Surname Saturday ~ HICKS / HIX of Cape Cod and Beverly, Massachusetts

Susanna Hix (1768 – 1859), my 4^th great grandmother, was a mystery to me because I could not find a vital record that listed her parents.  It was not until I recently looked at the Beverly town clerk records and I found her parents, Abraham and Sarah Hix, listed with their children.  I also found a surprise that helped me find the origins of the parents!  I found a warning out in the town clerk records “Dec. 19, 1757, a warrant was issued to warn Abraham Hix to depart out of the town he being an inhabitant of Plimoth in the County of Plimoth”!

Apparently Abraham didn’t leave and return to Plymouth, for he appears in Captain John Tapley’s militia company in Beverly in 1758, and three children’s births were registered in Beverly in 1759, 1761 and Susanna in 1768. 

In researching the Plymouth records I found that Abraham Hix had been previously married to Bathsheba Donham on 11 July 1751 in Plymouth. Her death was recorded in Plymouth on 22 June 1756.  He must have removed to Beverly soon after this.

Abraham Hix appears to be the son of Abraham Hicks and Desire Trowbridge, who were married on 10 February 1723/24 in Falmouth, Massachusetts.  I have not found Abraham, Jr’s birth record in Falmouth, but there were three other siblings recorded there.  His wife, Sarah Matthews, my 5^th great grandmother, is also a mystery.  I don’t know her origins, birth or death.  Interestingly, Sarah and Abraham were married on 18 May 1757 in Salem, New Hampshire.

I also found in the Beverly Town Clerk records that Susanna Hix had an illegitimate daughter with Josiah Lovett on 31 January 1790.  She married my 4^th great grandfather, Captain Josiah Stone, on 25 January 1795 and had six children.  I have found no further records on the Lovett child. 

Susanna’s husband was a sea captain.  Family lore is that he was transporting a shipment of hemp from Rotterdam, Holland to the ropeworks in Salem and there was a young Dutch stowaway on board.  This young man, Peter Hoogerzeil, married his daughter, Eunice Stone, my 3^rd great grandmother.

Is there anyone out there researching the HICKS / HIX family of Cape Cod and Plymouth?  I’d love to know the origins of Abraham Hix’s family.

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My HICKS / HIX genealogy:

Generation 1:  Abraham Hicks married on 10 February 1723/24 in Falmouth, Massachusetts to Desire Trowbridge.  Four children.

Generation 2:  Abraham Hix, died about 1767 in Beverly, Massachusetts; married first to Bathsheba Donham on 11 July 1751 in Plymouth, Massachusetts; married second on 18 May 1757 in Salem, New Hampshire to Sarah Matthews and had three children born in Beverly.

Generation 3:  Susanna Hix, baptized on 17 January 1768 in Beverly, Massachusetts, died 30 May 1859 in Beverly; married on 25 January 1795 in Beverly to Captain Josiah Stone, the son of Josiah Stone and Martha Ashby.  They had six children.  

Generation 4:  Eunice Stone m. Peter Hoogerzeil

Generation 5:  Peter Hoogerzeil m. Mary Etta Healey

Generation 6:  Florence Etta Hoogerzeil m. Arthur Treadwell Hitchings

Generation 7:  Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/02/surname-saturday-hicks-hix-of-cape-cod.html

Copyright © 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Why it is so important to read the marginalia!

This is a short post about looking at the original documents when you are researching your family tree.  If you cannot get to the actual document, a scanned image will be second best.  This is why.

Here is the Town Clerk's Records from Beverly, Massachusetts. I'm researching the HICKS family, sometimes spelled HIX in the vital records.  My 4th great grandmother, Susanna Hix (1768 - 1859) was born in Beverly, but her death record did not list her parents.  I suspect that her parents were the Abraham and Sarah HIX listed here.  The records list two children, Joanna and Abraham, who might be her older siblings.  I found evidence in the records of four other siblings (marriages and deaths), so I know that all the births were not recorded.   Abraham died in 1767 in Beverly (listed in the VRs).

While wondering about Abraham and Sarah, I noticed this note above the entry for the HIX family, written in teeny tiny lettering.  This message is not transcribed in any other record of the Beverly records, it is only available when looking at the actual book in Beverly or at the scanned image of the Town Clerk Book available at FamilySearch.org.  

This message says:

"Dec 19 1757 a warrant was issued "to warn Abraham Hix to depart out of the town be being an inhabitant of Plimoth in the County of Plimoth"

If you are unfamiliar with the term "warned out", it was a complaint issued by towns who did not want to support paupers or those asking for assistance who were not proper residents of the town.  The "warning out" did not mean that the constable escorted them out of the town limits, but after being warned the town would no longer support this family.  

It was also a very good clue to Abraham HIX's origins.  I did find him in the Plymouth, Massachusetts records, and his parents before him were Abraham HICKS and Desire TROWBRIDGE.  

While patting myself on my back about this good fortune in reading the note, I also noticed another note, in the same teeny weeny handwriting, in the bottom margin of the page

This note read:

"Trisse Lovett, daughter of Susanna Hix born January 31, 1790"

Did you notice that this message lists the mother (my 4th great grandmother) under her maiden name, five years before her marriage to Josiah STONE.  I have not found a marriage between a LOVETT and Susanna HIX, so I am assuming this was an illegitimate birth for now. 

Unless I find another note in another record book.

And I'll be sure to check the marginalia!

These images are from "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1627-2001," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-22577-3712-91?cc=2061550&wc=M947-HBG:n2079469534 : accessed 31 Oct 2013), Essex > Beverly > Births, marriages, deaths 1653-1890 > image 239 of 589.

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/11/why-it-is-so-important-to-read.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo