Troublesome Thomas Tuck of Beverly, Massachusetts

 

The town seal of Beverly, Massachusetts

I share this ancestor, Thomas Tuck (1611 - 1667) with my fellow genealogy blogger, Bill West, who unfortunately passed away last year.  Bill wrote three interesting blog posts about Thomas Tuck, and you can find the links below at the end of this post.  It was Bill who called our common ancestor "Troublesome Thomas Tuck".  

Thomas Tuck was my 9th great grandfather, born about 1611 probably in England.  He died in Beverly, Massachusetts on 20 March 1667.  Years after he died his ghost became part of the 1692 witch trails, when someone accused him of coming back from the dead to urge her to buy some land!  In my opinion his ghost was mentioned because he was not particularly law abiding during his life.  But we will never know, will we? 

" And for seeing the devill, or any spirit but ones, & that was soon after old Thomas Tuck dyed (w'ch I take to be about ten yeare since) & that shee took it to be the Ghost of Thom: tuck coming to speak w'th her about some land s'd Tuck had told her of before his death. But that shee fled from the Ghost & got away."  Salem Witch Papers No. 68.18 Examination of Dorcas Hoar 2 May 1692 

I'm on a search to learn more about Thomas Tuck's wife.  Or his wives.  I wasn't sure how many times he married, or which wife might have been the mother of my 8th great grandfather, John Tuck, born in 1646 in Beverly and died there in 1722.  There is no mention of Thomas Tuck, unfortunately, in any of the Great Migration Books, so I can assume he came to Massachusetts after 1635 (which is the drop off date for Robert Charles Anderson's research).  He is not found in many other records except for court records, where I can find many, many mentions of his misadventures.

In Sidney Perley's History of Salem, 1924, Volume 1, pages 399 - 401 there is a very short mention of Thomas Tuck.  No, not three pages on him, just three sentences in the footnotes:

"Thomas Tuck, a blacksmith, aged about twenty-five, lived on Cape Ann side in 1636.  In 1643 he was living apart from his wife, and in 1650 he had married the widow of George Harris.  His wife was Joan in 1679.  In 1643 he was complained of for living absent from his wife, but was discharged."

What facts do I learn from this tiny paragraph?  Or what new questions do I have?  How many wives did Thomas Tuck have? Which wife was my ancestress? Where can I find more records? Does he appear anywhere except in court records? Why was he a part of the Salem Witch Hysteria? 

Fortunately, after a lot of digging over many months, I found a terrific resource.  Someone had done a sketch of Thomas Tuck and his children in the 2018 edition of the New England Historic Genealogical Society Register journal, hidden inside an article about George Harris (Yes!  The same George Harris mentioned in that brief little paragraph in the History of Salem.) And this article answered all my questions about Troublesome Thomas Tuck, and even brought up some new questions and further things to investigate.

My question was how many wives did Thomas Tuck have?   Apparently he had two, one before "Joan".  Joan's previous marriage to George Harris left her with three sons.  One of these sons, Samuel Harris (1644-1682) was married to Mary Hoar, the daughter of accused witch Dorcas (Galley) Hoar.  This news explained a lot of the mentions in court records of Thomas Tuck being the "father-in-law" (step-father) to Joseph Harris.  It also explains why the Tuck and Harris children were called to testify at Dorcas Hoar's trial for witchcraft in 1692. 

The article also listed many, many resources in the footnotes for additional deeds, court records, and other information.  Some of the best I found were compiled genealogies done on the Harris family, which helped me to sort out the Tuck family!  

Thomas and Joan Tuck had only one known child, my 8th great grandfather John Tuck (1646 - 1722) who married a Rachel (________) - another brick wall female line to untangle.  But they had six children including my 7th great grandfather John Tuck (1674 - 1717), and his sister Mary Tuck (1682 - 1741/2) who married John Balch the grandson of my 8th great grandparents Benjamin Balch and Sarah Gardner. Another daughter-in-law, Sarah Reith, remarried, when her husband Joseph Tuck died, to Samuel Allen of Manchester, Massachusetts (My mother's maiden name is Allen, a descendant of William Allen (1602 - 1678) of Manchester, so I need to find the kinship connection for this Samuel Allen). I had some notes on these Balch/Tuck/Reith/Allen families already in my files. I'm sure that I can unravel it all now with this new information. 

Don't forget to check journal articles, blog posts, and compiled genealogies of related families when you hit a Brick Wall ancestor!  Especially new articles published in the last five years, which may not be mentioned as much as articles from the 20th century or early 2000s (or show up on online searches).  

For the truly curious:

History of Salem, by Sidney Perley, 1924, Volume 1, pages 399 - 401.

NEHGS Register, 2018, Volume 172, pages 302 - 304  George Harris 1 of Salem, Massachusetts, with Sketch of Thomas 1 Tuck, by Gale Ion Harris https://www.americanancestors.org/DB202/i/55221/304/73267555

The Salem Witchcraft Papers, at salemlib.virginia.edu/texts/transcripts.html, SWP No. 68.4 (deposition of Rachel Tuck and Hannah Cox v. Dorcas Hoar, 14 May 1692)

From Bill West's blog West in New England, more about Thomas Tuck: 

https://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/2015/04/thomas-tuck-and-stolen-bell-pt1.html  

https://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/2015/04/thomas-tuck-and-stolen-bell-pt2.html  

https://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/2015/04/thomas-tuck-and-stolen-bell-pt3.html

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Troublesome Thomas Tuck of Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 22, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/04/troublesome-thomas-tuck-of-beverly.html: accessed [access date]).  

