Same Name: Sharing an Unusual and Meaningful Name
Ammi Ruhamah Faulkner: 1692-1756
Ammi Ruhamah Faulkner: 1733-1786
When I saw this week’s prompt “Same
Name”, I immediately thought of Ammi Ruhamah Faulkner and his son of the same
name. Not only is the name memorable and unique, the story behind the name is
compelling.
My
Faulkner ancestors were descended from my eighth-great-aunt Abigail Dane, who
was born October 13, 1652 to my eighth-great-grandfather Reverend Francis Dane
of Andover, Massachusetts. Rev. Dane raised objections to the witch trials in
neighboring Salem, which drew unwelcome attention to his own family. This led
to several of his daughters and daughters-in-law and granddaughters being
accused of witchcraft. Abigail, by then married to Francis Faulkner and mother
to five children, was one of the accused women.
She
was tried and found guilty of witchcraft, and was sentenced to death. Her
execution was postponed, however, because she was pregnant--even the crazed,
witch-fearing Salem residents couldn’t stomach murdering an innocent unborn
child. Abigail was ordered to remain in prison until she gave birth. Once the
baby arrived, the stay of execution would be lifted and she would be hung.
Cover of a book about Abigail Dane Faulkner
It
must have been a horrible situation. Instead of looking forward to her child’s
birth, she must have dreaded and feared it. Conditions in the cells where the
convicted were held were filthy and miserable; at least one of the women died
before she could be executed. While Abigail sat in her cell awaiting her
child’s birth, her husband and her father, along with other brave family
members and friends, were petitioning the government for relief and for a
pardon. When the witch hunters turned their attention to the colonial
governor’s own wife and family, the government finally intervened and put a
stop to the madness. The sentences of the convicted were overturned, and
Abigail was released in December 1692.
Abigail
gave birth to her last son on March 20, 1692/3 (in the 1600s, the new year didn't start January 1, but in April, so birth dates from January-April can be confusing) in her own home instead of a cell.
She named him Ammi Ruhamah, a name that comes from the book of Hosea, Chapter
2, Verse 1. The New Living Translation reads as follows:
“In
that day you will call your brothers Ammi—‘my people’. And you will call your
sisters Ruhamah—‘the Ones I Love’.
Another
translation says Ruhamah means ‘mercy’ or ‘those who receive mercy’. So the two words together would seem to refer
to the people to whom God has shown mercy. A Faulkner family history written by
Charlotte Helen Abbott states that the name meant “My people have obtained
Mercy.” An appropriate name for the child of a woman who was granted mercy from
a death sentence.
The
name Ammi Ruhamah was quite different from the other names Abigail and Francis
Faulkner chose for their children. Ammi Ruhamah’s five siblings were named for
family members: Elizabeth, Paul, Dorothy, Abigail and Frances. The choice of
Ammi Ruhamah can be seen as a reflection of Abigail and Francis’ gratitude for
this son who saved his mother’s life through his very existence.
Ammi
Ruhamah Faulkner married another native Andover resident, Hannah Ingalls, on
June 7, 1726. This marriage was rather late in life for colonial residents;
Ammi Ruhammah was 34 and Hannah was 30. They had six children over the next
decade. They started out farming, living on a large swathe of land Ammi’s
father had inherited from his father Edmund, one of the original settlers of
Andover.
Over
the years, Ammi and his brothers sold various parcels back and forth amongst
themselves before Ammi sold all his holdings in the area sometime around 1729 (based
upon research of land transactions recorded in Early Records of the Faulkner Family of Andover by Charlotte Helen
Abbott). Around 1729 or 1730, Ammi moved
his family from Andover to Middlesex County, settling near Littleton where the
last four of their six children were born. He appears to have been farming
during that time. Ammi Ruhamah then rented and eventually bought a mill
property in neighboring Acton that is still called Faulkner House. Wikipedia
states:
“Ammi
Ruhamah Faulkner rented the house and mills in 1738, then purchased them in
1742. For 202 years, the Faulkner House was the homestead for six generations
of the Faulkner family. The family carried on the processing of woolen cloth at
the fulling mill across the road from the house; the mill was said to have been
one of the earliest attempts in the United States to manufacture woolen cloth
on a large scale.”
 |
| Sketch of part of Faulkner fuller mill and grist mill |
According
to an essay by Robert Nylander, Ammi Ruhammah added a grist mill to the
existing fulling and saw mills, so the family had three businesses running. Nylander
also noted that Ammi Ruhammah was active in community governance, stating, “In
May of 1738 he was chosen to the committee to settle Acton's first minister,
Rev. John Swift, and to arrange his salary. Sixteen years later, when Parson
Swift's salary had to be reassessed because of fluctuating prices, he was also
on the committee to settle that… He entered into town affairs only as a
selectman for two years…”
The
Faulkner House is now owned by a non-profit historical corporation called Iron
Work Farm. The house is open for tours on the fourth Sunday of the months of
May through October. There are re-enactors and demonstrations. The house was an
important site during the Revolutionary War. Paul Revere roused a man who then
rode on from Concord to the Faulkner house, where Ammi Ruhamah’s son Francis,
raised the alarm to call up the Acton militia. Francis Faulkner held the rank
of Major, led the Acton militia, and served in the Revolutionary War.
 |
| Re-enactors at Faulkner House, with vintage photo above. Photos from Iron Work Farm. |
Ammi Ruhamah died at the age of 64 on August 4, 1756. He and his wife Hannah are buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Acton.
Ammi Ruhamah’s fifth child and third son, born February 25, 1733, was named Ammi
Ruhamah after his father. He was known only as Ammi, however. Ammi fought in
the French and Indian War in 1755, and served as a private in the Revolutionary
War, first with Captain. Asahel Wheeler's company in Colonel John Robinson's
regiment, and also in Capt. Gleason's company of the 4th Regiment.
Ammi
married a woman named Obedience; thus far no one has identified her surname or
parents. Ammi and Obedience shared the
Faulkner house with his brother Francis and Francis’ family; Ammi had the east
side of the structure. Ammi and Francis also shared the family milling business
and farms.
 |
| Modern day image of grist mill area--replacement buildings for original Faulkner structures |
Ammi
and Obedience had no children, and at his death at age 52 on December 13, 1786,
Ammi’s will left most of his property to Francis, with generous provisions of
food and supplies to support Obedience, including seven silver dollars to be
paid per year for her lifetime. Obviously the business ventures had been
successful. The will reads in part:
“My
whole real estate I leave to my Brother Francis Faulkner esq., reserving only
as above for my wife, together with my stock of cattle, and my tools, both on
the farm, in my mills & shop & pot-ash works—wherewise my Books, reserving
to my said wife liberty to read them as she may desire—I moreover give him all
my money due whether on book, note or bond, provided he pay all my just debts
and funeral charges…I give to my two Brothers James Faulkner & Nathaniel
Faulkner a piece of New home-made all wool cloth now in the house to be equally
divided between them.” It appears he was far closer to Francis than his other
siblings. Cloth, while certainly a valuable commodity, cannot compare with the
farm and mill assets. He left nothing to his sisters.
 |
| Ammi's signature on his will |
Ammi
is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery near his parents. Obedience died July 20, 1811
at the age of 80. Her burial location is as yet unknown.
Preliminary
research on Ammi’s brothers indicates that one of them also named a son Ammi
Ruhamah, so this interesting name may have been carried on into a new
generation of the family.
Sources:
Historical
Sketch of the Faulkner House. By Robert H. Nylander. Iron Work Farm, 1969.
(Ref/974.44/A188)
https://ironworkfarm.org/index.php/faulkner-homestead
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