SMITH: Rooted in History, Salem Witch Trials

8th Great Grandparents

Smith Branch

Robert Smith

Robert Smith is my immigrant ancestor. Although he did not directly participate in the witchcraft accusations, his children were directly related to these events. 

Robert Smith was christened on 30 Apr 1626 in Kirton in Holland, Lincolnshire, England. 

England, Lincolnshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1990, database, FamilySearch, Robert Smith, 30 Apr 1626; citing Baptism, 30 Apr 1626, Kirton in Holand, Lincolnshire, england Record Office, Lincoln; FHL microfilm. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1 QPT9-SH93. 

 

Robert arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony circa 1644/5 as an indentured servant sponsored by John Witingham for the term of ten years. He testified on 27 March 1655 in the trial of of Richard Coy vs Mr William Hubard Sr that he and Richard Coy were indentured for a period of about ten years. 

Perley, Sidney editor. The Essex Antiquarian, A Quarterly Magazine Devoted to the Biography, Genealogy, History and Antiquities of Essex County Massachusetts. Volume 11.  Salem, Mass: The Essex Antiquarian, 1907. Pg 22. Public Domain, available Internet Archive and Hathi Trust.

Robert Smith married Mary French on circa 1655.

Torry, Clarence A. Third Torry Supplement to Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700.  Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing, 2004. P 239.  Available to view on Ancestry.com. 

Robert and Mary Smith lived in Boxford, MA. They had ten children. Robert's occupation is said to have been tailor and farmer. 

Sidney. History of  Boxford, Essex County, Massachusetts from the Earliest Settlement Known to the Present Time: A Period of about Two Hundred and Thirty Years. Boxford, MASS: Published by the Author, 1880. Pgs 33-34. Internet Archive and Hathi Trust.

Mary French

Mary French II was born on 2 Mar 1634 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colombia America to Thomas French Jr (1608-1680) and Mary Scudamore (1698-1681). They, along with Mary French's grandparents Sir Thomas French (1584-1639) and Susan Risddlesdale (1584-1658), made the journey during the 17th Century Great Migration. * see French 

Historical Collections of the Topsfield Historical Society, Vol 13. Topsfield Historical Society, 1908. Page 153.

Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. Vol 1 A-F. Boston: New England Historic General Society, 1995. Pages 703-706.

Mary and Robert Smith married 6 Mar 1656 in Ipswich, Essex, MA. Together they had seven children. Three of their daughters married great nephews of three accused women: Rebecca Nurse, Mary Easty, and Sarah Cloyce. All were daughters of William Towne and Joanna Blessing. Robert and Mary's son, Samuel Sr, testified against Mary Easty.

Mary French-Smith died on 22 Mar 1684 in Topsfield, Massachusetts.

 

Children of Robert Smith and Mary French

Thomas (1656-1725) 

Mary (1658-1716) ~ m. Jonathan Towne (Cousin to Johnathan and Joseph Towne, and great nephew to three of the women accused of witchcraft: Rebecca (Towne) Nurse, Mary (Towne) Easty, and Sarah (Towne) Cloyce. 

Phebe (1661-1740) ~ m. Jacob Towne (Brother to Joseph Towne, and great nephew to three women accused of witchcraft: Rebecca (Towne) Nurse, Mary (Towne) Easty, and Sarah (Towne) Cloyce. 

 
Ephriam (1663-1740) ~ m. Mary Ramsdell * see Ramsdell, Immigrant Ancestors

Samuel Smith Sr, (1666-1748) ~ m. Rebekah Curtis * See Curtis

Amye (1668-1756) ~ m. Joseph Towne (Brother to Joseph Towne, and great nephew to three women accused of witchcraft: Rebecca (Towne) Nurse, Mary (Towne) Easty, and Sarah (Towne) Cloyce. 

Jacob (1674-1738)

Mariah (1677-1739)

Photo taken at Pine Grove Cemetery, Topsfield, MA in April 2019. There are engravings on additional sides that are dedicated to Robert and Mary, Samuel and Rebekah, and Samuel and Priscilla Smith. Incidentally, the obelisk in the background belongs to Zaccheus and John Gould, Priscilla's grandfather and great grandfather.

Samuel Smith

Samuel was born 26 of Jan 1666 in Boxford, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America. 

First married Phoebe Dow (1674-1708). Married second Rebekah Curtis on 25 Aug 1708/9. Together they had ten children.  

Topsfield (Mass.), and George Francis Dow. Vital Records of Topsfield, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. Topsfield: Topsfield Historical Society, 1903. Page 135

 

Samuel died 12 Jul 1648 in Topsfield, Massachusetts. 

Topsfield (Mass.), and George Francis Dow. Vital Records of Topsfield, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. Topsfield: Topsfield Historical Society, 1903. Page 250.

 

There have been many books written on the events in Salem in 1692, and it is not the purpose of this blog to explore the causes leading toward it. However, I do want to share the historical information I found that directly relates to Samuel and his testimony against Mary (Towne) Easty. It is recorded as follows: 

Historical Collections of Topsfield, Vol 13. Topsfield Historical Society, 1908. Link starts at the beginning of the article Topsfiled and the Witchcraft Delusion by Abbie Peterson Towne and Marietta Clark. 

In the History of Topsfield Massachusetts author George Frances Dow devoted a chapter to the Witchcraft Delusion in Topsfield, and the real reasons behind the accusations. I found Mary Easty's eloquence of her plea to the court, pages 339-341.

Dow, George Frances. History of Topsfield Massachusetts. Topsfield, MA:The Topsfield Historical Society, 1940. 

Upham, Charles Wentworth, 1802-1875. Salem Witchcraft: With an Account of Salem Village, And a History of Opinions On Witchcraft And Kindred Subjects. Boston: Wiggin and Lunt, 1867. Two Volumes. 

On 22 Sep 1692, Mary (Towne) Easty and along seven others (Martha Corey, Ann Pudeator, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, Wilmont Redd, Margaret Scott, and Samuel Warwel) were hung at Gallows Hill. 

Rebekah Curtis

Rebekah Curtis was borne 20 Jan 1687 in Topsfield, Essex, MA to John B Curtis and Mary Looke. Rebekah's sister, Elizabeth, arried John Gould, another ancestor that testified in the witchcraft accusations. Rebekah died 13 Mar 1753 in Topsfield, Massachusetts. She is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in Topsfield. 

Children of Samuel Smith Sr and Rebekah Curtis

Phebe (1708-1753)

Mary (1711-1785)

Samuel Smith Jr, Revolutionary Patriot (1714-1785) ~ m. Priscilla Gould

Rebecca (1715-1794)

Elizabeth (1718-1753)

Hephzibah (1722-1744)

Robert (1724-1795)

Susanna (1726-1741)

Hannah (1729-1764)

John (1738-Unk)

Descendants of Robert Smith, Immigrant Ancestor

Samuel Smith Sr ~ m. Rebekah Curtis

Samuel Smith Jr, Revolutionary Patriot ~ m. Priscilla Gould

Asael Smith, Revolutionary Soldier ~ m. Mary Duty

Joseph Smith Sr ~ m. Lucy Mack

  

Hyrum Smith ~ m. Mary Fielding 

Joseph Fielding Smith ~ m. Edna Lambson (4th living wife)

Edna Melissa Smith ~ m. John Fife Bowman

John Hyrum Bowman ~ m. Rosetta Ellen Jackson

• For privacy reasons, I have not listed my children, parents, siblings, or cousins

HOWLAND: Rooted in History, Mayflower Immigrant Ancestors

10th Great Grandparents

Mack-Smith Branches

John Howland

John Howland was born circa 1592 in Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England to Henry and Margaret Howland. He immigrated on the Mayflower as a servant to John Carver, first Governor of Plymouth. John Carver died during the first winter at Plymouth.

William Bradford, also a Mayflower passenger, documented that during a tempest on the journey to the new world, John Howland fell overboard. John was able to grab a rope tethered to the ship. Sailors were able to pull him back aboard the vessel.  

In 1623, John was allotted forty acres for having been a passenger of the Mayflower. 

The religious Puritan pilgrims had originally arranged their passage to colonize an area above Jamestown, Virginia; however, the ship had drifted off course. The passengers believed that they were no longer beholden to stockholders of the charter and designed their own form of government written by William Bradford. This document was known as the Mayflower Compact. John signed his name to this document along with other male passengers before going ashore. 

John served in the colony's militia and exploring party, and held many important positions within the community. In 1633 John became a freeman, which means he owns no debt to any man. Only freemen were able to join the Church set up at  Plymouth. 

John married Elizabeth Tilley about 1624. She was a passenger of the Mayflower with her parents, who--like Samuel Fuller's parents, died that first winter.

 John and Elizabeth Howland lived in Rocky Nook, north of Plymouth where a monument still stands.

John died 23 Feb 1672 at Plymouth. 

Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. Vol 2 G-O. Boston: New England Historic General Society, 1995. Pages 1020-1024.

 

Howland, Franklyn,. A brief genealogical and biographical history of Auther, Henry, and John Howland and their descendants, of the United States and Canada: together with an account of the efforts made in England to learn of their English ancestry, etc.. New Bedford, Mass.: Howland, 1885. Section Forth. John Howland and his descendants, pages 319-320.

 

Buried at Burial Hill on School St, Plymouth, Plymouth Co, MA. 

Elizabeth Tilley

Elizabeth Tilley was born circa 1607 and was Christened on 30 Aug 1607 in Henlow, Bedfordshire, England.

Marble, Annie Russell. The women who came in the Mayflower. Boston: Pilgrim Press, c 1920. Page 85. 

Elizabeth died 21 Dec 1687 in Swansea Bristol, MA Bay, British Colonial America.

She is believed to be buried at Ancient Little Cemetery in East Providence Rhode Island. 

Children of John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley

Desire (1525-1683)

Lieutenant John Howland II (24 Apr 1627-1702) ~ m. Mary Lee 

Joseph (1627-1704)

Hope (1629-1683)

Elizabeth (1631-1692)

Lydia (1633-1711)

Hannah (1637-1705)

Jabez (1644-1708)

Ruth (1646-1679)

Isaac (1649-1774)

Descendants of John Howland

John Howland Jr ~ m. Mary Lee

Hannah Howland ~ m. Jonathan Crocker

Hannah Crocker ~ m. Shubael Fuller (grandson of  Samuel Fuller, Mayflower passenger)

Lydia Fuller ~ m. Daniel Gates Jr

Lydia Matilda Gates ~ m. Soloman Mack 

Lucy Mack ~ m. Joseph Smith Sr

Hyrum Smith ~ m. Mary Fielding

Joseph Fielding Smith ~ m. Edna Lambson (4th living wife)

Edna Melissa Smith ~ m. John Fife Bowman

John Hyrum Bowman ~ m. Rosetta Ellen Jackson

• Did not list my parents for privacy reasons

TILLEY: Rooted in History, Mayflower Immigrant Ancestors

11th Great Grandparents

Mack-Smith Branches

John Tilley

John Tilley was born circa 1671 and Christened 19 Dec 1571. He was the son of Robert and Elizabeth Tilley of Henlow, Bedfordshire, England. 

John married 20 Sep 1656 to Joan Hurst in Henlow, Bedfordshire, England. 

John and Joan immigrated on the Mayflower with daughter, Elizabeth. John's younger brother Edward his wife Ann were also on the Mayflower and they brought with them two cousins, who later returned to England. Both John and Edward Tilley signed the Mayflower Compact.

Anderson, Robert Charles, 1944-, and New England Historic Genealogical Society. The Great Migration Begins Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. Vol 3, P-W. Boston: New England Historical Society. Page 1822.  

Mackenzie, George Norbury, 1861-1919, and Nelson Osgood Rhoades. Colonial Families of the United States of America: In Which is Given the History, Genealogy And Armorial Bearings of Colonial Families Who Settled In the American Colonies From the Time of the Settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the Battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775. Vol V. New York: The Gafton Press, 1907.

John died on 10 Apr 1621 at Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America after serving the first winter. John died three months after Joan, leaving Elizabeth an orphan.

 

Joan Hurst

Born circa 1658, it is recorded that  she was Christened on 13 Mar 1658 in Henlow, Bedfordshire, England. Her father was William Hurst. 

England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5GY-T2Z: 19 Mar 2020), Joan Hurst, 1569.  

Joan Hurst married John Tilley in 1696. She had been married to a Thomas Rogers previously. 

Joan died on 11 Jan 1621 (less than a month after arriving in the New World) at Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America.

Pope, Charles Henry, 1841-1918. The Pioneers of Massachusetts: a Descriptive List, Drawn from Records of the Colonies, Towns and Churches and Other Contemporaneous Documents. Boston: C.H. Pope, 1900. Page 445.

First hand records of Plymouth Colony was documented by William Bradford, 1590-1657, Of Plymouth Plantation, pages 408, 412.

 

Children of John Tilley and Joan Hurst

Rose (1597-1601)

John (1599-1636)

Rose 1602-1601-Unk)

Robert (1604-1639)

Elizabeth Tilley (1607-1687) ~ m. John Howland * See Howland

Descendants of John and Joan Tilley

Elizabeth Tilley ~ m. John Howland

John Howland Jr ~ m. Mary Lee

Hannah Howland ~ m. Jonathan Crocker

Hannah Crocker ~ m. Shubael Fuller (grandson of  Samuel Fuller, Mayflower passenger)

Lydia Fuller ~ m. Daniel Gates Jr

Lydia Matilda Gates ~ m. Soloman Mack 

Lucy Mack ~ m. Joseph Smith Sr

Hyrum Smith ~ m. Mary Fielding

Joseph Fielding Smith ~ m. Edna Lambson (4th living wife)

Edna Melissa Smith ~ m. John Fife Bowman

John Hyrum Bowman ~ m. Rosetta Ellen Jackson

• Did not list parents for privacy reasons

FULLER: Rooted in History - Mayflower Immigrant Ancestors

11th Great Grandparents

Mack-Smith Branches

Edward Fuller

Edward Fuller was born circa 1575 and Christened on 4 Sept 1575. His father was Robert Fuller of Rendenhall, Norfolk, England. 

Edward married circa 1605 to a woman whose name was lost to history. In William Bradford original records in Of Plymouth she is referred to as Mrs Fuller. Samuel, their youngest son, is recorded as being born circa 1608/1612 depending on the research document I read.

Bradford, William, 1590-1657; Davis, William T., 1822-1907. History of Plymouth Plantation, 1606-1646. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1908. Pages 408, 413. 

 

Stoddard, Francis R., 1877-. The Truth About the Pilgrams. New York: Society of Mayflower descendants in the State of New York, reprint 1997.

The Fullers fled England to Leiden, Holland to worship according to the dictates of their hearts, but returned to England to depart with other Puritan pilgrims on the Mayflower. Edward's brother, Samuel Fuller, was also a passenger on the Mayflower.

The Fullers had an older son named Matthew Fuller who did not make the journey until 1640 with his wife and children. He like his uncle, Samuel, were doctors.

Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995. Vol 1 A-f, pages 712-713.

The pilgrims finally set sail from England in Sept 1620 and arrived at Plymouth on 18 Dec 1620. 

 

In Nathaniel Philbrick's book, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, he mentions that both Edward and his brother, along with other men, were involved in scouting and protecting the community from the native Indians. 

Edward died 10 Apr 1621 in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, British Colonial America. It is believed that Edward's wife died on early Jan 1621 at Plymouth Colony.

 

Samuel Fuller

Born circa 1608/12 in England and immigrated with his parents aboard the Mayflower.

After his parents death, he lived with his uncle, also named Samuel. 

Samuel was made a freeman of the Colony in 1633/4 and moved to Scituate, Massachusetts. 

On 8 Apr 1635, Samuel married Jane Lathrop (1614-1683), daughter of Reverend John Lothrop, by military leader and former Mayflower passenger Miles Standish. The couple moved moved to Barnstable in 1639 with Jane's father and other members of his congregation.

Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004. Page 289.  

 

Samuel served in the colonial militia. 

Died 31 Oct 1683. Although unknown, it is believed Samuel was buried in Lothrop Hill Cemetery.

Fuller, William H. Genealogy of some Descendants of Edward Fuller of the Mayflower. Salem, Mass.: Higginson Book Co., 1990. Print.

Kellogg, Lucy M, Edna W. Townsend, and Robert S. Wakefield. Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620. 1975. Print. 

Waters, Henry F (Henry Fitz-Gilbert), 1833-1913, and New England Historical Society. The New England Historial and Genealogical Register. Boston: New England Historical Genealogical Society. Pages 192-195.  

 

Jane Lothrop

Jane Lothrop was probably born shortly before she was baptized in Egerton, Kent, England on 29 Sept 1614. She was the daughter of Hannah Howe, who died before her father and other children immigrated to Scituate, Massachusetts Bay Colony on the ship Griffin with the Winthrop Fleet in 1634. 

It is believed that Jane died in 1656 in Barnstable. It is possible she is buried in her family's cemetery, Lothrop Hill Cemetery.  

 

Children of Samuel Fuller and Jane Lothrop

Hannah (1636-1683)

Samuel Jr (1637-1691)

Elizabeth (1640-1685)

Sarah (1641-Unk)

Mary (1644-1720)

Thomas (1650-1683)

Sarah (1654-1683)

John Fuller (1656-1726) ~ m. 1678 in Barnstable to Mehitabel Rowley

"Little John" Fuller

 

John Fuller of Barnstable was born 11 Jan 1656 to Samuel Fuller and Jane Lothrop. He married Mehitabel Rowley (1660-1759) circa 1678. Mehitable Rowley is the granddaughter of Matthew Fuller, Samuel's brother. 

John and Mehitabel had twelve children. The family moved to Connecticut along with other Barnstable families, including the Rowleys, Crockers, Gates, and Olmsteads. They settled in East Haddam, Hartford County, Connecticut sometime before the birth of their son John in 1697. 

John Fuller died around 20 May 1726, which might be the probate date of his will, in East Haddam, Hartford, Connecticut. He is buried at Old Cove Burying ground in East Haddam, Middlesex Co, Connecticut. Mehitabel died 31 May 1759 in Mansfield, Windham, CT. It is believed that she is buried in the same cemetery, but she died in a different county and it is possible she is buried in Mansfield area. 

Fuller, William Hyslop. Genealogy of some descendants of Edward Fuller of the Mayflower. Salem, Mass.: Higginson Book Co. 1908. Pages 34-36.

Connecituct. Probate Courth (Hartford District:; Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut. Probate Records, Vol 11-13, 1729-1752. Accessed on Ancestry.com.

Children of John Fuller and Metiabel Rowley

 Thomas (1680-1772)

Samuel (1681-1757) 

Shubael Fuller (1684-1748) * May 29 ~ m. 7 Dec 1708 to Hannah Crocker 

Thankfull (1689-1748) * May 20 

When family members die around the same time it makes me wonder if a pandemic occured during that time. In the winter of 1747/8 a "Malignant Pleurisie" occurred at Hartford. Maybe this is what caused the death of these siblings? The Pursuit of a Pestilence by Ernest Caulfield from American Antiquarian Society, April 1950.

Deborah (1689-1752)

Edward (1691-1730)

Elizabeth (1693-1766)

John (1697-1758)

Joseph (1699-1775)

Benjamin (1701-1740)

Anne (1703-1741)

Mehitabel (1706-1738)

Shubael Fuller

Shubael Fuller was born 21 Oct 1684 in Barnstable, Massachusetts. He married Hannah Crocker on 7 Dec 1708. The family moved to Haddam, Middlesex Co, Connecticut before the birth of their first child in Sep 1709.

Hannah Crocker was born 26 March 1688 in Barnstable to Johnathan Crocker and Hannah Howland. Together Shubael and Hannah had thirteen children.

Children of Shubael Fuller and Hannah Crocker

Lydia Fuller (1709-1778) ~ m. circa 1728 to Daniel Gates Jr

Ephraim (1711-1772)

Thankful (1713-1806)

Isaac (1714-Unk)

Zurviah (1716-1780)

Lomah (1716-Unk)

Hannah (1718-1753)

Shubael (1720-1804)

James (1722-Unk)

Reliance (1724-Unk)

Jonathan (1724-1726)

Rachel (1726-1815)

Leah (1731-1748)

 

Descendants of Edward Fuller via Samuel

Samuel Fuller ~ m. Jane Lothrop

John Fuller ~ m. Mehitable Rowley

Shubael Fuller ~ m. Hannah Crocker

Lydia Fuller ~ m. Daniel Gates

Lydia Gates ~ m. Solomon Mack

Lucy Mack ~ m. Joseph Smith Sr

Hyrum Smith ~ m. Mary Fielding

Joseph Fielding Smith ~ m. Edna Lambson (4th living wife)

Edna Melissa Smith ~ m. John Fife Bowman

John Hyrum Bowman ~ m. Rosetta Ellen Jackson

For privacy reasons, I did not list my parents, siblings, or cousins