A very primitive gravestone for Elizabeth Balch 1730 ~ Tombstone Tuesday

This tombstone was photographed at the Abbott Hale Cemetery in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Here Lyeth ye body

of Elizabeth Balch

Who died June

the 20th 1730 in

the 53 year of

her Age.

back view of the stone

A close up photo of death's head

Elizabeth Ober was baptized in Beverly, Massachusetts on 9 December, 1677, the daughter of Richard Ober and Abigail Woodbury.  She married John Balch on 5 October 1700.  He was the son of John Balch and Hannah Veren, and my 1st cousin 8 generations removed (we are both descendants of the immigrant John Balch (d. 25 May 1648 in Beverly), and his son Benjamin Balch (1628 - 1715) and his wife Sarah Gardner.   Elizabeth Ober's mother, Abigail Woodbury, is a granddaughter of William Woodbury and Elizabeth Patch.  William Woodbury (1587 - about 1677) is my 12th great uncle, brother of John Woodbury (1583 - about 1643) my 11th great grandfather.

John Balch and Elizabeth Ober had two children born in Beverly:  the first was Joanna Balch, born on 30 April 1703 and married Andrew Ellingwood, the second was Andrew Balch, born on 27 February 1707 and married Bethia Lovett.

Elizabeth Balch's footstone

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A very primitive gravestone for Elizabeth Balch 1730 ~ Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 3, 2020, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-very-primitive-gravestone-for.html: accessed [access date)].

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Colonel Charles E. Balch, buried 1884 at Manchester, New Hampshire

These tombstones were photographed at the Valley Cemetery in Manchester, New Hampshire.

COL. CHARLES E. BALCH                                   EMELINE R. BROOKS

BORN IN FRANCESTOWN MAR. 17, 1834     BORN IN GILFORD SEPT. 2, 1842

DIED IN MANCHESTER OCT. 18, 1884     DIED IN MANCHESTER NOV. 1, 1901

Charles Edward Balch, son of Mason Balch and Hannah Holt, was born on 17 March 1834 in Francestown, New Hampshire, and died 18 October 1884; married on 30 July 1867 in Bath, Maine to Emeline R. Brooks, the daughter of Reverend Nahum Brooks and his wife Rebecca.  She was born in Gilford, New Hampshire on 2 September 1842.

Charles Balch was a clerk and cashier for many years at the Manchester Savings Bank until January 1884.  He was also a trustee of the bank for 21 years until just before his death. A schooner built at Bath, Maine was named for him, the C. E. Balch.  It was 840 tons and launched on 15 July 1882.  He belonged to the Washington Lodge of Masons in Manchester.  He served for two years in the New Hampshire Militia under Governor Nathaniel Head, where he received his title of “Colonel”.  Governor Head was the Adjutant General of the New Hampshire Militia from 1864 to 1870.

Charles and his wife, Emeline, had no children.  They lived at a mansion at 1799 Elm Street in Manchester, designed by James T. Fanning who also built the First Congregational Church.  Emeline's memorial page at the Find A Grave website has an interesting story about a possible suicide, written up by Manchester historian Pat Van Den Berghe.  See this link: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=63695924   

Charles Edward Balch is the 6^th great grandson of his immigrant ancestor, John Balch (d. 1648) of Beverly, Massachusetts.  He is my sixth cousin 3 generations removed.

For the truly curious:

"Captains of Industry" from cities like Manchester during the Victorian era often have their genealogy or biographies written up in a lot of “brag books” you can find online. 

Genealogy of the Balch Families in America, by Galusha B. Balch 1879 available at Internet Archive https://achive.org    see #1564 on page 380 - 381 for a sketch of Charles E. Balch.

At the “Balchipedia” website “The Encyclopedia of Balch History” there is a sketch of Charles Edward Balch at this link:  http://balchipedia.wikidot.com/col-charles-e-balch 

Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men, by John B. Clark, 1882, page 141 for a photograph and sketch of Charles E. Balch.

Manchester, A Brief Record of its Past and A Picture of Its Present, by John B. Clark, 1875, pages 375 – 376 for a sketch about Charles E. Balch.

History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, by J. W. Lewis & Co., 1885, page 134 for a sketch of Charles E. Balch.

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Colonel Charles E. Balch, buried 1884 at Manchester, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 1, 2017, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/08/tombstone-tuesday-colonel-charles-e.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Benjamin Balch, died 1736 at age 11

This tombstone was photographed at the Abbott Hale Cemetery in Beverly, Massachusetts

HERE LYES BURIED

THE BODY OF

BENJAMIN BALCH

ONLY SON OF

DEAC. BENJ. BALCH

& MARCY HIS WIFE

WHO DEPARTED

THIS LIFE AUG. 4

1736 IN Ye 11 YEAR

OF HIS AGE

Deacon Benjamin Balch is my 1st cousin, 8 generations removed.  His father, Samuel Balch is the brother of my 7th great grandmother, Mary Balch (about 1667 - 1737) who married Nathaniel Stone.  Benjamin Balch married Mercy Leach on 27 June 1705 in Beverly, Massachusetts.  She is a descendant of my 10th great grandfather, Lawrence Leach (about 1583 - 1662) of Beverly.  Mercy and Benjamin had five daughters and Benjamin (above) who died young).  Two of the daughters died young, too, but I could not find their tombstones here in this cemetery. 

