 brand new records have been added to Findmypast’s collection of more than 2 million Catholic Sacramental Registers records. Covering all eight Scottish Dioses, fully indexed and scanned in full colour, these important documents can’t be found anywhere else online.

Almost 75,000 records from the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745 have been digitised from The National Archives and are now searchable for the first time, forming an expansive collection of assorted documents including lists of prisoners and those banished or pardoned along with correspondence, commission records, briefs of evidence and more.

Over 30,000 records of Glasgow smallpox vaccinations from 1801-1850, indexed for the first time and available with images of the original documents have been added from the library of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. These cover the very poorest parts of the city, and may be some of the only records that survive for many of the individuals found within these pages.

From the same archive, come documents relating to almost 2,000 newly indexed names taken from class rolls of those who studied Anatomy under Professor George Buchanan at Anderson’s College, Glasgow from 1860-1874.

Over 280,000 new burials from cemeteries across Glasgow have joined our Glasgow & Lanarkshire Death & Burial Index. These valuable records have been supplied by the latest Scottish family history society to partner with Findmypast, the Glasgow & West of Scotland Family History Society.

Andrew Eadie, chairman of the GWSFHS said of the release;

‘As one of the oldest family history societies in the country, Glasgow & West of Scotland Family History Society has been assisting those with Scottish roots for more than 40 years. We are delighted that, by partnering with Findmypast, our records have taken their place among a growing and vibrant collection that people across the world can enjoy, discovering their ancestors and, fittingly on this day, making new connections to the homeland of Rabbie Burns.’

Myko Clelland, licensing manager for Findmypast said;

‘Findmypast has always been well regarded as the home of British & Irish family history, and with our Dundee headquarters, it’s only fitting that that Scottish records are one of our crown jewels. We’re working with so many wonderful people to build a collection that really stands out as something truly unique and powerful, where Scotland comes to life and in the spirit of the ploughman poet himself, new stories can be discovered and retold for generations. Keep checking the Findmypast Friday blog for news of the millions of other Scottish records that we’re excited to be publishing every month, throughout 2019.’

These newly released additions sit alongside millions of other records from family history societies, archives and repositories holding records that cover the whole length and breadth of the country. If you have Scottish heritage, Findmypast is an indispensable tool for discovering your ancestors.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 4: ZACCHEUS PACKARD OF WEST BRIDGEWATER, MA.

The subject this week is my 7x great grandfather Zaccheus Packard. He was a farmer but six of his sons were were very active in church affairs in North Bridgewater (now Brockton) Ma. Here's a short biography by William Richard Cutter:

II) Zaccheus Packard, son of Samuel Packard (r), was born in Hingham, and died in Bridgewater, August 3, 1723. He married Sarah, daughter of John Howard, of West Bridgewater. Children, born in Bridgewater: 1. Israel, mentioned below. 2. Sarah, born August 19. 1682: married. July 27, 1704, Captain Josiah Edson : died 1754. 3. Jonathan, born December 7, 1684; married first, December 24, 1719. Susanna Hayward; second, Abigail. 4. David, born February 11, 1687;married, December 17, 1712, Hannah Ames; died November 3, 1755. 5. Solomon, born March 20, 1689; married, November 16, 1715, Sarah Lathrop; second, Susanna Kingman; third, October 5, 1760, Dorothy, widow of Mark Perkins. 6. Deacon James, born June 2, 1691 ; married, June 7, 1722, Jemima Kieth; died November 24, 1765. 7. Zaccheus, Jr., born September 4, 1693: married, October 21, 1725. Mercy Alden; died 1775. 8. John, born October 8, 1695; married, 1726, Lydia Thomson ; died June 3, 1738. 9. Captain Abiel, born April 29, 1699; married January 11, 1723, Sarah Ames; died 1776.
-p1880-1

Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 4 Lewis historical Publishing Company,  New York, NY      1908

I've found Zaccheus' probate file at AmericanAncestors.org.
His son James is my 6x great grandfather,

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 3: SAMUEL PACKARD OF WEST BRIDGEWATER, MA.

The exploration of my Packard family line begins with my 8x great grandfather and immigrant ancestor Samuel Packard. This is the entry about him and the origin of the family from the book Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts:

 PACKARD. The grant of the plantation of ancient Bridgewater was made in 1645, but the actual settlement was not commenced until after 1650, the first lots being taken up in West Bridgewater, and there the first house was built and the first improvements made. This was the first interior settlement of the Old Colony. Since the coming to this Bridgewater settlement of Samuel Packard, as early as 1664 (which was the year of the ordination of the first minister of the town,. Rev. James Keith), to the present time, for nearly two hundred and fifty years, the Packard family has been one prominent and influential in the region of the old town, out of which have since come a number of towns. And it has become a most numerous family, too, many of its members both at home and abroad having given a good account of themselves, their names being enrolled as distinguished educators, clergymen, physicians, authors, soldiers, merchants and manufacturers, all of whom descended from Samuel Packard. This article is to treat in main with the branch of the family which has continued its residence in the North Parish of ancient Bridgewater. a parish that so continued until 1821, when it became the town of North Bridgewater, the name of which in 1874 was changed to Brockton. There were no permanent settlements in the North Parish until after the year 1700, the first settlers being principally descendants of the first settlers of Bridgewater.

 (I) Samuel Packard, which name in the early records of both Hingham and Bridgewater was spelled "Packer," came from Windham, near Hingham, in England, with his wife and child, in the ship "Diligence," of Ipswich, in 1638, and settled in Hingham, Mass., where he was a proprietor in the same year. He later removed to West Bridgewater, where he was constable in 1664, and licensed to keep a tavern in 1670. From his will, probated March 3, 1684-85, it appears the Christian name of his wife was Elizabeth. His children were: Elizabeth, Samuel, Zaccheus, Thomas, John, Nathaniel, Mary, Hannah, Israel, Jael, Deborah and Deliverance.
-p1214

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 .. Vol3  J.H. Beers & Company, Chicago, Il., 1912

I'm descended from Samuel's second son Zaccheus Packard

MY PERKINS LINE

Here is the Perkins family line of my 4x great grandmother Cynthia (Packard) Dunham, daughter of Reuben Packard and Anne Perkins.  It goes back to immigrant ancestor John Perkins, but also includes the Conant, Long, Walton and Whipple families.

MY PACKARD LINE

Starting next week in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series I'll be writing about  the family of my 4x great grandmother Cynthia (Packard)Dunham, wife of James Thomas Dunham. Cynthia is one of my ancestors who has relatives from both Plymouth and Essex Counties. On her father Reuben Packard's side she is descended from some of the founders of all three Bridgewater towns:Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, and West Bridgewater. These are towns only about ten miles away from where I live. In fact, I graduated from Bridgewater State College nearly fifty years ago.

On her mother Anne Perkins' side she is descended from prominent citizens of Ipswich, Beverley, and Salem.

Here's Cynthia's Packard line

The associated families are Edson, Fobes, Hayward, Howard,  and Keith who arrived in Massachusetts after the Great Migration so the line isn't as long as some of my other families.















I'll discuss the Perkins line in the next post.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 2: STEPHEN GATES OF HINGHAM, LANCASTER AND CAMBRIDGE, MA.

John Lazell's wife Elizabeth (Gates) Lazell was the daughter of my 10x great grandparents Stephen Gates and Anne Veare. Stephen seems to have around a bit after originally settling in Hingham, Ma.
Here's a brief biography from William Richard Cutter:

(I) Stephen Gates, the first of the name in New England was a native of England, born at Norwich, in the county of Norfolk, the son of Thomas Gates. Stephen Gates came to New England in the ship "Diligent," in 1638, from Hingham, England, and settled first at Hingham, Massachusetts. He was accompanied by his wife and children. In 1652 he located at Cambridge, and later at Lancaster, where he was one of the largest proprietors of the town, and was one of the petitioners for its incorporation in 1654; he was also constable there in 1657. Returning to Cambridge he spent the remainder of his life there where he died in 1662. His family consisted of seven children as follows: Elizabeth, born in England, was married in Hingham, in 1647, to John Lasell; Mary, who married at Hingham, in 1658, John Maynard, of Sudbury; Stephen, mentioned below; Simon, who was born in England and baptized in Hingham in 1646; Thomas, baptized in Hingham, May 3, 1646, married, in 1670, Elizabeth Freeman, of Sudbury; Isaac, baptized in Hingham, in 1646, died in 1651; Rebecca, baptized in 1646, died in 1650.-p1846

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 4  Lewis historical publishing Company, NY, NY 1914

I've found Stephen's will and estate inventory. The latter is on two pages with two columns of possessions on each so he must have been very well off. Transcribing the will may be difficult because the handwriting is a bit hard to decipher.

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 2019 WEEK 1: JOHN LAZELL OF HINGHAM, MA.

Information about my 9x great grandfather John Lazell has been a bit of a humt because of the various spellings of his family name. Three of them have been Lazell, Lasell, and Lassell. Finally I found this in History of the town of Hingham, Massachusetts on the Internet Archives:

LASELL (Lazell; Lassell).
1. John, an early settler, and the ancestor of all who have borne this surname by birth in Hing., m. Nov. 29, 1647, Elizabeth, dau. of  Stephen and Ann Gates. She was b. prob. in Eng., and d. in Hing.
3 Aug. 1704. He d. 21 Oct. 1700. In his will of 2 Sept. 1695, proved 16 Jan. 1700-1, mentions four sons living, besides grandchild Joshua, the s. of Joshua deceased (2, iii.) ;and the two ch. of Isaac and Abigail, "both the fathers, Joshua and  Isaac, being dead." Mentions also dau's Hannah Turner, Mary Burr, and Sarah Ripley. Constable  1677. " Freeman," 1678. Resided at Hing. Centre, " over the river."
Ch., all b. in Hing., were —
i. John, bt. Sept. 8, 1650, d. 14 May, 1665.
ii. Thomas, Sept. 15, 1652 ; prob. m. 1685, Mary Allen.
2. iii. Joshua, Nov. 17, 1654.
3. iv. Stephen, Oct. 6, 1656.
V. Elizabeth, Feb. 28, 1657-58, d. 7 Apr. 1676.
4. vi. Isaac, July 10, 1660.
vii. Hannah, Aug. 31, 1662. m. Turner.
viii. Mary, Sept. 2, 1664. m. Aug. 1690, Simon Burr, Jr.
ix. Sarah, Nov. 29, 1666. m. Apr. 17, 1693, Peter Ripley.
5. X. John, Apr. 25, 1669.
6. xi. Israel, Sept. 24, 1671.
-pp423-424

I'm descended from John's son Joshua Lazell

2018 BY THE NUMBERS

Looking at the numbers for my 2018 genealogy activities I didn't do very well in blogging  or in my Find A Grave  efforts but had a good research year.

Database:
My research numbers as shown by RootsMagic7:
2018-32,385 people, 122,535 citations, 635 sources
2017-31,296 people, 112,296 citations, 589 sources
So I added 1089 people, 10,239 citations and 46 sources.

Find a Grave
2018-614 memorials, 1005 photos, 188 volunteer photos taken
2017-616 memorials, 1006 photos, 188 volunteer photos taken

Blogging
2018 (143)

2017 (211)

2016 (237)

2015 (220)

2014 (199)

2013 (179)

2012 (170)

2011 (248)

2010 (196)

2009 (254)

2008 (214)

2007 (208)

On my Old Colony Graveyard Rabbit blog, I only posted 5 times for the third year in a row.

DNA
I'm adding a new category this year based on my Ancestry.com DNA test results summary:
 240 Shared Ancestor Hints
 240 Starred matches
 919 4th cousins or closer
 21   DNA Circles

MY 2019 GENEAPLANS

Given how poorly I did with my 2018 geneaplans,  I'm just going to recycle the 2018 list instead of writing a new one:

1.Continue adding more of my ancestors siblings and their lines to my database.

2. Get off my butt and actually visit the places my ancstors lived and are buried here in Massachusetts. I didn't do any road trips in 2018. Getting out of my apartment oncethe weather turns warm is better for my health, too.

3.This year I'm  going to set a more praactical goal for my blogging: to reach at least 200 posts in this blog and to post anything, anything at all, in my Graveyard Rabbits  blog.

4. Take and post more photos for Find A Grave. Another way toi get me off my butt and out of the apartment.

5. Continue to stay organized:  Keep putting images  I download into  the folder they belong in immediately,

6. Transcribe more of the wills and probate files I've downloaded already.

7. Find and download the wills and probate files of female ancestors.

8.  Keep working  on  the timeline for my ancestors who were involved in the Colonial New England Indian wars, including those who were captured.

9. Go back and finish the series about the "Hot Mess" probate file of ancestor Nathaniel Stowe which I forgot to finish in May 2015. (Probably because it's such a "hot mess").

10. Write more  about my ancestor Gov. John Endecott. I keep pushing it aside, I think, because he did somethings that were nasty.

11.Keep having fun with genealogy!

There they are. I hope I do better in 2019 than I did in 2018!