First Generation
1. Richard Singletary1 was born in 1585–1599
in England.1 He died on 25 Oct 1687 at the age
of 102 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts.1–2 A possible 14 year range in the birth of Richard
Singletary is just the tip of the iceberg in a very unusual story. There are two versions of the origin of
Richard Singletary.
The first version is relatively simple and standard. Richard was the son of Francis Singletary, labourer, [b. c 1559 England - d. April 1617, buried 21 April 1617 Surfleet, Lincolnshire, England] and his wife Agnes [b. c 1563 England - d. October 1617, buried 8 October 1617 Surfleet, Lincolnshire, England]. Documented children of Francis and Agnes: Raphe [b. 1592 Gobertson], Joan [b. 1594], William [b. 1599] and Theophilus [buried 1602]. The latter three recorded at Surfleet. There is, unfortunately, no record of Richard in Surfleet. It is possible he was born before Francis and Agnes settled in Surfleet.
The second version of the Richard Singletary saga is plausible, undocumented, unproven and fascinating!
Richard's eldest known son Jonathan was recorded as "Dunham alias Singletary" and eventually dropped the Singletary altogether. The family legend [or myth, if you chose] is that, during the latter part of the 16th century, Richard was the surviving male heir to the elder branch of the Dunham or Donham family. His nursemaid was hired by a member of the family to murder the child. The nursemaid had a change of heart and, with the child, hid from pursuers. She then made her way to a ship and took young Richard to America [one version says to New York], left him in the care of the ship's captain, who adopted him, and returned to England. She gave Richard the surname Single-tarry because he alone and would remain alone in the New World. The woman confessed her deed on her deathbed. Detectives were sent to America and found a man about the right age with the name Singletary. He could recall very little of his beginnings and the sea captain was long dead. There was not sufficient evidence to satisfy the English court, so Richard was not named a Dunham/Donham heir.
If young Richard was transported to America, it was definitely not to New York! What was to become New York, was settled by the Dutch in 1625. The first attempted English settlement at Roanoke Island [NC] was in 1585, the earliest proposed year of birth for the youngster. The next was the ill-fated "Lost Colony" settlement in 1587. The 1590 trip was to discover that the earlier settlement had been abandoned. Richard would have had to have been part of the "Lost Colony" and survived to find his way to Massachusetts by 1637. What are the odds? [http://dougwilson.com/family/feature/singletary.asp?view=nanny#nanny]
Several sources cite the Haverhill, Massachusetts Vital Records as showing Richard Singletary's age at death in 1687 being 102 years, thus born in 1585. [http://www.archive.org/stream/vitalrecordsofha02have#page/472/mode/2up] At least one on-line transcription shows his age as 100, born in 1587. [http://www.rays-place.com/town/ma/haverhill/death-s.htm] In separate court cases in 1662, Richard gave his age suggesting somewhat later birth. On 24 January he stated that he was "aged about seventy years" [born about 1592]. Then on 22 November he was "aged about sixty-three years" [born about 1599]. It is also interesting to note that both of Richard's wives were 17-32 years his junior. This would suggest that he may have married before or that his age was again in error. He became a freeman in 1638, suggesting the possibility of a birth as late as 1617.
The Dunham mystery could be solved if a candidate for Richard's first wife were to be proven and the Salisbury birth records were incorrect concerning Jonathan's mother. Some researchers believe that Richard's first wife may have been Humility Dunham, daughter of Deacon John Dunham and his first wife, Susanna Kaino, born about 1617, probably in Leyden, Holland. [see Billiou chapter, p. 269-270 in Vol. I for information on John Dunham.] There has been no death record located for Humility. If Richard and Humility were married, they may have had the following children: Susan[na], William and Jonathan. The death records for Newbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts show the death of a "Goodwife Singletary"1638 or 1639. Unfortunately her first name is not given.[http://dunhamwilcox.net/ma/newburyb29.htm]
The catch here is that the exact marriage date of Richard to Susanna Cooke have not been located. Most sources state that Susanna was the mother of all of Richard's children.
Richard Singletary was in Salem in 1637 when he received a land grant. By October of that year he removed to Newbury. He took the oath of a freeman there on 7 September 1638. Within the next few months, Richard's first wife, Goodwife Singletary passed away. [If she was Jonathan's mother, she may have died in childbirth. Jonathan's birth is shown as 17 d. 11 m. (January) 1639. The question is, was this 1638/9 or 1639/40?] Sometime during 1639 Richard was married to Susanna Cooke. The Salisbury records list five children born to this couple between January 1639 [1638/9 or 1639/40] and April 1651. The eldest of those children is Jonathan. If his mother was Susanna, then she and Richard were probably married by April 1639.
Richard and others had been granted permission to build a plantation at Merrimac and a site was chosen in the spring of 1639. He received a grant of land at Colchester [renamed Salisbury] in 1640, but did not build a home there until 1645. The Singletarys moved to Haverhill in 1652.
Susanna died in Haverhill in 1682 and Richard in 1687. He was, possibly, aged 102, 100, 95, 88 or ........
The first version is relatively simple and standard. Richard was the son of Francis Singletary, labourer, [b. c 1559 England - d. April 1617, buried 21 April 1617 Surfleet, Lincolnshire, England] and his wife Agnes [b. c 1563 England - d. October 1617, buried 8 October 1617 Surfleet, Lincolnshire, England]. Documented children of Francis and Agnes: Raphe [b. 1592 Gobertson], Joan [b. 1594], William [b. 1599] and Theophilus [buried 1602]. The latter three recorded at Surfleet. There is, unfortunately, no record of Richard in Surfleet. It is possible he was born before Francis and Agnes settled in Surfleet.
The second version of the Richard Singletary saga is plausible, undocumented, unproven and fascinating!
Richard's eldest known son Jonathan was recorded as "Dunham alias Singletary" and eventually dropped the Singletary altogether. The family legend [or myth, if you chose] is that, during the latter part of the 16th century, Richard was the surviving male heir to the elder branch of the Dunham or Donham family. His nursemaid was hired by a member of the family to murder the child. The nursemaid had a change of heart and, with the child, hid from pursuers. She then made her way to a ship and took young Richard to America [one version says to New York], left him in the care of the ship's captain, who adopted him, and returned to England. She gave Richard the surname Single-tarry because he alone and would remain alone in the New World. The woman confessed her deed on her deathbed. Detectives were sent to America and found a man about the right age with the name Singletary. He could recall very little of his beginnings and the sea captain was long dead. There was not sufficient evidence to satisfy the English court, so Richard was not named a Dunham/Donham heir.
If young Richard was transported to America, it was definitely not to New York! What was to become New York, was settled by the Dutch in 1625. The first attempted English settlement at Roanoke Island [NC] was in 1585, the earliest proposed year of birth for the youngster. The next was the ill-fated "Lost Colony" settlement in 1587. The 1590 trip was to discover that the earlier settlement had been abandoned. Richard would have had to have been part of the "Lost Colony" and survived to find his way to Massachusetts by 1637. What are the odds? [http://dougwilson.com/family/feature/singletary.asp?view=nanny#nanny]
Several sources cite the Haverhill, Massachusetts Vital Records as showing Richard Singletary's age at death in 1687 being 102 years, thus born in 1585. [http://www.archive.org/stream/vitalrecordsofha02have#page/472/mode/2up] At least one on-line transcription shows his age as 100, born in 1587. [http://www.rays-place.com/town/ma/haverhill/death-s.htm] In separate court cases in 1662, Richard gave his age suggesting somewhat later birth. On 24 January he stated that he was "aged about seventy years" [born about 1592]. Then on 22 November he was "aged about sixty-three years" [born about 1599]. It is also interesting to note that both of Richard's wives were 17-32 years his junior. This would suggest that he may have married before or that his age was again in error. He became a freeman in 1638, suggesting the possibility of a birth as late as 1617.
The Dunham mystery could be solved if a candidate for Richard's first wife were to be proven and the Salisbury birth records were incorrect concerning Jonathan's mother. Some researchers believe that Richard's first wife may have been Humility Dunham, daughter of Deacon John Dunham and his first wife, Susanna Kaino, born about 1617, probably in Leyden, Holland. [see Billiou chapter, p. 269-270 in Vol. I for information on John Dunham.] There has been no death record located for Humility. If Richard and Humility were married, they may have had the following children: Susan[na], William and Jonathan. The death records for Newbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts show the death of a "Goodwife Singletary"1638 or 1639. Unfortunately her first name is not given.[http://dunhamwilcox.net/ma/newburyb29.htm]
The catch here is that the exact marriage date of Richard to Susanna Cooke have not been located. Most sources state that Susanna was the mother of all of Richard's children.
Richard Singletary was in Salem in 1637 when he received a land grant. By October of that year he removed to Newbury. He took the oath of a freeman there on 7 September 1638. Within the next few months, Richard's first wife, Goodwife Singletary passed away. [If she was Jonathan's mother, she may have died in childbirth. Jonathan's birth is shown as 17 d. 11 m. (January) 1639. The question is, was this 1638/9 or 1639/40?] Sometime during 1639 Richard was married to Susanna Cooke. The Salisbury records list five children born to this couple between January 1639 [1638/9 or 1639/40] and April 1651. The eldest of those children is Jonathan. If his mother was Susanna, then she and Richard were probably married by April 1639.
Richard and others had been granted permission to build a plantation at Merrimac and a site was chosen in the spring of 1639. He received a grant of land at Colchester [renamed Salisbury] in 1640, but did not build a home there until 1645. The Singletarys moved to Haverhill in 1652.
Susanna died in Haverhill in 1682 and Richard in 1687. He was, possibly, aged 102, 100, 95, 88 or ........
Richard Singletary and Susanna
Cooke were married circa 1639 in Newbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.1 Susanna Cooke was born
circa 1616 in England.1 She died on 11 Apr 1682 at the
age of 66 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts.1–2
Richard Singletary and Susanna Cooke had the following
children:
i. Jonathan
Singletary was born on 17 Jan 1639/40 in Salisbury, Essex Co.,
Massachusetts.3 He was also known
as Jonathan Dunham alis Singletary circa 1665.4
2 iii. Nathaniel
Singletary, born 28 Oct 1644, Salisbury,
Essex Co., Massachusetts; married Sarah Belknap/Beltoft, 22
Dec 1673, Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts; died 13 Aug 1689, Haverhill, Essex
Co., Massachusetts.
Second Generation
2. Nathaniel Singletary5–6 (Richard-1) was born on 28 Oct 1644 in Salisbury, Essex
Co., Massachusetts.5,7 He died killed by Indians on 13
Aug 1689 at the age of 44 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts.2,5 Nathaniel was born in Salisbury,
Massachusetts in 1644. He moved with his parents and siblings to Haverhill
about 1652. Nathaniel was dismissed from training due to lameness in 1662. He
married Sarah Belknap in 1673.
On 13 August 1689, Nathaniel and his eldest son John were working their farm when Indians attacked them. Nathaniel was shot and killed instantly and scalped. John was taken captive and escaped later in the day.
On 13 August 1689, Nathaniel and his eldest son John were working their farm when Indians attacked them. Nathaniel was shot and killed instantly and scalped. John was taken captive and escaped later in the day.
Nathaniel Singletary and Sarah
Belknap/Beltoft were married on 22 Dec 1673 in Haverhill, Essex Co.,
Massachusetts.2,5,7 Sarah Belknap/Beltoft8–9, daughter of Samuel Belknap/Beltoft and Sarah Jones, was
born on 14 Oct 1656 in North Weald, Essex, England.10 She died on 3 Jan 1756 at the
age of 99 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts.8
A recording error in the Salem births has caused some confusion concerning
Sarah and her elder sister Mary. Mary's birth is recorded as 17 August 1653.
There is a second birth entry for Mary on 14 October 1656, which coincides with
Sarah's birth date. No entries otherwise exist for the birth of Sarah in the
Salem records. The marriages for both girls appear in the Haverhill records.
Sarah survived her husband. Nathaniel's estate was administered on 25 March 1690 and was divided in November 1696. His widow, Sarah, was named administrator.* Presumably she was still living at the time of the division of the estate.
*The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts, David Webster Hoyt, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982, p. 317
Sarah survived her husband. Nathaniel's estate was administered on 25 March 1690 and was divided in November 1696. His widow, Sarah, was named administrator.* Presumably she was still living at the time of the division of the estate.
*The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts, David Webster Hoyt, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982, p. 317
Nathaniel Singletary and Sarah Belknap/Beltoft had the
following children:
3 i. John Singletary, born 7 May 1675, Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts; married Mary Greele/Greeley, 17
Dec 1700, Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts; married Mary Curtis, 15 Jul 1735,
Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts; died aft 1747, Sutton, Worcester
Co., Massachusetts.
iii. Jonathan
Singletary was born on 18 Nov 1678 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts.2
He died on 24 Nov 1678 at the age of 0 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts.2
ix. Martha
Singletary2 was born on 20 Aug
1689 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts.2
There is some question about the entry of Martha's birth. The Haverhill records
have the following: _______ ch. posthumous Nathaniel / Sarah [Belknap], "I
guess it to be" 20 August 1698 [dup. 12 August]. Perhaps the posthumous
reference was to Nathaniel who had died a week earlier.
Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury [p. 318] says Martha was born 20 August 1689 and was living in 1696. [Date father's estate divided among heirs.]
The Haverhill records show a marriage for a Martha Singeltery and Peter Green on 30 April 1713.
Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury [p. 318] says Martha was born 20 August 1689 and was living in 1696. [Date father's estate divided among heirs.]
The Haverhill records show a marriage for a Martha Singeltery and Peter Green on 30 April 1713.
Third Generation
3. John Singletary7,11
(Nathaniel-2, Richard-1) was born on 7 May 1675 in Haverhill, Essex Co.,
Massachusetts.7 He died after 1747 at the age of
72 in Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.7
John Singletary was, by trade, a cooper. He was born in Haverhill in 1675. On
13 August 1689 John and his father were attacked by an Indian raiding party.
John was taken prisoner, but managed to escape later in the day. His father was
killed and scalped.*
John moved to Salisbury, where he married Mary Greele in 1700 and then to Framingham about 1709. He purchased 50 acres on the west side of the mountain from Joseph Buckminster on 23 May 1709. There he built a house that became known as the Littlefield house. On 30 May 1720 he sold out to Samuel Moore and removed to Sutton.
There, John bought a mill lot on the outlet of what became known as Singletary Lake from Ebenezer Doggett and built a gristmill. The mill had two run of stones and a continual water supply. During dry times the Singletary Mill was the only one to do any grinding. John and youngest son Amos operated the mill for many years. Amos was the first white male child born in Sutton.
Mary died 7 March 1735 [Vital Records: Sutton Deaths, p. 462] John married widow Mary Kenney four months later. He was still living in 1747.
[*The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts, David Webster Hoyt, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982, p. 317]
John moved to Salisbury, where he married Mary Greele in 1700 and then to Framingham about 1709. He purchased 50 acres on the west side of the mountain from Joseph Buckminster on 23 May 1709. There he built a house that became known as the Littlefield house. On 30 May 1720 he sold out to Samuel Moore and removed to Sutton.
There, John bought a mill lot on the outlet of what became known as Singletary Lake from Ebenezer Doggett and built a gristmill. The mill had two run of stones and a continual water supply. During dry times the Singletary Mill was the only one to do any grinding. John and youngest son Amos operated the mill for many years. Amos was the first white male child born in Sutton.
Mary died 7 March 1735 [Vital Records: Sutton Deaths, p. 462] John married widow Mary Kenney four months later. He was still living in 1747.
