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 - Robert Wilson of Danvers, Massachusetts

 

At the Wilson Family Burial Ground, Peabody, Massachusetts

ROBERT WILSON

Died

Jan. 4, 1797

Aged 51

[epitaph illegible]

This is Patriot #10 I have written about for this series on my Revolutionary War ancestors.  

Robert Wilson is my 5th great grandfather.  He was born in Salem Village (after 1775 it was known as the town of Danvers), Massachusetts around 1746, the son of Robert Wilson (1724 - 1782) and Elizabeth Southwick of Danvers.  

Robert Wilson's father was a potter, and so was his grandfather, Isaac Wilson, and so were his sons.  According to the book Early New England Potters and Their Wares, by Lura Woodside Watkins, pages 65 - 66 "The Wilsons also were a prominent family of artisans.  Their homestead included the land near 141 Andover Street and eastward where Route 128 now crosses it.  The first two potting Wilsons were sons of Robert, a farmer.  They were Robert, known as Robert Jr., who remained in Danvers, and Joseph, who went to Dedham and thence to Providence, Rhode Island.  When Robert, Jr. died in 1782, he left property worth 627 pounds, including six lots of land, his house, barn, potter's shop, and corn house, a riding chair, and a large personal estate.  He seems to have done well in his trade.  His son Robert, known as Robert 3d, and a younger son Job were potters.  By an order of the court, Robert 3d, as administrator of his father's estate, was obliged to sell a large part of the elder Robert's property to pay certain debts.  This was not done until April 9, 1793, when two-thirds of the land and buildings, and an interest in the business was aquired by Isaac Wilson 3d.  He, too, was a craftsman in clay.  The threee Wilsons ran the shop together for a time, but Robert 3d. and Job both passed away before 1800, while Robert's son Robert, who had worked but a short time as a potter, died three years later at the age of twenty-seven.  Upon Isaac's decease in 1809, this early pottery must have come to an end."

Robert Wilson married Sarah Felton on 23 March 1775 in Danvers. She was the daughter of Malachi Felton and Abigail Jacobs (the great granddaughter of the George Jacobs hanged as a witch during the 1692 witch hysteria). She was probably the first child born in the Nathaniel Felton, Jr. house, which is still standing in the town of Peabody, Massachusetts.  Robert and Sarah had nine children, of whom seven grew up to adulthood and married.  I descend from the eldest child, Robert Wilson (1776 - 1803), mentioned above, who married Mary Southwick, his second cousin. This Robert died at age 27, leaving his widow with two babies.  She never remarried. 

The Wilsons produced an unsual kind of black pottery, which had an almost black glaze. There was a large clay deposit near Andover Street (now Route 114).  Some of this black pottery is on display inside the Nathaniel Felton houses (one is mentioned above) which are still standing on Felton Hill, owned by the Peabody Historical Society.  The Wilsons and their relatives lived on what is now the Danvers/Peabody line, near Route 114 and the Northshore Mall. Nearby is Wilson Square.  Several Wilsons were buried under the parking lot near Macy's at the Mall, but their graves were relocated. Across from the Mall, behind the Kappy's liquor store, there is a Wilson Family Burial Ground. 

At the start of the Revolutionary War there were over 50 small potteries in Danvers, all in the same neighborhood near the clay deposit.  The Wilsons lived and worked at the pottery business, along with other local families such as the Osborns, Paiges, Porters, and Southwicks. The last pottery in Peabody (which broke off from Danvers in 1855) closed due to a fire in the 1950s.  At one time some of these families also produced bricks. 

Robert Wilson served in the Revolutionary War as a Private in Captain Samuel Epe's Company under Colonel Pickering's Regiment of Danvers.  He marched on the alarm of 19 April 1775 for two days of service and is listed in the DAR Patriot's Index. There were six Wilsons from the area of Danvers and Peabody who marched on the Lexington Alarm.  

Robert Wilson died on 4 June 1797 in Danvers, and his son, my 4th great grandfather, Robert Wilson, was the administrator of his father's estate in 1782.  His will (Essex County Probate #30142) mentions his widow Sarah and all the children except for Mercy and Samuel in 1796. He was buried in the Wilson Family Burial Ground, and when Sarah died on 20 November 1836 she was buried nearby in the Felton Family Burial Ground. I cannot find a record of her applying for a widow's pension, and she never remarried. 

I'm curious to find out if the black and redware pottery produced in Danvers and Peabody contained a lead glaze. Both Robert Wilsons mentioned above (the Revolutionary War veteran and his son) died very young.  Perhaps it was lead poisoning? Perhaps we will never know? 

For the truly curious:

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolution

Essex County, Massachusetts Probate

Early New England Potters and Their Wares,  by Lura Woodside Watkins,  Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950, pages 65-66. 

Sophia Richter, "Peabody: Pottery City, 1730 - 1940", Peabody Historical Society and Museum, posted 1 August 2025, ( https://peabodyhistorical.org/2025/08/peabody-pottery-city-1730-1940/: accessed 22 March 2026). 

#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,  Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts:   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 and Enfield, New Hampshire:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/05/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-abner_02014071889.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots - Robert Wilson of Danvers, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 2, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/06/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-robert.html: accessed [access date]). 

My Revolutionary War Patriots, Levi Younger of Gloucester, Massachusetts

 

The Gloucester Fisherman's Memorial

This is #5 in a series of posts I am publishing this year for the 250th Anniversary of the USA. 

My 5th great grandfather Levi Younger was born on 7 February 1756 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the son of William Younger and Lucy Foster.  He was the second of three sons, and his sister was the famous Thomasine AKA Tammy Younger, "The Witch of Dogtown".  All three brothers were mariners. 

On 17 July 1784, after the Revolutionary War, Levi married Mary Wotten in Gloucester.  She was the Daughter of John Wotton and Mary Hall of Gloucester. Mary was one of nine children in the Wotten family.  Together they had five children of their own, and I descend from their eldest son, Levi Younger, Jr. 

There is very little known about Levi's life in Gloucester.  I know he was a mariner, but was he a sailor?, a fisherman? a whaler? On 13 January 1776, when he was almost 20 years old he enlisted in Captain Bradbury Sanders' Company for a service of 7 months and 18 days.  This company was stationed at Gloucester for defense of the seacoast.  Gloucester is at the tip of Cape Ann, north of Boston, and a strategic seaport for New England.

At some point after his initial enlistment Levi must have re-enlisted in the militia, or perhaps he served as a privateer with a contract with a ship captain.  I can't find any further information on a re-enlistment.  However, he was apparently a seaman captured during the war, imprisoned on a prison ship Favorite, and later sent to prison in England and later exchanged. I found him listed as a mariner aboard the ship General Glover, captained by Nicholas Bartlett, with a crew of 66, captured on 18 October 1779 by the British navy. 

In the book Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the American Revolution, Volume XVII, page 1039: 

Younger, ------, List of prisoners to be returned in exchange for British Prisoners sent to New York in the cartel "Favorite" as returned by Robert Pierpont, commissary of Prisoners (year not given); said Younger, Seaman, to be exchanged for James Price, Seaman.

To confirm that this was actually Levi Younger, I was able to find this document in the Franklin Papers:

From Daniel Edwards et al.

als: American Philosophical Society

L’Orient April 8th: 1782.

Sir

Haveing had the good fortune to make our Escape from Forton Prison in England on the 13th March last and to take a small Sloop from Portsmouth in the Night in which 32 of us landed safe at Cape Bellflour from whence we marched to Le Hague where we met with a French Gentlemen a Commissary who gave us a Pass a pair of Shoes & 10 Livres each to go as far as St. Maloes. When we arrived there 19 of us being not able to travell any farther they went on board a Privateer for a Months Cruize 5 got Passes and have gone to Nantes in order to make the best of their way to America & 8 of us came here for the like purpose wanting to get home as soon as Possible haveing been a long time prisoners some of us sent to England from the West Indies & some from New York. We arrived here the 25th: Ultio. & the American Agent not being here nor no Continental Ships we were Obliged to take Lodgeings for 11 Days before we could get a Vessell to go on Board off & the Capt. has it not in his power to give us any thing but our Victuals for our Work he haveing his Complement of hands already Shipped however he has promissed us a passage home but cannot give us any Money untill he Arrives in Philadelphia. And as there is no other Vessell in the Harbour Bound to America that will Sail this 3 or 4 Months and this Ship being almost Ready to sail we have thought it best to come on Board of her upon them Conditions.

And as we are destitute of both Money and Clothes we have made bold to apply to your Excellency requesting (If you please) some Assistance that will enable us at least to satisfy the Gentleman who was so kind as to take us in and Board us for the above mentioned time. (his Name is John Dager)

Two of us belong to Continental Ships Joshua Goss Midshipman belonging to the Boston Frigate was taken in one of her Prizes on the 8th: of July 1778 by the Porcupine Ship of War of 24 Guns and Carried to England where he has been a Prisoner ever since untill this present Escape.- The Other Eliphalet Rogers belonging to the Alliance Frigate was taken in one of her Prizes the 18th: Septr. 1779 and has likewise been a Prisoner in Forton Prison untill this present time. Therefore they would be extremely Obliged to your Excellency (if in your Power) to advance them a trifle of their Wages as their Necessities at present are very Pressing- Your Excellencie’s granting this our Humble Petition would be gratefully Acknowledged by your Excellencies Most Obdt. Humble Servts.

Daniel Edwards Joshua Goss George Clark James Fuller Elipalet Rogers Robert Fulton Isaac Allen William James His Mark

p.s. There is two more prisoners arived here that wrote to your Excellency from Havre de Grace and two of their Companions that Escaped in the Cartell with the french are detained in the [Kian] at Brest who would be glad of your assistance in setting them at Liberty. their Names are Levi Younger & Bartholemew Cashwood

His Excellency Doctr. Franklin Esqr.

Addressed: His Excellency / Doctr. Franklin Esqr. / At / Paris.

Notation: [torn: Edwar]ds Daniel, [torn: Goss J]oshua, &c. L’ori-ent [torn] 1782.

It appears that when the ship General Glover was captured, the seamen were imprisoned by the British at the imfamous Forton Prison in Gosport, England. Some of the prisoners made an escape in March, and were taken to the Netherlands, and later to St. Malo.  They were separated, and some made it back to the colonies. It must have been quite an adventure, but by 1782 they were back home. This document addressed to Benjamin Franklin, who was the ambassador to Britain during the war, asks for Levi Younger to be released from the cartell in Brest, France. We know that Levi made it home, because in 1784 he married Mary Wotten in Gloucester. This is interesting to me because Benjamin Franklin is a cousin on my paternal side, and Levi Younger is on my maternal side of the family tree. 

Forton was an infamous prison.  It was originally a naval hospital, but later used during the American Revolution and the war of 1812 as a prisoner of war camp. The conditions were brutal, and many prisoners died or were hanged as traitors and pirates.  Most of the prisoners had spent time on prison ships in New York Harbor before being transferred to Forton.  

In the Salem Gazette, 11 March 1806, page 4, there was a notice for the estate of Levi Younger of Gloucester. "Notice is hereby given that the subscriber has been duly appointed administratix of the estate of Levi Younger of Gloucester, mariner, deceased, and has taken upon herself that by giving bends, as the law directs.  All persons having demands against the said estate, are requested to exhibit them for settlement- and those indebted to make payments to: Mary Carter, Admin'x Gloucester, Feb. 4th, 1806."  The Essex County Probate records state that Levi Younger died intestate.  His wife, Mary, had remarried to John Carter on 24 October 1801 in Gloucester.  We have not found a death record for Levi Younger, but he must have died sometime before 1801, leaving Mary with five children between the ages of 6 and 15 years old. 

I find the story of Levi Younger to be fascinating for many reasons. First, although we know almost nothing about his personal life, his harrowing capture, imprisonment and escape survive through federal records.  He must have had a very hard life, as a mariner in New England and died young. Perhaps he died at sea? Perhaps he died from his hardships as a prisoner of war.  Perhaps we will never know? 

In a twist of fate, Levi Younger, Jr., my 4th great grandfather, was also a privateer during the War of 1812, and he was also captured by the British.  He was held on board the prison ship Royal William. I'm not sure of how he was released, but by 1816 he was back in Gloucester and married my 4th great grandmother Catherine Plummer Jones on 23 October 1816.  She was the sister of Mary Lambert Jones Dominis, the mother-in-law to Queen Lili'oukalani. 

For the truly curious:

Kaminkow, Marion and Jack. Mariners of the American Revolution. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, 1996 

 Franklin Papers, Volume 37, page 116, letter from Daniel Edwards about the Escape from Forten Prison

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the American Revolution, Vol. XVII, page 1039

The first blog post in this series

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

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

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

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

The Younger family:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/12/surname-saturday-younger-of-gloucester.html   

Tammy Younger, the Witch of Dogtown:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/02/tammy-younger-witch-of-dogtown.html  

A blog post on Levi Younger, Jr. and his capture during the War of 1812:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/01/levi-younger-mariner-and-prisoner-of.html  

Also,

An interesting article about Forton Prison during the American Revolution:

https://allthingsliberty.com/2021/01/plight-of-the-seamen-incarceration-escape-or-secured-freedom/  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots, Levi Younger of Gloucester, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 14, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-levi.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]). 

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]).  

At the Peabody Essex Museum's new Witch Trials Exhibit

 The featured exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts is now "The Salem Witch Trials: Reckoning and Reclaiming".  This show runs through March 20, 2022, and it is really three small exhibits inside one gallery, including two artistic projects by living people who used the 1692 witch hysteria as inspiration for their installments on display. 

John Proctor's sundial

George Jacob's walking stick 

This chest was owned by the Osborn family of Salem

Before the two featured art installations there were some artifacts and documents related to the 1692 witch trials on display.  Many of these artifacts and trial documents had been featured in last year's exhibit "The Salem Witch Trials 1692".  I was disappointed to not see a lot of new objects, but glad that these objects were here to put the art installations into context. 

Alexander McQueen, the fashion designer, knew that his family history included Elizabeth How, who was hanged as a witch in 1692.  His mother was an amateur genealogist.  He was inspired to create his 2007 winter collection in memory of How, and used symbols from the witch trials in his design.  A long, elegant, black evening gown from this collection is on display, as well as photographs and videos of the fashion show that featured these.  A long timeline of the witch trials encircles the room, with the actual documents and artifacts from Elizabeth How's trial and other trials.  This installation was well done. 

The "Major Arcana: Portraits of Witches in America" exhibit is photographs of modern people who identify themselves as modern witches, presented by photographer Frances F. Denny. Each portrait includes a statement from the person abut their identity as a witch.  The public was invited to share their impressions of the exhibit on social media using #1692witchtrials, or by pinning up a card on a nearby wall.  

This exhibit was much smaller than the one last fall/winter at the PEM, "The Salem Witch Trials 1692". It's focus was on art, with a little of the history of the 1692 events on display to put the art into context. 

For the truly curious:

My blog post on the earlier PEM exhibit "The Salem Witch Trials 1692":

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-peabody-essex-museums-special.html   

From the Peabody Essex Museum website:

https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/the-salem-witch-trials-reckoning-and-reclaiming   

UPDATE:

A blog post by Donna Amelia Segar of Salem State University:

https://streetsofsalem.com/2021/11/12/in-which-i-try-to-understand-the-peabody-essex-museums-current-exhibition-on-the-salem-witch-trials/   

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To Cite/Link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "At the Peabody Essex Museum's new Witch Trials Exhibit", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 8, 2021, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2021/11/at-peabody-essex-museums-new-witch.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Peabody Essex Museum's Special Exhibit on the Salem Witch Trials 1692

 

Last week Vincent and I carefully planned our first museum visit in almost a year.  The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts had their special exhibit The Salem Witch Trials 1692 open since September 26, 2020.  I was thinking I would miss this exhibit due to the pandemic.  We have been very careful about not going into many indoor places, including picking up groceries, staying home, and social distancing.  But this exhibit is closing on April 4, 2021 and we decided to try it as our first indoor excursion.

First of all, we did all the recommendations I heard from Dr. Fauci and the CDC to stay safe.  We double masked, including an N95 mask with a cloth mask over it.  We brought hand sanitizer and used it often, even though I didn't really touch anything in the museum (they had self opening doors in most places - just wave your hand! And tissues inside the elevators for touching the buttons, and hand sanitizer everywhere).   We both had received our first vaccines more than two weeks ago. 

On top of this, we thought carefully about planning a day and time for our trip.  Usually I book a medical appointment for the first opening of the day, and we go mid week if I have to go into a store to avoid crowds. So we planned to go on a Thursday morning to the Peabody Essex.  I discussed this with a staff member after we saw the Salem Witch Trial exhibit, and they said that Thursdays and Fridays were very slow (the museum is open Thursdays to Sundays 11am to 5pm).  And March is a good time to visit Salem if you want to avoid people.  It's too blustery and chilly to attract a lot of tourists.  And the exhibit is winding down.  If you want to go, go soon but plan the day and time carefully. 

As you can see from the photo below, the museum was almost empty, except for staff wandering here and there.  We were the only people inside the exhibit hall for almost 30 minutes, when another two people entered.  The photo below is the two of us in the main lobby, with no one else in sight!  It was very easy to social distance.  Tickets are timed to ensure that occupancy levels remain low, both for museum entry and the tickets to the special exhibits. 

The Salem Witch Trials 1692 is divided into many galleries, with a great introduction in the beginning about the history of witch trials in Europe, and included many famous old books I had only read about in accounts of Salem history. There were some fine original copies of Malleus Maleficarum and Cotton Mather's Wonders of the Invisible World.  The map below includes Salem, Salem Village and nearby towns, and I found the locations of three homes of ancestors who were hanged in 1692 - Bridget Bishop, George Jacobs, and John Proctor.  Also highlighted on this map was Beadle's Tavern, where some of the examinations for the trials took place, owned by another ancestor, Samuel Beadle (1643 - 1706). 

One gallery blew me away, with some artifacts I didn't know existed at all!  And every artifact had been owned by an ancestor.  There was a window from the Towne family home (Edmund Towne, my 8th great grandfather was also the brother of three accused witches).  There was an account book from Joshua Buffum (8th great uncle).  A brass sundial owned by John Proctor, hanged in 1692 (my 9th great grandfather).  A valuables chest owned by accusers Joseph and Bathsheba Pope (my 7th great grandparents) I previously blogged about HERE  along with the actually testimony of Joseph Pope against John Proctor.  Every article on display in this little niche touched one of my ancestral families. 

This sundial was owned by John Proctor, and was a valuable item

for it's time in 17th century Salem. 

The next gallery in this exhibit had many documents, including accounts submitted by the jailkeeper Wiliam Dounton (my 8th great grandfather) and items from the jail.  Dounton was a cruel man, and the descriptions of the jail are hair raising.  There was an actual bill for the board and food for prisoners, and a census of prisoners which included many family members.  The wall planks from the jail have been preserved and are on display here.  Prisoners accused of being witches were chained to these walls, including small children. 

I could go on describing items, but that would fill a book!  I enjoyed seeing George Jacobs's two walking sticks on display here.  They used to be in an exhibit on the first floor of the Phillips library when it was located across the street.  I hadn't seen them in a long, long time.  George Jacobs was my 9th great grandfather, hanged as a witch on 19 August 1692 along with John Proctor (described above with the sundial).  They also had the famous painting of Jacobs's trail done by Tompkins Harrison Matteson in 1859 and featured in almost every account of the witch trials.  This was displayed next to the document showing the examination of Jacobs by the magistrates which describe his two canes. 

One of the most moving items to me was the document with the red wax seal below.  It is the warrant for the execution of Bridget Bishop (my 9th great grandmother).  The bottom of the document has a note by the sheriff George Corwin who reported that he did his appointed job "I have taken the body of the within named Bishop... to the place for her Execution and Caused to be [hanged] by the neck until She was dead."   This gave me shivers to read the actual document. 

The last room of the exhibit hall names and remembers 25 victims of the Salem Witch Trials on the wall, and it also includes a wall called "Reckoning and Reflection".   The last part of the exhibit is called "Reaction and Impact" with documents and books written after 1692.  I liked especially a quote from Thomas Maule, 1695, on the wall that read "For it were better that one hundred Witches should live, than that one person be put to death for a Witch, which is not a Witch."   Maule was an outspoken critic of the trials.  His book, on display here, was the first condemnation of the trails published under its author's own name.  

If you don't want to visit in person, or if you can't visit the museum because of the pandemic or if you live at a distance, try this link from the PEM website and watch the 360 degree tour of The Salem Witch Trials 1692.  You can zoom in and out and move through the space using your mouse or finger.  https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/the-salem-witch-trials-1692  There is a second video on this page, with a tour of the galleries in the exhibit.  At the bottom of this page are links to related articles about the exhibit.  

There are two other exhibits currently at the PEM - Stories of Salem, From A to Z, and Made It: The Women Who Revolutionized Fashion.  We had tickets to the Stories of Salem, and I enjoyed it very much. There are many items, documents and ephemera from Salem history from pre-colonization to the present representing history, famous residents, art, design, industry, and pop culture.  If your family lived in Salem recently or long ago, you'll find lots of interesting items in this exhibit! 

This dollhouse belonged to a wealthy Salem Family over 100 years ago

Do you remember when Parker Brothers made their board games in Salem?

An exhibit of witches in pop culture in Salem contained this

weathered old weathervane!  I loved it! 

For the truly curious:

The Peabody Essex Museum:   https://www.pem.org/   

The museum is located at East India Square, 161 Essex Street, Salem, Massachusetts

Admission to the museum is $20 (seniors $18, students with ID $12, youths 16 and under and Salem residents are free)  The Salem Witch Trials 1692 is FREE but requires a timed entry ticket.  

Two links to blog posts about the Pope Valuables Chest:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/09/treasure-chest-thursday-at.html  

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

My lineage from Bridget Bishop:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/06/bridget-playfer-wasselbee-oliver-bishop.html  

My lineage from George Jacobs:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/04/surname-saturday-jacobs-of-salem.html    

My lineage from John Proctor:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/05/surname-saturday-proctor-of-salem.html  

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To Cite/Link to this post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Peabody Essex Museum's Special Exhibit on the Salem Witch Trials 1692", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 9, 2021, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-peabody-essex-museums-special.html: accessed [access date]). 

Ernest Allan Batchelder, Tilemaker (1875 – 1957) – A Cautionary Genealogy Tale!

My husband is hooked on the home remodeling TV shows on the HGTV, DIY, and PBS channels.  Even if he isn’t really watching TV, it is on in the background of our activities at home.  Lately he has been hooked on a show called “Restored” where the contractor Brett Waterman renovates classic 100 year old California houses back to their original architecture.  Many times I heard the words “Batchelder Tiles” on the TV show, and ran over to see what this was all about.  You see, I have ancestors named BATCHELDER, all descended from the Reverend Stephen Batchelder (1561 – 1656), an early New England settler and founder of the town of Hampton, New Hampshire. 

Every time I heard the phrase “Batchelder Tiles” I was sure that these Arts and Crafts era decorative tiles were made by a distant cousin. I know the name Batchelder is fairly uncommon, but in New Hampshire there are a huge number of Batchelder descendants from the Reverend Stephen Batchelder.  He had ten children, and dozens and dozens of grandchildren born in New England who left even more descendants. The 1898 Batchelder genealogy book written by Frederick Clifton Pierce is enormous, with over 600 pages. 

I started off by using Google, and was delighted to learn that these famous tiles were designed and manufactured by Ernest Allan Batchelder (1876 - 1957) born in Nashua, New Hampshire!  I was so happy to find a cousin! As I traced his family back to nearby Francestown, I was sure I found a descendant of Rev. Stephen Batchelder.  Or so I thought until I continued to follow his line in the Pierce book and on Ancestry, and checked the clues against vital records and other primary sources.  Can you believe that his lineage did NOT come from Rev. Stephen, but from Joseph Batcheller (1604 – 1647), an early settler at Wenham, in Essex County, Massachusetts. 

I should have not been so cocky.  I’ve owned Pierce’s book about the Batchelder genealogy, and it covers not only Rev. Stephen’s descendants, but also the brothers Joseph, Henry, Joshua and John Batchelder of Essex County, Massachusetts.  I’ve run into marriages from both lineages in my own family history research, and know many people who descend from the Massachusetts Batcheller/Batchelders. 

So this is a cautionary tale!  Never take for granted that someone is a cousin, no matter how unusual the surname, and always check the primary sources against lineages you see online.  

I also learned a lot about the Batchelder tiles while researching Ernest Allan Batchelder’s family.  These beautiful tiles are very common out west, especially in California, and are collectible treasures for restoring Arts and Crafts style homes.  Entire rooms were designed around these tiles, especially the fireplaces.  They feature neutral colors, often with animals, flowers and birds.  Some of the tiles are geometric and others have Mayan motifs. Their designs have stood the test of time, and have remained popular for generations.  (Scroll down to the bottom of this blog post for a peek at some Batchelder tiles)

Batchelder went to the Massachusetts Normal Art School, and removed to Pasadena, California to teach at the Throop Polytechnic Institute (now the California Institute of Technology).  As a hobby, Batchelder built a kiln in his Pasadena backyard in 1909 to hand craft tiles. 

Over time Ernest Batchelder wrote two books on architecture and design.  His tile making business went bankrupt during the depression when the house building market dried up.  He closed his business in 1932, but continued to dabble in pottery as a hobby until the 1950s. His house in Pasadena is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is decorated with Batchelder tiles inside and out on the chimney and the front walkway.  The house is privately owned, and not open to the public.


Although I was not related to Ernest Batchelder's paternal line, I am related through his Sleeper, Kimball and Whipple maternal ancestors.  Here are some of the resources I used to puzzle out the genealogy for Ernest Allan Batchelder’s genealogy:

MA-Vitalrecords.org   http://ma-vitalrecords.org/ 

Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org for the NH vital records and records from other states

Batchelder Bachellor Genealogy: Descendants of Rev. Stephen Bachiler, of England, a leading non-conformist, who settled the town of New Hampton, N.H., and Joseph, Henry, Joshua, and John Batcheller of Essex Co., Massachusetts, by Frederick Clifton Pierce, 1898.  Available online at the HathiTrust website and by subscription at the Ancestry.com website.

The Genealogy of the Batchelder Family of Hampton, New Hampshire by Charles Hull Batchelder, edited and prepared by Carl W. Brage in 1985, at the Lane Memorial Library of Hampton, New Hampshire website:  http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/genealog/batchelder/index.htm  

Find A Grave:  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/150035305/ernest-allan-batchelder 

Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_A._Batchelder 

Batchelder Tile Registry at the Pasadena Museum of History:  https://pasadenahistory.org/research-and-collections/batchelder-registry/ 

A book about Ernest Allan Batchelder Batchelder Tilemaker, was written by Robert Winter in 1999.  There is no preview on Google Books or Amazon of this book.  You can read more about this book at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Batchelder-Tilemaker-Robert-Winter/dp/1890449032 or at AbeBooks.com https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/batchelder-tilemaker/author/robert-winter/ 

To see the original Batchelder Tile Catalog, look at the “Tile Nut” website: http://www.tilenut.com/Batchelder/index2.html

Genealogy:

Generation 1:  Joseph Batcheller, was born 1604 in Canterbury, Kent, England, and died March 1647 in Wenham, Massachusetts; married in 1628 in Thangington, Kent, England to Elizabeth Dickenson. 

Generation 2: John Batchelder, was born 20 January 1638 in Salem, Massachusetts; died 17 December 1698 in Wenham, Massachusetts; married first on 12 July 1661 to Mary Dennis who died in 1665; married second on 4 May 1666 in Salem to Sarah Goodale, daughter of Richard Goodale and Dorothy Whiterent, mother of fourteen children.  She was born 31 May 1640 in Salem and died 22 March 1729. John Batcheller/Batchelder was involved in the 1692 witch trials as a juror.  He signed a statement asking for forgiveness for their judgement “we have been instrumental, with others, through ignorantly and unwittingly, to bring upon ourselves and this people of the Lord the guilt of innocent blood”.

Generation 3: David Batchelder, was born April 1673 in Wenham, Massachusetts; died 29 January 1766 in Wenham; married first on 7 May 1709 in Wenham to Susannah Whipple, daughter of Colonel Joseph Whipple and Alice Smith.  She was born 3 April 1676, Ipswich, Massachusetts and died 13 June 1764 in Wenham, Massachusetts (mother of nine children including Amos Batchelder).  Married second to Thankful Perham (nine more children!)

Generation 4: Amos Batchelder,was  born 6 April 1727 in Wenham, Massachusetts, died 4 May 1809 in Wenham; married on 18 December 1752 to Lydia Lord Kimball.  She was born 3 June 1734 in Wenham, and died 26 November 1813.

Generation 5: Amos Batchelder, was born 17 December 1761 in Wenham, Massachusetts; died 20 September 1843 in Francestown, New Hampshire; married on 9 June 1786 in Wenham to Hudah Kimball.  She was born 25 January 1764 in Wenham, and died 14 February 1846 in Francestown.

Generation 7: Levi Batchelder, was born 20 December 1798 in Francestown, New Hampshire, died 14 June 1875; married on 7 March 1826 in Francestown to Parmelia Batch. 

Generation 8: Elbridge Kimball Batchelder, was born 13  May 1826 in Francestown,New Hampshire; died 2 April 1900 in New Hampshire; married on 13 December 1849 in Francestown, New Hampshire to Cornelia Ann Vose.  Three sons.

Generation 9: Charles Levi Batchelder, was born 24 June 1851 in Francestown, New Hampshire, died 30 May 1906; married first on 26 November 1873 in Boston to Mary A. Sleeper; married second on 15 December 1882 to Etta Mary (Perkins) Spurling (mother of Ernest Allan Batchelder). 

Generation 10:  Ernest Allan Batchelder, was born 22 January 1876 in Nashua, New Hampshire, died 6 August 1957 in Los Angeles County, California.  He married on 30 July 1912 in Pasadena, California to Alice Emma Coleman, born 27 July 1873 in Beatrice, Gage County Nebraska, died 17 June 1948 in Los Angeles.  They had a son, Alan Coleman Batchelder born 4 August 1914 in Pasadena. 

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Ernest Allan Batchelder, Tilemaker (1875 – 1957) – A Cautionary Genealogy Tale!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 6, 2020, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/02/ernest-allan-batchelder-tilemaker-1875.html: accessed [access date]).

Weathervane Wednesday - Witches Flying

It's a special edition of Weathervane Wednesday!  Can you guess where this unusual weathervane might be located?

You might know this location if you are from the area, but this witch weathervane can be spotted over the clubhouse at the Salem Country Club, which is actually located in Peabody, Massachusetts!  This two dimensional weathervane is very detailed, down to the witch's hair flying in the wind, and her long hooked nose.

Right below the weathervane, over the front door, is another image of a witch!

And, there is a witch on the awning over the entrance to the function rooms.

Salem Country club was bounded on 4 November 1895, when members of the Old Salem Club met to organize a golf club.  The first nine hole golf course was located near the border of Marblehead. Then the club moved to the land known as the Sanders Farm in Peabody.  If you use Google, you will see there are many Salem Country Clubs (New York, Illinois, Oregon, New Jersey etc.), but this is the oldest.

The witch symbol needs no explanation.  In fact, it is very appropriate that the witch history carries on in Peabody, where more victims of the witch trials lived (back when it was known as "Salem Village") than in Salem town.

This weathervane was made by Walter Liff, a sculptor who works in metal and who often creates local weathervanes.  Walter Liff lives in New Hampshire.  According to his website, this weathervane is 48 3/8" wide and 48" high, made of structural aluminum plate. I have featured some of his other weathervanes HERE in New Castle, NH and HERE at a playground.


For the truly curious:

Salem Country Club website:    https://www.salemcountryclub.org

Steeling Nature (Walter Liff)  https://www.steelingnature.com

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday - Witches Flying", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 30, 2019, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/10/weathervane-wednesday-witches-flying.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ ALLEN of Salisbury, Massachusetts

There are a lot of ALLENs in my family tree!  I have posted two other ALLEN lines from my family tree.  William Allen (1602 – 1678) of Manchester, Massachusetts (three lineages, two on my maternal side, and one on my paternal side), and also a post about Samuel Allen (1598 – 1669) of Braintree, Massachusetts.  My mother’s maiden name is ALLEN.  I recently discovered a link to William Allen (1611 – 1686) of Salisbury, the subject of this post.  I had already researched quite a bit about this particular William Allen because he is often confused with William Allen of Manchester.  They have the same names, lived during the same time periods, lived in contiguous towns, and name their children the same names.  Phew!

William Allen was granted 4 acres of land on Deer Island on 19 June 1638.  This island is in the Merrimack River near Newbury.  He then settled in that part of Salisbury, Massachusetts that is now the town of Amesbury as early as 1639.  He was a housewright.  

William Allen married first to Ann Goodale, mother of eleven children, and then married second to Alice, the widow of both John Roper and John Dickinson.  William Allen died in 1686 and left a lengthy will that showed he was a very wealthy man.  The inventory of his estate was worth more than 280 pounds.

I descend from his fourth child, and third daughter, Martha Allen (1646 – 1718) who married Richard Hubbard.  Both Richard and Martha signed the Bradbury Petition on 22 July 1692, in support of Marry Bradbury of Salisbury and professing her innocence in the midst of the Salem witch trials.  Because of this and other ongoing petitions and protests her execution was delayed until after the hysteria had passed.  Mary Bradbury was never hanged, and she died of natural causes in 1700.  They had ten children and I descend from their daughter Comfort Hubbard who married Joshua Weeks. 

Some ALLEN resources:

The History of Gloucester by John James Babson, 1860 (some of his sketch on William Allen of Salisbury is mixed up with the William Allen of Manchester, particularly the bit about the early Dorchester Company)

Massachusetts and Maine Families in the Ancestry of Walter Goodwin Davis, by Walter Goodwin Davis, 1996, Volume I, pages 6 – 12.

Essex Antiquarian, Volume II, pages 17 - 25 for the article "Descendants of William Allen of Salisbury" [note that descendant #107 Jeremiah Allen married Abigail Allen of Manchester, intermarriage between the two Cape Ann Allen families!]

Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, by David W. Hoyt, 1897, page 31

My Hubbard Surname Saturday post:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/11/surname-saturday-hubbard-of-salisbury.html   

My ALLEN genealogy:

Generation 1:   William Allen, born 1611 probably in England, died 18 June 1686 on Deer Island, Newbury, Massachusetts; married first to Ann Goodale, daughter of Richard Goodale and Dorothy Whiterent.  She was born about 1622 in England and died 31 May 1678 in Salisbury, Massachusetts (eleven children); married second to Alice Unknown, the widow of John Roper and John Dickinson.

Generation 2:  Martha Allen, born about 1646 in Salisbury, died 4 October 1718 in Salisbury, married about 1666 to Richard Hubbard, the son of Richard Hubbard and Hannah Parker.  He was born about 1645 in Salisbury, and died 26 June 1719 in Salisbury.  Ten children.

Generation 3: Comfort Hubbard m. Joshua Weeks

Generation 4: Mary Weeks m. Jonathan Chesley

Generation 5: Comfort Chesley m. Stephen Perkins

Generation 6:  Mary Perkins m. Nathaniel Batchelder

Generation 7: Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 8: George E. Batchelder m. Abigail M. Locke

Generation 9: George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 10: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Batchelder

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Surname Saturday ~ ALLEN of Salisbury, Massachusetts”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 22, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/12/surname-saturday-allen-of-salisbury.html: accessed [access date]).