The John Becket House, 1655, at the House of Seven Gables in Salem, Massachusetts is labeled the "Retire Becket House" by the front door. |
BECKET, BECKETT
John Becket, my 9th great grandfather, was first
recorded in Salem, Massachusetts on 9 April 1655 when he bought “one dwelling
house and three acres of land behind it” from Samuel Archard. The street where this house stood is now
known as Becket Court, near the waterfront in Salem. Eventually the family
built a shipyard on this property. In
1924 this house was moved one half mile to the museum compound where the House of Seven
Gables stands, and was converted into the gift shop. (from The Chronicles of Three Old Houses,
by Caroline O. Emmerton, 1985, published by the House of Seven Gables
Settlement Association)
John Becket was the great great grandfather of the famous
ship builder Retire Becket. In 1816 the
millionaire George Crowninshield, Jr. of Salem commissioned Retire “Tyrey”
Becket to build the first known private luxury yacht, which was known as Cleopatra’s Barge. It
cost $50,000 to build, and another $50,000 to outfit it as an ocean going
mansion (in 1816 dollars!). No expense
was spared on this 100 foot brig. In
1820 this yacht was traded to King Kamehameha II of Hawaii and renamed Ka Ha'aheo O' Hawai'i. She sank off Hanalei Bay on the north of
Kauai in 1824, and in 1994 the wreck was rediscovered. 191 objects were raised from the wreck and
displayed at the Kauai Museum.
There is a reconstruction of the main cabin of Cleopatra's Barge inside the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts |
William Becket, my 8th great grandfather, was also a shipwright, as well as his son, John Becket (1684 – 1763). This lineage lived in Salem from John Becket the immigrant in the 1650s until my grandmother’s time. If you look down below to generation 8 you will see my great great grandfather, Abijah F. Hitchings, who was the deputy customs collector at the Salem Custom House, also on the waterfront. He lived in a house that stood on the land that is now the parking lot for visitors to the House of Seven Gables. This family has always lived in this neighborhood of Salem.
For more on the BECKET family:
The Story of George Crowninsheild’s Yacht, Cleopatra’s Barge,
by George Crowninshield, 1913
A video of the wreck and recovery of Cleopatra’s Barge
AKA Ka Ha'aheo O' Hawai'i https://vimeo.com/13968115
My BECKET genealogy:
Generation 1: John
Becket, born about 1626, probably in England, died 26 November 1683 in Salem,
Massachusetts; married Margaret UNKNOWN.
She died about 1717. Five
children.
Generation 2: William Becket, born 9 April 1665 in Salem,
died 10 November 1723 in Salem; married on 8 May 1683 in Marblehead to Hannah
Sibley, daughter of Richard Sibley and Hannah UNKNOWN. She was born 20 September 1661 in Salem and
died 1734. Eight children.
Generation 3: John
Becket, born 10 August 1684 in Salem, died 1763 in Salem; married on 20
September 1711 in Salem to Susannah Mason, daughter of Thomas Mason and
Christian Oliver. She was born 23 August
1687 in Salem, and died after 1769. Six
children.
Generation 4: John
Becket, born 28 February 1715 in Salem, died 29 August 1781 in Salem; married first
on 3 May 1738 to Rebecca Beadle, daughter of Lemon Beadle and Rebecca
Atwater. She was born 31 January 1714 in
Salem and died 13 January 1758 in Salem.
Thirteen children. John married
second to Sarah Rue on 25 November 1762 in Salem. No more children with second marriage.
Generation 5: Hannah Becket, born 17 November 1751 in Salem,
died 18 August 1837 in Salem; married on 20 June 1770 in Salem to Joseph
Cloutman, son of Joseph Cloutman and Mary Webb.
He was born about 1748. Seven
children.
Generation 6: Mary Cloutman m. Abijah Hitchings
Generation 7: Abijah
Hitchings m. Eliza Ann Treadwell
Generation 8: Abijah
Franklin Hitchings m. Hannah Eliza Lewis
Generation 9: Arthur
Treadwell Hitchings m. Florence Etta Hoogerzeil
Generation 10: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer
Allen (my grandparents)
-------------------------------
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Surname Saturday ~ BECKET of Salem,
Massachusetts”, Nutfield Genealogy,
posted April 15, 2017, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/04/surname-saturday-beckett-of-salem.html: accessed [access date]).
The first and only royal American yacht - the things you learn! Thank you for sharing, Heather.
ReplyDeleteGeneration 1 the Wife is Margaret Elizabeth Shaw, I am a direct descendant of their daughter Hannah so I guess that makes us cousins!
ReplyDelete