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| Notes for Martha BRADFIELD | ||||||||||||
| Page 182,80 Her name was originally Martha (probably for her mother (Martha Bradfield) but she became MERCY and is so recorded. This name change MAY have been because Wlliam Luddington's first wife was also Martha (Martha Rose) (Only my own speculation) Information is from Katheryn Colburn, Great Grand daughter of John and Mercy. | ||||||||||||
| Notes for John (Spouse 1) | ||||||||||||
| Page 182,80 Some sources give the marriage as 25 May 1660 "John Whitehead" by James Shepard, 1902 (page 3-7) is an excellent exposition of the John and Thomas Whitehead story. Please note as you read this story that Mattias Hitchcock is our ancestor and he can be looked up in the index. Elizabeth Alcocke/Alcotte Whitehead, of Lemington Priors,Warwickshire, England, was the sister of Dea. George Alcocke of Roxbury, Mass and Thomas Alcocke/Alcotte, of Boston. She was the mother of JOHN and Thomas Whitehead. At the urging of her brother George, she entrusted the boys to the "tender care" of Francis Hall and his brother WIlliam, who, with a group of religious emigrants from Kent and Surry, under the leadership of The Rev. Henry Newman, settled in Guilford, CT. Francis Hall was to bring the boys to their uncles in Roxbury or Boston. The group arrived in Connecticut some time before 4 June 1639 when Hall signed the basic (religioius) agreement in Newman's Barn, Guilford. Page 60 of Hoadley's New Haven Colony Records, Vol I. 1 Dec 1641 Court records state: (Spelling as in record) "Itt is ordered that Goodman Hall shall have the liberty to dispose of the children wch. he brought ovr. till the court have light to dispose otherwise of them, provided thatt they be well looked vnto and well vsed. And Goodman Hitchcock who is to have one of them is to pay to the Treasurer what is due for the boy and Goodman Hall is to be payd out of itt whatt is due to him." Next reference to the boys is 1 Feb 1647 (page 365) "John Thompson, atturney for Thomas Allcote in the Baye require th youthes of Francis Halle wch. he brought from England long since,that is to say,John Whitehead & Thomas Whitehead, and saith he hath order to send them to the said Thomas Allcote whoe is their vnkell. "Francis Halle saith at the desire of their vnkell, Mr. Allcote of Roxbury, since deceased, hee brought these youthes ouer, and was at great charges with them for their passage and other occasions , whc. he saith Mr.Allcote promised to paye to his satisfaction when he came heare, but when he came ther vnkell was deade, and knew not of whom to seake his money iff the boys had dyed he should have lost it, for ought he knows, for he knew of no other vnkell they had, but he was blamed that he had not used the meanes to find oute ther vnkell oe send to ther mother as he might have done (though he saith he hath sent,) but he acquainted the courte then wth. it , and wth their approbation one of then was disposed to Mathias Hitchcoke, the other he kept himselfe till they might have further light to dispose of them. "The courte being dissierous that the children might have no wrongs, and also that the ptyes wch. have brought them vp heitherto (seeing they were small,) might be justly satisfyed, did seriously consider and weigh the charges and hazards the several ptyes had bine at wth them, as also the advantages of the boyes might be vnto them. The records go on tell that Goodmen Hall and Hitchcock were ordered to repay Thomas and JOHN for their services. Francis Hall gave the excuse that he had TRIED to contact the Uncle (George) of JOHN and Thomas but discovered he was dead...A flimsy excuse at best. George Allcote died 30 Dec 1640.... and Francis Hall (and the boys) were in Guilford CT. at least by 4 June 1639!!! WHAT had he done in a year and a half??? (And "Vnkell" THOMA S Allcote was still living.) A letter written by Elizabeth Alcocke Whitehead (August 1647) to her brother(s) was evidently the reason for Thomas Allcote's "atturney"saction in New Haven, asking for the return of the boys. By this time JOHN and Thomas must have been teenagers (Probably 14-15). They were both supposed to receive a payment for their "servitude". Thomas Whitehead was was not heard of further after 1647. JOHN Apparently opted to remain in Branford and (probably) left Mr. Hall in 1647 and DID go to work for Mr. Jasper Crane. In 1648 Crane sued Francis Hall for forty shilllings due John Whitehead of the fifty which the court had ordered him to pay. JOHN settled in Branford, CT, where he married Martha Bradfield, daughter of Leslie Bradfield 9 Mar 1661. He was nominated as freeman in 1669. John died before the second Monday of June 1695, when his widow, Martha, exhibited the inventory of the estate in the County Court of New Haven. (Estate was worth 231 Pounds 14 shilllings...a nice estate for a Bound Boy!) Matha was appointed administrator of the estate. Children and their ages are: John Whitehead The oldest ca 33 Hannah " 31 Mercy " 27 Damaris " 25 Samuel " 23 Eliphalet " 21 Elizabeth " 18 Thomas " 14 I have the birth and marriage info on all the children, invluding our great grandmother Mercy (Martha) Whitehead Luddington. Her name was originally Martha (probably for her mother (Martha Branfield) but she became MERCY and is so recorded. This name change MAY have been because Wlliam Luddington's first wife was also Martha (Martha Rose) (Only my own speculation) Information is from Katheryn Colburn, Great Grand daughter of John and Mercy. | ||||||||||||
| Last Modified 1 Sep 2002 | Created 18 Sep 2002 |