Benjamin Balch lived in the old Balch homestead which is still standing in at 448 Cabot Street in Beverly. 

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Benjamin Balch, died 1736 at age 11", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 8, 2016, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/11/tombstone-tuesday-benjamin-balch.html: accessed [access date]). 

"Old Planters Reunion", Beverly, Massachusetts

This forefathers plaque can be found at the Cabot House, Beverly Historical Society, in Beverly, Massachusetts

THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO CAME OVER IN THE FIRST EMIGRATION

AND WERE BY THE BLESSING OF GOD THE PLANTERS OF BEVERLY, FROM THE FIRST GRANT 1638

TO THE INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN 1668 OR THEREABOUTS, OCCUPIERS OF FREEHOLDS

AND CONTINUING TO ABIDE THEREON, THEIR CHILDREN INHERITING THE LAND, AND THE NAME

OF THEIR WIVES AND THE NUMBER OF THEIR CHILDREN.

JOHN BALCH                   MARGARY             3

HENRY BALEE                 DOROTHY             4

JACOB BARNEY              ELIZABETH           3

JOHN BATCHELDER       ELIZABETH           7

EDWARD BISHOP            MARY                     3

JOSHUA BISSON              MARTHA               5

JOHN BLACK                   SUSANNA              1

RICHARD BRACKENBERY          ELLEN      4

JEREMIAH BOOTMAN   HESTER                  6

THOMAS CHUBB             AVIS                        4

ROGER CONANT             SARAH                    7

SAMUEL CORNING         ELIZABETH           4

MIGHILL CRESSY            MARY                     1

CHRISTOPHER CROE      DELIVERANCE     2

WILLIAM DIXEY              ANNA                     8

RICHARD DODGE            EDITH                    7

WILLIAM DODGE            ELIZABETH          4

JOHN EDWARDS              MARY                     2

RALPH ELLINWOOD      ELLEN                    7

ANDREW ELLIOT            GRACE                   6

EDMUND GALE               SARAH                   4

JOHN GALLY                    FLORENCE            4

EDMUND GROVER         MARGARY             6

ROGER HASCALL           ELIZABETH           9

ROGER HASKINS            RUTH                      2

NICOLAS HAYWARD      ELIZABETH           6

HENRY HERRICK            EDE                          8

ROBERT HIBBERT          JOAN                       9

JOHN HILL                       ABIGAIL                 6

WILLIAM HOARE           DORCAS                  6

FRANCIS HOOPER          JULIAN                    2

ISAAC HULL                    SARAH                    3

NICOLAS LAGROVE      HANNAH                5

RICHARD LAMBERT      ESTHER                  2

HUGH LASKIN                 ALISE                      2

LAWRENCE LEACH        ELIZABETH           7

THOMAS LOTHROP        BETHIA                  8

JOHN LOVITT                  MARY                     5

ROBERT MORGAN         MARGARET           6

RICHARD OBER             ABIGAL                   9

JAMES PATCH                 HANNAH                5

JOHN PATCH                   ELIZABETH            6

NICOLAS PATCH            ELIZABETH            2

THOMAS PICKTON       ANN                          0

DANIEL RAY                  BETHIA                    2

JOHN RAYMENT           RACHEL                   6

WILLIAM RAYMENT   HANNAH                 5

JOSIAS ROOTES            SUSANA                  4

JOHN SALLOWES         HANNAH                 6

THOMAS SCRUGGS     MARGARY              3

RICHARD STACKHOUSE  SUSANA            1

JOHN STONE                  SARAH                   4

JEFFREY THISTLE        MARY                     2

JOHN THORNDIKE       ELIZABETH           6

OSMAND TRASK          MARY                   10

THOMAS TUCK             JOAN                      3

JOHN WEST                    MARY                    3

THOMAS WHITREDGE  FLORENCE         3

JOHN WOODBERY        AGNES                  5

WILLIAM WOODBERY ELIZABETH        7

PETER WOODIN             ELIZABETH        4

PETER WOOLFE             MARTHA             2

IN FILIAL PIETY THIS MEMORIAL TO THE

FATHERS AND MOTHERS WHO ENTERED

INTO AND POSSESSED THE LAND NOW

BEVERLY IS ERECTED WITH GRATITUDE

TO GOD FOR OUR ANCIENT AMERICAN

BIRTHRIGHT BY THEIR DESCENDANTS

APRIL 19, 1913

Every two years the Beverly Historical Society hosts the "Old Planters Reunion" for descendants of the first settlers in what is now Beverly, Massachusetts.   This weekend was a three day event that included historic house tours, cemetery visits, lectures, a visit to the city hall archivists, a dinner at the Hale Farm, the annual Balch and Woodbury family reunions, and other events. We had a wonderful time in Beverly meeting lots of cousins and having fun.  I'm descended of a lot of these "Old Planters" including BALCH, BLACK, DODGE, DIXEY, ELLINWOOD, GALE, HASKELL, HERRICK, LEACH, STONE, THORNDIKE, WEST, TUCK and WOODBURY.

