Allen line: The Bell family of New Jersey: John and Martha

 I know very little about this family, and am hoping someone can help to verify this information, or myth, whichever it might be.  I am coming up short on documentation and some of what is said here is taken from the undocumented work (or at least not publicly shared work) found on various online sites.

John Bell seems to be the first known Bell family member in America, but that may or may not be correct.  He is thought to have been born about 1695 based on a supposed birthdate of son Isaac of roughly 1715.  Of course, he could have been born earlier than 1695, but probably not much later.  His wife is given as Martha Deal or Odell.  If she is Martha Odell, she may be the daughter of John and Mary Walker Odell, who died in Connecticut.  I am not sure I buy that connection at this point.  How would John and Martha have met?  But it is worth remembering as we continue our search for documents.  

John and his wife may have lived in New York, perhaps on Long Island, for a time, as the last three of his children are said to have been born there.  But they seem to have settled in New Jersey, where at lest some of the children were born.

Their first known child was Isaac, born in 1715, and again, this family is a hot mess.  Isaac has been assigned at least four different wives-Elizabeth Hixon, Elizabeth Dixon, Keziah Corwin, Deborah Peck and Deborah Hazen.  I think I've eliminated Elizabeth Dixon, Keziah Corwin, and Deborah Hazen.  They all seem to have married men surnamed Bell, but none of them are our Isaac.  Elizabeth Dixon and Elizabeth Hixon seem to have much the same information as far as vitals are concerned, so they may well be the same person.  That leaves us Deborah Peck (or possibly Pack), but I've not yet found anything that will definitely include or exclude her as a possibility.  I have notes in my file (also undocumented) that her first name may actually be Sarah, but again, I'm at a dead end there.  At any rate, Isaac is given a very large number of children, and I've been able to tentatively exclude several.  I believe his children are Ephraim, James, Henry, John, Robert, and George.  Other names mentioned, which I think may belong elsewhere, are Jesse, Sarah, Samuel, Zephaniah, Peter, Mary, and Isaac.  I will try to follow this family, or at least some of them, in my next post.

The next child was Jabesh, born in 1721 and died in 1787.  He married Elizabeth Drake, the daughter of Abraham and Deliverance Wooden Drake.  (As an aside, Deliverance is a granddaughter of Edward and Elizabeth Blossom Fitzrandolph, who are ancestors in the Beeks family line.) Their children are Abraham, Hannah, Mehitabel, Unice, Susanna, Elizabeth, Deliverance, Catherine, and Abigail.  That's a lot of girls, who must have looked up to their big brother!

John was the next born, about 1725, and died in 1780.  He married Martha Fancher, the daughter of Richard and Martha Richards Fancher.  Their children are Levi, Easter, John, Jeremiah, Margaret, and Isaac.  

I find a Joseph listed as having been born in 1730 and died in 1789.  Some think he is the same as Jabesh, above, but the birth and death dates are different.  I have not located anything further about Joseph, so he may be a myth. 

The final child was Onesimus, who some refer to as Simeon.  He was born in 1738 and died in 1826 in Clarksville, Greene County, Pennsylvania.  He married Anna Cossart or Cozan, the daughter of Jacob and Anna Cox Cossart.  Their children are Joseph, Nathaniel, Sieon, Elizabeth, Sarah, Anna, Jacob, Aaron, Phoebe, and John.  Onesimus married a second time, late in life, Eleanor "Nellie" Blatchely.  In researching Onseimus, I found indications that he may have been associated with the "Colverites", a religious sect with land near his, that eventually became the Shakers.  I am not sure he ever joined this group, but he did act as a witness on at least one land deed, so they were at least acquaintances.

As I've found time and time again, these early families, who were pioneers in their areas, can be very difficult to research.  Whether new records will eventually come to light or not is of course unknown, but we can hope.  Meanwhile, we can be grateful to the Bells, who contributed to the beginnings of our country. 

One more Thomas Marsh family 1676-1726

 I've written of three generations of the Marsh family-George, his son Thomas, his son Thomas, and now his son Thomas.  It gets confusing, as each of the previous two ancestors called Thomas also had children named Thomas, and we aren't given nicknames to help keep them straight. 

This Thomas was born in 1676 in Hingham, Massachusetts and died there in 1726, not quite 50 years later.  He married Mary Burr, the daughter of John and Mary Warren Burr in 1708 also in Hingham.  At this point, most of the Marsh families were still in Hingham, and several of those I will write of here stayed there.  Thomas and Mary had at least 8 children (this is probably the correct number, as Hingham records seem to be quite complete).  

Their first child was a daughter, Sarah, born in 1710 and died in 1775 in Warren, Rhode Island.  She married Samuel Burr, the son of Simon and Mary Lasell or Lazell Burr, who was her first cousin once removed.  We will see the Lazell name again in this post, yet another example of families intertwining.  Their children are Shubael, Hannah, Simon and Abigail.  Samuel has been given the designation of "Major" but I have been unable to verify that.  The most likely conflict for him to have been in would have been the French and Indian War, although there were earlier conflicts also.  

Thomas, the fourth of that name in direct descent, was the first son, born in 1711.  He is an interesting person.  He earned an AB and an AM from Harvard College, and returned there as librarian, tutor, and eventually "fellow".  When he was a tutor, at age 55, he married Hannah Sprague and because married men were not allowed to be tutors, he gave up that job and served as a pastor at Rutland.  Hannah is not identified further, but I found one tree that gives her parents as "Peter Sprague and Polly".  I can't document that.  Hannah was about 43 when this marriage took place, and there are no known children from the marriage.  Thomas died in 1780 in Cambridge.  

Mary was born in 1714 and died in 1775 in Hingham.  She married Thomas Jones, the son of Thomas and Catherine Caswell Jones.  Their children are Thomas, Mary, Thomas, John, Sarah, Mary, and John.  (The first Thomas, the first Mary and the first John all died young.)   

Deborah was born in 1716 and died in 1791 in Mendon, Massachusetts.  She married Isaac Lazell (a relative of Mary Lazell Burr, above), the daughter of Israel and Rachel Lincoln Lazell.  Their children are Thomas, Susanna, Israel, Joshua, Deborah, Isaac, Joshua, and an unnamed infant.  Perhaps someday I will write a post about the Lazell families, as this is our line.

Ruth was born in 1718 and died in 1719, which must have been a sorrow to her parents.  

The next child was also named Ruth, born in 1720 and died in Hingham in 1793.  She married Elisha Leavitt, the son of Elisha and Sarah Lane Leavitt.  I have found just four children for them-Jairus, a second Jairus, Martin and Meriel.  

Abigail was born in 1722 and died in 1814 in Hingham.  Se married John Fearing, the son of John and Margaret Hawke Fearing.  They have three known children-John, Thomas, and Abigail.

Finally, there was John, born in 1724 and died in 1803 in Hingham.  He married Hannah Lincoln, the daughter of Ebenezer and Hannah Allyn or Allen Lincoln.   (This Lincoln family traces back to Thomas and Margaret Langer Lincoln, who are also ancestors of John Marsh.) Their children are Thomas, Mary, Mary, Nabby, John, Lot, Nabby, David, David, and Shubael.  Mary, Nabby, and David are named twice because the first of each of those names died young and subsequent children were given the same names. I have found claims that he later married Grace Lincoln and then Olive Beal, but I can't find divorce records for John and Hannah, and she would have been alive when the other marriages took place.  My temporary conclusion is that there were other men named John Marsh who married these other women.  If I'm wrong, please advise!  

This is the last of my blog posts about the Massachusetts Marsh family.  I wish I had time to research each of the children/grandchildren I've mentioned, because there are stories waiting to be told.  Five of these children lived through the Revolutionary War, and they all lived through the French and Indian War.  Hingham was a small town and there must have been many tales told of those times; I'd love to hear them.

The family of Thomas Marsh 1651-1725

 Thomas is the third of the Marsh family of Hingham, Massachusetts that we will follow.  (Interesting to me, the Holbrook line also has a Thomas Marsh family in Maryland, which appears at this point to be an entirely separate family. Perhaps I will someday be able to work more on that line, but this series is the Hingham line.)

Thomas is the son of Thomas and Sarah Beal Marsh, and the grandson of George and possibly Elizabeth Marsh, the immigrants.  He married Sarah Lincoln, the daughter of husbandman Thomas and Margaret Langer Lincoln, and lived his entire life in Hingham.  Thomas and Sarah had at least seven children together, although sadly, two of the last three lived only a short time, and the last appears to be not traceable so possibly died very early also.  Hingham was a very small village at the time of these generations, and so we will see some of the same surnames over and over, as well as the usual repetition of many of the first names.  

Their first son was Thomas, born in 1676 and died in 1726.  He married Mary Burr, the daughter of John and Mary Warren Burr.  Their children are Deborah, Abigail, Sarah, Thomas, John, Mary, and Ruth.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.

Caleb was the second child and second son.  He married twice.  His first wife was Sarah Whiton (later seen as Whiting), the daughter of Enough and Mary Lincoln Whiton. (Mary Lincoln was the daughter of Stephen and Elizabeth Hawke Lincoln.  Some believe that Stephen and husbandman Thomas were brothers.) Caleb and Sarah had three children-Sarah, Caleb, and an unnamed infant who died at or soon after childbirth.  This may be when Sarah died also. Caleb then married Hannah Beal, the daughter of John and Hannah Dare Beal. ( I have not figured out whether John Beal and Sarah Beal Marsh are related, but in a town the size of Hingham, it is more than possible.) Caleb and Hannah's children are Hannah, Jonathan, Lydia, Stephen, and Elizabeth.  

Sarah was born in 1681 and died in 1718.  She married Joseph Lewis, the son of James and Sarah Lane Lewis.  Their children are Sarah, Joseph, Thomas, Paul, James, Jonathan and Mary.  

Mary was their second daughter.  She was born in 1684 and died in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1781.  She must have had a very interesting life!  She married Philip Torrey, the son of William and Deborah Greene Torrey.  Their children are Jane, Philip, Thomas, William, Mary, Josiah, Mary, and William.  

John was born and died in 1686, and Jonathan in 1688.  Another Jonathan was born in 1689.  He attended Harvard College and died there in 1708, described as a junior sophister, which seems to correlate to what we would call a sophomore.  This would have been an incredibly sad event for the family, as John must have shown considerable promise to have been admitted to Harvard, probably at financial sacrifice to his parents.  

Thomas and Caleb both served their community as selectmen, and this is an indication that the Marsh family was well respected in the town, and had at least some financial stability.  We can be grateful to these men, and women, for their contributions to our country. 

 

The family of Thomas Marsh 1618ish to 1658

 Thomas Marsh, the son of George and Elizabeth maiden name uncertain Marsh, was born about 1618 in England, possibly in or near Hingham.  He came with his parents to New England in 1635, possibly with the Hobart group, and settled in Hingham, Massachusetts.  He married Sarah Beal, the daughter of John and Frances Ripley Beal in 1649.  The couple had five children before Thomas's early death in 1658, still in Hingham. 

Sarah remarried in 1662 to Edmund Sheffield, the son of Edmund and Thomazine Sheffield, and had three children with him-Mary, Nathaniel, and Deborah.  This post, however, is following the children of Thomas and Sarah.  

Sarah was their first daughter, born in 1649.  She married James Brackett, the son of Richard and Alice Blower Brackett.  (The older Bracketts are our ancestors in another line, which I hope to follow someday.) Sarah and James's children are Joseph, Nathan, Sarah, Mary, Deborah, Anne/Hannah, and Abigail.  Sarah died in 1727 in Braintree, Massachusetts.

Thomas was the next child and first son.  He was born in 1651 and died in 1723 in Hingham. He married Sarah Lincoln, the daughter of Thomas (known as the husbandman, because there were several men named Thomas Lincoln in this town by now) and Margaret Langer Lincoln.  Their children are Sarah, Thomas, Mary, Lydia and possibly Caleb and John.  I will follow this family in my next post.  

John was born next, in either 1653 or 1654.  He lived either just a few days, or a year and a few days.  

Ephraim was born next, in 1655.  He died in 1715 in Hingham.  He first married Elizabeth Lincoln, the daughter of Stephen and Elizabeth Hawke Lincoln. (I have not found a connection between Thomas, mentioned above, and Stephen Lincoln.  If there is one, it is several generations back.)  Elizabeth was the mother of his four children, who were Ephraim, Elizabeth, Stephen and David.  After Elizabeth died, he married Abigail Stodder, the daughter of Daniel and Abigail Lane Stodder.  She was 43 at the time of this marriage and there were no known children.  

Finally, Mary was born, in 1658.  She married Joseph Parmenter, the son of Robert and Leah Saunders Parmenter.  (We have a Parmenter family a generation or two back from Joseph.  I have not yet made a connection, but it's a possibility.) Their children are Sarah, Joseph, Mary, Benjamin, Hannah, and Deborah. Joseph may or may not have married Sarah Sheffield after Mary's death.  Mary died in 1719.

It seems a little odd to me that neither of the sons, Thomas and Ephraim, are listed as having served in King Philip's War.  They were certainly of the right age to do so, and most of the men in the state were involved in the war.  However, I've not yet found record of their participation, if any.  Yet, these men and women were in Massachusetts from early days, and are part of the history of our family-and our country.