My Revolutionary War Ancestors - George Fint of Reading, Massachusetts

 

The George Flint House in North Reading, Mass.

This is the 12th post I have written about a Revolutionary War veteran ancestor.  George Flint, my 5th great grandfather, was the son of George Flint (b. 1686) and Jerusha Pope, born on 16 November 1728 in what is now the town of North Reading, Massachusetts.  His mother, Jerusha, was the daughter of Joseph Pope and Bethshua Folger (the sister to Abiah Folger, Benjamin Franklin's mother).  Joseph and Bethshua Pope were notorious witnesses in the 1692 Salem witch trials, and accused their neighbors John Proctor, Martha Corey, and Rebecca Nurse of witchcraft.  

On 13 November 1753 George Flint married Hannah Phelps in Andover, Massachusetts.  Hannah is a "brickwall ancestor", and I have not been able to identify her parents or her ancestors. Phelps is a very common name in Andover, Massachusetts.  George and Hannah had seven children between 1755 and 1770, including my 4th great grandmother, Phebe Flint, born on 8 March 1763 in North Reading.  Phebe married her cousin, John Flint, who was the son of Jonathan Flint and Lydia Proctor.  Jonathan Flint is the son of Mary Collston, also imprisoned for witchcraft along with her mother and grandmother.  Lydia Proctor is the granddaughter of John Proctor, who was accused by the Pope (see the paragraph above) and hanged as a witch on 19 August 1692.  This family tree is full of people who both survived and also died during the 1692 hysteria.  

George Flint served in the American Revolution as a Sargent.  He first answered the Lexington Alarm under Colonel David Green in the 2nd Middlesex County Regiment. David Green is the great grandson of my ancestor Thomas Green of Malden, Massachusetts.  He later served under Captains Amos Upton and John Flint (a cousin) in the 3rd Reading Company.  

George Flint died on 31 August 1808 in North Reading.  His wife, Hannah, had died three years earlier on 5 May 1805. I have not been able to locate a gravestone or burial site for either George or Hannah Flint. He apparently died intestate. 

For the truly curious:

Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, by William Richard Cutter, Volume 1, page 267.  

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, Volume 16, page 226. 

Other blog posts about my Revolutionary War Ancestors: 

#1 Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, NH:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-colonel.html  

#2  Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, MA:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-major.html  

#3 Jonathan Flint of Reading, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-jonathan.html   

#4 Daniel Glover of Marblehead, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-daniel.html  

#5 Levi Younger of Gloucester, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-levi.html  

#6 Nathaniel Treadwell of Ipswich, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-nathaniel.html 

#7 Captain Westley Burnham of Essex, Massachusetts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-captain.html  

#8 Abner Poland, Sr. of Essex, Massachusetts    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/05/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-abner_02014071889.html   

#9 Abner Poland, Jr. of Essex, Massachusetts    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/05/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-abner_02014071889.html  

#10  Robert Wilson of Danvers, Massachusetts    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-robert.html   

#11  Amos Burnham of Ipswich, Massachusetts   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/06/my-revolutionary-war-ancestors-amos.html   

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Ancestors - George Fint of Reading, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 21, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/07/my-revolutionary-war-ancestors-george.html: accessed [access date]). 

My Revolutionary War Patriots, Jonathan Flint of Reading, Massachusetts

 This is Patriot #3 in this series of blog posts about my ancestors in the Revolutionary War.

My 5th great grandfather Jonathan Flint was born on 11 August 1730 in Reading, Massachusetts, the son of Jonathan Flint (b. 1689) and Mary Collston Hart.  Mary was the daughter of Elizabeth Collston, who was only 16 when she was accused of being a witch during the 1692 witchcraft hysteria.  She was arrested along with her mother, Mary Duston Collston, and grandmother, Lydia Dustin.  Lydia died in prison in Cambridge, Massachusetts before being exhonorated. Elizabeth escaped twice, once from the Cambridge prison, and a second time while being transported to the courthouse in Charlestown.  

On 1 August 1751 Jonathan Flint married Lydia Proctor in Salem, Massachusetts.  By coincidence, Lydia was the great granddaughter of John Proctor who was hanged as a witch in 1692.  John Proctor was the protagonist in the famous play "The Crucible" written by Arthur Miller. Lydia had several relatives involved with the witch hysteria, including the grandparents William Buckley and Sarah Smith.  Her grandmother Sarah was arrested on 14 May 1692 for witchcraft and imprisoned. Two pastors spoke to her innocence, but she still spent eight months in prison until found not guilty in January 1693.  

Jonathan and Lydia had eight children between 1751 and 1767.  They lived in North Reading, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, not far from Lexington and Concord.  When the alarm rang out for the British regulars attacking Lexington on 19 April 1775 Jonathan was 44 years old.  As a corporal in Captain John Batchelder's Company, his militia responded to the alarm and marched towards Lexington.  The company arrived after the battle, but Jonathan re-enlisted again in 1776.  The musket he used in the American Revolution was supposed to be preserved in the collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society, but they have no record of this artifact. 

Captain John Batchelder's Company was part of Ebenezer Bridge's Regiment, also known as the 11th Massachusetts Regiment. This regiment fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill and served in the Siege of Boston until it was disbanded in December 1775. This regiment had eleven companies, including Batchelder's company.  I don't know if Jonathan Flint saw action at Bunker Hill. 

Jonathan returned to his life as a farmer in the North Precinct, now called North Reading and died around 1800 at about age 70.  The exact date is unknown and I have not found a grave for Jonathan.  I descend from his son, John Flint, who was born in North Reading on 3 April 1761 and died there on 26 August 1836. John married his cousin, Phebe Flint, daughter of George Flint and Hannah Phelps.  Phebe had eight children with John, and died in 1846.  John was also married to Mehitable McIntire, daughter of Archelaus McIntire and Abigail Felton, who had two children with John Flint.  

My 5th great grandmother, Lydia Proctor,  must have died before 1794.  I have found no death record for her, nor a grave site.  On 24 June 1794 Jonathan Flint remarried to Sarah Smith.  They had no children.  I have not found a death record for Sarah, or a grave site. She did not apply for a widow's pension for Jonathan's Revolutionary War service. 

For the truly curious:

A Genealogical Register of the Descendants of Thomas Flint, of Salem, by John Flint and John H. Stone, published by Warren F. Draper, Andover, Massachusetts, 1860, see pages 9 and 14. 

#1 in this series Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, New Hampshire:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-colonel.html  

#2 in this series Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Woburn, and Danvers (now Peabody), Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-major.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots, Jonathan Flint of Reading, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 24, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-jonathan.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Mariah (Eaton) Parker, d. 1826, Reading, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Reading, Massachusetts

ERECTED

IN

Memory of

Mrs.

MARIAH E. PARKER

~ Consort of Mr.

Gould Parker ~ 

who died July 10, 1826,

in the 22, year of her age.

------+-------

Faith led her gently downward to the tomb,

While fix'd on heav'n her meek, yet steady eye

Pierc'd the thick shade that deepen'd

round its gloom,

And caught a gleam of glory from 

on high.

Gould Parker, son of Colonel Nathan Parker and Lydia Stearns, was born in 1804.  He married Mariah Eaton on 16 December 1824, just a year and a half before she died of consumption.  Gould Parker remarried second to Mary Flint in 1829. 

Mariah, baptized in Reading on 25 November 1804 was the daughter of Timothy Eaton and Lydia Bachelor, who were married in Reading on 16 June 1791.  

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Mariah (Eaton) Parker, d. 1826, Reading, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 5, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/06/tombstone-tuesday-mariah-eaton-parker-d.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ HART of Watertown, Reading and Lynnfield, Massachusetts

Examination of a Witch
T.H. Matteson, 1853

HART / HARTT / HARTE

There was a Samuel Hart living in Lynn, Massachusetts at the same time as Isaac Hart, but they are not known to be kin – even though Isaac Hart had a son named Samuel.

Isaac Hart, my 8th great grandfather, arrived in Watertown aboard The Rose in 1636 as the servant to Richard Carver.  In 1642 he had five acres in Watertown. He then removed to Reading by 1648 when his wife was listed as member of the church.  He had married Elizabeth Hutchinson, sometimes recorded as Hutchins, the daughter of Thomas Hutchins and Anne Browne.  Isaac bought land from his father-in-law near the border of the Saugus, Reading and Lynnfield lines, which he later left to his son Samuel.  The Isaac Hart homestead is still standing in Lynn. 

Elizabeth was brought before her church in Reading in 1652 for not harboring travelers that had requested aide.  In 1655 she was brought before the Puritan church deacons again for “contempt of authority”.   Elizabeth Hart was accused of being a witch in March of 1692.  In October her son, Thomas, petitioned for his mother’s innocence, but she was not released until December.

I descend from Isaac’s son Adam.  Adam’s sister, Deborah Hart, married my 7^th great uncle, Benjamin Proctor. I descend from Benjamin’s two siblings, Abigail Proctor Varney (1639 – 1732) and John Proctor (1631 – 1692) who was hanged as a witch during the witch hysteria.

Adam Hart, my 7th great grandfather,  married Elizabeth Collston, daughter of Adam Collston and Mary Dustin.  Elizabeth, her mother, aunt, and grandmother were all accused and arrested for witchcraft in 1692.  Elizabeth, only sixteen years old, escaped imprisonment twice!  Adam married second to Abigail Deal, and third to Dorcas Brown. .  You can read more about Elizabeth and the Collston family at this link: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-collston-of-reading.html

Adam Hart was named the father of Elizabeth Collston's illegitimate baby a short time before they married.  After marriage about 1704, he was named the baby's guardian, but the child was known in records as Mary COLLSTON not Mary Hart.  See Genealogical History of the town of Reading, Mass., by Hon. Lilley Eaton, page 85. 

Witchcraft accusations abound in this family!  In 1692 Adam Hart's mother, his wife and the women of her family were all accused of witchcraft and imprisoned.  And these families of witch trial victims tended to intermarry.  Adam and Elizabeth’s grandson, Jonathan Flint (my 5^th great grandfather) married Lydia Proctor, the great granddaughter of the John Proctor, mentioned above, who was hanged in 1692.  But strangely, Jonathan’s own grandfather was William Dounton, who was infamously known as the cruel jailor of the Salem Gaol where many victims were imprisoned.  Some intermarriages cannot be explained.

Some HART resources:

Genealogical History of Samuel Hartt from London, England to Lynn, Mass., 1640 And Descendants, by James Morrison Hart, Pasadena, CA, 1903

“Isaac Hart and Samuel Hart”, The Essex Genealogist, Volume 18, pages 40 – 46.

My HART genealogy:

Generation 1:  Isaac Hart, born about 1614 in England, died 10 February 1699 in Lynnfield, Massachusetts married about 1650 to Elizabeth Hutchinson, daughter of Thomas Hutchinson and Anne Browne.  She died 28 November 1700.  Seven children.

Generation 2:  Adam Hart, born 4 February 1666 in Lynnfield, died 17 September 1745 in Reading; married about 1703 to Elizabeth Collston, daughter of Adam Collston and Mary Dustin.  She was born 9 October 1676.  Two children.

Generation 3:  Mary Collston, born 22 September 1704 in Reading; married on 18 February 1723 in Reading to Jonathan Flint, son of Thomas Flint and Mary Dounton.  He was born 8 November 1689 in Salem Village (now Danvers, Massachusetts).  Two children.

Generation 4: Jonathan Flint, born 11 August 1730 in Reading, died 1800 in Reading; married on 1 August 1751 in Salem to Lydia Proctor, daughter of John Proctor and Lydia Waters.  She was born 31 March 1730 in Salem.  Eight children.

Generation 5:  John Flint, born 3 April 1761 in North Reading, died 26 August 1836 in North Reading; married Phebe Flint as his second wife.  She was the daughter of George Flint and Hannah Phelps, born 8 March 1763 in North Reading, died December 1846 in North Reading.  Eight children.

Generation 6: Olive Flint, born 27 July 1805 in North Reading, died 26 November 1875 in Peabody, Massachusetts; married on 3 September 1826 in Reading to Luther Simonds Munroe.  He was the son of Andrew Munroe and Ruth Simonds, born 10 May 1805 in Danvers, died 23 December 1851 in Danvers.  Six children.

Generation 7: Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilson

Generation 8:  Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 9: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

UPDATE 26 October 2022 - 

Click here for a link to "My Hartt - The Descendants of Isaac and Elizabeth Hartt"  http://www.myhartt.com/  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ HART of Watertown, Reading and Lynnfield, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 19, 2016, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/11/surname-saturday-hart-of-watertown.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ HUTCHINSON of Salem Village, Massachusetts

HUTCHINSON

There were several HUTCHINSON families in early Massachusetts.  William Hutchinson (1586 – 1641) was the husband of Anne Marbury, who was exiled for religious reasons.  There was a George Hutchinson in Charlestown, and a Samuel Hutchinson in Andover.  There was a Hutchinson family in Reading, which I will write about in another “Surname Saturday” because Elizabeth Hutchinson, wife of Isaac Hart (1614 – 1699) is my 8^th great grandmother. 

This post is about Richard Hutchinson (1602 – 1682) who was born in Nottinghamshire, England and had three wives.  His first wife,  Alice, was the mother of his children.  She came to England with Richard in 1634 with the four eldest children.  They settled in Salem Village, which is now the town of Danvers and had four more children.  Alice died about 1668 and Richard remarried Susanna, widow of Samuel Archard.  He married a third time to Sarah, the widow of James Standish when he was about 79 years old.  She survived him to remarry to Thomas Roots of Manchester. 

The first mention of Richard Hutchinson in the records recognizes him for owning one of the first plows.  He was granted one hundred and forty acres of land.  April 17, 1637, it was voted "that in case Ric'd Huchenson shall sett up plowing within 2 years he may haue 20 acres more to bee added to his pportion." 

Richard Hutchinson’s will mentions his “servant” Black Peter, who was probably not a slave since he was granted land for himself and his heirs (see below):

In the name of God Amen, I Richard Hutchinson, of the towne of Salem bein of pfect (perfect) memorye, & vnderstanding & Thought weake in body by Reason of age, doe make this my last will & testament.

1. First I doe bequeath my soule into the hands of the Lord whoe gave it when it shall please him to call for it, and my body to be decently buried by my exectutor with assured hopes of a resurection.

2. In relation to my deare & loueing wife, my will is that shee shall be & remaine at my son Joseph Hutchinson house during her natural life if shee see cause there to be prouided for with convenient house roome meat drink & lodging & all other things whatsoeuer that may be comfortable & suitable for one of her age, during her life, and ten shillings yearly to be at her dispose to be paid by him in money or butter, or if shee see cause to remoue from thence & to live in any other place then shee shall haue all that estate, which was in her hands, when I marryed her excepting that pcell (parcel) of land which Samuel Leach of Manchester had, which was for the paiment of her debt, the sd estate to be at her dispose to whome soeeuer shee pleaseth, But if shee remaine at my son Hutchensons house during her life, then the said estate shalbe in the hands of my executor & be fully at his dispose only her wearing apparrell shalbe at her liberty to dispose of at her decease.

2ly. In respect of my lands my will is

1. That my sonn in law Anthony Ashby & my daughter Abigaile his wife, shall have twenty Acres of land lying by the hill, called Hathorne's Hill & lying the whole length of my land, this land being free to them theire heirs & assignes.

2. I giue to my sonn in law Daniell Bordman & my daughter Hanah his wife theire heirs or assignes, twenty acres of land, lying by and adjoyning to the land aboue expressed & lying the whole length of my land.

3. I giue to my Grand children Bethiah Hutchenson & Sarah Hadlock & each of them ten acres free to them & their assignes, lying by & adjoining to the land, aboue expressed & lying the whole length of the land.

4. I giue vnto black Peter my seruant, four acres of land lying by & adjoyning to the land aboue expressed to him & his heires, or if he [p. 100] haue noe heires then it shall returne to my exectuor his heires & assignes.

5. I give unto my son in law nathaniell Putnam & my son in law Thomas Hale & my son in law James Hadlock, each of them forty shillings to be paide by my executor within two years after my decease.

6. Alsoe I give to my son in law Daniell Bordman & Anthony Asby each of them forty shillings, to be pd. by my exector within two years after my decease, all ye sd. aboue written sums to be pd. in comon pay at price currant.

7. Lastly I make my son Joseph Hutchenson sole exector to this my last will & testament enjoyning him his heirs & assignes to pay all my debts and leagacies & I doe freely give vnto him his heirs or assignes peeter my seruant & all the rest of my estate both moueable & Imoueable. This is my last will & testament made by me this 19 January in ye yeare of our Lord one thousand six hundred seaventy nine.

This clause (twenty acres of land betweene the 28 & 29 line) interlined before the signing thereof.

Witness

James Baily

Joseph mazury.  His mark

Richard H Hutchenson [seal]

More resources for Richard Hutchinson:

The Hutchinson Family: or the Descendants of Barnard Hutchinson of Cowlam, England, by Perley Derby, Essex Institute Press, 1870, Salem, Masssachusetts

A Genealogy of the Hutchinson Family of Yorkshire, by Joseph Lemuel Chester, 1868 (available online at Internet Archive)

The Ancestry of Margaret Brooks Threlfall, by John Brooks Threlfall, 1985 (unpaged) Ancestor #846

The Story of the Hutchinsons, by John Wallace Hutchinson, Volume 1, 1896

Pioneers of Massachusetts, by Charles Henry Pope, 1900

The website "The Descendants of Richard Hutchinson"  http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rhutch/

There are 69 books about HUTCHINSON in the NEHGS card catalog. There are many famous HUTCHINSONs descended from Richard of Salem, including the Hutchinson family singers of Milford, New Hampshire if whom I wrote HERE and HERE.  

My Hutchinson genealogy:

Generation 1: Richard Hutchinson, born about 1602, died 26 September 1682 in Salem Village, Massachusetts; married as his first wife to Alice Bosworth, daughter of Joseph Bosworth, 7 December 1627 in Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire, England.  Eight children.  He also married Susanna, widow of Samuel Archer in October 1668, and Sarah, widow of James Standish.

Generation 2: Elizabeth Hutchinson, baptized on 30 August 1629 in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, England, died 24 June 1688 in Salem; married on 3 September 1652 in Salem to Nathaniel Putnam, son of John Putnam and Priscilla Gould.  He was born 3 September 1619 in Wingrove, Buckinghamshire, England and died 23 July 1700 in Salem Village.  Seven children.

Generation 3: Elizabeth Putnam m. George Flint

Generation 4: George Flint m. Jerusha Pope

Generation 5: George Flint m. Hannah Phelps

Generation 6: Phebe Flint m. John Flint

Generation 7: Olive Flint m. Luther Simonds Munroe

Generation 8: Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 9:  Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 10:  Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ HUTCHINSON of Salem Village, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 5, 2016,  

( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/11/surname-saturday-hutchinson-of-salem.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ PUTNAM of Salem, Massachusetts

Map of Salem Village
from A Storm of Witchcraft, page 121
note all the PUTNAM families on this map

PUTNAM

In Salem Possessed, a book by history professors Boyer and Nissenbaum, [page 111], John Putnam was first granted 100 acres in Salem in 1641.  Little by little he bought and was granted more land until he owned almost 800 acres at the time of his death in 1662.  He was one of the most wealthy land owners in Salem.  Then two of his sons lost much of his fortune. Was this the cause of his family’s involvement with so many accusations during the 1692 witch hysteria?

His second son, Nathaniel (1619 – 1700) is my 9^th great grandfather.  He was one of the wealthiest men in Salem, and he owned an interest in the ironworks at Rowley with his brother John.  About 1674 the ironworks burned to the ground, and there was a lot of paperwork and litigation in the Essex County records.  The Putnam brothers lost a lot of money, and turned back to farming their extensive lands.  Nathaniel Putnam owned the “Putnam Cupboard” made by James Symonds, a famous Salem furniture maker, now on display at the Peabody Essex Museum. This is amusing to me because two generations later one of Nathaniel Putnam’s descendants married Jerusha Pope, whose parents owned the “Pope Chest”, which was also attributed to Symonds and also on display at the PEM!

The Putnams were on both sides of the witch hysteria.  Their cousin was Ann Putnam, one of the main accusers.  They also signed a petition for the innocence of Rebecca Nurse.  There are many books and even several movies that dramatize the Putnam family during this sad period in history.  There is too much about the Putnams, especially Ann Putnam, Sr. and Jr. to include here in a short blog post, but if you are interested in learning more I will list some books below.  Ann Putnam, Jr. (1679 - 1716)

Nathaniel’s daughter, Elizabeth Putnam (1662 – 1697) married George Flint who removed to North Reading as a farmer.  Their nephew, Daniel Putnam, was the first minister of their church at the North Parish.  The Flint house was a garrison since this area, called the North Precinct, was considered the frontier.  They lived five miles from the meeting house.  There is a curious story about two little daughters who were left home while the family traveled to church on the Sabbath, and one little girl ended up shooting the other with a pistol.  Such accidents are not new, they have probably been happening since firearms were invented.

Some PUTNAM resources:

Chase- Wigglesworth Genealogy, by Alice Crane Williamson, 1990, pages 341-356

The American Genealogist 68: 77 – 83, 69: 212 – 218

A History of the Putnam Family, by Eben Putnam, 1891  (online at Hathi Trust)

History of Salem, Volume 2, by Sidney Perley, 1926 (online at Hathi Trust)

and for more about the PUTNAM family and the witch trials:

Salem Possessed, by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, 1974

A Storm of Witchcraft, by Emerson W. Baker, 2014  (online at Google Books)

The Enemy Within, by John Demos, 2008

Currents of Malice, by Persis McMillen, 1990

for legal evidence in the Salem witch hunt see Salem Village Witchcraft: A Documentary History of Local Conflict in Colonial New England, by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, 1972    

and also see

Records of the Salem Witch Hunt, edited by Bernard Rosenthal, 2009  (all the legal documents in chronological order) 

My PUTNAM genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Putnam, son of Nicholas Putnam and Margaret Goodspeed, was baptized on 17 January 1579/80 in Wingrove or Aston Abbots, Buckinghamshire, England, died 30 December 1662 in Salem, Massachusetts; married about 1611 in Buckinghamshire to Priscilla Gould, daughter of Richard Gould and Elizabeth Young.  She was born about 1585.  Four children.

Generation 2:  Nathaniel Putnam, born 3 September 1619 in Wingrove, died 23 July 1700 in Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts; married on 3 September 1652 in Salem to Elizabeth Hutchinson, daughter of Richard Hutchinson and Alice.  She was baptized on 30 August 1629 in Nottinghamshire, England and died 24 June 1688 in Salem.  Seven children.

Generation 3: Elizabeth Putnam, born 11 August 1662 in Salem, died 6 March 1697 in Salem, Village; married on 2 March 1679 in Salem to George Flint, son of Thomas Flint and Ann.  He was born 6 January 1652 in Salem, and died 23 June 1720 in the North Precinct (now the town of Reading).  Ten children.

Generation 4:  George Flint m. Jerusha Pope

Generation 5:  George Flint m. Hannah Phelps

Generation 6:  Phebe Flint m. John Flint

Generation 7:   Olive Flint m. Luther Simonds Munroe

Generation 8:  Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 9:  Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 10:  Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ PUTNAM of Salem, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 29, 2016,  (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/10/surname-saturday-putnam-of-salem.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ POPE of Salem, Massachusetts

The Pope Chest, dated 1679
At the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts

POPE

The English origins of Joseph Pope, my 8^th great grandfather,  are unknown, but the records in Salem are full of stories about him and his family.  He arrived in Massachusetts in 1634 aboard the ship Mary and John and settled in Salem, Massachusetts.  He joined the First Church (Puritan) in 1636, but he was also in the first group of early Quakers in Salem.  There is a long list of fines levied against him in the court records, for absence from church until they were finally excommunicated.  Many other Quakers in Salem were whipped and jailed.

The Quaker persecution in Salem ended when Samuel Shattuck went to London in 1661 to deliver a plea to King Charles II, who sent a mandamus to Massachusetts and ended the Quaker persecutions.  It is unknown whether or not Shattuck is related to Joseph Pope.  Joseph named “my bothers George and Richard and Joseph Gardner and cousin Samuell Shatok the elder to be overseers”  of his last will and testament.  All these families were Quaker.  In a TAG article in 1954 the author was unable to find a genealogical relationship between these families [The American Genealogist, Volume 30: 164-66]

Joseph Pope, Jr. is my 7^th great grandfather.  He was the constable for Salem Village (now the town of Danvers) in 1683, and was one of the more wealthy citizens according to a tax list.  He ran a saw mill with his brother, Benjamin, and brother-in-law, Joshua Buffum.  The Buffums were also a Salem Quaker family (another sister, Hannah Pope, married Joshua’s brother, Caleb Buffum).   I descend from Joshua’s sister, Deborah Buffum, who married Robert Wilson (my 9^th great grandparents) and was whipped for appearing  “naked” in the Puritan church to protest these persecutions of the Quakers (she was also probably suffering from some sort of mental illness).   Click HERE for that story.

Joseph Pope, Jr. and his bride, Bethshua Folger, were married in 1679.  This year, and their initials, was carved into a valuables chest attributed to the Symonds furniture shop of Salem.   This chest was passed on in the family as the “Franklin Chest” because Joseph and Bethshua Pope were the uncle and aunt to Benjamin Franklin (Bethshua’s sister, Abiah, was Benjamin Franklin’s mother).   When the chest was sold at a Christies Auction on 20 January 2000 it was bought by the Peabody Essex Museum for a record breaking $2,422,500.   Now it is on display as the “Pope Chest”.  To read more about this chest, click HERE. 

The Popes were witnesses against some of their Salem neighbors in the 1692 Salem witch trials.  Perhaps this was payback for  all the earlier the Quaker persecutions?  Besides being connected to the infamous Witch Hysteria, they were also related to founding father Benjamin Franklin.  Bethshua's sister, Abiah Folger, was Franklin's mother.  This branch of my family tree touches a lot of interesting American history! 

For more information on the Pope family:

The Great Migration, by Robert Charles Anderson, NEHGS, 2007, Volume V, pages 487-491.

A History of the Dorchester Pope Family, 1634 – 1888 by Charles Henry Pope, (Boston 1888) pages 299 – 301.

Also see The Records of the First Church in Salem, Massachusetts, 1629 -1736, and The Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts (too many to list here, see the sketch at The Great Migration for details on the volumes and page numbers)

Also, please see last week's "Surname Saturday" post on the FOLGER family at this link:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/surname-saturday-folger-of-watertown.html

My POPE genealogy:

Generation 1:  Joseph Pope, born about 1606 in England, died 1667 in Salem, Massachusetts; married first to Damaris Unknown (mother of 8 children); married second to Gertrude Unknown.  She died 27 April 1667 in Salem.

Generation 2:  Joseph Pope, baptized 27 October 1650 in Salem, Massachusetts, died in February 1712 in Salem; married in 1679 in Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts to Bethshua Folger, daughter of Peter Folger and Mary Merrill.  She was born about 1650 on Nantucket.  Nine children.

Generation 3:  Jerusha Pope, born 1 April 1695 in Salem, died 29 June 1781; married on 9 July 1713 to George Flint, son of George Flint and Elizabeth Putnam.  He was born on 1 April 1686 in Reading, Massachusetts. Seven children.

Generation 4:  George Flint m. Hannah Phelps 

Generation 5:  Phebe Flint m. John Flint

Generation 6:  Olive Flint m. Luther Simonds Munroe

Generation 7:  Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 8: Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 9: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/surname-saturday-pope-of-salem.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Luther and Olive Munroe, Peabody, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Monumental Cemetery in Peabody, Massachusetts

LUTHER S. MUNROE

DIED

Dec. 21, 1851

Aged 46

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Blessed are the dead who die

in the Lord

OLIVE

Wife of

Luther S. Munroe

Died

Nov. 26, 1875

Aged 70 yrs.

Reached, we trust, an heavenly home

And they Savior's blest abode

Luther Simonds Munroe is my 3rd great grandfather.  He was the son of Andrew Munroe, a Revolutionary War patriot, and Ruth Simonds, born 10 May 1805 in Danvers, Massachusetts.  He was a "huckster", with a newspaper stand about two blocks from this cemetery in Peabody Square. He died young, at age 46, on 23 December 1851.

His had married on 3 September 1826 in Reading, Massachusetts to Olive Flint.  She was the daughter of John Flint and Phebe Flint (second cousins).  They had six children born in Danvers and Salem, Massachusetts.

Several years ago a distant Munroe cousin contacted me via the internet about genealogy.  She lived in Hudson, New Hampshire, right next door to me in Londonderry.  We have met several times to exchange Munroe information.  She descends from Luther and Olive's son, William Calvin Munroe (1833-1891).  I descend from his elder sister, Phebe Cross Munroe (1830 - 1895). She took me to Peabody to visit the Monumental Cemetery, where many Munroes and Wilkinsons are buried.  We had a fun day together exploring the cemetery with her dog Hamm, and we even had time to drive over to Farnham's in Essex for fried clams for lunch.

Children of Luther and Olive Munroe:

  1.  William Calvin Munroe, born 20 March 1827 in Danvers, died 9 September 1830 in Danvers

  2.  Luther Simonds Munroe, Jr., born 31 December 1823 in Reading, no further information

  3.  Phebe Cross Munroe, born 28 October 1830 in Danvers, died 31 January 1895 in Salem; married Robert Wilson Wilkinson

   4.  William Calvin Munroe, born 21 December 1833, died 10 August 1891 in Salem; married Adeline Bradley Jones.

   5.  Olivia Adeline Munroe, born 18 January 1836 in Salem, died 29 November 1905 in Charlestown, Massachusetts; married first to Corydon B. Green, married second to John Henry Grout.

   6.  George Warren Munroe, born 2 August 1840 in Salem, died on 2 February 1867 in Danvers of consumption, unmarried at age 26.  He is buried with a Civil War marker.  He served as a private in Co. A of the 59th Infantry Regiment of Massachusetts between 16 November 1863 and 11 May 1865.

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/02/tombstone-tuesday-mr-and-mrs-isaac.html 

Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

He married his Step Sister?

Back when I was a teen aged kid, in the 1970's, before computers and the internet, I started working on my family history.   As a teenager, I was very intimidated by the librarians and archivists in some repositories.  They definitely did not like genealogists, and they did not like children.  I had to get permission to step inside several archives, including interviews.  The staff at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester often stopped to ask me what I was doing in the building, but I had a badge and my name was on the “researcher” list when I was fifteen. 

 It was difficult at times to untangle what I was reading in the vital records.  Can you imagine finding some sort of mystery and not having Twitter, Facebook or email to instantly consult with fellow genealogists?   None of my teen friends were helpful, and the genealogy class I attended was full of retired people who were new at genealogy, too.  I didn't know a single experienced genealogist, except my genealogy teacher.  There were no genealogy clubs.  I was on my own!

And so, upon studying my  5x great grandmother, I found her marriage record to be very confusing.  Working backwards from my 4x great grandparents, Andrew Munroe and Ruth Simonds, I saw that they were married on 22 March 1785 in Woburn (now Burlington), Massachusetts.   Ruth’s parents were Caleb Simonds and Susanna Converse.  Andrew’s parents were listed as Andrew Munroe and Mary Simonds.   In trying to find Mary’s marriage and parents, I ran into problems. 

It turned out that Mary Simonds was really Mary Mixer, daughter of Joseph Mixer and Mary Ball and the widow of Daniel Simonds.  She was married to Daniel Simonds in 1749, to Andrew Munroe in 1763 (and had a son, Andrew, jr.), and to Caleb Simonds (cousin to Daniel) in 1774.   Caleb Simonds was married twice, first to Susanna Converse in 1746 (and had a daughter Ruth), and then to Mary (Mixer) Munroe. 

Yes, Ruth Simonds married her step brother.  Eleven years after Caleb and Mary married, she married Andrew Munroe, Jr. on 22 March 1785. 

Susanna Converse m. Caleb Simonds  m. Mary Mixer m. Andrew Munroe

                                  I                                                             I

                            Ruth Simonds  m.  Andrew Munroe, Jr.

                                                   I

                                     Luther Simonds Munroe

                                   (my 3x great grandfather)

Not only was this eye brow raising to me at age fifteen, it was difficult to sort out on my own.  However, it slowly unraveled, and was quite a relief to find that everything worked out without any incestuous marriages. 

Then I found out that Luther Simonds Munroe had married Olive Flint in 1826, and her parents were named John Flint and Phebe Flint.   Can’t you just hear me saying “Here we go again!” 

