FOLLOW UP FRIDAY ~ Searching for proof of the Richard Everett & Mary Fuller family - my paternal 7th gg

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Doing a bit of follow up to some research I did while I was at Rootstech and the Family History Library, this past March.

I don’t know about you, but it generally takes me quite a while to get back to some of the research I do while I'm at the FHL.

One family I found information on while I was there, was the Richard Everett family of Dedham, Massachusetts.  This family is linked to my Mayflower line.

In this case I am trying to prove the marriage & children of Richard Everett and his wife, Mary Fuller.  They are my paternal 7^th great grandparents. And, I’d like to have more proof of their marriage and the children they had together.

NOTE: When we are talking about our ancestors back in the 1600’s we must do a bit of digging.  

What have I located so far, in the way of proof?

Let’s begin with the birth record for Richard Everet (also spelled Everett) in 1683 in Dedham, Colonial Massachusetts.

Birth Record - Richard Everett, Aug 1683

Now, how about a marriage record for Richard & his wife, Mary Fuller.

Marriage of Richard Everet & Mary Fuller - 3 Mar 1708 in Massachusetts

NOTE: These are images of the actual records and not an index that has been interpreted by a transcriber. It’s important to find the originals whenever we can.

Here’s another reference to the marriage of Richard & Mary.

U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s another source with names, dates and places.  Remember these SAR documents have no proof with them. It is a document/application submitted by a descendant.  However, what it does give us is leads and combined with other evidence we can draw a conclusion.

Sons of the American Revolution application for a descendant of Richard Everet(t) and Mary Fuller

One of my favorite sources are wills/probate records.  When our ancestors were dying or suspected they were nearing that age, they often made wills.  It was important to them that their spouses, children and any other heirs were taken care of.  These can be gold mines of family information, including married names for daughters, locations of descendants alive at that time, names of other family members etc.

Here then, is the will of Richard Everett dated 1745/6 in Dedham, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 

In it he names his “dearly beloved wife” Mary and his sons, Joshua, Jeremiah, Jonathan, Israel and Timothy. He later mentions his “beloved” daughter Mary Maxey, “beloved” daughter Bethiah Day, “beloved’ daughters Hannah & Abigail Everett.

What I learned from this document, was that there were 2 sons, Israel & Timothy and 3 daughters, Hannah, Abigail & Mary I had not yet discovered for this couple. From this will I see that Bethiah has the surname of Day (married name?) and that Mary has the surname Maxey (married name?). More research into these additional children will be done.

1745 will of Richard Everett of Dedham, Massachusetts, page 1-2

1745 will of Richard Everett of Dedham, Massachusetts, page 3-4

And, I went back to the Massachusetts Town & Vital Records and located the births of Timothy, Jonathan, Isarael (how it is spelled in the record), Bethiah born 18 Nov 1721 and another Bethiah born 9 October 1722 and Hannah.  Because there are two daughters named Bethiah, born within a year of one another, I will look for a death records of the first one.

 MA birth record entries for children of Richard & Mary Everett

Timothy, Jonathan, Isarael, Bethiah in Nov 1721 and Bethiah in Oct 1722 and Hannah 

 

 

 

In conclusion. Have I found enough evidence to prove that Richard Everett married Mary Fuller? And that they had 5 sons and 4 daughters and possibly 1 daughter who died? Yes, I believe I have.

Do you have any input? Would you have come to a different conclusion?

Sources:

¹Massachusetts, U.S. Town & Vital Records 1620-1988

² U.S.and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900

³ U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970

⁴ Massachusetts,U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991

⁵ FindAGrave memorial for Mary Fuller Everett #64356211

⁶ Massachusetts,U.S., Compiled Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1700-1850

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2025   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ The 1718 marriage of my husband’s 6th great grandparents–Capt. Gershom Wheelock & Abigail Flagg

Today I’m posting the marriage record of my husband’s 6th great grandparents, Capt. Gershom Wheelock and Abigail Flagg.

According to the record I located they married on 1 Jan 1718 in Worchester, Colonial Massachusetts.  No image is available online.

 

Massachusetts, Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850
Name:     Gershom Wheelock
Gender: Male
Spouse: Abigail Flagg
Marriage Date: 1 Jan 1718
City:     Worchester
County: Worchester
Source: Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0864090

Reference is made to this marriage in Worcester Marriages, page 338.

