M. (1) 1639 in (probably) Rowley, Massachusetts2
Husband: Francis Parrat
M. (2) 24 Feb 1658 in Rowley, Massachusetts3
Husband: Thomas Tenney
D. 17 Nov 1694 in Bradford, Massachusetts4
The course of Elizabeth Northend’s life was changed by the man named to look after her interests when she was a girl. Elizabeth was born in about 1618 in Riplingham, England,1 which was part of the town of Rowley in Yorkshire. Her parents were John Northend and Elizabeth Cole, who were wealthy landowners; Elizabeth was the fourth of their eight children.
After both of her parents died in 1625, their property was held in trust for Elizabeth and most of her siblings to be overseen by their uncle Robert and Rowley’s minister, Reverend Ezekiel Rogers.5 He would become a significant figure in Elizabeth’s life. Reverend Rogers was a non-conformist who was dismissed from the Church of England in 1638 after a disagreement over doctrine, and this led to his migration to Massachusetts with 22 families from Rowley. Among the group were Elizabeth and some of her siblings. They left on a ship called John of London which sailed out of Hull, England, and brought them to America.6 The first winter was spent in Salem, then Reverend Rogers took his followers six miles north to set up a new town which they named Rowley in honor of their town of origin.6
Window of St. Peter's Church in Rowley, England honoring the 1638 voyage to America. (Source: Find A Grave)
Elizabeth was 21-years-old in 1639 when she married another settler named Francis Parrat.2 He was also from Rowley, England and had come over on the same boat, so he likely had known her for some time. There is no record of their marriage, but it probably happened in the new settlement. Elizabeth became pregnant soon after and had a baby girl born in May of 1640.7 She had seven more in the next decade or so; two of them died as infants.
In 1652, Elizabeth and her husband were witnesses in a court case for a man who claimed he heard a spirit voice that caused him to act crazy;8 it’s not known what they said during the trial. The man was ordered to be publicly whipped. Just three years later, Elizabeth’s husband was involved in another matter that had him sailing back to England. Unfortunately, something happened to him on the trip, and he passed away, leaving her a widow with six children.9
Elizabeth remarried on February 24, 1658 to a recently widowed neighbor named Thomas Tenney.3 Like she and her first husband, Thomas and his wife had come from Rowley, England on the John of London, then married in New England soon after. He brought six children into his marriage with Elizabeth making for what must have been a crowded household. Elizabeth’s daughter Mercy married Thomas’s son John in 1664,10 an event which sometimes happened in blended families. Elizabeth and Thomas had no children together, probably due to the fact she was past 40 when they married.
All during these years, Reverend Rogers was still a presence in Rowley guiding the followers of his church, but in 1661, he passed away.6 Even though he had been married three times, he had no children, and perhaps this is why others in his life were mentioned in his will. Elizabeth was one of them; he left her £10 with the curious note that she had been his “sometime servant.”5 Whether this was a reference to her relationship as an underaged girl, or that she worked for him later in his life, is unknown.
Sometime before the end of her life, Elizabeth and Thomas moved to the newer inland community of Bradford, Massachusetts. This is where she died on November 17, 1694.4 Thomas lived another five years, dying in early 1700. Elizabeth had noteworthy descendants President Chester Alan Arthur, Charles and John Sargent Pillsbury (founders of Pillsbury Co.), Bette Davis, and singer James Taylor.11
Children (all by Francis Parrat):
1. Elizabeth Parrat — B. 1 May 1640, Rowley, Massachusetts;7 D. 9 May 1690, Haverhill, Massachusetts;12 M. Samuel Worcester (1629-1681), 29 Nov 1659, Rowley, Massachusetts13
2. Faith Parrat — B. 20 Mar 1642, Rowley, Massachusetts;14 D. 15 Oct 1715, Rowley, Massachusetts;15 M. Ezekiel Jewett (1643-1723), 26 Feb 1663, Rowley, Massachusetts16
3. John Parrat — B. 22 Feb 1643, Rowley, Massachusetts;17 D. young
4. Sarah Parrat — B. 22 Feb 1643, Rowley, Massachusetts;18 D. 9 Oct 1663, (probably) Rowley, Massachusetts19
5. Mercy Parrat — B. 23 Jul 1646, Rowley, Massachusetts;20 D. 27 Nov 1667, (probably) Rowley, Massachusetts;21 M. John Tenney (1640-1722), 26 Feb 1664, Rowley, Massachusetts10
6. Mary Parrat — B. 15 Jul 1647, Rowley, Massachusetts;22 D. 28 Sep 1714, Rowley, Massachusetts;23 M. John Sawyer (1648-1722), about 1674, Rowley, Massachusetts24
7. Martha Parrat — B. 9 Oct 1649, Rowley, Massachusetts;25 D. 13 Jul 1730, Amesbury, Massachusetts;26 M. Isaac Colby (1640-1723), 1668, Salisbury, Massachusetts27
8. Hannah Parrat — B. 21 Dec 1651, Rowley, Massachusetts;28 D. young
Sources:
1 Estimated birth year for Elizabeth Northend based on birth of oldest child Elizabeth Parrat, Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, FamilySearch.org
2 Estimated marriage year for Francis Parrat and Elizabeth Northend based on birth of oldest child Elizabeth Parrat, M. B. & C.
3 Marriage record of Thomas Tenney and Elizabeth Parrat, Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, FamilySearch.org
4 Find-a-Grave listing for Elizabeth Tenney
5 Ancestry of Charles Stinson Pillsbury and John Sargent Pillsbury, V. 2, p. 950, Mary Lovering Holman, 1938
6 Ezekiel Rogers (Wikipedia article)
7 Birth record of Elizabeth Parrat, M. B. & C.
8 Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volume I, edited by George Francis Drew, 1912
9 Probate file of Francis Parrat, Essex County Massachusetts Probate File Papers, 1638-1881, AmericanAncestors.org
10 Marriage record of John Tenney and Mercy Parrat, M., T. C., V. & T. R
11 FamousKin.com listing for Elizabeth Northend
12 Find-a-Grave listing for Elizabeth Worcester
13 Marriage record of Samuel Worcester and Elizabeth Parrat, M., T. C., V. & T. R
14 Birth record of Faith Parrat, M., T. C., V. & T. R
15 Death record of Faith Jewett, M., T. C., V. & T. R
16 Marriage record of Ezekiel Jewett and Faith Parrat, M., T. C., V. & T. R
17 Birth record of John Parrat, M., T. C., V. & T. R
18 Birth record of Sarah Parrat, M., T. C., V. & T. R
19 Death record of Sarah Parrat, M., T. C., V. & T. R
20 Birth record of Mercy Parrat, M., T. C., V. & T. R
21 Death record of Mercy Tenney, M., T. C., V. & T. R
22 Birth record of Mary Parrat, Rowley birth records
23 Death record of Mary Parrat, Rowley death records
24 Estimated marriage date of Edward Sawyer and Mary Parrat based on age of oldest child Edward, M. B. & C.
25 Birth record of Mercy Parrat, M., T. C., V. & T. R
26 Find-a-Grave listing for Martha Colby
27 Marriage record of Isaac Colby and Martha Parrat, U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Ancestry.com
28 Birth record of Hannah Parrat, M. B. & C.
