M. (1) 22 Nov 1671 in Boston, Massachusetts1
Husband: William Lewis
M. (2) 3 Jan 1692 in Farmington, Connecticut1
Husband: Thomas Bull
D. 10 Jul 1728 in Farmington, Connecticut1
As the daughter of a famous New England school headmaster, Mary Cheever knew how to be forthright. And she made her own personal plea when confronted with a legal issue involving her husband’s estate.
Mary was born in about November 1640 in New Haven, Connecticut, and baptized on the 29th.1 Her parents were Ezekiel and Mary Cheever, and she was the second of six children. Her mother died when she was about 9-years-old,2 and her father remarried in 1652,2 giving her five half siblings. When Mary was young, her father had his own school in New Haven, but moved to Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1650 to serve as headmaster of a grammar school.2 By 1670, he had gained a reputation that landed him the job of headmaster at the prestigious Boston Latin School. In spite of her father's illustrious career, it doesn't seem that Mary ever received an education because a later document was signed with her mark instead of a signature.3
On November 22, 1671, Mary got married to William Lewis, a man who was about 20 years older than she was.1 He was a widower with ten children, some who were almost as old as Mary. The wedding took place in Boston, then she moved to his home in Farmington, Connecticut. The house where they lived still survives today in the middle of a condo complex. Over the next ten years, Mary gave birth to six children, of whom three died as infants. Meanwhile, William served as captain of Farmington’s militia, and was directly involved in King Philip’s War.4
William passed away on August 18, 1690, leaving Mary alone with several underaged children.1 Probate began with an inventory on August 28th, followed by other proceedings leading to the distribution of the estate between Mary, her children, and the eight surviving children of his first wife.5 But there was an issue that upset Mary — £100 given to her children by her father Ezekiel Cheever was lumped into the rest of the estate. So she wrote to the court, likely by dictating her words to someone who put it on paper:
To the Honored Adjourned Court sitting in Hartford, April 8, 1691:
I understand that in the distribution of my honored husband, Captain William Lewis deed his estate, made by the county court March 8, 1691, your worships have seen [fit] to dispose of my estate or that part viz., the hundred pounds sterling expressed in the jointure made by my honored father Ezekiel Cheever for the only use of me, my heirs and assigns, by which act of distribution I do apprehend that either myself or the three youngest children of the aforesaid Captain William Lewis is, or each of us, wronged. Therefore, having this opportunity, I do see [fit] by my petition to move the honored court to consider the case and to act and do in it according as the rules of equity, law & reason do require. In case my prayer be not considered and my expectation answered herein, I do declare myself justly aggrieved and dissatisfied, and do propose my own intention to make my application to the court of Assistants for relief according as the law do direct.
Your Humble Petitioner, Mary Lewis5
Presumably this was all settled favorably for Mary, and on January 3, 1692, she remarried.1 Her second husband, Thomas Bull, was a widower whose first wife had died in 1691; interestingly, he had been one of the two men that conducted the inventory of William’s estate. Since Mary was already in her 50s, she had no children with Thomas. After he died on May 13, 1708,5 he left her a third of his estate, including a house for her use during the rest of her life. Specifically she was also given “the service and command of my negro man named Taylor during her abode in my said house.”3 Slaves were unfortunately common in New England at that time; there had also been several mentioned in William’s inventory who were said to be awarded freedom after he died.
Receipt showing that Mary had received £30 from her husband's estate.
Children (all by William Lewis):
1. Elizabeth Lewis — B. 20 Oct 1672, Farmington, Connecticut;1 D. 1674, Farmington, Connecticut1
2. Ezekiel Lewis — B. 7 Nov 1674, (probably) Farmington, Connecticut;1 D. 14 Aug 1755, Boston, Massachusetts;1 M. (1) Mary Braden (1669-1703), 18 Mar 1702, Boston, Massachusetts;1 (2) Abigail ________ (~1678-?), 11 Oct 1704, Boston, Massachusetts1
3. Nathaniel Lewis – B. 1 Oct 1676, Farmington, Connecticut;1 D. 24 Feb 1752, Farmington, Connecticut;1 M. (1) Abigail Ashley (1681-1727), 25 Nov 1699, Westfield, Massachusetts;1 (2) Thankful Pomeroy (1679-1773), 4 Jul 1726, Northampton, Massachusetts1
4. Abigail Lewis — B. 19 Sep 1678, Farmington, Connecticut;1 D. 24 Jan 1707, Farmington, Connecticut;1 M. William Wadsworth (~1671-1751), 10 Dec 1696, Farmington, Connecticut1
5. Joseph Lewis — B. 15 Mar 1680, Farmington, Connecticut;1 D. about 1680, Farmington, Connecticut1
6. Daniel Lewis — B. 16 Jul 1681, Farmington, Connecticut;1 M. Mary Strong (1692-1751), 1 May 1718, (probably) Farmington, Connecticut1
Sources:
1 Book VXIII of the Genealogy of the Lewis family, William Richard Cutter, 1891
2 Ezekiel Cheever and some of his descendants, John Tyler Hassam, 1879
3 Probate file of Thomas Bull, Farmington, Connecticut, 1708
4 History, Charter and By-laws: List of Officers and Members Together with a Record of the Service Performed by Their Ancestors in the Wars of the Colonies, Society of Colonial Wars, Illinois, 1896
5 Lewisiana, or the Lewis Letter, V. 16-17, 1905
6 FamousKin.com