 

Here is how my husband, Ron, descends from Gershom & Abigail.

 
What early marriages have you recorded in your family?  Where were they located?

If you are related to the Wheelock or Flagg families, I’d love to hear from you.  If you have further information to add to this story, I’d love to hear from you.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

WEDDING WEDNESDAY - Marriage of Samuel Morse & Elizabeth Jasper - 1602 with mention of Ralph Wheelock

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ SAMUEL MORSE & ELIZABETH JASPER–29 Jun 1602, England

Samuel Morse & Elizabeth Jasper - married 29 Jun 1602, Redgrave, Suffolk, England

Samuel Morse and Elizabeth Jasper are my husband’s 9th great grandparents.  To be able to document family going this far back is always amazing to me.  Why is it that my husband’s ancestors are so much easier to find than my own?

Samuel & Elizabeth were married 29 Jun 1602 in Redgrave, Suffolk, England.¹ Samuel having been born about 1585 in England and Elizabeth born before her baptism date, which was 6 Jan 1579 in Redgrave, Suffolk, England.²

^{Here is the document showing the record of their marriage.}

 (Click on any image to enlarge it)

According to sources I’ve located this couple left England and came to Colonial America in 1635, settling in Massachusetts.³  I can only surmise how grueling a trip that would have been and with children, even more difficult.
 
Click here to read about Daily Life in 17th Century England.

Did it look something like this?

There is so much written about Samuel Morse and his family that I have a total of 63 hints on Ancestry.  I don’t believe I’ve ever had that many on anyone.
 
Samuel & Elizabeth settled in Dedham, Colonial Massachusetts. He was one of the original 19 settlers of Dedham in 1635.  To read more about him please click here, Samuel Morse Memorial.

Samuel was the 3rd signer on the document creating the town of Dedham.  While reviewing the signatures of the 125 men who signed the Covenant, I found another of my husband's 9th great grandfather's, Ralph Wheelock.  There are other surnames that are linked to these families, that also appear on the list.  To see those, click on the link below the image.

Click here to read about the History of Dedham, Massachusetts

As it turns out my husband is a distant cousin to one of the bloggers whose posts I have followed for years, Heather Wilkinson Rojo.  She wrote about her connection to the Morse family in this post Surname Saturday – Morse of Dedham and Medfield, Massachusetts.
An update since this post was published this morning - Randy Seaver of GeneaMusings is also a 9th great grandson of Samuel Morse & Elizabeth Jasper.  Randy lives here in San Diego County like we do and we are both members of the San Diego Genealogical Society.

If you are related to this Morse family (and I know there must be hundreds of you out there), I’d love to hear from you.

Sources: 1 – England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973; 2 – England, Select Births & Christenings, 1538-1975; 3 – U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500’s – 1900’s

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ THEOPHILUS CLARKE (1670-1737)–My husband’s 6th great grandfather

Photo used with permission of Nate Bramlett

Here lies buried the body of Mr. Theophilus Clarke who died October 1737 in the 67th year of his age

Mr. Theophilus Clark is my husband’s 6th great grandfather.  He is the third of ten known children born to Benjamin Clarke and Dorcas Morse (Tombstone Tuesday – Dorcas Morse Clark 1645-1725)

Theophilus married first, Rachel Partridge about 1692 in Medfield, Colonial Massachusetts.  They had 12 known children together.  She died 1 Dec 1717. Theophilus next married Elizabeth Underwood (who was the widow of Nathaniel Cutler) on 24 Feb 1717/18 in Reading, Colonial Massachusetts.

I’m trying to imagine the household shared by Theophilus & Elizabeth.  She had two children by her first husband, Nathaniel, who were likely still living with her.  He had 12 children by his first wife, Rachel.  Of those it’s likely that, at least, the four youngest girls were still at home.  Then Theophilus & Elizabeth went on to have their own 3 children. It certainly must have been a busy household.

 

Theophilus did leave a will naming Elizabeth as his executor and naming several of his children as heirs.  You may find the probate record and image here.  Elizabeth lived for 20 years after Theophilus’ death.

I have traced the Clarke/Clark family (spelled with and without the ‘e’) back to the late 1500’s to Joseph Clark & Alice Pepper who were Theophilus’ grandparents.

 

You can find reference to this Clark family on the archive.org website:

• History of the town of Medfield, Massachusetts, edited by William S. Tilden, page 347.
• The Pioneers of Massachusetts, 1620-1650, by Charles Henry Pope, page 102.

Theophilus and Elizabeth are buried in the Old Ashford Cemetery, in Ashford, Windham, Connecticut.  You can visit the memorials for Theophilus and his wife Elizabeth on FindAGrave #29214297 and Elizabeth #32043125.  His first wife, Rachel also has memorial on the site, but no burial location is given for her #29214889.

I located this reference to the burials of Benjamin, Hannah, Theophilus and Elizabeth Clark in this transcription of headstones for Old Ashford Cemetery.

 

If you are connected to this Clark family (and there must be many of you), please contact me if you have additional information, corrections or would like to exchange information.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

FRIDAY FINDS - Probate records you can find on Ancestry 1600's, 1700's...and more including Theophilus Clarke

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ DANIEL MORSE & LYDIA FISHER circa 1638–My husband’s 8th great granduncle & wife

Marriage of Daniel Morse and Lydia Fisher circa 1638

It’s not always easy to document our ancestors births, marriages and deaths when we go back to the days of Colonial America.  Although not required by law, records were kept back then.  Especially marriages.  It was important to document a marital union as it affected the distribution of property and goods when someone died.
 
Today, I’m highlighting the marriage of Daniel Morse to Lydia Fisher in 1638 or 1642, depending on which record you use.
The first record I located was the U.S. International Marriage Records, 1560-1900

Name:    Daniel Morse
Gender:    Male
Birth Year:    1613
Spouse Name:    Lydia Fisher
Spouse Birth Year:    1623
Marriage
Year:    1642
Marriage State:    MA
Number Pages:    1

To learn more about this source, please use this link: Information about the U.S. International Marriage Records and how they were collected

Another source for this marriage is Torrey’s New England Marriages prior to 1700.  This is a 3 volume set.  You can now view them online, but when I first began researching they were not available.  My husband purchased the 3 volume set for me, one year for Christmas.

Here is a page from the Torrey book, available on Ancestry.com  In the hard copy of the three volume set, this record is in Volume II, page 1061.



Daniel & Lydia went on to have 9 known children.
Here is a list of their children as stated in North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000



What was life like back in the era of 1638 to their deaths in about 1688/89?  We know it was difficult.  If our ancestors survived the trip over here from Europe, then they were in danger of many diseases or illnesses taking their lives.  Or, even death at the hands of American Indians, who owned this land to begin with, and were defending their territory.
 

Daniel & Lydia lived to their 70’s.  They must have been hardy individuals.  If they were married around 1638, as records state, then they may have celebrated 50 years of marriage. An amazing accomplishment for any family and especially one back then.  It was more normal for our ancestors to have multiple spouses due to early deaths.

Wouldn’t I love to sit and talk to them.
 
There are many descendants out there.  If you are one of them, I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TREASURE CHEST THURSDAY ~ Birth record for my 7th great grandfather–William Critchfield 1686, Boston, British Colony Massachusetts

Today’s find are several references to the birth record of my 7th great grandfather, William Critchfield.

What the above record appears to be is someone’s hand written, alphabetical copy of births that occured in Boston, Massachusetts in 1686.  This is not to be confused with an “original” birth record.  But, it certainly gives us an idea where we might find an original record.

I also located this record on Ancestry.com in the record collection Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988.



Here is another reference to this birth.  Also located on Ancestry.com in the record collection Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, Boston, Births, 1630-1799; Vol 2,3,4,5,7.



I have attempted to find the original record of this birth, online, by using both ancestry, family search and NEHGS/American Ancestors websites.  I haven’t located the record.  Perhaps it can be found in a courthouse or historical society in Boston?

In the meantime, I will be able to reference William’s birth with the 3 records above. This puts him in a place and time that is appropriate to other records I have.

Here is how I am descended from William Critchfield and his wife Susannah:

8th great grandparents

William Critchfield & Susannah (MNU) maiden name unknown

7th great grandparents

William Critchfield (1686-1773) & Agnes Trynte Opdyke (abt 1690-1754)

6th great grandparents

Elizabeth Opdyke Critchfield (abt 1727-after 1786) & John Frampton, Sr. (abt 1714-abt 1784)

5th great grandparents

John Frampton, Jr. (1743-1808) & Anna Barbara Martin (1746-1822)

4th great grandparents

Rachel Frampton (1781-1855) & William Gillen (1782-1841)

3rd great grandparents

Emily Gillen (1810-1887) & Rev. Isaac C. Hunter (1798-1842)

2nd great grandparents

James Gillen Hunter (1832-1884) & Susan Caroline Boggs (1842-1913)

Great grandparents

Florence Hunter (1869-1946) & Robert Lee Bowden (1863-1906)

Grandparents

Florence Lee Nora Bowden (1888-1986) & Joseph Albert Milne (1883-1957)

My Mother (this is her side of the family)

Me

If you think you might be related to anyone mentioned in this blog post, please contact me.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

FRIDAY FINDS - David Frampton, Rebel Prisoner - Dec 1861

MYSTERY MONDAY - Who's Your Daddy? Brick Wall Post #5 - William Gillen 1782-1841

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TREASURE CHEST THURSDAY ~ The actual church record for the marriage of Jeremiah Hall & Elizabeth Bailey 22 Dec 1748

First let me start by saying that I better pay attention to what day it is.  I posted a Treasure Chest Thursday, yesterday, which was actually Wednesday.  I’ve now changed the title of that post and you can find it here WEDDING WEDNESDAY – A marriage record, of sorts, for Dr. Jeremiah Hall & Eliabeth Bailey.

To follow up that post today, I’m happy to share the actual, handwritten church record for that marriage.

I didn’t locate it myself, but, again, because of belonging to a Facebook group, I now have the record.  Another Hall family member, from the same group I spoke of yesterday, Hall Families of New England, has shared the image.  Thanks to Cheryl Hall for finding this record in the archival church records of the Congregational Church.
 
Here’s a link to the home page http://www.congregationallibrary.org/

And here’s the link to the actual entry for the marriage of Jeremiah Hall to Elizabeth Bailey

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)


Here are the first two pages from this digital record.

When I source this record, the one thing I won’t know is who made the entries into this record book.  They are all numbered and the volume is separated into meeting notes, admission to full communion, baptisms, births, marriages & deaths.  Most of the writing is the same throughout the record, with occasional differences.  This makes me believe that this is a transcription of various records, placed in the book, in order.

QUESTION? Is this a primary source?  I don’t think so because it appears to be a transcription of other records.  Meaning the person who wrote these records may not have been present at the time of the event.  But, we’re getting closer, and it’s certainly better than just having the entry from the book I mentioned in yesterday’s post.

Maybe this is all I’ll ever find to document this record from 268 years ago.  But, combining this record with other pieces of evidence certainly proves that a marriage took place in Hanover, between Jeremiah Hall & Elizabeth Baily/Bailey.

Stay tuned for more on this family.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ A marriage record, of sorts, for Dr. Jeremiah Hall & Elizabeth Bailey

Reference to the marriage of Jeremiah Hall & Elizabeth Baily

As you know from my previous post Dr. Jeremiah Hall writes a letter to George Washington, I’ve been researching this line of our Hall ancestors.  In doing so, I’ve been trying to locate as many vital records, probate records or other documentation for their lives, as I can.
 
The one thing I couldn’t locate was a marriage record for Dr. Jeremiah Hall to Elizabeth Bailey. I had a research note in my database from 2009 that stated I had located a reference to their marriage at the New England Historical Genealogical Society (NEHGS) website as follows:

“Hall, Jeremiah 1722 Wrentham 1807 Pembroke Pembroke HR 1785, 1775FS, 1775MS, 1779C; moderator 1780, 82, 83; major, lieut. colonel; M Elizabeth Bailey (c1730-1816) in 1747, 9 ch; MD. Served in the Revolution. He attended the HR sessions and accepted from one to four committee assignments. Wrentham VR 108; Pembroke VR 98, 410; DAR-PIc 1275; IGI for marr at Hanover; Hanover VR 21”

I found other references to their marriage, but no actual records.  Surprising, since Massachusetts is one of our states that has lots of historical records online.

What Did I Do Next?

Something I frequently do, I went to Facebook and asked my fellow researchers if they had or knew of a marriage record for this couple.  In this case I went directly to a group I belong to, dedicated to Hall families from New England.  You can go to that group by clicking here.



The value of joining Facebook groups cannot be overstated.  There are thousands of groups dedicated to genealogy research.  They range from surname groups to state, county or city groups.  Please refer to my link at the end of this post, about joining genealogy Facebook groups.

I posted my question about the marriage record last night, and by this morning, I had several responses, one of which gives an actual reference to a record of the marriage.

Here’s how I worded my question.  I like to begin any posts of this sort with a specific statement as to what I’m looking for.  This allows anyone who wouldn’t be able to help to scroll right past my post and not waste time reading it.

Re: Marriage record of Dr. Jeremiah Hall & Elizabeth Bailey.
Hello Hall families - I've been working hard on the Hall side of the family this past few days. I can locate many vital records on Ancestry for the Massachusetts Halls. However, I have been unable to locate a marriage record for Dr. Jeremiah Hall to Elizabeth Bailey circa 1748. The first child I have for them was born in 1753. It looks like all the children were born in Pembroke.
Do any of you have that marriage record? Or know where I might find it? Thanks!
 
One of the responses led me to a book, located on archive.org.  This book is downloadable or you can just search right on the site.  The name of the book is History and Records of the First Congregational Church of Hanover, Mass. 1727-1865. 

I located the reference to the marriage on page 90 of Volume I.

1747-48
December 22 Jeremiah Hall and Elizabeth Baily, Junr

both of Hanover

This is by no means a primary source.  However, it may be possible to view an actual church record, rather than this reference to the record.  Would they be available on microfilm?  That’s something I will check. An initial search of the FHL catalog has so far come up empty.  However, I will continue to look.

I will be writing more about this branch of the Hall family in upcoming posts.

Please contact me if you are related to anyone mentioned in this post or any of my other posts.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

TUESDAY'S TIP - How to Save a Book from Archive.org to Evernote or your Computer

Facebook - How it can be very useful in your research

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

DR. JEREMIAH HALL WRITES TO GEORGE WASHINGTON ~ Celebrating Our Founding Fathers

This photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and is considered public domain

A letter from my husband’s 4th great granduncle to George Washington! 

 

What a fantastic find this was on the weekend that we celebrate the independence of our country and remember our founding fathers.

Let me give full credit to the Facebook group Hall Families of New England.  And to Cheryl Hall who shared this find with all of us in the group.

Dr. Jeremiah Hall is my husband’s 4th great granduncle.  He is the son of Capt. Jeremiah Hall & Dorothy Hill.
 
Dr. Hall was born 11 Jun 1722 in Wrentham, Colonial Massachusetts.  He married Elizabeth Bailey in 1748.  My husband Ron is a direct descendant of Dr. Jeremiah Hall’s brother, Jesse Hall.

I wrote about Dr. Jeremiah Hall & his wife Elizabeth Bailey Hall on October 27th, last year.  You can read that post here Tombstone Tuesday - Dr. Jeremiah Hall – Massachusetts

Apparently, Dr. Jeremiah Hall was a member of the Provincial Congress and General Court and became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Plymouth County militia in 1776.

Source
Force, American Archives, 4th ser., 3:1378.
Jeremiah Hall (1722–1807), a physician from Pembroke, Mass., served in the provincial congress and general court and became a lieutenant colonel in the Plymouth County militia in 1776.
 
Here is a screen shot of the page from the National Archives site, with partial redaction for copyright purposes.  You may read the entire letter by going to this site To George Washington from Jeremiah Hall, 6 November 1775
 

 
Here’s a little bit about the Massachusetts Provincial Congress from Wikipedia.

Dr. Hall & his wife Elizabeth had 7 known children: Dorothy, Lawrentia, Lucretia, Jeremiah Jr., Bailey, Sarah and Lucinda.

Could you be descended from any of them?  If so, please contact me, I’d love to hear from you.

More references to our Dr. Jeremiah Hall can be found as follows:

A Historical Sketch of the Town of Hanover, Mass with Family Genealogies by John Stetson Barry, published 1853

North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000

Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988

What connections do you have to our founding fathers?  I’m still searching for any ancestral connections to them, and will let you know when I find one.

Enjoy celebrating our countries independence this weekend.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

AMANEUNSIS MONDAY ~ Samuel Morse (1585-1654) Last Will & Testament, Suffolk, Massachusetts

What does Amanuensis mean?

“To put it simply, it means a “person employed to write what another dictates or copy what has been written by another.”

Today I present the last will and testament of my husband’s 9th great grandfather, Samuel Morse.

I only began researching this particular ancestor in the last few weeks.  However, I’ve been happily surprised by my discoveries, considering Samuel was so far back in the lineage.

Samuel Morse was born about 1585 in England.  He married Elizabeth Jasper (1580-1655) on 29 Jun 1602 in Redgrave, Suffolk, England.  The couple had seven children, all born in England; John born 1611, Abigail, Samuel, Jeremiah, Daniel (1613-1688), Joseph (1613-1654) and Mary (1620-1692).
 

EXCERPT FROM PAGE 1774 OF REPRESENTATIVE MEN & OLD FAMILIES OF SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS, VOLUME 3, BY J.H. BEERS & CO.

EXCERPT FROM PIONEERS OF MASSACHUSETTS, BY CHARLES POPE, PAGE 320

In 1635, Samuel & Elizabeth and the seven children all came to the colony of Massachusetts.  It’s pretty miraculous that all 9 of them made the trip safely.

I’ve learned that this family was one of the original Puritan families who emigrated from England to the “New World.”

Samuel died 1654, at the age of 69.  His probate record can be found in Vol 1-4, 1628-1667 Suffolk County (Massachusetts) Probate Records, 1636-1899; Author: Massachusetts Probate Court.  I located the record on Ancestry.com.  Here is the record, which I’ve cropped from the original page.




Here is my transcription of the record.

102

Page 87 Original Volume

Samuel Morse

     Will           In ye year of or Lord 1654 month the 10

Ye 2^d I Samuell Morse being sick & weake in body but of good & prfect memory praised be God therefore doe make this my last will & testament in manner as followeth I bequeath my soule into the hand of a mercyfull God that gave it with assured hope of Evlasting life through the ___ merits of my deare Savor & blessed Redeem^r Jes. Christ as for that little estate of outward things which the Lord hath beenepleased to bestow upon me, whether the be moveables or imoveables, as house lands chattle househould stuffe & I will & bequeath them all unto Elizabeth Morse my deare and Loveing wife, to enjoye possesse make use of for the Comfort of her life dureing the tearme thereof, & after her decease out of life my will is that all that estate wch she was in life possessor of shall be devided amongst my Children both sonnes & daughter that is to say John Morse, Daniell Morse, Mary Bullin & Ann Morse the wife of my deaely beloved Sonne Joseph deceased, who with my said Children shall have an equall portion upon a just devision with them for the Childrens sake of my said beloved Joseph____Therefore my will is, that the above named Ann the wife of my deare Joseph, shall make an equall distribution of all that hir portion upon devision, unto every Child of my Sonne Joseph when they & every one of them shall grow up to the age of one & twenty yeares, Lastly I constitute and appoint Elizabeth my beloved wife the sole executrix of this my Last will, in witness whereunto I have putt my hand the day and yeare above written.

                               Samuell S Morse his marke

In the presence of

           his mrke

Henry H. Smith

Ralph O. Wheelocke

Samuell S Bullin

 This is the oldest probate record I have located, thus far, for our family.  It never ceases to amaze me that we can look on these documents from centuries ago.

Here is the descendancy from Samuel Morse to my husband, Ron, beginning in 1585 over in England:

 9th great grandparents

Samuel Morse & Elizabeth Jasper

8th great grandparents

Joseph Morse & Hannah “Anne” Phillips

7th great grandparents

Dorcas Morse & Benjamin Clarke

6th great grandparents

Theophilus Clarke & Rachel Partridge

5th great grandparents

Ebenezer Clarke & Anna Fisher

4th great grandparents

Achsah Clark & Jesse Hall

3rd great grandparents

Cornelius Clark Hall & Elizabeth Conick

2nd great grandparents

Reverend George Hall & Almira Rosette

Great grandparents

Thomas Cornelius Clark & Cora E. Brown

Grandparents

Charles Schuyler Hall & Daisy Bright

Parents

Gordon Charles Hall & Dorothy Beatrice Fink

My husband, Ron

Some sources used in this post: The New England Historical Genealogical Register, 1847-2011; Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles Pope, page 320; Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts, by J.H. Beers & Co, Volume 3, page 1774.

PLEASE contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION