This post will be a little different, so hang on.
I planned to blog about Richard Hollingsworth, who immigrated with his wife and children in 1635. I thought he was the 9th great-grandfather of Edward Elihu Hazen, Jr. - descending through Hollingsworth's daughter Elizabeth.
Then I found a record that blew everything up.
This is from The Great Migration, a source I use frequently. That record looks simple, but who are all those kids, and why are they all listed with Hollingsworth when they have the last name Hunter?
Apparently, Susannah Hollingsworth, Richard's wife, was previously married to a man named Thomas Hunter. They had several children - Christian, Elizabeth, Thomas, and William. Thomas Hunter died in about 1628, and Susannah then married Richard Hollingsworth. They had at least four children, William, Richard, Susan, and Elizabeth. So in 1635, Richard and Susannah immigrated to Salem, Massachusetts with eight children, including four from her previous marriage.
Here's the problem. My records indicated that "Elizabeth" married Humphrey Woodbury in 1639. Some records indicated that was Elizabeth Hollingsworth. The above record proves that to be impossible, since Elizabeth Hollingsworth would have been too young (age 7 or 8) on the date the marriage occurred. So, the bride must be Elizabeth Hunter, whose father was Thomas Hunter, but was being raised by Richard Hollingsworth.
Yes, that's a lot of detail, but it changes the family tree - Richard Hollingsworth is NOT an ancestor of EEH Jr. - Elizabeth is descended from Thomas Hunter and Susannah Jentilman Hunter Hollingsworth.
Aside from the details of the genealogy, this is an example that gives insight into the lives of women in this time. Widows with children remarried quickly after the death of their husbands. If the children were young, she would have no choice but to find someone to support her and her children - she couldn't farm or smith or inkeep in her husband's place. Widows with older children were often given a room in their former home, a bed, bed linens, and perhaps a cow in her late husband's will. The house was usually willed to a son. Women's futures were never in their control.
In 1654, Richard Hollingsworth died, apparently without a will. Richard's son William testified that his father wanted the family house to go to him, not his mother. Susannah said her husband had planned to build another house for them, but did not do so. It is unclear where Susannah lived, but it was likely with William.
In 1675, town records indicate that "Goodwife Hollingsworth" had been taken into the household of Humphrey Woodberry, Elizabeth Hunter Woodbury's husband. The records specify that if Humphrey died or they were no longer capable of caring for her, she would be "owned as inhabitant of the town", in other words, live on the charity of the town. She died shortly after entering the Woodberry household. No burial details are known for Susannah, Thomas, or Richard.
Here's the revised lineage:
Comments
Post a Comment