M. (1) before 1631 in England1
Husband: Ezekiel Richardson
M. (2) 27 Mar 1651 in Woburn, Massachusetts2
Husband: Henry Brooks
D. 15 Sep 1681 in Woburn, Massachusetts3
This story is about a woman whose exact origins are unknown, but who had a remarkable detail reported about her later in life. She was born with the name Susannah somewhere in England in about 1610,1 or even a few years before. Susannah has been erroneously identified as a daughter of William Bradford, the governor of the Plymouth Colony who came over on the Mayflower, and this has been disproven. It’s also been said she had an early marriage to a man named Bradford, but the source of that is also uncertain.
The paper trail for Susannah begins with her status as the wife of Ezekiel Richardson in colonial New England. It’s believed that they migrated to Massachusetts as a married couple in the Winthrop Fleet during the late spring of 1630.1 Ezekiel was from the village of Westmill in Hertfordshire, and this is likely where the couple met and got married.1 Their lives centered around their Puritan beliefs, and they were compelled to take the risky venture of moving across the Atlantic. Once in Massachusetts, Susannah and Ezekiel became part of a small group who settled in Charlestown, across the water from Boston. Their names were on the list of original members of the church at Charlestown, which was founded on November 2, 1632.2
Susannah was known to have seven children born between about 1632 and 1643, with three who died young. Before the last child was born, her family had moved to a new settlement further inland called Woburn.2 Her husband Ezekiel was one of the town’s leaders, but he died October 21, 1647 at the age of 45.2 Susannah was left alone to manage her household, until when on March 27, 1651 she married a widower named Henry Brooks.2 He was almost 60-years-old when they married, and had three children from his first wife still in his household. Susannah and Henry had no children together.
Few details survive about the day-to-day life of early colonial women, but a mention of Susannah in a journal reveals that she provided medical treatment in her community. She was called "an ancient and skillful woman, famous for her attainments in medical science," and in the case being described, she performed surgery to save a life.4 The author of the journal was Daniel Gookin, a man in charge of Massachusetts' indigenous people who converted to Christianity, also known as the Praying Indians. These people lived in villages which were often attacked by non-Christian Indians, and in 1670, a raid in one village left several of them dead. When the English authorities came in to collect the bodies for burial, they found a 14-year-old girl who had been partially scalped and was still alive. The men rescued her, and not knowing what else to do, brought her to “Goodwife Brooks” of Woburn.
Gookin wrote that Susannah took care of the girl for about the next three years. The first thing she had to do was to clean up the wound, which included a fractured skull; Gookin later visited Susannah and saw “a piece or two” of the bone she had removed. The girl was said to have made a complete recovery, and was back among her people in May 1674. How Susannah had learned to treat and cure people is a mystery. She certainly had no formal education, and couldn’t even sign her own name. It’s likely that she was trained by other women early in her life who often passed down such traditions.
Excerpt from Historical Collections of the Indians in New England, printed in 1792.
Praying Indians in New England.
Susannah died on September 15, 1681 in Woburn;3 her husband Henry remarried, but died less than two years later.3 She had some important descendants including Franklin Pierce, George W. Bush, Barbara Bush, Jeb Bush, Katharine Hepburn, Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson, Mike Love, former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bartlett Giamatti and actor Paul Giamatti.5
Children (all by Ezekiel Richardson):
1. Phebe Richardson — B. before 3 Jun 1632, (probably) Charlestown, Massachusetts;2 D. 13 Sep 1716, Woburn, Massachusetts;6 M. Henry Baldwin (~1630-1698), 1 Nov 1649, Woburn, Massachusetts2
2. Theophilis Richardson — B. before 22 Dec 1633, Charlestown, Massachusetts;2 D. 28 Dec 1674, Woburn, Massachusetts;7 M. Mary Champney (1635-1704), 2 May 1654, Woburn, Massachusetts2
3. Josiah Richardson — B. before 7 Nov 1635, Charlestown, Massachusetts;2 D. 22 Jun 1695, Chelmsford, Massachusetts;8 M. Remembrance Underwood (1640-1718), 6 Jun 1659, Concord, Massachusetts2
4. John Richardson — B. before 21 Jul 1638, Charlestown, Massachusetts;2 D. 7 Jan 1643, Woburn, Massachusetts2
5. Jonathan Richardson — B. before 13 Feb 1640, Charlestown, Massachusetts;2 D. (probably) young
6. James Richardson — B. before 11 Jul 1641, Charlestown, Massachusetts;2 D. 28 Jun 1677, Scarborough, Maine;9 M. Bridget Henchman (~1638-1731), 28 Nov 1660, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
7. Ruth Richardson — B. 23 Aug 1643, Woburn, Massachusetts;2 D. 7 Sep 1643, Woburn, Massachusetts2
Sources:
1 Estimated years of Susannah’s birth and first marriage are based on ages of her children
2 The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1633, Robert Charles Anderson, 1995
3 Woburn Records of Births, Deaths , and Marriages, from 1640 to 1873, Part II – Deaths, 1890
4 John Eliot and the Praying Indians of Massachusetts Bay, Kathryn N. Gray, 2013
5 FamousKin.com
6 Death record of Phebe Baldwin, Massachusetts Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, FamilySearch.org
7 Death Record of Theophilus Richardson, M.T.C., V &T.R.
8 Death Record of Josiah Richardson, M.T.C., V &T.R.
9 Find-a-Grave listing for James Richardson
