I love when readers pose interesting questions in response to my genealogy stories.

Recently, I was asked whether Ebenezer Thorndike, the inventor of the lobster trap in 1808, was born a Thorndike or a Tarbox. Ebenezer isn’t my direct line, although my 2X great grandmother was a Tarbox and all Tarboxes in the U.S. descend from the same immigrant ancestor – John Tarbox, Lynn, Massachusetts in the 1640s.

Of course, that led me down the rabbit hole chasing a BSO and this quickly became way more complicated than I expected.

What did I find? It took some digging plus a request to the Massachusetts State Archives, but this was a learning experience for me as I tried to locate a new-to-me historical document.

First, who was Ebenezer?

Ebenezer Tarbox was born on 19 February 1785 to Ebenezer Tarbox Sr. and his wife, Mary. However, this is where questions arise.

Ebenezer Tarbox Sr. was born on 10 September 1763, the son of Benjamin and Lydia Tarbox.

Who was Mary? Mary Holt was the daughter of Benjamin and Lydia Holt, born 15 October 1754 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts.

Mary married (1) James Latherbe/Larrabee on 16 January 1772, also in Andover. James was a resident of Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts at the time.

What became of James is a mystery. There is only a birth of one child recorded to James and Mary, a son, James Holt Leatherbee, and that is found in family records. James Holt’s parents aren’t named, but his birth date is recorded as 17 July 1772 in Andover in those family records, but not found in town records.

The marriage of James Holt Leatherbee and Rachel Williams on 17 August 1792 is recorded in Boston, Massachusetts with the note that the bride lived in Charlestown.

It is said that James Larrabee/Leatherbee died c1782, but this family isn’t found in any town record after their marriage. I have to wonder if they might have removed to Maine with Mary returning to Massachusetts at the end of the Revolutionary War.

In colonial New England days, it was unusual for couples to marry at the young ages of Ebenezer Sr. (21) and Mary (16 at her first marriage.)

In my extensive maternal tree in early New England, I can almost predict a male ancestor’s age as 25 and a female’s age as 21 when they married and then find my prediction was closely supported by the records.

On the other hand, young widows were desirable brides if they had even a small estate to help a young man get started in life. That may be the case for Ebenezer and Mary.

They went on to have six children:

1. Ebenezer, born 19 February 1785, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; died 17 December 1877, Swampscott, Essex, Massachusetts; married (1) Mary Richards, 8 November 1804, Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts (2) Mary (Godshall) Brackett, intentions in Boston, 4 May 1823 and he of Charlestown, Massachusetts. He died a very wealthy man, but his death certificate states his parents’ names are unknown.
2. Benjamin, born 14 February 1787, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; died 29 April 1866, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; married Lydia Rhodes, 20 September 1807, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts
3. Elizabeth (Betsey), born 18 November 1789, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; died 1 October 1871, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; married Joseph Thomas, 22 August 1806, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts
4. John, born 21 July 1791, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; died 16 April 1861, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; married (1) Mary Bell, intentions 30 June 1816, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts. In 1860, he lived in the poor house for five years with a note about “intemperance.” His occupation was laborer.
5. Lydia, born 7 May 1795, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; died 27 July 1861, Swampscott, Essex, Massachusetts; married John Heath, 16 November 1811, Danvers, Essex, Massachusetts, he of Danvers and she of Lynn.
6. Susan (Sukey), born 17 August 1796, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; died 2 September 1848 of dysentery, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, aged 54 years; married Thomas Parton, 8 March 1818, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts

Mary would have been 42 years old at the time of her youngest child’s birth.

So, to summarize the little we know of Mary Holt:

1. She married (1) James Larrabee/Leatherbee when she was 16 years and 3 months old.
2. Her first child was born, per family records, six months after his parents were married.
3. Mary married (2) Ebenezer Tarbox on 12 December 1784. He was 21 years old and 12 years younger than his bride.
4. Her second known child, named Ebenezer Tarbox, was born 19 February 1785, just two months after their marriage.

These comments aren’t shared to cast dispersions on Mary or her life choices, but to set the stage for possible reasons why Ebenezer Tarbox Jr. might have chosen to legally change his name to Thorndike.

Now, let’s look more closely at Ebenezer Jr. His five siblings, also born in Lynn, remained their for the rest of their lives, marrying either in Lynn or a nearby town. Lydia also lived in Swampscott, but didn’t marry far from home.

Ebenezer Jr., on the other hand, took as his first bride Polly Richards and the marriage record stated that both the bride and groom were residents of Weymouth.

Lynn and Weymouth are about 25 miles apart, which was a good distance in the early 1800s.

Ebenezer Jr. and Mary (Richards) Tarbox were the parents of three known children:

1. Nathaniel Rand, born 21 May 1805, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; died 6 March 1876, Somerville, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Sarah E. Lemon, 12 October 1828, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts. They were the parents of one surviving son, John J. Thorndike, named in Ebenezer’s 1876 estate papers.
2. Nancy, born 17 June 1808, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts no further record and died before her father as she is not mentioned in his will
3. Catherine H. (possibly), born c1814, probably Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts; married (1) perhaps Jonathan A. Cushing, 12 July 1835, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts. However, neither has been found in further records and Catherine died with no surviving issue as neither she nor any children are mentioned in her father’s 1876 will.
4. Ebenezer B., born c1818, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died 17 April 1863, Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts; married Mary A.K(nowlton?) Peabody of Salem, 28 November 1844, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts. Mary died of consumption in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts in 1856. They had one daughter, Catherine H., born c1847, and perhaps named for Catherine H., above.

Ebenezer and Mary (Godshall) (Brackett) Thorndike had two children:

1. Francis H., born about 4 August 1823, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts, based on age of 77 years, 8 months, 19 days on his death certificate; died 23 April 1901, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; married Henrietta D. Chaffin, 12 November 1853, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. She died 14 July 1866, Chelsea, Suffolk, Massachusetts of a stomach ailment, aged 33 years. They apparently had no children.
2. Eckford A., born October 1826, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died 5 October 1913, Buffalo, Erie, New York but buried in Swampscott, Essex, Massachusetts; married Martha Amanda Woodbury, 24 November 1853, Saugus, Essex, Massachusetts. They were the parents of four children. Mary and Clara were heirs of their grandfather. Antooinette died at the age of 5 of diphtheria. Son Clement A. was living at the time of his grandfather’s will, but not named as an heir. Clement was born about 8 months after his parents’ marriage. Perhaps he wasn’t Eckford’s son and Ebenezer therefore didn’t include him in the will.

Ebenezer Tarbox Sr. died on 12 August 1827 and Mary (Holt) (Larrabee) Tarbox died on 31 December 1819.

Ebenezer sold off his land in the 1820s. His occupation was stone cutter and wife Mary had predeceased him. Therefore, when he died in 1827, he left no will and there was no estate administration.

Ebenezer’s and Mary’s death dates are interesting because of the timing of Ebenezer Jr.’s petition to legally change his name.

Part 2 will cover Ebenezer’s adult life, his claim to fame and his name change.