Beds, Buttons and A Woman Named Phillis: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “What They Left Behind”

 Interpreting a Man’s Life Through the Bequests in His 1787 Will

James Chandler: 1706-1789 (Maternal 5^th Great-Granduncle)

 

I love finding old wills in my research. People in the 17^th and 18^th century were often very specific about who should receive their possessions, listing the recipients of everything from their books to their underwear. So I was delighted to discover the transcript of my fifth-great-granduncle Rev. James Chandler’s will. I was sure it would provide insight into his life and character. And I was right: what James Chandler left behind and how he chose to distribute it was quite revealing.

James Chandler was born on June 19, 1706 in Salem, Massachusetts. He was the third of Thomas Chandler and Mary Stevens Chandler’s eventual twelve children, two of whom died in infancy. James attended Harvard University, and was one of the 42 graduates in the class of 1728. He continued his education at Harvard, earning a Master’s Degree as well. (1)

In 1732, he was named pastor of the parish in Rowley, Massachusetts. George Chandler’s history, cited below, stated that “every man in the meeting [of the church] voted for it, and he was ordained over it 18 Oct. 1732.” Nine months later, the parish voted to pay for the construction of James’ house and barn, paying a Mr. Nelson twelve pounds to complete the project. (2)

Rowley, Massachusetts where James Chandler served as minister for 58 years

Four years later, Rev. Chandler married the daughter of another minister in the area, Mary Hale. The wedding was performed by Mary’s father, Rev. Moses Hale on November 14, 1636. James was thirty years old, and Mary was twenty-three. Sadly, the couple had no children during their long union.

Rev. Chandler served the Rowley parish for an amazing fifty-eight years. Family histories note that:

"He was active and influential in civil and religious affairs; guardian of children and administrator of Estates. He was sound in doctrine, exemplary in life and conversation, dignified in department and greatly esteemed, generally by his own people, highly respected abroad, and very successful in his ministry." He was quite a fruit-grower in his day. He introduced and cultivated the best kinds of apples, and also many kinds of medicinal plants.”(2 & 3)

Headstone at the Union Cemetery in Georgetown, Mass. It reads: "This Monument is erected in memory Revd JAMES CHANDLER firƒt Paƒtor of the ƒecond Church of Chriƒt in Rowley who departed this life April ye 19th 1789 in the 83d year of his age and the 58th of his Paƒtoral care of sd Church."

James Chandler died April 19, 1789 at the age of eighty-two. His will, dated May 22, 1787, was recorded and probated. Many of the bequests are financial in nature. Since he had no children of his own, he left most of his money to his siblings’ children. Those nieces and nephews were not treated equally, however.

To the children of his brother William Chandler:

Mary: 7 pounds

Thomas: 7 pounds

Stevens: 7 pounds

William: 5 pounds and and “my English Dictionary.”

Rose’s daughters (William Chandler’s granddaughters) Mary and Hannah: 5 pounds each

To Joseph, the son of James’ brother Joseph Chandler: 7 pounds

To his brother John Chandler’s daughters:

Mary: 4 pounds

Elizabeth: 6 pounds

To each of his deceased sister Mary Ballard’s daughters: 15 shillings each.

To the daughter of his sister Bridget, Bridget Burroughs, 2 pounds, and to Bridget Burroughs’ son John Chandler Burroughs, 4 pounds.

 To his late sister Hannah’s children:

Captain George Burroughs: 40 shillings “and a note”.

Rebecca Burroughs, widow of Thomas: 5 pounds

Mary Burroughs, Rebecca and Thomas’ daughter “that now lives with me 10 pounds, and the bed she lodges on and bedding”

Each of Mary Burroughs’ siblings: 3 pounds

The differences in the amounts these family members received seem to have been based on their individual needs. Those that were poorer received more money. The great-niece who had helped to care for him received the most money of all. His bequest to his late sister Phebe Dana’s children supports this supposition. James wrote:

“The children of my late sister Phebe Dana dec are plentifully provided for by Providence so as not to need gifts of mine. However to the widow of her late Son Caleb Dana dec I give 3 pounds.”

James also made bequests to non-relatives. “Samuel Merrill, the lad that lives with me” was given 3 pounds. He left his niece-in-law Sophia Spofford “my gold Sleeve Buttons.” I wonder what Mrs. Spofford did with his gold buttons.

I loved his additional bequests, which read as follows:

“My apparel I dispose of thus. My Gown and Linen I give to my wife. The remainder of my apparel I give to Thomas Chandler and Stevens Chandler, Sons of my late brother William, and to Joseph Chandler Son of my late Brother Joseph, to be equally dived between them. …the Pew in the meeting House in the West Parish in Rowley, I give to my Nephew and Kinsman John Tenny Junior, son of my late sister Rose Tenny…To this church and Parish…[ten pounds]to begin a Library. My Real Estate I give to the Parish for a Parsonage [on condition that the Parish take care of my widow].”

It seems only right that he gave the Parish his house for a parsonage, as the Parish had paid for its construction, probably assuming the property would eventually return to the church. It is also interesting that his nephew William did not receive any clothing in the will. He was treated differently than his two brothers, receiving less money (five pounds instead of seven) and receiving James’ English dictionary. Was William in better financial condition than his brothers so didn’t need clothing or as much money? Was he more educated than his brothers and would make better use of the dictionary? Perhaps I will investigate his life story later.

It is also interesting to note that James’ church pew was considered an item of value. The Newport History website cited below explained that most early churches used box pews, which “served as a means to raise money for the upkeep and operation of the church. They were purchased, sold, inherited, and assessed an annual tax…” (4)  Apparently great-nephew John Tenny was the recipient of a small but valuable piece of real estate.

Box Pews in the colonial meeting house in Alna, Maine (USA) Photo credit to: Paul Wainwright

There was one additional bequest, the most stunning one of them all. It reads as follows:

“To my Negro woman Phillis her manumission or freedom and five pounds, a chest and such other things in my house as are known as her things and also the Bed that she and her mother lodge in, and all the bedding belonging to it; and I hereby testify that I gave her her freedom when she was 18 years old and covenanted with her that, if she would live and serve in my family, I would give her one pound and six shillings and eight pence per year for her services and find her her clothes. She has live with and served me ever since, and I have paid her nothing of the money that I promised as her wages, and therefore I owe it to her and order my Executors to pay it to her. I suppose my keeping her child more than answers for interest, but I release what more it might be reckoned at.”

The Chandler book noted that James had performed the marriage of his slave Phillis and another man of color, Cicero Green of Newburyport, on March 1, 1783. Despite the marriage, it appears James did not allow Phillis to live with her husband—she was still living in his house with her mother and apparently her first child.

What is truly striking about this passage is James’ open admission that he lied to Phillis. He made promises that he failed to keep. I would guess that she had probably been “freed” before her 1783 marriage. Given that James died six years later in 1789, she was owed far more than the five pounds he left in his will, so he cheated her even in death. As a minister and a believer in God and the commandments, how did he justify his multiple sins against this woman, beginning with her enslavement?

He tried to justify his cheating her by claiming that his “keeping her child more than answers for interest” he would owe on this unpaid debt, but really, how much money would he have actually spent feeding and housing a young child? The most disgraceful part of this bequest is that the value of James Chandler’s total estate was well over 400 pounds—he could easily have given her far more money. He deliberately chose not to even though he recognized that he was doing wrong.

James Chandler’s will provided me with some fascinating insights into colonial morality and values. What James left behind and how he chose to distribute his personal wealth provided a rather troubling image of his character, which was not as sterling as one would expect from a well-respected minister.

 

 Sources:

1.       Harvard University. 1905. Quinquennial Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates of Harvard University. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. p 129

2.        THE CHANDLER FAMILY. The Descendants of William an dAnnis Chandler Who Settled in Roxbury, Mass., 1637. Chandler, George. Press of C. Hamilton, Worcester, Mass. 1883. Pg. 101-104. https://archive.org/details/chandlerfamilyde00chan/page/104/mode/2up

3.       Genealogy of Descendants of Thomas Hale of Watton, England, and of Newbury, Mass. Hale, Robert Safford, 1822-1881. Albany, N.Y.: Weed, Parsons & Co., 1889. Pg. 158. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62282/records/4432764542?tid=46986934&pid=322823898937&ssrc=pt

4.       History Bytes: Church Pews. https://newporthistory.org/history-bytes-church-pews/

5.       Box Pew photo—Colonial Meeting House in Alna, Maine. Photo by Paul Wainwright.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_pew#/media/File:Box_pews_Alna_ME.jpg

    Findagrave photo of Commemorative Gravestone. Photo by Bill Boyington. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12550390/james-chandler?_gl=1*1p4y2w*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3OT

Tragic Death in Minnesota River: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “Brushed Aside”

 

Day of Play Ends in Drowning: James “Jimmy” Seltenreich

James Oscar “Jimmy” Seltenreich: 1939-1949 (Maternal Second Cousin)

 

I was using Ancestry’s Tree Checker function, and discovered that my records for my second cousin James Seltenreich had an error. While correcting the erroneous date that had been flagged, I began reviewing James’ Ancestry hints and filling in more information on him. I discovered that James died at only ten years of age! Thankfully, someone had done research to discover why he died so tragically young and had posted a news article. The article appears below. This was a story I had never heard about from other family members.

Minneapolis Star article, June 25, 1949

James Oscar Seltenreich was born March 20, 1939 in Mankato, Minnesota to parents Reuben Seltenreich and Mary Rose Schneider Seltenreich. James was the third of their four sons and seems to have been known as “Jimmy”.

June 24, 1949, was probably a warm, sunny summer day. School was out, and a ten-year-old boy would have been enjoying the outdoors. Jimmy was probably playing with friends or with his brother Leon, who was only a year older than Jimmy. Jimmy was apparently playing along the banks of the Minnesota River in Sibley Park. 

Mankato map showing area where Jimmy lived and the park area along the river junction

The park, an attractive tree-covered area, lies at the mouth of the Blue Earth River where it empties into the Minnesota River. It was probably an easy bike ride from Jimmy’s home on Blue Earth Street in Mankato. While Blue Earth Street is now separated from the park area by a multi-lane highway and a large factory complex, in 1949 it would have been easy for the Seltenreich children to bike or walk to the park along neighborhood streets.

The article states Jimmy was playing on a sandbar when he fell in the river. Since the area is at the junction of the two rivers, I suspect there might have been strong currents in that part of the Minnesota River. When Jimmy fell, he might have been pulled under by the current and was unable to regain the shore. Whoever was playing with him would have been unable to help. What began as a day of summer fun and play ended in tragedy.

Note the sandbars at the left of the photo

The newspaper reported that Jimmy’s body was pulled from the river a day after he drowned. Jimmy was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Mankato. He is the only member of the family buried there. His parents are buried in Eagle Lake Cemetery.

Photo of Jimmy's headstone at Calvary Cemetery in Mankato

I am so glad that I discovered how Jimmy’s life ended. Until now, I had brushed aside filling in the details of Jimmy’s life in my family tree. His story also seems to have been brushed aside in the stories family members passed on to me—probably no one wanted to recall his tragic loss and his family’s pain.

Sources:

“Four Drown in State; Two Victims are Boys.” Minneapolis Star. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jun 25, 1949.

“Body recovered.” Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. June 27, 1949

Findagrave website. Photo by Shellorella. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151118700/jimmy-oscar-seltenreich?_gl=1*uekjkq

A Murderer’s Motivation: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “What Wasn’t Written Down”

 

A Colonial Killer Leaves Me With Questions

Reuben Hull: 1690-1720 (Maternal Second Cousin 7x Removed)

 

While researching Joseph Hull for the previous post, I ran across a source who mentioned that Joseph’s son Reuben had been convicted of murder. Even though Reuben is a very distant ancestor, my curiosity was piqued and I had to investigate. What little information I was able to gather left me with more questions than answers. What wasn’t written down could have explained so much.

Reuben Hull was the youngest son of Joseph Hull and his wife Experience Harper Hull. He was born in 1690 in Kingstown, Rhode Island. The family were Quakers, normally non-violent people.

I have been unable to find a birth record for Reuben. The first document I have found that mentions him is a 1714 land grant from his father, Joshua Hull, giving one hundred acres near Westerly, Rhode Island to Reuben “for love and affection”. (See No. 1 below) The deed was witnessed by Reuben’s sister Hannah Hull and his brother Joseph Hull, Jr.

Land Record--Joseph Hull gives 100 acres to Reuben Hull. see No. 1 Below

Just five years later, Reuben transferred the land back to his father. Reuben was facing his own mortality. He had been convicted of murder and was facing a death sentence. He needed to get his affairs in order and dispose of his possessions. He had no children, so on April 10, 1719, he deeded the land to his father to distribute as Joseph wished. (See No. 2 below.)

Sadly, this land transfer provoked familial conflict. Reuben’s brother-in-law John Segar, acting on behalf of Reuben’s nephews John Segar (the son of John Segar and Alice Hull), and Joseph Hoxie (the son of John and Mary Hull Hoxie), appealed to the Rhode Island General Assembly, asking that the land revert to the two boys. He claimed that Joseph Hull’s original deed to Reuben stipulated that if Reuben died without issue, the land was to go to Joseph’s grandsons Joseph Hoxie and John Segar. The Assembly agreed and ordered that Reuben’s land be given to John Hoxie and John Segar as trustees for their minor sons. I wonder how Joseph Hull felt about this end run by his sons-in-law.

But back to the most interesting part of this story: the murder. All that I have been able to discover about the crime comes from two articles printed in the Boston News Letter, a colonial newspaper. The clippings were collected by a capital punishment researcher named M. Watt Espy, who gathered and indexed information on all legal executions in the United States. His index card transcribing the news clippings appears below.

The first clipping Espy transcribed reported the result of the murder trial. Dated September 11, 1719, it stated:

“One Reuben Hull of Westerly was tried here on Monday last for killing and murdering one Freelove Dolliver, a young woman, on the 25^th of April last, and found guilty. Accordingly sentence was passed that he should be hanged on the 10^th of November next.”

The next clipping from the Bostone News-Letter, dated June 24, 1720, read:

“One Reuben Hull of Westerly in this colony was executed here yesterday for murdering one Freelove Dolliver, a young woman of said colony, in April last, a twelve-month ago. He was very obdurate and made no confession, who was buried near the habitation of one Samuel Dyer near Newport, which favor was granted at the request of his friends and relations by the government.”

I can find no records on either Ancestry or FamilySearch for a woman named Freelove Dolliver or any variation of that name. Who was Freelove Dolliver? How old was she? What was her place in society?

What in the world happened in this small Rhode Island community? What caused a Quaker man to shoot a woman? (Another unverified source said Reuben shot her to death.) This type of crime was very unusual for the time period, as was the death sentence. 

Did Reuben and Freelove know one another? Were they in a relationship? Reuben had not yet married despite being nearly thirty. Had he hoped to marry Freelove, and she rejected him? Was there a money motive? Was he mentally ill? Was he just evil? Why did he kill her? What was his motive?

Ancestry extraction of news article that Espy used. 

Why was Reuben “obdurate”? Why did he refuse to confess? In such a small town, there must have been witnesses. There was enough evidence to convince a jury or judge to issue a conviction and death sentence. So why wouldn’t he confess?

Reuben was obviously loved by family and friends, for they reached out to the government to acquire his body after he was hung, and arrange for his burial. Normally a criminal would have been buried in an unmarked grave.

I am left with so many questions, and no apparent way to get answers. It seems like the most interesting parts of this story were those that were never written down.

 

 

Sources:

1.       North Kingstown Land Evidence Records Vol 2: 88-89. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLR-RJK

2.       North Kingstown RI Land evidence records Vol 4: 89 Reuben Hull to Joseph Hull father, 1719. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLR-YWW4-T

3.       Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island Comprising Three Generations of Settlers who Came Before 1690, by John Osborne Austin. Reprinted Genealogical Publishing Co, Baltimore, MD, 1995, p. 484. https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/KJHN-11Q

4.       Wikipedia entry on capital punishment in Rhode Island. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_executed_in_Rhode_Island#cite_note-22

5.       https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/executions-overview/executions-in-the-u-s-1608-2002-the-espy-file

6.       Index card containing transcription of news articles on Hull crime and execution. Espy Project Execution Records. M. E. Grenander Special Collections and Archives. University at Albany. SUNY. https://archives.albany.edu/espy?per_page=50&sort=date_execution+asc%252C+title_si+asc&search_field=all_fields&q=reuben+hull

 

Hatred and Prejudice Never Die: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “Long Lasting”

 

Persecution of Quakers in the New England Colonies

Joseph Hull: 1652-1728? (Maternal First Cousin 8x Removed)
Experience Harper: 1657-1726? (Wife of Maternal First Cousin 8x Removed)

 

The Puritans fled persecution in England in the 1600s, emigrating to the American colonies so that they could practice their religion freely. Yet they hypocritically denied other immigrants the same right to freely practice their faiths. Puritans brutally persecuted Quakers and Catholics. Several of my Hull ancestors who were Quakers were victims of this persecution.  Among them were Joseph Hull and his wife Experience Harper Hull.

Joseph Hull was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts Colony, in June of 1652 to parents Tristram and Blanche Hull. He was named in honor of his grandfather, the Puritan minister Rev. Joseph Hull. Interestingly, several of Rev. Joseph Hull’s children converted to the Quaker faith or were sympathetic to Quakers, including Tristram Hull. Tristram faced government sanctions and fines for his words and actions defending Quakers. Joseph and some of his siblings embraced the Quaker faith.

In October of 1676, Joseph married Experience Harper, the daughter of Quaker activist Robert Harper. In 1660, Robert Harper had watched his friend William Leddra be executed for the “crime” of preaching the Quaker faith. Harper caught his friend’s body beneath the scaffold, which led to his own banishment from the Massachusetts colony, along with his wife and children. Joseph Hull’s decision to marry the daughter of a Quaker activist like Harper may have been a daring act in and of itself.

According to the book The Hull Family in America, Joseph worked as “a planter, cooper, merchant and shipper.” (pg. 259). Joseph had inherited his father’s land and home in Barnstable following Tristram’s death in 1666. However, following his marriage to Experience, he sold the property and moved to the Woods Hole/Falmouth area in 1679, possibly searching for a community more welcoming to Quakers.

Part of Tristram Hull will leaving house and land to Joseph Hull 

Joseph offered up his Falmouth house as a meeting place for Quakers starting in 1681. This generosity attracted negative attention during a period when the colonial government was imposing further restrictions on Quakers, including terminating all indentured servitude contracts and apprenticeships that Quakers held. The local sheriff began harassing and persecuting Joseph for his Quaker beliefs, leading Joseph to beat the sheriff. Joseph was fined seven pounds for the attack. This was a large sum of money—the equivalent of several months of earnings. Although the fine was eventually lowered by the courts, Joseph probably felt the Massachusetts Colony was no longer a safe place to raise a Quaker family.

Joseph moved his family to Kingstown, Rhode Island at some point following the incident. Rhode Island was far more hospitable to Quakers. Joseph had purchased land in Little Harbor, South Kingston some years earlier, and increased his holdings there over the years following the move. By 1696, he was a respected citizen, and was made a freeman. From 1699 to 1703, he was elected to the position of Assistant to the Government of Rhode Island, a position similar to that of a state senator. In 1709, the General Assembly gave him a gratuity of sixteen pounds and ten shillings in honor of his “good service and charge…in promoting the interest of the colony.” (Hull Family book)

1758 map of Rhode Island showing South Kingstown area

Joseph built a large house in the Tower Hill section of South Kingston. The monthly meetings of the Narragansett Meeting of Friends were held at his “spacious house” from 1699 until the society’s meeting house was constructed. The Hull Family book states that “Joseph Hull had now become a speaker or preacher” for the Quaker Friends Meetings.

Joseph and Experience Hull had several children. Some sources name five children, others name eight. There is also confusion over Joseph and Experience Hull’s death dates. Some sources state Experience died in 1706 at age forty-nine, but other records indicate she lived into the 1720s. Some sources state Joseph died in 1709 at age fifty-seven. More reliable sources indicate that he lived until 1728, dying at seventy-six. There are several Land Evidence Records from North Kingston, Rhode Island dated between 1720 and 1728 which were entered into by Joseph Hull. These records support the later death date.

                     Signature portion of 1720 agreement with John Hoxie

A summary of Joseph Hull’s life on Family Search written by a FamilySearch user explains that “On 6 April 1720, Joseph Hull entered into an agreement with his son-in-law, John Hoxie, who bound himself to Joseph in the amount of £1000. John Hoxie agreed to provide living maintenance for Joseph and his wife during their natural lives, including the room in which they were then living on the west end of the house, food, drink, clothing, a riding horse (and care for the horse). It is clear Joseph and his wife had been living in the house which, of course, had belonged to them before Joseph sold it to his son-in-law one year earlier. A similar agreement was signed by John Hoxie on 27 November 1722. John Hoxie again agreed to provide maintenance for Joseph and his wife (North Kingstown Land Evidence Records Vols. 4: 247; 5A: 8).”  On 25 January 1726 (probably 1726/7) Joseph Hull Jr. bound himself to "my Father" agreeing to provide an annual payment. This agreement stipulates that if the father's wife survived him, Joseph Jr. would pay his "Mother" £6 per year (North Kingstown Land Evidence Records Book 6: 61).”

Portion of 1726 agreement between Joseph Hull and his son Joseph Hull.

Joseph entered into another life maintenance agreement with son-in-law John Reynolds in 1728. Experience Hull isn’t mentioned in that agreement, so she seems to have died between 1726 and 1728. Joseph appears to have died late in 1728 or in 1729.

Family history books state that Joseph was buried on his Tower Hill property, in a family graveyard which has not survived. Some of the graves may have been relocated to a nearby cemetery, but there are no records or headstones to confirm that.

Joseph Hull persisted in practicing his Quaker faith for his entire life, despite the prejudice and abuse from his Puritan neighbors. His faith was long-lasting. While we like to believe that our country has progressed beyond blind hatred of others for practicing a different faith, this year in Texas has shown we are sadly wrong. Republican politicians have spent the last few months spreading lies about and fomenting hatred against Texas’ Muslim residents, most of whom are American-born citizens. People are being encouraged to try to drive Muslims out of their communities, and to treat them differently under the law simply because of their faith. It appears that religious hatred and prejudice are long-lasting as well, continuing to stain American democracy even today. While the First Amendment to the Constitution clearly states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”, far too many citizens ignore not only this promise of freedom of religion to all, but also Christ’s commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. Puritan-style hypocrisy lives on.

 

Sources:

The Hull Family in America. Col. Charles H. Weygant, compiler. The Hull Family Association, publisher. 1913. Pg. 257-261. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62282/images/dvm_genmono001241-00001-0?_gl=1*c0bcwn*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTk3ODc5OTkwNi4xNzkxMjU1OTU3*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*c2MwNmU0MWYxLWNkMDgtNDNmNC04ZDU0

Sale of Barnstable Property on February 7, 1679. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8979-HBT?cc=2061550&wc=Q4DH-G5S%3A353349701%2C353366701%2C1005976002 : 20 May 2014).

Purchase of land in Falmouth. February 8, 1679. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-9979-H9M5?cc=2061550&wc=Q4DH-G5S%3A353349701%2C353366701%2C1005976002 : 20 May 2014).

Rhode Island Historical Cemetery. Findagrave. Photo courtesy of Nate Bramlett.

Life Maintenance Agreement between Joseph Hull and son-in-law John Hoxie. North Kingstown Land Evidence Records Vol 4: 247. 27 Nov 1722. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLR-YW7J-K

Life Maintenance Agreement between Joseph Hull and son-in-law John Reynolds. North Kingstown RI Land Evidence Records Vol 6: 62 John Reynolds bound to Joseph Hull 1728. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLR-YW3C-8.

Life Maintenance Agreement. July 15, 1728. North Kingstown RI Land Evidence Records Vol 6: 59 John Reynolds bound to Joseph Hull 1728. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLR-YW3W-Y

Abigail Faulkner’s Desperate Plea from Prison: 52 Ancestors 2026 “A Document with Personality”

 

Convicted of Witchcraft and Afraid for Her Family: A Petition Filled with Fear and Fury

Abigail Dane Faulkner: 1652-1729 (7^th Great-grandaunt)

 

I recently blogged about John Dane’s role as a juror in the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Among John Dane’s cousins who were convicted of witchcraft—possibly by John himself—was his cousin Abigail Dane Faulkner. She was sentenced to death, but thankfully her execution was delayed due to her pregnancy—even the judgmental Puritans could not justify killing an innocent unborn child along with its mother. Thus Abigail was still in prison when Massachusetts Governor William Phips disbanded the Court of Oyer and Terminer and forbade the use of spectral evidence in October 1692.

To provide some background, Abigail Dane was one of Reverend Francis Dane’s daughters. She married Francis Faulkner in 1675, and they had six children and were expecting a seventh when she was “examined” by the witchcraft court in August of 1692 after claims from girls, one only twelve years old, that she had bewitched them. She was encouraged to confess but she told the court that “God would not have her confess that yt she was not guilty of.”

Engraving of Salem Witch Trial scene--Wikimedia Commons

While Phip’s action basically brought a halt to the witchcraft trial proceedings, it did not lead to the release of those charged or convicted of witchcraft. They were still in the Salem prison as winter set in. Conditions were horrible. Several of those charged or convicted died from disease and the elements in the jail before they could be tried or executed. Desperate, afraid and angry, Abigail Faulkner wrote a petition to Governor Phips on December 3, 1692, begging to be released. It is an amazing document. Her despair and anger are obvious in every stroke of the pen. The transcript of her petition follows:

The humblee Petition of Abigall: Falkner unto his Excellencye S'r W'm Phipps knight and Govern'r of their Majestyes Dominions in America: humbly sheweth

That your poor and humble Petitioner having been this four monthes in Salem Prison and condemned to die having had no other evidences against me but the Spectre Evidences and the Confessors w'ch Confessors have lately since I was condemned owned to my selfe and others and doe still own that they wronged me and what they had \said against me was false: and that they would not that I should have been put to death for a thousand worldes for they never should have enjoyed themselves againe in this world; w'ch undoubtedly I shouled have been put to death had it not pleased the Lord I had been with child. Thankes be to the Lord I know my selfe altogether Innocent & Ignorant of the crime of witchcraft w'ch is layd to my charge: as will appeare at the great day of Judgment (May it please yo'r Excellencye) my husband about five yeares a goe was taken w'th fitts w'ch did very much impaire his memory and understanding but w'th the blessing of the Lord upon my Endeavors did recover of them againe but now through greife and sorrow they are returned to him againe as bad as Ever they were: I having six children and having little or nothing to subsist on being in a manner without a head to doe any thinge for my selfe or them and being closely confined can see no otherwayes but we shall all perish Therfore may it please your Excellencye your poor and humble petition'r doe humbly begge and Implore of yo'r Excellencye to take it into yo'r pious and Judicious consideration that some speedy Course may be taken w'th me for my releasement that I and my children perish not through meanes of my close confinement here w'ch undoubtedly we shall if the Lord does not mightily prevent and yo'r poor petitioner shall for ever pray for your health and happinesse in this life and eternall felicity in the world to come so prayes

from Salem Prison Your poor afflicted humble sevants Petition'r

Decem[ber] the 3d: 1692 *Abigall: Falkner

Abigail Dane Faulkner's petition to Gov. Phips

Abigail’s frustration and anger at her accusers is obvious in her opening statements. She notes that she was convicted based only on “spectral evidence”, the type of evidence Phips had just decreed would no longer be accepted. She noted that all the witnesses’ confessions against her had been withdrawn: “w'ch Confessors have lately since I was condemned owned to my selfe and others and doe still own that they wronged me and what they had \said against me was false: and that they would not that I should have been put to death for a thousand worldes.” The people who testified against her had admitted to herself and to others that they lied at her trial. Thus there was no legitimate evidence that she was a witch. She stated that “I know my selfe altogether Innocent & Ignorant of the crime of witchcraft…as will appeare at the great day of Judgment.” Abigail’s words ring with sincerity and her conviction that God recognizes her innocence.

The details she provides about her family situation are heart-breaking. She is in despair over her husband’s illness. She confesses, “my husband about five yeares a goe was taken w'th fitts w'ch did very much impaire his memory and understanding but w'th the blessing of the Lord upon my Endeavors did recover of them againe but now through greife and sorrow they are returned to him againe as bad as Ever they were…” It is hard to diagnose Francis Faulkner from the distance of 334 years, but it sounds as if he might have had a stroke, or that he suffered from debilitating depression or mental illness. Whatever the cause of his illness, in the past Abigail had been forced to take charge of providing for the children. Now there was no one to earn money, provide food, or do the backbreaking work required to just keep children alive in the unforgiving weather of a Massachusetts winter.

Her terror and desperation are obvious in the next line: “I having six children and having little or nothing to subsist on being in a manner without a head to doe any thinge for my selfe or them and being closely confined can see no otherwayes but we shall all perish…”

As a woman, she knows that she is considered less important than a man in the Puritan world. She closes her letter with flattery and kind words to the Governor, obviously trying to emphasize her respect and obedience to him as a man and a person of power. She begs him as “your poor and humble petition'r”  to “take it into yo'r pious and Judicious consideration” to free her. She closes with the following prayer for Phips: “yo'r poor petitioner shall for ever pray for your health and happinesse in this life and eternall felicity in the world to come…”

Governor's address on Abigail Faulkner's petition

It appears that her petition had effect. She was released at some point late in December 1692 after Phips received the document. The date of the release order is unknown. She was back home in Andover well before her baby was born in March of 1693.

I do not know if Abigail wrote the petition herself, or if she dictated it to a relative. Since her father was Cambridge-educated, he probably taught all his children to read and write, so it is possible she may have hand-written the document. What I do know is that her feelings, personality and strength of will are apparent in each sentence, no matter who prepared the final document.

 

Sources:

Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project. Salem Witchcraft Papers: SWP No. 052: Abigail Faulkner, Sr.. University of Virginia. https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n52.html

Historical Sketches of Andover. Chap. 3, Witchcraft at Andover. Pg. 217-218. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/21636/images/dvm_LocHist007471-00133-0?usePUB=true&_phsrc=FrD715&_phstart=default&usePUBJs=true&currentPageIsStart=&useCurrentPageInfo=&showinfopanel=true&pId=248

Salem With Trial Engraving. Wikimedia Commons. https://picryl.com/media/salem-witch-trial-engraving-444cbd

 

The Wrong Side of History and the Wrong Side of Family: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “What Surprise Me Most”

 

John Dane Jr. Sitting in Judgment of His Cousins in the Salem Witch Trials

John Dane Jr. 1642-1707 (Maternal 7^th Great-Granduncle)

 

While researching my 8^th Great-Grandfather John Dane, I ran across information about his son John Dane, my 7^th Great-Granduncle, that absolutely stunned me. He served as a juror for some of the Salem Witch Trials, which meant he was hearing testimony against and rendering verdicts upon his own cousins, who were the children and grandchildren of his uncle, Reverend Francis Dane. Some of those cousins were sentenced to death. How could a good Puritan like John Dane turn against his own family in this way?

I have been unable to find birth records for John Dane, but his gravestone states he died in 1707 in his 65^th year, which would indicate he was born in 1642 or 1643. His parents were John Dane and Eleanor Clark of Ipswich, Massachusetts. He was the oldest of their two sons. He left several parcels of land in his will, so it appears he was engaged in farming.

John Dane married Abigail Warner on December 27, 1671, and they lived in Ipswich. The couple had six children—three sons and three daughters—over a period from 1673 to 1691.

The Salem Witch trials began in 1692. Under English law, a Court of Oyer and Terminer was called up to hold inquiries into all charges of treason, felonies, and misdemeanors. The name comes from the French phrase oyer et terminer which literally means “to hear and to determine.” Massachusetts Governor William Phipps called for the court to be appointed to hear the witch trials, and local officials were told to summon a pool of jurors. Each community was asked to contribute jurors, with local magistrates responsible for issuing the summonses.

I have found some of the summons paperwork, but John Dane Jr.’s name was not on the Ipswich summons. He may have been called up at a later date, covered by a different summons document. Since the jurors were issued summonses requiring them to serve, John Dane had little choice in the matter. He had to participate once he was summoned. In a small society like early colonial Massachusetts, the Puritan culture demanded conformity and obedience.

Cover of the book where the jurors' letter appears

Some records from the period provide partial lists of jurors. John Dane’s name is on at least one of the lists I located. But most significantly, John Dane Jr. was one of twelve signatories on a 1697 letter expressing regret for their actions as jurors. While the original letter did not survive, a transcription was printed in a 1700 book titled “More Wonders of the Invisible World” by Robert Calef. The letter reads as follows:

“Some that had been of several juries have given forth a paper, signed with our own hands in these words. We whose names are underwritten, being in the year 1692 called to serve as jurors in court in Salem, on trial of many who were by some suspected guilty of doing acts of witchcraft upon the bodies of sundry persons.

We confess that we ourselves were not capable to understand, nor able to withstand the mysterious delusions of the powers of darkness and prince of the air, but were for want of knowledge in ourselves and better information from others, prevailed with to take up with such evidence against the accused as on further consideration and better information, we justly fear was insufficient for the touching the lives of any, Deuteronomy 17.6, whereby we fear we have been instrumental with others, though ignorantly and unwittingly, to bring upon ourselves and this people of the Lord, the guilt of innocent blood, which sin the Lord saith in Scripture, he would not pardon, 2 Kings 24.4, that is we suppose in regard of His temporal judgments. We do, therefore, hereby signify to all in general (and to the surviving sufferers in especial) our deep sense of and sorrow for our errors in acting on such evidence to the condemning of any person.

And do hereby declare that we justly fear that we were sadly deluded and mistaken, for which we are much disquieted and distressed in our minds, and do therefore humbly beg forgiveness, first of God for Christ’s sake for this our error. And pray that God would not impute the guilt of it to ourselves nor others. And we also pray that we may be considered candidly and aright by the living sufferers as being then under the power of a strong and general delusion, utterly unacquainted with and not experienced in matters of that nature.

We do heartily ask forgiveness of you all, whom we have justly offended and do declare, according to our present minds, we would none of us do such things again on such grounds for the whole world, praying you to accept of this in way of satisfaction for our offense, and that you would bless the inheritance of the Lord that He may be entreated for the land.

Foreman, Thomas Fisk

Thomas Perly, Senior

William Fiske

John Peabody

John Batcheler

Thomas Perkins

Thomas Fisk, Junior

Samuel Sather

John Dane

Andrew Elliott

Joseph Evelith

Henry Herrick, Senior

 

End of the letter in the Wonders book.

I can certainly understand why John Dane would have longed for forgiveness. Rev. Francis Dane and all his children and grandchildren must have felt betrayed by John’s work on the jury. Francis Dane barely escaped being charged with witchcraft himself. Two of his daughters, Abigail Dane Faulkner and Elizabeth Dane Johnson, were accused and convicted, but escaped death. In addition, five of his grandchildren were charged with witchcraft: two of Abigail’s daughters, ages 12 and 9, and Elizabeth’s two daughters and one son, ages 22, 14 and 11. In addition, Francis’ daughter-in-law, Deliverance Haseltine Dane, was charged. Two of Francis’ nieces by marriage, Martha Carrier and Elizabeth How, were convicted and hung. The Dane family suffered greatly. It would be hard to excuse John Dane’s complicity in this suffering.

I find it interesting that the jurors stated that they felt unable “to withstand the mysterious delusions of the powers of darkness”. They seem to be blaming the devil for compelling their actions. They probably did feel compelled, but more by the opinions of their neighbors and friends who believed in the witchcraft charges. The jurors probably feared becoming targets themselves if they didn’t find the persecuted people guilty.

John Dane's headstone, courtesy of Findagrave.

John Dane died in 1707 and is buried in Hamilton Cemetery in Essex County, Massachusetts.

Sources:

“The Apology of the Salem Jury,” 1697. More Wonders of the Invisible World, or The Wonders of th Invisble World, Display’d in Five Parts. Collected by Robert Calef. Printed in London for Nath. Hillar, at the Princes-Arms, in Leaden Hall Street. 1700. https://archive.org/details/morewondersofinv01cale

The Founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Page 202. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/23628/images/dvm_GenMono005699-00116-0?usePUB=true&pId=197

Findagrave Listing for John Dane. Photo by Adrian Theirry. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52810448/john-dane/photo#view-photo=267987016

John Dane’s Commonplace Book: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt: A Source I Want to Understand Better”

A Life Story Told in Verse and Prose

Johne Dane: 1612-1684 (Maternal 8^th Great-Grandfather)

 

I have been fascinated for years by the commonplace book of Reverend Francis Dane, one of my 8^th great grandfathers. Commonplace books were widely used in the 17th century by scholars, writers, and educated people as a tool for reading, learning, and remembering information. They often contained quotations, passages copied from books and other written material, personal observations, and drafts of such things as sermons. I discovered that Francis was not the only Dane brother to use a commonplace book. John Dane, another of my 8^th Great-Grandfathers, wrote his own commonplace book in the late 1600s. Miraculously, both these books were preserved by Dane family members over the centuries. Both have been photographed and digitally uploaded by American Ancestors, making them available online for all modern-day researchers. John Dane’s commonplace book is a wonderful primary source that I would love to study and better understand.

To provide some background biographical information, John Dane was born in Hertfordshire, England in 1612, the son of John Dane and his wife Frances Bowyer Dane. He left England as part of the Puritan migration, probably arriving in the Massachusetts colony around 1635, although some sources list a date as late as 1638. His widowed father and brother Francis followed him to the colony around 1636. John settled in Ipswich, while his father settled in Roxbury and Francis Dane in Andover.

John Dane married Eleanor Clark around 1637. They had six children: sons John and Philemon, and daughters Mary, Elizabeth, Priscilla Rebecca and Sarah. The Commonplace Book was written in 1682, two years before John Dane’s death, as a form of personal history for his children.

Cover of John Dane's Commonplace Book

American Ancestors’ Digital Library and Archives describes John Dane’s commonplace book as follows:

“Vellum bound book with a lappet. Contains two narratives, one in rhyme and one in prose, some religious meditations, and advice to the author's children in rhyme. The record contains some notes on sermons by Mr. Dennison, Mr. Hubbard, and Mr. Gerrish. There is also some short hand. The narratives provide the author's recollections of his childhood in England, his life as a taylor's apprentice while a young man in Hereford (England), settling in New England, and life in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

The book opens with a sort of introductory page that sets out what he will be including in the book. It reads:

 “By John Dane, senner, of Ipshwitch,

And Chiriergen, in the yer of our Lord, 1682;

Containing sum poems in waie of

Preparation for death, besides the obsaruaton

Of seauarall prouedensis in the Cose of

His lyfe, and aded seaueral meditations.

 

He that liues out full seauenty years,

And has fullfild that number,

His after time that doth apere

Is of grefe and great wonder. (psalms the 90:10)”

The book has 265 pages, which are quite small, the book being only fifteen centimeters or about six inches tall and three and a half inches wide. The cover has his signature on it.

Here is a page of the “shorthand” referenced in the description above. It looks more like a code than shorthand, but whatever John Dane called it, he was obviously using it to prevent anyone from reading what he had written. I wonder what this four-page-long passage contained.

"Shorthand" section of the commonplace book

The “two narratives” are brief memoirs of his life. He described his early years as ones of rebellion and foolish behavior. He had a sort of epiphany when he experienced a severe reaction to a bee sting. He was forced to consult a chiriergen (a seventeenth century term for a surgeon) for help with the swelling in his hand. The man made an impression on him, and after a few more adventures, he returned home to his parents and became a dutiful son and good Puritan. He then wrote about his decision to emigrate to the colonies, and his struggles upon arrival. He even reached such a point of despair that he considered taking his own life. But he persisted, and felt that the “special hand of God” had helped him. He concluded,

“Thus God hath all along preserved and kept me all my days. Although I have many times lost His special presence, yet he hath returned to me in mercy again...

Oh, loving relations, have care of quenching such notions of God’s spirit, lest you bring sorrow and affliction onto your heads and hearts, as many others have done, to their great grief and sorrow; and I can speak it, to the grief of my soul, by woeful experience.”

Portion of Dane's Poetry Narrative 

It appears John Dane hoped his narratives would help to guide his descendants in their own lives.

While John Dane began his work life as a tailor (he spells it taylor) in England, he became a chiriergen in the colonies. In the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, Noah Webster defined the word, which he spelled chiurgeon, as “A surgeon; one whose profession is to heal diseases by manual operations, instruments or external applications.” Did John Dane’s experience with the chiriergen in England following his bee sting spur his career change? One of his sons, Dr. Philemon Dane, received medical training and followed his father into the practice of medicine.

The Commonplace book apparently was inherited by John Dane’s daughter Sarah, who married Daniel Warner. She gave the book to her grandson, Philemon Warner Jr. The inside cover was inscribed by Philemon as follows: "Philemon Warner, Junr, his book, given him by his grandmother Warner, Janry 20th, 1741.” The memoir portion of the book was eventually transcribed and published in 1854 as A Declaration of Remarkable Providences in the Course of My Life by John Dane of Ipswich 1682.

I have read portions of John Dane’s verse and prose narratives. I would like to read the other sections of the commonplace book, and examine the narratives with more care. There are so many wonderful details about John Dane’s life in this handwritten account that can help me better understand life in the seventeenth century and Puritan culture and beliefs.

 

Sources:

https://digital.americanancestors.org/digital/collection/p15869coll26

A Declaration of Remarkable Providences in the Course of My Life by John Dane of Ipswich 1682 to which is added a pedigree of the Dane family, and a few notes by a member of the New England historical-genealogical society. Prepared for the NEHG Register. Boston. Samuel G. Drake. 1854.

Beyond Narrative: the Conversion Plot of John Dane’s A Declaration of Remarkable Providences. Neuman, Meredith Marie. Clark University. Early American Literature. Vol. 40, No. 2 (2005), pp. 251-277. University of North Carolina Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25057399