Nathaniel Finney is the most recent of this family to have been born and lived in the American British colonies, as he made the choice, with a number of friends and family, to migrate north to what was then Nova Scotia.

Nathaniel Finney was born on 8 January 1720/21 in Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts, the son of John Finney and Ann Toogood.

Nathaniel married Hannah Wood on 3 September 1740, also in Swansea.

Hannah Wood was the daughter of William Wood and Keziah Martin, born 13 June 1719, again in Swansea, but she died as a young woman on 26 December 1756 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, where her gravestone still stands.

Nathaniel and Hannah have a number of children attributed to them, but I have found documentation for only four:

1. Hannah, born 26 April 1743, Bristol, Bristol, Massachusetts; no further record
2. Caleb, born c1745; died c1790, probably Sackville, Westmorland, New Brunswick, Canada; married Bathsheba Salisbury, 6 July 1766, Sackville, Westmorland, New Brunswick, Canada
3. Ann, born 26 August 1747, Warren, Bristol, Rhode Island; died 9 April 1804; married Benjamin Tower, 1 May 1766, Sackville, Westmorland, New Brunswick, Canad
4. Lydia, born 4 October 1751, Warren, Bristol, Rhode Island; died about April 1813, Sackville, Westmorland, New Brunswick, Canada; married Josiah Hicks, 5 January 1769, Sackville, Westmorland, New Brunswick, Canada

Births and marriages of these children appear in government records, where cited.

There are three other children, with no sources whatsoever being cited, named as John (also born c1745, but not found in birth records), Nathaniel (born c1749) and Richard (born c1753.) None of these boys are found in Massachusetts or Rhode Island extant records.

It’s certainly possible that these children existed, but no evidence has been found, as yet, by me.

Nathaniel Finney married (2) Judith (Briggs), widow of Joseph Tower, before 7 April 1763, when their daughter Mary was born. Joseph Tower died between 5 March 1760 and 20 July 1761 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island. Given Mary’s date of birth and the socially acceptable mourning time of at least six months, Nathaniel and Judith likely married in early 1762.

There was a census of sorts taken of Sackville on 1 January 1770. The list includes Nathaniel Finney and his son, Caleb, who would have been about 25 years of age and married for 3 1/2 years.

There is no evidence as to when Nathaniel died. Westmorland County land deed indexes include several entries for Nathaniel Finney, the earliest being in volume B-1, which covers 1787-1789. The difficulty here is that (1) the deeds themselves aren’t accessible on FamilySearch and (2) the supposed son Nathaniel is said to have been born c1749, making him just old enough to be the man mentioned in the land deed in Deed Book B-1.

No evidence has been found for a son named John and the only Richard appearing in Canadian records was the son of Caleb and Bathsheba. He was born c1788. It’s possible that Caleb named his son for a deceased brother, but again no evidence has been found to support the existence of a son named Richard born to Nathaniel and Hannah Finney.

John Finney was born 15 August 1696 in Bristol, Bristol, Massachusetts, the son of Joshua Finney and Mercy Watts.

 

With this generation, the family began to move out of the Plymouth and Bristol Counties, Massachusetts area. Likely, land was becoming too expensive and the younger families began heading south westerly into Connecticut.

 

John Finney married Ann Toogood on 14 September 1716, in Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts. She is said to be the daughter of Nathaniel Toogood and his second wife, Martha (Bliss) Carpenter.

 

Children (All born Swansea):

 

1. Joel, born 24 February 1716/17; no further record
2. John, born 14 October 1718; died 14 July 1788, Connecticut; married Hannah Washburn, 14 June 1744, Litchfield County, Connecticut
3. Nathaniel, born 8 January 1720/21; died New Brunswick, Canada; married Hannah Wood, 3 September 1740, Swansea, Bristol, Connecticut
4. Joshua, born 24 February 1723/24; died 24 March 1750, Litchfield County, Connecticut; married Elizabeth Poper, 29 November 1745, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts
5. Ann, born 30 April 1727; no further record
6. Mercy, born 1 January 1729/30; died 23 January 1805, Litchfield County, Connecticut; married Reuben Sacket, 21 December 1752, Connecticut
7. David, born 24 August 1732; died after 1760 when he removed to Dutchess County, New York; married Abigail Clark, 26 February 1759, Litchfield County, Connecticut
8. Jabez, born 1 November 1737; died 5 May 1739, Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts

 

Several comments are needed about this family. First, I initially questioned whether “my” Nathaniel was a son of this John Finney because no one seems to have done any modern research on the family. a casual mention is made that John “at one time lived in Swansea,” but instead points out other places in Massachusetts and Connecticut where he owned land and might have lived.

 

In fact, the births of all of these children are recorded in Swansea town records, so the comment that he “at one time” lived in Swansea is quite misleading. He married there and resided in the town for at least 21 years.

 

Next, online trees show a Martha Finney, born and died on 112 June 1738 as a child of John and Ann. I found no birth or death record for this child and, of course, no sources are given wherever I find her mentioned.

 

Finally, most online trees include Jabez Finney, born 21 November 1737 as a child of John and Ann. However, those trees also give a wife’s name (Elizabeth, maiden name unknown) and mention that he served in the American Revolution.

 

Yes, Jabez was a son of John and Ann and his birth is recorded in Swansea. However, there is also an entry for one Jabez Finney, son of John and Ann, who died on 5 May 1739 in Swansea.

 

I found no later Jabez born to John and Ann, nor did I find any man of this name in the DAR Patriot Index. If there was such a Jabez who married an Elizabeth and served, it doesn’t appear to be the son of John and Ann. Therefore, I have included little Jabez’s date of death in this family sketch.

 

Finally, there is an unsourced statement that John Finney who married Ann Toogood “was a doctor, although he is called blacksmith in a deed.” In the 1700s, most men who practiced medicine had another occupation given that providing medical care wouldn’t be a full time job. John might have been a doctor, but to me, it seems a bit incongruous that a blacksmith would also be a doctor. Not impossible, but I’d investigate this more thoroughly before accepting it as fact.

 

John Finney died on 6 June 1773 in Kent, Litchfield, Connecticut. John’s wife Anne reportedly died on 11 August 1778, but no place is given and I haven’t found any corroboration for that information.

Joshua Finney was born on 31 December 1665, Barnstable, Plymouth, Massachusetts, the son of John Finney and his third wife, Elizabeth Bayley. Joshua was also the last child born to John Finney.

Joshua married Mercy Watts, believed to be the daughter of Jeremiah and Elinor (MNU) Watts of Bristol, Bristol, Massachusetts, where the couple married on 31 May 1688.

Their children were born in Bristol, but later in life Joshua Finney lived in Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts, where he died.

Children (All born in Bristol):

1. Joshua, born 7 May 1689; Lebanon, New London, Connecticut; married Martha Martin. This family first lived in Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts, but later moved to Lebanon, New London, Connecticut. Joshua’s brothers, John and Josiah, moved to nearby Litchfield County, Connecticut.
2. Elizabeth, born 25 September 1690/91; died 19 September 1701, Bristol, Bristol, Massachusetts
3. Mary, born 25 September 1694; no further record
4. John, born 15 August 1696; died 6 June 1773, Lebanon or Litchfield County, Connecticut; married Ann Toogood, 14 September 1716, Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts
5. Samuel, born 29 May 1699; died possibly in August 1772, Machias, Washington, Maine; married Elizabeth (Wood) Tibbetts, widow of Thomas Tibbitts, 12 March 1726/27, Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island
6. Josiah, born 26 July 1701; died 14 February 1771, Bristol, Bristol, Rhode Island; married Elizabeth Mann, 1 January 1723/24, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut. He was an early settler of Warren, Litchfield, Connecticut.
7. Elizabeth, born 1 May 1707; died 8 February 1763, Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts; married Nathan Luther, 4 November 1733, Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts

Joshua Finney died 7 September 1714, Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts.