A Traitor in my Family Tree?

Boston Massacre

On this date, 22 February, in 1770 a mob had gathered outside of Theophilus Lillie’s shop in Boston to protest his importation of British goods. This was during the “Intolerable Acts” when the folks in Boston decided to stop drinking tea and buying British goods, rather than pay the intolerable taxes on imported goods.  While reading about this incident in history, I was struck by the name of the shopkeeper and (thank you internet!)  I was researching his genealogy to find a link to my LILLIE ancestors of Reading, Massachusetts.  I wasn’t finding any links.

As I read further, I learned that the man who lived next door to the shop in the story was named Ebenezer Richardson.  He tried to disperse the crowd by firing bird shot into the crowd, which was mostly young boys and teenagers.  One teen was injured, and a 10 year old German boy named Christopher Sneider was killed.  Again, being a genealogist, I stopped at the name of Ebenezer Richardson.  I had a long line of Ebenezer Richardsons in my family tree, from the town of Woburn outside of Boston. It only took me a minute to confirm that one of these cousins in my tree was the same Ebenezer Richardson whose shot out his bedroom window foreshadowed the Boston Massacre, which took place soon after on 5 March 1770. 

Who was Ebenezer Richardson?  Well, it turns out that his hot temper which led to this incident was not the first time he had displayed tawdry behavior.   In 1752 his wife’s sister gave birth to his child.  He married his own sister-in-law in Boston in January 1754 (his wife didn’t die until 1782).   

Ebenezer Richardson, upon fleeing Woburn, went to work for the British as an informer in Boston.  When he was found out, the British made him a Boston customs officer. His job was to collect the new  taxes from the hated Stamp Act and Townshend Acts. 

After the little Sneider boy died,  two thousand people attended his funeral.  On 20 April 1770 Richardson was found guilty of murder by a Boston jury. I’m not surprised- he was a very unpopular figure in Boston and rumored to be tarred and feathered.  The British judges thought the sentence unfair and didn’t sentence him to hang, and London sent a pardon.  The British also found him a new job in 1773 in Philadelphia.  But the good folks of Boston “informed” on Richardson and told the people of Philadelphia his story, including the scandal with his second wife.  He fled to London.

No more is known of Ebenezer Richardson.  Did he die in London?  Change his name?

Ebenezer Richardson, son of Timothy Richardson and Abigail Johnson, was born on 31 March 1718 in Woburn, Massachusetts.  He married first to Rebecca Fowle about 1740.  She was the widow of Phineas Richardson (she was the second cousin once removed of Phineas, and the second cousin twice removed of Ebenezer).   He married second to Kezia Fowle, sister to Rebecca and widow of Thomas Henshaw.   I have no further information on Kezia, and Rebecca died on 6 November 1782 in Woburn, long after the scandal.

The two Fowle sisters, Rebecca and Kezia, are my 1^st cousins 8 generations removed.  Their parents, John Fowle and Elizabeth Prescott are my 8^th great uncle and aunt.  John’s parents, James Fowle (1643 – 1690) and Abigail Carter (1648 – 1718) are my 8^th great grandparents.

Ebenezer Richardson is further removed from me.  He is my 3^rd cousin, 8 generations removed.  His great grandparents, John Richardson and Elizabeth Bacon, are my 9^th great uncle and aunt. His 2x great grandparents, Samuel Richardson (1602 – 1658) and Joanna Thake (1606 – 1666), are my 9^th great grandparents.  Interestingly, Elizabeth (Bacon) Richardson’s grandparents, Michael Bacon (1579 – 1648) and Alice Blower (1681 – 1648), are my 11^th great grandparents.

For more about this story:

Don't miss Part Two of this blog post:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/a-traitor-in-my-family-tree-yes-part-two.html

The Richardson Memorial: Comprising a Full History and Genealogy of the Posterity of these Three Brothers, Ezekiel, Samuel and Thomas Richardson, by John Adams Vinton, 1876, pages 242-244, page 265.

J.L. Bell, “Ebenezer Richardson Custom’s Informer”, Boston 1775, posted May 22, 2006, (http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2006/05/ebenezer-richardson-customs-informer.html: accessed 22 February 2018).

J. L. Bell, “Ebenezer Richardson as Cause of the American Revolution”, Boston 1775, posted April 9, 2015, (http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2015/04/ebenezer-richardson-as-cause-of.html: accessed 22 February 2018).

My RICHARDSON "Surname Saturday" post:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/01/surname-saturday-richardson-of-woburn.html

My FOWLE "Surname Saturday" post:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/12/surname-saturday-fowle-of-charlestown.html


The image above is from Paul Revere of Boston. The print was copied by Revere from a design by Henry Pelham for an engraving eventually published under the title "The Fruits of Arbitrary Power, or the Bloody Massacre," of which only two impressions could be located by Brigham. Revere's print appeared on or about March 28, 1770. - http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsc.00174, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4415919

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To Cite/Link to this post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “A Traitor in my Family Tree?”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 22, 2018, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/a-traitor-in-my-family-tree.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ SMITH of Reading, Massachusetts

SMITH

My 8^th great grandmother Hannah Smith married her husband, George Lillie on 15 November 1659.  Who was her father? According to Robert Charles Anderson in his Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634 -1635, Volume VI, pages 351-354, sketch of Francis Smith of Reading, there was no daughter named Hannah.  Francis Smith of Reading only named sons John and Benjamin Smith in his will.

Francis Smith, born in England and died 20 March 1650 in Reading, Massachusetts was  married to Alice Unknown about 1622.  His son John Smith (1622 - 1706) married, as his second wife, Mary Bill, my 1^st cousin 8x removed- granddaughter of John Bill (1598- 1638) and Dorothy Tuttle, my 8^th great grandparents on my father’s side.  Their son, Deacon Francis Smith (1658 – 1744) married Ruth Maverick, my 1^st cousin 9 generations removed, granddaughter of Reverend John Maverick (1578 – 1638) and Mary Gye, my 11 great grandparents. A very tangled tree indeed!  But Francis Smith might not be my 9th great grandfather. 

If Hannah Smith is not the daughter of Francis Smith, she might be the daughter of Matthew Smith, who lived in Woburn, Reading and Charlestown, Massachusetts at this time period.  Anderson supposes that she might be Matthew’s daughter since he did have a child named "Hannah".  There were many other Smith families in Massachusetts, too.

Hannah remains another brickwall ancestress.  Hannah married George Lillie who settled in the west parish of Reading, Massachusetts (a village known as Woodend) and was the schoolmaster. They had four children, and then Hannah died in 1666.  George remarried to a woman named Jane and had two more children. Hannah and George’s son John Lilley,  my 7^th great grandfather,  married Hannah Bassett and removed to Woburn, Massachusetts. 

My SMITH genealogy:

 Generation 1: Hannah Smith, died on 6 May 1666 in Reading, Massachusetts; married on 15 November 1659 in Reading to George Lillie as his first wife.  He was the son of Edward Lillie and Margaret Wharton.  He was born about 1637 and died 14 February 1691 in Reading. Four children. 

Generation 2:  John Lillie m. Hannah Bassett

Generation 3: Phebe Lilley m. Noah Eaton

Generation 4: Katherine Eaton m. John Emerson

Generation 5: Romanus Emerson m. Jemima Burnham

Generation 6: George Emerson m. Mary Esther Younger

Generation 7: Mary Katharine Emerson m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 8: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 9:  Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ SMITH of Reading, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 30, 2016,  (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/07/surname-saturday-smith-of-reading.html: accessed [access date]. 

Surname Saturday ~ BASSETT of Lynn, Massachusetts

BASSETT

The first BASSETT in this family to come to America was William Bassett (1624 – 1703), my 8^th great grandfather, who was baptized in Dorking, Surrey, England.  He was about ten or eleven years old when he immigrated to New England on board the ship Abigail with his mother and stepfather, Hugh Burt.     

About 1646 William married Sarah, maiden name unknown.  William and Sarah had twelve children born in Lynn, Massachusetts.  William served as an ensign in Captain Gardner’s company in Salem, and later he was raised to Captain and granted three acres in Lynn. 

WILL OF WILLIAM BASSETT, proved 22 May 1703

"In the name of God everlasting Amen: I William Bassett Senr. of Lyn in ye County of Esex in Newengland being of good & perfect memory & Rationally Disposed And having attained to ye years of a good old age & being very sensable of ye decay of nature & ye many Distempers & Infirmities that do attend my outward (mein?) not knowing how soone my great & last chang may come have therefor taken this opportunity to settle ye affaires of my family & so leave this as my last will and testament. Impr: as for my precious mortall soul I freely resign it to him that gave it & to my Redeemer Jesus Christ which by his precious blood hath ransome my soul from Death. as for my body which is fraile I comend it to ye dust willing a decent Interment thereof suitable to my Rank & quality. Although worms my skin destroy yet in my flesh I shal see God - Amen. As for the disposall of my outward Estate which God of his Goodness hath given me - my will is that after my funerall charges & lawfull debts bee paid I bequeathe to my deare & loving wife who hath bin carefull of mee & industrious in her place for ye procurement of what outward Estate I have I bequeath unto her the Improvement of my whole Estate during her naturall life and all the moveable estate in my house which is mine to be at her disposall - as shee shall see cause: Item: I give to my eldest son willm Bassett all ye housing land meddowes marshes and movalbes within y bounds of Lyn township or Elsewhere to bee at his absolut disposall: further it is to bee under stood that my son willm Bassett is to pay out of such Estate all such Legasies as I shall give to ye rest of my children as followeth: Item: I give to my son John Bassett five pounds in mony: Item: I give to my son Elisha Bassett fivetie shillings in mony: Item: I give to my son Samuel Bassett fivetie shillings in mony: Item: I give to my daughter Elizebeth Bassett allias Richards forty shillings in mony: Item: I give to my daughter Sarah Elwell fortie shillings in mony: Ittem: I give to my daughter Merriam Sandy fortie shillings: Ittem: I give to my daughter Mary Ruck fortie shillings in mony: Ittem: I give to my daughter Rachel Silsbe fortie shillings in mony: Ittem: I give to my daughter Rebeckah Bassett fortie shillings in Mony: Ittem: I give to my Hannah Lille fortie shillings in mony -- and if any of ye above named Children Except my son Willm should then to be divided Equaly amongst them all. It is to be understood that these legasies are to be paid with-in a one yeare after my disease and my wives and my will is that neither str? nor waste be made But to the end foresaid. Ittom my will is that my son William Bassett bee sole Executtor to this my last will and testament. Heare unto I have sett to my hand and seale this tenth day of february in the yeare of our 1701. Sighned William Bassett with a seale--Wittnessed by Before sighning it is to be understood that my son William Bassett is to have my whole Estate as is above mentioned to him & his heirs for ever."  

Witnesses: Samuel Johnson, Lois Rogers, Ezekiel Rogers.

In the third generation, William Bassett (1647 – 1732), my 7^th great grand uncle, married Sarah Hood (1657 – 1729).   They were early Quakers.  Sarah was accused of witchcraft in 1692 and sent to prison in Boston with her 22 month old child (possibly Ruth).  After her imprisonment she had another daughter she named Deliverance.  I descend from his sister, Hannah (born about 1670), who married John Lillie of Reading.

William and Hannah’s sister, Elizabeth Bassett (1650 – after 1703), married my 8^th great grandfather, John Proctor (1631 – 1692) who was hanged as a witch on 19 August 1692.  Elizabeth was John Proctor’s third wife, and I descend from his first wife, Martha.  Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor was also condemned to be hanged but was finally pardoned because she was pregnant.  Her child was born January 27, 1693.  This family was plagued with witchcraft accusations and imprisonments.  

After she was set free, Elizabeth and her children and step children were impoverished, her house had been looted while she was in prison with John, and she was considered legally dead because she had been condemned to hang and she couldn’t claim her husband’s property.

Some sources for information on the Bassett family:

The Great Migration:  Immigrants to New England 1634 - 1635, Volume I, pages 190 to 195.  

The Bassett Family Association  www.BassettBranches.org   

The Essex Genealogist, Volume 18, pages 28 - 39. 

My BASSETT genealogy:

Generation 1:  Roger Bassett, married on 27 April 1623 at St. Martin’s church, Dorking, Surrey, England to Ann Holland. 

Generation 2:  William Bassett, baptized on 30 May 1624 in Dorking, died 31 March 1703 in Lynn, Massachusetts;  married about 1646 in Lynn to Sarah Unknown.  She was born between 1623 and 1627 in Dorking and died after 1700 in Lynn. Twelve children.

Generation 3:   Hannah Bassett, born about 1670 in Lynn; married to John Lillie.  He was born 5 December 1662 in Reading, and died in Woburn, Massachusetts.  Six children.

Generation 4:  Phebe Lilley m. Noah Eaton

Generation 5: Katherine Eaton m. John Emerson

Generation 6:  Romanus Emerson m. Jemima Burnham

Generation 7:  George Emerson m. Mary Esther Younger

Generation 8:  Mary Katharine Emerson m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 9: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

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

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/05/surname-saturday-bassett-of-lynn.html 

Copyright © 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo