Family tree Cromer/Russell/Buck/Pratt » Sarah Jane (Jeane,Jayne) Harmon (1660-1717)

Personal data Sarah Jane (Jeane,Jayne) Harmon 

• Alternative name: Jane Harmon
• She was born in the year 1660 in Saco, York, Maine, USA.Source 3
• Alternative: She was born in the year 1666 in Boston, Massachusetts.
• She died on October 18, 1717 in Piscataway, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States, she was 57 years old.Sources 3, 4
• Alternative: She died on October 18, 1717 in Piscataway, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States, she was 57 years old.
• She is buried in Edison, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States of America.Source 3
• A child of James Harmon and Sarah Clarke

Household of Sarah Jane (Jeane,Jayne) Harmon

She is married to Captain/Lieutenant Samuel Thomas Doty "Navy" "Piscataway New Jersey Militia" "Among the First Settlers of Scotch Plains, New Jersey".

They got married on November 13, 1678 at Piscataway, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States, she was 18 years old.Source 5

Child(ren):

1. Samuel Doty  1679-1741 
2. John Doty  1680-1766
3. Sarah Doty  1681-1715
4. Isaac Doty  1683-1748
5. Edward Doty  1685-1717
6. James Doty  1686-1739
7. Jonathan Doty  1687-1739 
8. Nathaniel Doty  1690-????
9. Benjamin Doty  1691-1739
10. Elizabeth Doty  1695-1737
11. Joseph Doty  1696-1768
12. Margaret Doty  1705-1705
13. Nathaniel Doty  1707-1767

Notes about Sarah Jane (Jeane,Jayne) Harmon

It is not known that she was buried here, but she was "placed" here because her husband is presumed to be here. It is not known exactly when she died, but the last record of her is in her son Edward's 1717 will. This date is often used as the date of her death, but she was clearly alive at the time. She could have lived many more years.

Jane Harman (or Harmon) Doty is a bit of a mystery because no one has yet determined how she ended up in in Piscataway, NJ to marry Samuel Doty in 1678. Samuel Doty was the son of Pilgrim Edward Doty of the Mayflower and was in Piscataway by 1675 and likely before. He last appears in the Plymouth records in 1669 making it unlikely he knew her there since she would have been a child in Maine. There do not seem to have been other Harmans in Piscataway at that time.

Samuel was much older than she.

Some people have referred to her as Sarah Jane Harman. This is a puzzle because all of the existing records list her as Jane, Jeane, or Jayne. Her mother, however, was Sarah Clark Harman and is found in a number of records. Some think Samuel Doty's first wife was a Sarah but there is no proof I have seen.

Jane is believed to have been born in Saco, York Co, Maine in 1660/61 and to have been the daughter of James Harman and Sarah Clark. Sarah Clark Harmon was the daughter of Edward and Barbara Clark of Wells. Jane's parents were married 6 May 1658 or 1659. James Harman, judging from the remaining record, seems to have been a nasty piece of work. He may have arrived on the ship Happy Entrance c. 1653 in which he had a financial interest.. His mishaps and misdeeds are reported at length by Walter Goodwin Davis in his 1920 book "The Ancestry of Lydia Harmon." He was a drunk, rioter, loud-mouth, thief, con artist, and abuser.

There were likely seven children: perhaps John Harmon b. 1659/60; Jane b. 1661; James d. 1693; Samuel living 1695; and Barbara/Barbery b. 1667. Also perhaps Elizabeth Harmon who married Richard Flood in Boston in 1691 and Naomi Harmon who married James Conniers in Boston in 1695. Only Jane, James, Samuel, and Barbara are confirmed. John is probable and Elizabeth and Naomi likely by proximity to the family in Boston.

The marriage was rocky. According to "The Great Migration," "On 5 July 1664, Saraih the wife of [James] Harmon hath her liberty given to her to live either with her mother or with James Gibbines, where her husband may go to her, & there continue unless she & her husband can otherwise agree." She seems to have gone back to him because not only was another child born in 1667 but also, according to records reported by Davis, on 12 Oct 1669 "James Harmon was presented for abusing and beating his wife. To be whipped ten stripes and to give bond for twenty pounds."

Jane is in the record in 1671. Again according to Davis and the Silver Books, "whereas there was complaint made against James Harmon, for oppressing one of his children, unto Major Pendleton & the selectmen of the town of Sacoe, who upon good considerations see meet to dispose of the said child to James Gibbines, who appearing in Court desired that she might be bond to him for some convenient time, which this Court considering to hereby bind the said Jayne Harmon to continue a servant unto James Gibbines for the full term of eight years from the date hereof, he providing for her what in convenient for a servant during the said time."

James Gibbons clearly rescued Jane as he had rescued her mother. Interestingly, James Gibbons (unclear whether Sr. or Jr.) deeded land in Maine previously occupied by Thomas Clark to Sarah Clark Harman in 1693. Obviously there was a long standing relationship between the families.

James Harmon was last heard of in 1673 when he was charged with drunkenness. Sarah is listed as a widow in 1680.

Jane next appears at her wedding to Samuel Doty in Piscataway 23 Nov. 1678. This would have been around the end of her eight year commitment to James Gibbons. However, he remained in New England. Most of the early settlers of Piscataway, NJ came from the border area between what is now Maine and Massachusetts and it is speculated that she came with some unknown family. I wonder about members of the extended Gibbon, Clark, Lewis, and related families and if any of them moved from Maine to NJ taking Jane with them. It is unlikely that a very young woman would have been traveling alone in what was then a wilderness. There has been speculation that people were running from Indian wars in Maine. Her mother and siblings ended up in Boston about this time. Jane may or may not have passed through Boston on her way to New Jersey but this seems unlikely since she was living with the James Gibbines family.

Later she is listed in the baptism records of her Doty children:

* Samuel b. 1679
* Sarah b. 1681/2
* Isaac b. 1683
* Edward 1685-1717
* James b. 1686
* Jonathan b. 1687/8 (John?)
* Benjamin b. 1691
* Elizabeth b. 1694/5
* Joseph b. 1699
* Daniel b. 1701/2
* Margaret b. 1704/5
* Nathaniel b. 1706/7 (probably)

She is mentioned in her husband's 1715 will and her son Edward's 1717 will. There is no record of her death. It is odd that she left no will as a presumably well-off widow. She inherited from her husband and her son.

Information from "Mayflower Families" silver books, "The Great Migration," and "The Ancestry of Lydia Harmon."

Discussion and corrections welcome.
Family Members
Spouse

Photo
Samuel Doty

1643–1715 (m. 1678)

Children

Samuel Doty

1679–1750
John Doty

1680–1766
Edward Doty

1684–1717
James Doughty

1686–1739
Jonathan Doughty

1688–1739
Benjamin Doty

1691–1746
Joseph Doughty

1696–1768
Daniel Doughty

1701–1785
Nathaniel Doughty

1707–1767

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Timeline Sarah Jane (Jeane,Jayne) Harmon

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