Property in Old & New England — Nicholas Woodbury

B. about Apr 1618 in (probably) South Petherton, England
M. about 1651 in (probably) Massachusetts
Wife: Anna Palgrave
D. 16 May 1686 in Beverly, Massachusetts

Nicholas Woodbury was a man of modest wealth, and of land that he owned on both sides of the Atlantic. He was born in Somerset, England, and was baptized in the village of South Petherton on April 19, 1618. His parents were William Woodbury and Elizabeth Patch, and he was the oldest of their seven children.

It’s uncertain when Nicholas’ family migrated to Massachusetts, but it was sometime during the Great Puritan Migration. His father was known to have owned land in Salem in 1636, and the following year, on October 15th, 19-year-old Nicholas was granted a 10-acre lot of his own. There were other extended members of the Woodbury and Patch families in Salem, and along with a few other families, they made their homes on the east side of the Bass River. In 1653, Nicholas was granted 40 more acres, and three years later, he received 4 acres of meadow.

Young early settler in Massachusetts. (AI-generated image)

Nicholas married a woman named Anna Palgrave in about 1651, but it isn’t known where the wedding took place. Anna came over from England during the 1630s with her mother and step-father, and she had inherited a substantial amount of land in Great Yarmouth, England. When she married, Nicholas became the legal owner of her property. The couple had nine children born between 1652 and 1668, only one of whom died young.

By the late 1650s, the part of Salem where Nicholas lived was becoming its own community, and in 1659, he was one of the men who signed a petition to form their own church. It wasn’t until 1668 that the settlement was formally incorporated as Beverly. Like many men in the area, Nicholas engaged in fishing as well as farming; Beverly was located on the coast of Massachusetts, and included some inlets and bays. For a time, Nicholas owned a mill that was said to be near Mackerel Cove (in present-day Beverly, there is a road named Woodbury Street in that area).

 

Nicholas served Beverly as a constable in 1669 and a selectman in 1670. He was chosen for juries at the court in Salem several times, but in 1663, he was fined 10 shillings for missing jury duty. On November 28, 1671, Nicholas was sued by a married couple for “withholding a piece of land they claimed was rightfully theirs.” This had to do with some land Nicholas had purchased from the woman’s two sons from a previous marriage. She was claiming that she owned the land, not her sons, but she had no proof, and it eventually came out that her current husband put her up to it—he was scheming to own the property. The court ruled in Nicholas’ favor.

When Nicholas died on May 16, 1686, he left an estate valued at £2,573, a large amount of money for the time. The property in Great Yarmouth, England went back to his wife Anna. When she passed away in 1701, she left it to be divided among her children. Among Nicholas descendants is First Lady Grace Coolidge.

Children:
1. Anna Woodbury — B. Mar 1652, Salem, Massachusetts; D. 30 Jun 1714, Boston, Massachusetts

2. Joanna Woodbury — B. Mar 1653, Salem, Massachusetts; D. before 30 Jun 1714, Boston, Massachusetts; M. Samuel Plummer (1647-1718), Beverly, Massachusetts

3. Nicholas Woodbury — B. May 1654, Salem, Massachusetts; D. young

4. Abigail Woodbury — B. 28 Aug 1655, Salem, Massachusetts; D. 28 Jan 1741, Beverly, Massachusetts; M. Richard Ober (1641-1715), 26 Dec 1671, Beverly, Massachusetts

5. Nicholas Woodbury — B. 31 Jul 1657, Salem, Massachusetts; D. 13 Oct 1691, Beverly, Massachusetts; M. Mary Elliott (1662-1729), 4 Jun 1684, Salem, Massachusetts

6. Joseph Woodbury — B. Sep 1659, Salem, Massachusetts; D. 14 Oct 1714, Manchester, Massachusetts; M. Elizabeth West (1663-?), 19 Dec 1687, Beverly, Massachusetts

7. Isaac Woodbury — B. Nov 1663, Salem, Massachusetts; D. Oct 1733, Ipswich, Massachusetts; M. Elizabeth Herrick (1668-1703), 1687

8. Andrew Woodbury — B. 20 Sep 1665, Salem, Massachusetts; D. 3 Jun 1694, Beverly, Massachusetts; M. Emma Elliot (~1665-?)

9. Benjamin Woodbury — B. 26 Apr 1668, Beverly, Massachusetts; D. 23 Mar 1698, Beverly, Massachusetts; M. Mary Woodbury (1674-1712), 23 Mar 1693, Beverly, Massachusetts

Sources:
Genealogical Sketches of the Woodbury Family, Charles Levi Woodbury, 1904
Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volumes I - IX, edited by George Francis Drew, 1912-1921, 1975
WikiTree

Philadelphia to Detroit in 1750s — Marie-Joseph Thomas

B. about 1740 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
M. 14 May 1759 in Detroit, New France
Husband: Louis Victor Edeline
D. before 28 Apr 1799 in Vincennes, Northwest Territory

There’s an amazing story about how Marie-Joseph Thomas of Philadelphia ended up living at the remote French outpost of Detroit in the 1750s. Unfortunately, it’s entirely lost to history.

How and why did Marie-Joseph make that trip? The only known facts come from her marriage record. On May 14, 1759, she married Louis Victor Edeline at Ste-Anne-de-Detroit parish. Louis Victor was a 28-year-old man from the Montreal area who had been living at Detroit since about 1750. The marriage record stated that Marie-Joseph had been in Detroit “for about two years or so,” and that she was a native of Philadelphia. Her father was called “André Thomas” and her mother’s name appeared to be written as “Lolis.” One more fact was that Marie-Joseph was a Catholic, or she wouldn’t have been allowed to marry her husband in the Church. 

An 18th-century Detroit wedding. (AI-generated image)

It’s highly unlikely Marie-Joseph started out as a French Catholic because very few Catholics were living in Philadelphia in 1733. Also the name “Thomas” may not have been a French name—her father was probably Andrew instead of André. Based on the birth year of her youngest child, Marie-Joseph would have been no older than about 18 when she came to Detroit, and she was probably a little younger. From all evidence, she had no family with her. Since the French and Indian War was raging at the time, it doesn’t seem plausible that she was part of some sort of pioneer migration, and as a teenage girl, she wouldn’t have trekked through a war zone by herself.

But there is one way Marie-Joseph may have ended up at Detroit: as a captive. Her family may have been among the many settlers who were homesteading on the frontier in Pennsylvania. It was said that thousands of settlers were raided by hostile Indians during that time, with adults killed and children abducted. Often children, even teenagers, were raised as members of a tribe, and some were transported for long distances. So it was possible for Marie-Joseph to have been captured, then handed off to the French in Detroit. There she may have been taught French by nuns and converted to Catholicism.

There was another way Marie-Joseph might have been a captive. During the 1750s, a fort at the site of present-day Pittsburgh was involved in the conflict between the English and French. On July 9, 1755, the fort was successfully captured by the French, and it was reported that about 25 English women who served as maids and cooks were taken captive. Marie-Joseph may have been barely old enough to be among them. There’s no report of where the women were taken, but perhaps some ended up in a place like Detroit.

While Marie-Joseph’s early life is speculation, the rest of her years are somewhat well-documented. After marrying Louis Victor, Detroit fell to the British in 1760, and around this time, the two of them moved to Post Vincennes in present-day Indiana. It was here that Marie-Joseph gave birth to her first child in September 1761, who died young. She would eventually have 11 children, with the youngest born in 1786.

Starting in 1763, the fort at Vincennes was occupied by the British, and when news of the American Revolution was brought to the village in 1778, the French settlers were eager to support the rebel cause. Marie-Joseph’s husband Louis Victor signed the oath of allegiance to the Americans, then became a captain in a newly formed militia. The following February, George Rogers Clark led a sneak attack on the fort, successfully winning the surrender of the British, and it was said that all of Vincennes helped, including the women. But Marie-Joseph may not have actively participated because the very next day, she gave birth to a baby girl. The child was named Victoire, and was the first American child born in what is now Indiana.

After the war, Louis Victor was appointed as a judge, and the family had some prominence in the community. Sadly, Marie-Joseph seems to have died sometime between the marriage of her son Nicholas on August 10, 1795 and her husband's death on April 28, 1799.

Children:
1. Marie-Louise Edeline – B. 9 Sep 1761, Post Vincennes, New France; D. before 1770

2. Marie-Joseph Edeline – B. Oct 1763, Post Vincennes, New France;  D. 21 May 1796, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. (1) Nicholas Perrot, 24 Jul 1778, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory; (2) Jean-François Hamtramck (1756-1803)

3. Marie-Barbe Edeline — B. 13 Dec 1764, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory; D. before 11 Dec 1809, Vincennes, Indiana Territory; M. Jacques Cardinal (1761-1810), 2 Aug 1784, Vincennes, Virginia Territory

4. Jean-Louis Edeline – B. Jan 1767, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory

5. Marie-Louise Edeline — B. 28 Oct 1770, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory; D. Jan 1793; M. Joseph Joyeuse (1769-?), 15 Feb 1791, Vincennes, Northwest Territory

6. Nicholas Edeline — B. 2 Nov 1772, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory; M. Therese Godere (1778-?), 10 Aug 1795, Vincennes, Northwest Territory

7. Joseph Marion Edeline — B. 28 Aug 1774, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory; D. 16 Mar 1819, Vincennes, Indiana; M. (1) Genevieve Renaud dit Deslauriers (1779-~1819), 18 Feb 1799, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; (2) Cecile Delisle, 22 Feb 1819, Vincennes, Indiana

8. Jacques Edeline — B. 28 Mar 1776, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory; D. about 1798

9. Alexis Edeline — B. 15 Jul 1777, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory; D. about 1808

10. Victoire Edeline — B. 25 Feb 1779, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; D. young

11. Pierre Edeline — B. 21 Feb 1786, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; D. about 1825; M. Françoise LaTour (1796-?), 30 Apr 1813, Vincennes, Indiana Territory

Sources:
“My Ancestry & their descendants plus misc research,” Denis Paul Edeline, RootsWeb.Ancestry.com
History of Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana, 1886
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Records: Baptisms 1749-1838, Barbara Schull Wolfe, 1999
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Records: Marriages and Deaths 1749-1838, Barbara Schull Wolfe, 1999
History – Archdiocese of Philadelphia (website)
Fort Pitt Museum (website)
Battle of Monongahela (Wikipedia article)

Terrible Tragedy Left Her a Widow — Catherine Brunet

B. 5 Nov 1681 in Champlain, New France
M. (1) 15 Nov 1694 in Montreal, New France
Husband: Honoré Danis
M. (2) 26 Jan 1750 in Fort Frontenac, Quebec
Husband: Joseph Levron dit Metayer
D. about 1755 in (probably) Fort Frontenac, New France

When Catherine Brunet’s husband was killed in a fight, she ended up in a desperate financial situation, and had to accept help from the community to get through it.

Catherine’s life began on November 5, 1681, in Champlain, New France, a village on the St. Lawrence River not far from Trois-Rivières. Her father was a fur trader named Matheiu Brunet dit LeTang; her mother was Marie Blanchard. Catherine was named for her godmother Catherine Guerard, the wife of Julien Dubord dit LaFontaine. The Brunet family was large, and Catherine was the eighth of ten children. Since her father was away on expeditions that often lasted more than a year, Catherine’s mother had to look after the affairs of the household. Such was life in 17th-century New France. 

Catherine’s childhood was brief—she was only 13-years-old when she was married to Honoré Danis, a man 12 years her senior. The wedding took place in Montreal, where her family had moved, on November 15, 1694. Being so young, she may not have shared a bed with her new husband at first; her first child was born over three years later. Between 1698 and 1711, Catherine had seven children; it’s believed three of them died young.

