B. before 19 Jul 1646 in Hingham, Massachusetts1
M. (1) 14 Mar 1664 in Hingham, Massachusetts2
Husband: James Stevens
M. (2) before 21 Dec 1687 in (probably) Hingham, Massachusetts3
Husband: Jonathan Franklin
M. (3) 30 Aug 1694 in (probably) Massachusetts4
Husband: John Field
D. before 8 Jun 1708 in (probably) Massachusetts5
It takes some very unusual circumstances for a female in Puritan New England to have served on a jury, but that’s what happened with Sarah Smith Franklin of Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Sarah’s parents were John Smith and Sarah Woodward, and she was christened on July 19, 1646 in the town of Hingham, Massachusetts.1 She was the oldest of their 7 known children. Sarah’s father was a large landowner in town, and served as selectman and captain of the militia for many years.6
On March 14, 1664, Sarah married James Stevens, who was also from Hingham.2 They had several children, but only two are known, a daughter born in 1670,7 and another born in 1677.8 James moved the family to Boston by 1674, but he seems to have abandoned Sarah for a while, causing his father Henry Stevens to step in and provide for her.9 James did return, but he passed away by the time his father wrote a will on September 12, 1688.10
In fact, he must have been dead before December 21, 1687 because Sarah was married to another man, Jonathan Franklin, an immigrant from England. That was the date Sarah gave birth to a son fathered by Jonathan,3 and by 1692, she had two more. They lived for a time in Hingham where Jonathan worked as a tanner,11 and during this time, Sarah appeared in court records, consulted for her expertise in childbirth.
The court case that solicited the participation of Sarah concerned a neighboring family in Hingham, Michael Emerson and his unmarried daughter Elizabeth. She was 26-years-old in May 1691 when she apparently gave birth to twins, and then proceeded to murder them. The bodies were discovered at her father’s house, buried in a shallow grave in the yard. And while six men were summoned to the house to examine the corpses, six women including Sarah were tasked with looking at Elizabeth to determine whether she had just given birth. This was probably the only type of instance where a woman was brought into the legal process in this way; a document was produced afterwards with the twelve people listed as “jurors.”12
Elizabeth was found guilty and was hung from gallows in Boston on June 8, 1693.13 By that time, Sarah was no longer living in the Boston area and had her own violent tragedy to deal with. The family had moved to the town of Haverhill, on the northern border of Massachusetts. The region was often threatened by raids of tribes who lived nearby, and on March 19, 1693, Sarah’s husband Jonathan was murdered and scalped.14 Soon after, Sarah returned to Hingham with her three boys, and on August 30, 1694, she remarried to a man named John Field.4
Sarah had one more child with her third husband who was born in 1695.15 She died before June 8, 1708 when her underaged son David was mentioned as being assigned her brother as a guardian.5
Children by James Stevens:
1. Judith Stevens — B. 11 Dec 1670, Hingham, Massachusetts;7 D. 31 Oct 1732, Preston, Connecticut;16 M: (1) Jonathan Brewster (1664-1704), 18 Dec 1690, Norwich, Connecticut;17 (2) Christopher Huntington, Oct 1706, Norwich, Connecticut18
2. Elizabeth Stevens — 11 Jun 1677, Boston, Massachusetts;8 D. 17 Apr 1740, Middleborough, Massachusetts;19 M. Joseph Palmer (1665-1743), 9 Jan 1699, Hingham, Massachusetts20
Children by Jonathan Franklin:
1. John Franklin — B. 21 Dec 1687, Boston, Massachusetts;3 D. before 1729;21 M. Lydia Tower (1687-), 15 Mar 1712, Hingham, Massachusetts22
2. Jonathan Franklin — B. about 1690, (possibly) Hingham, Massachusetts;23 M. Esther Parmalee (~1698-1788), 2 Dec 1718, Killingsworth, Connecticut24
3. David Franklin — B. 4 May 1692, Haverhill, Massachusetts;25 D. before 11 Sep 1739, (probably) Boston, Massachusetts;26 M. Elizabeth Ayers (~1691-1752), 18 Jun 1713, Boston, Massachusetts27
Child by John Field:
1. John Field — B. 19 Jan 1695, Massachusetts;15 D. after 21 Nov 172821
Sources:
1 Christening record of Sarah Smith, Massachusetts, Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, FamilySearch.org
2 The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Vol. 6, Robert Charles Anderson, p. 508
3 Birth record of John Franklin, Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, FamilySearch.org
4 Marriage record of John Field and Sarah Franklin, M., T. C., V. & T. R.
5 David Franklin’s letter of Guardianship to his uncle John Smith, Suffolk County (Massachusetts) probate records, 1636-1899, FamilySearch.org
6 History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, Solomon Lincoln, 1893
7 Birth record of Judith Stevens, M., B. & C.
8 Birth record of Elizabeth Stevens, M., B. & C.
9 Henry Smith’s 1674 proclamation about Sarah Stevens, Suffolk Deeds, Liber IX, 63, 64
10 Henry Smith’s will, 1688, Boston Probate Records, 1636-1766, FamilySearch.org
11 Land deed involving Jonathan Franklin refers to him as “skinner and glover,” Essex Deeds, 1701-1705, FamilySearch.org
12 1691 court record naming the 12 members of the jury for the case of Elizabeth Emerson
13 “Puritan Child Killers: Hannah Duston and Her Sister,” New England Historical Society
14 Death record of Jonathan Franklin, Haverhill Vital Records, 1640-1849, FamilySearch.org
15 Birth record of John Field, M., T. C., V. & T. R.
16 Find-a-Grave listing of Judith (Stevens) Brewster Huntington
17 Marriage record of Jonathan Brewster and Judith Stevens, Connecticut, Vital Records, Prior to 1850, FamilySearch.org
18 Marriage record of Christopher Huntington and Judith Brewster, C., V. R., P. to 1850
19 Find-a-Grave listing of Elizabeth (Stevens) Palmer
20 Marriage record of Thomas Palmer and Elizabeth Stevens, M., T. C., V. & T. R.
21 Probate file of John Smith of Roxbury, Massachusetts, Probate Records, 1636-1899, FamilySearch.org
22 Marriage record of John Franklin and Lydia Tower, Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, Ancestry.com
23 Estimated birth year based position as middle child of Jonathan and Sarah Franklin.
24 Marriage record of Jonathan Franklin and Esther Parmalee, C., V. R., P. to 1850
25 Birth record of David Franklin, M., B. & C.
26 Marriage record of David Franklin and Elizabeth Ayers, M., T. C., V. & T. R.
27 Probate file of David Franklin, M., P. R.
