Justin and MaGee - Colonial Americans » Mary Abbey (1778-1872)

Données personnelles Mary Abbey 

• Autre nom: Mary Abbee
• Elle est née le 7 novembre 1778 dans Westminster, Windham County, Vermont.Les sources 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
• Résidant:
• en l'an 1850: St Clair, St Clair, Michigan.Source 4
• en l'an 1810: Fairfield, Herkimer, New York.Les sources 2, 9
• Elle est décédée le 18 novembre 1872 dans St. Clair, St. Clair County, Michigan, elle avait 94 ans.Les sources 5, 7, 9
• Un enfant de John Abbee et Abigail Averill

Famille de Mary Abbey

(1) Elle est mariée avec Alpha Chaffee.

Ils se sont mariés environ 1793 à Westminster, Windham County, Vermont.Source 9

Enfant(s):

1. Rachel Chaffee  1795-????
2. Sophia Chaffee  1796-1850 
3. Polly Chaffee  1798-1875 
4. Alpha Chaffee  1800-1873 
5. Lonson Chaffee  1802-1826
6. Maltilda Chaffee  1804-????
7. Phoebe Chaffee  1806-????
8. John Chaffee  1808-????

(2) Elle est mariée avec Samuel Quigley.

Ils se sont mariés environ 1814 à Herkimer County, New York.

Notes par Mary Abbey

1. According to the CHAFFEE GENEALOGY by Wm. H. CHAFFEE, Mary was 104 years old at the time of her death and living with her son Alpha Chaffee in St. Clair Michigan.

2. Family Data Collection - Individual Records about Mary Abby
Name: Mary Abby (Abbee)
Spouse: Alpha Chaffee
Parents: John Abby, Abial Averill
Birth Place: Windham, Westminster, VT
Birth Date: 1768
Death Date: 1872
Death Place: St. Clair Township, St. Clair County, Michigan

3. Raised in a blockhouse in Vermont and lived in it with twenty other familyies for four years due to Indian raids during the French & Indian War. John Averill came up the Connecticut River, or the "Great River" as is was called, from Northfield MA with his family in canoes in the Spring of 1751 to Westminster, then called No. 1 and under a Massachusetts charter. There were two houses in town at the time, one built by Richard Ellis and his son in 1739, at the foot of Willard's or Clapp's hill, "at the southern extremity of the 10 rods highway," which was then unoccupied. The other house, whose builder is unknown, was "at the lower end of the street, ... at the top of Willard's Hill." The Averills moved into this house which was occupied at the time by four men, one woman and two children; they were, William Gould, John Gould, Amos Carpenter, and Atherton Chaffee. During the summer of 1751, Goold and Carpenter moved their families up from Northfield.
The History of Averill Stand;
The first "settlers" of Vermont were actually Native Americans from many tribes including the Iroquois, Algonquin, Narragansett, Natick, Pennacook, Pocumtuc and Wampanoag and Abenaki. Vermont was a rich hunting and fishing area, and nearly 200 place names in what is now Vermont were of Native American origin. Of those, nearly half were named by the Abenaki. So the earliest "Vermonters" had laid claims long before the White man arrived.
The Averell family (also Averill and Avery - same family) were some of the early European settlers of New England, arriving in Ipswich, Massachusetts about 1640. Even in those early colonial days, the Averills resided in Topsfield, Massachusetts, and had been visible citizens, and controversial ones. Mary Abbee's 1st great Grand Aunt, SARAH AVERILL WILDES, and her cousin had been among the innocent people accused of being witches, and hanged in the Salem Witch trials in 1692. (See the actual documents <http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/ecca/vol1/164.html>). Even so, the family remained staunchly in the Salem area for another hundred years.
As the Averills continued to develop in Massachusetts, Vermont was developing likewise. In 1724, the English first settled Fort Dummer, near what is now Brattleboro. At the time, the area was occupied by the French, who were driven out by the English settlers. Then, around 1760, permanent settlement through more areas of Vermont began. New Hampshire "granted"129 towns in Vermont in the mid-1700's.. What is now Wilmington was one of these towns, named by Benning Wentworth, after Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington.
Simultaneously, the Averell Family was making their way to Vermont. In the Spring of 1751, John Averill and his family ventured up the Connecticut River ("The Great River") to "Massachusetts Charter Number 1," or what is now known as Westminster, Vermont. Averill settled there, at "the southernmost extremity of 10 Rods Highway" and both he and his son John Jr. fought in the American Revolution and are buried in Old East Parish Cemetery in Westminster. It is believed to be their cousins who ventured to Wilmington, establishing the Averill Stand.
In 1764, New York claimed Vermont as its own, and began to establish county governments there. New York decided not to oust the New Hampshire settlers who were already there, but rather to ignore the fact that the settlers had paid the Governor of New Hampshire for their land and to charge them for their it again! In response, the Vermonters formed the “Green Mountain Boys” to keep the New Yorkers out. And of course, one Robert Averill was among them! The battle for territory continued, and in 1775, the Averills of Westminster found themselves at the scene of the Westminster Massacre, which was the catalyst for folks to truly declare their loyalty to the British (the New Yorkers of "Yawkers") or the colonies. Even locally, the Revolution had begun!
Then, in 1776, the American Revolution formed the “United States of America” but Vermont remained an independent republic. In 1777, under pressure to declare its allegiances, Vermont declared itself independent (of the British AND of the colonists who claimed it as part of New Hampshire) and named itself "New Connecticut." Later, the name Vermont (Green Mountains) was officially adopted. In a further statement of its fiercely independent nature, one of the first decisions of the newfound republic was to forbid "Negro slavery," nearly 100 years before the rest of the country began to catch up! Interestingly, Averill Stand is reputed to have been a stop on the underground railroad, sheltering escaping slaves.
All the while, the British were still battling over New York, and heard that there were great gains to be made by capturing the colonists supplies kept at Bennington. In 1777, General Stark of New Hampshire led his troops from Charlestown, New Hampshire across what is now the Molly Stark Trail (directly through the location of Averill Stand) to fight the Battle of Bennington <http://www.virtualvermont.com/history/benbattle.html>, in further efforts to keep the British at bay. Stark was aided by Vermonters under the command of Seth Warner. Together, Warner and Stark's troops defeated the "Yorkers" and won the Battle of Bennington. Through the battle, the alliances between independent Vermont and the State of New Hampshire grew stronger. Bennington Battle Day remains a state holiday in Vermont to this day. And of course, there was an Averill in this battle too!
In November of 1786, James Avaril of Palmer, Massachusetts purchased the first of several parcels of land in Wilmington. Vermont remained technically independent, though allied with New Hampshire and opposed to New York, until 1791, when it became to 14th state to join the Union. During this period, the Molly Stark Trail was about as traveled a road as any in this remote location. It is directly on the Molly Stark Trail that Averill Stand was built. It appears that James Avaril (Averill) remained in Wilmington until about 1797, when James deeded the land to his son Benjamin and (it is believed) removed himself to New York, while Benjamin remained in Wilmington.
Benjamin, it would appear, spent his entire life here at Averill Stand. It seems he had a hard life as a farmer, outliving two wives (one of whom died in childbirth) as well as at least two of his children. Surviving the grueling winters in Vermont was a tough job!
Benjamin and subsequent generations of Averills (all AVERELL In the cemetery) remained at Averill Stand until 1917. Two of the Averills of Wilmington were soldiers in the Civil War, presumably returning to Averill Stand afterwards. The little old cemetery on the grounds (in which Benjamin and his family rest) gives us a clue . . . so watch for more on this storybook tale (though it's true) of the relatives of a Salem witch who ventured forth to build Averill Stand, the oldest original homestead in Wilmington, Vermont. We hope you will join us for a night or a week to relax, ski, enjoy, and maybe even take a little cemetery tour or view the secret (underground railroad?) room in the cellar!

4. SARAH AVERILL WILDES and the Salem Witch Trials; Much has been written about the Salem Witch Trials, that infamous time in American history. The fear of the occult and the subsequent trials were commonplace during the 17th century. How else could the people explain weird weather, earthquakes (one of which occurred around 1690 in Essex Co., MA, and is recorded in the History of Amesbury, Massachusetts), lunar and solar eclipses, and strange illnesses. Mankind had not yet achieved a scientific basis for understanding natural phenomenom or disease.
Old Witch House, Salem, Mass.
I read in a passage about my ancestor, Samuel Dunham, that he was ex-communicated a couple of times. One time was around 1690 for saying, "a pox upon your house and puck," to one of his neighbors. Fortunately, the curse wasn't taken seriously. Rev. Mathers attributed it to Old Sam's alcoholism, stating in his journal, "Sam Dunham is an old drunk."
Another of my ancestors, Joseph Ballard of North Andover, however, blamed witchcraft for his wife's death from female problems. His accusation sparked the Andover branch of the 1692 witch hunt. Ballard brought the "afflicted girls" to the village for examination in July of that year. One of those accused, Nehemiah Abbott, was a cousin to the Abbotts that his granddaughter would marry a few years later.
The panic that followed the accusations in northeastern Massachusetts forever changed America's perception of the judicial system and religion's role in government. It also marked the end of Puritanism as a major religious force.
Of the many men and women accused, the Bishops were one that moved on, creating a new life for themselves in a different part of colonial Massachusetts. Ironically, generations later, descendants of Joseph Ballard and the Bishops would become related through marriage.
Some years ago, the Carpenter Museum of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, published a biography of Edward and Sarah Bishop in its newsletter. We use that as reference, together with web sites about the Salem Witch Trials to provide you with an account of the Bishop family's life after the witch trials.
Edward Bishop operated an inn in Salem Village, now known as Danvers. He had problems with the law in 1685, twice being charged with running an unlicensed establishment, profaning the sabbath, selling liquor illegally, and abusing swine. They were not well liked by the Puritan community. The anomosity between the two factions peaked on April 21, 1692, when a group of citizens filed complaints of witchcraft against nine of their neighbors, including Edward Bishop, his wife Sarah Bishop, and Sarah's step-mother, SARAH AVERILL WILDES. They were arrested and imprisoned.
On July 1, 1692, Edward and Sarah Bishop testified against Mary Warren, also imprisoned. Why they did so is a mystery. However, if they had hoped they would be granted a lesser sentence or be freed, their plan didn't succeed.
Both Sarahs went on trial July 2. Their accuser was the Bishop family minister, Rev. John Hale of Beverly. Mrs. SARAH AVERILL WILDES was accused of bewitching her two step-sons in 1676, resulting in their deaths. She was convicted and hanged on July 19th. Sarah Bishop remained in jail.
In August 1692, Edward and Sarah escaped to New York. Sarah's sister Phoebe Wildes Day, was accused and arrested in September.
The Bishops remained in New York until the spring of 1693, at which time they moved to Rehoboth, Massachusetts, near Providence, Rhode Island. The center of Rehoboth at that time is now Rumford, Rhode Island. Fifty years earlier, a schism within the Puritan church at Hingham drove many to Rehoboth. Perhaps the Bishops felt the residents of that place would be more tolerant of them, in spite of the family's lack of commitment to the Puritan church and of their notorious involvement in the witchcraft trials. In any case, the Bishop family prospered.
By 1706, Edward Bishop had received a license to serve strong drinks and established an inn in what is now East Providence. He purchased a good deal of land and served as a juror in 1705. The innkeeper was not without his legal problems, though. In 1707, he lost his license to serve liquor. Evidently, Bishop corrected the problem as it was reissued in 1708.
Bristol County Probate Court References
On May 11, 1711, Edward Bishop made a will, which was probated May 28 of that year. It was witnessed by Deacon Samuel Newman, Moses Read, and Daniel Carpenter.
Sarah Bishop died in 1725. Bristol County Probate Records Vol. 5, p. 157, records that the Court appointed Samuel Bishop of Attleboro the administrator of his late mother's estate. She died intestate. The appointment was dated September 4, 1725.
Bristol County Probate Records, Vol. 5, pp 224-225, references the division of the estate of Mrs. Sarah Bishop of Rehoboth on February 15, 1725/6 between her children.
The committee members were Abiah Carpenter, John Robinson, and Daniel Carpenter.
David Bishop died sometime before or near the time of his mother Sarah Bishop's passing. Bristol County, Massachusetts Probate Court records (Vol. 5, p 199) indicate that on December 21, 1725, Samuel Bishop of Attleboro was appointed guardian of the children of David Bishop, late of Ashford, Hartford County, Connecticut.
Samuel Bishop died sometime between the writing of his will on June 6, 1726 and its probate filing on August 16, 1726. The witnesses were Isaac Bucklin, Ebenezer Robinson and Noah Carpenter.
Samuel Bishop directed his son and Executor, Samuel Bishop, to "...bind out my three sons namely: Benjamin, Edward & Gideon to good trades."
<http://genealogy.allinfoabout.com/features/salem_witch_trials.html> Samuel Bishop of Attleboro, Massachusetts, who wrote a will, dated October 19, 1739 and probated June 17, 1740. An Elizabeth Bishop was named his wife. Samuel Bishop, his son under age 21, and daughter Mehitbel Bishop were named, along with "...the Child unborn My Wife Now Goes With..." Witnesses were Timothy Tingley, Benjamin Day, and Noah Carpenter. Wife Elizabeth was named Executor by her husband. (Vol. 9, pp 434-436).

NOTE: THE CARPENTERS ARE ALSO RELATED TO THE AVERILL/ABBEE/CHAFFEE/JUSTIN FAMILY.
The source for the probate records is from Abstracts of Bristol County, Massachusetts Probate Records, 1687-1745

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