Are you descended of one of the families listed above?  Or other early Beverly families? The best way to be informed about the next reunion is to join the Beverly Historical Society, and they will mail you information and registration forms for 2018.  (see the link to click on the reunion brochure PDF below)  I hope to see you at the next  "Old Planter" reunion!

Dan Driscoll, Beverly City Archives Volunteer
describes the vast range of documents in the city vaults

Your truly poring over town clerk records from the 1600s

The John Balch House on Cabot Street with newly renovated facade.
This house dates from the early 1600s

Reunion participants touring the Balch House

Salem State University Archaeology Professor Emerson "Tad" Baker
describes artifacts found during excavations at the Balch house. 

Dinner in the backyard of the Hale Farm.  It was built in 1694 by Rev. John Hale
who played a large part in the 1692 Salem Witch Hysteria. 

We toured the Old North Beverly burial ground and also the
well hidden Dodges Burial Ground, and found lots of ancestors!

We finished the weekend with a tour of the Beverly "Gold Coast"
on the schooner "Fame".

Lots of cousins helped to lift the sails for our tour of Beverly Harbor. 

Beverly Historical Society -  http://www.beverlyhistory.org/  

Old Planters Reunion 2016  PDF   http://www.beverlyhistory.org/misc_files/OldPlantersReunion_Early2016.pdf


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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, " "Old Planters Reunion", Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 26, 2016,  (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/09/old-planters-reunion-beverly.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Little 11 Year Old Benjamin Balch, died 1736 in Beverly, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Abbott Hale Cemetery in Beverly, Massachusetts

HERE LYES BURIED

the BODY OF

BENIAMIN BALCH

ONLY SON OF

DEAC. BENI. BALCH

& MARCY HIS WIFE

WHO DEPARTED 

THIS LIFE AUG. 4th

1736 IN Ye 11th YEAR

OF HIS AGE.

This little boy, Benjamin Balch, was the youngest child and only son of the six children born to Benjamin Balch and his wife Mercy Leach.  Of their six children, only three daughters- Mercy, Martha and Deborah, lived to marry and have their own children.  Little Benjamin was born 22 September 1725 in Beverly, and died 4 August 1736 in Beverly.  His father, Benjamin Balch, was the son of Samuel Balch (1651 - 1723), my 7th great grand uncle, and his wife Martha Newmarch (1653 - 1720).   I descend from Samuel's sister, Mary (1667 - 1737) who married Nathaniel Stone. 

See the Descendants of John Balch, by Robin Balch Hodgkins, Beverly Historical Society, 2014, page 14 for more about Benjamin Balch and Mercy Leach.   I am a descendant of both the BALCH and the LEACH families.

---------------------------

Published under a Creative Commons License
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Tombstone Tuesday ~ Little 11 Year Old Benjamin Balch, died 1736 in Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 26, 2016 (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/01/this-tombstone-was-photographed-at.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ GARDNER of Salem, Massachusetts

GARDNER

I have two Gardner lineages, and they might be connected.  I don’t know because one is a brick wall I have been working on for about twenty five years.  If anyone knows a connection or any information, please leave a comment or email vrojomit@gmail.com  

Thomas Gardner is my 9^th great grandfather.  He was an "Old Planter" with the Dorchester Company on Cape Ann in the early 1620s, and his family arrived in Massachusetts aboard the ship Zouch Phenix in 1624.  His first wife, Margaret, joined the church in Salem in 1639.  His second wife, Damaris, joined the church in 1641 as Shattuck, so the marriage to Gardner must be after that date. Two of her Shattuck children married two of Thomas Gardner’s children.   Damaris was probably a Quaker, or sympathetic to the Quakers because she appears in several records for being absent from meeting, or “present at a Quaker meeting”.   Damaris and Samuel Shattuck are my 10^th great grandparents in another lineage.   Damaris died one month before Thomas.

Thomas Gardner was the first superintendent of the Salem Colony, and was succeeded by Roger Conant.  He was licensed as an innkeeper in the 1660s but this was amended to retail liquor to strangers, not to townspeople in 1667.  He held many civic positions over the years in Salem ranging from constable and fence viewer to juror and selectman.   Many of his descendants lived in Salem, Boston and Nantucket.  There is a long list of his famous descendants on his page at Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Gardner_(planter) 

For more information on the descendants of Thomas Gardner:

Contact the Thomas Gardner Society, Inc http://thomasgardnersociety.org/  (also on Facebook)

The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants 1620 – 1633, by Robert Charles Anderson, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1995, Volume 2, pages 731- 737.

Descendants of Thomas Gardner: Cape Ann (1624 – 1626), Naumkeag/Salem (1626 – 1674), compiled by Jean W. Henderson, Silver City, New Mexico (privately printed), 1997

Gardner Memorial: A biographical and genealogical record of the descendants of Thomas Gardner, planter, Cape Ann, 1624, Salem (Naumkeag), 1626 – 1674, through his son Lieut. George Gardner, compiled by Frank Augustine Gardner, Salem, Mass, 1933.  Available online at the Hathi Trust Digital Library website http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015002304239;view=1up;seq=1

Thomas Gardner Family of Cape Ann, by Mary Walton Ferris, privately printed, 1943 (two volumes)

Thomas Gardner and his Nantucket descendants, by Howard Greene, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1917.

For more about Damaris (---) (Shattuck) Gardner, see The American Genealogist Volume 30, pages 165 -68)

My GARDNER genealogy:

Generation 1: Thomas Gardner, born about 1592 in England, died 29 December 1674 in Salem, Massachusetts; married first to Margaret, mother of his children; married second to Damaris, the widow of Samuel Shattuck.  Nine children.

Generation 2: Sarah Gardner, born about 1627 and died 5 April 1686 in Beverly, Massachusetts; married about 1650 to Benjamin Balch, son of John Balch and Margery Uknown.   He was born about 1628 in Beverly and died after January 1715 in Beverly. Eleven children.

Generation 3:  Mary Balch m. Nathaniel Stone

Generatoin 4: Josiah Stone m. Dorithy Fuller

Generation 5: Josiah Stone m. Martha Ashby

Generation 6: Josiah Stone m. Susanna Hix

Generation 7: Eunice Stone m. Peter Hoogerzeil

Generation 8: Peter Hoogerzeil m. Mary Etta Healey

Generation 9: Florence Etta Hoogerzeil m. Arthur Treadwell Hitchings

Generation 10: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents)

This may be a possible descendant of Thomas Gardner?

Generation 1:  Unknown Gardner, had two sons 1) Benjamin born 1720 possibly in Boston 2) Thomas Gardner born about 1722, died 22 September 1789 in Boston.  Both were ropemakers.

Generation 2:  Benjamin Gardner, born about 1720 and died 7 June 1797 in Salem; married first on 10 October 1751 at the West Church in Boston to Sarah Randall, daughter of Stephen Randall and Sarah Cannon.  She was the mother of three children.  Sarah Randall was born 16 October 1729 in Boston and died 1781 in Salem.  He married second on 2 November 1782 in Salem to Mary Briers, widow of Michael Ferguson and John Bassett.  She was the daughter of Elias Briars and Mary Pitman, baptized 29 December 1728 in Marblehead, and died 6 April 1787 in Salem.

Generation 3:  Mary Gardner, born in Boston, died before 1792; married on 24 June 1775 in Lynn, Massachusetts to Abijah Hitchings, son of Daniel Hitchings and Hannah Ingalls.  He was born 18 January 1753 in Lynn and died 27 March 1826 in Salem. Four children.

Generation 4: Abijah Hitchings m. Mary Cloutman

Generation 5: Abijah Hitchings m. Eliza Ann Treadwell

Generation 6: Abijah Franklin Hitchings m. Hannah Eliza Lewis

Generation 7: Arthur Treadwell Hitchings m. Florence Etta Hoogerzeil

Generation 8: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/01/surname-saturday-gardner-of-salem.html

Copyright © 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ BALCH of Beverly, Massachusetts

Balch House, Beverly, Massachusetts, circa 1679
operated by the Beverly Historical Society

BALCH

I’m glad to be writing about John Balch now, especially since I attended the Balch family reunion in Beverly, Massachusetts this fall, and at this meeting the newest edition of the Balch genealogy was debuted (see below).  It’s always fun to see your own name in print (check out pages 668 and 743!)  I’m also glad to write about the Balch family because the homestead of John Balch is still standing and is located just a few blocks from where I grew up in Beverly, Massachusetts.   For twelve generations in a row this lineage has lived in the city of Beverly.

John Balch arrived in the New World as part of the Dorchester Company, which came to Cape Ann, Massachusetts to fish.  Some of these men decided to stay and settle, and eventually joined the colony at Salem headed up by Conant. These families are known as “The Old Planters”.  According to Charles Edward Banks in his book Planters of the Commonwealth, John Balch arrived in 1624 aboard the Zouch Phenix, a consort of the Unity, with the Balch, Woodbury and Gardner families.  Other Old Planter families include Trask, Jeffrey, Palfrey, Allen, Norman and Knight.  I descend from the families highlighted in yellow.

John Balch was granted land in Salem and in the area that is now the city of Beverly, Massachusetts. This land was bequeathed to his wife Annis/Agnes and to his oldest son Benjamin (my 8^th great grandfather).  This is the land where the Balch house still stands, operated as a museum by the Beverly Historical Society.  Archeological digs in the front yard show that a much earlier house once stood there, probably John Balch’s original homestead.

Benjamin Balch married Sarah Gardner, the daughter of another Old Planter.  All his children were born in the Balch house.  He was married three times.  The Balch family was only slightly involved with the 1692 Salem witch hysteria.  There is a deposition by the wife of Benjamin Balch, Junior against Sarah Bishop, and a mention of the Balch family in a deposition by Mary Gage against Dorcas Hoar of Beverly.  Benjamin’s son, Freeborn Balch (1660 – 1729), married Miriam Moulton, who brother, John Moulton, was married to Elizabeth Corey, the daughter of Giles Corey who died while being tortured to confess as a witch on 19 September 1692 in Salem.

For the truly curious:

Descendants of John Balch, by Robin Balch Hodgkins (an update to Genealogy of the Balch Family in America by Galusha Balch, 1897), published by the Beverly Historical Society, Beverly, Massachusetts, 2014.

The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620 - 1633, by Robert Charles Anderson, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts, 1995, page 84 -86.

My Balch Genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Balch, born in England and died 25 May 1648 in Salem, Massachusetts; married first to  Margery Unknown (mother of his children), she died 1682; he married second to Annis Unknown.   Three children.

Generation 2:  Benjamin Balch, born about 1628 in Beverly, died after January 1715 in Beverly, married first about 1650 to Sarah Gardner (mother of his children), daughter of Thomas Gardner and Margaret Frier; married on 5 February 1688/9 in Marblehead to Abigail Clarke; married third 15 March 1691/2 in Beverly to Grace Mallet.  Eleven children.

Generation 3:  Mary Balch, born about 1667 in Beverly, died 12 March 1737 in Beverly; married on 26 March 1689 in Beverly to Nathaniel Stone, son of Nathaniel Stone and Remember Corning.  He was born 15 September 1663 in Salem and died 23 February 1741 in Beverly.  Nine children.

Generation 4: Josiah Stone m. Dorithy Fuller

Generation 5: Josiah Stone m. Martha Ashby

Generation 6: Josiah Stone m. Susanna Hix

Generation 7: Eunice Stone m. Peter Hoogerzeil

Generation 8:  Peter Hoogerzeil m. Mary Etta Healey

Generation 9: Florence Etta Hoogerzeil m. Arthur Treadwell Hitchings

Generation 10: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/12/surname-saturday-balch-of-beverly.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ STONE of Beverly, Massachusetts

STONE

John Stone (about 1595 – about 1670) arrived in Massachusetts in 1635 on board the ship Elizabeth,  with his two sons by his first wife, and with his second wife and her four Haskell children (including William Haskell (1618 – 1693) my 9^th great grandfather in another lineage).    They settled in Beverly, near the head of the Bass River near the present day Cummings Center (formerly the United States Shoe Machinery Company).  

John Stone ran the ferry across the Bass River from Beverly to Salem until 1639.  He removed to Beverly sometime before 1662, and was one of the founding members of the Beverly church in 1667.  His son, Nathaniel (about 1632 – 1718), my 8^th great grandfather, was a constable in Salem in 1667 and was a freeman in 1668.  He died intestate in 1718.   I descend from his two eldest sons, John (1661 – 1736) and Nathaniel (1663 – 1741)- my 7^th great grandfathers (see below).

For more information:

Chronicles of the Haskell Family, by Ira J. Haskell, Ellis Printing Co., Lynn, Massachusetts, 1943

Massachusetts and Maine Families in the Ancestry of Walter Goodwin Davis, “The Ancestry of Sarah Stone”,  Volume III, pages 377- 398, by Walter Goodwin Davis, Genealogical Publishing Co, Baltimore, 1996.

The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634 – 1635,  by Robert Charles Anderson, NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts, Volume VI, R-S, pages 552 – 553.

My STONE genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Stone, born about 1595 in England, died between 1667 – 1677; married first to Unknown.  He married second to Elinor, the widow of William Haskell.  Elinor died about 1650 in Beverly.

Generation 2:  Nathaniel Stone, born about 1632 in England, died 8 March 1718 in Salem, Massachusetts; married to Remember Corning, daughter of Samuel Corning and Elizabeth Huntley.  They had eleven children.

Lineage A:

Generation 3: John Stone, born 20 February 1661 in Salem, died 28 July 1736 in Beverly; married first to Sarah Gale, daughter of Edmund Gale and Sarah Dixey.  She was born 5 February 1666 in Salem and died before 1726.  Ten children.  John Stone was also married to Hester Gaines and Jane Stacy Stanley.

Generation 4:  Susanna Stone, born 20 August 1702 in Beverly, died 17 May 1751 in Beverly; married on 2 July 1723 in Beverly to Randall Preston, son of William Preston and Priscilla Randall.  He was born on 3 April 1702 in Beverly and died 27 March 1744 in Beverly. Twelve children.

Generation 5: William Presson m. Abigail Sargent

Generation 6: Lucy Presson m. James Andrews

Generation 7: Orpha Andrews m. Joseph Allen

Generation 8:  Joseph Gilman Allen m. Sarah Burnham Mears

Generation 9: Joseph Gilman Allen m. Carried Maude Batchelder

Generation 10: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandmother)

Lineage B:

Generation 3: Nathaniel Stone, born 14 September 1663 in Salem, died 23 February 1741 in Beverly; married on 26 March 1689 in Beverly to Mary Balch, daughter of Benjamin Balch and Sarah Gardner.  She was born about 1667 in Beverly, and died 12 March 1737 in Beverly.  Nine children.

Generation 4:  Josiah Stone, born 27 August 1681 in Beverly, died after 1757, married first to Dorithy Fuller, daughter of James Fuller and Mary Rindge.  She was born 18 December 1684 and died 1756 in Beverly. Six children.  Josiah Stone married second to Elizabeth Simmonds of Boxford, Massachusetts.

Generation 5:  Josiah Stone, born 18 October 1722 in Beverly, died before 20 March 1807 in Beverly; married on 27 December 1759 in Beverly to Martha Ashby, daughter of Ebenezer Ashby and Margery Unknown.  One child.   Josiah was previously married to Mary Davis of Wells, Maine.

Generation 6:  Captain Josiah Stone, born 25 December 1763 in Beverly, died 20 April 1848 in Beverly; married on 25 January 1759 to Susanna Hix, daughter of Abraham Hix and Sarah Matthews.  She was baptized on 17 January 1768 in Beverly, and died 30 May 1859 in Beverly.  Six children.  He was previously married to Mary Wales.

Generation 7:  Eunice Stone, baptized 15 May 1807 in Beverly, died 21 October 1866 in Beverly; married on 30 December 1828 in Beverly to Peter Hoogerzeil, son of Simon Hogerzeil and Lissa Van Epenhuizen.  He was born 28 October 1803 in Dordrecht, Holland and died 12 May 1889 in Beverly.  Six children.

Generation 8: Peter Hoogerziel m. Mary Etta Healey

Generation 9: Florence Etta Hoogerzeil m. Arthur Treadwell Hitchings

Generation 10: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/12/surname-saturday-stone-of-beverly.html 

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Balch Family Reunion at the “Old Planters Weekend” in Beverly, Massachusetts

The Balch House, Beverly, Massachusetts

I didn’t attend any of the events at the Old Planters Weekend, but I made it a point to get to the Balch family reunion yesterday.  There were many reasons why I wanted to go:

  1.  I’d never been to this reunion before.  In fact, I wasn’t even a member.  I took care of that as soon as I got there.  If you are interested in joining the Balch Family Association, contact the Beverly Historical Society.

  2.  The reunion was held at the Balch house, which dates back to the early 1600s.  It’s always very interesting to attend a family reunion at the home of an ancestor.  You can read about my first visit to the Balch house at this link HERE.  This house recently underwent some renovations, check out the newly restored windows and front door.

  3.  I grew up in a house a few blocks from the Balch house.  My great grandfather, grandfather and father all worked at the United Shoe Machinery Corporation (now the Cummings Center), which is on the other side of the railroad tracks behind the Balch House.  They all walked to work, and home for lunch, and back to work, and home for dinner for over sixty years.  Even my grandmother worked there as a “Rosie the Riveter” during WWII.  And they all walked right past the Balch House, but no one in my family had ever seen the interior until last year.

  4.  Two new books were debuted at this family meeting.  Both had never been seen before.  I’ll talk about them below.  The authors both spoke, both had ties to the Balch family and Balch house.

  5.  The Woodbury family reunion was held at the same house at the same time, and I’m also a Woodbury descendant.  I wasn’t the only one there with descent from both families.  There were quite a few of us, which makes sense if you’ve ever studied colonial New England history from Essex County, Massachusetts in the 1600s.  Who else did these families have to choose from when considering marriage?

The family meetings of the Balch and Woodburys took place in the back yard of the Balch House.  I did a lot of schmoozing and running back and forth to take a peek at as many charts and family trees as possible.  I think the folks who brought their big 10 generation fan charts were the most useful.  It was easy to glance at their charts to see if we had other kinships. Many folks had lots of other Beverly Old Planter families in their lineages, so I found a lot of cousins besides just Balch and Woodbury cousins.

Walter Beebe of Essex Restorations spoke for a long time, and answered questions, about the ongoing restoration work at the Balch House.  Recent window and door work was visible when the descendants toured the house after lunch.  The president of the Beverly Historical Society, Dan Lohnes, gave an explanation of the funds needed for ongoing projects, including starting a possible trust fund for the house.  By the end of the reunion a large sum had been pledged by Balch descendants.

Robin Balch Hodgkins’ newly revised Balch Genealogy was debuted at this meeting.  The original compiled genealogy was written by Dr. Galusha B. Balch in 1897.  Several years ago Robin put out a notice for descendants to contact her with their lineages and proofs.  All descendants were to be included, not just those with the Balch surname.  Yes, I’m in the book, with my lineage from my 2^nd great grandmother, great grandmother, grandmother, and mother back to the original planter John Balch.  My daughter is even in there, too!  (You don’t often find women in these compiled genealogies because they are often dropped because they don’t carry on the Balch name)  It was very fun to buy one of the first copies of this book, and to see my name in it, and to have it autographed by Robin.  The new book has over 12,000 Balch descendants.