[*The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts, David Webster Hoyt, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982, p. 317]
John Singletary and Mary
Greele/Greeley were married on 17 Dec 1700 in Haverhill, Essex Co.,
Massachusetts.7,12 Mary Greele/Greeley,
daughter of Andrew Greele/Greeley and Sarah Brown, was born on 5 Dec 1678 in
Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.7,12 She died on 8 Mar 1735 at the
age of 56 in Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.7,12 Greeley has death in 1733.
John Singletary and Mary Greele/Greeley had the
following children:
ii. John
Singletary was born on 15 Nov 1703 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.13
He died on 22 Apr 1704 at the age of 0 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.13
vii. Joseph
Singletary was born circa 1717 in Framingham, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.13 no birth date given; estimate.
4 viii. Amos Singletary, born 16 Sep 1721, Sutton, Massachusetts Bay, British
America; married Mary Curtis, 6 Sep 1742,
Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts; died 30 Oct 1806, Topsfield, Essex
Co., Massachusetts.
John Singletary and Mary Curtis
were married on 15 Jul 1735 in Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. Mary
Curtis, daughter of John Curtis and Mary Looke, was born on 27 Dec 1677 in
Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts.14
She died on 8 Mar 1735/6 at the age of 58 in Sutton, Worcester Co.,
Massachusetts.14
Fourth Generation
4. Amos Singletary15–18
(John-3, Nathaniel-2, Richard-1) was born on 16 Sep 1721 in Sutton,
Massachusetts Bay, British America.10 He died on 30 Oct 1806 at the
age of 85 in Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts.10
Amos was the son of John and Mary [Greele] Singletary and the first male child
born in Sutton, Massachusetts. [Sutton's North Parish that became Millbury on
11 June 1813.] He never attended school, but was taught the basics of reading,
writing and arithmetic at home.
In 1742 Amos married Mary Curtis. According to a grandson, Rev. S.A. Dwinnell, Mary was chiefly responsible for her husband's conversion to Christianity. They joined the church of Rev. David Hall until they were dismissed to form a church in the north parish.
In one instance, Samuel Waters, a manufacturer of hoes in the north parish stopped Singletary to ask him for "religious guidance." Waters asked, "Oh Squire! What shall I do to be saved?" Amos reigned in his horse and replied, "Put more steel in your hoes!"
Singletary was perceptive, a man of sound judgement and integrity. He became well-informed and a community leader. Amos represented Sutton for four years in the provincial congress during the Revolutionary War. Once Massachusetts became a state, he served in both the house of representatives and senate.
At the local level, he served as justice of the peace and as one of the two justices of the quorum [without whom the court could not sit]. One of the duties of the justice of the quorum was to administer the debtor's oath to men put in jail for debt.
Amos Singletary made his living as a farmer and grist miller. His political heart rested with men such as himself, who made their living off the land. It led him to oppose the eastern Massachusetts trade and banking legislators and, as a result, the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. As an anti-Federalist, he stood before Massachusetts convention in 1788 and voiced his fears:
“These lawyers, and men of learning, and moneyed men, that talk so finely, and gloss over matters so smoothly, to make us poor illiterate people swallow down the pill, expect to get into congress themselves; they expect to be managers of the Constitution and get all the power and all the money into their own hands, and then they will swallow up all of us little folks, like the great Leviathan. Mr. President; yes just as the whale swallowed up Jonah. This is what I am afraid of.”
A North Carolina anti-federalist wrote that he feared the exclusion of religious tests in the Constitution would allow Pagans, Deists and Mohammedans to obtain political office. Singletary's reponse was that he hoped to see Christians in power, yet by the Constitution, a papist or an infidel was as eligible as they.*
Amos Singletary lived out his life in Sutton. His will was made 20 May 1801 and proved in November 1806. Mary died in 1799 and Amos in 1806. Both were buried in County Bridge Cemetery, which has since been renamed Millbury Cemetery.*
*Biographical note from submission to Find a Grave. [www.findagrave.com]
Amos Singletary and Mary Curtis were married on 6 Sep 1742 in Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts.10 Mary Curtis, daughter of Samuel Curtis and Hannah Dodge, was born on 8 Jun 1726 in Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts.10 She died on 28 Jun 1799 at the age of 73 in Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.10
In 1742 Amos married Mary Curtis. According to a grandson, Rev. S.A. Dwinnell, Mary was chiefly responsible for her husband's conversion to Christianity. They joined the church of Rev. David Hall until they were dismissed to form a church in the north parish.
