The family of John Hitchcock 1670-1751

 These Hitchcock men are a bit confusing, and I seem to have written last week about Luke Hitchcock who married Elizabeth Gibbons.  He is a grandfather through a different line, and a brother to the man I'd intended to write about, John Hitchcock born 1670 and died 1751.  Both of these men are descendants of the immigrant Luke Hitchcock who married Elizabeth Gibbons, so you can see why I got just a little bit confused and out of my intended order.  It makes no difference, really, so bear with me.  

John Hitchcock was born in 1670 in Springfield, Massachusetts to John and Hannah Chapin Hitchcock.  He seems to have spent his entire life in Springfield, which is where he married Mary Ball, the daughter of Samuel and Mary Graves Ball.  John was given land due to his father and father in law's fighting at Turner Falls, but John was too young to have served in that conflict.  He likely did serve later at least in the militia, and would have been on alert if not a responder to the Deerfield and other battles with native Americans as the frontier of Massachusetts was "settled."

John and Mary had eleven known children, and they are documented about as well as any family I've looked at so far.  This may be because he was an ancestor of Grover Cleveland, or it may be because someone in the family took great interest in keeping his story alive.  Once again, this family has many connections to others in our family tree, which keeps getting more and more tangled.

Their first born son was-you guessed it-John, born in 1692 and died in 1777 in Springfield.  He married Abigail Stebbins, the daughter of Samuel and Abigail Brooks Stebbins.  Abigail was a granddaughter of Thomas and Hannah Wright Stebbins, who are our ancestors in another line. Their children are Abigail, Miriam, John, Reuben, Josiah, Simeon, Benjamin, Isaac, and Levi.  

Mary was born in 1694 and died possibly in 1695.  Her death date is uncertain, but we know she died as an infant.  As sad as this death would have been, we can be glad that she was the only Hitchcock in this family who did not survive to adulthood.

Sarah was born next, in 1697.  I've seen several death dates for her but we know it was after 1736, because she is named in her father's will, and it may have been as late as 1790.  A possible death location is Sunderland, Massachusetts.  She married Samuel Gunn, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Wyatt Gunn.  I haven't yet identified Samuel, but it's possible that he is somehow related to John Gunn(e), who died in Westfield in 1726, because Westfield was created from Springfield.  Further research needs to be done there.  Sarah also had a large family, including Elizabeth, Samuel, Wyatt, David, Israel, and Mary.  

Mary was born in 1699 and died in 1781 in Charlemont, Hampshire, Massachusetts.  Her first marriage was to Samuel Taylor, the son of John and Thankful Woodward Taylor.  (Thankful may go back to Henry and Elizabeth Mather Woodward, as they had a daughter named Thankful and the name may have continued in the family.  Henry and Elizabeth are also our ancestors in another line.) Her children are Othniel, Mary, John, Jonathan, and possibly another Jonathan.  After Samuel's death, she married Daniel Arms, the son of William and Joanna Hawks Arms, with no children noted.  She later married Ebenezer Barnard, son of Joseph and Sarah Barnard.  By this time, she had "aged out" of child-bearing.  

Mercy was born in 1700 and died in 1776 in Springfield.  She married Increase Sykes, the son of Increase and Mary Warriner Sykes.  And once again, we have Warriners in our tree who, based on location and dates, would be likely ancestors to Mary Warriner.  Their children are Mary, Margaret, and Increase.  There may be more children, but these are the ones I've located so far.

Next is Abigail, born in 1703 and died in 1732 in Monson, Hampden County, Massachusetts.  She married Samuel King, the son of Samuel and Abigail Clapp King.  Their children are Abigail, Samuel, Sarah, Mary, Mercy, Hannah, and Edward.  Nathaniel was born in 1705 and died in 1750 in Wilbraham, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.  He married Hannah Taylor, the daughter of John and Hannah Gillette Taylor.  Their children are Hannah, Nathaniel, Mary, Gideon, Silas, and possibly Zena.

Thankful was born in 1707 and died in 1801 in Bennington, Vermont.  She married Jonathan Scott, the son of Richard and Elizabeth Belden Scott.  Their children are Jonathan, Matthew, David, Eunice, Thankful, and Mary.  

Jerusha was born in 1709 and died in 1797 in Wilbraham, Hampden County, Massachusetts.  She married Daneil Warner, the son of Daniel and Sarah Golding or Golden Warner.  Their children are Daniel, Comfort, another Daniel, Jesse, Jerusha, William, David, Thankful, and another Daniel.  It appears that there was sadness in this household, as the early Daniels seem to have not survived.

Margaret was born in 1712 and died in 1804 in Palmer, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.  She married David Cooley, the son of Obadiah and Dorcas Hale Cooley.  Their children are David, Margaret, Moses, Jonathan, Tabitha, Abner, Submit, another Abner, and Sarah.  

By this time, Mary may have been a little weary with repeated childbirths, but there was one more son, Samuel, born in 1717. He died in 1777 in Springfield.  He married Ruth Stebbins, the daughter of Thomas and Mary Ely Stebbins.  Their children are Ruth, Margaret, Lois, Samuel, Eunice, Naomi, Arthur, Editha, Eliax, Oliver, Heman or Herman, and Gaius.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.  

Most of these Hitchcocks stayed either in Springfield or within 50 or so miles of Springfield.  By the mid 1750s, it was getting difficult to give land to each son within the immediate Springfield area.  Some may have learned a trade and moved on. The men would have been part of their local militias, and it's possible that some were involved in the French and Indian War, although I've not researched that.  We can tell that John and Mary left a large family to continue the Hitchcock heritage, and we can be glad that they did!