*16- Kidnapping and Revenge of Hannah (Emerson) Duston of Haverhill, MA

The Kidnapping and Revenge of Hannah Emerson Duston

My husband's 8th great grandmother, Hannah Emerson was born 37 years after the Mayflower’s passengers came ashore, on December 23, 1657, in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

When she was born, her father, Michael Emerson was 30 and her mother, Hannah (Webster), was 22. Hannah Emerson married Thomas Duston (also spelled Dustin, Dustan, or Durstan).

They were living in Haverhill, Massachusetts on the Merrimack River, when a horrible event occurred.

She was taken captive by Abenaki people from Québec during King William's War, with her newborn daughter, during the Raid on Haverhill in 1697, in which 27 colonists were killed.

While detained on an island in the Merrimack River in present-day Boscawen, New Hampshire, she killed and scalped ten of the Native Americans, with the assistance of two other captives.

She is believed to be the first American woman honored with a statue [Western Hemisphere?]. Here is the popular account of her trials--and the outcome:

 

On the 15 of March, 1697, an Indian party descended on the western part of the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and approached the house of Thomas Dustin. They came in war dress with their muskets charged for the contest, their tomahawks drawn for the slaughter, and their scalping knives unsheathed. Thomas Dustin was engaged in his daily labor. When the terrific shouts first fell on his ear, he seized his gun, mounted his horse, and hastened to his house, with the hope of escorting to a place of safety his family, which consisted of his wife Hannah, who had been confined only seven days in child bed [her 12th of 13], her nurse, Mrs. Mary Neff (and relative), and 8 young children. Upon his arrival, he rushed towards his house, but found it a scene of confusion. He ordered seven of his children to fly in an opposite direction from that in which the danger was approaching. Indians were already in the house. Seeing there was no hope of saving his wife from the Indians, Thomas flew from the house, mounted his horse, and rode full speed after his children. A small party of the Indians pursued him, and soon overtook him and his children. But they did not come very near, but fired upon him. Thomas retreated for more than a mile, until he lodged the children safely in a forsaken house. This group of Indians returned to their companions.                                

  The Indian party which entered the house when Thomas Dustin left it, found Hannah (Emerson) Dustin in bed as she had just had a baby. The woman tending her, a relative attempted to flee, but she was stopped. They ordered Hannah to rise. They marched the women out of the house, and one of captors took the infant. As they were marched across the field, the captor with the baby dashed out its brains against an apple tree. The house was plundered and then set on fire.
The Indian party and their two captors began their retreat to Canada. Hannah was not fully dressed, and was lost one of her shoes. The weather was very cold, the wind of March was keen and piercing, and the earth was alternately covered with snow and deep mud. 

The Wilderness Trail North

The group, with the two women, traveled 12 miles the 1st day, and continued on every day, following a circuitous route. Eventually they reached the home of the Indian who claimed them as his property, which was on a small island, now called Dustin's Island, at the mouth of the Contoocook River, about 6 miles above the statehouse in Concord, New Hampshire. Despite her anguish over the killing of her child, her anxiety over those left behind (sure they had been killed), the suffering from cold and hunger, as well as from sleeping on the damp earth, with nothing but a sky as a covering. They were in terror for themselves, that they too would soon be killed.  

 

A Temporary Stop?

Once arriving, they found a group of 12 more Indians as well as a young colonial boy, Samuel, who had been taken captive the previous year. The group moved on and they were left with the 12 Indians. The women were were informed that this was not the final destination, but a stopping point, on the way to a more distant Indian settlement. At the eventual destination they would be treated as all prisoners were customarily treated: they would be stripped, scourged, and made to run the gauntlet nude. (The gauntlet was two lines of their captors, of both sexes and of all ages. The prisoner was made to run between them, as they did, they were beaten, and sometimes became the target for hatchets.) When the women learned of this, they decided to escape as soon as possible.

Hannah planned the escape, and persuaded her companion as well as the captive boy Samuel to join her.

By now the Indians had relaxed their watch, because Samuel had lived with them so long, he had become as one of their own children. And, they certainly did not expect that the women, would or could attempt escape unaided, especially when the odds of success were so slim.

The Plan
The day before the attempt, Hannah asked Samuel to find out for her how the Indians were able to so quickly kill their victims when hit, and also how to scalp them. She asked Samuel to ask the Indians for instructions on both of those, which he did. Samuel asked one of them where he would strike a man if he would kill him right away. He also asked how to take a scalp. The man laid his finger on his temple "Strike them there." and then instructed him how to scalp. Samuel conveyed the information to the other two. They could not escape unless they killed their captors, they were sure.

The Event

That night, once the Indians were asleep, Hannah arose, woke the other two captors. They armed themselves with tomahawks and killed 10 of them. One boy they spared (a favorite). One of the squaws, presumed dead, jumped up, and ran with the spared child into the woods.

But the captors were anxious to leave before dawn. They retrieved some provisions, then made sure to scuttle all the canoes but one (so as not to be followed).

Hannah carried with her a gun and a tomahawk from the camp. But, before they’d gotten very far, Hannah recalled they had forgotten the Indian scalps. She insisted on turning back. (If you return from captivity such as theirs without scalps, you might not be believed). They returned to the camp, and scalped the Indians, and placed them in a bag to carry back as proof. 

 

Return 

They started back, still they were surrounded with dangers. They were thinly clad, the March sky was threatening, and they were liable to be re-captured by roving bands of Indians, or by those who would undoubtedly pursue them so soon as the squaw and the boy had reported their escape. They continued to drop silently down the river. At night only two of them slept, while the third managed the canoe. They eventually arrived safely at their homes, completely unexpected by their mourning friends and relatives. Hannah, too, had believed that those she loved were dead, so it was a joyful reunion. 

 

Why Scalps? 

On April 21st, Thomas Duston brought Hannah, Samuel and Mary to Boston, along with the scalps, the hatchet and the musket that they had taken from the Indians. And although New Hampshire had become a colony in its own right in 1680, the Merrimack River and its adjacent territories were considered part of Massachusetts, therefore Hannah and the other former captives applied to the Massachusetts Government for the scalp bounty. The state of Massachusetts had posted a bounty of 50 pounds per scalp in September 1694, which was reduced to 25 pounds in June 1695, and then entirely repealed in December 1696. As wives had no legal status in those days, so her husband petitioned the Legislature on behalf of Hannah Duston, requesting that the bounties for the scalps be paid, even though the law providing for them had been repealed: 

 “The Humble Petition of Thomas Durstan of Haverhill Sheweth That the wife of ye petitioner (with one Mary Neff) hath in her Late captivity among the Barbarous Indians, been disposed & assisted by heaven to do an extraordinary action, in the just slaughter of so many of the Barbarians, as would by the law of the Province which [only] a few months ago, have entitled the actors unto considerable recompense from the Publick. That tho the [want] of that good Law [warrants] no claims to any such consideration from the publick, yet your petitioner humbly [asserts] that the merit of the action still remains the same; & it seems a matter of universal desire thro the whole Province that it should not pass unrecompensed... Your Petitioner, Thomas Durstun”

On June 16, 1697 the Massachusetts General Court voted to give them a reward for killing their captors; Hannah (Emerson) Duston received 25 pounds, and the nurse and the boy (Neff and Samuel) split another 25 pounds. 

After returning from Boston, Hannah gave birth to a daughter, Lydia, in October, 1698. Hannah (Emerson) Duston is believed to have died in Haverhill MA between 1736 and 1738. 

Sources: 
1 Ancestry.com
2 The Story Of Hannah Emerson Dustin [or Duston, born Haverhill, Massachusetts, 23 December 1657] From "Historical Collections, Being a General Collection of Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, &c., Relating to the History and Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts, with Geographical Descriptions" by John Warner Barber, published 1839 by Dorr, Howland & Co.
3 Wikipedia Hannah Duston 
4 Britannica.com https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hannah-Emerson-Duston 
5 Article, written 1940

#11 - Susannah Wildes and Benjamin Towne- Go to Town with Multiple births - 7th gr grandparents

Susannah Wildes, wife of Benjamin Towne Breaks Record with Multiple Births

Looking through the descendants of Edmund Towne in the Cook/Antilla line, I found multiple births.
For example: Edmund Towne and Mary Browning [9th gr grandparents] had twins. One of their twins was a Joseph Towne.
-
Joseph Towne wed an Amy Smith  [my husband's 8th gr grandparents]
Joseph's Birth & Background
Joseph Towne, as Edmund Towne's son, was also unfortunately the nephew of 3 women tried in Salem Witch Trials (see previous post to read more). Records say Joseph Towne was born a twin on September 2, 1661.
According to the record his twin sister did not survive:

"Joseph & a daughter of Edmond Towne borne 2 of Sept 1661"

 

 

Joseph Towne's Marriage & Family 

On August 10, 1687, Joseph Towne married Amy Smith whose first name often phonetically spelled Eamey=Eame=Aemy, and even Ruhama!

from "New England Marriages Prior to 1700"

His wife Amy Smith was born in about 1668. I'm not certain where (with a name like Smith....well..) I don't have a date of death for Amy but, not before 1709 and not after 1756.
Joseph & Amy's Children:
1 Benjamin (husband’s 7th gr-grandfather)
--B. May 10, 1691 Topsfield, Essex, MA
--D. Feb 11, 1772 Topsfield, Essex, MA
2 Nathan Towne (1693 –?)
3 Daniel Towne (1695-1712)
4 Jesse Towne (1695-1754)
5 Nathaniel Towne (1700-?)
6 Joseph (1703-1717)
7 Amy Towne (1704-?)
8 Amos Towne (1709-1747)

Benjamin Towne - His Marriages & His Family
Benjamin's First Marriage
Benjamin married 1st Catherine [last name unknown] on April 1, 1713 Topsfield, Essex, MA.  
Catherine was probably born November1689 in Topsfield. When she died is not known to me, but likely before 1722 and probably in Topsfield, MA.
No family seems to have resulted. 

Benjamin's Second Marriage-Susannah Wildes
Benjamin married 2nd, Susannah Wildes [Wilde/Wilds]
Susannah was born October 20,1697 in Topsfield, MA.
(Susannah Wildes may have been daughter of Ephraim Wildes. Ephraim's 2nd wife, Sarah Wildes, was tried and executed as a witch.This was sad, but familiar story for Benjamin Towne, who had 3 great aunts, his father's sisters, also tried as witches. He would have been a toddler when it happened. Likely the nastiness of the trials took decades to dissipate. I suppose New England has its own Hatfields and McCoys.)
Benjamin and Susannah were married on  April 12, 1722 in Topsfield, MA.
 

Susannah (Wildes and Benjamin Towne'  Family
Susannah (my husband’s 7th gr grandmother) and she had 6 pregnancies (that I know of) from those six, she had 9 children! Remember, but her husband had been a twin.  Susannah had a set of twins and a set of triplets.
Susannah beat the “odds” in many ways: first, of the (recorded) children she gave birth to 1 girl & 8 boys; second, she had a set of twins; third, she also had a set of triplets. All the children of multiple births (twins and triplets) were boys which is statistically rare.
Unfortunately she did not survive the childbearing: she gave birth to the triplets the final day of April 30 of 1736 and then died only a couple months later in early July (5th) of 1736.
Susannah was 38 years old when she died.
Their children: *yellow signifies multiple births*
1 Benjamin [Jr] (1723 -1784)
2 Ephraim  (1725-1793)
3 Jacob  (1728-1807)
4 Joseph  (1728-1789)
5 Eli  (1731-1800)
6 Susannah  (1733-?)
7 Edmund  (1736-1813)
8 Elijah  (1736-1814)
9 Ezra (1736-1795) * ancestor (father-in-law of Jonathan Petts Jr)
Now what was Benjamin going to do with all those children? He remarried.

Benjamin's Third Marriage
His 3rd wife was Mary Perkins, who he married on May 2 in 1738 also in Topsfield.
Mary was in her mid-40s.
But Mary pre-deceased Benjamin by 12 years, dying November 6, 1760 at about  61. When Mary died, the children were grown. But Benjamin was the marrying kind.

Benjamin's Fourth Marriage
He married a 4th time, the following spring on April 15 of 1761.
His 4th wife was  Mary Frances Howlet[t] [Clark] who was in her late 50s in Topsfield, MA. She was the widow of Jacob Clark. She may also have been some kind of relative of his 2nd wife.
 
Death
Benjamin died February 11, 1772 in Topsfield, MA. His fourth wife outlived him by about 10 years. 

"Capt Benjamin Towne Departed this life... 11th 1772 aged 80 years and 9 months"

#10- Towne Family and the Salem Witch Trials

The mother of David Towne Petts (of the Pettts family) was Rebecca Towne. When you go back several generations you find out the Towne family was involved in the Salem Witch Trials.

 The Towne family became prominent in the second generation because of the witchcraft hysteria...of 1692…claiming three women from among Ezra Towne’s ancestors.
    The three sisters’ elder brother Edmund Towne…founded the branch of the Ezra Towne family from which Ezra Towne descended.

and
in 1807, the year of Ezra’s birth, several Towne families still lived in Topsfield, where Ezra’s father, Jacob Towne, was town clerk. His mother, Mary Perkins Towne, also descended from an old Topsfield family. (from My Ever Dear Daughter by  Katherine Morgan)

Salem Witchcraft Trials?
Yes, my husband’s 10th gr-grandfather & mother were William Towne and Joanna (Jone) Blessing.
Their sons, Edmund (my husband’s 9th great grandfather), Jacob and Joseph all founded large families in Topsfield, MA.
But their daughters Rebecca Nurse, Mary Easty and  Sarah  Cloyse (Cloyce), of Salem Village (now Danvers) were all eventually tried for witchcraft during the infamous Salem Witchcraft trials:

    Rebecca (Towne) Nurse 1622 – 1692 hanged at 71 years for witchcraft.
    Mary (Towne)  Easty abt 1634- 22 Sep 1692 hanged in Salem Village, Essex, MA
    Sarah (Towne) Cloyse /Cloyce – fled with 2nd husband Peter to refuge in Danforth Planation (now Framingham MA)

What is the Story?
Let’s walk through it by generation, but only looking at a handful of generations.
**For each generation below, I've bolded the names of the people who my husband descends from**
I’ll gloss over the details here, but detailed Salem Trials notes can be read at the end of the post, at a library or online.
All of my sources are easily accessible from books online or historical research done by universities and made publicly available online, unless otherwise noted. The end of the post has sources used.
(Dates of husband's ancestors are either approximate. If certain, then I took them from Massachusetts Town Records from online access.)

 ---William Towne, 10th great grandfather
William Towne, Son of settler John Towne (1599-1673)
William Towne was born abt 1599 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.
Baptism: March 18, 1599, St. Nicholas, Great Yarmouth, England
He died abt. 1672 in Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts.

William Towne & Joanna Blessing
He married Joanna (or Jone) Blessing April 25, 1620 in St. Nicholas Church, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.  She was born 1594 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England and died 1682 in Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts.
Buried at Pine Hill Cemetery, Topsfield, Massachusetts (no markers)
At Salem, on October 11, 1640, the town
“Graunted to William Townde a little neck of land right over against his howse on the other side of the riuer to be sett out by the towne.”
This grant was part of the Division of the North Field – Salem, Mass. [Now Salem, Northfields]
In June and July, 1640, he brought an action of debt against John Cook, at Salem.  
William and Francis Nurse [possibly son-in-law, husband of Rebecca Towne Nurse see notes at end on Rebecca Towne Nurse] asked the town for a grant of land on March 20, 1647, and it was then ordered that the land be surveyed before a decision should be made as to granting it.

Family -Their Children:
* 1 Rebecca (see end for more notes on her) b. Abt. 1622, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England; D July 19, 1692, Salem, Essex,  MA.
2. John  B. Abt. 1624, Great Yarmouth, England; D. abt. 1672, MA.
3  Susanna 1625-1630, England
4. Sergeant Edmund B. abt. 1628, St Nicholas Parish Church, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England;
D. 1678, Topsfield, Essex Co., MA (9th gr-grandfather)
5  Ensign Jacob, B. abt. 1632, Great Yarmouth, England;      D. November 27, 1704, Topsfield, Essex, MA.
* 6. Mary, (see end for more notes on her) B. abt. 1634, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England; D. September 22, 1692, Salem, Essex, MA
7. Joseph  B abt. 1639, Topsfield, Essex Co., MA; D. February 21, 1714, Topsfield, Essex, MA.
* 8 Sarah, (see end for more notes on her) B 1648 Salem, Salem, Essex, MA; D abt. 1703, Framingham, Middlesex Co., MA

William and Joanna Towne Move to Topsfield from Salem Town
In 1652 they moved to Topsfield, Massachusetts, [originally called New Meadows] from North Fields of Salem Town.
In Topsfield he purchased 40 acres of land, and made further purchases in 1656.
He was listed among those to share in the common lands at Topsfield.
Topsfield is about 11 miles northwest of Salem-Town (present-day Salem).

Salem Witchcraft Trials
Many Topsfield residents were accused of witchcraft until the hysteria ended in May 1693.
The causes of the 1692 witchcraft episode continue to be the subject of historical study.
There is a consensus view that land disputes and/or economic rivalry among factions in Salem Town [where the present day Salem is], Salem Village
[renamed Danvers in 1792] and Topsfield fueled animosity and played an underlying role.

Salem (harbor) Town as it may have been

Salem Village Meeting House -reconstruction now Danvers

Three of William's grown children were accused, two were hanged and the third narrowly escaped with her life. More reading on the trials & the family, see notes at the end of this post.
The son Edmund, my husband’s 9th gr-grandfather had already died long before the witch trials had begun.
All of the Towne sons who survived to adulthood, Edmund, Jacob and Joseph, founded large families in Topsfield, MA.
However the Towne women, Rebecca Nurse, Mary Esty (Easty) and Sarah Cloyes/Cloyse each were charged in the Salem witchcraft trials (as mentioned).

William Towne’s Death
William Towne died at Topsfield in 1673, and administration on his estate was granted to his widow in June 24, 1673.
His widow died in or about 1682, and on January 17, 1682, the six children signed a petition for the settlement of her estate.

---Edmund Towne – 9th Great Grandfather
Sergeant Edmund Towne (1628-abt 1717)
Edmund Towne was baptized June 28, 1628, St Nicholas Parish Church, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.

Immigration
It is unclear but believed that by 1637 William and his family, including Edmund were in the colony.

Eventually the Townes family moved to Salem Town (prior to moving to Topsfield).  
Edmund's Family
Edmund married Mary Browning on March 25, 1652 at Topsfield, Mass.  
Mary Browning, the daughter of Thomas Browning,  was baptized January 7, 1638 and died abt. 1717.

Work, etc
Edmund was a juror in 1655, a commissioner in 1661, and a freeman in 1664.
In June, 1666, he was appointed Corporal of the Topsfield military company.
In 1674, he was part of a committee to petition the Court for permission to form a military guard to protect the settlers.
In 1675 Edmund was part of Topsfield committee that presented a petition to the General Court for permission to form military companies to protect the inhabitants while they worked in the fields from the Indians raids.

He was entered as "Sergeant Towne" in the Topsfield records in 1677.

In 1684 the widow Mary Towne appeared on the list of Topsfield Church members.

Will
Edmund died early in 1678 in Topsfield, MA, dying intestate (without a will). 

 

Ed. Towne Probate record

Mary, his wife, presented an "Intent and Purpose" that the mind of the deceased was the same as hers regarding the distribution of his estate, which was to equally divide the estate amongst the five girls, only Sarah, the second daughter, being married and have already received 25 pounds.
Administration was granted to the widow, Mary Towne, on April 27, 1678.
The inventory was taken by Francis Peabody, Thomas' son-in-law, and Thomas Baker, which included land (excluding land inherited from father-in-law, Thomas Browning) worth 292 pounds.

Mary made her will on February 1, 1710 and it was proved December 16, 1717

Children of Edmund Towne and Mary Browning:
1  Mary B. 1653, Topsfield, Essex, MA; D. 1731; M. John Pri(t)chard  March 01, 1681, Topsfield, Essex, MA
2 Thomas  B 1655, Topsfield, Essex, MA; D.  1720 M Sarah French
3 Sarah B. April 26, 1657, Topsfield, Essex, MA; M Captain John Howe  bef. December 20, 1686, Topsfield, Essex, MA
4. John Towne B April 2, 1658
5 William B March 13, 1659, Topsfield, Essex C, MA; D January 30, 1750. M. Margaret Willard
6 Joseph B September 02, 1661, Topsfield, Essex, MA; D 1717, Topsfield, Essex, MA M. Amy Smith
7. Towne D March 07, 1663; D March 7, 1663?
8 Abigail  B August 06, 1664, Topsfield, Essex, MA; D 1712  M 1st Jacob Peabody; M 2nd Thomas Perley
8 Benjamin  B May 26, 1666; D before 1678.
9 Rebecca B. Feb. 2, 1668
10 Elizabeth  B. November 2, 1669 Topsfield, Essex, MA; M. Thomas Wilkins  December 19, 1694.
11 Samuel (1673-1714), M. Elizabeth Knight
12 Rebecca b. February 02, 1668, Topsfield, Essex, MA; M 1st Nicholas Bailey; M 2nd Phillip Knight bef. August 20, 1693, Topsfield, Essex, MA

-- Joseph Towne 8th Great Grandfather
Joseph Towne (1661-1772)
Joseph Towne was born September 2, 1661 in Topsfield, Essex, MA.
Joseph married Amy Smith (variously spelled Eamy, Amey, etc).
Amy Smith was the  daughter of Robert Smith and Mary French.
She was born August 16, 1668 in Rowley, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died February 22, 1756 in Topsfield, Essex, MA.

Joseph's Work
Joseph was a surveyor of highways in 1691, a selectman in 1694, and a constable in 1697.

Joseph's Will
Joseph Towne made his will on May 18, 1717, and it was proved on the following December. He died in Topsfield, MA.
To his wife "Emmy" [yet another spelling of Amy] he left his household furniture, a cow and one-third of his real estate.
His son Daniel, who had the homestead, was to allow his mother a living room and a chamber above it during her life.
To his son, Benjamin, he left other real property, while the younger children, Nathan, Jesse, Nathaniel, Amos and Amy received cc30 apiece.
Benjamin and Daniel were appointed executors and the witnesses were William Towne, Jacob Towne and John Curtis.
Their children:
1 Benjamin Towne Born May 10, 1691 in Topsfield, Essex, MA and died February 11, 1772 in Topsfield, Essex, MA
2 Nathan Towne 1693- D. Abt. 1762, Andover, Essex, MA.
3 Daniel Towne 1695-1712
4  Jesse Towne 1695-1754 Wells, York Co., Maine.
5 Sergeant  Nathaniel Towne 1700-?
6 Amy Towne 1703-?; M. William Hobbs, January 10, 1727, Salem, Essex, MA
7 Joseph Towne 1703- bef. 1717
8 Amos Towne 1709-1747 Died en-route to Annapolis, Nova Scotia.  

 

---FURTHER READING----
Salem Witch Trials
In early 1692, the controversial minister of Salem Village (now Danvers, MA) Rev Parris's  Elizabeth, 12-year-old niece Abigail Williams, as well as other neighborhood girls began to fall into fits.

Their parents tried to discover what was causing their distress, and village doctor William Griggs gave his opinion that the girls were the victims of witchcraft.

Put upon to tell who was causing their afflictions, the girls finally accused three village women, and warrants were sworn out for the arrest of Sarah Osburn, Sarah Good and Parris's slave who had come from Barbadoes with the family, Tituba.

This was the start of the “first wave accusations” located in Salem Village (now Danvers); Salem Town (now Salem); Topsfield, Lynn, Reading.  

Red dots show locations of 1st wave of Accusations

   About Edmund's sisters:
Rebecca, Mary & Sarah, Some of the Accused
 
REBECCA TOWNE NURSE
Rebecca Towne Nurse  (February 21, 1621 – July 19, 1692) was executed for witchcraft by the government of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England in 1692, during the Salem witch trials.
Although there was no credible evidence against her, she was hanged as a witch on July 19, 1692. Massachusetts colony was seized with hysteria over witchcraft and the supposed presence of Satan within the colony.
(Her sisters Mary Eastey and Sarah Cloyce were also accused of witchcraft).
Mary was the daughter of William and Joanna Towne born in 1621.
Around 1644, she married Francis Nurse who was also born in England.
Her husband was a "tray maker" by trade, who likely made many other wooden household items. Due to the rarity of such household goods, artisans of that medium were esteemed. Nurse and her family lived on a vast homestead which was part of a 300-acre (1.2 km2) grant given to Townsend Bishop in 1636.
Francis originally rented it and then gradually paid it off throughout his lifetime.
Together, the couple bore eight children: four daughters and four sons.
Nurse frequently attended church and her family was well respected in Salem Village; Francis was often asked to be an unofficial judge to help settle matters around the village.
In 1672, Francis served as Salem's Constable.
It was later written that Rebecca had "acquired a reputation for exemplary piety that was virtually unchallenged in the community," making her one of the "unlikely" persons to be accused of witchcraft.
Accusation, trial, release and re-trial
The Nurse family had been involved in a number of acrimonious land disputes with the Putnam family.
On March 23, 1692, a warrant was issued for her arrest based upon accusations made by Edward and John Putnam.
Upon hearing of the accusations the frail 71-year-old Nurse, often described as an invalid, said, "I am innocent as the child unborn, but surely, what sin hath God found out in me unrepented of, that He should lay such an affliction on me in my old age."
There was a public outcry over the accusations made against her, as she was considered to be of very pious character.
Thirty-nine of the most prominent members of the community signed a petition on Nurse's behalf.  At age 71, she was one of the oldest accused.
Her ordeal is often credited as the impetus for a shift in the town's opinion about the purpose of the witch trials.
Her trial began on June 30, 1692. In accordance with the procedures at the time, Mrs. Nurse, like others accused of witchcraft, represented herself since she was not allowed to have a lawyer represent her.
By dint of her respectability, many members of the community testified on her behalf including her family members. However the young Ann Putnam Jr. and the other children would break into fits and claim Nurse was tormenting them.
Such so-called "spectral evidence" was allowed into the trial to show that Satan was afflicting others in the community at the behest of the accused. In response to their outbursts Nurse stated, "I have got nobody to look to but God."Many of the other afflicted girls were hesitant to accuse Nurse.
In the end, the jury ruled Nurse not guilty.
Due to public outcry and renewed fits and spasms by the girls, the jury asked the magistrate that the verdict be reconsidered.
The jury changed their verdict, sentencing Nurse to death on July 19, 1692.
Death and aftermath
Many people labeled Nurse "the woman of self-dignity", due to her dignified behavior on the gallows.
As was the custom, after Rebecca Nurse was hanged, her body was buried in a shallow grave near the gallows along with other convicted witches, who were considered unfit for a Christian burial.
Nurse's family secretly returned after dark and dug up her body, which they interred properly on their family homestead.
In July 1885, her descendants erected a tall granite memorial over her grave in what is now called the Rebecca Nurse Homestead cemetery in Danvers (formerly Salem Village), Massachusetts. The inscription on the monument reads:
Rebecca Nurse, Yarmouth, England 1621. Salem, Mass., 1692.
O Christian Martyr who for Truth could die
When all about thee owned the hideous lie!
The world redeemed from Superstition's sway
Is breathing freer for thy sake today.
(From the poem "Christian Martyr," by John Greenleaf Whittier)
In 1892 a second monument was erected nearby recognizing the 40 neighbors, led by Israel and Elizabeth (Hathorne) Porter, who took the risk of publicly supporting Nurse by signing a petition to the court in 1692. One signer was General Israel Putnam's father.
Her accuser, Ann Putnam, Jr., publicly apologized to the Nurse family for accusing innocent people.
In 1711, the government compensated the Nurse family for Rebecca's wrongful death. The Nurse family homestead fell into the hands of Putnam family descendant Phineas Putnam in 1784.
The Putnam family maintained control of the property until 1908.
Today, it is a tourist attraction that includes the original house and cemetery, on 27 of the original 300 acres.

 

 

MARY TOWNE EASTEY
Mary Towne Eastey (also spelled Esty, Easty, Estey, Eastick, Eastie, or Estye)
(bap. August 24, 1634) Hanged September 22, 1692. 
Mary Towne was convicted of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials of 1692 in colonial Massachusetts. She was executed by hanging in Salem.
Mary Estey was born Mary Towne to William Towne and Joanna Towne (née Blessing) in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.
Mary Towne married Isaac Estey in 1655 in Topsfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony; Isaac, a farmer, was born in England on November 27, 1627. 
Together the couple had eleven children.
Like her sister Rebecca Nurse, Eastey was a pious and respected member of Salem, and her accusation came as a surprise.
During the examination on April 22, 1692, when Eastey clasped her hands together, Mercy Lewis, one of the afflicted, imitated the gesture and claimed to be unable to release her hands until Eastey released her own. Again, when Eastey inclined her head, the afflicted girls accused her of trying to break their necks. Mercy claimed that Eastey's specter had climbed into her bed and laid her hand upon her breasts. When asked by magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin how far she had complied with Satan, she replied, "Sir, I never complyed but prayed against him all my dayes, I have no complyance with Satan, in this ... I am clear of this sin."
For reasons unknown, Eastey was released from prison on May 18 after two months.
However, on May 20, Mercy Lewis claimed that Eastey's specter was afflicting her, a claim which other girls supported.
 A second warrant was issued that night for Eastey's arrest. She was taken from her bed and returned to the prison; Lewis ceased her fits after Eastey was chained.
Eastey was tried and condemned to death on September 9. Robert Calef described Eastey's parting words to her family "as serious, religious, distinct, and affectionate as could be expressed, drawing tears from the eyes of almost all present."
She was hanged on September 22, along with Martha Corey, Ann Pudeator, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, Wilmot Redd, Margaret Scott, and Samuel Wardwell.
Death and Aftermath
On the gallows she prayed for an end to the witch hunt. Of her two sisters likewise charged with witchcraft, Rebecca Nurse was hanged on July 19, 1692.
In November, after Eastey had been put to death, Mary Herrick gave testimony about Eastey. Herrick testified that she was visited by Eastey who told her she had been put to death wrongfully and was innocent of witchcraft, and that she had come to vindicate her cause.
Eastey's family was compensated with 20 pounds from the government in 1711 for her wrongful execution. Her husband Isaac lived until June 11, 1712.
Mary Eastey's grandson Daniel Eastey fled the country and changed his name during his grandmother's trial, and then moved to Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada.

SARAH TOWNE CLOYSE
Sarah Cloyce/Cloyse (née Towne) (bap. 3 September 1648 – 1703) was accused of witchcraft but never indicted by a grand jury in the Salem Witch Trials.
The daughter of William Towne and his wife, née Joanna Blessing, she was the sister of Rebecca Nurse and Mary Easty who were executed as witches at Salem in 1692.
Family
Her first husband was Edmund Bridges, Jr. of Topsfield and Salem, who she married in 1659/60. They had at least five children; he died in 1682.
Her second husband was Peter Cloyce; he was the father of six when they married, and they had three additional children together.
Accusation
She was accused of witchcraft the day after she had defended her sister Rebecca against the same charge.
A few days later she was named in warrants and arrested, and was transferred to Boston prison. She petitioned the court for an opportunity to present evidence which supported her innocence, and to exclude spectral evidence (which is testimony that the spirit of someone did something).
Jail-break or Release?
When all the legal maneuvers failed, with Sarah’s sisters having been hung as witches, Peter did the only intelligent thing as the shadow of the hangman’s rope drew near in the new round of trials of January 1693.  He broke Sarah out of jail and fled south (Thought it’s reported that  Superior Court dismissed the charges against Sarah in January 1693 and Peter simply paid the prison fees and she was released. But tradition and earlier reliable sources tell us otherwise.
"Clayes was imprisoned in Ipswich and smuggled out along with friends who had come to visit her," and thence, according to the History of Framingham,  "conveyed by night to Framingham."
… she somehow escaped from a makeshift ‘jail’ in Ipswich – probably a farmer’s shed – and made her way with her husband towards Danforth’s property," a safe area in what is now Framingham.
Certainly Peter had been petitioning for a recognizance for his wife and it is always possible they simply skipped bail.
Heading Southwest on Foot and the Danforth Difference
However they managed Sarah’s escape, it was deep in a New England winter that they made their way southwest to Framingham, then known as the Danforth Plantation, and marked in old records of the times as "the wilderness."
Ironically the Danforth Plantation where the Cloyes sought asylum was owned by one of the early judges at the Salem Witch Trials. 
Thomas Danforth & Safety
Deputy Governor Thomas Danforth had sat on the early Tribunal.  But he had left the tribunal in May, several months before the hangings began, harboring a secret disgust and ill-ease with the proceedings. 
This was originally known as Danforth Farm or Plantation, and later renamed Framingham. 
Danforth had been on the Tribunal through May, long enough to have observed the character of all three Towne sisters. 
Records show that the three sisters repeatedly behaved with dignity, piety, firmness and good character to such an extent that the magistrates hesitated repeatedly with their cases. 
Rebecca was brought in Not Guilty, only to be re-deliberated until Guilty.  She was reprieved, only to have it denied. 
Petitions were signed on her behalf. 
Mary was cleared only to be re-accused and rearrested. 
The minister of Topsfield vouched for both Mary and Sarah, but to no avail. 
Sarah wrote elegant appeals that were ignored.
Many were rightfully impressed with the Towne sisters and deeply distressed with the proceedings. 
Danforth seems to have been one of those and afterwards made it his business to take in and see to the welfare and reparations of the surviving Towne sister’s families, starting with Sarah (Towne) Cloyes herself. 
Salem End Road, At Last
It was that the Danforth haven become known to those fleeing the accusations and executions, a large boulder on Salem End Road was said to be the official landmark that that signaled escaping families that they were on the Plantation and safe at last. 
Danforth subsequently turned over more than 800 acres to Salem families seeking asylum and safety, including the Towne, Nurse, Bridges, Easty, and Cloyes families. 
The new settlement quickly became known as Salem End Road. 
They came fearing for their lives, seeking a safe haven, and found it on Danforth’s Plantation, living in safety on his land as reparation for their treatment in Salem. 

*******

Plantation, living in safety on his land as reparation for their treatment in Salem.  
SOURCES
Much has been written about the trials and Salem at the time. Anything that is not pulled strictly from a town record (witchcraft trial is part of the town record), I owe a great debt to researches who preceded me. 
 Some  of the sources include:
1 Wikipedia - 3 articles on the Towne girls
2 Towne Family Association-professional genealogists
3 Ancestry. com (especially Mass town records)
4 Smithsonian site:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/?no-ist

5 Witchcraft Trials in Salem: A Commentary by Douglas Linder
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/sal_acct.htm

6 Maine, Indian Land Speculation, and the Essex County Witchcraft Outbreak of 1692
By Emerson W. Baker and James Kences, from Maine History, volume 40, number 3, Fall 2001 (pp. 159-189)
http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/ScholarsForum/MMD1705.html

7 Witch Caves & Salem End Road-Framingham Massachusetts (** Most of the information on Sarah Towne is from this site**)
by Daniel V. Boudillion
Webpage is an abbreviated version published in the book Weird Massachusetts
http://www.boudillion.com/witchcaves/witchcaves.htm  

#7 - Abel Beal, Rev War Vet, of Hingham Massachusetts

Abel Beal of Massachusetts, Rev War Soldier

Abel Beal and Deborah Lambert (Beal) was my husband’s mother’s 4th great grandfather (his 5th). Abel was born into an old Hingham family: the Beals.

Abel Beal’s vitals:
Birth:Oct. 20, 1733 in Hingham, Plymouth County, MA
Death:Apr. 20, 1805 in Cohasset (Hingham), Norfolk County, MA , Age 71 per gravestone
Burial: Green Gate Cemetery [North Cohasset Cemetery] Cohasset (formerly Hingham) Norfolk County, Massachusetts, USA

Abel was born October 20, 1733 to Andrew and Rachel Beal.

Abel Beal's birth record, Hingham Mass 1733

According to the above record, Abel Beal was the son of Andrew & Rachel Beal.
Vitals for Abel's parents, Andrew & Rachel:
Andrew Beal of Hingham MA
B 27 January 1685 Hingham, Plymouth, MA
D 10 Jan 1762 Hingham, Plymouth, MA
and
  Rachel Bates, daughter of Joshua Bates & Rachel Tower
Birth: Jul. 14, 1696 Hingham, Plymouth County, MA
Death: Nov. 20, 1780 Cohasset, Norfolk County, MA USA
Abel and Deborah (Lambert) Beal

Abel married 1st
Deborah Lambert (daughter of Henry?)
Deborah Lambert's vitals:
B 2 Nov 1740 in Cohasset, MA
D 15 Jun 1788 in Cohasset, Norfolk, MA, USA
 
Abel & Deborah's children:
1 Abel Beal 1755-1830
2 Deborah Beal 1757-1844
3 Susanna Beal 1759-1849
4 Celia Beal 1762-1849
5 Seth Beal 1765-1836
6 Stowers Beal 1767-1821
7 Micah Beal 1772-?
8 Ruth Beal 1775-?
9 Anna Beal 1778–1839 M. John Cook *
10 Susan Beal 1781-?
11 Abigail Beal 1784-1863

Deborah died in 1788, leaving many of the younger children without a mother (including almost 10 year old Anna Beal). Subsequently Abel remarried.
Abel married 2nd, in 1789, Susannah Humphrey.

Revolutionary War
The War for Independence went from 1775–1783; the fighting in the earliest period was in the Boston area. The Hingham/Cohasset area of Massachusetts was a hotbed of resistance during the Revolutionary War.
Because there was no "American" army, people served mostly as local militiamen: rather like volunteer fire fighters might in towns.
I try to discover if an ancestor was a Loyalist to King George (which would affect their lives and possibly livelihoods), or not. Sometimes people were neutral. Abel and his wife Deborah were neutral nor loyalists: he did service with the local militia for short periods.

Abel Beals' Military Service

Post-(Rev) War
Abel shows up in census records as late as 1800. He died in 1805.

ABEL'S DEATH AND BURIAL

Cemetery and gravestone of Abel Beal in Cohasset, MA

How does Abel Beal relate to my husband's mother's Cook family?
Anna Beal (Abel & Deborah Beal's) daughter married a John Cook.
.
A Roman numeral signifies a generation:

I -Anna Beal (4th great grandmother)
B. 1778 in Hingham, Plymouth, MA
D 1839 in Winchendon, Worcester, MA
Married John Cook (4th great grandfather)
B 16 Apr 1774 in Groton, Middlesex, MA
D 1848 in Winchendon, Worcester, MA

Anna Beal and John Cook were the parents of John Levi Cook *
II - John Cook (3rd great grandfather)
; B: 1805 in Winchendon, MA
D: 12 Mar 1888
Married Cynthia Metcalf (3rd great grandmother) (d of Jeremiah Metcalf)
B.1815 in Ashburnham, MA
D. 17 Jun 1844 in Ashburnham, MA

III John Cook and Cynthia Metcalf were the parents of John Levi Cook *
John Levi Cook (2nd great grandfather)
B. 8 Aug 1842 in Ashburnham, MA
D. 28 Nov 1910 West Bath, Maine

Married in New Bedford Mass in 1868 Christiana L Petts (2nd great grandmother)
B 1845 Stoddard, NH.
D 30 Sep 1871 Keene, NH
(M. 2nd in 1876 Abbie Everline Clifford)

John Levi Cook and Christiana Petts were the parents of Don Ferdinand Cook
IV - Don Ferdinand Cook (great grandfather)
B. 24 Jun 1871 Keene, NH.
16 Dec 1939 Keene, NH

Don F. Cook married Addie Christiane Warner (great grandmother)
B 21 Apr 1871 Winchendon, MA
; D 3 Mar 1966 Concord, NH

Don Ferdinand Cook and Addie C Warner were the parents of Marion Lottie Cook
V - Marion Lottie Cook (maternal grandmother)
; B 11 May 1905, Keene, N H;
D 20 Jul 1966, Peterborough, NH

Married Andrew Robert Antilla (maternal grandfather)
B 11 Jul 1903 in Sparta, Chippewa, MINN, USA
D 25 Aug 1949 in Jaffrey, Cheshire, NH

DO I HAVE THE RIGHT JOHN COOK?
The BIG QUESTION for me was, "which John Cook?.As it turned out it was easy to trace. The trickiest part of this was to be certain that I have the right "John Cook" and the right "John Levi Cook."

Fortunately an old book about the history of Ashburnham, MA helped (Winchendon, MA being close by). I transcribed the pages below the picture from the book.

From book on Ashburnham, MA (see text below)

 

From book on Ashburnham, MA (see text below)

The text from above on Ashburnham/Winchendon Mass says this:

John Cook md. Anna Beal and resided in Winchendon near the border of this town [Ashburnham, Massachusetts].

So many of his children became allied by marriage to Ashburnham families that a brief record is given. They had thirteen children.
1 Anna, b. July 21, 1798 ; md. John Lane
2 Tryphena, b. Sept. 9, 1799 ; md. 1819, Thomas Flint, son of Thomas and Abigail (Brown) Flint of Winchendon ; removed to State of New York.
3 Mary F., b. April 23, 1801 ; md. Samuel Baldwin.
4 John, b. March 20, 1803 ; d. an infant.
5 John, b. March 15, 1805 [See Below].
6 Deborah, b. July 30, 1806 ; md. Joel Merriam.
7 Martin, b. March 1, 1808; resided on the homestead in Winchendon.
8 Clara, b. Jan. 26, 1810; md. Nov. 27, 1833, Milo Derby
9 Edward, b. June 12, 1812; d. in St. Louis; his son, Lemuel W. Cook, is a photographer in Boston.
10 Ivers, b. May 21, 1814; resides in Westminster, Vt. ; md. Dorothy Miller. Four children.
11 Abigail, b. May 17, 1816 ; md. Abner Moore, son of William and Mary (Fitch) Moore of Sharon,
N. H. Three children.
12 Eliza, b. March 26, 1820 ; md. 1842, Reuben A. Buzzell and resided several years in this town.
They removed to Rindge 1862, where she d. June 4, 1883. Five children.
13  Joanna, b. Aug. 15, 1822 ; md. John N. Richardson ; resided in Fitzwilliam, N. H., and Winchendon. He is a merchant.

[John & Anna (Beal) Cook’s son, John Cook Jr:]
John Cook. Jr., md.
 -- (1st) April 3, 1832, Roxanna Lane, dau.of Benjamin Lane. She d. Feb. 24, 1834.
--He md.(2d) Nov. 12, 1834, Cynthia Metcalf, dau. of Jeremiah Metcalf. She d. June 19, 1844,
--and he md. (3d) Sarah (Adams) Clark, widow of George Clark.
He removed from town about 1860 and is now residing at Brighton, Ill.
The following names include one child by first, four by second, and three by the third marriage.

    John Cook Jr's child with Roxanna Lane:
~ Sarah Roxanna, b. Oct. 6, 1833 ; md. 1851, Jacob Hart of Keene ; she resides, a widow, at Bellows Falls, Vt.

    John Cook Jr's children with Cynthia Metcalf:

~  George William, b. Nov. 20, 1836; d. unmd. Oct. 9, 1855.
~  Leonard Newton, b. Oct. 10, 1838 ; d. in St. Louis 1866.
~  Martha J.. b. Jan. 3, 1840: md. Oct. 9, 1861, Prentiss A. Maynard of Keene, N. H. He d. June 23. 1869; md. (2d) Sept. 10, 1879, Andrew J. Williams; resides in Keene, N. H.
 ~  John Levi. b. Aug. 8, 1841 ; md. Christiana Petts, who d. Sept. 28, 1871; md. (2d) 1878, Abbie Clifford; resides in Florida.*

    John Cook Jr's children with widow Sarah (Adams) Clark

~ Cynthia, resides at Brighton, Ill.
~  Daniel, resides at Brighton, Ill.
~ Laura A., resides at Brighton,Ill.