Monday, March 24, 2014

Edmond Honington Freeman c 1574- c 1624

    Edmond Honington Freeman and his wife Alice are my 10x great grandparents. They were apparently fairly well established in England and it appears that at least some of their offspring were educated.

Edmond Honington Freeman was b. c. 1572 in Pulborough, co. Sussex, England. He was the s/o John Freeman and Tryphona Isham.1 {Pronounced Eye-sham} She was from Northamptonshire, probably from a place called Isham. This name is a habitational name taking the Celtic word for the River Ise and combining it with the Old English word Ham, meaning 'homestead.' 2 She may have been related to Sir John Isham, High Sheriff of Northamptonshire.3 Edmond married Alice Coles, b. c. 1574- 1652 and they lived their entire lives in England. Edmond died when he was 52. Alice spent her later years with her daughter Alice and her son-in-law John de Beauchamp (Beecham). He was also a contributor to the Plymouth Colony but he never removed to there.

They married in Pulborough and had 6 children:
  1. i. Edmond (1596-1682) m1. (in 1617) Bennett Hodsall (1597-1630) – 6 children                                                           m2. (in c. 1635) Elizabeth Unknown – 1 child
    1. William (1600-1666) m. Christian Hodsall (1600-1638)
    2. Alice (1601-?) m. John de Beauchamp
    3. Eleanor (1603-1618)
    4. John (1606-1629)
    5. Elizabeth (1609-?)
1.   Edmond Freeman, b. in Billinghurst, co. Sussex and Bennett Hodsall, b. in Pulborough, co.         Sussex were married on Oct 12 1617 in Gravely, England. Bennett died in Pulborough on           Apr 12 1630 at the age of 32. He married his second wife, Elizabeth (it has been                        suggested her name was Gurney), in England and in 1635 departed on the ship Abigail with       his wife, 2 sons and 2 daughters. It is said he was a man of “much consideration in England       and brought with him much valuable plate.” He first settled in Lynn, Massachusetts Bay                 Colony, but after receiving permission from the Plymouth Colony for a grant of land, he                 moved to Sandwich around 1637. Edmond's family may have had connections with families       of the aristocracy. His sister's marriage to John de Beauchamp indicates her social                     position. The de Beauchamp family had roots in Normandy and one branch of the family             had been Earls of Warwick. Over 200-300 years the family had long time relationships with         many of the notable noble families of England. Bennett Hodsall's parents were John Hodsall       and Faith Gratwick. There is much confusion concerning this couple's dates of birth and             marriage. There doesn't seem to be any reliable sources to turn to, so I will merely present         them as the parents of Bennett Hodsall. (N.B. - the name is also spelled Hodsoll and                   sometimes with only one 'l'.)

Edmond and Bennett had children:

               i. Alice (1619-1651) m. (in 1639) William Paddy
              ii. Edmond (1620-1673) m. (in 1646) Rebecca Prence
             iii. Bennett (1621-1633)
              iv. Elizabeth (1624-1692) m. (in 1644) John Ellis
          2. v. John (1626-1719) m. (in 1649/50) Mercy Prence (1631-1711) – 10 children
             vi. Nathaniel (1629-1629)
 2.   John married Mercy Prence, d/o Gov. Thomas Prence and Patience Brewster and sister of         Rebecca who married John's brother Edmond. Mercy was b. bef. Sep 28 1631 in                         Plymouth Colony and she died in 1711 in Eastham, MA. John was prominent in public                 affairs as a deputy, selectman and as an assistant to the Gov. He was a deacon in the                 church and a Major in the military. He was a large land holder in the Orleans part of                       Eastham throughout his life. He was an early settler of Eastham along with Gov. Thomas             Prence and has often been considered one of its Founding Fathers. On his death, his will           gave his two slaves their freedom and conditions to ensure their well being, as well as                 providing bequests to his children.

John and Mercy had children:

              i.. John (1651-1721) m. (in 1672) Sarah Merrick – 8 child
             ii. Thomas (1653-1715) m. (in 1673) Rebecca Sparrow (1655-1739) – 10 children             3.     iii. Edmond (1657-1717)4 m1. (in 1677) Ruth Merrick
                                                         m2. (c. 1681) Sarah Mayo (1660-1746) – 12 children
            iv. Mercy (1659-1744) m. (in 1679) Samuel Knowles (1651-1737) – 11 children
             v. William (1663-1687) m. Lydia Sparrow (1660-?) - 2 children
            vi. Patience (1664-1745) m. (in 1682) Samuel Paine (1652-1712) – 9 children
           vii. Hannah (1664-1743) m. (in 1681) John Mayo (1656-1727) - 8 children
          viii. Prince (1665-1665)
            ix. Nathaniel (1669-1760) m. Mary Howland (1664-1743) – 6 children
             x. Bennett (1671-1716) m. (in 1689) John Paine (1661-1731) – 13 children.
       All descendants of John and Mercy Prence Freeman are Mayflower Descendants of                     William Brewster. The husbands of Patience and Bennett were brothers and Mayflower               Descendants of Stephen Hopkins. Edmund's wife and Hannah's husband were brother an         sister. With the children I have been able to find, John and Mercy were the grandparents of         at least 79 grandchildren.







                                               John Freeman















Mercy Freeman













                                                                 The burial site





The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vols. I-III
Find a Grave
  1. http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=isham
  2. Barnstable County Probate Records






Tuesday, March 4, 2014

William Nickerson (1604-1689) Chatham, Cape Cod, MA 2nd line of descent

With this post, I will show the second line of descent from William Nickerson, through his daughter ii. Sarah.

1ST GENERATION
i. William Nickerson and Anne Busby had children:
Nicholas (1628 Norwich, Eng - 1683 Yarmouth, MA, m. Mary Darby – 1 child
ia. Elizabeth (1629 Norwich, Eng – 1706 Monomoit, MA m. Robert Eldredge – 9                               children 
Robert (1631 Norwich, Eng – 1710) m. Rebecca Cole
Thomas (1633-1633 Norwich, Eng)
Anne (1631 Norwich, Eng – 1681) m. Tristram Hedges
Samuel (1638 Yarmouth, MA – c. 1719 Harwich, MA) m. Mary Bell
John (1640 Yarmouth, MA – 1714) m. Sarah Williams
iib. Sarah (1644 Yarmouth, MA – c. 1716 Yarmouth MA) m. Nathaniel Covel – 6                               children
iiic. William (1646 Yarmouth, MA – 1719 Chatham, MA) m. Mercy Williams - 7                                                           children
Joseph (1647- Yarmouth, MA – c. 1730 Harwich, MA) m. Ruhumah Jones – 2                                                              children

iib. Sarah Nickerson must have been an able administrator as she was engaged in several land transactions after her father’s death. William had arranged for the management of his entire domain to be handled by Sarah, which she did competently. Nathaniel Covel came to Boston on Aug 26, 1653, at the age of 9, to be the indentured servant of Edward Winslow. Nathaniel’s father had arranged for this as he lay dying. For part of the 7 years, Mr. Winslow assigned Nathaniel to Peregrine White, his son-in-law. When his indenture was over, Nathaniel moved to Yarmouth where he met and married Sarah Nickerson. Note that the name is spelled both Covel and Covell. To be consistent I’ve chosen the former.

iib. Sarah Nickerson and Nathaniel Covel had 6 children:
Elizabeth (1666-bef. 1747) m. (in 1688) Jehosaphat Eldredge (1658-1732) – 7                                                           children
Sarah (1669-1713) m. (in 1688) Benjamin Phillips (1668-1747)
Nathaniel (1670-?) m. (in 1697) Judith Nickerson (?- c. 1746)
William (1673-1760) m. Sarah Unknown
iiib. Joseph (1675-1741) m. (in 1704) Hannah Bassett (1669-1741) – 7 children
Ephraim (1677-1748) m. Mercy Brown – 1 child

iiib. Joseph Covel was married first to Lydia Stewart, who died before 1703. There was one child from this marriage but there is no further information, leading one to think the child and mother may have died together. He married Hannah Bassett in 1704 and had 7 children.
  
iiib. Joseph Covel and Hannah Bassett had 7 children:
ivb. Sarah (1705-1790) m. (in 1723) William Nickerson* (1701-1763) – 12                                         children
Constant (1706-1772) m. Ebenezer Nickerson* (c. 1697-?) – 7 children
James (c. 1709-?) m. Mehitable Nickerson*
Joseph (1710-?)
Nathaniel (?-?) m. Mary Chase
Dorcas (1714-1803) m. James Nickerson* (1704-1757) 1 – child
Hannah (1714-?)
 (*An interesting note on the above marriages to Nickersons. None of these Nickersons were siblings.)

ivb. Sarah Covel married in 1723 William Nickerson:
This William Nickerson was b. in Chatham, MA, May 15 1701 and died Feb 1763 in Chatham, MA, at age 61.  He married ivb. Sarah Covel in 1723.  It is written of William's death that he "drowned in a creek out of a canoe last week and is not found yet". His estate was proved 3 May 1763 and lists books, guns, a sword, spinning wheels and yarn, a mare, oxen, 2 heifers, 11 sheep, 10 lambs, his land at Monomessett Neck (now Nickerson Neck) with all the buildings thereon. In the division of his estate, 24 Jul 1772, Sarah received a woodlot in Harwich near Great Long Pond and a part of Monomesset Neck - "the west end with the buildings thereon - land runs into the Bay (Pleasant Bay) and near Salt Pond". William was thought to be somewhat of a religious fanatic and joined the new movement of "Separatists" or "New Lights". This sect, which first appeared in Connecticut and grew rapidly, had broken away from the established Church. They entertained more liberal views, believing, among other things, that a true preacher need not have a formal education and that the mode of performing the baptismal rite should be a matter of personal choice. They objected strenuously to being taxed for the support of the ministers of the Standing Order and submitted many fruitless petitions requesting to be relieved from this tax. On refusal to pay the tax some highly respectable men were imprisoned in Barnstable jail. In the 1740's, Joshua, William and Samuel Nickerson of Harwich were active in this movement. For a reason, that has not been discovered, he was known as William "Red Stockings". "Chatham Records April ye 18, 1739. I ye widow bassit of Chatham do oblige my self to you William Nickerson red stocking of said town if I can't find or make more by any means by your wife or find it my self I do forfit two coverleds of like sort said witness our hands - Nathan bassit, Nathaniel Bassit. Mary Bassit  X her mark."

ivb. Sarah Covel and William Nickerson had 12 children:
Nicholas
Absalom (1724-?) m. Sarah Unknown – 1 child
Deliverance (1726-1780) m. (in 1742) Ebenezer Eldredge (1709-1797) – 12                                          children
Stephen (1726-1801) m.1 (c. 1750) Dorcas Nickerson (1727-1787) – 5 children                                                    divorced c. 1769
                                 m.2  (in 1782) Martha Adams Hallett (1760-1830)                                                               – 4 children
James (1730-1781) m. (in 1749) Mehitable Covel
Mercy (1732-1805) m. (in 1752) Hemen Kenney (1732-1775)
vb. Elizabeth (1735-1826) m. (in 1752) Archelaus Smith (1734-1821)
William (1736-?) m. Martha Ellis (1737-1785)
Lumbart (1739-?) m. Eunice Rider
Susannah (1741-?) m. (in 1762) Isaac Howes
Joshua (1743-?) m. (in 1763) Deborah Rider
Gideon (1746-1811) m. (in 1764) Sarah Bearse (1748-1815) – 12 children

Their daughter vb. Elizabeth Nickerson m. Archelaus Smith, a descendant of Ralph Smith of Eastham, MA.  {See my blog on Ralph Smith for more information on this family.}

vb. Elizabeth Nickerson was b. in Chatham, MA, May 15 1735.  Elizabeth died Apr 2 1828 in Cape Sable Is., at age 92.  She was married to Archelaus Smith, Jul 16 1752 in Chatham, MA, by Rev. Stephen Emery.  Archelaus went to Barrington, N.S. in the summer of 1758. The following account is given:
          "Archelous Smith had sent for his family to come from Cape Cod to Barrington, but owing to evil reports about the Indians sent a message to the contrary. When, however, he was departing through West Passage, his wife and four children were coming in the East Passage in Capt. Eldad Nickerson's vessel. Some fishermen, making fish at the Head, helped Mrs. Smith and made a log house for her and left her what provisions they could when they went away. He was storm-stayed and unable to get back that winter with food and his house frame. The Indians helped her at times and she fought off the bears with fire brands". Elizabeth Smith at her death left five children, 56 grandchildren, 297 great-grandchildren, 64 of the fifth, and one of the sixth generation living, exclusive of a daughter in the United States, who had a large family and of several grandchildren who had removed from Barrington. 
                                                                                            Archelaus Smith Museum
     She:    
          " Enjoyed the power before she died,   
          Of saying what's to most denied,
            Rise daughter, to thy daughter run,
            Thy daughter's daughter has a son."

She was described as a tall, masculine woman with an energetic temperament.

vb. Elizabeth Nickerson and Archelaus Smith had 8 children:
Susannah (1753-1738) m. (in 1767) Joseph Atwood (1749-?) – 17 children
vib. Hezekiah (1754-1834) m. (in 1774) Abigail Doane (1758-1847) – 15 children
Mercy (1759-1845) m. (c. 1787) John Cunningham (1755-1845) – 8 children Eunice (1760-?) m. (in 1776) Henry Newell – 4 children
James (1762-1843) m. (in1784) Sarah Wilson – 6 children             
Stephen (1764-1826) m. (in 1785) Sarah Hinckley               
Archelaus, Jr . (1766-1836) m. (in 1785) Patience Hamilton – 2 children
Hannah (1768-?) m. (in 1785) Daniel Vincent

(nb. I have only included the numbers of children that I could find. They don’t add up to 56, so there are several missing.)

vib. Hezekiah Smith m. Abigail Doane. They had 15 children:
Hezekiah, Jr. (1775-?) m. (in 1774) Mercy Crowell – 1 child
John Osborne (1777-1823 m. Elizabeth Nickerson (1782-?)
William (1780-1817) m.  (in 1799) Mary Nickerson
James (1782-1842) m. (in 1805) Jane McLaren
Stephen (1784-1785)
viib. Stephen (1786-1870) m. in 1809) Elizabeth Spinney (1789-1874) – 9                              children
Hannah (1788-?) m. (in 1813) John Cunningham (1788-1871) – 7 children
Israel (1790-?) m. Maria Brooks
Abigail (1792-?) m. William Atkinson
Edward (1794-?) m. Susanna Gardner
Elizabeth (1795-1814)
Mehetabel (1797-1798)
Keziah (1799-?) m. Duncan McCallum Cunningham -3 children
Charles (1802-?)
Susannah (1803-1818)


viib. Stephen Smith and Elizabeth Spinney had 9 children:
Abigail (1813-1899) m. Eleazer Crowell
Reliance (1815-?) m.1 Oldham Brown
                            m.2 Benjamin Smith -3 children
Stephen (1817-?) m. Hannah Williams (1822-1884)
Elias (1819-?) m. Harriet Lewis (1816-?)
Nathaniel (1821-?) m. Eliza Unknown
viiib. Rachel (1823-1881) m.1 John Conrad Swansburg (1789-1850) – 3 children
                                                                                    m.2 Samuel Scarr (c. 1814-?) – 2 children
Mary (1825-?)
Susannah (1827-1870) m. Alexander Phillips
Osborne Doane (1829-?) m. Lucinda Unknown
Bartlet Covel (1833-?) m. Susan Unknown
Nehmiah Melvin (1833-1920) m. Jedidah Kimball Hopkins (1830-?) – 3 children

viiib. Rachel Smith Swansburg and Samuel Scarr
ix. Mary Ellen Scarr and Henry Gordon Carmichael
x. Nora Edith Carmichael and Jesse Pye – my grandparents





Barrington Township and Vicinity, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia, 1604-1870, Edwin Crowell, M.A., D.D., 1923