Category Archives: Blood Family

Blood Family, Williams of MA

Thomas Williams & Elizabeth Blood, Groton, MA, 1600s

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The last of my Blood family line is through that of Elizabeth Blood, daughter of Nathaniel and Hannah (Parker) Blood.

Elizabeth was born 21 February 1693/94 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts. She married James Lakin on 12 February 1717/18, also in Groton.

The Lakin and Blood families had close ties back to the early 1600s in Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, England when James’s grandfather, William Lakin, stated in his 1633 will that if his two sons died young, then his estate was to go to the children of Richard Blood. That very likely indicates a close family relationship – either William’s wife, Mary, was a Blood, or, I believe more likely, that Richard Blood’s wife was William Lakin’s sister.

What became of James Lakin and Elizabeth Williams is unknown, just that they died after a land deed was created on 5 April 1765. They may have died in Groton, but no probate record has been found for either of them.

They were the parents of nine children (All births recorded in Groton):

  1. James, born 21 August 1718; no further information
  2. Robinson/Robertson, born 17 February 1719/20; died 16 August 1796, Pepperell, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Hannah Dodge, 15 April 1746, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts
  3. Ambrose, born 30 April 1722; died about 10 March 1809, Lyndeborough, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; married Dorothy Gilson, 16 January 1751, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts
  4. Elizabeth, born 12 August 1724; married Josiah Lawrence, 3 December 1746, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Josiah died on 29 August 1758, probably of the “pestilence” occurring in Pepperell that summer. (2) Whitcomb Powers, 18 October 1759, Pepperell, Middlesex, Massachusetts. He was from Hillsborough County, New Hampshire and it’s possible that Elizabeth removed there after their marriage. Whitcomb was a Revolutionary War soldier. There is a Whitcomb Powers tho married one Meriam Bond on 21 April 1791 in Jaffrey, Cheshire, New Hampshire. If this is the same man, then Elizabeth died before 1791.
  5. Hannah, born 15 September 1726; died 24 December 1807, Pepperell, Middlesex, Massachusetts. She died at 81 years, of old age, and didn’t marry.
  6. Nathaniel, born 13 December 1728; died 1 March 1809, Pepperell, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Sybil Parker, between 23 January and 20 February 1755, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts
  7. Susannah, born 24 September 1731; no further record
  8. Mary, born 26 April 1734; died 6 August 1757, Pepperell, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Oliver Shepley, c1754
  9. Sibell, born 2 January 1736/37; died 2 July 1813, Pepperell, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Eleazer Gilson, 30 October 1758, Pepperell, Middlesex, Massachusetts

No one has posted much about Mary Lakin. She is my ancestor and I wrote about my theory that she was the wife of Oliver Shepley.

Since 2014, when I first proposed my idea, I’ve run it by a genealogist at NEHGS, who believes I am correct. In the intervening years, I’ve come across no new facts that made me revise my theory.

Blood Family

Nathaniel Blood & Hannah Parker, Groton, MA, 600s

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Nathaniel Blood, son of Richard and Isabel (MNU) blood was born in April 1650 in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts. He married Hannah Parker on 13 June 1670, Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

Unusual for the time and place, Nathaniel was just past his 20th birthday when he married. Also, Hannah was three years older than her husband, born 1647 in Littleton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, the daughter of James Parker and Elizabeth Long.

Compared to his father Richard, Nathaniel appeared to have lived a much quieter life. His name didn’t appear in a search of court records. Aside from town vital records, Nathaniel was a quiet presence.

Children (All events in Groton, Middlesex, MA unless otherwise noted):

  1. Anna, born 1 March 1670/71; married James Blanchard, by 1694, possibly Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts
  2. Elizabeth, born 7 October 1673; died 25 September 1723; married Thomas Williams, c1691.
  3. Sarah, born 17 April 1675; died 3 September 1759, Pepperell, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married John Gilson, 2 March 1696, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts
  4. Mary, born 17 April 1678; apparently died before 1700 as Zachariah married (2) Mercy (MNU) by that time; married Zachariah Sawtell, before 1697. She may have died in childbirth as no further record has been found for her.
  5. Nathaniel, born 16 January 1678/9; married Hannah Shattuck, 25 December 1710, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts
  6. Joseph, born 3 February 1680/81; married Hannah Sawyer, 15 April 1706, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Joseph’s death date is uncertain. He MIGHT have married (2) Rebecca Warner in Worcester County, Massachusetts in 1735 and MIGHT have died there in 1777. More research needs to be done on this man.

Hannah (Parker) Blood died on 1 December 1728 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

Nathaniel Blood lived a long life, dying on 8 March 1719/20 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts. However, from this court petition in 1705 made by his brother in law, Joseph Parker, Nathaniel was in poor health:

“The Humble petition of Joseph Parker of Grotton is as followeth. May it please yor Honrs to take notice of ye suffering estate of Issable Blood widow & Relict of Richard Blood of sd Towne (who dyed intestate) and had three sons & one daughter who I married unto, two of which sons [Joseph and James] dyed & left small Children and the other [son Nathaniel], living being decriped and unable to manage his own affairs & sustaine his family, were not able to keep his sd mother“

Nathaniel clearly had serious issues impacting his health and family life as early as 1705. The cause of these issues is not known.

The final post will cover the life of Nathaniel’s daughter, Elizabeth, who is my direct line ancestor and the generation where the Blood leaves my bloodline!

Blood Family

Richard & Isabel (MNU) Blood, 1600s, MA

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As I continue to work my way through my genealogy software program, I am realizing that there are a number of immigrant ancestors to the Massachusetts Bay colony about whom I’ve never written.

Today, we will look at Richard Blood, although there are several conflicting accounts about this family to be found online.

Richard was born c1617 in England and it appears he came either from Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, England or another town very close by. Richard Blood (born perhaps c1600) was mentioned in the will of William Lakin, who died in 1633. William was a young man when he passed away, leaving two sons under the age of 10. He stated in his will that if his sons died, he wanted their legacies to go to the children of Richard Blood.

The Blood and Lakin families continued to have close ties in colonial Massachusetts, settling in the new town of Groton.

From William Lakin’s statement, it has been theorized that either William’s wife, Mary, was a Blood or that Richard Blood’s wife was a Lakin. Personally, I think it is more likely that William made the choice to leave his estate to his sister’s children than to his wife’s brother’s children. However, no further progress has made made in proving which wife might have been a Lakin.

Richard Blood’s arrival date in Massachusetts is unknown, but the birth of his daughter, Sarah, is noted in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts records in June 1648.

Richard married Isabel (MNU) c1642. “Everyone” claims they married in Massachusetts, but birth records for their first two children, Joseph and James, are not found and whether they were married in Massachusetts or England has not been proved.

There is also a mystery about Isabel’s maiden name. I have not seen an image of the will or even an abstract, but it is said that one Henry Wilkinson left a will dated 25 November 1642 in Nottinghamshire, England, mentioning Isabel Blood, but with no relationship stated.

Because of this unseen will, once again “everyone” states that her maiden name was Wilkinson. If she was mentioned in Henry’s will, then it proves only that she was related to Henry and could well have been a niece or cousin or grandchild.

However, it does support the idea that Isabel also came from Nottinghamshire – which, in turn, supports the idea that they may have married before they settled in Massachusetts and their first two sons might have also been born in England.

Richard Blood made a number of appearances in the Middlesex County court minutes through the 1650s and 1660s.

In 1655, he was one of the original petitioners to establish the town of Groton and became one of its biggest land holders with 60 acres.

In 1659, Elizabeth Cook filed suit for” irregular [_aving] an execution in her yard and back side of her mansion house and for also taking an ox that belonged to her.

In 1666, there was a complaint filed that he and son Joseph were selling liquor to the Indians.

In 1668, he was mentioned in charges concerning the Indians at Groton.

Finally, in 1676, during King Philip’s War, Richard gave military service.

Richard and Isabel were apparently the parents of six children – three boys and three girls, although some seem to have conflicting thoughts here, too.

Children:

  1. Joseph, born c1653; died between 1683 and 5 September 1705, when Joseph Parker filed a court petition (see below).
  2. James, born c1645; reportedly killed by Indians c1692; married (1) Elizabeth Longley, 7 September 1669, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts (2) Abigail Kemp, 20 December 1686, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts. There is an estate administration for James Blood of Groton in the Middlesex County records dated 4 April 1693. Widow Abigail Blood was appointed administratrix.
  3. Sarah, born June 1648, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; died before 5 September 1705; no further record.
  4. Nathaniel, born April 1650, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; died 8 March 1719/20, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Hannah Parker, 13 June 1670, Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
  5. Mary, born c1662; died 19 April 1662
  6. Hannah, born March 1663/64, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; married Joseph Parker. She might be the Hannah Parker who died on 5 December 1731, Groton, MA. No further information is given about her and no death record is found in Groton for Joseph Parker.

Richard Blood died 7 December 1683, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

Isabel died after 5 September 1705 when son-in-law Joseph Parker petitioned the governor to grant authority to sell Isabel’s land [that had belonged to Richard Blood.]

“‘The Humble petition of Joseph Parker of Grotton is as followeth. May it please yor Honrs to take notice of ye suffering estate of Issable Blood widow & Relict of Richard Blood of sd Towne (who dyed intestate) and had three sons & one daughter who I married unto, two of which sons dyed & left small Children and the other, living being decriped and unable to manage his own affairs & sustaine his family, were not able to keep his sd mother: so yt I was, as it were, constrained to take the whole care of her, & the lands being situate out of town I could make little Improvement of them. Sd widow being about 99 yrs of age, & having lost her sight & unable to doe any thing towards a livelyhood I have kept now about 14 yrs: She always intending to make me Recompence out of her lands desired me to goe to ye Judge of probate yt she might be allowed to sell the land her husband dyed seized of for yt end:

Further:

sd Judge informed yt her sail would not be called without an act of this Court allowing and empowering thereof: whereupon sd widow desired me in her behalf to petition yor Honrs for liberty to sell sd land for to satisfie for her keeping hitherto; and what further she may still need; as also for her funeral expenses; she having noe other way to discharge the same; or be kept from becoming a town charge.

The outcome:

“In 1706 ‘In answer to the within petition. Resolved that all the lands which Richard Blood, late of Groton decd died seized of lying in the sd town be given and granted to Joseph Parker, the petitioner… in consideration of the charge that sd Parker has been at in the maintenance of the within mentioned Isabel Blood for fourteen years last past. Provided that the Sd Parker give her also a neet and comfortable maintenance during her natural life and a decent funeral at her decease. Sent up for Concurance July 12, 1706 In the House of Representatives. Read & Passed.“

Whether or not Isabel was still living when the request was granted on 12 July 1706 is unknown.