Part 12

The following details are published not as being complete, but with the hope that the publication of them may be as a magnet attracting to itself, and thus supplying the wanting links which might otherwise perish from the chain of a family history. Any information, however slight, respecting any of the lines, whether direct or collateral, hereby brought to light, will be welcomed by the author of this article, or the editor of this journal.

We are still in the dark as to the family history of not a few among the first fathers of New England. Much of this darkness might be dispelled were all the written memorials still extant sought out, compared, and committed to the keeping of the art preservative of all arts. Winthrop in his Journal speaks of a letter from the Yarmouth pilgrims to their brethren, with their names, as printed at London in 1630. The instructions to Endecott, the first Governor of Massachusetts Bay, were "Keep a daily register in each family of what is done by all and every person in the family."

In Young's Chronicles of Plymouth, (p. 36) and of Massachusetts Bay, (p. 157), lists of names of emigrants are referred to, but the lists themselves are not given.

Notwithstanding several good works upon the Huguenots have recently appeared, much genealogical labor remains to be performed in tracing the lineage of particular families to France, and investigating their condition there before their emigration. I have often sought, though without success, for the records of the Old French Church in Boston, which stood on the site of the Universalist Church in School street.

NOTES.

1. Neither the family name of Stephen Butler's wife nor any other particulars respecting him have been ascertained, except the record of the births of his children, which is extracted from the city registers of Boston, formerly kept in the Old State House. As he became a father in Boston within little more than twenty years after its first settlement, it may be presumed that he was an emigrant from Europe.

2. Benjamin Butler. The different dates in this and similar cases denote the births of different children bearing the same name; the former in all probability died before the birth of the latter.

3. James Butler probably died before 1692, if the Grace Butler, married to Andrew Rankin, April 15th, of that year, by Simon Bradstreet, was his widow.

4. Information as to the kindred of Abigail Eustice may doubtless be found in the public records of Boston.

5. James Butler was a proprietor in a rope-walk at West Boston; was married April 6, 1710, by Rev. E. Pemberton of the Old South. He was probably admitted to the First Church Jan. 24, 1703-4. A folio Bible with Clarke's annotations, now in my possession, as an heirloom from my father and grandfather, bears the name of this James Butler, my grandfather's grandfather, and the date 1713, doubtless written by his own hand.

6. Grace Butler was married Dec. 26, 1706, to Thomas Jackson, by Benjamin Wadsworth, minister of the first church. She had several children, Grace, Thomas, and Elisabeth, and died March 15, 1759.

7. Eliza Butler was admitted to the first church Nov. 25, 1706, and was married to Capt. Ephraim Savage, Jan. 8, 1712. Nothing further is known of her.

8. James Butler was by trade a goldsmith. About 1750 he removed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, but proving unfortunate in his enterprise, soon returned to Boston. He afterwards lived awhile in Sutton, Ms., but died in Boston, in 1776, aged 63.

9. Although I have abstained from full details of collateral lines, I am constrained to give them respecting Elisabeth Davie, since her line of ancestry is so long.

John Davie of Exeter, Eng. = = Julian Strode. | |-------------------------| | | John. Mary, = = Humphrey, a London | merchant. | |------------------------------+---------------| | | John, removed from = = Elisabeth Richards. Ann, d. Sept. London and settled | 12, 1662. in Groton, Ms., 1662. | | |--------------+------+--------------+---------+---------+---------| | | | | | | (a) John, graduated (b) Humphrey of Mary. William. Elisabeth. Sarah. at Harvard,1681, Dorchester, = = (c) Hannah Gedney. became baronet | in 1713, presented | books to Yale College. |---------| | Elisabeth, d. Feb. == (8) James Butler. 15, 1739.

(a) The lineage of this nobleman, his heraldic emblazonings and the like, may be found in Burke's Peerage of England; "vix ea nostra voco."

(b) Humphrey Davie was a captain in the London trade. Hence his daughter had many fine dresses. One of these now belongs to her granddaughter, Mrs. Sarah Kingsbury of Oxford, Ms.

It is of brocade, with many-colored figures embroidered upon a ground of green. It has two skirts, each of seven breadths, a long bodice to be worn with a satin stomacher, sleeves short at the elbows, with flowing ruffles. A silver tabby christening, or to use a better expression, _baptismal_, blanket, now in my possession, is said to have been made of another of my great-grandmother's dresses. There is a family tradition that these dresses were pawned by her husband after her death, and redeemed by her son.

(c) Hannah Gedney's lineage so far as I can trace it is as follows;

John Gedney, b. 1603; d. Aug. 5, 1688; == Mary ----. admitted to church in Salem, Nov. 19, 1637. = = Catherine ----. | |------+--------+------------+--------+----| | | | | | Sarah. Eli. Bartholomew, Eleazer. John, lost at sea, = = ----. baptized, June | 14, 1640, | Freeman,1669; d. | March 1, 1698. | | |------------------------------------------------| | William, b. 1668; m. 1690; d. 1730. = = Hannah Gardner. | | | Hannah, == (b) Humphrey Davie.

10. James Butler was brought up to the trade of a hatter; was married May 10, 1763, by Rev. Andrew Eliot of New North Church; in Aug., 1774, fled with his wife and six children under ten years of age, to Georgetown, Me., a four days' voyage. He was driven to this flight by the Boston port-bill, which brought all business to a stand. After remaining four years in Maine, he returned to Boston, and soon removed to Oxford, Ms.; where he resided till his death, Dec. 20, 1827, aged 88.

11. Mary Sigourney was great-granddaughter of a Sigourney, who, being a Huguenot, fled from Rochelle in France, with his wife and four small children, in 1685. This first emigrant was among the first settlers in Oxford, Ms., and some of his children married there. Through fear of Indians, he removed to Boston. I have made out an extensive table of his posterity, but on account of its length, must refrain from inserting it here, except so far as relates to my own family. Among the descendants of this Huguenot exile, are the Brimmers, the Inches, and the Dexters, of Boston; the Commander of the Schooner Asp, killed by the British in the Potomac, in 1813; and the husband of our most popular poetess.

---- Sigourney, = ----. | |-----------------| | Andrew, m. ab. = Germaine ----. 1701, at Oxford. | | |---------------------| | Anthony, b. Boston, Aug. 17, 1713, =[W]Mary Waters. | | |-----------------------------------| | (11) Mary, b. March 23, 1741; m., May 18, 1763; = (10) James Butler. was early taught French by her grandmother, as the tongue of her ancestors; consulted by Dr. Holmes as to Huguenot annals; had the covenant propounded to her at the New North church, Feb. 22, 1761.

12. James Davie Butler was born in Boston, Oct. 5, 1765. In 1786, left a school he was teaching in Oxford, to be a volunteer against Shays. Emigrated to Rutland, Vt., in Aug., 1787; was at first a hatter; in 1792, became a merchant, and continued in trade fifty years, till his death, June 3, 1842.

He was married, Aug. 22, 1802, to the widow Rachel Maynard, and March 15, 1827, to Lois Harris. He represented the town of Rutland in the Vermont Legislature, for the years 1812 and 1813. In the year 1814, he was a member of the State Council.

His first wife was daughter of Capt. Israel Harris of Williamstown, Ms., who went with Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys to take Ticonderoga, and was an officer in the battle of Bennington.

13. This infant of days may be noticeable as being the seventh of those who, in one unbroken line during one hundred and eighty-one years, have born the name of James.

FOOTNOTES:

[V] This and the other figures at the head of names refer to the notes following this Table.

[W] Mary Waters was of Welsh extraction. She owned a copy of Flavel in two volumes folio, (London, 1740,) which is now in my hands. One of her brocade dresses is still preserved by Miss Mary Butler of Rutland, Vt.

THE MINOT FAMILY.

BY LEMUEL SHATTUCK, ESQ.

_Explanation of the Plan in preparing the Memoir_.

In the following Memoir the numbers inserted in the parentheses on the left, are the numbers of the paragraphs, each, generally, containing a notice of one entire family. The Roman numbers immediately after indicate the generation of the family, including the first person named. The descendants are doubly numbered--first in consecutive order, and secondly by each family separately. The figures in brackets after the name refer back to these numbers of the descendants, indicating the family and connections to which the individual belongs. The numbers inserted in the parentheses on the right, against the name of a child, show the subsequent paragraph where a notice of the family of such child may be found.

It is impossible to present a memoir of this kind, which shall be entirely free from error, perfect and complete. In existing families, births, marriages, and deaths, are constantly occurring, and in more ancient ones new facts are often discovered. Such facts it is desirable to have entered; and such a plan as would allow their insertion without re-writing the memoir will be preferred. By leaving some space in the original entries, the plan admits of correction, amplification, and extension, without marring its simplicity and beauty.

MEMOIR.

(1) All by the name of Minot in America are supposed to have descended from George Minot, whose posterity forms the subject of this Memoir. There was a Thomas Minot, probably a brother, who was a proprietor of Barbadoes in 1638, but I can neither trace his history, nor ascertain that he left posterity. None of the name could be found in the New York or Philadelphia Directories for 1846. The family are all descended from Thomas Minot, Esq., Secretary to the Abbot of Walden, England, by whom he was advanced to great possessions.

FIRST GENERATION.

(2) I. Elder George Minot was the son of Thomas Minot, Esq., of Saffron-Walden, Essex, England, and was b. Aug. 4, 1594. He was among the first Pilgrim emigrants to Massachusetts, and the first settlers of Dorchester. His place of residence was near Neponset Bridge, and he owned the land which has been known as "Squantum." He was made a freeman in 1634, and represented the town in 1635 and 1636. He was a ruling elder in the church thirty years, and d. Dec. 24, 1671, in the 78th year of his age. He left a will, which is recorded in the Suffolk Records, Vol. VII. p. 189. The inventory of his estate amounted to £277. 7. 7. "His death," say the records, "was much lamented by the town, whose weal he sought and liberties defended." He was a cotemporary with Elder Humphrey; and it is said the following lines were once to be found on a gravestone in the ancient burying-ground in Dorchester:--

Here lie the bodies of Unite Humphrey and Shining Minot, Such names as these, they never die not.

Mr. Minot's wife, Martha, d. in Dorchester, Dec. 23, 1657, a. 60. He left the following children;

2--1 John, b. April 2, 1626, m. Lydia Butler, May 19, 1647. (3) 3--2 James, b. Dec. 31, 1628, m. Hannah Stoughton, Dec. 9, 1653. (4) 4--3 Stephen, b. May 2, 1631, m. Trucrosse Davenport, Nov. 10, 1654. (5) 5--4 Samuel, b. Dec. 18, 1635, m. Hannah Howard, June 23, 1670. (6)

SECOND GENERATION.

(3) II. Capt. John Minot [2--1] was m. by Governor Dudley to Lydia Butler of Dorchester, May 19, 1647. She d. Jan. 24, 1667, at the birth of her sixth child. He m. a second time Mary Biggs of Boston, widow of John Biggs who d. in 1666, and the daughter of John Dasset. He d. in Dorchester, Aug. 12, 1669, a. 43. She d. about 1677. They both left wills. His is recorded in Suffolk Records, Vol. VI. p. 39, and hers, Vol. VI. p. 262. His estate was prized at £978. 5. An anecdote in relation to John Minot is found in Dwight's Travels, Vol. III. p. 125, and in Hutchinson's Hist. Mass. Vol. I. p. 288. He left the following children;

6--1 John, b. Jan. 22, 1647, m. Elisabeth Brick, March 11, 1670. (7) 7--2 James, b. Sept. 14, 1653, m. Rebecca Wheeler. (8) 8--3 Martha, b. Sept. 22, 1657, d. single, Nov. 23, 1678, a. 21. She was engaged to be married, but d. unmarried, leaving a will, in which she directed that at her funeral her betrothed husband, "John Morgan Jr. be all over mourning, and follow next after me." 9--4 Stephen, b. Aug. 10, 1662, m. Mary Clark, Dec. 1, 1686. (9) 10--5 Samuel, b. July 3, 1665, m. Hannah Jones of Concord. (10) 11--6 An infant, d. in infancy.

(4) II. James Minot [3--2] d. in Dorchester, March 30, 1676, a. 48. He left no will. His estate was prized at £555. 18. 6. He m. 1st, Dec. 9, 1653, Hannah Stoughton, dau. of Col. Israel Stoughton, and sister of the Hon. Wm. Stoughton, Lieut. Gov. of Massachusetts. She was b. April, 1637, admitted to the church, 1662, and d. March 12, 1670, a. 33. He m. 2nd, Hephzibah Corlet, sister of Arnis Corlet, May 21, 1673, in Cambridge. After Mr. Minot's death, she m. Daniel Champney, June 4, 1684. Mr. Minot had the following children;

12--1 Israel, b. Oct. 18, 1654, d. unmarried. 13--2 George, b. Nov. 14, 1655. 14--3 Hannah, b. ---- --, 1657, d. Feb. 16, 1659. 15--4 James, b. April 2, 1659, m. Rebecca Jones, Feb. 9, 1686. (11) 16--5 William, b. Sept. 18, 1662. 17--6 Elisabeth, b. Dec. 27, 1663, m. John Danforth, Nov. 21, 1682. 18--7 Mehetabel, b. Sept. 17, 1668, m. 1. Thomas Cooper, 2. Solomon Stoddard, Esq.

(5) II. Stephen Minot [4--3] d. in Dorchester, Feb. 16, 1671, a. 40, intestate, leaving an estate of £651. 4. 7. He m. Truccrosse Davenport, Nov. 10, 1654. She d. Aug. 3, 1692, a. 58. They had

19--1 Martha, b. Sept. 22, 1657, d. Oct. 11, 1683. 20--2 Jonathan, b. Sept. 11, 1658, d. Nov. 29, 1658. 21--3 Elisabeth, d. Nov. 24, 1663. 22--4 Mehetabel, b. June 4, 1665, m. Edward Mills of Boston. She d. Aug. 16, 1690, leaving one son, Stephen Mills. 23--5 Elisabeth, b. June 10, 1672, after the death of her father. She and Stephen Mills inherited Mr. Minot's property.

(6) II. Samuel Minot [5--4] d. in Dorchester, Dec. 18, 1690. He m. Hannah Howard, June 23, 1670. They had two children;

24--1 George, b. ---- 1675. 25--2 Samuel, b. Nov. 23, 1688, d. June 1, 1689.

THIRD GENERATION.

(7) III. John Minot [6--1] d. Jan. 26, 1690. His will is recorded in the Suffolk Records, Vol. VII. p. 64. His estate was prized at £680. 17. He m. Elisabeth Brick, March 11, 1670, who d. April 6, 1690. They both d. in Dorchester of the small-pox. Their children were

26--1 John, b. Oct. 10, 1672, m. Mary Baker, May 21, 1696. (12) 27--2 Israel, b. Aug. 23, 1676. 28--3 Josiah, b. Dec. 27, 1677. 29--4 Jerusha, b. Jan. 28, 1679. 30--5 George, b. Aug. 16, 1682.

(8) III. James Minot, Esq., [7--2] was b. Sept. 14, 1653, and graduated at H. C. in 1675. He studied divinity and physic. He kept the grammar-school in Dorchester in 1679, but soon after removed to Concord, where he was employed as a teacher and physician. In 1685, he was hired to preach in Stow, "for 12. 6 per day, one half cash and one half Indian corn;" and again in 1686 for "what older towns had given their ministers--£13 for 13 sabbaths." In 1692 he had another application to preach there, which he declined. Relinquishing the profession soon after, he was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1692, and a Captain of the militia, then offices of much distinction. He represented the town several years in General Court, was much employed in various public trusts, and distinguished himself for his talents and excellent character. He d. Sept. 20, 1735, a. 83. He m. Rebecca, dau. of Capt. Timothy Wheeler, the founder of the ministerial fund in Concord, and inherited the homestead of his father-in-law, near the residence of the Hon. Daniel Shattuck, where he d. She d. Sept. 23, 1734, a. 68. The following are the epitaphs on the gravestones erected to their memories, now standing in the "Hill Burying-Ground," in Concord.

Here is interred the remains of JAMES MINOTT, Esq., A. M. an Excelling Grammarian, Enriched with the Gift of Prayer and Preaching, a Commanding Officer, a Physician of Great Value, a Great Lover of Peace as well as of Justice, and which was His greatest Glory, a Gent'n of distinguished Virtue and Goodness, happy in a Virtuous Posterity, and living Religiously, Died Comfortably, Sept. 20, 1735, Æt. 83.

Here is interred the body of Mrs Rebecca Minott ye virtuous Consort of James Minott Esq. (and daughter of Capt. Timothy Wheeler) She was a person of Serious piety and abounding charity, of great usefulness in Her Day, and a pattern of Patience and holy Submission under a long Confinement, and resigned Her Soul with Joy in her Redeemer Sept 23, 1734 aged 68.

The following were children of James Minot, Esq.;

31--1 Rebecca, b. Feb. 9, 1685, m. Joseph Barrett, Dec. 27, 1701. (13) 32--2 Lydia, b. March 12, 1687, m. Benjamin Barrett, Jan. 3, 1705. (14) 33--3 Mary, b. Nov. 16, 1689, m. Ebenezer Wheeler, Sept. 26, 1706. 34--4 Timothy, b. June 18, 1692, m. 1. Mary Brooks--2. Beulah Brown. (15) 35--5 James, b. Oct. 17, 1694, m. 1. Martha Lane--2. Elisabeth Merrick. (16) 36--6 Elisabeth, b. Jan. 29, 1697, m. Daniel Adams, April 23, 1715. (17) 37--7 Martha, b. April 3, 1699, m. James Lane, April 30, 1719. She d. Jan. 18, 1739, in Bedford, a. 40. 38--8 Love, } twins. b. April 15, 1702, m. John Adams, Dec. 13, 1722. (18) 39--9 Mercy,} m. Samuel Dakin, Dec. 13, 1722. (19) 40--10 Samuel, b. March 25, 1706, m. 1. Sarah Prescott, 2. Dorcas Prescott. (20)

In the above family, two sisters married two brothers by the name of Barrett; two other sisters married brothers by the name of Adams; a brother and a sister married a brother and sister by the name of Lane, and two were born the same day and married the same day.

There are few parents who have so great reason to be "happy in a virtuous posterity," as had these. One son was a minister, another was a deacon, and eight of the grandchildren were deacons or married to deacons; several were clergymen or married to clergymen. Very many of the great-grandchildren sustained the same offices, or were otherwise distinguished in military, civil, or religious life. A large proportion of those who arrived at mature age professed religion; and the succeeding and numerous families were among the most respected, useful, and influential in the towns in which they lived. Very many distinguished men descended from them; among whom were Rev. Stephen and Hon. Timothy Farrar of New Ipswich, N. H., Roger Minot Sherman, of Fairfield, Ct., and several eminent physicians by the name of Adams; and Hon. Roger Sherman, and several other distinguished men of New Haven married descendants.

(9) III. Stephen Minot [9--4] d. in Sudbury street, Boston. He left a will, recorded in Suffolk Records, Vol. XXXI. p. 82. He was a merchant and member of Brattle Street Church; married Mary Clark, dau. of Capt. Christopher Clark, Dec. 1, 1686. They had the following children;

41--1 Rebecca, b. Aug. 20, 1687, d. Aug. 26 of the same year. 42--2 Stephen, b. Oct. 27, 1688, m. 1. Sarah Wainwright; 2. Mary Brown. (21) 43--3 John, b. Dec. 27, 1690, d. at Brunswick, Jan. 11, 1764. 44--4 Mehetabel, b. Dec. 6, 1692, was engaged to be married to Richard Bills, when her father made his will. 45--5 Lydia, b. May 15, 1695, m. Joseph Eaton, May 10, 1720; had one dau. 46--6 Rebecca, b. Nov. 6, 1697, m. Samuel Miller, Oct. 8, 1724. 47--7 George, b. Jan. 21, 1700, d. Nov. 13, 1702, of the small-pox. 48--8 Peter, b. March 4, 1702, d. Oct. 30, 1702, of the small-pox. 49--9 George, b. Jan. 29, 170-, m. Elisabeth Moore of North Carolina, by whom he had a son who d. in infancy, and a dau. Sarah who m. Nathaniel Taylor, Esq., an officer of the customs in Boston. Mr. Minot d. Jan. 18, 1785. He was a merchant, and owned the T wharf in Boston. 50--10 Christopher, b. gr. at H. C. 1725, was an officer of the customs in Boston until 1776, when he removed to Halifax, where he d. unmarried, May 12, 1783, a. 77. 51--11 Peter, b. m. was drowned at Halifax with his wife. 52--12 James, b. was a merchant at Jamaica where he d. unmarried.

(10) III. Samuel Minot [10--5] m. Hannah Jones of Concord. He d. young, and his only son Jonathan Minot was in Concord, in 1707, being then 14 years old, when he chose his uncle John Minot of Dorchester his guardian.

(11) III. James Minot [15--4] lived in Concord, where he m. Rebecca Jones, Feb. 9, 1688. She was the dau. of John Jones. He d. leaving one son, and she m. for her second husband Capt. Joseph Bulkeley, March 9, 1696, by whom she had several children. She d. July 12, 1712, a. 50. Two of her children, Rebecca and Dorothy, mentioned below, were by Capt. Bulkeley, her second husband, and are therefore not numbered with the Minot Family, not being descendants. That there may be no misunderstanding, their surname is inserted.