Since this time, I've found several cases of step siblings marrying in my family tree.  Also first cousins marrying, lots of second cousins and third cousins marrying, and siblings marrying the widowed spouse of a sibling.   I think I've seen it all, over and over, which is not unusual in early colonial New England, and probably not unusual anywhere else.

Click here for my Simonds lineage:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/12/surname-saturday-simonds-of-woburn.html

Click here for my Mixer lineage:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/09/surname-saturday-mixer-of-watertown.html

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "He married his Step Sister?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 28, 2013, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/he-married-his-step-sister.html: accessed [access date]). 

My Top Ten Brickwall Problem Ancestors

This is a shot in the dark, but last September Diane Boumenot posted her top ten genealogy research problems HERE and she has already solved two of them.   Readers and Google searchers found her post and sent her enough information or clues to break down those genealogical brickwalls.  So… here is my list.  I’m hoping for a reader or distant cousin to read this and help me to solve a few genealogy mysteries, too!

Diane listed the skills and strategies she thought she might need to solve her research problems.  This is a good idea, and working through this list has got me thinking of new ways to attack these mysteries.  Maybe I’ll solve them at least one brickwall before I get a mysterious “cousin connection” email or comment?

My 10 “Brickwall” ancestors:

1.   Elizabeth Lambert (about 1775 – 1834) is my 5x great grandmother.  She married Owen Jones, a native of Wales and son of a British customs officer, on 11 May 1793 at the Second Baptist Church in Boston, Massachusetts.  They lived in the North End, and had six daughters who were described as debutantes and all married very well.  I’m hoping she is from a well-connected, wealthy family in Boston who left lots of good records.  Unfortunately, there were many Lambert/Lombard/Lumbard/Lamport families in Boston at this time, and I have searched them all for Elizabeth.  A consultation with a professional genealogist at a conference leads me to believe I should search probate and deeds for Elizabeth among the many Lambert families.

One clue- Elizabeth had a sister, Sarah, who married John Dark/Dargue on 1 December  1793 in Boston.  Elizabeth (Lambert) Jones named her first daughter Sarah Dargue Jones in her honor.  The sister Sarah (Lambert) Dargue died on 3 September 1796, no parents listed.

Problem- I’ve never really done probate or deed research, so this will be my first test case with these types of records.  Searching for Jones records in the courthouse won’t be fun, neither will it be fun searching through all those Lambert/Lombard/Lumbard/Lamport etc. variations.  Elizabeth Lambert was born at about the time of the Boston siege during the American Revolution (many residents fled the city), so she may have been born somewhere else in Massachusetts or New England.

2.  Margaret Welch (about 1796 – 1860) is my 4x great grandmother.  Her death record in Chichester, New Hampshire does not name her parents.  She married Richard Locke on 21 October 1823 in Chichester.   Her children’s marriage and death records say she was born in Kittery, Maine.  Census records say she was born in Maine.

Problem - I cannot find a Welch/Welsh family at all that might be her possible parents or ancestors.  This is the opposite of the Elizabeth Lambert above where I have too many possibilities.  Perhaps searching York County, Maine probate and deeds would work, like my brickwall #1? 

3.  Nancy Thompson (about 1804 – after 1847) is my 4x great grandmother.  She married Jonathan Batchelder on 11 February 1822 in Belmont, New Hampshire.  Her children’s marriage and death records say that she was born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire.  There were several Thompson families in Gilmanton and Belmont (contiguous towns) but no record of Nancy/Ann/Hannah.  Jonathan Batchelder died in the Concord State Hospital after being declared insane.  I have his account book, and inside it I found guardianship papers dated 1847 making “Nancy Batchelder” the guardian of her minor daughter, Pauline.  No further trace of Nancy can be found in the New Hampshire vital records or census records.

Problem – Did Nancy remarry? Pauline’s death record name’s her mother as “Nancy Tompson”.  Is that a clue? The Gilmanton Historical Society is stumped.   I’ve searched all the Thompson/Tompson genealogies and vital records.  Perhaps I’ll need another probate and deeds research trip to Belknap County, New Hampshire?

4. Hannah Phelps (1728 – 1805) is my 5x great grandmother.  She married George Flint on 13 November 1753 in Andover, Massachusetts.    I’m not even sure of her surname, it was given as “Phelps” in a compiled Flint genealogy.  This is a real stumper.  I’ve very little information on George Flint, too, except what was found in the Flint book.

5. David Lyons (about 1759 – 1812) is my 5x great grandfather.  He was from Connecticut and removed to Cornwallis, Nova Scotia where he appears in many land records.  He was married in Cornwallis on 25 May 1779 to Elizabeth Ratchford.   I have no idea where he came from in Connecticut, and few clues.  I don’t know if he was a planter or a Loyalist.  Another real stumper.

6. James Radsford/Ratchford  b. about 1719 is my 7x great grandfather.  He married Margaret Ball on 26 December 1738 in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts.  They had five sons and all their births are recorded in the Bridgewater vital records.  This surname seems to have a lot of variations, and perhaps it was a corruption of some other name altogether?  There are no Radsfords or Ratchfords in earlier Massachusetts records.  No death record has been found.

7.  Margaret Ball (see above)  I have no birth or death record on Margaret, just a marriage and her name listed on her children’s births as “Margaret”. 

8. Amelia Unknown (born about 1790 – 1860) is my 4x great grandmother.  Her death record lists her birthplace as Stoughton, Massachusetts but no birth record has ever been found.  She died as a pauper in Wayland, Massachusetts the same year as her husband, who was also listed as a pauper.  Amelia had a colorful life with at least three husbands as listed below….

     #1 Amelia gave birth to twins in Salem on 26 June 1825 as Amelia Lewis, no husband listed.  Her son’s death records list their father as “Captain Thomas Lewis” but I haven’t found a marriage record.  Her twins were possibly born after he died.   Did he die at sea?  No record has been found for him in Massachusetts.

     #2 Amelia remarried to Thomas Johnson in 1827 in Salem

     #3 Amelia remarried third to John Adams in 1843 in Topsfield, Massachusetts.  Her death record lists her parents as “unknown”.    Both sons died very young before 1853, and their records do not give her maiden name.   She married often, so perhaps there is even another earlier marriage I am missing here?

9.  James Phillips (about 1792 – 1820) is my 4 great grandfather.  He married Sarah Cree on 6 August 1815 in Topsfield, Massachusetts.  His death record in Topsfield says he was a “native of Rowley” but I cannot find him in the Rowley records.   There is a James Phillips enumerated in the 1820 Census in Andover, Massachusetts, which may or may not be this James.   Again, Phillips is a common surname in Essex County, Massachusetts, which makes this as difficult as the Jones brickwall #1.

10. Mary Hovey (about  1751- 1832) is my 5x great grandmother.  She married Nathaniel Treadwell on 1786 in Ipswich, Massachusetts.  I have no clue as to her birthdate, birthplace, parents or ancestry.  Mary is listed on my lineage papers to the Mayflower Society, showing my descent from Mayflower passenger Isaac Allerton.  No one at the Mayflower Society can find her parents either!   There is plenty of information on her husband, who served in the American Revolution and was from a noted Ipswich, Massachusetts family.  I’d love to beat the professionals who have attempted to identify Mary Hovey, but so far I’ve been unsuccessful, too.

Please read Diane Boumenot’s blog post at this link, she inspired my list!:

http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2012/09/17/how-to-solve-the-next-ten-problems/

Another blogger with a similar idea is Colleen Pasquale, who posted a list of 12 puzzles from her family tree on 12 December 2012 (12/12/12)  at this link:
http://leavesnbranches.blogspot.com/2012/12/121212-twelve-genealogy-questions.html

and Randy Seaver picked up the meme at his blog at this link:
http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/12/12-genealogy-mysteries-id-like-to-solve.html

Barbara Poole posted her top Ten Brickwall Ancestors at her blog back in 2010 and she is still waiting for her big break.  Keep your fingers crossed for her!  Read about her list at this link:
http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2010/10/top-ten-brick-walls.html

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

Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Collston of Reading, Massachusetts

COLLSTON

Adam Collston’s origins are unknown.  He settled in Reading, Massachusetts before 1668, and was the schoolmaster from 1679 to 1681.  This will was found in England and reprinted in the NEHGS Register in January 1884, page 68.

"Elizabeth Bretland, late the wife of William Bretland, deceased, Barbados, 6 October 1687.  Legacies to daughters Elizabeth Taylor and Millecent Acklam; to grandson Peter Jones; to grandsons John and Jacob Legay.  I give and bequeath to my brother Adam Coulson's children, of Reading near Boston, in New England, the sum of one hundred pounds, to be equally divided among them or the survivor of them.

            Cousin Edward Munday and Mr. John Mortimer of London, merchants, to be executors of the will.

            Item, I give unto my brother Adam Coulson's chilren, of Reading, near Boston, In New England, one negro woman, by name Sarah, being my own proper purchase, or to the survivor of the, to be sent to them the first opportunity after my decease.  I leave, according to the desire of my dear husband, Mr. Edward Munday, to my three daughters, Elizabeth, Millecent and Mary, thirty five pounds of silver, at twelve ounces to the pound. 

            Friends, Capt. Elisha Mellowes and Mr. John Hooker, to be executors for that portion of the estate in the Barbados.

            The witnesses made depostion as to this will 3 April 1689.  It was entered and recorded in the Secretary's Office, 17 February 1689.  Proved in London 5 December 1690.”

Adam’s daughter, Elizabeth, is my 8x great grandmother.  At sixteen she was arrested on a charge of witchcraft, along with three other women in her family (Lydia Dustin her grandmother, Sarah Dustin her aunt, and Mary Collston her mother).  Young Elizabeth was very brave and escaped twice!  The first time was from Cambridge jail, and the second while she was being transported to Charlestown.  Grandmother Lydia Dustin died in prison in Cambridge.

Elizabeth had an illegitimate daughter, Mary Collston my 7x great grandmother.  Her husband Adam Hart was made guardian to Mary. I don’t know when Elizabeth died, but Adam had two more wives- Abigail Deal and Dorcas Brown.  Adam Hart’s mother, Elizabeth (Hutchinson) Hart, had also been arrested for witchcraft.

Mary (Collston) Flint’s son, Jonathan Flint (1730 – 1800) married Lydia Proctor, a great granddaughter of the John Proctor (1631 – 1692) who was hung as a witch (also my 8 x great grandfather).  As you can see, this holds up my theory that the families of accused and executed witches formed a very tight bond in the generations immediately following the 1692 witch hysteria.

There have been no books or articles written about the early Collstons.  All my Collston information came from vital records, the Reading town histories and records, and from documents produced around the witch trials in the 1690s (except for the will mentioned above).

My lineage from Adam Collston:

Generation 1: Adam Collston, died 1 March 1686 in Reading, Massachusetts; married on 7 September 1668 in Reading, Massachusetts to Mary Duston/Dustin/Dastin.  She was the daughter of Josiah Dustin and Lydia Unknown.  Six children.  Mary remarried on 26 September 1701 to Cornelius Brown as his third wife.

Generation 2: Elizabeth Collston, born 9 October 1676, married about 1703 to Adam Hart as his first of three wives.  She had a daughter, Mary, as an illegimate child.

Generation 3: Mary Collston, born 22 September 1704 in Reading; married on 18 February 1723 in Reading to Jonathan Flint, son of Thomas Flint and Mary Dounton.  He was born on 8 November 1689 in Salem Village (now Danvers).  At least two children.

Generation 4. Jonathan Flint married Lydia Proctor

Generation 5: John Flint married Phebe Flint

Generation 6: Olive Flint married Luther Simonds Munroe

Generation 7: Phebe Cross Munroe married Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 8: Albert Munroe Wilkinson married Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 9: Donald Munroe Wilkinson married Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ Collston of Reading, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 16, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-collston-of-reading.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ Dounton of Salem, Massachusetts

Not much is known about William Dounton.  We don’t know his English origins, nor his birth date.  He was made a freeman on 29 April 1668 in Salem, Massachusetts.  A town dungeon, or jail, was approved by the town and built in 1683.  It was made of oak timbers and was 70 by 280 feet and it was built on “Prison Lane” now St. Peter Street near the town common.  There were no bars, but prisoners were expected to pay for their food and chains.  William Dounton was the jailor during the Salem Witch hysteria in 1692. 

William Dounton’s name is in some of the documents that have survived from the witch trials.  There is a recorded deed from about this time period when Giles Cory witnessed the deed when Capt. Thomas Flint bought William Dounton’s house for 100 pounds.  Thomas Flint was William Dounton’s son-in-law.

My Dounton Ancestors:

Generation 1: William Dounton, born about 1629; married to Rebecca Unknown.  At least four children.

Generation 2: Mary Dounton, born about 1650, died 1721; married on 15 September 1674 in Salem, Massachusetts to Thomas Flint, son of Thomas Flint and Ann Unknown, born about 1645 and died on 24 May 1721.  Nine children.