In one instance, Samuel Waters, a manufacturer of hoes in the north parish stopped Singletary to ask him for "religious guidance." Waters asked, "Oh Squire! What shall I do to be saved?" Amos reigned in his horse and replied, "Put more steel in your hoes!"
Singletary was perceptive, a man of sound judgement and integrity. He became well-informed and a community leader. Amos represented Sutton for four years in the provincial congress during the Revolutionary War. Once Massachusetts became a state, he served in both the house of representatives and senate.
At the local level, he served as justice of the peace and as one of the two justices of the quorum [without whom the court could not sit]. One of the duties of the justice of the quorum was to administer the debtor's oath to men put in jail for debt.
Amos Singletary made his living as a farmer and grist miller. His political heart rested with men such as himself, who made their living off the land. It led him to oppose the eastern Massachusetts trade and banking legislators and, as a result, the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. As an anti-Federalist, he stood before Massachusetts convention in 1788 and voiced his fears:
“These lawyers, and men of learning, and moneyed men, that talk so finely, and gloss over matters so smoothly, to make us poor illiterate people swallow down the pill, expect to get into congress themselves; they expect to be managers of the Constitution and get all the power and all the money into their own hands, and then they will swallow up all of us little folks, like the great Leviathan. Mr. President; yes just as the whale swallowed up Jonah. This is what I am afraid of.”
A North Carolina anti-federalist wrote that he feared the exclusion of religious tests in the Constitution would allow Pagans, Deists and Mohammedans to obtain political office. Singletary's reponse was that he hoped to see Christians in power, yet by the Constitution, a papist or an infidel was as eligible as they.*
Amos Singletary lived out his life in Sutton. His will was made 20 May 1801 and proved in November 1806. Mary died in 1799 and Amos in 1806. Both were buried in County Bridge Cemetery, which has since been renamed Millbury Cemetery.*
*Biographical note from submission to Find a Grave. [www.findagrave.com]
Amos Singletary and Mary Curtis were married on 6 Sep 1742 in Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts.10 Mary Curtis, daughter of Samuel Curtis and Hannah Dodge, was born on 8 Jun 1726 in Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts.10 She died on 28 Jun 1799 at the age of 73 in Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.10
Amos Singletary and Mary Curtis had the following
children:
5 iv. Mehetible
Singletary, born 13 Mar 1749, Sutton,
Worcester Co., Massachusetts; married Peter Jennison, 31 Mar
1769, Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts; died 16 Feb 1812, New Berlin,
Chenango Co., New York.
xi. Lydia
Singletary was born in Nov 1767 in Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.19
She was baptized on 15 Nov 1767 in Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.19
Fifth Generation
5. Mehetible Singletary
(Amos-4, John-3, Nathaniel-2, Richard-1) was born on 13 Mar 1749 in Sutton,
Worcester Co., Massachusetts.20–21 She died on 16 Feb 1812 at the
age of 62 in New Berlin, Chenango Co., New York.20
Mehetible Singletary and Peter
Jennison were married on 31 Mar 1769 in Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.20–21 Peter Jennison20,22,
son of Joseph Jennison and Martha Twiss, was born on 6 Jan 1749/50 in Sutton,
Worcester Co., Massachusetts.20 He died on 8 Dec 1816 at the
age of 66 in New Berlin, Chenango Co., New York.20
Peter was a native of Sutton, Massachusetts. He subscribed two pounds toward
the building of the Universalist meeting house in Oxford in 1770. Jennison was
a member of the congregation and a pew holder in the church.
Peter Jennison was a private in Captain John Growl's militia company, Col. Learned's regiment, which was among those who answered the Lexington alarm on 19 April 1775 to witness the "Shot Heard 'Round the World." His length of service was nine days.
He married Mehitable Singletary, herself from a patriotic family, in 1769. They had a dozen children between 1769 and 1793.
Peter was a relatively wealthy man for the times and owned a number of slaves. Upon her marriage, daughter Chloe was given $1000 and a Negro slave girl. When the family moved to New York, Chloe freed the girl, partly because her husband mistreated the girl.
The Jennisons moved to Chenango Co., NY before 1812. It was in February of that year that Mehitable died. According to family lore, she became temporarily insane from a serious illness and threw herself into a furnace, buring to death. Another version of the story was the Mehitable burned to death after her clothing caught fire from a furnace grate. Peter died in 1816.
Peter Jennison was a private in Captain John Growl's militia company, Col. Learned's regiment, which was among those who answered the Lexington alarm on 19 April 1775 to witness the "Shot Heard 'Round the World." His length of service was nine days.
He married Mehitable Singletary, herself from a patriotic family, in 1769. They had a dozen children between 1769 and 1793.
Peter was a relatively wealthy man for the times and owned a number of slaves. Upon her marriage, daughter Chloe was given $1000 and a Negro slave girl. When the family moved to New York, Chloe freed the girl, partly because her husband mistreated the girl.
The Jennisons moved to Chenango Co., NY before 1812. It was in February of that year that Mehitable died. According to family lore, she became temporarily insane from a serious illness and threw herself into a furnace, buring to death. Another version of the story was the Mehitable burned to death after her clothing caught fire from a furnace grate. Peter died in 1816.
Peter Jennison and Mehetible Singletary had the
following children:
6 i. Lucy Jennison, born 19 Mar 1770,
Oxford [Ward], Worcester Co., Massachusetts;
married James Twiss, 2 May 1792, Charlton, Worcester, Massachusetts; died
13 Feb 1851, Massachusetts.
7 ii. Peter Jennison, born 27 Mar 1771,
Oxford [Ward], Worcester Co., Massachusetts;
married Elizabeth Snow, 4 Feb 1790, Charlton, Worcester, Massachusetts; died
22 Apr 1849, Gainesville, Wyoming Co., New York.
8 iii. Mehitable Jennison, born 11 Feb 1773,
Ward [Auburn], Worcester Co., Massachusetts;
married Jonathan Chase, 22 Jan 1797, Oxford [Ward], Worcester Co., Massachusetts; died
13 Jan 1863, Westfield, Chittenden Co., Vermont.
9 iv. Orange Twiss "Twiss, O.T."
Jennison, born 26 Mar 1775, Charlton, Worcester, Massachusetts;
married Lydia Prince, 30 Nov 1797, Oxford, Worcester Co., Massachusetts; died
6 Dec 1836, DelawareTwp., Ripley Co., Indiana.
10 v. Rufus Jennison Sr., born 20 Mar 1777,
Ward [Auburn], Worcester Co., Massachusetts;
married Jerusha Field, abt 1803, Chenango Co., New York?; died 5 Aug 1864, Philadelphia, Hancock Co., Indiana.
11 vi. Luther Jennison, born 11 May 1779,
Ward [Auburn], Worcester Co., Massachusetts;
married Lovina Polley, 11 Jan 1806, Massachusetts or Vermont; died 4 Mar 1825, Jefferson Co., New York.
12 vii. Anna Jennison, born 30 Apr 1782,
Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts;
married David Cunningham, 1 Jan 1804, New Berlin, Chenango Co., New York; died 9 Jun 1860,
Jeffersonville, Clark Co., Indiana.
13 viii. Sylvanus Jennison, born 28 Jun 1784,
Ward [Auburn], Worcester Co., Massachusetts; married
Clara Maria Wilson, 25 Mar 1819, Campbell Co., Kentucky; died 14 Feb 1839, New Harmony, Posey Co., Indiana.
14 ix. Dolly Jennison, born 31 Mar 1787, Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts; married John William Simmons, abt
1803, New Berlin, Chenango Co., New York; died 11 Mar 1862, Covington,
Kenton Co., Kentucky.
15 x. Purley/Perley Jennison, born 1 Jun
1789, Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts;
married Lucinda Shumway, ca 1813, Genesee Co., New York; died 20 May 1869, Wapello Co., Iowa.
16 xi. Chloe Jennison, born 1792, Sutton,
Worcester Co., Massachusetts;
married Clark Eldridge, ca 1809, probably New York; died
14 Jan 1868, Wyoming Co., New York.
xii. John
Jennison23 was born in Jun
1793 in Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.10,23–24
The Jennison Family History states that John "never married, went
west and died there." No state/territory is mentioned. Several IGI and
other online entries give a death year of 1853, coincidently the same year that
Rufus Jennison's son John died in Wisconsin. Some of those entries claim he
married a Martha McNabb. Unfortunately, none of these items are documented.
There is also a John S. Jenison who settled in Menard Co., Illinois.
Sources:
1. Research
& Scholastic Study Homepage for Singletary to Dunham Family History, Sories
& Timeline
(http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~grannyapple/SINGLETARY-DUNHAM/HOME.html
: accessed 6 July 2011), Richard Singltary story.
2. Topsfield Historical Society, Vital Records of
Haverhill, Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849: Vol. I (Topsfield,
Mass.: Topsfield Historical Society, 1910), ; digital images, Internet Archive,
archive.org
(http://www.archive.org/stream/vitalrecordsofha00have#page/n5/mode/2up :
accessed 6 July 2011.
3. Topsfield Historical Society, Vital Records of
Salisbury, Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849 (Topsfield, Mass.:
Topsfield Historical Society, 1915), ; digital images, archive.org, Internet
Archive (http://www.archive.org/stream/vitalrecordsofsa00salis#page/n7/mode/2up
: accessed 8 July 2011.
4. Research & Scholastic Study Homepage for
Singletary to Dunham Family History, Sories & Timeline, .
5. William Richard Cutter, editor, New England Families
Genealogical and Memorial (Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1913), p. 850;
digital images, Google Books, Google Books
(http://books.google.com/books?id=ofcsAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA850&dq=nathaniel+singletary&hl=en&ei=5AoWTq2SJuP10gHo25hx&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=nathaniel%20singletary&f=false
: accessed .
6. Research & Scholastic Study Homepage for
Singletary to Dunham Family History, Sories & Timeline, Nataniel
Singletary.
9. "Vital Records of Salem, Mass.," database, Massachusetts
Vital Records Project (http://ma-vitalrecords.org: accessed 10 July 2011),
Birth: Mary & Sarah Belknap; citing Salem, Mass. vital records.
10. Simmons Family, Roy W. Simmons online
[http://www.storycapsule.com/simmons/familytree/pedigree.php], accessed 29 Oct
2009.
11. George Hiram Greeley, Genealogy of the Greely -
Greeley Family (Boston, Mass.: Frank Wood Printer, 1903), p. 31; digital
images, World Vital Records, (: accessed
2 July 2011.
14. Walter Goodwin Davis, The Ancestry of Lt. Amos
Towne 1737-1793: of Arundle [Kennebunkport], Maine (Portland, ME: The
Southworth Press, 1927), p. 59-61 [Curtis chapter]; digital images, World Vital
Records, World Vital Records (http://www.worldvitalrecords.com :
accessed 17 August 2011.
16. Gary B. Nash: professor emeritus of History UCLA,
"Ordinary Americans of the Constitution: History Now: The Historians
Perspective," The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History,
Issue 13 (September 2007): p. 3-4.
18. Rev. William A. Benedict & Rev. Hiram A. Tracy,
compilers, History of the Town of Sutton, Massachusetts from 1704 to 1876,
2nd (Massachusetts: Commonwealth Press, 1966 [reprint]), 668.
19. Town of Sutton, Vital Records of Sutton,
Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849 (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice,
1907), p. 159; digital images, Internet Archive, (: accessed 10 July 2011.
20. Wall Street John, William F. Archerd online
[http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi~bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=wallstreetjohn&id=194&pr...],
accessed 6 November 2009.
21. Howard Jennison, compiler, "Singletary /
Jennison"; ancestral file number(s) V8TL-B7, Ancestral File, Family
History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.
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