Catherine and Honoré moved to Lachine in about 1700, and Honoré supported the family as a carpenter and farmer. Everything changed on the night of August 14, 1722, when some Indians living at a mission across the river got drunk and came into their neighborhood. A fight erupted and as a result, Honoré would up dead, leaving Catherine grief stricken and without a means of support. Luckily the crops had already been harvested; her only surviving son was just 13—too young to run the farm—and her other children were girls. 

A widow on a farm. (AI-generated image)

The family made it through the winter, then Catherine faced the challenge of planting crops in the spring without a man to work the plow. An old friend of Honoré, Thomas Letendre, offered to help, not by doing the work, but by purchasing half of the farm; this would give her 800 livres to help pay off debts from the previous year. But another source of help came through when the governor made good on a previous offer to help support Catherine. With money from the government, she then asked Letendre to cancel the contract to buy her land, which he agreed to do.

By virtue of dying in the prime of life, Honoré left debts that Catherine couldn’t pay. On March 8, 1726, she sought to have two plots of land that he had purchased on Lake St-Pierre to be auctioned off to raise money. Because Catherine failed to make payments on the property itself, debtors came after her in 1728. The amount she owed was over 167 livres — quite a sum of money. After several postponements, the court ruled on October 1, 1729 that the auction could finally take place, with the proceeds given to the man who sued her, Jean-Baptiste Neveu.

1727 court record from case involving Catherine.

There is a gap in the records of Catherine’s life until she turned up in a marriage far away from Lachine. On January 26, 1750, she married a widower, Joseph Levron dit Metayer at Fort Frontenac, a military outpost at the eastern end of Lake Ontario. How she ended up at the fort is a mystery; Joseph had only recently moved there from the Montreal area, and perhaps they were acquainted when they both lived in that area. Fort Frontenac was a supply post for expeditions goiing west, and there were only about 100 civilians living there.

Catherine’s story ends with her Fort Frontenac marriage. After that date, it isn’t known when and where she and her husband died, but it was probably by 1755.

Children (all by Honoré Danis):
1. Marguerite Danis — B. 23 Jan 1698, Montreal, New France; D. 10 Aug 1784, Laval, Quebec; M. Charles-François Raymond (1697-1746), 24 Nov 1721

2. Jean-Baptiste Danis — B. 7 Feb 1701, Lachine, New France; D. 14 Mar 1701, Lachine, New France

3. Marie-Catherine Danis — B. 19 May 1702, Lachine, New France; D. 21 Aug 1739, Montreal, New France; M. Jean Custeau (1699-1769), 11 Sep 1724, Montreal, New France

4. Jean-Baptiste Danis — B. 21 Apr 1704, Lachine, New France

5. Marie-Anne Danis — B. 4 Sep 1706, Lachine, New France

6. Jean-François — B. 8 Jul 1709, Lachine, New France; D. 14 Jan 1731, Montreal, New France

7. Marie-Josephe Danis — B. 1711, Lachine, New France; D. 1732, Montreal, New France; M. Jean-Baptiste Chabot (1701-1771), 23 Jan 1732, Montreal, New France

Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org

L'autre Marie Morin: une femme abandonnée en Nouvelle-France : 1667-1748, Marcel Myre, 2004

WikiTree

Born on the Island of Geese — Pierre Soucy

B. 13 Apr 1673 in Île-aux-Oies, New France
M. 13 Jan 1699 in Rivière-Ouelle, New France
Wife: Élisabeth-Ursule Fouquereau
D. 7 Jan 1760 in Rivière-Ouelle, New France

Pierre Soucy had a somewhat unusual birthplace—an island in the St. Lawrence River called Île-aux-Oies, which translates to “Island of Geese.” Pierre was born in this remote location on April 13, 1673 to Jean Soucy dit Lavigne and Jeanne Savonnet, the second of their four children. His father was a Carignan-Salières Regiment soldier and his mother was a Fille du Roi.

The geography of where Pierre was born played an important role in his life from the very beginning. Île-aux-Oies was a narrow island downriver from the Île d’Orleans that had only a handful of inhabitants and no church. When Pierre was just 3-days-old, he was taken by boat to Saint-Anne-de-Beaupré on the mainland for his baptism. The family moved to another island, Île-aux-Grues, when he was young, but his father had died by the summer of 1679, which was when his mother married another island settler, Damien Bérubé. The 1681 census showed 9-year-old Pierre in Bérubé’s household on Île-aux-Oies. 

Île Aux Oies.

In 1688, Pierre’s step-father died and his mother remarried again to François Miville, a Swiss man who was seigneur of Rivière-Ouelle, a settlement on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. Pierre lived there in 1690 when the settlers bravely fought off an invading force from New England. That August, a fleet of 32 ships carrying about 2,000 men left Boston, intent on driving the French out of Canada. The village had advance warning, and the parish priest organized everyone in town to defend it. When boats tried to land, the people were armed and ready, and the small force managed to repel the New Englanders. Since the battle involved nearly all the young men in Rivière-Ouelle, it’s very likely that 17-year-old Pierre took part in it.

Pierre married Élisabeth-Ursule Fouquereau in Rivière-Ouelle on January 14, 1699. The couple had twelve children between 1700 and 1725, with three dying as infants. Pierre was said to be a carpenter as well as a farmer, and that he used his woodworking skills to build boats. He also engaged in porpoise hunting, something we would today consider a cruel practice, but common during that time in his village.

After a long life together, Pierre’s wife died at Rivière-Ouelle on December 31, 1758. He passed away about a year later on January 7, 1760 at the age of 87. The island where he was born is today uninhabited and access is off-limits to the public. Pierre was an ancestor of Chloë Sevigny.

Children:
1. Marie-Anne Soucy — B. 18 Jan 1700, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 28 Sep 1785, Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec; M. Augustin Dubé (1695-1779), 7 Jan 1721, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France

2. Pierre Soucy — B. 9 Feb 1702, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 27 May 1764, Kamouraska, Quebec; M. Marie-Jean Michaud, 20 Jul 1723, Rivière-Ouelle, New France

3. Joseph Soucy — B. 19 Jul 1704, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 21 Jul 1745, La Pocatière, New France; M. Marie-Madeleine Mignier (1706-1777), 7 Jan 1727, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France

4. Ursule Soucy — B. 28 Jun 1706, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 30 Mar 1754, La Pocatière, New France  M. Michel Mignault dit LaBrie (1697-~1756), 26 Oct 1724, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France

5. Marie-Madeleine Soucy — B. 20 Jun 1708, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 2 Nov 1743, Repentigny, New France; M. Guillaume Gabriel Miville (1704-1799), 14 Jan 1726, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France

6. Angelique Soucy — B. 4 Oct 1710, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 29 Oct 1710, Rivière-Ouelle, New France

7. Jean-François Soucy — B. 14 Feb 1712, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 8 Sep 1758, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; M. Claire Rousseau (~1715-1797), 3 Jul 1735, L’Islet-sur-Mer, New France

8. Marie-Françoise Soucy — B. 28 Jan 1714, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 9 Dec 1796, Kamouraska, Quebec; M. Jean-Bernard Miville (1711-?), 22 Nov 1733, New France

9. Marie-Catherine Soucy — B. 27 Apr 1716, La Pocatière, New France; D. 28 Mar 1769, La Pocatière, Quebec; M. (1) Louis Moreau (1707-1737), 17 Jun 1734, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France; (2) Joachim Leclerc (1707-1772), 24 Nov 1738, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France

10. Genevieve Soucy — B. 23 May 1718, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 18 May 1719, Rivière-Ouelle, New France

11. Charles-François Soucy — B. 9 Oct 1721, La Pocatière, New France; D. 20 Sep 1753, Fort de la Presqu'Île, New France; M. Angelique Lizotte (1711-?) 1745

12. Jean-Baptiste Soucy — B. 26 Jan 1725, La Pocatière, New France

Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)

1690: Qui sont les héros et les héroïnes de la bataille de Rivière-Ouelle? (blog) Robert Bérubé, 2017Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Gerard Lebel (translated by Thomas J. Laforest), 1990
Pioneer Jean Soucy-dit-Lavigne (Genealogy.com)
WikiTree

Testified to Her Cousin’s Character — Mary Patch

B. 6 Apr 1649 in Ipswich, Massachusetts
M. 28 Apr 1668 in Salem, Massachusetts
Husband: Paul Thorndike
D. 12 May 1716 in Beverly, Massachusetts

Mary Patch was a key witness in a colonial New England trial. She was born on April 6, 1649 in Ipswich, Massachusetts to James Patch and Hannah Woodbury. Her parents were first cousins, and besides Mary, they had a son and two other daughters. Mary’s father died when she was nine-years-old. Her mother remarried five years later and had two more children.

On April 28, 1668, Mary was married to Paul Thorndike in Salem. Later that year, part of Salem broke off to become the new town of Beverly, and Paul was chosen to be one of the five first selectmen of the town. The couple started a family with the birth of a daughter in 1669; this was followed by six more children, with the youngest born in 1684.

Mary found herself involved in a sensational court case in 1674 when her second-cousin, Thomas Woodbury, was accused of sexual assault by a girl named Hannah Gray. At some point before she was married, Mary had lived in Woodbury’s house, so she went under oath to vouch for his character. She said she had never seen him have “evil, lascivious or wanton behavior,” nor did she hear him use “vain or frothy speeches.” Other witnesses testified that Hannah was often heard laughing and flirting with boys, with one man describing her as “a lying little devil.” Woodbury was acquitted and Hannah was punished by having to stand near the meetinghouse wearing a sign that said, “I STAND HERE FOR MY LASCIVIOUS & WANTON CARRIAGES.”

Hannah Gray's punishment. (AI-generated image)

Aside from Mary’s one appearance in court, she seems to have lived a quiet, ordinary life. Her husband Paul died in about 1697 and his estate was probated in January 1698. Mary’s name appeared in a record dated August 4, 1707 when she deeded land she inherited from her father to her son-in-law Richard Thistle. Mary passed away in Beverly on May 12, 1716 and was buried alongside her husband in Abbot Street Burial Ground. Mary was the direct ancestor of John Kerry.

Children:
1. Mary Thorndike — B. 8 Jan 1669, Beverly, Massachusetts; D. 31 Dec 1732, Beverly, Massachusetts; M. Robert Morgan (1670-1762), 7 Jan 1703, Beverly, Massachusetts

2. Elizabeth Thorndike — B. 14 Oct 1670, Beverly, Massachusetts; D. 12 Jun 1727, Hopkinton, Massachusetts; M. Samuel Gould (1670-1727)

3. Hannah Thorndike — B. 14 May 1673, Beverly, Massachusetts; D. before 1725; M. William Pride (1678-1737), 1699, Beverly, Massachusetts

4. John Thorndike — B. 22 Jan 1675, Beverly, Massachusetts; D. 23 Mar 1760, Beverly, Massachusetts; M. (1) Joanna Larkin (1673-1716), 20 Apr 1696, Beverly, Massachusetts; (2) Christiana Woodbury, 30 Mar 1718, Beverly, Massachusetts; (3) Abigail Conant, Jun 1732

5. Paul Thorndike — B. 17 Apr 1677, Beverly, Massachusetts; D. 14 Feb 1742; M. Mary Batchelder (~1670-?), 11 Dec 1701, Beverly, Massachusetts

6. Martha Thorndike — B. about 1682, Beverly, Massachusetts; D. after 2 Mar 1782; M. Richard Thistle (1685-1752), 1706

7. Herbert Thorndike — B. about 1684, Beverly, Massachusetts; D. 6 Jan 1762, Beverly, Massachusetts; M. (1) Sarah Herrick (1692-1718), 17 Jan 1712, Beverly, Massachusetts; (2) Abigail Sallows (1693-?), 8 Jan 1719, Beverly, Massachusetts

Sources:
History of Beverly: civil and ecclesiastical, from its settlement in 1630 to 1842, Edwin Martin Stone, 1843
Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volumes V, edited by George Francis Drew, 1916
Massachusetts Town Records, 1626-2001, FamilySearch.org
WikiTree

Accused of Breaking into a House — John Wicom

B. about 1647 in Rowley, Massachusetts
M. 14 May 1673 in Rowley, Massachusetts
Wife: Abigail Kimball
D. 1 Apr 1715 in Newbury, Massachusetts

John Wicom was an early colonist in Massachusetts who seemed to live an uneventful life, except for one serious charge that was brought against him. He was born in about 1647 in the town of Rowley to Richard and Ann Wicom. His parents had been among the first settlers there, having migrated from England during the 1630s. John had at least two older brothers.

When John was in his early 20s he married Abigail Kimball; their wedding took place in in Rowley on May 14, 1673. The couple had five daughters and two sons born between 1674 and 1692; one of the boys died young.

In March 1678, John was called into court in Ipswich. The accusation against him was that he had somehow gotten inside of the house of a neighbor, Samuel Smith, when the door was locked and nobody was home. A witness said that he had seen John “creeping out of a hole and throwing a bag ahead of him.” The record suggests that the court didn’t believe the accuser, and John was released.

For the rest of his years, John seems to have lived the quiet life of a farmer. A tax list from 1688 showed that he owned 8 acres of cultivated fields and 6 acres of meadow, with two horses, four cows and four hogs. His property was said to be in Newbury, just north of Rowley near the present-day Governor’s Academy. There were also some land deeds referring to a place called Wicom’s Spring, which was thought to be named after him.

John’s wife died not long after their youngest child was born and he never remarried. He died in his late sixties on April 1, 1715.

John’s grave in Byfield Parish Cemetery, Byfield, Massachusetts.

Children:
1. Ann Wicom — B. 1 Apr 1674, Rowley, Massachusetts; M. Colin Frazer (~1662-?), Dec 1691, Newbury, Massachusetts

2. Abigail Wicom — B. 10 Mar 1675, Rowley, Massachusetts; D. 17 Oct 1722, Rowley, Massachusetts; M. Richard Clark (1677-1730), 2 Dec 1702, Rowley, Massachusetts

3. John Wicom — B. 23 Nov 1677, Rowley, Massachusetts; D. Jun 1679, Rowley, Massachusetts

4. Mary Wicom — B. 18 Jan 1679, Newbury, Massachusetts; D. 14 May 1741, Exeter, New Hampshire; M. Jonathan Jewett (1679-1745), 24 Jan 1699, Rowley, Massachusetts

5. Mehitable Wicom — B. 5 Sep 1682, Newbury, Massachusetts; D. before Dec 1709, Newbury, Massachusetts; M. Joshua Woodman (1672-1706), 15 Dec 1703, Newbury, Massachusetts

6. Sarah Wicom — B. 29 Aug 1688, Newbury, Massachusetts; M. Zachariah Boynton (1690-1750), 15 Nov 1715, Newbury, Massachusetts

7. Thomas Wicom — B. 6 May 1692, Newbury, Massachusetts

Sources:
Early Settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts, George Brainard Blodgette, 1933
Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volume VI, edited by George Francis Drew, 1917
WikiTree

Town Treasurer & Colonial Lieutenant — William Fletcher

B. 21 Feb 1657 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts
M. 6 Sep 1677 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Wife: Sarah Richardson
D. 23 May 1712 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts

William Fletcher spent his entire life in Chelmsford, Massachusetts raising a large family and serving his town. He was born on February 21, 1657 to William Fletcher and his wife Lydia, one of their eight children; his mother also had a son by a previous marriage. William’s father had been one of Chelmsford’s original settlers in 1652, and the house where the family lived was said to be the first wood-frame dwelling in town.

On September 6, 1677, William married Sarah Richardson, the daughter of another of the town’s founders. The couple started a family with the birth of a daughter in 1679, and by 1702, they produced a total of 14 children; it’s believed that four of the children died young. Along with operating a farm, William took a role in serving the common interests of the town. In 1692, he was paid a bounty for working with another man to kill a wolf. Such predatory animals were a threat to both sheep and people (there were at least 17 wolves killed in Chelmsford that year). 

Killing a wolf. (AI-generated image)

William was made a selectman on the town council in 1701, and from 1705 to 1707, he served as Chelmsford’s treasurer. One of his duties as treasurer was to see that money was paid to men who had committed time and money to the town, and sometimes that included his own service. In the account book of the church, William was told to pay himself £2 for several trips to neighboring towns when he brought ministers to Chelmsford to preach, and also 4 shillings that he had loaned to the town for an unknown reason. In another note he was told to pay himself £5 for “entertaining Mr. Goodhue.” This probably meant that he had taken a man into his home while visiting Chelmsford on official business.

1701 Chelmsford appointment of officers.

1705 notes of payments by William as town treasurer.

In 1704, William was commissioned as a lieutenant by the governor in Boston, Joseph Dudley. The timing of William’s appointment seems to suggest he was involved in Queen Anne’s War, a conflict between English colonists and the French in Canada. The French were thought to have been using Indians to raid towns on the New England frontier, and when Deerfield was attacked in February 1704, the governor raised troops to invade Acadia in retaliation. This is likely when William was made lieutenant; if so, he may have participated in the effort to take Acadia from the French.

One of the last civic activities of William was to serve on a committee to build a new meetinghouse in Chelmsford. He was chosen to help supervise the project in 1710, which was due to be completed in June of 1712. But William didn’t live to see it — he died on May 23, 1712. He was buried in Forefathers Burial Ground in Chelmsford. Wife Sarah outlived him by many years, passing away in 1748. They were the great-great grandparents of President Franklin Pierce.

William’s grave.

Children:
1. Sarah Fletcher — B. 26 May 1679, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 14 Jun 1734, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Nathaniel Butterfield (~1676-1749), 18 Jan 1697, Chelmsford, Massachusetts

2. Esther Fletcher — B. about 1685, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 20 Sep 1767, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Stephen Peirce (1678-1749), 5 Jan 1707, Chelmsford, Massachusetts

3. Reuben Fletcher — B. about 1685, Chelmsford, Massachusetts

4. Josiah Fletcher — B. 8 Apr 1687, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 30 Jan 1760, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Joanna Spaulding (1689-1768)

5. Mary Fletcher — B. about 1684; D. 23 Feb 1768, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. William Fletcher (1673-1744), 10 Dec 1701, Chelmsford, Massachusetts

6. William Fletcher — B. 1 Apr 1688, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 27 Jan 1742, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Tabitha Pierce (1689-1742)

7. Lydia Fletcher — B. about 1690, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 27 May 1736

8. Robert Fletcher — B. 9 Jan 1691, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 20 Sep 1773, Tyngsborough, Massachusetts; M. Sarah Swan (1704-1774), 8 Jan 1724, Dunstable, Massachusetts

9. Bethiel Fletcher — B. about 1693, Chelmsford, Massachusetts

10. Ezekiel Fletcher — B. 24 Nov 1694, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. Jan 1742, Tyngsborough, Massachusetts

11. Daniel Fletcher — B. 3 Mar 1697, Chelmsford, Massachusetts

12. Deborah Fletcher — B. 18 Mar 1699, Chelmsford, Massachusetts

13. Phoebe Fletcher — B. 24 Nov 1700, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 21 Jan 1743, Westford, Massachusetts; M. Joseph Hildreth (1695-1780), 29 Mar 1720, Chelmsford, Massachusetts

14. Rebecca Fletcher — B. 29 Jan 1702, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 1 Jan 1791, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Joseph Parker (1694-1738)

Sources:
Fletcher Genealogy: An Account of the Descendants of Robert Fletcher of Concord, Mass., Edward H. Fletcher, 1871
History of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Rev. Wilson Waters, 1917
A Great and Noble Scheme, John Mack Faragher, 2005
Find-a-Grave