Generation 3: Jonathan Flint married Mary Collston

Generation 4: Jonathan Flint married Lydia Proctor

Generation 5: John Flint married Phebe Flint

Generation 6: Olive Flint married Luther Simonds Munroe

Generation 7: Phebe Cross Munroe married Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generaton 8: Albert Munroe Wilkinson married Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 9: Donald Munroe Wilkinson married Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Untangling a Blog Post Mistake

The best thing about having a genealogy blog is the collaboration of ideas with readers, other bloggers and genealogists.  Usually the collaboration is in the form of a “cousin connection”, and the beginning of sharing branches of the same family tree.  This is great because my tangled New England genealogy usually loops back on itself through cousin marriages and kinship relationships.  Sometimes another genealogist will offer additional sources such as books or articles I haven’t yet read, and these are all great appreciated to expand my understanding of my ancestors.  And then there are also the readers who find mistakes in my research.

Unlike some online genealogists, I love when someone finds a mistake in my research.  Why would I want to keep an erroneous line?  There are genealogists who challenge change, and resist cutting off branches of their tree even when it is obviously incorrect.  I find it intriguing when offered a new look at a lineage, and often find it is a great time to re-look at a line I may have researched many years ago.

If you are new at genealogy you will face this someday.  A line you researched in 2010 may someday come up against new research or new documents, and thirty years from now this new evidence may point to a different spouse, or a change in who you thought may be someone’s parents.  This happened to me when I posted “Flint of Massachusetts” on 2 June, 2012.  A loyal reader, Barbara Poole, who is also the author of the genealogy blog “Life at the Roots” found her ancestress, Hannah Flint, listed in my blog post, but I had given her a different husband.  She left a comment and an email. 

I was on vacation when the comment arrived, but as soon as I arrived home I jumped back into researching this marriage of Hannah Flint and John Southwick, which occurred on 12 May 1658 in Salem, Massachusetts.   This is my original conclusion posted last week: “Hannah Flint [daughter of William Flint and Alice Williams] married on 12 May 1658 to John Southwick, son of Lawrence Southwick and Cassandra Burrell.  She was his second wife of three wives.  He was born 6 March 1625 in Kingwinford, Staffordshire, England and he died on 25 October 1672 in Salem.  One child- John Southwick.”

Barbara stated that Hannah Flint, daughter of William Flint and Alice Williams, was married to Joshua Ward in Salem.   Sure enough, in the Salem vital records it states “Joshua Ward and Hanna Flint, 18:  11m: 1668” and this was backed up in several Ward genealogy books, as well as in Sydney Perley’s History of Salem.   And in Volume 2, page 53 of History of Salem I read that the wife of John Southwick was Ann, widow of Thomas Flint.  Ann or Hannah, or were they the same person?

It was impossible for the Ann/Hannah who was John Southwick’s wife to have had a second marriage to Joshua Ward, because the dates did not work out.  It was impossible for her to have been the daughter of William Flint and Alice Williams.   So was she the widow of Thomas Flint?  This was interesting to me because if so, she was already my 7x great grandmother twice since I was descended from two different sons of Thomas and Ann Flint of Salem!  (See the first lineage posted at this link http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-flint-of-massachusetts.html)

I had researched this line thirty years ago, and that was well before the internet and genealogical computer data bases. I had originally used some compiled genealogies and the Salem vital records to draw up my conclusions on this line.   I took a quick look at what was available on line, and found two images of documents that proved Ann/Hannah was the widow of Thomas Flint.  First, her will states “I, Ann Southwick, lately the wife of Thomas fflint…” and second, this image of a document up for auction online in which John Southwick states his intention to marry Ann, the widow of Thomas Flint.   These two images were very compelling evidence that Barbara Poole was correct!  Now I’m descended of Ann/Hannah, wife of both Thomas Flint and John Southwick, three times!

This image is from the website www.willishenry.com, accessed on 4 June 2012.
This document is up for auction, signed by John Southwick with his mark.
The document is about him settling a will, settling some debts and payments,
with his declaration of intention to marry "Ann Flint of Salem late wife of Thomas Flint".
There is a price of $1,150 next to this image.  Time to buy a lottery ticket? 

In the past I have cheerfully investigated challenges to my research and cut off a branch only to re-discover new branches and new lineages.  One time this led to a new Mayflower ancestor!  If I had balked and grumbled and refused to look into the question by Barbara, I would have never discovered my unusual connection to Ann/Hannah with the unknown maiden name, but from whom I descend so many times!   It also goes to show that what I had thought of as an exhaustive search thirty years ago is now a much more extensive search today with so many resources available at my fingertips online.  I did not need to take a research trip to Salem, Massachusetts to research new sources for Ann/Hannah, wife of Thomas Flint and John Southwick, I just needed to look on the internet!

My Saturday series of surname posts is turning out to be a great way for me to re-examine my research.  Some of the posts are names I have recently looked up, and others were done dozens of years ago.  As I approach each new surname each week I am looking for new sources of information, and also gaining new ideas from readers.  It is a win-win situation for everyone, as you can see from the case of Ann/Hannah.

New conclusion:

Ann, of unknown parents and maiden name.  Married first to Thomas Flint, son of Thomas Flint in Wales, about 1644 in Salem, Massachusetts.  She had six children with Thomas, who died on 15 April 1663 in Salem.   Sometime between 1663 and 1667 she married John Southwick (date 12 May 1658 from the Southwick genealogy unproved), son of Lawrence Southwick and Cassandra Burnell, as his second wife.  She had a son named John Southwick, born about 1667.  Ann died in the summer of 1668.  John remarried to Sarah Burnett, daughter of John Burnett, on 3 February 1668/69 in Salem as his third wife.

Sources:

Salem, Massachusetts Vital Records

Genealogy of the Descendants of Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick of Salem, Mass, by James Moore Caller and Maria A. Ober, Salem, Mass. J. H. Choate & Co., 1881

History of Salem, Massachusetts, by Sidney Perley, Volume 2, page 53

One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families by John Osborne Austin, Salem, 1893, page 214

Ann Southwick’s will, Essex, County Probate Docket #25894, proved in Ipswich 13 August 1668.  From Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts: 1635 – 1681, Volume 2, pages 135-136, Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1916.

Barbara Poole’s blog post on her Flint lineage from Hannah Flint and Joshua Ward http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2010/07/surname-saturday-flint-of-massachusetts.html

See also:
http://www.willishenry.com/auctions/05/autograph%2005%20hist%20session%20one/autographs%20historical%20cat%2005%20.htm    The page at the website from Willis Henry Auction house in Marshfield, Massachusetts, where the image of the John Southwick document is found.  Look at item H35.  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Untangling a Blog Post Mistake", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 8, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/untangling-blog-post-mistake.html: accessed [access date]).