Nathaniel Hill: 1659-1741 (Maternal 8th Great Grandfather)
While dementia in the elderly is a common concern in today’s
world, we rarely consider that our ancestors also had to deal with dementia.
Dry records from the past usually don’t refer to the mental status of our
long-dead ancestors. The occasional will may state that it was made while the
testator was of “sound mind and body” which indicates that some people were not
sound of mind, but otherwise historical records rarely mention mental or
physical illnesses. As a result, I was startled to find a history of the Hill
family that stated that a 17th century New Hampshire family member,
Nathaniel Hill, suffered from what sounds like dementia.
My eighth-great-grandfather Nathaniel Hill was born in the
Oyster River Plantation in the New Hampshire Colony on March 16, 1659. This
area is now part of the city of Durham, New Hampshire. Nathaniel was the son of
immigrants Valentine Hill and his wife Mary Eaton Hill. Valentine Hill was a
merchant with extensive real estate dealings. He built up great wealth, and
then lost most of it in the years before his death in 1660. Nathaniel was
barely a year old when his father died.
 |
| Oyster River Plantation as it existed in 1670, from the map of ‘Pascatway River in New England’ by John Scott, at the British Library |
As a result of his father’s bankruptcy, Nathaniel, his
mother and some of his siblings grew up in near poverty. He must have had some
of his father’s business sense, however, for he built up his own holdings and
had considerable property to leave to his own children. Nathaniel married Sarah
Nutter around 1690. He was respected in his community, serving as a church
deacon. He and Sarah had several children, at least five of whom survived into
adulthood and were named in his will.
However, records state that “He gradually lost his reason
and spent the last six months of his life at the residence of his son-in-law,
Captain Benjamin Mathes.” Mathes was the husband of Nathaniel’s daughter
Abigail.
This brief description sounds like he was suffering from
Alzheimers or some other form of dementia, which would not be unusual in a man
over eighty years in age. I wonder how his friends and family reacted to his
affliction. In the 1700s, doctors had no clue as to the cause of dementia, and
certainly no treatments. It was fortunate that Nathaniel’s daughter and
son-in-law were willing to take him into their home and care for him once he
was unable to care for himself. I am sure it was a difficult situation for them
all.
Nathaniel died in 1741. The exact date is unknown, as is the
place of his burial. His will left his properties, money and possessions to his
sons Samuel (my ancestor) and Valentine, and daughters Sarah and Abigail, and
to the husband and four sons of his daughter Mary Hill Burnam who had
pre-deceased him.
Sources:
Jones, William Preble, b. 1869. Four Boston Grandparents: Jones And Hill, Preble And Eveleth And Their
Ancestry. Somerville, Mass., 1930.
History of the town of
Durham, New Hampshire : (Oyster River Plantation) with genealogical notes.
by Stackpole, Everett Schermerhorn, 1850-1927; Thompson, Lucien, b. 1859;
Meserve, Winthrop Smith, 1838-
No comments:
Post a Comment