Jedidah Smith and Rev. Samuel Osborn
Over the last 30 years or so, I have taken time to search
for more information on Rev. Samuel Osborn. As yet, I can find nothing new that
has come to light. What I found all those years ago is still all I have today. He
was born in Northern Ireland of Scottish parents. He was educated at Dublin University
for the ministry. By 1712 he was teaching in Sandwich , MA
and from 1718-1737 he was the minister at Eastham MA. By 1737, a group of
ministers gathered and judged Samuel Osborn not sufficiently Calvinistic and
therefore he was dismissed from his position.
He became a grantee of land in Barrington ,
NS but found the labor so intensive that he
returned to Boston .
He did not exercise his ministry while in NS. About 1770 he left the province and returned to Boston MA
where he died at about the age of 90.
It is stated by some that Rev. Osborne was married three
times. His first wife was Jedidah Smith.
Together they had 6 children. There is some controversy about the Rev. Samuel
having another child, an illegitimate child, with Mercy Norton. The confusion
arises because Mercy Norton claimed he was the father of her son b. in 1711,
named Samuel. The Rev. Samuel and his wife Jedidah also had a son named Samuel
b. in 1711. Court records in Dukes
County , MA , 1711,
show that Samuel Osborn was convicted of
“being the father of an illegitimate child born of the body of Mercy
Norton.” He was ordered to pay child support. His son, Samuel, with his wife
Jedidah married Margaret Briant, while his son, Samuel, with Mercy Norton
married Kezia Butler. So, although he had a child with Mercy, they were never
married. His 2nd wife was Elizabeth Scudder.
The children of Rev. Samuel Osborn and Jedidah Smith:
ii. Jonathan (1714-1753) m. Anna Doane – 6
children
4 iii. Elizabeth
(1715-1798) m. in 1749 Edmond Doane (1718-1806) – 7
children
iv. Mary
(1718 – died young)
v. Sarah (1720-?)
vi. Abigail
(1724-1764) m. in 1749 John Homer (1724-1800)
Rev. Samuel Osborn with Mercy Norton:
Samuel
(1711-1753) m. Kezia Butler
4 Elizabeth Osborn and Edmond Doane
Edmond Doane married Elizabeth Osborn as
her third husband. She married her first husband, William Merrick (Myrick), in
1734. William was born in Harwich MA and was a Mayflower descendant of Stephen
Hopkins. He was lost at sea in 1742. They had three children:
William
Merrick, b. 1734
Gideon,
who was mentioned in his grandfather's will
William
Paine, b. 1746, d. 1812 in NY ,
NY according to Paine Family Records he was the
father of John Howard Paine, actor and poet noted as the creator of
“Home
Sweet Home”
Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
Which seek thro' the world, is ne'er met
elsewhere.
Home! Home!
Sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home
There's no place like home!
Mrs. Elizabeth Doane was a woman of
considerable education, of more than ordinary personal attractions and natural
ability. Having a good knowledge of
medicine, and being skilled in the use of roots and herbs, she was the only
nurse and doctor to all the sick of all the township. Her services were much sought after and
appreciated. When advanced in years or
when making long trips, she was carried in a basket suspended from a pole
across the shoulders of two men. She
returned several times to New England to visit
her relatives and friends. In 1763 she was one of three passengers who came up
from Barrington on the sloop Sherburn, Capt. Jonathan
Clarke, arriving in Boston ,
Jul 28. Again in Sep, 1767 she came over to Boston on the sloop Dove, Capt. Joseph
Chapman. It is said the old pestle, with which she pounded her roots and herbs,
is still in use and in possession of her great-granddaughter, as well as
Edmund's old Family Bible, on the fly leaf of which is written: "Edmund Doane, his book, bought in New
England whilst he lived there." She is buried in the old burial ground at
Barrington Head.
4 Elizabeth Osborn and Edmond Doane
had children all born in Eastham ,
MA :
i. Israel (1750-?) m. (in 1772) Desire
Nickerson – 7 children
ii. Samuel O. (1752-?) m. Sarah
Harding – 9 children
iii. Prince (1753- Lost at sea)
iv. Jedidah (1754-?) m. Ansel
Crowell - 5 children
v. Ruth (1756-?) m. Hemen Kenney
– 11 children
5. vi.
Abigail (1758-1847) m. Hezekiah Smith – 15 children
vii. Edmond
(1759-?) m. Tamsin Hamilton – 9 children
The remaining families have been covered several times so I
would refer you to the blogs on the Freemans and Ralph Smith.
Abigail Doane m. Hezekiah Smith
Steven Smith m. Elizabeth Spinney
Rachel Smith m. Samuel Scarr
Mary Ellen Scarr m. Henry Gordon Carmichael
Nora Carmichael m. Jesse Pye – my grandparents