The kitchen of the Balch House

After lunch and a brief tour of the Balch House by the curator of the Beverly Historical Society, Tad Emerson, the author of the brand new book A Storm of Witchcraft, spoke about his connections to the Balch house, and the Balch and Woodbury connections in his book.  Professor Emerson W. Baker (Tad) was the archeologist for Plimoth Plantation, and also for the Beverly Historical Society when they uncovered the remains of the original John Balch house under the lawn of the historical Balch House several years ago.  He wanted to write a book that traced the entire history of the 1692 Salem witch hysteria, since many books focus on just one or two angles of the story.  This new book traces the origins of the problems in the community, through the trials and to the years after 1692.  He even traces the story to today and considers the Salem witch trials one of the first American “governmental cover up stories”.  I can’t wait to read it, and yes, I got it autographed, too!

After a bit more schoozing with cousins, and exchanging contact information with some, we had a bit of time to revisit Beverly’s Central Cemetery where we were finally successful in finding another ancestor.  I’m still unsuccessful at finding one last ancestor, and I think the cemetery department has given me the wrong information on their maps.  That will mean that I will have to contact them again and take a FOURTH trip to Central Cemetery this year.  Sounds like fun!

For the truly curious:

A Storm of Witchcraft, by Emerson W. Baker, Oxford University Press, 2014

Balch Genealogy, compiled by Robin Balch Hodgkins, Beverly Historical Society, 2014  (Contact the Beverly Historical Society to buy a copy of this book info@beverlyhistory.org or call 978-922-1186.)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/09/balch-family-reunion-at-old-planters.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Old Planters Reunion, Beverly, Massachusetts 26 – 28 September 2014

The Balch House, Beverly, Massachusetts

Are you descended of Beverly’s 17^th century “Old Planters”?   Some of the first men to settle the North Shore of Massachusetts were Roger Conant, John Woodbury, William Trask, John Balch and Peter Palfrey, Walter Knight, William Allen, Thomas Gray, Tohn Tylly, Thomas Gardner, Richard Norman, William Jeffrey, and Captain William Trask.  These settlers were here before the Endicott and Winthrop groups arrived in Massachusetts.

If you are descended from these families, or are interested in early settlers in Beverly, you might want to join this conference and explore the history of the Old Planters.  There will be a Friday night networking dinner, lectures, walking tours, visits to First Period Houses and more.  On Saturday, September 27 there will be meetings of both the BALCH and WOODBURY family associations.

NEWS

The new Balch Genealogy by Robin Balch Hodgkins will be available at the Reunion.  Order by calling 978-922-1186 or send a check to the Beverly Historical Society, 117 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915  Hardcover copy $100/$80 members,  Flashdrive copy $40/ $32 members. Registered attendees of the Old Planter reunion will receive 10% off the purchase price.

Registration Form:

http://www.beverlyhistory.org/misc_files/OPRearly2014.pdf  

Balch Family Genealogy at Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/BalchFamilyGenealogy  

Books about the Old Planters:

The Old Planters of Beverly in Massachusetts and the Thousand Acre Grant of 1635, by Alice Gertrude Lapham, 1930

Ryal Side from the Early Days of Salem Colony, by Calvin P. Pierce, 1931

Genealogy of the Balch Families in America, by Galusha B. Balch  (this is the book Robin Balch Hodkins has just updated, see above)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/08/old-planters-reunion-beverly.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

A Visit to the Balch House, Beverly, Massachusetts

The Balch House

448 Cabot Street

Beverly, Massachusettts

The Balch House was built about 1679 in Beverly, Massachusetts.  John was my 9^th great grandfather, who was part of the Dorchester Company in 1624.  The Dorchester Company came to Gloucester, Massachusetts to fish, but was not successful.  Most of the company returned to England, but a few stayed and went to Salem. John Balch was granted the land in 1635 with the “Thousand Acre Grant”.   He died in Salem in 1648, and his son Benjamin Balch lived in Beverly (my 8^th great grandfather) and probably built this house.

I descend from Benjamin’s daughter Mary Balch (born about 1667 and died 1737) who married Nathaniel Stone.  This house stayed in Balch family until 1916.  It was given to the Beverly Historical Society in 1932.   We met the caretaker Nancy Peabody Hood, who has lived in the house and given tours for 43 years.  She is also a Balch descendant, and will celebrate her 90^th birthday soon.  Meeting Nancy was almost as interesting to me as seeing the Balch House.

I was born and grew up in Beverly.  I lived in a house where four generations of my family lived, about a half mile away on Dearborn Avenue.  My grandfather used to walk from home to work every day to the United Shoe Machinery Corporation, located right behind the Balch House.  Isn't that serendipity?

PS  It took me fifty years to see the inside of the Balch House.  

Mom signed the Balch House guest book in the keeping room, which is the original part of the house when it was built as a one room cabin with a loft. 

Nancy Peabody Hood showed us books for sale about Beverly, the Balch family, and even a large Balch family tree on a long, long scroll (for sale $8 by the Beverly Historical Society).  Yes, I bought the family tree chart, and several books, too. There is no better souvenir than a family pedigree! 

For information about touring the Balch House, see the Beverly Historical Society website:
http://www.beverlyhistory.org/houses/balch.html 

You can read more about the Balch House at Balchipedia, the Encyclopedia of Balch History:
http://balchipedia.wikidot.com/balchhouse

Tour the house on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9aZmNYQ3-E 
(this video is by a young student, who gives a great list of sources at the end of the video)

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The URL for this post is:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-visit-to-balch-house-beverly.html

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo