Hannah Holmes: Single Woman and Mother in a Puritanical Era
Hannah Holmes: 1689-1777 (Maternal 6th
Great-Grandaunt)
Beulah Holmes: 1729-1778 (Maternal First Cousin 7x Removed)
We like to believe that life in the Puritan era of the New
England colonies was tidy and perfect, but people were human. Nothing was
perfect. The life of Hannah Holmes, my maternal 6th Great-Grandaunt,
is proof of that. Hannah’s “sin” became all too public, and her society seems
to have punished her.
Hannah was born April 18, 1689 in Worcester, Massachusetts.
She was the eldest child of her parents, James Holmes and Jane Stephens Holmes.
James and Jane went on to have eight more children. Hannah probably helped to
raise these children as every family member was expected to contribute to the
family’s survival in the harsh colonial world.
Hannah’s life is a complete blank. People only appear in
records of that era for birth, marriage, and death. Men could appear in records
when they held an office or job in the community, but of course women had no
power so never held offices.
Hannah never married. Yet in 1729 or 1730, when she was
nearly forty years old, she gave birth to a daughter she named Beulah. This
would have been scandalous in the early 1700s. The entire small community must
have been wildly gossiping about who the father of the child might be. I expect
the man must have been married already, or community pressure would have forced
the couple to marry.
I have found no birth record for Beulah. Some sources give
her birth date as May 10, 1729, but I cannot verify that. I did find her
baptism record; the church ceremony was performed in Woodstock on December 16,
1733. Beulah was at least three years old at that point. Such a late baptism is
very unusual. I expect church leaders were uncomfortable baptizing a bastard
child. I wonder why they finally changed their minds and permitted her to be
baptized at last.
I wonder how Hannah’s family reacted to Hannah’s indiscretion
(or of course sexual assault—there is no assurance that she willingly had a
sexual relationship). Did they help her or did they reject her and her helpless
daughter? We get slight hints in the wills Hannah and Beulah left.
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| Excerpt from Hannah's will written in 1759 |
Hannah stated plainly in her will that she was a “single
woman” and that she wished her body to be buried “in a Decent and
Christian-like manner”. I don’t remember ever reading the phrase
“Christian-like” in a will before. I wonder if she feared the church would
refuse her a proper burial due to her supposed sin in having an out-of-wedlock
child. She was laid to rest in the local cemetery, so the church showed some
mercy to her in death.
 |
| Hannah Holmes Headstone in Woodstock, MA |
She goes on to state in the will, “I give and bequeath to my
only child, Bulah Holmes, so called and known, of Woodstock aforesaid, who as
heretofore, so by these presents I acknowledge to be my Child, the whole of my
estate…”, thus publicly attesting to her single parenthood.
She goes on to state that she is “remembering what she
[Beulah] has heretofore done, and still does toward my support and comfort in
the world, my Will is that she be sole Heir…”
Hannah acknowledges that Beulah has been caring for and
supporting her in her old age.
Hannah’s estate includes interest in several plots of land
left to her father’s heirs following his death in 1758; she states she has a
one-sixth interest, which means her father treated her the same as her siblings
when dividing his estate and didn’t disinherit her. So it appears she had some
familial support. Hannah also noted she has an “interest & Right in my
sister Rachel Holmes’s Estate both Real & personal, who is now deceast.”
Upon examining records for Rachel Holmes, I determined that she also never
married. Perhaps the two sisters lived together and jointly raised Beulah.
Beulah’s will demonstrates that while the Holmes family
didn’t completely cut Hannah and her out-of-wedlock daughter off, they did not
seem to have maintained close relationships. Beulah leaves nothing to her
extended family. She leaves the entirety of her estate, including her
inheritance from Hannah, to “Sarah Nelson, the Daughter of Wm. John Nelson of Woodstock aforesaid. Who now lives
with me in token of my regard for her and as an acknowledgement for her
faithful service to me….”
 |
| Excerpt from Beulah's will |
She also names her “trusty friend & Neighbor Mr.
Ebenezer Coburn of Woodstock” as the executor of the estate.
It sounds as if the rest of the Holmes family left the two
women on their own, so that their closest friends were the woman they employed
to care for them, and a kindly neighbor. This is a sad commentary on the
cruelty of the era towards women who did not fit the mold of wife and mother.
In addition, the greater community seems to have treated Beulah with disdain,
as she was never able to make a marriage of her own.
Hannah wrote her will in 1759, but didn’t die until August
31, 1777 at the ripe old age of 88. Sadly, Beulah died just a year later on
January 17, 1778. She was only 48 years old.
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| Beaulah Holmes headstone in Woodstock, MA |
Hannah and Beulah seem to have exhibited great strength in the
face of community disapproval and difficult circumstances. They built a life
together and supported one another and loved each other, dying just months
apart.
Sources:
Findagrave entry for Hannah: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65819523/hannah-holmes?_gl=1*6hfga6*_ga*MTQ5MDkwODUzMi4xNjI2MjI0NDE0*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MWJjYjljOWEtZjFiMy00ZTUyLWE5NGYtZmVmZDZiYTdhOGRiLjQ4MS4xLjE2ODA0ODgzMjQuMTYuMC4w
Findagrave entry for Beulah: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65809108/beulah-holmes?_gl=1*cth5su*_ga*MTQ5MDkwODUzMi4xNjI2MjI0NDE0*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MWJjYjljOWEtZjFiMy00ZTUyLWE5NGYtZmVmZDZiYTdhOGRiLjQ4MC4xLjE2ODA0ODQ4ODIuNTcuMC4w
Probate Files Collection, Early to 1880; Author: Connecticut
State Library (Hartford, Connecticut) Description. Notes: Probate Packets,
Hayward, S-Holmes, S, 1752-1880. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3631725:9049?ssrc=pt&tid=46986934&pid=24034662843
